and seeing double? astronomers discover a planet that would make luke skywalker homesick. very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. those stories and much more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and we ghee begin with possible progress. americans have been frustrated about gridlock in washington, but last night congress actually got something done. senate lawmakers reached a deal to avoid both a weekend session of congress and a costly repeat of the partial faa shutdown. our tracie potts joins us from washington. >> reporter: good morning. that means we head into the weekend without thousands of jobs on the line as we feared as

we saw last summer, the result of what may be a new spirit of cooperation here in washington. >> for the betterment of the country. that's what we're here for. thank you. >> reporter: 36 senators, democrats and republicans, say enough. >> we feel that it's time to check our political hats at the door and to step up and do what is the right thing for the american people. >> reporter: they're urging the deficit super committee to go big and reduce the deficit by almost twice as much as they have to. that spirit of cooperation spilled over into the senate where one republican -- >> the bill is passed. >> reporter: -- gave up his opposition to building bike paths so temporary funds for highways and air traffic control could be approved. >> it's a good day to be able to go home and say, we worked together in a bipartisan way to save almost 2 million jobs. >> the amendment is agreed to. >> reporter: the senate also passed a budget for fema including half a billion in emergency funds that president obama asked for.

>> this was no time for political theatrics. >> reporter: but what about jobs? in a key speech thursday, speaker john boehner drew the line. tax reform, yes. new taxes, no. >> i hope the president will meet this standard when he puts forth his recommendations for the joint committee next week. >> reporter: those recommendations which the president promises to deliver on monday we are told will not include changes to social security as the white house had suggested over the summer. veronica? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. after last night's rare show of bipartisanship, during an exclusive interview, former president jimmy carter told rachel why he thinks getting lawmakers to compromise now is even harder than it was when he was in the white house. >> i experienced a little bit of what president obama experiences every day, that is am almost total reluctance on the part of any republican in the house or

senate to give him any support that would bring credit to his administration. so he has a difficult, almost insurmountable problem in dealing with the economy. so it's totally different. i think the whole episode that we've just described in washington, the environment, is mirrored in the country. the country was not polarized when i was in the white house, or when i ran for office either. and that's been brought about by the unlimited infusion of enormous amounts of money into the political process. not only during the campaign itself but after the campaign's over, the lobbyists have unlimited funds to pay, you might say, for votes in the house and senate which makes it possible for the groups that are special interests to prevail over the interests of the general public. >> lean forward with rachel's unique take on politics. that's "the rachel maddow show"

only on msnbc, the place for politics. there was some high in the sky drama overnight when mission control was unable to get in touch with a russian soyuz capsule as it returned to earth. fortunately ground crews eventually got through and the spacecraft carrying an astronaut and two cosmonauts safely landed in kazakhstan. their replacements were due to arrive at the international space station at the end of the month, but that flight has been delayed until november after an unmanned russian cargo ship crashed. with the schulhuttle progra retired, nasa is relying on the orbiting outpost. less than two hours before a texas inmate was to be executed for the killings of two people, the supreme court halted his lethal injection. duane buck's attorneys do not dispute his guilt in the 1995 shootings but argue he was unfairly sentenced because at his trial, a psychologist testified black men are more likely to commit violence. the justices say they will

review the case. all right. here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. in southern california, a woman was killed by a falling tree as she waited at a stoplight. the 50 to 70-foot tree came crashing down, trapping the victim inside. rescue crews made contact with the victim less than five minutes after the accident but couldn't provide emergency treatment before she lost consciousness and died. a brush fire in washington led to a deadly multicar pileup on interstate 90. smoke from the blaze is suspected of producing poor visibility which caused a chain reaction of collisions on the eastbound lanes of the freeway. in all, ten vehicles were involved in the smashup with one person dying and several suffering injuries. a restaurant in chicago attempted to break a record involving one of the city's signature dishes. a 45-foot bratwurst was cooked up as part of a kickoff festivity for the annual oktoberfest event.

bites of the record-breaking attempt were later sold for charity. finally, one florida man is showing off his unique 135-year-old family heirloom. since 1876, ryan boyle's family has passed down a pickle from generation to generation. he says it's a great conversation piece and one that his family would definitely get into a pickle over protecting. ba dum bum. now we turn to rafael miranda with the forecast. did you like that one? would get into a pickle. >> that was cute. the pickle not so cute, though. the color was a little funny there. it was kind of a gray color. >> the whole thing was a little funny. why would you keep a pickle for 15 years? >> will they ever eat it? >> hopefully not. >> i'm with you. much cooler outside today especially in the northeast getting a strong reaction as folks are waking up to temperatures in the 50s, even some 40s. and we've some 30s in the

midwest, looking much more like a typical fall morning out there. 49 degrees in chicago. waking up to 51 in new york city. and this is after temperatures were in the 80s and 70s earlier this week. 77 in miami. cool weather extends across the midwest. 69 in dallas. looking at 75 in san antonio. here's a closer look at some of those temperatures in the northeast. it's chilly in hartford. a bit breezy. 43 degrees there. time to break out the sweaters and jackets as you head to work and school. 51 in philadelphia. 51 again in the big apple. 52 in boston. how temperatures have changed over the past 24 hours, we're looking at temps anywhere up to 15 to 25 degrees cooler than they were yesterday at this time. so certainly going to feel that change as you head out the door later on today. now, this cool weather will stick around over the next several days. take a look at the new york city extended forecast. temperatures flirting with 70 by sunday. a great weekend for anything outdoors, but it will be cool with overnight lows in the 50s throughout the long run. here's a look at the national

picture. some rain moving through the midwest. light scattered showers. well needed rain in texas. here's a closer look at iowa. rain from i-80 towards des moines. mostly light spotty showers toward davenport. could see a pop-up shower in chicago later on this afternoon. here's a look at texas. heavy rain pushing lieu lubbock. storms around wichita falls as well. oklahoma city, light showers there. sunshine across the northeast. out west looking good. 72 in l.a. 96 in phoenix. we could see a few storms in kansas city. mostly cloudy with low 60s in chicago. veronica? >> thank you so much for that. gold skyrockets, netflix flubs and anger over angry birds? your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the wild card race heats up. a home run worth a half million bucks. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are the top stories. the army corps of engineers' $150 million for repairs from flooding this year falls far short of what's needed. the corps estimates that cost will be $2 billion, not including devastation from hurricane irene or tropical storm lee. libya's interim government says they want to search gadhafi's strongholds. they first resistance from gadhafi's loyalists. his whereabouts are still a mystery. the obama administration has added belize and elsal va door as a major drug producing country. a judge is ordering casey anthony to pay almost $100,000 to cover some of the costs of her child's disappearance. she was acquitted of killing her daughter but was found guilty of lying to investigators telling them her daughter had been

kidnapped by a nanny. nasa has announced the discovery of a planet causing a double sunset. astronomers are calling it tattooine after "star wars." it's about 200 light years away. here's your first look at wall street. the dow opens at 11,433 after jumping 186 points yesterday. the s&p rose 20 points. the nasdaq gained 34. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was up 195 points while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 273. well, it's been all europe all the time on wall street l e lately. and this week after months of losses, that focus is paying off. yesterday investors rallied around a joint move including europe's central bank and the u.s. federal reserve to make it easier for eurozone nations to borrow dollars to help greece and italy.

today timothy geithner meets with finance ministers in poland. renewed optimism sent gold spiraling upward 2.5% yesterday. on the street, financials led markets higher with investors overlooking a jump in weekly jobless claims, hotter than expected inflation data, and weak mid-atlantic manufacturing. elsewhere, morgan stanley rose 7% on news chairman john mack will retire at the end of the year. swiss bank, ubs, plunged 10% after news that a rogue trader racked up as much as $2 billion of losses in unauthorized trades. a 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of fraud. after the bell, dismal quarterly earnings battered shares of research in motion. r.i.m. is down 50% for the year. netflix tumbled nearly 19% after predicting its summer price hike will cost it a total of 1 million customers. the irs raked in $500

million from 12,000 tax cheats who came clean under its recent amnesty program. and finally, the free ride could be over for owners of a new theme park in china that launched a live-action angry birds attraction. it turns out they failed to license the ride with the game's creators. oops. in health news now, crediting lower smoking rates, health officials say the western states are leading the decline in new lung cancer cases with texas and california accounting for much of the improvement particularly in women. nationally lung cancer rates among women decreased 2% from 2006 to 2008 but dropped 4% in the west. for more information on this and other health stories, you can always head to the web. check out the health page online at msnbc.com. lsu rolls. the red sox wilt. and home improvement courtesy of josh hamilton. plus, a pen on the loose

causes havoc in colorado. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. exclusive to the military. and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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welcome back it "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. in sports, first knocked out of first by the dreaded yankees, now the red sox are trying to fight off the tampa bay rays for the american league wild card. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. three weeks ago the red sox in first place.

now they might not even make the playoffs. tampa could earn a share of the wild card. b.j. upton broke his bat. the ball and bat go between the shortstop's legs. in came a run. the season just keeps getting better for the phils. a day after clinching a playoff spot, they delighted their fans with a walkoff over the marlins. ryan howard with the honors. phillies can do no wrong. the cubs and reds played a four-hour game. and that was long enough for jay bruce. reds won it 8-6 in 11. the giants' pablo sandoval needed a triple for the cycle. he weighs 240 pounds so that's no easy task. hit went off the wall in the sixth. and watch him rumble around the bases like a mack truck rolling downhill. he slid into third and the big man did it. a cycle in colorado. the giants won it, 8-5. college football, number three lsu and 25th ranked mississippi state. tigers pull away in the fourth.

lee to randall. they went on to win it, 19-6. finally back to baseball. josh hamilton has hit a lot of homers for the rangers, but wednesday he hit a homer for everyone in texas. >> i'm in floors and countertops through the month of september and get them for free if josh hamilton hits a grand slam. what a deal. how could you go wrong? >> dad, are you crazy? >> yep, as we showed you yesterday, hamilton belted a grand slam against the indians meaning customers who purchased flooring and countertops this month will get a full refund. the promotion will cost the company about $500,000. fortunately, they had insurance. so if you live in texas, it's time to carpet everything. and i mean everything in your house. that's your first look at sports. have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. now for another quick look at the weather, here's meteorologist rafael miranda with the forecast. >> many folks having to get that jacket out for the first time this morning across the

northeast. the chill is there with temperatures in the 40s and 50s. but later on today, it's going to be beautiful in new york city. lots of sunshine. 67 degrees. a picture-perfect afternoon today. 73 in atlanta. watching out for a few spotty storms in kansas city, maybe chicago later on this afternoon. temperatures there also quite cool in the low 60s. 95 if you want the heat you'll find it in san antonio. also miami, it's going to be a hot one with some sunshine. out west looking nice and quiet for los angeles. temperatures there in the 70s. making plans for the weekend? expecting not a whole lot of change saturday. the pattern stays the same. good news in the northeast with temperatures in the upper 60s and dry conditions there. a couple of showers possible and storms in kansas city. also orlando. 93 in san antonio. still quiet in the west coast. very hot in phoenix. close to 100 degrees there with some sunshine. for sunday we keep it nice and quiet in new york city, boston and washington. great weekend ahead. temperatures beginning to moderate back to the low 70s there. watching out for rain in the midwest on sunday. chicago, minneapolis, temperatures in the 70s.

back up to the 90s in dallas. and again, still keeping it quiet from san francisco to los angeles. mid-90s with sunshine. again, the heat will be in phoenix. if you're missing it, that's where you've got to go to find it. >> so it looks like phoenix is the spot, then. sounds good. an old book will a new cover, will it clean up the weekend at the box office? plus brad pitt grabs headlines with a slap on his former marriage to jennifer aniston. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. is almost empty. i'm on it, boss. new pony ? sorry ! we are open for business. let's reroute greg to fresno. growing businesses use machine-to-machine technology from verizon wireless. susie ! the vending machine... already filled. cool bike. because the business with the best technology rules.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. last night on "late night with

jimmy fallon," jimmy talked politics around the dinner table. >> had week michele bachmann and cindy mccain had dinner together at a mexican restaurant in arizona. it wasn't good. first they sent their entree back to the kitchen. then they sent the kitchen staff back to guadalajara. it was just completely wrong. listen to this. on tuesday michelle obama honored the creator of the computer fund for his life's work. she also honored the owner of courier new for making my essays look two to three pages longer. thanks, courier news. there's a book coming out that says sarah palin had a one-night stand with former nba star glen rice. when asked how it was hooking up with one of the all-time great shooters, rice said, not bad. >> ba dum bum. tonight jimmy welcomes kate bosworth, actor paul leslie from

"the vampire diaries" and comedian nick turner. that is "late night" weeknights on your local nbc station. all right. it is time now for your first look at entertainment news. at this weekend's box office, an old favorite makes a comeback as the top film favorite. the animated classic "the lion king" reappears, but this time in 3d. if nostalgic young parents bring the kids, it should make $15 million or more. experts see last weekend's champ "contagion" threatening for number one earning close to $15 million. "drive" will be a true test with its "r" ratings keeping younger viewers out, most experts see it earning about $10 million. rated "r" experts don't see the revenge thriller remake "straw dogs" taking in more than $10 million. and sarah jessica parker's "i don't know how she does it" needs a big female audience.

few younger viewers and even fewer men will see it out of the running. all right. in other news, in an interview in sunday's "parade" brad pitt" talks about his marriage to jennifer aniston when he, quote, wasn't living an interesting life. why would you say that? >> i don't know. i mean, so many years later now, you have to bring that up? >> yeah. i mean, how uninteresting could it be? you've got two mega movie stars living together. >> yeah, i'm sure it was very boring. >> i'm sure it was. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned because "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. have a great weekend. speaker john boehner delivering a stern rebuke of the president and the jobs bill continuing the republican mantra of no new taxes. and he says it's like the two parties are from separate planets. the question is, will the final bill even have enough to make a difference in this nation's

unemployment rate? and the republican front-runners are back at it. mitt romney, rick perry, they are taking shots at one another again on the campaign trail. as romney gets an offhanded endorsement from probably the last person he would want in his corner, former president jimmy carter. the question is, what's worse for republican candidacy getting a nod from a democratic one-term president or calling social security a ponzi scheme? and once again, the red sox show us exactly why this part of september is the worst time of the year to be in boston, fans. sorry, mike, that one's for you. the rays silencing the home crowd at fenway. inching closer to a wild card upset. the question is, why do boston fans put themselves through this every year? "way too early" for this. good morning to you. i'm peter alexander in today for my friend, willie geist. this is "way too early," the show that is proudly rooting for your northwestern wildcats at my