iranian custody. and swept away. swollen waters topple a floating restaurant in china. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with a high-profile execution. after an intense wait in georgia, inmate troy davis was put to death last night despite protests from around the world. until the end, davis maintained his innocence, telling the family of the police officer he was convicted of killing what happened was not his fault. kurt gregory report. >> reporter: after an emotional 11th hour appeal to the highest court in the land, troy davis was executed in georgia. >> the court ordered the execution of troy anthony davis

has been carried out. >> reporter: according to witnesses, davis' last words were a denial of responsibility for the crime he was convicted of. >> said that he was not personally responsible for what happened that night, that he did not have a gun. he said to the family that he was sorry for their loss but also said that he did not take their son, father, brother. >> reporter: a case that has galvanized communities far beyond the prison gates in georgia. from coast to coast, groups rallied. their message -- spare davis' life. troy davis was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of savannah police officer mark mcphail after witnesses testified he shot mcphail. seven of the nine witnesses later recanted their testimony, and no dna evidence links him to the crime. >> it's over. it sounds terrible, but i can finally close this book and

hopefully get some peace. >> reporter: after 22 years, officer mac phail's family maintained that he was innocent. last night, writer at large frank rich talk good the impact he believes the death penalty has on the country. it was all in reaction to a letter written by a group of retired prison officials who asked the state of georgia not to execute troy davis. >> it's incredibly moving and powerful because these are people who actually execute the machinery of death, and this idea that whatever the circumstances or whatever seems somehow the righteous sense of justice, the people who do this are not going to be marred or hurt by it or haunted by it. it's preposterous because they're human beings, too. i would say extend that to the entire country. i think this weighs on the

conscience of the country. even though some people likely dismiss it or laugh it away or whatever, i think what those people are saying is they're speaking to their fellow citizens saying this is on america's soul, too. there's something wrong with a society that take life. and for a -- for a country where everyone is constantly talking about the culture of life, many of the people on the right who like -- who are in favor of the death penalty are very, as they say, pro-life. it's completely inconsistent and hypocritical and itself expresses how troubled i think people. >> each night rachel maddow takes on the biggest stories of the day with in-depth analysis and gets from all sides of the issue. don't miss "the rachel maddow show," weeknights at 9:00 eastern on msnbc, the place for politics. after spending more than two years locked up in iran, hikers shane bauer and joshua fattal are finally free.

yesterday they were released from prison and into the arms of loved ones. nbc news tehran's bureau chief has more from iran. >> reporter: after over 780 days in tehran's notorious prison, shane bauer and joshua fattal finally get to taste freedom. during fast-moving events, their iranian lawyer was summoned to the judiciary to come and finalize their $1 million bail arrangements. once that had been done, swiss delegates rushed to the prison to see how long it would take to get them out. the swiss ambassador who deals with american interests in iran because there is no u.s. embassy here came out and delivered the good news that shane bauer and joshua fattal, after two years of hope and heartbreak for themselves and their families, were on their way out of iran. >> two years in prison is too long. and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in america and iran. >> reporter: what this ordeal

and this case has highlighted, though, are deep rifts among iran's ruling elite, something president ahmadinejad wanted to avoid before addressing the u.n. general assembly this week. nbc news, tehran. back here at home, the diplomatic standoff continues at the annual meeting of the united nations general assembly. palestinian president mahmoud abbas remains determined to take his bid for statehood to the u.n. despite pressure from the u.s. for abbas to instead resume peace talks with israel. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. president obama addressed this directly in his speech before the u.n. general assembly yesterday. he said that peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the united nations. he has been pushing for the two sides to restart negotiations and in fact the security council is expected to consider the request for full membership possibly tomorrow.

president obama met with both abbas yesterday and israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. with netanyahu he reiterated that the u.s. is committed to israel's security. it's unbreakable, as the president put it. now, what will they do on friday? they may postpone this decision, or french president nicolas sarkozy suggested upgrading the palestinian status from observer to nonmember. they would not be able to vote, but it would be an upgrade. setting a deadline of a year to restart and complete negotiations and get an agreement between israel and the palestinians. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington. thank you. here's your first look at news going on around america today. police say a michigan attorney and his two sons are very lucky to be alive after a bomb exploded in their car tuesday evening. the three managed to escape the vehicle before it was engulfed in flames. a $10,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to an arrest in the

explosion. the man was reportedly released from the hospital. his 11 and 13-year-old sons were last listed in critical condition. in new jersey, newly released surveillance video shows an suv smashing into a jewelry store back in july. a quick-thinking customer pulled the driver's foot off the gas, turned off the ignition, and wrapped the injured driver's hand in a tourniquet. no one was seriously injured. officials are warning colorado ans to lock up trash due to dumpster-diving bears. a drought in the southeastern part of the state has hungry animals on a desperate search for food right before hibernation. stocking up. now for a look at national weather, we turn to wtvj meteorologist ryan phillips. he has the forecast. good morning. >> i like the way that they look at the camera and say, who, me,

in your trash? >> you want me? huh? >> they eat a lot, too, like 2,000 calories. -- 20,000 calories. that's a lot of trash. in the northeast, we have a wet weather pattern. today the last day of summer. we're fighting off spring rains. looking for a fall forecast. well, got to go to the northern plains. we'll look at that in a moment. here's the satellite and radar review for the last 12 hours across the mid-atlantic and northeast. clouds on the increase. through the day, showers on the increase. the showers that we've had already moving across northeastern pennsylvania, into eastern new york and slowly into western massachusetts. all very light in nature. but these areas to the south, philadelphia, d.c., down into virginia, will fill in with more rain as the day goes on. 69 this morning in new york. philadelphia at 70. 69 in washington, d.c. 67 at hartford. temperatures from five to ten, maybe 12 degrees warmer this morning than we were this time yesterday morning. up into the mid 70s for albany and hartford. new york, afternoon showers. could see a rumble of thunder

toward philadelphia. highs at 79. washington, d.c., 78, showers and thunderstorms. pittsburgh and buffalo, a chance to dry out with mostly cloudy skies. it's a wet forecast for philadelphia. 79 today. 76 tomorrow. flood watch in effect for one to three inch there. and more rain finally spreading into the southern plains, into oklahoma and texas, where they certainly need more rain in the drought-stricken areas there. it's on the way. busy weather pattern for the eastern half of the u.s. the western half underneath high pressure, cool morning in minneapolis. 47 there. 55 in chicago. 69 in atlanta. for today, eastern 1/3 of the u.s., wet, indeed. some locally heavy rains. atlanta, thunderstorms and 83. orlando, same, 92. welcome rain in dallas, cooler, 80 there. 70 in kansas city. then for tomorrow, lots of sunshine, fall-like temperatures in the heart of the nation. that's your first look at your forecast. lynn? >> thank you very much. the fed announces stimulus. critics boo loudly. and business as usual when it comes to america's richest. your first look at this

morning's business headlines is straight ahead. >> reporter: coming up, the braves stumble. the cardinals gain ground. how did the yankees help the red sox by clinching the division? you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ hayden ] what's the best way to hide your breakouts? a dab of concealer here... a flurry of powder there. what if there was a makeup that didn't just hide your breakouts... but actually made them go away. neutrogena skin clearing makeup. it has our proven blemish fighting formula

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top stories making news. house republican leaders suffered the surprise defeat of a bill to keep the government running past next week. one they confidently predicted would pass. democrats objected to funding cuts, while tea party freshmen thought there weren't enough. georgia executed troy davis yesterday. texas put to death lawrence russell brewer for the notorious 1998 dragging death of a black man. the white supremacist gang member gave no last words. in china, rescuers were called in to action after a restaurant boat that broke free collided with another vessel and

capsized. 11 people were tossed into the water. fortunately, they were all saved. here's a first look at how wall street kicks off the day. the dow opens at 11,124 after sinking 223 yesterday. the s&p down 35, the nasdaq skidded 52. in overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei tumbled 180 points, the hang seng in hong kong plummeted 912. the fed is doing the twist so to speak. wall street and its audience is throwing tomatoes. the federal reserve's long-awaited plan to kick-start the economy already nicknamed operation twist after a similar move in 1961 involves the central bank selling $400 billion from its holdings of short-term government debt. in turn the fed will buy long-term debt, treasury notes and bonds with maturities of stockton 30 years. the goal, stimulate the economy by driving down long-term

interest rates. well, reviews have already been scathing. the dow tumbled with traders disappointed by the investment shuffle rather than a third direct injection of cash into the economy or so-called qe3. economists doubt it will even help, and even within the fed, three of ten members voting dissented. the fed also forecasts gloom saying the economy faces significant downside risks, including lengthy struggles with slow growth, high unemployment, and slumping housing. insurers who depend on investments to cover costs were hit hard. lincoln national tumbled 8%. investors seeking safe havens sent the ten-year treasury yield to a new record low. banks led decliners after moody's cut the debt ratings of bank of america, wells fargo, and citigroup on fear the government may balk at any future bailouts. hewlett-packard jumped on rumors that the company may oust its current head for a former

ebay ceo, end meg whitman. and bill gates tops the list of the richest americans for the 18th year in a row with $59 billion. number two, we could predict that. oracle of omaha, warren buffett, with $39 billion. coming up, the latest on baseball's red-hot, down to the wire pennant races including the yankees moving up their division title while at the same time helping their archrival. sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. does it matter? you'd do that for me? really? yeah, i'd like that. who are you talking to? uh, it's jake from state farm. sounds like a really good deal. jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. what are you wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm.

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. in sports, despite aging arms and a long line of injured in the trainers' room, once again the new york yankee are playoff bound. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> reporter: good morning, with all eyes on the a.l. wild card race the yankees quietly won the division yesterday. doubleheader in the bronx. capping off the four run eighth with the rbi double. in the ninth, rivera in to close it out. evan longoria a shot deep to center but not deep enough. the yanks clinched the playoff spot. headed back to the post season for the 16th time, beating the reds 4-2. better than a nightcap they won the division, taking it in the eighth. jorge pasada's not had a good year, but this has to feel good. rbi single and new york up 4-2.

unavailable in the ninth, soriano got the save. striking out matt joyce, there you go. new york takes the als crown with the 4-2 win. they're in a playoff spot in one game and a division in the next. all in a day's work for the yankees. nothing's been going right for the red sox. tied at four with the orioles, singling up the middle to score two. they later win it 6-4. sbauft reeling but tampa not much better. the sox lead the wild card by 2 1/2. now throw the angels into the mix. the angels have been winning. vernon wells returned to his old stomping grounds to smash the two-run homer. angels over toronto, 7-2. they're 2 1/2 back. wild card getting interested in the n.l. at one point the braves had the 10 1/2-game lead. now it's at 1 1/2. hayes with the solo shot, shut out. and the cardinals won over the mets. getting it done, the go ahead three-run homer. they rallied to win it 6-5.

cardinals crolosing in on the braves with a week left in the season. that's sports. for another quick look at the weather, here's meteorologist ryan phillips with the forecast. i haven't gotten over the fact that it's the last day of summer. >> big boo there. >> yeah, it is. debbie downer here. sorry. >> there's fall-like temperatures settling in. we have light rain already on the move across eastern new york move information to western massachusetts. the rain's getting started, unfortunately, for the next few days. it's a wet pattern in the mid-atlantic and the northeast today. umbrella weather from albany to new york to philadelphia. even d.c. some afternoon thunderstorms possible. 78 there. got two systems at play. one across the eastern provinces of canada, dropping a cold front through the heart of the nation. a lot of tropical moisture. that's why we could see locally heavy rains across the eastern seaboard for the next few days. 70 in new york this morning. 70 in washington. but then when we move into the northern plains, minneapolis at 47 for the last day of summer how about that? 55 in chicago.

fall wasting no time establishing itself in chicago the next few days. fighting off cloud cover today and tomorrow. highs in the lower 60s through the weekend. a chance of some showers, highs still to the lower 1w6. the rest -- lower 60s. the rest of the nation enjoying sunshine in kansas city, 70. only 55 in minneapolis. a wet weather pattern today and tomorrow across the eastern seaboard here. again, could see locally heavy rains from washington all the way up to boston. that's your forecast. lynn, back to you. >> all right. thank you very much. apparently wolverine doesn't know his own strength. plus, why we won't be seeing much of the duchess of cambridge for the next several months. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. ♪ ♪ ♪ when the things that you need ♪ ♪ come at just the right speed, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ medicine that can't wait legal briefs there by eight, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ ♪ freight for you, box for me box that keeps you healthy, ♪

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. last night on "late night with jimmy fallon," jimmy highlighted yet another reason to just say no to smoking. >> a new study found that quitting smoking can improve your memory. which explains why president obama's finally starting to remember those campaign promises he made. good ones. [ crowd noise ] >> good ones in there. [ applause ] >> i liked them. i don't know if you saw this. yesterday, president obama put his hand up and accidently blocked a u.n. member's face during a group photo. look at this. this is a real photo. why is he doing that? why is he doing that? if you think that's bad, check out what biden was doing. look at that -- totally not -- [ applause ] >> not paying attention.

>> tonight jimmy welcomes actress julianna margulies from "the good wife," comedian wyatt senack, and a musical act. that's 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. in entertainment news, attention all kate middleton fans, you're not going to be seeing much of her for the next year. she's basically in princess boot camp. her husband, prince william, is said to be insistent that kate is properly prepared. this, of course, after his mother was infamously unhappy with her certain royal life. while she learn about government, national institutions, and dealing with the media, her appearances will be limited. wikileaker julian assange is fuming that a publisher is releasing a draft of his autobiography today without his

approval. promoting his upcoming film at a wrestling event, hugh jackman took what was supposed to be a playful poke at wrestler dofl ziegler. well, it wasn't so playful. the wrestler tweets, "jackman broke his jaw." i don't know what's more surprising. that jackman was at a wwe event or that he successfully broke a jaw. no offense, hugh jackman. that's impressive. >> he went for it. he's tough and showed it. >> from musical theater to wrestling and knocking out a wrestler. you should see the video, it's pretty funny. i'm lynn berry, and this is "first look" on msnbc. don't go anywhere, willie gei"w early with willie geist" starts right now. death. tonight's execution in georgia and why so many people have been fearing an innocent man being put to death. for the past few days and into today, all those who could have

stopped the execution did not. now tonight his lawyers have appealed to the u.s. supreme court. >> 7:00 p.m. on the east coast now, and troy davis, a convicted killer, is about to be put to death down in georgia. let's go to pete williams, nbc's justice correspondent. pete? chris, we are waiting for the u.s. supreme court to say whether or not it's going to grant a stay of execution. the request came just a little over an hour ago from the lawyers for troy davis. and the court hasn't yet responded. there's no time limit by which it must respond. however, it does appear from what we're hearing from people in georgia that the state is delaying the execution. >> this word now, reuters is reporting that the supreme court has denied a stay of execution. for more, let's go to pete williams, nbc news, justice correspondent. >> it's a brief order from the court. i will read it in its entirety, it says, "the application for stay of ex