pole position -- our new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll reveals a new gop front-runner. outage outrage -- blackberry users around the world are cut off as the company's whole system crashes. and mountain majesty -- a tiny himalayan nation hosts a fairy tale royal wedding. those stories and more straight ahead, this is "first look" on msnbc. and we begin this morning with stealing the lead -- a new nbc news/"wall street journal"

poll indicates how volatile the republican race for the white house has become. the data shows there's a new front-runner among the presidential hopefuls -- unsettling news for some in the republican party. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington on this. >> good morning. this poll shows that while mitt romney remains the most electable candidate against president obama, it's herman cain that most republican voters would prefer if that election were held today. take a look at the numbers, herman cain stands at 27%, ahead of romney's 23. rick perry has slipped 20 points since the end of august to third place. so what has boosted cain in popularity? it looks like he is most popular with members of the tea party and those who identify themselves as very conservative. the polls show that people seem to like him because he is a businessman, not a politician.

cain says people are starting to take his flat tax plan seriously. president obama's jobs plan gets two-thirds support from people who say not only should we put the jobs plan into place, but also tax the wealthy. lynn? >> thanks so much. and as you heard tracie mention, a new poll shows that most americans support the president's jobs bill. last night al sharpton asked senator ben cardin, a democrat on the budget committee why he thinks the democrats are opposed? >> we had a majority of the senate vote for the jobs bill this week. at least to proceed with it, so we could at least take up jobs. the republicans used a filibuster to block it. so it's not only that they're voting no, they're using procedure to block the senate from considering jobs legislation. the american people want us to solve problems. they want the government to work. and the republicans are saying no, no, no, we don't want to see

anything done in this congress. i think they're putting their own partisan politics ahead of the national interests in this regard. we test patly need more jobs, we need more jobs for our economy to grow. we need more jobs in order to get our budget into better balance. we need jobs in this country. that should be our focus. for the republicans to say, we shouldn't even bring it to the floor -- it defies logic, it defies where the american people want us to be. i don't really understand their strategy, but i think part of it is they don't want to see president obama's plan move forward. >> don't miss politics nation, weekdays at 6:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. well a routine trip to the hair salon turned horribly tragic for several people yesterday in a quiet town in southern california. in seal beach, a gunman opened fire, killing eight people. one person was critically

wounded. authorities say the alleged shooter was arrested without incident about half a mile away and admitted to having multiple weapons with him. friends of the salon owners say the gunman was the ex-husband of a stylist working there. and neighbors of the suspect say he was in a custody battle over his young son. all right. well maybe a lot of you noticed all those people staring down at their smartphones with the frustrated look for the past day or so? there's a good reason to that. you may have experienced it yourself, it was because of a massive blackberry outage that hit devices here and arld the world. >> reporter: from coast to coast, a day of aggravation and frustration for blackberry users, from air travelers in l.a. >> phone calls work, text messages work, but no emails. >> i could have used it for a couple of hours, wasn't too happy with the service. >> if you can't count on it, i need a business tool that i can

count on. >> to the halls of congress and a mom in atlanta who missed a kids activity. >> i don't have time to go home and check my email. >> blackberry's most serious disruption in years began overseas on monday when a router switch failed and a back-up system crashed. >> i've had no communicational emails for two days. >> the company insists it wasn't hacked and the problem is fixed, but the data traffic jam is massive. >> the things that they missed is making the system go down in bits and pieces as well and apparently that's the reason why it spread to the united states last night. >> 70 million customers worldwide rely on blackberry's record of reliability from executives to families, emergency workers to the white house press corps, even president obama. but in the last year, the company's stock has fallen 65%. >> wall street doesn't believe in the growth story here. this don't believe that the management of r.i.m. has a handle on the future and will

continue to grow. >> as blackberry struggles to resume normal operations, it's under enormous pressure to prove it hasn't lost its touch. tom costello, nbc news, washington. now here's your "first look" at other news going on around america today. a 70-year-old woman could go to prison for five years for attacking a teen on a florida school bus. footage of the attack captured on camera last june shows the former school bus attendant attacking and biting the boy after separating him from another child. the woman says the 14-year-old has threatened her in the past and is claiming self-defense. well the owner of a myrtle beach restaurant drew a lot of backlash from his community after posting this controversial sign. you can see it reads, if you can't read this, go back to your crappy country. well the owner, who is known for putting up humorous signs realized he offended people and he quickly changed it. a strip club on wheels has made its last run in detroit.

authorities impounded the party bus known as the booty lounge. after observing illegal activity claiming various city ordinances were violated during the detroit lions "monday night football" game. and it's beginning to look a lot like christmas in new york city, with less than a month away from their first show the rockettes allowed the media to peek in on their rehearsal for the annual raid i didn't city christmas spectacular, the dance troupe has performed in the show since 1943. now we turn to msnbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> i no it is cable but we go from r-rated to g-rated, to please, bill, don't say anything that will get us fired. >> just keep moving folks, nothing to see here? >> how's the weather. >> the booty bus. >> good morning, everyone. we had showers and thunderstorms yesterday.

we're starting to clear it out. now we got the wet weather heading up towards chicago. in the northeast we've got a soaking from providence to hartford to boston. it looks like we'll get more wet weather this afternoon through the southeast, so the active weather continue, we'll clear it out this weekend. but for today into friday it will be a slow process and still kind of cloudy, cool and a little bit dreary. we have three storms here in the east. none of them are huge big storms all by itself. that's why we're not looking at any damaging weather or anything dangerous. the worst of it this morning, definitely in southern new england. connecticut is covered in rain, so a slow commute on 95. as you go north up here, boston is now looking at some light rain moving in. it's not heavy, it's pretty light. as we go through northern new england, we're picking up the rain from albany to northway, heading into burlington, vermont, this is when the leaves are at their peak. with the wet leaves on the

ground, the roads could be slick in spots. further south, it's kind of broken up a little bit. don't expect a lot of rain early around d.c., philly, baltimore, new york. but later this afternoon you'll have a chance for showers and storms. chicago, you can notice the plume of rain omg up from the south. it looks like a cool and dreary day for you. maybe even a few thunderstorms early this morning. rotating through mississippi, greenville is one of those areas we could be watching the storms coming your way. the forecast, a lot of us do need to bring the umbrella, it's not going to pour all day long. but at times you will need it. and lynn, as promised, the weekend does look a lot better. >> also coming up, stocks march higher, so does the price of peanut butter. and in auction involving saddam hussein? you're going to have to stick around and hear about it. your "first look" at business is straight ahead. the cardinals take the lead and the defining moment that changed the alcs, you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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could've had a v8. and people. and the planes can seem the same. so, it comes down to the people. because: bad weather, the price of oil those are every airline's reality. and solutions will not come from 500 tons of metal and a paintjob. they'll come from people. delta people. who made us the biggest airline in the world. and then decided that wasn't enough. delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it.

welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. here's some top stories this morning. congress has overwhelmingly approved long-awaited free trade agreements with south korea, colombia and panama. the obama administration says the three pacts could boost exports by $13 billion and support tens of thousands of american jobs. in detroit, a stunning end to the trial of the so-called underwear bomber. accused of trying to bring down a detroit-bound airliner in 2009. he changed his plea to guilty on all eight charges, including conspiracy to commit terrorism and attempted murder. he faces a likely life sentence. conflicting reports on whether libyan revolution fighters have captured one of moammar gadhafi's sons. rumors of the arrest ignited street celebrations across libya. a spokesman for the national

transitional council has backed off earlier reports of the capture. saying there's been no confirmation yet. and the tiny himalayan nation of bhutan celebrated a royal wedding thursday. as the country's beloved 31-year-old king married a 21-year-old commoner and student. and now here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,518, after gaining 102 points yesterday. the s&p was up 11 points and the nasdaq added 21. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo, the nikkei rose 84 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng jumped 428. more battle-weary investors returned to stocks wednesday as europe took further steps to shore up its financial rescue funds. traders were jumping on the bandwagon of what they hope will be a lasty r ing rally. the s&p 500 is enjoyed its

largest seven-day rally since 2009. slovakia is easing global recession fears, ratifies fund. drove banks to lead higher in stocks and citibank gained 5%. a clean sign stocks are regaining traction, treasury prices fell. alcoa fell a day after kick being off the ceasing with disappointsing reports. but pepsi jumped 2% off its outlook on better-than-expected earnings. liz claiborne rocketed 34% on plans to sell its namesake brand hoping to reverse years of losses. minutes released from the latest fed meeting showed central bankers considered another round of big bond purchases with at least two members still lobbying for so-called qe3. in a sad time or sign of the times, harrisburg, pennsylvania's debt-laden capital city has filed for

bankruptcy. they did this wednesday. and moms, be prepared to shell out more for peanut butter soon. another hot, dry summer in key producing states has shrunk the u.s. peanut crop this year. and here you go -- the bronze buttocks from the statue of the saddam hussein toppled in baghdad after the u.s.-led invasion will be auctioned off in england. the former english soldier who grabbed it at the time, hopes saddam's rear end will sell for as much as $15,000. just bizarre there, don't know what to tell. coming up, the cardinals peck away at milwaukee, hockey's flyers remain undefeated and the columbus blue jackets can't catch a break. and the play at the plate last night. this one was make or break for both teams in the alcs. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. if shopping for insurance were like shopping for diapers,

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. and in sports, including the preseason, after roughly 200 games, the texas rangers stand just one win away from baseball's world series. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning, the rangers took a commanding lead in the alcs with another extra-innings win. we go to game four, it began after a two-hour rain delay. in the seventh, tigers down a run when brandon inge had a run to left. too iing the game 3-3. in the eighth, this play changed

the game. devlin young with a sac fly to right. nelson cruz came up throwing and cabrera was out by a mile. mike napoli gave the rangers the lead in the 11th bloop single scored josh hamilton, texas up 4-3. nelson cruz becomes the first player in history to hit a pair of extra-inning homers in the same series. rangers can close things out tonight. to the nl, the cards wasted no time against the brewers, pus pujols with an rbi ground rule double. cards scored four in the first inning. milwaukee chipped away at the lead. mark catcy not known for his power, but he put a charge in that. brewers down 4-3. cards took a 2-1 series lead with a 4-3 win. hockey in philadelphia, the eagles are disappointments, the phillies are done, but at least they have the flyers. they were unbeaten with a 5-4

win over the canucks. if no one shows up to watch a hockey team lose, does it still count in the standings. just under 9,000 turned out to see the columbus blue jackets lose to the avalanche. colorado tied in the in fooinl minute and won it in a shootout. unlike the flyers, the blue jackets are winless after a 4-3 loss, that's your "first look" at sports. let's get another check of your weather, with msnbc meteorologist bill karins. >> umbrella weather once again, many areas, the worst of it if you're just joining us, connecticut, all through massachusetts, rhode island, heading for you in new hampshire and eventually up into maine. it's not a lot of rain, actually. new york to philadelphia, i think you'll have a dry morning commute, down around d.c., the narrow band that's coming up through virginia, it happens to be going through the beltway at this time. i don't think it's going to last all morning long. the general rule of thumb this morning is if you're north of new york city into new england, it will be a rainy morning.

if you're south of there, a few hit-and-miss showers. forecast for today, don't expect a lot of sunshine, the best chance will be in virginia and the chesapeake, that's why your temperatures could get up into the 70s, it will be warmer today than yesterday with a southerly flow and we'll cool it off tomorrow as the next storm comes in. that was yesterday, this is tomorrow's forecast, too. temperatures in the 70s with more thunderstorms around. i've been promising, we're going to get rid of this mess, for a decent weekend, this is new york city's forecast. it's kind of similar for all of new england and the mid-atlantic. kind of rainy through friday, we clear it out for the weekend. although, lynn, it will be windy this weekend in many areas, some locations, the leaves will be flying. note to self. thanks so much. coming up, beyonce is doing baby business and ashton kutcher falls deeper into the doghouse, the suspect behind hacked pictures and info from scarlet

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry, last night on late night with jimmy fallon, jimmy had 0 a guess as to why u.n. goodwill ambassador angelina jolie is back in africa. >> did you see this, angelina jolie apparently made a secret trip to libya, yesterday, which explains her newest kid, moammar gadhafi pitt-jolie. i heard that teenagers are eating gummy bears that have been soaked in vodka for three days. [ cheers and applause ] >> you could dell because the

gummy bear is like dude, don't say anything, i just totally made out with the swedish fish. it was so good! did you guys see this? yesterday president obama had beer with four unemployed construction workers. yeah. he did. and obama asked the guys, what was it like to lose their jobs and they were like, oh, you'll see. tonight, jimmy welcomes cedric, the entertainer, "footloose" actress juliana huff and the moody blues. that's 12:35. it turns out that johnny depp's role in the upcoming "21 jump street" movie may not be just a cameo. he may be resurrecting the role of the undercover high school cop he played in the '80s television series. cast and crew are under strict

orders to keep the details a secret. under the heading of the rich getting richer -- expectant mother beyonce has announced plans for a new line of maternity clothes. of course under her own fashion label. we saw this coming, right? expect more stories about problems between ashton kutcher and demi moore. after "us weekly"'s interview with the 22-year-old woman who claims to have spent the night with cucher on his and moore's sixth wedding anniversary. a no-no. and finally, scarlet johanssen's embarrassing nude photo leak has been solved. the fbi arrested a florida man who allegedly hacked into numerous celebrity phones and distributed photos and information to third parties. not for the money, he says, just because he got the kicks out of it. of course it's not about the money. >> he was the only one. >> just bizarre. >> and ashton, cucher, isn't he

acting a little like the character he's playing now? didn't that happen to the person before him? >> stay tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. herman cain, the man with the 9-9-9 plan leaps out to the front of the pack as rick perry's slide continues and mitt romney holds steady. the question is, what is cain tapping into among republican voters? the white house declares that no options are off the table in response to the alleged iranian plot to assassinate a saudi ambassador inside the united states. the question is, with an iranian used car salesman allegedly running the show, how serious a threat was this, really? and nelson cruz, texas ranger. the rangers and tigers go to extra innings in game four of the alcs with cruz putting the visiting team on his back again. the question is -- are the