the best new thing in the world today but also the bitterest. and sometimes those things are the same thing. same thing. "first look" is up next. war of words. president obama and his presumptive rival mitt romney clash over student loans and taxes. wild ride. a scottish pedestrian holds on for dear life after getting in the way of a us is petted shoplifter. an on-air assault. things turn ugly on live television during a greek political debate. 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 fiscal fever.

a deal on expiring bush era tax cuts is looking increasingly unlikely as the growing divide between democrats and republicans over how to prevent the economy from falling off a so-called fiscal cliff plays out on the campaign trail. nbc's twrasee potts joins us live from washington for more on this. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. washington hasn't done anything yet, but really needs to act on these expiring bush tax cuts. it's expiring at the end of the year. but congress doesn't do anything essentially this means taxes will go up for families and businesses already struggling in a tough economy. he's hopeful we'll see moderate growth this year, but federal reserve chair ben bernanke tells lawmakers if the u.s. is approaching a fiscal cliff, the fed can help but only congress can prevent a free-fall. >> i'd be much more comfortable if, in fact, you know, congress would take some of this burden from us and address those issues. >> that almost looks like what i want. >> reporter: part of that cliff, student loan rates set to double

july 1st if congress doesn't act. >> don't be surprised, you know, two weeks from graduation you look up, and wham, you just got hit upside the head. >> reporter: president obama called congress stubborn, republicans criticized him for courting young voters in las vegas, instead of staying in washington to fix the student loan problem. >> he should be here working with us to ensure that they won't double. >> there is nothing fair about a government that favors political connections over honest competition. >> reporter: meantime, former president bill clinton is apologizing for appearing to side with republicans on extending tax cuts for the rich. he said he thought action was required before the election. >> once i realized that nothing had to be done until the first of the year, i supported -- i support his position. >> reporter: backtracking to support a president who's hammered by an economy that now seems to be taking a turn for the worse. >> tracie potts in washington. thanks so much. last night on the ed show, the

national press secretary for the obama campaign rejected claims by republican candidate mitt romney that president obama has no plan to create jobs and boost the economy. he said it's mitt romney who doesn't have a real plan. >> he's been telling voters he has a 59-point economic plan but it's just filled with warmed-over republican rhetoric and things that we've tried before and haven't spurred job creation. things like $5 trillion tax cuts for the wealthiest. repealing wall street reform and leaving the middle class held hostage to the sorts of risky financial deals that put our entire economy at risk. the president's had this plan to create over 1 million jobs on the table since last fall. it would address specific weaknesses that we saw in last month's jobs report. it would put public sector workers back to work. teachers and classrooms, cops on the street. it's got an infrastructure plan in there that would get construction workers to work so we know what we need to do right now. >> each night veteran talk host ed schulz tackles the issues

that matter most to americans. don't miss "the ed show" right here on msnbc. the place for politics. diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed in syria are failing according to the united nations. u.n. observers themselves were being attacked. this happened yesterday as they tried to reach the site of the latest reported massacre in syria. we're following the story from cairo. >> reporter: lying for the world to see. the victims of what amateur video shows as a massacre in the village of cobare and surrounding areas. among the dead, women and children, even entire families were killed. we reached a human rights activist in syria in contact with eyewitnesses. they blamed the military and government militias. a similar attack occurred three weeks ago in the village of houla. u.n. observers on the ground tried to visit the area of the most recent mass is a care. they came under attack. and were denied entry.

>> the regime sponsored violence that we witnessed yesterday in simply unconscionable. >> reporter: for more than a year the assad regime has suppressed an uprising against his rule. many fear this country is descending into civil war as opposition forces become more militarized and brazen in their attacks against government forces. kofi annan, who brokered a u.n. peace plan aimed at ending the violence, said what many on the ground already know. >> i must be frank and confirm that the plan is not being implemented. >> reporter: complicating diplomatic efforts even more is that the u.n.'s assessment if the conflict in syria drags on, not only will it implode and worsen the situation inside the country but it will explode across the entire region. nbc news, cairo. >> here's your "first look" at some of the other news going on around america today. newly released video from the pittsburgh police show a gunman

nearly killing three people inside a vehicle. one of them a 1-year-old infant. the 19-year-old suspect fired multiple times causing the fleeing victims to crash right into parked vehicles before they could escape. police are still looking for the teen gunman. a tragic turn of events in texas. six children watched their mother die after she was accidentally hit by her daughter with the family car. now the mom had instructed her 12-year-old to pull the vehicle into the driveway of a home they were looking to buy. the daughter mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake and it caused her to drive over her mother and into the house. golf ball size hail and heavy rain combined to turn roads in colorado springs into icy rivers. hazardous conditions not only forced emergency crews to make some rescues, but also created massive cleanup projects for home and business owners. finally, a northern california man is being investigated because he's trying to sell two very cute bear cubs.

now the man claims he was only trying to find a home for the two orphan cubs after he was forced to kill their mother in self-defense. wildlife officials now have custody of the animals. now we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins, he has your weather channel forecast. >> you take custody of him. >> who is in the market to buy bears. i don't really understand that either. >> but if you did had to kill the mom, your thirst thought was take the bears home? >> no. do the weather. >> no good answers. good morning, everyone. we had some amazing pictures coming out of wyoming yesterday. after a season without a lot of tornadoes we had some impressive ones yesterday in areas of colorado and southeastern corner of wyoming. these storm chasers were very close to these twisters, and they were relatively safe because these tornadoes were happening in open fields. and it was relatively small tornadoes, too. but they were very close by. and if not almost right above their heads. so we did have about five homes that were significantly damaged,

in plat county, wyoming. that was the worst of it right in here. these other storms occurred outside of denver an safely out there in the plains. didn't see much other nasty weather. this morning we do have a couple areas of thunderstorms that we have to deal with. in waveland, mississippi, a thunderstorm that's right over the top of you. later today the greater new orleans area will be dodging storms. so be prepared for that for your daily plan. also we're watching storms back toward the houston area. houston itself is okay. but out here by bryant, texas, and huntsville, a lot of heavy rain, thunderstorms overnight and during your afternoon you'll have some storms you'll have to deal with. as far as the forecast goes for today, the worst of it continues to be the pacific northwest. our friends here yesterday had rain, temperatures in the 50s, more rain this morning on i-5 from portland to seattle. so, if you're going to bed or getting ready to start your early morning you're going to have to deal with rain. the middle of the country, also the story is going to be the big warm-up this weekend. get ready for heat, milwaukee, chicago, into the great lakes. all through the st. louis area, you've enjoyed a really

beautiful stretch of weather. now the heat's going to be back on, as temperatures are really soaring. eventually some of that warmth is going to push even the washington, d.c. area, the mid-atlantic could see temperatures in the 90s come sunday afternoon. so here's how we're looking this morning. still relatively cool in new england. notice the temperature in minneapolis, we're at 73 degrees to start your morning. very warm, too, from san antonio to new orleans. that's where the summertime air remains. later on today, we should hit near 90 today from minneapolis to chicago. kansas city will be mid to upper 80s. along with dallas, we will see thunderstorms along the gulf coast, and for anyone living up there say around burlton, vermont, northern portions of new england, late this afternoon toward this evening, some strong thunderstorms are going to blow through. could see some danging winds and maybe even some hail with those storms. we'll have the complete weekend forecast a little later. it looks very warm and steamy. definitely a pool or beach weekend. >> all right, nice. bill, thanks so much. also coming up, big ben says nothing on stimulus, best buy may be in play, and the highest speed limit in america.

your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up a pair of walk-offs and lebron james with a performance for the ages. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] they were born to climb... born to leap, born to stalk, and born to pounce. to understand why, we journeyed to africa, where their wild ancestor was born.

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top stories making news this morning. american troops are committing suicide at a record rate of almost one per day. with 154 suicides in the first 155 days of this year, up 17% from last year. and the pentagon statistics show suicides run about 50% higher than those killed in combat in afghanistan. a "new york times" cbs poll shows only 44% approve of the job being done by the supreme court and three-quarters say the justices' decisions are sometimes influenced by their personal or political views. a study found for the first time teenagers are now smoking more pot than cigarettes.

23% of high school students smoked marijuana and 18% smoked cigarettes. in scotland a man bumped by a car hung on to the hood as a woman tried to escape from a shopping center security officer. the woman has been sentenced to over four years in prison for using her car as a weapon. fortunately the man was not seriously hurt. and on live greek television a spokesman for the neo-nazi golden dawn party threw a glass of water into a woman's face and slapped another woman during a live tv debate. a warrant for the man's arrest has been issued. now here's your first look at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,460 after adding 46 points yesterday but the s&p was down a fraction and the nasdaq fell 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei tumbled 180 points. in hong kong the hang seng dropped 175. investors banking on speculation of futures stimulus,

were disappointed thursday. fed chief ben bernanke told congress europe's debt crisis poses quote significant risk to the u.s. financial system but he did stop short of outlining any specific steps or time line for monetary stimulus. underscoring bernanke's comments fitch ratings downgraded spain's credit to bbb. two notches from junk status. that turned out to be good news for u.s. government debt crisis which snapped a three-day losing streak. truckmaker navistar international cut its outlook. insurer molina suffered 21%. on the nasdaq, invidia slipped 4% after an analyst slashed the company's price target. best buy's founder and chairman resigned saying he's exploring options for his 20% ownership stake raising the possibility of a future takeover. consumer borrowing increased more slowly in april suggesting

americans may be wary about the credit card spending in the wake of soft spring hiring. >> finally, the texas department of transportation announced this week the speed limit on part of toll roads being built between austin and san antonio will be 85 miles per hour. that would not only make it the highest posted speed limit in the u.s. but the second highest in the world. coming up, the brewers club the cubs. the white sox walk off. and a first for one cincinnati pitcher. plus, lebron james turns up the heat on the celtics. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. now you can apply sunblock

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neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. welcome back to "first look" i'm lynn berry. in sports last night miami's fire remained lit as the heat beat the celtics to force a game seven in the nba's eastern finals. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. the celts had a chance to knock out the heat and advance to the nba finals. but lebron james was not going to have that. game six in boston all lebron. a one man wrecking crew. just about everything he threw up found the bottom of the net. single-handedly beat the celts. playoff record time 30 in the first half. miami up 13 at the break. boston never in it because lebron would not let them. he simply overwhelmed the celtics. an amazing performance. finished off the playoff master piece, 45 points, 15 boards and 5 assists. love or hate him, he stepped up and carried his team when they needed him the most.

the heat are headed back to miami for game seven tomorrow night after stunning the celts 98-79. tomorrow is going to be a busy day in sports. i'll have another will try to become the first horse since 1978 to win the triple crown. the belmont stakes begins at 5:00 eastern on nbc. then at 8:00, game five of the stanley cup finals also on nbc. a handful of great finishes around the baseball start. cincinnati, reds down one in the ninth. ryan ludwig a towering shot. second home run of the game tied it at four. the celebration short lived. one on for michael mchenry. lined one into the gap. clint barmas hustling from second to score the go-ahead run. pirates won 5-4 in ten. off to chicago, white sox and blue jays tied in the ninth. two down when a bullet for orlando hudson shot up the middle and became the game-winning run. white sox avoid the sweep 4-3. up interstate 94 to milwaukee. . three-time batting champ in japan is making a name for himself here in the states. pair of home runs against the cubs.

second was a walk-off in the tenth. who needs prince fielder. ayoki powered the brewers to a win in 10. that's your first look at sports. have a terrific weekend, i'm fred roggin. >> speaking of the weekend, let's get another check of the weather. what? i think i hear bill beaming in. that was me beaming you in to the studio. >> get willie in early today. >> why not. >> running out of makeup in a hurry, right? good morning, everyone. let's get back to your weekend forecast. it is going to be looking very nice. clear start to your day after those afternoon showers popped up yesterday in new england and the mid-atlantic region. temperatures are going to start to warm up, too, near 86 today in d.c. and 84 in philly. maybe they'll lunch in the shade. we will get some afternoon showers and storms, though, really from connecticut northward. especially northern new england. going to get some of those stronger storms. the heat's really on many areas of the country. the exception, the pacific northwest. you're cool and rainy. from denver to kansas city to chicago, we just get warmer and warmer as the weekend

progresses. today the worst of it down along the gulf coast. some showers and storms. let me take you through your weekend forecast. notice d.c., up to 89 degrees as we go through your saturday. so we're talking probably good beach weather there along the mid-atlantic from ocean city down through the outer banks. the southeast will look pretty good. but still dodging a lot of afternoon showers and storms in florida. chicago gets really hot in the mid-atlantic, all the way back through the great lakes. temperatures on the rise. but, by the time we get to sunday, chicago is even going to go through a little mini heat wave here. 94 is your expected high on sunday. as far as thunderstorms go, the only people really have a chance of getting rained out sunday through the southeast, mississippi, into georgia, we could deal with some thunderstorms. but, looking very much like summer, lynn berry. >> she's a beaut. all right, bill. experts predict a slugfest at the box office this weekend. who will take the number one spot? the cute, family cartoon? or the dark, scary science fiction thriller. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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here's some campaign news, you guys. mitt romney's nonstop secret service protection is apparently bothering the people who live near his beach house. romney had a lot of questions about the complaints, such as which beach house? oh, that one? they're always complaining at that one. you guys hear about this? the founder of "usa today" recently said donald trump is a clown. even clowns are like, are you kidding? that guy's hair is ridiculous.

former gop candidate rick santorum, you guys remember him, he said he's going to plan to make a big announcement tomorrow. yeah. probably be something really huge like okay shoppers, we've got a two for one sale on ties in aisle five if you want to check that out. >> tonight jimmy welcomes actor ben stiller, celebrity chef an than ne bore dane and musical guests. that's late night with jimmy fallon. we continuously prove how uncool we are, bill. now here's your first look at entertainment. for the first time this summer at the box office, hollywood is not sure what's going to win. >> -- finally done? >> so bill and i are going to decide. avengers are done but catapulted by a ton of advance hype and promotion, it is weighed down by an "r" rating but it's going to limit the audience and a younger audience, but "prometheus" boasts the direction of ridley scott and state-of-the-art effects.

originally planned to a prequel to the alien series it did evolve away from that into its own film. it's expected to open in the $50 million range. far on the other side is the family animated comedy, " d "madagascar 3: europe's most wanted." it's supposed to be in the $50 million range. the advantages are it's a family film. and it's playing in about 900 more theaters than "prometheus." those factors may put it over the top. bill says? >> >> "prometheus" wins. >> really? >> the reviews were pretty good. >> i'm going to go, not just to go against you, which i often do, i'm going to go with "madagascar." kids are going out of school. there are going to be so many more kids around. families, 900 more theaters. i just think i'm right on this one. >> i want buttered popcorn on the desk monday morning. >> how random. >> it's a movie bet. >> okay. i would have figured maybe a buttered bagel. a cinnamon roll. it is 5:00 in the morning.

buttered popcorn. he's so weird. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. with milk duds. willie geist is next. unarmed u.n. monitors fired on and blocked from investigating as they try to reach the syrian village where reported 78 people, many of them women and children, are killed in another massacre blamed on government forces. the question remains, without the blessing of russia and china, what can the u.n. and the world at large do beyond repeating their condemnations? we will have a live report in just a minute. mitt romney, meanwhile, outrages president obama by a pretty significant margin in the month of may. first time romney has outraised the president as the republican challenger continues to hack away at the white house record on jobs. the question is, how concerned is team obama five months away from election day? and with the heat on the brink of elimination, and playing on the road in boston, le j