contest. and, by the way, shawna's team, the flakes, beat congress 13-10. whoo-hoo! 13-10. woohoo! going to extremes. the first day of summer brings record-setting heat across the nation. no offense on defense. the man at the center of the child sex abuse scandal that rocked penn state decides not to take the stand. and major milestone. what england's prince william will be celebrating today. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with a summer scorcher, and it is brutal. it may have only been the first

official day of the season, but across much of the country, it already feels like the middle of a long, hot summer. nbc's jay grey has more. >> reporter: a heat wave continues to sweep across much of the country right now. >> it's sticky how i describe it. >> reporter: sticky, stifling and likely to stay around for a while. >> mostly sunny, windy and hot again this afternoon. >> reporter: so hot, even forecasters are looking for a little relief. the more traditional dunk in detroit is at community swimming pools, and charlotte water parks are packed, while outside of boston, hundreds are hoping to hit the beach. >> it's kind of crazy. it's great. >> reporter: it's anything but a day at the beach for those that have to work in the blazing sun, whether it's laying bricks or cutting lawns, crews battling near 100-degree temperatures have to take plenty of braex and sty hydrated. >> just keep my water and gatorade and i'm all set for the

day. >> reporter: in philadelphia, free ice cream is helping to keep things cool, but in the end, on the first day of summer, these kids seem to have figured out the best way to beat the heat. jay grey, nbc news. >> enjoy it. nbc meteorologist bill karins is going to have much more on this heat wave. eric holder is cited for contempt, this after obama invoked executive privilege. the committee was voting on the operation that aloud mexican gangs to get guns. despite holder giving republicans over 7,000 related documents and offering a partial release of the rest, that wasn't enough to stop the committee's provocative action. nbc's steve handlesman has more.

>> reporter: all 23 republicans on the committee voted for contempt. all 17 democrats were opposed. u.s. attorney general eric holder possibly headed to a contempt vote on the house floor. president obama tried to prevent it, invoking executive perspective lenl, denying house republicans internal documents, often withheld from congress. everyone agrees that gun-running sting went bad, letting mexican gangs walk away with 2,000 assault weapons. >> who knew about fast and furious, when did they know about it and how high up did it go? >> reporter: house republicans had suspected holder knew and covered up. now they say they suspect president obama. >> and in what in the world is he asserting executive privilege for? he's either part of it or he's not. >> reporter: democrats charge it's not about guts or guns or

cover-up. it's politics. >> it shouldn't be a political witch hunt against the attorney general of our country and our president in an election year. >> reporter: but the battle rages on. i'm steve handlesman, capitol hill. >> last night, form "new york times" columnist bob herbert talked about the citation. he pointed out the fast and furious operation was run by the phoenix office of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms, so he sees republican accusations against holder as unfair and purely political. >> this was not a holder operation. the sting, which was a terrible sting and ended tragically and that sort of thing, but holder ordered an end to this. the people in charge of the sting were either fired or reassigned. there is an ig investigation the justice department, and congress is investigating it. i don't have any problem with

that at all. but the idea that this has something to do with the obama administration wanting to undermine second amendment rights is just madness of the highest order. don't miss rachel mad doe's take on politics and all the day's top stories, that's at 9:00 eastern here on msnbc. after seven days of testimony, closing arguments are set for today in the child sex abuse trial of former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky. despite suggestions from his lawyer that he might receive, the defense rested wednesday without calling sandusky to the stand to dispute 51 criminal charges of the alleged abuse of ten boys over a 15-year period. if convicted, the 68-year-old former defensive coordinator could be sent to state prison for the rest of his life. and now here's your "first look" at some of the other news going on in america.

in tennessee, a traffic camera captured a biker being run down by an suv whose driver just kept on going. the cyclist was thrown some 30 feet as the driver took off. the victim had to be air lifted to the hospital and is now recovering. police are still looking for the driver. in san francisco, flames ripped through roof of a large pier along the famed waterfront. the fire caused part of the building to tear away and crash to the glound. that pier was undergoing construction and was set to be the home base for the americas cup next year. no one was hurt. finally in nebraska, they are the tiniest of rodeo runners and it's always adorable. about 80 kids did their thing to hang on to the mutton busting competition. they traded in cowboy hats for some safety helmets as they rode lambs for as long as they could. where are the parents in this situation? now a look at your weather.

>> am i the only one that feels bad for the lambs? >> i feel bad for kids. mom and dad are like haha. no one is laughing about the weather. it's brutal. >> no, the heat has obviously been the big story over the entire spring, now we're officially in the summer. yesterday morning at this time, there was another event costing millions of dollars, doing a lot of damage. the flooding pictures that came out of duluth, minnesota, yesterday morning and the cleanup afterwards were pretty much on the incredible side. this is an area that received eight to ten inches of rain in a very short period of time. unfortunately the zoo got flooded out there, too. some animals didn't make it. they actually had to tranquilize the polar bear because it was going to escape from the compound area because of the flooding rain. that was incredible stuff there in duluth and we wish them well in getting all the recovery they need. here's what we dealt with yesterday. well-advertised heat wave. yesterday was the appetizer. today's the main course. today will be the peak, could end up being the hottest day of the year in many areas of the

northeast and mid atlantic. laguardia hit 98. d.c. was 98. as i mentioned, it's going to be warmer today. we're at 80 degrees to start your morning in boston. yesterday at this time, we were in the low 70s. so we've already got a head start. new york city is one of the warmest spots in the entire country right now. already at 81 with full sunshine. the hot atmosphere overhead, it looks like we have a very good shot of hitting 100 today, in many areas, including philadelphia. the relief is now going across the middle of the country. that's why minneapolis, chicago, all the way through kansas city will be better today. those thunderstorms, we would love them here in the east. we'll get them on friday. today could be the hottest day of the summer for many east coast areas. >> it's only, what, the second official day? so not a good start. all right, bill, thanks. well, big ben gives, but not enough for wall street. bad news for mcdonald's.

and what one multi-millionaire ceo bought him himself to indulge. that's straight ahead. a record setting night at yankee stadium. and college football takes another step towards a playoff system. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. welcome to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? as the hotel experts, finding you the perfect place is all we do. this summer, save up to 30%, plus get up to $100 on us. welcome to hotels.com.

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welcome back to first. egyptians are protesting the delayed announcement of the winner in the presidential vote, while allegations of election abuse are investigated. that could affect whether an islamist candidate or a former military officer becomes the country's next leader. billie has been fired as police chief for his initial handling of the shooting of unarmed teen trayvon martin by neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman. the city manager said they need a police chief all citizens can support. painter leroy neiman, best

known for his quick impressionistic paintings of famed athletes in sporting events, has died at aged 91. england's prince william is celebrating his 30th birthday privately today. turning 30 also means that william inherits almost $15 million from the trust fund of his mother princess diana. here is your first look at this morning's scrambled dish of application. tim pawlenty has jumped to the top of the vp short list of mitt romney's team. in 2008 as florida house speaker, marco rubio endorsed mike huckabee, not mitt romney for president. ron paul got caught in a do as i say, not as i do moment yesterday on "morning joe." paul, who regularly called social security unconstitutional and insolvent, was forced to admit he hasn't stopped cashing

his checks. bloomberg reports in a cold economy, more americans drink their beer in cold cans. almost 53% of beer consumed in 2011 was served in an aluminum can. that's up from a low of 48% in years before the economic slump. morgan freeman said he's hoping president obama wins another term, saying "we are going to be in a lot of trouble if we don't re-elect him because people on the other side of the fence scare me." maybe bristol palin should go back to dancing. credited with driving the ratings as a contestant on "dancing with the stars," her new show on lifetime tanked in its opener. ironically, her lead-in show "dance moms" had more than twice as many viewers. and finally, check out buzz feed for a clever interactive offering that gives you the chance to sift out who are republicans or democrats among your facebook friends. even if you're not looking to de-friend, it may surprise you

to see the various political likes of yours friends. and that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,824 after losing 12 points yesterday. the s&p was down two, but the nasdaq was up a fraction. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei rose 71 points, but in hong kong, it sang 253. after similar, its forecast through 2014, ben bernanke announced the fed will extend operation twist which seeks to lower borrowing costs through securities purchases by the fed through years end. but wall street was disappointed that more action such as another bond buying program would have to wait. concerns about weakening demand deepened with procter & gamble lowering its quarterly growth forecast, sending it down 3%.

another weak outlook came from bed, bath & beyond. tech stocks were the day's biggest gainers. meanwhile, adobe systems slid 3% after slashing its revenue outlook. an illinois woman is hoping to cash in with a class action lawsuit over linked in recent's security braesm burger king rose 3%. the world's number two burger chain last traded as a public company back in 2010. meanwhile, mcdonald's, the number one fast-food chain ranked last in customer satisfaction according to a new national poll. crude prices dropped near eight-month lows, just about $80 a barrel this morning. yesterday, the government's first offshore lease auction near the location of the gulf oil disaster brought in $1.7 billion. and finally, must be nice. oracle ceo larry ellison is buying himself an island. but not just any island.

he's shelling out an estimated $500 million to $600 million for 90% of an island. coming up, big papi goes yard and an inside-the-park homerun. new york's yankee stadium has never seen a home run derby quite like this one. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. and kept turning the page, writing the next chapter for the rx and lexus. see your lexus dealer. tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ normal voice ] nope, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ voice of dennis ] allstate. [ normal voice ] same agent and everything. it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not.

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welcome back to first. in sports, after years of complaints about how college football crowns its national champion, yesterday a solution may have emerged. >> good morning. we'll start with big news out of college football. the bcs conferences have agreed to a four-team playoff system. a committee will decide which teams qualify based on conference championship and strength of schedule. if approved by the bcs presidential committee, the playoff will begin in 2014. now to the diamond where the yankees and braves hit a new yankee stadium record, combining for nine home runs. jason heyward left the yard twice. braves win the home run derby 10-5. nine homers there. eight between the mariners and diamondbacks. ryan roberts with the toughest one of them all. fly ball takes a crazy bounce off the wall. miguel montero scores. roberts says i'm going to score, too. hustles around third. the throw to the plate is there, but the catcher can't handle it. an inside-the-park home run.

d-backs win a barn burner 14-10. there's no way david ortiz is going to hit an inside-the-park home run, but he can do this. a grand slam for big papi. red sox have their way with the marlins. they win it 15-5. rockies and phillies tied at 5-5 in the ninth. two outs with the bases loaded. placido polanco with a grounder. marco scutaro's throw to first pulls him off the bag. the winning run scores. not pretty but the phils will take it. finally, hockey's best were in las vegas yesterday. not to see celine dion, but for the nhl awards. henrik lundqvist won the vezina trophy. the penguins' sniper evgeni malkin won his first mvp award. soak it up, hockey fans, this could be the last time you see these guys for a while. there's a real threat of a lockout next season. that's your first look at

sports. now for another look at the weather, here is bill carrington. makes a very good point about the hockey awards. >> it's like 100 degrees doing hockey awards. it would almost feel like if there was a blizzard coming and we were doing the swimming awards. as advertised, today will probably be the hottest day of the summer in many areas of new england. we'll see heat advises in effect from boston to d.c. heat index getting up to about 105 at the peak heating of the day around 4:00. it already feels like 84 degrees in new york city. the sun is just coming up over the horizon. today will be a couple degrees warmer than that. we're expecting near 100-degree heat. all of the big cities on i-95, including boston. interior new england will be in the mid 90s. cooler by buffalo and pittsburgh because we'll get a chance for some clouds or showers and storms late today. it is cooling off finally in chicago after about six days in a row of 90s. coming up, jim carrey says

no, and you won't believe who gets trashed by their kissing co-stars. plus, alec baldwin goes on comedy offensive in the wake of his dust-up with a new york photographer. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. is he wearing underwear? you're watching "first look." i hope so. on msnbc. ♪ we all need it. to move. to keep warm. to keep us fed. to make clay piggies. but to keep doing these things in the future... at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil,

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here's some political news. today president obama uses executive privilege to withhold documents about a weapons operation called fast and furious. i don't know what's scarier, that we can't see those do you wants or that the government is naming operations after vin diesel movies. i don't know. we also have kate upton on the

show tonight. [ cheers and applause ] kate upton! she is the model on the cover of this year's "sports illustrated" swimsuit issues, which explains why we suddenly have twice as many cue guard guys as usual. get out of here. get lost. >> very funny. tonight jimmy welcomes actress courteney cox, anthony mackie, and kenny chesney. that's "late night with jimmy fallon." >> if kate upton was on our show, we'd have like 50 people. >> yes. and held will have frozen over. it's time for your first look at entertainment news. clearly in a better mood last night than the day before, alec baldwin tried to make light of the run-in with the paparazzi, by what else? dropping drou. he was on late night with david letterman. >> can you blur this? >> close your eyes, kids. he was there to prove that he recently lost weight, but also he addressed the incident. again denying that he punched

the photographer -- sorry, i'm distracted by the pants dropping. he then joked about wednesday's daily news cover saying i think you can see i'm forming the letter f with my mouth. what i'm saying is what f stop with you on with the camera. it was funnier when he said it. that's why i'm not a comedian. elsewhere, jim carrey frustrated by the studio -- he's out of the sequel to "dumb and dumber." you wouldn't think kissing angelina jolie would be a store, but worst kissers quotes james mcavoy, her co-star in "wanted" said kissing her was awkward, sweaty and not very nice. thandie newton didn't enjoy kissing tom cruise in "mission: impossible" back in 2000. she said kissing tom cruise was slightly ickey and sort of wet. i feel like we could go without that information, right? >> it has to be like an

agreement. you just can't discuss that. >> yeah, i agree. >> two breath mints and just be quiet. stay tuned, "way too early" starts right now. president obama claims executive privilege to protect attorney general eric holder from parts of a congressional investigation into the fast and furious gun running operation. on the same day, a house committee votes to find holder in contempt of congress. the question is has the president overstepped his bounds here, or is he just invoking a privilege invoked by many presidents before him? we'll have a live report. another day of uncertainty and growing protests in egypt after the announcement of a winner in the president election is delayed to sort through votes and complaints from both sides claiming to have won. the question is will the military rule egypt no matter who's determined to be the winner of this election? and college football fans are a huge step closer to getting their wish of a playoff