tragedy in wisconsin. a shooting rampage at a religious temple outside milwaukee claims the lives of six people. turning point. from here on in, people are paying more into social security than they will get out of it. and high-stakes mission. nasa scientists erupt in cheers as the "curiosity" rover successfully touches down on the red planet. 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 begin this morning with another mass shooting. a gunman opened fire at a sikh temple just outside of milwaukee sunday morning, killing six people and critically wounding three before police shot and killed him. the attack is being treated as an act of domestic terrorism. reporter andy roesgen has the story from oak creek, wisconsin. >> reporter: police searched a home where they think the suspect lived, looking for a motive, a background, anything to answer the question why? >> what did we do wrong? was this a madman? was this just a guy who flipped? did he hate us for our appearance? >> reporter: the shooting happened at the twin services at the sikh temple. the gunman walked up to a temple member and shot him, then walked inside and opened fire. people cowered in fear, hiding

wherever they could and calling out on cell phones. >> she called us very quick and she whispered. she said, don't come. she's like, there's a shooting here. >> reporter: emergency vehicles and s.w.a.t. teams swarmed the temple. the first officer on the scene got into a gun battle with the suspect. another officer showed up, shot the suspect dead, but the first officer was shot multiple times. >> because of the heroic actions of our officers, they stopped this from being worse than it could have been. >> reporter: many of those who were in the temple at the time of the shooting gathered in a nearby bowling alley, telling police whatever they could about the suspect, and they will be shaken up for a long time. >> when i talked to those people there, they're really scared, and when i see their face and talk to them, even their body's still shaking. >> reporter: and while they grieve here in southeast wisconsin, president obama and mitt romney both weighed in, sending their condolences as well to the victims. the officer who was shot multiple times is expected to recover. now, the sink kh religion is not

affiliated at all with the muslim religion, but since 9/11, there have been a number of attacks on sikhs for people who mistakenly thought that they were muslims. reporting in oak creek, wisconsin, andy roesgen for nbc news. the u.s. economy will likely be the hot topic on the campaign trail this week as president obama heads to connecticut and colorado, and mitt romney begins a multistate bus tour. meanwhile, speculation over romney's choice of a running mate continues to swirl. nbc's clair laka is live for us this morning in washington, d.c. claire, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, veronica. that is right. well, those tragic shootings at the milwaukee sikh temple that we just told you about quieted the campaign for at least a day, as president obama and republican challenger mitt romney, they expressed their condolences in written statements to the victims and their families. the campaigns are back under way now with an overnight release of the headliners taking shape for

the republican national convention in tampa, which is just three weeks away. so far, the seven speakers named include florida governor rick scott, south carolina governor nikki haley and new mexico governor susana martinez, the first female governors of their states. former arkansas governor mike huckabee, ohio governor john kasich, senator john mccain and condoleezza rice are also scheduled to speak. the keynote speaker and others will be named closer to the event, as early as friday, perhaps. he aims to stay on message and focus on the economy. >> and it is not the time to grow government. it's the time to create the incentives and the opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses big and small to hire more people. and that's going to happen. >> well, i suspect that what his choice of a running mate will say about him is that he's going to double down on the economic philosophy. >> reporter: president obama is back on the campaign trail today making two stops in connecticut. >> we have worked hard to move this economy forward and we

can't go backwards and try the ideas that mitt romney wants, which is more tax cuts for rich people. >> reporter: hollywood movie mogul harvey weinstein is throwing a $35,000-a-plate dinner for the president at his home in westport, connecticut, this evening. we're live in washington, i'm claire leka. veronica, back to you. >> thank you so much. after approximately 352-mile journey from earth, the "curiosity" rover touched down on mars just hours ago and has beamed back its first images of the red planet. nbc's jay gray is live at the jet propulsion laboratory in california with more on this historic landing. it was quite a sight, jay. >> reporter: yeah. good morning, veronica. and what a morning, you're right, here at the jet propulsion laboratory. "curiosity" pushing the limits of technology, science and of dreams while opening a new chapter in the history of american space exploration.

>> they have started guided entry. >> reporter: it was an unprecedented, high-risk entry and landing the nasa team called seven minutes of terror. >> and they're good! >> reporter: computers controlled the descent with no help from earth and mission control, slowing the spacecraft from 13,000 miles an hour, 17 times the speed of sound, to zero in that crucial seven-minute window. >> we have acquired the ground through radar. >> reporter: animation playing out what the data seemed to confirm. >> standing by. >> reporter: and just after 10:30 pacific time, 1:30 in the morning eastern -- >> touchdown confirmed. >> reporter: -- the cheers spilling over into tears for scientists and engineers in mission control, many who had spent their entire lives targeting this moment. >> "curiosity," the most sophisticated rover ever built, is now on the surface of the red planet, where it will seek to answer age-old questions about whether life ever existed there on mars. or if the planet can sustain life in the future.

>> reporter: history defined by high-resolution images from the surface of the red planet, just minutes after landing. >> unbelievable. >> reporter: a thumbnail picture of the surface and back wheel of the rover, next the shadowy outline of "curiosity." it's the most technologically advanced robotic scientific laboratory ever launched, a $2.5 billion nuclear-powered vehicle the size of an suv, which now begins a two-year exploration and search for carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and any other elements necessary for life. while breathing new life into the future of american space exploration. and it is an excitement many say is much needed after the end of the shuttle program. "curiosity" now the new vehicle nasa is counting on to help america reclaim its lead in the space race. live in pasadena, california, jay gray. veronica, back to you. >> jay, thanks so much. i appreciate it. in pennsvania now, one fan

was killed, nine others injured after a lightning strike during a nascar race. severe weather forced officials to stop the pennsylvania 400 at the pocono raceway yesterday, and moments later, lightning hit the parking lot behind the grandstand. one person died, one is in critical condition, three others were hospitalized with moderate injuries. five others injured were treated at the scene. and now for a look at the national weather, we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. happy monday, good morning. >> yeah, that's the biggest fear, is that these outdoor events, whether it's a concert or a race, and thunderstorms roll through and then the lightning. it's a fear, you know? and they interrupt the event, and there's nowhere for all those thousands of people to get shelter. >> it's scary. >> i know. hopefully, we'll learn some lessons from that tragedy. when i left you on friday, we had the horrible heat wave, we had the drought and ernesto. the good news over the weekend was ernesto remained a rather weak storm with no chance at this point of heading toward the

united states, where on friday it still was a flip of a coin if it could turn north or not, but now the storm continues to be rather disorganized making its way toward nicaragua and honduras. you can see louisiana and texas here. this storm is going to be down towards belize, making landfall probably in 48 hours. may never make it to hurricane status. ernesto's just going to be a rain-maker in central america, so that's fantastic. as far as what we're dealing with here, we had a cold front slicing through the east and how grossry humid has it been ahead of that front for much of the eastern seaboard? and it did bring beneficial rains to indianapolis and memphis and st. louis, but the august rainfall totals from oklahoma to texas, it's still not pretty, and today it's just going to be another hot day. not as bad, but still very hot and dry throughout this region this week, so the drought is probably only going to get worse. for areas of the southeast, you'll deal with more thunderstorms today. and finally, you had the big storms here in new york. looks like we're dry in new england much of the beginning of this week. enjoy. >> great. a little bit of sunshine. thanks, bill.

night capital fears, china weighs in and taxing the tax snaven your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. a handful of walk-offs and the nfl preseason kicks off with the hall of fame game. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. i've been coloring liz's hair for years. but lately she's been coming in with less gray than usual. what's she up to? [ female announcer ] root touch-up by nice'n easy has the most shade choices, designed to match even salon color in just 10 minutes. with root touch-up, all they see is you.

you have a plan? first we're gonna check our bags for free, thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my mother was so wrong about you. next, we get priority boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me. okay, what's the plan? plan? mm-hmm. we're on vacation. this is no plan. really? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. the mileage card with special perks on united. get it and you're in. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. 16 egyptian soldiers were killed by masked gunmen at a checkpoint at the border of gaza and israel, as the suspected militants attempted to cross into israel, one of their vehicles blew up while the other was hit by the israeli air force. in syria, government troops are making a push on the city of aleppo, trying to regain areas held by the opposition. and a rebel commander says 48 iranians captured in damascus were affiliated with iran's revolutionary guard. americans who retired today are the first generation of workers who will pay thousands more in social security taxes

than they'll get in benefits. the trustees who oversee social security say its funds will run dry in 2033, unless congress acts. jared loughner is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to the 2011 tucson shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords and 12 others. if the judge decides loughner is competent, the plea would result in a life sentence. the japanese city of hiroshima today marked the 67th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack. the ceremony was held near the epicenter of the 1945 explosion where roughly 50,000 people observed a moment of silence. and now, here's your first look at this morning's dish of "scrambled politics." republican senator mark kirk of illinois has released a video showing his recovery from a stroke he suffered in january, as he learned to walk again and improve his speaking skills.

the "wall street journal" reports billionaire republican donor sheldon adelson's corporation is the target of a federal investigation into possible violations of u.s. money-laundering laws. uh-oh. the u.s. attorney's office in l.a. is looking into the casino company's handling of money from two businessmen accused or convicted of crimes. plus, when president obama and mitt romney are nominated at their conventions, protesters may be kept far away. a federal appeals ruling gives officials in tampa and charlotte the authority to allow tighter restrictions on protesters and limit them to areas where they may not be seen or heard by convention delegates. congresswoman michele bachmann would be the perfect running mate for mitt romney. that's according to a leading democrat. former pennsylvania governor ed rendell joked on cbs that "i'm for michele bachmann for vice president," although he actually prefers incumbent democrat joe

biden, at least i think so. as more lawmakers say they support a law to keep olympic medal winners from having to pay taxes on their prize, who is disputing the numbers from grover norquist's tax group. americans for tax reform say athletes might have to pay as much as $9,000, but except for high-income athletes like michael phelps, politifact argues most medal winners will pay far less. and republican congressman pete sessions of texas got married this weekend to karen diebel, who ran unsuccessfully in florida for congress in 2010. fox news says the ceremony took place in, where else, the u.s. capitol. congratulations. and that is your morning dish of "scrambled politics." and now here is your first look at how wall street kicks off the day. the dow opens at 13,096 after jumping 217 on friday.

the s&p spiked 25. the nasdaq skyrocketed 58. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei surged 171 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 332. there could be a knight and shining armor ready to save knight capital. the firm was devastated by a software glitch that put the company on the hook for nearly $500 million in stock losses. cnbc reports the group of investors is expected to buy roughly a 70% stake. no comment from knight. we'll get earnings news this week from tyson foods, cbs caremark, molson coors, macy's and jcpenney, among others. and it's been a year since the u.s. was tripped of its aaa bond rating by standard & poor's, but while the short-term impact was finding, experts say the fallout now is barely noticeable. a different attitude in europe, where italy's prime minister warns the eurozone's debt crisis could ultimately lead to a breakup of the european union. the crisis is also worrying royal dutch shell. "the times of london" reports

the oil giant is pulling some money out of europe, opting to put $15 billion into u.s. treasuries and banks p. china releases economic numbers this week, expected to remain steady with no real growth. southwest airlines is giving refunds to customers who were billed over and over for the same flight after it was supposed to be a half-priced ticket sale. and the cayman islands, of all places, is considering its first ever income tax to, get this, dig itself out of its financial troubles. a costly error, the day of the walk-off, and an 18th-hole meltdown. plus, believe it or not, it is back. the arizona cardinals' starting quarterback is injured in the nfl preseason opener. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition.

could've had a v8.

♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. in sports, several major league teams made it dramatic yesterday, waiting to score the deciding run until the very last minute. here's nbc's mario solis. >> good morning. a full slate of games around the majors. let's get right to it. we begin with a great finish in los angeles, cubs and dodgers. chicago down one in the ninth. anthony rizzo hits one high and deep. the rookie ties the game at 6 with a solo shot. to the bottom of the ninth, two on for hanley ramirez, and he delivers. rbi single. let the celebration begin. dodgers walk off with a 7-6 win. to motown, where the tigers

pulled off an incredible combat. indians up in the tenth when the tigers come roaring back, quickly score three to set the table for miguel cabrera. the slugger wins the game with a two-run blast, his 27th homer of the year. detroit rallies to win 10-8 in ten. royals and rangers also needing extras. tied at 6 in the tenth. jeff rankure with the rounder to third. he tries to turn two but throws it away. in comes the winning run. royals take care of the error and win 7-6. the phillies ryan howard has struggled since returning from a torn achilles. this might help his confidence. walk-off rbi single against the d'backs. phillies win 5-4. nascar, jeff gordon took the checkered flag with a rain-shortened win at pocono. and in golf, keegan bradley won the bridgestone invitational after jim furyk double bogeyed on 18. finally, are you ready for some football? the saints have been in the news for all the wrong reasons this offseason. it's got to feel good to get back on the field. mike ingram punches it in from a

yard out. if you're thinking of drafting kevin kolb to your fantasy team, you might want to reconsider. his only throw was an interception, then he left the game with bruised ribs after being crushed in the backfield. he's day-to-day. saints win the preseason opener 17-10. the regular season opens on september 5th with the cowboys and giants on nbc. and that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. >> ouch. now for another look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. what's going on out there? all those thunderstorms and the hot, humid air mass we dealt with in new england and through the mid-atlantic, it's slowly going to improve. all the heavy rain has exited the coast now. we're looking at a dry morning commute with the exception being coastal areas of new jersey, just a few showers there. so the forecast today relatively dry, ever so slowly you'll start to notice that the humidity will go down. still a very warm, summerlike day, but it will feel a lot better than what you dealt with over the weekend. the southeast is the rainy spot from north carolina through the carolinas down into areas of

georgia. still hot in the middle of the country, too, but especially in the northeast and new england. it was a gross weekend with that humidity, and it's gone. >> that's a good adjective, gross. >> how else can you describe it? >> all right, thanks, bill. at the box office this weekend, "the dark knight rises" was aiming for three in a row. its toughest competition, a sci-fi remake of a hit from the '90s. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. omer. would you mind if i go ahead of you? instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs. that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team.

welcome back to "first look." it is time now for entertainment news. this weekend at the box office, as expected, the reigning superhero held off something of a back to the future entry. for the third straight week,

"the dark knight rises" was number one in theaters, taking in over $36 million. all told, "the dark knight rises" has reached overall earnings of over $730 million. . the debut of the extensive redo of arnold schwarzenegger's 1990 hit "total recall," this time starring colin ferrell, opened in second place with a disappointingly soft $26 million. and then the weekend's other major debut, "diary of a wimpy kid: dog days" took third with almost $13 million in line with expectations, but far less than the prior two openings of the franchise. finally, who wants to bet not one of the so-called movie experts predicted this one? myself included. the r-rated comedy "ted" crossed the $200 million mark at the domestic box office after six weekends in theaters. we're talking about a talking bear, bill. >> i know, but like, the whole "family guy," seth macfarlane has such a loyal following. >> talking bear?

did you -- >> i know. the whole -- i didn't think it would do that well, either, but -- >> did you see it? >> no, but everyone told me it was funny, but very adult funny. >> i heard it was good, too. you never know. i'll have to go see it. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. a gunman opens fire during morning worship at a sikh temple before being shot and killed by police. the question is, who is he and what was his motive? we'll have a live report from wisconsin. and government continues the fight in syria as rebels in desperate need of supplies say they are accepting weapons and money from al qaeda. the question is, if the rebel movement is hijacked by extremists, who exactly are we supporting? and the spacecraft "curiosity," nasa's largest and latest $2.5 billion project