putting out the word, come watch the match tomorrow with them in the high school auditorium. they'll be wearing their team claressa t-shirts. so london, london, london, but tomorrow, flint, michigan, the place to be. and that's the best new thing in the world. thing in the world." "first look" is up next. summer sizzler. scientists a july was the hottest month ever recorded in the lower 48 states. big trouble in texas. grammy-winning country singer randy travis is arrested after a bizarre run-in with police. and fast fingers. one teen's mad texting skills pay off for the second year in a row. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

and we are going to begin this morning with a new normal. that is how one climate scientist is describing this summer's excruciating heat wave. now, yesterday the government made it official, saying july was the hottest month in the continental u.s. since recordkeeping began. even hotter than the infamous dust bowl summer of 1936. now, new six-month and one-year heat records were also set. nbc's chris clackum has those details. >> reporter: scientists say july was the hottest month ever in the lower 48 because for much of the country, it was also the driest month ever. >> temperatures are warmer. it dries the soil worsening the drought, and the drought, in turn, increases the temperatures. >> reporter: triple-digit heat was commonplace in even more places. contributing to the drought that's become the largest natural disaster ever, coving 63% of the contiguous u.s.,

draining rivers and lakes nationwide. >> we're losing about a foot a day. we really did not expect that we would be out of business the end of july this year. >> reporter: they say it was the heat more so than the drought that fueled wildfires that consumed 2 million acres in july. while agriculture continues to suffer the most, analysts expect the smallest corn crop in years. >> we've had droughts before, but really not this much heat. >> reporter: brice's crop in virginia started out promising but looks like this now. >> the heat came at a time when the stalks were green, and it was starting to pollinate. and the heat kind of shut the pollination down on the corn. and it pretty much baked the corn. >> reporter: july was the 14th straight month of above-average temperatures which is another record. >> that stretch -- that long of a stretch of months has not happened in our period of record of having temperatures this warm for that long of a period.

>> reporter: and forecasters predict the heat will remain on for at least august and probably beyond. chris clackum, nbc news. well, to politics now where republican presidential candidate mitt romney is expected to announce his choice of a running mate any day now. and as that decision comes down to the wire, nbc news political team believes the romney campaign has now narrowed it down to three choices. nbc's claire is live for us in washington with more on that and the latest from the campaign trail. good morning to you, claire. >> good morning to you, lynn. yes, a lot of intrigue surrounding this vp choice, but the good news is, the list does seem to be getting shorter. the mitt romney veepstakes has shifted into high gear this week. >> you're going to help me win in iowa. we're going to take back the white house. >> reporter: romney is getting ready for a four-day bus tour this saturday across the swing states of virginia, north carolina, florida and ohio. it could be the perfect time to roll out his running mate.

>> and they say, so goes colorado, so goes ohio, so goes the country. >> reporter: ohio senator rob portman will join romney on the tour when it rolls through his state and is amongst the top three vp choices for the gop candidate according to nbc news. >> ohio is one of those states that mitt romney has to win if he is to beat president obama. it has 18 electoral votes, no republican has ever won the white house without winning ohio. >> reporter: former minnesota governor tim pawlenty and wisconsin congressman paul ryan complete the short list. >> you're going to come back to michigan when you're vice president? >> the vice presidential, maybe we'll know soon enough. >> reporter: ryan the most controversial of the three has been gaining a lot of buzz in recent days. other names still in the vp mix are virginia governor bob mcdonnell and florida senator marco rubio. >> reporter: yes, and mcdonnell does tag along on the romney bus

tour on the virginia leg of that while rubio will join romney on the tour for several stops in florida. we're live in washington, i'm claire leka. lynn, back to you. >> thanks so much. well, president obama disagrees with the boy scouts of america's policy banning gay scouts and group leaders. the president said through a spokesman the boy scouts is a valuable organization that has helped educate and build character in american boys for more than a century. but he, quote, opposes discrimination in all forms. the president does serve as honorary president of the scouts and will not resign the post. reacting to the president, a statement from the boy scouts said, quote, good people can personally disagree on this topic. well, the man accused of one of the worst mass killings in u.s. history is due back in a colorado courtroom today. 24-year-old james holmes is charged with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder. two for each of the 12 people

killed and 58 wounded during that july 20th shooting spree at a movie theater in aurora, colorado. today a judge will decide whether to allow news organizations access to court documents that could explain holmes' motives for the shootings. wade michael page, the gunman believed to be responsible for the deadly rampage at a sikh temple outside milwaukee sunday died after shooting himself in the head. at a briefing wednesday, officials say page took his own life after being shot in the stomach by a police officer responding to reports of a shooting at the oak creek, wisconsin, temple. the fbi says page didn't leave any kind of note and no motive has been established. page killed six people and wounded three others. well, let's get a check of your national weather. we're going to turn now to nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has that weather channel forecast. you saw at the top of the show, summer sizzler making records. we felt it. >> yeah, i don't think anyone in the midwest is surprised. remember, if we go back to march

of this year, that was the year it was like 80s across the country in march. everyone was, like, what's going on? >> we asked you if it was going to continue, and you said it would. >> and it has. not even just the midwest but even new england is looking at the warmest year ever recorded at this point through the first seven months. here's what we did yesterday. it was still very hot across the country. we had incredible heat out here from phoenix into areas of california. that's where the real heat has shifted. we're getting better in the midwest. chicago yesterday was 84. where is the cool air coming fr? usually it always comes down from canada. no exception this time either. it's dipping down behind one and two cold fronts. now, the first one is kind of stalled out here through oklahoma. but this is the reinforcing shot to the north. and that will also run into the very humid air here from the ohio valley all the way through the deep south. we're sparking thunderstorms. and that's going to be the case over the next three days. when you get big weather pattern changes, usually you get severe storms. it's welcomed rainfall. i mean, this is just glorious

rain this morning through indianapolis. it is pouring from bloomington up here to indianapolis. this has been one of the worst areas for the drought so far this summer. it's been told it's too late for the corn crop, but the soybeans still have a chance. in the ohio valley over the next couple of days. this is the rain this morning moving through central portions of ohio including columbus. later on today, as that cold front kicks down to the humid air, we heat the air mass up. we're going to get widespread severe storms. so from arkansas through memphis, bowling green, louisville, cincinnati, columbus, cleveland, even detroit in pittsburgh late today, a chance of strong thunderstorms. but again, with those storms you will get the welcomed rainfall. eventually those will try to make their way to new york and d.c. but it looks like for the east coast, more hit-and-miss storms. not the concentration we'll have in the ohio valley. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, a rare miss by mcdonald's. one alternative to foreclosure.

and proof the most popular phone isn't necessarily the most publicized. your first look at business headlines is straight ahead. a slugfest between the rangers and red sox and curtis granderson joins yankee royalty. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] if you have to take care of legal matters. legalzoom has an easy and affordable option. you get quality services on your terms, with total customer support, backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. so go to legalzoom.com today and see for yourself.

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good morning and welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here's some of the top stories making news this morning. at least 30 earthquakes hit southern california between tuesday night and wednesday morning. but only three were strong enough to be felt by residents, and none caused any damage. still seismologists are studying the themmers to determine if what they call the earthquake sequence threatens anything more ominous than just normal area activity. well, thousands took to the streets of libya's capital of tripoli to celebrate the handover of power to a newly elected assembly. lawmakers hold their first session today. in louisiana, a charter school that kicked pregnant

students out of the class and required them to be home schooled is now changing its policy after a threatened lawsuit by the american civil liberties union. school officials say they didn't know the policy was illegal. well, the first man to walk on the moon, neil armstrong, is recovering from heart bypass surgery only days after his 82nd birthday. nasa said the 1969 "apollo 11" commander is recuperating but did not say when or where the operation was performed. a 17-year-old from wisconsin, austin wareski, is the repeat winner of america's fastest texter sending a 149-character text in just 39 seconds. i'm sure mom and dad are proud. he won the texting competition in new york for the second year in a row, taking home $50,000 in prize money. all right. now here's your first look at this morning's dish of "scrambled politics." predicting mitt romney's running mate may be a lot harder now that the wikipedia pages of

congressman paul ryan, tim pawlenty and senator rob portman have been locked down. as we reported earlier this week, the editing of sarah palin's wikipedia page spiked just before her selection by john mccain in 2008. so wikipedia has acted to prevent a vp tipoff. billionaire republican donor sheldon adelson has filed a lawsuit against the national democratic jewish council. the casino owner made liablous statements about his political contributions. al gore will anchor the current tv coverage of the republican and democratic conventions. gore is the founder and owner of current tv and will lead the coverage from studios in new york. politico reports the cast of mtv's "the jersey shore" says they care about voting, and in a new video, urge participation in the 2012 election. snooki says, quote, i am seriously worried about my

country's future. and speaking of jersey, mitt romney's motorcade accidentally crashed a jewish wedding there yesterday as the bride and groom were posing for photographs. a.p. photos showed wedding guests in the parking lot reacting as they tried to get a look at romney and his car. later he posed for some pictures with the wedding party, but the media was kept away. and president obama told a crowd in colorado yesterday that he has promised his wife no more singing al green songs. politico says the president told the crowd, quote, michelle made me promise that i can't sing to others anymore. she wants me to just sing to her. and that's your morning dish of "scrambled politics." and now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,175 after adding 7 points yesterday. the s&p was up a fraction. the nasdaq lost 4. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei rose 96 points while

in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 203. the market rally last week began to cool off wednesday. a mixed bag of earnings led to a drop in optimism. macey's was up after a second quarter jump in net income thanks to cost cutting and tailoring merchandise to suit regional preferences. mcdonald's found its numbers harder to swallow. with revenue dropping for the first time in nine years. u.s. worker productivity was up in the second quarter by about 1.5%. china says its inflation rate dropped in july, allowing the government to cut interest rates and take other stimulus measures, but analysts warn it's not going to last. american merle airlines pilot ra contract. most want the bankrupt parent, amr, to merge with us airways. the head of toyota u.s. sales expects the automaker to add more jobs and build more vehicles in north america to hedge against a strong japanese yen.

higher one which markets debit and credit cards to college students has agreed to pay $11 million in restitution. the government says higher one reportedly overcharged fees to 60,000 students. here's a twist. citibank wants to turn some home o homeowners into renters. the experiment would be aimed at those at least four months behind on their mortgage. they would pay a, quote, manageable rent in exchange for transferring ownership. when it comes to all the hype, it may be the iphone this and the iphone that, but the android is actually pulling away from the pack. they now control a whopping 68% of the worldwide smartphone market. coming up, the bombers strike back. a ranger rips the red sox. and the marlins set the tone early. plus, one leaping catch that grabs the game's momentum. 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 lynn berry. in sports, one milwaukee slugger broke out of a huge slump yesterday helping the brewers sweep the reds. here's nbc's mario solis. >> hi there, good morning. just four days ago, the reds were the hottest team in baseball. then they ran into the brewers. reds had won 19 of 23 before their series in milwaukee. cincy got the lead but they let it slip away in the eighth.

gomez ties it with an rbi single. mr. mvp, ryan braun, completing the rally with an rbi of his own. brewers take the lead and sweep the reds with a 3-2 win. the rangers' josh hamilton had a forgettable month of july, but he's starting to come around just in time for the stretch run. three hits, four rbi and a homer against the red sox. rangers win a slugfest, 10-9. the yankees' curtis grnderson also had a big night. hit his 30th homer of the year. first bronx bomber with 30 or more homers in back-to-back seasons since dave winfield did it back in 1983. yanks beat the tigers, 12-8. no one had a bigger night than marco scutaro. three rbi against the cardinals. a grand slam seven rbis for marco. giants take down the defending champs, 15-0. jose reyes hit plenty of homers as a member of the mets in new york. now he's hit one as a marlin. lead-off jack extending his hit streak to 26 games. not to be outdone, marlins are

up for 13 runs. they rout the mets, 13-0. nothing going right for the white sox or their fans against the royals. i told that guy to hold the sauerkraut. perez had one with everything on it. gives k.c. a two-one lead in the fourth. they go on to lead, 2-1. finally, great catch by michael bourne. on his horse, tracks it down and makes the leaping grab at the wall. that sparks the braves. they go on to win, 12-6. and that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. now for another look at the weather, we check back in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. mario really buried the lead on that. >> he did. >> leaning in for the kiss and the -- >> rejection. >> she shunned him. >> that's like the sigh lent treatment. >> it was. >> that's what you call the silent treatment. he did something. i don't know what. >> hoping for the makeup kiss. didn't happen. >> a few more days, he'll be fine. >> we've all been there. good morning.

if you're just joining us, the really, really good news is heavy rain is falling right over the top of some of the worst drought conditions in the country. it's not widespread. central indiana is getting drenched. already in indianapolis, you picked up an inch of rain which is by far the heaviest you've seen this summer. it's going toontinue because there's more coming behind it, too. eventually all of this is going to head for ohio today. so many areas from cleveland to columbus, all the way down through cincinnati, a chance of some heavy rain during a portion of the day today. this area in yellow which goes all the way from little rock to memphis back up to buffalo and pittsburgh including all of the ohio valley. a chance of strong thunderstorms. we don't want damaging storms but we do want beneficial rains that come with it. also some of those storms late today may try to drift towards central pennsylvania and central new york. the storms for d.c., new york and hartford today, only about a 20% or 30% chance. more areas will be missed than hit. because it's so humid and hot, there will be areas of storms. again, the coverage will not be that great. >> that's good news. thanks so much. coming up, jimmy fallon says

no to what? we'll tell you coming up. and a country music star is in big trouble. plus, joan rivers plus a megaphone, that must mean trouble. your first look at entertainment straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios that's 3 moves, 5 jobs, 2 newborns. it's no wonder i'm getting gray. but kate still looks like...kate. [ female announcer ] with nice'n easy, all they see is you -- in one step, nice'n easy with colorblend technology, is proven to give more blends of tones.

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[ female announcer ] wit- one serving of cheese is the size of four dice. one serving of cereal, a baseball. and one serving of fruit, a tennis ball. - you know, both parties agree. our kids can be healthier... the more you know. welcome back to "first look." let's get a little entertainment news. are you in the mood for a good mug shot? >> i love mug shots. >> always. >> where we going here? >> here we go. country music star randy travis is free after posting bond following a car crash and a run-in with the law. so here it is. travis -- oh, not yet. travis was found lying in the road naked tuesday night in texas after crashing his car

close to his hometown of tioga. he threatened the first officer who arrived, refused a blood or breath test and made threats to shoot and kill -- there it is -- other responding officers. it's unclear as to the cause of the cuts and bruises. he looks angry, see him in that mug shot? travis was charged with dui as well as a felony for his alleged aggression towards officers. >> he looks angry. also, jimmy fallon told matt lauer in london yesterday on the "today" show he has been asked to host the oscars, but he turned it down. he said, quote, it's not my year. he's good at everything. >> will you call him? >> oh, yes, i've got him on speed dial. finally, police were called to a costco store in los angeles after joan rivers handcuffed herself to a shopping cart to protest the store not selling her latest book. of course, the police had to escort her and the camera crew from the store. there were no arrests.

>> she ne's her own publicist, own pr. >> it's amazing. >> i'm going to go do that today, handcuff myself. >> that's how you make it to the headline news. not waking up at 2:00 in the morni morning. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look." stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. early geist" starts now. >> time for machinery to capitalize, right? why are some conservatives now furious at the romney campaign. rebels in syria are worried about losing their foothold. they are out gunned and out manned. if assad crushes the