quitting the race with the sound off and sometimes with the sound on. in the middle of all that, there's his pretaped remarks about snooki from "the jersey shore." we now return to our regularly scheduled presidential campaign catastrophe. we now return to our presidential campaign catastrophe. "first look" is up next. campaign controversy. mitt romney tries to get back on track after the leaked video. plus the latest nbc news wall street journal poll numbers. back to school. chicago teachers agreed to return to the classroom after a seven-day strike. festive finale. william and kate wrap up their tour in traditional island style with pretty good moves. good morning, i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc.

we are going to begin this morning with trouble on the trail. new nbc wall street journal poll shows mitt romney falling behind the presidential race. that was before news of the secretly recorded video tape. tracie potts joins us from washington with more on all of this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everyone. looking at the new poll numbers, president obama pulls ahead slightly more than he was a month ago. now five points ahead of mitt romney in the latest poll among likely voters. all of this as romney tries to bounce back from the comments he made last spring. here is what mitt romney was secretly recorded saying last

may about the 47% of americans who don't pay taxes. >> they believe they are entitled to health care, food, housing, you name it. my job is not to worry about those few. >> reporter: here is what he said at a fund-raiser. >> i believe the role of government is to help those who need help. we are a compassionate interview. >> reporter: come of those not paying taxes are not victims, but wealthy americans who should pay. >> i think people would like to be paying taxes. if you are doing well enough financially, you can pay a tax. >> reporter: president obama reacting to the comment about the 47%. >> my expectation is if you want to be president, you have to work for everybody, not just some. >> reporter: some high profile republicans are backing their nominee. >> governor romney was saying we need to get people off of assistance. that means job creation.

>> reporter: despite the gaffe, romney raised $6.5 million tuesday. as for that poll, president obama's approval rating is up just slightly, but it is up over a month ago, just a few points on the economy and overall. over all, he's at 50%, which is his best since march. lynn? >> thanks. it is back to school for students in chicago today after a seven-day strike, union teachers voted to accept the latest proposal and present it for a final vote. jay gray has that story. >> reporter: after seven days of picketing and protest -- >> parents, teachers unite for better schools -- >> reporter: classrooms sitting empty. parents and teachers get back to

school in chicago. >> this was the time and the place. this was the right thing to do. >> reporter: they agreed to accept a proposal from the city tuesday evening. the rank and file, close to 30,000 teachers approved the deal. it's expected to happen in a couple weeks. >> we said it was time, we couldn't solve all the problems of the world with one contract and it was time to suspend the strike. >> reporter: already with the highest paid teachers with an average of $70,000. the new contract provided for a 7% pay raise over the next three years. two sticking points were job security and performance evaluations. they will rate them on how well students score on standardized tests. underperforming teachers can be laid off. >> this settlement is an honest compromise. it means returning our schools to their primary purpose, the

education of our children. it means a new day. >> reporter: opening bells finally ringing at schools across the city wednesday morning. jay grarks nbc news. just a quick programming note, nbc news will host an education nation summit here in new york city beginning this sunday. you can see it all across nbc platforms starting next week. al qaeda's branch in north africa is calling for more attacks on u.s. diplomats and protests against the anti-muslim video that insults the profit muhammad. they told lawrence o'donnell they are not spontaneous protests. >> it becomes clear about the response, this is a manufactured response. i feel that one of the things that started in the case of this

and has grown since then is this, what i call an outrage industry. there are people in the islamic world whose job it is to find flash points and then use them to launch a larger, if you like, attack against american values and american personnel. >> don't miss the lawrence o'donnell show. it has the last word on the biggest issues and most compelling stories of the day. it airs at 10:00 p.m. eastern only on msnbc, the place for politics. all right, here is your "first look" at news going on around america today. to new york, this dramatic attack inside a laundromat. the victim was punched and beaten with a large stick as two men and two women rob the place. one of the men can be seen with a cash register.

police are looking for the suspects. human skeletal remains were found under a historic home undergoing republican novation. it could be the resting place of a man whose death dates back to the 1850s. in oregon, don't worry, it is only a drill here but one designed to show what a massive magnitude eight earthquake might feel like. a power company uses a simulator to get employees ready if one hits. there's a 40% chance of a quake rocking the pacific northwest in the next 50 years. back to washington where we are getting a first glimpse of the baby panda born at the zoo. we said to keep a lookout yesterday. there's the little one. the mom can be seen holding the tiny cub in her mouth. she's positioning the newborn on her body for nursing and grooming. no word if it is a boy or a

girl. now for a look at your national weather, let's turn to dill lan drier. she has the weather forecast. >> good morning. i wonder if it was a twitter follower? >> we said to look for it and watch the video feed. i don't know if there was a lucky winner. we are going see a much better forecast today. yesterday, powerful storms moved across the east coast. wind reports near boston over 50 to 60 miles per hour. we had reports of severe thunderstorms in the city itself, in new york city and stretching all the way down into florida as well. it's the cold front moving eastward. we are going to see improvements as high pressure dominates through the country. another weak front is it's not going to bring a lot of rain. it is going to bring cooler

temperatures and feel like fall around here. we have a couple scattered showers and storms in southern new england. most of the activity is out over the water. once this clears out, we will see sunshine across the entire country through the rest of the day. lynn? >> thanks so much. japan follows suit fedex warns and why it pays to be an alaskan. your "first look" at business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the brewers back in the hunt. the good, the bad and the ugly in the outfield. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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s welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here are the stories making news this morning. pennsylvania supreme court is ordering another court to see that they have easy access to id

cards. if they are easily accessible, the law can stand, if not, it is blocked. arizona can start the show your papers immigration law after the u.s. judge lifted the junction blocking the measure. newly released images of this shows sea ice melting to record low levels. this year marks the first time there's been less than 1.5 square miles of sea ice since satellite observations began in 1979. england's duke and duchess of cambridge proved they are not only adorable, they have good dance moves. they danced on a pacific island. it was the final stop on their tour of the far east. now, here is the first look at the dish of scrambled

politics. actress susan sarandon says how romney dealt with the reaction were quote, entertaining. she agreed with joy behar, it made romney look like scrooge. he said running for president in the youtube era, you realize you have to be very judicious in what you say. anytime you run for the president of the united states, you are on. jesse ventura is floating the idea he may run for president. he mentioned radio host howard stern as a possible running mate for an independent ticket. orrin hatch of utah is being called an old guy by his opponent. the 80-year-old hatch might retire or die before his term is through. the hatch campaign called the

comments outrageous and offensive. blt steak is running a presidential poll based on burger orders to be decided in two weeks. the mitt romney burger features a utah style and the other has kobe beef hawaiian style. mr. obama talked about the florida pizza ria owner who lifted him off the ground in a bear hug last week. remember that? the president said quote, i think he fixed something in my back. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. here is your "first look" at how wall street is going to kick off. the dow closed at 13,564 after adding 11 points yesterday. the s&p lost one. nasdaq was down a fraction. in tokyo, the nikkei jumped over

108 points. it was monetary easing by japan's central bank that gave them a boost on the heels of aggressive stimulus. the bank of japan boosted the asset program sending the nikkei to a four-month high. weeks after declaring bankruptcy, japan airlines made a return with a near $9 billion relisting. the world es second biggest after facebook. many japanese retailers in china are losing business. it's sparked protests forcing companies to close for days. back on the street, a gloomy outlook for fedex. they fell 3% after slashing the earnings forecast due to a weakening world economy. shares of advanced microdevices tumbling 10% on the

cfos departure. american airlines put 11,000 workers on notice. 4400 jobs will be cut by december. apple closed above $700 for the first time. good news for the housing sector. sentiment rose to the highest level in more than six years. yahoo! sold their stake in the search engine giving it 3 billion to return to shareholders. speaking of dividends, alaskans can look forward to $878 each this year. it's part of the oil wealth sharing. it doesn't amount to much if you live in the remote area, ft. yukon. 878 bucks there will buy you 59 cans of coffee. it's better than nothing. marlins win in extras. a grand slam in michigan and saying good-bye to a sports

casting pioneer. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. t drive. silverado! the most dependable, longest lasting, full-size pickups on the road. so, what do you think? [ engine revs ] i'll take it. [ male announcer ] it's chevy truck month. now during chevy truck month, get 0% apr financing for 60 months or trade up to get the 2012 chevy silverado all-star edition with a total value of $8,000. hurry in before they're all gone! i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] don't just moisturize, improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula goes beyond 24-hour moisture. it's clinically proven to improve your skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. for healthy, beautiful skin that lasts. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] aveeno daily moisturizing lotion.

also discover daily moisturizing body wash. for healthy skin that starts in the shower. only from aveeno. without freshly-made pasta. you could also cut corners by making it without 100% real cheddar cheese. but then...it wouldn't be stouffer's mac & cheese. just one of over 70 satisfying recipes for one from stouffer's. starts with ground beef, unions, and peppers baked in a ketchup glaze with savory gravy and mashed russet potatoes. what makes stouffer's meatloaf best of all? that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. let's fix dinner. nah. [ dennis' voice ] i bet he's got an allstate agent. they can save you up to 30% more by bundling your policies. well his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. are you in good hands? boring. boring. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring.

that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts, more events, more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with the citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports brewers moved into a playoff space at blanking the pittsburgh pirates. here is fred roggin. >> good morning, who would have thought? now, they are in the wild card.

one reason milwaukee is in the mix, he struck out six for the eighth in a row. following his mvp season, leads with 104 rbi. the brewers one, 6-0. everybody is trying to hang with the braves. rally from three down in the ninth. forced extras with a wall banger to the left. easy come, easy go. in came the winning run. the marlins walk off with a 4-3 win. now to the a.l., the tigers needed a win to keep pace with the white sox. miguel cabrera delivered. there it goes, a grand slam in his final at bat. the tigers, 12-2. sad news, steve sabol passed away. sabol along with his brother ed,

writer, producer and camera man, he shaped the way we watch the nfl. he was elected to the profootball hall of fame last year. he was 69. finally, back to baseball for the catch of the night. a line drive into the gap. you'll get nothing like it. laid out to make the grab. the white sox won it. then angels and rangers with a high fly to the left. going, going and it is gone. so is wells. he went head over heels into the stands. he went to the well and came up dry. angels have the last laugh. they won big. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred, roggin. now we check in with diylan dreyer. >> we are going to see things clear out across the east coast. we had storms yesterday rock the

east coast basically from northern new england down to florida. we had reports of wind gusts of 50 to 60 miles per hour. now, the cooler air is going to settle in here. red flag warnings. humidity values, very dry. temperatures in the 70s across the east coast. as we go into tomorrow, it looks like we'll stay with highs in the 60s and 70s. lynn? >> thank you so much. a former "friends" star hits pregnancy rumors head on. plus, the threat of reconciliation between robert pattinson and kristen stewart. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life.

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this isn't good you guys. sean white was arrested after getting drunk and trashing his hotel room. it was weird. at first white said he was sorry, then he did a total 180. get this, you guys, in a new interview, first lady, michelle obama said she doesn't think of her family as famous. she said she had to go get ready for dinner with jay-z and beyonce. he welcomes my rudolph, dave and sesame street's elmo. that's late night with jimmy fallon on your local nbc station. it's time for entertainment news.

dylan and i are excited about this. a reconciliation could be near for "twilight" stars robert pattinson and kristen stewart. the two have been spending time together in secret. they broke up this summer after she was photographed cheating on him with a married director. stand by for more on that. marvin hamlisch came out. barbra streisand performed. michael douglas was among the guests. this is a great idea. 43-year-old jennifer aniston is hitting back against pregnancy rumors with a promotional spoof video. it's gone viral. there's a fake report on leaked home security tapes that reveal aniston is pregnant with twins. she's chugging water there for anybody that is concerned.

she's not really pregnant. but, at least she's taking it as a joke and having fun with it. >> that's good. she gets picked on a lot about it. >> it's not fair at all. i'm lynn berry. stay tuned. way too early with willie geist starts right now. president obama on letterman making political hay out of romney's comment about 47% of americans who don't pay federal income taxes. will it have legs or evaporation like other campaign controversies? >> the real story is written in a small handful of swing states. we have new polls that remind us this thing is a long way from over. the question is, where on the electoral map is the president most vol