>> john mccain fought it to the bitter end. senator mccain i'm not sure what is on your agenda tomorrow, but you said it was going to be a disaster. it has been a year now. do you still think you were right or were you wrong and if you were wrong, is it time to say so? or were you wrong? if you were wrong, is it time to say so? "first look" is up next. worst week. mitt romney tries to contain the fallout from his comments which he dismissed nearly half of all americans. in harm's way. a dramatic video shows a close call for a texas officer and a bystander. piece of work. a spanish woman who ruined a 19th scentury fresco now wants o get paid.

this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with campaign battleground. president obama, mitt romney are campaigning in the swing state of florida where both candidates will play up their policy on immigration and trade jabs at comments each made in the past. brian mooar has details from washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, veronica. romney is pulling a page from the 2008 playbook accusing president obama of trying to redistribute the wealth. as president obama and mitt romney cross paths, their war for the white house shifted over video tapes.

romney's obsessment -- still causing problems for his campaign. republicans are firing back. they are using a 1998 recording of then state senator barack obama talking of making government more efficient in a conference. >> how we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution because i believe in redistribution. at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot. >> he said some years ago something which we are hearing about today on the internet. he said he believes in redistribution. all right? >> do you want to talk about redistribution? governor romney and congressman ryan would redistrub ute to the wealthiest of americans. >> reporter: a war of words caught on tape.

some of the most important words in florida may be in spanish at a spanish language tv forum courting that hispanic vote. >> brian mooar in washington. thank you. last night on the "rachel maddow show," barbara boxer spoke about the recording of romney. she told rachel she's never heard anything like it before. >> i have been involved in presidential politics since the '70s, that is a very long time. i never heard any republican or democratic candidate for president write off almost half the people, show disdain for almost half the people. i never saw a candidate who would refuse to put out his income tax -- if he thinks paying income tax is so important, show us the money. show us the tax returns. it's rather stunning to me, the whole thing. >> lean forward with "rachel maddow show" here on msnbc, the

place for politics. a top u.s. security official said the deadly attack in libya on september 11th where the american ambassador was a terrorist strike. they doubt it started as a spontaneous protest. daniele has more from washington. >> reporter: sitting before the homeland security committee, three top officials called this scene last week, the deadly assault in libya where four americans died. evidence the u.s. continues to be vulnerable to terrorist attacks. much else remains unanswered. was al qaeda involved? >> we are looking at indications individuals may have had connections to al qaeda. >> reporter: was the attack planned like the libyan government insists or spontaneous? >> i just don't think that

people come to protests equipped with rpgs and other heavy weapons. >> we are conducting interviews, gathering evidence and trying to sort out the facts. >> reporter: as investigators sort out the facts, the families of those killed are laying their loved ones to rest. susan collins says it could have been prevented if they were better protected. >> i'm stunned and appalled there wasn't better security. >> one of the factors under evaluation. in washington, i'm danielle lee, nbc news. france closed embassies in 20 countries over cartoons in a french newspaper. they are on high alert closing cultural centers. cartoons poked fun at an

anti-islamic film made in the united states. they accused the magazine of pouring oil on the fire. here is your "first look" at stories around america. in texas, split second heroism saved a woman after a drunk driver plowed into his car. >> it sent the wreckage of the police car at the pair. both are recovering. in florida, a school bus camera captured a violent confrontation. a mom went after a 17-year-old boy who was in a fight with her son the day before. the mom chased the teenager on the bus and started pulling his hair. she is charged with child abuse. finally, in kentucky, this is devotion. a mad dash by university of kentucky fans who waited all night and raced to find a place to camp out for three days in

hopes of landing tickets for the first open practice of the season. the tradition grows ever year. this year, with good reason after they took home their eighth national title. now we turn to dylan dreyer. we have folks camped out all day long for tickets to "snl" and the "today" show. >> that, to me, makes sense, but practice? it wasn't even the first game. >> they are winners. but you're right, it's practice. >> we are going to see -- it is falling back through eastern michigan. heavy at times and thunderstorms are occurring out that way as well. other than that, minus a few thunderstorms across florida, there's not a lot going on. we have been in a quiet weather pattern where a cold front moves through and high pressure moves back in. we don't have to worry about a lot. we are going to see this cold

front to the south and east. heavy rain through eastern michigan. this moves through lake erie and on tear ya. through texas, it's going to be warm today. highs getting into the 90s and close to 100 degrees. here is a closer look at the thunderstorms approaching flint, michigan and the detroit area as well. we will see, i'd say about an inch or so of rain from the thunderstorms and the showers and storms continue across florida. as we go into tomorrow, this front loses a lot of steam. it shouldn't bring the northeast a lot of rain as we go into your friday. veronica? >> housing sparks. mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the richest of them all? your "first look" at business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, history chases and a fond farewell for one american coach. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. now, that's what i call a test drive.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica dela cruz. there is no evidence eric holder knew about the fast and furious gun operation. local officials were criticized for not briefing holder. the highest ranking atomic energy official in iran say two nuclear facilities were the target of sabotage. the sight americans say would be the most difficult to bomb. aung san suu kyi met with president obama at the white house and was given the congressional gold medal. the highest honor bestowed by congress. she called it the most moving day of her life. in california, 20 people were stuck for four hours 300

feet in the air on a ride. they were eventually taken off and there was no injuries. the spanish woman who damaged a fresco of jesus in what she calls a restoration wants money from the church. suddenly, the painting attracted an admission to the church. now she's demanding royalties. now, here is your "first look" of this mornings dish of scrambled politics. senate democratic leader harry reed talked about president obama and who are the 47% romney calls victims. mitt romney could be one of those who paid no income tax. >> his father george -- 1962 interview where she says george was on government relief for the first few years of his life when

his family moved back to the u.s. from mexico. at the forum, romney said he is proud he created what some call romney care in massachusetts. clint eastwood talked to ellen degeneres about gay marriage. he said his stance on marriage equality is quote, leave everybody alone. the democratic and republican conventions got $35 million from the federal government. now the house voted to end the subsidies. they must resolve differences in the two bills to stop the funding. a tweet of the day for international talk like a pirate day came from president obama. the photo showed the buccaneer in chief in deep discussion with a costumed pirate. you are encouraged to greet your

friends with ahoy matey. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. now here is your "first look" at how wall street will open. the dow closed at 13,577 after adding 13 points. the nasdaq up four. the nikkei sank 145 points while in hong kong dropped 250. a pair of encouraging housing reports gave stocks a boost on wednesday. existing home sales reached the highest level in more than two years. that drove home builders all higher. the sinking price of crude slid 3.5% to $92 a barrel bringing the week's total loss to 7%. china's manufacturing output

dipped to the lowest level in ten months. exports were down 10% over last august. bank of america is ramping up a cost cutting plan that could result in the loss of 16,000 jobs by the end of the year. 3m followed fedex throwing up a weak economics conditions. after the bell, bed bath & beyond fell 5%. lower in late trade, adobe systems. they will take a toll this quarter. american airlines canceled hundreds of flights as they struggle with an increase in pilots calling out. bill gates retained his spot at the top of forbes 400 richest list thanks to his $66 billion net worth. mark zuckerberg is the biggest

loser tumbling from 14 to 36. anyway you look at it, it's not a bad place to be, right? closing on the triple crown and a double victory in the bronx. plus, the u.s. women's soccer team sends off their coach in style. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. here's what happened... i was talking to my best friend. i told her i wasn't feeling like myself... i had pain in my pelvic area... and bleeding that wasn't normal for me. she said i had to go to the doctor.

turned out i had uterine cancer, a type of gynecologic cancer. i received treatment and we're confident i'll be fine. please listen to your body. if something doesn't feel right for two weeks or longer, see your doctor. get the inside knowledge about gynecologic cancers. knowing can make all the difference in the world. a short word that's a tall order. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again.

free streaming quotes, all your investments, positions, and even your trade ticket are all on one customizable page. see the 360 investing dashboard at e-trade. less expensive option than a traditional lawyer? at legalzoom you get personalized services for your family and your business that's 100% guaranteed. so go to legalzoom.com today for personalized, affordable legal protection. welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica dela cruz.

beating the seattle mariners in a victory. here is fred roggin. >> good morning. a wild card orioles needed 18 innings on tuesday. why not an extra inning affair last night. sleepless in seattle, a solitary oriole fan will never say die. second straight extra inning victory. a 3.5 game cushion in the wild card. yanks and blue jays in a doubleheader. broke the blue jays back yesterday. lined up for five, the yanks won, 4-2. ichiro made the difference. seven hits yesterday. that put new york on top. yanks win it 2-1. they are a half game ahead of baltimore in the east. tigers making a run at the a.l. central. cabrera making a run at the triple crown. runs batted in. after that home run, just one

behind hamilton for the league lead. no one hit for the triple crown since 1967. the tilers won it, 6-2. they are within two games of the white sox. game two, the nats came back with a deficit. scored six in the eighth to tie things up. kept the dodgers afloat, a solo homer in the ninety. dodgers won. two back in the wild card. to soccer, the woman's coach, her final game, they sent their coach out in style. into the net. americans showing off on their gold medal, beat australia, 6-2. now the coach is going home to coach the swedish national team. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. here is dylan dreyer with the weather channel forecast. it's nice when you don't have this much to report.

>> i feel like the past couple weeks, the past couple months, it has been quiet. >> we'll take it. >> exactly. >> a lot of people are happy with the way summer turned out. summer is coming to an end. this weekend, we start the fall season of 2012. time rushes by too quickly. we have fall-like temperatures, very cold across northern new england. we are seeing frost and freeze advisories where we have temperatures in the 30s right now. elsewhere, temperatures moderate across the country. we are in the 50s for the most part. we are going to see a nice rebound through atlanta. 79 degrees today. 62 up into boston. minneapolis, only 66 degrees today. some of the trouble spots, eastern michigan, heavier rain that way. scattered showers and storms are going to fire up through florida later today. tomorrow, chicago will see scattered showers. the west coast, smoke still the only concern out that way especially interior washington state and oregon.

smoke from area wildfires will continue to linger in that area. otherwise, the entire west coast is going to enjoy lots of sunshine. ver anka? >> thank you so much. talk to you soon. a famous couple is said to reunite. greetings from the stork. plus, sound familiar? late nightclubing, driving, then an arrest. lindsay lohan's latest legal run in, this time in new york city. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ clears his throat ] put me at 5 timesd out my greater risk of a stroke,'t she? my first thoughts were about my wife, and my family. i have the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin, but my doctor put me on pradaxa instead to reduce my risk of stroke.

in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) reduced stroke risk 35% better than warfarin. and unlike warfarin, with pradaxa, there's no need for regular blood tests. that's really important to me. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. having afib not caused by a heart valve problem increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk with pradaxa.

this is kind of cool. a new report predicts 75% of cars will be self-drivering by

the year 2040. as lindsay lohan calls it, too late. too late, come on. this is interesting, researchers discovered evidence that suggests jesus had a wife. now we know when he walked on water, there was still one person who wasn't impressed. great, are you going to put up the shelves like we talked about carpenter? that is late night with jimmy fallon weeknights at 12:35 an your local nbc station. it is time for your "first look" at entertainment news. shakira took another step toward having it all. she posted wednesday that she and 25-year-old barcelona soccer star boyfriend are very happy awaiting the arrival of our first baby. the grammy winner and soon to be judge on nbcs "the voice"

canceled a performance tomorrow in las vegas. probably hard to do when she's pregnant, anyway. the robert pattinson, kristin stewart has turned into a reconciliation. "people" magazine saying they will be a couple again. the two are back together after a dramatic make up in los angeles. finally, lindsay lohan has been arrested again, this time in new york city for leaving the scene of an accident after clipping a pedestrian with a borrowed porsche. lohan was slurring her words and reeked of boos. lohan claims she is being set up. what do you think? >> with her track record? it's hard to believe that. >> it's always the first place you go. shocker. at least she's back in the news again. what are you thinking, first of all, driving in new york city? >> driving, then to be reeking

of boos and driving. yeah. there's no good place to be. >> yeah. it's lindsay, though. when is she ever going to learn? >> probably no time soon. >> i'm veronica dela cruz. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. mitt romney continues to address the secretly recorded video tape saying as president, his campaign is for the 100% of the united states, not the 53% he talked about in the video. with discouraging battleground polling out, how will he close the gap in the states that will decide the election. political fight. senate republicans say they can't go for it. the question is, what could be controversial about a plan that puts vets to work after they come home from war? we'll dig into that. we ar