i'm brian shactman. it's july 22nd. also a late night red sox/yankees thriller to show you and the pope now in the most populous catholic country. we begin with that news out of london where the duchess of cambridge has been admitted to the hospital. palace officials confirm she's in the early stages of labor. joining us from outside st. mary's hospital, nbc news correspondent jim maceda. jim, let the hysteria, i guess, continue, not just begin. >> reporter: hi, brian. well, that's right. we can report that the long wait is not yet over but certainly is beginning to end. we had initial signs that something was up. something was moving around now 4 1/2 hours ago when some photographers tweeted that they'd seen a convoy of vehicles, including range rovers, but no ambulance pulling into one of the side entrances of the hospital. then shortly after that,

kensington palace where william and kate currently live, released a short official confirmation saying that the duchess of cambridge had, indeed, been admitted to st. mary's hospital behind me in the early, and i repeat, early stages of labor. and that she had arrived by car which would indicate there was no immediate emergency. since then, a palace spokesman unnamed said that all is proceeding normally. again that was now 4 1/2 hours ago that she arrived. but it's really, brian, unlikely, very unlikely that we'll have any official updates from the palace. they just don't do that kind of thing, until the actual birth of the future king or queen. until we see a palace official hand carry out of that door a medical bulletin, what we call a birth certificate, the 2 1/2 miles by car, of course, and police escort, to buckingham palace. it will then be placed in the

forecourt there on the very same easel that announced prince william's birth 30 years ago for all to see. we're not there yet. there could still be substantial waiting for the world and the journalists here before we really know if there's a birth and certainly before we know if it's a boy or a girl. >> one thing that americans don't really understand is that even the name, potential name of the baby is a huge gambling thing in the uk in terms of odds and they call them punters over there. just give us a sense of the favorites for names on each side. >> you're right. punting here or betting here is phenomenal. like no place in the world. they bet on just about everything and everything and certainly the royal names for the future king or queen is at the top of the list. hundreds of thousands of pounds have been betted already. now if it's a boy, the favorites -- the favorites of the people, not necessarily the palace. but the favorites are george,

james and philip which would be a long shot because prince philip is still alive. if it's a girl, the top names have been alexandra, charlotte, elizabeth, for obvious reasons, and a sentimental favorite which is diana. diana who gave birth to william and harry at this very hospital behind me. back to you. >> jim, i think it's going to be a girl. that's my prediction. by the way, nird line to the throne behind charles and william. >> jim maceda, live for us in london. president obama set to launch a major campaign to refocus the nation on his vision for the economy. he'll do it later this week. the president is expected to get out ahead of several major fiscal battles that are coming up this fall including the debt ceiling and the budget. the tour begins wednesday at knox college in illinois. the site where he first laid out his economic vision as a senator in a commencement address in 2005. the speeches are expected to offer broad strokes but very few new proposals.

they are expected to touch on health care, housing, college and the strengthening of the middle class which are familiar themes from his presidential campaign. when it comes to detroit when you crunch the numbers, it's a dauntsing equation. the largest american city to enter bankruptcy is $18 billion in debt. nearly one-third of it owed to retiree health care alone. michigan governor rick snyder who said in 2011 he'd not let the city fall into bankruptcy now says there is no other choice. >> do you think there is a federal bailout in detroit's future? >> no. and i don't expect one. i've said before, the state cannot bail out the city of detroit. and part of the context i would say that to you, it's not just about putting more money in a situation. it's about better services to citizens. again, it's about accountable government. >> detroit wants to spread the losses to both investors and those with pensions. an estimated 20,000 retirees who rely on the monthly income. that makes up $3.5 billion of the city's debt burden.

since the city declared bankruptcy, a circuit court rejected the filing labelling it unconstitutional. that's likely to delay what many consider the inevitable. creditors are looking at the city's vaunted art collection as possible assets to liquidate. the detroit institute of arts is run by the city and has pieces from new and old masters alike including remigrant and van gogh. experts ballpark the holdings at about $2 billion. in houston, dueling sets of protests show the fallout from the george zimmerman trial is far from over. the city saw a massive deployment of police and at times confrontation but no real violence after houston-based new black panther activist organized a march through the wealthy river oak suburb. however, those rallying to honor trayvon martin were met by a small but vocal group of zimmerman supporters who were determined to have their voices heard. meanwhile, senator john mccain became one of the more prominent republican lawmakers

to weigh in on the controversial stand your ground law. >> i can also see that stand your ground law may be something that needs to be reviewed by -- >> in arizona? >> by the florida legislature or any other legislature. isn't this time for us to try to come together? isn't it time for america to come together in light of what we -- several weeks of what is really exacerbating relations between elements of our society? i'd rather have a message of coming together and discussing these issues rather than condemning. police in east cleveland, ohio, have called off their search for more victims. investigators believe they have their suspect in custody. law enforcement and concerned community members spent the entire weekend scouring the city after three bodies were found wrapped in garbage bags. the ishs dedentities of the vic were not revealed but all three women were believed to have been killed in the past 6 to 10 days. their remains discovered less than 200 yards apart.

michael madison, a registered sex offender, will appear in court. he's expected to be charged in connection with the deaths of the three women. it's believed he was influenced by a local serial killer convicted of murdering 11 women in 2011. six flags over texas continues to investigate the death of a woman killed on a roller coaster over the weekend near dallas. on her first ever visit to six flags, rosy esparza was riding the texas giant. it's the steepest wooden roller coaster in the world. it tops out at about 14 stories. according to witnesses, esparza was concerned her lap restraint was not working when she got on the ride and grew panicked as the ride departed. family members told one witness disaster struck after the initial first bump. a 79-degree dip. >> when it pulled up, the daughter and son of the lady that flew out of the car were hysterical and they were saying that their mother flew out of the car.

>> there is no federal oversight of roller coasters and texas is one of 21 states that has no agency to oversee the investigation. as a result, six flags and the german company that made the ride will conduct that investigation. pope francis embarking on his first trip away from -- the scope of the trip is absolutely massive. security will be provided by more than 20,000 police and army troops at its 18 public events. and the cost of the trip estimated at $150 million. one-third of that subsidized by the host country. and it comes at a critical time in brazil. the largest catholic country in the world. 75% catholic in 2000. today just two-thirds of the country is catholic with the church losing members to the pentecostal movement. another weekend, another disappointing box office return

for a big budget movie. >> what do i look like? >> these are your i.d.s. some federal. a lot of utility. whatever gets us access. >> really? an old chinese guy? >> all right. it earned just $12.7 million this week and just $130 million to make. for ryan reynolds, a double flop. the long line of expensive move toys tank this year including "the lone ranger" and "white house down." who was number one? i've never heard of it but "the conjuring" took in more than $41 million. the scary movie always does it. they're always cheap to make. cost $20 million to make so it's florida the black. "despicable me" beat out "turbo" for second and has grossed $276 million in the united states. you have got to have seen it over the weekend. geraldo rivera posted that on

twitter. i thought the half naked selfies got to go. it inspired another "way too early" caption contest. tweet us your moanswers. we'll put the best ones on the air at the end of the program. still ahead, at one point in his career, some view phil mickelson as a choker. five majors later and a legendary performance yesterday. we'll hear from lefty after his incredibly clutch performance. and the "man of steel" getting a new crime-fighting partner. the plan for superman to team up with another caped crusader. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes back. in started in oslo when one

bomb tore through the prime minister's office building blowing out windows and killing at least seven people. later in what police believe was a related attack, a lone gunman opened fire at a summer camp for teens. in your busy day,

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time for sports. the red sox and yankees took it late into the evening at fenway in the rubber match of a three-game series. third inning, down a pair. mike napoli. going big beards with the sox. takes cc sabathia deep over the monster. three-run shot. 4-3 lead. the yankees would come back. robinson cano, two-run single in inth the sixth. mr. napoli and his beard back at the plate with two outs. >> the 3-2. >> it's gone! it's over.

>> no matter who you like, the walk-off home run is just the greatest. love it. that second one of the game for him. a solo shot. sox take the series. a game and a half ahead of the rays in the east. won 20 of 24. the yankees now seven games back. just don't end up on the dl and get hurt there celebrating at home plate. the team announced alex rodriguez will remain on the disabled list with a grade one quad strain. a-rod slated to return to the team this week but the strain will keep him sidelined for an indefinite period of time. i don't think he plays again, like i said to bill karins. i said it on record a week ago. as frustrated -- sorry, bill. a-rod on the brain. it's been frustrating for the yankees but that's nothing compared to the marlins. the marlins and brewers took a 0-0 game into the 13th before the brewers won it with a walk-off home run. miami has gone a club record 37

innings without a run. that's the longest for any team in 28 years since the houston astros did it in 1985. ironically, houston and miami are the two worst teams in baseball. that's a long time not to score a run. not even a sac fly. golf, phil mickelson posted a low score yesterday and that was a good thing. >> and phil mickelson with a sunday to remember at the open championship. >> he knows better than to jump after he wins now. winning the british open for the first time. his fifth major victory. many saying it was the best round of his life. >> i was getting ready for today, and i just thought, i need to bring my "a" game today. i just need to bring it. i need to show up and play some of my best golf. and i did.

i played some of the best golf of my career. it feels amazing to have this championship. >> tiger woods finished five strokes back in sixth place at 2 over. it's been more than five years since he last won a major. at the planning meeting it seemed like a pretty decent idea but for pr at a college summer league baseball game, take a look at the skydiver. he will basically just pl plow right into the starting shortstop. no one was seriously hurt. word is they are going to maybe try bungee jumping so you may want to get your tickets. that's just tough. just when you thought you couldn't get any more ridiculous, check this one out. this is at a badminton tournament. this is a brawl. turns out these two guys were teammates in the olympics. they are from china. they had a breakup. one player got the bad end of it. apparently told his teammate he needed to retire from the sport to take care of his mother. that was their first meeting

since their breakup. i wonder if they'll have a rematch. never thought things get that intense at a badminton match. >> badminton gets nasty. >> it's intense. >> like badyard badminton at mika's house. >> are you a badminton or horseshoe girl? >> more like -- >> she's got no mike but, anyway -- >> i went to one of mika's backyard parties. >> i've not been invited to a mika backyard party. >> they're fun. as far as the forecast goes, pretty quiet out there. we'll have some rain and showers and storms to deal with but nothing horrendous. this morning, all in areas of indiana heading through kentucky. watch out around the nashville area through the heart of your morning rush hour. heavy rain will be heading your way. eventually moving to the east coast. with the clouds we'll finally keep the temperatures down. it was 92 again yesterday in d.c. today we should only be about 88. it's a little humid out there.

not exactly refreshing after the heat wave from last week. the middle of the country, very hot. texas near 100. 95 and all of the west remains very hot. another cold front will track this week. it will cool down by the end of the week. >> 99 in boise, idaho. hot. thank you bill. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," the president makes his most extensive comments on race since taking office. the republican who was pretty impressed with obama's speech. we'll huddle around the cooler. beyonce's fans go a little nuts. a new video is taking that excitement to a new extreme. my mother made the best toffee in the world. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen.

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at the top of the show, we talked about the royal baby watch. now that the duchess of cambridge has officially gone into labor, if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends that prince william was the first future monarch to be born in a hospital. both william and his brother harry were born at st. mary's hospital where kate will give birth as well. their father charles was born in buckingham palace.

a lot of factoids will come out in the next day or so. time to hit the cooler. it's a match made in comic book heaven. over the weekend, "man of steel" director zach snyder confirmed he'd be directing a second installment of a superman film. when he revealed it would feature another superhero prominently. that was a game-changer. batman will be joined his caped companion in the film. it's not clear if christopher nolan will be involved in the project or if christian bale who is a great batman will be back to reprise his role. we do know the folks at comic-con may have had a few accidents in the pants in excitement over that one. flashback friday on jimmy fallon as jesse and the rippers rocked out on late night. ♪ i got the hippie hippie shakes i got the shakes ♪ ♪ i got the hippie hippie shakes ♪ >> that's john stamos reprising

his role as uncle jesse from the sitcom. we had him on "morning joe" recently. that's got to be a wig. bob saget was enjoying the tunes of his former co-star but only stamos had the stylish mullet. i would guess getting a hug from beyonce would be pretty memorable. for one fan it may have been pretty dangerous. ♪ >> he went down. down for the count. supposedly he's okay, though. beyonce currently in the middle of her mrs. carter world tour.

not clear if she'll continue to hug fans in the front row after one passed out. there's a reason for rhino incest here. in an effort to save a species here, zookeepers in cincinnati are turning to -- yep, that's right. there are no more than 100 sumatra rhinos left on the planet and only two on this continent. scientists plan to have 6-year-old harapan mate with his sister. they prefer to avoid inbreeding to maximize genetic diversity as mika is staring me down. but the species is too close to extinction to wait for a better situation. i don't have a good segue so you can take it away. >> a lot of news this morning. there is a lot of news coming up on "morning joe." you are looking at live pictures. we'll get them up for you from st. mary's hospital in london where the duchess of cambridge is in the early stages of labor.

the royal baby watch is on. we'll get a live report. also break down what the royal family means to the british economy and especially this moment in history. also, more reaction to president obama's impromptu comments entree von maon trayvo martin. and we're going to ask eugene robinson if he stands by his column explaining why president obama is the wrong person to discuss race. he joins us in just a moment. in and later, congressman steve cohen joins the set following the surprise revelation that a young woman he thought was his daughter, in fact, wasn't related to him at all and what happened after that. all that plus harold ford jr., andrea mitchell, senator toomey, all much more straight ahead on "morning joe." still ahead on "way too early" your best and most creative captions. did you see this one, mika?

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all right. earlier in the the show we wanted you your most creative tweets on the self-y. eric shultz, i think we have as many responses as we have ever had to a caption contest. what do you got? >> mark says, more like he ral do. and anyone want to open up my vault? i don't know what he means by vault. >> the capone thing? >> that's it? >> take it away. >> it's a good thing lib rach chi deny have a smart phone. "morning joe"