good wednesday morning, everybody. right now on "first look" -- air strikes continued overnight between israel and gaza, disrupting a wedding in israel and killing dozens of palestinians. we have the latest details. storms are responsible for at least five deaths since last night. is more severe weather headed your way? president obama faces the child immigration problem head on today, but not before he hits a colorado bar and is offered some pot. plus, george clooney takes on the media, claiming outright family lies. also, germany demolishing brazil in world cup. and a man almost loses an arm to a crock. hello, everybody. thanks for joining us.

i'm betty nguyen. tension is rising in the middle east with both israel and gaza exchanging a high volume of rocket fire. at least 25 people are dead following an aerial assault by the israeli military over gaza. the attacks came in response to gaza's continued rocket attacks on israel. new video shows at least one of the attacks interrupting a wedding in israel. sirens start going off and people begin to scatter. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is asking israelis to be patient while the army broadens its operations in gaza. nbc's ayman mohyeldin has the latest from israel. >> reporter: there are sirens wailing across israel over its two largest cities. >> look. wow! >> whoa! >> reporter: missiles over tel aviv intercepted by the defense system the israelis call the iron dome. but in gaza, there were no sirens warning of israel's assault on the strip. a woman escaping with her children. a man is heard shouting, "where

is the world?" others just running by the wounded. in the rubble of israel's air strike, a man is trapped. with a little help, he is rescued. the might of israel's military unleashed on gaza, targeted suspecting launching sites in the home of suspected militants. authorities there saying this one strike killed seven, including three children. >> the future will be very bad and very harsh for us. but what can we do? what we can do? >> reporter: they say they are prepared to fight. the israeli military released a video showing palestinian fighters launching a daring amphibious assault on a beach fro front. the israeli army has called up thousands of soldiers and they have told them to take the gloves off, an indication israel is going on a war footing. families in southern israel are preparing for the worst. israel linden's family is spending their nights in this cramped bomb shelter they've

made look like a bedroom with toys for their children. >> last night we all slept here. >> reporter: you all slept here last night? >> yeah. several times there were qassam rockets. >> reporter: no letup from either side as missiles and rockets light up the skies. >> ayman mohyeldin reporting there. well, as the immigration crisis continues in this country, president obama is traveling to texas today, but not to the border area. at the same time, several top officials, including homeland security secretary jeh johnson are in guatemala, hoping to stem the immigration tide. and in the nation's capital, lawmakers are reacting to the president's request of $3.7 billion to help with the border crisis. nbc's tracie potts joins me now from washington, d.c. so, tracie, what do you think will happen today? >> reporter: well, we know that the state department, homeland security and other agencies like health and human services that are dealing with these kids at the border are coming here to capitol hill for a hearing on this emergency funding. is congress going to grant the money to help take care of these children before sending them

back to central america? from denver to texas this afternoon, president obama will meet with faith leaders and governor rick perry in dallas, not at the border. >> the president would not travel to the border and he's not going to do that. >> either the president doesn't really understand this border crisis or he simply doesn't care. >> reporter: the united nations insists these children are refugees and should stay. the u.n. found 60% were victims of extreme gang violence. >> they believed that they couldn't access any protection from their own governments, and their only choice to survive was to actually leave. and these are painful decisions that families are making. >> reporter: while the president's in texas, the house appropriations committee holds a hearing on capitol hill today to consider his $3.7 billion emergency request for more border agents, food, clothes and medical care for the thousands of children being detained and a

campaign to convince central american parents not to send their kids here. the expedited process to approve that money could still take weeks. now, if lawmakers insist on determining up front where that money's coming from, remember we saw that with superstorm sandy, or if they decide to try to tack on unrelated things on the back end, that could even delay the process further. betty? >> all right. we'll see where it goes. tracie, thank you so much. well, a line of severe thunderstorms just tore through the northeast tuesday evening, spotting at least three tornadoes from ohio to new york. officials say four people were killed, including a child, after high winds ripped apart four homes in smithfield, new york. the national weather service is trying to determine if it was indeed a tornado. in maryland, a child was killed when a tree fell at a summer camp there. the powerful storms damaged homes, toppled trees and left hundreds of thousands without power. it is a disturbing admission

from federal health officials. they have revealed that workers cleaning out a storage room at the national institutes of heath in maryland stumbled across several virals of smallpox that weren't properly stored or locked up. as you know, smallpox is one of the deadliest viruses on earth. it is the second time in a month that there have been concerns about the handling of deadly viruses at federal labs. the cdc said last month that more than 80 workers were potentially exposed to anthrax. a former pharmacy chief at a new york city hospital is accused of stealing millions of dollars in painkillers. prosecutors say 47-year-old anthony de alessandro took nearly 200,000 oxycodone and other pills from beth israel medical center, which ended up on the black market. the drugs have a street value of about $5.6 million. he is being charged under a state drug kingpin law normally used for big-time street dealers. also in new york city, brooklyn d.a. to stop low-level weed prosecutions. it's being done to ease the

burden on the courts and jails. the new policy won't apply to 16 and 17-year-olds or people caught smoking in public or near children. and in washington state, the first recreational pot shops opened for business tuesday, where customers found long lines and limited supplies. all right, we're going to switch gears now and get to our inhouse sports guru, of course, none other than richard lui. good morning. >> very good day to you. made it to wednesday, betty. >> yay! >> yes. it was the largest landslide in world cup semi history. germany destroys brazil. five goals in the first 30 minutes alone. and then this. >> once again, that's seven! an utter humiliation! >> ouch! germany goes to 7-0. >> humiliation is what he called it. >> you got that right, betty. a moping brazil, somehow,

though, able to muster one goal, but germany trampled 7-1. the odds in that happening, 1 in 20,000 says espn's soccer power index. it is brazil's first competitive international loss at home in 39 years! more semifinal play today, 4:00 p.m. eastern, netherlands/argentina. be watching that one. donald sterling, owner of the los angeles clippers was in court on tuesday. he argues his wife, who removed him as co-trustee of their family trust, could not unilaterally sell the team because the trust was already revoked. sterling's emotions ranged from anger and sarcasm to choking up about his wife. both sides claim sterling's performance helped their own case. >> just as you saw the real donald sterling and we saw the real donald sterling, the judge sees the real donald sterling now. he sees that this guy just makes stuff up. >> i think the claim that he lacks competency is a sham. it's absurd. and i finish with an airline

safety video with supermodels. >> life jackets are inflated by pulling on this red tag. but only do so once you've exited the aircraft. >> are you watching that one, betty? >> i think a lot of people are watching right now. >> all right. that's air new zealand, if you care. it celebrates the 50th anniversary "sports illustrated" swimsuit edition. 11,000 people, though, signing a petition asking for the "culturally insensitive video" to be removed. the airline saying it's changing it to a new quip this week because it had completed its run. >> oh, so that's the official reason. >> i just want to keep on talking to see if we play the video more and more. >> continue to play. you almost forget what the whole video is about. all you see are these supermodels. >> christie brinkley's in it. >> okay, thank you. here with your wednesday weather, nbc 4 new york meteorologist raphael miranda. you like that video, too, don't you? >> i think it will get people to watch.

let them know about airline safety. >> the diplomatic answer. >> and more bathing suit weather in the northeast today, another hot one. but let's look back at the stormy weather from yesterday. over 300 storm reports. see that blue cluster in the northeast? that's all the wind damage we had yesterday, confirmed tornadoes. of course, maybe more severe weather today, not expecting such a widespread outbreak, but high temperatures between 85 and 90 degrees. so, we could see strong to severe storms for new york city down towards d.c., even across the southeast. again, not quite as widespread as yesterday. otherwise, in the midwest, it's nice and quiet in chicago, 78 degrees. tomorrow we finally dry out from this humidity a bit in the northeast, but it stays sticky and a little stormy across the southeast for thursday. >> all right. it's that time of year. thank you so much. we appreciate it. also this, an angry george clooney fires back at a media tabloid for attacking his family. plus, ahead of tackling immigration, president obama's offered a hit of marijuana while in colorado. wouldn't you know it? you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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all right, let's get down to business with cnbc's bertha coombs. good morning, bertha. >> good morning, betty. we've got citigroup reportedly close to a $7 billion settlement to settle charges it sold bad mortgages in the run-up to the financial crisis. a deal could be announced next week. part of the settlement will likely go towards consumer relief in which citigroup would modify mortgages for some homeowners. the labor department says companies advertise more jobs in may than in any month in the past seven years. that's a sign of stronger hiring, but employers have been slow to fill those jobs, suggesting they're having trouble finding skilled workers. 7-eleven celebrates its 87th birthday on friday and will hand out free slurpees all day long. the convenient store chain is extending the freebee fun into next week. customers can get free cookies and big gulps, but betty, you know, you've got to download the 7-eleven app for that. >> all right, sign me up! i like a free slurpee. thank you, bertha. okay, some other stories that we're following for you.

ahead of president obama's trip to texas today to focus on the massive immigration issue, including the almost $4 billion he's asking congress for, he was in colorado where he met with a few locals to discuss wages and the economy. mr. obama also stopped in a bar owned by governor john hickenlooper, where he greeted patrons, including this man wearing a horse head, as you saw. i'm not sure why. and finally, a game of pool and a pint. someone even offered him a hit of the state's newly legal marijuana. the president laughed it off. >> you want to hit this? [ laughter ] so, back in washington, four va whistleblowers testified before congress. they accused the agency of retaliating against them for exposing problems. one claims he was publicly mocked at a company party. >> in front of close to 300 individuals, i was labeled a rat. the slide that followed this is so heinous that i can't even show or discuss it today.

>> in all, the government is investigating 67 claims of retaliation. well, george clooney is striking back at the "daily mail." the british tabloid recently published a story about his fiancee's mother and how she opposed the marriage for religious reasons. clooney accused the tabloid of majoring up story lines, adding "when they put my family and friends in harm's way, they cross far beyond just a laughable tabloid and into the arena of inciting violence." well, the site of the rnc revealed. the dems go after the hobby lobby decision, and an american in paris. we'll tell you who. "scrambled politics" is next.

this is actually pretty cool. so, when obama visits colorado and texas this week, he's taking the time to meet people who have written him letters. well, the people in texas wrote letters. the others just wrote "wuz up" on a white castle napkin. >> now here's your update of "scrambled politics." ♪ ♪ cleveland rocks, cleveland rocks ♪ >> ohio! >> so, drew carey and the gop have something in common, they both think cleveland rocks. the rnc has officially picked cleveland to host its national convention in 2016. the governor of ohio's pretty pleased. >> all of a sudden, the sun has risen high in the sky in cleveland and high in the sky in ohio. this is just fantastic news for

everybody who is a buckeye, everybody who is an ohioan, and we should celebrate today. all right, we'll admit it, it could be a bit of a stretch, but if lebron james decides to come back to cleveland, it could affect the rnc. james has played in five of the last eight nba finals, and if he were to do that with the cavs in 2016, the finals and the republicans could collide if the convention is held in june. just saying. all right, so, democrats, senate democrats, in fact, are preparing to offer up legislation today that would reverse last week's hobby lobby decision. the measure would stop businesses from refusing federal coverage mandates based on religious grounds, but many say the measure doesn't stand a chance of passing in the house. the president of france might have a new addition to his summer reading list. while visiting paris to promote her new book, "hard choices," hillary clinton met with president francois hollande and posed for photos. democratic senate candidate

alison lundgren grimes has released a political ad targeting mitch mcconnell. >> this is don disney from cloverlake, kentucky, and he has a question for senator mcconnell. >> senator, i'm a retired coal miner. i want to know how you could have voted to raise my medicare costs to $6,000. >> grimes is facing heat for the ad. several political fact-checkers are saying mcconnell didn't actually vote for the measure mr. disney is referring to. on msnbc.com, a new study links oklahoma earthquakes to fracking. evidence that fracking may cause earthquakes is mounting. the magazine "science" outlines a strong link between the placement of fracking wastewater in underground disposal wells and increased seismic activity. and that is your morning dish of "scrambled politics." so, right now i am joined by "washington post" reporter ed o'keefe. good morning, ed! >> good to see you, betty. >> let's talk about president obama. he's going to be in texas today for fund-raisers and to talk border security. do you expect any real progress on the issue during this visit? >> no, i think the most critical

part of this trip will be the meeting with governor rick perry, who, of course, has been a big critic of the administration's handling of the situation. initially turned down a request to meet with the president at the tarmac, and i guess they're going to instead meet in dallas while the president's there raising campaign cash. despite the fact that the state's a big republican stronghold, there's a lot of money to be raised for democrats in dallas and houston, and that's essentially what the president is doing on behalf of congressional candidates and others running for office this year. but going to be a big topic of discussion, obviously. the white house continues to insist that they're not going down to the border. we'll see if that holds true. sometimes they make last-minute changes. but that meeting with perry probably the most important part of the trip. >> you did mention that governor perry has been critical, in fact, very critical of the president, especially on sunday, saying he doesn't believe the president cares if the u.s. border is secure. so, is this really a serious push for solutions or is perry playing politics here, since he could be a potential 2016 republican presidential candidate? >> yeah, i think it's a bit of both. you're right, he is think being running for president, but i

think this is a state that's incredibly frustrated by the incoming and continues to get burdened with having to figure out where to put these people. so, i think it's a bit of both, but that doesn't mean that the meeting will sort it out. >> all right. hey, quickly, speaking of 2016, cleveland has become the host city for the republican national convention. could it be actually held a month earlier due to a money issue? >> it could. it depends. and i think as you pointed out, the nba season might also be a big factor. >> lebron james! >> but yes, republicans are looking to do this in late june now. because of course, rules are that the moment that you have your convention and a candidate is nominated, they can start raising money for the general election. the problem in the past has been republicans wait so long and they start to run out of money from their primary season and then can't start spending big money on the general election until later on. so, republicans trying to do what democrats have done in recent cycles and start that process sooner. >> all right. counting numbers here. ed o'keefe, thanks for joining us. appreciate it. >> take care. coming up, richard lui and

raphael miranda are back for "first buzz." we're talking about the pilot who's being hailed as a hero, and not for anything he did in the air. we'll explain next. you know that dream... on my count. ...the one where you step up and save the day? make it happen. (crowd) oh no... with verizon xlte. hey guys, i got it right here! we've doubled our 4g lte bandwidth in cities coast to coast. so take on more. with xlte. on the largest, most reliable 4g lte network. since robert taira openedsion king's hhis first bakeryd, in a small hawaiian town. making bread so good, that people bought two loaves one to take home, and one to eat on the way. so good, they grew from here. to here. to here. but to grow again, to the east coast

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all right, time for "first buzz." i have richard and raphael here. if you've ever been stouk a plane, you're hungry, you're on the tarmac, but you can't go anywhere. well, a frontier airlines pilot did the unthinkable. he bought pizza for everyone on the plane, and he is being hailed a hero, as we mention, not because of what he did in the air, but what he, unfortunately, had to do on the ground because they were stuck due to storms. >> great idea. >> exactly. that is one pilot, i'll tell you

what, that i'll bet none of those passengers complained the rest of the flight. >> how many times had we wished that we would have had a pizza coming down the aisle? >> exactly. maybe some beer to go with it, right? >> that might help beer sales right now, especially light beer sales, which are down. i bring this up because it's america's, i would say favorite summer drink, and i know at this table, we don't have a lot of favorite beer drinkers. >> i drink cider ever now and then. >> and that's why the amount of light beer is going down 5 million barrels a year. >> it's all my fault. >> because of cider imports, liquor, a lot of people changing to different things. people just don't like light beer as much as you used to. >> if you're drinking, you definitely don't want to get behind the wheel. >> no. >> especially not this car, right? >> not a bmw m-4 coup. it looks like a normal car commercial, then all of a sudden, take a wider view. >> oh, my. >> yeah, this car's racing around an aircraft carrier. >> look at that, on the edge! >> yeah. crazy stuff here. >> he's doing a lot of drifting. it's a lot of drifting -- >> this is the real deal. >> no, unfortunately, i have to

tell you, there is a little bit of cgi involved in this. >> tv magic. >> don't think of going to the "intrepid" and trying this. >> it is still awesome. i love watching it. thank you for watching today. "way too early with thomas roberts" starts right now. goal! he's done it! 2-0! and that's three! oh, it's 4-0! unbelievable! and brazil's world cup is surely over. this is utterly beyond belief. trying to make sure, and they do make sure. here's schurrle once again. that's seven! an utter humiliation! >> an utter humiliation. did you see this? kids are crying, adults are

devastated. the host country, brazil, trampled in the world cup with a beating by germany for the history books. how did brazil get to the semifinal to lose so badly? and the mama grisly goes rogue again, slamming the president using heir political power to call for president obama's impeachment, but is anybody on the right taking her seriously? and drew carey's sitcom taught us why cleveland rocks, but now the gop wants in on that action by having their national convention there in 2016. this is "way too early"! ♪ ♪ cleveland rocks, cleveland rocks, cleveland rocks, cleveland rocks ♪ ♪ hey, everybody. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. it is wednesday, july 9th. welcome to "way too early," the show that's mad at brazil for scoring one goal because our bug was going to be ger-many versus bra-zilch. oh, come on, that's good! th