y. we'll be back next week because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." . it's monday, august 3rd. right now on "first look," more than 12,000 people have been ordered to evacuate after 21 major california wildfires destroy dozens of buildings and homes. president obama will reveal major plans that he hopes will wake up the world, shake up the country and rock the republican presidential field. a second american doctor has now been accused of illegally killing another lion during a big game hunt. plus severe weather in the midwest kills one and injures more than a dozen. and just what the heck is facebook doing with these enormous drones? that and much, much more as we kick off a busy week ahead. "first look" starts right now. welcome to monday

everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. wildfires are burning in several western states with california taking the brunt of the danger. right now, there are 21 major fires burning in the golden state alone. an army of firefighters are fanning out to try to contain the growing blazes in the drought-stricken state. over 5,000 homes are at risk and more than 12,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate. >> there is veteran firefighters out there. 30 plus-year veteran firefighters are saying they have never seen fire behavior like this. it's beyond extreme. >> to make matters worse, lightning strikes are setting off new fires daily. a manhunt is under way right now following the shooting death of a police officer in memphis, tennessee. 33-year-old officer shawn bolton was shot several times while making a traffic stop. despite a bulletproof vest officer bolton was pronounced dead at the hospital.

police believe the shooter is wilburn. the police officer on the scene called for help frantically. >> a warrant for first-degree murder has been issued for wilburn's arrest. he is considered armed and dangerous. a 9-year-old bat boy who was hit in the head by a player taking a swing has died. kaiser carlile was retrieving a bat from home plate when he was accidentally hit in the head by a batter taking practice swings in the on-deck circle. kaiser was wearing a helmet at the time. it happened during warm-ups for the national world series congress baseball game on saturday. the bj's team of southwest kansas announced his death on their facebook page. the team learned of kaiser's death after their game on sunday. president obama is calling it the biggest important step we have taken to combat climate change. today, president obama will

unveil his carbon plan. it's an initiative aimed at limiting the amount of carbon that power plants cough up during the year and the white house released this video. >> power plants are the biggest single source of the harmful pollution that contributes to climate change. but until now, there has been no limit to the amount of how much that plant dumps pollution into the air. think about it. >> the senator and presidential candidate ted cruz railed against the decision yesterday. and he downplay eded obama's statement. >> senator cruz, is the president exaggerating? >> there is a different word than exaggerating that i might use. here are the facts. if you look it the satellite

data in the last 18 years, there's been zero recorded warming. >> just two weeks ago, the american meteorological so side said 2014 was the warmest year on record. there are reports that joe bidesen considering a presidential bid. there are reports that his late son, beau was encouraging his dad to run for president before he died of brain cancer. the all-important final ten for thursday's debate will be decided tomorrow. nbc's tracie potts is in washington right now. it is crunch time and a lot of jockeying for the last few spots. >> reporter: no question about that. we know fairly well who the top eight might be. the last two -- there are three vying for that spot. meantime, there is news that

vice president biden may be considering jumping in this race. "the new york times" reports that joe bidesen quietly testing the waters and could decide to run by september. >> if he returns, he runs. >> trump says he's not worried about that says. in the latest national average, perry is just outside the top ten. >> full well expect to be on the stage. >> fighting for the last two spots with ohio governor john kasich and new jersey governor chris christie. >> we'll see what happens. i would like to be there. >> it doesn't matter whether you're number one, number five or number ten once you're on the stage. >> i ended up winning 11 states. >> only the top ten will be on stage thursday night.

>> and that was tracie potts reporting. one person is dead. 15 others taken to local hospitals after severe weather uproot aid tent at a festival near chicago. witnesses say people sought shelter from hail and heavy rain in that huge tent but a massive wind gust blew it into the air, sending the canopy and heavy metal poles crashing down on to the crowd. rescuers immediately started cutting holes to free people trapped underneath. investigators are calling it a tranlg tragic accident. there is new outrage over a big game hunting. another american big game hunter is accused of illegally killing a lion in zimbabwe. wildlife officials are accusing pennsylvania doctor and bow hunter january seski of illegally killing another lion back in april saying his guide, quote, hunted without a quota and a permit. nbc news has not been able to reach seski for comment. meanwhile, zimbabwe's government is seeking to extradite walter

palmer, the dentist who killed cecil the lion. it's unclear whether they will demand the same of dr. seski. time to get down to business with cnbc's landon downey. good morning. >> good morning. a key indicator if feds will start raising interest rates last month. stocks coming off a big week. though they fell on friday. july sales today are being reported. sales of trucks and suvs are expected to top the pace for the third straight month. that's something we haven't seen in 15 years. at&t rolls out a new offer days after closing its takeover of directv. customers can get a high definition tv and dvr service for up to four rooms and ten gigabytes of shareable data up to four wireless lines.

those savings are only good for the first year. back over to you. >> there's always a catch, isn't there? >> always. nationals were in citi field where they have won 18 of their last 20 games. fans dressed as umpires. it was a tough third inning for the nats. zimmerman gives up not one, not two, but three home runs. n mets win to complete the sweep of washington since 2009. gentlemen, we're burning daylight! riders up. >> that was actor and comedian bill murray calling horses to the paddock. when it came down to the stretch -- >> as they cut to the wires it a rousing return for a living

legend. american pharaoh was eased up all the way through the stretch. >> look at that. triple crown winner won by 2 1/4 lengths, returning $2.20 for a $2 bet. that's not much. but it was a $1.1 million payday for american pharoah. his career earnings have soared to over a 5ds$5.5 million. at pocono did you see that? brad keselowski missed his mark hitting two of his crew members. tires went flying causing him to serve a penalty. no one was injured despite how bad it looked. keselowski went on to finish in second despite that penalty. a heated skirmish during training camp. look at him go. what is going on? it happened during a drill. words were exchanged and punches were thrown. tony romo and others stepped in to calm the star receiver.

one of the coolest videos of the day, d.c. shoe company released this video yesterday, surfing on a motor bike. have you ever seen anything like this in your life? i sure haven't. focused on surfing on his motor bike for two years. father-in-law works, and well. still ahead, one of summer's most popular foods is being recalled. did tom cruise deliver at the box office? "first look" is back in three. (vo) what's your dog food's first ingredient? corn? wheat? in new purina one true instinct grain free real chicken is always #1.

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umbrellas needed. this area of low pressure plaguing new florida, from tampa northwards. carolina to north carolina weather through indiana and ohio. this line of thunderstorms was producing severe storms early this morning in southern michigan. it has weakened. if you're in cincinnati get ready for a quick downpour maybe a little lightning the next half hour. later today, severe storms are possible. this area of yellow does include 24 million people. we had nasty storms through the chicago area michigan wisconsin, iowa. today we're going to switch through ohio pennsylvania up through new york state and northern new england. we will see isolated cases of damaging wind today. i don't think it will be too widespread. maybe one or two tornadoes. we're still hot through the southern half of the country where the fires are burning in the west. it's still very dangerous fire weather today. we begin to cool things off in the northwest tuesday. that will eventually cool off the entire west. tuesday is the last really hot day for areas like new york city philadelphia. >> really? >> by friday we're talking highs

in the 70s. >> summer is coming to an end already? >> i don't want to say that yet but it will be significantly cooler. >> a big difference. thank you, bill. a florida man is facing charges this morning even though he tried to hide his identity from sheriff's deputies. video from inside a patrol car caught the 20-year-old man trying to chew off his fingerprints! he was arrested for allegedly driving a stolen mercedes but a fingerprint scanner was still able to identify the man despite his desperate attempt. a russian pilot was killed after a helicopter crashed at an air show on sunday. the chopper was performing stunts when it suddenly started spinning out of control and hit the ground. the cause of that accident is under investigation. kraft is calling millions of cases of american cheese singles. facebook engineers are

experimenting with drones and lasers to deliver broadband internet to people who have no access. 100-foot wing span and designed to fly at 100 miles off the earth. a united states marine who lost both legs in combat has biked more than 3,000 miles across the united states. he started in california and finished in arlington, virginia. >> you go through these small towns and big cities and really just to see the patriotism warmed my heart. >> the journey helped raise money for other injured marines. hillary clinton's first big spending spree. is chuck schumer closer to a major decision? scrambled politics is next. can a business have a mind? a subconscious. a knack for predicting the future. reflexes faster than the speed of thought. can a business have a spirit? can a business have a soul? can a business be...alive?

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get it at the place with the experts to get you the right gear. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. 19 minutes past the hour mplt. time now for your monday edition of scrambled politics. hillary clinton is spending $2 million for five minutes of ads in iowa. it might be an attempt to make up for falling favorability ratings. there are two ads and both focus on clinton's mother. >> she went to work in somebody else's home at age 14 and it opened her eyes. for the first time she saw parents who loved and cared for their children. and that's the kind of loving family she provided for us. when she needed a champion someone was there. i think about all the dorothys all over america who fight for their families who never give up. >> speaking of big money, during

an interview in front of gop mega donors republican hopeful jeb bush had to answer a question about the vast sums he has raised so far. >> on friday when the disclosures came out you were officially certified as the $120 million man. >> what's the question? >> how much is too much? >> you know i don't know. but i think you might as well front load it if you can. are we supposed to -- okay we'll just warm up and kind of work your way into it? i mean am i missing something here? i'm running hard. i'm running to win. meanwhile, donald trump is getting another chance to say "you're fired" this morning, the campaign confirms nbc news let go of a part-time staffer accused of calling inging reverend al sharpton's daughter a racist

slur. and a fascist nazi appeaser. opposition groups have organized floods of phone calls and serious ad blitz on the issue. prominent new york senator insists he is still undecided. host john oliver is taking issue with the taliban's new leader who used to be their transportation minister. >> president obama's successor were our transportation secretary, evelyn sergeant. by the way that's a stock photo of a woman we found online and evelyn sergeant is a made-up mind. the point is you don't know who the secretary of transportation is. nobody does. because they're not supposed to be in line for a top job in any organization. that is a morning dish of scrambled politics. 20 minutes past the hour jane timm is here. >> good morning. >> thanks for being with us today. let's talk about joe biden. there is all this anticipation over will he or won't he.

is it already a done deal? has he decided and we're just waiting on the official word or is he really reflecting on whether he should do this or not? >> i think he's actually deciding. this is the first time in politics when i see someone who says i'm talking to my family and thinking about it and ithey really are. jeb bush as we saw, said i'm still thinking about winning. all the while his pac was raising that money. >> right. >> i think is he really is deciding. he's talking to people. we're starting to see advisers from the biden family move over to draft the biden pac. >> he's still trying to figure this out, though. it's a money game to some extent right? could this put him at aadvantage if he's not figuring this out quickly? >> on the gop side yes. but the democratic side is sparse. this gives people a hillary clinton alternative who is also very electable.

bernie sanders very compelling but not very electable. martin o'malley very electable but not very compelling. he has a lot of experience. everyone is looking back at the questions in the debates last time how would a biden administration be difficult? i'm a candidate for vp and i'm going to work for the obama administration. that says a lot about his character, that it wasn't about him last time this time it might be. big week for gop kabd dates. who is in danger of not making that top ten spot and not being up there during the debates, which is going to be key, right? >> candidate to watch, rick perry. kasich's post announcement bump moved him up. a more moderate candidate on that stage and rick perry off with his more extreme view also say a lot about the gop and set the tone on the stage. >> is everyone going to really

be watching donald trump? is that what the show is all about now? >> how could he not? polling numbers at the top. he will be right in the middle. does he go attack dog or actually play nice for once? >> i think they'll want to hear him answer real questions about real issues and see the platform. >> and see him up there with jeb bush saying how do you answer the question and how do you look compared to the rest of the team? >> thursday is a big day. >> exciting. >> thank you, jane. one fisherman makes quite a catch. how he managed to reel in a fish twice his weight. that's coming up. to satisfy the adult.... ...and kid - in all of us. ♪ ♪ nutritious wheat for the adult you've grown into. and delicious sweet for the kid you'll never outgrow... feed your inner kidult... ...with frosted mini-wheats® and now you could win up to a hundred dollars when you buy any specially marked kellogg's cereal.

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of the campus on day one. but you're armed with a roomy new jansport backpack, a powerful new dell 2-in-1 laptop and durable new stellar notebooks, so you're walking the halls with varsity level swagger. that's what we call that new gear feeling. you left this on the bus... get it at the place with the experts to get you the right gear. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great.

in the news this morning,

secretary of state john kerry is in qatar with talks with official from the persian gulf whose countries are suspicious about a nuclear deal with iran. it comes on the heels of meetings kerry had with officials on sunday in egypt. explosions at two churches rocked the community of las cruz, new mexico, over the weekend. they say an improvised explosive device exploded just after 8:00 am sunday. and 20 minutes later, another explosion went off at another church three miles away. the police and atf are all investigating. "vacation" held at number two. a florida man has quite a tale to tell after reeling in this fish.

ben chancesy was on a paddle board when he made the huge catch. he spent 20 minutes wrestling with the seven foot goliath grouper before he was able to measure it and release it. chancy told nbc news he had never even been on a paddle board before this day. >> he's going to catch one in a flotation device next. >> i'm betty win "way too early" starts now. >> what's the debate going to be like on thursday? is it a reality show or ten men standing in close proximity, giving speeches? what's it going to be like? the format only allows for one-minute responses and 30-second rebuttal if we're attack bid name. probably a lot of us are sit tlg hoping we get attacked by name so we get a little more time. >> up for debate new numbers are out this morning and chances are one of these men will not make the first republican forum. on the democratic side a new push to get vice president joe biden in the race. what's happening behind the scenes as hillary clinton makes her first big ad buy. plus snoop dogg gets busted

trying to hop a plane with over a quarter million dollars in cash in his luis vuitton baggage. his lawyer says there's a good reason for it. this is "too early," the show that always packs light. nothing but ones in a jansport. good morning, everyone. it's monday august 3rd. i'm ayman mohyeldin. we're three days away from the first debate of the 2016 presidential campaign. new nbc news/wall street journal poll has donald trump in the lead with 19% of the republican vote. wisconsin governor scott walker not far behind with 15% and former florida governor jeb bush in a strong third, just one point behind. rounding out the top ten is