it is labor day, september 7th. right now, bernie sanders has leap frogged over hillary clinton in new hampshire and she's lost ground in iowa. we take a look at the numbers. general colin powell weighs in on president obama's nuclear deal with iran. closer to home, two high school football players hate referee during a game and pay a big price. plus, west point pleads take a pillow fight way too far. find out how many americans are getting a paid day off today. "first look" starts right now.

race for the white house. bernie sanders has leapfrogged over hillary clinton in new hampshire. there is no rest for the 2016 presidential candidates. new nbc news/marist poll shows that bernie sanders has leap frogged over hillary clinton, 41% of democratic voters, clinton gets 32% and vice president joe biden, who hasn't officially entered the race, gets 16%. in iowa, clinton is still on top but sanders is narrowing her lead from 21 points in july to just 11 points now. on the republican side, former alaskan governor sarah palin is rallying behind trump. she said that spanish speaking say you better speak american. >> you better be here legally. and when you're here, let's speak american.

>> palin was trying to take a swipe at trump's 2016 rival, jeb bush, fluent in spanish. club for growth continues. overnight trump tweeted a photo of a letter from that group asking him for $1 million. trump is calling it extortion. nbc's tracie potts is live in washington for us this morning. a lot to go over, tracie. it's going to be a busy labor day for those presidential candidates. >> yeah. they're trying to take advantage of all these labor day gatherings. you alluded to the new poll numbers in new hampshire. donald trump has a new number two. not too close, though. the real story there is hillary clinton. she's lost her lead in that battleground state. our new nbc/marist poll shows hillary clinton's negative numbers up in both iowa and new hampshire. she's still leading iowa, where she's campaigning today. but in new hampshire, senator bernie sanders has a nine-point lead even if vice president biden joins the race. >> don't tell anybody. i think they're getting nervous. shhh. don't tell anybody. >> reporter: donald trump still

has solid leads in both states. in new hampshire, his closest competitor is now ohio governor john kasich. >> at the end of the day they're going to want somebody who can actually get the job done. >> reporter: kasich, carly fiorina, scott walker will all be at a picnic in new hampshire today. marco rubio and rick santorum will be in south carolina today. the big story remains hillary clinton and her dwindling lead. >> this is one of the most important elections that we've had in a really long time. >> reporter: some supporters are concerned about her e-mails. >> there's just a lot of unanswered questions right now. >> i think it's been blown out of proportion. >> it takes a lot of work to install a private server system in your basement. >> reporter: labor day picnics and parades, the unofficial start to the campaign season. then there's joe biden, who has not officially announced if he's running. he is out there today, doing a labor day parade in his home state, pennsylvania. betty? >> thank you so much for that.

president obama's controversial iran deal has new unexpected support. on sunday, former secretary of state colin powell, who served under president george w. bush, expressed support of the agreement. >> i think it is a good deal. i've studied carefully the outline of the deal and what's in that deal and i've also carefully looked at the opposition of the deal. one of the great concerns that the opposition has is that we're leaving open a lane for iranians to go back to creating a nuclear weapon in 10 to 15 years, forgetting the reality that they've been on a super highway for the last ten years to create a nuclear weapon or nuclear weapons program with no speed limit. >> debbie wasserman schultz, head of the dnc, has also expressed her support of the deal. she was the first jewish woman elected to the house from florida. she calls her decision deeply personal, and one that she has spent a lot of time reviewing.

she writes, i have come to the conclusion that the agreement promotes the national security interests of the united states and our allies and merits my vote of support. overnight, new developments in europe's exploding human -- humanitarian crisis, that is. germany says it is freeing up more than $3.3 billion to help deal with the record number of migrants fleeing violence in the middle east. they have been one of the most accepting european countries welcoming up to 18,000 refugees this weekend alone. many of them are coming from hungary, where the response was not as warm. last night after an appeal on facebook, a convoy of about 140 private cars arrived in hungary, coming from surrounding countries to escort them to the border. israel now says they will not accept refugees. prime minister netanyahu says the country is just too small. they're even building a security fence along the syrian border. meanwhile, pope francis is calling on every catholic

parish, monastery to take in one migrant family. the vatican will take in two family families. two players on the losing team, john j. high school, hit official standing on the field. look at this. whether intentionally, that's still not clear. one pummels him over before the other one comes in charging to shoulder him to the ground. both players were ejected. this morning, they've been suspended from the school and the team. the school district has launched an investigation and in a statement it said the video is extremely disturbing and, quote, not the good sportsman like behavior we teach students. now to another competition that turned violent. this time to west point, though. this morning, military police are investigating what happened during the military academy's annual pillow fight. sounds like a lot of fun, right? according to the "new york

times," some cadets put hard objects like helmets into their pillowcases. one person broke a leg. in all 30 cadets were evaluated by medical personnel. they were diagnosed with concussions, on top of a broken nose, dislocated shoulder and hairline cheek bone fracture. in a statement the superintendent said, quote, while these spirit events do occur we never condone any activity that results in intentional harm to a teammate. although the vanlth vast majority of the class appears to have maintained the spirit of the event, it is apparent that a few did not. well, the minnesota dentist who killed cecil the lion will head back to work tomorrow. walter palmer, who has spent more than a month out of sight amid outcry for his actions in zimbabwe. people have been picketing his office. now he tells the associated press that he and his family have felt threatened. he now says he had made a

mistake, adding, quote, if i had known this lion had a name and was important to the country or a study obviously i wouldn't have taken it. if speed and precision are your thing, then this is the competition for you, my friend. the red bull air race world championship was held in austria sunday. one of a series of eight races this year. pilots fly through giant inflatable pylons at top speeds of 265 miles per hour. this year's winner was an australian man who finished the course in just 56.8 seconds. not minutes but seconds. speaking of sports we want to start in the windy city. cubs third baseman hit a solo blast in the fifth inning for baseball's longest home run of the season, traveling an estimated 495 feet. that home run gave bryant his 86th rbi, tying a club rookie mark. cubs go on to win 6-4. rays in the bronk bronx, takinge

yankees. two outs when brian mccann takes a three-run pitch to tie the game. alex rodriguez, very next batter, sends the pitch over the wall for back-to-back home runs. yankees come back to win it 6-4. today is day seven of the u.s. open. serena williams took 68 minutes to defeat madison keys in back-to-back sets 6-3, 6-3. next up, she will face older sister venus tomorrow for the 27th time. serena leads the series but says venus knows how to beat me and knows my weaknesses better than anyone. looking forward to that match. top seed novak djokovic, who did something that hasn't been done since 2011. that is, lose a set in the first four rounds of the open. each with one set, djokovic rallied against the final two sets to advance to the quarter finals for the 26th consecutive time. play was interrupted at the open because of this little guy

right there, running around the court. look at him go. it looks like he had nowhere to go, in fact. so he eventually made his escape jumping over the wall but not before entertaining the crowd. speaking of entertaining, will ferrell's mlb career lasted only one day. national baseball hall of fame president honored the comedian with a hall of fame plaque and jersey. why? he is the first player to ever play all ten positions in one day. it was for his documentary "ferrell takes the field." it premieres september 12th on hbo and you can see how he did it. meet the man who has not showered in 12 long years. plus iraq is getting serious in the fight against isis using u.s.-built f-16 fighters. and a rare climb up california's majestic sequoias. we will show you why the drought could bring them down.

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13 minutes past the hour. you have to see this wild video of an intense weather system including vivid lightning and side view of a super cell there. that's just gorgeous, really. then there's this time lapsed video of lightning storms on the horizon in palm beach, florida. you can see even a pretty elaborate sand castle if you look at the bottom of your screen. it's all lit up by that light show in the background. meteorologist veronica johnson is in today for bill karins, taking a look at the labor day forecast. you're laboring on this labor day. >> just a little bit. not too much. really, the weather across the country isn't too bad, betty. take a look. we still have showers and thunderstorms right near florida. a lot of them off the coast. i do think we're going to see more fire up today, especially

from tampa south. the other zone right up here, wisconsin down toward iowa. those storms now into eastern iowa, northern missouri. flash flood watch continuing for areas of iowa here, even in the early morning hours. taking a look at the rainfall totals expected later today. there were some six-inch rainfall totals in iowa yesterday. i think now it's going to pivot down to the southwest corner of missouri, seeing over two, maybe three inches of rain over the next 24 hours. today's weather? 90 degrees, new york city. 92, charleston. 93 in indianapolis, indiana. that's ahead of a weather front moving this way. those storms all right along that weather front. meanwhile down through areas of the southeast, raleigh at 87 degrees. at least the showers and thunderstorms are out of the outer banks. maybe coastal south carolina could see a few later today as well as down through the sunshine state. but 94 in jackson. look at san angelo, dallas. all 99 to 100 degrees. big heat down through the southern tier states. betty? >> hot in the south.

thank you so much. we appreciate that. for the fifth day, embattled kentucky clerk kim davis has been in jail for contempt of court. davis had refused to issue marriage licenses since june when the supreme court legalized gay marriage nationwide. on saturday 200 people gathered at a prayer rally in support of davis. it took place outside the detention center where she is being held. yesterday her husband visited her in jail. the liberty counsel representing davis has filed an appeal of the contempt order. for the first time, iraq has begun using the four f-16 fighter planes it received from the u.s. in july to battle against isis. they've carried out 15 air strikes so far. the iraqi government has purchased 32 more fighter jets. check out this dramatic video from southern china. oh my goodness. did you see what happened there? it shows an 11-month-old boy and his mother being hit head-on by a mini bus. passers-by immediately rushed over to lift that vehicle off

the baby, who was taken to the hospital. remarkably, he only suffered facial bruising and a slight concussion. that is one lucky boy. from yahoo! news, a man hasn't showered in 12 years. selling his secret in a bottle. i'm not sure i want to know about that secret. but in lieu of a shower, chemical engineer david whitlock sprays a mist containing live bacteria on his skin twice a day. this mist, called mother dirt, is produced by his company. it supposedly restores the balance of microorganisms that live naturally in your skin. let me know how that works, folks. just in time for labor day, a new survey shows 97% of employers will provide a paid day off for all or most employees on this labor day. and a little more good news for you, you workers out there on this labor day. president obama will sign an executive order today requiring paid sick leave for employees of federal contractors. according to the white house, this will be the first time 300,000 of those workers will get this benefit. now to california's

unprecedented drought. and some of its silent victims. giant sequoia trees. they can live to be 3,000 years old. but new evidence shows they are struggling with the drought more than ever. now a team of scientists is taking the trek up to monitor them. nbc's gadi schwartz went along for the climb. >> reporter: towering above the sequoia national forest, living icons of resilience that have survived fire, storms, and insect infestations. attracting thousands to come stand next to their massive trunks. but in this historic drought, something is happening to the mighty sequoias. >> this area was identified as having the highest number of trees that are showing symptoms of what we think is drought stress. >> reporter: some of these trees have lost 75% of their needles. that's what you're seeing down

here on the forest floor. but to see the true stress of the trees, we've got to go up. these massive sequoias dwarf scientists like anthony ambrose and his team from berkeley, inching their way to the top. >> these trees are some of the most amazing organisms on the planet. they're these huge ancient beings with massive beautiful crowns. >> reporter: we were given rare access to join their climb. >> these giant sequoias are the largest tree on earth and some of them can suck up to 700 gallons of water a day. all of that water has to make it into the trunk and up to the top of the tree. 20 stories high, ambrose peeks his head through the crown and collects vital data. >> the measurements that we've been getting of the amount of tension in the water in the foliage indicates that they're more stressed than we've ever measured before. >> reporter: back on the ground, researcher nate stevenson walks us through an area nearby where other kinds of trees, smaller than the sequoias, are dying at an alarming rate. >> one in every four trees has died here. >> reporter: it's still too soon

to tell what the data will mean for sequoia national forest but many scientists are comforted knowing although the sequoias may be showing troubling signs -- >> they're the monarchs of the entire plant kingdom. >> reporter: they've lived thousands of years, they've seen droughts before, yet still continue to grow. gadi schwartz, nbc news, sequoia national forest. >> they are a beautiful sight. graham's guns, newt's favorite candidate and birthday s on the trail. or lead a country. it may not be obvious yet, but one of these kids is going to change the world. we just need to make sure she has what she needs. welcome to windows 10. the future starts now for all of us.

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22 minutes past the hour.

here is your labor day addition of scrambled politics. today may be a day to sit back and relax but bernie sanders wants you to remember the real meaning of the holiday. in an op-ed he writes, "the men and women of the labor movement changed society pore the better. if you've ever enjoyed a paid vacation, a sick day or a pension, they are the people to thank." wisconsin governor scott walker, revving it up, spending his labor day touring new hampshire on a harley davidson. he started yesterday and plans to hit all ten counties in the state by the end of today. 2016 presidential candidate lindsey graham attended a gun show in new hampshire where he told supporters he owns 15 guns, even saying some of those weapons are his most valued possessions. >> most people, every gun is a memory, particularly in the south. so all these guns have a memory

associated with it. and sentimental attachment, at least in my case. former speaker of the house newt gingrich is speaking pretty highly of donald trump, saying he is running on something that no other candidate has. >> the heart of the trump motto is i will make us a winner again. do you want to be a winner? if you would like to be a winner, i'll make us a winner. and people come up with all these policy questions and says, eh, how would you like to win? and americans go, i like winning. winning sounds pretty good to me. >> bernie sanders will be celebrating his birthday tomorrow. on his twitter account he is asking voters to celebrate by signing a card. he is not the only one celebrating. >> what should i wish for? >> carly fiorina's birthday was sunday. by our count she got at least two cakes at two different campaign stops in new hampshire.

that is your scrambled politics with a little birthday cake on the side. from the washington examiner, thanks for being with us on this holiday. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> new poll numbers show bernie sanders pulling ahead of hillary clinton. how worried should the clinton camp be? >> overall, hillary clinton still has a commanding lead in iowa and in several other states. the only state where she should be worried is new hampshire. where bernie sanders has opened a significant lead against her. that's a place that she could lose. but she could still very easily win the democratic nomination while losing new hampshire to bernie sanders. >> if we look at these numbers, is it a reflection of how voters truly want sanders for that spot or is it just anyone other than hillary clinton? >> well, bernie sanders certainly has a unique economic populous message that's resonated with a lot of voters.

some observers have said this is possibly a result of clinton fatigue, that there is no other viable candidate in the race and bernie sanders is locking down all the democratic voters that hillary clinton can't capture. it's worried some observers who are saying why can't hillary clinton consolidate the democratic party the way that she was expected to? >> i want to shift gears now. pope francis is scheduled to address congress later this month. could this trip pit the pope against donald trump on issues like, say, immigration? >> it's entirely possible. it might be counterintuitive but the pope is siding with most democrats in his messaging about immigration, saying the united states needs to be more compassionate about latin americans coming over the border. and that's something that donald trump obviously speaks out against very frequently. so, it could create an interesting counterpoint to trump's rhetoric. >> yeah, it really could. in the end, maybe the pope could be, say, jeb bush or even

hillary clinton's biggest ally against trump. we'll see how it plays out when he gets here to the u.s. thank you so much for joining us today. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> and i'm betty nguyen. this is "first look" on msnbc. i would kill for something sweet. i know... we could have one of those. one? are you kidding? we'll end up eating like thirty. wanna split that? ughhhh...no, so much fat. don't fight your instincts.

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