10:30 a.m., eastern. don't miss it. or do. your choice. it's wednesday, june 22nd. right now on "first look" the war of words over religion, money and an onslaught of political attacks. the rhetoric is heating up as the campaigns get hotter than the blazing western wildfires, and high temperatures. dangerous weather ahead today. over 60 million americans are at risk of severe super cells and more. also, new details in the investigation as the attorney general visits orlando and reports of bizarre plane tickets purchased by the shooter. plus the republicans are messing with fire in cleveland. the u.s. is schooled on the pitch. reunited statesing soldiers separated after battle. "first look" starts right now.

well, good morning. thanks for joining us today. after the latest fec report put donald trump's latest haul at the lowest in an age, he said the king of debt before go on the "today" show to say he's ready and willing to fund his presidential bid. >> i spent $55 million of my own money to win the primaries, 55. now, you know, that's a lot of money. i mean by any even standard. i may do that again in the general election. i mean -- excuse me, matt, i have a lot of cash. i may do it again in the general election. >> those comments came before trump sent out his first fund-raising e-mail telling supporters he would match their donations dollar for dollar. fund-raising issues aside, a recent poll shows him beating hillary clinton when it comes to the economy. 51% of americans say trump has a better handle on economic issues

than clinton who nets 43% in the same poll. now yesterday, clinton set her sights on trump's perceived economic strength. his business record. and she went on the attack. >> he's written a lot of books about business. they all seem to end at chapter 11. he bankrupted his companies not once, not twice, but four times. we can't let him bankrupt america like we are one of his failed casinos. >> and rumored vp candidate elizabeth warren also went after trump. >> donald trump is a fraud and a cheap skate and he's a bully. why do you pay your taxes but donald trump doesn't? if donald trump doesn't even believe in paying his fair share for government, we shouldn't put him in charge of the government. >> trump responded to those jabs last night. >> i have used brilliantly the laws of the country, and not personally, just corporate. if you look at people like myself that are at the highest

levels of business, they use many of them have done it many, many times -- >> but the average americans pay the price for that. >> you have to understand i'm running a business. for my business and my family and hillary doesn't have any idea how to do that. she doesn't understand debt. >> while clinton was hammering away on trump's business record, he did his best to shore up support in his base, not only with ban donors but with the re christians. he questioned clinton's religion despite her devout methodist faith. >> hillary and religion, she has been in the public eye for years and years and yet there's no -- there's nothing out there. it's like nothing out there. >> it's a tactic trump's used against rivals from ted cruz and president obama to former republican nominee mitt romney.

and there are new questions surrounding trump's campaign spending. the candidate poured over $1 million of the $6.7 million he raised last month into his own private business properties including golf courses, restaurants, his mar-a-lago resort and his son's wine country and paying his own family members. he is expected to give a speech later this morning going after clinton. while clinton will outline her economic policy in north carolina this afternoon. the clinton camp is reeling from reports that russian hackers infiltrated far deeper into her affairs than was originally thought. the clinton foundation, the former first family's charitable organization is now believed to have been hacked by the same group that went after the democratic national committee and the clinton campaign. three private security firms have concluded that the hackers are russian. while some suggest it may have been carried out by russian intelligence trying to interfere in the election. the democratic party has previously said this is all part of a disinformation campaign, but the clinton foundation

cautions against the news. saying it has not been notified of a cyber attack. meanwhile, the rnc dethrones king james ahead of the convention. the iconic mural of cleveland's famed basketball giant will be removed just days after the cavaliers won their first championship in 52 years. it will come down just in time for donald trump's own coronation. sherwin williams the owner of the building adjacent to where the rnc convention will be held will replace james with a red, white and blue poster saying this land is your land. it's in celebration of the company's 150th birthday. a petition to let the poster stay got more than 7,000 signatures. following the news, clinton's spokesperson said, this should end well. the lebron poster is expected to be back up in september. thousands of firefighters out west are facing a two pronged battle against heat and fire. as a searing heat wave fuels

dozens of wildfires across arizona and utah and california, the lentless blazes have forced hundreds from their homes and have even triggered power outages. overnight, fire crews focused on two large brushfires threatening the communities of the los angeles county. nbc's miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: in the hills outside los angeles, a firefight and a heat wave. the conditions extreme. the fire explosive. >> mandatory evacuation. >> reporter: nearly 800 homes have been evacuated. >> i was just sobbing like i didn't want to lose everything. >> reporter: this inferno refused to lay down. two fires merging into one monster blaze. threatening neighborhoods. >> i'm really feeling kind of scared because i have had to leave my home and i don't know what's going to happen. >> reporter: the air attack here is critical. they're using helicopters to reach hillsides and firefighters on the ground can't. resources are spread thin. those helicopters are going from fire to fire.

across the west some 8,000 firefighters are on the front lines of 20 huge wildfires. a searing heat wave making the battle more difficult. it's all hands on deck, facing fire and heat this fierce summer battle is just beginning to explode. the orlando nightclub shooter bought plane tickets to travel to california just two days after the shooting. a source tells nbc news. the family trip was reportedly to visit omar mateen's ailing mother in law. they were purchased two days before the attack and it's unclear why he bought the tickets if he was planning the shooting. meanwhile, federal officials say mateen went to pulse around midnight the night of the massacre. then he left for two hours before returning and opening fire. what he was doing in that two-hour period is under investigation. a source close to mateen's family tells nbc news that he sent his wife a text message during the rampage asking her

quote, do you see what's happening? she is continuing to cooperate with investigators and has not been charged which in crimes. now yesterday, loretta lynch met with victims of the shooting and visited a memorial inside orlando city hall. she also talked about the investigation. >> i cannot tell you definitively we'll ever narrow it down to one motivation. people often act out of more than one motivation. this was an act of terror and an act of hate. and look at this, storm chasers in western north dakota got caught in the middle of a large hailstorm. so bad that they're cursing and why? because their windshield was cracked by lots of hail, some of it the size of baseballs. that can be dangerous and scary situation. meteorologist bill karins is here with that. we won't continue with the bleeps but you can understand how they were upset. >> yeah. there will be more bleeps today. >> yikes. >> bad weather is expected unfortunately starting this morning. flash flooding is going in waterloo, iowa, as much as four

to five inches has already fallen. how about the lightening with this storm down in between davenport and central illinois. so a lot of people up in the middle of the night in illinois. this is round one. round two is later today. 61 million people at risk today. and a few strong tornados likely. that gets your attention. then widespread wind damage especially this area of red here. this is our enhanced risk of severe storms, then a strong risk inside of that. that's this area includes indianapolis and northward, ft. wayne, lima, dayton, and columbus, ohio. if we get tornadoes likely it's earlier in the evening. then a wind threat throughout the overnight. then near ft. wayne at 11 p.m. and watch out in the state of ohio. and as far as the tornado risk map goes, 14 million are in the 10% risk. that means it's a probability of a tornado within 25 miles of your house would be 10% in this hashed area, it shows you the

area of a strong tornado. it would be in somewhere in southern illinois or iowa. so we have to watch out for that. >> thank you for that. up next, a weapons cache seized inside a major tunnel leading to new york city. and why you shouldn't horse around at a dui check point. it's ten minutes past the hour. ♪ booking.com offers free cancellations, so you're free to decide if the trip you're on... hahahahahaha! ...isn't really the trip you want to be on. hahahaha... hahaha... [mountain woman and key laughing together]

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a search is under way for a 29 foot sailboat carry manage and his three teenage children. they were headed from sarasota to ft. meyers. he reportedly called his brother saying they were in distress off the coast of englewood. concerned family members called the coast guard on tuesday. prompting the search. two people were arrested. police found body armor and the drugs in the group's i tillty vehicle. they were pulled over for a

cracked windshield. the suspects were described as gun enthusiastics and an investigation is under way. later this morning michigan attorney general bill shoety will announce civil charges linked to the lead water. stay with nbc for more on this. and dallas police are searching for man who attacked a fast food worker over a milk shake order. after complain about the drink, the worker made two replacements. that's when the customer began to throw things, then leaped over the counter to chase the woman. the 62-year-old says she's afraid to return to work and hopes someone recognizes the assailant so police can arrest him. also this it was a first for a golden colorado dui check point as several riders on horse back galloped up. after a good chuckle and some tweeted tweets of course. the riders were sober as they

moseyed off into the night. let's get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. >> good morning to you. well, talk about a return on investment. a picasso painting sold for more than $63 million another an auction at sotheby's in london's on tuesday. that's the highest price for the sotheby's since 2010. the piece was last sold in 1973 for $486,000. quite the upgrade on the price. by meanwhile, facebook is betting big on video. they have signed $52 million in contracts with more than 100 companies and celebrities including gordon ramsey and they'll provide content for the live streaming feature. facebook live. they say users watch videos three times longer than other videos. it's affecting everyone all over the globe, the investors

are focussed on the outcome of thursday's big brexit vote in the u.k. it would have major implications in the u.s. lots of money could be called into question. american direct investment into the e.u. is $2 trillion and an equal amount flowing back to our shores. so it could have impact -- >> down the line there. in sports the u.s. men's soccer team faced the world's best player in lionel messi and his team from argentina in the copa semifinals. argentina routed team usa 4-0. as the cavaliers plans prepare for first championship parade in over a half century, mark many are marking the moment for all eternity. local tattoo parlors are bussier than ever. fans snapped up about 500,000 copies of "the cleveland plain dealer" edition. and rory mcilroy has pulled

out of the olympics over the zika fears. he's currently ranked fourth in the world. donald trump has been running for president for over a year but count billionaire mark cuban unimpressed. we'll tell you why. "scrambled politics" is next. life insurance automobile insurance i spent 20 years active duty they still refer to me as "gunnery sergeant" when i call being a usaa member because of my service in the military to pass that on to my kids something that makes me happy my name is roger zapata and i'm a usaa member for life. usaa. we know what it means to serve. get an insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. motrin helps you be an... "i can totally do this in one trip" kind of woman. when pain tries to stop you, motrin works fast to stop pain. make it happen with motrin® liquid gels. also try motrin pm to relieve pain and help you sleep. ♪ experience the thrill of the lexus gs f sport.

because the ultimate expression of power, is control. this is the pursuit of perfection. ♪ ♪ ♪ that's life. you diet. you exercise. and if you still need help lowering your blood sugar... ...this is jardiance. along with diet and exercise... jardiance works around the clock... to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. this can help you lower blood sugar and a1c. and although it's not for weight loss or lowering systolic blood pressure, jardiance could help with both. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration. this may cause you to feel dizzy, faint, or lightheaded, or weak upon standing. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that can be life-threatening. symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, and trouble breathing. stop taking jardiance

and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of ketoacidosis or an allergic reaction. symptoms of an allergic reaction include rash, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. other side effects are genital yeast infections, kidney problems, increased bad cholesterol, and urinary tract infections which may be serious. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. so talk to your doctor, and for more information, visit jardiance.com 19 minutes past the hour. time now for your hump day edition of "scrambled politics." donald trump won a standing ovation from christian conservatives yesterday when called religious liberty called the number one question in this election and vowed to appoint

anti-abortion justices to the supreme court. he announced an evangelical advisory board that includes former presidential candidate michele bachmann. trump will go after hillary clinton in a speech that will take place at the trump's soho hotel, making it the ninth private business location he has used for a campaign appearance. among them, his fifth avenue trump tower, trump hotel in washington, and his scotland golf club which is set to visit on friday. first lady michelle obama becomes the latest edition to the snapchat community. she joins the massive social media app just ahead of her let girls learn campaign trip to liberia, morocco and spain. long time pennsylvania congressman chaka fattah has been charged on corruption. it stems from the scheme to repay a $1 million loan. he lost his april race, but he

has given no plans that he plans to resign from congress. his sentencing is scheduled for october 4th. and mavericks owner mark cuban a political independent sounds off on donald trump. >> you know what? it's rare when you see somebody get stupider before your eyes but he's really working at it. so you have to give him credit. it's not an easy thing to do but he's accomplished it. >> mark cuban. that is your morning dish of "scrambled politics." 21 minutes past the hour. joining me right now is best selling author ellis henican. good morning. >> good morning. you're getting smarter every day. >> that's what we hope to do. according to mark cuban, not everyone fits that mold. let's talk about donald trump. he said he's prepared to self-fund his campaign. given that he's running on this business acumen of his, is this a smart move? >> show me the money. >> you don't believe it's going to happen. >> give me the money. i mean, i keep hearing how rich he is but we looked at his campaign fund, $1.3 million and

i bet you you have that much in your checking account. >> yeah, right. he hasn't showed his tax returns either. >> no. so we don't know. he says he's worth $10 billion. at this point i guess we take it on his own faith still. >> well, trump is going after clinton saying that she's not religious even though she has been on record and has been widely reported that she is a devout methodist. so is he not getting good information from within his campaign or just ignoring the facts and creating his own narrative? >> betty, this is the guy who said that president obama was born in kenya, that ted cruz's father was involved in the kennedy assassination. fact checking may not be the highest responsibility in the trump camp. >> but is anyone calling him on this? >> well, yes. i mean, the clinton people are saying this is ridiculous. as you said she's a life long methodist. you know, listen, she's not someone who talks a lot about her religion. you know, she does -- not one of the god bless you folks all the time, but i don't know.

i take that on faith pretty much. >> well, polls still favor trump when it comes to handling the economy. so how does clinton battle back against that? can she overcome that sentiment? >> it's interesting you have to look at what's been working. most of the republican candidates in the primaries never really found a way to do that effectively. what i think has been working for hillary is ridicule. making fun of the guy. so you saw that speech yesterday where she was talking about the -- his business acumen and all the chapters in the business books ending on chapter 11. to me, that kind of humor, that kind of -- >> that's kind out of the donald trump playbook too though. >> it is. with the addition of a few nicknames that's kind of the trump thing. i think trying to answer with statistics and complex policy analysis -- >> people don't want to hear that. >> i don't think it works. >> all right. ellis, thank you. >> stick with ridicule. just ahead, making soldier

whole again. reuniting them with comrades in arms after the war. that's next. real is touching a ray. amazing is moving like one. real is making new friends. amazing is getting this close. real is an animal rescue. amazing is over twenty-seven thousand of them. there is only one place where real and amazing live. seaworld. real. amazing

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all right. so what happens when military war buddies are separated and then reunited and what if one of them just happens to be a dog? nbc's gadi schwartz has the latest. >> oh, timer. >> this is the last time taylor this yellow lab will ever be in the military kennel. the men called her princess taylor and she served her country all her life. two deployments in afghanistan and so effective at saving american lives the taliban had a bounty on her head. when dogs like taylor complete their service they're usually put up for adoption.

the soldiers they serve with are often given first priority. but reunions aren't always that easy and can cost thousands of dollars. >> taylor. >> reporter: that's where molly oliver comes in. >> good girl. this is your seat. yeah. >> reporter: she's a veteran flight attendant for united but her real passion reuniting service dogs and handlers. >> life the dogs -- i love the dogs and i love the military. it's taken care of my freedom my whole life. it's a win-win to combine the two. >> she's done it four times flying dogs home to the men who love them most. today is thai-thai's big day. where's daddy? >> reporter: while at the boise airport a nervous soldier waits. >> it's like a part of me has been missing. you know, getting her back now, it will make me whole again. >> reporter: in afghanistan sergeant tom hanson protected her in firefights. thai-thai found bombs hidden beneath his feet.

after two years apart, thai-thai is finally coming home. >> thai-thai. thai-thai. hey, taylor. >> so glad they're back together. i'm betty nguyen. don't forgot to like us on facebook. "way too early" starts right now. a few days ago he said and i quote, i'm going to do for the country what i did for my business. so let's take a look at what he did. for his business. he's written a lot of books about business. they all seem to end at chapter 11. >> with polls showing that americans trust donald trump more on the economy, hillary clinton looks to bring him down a few notches casting him as corrupt. and would plunge the u.s. back in recession. and plus, the battle over religion. trump has questioned the faith of president obama, ben carson

and now hillary clinton. will it be enough to convince evangelicals they're better off with him? and then there's this -- >> messi, 2-0, argentina. >> lionel messi too hot to handle as americas are routed. it's 5:30 on the east coast, and 2:30 out west. this is literally and figuratively "way too early." all right. good morning. it's wednesday, june 22nd. i'm sam stein. now the 2016 campaign has begun to take on the feel of an 18th