most attention today, though, was the surprise naming of the flamboyant former mayor of london boris johnson to be the uk's new foreign secretary, essentially their secretary of state. you may remember that he says president obama is a kenyan with an anti-colonial mindset. well, now he'll be great britain's top diplomat. which should be interesting. the uk is our closest overseas ally, and i'm sure everything will be fine. but this whole special relationship thing could get a little awkward fairly soon. "first look" is up next. it's thursday, july 14th. right now on "first look," donald trump makes it official. he will choose his running mate friday morning. in cleveland with ohio's open area laws for handguns security will be a major challenge with tens of thousands of demonstrators expected. president obama holds a lengthy meeting over community policing while the first funerals for the dallas officers take place. an nbc news exclusive, one on one with syria's embattled president. sports stars speak out on the various devastating police shootings. much more on a busy thursday. "first look" starts right now. good morning. thanks for joining us today.

i'm betty nguyen. we're one day away from donald trump revealing his vice presidential pick in a planned new york city event. trump held a series of private meetings yesterday with some of the vp apparent finalists joined by his adult children, trump met with indiana governor mike pence and spoke to both newt gingrich and chris christie in recent days. but there are new distractions that have arisen from the campaign. there's now news that trump filed a $10 million arbitration claim against a former campaign aide accusing that aide of spreading rumors about senior campaign staffers. that aide released an exclusivestatement to nbc that simply said, "i'm not guilty, i'm beautiful." it's the latest in a long line of struggles for the campaign. trump and his lawyers were also fighting in san diego federal court arguing against the release of deposition videos trump gave as part of a class action suit against his trump university organization. trump's lawyer in the case argued that the videos, if released, would be used as a

weapon in political ads saying, "we have this convention in cleveland next week, there's all kinds of potential for mischief." judge curiel, presiding over the case, said he would delay the ruling over the release of those videos. all of that as hillary clinton hit the campaign trail to bash trump while calling for the end of racial prejudices during a speech in illinois. that speech came as a "new york times"/cbs poll found that 69% of americans believe race relations in the u.s. are generally bad. one of the highest levels since the 1992 l.a. riots. that number is up from 38% last year. but a series of battleground state polls that show trump with an edge in key states could be worrying the clinton camp. our nbc news/"wall street journal"/merris polls show clinton and trump died in ohio at 39% each. in iowa a virtual dead heat with clinton leading by 3 points, 49%

to 39%. pennsylvania, she leads trump by 9 points. a low point for trump? his polling with the african-american community. trump got 0% approval among blacks in both ohio and pennsylvania. while standing on the spot where abraham lincoln made his famous house divided speech, clinton called for urchty in the wake of the deadly dallas ambush while also taking the opportunity to attack trump. >> imagine if he had not just twitter and cable news to go after his critics and opponents. but also the irs or for that matter our entire military. this man is the nominee of the party of lincoln. we are watching it become the party of trump. and that's not just a huge loss for our democracy, it is a threat to it. the republican national convention kicks off in just

four days. and security in cleveland is tightening as concerns grow over tens of thousands of protesters expected to attend. and complicating matters, the state's open carry law for guns. two rings of security will surround the convention center. first the secure zone inside and directly around it will be controlled by the secret service where no guns are allowed. then the wider event zone where protesters will be and where guns are allowed per state law, though other items including rifles, knives, paint ball guns, steel-tipped umbrellas, all those are prohibited. we have new details just in overnight as to who will be speaking on center stage. donald trump has been promising a different kind of convention. initial plans obtained by the "new york times" and nbc news offer a glimpse into his showman style. opening night it will focus on the 2012 benghazi attacks with senator tom cotton and wife

melania among others. the second night will hone in on the economy. the final two nights will have former star quarterback tim tebow, billionaire peter thiel, ivanka trump and others, as well as trump's vice presidential pick and the billionaire himself. what is striking is the number of political heavyweights not attending. more than 40 prominent republican politicians have declined the convention. in fact, it will be the first. convention without a single living president or former presidential candidate in attendance. four nba superstars opened last night's espy awards with a porful plea for an end to violence and to promote social change. they called on fellow athletes to step up and help unite communities. >> we cannot ignore the realities of the current state of america. the system is broken. the problems are not new, the

violence is not new, and the racial divide definitely is not new. but the urgency to create change is at an all-time high. >> the racial profiling has to stop. the shoot to kill mentality has to stop. not seeing the value of black and brown bodies has to stop. but also the retaliation has to stop. >> we all feel helpless and frustrated by the violence. we do. but that's not acceptable. it's time to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, what are we doing to create change? we all have to do better. meanwhile, it was an emotional day in dallas as three of the city's bravest were laid to rest. funerals for the other two officers killed in last week's mass shooting will be held later this week. this as the family of alton sterling calls for peace.

>> reporter: remembered for their courage and dedication, the community gathered to say good-bye. three separate services honoring each officer. ♪ i once was lost >> reporter: d.a.r.t. policeman brent thompson, former marine, leaving behind six kids and a wife of two weeks. >> we will not, we cannot, we shall not, let the act of a coward break us. on brent's half, i'm asking you all, continue on. press on. he has your six. >> through christ our lord, amen. >> reporter: dallas police sergeant michael smith, a 28-year department veteran, also serving seven years in the army. >> his selfless legacy will live on. ♪ >> reporter: bagpipes for officer lorne ahrens, father of two, a big guy with an even

bigger heart. each gunned down by a sniper after a peaceful protest thursday. now a new threat to kill police in louisiana with these men now facing charges, the son of alton sterling is calling for unity. >> there should be no more arguments, disagreements, violence, crimes. everyone should come together as one united family. >> reporter: a message echoed by the president, meeting with leaders across the country, discussing ways to learn from these challenges and keep communities safe. >> as i said yesterday, i do not want to gloss over the fact that not only are there very real problems, but there are still deep divisions about how to solve these problems. >> reporter: all this as dallas tries to heal and say good-bye to its fallen officers, their legacies remembered forever. in dallas, sarah rosario, nbc news. let's get down to business,

landon do y landon dowdy, good morning. >> the market's recent rally slacked off a bit wednesday but the s&p 500 still managing to close at new highs. put together one of the strongest rallies since the start of the current bull market in 2009, shooting pretty much straight up since the initial br-exit-related sell-off last month. pokemon go may be draining your phone's battery but the game is not eating your data plan. verizon says the wildly popular app makes up less than 1% of its data traffic. it consumes 5 to 10 megabytes per hour. streaming plans for the rio olympics. if you have cable watch every second live except the opening ceremonies. there will be a gold channel that jumps to the most exciting action as it happens. nbc will stream to connected tv platforms such as apple tv and

roku. >> no reason to miss any action, thank you. the desperate hunt for a serial killer after seven people have been gunned down. just in time for the presidential election, barbie gets political with an all-female ticket, details coming up. i want to say something to my congressman. i've been a republican all my life. i get party loyalty. but there's loyalty to your country... and the things donald trump says... about immigrants and women... veterans... i mean, how can we put up with that? how can republican members of congress support that?

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welcome back to "first look." at least four waterspouts were reported along florida's gulf coast. this video captured two of them spitting side by side on the florida panhandle. check that out. meanwhile, a fast-moving storm rolled through parts of pennsylvania wednesday. it brought major flooding to lancaster county. as you saw, the downpour made it difficult for farm animals to keep their heads above water. wow, look at that situation. a lot of rain in a very short amount of time. where it's not raining today it will be very hot. we have heat advisories in effect for areas of west texas, eastern new mexico, where temperatures will actually be climbing towards 100. it will feel like 105 here later

this afternoon. meanwhile that heat continues off to the east. we are looking at temperatures that will be feeling like 105 in the major cities of the northeast. so it will be another very intense day of heat across much of the country. we'll be tracking that heat and also any thunderstorms that come throughout the day today. >> triple digit, okay, thank you so much for that. police in arizona, they are racing to catch a serial killer before he strikes again. the so-called serial street shooter is suspected of targeting random victims and gunning them down outside their homes in their own driveways. at least seven people have been killed since mid-march, all occurring within a few miles of each other. >> people are being kill the. we never know who's next. that's pretty sad. scary. >> and due to the fear, the community is turning into a ghost town at night. shops are closing up early, while a neighborhood watch group tries to patrol the streets. police in fresno,

california, released body cam of a fatal officer-involved shooting of an unarmed man, dylan noble, who is white, generated protest amid the ongoing debate over recent police-involved shootings. this footage which the police chief described as extremely disturbing to watch shows police responding to the report of a man armed with a rifle. he appeared to reach for an object, which turned out to be a container with clay. noble can be heard saying he hates his life. an attorney for the aclu applauded the decision to release the footage saying it lends transparency. the officers have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation continues. $11,000 a month on hair care? "scrambled politics" is next. ...in one week. with the... fastest retinol formula available.

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ticket was created to "inspire girls to become leaders." south carolina senator tim scott had a powerful message to deliver when speaking about his own experiences with law enforcement on the senate floor. scott says he was stopped by police seven times in just one year as an elected official. >> i have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness, and the humiliation that comes with feeling like you're being targeted for nothing more than being just yourself. jimmy fallon celebrated the official end of the presidential primary season with a highlight reel of his own, take a look. >> now that the nominees for both parties are official, it means it's the end of the primary season for this year's election. so let's take a moment and looking back and appreciate all the great candidates we had to choose from.

please, take a look. >> this president is more interested in funding -- less interested in funding the military than he is in funding plan -- than -- he's more interested in funding planned parenthood than the military. >> you know, i -- i -- i don't have a problem -- with if i were in charge -- right now -- >> the irs, the department of commerce, the department of energy, the department of commerce, and hud. >> i wouldn't be doing this dumb-ass live-streaming if i weren't. yes, i still am running for president, get over it. >> ♪ because we travel on the bus all day we get to play ♪ ♪ so thank you for your support ♪ ♪ thanks for lending me your hand thank you katherine ♪ >> get back in the business of creating a more peaceful world. please clap. >> oh my goodness. that is your morning dish of

"scrambled politics." let get to washington, joined by jonathan allen, clap any time you want. >> please clap, right? >> he's the head of community and content for "sidewire" and a columnist for "roll call," good morning. >> good morning, thank you. >> 11:00 a.m. friday morning is the time that trump is expected to announce his vp choice. so who are you betting on? >> i'll go with newt gingrich. >> really? okay. why? >> i wouldn't bet the farm on it, i wouldn't bet the farm on any decision a presidential candidate makes about their vice presidential candidate. but newt gingrich obviously wants it. i think there are a lot of people within the trump close-in circle that like newt gingrich. he's got creative ideas about policy. he does understand public policy at a level that most of the other people that have been talked about really don't. he knows congress. he's somebody who could both be a good candidate and potentially be a good vice president. >> but both christie and gingrich considered vp finalists

are on the list of confirmed speakers at the rnc convention. pence is not. should we read anything into that? >> i'm not sure exactly what to read into that. you know, just because people are confirmed speakers doesn't mean their slots couldn't change. but maybe it is mike pence. >> does this mean you could be changing your pick? >> no, no. >> gingrich, okay. >> i'm sticking with begin griff, but who knows. >> we'll find out friday. in the meantime the clinton campaign could be worried about poing which shows trump is really gaining some ground on her in battleground states where they're in a virtual dead heat in iowa and ohio. should that be a big concern for her? >> i think it's important to remember that we're still pretty early on here, we're still getting events that change these numbers, for instance the fbi director coming out and pretty much chastising her for her e-mail scandal even though he

didn't recommend charge the. i'd be worried about just about everything. >> thanks so much, jonathan, we appreciate your time today. >> that i can care. just ahead, an nbc news exclusive. a rare one on one series as an embattled president speaks out on donald trump, and about being viewed as a brutal dictator with the blood of thousands on his hands.

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an nbc news exclusive, rare access into syria for a one on one with embattled president bashar al assad. as air strikes continue he's locked in a civil war that's cost 250,000 lives. our bill neely sat down with the

president at his office and it was filmed by the presidential press office and there have been no editorial changes to the content. >> mr. trump has no experience in foreign policy. does that worry you? >> who had this experience before? obama or george bush or clinton before? none of them had any experience. this is the problem with the united states. you have to look for a statesman who has real experience in politics. not because to have position in congress for a few years or minister of foreign affairs, for example. he doesn't have the experience. >> a man with no experience in foreign policy in the white house is not necessarily dangerous, in your view? >> if anyone who doesn't have experience in any position, white house or in the presidential palace in syria or another country, of course it's dangerous for the country generally. >> how do you think history will remember you? >> i hope that history would see

me as the man who protected his country. from the terrorism and from the intervention and saved its sovereignty and the integrity of its land. >> because you know what the first draft of history is saying, that you're a brutal dictator, you're a man with blood on your hands, more blood on your hands than even on your father. >> no, again, i would draw up the example. if you have a doctor who cut the head because of gangrene to save the patient, you don't say he's a brutal doctor. he's doing his job in order to save the rest of the body. so when you protect your country from the terrorists and you keep terrorists and defeat terrorists, you're not brutal, you're a patriot. >> that was nbc's bill neely. finally, take a look at this. ♪ an officer from stanford, florida, police department

challenged kids to a dance-off. the department later posted the moment on facebook noting that it was impossible to determine a winner. yeah, i mean -- everybody could dance to that video for sure. and the officer too. >> i know, what inspiration. i want to see more cops doing that. >> "way too early" starts right now. i suspect sometime tomorrow that mike and i will both get phone calls and one of us will be packing our bags to go to new york and the other one will be going to watch it on tv. >> we're entering the final stretch. donald trump says he'll announce his vp pick tomorrow right here in new york city. plus we're four days away from the republican national convention kicking off. we're getting a better look at who will and who won't be speaking. and an emotional day in dallas. thousands gathered to say good-bye to three of the five officers killed in last week's

ambush as families and fellow officers pay tribute to the fallen. it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. this is "way too early." ♪ good morning. it is thursday, july 14th. i'm alex witt. donald trump will reveal his running mate tomorrow morning. he tweeted last night that the announcement will come in manhattan at 11:00 a.m. the candidate's eldest children and his son-in-law, jared crishner, have been meeting with the finalists. governor chris christie met with the family members on tuesday. with trump's plane out of commission for mechanical problems the meetings continued in indiana. yesterday newt gingrich met with trump for about 2 1/2