it's tuesday, july 19th. right now on "first look," the republicans are off and running. head liner melania trump getting the lion's share of the attention for a speech that many are saying plagiarized a 2008 michelle woman ma convention speech. we'll play it for you just ahead. then matt lauer spoke to the trump's exclusively aboard the donald's plane. >> i read once over it, and that's all. because i wrote it, and -- with a little help as possible. >> more of matt's interview coming up. then we have developments on multiple fronts including the entire russian olympic team possibly being banned from rio. also a medical mystery over how

one person tracted zika. the french make a painful transition from the tragedy to normalcy and much more on a busy tuesday. "first look" starts right now. good morning, everyone, i'm dara brown. a cleveland controversy surrounding melania trump's coming out speech on the first night of the republican convention. that speech made headlines across the country today. but not for the reasons you'd think. it seems passages from melania's prime-time remarks bear striking similarities to parts of michelle obama's speech at the 2008 democratic national convention. we have an edited video for you with key passages showing michelle obama's remarks, then melania trump's speech last night. take a listen. >> and barack and i were raised with so many of the same values. like, you work hard for what you want in life. >> from a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life. >> that your word is your bond,

that you do what you say you're going to do. that you treat people with dignity and respect. >> that your word is your bond. and you do what you say, and keep your promise. that you treat people with respect. >> because, we want our children and all children in this nation to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them. >> because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams, and your willingness to work for them. >> following melania's speech trump tweeted, it was truly an honor to introduce my wife melania. her speech and demeanor were absolutely incredible. very proud. his campaign released this statement saying, quote, in writing her beautiful speech melania's team of writers took notes on her life's

inspirations. and in some instances, including fragments that reflected her own thinking. melania's immigrant experience and love for america shone through in her speech which made it such a success. the team of writers trump spokesperson spoke of contradicts what melania told the "today" show's matt lauer prior to speech's delivery when she said she had quote very little help with it. both donald and melania were on hand for that lauer interview. take a listen. >> you guys have flown on this plane all across the country for the last year or so. did this flight feel different? was there a different energy on the plane? >> a little bit. there's a lot of energy right next to us. right in that hall. there's a lot of energy going on. >> is it surreal to finally be here? we've talked about this week for so long. >> we have. >> mr. trump, is it surreal to be here? >> i think it's just a great feeling. it's a great accomplishment. but the real accomplishment, and you know what it is, make america great again. that's what i'm doing it for. that's why i'm doing it. it's a lot of work. it's a lot of activity.

but i will say, you see that hall, you see the kind of enthusiasm they have. they want to see something happen and it's make america great. and safe again. >> one part of the campaign ends in that hall tonight. another part begins. your wife is going to get to speak to the delegates. >> right. >> about you. has she gone over the speech with you? did you practice it on the plane? >> i read once over it. and that's all. because i wrote it and -- with a little help as possible. >> are you nervous? it would be okay to be nervous. >> i'm excited. >> yeah? >> yeah, it's exciting night. >> what do you want to tell the delegates, mrs. trump, about your husband, that they haven't learned in the last year? >> well, i will tell it in the speech. and he's an amazing -- >> she's good. she's learned a lot from you. that was really good. go ahead continue. >> he's an amazing guy, and he really wants to bring america to the next level. >> matt's full interview with the trumps is set to air this morning on the "today" show.

but the night was also full of rousing speeches from the likes of senator joni ernst. rnc chair's reince priebus and others. but it was former new york city mayor rudy giuliani firing up the crowd and serving as trump's strongest defender of the night. >> i have known donald trump for almost 30 years. and he has created and accomplished great things. i am telling you this because i am sick and tired of the defamation of donald trump by the media and by the clinton campaign! i am sick and tired of it! this is a good man! >> the first day of convention was meant to be a show of unity for the republican party. but it was far from it. convention rules were rushed through in a voice vote making anti-trump delegates erupt in shouting protests. calling for a recorded voice in an effort to block trump from

the nomination. and that was before melania's headline-making speech. here was the scene yesterday. >> the question is on adoption of the resolution. all those in favor say aye. >> aye. >> all those opposed no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the resolution is agreed to. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. >> point of order. point of order. point of order. >> at one point the entire colorado delegation took the extraordinary step of walking out of the convention altogether. and ultimately the chairman of the convention said after several withdrew their petitions for a recorded vote there was not enough support to proceed. >> the chair has found insufficient support for the request for a record vote. >> and reaction from prominent

republicans was swift. >> the chairman of the convention walked off of the stage, left it completely unattended for like five or ten minutes. never seen anything like that. >> they rolled through, they cheated, they cheated. i mean that's what you just saw. we saw them violate their own rules. >> that all came as over 500 demonstrators marched nearly a mile and a half to the cleveland convention center. they were protesting against the rnc and donald trump with black lives matter, code pink, abortion rights groups and others represented. but it is clear the leading story out of the first day of the convention will be melania's speech and just how the trump campaign will respond remains to be seen. for more we're joined by nbc's tracie potts in cleveland. tracie, what are you hearing in the wake of melania trump's speech? >> well, it looks like the trump campaign is going to have a lot of questions to answer about this speech. who wrote it? was it melania trump? was it this team of writers that they talked about in their

statement? and was anyone familiar or -- with the fact that it was so similar to michelle obama's speech? meantime looking forward to today the theme is going to be the economy, make america work again. so they'll talk about things like jobs, the economy, obamacare, and really trying to hone in on the differences with hillary clinton. one of the headliners today, chris christie who, of course, has been a spokesperson for donald trump. was also on that short list for vp. we're going to hear from people on capitol hill, particularly house speaker paul ryan, and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. both of them set to speak tonight. and in prime-time, we are going to hear from two of donald trump's children, tiffany trump, and donald trump jr., who said that he's very proud to have his children here. not only because of the personal connection, but also they are politically advisers for him. >> tracie potts in cleveland, thank you so much. keep it right here on msnbc for wall-to-wall coverage live from cleveland throughout the day. and our special prime-time coverage with brian williams, rachel mad toe and chris

matthews begins tonight at 7:00 eastern right here on msnbc. trump's democratic rival hillary clinton would not be outdone by last night's spectacle. she campaigned and spoke to the naacp. clinton was joined by ohio senator and rumored vp candidate sherrod brown. she also launched new trump attack ads and sat down for an interview with charlie rose, using the opportunity to continue her attacks on trump. >> no self-discipline, no self-control, no sense of history, no understanding of the limits of the kind of power that any president should impose upon himself. he has shown none of that. let's return to torture. and you know what? i will order the american military to commit war crimes. what he has laid out is the most dangerous, reckless approach to being president than i think we've ever seen. >> the most dangerous man ever to run for president of the united states? >> i believe that.

>> clinton will hold campaign events in florida on friday and saturday right around when her team said a vp announcement will be made. well i'm joined now by political analyst and best-selling author ellis henican. good morning to you. >> wild night in cleveland, huh? >> wild night. let's talk about the big head line coming out of this. melania trump's speech. what do you think about this? >> well, i mean i always heard that imitation is the highest form of flattery, huh? >> i'm not so sure that's what the rnc's take will be on it. >> no, it's obviously not what they want us to be talking about this morning, right? i mean i have to say, i thought she seemed nice. i mean she seems like a lovely lady as far as-as far as i could tell. but the fact that here we are and all across america people are talking about how similar that speech was to michelle obama's eight years ago, and that was a great speech. i mean people really do remember it. it really introduced her, and softened her husband a little bit. and, nah, that's not what's happening in cleveland. >> melania says she wrote it

herself but then trump said well she had speechwriters there. where's the disconnect? >> yeah, well, you know, i don't think she should have said that to matt lauer. it certainly seems as if there was a little gremlins there of finding old speeches and stitching them together. but you know what, it really is an indication of what happens when you don't have a top professional level political operation. that kind of thing, you hope, wouldn't happen in a first-string campaign. >> well what about a response from the trump campaign? what do you think they're going to say? >> it's interesting that we haven't gotten a straightforward response yet? that boilerplate we read a moment ago really didn't address how this happened, who wrote it, how those words ended up in there, why melania would claim to have written it when it certainly seems as if she didn't. they got to say something but they haven't said it yet. >> okay. now how can they top tonight? what are they going to do tonight that might actually pull away from this? >> well, you know, move on to the next subject which is getting america working again.

chris christie no doubt will give a rousing speech. he certainly has the or torical gifts for situations like this. and just move on. don't wallow in it. hope people forget about last night, and move in to the next one. that's why these conventions run several days. >> well, we have four more days -- three more days of this. so we'll see what happens next. now let's talk about hillary clinton because as this convention is winding down she's supposed to come out with her vp choice. >> yes. here's the twist. she will come out as soon after this ends as possible to try and take some of the glow away, and maybe cut down on that post-convention bounce that we so often get in these presidential campaigns. i'm looking for something on friday. >> very interesting. we'll see if that comes true. ellis henican, thank you so much. >> fun week. >> well, just ahead, terrifying moments aboard a train in germany. plus why big battery companies are loving pokemon go. you're watching "first look."

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welcome back to "first look." look at these pictures.

beautiful. a line of severe weather rolled through the phoenix area bringing rain, powerful winds, and all those famous dust storms. video from phoenix sky harbor international airport shows debris being blown across the tarmac. that caused significant delays. and some residents in primeville, oregon, may have asked what happened to my summer? ground was covered with ice. of course, this was from a hailstorm unlike the winter season. this happens in the summer every now and then. we dealt with some severe weather yesterday. at one point 144,000 people didn't have power in areas of the northeast because of these thunderstorms that rolled through. they have exited and now we're left with a little less humid day and a little less hot day for many areas in the northeast. all of the hot weather is in the middle of the country and it is going to build and spread to the east coast this upcoming weekend. 26 million people in our watches, 6 million under warnings for the heat. it's going to feel like 90-plus in areas of the red. so that's a good churng of the country here. and then it will feel like 100 plus in areas of the pinks. i mean we're talking just millions of people from all of

the entire south and the middle of the country and then building into the ohio valley and eventually to the east coast by saturday. today some of the highlights, if you want to call it that, 107 it will feel like in memphis today, omaha will feel like 106, and then tomorrow we jacket up even higher. omaha will feel like 109. little rock 109 also. so enjoy this while it lasts. 90 in d.c. sounds hot but it can easily be 100 on friday and saturday. so this will be cool comparatively. >> it's hard to think, imagine, enjoying 90? >> enjoy your 90s. >> no, no, no, that hailstorm looks nice and cool out there. thanks so much. a 17-year-old male armed with a knife and an ax launched a horrific attack on a german train last night. at least four passengers were severely injured. dozens of others are being treated for shock. the attacker escaped the train when it came to an emergency stop. he was later shot dead by a s.w.a.t. team. police say the attacker is an unaccompanied refugee from afghanistan. his motive has yet to be determined.

after three days of mourning the city of nice attempted to get back to normal yesterday. mourners filled the street where dozens of victims died in last week's terror attacks. they cleared it of tributes, and then they opened it up to traffic. a human chain was formed to pass the tributes to a new makeshift memorial in honor of the 84 people killed. an alarming zika case in utah. health officials say the virus mysteriously jumped from an elderly man to his caregiver before he died last month. the virus is usually spread through mosquitoes or sexual contact. investigators are investigating whether a new method of transmission has emerged. and the world anti-doping agency says the ioc should ban all russian athletes from the rio olympics. that is one of the major ta takeaways from the much anticipated report. it confirms cheating by the russian athletes in sochi and other events. the practice has lasted at least four years and involved at least

312 positive tests that went unreported. according to russian news agency, president vladimir putin says the accusations were based on evidence provided by a person of wretched reputation. well let's get down to business now with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning, landon. >> hi there, dara. good morning to you. a new report finds it's cheaper to rent versus buy a home in just eight states and washington, d.c. gobankingrates.com compared the cost for a single family home and ownership includes mortgage rates, property taxes and insurance rents have been rapidly rising. some prices have too but mortgage rates are still historically low. meanwhile germany is considering legislation to require a black box in all autonomous cars in the wake of a fatal crash involving the autopilot feature in a tesla vehicle. drivers wouldn't have to pay attention to traffic for steering but they must remain behind the wheels to take over in case of an emergency. and nintendo isn't the only company benefiting from pokemon

go. pokemon go has been blamed for draining phone batteries. pc magazine just recommended the juice pack products specifically for pokemon go and the stock is up 25% dara. back over to you. >> that's amazing, landon, thank you so much. the republicans had quite a cast of speakers kick off their first night and we've got the highlights. that's up next. between life and death. for partners in health, time is life. we have 18,000 people around the world. the microsoft cloud helps our entire staff stay connected and work together in real time to help those that need it. the ability to collaborate changes how we work. what we do together changes how we live.

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convention and here are a few of the highlights from last night including donald trump's big entrance. ♪ ♪ we are the champions we are the champions ♪ >> in the past eight years, failed policies have caused our country to deteriorate. our rights have been trumpled and our security threatened. >> you think obama cared, and black lives mattered. no. and we all know hillary is obama's third term. >> isis is present in all 50 states. think about it for a moment. terrorists from isis are in every one of our 50 states. >> for all of this grief, for all the sit steps of the tragedy

in benghazi has brought upon america, i blame hillary clinton. i blame hillary clinton personally for the death of my son. >> it's time to make america safe again. it's time to make one again! one america! what happened -- what happened to -- what happened to there's no black america, there's no white america, there is just america! >> i would like to take a moment to recognize an amazing veteran, the great senator bob dole. [ applause ] >> and just ahead, as we gear up

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♪ for the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ >> absolutely stunning. 20-year-old in the opening day of the rnc. >> blind, cerebral palsy.

killing it. >> absolutely amazing. >> she also sang at game six of the nba finals. now i need to ask her which one -- >> she's going to be around. i'm dara brown and this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" starts right now. the race will be hard-fought all the way to november. there will be good times, and hard times, and unexpected turns. it would not be a trump contest without excitement and drama. >> melania trump takes center stage for the rnc's opening night, but not without controversy. she says she wrote her own speech. but the big question this morning is, who wrote it first? plus -- >> never seen anything like it. we are now in uncharted territory. somebody owes us an explanation.

>> convention chaos. the never trump vote take their fight to the convention floor but it doesn't go far. and the gunman in baton rouge caught on surveillance cameras. police release new images say they prove their officers were targeted. it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west, this is "way too early." good morning, it is tuesday, july 19th, i'm chris jansing live from baton rouge. a city still in mourning here after the deaths of three officers on sunday. three others were wounded in that ambush-style attack. take a look at these photos from an emotional vigil held here in baton rouge last night. police now say it's clear that the gunman, gavin long, did, indeed, target the officers. here's one tn