and the 147th day of the deepwater horizon disaster in the gulf. i'm keith olbermann, good night and good luck. high stakes battle. senate republicans vow to put up a fight over president obama's tax plan. great ball of fire. new video surfaces as the gas explosion that leveled the california neighborhood. and eye of the storm. nasa provides an incredible bird's-eye view of hurricane igor. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with

the battle over taxes. senate republicans vow to block president bush's plan to cut middle class taxes yesterday unless bush era reductions for the wealthy are also preserved. this economic debate has been heating up for months now and on this final primary day before november's midterm elections, it could reach a boiling point. nbc's tracie potts joins us now from capitol hill. good morning. >> good morn pentagon. it's going to be a big day, a big week and a big season headed into the elections as congress tries to figure out whether or not to extend these bush tax cuts that are expiring at the end of the year. now, coming out of the weekend republican leader john boehner who had been critical of the president's plan signaled that he might support it in order to get something done before these tax cuts expire. but all hopes of a compromise were dashed when his party came out very strongly yesterday and said that these tax cuts must be preserved for everyone, the poor, the middle class, and,

yes, the wealthy. those who make over $250,000. his party is not the only group to support that. we now know of at least three democrats who say, look, this is the wrong time with our economy still not on good footing to raise taxes. we need to preserve these tax cuts for everyone. so it's a fight not only against republicans but against some members of the democratic party as well. lynn? >> thanks. last night on msnbc's "countdown with keith olbermann" keith asked david k. johnston what he thinks republicans on capitol hill are opposed to middle class tax cuts if, as keith says, that strategy would improve the economy and, in turn, put more money in wealthy american's pockets. >> this is the time of ideology and the idea that tax rates are what's important. what's important is how we spend our tax dollars and whether our

tax system is encouraging investment in things that produce jobs or is it encouraging to buy unproductive things like real estate and to move your factory to china so that you can make more profit by hiring low-cost workers there while destroying work here. so we need to get away from this desba debate that this is class warfare. if it is class warfare it's being waged in both directions. and to distribute the. it encourages more investment here at home and more jobs. and right now we're focused on the tax system that just lets you save money so you can spend it in unproductive ways. >> be sure to join keith olbermann each night as he counts down all the day's stories, week nights at 8:00 eastern right here on msnbc. across the country american voters will be back to the polls today in a la major lineup

before november's midterm elections. there are eight races with most of the focus on the gop and the battle between party regulars and newcomers from the tea party. among the hot match-ups, delaware's senate race. mainstream republicans there looking to avoid another tea party win and they're making a big push for nine-term representative mike castle. until recently he was favored over christine o'donnell. now she's got the backing of former vice presidential account sarah pal candidate sarah palin. they hope to avoid a replay in alaska's republican primary contest. another race to watch, new hampshire senate primary. he is in a tight battle against former attorney general. she once had the clear advantage but now she appears to be facing some stiff competition.

although although she does have the blessing of palin as well. and democrat charlesrangel has his worked cut out for him. today he's facing five challengers, although he does have the advantage of a large purse in his campaign. of course all day long for developments on these primaries you can keep it rights here on msnbc, the place for politics. well, with investigators still trying to figure out why a gas pipeline exploded in san bruno, california, last week, industry watchdogs are raising the alarm that there are literally thousands of pipelines just like the one that exploded nationwi nationwide. aging pipe is the problem. the one that exploded in san brune no, killing four and leaving four others missing, was more than 50 years old. they're not willing to spend the money necessary to avoid the disasters like the one in san bruno. the cost to replace it can

exceed $30 million. meanwhile, the owner of the san bruno pipeline, pacific gas and electric, has set aside money to help them recover. and now here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a texas bar manager posted fay facebook to break up a robbery all to catch a group of burglary suspects. the bar manager in his office fired a single shot sending the would be robbers fleeing, dropping everything on the way including the keys to their van. in ohio, two people are recovering from injuries suffered when a truck struck a power pole near a bus stop causing a huge brilliant flash of light and sparks to fly. witnesses reacted quickly, rescuing the victims whose conditions are still unknown. the driver of the truck, however, was taken into custody by police. in wisconsin, authorities

are investigating what caused freight train carrying various acids to derail sending cars down an embankment with some cars heading to a pet food processing plant and others hitting a bridge overpass. fortunately there were no injuries. damage to the plant was minimal. there were no leaks. and in texas, 300 galveston residents celebrated the city's recovery from hurricane ike with a synchronized dance. why not, right? the mob which even included the mayor gathered in the historic strand district to shake a leg. and though they still got a long way to go, organizers say it's important to celebrate the successes along the way. look pretty good doing it, too. now for a look at your national weather we turn to bill karins with the weather channel forecast. hopefully no more hurricane dances will be needed, as you're watching a couple of them. >> we just got our new advisory in. we actually have a hurricane julia now right behind igor.

igor is closer to land than julia. we'll talk about this one first. big monster. 150-mile-per-hour hurricane yesterday. these images that we show you here are snapshots, pictures, they put them all together and show you -- it animates. this scene that you're showing here is from the international space station. this is at an angle of course, the international space station is at a lower elevation, height from the earth. you know, spectacular picture, none the less, as it flies overhead. more great views probably to come. so, you know, just a difference perspective from space. this is also an image from space. this is from a geo stationary site from much higher elevation. as far as the storm goes with igor, category 4 storm still. it has weakened, yesterday, 150, now 135. the forecast hasn't changed. the threat to the east coast looks very minimal this time if anything. this storm looks to head towards

somewhere near bermuda and then turn harmlessly out to sea. bermuda is really the only question mark. it weakens significantly down to a category 2. from here on out, five days to get to bermuda. this is a slow moving system also. as far as our computer models go, pretty much could agree that none of them take it toward the united states. all of them take it in a northwest and north northwest and finally attend over the weekend, d ew northlerly direction. by the way, the weather out there on the east coast, fantastic. really nice conditions out there today. high pressure is in control. feels like summer in the gulf. the only problem is kansas city to wichita with thunderstorms. we will cover the complete forecast coming up later in the show. lynn, the bottom line, two hurricanes out there. none of them are going to affect the united states. we're actually looking beautiful here. >> bill, thank you. stocks rise again. soothing words from the oracle of omaha.

and bling for a good cause. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. a walk-off winner, nadal joins an exclusive club at a doubleheader that had just about everything. you're watching "first look." my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies. [ male announcer ] we asked zyrtec® users what they love about their allergy relief, and what it lets them do. the thing i love most about zyrtec® is that it allows me to be outside. [ male announcer ] we bet you'll love zyrtec®, too -- or it's free. [ vonetta ] it is countdown to marshmallow time. [ woman laughs ] [ vonetta ] it is countdown to marshmallow time. i can take one airline out... and another home.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here's tstories this morning. secretary clinton is back to egypt for mideast peace talks with netanyahu and mahmoud abbas. today's meeting comes two days after netanyahu will offer a hint. it would not step up construction nor freeze building on the west bank. it will not pay the prison bail for sarah shourd. earlier yesterday, shourd's

family asked to have the bale reduced say they couldn't afford it. the cuban government is going to lay off half a million state workers in the next six months to help the struggling economy. cuba plans to allow more private sector growth with hopes those jobs will be replaced. analysts say it's the biggest private sector shift there since the 1959 revolution. health officials are calling it a global threat, a superdrug thought to be resistant to every known antibiotic. three people travelled to india, patients in california, massachusetts, and illinois have been infected. rescue workers in thailand are assessing the damage after overnight flash floods causing a major road to collapse. bystanders were seen running to safety seconds before the road buckled and completely walked away. the first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,544 after

adding 81 points yesterday. the s&p gained 12 points. the nasdaq climbed 43. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 22 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng rose, 37. and, a little reassurance about the health of the global economy. shot stocks up to their highest level in five weeks on monday. markets rallied thanks in part to a deal by global regulators to boost bank reserves over the next several years. to help prevent another worldwide financial crisis. fresh figures showing china's economy is still booming also added to investors' optimism. pc maker hewlett packard is adding to the ever expanding arsenal of services, buying cybersecurity firm arcsa.

shares of both companies shot up. as did rival, avis, which stands to profit from one less competitor in the karental mark -- car rental market. more from warren buffet. the so-called oracle of omaha predicted, quote, we are not going to have a double dip recession. prices at the pump are up sharply in the midwest thanks to a pipeline leak in the chicago area. the average price of unleaded gas there shot up ten cents a gallon since last week. and finally, anne hathaway's exboyfriend turned out to be a fraud, but the jewelry he gave her was the real deal. now it's up for sale. beginning today, you can bid on-line for any of a dozen pricey gifts she received from the real estate scammer with proceeds going to his victims. well, nadal slams the open, the rays walk off against the yankees, and a charger rally comes up short. plus, the loud-talking jets

take some hard knocks from the ravens. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] at&t and blackberry have teamed up to keep your business moving. introducing the blackberry torch. at&t. rethink possible. it's like hardwiring the market right into my desktop. launch my watchlist -- a popping stock catches my eye. pull up the price chart. see what the analysts say. as i jump back, cnbc confirms what i thought. pull the trigger -- done. i can even do most of this on my smartphone. really, it's incredible. like nothing i've ever experienced. unleash your investing

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unless it's wielded with precision. welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. the nfl opened monday night football with a double dose last night with the first game providing a dazzling display of defense. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning, a monday night football double-header that

started with a defensive struggle and ended in a shootout. go to new york. jets and ravens, first play for baltimore. and joe flacco crushed, sandwiched, and fumbled the ball. the jets recover. get a field goal out of it. the ravens got things going in the second. mcgahee, he punched in from a yard out. 7-6, baltimore in the half. fast forward to the fourth. this is a physical game. dustin keller meet ray lewis, huge hit across the middle. the jets needing a first down to stay alive. keller made the grab and didn't get the first down. maybe he heard footsteps after the hit by lewis. the ravens held on to win the opener, 10-9. that was the defense, the chargers and the chiefs provided the offense. dexter mcclus tear took the cut and was off to the races. 94 yards for the score. chiefs running away with it, up 21-7 in the half. chargers made it interesting. philip rivers found a wide open hit for the score. san diego down, 21-14. last chance for the chargers, fourth and goal, rivers' pass

fell incomplete. chiefs surprised everyone with a 21-14 win. baseball is the new team atop of the al east. the score was tie in the 11th with a game-winning homer. rays leapfrogged the yanks. men's final, we know rafael nadal is good, but how good? he made novak djokovic do this -- he took it out on his own feet. djokovic decided it's not the feet, it's the racquet. take that. he was frustrated. battled to win the second set, nadal's only loss of the tournament. rafael took over from there, match point, djokovic's return is wide. rafael nadal becomes it seventh man to at least win one title from each grand slam tournament. that's the first look at sports, i'm fred roggin. now for a quick look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. hey, bill. a look at double trouble. hurricane igor and julia.

julia is newly formed. it's barely a hurricane, but it is a hurricane. as far as the storms go, neither will affect the areas of the east coast or the caribbean islands. the only really problem is bermuda with igor. that's it. hurricane julia is going to occur out in the open atlantic. as far as the tropics go, we can watch and appreciate mother nature's beauty. that's it. shouldn't have any effects here at all. temperatures are cool in areas of new england. we have good thunderstorm complexes go through yesterday. a few went through areas of long island, new jersey, lower hudson valley, new york city. had some of the thunderstorms roll through last night too. today is dry. leave the umbrellas home from new york all the way through connecticut and rhode island. new york city is going to be nice and 77. dc should be gorgeous. all the way back through the southeast as we feel like summer. upper 80s, low 90s. chicago, minneapolis, on the cooler side for you. texas, still hot. dallas, today, 94. lynn, everything is looking good. >> all right, bill, you keep an

eye on the canes for us, huh? >> the canes. >> the weather man lingo, i like it. all right, thank you. woody allen shoots down rumors about the first lady of france. plus, oprah opens up about her final season with a bang. the first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. wall street is getting back on its feet. but the financial landscape is still full of uncertainty.

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. last night on "late night with jimmy fallon," jimmy went after two figures that not so long ago seemed untouchable. >> at last night's redskins game at dc, lebron james was seen wearing a barack obama t-shirt.

you remember when that guy was so cool and popular? and i was like, wait, which one. arrested on weapons charges in costa rica. this weekend he tweeted that costa rica had banned him from the country. in response, the u.s. was like, oh, wait, you can do that? check this out, a college in pennsylvania is blocking computer access to social networking sites for an entire week and requiring the students to write an essay about the experience. yep. the essay will be called, we all have smartphones, dumb ass. >> tonight, jimmy welcomes actor justin long and the cast from "promises promises." that's late night with jimmy fallon, 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. time for the first look at entertainment news. john mayer has closed his twitter account and it's heating up recent speculation that the singer reunited with former

flame, jennifer aniston. the spokeswoman for mayer who had more than 3.7 million followers on twitter said he pulled the plug because his tour finished and he's headed back to the studio. next week, more than a year after his infamously uncomfortable appearance on the late show with david letterman, joaquin phoenix makes a return visit. that should be interesting. woody allen denying reports that it took france's first lady 32 shoots and takes at the shoot for one scene of his new romantic comedy, "midnight in paris." allen shut down reports that she was a diva and he had to hire another actress to reshoot her scenes. finally, she always seems to outdo herself. oprah winfrey kicked off her 25th and final season monday announcing she would take her 300 audience members on an eight-day, seven-night trip to australia in december. bill, you can decide what our "first look" viewers will be receiving for tuning in this morning.

>> the gumball machine, whatever the little prizes are. >> lollipops. >> oprah, at one time gave her whole audience cars. >> she upped the ante. >> i would rather have the car. than go to australia for seven days? >> i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc, willie geist is next. it is primary as tea party candidates look to knock off establishment republicans across the country while leaders of that establishment do battle with president obama over the economy back in washington. the question is, why are all eyes on delaware tonight? we'll tell you. in a different kind of battle, the much-hyped new york jets get their comeuppance, the first game of the season as ray lewis and the ravens remind rex ryan's jets that games are not won on hbo. the question is -- was that the jets' first team offense last night? if so, they're in trouble. and oprah winfrey opens her final season by sending the audience to uncontrolled