edition of "countdown" every night at 8:00 eastern. be there. the final kill. bp crews prepare a permanent plug for the blown out well in the gulf. burning revelation. a woman who grabbed headlines by claiming she was the woman of an acid attack now admits it was self-inflicted. and mini moo. the guinness book of world records unveils the world's smallest cow. good morning. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin with finally nearing the end.

after five long months, crews in the gulf of mexico have taken a major step toward permanently plugging the blownout well. behind the worst oil spill in u.s. history. and for more on that, we go to nbc's kristen dahlgren in venice, louisiana. good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, lynn. day 150 and that relief well they started drilling shortly after this all started has finally intersected with the well some 2 1/2 miles beneath the floor of the gulf. in a statement late last night, the incident commander said the two wells were now connected and that the next step is to pump mud and cement down into that well to permanently seal it off. obviously, good news for people in this area. really just one step in their recovery. oil here continues to wash ashore. this week, evidence of a massive fish kill here. thousands of dead fish. take a look at these pictures. almost looks like a gravel road there. scientists say it's not uncommon at this time of year and it was

caused by lack of oxygen. people here continue to ask for proof that the oil and dispersent didn't play into that. tony hayward, who inflamed so many tempers here, defend bp's safety record this week as he testified in britain. he said there's no need to rethink deepwater drilling. meantime here in la la, there's also a push to lift that moratorium on deepwater drilling and get workers here back to work. a powerful storm that rocked the new york city area last night has left at least one person dead. a woman was killed after a tree fell on her car as winds of up to 100 miles an hour knocked down trees, power lines and tore roofs off buildings. at least 30,000 people were left without power. there were also lightning strikes over the statue of liberty and a funnel cloud in brooklyn. a suspected tornado that has yet to be confirmed. it was a horrific scene at

johns hopkins hospital yesterday as gunfire erupted in the renowned baltimore medical center. police say a man who was being briefed on the kchb his 84-year-old mother became overwhelmed by the news and then shot her doctor. the gunman identified as paul warren partis barricaded himself in her room for more than two hours when officers entered. both partis and his mother were found shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide. fortunately, though, the wounded doctor is expected to survive. a washington state woman who gained sympathy across the country after claiming a random stranger threw acid on her face is now admitting those burns were self-inflicted. after confronting the 28-year-old about discrepancies in her stories, such as the splash patterns on her face and why she was wearing sunglasses at night, police say she admitted there was no attacker. authorities aren't speculating on what her motives were, but prosecutors will now have to decide whether or not to file criminal charges against the

woman. the united states withdrew its combat forces in iraq just under a month ago and plans are still in place to have all u.s. military out of the country by the end of 2011. last night on the "rachel maddow show," vice president joe biden talked about the u.s. civilian commitment to iraq and what the future holds for the end of "operation new dawn." >> when we leave iraq next year, we are not -- we are leaving militarily, but we are significantly ramping up our civilian presence. i mean significantly. and we are working -- i conduct a meeting once a month with our folks in iraq as well as with our every cabinet member. i have the secretary of commerce, the secretary of education, the secretary of treasury, the secretary of agriculture. we're all there working now with the iraqis, providing for the ability to help them build their institutions so they can

function, including how to make the electric grid function. so that say process. we're not walking away from that. we are increasing our civilian commitment, and we're trying to work out what they call a, you know, a strategic arrangement long term with them that is not military but it is on the civilian side. >> you don't want to miss rachel maddow's unique take on politics and all the top stories. that's the "rachel maddow show" weeknights at 9:00 eastern here on msnbc. here's a look at some other news going on today. in california, police are looking for a cross-dressing bandid who robbed a gas station. the man dressed in a hot pink miniskirt, blouse and high heels aimed a gun at the clerk before cleaning out the cash register. the suspect got away with an undisclosed amount of cash and left his skirt and heels at the scene. officials in florida say a father went too far when he stormed his daughter's school

bus to send a message to her classmates. the man delivered a profanity laced lecture to the students threatening to, quote, kill the person who bullied his daughter. the father could face charges of false imprisonment, disorderly conduct, interrupting a school function and assault. in texas, surveillance footage could place a woman behind bars on felony charges of dog abuse. a neighbor's security camera recorded the woman in her back yard beating her dog with a rake. animal services will retain custody of the woman's dogs until the case has been resolved. and in kansas, severe weather conditions produced a storm of baseball-sized hail causing significant damage to property, including vehicles. youtube video shows the dangerous impact the large hail stones made as they hit the ground there. early estimates of the damage have started to ring upward of a million dollars. we turn to nbc meteorologist

bill karins with the forecast. the folks here in the new york area are literally saying it was like a horror movie last night. you look out your window, people running for cover. it was crazy. >> guess who missed the whole thing? >> you were in target. >> i was shopping. with my wife. figures, right? i knew it was coming. so i knew we had to get there quickly. >> where are your weather responsibilities? you're supposed to have your cap on and go out and figure out what happened. let me show you my experience. obviously, that quickly heard what happened and went outside and walked up the block. this was the first thing i came upon. took all these pictures as i headed out of the store. a big tree in the middle of a road. one of the busiest streets in all of brooklyn. this was the first thing i saw. i was thinking probably straightline winds. then i came across this tree here literally stripped. no branches, nothing left. usually when you see a tree like this you are thinking it has to be a tornado that would do that sort of damage.

finally, i made it to my subway stop. scaffolding had fallen off the buildings. this is my two or three train i'd typical low take into work. at that point i was thinking possibly tornado. then when i started seeing the pictures it still looks like more of a straight line wind event. if you go to youtube there's video from brooklyn a guy took from his roof. it looked like a shelf cloud blowing in. reports of 100-mile-per-hour wind gusts from a buoy in new york harbor. so very impressive stuff. now also impressive this morning, getting to the weather maps, hurricane karl. mexico will get ravaged today. anyone in the path of what is now a major category 3 storm. veracruz on the southern edge of the eyewall. that would be somewhere in the worst damage in and around veracruz. that's a very busy, big city. also a couple of cities just off to the west of that that could get nailed. this could go up to a rare category 4 landfall. this is a huge event even in the history of this area of the

coastal. as far as right where the impact is at landfall, that's a pretty rural area. as long as it stays this far north, the damage shouldn't be devastating. any shift to the south and veracruz will get hit hard. no matter what, they'll see some damage. just depends on how close that path gets. the other storm throughout is hurricane igor. this storm has weakened. now a category 3. still expected to hit bermuda possibly as a category 3 or 2 sunday night into monday morning. those large waves are going to arrive on the east coast shortly. the weather in the united states, a lot quieter than we saw yesterday in new york or anywhere else. just light rain heading out of new england this morning and hot conditions on the gulf. as you said, lynn, the buzz in new york city it doesn't look like it's going to be a tornado. it looks like it's going to be straight line winds. 100-mile-per-hour winds. that's very impressive. that's like a category 2 hurricane. >> you know, i stand corrected, though. you did put your cap on and head out there and get to the bottom of this. a slide show. fantastic. >> full weather geek mode. i just missed the event.

>> you did your job, bill. we're satisfied here. >> all right. >> thanks. unemployment improves. gold hits the heights. and a tweeter makes the most wanted list. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. a perfect storm hits the wnba. more bad news for floyd mayweather. and what would you do if you were hit in the face by an 89-mile-an-hour fastball. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. 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®

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everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases.

as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same. if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top stories. after months of debate, the senate has passed a bill that would provide tax cuts for small businesses and open lending by creating a $30 billion government fund. it passed 61-38 with the help two of republicans who crossed the aisle to give president obama an election year victory. the legislation now goes to the house where it's expected to quickly pass and head to the president's desk for signing. this morning's "usa today"

reports that a so-called superbug resistant to nearly every modern antibiotic is spreading across the country and becoming an international problem. the bacteria which have been reported by hospitals in more than 20 states typically strike the critically ill and, so far, has been fatal in 30 to 60% of the cases. the mother of missing teenager natalee holloway reportedly sneaked into a peruvian prison where prime suspect joran van der sloot is being held and confronted him about her daughter. local media say beth holloway spoke to vander sloot for five minutes but did not get any answers before being removed by authorities. and meet the animal affectionately dubbed mini moo. it's because it's the world's smallest cow. according to guinness world records, the sheep-size cow hails from northern england and is just 33 inches tall. cute little one.

well, now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,594 after gaining 22 points yesterday. the s&p was down a fraction, but the nasdaq added one point. taking a look at overseas trading. in tokyo, the nikkei rose 116 points while in hong kong, the heng seng climbed 279. trading was mixed on wall street thursday after investors looked past encouraging news on the economy, focusing instead on troubles at bellwether company fedex. the shipping firm darkened the mood fall 3g% after announcing it would eliminate 1,700 jobs in an effort to prop up its money losing trucking business. on the brighter side, the labor department reported first time claims for unemployment fell to a two-month low last week. and prices at the wholesale level rose more than expected last month. easing concerns economic anemia could lead to falling prices. on the down side, the census bureau reported the number of

americans in poverty climbed to its highest level since the 1960s. with millions losing jobs, thanks to the recession, leaving a staggering 1 in 7 americans in poverty. for the second time this week, gold swept to another all-time high and spot silver. the so-called poor man's gold, reached its highest level since march 2008. softwaremaker oracle rose more than 4% after the bell on quarterly results that topped wall street's expectations. also after hours, blackberrymaker research in motion jumped more than 8% on results that beat expectations. texas instruments rose 3.5% in extended trade after increasing a stock repurchase. and boosting its quarterly dividend. elsewhere, treasury secretary timothy geithner promised lawmakers thursday he will rally other world powers to push china for trade and currency reforms. and finally, more about the

power of twitter. angry police in johannesburg, south africa, are on the lookout for pig spotter. he has over 7,000 local followers and has posted thousands of daily warnings about where police set up speed traps all around the city. i don't know who has time for that. but apparently pig spotter does. the giants lead the west. serious charges against pretty boy floyd. and who says they don't sweep in seattle. plus, one of the white sox finds the perfect way to prove you can't keep a good man down. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] taste pops...

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welcome back to "first look." in sports, it's getting to be crunch time with divisional pennant races starting to reach a fever pitch. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. the closeev playoff race in baseball is not in the a.l. east but out gheft the national league. padres were in first when the day started. albert pujols, a shot to right. ryan ludwick laid out but couldn't make the grave. in came one. st. louis up 2-0. they went on to beat the padres, 4-0. the padres were in first but not anymore because the giants had their way with the dodgers. aubrey huff busted the game wide open. ee the next batter, another home run. buster posey with his 18th. giants went on to win in a rout. they are in first. the rockies are 2 1/2 out. now we're going to show you

a piece of tape. if you are the least bit squeamish, turn your head for a moment. the good news, everything turned out to be okay. the white sox paul konerko at the plate. hit in the face by an 89-mile-an-hour pitch from carl pavano. konerko suffered a bloody nose but stayed in the game and good thing for the sox. in the third he got pavano back. a solo homer. team high 37th. unfortunately not enough. the twins won, 8-5. floyd mayweather may finally have met his match. he's been hit with three more felony charges and a domestic violence case that already had him facing a felony theft charge. the additional three charges brings his grand told of combined felonies and misdemeanors to eighth. he could face up to 34 years behind bars if found guilty. you can start calling the seattle storm the perfect storm. they went unbeaten in the playoffs to win the wnba championship. the atlanta dream made it interesting in the end but couldn't get a three-pointer in the final seconds.

the storm are champs once again with an 87-84 win. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. and now for another quick look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> let's get into the weekend forecast. first things first. we're getting rid of the stormy weather in new england. the only heavy rain left out here in nantucket, martha's vineyard, a little on cape cod. tail end of long island. everyone is going to dry out during the day today. you'll see a nice afternoon in areas like boston and new york and d.c. chicago looks fine, too. it's as we go through the weekend. not a lot changes in the deep south. this is our last weekend of summer. it's going to be hot from dallas through the south. atlanta, the carolinas are going to be very warm this weekend, too. the cooler air is minneapolis to chicago. that stays really chilly in the great lakes. so enjoy your last weekend of summer, lynn. nothing like what we saw yesterday. >> no kidding. bill, thanks. new films prepare to do battle for weekend box office gold. plus is he pulling our leg or just an eccentric artist?

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. last night on "late night with jimmy fallon," actor john hamm spoke about the unique experience of hosting "saturday night live" and the eyes that are always watching. >> as we were rehearsing it on friday or saturday, the camera blocking and everything and ft. comes back from a break and has this ashen look. i'm like what happened? what happened, man? he has this note in his hand. he says i just got this note. you have to read this. and it says from the desk of brian williams. i was watching on the feed from

my office. why is there some idiot in a charlie brown sweater doing my sketch. and i was like -- >> i love he did that. >> i was like lose my number, love brian williams. >> he knows where you are. he watches the feed. he can show up you, know, wherever. >> i'm not worried about brian williams. >> you never know. >> tonight, jimmy welcomes actress will arnett and jason ritter. and tony award winning actress patty lapone. that's "late night with jimmy fallon" on your nbc station. it's time for your first look at entertainment news. we now know whether joaquin phoenix's retirement from acting to start a rap career was real or fake. his brother-in-law and documentary collab ter casey affleck told "the new york times" the whole thing, including phoenix's appearance last year on "late night with david letterman" was all a

complete hoax. affleck calls it the best performance of phoenix's career. after 54 years, today is the final episode of "as the world turns." and scottish singing sensation susan boyle fulfilled her dream of singing for the pope yesterday at a papal mass in scotland. at the box office, the teen comedy "easy a" starting the currently red hot emma stone and produced for a mere $8 million is the favorite to take first with $20 million or more. ben affleck stars in and directs the r-rated heist flick "the town." experts see it taking second with about $15 million. and those same experts don't think the new horror flick "devil" will do much better than 10 million this weekend. they apparently didn't talk to the audience that i was in when the preview came on that literally booed the screen. >> the preview? >> twice. on cue. m. night shymalan's name came up

and they booed it. two different times i went and saw the movie. or the preview. >> i won't see it, then. >> take that to the bank. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look." "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. christine o'donnell will get a hero's welcome today from conservatives in washington. a day after her first debate as the republican nominee for senate in delaware. the question is, with her party now rallying around her and the money absolutely pouring in, does o'donnell actually have a shot to win the race? meanwhile, former president jimmy carter reaches a new low. dufth off a 30-year-old vendetta to trash the late ted kennedy in a 60-minutes interview. with due respect, shouldn't jimmy carter just go away? and we have confirmation now. that bizarre bearded interview that joaquin phoenix gave david letterman last year was part of an elaborate gag for a movie. the question is, should