okay. that's september 27th. i'm keith olbermann. good night and good luck. and now why democrats like a campaign mode, president obama plans a four-state swing taking aim at republicans for irresponsible policies. mercury rising, los angeles swelters in a record-breaking autumn heat wave. and home on the range. record numbers turn out to watch an american tradition on the great plains. good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this tuesday

morning with taking aim on the trail. president obama took republicans to task for their proposed pledge to america yesterday, calling their policies, quote, irresponsible. today the president sets out on a campaign swing with stops planned in three states to sell his plan to fix the economy. tracie potts is in washington, d.c. live with us this morning with the latest. good morning to you, tracie. >> veronica, good morning. what you'll see this morning will take on a distinct campaign trail feel, designed to use what worked for them two years ago during the presidential campaign, the president swinging through states to energize young voters and to sell his economic plan. part of that plan was helping small businesses. we saw that as he signed the small business bill into law yesterday, creating a $30 billion fund to give them more money to free up money for these businesses to expand and hire workers. today, president obama takes his message to albuquerque, new mexico, where he'll continue a

series of backyard meetings with voters and have a big rally at the university of wisconsin later on tonight. as we get closer to the election, we're seeing the administration get much more aggressive in tone and message, vice president biden saying stop whining and look for alternatives out there. president obama calling pledge to america irresponsible. today, we'll find out what voters think consumer confidence numbers come out this morning. veronica? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. american students and teachers could be in for major changes if president obama has his way. the president joined matt lauer for an interview, part of nbc's education nation, a special week of programming on concerns over the education system. the president talks about what he wants to see happening at schools including identifying teachers who do well and getting rid of those that don't.

he also talked about something that probably didn't sit well with kids. >> i think we should have longer school years. we now have our kids go to school about a month less than most other advanced countries. and that month makes a difference. >> don't forget, our coverage of education nation continues throughout the day. for more resources and information, check out our special website, educationnation.com. the number two in command was talking democratic strategy yesterday. last night lawrence asked president joe biden what he meant that the gop democrats are facing this year are "not their grandfather's republican party. >> what i really said was that this is not even your father's republican party. these folks don't want to talk. these folks don't want to enter into a compromise. these folks don't want to come up with practical solutions.

i know what they're against. what i don't know is what they're for. why are they against us trying to stimulate jobs by giving tax cuts to the middle class? why are they against us stimulating jobs by giving tax breaks to small businesses which, this fact, are the ones that create the jobs? why don't thiey think it's important to develop alternative energy and all the jobs that would flow from those jobs and encourage manufacturing to stay in the united states? why is it they don't support the president's proposal to continue our increase in infrastructure which would be necessary even if we had full employment? i know what they're against. they're against all those things. i just don't know what they're for. >> don't miss lawrence o'donnell's last word on the biggest issues and most compelling stories of the day. "the last word" airs weeknights at 10:00 p.m. time only on msnbc. palestinian president mahmoud abbas said he will wait

at least one week before deciding whether or not to quit middle east peace talks with israel. that development comes after the united states, france, england and the united nations expressed disappointment over israel's refusal to haveextend a ten-mon building freeze on the west bank. meanwhile, george mitchell has been sent to israel in hopes of breaking the problems in the negotiations. the old saying it never rains in california, well it was never literally hotter there in downtown los angeles. downtown l.a. hitting 113 degrees breaking the all-time record of 112 set back in june 1990. the heat has led to tens of thousands of power outages. in the meantime, the dry conditions have firefighters on alert for flash wildfires. today is forecast to be another hot one, no records are expected to be broken. here is your "first look" at some of the other news going on around america today. in texas, an elderly couple is dead and one firefighter is

recovering after a two-alarm fire broke out in an apartment complex. firefighters were forced to retreat when live ammunition started going off. authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. in south dakota, the annual roundup of a free roaming buffalo herd in the black hills custer state park attracted thousands. once a year, the herd is rounded up the old fashioned way for a visit to the buffalo doctor, if you will, where they will be sorted, vaccinated, branded and then released to once again roam freely home of the range. a new exhibit opens in new york today, the yan dynasty exhibit. the more than 200 artifacts dating as far back as the late 1200s belonged to the grandson of the great conqueror gengh genghis khan. many of the items on display have never been seen outside of china. in utah, one man claims he has the fastest lawn mower ever, check this out it averages speeds of about 96 miles per

hour. he ran several heats at the bonville salt flats to get up to his average, a huge jump from his previously held record of 81 miles per hour. nevertheless, he says he will be back racing to his goal of 100 miles per hour. time for a look at the national weather. we turn to meteorologist dominica davis. it's been a while. >> it has been a while. good to see you, too. we are look at the rain along the east coast this is much-needed rain. we need this. but we have a lot coming in. once again today, keep the rain gear handy, you'll need it. heavy showers from pittsburgh, pushing over to the district, philadelphia, new york, a bit of a break, but you will get that rain off and on. the difference between yesterday and today is we have that increased risk for thunderstorms. so slight chance we could see severe weather pop up.

yesterday we had highs in the 70s. today the same from new york down to dc. temperatures are still going to be in the 70s. still having that muggy feel. it's not that cool, crisp, fall air that we all have been waiting to get in here. another day of the muggies. for today, the i-95 corridor will be a wet one with a chance of severe weather by this afternoon. this evening and tomorrow, a bit of a break here this is short-lived, more rain moving up from the south. that pushes in for thursday right into friday. by the weekend, we'll finally dry out which is certainly good news. some areas have picked up -- yesterday, veronica, some areas down to the south picked up a half foot of rain. it's a lot of rain coming quickly, so we could be looking at flash flood areas, not only today but tomorrow as well. >> you know, you pay us a visit and you're supposed to bring the sunshine. what's going on?

>> i can't help it, veronica. mother nature duped me once again. >> all right. talk to you soon. >> big business dealmakers say gobble gobble, ben and jerry go unnatural. and a pumpkin shortage? what pumpkin shortage? the phillies popped the champagne and a battle of unbeatens goes down to the wire in chicago. you are watching "first look." ready to try something new? campbell's has made changes. adding lower sodium sea salt to more soups. plus five dollars in coupons to get you started. campbell's condensed soup.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica del la cruz, and here are the stories making headlines this morning. north korean state media reports kim jong il has appointed his son, kim jong-un. the promotion came just hours before a rare party ruling meeting to elect top leadership. venezuela had the hugo chavez says his government is carrying out initial studies into starting a nuclear energy

program. chavez, a close ally of iran and defended their nuclear program, brought the issue up during a news conference monday saying venezuela needs nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. in georgia last night, a prisoner who tried to kill himself last week by slashing his arms and throat was executed. 31-year-old brandon joseph rode was put to death for killing three people in a burglary back in 2000. a dallas judge has overturned the 1993 conviction of a death man who was sent to prison for the rape of a 5-year-old girl, despite lack of evidence linking him to the attack. 30-year-old steven brody is expected to be released sometime today. and the multimillionaire owner of the segway company is dead after apparently falling off a cliff when riding one of the two machines. the 62-year-old was testing a

cross-country version of the segway near his estate in england sunday when he lost control of it. now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,112 after falling 48 points yesterday. the s&p last 6 points and the nasdaq fell 11. taking a look at overseas trading. in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 107 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 230. on the heels of a strong four-week rally yesterday, wall street investors took a pause, however corporate dealmakers were busy. dallas-based southwest airlines bought air tran for $104 billion. despite the rumblings of higher ticket prices, airtran soared and southwest shot up nearly 9%. more m & a action on the streets. unilever is adding, it resemme and vo5 to its goods.

walmart is looking to expand oversees to buy south african retailer mass mart. research in motion is hoping its blackberry playbook will be a game-changer on the market with it's screen and adobe access. no word yet on a release date or price point, but experts expect the notebook to start around $500. ice cream's ben & jerry have decide ed to drop the words "all natural" from their offerings since there certain oils in the ice cream are not all-natural. meanwhile, the federal trade commission says there is no evidence to back up the makers of pom wonderful that it reduces certain harmful health

situations. and country's top producer of pumpkin says the crop is healthy and cans are arriving in stores. last year, pumpkin shortages added increased to the pumpkin mixes. instead of counting sheep try running through a meadow. mainly women 55 and older were focused on in a study who didn't do much exercise or had difficulty falling asleep. after 16 weeks on an aerobics training program, the lead researcher reported most poor sleepers became good sleepers. is that all it takes? for more information on this and other health stories, head to the web, check out our health page, find it online at msnbc.com. once again, the phillies win the east, the yanks and rays fail to clinch and the passing of a legend. plus the bears scamper past the packers in a classic monday

night match-up. yo your look at sports is straight ahead. ♪ love like yours will surely come my way ♪ ♪ a-hey, a-hey-hey ♪ every day, it's getting faster ♪ [ male announcer ] at&t and blackberry have teamed up to evolve the smartphone. business, meet fun. fun, business. at&t. rethink possible.

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62 yards to the house. his eighth punt return for a touchdown in his career and the bears were up, 14-10. but the packers would answer. aaron rogers scrambled and he scrambled, and he called his own number. dove for the pylon, and he was in for the score. a gutsy play, and the packers led 17-14. final seconds, tied at 17. bears milked the clock. robbie gold came in and nailed a 19-yarder. bears remain undefeated with a 20-17 win. some sad news from the football world. hall of fame quarterback and kicker george blanda passed away yesterday. he played pro football for 26 years, retiring one-month shy of his 49th birthday. he place for the bears, colts and oilers, but will best be remembered for his years with with the raiders. baseball, yankees and blue jays. this is not how you want to start a game. a stumble off the mound. that's an unusual first pitch. with a start like that you can only get better. at one point he struck out seven straight. he finished with 9 ks.

blue jays put up five in the third. yanks missed the chance to clinch a playoff spot. speaking of clenching, phils had the champagne on ice. a towering shot, philadelphia led it, 1-0. that's all they need because roy halladay was dealing. gave up two hits, struck out espinoza for the complete game. the phils win their fourth straight nl crown. rays and marlins, needed extra innings. ended with a walk-off single in the 11th. braves won, 2-1, now a half game up in the wild card race. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. now for another quick look at the weather, here is dominica davis with the weather forecast. you have better news this time around, don't you? i do. >> you do? >> you just need to go to the west coast for it. the middle part of the country looks great. temperatures are nice and mild there. high pressure in the west. they are finally getting a break

from the heat. here's all the bad weather, in the east coast. that's where all the rain is pushed. moisture moving up from the southeast to right through the mid-atlantic and up through the northeast. the i-95 corridor will be a wet one once again for today. you can see heavy shower now from the district out through pittsburgh, that's where we are looking at some of the heaviest rain. today, i don't think we'll see all-day downpours but some downpours from time to time and that risk of severe weather will ramp up for this afternoon. today the worst weather is along the east coast. dry through the middle part of the country with high pressure in control. temperatures running where they should be this time of year. out to the west, the heat backing off. still hot in l.a., though. tomorrow be much of the same from the west to the middle part of the country. the east coast does get a break in the rain. but then it quickly returns thursday with another system that comes up from the southeast and then we'll dry out for the weekend. veronica? >> that is not good news. >> sorry.

>> not good news. there's so much green on the map on the east coast, i can't even see it anymore. we have to figure something out. >> i will. >> all right. the latest lindsay lohan lunacy, plus comedian and talk show host lopez may divorce his wife but he may never get away from her. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ for he's a jolly good fellow ♪ the meeting's tomorrow in dallas ♪ ♪ we need to finish those projections ♪ ♪ then output the final presentations ♪ ♪ sally, i'm gonna need 40 copies, obviously collated ♪ what's going on? when we're crunched for time, brad combines office celebrations with official business. it's about efficiency. [ courier ] we can help. when you ship with fedex, you can work right up until the last minute. it gives you more time to get stuff done. that's a great idea. ♪ i need to speak with you privately ♪ ♪ i found your resume on the printer ♪ everyone! ♪ i found your resume on the printer ♪ [ male announcer ] we understand.® you need a partner who gives you more time.

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welcome back to "first look." last night on "late night with jimmy fallon," when it comes to nbc's week-long series education nation even jimmy was getting in on the act. >> the new poll found that only 5% of americans think the public school system is working well.

the other 95% think it would be working gooder. hey, you guys, it was 113 in los angeles today. city's hottest temperature ever recorded. 113. so hot, heidi montag was like if i could still sweat, i would be soaked right now. congratulations to "american idol" runner-up christian bow bowersox who is getting married in october. the priest will be like if anyone objects, please text166idol 7. "late night with jimmy fallon" weeknights at 12:35, 11:35 central on your nbc station. now to entertainment news does she really get it? that's the current lindsay lohan question. she visited a homeless shelter

last weekend and is saying all the right things about addiction, but some have their doubts. "us weekly" also spent the weekend calling photo agencies, shopping pictures of herself posing for $10,000 in her alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet. the 1930s hollywood beauty who gave up acting only to later return as the oldest ever academy award winning nominee for "titanic" has died at the age of 100. and conan o'brien's band leader max weinberg won't be joining him on his new late-night show. finally, showbiz divorces aren't rare, but in the case of george lopez and his wife there is an unusual wrinkle. the two are amicably splitting after 17 years. but george can never truly say good-bye to ann. you see, five years ago when he was suffering from a genetic kidney disorder, she saved his life by donating to him one of her kidneys. i don't know, kind of a slap in

the face there. that's sad to see hem break up after all that. they went through a lot. >> i know. i know. we'll let them work it all out hopefully. this is "first look" on msnbc, stay tuned, because "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. while the president hits the campaign trail for democrats today, joe biden spent the day yesterday telling his party to stop whining and then defending the white house against some of the claims made in bob woodward's new book. the question is how bad were biden and obama fighting over afghanistan? in a terrible twist of fate, the owner of the company that makes the segway, that two-wheeled electric scooter, dies in a segway accident. the question is, can they story really be true? sarah palin makes a front-row appearance on "dancing with the stars" in support of her daughter bristol. the question is was governor palin rea