since they began keeping records. >> it is good and hot out here. >> reporter: milwaukee set an all-time record high as did madison, wisconsin, south bend, indiana, and paducah, kentucky. st. paul's half marathon was cut to five miles. philadelphia's july fourth parade, they sweltered as they passed independence hall. similar scenes in downtown st. louis, which has hit triple digits for a full week. a fire truck helped cool off spectators. the oppressive temperatures with highs from the 100s are a result of the massive hot air stalled over much of the nation's midsection. we are talking about unpredented temperatures for atlanta and st. louis seeing 100 degrees seven days in a row. something we don't normally see. >> reporter: if that weren't enough, nearly 1 million people in ten states and the district of columbia spent the fourth just like the founding fathers,

no electricity, no air conditions. last week's ferocious storms are blamed for at least 26 deaths. in washington, no holiday for work crews removing downed trees so utility crews can begin to restore power. >> i can't wait to go home. i am so tired of this. >> reporter: this family owned grocery store in chevy chase, maryland, has been without power since friday night. >> we have lost everything. we have lost everything that required refrigeration. >> that was nbc's john yang reporting. elsewhere, fire crews are battling to try and contain the wildfires burning in nine western states. montana's largest fire has burned at least 16 homes and charred 380 square miles. high winds are whipping up the flames of the ash creek fire, which is about 55% contained. in colorado, fire officials are predicting full containment by sunday of the waldo canyon fire. that's scorched 28 square miles and destroyed almost 350 homes.

to the campaign trail where president obama begins a bus tour through the swing states of ohio and pennsylvania. in new hampshire, mitt romney spoke out about the health care mandate. tracie potts has more. >> let's start with the bus tour. the president will start in toledo, ohio. he will be targeting working class. he is doing well with women and other groups. this is a group that seems to be wavering between president obama and mitt romney. a recent average shows the president with less than a three-point lead within the margin of error. on the fourth o july, the president addressed military members who were newly sworn-in citizens saying we need more immigration laws that allow immigrants to stay like the dream act. mitt romney was up in new hampshire at a picnic there, while he tried to shy away from

politics officially talking about the issues on the campaign trail. he has been wrapped up in this debate over whether or not he contradicted himself in his campaign over the health care mandate. is it a penalty? is it a tax. romney says the supreme court called it a tax. so it is a tax. his campaign said otherwise. tomorrow, we will likely turn the focus back to the economy as new job numbers come out for june. lynn? thanks so much. scientists at the large hadron collider in switzerland have announced they have likely discovered the so-called god particle. it may explain how stars, plan et cetera, even life, how these things were created. science editor from our english broadcast partner, itn explains. >> reporter: this is about as excited as scientists get. what got them on their feet was the revelation that the lucerne laboratory had discovered a new particle, probably the illusive higgs bozon.

peter higgs who predicted it would exist 50 years ago was moved to tears. >> for me, it is really an incredible thing that it has happened in my lifetime. >> reporter: back in 1964, he said the particle now named after him should theoretically exist. >> it is the culmination of something i did 48 years ago. it is very satisfying to be proved right in some way. >> reporter: to find the higgs bose on the accelerated particles almost to the speed of light in this tunnel of the large hadron collider and crash them together producing a large shower of debris that they now know contains the higgs particle. as they find out more about how the particle behaves, they are sure it will open doors to new

science. >> what this observations does is opens up a new vista of physics. it sort of closes a chapter of the 20th century science and brings us into the 21st century, into a new vista. >> scientists know that 95% of the universe is made of what they call dark matter that they can't see. the his bozon could be the link between ordinary stuff and that dark matter. in the next two years, scientists will be ramping up the collider of lucerne to even higher energies precisely to try to answer that question. that was itn's lawrence mcginty reporting here is a look at other news going on around american. in alabama, a different kind of fourth of july blast. crews there blew up the 13-story building complex at the university of alabama. the rose towers as they were known, housed more than 30,000 students and faculty over five decades. some of the alumni even came back to watch a piece of their past come tumbling down.

it will take three weeks to clean up the rubble from the explosion. in illinois, a train derailment and bridge collapse north of chicago. it is not clear which happened first. several of the 138 train cars being hauled across the state were mangled in the wreckage. the train was carrying coal from wyoming to wisconsin. no one was hurt. incide incidentally, another derailment at the the very same spot three years ago. finally, in missouri, patriotism can never start too soon. newborn babies were wrapped in red, white, and blue bunting at a maternity ward outside st. louis. hospital volunteers put the finishing touches on the blankets right down to the stars. now, for a look at your national weather, we turn to bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning to you, bill. >> sleeping like a baby. >> don't we all wish we were. wouldn't that be so nice. >> i know. good morning, everyone.

i hope you had a wonderful fourth of july. the worst weather in the country, now arriving ann arbor and detroit. big heads up, if you live in this area, stay indoors, go to the interior of your house. very strong thunderstorms coming through. 60-mile-an-hour winds. we could see a lot of pour out. we have seen a lot of power outages with the line of storm as it went through lansing and flint. these storms are probably going to continue through detroit and down into ohio as we go throughout the morning. a very strong line of storms. once again, it is just now arriving in downtown detroit, very dangerous winds. stay inside. wait until these storms pass. they are moving very quickly. these complex of storms, which is right here where my hand is, should pass down to the south through the state of ohio during the morning. if you are anywhere from toledo possibly over to cleveland and down to columbus and cincinnati, we will have to watch you closely. later today, additional strong storms through south dakota, minneapolis, madison, milwaukee and maybe even chicago. that's the severe weather side.

we have been watching this incredible heat wave yesterday on the fourth. 100-degree temperatures widespread from kansas city to st. louis. st. louis, 105 yesterday. the hot he have spot in the middle of the country as we have gone through the heat wave. 102, chicago. what are we doing this morning? nothing has changed. the cold front will not arrive until saturday or sunday. temperatures this morning in the 80s, widespread. it feels like mid-80s already. even new york city feels like 84, d.c., 82, richmond, 84. you are not getting a lot of relief in the cities overnight. we have all these heat warnings in effect from minneapolis to des moines. louisville, indianapolis, phil. this heat wave, it will end. we have got about four more days of it. here is how it looks today. 106, st. louis. chicago, up to a record high of 103 possible today. 100s returning to raleigh,

richmond and washington, d.c. the relief begins to show between minneapolis and green bay. it could be 105 in chicago tomorrow. that's a phoenixlike temperature. >> i will call you from there and let you know what it feels like. coming up, interest rates hang in the balance, another blow for barclays and a new skyscraper towers over london. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. nash finds a home in hollywood. a wild day in nhl free agency. you think you ate a lot of hotdogs yesterday? think begin. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. hey america, even though

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trouble with a car insurance claim. [ voice of dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ normal voice ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. are you in good hands? welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. a house report obtained by the "associated press" finds that countrywide financial, which was

at the center of the foreclosure crisis, got around the law and influenced members of congress. six current and former members of the house and senate that received discounted loans include both democrats and republicans. in mexico, election officials say they are recounting votes from more than half the ballot boxes used in the presidential elections. inconsistencies were found in the vote tallies. palestinian officials have agreed to exhume the body of yasser arafat. because of suspicions that he was poisoned. a radioactive agent was discovered on his clothing following his death in november, 2004. the rockets red glare filled the sky above the hudson's red river during the macy's fireworks display. it was beautiful. mobs of new yorkers and tourists watched the colorful spectacle of 40,000 fireworks celebrating america's independence day. here is your "first look" as this morning's dish of scrambled politics. the "los angeles times" reports

some lawmakers are calling on the house to pass a bill that would require the government to purchase american flags made only in the usa. moechlt most u.s. flags these days are me in china. in los angeles, the spokesman for iowa's republican governor, terry branstad, says he is doing fine after a brief hospital visit after he choked on a carrot during a ceremony for the rededication of the "uss iowa" battleship. mitt romney marched in a parade and senator kelly ayotte marched with him, a contender for the vice presidential nomination on the gop ticket. >> another potential v.p. candidate, new jersey governor, chris christie, had it both ways when he talked to fox news about the health care individual mandate. he said it is both a penalty and a tax. republican congressional candidate chris collins of new york state said, quote, people

now don't die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some of the other things but the american cancer society estimates more than half a million americans will die from cancer this year. in a statement, mitch's michigan's republican governor, rick snyder, announced he was vetoing a voter identification law sponsored by republicans. he said it would create voter confusion. on cnn, the brother of alec baldwin, says the actor could be serious about running for mayor of new york city. billy baldwin says alec might run although he admits he might not have the patience it would require. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. your first look at how wall street will kick off the day after being closed for the fourth of july. dow opens at 12,943 after adding 72 points. the s&p was up 8. the nasdaq, gained 24. in tokyo, the nikkei lost 24 points.

in hong kong, the hang seng nudged up 99. the biggest news will be friday's jobs report. news out of europe could trigger some market movement it today. the european central bank is expected to cut the region's interest rates to a record low. the move is seen as essential in easing the euro zone's debt crisis. >> moody's downgraded barclay's credit rating to negative. the bank's former ceo was grilled by england's parliament where he apologized for reprehensible behavior by his traders for an interest rate fixing scandal which is expected to spread. volkswagen has ended a seven-year takeover saga by paying more than $5.5 billion for the majority steak in porche it didn't already own. apple's part supplier is gearing up for mass production

of a smaller, less expensive ipad which will be under 8 inches. the current one measures 9.7 inches. renting an apartment in the u.s. got more expensive last quarter. a new report shows rental prices jumped 1% while the number of vacancies set a new ten-year low. renting a flat in london's newest skyscraper isn't going to be cheap. towering 95 stories high, the shard, which will be officially unveiled, is the tallest building in europe. steve nash signed with the los angeles lakers yesterday. here is mario solis. good morning. the lakers certainly know how to bring in the fourth of july with a bang. they acquired steve nash as part of a sign and trade with the suns. the lakers sent four draft picks

to phoenix for the two-time mvp. nash will reportedly receive a three-year deal worth more than $25 million. independents say it was kind to a pair of american hockey players. the top two free agents are heading to minnesota. the wild signed zach parise and ryan suter to an identical 13 years, $98 million contracts. a homecoming for both players. parise is from minneapolis and suter, wisconsin. robinson cano has been hotter than an m-80. singles in a pair in the eighth. kevin youkilis is fitting in nicely with the sox. hit his first home run tsday and first walkoff yesterday. singles home the game-winner against the rangers. sox won 5-4 in ten. time to change our socks. red sox ace david ortiz wraps a home run around the right field foul pole. that is number 400 in big

poppy's career, not enough. oakland wins, 4-3. cliff lee is off the snide. it took him two months but he finally picks up his first win of the year. phils beat the mets, 9-2. this guy could eat you out of house and home. the an newly nathan's hotdog eating contest. joey chestnut is the weaner. he died his own record with 68 dogs and buns. the other contestants couldn't cut the mustard. chestnut is the top dog. i am sure he will relish this moment for the rest of his life. he wins 10 ground, the mustard yellow belt and a stomachache. that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. baby news from two celebrity couples and new details on how katy holmes orchestrated her split from tom cruise. your first look on entertainment is straight ahead. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. why not make lunch more than just lunch?

with two times the points on dining in restaurants, you may find yourself asking why not, a lot. chase sapphire preferred. there's more to enjoy. i was worried about 'em, you know? i mean for instance my mom went to bed tonight before making my dinner. which is fine, i mean i, i know how to make dinner. it just starts to make you wonder. is this what happens when you age? my friends used to say i was the lucky one. i had the fun parents. where's the fun now? night guys! [ sighs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] venza. from toyota.

welcome back. i'm lynn berry. we are going to begin with the latest in what is expected to be a long tom cruise and katy holmes divorce saga. an attorney for katy holmes is denying report that the actress wants an emergency hearing on custody and child support. it soames comes in response to online reports that say she filed an online application that could result in a public hearing. published reports said katy holmes planned an intricate escape from the marriage,

including securing a new york city apartment and cutting off from her friends and switching cell phones and e-mail addresses. two weeks after tying the knot, matthew mcconaughey tweeted that he and his wife are expected a third child and the new baby will join levi and vita a rep confirms that claire danes and hugh dancy, who wed in 2009, are expecting their first child. finally, that was fast. days after pulling the plug on his personal twitter page, alec baldwin set out a tweet on his foundation's page plugging an upcoming podcast. on his personal page, he sort of threw in the towel saying, i'm done. he has done this before apparently. i am talking to you, although, the camera on me. a lot of people do that. they drop their facebook or twitter account and pick it up a week later. >> i have been tempted. >> we all have. good morning. i mentioned detroit earlier.

a very nasty line of storms just rolled through. over with for the most part in detroit. south of town, down towards trenton, down 75, where the strongest storm is. there is probably a couple, 10,000 people at least without power from the line of storms that has moved through the state of michigan. a break from the heat today. nice day. albany to boston to hartford. from new york city southward, the heat wave continues. washington, d.c., just like yesterday, right near 100 degrees. pittsburgh, pretty humid at 95. the worst of the heat centered over the top of missouri, illinois, indiana. we are talking about 100 to 105. even chicago cld be near 103 degrees. pretty rare for chicago to get all that hot. it is not like it has been cool in dallas or san antonio through the southeast. you are a little more accustomed to temperatures in the mid to upper 90s. relief is in sight. the cooler air is beginning to arrive in canada, southern portions of canada, through the

northern u.s., we will experience this cold, cooler air. minneapolis, 100 today to tomorrow right around 90 degrees. that's a little bit of relief for you. as far as st. louis to chicago, it doesn't loolike we are going to see that happening. it looks like you are going to stay very hot. anyone on the west coast, a little bit of a warmup for you. a good change. 81 tomorrow in seattle. as far as when does the big relief come? when does the heat wave end? it looks like by monday, we will be done talking about it and experiencing it. st. louis, ten days in a row above 100. sunday into monday, things will cool off. lynn, i know you are heading to chicago to taste a little bit of 105. >> i love it. >> but by the time the weekend ends, even chicago will get much cooler. >> i will report back on monday. >> i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. ♪

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mathews. leading off tonight what to expect when you're rejecting. mitt romney says it all the time, repeal and replace health care reform but replace it with what? he doesn't say. and repealing health care reform may not be as easy as its sounds. can they do it? do they want to take away all the things people like about the law? also, shades of the republican trashing of war hero max cleland, congressman joe walsh suggests his opponent tammy duckworth is not a true hero, talks too much about her military service. duckworth lost both of her legs and use of one arm in iraq. fires in colorado, droughts in the west, more than 3,000 temperature records in june. is global warming to blame? this is what scientists have been predicting. how long can the right wing continue to insist what we're seeing is a hoax? remember jonathan krone, the 13-year-old darling of the right? >> so i decided that there were too