>> reporter: less risky would be picking tim pawlenty, the former minnesota governor, or senator rob portman of swing state ohio. in the meantime, romney plans to air a new attack ad. >> president obama used his health care plan to declare war on religion. forcing religious institutions to go against their faith. >> reporter: war on religion? more upsetting, though, even to some democrats is the newest team obama ad blaming romney for the death of a woman after bain capital closed her husband's plant. >> my family lost her health care. and a short time after that, my wife became ill. >> reporter: short time? in fact, it was five years. the president's aides say don't blame him for a super pac ad that he can't control. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. well, mitt romney sat down with nbc news political director and chief white house

correspondent chuck todd yesterday for an extended interview. this was part of an upcoming documentary. and todd asked romney about selecting a nominee for vice president. take a listen. >> reporter: what do you want your running mate to say about you? what do you want your selection to say about what kind of president you're going to be? >> i don't think i have anything for you on the vp running mate other than i certainly expect to have a person that has strength of character, vision for the country, that ad adds something the political discourse, about the direction of the country. i happen to believe this is a defining election for america, that we're going to be voting for what kind of america we're going to have. >> that was part of chuck todd's exclusive interview with mitt romney which you can see more of on a special hour on msnbc. that's going to be later this month. elsewhere, the long-struggling u.s. postal service has hit a new crisis level. it is now nearly bankrupt. on thursday, the post office reported staggering losses over the last quarter.

that would be $57 million a day. the postal service also warned it will miss another payment due to the u.s. treasury, just one week after its first-ever default on a payment for future retiree health benefits. the mail agency argues banking huge payments for those future benefits which is mandated by congress is mainly what's crippling the service. more than the decline in first-class mail. the suspect in last month's deadly colorado movie theater shooting was back in court yesterday for a motion to release steel documents. but the real development came when lawyers for james holmes described him in court as mentally ill. analysts say that could provide some insight into how the defense plans to proceed. nbc's jay gray reports from centennial, colorado. >> reporter: it's been two weeks since this initial televised court appearance, cameras were barred from the proceedings, but james holmes had the same look and same disengaged restless demeanor as lawyers representing

at least 20 news organizations including nbc news asked chief district judge william sylvester to unseal key court documents and loosen his gag order on the case. >> the chief judge wants to make sure that this man gets a fair trial. that's clearly his goal. and what he has to decide is whether a blanket ceiling of all the affidavits and the register of actions is appropriate. >> reporter: but prosecutors warn releasing details of search warrants, evidence and witness interviews could jeopardize their investigation and prejudice a potential jury pool. while defense attorneys for the first time referred several times to holmes's mental illness, perhaps providing a glimpse into their long-term strategy. >> the defense is already sowing the seeds of a competency evaluation request and potentially a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. >> reporter: nbc news has confirmed that the university of colorado-denver has hired an attorneyo represent a school psychiatrist who according to his defense team, holmes reached out to for help with his, quote,

mental illness during graduate school. the school has also retained a lawyer for a campus police officer who may have talked with the doctor about holmes. more pieces of what is still a confusing and very painful puzzle slowly being revealed inside a colorado courtroom. jay gray, nbc news, centennial, colorado. well, a fast start to hurricane season in the atlantic has led the government to bump up its prediction for the number of storms to expect between now and november. with six named storms already and two current tropical disturbances that bear watching, the storm flurry prompted officials to increase their prediction for named storms up to between 12 and 17. five to eight of those will be hurricanes, and two to three of those will be major hurricanes. and if that is the case, the man that will be watching them is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he's also here with your forecast today. >> hopefully i won't be watching them. >> we can hope so.

>> good morning to you. >> good morning, happy friday. >> i'm sad the olympics are ending. >> closing ceremonies saturday or sunday? >> i believe sunday. life returns on monday. >> reality sets back in. >> good morning, everyone. yesterday we saw the heat break in some areas including chicago. look at that. only 75 degrees. how nice was that yesterday? with rain including indianapolis. but it was still very hot in texas and oklahoma. dallas had their hottest day of the summer. 108 degrees yesterday. so that's where the heat wave has not gone away. the really good news is with the rain that fell in areas of illinois and indiana and ohio. indianapolis, for the month, only ten days in, almost four inches of rain. so that's great for the drought situation there in indiana. but a lot of other areas didn't get that rain. it's going to be a very rough commute this morning in many areas and a rough travel friday really from the ohio valley all the way through the big cities of the east. we have two large areas of rain here. and we're going to continue as we go throughout the day today watching all the rainy areas. now, as far as the heaviest rain right now, we're watching it

through central pennsylvania, down here through areas of virginia. that will kick through the big cities especially washington, d.c., and baltimore during the rush hour. but i think from philly to new york, the threat of that really heavy rain and storms will be into the afternoon and evening. but everywhere in yellow, a chance of strong storms. everyone on the whole eastern seaboard has a good chance of heavy rain. you can feel it in the air, too. it's very humid. >> it's very soupy. bill, thanks so much. goldman sachs goes scot-free. one ipo debuts without the expected kick. and proof that not all real estate is depressed. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. peyton manning makes his broncos debut. an historic night for an nfl referee, and the magic finally trade dwight howard. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] if you have to take care of legal matters.

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stories making news this morning. the u.s. military says three american special forces members have been shot dead by a man in an afghan army uniform. there's no word on whether the gunman was a rogue security force member or a taliban infiltra infiltrator. this comes after three u.s. soldiers and an american aide worker were killed thursday in a suicide bombing in eastern afghanistan. the government says the drought is still getting worse in the plains states. key producers of corn and soybean crops because they did not get as much benefit from recent rain as elsewhere. the u.n. says the drought pushed global food prices 6% higher last month. a russian computer security firm has an agency is spying on transaction, social networking sites, e-mail and instant messaging in the middle east. the firm says the gauss virus was believed to have been made in the same lab to attack iran's

nuclear program. well, a small nasa lander known as morpheus crashed and burned after veering off course during a trial run at the kennedy space center yesterday. the unmanned spiderlike craft only got a few feet into the air before the crash. from mars, the curiosity rover sent back some pretty amazing panoramic color images of its landing area in an ancient crater. it shows curiosity's landing kicked up far more martian dirt in the landing zone than scientists had expected. and beachgoers in atlantic city, new jersey, watched as daredevil nick wallenda completed a 1300-foot tightrope walk 100 feet above the umbrellas and chairs on the sand. back in june, wallenda did a similar stunt 200 feet above niagara falls. and now here's your first look at this morning's dish of "scrambled politics." just how unpopular is congress?

well, check out this latest gallup poll. congress gets an approval rating of around 16%. now, consider this. the tsa, yes, the transportation security administration, which screens passengers at airports, managed to convince 54% of americans it's doing an excellent or good job. well, "the new york times" reports former republican presidential candidates newt gingrich, michele bachmann, rick perry and herman cain, will not give speeches at the upcoming convention. they're still considering whether donald trump or sarah palin will get to speak. campaigning in washington state, new jersey's republican governor chris christie promised no the to get angry or, quote, go jersey while campaigning there. but he did warn donors if a democratic governor is elected in november, he would blame them, saying, quote, don't make me come back here. california governor jerry brown says mitt romney should rethink his remarks comparing

california's financial problems to greece, calling them, quote, just silly. the salt lake tribune reports some counties in utah have more registered voters than the number of adults who live there. one county had 976 phantom voters. well, how about the disappearance of undecided voters? an nbc news/"wall street journal" poll says the number is at 3%, down 12% from july 2008. and politico reports comedian chris rock says the presidential campaign is, quote, getting really, really, really mean. rock added, quote, i wish both guys could only spend the same exact amount of money and let the best man win. and that's your morning dish of "scrambled politics." and now here's your first look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,165 after losing 10 points yesterday. the s&p was up a fraction. the nasdaq added 7.

taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei sank 87 points while in hong kong, the hang seng fell 133. well, the nearly week-long rally on wall street finally ran out of gas on thursday. trading was lackluster with investors biding their time waiting for a solution to the euro debt crisis. a major victory for goldman sachs. the justice department announced thursday it will not prosecute goldman or its employees for their role in the wall street meltdown. a senate subcommittee found goldman sold mortgage securities full of hidden risks, but the d.o.j. couldn't prove it was a crime. reuters has learned federal regulators warned the nation's big banks more than two years ago. get a survival plan ready if they're faced with another crisis, and don't expect washington to rescue them. america's trade deficit dropped to its lowest level in a year and a half thanks in part to lower prices on foreign oil. well, here's a shocker for you. the nation's airlines are doing things right.

this year has been the best record for on-time performance and not losing luggage. well, the ceo of e-trade is out. he was canned midway through his contract after a 16% plunge in net income. england's famed manchester united soccer club went public thursday, but its ipo failed to make the goal that many expected, selling at just $14 a share. a pair of fast food chains don't have the stomach to launch their own ipo just yet. carl's jr. and hardees are postponing because of market conditions. gm says a breakthrough could mean electric cars with twice the mileage and half the cost within four years. and finally, home sweet home doesn't come cheap in miami. take a look at that. wouldn't you love to sit by that pool? this 30,000 square foot mansion overlooking biscayne bay sold for a record $47 million. not bad. coming up, a huge nba trade,

an historic nfl debut, and a woman on the football field. plus, things get heated between umpires and the yankees' skipper. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you.

welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. and in sports, the long, drawn-out dwight howard trade saga has finally come to an end. the former orlando big man has decided to head to los angeles. here's nbc's mario solis.

>> hi there, good morning. dwight howard's days in orlando are finally over. the magic are shipping the all-star center to the lakers in a four-team trade. after months of speculation, howard is headed west, traded to the lakers for andrew bynum. bynum goes to the sixers along with jason richardson. the nuggets get andre iguodala from the sixers and orlando gets afflalo, harrington and three first-round picks. it took weeks of negotiations and four teams to get the deal done, but howard will now join kobe, steve nash and pau gasol who stays in l.a. from one blockbuster trade to another, peyton manning made his debut with the broncos against the bears, looking pretty sharp until this. picked off at the goal line. that was it for manning. broncos win big, 31-3. history made in san diego. shannon eastin became the first female referee in an nfl game. no need to blow the whistle on this play. philip rivers to antonio gates, a 23-yard strike. chargers beat the pack, 21-13.

the first overall pick robert griffin iii made his debut. this might be the easiest touchdown of his career. dumps it off to pierre garcon. rg3 played about a quarter. skins edged the bills, 7-6. baseball now, yankees and tigers, dirks with a flare to left, falls in for a single. tigers take the lead. joe girardi thinks it was foul. he comes out to argue the call but to no avail. tossed for the third time this season. ironically all three have been against the tigers. bedard and chavez hit back-to-back jacks in the eighth. they don't get mad, they get even, split the series with a 4-3 win. that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. let's check back in with bill karins because he is watching those storms on the east coast. good morning once again. >> right now just rain, nothing severe, that will be later this afternoon. washington, d.c., get the umbrellas ready. it will slowly be moving up into

areas of northern maryland. as far as the forecast goes, the airports will probably be a mess. yesterday we had some issues. today it will probably be widespread. keep that in mind for late afternoon travels. clear it out in the northern plains today. as we go through saturday, a lot of heavy rain will begin to exit the east coast. it will still linger around boston and areas of the carolinas. then by sunday, everyone on the eastern half of the country will clear it on out. but a very wet friday. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, interesting questions this weekend at the movies like are audiences going to buy a sequel with a new star? and when top funny men team up, is it sure-firebox office gold? >> yes. >> bill thinks he knows. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch ooh, yeah

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welcome back to "first look." it is friday. so that means bill karins is preparing for some hardcore partying this weekend. >> really? >> it also means it's time for the weekend box office. normally a sequel features the same actors as the original. well, this weekend at the box office, we get to see if a sequel with a new star can succeed. in "the bourne legacy," jerry reiner takes over the franchise from matt damon. >> way to support the movie. >> it's going to be fan taszic. in a $125 million production. action star movie lovers will attend, but the question is will fans of matt damon bourne rush in? or will they stay home? experts think many will check it out and lead "the bourne legacy" to first place. last year it was the year of the r-rated comedy. this year so-so. so when it comes to the debut of "the campaign," good reviews,

heavy marketing and the box office, stars will ferrell and zach galifianakis should send "the election" up to a strong second with close to $30 million. and then finally there's the meryl streep, tommy lee jones drama about marriage problems. >> my wife wants to see that. >> that's not a good sign, though. >> please send me tweets for excuses because i am just dying right now. >> does she really want to see that? >> yes. >> that's not a good sign for you. you'd better buy her some flowers, a necklace. >> and the baby-sitter's going to go with my wife and i'm going to stay home with the kids. >> i'm lynn berry. "way too early" is next. >> romney said he is looking for a vice president with a vision for the country. the growing force of conservatives hope he is talking about paul ryan. will mitt roll me in go with the

flashy pick or the save choice. >> the movie theater gunman is laying the ground work for an insanity pick saying she mentally ill and schizophrenic even though it was planned and his apartment was booby trapped. u.s. women's soccer takes its claim on the olympics beating gold in the third straight summer games. the players on the u.s. men's team taking notes? it's way too early for this. >> hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts and this is way too early. the hoe is practicing its portuguese for the next olympics. you are listening live on cirrus xm radio. let us know why you are awake early. shoot us an e-mail or do what

carly lloyd does or text the word awake followed by your response. we will read the best responses later on in the show. before we get to the news here, willie gift is standing by. the u.s. women's soccer team did it again, getting revenge against the tough japanese team. >> they lost in the world cup to japan last summer and they were heartbroken and had been thinking about that game every day up until yesterday. we will have highlights there. also another run for the ages. usain bolt does it again. we will have highlights of his run away later. >> you know who else will get redemption? >> your alarm clock monday morning will get redemption on you. >> i'm not look being forward to it. >> mitt romney is in boston after wrapping up a two-day

swing through morning and new jersey raking in an additional $5 million. woody johnson told romney supporters the campaign was halfway to the fund-raising goal of $800 million. two new polls show president obama with a 7-point lead and a 9-point lead respectively. the research poll fines that 64% of americans think romney favors the rich over the middle class. campaigning in pueblo, colorado, home of the largest manufacturing plant for wind powers. they talked about producing energy. >> at a moment when homegrown energy and renewable energy is creating jobs in iowa, my opponents wants to end tax credits for wind energy producers. think about what that means for a community like pueblo. the wind energy