divide and conquer. mitt romney and paul ryan split up on the campaign trail to take on president obama. snap attack. scary moments when a live alligator show in ohio goes terribly wrong. striking similarity. nasa's curiosity rover sends back a photo from mars of a strangely familiar terrain. good morning. i'm mara skav come powe. this is "first look" on msnbc.

we begin this morning with running mates. after a weekend of being side by side, mitt romney and his newly minted vp pick paul ryan will be campaigning solo until the republican convention. the two drew huge crowds last night in ryan's home state of wisconsin after making a pit stop in north carolina sunday morning. nbc's claire leka join us us live from washington with the details. >> reporter: good morning, mara. in their first interview together on "60 minutes," mitt romney made it clear he would be the one calling the shots and they would campaign on his budget plan. >> my veins run -- >> reporter: thousands of supporters turned out to welcome home wisconsin's native son and presumptive republican vice presidential nominee. >> when we win this election, we go fix this mess in washington! >> reporter: in the 48 hours

since congressman paul ryan was added to the romney ticket, the gop presidential campaign has fired up. >> i guess you think i made the right decision, the right choice. [ cheers and applause ] i know did. >>eporter: president obama in his hometown of chicago moved fast to define ryan by his budget plan and tie romney to it. >> this kind of top-down economics is central to governor romney and it is central to his running mate. just yesterday morning my opponent chose his running mate, the ideological leader of the republicans in congress, mr. paul ryan. >> reporter: the gop campaign will divide and conquer this week. the romney bus tour rolls into florida today without ryan. the wisconsin native heads to drought-strickened eye ooi wa, the same state the president campaigns in today. obama will tour a farm in iowa

and announce the agriculture department is buying up pork, lamb, chicken and catfish to help support farmers suffering from a very hot and dry season. while romney will head a morning rally in st. augustine, he'll head to miami later this afternoon. we're live in washington, i'm claire leka. mara, back to you. >> though word slipped out early, the romney campaign pulled off quite a feat, keeping this election's biggest political secrete under wraps for more than a week. peter alexander has details on how they did it. >> reporter: to ensure the announcement made a dramatic splash, the romney campaign went to extraordinary lengths to avoid any leaks. the four-month vp vetting process involved only a handful of top aides, supervised by both myers. myers explained the painstaking process, several years of tax returns were locked in a safe inside romney's boston

headquarters each night. myers says romney made his decision august 1st and wanted to offer paul ryan the job in person, but how to get them together instead of flying directly into boston sure to raise reporters' eyebrows, the campaign booked him on a flight to hartford, two hours away where the wisconsin congressmen was picked up in an suv by myers' 19-year-old son. rye yachb went undetected the entire why. why was it so important to keep the secret to the last minute? to maximize fund-raising and crowds. in the last two days, mitt romney has had his most enthusiastic audiences all campaign. >> reporter: in the first 24 hours, the campaign says it raised nearly $3.5 million online. just one day before the announcement ryan snuck out the back door of his home, marching through these woods where he played as a child to a nearby street where he was picked up by

an aid and whisked off on a private jet to north carolina. in final hours the ryan family hid out in a nondescript hotel eating takeout. that night ryan let one other person in on his secret, calling his mom just hours before stepping out onto the national stage. peter alexander, nbc news, whack shaw, wisconsin. turning overseas now, syrian activists and rebels are renewing their call for a no-fly zone to counter the increase sing air attacks. the plea came a day after secretary of state hillary clinton discussed with turkey a number of options to aid the syrian opposition. no decisions were made. this as syrian jets attacked aleppo. meanwhile two bomb attacks were reported in damascus. egypt's new president forced out the top leaders of the military. president mohamed morsi made the

surprise move yesterday to order the retirement of the defense minister and the chief of staff and the commanders of the navy, air defense and air force. he canceled the military declared constitutional amendments that gave top generals wide powers. he also sworn in a new defense minister in a brief ceremony yesterday and appointed a pro reform judge as his new vice president. a u.s. navy ship is in a port in dubai after colliding with an oil tanker. the "u.s.s. porter" hit a japanese tanker on sunday. it was left with gaping 10 x 10 hole in the starboard side. officials say the cause of the accident is being investigated, but it was no, ma'am combat related. there were no injuries. here is your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. in ohio an alligator handler is recovering after the animal he

was showing at a county fair bit down and pinned his arm. children were among those in the crowd who watched in horror for 21 seconds until the reptile finally released its grip. in florida surveillance video shows a man and son theft ring. the pair along with a third man allegedly stole more than a million dollars of merchandise for more than a decade. they say they used big boxes made for cheaper items to hide the more expensive goods at the checkout stand. near phoenix, this year's epic drought may be to blame for another massive dust cloud in the skies of arizona. finally in california, if you thought flying could be a chore, trying pulling the plane. that's what competitors did this weekend as teams of 25 raced to see who could tow 162 ton airbus

jet, also raising $475,000 for special olympics. now for a look at the national weather we turn to bill karins with the weather. >> welcome to "first look." it will be a fun morning, a lot of people tuning in watch. i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. we are watching some bad spots, otherwise a quiet weekend. this is the time of year we watch the tropics and any hurricanes, that doesn't look to happen this week. just be tracking a few areas of thunderstorms throughout the week. this morning the worst weather in the country, right over the top of little rock -- i say worst weather. they need the rainfall. the thunderstorms with the strong gusty winds, also stronger storms to the north of you heading through the ozarks. a weird morning in areas of illinois. you're waking up this morning. it's cloudy, it's cool and it's

light rain. we haven't had much of this this summer. temperatures will only be in the 70s for areas from chicago all the way down to indianapolis. you can see the shield of light rain heading for indianapolis. around chicago, i'd say maybe another two to three hours of light rain for your morning commute. st. louis, all the nrms have moved to your east. it looks like we're going to start pretty dry in much of the eastern seaboard and the southeast. no problems as you head out. leave your umbrella at home. nice weather pattern for areas of new england and the mid atlantic. we still have the humidity today. it broke yesterday and temperatures this morning are in the low 70s, even in the 50s in the northern plains. as you go out today, the cool air is in the great lakes. mara, it looks like we're starting our monday off with a quiet, tranquil weather pattern. i guess we'll take it. >> that's definitely good news. thanks, bill. gas prices soar, tablet wars heat up. retail therapy to cure your case

of olympic withdraw. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. a sparkling debut for andrew luck. chad johnson's nfl career is in jeopardy, quite possibly the catch of the year. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios

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look." i'm mara schiavocampo. more than 5,000 people injured in iran over the weekend are crowding hospitals today. more than 300 people were killed in the quakes that affected more than a thousand villages, 20 of which were destroyed. london was hit with its worst fire in years. no injuries, but the fire sent a big plume of smoke into the air. more than 200 firefighters were able to contain the fire with no effect on the olympic

ceremonies. jackpot is up to over $300 million. from mars, the curiosity rover sent back to earth its first high resolution color mosaic of the environment around its landing site. it shows a death valley-like landscape that includes the areas the rover will explore in days to come. meanwhile the rover will get what nasa scientists call a brain transplant in stages. the curiosity software update will allow it to move around on the martian surface and avoid ob tackle. here is your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. >> california congress darrell issa plans to sue the attorney general of the united states for refusing to provide documents in the fast and furious gun smuggling operation.

in a statement sarah palin said she will not speak at this month's gop convention in tampa. palin said, quote, this year is a good opportunity for other voices to speak at the convention. former congresswoman gabrielle giffords is moving back to tucson, arizona, from houston where she has been rehabbing from her injuries in the tucson shooting rampage. her husband mark kelly says she will continue her therapy in tour son. film director spike lee said president obama is not perfect and expectations were too high for his first term. lee blamed the republican congress for blocking anything the president tried to do to try to prevent him from win ag second term. president obama is in chicago after yesterday's fund-raising power with donors. politico reports the president predicted a close race in this year's election but said, we're really well positioned to not just win but keep america moving florida. michelle obama was at

fund-raising events in california including at the home of gwenn stefani. she said he can't do it alone, he's not a spiderman, he's human and he needs your help. >> that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. here is your first look at wow wall seet will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,207 after gaining 42 points on friday. the s&p was up three and the nasdaq added two. in overseas trading, the nikkei lost six points while the hang seng fell 54. as september's market looms ahead, stocks continue to climb during the dog days of summer. this week the consumer takes center stage with earnings from home pee dough, walmart and the gap. the july retail sales report is coming out. other important data on deck include consumer and produce inflation numbers and more updates on the housing market.

overseas nations struggled after news that japan's economy grew at a slower rate thanks in part to europe's debt crisis. in china, occupy protesters in hong kong learned they'll have to relocate by the end of the month after a judge ruled hsbc has the right to clear activists out of a public space below the bank's headquarter. atm maker ncr says it's investigating an alleged embargo of doing business in syria in the civil war torn country. at home the latest lund burg survey shows the cost of regular jumping 18 currents to an average $3.69 a see sochblt barnes & noble is slashing prices on its nk tablets as it battles amazon's kindle fire for space in student's bags. if you're suffering from olympic withdraw, maybe owning a piece of london 2012 history will help. more than a million items,

everything from bean bag chairs to night stands are on chal. he already dropped the name ochoa sin koerks but now might be losing the number. one blue jay takes flight and robs a home run. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching first look on msnbc. customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. well hello, welcome to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? uhuh yep uch let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels.

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welcome back to "first look."

i'm mara schiavocampo. major league teams are gearing up at a shot for baseball. with the olympics over, the focus turns to america's past time. in baseball, phillies an cards tied in the 11th. one on for pierre, grounder to short. furcal can't gun him down, phillies walk off with an 8-7 win. josh hamilton continues to fight his way out of a slump, his third homer in the last four games. rangers cage the tigers 8-3. to san francisco, hunter pence hitting his first home run with the giants, a three-run blast, giants rally to beat the rockies 9-6. in golf, when mcel royal wins, he wins big. yesterday he took the pga championship with another eight-shot victory, the largest margin of victory ever in a pga championship. woods finished tied for 11th. chad johnson's nfl career is likely over. the miami dolphins cut the wide

receiver after he was arrested. according to reports, it was a classic case of he said, she said. his wife says chad headbutted her. he claims they knocked heads during an argument. one thing is for sure, his time in miami is over. on the flip side, andrew luck's career is off to a promising start, aed the on his first ever nfl pass, donald brown, 63 yards to the house, colts beat the rams 38-3. back to baseball for what could be the catch of the year. blue jays and yankees, casey mcgee lifting to left. deep enough for a home run, rajai davis climbs a wall and hauls it in robbing mcgee of a sure home run. davis is 5'9", highway robbery. that's your first look at sports, i'm mario solis. now for another look at the weather, here is nbc

meteorologist bill karins with the weatherhannel forecast. the humidity was gone yet. it felt so good in areas of the atlantic, too. you'll get one more day of that today. then tomorrow the humidity comes back along with a chance of thunderstorms. enjoy this morning. temperatures in interior sections away from the big cities in the 60s, even the big cities are in the lower 70s. this summer, it seems like every morning has been very warm. very little in the way of clouds. the sun, once it gets up there will be shining brightly, especially this morning. later this afternoon a mixture of sun and clouds, another warm summer day. not too hot, temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. the areas that will have to deal with thunderstorms, a few along the gulf coast. 234r0rd got drenched around miami. more storms around there today. in chicago, 72 with clouds and cooler type weather. even as we go into tuesday, that looks like the humidity will return on the east coast. that's when we'll deal with strong storms.

which former "friends" star is headed back down the aisle? what goes up must come down. "the dark knight's rsh rise at the box office ends. you're watching "first look" on nbc. when technology works for you. to dream. to create. to work. if you're going to do something. make it matter. check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic.

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t there.relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. - one serving of cheese is the size of four dice. one serving of cereal, a baseball. and one serving of fruit, a tennis ball. - you know, both parties agree. our kids can be healthier... the more you know. welcome back to "first look." it's time now for entertainment news. stepping into matt damon's shoes is no small feet. the borne legacy starring jeremy renner topped the box office with an estimated $443 million. it's the first without matt damon who decided to step away from the series. in second place, the will

ferrell zack cal fin in that case kiss nuld $27.4 million. "the dark night rises" fell to $19.3 million. in fourth place, "hope springs" starring meryl streep, tommy lee jones and steve correll earned $15.6 millions. 43-year-old jennifer anniston is ready to try again. her boyfriend popped the question on friday which was his 41st birthday. no word on details for the nuptials. >> that's huge. that's the next big, big wedding. >> it is the next big wedding. >> also competing maybe with brad and angelina's wedding which is coming up soon. they're going head-to-head once again. >> jen was a little behind in the whole kids conversation. >> i don't think she'll ever catch up with those two. >> that will be the buzz, too. >> exactly, twhen baby is coming. i'm mara schiavocampo.

this is "first look" on msnbc. "way too early" starts right now. and paul ryan hit the road together after a choice that energized republicans and democrats alike. the question is did romney grab the right man. the obama campaign meanwhile immediately lashed out at paul ryan zeroing in on the ryan budget that favors the rich and guts medicare. will romney embrace the ryan budget in way he has not until now? mark halperin joins us live to sort through the ryan pick. london officially puts out the flame in a closing ceremony that ranged from the who to one direction or one d as we call them on the fan sites. the question is what was your favorite part of the