of that on this issue. and so that means the pressure on this issue, the pressure on the policymakers, if there is going to be any, will have to come from the people, from us. because it seems like we care about this as a country, even if some of the people who say they want to lead us do not care about it. all right. that does it for us tonight. we will see you again tomorrow opening day -- first lady, michelle obama gets set for center stage at the democratic national convention. gentle giant -- hollywood mourns the loss of oscar-nominated actor, michael clarke duncan. and naughty no more -- he can england's prince harry steps out for the first time since the naked photos of vegas. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

and we are going to begin with the convention kickoff. the democratic national convention officially begins in charlotte tonight and is where first lady, michelle obama, is going to take the stalk and try to convince undecided voters that her husband deserve as second term. nbc's tracie potts is in charlotte with details. tracie, good morning. >> hi, lynn, good morning, everyone, behind me, the stage where it all gets started. the stage where we will see michelle obama. but not where we will see the president, he'll be a few blocks away at the bank of america stadium. one more day of campaigning before he arrives to make his case here in charlotte. last night, president obama told hurricane victims -- >> nobody's a democrat or a republican, we're all just americans. >> but not in charlotte this week. he'll accept the democratic nomination for president on

thursday. >> on thursday night i'm going to offer you what i believe is a better path forward. >> reporter: tonight we hear from michelle obama, she checked out the stage monday. >> she's going to talk about the president that she knows, the husband she married and of course, the father to her children. >> reporter: maryland's governor and san antonio's mayor, julian castro also speak tonight. castro is the first latino to give a keynote address. the same spot president obama had in 2004. >> the first lady i'm sure is going to deliver a very positive message. governor o'malley and mine is an optimistic message as well. >> reporter: paul ryan told a packed carolina crowd all of those speeches will avoid a key question -- >> we're not going to hear evidence and facts about how people are better off. >> reporter: vice president biden said we are and here's why. >> osama bin laden is dead and.

>> reporter: mitt romney is relaxing with family in new england, rehearsing for october's debates. >> reporter: in addition to the keynote speeches, delegates will also vote on the democratic party's platform which includes higher taxes for the wealthy. lynn? >> thanks so much. last night on "the ed show" democratic congressman, chris van holland of maryland made the case that the policy difference between president obama and the republican ticket is vast. >> when the economy was in freefall, the president acted decisive decisively. what was mitt romney saying we should do? let detroit go bankrupt what did mitt romney and paul ryan propose with respect to social security a number of years ago? let's privatize it. you just cited the statistics about the collapse in the retirement system. the american people lost about a third of their savings, if we listened to mitt romney and paul

ryan on social security, people would have had nothing. >> each night, veteran talk host, ed schultz, tackles the issues that matter most to americans. don't miss it at 8:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. well elsewhere according to the latest gallup poll, republican presidential candidate mitt romney's acceptance speech at the gop convention in tampa last week scored a record low with americans. only 38% of americans surveyed rated romney's speech as excellent or good, the lowest rating of any of the eight speeches gallup has tested since bob dole's gop acceptance speech in 1996. 16% rated the romney address as poor or terrible. it has been a week since isaac slammed into the gulf coast and still, tens of thousands of people are in the dark. while crews have been working around the clock to restore electricity, utilities report more than 40,000 customers are powerless in louisiana. low-lying areas are still under

water and now a triple-digit forecast could make an already difficult clean-up even more miserable, unfortunately. here's your first look at other news going on around america. in california dramatic pictures a fire tornado. in the angeles national forest. wildfires are known to create their own wind conditions. 1,000 campers and visitors were evacuated since the fire broke out on sunday. hurricane isaac has caused more than 5,000 dead rodents to watch up along the gulf coast it could double. the dead swamp rats are an eyesore, and could create a health hazard. local officials are asking the state to help with the clean-up. and finally, california's world renowned muscle beach definitely lived up to its name as men and women who have

clearly spent a little bit more time weightlifting than any of us strutted their stuff for the judges. they competed in categories ranging from teenagers to seniors all at the spot that was made famous by arnold schwarzenegger. now let's check your national weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> have you ever been to muscle beach? >> i have, when i lived in california. i pulled out the guns for it. everyone gave a little laugh. >> just a little laugh. >> you can hold your own. good morning, everyone, i hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. in areas of central new jersey, you can hear it outside, it's pouring rain. we have some tropical downpours out there. that's the story, for the eastern half of the country through the next two to three days, it looks like the tropical humidity will with us until we get drier air mass and around kansas city, early-morning

storms. the brighter the colors, the heavier the rain. avoiding many of the big cities at the current time. new york city, it looks primarily dry. a little light rain over long island. another batch of steadier rain between trenton and philadelphia. and between york and redding and harrisburg, watching an area of moderate rain. and the other spot i told you about we had some thunderstorms, it looks like they just swept through the can kansas city ar. and the lightning strikes in the north will sink down on top of you. we have tropical storm leslie out there. a large-sized storm, but it really nearly stationary, it's going to take five days, a slow-moving storm to drift up near bermuda. this could be a category 2 storm. a pretty serious hurricane for bermuda. lot of the large waves will head to the u.s.

a bottom line for anyone in the eastern u.s., have the umbrella, tropical downpours this afternoon. aid on the way for spain and italy, everyone wants a piece of american airlines and the current economic conditions for the tooth fairy. your "first look" at the morning's business headlines is straight ahead. another milestone for tiger woods, a pair of walk-offs out west and a thrilling end to the first weekend of the college football season. you're watching first look on msnbc. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol

as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios why? i thought jill was your soul mate. no, no it's her dad. the general's your soul mate? dude what? no, no, no. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry. e-trade's got a killer investing dashboard.

everything is on one page, your investments, quotes, research... it's like the buffet last night. whatever helps you understand man. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him. [ male announcer ] try the e-trade 360 investing dashboard. less expensive option than a traditional lawyer? at legalzoom you get personalized services for your family and your business that's 100% guaranteed. so go to legalzoom.com today for personalized, affordable legal protection.

welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry and here are some stories making ns this morning. "the new york times" reports the u.s. is close to an economic deal with egypt's new government to eliminate $1 billion of egypt's debt to help make it an easier transition to democracy. syrian president, bashar al assad, says there will be no dialogue with the opposition before the army imposes security throughout the country.

meanwhile, an opposition group says the government is bulldozing homes in a damascus suburb, allegedly because the owners sheltered rebel fighters. in colombia, the woman known as the godmother of cocaine was kill by an assassin on a motorcycle. she spent 20 years in prison in the u.s. for drug trafficking and murder. and actor michael clarke duncan has died at the age of 54, two months after suffering a heart attack. best known for his role in "green mile." prince harry made the first public appearance since naked photos of him appeared on the internet. the royal correspondent for our english partner, itn had the story. >> prince harry kept his back to the cameras as arrived, but he can't put las vegas behind him.

6-year-old alex logan was among those waiting to meet him. earlier, he had been on the itv lunchtime news. >> i want to know what you're going to say to prince harry. >> i'm glad you got your clothes on, prince harry. >> naughty, said alex when they met. harry told him, i heard you're on itv earlier. you said something cheeky, let's not talk about that here. but for all the jokes, those las vegas photographs have been a chastening experience. a few years ago the threat to royal privacy came from photographers and cameramen with telephoto lenses, the lesson of vague as is it no longer takes a paparazzi to embarrass a prince. >> they played the bare necessities before harry's speech at the well child awards, he didn't mention las vegas, but

it may have been on his mind. >> all of you children, families, nurses, doctors, careers, volunteers, are quite frankly too remarkable for me adequately to describe it with words. but never one to be shy in coming forward, i'll give it a go. >> prince harry may briefly have lost his dignity, but he hasn't lost his sense of humor. itv news. >> that's for sure. now here's your "first look" at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. as the 2012 democratic convention gets under way, the party says there are 5,000 delegates and half of them are women. the dnc reports also says that 27% are african-americans and 13% are latino. politico reports on an internet petition to have

actress betty white speak at the convention before president obama's speech thursday night. the 90-year-old star would essentially serve as hollywood's answer to clint eastwood appearance at the gop convention. mitt romney will be spending some quality time with ohio senator rob portman, who is playing the role of president obama as the republican candidate's team travels to vermont to prepare for the debates. the "washington post" reports romney will spend the three days of the democratic convention doing his debate homework. yesterday mitt romney was at his vacation home in new hampshire. taking his boat for a labor day swim and his wife got in some jet skiing. is nicki minaj really a republican voting for mitt romney as she raps on the latist mix tape trap from lil wayne? new york "daily news" reports the lyrics complain about the economy, but many think she will actually cast a ballot for president obama in november. and a larger-than-life sand sculpture of president obama is

big hit with democratic convention delegates in charlotte. it took a team of five people three days to create the sculpture. now they're worried the rain is going to damage it. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. now here's an early look at wall street. the dow closed ahead of the holiday weekend friday at 1390 after rising 90 points. the s&p added seven, the nasdaq gained 18. overseas trading, the nikkei in tokyo lost eight and in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 129. on the heels of last friday's hints of more stimulus from fed chief, ben bernanke, today traders will be pondering stimulus from another central bank. optimism grew that the european central bank will announce a spanish and italian bond purchasing plan at its next meeting after mario draghi told european lawmakers if the bank purchased short-term sovereign bonds it would not breach the

european union's prohibition against directly financing eurozone economies. the not all news was good, moody's put the european union on notice, its aaa rating is at risk of downgrade. even after moody's changed the outlook on the eu to negative, the euro held its ground, thanks to high hopes a serious plan to tackle the region's debt crisis is about to emerge. elsewhere, val yat pharmaceuticals agreed to buy medicis for $2.6 billion. british airways and iberian owner are looking to buy a stake in american airlines. lufthansa passengers beware, cabin crew say they'll be striking in dispute over pay and conditions. hyundai has reached an agreement with its union workers to end the costliest strike in that company's history.

and inflation is finally hitting the tooth fairy. a new survey shows kids found an average of $3 per tooth under their pillows this year. that's up 15% from last year. so good news for the kids at least. well extra innings walkoff at tiger makes bank. plus, players head to the u.s. open tennis quarterfinals. and a college football matchup goes down to the wire. and beyond. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead, you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

nks hi i hainmybdomen..itwo g. wati ths reneronoinmybdomen..itwo g. t ouover s meoronronoinmybdomen..itwo g. yor.boernc anmeoronronoinmybdomen..itwo g. music: "make someone happy" music: "make someone happy" ♪it's so important to make someone happy.♪ it's so important to make someone happy.♪ ♪make just one heart to heart you - you sing to♪ ♪one smile that cheers you

♪one face that lights when it nears you.♪ ♪and you will be happy too. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. to meet the needs of my growing business. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better. [ female announcer ] our wells fargo bankers are here to listen, offer guidance and provide you with options tailored to your business. we've loaned more money to small businesses than any other bank for ten years running. so come talk to us to see how we can help. wells fargo. together we'll go far.

welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry, in sports in college football last night, 16th ranked virginia tech relied on their kicker to come from behind and sealed the deal overtime. here's nbc's mario solis. >> the opening weekend of the college football season ended with a thrilling battle in blacksburg. 16th ranked virginia tech got all it could handle from georgia tech. in the final minute. the jackets down four, washington finds hill with 44 seconds left. enough time for the hokies to get it into field goal range, jarnl from 41 yards out, he doesn't miss this one. ties the game as time expireses and forces overtime. after an interception, it's jarnl a clip for the win. virginia tech gets a scare, but pulls out the win, 20-17 in ot.

mardy fish pulled out from the u.s. open from health care concerns and serena williams won in straight sets. golf final round of the deutsche bank championship, tiger woods was in the hunt until the end, his chip on 15th lips out, he finished in third place and with it becomes the first golfer to surpass the $100 million mark in career earnings. the day belonged to rory mcilroy, a long birdie attempt at 18, he stalls it at the cup. baseball, a pair of walkoffs out west, dodgers and padres tied 3-3 in the 11th, two on for aj ellis, he delivers, slaps an rbi single to right. in comes eeth year, dodgers win it 4-3 in 11. in san francisco, the giants were using the force against the d'backs, buster posey rips a single past third, in comes the tying run, we're off to extras.

marco scutaro, giants beat arizona 9-8 in ten. that's your first look at sports. for another look at the weather, we check back in with nbc meteorologist, bill karins is tracking the storms on the east coast. >> one of the bad hair days where the humidity is high, you can feel it outside. good morning, everyone, tracking the radar this morning up through central jersey. just pouring right now, the jersey shore, back through areas towards north of philadelphia and an area of rain through pennsylvania, it will be with us throughout the day. if you're in the greater new york city area, southern new england, new jersey, even down into maryland and delaware, on and off showers and thunderstorms throughout the day. it won't rain the entire day, but periods of rain, most will beate this afternoon. the peak heating of the day. temperatures will get pretty warm in between the showers and storms. and those will also be prevalent down in the southeast. but no rainfall in the middle of the country. they're the ones that need it. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, sir paul notches

another honor. and bobby brown is out, says he's clean. plus, justin bieber has a new tattoo, bill, what is it? any guesses? >> a tattoo of lynn berry? >> how many does he have? what was his first? >> i love lynn tattoo. >> coming up in entertainment. >> this never gets old. cle has re olcedr

d w

i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

welcome back, time for a little entertainment news. and you can add yet another honor to one former beatles' long list, he's sir paul

mccartney. this weekend, french president will decorate him as an officer of honor. a canadian power company has taken shape as toronto maple leafs captain, dion phaneuf and calgary-born actress alicia cuthbert are engaged. bruce willis's wife emma shooting down a report that the 57-year-old actor was considering legal action against apple because he wants to leave his digital music collection to his daughters. and finally last weekend, justin bieber tweeted this photo of his new tat. it's a crown, and he tweeted it to his nearly 28 million followers. the crown marks the 18-year-old's seventh tattoo, he got his first one, a tribute to

jonathan livingston seagull with his dad on his 16th birthday. >> probably a lot of girls tweeted this out. >> just start off string, kids. >> do you wake up every morning and have it in the mirror. >> of course i do. i'm lynn berry. biebs, i love you, biebs. >> "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. mitt romney and the republicans made their case last week in tampa, now the party is here in charlotte where president barack obama tries to convince the country he deserves four more years in the white house. and that he finally can get tough on the old man vagrancy problem that plagues our nation, it's "way too early" for this. >>