we'll get a report from richard engel on the latest there. >>> plus, london mayor boris johnson proves once again that he's the world's most entertaining mayor. after a still lining stunt goes all wrong. we'll show you how later in the show. >>> but first, let's get to the news live at 5:30 a.m. here at 30 rock in new york city. president obama is making his way through key swing states today. he'll speak to college students in florida this afternoon before heading to an event at a high school in northern virginia. yesterday the president said that under mitt romney's tax plan, more americans would see the government take a bigger bite out of their paycheck. >> the centerpiece of my opponent's entire economic plan is not only to extend the bush tax cuts but then to add a new $5 trillion tax cut on top of it. they're asking you to pay an extra $2,000 not to pay down the deficit, not to invest in our kids' education. mr. romney's asking you to pay more so that people like him get a tax cut. >> a study from the nonpartisan tax policy center found that 95% of americans would pay on average

richard engel, nbc news, northern syria. >>> in the milwaukee suburb of oak creek, there was a outpouring of support and unity today at a public memorial service for the victims of a shooting rampage in a sikh temple last weekend. thousands of people of all

>> richard engel reporting for us from northern syria tonight. >>> back at home tonight there are still about a dozen fires burning across the state of oklahoma after a weekend that saw nearly 60,000 acres and multiple homes destroyed as a result. the remains of one person were found in a burned home in norman, oklahoma. the national guard troops are helping fire crews tamp down the remaining fires and they're looking for some weather help here. temperatures are expected to drop to the 90s from the 100s tomorrow. tropical storm ernesto picked up steam as it moved across the western caribbean today and it's ontrack to hit the coast of honduras and belize, possibly as a hurricane. tonight ernesto's winds are topping out at about 65 miles an hour. belize has posted hurricane warnings for the entire coast line tonight. the storm is now projected to move across the yucatan peninsula by early wednesday. >>> now to the games here in london. another action packed day here including a come from behind win for the u.s. women's soccer team as the action aired live on the nbc sports network, beatin

our chief foreign correspond richard engel, who has spent so many years of his life covering this war is here with us in our studio tonight. richard, we were struck by this. today's "new york times" comes out with what is, in effect, the second thousand american troops to die out of the 2,000 in all in this war. it is striking and arresting as a visual. i just looked down and saw a kid from my hometown in new jersey. all of them leave family members behind. question to you as a veteran covering this, how does this end? >> well, there's a surge under way. the surge is ending right now. by the way, i think it's a very bold move from the "new york times" to do this, because no one has been focusing on afghanistan. no one has been focusing on the surge that is under way right now. casualty figures are up. the surge is ending. if you ask the military, the surge has been a success and the surge will allow the roughly 80,000 troops who are there to leave the country in two years, in 2014. if you ask many afghans and you ask many people in this country and you look at the absence of debate, t

and tonight, our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has learned of a development in that battle that may be a turning point for the rebels. richard is with us again tonight from inside syria. >> reporter: good evening, brian. rebel sources tell nbc news that for the first time in this conflict the free syrian army has been armed with nearly two dozen shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles. that they came in from turkey. rebels hope this is the first batch, and say their effects will be felt soon. for days in aleppo, and throughout this war, syrian troops have had total air superiority. that is now changing. and the new anti-aircraft weapons could help their battle for aleppo. the syrian government promised to make quick work of what it called the terrorists in aleppo. but the rebels are holding on. the rebels today battled to defend every corner of their stronghold in the southwest of the city. they took over a police station, defaced images of president assad, and celebrated after destroying government vehicles. thousands of civilians continue to flee the city today. a doctor wh

brian. >> richard engel on the syria/turkey border. richard, thanks. >>> now to presidential politics. president obama campaigned in colorado today, a state where a new poll shows him trailing mitt romney, but he's trying to make up some ground by hitting at what has been a romney weak spot, and that support among women. a report from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: at a denver rally today, the president was surrounded by his most reliable support group, women voters and taking direct aim at mitt romney. >> they want to take us back to the policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century. >> reporter: playing a starring role for the first time on the campaign, the former law student who became a lightning rod after rush limbaugh denounced her for supporting contraception rights. >> miss fluke and the rest of your feminine nazis, here is the deal. >> for me it's been intensely personal. >> reporter: women, especially single women, supported the president overwhelmingly in 2008. an nbc "wall street journal" poll, they favor hi

>> richard engel, reporting again tonight from northern syria. richard, thanks. >>> now to the presidential campaign back home. mitt romney is expected to announce his choice of a running mate soon. speculation, as you may know, is heated. every word he says on the topic is being scrutinized. our political director chief white house correspondent chuck todd spoke exclusively to governor romney about it today. >> 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 adds something to 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. >> interesting bit of mitt romney's exclusive talk with chuck todd late today. part of a special hour to air on msnbc l

richard engel reports for us again tonight from inside syria. >> reporter: it has now become a war after trigs in aleppo, at a few checkpoint notice city, the rebels are still fighting. just blocks away, government troops sweep house to house, shown on state tv, which called it a decisive operation against terrorists. today we travelled with a group of rebels to the outskirts of aleppo, they hoped to reinforce the fighters inside the city. they passed refugees on their way out. even the rebels were surgeoned by what they saw when we reached the town a few miles from aleppo. entire rows of houses burned. shop gates twisted from bombs much even the town mosque was shelled. who did all this was clear from the fresh tank tracks in the pavement. it wasn't just this town that was attacked. the villages immediately around aleppo are now like this, lots of damage and empty. just one ghost town after another. there's now an abandoned zone radiating all over the city. >> reporter: a few rebels still remain. one commander says the town's residents fled after hundreds were killed in the last six wee

>> richard engel along the syria/turkey border for us tonight. richard, thanks. >>> off the coast of mexico tonight ernesto has strengthened into a hurricane as it now bears down on the yucatan peninsula, which is home of course to a lot of tourist destinations. but forecasts say it will stay well south of the resort area in and around cancun. honduras, belize have been hit by heavy rains today but no major damage reported. and this one is set to stay well south of the continental u.s. in the coming days. >>> now to the campaign trail where the dialogue has become a bit less than presidential in the past few days. the story from our nbc news political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd. >> reporter: it's been a bare knuckle campaign, and now the candidates themselves are getting into the act. president obama last night in connecticut. >> it's like robin hood in reverse. it's romney hood. >> mitt romney today with some name calling of his own. >> we've been watching the president say a lot of things about me and about my polic

richard engel, nbc news, northern syria. >> by the way, there was a syrian athlete in the competition tonight as athletics got under way at the summer olympic games. >>> and back here at these games, the big news has to do with the crowning of the title fastest man in the world. that's what you get to call yourself when you win the men's 100-meter. and our look-away spoiler alert warning begins right now. in a race you'll see in primetime here on nbc tonight, here is your winner of the men's 100-meter race. okay. with that safe to look back as we talk about something else. >>> something has happened here that last happened at the winter games in vancouver. the home team is winning. not only that, great britain, team gb, is positively on fire. third in overall medals behind the u.s. and china. just today, when the brit andy murray beat federer at wimbledon, it was as if the cork exploded from a giant bottle of champagne the size of all england. chris jansing has had the great assignment of covering it all. she's with us here tonight at tower bridge. chris? >> you're not kidding. i was

>> richard engel reporting for us once again from northern syria tonight. >>> last night here we alerted you to the storm just churning up in the caribbean right now tropical storm ernesto. it has moved in and could pick up enough steam in the next few days to be a full fledged hurricane by about monday. beyond that our colleagues at the weather channel tell us the track and intensity of this storm are still very uncertain and they'll be watching very closely the development in the next 24 to 36 hours. now to that bizarre story involving one of the great players and great names in the modern era of baseball and the abduction at gun point of his mother. today cal ripken jr. spoke publicly about this entire ordeal. our justice correspondent pete williams has our report. >> reporter: a very different cal ripken returned today to baltimore's oriole park where he became the iron man, setting the major league record for consecutive games. 2,632. his subject today was a different figure -- 23 -- the number of hours his 74-year-old mother, vi, was held last week by a kidnapper. he was emotional,

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports from inside syria. >> reporter: at 11:00 a.m., attack helicopters circle the sky over the city. from a rooftop we hear their assault begin. it sounds like artillery and strafing from the helicopters. we move down to the alleys to try to find out why syrian forces are attacking this city of 70,000 south of aleppo. we see civilians fleeing from open areas, searching for cover. and rebels on motorcycles in the main square. it appears that a large military convoy was passing by this town on the way to join the attack on aleppo. and as the troops were moving past here, the rebels in this town opened fire on them. in a makeshift rebel media center, activists try to upload videos of the attack they've taken with small cameras. they show me syrian tanks are now firing into arihah. the rebels attack the convoy to prevent reinforcements from reaching aleppo, but now this city is paying for it. back in the alleys, men on a motorcycle tell us there are bodies up the street, many. in a mosque, we find them. along with their distraught relativ

again tonight, our report from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel inside northern syria. >> reporter: the rebels in aleppo are losing ground, pulling back as syrian troops push deeper into the city. and, as we saw traveling through the nearby considerside, the battle in aleppo is creating a growing refugee crisis. 500 refugee pack a school, most from aleppo. and just minutes after we arr e arrive, a new group is dropped off. there's no water or much food at the school. and it's 100 degrees in the shade. this is china, and russia's fault. may god punish them, a woman says. rebels tell us there are now more than 100,000 syrians from aleppo living just like this. hoping to cross into turkey and join the already 50,000 syrian refugees there. 29-year-old ha psalm dorish came from aleppo with his son. he says the government assault is not random. they're only attacking sunni muslim neighborhoods leaving alone the minority shiite muslims who have ruled for years. it's a claim backed by dozens of witnesses. there's no attacking against the shiite or al oweite issues? no, none 0 at

it's something our chief foreign correspondent richard engel learned firsthand while traveling with a rebel group through that war zone. >> reporter: rebels from the justice brigade meet at one of their headquarters and head out on a scouting mission for an attack on a syrian military checkpoint. they move to a hilltop, hidden among olive trees, they can see syrian troops on a road below and discuss how best to ambush them with bombs and machine guns. from here, they can see the syrian military positions that they plan to attack and there appear to be five, maybe six armored vehicles. but the brigade commander, ali bakhran tells us the mission must be called off. ali and his men are deeply frustrated. it's the second attack they've had to cancel for lack of weapons in two weeks. ali's men don't have enough weapons to fight and they're dying. we've been with ali's unit on two trips for nearly a month. his fighters are secular, welcoming to foreigners, not religious extremists. so, we were shocked by what ali told us. al qaeda, he says, has offered his unit money and weapons, and he's w

richard engel, just back from his exclusive reporting with the re rebels on the ground. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues 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. at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. i just wish it wouldn't fade away so fast. let me show you something. [ dr. rahmany ] as soon as you leave here... plaque quickly starts to grow back. but now there's a way to keep the clean longer. introducing new crest pro-health clinical rinse. it's a clinical breakthrough that actually keeps your teeth 91% clean of plaque at 2 months after a dental visit. plus, it gives you these key benefits. new crest pro-health clinical rinse. crest. life opens up when you do. also try new crest pro-health clinical plaque control toothpaste. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you ca

our chief correspondent richard engel is reporting and today encountered the fighting up close. he reports from ariha. 40 miles outside the big city of aleppo. >> reporter: at 11:00 a.m. attack helicopters circle the sky. from a rooftop we hear the assault begin. it sounds like artillery and tracings from the helicopters. we move down to the alley to try to find out why syrian forces are attacking this city of 70,000 south of aleppo. we see civilians fleeing from open areas searching for cover and rebels on motor cycles on the main square. it appears a large military cyc the main square. it appears a large military convoy was passing through and as the troops were moving past here the rebels in this town opened fire on them. in a makeshift rebel media center activists try to upload videos of the attack they have taken with small cameras. they show me syrian tanks are now firing. the rebels attack the convoy to prevent reinforcements from reaching aleppo but now this city is paying for it. back in the alleys men on motorcycles tell us there are bodies up the street, many. in a mo

nbc's richard engel is inside northern syria covering the rebel forces. >> reporter: aside from weapons the rebels also need strategy. rebel units generally operate independently or coordinate on a local or regional level. they don't always have a big picture of what's happening on the battle field nationwide. they need guidance on where to attack, where to retreat, and how to win a war instead of just carrying out somewhat random attacks and ambushes. >> reporter: the u.s. is stepping up. president obama has signed a top-secret order approving covert cia aid to the rebels coordinated from southern turkey at a command center in adana near the giant u.s.-run nato base at incerlik. >> both the u.s. military and intelligence community could provide signals intelligence support, overhead imagery from satellites or other aircraft, and they can also simply help advise them on military tactics. >> reporter: the rebels also reportedly now have shoulder-mounted missiles. though u.s. officials say not from the u.s. >> we've heard various reports about other nations providing it. we've heard repor

we'll get a report from richard engel on the latest there. >>> plus, london mayor boris johnson provesat he's the world's most entertaining mayor. after a still lining stunt goes all wrong. we'll show you how later in the show. >>> but first, let's get to the news live at 5:30 a.m. here at 30 rock in new york city. president obama is making his way through key swing states today. he'll speak to college students in florida this afternoon before heading to an event at a high school in northern virginia. yesterday the president said that under mitt romney's tax plan, more americans would see the government take a bigger bite out of their paycheck. >> the centerpiece of my opponent's entire economic plan is not only to extend the bush tax cuts but then to add a new $5 trillion tax cut on top of it. they're asking you to pay an extra $2,000 not to pay down the deficit, not to invest in our kids' education. mr. romney's asking you to pay more so that people like him get a tax cut. >> a study from the nonpartisan tax policy center found that 95% of americans would pay

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports from northern syria. >> reporter: for days in aleppo and throughout this war, syrian troops have had total air superiority. rebels say that is now changing. and that the new anti-aircraft weapons could help their battle for aleppo. the syrian government promised to make quick work of what it called the terrorists in aleppo, but the rebels are holding on. the rebels battled to defend every corner of their stronghold in the southwest of the city. they took over a police station, defaced images of president assad, and celebrated after destroying government vehicles. thousands of civilians continue to flee the city. fatma, a doctor who didn't want to be fully identified, escaped aleppo and says the city is critically short of medical supplies. a few miles away, mustafa suleiman, a vegetable merchant, said the syrian government isn't just attacking aleppo but shelling towns around it to cut off the rebels' movement. so you were just eating in your house and then a big explosion? they were having dinner, he says. in towns all around al

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is there with more. richard, good day to you. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. syrian troops and rebels are still battling for control of the city of aleppo. rebels are also attacking syrian forces as they try to reach aleppo, as we saw for ourselves. attack helicopters circle over the city of arhia. from the rooftop, we hear the assault begin. we move to the alleys to find out why syrian forces are attacking this city of 70,000 in aleppo. in a make shift rebel media center, activists show me syrian tanks are also firing into arhia. the rebels have just attacked a military convoy to try to prevent reinforcements from reaching aleppo. now the convoy is attacking the city to make them pay for it. men on motorcycles tell us there are bodies up the street, many. in a mosque we find them, along with their distraught families. there seem to be many casualties here, eight bodies have been brought. they can't get them to the hospital so they're just putting ice on top of the bodies. >> reporter: the rebels in

richard engel in new york for us again. good to talk to you. >> reporter: thanks. the middle east is a mess and broken as you described it. >> it's stunning how many different moving parts there are in that particular part of the world. can you give us an update, specifically relating to iran and does not seem to be stepping back from the nuclear ambitions? >> absolutely. you have to understand what's going on in syria as in some ways a proxy war that iran is backing the syrian government, hezbollah in leb nan backing the syrian government and looking on a map it's because iran supplies hezbollah through syria and there's an arc of shiite countries that want to stay in power and want to stay relevant and that is the dynamic playing out and you have the rebel who is are trying to fight against the regime of bashar al assad and fighting hell boll la on the ground and advisers good at crushing opposition. >> last time we talked to you we thought perhaps we were at a tipping point of iran and israel. are we still at that tipping point do you think or have thinged cothi

richard engel in nbc news, in northern syria. >> to repeat, richard and his team he was shooting withe arihah, they are safe tonight. and nbc news reported something that was initially reported by reuters, which is that president obama has reportedly signed a presidential finding, authorization unspecified support, apparently not weapons, but other kinds of support to the libyan rebels, specifically to help them oust the assad regime. in terms of what we are actually doing to help the rebels, it reportedly involves u.s. personnel helping at a secret command center, operated by turkey, along with some other countries. the syrian war seems to be on almost an infinite escalation track right now, but it's as hard to cover as ever. we'll be right back. ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] three words dad, e-trade financial consultants. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. wa-- wa-- wait a minute; bobby? bobby! what are you doing man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade. with tums freshers! concentrated relief that goes to work i

it's something our chief foreign correspondent richard engel learned about firsthand traveling with a justice brigade meet at one of their headquarters and head out on a scouting mission for an attack on a syrian military checkpoint. they move to a hill top hidden among olive trees they can see syrian troops on a road below and discuss how best to ambush them with bombs and machine guns. from here they can see the syrian military positions that they plan to attack and there appear to be five, maybe six armored vehicles. but the brigade commander tells us, the mission must be called off. ali and his men are deeply frustrated. it's the second attack they've had to cancel for lack of weapons in two weeks. ali's men don't have enough weapons to fight and they're dying. we've been with ali's unit on two trips for nearly a month. his fighters are secular, welcoming to foreigners, not religious extremists. so we were shocked by what ali told us. al qaeda, he says, has offered his unit money and weapons, and he's willing to take it. >> translator: we will accept arms and money from anyone, ev

richard engel, thanks. >> the attorney for michael jackson's mother is expected to file papers proposing a change in the guardianship arrangement for jackson's three children. michael's will named his 82-year-old mother as children. the new arrangement would add the cousin t.j. jackson as co-guardian to help katherine raise them. and after london governor boris jackson got stuck on the zip line, the pictures went viral. they cropped the photos and pasted them into all kinds of places. even getting the look of scorn from british prime minister david cameron. if you need, you can hang him from your rear view mirror to freshen up your car. as i toss it over to you, we've had our own little fun with him as well. poor boris. >> i think we have a picture of him joining us race walking. >> he joined us in a couple of locations over the last couple of days. there he is back in new york city back in the day. >> there here is hovering over our race walking competition. >> where's his yellow track suit? >> and he's even on the ring. look at that. >> fun with photoshop. >> now mr. roker, how about a

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports from inside syria. >> reporter: 11:00 a.m., attackky over the city of aretha. we moved to the alley to try to find out why syrian forces are attacking this city of 70,000 south of aleppo. we see civilians fleeing, searching for cover. it appears that a large military convoy was passing this town on the way to join aleppo. >> in a mikeshift media center, activists try to upload videos of the attack they've taken with small cameras. they show me syrian tanks are now firing into arihah. now, this city is paying for it. back in the alley, men on motorcycles tell us their are bodies up the street, many. we find them, along with their drought relatives. witnesses say the victims were civilians, standing outside a mosque and attacked by a helicopter. there seem to be many casualties. here eight bodies have been brought. they can't even get them to the hospital. they're putting ice on top of the bodies. they can't move them around the city because there's still too much helicopter fire, still too much mortar fire coming in. menem brace the de