thomas roberts is next. >>> good morning. good morning, everybody.e gop twisting itself into nknots on the issue of abortion? the human rights amendment to outlaw abortion and even in cases of rape or incest. that flies in the face of the romney/ryan ticket. we will look at this and republicans ramp up the pressure on todd akin to abandon his race in missouri. will he listen? >>> does the president need to step up his efforts to court billionaires for the big bucks in his campaign? obama and romney and the money wars. we break it down next. i have never encountered such a burning sensation... until i had the shingles. it was like a red rash. like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. i had no idea it came from chickenpox. it's something you never want to encounter. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com >>> hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. tick-tock. todd akin defies his party. the deadline is 5:00 p.m. central time. let's reset the clock on where this controversy stands. akin is clinging with a cement grip. apologizing a

thomas roberts is up next. hi, thomas. >> hi, everybody. the agenda in the next hour, it's game on.dates blanket the battleground states. is there really that much difference between what mitt romney and paul ryan would do to the budget and what's the contrast currently with president obama? sarah palin is out and chris christie is in as he prepares for the speech of his life as we center in on marco rubio's role. and two teen girls, the jersey girls, they are going to join me live to explain how they got that done. that and more coming up after this. 2-ou ans onov fr there are projects. and there are game-changers. those ideas that start with us rolling up our sleeves... ...and end with a new favorite room in the house. and when we can save even more on those kinds of projects... ...with advice to make them even better... ...that's a game-changer in itself. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get this exclusive vanity with porcelain top for the new low price of just $99. to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash

thomas roberts is up next. >>> good morning.genda, breaking news this morning from pennsylvania. a big blow to those trying to stop a strict voter i.d. law. could it swing this battleground state mitt romney's way? >>> plus the obama administration plans to fight ohio's early voting law in court. >>> then chain reaction over comments joe biden made on the campaign trail. is the outrage real and which side is spreading the hate? >>> plus the cycle hosts are back with their vp power rankings. they join me now that ryan is the pick, what can we expect from the biden/ryan showdown. and remember the power rankings? who came in first place? we'll talk about that. all that and much more in the next hour. my cut hurt! mine hurt more! mine stopped hurting faster... [ female announcer ] neosporin® plus pain relief starts relieving pain faster and kills more types of infectious bacteria. neosporin® plus pain relief. for a two dollar coupon, visit neosporin.com. >>> romney want said the first 100 days he's going to let the big banks write t

i'm thomas roberts. we start with breaking news from afghanistan where seven american soldiers have been killed. they were killed when their helicopter crashed in kandahar, the province there. this is located in southern afghanistan and has been a hot bed of activity over the last decade. jim joins me now. what do we know? >> it's believed that they were on a special operations mission when the seven american soldiers and four afghans who were also on that black hawk helicopter went down in southern afghanistan. it was during daylight hours. now, the crash itself is under -- by the way, all 11 on board were killed. this, by all accounts, was a horrific crash. the helicopter totally destroyed. the investigation is under way now to determine exactly what the cause was and u.s. military officials are not ruling out the

i'm thomas roberts. we start with tropical storm isaac.gaining strength in the gulf of mexico. making a run at the coast. we will know if the tropical storm has been upgraded to hurricane status. moments ago, president obama made a urging to gulf coast residents to take the storm seriously. >> now is not the time to tempt fate. you need to take this seriously. >> this massive and slow-moving system expected to make landfall around midnight as a category

hi everybody, and good morning, i'm thomas roberts in for wi willie giest. shoot me an e-mail at waytooear waytooear waytooearly @msnbc.com. the next 30 minutes is your cram session for this thursday, august the 9th, and there's a lot going on today including a loss for rupert murdoch's news corp. and the greatest olympic medal celebration of the 2012 olympics. look at that guy go, look at him. first, let's get to the news here at 30 rock in new york city. president obama is campaigning in colorado. the president is trying to build on one of his strengths, his fav favorability with women voters. >> when it comes to a woman's right to make her own health care choices, they want to take us back to the policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21 century. the decisions that affect a woman's health are not up to politicians. they're not up to insurance companies, they're up to you. and you deserve a president who will fight to keep it that way. >> also joining the president is sandra fluke, the law school student that was targeted by rush limbaugh. >> this elec

i'm thomas roberts. the agenda, the obama campaign dropping down the gauntlet and the obama campaign throwing it back. the war is romney's tax returns. first, the obama campaign issuing a challenge to mitt romney, release five years of tax returns, we'll drop the issue. here's the letter from the obama campaign manager, jim messina to romney campaign manager, rhoades. if the governor will release five years of

we want to turn back to new york and thomas roberts. >> natalie, lester, good morning. we begin with the major announcement from republican presidential candidate mitt romney. about a half an hour ago, romney's app revealed that he's chosen wisconsin congressman paul ryan as his running mate. an official announcement will be at 9:00 this morning. he's a conservative favorite who's drawn controversy for his push for deep budget cuts. you can watch a special edition of "meet the press" coming up tomorrow morning, about the ryan pick. >>> excessive heat is complicating efforts to contain a wildfire in texas and one in california. all three fires are believed to have been caused by lightning strikes. so far, no buildings have been destroyed and no injuries have been reported. >>> in the milwaukee suburb of oak creek, there was an outpouring of support and unity on friday at a public memorial service for the victims of the shooting rampage in a sikh temple last week. thousands of people of all faiths came together as one. >>> and another hon

i'm thomas roberts. out for the battle for the battlegrounds. it's the president who is winning the messaging war over medicare. a new quinnipiac/"new york times"/cbs poll shows a narrowing lead for the president. romney getting a bump in the land of brats and cheese thanks to paul ryan. it was ryan who catapulted medicare into the national conversation and the campaign debate, a debate the current vice president spoke of in a very personal way last night. >> my mom -- she died when she was 92, the last four years of her life living

i'm thomas roberts. topping the agenda today, the race of the white house entering its

i will turn it over to thomas roberts. >> thank you. the 2012 republican convention is in recess after being gavelled into session. we saw that at the top of the hour. taking over at 2: 01 and by 2:01 and 30 second or so, they stood in recess. the convention abbreviated from four to three days. with ann romney taking to the stage tomorrow night. the romneys practiced their speeches today, doing so in new hampshire. >> how you doing? >> i like my speech. i really like ann's speech. our sons are already in tampa and they say it is terrific there. a lot of great friends. and we are looking forward to a great convention. >> let's bring in our news nation panel democratic strategist, joining me to talk about this. chris, i want to show paul ryan who is having a send-off rally if n his hometown in wisconsin. talk about the tropical storm today, very present in mind for everyone on their way it frl. take a listen. >> i think we should right now put in our minds and our prayers the people who have been victims of hurricane isaac and those who s

thomas roberts is up next. good morning, thomas. >> good morning to you. good morning, everybody.t hour, moments now from the latest tracking information on tropical storm isaac. tampa gets a pass but new orleans prepping for the possibility of a major hit. look at that. the gop convention in florida, rolls with the punches and shortens its schedule because of tropical storm isaac. new polling is showing just how tight this race really is. mitt romney's speech will be the most important of his life. my guest next hour megan mccain, congressman connie mack of florida and florida congresswoman kathie caster breaking down the week for the gop. 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. humans -- sometimes life trips us up. and sometimes, we trip ourselves up, but that's okay. at liberty mutual insurance we can "untrip" you as you go through your life with personalized policies and discounts when you

. >>> thomas roberts is up next. >> hi, everybody.storming ashore along the gulf coast. new orleans suffering the most flooding in areas where levees were not upgraded since katrina. we were moments away from the 11:00 a.m. weather update and we have reporters stationed along the gulf states to bring you an update. >>> then we move to tampa. an all-star lineup gets ready to take the stage. can paul ryan sell his ticket and mitt romney. >>> plus a look back at a highlight reel of some of the moments you may have missed from the rnc's first night. [ 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. tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ normal voice ] nope, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car i

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

i'm thomas roberts. topping the agenda today republican renegade.tting a boiling point as they a defiant todd akin digs in against calls to bow out of the u.s. senate race in missouri. >> this is not about me. this is not about my

i'm thomas roberts. this is "way too early," the show that is much more fun when i'm watching from my sofa at home. glad you're watching us. let us know why you're awake. or tweet us. or you can do what alex morgan do and text the word "awake" followed by your response to 622639. we'll read the best responses later in the show. that was a go usa yell. before we get to the news, willie geist is in london to give us a preview of what to expect. willie, good morning. >> i couldn't agree more. the show looks so much better from a distance. especially five hours ahead. >> when i'm on my sofa watching you, it's a great show. >> not as great standing there at 5:30 being on tv. i have great olympic action. an incredible game. they are calling it one of the best soccer games ever. canada leads the loss to the u.s. one player saying the referee should have been wearing an american jersey because that's who she was playing for. high lielgts from london a little later. >> it was a nail biter. a great one to watch. t

i'm thomas roberts. more fun when i'm watching from my sofa at home. glad you're watching us. let us know why you're awake. or tweet us. or you can do what alex morgan do and text the word "awake" followed by your response to 622639. we'll read the best responses later in the show. that was a go usa yell. before we get to the news, willie geist is in london to give us a preview of what to expect. willie, good morning. >> i couldn't agree more. the show looks so much better from a distance. especially five hours ahead. >> when i'm on my sofa watching you, it's a great show. >> not as great standing there at 5:30 being on tv. i have great olympic action. an incredible game. they are calling it one of the best soccer games ever. canada leads the loss to the u.s. one player saying the referee should have been wearing an american jersey because that's who she was playing for. high lielgts from london a little later. >> it was a nail biter. a great one to watch. thank you. we'll talk to you soon. >>> we are le

tweet me at thomas roberts. automakers are just beginning to dabble with the idea of hybrid technology, it's already engrained in our dna. during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection. [ male announcer ] you work hard. stretch every penny. but chances are you pay a higher tax rate than him... mitt romney made twenty million dollars in two thousand ten but paid only fourteen percent in taxes... probably less than you now he has a plan that would give millionaires another tax break... and raises taxes on middle class families by up to two thousand dollars a year. mitt romney's middle class tax increase. he pays less. you pay more. mitt romney's middle class tax increase. so what i'm saying is, people like options. when you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options. oh, how convenient. hey. crab

i'm thomas roberts in new york for willie geist, and this is "way too early."lly are glad you're up with us this morning watching on msnbc or listening live on sirius xm radio. you can shoot me an e-mail at waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweet me @williegeist, and let me know why you're awake right now. or do what rocket scientists do and text "awake" followed by your response to 622639. we'll read the responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes will be your cram session for this monday, august 6th. there's a lot going on, including the continuing fight over mitt romney's tax returns as the head of the rnc calls harry reid a "dirty liar." we'll discuss the sad state of american politics ahead. >>> plus, usain bolt kmemts his title as the fastest man in the world. willie geist will join us live from loaned krohn with highlights from the race and other olympic action in a few minutes. first, let's get to our urgent, live news at 5:30 a.m. right here at 30 rock in new york city. this morning the fbi is leading an investigation into what police call a case of domest

hi everybody, and good morning, i'm thomas roberts in for wi willie giest.at waytooear waytooear waytooearly @msnbc.com. the next 30 minutes is your cram session for this thursday, august the 9th, and there's a lot going on today including a loss for rupert murdoch's news corp. and the greatest olympic medal celebration of the 2012 olympics. look at that guy go, look at him. first, let's get to the news here at 30 rock in new york city. president obama is campaigning in colorado. the president is trying to build on one of his strengths, his fav favorability with women voters. >> when it comes to a woman's right to make her own health care choices, they want to take us back to the policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21 century. the decisions that affect a woman's health are not up to politicians. they're not up to insurance companies, they're up to you. and you deserve a president who will fight to keep it that way. >> also joining the president is sandra fluke, the law school student that was targeted by rush limbaugh. >>

i'm thomas roberts and this is way too early. 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 suppo

i'm thomas roberts in new york for willie geist, and this is "way too early." we really are glad you're up with us this morning watching on msnbc or listening live on sirius xm radio. you can shoot me an e-mail at waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweet me @williegeist, and let me know why you're awake right now. or do what rocket scientists do and text "awake" followed by your response to 622639. we'll read the responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes will be your cram session for this monday, august 6th. there's a lot going on, including the continuing fight over mitt romney's tax returns as the head of the rnc calls harry reid a "dirty liar." we'll discuss the sad state of american politics ahead. >>> plus, usain bolt kmemts his title as the fastest man in the world. willie geist will join us live from loaned krohn with highlights from the race and other olympic action in a few minutes. first, let's get to our urgent, live news at 5:30 a.m. right here at 30 rock in new york city. this morning the fbi is leading an investigation into what police call a case of

>>> hi everybody, i'm thomas roberts, sitting in today for tam ran hall. the developing news, the after math of hurricane isaac, floods, dramatic rescues all along the gulf coast. within just the last few hours, residents in louisiana and missouri were ordered to evacuate after isaac badly damaged a nearby dam. louisiana governor bobby jindal assessed the damage, take a listen. >> if this dam were to break, it would take about 90 minutes for the water to get to kentwood. they are planning a planned breach of the dam to avoid, to stop the dam from breaking. >> some of the worst flooding is in plaquemines parish, where they could break the flooding there. it is worse some say than hurricane katrina years ago. >> it is just bringing back a lot of hurricane katrina, i'm done. >> so there are a lot of major concerns in the city of slidell, where the residents were forced to leave their homes in the middle of the night. and we'll get a full report from our gabe gutierrez who is in the region. we have that for you coming up. >>> we turn to the major story of the

i'm thomas roberts. topping the agenda today, make or break? mitt romney is just hours away from the biggest political speech of his life and crews spent the overnight hours transforming the stage inside the tampa bay times it forum where romney will stand to address millions tonight. for mitt romney who watched the speeches from his hotel room last night, a speech he's been prepping for since announcing his first run for the white house, a bid that began five years ago. ramping up the big night last night, the number two man on the ticket. paul ryan left that crowd standing with a sneetch was part condemnation for the current president and part making the case for the republican who wants that job. >> these past four years we have suffered no shortage of words in the white house. what is missing is leadership in the white house. >> if you're feeling left out or passed by, you have not failed. your leaders have failed you. >> after four years of getting the runaround, america needs a turnaround and the man for the job is governor mitt romney. >

that does it for this edition, thomas roberts has a look next. >> hi, andrea, do you have any guessesy guest will be? >> i think it is clint eastwood. >> all right, that is a. >> one. >> all right, just hours away from what many are calling the most important speech of mitt romney's life. how will mitt romney introduce himself to voters? will he talk about his mormon faith. >> he says romney has made a dramatic about face to talk about his religion. >>> plus, from the gulf coast, crews have rescued more than 100 people trapped in their homes. that fit almost anywhere so you can take them everywhere. dentyne split to fit. practice safe breath. is now in our new starbucks refreshers™ -- a breakthrough in natural energy. made with real fruit, starbucks refreshers™ are delicious low calorie drinks you can feel good about. ♪ rethink how you re-energize. ♪ get a boost of natural energy with a new starbucks refreshers™, in three ways. natural energy from green coffee extract, only from starbucks.

thomas roberts subpoena next. >>> you know whose tweet i like the best?weeted that he's contacting his lawyers because clint eastwood stole his persona. i love that one. you have a great weekend. i'll see you monday. >> bye-bye. >> on the agenda next hour, game on mitt romney and paul ryan bask in the after glow after last night's convention as the official ticket gets back on the campaign trail. stop number one is to look presidential in the hurricane battered gulf. they're going to louisiana. governor bobby jindal inviting them there. who is the real mitt romney? does america have a better idea after the rnc? i'm going to have a chance to speak with the co-author of the book the real romney, ask him how the perceptions of this coninvestigation weico conventi convention. we're talking about that episode of clint eastwood and the empty chair. should the rnc producers have beamed in a hologram of ronald reagan. some speculated that might happen. i'll speak to ron reagan about that, ask him his thoughts as we monday morning quarterback the republican nation

thomas roberts is up next. >>> can mitt romney elk tra phi the electorate?his, our political powerhouse, and cindy mccain joining me for observations of the rnc. this convention billed at the most diverse for the republican side. did you hear about homeo com? i didn homocom jp i didn't think so. and serious note assessing, isaac battered states, nearly 1 million you without power. rescues continue in areas in the surge. we'll hear from all of our correspondents in the reach and melissa joins me in the next hour. stick around. ugh allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. who learned to fly. not with wings or jetpack. but with her new dell laptop and a little ingenuity too. ♪ her fast processor made for a smooth take off. ♪ she could soar clear across the sky on her hd screen...and beyond. [ female announcer ] inspiron 15r with intel core i3 processor from $499 on dell.com with free shipping. ♪ like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through

i'm thomas roberts here at world headquarters of msnbc in new york.back to tamron hall in a moment. plaquemines parish has been especially devastated by the storm sthaurnlg overtopped the levees there. the biggest distinction is that they were not fortified through federal funds. these are locally built through the. air rish money itself. billy nugggesser, this was him earlier today on the weather channel. >> the back levee has been overtopped so much that there's 12 foot of water against the mississippi river levee, but inside the levee system, areas that never had water from katrina are inundated with water. >> billy, any idea of why this happened? >> well, we had a mandatory evacuation because of the storm currently projections for that area were 9 to 12 feet with we had an eight-foot levee. that was a parish levee that wasn't in the federal system. the parish has been adding to that every year and we just needed three or four more years without a storm. obviously we didn't get that with the this event here today. >> we've been hearing about the do

i'm thomas roberts.he romney campaign confirming mitt romney's first stop after accepting his party's nomination will be to the hurricane-hit city of new orleans. he'll meet with louisiana governor bobby jindal and first responders. before mitt romney and paul ryan are flying high on what many are calling a very successful national convention week for the republicans. they kicked off with a victory rally in florida complete with newly unveiled campaign planes and the two promising to take their message across the country. >> coming out of tampa, we have given our fellow countrymen a very clear choice. >> i need to have you do the work on november 6th that gets me elected the next president of the united states. that has to happen here in florida. and for that to happen, you're going to have to go out and find a person or two who voted for barack obama. i know they're here. all right? they're not as visible as they used to be. you can see some of the glue on the back of their bumper sticker where it used

i'm thomas roberts at 30 rock in new york, and you've been watching mitt romney and paul ryan in a joint town hall addressing the crowds that have gathered there outside of church in manchester, new hampshire, which has just four electoral votes, but the campaigns are battling very hard to win that state. taking questions from voters, defending their plans. as you saw there, the last question talking about afghanistan. mitt romney talking in vague genralts about what it would mean under his presidency to go to war and also what it means to bring home our troops from afghanistan. there is a withdrawal plan under president obama for that, but also on the agenda today republicans playing damage control. topic that is didn't come up today right there, but two separate firestorms erupting within the gop. the gop ticket has spent the last 24 hours trying to distance itself and limit the fall-out from the controversial comments about rape and pregnancy made by missouri republican senate candidate todd akin. the president republican's best hope for the recap fewer of the senate. this is how he r