well, we're going to begin is this morning with target audience. a day after drilling down immigration issues in florida both campaigns will focus on their aging voters. at an aarp convention, brian mooar joins us with those details. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. today the message pivots from immigration to medicare from latinos to the aarp. the presidential campaigns are reaching out to older americans today, a day after the focus was on hispanic voters in the key battleground state of florida. at a candidate's forum on univision, president obama expressed frustration, he hasn't done more on a key issue for latinos. immigration reform. >> and the most important lesson i've learned is that you can't change washington from the inside. you can only change it from the outside. >> reporter: republican mitt romney pounced on that explanation. >> the president today threw in the white flag of surrender again, his slogan was yes, we can. his slogan is now no, i can't. this is time for a new president. >> reporter: his tone suddenly shifted. >> it's time to put the politics aside. >> reporter: that change follows a rough few weeks now showing in the latest nbc news "wallace giuliani"/marist poll now leading by eight points in iowa and five points in colorado and wisconsin. and wisconsin republican vp candidate paul ryan's home state is one of those battlegrounds republicans need to keep in play. >> brian, thanks. just seven weeks to go before election day and the romney campaign is stumbling. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty has resigned as romney co-chair to become one of wall street's top lobbyists in washington. the one-time republican presidential hopeful will become head of the financial services roundtable on november 1st. politico reports he will earn $1.8 million a year as a condition for his employment, pawlenty reportedly agreed not to run for office or accept any position in a potential romney administration. well, elsewhere every year nbc news hosts week-long meetings and discussions that include experts from around the country on ways to improve education in america. this year's education nation begins this sunday and nbc's danielle lee has a preview from washington. >> reporter: new york city's public library will soon host the nation's leaders in business, philanthropy and media. more than 300 people all brought together by nbc to seek solutions to the biggest issues facing america's education system. >> we just think at nbc that we can shine a spotlight on what's working and share results. >> reporter: for the summit's third year nbc spread out across the country from california to illinois to find stories of innovation in the classroom. >> it's good for a news division to stand for something and we think that education is a broad subject matter that doesn't get nearly enough attention by the traditional news media. >> reporter: nbc news journalists will highlight the programs that work. >> we are talking to teachers. >> reporter: moderate discussions on ways to expand them to other struggling community. >> as a country we want to be able to scale solutions but this is a start. >> reporter: with the election just weeks away this year's education nation has taken on an even bigger role. >> we'll have president obama and governor romney participant in education nation. >> reporter: fitting to attend this summit aimed at securing our nation's educational future. danielle leigh, nbc news. >> we are going to have continuing coverage of education nation all across the platforms of nbc news including msnbc. that's beginning this sunday and continuing all next week and you can take part by visiting educationnation.com. all right, here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a would-be robber in florida learned never bring a knife to a beer fight. convenience store workers stopped the suspect from stealing cash by hurling beer cans at him. they hit the robber with a few cold ones before he dropped the knife and cash on his way out of the store. police later arrested the man on robbery and battery charges. well, twisted metal is all that remains after an oregon school bus collided with a commercial truck. luckily a group of students had just left the bus. only seconds before the crash occurred. it took firefighters 20 minutes to remove the school bus driver before he was transported to a nearby hospital. and finally who says kids could care less about politics? at age 18 aziz is running to become the mayor of california's 15th largest city. good for you. he's been interested in politics since he's 8 and worked on political campaigns since he was 14. despite no previous elected experience, aziz says he knows how to fix all of frof fremont' problems. dylan drier has your weather channel forecast. >> try to go back to what i was doing at 18ment some we won't talk about on the broadcast. it wasn't running for anything. >> i definitely wasn't fixing a few problems, i mean not to mention all of the town's problems. so pretty impressive. good luck to him. we are going to see rain in spots across the region in the northeast, through the great lakes, just a few scattered showers. not heavy rain although we do have heavier rain moving into southern missouri, northern arkansas right now and florida, especially southern florida still dealing with more showers and storms, possibly producing pretty strong thunderstorms as we go through the entire day really, it's not just an afternoon type of event. here is that heavier rain, though, in southern missouri that is out ahead of a cold front and it is producing pockets of torrential downpours. we even had some severe thunderstorm warnings issued in that area not that long ago. leer is the heavy rain down across miami, though, through the florida key, as well. you'll get breaks but more heavy rain moves right back in as it's unsettled down across the southern portions and tip of florida. as for rainfall totals we are going to see about an inch or two of rain from those stronger storms in southern missouri and back into northern arkansas then they'll sort of just fizzle out as they move eastward. this front is not moving to the east that quickly. while we see a few showers in western kentucky and tennessee, not a whole lot of rain is expected. same for great lakes, eastern great lakes, erie ri, pennsylvania, up into buffalo, lighter rain as the cold front moves through. they could use rain out that way with drought still on the extreme side. but, unfortunately we're not going to see any rain. the west coast looks nice, too. fog along the immediate west coast, lynn? >> dylan, thanks so much. oracle swings and misses. big corporations dodging taxes. one thing about the iphone that is not fantastic. your first look at the morning's business headlines are straight ahead. two teams punch their ticket to the postseason, the giants dominating carolina and tiger goes head to head with rory. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. 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[ 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. here's some of the top stories making news this morning. hundreds of pakistani protestors fought with police in islamabad thursday. demonstrating against an anti-islamic film that they say denigrates the prophet muhammad. larger crowds are expected today. the american embassy in pakistan is running tv ads trying to reduce anti-american anger. in syria at least 54 people were killed when a jet fighter blew up a gas station during heavy fighting between government and rebel forces. in cleveland, ohio, 16 ammish men and women have been convicted of hate crimes for a series of haircutting and beard cutting attacks. a federal jury found the leader of a breakaway group and his followers guilty of last fall's attempt to shame other members of their community. "the new york post" reports brian kato kaelin, a key witness in o.j. simpson's trial, now says, quote, the statute of limitations has now passed so i can now say, yes, he did it, however, in another interview with tmz, kaelin denied the statute of limitations comment and says he only thinks simpson committed the killing of nicole and his friend ron goldman. in china a woman can be seen dangle from the balcony eight floors high. luckily because she had fallen from the tenth floor balcony. they got her to a rope and she was safely lowered down a ladder to the ground. now here's your first look at the dish of scrambled politics. in the senate democratic leader harry reid briefly called a halt to all votes saying they used stalling tactics so one senator could claim he had to remain on the floor giving him an excuse to pull out of a scheduled debate in his home state. that republican, scott brown, did in fact return to boston and went ahead with his face-off with elizabeth warren. a texas judge has blocked part of a voter purge to remove dead people from the election rolls after thousands got let r letters asking them to prove they are alive. the new comics issue has the costume superhero captain america being elected president of the united states. it was through a write-in vote. eddie vedder played at a fund-raiser for president obama yesterday. he complained to the crowd about mitt romney's 47% remarks saying, quote, it's very upsetting to hear a presidential candidate be so easily dismissive of such a ginormous amount of the population. dave matthews told cnn he wishes there were a third party competing in the electric. since there isn't he says, quote, i will wholeheartedly support obama even if i'm slightly heartbreaken about. unscientific poll is based on how many halloween masks each of the candidates have sold. well, so far republican mitt romney and his masks are trailing with 31% of the sales. president obama's mask has a big lead with 69% of the sales. this campaign predictor has been correct each of the last four elections. and that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. last flight on "the ed show" tammy baldwin talked about her closing a wide gap in her race and told ed that she feels all the ads that karl rove's super pac have run against her have backfire backfired. people who are hardworking and don't fight for the special interests and see karl rove or my opponent who stands for getting more power for the big money and special interests in washington. they have enough power already and enough representation. people want somebody who will fight for them and when they see karl rove come in and buy up nearly a million dollars of air time in wisconsin they're saying who is this guy for? they're seeing who i'm for so i think that's a lot to do with why we're seeing the poll numbers go the way they are. >> be sure to watch "the ed show" only on msnbc, the place for politics. now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day, the dow closed at 13,596 after adding 18 points yesterday. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq lost 6. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 23 points while in hong kong the hang seng climbed 144. well, a fresh batch of unwelcome data dragged the markets thursday. weak manufacturing and employment numbers served as sober news for investors on the heels of disappointing economic reports overseas. after the bell oracle traded lower on soft quarterly revenue. transportation stocks followed. north folk southern followed after its air of caution. on the first day of trade, online real estate site trulia soared 41% from its initial offering price of $17. walmart has pulled amazon's kindle off shelves as competition heats up between big box stores and the online retailer. a senate committee investigating the corporate tax code says microsoft and hewlett-packard used offshore units and tax loopholes to shield billions of dollars of profits. both companies say their strategies are legal. a new chemical analysis finds virtually all tar balls washing up in alabama since hurricane isaac are directly linked to the bp oil spill. the trustee paying claims from ber nad mod dove's $17 billion ponzi scheme says so far $2.5 billion has been returned to victims. apparently undeterred by widespread complaints about apple's new map app, customers snapped up the first iphone 5s overseas this morning. and finally at this year's mad science mecca, two japanese researchers received the 2012 ignoble prize for their speech jamming device which echos your voice back to you with a slight delay. i'm not sure why you'd need that but just in case. the giants crush the panthers. tiger ties for the lead. and two major league teams clinch playoff spots. plus, a grand slam blasts the yankees into a first game one place lead. your first look at sports is straight ahead. ive. nah. [ dennis' voice ] i bet he's got an allstate agent. they can save you up to 30% more by bundling your policies. well his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. are you in good hands? 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." in sports last night, the giants didn't let a few injuries keep them down. routing the carolina panthers. here's nbc's mario so least. we begin with the nfl. giants hit the field without three of their starters and didn't miss a beat. check out eli manning, very first drive of the game takes the giants 80 yards down the field and then hooks up with martellus bennett for the 14-yard touchdown. manning finishing with 288 yards and a touchdown on the night. also a big night for rookie running back andre brown rushing for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns. giants roll 36-7 over the panthers. now to baseball where the yankees had a chance to take a one-game lead in the a.l. east over the orioles who had the day off. let's go to the bronx. yanks hosting the blue jays, and ichiro stays hot after his seven-hit performance on wednesday. in the second he rips a solo shot off of aaron laffey to pull new york within a run of toronto. then in the fourth, nick swisher puts this game out of reach blasting a grand slam off of brad lincoln. his 21st homer of the season. yankees score 7 in the inning and win it, 10-7. they now lead baltimore by a full game in the east. in chicago the reds became the first team in baseball to clinch a playoff spot. rookie henry rodriguez breaks the game open in the seventh inning with his two-run double. the first two rbis of his career. reds beat the cubs, 5-3. in washington, the amazing turnaround story for the nationals continues. they also clinched a playoff spot beating the dodgers 4-1. so for the first time since fdr was president, there will be postseason baseball in our nation's capital. and in golf, first round of the tour championship in atlanta, everyone trying to beat rory mcilroy, and tiger woods is in a good position to do just that shooting a 4 under par 66 to tie for the lead on thursday. he'll start today's second round three shots ahead of mcilroy. and that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. >> now for another look at the weather, here's nbc's meteorologist dylan dreyer. looks like a good weekend go golfing. >> still plenty of rounds of golf for sure. looking at pretty quiet weather. it is going to start cooling off especially up into minnesota all across the western great lakes. temperatures tomorrow, 20 degrees below average, highs only in the 50s. boston back into minneapolis, orlando, 89 with off and on thunderstorms that could produce heavier downpours. we have thunderstorm activity down across southern missouri, northern arkansas, west coast is still sunny and dry but we do still have the potential of some fire danger weather where fires could spread quickly because of the dry air and also smoke lingering in the air because of previous wildfires that we've seen, as well. lynn? >> dylan, thanks so much. coming up, which singer was busted at the border with drugs and which new film will finish atop the weekend box office? plus, paris hilton is back in the news for some not so nice things she had to say about gay men. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. capella university understands rough economic times have led to an increase in clinical depression. drug and alcohol abuse is up. and those dealing with grief don't have access to the professional help they need. when you see these issues, do you want to walk away or step up? with a degree in the field of counseling or psychology from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. let's get started at capella.edu a short word that's a tall order. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again. progresso. your new light creamy potato with bacon & cheese soup says it's 100 calories a serving. that's right. in what world do potatoes, bacon and cheese add up to 100 calories? your world. my world. ♪ [ whispers ] real bacon... creamy cheese... [ whispers ] 100 calories... say it again... [ whispers ] 100 calories... ma'am, hello? ma'am [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. welcome back to "first look." time for entertainment news. there is at least one texas border crossing that musicians might want to try and avoid. singer fiona apple spent wednesday night in jail in the same border town that busted willie nelson and snoop dogg on drug charges. small amounts of hashish and marijuana were found on her bus. all right. paris hilton is in damage control after radar online released a 50-second clip of a recording reportedly made by a new york cab driver in which hilton calls gay men, quote, disgusting and further says, and we're quoting again here, most of them probably have aids. well, at the box office this weekend the horror film "house at the end of the street" should top a crowded but ho-hum field with roughly 18 million bucks. "trouble at the curb" with clint eastwood and amy adams should open with about $15 million. "dread 3d" based on the same english comic as 1995's sylvester stallone vehicle should debut with around 12 million. and, finally, "end of watch" with jake gyllenhaal as an l.a. cop should also open with about 12 million. why do i feel like jake gyllenhaal has about in about 50 of those movies? >> i hate to say it, but i don't know how many of them i've even seen. >> ooh. dylan goes for the dig early. jake gyllenhaal is online waiting for you. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. president obama and mitt romney trade attacks on the trail. there's new polling breaking down the race in three key battlegrounds but in a campaign swamped with sound bites, the question is whether either candidate is willing to tackle the big issues. bay state debate. scott brown and elizabeth warren tangle in their first face-to-face showdown. the question is will this race determine which party controls the senate come november? and the new york football giants roll into charlotte to take on the carolina