off. a very special edition of jonathan capehart sports coming up. but first, let's get to the news live here at 5:30 a.m. here in washington, d.c. with 81 days to go until the election, the race for the white house has hit a staggering milestone. spending on campaign advertising has now crossed the half billion dollar mark. that's about the same amount halves spent on the entire 2008 general election according to an analysis. spending from outside groups account for almost half that money. however, 86% of all outside money goes to boosting the romney campaign. that's $205 million compared to just $33 million for pro obama groups. the romney/ryan ticket is going on the offensive in an effort to win the debate over medicare. this weekend the campaign is sending vp nominee paul ryan along with his mom who he calls a medicare senior to a retirement community in florida. he'll be speaking at the villages, the same development group that hosted mitt romney and other republican candidates during the primaries. mitt romney yesterday in south carolina went to the drawing board to try and keep the focus on medicare. >> this is a nice spot. i know there's an effort by some people to try and bring as much confusion it to the optic of medicare as possible. but i want to bring as much clarity as possible. so i prepared a small chart here which will describe differences in our respective plans for medicare. my plan presents no change. the plan stays the same. no adjustments, no changes, no savings. the president's plan cuts medicare -- well, there we go -- by $716 billion. >> but as mitt romney fielded questions from reporters, the issue of the candidate's personal taxes once again became the focal point centered around senator harry reid's recent claim that the former massachusetts governor may not have paid taxes for a decade. >> i just have to say given the challenges that america faces, 23 million people out of work, iran about to become nuclear, one out of six americans in poverty, the fascination with taxes i paid i find to be very small minded compared to the broad issues that we face. but i did go back and look at my taxes andoff the past ten year, i never paid less than 13%. i think the most recent year is 13.6 or something like that. so i've paid taxes every single year. harry reid's charge is totally false. i'm sure waiting for harry to put up who it was that told him what he says they told him. i don't believe it for a minute, by the way, but every year i've paid at least 13%. and if you add in addition the amount that goes to charity, the amount gets well above 20%. >> the obama campaign respond by saying in part there is substantial reason to doubt his claims, we have a simple message for him. prove it. on the electoral map, wisconsin, a state obama won by 13 points in 2008, is looking more like a toss up this election. a new cnn poll shows congressman paul ryan in his home state has helped romney close the gap. obama now leads romney by four points in the badger state. a republican has not won wisconsin in a presidential race since ronald reagan in 1984. the cause of a deadly blackhawk helicopter crash in afghanistan is still under investigation, but officials acknowledge it was probably wrought down by enemy fire. several americans including two navy s.e.a.l.s were among the 11 killed in the crash. u.s. officials say it happened during an intense battle with the taliban. the blackhawk had just dropped off reinforcements for ground troops and it appears it was struck by enemy fire. 236 americans have died in afghanistan this year. insurgent violence in iraq has left 55 people dead across the country in a single day. eight months after the departure of american troops, insurgents are targeting everywhere from crowded markets to milt takitar checkpoints. more than 150 people have been killed inside is tsince the beg august. the head of the united nations peace keeping force says syrians have, quote, chosen a path of war. syria has descended into all out civil war between rebels and pro government forces spanning from it small towns to the nation's largest city of allepo. u.n. officials will meet today to discuss if any hope fordy will he mady low maes can be saved. facebook stock has tumbled to a new low as its early investors were allowed to sell hair stock for the first time thursday. insiders were prohibitrd selling their sock until yesterday and many opted to cash out. facebook stock closed down 6% at just $19 or about half its ipo price in may. mark zuckerberg lost about $600 million in personal wealth on the day's trades, down to, poor thing, $10.2 billion. he reportedly concede that had it may be pain pl to watch the stock at times. for more on this and other business headlines, we turn to cnbc carolyn shober who is live in germany. why are investors jumping ship? >> good morning. certainly investors not liking facebook shares too much. the lockout for employees has yet expired. so yesterday we saw share price of facebook falling quite heavily. and i should point out that since the ipo, shares have fallen some 50%. yes, you heard me right. and we also saw very heavy trading volume in facebook shares yesterday. more than four times the daily average. and that 50% share price drop, yes, that has got to hurt and in connection with that, the "wall street journal's" running an interesting piece saying zuckerberg now acknowledging this to his employees for the very first time and he's trying to boost morale among his employees, saying the investments we've made, they will bear fruit very soon. and the markets will come to appreciate that. very quickly just before i wrap things up, let's take a look at how u.s. stock markets are set to open on this beautiful friday morning. we're expecting a mixed start to the trading day. the dow jones just slightly hire while the s&p 500 which did close at a four month high yesterday is marginally lower. cisco one of the best performers yesterday after this company raised its dividend. jonathan, back over to you. >> carolyn, thanks. still ahead, firefighters struggle to contain the flames raging across a huge portion of the western u.s. we'll have a report on where the fires are hitting the hardest and check on weather. plus the dodgers matt kemp is none it too pleased by his ejection last night. we'll show you what set the slugger off when "way too early" comes right back. seattle is known for its wet weather, but given this summer's stifling heat and bone dry condition, even the pacific northwest isn't immune to the fallout from the soaring temperatures. just 75 miles from the coast, a dangerous wildfire is raging. and as kristen dahlgren reports, it's just one of many in the west that's burning out of control. >> reporter: this was terry and virginia's home. >> that was our kitchen and this is our living room. >> reporter: forced to evacuate on their wedding anniversary, by the time they got back, their marriage was one of the few things they had left. is it daunting to think about starting over? >> well, we didn't have insurance. so that was not a good they think. >> reporter: down the road, their neighbor, mary, is sifting through her broken memories. >> there's mom's and those are grandma's bowls. >> reporter: her house was saved in the nick of time and somehow the horses she was forced to leave behind in the rush to evacuate survived. >> my pony was right here and you can see the fire just a it te into his pen. >> reporter: there are miracles here. this house surrounded pby flame tuesday, still standing about but 70 homeowners were not as lucky. in idaho, the battle is just as desperate. >> we have 18 fires. we lost a firefighter up in northern idaho this last week. and so every one of those become very personal. >> reporter: it's throw home in california, too. marine choppers joined the fight. for now, it's working and firefighters expect to have this blaze fully contained by saturday. but that is just one success in a season turning into a worst case scenario across the west. >> that was nbc's kristen dahlgren reporting. for more on the fires and a check on your weather, let's bring in bill karins. how are you doing, bill? >> morning, jonathan. ugly pictures out there in the west with those fires. no rain in sight. this is a very try period for the west. we don't typically get into the wetter season up november. and with an he wiel nino winter predicted, that usually brings wetter weather. it was 105 in portland. so you know it's hot in the west. and that's where the impressive heat went. it was in the middle of the country all summer, and now it's shifted out west. it's opened the door in the middle of the country for some unusually cool air. we're really talking temperatures that you typically see maybe september, but now we're getting it it in the middle of august. no complaints. this area has dealt with heat all summer long. but today in chicago, minneapolis, kansas city, just a day to open up the windows and spend your lunch outside with highs in the 70s. that's it. and this morning we're in the 40s in some cases. the east coast, we have to wait until the tail end of the weekend for that cooler air to arrive. a very hot day on the east coast, late afternoon thunderstorms likely in many areas especially the deep south. and as we go you through your weekend forecast, saturday we'll watch the wet weather getting the east coast. but that front stalls out there texas through areas of georgia and the carolinas. you will deal with typical afternoon storms. as we look at sunday, almost everyone is cooler. 80s from denver all the way through the midwest and maybe only the 70s in some spots. and even in d.c., an unbelievably shot shot summer, enjoy a nice weekend, too. >> bill, i appreciate that. thank you. >> good news for once. >> for once. all right, everybody. buckle up. to sports thousannow. the dodgers were this pittsburgh. second inning, the umpire gets fed up with the chatter there the dodgers bench and ejects matt kemp from the game for argue balls and strikes. don mattingly comes out to argue the rejection and he'll get an early exit, as well. kemp had to be held back by his teammates from making contact with the umpire. they did eventually get him off the field and continue the game. fifth inning, game tied at four, jones crushes a three run homer to put the pirates on top. they go on to win 10-6. pirates now a game up for the second wild card spot. the dodgers are just a half game up in the nl west. yankees looking for the sweep against the rangers. sixth inning, andrew jones hits a two run bomb into the second deck to tie the game at four. game tied at five in the sechbtd, bases loaded with two outs for gentry and he comes through with a single to score two runs and give the rangers the lead. they avoid the sweep and beat yankees 10-6. we move from the big leagues to the little league world series where the cruel timing of puberty can make for an extreme size differential among the 12-year-old and 13-year-old players. the size difference was particularly noticeable when japan's who stands 6 feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds plunged him this the helmet with the major league equivalent of 599-mile-an-hour fastball. amazingly he would spring right back up after getting hit and in a display of sportsmanship, he offered his apologies for the errant pitch. unbelievable. to football now where we're pleased to report it's not all mug shots and million dollar holdouts. upon learning his high school alma mater was charging participation fees for sports due to budget cuts, steelers linebacker lamarr woodley decided to cover the participation costs for the entire school district. woodley donated $60,000 so that every student-athlete in michigan's saginaw public school district could play sports for free. fees for high school athletes totaled $75 the previous year and coaches reported they saw participation rates drop as a result. woodley's generosity will make sure roughly 800 students can play sports for free. now the university of maryland set the standard for bizarre uniforms when they trotted out some schizophrenic uniformses for their first game of the 2011 season. but surprisingly tradition rich notre dame is giving the terps a run for their money with the reveal of these new so-called shamrock series uniforms. what is that? the new look feature as helmet that would make harvey two faced dent proud and helpry cmake you nightmares. you're probably not smile building this. that's -- that's ugly. sorry. coming up on "morning joe," mitt romney tries to quiet critics by offering new details about his tax returns. but will it be enough to put the issue to rest once and for all. and when we come back here, we'll huddle around the water cooler to watch vp candidate paul ryan take a shot at the guy whose job he's trying to take. week's ed ed b ed bed by bideni "way too early" comes back. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: upbeat ] [ dog ] we found it together. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you. 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. this election is all about policy. whether the economy, immigrat n immigration, women's rights. do we want the failed ideas of the last four years or the mystery prize inside the handsome box? now, folks, what will it be? >> we told you at the top of the show that mitt romney said yesterday that he has paid at least 13% in income taxes for the past ten years. romney's tax history has been highly scrutinized with harry reid even suggesting that mitt romney might not have paid any taxes at all. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends that according to the congressional budget office, americans paid an average tax rate of 17.4% in 2009. that figure represents the lowest average rate paid since 1979 and a drop of more than 2% from the 19.9% paid by americans in 2007. enough of the real news. let's gather around the water cooler to watch what's been an interesting week for joe biden. the vice president proved we never quite know what he's going to say. first there was his warning that republican policies would put voters, quote, back in chains. and on wednesday, his message about manufacturing drifted back to the 1900s. >> folks, we cannot lead the word in making automobiles. >> just a day earlier, vice president biden made an impassioned speech in virginia, only you wouldn't have known it from listening to his closing remarks. >> with you, we can win north carolina again and if we do, we win the election if we win you. >> that little mixup drew a response from the republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan yesterday in ohio. >> it is great to be here in north canton, or as joe biden might say, it's great to be here in nevada. >> and speaking of paul ryan, last night stephen colbert turned to "people" magazine for new insight on the congressman's relationship with mitt romney. a reporter for the magazine was on board the campaign bus for their first appearances together and offered some tantalizing details. >> not that day was all smooth sailing. as romney's son matt explained, at first everyone was pretty stiff and quiet, but they became fast friends. at which point everyone was pretty stiff and talkative. now, these men quickly bonded over their mutual interests as ann romney explained, they're able to communicate on this very intellectual policy-wonk level. no surprise, these two really like policy. mitt even added, i like policy. and when asked what books he reads, ryan said i read policy. clearly they're perfect for each other. right now they're sharing their deepest inner most policies with one another and if we wlaekt th elect them, they may share those policies with us. still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? you're already checked out for the weekend tweets, texts and e-mails are next and "morning joe" just moments away. sweetie, you have to scrub it first. no you don't, honey. yes, you do! don't! i've washed a few cupcake tins in my day... oh, so you're a tin expert now. is that... whoa nelly! hi, kitchen counselor here. he's actually right... with cascade complete. see cascade complete pacs work like thousands of micro-scrubbing brushes to help power away tough foods even in corners and edges. so, i was right, right? i've gotta run. more households use cascade dishwashing detergent than any other brand. check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. they're this season's must-have accessory. it's time to live... wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system from beautyrest... it's you, fully charged. receive up to a $300 beautyrest visa prepaid card when you buy select beautyrest mattress sets. ♪ intel bong i've still got hou orsf battery life. it's an ultrabook. i'm good. with an ultrabook, everything else seems old fashioned. introducing the ultra sleek, ultra long-lasting ultrabook. a whole new class of computers powered by intel. trouble with a car insurance claim. [ voice of dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ normal voice ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. are you in good hands? at the top of the show, we asked you why are and you wake. john. >> from twitter, at work trying to sleep. you aren't boring enough for me to call it a night. >> wow, thanks for the comp p complime compliment. >> and up early watching jonathan capehart offer passionate advice during the sports segment. >> fashion permeates everything and besides, those helmet, given me a break. anything else? yeah, look at that. >>