and we are going begin this morning with dazed and confused. the man accused in friday's murderous rampage at a colorado movie theater made his first courtroom appearance. all that happening on monday. leanne gregg joins us with the latest from aurora. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the theater where the mass murder took place remains closed while the investigation continues. it could be months before the trial begins. yesterday the public for the first time had a chance to look at the alleged killer face-to-face. the make shift memorial keeps growing across from the theater, a day after a brief hearing to read 24-year-old james holmes his rights. the accused mass murderer seemed dazed, never looking anyone in the face, as family members of some of the victims sat nearby. >> he does look like demonic or something like that. his eyes are just crazy. kind of crazy looking, you know? something wrong with that man. >> reporter: holmes, once a top neuroscience student, recently dropped out of grad school. police say he spent thousands of dollars on weapons and ammunitions, dressed up like a villain yas batman character and opened fire in this aurora, california, theater. ten were dead in the theater. two died later. among them, jessica ghawi. her friends called jessica's family from the theater. >> it was the most horrific screams i ever heard in my life. i thought somebody was in the house stabbing my wife in the heart. >> reporter: the victims range in age from 6 to 51. there are many stories of heroism. stephanie saved this girl's life. they made it out alive. >> we're laying there literally in the mouth of hell. and when i say literally, i mean literally from every aspect. >> i just remember opening my eyes. i'm on the ground, blood everywhere. and i just hear her. i say alley, get up. >> reporter: there's no word about motive. as holmes past is examined, we try learn what led to the killings and how this devastated community will recover. formal charges are expected monday. a decision on whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty will come later. from aurora, colorado, i'm leanne gregg. back you to, lynn. presidential conditioned dat candidates are back on the campaign trail. with more calls for gun laws, mitt romney will be in nevada today while president obama heads to oregon. jennifer johnson has that story from washington. >> reporter: a somber day on the campaign trail following the tragedy in colorado. at a veterans of foreign wars event in reno, president obama paid tribute to four veterans killed in aurora. >> we honor your loved ones. we salute their service. as you summon the strength to carry on and keep bright their legacy, we stand with you as one united american family. >> reporter: mitt romney who discussed the economy with business people in california couldn't avoid the issue of stricter gun control laws in an interview on cnbc. >> i believe the second amendment is the right course to preserve and defend and don't believe that new laws are going to make a difference in this type of tragedy. >> pause to mourn the dead and honor how they lived. >> reporter: a moment of silence was held in the senate to hohn yort sho -- to honor the victims and each of their names were read many members are asking for new rules that would stop individuals from buying massive quantities of ammunition and weapons as james holmes did. >> we have to do something about it. there's no reason in the united states of america the land of the free that people have to be afraid to go to the movies. >> reporter: historically, presidential conditioned dates ha -- candidates are reluctant to take on gun control as major issue. it appears that will hold true in this campaign. last night on "politics nation," oregon congressman talked about the failure to make changes in gun laws after a horrifying acts of violence. he old al sharpton in his fevie the u.s. has stopped trying. >> we had a series of these that have gone on year after year. the point is we don't do anything to make it harder. we had legislation in the aftermath of events in the past that president kennedy's assassination. we had assault weapon ban. basically over the course of the last 20 years, we have given up. >> al sharpton and "politics nation" is week days at 6:00 p.m. sally wry who blazed a trail as the first american woman to fly to space died in her home yesterday after a battle with cancer. she was a physicist and accepted into the space program in 1978 after answering an ad for astronauts. in 1983 at the age of 32, she became the youngest american to n. space during her first mission aboard the space shuttle "challenger." ride flew a second challenger mission the following year and later made it her mission to inspire young people, especially girls, to do well in math and science. sally ride was 61 years old. and now here's your "first look" at the other stories making news in america. in new jersey, there was drama at a car wash after an elderly woman apparently hit the gas instead of the brakes and then lost control of her car. she drove right into the river. car wash workers rushed to help. they jumped in the water, pulled the woman out through wand yoe because the water pressure blocked the doors from being opened. the victim is calling the car wash attendants heroes. i can see why. in utah, police were stunned by this accident. they say a 16-year-old girl crashed her mom's car and plunged down an embankment slamming into the patio of an office building at a 45-degree angle. the girl at the wheel walked away with a sprained ankle only. in southern california, a big surprise for a group of friends pishing in pat civic ocean. can you imagine seeing that? an orca swam up, just hanging out. the whale could be seen from both above and below the surface and then even tried following the boat when it left. pretty cool. finally in northern california, this is also cool. there is amazing and beautiful images coming out from lightning storms in the sacramento areament fire officials reported more than 2,000 lightning strikes. some of which caused small number of fires out there. pretty interesting images. for a look at your national weather, we turn to bill karins. he has more of that crazy weather out there that's been going on all over the place. >> i've never done that. i want to take a photography course to learn how to take the photos. >> second career? >> i don't know about that. maybe a minor hobby. >> yes. >> good morning, everyone. more thunderstorms and lightning strikes are coming down through new england right now. we've had the storms rolling down through the district near albany. they roll right along the mass pike. now they're trying to push down across interstate 95 and out on to cape cod. if you're in boston right now, in you can stay inside, wait another 20 minutes. this heavy bout of rain will be overwith. the heaviest is rolling through providence as i speak. it will krcross towards new por. it is moving along. give it a half hour, 45 minutes and this will be completely gone and out of new england. the other areas of concern for thunderstorms today, pretty good complex just flying through southern wisconsin right now. went through lacrosse. now heading through madison. going through jamesville. this has the sights on chicago as we go throughout the morning rush hour. i'd say -- i'd time it out if it holds together right around 6:30 eastern time, 5:30 local time in chicago. and milwaukee is getting thunderstorms developing rightover head. finally, the worst weather out there this morning for the early morning commute around minneapolis to st. cloud. numerous thunderstorms, heavy downpours. beneficial rain. it's going to be probably a miserable morning drive there. later today, this whole area of yellow has a chance of severe thunderstorms today. a very wide area of the country all the way from minneapolis, chicago, right down into washington, d.c., down to norfolk and richmond, lynn. an active day with a lot of thunderstorms. some of the areas could use the beneficial rain. >> absolutely. all right. bill, thanks so much. oil slides, apple's on deck, and the age-old debate, which wardrobe traces are just in appropriate for the workplace. two new york teams, two huge trades and the naacp comes down hard on penn state. your watching "first look" on msnbc. 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[ male announcer ] the citi thankyou visa card. redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. rewarding you, every step of the way. . welcome back to "first look." here's the top stories making news this morning. the government of syrian president al assad says they can use chemical weapons in result. president obama said he would make a tragic mistakes using chemical weapons. nine militants were killed in drone missile attacks. the missile strikes were on a compound in the northwest tribal region near the afghan border. navy investigators say a civilian labor set the fire that caused $400 million in damage to a nuclear power submarine this spring. officials say the worker set the fire because he had anxiety and he wanted to get out of work early. and as a rule, no one kisses england's queen elizabeth. a couple did just that yesterday. but it turned out that because it was the king and queen of greece who are related to prince philip, they are allowed to kiss the queen. crisis averted. here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. former arizona congresswoman gabrielle give fords traveled to the french alps yesterday with her husband, mark kelly. it was her first trip outside the u.s. since she was shot. in a statement former alaska governor sarah palin endorsed arizona republican congressman jeff flake who is running for the senate. the democrat in the race said the endorsement shows that flake "is hitting the panic button." republican presidential conditioned date ron paul told fox business news he has not made a decision yet about endorsing mitt romney. paul has not yet been given a speaking spot at the upcoming republican convention in tampa. "the new york times" reports republican senator orrin hatch of utah wants to work out a one sided deal on taxes. experts say hatch's plan would extend tax cuts for millions of rich families while allowing tax breaks to expire for the 13 million on the bottom of the income spectrum. the hill says republican senator tom coburn of oklahoma is being criticized by anti-tax advocate grover norquist. coburn was blasted for donating $250,000 to joe mansion of west virginia. democratic congressman emanuel cleaver of missouri sent a letter to colleagues dissing the tween vampire series "twilight." everyone knows that real vampires and real ware wolves don't date the same girl and expresses concern that millions of young kids will think that "twilight movies are as accurate as dracula." 22-year-old mindy meyer was inspired about it movie "legally blonde" when she designed a bright prifrpg website for her campaign for state senate in new york. meyer, a republican conservative calls herself the diva of the district. her slogan is "i'm senator and i snow it." and that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. . and just a quick correction. it was actually a $250 donation, not a $250,000 donation. now here is your first look at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,721 after falling 101 points yesterday. the s&p 500 sank 12. nasdaq tumbled 35. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, ne the nikkei was dow points and in hong kong they sank 50. spain's borrowing costs soared. safety seekers pushed bond yields to lows. more bad news came after the bell. the global selloff hit commodities. oil prices slipped 4%. global woes are also taking a toll on mcdonald's. they posted lower than expected profit and fell short of most expectations for the net income and revenue. elsewhere, texas instruments slid in late trade after disappointing report. keep an "oon apple today. it delivers earnings after the bell. cisco is cutting back with plans to lay off 1300 employees or 2% of the workforce. pete's coffee and tea shot up 28% after striking a deal to be acquired by a german company for $1 billion. toys made by jim hensen's company is not popping up in kid's meals anymore. they severed ties with the fast food chain after the ceo's recent remarks against same-sex marriage saying the company favored the biblical definition of the family unit. it's that time of year again. what not to wear to work in the summer. so the usual owe fenlders top the list, that includes strapless tops and flip-flops. these are, of course, workplace no-nos. and 65% surveyed say leave your hoodies at home as well. coming up, the nats take it to extras. the phillies rally late. hockey's ranger deal for an all star. plus, a surprise trade puts a japanese icon in pinstripes. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. wç ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. . welcome back to "first look." in sports, the ncaa sanctions handed down yesterday against penn state for the football's program's recent child sex abuse scandal. may not include the death penalty but there is little doubt that nittany lion football will never be the same. here is mario solis. good morning. a day after penn state took down the joe paterno statue, the ncaa dropped the hammer on the school's football program. hitting the once proud university with a record $60 million fine, a four-year bowl ban and loss of 20 football scholarships each sen fason fore next four years. they will vacate all the wins from 2011 dropping coach paterno from first on the all-time wins list to number 12. this will cripple penn state football for the next decade. rangers pulled off a huge trade sending three players and a first round pick to the blue jackets for rick nash. he had 30 goals last season in columbus. yankees got this guy, suzuki. he didn't have to go for to join the new team. he just walked across the field to the visitor's dugout. ichiro is having a down year. he did single in the first at bat. he can still do this -- his 16th stolen base of the season. alex rodriguez is also a former mariner launching a solo shot in the eighth. yankees get wayne. braves are wheeling and dealing according to reports. they're close to acquiring ryan dempster. they could have used him last night. the first homer of the year. miami wins this one 2-1. phillies rally from two runs down to beat the brewers. wiggington completing a comeback with the always exciting sac fly. the throw to the plate not even close. phillies walk off with a 7-6 win. mets and nats, tied at two. washington bats come alive. brice harper, third rbi of the game giving the nationals the lead. michael morris caps off a huge inning with a shot to deep center. nats score a half dozen in the tenth and win this one 8-2. and that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. now for another look at the weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has that weather channel forecast once again. >> good morning. a hot day after the storms. we're watching the storms exiting eastern mass. the low 90s in much of new england. d.c., thunderstorms for you late tonight. numerous thunderstorms this morning from minneapolis all the way down to chicago. eventually indiana and into kentucky. phoenix, a chance of more storms today. yesterday, they actually had a dust storm warning that rolled through. look at this video! this is a haboob. it was a pretty classic dust storm. visibility was down. a lot of cleanup today. >> we try to use those pictures whenever we can so we can throw that word in. thanks so much. coming up, the numbers are in for "dark knight rises." plus, we're going to tell you the diva "american idol" found to replace the outgoing one. your first look at entertainment straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbaa.lt dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. . welcome back to "first look." "the dark knight rises" earned a spot among the all time blockbusters. the film earned a mammoth $160 million at its opening weekend. that is the third best debut of all time and the best ever for a 2-d movie. it made $30 million at midnight screenings. the movie's business suddenly fell off 41% saturday. of course, can you presume that was an effect of the shooting. but this is some really great news. warner brothers announced it's going to make a donation to charities supporting victims of the aurora shootings. that's really wonderful. finally, mariah carey will be joining "american idol" as a judge next season. >> i predicted this. >> you're going to take credit for that, really? filling that diva slot of jennifer lopez. she is making the same salary that lopez started with, $12 million a year. >> a little low. >> you're quoting her husband? >> her husband said she needed the brink truck to back up and unload. >> she does need -- she is a little high maintenance. a little bit. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. what? i can't believe you just said that. willie geist is next. . the ncaa guts the fabled penn state football program as punishment for the university's handling of the jerry sandusky rape scandal. the question is, should they be playing football at all in happy valley? we'll talk live with a man with an opinion on that. the man that caused the nightmare in a movie thit area paerd in court. what else do we know about this guy and how we put together his massacre. and after a brief moratorium on politics out of respect for the victims in a ro yurora, the presidential campaign is back in full swing with president obama's adding a new