brian. another month, another new jobs report, and again, the numbers are a big disappointment. 13 million americans need jobs but in june the economy added just 80,000 of them. and the unemployment rate remains stuck at 8.2%. the two presidential candidates as you might expect have two very different views of those numbers and the question tonight, what now? what will it take to get some forward momentum? we're covering the jobs story from several angles. tonight we begin with nbc's tom costello just outside washington, d.c. tom, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, kate. economists generally agree that 8.2% number is deceiving because when you factor in all the people who have given up looking for jobs or those people who have taken part-time jobs just to make ends meet, the real unemployment rate is probably well into double digits. the numbers this morning hit wall street and main street with a thud. >> the weakest job adding quarter in two years. >> reporter: while employers did add 80,000 jobs in june, it was the third straight month of weak hiring and dramatically lower than the 226,000 new jobs the economy was adding monthly during the first quarter. unemployment is highest among african-americans at 14.4%. on the campaign trail, president obama conceded the numbers aren't good. >> we've got to grow the economy even faster. we've got to put even more people back to work. >> reporter: republican candidate mitt romney said mr. obama must shoulder the blame. >> we have seen the jobs report this morning and it is another kick in the gut to middle class families. >> reporter: in salem, oregon, 55-year-old rachel norris, a medical secretary for 21 years, is now living off her retirement savings. she has been looking for work for three years after being laid off, applying for 750 jobs with no offers. >> my biggest fear is i'll end up living on the street and that's never happened to me before. i went to college. i stayed married for 24 years. i'm honest. i have good references. it's very frightening. >> reporter: she's got an uphill struggle. statistics show the longer you're out of work and the older you are the harder it is to find work. across the country retailers, transportation, and the government cut jobs last month. who is hiring? professional and business services added 47,000 jobs in june, many just temporary. health care hired 13,000 people. manufacturing added 11,000 jobs. construction added only 2,000 jobs. on average, it takes nine months to find a job. >> many people are unemployed for long periods of time. their skills and networking not as up to par as it should be. i think that is a huge challenge for the unemployed. >> reporter: on wall street today a selloff. the dow losing 124 points. to put this number into some sense of context here, in order for us to get the unemployment rate down to 6%, economists say the economy would have to grow and add 360,000 jobs every month for the next three years. the hints of good news in the economy, we have low gas prices, a slight improvement in the housing market, that's hopefully a sign of some recovery. kate, back to you. >> tom costello, thanks for that report. let's get the story behind those numbers from cnbc's steve liesman and our chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd. steve, i'll begin with you. the question probably most of our viewers have why on earth is it taking so long for jobs to come back? >> reporter: let me tell you first where economists agree, they agree that the financial shock from the financial recession or crisis is one that will linger for many years. consumers are still shedding debt. the housing market has still not come back in a meaningful way. typically housing leads us out of recession. there is more debate on the issue of president obama's regulatory policies, the health care debate, fiscal deficits, things holding businesses back from hiring. that's really both in the political sphere and in the economic sphere. >> speaking of the political sphere, chuck, we know no president since fdr has won re-election with unemployment higher than 7.2%. there has to be some nervousness in the obama campaign. >> reporter: they've always believed their opponent is not mitt romney. their opponent is this economy. and this is stagnation is something that they think they know how to muddle through and win an election like this but it's certainly not the way they prefer. they did expect to see the economy growing a little bit more and you could just see in the president's body language today when he made his remarks about the job numbers, it took him 20 minutes to get there because he has to explain the depths of the recession to convince voters why we haven't recovered yet but recovery could still come. >> steve, you heard tom costello say there are some positives. should we be optimistic? >> there are a few reasons for optimism. tom ticked a couple off. gas prices are down. high gas prices may have been something that really slowed down hiring in the spring and now into the summer here. housing has kicked up off the bottom. we have some rising house prices. wages were also up pretty decently in this report. those who are working are making a little more and they are working a little bit longer in terms of the work week lengthening out. the big question being does europe get its act together? we've also been hurt a bit, kate, by the slowing global economy. that's a question that we really can't solve from here. >> something to keep an eye on. chuck, is this the issue from here on out until november? >> well, it is. certainly the mitt romney campaign believes it is the issue and it believes that the stagnating economy is why romney will end up in the white house. we'll see. but it was a reminder today. you know, for the last week, kate, what have we been talking about in politics? anything but the economy. been talking about health care, all of these things. but these numbers are a reminder that front and center what voters care about is this economy. it's what the romney campaign thinks is their ticket to the white house. >> chuck todd,teve liesman, thanks so much for the perspective tonight. the jobs report sent stocks down today. the dow fell nearly 125 points. nasdaq down 39. the s&p down almost 13. the record-setting heat is the other big story tonight. moving east now but not before baking the midwest again today. and we're learning now just how deadly the heat has been. nbc's john yang joins us again tonight from chicago where the temperature hit 100 for the third day in a row. john? >> reporter: good evening, kate. this record, this heat wave is not only setting records. it has turned deadly. here in chicago six confirmed heat related deaths across the nation a total of 43 deaths in nine states blamed on the heat. >> free water. free water. >> reporter: on chicago's south side volunteers handed out bottles of water -- simple tools to combat the life-threatening heat. >> like getting a bottle of gold. >> reporter: as temperatures hit record highs from alabama to michigan the number of heat-related deaths rose, too, especially among the sick and elderly. there have been at least nine deaths in maryland where carlton davis hasn't had electricity since powerful storms seven days ago. at night it only drops to the 80s but he keeps his windows shut for security. >> oxygen wasn't getting to my brain. i'm okay now. >> reporter: in the hot zone emergency room visits are on the rise. >> the added stress causes swelling, weakness, a lot of stress on the heart and lungs. >> reporter: to prevent problems, cities have extended hours for swimming pools and opened cooling centers for senior citizens. >> by today if you haven't had air conditioning your body temperature could be 103, 104, and that's when the organs start to shut down. >> reporter: home meal delivery drivers find themselves providing an additional life line. >> i'm going to make sure they're hydrated, make sure they're eating so they can keep their strength and make sure their houses are livable conditions in this weather. >> reporter: forecasting changes in the air this weekend as the hot air mass parked over the midwest moves east. >> that is going to mean some relief for those in chicago and st. louis but along the east coast it's actually only going to get worse as we head into the weekend. >> reporter: but without soaking rain there is not much relief for the nation's farmers. the government says 56% of the country is in drought. >> no change in weather but -- >> reporter: orion daniels host of the syndicated national farm report. >> we had a good start to the crop and then in a matter of three weeks this crop has just gone south. >> reporter: that'll affect not just the price of corn but the price of things like beef and soft drinks an effect we're likely to feel long after the summer is over. kate? >> john yang out in the heat again tonight for us. thank you, john. overseas now to the latest crack in the syrian regime. and new pressure from the u.s. on those still supporting syria's president assad. secretary of state hillary clinton is strongly urging them to be on the right side of history. more now from nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> reporter: the secretary of state in paris today with a show of support for the syrian opposition and at a meeting of 100 nations hoping to end the killing a very public message for two who were not there. >> i ask you to reach out to russia and china and to not only urge but demand that they get off the sidelines and begin to support the legitimate aspirations of the syrian people. >> reporter: russia is syria's life line. china follows russia's lead. they have resisted international pressure to force syrian leader assad from power. >> they are holding up progress, blockading it, that is no longer tolerable. >> reporter: the u.s. wants tougher sanctions and is already providing intelligence and nonlethal aid to the opposition but does not want a military role. clinton pointed to today's news of the defection of a top syrian general once close to assad. the highest level defection yet as a warning to those still propping up the regime that it is beginning to crack. >> those who have the closest knowledge of assad's actions and crimes are moving away. >> reporter: with an estimated 14,000 dead already the syrian opposition can't wait much longer. >> we know that the assad regime will fall. the question is, how many more people have to die before that happens? >> reporter: with no sign, no indication at all that russia is going to abandon assad any time soon the defection of that general who was a childhood friend of the syrian leader and the son of a former defense minister could be the most promising sign yet that assad's hold on power may be crumbling. kate? >> andrea mitchell in washington. thanks so much. chief foreign correspondent richard engel is just out of syria on his way home now after spending the past week getting a first-hand look inside that country. he joins us tonight from istanbul. richard, what did you see on the ground in syria and how is it different this time from the last time you were there? >> reporter: it was radically different. i was shocked. we went in with the syrian opposition. the last time i did that there were syrian troops everywhere. the opposition was operating in hiding, moving from house to house. this time the opposition has created real safe havens, big areas where they are in open control. we were going around on motorcycles with the opposition, talking to people, living in people's houses, and hardly saw any syrian troops for hundreds of miles. the syrian government forces simply do not control large parts of the country side now and have pulled back to major cities. it appears that because the opposition was so spread out in village after village the assad forces decided to consolidate and focus on the big cities. they don't have enough weapons. they don't have the fire power to drive out the government forces but they did have enough numbers and enough fire power to push the government forces into a few pockets. i found a very different country and a much stronger opposition. >> richard engel just back from syria in istanbul tonight. a program note, you can see richard's reporting from "inside syria" all next week here on "nightly news" and on "rock center" next thursday night. still ahead for us on a friday night, how old were you when you picked a career? one state is making kids plan ahead, way ahead. are they on to something? and later, some say what these women have just done is even more difficult than the tour de france. they say they're doing it to make a difference. hey. hey eddie. i brought your stuff. you don't have to do this. yes i do. i want you to keep this. it'd be weird. take care. you too. [ sighs ] so how did it go? he's upset. 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[ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. real big deals of the week. or how to get great prices on things you need. we know you look around for the best deals. that's why we give you real big club card deals each week. right now, fresh-picked peaches are just 77 cents a pound. get a super low price on tide. $10.99 for 100 ounces. yoplait yogurt is just 50 cents. real big deals this week and every week. only at safeway. ingredients for life. george zimmerman, charged with killing teenager trayvon martin, is out of jail in florida tonight one day after a judge set a bond of $1 million. there are strict conditions. zimmerman must stay in the county and be electronically monitored. he can't open a bank account, get a passport, or set foot on the grounds of the local airport. and he has a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew. in london andy murray becomes the first brit to reach the men's tennis finals at wimbledon in 74 years. he will face roger federer in sunday's match. today is former president george w. bush's 66th birthday and during a trip this week to africa, at a home for children in need, he got a pretty special birthday gift. the kids serenaded him. ♪ happy birthday to you >> the bushes were in africa to promote work regarding breast and cervical cancer and are on their way home tonight. this is also nancy reagan's 91st birthday and yesterday she attended her first public event since a fall in may when she broke several ribs. she helped inaugurate a new exhibit from the walt disney archives at the reagan library. as you can see, mickey and minnie mouse showed up for the occasion. we're told they did their own rendition of "happy birthday." up next, four women on a remarkable road trip making a difference. markable road trip m difference. out with my friends. i have a great fit with my dentures. i love kiwis. i've always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. super poligrip free -- it creates a seal of the dentures in my mouth. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. super poligrip free made the kiwi an enjoyable experience. 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[ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil®. and if pain keeps you up, sleep better with advil pm®. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. finally tonight, it is summer. it's the season of road trips and wait till you see the one four women have just taken. it was grueling, thrilling, and it's making a difference for the causes they care so much about. nbc's michelle franzen takes us along for the ride. >> reporter: coast to coast in seven days and 36 minutes. a victory for team love, sweat, and gears. an emotional moment for these wives, moms, and athletes. it all started in california, where the women set off on the race across america. in these circles it's known as the world's toughest bike race and these ladies are going the distance for autism and raising awareness to fight obesity. for dina hannah this journey is personal. >> when i was 40 years old, i was over 230 pounds and i decided i needed to do something to change my life. >> reporter: that was eight years ago, and she's never looked back. >> you can make a change in your life at any time. >> reporter: dina at 48 is the youngest rider. amy, age 62, is the oldest. >> it is truly probably the last time i would ever consider doing anything like this. >> reporter: the enemy across the desert is blistering, triple digit heat. in the mountains the uphill climb reaches 10,000 feet. >> it's steep and it's -- >> reporter: and across the plains, whipping winds. tackling the rugged terrain along with the harsh elements is challenging enough but the biggest unknown for the racers as they cross the country will be doing it with little sleep. >> you cannot train yourself for sleep deprivation. >> reporter: they work in pairs, racing four hours at a time, 24 hours a day. behind them, the support crew. >> coming up the hill. >> reporter: volunteers who keep them fueled and conditioned. >> we are kind of viewed like we're a little bit crazy, but crazy is kind of good. >> reporter: by annapolis, 3,000 miles later, team love, sweat, and gears earned its name. they set out to raise money and awareness, and along the way they had the ride and time of their lives. michelle franzen, nbc news, the mohave desert. >> what a beautiful ride. that is our broadcast for this friday night. thank you so much for being with us. i'm kate snow. lester holt is here tomorrow and brian is back on monday. we hope you have a great weekend. we hope you have a great weekend. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com