and for all of us here at nbc news, thanks for joining us. this morning on "early today," damage assessment. exxonmobil faces the heat over a messy spill into the yellowstone river. decision time. jurors in the murder trial of casey anthony prepare to decide the fate of the florida mother accused of killing her child. and happy fourth. the skies light up across the country as americans mark the skies light up across the country as americans mark independence day. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. very good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz.

today we begin with a fouled fourth. this morning while most of the nation prepares to celebrate independence day, teams of federal and state workers in montana are fanning out along the yellowstone river. they're gauging the damage caused by a ruptured exxonmobil pipeline that spilled thousands of gallons of crude into the famous waterway. the environmental protection agency estimates only a small fraction of the spilled oil which is spotted downstream 40 miles is likely to be recovered. exxonmobil which has 120 workers on site estimates damage is limited to only a 10-mile stretch of river. montana's a governor brian schweitzer, concerned for the river's famous fishing and farmers alongside it, criticized the oil company for downplaying the possible scope of the disaster. last year, the department of transportation warned exxonmobil, citing seven safety violations along the ruptured pipeline. in just a matter of hours the murder trial of casey

anthony is expected to go to the jury. more than three years after the death of her 2-year-old daughter caylee. this, after highly charged day in the courtroom yesterday that included tears and a showdown in front of jurors. nbc's jay gray has the latest from orlando. >> reporter: with pictures and video of caylee anthony framing his closing arguments, prosecutor jeff ashton described a web of lies the state alleges led to the little girl's death. >> casey anthony maintains her lies until they absolutely cannot be maintained anymore. >> reporter: and provided a day by day narrative of how they believe it happened. >> she knew that that night she would be in the arms of her boyfriend and that caylee would be dead. >> the way the case was presented -- >> reporter: defense attorney jose baez fired back. >> if you hate her, if you think she's a lying no-good slut, then you'll start to look at this evidence in a different light. >> reporter: baez said the lies and questionable behavior were the result of a dysfunctional family that hid secrets, including the fact that casey was pregnant. >> this is outrageous.

>> reporter: he challenged state witnesses, evidence, and every key element of the prosecution's case. and as the emotion and tension in the courtroom grew, he challenged ashton, as well. >> depending on who's asking the questions, whether it's this laughing guy right here or whether it's myself. >> objection. >> sustained. approach the bench. >> reporter: the outburst in front of the jury led to a delay and an angry reprimand from judge belvin perry. >> enough is enough. >> you can't trust this evidence. >> reporter: as the closing arguments resumed, baez returned to his overriding theme. >> if it is difficult for you to find the truth, then this case is not proven. >> reporter: after the prosecution's rebuttal later this morning and instructions from the judge, the jury will begin their search for that truth. jay gray, nbc news, orlando. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. a violent thunderstorm tore through washington, d.c. yesterday, where a 56-year-old cyclist was killed by a falling tree limb. at one point in the afternoon, police cleared spectators off

the capital's west lawn where preparations for today's big independence day concert were under way. fortunately, the weather cleared up in time for the evening rehearsal. elsewhere across the country, several cities held their fourth of july fireworks displays a day early. sparks flew at the annual red, white and boom festival in florida. while crowds in kansas city and columbus, ohio, took in an equally awesome spectacle of color. and in los angeles, experts were busy setting up what they say will be the fastest firing display in town. the hour-long show at l.a.'s coliseum will light up the sky with 2,000 aerial shells and 8,100 bombardment effects for a truly spectacular pyrotechnics display. and thousands of people in seattle took to the streets for an unusual independence day tradition. the third annual red, white and zombie walk. the ghoulish group dressed up in their worst to try their best for the guinness world record for largest gathering of zombies.

organizers say they've buried the competition by several hundred walking dead. ba-bump-bump-bump. did you get that? >> i did. >> now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc's meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> hope your holiday weekend is off to a good start. today is the big day. fourth of july. fireworks. everyone wants to get those in. they don't want them to be canceled. we do have a little bit of unusual wet weather in in place that don't usually see it. first things first, 112 in phoenix. heat continues in that area. typically 105 to 110. we're above average there even in las vegas. salt lake city, 101 yesterday. the only cool spot is up there

in the northwest. that's the only spot where we're getting influence from canada and off the pacific. everyone else is warm including all of nevada and interior sections of california. this green area is actually seeing some rain. temperatures are warm. have monsoonal connection out of mexico this morning. lake halves a u, you have a chance at wet weather. it should dry out later. temperatures will be kept down because of all the clouds. that's good. no one wants the forecast for tomorrow since it's back to work day, but i'm required to give that. >> lots of triple digit temps.

108 vegas, 112 phoenix. >> it's kind of typical. >> i know, summer. how will wall street begin the week ahead? plus mcdonald's plans to power its trucks with leftover oil from fries. your early business headlines are straight ahead. the sound at the box office was actually the sound of the box office records breaking. a walkoff between the mets and yankees.

well, good morning and welcome back to "early today," i'm veronica de la cruz, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. two republicans have signaled a potential compromise in the battle over the deficit ceiling. senator john mccain says he's open to what he's calling revenue raisers. although it's unclear exactly what he means by that term. gop senator john cornyn also

said republicans would be open to a short-term deal on a possible debt ceiling extension. in new mexico, evacuation orders have been lifted for about 12,000 residents living near the fire that threatened the los alamos nuclear laboratory. officials say the blaze was caused by a fallen tree that hit power lines. the north america tour for england's new royal couple has taken prince william and wife catherine to quebec. they were greeted by fans, while anti-monarchist protesters were kept at a distance. later the couple visited a shelter for troubled youths. in michigan, an inmate says he's being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment because he can't have pornography. in a handwritten lawsuit the 21-year-old, who's been charged with a bank robbery, claims his civil rights are being violated, saying denying his request for erotic material subjects him to a, quote, poor standard of living. and just in time for july,

we're learning that many americans aren't quite sure of their independence day facts. a new poll shows only 58% of respondents knew the u.s. declared its independence in 1776. and now here's an early look at one of your top headlines on msnbc.com. by one estimate between memorial day and labor day americans will consume 7 billion hot dogs. generally hot dogs are processed meat high in sodium, saturated fat and nitrites, which can cause cancer. it is recommended to eat those that are low are in fat, calories and sodium. for more information on this and other health stories head to the web and check out msnbc.com. now here's a look at how wall street finished friday heading into the holiday weekend. the dow closed at 12582.

the s&p grew 19. the nasdaq rose 42. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei added 97 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 372. this coming week, with much of wall street on summer vacation, no earnings news and the issue of greek debt at least temporarily resolved, economic data will be the driving force. friday markets kicked off the third quarter with a fifth straight day of gains, marking their biggest weekly percentage gain since 2009. the dow rose more than 5%. the s&p gained over 5%. and the nasdaq climbed more than 6%. friday, an index of national factory activity showed the pace of growth and manufacturing picked up for the first time in four months. on the heels of thursday's report showing surprisingly strong regional business, traders hoped the recent trend of weak data may be over. june auto sales also drove friday's trade. ford rose after reporting june sales shot up 14%. truckmakerçó oshkosh surged 14% after shareholder carl icahn

said he wanted to meet with management to discuss shareholder value. important data tomorrow, with the congress department factory orders for may. thursday brings june retail sales with many hoping reduced gas prices translated into more sales at stores. also, thursday, we'll get june's private sector jobs numbers and friday comes the biggie, the all-important government employment data for june. and finally, mcdonald's will be making deliveries to its restaurants in the united arab emirates in trucks fueled with oil from its own vats. a dubai firm will convert used vegetable oil from mcdonald's outlets into 100% biodiesel, a fuel that burns 50% cleaner than normal diesel. the top vote getter for baseball's all-star contest, the mets, eke out a win against their cross-town rivals. and who is dancing at wimbledon? plus an extra participant invades the pitch in a contest between brazil and venezuela. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

your fourth of july forecast looks fantastic in many areas of the country. a few showers and storms are possible in areas that don't usually see them.

well, good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, sunday saw a match-up between one of baseball's hottest hitters, and one of the

game's toughest pitchers. here's nbc's bill stewart with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. and a happy fourth of july. it may be america's pastime, but a guy on a canadian team is the leading vote getter for baseball's all-star game. the toronto blue jays jose bautista received a record 7.4 million votes. then he helped break up cliff lee's scoreless streak. the second of back to back jacks puts toronto on top. lee's streak ends at 34 innings. but don't feel too sorry for him. he is also an all-star. jays beat the phils 7-4. the yankees have six players in the midsummer classic. the mets have a pair. and they also got a big win against the bombers. tenth inning, bases loaded, jason bay, what do you say? how about game over? mets walk off with a win in ten. boston's josh beckett could start the all-star game and after yesterday's outings give him the ball. 11 strikeouts over eight innings he was lights out while mark milanson was out to lunch. loaded the bases and walked in the go ahead run in the ninth.

red sox swept the astros with a 2-1 victory. across the pond to merry old england.xd novak djokovic had ever won a us tournament on grass until now. simply too much for 1/2 -- rafael nadal to handle.xdxdzy[ championship, but none bigger than wimbledon. and finally, he may be man's necessarily a goalkeeper's best friend. the pooch in the plata. got on to the field during a game in argentina. headed+5fgthe net but i think he's a bit offsides. look at the tail. he bends it like beckham.au bad dog. that's your early look at sports on "early today," i'm bill steward. >> "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray.

get rid of some gray, never all. the anniversary of the passing of a rock legend is observed by his fellow band members. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll bring you something to keep in mind while you're enjoying your holiday food and fun. you're watching "early today."

welcome back today. beautiful weather conditions out there. seattle to portland, medford,

boise, no problems for your fourth of july. we'll see warm conditions not as hot as yesterday. nevada, all the way from vague to us phoenix on the warm side, but not as bad as what you've been. anyone doing travel today or maybe want to watch the fireworks on tv. new york city looks just fine, but d.c. has storms along with st. louis. if you're watching us on 24 chico, california, remember independence day with an all-american pancake breakfast and a pie eating contest. that's a good combination. at the 46th annual fourth of july celebration at bidwell park. >> i'm already full. >> you get the full stacks, then blueberry pie. >> that's the way to do it. here is a look at this morning's headlines. as expected this weekend, the new transformers films transformed the record books.

taking over $97 million beating the 90-plus million debut. it also broke the fourth of july weekend record previously held by 2004's "spider-man 2." it set a record for imax releases. by the end of the fourth of july weekend "dark of o the moon" will have zoomed past $180 million. it added a whopping $210 million overseas. not bad. speaking of "pirates of the caribbean:some on stranger tides t ". it became the eighth movie ever to top $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. in paris sunday, former members of the doors marked the 40th anniversary of the death of lead singer jim morrison, lighting candles at his grave. can we talk about the

transformers? >> you don't want to talk about jim morrison because you know i'll ask you to could an impersonation. light your fire. >> maybe later on this afternoon. >> one line. >> no. but it got bad reviews in some cases. >> i know. it's absolutely crazy. this comes to us from the u.s. transit center in kyrgyzstan where some got a head start on the festivities. service members stationed at the air base got a taste of home with a holiday cookout yesterday complete with hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. the troops also enjoyed games and music and fireworks to celebrate the fourth and a little bit of salsa, i think. i'm veronica de la cruz.

one group of children tried to parachute into the record books. more than 3,500 kids gathered to break the record for the world's largest parachute game. numbering more than twice the previous record holders, the group was able to fill up a local stadium. the event was part of a series of summer activities meant to help palestinian children. and in france, one man took a huge leap into the record books. a three-time world champion roller skate jumper pulled off a 95-foot-long jump. look at him go. whoo! ouch. thousands gathered to see the stunt, which broke the previous world record of 79 feet.

not bad. what's even more impressive is he also holds the world record for the highest jump off the first floor of the eiffel tower. in another record-setter, a classic dish landed in the guinness book of world records. a pub in england served up 44 pounds of fried fish and 52 pounds of chips setting a new record for the largest serving of fish and chips. that beat the previous record of 77 pounds. look at all that -- oh. pub goers got to enjoy the thrill of victory, helping to eat the record-setting meal. i don't know. >> you're not a fan, huh? >> turning my stomach looking at all that. >> there's a place near me. you can bring whatever you want and they'll fry it for you. a piece of cake a big mac, and they'll fry it for you. >> oh, yum. now a look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here. a statue honoring former president ronald reagan has been unveiled in london. among those attending the sirmy

condoleezza rice and margaret thatcher. it's a holiday tradition honoring the nation's birthday. the macy's fourth of july spectacular will take place on the hudson river. it is hosted by nick lachey. right here on your nbc station. happy birthday to first daughter malia obama. stay on the oh on top of the latest developments as they break here. be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." what's coming up on the "today" show. the casey anthony murder trial. and find out why protesters in canada threatened to steal the spotlight after prince william and kate's honeymoon tour. i'm veronica de la cruz. thanks for watching "early

today." have a terrific fourth.