good tuesday morning. coming up on "early today." to washington. more bad news for the irs. the supreme court's ruling on police taking dna samples. and the president nominates three new judges today. a major lawsuit in the david petraeus scandal over leaked information. accused boston marathon suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev says he's getting thousands of dollars in jail. vice president joe biden teams up with bradley cooper, the latest in the blade runner murder trial and hall of fame defensive end deacon jones has died. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for tuesday, june 4th. >> good morning, i'm richard lui. firefighters have the upper hand in the powerhouse fire in

southern california. it's 60% contained but fire crews are up against massive flames. this blaze has scorched more than 32,000 acres since thursday. six homes are destroyed with at least nine damaged. now, the scope of the fire is apparent from space. as shown in this nasa image. all 2,800 residents under evacuation orders were allowed back to their homes on monday, but some had nothing left to return to. >> whoosh. gone. boom. done. like that. the main thing is i have my life, my son's alive, my wife is alive. we're damn grateful to be alive. >> so true. the cause of the fire is under investigation. it is often called the second highest court in the nation because of its influence and potential path to the supreme court. now washington's federal appeals court could have three new nominees. a white house official saying later today president obama will nominate patricia ann millett, cornelia pillard and robert

wilkins in what could set up a battle with senate republicans. millett is an appeals lawyer in washington who worked in the george w. bush administration and regularly argues before the supreme court. pillard is a professor at georgetown university school of law, and wilkins is a judge on the u.s. district court in washington. the president appointed him to that position in 2010. we've got more bad news this morning for the irs. a new government report showing that the agency was criticized for spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. and more congressional hearings are scheduled for today on its alleged targeting of conservative groups. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington. brian, how was this money spent? >> reporter: well, richard, spent or misspent, today the irs is bracing for a one, two punch here in washington. >> it seems we have a new misstep every day at the irs. >> reporter: for the irs, another hearing today on capitol hill, and an inspector general's

report will reveal how much the agency spent and misspent some of the tax dollars it collected. >> i certainly plan on holding people accountable. >> reporter: the acting agency's new chief said the agency has changed course. back in 2010 an investigation has found that the agency spent $49 million in travel and training. one conference alone it doled out $135,000 for speakers. including $11,000 for a happiness expert. but lawmakers still have questions about the agency's singling out of conservative groups. >> i'm furious that the irs engaged in ideological scrutiny which is absolutely unacceptable. >> reporter: those conservative groups get to tell their side of the story today. >> you're going to hear their outrage, how hurtful it was to them to feel like their group was being targeted. like they were being targeted. >> reporter: a taxing week for the irs and it's not over yet. even though the irs is under new

management, republicans want to know what happened and who to blame. and richard, perhaps not the best time for the agency to be asking for another billion dollars in funding. >> yeah, that will be difficult. thank you so much, brian mooar. a decision made by the supreme court drastically changes power given to law enforcement. in a 5-4 ruling, justices said police can take dna samples by swabbing their cheek. that sample can be checked against databases of dna taken from unsolved crimes. anthony kennedy joined the conservatives and liberal stephen breyer. they said be obtaining the dna is a legitimate search under the fourth amendment. but conservative justice antonin scalia and the three liberals said the court is breaking new ground in allowing a search without a warrant. in his dissent, scalia wrote this. your dna can be taken and entered into a national dna database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly,

and for whatever reason, end quote. to surprising details on the prison phone calls between dzhokhar tsarnaev and his family. channel 4 news aired a conversation the accused boston bomber had with his parents last week. when his mother asks him if he needs anything, tsarnaev says, quote, "mama, do not worry about me. i do have money. somebody opened an account for me, and people send me money here, and i do have lots of money." when his mother then asked him, "how much?" tsarnaev says, quote, thousands. meanwhile, the last victim of the boston marathon bombing is back home. 29-year-old erica brannic lost her left leg and has a long road to recovery, but she said she could not wait to get back home to maryland to have some steamed crab. boy, can she choose a good one there. the sporting world has lost a football legend. hall of famer damon deacon jones died of natural causes monday at his home in california. jones considered by some to be the greatest defensive end in nfl history, is credited with

coining the term "sack" for how he knocked down quarterbacks. jones began his nfl career in 1961 with the l.a. rams. he finished with the washington redskins 14 years later. he went on to act in the '70s and '80s including "the odd couple." in 1999 jones made the sporting news' list of 100 greatest football players. he was also named "sports illustrated's" defensive end of the century. jones was 74. i grew up in california. i learned to actually not like the guy but certainly love him at the same time. >> respect. >> absolute respect for him even though you're a niners fan. >> those firefighters did a good job knocking that blaze down. 60%. a little cooler in the last couple nights. that helped out a lot. there's no rain to talk about at all in the west for the foreseeable future. so it's pretty much just going to be a temperature forecast out there over the next couple of days. maybe even the next couple weeks. it appears that the dry season has arrived and is pretty much here to stay.

it was 105 yesterday in phoenix. the desert southwest as advertised, you're in the middle of your summer season. a little cooler in the coastal areas of california. still a little low clouds barely trying to hang on and hug the coastal areas. that will keep you slightly cooler. in general high pressure is protecting the region. that's going to mean pretty much warm temperatures and a pretty much hot afternoon. that low off the coast is bringing us low clouds there along the southwest coastal areas. so as far as the forecast for your tuesday goes, just like yesterday, 103 there in vegas, 105 in phoenix. we're talking 92 in medford. even a little warmer now, northern california and southern portions of oregon. that's a look at your n 87. you're getting warmer but still not bad. and unfortunately, richard, the dry season's arrived.

we didn't have a lot of moisture over the winter. i think we'll have a lot more fires to talk about in the days ahead. >> i hope not. and after that we have to worry about flooding. that's how the cycle works. new numbers on crime in those infamous southern california car chases. a major recall involving ford and lincoln to tell you about. you're watching "early today."

stories in the news this morning for you. new jersey governor chris christie is facing tough choices on replacing late senator frank lautenberg. the republican could appoint an interim replacement or call a special election to fill that seat. funeral services for the 89-year-old will be held tomorrow. opening statements took place monday in one of the biggest cases of government leaks in u.s. history. prosecutors say 25-year-old private bradley manning put military secrets into the hands of osama bin laden himself when he handed over classified documents to the wikileaks website. his defense team painted him as a young and naive person but

with good intentions. new data showing crime across the country has gone up for the first time in six years. numbers from the fbi say violent crime rose 4% last year including a 12.5% jump in murder rates. the army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 fort hood massacre says he'll claim the defense of others in his upcoming murder trial. major nadal hassan is charged with 13 down thes of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. the los angeles police department says nearly up wit ld of its chases result in accidents and two-thirds result in injury to suspects, officers or innocent bystanders. the tampa socialite at the center of the david petraeus sex scandal is suing the government. jill kelley filed a lawsuit against the fbi and department of defense for allegedly disregarding her privacy and publicizing false information.

her name surfaced during the investigation of petraeus's affair with his biographer. now for business we turn to cnbc's courtney reagan. good morning, courtney. >> good morning, richard. the markets may see a small pullback today after stocks closed at their highs on monday. investors shrugging off disappointing data on manufacturing and construction spending, but that was yesterday. today is a whole new day. walmart puts its money where your mouth is. the retail giant is offering a money-back guarantee on fresh produce as it aims to gain more ground in the grocery market. to be sure you get the freshest fruits and vegetables, walmart will conduct weekly inspections in its stores. neither sugar rush, dunkin' donuts is rolling out a new sandwich friday, bacon and egg on a glazed doughnut. it has 360 calories which is actually less than its turkey sausage sandwich with 20 grams of fat. dunkin' tested the sandwich in massachusetts which created los

of internet buzz. >> call the emt. in business this morning as well and speaking of breakfast, check out these images from a recent singapore airlines flight. the passengers were halfway through their breakfast service. look in the aisle there. the plane hit some pretty serious turbulence, sending the dishes flying and coffee to the roof of the aircraft. the mess was quickly cleaned up, and a few minor injuries treated there. wow! ford is recalling about 465,000 cars and suvs that are all 2013 models. the problem is fuel tank leaks which can cause fires. the recall includes explorers, taurus, flex, fusion, interceptor and three lincoln models. vermont-based ben & jerry's announced they will no longer use genetically modified organisms. the ingredients known as gmos are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides. and smokers beware. you're costing your company about $6,000 a year more than staffers who do not smoke. that's according to a study by

the ohio state university. a python hunter finds something unique in the everglades. no, it's not a massive snake. plus actor bradley cooper teams up with vice president joe biden on a major project. you're watching "early today."

on monday, vice president joe biden's mental health

conference was given an extra boost of star power. bradley cooper joined the vp in talking about raising awareness of mental health issues and getting rid of the stigma that comes with them. >> you know, it's always going to take courage for people dealing with mental illness to seek treatment. but it shouldn't take that much courage as it does today. it just shouldn't. it's less about the people who are dealing with the illness, and it's more about the people who aren't. >> there should be no stigma to a family or individual to seek help for mental health any more than they would for a broken arm or a diagnosis of cancer. >> cooper who played a mental health patient in "silver linings playbook" said taking the role opened his eyes to the everyday struggles of people suffering from mental illnesses. time for sports now. and it is miami in the nba finals. the biebs changed shades, dressed for the spectacle game seven. lebron james did not let husen outshine, hitting 32 points in the crushing win over indiana. san antonio is next on thursday.

after 19 seasons, jason kidd will retire. the third oldest player in the league, kidd is second all time in assists and steals, third in three-pointers. the former cal bear got his championship ring with dallas in 2011. to the nhl. boston scoring just 28 seconds right there into game two. the bruins demolishing pittsburgh 6-1, leading the eastern conference finals series 2-0. hall of fame quarterback jim kelly has cancer in his upper jaw bone. the former buffalo bill has surgery june 7. doctors give him a very good chance of recovery. toronto pitcher ramon ortiz was devastated when he injured his elbow on sunday. the 40-year-old was in tears as he realized he may have thrown his last pitch despite all the consoling fellow players. known for his durability, ortiz has thrown 150-plus innings a year for some 18 years. we hope for the best for him. baseball great jackie robinson's glove right there

sold for big bucks, one he used in the 1955 and '56 world series auctioned for $373,000, the highest ever paid for a glove, $387,000 for lou gehrig's. new york yankee mark teixeira hit his first home run of the season. where did it go? out of the park. that was a grand slam right there. scooping it up with his baseball cap. a young yankees fan, yeah, you got it, my friend. new york beat cleveland, 7-4. at a detroit racetrack, a mother duck and her five little ones, they decided to cross the road. only there were these 200-mile-an-hour indy cars around them, lots of them, to be honest. track worrs escorted the half dozen safely. "early today sports" is brought to you by new just for men autostop. gray is over. just ahead for you, celebrities stand up to bullying, and which tv series tops the list of best written? plus, it looks like al pacino got an offer he could refuse. we'll tell you about the action movie blockbusters he turned

down when "early today" returns.

welcome back. pretty simple forecast for the west now for the foresee bible future. we are going to watch warm conditions. we've got to pretty much worry about how hot it's going to get. today 91 in albuquerque. still very warm in the desert southwest. after early morning clouds and fog, the sun will come out. once you get interior sections, the warmer it will be. 71 coastal sections. once you get into downtown, 80

or low 80s. and wednesday looks the same. it's kind of like on this broken record type forecast. the one place that's a little different. alaska, you had great weather last week, a huge storm to the south will bring rain to anchorage and fairbanks. >> bill, thank you. now to entertainment. leann rimes is on the list of celebrities standing up in anti-bullying campaign. "the new f-word" focuses on building self-esteem through positive images in art and media. a special guest on "the voice" last night. michelle samuel of team usher surprised by taylor swift. for a vip practice session before singing one of swift's songs on stage. pretty calm, though, even though taylor kind of walks in there. "the sopranos" have topped the list of 101 best written tv series. tony and the family were followed by "seinfeld," "the twilight zone," "all in the family" and "m.a.s.h." >> any missing? >> yeah. >> "cosby show" maybe?

"lost" was fantastic. >> yeah. there's a lot that could be in the top five. finally according to the london evening standard, al pacino may have turned down some of the biggest roles in movie history next to bill karins. pacino reportedly said "star wars" hahn solo was his for the taking as was "die hard's" john mclain. here's what we imagine they might have looked like. not bad. >> there's no way he could have been hahn solo. imagine him hanging out with jabba the hut? >> i'm richard lui and this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day today on nbc.

leading the news in "the new york times." "when billionaire sets rules, it's an exclusive race." the new designs and high costs to compete with pushing the america's cup competitors aside. great shot there. and in "usa today," "newtown parents ask to block release of photos, audio." families of some of the victims of december's sandy hook school shooting are gathering signatures online petitions to try and block the release of gory crime scene evidence. now, topping our news, new overnight, the murder trial for olympian and double amputee oscar pistorius is postponed until august 19th. the judge delaying the case after the prosecution asked for more time to prepare. he's accused of killing his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, on valentine's day. pistorius says he killed her by mistake thinking she was an

intruder. new fbi numbers show crime across the country is up for the first time in six years. violent crime in large cities rose nearly 4% last year including a 12.5% spike in murder rates. and firefighters have the upper hand on that powerhouse fire in southern california. it's now 60% contained after scorching more than 32,000 acres since thursday. six homes are destroyed with at least nine damaged. a man hunting snakes in the everglades ended up finding something totally different, and unexpected, buried in the mud was an antique gold pendant studded with diamonds and sapphires. the pendant was found near the 1972 crash. that was a crash site flight 401. and the 1996 crash site of flight 592. the hunter's new goal is to make sure the pendant finds its rightful home. >> that would be cool. i want the follow-up story if he finds them. >> yeah, who it belongs to, what

the family might be. >> it doesn't look like something a lot of people had. >> and with all the alligators there, lucky it hasn't been eaten. jury selection begins in the case of whitey bulger. the 83-year-old is charged with committing or ordering 19 murders in 1970s and '80s. he spent more than 16 years on the run before being captured in 2011. on this day in 1989, the tiananmen square protest in china pro-democracy demonstrators in beijing were attacked by tanks and soldiers. it's estimated hundreds were killed. happy birthday to angelina jolie, 38. comedian russell brand also 38. and singer and access michelle phillips is 69. here's a look at what's coming up on "today." special delivery. the amazing story of twins born on the side of a remote highway. yeah. daredevil nick wallenda talked about attempting fate high in the air. that's it for us here on "early today." you have a very good tuesday.

. . new this morning, oscar pistorius making a brief appearance in court as he prepares for his murder trial. when his trial will start and the significance of the date san jose police announcing an arrest in connection to the murder of two south bay teenagers. the latest details. >> it's unfortunate. >> a teacher on leave after he mistakenly showed students a nude photo of himself. what else police say they found on his computer that has him facing serious charges live outside. a look at the bay bridge. you can see the lights glistening there and a little red light flashing for you. on a tuesday, june 4