good friday morning. here's what's coming up on "earlyoday." tropical cyclone andrea is bringing heavy rain up the east coast today. senate intelligence committee chair saying the phone records collection program foiled multiple terrorist plots. this as we're hearing reports prominent internet companies are also involved. plus eland's prince phillip is undergoing surgery. sara jessica parker puts her foot forward in a big business deal. and our own brian williams channels snoop dogg. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, june 7th. good friday to you. i'm richard lui. we begin with the latest in the nsa phone log controversy and it may not be just phones.

an article in today's "the washington post" says the government is also tapping into some of the country's biggest internet companies. google, facebook, apple are part of a secret program called prism but some of those companies deny the claims. it all began with a report in "the guardian" newspaper saying verizon call logs are being kept in national security agency computers. the government has access to times and the calls and their duration but not names and recordings unless officials suspect a specific threat. the obama administration is getting support from some unlikely lawmakers along the way. >> within the last few years this program was used to stop a program, excuse me stop a terrorist attack in the united states. >> it doesn't bother me one bit for the national security administration to have my phone number because what they are trying to do is find out what terrorist groups we know about and what individuals and who they are calling. >> well, this puts attorney

general eric holder in the hot seat again and civil liberties groups are also outraged. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington. has holder responded to this at all? >> reporter: well, he's not really saying much. he told lawmakers he couldn't talk about it because the program is top secret. it's classified. now that this court order has come out, really sort of opening up things with this program, the director of national intelligence says they're specifically declassifying some information because without context, that order on its own is misleading. he says all the information that's being collected that you noted, we now know includes e-mails and online communication as well. all of it is simply stored, but it can't be searched unless there's reasonable suspicion that something is going on. now, this is in contrast to what the government told congress just a few months ago. >> does the nsa collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of americans?

>> no, sir. >> reporter: now, as of this morning, we also know that in addition to the phone companies, internets are being tapped by the government, reportedly tapped straight into their servers so they can get that information realtime. richard? >> all right. tracie potts in washington. thank you. the first storm of the atlantic hurricane season is making its way up the east coast. tropical storm andrea weakened considerably after making landfall thursday in florida. it's still expected to pack a punch of heavy rain through saturday. winds of up to 65 miles per hour thrashed the gulf coast flooding some communities. even a handful of tornadoes touched down. we're just one week into hurricane season. even andrea couldn't stop the nation's best known daredevil from doing a little rehearsal. nick wallenda practicing for his walk across the grand canyon. amongst all that weather. bill karins will be here shortly with more on this. jury selection in george

zimmerman's second-degree murder trial begins in three days, and three matters are taking center stage at pretrial hearings. zimmerman's lawyers say prosecutors are withholding photos of guns from trayvon martin's phone. the judge also rejected the defense's request to shield the identity of as many as seven witnesses. this after a lawyer for the "orlando sentinel" argued for transparency but zimmerman's attorney said some witnesses are concerned with their safety. >> my understanding is that they are very concerned when they come before the court and they testify truthfully as to what they saw and it leads to a certain verdict let's say an acquittal they will be subject to ridicule or retribution. >> the third issue, voice comparison technology used to analyze the 911 call from the night of the shooting that killed the unarmed 17-year-old. zimmerman has pleaded not guilty and claims self-defense. george zimmerman has sued nbc universal for defamation. the company has strongly denied

the allegations. north and south korea have agreed to hold their first official talks in more than two years. this follows months of escalating military tensions in the area. the north is proposing working-level meetings on saturday. on tap here, reopening a joint industrial korean park and exchanging tourist ideas. pyongyang also said it would reopen a red cross communication line that was shut down in march. it comes ahead of a u.s.-china summit. a day after a legal victory for a sick little girl there's a similar outcome for another child. the mother of an 11-year-old successfully sued to lift age restrictions and allowed him to apply for adult transplant. javier's family says without the operation, he has only months to live. this comes a day after a judge ruled in favor of a 10-year-old. her parents sued to suspend current rules that allow patients 12 and older to apply for a spot on the adult

transplant list. a lawyer for both families says more lawsuits are pending. a top irs official offering a mea culpa on the "star trek" parody video that went public. he also told a capitol hill hearing that no law breaking happened. it's one of three produced for more than $50,000 for a $4 million training conference in 2010 paid for with taxpayer money. current irs commissioner was responsible for that conference. he played dr. spock in the parody video. after representative issa grilled him, he agreed it wasn't the best use of taxpayer money. >> what were you thinking? were you thinking this would never be seen, or were you thinking thinking, how will this look when it is seen? >> the fact of the matter is it's embarrassing. and i apologize. >> yeah, bill karins, i'm thinking he just wants to live

long and prosper now, doesn't he? that's all he wants to do. >> yeah, i don't know if he'll be at the next trekkie convention. andrea going up the east coast. going to cause travel delays. big storm. has a lot of rain with it. there will be a lot of airport delays. not too many thunderstorms. you can see it moving up the coast. the storm is currently exiting charleston and beginning to head towards myrtle beach. again, the track will go up the eastern seaboard, off new england and through the canadian maritime. it'll be gone by saturday afternoon. just kind of a wake-up call that the hurricane season is here. the other story is the heat in the west continues to be a scorcher out there in the desert southwest. yesterday, 110 in phoenix. vegas, 108. so forget spring. we're in the midst of summer. it was hot all the way through boise and medford and much of interior sections of nevada and sbeer washington and oregon state. how do we look this morning? we've cooled off a little bit.

a weak low went through. there's a warm front trying to push onshore with showers in northern washington state. besides that, more of the same. we're talking about 112 today in phoenix. 110 in vegas. notice how much cooler you are spots. doesn't take long this time of year. we have so much -- the sunrises so early. by 10:00 it's hot. >> it's already boiling and sizzling there. tale of two coasts. >> just ahead, what would it take for you to trade in your old apple iphone for an upgrade? a deal in the making. and a tight one in south beach goes down to the wire. details just ahead.

in the news this morning,

new jersey will have a republican senator for the first time in over three decades. governor chris christie picked state attorney general jeff chiesa to hold the vacant seat until a special election later this year. chiesa accepted the nomination saying quote, i'm in. britain's prince phillip will undergo surgery this morning at a london hospital. buckingham hospital says the procedure is necessary. it's following an abdominal investigation. the 91-year-old husband of queen elizabeth was hospitalized for nearly a week last summer for a bladder infection. president obama is in the golden state in search for some green for the democratic party. he'll attend a pair of fundraisers in san jose before heading to southern california. there mr. obama will meet with china's president through saturday. vladimir putin and his wife reached a joint decision to end their marriage after 30 years. the couple announcing the divorce on state tv after seeing a performance of the moscow ballet together. ester williams died. her success in competitive

swimming led to notable roles on the big screen. she was best known for a hollywood film featuring synchronized swimming spectacles in the '40s and '50s. boy, those were classics. she was 91. turning now to business. good morning to you, courtney. >> good morning, richard. it's a big day for the world's largest retailer. walmart holds its shareholder meeting today in arkansas. thousands attend the event. the retail giant ceo says sales should pick up after a rough patch. customers are learning to budget better while splurging on special occasions. mortgage rates rise for the third straight week. rates tend to track yields on the ten-year treasury note, which have been rising amid talks that the fed may pull back on its stimulus efforts. and apple is expected to show off new software for the iphone and ipad at a developer's conference next week. it will likely be launched this

fall when apple unveils a new iphone. analysts think a tv and wearable watch will be coming from apple in the next year. richard? back to you. >> all right, courtney. thank you so much. may's jobs report is out in about an hour. some economists are expecting the unemployment rate to stay at 7.5% while adding 169,000 jobs. we'll get the details at 5:30 pacific. new york republican congressman peter king wants to bring online gambling back. he wants a bill that would regulate it on a national level. audi works with google street view to allow drivers to consider price and location, plus even seeing how many spots are available in some cases. sara jessica parker is teaming up with a high end shoemaker to launch her own line of shoes. apple iphone users, there's a report out that the company is ever teaming up with bright star to create an iphone trade in program.

users of the iphone 4 and 4s will cash in those units in favor of upgrading to the 5. coming up, who beat the fastest man in the world, and just by a hair? plus, what happens when you mix a network news anchor, snoop dogg and jimmy fallon? this you're going to want to see and hear. stay with us.

jimmy fallon is always

looking to make his show better. one way he does that is by taking audience suggestions. what happens when an audience suggests combining brian williams with a snoop dogg song? take a watch. >> ladies and gentlemen, here's a clip of brian williams edited to make it took like he's performing the snoop dogg classic "ain't nothing but a g thang." ♪ one two three four snoop dogg and dr. dshlre is at the door ♪ ♪ ain't nothing but a g thang baby ♪ >> we'll see if we see him do that tonight on "nightly news." now to sports.

bolt out sprinted by justin gatlin. bolt is the world record holder. the nba finals game one final seconds san antonio tony parker sinks the game winner there. it wasn't beautiful, but he made it. time left on the shot clock there. spurs surprised the heat, 92-88. the nba's coach of the year has been fired. the denver nuggets george karl had been there nine seass. according to espn two other teams are already interested. in the nhl playoffs, just over a minute left, chicago gets the goal there in the 3-2 win over the l.a. kings. the blackhawks now lead three games to one in the western conference finals. new york yankees' alex rodriguez is leaving alone an alleged connection to a drug scandal. he said, myself and others are being mentioned in a media report before the process is even concluded. fenway park had its first pride night. jason collins there throwing out

the first pitch. the former celtic revealed recently he's gay. in the game, david ortiz hitting a three-run homer. it is a beauty. the red sox win 6-3 over texas there. serena williams destroys her opponent in just 46 minutes to advance to the french open finals. merciless, she is. she faces maria sharapova, who has only won twice in their 15 meetings. williams versus sharapova, saturday, 6:00 a.m. pacific here on nbc. just ahead, justin bieber wants to take the universe by storm. plus, new developments in the paris jackson story and the civil trial over her father's death. you're watching "early today."

well, here's your weekend forecast. no wet weather out there, maybe if you go north of seattle you have a chance of a shower. that's it. just a hot forecast for you. nighttime activities definitely the best in the desert southwest. areas like death valley could head between 115 and 120. coastal areas, san francisco near 70 today. 70 on saturday. the northwest is definitely on the cooler side compared to areas in the desert southwest. saturday still looks like the warmest day in vegas there at 112. we cool you off to 109 on sunday. look at boise, too. even salt lake city. the heat really spreading through the inner mountain west. >> looking good out that way, bill. if you like heat. >> if you like the heat. now in entertainment.

comedy going up against horror at the box office. vince vaughn and owen wilson reunite as middle-aged google trainees. and all crime becomes legal in "the purge." plus, the highly anticipated modern adaptation of shakespeare's much ado about nothing open in select theaters. the ceo of aeg live testified yesterday he never con summited with doctors about michael jackson's health, this despite several e-mails from production workers saying he was ill. meanwhile, michael jackson's son has canceled a trip to europe so he can be with his sister paris. and jennifer lawrence is planning double duty for her next film. she'll star in and produce the upcoming movie "the rules of inheritance." the original members of the metal band black sabbath have reunited for their first new album together since 1978.

that song "never say die," that album, the new album hits u.s. stores tuesday. how old are they, bill? 63, 64? >> are you going to get it? >> why not? justin bieber is going galactic. the pop star joins a long list of celebs signed up for the virgin galactic space flight program. where do you want to go with that? let me toss that to you. >> you're very excited about this whole black sabbath reunion. >> i think it's great. ozzy -- >> you think he can pull it together? >> i think he can. all right. i'm richard lui. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

reeding the news, "huffington post" headline, george w. obama, the story compares terror programs launched by bush and carried over by obama. and in "the new york times," same-sex marriage is seen in whole as an issue for the states. the issue is gaining strength as well. topping our news, fallout from the building collapse in philadelphia that left six people dead and injured 13. the lawsuit seeks damages for a woman who was buried in the rubble. she survived, but her attorney says the contractor violated federal safety rules. tropical storm andrea is making her way up the east coast, packing rain through saturday. the first storm of the hurricane season weakened considerably after making landfall late thursday in florida. but even andrea could not stop one daredevil, mr. nick wallenda, seen here practicing in sarasota, florida, for his

upcoming walk across the grand canyon. the weather will probably be better there. a great story for brides to be, particularly if they're saying yes to the dress. 1100 women competed in the ninth annual cheap chic wedding toilet paper wedding dress contest in new york. yeah, it is actually toilet paper. i wasn't sure what i was reading there. the only material they're allowed to use, toilet paper, needle, thread, and glue. the winner took home $2,000. that's pretty good with just toilet paper. >> they say if it rains on your wedding, it's good luck. not if you're wearing a toilet paper dress. time now for a look ahead and a look back. senator frank lautenberg will be buried today. he was the last world war ii veteran in the senate. his casket was carried into the capitol thursday. he'll be laid to rest at arlington national cemetery. michigan congressman john dingell becomes the longest surviving member of congress today.

dingell was sworn in on december 13th, 1955, and has served 57 years and 177 days. happy birthday to retired tennis player anna kournikova. prince turns 55. tom jones, 73. all going strong. here's what's coming up on the "today" show. "game of thrones" author talks about his popular series and sunday's bloody episode. and music legend lionel richie performing live on the plaza. keep it here for more news, weather, and sports. i'm richard lui along with bill karins. thanks for watching "early today." have a great weekend ahead.

a new warning after the computer system of a popular bay area grocery store is attacked. we will tell you who is at risk. plus, just in, we now know exactly what the president will be saying when he makes remarks in san jose this morning. we have the new details just released former south bay politician, george shirakawa jr. learns his fate this morning but his troubles are not over yet. let's take you live outside. wow, look at that sky. nice, bright orange for you, kind of matches marla's dress, more of a redish town on this national doughnut day, friday, june 7th. this is "today in the bay."