good thursday morning. coming up on "early today," shocking news out of italy. 51-year-old actor james gandolfini is dead. >> i'm going to remember him as tony soprano, the character he played, but i'm also going to remember him at jim gandolfini, a good friend and a talented guy. >> we'll have worldwide reaction and a report from milan. president obama returned early this morning from europe to find a slew of challenges facing him. plus, what are the rules for government drones in your neighborhood? new allegations that twa flight 800 was brought down by a missile. and paula deen accused of racial and sexual discrimination. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for thursday, june 20th.

good morning. i'm richard lu i. we start with the shocking death of james gandolfini at just 51 years old. his portrayal garnered him worldwide fame. the actor was believed to have suffered a heart attack while in italy. his son was in the room when it happened. his character has endured as one of tv's most memorable characters. just this month, the writers guild of america named "the sopranos" one of the best written tv shows of all time. the creator was compared to mozart. he's one of the greatest actors of this knorr time. a great deal of genius resided in those eyes. he was my partner, my brother in ways i can't explain and will never be able to explain. sopranos co-star steven

schirripa said jimmy was a dear friend and like a brother to me. i will miss him terribly. i'm very sad. and co-star lorraine bracco says she's utterly heartbroken. we lost a giant today, she said. now gandolfini's new jersey roots are deep on screen, playing a new jersey mobster and in life. he grew up there and attended rutgers university. new jersey governor chris christie said gandolfini's death is an awful shock. "i was a huge fan of his and the character he played so authentically, christie said. he went on to call him a true jersey guy and an individual new jersey treasure. gandolfini is survived by his wife deborah who he married in 2008 and their daughter lilyanna born just last year. he also has a teenaged son michael from a previous marriage. joining us from milan is claudio lavagna. >> reporter: italians woke up to the sad news of james gandolfini's death. he was a much-loved actor in italy after the "sopranos"

became a huge hit in this country. he died of a heart attack while vacationing in rome. this weekend he was expected to be a guest at the film festival on the seaside town in sicily. many cinema lovers were hoping to get a glimpse of him. although gandolfini was the quintessential italian american, because of his bigger than life personality in and out of the set, italians came to see him as one of their own. >> thank you, claudio lavagna from milan, italy, with the latest. just hours ago, president obama arrived back in washington fresh off a speech in berlin and talks in ireland. he wants to get back to business and immigration reform. a number of issues like nsa surveillance, syria and afghanistan could get in the way. tracie potts joins us now. good morning to you. >> richard, good morning. let's start with immigration. that's where the white house hopes to focus. president obama sitting down today with senate democrats to try to work out this immigration

reform snag that they've hit. and just this morning we've learned that there could be a deal announced today that would double border patrols and add 700 miles of fencing along the borders. that expected to get some republican votes. all of this coming after the president's speech at the brandenberg gates in germany where he talked about other weighty issues he's dealing with here in washington, like how involved the u.s. should get in the civil war in syria. he's already decided to arm the rebels. can he get the allies to rally around? that was part of what he was trying to do at the g-8 summit. he talked about afghanistan now that we're backing off the security forces there, taking over. what will the u.s. role be? a support role, the president said. not to mention the nsa, the continuing questions into surveillance by the national security agency and whether or not civil rights were violated. richard? >> a full plate in washington, d.c. tracie potts, thank you so much. for the first time, the

outgoing director of the fbi said surveillance drones are used here at home. he testified about the nsa surveillance program. he revealed the fbi has used drones on u.s. soil to gather intelligence in a, quote, very, very minimal way and very seldom, end quote. >> generally used in a particular incident where you need the capability. it is very narrowly focused on particularized cases and particularized needs and particularized cases. >> mueller agreed a debate and perhaps legislation to regulate the information gathered by drones could be called for down the road. now to the force feeding of terror suspects at guantanamo bay. dianne feinstein has written a letter to defense secretary chuck hagel asking him to stop the practices. she says they violate u.s. and international standards and medical ethics. she visited gitmo 11 days ago and says 40% of detainees are

being force fed. four were in the hospital for problems related to the feeding or hunger strike, she says. 104 of the 166 prisoners are on a hunger strike. so the tea party wants to get rid of the tax man. they protested in washington wednesday blasting the internal revenue service for targeting conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny. minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann rallied that crowd. >> it's time to abolish the irs, take up something where every single american has to pay something to support this magnificent country. >> and now to a new wildfire that's burning in colorado. this time the foothills south of denver. the lime gulch fire in pike national forest is forcing dozens to leave the town. officials say no homes are currently in danger. lightning is being blamed for starting the flames that so far have charred about 500 acres. it's one of three wildfires burning across colorado, arizona

and new mexico. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here. he's been watching the weather. it's always heat and moisture, right? >> yeah, just the heat, the dry conditions, the drought that's persistent in the area. it's just a recipe. right now we have 19 large incident fires. those are fires that are throughout burning over 100 acres. and there's 19 of them. a lot of them are entered in the four-corner region. a couple in california. a majority of them in new mexico, arizona, colorado and utah. and we have red flag warnings today. it's a dangerous day. one of the reasons why the fire experts say this is going to be just a season not to remember. and how horrible it possibly could be. they are predicting this drought. the area of brown, pretty much all of the west except the northwest to continue in a drought if not get worse. and the weather map today, typical of that. wet weather to the north. the rest of the map is completely dry. we're getting drenched up in spokane but can't buy a raindrop in the four-corner region.

summer season. there's no chance. so it looks like this is going to be a long, dangerous summer. just no way around it. >> thanks, bill karins, with the latest for us. paula deen under fire. ipads for everyone in this school system. plus, the fbi's lead investigator into the cause of twa flight 800 calls the new allegations of a missile strike absolutely preposterous. details in two minutes.

welcome back. stories making news this morning. the crash of twa flight 800 was not an accident. that's according to a new documentary. six former senior investigators say a rogue missile brought down the jumbo jet. that notion has long been debunked by the fbi. the fbi blames a faulty fuel tank for the explosion.

secretary of defense chuck hagel gave a defense policy speech wednesday at the university of nebraska, omaha. afterwards, he took questions from the audience. >> okay. so who has a -- way up in the back there. you're not a member of the taliban, are you? >> well, the person posing the question was of indian decent and also a university professor. pentagon officials say the previous question was about the taliban and hagel made the comment before knowing who was up next. paula deen also has a mess on her hands. newly obtained court documents reveal the celebrity chef admits toution racial slurs including the "n" word. the deposition comes from a former restaurant manager. he's suing deen and her brother for $1.2 million citing sexual and racial workplace discrimination. george zimmerman's family was in court wednesday for the first time since jury selection began. zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the case of trayvon murder.

he's pleading not guilty citing self-defense. hpv cases are down by more than 15% in teenage girls in the u.s. it's thanks to the new vehiclesine though only one-third of teenage girls received the full series of shots required for vaccination. if the u.s. reaches an 80% vaccination rate, about 50,000 lifetime cases of cervical cancer could be prevented. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil ph balance wash. kayla tausche has an early look at business. >> good morning, richard. fewer people are expected to hit the roads over the july 4th holiday than last year but aaa says that's not because of gas prices. aaa cites instead the sluggish economy and says people are just taking less time off. microsoft reverses course on its new xbox one game console. users will now be able to play games offline without having to be connected to the internet. thaibl able to lend and sell used games.

the xbox one goes on sale for $499. and there could be more red arrows today on wall street after markets got slammed wednesday following comments by ben bernanke that the federal reserve may soon start scaling back its economic stimulus programs. if the economy keeps improving. but bernanke says that doesn't mean an interest rate hike is imminent. richard, back to you. >> kayla, thank you. the country's second largest school system plans to order ipads for every student. the los angeles board of education approved a $30 million multi-year purchase. the first order, 31,000 ipads. the district has some 640,000 students, grades k through 12. the names george zimmer may not ring a bell but this ad certainly will. >> you're going to like the way you look. i guarantee it. >> zimmer was the public face of men's warehouse. now he's fired by the board of the company he founded with a single store in texas over 40

years ago. the company gave no reason. zimmer told cnbc he had concerns about the company's direction. and famed italian fashion designers dolce and gabana have been fined and given suspended 20-month prison sentences for tax evasion. d & g is accused of setting up a front company in luxembourg where taxes are 33% cheaper than in italy. bosh scolds them, serena apologizes to hem and tiger is going to sit them out. plus an overtime thriller in the stanley cup finals. you're watching "early today."

now let's get the latest in sports. wild game four in the stanley cup final. chicago gets the first score. johnny oduya stripping the puck here. finds his teammate for the shorthanded goal. chicago scores with a backhand for a 3-1 lead. time to call it? no way. boston pulls even in the third period. chicago then steals the moment num overtime for the win. series tied two each. game five saturday on nbc. the latest on patriots tight end aaron hernandez. first the death of odin lloyd. he was dating the sister of hernandez's girlfriend. now an unrelated lawsuit alleges hernandez shot a man in the face after an argument in front of the miami nightclub in february. hernandez has yet to release a statement. tiger woods has another reason to be sore about tying his worst career score at the

u.s. open. he injured his left elbow at the same time. woods could be sidelined until the british open next month. serena williams has apologized for comments in "rolling stone" about the steubenville rape case where she said the 16-year-old girl involved, quote, shouldn't have put herself in that position. now williams said what happened in steubenville was a real shock for me. i'm deeply saddened and currently reaching out to the girl's family to let her know i'm deeply sorry for what was written in the rolling stone article. the heat's chris bosh is just plain mad. he's peeved fans left before miami rallied back to win game six. he said, quote, for all those guys who left, make sure you don't come to game seven. rap icon jay-z is now a licensed nba agent. caveat here, he can't sign players. first he has to share his 1/15 percent stake in the brooklyn nets. brick by brick by brick. legos turned into baseball sculptures. the louisville slugger museum and factory has wrigley field.

it took 649 days to build, says gizmotop all said over 220,000 legos are at this exhibit. just ahead for you, duane "the rock" johnson more pumped than you've ever seen him. plus stephen colbert strikes a rare emotional chord. we'll show it to you next.

an early spring day in areas from spokane to louiston,

kennewick and northern portions of idaho. that upper level throw plaguing the northwest is what's responsible for that. we still may have a few showers in the northwest but not as much as the rainfall in spokane. still hot in the desert southwest. and this looks like one of the last days for our incredible heat around fairbanks. one more day today. 87 and sunny. >> then you take it all away, huh, bill? >> won't take it all away but definitely closer to normal. >> they are enjoying that weather now doubt. now for some entertainment news. details on the first sparks between angelina jolie and brad pitt. eunice huffert is claiming it stole information about the blossoming relationship from their phone. she worked with them as a stunt double on "mr. and mrs. smith." it ended pitt's marriage to jennifer aniston. jolie and pitt now have six children together.

dwayne "the rock" johnson, he is planning to look like a greek god once he hits the set -- >> half percent body fat. >> he has a film called "hercules." he tweeted that picture showing he's getting ready. he's going to be playing the son of zeus. not like he was ever a slouch when it came to that department. 0.5% body fat. the director's chair has been filled on one of the most anticipated films in hollywood. sam taylor johnson has been picked to bring "fifty shades of grey" to the set. christian colbert usually makes us laugh. last night he returned with a moving tribute to his mom following her death. >> when i was leaving her last week i leaned over and i said, mom, i'm going back to new york to do the show. and she said, i can't wait to see it. i wouldn't miss it for the world. so, with that in mind, this is

"the colbert report." >> lorna elizabeth tuck colbert died last wednesday at the age of 92. >> doing a show for mom. >> absolutely. >> probably always and from now on. >> must have been very tough for him. she was so supportive of his career. >> the mom being proud of their son. you know, it's a nice touching moment. >> yeah. >> i'm richard lui. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

in politico, the immigration bill goes local. the deal in the senate goes beyond securing the border to issues that touch home. and "the new york times," obama readying emissions limits on power plants. the move would be the most consequential he could take. actor james gandolfini has died. his portrayal of tony soprano garnered him worldwide fame. he's believed to have suffered a heart attack while on vacation in italy. three naval academy football players are charged with rape. officials say the trio is accused of sexually assaulting a female midshipman during an off-campus party last year. the academy says it doesn't comment on ongoing investigations. and a new documentary says

twa flight 800's crash was no accident. six former senior investigators say a rogue missile brought down the jumbo jet. that notion has long been debunked by the fbi who blames a faulty fuel tank for that explosion. apparently athleticism does run in the family. christina torre, daughter of former yankees manager joe torre, made the catch of a lifetime. she was walking down a street in new york when a baby was struggling on a fire escape above. she saw the baby begin to slip and then he bounced off the awning of a frozen yogurt shop and sbrit tright into torre's arm. we're guessing her dad is pretty proud. just the whole lead-up to how that baby was caught by her. >> thankfully she was there. the parents are being charged, by the way, for child neglect for the kid going out the window and bouncing off a awning. >> good hands by christina. another torre doing well. jodi arias will be back in court today. the convicted killer faces a

hearing in the trial's penalty phase after the jury failed to agree on the death penalty or flf prison. on this day 38 years ago, a movie milestone. just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, on june 20th, 1975, the classic film "jaws" was released. the first big hit for steven spielbe spielberg. i remember that one. happy birthday to actress nicole kidman, 46, john goodman, 61 and kinger lionel richie, 64, but still ageless. here's what's coming up on the "today" show, after a shocking death at age 51, remembering james gandolfini. and al roker gets a tour of the new transformers ride from steven spielberg. keep it right here for more news, weather and sports. i'm richard lu i. thanks for watching "early today." have a good day.

. just in, new details about the death of "sopranos" actor james gandolfini. what we just learned from italy next. a teenager clinging to life after a shooting in san jose. we'll let you know what police are telling us and -- >> and it opened the wound again. it was very difficult to watch, you know. i still, the second time at different scenes i'm putting my head down and covering my ears. >> what it's like for his moth tore watch "fruitvale station." >> a live look outside in the early morning dawn. one day closer to the weekend, ladies and gentlemen. it's thursday, june 20th