good monday morning. coming up on "early today," we are tracking the whereabouts of edward snowden, the admitted leaker of nsa state secrets. we're live in moscow. nelson mandela's health has deteriorated and become critical. the second-degree murder trial of george zimmerman and the trayvon martin shooting begins today. plus, ath-defying feats of skill and bravery. the supermoon. did you see it? lebron james is cashing in on another 7 million bucks a year. "early today" starts right now. this is "early today" for monday, june 24th. >> good morning, everybody. i'm betty ngyuen. he is arguably the most wanted man in the world. edward snowden is evading u.s.

authorities in a game of cat and mouse fleeing hong kong sunday and flying to moscow. after spending the night in russia, snowden is reportedly flying to cuba today and then to venezuela. u.s. lawmakers are not pleased and what him brought back to the u.s. >> what's infuriating here is prime minister putin of russia aiding and abetting snowden's escape. the bottom line is very simple. allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways and putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the united states. >> i want to get him caught and brought back for trial. and i think we need to know exactly what he has. he could have a lot, lot more. it may really put people in jeopardy. >> and joining me live from london with the latest is nbc's

annabelle roberts. give us what you know in this where in the world is edward snowden game. >> well, good morning, betty. it was thought that edward snowden would take this flight from moscow to havana, the capital of cuba. but my colleague who was booked on that flight and is on that flight says that there has been no sign of mr. snowden on that flight. the plane is full of journalists who were expecting him to travel there. the airliner has made no comment either but, of course, there are possibilities that he was boarded on the flight first before the journalists had any sign of him. they do want their was increased security at the airport around the time that the plane was being boarded. but no sign of him on that flight. where is he? very difficult to say. it was thought that he spent the night in the transit zone at the moscow airport last night but again, no one saw him. the ecuadorian diplomat in

moscow is believed to have talked to him but at moscow yesterday at the airport but apart from that there has been no sign of him. >> thank you so much. grim news from south africa where the health of nelson mandela has taken a turn for the worse. the former president remains in the hospital where officials now describe his condition as critical. keir simmons is in pretoria, south africa with the latest. good morning keir. >> reporter: nelson mandela's condition is really worrying people here this morning. the south african president jacob zuma saying in the last few hours his condition remains critical after he got so much worse over the weekend. jacob zuma said he was at the hospital late last night and describes him as sleeping. one source tells us that nelson mandela is unable to breathe independently and has needed a ventilator at least for some of the time. medics have been rushed in during this difficult time and

jacob zuma says that doctors are doing everything possible for nelson mandela as his wife remains by his bed side as she has been for the last few weeks. meanwhile, one of nelson mandela's daughters is saying the family are taking each day at a time. i want to read you a very moving quote from her this morning. she says, i pray as his daughter that the transition is smooth. he is at peace with himself. he has given so much to the world. back to you. >> indeed he has. thank you. now to florida where opening statements in george zimmerman's second-degree murder trial are slated to begin this morning. the trial kicks off on the heels of a key ruling over the weekend about screams heard on the 911 call the night trayvon martin was shot and killed. danielle leigh joins us with a preview. >> reporter: good morning. this is the day that the defense and prosecution have spent months preparing for.

the opening arguments are going to set the tone in this highly anticipated trial. the jur reeve six officially begins determining george zimmerman's fate. the prosecution gets the first word this morning in the second-degree murder trial of 29-year-old george zimmerman. it's been more than a year since the former community watch volunteer told investigators he fatally shot 17-year-old trayvon martin. >> and i just had my firearm and i shot him one time. >> now six female jurors will decide whether zimmerman murdered martin or as he's told police, acted in self-defense. >> a good lawyer looks at a juror irrespective of age, race, background, gender. you just want someone you can relate to. >> reporter: zimmerman's attorney says he's ready to clear his name. >> it's the waiting frustrating for everyone, particularly him. >> judge deborah nelson ruled that a 911 call recorded the

night of the shooting can be played during the trial. >> do you think he's yelling help? >> yes. >> however, the jury will not hear from audio experts who say the voice may belong to martin. the judge rejected the techniques. but she will allow the prosecution to use words like profiling and other phrases that the defense calls inflammatory and wanted locked. >> it's an interesting language of semantics. the state has to be very cautious to not go over the line. >> what's still not clear if zimmerman will take the stand and defend himself in a trial that could put him in prison for life. and looking around the courthouse right now, we're enjoying the few final moments of what will be a very busy day here today because this case has prompted a national debate about race and gun use. just to my left there's a special area that's been set up for protesters. a spokesperson for the court has said that opening arguments in

the second-degree murder trial typically take the entire day and this entire trial is expected to last two to four weeks. reporting live in sanford, florida, dawnieg leigh. betty, back to you. george zimmerman has pleaded not guilty claiming self-defense in the shooting death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. and we should mention george zimmerman has sued nbc universal, the parent company of this network, for defamation. the company has strongly denied his allegations. the largest wildfire in colorado's history continues to grow and spread. this morning, there are 11 wildfires burning, covering more than 130 miles. officials have named them the west fork complex fire and are attempting to keep them out of nearby residential areas. emergency crews have already evacuated the city of south fork, typically a major summer tourist destination. todd santos is in for bill karins this morning. we're a full week into summer

now. >> the winds still gusting across the area. likely still to deal with some of the issues today. similar story once you get down in arizona just outside prescot with the fire. there's a look at the setup with showers, thunderstorms ongoing right now. the northwest, actually a little swell, low pressure rolling in specifically toward the pacific northwest and northern california. mainly shower activity right now. could see thunderstorms later on this afternoon. and the thunderstorms across the fire zones not that likely but a couple of these fires including the west fork started by lightning. in effect across a huge area of the four corners. even actually spreading into a few neighboring states. the better chances for showers outside of the areas that really could use it. a few of those thunderstorm areas. quiet toward phoenix. 106. good chance for showers in the northwest. down towards the valley, around

58 degrees. so a few areas dealing with showers today. we'll talk about some of the hot spots across the country. the taliban kills an american in retaliation. stocks are on the move this morning. plus, wendy's has a burger that the other guys just don't. and history is made at the grand canyon. details when "early today" returns in two minutes.

welcome back. police search the home of new england patriots tight end aaron hernandez over the weekend. the 23-year-old has been in the middle of a murder investigation since the body of a man was found last week less than a mile from his home. one american is among nine foreign tourists killed at a

camp site in northern pakistan. the taliban claimed responsibility for that attack saying it was revenge for drone strikes. funeral services will be held thursday in new york city for late actor james gandolfini. his body arrived overnight in his native new jersey. and supermoon lit up the night sky over the weekend. did you get a chance to see it? from jerusalem to los angeles, star gazers looked uptwoord catch a glimpse of the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. i thought it was pretty beautiful. daredevil nik wallenda performed a stunt on a steel cable just two inches thick and 1500 feet in the air over the little colorado river gorge. wind at the time were gusting up to 30 miles per hour. that was impressive. more men are taking care of their loved ones suffering from alzheimer's. according to two new studies by the alzheimer's association, the national alliance for care

giving almost 40% of care givers are men. that's up from 19% just 15 years ago. the reason? well, experts say it's because more women over 65 suffer from the disease. 3.4 million women compared to 1.8 million men. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil. bring yourself back. >> now for an early look at business and for that we turn to cnbc's bertha coombs. good morning, bertha. >> good morning, betty. markets could see more red arrows today. stocks come off their worst week since mid-april. investors reacting to the fed meeting. disappointing economic data out of china. data this week on u.s. durable goods, housing and personal income. prices at the pump are following. very unusual this time of year. the average gas price dropping 4 cents to $3.59 a gallon. that's due to large declines in stockpiles in the midwest coupled with cheaper crude prices overall.

some fuel is going up. the morning fuel for many of us, starbucks is raising drink prices by as much as 10 cents starting tomorrow. the coffee chain says less than one-third of its beverages will be affected. drip coffee will not be affected. commodity costs make up less than 10% of starbucks' overall expenses. good thing we're spending less on gasoline because a loufts really need that coffee. the price of oil also falls toward $93 a barrel on china's lending concerns. according to forbes, that nba championship and series mvp will net lebron james around $7 million in new endorsements. that adds to his current $40 million in yearly off the court income. twinkie lovers have a little twinkle in their eye. the super sweet sponge cakes will be back on shelves july 15th in the sweetth comeback in the history of, well, ever, of

course. and today wendy's begins rolling out the pretzel bacon cheeseburger. they are served on premium pretzel buns should be available coast to coast in about two weeks. that looks delicious. bruce springsteen's major tribute to james gandolfini and a huge weekend box office to tell you about. plus all your sports highlights. that is next. you're watching "early today."

in sports we start with an exciting finish in golf. at the travelers championship, an amazing chip shot from off the green for a birdie right there to send it to a playoff. and then on the second playoff hole, sank the birdie. it's his first ever for the 44-year-old. earlier, though, bubba watson got a little angry with his caddie after he picked the wrong club. >> watch him try to put this in. >> gust of wind. go! go! >> oh, man. really? wow. >> someone is not happy. to the nba. the clippers and celtics have reportedly worked out a deal for boston coach doc rivers to become a new head coach for los angeles. now rivers gets a three-year, $21 million contract. and the clippers get the celtics

a 2015 first round pick as compensati compensation. according to pro hockey talk.com, a switcheroo for the coaches in the national hockey league. recently fired new york rangers coach john tortorella will become the new head boss of the vancouver canucks. the canucks former coach was given the rangers job. tonight, game six of the stanley cup finals is in boston. the puck drops at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on nbc. the chicago blackhawks lead the series against the bruins, three games to two. so they could wrap it up tonight. in baseball, we go. a great catch in milwaukee has the brewers center fielder made that huge leap and then hit the wall. he sprained his shoulder and is day-to-day but what a catch that was. detroit's first baseman victor martinez knocked down a line drive and scrambled into foul territory to grab the ball and then without looking to see that he flipped backward to the

pitcher to beat the runner for the out. now that is talent right there. good for him. just ahead, paula deen supporters and detractors are out in droves. what's next for the southern chef. those details ahead on "early today."

welcome back. at least a few areas where we have a chance for showers. northern california, already a few showers. some raindrops coming down. boise, a chance for a thunderstorm. get all the way in toward

casper. denver, dealing with mostly cloudy conditions. still warm across the southwest. still the elevated fire danger. keep that in mind. just be safe out there. wouldn't take much more to generate additional fires. more showers in the northwest. betty? >> thank you so much. the monsters beat out the zombies at the box office this weekend. pixar's latest film "monsters university" was able to earn a whopping 82 million bucks. brad pitt's world war z had a great box office haul pulling in $66 million. bruce springsteen has dedicated a recent concert to the late james gandolfini. they had a strong connection to the actor thanks to band member steven van zandt who actually played gandolfini's right-hand man on "the sopranos." after the food network dropped cellen chef paula deen last week due to racial comments it looks like qvc may now follow suit saying they are reviewing

their business relationship. well, not everyone wants paula deen gone, though. the we support paula deen facebook page already has 279,000 likes. just ignore the little slip-up by the page's creators who mistakenly used the onion news article in the header. can you believe that? >> that onion news it turns people off. a lot of people think it's real. >> especially overseas. >> and they start putting it on their front page. check your source, folks. >> please do. i'm betty ngyuen. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

hundreds protest texas abortion restrictions. throngs of women's right pros testers descend on austin, the state capitol in texes too watch them try a series of measures to stop the republican majority from passing strict abortion restrictions. is ecuador sticking it to the u.s. why would edward snowden seek asyl num ecuador. the south american nation is reportedly offering asylum to nsa leaker edward snowden. topping our news, nelson mandela remains in critical condition. the 94-year-old former south african president has been battling a lung infection in pretoria. a hospital there since june 8th. his 95th birthday is next month. the body of actor james

gandolfini is back in the u.s. the iconic "sopranos" star died suddenly in italy on wednesday from a heart attack. funeral services are scheduled for thursday in new york city. and on a brighter note, we can't take our eyes off these shots of the supermoon. the biggest and brightest full moon of the year caught the eye of star gazers from jerusalem to los angeles. it was quite a sight. hopefully you got to see it. it's official. the 25th annual world's ugliest dog competition is over and the winner has been named. wally is a 4-year-old mix of beagle, boxer and bassett hound. wally who you just saw is not that ugly. wally's owner tammy got him when he was 3 weeks old. she just loves him despite all his flaws. her unconditional love has its perk. wally won the $1500 and some bragging rights for months to come. i don't know. he's not ugly.

>> cute dog. >> he's a really adorable dog. usually mutts make the best dogs. i don't know what they were seeing there. >> we need to check those judges. time for a look ahead. important decisions from the u.s. supreme court. the justices will rule on proposition 8 in california banning same-sex marriage as well as the constitutionality of the defense of marriage act. and the high court will decide the fate of the voting rights act. that law requires states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval before changing how they conduct elections. happy birthday to actress mika kelly who is 33. drummer mick fleetwood turns 66 and guitarist jeff beck is 69. here's what's coming up later on the "today" show. after walking a tightrope across the grand canyon. nik wallenda talks about his dangerous stunt. keep it right here for more news, weather n sports. and betty ngyuen. thanks for watching "early today." have a good one.

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the supreme court is hours away from making what could be an historic decision on same-sex marriage. what's next for proposition 8 coming up? plus on the run, the who says he leaked details about the nsa surveillance program now in russia. that's not his last stop. we'll tell you where edward snowden appears to be heading. the san jose police department increases patrols to try to fight gang activity in the city. a little fog blocking our shot there socked in on the golden gate bridge. christina loren will be along to tell us where that's headed next on this monday, june 24th. this is "today in the bay."