breaking news this morning on "early today," 19 members of an elite firefighting crew killed while battling a fast-moving blaze southwest of phoenix. president obama has reached out to those lost calling them heroes. also a major heat wave. death valley reaches 127 in many areas in arizona, and nevada, and interior california. it could reach 125 through tuesday. plus the nsa leaker may be marooned in moscow, but america's allies want answers about the government spying on them. and if you have outstanding student loans, you'd better buckle up. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early

today" for monday, july 1st. >> good morning. i'm betty ngyuen. we begin with a developing and tragic story out of the southwest 19 firefighters were killed while battling an out-of-control wildfire in yarnell, arizona. the "arizona republic" with a compelling front page as they grasp what happened. flames are being fueled by high winds and triple-digit temperatures. names and ages of the 19 fallen firefighters have not been released just yet but all were men and members of an elite crew from nearby prescot. erica elliott has more. >> reporter: the wildfire began about 85 miles northwest of phoenix on friday with the lightning strike. because of dry grass and gusting winds it quickly spiraled out of control. forcing families out of their homes with little notice. >> the house is on fire when we left. everything was there, but it was

on fire. so it's gone. >> reporter: an elite team of firefighters went in to set up a barrier to stop the fire from marching toward homes and people but they were caught in the middle of the inferno. >> our entire crew was lost. we lost 19 people in this wildfire. one of the worst wildfire disasters that's ever taken place. >> reporter: heavy winds pushed the flames on top of the firefighters who had to deploy emergency tent-like structures, typically used as a last resort to shield them from the intense heat. >> when you are deploying, that's it. you just hope that your training and the deployment of the shelter kind of does what it's supposed to do and you are able to walk away from it. >> reporter: they did not. 19 members of the elite hot shot crew gone. 2,000 acres are now scorched. at least 200 homes destroyed. and while the nation mourns the loss of those brave

firefighters, the flames continue to burn. erica edwards, nbc news. joining us on the phone from arizona is mary rasmussen, a spokesperson for prescot national forest. thanks for joining us. we're so sorry to hear about your community's loss. >> good morning, yes. most of the community is waking up to the news, i they didn't hear it late yesterday night, about the tragedy of our local firefighters perishing in this fire. >> it is devastating. i can only begin to imagine. we understand you knew these firefighters professionally. you flif prescott. how are you and the community cope ing this morning? >> for sure most people are in a state of shock. it just really hasn't sunk in yet. i say that because just last week the granite mountain hot shots were working with many members of the community and other wildland firefighters to battle the dosi fire just last

week on the north side of prescott. and in that battle, they were successful in saving more than 400 homes that were in the fire's path. >> these were called the hot shots. this was an elite crew. what do you know about these 19 men in particular? give us an idea of who they were. >> this can be said for any hot shot crew but it's a little bit more special for the granite mountain hot shots. they are supported and funded boy prescott fire department. and that is a municipal fire department whereas most of the other hot shot crews are sponsored and supported by public land management agencies such as the forest service or the bureau of land management. so they are unique in that sense right there. they train hard. they live and work with us in prescott, and the motto of prescott is everybody's

hometown. so it just adds special meaning to the fact that they go out and represent the community of prescott when they are out there fighting fires. >> as the president said, real heros. mary, i know it's difficult for you but we appreciate your time today. thank you very much for being with us. >> you're welcome. arizona isn't the only state experiencing extreme weather. all across the west, record-setting heat is being blamed for travel delays, drought-like conditions, even death. in las vegas, the strip has never been hotter hitting 117 on sunday. that ties a record set back in 1940. local officials there say more than two dozen people were hospitalized over the weekend for heat related issues. and an elderly man actually died in his home where there was no air conditioning. in california, at least one record was tied in death valley as temperatures approach 130 degrees there. can you imagine? highs in southern california hovered in the mid-90s. for travelers trying to get out of phoenix it was slow going.

usairways canceled more than a dozen flights after the mercury there shot up to an all-time record of 119. numbers like that can impact smaller jets during takeoff and landing. and those hot temperatures, well, they're not expected to break any time soon. meteorologist todd santos will have the latest on all this heat as well as your national forecast in just a few minutes. in the meantime, unfleft egypt as tens of thousands hit the streets to oust president mohamed morsi. this comes 2 1/2 years after the arab spring swept hosni mubarak from power. violent protests have left more than a dozen dead and injured hundreds nationwide. washington has evacuated nonessential personnel at diplomatic installations. >> reporter: good morning, betty. an uneasy calm has settled in the capital of egypt, a day after millions of egyptians took to the streets to mark the first anniversary of the presidency of

mohamed morsi. more than 22 million egyptians have signed a petition calling on him to step down. late last night president morsi remained defiant. a spokesperson saying he had no reason to step down. after all, he's the democratically elected civilian president of the country. and that's really highlighting the growing division in this country between the opposition and the president. and those that support him. for now, though, the situation here remains tense. this morning, the ministry of health says at least 16 people have been killed in those clashes across the country. hundreds more have been injured. and more importantly, security remains very circumspect across the capital. the offices have been ransacked. the opposition will give morsi until tuesday 5:00 p.m. to meet their demands otherwise they'll go back to the streets and continue their acts of civil disobedience. >> thank you. we're also watching this. the weather. incredibly hot out there. the weather channel's todd santos is in for bill karins.

he's probably taking a break from this heat wave. you are stuck to deal with it and all the complaints. i'm sure you got plenty of it. >> i think a lot of folks in the southwest this time of year know what to do. >> this is record heat, right? >> terrifying when you talk about record heat in a country that's really the hottest we have to offer. death valley, southwest. >> it's called death valley for a reason. >> there may be some revisions to that top number at 128 at the moment. there's a look at excessive heat warnings in effect. they start just to the west of where the yarnell fire is. the firefighters will be dealing with temperatures close to 109. vegas 117. if you hit that today you'll be tying that all-time record once again. 97 degrees right now. just after 4:00 a.m. we'll continue to deal with a chance for pop-up showers through the afternoon. not much going on across the southeast. noticeably some green showing up. the rain potential the next few days. that heat going all the way in the northwest. there's a look112.

pack the sunblock. stay cool. so a number of areas still dealing with the heat. we'll talk more about whether wr you might see a little relief but it is sumner the west. >> you no know it's summer when seattle, 91, was the lowest temperature on that list. a billion-dollar deal in the works. a major headache for anyone with student loans. and some good news, though if you are investing. plus, new information on just what that bundle of joy will cost you. that's next.

welcome back. the world's most wanted man is still holed up in moscow. and without a valid u.s. passport, nsa leaker edward snowden is unable to travel. this amid new allegations the u.s. is spying on the european

union. information believed to have come from snowden. tracie potts is in washington with more on all of this. what do you know about these latest spying allegations? >> reporter: those allegations posted in a german magazine alleging that the united states, the nsa, the national security agency, has been spying on its own allies on the eu, the european union, by bugging offices, hacking computers. now these allegations believed to have come from edward snowden who, as far as we know is still in that transit lounge in the moscow airport. russia says hands off. he hasn't touched their soil and now ecuador, the country that had been willing to help says until russia does something or until he can get to an ecuadoran embassy or to ecuador, there's nothing they can do about grnting himfter ecuador's presi spoke with vice president biden about the situation. the vice president leaning on

ecuador to send snowden home. at this point it looks like he's stuck. according to that german magazine, still talking. betty? >> the saga continues. thank you. other news making the headlines today. a cirque du soleil performer died saturday after an accident during a show at the gm grand. audience members said the performer fell close to 50 feet into a pit below the stage. supreme court justice anthony kennedy denied a request by proposition 8 supporters to halt same-sex marriages in california. the request came the same weekend of the 44th annual lgbt pride marches all arod the country. the events had greater meaning this year thanks to the supreme court ruling on the defense of marriage act. last night eric draseti was sworn in as the 42nd mayor of los angeles. and transit workers in san francisco's bay area have officially gone on strike saying they could not agree on points regarding salary, pensions,

health care and safety. more than 400,000 commuters will be affected by this strike. not so great news if you are planning to have a baby. here's why. a "new york times" analysis finds pregnancy in the u.s. is far more expensive than anywhere nels the world. the average amount paid for a conventional birth in 2012 was just under $10,000. that's more than twice as much as any other country while $15,000, that's what it costs for cesarean, that was nearly triple the price. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil. bring yourself back. now for an early look at business, we turn to cnbc's seema moody. >> the markets have had a very good start to the year. even despite the volatility over the past few weeks as investors fret over what the fed will do with interest rates. the dow has had its best first half since 1999 and the s&p 500 and the dow index were positive in the second quarter. and it's a good time to be

king. "the new york times" says the average pay for the top u.s. ceos rose 16% to $15 million. oracle's larry ellison tops the list. his pay jumped 24% to $96 million. and there could be consolidation in the cable industry. reports say liberty media is eyeing time warner cable and may try to buy the company through its investment in charter communications. a combined charter/time warner cable would have 50 million subscribers. back to you. we're going to tell you what's leading the news, plus the best sports highlights anywhere this time of the morning.

let's get you the latest in sports. june has been a hot month for a dodgers rookie. yasiel puig had four hits against the phillies and finished june with 44 hits. that puts him in the history books for the second highest number of hits in a player's first full calendar month in the major league. he falls just behind joe dimaggio who had 48 hits in 1936. he's best known for his 56-game hit streak, another record of his that still stands. and the longest hit streak of this season, that is still alive and well after michael cuddyer singled against the

giants to give him oneit in 27 games. inbee park became the first woman to win the first three major golf tournaments of the year in a season when there are four. she won the u.s. open by four shots and will shoot for a fourth title next month. taking it to soccer. the confederation cup. brazil's fred got tangled up with defenders in front of the spanish goal. but the ball went right to him. check this out. he was on the ground but still you see that, able to kick it in for the score. how did he do that? fortunately he did. brazil beat spain, 3-0, for the third straight confed cup. during the game prorks testers clashed with police outside the stadium. these violent demonstrations in brazil have raised questions about the country's ability to host next year's world cup. just ahead why j. lo is taking a lot of heat for singing "happy birthday." plus another monster weekend at the box office.

two newcomers get schooled. that's next.

welcome into july and welcome in to "early today." a very, very hot situation across the aye good stretch of the southwest. vegas and phoenix forecasting record temperatures. vegas, 117 again today. that would be tying the all-time warmest temperature recorded there in vegas. there's a look across the northwest. also hanging on to warm temperatures into tuesday. will start to see things cooling down over the next couple of

days. and a quick preview into the fourth of july. showers across the eastern half of the country dotting the area in through the afternoon. july is a hot one so far. thank you. now for some entertainment news it was another monstrous weekend at the movies as monsters university took the top spot scaring up $46.2 million. the heat scorched the rest of the competition for a second place finish ahead of "world war z" and white house down. the british tabloid sunday people has released a bombshell report on fbi files linking michael jackson to rampant sexual child abuse. the explosive documents claim jackson paid $35 million in hush money over 15 years to cover up the molestation of at least two dozen boys, including five child actors. well, j. lo woke up to a public relations nightmare following a saturday night performance in turkmenistan. the latino pop star says she was

unaware of the country's notorious record on human rights violations when she agreed to perform and sing "happy birthday" to its president. you think someone should have caught that before it happened. jessica simpson gave birth to a baby boy on sunday. i like this name. ace knute johnson is the second child for simpson and her fiance. i like ace. i'm not so sure about knute. maybe it's a family name. i think of the bear that was in the news, knute. ace is a cool name. >> ace is solid. >> very texas. i'm betty ngyuen. this is "early today," we hope it's just your first stop of the day today on nbc.

leading the news in "the wall street journal," "as u.s. pulls out, feuds split afghanistan's ruling family." infighting among the karzai family underlines the challenge as the transition of power looms. in "the new york times," "paid via card, workers feel sting of fees." a growing number of america's hourly workers are getting their wages on a prepaid card. those cards are often charged fees to get cash, statements and to replace lost cards. devastation in arizona. the worst firefighter casualty in a single incident since the attacks on 9/11. 19 firefighters are dead after a fast moving wildfire swept through yarnell about 85 miles northwest of phoenix. colleagues say they are in grief calling them the finest, most

decorated people. a lightning strike is believed to have caused the yarnell hill fire on friday and it spread across some 2,000 acres destroying some estimated 200 homes. most people evacuated from the small town just of 700 people. no other injuries or deaths have been reported. in a statement, president obama called the firefighters heroes. he added, quote, michelle and i join all americans in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of these brave firefighters and all whose lives have been upended by this terrible tragedy. arizona senator john mccain saying, quote, this devastating loss is a reminder of the grave risks our firefighters take every day on our behalf in arizona and in communities across this nation. their sacrifice will never be forgotten. 200 firefighters worked to quell the flames on sunday. hundreds more are expected today. the red cross has opened two shelters in the area. and as of late sunday, the fire, it is still near 0% contained. time for a look ahead.

student loan interest rates have officially doubled as of this morning jumping from 3.4% to 6.8%. u.s. today reports $1.1 trillion in outstanding student loan debt. the texas state legislature begins a second special session today. now this follows last week's special session in which a filibuster prevented the passage of a restrictive abortion bill. we also want to say happy birthday today to actress pamela anderson who is 46. comedian and actor dan aykroyd turns 61. and singer deborah harry is 68 today. here's what's coming up later on "today." the latest on the george zimmerman trial. testimony is expected today from the detective who led the investigation into the death of trayvon martin. and savannah guthrie goes one on one with the legendary superstar cher. can't wait to see that. keep it right here for more news, weather and sports. i'm betty ngyuen. thanks for watching "early today." have a terrific monday.

♪ we have created a terrible situation here for the riding public, and for our members. >> commuters are waking up to a worst case scenario. less than five hours ago, b.a.r.t. workers announce, they are on strike. >> right now we take outside to give you a live look it at the bay bridge toll plaza. if you're getting ready to hit the road, prepare for a very rough ride into work. right now it doesn't look too bad, but, again, it's only 4:30. good morning, i'm marla tellez in for jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia cannon. we have coverage of the first strike since 1997 under way. it could be an ugly commute today. >> it could be. we're counting on