good morning on this independence day. coming up on "early today," unrest and celebrations in egypt as the world watches what will happen next. and president obama hunkers down with his national security team. from heightened securityo barbecue blowouts and everything in between. a massive hole swallows up a car and driver, but somehow, it all ends well. plus, who would gets james gandolfini's $70 million estate? the arizona firefighters remembered, and the bunny that is causing quite a stir in texas. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for thursday, july 4th. well, good morning, everybody, on this fourth of july. we begin with breaking news

overnight. an interim president is named after a dramatic political shift. adley minsor takes that post after mohamed morsi is ousted. in a striking fall from grace, egypt's first democratically elected president is now under house arrest, one year after his election. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports from cairo where celebrations raged into the night. >> reporter: it's the cry of millions of egyptians. an outpouring of joy and relief that a weight has been lifted from their shoulders. the end of a political experiment gone wrong. >> i'm crying because i'm so happy. so happy we get rid of them. >> we are now free egypt, out of muslim brotherhood. >> reporter: army helicopters flew over tahrir square dropping flags. thanking them for driving out

president morsi whom they claimed neglected the wants of thepeople. the celebrations were triggered by this highly anticipated announcement. the army chief on national television outlining a road map. morsi out, the constitution suspended. the head of the constitutional court, the new president. but only until early elections. and what about morsi and his supporters? they are calling this a naked coup and a front to islam. a plot by israel and america. they are furious. the u.s. embassy which is just in the back of this square has ordered the departure of all nonemergency personnel and their families. and is even advising american citizens in egypt to leave. richard engel, nbc news, cairo. with more on this, yusuf gamal aldin is live with more. >> reporter: the story still

rapidly developing here in cairo. the latest development is a new acting president has been sworn in this morning after being sworn in as the head of the supreme constitutional court. he'll oversee this period. he's been with the constitutional court since 1992. this comes on the back of the statement we got late yesterday effectively ousting muhammad orsy. we understand that he is in a safe location. we don't have a new date for the election but the constitution will be suspended. in terms of tension and violence, still both of them at very high levels. some ten people have lost their lives in violence overnight. >> thank you. now to nbc's tracie potts in washington. president obama says he is deeply concerned but did stop short of calling this a coup. how is this playing out diplomatically? >> in washington, the president called together his national security team and said he was

deeply concerned about the way this happened. and he wants to make sure that egypt is returned to a democratically elected government. he's also very concerned not just about the crowds in tahrir square but others around the country who are supporting former president morsi. he wants to make sure that there's no military crackdown on them. now we've seen our own demonstrations here in washington outside the white house. americans in support of what's happening in egypt but the u.s. is in a bit of a tricky situation having been seen by some egyptians as turning a blind eye to not only the way morsi was governing and allowing radical islamists to take too much power, but also sort of turning a blind eye to the way democracy was developing in that nation. betty? >> traceie, thank you for that. we'll be watching all of this as it plays out. if you are planning on getting out of town this long holiday weekend, you are not alone. aaa expects more than 40 million

americans to pack the roads over the next few days. while the highways may be crowded there is some good news. gas prices are at a five-month low. averaging $3.48 a gallon. and if you are staying in the city to watch some fireworks or take in a concert, you can expect a stepped up police presence. security is being beefed up around the country, including in major cities like boston and the nation's capital. firefighters are finally starting to get an upper hand on that massive wildfire in arizona. the yarnell hill fire is now 45% contained. that is way up from 0% containment just two days ago. and while it is positive news, an investigation into what caused the deaths of 19 firefighters earlier this week is just beginning. nbc's jennifer byork li n has more from the front lines. >> reporter: a sad caravan bringing out an impromptu honor guard as the vehicles that carried 20 hot shots to the yarnell fire made their way back

without their men. >> hot shots can begin their journey home. >> reporter: 19 lost their lives fighting the lightning-sparked fire on sunday. >> i want to acknowledge number 20 here. he laid his life on the line as well. >> the surviving member of the team attended a public memorial to pay tribute. he was the lookout conveying key information, warning them of the erratic shift, at risk of being overrun himself. fire officials say he followed his training and did everything right so the investigation will focus on what went wrong. >> a significant fire event. significant weather event. all of that will be looked at and pieced with it some of the best technology in the country. >> reporter: investigators from all over the u.s. are on the ground in the 13-square-mile burn area looking for answers to learn from this tragedy. >> this team will perform a thorough investigation so we can understand what happened as completely as possible to

prevent future accidents as this. they owe that to the firefighters and the people suffering from loss. in light of that, we've got to be careful because it is the fourth of july. we want to celebrate and have fun but with fireworks, the dry grass and heat, it can be dangerous. >> it's very dangerous especially when you add in the dry weather. temperatures right now are basically in the mid-70s. as we go throughout the day today, we're going to continue with the heat in the southwest. but temperatures will be improving over the course of the next couple of days. each day going down just a little bit. but we do still have some showers up and down the east coast. streaming in from the gulf of mexico and also showers in the southwest. they pop up during the afternoon and although we are focused on the fireworks, keep in mind that lightning with some of these pop-up storms is also a trigger possibly for some fires because it is so dry.

those excessive heat warnings are diminishing across california, nevada and arizona where temperatures again about 114 in vegas. 112 in phoenix. it's improving and getting a little bit closer to ghoerl is still hot this time of the cali around 105 with partly cloudy skies. so there are some dangers that come with the holidays. obviously with the fire but lightning can also trigger some -- >> barbecues, you're having one of those. >> have to have a barbecue. >> everybody be careful. straight ahead, a massive hole swallows a car and its driver. can you believe this? the dramatic rescue. just in time for the fourth, over 5,000 of america's bravest from the "uss eisenhower" return home to norfolk to barbecue and celebrate our independence. welcome back.

it was another dramatic day in the second-degree murder trial of george zimmerman. the jury got a good look at the physical evidence like trayvon martin's clothing from that night and the gun used to kill him. nbc's ron mott has our story from florida. >> reporter: jurors got an up-close look at trayvon martin's bloody hoody and the bullet hole created by the 9 millimeter pistol, what was described as a muzzle shot. >> meaning the muzzle of the gun or the barrel was up against the shirt when it was fired? >> correct. >> dna testimony confirmed only zimmerman's fingerprints were found on the gun and none of his dna was found under martin's fingernails. it was also a day zimmerman's law enforcement know-how was made public with his college professor, now army prosecutor testified he aced a criminal

litigation class. >> he was probably one of the better students in the class. >> it included discussion of florida's self-defense law commonly called stand your ground. zimmerman has pleaded not guilty saying he fired in self-defense. but the witness testified he taught students self-defense has its limits. >> we also talked about imperfect self-defense where you may have started out being the person that was attacked, but for whatever reason, you took it a step forward and now you're the aggressor. >> we also told defense attorney don west the standard is imminent fear. >> you don't want to wait until you're almost dead before you can defend yourself? >> no. i would advise you probably don't do that. >> this brought a smile and a chuckle from even the defendant. the state is expected to call its final witness and rest its case when testimony resumes here on friday. ron mott, nbc news, sanford, florida.

other stories making news this morning it was the coast guard to the rescue. a florida unit found eight boaters including two american teams who had been missing off the coast of honduras since last week. everybody is a-okay. if you ever have driven over a pothole, you know it can give you a jolt, but nothing like this. a massive sinkhole swallowed a driver in toledo. the driver got out safely. her car is now in the repair shop. i want to know how the heck did they get the car out of that hole? a southern california teacher has been arrested after giving birth to a baby allegedly fathered by a 16-year-old student. 28-year-old laura elizabeth whitehurst is now facing sex crimes charges. some sad news out of yosemite. a summer camp counselor was killed when a tree fell on to a campfire circle. 21-year-old anaise rittenburg is being remembered as a role mod whole loved art. the countdown is on until the arrival of the british heir. "us weekly" reports kate

middleton is feeling great but she's also quite nervous. can't blame her for that. and even before she gives birth, the royal baby gifts are rolling in, including this 18-karat white gold charm bracelet that doubles as a diaper rash cream holder. and it is reportedly world $15,000. that is some expensive diaper rash. the stock market is closed on this fourth of july. investors will be keeping an eye on tomorrow's jobs report from the department of labor. however, on wednesday, adp said 188,000 new private sector jobs were added in june. if you plan on grilling today, you are not alone. about 81 million americans, including dylan, will be joining you at the cookout. on a largely desolate stretch of road in marfa, texas. playboy enterprises puts their logo in an attempt to revamp their image through art and culture. the bunny logo caused quite a stir among residents and a state

agency says it is illegal and must come down. well, a time-out in sri lanka. the country has banned this week's issue because of the cover story on violence between buddhist and muslims in myanmar. the concern in sri lanka is over religious fallout. sports is next. first, we'd like to wish all our viewers a very safe and happy fourth of july. enjoy your day and the independence that so many have fought for over the years.

in sports, the youth invasion has begun in bean town. the boston celtics have hired brad stevens to be their head coach. the 36-year-old fills the vacancy left by doc rivers' departure to the clippers. manny ramirez is heading back to the big leagues sporting a brand new 'do. the texas rangers signed him to a minor league contract and he says he will cut those famous locks to comply with the team's policy on hair length. let's hope it doesn't affect his game. some guys are superstitious about that. well, the minnesota twins, they celebrated a yankee. rivera's final season by presenting the relief picture with a rocking chair. the twins' gift is made of

shattered bats and some caused by rivera's famous fastball. rapper jay-z continuing to make a big splash in the sports world since launching rock nation sports and a new song off his new album. the music mogul brags about signing yankee robinson cano away from super agent scott bjork. sportsillustrated.com recently had some fun with an expose from ricky bobby, you know him, from "talladega nights." the fictional nascar driver is broke but managed to pull enough money together with antoine walker and warren sapp to open, get this, r&b's smoke and toke shop. that's a first. maybe a comeback kid with this. just ahead, dylan dreyer is back with your fourth of july weather. plus, james gandolfini's estate distributed. details next.

good morning. welcome back on this fourth of july. the weather looks pretty nice in the pacific northwest. 57 degrees in seattle. nice comfortable morning. the good news is temperatures are starting to fall in the southwest. not significantly, but at least closer to average. we'll be at around 112 this afternoon in phoenix. the northwest about 75 degrees. boise, idaho, 97 degrees through the afternoon. and it does stay a little steamy in the interior parts of the west coast. but seattle looks pretty good at about 72 degrees. >> 70s on the fourth of july. that ain't bad. >> not bad at all. it is time for some

entertainment now. reports say the late actor james gandolfini has left the bulk of his $70 million estate to his two children, 13-year-old michael and 8-month-old lilliana. recognize him? usher rang the closing bell at the new york stock exchange wednesday to promote the macy's fourth of july fireworks spectacular. can't wait to see that. and you can catch tonight's special at 8:00, 7:00 central right here on nbc. e-news has confirmed 36-year-old "scandal" star kerry washington secretly tied the knot with san francisco niners quarterback nnamdi asomugha in idaho. they had been dating since last summer. and hayden panettiere allegedly loves nutella. she tweeted a picture of her holding the goodness with a picture, breakfast anyone? 11 pounds of that stuff?

kanye west confirmed baby north isn't responding to his music. celebrity blogger naughty but nice rob said the kardashian baby seems to cry every time one of her daddy's song is on. i have that same effect. no, just kidding. >> at this point, the baby is all but one month old and it's all about him. >> his songs aren't really lullabies. >> a little too much base. >> that's probably it. >> keeps waking them up. >> the baby is going to be grooving pretty soon. i'm betty ngyuen. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop on this fourth of july. have a great one.

leading the news in "the new york times" -- u.s. postal service logging all mail for law enforcement. a postal service program created after anthrax attacks gathers photos of the exterior of every piece of paper mail processed in the nation. that is about 160 billion pieces last year. and the "boston globe," for some, holiday brings echoes of marathon terror. nearly three months after the marathon bombings, some witnesses are struggle with booms and flashes from fireworks. topping our news, president obama says he is deeply concerned with egypt's military ousting of president mohamed morsi. he is urging a shift back to a democratic government. the president is also ordering a review of the $1.5 billion in aid we send to egypt every year. with further unrest likely,

the state department has ordered all nonessential u.s. diplomats and the families of all american embassy personnel to leave the country. in lima, peru, a 4,000-year-old pyramid is no more. this is what is left of a 20-foot tall structure. it looked like a beautiful structure before but really nothing is left now. it's just a bit of rubble torn down on wednesday. an investigation is under way into who is responsible for that. we also want to say a very happy fourth to you. how much did you spend for your family picnic? the american farm bureau federation says it should be just under 6 bucks at $5.72 per person. that's a bargain, i'd say. purina pet food created an ingenious way to get dogs to play with -- play in their new commercial and their food. this dog goldberg machine commercial features a half dozen dogs getting involved in

antixes. we're not sure how many takes of this video. we're sure it was a very long day for the dogs and the crew. how cute are those puppies? >> it's like the combination of my favorite things. >> you are fascinated by these machines. >> i love them. >> you were a pee-wee herman fan, weren't you? >> i was. in time for a look ahead. lady liberty begins receiving visitors. it was closed for about nine months after hurricane sandy destroyed the docks and much of the parks on liberty island. tickets are already sold out until mid-august. the essence festival begins in new orleans. it's billed as the largest african-american event celebrating black music and culture in the u.s. happy birthday to malia obama who is 15 today. neal simon turns 86 and gina lulabringer is 86. i'm betty ngyuen. thanks for watching "early today." have a fantastic fourth of july.

despite another round of intense negotiations, we are now entering day four of the b.a.r.t. strike. talks called off late last night but they will be back in the bargaining table later this morning. we will have all the details coming up next. even though the trains are running, there are plenty of ways to get to your fourth of july celebrations today. your other options for getting around the bay. anticipating smooth sailing for most of the day on the holiday. a live look outside at the bay bridge toll plaza. congratulations. you made it to thursday. happy fourth of july. this is with the today in the bay." it is 4:30. good independence day. good morning to everybody. thanks for