welcome to friday. coming up on "early today," gas prices are going to get crazy over the next few days, rising 10 to 20 cents. the families of the newtown, connecticut, shootings are given hundreds of thousands of dollars. closing arguments in the george zimmerman murder trial just got a little more complicated. plus, it's reid versus mcconnell in a battle of whits. one college town's attempt to hook up with sugar daddies? and the top ten reasons people hate their jobs. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, july 12th. good morning. i'm paige hopkins. if you are thinking about filling up your gas tank, well, you better do it now. gasoline is expected to jump 10 to 20 cents a gallon over the

next few days. you can blame if on a perfect storm of rising oil prices and the peak driving season. but that's not the only thing shooting up. the stock market got some extra fuel surging to all time highs. the dow was up 169 points at 15,460. and the s&p 500 rose 22 points to 1,675. the record highs are in response to words from the federal reserve that it will continue its bond buying program. the prosecution has now made its closing arguments in the closely watched and highly charged trial of george zimmerman. zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder of trayvon martin, but that charge became an issue in court on thursday as the jury is now allowed to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter. parents of the defendant and the dead teenager were all in court together for the first time since opening statements. the jury could have this case as soon as today. ron mott reports from sanford, florida. >> a teenager is dead.

he is dead through no fault of his own. he is dead because another man made assumptions. >> reporter: the state started its closing argument in a less explosive fashion than it opened 17 days ago. >> [ bleep ] punks. these [ bleep ] they always get away. >> but made the same argument about trayvon martin's killing to the all-women jury. that george zimmerman should go to prison for profiling, confronting and shooting the unarmed teenager last year. >> why does this defendant get out of the car if he thinks trayvon martin is a threat to him? why? why? because he's got a gun. he has the equalizer. >> reporter: with zimmerman's and martin's parents all in court for the first time since day one -- >> [ bleep ], they always get away. >> reporter: the prosecutor says zimmerman sized up martin as a criminal during a call to police. >> i would submit to you that he uttered it under his breath.

and that itself indicates ill will and hatred. >> reporter: and for a second straight day -- >> he's saying that armpit, how did he get the gun out? >> the state's life-sized foam dummy was thrown into the mix. >> you see where he's pointing to, where he's grabbing, where he's got his firearm? >> reporter: with the prosecutor questioning his account of the struggle between zimmerman and martin. >> this was never an easy case for the prosecution. it seemed to get more difficult every day. while the closing arguments seemed effective, it may not be enough for the crime of murder. >> doesn't the court realize this was a trick by -- >> reporter: the defense complained about getting notice of the third-degree murder charge. >> just when i thought this case couldn't get any more bizarre, the state is seeking third-degree murder based on child abuse? >> martin was 17 when he was killed. the judge denied the third-degree murder charge, but

ruled the jury may consider manslaughter in lieu of second degree murder. zimmerman's attorney objected to any lesser charges. zimmerman has pleaded not guilty saying he shot martin in self-defense after being attacked. >> the state has charged him with second-degree murder. they should be required to prove it if they can. and if they can't prove it, then that is the failing of the prosecution. >> reporter: ron mott, nbc news, sanford, florida. this morning, the defense will offer its closing arguments followed by a rebuttal from the state. unless something unforeseen happens, the jury is expected to be charged with the case by this afternoon. now to newtown, connecticut, where details are emerging about the sandy hook victims' fund. families are expected to receive nearly $8 million in payments next month. the preliminary recommendation from a meeting thursday is that each of the 26 victims' families receive $281,000. $20,000 to the families of each 12 surviving children who witnessed the shootings and two

teachers who were injured would get $150,000 between them. the families of some victims say the process has caused them more angerish. 20 children were killed at sandy hook elementary. cities throughout the eastern part of the country are cleaning up after massive storms ravaged their towns. a city in northeastern ohio has gotten so much rainfall -- look at that -- the residents are getting boats to get around. and a tornado that touched down in western pennsylvania wednesday left massive damage in its wake. luckily no fatalities or major injuries there. nbc's bill karins is here with our weekend weather. >> washington, d.c. got hit last night with a lot of rain in two hours. a lot of flash flooding. as far as what you are dealing with, maybe you are lucky enough to start your weekend plans early. the driving should be just fine out there. the heat has subsided a little bit. a lot of monsoonal moisture around with clouds yesterday nrd

that did keep the temperatures down. vegas and phoenix, any summer day you get only in the 90s is a good day. a break from the heat. all the hot weather moved to the middle of the country. you can see the general flow of the monsoonal moisture from areas of utah and nevada more towards colorado as high pressure begins to push into the heartland instead of over the areas of colorado. there's also still a lot of onshore flow in southern california. keep you a little foggy this morning with cool weather in the northwest. but overall, looks like a pretty decent day out there. not going to be a lot of rain. maybe isolated showers around vegas. higher terrain there of utah and also arizona. the northwest, you are on the cool side of that front. only 72 today in seattle. that's your national today, a little warmer than yesterday.

weekend forecast, looking like a warm-up for some in the west. details coming up. >> i think the west is the place to be weatherwise. >> it is if you are avoiding the heat or want dry weather. everyone on the east coast is complaining that it keeps raining. >> seems like it's perfect out there. former secretary of state hillary clinton is cashing in big time these days. plus former bulls superstar scottie pippen sued for $4 million. and a rough day for revelers at spain's running of the bulls festival. details in two minutes.

welcome back. here are some stories making news on friday. the senate's party leaders engaged in a war of words over the upcoming confirmation vote for the president's top level nominees. harry reid and mitch mcconnell threw down, slinging personal insults at one another. >> no matter how often my friend rudely talks about me not breaking my word, i'm not going

to respond talking about how many times he's broken his word. >> my friend, the majority leader, is going to be remembered as the worst leader of the senate ever, the leader of the senate who fundamentally changed the body. it makes me sad. >> his name calling, he -- i guess he follows -- i hope not -- the demagogue theory that the more you say something that's false, people start believing it. >> we'll hear more from senators reid and mcconnell on "meet the press" this sunday. the wreckage of asiana flight 214 is being removed from san francisco international airport. this as investigators revealed there was no evidence of mechanical problems with the aircraft. now the focus of the investigation is squarely on the pilots. the remains of long time boston strangler suspect albert desalvo will be exhumed in hopes of proving once and for all that

he was the killer. dna from one of the victims will be compared to desalvo's own dna, possibly closing a decades-old case. sarah jones was awarded nearly $340,000 after a federal jury found gossip site "the dirty.com guilty of defamation. the website claimed jones had had sex with every bengals player and had two sexually transmitted diseases. both proven false. and the bulls have gotten the better of at least a few people at the annual running of the bulls festival in spain. three runners were gored today. one of them a 20-year-old american tourist. they are the first gorings this year. 15 people have been killed over the festival's 700-year history. for an early look at business let's go to cnbc's courtney reagan. good morning, courtney. >> good morning, age. mortgage rates do keep rising. the average rate on a 30-year lone hit 4.51% this week. a two-year high.

although still low by historical standards. rates have risen in tandem with bond yields on expectations the fed will pull back on its stimulus programs. as the economy improves. and sprint cuts the price of its unlimited data plan to $80 a month. the move was partly prompted by customer concerns it would stop offering such plans. the change could put pressure on verizon and at&t who have steered customers away from unlimited data plans. best buy is holding a two-day trade-in event this weekend letting customers swap old ipads for a $200 gift card. the promotion follows the retailers's very successful iphone trade-in last month. paige? >> thank you courtney. stocks overseas are pretty quiet as most are holding on to gains from the u.s. markets hitting all-time highs. microsoft is shaking up their entire business to go in bold new directions. the software giant admits they are a step behind google and apple and put their focus on establishing a reputation as a company that helps people get

stuff done. likely 2016 presidential candidate hillary clinton has a lot to say. according to t"the washington pos post", secretary clinton is raking in over $200,000 per speech to groups like apartment complex developers, human resource professionals, private equity firms and other, well, business fat cats. a website meant to connect female college students with sugar daddyes has posted a billboard in pittsburgh. arrangementfinders.com is using a porn star who happens to be one of actor charlie sheen's exes as their pitch person. can't make that up. if you like to complain about your job, you aren't alone. a study by dale carnegie training lists the top ten reasons full-time employees hate their jobs. they think the grass is greener somewhere else. number nine, their values don't line up with the company's. number eight, they don't feel valued. number seven, job insecurity. number six, no room for

advancement. now let's look at the top five. number five, they are unhappy with their pay. number four, there's too much red tape. number three, they're not being challenged. number two, the passion's gone. and the number one reason -- their boss sucks. straight ahead -- billion-dollar bond buddies teaming up for the next chapter of 007. plus, the captain's scary return and all your sports highlights coming up next.

it's time for some sports headlines. former nba star scottie pippen is being sued for $4 million over an altercation with an autograph seeker at a southern california restaurant last month. pippen was questioned by police but no charges were filed. an nhl star walks away from $77 million. that's right. new jersey devils forward ilya kovalchuk announced his retirement and gave up the money left on his contract. he says he wants to spend more time with his family in russia. that's nice. in baseball, yankees captain derek jeter returned to the majors and hit a slow roller toward first for his first hit. but he left the game early with tightness in the leg muscle. atlanta's first baseman freddy freeman got a record 19.6 million votes. and toronto pitcher steel

delabar won the vote to join the american league team. team usa jumped out to an early lead with the bases loaded against canada in women's world cup softball in oklahoma city. the americans got a 7-0 victory as they look for their seventh straight world cup championship. go, girls! at the tour de france, about 20 riders were involved in a crash just behind the race leaders. there were some serious injuries including one broken shoulder. nfl hall of famer joe delamielleure began a 213-mile trek from buffalos stadium to canton, ohio, all to benefit people who need prosthetic legs and other expensive treatments. some low lights from the pga. louis oosthuizen had a horrible lie next to a tree. and jone as never did find his ball in the high weeds. then at the john deere classic, a deer ran across the course looking pretty.

the ball was returned. omera's ball ricocheted off the back of the green, but he saved his par and he is tied for the lead. not bad. billy crystal gets down to business. and leah remini reportedly quits the search of scientology. those stories and more when "early today" returns.

wha welcome back. the monsoonal moisture and

showers we dealt with will be moving out. let's start with your friday forecast. any moisture that's left over, showers and storms through the intermountain west. dry from california into the pacific northwest. and temperatures over the weekend will slowly begin to get warmer as we go into saturday. 90 in medford. 91 in boise. seattle, right where you should be about this time of the year. mid-70s. gorgeous weather there. still cool in a few spots. getting the onshore flow along the coastal areas of california. then by sunday, that starts to weaken a little bit. notice all the sunshine on the map. getting very warm once again in vegas. salt lake city and boise. a ridge of high pressure starts to warm up in areas of the west. we're looking really nice weekend. >> looks beautiful. that's the place to be. thank you, bill. a three-way battle is the marquee matchup at the box office this weekend. "despicable me 2's" reign is going to be challenged. sam mendes and daniel craig,

they have both signed on for the next james bond sequel. "skyfall" earned $1.1 billion worldwide. the church of scientology has one less celebrity star. leah remini broke ties with the church. and the writers guild of america is threatening to give jone rivers the boot because the comedian could become the union's first expulsion ever after allegedly writing scripts and handling show duties during a work stoppage on her e! network show. >> you'd think she'd hardly do anything. >> you'd think she'd be following the rules. she's been in the business long enough. charlie sheen wants to cut off ex-wife brooke mueller. she wants a judge to cancel his monthly $55,000 payment -- >> how much? >> $55,000. >> a month. >> it pays to be charlie sheen's ex. >> since his twin boys have resided with his other ex, denise richards. >> she doesn't have the kids and

is still getting all the money? >> yeah. we just wish them all the best. >> or at least normal. billy crystal is doing his footer pump up touranism long beach, new york, tafr was pummeled by hurricane sandy. and finally, bill, i know you were excited about this. the premiere -- >> i have to dvr it. >> sharknado. it had the twitterverse buzzing. a host of celebrities got in on it including vice president biden's wife, jill biden. another disappoint league slow response from fema, #sharknado. >> can you imagine pitching this? i have an idea about a tornado that sucks sharks. >> everyone wants to know what the sequel is going to be. >> it got one quarter the tweets the super bowl did. >> i'm going to go home and watch it. i'm paige hopkins. this is "early today."

leading the news in britain, how microsoft handed the nsa access to encrypted messages. secret documents allege microsoft allowed u.s. intelligence access to its e-mail services including outlook and hotmail even allowing them to circumvent the company's own encryption. filner, i need help. the mayor issuing a videotaped apology in response to allegations from political allies that he has sexually harassed numerous women. topping our news, new developments in the edward snowden saga. the self-professed nsa leaker is accusing u.s. officials of threatening behavior and waging an unlawful campaign against his attempts to seek asylum. snowden making those comments in an open letter given to human rights groups this morning in moscow. he's still believed to be holed up in an airport there.

a major announcement expected sunday from texas attorney general greg abbott. you might not know who he is but there's speculation that announcement is a run for texas governor. the longest serving texas governor, rick perry, announced monday he will not seek re-election. here's one way for protesters to get noticed. dress up as your cause. about 200 protesters in paris dressed up as embryos. they are against a draft law that would -- >> that's what embryos look like? a law that would allow research on human embryonic stem cells. a vote is expected tuesday. we'll see how effective that is. ever wish you could fly? an engineering team in toronto created a helicopter powered by humans. the driver is also the engine power biking the helicopter into the air. this bikecopter has been 30 years in the making for the helicopter society. they recently awarded the creators $250,000 for inventing the dream contraption. >> i mean, it's kind of cool and

everything but -- >> 30 years? >> but it gives me no hope whatever of getting that thing to work. >> i don't think that's going to happen any time soon. >> i want the jet pack. >> i want the jet pack, too. >> why hasn't that happened yet? >> i don't know. i'm waiting. >> maybe a rocket strapped to your feet. now it's time for a look ahead. texas is expected to pass a tough abortion bill today after a debate in the state senate thursday. a vote is scheduled on the bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks. and a pakistani teenager speaks at the youth assembly. malala yousafzai was shot in the head by the taliban last year. and happy birthday to fast and furious actress michelle rodriguez. she's 35. workout guru richard simmons turns 65. and comedian bill cosby, 76. coming up on the "today" show, ed sharon takes over the plaza with a live concert. i'm paige hopkins. thanks for watching "early

today." have a great weekend.

thank god that so many people's lives were saved. we mourn those who were lost and pray for those who are injured. bay area congresswoman visits the wreckage of asiana flight 214 as crews begin moving the plane piece by piece and repairing the runway at sfo. also the grandfather of a missing toddler in oakland wants to keep the focus on finding her separate charges. where the investigation is heading, we'll let you know this morning. arrested for crimes he's supposed to be fighting. the charges against a san jose police officer and how his colleagues are reacting. right now a live look outside, an early morning shot of your bay bridge out there.