good tuesday morning. coming up on "early today," unlawful assembly. 3 helped los angeles police officers announce dispersal orders to a handful of trayvon martin protesters. a cycling heat wave is sweeping the nation. just how long will it last? nuclear option. harry reid says he'll use it to change senate rules but john mccain says not so fast. plus, stocks soar to new heights. putin says snowden may have overstayed his welcome. and home run derby in the big apple. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for tuesday, july 16th. good morning, everybody. i'm betty ngyuen. protests in the wake of george zimmerman's acquittal turned

violent overnight in los angeles. check out this video. in the third straight night of rallies since saturday's verdict was announced, several hundred mostly peaceful protesters gathered chanting, praying and singing. but a smaller group of about 150 broke off and began blocking traffic and breaking windows in the crenshaw area. at one point, at least one of the protesters raided a walmart store. los angeles mayor eric garcetti responded with a tweet saying we should respect martin's family calling for peace. unlawful assembly declared. police are clearing the area. the lapd arrested at least 13 people. a local tv reporter and his cameraman were also attacked. and one person was taken to the hospital. a jur northat case is speaking out, revealing more about what happened during deliberations, including exactly how the jury of six women reached their not guilty verdict. and a revelation the juror told cnn's anderson cooper that when they began deliberations, only

three of them initially thought george zimmerman should be acquitted. >> i think his heart was in the right place. it just went terribly wrong. >> do you think he's guilty of something? >> i think he's guilty of not using good judgment. when he was in the car, and he called 911, he shouldn't have gotten out of that car. >> do you have any doubt that george zimmerman feared for his life? >> i have no doubt george feared for his life and the situation he was in at the time. >> do you feel story for trayvon martin? >> i feel sorry for both of them. i feel sorry for trayvon and the situation he was in, and i feel sorry for george because of the situation he got himself in. >> zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder but the jury was also allowed to consider manslaughter. reaction to the verdict continues unfolding all across the country. nbc's jay gray has details from

sanford, florida. >> reporter: a ground swell of frustration in the wake of the not guilty verdict. continues to grow. >> the system wants you to feel like trayvon was a criminal. >> it can happen to anybody's son. we need to stand up for young black males. >> we tell jury find george zimmerman not guilty. >> reporter: acquitted of murder and manslaughter in state court, george zimmerman cannot be retried on those charges. still theshs of race and fairness continue to be at the center of the debate. on "the view," george zimmerman's attorney said that goes beyond the scope of the trial. and he says should not center around his client. however, the prosecution is still focused on zimmerman. >> what this case boiled down to is a man assuming that trayvon martin was a criminal. >> reporter: zimmerman could be charged with federal civil rights charges and some in congress today demanded that.

>> george zimmerman identified trayvon martin as a potential criminal because he was black. >> bringing a civil rights race kaiss, eric holder's call. >> surrounding the tragic, unnecessary shooting death of trayvon martin. the justice department shares your concerns. >> reporter: concerns he'll be able to discuss with naacp members in person on tuesday at their meeting in orlando. jay gray, nbc news, sanford, florida. well, it is pand-monium times two at zoo atlanta. a giant panda gave birth to twins. lunlun delivered the two cubs late monday. yes, they are so cute. it marks the first time giant panda twins have been born in the united states since 1987. tiny little things, yeah. zoo atlanta has set up a 24-hour panda cam. of course they have. it allows you to see her care for her new cubs. the northeast it is the

beginnings of one of the worst summer heat waves we've seen in a little while. the national weather service issued heat advisory warnings for much of the northeast and midwest. bill karins is here with more on the nationwide heat wave. is there not frying eggs on the sidewalk but you could cook a pizza maybe. fry a few hamburgers. it's hot out there. >> it's interesting because so many people don't get the humidity that we get here in the east. >> it's awful. lucky them. >> i just had family visit that lives in phoenix. they were here and they were like, i'll take the 110 any day. >> because that's a dry heat. >> the humidity makes it hard to breathe for a lot of people. let me show you what we're dealing with as we go throughout the day. we had high temperatures 20 degrees warmer in d.c. than it was even in dallas, texas. that's because the storm brought clouds and rain over the texas area. many areas of the west were cool on the coast, too. we continue that way, too. only 58 in san francisco this morning. probably one of the chillier spots. denver also 58.

intermountain west, though, salt lake city, very warm over the last week or two. they'll continue warm today. there's a little bit of moisture. a little humidity in the air through utah and idaho. they'll have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. but that pesky upper level low keeping that onshore flow into the california area. we're deal with the low clouds and cool temperatures at the coast and beaches. once you go interior sections, it's warm. seattle today, beautiful 88 beings. but also very cool. 66 and mostly cloudy san fran. that's yso what you see is what. now i did spend time in phoenix myself over some summers when it was 120 and i did not like that. i'd rather deal with the humidity. >> an oven is an oven.

>> it's to right. gas pain at the pump. it is growing. a major sex crime ring busted. and your job may be actually good for you. plus is today the day for kate's baby?

welcome back to "early today." so any day now, kate middleton is due to give birth and we are learning more about just when the new british heir might be born. over the weekend, the duchess spent time in her parents' house and her mother might have spilled the beans. reports say carol middleton let slip the baby would be a leo, but that astrological sign doesn't start until july 23rd, which is a week away. but it was prince william's stepmother who recently said the family hopes the baby will be here by the end of week. kate will give birth at st. mary's hospital in london, the same hospital where princess diana gave birth to william. a north korean ship traveling from cuba has been seized by a panamanian

authorities. panama's president tweeted out this photo showing what he calls undeclared military cargo. he went on to say it was hidden behind shipments of sugar. immigration and customs enforcement says it has arrested 255 prospective child predators. nine teachers and three clergymen were among those arrested. russian president vladimir putin is blaming the u.s. for trapping nsa leaker edward snowden in moscow's airport. speaking to a group of students monday, putin hopes snowden will leave russia as soon as possible. adding that snowden, quote, arrived on our territory without an invitation. former president george h.w. bush joined president obama at the white house to present the 5,000th award for the points of light foundation. president obama spoke about bush 41's legacy. >> on behalf of all of us, let me just say that, we are surely

a kinder and gentler nation because of you, and we can't thank you enough. >> the former president known for wearing colorful socks presented obama with a pair of his own, of course. and california's supreme court has refused to request -- a request to stop gay marriages while it deliberates on a bid to revive prop 8. a decision on that legislation is not expected until august at the earliest. now for your first look at business, we turn to cnbc's jackie deangelis. good morning, jackie. >> good morning, betty. stocks posting small gains on monday with the dow closing at another record high. investors get something data today on inflation, manufacturing and housing. also earnings from coca-cola, goldman sachs and johnson and johnson. and it was one year ago today that marisa meyer was named yahoo!'s ceo. the internet company's stock is up 70% since then and she's overseen several acquisitions. most notably a popular blogging site. yahoo! still trailing behind

google in the web search business. and at&t launching a new wireless plan letting users forgo the typical two-year contract. customers will be able to upgrade devices more often if they agree to pay full price for their smartphone or tablet. back over to you, betty. >> more cell phone options. thank you. gas prices have jumped 14 cents in just one week. the nationwide average is now $3.61. some oil analysts expect gas to go up another 10 cents per gallon this summer. according to a new study of nearly 500,000 people in france, people who delay the retirement have less risk of developing alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. scientists believe that keeping busy, staying social and being challenged helps keep you sharp. that means stay at work, folks, as long as you can. apple is investigating charges in china from a family that claims their 23-year-old daughter was electrocuted when she tried to answer her phone

while charging. apple says they are saddened by the tragedy while they plan to investigate and cooperate with authorities. we'll stay on top of that story for you. the big apple has gone batty with all-stars and some unexpected athletes. that's next.

now to the latest in sports. all stars in the big apple,

baseballs were flying during the home run derby last night at new york citi field. prince fielder hit the longest dinger of the night, 483 feet. oakland's yoenis cespedes hit 17 homers in just the first round to take a huge lead to make it to the final. he was competing against bryce harper of the washington nationals who had eight homers of his own in the final and then it was cespedes' turn once again. >> and he wizzed it back, back, back, back, back. gone! yoenis cespedes has won the home run derby. >> yes, indeed. and only his second major league season. the outfielder from cuba is the first player left out of the all-star game to win the home run derby trophy. good for him. the american league starting pitcher for tonight's game will be max scherzer of the detroit tigers who is 13-1. the national league starter is

matt harvey of the new york mets who is 7-2. since harvey is in his first full season, jimmy fallon sent matt harvey himself out to talk to new yorkers about, well, matt harvey. >> do you know anything about matt harvey? >> who is matt harvey? >> who is your favorite player? >> oh, dude, harvey man. >> i like him also. he's a good picture. saw him naked on the espn body issue. >> is this the one you're talking about? >> holy [ bleep ]. that's you. >> yeah, kind of naked. >> before the home run derby, big fan favorite. the celebrity softball game, of course. brought out entertainment stars and baseball greats like former yankee bernie williams who smacked a home run. former mets catcher mike piazza also blasted a homer in the bottom of the first inning. and then tv star kevin james hit a shot down the third base line. the "king of queens" rounded out first and decided to go for the

double. he poured it on and made an impressive belly dive beating the throw. and he is safe. the guy has got some skills. just ahead, jenny mccarthy is about to get a lot more exposure than ever before. that's next.

welcome back to "early today" on this tuesday morning. today will look a lot like yesterday. scattered showers and storms in the intermountain west. as far as california, oregon, idaho and washington, a lot of

dry weather out there today. very warm, too. one of the warmer days in the northwest so far this summer season. now since the weather is so calm in the west over the next week at least, i thought i'd take a peek at our friends in alaska. there's a storm that's going to be kicking up during the aleutians. in some rain moving in. from nome to anchorage. juneau still has some of the beautiful weather. 76 and sunny is gorgeous by anyone's standards any time of year. >> ah, the 70s. i remember when. >> what were you, 1? >> no, i meant the temperatures. it's been so hot here lately. >> thank you bill. a fight is looming on capitol hill after senators failed to reach a deal to break senate gridlock. now democrats are threatening to change the rules and force votes on presidential nominees. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington. what's the latest on this back and forth? >> reporter: it all comes down to whether republicans are going to stand the line on that filibuster today.

and if they do, senate majority leader harry reid says he's going to go ahead with the nuclear option. what that is is instead of 60-vote threshold to get somebody to a vote, one of president obama's nominees, a simple majority of 51, perfectly constitutional. but certainly a departure from senate rules. if this sounds familiar it's because republicans threatened to do the same thing back in 2005. so what are the chances it happens today? >> i think there's a 50/50 chance that we can pull back yet again from it as we did in december, as the senate did in 2005. >> reporter: eight years ago the democrats caved and gave president bush some of his nominees. they are counting on republicans doing the same thing today. but if not, majority leader reid says he has his finger on the nuclear trigger. >> we've been hearing about that nuclear option for a few days. thank you very much.

shockwaves continue to reverberate through hollywood following cory monteith's death. investigators fast-tracked an autopsy to determine how the "glee" star died. rumors of a substance abuse relapse are swirling leading many former addicted like "friends" star matthew perry to express their disappointment. >> just completely tragic when somebody doesn't get it and is no longer with us. a california judge has revoked chris brown's probation. the ruling was issued during a hearing to review details of a hit and run accident involving the singer. brown is free for now, but that could change when he returns to court in august. ashton kutcher sheds his shirt in the first trailer for the steve jobs biopic. that hits theaters august 16th. >> here's to the crazy ones. the misfits.

the rebels. because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who can. >> what are you saying, bill? >> i think he sells it. >> not bad. >> actor hugh jackman, another guy who looks pretty good, angered a few japanese locals when he took a dip in the hot springs in his bathing suit. he learned his complimentary towel was there for a reason to cover his private parts. jenny mccarthy has been picked to replace the departing joy behar on abc's "the view." that should be interesting. i'm betty ngyuen. this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

leading the news on politico. rand paul, ted cruz join kirsten gillibrand's push on military sexual assault. the tea party's favorite senators rand paul and ted cruz have joined the upstart effort to remove the chain of command from military sex assault cases. in "usa today," the aurora shootings one year later. one victim's mother says she still can't stomach the smell of popcorn. the mass shooting during a midnight screening of "the dark knight rises" killed 12 people. also topping our news, playing the blame game. russian president vladimir putin says it's the united states' fault that edward snoweden is trapped in a moscow airport saying he, quote, arrived on our territory without an invitation. speaking to a group of students monday, putin said he hopes the self-identified nsa leaker leaves russia asap.

well in southern florida, check it out. a 1960s era power plant was imploded this morning. yeah, boom. to make way for a more fuel efficient replacement. get this, though. over 400,000 pounds of tnt were used to bring down those four massive smoke stacks and boilers. boy, that's quite a sight. and speaking of sights, are you seeing double? well, lunlun gave birth to twins. yes, zoo atlanta says it was expecting just one cub. the twins are the first giant pandas born in the u.s. this year and the first twins since 1987. they sure are cute. and some other new animal additions are getting a whole lot of attention. in india, an adorable baby hippo was born on sunday. i would say look at that little thing but i don't think he's too little. zoo staff are still unsure of the sex and they won't know until they are able to get a better look. >> until mom lets them. >> you don't want to mess with a mad hippo. and five newborn white lion

cubs are on display at a zoo in central japan. they are growing quite healthy by the day. time for a look ahead and a look back. attorney general eric holder attends the naacp convention. holder will join a discussion called from chaos to community, focusing on gun violence in america. convicted killer jodi arias is back in court. the jury could not agree on giving arias life in prison or death so today's hearing will determine if a sentencing retrial should start on thursday. also happy birthday to actor will ferrell who is 46. actress feebie cates turns 50 and jimmy johnson is 71. coming up on the "today" show, a "today" exclusive. jason patric talks about his controversial custody battle involving sperm donor rights. and a sneak peek at thousands of never before seen images of marilyn monroe. thanks for joining us today. i'm betty ngyuen. you've been watching "early today." have a terrific one.

good morning, it's 4:30rks i'm terry mcsweeney. >> good morning, thank you for waking up with you, i'm marla. we begin in san jose. we begin with a house fire happening in south san jose. this woman trapped a woman and about 100 cats inside. this is happening on palmdero boulevard. here is a live look at the scene right now. you can see some fire crews definitely still on scene there. now, as firefighters were putting out the flames, they found dozens of cats inside the home.