coming on "early today," a horrific train derailment kills more than 70 as rescue crews work throughout the night. new information about just how far americans think our government will go in snooping on us. jfk's only daughter to be no, ma'am namted as ambassador to japan. say hello to prince george alexander louis. george h.w. shaves his head for a cause close to his heart. and we'll tell what you ages people are happiest in life. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for thursday, july 25th. >> good morning, everybody. i'm richard liu. spain's prime minister -- after

a violent train derailment injured more than 140 as well. one of europe's worst accidents in decades. it happened just before sunset on wednesday. witnesses say the high-speed trainee merged from a tunnel, derailed on a curve and sent cars flying off the tracks. >> i heard an explosion. when i arrived, one of the carriages was already over the road that comes out from here. smoke billowed from the wreckage. crews worked to rescue trapped passengers. distraught relatives were blocked there from the scene, forced to wait on the sidelines in safe areas. an investigation now under way this morning as crews worked to lift the wreckage from the tracks. officials ruled out a terror attack as a possible cause there. a sweeping program that collects phone record data on u.s. citizens is not going anywhere. the house narrowly stopped a move to slash that program wednesday. tracie potts joins us live from washington. tracie, what does this mean for our privacy? so much debated about it. >> a lot debated about it,

richard. it means nothing for our privacy. nothing changes because the vote failed. 205-217. it was a lot narrower than expected. it was interesting because conservative republicans and liberal democrats teamed up together to get rid of this. they did not want the government collecting these records. turn out it failed in the end. this is also interesting. new from the nbc "wall street journal" poll. 56% of americans say they think the government may go too far, may go overboard when it comes to violating privacy in the surveillance program. 36% say they think the government may not do enough. we're also following edward snowden, who was the initial one who leaked the secret surveillance programs. as we know, he's still in russia's moscow airport, in the moscow airport because russians say he was given papers to leave the airport. but an attorney involved said his asylum there is still in question and in limbo.

for now, he's still in the transit zone. richard? >> that will go to for number is higher than it was before. so people a little bit uncomfortable with that today. thank you so much, tracie potts. we've got a capitol hill compromise on federal student loans to talk about. the bipartisan senate legislation linked interest rates to the financial markets providing lower rates right away but higher ones in the economy improves as expected. undergrads this fall would borrow at 3.9% interest. graduate students get 5.4. while mom and dad, well, they get a little bit higher number at 6.4%. president obama's nomination of carolyn kennedy would make her the first female ambassador to japan. kennedy is the daughter of former president john f. kennedy. she'd bring a third generation of kennedys to diplomatic service after her grandfather and aunt. she supported mr. obama at a crucial moment in the 2008 campaign and co-chaired his reelection. kennedy still needs senate

confirmation. john mccain praising kennedy, saying that her prestige will be important in japan. this time, it's not his socks. george h.w. bush has a new look. it's inspired by a 2-year-old boy in the fight of his life. the former president joined patrick's pals after learning the son of one of his secret service agents is battling leukemia. as a sign of solidarity, president bush shaved his head with other members of the security detail. the touching tribute is also personal for president bush. he lost his second child, robin, to leukemia when she was 4 years old. it sounds like it's out of a tom clancy novel. cold relics, microfilm cameras and osama bin laden's personal rifle all on display. the secret cia museum is closed to the public. only cia employees and guests are allowed access until now. nbc's richard engel has an exclusive inside look. >> it's the greatest museum

you'll never see. and it's filled with secrets. hidden cameras, weapons, decoding machines. >> figuring out how the enigma works. >> considered one of the turning points of the war. >> absolutely. >> world war ii when the secret service began as the office of strategic service, the oss. ever since, the agency created tools for spies. not james bond. not maxwell smart. >> hello, chief. >> these are for real. vintage pistols with silencers. a camera carrying pigeon. a '70s era drone the size of a dragon fly. the insec toe sockter. a coin-sized cold war camera. >> this is a micro dot camera. the film pack is this disk. >> it's american history. but no visitors allowed. the secrecy protects cia officers undercover. >> i love this. even in your own museum, to celebrate these accomplishments,

all their faces are blurred out. >> the killing of osama bin laden is represented here, too. >> this is the mock-up. i recognize this from seeing it so many times. this is bin laden's compound. >> the original model was used to brief the policy makers, to brief the president. >> to brief the president? >> absolutely. the assault team used it to plan their raid. >> so tell us more. >> we had hundreds of pieces of all sorts of intelligence to make it as accurate as possible. >> including the internal phases? >> i can't talk about that. >> can't talk about that. >> no. >> but they can talk about this. osama bin laden's personal ak-47. recovered by navy seals on the night of the raid. much like in the movie zero dark thirty. the real one. this one, has never been seen until now. >> this is the rifle that was recovered from the third floor

of the a bat ban compound. on the night of the ride, bin laden never fired a shot. now he's gone and his gun is a museum piece. one of thousands here. for private viewing only. richard engel, nbc news at cia headquarters. bill karins, this is interesting. >> from the '70s. >> all of this if you want to see more for our viewers, nbcnews.com. really cool stuff. >> can you imagine what they have now? >> i know. that we can't see or talk about. >> would love to get in there. that richard engel, doggone it, gets to see everything. >> well deserved too. >> you want to talk weather? >> a little bit. we have a storm brewing in the atlantic. a potential problem down the line in seven, eight, maybe nine days down the coast. dorian off the coast of africa. you notice the path from the national hurricane center takes you in the general vicinity of the turks and caicos islands.

dominican republic, puerto rico, possibly towards the bahamas. that's why the east coast may have to deal with that the middle to end of next week. as far as the west coast goes, not much is happening. very quiet weather pattern continues. temperatures continue to be very warm. yesterday was another day in the '80s through the pacific northwest with a lot of sunshine. boise and salt lake city continue to hover around 100 degrees each and every afternoon. like a broken record. even california coast remains one of the coolest spots in the. we'll crank it to 107 in yuma. you know, you can't win. if you're right along the pacific coast, you're chillier than you'd like. too far inland, you're in the desert. >> i was thinking of those

devices from the cia museum. as a meteorologist, there's probably a bunch of devices you would love to have. >> control the weather, you would be in trouble. be a black cloud over your head every day. >> thanks a lot, bill karins. talking about devices, google has people talking. there's also -- also the best colleges in america based on return on investment. plus, a speeder who is lucky to be alive. >> ooh. >> after this horrific crash. boom. details in two.

here are some other stories making news. george alexander louis, aka, his royal highness. prince george of cambridge. was named after queen elizabeth's father. king george vi. historians call it a "very moving and touching reference." pope francis celebrated his first mass outside of italy on tuesday. over 200,000 people turned out for the occasion. today, the pope heads to copa

cabana beach. to address roman catholics. women's groups, newspapers and political opponents want weiner gone. he admitted to continued sexting even afa apologizing and resigning from congress. fresh produce may be to blame for the outbreak of a severe stomach bug in the midwest. the centers for disease control and prevention says more than 250 people have been infected. ten have been hospitalized. it's amazing he's alive. a driver slams into a massachusetts telephone pole right there. he's ejected from the car. police estimate he was screaming along at almost 70 miles an hour, double the speed limit. now, for your first look at business this hour. we turn to cnbc's bertha coombs. good morning to you. >> good morning, richard. facebook likely to get a big thumb's up from wall street today. reporting better than expected earnings in a surge of revenues. facebook appears to have figured out how to make money out of mobile devices.

they make up 41% of total sales. the senate passing a bill to -- the proposal would link rates on government backed stafford loans to the treasury bond markets. meaning race would rise in the future, only as the economy improves. speaking of back to school, it's going to cost you more to buy your child's pencils, pens and three ring binders. the backpack index shows prices for school price are 7% higher than last year. almost every basic item is more expensive. some by up to $10 more. that's a tough back to school message for parents. back to you. >> it certainly is, bertha. but the kids got to look good, right? >> google comcast. have you heard of it? thanks to a simple device, your phone, tablet or laptop can send you-tube videos, music and other internet content to your tv with nothing more than an hdmi dong will. forbes list mesh's top ten

colleges. the it includes postgraduate success, good jobs, student debt and more. number 6 through ten including m.i.t., williams college, harvard, u.s. military. columbia, yale, princeton, pomona college. and at number one stanford. people are happiest in life when they're 23 and again when they hit 69 years of age. that is according to a new study from the london school of economics. happiness, they say, goes in waves throughout our lives. it dips in our 50s and then peaks again when we're able to not sweat the small stuff anymore. that's right. we shouldn't sweat the small stuff. straight ahead, jimmy fallon on his new baby girl. you're watching early today.

thank you guys so much. i hope i don't screw this up. but i'm just so happy. and it's just the past 24 hours has been -- just really exciting for i and my wife. we haven't had a chance to respond to everyone's calls and messages, but let me just say, yes, william and kate will definitely set up a play date. stop bothering me. >> he didn't screw it up. jimmy fallon talking about his baby daughter, winnie rose fallon. congratulations to him and his new family there. he still looks awake, too. here are some sports he had

lines. soccer team usa winning streak. that hits ten. man of the hour, landon donovan. there goes one of the two goals he made beating honduras 3-1. the gold cup final next and panama and chicago. talk of the streets. the dodgers get their sixth in a row. five runs in the tenth inning seal the deal beating the blue jays 8-3. in just one month, the dodgers have gone from last to first winning 23 of the last 28. now, this one hurts to watch. atlanta braves pitcher hudson covering first base. ooh his ankle is accidentally stepped on. out for surgery. tough to watch. >> to the a-rod saga. alex rodriguez will be reevaluated today for a quadricep muscle strain, after a second opinion contradicted earlier diagnosis. what's a-rod saying? driving up, he says feels great. see you later. former new england patriot aaron hernandez in court. his hearing on murder charges

was delayed until august 22nd. prosecutors said they need more time. but all ears were on the man and very few words, coach bill belichick. >> i and other members of the organization were shocked and disappointed and what we had learned. having someone in your organization that's involved in a murder investigation is a terrible thing. >> and florida state's nico leery, in a motorcycle accident in may. he's the grandson of golf legend nicklaus. a lexus and motorcycle collide there. he goes flying, survives, walks away and is now fully recovered. unbelievable. just ahead, sandra bull ak and george clooney heat up the silver screen and kate's mommy tummy is getting quite a reaction around the globe. details, next.

good thursday morning to you. more of the same today in every area of the west. we're still only looking at the moisture really mostly on the border of new mexico and arizona. still very hot. one of the warmer days in vegas. 107. medford, continues to have a hot middle to end of july. cooler on the california coast. inland, it gets very hot in the valley. friday, it looks like today. much more of the same. boise 101. in alaska, our friends are dealing with a storm system, a frontal system dying off at the same time that there's a storm off british columbia. a lot of clouds in alaska, along with showers an wet weather from

anchorage to fairbanks and our friends in juneau. if you want to get cool, that's the way to go. >> in entertainment news, jason sudeikis is saying goodbye to "saturday night live." >> i'm not coming back next fall. >> you won't be back in the fall? >> no. >> do they know that? >> sudeikis has been with snl for ten years, good years. >> ted nugent stirred up controversy when he talked about stevie wonder's boycotting florida in the wake of the acquittal. >> 700 black people, mostly children, young people, were slaughtered in chicago last year by black people and not a peep out of stevie wonder. are you kidding me? >> the duchess of cambridge provided a big boost of self-esteem to new moms after showing off, what are you noticing there, her post

pregnancy tummy. women are applauding kate's decision to wear a form fitting dress as she departed the hospital with baby george and husband william in tow. >> the george clooney, sandra bullock thriller gravity is giving new meaning to lost in space. >> i can't see you anymore. do it now. >> i can't. >> cool stuff, though, karins. >> lost visual with the shuttle. what happens after that? i need to see the rest of the movie. >> there you go. have to throw down the $25 to see it. >> why don't you. i'm richard louis, this is early today. we hope it's just your first stop of the today here on nbc.

leading the news in the "boston herald" marathon stay over for victim. 100 days later, the last victim of the boston bombing headed home. mark was standing at the finish line when the second bomb exploded leaving him with severe burns, shrapnel wounds and without his right leg. in the los angeles daily news, plague found in los angeles national forest prompts campground closures. a dead squirrel tested positive for that disease, which can spread to humans through bites from infected flees. topping our news, a a high-speed train going off the rails in northwestern spain. the death toll has risen to 78 with at least 141 injured. frightening video, right, bill?

one of europe's worst accidents in decades. there's been three days of national mourning. a lot of questions to be answered. a compromise on federal student loans. the bipartisan senate legislation would link interest rates to the financial markets. higher rates if the economy improves as expected. it is a photo everyone is talking about. george h.w. bush with a shaved head in solidarity with a 2-year-old boy suffering from hugh keep i can't. the little boy's father is one of bush 41's secret service agents. good stuff there. a family in italy got quite the surprise when their donkey gave birth. the baby is, get this, a zonkey with a z. a mix between a donkey and zebra both of whom are on the farm. late night on the farm. >> the zebra climbed over the fence. a little canoodling going on there. the legs are a little bit

different like the dad. all doing well. it may be that only zonkeys in italy. but i found out there are them in 2008. the first one in 2010. >> it can happen. >> keep the zebras and donkeys away from each other. time for a look ahead. the senate hearing on sexual assaults in the u.s. military. kirsten gillibrand and other lawmakers will talk about assaults on american service members. bradley manning is scheduled to finish up today. he's accused of giving u.s. secrets to wikileaks. matt leblanc is 46. rita marley, widowed bob marley, mother of zig i, 67 years old. congratulations. savanna guthrie goes o on a personal quest to find out if clumsiness has a cure. i'm richard liu, for bill karins, thanks for watching "early today."

you have a very good one.

new this morning, we continue to get ne new details out of spain after the deadly train retrailment. crews working overnight. we'll have the latest. we're evacuated the store. >> the emergency glitch that sent people scrambling across parts of cos stra county. a live look from the south bay. that is the city of san jose. early morning dawn before the sun comes up on this thursday, july 25th. this is "today in the bay."