good tuesday morning. coming up on early today for you -- a series of explosions rock a florida propane gas plant. the latest on the evacuation. the pope's surprising comments on gays as he returns home from rio. the verdict is in. army private bradley manning, who admitted to sharing classified documents with wikileaks awaits word of his fate. plus, an arrest in the d.c. green paint vandalism case. ravens get their just desserts. and brian williams' markie-mark moment. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for tuesday, july 30th. good morning. i'm richard lui. breaking news overnight, several people are injured after a powerful explosion at a florida propane plant. seven people were taken to the

hospital. three of them in critical condition. officials say a crew of up to 26 were working an overnight shift when that blast happened. the explosions began at around 11:00 p.m. at the blue rhino plant in tavares. that's about 40 miles northwest of orlando. the plant houses about 53,000 20-pound propane cylinders. a half mile evacuation zone is in effect this morning. the of that explosion is being investigated. it is being called the largest-ever operation against child sex trafficking. more than 100 teens are safe this morning after being rescued in a sting that span 76 u.s. cities. the youngest victim, just 13 years old. the fbi has taken 159 adults into custody for allegedly running that operation that included truck stops, motels and casinos from san francisco to miami. officials say the group was involved in the commercial exploitation of both adults and children. suspects are expected to face state and federal charges related to sex crimes and human trafficking.

a verdict is expected today in the army trial of bradley manning, he's acause of aiding the enemy by handing over hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the wikileaks website. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more. is he a whistleblower or is he a traitor? >> it's the question that was asked in court and we'll have the answer to it when we get the judge's verdict. he's being charged to 21 counts. and has pleaded guilty to half of them. what we're waiting to hear is what the judge has to say about the charges of espionage. in court, attorneys painted two very different pictures of private first class bradley manning. defense attorneys called the 25-year-old intelligence analyst, a humanist, concerned about abuses in iraq. here's what he told the judge -- >> but prosecutors say he's a

traitor, whether or not he intended to aid the enemy. some of the 700,000 documents manning gave to wikileaks were found when navy s.e.a.l.s raided osama bin laden's compound. >> i think it theoretically could have hurt soldiers it could have gotten people killed. i don't know that it did. but it certainly is something we would want to guard against as a military. >> there's been no evidence of harm caused by these leaks. the government is saying the sky is falling, the sky is falling. but the fact is, the sky not falling. >> manning's supporters say the judge's ruling could have a chilling effect on whistleblowers and journalists. >> if they put something on the internet, the government can turn around and say, if the government doesn't like it, that putting the act of putting it on the internet is an act of aiding al qaeda. >> manning faces anywhere from 20 years to life in a military prison. months in court, just hours until the verdict, we should

know this afternoon. richard? >> how does the issue of intent factor into whether or not manning is convicted of the more serious charges involved in this case? >> sure. well it could be key, richard, because experts tell us his intent of releasing the information is relevant to whether or not he's convicted of the crimes. but he doesn't necessarily have to be proven, doesn't have to be proven by prosecutors that he intended for the information to go to the enemy. so in other words, whether or not he wanted or knew that information would land in the hands of al qaeda won't necessarily be jermaine to whether or not he's convicted. >> tracie potts, thank you. pope francis is back at the vatican this morning after breaching to million in brazil. but it's what he said on the flight home that's making news. during an impromptu news conference, francis reached out to gays in a way that's never happened before. the pope said he was not in a position to judge people based on their sexuality. he told reporters, quote, if someone is gay and he searches for the lord and has good will, who am i to judge?

his compassionate tone is seen more as a change in style, and not direct church doctrine, it's still a stark contrast from his predecessors. pope benedict called gays, quote, objectively disordered. pope john paul ii said homosexuals were, quote, against natural law. north carolina governor pat mccory has signed a new restrictive abortion law, requiring clinics to be held to the same standard as outpatient surgical centers. critics say more abortion clinics will have to close. the governor says the law will mandate safer conditions for north carolina women. as a candidate last fall, governor mccory pledged he would not approve any new abortion restrictiones if elected. let's shift over to weather and join nbc meteorologist bill karins and a good tuesday to you. my friends. >> tropical storm flossie went through the hawaiian islands.

it's still traveling, but hasn't had much of an impact. 14-foot waves were found off the coast of the big island of hawaii near hilo. it's not too bad out there. for a tropical storm that went down to a tropical depression, it's brought beneficial rain to a few spots and a breezy, windy day, but we'll be back to typical hawaii weather by later this afternoon. you can see on the radar, it's not too bad on the island of maui and oahu, just a little bit of rain left over from the storm system. that's about it in the lower 48 in the west. it's still a warm day for many areas, not as hot, very typical of what you would expect in the summertime. still on the cool side onshore flow in san francisco and coastal california. still looking for a day in the northwest in the low 80s and interior sections of california, in the low 90s, right where you

should be, perfect. 90 degrees. enjoy. i think the only people that can complain about the summer weather is occasionally we like the offshore flow for the beaches and you get a warm beach day or two, it would be rather cool. >> they're complaining because it's too good. >> they want a rainy day. >> give me some bad weather. maybe not. earth's friendly visitor and the oracle of omaha channels. and a rare tornado tears through the italian province of milan. details when "early today" returns.

welcome back to "early today."

here are some stories making news. the senate has overwhelmingly confirmed a bush era justice official to lead the fbi. james comey will take over for robert muller who became director the week before 9/11. kentucky senator rand paul was the lone dissenting voice. more fallout for anthony weiner amid the latest sexting scandal. the one-time front-runner has not only lost his lead, but is now in fourth place among likely democratic voters. a tornado tore through an industrial area in the province of milan, it uprooted telephone poles. a wildfire continues to rage through central washington state as close to 300 firefighters work to keep it from reaching more heavily forested areas. the blaze has engulfed about 39 square miles and caused 60 homes to be evacuated. the body of former major league pitcher frank castillo was recovered from a lake sunday afternoon. family members say castillo, who

was not a strong swimmer, jumped into a lake sunday and never resurfaced. police plan on questioning a woman about a string of other green paint vandalism in d.c., including friday's defacing of the lincoln memorial. in health news, a new study finds breast-feeding may make children smarter. harvard university researchers followed more than a thousand mothers and their babies and found that children still nursing after a year had better language skills at age 3 and higher i.q. than those at age 7 compared to those not breast fed at all. the american academy of pediatrics recommend babies be exclusively breast fed for about the first six months of life. the study followed more than 1,000 mothers and their babies. >> announcer: "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil. turning now to business, we look at cnbc's hampton pearson. >> stocks did close lower on

monday. the fed begins a meeting today with investors looking for clarity on when interest rates may go up and we get data on home prices and consumer confidence. if you blinked, you probably missed it. time warner cable pulled cbs from its lineup and reversed the decision. the two sides are continuing talks to resolve the dispute over programming fees. and twitter may be inching closer to an ipo. "u.s.a. today" reports the microbloging service is posting an opening for a financial reporting manager, who would file documents for a possible ipo. market-watchers expect twitter to go public early next year. richard? thank you, fewer young adults are holding full-time jobs this year compared to last year. across all education levels. a gallup poll finds 43.6% of americans between the ages of 18-29 had a full-time job in june of this year. but last year, 47% were

employed. the figure is at its lowest since at least 2010. and willie wonka reincarnated? billionaire warren buffett is acting the part of the famous candy founder. investor is auctioning off c's candy factory. the current bid is $35,000. he'll demonstrate the only acceptable way to eat a bon-bon. and i say that's by the dozens. coming up, a spectacular spin-out in belgium and all your sports highlights to boot, you're watching "early today."

and with that, the latest in sports for you this hour, we were reminded of the quintessential question in baseball last night, safe or not. tampa leads boston. the red sox slides. out. now, the replay, though it seems to show that he's safe. tampa gets the win, though. what do you think? tampa gets the win and first place by half a game over boston. in cleveland, game tied in the ninth. jason giambi cracks the winning home run. 3-2 over the white sox with that one. 42-year-old giambi, the oldest player to hit a walkoff homer. next if line, hank aaron.

the lawyer for alex rodriguez is going to fight any suspension. his lawyer said they're focused on an appeal. the question is whether or not he'll hit again and under which rules he might face penalties. no suspension for boston's david ortiz. big papi went big on a dugout telephone. he got mad at the ump mp after striking out on that one. >> very bad manners. >> a little, shall we say. president obama welcomed the team, congratulations all. how about a free beer and bratwurst? milwaukee fans get a $10 voucher to spend at home games, the brewers trying to make nice because their star player ryan braun was suspended for the season and won't be there.

the baltimore training camp got a little hot, but here comes the eice cream truck. even though 300 pound linemen get giddy over ice cream. i bet you they're screaming ice cream as they're running. an amazing spinout at the start of the -- look at that. this is in belgium. a blue ferrari doing a 360. unscathed, rights the car there, goes straight, they end up finishing 12th in the race, they average over 100 miles per hour sometimes. just ahead, things get real for two real housewives stars. plus, a brand new brian williams mix up. courtesy of the folks at "late night with jimmy fallon."

this is a landslide in china, we just got hold of the video, it happened a couple of weeks ago. imagine being the person in the car. incredible. all four people in the vehicle were able to escape. it was just a torrent of mud that dropped on top of their vehicle. they're lucky they didn't fall over the edge and get swept over. let mae show you what's happening today. very warm in the deserts as expected. still cool in coastal areas of california. tuesday looks like monday and wednesday looks like -- tuesday and monday. let me show you as far as san francisco. only twice in the month of july have we gone above 80 degrees at the airport in san francisco. average high this time of year is supposed to be 72.

we're going to continue into august with tempts a little bit below average. only talking about highs around the mid 60s right through saturday and into the upcoming weekend. dry weather pattern. but it's a cool weather pattern. richard, only five times in the month of july has san francisco even been above average. so temperatures have been cooler than normal in coastal california. >> i grew up there, it's always cold and foggy, you get used to it after a while. >> it doesn't mean you like it. >> could you tell? in entertainment news, a heavy dose of reality is in store for the real housewives of a new jersey couple when they appear in federal court this morning. teresa and joe are facing a 39-count indictment stemming from federal fraud charges. the reality tv stars are accused of falsifying documents to secure nearly $5 million in loans before filing from bankruptcy. in a statement, teresa said that the couple homes hopes to resolve this matter quickly. bravo, owned by nbc universal, had no comment on how they plan to handle this on the show. lea michele finally broke

her silence following the death of her boyfriend and fellow "glee" castmate, cory monteith. she posted a picture of the couple on her twitter page and thanked fans for their support. johnny depp recently told the bbc he may bring the curtain down on his acting career in the future. since turning 50, he's thought about pursuits outside of acting. 50 and he's reconsidering there, bill. >> he has enough money. >> and "forbes" reporting that angelina jolie's $33 million earnings makes her the highest paid actress in the u.s. she beat out jennifer lawrence, kristin stewart and emma stone. korean rapper psy is raising a few eyebrows after revealing in an interview is that the only time he doesn't drink is when he's hung over. the gangham creator said if i'm happy, i'm drinking. if i'm sad i'm drinking. if it's raining, i'm drinking. if it's sunny, i'm drinking. there's a theme to that whole

thing. >> does he know that's not a cool thing? >> it's not a cool thing. but it's korea, a different culture. ever wonder how tamron hall gets home after anchoring her show, "news nation" on msnbc? apparently it's on two wheels. a member of her team posted this video showing our friend tackling the mean streets on new york city on a bike. >> you know, bill, you will see her carry this bike around the halls of 30 rock. >> i don't get it, there's no way i'm taking my life, driving through a, new york city, or b, any city in this country. >> she's a skilled bikerider, get out of her way. >> i'm richard lui, this is "early today," just your first stop today on nbc.

a city invokes seizure laws to save homes. richmond, california, is about to become the first city in the nation to attempt to use eminent domain to stop foreclosures. sea level rise threatens 1400 u.s. cities. that study says at least 316 u.s. cities and towns will be mostly submerged unless pollution can be pulled from the sky. topping our news this morning, new information about a powerful explosion at a florida propane plant. seven people were taken to the hospital. three of them in critical condition. the explosions began at around 11:00 p.m. at the blue rhino plant in tavares, about 40 miles northwest of orlando. and it's being called the largest ever operation against

child sex trafficking. more than 100 teens are safe after the fbi rescued them in a sting that spanned 76 u.s. cities. the youngest victim, just 13 years old. the fbi has taken 159 adults into custody for allegedly running that operation. well, late night's jimmy fallon loves to poke fun at nbc's very own brian williams. last night, they made a mashup of the marky mark song "good vibrations." ♪ yo it's about that time ♪ to bring forth the rhythm and the rhyme ♪ ♪ ♪ i will get mine so get yours ♪ it's strictly hip hop stringing this to the entire nation ♪ ♪ bringing this to the entire nation ♪ black, red, white, brown feel the vibration ♪ >> i think he got the tone right. >> good vibrations. >> brian knew that he was doing

that over the 50 clips. >> he's a master. >> i want to know what sentence brian was reading when he said "vibrations." >> how they find this, i don't know. >> time for a look ahead. president obama travels to chattanooga, tennessee today. the president will talk about improving creating jobs. vice president joe biden and former secretary of state hillary clinton will meet for breakfast a day after clinton had lunch with president obama. and happy birthday to hillary swank, who is 39. arnold schwarzenegger is 66 and paul anka is 72. i didn't know he wrote the theme song for johnny carson. >> you taught me something new. here's what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. >> npr scott simon talks about his touching tweets from his mother's bedside. robin thicke performs live on the plaza. now keep it here for more news, weather and sports. thanks for watching "early today."

have a good one.

new this morning, a simple apartment fire turns into something much more overnight in san francisco. we'll have all the details up next. new video into our newsroom, family members gather in china to remember the three people killed in the asiana airlines crash. looked outside. a big fire. she was from leesburg, so we came out of the house, started running. i got no shoes, no phone, took off running, didn't know if it was anything close by. >> we'll let you know what we're hearing about a series of explosions at a florida propane plant. taking a live look outside, transamerica pyramid in san francisco beautifully lit on this tuesday, july 30th. this is "today in the bay."