it's wednesday, july 1st. coming up on "early today" an historic black church in south carolina goes up in flames again just 20 years after it was burnt to the ground by the kkk. and heads are rolling that that new york prison. and ben and general are headedhead ed -- jen are headed for a divorce after ten years. good morning. it happened again last night just hours after the naacp warned black churches to take necessary precautions, another one went up in flames. this morning fire officials say the 8,000 square foot mt. zion

church in south carolina is a total loss. there's no official cause yet. there were lightning storms passing through. a string of fires in seven predominantly black churches across five southern states in a week has people wondering if they're all connected. this same church was burned to the ground 20 years ago by the kkk. the top bosses and ten other prison employees have been suspend suspended. the surviving escapee is revealing more about his plan. >> reporter: the d.a. tells nbc news david sweat claims to be the master mind who started planning the prison break. they never used power tools, only hacksaw blades. sweat says he navigated the maze

of cat walks for months all alone. the night before their escape he says the duo conducted a dry run breaking out of the prison. >> they did get out to that point of the village and did actually pop one of the manholes up. >> reporter: but they retreated back to their cells. >> if they were able to pop open a manhole cover the night before, why not escape that night. >> i guess they had a plan to have joyce mitchell pick them up in a car. >> reporter: they planned to head to mexico through west virginia. matt was sick drinking slowing him down. >> there were times he heard the helicopters. the sheriff's vehicle pulled up in the vicinity of where they were. i think he said matt fell backwards and made some noise,

but the sheriff's deputy didn't locate them zbloonchts. he probably thought he was going to make it until he came into contact with sergeant cook. a new backlash against donald trump this morning amid the controversy about his negative comments about mexican immigrants. mexico don't send a contestant to the miss universe pageant. his other pageant is also taking a big hit. yesterday in new hampshire donald trump reacted to nbc universal's decision to sever business ties. >> they left 51 wonderful girls who worked to hard all their lives to become a representative

and go to the miss usa pageant. it's in louisiana. they're all waiting there right now. and they left them -- just abandoned them. and so did univision. >> and as for univision, donald trump filed a $500 million lawsuit against them yesterday which the company said was factually false. president obama is expected to make an historic announcement about the united states and cuba. nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. this is a big deal but not everyone is celebrateing. >> reporter: no they're not. jeb bush tweeted this would legitimize oppression in cuba. some are expected to maybe try to hold funds for building or refurbishing that embassy. what we know today is that in

just a few hours president obama will make the formal announcement and then the request will go to cuba's foreign minister to open the embassy there. right now we've got what's called a u.s. interest section there that can deal with visas and things like that. this one would have a lot more teeth. it can pave the way for business and tourism. one thing it won't do is lift the trade embargo between the u.s. and cuba. that's something only congress can do. there is new hope for greece this morning after they became the first developed country to default on an imf loan. but this morning there are reports that prime minister has accepted an eu proposal with some changes. stock markets around are

reacting positively to the news. and team usa is headed back to the world cup finals. the americans had their work cut out for them. in the 69th minute of lay carly lloyd was chosen to take a penalty kick. they drove home team usa's second goal. her fifth straight shut-out. today will be england and japan. and girl scouts are getting big attention this morning. in western washington they're making news after giving back a $100,000 donation they received the money from an anonymous donor. the donor wrote please guarantee our gift will not be used to support transgender girls.

the girl scouts gave the money back. the organization has laumplgnched a crowd funding campaign to raise $100,000. and so far they've nearly doubled that money with donations. rain put a damper on the first-ever white house camp out. the event was hosted by first lady michelle obama as part of her let's move initiative. overnight storms forced the girls to move from their tents into theize executive building. they even get a visit from the president. >> you guys are having so much fun. unfortunately i've got to go to work. i am not allowed to have fun. but we can have a group hug. >> and as you can see, the president gets bombarded by the

girl scouts all wanting to get in on this group hug. well say it isn't so. ben affleck and jennifer garner are getting divorced. yesterday they announced their split in a joint statement saying, we have made the difficult decision to divorce with we go forward with love and friendship. together they have three kids between the ages of nine and three. frightening moments in a tv interview in eastern china. take a look. as you see, a flash flood caused that factory wall to collapse. fortunately no one was hurt. nbc meteorologist is here. a soggy forecast at home. >> we have some interesting radar returns from california and arizona.

not often that we see showers and storms heading from arizona into california. but that is the case this morning. there are some lightning strikes with this. you can little flashes near california city. little monsoonal moisture in the air. no such luck with any rainfall in the northwest. high pressure protects you and you are just baking in the heat once again. tuesday just another day in the oven for boise, 102. reno was 101. even sacramento was 107. how about 113 in redding. one of the hottest places in the entire country. today 15 -- 115. we'll cool it off down to about 107 by friday. it looks to stay hot throughout the region. there's not a ton of relief out there. montana gets hotter. for anyone else traveling across

the counted today, scattered strong storms from missouri into tennessee. much of the country looks 100 in salem and oregon and portland topping out in the upper 90s. broken record. >> what a way to kick off july. you won't believe just how busy isis is on social media. plus, a new document dump of hillary clinton's e-mails. what happened to your hair? i got it. walgreens has all you need to keep it all under control. from a little touch-up... come on, guys! to finding that perfect finishing touch...

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dozen homes in central washington is now 47% contained. but they're warning of more hot, dry weather this weekend. here's a look at the destruction before and after images showing the neighbor as it was and then after the homes burned to the ground. isis militants are sending unto 100,000 twitter messages per day. . and the state department has released another round of roughly 3,000 of hillary clinton's e-mails that cover march through december of her time as secretary of state in 2009. senior obama administration officials knew she was using a personal e-mail account for government business something which she's come under fire for. and jeb bush has posted 33 years of income tax dating back to 1981. in 2013 he made nearly $7.4

million from consulting and speaking gigs. and he's made more than 29 million dollar since leaving the florida governor's office in 2007. the american customer satisfaction index found that customers are more interested in quality dining over fast food's low prices. rolling back tuition at public colleges and universities by 15% over the next two years. it is a rare move that could influence other states to follow suit. and just ahead free agency is open for business. and blinding speed around the diamond lead to baseball history. sports is next. when you don't get enough sleep... and your body aches... you're not yourself.

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. . this morning on today, why a group that pays strangers parking meters is now landing in court for its kind acts. >> reporter: good morning. the cardinals looking to extend the winning streak to seven. he struck out 12 including every player in the card starting line-ups. marlins infielder was on full display last night.

he rips one down the middle and takes off after a failed no-look pass to the outfield. gordon puts it in high gear to complete his first ever inside the park home run. gordon rounded the bases in less than 14 seconds making it the quickest official home run. today is the first day of free agency. the new orleans pelicans have agreed to a five year extension. the deal will start in the 2016 season. davis led the league in blocks and 4th in scoring. leonard has agreed to a five-year 90 million dollar deal. gregg popovich views him as the future of the franchise. the man who turned a business selling shoes out of the back of

his car into a multibillion dollar company is stepping down. he began nike in a handshake deal in 1964. each put up just $500. can you believe that? now forbes ranks nike 19th and most valuable sports brand with over $30 billion in revenue. that is quite a return on investment. just ahead, a presidential candidate does simpsons impressions. plus, a young boxer trains in the mean streets of philadelphia in gray sweats. sound familiar? get ready for sylvester stallone and creed. you're watching "early today." you hold on? ♪ hold on for one more day ♪ really? hey, i know there's pain.

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. now it's time for entertainment news. misty copeland has been named principle dancer. she is first african american woman to hold that title in the company's history. she said i never saw a baller ballerina who looked like me before. she's redefining the modern

ballerina. al alec baldwin released video of his new son just days after his birth. get ready the trailer for the new rocky sequel creed was just released. it follows an aspiring young boxer's journey to the ring to follow in his father's foots footsteps. >> how do you know all this? >> i'm your son. >> creed hits theaters november 25th. and neve campbell is joining the show house of cards. the party of five and scream

actress will be in the next season of the netflix series. however her role is still unknown. presidential candidate ted cruz unveiled a little known skill. he showed some of his simpsons impressions. take a look. >> release the hounds. excellent. hidy ho neighbor. >> i was laughing when i is saw that. >> the bar is set on how you do homer and bart. >> you've got to do those. >> i'm dara brown and this is "early today." we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc. i will take beauty into my own hands...where it belongs. olay regenerist.

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leading the news on nbcnews,.com, nsa's authority to collect bulk telephone meta data expired last month. now the court has ruled that the agency can continue with bulk data collection for at least five more months. and the vatican says pope francis himself asked to chew the leaf from which cocaine is made. cocaine is considered a mild

stimulant in bolivia. the initial deadline was yesterday. later today u.n. weapons monitors are expected to announce that iran lived up to its deal. they converted uranium into harmless material. check out this train slam into a station. its sheer portion pushed the train up onto the platform. four people were injured. it's being called a world's first. a baby tree kangaroo is being raced by a mama wallabee. eight months later he's out grown the pouch. look at that. he's often found playing with toilet paper. very cute though. in one of the strangest marriage ceremonies ever a mayor exchanged vows with a tiny

crocodile wearing a tiny wedding gown. the traditional ceremony is supposed to bring luck to the mayor's town. let's take a look at this. a health center that features crude oil spas. this practice dates back to the 6th century and supposedly has antibiotic effects when applied to the skin. plenty of people have come to the country to experience the oil bath. we do have mud baths. i don't know about the oil. >> you give me a month to live i'll try it. >> now it's time for a look ahead. recreational marijuana becomes legal in oregon here. residents will be able to possess up to one ounce legally and eight ounces at home. happy birthday to liv tyler and pamela anderson.

i'm dara brown. thanks for watching

hanging on in the middle of scorching heat -- temperatures soar for a second straight day as conditions fuel more fires. =kris/vo= it'll be a struggle to stay cool again today, as state leaders worry about putting our power grid on "overdrive." what you need to know about your power use. =sam/vo= and a new month means new laws. from smart phones to sick leave.. what you need to know about your power use today. >> a new month means new laws. from smartphones to siblg leave. we've got you covered. >> from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> good wednesday morning. it's 4:30 i'm sam brock. >> i'm kris sanchez. laura garcia-cannon is off today. tracking the heat today. let's check first with meteorologist kari hall. good morning. >> good morning. a heat advisory in effect for most upland valleys today.