some 58 wildfires forcing evacuations. anti-government protests are rocking cuba in rare public displays that could be aame changer. nbc news investigates the sale of artwork from first-time seller and president biden's son hunter for hundreds of thousands of dollars that's raising ethics alarm bells. coffee drinkers better listen up. the price of that morning joe is going up

new details on the texas legislature that bolted out of the state to prevent new voting restrictions a busy start to this tuesday, july 13th. "early today" starts right now good to have you with us i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. we begin with a dire emergency growing in the west. heat waves with record-setting highs and devastating drought conditions are helping to fuel an already very active fire season it's putting lives and homes in immediate danger nbc's miguel almaguer has more >> reporter: these are the apocalyptic conditions firefighters in northern california face. a perfect recipe for disaster fueled by scorching temperatures and extreme drought. the beckwourth complex fire doubled in size saturday, grew by 20,000 acres sunday and forced some to run for their lives. >> i planned on staying, but when you see the firemen running like that, it's probably a good idea to go ahead and leave

>> 58 wildfires are burning across the west. the bootleg fire in oregon, the nation's largest is racing fes, not until august or septemg the region >> this is a climate crisis. scientists say this is a clear hallmark of climate change after the hottest june on record, records were hit of 117 degrees. death valley an unbearable 130 >> we're heating up the planet and changing the climate in a way humans have never experienced before and we're already dealing with a consequences it's a question of how bad do we want it to get >> the extreme heat is fueling this epic drought. and these communications surround more homes than ever. a catastrophic combination for fire season. >> reporter: an ominous forecast

as we enter a hot, dangerous, and already destructive summer miguel almaguer, nbc news. the historic anti-government protests in cuba have sent a jolt to the white house. president biden voiced his support for cuban protesters after the historic uprising this weekend. nbc's andrea mitchell has more >> reporter: thousands of demonstrators spilling into the streets of cuba calling for an end to the 62-year communist regime chance of "we want freedom" echoing through the streets. protesters dumping trash and throwing rocks demonstrations sparked by chronic food shortages and blackouts. in miami, protests in solidarity with havana. >> we've been waiting for change for so long. >> reporter: maria has family in cuba >> i don't even know what their situation is right now >> reporter: an economic crisis exacerbated by the pandemic, and no access to approved covid

vaccines a perfect storm for anti-regime anger that spread rapidly as more cubans recently gained access to the internet cuban president miguel diaz-canel blaming the unrest on u.s. sanctions >> translator: the lack medicine and food, all those topics that are embedded in our society, what is the origin it's a blockade. >> they simply are not hearing the voices and will of the cuban people people deeply, deeply tired of the repression >> reporter: president obama removed it from the late list of state sponsors of terrorism. but the trump administration put cuba back on that list, imposing tougher sanctions which president biden has not lifted >> we call on the government to refrain from violence, their attempts to silence the voice of the people of cuba >> reporter: so far biden's been much tougher on cuba than

president obama was. a senior official saying when people protest for human rights, the administration will stand with them. >> and our thanks to andrea mitchell for that report another possible black eye for johnson & johnson as the company's covid-19 vaccine has been linked to a couple rare cases of an autoimmune disease 95 cases led to hospitalization and one person died. but experts say vaccine benefits far outweigh the risks here's nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: among 12.8 million recipients of the johnson & johnson covid vaccine the cdc now says federal officials have identified about a hundred suspects cases of guillain-barre syndrome it is a neurological disorder in which it causes muscle weakness, or in severe cases paralysis >> that message about these side effects being exceptionally rare, frankly, it has not gotten

through to people. and we run the risk here if we don't pivot quickly away from j&j of havy damaging the reputation of the mrna vaccines >> reporter: the cases occurred about two weeks after receiving the j&j shot, mostly in men over age 50 most people who contract gba recover. it requires only one dose and can be stored at a higher temperature. but in april the cdc said it had identified rare but serious blood clots linked to the j&j vaccine. the company says it's working with federal regulators, but the chance of having this occur is very low and that it happened only slightly more often than in a population that hadn't taken the covid vaccine. though, the cdc says the data does not show a similar side effect for the pfizer and moderna shots. despite all this, public health experts stress that vaccine benefits far outweigh the risks

as nearly all covid hospitalizations and deaths are now occurring among the unvaccinated gabe gutierrez, nbc news, new york now to breaking news, the texas voting rights battle has landed at the doorstep of congress a large group of texas democrats from the statehouse fleeing the state and the special legislative session in an effort to block new voting restrictions they have touched down in washington d.c we're joined now by capitol hill correspondent tracie potts and, tracie, what do these lawmakers hope to gain >> reporter: they're hoping to have some influence beyond texas here to convince senate republicans to enact the federal voting rights law. that's their goal as they have left their home state in the middle of a special session where they were considering a voting rights law in texas that law pushed by republicans would restrict 24-hour voting, drive-through voting, require i.d. for absentee ballots. democrats say they were forced to leave the state

there's a law that says there have to be a certain number of lawmakers in that special session, a quorum, to pass anything and so by these 58 lawmakers leaving and heading to washington, they have essentially put business on hold and the governor says he's going to bring them right back, arrest them as soon as they come into the state and bring them right back to the capitol to get things done. democrats argue, they had no choice >> we're here today because our backs have been against the wall we had no other option there was nothing left to give >> they're quitters. that is not the way that texans do things. this is not over i will continue calling special session after special session because over time it's going to continue until they step up to vote once they step back into the state of texas, they will be arrested and brought back to the texas capital, and we will be conducting business. >> i'll have to stay out of texas until august 7th so about three and a half weeks away from

their homes and families and their jobs in order to block that legislation meantime today, president biden is headed out of washington. he's going to be in philadelphia giving a speech on voting rights the white house says he wants to make the moral case for the fundamental right to vote. frances? >> all right we'll see how far and long this battle lasts let's turn now to the weather and see if there is any relief in sight for the soaked east or the baked west meteorologist janessa webb joining us this morning. hey, janessa, good morning >> good morning, we're already seeing rain this morning in the pacific northwest, and then heat alerts, they're still going to be in place this afternoon into your evening hours then we'll wipe away these alerts going into your wednesday. so today 10 million people impacted by warnings and advisories that high pressure is stationary it starts to sweep more to the east by tomorrow the humidity is still in place

even for this area 109 for las vegas. by tomorrow instead of talking about tomorrows, 130, we'll be back down to theo build mid-atlantic to the northeast, humidity arrives by tomorrow really excited about this rain we'll talk about that coming up. >> a lot of reason to be excited for that thank you, janessa the star borat has a message on copyright infringement. it's not nice. he is suing a cannabis company called solar therapeutics for using a picture of his famous character on a massachusetts billboard. in a statement an attorney said the actor never has used cannabis in his life and would never participate in an advertising campaign for cannabis for any amount of

money. >> there you have it "early today's" back in two with a surprise move for the man at the center of the tax fraud case against the trump organization and hunting for a hunter an nbc news investigation into the controversial new art auction by president biden's son. for the russell rate on my insurance. do you mean surprisingly great rates from state farm? i don't believe in accepting help. but i'll make an exception. here's the deal russell, there's no special rate. these prices are for everyone. with the oak and the eagle as witness, consider us square. i made that from memory, i know your face that well. when you want the real deal... like a good neighbor, state farm is there. this isn't just a walk up the stairs. when you have an irregular heartbeat, it's more. when you want the real deal... it's dignity. the freedom to go where you want, knowing your doctor can watch over your heart. ♪♪ how did kellogg's combine crunchy oat clusters

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now to an nbc news investigation into the secret sale of art by president biden's son hunter the asking price, up to half a million per painting but ethics watchdogs are blasting the arrangement here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: powerful and impactful work according to the gallery owner who will sell hunter biden's art this fall art critics aren't so sure >> well, it's not as bad as i might've thought >> reporter: one calling it hotel art. but the gallery says it values some of the first-time artist's paintings up to half a million dollars. >> reporter: how much of that is the name >> almost all of it, i'd say >> reporter: the sale triggering criticism of a white house that touts itself as the most ethical administration in history. >> i think the right thing to do would've been for white house ethics officials to try to talk the president into begging his son not to go through with this sale

>> reporter: walter was director of government ethics under president obama. don't the children of presidents have the right to pursue a career >> the children of presidents have the absolute right to pursue a career. but as citizens of this country, they really have a moral and ethical duty not to trade on their parents' public service. >> reporter: there is also concern that someone might try to gain influence by buying his art. >> a system has been established that allows for hunter biden for work in his profession within reasonable safeguards. >> reporter: but firsted by "the washington post," the administration has made an agreement with the gallery not to reveal buyers' names to anyone, including hunter biden or the white house >> this is an amateur mistake because there's no way to control what the purchasers do they can go out and tell the world that they bought this art. >> reporter: hunter biden has previously come under fire including for taking a lucrative board position at ukrainian gas

company burisma while his father was vp past presidents' children including the trumps have raised ethics concerns. in this case experts say more transparency would help. >> the american people deserve the opportunity to be able to track whether or not these purchasers are getting preferential access to government >> reporter: not saying who is buying the art, he says, is the problem. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york still to come, bad news for bean counters. why your morning cup of joe is about to get more expensive. mcdonald's offers aup chance to win a lifetime supply of french fries. thanks, gary. and for unexpected heartburn... frank is a fan of pepcid. it works in minutes. nexium 24 hour and prilosec otc can take one to four days to fully work. pepcid. strong relief for fans of fast. new crest pro-health complete protection kills 99% of bacteria.our days to fully work. plus, it works around... ...and around... ...and around the clock.

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. . . the back street boys invite you to a very back street christmas party. >> back street's back. the back street boys are heading to vegas to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year for their first-ever christmas-themed shows it's called "a very backstreet christmas party. and for 12 days in november through december, they will perform at zapos theater in planet hollywood tickets go on sale to the general public friday 1:00 p.m. eastern time on ticketmaster's website. >> do you think that's something you're going to jump on? >> i had a friend who already asked me but they got their tour coming up next year, so i'm going to bank on that all right. now to something that coffee lovers are not going to want to hear this morning. get ready for a price hike

nbc's karen tso has that story for us this morning. >> reporter: you may want to load up on those coffee beans or pods now, because the price of a cup of joe could soon go up. what we are seeing already on futures trading in new york, the robust traded in london which is used in instant coffee that surged about 30% in the same time frame. already we're seeing those pandemic trends shifting with people consuming less coffee at home and more in cafes the transportation costs, but with the severe drought coming out of brazil, the major producer, you could soon see those pricers be passed on to consumers. it's a big day on the calendar, it's national fry-day. and mcdonald's is seeking to call it world-famous fan day it is offering free fries to

mcdonald's rewards program members. the golden arches is hosting a competition with 66 fans will win 1 million rewards points and one lucky fan will never get to that disappointing moment at the bottom of the packet >> for better or worse karen, thank you now to police in vegas they are pulling out all the stops to protect pets in hot cars racist abuse directed at england's black soccer players tethe missed penalty kicks prompt swift reaction. there's entresto. entresto was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant, it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto.

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live kind an important reminder from the las vegas police do not leave your pets in the car. body camera video show officers busting out windows to save dogs in distress. at least one owner was arrested. with vegas reaching record highs of 117 degrees recently, a hot car can turn deadly within minutes. >> let's check back in with nbc meteorologist janessa webb to see what she's watching and where the people who need it most will get some relief from the heat hi, janessa. >> hi. yes, finally seeing some rain. this is monsoonal moisture that we're seeing so what comes with that is some very gusty winds we're losing power across arizona into the vegas area right now. but this is definitely much-needed rain with all the fire danger across the area. >> that's right. good to hear, janessa, thank you. next on "early today," history hits the runway.

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in today's top stories, a class-action lawsuit was filed in california against dow chemical over brain damage in children lawyers believe at least 100,000 homes have been contaminated dow's affiliate says it stopped producing the pesticide last year in england, fallout from euro's fallout is sparking condemnation after three of england's black players became the targets of racist abuse.

police in man chester are investing after marcus rashford was defaced shortly after the game, a mural. but players, those players are receiving an outpouring of support from the prime minister as well as england's royal family >> to those who have been directing racist abuse at some of the players, i say shame on you, and i hope you will crawl back under the rock from which you emerged. >> prince william tweeting that he was sickened by the racist abuse, calling it totally unacceptable a spokesperson for twitter says the abuse has no place on its platform facebook says it quickly removed the comments and will take action against those that break the rules. california is requiring all students grades k-12 to wear mask inside schools and classrooms in the fall but a spokesman for the governor's office says local school officials would have discretion about how to enforce the mask mandate, which first said that schools must exclude students from campus if they

refused to wear a face covering. the state's new rules comes after the cdc released new guidance for preventing covid transmission in schools. the king has arrived to the world of fortnite. gamers will be able to purchase two different skins modelled after lebron james, one being a standard version of the nbc star's classic style and the other resembling his role in the upcoming movie "spacejam: a new legacy." that wait is finally over. a black fashion designer is making history in the fashion world while also honoring black history. his name is kerbca the first blk american to show at paris couture fashion week the designer told the "a.p." his

goal was to highlight inventions by black people and show them in a nontraditional way mission accomplished i had no idea those inventions were by black people >> i'm just enthralled by the designs there. they are a work of

making it mandatory, the south bay gives residents no choice when it comes to water restrictions. one city considers a new step to preserve its crucial supplies. >> i am in this trail five days a week. >> where is this? the desperate search finding the missing jogger. technology being used to find it. and the cost of fighting covid, how much it is costing you? yes, yo