good friday morning, right now on "first look," a horrific accident at a july 4th fireworks display in southern california. >> oh. washington keeping a close eye on egypt wondering if this is what democracy looks like. conflicting reports over nelson mandela's medical condition. plus, a major hailstorm in new mexico. police pinpoint people of interest in the search for madeleine mccann. and a precocious pooch rescued from the engine of a car after hitching a ride. very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz.

nice to see you this morning. we begin with dramatic new video from a fourth of july celebration gone wrong in california. dozens have been injured after fireworks malfunctioned and sent into the crowd. take a look. >> now, at least 28 people were injured during that celebration in simi valley, california. local firefighters and park live to treat adults and children hit by flying debris. all the injuries are being described as mine for to moderate. of the 28 victims 20 were taken to a local hospital. as many as 10,000 people were attending the celebration in rancho santa susanna community meanwhile, in new york spectators gathered from shorelines to rooftops to watch the 37th annual fourth of july macy's fireworks spectacular.

across new york harbor, lady liberty was standing proud after months of repair. on thursday, the statue of liberty opened to visitors for the first time since hurricane sandy. >> i'm here to celebrate our independence. >> it's a very big part of our history, and we wanted to be here to celebrate it. >> well, most americans stuck with a simple picnic. there was the famous nathan's hot dog eating contest on coney island, and joey chestnut downed 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes including the buns, yes, if you can believe it, and actually shattered his old record. other events were held around the nation including in philadelphia where it all began more than 230 years ago, a reading of the declaration of independence kicked off events there, and descendants of the signers tapped the liberty bell 13 times in recognition of the 13 original colonies. well, we get an update on the economy this morning with the june unemployment report. economists are expecting it to show solid hiring but

investors warn anything less than the status quo could jolt the stock market. nbc's tracie potts joins us live from washington with a preview. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: hi, veronica. good morning. you're right. it's the market reaction that everyone is watching especially after the slide that we saw last month when the federal reserve announced they were yanking some of their support because things were getting a little better. now, today we get new job numbers and we see what the hiring was like in the month of june. that's coming up from the labor department in just a few hours. the estimates, the predictions range anywhere from 150 to 188,000 jobs created, that 188 coming from the payroll company adp. what does it all mean for the unemployment rate? may not change a lot at all and may slide down just a little bit based on what economists are predicting. it's at 7.6% right now. a couple of the big questions, what is hiring going to look like? what about layoffs? june is a tough month because you have the teachers leaving and you also have graduates coming into the market. take a look at what's been happening at the height of the

recession. 10% unemployment. since then we've been sliding down since the beginning of this year ever so slightly, but for the most part, it's been stagnant and will average be good, or will average spook the market? that's what we're watching for later today. veronica. >> all right. tracie potts in washington. tracie, we appreciate it. in egypt, an uncertain political future looms. supporters of mohamed morsi and key figures from the muslim brotherhood are detained, and with the top judge now sworn in as interim president, the crackdown concerns violence as egypt struggles to return to democracy after a dramatic political shift in just the past 24 hours. nbc's yousef gamal el-din joins us now from cairo. yousef, we're hearing the muslim brotherhood is calling for protest today. >> reporter: absolutely, veronica. to update you on the situation, army planes, seven of them flying at low altitude with

colored smoke like the egyptian flag on their tail. again, that is a sign of the army flexing its muscle ahead of a day expected to be quite tense. you mentioned the muslim brotherhood calling friday the day of rejection expected to take place in several locations across egypt. again, trying to fight what they call a full military coup. now, the military is on high alert and they made it clear that they would like all parties to come together to the table to take part in the transition possess. they are stationed still in different parts of the city, and they also said that they welcome peaceful protests, but if anybody makes excessive use of that right, it would have negative implications. also, of course, the ongoing crackdown, what appears to be a crackdown on the muslim brotherhood is something to watch out for. >> yousef, thank you. in south africa now conflicting reports over the health of nelson mandela. the government saying the former president is in critical but stable condition, but the associated foreign press

contradicting that statement reporting that mandela is in a vegetative state citing legal documents found june 26th. something that his doctors and the government deny. and amid the controversy, a rare public comment from mandela's wife. >> nelson sometimes may be uncomfortable. very few times he is in pain but he is fine. >> the mandela family has strongly denied reports they're deciding whether to discontinue care that may be prolonging his life. now here's your first look at this morning's dish of "scrambleed politics." don't expect supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg to be going anywhere any time soon. the 80-year-old justice tells reuters she has no plans to retire adding she's in excellent health even lifting some weights. all right. here's something you probably won't like. it is your tax dollars hard at work. a new government report says the

staet department spent more than $600,000 on facebook likes. the money was used for advertisements to boost its standing on a social media website. well, americans don't think the founding fathers would be too proud of how the country is turning out. according to gallop, 71% would be disappointed while just over a fourth said they'd be pleased. president obama welcomed members of the military and families to the white house for a july 4th barbecue. military bands were also on hand where mr. obama thanked veterans for their service. >> what makes us great is not our size or our wealth but our values and our ideas and the willingness to fight for them. a global defender of peace and freedom. a beacon of hope for people everywhere. >> and the first lady has ranked her top ten favorite moments from fourth of julys past. she also tweeted some from the

events including the president with a baby, also the first couple dancing before a party and that's going to do it for your morning dish of "scrambled politics.: so the fourth of july brought some very unusual weather. new mexico took a wallop from a massive hailstorm and several homes and businesses were severely damaged by the golf ball-size hail. some residents in northern florida waded through floodwaters. washington county currently under a state of emergency. nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer here with your weekend forecast and hope you have better news to report. >> not in the flood zone areas. we are still going to see more heavy rain, especially the panhandle of florida and into the eastern great lakes but out where severe storms were yesterday, crazy to see pictures of that much hail. it looked like a snowstorm in new mexico. but it was just some of these scattered severe thunderstorms which will again pop up today, but they shouldn't be as severe as we saw yesterday. you can see that moisture streaming in off the gulf of mexico. it's all riding along that stalled front from ohio right down into louisiana.

so that's where the rain is going to stay through the course of the rest of the holiday weekend. the heaviest rain just moved through cleveland. now it's fill iing back in across northeastern kentucky and southwestern ohio, and in the next 48 hours we could end up with another 2 to 3 inches of rain. for your forecast today it is going to be hot and humid in the northeast. as we start off the official weekend on saturday, we are looking for even warmer temperatures and the chance of some late day thunderstorms especially in the southeast where they already have so much rain. so, unfortunately, things are staying status quo. >> and very muggy. >> yes. >> all right, thanks, dylan. well, a violent day in chicago leaves 4 dead, 15 wounded in shootings. plus an active volcano forces numerous flight cancellations. and advertisers using a new technique to drill commercials into your brain? [ female announcer ] made just a little sweeter...

because all these whole grains aren't healthy unless you actually eat them ♪ multigrain cheerios. also available in delicious peanut butter. healthy never tasted so sweet. well, the prosecution in the george zimmerman trial could wrap up its case as early as today. zimmerman contends he killed

17-year-old trayvon martin in self-defense in february 2012. nbc's sarah dallof joins us from sanford, florida, with all the latest. sarah, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, veronica. before the defense takes the reins, it's expected the court will hear from trayvon martin's mother in what should be some of the most emotional testimony of this trial. after a brief break for the july 4th holiday, the jury returns this morning. the judge had indicated the prosecution planned to end its case by wednesday, but the testimony of key technical witnesses filled the day. a gun and trayvon martin's sweatshirt brought before the jury to help a state ballistics expert demonstrate the contact shot that killed the 17-year-old. >> meaning the muzzle or the end of the barrel of the gun was up against the sweatshirt when it was fired. >> correct. >> and nothing but the truth so help you god. >> yes. >> reporter: and testimony from a police crime lab analyst who

stated he found neither zimmerman's dna under martin's fingernails nor martin's dna on the pistol grip of zimmerman's gun. >> and you were able to exclude trayvon martin from having dna on the pistol grip. is that correct? >> yes. >> exhibit 169 -- >> reporter: the defense countered by exploring external factors that could have limited dna findings. >> so, for example, if the collection was just not a good job, there could be dna that was missed and you wouldn't know that. >> potentially. >> reporter: today prosecutors are expected to call their final witnesses including trayvon martin's mother before they rest their case. >> they've had to put pieces together without having a single eyewitness who can tell their story, and while it hasn't been easy, their evidence has come in and the jury will have some things to think about when it's time to decide guilt or innocence. >> reporter: now the defense prepares to take control of the

witness box. and legal analysts say it is less and less likely that george zimmerman will take the stand as the trial proceeds. veronica, back to you. >> sarah dallof, thanks to you. other stories making news -- new developments in a cold case across the pond. police in the uk say they have identified 38, quote, people of interest in connection with the disappearance of madeleine mccann. the 3-year-old disappeared while on vacation off portugal with her family in 2007. more violence in chicago. police say 19 people have been shot there just since wednesday including four deaths. those numbers include a 7-year-old boy who was shot while picnicking with his family. well, a little dog in florida went on a wild ride when he got trapped under the hood of his owner's car. no word on how he got there but a fire team managed to rescue the tiny pup, and he is doing a-okay. he's just a little thirsty. mexican volcano was the

cause of major flight delays. the eruption prompted u.s. airlines to postpone or cancel flights out of mexico city's international airport. if you feel like ads and commercials are everywhere, think again. skygo, a mobile streaming service, is now putting talking ads on trains that are activated when a commuter rests their head against the train window. it's actually done through bone conduction technology which sends a high frequency into your brain which processes it into words. okay. and now for your first look at business we turn to seema mody. seema, good morning. >> veronica, good morning. well, all irs offices are closed today due to government budget cuts. this is the second of five planned furloughs. no tax returns will be processed today. mortgage rates ease after the spike. average rate on a 30-year fixed loan slipped to 4.29%. rates have jumped on fears that the fed may end its easing efforts to keep interest rates low. adding teenage drivers to your insurance policy can double premiums. the insurance institute for

highway safety says teens are more likely to be involved in fatal crashes. boys often pay higher premiums than girls, but rates vary depending on where you live. veronica. sending it back to you. >> all right, seema, thanks. now let's get the latest in sports from my colleague alex witt, hey, alex, good morning. let's get to baseball as fans flocked to stadiums as they celebrated independence day and the white sox closed their game with a dramatic end when adam dunn's walkoff run in the ninth gave them a 3-2 win over the orioles. the twins failed to get a win against the yankees but chris parmele hustled to give minnesota fans one spectacular sight right there. the first baseman went into the stands to make a circus catch on a foul ball. americans in afghanistan marked independence day by participating in their version of atlanta's peach tree road race. over 600 servicemen ran that grueling 10k course kick off a day of morale boosting

activities. that event has been held since 2004. the winner of the dwight howard sweepstakes is expected to be announced later today, and sources say the nba's most coveted free agent is still undecided but hall of famer hakeem olajuwon says he's 85% sure howard will be in a houston rockets uniform next season. one chaotic scene erupt in a las vegas soccer game. fighting in the stands spilling out on to the fields as fans and players clashed using bottles and rocks as weapons. more than a hundred police officers swarmed the stadium to try to regain order. marion bartoli will battle sabine lisicki at the all england club on saturday. you can watch that on saturday. congratulations out to eli manning, the two-time super bowl champ and his wife recently welcomed their second daughter who will be add ed to a family photo just like this one if the giants win another super bowl this year. i'm sure it's a picture they'd like to take. >> too cute. thanks so much, alex. >> sure.

coming up, "the lone ranger" appears to be getting left in the dust by minions of "despicable me 2." brits and others are betting on the name and sex of will and kate's baby. you wait all year for summer. ♪ this summer was definitely worth the wait. ♪ summer's best event from cadillac. let summer try and pass you by. lease this all-new cadillac ats for around $299 per month or purchase for 0% apr for 60 months. come in now for the best offers of the model year. mornings are a special time for the two of you...) and you can make them even more special... with fancy feast mornings. mornings are delicious protein-rich entrées... with garden veggies and egg. each one perfectly designed...

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now, for your first look at politics, is it a bump in the road for the president's signature piece of legislation? joining me now is politico kevin cerilli. the health care bill was supposed to be fully implemented

by 2014, that was the deadline but now the white house rolling back employee mandated coverage by a full year. what does this mean, kevin? does this mean that there are problems going on behind the scenes. >> well, i think republicans would like you to believe that. they say this is a train wreck legislation and that this is just the lightest example in that obama care's flawed legislation but democrats are saying, you know what, this is an example of them listening to businesses, small businesses in particular and not implementing the employer mandate until after the 2014 election giving businesses more time before they would have to do so. >> so really who has the leverage here? is it the republicans? is it the democrats? does this somehow help the democrats, as well? >> well, obama care if you look at the polls is really largely still people are unsure about it and i think that until the implementation, a lot of which will still be this fall gears up, we won't really have a good idea of that, but, you know, republicans are saying that democrats are playing politics with this and waiting until

after the 2014 midterm elections to implement for small businesses, a somewhat unpopular law still at this point. three years after its original signing. >> so you're calling it unpopular, kevin. let's go ahead and take a look at what the white house should do going forward. you came up with a strategy. what should they do? >> i think they have to go on offense and the polls are split. i think that some people still really like this, some people don't but i think that after they got this thing passed, we sort have seen them retreat and not go on the offense with how to -- how this would help small businesses and how this would help the community. they've got to do another pr push, it would seem, to get people at the support for it similar to what they did when they got it originally signed. >> all right, and we will be looking for that pr push. kevin cirillo of politico, thanks. >> happy friday. >> happy friday. moving on to some entertainment news, it looks like "the lone ranger" got ambushed by a group of minions this holiday.

the big blockbuster starring johnny depp pulled in only $9.7 million raising the possibility it could saddle disney with a loss since it cost $225 million to produce. meanwhile, universal's "despicable me 2" took in a whopping 34.3 million wednesday, pretty much ensuring a win for the holiday weekend. check out this story. a lock of mick jagger's hair has sold at auction for 6,000. that is more than double its presale estimate. the clump belonged to jagger's former girlfriend whose grandmother obtained it nearly 50 years ago. that's just weird. >> gross. >> so weird, right? disgusting. and to celebrate the upcoming birth of the future heir to the british throne the british mint says they'll hand out special silver pennies to babies born on the same day. and that actually gets us to our first buzz this morning because this is bringing up a whole lot of betting, and i wanted to turn now to my colleagues, dylan dreyer and alex witt. hello, good morning. >> hi. >> if you had to pick a game,

boy or girl, what would you say? >> i liked alexandra, that was on the list. >> me too. >> for obvious reasons, right? i was like, yes. >> i said that earlier. >> it is favored 4-1 and then if you had to pick a boy's name, what would you guys go with? >> i think they said james or george, right? both of them make good sense to me. had >> i like james. my dad and brother are james. >> let's go with james. dylan dreyer has breakfast for us this morning. >> this is so funny. this is coming out of death valley. you know how they say is it hot enough to fry an egg. a lot of people are going to death valley national park and frying eggs on the sidewalk so the park rangers were cleaning up all these eggs and all these shells so one of the park rangers actually said, let's get a skillet and let's really try it. it took about six minutes to fry an egg. not the most efficient way to do it, but with the lid on because evaporation would cause a whole cooling process but with the lid on it took six minutes to fry an egg. >> i heard so many were frying

eggs and using the sidewalk that they had to post something on the facebook page saying bring a skillet next time. >> yeah. >> isn't that crazy? >> no, no. speaking of hot. >> oh, please. >> no, not for that reason. i now have validations to why i'm always so cranky when it's hot and humid. there's a study that came out that said what happens is when your body overheats, blood pressure goes up. you lose -- dehydration. if you lose 1.5% of your water, dehydrating, you can absolutely lose your judgment. you don't know when you're getting so cranky, you know, and then you go drink your iced coffee because i'm an addict, and that's such a bad thing to do. >> i'm not a water drinker to begin with. maybe i drink a little bit more. >> now we have an excuse. >> it's not going away any time soon so we can be miserable all weekend. >> thanks, dylan. >> thanks so much. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc,

stay tuned because "the last word with lawrence o'donnell" is coming up at the top of the hour. ♪ when you experience something great, you want to share it. with everyone.

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we have updates on the situation in egypt today and testimony in the george zimmerman case. first the fight over abortion rights has moved to north caroli carolina. >> the truth will set you free, but first, it will piss you off. >> surprise republican sneak attack in north carolina. >> anti-abortion bill. >> the effects of this bill will close clinics. >> enslavement and domination of me and my body and uterus. >> shame shame shame. >> a surprise move against abortion rights. >> medical misinformation, bad public policy. >> this bill does not