down. i'm a in real jeopardy. a protest against i.c.e. at the statue of liberty prompted arrests. plus a four-hour standoff with one demotrator that endedith police special forces. >> president trump's list of seven candidates to replace retiring justice anthony kennedy is believed now to be down to these two. >> high temperatus are helping to fuel 60 large wildfires across 11 states with little relief in the forecast. >> new images from inside the cave of the trapped soccer players and their coach as everyone awaits a solution to their rescue. >> and meet mia tisdale. what sheag m to accomplish will have you smiling. "early today" starts right now. >> good morning. i'm melissa rehberger in for

frances. >> and i'm phillip mena. as americans celebrated the 4th of july, a surprising security breach here in new york city. a woman scaling the base of the statue of liberty aft an abolish i.c.e. protest all while the city was under security for the holiday. police evacuated liberty island as a precaution. they say it took about three hours to coax this woman down under some very dangerous circumstances. >> the angles that we had to go on,if it wascult to stand there. there was nothing for us to grab. it was covered on the copper. really couldn't anchor to that. >> the protester was later identified a 44-year-old teresa patricia okumo of staten island. earlier in the day authorities are arrested sevenarotests with roup rise and resist after they displayedan ar reading abolish i.c.e. at the statue. one member confirmed to nbc new york that okuma w part of their group but said no one knew she was planning to climb the statue. okumo now faces several

misdemnor charges. she expected in court later today. >> the psident spent his second independence day as commander in chief greeting men and women of the armed forces at the white house. he hosted a picnicor the military families. he thanked them for their service and their willingness to put their lives on the line in defense of the country. >> to eve service member here today and stationed around the rld -- they' all watching -- and to your incredible famies, these are truly unbelievable pele. thank yo for keeping america safe, strong, proud, mighty and free. >> and while it was a celebratory affair in the nation'scapital, the work behind the scenes continued with the president continuing t pour er his top candidates for the supreme court. as the self-imposed clock ticks closer to his monday announcement, nbc's peter alexander has more from the white house. >> happy 4th of july.r: >> reporresident trump celebrating america's independence with service

members and their familie >> thank you for keeping america safe, strong, proud, mighty and free. >> reporter: building suspense around his supreme court pick that could spark more fireworks. >> these are very talented people, brilliant people. i think you're going to really love it. t >> reporte president relishing a second oppoutunity to p his stamp on a more conservative court narrowing his list to seven candidates with tua peels court judges as leading contend erders, kavanagd amy barrett. kavanagh clerked for retiring justice anthony kennedy, drawing support from establishment republicans. opposed to government regulation. >> has a real mastery o administrative law, so i think anyone should view his expeence as a huge plus. >> reporter: bulrett at 46 d be the youngest justice, a catholic who became a shero to social conservatives during her last confirmation hearing. senator dianne feinstein questioned whether her faithec would a her legal judgment. >> the dogma lives loudly withi.

yo >> reporter: ultimately, the senate will have to confirm any nominee with maine republican targeted bys now new ads from an abortion rights group, trying to guarantee tt e'll block any pick who would overturn roe v. wade. >> if a nomin has demonstrated hostility tooe. wade and has said that they're not going to ide by that long-standing precedent, that i could not support thatnominee. >> reporter: on the 4th of july, the president spent his afternoon at hisol virginia club and aides tell me he also spoke by phone to advisors about his supreme court pick. after watching the fireworks last night, the political pyrotechnics will heat up. te president today heads montana where there is a contentious senate race. philli >> all right peter, thank you. >> massive wildfires burning in the western united are prompting new dangers. the fires rage through theth of july forcing several cities to cancel celebrations.

and today authorities warn of a deadly heat wave cascading westward, stirring fire conditions. and colorado the mostst ructive blaze this year has incinerated more than 100 homes. the spring fire is responsible for charring nearly 95,000 acres in one week. and outside of salt lake city, new eeecuations have ordered overnight. a reported 58 wildfires aretl curren ablaze in ten states out west. tearing through land and property, putting thousands at risk. over on the east there may be relief in sight from the soaring heat, butlong the west the temperatures into the 90s could threaten even more unstable conditions. >> hot dog eating legend joey jaws chestnut is going to have to make a little room in his mantle and stomach after becoming coney island champion again. he won his 11th prize.th 's 4th of july hot dog eating contest, he beat out 20 other contest oants. noty setting a new record for the competitio but he

broke his own world record, too, by stuffing 74 hot dogs in his face in ten minutes. in the women's division las vegas native miki suto taking home the belt two years in a row. she ate 7 hot dogs in ten minutes beating out 19 peopl >> probably has heartburn. >> at least. >> turning to tyler whehailand e soccer team and their coach has been in the cave, they are coming with different ways to get this many out. janice mackie frayer has more from thailand. >> reporter: the boy and soccer coach appear in good spirits. new video shows them smiling and laughing withhai navy divers. the doctor treats their cuts and then one by one they send messages to their families. i'm in good health, he says.

another flashes a victory sign. but the boys are also at risk. heavy rains could push water levels higher inside the cave. that threat is forcing thai officials to consider an evacuation soon. the province, the governor said, if there is a risk we will not move them out. rescueke worrs are doing drills preparing for the moment the boys are brought to the surface, while officials say they are getting a crash course in diving and wearingll ace masks. none of them can even swim. we spoke to a diver advising the rescue team who has been inside the cave about the mission. you're not confident they can do it? >> i think they can. i thinkt's possible. it's very grim choice to make and it's very easy to --. >> reporter: he says a safer option may be drilling a hole a half mile down right to the cave so the boys can avoid a risky

swim and trek. that's at least 2 1/2 miles to the cave's entrance. some passage way is too narrow for scuba gear.un ro the clock pumping has reduced water levels, but rain could increase wer levels t could cut off access for lidive. fami watching the new video of the boys are anxious to be reunited this mother is saying, i'm dying to see him. i miss my son. when rescuers do make the move here, the governor now says they may not bring all the boys out at the same time. that it will depend on conditions, how strong they are, and whether rescuers believe they can pull it off. janice mackie frayer, nbc news, thailand. >> now to a story gripping much of englandenhere an u investigation is underway after britain's top counterterrorism official announced two people are in critical condition w aft the poisoned by the very same nerve agent that hit an ex-russian spy and his daughter

four months ago. while police say no one else in the area have come down with the same symptoms t left the couple critically injured and unconscious, they are unable to discover where they came in contact with that deadly nervea t. with the police now retracing the couple's steps and cordoning off one place after another before someone else gets hurt.s nbc'matt bradley has more from london. >> reporter: espionage and intrigue, once again striking the sleepy corn earn of england. investigators say british nationals don sturgis and charlie rattly who fell ill last saturday were poisoned. >> following the detailed analysis of those samples, we can confirm that the man and woman have been exposed to the nerveagent. >> reporter: the victims of the samedl d nerve agent believed to have been used four months ago in the attempted assassination of former russian double agent sergey skripal and his daughter. seven miles away from the town of salisbury. british counterterrorism officials say there is no evidence the couple were specifically targeted, but they couldn'tay how the pair were

poisoned. but the couple did visit a park in salisbury the day before. the pair remain in critical condition as police cordon off place they sam hob son was with the couple when they fell ill. >> they got up and started acting weird. he said he thought he'd been on po. >> reporter: he said he was sweating profusely, rocking back nd forth and had pinpoin pupils before he collapsed. all symptoms of nova chock poisoning the same russian nerve agent that killed the skripals in march. it set a huge diplomaticit incidentthe u.s., u.k. and other countries expelling russian diplomats. russia denied any involvement in the poisoning and now a deepening mystery. matt bradley, nbc news, london. >> let's get a peek at the forest with bill karins. >> i'd love to stop talking about the heat advisorynumbers. heat advisory from areas of montana throughout the ohio

valley ander ir new england. we've shrunk it a little bit. but this cold front coming down from the north will eliminate the northern half from our summer heat wave. temperatures today willdr begino already. so some of the heat numbers today kansas city will feel like 99, chicago will feel like 100. columbus, ohiol will fike 100. memphis today feeling like 100. here'she good newss we head towards the weekend. that cold front makes it all the way to charlotte. it will be in the low 80s this weekend. new york city looks perfect, ydetroit, too, v enjoyable days ahead. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. so with the showers and storms we'll keep it a little cooler today, but still super humid in the ohio valley and areas of the north east today. a taste of the beautiful canadian air into bismak and fargo and duluth with highs in upper 70s. much waiand much hoped r. >> thank you. >> no world cup action on wednesday, but it was day three

wimbledon. the williams sisters had a strong showing in their second round matches. venous battling bk to win in three sets while sera cruised to the next round. federer looking todd another grand slam to his vast collection. he rolled into the nextound winning easily in straight setsa wo i was plagued by tons of unforced errors and was upset in three sets. >> just ahead, a twist in the pac shakur and a stolen dog found his way home. olay regenerist whip. olay whips absorbs faster than the $100, $200, and even $400 cream. i feel like it just melted into my skin better. it's really smooth and it's not heavy. i really really love this. i will 100% swap up my moisturizer. can i have it? olay whips. try whips with spf 25. finally, sun protection that feels light as air.

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t leading the newss morning, oil prices dropped overnight after president trump blasteopec, tweeting at the oil organization to do more to stabilize the mart and, quote, reduce pricing now. the commander in chief adding, th ope monopoly must remember that gas prices are up and they are doing little to help. driving ng, they are prices higher. as the united states defends many of their embers for very

little money. >> las vegas police are shutting down new reportsdi surro tupac shakur's murder case. an arrest warrant was imminent and the homicide case remains open. this after a confession from a former gang member in new netflix documentary series. duane keith davis claims it was his nephew orlando anderson who killed tupac in a drive by he was a prime suspect but always denied his involvement. the revelation triered fans to create an online petition your honoring the police to clear the rapper's murder case. it's reached 2,5igtures. >> universityry preparato charter school for young men is under investigation after the school's first black valedictorian jaisaan lovett was nied a chance to speak at graduation like past recipients d done. when asked why they wouldn't let him spe, they told the rochester democrat and chronicle

he didn't want to see the speech, what it said, nothing. he just said no. when it got to the mayor, lovett interned for, she immediately gave him a platform to givespis ch on the city's youtube page. >> i'm here as the u prep 2018 valedictorian to tell you that you couldn't break me and i'm still here. i'm still here strong. and after all these years -- >> level et will ovett will be clark this fall. they are reviewing circumstances and related guidelines and ichool ps. a florida dog is back home this morning with quite the tale. guido the pug was reunited with his owner tuesday. a thief stole murry's car p wit hi still in it. the thief later abandon the the dog behind a grocery store andan hered into a nearby laundry business where an employee took him in and tectives were able to get him back home. >> they look very happy. well, just ahead this little

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fast forwarding into your thuray, the man charged in the deadly car attack in charlottesville, virginia, is set to appear in james fields, jr. has been charged with a hate crime in the death of heather heyer and faces the death penalty if con

>> rhonda rousy will become the first woman ever inductsed into the ufc hall of fame. she defended her title s times between 2013 and 2015 and has a 12 and 2 fight record. >> today is the day lawyers for michael cohen and trump organization must wrap up their review of files of documents seized in a raid earlier this year. a judge says anything not deemed privileged will be turned over to prosecutors. >> this morning there is a trending video out there you just have to see. it is a video going viral for all thchright reasons. k it out. just a little one. >> i'm walking, yes! >> yes! that is 4ear-old mia tisdale in michigan. those were her joyful first steps ever on her own. mia who has cerebral palsy had an operati two months ago aimed at helping her walk. it seems to have worked wonderfully. >> that is precious. justhead, party like it is

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running national july 4th tv tradition, wrapping dp a packed with performances from music icons including the temptations and the beach boys among others. in boston, the uss constitution, the world's oldest commissioned war ship fiefred a 21 gun salut in the boston harbor. in full swing america's pass time, mlb players showed photos dressed to the 9s dressed in red, white and blue. these furry creatures donned their best july 4th outfits. 40 dogs participated in the parade competing for awards, most patriotic dog. all time honored traditions, it ngheld a deeper meani for more than 100 immigrants who were sworn in at mt. vernon, home the nation's first president. >> coming up, a slam dunk for diplomacy between north and south korea. it's funny really, nobody ever does it and yet it happens.

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first, sheena parveen, another really hot dayor us. another day in the 90s. another day in the 90s today. we're going to continue the heat wave until the weekend. it's 81 in washington. 82 in annapolis. 82 in quantico. we have ouds around this morning. maybe af couple sprinkles. that's not a big deal. here's your wake-up weather, as we go through the 7:00 hour. humid. thel see clouds for most of area this morning. by 8:00, 81 degrees. by9:00, a mix of sun and clouds. it's going to be a hotday. back in the 90s. into the weekend, we have rain approachin cooler, comfortable weather coming up. let's hit it thmelissa.