captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today," live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and we should tell our crowd on the plaza not to worry. he's not going to try this stunt right here but at a facility safe in new jersey. good morning again to you. i'm natalie morales. >> i'm willie geist. we'll be watching safely from here. power crews from all over the country fanned out across the midwest state hit hardest by those storms where relief cannot come soon enough for weary homeowners. >> unfortunately looks like more than a million people will be without power until the end of the week. the weather is not cooperating. heat warnings are posted in 16 states. we'll have the latest and a first look at your fourth of july forecast. also ahead this morning, the latest on the college student viciously mauled by chimpanzees in south africa. the two chimps involved and the aftermath of the attacks. plus close friends of the victim will speak out in a live interview. a ringless katie holmes steps out for the first time since filing for divorce from tom cruise while journalist anderson cooper announces he's gay. we'll have more on big celebrity talkers an discuss them with today's professionals. we begin with sweltering heat and the struggle to restore power to more than a million people. tom costello in bethesda, maryland. good morning to you, tom. >> reporter: good morning. we could have picked any number of neighborhoods from the d.c., maryland, virginia area. the devastation four days after the storm is still really remarkable. an entire tree here in this case shredded. take a look over here. this house has suffered significant damage here. a blue tarp hangs over it. look at the size of the tree literally cut in half by the storm. 1.3 million people are thought to be without power stretching from ohio to the mid-atlantic. the mayor of d.c. is requesting president obama to declare a state of emergency, and there is an all-out mad dash to get everybody connected to power once again. on the national mall this independence week, it's hot. the kind of sticky heat you expect in d.c. during the summer. but without air conditioning, snow cones and water fountains have been among the only ways to cool off. across town, 9-year-old has been on the porch hoping to catch a breeze with his mom and sister. >> i'm very, very, very hot. i'm sleeping in the basement because it's so hot in my room. as soon as i get up from the basement, i'm sweating. >> reporter: inside, bad news. almost everything in their frig and freezer is headed to the trash. >> the cheese is going bad and the chicken that's in here is going bad. it has to be -- i don't want to open it because it doesn't smell good. >> reporter: across multiple states, massive trees and power lines remain down. >> i want to take a shower more than anything in my life. i've never desired something more than a shower. >> reporter: maryland's governor says his state has never before seen a storm that came on so strong with so little warning. >> we have now had six fatalities as a result of this storm. >> reporter: monday the hottest and most dangerous joshs, the repair crews who don protective rubber gear and work in cherry pickers to untangle a spider's web of electrical lines. >> it's part of a big mess. >> reporter: a mess, indeed, four days after the storm cut a past from the midwest to the mid-atlantic, nearly 2 million people spent monday without electricity. but d.c. and the surrounding areas regularly lose power during storms. and d.c.'s mayor says something has to change. >> i think people are fed up with power outages. we need a game changer. we need an approach now that is going to address how we stop this in the first place. >> meanwhile this family, like so many others without electricity, have closed the shade and retreated to the basement. >> we're going back in time. we do not have an internet. we don't have cell phones. okay. i have to figure out how to live now without all these gadgets. >> reporter: my 14-year-old said i can't live like this anymore. it's only been a few days without power. the bottom line is there's such a drain on the resources for the police officers and firefighters in the general montgomery county, maryland area, fairfax, arlington county, virginia, d.c., that some communities are now talking about canceling fireworks in maryland. they say their police and firefighters will be put to better use elsewhere as we continue to swelter and sweat through this kind of heat. natalie, back to you. >> trying everyone's patience there. tom costello in maryland, thank you. >> now to tamron hall at the news desk for other top stories. tamron good morning. >> reporter: good morning. u.s. beefing up fighter jets in the persian gulf in a bid to block the iran military to shut down the strait of hormuz. carries out a second day of war games one day after the european union began its embargo against iranian oil. a new setback for firefighters out west as a fleet of large tanker planes needed to battle blazes have been grounded. nbc's miguel almaguer has the latest from colorado springs. miguel, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. those firefighting planes used in colorado, now a fleet of seven have been grounded after four are feared dead. a firefighting workforce c-130 drops 1,000 gallons of fire retardant in just seconds. the military plane like this one crashed in south dakota with six aboard. among the casualties, iraq and afghanistan veteran lieutenant colonel paul michael. >> the north carolina guard and guard across the country is grieving today. >> the cause of the crash has not been determined. it is being investigated. >> reporter: the c-130s have been battling fires across the country, a valuable asset in colorado where we now have a new look at the most destructive blaze in state history. a fast-moving firestorm swept across entire neighborhoods. 346 homes swallowed by planes, two were killed in the fire. >> from the left, the block is on fire. >> reporter: within three hours the community of mount shadows was destroyed. >> this was like a blow torch coming through here. >> reporter: mike was among the first to arrive on scene. with his team he helped save countless homes. >> you get to see something like this and you feel proud. you know you made a stop there because that house didn't go out on its own. >> reporter: with make 2,000 people here still evacuated in colorado springs, the good news, tamron, this fire is now 70% contained. >> all right, miguel. thank you very much. chief executive of barclays has quit. mary thompson has the latest on the beleaguered bank. >> reporter: good morning. stepped down after his bank admitted fixing key interest rate from 2005 to 2009. last week the british bank paying regulators a $4 r5 3 million fine for fixing what is known as libor, a rate used to set interest rates on a variety of loans including mortgages. this isn't the last we hear of this as other banks are involved in the probe. here on wall street an early close ahead of the july 4th holiday. we'll also get may or june sales figures, the nation's automakers expected to show a slight uptick for may. tamron, back to you. >> thank you very much, mary. mitt romney taking a week vacation with his family. he's been spotted grabbing ice cream, rolling around on a john deere tractor with his grandchildren. he even takes a back seat to his wife ann on a wave runner for a vacation. a painful front row seat for a line judge at wimbledon. walloped, a 118 miles an hour serve into the judge's face. but that was not enough to stop her. she was still able to rule a fault. he's like i'm so sorry. please, please, i'm so sorry. natalie, willie, stephanie, catch. >> she's a pro, though, she made the call. >> wourw, that's going to leave mark. let's get a first check of weather. stephanie abrams in for al. >> the heat also going to leave a mark across the country. we do have that threat for excessive heat from the plains, midwest, all the way down into the south. here is a look at our highs, triple digit readings, st. louis, omaha, chicago, 99. cincinnati at 96. a look at where we could see severe weather throughout portions of the great >> good morning. it will be another hot day today. humidity will be a lull higher than yesterday. 30% chance for a thunderstorm. willie, over to you. >> stephanie, thank you. now to the graduate student from texas recovering from a brutal chimp attack in south africa. we'll talk to two of his close friends in a moment. first rohit in south africa. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, willie. the doctors here have really had a chance to reassess some of those injuries. it's clear the recovery is going to take some time. at least it's now happening with his parents close by. they flew in yesterday afternoon. they were distraught and they raced straight to the hospital. andrew oberle is under sedation this morning. he now has his parents at his bedside. after six hours of surgery to help repair wounds from head to toe, he's recovering well but there's a long way to go. exclusive images of the two chimps involved, nicky and am, adeus. he charged the director after the attack. he's stable and cared for at a zoo in johannesburg. despite the savage mauling by two chimpanzees, doctors believe oberle may have escaped much worse injuries. >> he's in stable condition, remains in stable condition. he's been stable for quite some time now. we believe his progress is doing quite well. he's still under sedation. >> reporter: compare his cash to the woman mauled by a chimp in connecticut. she lost her hands and had to have a face transport. in 2005 james davis suffered major injuries and underwent extensive facial reconstruction after he was attacked by a chimp at a sanctuary. he to have more than 60 operations. nbc news told the sanctuary where oberle was attacked last week the spot where the mauling happened is still locked down and being treated as a crime scene. looking at the image of that windshield, you can just imagine the terror inside the vehicle the director of the sanctuary, a man who devoted his life to helping chimps was forced to fire trait ahead through the windshield wounding the chimp straight in front of him, a last resort to try to save others. meanwhile we've been told by authorities that neither of the chimpanzees will be put down. >> horrifying. thank you so much. anthony and melissa, andrew oberle's friends and lived with him for the past three years. good morning to both of you. thank you for being with us. >> good morning. >> tony, i know you've been in touch with the family a little bit. can you share with us any new information on andrew's condition and prognosis. >> we haven't really heard too much lately. his family has to go you there. we haven't had too much contact with them. we don't really have any new information on how he's doing at this point in time. >> tony, what did his mother tell you in that first phone call before she left for south africa? >> she had just kind of told us what was going on and what had happened. we were both shocked and really saddened by what we heard. all we want to know is if he was doing okay. we were both trying to contact the hospital in south africa just to see how he was doing. but it was just shock and sadness, and just a whole bunch of different emotions that we both were feeling. >> melissa, i know andrew called you a day before the attack. how was he feeling about being back again at the goodall institute to work with those chimps. >> he was very excited to be back. he worked there last summer as well. you know, he was excited to get there and do research for his thesis so he could finish up his master's degree in december this year. >> what was it about these chimps that andrew was so drawn to. these in so many case abused, used for entertainment, choosing not to study chimps in the wild but these particular chimps. what was it about them? >> he really wanted to help them, to do all he could to help them and study them and kind of teach other people about chimp behavior and the right way to bring them up and keep them in sanctuaries like these ones were in. >> tony, did andrew ever talk to you specifically about the dangers of working with chimpanzees? we heard about other stories. did he consider that, know about it? >> of course he knew about it. andrew is a very smart young man. he knew what he was doing. he basically worked with chimps before, worked at zoos his whole life, in high school, st. louis zoo, san diego zoo. he knew exactly what he was doing, studied the risks. after studying chimps the last three or four years, he knew what he was doing. >> before we go, his parents say already they expect him to be back working with chimps after he recovers. does that surprise you about him in the not at all. andy is a very strong person. he would never put any blame on anybody. he's going to get right back out there and keep doing this if he can, definitely. >> i know the two of you set up a facebook page to raise some money. we wish you the best and please pass on our best wishes to andrew's family. thank you for being with us this morning. it is now 7:16 and here is natalie. >> willie, thank you. now to the latest on the split between tom cruise and katie holmes. she was spotted here in new york city on monday without her wedding ring. holmes first public outing since filing divorce papers. nbc's jeff rossen has more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. look, if katie holmes was looking for privacy, boy, did she choose the wrong city. any move she makes she lands on the front cover of the newspapers as she has every day. she's been here since the divorce filing. she's living with her daughter suri in a nice area of manhattan called chelsea. there's new reports out this morning why she wants sole custody. kathy holmes emerging monday wading through the mob scene, the soon to be single actress out and about in new york city, photographers following her every move. something is missing, her wedding ring, gone. even in the midst of chaos, katie looks relaxed, hardly the portrait of a woman in a custody battle with one of hollywood's most powerful stars. as her new neighbors have a front row seat. >> she's been with her daughter. she holds her daughter in a loving way. she is a great asset to the building and is handling herself great. >> reporter: now questions about tom cruise's religion playing a role here. did scientology break them up. >> i think it's a privilege to call yourself a scientologist. it's something you have to earn. >> reporter: cruise seen here in this church promotional video praises the faith. >> >> we are the authorities getting people off drugs, of the mind. >> reporter: he's a leader in the church. katie was raised catholic, citing sources she was concerned about their daughter suri. >> the church of scientology is a critical issue in this divorce as it relates to suri. she's at an age now where she is going to go to elementary school. will she be raised and educated as a scientologist or something else or something in between. this is issue number one for katie holmes. >> reporter: now katie wants sole custody filing divorce papers in new york and bringing suri to manhattan with her, spotted with her hello kitty purse. cruise reportedly wants to move the case to california. >> new york has a presumption of sole custody while states like california have a presumption of joint custody. so she has a better chance of taking sole custody of the child here in new york than probably anywhere else in the country. >> reporter: the couple owns property from new york to l.a., beverly hills to colorado, italy to england. so it comes down to a judge deciding where suri really lives. a bicoastal battle with katie firing the first shot. their daughter caught in the middle of this new celebrity spectacle. >> reporter: quite a birthday present for tom cruise. he turns 50 today dealing with all this in iceland where he's shooting a new movie. we should mention we reached out to tom cruise's lawyer, no response. we reached out to katie holmes' lawyer, no response. the church of scientology said this is a private matter and declined the request for an interview. >> have to feel sad for the wholesation. jeff rossen, thank you. once again, here is willie. >> thank you. for the first time journalist anderson cooper has publicly acknowledged he's gay. mara schiavocampo has details. good morning, mara. >> reporter: good morning. anderson cooper has been very open about his life but always stayed mum on the question of sexuality until now. in an e-mail he ended years of speculation finally addressing what he called the gay question. >> we decided to -- >> reporter: a star anchor on cnn and budding talk show host, anderson cooper is used to covering the big stories. >> there's certainly a lot discussed with the reaction -- >> reporter: now he's making news, addressing the issue of his sexuality for the very first time. in an e-mail to "the daily beast" published monday cooper states, the fact is, i'm gay, always have been, always will be, and i couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud. >> he's probably at a place in his personal and professional life where he feels he can be completely honest and the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. >> reporter: dubbed the silver fox, cooper rose to prominence as a fearless, sometimes opinionated reporter, comforting officials in the aftermath of katrina and even getting attacked during the egyptian revolution last year. the son of famed heiress and socialite gloria vanderbilt, cooper has been open about his life discussing painful details on his talk show like when his brother committed suicide in 1988, jumping from a balcony in front of his mother. >> i thought i was going to jump over after him, but then i thought of you and it stopped me from doing that, you know. >> yeah. >> despite years of speculation, the one thing cooper never opened up about was his sexual orientation. in the e-mail he writes, "by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, i have given some the mistaken impression that i am trying to hide something, something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or afraid. it is simply not true. >> putting it in the letter really allowed him to keep all the control over the announcement. he got to say exactly what he wanted to say, but he also did it in a really quiet way so there's not too much attention to this announcement. >> reporter: cooper would not comment on whether or not he's currently in a relationship. in his e-mail he did say, i love and i am loved. willie. >> mara schiavocampo, thank you so much. just ahead this morning the georgia woman fighting a rare flesh eating bacteria out of the hospital now and headed to rehab. her parents open up in an exclusive live interview. first this is "today" on nbc. just ahead the dog is the center of a $500,000 lawsuit after claims an ex-girlfriend stole his business. >> after your local news. ♪ this is our pool. ♪ our fireworks. ♪ and our slip and slide. you have your idea of summer fun, and we have ours. now during the summer event get an exceptionally engineered mercedes-benz for an exceptional price. but hurry, this offer ends july 31st. forit's about time we made our homes work for us. so let's make our dryers do the ironing. have our fridges cater our parties. and tell our ranges to whip up dinner. let's plug in to summer savings before they're gone... ...without wasting an ounce of energy with smart machines that turn housework into house play. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, save $600 on this maytag french door refrigerator, just $1,598. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> g