faris. >> i'm rob nelson. ho happy fourth. millions under record heat. many struggling without power, days after the deadly storms in the east. still, though, the celebrating and the fireworks are on today. but this morning, aggressive reminder about leaving all that fun to the pros. fireworks danger on display even before the holiday. the quiet of this new hampshire neighborhood shattered by loud explosions last night when something went horribly wrong with a homeowners annual fireworks disply. the fireworks exploded on the back deck of a home, injuring nine people. seven of them rushed to the hospital. >> our firefighters found multiple people that had been injured. burns ranging from minor to serious. >> reporter: among the injured, three children. >> extent of their injuries was moderate to minor. and the two pediatrics were severe. >> reporter: bombs bursting in air are also a threat to nature. 20 states have banned private fireworks on this independence day. in colorado, temperatures and drought have led to a statewide ban on fireworks. fireworks cause more than 15,500 fires and $36 million in property damage back in 2010. in indiana, the penalty for setting off fireworks could be severe. >> it's going to be a cat and mouse game. especially once the word does get out that could be a $2,500 fine and a misdemeanor. >> reporter: leaving the fireworks to the professionals is the best advice for everyone's safety. here the biggest pyrotechnics display, more than 40,000 fireworks in the macy's show. we've been following breaking news overnight from southern california, where a fast-moving wildfire is burning in ranchland. helicopters flying in the darkness dropped water. the fire appeared to be heading away from several ranch homes. and no evacuations were ordered. on the east coast, hundreds of thousands of folks are entering a fifth day with no lights, no a.c. or refrigeration. utilities are warning that many neighborhoods could remain in the dark for this week, if not longer. 20 deaths are blamed on the storm that hit last friday. and many will spend this holiday in record-breaking heat. 16 states from the dakotas to new york are under heat adviso y advisories. chicago and minneapolis are bracing for the hottest july 4th ever. it got so hot in wisconsin, a highway there buckled. an suv went airborne when it hit that part of the pavement. crews went to fix the problem. but were told that the highway again. this woman is the one who shot the video. >> you don't normally see that stuff in real life. everyone seems like they made it out okay. >> we were amazed at that. >> the passengers in the high-flying suv were shaken up but not seriously hurt. overseas now. details are just coming in about an attack on nato-led u.s. troops in afghanistan. a man wearing an afghan army uniform, opening fire on the troops. there are reports that five american soldiers were wounded in the shooting. tensions between the u.s. and iran are running high this morning. iran is boasting it just test-fired more missiles that could strike u.s. bases in the region. in another provocative move, ia crucial oil route in the persian gulf. more from abc's martha raddatz. >> reporter: there is a buildup of fighter jets, ships and mine sweepers in the gulf. it shows concern on the part of the u.s. when you transit through that strait of hormuz, as i did with the carrier strike group, you see how easy it would be toe shut it down and what a disaster it would be. the shipping lanes are two miles wide in some places. all iran would have to do is lay a few mines or say they were laying mines and traffic would halt. everything the u.s. is now doing is to protect our interests in those vitale shipping lanes. president obama and mitt romney have plans for this holiday. the president will hold a ceremony for service personnel. on top of that is also daughter malia's 14th birthday. happy birthday, malia. mitt romney continues his week-long working vacation in new hampshire, where he'll take part in a main street parade in the town of wolf borough. they are hoping to perform the entire show tonight at the capitol in washington. ♪ conductor john williams there, along with the national symphony orchestra, with their tribute to u.s. olympians. it was the final dress rehearsal to tonight's show. the show was brought to an abrupt end when severe weather warnings were issued. time to look at weather from across the country on this 236th birth day of america. more humid in the northeast. showers should be gone in time for the fireworks tonight. good news for millions of folks. the south will see pop-up thunderstorms, as well as oppressive humidity. flash floods and dust storms could threaten the southwest. >> phoenix is cooler than usual at 97. compare that to minneapolis where it will top 100. denver cools down into the 90s. the only relief for the heat is in alaska where anchorage will be 59. >> let's catch a flight after the show. coming up next, lobster, cheaper than baloney. and remembering andy griffith. and in "the pulse," the tom cruise headline you have not heard of. welcome back, everybody. of course, the markets are closed today for the holiday. but there's still some good news out there about the economy. u.s. auto sales last month were up 22% from a year ago. driven by lower gas prices, as well as driver's needs to replace their older cars. cars of all sizes were selling well. big winners include general motors as well as toyota and honda. we're still suffering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in japan. the government has approved the first over-the-counter test for the virus that causes aids. it's believed about 250,000 people have hiv and don't know it. the fda hopes the at-home test will encourage them to find out. the mascot for a children's pizza chain has a new look. chuck e. cheese is a mouse. but he's gotten a makeover. wearing jeans, carrying a guitar. the chain is struggling to revive sales. but the buzz to the new look, it ain't too good. new commercials will start tomorrow. there you go. and taco bell turned a hoax into a public relations coup by air-lifting tacos into alaska. there was a story that taco bell was going to open up a restaurant in bethel. but after the towns folks were disappointed, taco bell made it good with tacos. gulf coast shrimpers say they're seeing their worst catches since the huge oil spill two years ago. many of the fishermen aren't sure they can stay in business. but in maine, however, there's a glut of lobster that's driven down prices to about the same as baloney. >> we're not going to anchorage. we're going to maine and eat well on the nation's birthday. >> lobster, the same price as baloney? >> crazy. next on this fourth of july, one woman's cautionary tale. how she ate a wire bristle from the grill. and later, it always seems to be a holiday for these little guys. look at that. i've discovered gold. 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come on. enjoy it, guys. coming up next, "the pulse" this morning. the headlines have not been kind to tom cruise this week. but he has one big reason to be very, very happy. it's that time of year. we'll show you who rob will be rooting for today on coney island. now you can apply sunblock to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. when i had my heart event. and i've been on a bayer aspirin regimen ever since. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i know if i take my bayer aspirin i have a better chance of living a healthy life. a stevia leaf erased my fears. it made my willpower a super hero. as for calories, it has zero. twinkle twinkle truvia® star natural sweetness, i love just what you are. truvia. honestly sweet. welcome back, everybody. time to check "the pulse" on this holiday morning, the stories you'll be talking about today. >> tom cruise is all over the headlines this week. his last movie "rock of ages" tanked at the box office. his third wife filed for divorce. and he turned 50 yesterday. >> rough for mr. cruise. there's even complaints he is not suited for his next role because he's too short. don't worry about that because tom cruise is still hollywood's highest-paid actor. "forbes" magazine says he earned 75 million bucks in the last year. that's more than double anybody else. >> doesn't matter how tall heis. >> how bad can your day be? life ain't too bad. in next photo has us scratching our heads this morning. >> look at this. a pregnant snooki, practicing her stroller skills. >> a closer look reveals what's in the stroller. the "jersey shore" star delivering coors to her cast mates. we're told that she did not drink. in her third trimester. she did put that expensive stroller to good use, making a beer run, snooki style. >> a beer run, in a stroller. >> she's a lady. and finally, what would fourth of july be without the big hot dog eating contest, just a few miles from here, in fact, in coney island, brooklyn, new york. >> men and women will have their own races. contestants will have ten minutes to eat as many dogs and buns as they possibly can. whoever eats the most gets the title oaf world champion and $20,000. >> i don't know how they do what they do. i could throw up watching those guys eat. you know what i mean? there, you see joey chestnut on the left. he's the defending champ. and also, the favorite among the men today. in fact, he's going to go for his sixth-straight victory a few hours from now. and on the right, meanwhile, the world-famous kobayashi. he will not be at the main event. he is favored to win a different event that he organized. >> and for the women, it's all about sonya thomas. she is the defending champion and holds the world record. once eating 41 hot dogs in 10 minutes. >> that boggles the mind and the stomach. all this action starts this morning at 11:30 a.m. eastern time own espn3. and you can see it on tape delay beginning at 3:00 eastern. for some of you now, local news is next. 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