Exclusive. Maybe i can sound a bit crude but this is 100 bull [ bleep ]. Democrats and republicans demanding answers today. On capitol hill. Summer scorcher. The first major heat wave of the season taking hold from the midwest to the east coast. Record highs expected in the south. The full forecast straight ahead. Firing back. The st. Louis couple who went viral for aiming guns at protesters. Get the hell out of my neighborhood now defending their actions. Coming right at the house. Why they say demonstrators left them with no other choice and the investigation into the confrontation caught on camera. Game off. Just one day before Training Camps reopen, the star players who wont be a part of baseballs return. Why they say theyre opting out. Those stories, plus snap, crackle, pop. A surprise Fireworks Show lights up the new york city skyline as macys kicks off its annual fourth of july display with a series of sec retoshows. Today, tuesday, june 30th, 2020. Announcer from nbc news this is today with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And morning, everybody. Welcome to today. Its nice to have you with us on a tuesday morning. Hodas off this week. Craig is right here. We get to be together which is nice. Social distanced. Yes. Socially distanced and how exciting to see the fireworks. Nobody saw that coming. It was a surprise show last night over the east river. This is macys fireworks reimagined. This was the first of six nights. Theyre going to do this every night so each of the boroughs here in new york city can enjoy. Theyre not announcing the location until just before so folks cant gather. They can all look up and see. Its all leading up to your big special saturday night on fourth of july. Lots to get to this morning. Lets start with the coronavirus. At least 16 states have now paused or reversed their plans to reopen. The latest is arizona where gyms and bars and movie theaters are being closed for 30 days. Meanwhile, los angeles is joining florida closing county beaches over the fourth of july weekend. We also learned the World Health Organization will go to china next week to investigate the original source of the pandemic. We have correspondents across the hot zones once again this morning. Lets get started with sam brock in miami for us. Sam, good morning. Reporter savannah, craig, good morning. Beach closures for the july 4th holiday now stretching coast to coast from miami where i am out to los angeles as leaders are trying to get out in front of a potential holiday spike. For businesses like these hotels behind me that stretch up and down miami drive that thrive on tourists, a stinging setback. But public leaders say that is far better than further inflaming a Public Health crisis. In a matter of days, beaches on both sides of the country will closed. They dont have the right to tell people that you can or cannot go. Reporter now los angeles with the county putting the clamps on the july 4th weekend this year we have to think about saving lives. Reporter after recording its singlebiggest daily total, nearly 3,000 new cases, l. A. County now climbing past 100,000. The numbers not nearly as daunting as the reality for the guerri family. My last words to my dad was i dont know if im going to make it i thought maybe my dad was like, hey, son, if youre going, im going, too reporter heartbroken after losing his dad to covid19 28 members of his family diagnosed with the virus their patriarch dying the day before fathers day. The last thing my dad saw was me suffocating and i have no chance of telling my dad of saying, hey, dad, im okay reporter now governors in states strained from rising cases are trying to prevent future pain. Including arizonas head of state who just pulled the plug on bars, gyms, and pools for a minimum of 30 days we cant be under any illusion that this virus is going to go away on its own. Our expectation is that next week our numbers will be worse reporter 26 states are already seeing a rise in cases with 11 looking at a sharp jump of 100 or more by the last 14 days that includes florida. Rocked by five fold increase in daily cases. Prompting the Holiday Beach closures that caught hotels like the famed ocean drive clevelander off guard. Our hotel guests come to go to the beach so now, you know, most of our hotel guests have canceled their reservations Reporter Hotels like this spend months planning their fourth of july celebrations. In other news, jacksonvill just passed a mandatory requirement on masks in indoor spaces that could potentially impact the Republican National convention in august savannah, back to you. All right sam brock leading us off sam, thank you from florida to texas now and the spike there where doctors are issuing a stark new warning to young people especially as nearly 4,300 new cases of covid19 were reported there on monday alone. Nbcs joe fryer is in houston for us once again this morning joe, good morning to you reporter craig, good morning. Texas once again shattered its record for hospitalizations. Nearly 6,000 patients statewide are now in hospital beds with fears that number will only grow in the coming weeks. [ sirens ] this morning the coronavirus surge continues in texas infections statewide now topping 150,000 with just over 2,400 deaths doctors are sounding the alarm as infections skyrocket. We are definitely seeing this affect young people and theyre getting quite ill. Reporter at houston methodist, eight hospitals, about 60 of the covid19 patients are now under 50. On the front lines in houston, dr. Brad lembeck is seeing an increase in young adults weve had a Broad Age Group even in 20s that are on life support in our intensive care unit the other thing thats concerning are those young individuals live with older people reporter texas bars remain closed and restaurants are limited to half capacity for thousands of students hoping to return to ut austin this fall, any inperson classes will be capped at 40 masks will be mandatory. People that are denying the virus even being real is absolutely insane to me. Reporter 23yearold law student peyton is recovering from covid she said stopping the virus is everyones responsibility. Reporter Wearing Masks if you feel bad, dont go out. Its not all about one individual its about everyone. Reporter this 36yearold was hospitalized for 12 days pretty scary. I had never been hospitalized before reporter her parents and brother were also sick with covid. They all recovered even though im a 21yearold, it still hit me pretty hard. Reporter but curtis and betty did not survive the virus. Together for 53 years they died within an hour of each other holding hands. They walked themselves into the emergency room and then thats it, you dont see them again. Reporter tims last words to his mother were sent by text just said that, you know, she was a great mom, but shes going to be a better angel reporter dr. Lemke told me if cases peak in july even at the end of july, he thinks hospitals will be okay but if cases continue to increase after july, that could be a bigger problem. Craig . Joe fryer there in houston. Joe, thank you we have a lot more ahead including new jerseys governor will join us live. New jersey pausing its reopening now. Well talk to him about the pause next hour. First, breaking news out of washington this morning and has to do with the story that russia allegedly paid bounties on the lives of u. S. Troops overseas. This morning, there are reports that the white house was aware of that intelligence as early as last year. Weve got reaction from the Trump Administration and russia. Lets start with Nbcs Kristen Welker at the white house for us this morning kristen, good morning to you reporter good morning to you, savannah. The white house will brief democratic members of congress about the russia plot today after briefing republicans monday its unusual to have two separate ones for members of different parties. It does come amid calls about what the president knew and when he knew it reporter this morning, the fallout intensifying over that explosive report the russians offered the taliban money for killing u. S. Soldiers in afghanistan the New York Times reporting overnight that american officials provided a written briefing to President Trump about the alleged plot in february citing multiple officials familiar with the matter the times says the investigation has, quote, focussed on an april 2019 car bombing that killed three marines as one such potential attack the Associated Press saying the president was briefed on the issue as far back of march of 2019 including by thenNational Security adviser john bolton but that undercuts the central argument of the white house that the president has not been briefed on the issue a point echoed by his National Security adviser in a statement overnight. Robert obrien writing in part, because the allegations in recent press articles have not been verified or substantiated by the intelligence community, President Trump had not been briefed on the items White House Press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany asked earlier in the day about whether the information was included in one of the president s written briefings. He was not personally briefed on the matter. That is all i can share with you today. Reporter top officials also blasting the leaked information including cia director gina haspel writing overnight, leaks compromise and interrupt the agency work to collect, assess, and ascribe culpability. It all comes as calls for answers bipartisan in just hours adam schiff will be among nine democratic lawmakers briefed on the matter at the white house is this another situation where the president either was told and just rejects it or his people are too scared to tell him because it contradicts this narrative of Vladimir Putin being his buddy . Reporter now, overnight a spokesperson for john bolton said no comment when asked by nbc news about the reports that bolton had briefed the president on the russia matter last year meanwhile, veteran reporter Carl Bernstein who helped break the watergate scandal reports based on hundreds of highly classified phone calls with foreign leaders President Trump was so, quote, consistently unprepared for serious discussions that a number of his former senior officials believed he posed a danger to National Security. Now a white house official fired back at that saying, quote, President Trump is a world class negotiator who has consistently furthered americas interests on the world stage. Savannah, back to you. Kristen welker at the white house. Kristen, thank you a top russian official is now responding to those bounty allegations in a new interview with today correspondent keir simmons. Keir, good morning to you. Whats moscow saying reporter hey, craig. Good morning to you. President putins spokesman denying to me that a secretive russian Intelligence Unit was involved in these allegations saying the kremlin has received no complaint from the white house and not for the first time russia using President Trumps own tweets to underscore its case president putins spokesperson telling nbc news that President Trumps tweets claiming u. S. Intelligence didnt find credible information absolves russia of blame. And those statements indicate indicate that those reports actually arent were not so valuable and not so trustful so thats why speak to the president of the United States reporter Dmitry Peskov using forceful language. If russia was paying money to reward members of the taliban for the killing of american soldiers, would you consider that to be an act of aggression by russia . Would you see it as serious as that i dont think the situation is possible ever maybe i can sound a little bit crude, but this is 100 bull [ bleep ]. Its a nondiplomatic thing, but its bull [ bleep ]. As simple as that. Reporter its not the first time russias military intelligence has been named in reports of secret Russian Operations overseas. 12 gru officers were indicted during the mueller inquiry on charges they hacked computers belonging to democrats in order to impact the 2016 election. And in 2018 the British Government accused gru operatives of carrying out the attempted poisoning of one of their own, sergei skripal. Former officer and his daughter in the uk. That led to the expulsion of Russian Diplomats by more than 20 western allies, including the u. S. Now there are calls for action over the afghanistan claims. In general america is introducing socalled sanctions once in awhile this is a joke this is a joke reporter this week russians are voting on whether to allow the russian president to stand for election for 12 more years craig, it means president putin could be in office leading his country for 36 years whatever america decides to do now could have longterm consequences, craig. Keir simmons for us this morning in london, thank you much more to get to this morning including the u. S. Supreme court expected to hand down more decisions this morning. As it works towards the end of its term it comes on the heels of yesterdays major ruling on abortion chief Justice John Roberts serving as the man in the middle once again nbcs justice corresponden Pete Williams with more on that. Pete, good morning reporter savannah, this last day of june would normally be the final day of Supreme Court rulings but because of the pandemic ten cases remain and the chief justice could furnish more twists as this normally conservative court issues a string of surprising decisions the latest surprise, mondays ruling on abortion rights striking down a louisiana law that would have required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. But challenges said it was medically unnecessary and would have left the entire state just a single doctor to offer those services had to pause everything and run down the hall to yell at the staff we won, we won had we lost this case, two of the three clinics currently providing abortion care probably would have had to close. Reporter chief Justice John Roberts joined the more liberal members in the 54 decision. He said the law was identical to one from texas that the court struck down four years ago, even though he dissented in that texas case, he said its now binding precedent, so louisianas law cannot stand roberts has been key to some of the biggest surprises this term casting the deciding vote to save the daca program that allows unundocumented people known as dreamers to remain in the u. S. And joining the courts 63 majority in saying that existing zil rights laws ban discrimination on the basis of Sexual Orientation and gender identity what does that mean for the last Big Decisions to come . On efforts to get president congress and prosecutor to get President Trumps taxes and financial records . There is precedent two previous rulings said president s nixon and clinton were not immune. To Court Demands for documents and testimony. But the trump case seeks president s personal records from his bankers and accountants, potentially big differences. The chief justice has shown himself to be enough of a centrist the white house has reason to be worried even with President Trumps two appointees now on the court, savannah Pete Williams in washington, see you later. Meantime a california woman is in the hospital because she was gored by a bison at Yellowstone National park. The 72yearold woman was reportedly trying to take photos of bison at the time park Officials Say she approached it within ten feet multiple times and the bison most likely felt threatened the park urges people to keep a minimum of 25 yards away from animals like bison and elk that woman was air lifted to an idaho hospital her condition is not known we do not know if that was the bison in question. No. That may have been could have been file footage. Right we dont know that was the bison that actually gored. We dont. Craig, lets turn to the weather. Shall we its almost 18 minutes after the hour dylan, what you got . Good morning, guys. Nice to see you on this tuesday morning. Weve got some heat. In fact, washington, d. C. , in the middle of its first heat wave of the season weve had several days of temperatures at 90 degrees or higher we do have some heat advisories through the middle of the country where the heat and humidity will combine to make it feel like its well over 100 degrees. Oppressive heat. Temperatures themselves will be around 101 in lubbock, texas also 104 farther to the north there. But the heat index is a little lower because humidity isnt as high in the western part of the state but you move to the east and thats where it will feel like its about 100 to 105 you go further north and we are looking at temperatures in the 80s and 90s. Itll feel like mid90s with the humidity and the heat is very high especially through florida where the heat index feels like its above 105 degrees. And well likely break records in florida this heat will continue through the next couple of days. Were looking for highs to stay in the mid to upper 80s and lower 90s through the end of the week thats a look at the weather across the country well get to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds good morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. As we take a live look outside in the south bay, were starting out with sunshine. We have a really nice day ahead, but its going to heat up pretty fast. Once again a lot of our inland areas will reach into the 80s and low 90s. Along the coastline were in the 60s and 70s. As we go through this forecast, we will still have a couple more warm days and then a cooldown by the end of the week but in time for the fourth were seeing temperatures back in the 90s. And thats your latest forecast savannah and craig, back to you guys thank you coming up on this tuesday morning, the story behind this chilling confrontation in st. Louis thats gone viral. This couple pointing guns at black lives matter protesters. We were threatened with our lives. Threatened with our house being burned down. Were going to hear from that couple and from demonstrators who were there as this investigation moves forward. Plus Major League Baseball is coming back, but some of its star players wont be. The coronavirus concerns that will keep them off the field and how the league is responding this morning but first th is today onis this home is equipped with gig Speed Internet from xfinity. Theres this gametime internetting room. So fun. And then theres this workfromhome internetting room. Finally, the openconcept internetting room. This is not an open house. But your front door was open, so technically it is. Get gig speeds and the most wifi coverage from xfinity. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Enhance your online experience with even faster speed. Choose from a range of fast, reliable options, up to a gig. Click or call to learn more. Get a load of my southwest cheddar cheeseburger. Let menutaur make it a doubleeee, yeah its beautiful say what . I said its bea. Try my 5. 99 southwest cheddar cheeseburger combo and make it a double for a buck more. Order now with no contact delivery. Straight ahead, the music stars under fire for hosting crowded concerts, few masks, no social distancing. How theyre responding to their critics overnight after a check of your local news and weather. Restored zen sparkly cheeky. clears throat disciplined dapper prepped smart hopeful brave and safe . Well, there is, and always has been. Walgreens. Everyones place, for healthy and safe. No matter how you stay fit keep it light with light fits 12 grams of protein and 80 calories. America, we want to help you get back to it. And heres how. With the ford promise. Visit your ford dealer. Finance a new, certified preowned or used vehicle through ford credit and if you lose your job, you can return it for up to one year from the day you bought it. You can also get 0 apr financing for 72 months across the ford lineup. Let us help get you, back to it. 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Stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flulike symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. Rpls, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. Some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. Lasting remission can start with stelara®. If youve been financially impacted by covid19, janssen may be able to help. A very good morning to you. Im laura garcia. Its 7 26 right now. Heres a look at todays top stories including an overnight fire that burned close to homes in contra costa county. Reporter im bob redell in clayton where you can see behind me firefighters are making sure the brush fire on marsh creek road doesnt flare up again. It started just before 11 00 last night, burned eight to nine acres, at one point threatened homes at the clayton palms mobile home park. Cal fire still trying to determine the cause. Reporter im kris sanchez talking about power, mayoral power in the south bay and in San Francisco, perhaps giving 16 and 17yearolds the power to vote. The San Jose City council is considering making the mayoral elections coincide with elections. Whether the voting age should be 16 or 17 for some local measures. The issue would have to go on the ballot for voters 18 and up to decide both in san jose and in San Francisco. You can see the sun is up over the bay area making things pretty bright. Lets check in with kari and a look at the forecast. Were going to have another really nice day especially in San Francisco as we get sunshine and just a little bit of fog here and there. For the inland areas more sunshine and warmer temperatures as walnut creek gets ready for a hot day. Some of those High Temperatures in the inland valleys reaching into the low 90s. Were up to 92 degrees in concord today. 85 in santa rosa. San jose will be in the mid80s, and our sevenday forecast shows a cooldown by the end of the workweek, laura. All right. Well look forward to that. Thanks so much for joining us. Well be back with another local news update in half an hour. [upbeat music] today was the day that i put everything in perspective. I fell asleep but when i woke up. boy hi, do you want to share my sandwich . vo good feeds our connections. Good feeds us all. Hormel Natural Choice lunch meats. Were back 7 30 its broadway, new yorks great white way. Good news. Curtains will rise on its beloved shows once again, but the bad news is its not going to happen until at least january. But hamiltons coming out on movie this weekend. Friday. Yeah, on disney plus. Anyway, things will get back to normal eventually. Slowly but surely look at us almost together. Thats right. Lets get right to the headlines here at 7 30 the coronavirus is our top story. The new signs this morning that the country is unfortunately moving in the wrong direction. 16 states are now pausing or rolling back their reopening efforts. Beaches on both sides of the country will be closed this fourth of july weekend first it was south florida now Los Angeles County after it recorded its single biggest daily total. Nearly 3,000 new cases and in arizona the governor just pulled the plug on bars, gyms, and pools for a minimum of 30 days and also postponed the start of Public School there the irs announced on monday it will not extend the tax deadline any further all 2019 tax returns must be filed by july 15th but taxpayers who cannot meet that deadline can request an automatic extension. Earlier this year the irs extended the tax deadline from april 15th because of the coronavirus pandemic and a game of horse between nba legend Shaquille Oneal and Rob Gronkowski ended suddenly after an equipment malfunction take a look. Game over game over are you not entertained game over is right. Is that an equipment malfunction or is shaq the man shaqs the man. He rips the rim off the board and made the shot by the way, gamewinning shot. Gronk never got the chance to match it shaq wins i love the fact that gronk is wearing the Orlando Magic jersey from 25 years ago of shaq. Is that a troll thing exactly were going to begin this half hour with that frightening scene in st. Louis a couple pointed guns at protesters as hundreds of people made their way into an upscale private neighborhood Miguel Almaguer is on this story this morning miguel, good morning reporter good morning. The images are shocking. Two homeowners armed and upset say they were just trying to protect their family and their property, but this morning now one of the county officials vows to hold the homeowners accountable for intimidating demonstrators with deadly force. Holding a high powered rifle and wielding a pistol in these now viral images mark and Patricia Mccloskey looked ready for a fight as a protest moved through their mansionlined st. Louis neighborhood now the wellknown local attorneys are defending their actions. There were people wearing body armor one person pulled out a loaded pistol magazine and clicked them together and said youre next. We were threatened with our lives. Threatened with the house probably being burned down reporter the incident unfolded sunday as demonstrators marched to the mayors nearby house to demand her resignation. This after she gave out names and addresses of demonstrators demanding Police Reform friday on a Facebook Live video the mccloskeys say tensions escalated when they were threatened by a fringe group as i say, this was private property those words enraged the crowd. When he picked up the gun, thats when things went to another level. Im going to take it from you. Im going to take it from you reporter the viral images drawing both outrage and support across the country the president retweeting a video of the incident. And overnight the citys first black chief prosecutor announced she is investigating saying in part we must protect the rights to peacefully protest and any attempts to chill it through intimidation or use of force will not be tolerated. Reporter Patricia Mccloskey appears to point a gun at protesters as her husband clutches his rifle the couple recorded from multiple angles from several witnesses. She came out of a front door with a pistol but she actually had her finger on the trigger of the pistol she was visibly nervous. I cant blame my wife for being terrified and doing what she could to protect what she thought was her Life Reporter the mccloskeys say the crowd broke down this gate to gain access to their community. To me it just seemed like someone either left it unlocked or it was already broken because people just walked up and opened the door reporter despite the tense armed encounter, it appears no missouri laws were broken and the couple is insisting they do not oppose the black lives Matter Movement and were simply trying to protect their family this morning another community in america on edge and reeling from a Close Encounter that could have easily escalated. Miguel, you mentioned it appears no missouri laws were broken in that incident but that st. Louis prosecutors are looking into it. Can you explain . Reporter well, missouri has some of the loosest gun restrictions in the country. The couple here is claiming selfdefense so well see what investigators say about that in the meantime, Mark Mccloskey says he and his family has been threatened with violence hes boarded up his office as a precaution his attorney tells us they do not represent the antiblack lives matter groups. They were simply trying to protect their home savannah all right miguel, thank you very much. Just ahead here on a tuesday morning, a potential new setback for baseballs return on the eve of spring training part two. Were going to hear from some top players on why they say they wont be joining their teams but first these messages its not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights hiv to help you get to and stay undetectable. Thats when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured by a lab test. Research shows people who take hiv treatment every day and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit hiv through sex. Serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. Rare, lifethreatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. Do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. 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Because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. Ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. Were back with indepth today. And this morning the return of Major League Baseball. Finger crossed it takes another step forward tomorrow as players set to report to Training Camps ahead of this shortened 60game season but several players now say they will not be taking the field nbcs tom costello joining us from my Favorite Major League ballpark hes outside Nationals Park there in washington, d. C tom, good to see you, buddy. Reporter yeah. I know you love this place so do i. But listen weve got two players from the nationals who have now decided theyre going to opt out of the season these are of course the World Series Champions two members opting out theyre concerned about family Members Health because they may be vulnerable. And also a member of the diamondbacks the question is, will other players follow suit . As Major League Baseball prepares to return to the diamond, multiple players are announcing they will not play ball Ryan Zimmerman and joe ross of the defending world series champion washington nationals, ian desmond of the rockies, and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher mike leake opting out of the 2020 season. Zimmerman saying while hed love to compete, but after given a great deal of thought with three Young Children and a mother at high risk ive decided not to participate. Zimmerman who has a 3weekold baby and a mom who suffers from ms says he will not likely be able to see either one until the season is over and thats not something hes willing to do the nationals standing by their players writing that while zimmerman and ross focus on the health and safety of themselves and their loved ones, the team is 100 supportive of their decision to not play this year desmond taking to instagram writing in part w a pregnant wife and four Young Children who have lots of questions about whats going on in the world, home is where i need to be right now. While leakes agent says he and his family took many factors into consideration, many of which are personal this is a reminder that Baseball Players are human beings too zimmerman hits it into deep left field thatll tie the game reporter the nationals firstever draft pick back in 2005, zimmerman has been the face of the franchise. Last year zimmerman hit the first world series home run in nationals history. Bang. Zoom goes the zman reporter their decision to sit out comes on the heels of a lengthy labor battle that threatened to wipe out the baseball season all together its just a disaster for our game absolutely no question about it. Reporter but last week the leagues players and owners signed off on a shortened 60game slate. As teams report to Training Camps this week, clubs are now facing a new challenge that some experts say could be a sign of things to come there are definitely a number of players who are openly considering whether or not to opt out. And just weighing just an hats right for themselves or the incredibly difficult choice between playing and doing whats right for themselves or their family so tom, you know, mr. National Ryan Zimmerman he just signs this oneyear contract extension. Now hes decided not to play if these players opt out, do they also give up their salary reporter so, you know, players had already agreed to a prorated salary because they were going to play 162 games, paired that down to 60 games so they were going to have a lower salary and those deemed to be high risk now, we dont know if these players are high risk because thats a private medical question if they are high risk, then they could still be paid even though they sit out the season. All right tom costello for us there from the ballpark of the defending World Series Champions. You dont need to pad it out. You got a big nats fan there two actually, tom, too going to be interesting to see if other players follow suit not just in baseball but other sports, too. Especially because hes a big man. The z man as i call him. Is that what you call him no. I heard it in the story. I wanted to impress you. Lets get a check of the weather from dylan dreyer. Shes in for al. Hey, dylan good morning again, guys. We do have some heavy rain moving through the middle of the country. Just like we saw yesterday in fact, areas in st. Louis could see more of that flooding rain again today the downpours are intense this morning and theyre moving over the same area repeatedly so that could lead to some flash flooding because of that we do have some warnings in effect were also going to see the threat of severe storms today to the north of that, especially across the Northern Plains, across north and south dakota, and parts of nebraska to western minnesota. Large hail and damaging winds. Its all this stalled front. Until this front moves away, the rain is going to continue in these same areas so its heavy this morning through the midwest. It will continue to intensify across the Northern Plains later today. Were going to see more of the same as we go into wednesday too. All around this front its pretty unsettled northeast we could see scattered showers and thunderstorms as well and were looking at rainfall rates of about 2 to 3 inches per hour that is a lot of rain in a short period of time we could see totals 4, 5, 6 inches in some areas good morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. As we take a live look outside in the south bay, it starts out nice, cool and sunny, but it will warm up quickly. As we head through late morning and into the afternoon, our High Temperature reaches into the mid80s. We do have low 90s for the trivalley, parts of the inland east bay, up to the far north bay. And as we go through the rest of this forecast, one more warm day tomorrow and then well start to cool off on thursday and friday. It does heat up for the Holiday Weekend. And thats your latest forecast back to you guys all right we miss you. Thank you. Are celebrating inspiring americans ahead of the fourth with the start of our my today plaza virtual road trip with stops from coast to coast. Going to take you all over america. Starting in pittsburgh. Or ptown as i call it is that what you call it . I dont know. I made it up but sounds good. First these messages. Distracted driving. With sensors that alert you when your eyes are off the road. The subaru forester. The safest forester ever. Ok, so, magnificent mile for me i thought i was managing. My moderate to severe Crohns Disease. Yes until i realized something was missing. Me. You ok, sis . My symptoms kept me from being there for my sisters. Flight boarding for flight 2007 to chicago. So i talked to my doctor and learned. Humira is for people who still have symptoms of Crohns Disease after trying other medications. And the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor. If youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections. Or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your doctor about humira. With humira, remission is possible. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. If you cant afford your medicine, investing your time. Matters just as much as investing your money. Honey. Securian financial offers solutions that give you the confidence to make every moment count. [sfx] mnemonic now you can make feel like the weekend. K with jimmy dean simple scrambles. Made fresh with two real eggs, sausage n cheese. And ready in seconds. Why dont you put a sunday morning shine on tomorrow mornings breakfast. These women love the scents in thisit smells amazingart exhibit luxurious but what are the smelling . Wait, its suave . Wow its bodywash. No its not. I cant believe this is suave. Can i take this home . Suave body wash. Fragrances as beautiful as premium body wash brands. You are. Cause frosted mini wheats are made to fill people up. And they have 10 layers of wheat and seven vitamins and minerals. Just one bowl and youre good till lunch. All the way out here just for a blurry photo of me. Just one bowl oh, thats a good one. Wait, whats that . Thats just the lowbattery warning. Oh, alright. Now its all, check out my rv, and, lets go fourwheeling. Maybe theres a little part of me that wanted to be seen. Well, progressive helps people save when they bundle their home with their outdoor vehicles. So theyve got other things to do now, bigfoot. Wait, whatd you just call me . Bigfoot . My name is daryl. Just ahead, carson daly is going to join us here in studio with pop start including the hollywood icon now being used to urge all americans to wear masks. Plus, looking for simple lunch ideas . Giada de laurentiis is going to be here. Shell share her favorite make ahead summer salad recipes but first your local news and weather. And theres no way to predict who will or wont clear the virus. But you can help protect your child by taking a first step. The cdc recommends hpv vaccination at age 11 or 12 to help protect against certain cancers. Hey cancer not. My. Child. Dont wait. Talk to your childs doctor about hpv vaccination today. Dont wait. Louie stop. Sorry. Its fine. Blue does have pretty good ingredients. Like what . Oh. Theres huh. Why, whats in beneful . But blue costs a lot more. Not really. Ive fed beneful. Blues less than 45 cents more a day. Ok louie. Well switch to blue so can your skin lather, rinse, refresh with dove men care body wash that washes away germs and moisturizes skin to refresh you and your skin with every shower alright, lets roll. Alright, here we go. Ready to roll sound. Action [doorbell rings] pizzas here. Its pizza time. Hello, how are you . Woah, is that shaq . Hello . How are you Little Princess . What are you doing in a box . Im a board member and a store owner of papa johns and this is my brand new pizza the shaqaroni. Just by ordering the shaqaroni 1 from each pizza is donated to Papa Johns Foundation to support communities, covid relief, the fight against Racial Injustice, boys and girls club of america, and General Community involvement. Thanks for the pizza, thanks for coming to visit us, shaqaroni in the house you guys smiling . I love you test tes dress your nest with fresh new color from sherwinwilliams. Stop in or order for curbside pick up, and get 30 off paints and stains, june 1930th. 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You want the real deal. Like a good neighbor, state farm is there. ® good morning. Its 7 56. Im laura garcia. Here is a look at whats happening now. Reporter im jackie ward from sfo. Its official the European Union does not want americans flying into its 31 countries for the next 14 days. The eu just released a list of countries where it will allow countries to now fly in to their union, and the u. S. Is not on that list. Good morning, everyone. Im scott mcgrew. The white house says the president of the United States still has not been briefed on allegations russian intelligence was paying the taliban to attack american soldiers. House democrats are getting briefed on that today. House republicans were yesterday. On the today show this morning, a kremlin spokesperson denied russia had any part in that plot. Thanks so much, scott. All right, the sun is up over the bay area. Looks like a nice morning to get out there, kari. Its going to be a great day and especially in the inland areas. You want to head out early in the day before the temperatures warm up. Were still looking at comfortable air near the coastline where highs in San Francisco will mostly stay in the upper 60s. As you make your way inland and away from the coast the temperatures start to go up. Were in the low 90s. As you head over to antioch up to 93 degrees. 83 today in napa. For inland areas still some warm weather in the forecast tomorrow, but a pretty nice cooldown as we head to thursday as well as friday. If youre making plans to get outside for the fourth of july weekend, some of our inland valleys will reach up to 90 degrees while San Francisco and along the coastline we will see the temperatures coming back to the low 70s. Definitely a wide range in temperatures from the coast to the valleys. Laura . Yeah, what a range there. Thanks so much, kari. And thank you for joining us as well. The today show up next. Another local news update in half an hour. Businesses are starting to bounce back. But what if you could do better than that . Like adapt. Discover. Deliver, in new ways, to new customers. What if you could come back stronger . Faster. Better. At comcast business, we want to help you not just bounce back, but bounce forward. And now, with one of our best offers ever, were committed to helping you do just that. Get a powerful and reliable internet and voice solution for only 29. 95 a month for three months. Call or go online today. Its 8 00 on today. Coming up, sounding the alarm. Officials urging residents to be more responsible as coronavirus cases surge from coast to coast. Several states now rolling back their reopening plans. We cant be under any illusion that this virus is going to go away on its own. This morning well talk live to new Jersey Governor Phil Murphy as his state presses pause on Indoor Dining compliance is not a polite suggestion it is required plus, crowded house. Country music stars under fire for hosting a packed concert with no masks in sight just ahead how one artist is responding ahead of his next event. Its a Beautiful Day and its a Beautiful Day weve got big news for all u2 fans that you wont want to miss today, june 30th, 2020 were sending lots of love from pittsburgh to the today show. Its a Beautiful Day in our neighborhood this is the Pittsburgh Penguins newest fan were celebrating pittsburgh and my birthday hello today show from wpxi channel 11 in pittsburgh. From all of us in pittsburgh home to mr. Rogers and a medical community hoping to change the world. We hope you make it a Beautiful Day in your neighborhood i love that i love that it is mr. Rogers neighborhood among other things so many things to highlight pittsburgh about well do that in just a few. Hoda has the week off. Weve got craig here we get to be together. I love that. This is as close as ive been to you in awhile its making me a little giddy, to be honest. Same here by the way, you saw a lot of pittsburgh there thats because we are kicking off my today plaza celebrates america tour and where else should we where else would you start the steel city pittsburgh a big thanks to our friends at wpxi thanks to them weve filled the plaza with folks doing great things in their community. Well show some love to the great folks of pittsburgh. Cant wait for that also coming up tomorrow here on today, a very interesting story from cynthia mcfadden. She was given access to a group in new york really trying to step up and give back after coming under fire at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. What they are doing to bring hope to thousands. All right. First lets get to it. Your news here at 8 00 millions of americans may have to change their fourth of july plans because of the rapid spread of covid19 nbcs sam brock is in miami beach this morning with three things to watch. Sam, good morning. Reporter good morning. More than half the states in the country are looking at a rise in covid19 26 states overall. 11 are seeing an increase of at least 100 over the last two weeks. In florida, weve just recorded 23,000 cases in three days the governors right now taking action amidst all this alarm in arizona, theyre closing down bars, gyms and movie theaters for at least 30 days we cant be under any illusion that this virus is going to go away on its own. Our expectation is that next week our numbers will be worse reporter now to combat the concerns that crowded beaches could be adding to the problem, theyre going to be shut down from coast to coast, miami to los angeles over the july 4th holiday. The florida closures have been rolling in over the last couple of days. Los angeles county voting on this monday night after recording nearly 3,000 cases in one day and this morning the World Health Organization is sending a team into china to investigate the origins of this pandemic the director general saying we can only fight this virus once we know everything about the virus. He also said the pandemic is speeding up right now and the worst is yet to come savannah, back to you. All right, sam, thank you this morning Country Music stars chase rice and chris janson are facing a fair amount of criticism for hosting crowded concerts where many fans did not observe social distancing guidelines and now some other stars in the industry are calling them out on social media Kristen Dahlgren is following this story for us. Kristen, good morning. Reporter hey, good morning, craig. Yeah this morning the criticism is mounting after videos show packed concerts with no signs of masks or social distancing this is the video chase rice Country Music star posted this weekend from his first inperson concert in months fans packed in next to the stage singing along, no masks in sight. Rice labeled the video we back on instagram but others on social media werent as impressed fellow country singer, Kelsea Ballerini tweeting to her million followers, imagine being selfish enough to put thousands of Peoples Health at risk, not to mention the potential Ripple Effect in playing a normal country concert right now. Almost a thousand people attended rices show held at tennessees state penitentiary an outdoor concert venue at a former prison. Organizers say the venue, which can normally hold up to 10,000 people, allowed fans to spread out at a safe distance on its three acre lawn. They also say all guests and employees were given temperature checks while vendors and staff were provided with masks Courtney Harris says she was next to the stage by song. We went up there and everybody was close, but, you know, it was kind of at your own discretion. If you wanted to do it. You didnt have to do it. Reporter did you wear a mask . No, i didnt. Reporter did you see anyone with a mask at the concert . One of his guitarists had a mask. That was the only one i saw. Its just i feel like were all eventually going to get it at one point. Whether you wear a mask. Reporter cases have been spiking in tennessee with more than 2,000 new diagnoses since saturday. Although no direct correlation has been made between the jump in cases and the concert. Overnight chase rice responded to the criticism on instagram. Not apologizing but saying his next concert would be different. You guys are everything to me, so your safety is a huge priority. Moving forward, i have a show in ashton, kentucky, on friday and its a drivein show. Sing songs but stay in your own space, stay with the people you came with. Reporter keith urban and garth brooks have recently held drivein concerts to maintain social distance. God bless the health care workers. Reporter another country star chris janson deleted footage of a jampacked concert he held in idaho this weekend that appeared to show concert goers maskless. In april he wrote a song called put me back to work voicing his frustration over the coronavirus lockdown. But this morning hosting a summer concert has the star feeling the heat too. Now, idaho has also seen a spike in cases more in the past week than in the entire month of may. Reps for chris janson tell us that the singer was under contractual obligation to play and was told the event would adhere to safety protocols. Craig . All right, Kristen Dahlgren for us this morning. Kristen, thank you. Breaking news out of europe. European government unions agreed a safe lift from 14 country which is they will allow nonessential travel from in july. As expected, the United States has been excluded from that list. A recent spike in coronavirus cases across the United States led to that decision. Russia and brazil also did not make this list. Among the countries on the safe list, canada, australia and japan. Its 807. Hoda is not here to do the boost, i can do do it today. Wisconsin family was fishing on poor things got a tub on his head oh, hes getting scared. A lake when they made an alarming got a bear here poor things got a tub on his head oh, hes getting scared. The first thought it was a dog. It was a bear cub in trouble took two tries they were able to circle back and pull the container off the bears head. Circle around quick got you we saved our little bear. Good job, buddy head for shore swim happy swim happy. Swim happy. Good for them. The bear recovered as you saw pretty quickly made it safely back to shore good for them. They didnt give up, did they . If roker were here, hed have a clever quip. Wed have a bear pun. We would. But well have to go on with the tease. Coming up next, the difficult decisions being made as more and more states are hitting pause on their reopenings coming up, new jerseys Governor Phil Murphy. He just had to do that he joins us live for an interview. What this may mean for the rest of summer, for schools this fall well ask governor murphy right after this i like liberty mutual. They get that no two people are alike and customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. What do you think . I dont see it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. You are. Cause frosted mini wheats are made to fill people up. And they have 10 layers of wheat and seven vitamins and minerals. Just one bowl and youre good till lunch. Yes. Neutrogena® ultra sheer. 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Welcome back as weve mentioned with coronavirus cases on the rise, at least 15 states now have either reversed or paused plans to reopen altogether and among the states on that list which is growing, new jersey were going to speak to Governor Phil Murphy in just a moment first, more on how his state is dealing with the pandemic. Brings me no joy to do this, but we have no choice. Reporter this morning new jerseys governor is pressing pause on reopening Indoor Dining over what he calls knuckle headed behavior like overcrowding, disregard for social distancing, and not Wearing Masks. We will not tolerate outlier bars and restaurants and frankly patrons who think the rules dont apply to them. They are the ones who will ruin it for everyone else compliance is not a polite suggestion it is required selflessness, not selfishness. Reporter new jersey joining the growing list of states in a Holding Pattern as covid cases spike though it has flattened its own curve. We have lived through hell in this state to get to where we are. Reporter new jersey has the third highest number of covid cases in the u. S over 176,000 and roughly 15,000 deaths over the course of the pandemic were trying to do what we can and stay as positive as we can. Reporter two weeks ago i spoke live to Small Business owners along the jersey shore and governor murphy to mark phase two of reopening which allowed restaurants to serve customers outside. When you have this new reality of coronavirus, how has that changed how you operate the business that youre running its changed a lot. You have the Economic Impact its serious its there this is something thats not going to go away reporter governor murphy saying at the time we saw those crowded scenes in new york, if it comes to that in this state would you go backwards there . Would you close it up again . You have to leave that on the table as a consideration i hope to god we dont have to but here we are and joining us now Governor Phil Murphy governor, good morning its good to see you good to be here, savannah thanks for having me unfortunately we start right there. That scenario you wished would not happen has happened. For folks who are sitting there going, wait a minute our numbers came down, the worst is behind us, can you explain why you have to take this measure to pause your reopening and not allow the Indoor Dining you had planned to yeah. Our numbers have come way down probably as much as any american state, but we paid a huge price as you mentioned 15,000 fatalities. Weve gone through hell. The last thing we want to do is go through hell again. So rate of transmission is a lot better, positivity rates are a lot better but this virus indoors is a whole different beast than it is outdoors when you look at florida, arizona, texas, other places in the country, we just cant go through that outdoor dining, by the way, is going really well. For the most part, folks are behaving outside we want to give ourselves a couple more weeks here to make sure we can drive this thing closer to the ground i wanted to ask you what it was you saw, you mentioned knuckle headed behavior. I havent heard knuckle headed in many decades so thank you for that but also is it about looking at the other states and seeing what happened there and saying i dont want that preview of coming attraction coming to my state. You know, its a combination of things. It is some noncompliant behavioral though overwhelmingly new jerseyans have been fabulous it is looking at other states where we know the spikes are coming from indoors. Restaurants or bars. Its the weight of having come through for all of us all 9 million of us have paid an enormous price in new jersey weve cracked the back of this virus unlike any other state i cant fathom, we cant fathom going through that again and again, we know indoors this thing is a lot more lethal than it is outdoors lets talk about the impact, though, and i dont have to tell you. I think its 350,000 folks in new jersey who work in the Food Service Industry as i understand it, it was supposed to be this week a reopening of Indoor Dining but only at 25 capacity and im sure there are some who are saying, look, we get it. But were dying here our businesses are collapsing. Why cant we just do the 25 capacity listen, savannah, we will get there. We just feel that it is too early to go this thursday. We will absolutely get there god willing sooner than later. We completely understand the pain ive got nothing but complete sympathy for that, but i also have to remind folks Public Health creates Economic Health and not the other way around we cannot afford transposing those steps or jumping the gun my fear, our fear, is that it could reignite a Public Health crisis thats the last thing we could afford when you think about Indoor Dining being a bridge too far, you got to start thinking about schools. How are schools going to reopen . Whats your latest thinking about that so we put out with the department of education and our department of health a very comprehensive plan last week in terms of guidance. Were still listen, thats two months from now. Thats a lifetime. I cant i fathom two months ago what wed be thinking here on june 30th like wise, two months hence from now, were confident we can get back to school, but it will be a new normal it will be social distancing it will be some amount of staggering, face coverings some amount of virtual it wont be like the old days, but it will be back to school. God willing. A lot of folks talk about the fear of a second wave. But of course it seems the first wave isnt over not if you look around the country do you fear the virus one way or another is going to come back in a more significant way in the northeast . I mean, its the south and the west under the gun right now, but do you basically assume its coming back . We are assuming i mean, were hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Ive said many times even if we bat a thousand, my base case is this comes back. But a point of optimism that folks have to remember, we have in place in new jersey in many states of the country a Testing Capacity which is light years different than it was three months ago a Contact Tracing core, a plan to isolate so its not a question of if it will come back but when it comes back can you spot it can you surround it . Can you drive it can you isolate it and drive it back into the ground i do have a much higher degree of confidence on all of that new jerseys Governor Phil Murphy, thank you for your time this morning we appreciate it thank you, savannah, for having me. It is 8 18 now seems like a good time to check in with dylan dreyer in for al this morning hows the weather looking, dill . Well, in some parts of the country, its looking real nice. Looking out the window right now. Clear skies in new york. We will see the chance of an isolated shower popping up you go farther north into new england and thats sitting, spinning, pretty nasty weather through most of new england. We also have some heavy, heavy rain and stronger thunderstorms in the st. Louis area this morning. And then later on this afternoon well see more storms fire up through the Northern Plains. Some of those could be severe. It is hot through the middle of the country. Temperatures well above 100 degrees. Add the humidity, it feels even hotter feels like 105 through parts of florida today. Well see that warm weather stick around records are possible on the flip side of that, the west coast dealing with very much below average temperatures. We could even see more mountain snow especially parts the highest elevations back towards idaho. So tale of two weather temperature stories here thats for sure. We do have that flood risk through the midwest as the rain could fall at rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour. Thats a lot of rain in a short period of good morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. Lets check out whats happening now as we head toward the east bay looking at walnut creek. Sunshine. Nice cool, comfortable start to the day. But we know its going to be another hot afternoon. Were looking at highs reaching into the low 90s here, up to 93 in antioch. San jose will reach 86 degrees and 76 in oakland. In santa rosa, expect a high of 85 degrees. Not as windy as yesterday but cooling down by the end of the workweek. 24 7 on today show radio its our sirius xm channel 108 guys all right dylan dreyer it is pop start time the socially distanced pop start. Its taking getting used to, but nice to be this close. I cant hear you. Youre 40 feet away. [ laughter ] pop start need a megaphone over here. Guys, weve got a good pop start for you. Well start it off it is a Beautiful Day because we can finally announce that u2 will be launching its muchanticipated u2 radio channel. On siriusxm thats launching tomorrow. Look at the logo at the channel for the band you can expect all the u2 hits but also rare recordings, interviews, stories from the road many of which i would love to share at some point because ive got a lot of them and those curated by the band. Bono and the edge are going to be on the channel along with superfans chris rock and matthew mcconaughey. It launches tomorrow at 3 00 p. M. Eastern that is going to be awesome. Youve got u2 stories ive got lots, yes. Really . Yes in ireland slain castle Woody Harrelson involved. Guys, we have time. No. My mom was there. What . Really . Yes Red Hot Chili Peppers opened up for them ill save it for my time on the channel. Next up, the hockey mask wearing Jason Voorhies stars in a new psa telling new yorkers he knows its not easy wearing a mask but during times like these, its the right thing to do its not easy the mask kind of makes people uncomfortable. I wish everyone could see me for who i am just trying to fit in. I know the whole chain saw thing. I get it but the thing is, behind the mask im just a regular guy. If you told my teenage self i would one day feel empathy and sympathy for that man i wouldnt believe you. There he is mask on mask on mask cute. Next up, there was a fast and furious reunion of sorts that people are loving on instagram. Meadow walker posting this sweet photo with all three of vin diesels kids captioning it something very, very sweet family forever. Thats so sweet. Isnt that nice yeah. Shes 21 years old. Also vin diesel who is her godfather put up on instagram, i could say im so proud of the person youre becoming but the truth is ive always been proud of you diesel frequently referring to his fast and furious costar paul as his brother. Its pretty good to see that they are so close. Hes staying in touch with meadow like that we love that story and finally our buddy jon stewart. Its been five years since he signed off from the daily show. Things keeping him busy is a musical hobby. Telling Kelly Clarkson he picked up drumming. The problem is he had no hard it would be i always in my life wanted to interact with music. So i thought to myself that i can definitely bang on [ bleep ] with sticks. How hard could that be not knowing wait. Thats really hard drumming is hard ive tried yeah, i didnt know that. I just thought it was like but its there you go. Its not easy. My younger brother did it looks easy. My brother was a great drummer growing up but im convincing he took it up because we shared a wall and he was obnoxious. Im impressed with parents who give their kids drums. Its like the ultimate act of sacrifice and selflessness here, im going to give you this loud thing. I had a five piece pearl set when i was 13 years old. My parents said get a job. I got a paper route. I played for a month and sold them that was it and i sold them for more money than i bought them for he said thats a good lesson in economics. I love this in pop start. But what does this mean for the Graphics Department . U. I dont know. We showed him yesterday in long island he was fast asleep they had a live shot of jack daly sleeping. He finally grew 3 inches yesterday after finally getting a full nights sleep an 11yearold we miss him hes getting muchneeded sleep. All right you know, we do have time for that story im just kidding we dont coming up, my today plaza. Were celebrating america ahead of the fourth of july holiday. Were taking a threeday virtual road trip. And we start this morning with these fine folks take a look at pittsburgh. Steel city, baby. Also giada is cooking up some of her favorite lunch recipes perfect for a day at the beach after your local news. Good morning to you. 8 26. Im marcus washington. A live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. A state Appeals Court upheld a toll increase for seven day area bridges approved by voters in 2018. A Taxpayer Group sued arguing the 55 vote approval was illegal because it should have needed a twothirds majority. The first 1 toll increase took effect in 2019. And you will pay that dollar more in 2022 and 2025. Lets get a look at the forecast for you today. Meteorologist kari hall has been tracking that. Nice and sunny behind you in san jose. Yeah, were going to see more of that sunshine today. But its also going to heat up our temperatures in the south bay. Get ready for a warm afternoon. In some parts of the inland east bay and north bay, were heading into the 90s today. Meantime, its going to be in the 60s along the coastline as we look at our sevenday forecast. For the valleys, still warm tomorrow but cools off on thursday. Friday looking nice as well. For the fourth of july weekend, expect it to warm back up into the 90s in time for the holiday. Marcus . Thanks, kari. Well have another local news update coming up in 30 minutes. This home is equipped with gig Speed Internet from xfinity. Theres this gametime internetting room. So fun. And then theres this workfromhome internetting room. Finally, the openconcept internetting room. This is not an open house. But your front door was open, so technically it is. Get gig speeds and the most wifi coverage from xfinity. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Enhance your online experience with even faster speed. Choose from a range of fast, reliable options, up to a gig. Click or call to learn more. 8 30 now its a sun shiny morning on our Little Corner of the world its june 30, 2020 cant believe it summer is flying by. Weve got the fourth of july weekend on the way and this morning were starting a special series we think it will be a really fun way to celebrate were excited about this. We are going to take you across the country virtually, of course, and introduce you to some folks who are making a huge difference in their communities. Our first stop, pittsburgh, pennsylvania were going to chat with these folks and highlight a very remarkable young woman in that group whose story is sure to inspire you this morning love pittsburgh also look whos up early this morning out on the west coast. Giada de laurentiis. Hi you have a few recipes for us. Very early. Very early. Youve got a lot of energy for 5 30 a. M. . Youve had a lot of cappuccino, i can tell i have but it lasts about five minutes and then ill go back to bed. Keep going. We need you for a few more minutes. Youve got a patriotic meal for people at home i do. Well see you in a little bit. Maybe weal get a spaghetti out of her spaghetti yes thank you weve been missing that. Were going to end the half hour with Something Special jenna and little hal hager good morning to you. Cutie. Shes got her july pick for the book club. Hold hal up high lets see this baby. Did hal pick the book yes hes reading the book. Hes a genius. Its actually amazing. Oh, my gosh he is adorable hal has side burns. I love it. Yes, he does. He looks like hes in the rock band oasis. We prefer the beatles, okay okay. All right. I dont know whos cuter. Its so good to see both of your sweet faces. Love, yall by the way tomorrow coming up on today, vicky nguyen is going to join us shes going to show us everything families need to do to keep our kids splashing around safely. Splashing around safely in the pool this summer really looking forward to that again, as we head into this fourth of july weekend, lots of folks hitting the pool and the beaches. We cannot tell that story enough lets get a check of the weather from another cutie dylan dreyer hi, dylan. Thank you, i appreciate that. Savannah good morning although i dont have a baby in my hands so its a hard competition there. Go get one. Its good i dont know how the house is so quiet right now. I dont know where the kids are right now. Lets take a look at whats going on in parts of the country. We do have to worry about more dust remember, we talked about this earlier . Weve got more dust coming out of the sahara. Its crossing over the waters there and will create hazy skies and really poor air quality, too especially down across texas and louisiana. This makes for beautiful sunsets, but it also creates some issues for anyone with respiratory conditions like asthma it could make breathing a little more difficult especially as we go into thursday and that dust does begin to move in. We are looking elsewhere across the country today for some Severe Weather through the Northern Plains. Large hail, damaging winds a possibility. Flood risks through the midwest as the rain is coming down 2 to 3 inches per hour. Mountain snow in the Higher Elevations towards idaho and Northern Rockies and then record High Temperatures down across florida. On the west coast, temperatures below average by about 5 to 15 degrees. Highs only in the 60s and 70s along the coast. And in the northeast especially up across new england, the weather continues to be pretty rainy and unsettled with an area of low pressure just sitting off the coast. Good morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. Lets check out our sevenday forecast. For the valleys, its still going to be hot today. Well see some of those temperatures in the low 90s and some mid80s tomorrow. Well get significant cooling in here on thursday. And friday is looking pretty nice, too. But in time for the fourth of july holiday well start to see those temperatures heating up into the low 90s. For San Francisco, mostly some 60s here at least over the next few days. And thats your latest forecast guys, ill find my kids eventually we want olli. Child protective services is on the line. Dylan dreyer, thank you. Coming up next, were going to kickoff our countdown to the fourth with stop number one. Stop number one on our my today play sa celebrates america tour ladies and gentlemen, well go to the great city of pittsburgh. Home of the steelers, the pirates, great beer. Were going to introduce you to a young woman really doing inspiring things in the steel city well dohat right after this, t you asked for em, so tiny tacos are back for good. Grab a box of 15 or try them loaded. Get em now with no contact delivery. Amazing school district. The hoa has been very involved. These shrubs arent board approved. You need to break down your cardboard. Thank you. Violation. Violation. I see youve met cynthia. At least geico makes bundling our home and Car Insurance easy. And it does help us save a bunch of money. Two inches over regulation. Thanks, cynthia. For bundling made easy, go to geico. Com [upb i fell asleep tobut when i woke up. I put everything in perspective. Thanks, cynthia. boy hi, do you want to share my sandwich . vo good feeds our connections. Good feeds us all. Hormel Natural Choice lunch meats. We are back. 8 36 with the launch of our special series ahead of the fourth of july weekend my today plaza celebrates america. And as we all know, the last few months have not been easy for the country. But tough times bring out the very best of the human spirit. They do thats why we wanted to take some time to celebrate truly remarkable people making a huge difference in their communities every single day were starting our Cross Country tour in pittsburgh so as hoda would say, lets fire up the big board lets go. We got there. So many cute faces but lets go to sabrina and brandon. They are both born and raised pittsburghers. Good morning to you. Guys, tell us what you love about pittsburgh good morning. Hi. Why do you love your city so much we are born and bred pittsburgh diehards. We love its a vibrant city, thats why. And we love because of the university of pittsburgh which i attended and our baby boy will hopefully be becoming a panther one day. I was just getting to that because youre expecting right now a little boy you already have his name picked out. Whoa. Congratulations. Mama, youre so beautiful. Baby Lincoln Howard mosby what a beautiful name gosh and how far you got to go . Coming soon . Just a little under five weeks. So were almost ready. Hes coming. Home stretch. Home stretch well, were so happy to see you this morning thank you for being with us as we highlight pittsburgh. Go pitt pittsburgh and there you are i love it. I love it too all right. Lets look for tenisha law tenisha, where are you hi. There you are good morning. By the way, i love the tshirt. Were going to talk to her in a moment, but first a quick look at why tenisha is a rising star in pittsburgh. My name is tenisha long im an activist from the pittsburgh area. Im the founder of black lives matter pittsburgh in southwestern pa. Tenisha long has been an advocate for the black community in pittsburgh for more than a decade a Hometown Hero fighting for social justice and better education in her home state. Shes raised thousands of dollars to get books about civil rights and black history to kids in underserved neighborhoods we have so many kids who just grow up thinking that their options are limited because they have never seen people who look like them in these spaces. To be able to give kids that and have them feature characters that look like that is something super special. After the death of george floyd, tenisha took charge of her local social Justice Movement everybody is walking up saying, what can we do whats next . Creating blm pittsburgh in june, a group thats more than 6,000 strong black, white, hispanic, asian, everybody our crowds have been so diverse. Its been astounding a sign tenisha says that the burgh is ready to take on Racial Injustice and help inspire real revolutionary change people are starting to move and theyre starting to do things in a way thats actionable this is probably the closest weve been to change in pittsburgh in decades. Some people talk. Some people do tenisha long is a doer hey, tenisha, just first of all, black lives matter, you started the chapter there. Sometimes when folks hear black lives matter, the response is all lives matter whats your response to that if it makes it a little bit more palatable for them, think of it as black lives matter too. Until black lives matter to everyone, all lives cant matter and if you can watch videos of black men and women in positions where theyre being murdered or persecuted and youre still comfortable saying all lives matter, then youre really not understanding the point. So think of it as black lives matter too if it makes it easier for you, but we have to say it whats your favorite part of pittsburgh what do you love most about that city oh, my gosh, the community. The fact that i was able to start an unofficial chapter of black lives matter and have everybody rally around it and everybody get excited and everybody just pitch in and everybody says its the steel city and its steelers city. But honestly its just a city of pride and love and acceptance. Its been great. We just wanted to highlight you and showcase the work youve been doing carson and i were talking about your shirt folks cant see the whole shirt. Can you stand up so people can see it oh, nice. Write like maya. Think like martin. Tenisha, thank you. Thanks to everyone can we bring the board back . Hoda always likes to bring the board back i know we got to let people get those good faces on the air. Pittsburgh, you make your town proud. The williams. The scholls madisons hey, stephanie we love you, pittsburgh. A lot of steelers fans in the house. We love you, today show so cute thanks for being a part of our day and making it a little brighter thank you, guys tomorrow our my today plaza celebrates america tour moves west were going to chicago were going to meet some of that citys finest including a little girl who used her time in quarantine to start a special nonprofit. Shes going to inspire you carson good stuff, guys. Coming up, just another reason to celebrate. Giada de laurentiis is joining us from the west coast with some of her favorite fuss free meals. Well food summers heating up. A lot of us are looking to spend less time in a hot kitchen, of course weve got you covered this morning with the help of one of our faves. Giada de laurentiis. Who joins us now shes going to show you how to put together a few easy to make ahead meals. Stuff you can do in the morning in her kitchen in l. A. Good morning how are you . Im good. How are you . Good. Great to see you thanks for getting up. Let me start with the show your original series, this is a reboot of that this is like giada at home 2. 0 this is technically a selfshot show we shot it all with iphones. And my boyfriend shot it and jade helped me do the dishes its basically the three of us shooting an entire show just like we normally do. Im just going to say it was pretty intense jade and my son jackson used to be classmates together in california thats right. They have that connection as you know, jack has been helping me out with the Graphics Department i saw that. Hows it been working with young jade well, you know, its good shes interested for a short amount of time is she right there . No, no. Right here shes asleep its 5 40 in the morning are you kidding . A young girl sleeps until 10 00 in the morning i dont know about jack, but jade sleeps in hes sleeping in too. So what are you going to make for us today we have a salad . So weve got two salads and a pasta salad. The idea is that you can make these and have a great lunch for even a couple of days. I thought since fourth of july was around the corner, one of my favorite salads is this red, white, and blue salad. Grapes, blueberries, and goat cheese today because i could not find gorganzola yesterday. So im swapping ingredients to make do. So the first thing you want to do is pickle cucumbers have you ever done that before no. I want to hear this. Ive always wanted to pickle cucumbers. Do you put it in vinegar and lock it in a jar for a year . Or Something Like that no, no. So you just make a mixture of sugar, vinegar i use Apple Cider Vinegar and water and brings to a boil for five minutes and take your cue cumbe and dice them up and throw them in the hot liquid and let it sit so not for a year, carson. Five minutes you can pickle in five minutes . I didnt know that its the fastest way to add flavor to food is to pickle it. Especially in summer with the vegetables and fruit. You can pickle them all and then just save them. Whats great about it and they keep awhile . Yeah. They keep for as long as for like, weeks, months, if you want so its a great way to preserve things you know how they used to preserve foods or meats in salt . For like a year . Right pickling is the same thing but with fruit and vegetables. Sorry im not paying attention, giada. Your hair looks like perfection this morning. I find it hard to believe that you posted that picture. It looked like you were struggling with a blow dryer because youre doing your makeup, hair, the family shooting the new show. Tell me about your woes. Oh, my gosh, that picture i had to do my own hair and makeup for this show because i couldnt have anybody in my house to do it my beloved Makeup Artist lives in new york. So she was not going to come out here so i have learned long lessons of ruining my hair or having to cut pieces because i have hair brushes in it i cant get out. I have really curly hair, believe it or not. So its taken me a long time, a lot of products preach. Preach on, sister. Its a nightmare. But you look great. You always look great though. Theres good days and bad days today happens to be a good day, thank goodness thats it. Thats all i can say when its a bad day, my hair will be up and thats that. Fair enough whats the dressing for the salad . All right dressing for the salad very quickly. Mustard, grain mustard and vinegar. A tablespoon of grain mustard. Weve got a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar or champagne vinegar. Whatever youve got. And i feel like in this day and age you have to do with what got. Three tablespoons of olive oil you can just let that go you know how much i love that. And i whisk that well, actually, im going to take a little bit of salt you know, the trickiest thing is youre so used to everybody else doing a lot of this stuff. Like when i come on your show. I just walk in and its done the food prep team is there ive been prepping for two days secrets out. I know, right oh, hey whoa, my god whats happening . This has been difficult this morning. How did that happen do you have an open pan of tuna on the counter . No. Its the chicken whats the cats name her name is luna and she is just shes a bangle cat and she is fierce. Thats all im going to say. She gives me a run for my money when im cooking luna, no do that again. No. We only have a minute lets go, lets go. Can your boyfriend stick his head in frame like that . Thatd be cool. Red grapes. Blueberries. Oh, we went fruit i didnt expect that yep this is like the fourth of July Fireworks spectacular at the end, this is the big. Yeah. This is it this is it. Were going have the red white and blue salad there pistachios. A little crunch oh, my gosh bengle, what are you doing luna. Oh, my gosh and just a little dripping of cat hair shes a short haired cat. Theres no cat hair. Happy fourth of july. Best to jade, the cat, the boyfriend, whatever else is living in your house in l. A. We appreciate it today. Com food is where people go to get that recipe and more thanks for getting up, giada always fun i love it giada, thank you giada at home 2. 0. Check it out weve got food covered next were going to tackle a great read for summer. Jenna shares her book club for july that was great. Ay on nbc when we closed our doors in march, wynn committed instantly to keeping all 15,000 team members onboard. We then focused our fivestar level of service to all who needed it. We made improvements to peoples lives. We strove to be better and we made people happy. This closure may have temporarily taken us out of wynn and encore, but it couldnt take the wynn and encore out of us. And now, we are proud to welcome you back. At long last, the moment at long last, the moment weve all been waiting for jbh, there she is. Jenna is going to reveal her next book pick whered baby hal go . Baby hal is taking a. Nap. And i have no cat. Im sorry. Mama does not have a cat but its almost july which means with the long Holiday Weekend approaching, theres no better time for a good book you guys, this is a great summer read for you men, too, craig and carson i see you looking at me with a little skepticism. No, no, no julys read with jenna pick, friends and strangers by j. Courtney sullivan. Oh my gosh, thats great. We were just talk about this, carson i told you. And two women, one a young mother and the other her college age baby sitter. It explores modern issues about motherhood, adulthood. It sounds up their alley. They love a coming of age tale that explores mother hood. Hey, savannah, theres fatherhood issues in there, too. Good. More than anything, its about what makes people happy. What drives us thats nice so i know you guys dont usually read with me, but why dont you try it this month . Are you in no. Siri has that book i think you sent it to siri because she has it and has started reading it and seems very happy with it i like to pair your books with bourbon. I would put a nice Woodford Reserve with that. Thats a club id enjoy books and bourbon. Is there a twist in the book does someone get off there are twists. I have to tell you that this is the type of book that henry gets annoyed with because i keep the light on late into the night and im just reading, reading, reading. Savannahs read two of mine. Will you read with me, savannah . As soon as i finish last augusts selection, yes. Ill get right on it but shes always so sweet. She sends the book to me and to my mom who is the original Jenna Book Club member she is. She doesnt know how to join the chat on instagram live, but at some point she will nancy is one of any my very favorite so is siri siri is a great reader and savannah, youre a cplus reader we may not be keeping up, but millions of americans are. Your book club is like the most popular in america it is im glad yall are all sitting there. I feel like youre also friends and strangers at this point. You know what i mean yeah. Mostly friends. We miss you. Miss you. Yeah, its weird. Miss you. Next time bring hal again or any of the other two we would love to see them too. We miss you. Yeah. I will i have three i sometimes forget about one but yes, i have three children well see you in the fourth hour too bye jbh bye, love yall whos doing the fourth hour with you today willies with me. Willie g . Sweet willie geist go to today. Com read if you want to join the club, read the book, get in on the discussion its fun coming up the third hour weve got dr. Jill Biden Joining us but first your local news. Good morning. 8 56. Im marcus washington. Firefighters are still at the scene of this overnight brush fire that threatened homes in contra costa county. It started around 11 00 p. M. Near a mobile home park. This was on marsh creek road where clayton meets brentwood. It burned nearly ten acres and damaged a power line. 150 customers have been without power, although crews are hoping to restore that power any time now. So far no cause right now that they know of, but firefighters are not ruling out the possibility it may have started from fireworks. Happening now, bob rydell is there talking with firefighters about the ongoing fire danger. Hell have more during our midday newscast. Also on our home page. Another story were following at midday, as many expected, the United States is not on the eus new list of countries approved for nonessential travel. The list opens Holiday Travel to eu nations for visitors from 15 other nations but the u. S. Was left off that list because more than 2. 5 million confirmed coronavirus infections. A short time ago, the governor will actually make an appearance in the east bay to discuss housing the homeless during the pandemic. Head to our twitter feed. Businesses are starting to bounce back. But what if you could do better than that . Like adapt. Discover. Deliver, in new ways, to new customers. What if you could come back stronger . Faster. Better. At comcast business, we want to help you not just bounce back, but bounce forward. And now, with one of our best offers ever, were committed to helping you do just that. Get a powerful and reliable internet and voice solution for only 29. 95 a month for three months. Call or go online today. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is the third hour of today. Welcome to the third hour of tod of today al roker enjoying well deserved time off this ek i saw him on the instagram no surprise cooking up another fantastic meal, al roker, even on vacation. Listen, he really is a good chef go ahead. I was just going to say, this is vacation for him. Hes just living the life. Well, i say