be displayed prominently in all public classrooms. and seven days left. we are one week away from the first presidential debate of 2024 amid brand new polling that shows president biden is gaining. let's begin, though, with that weather. in texas, heavy rain and storm surge from tropical storm alberto has caused serious flooding, as you can see right here with coastal areas underwater from 5 to 10 inches of rain, along with that storm surge. new mexico is also dealing with what the national weather service says is extremely dangerous flooding, but look at this. the wildfires are what's really causing problems in new mexico. the state is reeling. hundreds of structures are gone. and at least two people are dead. locals say they had never seen anything like this before. >> it's been nonstop planes, nonstop sirens and almost felt like being in the war zone with all the smoke surrounding the area here in the middle. >> back east, temperatures are reaching 100 degrees in places that normally feel highs in the 80s with roughly 64 million people under excessive heat warnings. and advisories. let's start, though, in texas. joining me now from rockport, nbc news foreign correspondent guad venegas. a lot of flooding there. tell me what you're seeing. >> reporter: flooding and wind, you can see the wind here. there has been tornado warnings in the area, earlier today we also had a wind advisory with the wind gusts getting up to 40 miles per hour. so, yes, we had the storm come through with a lot of that heavy rain. we had the storm surge and the coastal areas and the flooding in parts like these in rockport. now, this is an area that's inland. we still have the island barrier out towards the sea here, and it's still flooded. also, there was an area just south of us where there was a tornado warning yesterday. we went by, met a couple. bob and bonnie who live in a home that was affected by the wind. this is what they had to say about what happened after that tornado warning went into effect. >> it happened so fast that until you come out here and look at it, it's like -- >> i heard whoop whoop whoop, it started picking the building up. >> reporter: wow. >> that's all i heard. >> and i didn't hear none of that stuff. it had been blowing and stuff all day. >> reporter: what did you think when you came outside and saw all the damage. >> we need to fix it up. >> a lot of work to be done. >> reporter: now, that was damage for the wind, just nearby there are communities that are still flooded in the beach areas. south of us in corpus christi, they had a lot of flooding in maria. fortunately, a lot of the preparations did work. authorities for the counties and the cities here did everything they could to prepare. they asked people to stay off the roads. so it looks like the worst of the weather has made its way through. we have had some flash flood warnings today, and again, wind advisories in some communities behind me are still flooded in many of these areas. it looks like most of the heavy rain did make its way through, katy. guad, thank you very much. to new mexico and deadly wildfires. there are just burned cars left, no structures even as wildfires completely tore through towns. let's bring in nbc's dana griffin who's covering all of this out there for us. dana, what can you tell us about new mexico? >> reporter: katy, at this hour, that fire that has been burning since monday, these two fires are 0% contained. that's critical. for a fire that's been burning so long, destroyed 23,000 acres, another 1,400 buildings and homes and has killed two people so far, this is just the beginning of the effort to try to get this fire under control. there was a fierce storm that rolled into new mexico yesterday, which dumped some 2 to 4 inches of rain. that created flash flooding in some areas. because of the burn scars that have been created because of these fires. so it kind of impacted the fire fighting effort. some firefighters had to move out of the area during that storm. the governor has declared a regional state of emergency, and how long it takes these firefighters to get this fire under control still remains unknown. we know that more manpower is on the way, possibly 2 to 500 firefighters will be moving into south new mexico to try to help put owes these flames. right now, we are seeing images of the area, like riodoso, the area between the two fires, the salt fork fire, that wreaked havoc on this neighborhood. you ski a line of cars. we were told by new mexico state police is one of the fire victims was inside one of his vehicles, possibly trying to escape. a second person was found outside of a hotel. his family told a local station that he was waiting for a ride, he was packed up and ready to flee. you've got thousands of other people who have been displaced from their homes, many, i'm sure, wanting answers as to what's the state of their home. at this point, they cannot return until firefighters get a handle on this as you see the heavy smoke and the temperatures did not aid in the fire, it just helped it to grow. right now, firefighters are doing the best that they can, and the governor is saying that this is enormous and is likely one of the most devastating two wildfires to converge on that state in a really long time. katy. >> dana, thank you very much. let's go to nbc meteorologist bill karins tracking the heat across the country. bill, it is really hot here in new york city, a lot hotter than it should be. i'm looking up toward maine, toward upstate new york where the temperatures are 10, 20 degrees higher than they normally are. >> northern new england has been the story. it is at this hour, too. that's where it's dangerous. it is hot in ohio valley to say, new york city. it's not any hotter than what we normally would get each summer. what's happening in northern maine, new hampshire and southern maine is incredible. this isn't a misprint. this is rochester, new hampshire, the reading at the airport. it's taken in the shade. this is the heat index. the temperature combined with the humidity. this is how it would feel to you. 108. and logan airport is not far behind. if you have been in the boston, logan airport, that's near the water. it's a really strong west wind keeping you that cool. notice, it is almost 20 degrees warmer in new hampshire than it feels in d.c., philly, and new york. that's what's been unusual about this. the relief is on its way, though, northern michigan, finally relief coming. after these thunderstorms this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow will be noticeably cooler. here's the forecast tomorrow. this is where we're going to start to see the humidity building. d.c. to 95. new york to 93. as we come towards the upcoming weekend, it stays blistering hot. washington, d.c., saturday, 99. should have a record high on sunday, hitting 100, and with the humidity, it will probably feel like 105 to 106. this is not what a lot of people want to see. this just came out today. the forecast prediction for the month of july. if it was cooler than average, you'd see blue on this map, and there is no blue from coast to coast. it looks to be a very hot july, almost the entire eastern sea board, and also in the southwest, where we're already dealing with fires into the rockies. this could be a summer to forget. but remember at the same time because of how hot it's going to be. katy, we're going to start talking more about drought. a lot of people in the mid atlantic, things are getting very dry in a hurry. >> bill karins, thank you, a louisiana law mandating that the ten commandments will be displayed in public classrooms is taking a lot of heat, but will it survive legal challenges? 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>> again, because this case is different from the precedent, it's quite difficult to predict. again, and the supreme court, now these cases take a conservative versus liberal vote. the fifth circuit is one of the more conservative courts. it might well uphold the louisiana law, which would send the case to the supreme court. >> paul butler, thank you very much. and before the summer break, pro palestinian demonstrators paralyzed dozens of universities nationwide, protesting israel and the war in gaza. most prominently in new york, where some of the students and outside protesters broke into and occupied several academic buildings. today, they are in court. met there by a new set of protesters. nbc's antonia hylton is there for us. what were they in court for, and what was happening outside of court? >> reporter: hey, katy, so court is going to get going, actually right at this moment, 2:15. that is when the students, the outside activists, in some cases, they were even columbia employees and lab researchers who were arrested, that sort of infamous night when the nypd entered hamilton hall and ended the occupation there. those are the people who are appearing in court to respond to all of the charges connected to what authorities have called trespassing that night. we spent time with protesters as they gathered in nearby columbus park. they were meeting with legal aid observers and lawyers. they were talking to each other. gathering supplies and water bottles. it's incredibly hot out here right now, and they're planning to protest for the next several hours. at the time, it was a group of dozens of students and supporters. they're here to show solidarity to friends and themselves. they were getting ready to walk into the courtroom. take a listen to a conversation we had with one person who was arrested that night. >> we have our court date today for the liberation. >> were you arrested? >> yes, i was arrested. we'll all here for our court date. this is our first appearance. so yeah, thank you. >> reporter: how are you feeling about the whole thing? >> you know, i'm ready to show solidarity with all of my comrades across the movement. >> reporter: and to refresh your memory of what happened on that very chaotic night, 46 people were arrested in connection with that trespassing and 30% of them were found to be unaffiliated, people who had no relationship with columbia at you will. many over the age of 30. 14 undergraduate students involved in the protests on campus. others, graduate levels or employees of the institution. and even though school is now out, some parts of campus life have gone back to normal, and some tensions are still really boiling over. the campus is now open again to visitors. if you go up town to columbia, if you're not affiliated, you can walk on to the lawns, see where the encampment was. students are preparing for the likely possibility when they come back in late august and get ready to get back to school, all of this may start once again, katy. >> antonia hylton, thank you so much. and still to come this hour, it is crunch time. new details about how president biden and former president trump are preparing for the very first presidential debate, which is just a few days away. away e. with nurtec odt, i found relief. the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. it's time we all shine. talk to a healthcare provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ chewy, a citi client, uses citi's financial expertise to help drive its growth and keep its supply chain moving, so more pet parents can get everything they need... right when they need it. keeping more pets, and families, happy. ♪♪ for the love of moving our clients forward. for the love of progress. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools, like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis, help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. e*trade from morgan stanley (dad) we never thought that with verizon, help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. saving on the the best in entertainment was gonna be so easy before... we had to pretend we had seen all these shows... now that we have verizon, we can stop pretending. 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