pandemic, americans are celebrating independence day with fireworks, pool party and barbecues but flight cancellations and delays are im impacting travelers. more than 1500 flights have been cancelled since friday morning amid staffing shortages. this comes as we re seeing a big increase in demand for air travel. even if you plan on driving today, you ll be paying a lot of the pump. the nationwide average for a regular gallon of gas, 4.81. that s nearly a 1.70 more than it was last year. let s start live at hartsfield jackson in atlanta. one of the busiest airports in the world. you were there all weekend serving as a grief counselor to these passengers that watched the flights get delayed, delayed and ultimately cancelled. what s it like there now? reporter: it was a rocky weekend, but today has opinion going pretty smoothly here at the airport despite seeing those weight times of about four minutes and they would spike up to 45 minutes. just when you had wave of passenger
unarmed black man who was shot at least 60 times. 60 times. the police chief speaking out. more on that story ahead. also this morning, former president trump is anxiously considering when he might announce a run for president in 2024. playing into that decision, pressure to reclaim his image following devastating testimony from the january 6th select committee hearings. but we begin in washington this morning. president biden will return to the white house in time for a fourth of july fireworks tonight. meanwhile, he s facing blowback for blaming gas stations for high prices at the pump. the president calling out companies responsible for setting fuel prices, tweeting, bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you re paying for the product and do it now. cnn s jeremy diamond joins me now from the white house. how is the president s message being received? as you know, this july 4th weekend is a painful reminder for so many americans of how s
jeremy diamond joins me from the white house. what is on the president s agenda today? reporter: president biden is still at camp david this morning but he will be returning to the white house to host military families for a bar be becue and celebration. the president saying the fourth of july is a sacred holiday, sacred day in our country. make no mistake, our best days still lie ahead. at the same time president biden is dealing with messaging on the current state of the country and the current state of the economy with high inflation and high gas prices which many americans are being reminded this weekend as they hit the roads for the fourth of july weekend. the president oaf the weekend taking to twitter to encourage and push gas station companies to lower the price at the pump. to make sure, in his word, bring down the price you re charging at the pump to reflect the cost you re paying for the product and do it now. that earned the president some backlash with some, in
this country? but it s not just the mass murders. there are so many other reasons for the constant fear and dread that we re all feeling. one of those reasons, the latest case of police overkill. a 25-year-old black man named jayland walker, killed in akron by 60 bullet wounds as he ran from police. also tonight, a major development in fulton county s investigation in trump s efforts to find enough votes to steal georgia. new details about the next jap 6th hearing. we begin with this very strange place that we find ourselves in on the day after july 4th, independence day. a day that turned out to be tragic and violent for the community of highland park, illinois. where seven people died and almost 40 were injured in approximately the 319th mass shooting so far this year. on our way to another record. the young white male shooter, who previously posted creepy videos seeming to set the stage for his act of terrorism was charged tonight with seven counts of first-degree murder
aaa saying more americans are taking road trips this weekend than at any point during the covid-19 pandemic. so people are out and about, and cnn is checking in on the situation from the world s busiest airport in atlanta. nadia, how are things going today, and how does it compare to what you ve seen over the weekend? reporter: well, i ve got a secret for you that we re going to share with everybody. this is the perfect time to travel. in the middle of a holiday weekend, in the middle of the day. look behind me. you don t want to wait in lines. you re not a patient person? this is the time to come to the airport. people are just walking their way through the main security check point. this isn t clear or precheck. this is general boarding, and look how empty it is at the busiest airport. this is a far cry from what we saw yesterday. and what we saw definitely on friday. let s look at the numbers. this is july 2nd. over the past couple years. so back on july 2nd, july 4th we