a deadly rampage and mass shooting in south florida. the search is on for three gunmen who left two dead and at least 20 injured outside of a miami concert. it was a weekend that saw record pandemic crowds of over 135,000 athe indianapolis 500. sightseers flocking to national parks including the grand canyon plus today may be the busiest air travel day so far. breaking overnight, a lone star state battle. texas democrats stage a walkout to stop debate on a restrictive

voting bill. but the gop backed legislation whether be added to a special session. why are beef and pork prices rising so quickly and will there be any relief soon fighting fire with fire. the race to restore the endangered redwood trees has officials scrambling for solutions. and paying tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice as we kick off your memorial day monday "early today" starts right now glad you're joining us early i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. we know it is early but we hope you're enjoying your memorial day so far right now millions of americans are traveling for the unofficial start to summer. the nation's airports and roads are getting ready for a flood of travelers going home at the end of a long holiday weekend. with covid cases and deaths declining, it's been a busy weekend across the country with millions flocking to beaches, boardwalks and ball games. for more we turn to nbc's tracie potts who is live in washington, d.c.

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: right, phillip. good morning so people are clearly ready to get out and get back to normal it was evident at many of the places you mentioned and of course at the nation's airports. tsa says 5 million people passed through airport security since thursday, and today could be the busiest day in a year as many of them now head back home at the end of this holiday weekend. we saw massive crowds in indianapolis the indy 500 drawing 135,000 people they, like some airports, had vaccination clinics on site. we also saw that at some beaches in miami and other places that were packed despite a washout in the northeast. other beaches around the country were packed as beach-goers said they weray >> i am fully vaccinated, so i feel like i'm out here protecting myself. >> i'm super excited to be around people.

there's an energy now. everybody is so excited to be out. >> reporter: and a lot of people were able to get those covid shots at the beach while they were there hollywood beach, ft. lauderdale, others, even the miami airport offering vaccination clinics to people this holiday. >> also seeing a lot less masks out there these days too tracie, thank you. an urgent manhunt is under way in miami after another mass shooting 2 people are dead and more than 20 others are hurt after several gunmen shot at a crowd three people are in critical condition, and the suspects are still at large nbc's sam brock is there sam, good morning. >> reporter: frances, good morning. miami-dade's police director said this was the worst mass shooting that he has seen in a multi-decade stint with the agency as you can see behind me right now, the scene is still being processed. there's still a presence of police officers as the gun violence across the country right nos with law enforcement the miami crimo face the horrore

again of their children reeling from gunshot wounds. >> he called us frantic, telling us he had been shot, that it hurts, it hurts, and he loves us. >> i don't even know words can't explain how i feel right now. >> reporter: at a shopping center in northwest miami-dade, police say an suv waited in a parking lot for at least 30 minutes around midnight with three men leaving the vehicle and then raining gunfire on those outside a banquet hall, injuring 20 and killing 2. >> i think that it was probably targeted on a specific person at that event, and they really didn't care about who was standing around. and as a result, innocent people were shot and lost their lives. >> reporter: miami-dade's police director says it's possible 100 rounds were fired as the assailants carried assault-style weapons. the rise in gun violence putting cities on edge across the country as covid-19 restrictions continue to lift in fact, 57 of the biggest cities saw a 36% increase in gun

homicides between 2019 and 2020, the biggest jump on record gun violence often worse in the summer >> we're at a place the frequency of these shootings, the duration of how long they're lasting in these events, it should be concerning to all of us as americans now. >> reporter: chicago's police superintendent saying the city will commit more resources to combating shootings as summer approaches, shifting police officers' work hours and canceling their vacation days. and in new york, more units will be placed in high-crime areas. the fallout from this vicious wave of violence, more families seeing their sense of safety shattered. >> my son, my only son, my only child, he's not a statistic. he's a graduate. >> reporter: the number of critically injured has now risen to three, which means the death toll could potentially go all the way up to five this as miami-dade police say they have no idea where the

three gunmen are but they're pouring all of their resources into finding out sam brock, nbc news. frances, back to you. >> what a mystery. sam, thanks. investigators have recovered remains from a plane crash site in tennessee seven people are presumed dead among the victims, the former tarzan actor joe lara and diet guru gwen lara officials are now waiting on the medical examiner to identify the bodies >> crews have pulled several components from the waters including human remains. at this time the rutherford county medical examiner's office is working with the immediate family members to help identify the victims. >> the flight departed from an airport just outside of nashville, bound for florida just after takeoff, the control tower heard a siren, then lost contact with the plane it crashed into a lake only three miles away investigators are still unsure what led the pilot to lose control of the plane. breaking overnight, texas democrats staged a dramatic walkout to block a restrictive

voting bill, but the fight is far from over. republican governor greg abbott said the bill would be added to a special session agenda the controversial bill would ban drive-through voting, limit voting hours, make it more difficult to cast mail ballots, and make it easier for a judge to overturn election results even without proof that fraud affected the outcome critics including president biden say it is un-american and would disenfranchise people of color. there's a return to form for the indianapolis 500, back in front of 135,000 fans. and those fans got to see a nail-biting finish the 105th running. helio castroneves went bold, passing alex palau on the outside with two laps to go and holding on down the stretch to take home his fourth indy 500 victory. that ties him with a.j. foyt, al unser sr., and rick marries for the most in history. his first time kissing the bricks sincen a big weekend race, its longest of the

season it was kyle larson's show at the coca-cola 600 in charlotte he led 320 out of 400 laps, winning the first two stages and walking away with the checkered flag it's his first coca-cola 600 victory and his second win of the season. lgbtq pride month starts tomorrow and blue's clues has the perfect song for the occasion ♪ families marching two by two ♪ ♪ hurrah, hurrah ♪ ♪ this family has two daddies ♪ ♪ they love each other so proudly, and they all go marching ♪ >> blue's clues has teamed up with drag queen nina west to create that sing along song. if the melody sounds familiar to you, that's because the song is sung to the tune of "the ants go marching." but as you heard, those lyrics have been changed to be very lgbtq inclusive. let's see if it's going to be parade weather out there and

if today, memorial day, is going here's nbc meteorologist michelle grossman. >> hi, guys. some of us are going to see really nice weather and some seeing some wet weather. still cool in new england. let start with the rain because we're going to have a soggy start for many in the southern and central plains we're looking at heavy rain, even flash flooding for some one to three inches of rain. you can see oklahoma city, san antonio seeing some wet weather there. also watching the threat for some severe weather. that includes parts of texas into new mexico. some hail, damaging winds very likely but also a few tornadoes possible we'll be watching that throughout the afternoon and evening hours. that storm system moves off to the east still by tuesday we're looking at some storm threats in texas then look what happens by wednesday. this sort of overtakes the ohio valley, also the midwest then by friday we are looking at wet weather moving into parts of the northeast. it's going to be cool once again but we do have some warm weather today inf the

mid-atlantic after that really dreary start to the weekend. heavy rain, even flooding in some spots and some stormy weather. all right, guys. we're looking at trip digits in the west we're going to talk about that and also lots of rain for many of us for the workweek that's coming up. >> we'll talk to you then. thanks, michelle. a memorial day tradition roars back into washington, d.c. hundreds of motorcyclists drove through washington, d.c. to honor veterans and advocate for their mental health as part of the rolling to remember. it's a re-imagining of the rolling thunder rally which started as a demonstration for service members after the vietnam war. >>return, charging fees if you don't show you

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crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. leading the news, a northern california cafe owner is charging customers who wear a mask a $5 fee. but for those who throw them out, they'll get a 50% discount on their order an additional five bucks will be charged for anyone bragging about receiving the covid vaccine. fiddlehead's cafe owner tells nbc news the proceeds will go to a charity that changes every two weeks. he says he doesn't believe in mask-wearing and his customers either love or hate the suggested policies. there's a town in brazil that has seen a 95% drop in covid-19 deaths thanks to mass vaccinations just don't tell that cafe owner there. nearly every adult in the southeastern state has been vaxed and scientists say the threshold to contain the spread happened after people received their second dose of the

vaccine. brazil has been home to one of the deadliest outbreaks in the world with more than 461,000 fatalities fliers will have to wait just a few more months to enjoy an inflight cocktail aboard two major airlines both american and southwest airlines have announced they will continue to ban alcohol on flights throughout the summer. the airlines say they made the decision to help curb a rise in assaults on flights. the ban will remain in effect through september 13th when the federal mask mandate for all planes, buses and trains is set to expire. >> they let us go out and people forget how to behave, and now none of us can have a beer on a flight. kroger health are offering a shot at winning a million bucks or free groceries for a year just for receiving the covid-19 vaccine at its locations the company is launching its community immunity campaign in collaboration with the biden administration's push to have at least 70% of u.s. adults vaccinated with at least one dose by the fourth of july the sweepstakes will run for five weeks beginning on

thursday two record-breaking climbers return safely from mt. everest on sunday. at 75 years olthis was his seco after hurting his ankle in 2019. sang yeng hung from hong kong became the fastest female climber. she reached the peak in 25 hours and 50 minutes a coronavirus outbreak the at the base forced at least three teams to cancel their treks, but hundreds of climbers are still moving forward. straight ahead here on "early today," a quiet place 2 is making some serious noise at the box office as movie theaters roar back to life. and lean times why meat prices are beefing up just in time for grilling season for sure. seriously? one up the power of liquid, one up the toughest stains. any further questions? uh uh! one up the power of liquid with tide pods ultra oxi. frank is a fan of fast. he's a fast talker. a fast walker. thanks, gary. and for unexpected heartburn... frank is a fan of pepcid.

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i like glue. and ninja babies! oh my gosh. oh my gosh! it's been a busy weekend at the box office as the summer movie season kicked off. a quiet place 2 set the record for the biggest film debut since the pandemic began it raked in over $48 million over memorial day weekend. cruella also premiered bringing in $21.3 million spiral from the book of saw and wrath of man rounded out the top five in movies, bringing arounye than j out. amazon will automatically enroll your devices like the ring,

echo, and security cameras in amazon sidewalk. the new shared network service will allow nearby users' devices to utilize a small amount of your internet bandwidth and the same will work in reverse. amazon says the more people who participate, the better the network will become. the service goes live on june 8th. as millions of us get ready to fire up those grills today, the price of beef and pork skyrocketing our blayne alexander tells us why. >> reporter: as pyou prepare to fire up the grill, know that your memorial day barbecue may cost you more. grocery prices are up across the board from 2020 but meat is seeing an especially sharp rice. according to the usda, beef prices are up almost 10% over last year. bacon now averaging $6.22 per pound up from $5.52, and steak almost a dollar more than in 2020 costco is reporting a 20% spike in meat prices over the past

month. will people notice this when they go to thegrocery store? >> i think they'll notice. it's like gasoline prices. people tend to notice what their favorite cut of beef costs. >> reporter: experts point to a snowball effect set in motion by the pandemic from supply chain shortages on farms to fewer workers in meat plants, even a shortage of truck drivers to move meat across the country. >> consumer demand is really, really strong as the economy opens back up and folks go back to restaurants and travel and hotels. >> reporter: all of it leaving butchers like anthony in a tough spot. >> we have to raise prices every day. every day a truck comes in, the price is higher. >> reporter: he's been a butcher since he was 14 and says these prices are as high as he's ever seen taking a toll not just on him but his loyal customers. >> when a customer walks into my store, if they have a family of four, it's going to cost them over $100 to feed them. >> reporter: the good news, experts say prices will level out but likely not until the

fall until then -- >> it's grilling season. go get yourself something good at the store and send the farmers a signal to produce more. >> reporter: blayne alexander, nbc news. will memorial day bring warmer weather our michelle grossman has the answer next. n> and rocking out in theame of science inside the french covid experiment still fresh unstopables in-wash scent booster downy unstopables how did kellogg's combine crunchy oat clusters with a touch of honey... plump, juicy raisins and tasty fiber into one delicious cereal? it took a lot of bran-storming. get it? kellogg's raisin bran crunch. two scoops of delicious.

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5,000 fans crowded together in paris for an indoor rock concert. it was also a covid-19 experiment attendees were required to wear masks and take covid tests before and after the event 2,500 others stayed home as part of the control group to test if the virus spreads among concert-goers. the results are set to be released at the end of june. let's check back in with nbc meteorologist michelle grossman who is back with more of what we can expect on this final day of our long weekend. >> it went so fast, right? luckily some of us were looking up in terms of the weather, at least in the mid-atlantic. we're going to be warmer and drier. but the southern tral plains, heavy rain in some spots, even some severe storms that threat moves off to the east by wednesday we're looking at rain in the mid-atlantic, also the ojai valley. by friday, it looks like the northeast into new england and the southeast, we are looking at heavy rain there on friday back to you guys >> michelle, thank you. >>ace to save

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the race to save california's most iconic trees after a year of historic wildfires out west, there's a new effort to protect the state's giant redwoods here's steve patterson >> reporter: in the blink of an eye, california's home to ancient coastal redwoods blooming over a century of memories was all by wiped off the map. back in 2020, big basin redwood state park was ripped apart by the czu lightning fire >> what is the extent of the damage >> it's looking like about 97% of the park burned >> 97% >> yeah, so pretty much the whole thing. >> reporter: scientists say the

fires were chiefly driven by climate change now they're worried it's threatening the future of the state's most iconic species like joint sequoias and joshua trees that don't easily grow back. thankfully redwoods aren't so easy to take down. >> they have very thick and inseoulative bark. >> reporter: while the trees stand strong, the park only partially opening this memorial day weekend, the redwoods though are still off limits every day a costly blow to the local economy. >> big basin redwood state park hosted approximately half a million visitors a year and generated $1 million worth of revenue per year the tourism industry has really suffered. >> reporter: big basin is by far california's oldest state park, but because of the scope of the devastation here, it will likely never look the same. so the challenge now is with these ancient trees, how do you build this back up, and how do you protect it so something like this never happens again

>> i mean you could really say it looked like a bomb went off. >> reporter: with the new reality of year-round mega fires -- >> sprouting on the trunk -- save the redwood's paul ringgold is dedicated to shaping the way we interact with forestry. one of the best ways, he says is an old adage, fighting fire with fire experts say so-called prescribed burns would reduce the fuel that otherwise builds up in underbrush. >> i think it's essential. >> reporter: but it will take more funding and a fundamental shift in how the public thinks about fire. >> will this park ever look and feel the same? >> i'm afraid it won't look the same as we recall, and some of that difference will be in the look and feel of the trees in the forest and some of it will be in whatlooks like. >> reporter: creating a new relationship with fire so our most beloved natural sanctuaries can endure fore generations. steve patterson, nbc news, santa cruz, california >> they are truly majestic thanks for starting your memorial day with us i'm phillip mena.

>> and i'm frances rivera. hope you can enjoy the rest of the day, but we want to leave you with this. a tribute to our heroes. president biden will visit arlington national cemetery today to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. to those who have served and sacrificed for the

picture of lafayette today, the smoke i smell, it was just barbecue but yeah, it's on our minds. >> right now at 4:30, before you start up the barbecue this afternoon, high fire danger all across the bay area. dangerous conditions have firefighters and neighbors on edge, the precautions you could take to keep everyone safe. and it's the first big holiday weekend since the vaccine rollout. millions of americans hitting the roads or taking to the skies. complete coverage on this travel this memorial day. "today in the bay" continues now. >> good morning memorial da