the windy city is now home to the worst air quality in the world. canadian wildfire smoke is back. we'll tell you whereelse it might appear $200 billion down the drain. that's the amount of new report says fraudsters stole from covid relief funds the hot dog combo may stay the same price, but it could become harder to access.

wheel' it's a bird, it's a plane, the new cast for the next superman film. if you want your hot dog with a side of cold cola this fourth of july, pepsi found a way to have both at the same time it's wednesday, june 28, "early today" starts right now. and good morning i'm jessica layton >> i'm frances rivera. we begin with the toxic air in the forecast smoke from canadian wildfires have once again drifted across the border chicago and detroit had the worst air quality in the world today. it will move over new york city today and tomorrow meanwhile, extreme heat is expanding across the south, with alerts stretching from california to florida. the cdc says er visits in texas are up about 30% from last year.

panama city beach has been named the deadliest beach in the nation, earning the title after dangerous rip currents killed seven people in nine days. here's guad venegas with potentially life-saving advice the famous, picturesque shores of panama city, florida now the deadliest beach in the nation after three more tourists died over the weekend. >> with the influx of people and having a roving patrol, these things can happen. >> reporter: a popular destination for tourists from all over the world, these beaches have pref lvalent danges rip currents that can quickly turn summertime fun into tragedy. >> it's unfortunate, and our lifeguards are doing everything they can they are very diligent we work very hard. >> reporter: rip currents are strong and narrow stream of water that can suck swimmers out to sea, making it tiring and

exhausting to make it back to shore. there have already been 55 deaths off u.s. shores due to rip currents authorities are reminding beachgoers of the dangers in the water, especially as less-experienced swimmers jump in >> rim currep currents lead to 0 drownings a year >> reporter: the prevalence of sand bars off shore can lead to strong and treacherous rip currents so what are you supposed to do if you get caught in a rip current? >> what you don't want to do is swim straight back to shore against the current because you're going to tire yourself out. you want to swim out of current along the beach until you feel that you're out of the current >> reporter: another safety tip, be sure to swim near a lifeguard. panama city saying six of the seven deaths so far this year happened when double red flags were flying, meaning no swimming was allowed. >> when we know it's not safe,

we're going to be there to tell you it's not safe. >> reporter: a promise alongside a warning for those heading to the beach this summer. guad venegas, nbc news up to 17% of all u.s. covid aid, about $200 billion, was stolen, according to a new government estimate. the new number is far above the 5% previously thought given to fraudulent applicants. between 2020 and 2022. the paycheck protection program it distributed $1.2 trillion to struggling business. and the state of oklahoma blames poor oversight in a major decision tice concerning election laws, the supreme court shot down a gop-led attempt to grant limited power to state legislatures over federal lenelections.

the clhallenge comes from north carolina republicans say the argument limits the authority of state courts to strike down certain election laws. the theory was repeatedly cited by supporters of trump during the 2021 election. o 2020 election one of trump's former attorneys says it will make the law murkier. the decision was cheered by democrats and voting rights groups with a tweet from former president barack obama an ever-widening gap in the polls is not stopping ron desantis from taking his rival head on. we go to brie jackson in washington good morning, brie, what did the candidates lay out for voters in this pivotal state >> reporter: as you said,

florida governor and presidential candidate ron desantis is making little progress on narrowing the gap between him and the frontrunner, former president trump, the latest poll shows trump is leading in the first in the nation primary state of new hampshire by 47%, compared to desantis' 19 the and new hampshire is where both candidates took their message on tuesday, with desantis holding his first town hall in the state 30 miles away from trump's event in concord when asked about participants, when asked by participants about his main rival, desantis urged the republican party at large to move on interfrom trump or risk. >> if this election is about biden's failures and our vision for the future, we are going to win. if it's about relitigating things that happened two, three years ago, we're going to lose >> reporter: meanwhile, despite his massive polling advantage, former president trump spared no

sympathy for desantis. during his event, trump attacked his one-time ally on a variety of issues, including his position on entitlement programs and his response to the covid-19 pandemic trump also speculated that desantis' time as the runner-up in the polls might come to an end soon, in which case, he'll start going after whoever takes his place. frances? >> brie, thank you four more arrests have been made in connection to the deaths of 53 migrants at the southern border yesterday marked one year since a truck's trailer was opened in san antonio and 48 migrants were found dead inside. five more died at the hospital authorities quickly arrested the driver and another man >> and now four mexican nationals have been charged with conspiracy the indictment alleges that they had a planning role in the operation and were aware the trailer's air conditioning unit was not working properly the men face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted

russia president putin says his country avoided civil war when the wagner group rebelled he praised them for preventing bloodshed by persuading yevgeny prigozhin to abort his march on moscow what more did putin have to say? >> reporter: good morning, jessica. putin also said by stopping the armed aggression, the russian armed forces prevented further violence and civilian casualties he also confirmed that a number of russian military pilots died while trying to stop the advance by the wagner group, and he also told wagner fighters that they can either choose to go to belarus where their founder, ev yevgeny prigozhin is believed to be or contact the russian defense ministry if they want to stay in russia jessica? >> and claudio, tell us about

the response from russia's neighbors as well as nato. >> reporter: well, the fact that the wagner group may relocate to belarus represents a real threat and concern to neighboring countries like latvia and poland the wagner group were called serial killers, and the polish president says they represent a real threat for the stability of those countries and has called nato for a strong response now the strong response came right away from the nate toe chief, jens stoltenberg who said the alliance has already increased its military presence on the eastern flank >> thank you next year's summer olympics will have sports in the pool but the stands will certainly be dry in more ways than one. alcohol will be banned unless they're vips the decision comes from a 1991

law which bans alcohol sales in certain sports venues like stadiums and gymnasiums, except for certain hospitality areas like vip sweets. and new analysis from ubs says the the country will spend nearly $400 million on medical cost this is year because of pickleball the firm says it estimates the sport will grow to 22 million players this year, with a third of them being senior citizens. earlier this month, united health group said health care usage rates were up with an uptick of hip replacements, kne surgeries and more with the west stuck under the heat dome, michelle is keeping an eye on where the thermostat is set to soar. >> it's going to soar in a lot of spots, especially in the south. we're still in the triple digits the valleys of the west going to be warm as well. 55 million americans under heat

advisories, excessive heat warnings in the pink dallas, waco, new orleans, you're going to see temperatures soar once again and it's going to stick around for a while, due to high pressure pumping in the heat little rock feeling like 109 montgomery will feel like 97 new orleans will feel like 114 today of the as we go throughout the next few days, we're looking at temperatures into the triple digits for san angelo. saturday 102 houston, same story, fw back ino thnce again in the south into the triple digits dallas 107 oklahoma city, 106 we'll talk more about the heat,

storm chances and a little peek at the weekend forecast in just a few minutes. >> thanks, michelle. >> still to come, the scheme prosecutors say was a a load of manurere > wicked weaeather groununds ththousands ofof flights eather s thousands s of flights febreze car ventnt clips work diffeferently. febrezeze gives yoyou consnsistent frereshness that startrts just rigight and ststays just r right... ...f.for 40 daysys. upgrade e to febrezeze car. our heheritage iss ingrgrained in o our skin. and d even when we metamomorphosize i into our w evololved form,, wewe carry thahat spirit w wi. becaususe you can n take alalfa romeo o out of ital. but you bebest believeve, yoyou can't t take the i iy out of an n alfa romeoeo. you know that feelining of having to rewash dishes t that didn't't get cle?

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laguardia. >> it's kay ochaos out here one woman told me she was told to be prepared to stay here until saturday everybody is stressed out. people are yelling, people are mad. >> reporter: it means long lines in denver and boston >> you get here three hours early and you're not sure if you're going to make it. >> reporter: delta ceo says the summer is breaking records >> the demand as you know, as anyone who's traveling knows is off the chain. >> reporter: in an e-mail, united ceo scott kirby said the faa failed us this weekend, kirby blames the ongoing short w and shortage of air traffic controllers. training new controllers takes two to three years, and united has its own staffing problems. a union e-mail says flight attendants are waiting on the phone for hours to reach crew

scheduling airports nationwide reporting record levels, at or exceeding 1.2 million travelers every day. friday could be the monster travel day, 2.8 million travelers. tom costello, nbc news, washington the california man sentenced to over six years in prison after prosecutors say he duped investors out of nearly $9 million, claiming he was building machines that turned cow manure into green energy authorities say he showed investors dairy farms in california and idaho where he claimed he was planning to build those machines the man spent the money on land, a custom home and new pickup trucks for himself and it looks like costco is taking a page out of netflix playbook they are cracking down on membership sharing, checking photo ids to make sure they match membership cards

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okay, you don't have to wait anymore after much anticipation. the d.c. universe has found their next superman. superman. and it was announced last year that there was a d.c. leadership shakeup. it is slated for july 2025

release. a gazillion batmans, but only a handful of supermans >> i can't wait to see rachel brosnahan in this role we will solve the puzzle as to who will take over "wheel of fortune. they have signed a multi-year deal with ryan seacrest. sajak said he would retire next year after serving for nearly 40 years. he says he can't wait to work alongside the wonderful vanna white. ryan seacrest posted on instagram that one of his first jobs was working in a game show. so he called it a full-circle moment >> there are squeaky wheels when it comes to this "wheel of fortune" development some saying he's done everything give someone else a chance as the writers strike enters the eighth week, a group of

actors are prepared to picket too. merryl streep and julia louis-dreyfus and others said they were ready to picket to ben stiller, kevin bacon, we know they're barkcking them >> between this and the wga issues right now very uncertain in the industry when we come back, michelle has a preview for the holiday weekend. and we want to know how you feel about s soda-flavorored c . chececk us o out on inststagramo weigh in o on this debebate. to weigh in o on this debebate. -o-oh, um... -uhhh..... a a k-pop bandnd? i hahave no ideaea. vms? i've n never heardrd... i don't knknow. what i if i told y you it actuy has to d do with menenopa? i don't knknow. ohhh menopopause...yayay. well then,n, maybe i'd'd sa. ohhh menopopause...yayay. very m malicious s sweat. ohhh menopopause...yayay. actuallyly, vms stanands for vasomomotor symptotoms which is t the medicalal teterm for hotot flashes actuallyly, vms stanands for vasomomotor symptotoms and ninight sweatsts dudue to menopopause. actuallyly, vms stanands for vasomomotor symptotoms oh! actuallyly, vms stanands for vasomomotor symptotoms

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savingng $130 on u utilities. cacascade. darare to dishh differerently. - the company goes to the firstborn, audrey. the model train set is entrusted to todd. mr. marbles will receive recurring deliveries for all of his needs in perpetuity, thanks to autoship from chewy. - i always loved that old man. - what's it say about the summer house? - yeah, the beach house- - the summer residence goes to mr. marbles. (mr. marbles chuckles) - plot twist! - i'm sorry, what? - doesn't make logistical sense. - unbelievable. - pets aren't just pets. they're more. - you got a train set, todd. - [announcer] save more on what they love and never run out with autoship from chewy. welcome back on this wednesday. taking an early peek at our holiday forecast, a lot of scattered showers on saturday from new england to the northeast. parts of the mid atlantic, over to the carolinas and portions of the great lakes. sunny and hot in the west. dangerous heat continues in the

south. by sunday still looking at more storms in the same spots back to you both >> thanks, michelle. when we come back, we want your thoughts on thihis catsup-pepepsi match s catsup-pepepsi match even w hen we metamomorphosize i into our w evololved form,, wewe carry thahat spirit w wi. becaususe you can n take alalfa romeo o out of ital. but you bebest believeve, yoyou can't t take the i iy out of an n alfa romeoeo. ♪ ♪ irresiststibly smoototh chocol. to put t the world o on paus. lilindor. mamade to meltlt you. by t the lindt m master chococo. hi. i use e febreze fafade defy pl. and i use this.

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i'm excited that i took it on. >> super busy, which i like. >> reporter: sullivan was struck with an idea >> very first house i walked into on our checkouts at the end of may, i just saw a bunch of food sitting in the cupboard >> reporter: it reminded him of the work he's done with the nonprofit, the steppingstones and the food insecurity in his community. >> knowing that a lot of these kids in their haste of moving out threw a lot of the food away a light bulb went off and thought what a good opportunity to partner with steppingstones >> reporter: so they came one a plan with resident whose had non-perishable food items to leave them behind to be donated. >> they told me about it, i thought it was a great idea. even from my experience of moving, that's kind of the last thing you think about is what you're going to do with that food it usually gets tossed

the fact that they're putting something together where they'll collect things any of their rentals leave behind, bringing it here is a great way to repurpose that stuff >> reporter: the idea to bring more help into the shelter is at a time when demand is high >> food insecurity has increased, especially after the extra benefits ended at the end of february. we have seen a huge uptick in our numbers here at the pantry >> reporter: now with american edge real estate taking the lead, they encourage others to share ideas they have to keep the community fed. >> going into fall, it will get cooler, school's back in session, there will be more need for food at those times. anybody who thinks of a good way for a food drive, we are all with that. the conndimente conne warmea

new war. some stadiums including comerica in detroit, what do you think, taste or toss? go to our instagram page take the poll we will be posting shortly and let us know if you would try it >> at least it's not pepsi with catsup i

air quality alerts add to a coast-to-coast wallop of wicked weather. the midwest gets blanketed by smoke from the canadian wildfires. the south is scorched by triple digit temperatures we'll let you know when can you expect relief in the forecast. all that bad weather grounding thousands of flights we'll go inside the turmoil at the terminals during the busiest travel week of the