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 summer.

the republican primary ramping up the visions trump and desantis laid out for potential voters. one of the most popular game shows is putting ryan seacrest behind the wheel what he has to say about being tapped to replace pat sajak. we hope you enjoy your wednesday as much as this chimp enjoyed seeing the summertime sun. it is june 28, and "early today" starts right now and a very good morning to you all. i'm jessica layton >> glad you're with us, i'm frances s rivera as wildfirin as wildfires continue to rage in canada, the smoke is continuing in the midwest chicago worst air quality in the world. it's expected to shift east.

meanwhile, record-breaking heat continues to scorch the south. emergency room visits in texas are up about 30% compared to last year. sam brock has more on these extreme conditions >> reporter: in new orleans french quarter, long lines pack this steamboat dock. this unrelenting heat is steaming the entire city >> it's really hot out here. >> reporter: new orleans could set record highs the next four days, with the heat index approaching 120 degrees. >> i saw someone about two weeks ago had a heatstroke, a lady out here it's very hot. >> reporter: was that scary to see first hand >> yes, it was >> reporter: the city's top priority caring for the most vulnerable, opening up about nine cooling stations and hydration stations what is the precedent for this kind of heat wave here >> well, this is unprecedented extreme, excessive heats that we've never experienced before >> reporter: the fierce triple digit temps impacting our furry

friends who went running for cover, and rendering our news crew camera unusable >> use your good senses about it >> reporter: but it's the smoke from the canadian wildfires to our north that's now canvassing u.s. landmarks like the mackinaw bridge in michigan and briefly giving chicago the worst air quality in the world that smoke once again moving toward new york city extreme weather tearing through nebraska >> look at that. >> reporter: in wyoming, at least six reported twisters. indiana also taking a direct hit. >> i got to watch all my porch furniture go, and then all of a sudden i heard the whole house explode. >> reporter: then there's the storm surging up the east coast from north carolina. it continues it hold an iron grip on the south with the heat. >> our thanks to sam with that report in a major decision, the supreme court shot down a gop-led attempt to grant

unlinltsed power to state legislatures over federal elections. the challenge came from republicans in north carolina and cited what is known as the independent state legislature theory in a dispute over the state's congressional map. they say it limits the ability of state courts to strike down certain election laws. the theory was repeatedly cited by supporters of president trump following the 2020 election. one of the proponents, former trump lawyer john eastman saying the court's ruling will make the arguments he made in 2020 murkier in the upcoming lixs elections. the decision was met with praise from democrats former congress come liz cheney weighed in on her political future in a conversation with nbc's lester holt at the aspen ideas festival on tuesday cheney, a major critic of former

president trump has been speculated as a possible 2024 candidate. she specified that she doesn't want to do anything that may help trump and will make a decision about what comes next for her later this year. she was ousted from her seat in a primary challenge by a trump-backed candidate in 2022 an ever-widening gap in the polls is not stopping desantis from taking his main rival head on they held events in the pivotal state of new hampshire tuesday as desantis urged republicans to move on from trump or risk defeat nbc's vaughn hill gallaiard has. >> god bless new hampshire and god bless america, thank you >> reporter: gop frontrunners, donald trump and ron desantis, hosting dueling events just 40 miles apart. >> he's holding an event right now to compete with us there's only one problem nobody showed up >> reporter: desantis at a town

hall asking voters to move on from the drama surrounding trump's 2020 defeat. >> 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: flnew hampshire' first in the nation primary a first for both candidates. in 2016, new hampshire gave donald trump his first primary victory, helping lift him over a crowded gop field in march to the republican nomination. seven years later, trump's support in the granite state still rock solid a new hampshire poll shows trump leading desantis in the state by 28 points. >> somebody said how come you only attack him? and i said because he's in second place well, why don't you attack others because they're not in second place. but soon i don't think he'll be in second place.

>> reporter: new hampshire republican voters we spoke to excited about the possibility of a second trump term in the white house. >> i love what he did. >> reporter: why not ron desantis >> he becamegovernor of florida. he needs to finish that job, and i believe he still has time, you know trump needs to finish. he needs to finish this. >> reporter: and a candidate new to the campaign with an embarrassing error, francis suarez fumbling a foreign policy question about the muslim minority group being persecuted in china, the uighurs. >> will you be talking about the uighurs in your campaign >> the what? >> the uighurs >> what's an uighur? >> we'll come back to that you got to get smart on that >> reporter: suarez releasing a statement to try and clean things up, saying of course i am well aware of the suffering of the uighurs in china, they are being enslaved because of their faith. i didn't recognize the pronunciation, my friend hugh hewitt used. that's on me

and we're about six months away from the new hampshire primary it's go time this summer for these candidates after leaving the luncheon, donald trump went down the road to open up his new hampshire hid quarter quarters vivek ramaswamy and nikki haley both holding events here in the state as well. >> our thanks to vaughn for that report russian president vladimir putin says his country avoided civil war this weekend when the mercenary wagner group rebelled. they persuaded yevgeny prigozhin to avoid his march on moscow >> jens stoltzenberg says he's sending a clear message to moscow and minsk by increasing military presence. the move has already alarmed

neighboring poland and lithuania, and stoltenberg said it was likely some wagner forces would relocate to belarus. about $200 billion was stolen according to a new government estimate. the new number is far above the 5% previously thought give ton fraudulent applicants. between 2020 and 2022, the paycheck protection program and the economic injury disaster loans distributed $1.2 trillion to struggling businesses and in oklahoma, the state auditor blames poor oversight by officials after $29 million in covid relief was misspent. we can now solve the puzzle on who will take over as host of "wheel of fortune. sony pictures says it's signed a multi-year agreement with ryan seacrest who will step into the legendary shoes of pat sajak sajak announced he would retire after serving for more than 40

years. he says he's trully humbled and can't wait to work alongside the great vanna white. the heat does continue we're going to see it continuing throughout the weekend and expanding into the mid mississippi valley, also california the valleys of california will be heating up as well. 55 million americans under some sort of heat alert, whether it's a heat advisory, heat watch or heat warning, your excessive heat warning is in the hot pink. dallas, waco temperatures soaring once again into the triple digits you factor in the humidity, it will feel warmer than that, tulsa, 102 95 in memphis. dallas, 107. into the triple digits once again. 14 degrees above normal. and we're going to see this heat dome expanding so tomorrow in st. louis, 102, 15 degrees above average

99 in nashville. 102 in little rock. d.c., you're warm, too atlanta, into the mid-90s and upper 90s on saturday. and we're also concerned about the air quality temperatures soaring into the triple digits. 106 in oklahoma city 107 in dallas, 109 in san angelo the heat continues, we're tracking storms, and we're going to look at that, also taking a quick peek at the weekend in a few minutes. >> see you soon. still to come, the summer travel season hits a major snag before the holiday weekend. and a couple finds out what it feelsls like whwhen artifici intetelligence p pronounces s tn and wiwife ence p pronounces s tn and wiwife

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if you've been attempting to travel by air this week, then you may have been one of the many americans affected by delays and cancellations, thousand of them brought on by the latest round of severe weather, from heat to poor air quality concerns >> reporter: on the busiest travel week of the summer, a recipe for a travel nightmare. at the center of it all, the big three in the big apple >> plans keep changing, like by the minute >> reporter: summer storms in the northeast have led to ground stops, endless lines and boiling frustration. maggie vespa stuck at laguardia. >> it's chaos down leer. one woman behind my in line told me she's been told to be prepared to be stuck here until saturday everybody is so stressed out people are yelling people are mad >> reporter: the ripple effect means long lines in denver and boston

>> you get leerhere three hours early and you're still not sure you're going to make it. >> reporter: this summer is breaking records >> the demand as you know is off the chains >> reporter: but it's not just the weather slowing things down. in an e-mail, united's ceo says the faa failed us this weekend he blames the ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers for slowing traffic, although the faa insists it was not a problem. nationwide, more than 2500 controllers are retiring this year and last. 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 record passenger levels, at or exceeding 2.7 million passengers every day, eclipsing 2019 numbers. just as the tsa predicts, friday could be the monster travel day, 2.8 million travelers.

tom costello, nbc news, washington so we know love knows no bounds, apparently neither does technology a colorado couple embraced artificial intelligence by allowing a chatgpt bot to make their marriage official. >> i pronounce you partners in love and life and a future with endless possibilities. >> is the bride's father says it came o togetogether in less tha week >> ah video captures the baffling moment a fan flew a bag of ashes on a stage, pink picked up the bag and was heard asking "this is your mom" it's the latest in a string of recent concerning concert behaviors.

pop stars bebe rexha and another was injured on stage by violent outburst >> should be flattered as temps climb coast-to-coast, it's importatant to know hohow toto keep you andr loved onones safe inin the sun loved d ones safe e in the sunun when your r family actually w wears it. ♪♪ get odoror-free eight hourur protectioion from mososquitoes anand tics without t the ick. zevovo on-body r repellent.. people l love it. bubugs hate itit. this i is a piece e of strin. doesn't t seem like e much - unlessss it's a ststrand of mr. then it t has the popower to changnge everythihing. mrna has a already chahanged hohow we fightht viruses.. it h has created medicicines atat unprecededented speede. it c could even n individualae hohow we approroach cancere. ♪ it c could even n individualae hohow we approroach cancere. and d the companany thatat's gettingng us there? momoderna. ththis changeses everythini.

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as this heat wave hits, parts of the country are looking to keep their cool so while air conditioning and sunscreen are the first defense, staying safe in the sun is not just skin deep stay indoors as much as possible if you don't have ac, look into public places near tyou that do you. avoid sugary or alcoholic drinks for symptoms like dizziness and headaches, keep an eye out, and also keep an eye out on the

elderly and pets and athletes. you hear it all the time, it's common sense, but when you're actually in it, you may not realize you're needing help. it's always important to remember >> important to note that a lot of municipalities will have cooling shelters if you don't have ac and you can't find a place. and tiktok users are sharing tips, like placing a bowl of ice in front of a fan. i've done that one getting their pets a cooling mat, putting a pillow in the freezer before you sleep, and making a chilled facial mist spray. yes, please. >> i like all of them. does that work the ice in a bowl in front of a fan? >> i did that in college, when we had no ac and it was a hot summer >> anything that may help. >> michelle's got a look at your weekend forecast and a chimimp p gets some fn the sun fofor the firsrst time her r life n fofor the firsrst t her r life whatat's vms? -o-oh, um... -uhhh..... a a k-pop bandnd? i hahave no ideaea. vms? i've n never heardrd... i don't knknow.

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wondering about an increase in the orca stotories that we've bn telling g lately as orcas continue to rock boats in spain, scientists are hoping to shed more light on the behavior no humans, boats or r whales we haharmed, but t these weren't attacks. it's more likely the whales were just curious and more active in the area during it time of year. a great story for hump day it's not too early, let's turn to nbc meteorologist michelle grossmann with more on what we can expect >> never too early unfortunately, we're looking at rain for a lot of the east coast. we're going to hit repeat on the play button. scattered showers for new england into the central plains. temperatures into the triple digits the valleys in california heating up then by sunday, more storms in the northeast into the mid atlantic, the southeast, portions of the upper midwest.

hot and humid in the southern plains by sunday we're looking at rain, more rain into the new england area into the southeast. sunny in portions of the midwest. back to you both > all rightht, we back here w makiking it t to the lonong wee and d more after the breakak g w anand more aftfter the brereak 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.

febreze has a microchip to control scent release so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and it's refill reminder light means i'll never miss a day y of freshneness. (febreze plug.) an indiana man has survived five tornados in his lifetime. and now he recounts his experience during sunday's tornado that damaged his home in greenwood. >> reporter: john keith's house warped and twisted by a tornado may not survive the night, but he survived sunday's storm >> something told me, get out of that chair and get to cover >> reporter: by a matter of seconds. >> power went out. and i told ann, i says, we got

to go. just as we did, the house came apart. >> reporter: they'd been watching the news, heard the sirens and heard a warning their village neighborhood about to get hit >> the one guy on the news, i mean, he said "take cover now. that's what we did i got to watch all my porch furniture go, and then all of a sudden i heard the whole house explode. and didn't realize until we walked out of that master bedroom closet what had happened >> reporter: as the navy veteran, he's used to taking orders, but that one on tv >> that man says "take cover now". >> reporter: likely saved his life >> this window here is where we were sitting we wouldn't have made it if i had stayed >> reporter: can you see why from the inside. debris, glass and drywall rained do you know on his chair >> i was sitting there, ann was sitting on the loveseat, basically ten seconds, if not

less >> reporter: storm danger isn't new to this family john's actually been through five tornados. five including one with deadly consequences >> in 1974, i lost two good friends, so luckily, we didn't get hit by the funnel. they did >> reporter: survival here on sunday, john credits with instinct and that warning he made lure tsure to heed >> you always think it's not going to be you. well, guess what this time it was >> our thanks for that story and the resilience that man has. >> oh, my goodness, for sure a chimpanzee named vanilla is walking on sunshine after seeing the sky for the first time the chimp spent the early part of her life in a lab in new york where she was kept in a cage she was later transferred to an

animal sanctuary that closed in 2017 now she lives in fort pierce, florida and is reportedly enjoying her new environment and is in awe of the view. and who wouldn't snbbe it's gorgeous. >> lush green grass and sky and sun. same reaction a lot of new yorkers have when they move from new york to florida. >> definitely, and for us this week wit

right now at 5:00, the race for the white house ramps up. ahead this morning, a live report from washington, d.c., as republican presidential candidates stop in one key primary state. this, as mr. trump's legal problems loom over the race. also, dozens of east bay families without a home this morning. a fire tears through an apartment complex in san leandro. what investigators are revealing about a possible cause. plus --