the bridge itself getting to treasure island, the tunnel is cleared so we should not see more backup at the bay bridge. you can get more local news right now with our brand-new newscast available on roku and good morning happy thursday travel delays. storms extreme heat >> and everyone wants to know, how will this impact our holiday weekend? it is june the 29th, this is "today." stranded growing lines and frustration at the nation's airports with more than 30,000 cancellations and delays this week >> we just want to go home >> severe weather and staffing shortages leading to a major backlog. this morning, inside the

airlines' race to catch up before what is expected to be the busiest travel day in years. air alerts, more than 120 million americans, a third of the population, now being impacted by a new wave of smoke from those canadian wildfires. so will it clear up in time for the holiday weekend? recovered. the first remains and wreckage from that doomed titan sub brought to shore we'll have the latest as investigators work to figure out what went wrong. material girl health scare madonna ouout of the i icu after being rushed to a new york city hospital with a severe infection. her world tour now on hold new details on the music icon's battle and the well wishes now pouring in those stories, plus, simone's surprise. >> money >> simone biles set to return to competition for the first time in nearly two years.

the reaction and the question, is the greatest gymnast of all time setting up a run for another olympics and history in the making. >> grounded to third, there it is perfection for domingo german! >> the yankees' domingo german tosses a very rare perfect game, setting off a celebration on the diamond not seen in more than a decade today, thursday, june 29th, is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda 2023 >> reporter: from nbc news, this is "today, with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning. welcome to "today" on this thursday morning to be domingo german this morning! >> he just -- >> a perfect game! >> yeah, he wrote himself into the history books there.

look at that i love the celebration afterwards just incredible. this is the 24th time that's happened in major league baseball history >> we're going to have so much more on that in just a bit but we'll begin with kind of a good news/bad news situation here's the good news the july 4th holiday break is almost here, okay? here's the bad news. if you're taking a flight or expecting a loved one to fly by air, it continues to be a nightmare. >> oh, gosh, storms and staffing shortages are still causing massive delays, hard to tell everybody that some passengers have been stranded at airports for days now. here's a live look, this is the airport in boston this hour. >> meantime, the air itself, it is not so great, either. somewhere behind that smoke is actually pittsburgh. it's one of many cities once again dealing with smoke from those canadian wildfires it's actually affecting nearly one in three americans >> now this feels like a pile-on, but we have to mention, this is all coming amid a massive heat wave across the south that continues many areas set to see record

high temperatures again today. >> we do have everything you need to know, including the updated forecast from mr. roker. but first, nbc's tom costello joins us now from a busy logan international airport in boston. hey, tom, good morning >> reporter: i think i've got some relatively good news, though we see signs of improvement here, guys i have no delays, no ground stops so far nationwide. yesterday at this time, we had a lot. we do have a warning from the faa. chicago o'hare, chicago midway, and denver could be affected this morning, later this morning. at the moment, it's looking better after more than 7,000 cancellations since sunday however, if you're traveling today or tomorrow, get ready >> reporter: well into the holiday rush now and the nation's airports are filled with stranded passengers, many frustrated, aggravated, and sleep deprived >> we just want to go home >> reporter: the tsa expects to screen more than 2.8 million travelers tomorrow, the most since thanksgiving 2019. transportation secretary pete

buttigieg says while they're adding 1,500 new air traffic controllers this year, it will take time to balance a staffing shortage that's been an issue for years, pre-pandemic. >> we really need to keep the foot on the accelerator to get more controllers qualified and into the workforce >> reporter: and then there's the weather. where storms are hitting is complicating matters even more since new york's big three airports serve as hubs and transfer points for all of the major airlines >> it might be sunny where you are, but you don't know where that aircraft has been or is going or where the crew might have been coming from or going to >> reporter: at some airports, this has been the scene. passengers sleeping on cots, chairs, even the floor the july 4th holiday limit options for some >> we had hotels 20 miles out, everything was booked. >> reporter: meanwhile, frightening moments in the air at charlotte international airport yesterday as passengers

braced for landing on a delta flight from atlanta without its nose gear. >> we have a nose wheel update indication we'll have to go ahead and declare an emergency >> after realizing the front gear would not deploy, the pilots successfully landed on the back gear, and slowed the plane down passengers erupted in applause [ applause ] the runway shut down as passengers evacuated down the emergency slides >> after we exited the plane and we looked back at the plane, we realized the whole front tire didn't even come out >> reporter: with no injuries, delta called the incident a rare occurrence and said its crews train extensively to manage scenarios just like this one good news there. back to the airports and delays. united airlines have been hit especially hard, especially its hub at newark airport, because that's where the weather was so bad. good news is, united said things are improving. it offered triple pay to off-duty flight attendants to get them to come in and help with the staffing shortage that'll do it. they've had a lot of flight

attendants answering the call. they expect things to be back to normal, certainly improving today and all the way through the weekend. guys, back to you. >> that is good news tom costello in boston, logan. tom, thank you those severe storms impactsing travel, just one piece of the weather picture tens of millions are waking up to new air quality alerts, as more smoke from those canadian wildfires rolls through. and yet another day of extreme heat is on tap across the south. nbc's sam brock joins us from new orleans with the latest. sam, good morning. >> reporter: yeah, savannah, good morning the breadth of that bad air from canada is truly stunning more than one out of every three americans right now breathing in that smoky haze. but the story here in the south, without question, savannah, is the heat in texas and louisiana alone, so far, at least 11 confirmed fatalities it's a figure that we almost certainly think, tragically, will be rising i'm in the french quarter right now. there's an excessive heat warning here the streets are empty at this early hour that is going to change. the "essence" festival being on its way to be held here in new orleans. thousands of people will be

packing these streets. right now it's a split screen of severe weather straddling the country. more than 100 million are breathing in smoky wildfire-fueled air. >> i can't even get a breath of fresh air. >> reporter: while intense heat is making life miserable in places like dallas, houston, and new orleans. and a sizable chunk of people are expected to face triple-digit temperatures today and tomorrow willy williams jr. has called the seventh ward in new orleans home for decades >> this doesn't feel normal to you right now? >> no, sir, it doesn't >> this is an aberration >> it's very unusual >> reporter: unlike some across the region, williams jr. has power, but in the middle of a heat wave, no safe drinking water. as new orleans looks to address a broken water main issue impacting his area in a neighborhood with plenty of older residents trying to cope with theeat. >> reporter: some people, as i said before, are going to be more affected than others, financially, emotionally >> reporter: the misery making headlines hundreds of miles

north in cleveland, ohio, too. >> i can't even see everything, like, 5 feet past me >> reporter: as thick haze plays whack a mole between cities, with chicago gets its fair share. >> we want to walk around and enjoy the city, but we're not really able to >> reporter: the combination of suffocating smoke and blazing heat managing to touch more than half the u.s everyone coast-to-coast, now battling to break through a severe streak of miserable summer weather >> reporter: and another stat that will take your breath away, the worst air quality in the world overnight, guys. chicago, detroit, and washington, d.c. in that order now, there is some good news from new orleans city officials say they're going to have dribble water restored to some 450 people within a matter of hours. savannah, back to you. >> sam, thank you very much. >> of course, mr. roker has got his eye on all of this, al how's it looking >> this heat is really stretching, it's unprecedented it's stretching from coast to coast, just about,

california down to florida 71 million people under these heat advisories. this heat dome isn't breaking down triple digits in tulsa, memphis, near triple-digits in new orleans, but the humidity makes it feel even worse tomorrow, that heat spreads further north and east from st. louis, triple digits there birmingham, charlotte will be into the low 90s and the heat goes right on into the holiday weekend, through monday, with temperatures in the 90s for st. louis, richmond, charleston, atlanta, and memphis and then the air quality 110 million people at risk for unhealthy air, reduced visibility right now, 208 very unhealthy in chicago. unhealthy in detroit very unhealthy, pittsburgh as far south as knoxville, unhealthy air. we've got air quality alerts through tonight, from green bay all the way down to atlanta, new york, albany, and richmond, virginia guys >> all right, al, thank you. also this morning, there is new fallout tied to the investigations that surround hunter biden and his recent plea deal with federal prosecutors.

both an irs whistleblower and speaking out kristen welker joins us with more kristen, what did the president have to say about this subject >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you president biden is delivering some of his most forceful comments yet emphatically denying he was president when hunter biden sent a whatsapp message to a business partner in 2017 demanding payment. >> announcer: this is an nbc news special report. here's savannah guthrie. >> hi, everybody. good morning. we're coming on the air with breaking news. the supreme court has just issued a pair of opinions in closely watched cases involving affirmative action in college admissions at the university of north carolina as well as harvard university, and has struck down those policies as unconstitutional. i want to turn to laura jarrett, our senior legal correspondent.

you and i are both doing a version of speed read here on a very complex pair of cases, but it does seem to me very clear that these affirmative action programs by these universities have been struck down. many people thought, laura, the court would outright overrule prior decisions that allow for affirmative action in certain conditions, and it's unclear to me that this opinion goes that far. how do you see it? >> that's exactly right. we have a major decision here as it relates to race and education. [ no audio ]

krekd write an essay about that, and the court for a long time said schools could use diversity, and legitimate goal, and it does not appear at least so far that the court is taking that away. but to the extent that harvard and the university of north carolina and other schools have been going about it in a way that is not as nearly tailored as this court believes that it should be, those programs will no longer be invalid, but i have to say, again, this is a complicated opinion. it's going to take awhile for the universities around the country, what exactly is left, of anything of their programs and how they're going to try to sort through what they can do to comply with the law going forward, but what is clear here is that the headline is those

colleges and universities' programs are invalid. this is the first time we have seen anything like this. >> absolutely. it's a scathing opinion. i mean, it talks about harvard and unc's admissions programs lacking sufficiently focused and measurable objectives, employing race, involving racial stereotyping, lacking a meaningful end point. so while we did not see that form of words, laura, that this prior decision was held up, we didn't see that as outright overruled. to your point, what is left? so if these admissions programs which were tailored to try to supply with supreme court precedence, if they don't pass muster, you're left to wonder what will? >> harvard was seen as the gold standard. it was propped up as the program that actually got it right, the idea that it was taking the whole picture into account, that race again, was just one factor

in a larger, nonformulaic, ritual approach. it's on record that these conservative justices have disagreed with that, and many wondered why they took this case if they weren't going to re-evaluate the law, and it seems though as the predictions have been largely correct, and based off of argument, the judgment seems skeptical, saying where does it end? if grudder said, in 2,000 years we shouldn't have to be relying on race anymore, and we're almost at the 25-year mark. they have a time limit, and that was used as a knock against them. >> it does seem that got in the craw of many justices when they asked these universities, okay. so when does it end? even this seminal supreme court

case that upheld admissions in certain circumstances, imagined that it would end, even said in 25 years, we shouldn't need this anymore, and when universities were asked, okay. so how do you see this ending? the court was not satisfied with the responses there, and that was one of the reasons why these two admissions programs failed in the court's views. it says many universities have for too long concluded that the touch stone of an individual's identity is not challenges, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin. this nation's constitutional history does not tolerate that choice. this is chief justice john roberts writing the majority opinion, 6-3 with justices sotomayor, kagan, and justice jackson in dissent. >> yeah. that's right, and, you know, it's interesting because you have to start from the backdrop that the conservatives on this court have made sort of their feelings about what is more

known as affirmative action of the time. the question was how far do they want to go? do they say you can't use race at all, even in an essay? that would be somewhat extraordinary, and even justice jackson pointed out, how can you strip that away from somebody's identity? how can you tell them they can't even talk about it in an essay? it appears the court is not going that far, and now it seems the next step where we're going here is where people will be trying to find other ways to incorporate how race is meaningful in their lives, but again, not in the ways that schools are doing it currently. it's going to be a reworking of the current system. if you want to at least explain how race is important to you, and the school wants to take that into effect as it tries to have a diverse campus and promote that. that's not wrong, but it's the way that schools have been going about it that the justices believe violates the law. >> and let me turn, laura, to another lawyer with us, who has been looking into this opinion, and you always ask when you see

an opinion like this, so not only what does this mean for the universities, but what does it mean for other segments of society who might use race-conscious hiring decisions? even in the military which has long said that having a diverse officer corps is important. how do you see it affecting other aspect of our culture? >> this is really fascinating because we're all digesting this 230-plus-page opinion, and the majority doesn't appear to explicitly strike down gruder, and gruder was the first one that recognized that diversity could be a compelling interest that could warrant the use of race-conscious admissions policies in higher education as long as they were narrowly tailored. so the issues before the court were either, could the court overrule gruder or could they simply keep gruder and decide whether or not the university's policies were narrowly tailored? so what's interesting is the majority opinion doesn't appear

to strike down gruder, but two dissenting and concurring opinions by justice thomas and justice sotomayor. they say it overrules gruder and there's going to be a lot of overlooking closely at those dissenting and concurring opinions. at oral argument, that issue of the military came up explicitly. it is -- this case will have implications for future cases that deal with this kind of diversity at the military level and elsewhere, but really the narrow issue here was diversity in higher education, and the justices recognize that places like the naval academy and west point are somewhat different, but for today, it's not entirely clear whether gruder is still good law. it appears to be officially good law, and in other words diversity may still be of compelling interest, but according to at least two justices, concurring and dissenting, they think gruder is no longer good law. >> perhaps, all but in name

overruled. i think that's the suggestion. we're hearing it from both the concurrence and the dissent. good point there. i want to speak to a professor at harvard law school, and he directs the charles hamilton institute for justice and race. he was not involved in harvard's litigation of this case, but professor, and again, no one can read -- not even the best speed reader can read this all already and digest it all, but what is your take on what you have been able to see so far? >> i think so far, all of your analysis is accurate, but the court seems to be overturning gruder, but seems to want to use at least what turned at the time as a throwaway time by justice o'connor making an aspirational statement saying this can't go on too far, and we expect in 20 to 25 years, it will all be over, and the court uses that as the hook in order to say that there is no limitation, and that the constitution requires an end

point, so not only is there no end point, but there's no transparency. it's not clear what the universities are doing, so they have severely limited and said you can't use race as a basis for admissions and it has to be indivividual decision-making, s with respect to the essay, perhaps an individual can say how they overcame a particular racial discririmination or how race enabled them to overcome something in their lives, but there can be no categorical decision made on the basis of race. severely limiting what universities can do, and essentially saying to the universities, look. we're going to keep an eye on you, and we don't want you to use any method to circumvent the framework that we've articulated. >> it doesn't end in litigation whatsoever because now universities are left to sort of say, all right. now how can we -- what would fall within the court's reasoning here? what kinds of policies might pass muster?

as opposed to if there had been a blanket overruling of the prior precedence, perhaps that would be a more clear edict. the court didn't do that either, professor. >> one will have to read this very carefully in order to determine precisely what the court did, but on my first pass, it doesn't seem that the court has said an absolute blanket prohibition, but came pretty close to saying that, essentially leaving the door open by saying that, look. universities can use essays to address how a particular individual overcame a distinctive racial barrier, but it came -- the court came pretty close to saying it, and also i think it also sent a message that it's going to keep its eye on affirmative action practices or admissions practices to assure that there is no bad

lore used to sneak in racial discriminations. this is a typical roberts opinion where in many ways he doesn't say effectively outright what he's doing, but i think upon a close reading, i think what we will find is that the aperture is tiny at most. >> no question, and just the tone of some of the writing here from the chief justice, it's clear there's contempt for these affirmative action programs as i turn to laura, i'm talking about what justice roberts says. the unclear connection between the goals that universities seek and the means they employ are so vague they're saying that you can't even scrutinize them, and he says, the university's main response to these criticisms is, trust us, which it seems the court is no longer willing to do, laura. >> no, and it hasn't been for awhile, and if you think about it, the entire backdrop of this is the protection clause that

says any racial categorization is supposed to be suspect. some don't always get through but they're supposed to be subject to what the court says as strict scrutiny which means you have to have a good reason if you are going to categorize someone on the basis of their race, and here again, the court is saying they simply went about it the wrong way. >> yeah. let me turn to our washington correspondent hallie jackson who is with us as well getting some of this reaction. >> yeah. >> and also, you know, the public reaction and the public opinion on affirmative action. >> it's complicated, savannah when it gets to the public opinion piece of it and it depends on what poll you look at, right? more than half of americans think that affirmative action is necessary, but 40% say it goes too far according to some of our news pollings, but if you break this down by race, more asian and white americans sapprove than hispanic and black americans. you're starting to see that by some of the reaction here, and i would just note too, some of the

dissent in the supreme court opinion written by justice sotomayor, she writes, these policies in her view have advanced the constitution's guarantee of equality. she says that today this court o stands in the way and rolled back decades of precedent and momentous progress. you are seeing that echoed already by for example, the national education association saying that with this decision, the supreme court has re-enforced barriers for black, brown, indigenous people all around the country of more inclusive schools. on the flip side of the coin, you're seeing reaction from political candidates already like former vice president mike pence who is applauding what the supreme court has done today, and also taking some credit for helping to put on the court some of the justices on the more conservative end of the spectrum who were apart of this decision. he was obviously the vice president when donald trump was president, and nominated and the senate confirmed the justices -- three of the more conservative justices who are on the court

today. remember that already nine states in this country have currently done what it sounds like the court is moving to do, which is ban affirmative action for public schools. california and michigan in brief spells with the court pointed out that because of those policies, they saw the number of minority students. they saw less diversity in their schools. you had others in oklahoma say, we didn't actually see a difference when we outlawed affirmative action, and i spoke with the head of the naacp who said there will be a concern about diversity in classes if the supreme court takes this step which it appears they've done. >> thank you. as you go through this rather thick opinion which i have right here just so people know what we're talking about, the fine print is right here, and many of the justices even who are in agreement with the majority decision and the outcome here have written concurring decisions. so perhaps highlighting other reasoning, something more for lawyers and indeed these

universities, and perhaps employers as well to pore over in the coming years. let's go to our chief white house correspondent, kristen welker, and of course, the white house would also be watching this quite carefully. what do you hear? >> reporter: i'm told they're reviewing this decision right now, and president biden is looking at this, and he's heading to new york right now for a pair of fund-raisers. karine jean-pierre has been asked about this. i spoke with a source familiar with the administration's thinking in the runup to this decision. let me read you what that source had to say, sort of a pre-reaction if you will to these events. this person saying, quote, president biden supports making an education beyond high school accessible to all americans. as the biden/harris administration has reiterated in its brief and support of the

universities, the federal government has an interest in ensuring that our colleges and universities produce graduates that come from all segments of society and are prepared to succeed and lead in an increasingly diverse nation. the supreme court reaffirmed this not long ago, and the university of texas in austin in 2016, and the administration argued during oral arguments the court should do so again. a little bit of a preview of what we can expect to hear in any written or verbal remarks we might get from president biden. president biden, for him, this is really a political matter as well, not just a policy matter. savannah, we've seen that in the wake of the supreme court overturning roe v. wade. he, the vice president have tried to cast this court as a so-called extremist court. i'm quoing here, so taking the opposite tact as mike pence who put these conservative justices on the court to make these decisions possible. we are hearing from the naacp, and i know we're talking about

that with hallie who says, quote, today the supreme court has bowed to the personally held beliefs of an extremist minority. we will not allow hate-inspired people in power to turn back the clock and undermine our hard-won victories. again, we are get a little be the of a preview of what i think we can expect to hear from president biden. again, he's been ramping up his 2024 re-election campaign, and going to the fund-raisers later today, and undoubtedly, reporters are going to ask him about this, get his reaction, and i anticipate he will make this a cornerstone of his campaign message. >> thank you very much. i'll turn now to lonnie chen, a research developer. i wonder what you make of this decision. do you feel as many of our analysts who are just starting to digest this opinion that in some sense, these earlier precedents allowing some race-based admissions policies, that it's all but been overruled? >> yeah. i think that they've tried to

walk a fine line here. on the one hand, you have, you know, in previous decisions and your previous guests may have talked a little bit about this 25-year mark, and the fact that we are quite there, but usualing -- using that general timing as a way to say, we aren't trying to throw the whole thing out. we aren't saying, for example, individuals can't refer to their own race, but at the same time, saying and making very, very clear, and this is not surprising that we would see this from this court, the point of view that race should not be used in this way in admissions whether with respect to private universities like harvard or public ones like the university of north carolina. >> it's interesting to me because one of our previous guests, a harvard professor had said, that sandra day o'connor line in the original gruder case said it's got to end at some point, he said that was a throwaway line. now the court is reading it as a requirement of that precedent, that it's got to end at some

point, and that these policies fail because these universities could not put a timeline on it. they couldn't say when it's ever their goal of diversity would be achieved. >> not only with respect to the timeline. i think the other issue is that the universities, i think the decision makes clear, were able to articulate the way in which race could be used in a manner that would not run afoul of either a legal precedent or a constitutional requirement. so yes. i think it's interesting how that 25-year marker has gone from being almost a piece of, you know, this is just sort of out there, to being one of the core considerations in this particular set of decisions, but what will be interesting will be the ways in which, and you've noted this. universities and businesses, who may have known this was coming, now really have to deal with the

unwinding of racial preferencing, whether in admissions or a respect to hiring and even though that application is more limited, the implications are indeed quite far reaching. >> indeed, and let's talk about those with the law school, a school that will have to grapple with this decision. what are your thoughts as we are just starting to digest this opinion? >> you know, i think it is going to be a very tough opinion to navigate for colleges and universities. i've become the president of a college, and we value tremendously everything about our applicants and students who attend our college, and to be able to consider the whole student. while the opinion does say that applicants may write about race if it's tied to individual character, how do we navigate the chief justice's advice? it's going to be difficult to do that while trying to pursue the

goal of reaping the educational benefits of diversity. >> and you know what? we have some real world examples of this. for example, california, the state schools banned affirmative action, and some of the administrators have said it's hard for them to maintain the kind of diversity that they had hoped to maintain in the absence of those policies. how do you see this playing out? >> absolutely. i think that's a great point. we have some laboratories for this decision, places like california and michigan, and what we've seen is that many colleges and universities in california and michigan and other states have tried race-neutral alternatives to affirmative action, and they've struggled tremendously to enroll black and latino/latina students. there's no doubt that this opinion will make our colleges and universities less diverse unless we are willing to take on some of the tougher questions like legacy admissions, the use overdependence and use of

standardized testing, et cetera. >> that's when the policy discussions go from here. let me turn back to laura jarrett. stick with us if you would to all of our panelists as we discuss this, but it is interesting because some of the arguments center on the issue that our professor just raised that have to do with some of the other policies that have long and traditionally favored white applicants such as parents who donate, and went to that school, and how this as a practical matter lines up with those policies. >> something that justice gorsuch was focused on in oral argument saying that if diversity is truly your genuine goal, harvard, then why don't you get rid of legacy? why don't you get rid of all standardized testing and any dependence on those? if you want to strip away all those and come to us and say, we still can't achieve the racial makeup that we want, that would

be one thing, but you haven't even tried, and what you suggest is you didn't try what they call race-neutral alternatives and because you didn't try that, they view the entire project as suspect. sorting through this, i think this is worth pointing out what the chief justice is saying is allowed because i think these particular passages are going to be dissected at length. he said, nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant's discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise, and so i think again, this is where sort of the meet is now going to be, and perhaps additional litigation is going to result from that particular passage. >> it's interesting because it underscores what i think we've all noted here is this case will not stand for an outright ban of any explicit mention of race in an applicant's admission to a university, but it has been severely limited in terms of

what the university can do in terms of race as they seek to get a composition of a student body that they consider to be racially diverse. i want to turn to jennifer mascot. she's a former law clerk for brett kavanaugh. she knows the inner workings. when you look at an opinion like this, youdissents. they've grappled withh a key pat of the court. what are your thoughts abobout ? >> thank you so much. i think today, six justices of the court have said under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment that admissions programs cannot make decisions squarely on the basis of race. it's also mentioned that if race has impact your life, and it's had a connection with some kind of character or quality or aspect of your background, that like any other part of your past obviously, in an admissions decision can look at it, can consider it, and strategically, one thing i find very interesting about this big

blockbuster decision of the year is that there are some interest contrasts to the dobbs decisions last year that overruled roe v. wade. here there was a statutory basis on which the court could have found this, and it decided to take on the constitutional question. also in contrast to the dobbs decision, obviously as we know, written by justice alito, here the chief justice is writing, harvard and unc decisions are decided together so the court did not decide to make narrow distinctions based on the differences in the programs, but saying this overall, categorical approach is inconsistent with equal protection clause, but in an interesting way, they do not here overrule past precedent to dobbs, and that's why the chief justice here joined and wrote the majority opinion here which has six justices joining it in full because the court is saying that even under its past precedent, under the strict scrutiny standard which is the toughest standard on which to find something unconstitutional, the programs here do not -- do

not measure up. >> do you look at this and -- again, you know that for lack of a better phrase, the politics of the court and the way that some of the wrangling goes on behind closed doors, who will write the opinion, and who will write onto that, would it be different if alito had written it or that you would have -- we would have had an overt overruled gruder? do you consider chief justice's decision to be something of a compromise position? >> well, it's hard to tell as you say, obviously because you don't know the inner workings entirely. it certainly seems as though five justices of the court last year in dobbs found out explicitly overruling roe and past precedent to be important enough that they were willing to move ahead and have that decision, and whatever the chief justice thought in contrast, with maintaining consistency with past precedent was not

enough to peel away votes or the majority reasoning in that case. the contrast here, i think probably the justices i would imagine thought this opinion was strong and clear enough, and strong enough on the broad brush strokes of affirmative action and saying race can't categorically be the backdrop. justice thomas here though does write separately as he often does to explain how this decision's not just consistent or not with prprecedent, but wi the original understanding of the 14th amendment of how folks would have thought this amendment would be carried out, and justice kavanaugh says this is consistent with past precedent. perhaps behind the scenes his vote was also thoughtfully considering here how the ruling today was going to be consistent with what the court's done in the past. >> we were talking about your two former bosses, great to have

your perspective, and we'll continue to check in with you. i want to go to the campus of harvard university, and antonia, i imagine students are just getting this news as we are, but have you heard any reaction so far? >> reporter: well, savannah, people woke up this morning and were ready for this. students knew this was coming. in fact, they have been preparing for this moment for years. they knew from the earliest stage of this lawsuit that it was going to wind its way up to the supreme court, and that very likely this was going to be the result. it still feels like a gut punch. that's the kind of language i'm hearing from students that i have been talking to this morning, that they're devastated. they're distressed. not really for themselves, but more for the generations of students coming up behind them. for many of the minority students, not just black students, but for latino students, native american students, native hawaiian students who come from communities that have historically been underrepresented at harvard and schools like harvard. they're worried about kids like

them trying to get access to these schools in the future and they often point to california as an example that's fueling those anxieties. that's because more than two decades ago, when they got rid of affirmative action, minority enrollment fell by about 50%. those were very devastating numbers for the minorities on campus there, for professors who were teaching courses and trying to support those students who continued to study the ramifications of all of that, and the university system there has tried different alternatives. they've tried to recruit students of color, create programs and pipelines, but they've found they couldn't bring themselves back up to the level of diversity that they would like to see, and that's where the concern is going to happen here on this campus. already this spring, so just a couple of weeks ago when students around the country and world found out their acceptances to harvard, we saw

those numbers tick down a bit. the number of black and latino, native hawaiian, and native american students went down by just a bit. there are concerns here that that's only going to get worse now. for faculty, for administrators, they've also been planning behind closed doors for this moment, and they're looking for this moment. we're seeing schools move away from the sat and act, from standardized test. they believe that's what has limited minority access and perhaps removing that will be a roadblock that allows them to continue fostering diversity. there are legacy conversations and talking about doing away with it will make for safe and diverse students. the concern again is how do you pick up the pieces? how do you look for different opportunities and windows that are going to be illegal through this opinion? that's going to take days, really months for these schools to process, and certainly the vast majority of students are

just worried that harvard is going to look a bit more like it did many decades ago when the school was much more explicitly barring access. not just to minorities, but also to women, and so, you know, there's nerves right now about the campus that those students as kids have come to love and celebrate a school that has been very open about the fact that it cherishes diversity. it cherishes that kind of learning and that kind of a access, and what they're going to do to maintain that, and there's grieving right now, and what are we going to do is the major question. >> complicated question, and no question about it. antonia hylton, thank you. this also resulted in fewer admissions of asian american students. the court said today, college admissions are zero sum, and a benefit provided to some applicants but not to others necessarily advantages the former at the expense of the latter and as i turn to carol lamb, it seems that what the court is saying is we need to

get out of this judging students based on race and try to get back to a more merit-based system. obviously a question that one can debate, but that seems to be the clear thrust of this opinion. >> yeah. there's no question that the court is -- it finds race purposes alone just to be not an acceptable message of choosing the constitution, but i think it's torrent to point out here, that admissions directors across the country and i think they would say, it's important to recognize that the point of admission is only one point j ia whole cycle of efforts that universities make to brick a diverse student body to their class, and what that means is recruitment and financial aid are in support after a person is admitted to the class. also very important steps in ensuring that students have

access and that students benefit from a diverse student population. so it's very important that colleges and universities going forward really study this opinion and really take the advice of their counsellors with respect to what this opinion says so they are not stepping away from recruitment and financial aid efforts where they don't have to, that there isn't a chilling effect or appall that's put on these kinds of programs which are so important to ensuring that a diverse student body does come to the university. >> stand by there. i want to turn back to kristen welker at the white house. you have new reaction coming in? >> reporter: i've got new reaction from former president trump, from his campaign. a spokesperson writing, quote, president donald trump made today's historic decision to end the racist college admissions process possible because he delivered on his promise to appoint constitutionalist justices. america is a better nation as a result of the historic rulings

led by donald trump's three supreme court nominees, underscoring that this is the type of language, savannah, again, that we heard from his former vice president mike pence. as a political matter in a primary election season, what you are seeing is a lot of the republican candidates really praising this decision. we are still waiting for reaction from the white house. they are still reviewing this for that very reason that you say, savannah because this is a very complicated ruling. they want to make sure that their reaction, i am told, is accurate to what is actually in the pages of this decision, but again, it's a political matter. the tone that we have seen from this president who has already been out on the campaign trail has been one of campaigning against some of what this court has done so far. so the question becomes, how will that -- how will this decision fit into that broader narrative that we've seen from

president biden? of course, in a general election, the vote of voters of color is going to be critical for whoever wins the white house, and so the language around this ruling, savannah i think is going to be a key feature. >> we've seen certainly how the supreme court decision can factor greatly into the elections that then follow what we thought with the dobbs decision that overturned roe v. wade, but when you look at public opinions or affirmative action, where is the public on that? is it a clear-cut case for either side here? who will receive a political benefit by a decision like this? >> reporter: well, if you put up the latest polling that we have, it is quite split. in some cases, polling in support for affirmative action goes as high as 63%, but in other polls, it's more narrowly divided, and so i think even that becomes a very complicated

question, and it's how the polling is worded. are you talking about affirmative action? are you talking about preferences for voters of color? so i think that that is how, you know, this becomes a very gray area, but again, savannah, i think as a politicmatter, i think you're going to see this you see the polling, 53% say that we still need quotas. 42% say it goes toofar. so you still see there, a majority of voters saying, yes. we think affirmative action is a good thing. you see that with roe v. wade as well by the way, savannah, and that is why i think this president has leaned so heavily into campaigning against the decision to overturn roe v. wade. so again, the administration reviewing this decision, savannah. >> it's interesting as we read through the opinion. there are areas that it seems the chief justice wanted to exempt from this opinion. one of them we talked about

earlier which is -- had come up in oral arguments quite a bit which was the military, whether this decision in any way affects the military, and there's a footnote in roberts' opinion that says, no military academy is a party to these cases. it does not address the issue in light of the potentially distinct interest that military academies may present. can you flush that out for us? why he would have taken pains to make this point? >> he realizes he may be opening a can of worms if he was to go that work. certainly the military a friend of the court saying, look. diversity is important to us, and it's important to how we keep our troops safe, in terms of leadership, and so it appears again, that he was trying to cabinet in a certain respect, but again, the question is, is that a meaningful difference that it will be affectuated -- effectuated in a practical

sense? to pick up on kristen's point, in a opinion as divided and significant as this, it's not an on or off switch. when the court took the step of overturning roe versus wade, it was a meaningful sort of lightbulb if you will that the court had done something it had never done before. it would be a you? day. this is going to take a while, i think, to really see the full effects of it in particular because of the way the majority of the court has gone after the programs at harvard, and unc in such a direct way saying that they engaged in stereotyping. remember the allegation here was that the schools had actively discriminated against asian american applicants in a way that it was quite stark and also favored black and latino students. it may not be the case that every school, you know, on the same type of record could be found doing that, but they at least believe that harvard and

unc did. also, savannah, this point about the meaningful time limit, the court seems consumed by the idea that the schools were not willing to commit to an expiration date on the use of race, and they're really honing in on that in particular. again, maybe a different case would have a different outcome if schools had tried to limit it in some way, but on this record, the case has not. >> it will be interesting to see how college admissions programs try to define what is in this opinion and keep any aspect of race or just throw it out entirely and try to achieve diversity in another way. i want to turn to danielle holly from a another college unit.

would you comply with the letter of the decision today, or do you feel like this will be intimidating that you'll have to go in a different direction altogether to achieve diversity? >> you know, what we know is that racial and ethnic diversity is an incredibly important part of what we do, and i think colleges and universities all over the country who value racial and ethnic diversity will first of all make that a statement. this is an important priority for us. we've seen colleges and universities already coming out and saying that, and i think considering race is a very broad spectrum and it includes things like completely wholistic review, allowing students to talk to us about who they are and the life circumstances that they have had up to this point. by the supreme court not completely overruling gruder, what it does is it gives colleges and universities an opportunity to study this opinion, to follow the law, but to also continue to pursue the very important goal of the educational benefits after

diversity. i would say i think one of the strongest opinions today was justice jackson in dissent in the unc case, in which she says the university has a let them eat cake obliviousness. declaring from the bench that color blindness is everything, is saying that race doesn't matter. race makes a big difference in the lives of students and how they come to the point of their application, and we want to be able to consider students on a realistic basis considering their real life experiences. >> thank you so much. i want to turn now to a professor at harvard law school. not involved in the litigation of this case, but, you know, taking a step back here, to pick up on where the conversation was headed, it really -- these are the big moments in this history we're grappling with. what does the decision brown versus board of education which outlawed segregation in schools, what does that mean?

what's the legacy of it? when you go back to the case in 1978 i think that allowed the first race-consciousus admissio, where do you see that on the spectrum? >> look. you were right at the beginning to say that this is the watershed moment. we have the most diverse country that we've ever had. we have a legacy of slavery, of subordination, of the discrimination, and we're trying to figure out how to deal with that. the thing about this case, and the reason why it's a watershed is because it takes one tool off the table effectively, and it sends a very strong message to the rest of our society. it limits how we can think about and address the problem in the history of racial discrimination. it limits how we can address the problem of underfunding in schools and education. it limits how we can address the problem that racial minorities and people of color sometimes get the short end of the stick. so it is a momentous decision.

it is like one of the past decisions that you have talked about. it interprets both the constitution and an important federal statute, title vi of the 1964 civil rights act which its purpose was to try to reset and try to provide equality in a country that did not know it, right? so this is an important moment for the country and for all of us to grapple with. where do we go from here? how do we think about the question of racial equality? how do we assure that everyone has the same set of life chances? that's a difficult question, but that's the question we have to grapple with. >> no question about that. i want to turn to danny. the thing about these programs is there are winners and there are losers, and it seems like the court is saying, we want to get out of this business, this race business altogether, but of course, that raises the practical question of whether you're ever out of that business in terms of the admissions tests that people are required to

take, and some schools are saying, maybe we'll put those aside. or where alumni get a leg up or whose parents donated get a leg up. you see the decisions grappling with this. the fact you have winners and losers, the asian americans who said, hey. we were discriminated against by these policies and the court agreeing with them today, and then on the other side, you have the people who say, look. this history of our country has subordinated african americans and other minority groups, and we have to rectify those wrongs, and here the court is once again stepping into these incredibly complicated legal waters. >> it's interesting too because remedying past discrimination is no longer a reason for race-conscious admissions policies. it hasn't been since gruder. gruder narrowed the issue to only diverse pi. diverity being a compelling interest that was back in 2003 that would warrant race-conscious admissions and in a sense, the court has been

whittling away at its own case law since it was decided. essentially with each successive case, the court said, well, you can consider race, but this university is considering it too much. this university is still considering it too much, and now you've got to an argument where universities were essentially arguing, just as we barely use race in our admissions process, but it's still really, really, really important. so in a sense, gruder, they have been on the ropes for a long time. they actually appear to be still good law. it's just that the court has decided that these particular universities, their admissions policies violate the -- fail to satisfy strict scrutiny. in other words, they are not narrowly tailored enough to achieve other interests. it appears diversity is still a compelling interest, and i should add also it is not racial

diversity that gruder authorizes. it's overall diversity. it's never been just racial diversity which makes this more complicated. >> absolutely. >> if universities want to achieve general diversity on campuses, overall diversity, can they use race-conscious decisions to achieve that overall diversity? then another question no one seemed to ever satisfactorily answer, when does it end? >> you heard the justices openly scornful of this. i think it was justice thomas and said, i'm not sure i even know what that means, what this phrase means. let me turn to laura jarrett as we start to close our coverage here. follow up on what danny just said. it's an erosion over time of some of these policies and press

precedents if not an overrule, is this outright there? >> you've heard this argument being made, and it's interesting to see what the court does tomorrow, its final day of this momentous term as it faces some very significant decisions left, savannah. we have the fate of the president's student loan forgiveness program. his plan to wipe out about $400 million of student loans for borrowers across the country. we'll see what the court does there. it'll be interesting to see he has six red states trying to keep that program on hold. it's been blocked in the courts for a while now. the supreme court will have the final say on whether or not that program is legal and can go through, whether he had the authority to do something that bold, and we have an interesting case, really a sequel to something that happened. it's about a wedding website designer who hasn't made a website yet, but she wants to make them for straight couples and not gay couples.

can she do that? under a state law that says if you have public accommodation, you have to be open to all. we'll see tomorrow. >> a key amendment case. the court waiting until the very closing days of its term to issue some landmark rulings and we got a watershed today in terms of affirmative action. we'll continue to digest the story. thank you to you and all of our correspondents and guests today. we'll have much more over on our streaming channel, and tonight we'll have much on our streaming channel tonight on "nightly news." i'm savannah guthrie this has been an nbc news special report it's 8:00 on "today. coming up, holiday headache. cancellations and delays causing major issues for millions of travelers as we head into the long weekend >> i've been sleeping on this chair and i have not eaten anything while across the country, intense heat and smoke from those canadian wildfires not letting up >> i can't even see everything >> reporter: so when can we expect some relief al's got your forecast ♪

plus, by the book. jenna goes one on one with best-selling author colleen hoover >> i write because i have to because it's my therapy, it feeds my soul. >> reporter: what the wildly popular writer is revealing about her own story and how a christmas gift from her grandma led to her worldwide success >> i was researching how to get a document on to a kindle. and playing with fire. ♪ we didn't stop the fire ♪ ♪ it was always burning, since the world been turning ♪ >> fallout boy releases a new twist on billy joel's iconic song "we didn't start the fire," picking up where the singer took off. ♪ we'll hear their take, today, thursday, june 29th, 2023. ♪ >> we're visiting from -- spring lake park, minnesota! >> california!

>> new york! >> phoenix, arizona and cedar rapids, iowa >> here for our 10th birthday. >> from illinois >> from florida! >> it's our fifth anniversary. ♪ >> from alexander, kentucky! >> this is my graduation present! >> celebrating my mom's 60th birthday >> from dayton, ohio >> just married and we're honeymooning at the "today" show >> good to see everybody on this thursday morning shiny, happy people all outside. and we're going to head out and say hello to them in just a little bit >> i love the summer crowds. like folks who come in the city for vacation and stop by the plaza. by the way, we want to tell you about a really heart-warming story that we have for you tomorrow, right here on "today"? >> this will touch you it started on new year's day when a florida firefighter discovered a newborn in the station's safe haven baby box. he and his wife have been trying

for years to have children and they recently adopted that baby girl that they found they wanted to remain anonymous, but not anymore. so mom, dad, and baby are going to share their amazing story tomorrow, right here >> so looking forward to that. let's get right to our news at 8:00. frustration is soaring at some of the nation's busiest airports ahead of the fourth of july holiday. but, there is encouraging news delays and cancellations are a bit better this morning, at least compared to yesterday. nbc's tom costello is at boston's logan international with the very latest he also got some useful tips for us hey, tom, good morning >> reporter: yeah, we've got it all. good morning let's begin with the relatively good news. we still have several hundred cancellations, several hundred delays today, but that is far better than what we had yesterday. let me just quickly tell you what we have, most affected. newark airport, 6% of flights canceled denver, 5% houston, 5% of flights canceled. what's the common denominator

there? it's united airlines all of those are united hubs yesterday, united canceled 26% of flights, just checked, right now, 11% of flights canceled with united. the airline is making improvements however, this is going to be a slow go. they have been offering their off-duty flight attendants triple pay to come in and help, because they were simply short-staffed on flight attendants they got behind because of the storms and crews that didn't have enough rest so with that triple pay incentive, they've got flight attendants coming in and helping and they say that they are on the road to recovery if you're flying today, especially in those airports, denver, houston, newark, be prepared for delays and potential cancellations. midway airport at the moment is experiencing a delay that could continue through the day with both midway and o'hare, because not only is it a weather and a congestion issue, they're also dealing with the smoke, of course, from the fires and lastly, let me just tell you that we've talked about air traffic control staffing

problems, they are only able to hire about 1,500 controllers a year they are thousands behind. and this is a years-long problem. they got behind on training during the pandemic when they closed the academy and so now the catch-up is going to take several years, as well hoda, back to you. >> tom, if you are flying and your flight does get canceled, what's your recourse what can you do? >> reporter: you can call my cell phone i'll do everything i can to help you. not really here, let me give you a quick list of tips first of all, try to deal with it yourself. don't stand in line at the airline counter if you can avoid also, know your rights you might be able to receive some compensation. perhaps food, a travel voucher, perhaps an overnight stay if it's the airline's fault if it's mother nature's fault, you're out of luck go to flightrights.gov, that's the customer service dash board. a few other tips for you and the bottom line here is that

you could ask to transfer your ticket to a different airline. maybe use one of these common apps expedia, for example, google flights. keep in mind, flights are full these days you may want to go from airline "a" to "b. airline "b" may not have any seats, either. this is a time when we are flying at full capacity and they are expecting tomorrow, we may hit an all-time record, 2.8 million flights will be just shy, ever so slightly shy of the all-time record back in thanksgiving of 2019 >> all right, tom, it maybe easier to call tom's cell phone. >> we put the number on. number's up. >> you've got to call roker, too. we've got to talk about the weather as well. that's one of the issues for airline travelers, as is smoke from those canadian wildfires. it's drifting over the u.s. again, more than 100 million people under air quality alerts today. cities like chicago and cincinnati just smothered under that unhealthy haze. farther south, still no letup in the extreme heat so who you going to call

al roker >> unfortunately, california about to see their first extended heat wave coming in 71 million people impacted all the way into the south the summer sizzle continues with heat indexes, feels-like temperatures, triple-digits from monroe, little rock, on into houston, tallahassee, as well, and this goes right through the weekend, with triple digits and high 90s from oklahoma city, tucson, mobile, down to mcallen, texas. and the air quality. right now, 110 million people at risk for that canadian wildfire and smoke. unhealthy right now in detroit, pittsburgh, roanoke, virginia, cincinnati, chicago, very unhealthy. and air quality alerts through tonight from green bay down to atlanta and upstate new york, as well guys >> thanks, buddy more than a dozen folks were hurt yesterday when an amtrak train hit a small truck and partially derailed outside of los angeles. that train was heading to seattle with 200 passengers and crew on board. three of the cars went off the tracks, but stayed upright

officials say the public works truck became stuck on the tracks at a crossing and was demolished by the collision the driver did suffer some serious head trauma. the other injuries were described as minor an australian teenager has made skateboarding history and she almost made it look kind of easy 13-year-old marisa true became the first female skater to complete a trick known as the 720 in competition that's two complete rotations while airborne even more exciting, she did it, by the way, in front of skateboarding legend tony hawk he first landed that move 38 years ago. she hopes to improve on that trick. guess what, she's training for the olympics in 2024 in paris. >> she's not training. she'll be at the olympics. >> and in front of tony hawk, come on, dreams do come true coming up, how does pat sajak about ryan seacrest taking over as "wheel of fortune" host? we'll find out in pop start. jenna's here with a rare and

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we are back, 8:14 with a rare in-depth conversation with the top-selling author in the u.s., jenna, who else, has the exclusive interview this morning. >> oh, my gosh, y'all, i fell in lover with her colleen hoover is a republic phenomenon get this last year, she outsold j.k. rolling, steven king, james patterson, and john grisham combined we sat down at her book bonanza charity event in texas to talk about her unexpected rise to literary superstardom. >> i write because i have to it's my therapy. it feeds my soul i think i would be writing whether anyone read what i wrote or not >> author colleen hoover says she didn't set out for fame, but hr love of writing helped fame find her hoover dominates "the new york times" best sellers list, once claiming eight of the top ten paperback spots simultaneously she sold more than 16 million books last year alone, even

outselling the bible her legions of fans so dedicated, so passionate, they call themselves cohorts. >> i have read almost every single book written by colleen hoover >> it's currently 1:11 in the morning. i just finished "hopeless. >> take me back to your childhood. >> when did you know you wanted to write >> since i can remember. my sister, who was about 3 years older than me, learned how to read and write before i could, and i was so jealous, i was like, oh, my gosh, you know how to do that i want to know how to do that. i had all of these stories i wanted to tell and i was just super excited to learn the alphabet i was very disappointed that i didn't get to write a full story the first day of kindergarten. >> reporter: years later, when she attended texas a&m university commerce, she was already married with children. she put her dreams of writing aside to study social work, a more practical career to help support her three sons >> we were very poor we lived in a single-wide trailer house.

we didn't have a front doorknob, but we lived a great life. we just struggled a little bit financially. >> reporter: colleen never let go of her passion and began writing again just for fun, but then at christmas in 2012, a beautiful accident changed everything >> we bought my grandma a kindle for christmas. i was researching how to get a document on to a kindle and came across amazon's self-publishing platform and i was like, i could just load it up here and she could down load it >> four months later "slammed," the story she planned to share just with her family, landed her on "the new york times" best seller's list. >> were you surprised? >> astonished! >> reporter: now with 25 titles to her name, including "verity" and "ugly love," hoover's romances and psychological thrillers are emotionally gripping her most popular novel, "it ends with us," centers on domestic violence and is loosely based on her mother's life. >> my mother and father divorced when i was 2 and one of my

earliest memories was him throwing a tv at her she was able to get out of that relationship and then from then on, i just remember growing up with a mother who was so strong and independent. >> it's a book that people really care about. >> yeah. >> i think that people maybe have been in hard situations feel seen. >> it's been very heartwarming to read how my mother's story has actually given strength to other women, to be able to leave their situations >> reporter: the story is now being adapted into a movie, starring blake lively. >> the cohorts >> yeah. >> are having a lot of opinions, about what blake lively wearing. did that surprise you? >> it does it really does when i wrote the book, it wasn't about the age of the characters or what they were wearing, it was about the message i wanted to get across, and i think the people that are doing the movie are doing just a phenomenal job. >> reporter: shining a light on domestic violence is one way

hoover uses her fame for good. she also hosts her annual book bonanza charity event in her home state of texas. >> book bonanza is wild. >> it's so wild. >> how can you explain it to somebody who's never been here before >> comic-con, disney world the lines were insane this morning. >> reporter: thousands of readers from all over the country come to meet more than 200 authors at this sold-out event. hoover started the nonprofit back in 2018 it has since raised more than $1 million for different charities. >> that little girl who was mad she didn't learn the whole alphabet on day one of kindergarten, if you could say one thing to her about what life is like now, what would you say? >> you are going to be so happy. so happy >> oh. >> okay. i know, she's from a little town in texas, which i have actually been to, right outside of sulfur springs. and she just has really done some things for publishing that you wouldn't believe but now she's like, okay, it's

not just okay for me to have this, she wants to lift up other writers. and by the way, book bonanza raised $220,000 split between the michael j. fox foundation and reach out and read and we have to mention, and all the cohorts already know this, colleen's latest suspense novel, "too late" is out this week. >> she's amazing >> what a great story! >> a powerhouse. and also, we'll talk more about this coming up in our show >> we sure are we are >> and you can watch the full 30-minute interview on today.com. all right, al, over to you we've got a heat wave starting out on the west coast we'll be watching that, summer scorcher continues, texas into the gulf coast severe storms in the upper mississippi river valley sunshine along the east coast. but again, the smoke situation is something that's still going to be lasting for another 24 hours. th good thursday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. temperatures are going to be ramping up for the inland areas, feeling much hotter reaching the

upper 80s. upper 90s tomorrow. the peak of the heat will be saturday with a high of 100 degrees. heat advisories in effect throughout the weekend for the inland areas. monday temperatures come down a few degrees. the fourth of july will have that's the latest weather! best time of the morning >> big news, chrissy teigen and john legend, big congratulations to them. yesterday the couple announced the birth of baby number four in a series of touching instagram posts the proud parents revealed little wren alexander stevens was born last week via surrogate. their new son includes son luna mild and 5-month-old etsy. in the announcement, chrissy opened up about the experience of ivf after experiencing the loss of baby jack in 2020 and sharing what it was like to be pregnant with essy at the same

time as her surrogate. our hearts and homes are full. big congratulations to them. their surrogate's name was, i believe, alexandra, so they gave a nod to the surrogate with the middle name with alexander >> almost like twins >> looks just like john. >> busy household. next up, "wheel of fortune," this week the show announced that ryan seacrest will take over hosting duties after pat sajak signs off next year. the longtime new host tweeting, i'm looking forward to my final season starting this fall and handing over the car keys to ryan seacrest in september of 2024 but it looks like he may have predicted his successor over a decade ago he was joking see crest taking his gig after a few on camera goofs. >> you've spun the wheel you have to ask for a consonant.

you know what, you're on a free flight, i'm an idiot you see, the way it works -- never mind is there an "e" in the puzzle? >> "n" >> i'm not sure. let's look yeah, there's three "n"s you got that trip! $1,500 seacrest is on speed dial. >> there you go. >> he called it! >> and he had the graphic ready! >> the future psychic, perhaps next up, we're talking about the best tv shows so far "variety" revealing their list, top ten for the year here they ar in alphabetical order. last season of "bary." netflix's hit series, "beat," the sophomore run of "the bear," prime video show where rachel weiss plays opposite herself "dead ringers," "jury duty." >> that's hilarious. >> a pair of star-studded hits from our own peacock, "mrs. davis" and "poker face." >> both good >> congrats to us. the bridgerton prequel, "queen

charlotte. bridgette everett's "somebody somewhere," that's on hbo. and the final season of "succession. >> spectacular >> how could our favorite show not be on that list? >> "snowfall"? >> or "ted lasso." or "the diplomat." >> i love "the diplomat. "snowfall" is incredible and "ted lasso" speaks for itself. interesting. next up, fallout boy yesterday the pop punk brand dropped a brand new edition of billy joel's classic "we didn't start the fire." they wrote on social media so much has happened in the span of the last 34 years we felt like a system update might be fun so take a look listen ♪ ♪

so from a musical standpoint, it sounds great song sounds great. billy joel covers 1949 to 1989 with historical and cultural events fallout boy is trying to update that in the last 35 years of things some folks calling out that there's some notable historic events missing such as the pandemic >> okay. >> that could be there >> no mention of twitter or facebook. >> or social media trolls. >> no mention of o.j. simpson. they did mention myspace >> if they get everything in, the song is ten minutes long >> "sleepless in seattle," 30 years since meg ryan saw this sign >> what? >> look. >> it's a sign >> and in honor of ryan and tom hanks finding love at the top of the empire state building, new york's iconic spot, and the space needle in seattle will be lighting up with lavender and

red hearts to reference that beloved movie moment there's also a sleepless sweepstakes where winners will have the chance to re-live the movie magic with a trip coast-to-coast >> okay! >> there you go! >> that was a good one guys, can you smell it the grill dads are here! making the most of the meat on the grill! they're going to get us ready for our fourth of july cookout, okay look aat a very good morning to you. it is 8:26. i'm laura garcia. an investigation continues after police shot and killed a man in richmond yesterday morning when officers executed a search warrant to look for a person accused of threatening someone with a gun on sunday. when officers went inside, they confronted a man with a gun and then they opened fire.

the bomb squad was called in after the standoff. for protocol, the officers involved were placed on administrative leave. let's get a look at the forecast with meteorologist kari hall. >> in our inland areas, san jose starts out right now low 60s and head to the 80s today. temperatures in some of oh our valleys farther south and the east bay reach 80 degrees. temperatures peak on saturday. we're looking at mid to upper 90s into the weekend. saturday up to 102 degrees in concord and morgan hill. >> oh my. i'll be back with another local news update in half an hour.

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wonderful day. summer is in the air, and it's delicious meat from -- >> happy birthday! >> they're so excited to meet al how exciting it is it's al roker! >> hi, girl! let's go say hi real quick >> everybody's happy >> chatting with the grill dad >> where are you from? >> dayton, ohio! >> there you go. o-h -- >> i-o this place, by the way, is going to be packed tomorrow. do y'all know who will be here tomorrow carol g. will be here tomorrow and it's going to be a hopping crowd. >> let tomorrow be tomorrow. we have a heck of a show today you know who's here right now, over there, grill dad. they've got some chicken, some sauce, some inspiration for the

fourth of july coming up >> coming up, this is alice. alice works with us and it's alice's birthday today, you guys >> happy birthday, alice >> thank you so much >> and this is -- tomorrow is her last day here, so we wanted to say we love you >> thank you so much, i love all you've, too. >> who is your favorite morning anchor >> everyone. >> she's going far >> we love you, alice! >> she's a smart cookie. all right. plus, guys, jill is in the house. she's got summer essentials edition of steals and deals. everything you need from hosting to hiking. by the way, coming up in just a few minutes on "3rd hour," we'll bring some pieces of hollywood history, right here to studio 1a a trip down movie lane from "top gun" to "the wizard of oz" and many more. >> okay, alice now you do this now it's time for -- >> oh, it's time for the weather! >> from one al to another!

>> let's take a look at your weekend outlook. for saturday, we've got strong storms in the ohio and mississippi river valleys, above-average temperatures out west then sunday, sunday, more storms in the eastern third of the country, west heat continues, stifling heat down through texas. and then monday, shower chances right along the eastern seaboard warm out east again. good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. plenty of sun and heat today for the inland areas, reaching the upper 80s. even more so as the heat advisory begins tomorrow, reaching 99 degrees and hotter in inland areas. on sunday the valleys are still dealing with high heat, but it does look much better in time for the fourth of july.

weather. savannah >> hello guys, coming up next, summer savings steals and deals styles. jill will be here with bargains on everything you need for fun in the sun but first, this is "today" on nbc

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if you k know, you k know itit's pantenene. >> announcer: jill's steals and deals is sponsored by wells fargo credit cards credit cards made for the way you live that's real-life ready >> we are back with steals and deals. this morning, we've got some great ideas for enjoying the summer with your family and friends. jill martin brooks is ready to walk us through these bargains you can get in on them, too, if you race to scan that qr code. hi, jill, good morning >> good morning! >> you have some stuff i've never seen before. >> all are triumphant and all will help you host your perfect

party. let's start with that brand a lot of people love it's called nork and you know them for their silverware, but they have these amazing cups so the ecostem glasses it's a set of six. the retail is $60. so these are fun party in a cup. >> love that >> so it's a set of six reusable glasses. the brand says is sustainable, eco, and earth friendly. 100% made from plants. the brand also says they're break resistant, dishwasher safe, great to have kids around, if you're a by a pool. choose from a multi-mix set or all one color. so you do you. this is an exclusive package just for steals and deals. from the brand the retail is $60, the deal is $30. 50% off. >> love that i like how you can mix and match, too cute >> this you will love, you can take it from -- and choose which ones on today.com from the stove to the centerpiece or from the freezer to the centerpiece

the nambe entertaining pieces. the retail, $50 to $150. there's ten different ones to choose from. they're so beautiful, from serving bowls with lids to white porcelain bowls, something for every table. again, you can chill these in the fridge or freezer, to keep things fresh and just serve them and they're so beautiful they really act as a centerpiece. these always sell out fast the retail, $50 to $150. the deal price, $22 to $75, up to 60% off now that you're a chef, you can take something to someone's home backyard, so the bugs don't get on it or whatever. >> these are really beautiful. i'm a water pusher i'm always like, hydrate, hydrate. it's the stainless steel bottle, retail, $39 to $42 leak-proof bamboo, stainless steel, vacuum insulated. meant to keep your drink cold for 24 hours or warm for 12 hours. comes in lots of great colors and it's great because you know which one is your depending on the sleeve the deal, $19, up to 55% off

it has a handle. great for hiking or for any trips or just to keep around all right, this is trending right now. the lano lips lip balm bundle. the brand says globally, one is sold every minute. what's great about this is, this is a lip balm, but it has over 101 uses, hence the name dry lips, elbows, nursing minor cuts i put this everywhere, on your cuticles it's amazing, the 101 ointment is the original ointment infused with coconut oil and vitamin "e." it's really that everything fits in your purse, retail, $44 deal is 21 that's 52% off and you get the bundle there >> i put it on my nails. >> yeah! >> then this is great. because this is just a really simple way, an elegant way to up your wardrobe. the golden thread hoop earrings, retail, $90 to $125. cubic zirconia come in yellow gold, rose gold and white gold they're also different sizes

they're also waterproof and tarnish free a lot of people ask can i wear them in the shower you can. the retail price, $90 to $125. the deal price, $20 to $25, up to 80% off >> that's great. >> great gift. >> and this is another triumph who doesn't want underwater pictures and video the 4k waterproof vista shop digital camera shop, really cool retail 199139.95 this can capture all of your adventures, 20 accessories, the brand says it's waterproof, shockproof, dustproof, and records an ultra-high definition 4k resolution. has a hand wrist remote control. you can download the app to see the video. so up to 100 feet, four hours of continuous video the deal price, $38. that's 73% off >> i love these. you've got something for everybody here will you run through the products one more time >> the norc stem set, the lip balm bundle, the golden thread earrings, and the vista shop 4k waterproof all digital camera set. >> okay, if you want to start

shopping, scan the qr code or go to today.com/deals by the way, "today" does make a commission for purchases made through our links thank you, jill martin brooks! >> thank you coming up next, the amazing dr. joy. if you are craving connection, don't go anywhere. her life-changing tips for building friendships and growing new es, just ahead new es, just ahead buont - you u ok? - - there's a a flex alertrt ty

so i'm'm mentally y preparing r ththe power ououtage. oh, wellll we can hehelp stop e becacause we're e gonna reduducr enenergy use f from 4-9pm.m. - what nowow? - i ststepped on a a plug. oh that't's my bad..... unplugg. whwhen it comemes to preveveng outages, t the power i is our. welcome back loneliness is something that a lot of people struggle with. according to the surgeon general, about half of adults are lonely we decided to bring in an expert on how to make new friends and connections and let your loved ones being there for you, too. dr. joy harden bradford is a licensed therapist she started therapy for black

kbirls, an online community dedicated to the mental wellness and the author of a new book called "sisterhood heals." dr. joy, good morning. what a perfect title >> thank you >> because it is about the people who you have in your community. one person once said that you are the sum total of the five people you spend the most time with, so choose your five wisely >> absolutely. absolutely that's so important. and i think it's really important to think about how healing happens in community you know, shame is really one of the biggest obstacles to us connecting and healing and when we are in community, hearing other people share their stories, it makes us feel a little less alone and know that we are not alone with anything that we're experiencing. >> there is that feeling, you're right. everyone's got something inside them that they're ashamed of every single person listening has it and sometimes you might go your whole life and never say it out loud but it does take a safe place to say that thing out loud. and it's important to find that, right? >> absolutely. absolutely and there's nothing that we are the only person experiencing

and we really just want to be seen it reminds me of these viral videos that are going around of little kindergartners graduating, they're walking into the auditorium and looking for their people, and they're kind of sad until they see mom or dad and they light up, and that never goes away. we never grow out of that wanting to be seen and connected with in that way >> well, finding community is something that's important, but some people who are lonely either have had -- they've moved or maybe friends have passed away or maybe they got divorced and they used to have a friend group and they no longer do. how do you begin again how do you find that connection again? >> that's really important one of the most important things we can do is look into the background of our lives. sometimes, there are people in the background, maybe the mom you see in carpool every day or the person who sits next to you in yoga. and take a little bit of effort to say, hey, do you want to grab a smoothie after yoga or grab lunch after we drop the kids off? and that may become somebody who becomes important to you at some point. >> and you enter a room or space

with your own kind of vibe or energy some people are closed off saying, i'm not meeting anyone, i can't meet any new friends but if you look at how they are enter a room, it would be hard to approach. you have to be an approachable person, too? >> in my work, i have found, we are one of four different types in our circles we are either the leader, the wall flower, the peace maker, or the firecracker. >> which one are you, by the way? >> the leader. >> i had a feeling i had a feeling. so once you know your role, do you attract to others in that role, or if you're a leader, do you attract a wall flower? how does it work >> i think all of the different types can mix together, but it's about how you show up. if you're the leader, you might be the one who's organizing all of the events, but that also means that other people are not stepping up to plan it and you become resentful it is as much about how you show up, but how people can support you.

>> i love what you're doing, because community is important some people say they have community, but they have a community online how do you draw the distinction? >> well, online communities are incredibly important i don't want to dissuade people from making very important connections online but if you can move that into real life, then i think that that is great, too that really does help to deepen the sense of connection. >> you've got such great advice. dr. joy, thank you so much your book is full of great ideas for people who are looking to make connections it's important it adds to happiness it's called, a beautiful title again, "sisterhood heals," and it does. we know that for sure. guys, over to you. >> hey, can some grill dads just hang out for a little bit? >> i know, come on >> a lot of hard work this morning. we have great food coming up here, craig. >> some inspiration for your fourth of july menu in just a few moments.

we're back with "today"

food and plenty of time, that's a good thing we are in grilling season now. the fourth of july is almost here we've brought in the experts america's favorite grill dads, mark anderson and ryan faye. >> these two are the authors of the best grilling cookbook ever written by two idiots, and i'm not calling them idiots, that's actually the name of the book. >> that was awfully mean, craig. these guys are like family to us >> you know their mantra, if they can do it, so can you two of our favorite guests on the show. >> thanks for having us. >> so, chicken and steak let's dive right in. so chicken and steak let's dive right in. carson will pick up the steak. we'll start with the chicken >> so barbecue chicken doesn't have to be just good, it can be great. the way you make it great starts the day before we season the day before and the salt actually dry brines and you put it in the fridge uncovered. a little bit of sugar, a little bit of salt, and some pepper and get both sides

and what happens is when you put this in the fridge uncovered, the skin dries out >> crisperier skin. >> it breaks like glass. and the salt denatures the protein, so it relaxes, so it's juicy and tender season all the way through, crispy skin, the best way to go. >> and you've got a whole chicken here martha taught us how to spatchcock >> we love getting the whole chicken. it can become this and you get to grill every part. and every part of the chicken cooks at a different rate. if you break it down and cook it like this, you can take off each piece when it's done let's talk about the sauce >> have you ever seen gordon ramsey breaks down the chicken blindfold. w w wjtd. >> oh, yes >> we can do that. >> no, we can't. >> and we have pictures in the cookbook, by the way by the way, here we go, a barbecue sauce, ketchup, brown sugar. we've got -- this is the key we love a lot of tang. doing an apple cider vinegar, a little water to get the right consistency, and ancho chili powder

it will give you good color. >> i usually add six tums to that, too. >> only six? >> and a little bit of honey and you're going to cook this on medium for about ten minutes until you get a good consistency that will coat the back of the spoon. >> so dry brine the chicken, how long you going to grill that once we throw it on? depends on the piece, right? >> we go by temperature, not time the white meat we'll cook to about 160 and the carryover heat will bring it up to 165. and you want to hit 170 on the dark meat, so the fat's rendered >> that sauce is fantastic >> the apple cider vinegar is key. >> the sauce is fantastic. >> you're welcome. i made that. >> and you want to put the barbecue sauce on while there's only a minute or two left in the chicken. >> why is that there's brown sugar and honey in here and it will burn to a crisp before the chicken is cooked the other thing too is you want to taste the chicken so we go pretty light. >> do you throw more sauce on after that after you take it off? >> just a little bit, yeah. >> are you done?

we have steak to get to. >> go. >> the other key to that, keep the skin on! stop taking the skin off a chicken! >> yeah. i don't know why i'm so angry about that >> yeah! >> can i get a witness >> let's do steaks >> you've got to keep the skin on -- >> i got skinless, boneless chicken breast this is a cut of meat we were just talking about not that popular here in the states, but gaining in latin america. >> this was actually made famous in brazil. if you've ever been to a brazilian steakhouse, they have big swords and they stick this meat on there in three sections and you shave it off at your table. it's called sirloin cap or the rump cap >> so this is at the butt. >> what'd you say? >> they leave the cap on at the butt of the cow. >> the butt cap. >> why would you ever cut off a fat cap in a piece of meat

>> never it insulates it and helps it cook evenly. and if you're into that, you can eat it >> why isn't it more popular in the states >> i think it's one of those cuts that was a cheaper cut at the time, so they didn't really use that at the butcher's. they kind of chopped it up >> salt and pepper a little bit of that here's another thing, you've got to bring this out and let it set for an hour. come to room temperature, don't worry about it >> the meat itself >> and now we're going to make what's called our red chimichurri sauce. you've seen it bright green. this we'll use roasted red peppers, really simple recipe, put in chipotle peppers and a little bit of adobo sauce. >> this is heavy this is a deviation from the classic. put in some crushed garlic ancho chili powder, salt, your herbs.

fresh oregano and parsley. >> this isn't necessarily a marinade, this is a sauce -- >> this is a finishing sauce this is what they do later you're going to pulse this a little bit magic of television at work. it's on now. there we go. and pulsing it >> great now, we're going to go ahead and -- carson, i think this makes more sense >> we've got our own grill >> we have our tasting right in the middle >> so we've got charcoal hot on both sides of this steak we don't want to cook it direct, okay you want to cook it indirect heat one minute we'll go ahead and cook that what you'll get is low and slow. you bring it to 130 degrees, take it off, let it rest this is called the reverse sear method you've done that a bunch >> let it rise to about 140, then put it on the direct -- >> exactly sere it real quick exactly. this has listen before seared. here's another really important piece. you'll see these grains here this is a really important one you have to cut against the grain. those muscle fibers are long you want to cut them so they're

short which means it becomes tender exactly how we do it >> chicken, steak. >> i like that chimichurri >> i think we can put that -- >> it's never as good as went the grill dads are here. they cook with tender loving care and a lot of beer >> a lot of beer and tender loving care. >> that's why it's so good. >> have you seen my beer >> today.com/food. >> what's the word over there? >> delicious >> love it >> the chimichurri is crazy. >> put it on everything. >> we are back with much more of "today" on this thursday morning. grill dads, thank you, thank you, thank you but first, your local news, weather, and these messages. a good thursday morning to you.

this morning a petaluma mother will be sentenced after being found guilty of making a false kidnapping claim. kathleen sorensen posted a detailed reaction on instagram which went viral of an attempted kidnapping. witnesses and video showed it was all false. happening now, travel delays piling up at sfo. we have a scene last night with passengers waiting for those bags. righnow there are 3t

a big change for a bay area landmark with drivers will have to pay more starting this weekend. >> plus, going electric. the big event kicking off the big event kicking off tomorrow i

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this morning on the third hour of "today," still stranded. airlines struggling to get back up to speed after a rough few days. more than 5,000 flights canceled since monday. what's it going to mean for the busy holiday weekend? we're live with the latest. plus, we're flipping out because gymnastics icon simone biles getting ready to head back to competition. when will we get to see her fly high