♪ first up here on nsnbc as americans celebrate the holiday, the death toll from the coronavirus tops 130,000. new fears that july 4th crowds could cause more spikes. >> take it seriously. i mean, you're taking it back to your parents, grandparents, younger siblings that could potentially get it and could be very serious for them. a fireworks show goes on despite wild fire fears and coronavirus worries. the president stoking social divisions. >> this monument will never be

desecrated. these heroes will never be defaced. second thoughts, two big teams take another look at their controversial names. and a new turn as police officers are fired in the investigation into the death of elijah mclean. it's saturday, july 4th. which means i'll wish you all a happy independence day i'm alex whit. thanks for joining us. a live look at washington, d.c. that's where the president has been promoting another celebration and fireworks display set for tonight. administration officials are expecting large crowds on the national mall and elsewhere over the objections of d.c. mayor muriel bowser. she's concerned this could become a coronavirus superspreader. 300,000 face masks will be given away but no one will be required to wear them just like at the president's rally in tulsa. the latest on the pandemic, friday the number of new cases topped 50,000 for the third day in a row. this according to "the new york

times." reports of new cases in the u.s. have increased 90% in the last two weeks. there are now more than 2.7 million confirmed cases across this country, and that number is climbing across 33 states. as the fourth of july gets under way, an urgent plea from the surgeon general asking those celebrating the holiday to take precautions. >> i would say to people, if you do go out to a gathering or in public, please, wear a face covering as we talk about fourth of july and independence is important to understand that if we all wear these, we will actually have more freedom because more places will be able to stay open. we'll have less spread of the disease. >> several states closed beaches amidst the larging surge in cases. california, beaches are closed. in florida, broward, palm beach and miami dade beaches they are closed. texas, that's closed several beaches along the coast including galveston, rock port

and corpus christi. here on the east coast, however, beaches along the jersey shore are open at reduced capacity and only outdoor dining is allowed. and new overnight, another member of the trump team has coronavirus. kimberly a senior trump campaign official tested positive while in south dakota yesterday. donald trump jr. has tested negative so far. meanwhile, president trump is back in washington, d.c. arriving just a short time ago, in fact, from south dakota, after speaking at an independent day event at mount rushmore. geoff, good morning, what's the highlight? >> reporter: the president using the july 4th celebration to stoke the culture wars. he made very few concessions to the usual july 4th traditions of national unity. and look, in this moment of national reckoning over racial

issues, the president in his speech offered up an us versus them view of america. he said our nation is witnessing what he called a quote, merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children. that's what the president said. here is a bit more of what he had to say last night. >> angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders. deface our most sacred memorials. and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities. they think the american people are weak. and soft. and submissive. but, no, the american people are strong and proud and they will not allow our country and all of its values, history, and culture to be taken from them. >> reporter: now, tonight the president is holding another july 4th event here at the white house. a somewhat more scaled back

version of last year's event. there won't be armored military vehicles on display at the lincoln memorial as happened last year, but the white house still plans to host hundreds of people on the south lawn for music and fireworks and that, of course, is despite the current coronavirus crisis. washington, d.c. mayor muriel bowser cancelled the traditional july 4th parade here in the city, and she said that she informed the president's interior department that the event its planning here at the white house violates the health guidelines set out by the cdc. of course the president faced criticism for holding large events in recent weeks, despite warnings from his own coronavirus task force and the virus continues to hit the president's inner circle. this past week, we learned that herman cain, serving as a trump campaign surrogate, he says he tested positive for the virus. cane was pictured at that rally in tulsa, that packed rally without wearing a mask and confirmed that kimberly gillfoil, donald trump jr.'s

girlfriend tested positive for coronavirus while in south dakota yesterday. donald trump jr. tested negative, we're told. and we're also told that neither trump jr. nor gillfoil travelled with the president on air force one. both of them are planning to self isolate. alex? >> thank you for that, geoff bennett. >> coronavirus cases in florida still on the rise. more than 9,400 cases reported on friday just shy of the single day record high set on thursday when the state added more than 10,000 cases. those rising numbers prompting officials in some parts of the state particularly like miami to close beaches for the holiday weekend. we'll join me north of orlando is nbc's chris pollone. good morning to you. what's happening there? what kind of stuff is closed and how are people reacting to it? >> yeah, good morning, alex. good to talk to you this morning. we're just north of orlando in

samford, florida. you might be able to see me behind me, we're at an urgent care center doing walk-in coronavirus testing. a lot of people who had lined up overnight had gone inside to start the testing process. when we arrived here in the wee hours of the morning, the line was around the building for people looking to get tests. health officials around the country, the nation's top health officials are keeping an eye on florida. they are concerned about the trends here. as you mentioned, yesterday, again, about 9,500 new cases. there have been more than 300 new hospitalizations here. and deaths are also starting to go up as well as hospitalizations. a concerning trend here. the governor ron desantis pointed out correctly that the death rate has dropped and has remained relatively low despite this explosion in cases. but, in the last few days we have started to see that tick up a little bit, which obviously is very concerning. there is an increase in testing, but the amount of positive tests

is about 15% right now which is very, very concerning for health officials here, just yesterday democratic lawmakers asked the governor to impose a mandatory mask order. he has not agreed to do that just yet. there's a hodgepodge of regulations, various counties have put in mask regulations, businesses are doing it on their own. as you mentioned, in south florida, beaches are closed. but just to the east of us, in daytona beach, those beaches are open. now many health officials here in florida are not particularly concerned about the beaches because people seem to be distancing, the weather has been rainy over the last couple of days to keep crowds low. they're worried about the indoor gatherings. restaurants at 50% capacity. bars have been closed. the governor did close bars here. but restaurants are still at about 50% capacity for indoor dining. so, health officials are going to watch how this holiday

weekend goes. many of the firework displays and things have been cancelled, but it's very concerning to see the numbers going up for health officials here and especially hospitalizations and deaths. the numbers here are for mostly young people that are increasing, but as you well know, alex, as those young people get sick, they often spread it to older people who are more vulnerable. this could be a bad situation in the next few weeks. bears watching. >> 100% chris pollone. you give me a lot to jump off from. i appreciate that very much. of course, dr. phillips is a frequent guest on the show, everyone, also an internalist at a private practice. all that chris was reporting right there, florida up almost 20,000 cases across two days. you have a 15% test positive rate in the state of florida. chris remarks on how the younger people are the ones that are getting it. those people that, you know, seem somewhat invincible. we're going out to the beaches and crowding things memorial day

and saw that spring breakers before that. what is your sense of what's happening in florida? >> you know, i feel like florida, as well as the other hot spots that we're seeing right now, texas, arizona, we are seeing what's called an exponential spread. so, for our nation to have more than 50,000 cases occur in a day, is somewhat ominous. we are seeing hospitalizations follow that. the number of cases is increasing, the number of hospitalizations is increasing. the number of deaths thankfully has not increased commensurate to these other numbers that we're seeing. >> dr. phillips, can i ask you about that. is that partly because after three, four months of intensely battling this virus, you have doctors e.r. staff, they understand how to deal with this better? is it not because the virus is petering out, it's because

effective treatment and the way they approach the protocol has gotten better? >> yeah. you're spot on, alex. it's that definitely the virus is not petering anywhere. it's right here to stay. but we do have better tools in our arsenal. hospitals are better equipped. just even in terms of having the equipment they need to treat patients. we're more knowledgeable. there are better treatments. we know better how to do ventd ventilator settings. we know -- have better protocols to approach patients. also, a younger group is getting infected, and you have to remember there is a delay between an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. the total between the time of infection and death is -- can be five weeks or longer. so we really don't know what's going to happen there. >> so what's interesting from a federal government perspective and leadership therein, if you look at the lower part of our screen here it says white house readies new message. we need to live with it.

that's something nbc news confirmed we need to live with it. that's the message. >> yeah. >> so what does that say to you? yeah, it's true we need to learn to live with it appropriately in terms of protecting ourselves, but what's behind all that in terms of leadership from this government? >> i would see that as a tremendous of responsibility. certainly it's fair to say the virus won't go anywhere and it will become a part of life. that doesn't mean we shouldn't make efforts to contain our risk. although we may not at this point be able to eliminate it, we should make every effort we can to lessen it. i think ignoring it, saying, oh, we'll have to live with it. this is the new normal, is in some ways magical thinking. when hundreds of thousands of people are being infected as dr. anthony fauci said, we could

start to see 100,000 people start to be infected a day. there is no new normal. it isn't something we live with. >> we have to until we get a vaccination and until this thing stops, you know the pandemic around this world and when that happens goodness knows. dr. holly phillips, thank you so much. >> thank you. the owner of the nfl team in our nation's capital said he'll never change the team's name. now never may be ending. another team may be considering a name change, too. another team a name change, too businesses are starting to bounce back.

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the nationwide unrest is prompting even more monumental changes in america, changes that were decades in the making. two professional sports teams say they are considering name changes. cleveland's baseball team and washington's nfl team, whose owner is being pushed by big corporations like fedex, pepsico and nike. joining me now terrence moore, national sports columnist with

forbes and rashad richie. we have the owner of washington's nfl team saying seven years ago never going to change the name, right? what kind of pressure do i think is being applied to make this change considered. >> public pressure from general americans throughout the united states. remember, this is what has happened. black folks and brown folks were saying these names are insensitive, racist and the background is inappropriate, well, these owners said, we don't care. now that the sentiment has changed the narrative, where well over 60% of americans actually agree with the black lives matter movement and over 50% of americans agree that the country has been racially insensitive from its historical conception, that narrative is pushing the agenda of these owners. let's be very clear, they have not had a change of heart. they have had a change of mindset because of the money associated with their industry.

and that is what you're seeing playing out. it is a money movement and it should be. >> you think terrence, it's all about the money ultimately for all of these owners thinking, oh, wow, we'll have sponsors pull out, the rights to the naming of the stadiums are now saying, yeah, we can't deal with this. is that's what's making the difference? >> well, alex, i'll disagree with you a little bit. it's not some of the owners who have that thought process. it's all of the owners. okay? here is a think about the national football league and professional sports in general, it's about profits. the national football league last year made a record $16 billion. all right. so that is bigger than principle. the washington redskins this has been a racist franchise forever. the founder of the franchise back in the mid 1930s, he was a racist. he was a noted racist. they were the last team to integrate in 1962, which should tell you an awful lot right there. so it's all about money here.

and that's the only thing that's moving this guy. when fedex and nike said, look, you have to change your ways. that's all of a sudden all the principles went out the window for anybody associated with the washington redskins, including daniel schneider. >> yeah, yeah. so we also have the nfl floating the idea right now of playing lift every voice during the first week of games in the fall. what's your reaction of this and what do you think the general public will think about it? >> this is the height of hypocrisy, first of all. the nfl is saying let's sing a negro spiritual and negro freedom song. colin kaepernick is still unemployed. beyond that let's look at the context. 70% of the nfl is made up of african-americans while the nfl still only has two general managers, only have three black head coaches and let's not talk about ownership.

and then on the website, the nfl put out on the website just a few days ago that they are now committed to give $250 million over the course of ten years to movements associated with black lives matter. >> uh-huh. >> here is the hypocrisy in that, they had a record $16 billion revenue last season. do the math. 16 billion, 25 million per year. 25 million is zero.1563%. they are bragging about donating less than 1% of their revenue to the black lives matter cause. >> you know what, terrence, is going to chime in on this one because his column, the most recent one here, the nfl playing black national anthem before games means nothing without colin kaepernick on sidelines to hear it. so, what's behind all this, terrence n your mind? >> well, first of all, i want to

thank you for pointing out many of the things i wrote in that thing. it's all about colin kaepernick. the original sin in this case for the national football league. this guy despite all the talk they're making right now, he still hasn't signed with a team or had a tryout for a team or call for a team. this is a smoke screen. alex, let's go back to early june. back then you had a group of players led by patrick mahomes who did that great video, sent it out there and to urge roger goodell to change his ways and national football league and that sounded great. so roger goodell comes out on a friday night when nobody is looking from their standpoint and said, yeah, we agree with you. we'll do these types of things. the nfl is about show. they're doing all these things to appease people, but you know what, the great news here is it's not working. people are seeing right through all this stuff. they're going to have to start

doing stuff instead of just putting out all this fake things. >> yeah. but terrence, real quick, commissioner goodell said that teams should sign kaepernick. maybe not as a player certainly. we don't know what his playing skills are. he can play at that level. but he could go into a front office? >> yeah. and you know, to be honest with you, i don't really think that colin wants to play again. you know, i think he likes this role right now of being this figure that started a movement. i can't blame him. but here is the thing, alex, give him a chance to say no. give him a chance to say i don't want to play. give him a chance to say i do want to go into the front office or be a coach or what have you but don't play these mind games that are very transparent. >> i was going to say put the ball in his court. that's the wrong sports analogy. happy fourth. have a good one. the new concerns about the president's fourth of july celebration in d.c. as covid cases spike in the surrounding states. virginia congressman don buyers

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new developments and more protests over police involvement in the death of 23-year-old elijah mcclain in colorado. demonstrators took to the streets after three police officers were fired, one resigned in connection with photos taken near this site where police put mcclain in a choke hold. gabe gutierrez, good morning and thanks for joining us on this holiday. look, it's a stunning turn of events. what more can you tell us about these photos? >> reporter: hi there, alex. good morning. police headquarters was fenced off overnight to keep out protesters. four officers, as you mentioned, are out of a job and interim police chief is now saying that the department is ashamed. it is the latest twist in a case that has drawn global attention. >> say his name. >> elijah mcclain. >> reporter: overnight, new

outrage over the death of elijah mcclain. >> it's about systemic racism. he is not the first ant is not the only one. >> protesters taking to the streets after police released these photos taken by their own officers in october, mocking mclean's death. >> we're ashamed, sicken and angry. this is a crime against humanity and decency. >> reporter: the city's interim police chief announced these two cops would be fired for conduct unbecoming an officer, a third would have been fired but resigned first. a fourth was also let go after getting the photos in a group text and responding ha ha. that fourth officer jason rosenblat also involved in the initial encounter with mcclain. >> the police chief said the officers claim they were reenacting the neck hold. >> he was a 23-year-old massage therapist. his family says he sometimes

wore a ski mask to wear warm. >> i have a right to stop you because you're being suspicious. >> aurora officers stopped him and tackled him, applied a ka rotted hold and sedative. he died at the hospital days later and the cause of death was undetermined. internal police investigation found the officers followed policies and the district attorney declined to file charges. but last week, the governor appointed a special prosecutor to investigate. now, more anger fueled by these newly released pictures. >> the aurora police department has a long, sorted horrible history of both racism and brutality. that needs to stop today. >> reporter: in a written statement, the aurora police association called the internal investigation a rush to judgment and said that the interim police chief was unfit for her position. alex? >> interesting. despite those protestations she

made there. thank you so much, gabe ambiguity yazer. washington, d.c. gearing up for president trump's salute to america. it will feature fireworks and military flyovers but comes despite the growing health concerns over large gatherings as this country sees an alarming rise in coronavirus cases including from d.c. mayor muriel bowser urging residents to stay home. joining me now, congressman don beyer. very good to see you on this holiday morning. thank you, sir, for joining me. how concerned are you about this event? look, your district in virginia right across the river from d.c. what do you say to your constituents who may be heading there? >> i told -- the headline number one is stay home. we had 53,000 new cases in america the day before yesterday. it's been rising everyday. this is just crazy to do this. you know, we celebrate our values. one of our big values is time with family.

and we don't -- fire works when we can all get sick. >> to your point, when you want to think about your picture, think in the big picture. our reporting, this event as far as 300,000 face masks will be given away to anyone who wants them, but no one will be required to wear them. should they be mandatory? and do you have any expectation that tonight the president would lead by example? >> i cannot imagine that. we just have to look at mount rushmore yesterday. no one was wearing face masks. the people coming are the ones probably least likely to wear them. and right now the reason we have more than 50,000 cases a day is because of memorial day weekend. when everyone thought, well, it's safe to go out there. the virus is going to disappear. no face masks. and now we're seeing a great second surge. >> you know, you mentioned mount rushmore. let's listen to some of what the president had to say there last night.

here it is. >> our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children. angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities. >> you know, i'm curious your reaction to this. the president has a chance to unite the country -- >> it's just awful. general mattis says -- first president that tries to divide us rather than unite us. who are these heros? robert e. lee, jefferson davis, nay on this bedford forest, these are guys who -- betrayed their country in defense of

slavery. i hope slavery isn't the value he wants to defend. >> parish that thought, that's for sure. so let's take a look at your state, virginia, which entered phase 3 of reopening on wednesday. the next day state health officials reported it was the largest single day jump in deaths since late may, 31 new deaths reported there. how worried are you about virginia getting into phase 3 as we're seeing all these other states seeing spikes in new cases? >> i'm very worried about it. we're lucky to have the only country -- and he's been careful so far. i hope we'll push the pause button if this doesn't work out. >> all right congressman, little hiccups with the audio. we appreciate your time on weekends with alex whit.

enjoy your holiday. coming up next an nbc news exclusive joe biden on the meaning of independence day and democracy. on this fourth of july, we are honoring veterans. here is a look at an american hero who continues to serve his country even after leaving the service. >> nonprofit farm a group of all volunteer veterans who connect with the land and grow food for other veteran families who are having a hard time making ends meet or coming out of homelessness. so it came out of my own journey after service. i got out after 12 years during combat. i tried a whole bunch of different stuff, really couldn't find any purpose or meaning. then one day i was able to give food out to veterans and it just sort of clicked. so when covid-19 came about, it was really sort of the beginning of our farming season. we all huddled around and wondered whether this was the year for us to pull back and maybe do some reassessment. but we all unanimously decided

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we are back with an nbc news exclusive. this morning, joe biden writing a new op ed for nbc news.com about independence day and the meaning of american democracy. biden says trump erodes america's foundation. this fourth of july i pledge to rebuild it. he goes on to write in part, there's always been a push and pull between our founding ideals and the forces of inequality, but today is a celebration of our persistent march toward greater justice. joining me now msnbc political analyst and republican strategist susan and kevin cirilli. two good friends. thank you so much for joining me. kevin, how sharp of a contrast is joe biden's independence message compared to what we heard from the president at mount rushmore last night and is this contrast going to be the norm through election day? >> happy fourth of july. great to be back here. look, i think really the biden campaign is precisely trying to

draw that contrast. and i think, you know, whether it's in his public interactions with voters and wearing a face mask or the op ed on nbc.com, this is the time of stoic campaign, this more calming campaign that the biden world really wants to continue too th re-election campaign, they say they want to draw another contrast, but unfortunately they're probably going to have to wait until the debates in which they can go one on one with biden. >> what do you think, susan, in terms of how these messages are resonating with americans? do you think donald trump gains anything by adopting the tone expressed by joe biden? will he do that? >> he'll never do that. he thinks four years ago his unfavorable numbers were over 60% when people elected him. donald trump is not going to change.

what's important about joe biden's message on nbc's think page is that it shows a desire to bring some stability and c m calmness back to our social norms, if you will. that stability is something in stark difference to donald trump as he's going out on these crazy tangents, having these raves about basically wanting to bring the confederacy back. no one understands why he could possibly be doing it. it's killing him in his poll numbers. but look at what biden is saying. bring us back to a place in the world in our society where people can trust america again. >> uh-huh. and to that point, if that's what people really want, susan, and kevin, it look like the polls are reflecting that right now, right? joe biden leads the president by 12 points in the latest national poll from monmouth university. it's another poll indicating the former vice president is capturing support across this country. and now you have political strategist stanley greenburg

writing in the atlantic, believe the polls this time. these aren't hillary clinton's numbers. biden has a wide lead because the landscape has changed. i don't know about you, susan, but i'm still shell shocked about what happened with the polls and inaccuracy of them in 2016. do you believe these this time? >> well, alex, as you know, i don't mean to be a broken record, but the polls didn't get it that wrong in 2016 on a national level. hillary clinton did get 3 million more votes than donald trump. >> that's true. >> and there was a lack of polling in certain states like michigan which was a big mistake. the thing about the polls now is that what's so dangerous it's not that what affects november it's what affects now. biden is doing incredible fundraising. he is outfundraising trump. these numbers are starting to bake in and people are starting to believe that it's quite possible that joe biden is going to beat donald trump. that is something that's very hard for the trump folks to get over. >> kevin, susan brings up the money. in fact, the biden campaign

outraised the trump campaign in the second quarter by 16 million bucks. do you think the truth lies in the money here? is this the evidence to back up what we're seeing in the polls? if so, how worried should the president be? >> i got to say, seeing those numbers on the screen, though, specially during a time of such economic uncertainty for millions of americans, 250 million plus a quarter for both campaigns. it's quite remarkable. look, i think that's where trump world to answer your question directly, the president still has higher approval rating on handling the economy than joe biden. so that right there is the first point that when i talk to republicans, they're optimistic about. but the second point is that to susan's point about the psychology of the american voter heading into november 3rd, if voters think that joe biden is a shoe-in, will they show up for him? and that's something that when i talk to the democrats, when i

speak with staffers on joe biden's campaign, they say turnout, turnout, turnout. >> of course. >> and that's what it's going to come down to. >> absolutely. no come play scomplacency. george w. bush officials are publicly endorsing joe biden. they worked for george bush's administration and launched this 43 alumni for biden super pac and call this president a danger. the group saying its mission is turning out disaffected republican voters to kevin's point right there. is there a group of voters they can tap into? >> they can. we see a little bit in the recent polling. it's those who believe that we need governance as a nation. that's why the bush 43 folks getting together is phenomenal. i am as a republican right there with them. and to show right now how the president is handling the covid

crisis or not and what it means to actually take responsibility and lead a nation. it's quite a message. >> yeah. okay. kevin and susan, thank you so much. the both of you need to stay dressed exactly as you are. >> happy fourth of july. planning a vacation during a pandemic, what to consider as cases spike across this country and why driving might not always be a safer option. y driving migs be a safer option. i know so many americans are suffering, suffering the loss of a loved one, suffering economic hardship. the country is crying out

for leadership, leadership that can unite us, leadership that brings us together. that's what the presidency is - the duty to care, to care for all of us, not just those who vote for us, but all of us. i promise you this: i won't traffic in fear and division. i won't fan the flames of hate. i'll seek to heal the racial wounds that have long plagued our country, not use them for political gain. i'll do my job and i will take responsibility, i won't blame others. you know, i've said from the outset of this election, that we're in the battle for the soul of this nation. what we believe and maybe most importantly, who we want to be, it's all at stake. when we stand together, finally as one america, we'll rise stronger than we were before. i'm joe biden and i approve this message.

people in the uk are heading to the pubs to celebrate what some brits are calling their own independence day of sorts. today thousands of businesses are reopening for the first time in three months. a good day across the pond there. what's the day been like so far, sarah? >> hi, alex. good morning. this is the day so many people in england have been waiting for. if you look over my shoulder, you can see the line of people waiting to get into this pub. you know, to say that brits love a pub, it's an understatement.

there are about 30,000 pubs in the uk. to put that in context, that's twice the number of starbucks we have in america. but there are some serious concerns this morning just like in the u.s. this is still very much a country that's in the midst of a pandemic. >> reporter: on this july 4th, it's independence day here in merry old england. >> it's lovely to have a nice pint. >> reporter: after more than three months of lockdown, today these world famous pubs are back in business, at least for now. >> i do want people to feel it's safe to go and enjoy themselves, to enjoy hospitality. but it's got to be done in a responsible way. >> reporter: pubs are an institution here, beloved by average joes and royalty alike. prince william enjoying a drink just before the official reopening. >> pubs go back to the 16th century. in all that time, during the great fire of london, the great

plague, the first world war, the second world war, at no point did they shut the pubs. >> reporter: there are more than 30,000 pubs in the uk, every single one was forced to close during the pandemic. but the decision to reopen is controversial with some public health experts warning it's too soon. and that alcohol and social distancing don't mix. after the uk saw more than 43,000 coronavirus deaths, not everyone is rushing back. >> not this weekend. let's wait and see. >> i can't wait to go to a pub, but i'll wait until it's safe to do so. >> reporter: today as doors open, safety is a top priority. that means social distancing, contactless payment and one or two customers at a time. it may not be just like old-times, but for many it is reason enough to raise a glass. t what we're seeing here is it is

coming down to the individual pub owners to make sure people are following the rules. they're having to balance a need to sell drinks and stay in business with responsibility to keep their customers and their staff safe. alex? >> i have to tell you, thank you for putting a smile on my face. who doesn't love a pub. great package. thank you very much. some local governments are requiring quarantines for anyone traveling to over a dozen states that are now considered coronavirus hot spots. confirmed cases across the west, south and midwest are hitting record highs, officials fear holiday travelers are going to bring that virus back to their hometowns. joining me now is our travel expert. welcome to you. thank you for joining me this holiday. how do you plan a vacation during a pandemic when you have restrictions changing almost every day? >> what i think we're seeing is that people are trying to plan trips where they can be more flexible. the fact is that consumer data from farmers insurance shows

that 3 out of 5 travelers are planning to take road trips this summer. 74% of those are planning to stay within 500 miles. you know, a fourth of travelers are looking at taking camping trips this summer. so people are looking to go to places where they can more naturally social distance, and staying within 500 miles allows people to be close to home and to make those changes in their plans if they need to. >> that totally makes sense in terms of flexibility there. i'm sure you're familiar with the new research that shows coronavirus is spreading in areas along the interstate highways. how will that effect vacations who want to hit the roads this summer? they have to take that into consideration. >> they certainly do. it is all about how do you do this responsibly and thoughtfully even when you hop in the car and hit the road. you have to think about how you're trying to continue stop

the spread in your own community and apply those measures on the road. take your food with you so you don't have to make a lot of stonsto stops. we're even seeing a spike in rv rentals this summer so people with stay self-contained and safer while traveling. >> i want to talk about the airlines. some are booking to full capacity, american airlines is coming under fire for that practice. is that going to ultimately backfire on the airlines or do you think the airlines because of more people can now offer cheaper tickets and appeal to travelers that way? >> i think it's going to be a bit of both. you will always have the travelers who will jump on the cheaper tickets, but i don't think it will inspire traveler confidence as we head into these days where we are seeing a spread. >> absolutely. got to say, i was planning a flight to california but canceled that one this week

given the coronavirus concerns and quarantine when i returned to new york. thank you very much. happy 4th. thanks to all of you for watching. i'll be back at noon. ali velshi is next and he will talk with d.l. hughley as he opens up about his battle with coronavirus. rus. and long-lasting gain scent beads. part of the irresistible scent collection from gain!

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we're breaking records we don't want to break. >> what concerns me the most is the percentage of positives that we're getting out of our tests. a 7$740 billion defense bil, a house panel approved it, trump threatened to veto it. the reason may surprise you. >> he's going to have to decide once again will he put our nation's defense and the troops first or put his base politics first? and it's the fourth of july. we'll talk about what independence means for everyone. velshi begins now. good morning. it is saturday, july 4th, independence day. i'm ali velshi. the covid-19 pandemic continues to surge