day in politics, and no normal day even for a seasoned politician like president joe biden. it's one of the most high stakes days in his political career as he prepares to hold a rally in the next hour in a critical swing state and then sit down for his first in-person interview since the debate that shook his candidacy. the big test for biden and what happens if he fails next. plus, devastating pictures coming out of california where sweltering heat is fueling the flames of wildfires raging across the state, as officials tell locals in mariposa county get out now. and could there be a breakthrough in the israel-hamas war. the biden administration seems to think so saying hamas has softened their position bringing them closer to a deal to get the remaining hostages out and put an end to the fighting in gaza. but we begin with an undoubtedly huge day for president biden, potentially one of the most important in his decades' long political career. just over an hour from now, the president will kick off what

"punchbowl news" is calling the quote, i'm not going anywhere but i do need more sleep tour. it marks biden's fifth visit to the crucial battleground state this year. it's a very public test at a moment where there couldn't be more eyes on him as he tries to reinject momentum into his campaign following what's been a difficult week to say the least. all since last thursday's presidential debate. the stakes are sky high, and after his big rally wraps, he'll sit down for what's arguably the biggest interview of joe biden's life. a senior adviser involved in the process says the interview team from abc, quote, will be with us all day in wisconsin to cover the president's event and observe him throughout what will be a very critical day. i want to bring in nbc news white house correspondent mike memoli who's on the ground there as well as reuters white house correspondent jeff mason, "washington post" senior national political correspondent and msnbc contributor, ashley parker and democratic strategist and former executive director of the new york state democratic party, basil smikle. michael, it's obviously a huge day for the president as he

returns to the campaign trail and then sits down for this prime time interview. reporters asked him about that while he was boarding air force one just in the last hour. what'd he have to say? >> reporter: well, that's right, ali, you've laid out the stakes so well about what this day means for president biden, as the president himself might put it, this is an inflection point for his campaign. because remember what that debate a week ago was supposed to accomplish for his campaign. it was meant to crystallize the choice for voters between donald trump and president biden. instead, the choice has come down for many democrats should president biden stay or should he go. should he step aside for his candidacy? this rally an important opportunity for as the biden campaign is viewing it, keeping the focus forward, talking about donald trump who has largely been out of the spotlight, and one of the questions that was posed to president biden as he was boarding air force one to come here was from our colleague tara prindville about whether he can still beat donald trump. let's take a listen to that exchange. >> mr. president, are you ready

for today? >> mr. president, is it time for you to drop out of the race? mr. president, do you want to talk about your message in wisconsin? can you still beat trump? >> reporter: that last question is the one he did want to answer because it is so notable how all the focus has turned on to president biden and not to this choice in the election. that's why the biden campaign is saying today the president on this 5th of july is going to really talk about what's at stake in this election, what's at risk in terms of our democracy, in terms of our fundamental freedoms, and as part of that effort to try to show that they are all systems go moving forward, the biden campaign also announcing travel not just next week but through the weeks to come, including during the republican national convention here in wisconsin. the president will be traveling out west talking to some key constituencies, at least that's the plan for now, ali. >> yeah, kudos to our colleague tara for shouting above the

engines there for the president to hear her. basil, as much as the president is digging in right now, it feels like even though big donors are pulling back and a few lawmakers have called for him to withdraw, the vibe is sort of wait and see right now among democrats, so what can biden do today and in the weeks ahead to start turning the page? >> you know something, we say in campaigns all the time, signs of strength. that's when you wanted to see at the debate. this is why there's all this consternation. you know, every time donald trump opened his mouth, he wanted to hear biden say how are you going to do that from prison, right? because he was about to be sentenced and continue to talk about the -- you know, the supreme court and their decisions and how that affects the country. talk about project 2025. so i still think he can do those things. he can do them on the campaign trail at a large rally and message event. he can do that in a one-on-one interview. he's got to continue to make that contrast and frame the conversation because to mike's point, we're not talking about donald trump. and when he's out of the news

and the focus is squarely on joe biden, voters don't get to have that -- get to make that distinction, and you're not framing the choices for them. it's always about framing the choice for a voter. if he comes out strong, if he sounds strong, if he sounds strident and he really goes after and takes it to trump and tries to bring the focus back to what's at stake in this race, i think he can be successful. just don't drag this crucial period out longer than it should be. >> yeah, i doubt that that's the goal of the white house here, basil. jeff, post-debate, every single public appearance from the president is being scrutinized, including this radio interview yesterday. listen. >> i'm proud to be, as i said, the first vice president, the first black woman to serve with a black president, proud of -- the first black woman to the supreme court. >> now, you and i have heard him make that point before that he was proud to serve as the first vice president to the first black president, but now he's

got this prime time interview coming up tonight. is there an awareness when you talk to your sources in the white house and the campaign of the real tight wire act that the president has to play right now, and how are they strategizing to avoid those sorts of moments that we saw there? >> yeah, i think there's absolutely an awareness. i don't think it's possible not to be aware of this right now, whether you're at the white house or whether you're in the campaign or whether you're the general public or those of us reporting on this. as far as strategy is concerned, ali, i think it comes down to just getting him out there. mike referred to the travel that is coming up in the coming weeks, i think they want to show that he can hold a robust schedule. in part that's what he wanted to show when he was doing those two foreign trips at the beginning of june and then now he's ended up using that as one of the reasons or excuse or explanation as to why he looked tired and didn't do as well in the debate. it is a very fine line for him to cross and for him to be on. they're trying to show that he can do it. he's trying to show that he can do it, but there's a lot of

concern within the democratic party as we've already talked about and there's one thing he can't do. he can't turn back the clock on age, and so there are some things that he says and does, little quirks that he has, verbal ticks that he has. those will almost certainly come out in that interview tonight. is that something people will throw their hands up about or is that something people can accept. >> >> i remember in 2020 when we were covering that biden campaign, there was concern from within the campaign's ranks about, well, he could misspeak. he could have a gaffe, and i know that we joke about what about the gaffes, do they really matter. but in this instance, what about the potential for the gaffes? if the goal is to just get out there, that means that there's more ability or opportunity for him to have one. >> certainly concerned about that. i mean, that really is the focus of all of what we discussed over the last few weeks is that, you know, all of those moments that folks were concerned about in 2020, are they playing themselves out in ways that, you know, maybe they didn't expect

so soon. so yeah, that's why i think these messaging events and these other conversations maybe the more one-on-ones are very critical, but whatever it is you have concerns about, joe biden has to reassure the public that he can still run the country and manage the bureaucracy. he's done that over the last four years. you know, there was some reporting about what time he goes to bed. you know, in many ways i don't care because, quite frankly, i don't know what time he goes to bed. if you feel safe under this president, he can talk about that and say that he's done a good job. and i think that's the kind of language and sort of pushback that he needs. just he's got to throw that back and do it in a way that reassures the public, and, again, you know, this is what has taken so long to do, but by god, this is the time to do it. >> ashley, i think that the people with the best job right

now are the people who get to be out talking to voters, and one of your colleagues at "the washington post" talked to a voter in wisconsin who said really, any other democrat would work for them. they said, quote, i'm not asking for much, just like knows how to address a camera, can shake hands. they were talking about biden, but look, the truth of the matter here right now is voters are choosing between two guys of roughly the same age, both have trailed off, misspoken, shown their age. one is a convicted felon. it's not joe biden. democrats are in a panic. while republicans are kind of coasting. what does that say about both parties right now? >> well, it says former president trump has consolidated his party around him in a way that president biden hasn't and that some of those concerns baked in about president trump are not concerns from his base. now, those are still concerns from the voters who trump will have to win over if he plans to beat president biden, but

democrats -- and i was also just hung up with a couple voters -- democrats, these are people who desperately want to vote for joe biden who say they absolutely will not vote for donald trump so sort of assume the similar -- the democratic equivalent of a maga base, right? who really dislike donald trump, but one woman told me she made -- she literally made an adobe vision board where she put gavin newsom on one side and kamala on the other, and her dream ticket, she thinks from a marketing standpoint is newsome at the top. she hopes that vice president will say i love being number two, i'd like to continue to be number two. that was one person. i talked to other people who i have been surprised to hear very liberal, very democratic voters who say if they are in a state that's not a swing state, they may not vote for biden because they want to register a protest vote to say to the party just how unacceptable they believe it was that we got into this

situation. >> that voter might be assuaged by governor gavin newsom on the campaign trail yesterday for president biden talking about something that basil mentioned, mike, which is the idea that he told democratic governors yesterday that he would sleep more and limit his events after 8:00 p.m. this is how gavin newsom is saying biden meant that. listen to this. >> i was with him in l.a. after he had just come back to europe for the second time. was in a photo line for almost two hours. he barely slept. i was exhausted and got back in the hotel room and collapsed, so he was -- he did that with a smile on his face. it was more of a rhetorical framework of just being fit and rested because he was burning at both ends that last ten or so days. i think that is what he was reflecting is just a more steady focus on being his energetic self. it wasn't a literal 8:00 i will be doing things differently. >> okay, figuratively speaking

or not, does it matter, mike, when you hear what democrats so badly want to see from president biden right now, are explanations like that enough to make them start changing their vision boards? >> ali, it's so interesting because think about where i was a week ago. it was the day after that very poor performance in the debate. the president was on the campaign trail in north carolina, and he gave what by all accounts was a very strong performance, reassuring, talking about how committed he was to staying in this race, and that was reassuring to a lot of democrats. the problem was then there was silence for a period of days, and that really speaks to the quandary that the biden campaign is in. yes, there are a number behind closed door meetings and conversations that he's been having. those conversations are being read out in different ways by different people. i understand there was a tense conversation between the president and some of those governors, but the fact that there is almost no margin for error for the president at this point is one of the things that's contributing to these

democrats who are for the most part privately but increasingly will potentially start seeing them publicly, especially based on what we hear from the interview tonight with george stephanopoulos because they want to see the focus go to donald trump and not to be focused for the rest of his campaign, 120 something days only about whether joe biden can do the job for four more years. >> and ash, as we start to look ahead here both to the president's rally and then the days and weeks to come, your paper is reporting that a group of prominent political donors, civic leaders and business executives sent a letter to biden this morning calling on him to cement his legacy and end his bid, in your latest reporting you write how this all ends up to biden and biden alone. what weight does a letter like this one sent this morning even carry especially as he's saying right now he's in this until the end and his family and campaign are backing him up on that. >> well, it's unclear, you know, some of those people may have a particular personal connection to him, but in my reporting, what this comes down to, as i

said, is biden and biden alone, but what will cause him to make a decision of stepping aside, a number of people who are part of these discussions, who have known him for a while, they say it's three things. it's polling, and the polls would really have to crater. it's elected officials deserting him en masse. president biden cares deeply about what fellow politicians and electeds say far more than anybody else. he believes that they, like him, have had to win races and answer to voters. so it would be a lot more house members, senators, governors, deserting him, and then following that, money drying up to his campaign. and if those were the conditions, then i've been told you would need sort of democratic leaders, people like chuck schumer, hakeem jeffries, also jim clyburn, potentially former leader pelosi going to him and saying -- making that pitch of cement your legacy. you've been a great president. you've done more than lbj did in

terms of legislation, but also if you stay on the ticket, not only are you going to lose, but you've said you're running against trump because he is an existential threat to democracy. we are going to lose the house and we are going to lose the senate and there's going to be absolutely no bulwark against stopping trump from doing everything he's wanted to do, what you believe is so dangerous, and not just harming the country but undoing your legacy, and that is sort of the hypothetical way people believe this would have to go. >> yeah, it all underscores the big stakes for where mike is on the ground and then of course what we see tonight in that big interview. thank you for getting us started here. straight ahead, too hot to handle, millions at risk under the longest heat wave in the west in decades. the dangerous heat also taking a toll on crews battling wildfires in california. we're back with the latest in just 90 seconds. 're back with t just 90 seconds.

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more than 100 million people are scorching under high temperatures this holiday weekend, as a heat wave blankets western and southern states. the national weather service forecasts temperatures of up to 120 degrees in parts of the southwest and 115 degrees in california. where the extreme heat has been fueling wildfires and making it harder to contain them. evacuation orders were issued in mariposa county after a fire broke out yesterday burning through the night. also in northern california, the thompson fire is raging in butte county burning through more than

118 acres so far. joining me now nbc news correspondent david noriega and nbc news meteorologist bill karins is back with us. david, how are people in california dealing with this heat? and are officials preparing for the potential of more fires to come? >> reporter: yeah, ali, it's here in california, but it's elsewhere, too, arizona, nevada, really all across the west including some major cities like phoenix and las vegas. authorities are opening cooling centers urging people to stay indoors as much as possible. of course it's july 4th weekend. that's a bit of a tall order. a lot of people are expected to be out and about this weekend, maybe distracted not paying attention to things like staying hydrated, which in the context of a potentially historic heat wave could be life or death. now, it is not just the temperatures. it's also the expected duration of this heat wave that is raising alarms both here in the west and the southwest, more humid areas where it's harder for people to lower their body temperatures and recover from this kind of heat, especially if it drags on late into next week.

as far as fires, is this raising concerns more fires could emerge. the french fire in mariposa county, it is very close to the town of mariposa. it's a small town about 1,500 people, but it's on the way to yosemite. it's considered the gateway to yosemite, so a lot of tourists typically pass through there. that highway to the park is currently shut down and cal fire says the fire is only about 5% contained. there's a little bit more good news on that other fire mentioned, the thompson fire, which is slowing down some evacuation orders are being lifted. cal fire says that's now about 46% contained, but of course the concern is going into the weekend and into next week, if more fires emerge that threaten population centers, that could start stretching resources pretty thin. ali. >> bill, when might our friends out west and the south see some relief from this heat? >> no time soon, especially in the west. the south may get a little bit of relief as we head towards the end of the week. but i mean, the west, this is going to go at least until the

middle of next week in some cases. it's not just like typical heat, it's not like oh, it's hot, it's a heat wave. this is all-time record possible stuff. the hottest stretch ever record instead a few cities. that's mainly the west. the high heat and the humidity is the problem in the east. the air is really thick throughout the south. i noticed that raleigh right now, the heat index is 112. the actual temperature in raleigh is 100 degrees. to put that in perspective, the hottest temperature raleigh durham airport has reported is 105. we'll see what they peak at later. we're just now starting to warm it up in the west, phoenix at 105. vegas at 102. we're going to go much hotter than that later this afternoon. reading could be up to 118. that's northern california. it's not a spot that typically gets that hot. it's very rare and vegas and phoenix and areas in the desert, you're going to get exceptionally hot. 114 tomorrow in vegas, same as we go to phoenix.

then as we head through the weekend, all-time record heat, vegas 117 on sunday. that would tie the hottest ever recorded at the airport. you could break that on monday or tuesday. it doesn't really end here. it just kind of lingers into the middle of next week. there's no rain to come. this is the dry season, so we get very concerned, especially in the late afternoon and evening, ali, that's when the winds pick up as the air starts mixing. it's extremely hot, relative humidity is very low, and that's when we get the rapid fire growth and spread. that's what happened last night, and until this weather pattern changes, very dangerous times. >> not a great outlook, david noriega, prepare yourself for what bill karins just prepared us for. thanks for joining us. bracing for beryl, parts of texas now under voluntary evacuation orders as the storm barrels across the gulf, where it could make landfall next. you're watching msnbc. next. u'yore watching msnbc. when the power goes out? power outages can be unpredictable and inconvenient, but with a generac home standby generator, your life goes on uninterrupted.

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today mexican officials are warning people to protect life and property as hurricane beryl bears down. mobile kitchens and water treatment plants are up and running, buildings boarded up. one spray painted with the message go home, beryl. but the area is also a popular tourist destination, and not all visitors were aware of the threat before traveling there. one man from norway told "the new york times" he and his family arrived in cancun last night with no clue that a hurricane was on its way. he says the hotel has given them no information on what to do

either. meanwhile, in the caribbean where beryl killed nine people, authorities are working to restore power and cell service after the storm devastated homes and farmland. joining me now is luis david rodriguez the program manager for the caribbean and emergency response for direct relief international. luis, you're leading your organization's effort to help on the ground after beryl. what are you hearing about the current situation on the ground there? >> well, in the caribbean, assessments are still being done. i know a lot of people have lost their homes. it's a sad situation, but there's a lot of organizations that is providing support and bringing help, very much needed at this moment. >> because there's already another tropical storm that's heading towards the caribbean, so how big of a concern is it when those communities are still and already in recovery mode?

>> yeah, and that's why we feel preparedness is very important, so even before hurricane hits directly, medical supplies throughout the region including the eastern caribbean, was the case in jamaica and now in mexico as well, so when this situation happens, we provide support as soon as possible to these communities in these difficult situations. >> you mentioned this, this is a really early point in the season for a storm this powerful, and it's only the first hurricane in a season that's expected to be really extreme. how are you preparing as an organization for the summer ahead? >> yeah, medical supplies, we pro-position them throughout the region, so when these situations happen we can deploy this to the

islands that need it the best. we are in constant communication with our partners with the ministry of health and other organizations, support organizations, so we're ready to support our cities as needed. we have a warehouse in puerto rico that we can also deploy medical supplies and emergency response to these islands. >> luis david rodriguez, thank you for taking a few moments to update us on your efforts. >> thank you. meanwhile, beachgoers beware. as millions of people head to the shores for the holiday weekend, lifeguards are raising warning flags about the recent rise in shark attacks. nbc news's maggie vespa has more including what you should coif you come across one. >> this holiday weekend hit the beach at your own risk. among the top concerns a slew of recent shark attacks. this stunning cell phone video appears to show a shark swimming back and forth just feet from shore along south dakota padre

island, texas, thursday, with the department of public safety helicopter spotting one from above. this moments after authorities say multiple swimmers were attacked. among them, ashley silva. >> feel like this pressure, like someone like punched me or like someone pushed the back of my leg, and i just turned around and it's a shark. >> reporter: another beach goer hospitalized with severe leg injuries. >> we do not know the species. we do not know the reason why this happened. it's unprecedented here on south padre island. >> reporter: in new smyrna beach, florida, a man from ohio bitten on the foot yesterday in knee deep water. some studies showing shark attacks while still rare have been on the rise in recent years. just last month, former pro surfer tamayo perry was killed by a shark in hawaii. lifeguards advising everyone to be on alert. expert tips to avoid sharks, swim in groups. avoid the water at dusk or dawn when sharks are most active, and if you do happen to encounter a shark, keep your movements slow

and steady to avoid looking like prey. the shark headlines coming as tens of millions are expected to swarm americas' beaches this holiday weekend. officials warning swimmers to also watch out for rip currents. fast-moving strips of water that can suddenly pull swimmers out to sea. >> if you get caught in a rip current, the most important thing is to relax, stay calm, don't panic. >> reporter: another concern, contamination. authorities in ten states closing or posting advisories of roughly 100 beaches with high levels of bacteria warning exposure can cause gastrointestinal illness and skin infections. hidden hazards lurking beneath the surface as americans celebrate the holiday weekend in the water. >> maggie vespa, thank you. breakthrough? the white house says we're closer than ever to a cease fire deal in gaza, but israel says not so fast. where negotiations actually stand next on msnbc. ns actually

stand next on msnbc.

there's been a, quote, break through in cease fire negotiations between israel and hamas that could bring an end to fighting and a release of hostages, possibly among them americans. hersh goldberg-polin and keith seagle. president biden spoke with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu by phone yesterday about the details of this new possible deal. but israeli officials tell nbc news that expectations should be

lowered. it could still be weeks before a deal is reached. nbc news international correspondent matt bradley has the latest from tel aviv. >> reporter: so it is another round of hostage negotiations that looks like we're starting to see here. there's a lot of optimism coming from washington. we heard from washington people in the biden administration saying that there was a breakthrough, that hamas had softened their position on that same proposal that the biden administration had been promoting at the end of may calling it israel's own proposal, and that was later enshrined in a united nations security council resolution that passed last month, almost unanimously. well, now it looks like according to israeli authorities and the u.s. and hamas who spoke with hezbollah today, reuters quoted hamas as saying they actually had already agreed to this deal. i spoke with two israeli officials this morning, they said that we should temper our optimism, and they said specifically that this wasn't a breakthrough, that this was actually the beginning of a process that could last for

several weeks. now, if there is a deal, that would be a massive breakthrough. it could free those remaining hostages in the gaza strip. there are thought to be about 120 of them, many of them are already thought to have died. it would also free many palestinian prisoners who were currently in israeli prisons. those numbers have yet to be decided, and it would also perhaps most crucially to the entire world who's been watching this situation, bring a measure of peace to the fighting in the gaza strip. that remains the main issue. hamas has said from the beginning they will not agree to any hostage negotiation deal that doesn't include a permanent cease fire in the gaza strip and a full withdrawal of israeli troops. the israelis, particularly led by benjamin netanyahu the prime minister, have said that they will not compromise on their intention of totally destroying hamas and its military capabilities. they will not leave until hamas is completely destroyed. of course that's something that hamas is very unlikely to sign onto, but this is the central

fulcrum of this disagreement, and it's one that hasn't wavered ever since the last time there was a successful deal all the way back in november. so now we've reached a familiar impasse. there's high expectations on both sides, and it's going to be up to the israelis now to decide whether or not they're going to agree to a proposal that was just issued by hamas. >> matt bradley, thank you. >> joining me now former supreme allied commander at nato, retired four star navy admiral james stastavridis. if a deal is reached, it would bring an end to nearly nine months of fighting in gaza, but as matt said there, we've been here before, so what's different this time around? >> biggest thing in my view is on the israeli side, they are growing increasingly concerned, ali, about the north, about hezbollah. hundreds of rockets coming in. they are actively preparing for some level of military activity

to the north. therefore, they want the flexibility to be able to move troops, large numbers, out of gaza and have them up in the north. that's on the israeli side. on the hamas side, they are running out of resources and support from the arab world. more and more pressure on them from the qataris principally, also the egyptians. so both sides don't trust each other, don't really want to do a deal, but are hitting the point where they are being pressured into it by outside factors, ali. >> you really beautifully lay out the contours on each side here, but as we see israeli officials trying to lower expectations, is there anything to the timing of their announcement? why now? >> i think the israelis are very mindful of the american political season that's unfolding in front of our eyes.

so that's another big factor here, and let's be candid, the biden administration desperately wants to avoid an escalation in this conflict. they'd love to put a cease fire on the board. i think the israelis are cognizant of this, and of course, currently scheduled benjamin netanyahu coming to address the u.s. congress. all of those factors are at play here, and i think are putting additional pressure on the israeli side to try and get to a point of cease fire. boy, let's hope so. >> well, because you talk about the fear that this could only become a further escalated conflict in a more broadway within the region. there's long been a concern about an escalation with hezbollah in the region. what's your level of concern about that at this point? >> it's pretty high, but not off the charts. let me explain. hezbollah is not going to turn this into a wider war without

iranian concurrence. hezbollah, like hamas, is a creature of tehran, and ali, as you well know, the iranians are in the midst of their political season. they're trying to settle a new leader for the country. the supreme leader is very focused internally. iran simply doesn't want a wider war at this point. i think for that reason, it's quite unlikely we're going to see things broaden to the north. so to conclude, in kind of a perfect world here, we'll see a cease fire in the south in gaza. hezbollah will be restrained by iran. we may get to a point of stability here as the summer unfolds and we get into the fall. >> and then, of course, for the families whose loved ones are still being held by hamas, these nine months have been agonizing. how essential is it to get this deal done correctly, and what do you think is happening behind the scenes right now? >> this is an entire adjacent

stream of effort that in many ways from a humanitarian perspective is the most important one, certainly for those families. and that work has been unceasingly followed by the biden administration on behalf of the americans who are in that group, and of course a great deal of internal pressure from those israeli families who have hostages being held in gaza. so that stream is bound up in this idea of a cease fire. i think if it all lands -- and i'd give it a 50/50 chance at this point, which is higher than it's been in quite some time -- if it all lands, we might see those hostages coming home over the next few weeks. i'm knocking on wood as i'm saying that, ali. >> and we've talked about the ways that the biden administration is probably doing the same thing. as a senior administration official tells us here at nbc,

that president biden's expected to discuss the latest progress on a deal with the u.s.'s european partners at a nato summit. that's in washington next week. so as we look ahead to that, what should we expect to come out of next week's summit, and what would be a good sign to you? >> well, in terms of overall focus of the nato summit, job one from a nato perspective is, of course, going to be the war in ukraine, and i think you'll see continuing strong support from all of the nato nations represented in washington at the summit level. these will be the heads of each of the 32 nations in the alliance. so that will be focus number one, ukraine. but certainly, running along side that is broad concern for the alliance and for particularly our european colleagues who are so close to these events in the middle east. what can nato do to tamp down the potential of that wider war

that we discussed a moment ago. i think a good sign coming out would be nato in unison, in the final communique talking about the need to resolve diplomatically what's happening in gaza and avoid a wider war. look for that by the end of the summit next week. >> we all will be. admiral james stavridis, thank you for joining us. >> thanks, ali. >> thank you. a record setting weekend, despite long lines already on the highways and at the airports, the busiest fourth of july travel day is still ahead of us. coming up, how the busiest airport in the world is bracing for that rush. e, i had to switch carriers... (roommate) i told him... at verizon, everyone can get the best deals, like that iphone 15 on them. (man) switching all the time... it wasn't easy. (lady) 35. (store customer) you're gonna be here forever. (man) i know. (employee) here is your wireless contract. (man) do i need a lawyer for this? those were hard days. representative. switch! now that i got a huge storage and battery upgrade... i'm officially done switching.

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red, white, and lime green? travelers passing through miami in the airport may have seen a mysterious bright green fluid gushing from the ceiling, officials quickly determined it was water from the airport's

air-conditioning system, dyed bright green to help them trace it back in the event of a leak, like yesterday. just a blip in the itinerary for record number of travelers this weekend. aaa projected 71 million people are traveling 50 miles or more for the july 4th weekend, thanks to the flexibility of remote work. joining me from atlanta's heartsfield international airport, the world's busiest and hopefully without green slimiest is nbc news's priya sridhar. what are you hearing from people traveling this weekend? has it been harder or easier than years before, and please tell me there's no slime. >> reporter: no green slime to report here in atlanta. that was pretty gross to see, i have to tell you. i know you're a frequent flier. i have to tell you, this is record breaking stuff. we're at the world's busiest airport. tsa is projecting 28 million people are going to be passing through the check points over the extended 12-day holiday period set to end in just a few

days. the busiest day is still yet to come on sunday with more than 3 million people projected to travel that day. american airlines saying sunday is expected to be their busiest travel day of the entire summer. we tell people to try to get to the airport early on weeks like this week. we caught up with a traveler here at the atlanta airport, and let's take a listen to how his travel was. >> i almost faced the consequences today. now i know come two hours before at least. >> reporter: so there you have it. we tell everyone to try to show up at least two hours early. tsa, however, they say that they're prepared for this volume of passengers. in fact, if you have been to an airport recently, like i know you have, ali, this isn't going to come as a huge surprise. 12 of the 15 busiest travel days

as far as passenger volume have all occurred since mid may. tsa says that they have been prepared for this. they actually sent volunteer agents to different airports across the country who aren't necessarily as equipped as an airport like atlanta is for the big volumes of passengers. they have very ambitious goals, trying to get everyone through the check points, within 30 minutes. if you have tsa precheck, they're trying to get you through in ten minutes. >> got to have that pre-check. thank you. travel safe. over the past several years, there's been a major surge in travel around the world with some hot spots in particular becoming especially overcrowded with visitors. nbc news emilie ikeda has a closer look. >> reporter: with summer travel soaring to record levels some popular destinations are now trying to slow the surge of tourists. >> it gets busier earlier and earlier every single year. >> crowds like these have become the norm in salem, massachusetts. and not just in october the

halloween hot spot famous for the block buster hocus pocus films, along with the dark history of witch trials has spun up year round traffic, and some say it's just too chaotic. >> it's really increasingly difficult to live in downtown salem. >> reporter: now the city of 45,000 is trying to scare away some crowds with new $350 licensing fees for tour guides, a massive jump from the previous cost of just 10 bucks. >> i have 37 tour guides, and that means 37 times 350. >> tour operator beth crowley insists the tours aren't the problem. >> the tours are actually keeping people from wandering around. >> reporter: salem is not alone. over tourism has become a growing challenge across the country. look at america's national parks. >> national parks are like the disneyland of outdoors. they are super packed, super

touristy. >> reporter: more parks are having to require timed entry reservations to ease congestion, like mount rainier, which saw a 40% increase in visitation in the past decade. >> the impact of the pandemic on over tourism is to accentuate it. we want to travel now more than ever. >> reporter: travelers spent $1.3 trillion in 2023, producing an economic footprint of nearly 3 trillion bucks, a boost that in some cases comes at a cost. at japan's magnificent mount fiji, there's a new fee and visitor cap, and even venice, italy, a tourist mainstay is now charging day trippers to help thin out throngs of sight seers. >> every major country in the world is staring down the barrel of this issue. too many tourists in the same place at the same time. >> reporter: emilie ikeda, nbc news. >> that does it for me today,

i'm ali vitali, thank you for being with us over these past two hours, you can follow me on social media using @ali vitali on all the platforms. we continue with my friend yamiche alcindor right after this. right after this i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help. rinvoq is a once-daily pill

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we are developing agents... with powers far beyond mortal men or you might just explode. [ laughing ] good afternoon, i'm yamiche alcindor, live from washington, d.c. right now, as president joe biden insists he's not going anywhere, his campaign faces a make-or-break moment. the president is set