chris clackum shows why you'll be saving money this fourth of july. >> gassing up for the upcoming july 4th weekend are in for a pleasant surprise. gas prices are about five cents >> makes it easier to decide if we're going to drive versus flying. >> heading into the summer we see prices rise, that hasn't been the case for 2017. >> reporter: gas isn't the only thing travelers will find cheaper this year. airfares are down 10%, rental cars 14% less. >> a few years ago when it was almost $4 a gallon, you know, flying was a lot cheaper than driving. >> reporter: aaa's tamara johnson says they're predicting a record rear. >> it will be a historic day we're expecting that 44 million americans will be traveling this holiday season. >> reporter: 37 million will be driving, taking full advantage of cheaper travel this year. >> a lot of people are taking off for the fourth. a lot of them are out on the roads, so i think the fourth of july week gender is bridgesing them out early. >> reporte highways are likely to look like rush hour instead of a holiday. chris clackum, nbc news. >>> just ahead o

chris clackum, nbc news. >>> the u.s. depen education is challenging high school students to create healthy, delicious and budget friendly menu items that can be served across the country. armstrong is judging the national cooking up change competition. joins us now to talk about the challenge and his new restaurant hummingbird. >> always good to see you. >> what are you looking for when judging the meals? >> i think the main thing that i'm looking for is food that tastes good. no matter what elements of healthiness or calories or sodium or sugar you put into it, if the food doesn't taste good, the kids aren't going to eat it. >> you can do this for $1 per meal? >> they get $1 a a meal. they have to produce a main course and two sides to go with it. this is their tenth year. i have judged a couple of them and s s >> very cool. >> they love it. >> i'm talking about hummingbird. tell me what you're making today. >> a couple things. it's a a new restaurant in the hotel indigo on the waterfront. it's going to be a casual rest

nbc's chris clackum has more on the new trend in weddings. >> reporter: there are indications destination weds this wedding season than ever before, affecting the rest of us by how much we spend on a gift. >> the average right now on wedding gift spending is 140. >> reporter: she says that's what their wedding survey found, but that 140 for a gift for a traditional wedding not too far away that you get to by car. >> if you're planning on attending a sdinlation wedding, i think that gift giving and how much you're spending can go down a bit, because you're spending so much to get there. >> on average it takes about $350 to get there, which she says is enough of a gift by itself, but still suggests a less expensive gift for, say, the honeymoon. >> a couple drinks on the flight to their honeymoon or paying for a dinner, or maybe even a scuba or snorkeling activity while they're in hawaii >> reporter: she says couples these days are more interested in experiences than expensive gifts for their wedding. >>> boy, look at that water. >> i know, nice, isn't it? >>> time for a final check on the f

chris clackum has the latest. >> reporter: the family of 22-year-old ohio native otto warmbier are beyond he's home though still in a coma after 17 months in a north korean prison. >> we're thrilled our son is on american soil. >> reporter: wearing the same coat his son wore in a north korean courtroom, otto's father said the family was not told until last week that he had been in a coma for over a year. they also korea that botulism and a sleeping pill caused it. >> there's no excuse for any civilized nation to have kept his condition secret and denied him topnotch medical care for so long. >> reporter: the university of virginia student had been on a tour of the reclusive country when in january of 2016 he was detained for stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. >> otto is held as a war criminal. they termed his confinement as war criminal. >> good afternoon. >> reporter: medical officials at the cincinnati hospital say he suffered extensive loss of brain tissue, but can't say what caused it. >> we have no certain or verifiable knowledge of t