state's biggest wild fire of the year, but thousands of homes are still threatened i'm joined by miguel almaguer miguel, there is good news on the fire front, but it is a desperate situation for so many. >> reporter: that's right, lester. desperate and devastating. the number of structures destroyed has been up to 41. that's nearly double was the number was yesterday. and many of those are homes just like this one. there is still 1,400 other properties that still lie in the path of the fire. in terms of the fire fight, though, there is some good news. i want to show you some video of what that fire fight looks like more or less tonight. this blaze is making deep runs into the forest it is moving towards burn scar areas that have already been torched before that should take away an extreme amount of fuel back here on the ground, lester, while firefighters continue to work to get an upper hand on this blaze, they still don't have a cause for what started it. lester. >> miguel almaguer, thank you. >>> in canada, remarkable scenes as pope francis kissed and blessed babies before leading a mass for a

miguel almaguer has the latest >> reporter: overnight, another wave of destruction. the oak fire more than doubling in size to 14,000 acres now, the state's largest wildfire of the year ravaging everything in its path >> the fire has gained exceptional acreage overnight. >> reporter: peak fire season hitting hard in the rural community of mariposa over 6,000 evacuated, as the governor declares a state of emergency. with containment nowhere in sight, the billowing plumes of smoke are visible from outer space. these are the new sounds of summer the crackling of bone-dry brush, the result of california's mega drought, promising more hell scapes ahead, as temperatures keep rising more than 2,000 firefighters working around the clock to beat back flames but thousands of structures remain under threat crews spread too thin to stop all the homes from burning >> oh, this is horrible >> reporter: rodney maguire captured this video as he lost it all. his family's home for generations, gone. along with his collection of classic cars all he has left is support from his neighbors

that means the devastation here was likely set by humans lester >> all right miguel almaguer, thank you. >>> in 60 seconds, how twitter is taking its feud with elon musk to a whole new level. and the news involving a former attorney more than a year after his wife and son were shot to death >>> twitter is suing elon musk after the world's richest man backed out of his $44 billion bid to buy the so many giant. twitter wants the court to enforce the deal alleging musk only dropped out after the market plunged musk said he was terminating the deal accusing twitter of failing to disclose information on fake accounts >>> new developments on a murder mystery involving a former south carolina attorney more than a year after his wife and son were shot to death at their home. alex murdaugh is expected to be indicted on murder charges by a grand jury later this week, according to multiple sources. murdaugh was previously indicted for fraud and financial crimes we're back in a moment with priced out. why home buyers are backing out of deals and what could it mean for the hot housing market >>> now

tonight for some retailers the cost of doing business is far too high miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >>> coming up, the major steps some airports are now taking to control the summer travel chaos. alright. shortest roost fry drives next. ♪ worth it. ♪ my $4.00 roost fries with 100% all-white-meat chicken, melty cheese, and good good sauce. order on the jack app today. >>> air travel this summer has been marred by delays, lost luggage, and those long, long lines so now some overseas airports are actually limiting just how many passengers can fly kelly cobiella explains >> reporter: at europe's airports a summer of chaos. hours-long security lines, flights delayed and canceled >> we were stranded with two young children what do you do >> reporter: mountains of lost luggage. it's so bad london's heathrow is taking drastic action the latest airport telling airlines to cap summer ticket sales. heathrow says it can only handle 100,000 outgoing travelers a day. a fellow passenger sent jamie o'grady this picture of his bag, still stuck at heathrow five days after he returned to the

the rise again in at least 20 states, fueled by a highly contagious omicron subvariant tonight, miguel almaguersks dr. ashish jha, can vaccines prevent another devastating surge? >> reporter: as americans gather, travel, and vacation in record pre-pandemic numbers, the u.s. may be quietly and rapidly moving toward a summer covid surge. >> there's no question in my mind that we're missing a vast majority of infections right now. >> reporter: omicron subvariant b.a.5, the most contagious version of the virus yet, now dominant, making up more than 50% of new cases while there is no alarm at hospitals nationwide, many public covid testing sites have shuttered, while at the same time results from at-home test kits are going unreported. >> the truth is there are probably several hundred thousand, 400,000, 500,000 infections a day happening across the country. >> reporter: americans previously infected or protected by a vaccine are catching the virus at a worrisome rate. even the boosted have gotten sick multiple times. >> we are seeing a lot of re-infections within months of prior infections it's a r

miguel almaguer, nbc news >>> as we saw in uvalde, the gun violence epidemic in this country is hittingldren especially hard. it's now the leading cause of death among kids and teens in the u.s. gabe gutierrez takes us inside one hospital trying to change that in our new series "crime & consequences." >> reporter: when madison blackman was rushed to the hospital, the bullet had barely missed her brain. >> immediately i knew i was going to die i seen black it was like ink spilled in my eyes >> reporter: a far cry from the care-free social media videos typical of so many 16-year-olds instead, one night in january, she says she was out in a car with friends in brooklyn, when out of nowhere -- >> the bullets started hitting the car. it sounded like somebody had a handful of maybe 20 balloons and they all started popping one by one >> reporter: did you immediately realize what it was? >> yes i knew it was gunshots >> reporter: an ambulance took her here, the e.r. at cohen children's medical center, run by northwell health >> we've never seen numbers like this. >> reporter: where this doctor

miguel almaguer, nbc news. >>> president biden is keeping a full schedule as he battles covid.e is expected to give a virtual speech to the national organization of black law enforcement executives this afternoon. the president's doctor has said his symptoms have improved significantly. meanwhile, the fda has recommended pfizer and moderna push forward with omicron-specific booster shots for the fall the biden administration has already agreed with pfizer to purchase 105 million doses once it's approved. it could be ready by october. >>> from one outbreak to another, the world health organization has declared monkeypox a global health emergency. now, there are growing calls for the u.s. to do the same with so many questions in the aithy par for some answers >> reporter: monkeypox is on the move with at least 16,000 cases and spreading across roughly 75 countries. the outbreak triggering a global health emergency by the world health organization. the u.s. could soon declare its own public health emergency. >> we have ramped up vaccinations, ramped up treatments, ramped up testin

. >> miguel almaguer is is looking at the latest. some families have already lost everything. >> reporter: good morning, kris and marcus. this place was incinerated in a manner of minutes. this is california's largest fire this season. 17,000 acres and it will probably get close to 20,000 acres by the end of the day. the fire is still on the move today. it is moving deeper into the sierra nevada mountains and likely toward two burn scars, where it will probably run out of fuel. firefighters think they might be able to contain this boys by the weekend. they have a long fight ahead of them but today we expect temperatures to be in the mid- 90s. winds can always be a factor. the fire is burning toward an area that has burned before. as you mentioned as well, for these families who have lost so much, they might never be able to rebuild. these mountain communities love to be in this area, but it is so so excitable to water fires. >> they saw the fire burning in the park and they probably thought that they were safe. >> thank you so much,

nbc's miguel almaguer is in yosemite to tell us how that battle is going. n entrance to yosemite national park, it's closed today. >> we can see thick smoke, an indication the fire is on the move. none of the sequoias have been destroyed. there's been light damage to a few, but fire officials tell us for the most part they're in fairly good shape. the blaze is about 22% contained. that containment number is expected to rise over the next 24 hours. officials are going to be dealing with hot weather today, so that could be a bit of a setback. in terms of the good news on the weather front, we don't expect windy conditions that will fan the flames. firefighters will have that advantage. again, fire officials are doing all they can to protect the 600 sequoias in the valley floor. again, they have not lost a single one. so far, good news at the valley floor. today will be another big test for those on the front lines. hoda, back to you. >> miguel almaguer for us there in yosemite, thank you. >>> the house january 6th hearings resume today, a focus on extremist gr

are typically cool and wet shattering records as temperatures hit triple digits in some places miguel almaguer joins us miguel, it is so hot emergencies are being declared. >> reporter: that's right, lester. that's how dangerous this heat is we're talking about a region that's unaccustomed to th hot weather and for the most part unprepared for it. portland hit a record 102 degrees yesterday. and seattle also hit a new high, coming in at 94 now, by the end of this week, some parts of washington and oregon could reach upwards of 110 degrees. for some perspective, typical summer temps there are in the 70s to 80s heat warnings and advisories have been issued for the region, covering some 13 million people as a blanket of heat suffocates cities from british columbia to northern california. as you may recall just last june, a heat wave was blamed for killing hundreds of people in the area the next few days could also prove to be deadly lester >> okay, miguel. thank you. >>> now to our series climate challenge and the innovation that could change the face of some american cities as anne thompson repo

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nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer has the very latest. >> reporter: as flames devour portions, this morning effort to save yosemite's 600 giant sequoia from the washburn fire are becoming more desperate . on the ground, crews gorging fire lines to try to contain the blaze. the heat so intense, it is reportedly launching tree branches hundreds of feet in the air. in one instance, narrowly missing a plane involved in the aerial attack. >> a branch went right over the top of us. i don't want to take the chance of lowering another airplane. >> reporter: 1600 people have been forced to evacuate from homes and hotels. >> by the time we got down into yosemite valley. >> reporter: in just four days, the fire has torched 2000 acres in yosemite national park and is burning less than half a mile away from some of the most majestic trees in mariposa grove . the area home to the grizzly, a 3000-year-old sequoia that spans from 200 feet tall. crews setting up sprinklers to protect the massive tree from the raging blaze. >> it's really hard to sit here and know that it could mean the groves

it is not something you want to go up against. >> thanks to nbc's miguel almaguer.an on the run, a woman is now behind bars,s details of that story is next. details of that story is next whenever heartburn strikes get fast relief with tums. it's time to love food back. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums ♪ >>> after 43 days on the run, a fugitive yoga teacher accused of killing a romantic rival is now under arrest. nbc news correspondent rehema ellis has more. >> reporter: murder suspect caitlyn armstrong is back in the u.s. this morning facing charges after 43 days on the run. the 34-year-old fugitive was met at the houston airport by u.s. marshals. >> u.s. marshal service, the premiere agency in finding people. and when you do it as well as they do, it's only a matter of time. >> this is mariah wilson. >> reporter: armstrong is accused of killing professional cyclist mariah wilson. they were romantically involved with collin strickland according to the warrant. she was found at a beach hostel where she had been apparently hiding in plain sight. she cut and colored her hair and

miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: this morning a race to save one of earth's natural treasureseme heat and low humidity fuelling the washburn fire in yosemite national park. home to hundreds of iconic towering sequoia trees. >> when you see fire conditions like this, what is the biggest threat. >> we're trying to keep the fire from climbing the trees. >> more than 500 firefighters trying to protect these giants, clearing bone dry vegetation and running sprinklers to keep flames at bay. the fire fight here is literally going tree top to tree top. this crew is trying to put out hot spots before it jumps to the other side of the fire break. >> fire's edge is active. >> reporter: the fire's outer rim forcing the closure of yosemite's popular south entrance and the evacuation of some 1600 people from nearby homes and hotels. fames mariposa grove is a top tourist spot for its sequoias. some of the tallest and oldest trees in the planet. the iconic grizzly giant first began sprouting a thousand years bc. sequoias could stand up to 200 feet tall, higher than italy's leaning tower of pi

miguel almaguer, nbc news. >>> oversea, wnba star brittney griner will appear in a moscow court this morning, while back here in the states, there's been increasing pressure on president biden to help secure her release. vape cartridges containing cannab cannabis oil were found in her luggage. what can you tell us about the phone call >> reporter: the president told griner's wife that they're working to get brittany released as soon as possible and that they're working on the release of other americans who the u.s. says are wrongfully detained, like paul whelan the president says he read a draft of the letter he's apparently planning to send to griner after she wrote to shim saying i'm terrified i might be here forever last night the phoenix mercury held a bring bg home rally >> i can't rest as her humanity has been stripped from her i can't rest as her safety is in question i honestly can't rest until she's home i'm frustrated i'm frustrated that 140 daysnce been able to speak to me i'm frustrated that my wife is not going to get justice >> reporter: fewer than 1% of defendants in r

we get more from miguel almaguer >> chris, i apologize to you >> reporter: sharing his most extensive comments since the oscar slap, tonight will smith says he's reached out to chris rock who he says is not yet ready to talk. moment so i wanted to apologize to chris's mother i want to apologize to chris's family >> reporter: for the last three months smith says he's played this moment out over and over and over again in his head >> there's no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. >> reporter: smith says his wife, jada pinkett smith, never encouraged the slap and that he embarrassed his family >> i'm human, and i made a mistake. and i'm trying not to think of myself as a piece of [ bleep ]. i'm sorry really isn't sufficient >> reporter: while smith's apology may have been sincere with nearly 50 projects in the works it may have also been necessary for his career lester >> all right, miguel, thank you. >>> shark sightings like never before we're on patrol with why scientists say more and more sharks are moving closer and closer to the beach. a new chevy

miguel almaguer is in the fire zone tonight with late details. >> reporter: exploding in size again overnight, yosemite's washburn fire is quickly sweeping through the national park as more than 500 firefighters lose ground against the out-of-control blaze. >> trying to keep the fire from climbing the trees. >> reporter: torching forestland. flames now plank the 600 massive and iconic sequoias inside the park a national treasure under serious threat. >> they're incredibly fire resilient it's just the fire is so different right now. >> reporter: biologist garrett dickman says yosemite and california has never seen infernos like these. mega fires fueled by extreme drought, the new normal, incinerating trees that withstood flames for thousands of years. >> we have lost 20% of all giant sequoias on earth in the past 2 years alone. so, i mean, at this point every tree counts >> reporter: climate change is playing a role in how these fires burn they're now hotter, faster, and more explosive than ever before those dangerous conditions creating their own weather system on the ground the fire's powerf

let's start with miguel almaguer. >> reporter: shattering records and threatening lives. tonight this is the brutal broil baking tens of millions >> it's sweltering and what's the worst is there is no air moving >> reporter: the blistering heat wave turning much of the nation into an oven. 141 million people experiencing temperatures above 90 degrees. 51 million sweltering in triple digits >> i make sure to bring water, take breaks. >> reporter: setting records across much of the country, today heat alerts for at least 20 states from california to mississippi. salt lake city tying their all time high sunday 107 degrees. memphis, houston, and san antonio having their hottest summers on record. >> without a doubt it is it is a life and death situation. >> reporter: dallas hitting 106 where michael steed, suffering from chronic health problems and living on a fixed income, could face a deadly summer >> i don't have central air. it would have me at over 100 degrees inside of the house. >> reporter: in fresno, california where it will be triple digits all week the fire departm

miguel almaguer is on the front lines for us tonight. >> reporter: this is what california's wildfire season looks and sounds like now. exploding into the largest inferno in the state this year, the oak fire burning near yosemite is also the most volatile blaze of the season, torching everything in its path >> i appreciate how everybody's -- [ crying ] -- is sticking together >> it's okay it's okay. >> i still haven't absorbed this. >> reporter: even with 2,000 firefighters on the ground, the oak fire is raging out of control, destroying at least ten structures, including newlywed steve and andrea ward's home which erupted into a fireball >> she's looking over my shoulder, and you know, this home that we had just gotten married at two weeks ago -- it explodes >> reporter: with 3,000 people forced to evacuate, 3,200 structures still lie in the path of the fire. as the blaze breaks off and moves in multiple directions, firefighters are having a tough time staying in front of it, so now they're using the help of the air attack >> stop there. >> reporter: but even a steady line of fire re

they have located a person of interest in the shooting we have expanded coverage beginning with miguel almaguer >> reporter: from parade to panic on the fourth of july this the terrifying scene unfolding in highland park, illinois, as a barrage of bullets rips through a crowd, authorities say killing at least six and leaving two dozen more injured, many with gunshot wounds. >> i saw people shot on the ground and a little boy being carried away by a person that got shot people -- blood, gunshot wounds. >> reporter: families that lined a holiday parade route suddenly scrambling away from the volley of gunfire and an active shooter who appeared to take a sniper-like position on a rooftop according to police. >> people were screaming, they were panicking, and they were just scattering. >> reporter: as mothers and fathers scrambled to carry their children away from the fourth of july bloodshed, investigators say the shooter initially slipped away, recovering a high-powered rifle, officers ordered a lockdown as their manhunt turned into a citywide dragnet robert crimo was taken into custody hours lat

that was nbc's miguel almaguer with that report. joe, we will look at numbers in europe. are dying from the heat. >> yeah, yeah. no, it really is. i mean record-breaking heat in texas, as we've heard. temperatures getting up well over 100. you actually had a meteorologist what, at krtk, travis herzog, was doing the 3:00 news and talking about the weather and said it was so hot that the power grid might not be able to handle it. while he was talking the studio went dark. texas, the texas power grid. >> frightening. >> once again not able to handle the crush here. can't handle the heat in texas. like you said, in europe people are dying. the temperatures keep going up, records keep being broken, and yet we have seen one poll after another where -- >> i know. >> -- people are unmoved and congress is doing nothing despite the fact we're in the middle of this dire crisis which, you know, we're going to look back on 10, 20 years from now, and people are going to just ask what the hell were we doing, why did we do nothing. >> i mean this is -- this is often with many issues frus

nbc's miguel almaguer is there on the front lines with the latest. main entrance to yosemite national park is just down the road behind me about a mile from where we're standing. there's an active firefight underway. as you mentioned, there is a massive fight underway to protect the sequoia trees inside yosemite national park. there's about 500 trees inside the mariposa grove, an iconic area of yosemite national park and another 100 trees outside of it, but fire is sweeping through this area. so far there's more than 500 firefighters on the ground in a massive aerial assault trying to beat back the flames from these historic trees. as you mentioned, the trees can be up to 3,000 years old and hundreds of feet tall. they are a landmark across this nation. crews doing all they can to protect them. right now not a single sequoia has been lost in yosemite national park, which is quite a feat on its own. all eyes are on protecting the sequoias. much of the fire fight is coming from above. they're using air tankers to drop across this area, doing all they c

hoda, back to you. >> miguel almaguer there for us. thank you. >>> unfortunately the weather is not helping. >> it's not helping at all. they don't get enough rain and then there are areas getting too much rain this morning, particularly around the st. louis metro area. a flash flood emergency in effect, on top of flash flood warnings in effect for this entire region. areas have seen 5 to 10 inches of rain. since midnight 7.4 inches, the wettest day ever in 148 years. the flash flood emergency is in effect because of these thunderstorms one after another over the same areas around st. louis where the emergency is in effect. there could be locally up to 6 inches of rain through wednesday as these waves of low pressure move along the stationary boundary and keep getting more rain, more rain. on the other side of that, on the north side of that, we're seeing cooler air now with temperatures in the 80s today from boston over to chicago, versus all that heat. but it's been suppressed to the south. you're still seeing the heat index of 110,

nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer is in the fire zone with details. >> reporter: explodingemite washburn fire is quickly sweeping through the national park as more than 500 firefighters lose ground against the out of control blaze. >> torching forest land in fuel by millions of trees, trees now flank the massive iconic sequoias inside the park, a national treasure under serious threat. >> they're incredibly fire resilient but the fire is so different right now. >> biologist gehrig dickman says yosemite and california has never seen infernos like these, mega fires fueled by extreme drought, the new normal, incinerating trees that withstood flames for thousands of years. >> we have lost 20% of all giant sequoias in the past two years alone. at this point, every tree counts. >> climate change is playing a role in ow these fires burn. they're now hotter, faster, and more explosive than ever before. those dangerous conditions creating their own weather system on the ground. the fire's powerful updraft, launching tree limbs hundreds of feet into the sky, narrowly missing fire fig

nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer has more. [ gunshots ] >> reporter: from parade to paniclding in highland park, illinois, as a barrage of bullets rips through a crowd, authorities say, killing at least six and leaving two dozen more injured, many with gunshot wounds. >> i saw people shot on the ground, and a little boy being carried away by a person who got shot. people's blood, gunshot wounds. >> reporter: families that lined a holiday parade route suddenly scrambling away from the volley of gunfire and an active shooter who appeared to take a sniper-like position on a rooftop, according to police. >> people were screaming, panicking. just scattering. >> reporter: as mothers and fathers scrambled to carry their children away from the fourth of july bloodshed, investigators say the shooter initially slipped away, recovering a high-powered rifle, officers ordered a lockdown as their manhunt turned into a citywide dragnet. robert crimo was taken into custody. >> this appears to be completely random. >> reporter: with lawn chairs, strollers and blankets strewn across the cri

. >> miguel almaguer on santa monica beach with the tips you need to know miguel, good morning >> reporters there is no better place to be than the beach. but in many parts of the country, including a swimming pool, there are lifeguard shorjts. so while it is beautiful here, there is also a bit of danger. from the nypd's air/sea rescue team hoisting this jet skier to safety, to this dad jumping into action to save a drowning boy from a pool in kansas, officials say with summer in fuel swing, water rescues are on the rise. it comes as one-third of the nation's 309,000 public parks and pools have been affected by a lifeguard shortage >> we do have more people coming to beaches and water parks and pools than we've ever had. but we have less lifeguards. >> it is all driving a renewed push for people to stay water wise as they dive into independence day celebrations we join texas game wardens as they inspected boats on lake ray hubbard in dallas. >> just a quick water safety check. >> reporter: they say boaters should be sure to have enough properly fitting life vests for everyone on board. and