Holiday weekend travel and security preparations

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Phone calls, violent documentation, preparing insurance claims, Y agent handles it all In fact, we're so confident restoration is guaranteed, or your money back. Isn't it nice to have someone like that on your side? Save up to thirty percent your first year at lifeelock d. com slash special offer. Terms apply is built on values. That's what binds us all together And my view has always been that those values don't have anything to do with political parties When I'm a prosecutor and I have to get credibility, build credibility with a judge or a witness of the jury, right It's not about politics, it's about truthfulness integrity. decent each other. exhibiting kindness and judgment. I think those are the things that bind us together and those are the sort of things we should lean into. L I feel like personally as divided as we are If we lean into issues of integrity more but that's the best hope to get people more back together than we are now That was former special counsel Jack Smith speaking exclusively yesterday with MS now's Nicole Wallace We will have much more ahead from that wide ranging conversation. Smith's first live television interview since he resigned from the Department of Justice Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It is Friday, july third. Thank you for being with us. I'm Joonn Llamer in for Joe, Mika and Willie With us, we have a great group. MS now, senior Capitol Hill repeporter and the host of Way T Early. Allly Vital Cumnist and associate editor at the Washington Post, David Ignatius. MS now, senior Washington reporter and co host of the weekend, Eugene Daniels, and opinion comments for the New York Times David French. Thankk you all for being with us this morning. Happy Fourth of July to you and to all those watching at home We have a lot to get to. It's a busy morning. And we'll begin with President Trump continuing to defend his wealth and his children's business dealings After financial disclosures revealed earlier this week that the president has made them more than two billion dollars during his first year back in office In the disclosure this week, the amount of money that you and the family made in crypto, it was an outsiz number. I was just asing, did you or you know about the crypto ventures? So that was just something By the way, I I could know about it. I didn't. R. I mean, there's nothing illegal. there's nothing wrong with it. I could know. I feel badly in a way for my kids Every time my kids do, if they invest in a stock or if they go and do a bility, anything they do Because the presidency is so powerful, so big, everything if they buy a cupcake, company well, The energy to make the cupcakes is, you know sort of like How's my energy policy? so therefore you have a conflict. Almost anything They do if they want to buy a truck, if they want to buy, you know, they buy an energy efficient truck They have inside information So U it's pretty tough in that sense. I tell my kids stay away from as much as you can stay away from, but they also have a life. You know, we were doing business long before I ever thought of, you knew me a long time before I thought of even running But the dealings under scrutiny are, of course not as simple as simply buying a new vehicle Both of Trump's sons have benefited when companies they own or they are involved with have either ined deals with the White House or cashed in on deals made by their father's administration And they both have gained from cryptocurrency ventures under their dad's name Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump co founded World Liberty Financial with President Trump That means that they earned a portion of the more than five hundred million in token sales and sixty five million dollars in selling equity stake that the company brought in. last year. David French That was Trump there at our sister Network, CNBC trying to explain this away. The New York Times, your paper and other places have written extraordinary pieces just about how unprecedented this in. Sure, we've had other wealthy presidents before, but we've never had one who's made this sort of money while in office and seemingly, he and his family making this money because He was in office We cannot forget also that the Trump In administration, the Trump campaign made Hunter Biden a centerpiece of the entire twenty twenty four contest. I mean, they were talking about Hunter Biden relentlessly. so is right wing media And Hunter Biden never got within shouting distance, screaming distance of the kind of numbers that we're talking about here. And then the kind of overt self dealing, stock trading, crypto investing that we're seeing in which the president is enriching himself. and then Many of these riches are being extended to friends, supporters, etcetera. at a scale in which, you know, I've said this before that the gilded age, the corrupt gilded age oligarchs are sitting there thinking that they are, you know, rolling in their graves that they were doing this in the wrong century. They could have made real money if only they were waiting around until the twenty twenties. so No, this is a situation here though that has some resonance with a very recent electoral outcome in Europe Once the some of the economic promises of populism start to falter Once some of the grandiose authoritarian ideas of this new populism start to lose their luster Th a lot of voters start to look at corruption. They often won't look at it when times are good, when they're feeling good But when tim when they're under strain, when inflation is increasing, when they're feeling pressure in the job market The absolute last thing they want to see is a president of the United States making himself multiple billions of dollars really exploiting the opportunity that they gave him. And so this is something that while economy' humming doesnn't really hit us absolutely does when people are struggling. Yeah I revealed on the show yesterday that I've talked to a number of Democrats just the last week or two. David to your point, feel that corruption could be a real winning issue this fall for exactly the reasons you just laid out. David Ignatiious, it of course comes as no surprise that Republicans have been silent on this the last couple of days, you know after you know beating the drum about Hunter Biden managing to avoid reporters this week and about President Trump and the money that he and his family are making. And of course, just putting this in context. I can't help but think. and maybe it's because of the fourth of July and the two hundred fifty, thinking back upon American history and our presidents and noted that Jimmy Carter had just sell his peanut farm. Other presidents have gone above and beyond. It was public service was meant there was a sense of self sacrifice. You were putting the country ahead of your own personal interest. That is simply not the case with our current commander in chief Trump has just blown through every limit that we thought that we had as a country. It's painful to watch it Grew up as I did in Washington, D.C. Understanding my dad served in government that there were certain things you just couldn't do. they weren't right. That this was about public service I was struck this week by President Trump celebrating Theodore Roosevelt, one of our great presidents. And Roosevelt's important in our history because he came into a political world that was thoroughly corrupt. offffices were for sale in New York where he lived. literally it was run by kind of mob bosses. And Roosevelt got to his start as a political reformer by saying we need absolutely strict standards for government employees. We need conflict of interest laws so that people can't deal on their own behalf, become rich while they're serving the public. That That was President Teddy Roosevelt. and he was tough And he prosecuted people. And now we have a president who has I the number just stunning. twow billion dollars last year as president, as our president, working for us took in this private money. and you can only imagine he was looking at a at AI laser generated image of Theodore Roosevelt. You can only imagine what the real Theodore Roosevelt would have had to say to Donald Trump if he'd happened to encounter him this last week. Yeah has some pretty stern words for our president. Yeah and the president, his family not shy about suggesting they aim to continue to make money while the president is in office. We of course will be staying on this story, but we want to turn now Back to Jack Smith. In his first live television interview since resigning from the DOJ, the former special counsel sat down exclusively with our friend, MSNs, Nicole Wallace for that wide ranging conversation yesterday before he stepped down from the DOJ back in twenty twenty five Smith brought two cases against Donald Trump One on electrion interference and the other related to classified documents Both were dropped because Trump then won the presidency in twenty twenty four Smith defended his investigations and also weighed in on the rule of law as well as his concerns about the upcoming midterm elections I have investigated cases focusing on the facts and the law throughroughout my career. We did this case the same way under the same standards and You know, the thing that's I think important for your viewers to know is those standards are not meant to change from one administration to the next. And in my experience, until now, they haven't And so, you know, I think we are facing an attack on the rule of law that is different in kind and scope to anything I've seen in my lifetime. One of the problems right today Besides the retribution prosecutions is that the Justice Department can't do its job, right If you go to court, that. Well, if you go to court and the judges don't trust you, you can't do the basic things that you need to do to represent the American people in court. And we have seen judges across the country say they can't trust prosecutors anymore. And that has such a cascading effect on any sort of case And you know, I can't count how many opinions. One opinion like that in my career would have been seismic peopleople could not would not know what to do if a court said, you know, trust that's been built over generations has been lost in days, right? And that's happening every day. And so regardless of what you think politically They're just not effective at doing their job anymore Well let me ask you first, do you agree that we are covering in real time an assault in our elections the upcoming ones? I'm very concerned about what's going to happen in the next election. Absolutely. It's a different situation now. based on the people who perpetrated january sixth, they probably learned from how they did that. My personal view is, I think the state atttorney generals have a tremendous role to play here they can make sure the rule of law functions in their state. And I would also say that I think a thing that all of us can do is support election workers and election officials. the less time around, we saw that those people stood firm, and they were in many cases, the difference It's clear to me, anyways, that where I've seen publicly that those people are going to be put under great pressure And my experience notot only just the special counsel, but you know, I was the chief of the public intntegrity seection at the Department of Justice for five years had a number of cases with election officials. These are people also They're not tooting their own horn. They're not self promoters. They just care about our democracy We need to show them that we have their back if you took the name of our country off it and you were just examining the state of the rule of law in America, is it dead I don't think so at all. And for the reasons I said earlier U There are legions of career prosecutors People just like me You just don't know their name who are want to do the right thing. They're in the Justice Department. They want to serve We have a lot of challenges in front of us, and the rehabilitation of the department is not going to be any mean feat you know, recovering character is a lot harder than gaining it in the first place But I think we're totally capable of doing that. completely optimistic. Ally Vatal, an extraordinary interview there. finally hearing from Jack Smith and I think a stark assessment of of course, what what happened, why his cases vanished, but also his fears Though he voted, you know, he suggests the rule of law, he believes still is alive, alive and well here in the United States, but his fears about this upcoming election and beyond Well, look, I think that there needs to be a dose of some optimism in that. othertherwise, the entire tone and tenor of the interview is from dire warning to all out we are in flames. And so you still need somewhere to go, right? And I think that's why what happens in November is so important. I mean, I can't tell you the number of phone calls that I get from Democratic operatives looking at various parts of our election systems and wondering, okay, where could they be exploited and what could we do to plug that hole In advance of that, I think the early answer is that you just sort of have to wait to file these things in court until something happens. And so you've just got legions of people who understand our election systems trying to figure out the ways that something might go wrong. Nevertheless, I think it's a dire assessment from Jack Smith, someone who has been loathed to come out in the media, who when he was hauled in front of Congress immediately wanted to do so in the public eye because he had never been given a chance to present his public findings. And The thing that I really keep back in the back of my mind is that the foundation of Jack Smith coming forward right now, Eugene, is that he is someone who felt he could have successfully prosecuted the current president of the United States on not just keeping classified documents after leaving office, but on meddling with and trying to corrupt American election results after he lost the twenty twenty presidential election And the thing that's changed since then is that the American public saw january sixth. they watched the next few years, and then they said, you know what? Let's put that person back in office again. And so I wonder how you make sense of The Jacks Smith warnings, the work that he did, the knowledge that he brings to the table, and the fact that the American public still said, this is the person we want in the Oval. Yeah, there's probably no one more frustrated about that than Jack Smith. R. He is someone who understands more intimately than any of us do. about what happened and what the Trump team was doing, what their allies were doing. A lot of it happened in plain view, right The phone call in Georgia, etcetera. But there are things that he knows that none of us we may never know now because of the judges. What I took from the interview the most was that one He is someone who doesn't w to speak up, like you said. we've had folks that have worked for him on our show. You probably have them on yours. And the thing that they said over and over is like, this is not a guy who wants to be out front talking to reporters. He doesn't want to do two blocks on any show,, let alone a show as amazing with an amazing journalist like Nicole Wallace But he's doing it, they say, because he is so concerned And the hope is that one Maybe not Maga Republicans, but people will watch that and say, okay, since this is a guy who knows all of this, maybe there is something there as we get closer. Maybe I should rethink the way that we're thinking about this. And most importantly, he doesn't sound unhinged or crazy or full of hate like Donald Trump and some Republicans have tried to paint him. So it's also about making clear to folks like He's just kind of a normal guy who's a prosecutor, very measured who knows a lot of information and wants people to be concerned about what's going to happen in Gene, I had the same feeling. Listening to Jacksmith, I was reminded this is a career prosecutor. He's talking about how to rehabilitate, how to rebuild the Justice Department. He's talking about the career attorneys who are still there trying to do their jobs. He says, I was for five years the head of the public integrity seectction, prosecuting Republicans, Democrats, everybody. I stand for, he's in effect telling us the rule of law And we're going to rebuild that. It was it was like, you know, he's not a defeated guy. he's facing enormous pressure himself, but his thoughts You know, we're with his colleagues. We're with the country. We're with the rule of law. So I Jonathan, you know, he's that interview is pretty powerful, but I think we got a sense of who Jack Smith is in his in his comments under pressure, that that was that's pretty interesting. This is this is not a K of snarling at the at the Trump guy that we've been led to believe. this is this is a career public prosecutor trying to do his job a career public prosecutor trying to do his job, an important voice to hear from Right and the entire interview available online for those who want to watch more. Still ahead here on Morning Joe We'll turn to Iran, which issuing a new warning to oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. We're going run through that And what it could mean for the agreement that President Trump signed with Tehran, A few weeks ago plus a former top general fired by the president is raising concerns about the US. military being politicized. We're going to read from that important new piece And as we go to break, a quick look at the traravelers's forecast this morning from AcU Weeatherers, Anna Azaleen. Anna How' look looking out there? Well, Jonathan, in the Northeast, we have passed the peak of the heat wave, but don't get me wrong T today's still hot. New York set to hit triple digits once again. Central Park yesterday hitting one hundred degrees for the first time since twenty twelve. Further south, not much better. Take a look at Nashville ninety six with some thunderstorms. Our coverage of thunderstorms is going to increase today across the southern US When we take a look at our travel outlook, yeah, the afternoon and evening, it's spotty, but the thunderstorms, the lightning, it's going to cause problems in a lot of places. To help you make the best decisions and be more in the know, make sure to download the Auther app today Experience the World Cup at Jersey Fan Hub, New Jersey's home for soccer, music and culture during the tournament. Join thousands of fans at Sports Illustrated Stadium for matchwatch parties on a giant screen from an on the field view, pllus entertainment, giveaways and family friendly activations. Best of all, admission is free on most dates. Reserve your free tickets today at NYnjfwc twenty six dot com slash jersey That's NYNJfwc twenty six dot com slash jersey. In a country that never stops moving, reliable energy is essential. P People need oil, a natural gas for heating, transportation, and everyday items like clothing, cell phones, and contact lenses. Behind the scenes, one of America's largest pipeline operators, Energy Trfer works all day, every day, to transport the energy that our communities depend on. Energy transfer invests in modern infrastructure as technologies like AI drive greater need for reliable natural gas. Learn more at energytransfer. com Have you been to Burlington? Our stores are looking hot for the summer. They had a glow up, so you need to show up to save on the latest trends. From dresses and sandals to swim and beauty, Burlington has something to make every moment of the summer one to remember. Why choose just one style? With our prices, just get it all. Your summer deelite starts here Burlington. Deals? Brands? Wow Welcome back. Let's turn now the Middle East. Iran issuing a new warning over the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway and a major sticking point in negotiations with the United States In a statement that was reported on state TV, the country's joint military said that all oil tankers moving through the strait must use its approved route. or could face a quote immediate and forceful response from the armed forces endangering the security of the violating vessels Eururon added interference by U. S. forces in the waterway will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction It's not immediately clear what prompted this renewed threat and the ratcheting up of tensions. U. S. Central Command put out its own statement about meeting with regional officials, saying the leaders underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through the straight David Ignatius, this sort of underscores just how tenuous this ceasefire is and I'll add to that. some new reporting that's out this morning from the New York Times, other places where U. S. officials actually went so far in the spring when the ceasefire first took hold to warn Golf allies to warn Iran Israel might be plotting to kill Iran's negotiators, the very people that the U. S. was trying to strike a deal with, which also shows that the U. S and Israel Yet again, not necessarily on the same page when it comes to this war. and So take this all together, please and assess just where things are Because it seems like Iran is dead set on exerting real control and potentially charging fees in the strait of Hormuz, which President Trump has said repeatedly just won't stand So Jonath, as ne as we can tell, these negotiations really have broken down on the on the first insistence the U. S. had, which was to reopen the Strait of Hormz. Everything else was to be left for later, the detailed negotiations over the nuclear issue other aspects but this was supposed to be number one. And it's obvious to me that there is a split within the Iranian team that the super hardliners in Iran do not want to give up control of the straight because they know the leverage that gives them. They've seen that Trump has been compelled really to make concession after concession try to reopen the straight. They don't want to give that up There are pragmatists in Iran clearly who favor the deal because Iran will get so much money as soon as the strait opens and assets are unfrozen, billions flow into Iran's coffers to be used however the Iranians want So So there's a big financial motivation But I'm sorry to say, and even soorryer that I'm not surprised to say These negotiations seem to have stall before they've really taken off Um the the in in the New York Times and also in the Washington Post this morning about how the United States warned Iranian officials that Israel was considering assassinating them back in April is stunning. It illustrates the degree to which the United States and Israel have begun to diverge in their views of the negotiations. The U. S. wanted to make a deal with the House Speaker Mohammed Bakr Khalibov and with the Iranian president, and warned those officials that they personally might be targeted by the Israelis. The U. S. didn't want to lose its negotiating counterparts before the negotiations even even got started back in April. So you can see how U. S. Israeli tension that has increased week by week since then began with that very sharp concern that the people we're trying to negotiate a peace deal with may soon be dead eanwhile, former chairman of the Joint Chief of staff retired General C.Q Brown Jr., who abruptly fired by President Trump last year has co written a new piece for Foreign Affairs magazine, headlined the military and the Republic He and his co authors write in part this Celebrations of America's founding and reflections on its ideals often overlook the central role of civil military relations This is a mistake The public is confronted with a problem that seems too big for the civilian branches to solve The reflex is to ask the military to handle it But when presidents use the armed forces for more politically contentious missions such as adddressing domestic crime in cities, the work of the military becomes more fraught resorting to a military solution rather than fixing the underlying incapacity or dysfunction in civilian institutions, diverts the military from focusing on its primary combat mission And as George Washington knew It is not the military's job to save the Republic from political impasses Indeed If you ask too much of the military, You risk the entire enterprise Really important work there. And in David French and in your recent piece of the New York Times, You write about the departure of another general. This one Christopher Donagh quote from you briefly here, Donoghue is leaving just as the impact of Trump's corruption and Hg Sess partisanship and incompetence is becoming obvious to the American people in matters both large and small. in scandal after scandal, incident after incident The same message is sent. The morale, effectiveness and integrity of the American military are under siege. and David French I'm glad we paired these two pieces. First of all, these are both highly decorated officers forced out by this Secretary of Defense, just a small piece of a widespread purge that seems targeted often at certain demographics And also it does, you raise the point as did that other peace and foreign affairs, that the military here is being misused and there real real dangers that come with that. Well, yeah, I mean, General Donahue's departure, his forcing out is really the final nail in the coffin of the idea that actually what Hexeth was trying to do is re impplelement meritocracy over whatever program the Biden administration had. This is a message they've been sending and sending and sending, casting aspersions on general officers who've been fired before. But with General Donahghue, his reputation was such that By forcing him out, by allowing him to leave, what essentially the Trump administration is saying is that there is no amount of excellence that can trump politics Be General Donoghue was One of the most respected leaders in the military from top to bottom, known as the kind of lethal warfighter that Hexetith talks about endlessly. and yet he's gone. So this said politics is everything. And I'm so glad that we went directly from the DOJ story to the Pentagon story because they have a lot in common The role of a president who is at the top of the DOJ or at the top of the Pentagon is to safeguard the integrity. Excellence. and the nonpartisan fairness of these institutions. The DOJ guards our rule of law, the military guards the security of the entire nation of the Constitution And the president's job is not to pull them into his political project. That's not his job His job is to lead these institutions with integrity. and we are seeing him trying to demolish the integrity of these institutions from the top down The other thing I think that these stories have in common, Eugene is that It is dire warnings from unorthodox places, people who do not typically speak out in Jacksmith when it comes to DOJ, in CQ Brown when it comes to the Pentagon. So they are questioning and calling out the lack of integrity, excellence, and nonpartisanship that David was just talking about. But also when it comes to the meritocracy piece of this, the hirings and firings that Heageth has made CQ Brown, actually at the Aspen Institute last week, said what's starting to happen now is not about merit. All of these people who are being removed are very well experienced And it is raising concern on Capitol Hill in bipartisan fashion. I wonder what more you've heard about that and if there's enough concern to pressure Heageth to do anything differently, because that hasn't manifested yet. There's not of concern, but concern only matters if you do something with that concern. And you can walk around the hallways and talk to us on background and say, you know, I'm a Republican that's very upset and worried about what's happening to our institutions But if they don't add do anything with that pressure that you're talking about, then nothing comes of it, right? It's always it feels like there's this meme on the interternet where people are like, Oh, someone should really do something about this. and it's like, Well, you have the power to do something about this, or maybe you should do that. And I think that is something that has been kind of frustrating about covering all of this is watching Republicans for a decade say, this is bad. Oh my God, I can't believe this. This is terrible for the institutions. Oh my God, this country and not saying anything publicly. That doesn't appear like it's going to change pressured Pete Hxet at all. And every time I talk to someone who is either around the Pentagon, been around the Pentagon, worked in the Pentagon during any other administration, they're shocked that he's been able to survive over and over and over again. And part of the reason he's been able to survive as a Secretary of defefense is because he has gone out of his way to fire people and talk about an attacking DEI over and over the kind of institution of the Secretary of defefense. And that is something that Donald Trump really wanted. And so that's how he continues to save his job. and I don't see that changing. Yeah, these important conversations about The state of our Republic, of course come against the backdrop of july fourth and the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of our Nation, the Declaration of Independence, and David Ignatius, your latest opinion piece for the Washington Post is titled Post to America at two hundred fifty, glowing and decaying. All at once In it, you write impart this If we're honest on this july fourth, we must admit that the sturdy American men and women who made the Revolution are a distant historical memory Today, we resembled the imperial Britain of seventeen seventy six more than the scruffy Patriots who rebelled against it Yet, David, you go on to write Our nation has an uncanny ability to keep climbing, even in the worst of times Our Declaration of Independence two hundred and fifty years ago was an aspiration We still struggle to redeem the promise that all men are created equal and that there's a universal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness We've had good leaders and terrible ones, but each year, whatever the adversity We remember what the story is about And we think how lucky we are. Still to be part of the American story. And David, give us more of your thoughts as we head into this anniversary weekend So Jonathan, I think like all of us around this table and our viewers at home, we're going into this july fourth with compomlicated mixed feelings. I know We feel a deep love of our country every year fourourth of July My dad who just passed away last year at almost one hundred five, would announce to the family, I'm going to give a patriotic address And then he'd shout out our street number and our zip code and that that just, you know, that I'll be I'll be missing that, but I'll be I'll be thinking of the spirit that motivated it. So we had that feeling, all of us as the fireworks go off But I think we also have a deep uneasiness, sometimes even a shame about what our leaders are doing. We talked earlier in the show about this unprecedented accumulation of of two billion dollars in wealth by the president blowing through any limits that existed for his predecessors, It's the kind of behavior that frankly, our founders just would have been stunned by. They believed in basic decency. They believe that people who serve the country would live up to its basic rules and ideals. So on this fourth of July, as I said in the piece We glow with pride with the achievements of our country, but we sense a decay that in some ways, we do resemble the immperial Britain that tried to squash freedom not the patriots who tried to gain it We of course, will be spending plenty of time this morning on America at two hundred fifty and what it means. David Ignatius and David French Thank you both very much. Eugene Daniels, thank you as well. Happy fourourth of July to all of you, Eugene, of course, will be watching the weekend right here MS now coming up here on morning Joe, we're going to get a live report on the security preparations for this weekend's tririple threat in New York City, which is set to host thousands of july fourth Revelers, a W worldld Cup match And yes, of course The rumored wedding of Taylor Swift Morning Joe, we'll be right back Experience the World Cup at Jersey Fan Hub, New Jersey's home for soccer, music, and culture during the tournament. Join thousands of fans at Sports Illustrated Stadium for matchwatch parties on a giant screen from an on the field view, plus entertainment, giveaways and family friendly activations. Best of all, admission is free on most dates. Reserve your free tickets today at NYnjfwc twenty six dot com slash jersey That's NYNJfwcw six dot com slash jersey The morning starts ors The city moves. underneeath it all. Something else is moving It's Eergy Trfer, one of America's largest pipeline companies transporting oil, natural gas and refined products across the US. These products keep homes warm, businesses running, and everyday life on track. People rely on energy transfer to safely deliver oil and gas whenever and wherever it's needed. Learn more at energytransfer dot com Have you been to Burlington? Our stores are looking hot for the summer. They had a glow up, so you need to show up to save on the latest trends. From dresses and sandals to swim and beauty, Burlington has something to make every moment of the summer one to remember. Why choose just one style? With our prices, just get it all Your summer Delight starts here. Burlington. Dals? Brands? Wow Don't kid yourself. It's hot out there. I mean, let's just be honest truly terrible couple of days here in New York City in terms of the weather, but also a very busy couple of days ahead. In fact, the NYPD is preparing to deploy thousands of officers this holiday weekend as a number of major events are set to take place in that sweltering heat Thousands of people will gather to celebrate this year's milestone Independence Day. number two hundred fifty. There's also a major World Cup match happening just across the river. Met Life and yes, the rumored wedding of superstar Taylor Swift. And this is all happening during that aforementioned record breaking heat wave The police commommissioner said earlier this week that there are no known or credible threats. But the department is preparing just in case Join us now live from Times Square. MS now investigative reporter Mark Santias, smartly dressed in a polo shirt, too hot for anything else Mark, tell us more about how the NYPD is preparing for what could be a mega weekend Yeah, Jonathan, this is a party two hundred and fifty years in the making. We're in the middle of Times Square right now and they're preparing for a birthday block party today Of course, you remember, Jonathan. Before DC, New York City was the nation's capital and there are a lot of events planned. You can take a look up top here. This is where the famous Times Square New Year's Eve ball drops on New Ye's Eve. Well today it'll be dropping times to mark the eight time zones of America. There's also going to be an aerial review, a vessel, a naval review. It would be the largest fleet ever in American history that'll be down in the harbor here. But when we spent time with the NYPD, every single available officer will be working this weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected here, as you said, known or specific threats, but the NYPD working around the clock to keep this city secure. We talked and we spent some time with Deputy commommissioner, Rebecca Weiner She's in charge of counter tterrorism and intelligence. and she told us that today and this weekend, it's all about symbolism symbolism is key. This is what she told us Whenever we do threat assessments for large scale special events, we think about symbolic value of the event. This couldn't be A more symbolic event Again, Independence Day, two hundred fiftieth birthday of the United States comes at a period against a backdrop. of profound geopolitical instability and conflict. Remember, the U. S. for the last A few months has been Fighting in a naval war, we're about to have an international naval review of warships from around the world in our harbor Okay, so not only do we have all of these two hundred and fifty events set up throughout the city, but you mentioned it, there's also a wedding that's set to happen. If you walk about eight minutes down Broadway here, you'll find Madison Square Garden, that's where talking to sources familiar with the events. That's where the NYPD, as well as other branches of law enforcement will be keeping an eye on the Taylor Swift Travis Kelsey wedding, the rumored wedding. We're expecting that this afternoon. There's about a thousand guests who are invited. There will be a heavy police presence there around the garden. It The party is set to go well into tomorrow into july fourth. So besides all the birthday events for America that Travis Kelsea Taylor, Swift wedding. A lot of events here in New York City, a very busy weekend for the NYPD. They're also communicating with different police departments across the country, sharing information. Again, at this time, no specific or credible threats. Jonathan, back to you. M.S has Mark Cini alive from Times Square. Thank you. Stay safe, stay cool. Mark mentioned Tayor Swift's rumored nuptials. Let's bring in our residentents Swifty. Alli Vitaly Vally, let let's get your thoughts here. I mean, the rumors are there's been reporting that it's today this afternoon, this evening at Mascare Garden, the big event How are you handling this I'm handling it fine. Look. I think it's a bit of an odd location. The word taky has been used. That being said, I keep coming back to a lyric that was on one of her early albums. She says she chose the Rose Garden over Madison Square. I am now forced to question if she's not bringing the same kind of rose garden that she got engaged in, that they posted that picture of the two of them on social media when they first got engaged If she's not bringing that kind of an energy into MSG, it does seem like all signs point to the fact that this was not a head fake, that this is likely their wedding. I get the security concerns. We saw everyone from Erin Andrews to Selena Gomez flocking to that area of the city yesterday. I'm sort of forced to wonder if the dress code was metallic since everyone seemed like they were in those kinds of tones excited for them. At the end of the day, we know she loves a july fourth party that has always been a thing back in Watch Hill, typically where she has her Rhode Island house. There were a lot of questions about if that was going to be where she did it. Ultimately, I think it's this. and I'm just going to choose to be happy for them and they can celebrate their wedding however they want, though midtown felt A bit off. I don't know Yeah, first the next now this MSJ certainly having a moment O best wishes to the happy couple. Meanwhile, the rest of the country is preparing for record breaking july fourth travel. AAA is predicting more than seventy two million Americans will head at least fifty miles away from home this holiday weekend The Federal Aviation Administration and major airlines are preparing for some of the busiest days of the entire summer Joining us now live from Newark International Airport in New Jersey. MS now senior Tportation reporter Josh Einiger Josh Give us a preview how busy are things going to get and do we think that this heat with potentially accompanying thunderstorms may complicate people's holiday travel plans Jonathan, good morning and happy forth you and yeah, the heat potential for storms obviously will be a big issue, especially for workers on the tarmac at a place like this. I'm standing at the United operations Center here at their mega hub at Newarks Liberty Airport. and this is where they're managing operations for As many as eight hundred flights, that flights coming and going here at Newark Airport over the course of the day today, tens of thousands of people flying through just this hub at just this airline. And that is a small piece of the puzzle all across the country. A couple hundred miles away from here, we had an inside look at the FAA facility at the center of air traffic control nationwide an exclusive look at how workers and air traffic control keep the system flowing on a day as important as today This morning, the great escape is underway for the busiest fourth of July in the sky in fifteen years, and all of it managed here in the nerve center of America's airspace. There's a lot that goes into the system, and we do have the safest system in the world. Sean McClosky runs the FAA's Joint Air traraffic Operations command