Star spangled spectacle. Today we come together as one nation with this very special salute to america. The president celebrates Independence Day with a military show of force. Speaking of thousands on the national mall, the reaction this morning heading into the Holiday Weekend. Those stories, plus, in the weeds. A surprising problem popping up on beaches this summer. Never forget. New revelations that amazons alexa can record and store conversations forever. But there is something you can do to get your privacy back. And coco motion. Cori gauff is taking wimbledon and the world by storm, and we got the chance to speak to her proud parents today, july 5th, 2019. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Welcome to today. Thank you for joining us on this friday morning. Im peter alexander, alongside sheinelle jones, filling in for our friends savannah and hoda on this post july 4th friday morning. We have some other friends outside today. Listen, if you have to work the day after a holiday, it is a day like today. We have toby keith performing live, and the plaza is packed. People ready for this concert. Thats country bro. Not too late for you to come join us today. We want to begin with the shaky holiday in Southern California, where the biggest earthquake in two decades clocked in at 6. 4 magnitude. Nbc National CorrespondentMiguel Almaguer is near the epicenter, ridgecrest, california. Miguel, good morning. Reporter peter, good morning. This quake was powerful near the epicenter. As a matter of fact, there were two fault lines shaking in the area. It was so strong, it pushed this home off its foundation. You can see by the home next to it, its leaning. While the quake was disastrous, it was powerful enough to have a real impact. This morning, many are still rattled in Southern California. A magnitude 6. 4 earthquake jolting the region on the fourth of july. Multiple commercial fire alarms. Reporter the violent shaking causing this home to go up in flames. The earthquake so strong, it nearly brought down the house at a holiday event, terrifying school kids and their parents. The trembling also triggering a small disaster at grocery stores, tossing merchandise from shelves. The quake centered 150 miles northeast of los angeles, the largest to hit the region in 20 years. 20 Million People in the earthquake zone, felt as far away as las vegas, arizona, and parts of san diego. The hardest hit, the city of ridgecrest, where the governor declared a state of emergency. 7 miles from the epicenter, surveillance cameras capturing workers scrambling for the exits. We are used to aftershocks. We are not used to big earthquakes like that. Reporter at the ridgecrest regional hospital, the areas only trauma center, they werent taking any chances. As a precaution, patients were transported by ambulances and air lifted to other medical facilities. In nearby trona, california, where the quake split the asphalt on this highway, no power, no water, and no help for hours. The biggest problem crews will face, infrastructure. Geysers like these could take days, even weeks to repair. Lester was in l. A. When the quake hit. This one was a series of waves. Roughly the same intensity, but like being on an ocean. Reporter thursdays tremor followed by over 100 aftershocks, including this one, as the cleanup continued. Did you feel it . Reporter this morning, frayed nerves, as Southern California remains on shaky ground. Miguel, the last earthquake close to this size in Southern California, of course, was northridge. That was more than 20 years ago. The immediate concern, obviously, the aftershocks. What has it been like there in the hours since . Reporter well, peter, he just actuay had an aftershock a few minutes ago. Overnight, there was one that was powerful enough to send some people running out of their homes and hotel rooms. I know you grew up in california, peter. You know how strong and powerful these can be. Vividly remember the one in San Francisco, like you do, when we were kids in the bay area. Well have more on the earthquake in the next half hour. Now to a july 4th Helicopter Crash off the coast of the bahamas that killed seven people. One of the victims, a billionaire coal executive from West Virginia. Today, a community in mourning. Investigators trying to determine what happened. Nbcs Morgan Chesky is following this story for us. Morgan, good morning. Reporter sheinelle, good morning. Chris cline was a businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in coal. The helicopter he was on was leaving the bahamas, boundleavir florida, when it went down, ending the lives of everyone on board. This morning, investigators in the bahamas trying to determine what caused a deadly Helicopter Crash off the coast. Authorities say a chopper like this one was traveling to ft. Lauderdale early thursday morning when it crashed into the ocean, killing all seven people on board the Royal Bahamas police force says the helicopter took off from grand kay, a tourist hot spot, and was later found overturned in 16 feet of water the bodies of four females and three males were recovered from the aircraft billionaire and philanthropist chris cline is among the dead. The governor of West Virginia, a close personal friend, tweeted he had died, calling him a wonderful and giving man Justice Jenkins remembering him on facebook writing, i am heartbroken to learn that chris cline, his daughter, friends, and pilot, lost their lives in a tragic accident today. Adding clines selfless and generous support of programs throughout the state improved the lives of countless West Virginias. Cline, who once dated tiger woods exwife, elin nordegren, is known for his generosity. He donated millions to charity, including marshall university, where he once was a student. They named their state of the art Athletic Complex in his honor. Thank you, guys, very much, and thanks for all your work reporter cline would have celebrated his 61st birthday today. Unanswered questions about the circumstances surrounding this answer were still awaiting to see if the ntsb will assist in this ongoing investigation. Peter, sheinelle morgan, thank you. Now an unprecedented july 4th celebration in our nations capital. Though rain fell during President Trumps salute to america thursday night, the bad weather didnt keep his supporters, or protesters, from the national mall. Meantime, many of the 2020 democratic hopefuls joined in the festivities on the campaign trail. Well have a report from iowa. First, we learn to correspondent kelly odonnell. Kelly, good morning. Reporter good morning, peter. A president who relishes defying his critics did so again, delivering the spar spangled show he wanted, while steering clear of his partisan Campaign Rally persona. He avoided overtly political subjects and praised american achievement from artists to innovators, and he played master of ceremonies for a patriotic air show washingtons night sky on fire colored to mark the nations birthday the president using the holiday to deliver a message. Our nation is stronger today than it ever was before. Reporter President Trump paid tribute to a range of heros across history, from different eras and backgrounds the great frederick douglas, harriet tubman, amelia earhart. He saluted those who served. The army, navy, coast guard, marines, and very soon, the space force. Reporter and recounted the valor of warriors past. There were the marines who raised the flag on the black sands of iwa gima. Reporter it was all under the back drop of military might. The president ordering army tanks positioned for display, and a series of booming flyovers, including air force one. Critics had feared the spectacle could be rendered partisan politics. Usa usa reporter protesters brought out the trump baby balloon earlier in the day. Were here because the president has hijacked our National Holiday reporter and outside the white house, a flag burning incident led to two arrests and minor injuries after the speech, some spectators said organizers clamped down to limit visible campaign gear. They made us remove any trump paraphernalia, and they were policing us. They didnt want it to be a trump rally. Reporter others liked the focus on the armed forces. There was a lot of pride there. That made me feel good, too. It looked very towards the military, but obviously, a lot of what trump does is toward himself as the same time. Reporter there were moments of Campaign Energy with his supporters chanting four more years. The president praised Law Enforcement and Border Patrol agents in a nonpartisan fashion. His main message was a call for unity. Peter, sheinelle all punctuated with a Fireworks Show last night. Kelly odonnell, thank you. Joe biden was among the candidates spending july 4th far from washington on the campaign trail. This morning, he is speaking out in a new interview about the confrontation last week, with senator Kamala Harris at the democratic debates Garrett Haake is following the candidates. Reporter felt like joe biden was everywhere in iowa, attending to deliver one consistent message, fighting about the past he said would be a losing path for democrats. They need to keep the focus on donald trump now front runner joe biden setting the pace on the fourth of july, jogging through a parade in independence, iowa how are you reporter rebuking President Trump in waterloo. Donald trump, i believe, is incapable of celebrating what makes America Great because i dont think he gets it. Reporter taking in a ball game with firefighters and fellow candidate beto orourke trying to put the debate in the past. Barack said we needed a circular squad here. Reporter harris decidedly not moving on. He has yet to agree that his position on this, which was to work with segregationists and oppose that was wrong. Period reporter on cnn, biden firing back. Its so easy to go back and go back 30, 40, 50 years and take the context and take it completely out of context. You know, i get all this information about other peoples past and what theyve done and not done you know, im just not going to go there this whole thing about race and busing, you know, i think if you take a look, our positions arent any different, as were finding out. Reporter biden adding, hes ready to take on the president hes the bully that i knew my whole life hes the bully that ive always stood up to. Reminds me of home, but i like having the lake off to the side. Reporter marching in storm lake, iowas, parade, Pete Buttigieg criticizing President Trumps takeover of washingtons celebration. Reducing our nation to tanks and shows of muscle just makes us look like the kind of loud mouth guy on the bar. Reporter a position all the Democratic Front runners in iowa agree. I think we need money to go into rebuilding our infrastructure im not sure we need money to go into putting tanks in downtown washington, d. C. Reporter biden also said in the interview he expected to be a target on the debate stage but not a target of Kamala Harris, who he said knows him and knew his son, beau. Biden says hes ready to move on lets see if the other candidates are willing to let him do that. Thanks. Now, wimbledon, where cori gauff is looking to keep her winning streak alive in the third round. At 15, shes the youngest qualifier ever to win a match there. Nbcs blaine alexander, no relation, spoke to her parents before she takes the court this morning. Good morning. Reporter good morning to you. The 15yearold sensation is back on the court later today for her third round match. I did get a chance to spend some time with her parents last night. They tell me they can usually tell how a tournament is going by how well coco is eating they say if shes eating a lot, that means shes feeling good. That the nerves havent gotten to her well, they say shes eating at a lot this tournament, which could mean trouble for the competition. Coco gauff keeps on winning. Blazing through her first two rounds at wimbledon at just 15 years old. Shes taken the tennis world by storm. But the two people who actually saw it coming, her mom and dad as her parents, are you surprised . No. Im not surprised that she has the capability im not surprised because i knew she could compete reporter that was the first thing they told her after her stunning win over fivetime wimbledon champ venus williams. Gave her a hug and said, mom, really, did you think i could win . Come on, tell me yeah. I was like, yeah, i really thought you could win. Reporter a surreal moment for coco, but maybe even more so for her parents. She was 8 years old. Reporter who still remember a special trip seven years ago to the u. S. Open. Wpaid for really good seats so she could get close enough to get an autograph from venus. Venus won the match and came over and autographed the ball and gave it to her im like, man, shes 8 years old when that happened seven years later, shes playing venus. No way thats supposed to happen i would have never thought that. Reporter by now, their prematch routine is down to a science. Practice, a prayer, and plenty of sleep the night before. We managed to catch coco last night, just before bedtime whats your routine look like tomorrow tomorrow, ill just sleep in, warm up, and then get ready for my match reporter also taking the court today, serena williams, playing in mixed doubles with andy murray after a singles win thursday puts her one step closer to a recordtying grand slam title i absolutely would not be here if i didnt love what i do. Reporter and she played before a royal audience. Her friend, the duchess of sussex, meghan, was in the stands cheering serena on to victory, and wearing a necklace with the letter a for baby archie speaking of baby archie, meghan and her husband, prince harry, will be preparing for their sons christening tomorrow now, asked whether she plans to attend that, serena said, no, because shell be working. Adding that meghan understands peter and sheinelle . You gave us so much to think about. Fantastic. Meghan markle, coco, you have a lot. My mind is spinning. Thank you. This woman is 15 years old, still cant drive herself. Good point. It is amazing well be watching her today. Blaine, thank you very much. Nice to meet her parents, too. Lets get a check of the forecast with this Holiday Weekend turning out to be a hot and humid one across the u. S dylan is in for al. Good morning to you we have a stalled frontal system with storms developing across south dakota, nebraska, and central and southwestern missouri, where we have heavier rain we could see isolated storms, then it is more of the same. Popup showers and storms each afternoon, once the day time heating makes things unsettled into tomorrow, i think the storms will become more numerous, including areas like new england, new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, florida. It is hot and humid across the country. In the west, youve been experiencing beautiful weather sunday, it looks like well see heaviest rain down through the southeast. That could create some delays at the airports also, if youre driving, especially along the 95 corridor on the east coast, keep in mind, if you get stuck in some of the heavier downpours, that could lead to hydroplaning possibilities on the roads in the northeast though, the showers will have pushed out, and youll also notice a big decrease in humidity, as temperatures drop to the 70s and 80s. Thats a look at the weather across the country well get to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds youre going to be seeing a lot more of him now. Im not calling him dad. Oh, nno. Look, [sighs] i get it. Some new guy comes in helping your mom bundle and save with progressive, but hey, were all in this together. Right, champ . Im getting more nuggets. How about some carrots . You dont want to ruin your dinner. Youre not my dad thats fair. Overstepped. Good friday morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. A live look outside at the fog over the Golden Gate Bridge that will linger throughout much of today, and colder temperatures expected, and for the inland areas is warms up slightly with our trivalley highs in livermore reaching 85 degrees. Well see a high of 82 in san jose and napa today reaching 84 degrees. For the weekend we have a couple of days of some warmer weather and cooling down on sunday, with breezy winds. Thats your latest forecast. Dylan, thank you very much. Coming up, californians with rattled nerves, cleaning up the mess from that july 4th earthquake now, anxiously bracing for the big one. What experts are saying about what it means about when the next one could come. Plus, the latest threat at beaches. Not sharks, but seaweed. Yes, there is an invasion of the slimy stuff thats causing Serious Problems first, this is today on nbc. P. First, this is today on nbc. Right now, earn 60,000 bonus miles after qualifying purchases when you apply and are approved for the Hawaiian Airlines world elite mastercard. Plus, you earn miles on everyday purchases. Get closer to the travels and moments youll remember forever with this special offer. Need another reason . Enjoy an introductory no annual fee. To apply, visit hawaiianairlines. Com coming up, these two hot dog eating champions ate 102 hot dogs combined in ten minutes this morning, theyre joining us live on the plaza. Then singer songwriter toby keith is here performing his single, as well as country classics first, your local news and weather. This is amazing. With moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, are you okay . Even when i was there, i never