fireworks to start you off on wednesday morning, it's lee greenwood, god bless the usa, happy fourth of july to all of you. traditionally today i know and hopefully for many of you, will be filled with barbecues and fireworks. but unfortunately for a lot of people, that is not going to be the case. our "starting point" here this independence day, less about celebration and a lot more about patience, about 1.1 million people all across the country, they are waiting, waiting for the electricity to come back on and facing another day of intense heat. 20 people now have died since last thursday when fierce storms ripped the east in the midwest. and take a look. these are the states that are still waiting for power to return, you have west virginia, still more than 300,000 customers in the dark. ohio, virginia, similar shape. and power companies, they say they are out there, they say they are repairing the transmitters and lines faster than expected, but their estimates show customers could be waiting until the weekend for electricity. as we mentioned, it is hot all the while. those unbearable temperatures keep spreading. 14 states under heat advisory today. brian todd is in charleston, west virginia where it's supposed to be 95 degrees there. i see the tree behind you. i'm sure folks in the neighborhood, no power. another big issue, a lot of people don't have food. >> that's right, brooke, you were talking about people waiting on the power companies and waiting for the power to get up. but this is what's keeping them waiting. seems like this all over the state. this oak tree snapped in half, took down this power line here, disabled this power pole up here then you've got a domino effect throughout neighborhoods like this. power officials telling us these trees down are a huge obstacle. we're right in the middle of a road here. you see the double yellow lines and this may not be cleared for a little while. that is impeding power crews as they try to move around. you mention food shortages, an official told me not too long ago this may be one of the worst food crises in a long time. they have two main pantries that distribute nonperishable food to the people in need, they are empty and starting a food drive trying to get food and water to people. water pressure is a huge issue. some of the pumps are fueled by electricity, they are done so water pressure is a big problem. people need to boil water. the national guard is getting out offering people help in getting water and boiling water and things like that. that is a logistical problem as well. how are people staying cool in this? we talked to residents in vf west virginia. any way they can at this point. >> it's very hot. i'm been setting on the porch since last night. >> it's pretty bad. the heat is the main thing, can't keep our apartment cool. i've never been without electric this long. >> reporter: and some residents may not get power back until this weekend, brooke. right now we're told about between a quarter and a third of the customers in this state are still without power but crews are working feverishly to get them back online. >> what a fourth of july for these folks. we're going to talk to the governor of west virginia later this morning about efforts he and the west virginia national guard are doing to get the folks much needed food. over to virginia, more than 200,000 customers there still waiting for power. electric companies say it could take the entire weekend to flip the lights back on. temperatures expected to hit 100 degrees today. virginia's national guard also out and about going door to door checking on folks most vulnerable. and bill bolling is also running to become virginia's governor in next year's election. he's joining us from the phone. happy fourth of july. you know, i know it's not so happy for a lot of people in your state, 236,000 is the latest number i have in terms of folks without power, really the end of the weekend, that's when they'll get it back on? >> yeah, that's the news for some unfortunate folks. we had about 1.2 million people without power in virginia when the storm hit. about 90% of those have now been restored. we had a lot of reconnections made yesterday and many overnight. so we're now down to somewhere around 125,000 people without power. but these are in the hardest hit areas in northern virginia and the shenandoah valley of virginia. in some instances, we have 20 or 30 trees down across the same power line at different points in the circuit. for some of these areas, particularly in the very urban and rural areas of the state, we could go into friday, a little bit of saturday before we get everybody restored. >> i know as lieutenant governor, you have to be cool, calm and collected here. i was talking to the mayor of washington, d.c. yesterday and he was very, very blunt saying how fed up he was, just how frustrated are you with the fact that it's still 10%, 10% still don't have lights on? >> i think you have to accent wait the positive. the fact that 90% have been restored over the past three or four days has been remarkable. remember, this is the largest power outage in the history of our state that was not directly the result of a hurricane. and it's the third largest power outage in the history of the state period. this was a totally unanticipated event. when you have a hurricane coming up the coast, you have -- >> you have days of preparation. >> you can prepare for it. this hit us out of the blue. it's always frustrating when your power is out, particularly when you have 100 degree days but the fact that 90% of our citizens have had the power restored is a positive thing. >> i understand, let me jump in. >> everybody is working as hard as they can to get the other 10% restored as quickly as they can. >> final question to you, we were talking to our contact in west virginia. are you saying the same situation in virnginia? >> local officials are trying to focus on finding people without power and making sure they have ice for coolers and making sure they have water to drink and they are taking advantage of cooling centers that are set up all across states that are still impacted. that's the biggest challenge we're dealing with right now is just the heat and the impact that that has on folks on the fourth of july. >> lieutenant governor bill bolling, good luck, you have your hands full there in virginia. we appreciate you calling in early this morning. appalachian power, they are bringing in thousands of extra workers from as far as nebraska to try to fix the problem. they estimate power will be restored to 95% of the people by sunday night. but some say, look, that's not good enough. still, take a look at the people who have been waiting in line, five hours in line. just to buy generators at a store that hasn't even had its grand opening yet. charles patton of appalachian power. good morning to you. you're calling this a major historical disaster. but as far as power restoration, where do you stand right now? >> initially at the peak of the storm, we had approximately 336,000 customers out here in west virginia and that number is now down to 187,000. >> down to 187. in the d.c. area, pepco, one of the main utility company, very much so, bearing the brunt of the blame. system is not efficient, systems haven't been overhauled. in west virginia and virginia, you all are faring better it was compared to the 2009 blizzard. i understand the systems were overhauled. do you see an improvement from '09? >> actually, this storm was twice the damage of the '09 storm. >> twice? >> yes, the '09 storm across our system, we had 222,000 outages for this storm, 570,000 outages across our entire system. and if you look at it over the first 48 hours, we were actually a little bit quicker on the last storm with restoration. but that was largely because of the ability to stage crews. we knew that storm was coming. this storm, however was a surprise to most people. >> you have neighbors states normally can come in and help you, contracted utility workers bearing the brunt as well. it took long are to get states farther away. we'll talk to the governor along with the national guard is working on this big food drive. it's such an issue in west virginia. so my question to you, with folks out of food and very rural parts of the state, how do you prioritize service? >> well, first of all, we look at critical care. we look at hospitals. we look at water and waste water facilities so we can make sure that our customers in this region do have water, potable water. and then what we try to do is get the biggest bang for our buck, meaning we try to get as many customers on as we can with the next operation that we undertake. >> the last big storm, i understand that the rate payers did have to absorb $18 million in damage over the course of some eight years or so. people are wondering now, charles, will appalachian customers be bearing the brunt financially speaking this time around as well? >> yes, in rate making, when you have unusual situations like this one that are unexpected, those dollars, those costs are not factored into the rates that we charge. so we typically go back with the oversight of the commission as well as all of the other stake holders and determine what the appropriate amount is to make the company whole. >> charles patton. >> i'm sure you've gotten frustrating phone calls. i appreciate you working on this holiday. thank you. and people across the country are dealing with the fallout from the storms from days ago, the heat this morning, there is a new threat of thunderstorms, let's go to alexandra steele in for rob this morning. i'm afraid to ask about these storms, when and where? >> well, there's really not a huge threat. no severe weather expected today on the whole around the country. no one on in july fourth, many people off, will have a washout. the first thing you know, where are we really seeing the worst of it in terms of power outages and intense heat, in washington and maryland and virginia not going to see a break from the heat, between 95 and 100 today. no real break until the weekend. in terms of temperatures, 102 in places like kansas city, that's really where the intense heat is. we're looking at -- what brook was referring to, some thunderstorms, there's a lot of moisture in the air, much more so. so it actually for especially people on the eastern seaboard, it's so much more humid, the dew point is just off the charts high. so a lot more humid than it's about although temperatures aren't as hot as they are. in the morning in the northeast, we'll see some showers. then we'll see a break in the afternoon. southeast, a dry start. isolated showers developing in the afternoon. it looks like a lot of these places really will get the fireworks in. things looking good in washington, atlanta, memphis, hot for sure but firework potential is on. it looks like more of a bang than a bust around 9:00 when we see the fireworks begin. >> alexandra, thank, happy fourth of july to you. to poppy harlow now. >> good morning, great to have you in new york. take a look at this, heartbreaking video of an entire neighborhood going up in flames in colorado springs, sparks and flames jumping from roof to roof, firefighters forced to make tough decisions about which homes to save and which homes will have to burn with high winds keeping them on their toes frm the waldo canyon fire is 70% contained. it is good news but destroyed 350 homes damaged topping $110 million. and the jetblue pilot who was arrested for a wild tirade during a flight in march deemed insane. a judge ruling that 49-year-old clayton osbon is not guilty by reason of insanity. he suffers from a very sear mental illness that impairs his ability to understand his actions. he was subdued after a co-pilot looked him out of the cockpit. an emergency situation, seven people, including several children were hurt in new hampshire last night when a pile of fireworks exploded on a back porch during a family party. several of the victims actually had to be air lifted to the hospital. the back of the home also caught on fire. neighbors say the homeowner was known for his annual fireworks displays. and security will be very tight later today at fourth of july celebrations in washington, d.c. and in new york. but law enforcement officials say they have no evidence that terrorists are plotting any kind of attacks. according to police, one of the primary concerns in terms of security on this independence day is the possibility of a lone wolf attack. and he'll consume more calories in ten minutes than most of us will all week, joe j chestnut, who holds the official world record for eating 68 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes will try for the sixth straight win this year at nathan's famous hot dog eating contest on coney eye island. we'll take you live to coney island later in the show. >> what's with the head bob? why is that necessary? >> i don't know why it's necessary. great question. >> i don't want to know why it's necessary i guess. we'll see you later this morning. ahead, a big get real on of all days, fourth of july, a cemetery banning flags on veterans graves, stars and stripes caught unsightly. millions of people traveling on this fourth of july, how you can save money this week and where the real summer travel deals. this is my tune, alabama shakes "hold on." ♪ why not try someplace different every morning? get two times the points on dining in restaurants with chase sapphire preferred. a living, breathing intelligence helping business, do more business. in here, opportunities are created and protected. gonna need more wool! demand is instantly recognized and securely acted on across the company. around the world. turning a new trend, into a global phenomenon. it's the at&t network -- securing a world of new opportunities. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] with 50 horsepower, dual overhead cams and fierce acceleration, the gator xuv 825i will shatter your expectations. ♪ and so no one gets left behind, check out our affordable xuv 550s at johndeere.com/gator. ♪ good afternoon. chase sapphire. at(push button tone)or. this is stacy from springfield. oh woah. hello? yes. i didn't realize i'd be talking to an actual person. you don't need to press "0," i'm here. reach a person, not a prompt whenever you call chase sapphire. welcome back. former u.s. commerce secretary john bryson will not be charged for two auto charnls. tests revealed no alcohol but did find a trace of the drug ambien. he had been on medical leave after the accident which he says were caused by seizures. the new york stock exchange is closed for the fourth of july holiday. trading resumes tomorrow and all eyes will be on the very june jobs report and it is scheduled to be released before the opening bell on friday morning. we had a nice close for the stock market yesterday ahead of the holiday. >> thank you so much, poppy, today's "starting point" team, we have richard socarides and writer at new york.com and margaret hoover, author of "american individualism" and former employee of the bush white house and ryan lizza, at the new yorker, gold stars all around. it's a holiday and it's early and a pleasure to be here. >> happy fourth. >> happy fourth of july. >> all sorts of props. >> these were margaret's idea. we were trying to think what we do, red white and blue, we brought it this morning. millions of people expected to take advantage of the long holiday weekend this fourth of july. aaa predicts more than 42.3 million americans are going to be going more than 50 miles from home. that's nearly a 5% increase from last year. and it could tie the previous high that was set in 2007. if you are among those many travelers out and about or you are planning a summer vacation, we have great ways to save money. courtney scott is a senior editor at travelocity. and she joins us this morning. >> happy fourth. >> we have the red while and blue between the three of us, very nice. >> the gentlemen -- >> if we're talking about the millions of people on the road and i have to throw in what we've been talking about between the wildfires in colorado and horrible situation, multiple states with the power outages, trees down, et cetera, what's it looking like for this weekend, travelwise? >> the reality is that travel is more expensive this weekend and roads are going to be more congested. there's going to be heavier delays at the airports. but the good news is that as far as travel goes, our call centers are seeing normal calls. no real emergencies for the weekend and even though there are challenges with the fires sean electrical issues, we're going to see a pretty normal, heavy stream of travel this weekend. >> what about in terms of affordability, i don't know if this weekend it's costing folks more and people pinching pennies, are there other weekends that are more affordable for people with kids like ryan lizza. >> historically, fourth of july and labor day going to be more expensive, we have cheaper weekends throughout the rest of the weekend. next weekend is a cheaper weekend to follow. the following weekend after that, also great. in august, the ultimate cheapest weekend is the 24th to the 26th. just before labor day, people are kind of not thinking about that weekend, most people tend to take their families away for labor day. it's a great value. >> was that a good value five minutes ago before you announced it was the cheapest weekend? >> it's kind of strange, right, that the holiday is on wednesday this year. >> middle of the week. >> when do you go away? most people going away later in the week? >> we see the cheaper time to travel was prior to the holiday and kind of coming back tomorrow. so potentially a lot of people already headed out and then this weekend is a more expensive time to travel. weekends in general are actually not the cheapest time to travel. you want to be more flexible with your dates and try to leave on a thursday, come back on a monday morning. you're really going to see deeper savings there. also, about flexibility, you want to look for multiple airports when you're searching your tools. that way you can really see the full breadth of what's available to you. >> do you ever do that click on the other airports? >> what i do do, the great sites maybe you'll tell us what they are, that where you can sort of search by when you want to go and where you could go most cheaply or put in a date or put in a destination to find out when to go most cheaply. >> flexible date search is fully available to you. >> that's what it's called. there you go. >> and also, these tools are available on apps, which is a great place to search for travel. >> what are some good ones? >> some of my favorites, there's travelocity's app which i love, great to plan itinerary, finding mobile exclusive hotel deals, this aren't on the site and released daily on the app. gas buddy is fun for road trips. it will give you real time gas prices in whatever destination you're in. >> that is a great app. >> that is awesome. >> incredible, you're driving along, no, go another mile, ten cents cheaper up the road. >> i don't imagine you doing that. >> i would absolutely do that. i'm a bargain shopper. >> come on, john. >> really sounds like fun, good time, gas buddy. >> flight track pro for keeping track of flights, most comprehensive app. >> tip all of your travel in one place. >> thank you. >> still ahead this morning, a major flag flap at a cemetery in texas. why they are not letting old glory fly on veterans graves. that is our get real. ryan lizza's play list, flaming lips. "it's summertime." homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief, i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. if you want to make a dif