With explosives. The crime still unsolved. What investigators are now asking the public to do to help them crack that case. All that, plus powerful tornadoes slam the midwest. Lady gaga defense. And the iphone celebrates a big milestone, today, thursday, june 29th, 2017. From nbc news, there is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everyone, well col to today on this thursday morning, its night to have hoda back with us, savannah continues on vacation, like before the iphone, can you remember . I have a tiny vague memory of a flip phone. The little blackberry was going on. We have a good news with lots of headlines tied to travel as we head into the long Holiday Weekend. After months of legal fighting the Trump Administration will begin implementing some of the president s travel ban a little later today. U. S. Officials are also announcing new security measures for all flights headed into this country. But not that proposed ban on laptops. Our team is covering it all this morning, beginning with nbc National Correspondent peter alexander. Good morning. Matt. Good morning. You said months after President Trump signed this, his large travel ban, large portions will begin later today. They confirmed to nbc news overnight from the department of Homeland Security. Already this morning, advocates worry airline and Border Agents may not be adequately prepared to enforce the new rules. President trumps controversial travel ban expected to take effect today. The restrictions on travel in the u. S. Limiting entry to travellers from six muslim majority countries if they dont have any direct connection. The rollout following the Supreme Court decision monday clearing the way for now. The travel ban was a major focus of mr. Trumps campaign, which is already gear ising ing u gea. He rallied supporters at a closed door event. No cameras allowed. Nearly 10 million raised. The real action kickoff coming barely five months into the president s term. By comparison, barack obama doesnt hold his first reelection event until two years in his presidency. Despite a stunning setback for the republican effort to repeal obamacare the president is expressing optimism. Health care is working along very well. We could have a big surprise with a Great Health Care package. Reporter even as Mitch Mcconnell tries to hammer out a bill by tomorrow before lawmakers leave for the fourth of july recess, some republicans are voicing doubts about the likelihood of a friday deal. And picks could fly. Reporter one idea now on the table, scrapping proposed tax cuts for the rich. This is policy driven. We really want this to be a good policy change for a lot of people out there. Reporter the chorus calling for a bipartisan bill is growing, even from the republicans. Thats what we should have done from the beginning. Reporter Chuck Schumer including democrats at the table. He has to be very, very serious. He has done a lot of talking, bad talking. He just doesnt seem like a serious person. Reporter americans take the issues seriously, with three new polls showing overwhelming opposition to the republican plan. Support hovering below 20 . That was among all americans. The Senate Republican plan is unpopular, even among republicans, several new polls show its Approval Rating in the mid20s and 30s. Mitch mcconnell is hoping to get a revised version of the advanced bill done by tomorrow, with a goal of getting a successful vote before the next recess in august. Matt, hoda. Peteral sha alexander, thank. A change to airlines and passengers, the department of Homeland Security is raising the bar for every flight coming into the u. S. From a foreign airport. This though, is instead of a ban on personal electronics we have been telling to you expect. Its all tied to the ongoing threat from isis. Nbcs tom costello is on that part of the story. Hey, tom, good morning. Reporter hoda, go remember to you. To be clear this does not affect domestic flights in the United States. This is for the 325,000 people who come into the United States every single day. Airlines must meet tough new security requirements. If they dont, they could be banned from flying into the United States or everybody on board would be banned from having any personal electronics either in a cabin or the cargo hold. If International Travel is in your immediate future, expect heightened security on the return flight home. Homeland security ordering any airline that flies into a u. S. Airport from abroad to meet strict new security protocols. We cannot play international whack a mole with each new threat. Instead, we must put in place new measures across the board to keep the traveling public safe and make it harder for terrorists to succeed. Reporter the new measures come after isis claimed responsibility for a russian jet lining over egypt. Since march, passengers coming from ten middle east and african airports have been required to bag check any device larger than a cell phone a. Plan was shelved after airlines and frequent flyers pushed back. Instead, a noble security upgrade, more thorough carryon bag checks at foreign airports, more bombsniffing dogs, more swabbing for explosives. More 3d carryon bag scanners like the ones tested if engs into. They warn ever foreign airport is at risk. You have returning flighters who have been trained by isis or groups in the middle east that are returning to locations all around the world. That could increase the possibility of smaller airports being higher risk. Reporter in miami, mixed reaction. I do feel that its kind of targeted to certain countries. I feel that, you know, it should be all countries. I feel that the world we live in today is some crazy, you just never know whats going to happen. I feel like were trying to put a band aid on a flesh wound and call it good. Reporter so 2,100 flights being affected every single day. They come from all corners of the world the middle east, europe, canada, the caribbean, mexico. Everybody treated equally. As a result, the Airline Industries says it wishes there had been more collaboration. It says it refers a riskbased approach, you focus on the riskiest airports, instead you have to go along with who Homeland Security tells it to do. Thanks. While were on the subject of travel, a record 44 million americans expected to leave home for the fourth of july weekend. Good news if you drive to your destination. Gas prices are plunging. The National Average is now 2. 24 per gallon. Thats the lowest for this Holiday Weekend in years. Gabe gutierrez is in suburban atlanta area with more on this, gabe, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, its a different type of gas price story tanweer used to hearing. Gas at this station now down to 1. 89 a gallon. Right now 34 states have at least one station offering regular unleaded for under 2. This morning, u. S. Gas prices are at their lowest in 12 years, just in time for the 4th. This is awesome. You will make me get owl excited and giddy about it. It really is awesome. Reporter the cheapest gas on average, South Carolina and oklahoma and indiana prices plunged as far as 1. 49, drivers from california to arizona can save 67 cents a on. I dont have money to do that. Reporter americans will pay an average of 2. 21 over the weekend, the lowest since 25. F 2005. Christmas in july, we usually dont see such a big plunge just ahead of july 4th. The National Average is down 15 cents a gallon now just versus two months ago, thats a pretty tremendous decline. Reporter according to gasbuddy. Com the cheapest time to buy gas is monday the most expensive thursday. With the prices down, im more inclined to drive. Reporter fuming the drop, a surplus of crude oil, analysts predict some temporary price likes later this summer at the height of return season. After the fourth of july they might go up. Its a dramatic turn around, they expected it to be closer to 3 per gallon and gasbuddy. Com says for every cent dropped, americans saved 4 million. Back to you. All right, gabe, 2. 24 sounds good. Thank you. We have a lot more to get to this morning, including a stunning decision the that is rocking the vatican Australian Police have now charged a top cardinal, one of pope francis cheap advisers with multiple accounts of sexual assault. This morning, were hearing directly from him. Chief correspondent bill neiley has the overnight developments. What can you tell us . Good morning, hoda, Cardinal George pell has defended the Catholic Church in the past against sex charges t. Most senior official ever to do so. Now he faces charges, himself. Police didnt specify the ages of the alleged victim. This will shake the church, because pell wasnt just number 3 at the vatican the treasury secretary. He was a man hand picked by pope francis to change the way the whole church operates. Reporter never before has a cardinal been charged with sexual abuse at the vatican this morning. Cardinal george pell insisted he is innocent. I am looking finally to having my day in court t. Whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me. Reporter hes being the victim he said of relentless character assassination Australian Police have a different view. Reporter Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges in respect to historic sexual offenses and there are multiple compliance related to those charges. Reporter this morning, pope francis said mass and the vatican said he regretted the news of charges against his cardinal for decades old actions. Pell wasnt among the cardinals he greeted today zplo the whole truth and but nothing but the truth. Reporter last year he was accused of an australian inquiry of mishandling sexual abuse claims against priests. He admitted mistakes. It was a catastrophe a. Catastrophe for the victims and a catastrophe for the church. Reporter now he is accused directly. Its going to be very difficult to untangle this. Because it becomes as you know his word against their word. Reporter dark clouds over the vatican today its thought the global wave of sexual scandals hitting the church have crested. Now its reached inside the very corridors palal power. He said there must be zero tolerance the test for pell, who is 76. Begins july 18th at an australian court. Bill neiley, thank you so much. We have new developments to tell you about at the criminal fraud trial of former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli. The Opening Statements described as everything explosive to bizarre, Thomas Roberts has been following that case for us, good morning. Matt, good morning to you, day three of the Martin Shkreli trial will begin here shortly in brooklyn. It took over two days to suit a jury. 200 were dismissed. They had negative intentions the prosecution is painting the brooklyn native as a liar, the defense said he is a genius and described him in odd parallels to the musical work of lady gaga t. Star of opening stramts wasnt Martin Shkreli himself, but instead, lady gaga. The defense invoking her songs repeatedly. The defense attorney saying much like the pop star, his client was born this way, painting him as an eccentric genius who made millions for gossiping investors and colleagues. Reporter his Attorney Says they talked about him behind his back, saying he may be autistic or questioning his sexuality. Is he strange . Will you find him weird, yes, he was charged by the sec with committing a series of until frauds over a fiveyear period. He pleaded not guilty and has been freed on 5 million bond. These charges have nothing to do with what earned him the nickname farmer bro. As ceo in 2015, he hiked the price of a life saving hiv drug by 5,000 percent from 13. 50 to 1ri679 and copied the only copy of an album for a rumor of 400 and his attorney said you may have reason to hate him, but that is not a basis on which to convict. Reporter with all of these lady gaga references, do you wish robert had more of a poker face . I am happy with martins face exactly the way it is. Reporter all right, so, the Defense Strategy here again, could it be the cureer to the prosecutions allegations, well find out shortly. Now the trial is expected to take six weeks. As we know, he has embraced a bed romance is headlines from the media. We will see how this day goes in just a little while. Lady gaga, go figure. Thanks, very much. All right, we have newly released video to show you of a Deadly Police shootout earlier this month. An officer boards a bus in baltimore to confront an armed suspect. He orders passengers to get off the bus after shooting from the doorway with two handguns the suspect makes a run for it and police say ignores and order to surrender. Drop the gun 42, suspects down. Show your hands the suspect was killed when an officer and a bystander were wound t. Video backs up their conclusion the use of deadly force was justified. We have an update now on a story we have been following the son of a former Major League Baseball player seriously injured while playing in a game. According to his family, doctors say the teenager may have now turned the corner after his latest surgery. Katiebeck has more on this. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning, matt, nearly two weeks ago when Jason Lockhart was fit in the hayhit t turned into a life and death situation. The morning, for the first time, family and friends of 15yearold Jason Lockhart are breathing a sigh of relief after whats being called a Successful Surgery and a great report from doctors. His sister sydney writing on facebook wednesday night that lockhart is awake and still in recovery and that doctors are confident that this latest surgery resolved the bleeding problem. Its the first piece of good news since this nightmare began for the Lockhart Family nearly two weeks azpo, when the teen, playing in a baseball tournament was hit in the face by a thrown baum t. Injury tearing an artery in his nose, doctors unable to stop the bleeding. According to his sisters frequent media, his latest surgery is at least his sixth in one days. One day they sedated him to allow him to heal. We have a lot of reportth arteries that fracture can cause bleeding, it can be hidden back in those bones, it can be very hard to find. Reporter the family thankful, asking for more prayers as jason begins his road to recovery. Again, doctors saying he se through the worst, really turning a corner after that latest surgery, this is good news for the Lockhart Family, who has been through so much this week, really sticking together by that bedside, hoping and praying for his full recovery, matt. Hoda. Thank you so much. We hope so as well. I love when there is a follow up like that one. Mr. Roker, we have tornadoes in the country. We have 26 reports at least yesterday. We have more on tap possibly today. This is near sydney, iowa, in the southwestern part of the state. There you can see another frontal cloud. We have reports of tornadoes from wisconsin all way into the midwest and the Central Plains and we got more activity firing up this morning. We got severe thunderstorm watches, warnings and flash flood watches out now along this line of showers and thunderstorms, that are firing umm. We have a risk today for 15 Million People, including an enhanced risk throughout parts of iowa on into missouri and parts of nebraska as well, tomorrow, its from oklahoma all the way into western new york and parts of northeastern ohio. Were watching this line that will develop this afternoon, scattered severe storms make their way across. We will be looking at this fondly into the east coast. By the time we get into friday afternoon, strong storms, heavier rain, an additional fourtosix inches as you get into the midsection of the country. We will get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. The United States postal service. Priority you good thursday morning im meteorologist kari hall adds we get a look at the clouds for parts of the inland areas. We are seeing those temperatures now in the midfists, trivalley has cleared out but were still seeing the clouds in San Francisco and the north bay. 49 degrees in the north bay and San Francisco will see the highs today up to 66 degrees, 68 degrees tomorrow. And as we go into the weekend our temperatures stay nice and comfortable while the inland valleys will be heegt up. Expected to be as hot as 89 degrees on saturday. Thats your latest weather. Thank you very much. Still ahead, the mysterious leads in the central park explosion that cost a College Student his leg. The surprising podcast from an unexpected place that is rocketing to the top of the charts. But first, this is today on nbc. A major milestone, the advice that changed everything. How a clang in the way you eat. Hi. Oh, hi welcome to the neighborhood. I brought you this pie to see if youre weird. Wow, that smells intrusive. It is. Did you want to come in, maybe snoop around a bit . Thats why im here. 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