AAA is predicting 72.2 million people will travel domestically for Independence Day. CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes has more.

Nashville

Travel across the United States is experiencing a significant surge as more than 72 million people are expected to travel domestically for Independence Day, according to AAA. Airports such as Nashville International are reporting smooth operations, while Newark Airport has emerged as the most on-time airport in the New York City area for June, outperforming JFK and LaGuardia.

The Federal Aviation Administration anticipates this to be the busiest Fourth of July travel period in 15 years, with over 51,000 flights scheduled and a record number of drivers on the road. Gas prices have dropped to their lowest since 2021, encouraging more Americans to drive. However, some delays have been reported in cities like Dallas, Chicago, Miami, and Boston, largely due to weather conditions.

Fourth of July travel rush underway

Looking live at the airport that made recent headlines in months for travel troubles, this is Newark Airport in New Jersey. And that is coming into our monitors where travel tweaks in the system really have their first test after the fixes. Then looking live at the FlightAware travel map, every one of those plane graphics you see right there represents somebody in the skies right now. Real-time data bringing to life just how many people are traveling. And when they took off, likely in flight right now even, they're wondering about reports of storms, reports of delays, or other travel troubles. We're testing the waters here. Live now to CBS News correspondent, Nicole Valdez at a very busy Nashville International. So, Nicole, you are in Music City, USA. Is travel a sad country song or is it a smooth nine-to-five, my friend? Hey, Reid, I can always count on you for those puns, right? Look, I'll say this, it has been pretty smooth here in Nashville, despite this being a huge destination for not only summer travel, but for 4th of July. We've got some big celebrations going on downtown tonight, including an event called Let Freedom Sing. Dierks Bentley will be headlining that, so we're looking into Nashville for that. But so far, no major delays to report. I wanna go back to what you mentioned about Newark Airport, though, because believe it or not, the statistics from that airport now say that Newark was, in fact, the most on-time airport in the New York City area in the month of June, compared to JFK and LaGuardia. They had more on-time flights and fewer cancellations than both of those airports, despite the amount of challenges we know that they faced earlier on this year. But the FIA does expect this week to be the busiest 4th of July travel period that they have seen in yet this 15 years. Today alone, they expect to see more than 51,000 flights take off and another 60 million Americans are expected to travel and get in the car and take their families to where they're going. So a lot of people trying to get to their places today. We know there were some delay possible, delays possible on the eastern coast there, as we saw some thunderstorms kick up, and those might continue to be a threat later on in the afternoon. Some of the delays that we've seen, of course, have really focused in on airports, including Dallas. We've seen some delays over in Chicago, Miami, Boston, just to name a few. So as we get later in the day, the chances are those delays could really start to increase there. Earlier this morning was really the best time to leave. It still looks like a good amount of people here, so we'll just see how this plays out for the rest of the day. Well, and anybody delayed at a gate or on a tarmac right now has that big question. Should I just have gotten behind the wheel and driven? Talk to me about gas prices and how that factors into travel. Yeah, I think the good news for a lot of people trying to drive to where they're going this weekend, gas prices are the lowest they've been, actually, since 2021. We're talking about $3.17. So for those who are hitting the road, that is some good news, and we know there are millions of people who are expected to do that. In fact, an increase of about 2% of travelers expected to drive, but that actually makes it the highest volume of drivers hitting the road this weekend on record. No doubt, a lot of iPads and back seats for stressed out moms and dads, too. Nice to talk to you, Nicole. You have a great day. Go get me a Cinnabon at that airport, will you? The music continues in Music City.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will do "anything" to advance EU accession talks. Zelenskyy spoke alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine will do 'anything' to advance EU accession talks: Zelenskyy

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Washington

Global Tariffs

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Gilimanuk

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Ochopee

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Tecoluca

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Manhattan

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Madrid

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Tehran

Iran Strikes

Iran nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon

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Lhasa

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New York

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Bryan Kohberger changed his plea to guilty Wednesday for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. CBS News national correspondent Carter Evans has more on the case.

Boise

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Madison

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Paris

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Everglades

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Moscow

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Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government fighting for survival on multiple fronts.

Bangkok

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