Extra Time: Defiant Biden vows to keep running; Hurricane Beryl lashes Jamaica
In this edition of Eyewitness News Extra Time, a defiant President Joe Biden vows to keep running for re-election; meanwhile, Hurricane Beryl continues to lash Jamaica as it moves past the island.
On Wednesday, President Biden met with Democratic governors and congressional leaders, as some within his own party question whether his campaign for re-election should go on.
This comes after his disastrous debate performance raised questions about his abilities.
"I'm in this race to the end and we're going to win," President Biden said on a call with staffers.
But donors are on edge. Some Democrats are defecting. The White House is in full damage control mode, and President Biden has his work cut out for him.
ABC's Em Nguyen joins us from Washington, D.C.
Hurricane Beryl lashes Jamaica
Much of Jamaica might have dodged a bullet. Hurricane Beryl was passing just off the island's southern coast Wednesday evening, after the monster Category 4 storm killed at least seven people and leveled building after building in the southeast Caribbean.
ABC's Faith Abubéy is on the ground in Montego Bay.
Meanwhile, with a huge Caribbean American community in Brooklyn, there are already drives to collect supplies for victims of Hurricane Beryl.
A restaurant in Flatbush, Brooklyn is now accepting donations. They're keeping a close eye on the Category 4 storm and are reaching out to family and friends as the storm leaves a trail of destruction across several islands including St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.
NYPD gears up for city's Fourth of July celebrations
The NYPD is gearing up for a massive show of force to secure New York City's Fourth of July celebration.
There are no specific threats, but the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI warn that mass gatherings are attractive targets for terrorists.
More than a million spectators are expected to watch the fireworks.
Josh Einiger got an exclusive look at a new counter-terrorism boat which is equipped with radiation detectors to sniff out a bomb. It can respond to an alert quickly. Drones will also be out monitoring crowds, and there will be drone detectors which can spot an unauthorized device and even take control of it.
Eyewitness News reporter Lauren Glassberg shows us more of the security preparations underway right now.
Fourth of July travel
As for the holiday rush, AAA predicts nearly 71 million people will travel this week for the Fourth of July.
Most will drive to their destination, and the good news is that gas prices are the lowest they've been on Independence Day in three years. The national average is $3.51 per gallon.
Meanwhile, the TSA expects to set more records for the number of passengers screened. Nearly 41,000 flights were scheduled for Wednesday.
The agency says officers will screen more than 3 million people on Sunday .
Eyewitness News reporter Anthony Johnson has more on the travel rush from Newark Liberty Airport.
You can watch 'Eyewitness News Extra Time' live Monday-Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7NY.com or our ABC7NY app on Roku, FireTV, Apple TV and Android TV.
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