Hello and Happy Independence Day! From CNN, I'm Jo Beck with the 5 things you need to know for Thursday, the 4th of July.

President Joe Biden has met with nearly every Democratic governor in the U.S. as he frantically tries to save his candidacy. He's facing growing concern after his performance in last week's presidential debates, including from some of the state leaders in last night's meeting. A few governors spoke to reporters afterwards and said Biden was fit to run again, while reiterating that they stand behind the president. Maryland Governor Wes Moore said they were candid with Biden.

We were honest about the concerns that we were hearing from people, and we're also honest about the fact that as the president continue to tell us and show us that he was all in, that we said that we would stand with him.

The meeting came just hours after a second sitting Democratic congressman publicly called for Biden to step aside from his campaign. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, told The New York Times that he feels Biden has a responsibility to, quote, "get out of this race." But despite reports that Biden is weighing his future as the Democratic candidate and acknowledged how critical the next few days will be, the white House says he's absolutely not considering stepping down.

More than 40% of Americans will be spending this Independence Day under heat alerts. The National Weather Service says the South and West will be sizzling today with temperatures 5 to 20° F above average, with people in the South also dealing with high humidity. And the heat is making wildfires worse in parts of the US. CNN's Stephanie Elam is in Oroville, where California's Thompson Fire is also being fueled by high winds.

What's also noteworthy is that here in California, according to Cal Fire, we've seen a 1,600% increase in the number of acres burned so far this year versus last year. So you're talking about 7500 acres burned at this time last year, compared to more than 130,000 acres burned so far this year. Part of the issue is the last two years have been very, very wet. And that means that's given a lot of growth of vegetation. That's the problem.

Deadly Hurricane Beryl has weakened to a category 3 storm after lashing Jamaica. Authorities say a woman was killed there last night when a tree fell on her home, taking the storm's total death toll to eight. Beryl still has a 130 mile an hour winds, and is expected to sweep past the Cayman Islands and stay as a hurricane until it's forecast to make landfall in Mexico tomorrow. This is the first time we've seen a storm this powerful so early in the hurricane season.

Israel and Hamas could be getting closer to a cease fire and hostage release agreement. It's not a deal, per se, but an Israeli source says Israeli officials believe Hamas's latest response will allow the two sides to enter detailed negotiations to reach one. That will likely take several weeks, though, and will have to be greenlit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who so far has rejected the idea of a cease fire unless Hamas is eliminated. Meanwhile, there could be another conflict brewing to the north. Has Israel says its fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight into today. The Israeli military says around 100 rockets were fired towards Israel yesterday afternoon after a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in southern Lebanon.

Coming up, Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing another lawsuit alleging sexual assault and sex trafficking.

Another woman is accusing Sean Combs of sex trafficking and sexual assaults. The lawsuit was filed yesterday in New York by former adult film star Adria English. It says Combs and other defendants used her as a, quote, "sexual pawn for the pleasure and financial benefits of others," during parties at Combs' homes in Miami and the Hamptons between 2004 and 2009. English is asking for a jury trial and wants an undisclosed amount of punitive damages. This marks the ninth suit against Combs since last November and the eighth directly accusing him of sexual assaults. In a statement to CNN, an attorney for Combs said his client has, quote, "never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone."

That's all for now. On next episode is at 9 a.m. eastern.