instead, after questioning whether london is up to task for hosting the 2012 olympics, mitt romney's camp is doing battle with a foe arguably more formidable than any rival here at home, "the english press." brian mooar from washington joins us with those details. brian, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. mitt romney has been careful not to criticize the president or the u.s. government on this overseas trip, but he probably should have added london to the list. from mitt romney, a gold medal gaffe, questioning london's readiness for the olympics. >> there are a few things that were disconcerting, stories about the private security firm not having enough people. >> those words made the kind of headlines mitt romney wasn't hoping to see on an overseas trip that was about boosting his foreign policy resume. instead he was forced to practice a little diplomacy. >> shows imagination and forethought and a lot of organization, and expect the games to be highly successful. >> the white house says

president obama has london's back. >> the president also made it clear he has the utmost confidence in our close friend and ally, the united kingdom. >> it's not clear whether this might cost romney politically here at home. >> i think the democrats risk overplaying it. this is a gaffe, he probably regrets it, but it wasn't the end of the world. >> but he may have lost a few fans in the host city of london. >> there's a guy -- there's a guy called mitt romney who wants to know whether we're ready. he wants to know whether we're ready. are we ready? >> yes! >> are we ready? yes, we are! the venues are ready. >> and romney's ready to leave this baggage behind as he travels on this weekend to israel and poland. lynn? >> brian, thank you. well, all eyes of the world are on london today as anticipation builds for tonight's big opening ceremony of the 2012 olympics. nbc's tracie potts is in london for us with more on the final

preparations that are underway. >> reporter: 60,000 will pack london. how will slum dog millionaire danny boyle entertain billions of viewers around the world? >> not because we want it to be a secret, just because we want the delight of the evening to be discovery. >> reporter: even though we can show you some video from the rehearsals, the cast of 15,000 are sworn to secrecy. "the daily mail" reports paul mccartney will play "hey jude." >> it's absolutely incredible. so speechless. i'm probably going to cry. >> reporter: around olympic park there's so much to see and do. >> go under. >> reporter: workers are putting the finishing touches on the park. archery is the only sporting event happening here today.

security is tight. fbi agents are helping british soldiers keeping the olympics secure. this 265 pound wrestler jokes, maybe he should be on the security team. >> usually i'm my own security. i don't know. all these guys should feel safe because i'm here. >> reporter: the olympic torch is here welcomed by the royals thursday. it arrived at the stadium tonight. tracie potts, nbc news, london. don't miss the coverage of tonight's historic opening ceremony in london beginning at 7:30 right here on this nbc station. severe weather hit parts of the midwest and northeast on thursday knocking out power to more than 200,000 people. in elmira, new york, a possible tornado brought down trees and power lines. there were multiple reports of damaged buildings but no injuries reported. a curfew is in effect with only emergency vehicles allowed on the streets while fallen trees and power lines are being cleared and new york's governor

has declared a state of emergency there. meanwhile, the drought affecting 2/3 of the u.s. is getting worse. a new report from the u.s. drought monitor says 20% of the nation is now in the most extreme stages of drought. that's a 7% increase just in the last week. the states with the worst conditions are colorado, iowa, kansas, nebraska, and missouri. and conditions aren't expected to get better any time soon with little rain and more intense summer heat in the forecast unfortunately. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a brawl erupted outside a missouri courthouse. watch this. the violent scuffle began after the son of a murder defendant approached a prosecution witness. the group of women intervened before either men could be seriously hurt. police arrested both men after viewing the footage of the fight. a horrific crash on a texas

highway nearly took the life of an innocent driver. a suspect sped away from police after a traffic stop. his escape ended horribly when he veered into oncoming traffic and then collided head on with another car. the suspect was arrested while the driver in the other car was hospitalized in critical condition. and finally, the outpouring of support continues in aurora. patients and hospital staff took photos with and got autographs from the manager and 12 players who made the trip. that's great there. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. happy friday. >> it is. tonight you coming over? the olympic opening ceremony. >> you're hosting a huge party. didn't you hear? your address is -- >> you wouldn't show up in a million years. lynn berry would not show up. well, good morning, everyone.

the olympics, of course, the big story today and the next 17 days. the opening ceremonies. unfortunately london had beautiful weather all week long and now today it's kind of drizzly and rainy there. looks like it should be clearing out though by the time they get to do the opening ceremonies. it shouldn't rain the event out. this is the olympic stadium behind me. it doesn't have a roof. whatever comes down from the sky will be on everyone. hopefully the rain will end shortly. as far as what we're dealing with in the west, yesterday was another hot day. boise, 101. salt lake city, 100 again. now we're looking at a warm start to the day of course. clear skies everywhere. it should be a pretty nice day. the exception still remains right along the coastal areas as we continue with the on shore flow which will give us another morning of clouds and then it will slowly burn off during the day. all we can do for you in san francisco is 67. medford, warm. boise up near 100. pretty much the same forecast today as what youearly august t.

interior sections of california. slight chance of rain in arizona. weekend forecast coming up. all right, bill. also coming up, facebook falls flat. starbucks weakens, finally a place a man can go to stock his man cave. where has this been all of our lives? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll explain why this star-studded comedy once thought to have a chance up against "the dark knight rises" will only finish a distant second. the peyton manning era begins in denver and what sugary treats does michael phelps compare his career to? you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome

back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. one of jerry sandusky's sex abuse victims is threatening to sue penn state university. lawyers for the man known as victim number two released voice mails from last year reported to be sandusky expressing his love. health officials in eight states are trying to identify thousands of patients who may have been exposed to hepatitis c from traveling medical technician david kwiatkowski. testing has already been recommended for about 4,700 people in new hampshire. in england kate, the duchess of cambridge tried her hand at table tennis in london to launch a project to train teenagers as sports coaches. prince william played a little soccer. prince harry tried some basketball. and in british columbia, look at this big guy, a monster white sturgeon weighing more than 1,100 pounds and measuring 12'4" was caught. it may be the biggest and oldest

freshwater fish ever caught on rod and reel in north america. imagine reeling that in. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,887 after jumping 211 points yesterday. s&p rose 22. the nasdaq climbed 39. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei shot up 123 points, while in hong kong the hang seng surged 382. well, a little hope for europe's finances was just what the markets needed thursday. stocks took off after the european central bank's president vowed to do whatever it takes to keep the eurozone intact, raising hopes it might intervene to lower borrowing costs for countries like spain and italy. that optimism extended overseas as asian markets rose on the ecb's reassurance. elsewhere overseas samsung reported record profit today,

thanks to rampant sales of its galaxy s mobile phone. back here at home it was an earnings onslaught. despite facebook's first report as a public company having some solid numbers, shares hit a new low after the bell. earlier social gamer zynga was hit hard by its poor outlook after the bell wednesday. its stock closed down 37%. amazon's second quarter profit tumbled 96%. shares fell after hours but later recovered. starbucks' earnings fell short, sending it lower in late trade. the coffee chain blamed the miss on economic turmoil overseas. >> on the upside, sprint nextel jumped 20% on the success of its new unlimited data plans which boosted revenue. home builder pulte group shot up 18% on upbeat earnings. and whole foods also got a boost from a healthy quarterly report. and, finally, you heard of the man cave, right? well, what about the man aisle? the owners of one manhattan

market say guys don't like taking lists to the store, so they put all their manly products, you know, chips, beer, salsa, barbecue sauce, all in one place. how convenient for you guys. did i cover all the bases? maybe doritos in there, right? well, a smashing major league debut, back-to-back jacks, and an early look at next year's nba season. plus, a four-time mvp gets back on his horse, this time in a new set of colors. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and after a severe weather outbreak we have a nice quiet weekend coming your way. that forecast is next. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, trade rumors are flying in major league baseball with the july 31st deadline fast approaching for trading. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, there, good morning. baseball's trading deadline is four days away, and if your team needs a pitcher, look no further than milwaukee. the brewers are officially shopping zack greinke. what a difference a year makes. last season the brew were a playoff time. now they're sellers at the trading deadline. nationals wasting no time

getting on the board. adam laroche was part of a four-run second. washington wins their sixth in a row, 8-0. the pirates' starling marte made his major league debut. leads off the game, and the first pitch he sees, gone! that's one way to start a career. pirates beat the astros, 5-3. to cleveland, the indians jump all over the tigers. justin verlander in the seventh. carlos santana and travis hafner hit back-to-back jacks on consecutive pitches. the tribe scores four in the inning and win, 5-3. the nba schedule is out. the world champion heat will tip off the season on october 30th against the celtics, followed by the lakers and mavericks. the brooklyn nets will open the doors to their new arena on november 1st against the knicks, and there will be five games on christmas day highlighted by a finals rematch between the thunder and heat. look who's wearing navy and orange. the peyton manning era officially began in denver with the start of training camp. the long-time colt and future hall of famer was the biggest

free agent signing in nfl history. he missed all of last season after having neck surgery. no word if he'll play in the broncos' first preseason game on august 9th. and, finally, the opening ceremony of the olympics is tonight on nbc. and for 14-time gold medalist michael phelps, the london games mark the end of a career. >> this is the closure, and it's really -- how many toppings do i want on my sundae? that's what i'm doing. i'm having fun. >> sounds like phelps is licking his chops to get back into the pool. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. well, a first for lady gaga and the end for hollywood's "twilight's" couple? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus twins, they stick together, they do things together, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. you're watching "early today."

well e, welcome back to "early today." as far as what we're going to deal with saturday, more of the same throughout the region. we won't see too many chances for rain. temperatures warm on saturday in the inner mountain west. sunday, not a lot changes. this weather pattern is set in stone at least for the next three or four days. if you're watching us on king 5 news, seattle, washington, see art. using turn tables.

that's at the henry art gallery in seattle, washington. you can go there this afternoon and see the records from the '60s to the present. that's your pacific event of the day, lynn. >> thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. well, "the dark knight rises" will finish first at the box office this weekend, but with how much? most experts see a 60% drop-off from last weekend. that would earn the film roughly $65 million, closing in on $300 million overall. well, six months ago hollywood had huge expectations for the debuting comedy "the watch" starring ben stiller, jonah hill, and vince vaughn. what could go wrong, right? well the reviews are awful, it's rated "r" and in the wake of the trayvon martin killing, audiences may not take to the idea of a neighborhood watch comedy. still it should earn a respectable $20 million. elsewhere director robert rodriguez tweets lady gaga will make her acting debut in his upcoming film, "machete kills." and in the wake of his girlfriend having cheated on him, robert pattinson has moved

out of the l.a. home he shared with kristin stewart. a friend said he was horrified she publicly apologized to him. and this comes to us from wis news 10 in columbia, south carolina, where pregnant twin sisters ended up sharing more than looks after both arrived at the same hospital. although scheduled to deliver on two different dates, zakira and shakira wound up giving birth on the same day just one hour apart. zakira followed in her mom's footsteps delivering twins, while shakira delivered a healthy baby boy, adding to an already long list of bizarre connections and memories that these sisters will share. well, i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. well, you've heard of a

lucky rabbit's foot, right? well, what about a lucky log? residents of a small cambodian town are flocking to a wooden log they believe has magical powers. the 42-foot-long piece of wood is covered in talcum powder so people can rub their hands on it, hoping to find winning lottery numbers. residents claim the log has to be lucky because it was under water for over a century without rotting. that sounds logical. well, in london, a unique tech display allows you to catch all the sounds of the olympics from one spot. a red-and-white paneled beat box machine at the olympic pavilion contains various sounds of the competition each from squeaking

sneakers to arrows hitting a target right down to an athlete's heartbeat. visitors can also create their own beat by touching the panels. and, finally, in london, you can sip on olympic brews of the past. brew masters from the camden town brewery have dug up a 1908 beer recipe believed to have been drank during the london olympics of that year. they've brewed over a thousand gallons of the pale ale and bottled it with golden labels that bear a 1908 olympic high jumper. it's aptly named camden 1908. i wonder who thought of that. >> back in 1908 they did the scissor kicks. the didn't do the fosbury flop. it wasn't invented. >> is that your olympic fact of the day? wow, i can't believe you know that. it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. defense secretary leon panetta delivers the keynote address at the 59th anniversary commemoration of the signing of

the korean war armistice at the arlington national cemetery. korean war veterans and their families will be honored for their service and sacrifice. a public visitation as well as a private funeral and burial are all planned today for john larimar, the navy officer who was killed while shielding his girlfriend from gunfire during last week's colorado theater shooting rampage. and 1968 world olympic figure skater peggy fleming turns 64 today. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and more as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. in a "today" exclusive, matt sits down live in london with gop presidential candidate mitt romney and his wife ann. and first lady michelle obama talks to al about the olympic version of her "let's move" campaign about childhood obesity. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early

today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. the day, today on your nbc station. have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> coming up, count down to the olympic games, a live look at london. last minute preparations are under way. we'll tell you why a local olympic icon says tonight's big event is giving her the jitters just ahead. >> reporter: good morning. i'm stephanie chuang in san jose where there could be a green light after months of waiting. details coming up. >> from san jose, here is san francisco, that is the bay bridge all lit up on this friday, july 27th. this is "today in the bay."