games in london. good evening from this global gathering here in london where tonight just as quickly we turn our sights back to the united states specifically the crippling and historic drought we are in the midst of and the news that came out just today a new and official u.s. government measure of just how bad it is and how much it is going to impact us. we begin with our chief environmental affairs correspondent, anne thompson. >> reporter: this is america, land of the dry. reservoirs evaporating, rivers barely moving, farmland cracked and parched by a persistent stubborn drought. today the u.s. department of agriculture reports nearly half of the nation's counties have been declared a disaster because of the drought. much of the west, midwest and southeast bathed in red having endured a severe drought for eight or more weeks this year.

the fear in colorado county, texas is potential wildfires fueled by the trees killed in last year's drought. >> we may have lost between 100 and 500 million trees. >> reporter: it has been so hot in minnesota even famous lakes provide little relief. >> temperatures of 95 degrees. in some shallow lakes. >> reporter: causing fish kills in at least 25 lakes. withering in fields the price of corn hit a new high. but there's other trouble, too. 37% of the soybean crop is rated very poor to poor. 66% of the hay fields are in drought. so is 73% of the cattle land. >> this could be the new normal in the united states. we need to plan ahead because we know and science tells us that under a changing climate droughts will be more frequent and more intense across the united states. >> reporter: 60% of the states

have no plan. tomorrow the government will issue its weekly drought monitor detailing the extent of a crisis that could stretch into fall, a crisis that is expected to impact food prices and family budgets as much of the nation remains stuck in a very dry place. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. overseas we continue to follow this fighting in syria. the rebels way outgunned and up against seemingly impossible odds as they fight the regime and fight their way across the countryside. our chief correspondent richard engel is reporting and today encountered the fighting up close. he reports from ariha. 40 miles outside the big city of aleppo. >> reporter: at 11:00 a.m. attack helicopters circle the sky. from a rooftop we hear the assault begin. it sounds like artillery and tracings from the helicopters.

we move down to the alley to try to find out why syrian forces are attacking this city of 70,000 south of aleppo. we see civilians fleeing from open areas searching for cover and rebels on motor cycles on the main square. it appears a large military cyc the main square. it appears a large military convoy was passing through and as the troops were moving past here the rebels in this town opened fire on them. in a makeshift rebel media center activists try to upload videos of the attack they have taken with small cameras. they show me syrian tanks are now firing. the rebels attack the convoy to prevent reinforcements from reaching aleppo but now this city is paying for it. back in the alleys men on motorcycles tell us there are bodies up the street, many. in a mosque, we find them along with their distraught relatives. witnesses say the victims were civilians standing outside a

mosque and attacked by a helicopter. there seem to be many casualties here. here eight bodies have been brought. they can't get them to the hospital so they are putting ice on top of the bodies. they can't move them because there is too much helicopter and mortar fire coming in. men embrace the deceased. "oh, uncle, oh uncle," this man cries. the rebels seem desperately outgunned and may have taken on a battle they can't win. each fighter says he only has about 60 bullets and homemade grenades. how are you going to defend yourself against a tank assault? [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: god is with us, he says. back in the media center bad news has just arrived. one of the rebels media activists has just been killed, one of more than a dozen killed today. and the rebels never stop the

syrian army convoy headed to aleppo. richard engle, nbc news in northern syria. >> two things here. number one, we are happy to be able to report that after filing his report richard and his team were able to safely get out of ariha and are now safe and in northern syria. one more note here we learned prior to going on the air, tonight nbc news has been able to confirm that president obama has signed an order calling for mostly clandestine u.s. forces to support the rebels in syria. domestically another piece of president obama's signature health care law went into effect today and includes preventative care for as many as 47 million women including access to contraceptives at no charge and by going into effect started the health care fight all over again. nbc's kelly o'donnell has the

story. >> reporter: from free birth control to annual checkups, millions of american women with private health insurance could begin to save money and that means no out of pocket copays for many preventive services. as dr. paula johnson says this gives women an incentive to get care. >> this is a cost saving measure for women and for their families and will make preventive care far more accessible. >> reporter: now private policies would cover at no out of pocket costs yearly preventive checkups including prenatal, breast exams, cancer and diabetes screening, supplies, domestic violence screening. and women can't be charged more than men for the same care. >> no woman should have to choose between seeing her doctor and putting food on her table for her family. >> reporter: it has sparked a political fight with

conservatives. while religious employers have been given a waiver so they don't have to offer birth control coverage, now today house republicans argue the federal government has gone too far. >> this is not about women's health, this is about the largest assault on our first amendment rights. >> religious freedom is one of the bedrock principles of our democracy and yet today that freedom is under attack. >> reporter: the new rules take effect when they renew or buy new coverage. so many women will wait awhile longer. kelly o'donnell, nbc news, the capital. we turn to the olympic games underway here in london. there was more action in the pool, the u.s. still basking in the glow of the women's gymnastics team win. the shocker today was in badminton. of all things, of all sports, kevin tibbles has the latest at olympic park. good evening. >> reporter: tonight our first

bizarre scandal of these games. it is not doping. but it may be a new twist on cheating. trying to determine who your next opponent is by losing on purpose. it may be an olympic sport but sportsmanship was decidedly lacking. women's badminton teams from china, south korea and indonesia played like beginners trying to obtain a better draw on the competition by losing. >> we couldn't believe, we had never seen anything like this before. it was extraordinary. >> reporter: point after point was missed. the crowd booed, judges chastised and players threw temper tantrums. some were even shown black cards disqualifying them from the match. and following a meeting of the world badminton federation, all eight players involved were sent packing from the games. big time congratulations for the fabulous five as the u.s. women's gymnastics team received

a gold medal call from the president. president obama also called the most decorated athlete in olympic history, and michael phelps was included in a presidential tweet. congrats to michael phelps for breaking the all-time olympic medal record. you've made your country proud. even signing off, the "o." and a huge roar and sigh of relief for host great britain winning not one but two gold medals in women's rowing and the second to cycling sensation bradley wiggins. >> absolutely fantastic. we are just loving it. new york mayor johnson famous for his lack of hair. while zip lining in a london park he got hung up literally, stuck. dangling until someone pulled him back down to earth. with two gold medals and two silvers today britons are still

flying high and tonight the tower bridge turned gold. and once back the lord mayor of london said while he was worried about being suspended in the air all afternoon, he highly recommended the zip line experience. there is never a dull moment with boris. brian? >> the bridge is still glowing gold. a big day for our host nation today. kevin tibbles, thanks. as these games progress, the medal counts are climbing. if for you just seeing the overall medal count would be a spoiler of any kind, look away for just a moment. we will show you the tally so far. for the top five nations here is where we stand going into tomorrow's competition. and as we wrap up tonight, it is now safe to rejoin us. still ahead as we continue along the way this wednesday night across america today crowds swarm a chain of chicken restaurants over the issue of family values.

later an american gymnast who competed hard from an early age and in tough circumstances and that was just to get here.

big story across the u.s. these past few days combining food and free speech. for those who live near one chick-fil-a makes a good product and do it well. it is when the man in charge branched to family values is when the larger debate of same sex marriage came into view. our report from nbc's john yang. >> reporter: from texas to

pennsylvania to chicago, people lined up in big numbers to support a fast food chain under fire. >> support people's rights to boycott but want to support a company whose values are similar to our own. >> we want to show our support for the founding family and his right to free speech. >> reporter: the crowds were responding to calls from conservative and christian leaders to support the chain in the firestorm over its president's public opposition to gay marriage. a chicken sandwich has become a symbol in a battle of free speech and freedom to marry. it began in june when chick-fil-a president dan kathy appeared on a radio show. when we say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. >> reporter: some mayors said chick-fil-a would not be welcome in their cities. >> people that don't support human rights for everybody, there's just no place for them

in the city. >> reporter: even the muppets have joined the opposition, the jim henson company dropping out of a deal to join the chain and create toys, donating the money they already received from the chain to a gay rights group. other city leaders say a businessman's personal views are irrelevant. >> you don't want to ask political beliefs before you issue a permit. >> reporter: experts say this shows the risk of speaking out. >> it is difficult enough to attract customers that the last thing a brand wants to do is get on one side or the other of a really controversial topic like this. >> reporter: as a fast food chain becomes a battleground in the culture wars. coming up tonight the loss of an american who had lived a larger than average american life. must be nice, cheering on team usa from the shallow end.

back in '08, we didn't have these u-verse wireless receivers that let you move the tv around wherever. no siree, bob. who's bob? and if you didn't have a tv outlet, well then you couldn't watch diddly-squat. you talk a lot. you have no idea how good you have it. that's not working. [ grunts ] [ male announcer ] the wireless receiver, only from at&t. get a free wireless receiver with a qualifying u-verse plan. rethink possible. even though we are having one of them london showers there is the moon over london and

tonight's full moon is special because it is the first of two in the month of august. the second one comes on the 31st and as such makes it a blue moon. as in once in a blue moon to describe a rare event. while it is not usually blue in color, this two moons in a month event won't happen again until 2015. gore vidal has died. looking back at his life, it is difficult to pin down and define all he was. as "the new york times" said, he described himself as the last of a breed and was probably right. the gore vidal story begins with breeding. his family was steeped in u.s. history, a senator on his mother's side. his father worked for fdr and vidal hobnobbed with everybody. including kennedys and half of hollywood. al gore was a distant relative. gore vidal believed humans were inherently bisexual.

he preached as much as possible. he was a public figure on tv a lot and a prolific writer, the author of 25 novels. including meyer a breckenridge and lincoln. he also wrote for tv and films including "ben hur." his play currently on broadway. he was unquestionably brilliant and could be a terrible bully and fought sometimes physically with capote and famously with william f. buckley on live television in 1968. >> the only thing i can think of is yourself. >> listen. >> let's stop calling names. >> he was born at west point because his dad worked there. after prep school he joined the army. he died believing america was in deep decline that started long ago.

he got his larger wish in life to be remembered as both a polymicist and a man of letters. one of the mode agile and active minds of his generation. gore vidal died in los angeles at the age of 86. up next here this evening, the young man who spent so long dreaming about wearing that team usa uniform and now he is.

after yesterday's women's gymnastics gold medal, tonight it is the men's turn. the all around final. one of the u.s. contenders was a man who started at the bronx which made it tough to get here in the first place. his story from nbc's chris jansen. >> reporter: you can see it from his earliest competition. john orosco was a natural. he was seven when his dad saw a flyer for free gymnastics trial. said when he was born, he was fearless. >> we would put him in his crib and the lights were out and we would hear a bump and there was

john. barrelled over the crib walls, jumped onto the floor. >> reporter: soon john was competing and winning. in his small bedroom now filled with the memorabilia of a champion a dream took shape. >> i used to stay up all hours of the night and think of how it would feel to go to the olympic trials. >> reporter: but the road to london would be fraught with setbacks. john grew up here in the puerto rico neighborhood of the bronx where he was teased relentlessly. once on his way home from church he and his brothers were jumped by local thugs with knives and injured. >> nothing i can do, these people are attacking my brothers and beating them to a pulp. >> reporter: he worried about his parents, too, when his dad had a stroke and was forced to retire from the sanitation department, john got a job to help out. >> his first check he handed to his father and said here for the mortgage. >> reporter: then he blew out his achilles tendon potentially

ending his career. >> i thought the injure in 2000 was the biggest tragedy in our lives. he came back with a bang. >> reporter: in fact, john got better on every event, training far from home in colorado and focusing on skills that didn't pound his ankle, learning tricks on the high bar and performing effortless floor work on the floor and maintaining his unmatched ability -- >> he is a natural. >> reporter: stick landing. he helped hang the olympic ring with his proud dad. and it was mom and dad he tearfully thanked when he made the olympic team. >> when i am out on the floor it is a lonely feeling out there. and then i think about my family and the reason i have taken this so far is because i wanted to create a better life for myself and my family.

>> reporter: that little boy who loved to perform is now starring in a popular music video appropriately titled "the fighter." ♪ >> reporter: and ready to take center stage in london. not bad for a kid from the bronx, huh? >> not bad at all. ♪ >> reporter: john's nickname in the gym is the silent ninja because he has all of these amazing moves and is so quiet. what he has accomplished, making the olympic team and all around finals here, i think, brian, speaks for itself. >> you've got to believe the victory part is the journey for him. thank you for telling his story tonight, chris jansen. you can see john orosco and the u.s. men gymnastic's team along with today's action in the pool all on prime time tonight. that's our broadcast for this

wednesday evening. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams reporting again tonight from london. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. captions paid for by nbc-universal television right now at 6:00, live from london. right now we go behind the scenes with the fab five, and the candid interviews. san jose police consider a surprising staffing plan as we learn of a spike in neighborhood burglaries. >

good wednesday evening, thank you for joining us. >> we begin tonight with a devilish crime, parishioners of a campbell church are praying someone who wronged them will do the right thing. thieves made off with a statue of a beloved saint and what makes the crime even more troubling is that the church sits right across the street from the police department. what do they want with a saint? >> reporter: well, jessica, we thought immediately that perhaps that would be some value in melting it down for the metal, but it's a porcelain statue so it doesn't appear that that might be the motivation. if the police department has leads at this point, they're not revealing them, but we do know they are revealing surveillance video. flowers now stand on the pedestal where a statue of st. bernadette knelt before the virgin mary until sometime on tuesday night.