august 2nd, 2012. in captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today" at the olympic games with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from london, england. good morning and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. it's the cyst day of these olympic games. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer, al roker and natalie morales. we have taken a little walk down the road to see these olympic rings. >> with the brouhaha over the olympic calderon where people can't get to it and get a view

of it to take that iconic photograph, people have been looking for an alternative and has become the go-to place. we have olympic rings up on the hill. there's a line of people waiting to take photos. we stopped by just a few minutes ago and took a photo of our own. just to show you what an olympic animal she has become, savannah doesn't even have to turn around to tell you the color of the olympic rings. >> i knew you were going to do this to me one day, red, yellow, black, blue, green and orange -- >> there's only five and they're right over there if you wanted to look at them. >> you're the worst! >> i thought he was going to say that -- >> blue skies on top of it, clouds behind us on front and either side, sunshine here. >> natalie is an olympic athlete. she jumped in those heels. >> i did. >> it was very impressive! >> i'd like to point out, i got the most height, too. >> you started ahead. just ahead, somebody who does not need a photo to remember these photos.

gymnast danell leyva really had a comeback yesterday. in a few minutes we'll take to him and his coach and father. we ziplined at vancouver. we had a great time. the mayor of london got stuck ziplining, waving some british flags. folks taking pictures of him. we're going to look at that in a moment. >> those photos have gone viral. they're placing him in other places. photo shop fun. >> we'll talk more about that. meanwhile you have the rest of the olympic news. >> team usa picked up another six medals as the athletes are gearing up for a huge night of competition tonight. >> here they come home. >> reporter: a big surprise in the pool. u.s. swimmer nathan adrian taking gold in the men's 100 meter freestyle. the victory just 0.01 of a second ahead of australia's missile james magnuson. >> what a race! what a rice! >> reporter: a finish so close, adrian wasn't even sure he won.

>> kind of looked up, glanced, thought i saw a "1" next to my name and started celebrating. then i was like, wait a minute, did i really win? and i kind of double-checked. and lo and behold, a flood of emotion. you have to fight back the tears. it's incredible to be on the podium and see your flag raised representing the best nation in the world. it's awesome. >> lochte and phelps, so dominant. >> reporter: michael phelps is trying for even more olympic medals. wednesday he went head-to-head with teammate and rival ryan lochte in a semi-final of the rid 200 meter medley. lochte finishing first, phelps second. the finals -- the duel in the pool is later today. more gold for missy franklin and the u.s. women. they won the 4x200 freestyle relay. thanks to allison schmitt who rallied from behind for victory over australia.

>> i'm speechless right now and i can't stop smiling. i think it's the biggest smile i've ever had in my life. that's saying a lot because i love smiling. >> in men's gymnastics, u.s. champion danell leyva took bronze in the individual all-around. he had some difficult on the pummel horse but closed his routine with the bars. >> i didn't do the pommel routine that i wanted to, that i knew i could. but i just used it, channeled it to positive energy and just kept fighting and finished really strong and i'm really happy with the way it ended. >> reporter: big news in olympic badminton. eight players kicked out of the games for trying to lose. athletes from china, indonesia and south korea were disqualified for trying to lose on purpose so they could get a better spot in the next round of competition. fans were outraged, some asking for their money back. and a show of olympic spirit

didn't quite work out for the mayor of london. he tried to zipline through and he got stuck. he hung out for several minutes until help arrived. he said it was no big deal and wants fans to give it a try. >> it was wonderful. i highly recommend it. i heard you're going to do it later on. >> other events to watch for today, of course, gymnastics, and you have the individual all-around, gabby douglas as well as ari raisman competing for the u.s. and the duel in the pool, michael phelps and ryan lochte. >> china leads the medal count, 30 total including 17 gold. the u.s. close behind in second with 29 and japan in third with 17. >> lots to cover. savannah has gone back to our olympic studio. let's go to her. >> thanks. danell leyva is here with his

bronze in the all-around, as long with his dad and coach and teammate john orosco who finished eighth. danell, when you woke up this morning, how many seconds passed before you had the thought i am a bronze medallist? >> i don't know. i can't really put an exact number on it but it hit me. >> did you sleep with that medal on last night? >> no. i didn't sleep with it on. i had it in my bag next to me though. >> well, it was amazing to watch. you really had to have a little bit after come-back yesterday. you had some struggles on the pommel horse, then you had to bring it home. how deep did you have to dig to pull off that performance? >> like you said i didn't have the best routine. i kind of messed up. the way i did the dismount didn't really count it. that's why i got a really low score. he came over to me and said don't worry, nothing happened. just relax and do what you do every day. we both knew my strongest events were at the end.

i just have to show off and do what i do. >> not only are you his father, you're his coach, too. how hard was that to be on the sidelines and to watch this? >> well, to be a coach, just be a coach is hard. it's a little hard sometimes but really we have a great relationship. he's a very good listening guy and not too bad. >> john, i know yesterday was a struggle for you as well on the pommel horse, but you, too, turned in some solid performances. how are you looking on this whole olympic experience? >> for me, this whole experience has been a real journey for me. i didn't quite have my big dream moment like i was hoping for, but just making it here and competing at the olympics, i know that there's thousands, if not millions of kids, that wish they can compete at the olympic games just like i did here. i'm grateful for the opportunity.

i'm still glad i got to compete for team usa. >> absolutely. you both are so young. might we hear of rio in 2016? >> yeah, i'm definitely staying for 2016 and 2010. >> how but, john? >> absolutely. that is a future goal for me. >> you get a little rest i hope? >> yeah. little vacation time. >> you have become a star of the olympics yourself. tell me about the pre-routine, what you guys go through. i have to say, it's gotten a lot -- the ritual has gotten a lot of attention so tell me about it. >> it's something i do with all my athletes. every day. since danell was little kids and still do with the little kids. that's something that i do, that's me. that's my routine. >> your ritual, something you do. >> how inspiring has it been to have this person who you grew up with in your coach? >> i'm very, very lucky to have him there with me the whole time.

it's amazing. we really -- we have such a huge connection. like he said, since i was really young, since i started. not only him but also my mom, she has an athlete here and dad, and to have both of them here i feel very, very lucky. >> i can't let you go without asking you about the towel, which is now tweeting. danell's towel tweets. why is this so special to you? >> this only started off kind of like as a lucky towel, you know? one of my aunts went to go buy a towel for me and the other went to her house to get a towel for me and they both ended up bringing the exact same towel. at first it was just a lucky towel but it's turned into so much more than that. it turned into something that helps me get into the zone and the concentration of my routine. i tend to get distracted way too easily. it really helps. >> the towel did its job, and so did you, i might add. thank you so much. can we get a yin clap before we go.

congratulations to all of you. >> thank you. >> here's matt. >> with news now of what appears to be the very first mass disqualification in olympic history, eight badminton players kicked out of this competition. stephanie gosk has more on that. >> the olympic motto -- swifter, higher, stronger -- doesn't leave a lot of room for athletes deliberately throwing a competition. today the coach for the chinese badminton team apologized on chinese state tv. saying his team did not fully demonstrate the fighting spirit of chinese badminton when they did this on tuesday night. it became clear early on to the fans that they wanted to lose, especially when the south korean team joined in. >> the dead give-away is when

the korean girls just came and served it almost like a 90-degree angle, straight down the court. >> was it then you realized they were trying to throw it? >> that was just not right at all. >> because of new rules, a chinese win in a disqualifying match could have resulted in a semifinal between two chinese teams, something the chinese wanted to avoid. put simply -- if the chinese team won tuesday, china's two pairs, heavy favorites, would not have been able to win both gold and silver. the judges gave the players a warning and eventually the south koreans started playing again but the damage was done. like a virus, it spread to other matches. an indonesian pair and second south korea pair also caught the losing favor. the fans who expected to see real competition were angry. >> it's a joke really. you're here for an olympic event and they're purposely trying to lose. >> i think it's appalling. it really disappointing to think

olympic athletes would do that. >> all eight players were disqualified. an appeal by the indonesian and south korean teams was rejected. >> a very clear message has been sent to other athletes in other sports that we expect sporting behavior and we expect proper competition. that's what people pay for. >> reporter: on wednesday night, play continued. the one chinese pair still in the tournament is favored to win the gold. the ioc has asked the south korean, indonesian and chinese teams to investigate this, matt. but this is still a huge plaque mark for this sport. it was invented in this country and fans are devastated. >> everywhere i've been, people have been talking about that story and none of them happy about it. thanks very much. we appreciate it. lot of other stories making headlines unrelated to the olympics. natalie, good morning again. >> two more tense situations to tell you about for flyers in the u.s. federal officials are investigating a narrowly averted mid-air collision near washington, d.c. three us airways passenger jets

came within just 12 second of crashing into each other when air traffic controllers gave two outgoing flights the go-ahead to fly into the path of an incoming plane. this according to "the washington post." a storm was approaching at the time causing air traffic plans to shift. mean tile, san antonio airport is now open after being evacuated on wednesday afternoon due to a bomb threat. >> fighting is intensifying in the battle for syria. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is there with more. richard, good day to you. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. syrian troops and rebels are still battling for control of the city of aleppo. rebels are also attacking syrian forces as they try to reach aleppo, as we saw for ourselves. attack helicopters circle over the city of arhia. from the rooftop, we hear the assault begin. we move to the alleys to find out why syrian forces are attacking this city of 70,000 in aleppo.

in a make shift rebel media center, activists show me syrian tanks are also firing into arhia. the rebels have just attacked a military convoy to try to prevent reinforcements from reaching aleppo. now the convoy is attacking the city to make them pay for it. men on motorcycles tell us there are bodies up the street, many. in a mosque we find them, along with their distraught families. there seem to be many casualties here, eight bodies have been brought. they can't get them to the hospital so they're just putting ice on top of the bodies. >> reporter: the rebels in arhia seem desperately outgunned and may have taken on a battle against the convoy they can't win. each fighter says he only has about 60 bullets and homemade grenades. back in the media center, bad news has arrived. one of the rebel's media activists has just been killed, one of more than a dozen killed so far and the rebels never

stopped the military convoy. the rebels in arhia have not, however, given up. another convoy passed by the city today and was attacked once again. natalie? >> all right. richard engel, thanks. >> the attorney for michael jackson's mother is expected to file papers proposing a change in the guardianship arrangement for jackson's three children. michael's will named his 82-year-old mother katherine as guardian. the new arrangement would add the cousin t.j. jackson as co-guardian to help katherine raise them. and it should come as no surprise, very shortly after london mayor johnson got stuck on that sagging zip loan as we talk about earlier, the pictures went viral. internet pictures cropped the poor mayor and posted him into all sorts of strange places, hanging from a giraffe's mouth, narrowly escaping a shark attack, even getting the look of scorn from british prime minister david cameron. if you need, you can hang him from your rear view mirror to freshen up your car.

as i toss it over to you, we've had our own little fun with him as well. poor boris. >> i think we have a picture of him joining us race walking. >> he joined us in a couple of locations over the last couple of days. that's not the one right there. there he is back in new york city back in the day. >> there here is hovering over our race walking competition. >> where's his yellow track suit? >> and he's even on the ring. look at that. >> fun with photoshop. >> now mr. roker, how about a check of the weather? >> all right, thanks so much, shoshana. >> as we take a look at tropical depression number five, right now it's 325 miles east of the windward islands, it's booking out of the west at over 20 miles an hour. you can see it tracking over

jamaica some time late monday morning. it may become a tropical storm but it's having a lot of trouble getting itself organized. we have a risk of strong storms in the northern plains. sizzling heat continues. the record break heat continues in the midsection of the country. beautiful day in the pacific northwest with temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. that's what's going on around the coun >> 7:18 on a thursday morning. gorgeous conditions over san francisco, to start plenty of sunshine, later today these low clouds will burn off and temperatures will be comfortable in the city up to 70. 75 in santa cruz. 85 degrees in san jose. we have changes just around the corner as you head to the weekend, temperatures will fall back in mid-80s. comfortable inland. cooler at the coast. >> and that's your latest weather. >> we should explain something. from time to time up hear a roar

coming from a crowd that you can't see and sometimes it comes even at inappropriate times. we're very close to the field hockey venue. it's just across the way. seems like it's a packed house right now and apparently the game is exciting. you might be hearing that from time to time. >> we're right near the basketball venue and yesterday you could hear that. >> and that's an indoor venue. >> it's australia versus the u.s. playing right now. >> and we all cheer whenever you get my name right. >> we're going to go with this, aren't we? >> why don't you just do it this way. >> well, you know, u.s. athletes are not the only ones going for the gold here in london. the irs stands to gain by sending tax bills to each medal winner. >> this may come to a surprise to a lot of people. the winners get a $25,000

honorarium. all across the world americans are still basking in the glow of michael phelps becoming the most decorated olympian in history but he won't be smiling when he gets his tax bill. because phelps and every american athlete who win as medal in london also wins a cash prize and an olympic size sachs bill from uncle sam. almost $9,000 in taxes for taking home a gold. more than $5,300 for a silver and just over $3,500 in taxes for winning a bronze. the men's relay team that helped push phelps over the top owes the government nearly $63,000 so far for its combined efforts. ryan lochte's tax bill is more than $23,000 and all the u.s. athletes owe close to $250,000 in taxes so far. florida gop senator marco rubio introduced a bill wednesday that would eliminate the taxes,

calling the system a mess. he said the medal tax is a classic example of this madness. democratic house minority leader nancy pelosi was talking about the need to deal with the bush era tax cuts when she was asked about the medal tax. >> it's not without the greatest respect and regard for the skill and talent of our olympians but the fact of the matter is we have a serious matter to deal with here. >> senator rubio said the athletes' success at the olympics should be celebrated and not taxed. >> just ahead, ryan lochte describes his perfect race. we'll hear about his duel in the pool with michael phelps. this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead, beach volleyball. >> they're going for three in a row. and team usa hits the streets of london with a very special guest. other, that's a giveaway. ♪ hey lolo, pull that trail leg through. then i want you to punch that knee down the track. punch it. 'cause if you win gold, i could win prizes at mcdonald's. shin parallel to the track... then you just go -- that's a decent start.

[ male announcer ] keep an eye on your us athletes when you enjoy select favorites under 400 calories at mcdonald's. when they win gold, you could win prizes. hydration, hydration, hydration. [ male announcer ] the simple joy of winning. i can't stress it enough. she gives me snickers peanut butter squared and i eat it. it's snickers with creamy peanut butter, would you like one? let's just keep an open mind. [ groans ] [ male announcer ] if you like peanut butter and chocolate, you'll love peanut butter and snickers. try snickers peanut butter squared. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ] constipated? yeah.

mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. >> the time is 7:26. good morning. i'm jon kelley. san francisco's police chief continues to appeal for the right to arm his officers with stun guns. chief greg sir believes a shooting involving one of his officers could have been avoided if they had tasers. police shot and killed a man after the mentally ill man stab add co-worker and turned on an officer. the chief talked about acquiring sun guns during last night's hearing but those at the meeting lined up against the idea. >> and to express my deep disappointment that the police are exploiting his death for

political purpose to try to get tasers. >> i'd just like to save a life or two. >> sir is the fourth san francisco chef to ask the commission to green light stun guns. time to check your weather on a thursday. and looks like plenty of sunshine ahead. >> thank you, jon kelley. it's going to be stunning by the water. hot inland. this is a live look. this morning the low clouds are hugging the coast line, that will be the case until 10:00. 75 degrees in santa cruz and 85 in san jose. so, staying on the hot side. today we peak, we're going to cool off tomorrow even more so into the weekend with mid 80s inland. here is mike mook and your drive. >> took a while but the westbound direction of the san mateo. slow from the toll plaza over to

the flat section and look to the foster city side, a bump in the traffic merging with 101 so expect slowing for the interchange as well. look at the maps, the south bay where traffic slows, continued from northbound 101 and 280, look at this from downtown san jose, 880 up to saratoga. the traffic hitting the northbound routes. back to you. >> thank you. for the latest, make sure to check us out on facebook.

and it is over! the americans have survived. >> misty may-treanor and kerri walsh got a scare last night. they lost their first set ever in beach volleyball. coming up savannah catches up with beach volleyball's dynamic duo. she even learned a few new moves on the court. after what we saw here yesterday, you could learn a few new moves.

>> haven't you seen the fall on your face ins sand move? i patented it. a will tlot of the cheers are c from outside. they set up a huge monitor and a lot of folks come to watch the events on a big screen. >> at the base of the hill where we had the olympic ring photo, we have more coming up. >> the women's gymnastic all around. team usa has two really strong contenders in gabby douglas and aly raisman. a preview from the only three american women who have won that event. >> and then hugs, high fives, hoora hoorays, all of that. what it's really like watching your kid compete in the olympic games. >> and later in london, we'll show you what happened when mat, natalie, al and i hit the road. >> and we have with us a

swimmer. she made her olympic debut last night helping team usa win gold and set an olympic record, shannon, good morning. congratulations. >> good morning. >> how do you feel? >> great. >> yeah? >> yeah. just for people at home, can you explain how the relay team is chosen? >> well, there are six of us that are vane from olympic trials and then the third, fourth, fifth and sixth place swimmers swim prelims in the morning and the top two are chosen. seven guys swim but that's how it worked for us. >> when you swam the third leg, you're standing there, watching this. what's going through your mind as you're about to jump in the pool? >> i was thinking if i leave allison in a bad place, i'll feel really bad about it. i knew i was handing it off to the perfect anchor. i knew if i stayed close to australia, she'd be in a great

position to bring it home. >> talk about her final 200 meters. by this time you're out of the pool watching with dana and missy. what were your emotions as you saw her bring that home. >> i was crying the night before watching her win the 200 freestyle. i've watched her anchor so many times. as soon as she kind of took over the lead, i knew she wasn't going to lose it. that's when it hit all of us this is going to be an olympic medal. as soon as she got closer and closer to the finish, it seemed like she she do break records. i think it was the second fastest on record or something? >> i think it was. >> she's outstanding. >> so are you. you're about to be a junior at the university of georgia. go bull dogs. >> thank you. >> now we'll head over to al. >> once again it's time for what

we like to call al's english class, where we take a look at the words we share in our shared language of english in america and here in england. today's category food for thought. we'll start easy and work our way up. so the word cheerio, what does cheerio mean? >> hi. >> some are saying hello. >> some say good-bye. >> good-bye is correct. the english translation, good-bye. next one, use your loaf. what do you think? >> brain. noggin. >> your rear end. >> your rear end. of course you'd go there. use your head. all right, the next phrase, porky pies. >> fries? >> i did not know this but in

fact you guys are correct. lies. thank you very much. you all passed "today"'s al's english class. you don't get anything for it, just an intensive sense of satisfaction. for today we're looking at a lot of heat. the heat index is 105 to 1?????? >> good thursday morning to you. i'm meteorologist christina loren. starting with a live look, beautiful clear sky here over san jose. hardly clouds left over from this morning's marine layer formation which is hugging the

coast. that will keep you cool today at 70 degrees in san francisco, you cross the bay bridge, though, jumping by 11 degrees in oakland. if it's hot in livermore at 96, hit the beach. throughout the remainder of the week into the weekend, temperatures cool off. >> and that's your latest weather. savannah? >> coming up, what could be the final face-off in the pool between ryan lochte and michael phelps. we'll talk to ryan coming up. this happy couple used capital one venture miles

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you won't run into the top ten appliance brands just anywhere. only sears carries them all. this is the top ten advantage. this is sears. welcome back to london. >>. ryan lochte and michael phelps face off tonight in the 200 meter individual medley, their final showdown of these games and possibly ever. we asked lochte to describe his perfect race. >> we walk out and in the stands

we'll have lil wayne playing over the loud speakers. in the middle lane it's me and michael. i look over at phelps and we have a little stare-off, look who wants it more. we step on the blocks and take your marks, boom. i take off. i'm hitting the water like a rocket and i'm not looking back. i don't swim off nen else, i swim my own race. going into the last turn, we both go underwater and look at each other and we're dead even, it's a close race. and i just destroy him off the wall. i take off, going into the home stretch i touch that wall and i just shattered the world record, just killed it by a second or two. i get up on the lane lines and i unleash, my muscles are flexing and bulging, i'm like, yeah!

>> alan abrahamson. you're laughing. >> no one ever said ryan lochte has ever lacked for confidence. >> is that the way you see it playing out? >> that's one theory about the way it might go down. you have to give ryan credit. he's been working his tail off for four years, no question. michael has into the been working his tail off for four years. what ryan doesn't have going for him is if he's going to be swimming the 200 back stroke about 20 minutes before hand. >> let's mention a couple of things. if michael phelps wins this race, he's the first athlete ever to win an individual event three times swimming, three times in a row in terms of three consecutive olympic games. lochte holds the word record in the event, phelps beat him in the olympic trials but lochte beat him by about a body length

in the preliminary trial. >> the prelims mean nothing. last year in shanghai at the world championships, ryan won think about .12 of a second. michael was not in shape. >> that's pretty much you're telling me phelps is going to win this thing. >> i think he's got a very good shot. >> first of all, nathan adrian. >> if you know nathan adrian, he comes from a great family. he is old school. he's gentle, he's soft spoken. and you know what, he just came up big at the greatest time. >> we talked to shannon vreeland a second ago, she was one member member of the team that took the gold medal.

i wants to -- >> she killed that anchor leg. all of a sudden allison turned it on. bob bowman is not a one-trick pony. what do you think of missy's meet to this point? >> the one thing she didn't do was win a medal by 0.01. no shame in that. she's having a great meet. >> and is the team having the meet you've expected? >> this one team will win one third of team usa's medals. they're fantastic. >> we appreciate it, we'll be watching tonight. >> and you can catch the lochte showdown and we'll watch it live

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this morning on "today"'s athletes to watch, misty may-treanor and kerri walsh-jennings. they go for their unprecedented third goal. they've been the golden girls of the olympic games, hitting the sand and landing atop the

podium. in athens and beijing, the. their message to competitors in london, bring on the three-peat. >> we know we're the best team. >> losing is not something you're used to doing. >> i'm just grumpy when we lose. >> the golden 2008 capped off a history making 108-match win streak. there's something special about this partnership. >> it's so cheesy how much i love her. and the way we talk about each other, this is our swan song, it's our last run together. >> i call it a sisterhood. sheep my other marriage outside my marriage. >> it's a bond that began back at home in california where the two played against each other in high school. >> she was my michael jordan growing up.

she's my idol. >> did you really ask for her autograph once ? >> i did. >> after competing in the li olympic games, their parents suggested the two pair up on the beach. it allowed the women to take a step back and enjoy their success. they decided to take a break. there was a time when i don't know if you used the word retirement, it wasn't clear if you were going to come back and go for the olympics in london. >> i thought i was done in 2008. >> misty tore her achilles tendon on "dancing with the stars." and kerri took time off to become a mom. joe was born exactly nine months after the beijing games. i don't want to get too much in your business but this first baby is a little bit of a gold

medal baby. not literally because he came right after. >> that's what i was getting at, thank you, misty. she had another baby, sundance and then set her sights on london, comparing to compete without misty. but misty couldn't stay away from the sport. >> i woke up one morning, i was crying. who wakes up crying? i told my husband i need too do this for me. i want to do one more. i want to finish with the person i was on the journey with. >> i was so excited and i was like oh, my god, my girl's back. >> i see a lot of love here, a lot of friendship but you must get mad at each other, right? >> there's been a handful, right? just a handful but they're intense. gosh, we're getting old.

>> kerre ai and misty aren't th favorites this time. what's more difficult getting ready physically or mentally? >> mentally. our bodies know what to do but mentally, we're slow. >> misty taught me some about that slow. i have no athletic ability. it hurts. >> she'll turn red but a volleyball never killed anybody. >> setting. and almost hitting it over the net. >> well, that went well. >> and finally i got it. >> i would have you on my team. >> you would? >> we wouldn't be winning any gold. don't we high five or something?

>> and in the end it's about winning another gold medal. where does that come from, that drive? >> we know what we have inside of us. i want us to get up and get out of our own way and play with all our hearts. >> you have visualized that moment? >> we have. i get goose bumps. >> they now go forward to the knockout round after last night's win. they are kind of like a married couple. they finish each other's sentences. >> you were great. did you a really good job there. >> landing in the sand. >> better than landing in the cement here. you wonder where al is, he made his way over to the olympic stadium, got a shot of that calderon where the olympic flame is burning. we'll go to him and have today's tour of london after today's news. ♪

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>> the time is 7:56. good morning. i'm jon kelley. a little warning. high levels of bacteria have been found in shadow cliff lake in pleasanton. swimmers are warned not to swallow any water and asked to shower immediately after getting out of the water. despite the bacteria levels the reservoir remains open. people are lining up all day long. this afternoon the santa clara county planners meeting to consider a plan to build a mosque on 15 acres of land. some residents there raising concerns about construction contaminating local drinking water. a report, however, by county staffers concluded the mosque would not have a significant impact on water noise, or traffic. now to your weather and if you are looking ahead to the weekend but first things first. the thursday forecast with

christina loren. >> a live look at san francisco, we're looking forward to that weekend. you can taste it right around now. temperatures are going to be hot this weekend. not as hot as it has been. today we peaked. if you have tickets to the giants they are take on the mets again at 1:00 p.m. 66 degrees, breezy. staying comfortable there. in san jose today, 85 degrees, 75 in santa cruz, 85 degrees today that's your forecasted high in almaden valley. throughout the weekend mid-80s. here is mike. >> traffic off the san mateo bridge all lanes cleared for the span. then down to the palo alto, here is the southbound side on the right jamming around university. a slow drive for the east bay, castro valley, north on 880, a standard flow approaching the bay bridge. a live look shows you. on my reports i got reports of an accident westbound 580 at airway. that could be a problem for

livermore. i'll track it and tweet it. >> thanks a lot. the latest and everything olympics, check out nbcbayarea.com. if only my dry skin was as soft as his. [ female announcer ] introducing the ultimate daily lotion from gold bond. because your skin needs a little healing every day. the ultimate daily lotion -- new from gold bond.

8:00 now on this thursday morning. it's the 2nd day of august 2012. the xxx olympiad. we say hello to our very happy crowd. they're very happy because the sun is out, shining. >> it got a little warm here. >> do not complain. >> i'm not complaining. but it is a little warm. you know what al said, "you know what burns my butt, a calderon

about this high." al has made his way there. >> they're getting me a step ladder. they have moved it to the end now, one of the ends of the olympic stadium so you can come in. the controversy, if you don't have a ticket for a venue in here, you can't see it. it's really quite stunning. a couple of the crew members here called it the flaming golf clubs. >> al, we'll see you in a second. >> at least you didn't bring the smores. it's a big night in women's gymnas gymnastsi gymnastsi gymnasti gymnastics. only three american women have won the gold at the olympics and they're all here. so we're going to talk to them. >> very popular trio here. the games are not the on thing to do when you come to london. there's a lot to see. we took a tour, i'm talking about the "today" show team, not

quite "planes, trains and automobiles" but similar. we'll show you the results coming up. first, let's get the very latest olympic news. we turn to michelle kosinski over at the aquatics centre. >> it was another stellar night for team usa. >> the united states will get the gold back in the women's 3x2. >> a second win by missy franklin. franklin and her teammates beat australia in the relay for the title. >> it's one of the most incredible feelings in the world. >> nathan adrian gets it done. >> by 0.1 adrian won gold in the

freestyle. >> it feels good. they're pretty heavy. >> in men's gymnastics, danell leyva captured bronze. how did he make sure to stick his powerhouse performance on bars? with honey on his hands. yes, that is allowed. a routine the commentators called "off the charts good." >> this was definitely a redemption for not only for me but the whole team usa. i think i kind of showed what we're really about. >> the badminton controversy knocked out eight of the world's top players fro china, indonesia and south korea, including the doubles world champions. they're officially out of the olympics, suspended for not trying to win in qualifying matches so they could get better seeds in the next round.

some appealed the decision but lost and one quit the support altogether. and after winning gold for the spring board, her family admitted her mother had not told her that her mother had got i don't know breast cancer and her grandparents had died a year ago while she was in training. her father defended the decision not to tell her saying that white lie was essential. right now the medal count is 30 to 29. >> she has some acrobatic things going on behind her. >> i wonder if she even knows that's going on behind her. >> she's concentrating. she see it is now. >> good morning. >>. federal officials are investigating a reported close

call in the skies near washington, d.c. "the washington post" says three u.s. airways commuter jets came within just seconds of a mid-air collision on tuesday. it reportedly happened after air traffic controllers mistakenly cleared two outbound flights to head in the direction of an incoming plane. meantime, in texas officials there are trying to trace the phoned in bomb threat that forced wednesday's evacuation of san antonio airport. today an illinois judge is deciding whether or not to declare a mistrial in drew peterson's murder trial. the judge was angered when a prosecution witness said he found a bullet on his driveway and hinted that peterson may have planted it there to intimidate there. peterson is accused of killing his third wife in 2004. he is also suspected in the disappearance of his fourth wife, stacy peterson. >> the fast food battle over same-sex marriage is escalating. chik-fil-a customers leaned up wednesday to spend money and

show support for the chain's me president who is under fire for the comments on same-sex marriage. >> this video tribute to muhammad ali is going viral. ♪ i'm going to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee ♪ now you see me, now you don't i told the world ♪ i'm the greatest, i'm the king of the world ♪ >> the charity event raised money for research into parkinson's disease, which the former olympian has been battling for years. >> when it comes to twitter

followers, lady gaga, justin bieber and reiania crushed slim shady. and richard and lisa hayes were posing after the ceremony and he tossed her right into the air. a good natured lisa said her guy has always been a joker and she is already planning her revenge. that has to be true love. let's go back to matt and savannah. >> thank you very much. the youngest member of the u.s. olympic team is katie ladache. her whole family is right back. here we want to say hi to team ladache. good luck, we're rooting for you. >> let's go to al. >> we're still in search of graham crackers, marshmallows

and hershey's chocolate. have not found it but we have a week to go. in london, we're going to have a real mess. it's a windy day, temperatures getting up to about 70, friday a few showers and 72. by sunday we're talking about the possibility of flash flooding, hail and vivid lightning. closer to home, showers and thunderstorms firing up now in the mid section of the country. we continue to have record breaking heat in the mid parts of the u.s. we have a risk of strong storms notice northern plains, gorgeous weather northwest. a calmer day in the northeast with good morning to you. 8:08 on thursday morning. mostly cloudy conditions on the golden gate bridge, but that won't last long. through the second half of the day, lots of sunshine and comfortable conditions touching on 70 degrees in san francisco,

85 today in san jose, and getting comfortable at santa cruz at 75 degrees. the next three days work out like this, hot today and cooler tomorrow. mid-80s return saturday into sunday. hope you have a fantastic day. >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> thanks very much. gab gabby douglas and aly raisman go to gold all around. we'll talk to the three american women who have accomplished that. we'll find out about those two ladies' chances. plus we'll take a tour of london with a very special guest. that's all coming up right after these messages. ♪

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it's possible for anyone willing to try. i wonder if he talks to his wife like that. [ laughs ] "mildred, i find it very interesting that you are naked." [ male announcer ] "hope springs." rated pg-13. we're back now with "today"'s olympic start. the fab five dominated the women's gymnajigymnastics field gold on wednesday. tonight gabby douglas and aly raisman try for the individual glory. natalie's got more on that. >> it is the ultimate goal of every gymnast but only three american women have ever done it. we'll hear from them in just a moment. but first, how gabby and aly arrived at the brink of history. it was a surprising moment for team usa. >> and raisman is in!

>> and no one seemed more shocked than aly raisman herself. >> let the tears flow for team usa. >> raisman finished the qualifies event with the second best score overall, the top american. >> i'm so happy. i don't even know what -- i'm speechless. >> right behind her was teammate gabby douglas. only three american women have ever taken home all around olympic gold, the most coveted title in the support. nastia liukin, carly patterson and marylou retton. >> if you're in gymnastics, the crown is the olympic all-around title. >> gabby is known for her bubbling personality and winning smile. she's dubbed "the flying squirrel" because of the dramatic height she gets on the uneven bars. >> look at her fly! >> they call you the flying squirrel, do you like that nickname? >> i love that nickname.

why can't it be like superwoman or wonderwoman? why does it have to be the squirrel. but i've grown to like the squirrel. squirrels are cute. >> raisman's strengths are the beam and the floor. it's the bar routine that gives her the greatest challenge. >> she does have a weakness on the uneven bars, but has absolutely zero mental weakness. >> at 18 aly is the team captain and has taken on a leadership role with gabby and the other teammates. a bit of a role model, mentor. but you're there for yourself, too? >> i've taken on the role. i just love all of the girls so much and we're all family. >> but tonight they may be each other's biggest competition and they both have the same goal, gold. >> there's nothing wrong with believing and seeing yourself on the top. i mean, in order to achieve that, you also have to believe it. >> once you're there, it's not enough just making the team.

you have to keep going and keep going. it's never enough until you're standing on the podium in first place. >> and both gabby and aly have a good shot at landing at the top of the podium but they're expected to face some tough competition from russia's victoria komova, who finished first in the qualification round. savannah? >> if anybody knows what these two ladies are going through right now, it's the three of you. nastia, what do you think they're doing today, how they're feeling today? >> well, they have a morning training. that's what normally happens before an all-around competition. i think going into the all-around finals in the olympic games, the nerves are high, the stress is there but so is the excitement and being able to represent team usa at the all-around finals, there's nothing greater than that. >> that's really the ultimate

title in your sport, isn't it, mary lou? >> it absolutely is. it's the coveted spot to be queen bee to reign for four years. i think it's going to be a dog fight. i think the russians are going to come out fighting. they're up for redemption. it's going to be a tough night. i think anybody has a shot at winning that gold. >> i was going to ask you. is it victoria komova? she's got to be the competition. >> she's the toughest on tonight. she's going to give them a run for their money but that's good. that's what the olympics is all about, that competition and that fight. they're going to have all the excitement and all the momentum that need to be confident and go out there tonight and still be hungry for that individual all-around gold. i can't wait for a three-peat tonight. i hope it happens. >> gabby is said to be best on the bars but aly is the consistent gymnast.

how do you see it playing out tonight? >> aly is definitely such a rock on all four events all around. where she really shines is on beam. she is so solid and she has a very high start value. the same thing on floor. just like we saw in team finals with aly. she went out there so confident but her routine is so hard and she just nails it every single time. so, that's where she shines. and gabby, like you said, on bars, the way that she flies on bars, there's nobody like that in the world that flies like that. >> if gabby's on, she's on. she can be amazing and take over. >> they don't make mistakes. they haven't made mistakes. that's why they are the gold medalists. that's why they're here. they're just so solid. >> they're teammates but tonight they're competitors. you had that experience with as well with shawn. >> i did. i think that when you're going

out for the team finals, it's one team. like everyone said, there's no "i" in team. you saw that when they waiting for that last score to come up, they were all holding hands and cheering with excitement. in the individual all-around, you're for yourself and you're still competing for your country. they both want to win and they're both fierce competitors. i know they're going to be out there and they'll be supporting each other but deep down they want to win. >> i'll be cheering for both of them. nastia liukin, carly patterson and marylou retton, thank you very much. and coming up, our tour of london with a very special guest right after this. up, our tour o london with a very special guest coming up next.

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and this morning on "today" in london, team today tours the host city. what happens when the four of us get a few hours off to take in the sights? well, maybe we should just roll the tape. >> here we go. this is fantastic. we're going up top, right? >> yeah! >> we should look at the inspection sticker on this thing. >> don't worry, you'll be fine. >> all right! now we're talking. >> this is the way to see london. >> move over. >> okay. ♪ isn't it romantic >> is there any way off this bus? >> yes, right over the side. ♪ london bridge is falling down, falling down falling down ♪ >> all right! let's run some red lights! >> how long is the london high, is it really 45 minutes?

>> about 45 minutes. >> are you going to be okay? because you're going to have to travel with the riffraff. >> you know what, you need a new routine. get some new material. >> there's the eye. >> let's go. let's hear some whoos. >> whoo-hoo! >> there's the parliament. this would be the thames. >> hi! >> let me out! ♪ 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer ♪ >> savannah, can you move over so we can see a little bit of big ben.

>> can you call the venue and see if they can hold the competition night until we get off this thing? >> savannah. >> i don't know the rules. >> you have to flip a card. you have to ask me for a card. >> do you have any 6s? >> does anybody have a 2? >> a king. >> this can't be the way you play go fish. it can't be. >> four get on, only three get off! >> yay. >> ready, everybody? >> cheers, everybody. >> so your majesty, is this something you do on a regular basis? >> no, no. >> you don't have a group of people who pedal you across? >> no, no. >> will you tell matt lauer to pedal faster, he's slowing us down. >> the good news is, we're not

slowing up traffic -- much. we're making a lot of friends right now. this is exhausting. here we are on the "today" show, making friends. >> hey, how you doing? >> we have just about reached the middle. if there is a god, this thing will open right now. downhill from here! here we go! >> let's do the wave! this side. one more time! >> good effort. >> god save the queen. >> yes. >> so, your majesty, do you come here often? >> does that line work for you? >> sometimes. she was a good sport. >> mary is her name. >> that was a little harder. keep in mind we were four pedaling but we had a camera crew on that thing. that's an excuse.

>> we had meredith's son gabe pedaling also. young legs. >> it's my story and we're sticking to it. we're back with more from london right after your local ne a petaluma man has been charged in the attempted shoog the of homeland security agents. he shot the agents outside his home in may. the agents were preparing to arrest flores for his role in a triple murder in south san francisco. if convicted the thrhe could fa 50 years in prison and face the death penalty for triple murder of rival gang members. >> we'll show you a number of maps here with red on them. you don't want to see them. you have to know about it if using the airway boulevard on

ramp. six cars might have been involved in the accident. no major injuries. that's great news. we have slowing through the scene. it's condensed into livermore as far as the westbound commute and 880 out of fremont and in new bead dis. new accident that has cleared from the roadway. slow at the interchange itself. back to you. >> thank you very much. for the latest news and updates check out nbcbayarea.com where you can get the latest olympic news. another update in half an hour.

we are back now, 8:30 on a thursday morning. it's the 2nd day of august, 2012. that's such a pretty view of the olympic stadium from our friends at goodyear with the observation tower in the foreground. if you look closely, you'll see a lot of people if you move to the right there. in front of our home away from home.

we're in the middle of our second week here. we've got a lot of americans, a lot of olympic fans cheering and waving to the people back home. that's always one of the nicest parts for us. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, al roker and natalie morales. >> just ahead we're going to have a little dessert. jamie oliver is back and he'll tell us about a classic dessert. >> also, another british staple, we're going to unlock the mysteries of one of london's most beloved characters and that would be sherlock holmes. >> elementary. >> elementary, my dear watson. >> and some of the most enduring images of all time have happened here at the olympics. take a look at some of these. of course, who can forget that shot. when we get back to new york, we're going to be doing special series called "today in history" where we recreate historic moments, olympic and otherwise. we want you to help. do your own recreation and then submit it on today.com and we're going to share some of our favorites with you.

all right, but, right now i'm not sure if he got lost on his way to sochi or if he's trying a new sport, but ladies and gentlemen, say hello to shaun white. >> thanks for having me. >> how you doing? we had a little encounter earlier this morning. we ran into you in the elevator. you said you've had trouble sleeping. what's keeping you up in london? >> my time is off. i'm going to all the events. >> what's it like being at the summer olympics. i heard that people keep asking you if you're competing in anything? >> yeah, it's been great. i've never spectated at the olympics before. i dauls my event and i always went to do media events. it's my first olympics i'm just watching. >> good for you. >> are you rooting for skateboarding to become an olympic event? i think it should.

>> that's a trick question. it would be amazing. there's been talks about 2016 in brazil. >> in rio. >> would you do that? >> it would be the ultimate for me to do winter and summer. yeah, i'm rooting for it. >> you're also here as a guest commentator for nbc sports. what are you doing? >> i'm doing a little bit of the gymnastics. which i think is really cool. i do a little beach volleyball and i did some fencing with john mcenroe, which was interesting. >> who won? >> it was a draw. >> he was kept going "you have got to be kidding!" >> you can't be serious! >> i couldn't see the anger because he had the mask on. i knew it was under there. >> the british are known for their fashion and you are working it, you really are. >> thanks. i saw you, best ankles in the biz over here. competition. >> shaun, great to see you here. thank you so much. >> thank you.

let's see what we've got as far as your weekend weather. starting with tomorrow, we do have a look at sizzling conditions in the midsection of the country, risk of strong storms in the northern plains. mild and sunny in the pacific northwest. as we move into saturday, hot weather along the eastern seaboard. it's going to be hot in the pacific northwest. sunday, a risk of strong storms in the northeast, in the appalachian. plenty of sunshine and mild in the pacific northwest. heat continues into the south plains and into the gulf. that's what's going on around the country. here's good morning. 8:34 on thursday morning. downtown san jose off in the distance. nice, clear conditions out there. beautiful. it's cold out there in some cities like san francisco. we're still holding onto 55 degrees with a pretty good amount of cloud cover. that's clearing out. we have breaks of blue at the

top. temperatures today are comfortable around the bay and at the coast. 75 degrees in santa cruz, 85 in san jose, and we drop off into the upcoming weekend and looking forward to a great day. >> that's your latest weather. here's matte. all right, al. thank you very much. it is time for "today's" olympic moment and the split second difference between agony and ecstasy. 0.01, in an olympic swimming meet, the length of a fing fingernail. for america's nathan adrian, 0.01 was golden in the 100 meter freestyle. >> too close to call right now as they come to the wall --

adrian wins the gold for the u.s.! but 0.01. >> michael phelps and ryan lochte ecstatic. phelps knows what 0.01 can mean, victory in beijing. >> i don't know if he's going to catch him! he gets it done again. >> 0.01! >> defeat here in london by a split second longer. >> and phelps is going to just be outtouched by le clos. 0.05. >> phelps has 19 olympic medals, nathan adrian just two. and adrian's latest, gold. the winning margin, quicker than a blink of the eye. it just like that. >> coming up, the joys of being an olympic parent. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] safeway presents

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welcome back to london. if you think it's tense watching your favorite olympic athlete compete, imagine what it's like for their families. nbc's michelle kosinski has more. michelle, good morning. >> the most powerful moments are often the human drama, the human emotion not just from the athletes but their families. >> it all comes down to aly raisman. >> where do they get that intensity? no further than there in the stands on their parents' faces. >> stick it! >> aly raisman helped push her team to gold while parents lynn and ricky live every move, every moment. it brings them another emotional workout. >> there's just so much pressure. it's just so magnified.

it's just so big that it's just hard to sit there and not just -- ah! >> for aly's teammate jordyn wieber, one night dreams are dashed and another resurrected. "come on, baby" mom rita screams. jordyn's victory every bit her mother's. >> i'm a hot mess most of the time. i have a pocket full of charms and rosaries and the whole thing. >> for gabby douglas's mother, the same feeling. >> i don't know how many parents can deal with their children tumbling on a four-inch surface. four feet off the ground. >> you have a huge cheering section. >> when team usa appeared wednesday, a proud moment with all the parents. at the pool you can either watch the action or michael phelps' mom.

a big win or, wait, a painfully close second. the winner, chad le clos let's loose. but his father, burt, even more so. >> it's beautiful! look at this! what a beautiful boy. >> and that outpouring from loved ones just gets us. >> yes! >> and here comes franklin! >> 17-year-old missy franklin's olympic debut brought gold for mom and dad as well, who remember her first swimming lesson as an infant. >> she just got to see her parents and i think that's where the emotion is. what are you thinking about? >> just seeing my parents. it means the world to me that they could be here. >> and it's going to be matt grevers for the men's!

>> matt grevers' mom just might beat his fiancee in cheering. we see more what the olympic feels. sometimes clear. that these families that nurture that skill and determination are just as deserving of glory. feeling knit the throats, eyes and around their necks. those families make us cry. sometimes 's great when you see a tight shot of an olympian very young, 16-year-old, this picture of zen focus and then they cut to the family and they are losing it. not quite as used to that kind of pressure and on a world stage. >> and i think we can all relate to the parents biting their nails. michelle kosinski, thank you so much. coming up, much more from london including a search for the legendary londoner, sherlock holmes. but first, this is "today" on nbc. legendary londoner, sherlock

>> that of course is tower bridge and london is a city with a rich history that's produced an awful lot of character, none more popular or well known than sherlock holmes. nbc's keith miller went in search of that famed detective. >> there have been 211 films about him, 75 different actors portraying the famous detective. he is as alive today as he was when he was invented more than 100 years ago. >> reporter: he's as english as warm beer and double decker busses. sherlock holmes first appeared on the streets of london 125 years ago. and he's still sleuthing today. >> i'm not going out with you dressed like that. >> reporter: there are clues to

the character. if one follows the trail of england's most famous detective. >> here we are in this dingy alley way and we still have the old gas lamps. >> reporter: the landmarks and streets of holmes' error still exist today. his rooms at 2 1 b baker street offer up clues. he still receives letters here every day. she wants his help. and this is his chair where he would solve complicated crimes, calling especially difficult cases a three-pipe problem. but the mystery here is that sherlock holmes never existed at all. he is a fictional character created by sir sauer -- arthur conan doyle in 1887.

there are thousands of followers keeping track of the adventures of sherlock holmes. a man good with a gun. able to use science to catch criminals. >> i had a small practice in the country -- >> reporter: and using the power of deduction to solve crimes. but is he sexy? >> i find intelligence sexy. he's pretty hyper intelligent. >> reporter: his popularity is phenomenal. >> french, german. >> chinese. portuguese. >> it's all over the world. it's huge. >> reporter: the english have named pubs after him. there's even a beer called sherlock holmes. >> to sherlock. >> reporter: warm beer naturally. roger johnson heads the sherlock holmes journal and says understanding the popularity of the character is as elementary as dr. watson.

>> don't put a puns, watson. >> puns? >> i think it's the fact he's not a superman. he has no super powers. he has human powers very highly developed, but you can just about imagine i can do that. >> reporter: perhaps that explains why so many people have succeeded in portraying holmes, just a guy with a cap who can tolerate warm beer. >> good morning. >> reporter: robert downey, jr. was the last big actor to portray sheryl oklock holmes bu can be certain there will be more. as holmes would say, it's rather elementary, my dear matt. >> up next, chef jamie oliver whips up a classic british des certificate.

we're back now with "today"'s olympic kitchen. jamie oliver is here. with some classic british desserts. and shannon vreeland is here and she'll help us eat today. this is a classic english dessert called the eton mess? >> well, you know, let me paint

a little picture, eton school is like harvard, yale, very, very old full of lots of clever, rich kids. they have a game of cricket every year. the cooks there, they get good school food there. they make a pavilova. right? the base is 300 grams of sugar, six egg whites, we whisk it up like this until it's really, really thick like this. if i can just show you -- now this is a big game back in the day. okay? and they've got a big -- they want to make sure they make great food. so they do the pavilova like this. once you put that meringue together, we bake it off for just about an hour, for 150 english or about 300 american. and you get this beautiful pavilova. it's crispy on the outside, light in the middle.

so, let me tell you how to do it. and i'll finish the story. my lovely shannon here has whipped up the perfect cream. it's called chantilly cream. if you overwhip it, it's going to be really undelicate. they call that soft peaks. we're going to pour that over here. now, as you can tell, this is not the healthiest dessert in the world. there is no such thing as a healthy dessert, i've never found one yet. >> other than straight berries. >> if you have too many of those that can be too much, too. put the cream around here, the vanilla is in there as well. this time of year classic britain, we've got lovely strawberries, we'vgot raspberries, really gorgeous. shannon, can you get some strawberries, cut them for me, sweetheart. that's a basic pavilova. you can put different fruits, a little bit of melted chocolate here. back in the day this very posh

cook from this very posh school takes this posh pavilova to these very posh kids and they're about to have their posh tea add the posh game of cricket. you know cricket? >> yes. >> the one before baseball. she's walking along like this and she's going along look this and she goes -- >> oh! >> oh, my gosh! >> oh, my god, i've broken it. oh, no! oh, no! oh, no! oh, no! >> jamie oliver! he's here until thursday. yes! >> that's when -- i haven't even got anything to put it in. you know the three second rule? >> yes. >> we even have the three second rule. then they go like this and it kind of looks like crap but it tastes delicious. >> that's why it's a mess. >> and then they put fruit on

top and stuff like that. by the time they put a load of chocolate over the top again, it looks like this! >> it's an eton mess! >> way to go, jamie. >> come here. you missed a spot. thanks. that's better. >> lick it off me. >> america, that's the eton mess. >> wow. >> jamie, you know the amazing thing, all we said was "good morning, jamie" and haven't said another word. >> are you trying to say i should get an olympic medal for -- >> you did a marathon. >> we like the storytelling. >> are you a sweet eater? >> yes. >> let's let our gold medalist try some. >> you know what, it's really delicious. who's joining me here? >> i will. >> shannon, thank you very much. >> by the way, award winning sports photographer neil leiper has been around town taking some amazing images.

he's now taking a picture of the woman who has won gold second time around in the cycling. here's a look at some of the other great pictures he's has taken. ♪ ♪ it's always a good time, it's always a good time ♪ ♪ woke up on the right side of the bed ♪ ♪ what's up with this prince song inside my head ♪ ♪ hands up if you're down to get down tonight ♪ it's always a good time let in all my clothes look i didn't care ♪ ♪ hopped in to a cap, take me anywhere ♪ ♪ i'm in, if you're down take it down tonight ♪ ♪ it's always a good time ♪ it's going to be all right

breaking news in santa collar where police are looking for an armed and dangerous parolee. it putting a neighborhood on lockdown right now. we have a crew headed to the scene. we will bring you any available news as soon as we get it as well. it's 8:56.

we want to check the morning forecast wi forecast. >> san jose is nice sxleer, and it's going to be hot as a result of all the sunshine coming in. the seven-day outlook looks like this, 96 degrees today and temperatures in the 80s for the upcoming weekend. i hope you have a great day.

the fab five is going gold. ♪ live on this thursday afternoon, it's day six of the 2012 games. london's tower bridge spanning the river thames. the olympic rings on display there since june. over at the heart of the olympic park, the aquatics centre with long arching roof. we start coverage there with action from this morning's qualifying heats. dan hicks a