on our broadcast tonight, a shakeup in the race for president. mitt romney goes for a game-changer and his pick for vice president has both sides fired up. tonight, who is wisconsin republican congressman paul ryan? beloved by the right, under attack from the left. we'll look at how his selection affects this campaign moving forward. and here in london, a history-making gold rush for the american women "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television reporting tonight from the olympic summer games in london. and good evening from london, where tonight it's presidential politics back home making news. mitt romney wanted to shake up his candidacy, and he has. today he selected wisconsin

republican congressman paul ryan as his running mate. ryan is chairman of the house budget committee. at 42, he's the same age as one of mitt romney's sons. with 16 days to go to the gop convention, with 87 days to go until the election, the gop ticket is set and a new phase of this race begins now. our political team is standing by tonight, starting with nbc's peter alexander, who covers the romney campaign and has followed them to their next event in northern virginia. peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. by picking paul ryan, mitt romney bypassed more moderate republican candidates. in the end deciding to go with a man who will help him fire up the republican base and also will help him draw a clear contrast with the president over key issues in this election, like taxes and spending. with the retired battleship "uss wisconsin" as the backdrop, mitt romney introduced as his running mate one of the biggest guns in

the conservative movement, paul ryan. >> he understands the fiscal challenges facing america, our exploding deficits and crushing debt and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don't change course. >> reporter: analysts say romney's selection of the wisconsin congressman is both bold and potentially risky. >> the commitment mitt romney and i make to you is this. we won't duck the tough issues. we will lead. >> reporter: as chairman of the house budget committee, ryan designed a politically polarizing budget plan, slashing trillions in federal spending including cuts to programs like medicare. >> we can turn this thing around. real solutions can be delivered, but it will take leadership. >> reporter: in making his announcement, romney stumbled out of the gate. >> join me in welcoming the next president of the united states, paul ryan. >> reporter: before quickly correcting himself, after ryan's dramatic arrival from the ship

named after his home state, to the soundtrack of the movie "air force one." >> every now and then i'm known to make a mistake. i did not make a mistake with this guy. but i can tell you this, he's going to be the next vice president of the united states. >> reporter: outside the white house today, president obama ignored reporters' questions about ryan but the obama campaign quickly tried to capitalize, releasing a detailed chart attacking what they called more budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy no matter the expense for the middle class. then following up with this new ad. here in virginia, kicking off the first day of a multi-state tour, romney and ryan, who at 42 is the same age as romney's oldest son, bonded with their families on the bus, even making peanut butter and honey sandwiches. two candidates who had been on romney's vp short list, ohio senator rob portman and former minnesota governor tim pawlenty, graciously accepted romney's decision. >> i'm not disappointed and i'm excited about his candidacy and

excited about having him be the next president. >> reporter: also today one of romney's harshest critics during the republican primary, newt gingrich, who previously called ryan's budget plan right wing social engineering, today embraced the pick writing, "mitt romney made a courageous choice for a big-solutions election." earlier today vice president joe biden called paul ryan to congratulate him on his selection and to welcome him to this race. brian, it is officially on in earnest. >> peter alexander traveling with the romney campaign, mannasas, virginia, starting us off tonight, peter, thanks. with paul ryan added to this ticket, the factoids become pretty fascinating. he's the first major party candidate born in the 1970s. the mormon and catholic gop ticket is the first without a protestant. and there are no veterans on either ticket for the first time in 80 years of american history. and who is this man chosen today to possibly be a heartbeat away from the presidency?

we get the paul ryan story tonight from nbc's andrea mitchell. she's in washington. andrea, good evening. >> good evening, brian. mitt romney has been under fire for not being specific enough about his economic plan, while paul ryan leaves nothing to the imagination about how he would handle the budget. >> thanks, man, appreciate it. >> reporter: paul ryan is a hometown boy in a wisconsin town whose great grandfather's construction firm largely built. the father of three small children, sam, charlie and liza, he and his wife janna live on the same street where he grew up and though a washington player for two decades, he has never moved here. he sleeps in his congressional office and still commutes home. >> my dad died when i was young. he was a good and decent man. >> reporter: ryan has called his father's death in 1986 a punch in the gut. in fact, he was a teenager, home alone, when he discovered his

father had died in his sleep. friends say losing his father and grandfather at early ages turned ryan into a gym rat who still leads famously tough capitol hill exercise sessions. once the high school prom king, he got interested in politics, elected student representative to the school board. and he began studying libertarian economists, read ayn rand, and found a political mentor, jack concern, the last republican to run for vice president who had been a house member. after a few odd jobs including driving the oscar mayer weinermobile, ryan became an unabashed policy wonk. joe scarborough a house member in 1995 recalls a young paul ryan often the only staff guy at strategy sessions. >> and paul at 22, 23, it was back 1995, january of '95, paul was at the center of the action telling us what we could do, what we couldn't do. >> reporter: in 1998 ryan was only 28 and won election to the house. as his power grew, so did his self-confidence. >> paul ryan has a supreme self-confidence of a true believer. he's also a prodigy.

he's someone who has studied this stuff for his whole life and he loves to talk about it. >> reporter: he even challenged president obama on the budget two years ago. >> the discretionary spending, the bills that congress has signed, that you signed into law, that has increased 84%. >> we'll -- we'll have a longer debate on the budget numbers then, all right? >> reporter: away from washington, ryan is an avid sportsman, hunting, fishing, but how will he handle politics' biggest stage? the republican chairman is a long-time friend. >> paul ryan is a person who's real, authentic, and wants to serve this country with a pure heart and make a difference. >> reporter: it's also a new challenge for ryan's wife, janna, who comes from a democratic family, including oklahoma congressman dan boren, a first cousin. janna ryan went to wellesley but gave up her law career when she married ryan. so if the election so far has been about little ideas, that phase is officially over. brian? >> andrea mitchell in washington for us tonight, andrea, thanks.

we want to bring in more members of our political team, our nbc news political director, chief white house correspondent chuck todd, moderator of "meet the press" david gregory and garrett haake, he is one of our campaign embeds, he has been covering romney every day on the road for 13 months. there are few people who have seen more of the inner workings of this campaign than garrett so garrett, we'll start with you, and given how much you know about this campaign, how close you've been able to get to the candidate, how did the atmospherics of all this look to you today? >> brian, as you said, in 13 months i've really not quite seen anything quite like this today. the energy level was a step up completely from even some of the big rallies during the primary campaign. you had crowds lining the street. the events were loud. people were shouting back at romney and at paul ryan. they were chanting "usa," really an incredible atmosphere, and you could see even the candidates sort of react to it. romney was tripping over words, things he says every day in his

stump speech, and pacing around the stage, just a high-energy environment. the romney campaign knows they need to try to keep that up at least through the rest of this bus tour. >> and chuck todd, as part of the team that broke this story for us last night, in addition to just what garrett reported, that kind of excitement differential, what does this pick get mitt romney, and what doesn't it get him? >> well one thing i want to point is it's gotten him $2 million today alone just in fund-raising, but what it gets him is definition. mitt romney over the last six weeks had become a caricature, if you will, of the obama campaign simply trying to paint him as a rich guy who was out of touch with the middle class, who simply was somehow looking for more tax cuts for himself. well today was an opportunity and the ryan pick is an opportunity to change that conversation, almost relaunch the campaign.

but interesting here, brian, the campaign is conceding something. you know, for six months, the romney folks were arguing the economy was enough for them to defeat president obama. this pick today is a concession that this is not a referendum election. this is a choice election. >> david, when you play pro football, there's usually a moment where usually a veteran looks down at you on the turf and welcomes you to the nfl. this is paul ryan's welcome to the nfl moment. what is he in for and by extension, what should we be looking for? >> well, i think you're going to see in a nanosecond democrats who have already started, particularly team obama, try to portray this man, this congressman, the budget chairman, as dangerous. as a dangerous thinker, an ideologue whose doctrinaire wants to starve government. they're going to point to the polls, and they're going to point out that chairman ryan wants to change medicare as we know it, and you look at our own polling. 53% of those we asked either want only minor modifications to medicare or no changes at all and yet he's talking about a pretty dramatic overhaul.

so let the definition begin. >> garrett, back up to you, one more word on this. we had kind of man-to-man and woman-to-man coverage on all the possible vp selections. this one got away. they kept this secret until our team broke it in the wee small hours but very well done for team romney, correct? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely, brian. they were able to keep this under lock and key. nobody was able to keep tabs on the congressman or even on governor romney. there's some thought, we know that the two men met last sunday. we think it was at romney's house. no one was able to put eyes on him. even the signs were printed today just to make sure no knowledge could get out beforehand who the pick was going to be. >> our thanks to members of our team, garrett haake, chuck todd, and david gregory, who by the way will moderate a special edition of "meet the press" tomorrow morning, "who is paul ryan?" that's tomorrow, a special time, 9:00 a.m. eastern, that's 6:00 a.m. in the west for early risers, given our olympic sunday broadcast schedule.

and still ahead, as we continue on a saturday night from london, another big day for the u.s. women, faster and stronger than before, now more decorated than some countries competing here. and later, it's one of the most closely guarded secrets as we just discussed, every four years, but was everything about today's romney rollout as carefully planned?

we're back from london. that music must mean we have reached the spoiler alert portion of our broadcast tonight, so if you don't want to know, just turn away from your tv for just a moment. we'll tell you when it's okay to look back. u.s. men were back on the track tonight in the 4x100 meter relay, a race so fast, a team tied the world record and still didn't win the gold medal, and here's how that race turned out, and it's now safe to turn back. and it's now safe to turn back. the u.s. women were also in a relay tonight, capping off a day that saw more medals up for grabs than any day of competition so far, as we near the end of this history-making run for the american women at these games, which nicely brings chris jansing along with us tonight. chris, good evening. >> good evening, other great day for the americans. if u.s. women were a country, they would be third in the gold medal standings.

in one women's relay that you won't see until tonight, well, you're not going to believe the finish. and in the midst of it all, a big debate about u.s. women's basketball. here's the question. >> maya moore on the runout. >> oh! >> reporter: who's the real dream team? tonight u.s. women's basketball laid impressive claim to the title. >> candace parker catching and finishing! >> reporter: already leading at the half, they came back and put on a clinic for the win over france. >> you can stamp the gold medal "made in the usa." >> reporter: their victory adding to an extraordinary legacy. usa women have now won 39 consecutive games in the olympics, five consecutive gold medals. it's getting to be a habit. >> i think that our success here kind of speaks for itself. >> reporter: it's not just the record number of gold medals american women have won that's impressive. the diversity is mind-boggling. they've rowed faster, jumped higher, kicked more intensely, shot more accurately and shattered world records.

women swimmers alone won 15 medals. the gymnasts, too, five medals. they did it better than anyone else in the world, on sport's biggest stage. what does it mean to you to know you are the best in the world at something? >> it's really special. we want other people's daughters to emulate us off the court as well as on the court. >> reporter: there is a theme that runs through all this success, lessons for the millions who have watched these phenomenal achievements with awe and wonder. one from a 17-year-old boxer from flint, michigan, who started a whole new chapter in america's olympic boxing history. >> you know i feel i really displayed that, you know, boxing is not just a man's sport. >> reporter: another lesson from allyson felix, who worked her way to three olympic games to finally impressively win individual gold. >> you just stick to it and keep grinding it out, you know. eventually it might come

together. >> reporter: tonight it came together again when she ran the second leg of the 4x400 team that absolutely crushed the competition, her third gold medal of these games. at every turn we watched a struggle rewarded. a stereotype smashed. >> it doesn't matter how we look when we win the gold medal. we just won the gold medal. it doesn't matter, you know, what we wear. we're a part of team usa and there's no greater color than the american flag. >> reporter: they take home gold and leave a legacy. >> that's pretty awesome, to be able to look up to somebody, a girl who's 19, somebody who has been a four-time olympian and know that i could be that girl or woman or whoever. i could be that olympian. >> and the guys aren't done winning medals yet either. tomorrow that other dream team, u.s. men's basketball, plays for the gold and news flash, brian, they are favored over spain. >> i might have heard that coming into these games. chris, fantastic reporting on a fantastic usa women's squad, thanks.

a quick check on the medal count by the way with one day to go, the u.s. is in the lead, team usa of course badly wants to be at the top of that medal count and beat china when the flame here is extinguished and these games are over. we are back in a moment with tonight's spectacular show in the sky, and how nasa says you can help them.

there's been another attack on american service members in afghanistan, it happened last

night in helmand province, where three u.s. marines were shot to death by an afghan worker on a military base. earlier on friday, three other marines were killed by an afghan policeman. both attacks carried out by supposedly friendly afghans who then turned on u.s. forces. a still-unfolding story in neighboring iran tonight, where two strong earthquakes, a 6.4 and a 6.3, struck the northwest part of the country today. iranian media reports say at least 180 people were killed, more than 1,300 injuries, those are early reports. at least half a dozen villages were said to be leveled while 60 other communities suffered widespread damage. an enormous sinkhole in louisiana continues to cause concern. it's near bayou corne in assumption parish where the earth is already squishy marsh and covered in water, and the hole is swallowing up vegetation, including

100-foot-tall cypress trees. there's a fear it's related to an underwater salt cavern. it's also dangerously close to a liquid butane well. one of the local folks said the bubbles rising from the bottom make the whole area look like a boiling crawfish pot. sky watchers should be on alert tonight across america, because tonight is the height of the perseid meteor shower. if you're lucky enough to have clear night skies where you are, grab the kids, grab some snacks, make a thermos, a coffee, and bring your camera. they say there is a chance of up to 100 an hour. nasa even has an app for folks to count the number they see, and report the results. send us your photos as well. when we come back, on a day when everything had to go according to plan, most things did.

finally tonight, we want to wind up where we started off. it's a new day in the gop campaign, a new man alongside mitt romney. we've got 87 days to go, two conventions to go, and as they say, a week is a year in politics, and the scrutiny is already ramped up now. events like today in norfolk, virginia, are all about the details. starting with the unambiguous

battleship backdrop, very little goes unplanned at these events including romney's appearance, tie, no jacket, rolled up sleeves, and ryan, jacket, no tie. by the way the last team to use a boat backdrop was bush/quayle back in '88. team romney did a brilliant job at faking out the media, though the media hate to admit it. reporters staking out ryan's wisconsin home were convinced he was holed up inside -- until he showed up in virginia. there will be the inevitable professional sniping in the world of political advance teams, where crowds are supposed to fill in any gaps, and everyone is expected to be enthusiastic and not otherwise occupied. the whole idea of a big vp rollout is still new in the modern era. vice presidential candidates used to be decided by the party and the ticket got smooshed together. fdr barely knew harry truman before they ran together. speaking of fdr, his early vice president, john nance garner,

was the last house member to be elected vp, and that was 80 years ago. if elected, while ryan wouldn't be the youngest ever vp, he would be the first from wisconsin and the first named paul. and on social media, where folks gathered to talk about today's selection, the talk was about the hair of both gop candidates. as laura ingraham put it on twitter, "romney-ryan has the best hair of a political team since kerry-edwards." of course that's where the comparison ends. as they say, let the games begin. it's perhaps fitting as these games get set to wind down, the campaign now gets set to enter a whole new phase, and we'll of course be there to cover it all. that is "nbc nightly news" for this saturday tonight. don't forget, olympic coverage tonight, 8:00. 7:00 central in prime time. i'm brian williams reporting again tonight from london. lester holt will be here with you tomorrow night. we'll look for you from new york

on monday. enjoy the rest of your weekend. good night.