started with this monday. let's make it a great week out there and do your best and olympics right here on nbc bay area for you as well as online at nbcbayarea.com. don't forget tune in tomorrow morning for more ahead. have great morning. good morning breaking news, biles is back the overnight announcement revealing biles will compete on the balance beam making her olympic return tomorrow as her teammates bring home the hardware jade carey capturing gold on the floor moments ago. all-around champ suni lee ge bronze on the bars >> dismount right here and mykala skinner wins silver on vault one week after she thought her olympic career was over mykala will join us live

alarming spike -- u.s. covid cases jump 5 1/2 times higher in one single month 35 million total as the ferocious new delta variant surges in every state. >> things are going to get worse. the seven-day average has gone up substantially >> florida, the new epicenter, record cases and hospitalizations, hot spots across the country some bringing back mask mandates, others refusing to just ahead, the battle against the virus and each other with tens of millions of americans refusing to get the shot stunning upset, the u.s. women's soccer team defeated by canada this morning, ending their hopes for gold lapping the field with five gold medals, caeleb dressel, the star of tokyo. >> another gold for dressel of the united states. >> this morning, we go one-on-one with the swimming sensation. >> the moment you let them --

sneak in, you get passed those stories, plus meeting the moment >> the italian, jacobs is going to spring a surprise >> history made in the rac to become the world's fastest man. and an unbelievable display of sportsmanship, two high jumpers agreeing to share the gold >> yeah! >> showing the world what the olympic spirit is all about. today, monday, august 2nd, 2021. >> unbelievable. let's go, team gold. >> silver medal for mykala skinner. >> katie ledecky she's going to win the gold medal! >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today" at the olympic games with savannah guthrie from rockefeller plaza and hoda kotb from tokyo, japan. and good morning, everybody. welcome to "today.

it is monday morning here in new york we're outside. we're calling it olympic plaza take a look at this, hoda. a fully vaccinated and fully fired-up crowd helping us kick off week two of the olympics red, white, and blue ready to cheer. hoda, i know you're flying the flag this morning and lots to cheer about especially when we're talking about swimming and women's gymnastics >> first of all, your plaza is amazing. and there is a ton of big news in gymnastics, it's really big gymnastics confirming this morning simone biles, she will compete on the balance team tomorrow it will be her first event since she withdrew from last week's team final and this comes just a few minutes ago. i was just actually over at the gymnastics center. just wrapped up, american jade carey, she won gold. it was incredible. we're going to have more on that it was great crazy and then this is another awesome

story line she's right here with us, silver medal winner mykala skinner. she is about 20 feet away from me she got a big win on the vault she thought she was going home she is going home, but she's going home with a medal. so it's been such an exciting time but first, sg, let's go to nbc's tom llamas he has more on all things gymnastics and that stunner in women's soccer good morning >> reporter: hey, hoda, good morning to you i hope you love a comeback story because we're about to see that. simone biles putting her stamp on the tokyo games in competition. regardless of how she does, she's taking a very big step on a very big stage in a very brave way. we just saw greatness again, jade carey winning the gold medal. you and me were here we were cheering so loud also this morning, we have a new fastest man in the world, but both texas and italy are celebrating it this morning, she's in four-time almost gold medalist

simone biles will officially try and make it five usa gymnastics confirming the superstar will compete in the upcoming balance beam final along with teammate suni lee, tweeting in part, can't wait to watch you both the beams will be biles' first event since withdrawing from last week's team all-around final as well as individual finals to focus on her mental health the star recently posting these since deleted clips to instagram showing her struggling during uneven bars training along with messages including one reading, i didn't quit. my mind and body are simply not in sync. but now she's back and, overnight, cheering on american jade carey, competing in the floor routine in search of her first olympic medal, carey winning gold biles' comeback coming on the heels of another display for team usa gymnastics. >> this is the moment that she

has been waiting for >> mykala skinner soaring to silver in the vault. >> a great start for her >> reporter: a reliable teammate, the 24-year-old has been faithfully supporting her squad. once bile withdrew from the vault final, skinner got her chance, opening up to hoda about meeting with biles before hand >> she's like, don't do this for me, do this for you. i'm like, you know what? i'm doing it for us. >> reporter: and days after winning gold in the all-around, suni lee adding to her medal haul the minnesota native grabbing bronze on the uneven bars. >> i'm really proud of myself for sticking with it >> in the pool, americans caeleb dressel and katie ledecky took charge once again. >> another gold for dressel of the united states. >> reporter: dressel capturing two more golds, upping his tokyo total to five. ledecky dominating the 800 freestyle for her seventh career gold and also this mo

headline concerning team usa's women's soccer team. they just lost to canada tonight. 1-0. they are now out of the gold medal race they could still possibly win a bronze medal the team saying this is a very bitter, bitter loss. and we do want to take a look at the medal board as we see where things stand in the tokyo games. you can see the u.s. and china neck and neck when it comes to total medals, but the u.s. has some catching up to do when it comes to gold medals still a week left of action and the action keeps getting more and more awesome tonight was awesome with jade carey. you were the one-man cheering crowd for everyone in america. >> you and i were sitting right next to each other and we did get to watch jade carey pull in that gold. it was an incredible moment to be there in the arena. i was lucky, i had a chance to chat with jade a couple minutes after she won the gold in the floor exercise here's what she had to say tell me what it females like to have that gold medal around your neck

>> it means everything to me this is all i've ever worked for >> i did, actuallyed for and i'm i just had glad it paid off tonight >> did you have all the confidence in the world when you walked out there tonight >> i did, actually i just needed to do me and do my normal routine >> what did you say to your dad, what did your dad say to you when you looked up at that score and you saw you were a gold medalist >> he said you did it, you're an olympic champ, and i almost started crying i think i did cry, actually. >> what kept you going >> last night was hard for me, but i had to remember that i wasn't done yet and we still had floor so i needed to put it behind me and give everything i could into floor >> she sparkled. lori hernandez joins us now. it was a dazzling performance. you know jade very well. just by watching that interview, tell me what you think >> i mean, this is the happiest personally that i've ever seen her, but she just got a gold so i feel like that makes sense she gets such a wonderful routine.

her start value is so high i'm e really glad she was able to -- >> she struggled on the vault the day before and she was very upset. incredible >> yeah. you have to clear your head when something like that happens and i'm so glad that she was able to go and hit a nice routine. >> let's talk about simone this is a big story. we've all kind of been wringing our hands. is she going to compete. there's only one thing left and it's the beam. were you surprised when you found out that she was going to compete again? >> honestly, i had no expectations i'm glad that she is just because for her own and to be out here and to qualify to making this team, it is a huge accomplishment to compete and enjoy herself. slompx as long as she's happy, that's the most important thing. >> we know simone has been going through what you guys understand is called the twisties, when you have trouble twisting around so would you explain, because a lot of us don't understand, why would the beam being the most

appealing of all the different apparatuses? >> first of all, it is upright you are swinging consistently. it is common for dismounts in the video you posted, you see her literally getting lost in the air. that happens on vaultd and on floor. the biles is a triple twisting double back. if you get lost on that, it is a huge safety hazard so i think beam is probably the safest route in terms of doing skills that don't have too many twists i'm curious to see what she's do for her dismount, but i think she'll do very well. >> you know simone very well you were on the team with her. you know her heart, her mind do you think she's ready for this >> honestly, if simone says i'm going out and i'm competing beam, it sounds like she is ready. at the end of the day, we support her no matter what it doesn't matter the outcome. she is an incredible athlete >> she has a lot of people rooting for her. lori, thank you so much. i appreciate it. and we're going to chat with another olympic medalist, mykala skinner.

hey, girl. she's sitting right over there she has her silver medal and we're going to talk about that and a lot more during nbc's primetime coverage it starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern miss guthrie, back to you. >> going to be good. in the meantime, unfortunately, big news to report this morning in the battle against the coronavirus the u.s. topping yet another milestone overnight. now over 35 million cases. daily cases. now virtually the same as this time last year the reason, the highly contagious delta variant we have two reports for you. morgan chesky is in hard-hit louisiana, a state experiencing a record surge in cases and hospitalizations morgan, good morning >> reporter: yeah, savannah, good morning that's right cases are rising so fast here at our lady of the lake medical center that staff is having a handcuff thyme keeping up. in fact, it's getting so bad, the federal government is now

sending in an emergency medical team to try to keep up with this surge. all across the south, we are seeing this play out in realtime, a medical crisis the state of florida alone now accounting for nearly one-fifth of all new covid cases this morning, as the delta variant rages, health officials are sounding the alarm with a dire warning >> things are going to get worse. >> reporter: infections are now rising in every state. >> this is a class 5 hurricane >> reporter: florida reporting more than 21,000 new infections saturday, the highest one-day total since the pandemic began hospitalizations breaking last year's record. and with schools opening next week, governor ron desantis is defying cdc guidance and banning all districts from requiring masks. >> there will be no restrictions and no mandates in the state of florida. >> reporter: in louisiana, where the vaccination rate is among the lowest in the nation, federal authorities are now sending in disaster teams to the state's largest medical center

in baton rouge many of those admitted to our lady of the lake medical center are young children, still ineligible for the vaccine at least 62 school-age kids were admitted to the er in july alone compared to 18 in june the hospital says about half are in the icu, many requiring breathing assistance to stop the virus spread, many tourist hot spots are issuing mandates new orleans and washington, d.c. now requiring masks in public indoor places, regardless of vaccination status new york city expected to issue the same mandate today and in chicago, thousands who packed into the lollapalooza music festival had to show proof of vaccination or a covid test but few wore masks that prompted a rebuke from mayor. >> we need people to mask up and vax up >> reporter: here in louisiana and across southern states, there is optimism among this latest surge for three weeks running, the

states with the highest covid count also have the highest vaccination rates. over the month of july, louisiana nearly quadrupled its weekly average, and the national rate is up nearly 17% in the last week. >> we want to talk more about that with dr. richard besser former acting director of the cdc. dr. besser, good morning to you. when you look at the lay of the land in this country, in the last month, cases are up more than five times. over the past two weeks, new infections have risen by 148%. i know a lot of people thought, wait a minute, i thought we turned the corner here just go back to basics here. why? >> yeah. savannah, we all wanted to turn a page on the pandemic, and unfortunately the pandemic wasn't ready to turn the page on us one of the things that's clear, as long as there's widespread transmission of the virus, there's the opportunity for new

variants to arise. that's what happened with the delta variant. thankfully, it is covered by the current vaccines, but there is no guarantee that the next variant that emerges, it won't be one that the vaccines aren't effective for. so i'm really pleased to hear the number of people getting vaccinated is on the rise. we can't give up on people who so far have not gotten vaccinated we have to meet people where they are, address their concerns and help them roll up their sleeves to get that shot >> but help people understand here i think it's really, really confusing. essentially what the cdc has discovered, and correct me if i am wrong, is that with this delta variant, even if you're vaccinated, if you get a breakthrough case, and we have always known there will be some amount of breakthrough cases where you gefection, you just d sick, you can still be spreading it and you can spread it just as readily as somebody who doesn't have the vaccine is that what you attribute to this dramatic spike in cases that we're seeing?

>> no, absolutely not. so while that is possible, it is possible to be a breakthrough case and to spread it, if you're vaccinated, you are so much less likely to become a case of covid. most of the transmission we're seeing is from unvaccinated people and what they're saying, though, is that even if you're fully vaccinated, the fact that this delta variant is spreading so rapidly, you can't let your guard down and you do need to follow your local guidance, wear masks indoors if you're in an area where there's high transmission unfortunately, you know, each day that's becoming more and more of our country. >> and the short answer is still get vaccinated but the silver lining is where we started it does sound like, especially in some of these hot spot states, the regions where vaccination is slow, it does seem like it's ticking up, people are starting to get that message. >> yeah. and the other piece of this is that although the cases are rising dramatically, thankfully,

the highest rig, populations those over 65, those with medical conditions have the highest vaccination rates. so we won't see the same incredibly devastating toll in terms of mortality that we saw last summer, last winter we will see in places like florida where hospitals are overwhelmed, that some people with other medical conditions won't be able to get in for things that need treatment that shouldn't be. if people will do the right thing, wear masks in areas where there's high transmission, indoors where there's a lot of transmission, we will see these numbers coming down. and hopefully we will see delta variant start to decline like we were seeing in places like the uk that experienced this before we did >> dr. besser, thank you as always let's get our first check of the weather. al, we've been around the world, my friend, you and me. i don't know if it's yesterday or tomorrow. i went a blanket i went down and got a jacket what a different a day makes >> we had a front move through

and that cooled things down, but it caused problems for places like robinson, north carolina, where they saw massive see we have heavy showers and thunderstorms from texas all the pushing to the east and down to the south bringing along relief but heavier scattered showers and thunderstorms that will continue into tomorrow low pressure developing along the carolina coast that's going to bring more heavy rain today look at those showers and thunderstorms stretching, rainfall up to 4 inches from wilmington down to panama city and back into new orleans. cooler weather coming in to much of the country, especially through the south. temperatures seasonal, but the humidity level is still high so heat index values from oklahoma city, houston, friday, mobile, tampa, atlanta and raleigh will see heat index values 95 to 100 degrees we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next

30 seconds ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. taking a live look outside from oakland. we can see a clear view right now with clouds overhead. we are looking at a wide range in temperatures with some fog just off the coast and san francisco reaching into the mid 60s today, low 70s for oakland. hayward headed up towards 76 degrees and 80 in san jose. and for the inland areas we're hot with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s. slightly cooler by the middle of

the week. and that is your latest weather. guys just ahead, as craig joins us, you guys have a lot more on there olympic excitement >> oh, we do guys, first of all, how happy are we for mykala skinner. she got a second chance to compete. she shined her way to a silver medal. we are going to chat with her live and we cannot wait. but wait, there's more a conversation with one of the biggest stars in tokyo, caeleb dressel. how he feels about joining a very elite club of swimmers with five gold medals in a single olympics and what his future olympics and what his future holds. what does it take to make it?

in the race to succeed, does somebody always have to fail? we've got to start lifting each other up. and give everybody a fair shot. because when that happens, we've all made it. ♪

coming up an interesting take from a member of political royalty. >> carline kennedy will be here to talk about the games and what

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them up on that offer. a few more got off on their own. we believe there's about 10 to 20 people throughout going to try to protect their property. the fire department is not getting involved because this their lives but not trying to put out the fire. reporting live on bethel island, bob redell, nbc bay area news. checking in with kari looking at our weather condition. any wind in that area? >> yeah. it's always windy coming through the delta and so we've seen the winds gusting at about 15 to 25 miles per hour. for the rest of the bay area, temperatures are starting out nice and cool and headed for the upper 80s for the inland valleys and low 90s for tomorrow. overall we are in a quiet weather pattern with fog near the coast as well as some low clouds and temperatures towards the mid 60s. we're going it see that continue as we go through much of the week and slightly warmer for friday with a high of 70 degrees there. and some low 90s for the inland

laura? >> we'll brace for that. thank you for joining us as well. i'll be back with another local news update in about a half hour. have a good monday morning. ahhh. beautiful day in baltimore where most people probably know that geico could save them money on car insurance, right? you see the thing is geico, hey! okay...i'm ready to come in now.

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we're back. it's 7:30. it's monday morning. it's august the 2nd, 2021. 8:30 p.m. here in tokyo. day ten of the olympic games. a crazy day today. it was like gymnastics palooza. we'll get to that in a second. y'all have a real cool set. >> they recreated our set on the plaza. >> we're warming up for you, we have the crowd here on the plaza. red, white, and blue. as we get into week two of the action, this will be the center of the action. a lot of the athletes returning from home from tokyo with their

medals are going to stop here first. >> caeleb dressel. >> and his family. >> big. can't tell you right now. but it's huge. >> huge. >> and you guys are coming home later this week so it's going be fun. let's start with politics. after months of negotiations, senators have unveiled their $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. lawmakers worked through the weekend to finish the text of this 2,700 page billion. it will pour billions into roads, bridges, public transportation and broadband. chuck schumer says the legislation could be passed in a matter of days. this morning, in the battle against the nation's two largest wildfires. firefighters in southern oregon are reporting good progress in the battle against that bootleg fire. the blaze has burned more than 400,000 acres so far and is now 84% contained.

meanwhile, in northern california, authorities have canceled some evacuation orders for people living near that pixie fire. that fire is now about 33% contained. tributes are pouring in for longtime soap opera star jay pickett. he died suddenly on the set of his upcoming film. he was best known for his roles on port charles, "general hospital" and "days of our lives" director travis mills called him an incredible man and one of the best actors he's ever worked with. jay pickett was just 60 years old. and now back to the olympics. hoda, one of the most remarkable story lines in tokyo. >> we've been talking about this one a lot. it's incredible, okay. remember this. this time last we're, mykala skinner sat with us. she thought her olympic journey had come to an end. but then something happened. she was called to compete on the vault. she stepped up in a big way. that girl won a silver medal. mykala, how are you?

>> i'm so good. >> i'm freaking out because i actually do remember, i'm having a little deja vu. i remember interviewing you when it was over. and it was kind of -- you saw the beauty in being an olympian but you were clearly, like, oh, that's the end of this. can you believe we're sitting here talking? >> no. >> and you've got a silver medal around your neck. >> no, i would have never thought. i was supposed to be flying home and here i am and super grateful. >> tell me how that went down. your bags were packed and you were getting ready to head home. what happened? >> so we were watching team finals and things didn't go as planned. and i remember we kind of got a text message, simone was talking to cecile saying mykala cannot go home. we might need to have her compete in case i can't figure it out in the next couple of days. so i decided to stay and train vault in case i needed to go in. >> you said in one of your social media posts, you mentioned simone and you said simone, i'm doing this for us.

what does that mean? >> simone and i have been the ogs of the team. and it's been so fun to have that leadership and to kind of guide the younger generation. i feel like after everything she's been through, it's been kind of hard on her, but she's been able to stay positive through it all. she's it's inspired me. and i said you were supposed to have this opportunity but i'm so grateful to step in for you and i wanted to do this for us. >> she's doing something else coming up tomorrow. she has announced she's going to compete on the beam. >> so excited. >> okay. you're her ride or die. you're one of her besties. were you surprised when you heard the news? >> a little bit, but honestly, i've been talking to her every single day and she's been like, i think beam is going to be the one. i'm really excited for her. i'm going to cheer her on so hard and hope she can medal. i hope she does the dismount of her life. i know she's been working on different dismounts and figuring things out. it's going on be so cool. >> why would beam be the one?

i think people are confused about which event and why. >> kind of having the twisties and being a gymnast, that's something you don't want to go through. being that you're not doing twist things, it's just skills. she's been able to work a double pike and try different things, working on a double pike. so i think she's going to go for that so that's really good. so no twisties for her, hopefully. >> one of my favorite moments is when you nailed your vault and there was a shot of your posse led by simone cheering for you. could you feel it? could you sense them? >> i could feel it. i was ready for my second vault and i was like oh, my god. simone was cheering so loud. i thought i would be distracted. i could hear them up there. even the guys' team was so loud. it was insane. that was much needed. >> and real quickly, a few hours ago, jade carey just nailed it. she got a golds medal. i feel like team usa, every person on the team has a medal.

>> which is so awesome. i never thought this was going to happen. even for me. i thought i would be the only one going home without one. that's really cool that i was able to place silver and watching jade tonight after that comeback was incredible. i'm so happy for her. she deserves it. >> mykala, your story is one for the ages. it tells you never to give up. when you think it is over, it is not over. you've got your medal. we're super proud of you and america is proud of you, too. >> thank you. thanks much. >> good talking to you. >> how about that, craig? >> yes, we are. >> how about mykala. >> come on. >> thank you, mykala. quick reminder, by the way, you can catch every minute of these tokyo olympics live. scan the qr code on your screen for the nbc sports app. when we come back on a monday morning, our one-on-one with the star of swimming here in tokyo. caeleb dressel. he came into these olympics with high expectations and he met them. in fact, you could argue he exceeded them. five gold medals in all. what he is saying about that success.

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are you ready to du more with less asthma? just ask your asthma specialist about dupixent. we are back our crowd. don't you think, al? >> it is awesome it goes around the plaza >> what's going on >> i'll tell you what's going on a happy crowd is what's going on and so many of the cheers you hear are for usa sensations. there are so many of them. caeleb dressel was under a ton of pressure. >> he's a rock star. not one, not two, not three, not four, but five, five gold medals the 24-year-old the most decorated american swimmer of these games. before he boarded a flight home, craig, you got to sit down and catch a little time with him

>> he's in the air right now caeleb dressel will return home an american hero his repeated trips to the medal stands cementing his status in the storied history of the u.s. swim team. and it's an achievement all the given the challenges this year has brought in and out of the pool if caeleb dressel set out to make a statement these olympic games, he more than succeeded. a few weeks ago, you told me you were never quite happy, never quite satisfied. as you sit here now, five gold medals, three records, are you happy and satisfied now? >> yes, i'm happy. it was really fun competing. this is the pinnacle of our sport. to be able to do that on the world stage with the rings in the background, the whole world watching >> a few weeks ago, you said you did not view yourself as the best in the world. you won the 50 meter by the largest margin in olympic history. can you humbly accept being called the best in the world now?

>> no. >> why not >> no, because the moment you do that, the moment you let complacency sneak in, you get passed >> expectations were so high for dressel heading into these games, the pressure so intense you could see, even feel the emotional release. when he talked to his family after winning that first solo gold medal >> love you so much. >> love you, too >> you were very emotional what were you thinking about in that moment? >> i think you could -- you could physically see the monkey hopping off of my back in that moment it was a huge relief, just being able to snag my first individual medal. it is different in the relays. there is a different type of feedback an individual, it's you in your lane >> one of the themes of these olympics has been mental health, simone biles and the conversation that she helped

continue how do you handle the pressure how do you handle the stress and has it been too much at times? >> i don't know what is considered too much. every individual is different. that's why i'm not going to speak on anyone else's behalf. that's why i'm okay to call that simone, what she did no one else's opinion matters because they're not the one in her situation. she's the best to ever do it and then everyone wants to chime in. just leave her alone so for me, yes, i think it has been too much, whatever that may mean i've had a couple of breakdowns. it does pile up. but it is -- it's worth it i know what i'm capable of doing. i know how to approach the mental side of things for myself, and nobody else's opinion matters for me and for all the other athletes making their own calls, nobody else's opinion matters. >> you pride yourself on living a simple life and keeping the noise out. it's going to be really hard to

do that now. how are you going to adjust? >> i'm not sure. i haven't been home yet so i'm not sure i might not have to make any adjustments. yeah, i know stop let me believe that for a second it's something i'm just going to have to learn to deal with >> with his success in the pool, more comparisons to the greatest olympian of all time will be inevitable >> i think the comparisons with michael always happen. they see one guy win eight medals, and terrible planning on my part, i happen to have a great year the year after michael retires and now it's on me that's not fair to michael it's not fair to me. >> i ran into him after your race and he was beaming with pride, like a big brother. how does it feels having the greatest olympian so proud of you? >> it is really special. you know, i texted him more than my wife at these games >> we will not be. >> i really leaned on him.

and why would i not? and he always told me, and he kept his word, if i need anything, shoot him a text, give him a call i do see him as that big brother in this sport. >> what did you learn about yourself at these games? >> i can handle a lot more than i think i give myself credit for. i know i'm a perfectionist and i need to give myself more credit at times, and i feel like i did that at these games because i did not have a choice. i did not want to take this moment for granted >> you lived up to the hype. you met the moment what now what is next what do you do >> i'm happy with how i did. i really enjoyed these games there was a lot of low points, a lot of high points a lot of low points people don't see because there's no cameras going on >> what were the low points? >> sitting in the shower shaving for the next race you have in a couple of hours freaking out or staring at the ceiling before going to bed or losing ten pounds over the course of a week

because you're not eating. some of the highlights, even -- we taught some of the girls on the team how to play poker which was so funny so so nice after every hand that would clap for each other that's the stuff i want to remember as well as how the racing was, watching the guys the first time on the podium watching their faces the brazilian guy who got third to me, watching him cry over a bronze medal, i almost started crying for him to him, that bronze was more than a gold medal. those moments, that's what the olympic games captures you had a country host not only a bunch of guests and athletes but their dreams i'm very thankful for that >> caeleb dressel. here is the thing. and we've talked about it before here on the show he's so thoughtful in a literal sense when you're talking to him, you can see the wheels almost moving >> it's not even about him when he was talking about the guy who got the bronze or he

seems to give away a lot of glory. that's part of how he operates >> and he loves living in the moment he's determined to protect his peace. and by the way, i asked him, i spend the hours after the event? he said i was so hungry. i said what did you eat? he had five pieces of pizza, a cheeseburger and a coke ice cream float. >> well, he lost ten pounds. needs to put it back on. >> i was asking what the swimmers did, they were like, we sleep a lot. >> i ate the same thing, but i didn't swim. >> that was so good. you guys have such a good rapport. as mentioned, we're going to hear more from caeleb. he's in the air. guess where he's headed? right here he and his family are going to be reunited on our plaza, and we are fired up for that. >> his family, they are superstars >> they're fun unfortunately, what is not a lot of fun, we have literally

fire and rain out west this is the monument fire has now re-ignited and so we're watching this. unfortunately big problems there. and we've got a lot of monsoonal moisture bringing heavy rain, flooding in colorado springs, colorado they've had mudslides, big problems, and they're going be looking at more of that again today. we start out west with the fires. we have air quality alerts right now stretching from arizona all the way to the midwest poor air quality the jet stream is picking up all that smoke, unhealthy air, and bringing it to the east. and, in fact, we're going to be looking at the smoke all the way down through tennessee into the carolinas. eventually it will dissipate and we've also got heavy rain down through -- we've got flood alerts stretching from montana into new mexico. slow-moving storms. good monday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we're starting out with a few

clouds here and there and it will clear out. we're looking at a nice day but warming up for the inland areas. headed toward the upper 80s and 90s tomorrow. as we go towards the end of the week it's going to cool down by wednesday and then heat right back up for friday. the weekend also looking pretty warm for the valleys. san francisco is going to see temperatures mostly in the mid to upper 60s. clouds and fog and at times a little bit of sunshine, especially on friday. >> and that is your latest weather. hoda >> all right, mr. roker. still ahead, the man behind two unforgettable olympic moments after another dramatic comeback from gold. we have a fun conversation with u.s. swimmer bobby finke >> i love bobby. >> but first, these messages but we also bundle outdoor vehicles with home and auto to help people save more! [ laughs ] ♪♪ [ humming ] [ door creaks ] oh.

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earn 5% cash back that automatically adjusts to your top eligible spend category, up to $500 spent each billing cycle. a very good monday morning to you. it is 7:56. i'm laura garcia. breaking and happening now, wildfire burning in the delta near bethel island. "today in the bay's" bob redell is still nearby following this story all morning long for us. what are you hearing now? i still see the smoke behind you. >> yeah. this fire isn't going out any time soon because the fire department is not trying to fight this fire. you're looking at bradford island, about a 200, 220 acre wildfire and not part of any fire protection district. there's about 15 to 25 people who live there, only about five or six have left the island. the others are remaining to try to protect their property that's there, against the advice of the fire department. this fire started around 1:30 this morning. as i mentioned, this is an

island. there isn't any road access. it's a ferry. this thing is going to burn itself out. unfortunately there's a lot of wind there. and again, the fire department did offer those people who live there free rescue. most of them have declined. they decided to stay on the island to protect their own property. reporting live on bethel island, bob redel nbc bay area news. we're seeing it carry into the east bay, kari. >> we've seen impacts. a look at our sunrise this morning and the smoke drifting in the distance and it's going to warm up as we go into today with upper 80s for the inland areas. slightly hotter tomorrow up to 90 degrees. a little bit cooler by the middle of the week and warm back up by the end of the week into the weekend. not many changes for san francisco. we've seen the high clouds drifting through today. we're going to see peeks of sunshine and highs into the upper 60s and low 70s. slightly warmer by friday. laura? >> thank you very much. we'll both be back with another local news update in a half

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simone biles announcing this morning she will compete in the balance beam final as the women's gymnastics team soared in tokyo. this morning, jade carey bringing home gold on floor while mykayla skinner's olympic dreams come true after scoring silver on the vault. >> i was supposed to be flying home and now here i am just feeling super grateful. >> hoda is live in tokyo. plus, sounding the ala health officials urging americans to get vaccinated and new mask mandates being issued

from coast to coast. we'll have the very latest. and olympic stars, we go one-on-one with swimmer bobby finke about his stunning swim to victory. >> coming in, i wasn't even, like, expecting a medal. then olympic are hurdler keni harrison will join us to talk about her lightning fast sprint to the podium today is monday, august 2nd, 2021. >> good morning from chicago. >> memphis, tennessee. >> des moines, iowa. >> from our family in chapel hill, north carolina, to the "today" show in japan and the u.s. -- >> we love you! >> go, usa! >> hey, today. >> the zaluskis are rooting for team usa. all the way from pittsburgh, p.a. >> go, team usa! >> cheering on team usa on

"today." >> good morning, everybody. welcome back to "today." it's monday morning in new york, monday night in tokyo. olympic fever all around the world. fully fired-up plaza crowd from team usa's biggest cheerleaders right here. >> and they look so much better because they're vaccinated. >> vaccinated, healthy glow. what have you guys got? >> you've got -- you're bringing the noise from over there. that is pretty awesome. here in tokyo, we have a really, really impressive group, too. oh, nothing, just some of the latest american medal winners in the house. >> that's right. we'll see your plaza crowd and we'll raise you -- >> oh, oh. >> what's happening there? >> yeah, that's called twerking, al. >> that's olympic twerking. >> that's right. >> and lots more. we can't wait to celebrate with all of on our medal winners throughout the morning. >> it's a happy crowd in new

york and a real happy crowd here in tokyo. but first, we have that breaking news from tokyo. and you know what it is. simone biles is back. usa gymnastics announcing this morning that she will compete in tomorrowe action is at the gymn center. he'll have more on that. but first, some other big news, just another gold medal for team usa, huh, tommy? >> reporter: that is so right, hoda. artistic gymnastics is going to wrap up in a major way with that news. simone biles will be here. we've been seeing her for several days. tomorrow night, she will be competing. it's going happen right there on the balance beam. and this comes as both of us saw something incredible today. jade carey winning that gold medal for team usa. >> this morning, here comes simone. usa gymnastics confirming simone biles will compete in the upcoming balance beam final along with teammate suni lee.

this will be biles' return to the tokyo stage after exiting from the team final and the all around individual ram f deleted videos of her struggling on the bars and a q&a about the twisties, the feeling of getting lost in the air which she's experienced before, telling her followers, it's never transferred to bars and beams before for me, but this time it's literally on every event. but now she's in and, overnight, cheering on as jade carey competed in the floor routine in search of her first olympic medal, and putting on an incredible performance winning gold. biles' comeback follows another huge day for team usa gymnastics. >> and a great start for her. >> reporter: mykala skinner seizing that second chance, filling in for simone biles and taking silver in the women's vault. >> that was such a great vault. >> you mentioned simone. >> yes. >> and you said, simone, i'm doing this for us.

>> uh-huh. >> what did that mean? >> simone and i have been the ogs of the team and it's been so fun to have that leadership and to kind of guide the younger generation. and i feel like, you know, after everything she's been through, it's been kind of hard on her, but she's been able to stay positive through it all. she's definitely inspired me. and i said i'm so grateful to step in for you and i wanted to do this for us. >> her teammate, suni lee clenching the gold on the uneven bars. >> suni is bringing home another medal. >> reporter: after winning the gold in the individual all around and silver in the team competition. >> she has all three colors right now. >> reporter: we want to bring you two notes from the world of track & field here from the tokyo games. first, let's meet the fastest man in the world. he is from italy. lamont marcel jacobs. and though italy can claim him, but he was born in el paso,

texas. pride of texas in a way as well. and this happened in the 800 semifinal. maybe one of the most iconic moments we've seen in these games so far. botswana's nigel amos accidentally tripped the usa runner. look at this, they shake hands. they hug and then they walk the rest of the race together, arm in arm. amos let quwed finish the race a step ahead of him. they finished the race together. that's the olympic spirit, hoda. so many great stories coming throughout track & field this week as well. >> those are my favorite moments of the olympic games, moments just like that one. tom, thank you so much. now for that nail biter in soccer. the usa following to team canada 1-0 in the semifinals this morning. stephanie gosk joins us now. heartbreak, steph. heartbreak. >> reporter: ooh, it really was, craig. this was a tough night for the

u.s. women's team. we're about 50 miles northeast of tokyo in kashima. this is the first time the u.s. last loss to canada in 20 years. it started off rough for them. they lost their goalie to an injury in the first half. in the second half, adrianna french had a penalty kick she had to stop but, unfortunately, canada scored. the u.s. did not have a response for that. they played well in the second half but couldn't score. it capped off a tough tournament for them. they lost badly to sweden in the first game, 3-0, and they really never got their footing. this is a team that has been battling to win off the field and on the field. they filed a 2019 lawsuit against u.s. soccer for equal pay. that lawsuit was dismissed by a judge, but last month, they filed an appeal and just on friday, the u.s. men's team argued in a filing that this team that won the 2019 world cup deserved not to get paid what they get paid but to get paid even more. the olympics is not over for them. they have that bronze medal match on thursday.

craig, back to you. >> all right. stephanie gosk for us, thank you. now let's turn our attention to the coronavirus. the u.s. reaching another troubling milestone. more than 35 million cases reported in all, the delta variant now boosting cases similar to last summer. morgan chesky is in louisiana where the virus is surging. morgan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. lady of the lake hospital. staff simply cannot keep up with this tidal wave of new infections. in fact, it's getting so bad, the federal government is now sending in emergency medical teams to try and keep up with this ongoing surge. now, i had a chance to walk the floor of an icu yesterday where a week ago there were only one or two covid patients, but now every single room is full. the hospital telling me 50% of their patients under the age of 50, and that includes several

to the east in florida, the state reported more than 21,000 new infections on saturday, marking the highest one-day total at any point since this pandemic began. we're also seeing hospitalizations break records, as well. and this comes as florida governor ron desantis issues new guidance that defies cdc guidance saying there will be no new mask mandates in place when florida kids go back to school next week. amidst the surge, there are signs of optimism. for three weeks now, here in louisiana, over the month of july, they nearly quadrupled their weekly average of vaccination rates and nationally our vaccination rate is up 17% over the last week. >> morgan chesky, thank you. coming up next, we'll turn back to thssador to japan, caro kennedy. what does she have to say about the games so far? and what does ambassador kennedy have to do with the "today" mascot?

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welcome back, everybody. i was fortunate enough to get a little taste of tokyo, but joining us now is a person who really has lived it, former ambassador to japan, ambassador, caroline kennedy she served in that role three years under the obama administration it's good to see you >> thanks for having me. >> i love that you're into the olympics as we all are have you been watching >> i've been watching. all channels i got up this morning to watch the soccer game. but you guys have done a great job and the athletes are incredible >> and you were there when japan was making this pitch to get the olympics what does it mean to the people of japan >> well, i think they were so proud and excited about the olympics it's just great that they're happening.

it couldn't be more difficult and in a more difficult time, but i think it's really -- they've done such a great job. so it shows you how hard this is, but i'm so happy that everybody has gotten to participate. >> it's true the head of the ioc has said that he had never seen a city more prepared to host the olympics than tokyo. >> they were prepared four years ago. >> exactly and then to wait a year, they were immaculate, everything was so organized i said it was kind of like being all dressed up for a party and nobody came. but they put on the games and then they made it happen >> right so i think, you know, that's a great tribute to them and to all the athletes who have, you know, just come and given it their heart and soul >> it's a big olympic traditio in japan they hosted four times now, but they were making this connection between 1964 in tokyo which was sort of the re-entry back on to the world stage. what do you think these olympics

mean for tokyo part of the pitch back then was resilience the disaster in fukushima. now resilience is the theme again. >> i know. i think they have been so resilient and this was a big part of showing that in a way, it's the perfect place to have had it, and i am glad they are doing so well >> what did you love about your time in japan? >> the japanese peoplere a amazingly warm and welcoming and i think being the first woman to be ambassador was really a great privilege for me because i got to share some of what we've accomplished, even though we have a long way to go. but it meant a lot, i think, to japanese women to have a visible woman serving in that role >> well, we were making a joke before, but it's truly serious when we were starting to go think about covering these games and we usually get to cover the culture a lot more than we were able to because of the pandemic,

we reached out to you and you said there's a huge mascot culture in japan you guys cannot miss this. so you are the reason we looked into it and we now have our own "today" mascot so we have to say thank you. how do you think she turned out? >> i love her. i love her ears and nose the u.s. embassy has its own mascot and -- >> it does >> it does >> how do you explain? there's a certain joy that -- "cute" is the word that comes to mind >> right >> there's a lot of stuff in japan. what is that culture >> it's a formal, serious culture, but they have this great way of expressing cuteness, happiness and all of that so i think mascots are a big part of that and they have them for everything -- stores, banks, you know, tv shows, everything >> now we're right there in it we're never going to give her up but we're going to name her later today. so many people voted, we had to have a runoff.

by the way, i can't let you go there have been reports that you may get a post to become ambassador to australia. can you confirm? is that in your future >> i don't know. i'll have to come back and talk to you about it another time >> okay. a little tease there ambassador, thank you so much. >> thank you >> say hello to the family >> okay. >> appreciate it we'll send it over to al to get a check of the weather >> she is so cute, i have to tell you how about this mascot, huh let's show you what we've got going on for today cooler than average temperatures in the northeast, around the great lakes, heavy showers and thunderstorms the lower mississippi river valley into texas, monsoonal moisture through the rockies. sunshine along the west coast where the heat continues in northern california. good morning. i am meteorologist kari hall. the heat continues for the inland areas, reaching into the upper 80s and low 90s for the next couple days. slightly cooler wednesday before it heats up by end of the week

into the weekend. looking at san francisco, you can see the clouds overhead, and highs today are headed to the upper 60s. we will gradually warm up more by friday with more sunshine, this weekend more fog rolling back in, highs in the upper 60s. that is your latest weather. >> look who we're with >> she rode home with me she had a better seat than i did. she rode first class, you guys >> she had the lay flat bed, but her head was a little too big to go all the way back. >> i can't believe she made it all the way there. >> we love her she's using your office, hoda. i hope you don't mind. now i know you have a story about a swimmer who rocketed to stardom in tokyo >> bobby finke pulled off not one but two come-from-behind victories, grabbing gold in the

1500 and the 800 meter free. >> this kid was a super >> this kid was a super long shot i caught up with the 21-year-old from clearwater, florida, to learn more about him and the family who supported his olympic dream. >> finke has turned on >> after shocking the world to win the 800, could he do it again? >> finke, the hero in the 800, is going to beat them all in the 15 one of the most amazing swimmers we've seen in the olympics as far as coming out of nowhere >> i don't think people expected this did you? >> not at all. coming in, i wasn't even expecting a medal. but coming out of this with two medals and -- two golds -- >> yeah, those are gold. >> it means the world. it's a massive dream come true >> a dream made possible by his loving family who cheered him on from florida

>> my dad would always be driving us to 5:00 a.m. morning practices, me and my you sister bickering in the back seat because we were so young he's been there through a lot. >> his are dad, joe, jokes that bobby's good looks come from him, but the phenomenal endurance from his mom >> i was a distance swimmer. the longer, the better >> bobby's other secret weapons? older sisters summer and autumn. both star swimmers who pushed him when he was younger >> when you're younger and swimming, the girls were faster. he always wanted to beat us. >> they helped him with stream lines, flip turns. they were always there for the good, bad, and the ugly. >> bobby and his sisters say they weren't forced into swimming all of them played multiple sports and were taught that character, not medals, is what counts >> he's very humble. he's got some confidence now he's not a bragger or boastful about anything >> he hates compliments. you cannot compliment him on

anything >> after performances that will go down in history, the compliments and the headlines are everywhere "unthinkable." "i finke i can." stars says he's looking forward family and his dog, brewster what is that reunion going to feel like? >> it's going to feel like the world. can't wait to give them a big hug. >> he's such a cool kid. you know what happens, craig, he's always the come from behind guy. i said what do you do? he said i have a special stroke i do just for my sprints i turn those on, turn the jets on it worked both times so he changed his stroke in that last little stretch. he was behind each time. so it was super cool >> and in his mind he's probably also thinking, i finke i can i finke i can. >> he's finke -- ing >> i think he's my favorite of this whole games i love him

>> here is my favorite >> oh, i know. we have to name her, though. >> coming in the 8:30 half hour. hoda, do you have a boost? >> oh, do i have a boost so here is the story that embodies the entire olympic spirit here we go place yesterday with jumps that cleared the bar at 2.37 meters but nearly qatar's asa barsham or italy's gian marco temerly could clear a higher bar so the officials did this. they offered the athletes two options. >> you can please take a close listen >> you can continue with the jump-off >> can we have two golds >> it's possible it depends if you both decide on. >> yeah! >> look at that. look at that

look at that okay the two men said let's share the gold they happen to be, guys, best friends off the track. tamberly attended barshey's wedding a few years ago. they are besties is that amazing? very good monday morning. 8:26. i am laura garcia. no new changes take effect for b.a.r.t. riders. service returning to near prepandemic levels. the biggest change, less trains running midnight monday through saturday instead of 9:00 p.m. also, saturday service begins at 6:00 a.m., with more trains running every line. sunday closures remain at 9:00 p.m. happening today. iconic cable cars back after a 16 month shutdown. there's a testing process,

operators get used to handling the fully loaded cable car. paid service begins in the fall. it has been nice, a clear view of san francisco. not soggy. >> not as soggy, nice and cool. we'll have temperatures in the 80s and low 90s. wednesday, the breeze is strnger, we'll see slight cooling for the valley. san francisco will see highs in the 60s throughout the week, and a little warmer for friday. >> thank you very much. thank you for joining us. another local news update in a half hour. hope to see you then. have a great morning.

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and triple the bacon... i call this burger the perfect triple threat. but you can call it the triple bacon cheesy jack. my $6.99 triple bacon cheesy jack combo. only at jack in the box. see it all happen on "today." you've got a silver medal around your neck >> right i know i would have never thought >> tomorrow on the edge of the history, team usa gymnasts soar into their final run for gold in their final event. it's where the games begin we are back. what a beautiful night we've got here in tokyo. it's a sunny morning, monday morning back at home on the plaza where jenna, sheinelle have joined savannah and al. that's a party i see it >> and the yet to be named

mascot >> we are also in the presence of three-time olympian aly raisman is here. she's been so wonderful at this time, especially helping to educate us about what is going on so excited to have her here. jade carey with gold, mykala skinner with silver. we'll catch up with her in just a bit. also ahead, an olympian who has faced issues on and off the track on the way to an explosive silver medal here in tokyo we cannot wait to talk to keni harrison she's got a real special story if the olympics have you feeling inspired, done velella, former olympian turned chef is here with what you need to improve yor meals and eat like an athlete and by the way, don't forget to tune into our streaming show.

it's a thing we call "today" in 30 tune in for more of our athletes' interviews, all the fun we're having, a peek from behind the scenes. all you have to do is head to today.com at 1:00, 5:00, 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. eastern. right now, though, it's time for al's forecast. we peek around the mascot. >> hello >> as we look at the week ahead, below-average temperatures great lakes into the northeast heavy rain down through the gulf flash flooding into the rockies. as we move into the midweek period, we are looking sunny and seasonal from the great lakes into the northeast it will be spectacular toasty out west. staying stormy along the southeastern atlantic coast into florida. by the way of the week, isolated storms along the east coast. fire danger continues out west but drying out in the rockies. good morning. i am meteorologist kari hall.

we do still have warm weather for inland valleys, and the kind of temperatures over the weekend is what we'll see again today. we're in the upper 80s, low 90s. more of the same tomorrow, slightly hotter. we will get ager ocean breeze picking up wednesday. that will cool our temperatures before we heat up by end of the week. san francisco is looking at highs in the mid-60s. more sunshine by end of the week. and that is your latest weather. now let's focus on this incredible crowd they are decked out, red, white, and blue rooting for team usa. >> i love it so one of the signs, guys, that caught our attention, where is dee dee from the bronx dee dee. are you dee dee? and you're here with your cousin, karen. >> yes >> this is what i love i love your sign

we already have your mascot. have you voted >> yes, i did. >> and savannah, i heard you say this has been sweeping the country. >> oh, look, she's blushing. >> so here is the deal i have my sharpie. do you have an inkling >> i want kyo-kuma >> which means "today bear." we shall see al roker >> let's recap we asked you to name our mascot. as you know, our first round of voting, we had a tie, hinode, which means sunrise, and kyo-kuma which means "today bear." >> to break this tie, we had a bonus round of voting over the weekend. more than 13,000 of you took part so now we are ready to reveal the winner breaking news. >> drum roll >> ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for hinode >> hinode. >> oh, hinode, she's so sweet.

>> wow >> it was another close one, guys final tally, 52-48 but hinode >> hinode means sunrise. >> hinode, it's nice to meet you. >> isn't she the cutest? >> that was our favorite name. >> hinode is what we voted for >> it's fun to say that. >> i love that guys, coming up next, we are going to break down the unexpected twists and turns of gymnastics at these olympics with aly raisman she has been there but first this is "today" on nbc.

>> announcer: today's olympic plaza is sponsored by olay -- face anything. >> welcome back. the u.s. women's gymnastics team has truly shined over the last week in tokyo.

>> they sure have. they've won medal after medal including an individual gold for jade carey, and they've shown strength and poise in the face of many challenges >> and joining us now to talk about it is three-time olympic gymnastics gold medalist aly raisman. >> good morning. >> you've been our guide with all of these unexpected twists and turns. i have to ask you about simone, so thrilling to hear she's able to do the balance beam does that surprise you of everyone, you know what these challenges can be. the balance beam looks terrifying to me to take that on, are you surprised she's going to go for it >> i'm not i've known simone for years. she's so mentally tough. i hope she can finish on a note for this olympic games that she's proud of i'm curious what dismount she's going to decide to do. but simone is so talented, so incredible that i'm sure she can do so many different dismounts, so i'm curious to see what shet

would have done a little more complicated? >> so the one she normally does involves twisting and flipping so i am just curious if that has been hard for her. we saw a video of her coming off the bars and doing -- i don't know if she was trying to do a full in or a double-double and did a 1 1/2 twist. so she either usually does a full in off beam or a double-double. so i'm curious if she's going to do one of those or not twist at all. it will be interesting to see. >> you talked about the pressure that she's under there is so much chatter around the world. do you think she felt like she had to do this, end it on this note >> i think that there has been so much pressure on simone, i saw an article the other day that was saying she was going to win six olympic medals. that leaves no room for any mistake at all and i think people forget that simone is human. she is the greatest gymnast and she's so incredible. but she's also human and she has good days, bad days, anxiety

like the rest of us, and i think it's really incredible that she is going to do this event. just for herself and feel good regardless of the oak, just to do it for herself is so important. and i think it's such a great example for all the gymnasts and everyone that is watching her. life happens, sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days, but you get yourself back up and keep going >> she posted about the twisties most of us don't ever know what that is like have you ever experienced it what is it >> yes, i have experienced it many times simone and i have been in practice together where we've both had, as she says, the twisties i would say i get lost in the air. the vault that she was performing was a 2 1/2 twist off the table, she ended up doing a 1 1/2 twist by accident. i would sometimes do a half twist. so it could be the light in the ceiling that's hitting you a different way. we don't get a lot of practices

in the actual arena that people are competing in so sometimes the equipment is a little bouncier, it's a little harder, the lighting might be a little bit different, there's so many different factors that go into it. your head position might be a little more up one inch can make you feel lost in the air unfortunately, it is so common so it is so heartbreaking that it did happen to her in the team final competition. but some gymnasts, it takes you a day to get it back and sometimes it takes months and sometimes you have to take away the skill entirely but i think she's showing everyone that she's human and she's coming back stronger and i'm excited to watch her tomorrow she's going to be great. >> can we end on a high note, jade carey winning gold, mykala skinner getting silver we know about suni lee she'll get another crack at the balance beam as well these gymnasts have performed under tremendous pressure and more than normal because of that unexpected development with simone biles >> yeah. the gymnasts have done an

incredible job don't forget, also, the last -- many years, usa gymnastics has been a nightmare and these athletes have done an incredible job, you know, the lack of leadership at usa gymnastics has been disappointing to see, and these athletes are coming in and doing an incredible job. they've really stepped up, and i am so proud of them. and they're also there with other families and their loved ones, and i'm just so excited and so proud of them it's been so fun to watch them and i'm excited to watch them tomorrow, too. >> you're a spokesperson for olay, and you say it's so important that we inspire the next generation of girls and women. >> i'm super excited i've been the pleasure of working with olay for a couple years. we did this campaign about the power of a dream i dreamed of going to the olympics and i was 8 years old and we wanted to remind people just how powerful it is when you have a big dream and olay and i are trying to encourage young girls to get into s.t.e.m. because we believe girls can change the whole world

through s.t.e.m. they have a whole mentoring program. and if people want more info, they can go to olay's website. >> you've really helped us i told you earlier, she gave us an all education these last few days we rally appreciate that >> thank you, guys >> you're going to stick around for the fourth hour. up next, the silver medal winner in the women's 100 meter hurt ls, keni haison, she'llrr

we are back from tokyo with one of the fastest women in the world. keni harriorld record holder in the 100 meter hurdles. here in tokyo, she added a silver medal with a lightning fast 12.52 seconds finish. she's here with her brand new hardware to tell us all about

it you have a large cheering section back home. we're going to get to that but i was just thinking about this, keni you trained for years. you missed out in rio. you trained for years for this it's all over in 12.5 seconds, just like that it's over. when you put your feet into the starting blocks, just tell me what was going through your head >> getting into the blocks, i keep telling myself, you have faith. i'm confident. and you got this and just saying those few words to me kept me calm when the gun goes off, i try to give it everything i have. >> oh, my gosh you sure did i couldn't take my eyes off you. you were right there, right on it one of my favorite things to ask people when they get a medal like this, who was your first phone call for you, it's tricky because you have your mom and dad and ten siblings who got the privilege of the first phone call >> my oldest sister, casey i knew she was going to be up. it was late in america she said she was going to wait up for me so i was able to call her as soon as i got back to the

village. >> up a wonderful family you were adopted when you were just a baby. quick quiz name your siblings >> casey, bo, hyung, corey, jojo, corey, victor, gabby, kip. i hope i got everybody >> that is amazing tell me about the cheering section back home. to have that built in is pretty cool >> just to have them support me, they've seen my journey. i know they are so proud of me and signaling to them it brought so much emotion over me and i >> by the way, your mom and dad, they are something special, aren't they? >> they are. >> i was hearing about when your parents were trying to figure out how to cart around ten kids, they got like a marriott van and had to rework it so they could pile all the kids in is that how it went down >> yes i remember going to elementary school in a bus and everyone used to think, oh, what preschool are you going to

and i'm like, i'm going home this is our family car so i just brought a lot of, like, laughter to that >> what do you think your parents did? because you are a lovely human being, you are driven, you are humble like you have all of the things that you want your child to be what was it that your parents taught you growing up? >> i just think they live by example. they're hard working people and, you know, they taught me not to give up and to accomplish your goals, you have to work hard that's just something that i took from them and i'm so happy to be bringing home a gold -- i mean a silver. >> you said gold maybe that's next. are we going to see you competing again? will you do the olympics again >> i want to go as far as my body allows it and i feel like i'm just getting started >> keni, a gold in your future you just manifested that >> i think i did >> we're so proud of you congratulations again. >> thank you guys, back to you.

coming up next, a former olympian now focussed on another passion. we will share some simple tricks to have us all eating like an athlete.

we're back as dylan joins us with a special edition of "today food" featuring an olympian >> she made a name for herself competing in the long jump at the sydney olympics. look at here the next year, she won gold at the indoor world championships before she tore her acl and decided to turn to another passion which was cooking. >> dawn has been nominated for a james beard award finalist in season 18 of "top chef" and set to open her restaurant late august in houston later on this year good morning >> she'll teach us how to eat like an olympian >> good morning. >> good morning.

>> you're a star at everything you do >> i've been told to do the best i can at every endeavor. >> we are not olympians at anything except for eating we excel at that sport >> we have not to start the day with breakfast you say there's three things we have to have every single day. >> i like to say have nuts for rich proteins, a nice proteins, but good and fast for your body. raw fruit and some grains that are rich >> what is this? >> this is a chocolate granola you can put it on vanilla yogurt or maybe on top of a chia seed bowl or something like that. >> that's great. >> and this is a power smoothie. this power smoothie is filled with protein, anti-oxidants and good fuel for your workout in the morning. >> okay. >> and it's a good grab and go breakfast. you know, you can take to the

track with you or whatever >> blueberries >> blueberries, dates and almonds. >> it's delicious. and then avocado you say start your day with some good fat >> exactly so if you are a savory breakfast person, this is a way to go, as well because you have some nice protein. this is a chile paste with almonds in it. >> al swears by this is this the paste you love >> that's the trader joe grape jelly -- >> and then you add almonds in there and then you have a protein packed breakfast for yourself >> now, once you move to lunch, one of the things we never had in tokyo were some greens. >> i haven't eating anything green in two weeks >> i'll help you out with that we all need them, right? here we have a vitamin rich

salad with great anti-oxidant qualities also because it's a tumeric and ginger dressing. what you'll do, top this off a little bit this is a versatile dressing you can use it on chicken, on fishy this chutney. >> yes this is a go-to chutney. it is trechbd trending as far as culture is concerned you can also puree it and make it into a glaze that is functional for roast and things like that. what we did here, we used illustrate as a chutney or a relish on this chicken it's a little bit spicy. it's made with mangos and ginger this amchar marsalla garlic and everything like that. >> dawn, thank you so much >> thank you

my pleasure. >> find the recipes on today.com slb food and she's back on the third hour to tell us how to turn an athlete's meal into a breakfast of champions speaking of champions, our champion weather person, dylan dreyer, happy birthday >> happy birthday. >> i will -- we have a special bubbly for you >> you get cider >> thank you for the cider >> we're going to drink while you have apple cider >> as i ring in 40 >> you're only 40? >> hoda wanted to say happy birthday, too. how old are you, hinode? are you 21 >> no. hinode is just a baby. >> we love you >> you guys are so sweet >> here, dilly dilly, we love you. >> thanks, guys. >> yeah, like they need a reason to drink in tokyo. >> i know. >> sake. >> oh, boy, not again. >> sake. >> it's 8:00 in the morning there. all right. >> much more ahead from here in new york

olympic plaza and tokyo and first on a monday morning, a check off your local news and weather. happen by birthday a very good monday morning to you. it is 8:56. i am laura garcia. breaking news we continue to follow. a wildfire burning in eastern contra costa county on bradford

island. firefighters told everyone to evacuate, but many stayed behind. more than 200 acres burned so far. it is believed two structures destroyed. smoke can be seen all the way to the east bay. we learned that firefighters are not actively fighting the fire because the island does not pay for fire protection. residents stayed behind in large part to try to save their properties. firefighters are making sure it doesn't spread to nearby areas. bob redell has been posting updates to our twitter feed. link to the latest information anytime on the home page. health leaders in some bay area counties appear to be possibly reinstating mask requirements for people indoors to better protect people from fast moving delta variants. announcement may be days away. home page now, more details. ♪ all i want is roost friiiiies ♪

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♪ and we dance ♪ ♪ do the dance, do the dance ♪ ♪ hepa filters cleaning commence ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ alaska safety dance ♪ ♪ alaska safety dance ♪ live from tokyo, japan, this is a special edition of the third hour of "today" at the olympic games. >> good morning and welcome to the third hour of "today" on this monday, august 2nd. how fun is this? >> i love this. i love this. and we have our buddy craig in the box. >> oh, craig is in the box. >> a craig in a box. >> what's up, ladies, mr. roker. i like the wardrobe change, by the way. >> thank you. and i like your -- you get to show off the guns a bit. >> you're doing great. >> i mess