boxes i stand on. we will miss you but wish you the very best. >> yes, we will miss you. >> the deejay, too. oh, he's got the moves! >> "today" show is coming up next. we love you. good morning under fire pressure growing on new york governor andrew cuomo to resign over that bombshell report alleging he sexually harassed 11 women, or face impeachment >> the votes are there comfortably. >> the governor now facing criminal probes and a potentia lawsuit, but saying he's not going anywhere we will have the very latest staggering cases of the coronavirus soar past 200 million worldwide while the delta variant rages across the u.s. just ahead, the alarm being

sounded by doctors on the front lines. the new move by health officials to boost vaccinations and the battle that's erupted over masks. >> if you're coming after the right to parents in florida, i'm standing in your way. >> we have everything you need to know. spirit, not in the sky the airline canceling even more flights. frustration building for thousands of stranded passengers from coast to coast. will things get any better today? all that, plus -- banner day team usa building on its impressive medal haul. gold and silver in the shot put -- >> ah! come on! >> the first medals in the men's 200 meter race in 13 years a teenager winning the first-ever gold in canoeing. >> no one will be able to catch her! >> and overnight, bronze for the u.s. women's soccer team plus, big wins in men's basketball and women's beach

volleyball we've got it all covered and medal winners joining us live. and -- welcome home the u.s. women's gymnastics team returning from a very successful games in tokyo. >> it's suni lee, who's in the top spot. >> overcoming tough competition and unexpected challenges to earn six medals, and -- they're making our olympic plaza their very first stop back in the states, and we can't wait to celebrate with them, "today," clutch. thursday, august 5, 2021. >> allyson felix, though, always clutch. >> can anyone stop this beast? ryan crouser -- a-plus performance today for the united states >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today" at the olympic games with savannah guthrie and hoda

kotb from rockefeller plaza. [ cheers and applause >> so happy you're joining us on thursday -- this is wild this is wild. >> we are a little -- got the giggles. hoda, i mean, come on. >> look who's here >> just got back in town look who's here, straight off the plane. a few of your friends, arriving right from tokyo the entire u.s. women's gymnastics team. >> oh, my god! >> at our plaza. hello, ladies. >> amazing won the silver competition all-around suni lee, four individuals medals y'all look so good this morning on the plaza [ cheers ] >> funny, you guys rode home on the plane together. >> were all together. >> put them in the team wagon, bring them here. nobody knows if it's morning or night. we're so happy you're here a big reunion, suni and her

parents right here on the plaza in a few minutes. getting to the news. new trouble for embattled governor andrew cuomo is our top story in the wake of that report from the state's attorney general detailing harassment allegations by 11 women. the governor now facing criminal probes and new calls to resign or face impeachment. we get started with nbc's senior national correspondent kate snow, who joins us with the latest kate, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah governor cuomo spent wednesday holed up out of sight in albany, new york, in the capital as more democrats who once supported him now demand he step down. a new snap poll shows the majority of new yorkers want that, too. this morning, it appears andrew cuomo's options may be running out as new york state democrats issue a stark warning for think governor resign now or impeachment is inevitable. >> make no mistake, if he does not step down immediately, the legislature is prepared to move

forward and the votes are there comfortably for impeachment. >> reporter: a longtime cuomo loyalist, head of new york's democratic party urging him to step aside, saying in part the party in this state will not the well served by a long protracted removal process. if the state assembly draws up articles of impeachment, cuomo would have sew temporarily step aside during a trial in the state senate, something that happen happened there in over a century. >> i called for the governor to resign because i believe we need to put this behind us and move forward in order to take care of new yorkers and new york >> reporter: governors in neighboring states who once partnered with cuomo to combat the coronavirus now say it's over. >> i'm appalled by the treatment of, that these women had to put up with. the governor has to resign. >> somebody in my administration had done that, they wouldn't be in my administration anymore. >> reporter: the three-term governor also facing potential

legal action with a 165-page report from the state's attorney general from unwanted physical contact to inappropriate and harassing comments, at least four district attorney in new york where the alleged incidents took place now asking the a.g. for documents. a lawyer for accuser lindsey boylan says her client plans to file a civil suit for allegedly retaliating against her for going public. what does lindsey want out of filing suit? >> she wants to file this lawsuit so other survivors understand that there is a path forward. she wants other survivors to know that this kind of retaliationary behavior is not okay. >> reporter: governor cuomo denied he touched anyone inappropriately and has apologized for making anyone uncomfortable. one of the only people defending governor cuomo publicly, former new york city mayor and former trump confidant rudy guiliani

saying on twitter, kuo me a may be guilty but we used to have trials before convictions. savannah >> kate snow, thank you. covid's renewed surge worldwide, the number of cases now surpassing a staggering total. more than 200 million. here in the u.s., infections increased sixfold in the past month alone. but news that the fda could be moving faster on final approval for one vaccine has some feeling cautiously optimistic. nbc's morgan chesky is in hard-hit new orleans with more morgan, good morning. >> reporter: hey, hoda good morning to you. doctors say this final approval cannot come fast enough in the hard-hit south their hope is that more vaccinations can hopefully slow down record hospitalizations filling up these rooms here at children's hospital in new orleans, doctors are spotting a troubling new trend more children get seriously ill with covid this morning even with vaccinations now doubling in the biggest hot spots, most of the

country seeing a dangerous spike in cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant promising news in the fight the fda could soon grant full approval for the pfizer vaccine by early september some experts are optimistic that could persuade some of the 90 million americans still unvaccinated to line up for shots. >> moving towards full approval will dramatically increase vaccine rates amongst the unvaccinated. >> reporter: across the country some are taking unprecedented steps to slow the surge. in san francisco, people who received the one-shot j&j vaccine can get a supplemental dose of pfizer or moderna if they want it, something the cdc has not approved new york city becoming first in the nation to require proof of at least one shot for all patrons at indoor public spaces like restaurants, gyms and entertainments centers starting in september. >> if you're unvaccinated, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate in many things. >> reporter: in new jersey, the governor addressing a group of

anti-vax protesters at an event. >> you've lost your minds. you are the ultimate knuckleheads because of what you are saying and standing for, people are losing their life. >> reporter: in the hard-hit south the delta variant is overwhelming icus. >> there's only so many beds, only so many doctors and nurses. >> reporter: in louisiana, one in five new covid cases is among children. >> with this new delta variant, we can see very clearly that children can be severely infected, and affected. >> reporter: kids like 16-year-old riley breaux, eligible for a vaccine but didn't get one she contracted covid last week and ended up in a hospital. after spending three days on oxygen, she's now finally going home >> i never dreamed that she would be in the hospital it's hard. >> reporter: and riley's parents tell me it was after having

conversations with staff here at the hospital that they were convinced to set up their appointment for their vaccinations, and doctors say if a child is still too young to get vaccinated the best thing you can do is have vaccinated adults around them calling it an essential buffer against t spread of the virus. >> yeah. >> reporter: hoda? >> morgan chesky there in new orleans. thank you. also this morning, travel troubles are mounting during the peak of the summer travel season, and the timing could not be worse for thousands of spirit passengers stranded in airports with the airline canceling hundreds of flights every day this week. nbc's tom costello covers aviation for us. tom, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. the rumor is there's a pilot strike that rumor is not true this is a combination of, according to the airline, bad weather, computer problems, staffing shortages, and the surge and summer airline travel. look at the cancellations today and through the week 45% of flights canceled on spirit airlines today alone. that's 359 flights tuesday and wednesday, 60% of

flights canceled on monday, 40% canceled. today we're looking at yet another day of aggravation. after a week of delays, cancellations, long lines, and angry passengers, spirit airlines is today in for another rough day after canceling well over 1,000 flights all week. >> going over there -- we're going to go back -- >> reporter: with stranded passengers stuck in hours in long lines unable to rebook. orlando, san juan, las vegas, newark and fort lauderdale. >> just stay in the line for, like, three hours waiting's nothing. nothing happening. >> reporter: spirit tells nbc news we've dealt with overlapping operational challenges including weather, system outages, and staffing shortages that caused widespread irregularities in operation and impacted crew schedules. spirit isn't alone

american airlines also canceled hundreds of flights this week, struggling to meet the surge in summertime travel with bad weather hitting dfw airport in dallas >> the demand has been way out of control in terms of the airline capacity, and so they've got a real problem and their problem, then, translates to consumer problems as well. >> reporter: meanwhile, yet another air rage incident in a year of bad behavior 22-year-old maxwell berry allegedly drunk accused of groping and hitting frontier flight attendants while boasting his parents are wealthy. taped to his seat by the flight crew and passengers until the plane could land safely in miami. miami police charged him with battery. his case making headlines as the faa now reports a stunning 3,700 cases of unruly behavior just this year on passenger planes.

>> when people are facing jail time for acting out on a plane, we suddenly see some sobering up >> reporter: yeah. here are the penalties for acting up on a plane $35,000 fine is the top end. jail time and banned for life by the airlines now the faa chief sending a letter to airports and specifically airport bars encouraging them not to send passengers out of their airport bars with a to-go cup of alcohol. that's been a problem. people carrying that alcohol on the planes and often they're intoxicated. savannah, back to you. >> not a good mix. tom, back to the cancellations with spirit. really any airline what do experts say you should do if you get stranded >> reporter: listen, in the case of spirit, people are really in a pickle here. this is a low-cost airline a lot of passengers have said, okay, going rebook on another airline. trouble is the ticket may be $1,200 and they've got a $200 spirit ticket.

that becomes simply out of bounds for them. you can get your money back if the airline cancels your flight, if the delay much beyond what a normal delay should be and you can download the app making sure you're up to date on the latest cancellations. in the case of spirit now, those customers are really stuck. >> tom costello, keep us updated. thank you very much. can we turn the corner is it time >> let's go. >> it's time to talk olympics, guys it is day 12 at the olympics a busy one for team usa. craig from tokyo, hey, craigor. >> good morning. good morning to you as well. on day 12, and we've seen some really remarkable performances in track and field specifically, including a one-two finish for team usa and american winning the first gold ever in one sports olympic debut several u.s. teams advancing to

the gold medal matches as well, and that's just for starters nbc's tom llamas covering all for us once again. hey, tom >> reporter: craig, good morning to you we actually just saw the women's 400 meter relay team take first place in their heat. they're looking tough. a much different story on a different relay team on the men's side they had a horrible day, and a problem again with the baton you're about to see that in soccer, megan rapinoe unstoppable. at one point she looked like she was competing in karate with a roundhouse kick that sent the ball straight into a goal. overnight, the u.s. women's soccer squad reminding the world how they play, taking down australia and winning the bronze medal. a big rebound after failing to medal in rio. >> in the corner, going for gold and scores >> reporter: megan rapinoe knocking in two early and exciting goals while another veteran, carli lloyd, added two more >> it's 4-1! >> reporter: on the track. >> here comes parchment.

>> reporter: a stunner in the hurdling, jamaica's runner chasing down usa's grant holloway to take the gold. holloway snagging silver a shocker in the 4x100 relay team use failing to qualify for the final. carl lewis blasting the team on twitter calling the loss a total embarrassment. >> the canadian is going to win! >> reporter: in the men's 200, canada's andre de grasse sprinting back noah lyles for a fifth career olympic medal and a first gold. >> straight through to the finals >> reporter: looking for her tenth medal and first as a mom usa track legend allyson felix clinching her spot in the women's 400 final. her 2-year-old daughter watching highlights with pride.tired? >> reporter: on the >> mommy tired. >> mommy tired >> reporter: on the court, team usa's men's basketball pulling away from australia in the second half, 97-78, led by kevin

durant's 23 points the u.s. is now one win away from four straight golds. >> one, two, three. >> all: usa! >> reporter: in beach and alix klineman dominated volleyball, american's april ross and alix klineman dominated switzerland, playing through sweltering heat, now going for the gold and out of the hospital after suffering a head injury during this scary crash in last week's semifinal.

that's the latest from track and field and all the olympics craig, i'm going to send it back to you >> thank you, tom. thank you, good sir. we point out many of those gold medal winners joining us live throughout the morning here in tokyo. and back to beach volleyball you can watch that a-team. april ross, alix klineman go for

gold live tonight here on nbc. coverage starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern. ladies, back to you in new york. >> a good one. a lot more to get to, including the latest effort on california's largest wildfire, so-called dixie fire tearing the town has about 800 people. the fire has been going about three weeks fueled by intense winds and grown to more than 400 square miles across two counties thankfully, no reports of injuries the area had been evacuated earlier this week. al, they're obviously dealing with tough conditions there. >> this is a top ten fire for them of all time unfortunately, the conditions are still ripe for that. we are looking at a high risk of lightning and gusty winds. wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour and elevated to critical risk for wildfires we'll be watching that plus the smoke unhealthy air for sensitive groups of folks. fires reported in 13 different states as we make our way to the east we are going to be looking at a

lot of wet weather just off the coast, bringing in heavier rain to the east end of long island into new england this long, slow-moving system making its way to the north, bringing in rounds of rain and the coast of new england pushing off with maybe one two three inches of rain throughout that area rest of the country, sizzling heat out west drought in the northeast and great lakes but heavy rain down through florida. we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ good thursday morning.

i'm meteorologist, kari hall. taking a look at the temperatures and high today. reaching into the mid-60s in san francisco and upper 60s in oakland. a high of 76 in san jose and 85 in concord. upper 70s for most of the north bay. temperatures in the mid-80s today for warm spots and it will be hotter, and then cooler by next week. and that is your latest weather, my young cats. >> thank you, good sir. all right, guys. coming up, a special moment on the track team usa first medals in the men's 200 meter final in 13 years, and the guys who grabbed it will join craig live! >> plus -- as proud as we are of suni lee and her all-around gold that can't hold candle to her family's joy this morning. guys, reuniting live right here on the plaza, first time since suni had that remarkable

performance and we all get to witness it witness it but first, this is "today" on 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, hey, wildly talented women coming up, hey, wildly talented women of team usa gymnastics on the plaza >> a fun morning for their homecoming, after your local news. just think, he'll be driving for real soon. every new chevy equinox comes standard with chevy safety assist including automatic emergency braking.

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although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. now as you're thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. good morning. 7:26. i am marcus washington sz. i am cierra johnson in san francisco. big news coming from drugmaker, moderna. their vaccine shot produced a robust response to the highly contagious delta variant. i'm bob redell in dublin

where later today we are expected to see the air quality get much worst, and there's an air advisory for today and tomorrow because the wildfire smoke coming from three wildfires burning north of us, and that smoke likely to push into alameda, solano, and marin, and most of the smoke expected to stay in the upper atmosphere, and not at ground level and not expected to affect your breathing. kari hall has a look at the temperatures for us. >> starting out cloudy and cool across the bay area and some spots warming up today, heading for the mid-80s inland, and we will see a hazy sky, and air quality may get worst as highs reach in the low 90s in the valley. san francisco continuing with clouds and fog that may linger throughout the day with highs in the 60s. marcus? >> thanks, kari. we will have another local

news update coming up in 30 minutes. see you back here then. ♪♪

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[ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause we are back. it is 7:30 good morning it is thursday [ cheers and applause we are back it is 7:30, it is thursday. we're out on the plaza, and everybody's feeling excited! a lot of reasons to smile. yes! >> all: usa! >> we have a lot to cheer for. >> this is so awesome out here >> i knew you would love it. so much to smile about craig, reasons to cheer here and you have reasons to cheer there in tokyo >> yeah. so many reasons, in fact

stand-out performances in sports sports old and new overnight helping athletes increase that lead in the medal count in the competition here in tokyo. far from over. >> you got it. well, craig, of the many superstars we've seen grab the spotlight, perhaps none is quite shining as bright at suni lee. suni lee clinched the all-around in gymnastics. guess what she's here live, but with us also is suni's very proud family in a moment, they will reunite for the first time since suni left tokyo, but first, a look a. >> reporter: her inspiring journey. >> it's suni lee, who's in the top spot >> reporter: at just 18 years old, suni lee returns home from tokyo a champion. >> welcome to the most exclusive gymnastics club, suni. >> reporter: a gold medal in the gymnastics individual all-around, a silver in the team competition, and a bronze on the

uneven bars. her specialty. every flip, vault and landing, cheered by her family and tight-knit community back at hmong in minnesota supporting her from the very beginning -- her father john. even building a balance beam in their backyard when the family could not afford one but the journey has not been easy just before the national championships in 2019, john fell from a ladder, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. >> i had to get stronger my balance, not so great but i'm learning how to cope with that. >> reporter: his long road to recovery inspiring suni to never give up. you spoke about your dad, and you said the olympics, that's our dream. >> he always tells me if i win the gold medal he would come out on the ground and do a back flip it's sad that he can't be here and that he's still not able to walk, but this is our dream, and this is our medal.

>> reporter: what do you mean, it's "our" medal >> we both worked for this he sacrificed everything to put me in gymnastics, both of my parents really have. >> reporter: saying the community deserves credit. many came to the u.s. as refugees after the vietnam war forming lifelong bonds like an extended family. >> they helped me a lot. they sacrificed a lot for me they support me, like, so much. >> reporter: her success inspiring the next generation of girls. >> when i watch her, it makes me want to work harder to be like her. >> oh! >> yeah. >> go suni lee >> oh, man this is going to be good joining us now on the plaza, suni's parents yang and john her brother and sister jonah and cheyenne all right. you guys have not seen this little girl since she won those medals, have you >> no. >> is it time? do you want to see her? >> yes.

>> suni lee, please, come on out and see your family. [ cheers and applause >> oh! [ cheers ] >> you did great awesome. you did it >> oh. >> you okay? >> yeah. >> look -- we have to confess. you actually saw your sister yesterday. your brother -- >> can't keep these two apart. >> suni, okay, you said while in tokyo, this medal was for us. >> yes. >> you talked about your dad tell us what it was like seeing him for the first time >> amazing i haven't seen him in so long. to see them here and be with me in new york is amazing i feel so proud and so happy to see them.

>> suni, i think i remember you saying you wanted to put that medal around your dad's neck do you want to do that now >> yes. >> it belongs to him too doesn't it >> yep. >> thank you >> oh -- >> got to make it look good. [ cheers and applause >> suni, little did you know you'd bring one home for mom, too! [ applause ] >> i think cheyenne wants one and so does jonah. >> so, john, how does it feel to have that medal around your neck >> oh, my gosh i don't know i -- i never have thought that i would ever get one of these, and she did it she brought it home. i'm so, so proud of her. so surprised everything. good job. >> yang, i heard you were crying a lot of tears, that's what john

said, but happy tears the past few weeks. what has it been like for mom watching your little one from afar just shine on this world stage under so much pressure >> it's like happy tears you know like, just thinking all of the hard work that she has done, you know, in the past four years, and every time when she has a bad day and comes home crying and then that kind of hurts me and so seeing her with the gold medal and winning these medals is just, it made me happy, and so i feel like, happy tears. you know >> john, all of those years ago, you built a balance beam in the backyard for your little girl. you couldn't afford to buy one, so you were going to build one back in those days, could you ever imagine here we'd be sitting, you'd a gold medal draped around your neck that your little girl won in the all-around at 18 years old >> that beam was built out of -- a piece of wood. right? never thought would be wearing one of these because of that

beam. it is just incredible. and -- i love that beam now. >> we all do i feel like i took advantage of it. >> what about your sister? are you proud of her >> i'm so proud. i'm -- i'm crazy about it. i love it. i'm so proud of her. >> yeah. >> suni, this is a magical moment i know you've waited for this, and if you were just going to tell your dad what he's meant to you over the years, because he's been there since the beginning obviously, after this devastating injury, but what would you say to him >> i mean, i would say, thank you, like i wouldn't be here without you. i wouldn't be here without any of you this whole dream has been amazing and an incredible journey. to have you all here with me is just amazing. >> you who would love to be here with you, 300, 400 of the hmong community. you put out the word and ended up having 500 people to come out to cheer for suni.

that was incredible. >> we did it in about a day, a day and a half we had to get the place. so the -- the center was, a relative of ours, so able to give it to us, and then spiked from 50 to 100 people and ended up over 300, 400 people. >> yeah. pretty incredible, and suni, i don't think you have any idea how many young girls you've inspired by what you did you just did your thing, and you ended up turning on a whole bunch of other little girls. so ladies and gentlemen, can we say congratulations to suni lee and her family, and guys, our celebration was just getting started. [ cheers and applause >> we'll chat with all of her teammates coming up. craig, back to you >> ladies, from here in tokyo, a celebration that was twice as nice for team usa taking silver and bronze in the men's 200

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heart-pounding sprint two first-time olympians became medal winners. silver for kenny bednarek, pride and joy of wisconsin, and 24-year-old noah lyles, reigning world champion taking bronze and also winning a lot of hearts for what he said after that race gentlemen, congratulations congratulations! >> thank you. >> kenny, let me start with you. both first-time olympians, you ran a personal record. how does it feel >> feels really amazing. all my hard work the year, just coming up to this, paid off. you know, running a personal best especially in the finals is something to behold. looking forward in the future and continuing from this. >> noah, you, after the race, i saw your interview, and you said something. you said a couple things that stood out to me, but you said that it was boring to be a bronze medal winner. what did you mean by that? >> boring? no i've been a winner and winning

for a very long time, and actually, you know, losing in that race in these olympics was only my second loss in my whole pro career, and, you know, i don't like bronze. i'm not satisfied with bronze. it's boring. you know i want to go for gold, but at the same time, i got to put things into perspective, and, you know, my coach and my agent both represented tyson gay, known as one of the greatest american sprinters and he doesn't even have an olympic medal, and i had to think to myself, wow, i was able to grab one. >> perspective is important. you also -- you've also made a lot of news in that postinterview talking about a lot of athletes talking about -- talked about mental health why did you feel in that moment it was so important to shine a spotlight on mental health and struggles that young athletes are dealing with >> yeah. i'm always talking about mental health in my career, now as i got more and more popular, i got more and more attention and people watching me so i feel that i was able to

reach an even a bigger audience. saying it then wasn't any different from when i was saying it back in -- a few years ago, but every time i say it, i say it with the intention i know there's somebody out there who is probably struggling the same issues that i was, and i want them to know that there is ways to feel better you know they don't have to keep feeling that way. >> how have you dealt with it? >> i have -- i've been fortunate enough to have my mother, who's been in therapy most of her life, and she got me in very early. i now have two therapists, one for my personal life and one for my sports life and not only that, i have a huge, amazing team of a brother, a mother, i have seven siblings. >> got a village. >> exactly and it takes a village, and i have an amazing girlfriend and everybody's very supportive and we all keep tabs on each other. >> kenny, quickly, before you go, i want to ask you about the carl lewis tweet, because he

took the relay team to task, critical he said he's seen aau squads better than that why are we not better at the relay? >> i mean, like he said, seen better with the aau squad. very disappointed to see how we did there. i feel we can do a lot better than that. we just need to make sure, just be more organized, and just -- i don't know do something different you know get us more involved and tell us what's what in practice. you know a couple -- more -- not a couple days before the event. get in a training camp all of that is necessary. >> we're not deciding who's racing in the relay before a day or two of the event at the even olympics >> i mean, yeah, we weren't even in the loop. asking my coach a couple days before we even got to the 200. hey, when are we practicing, doing this, doing that everything was up in the loop. like, no communication at all. >> thank you. congratulations. kenny, noah, thank you thanks for all you said after the race as well

you helped a lot of people. by the way, we should remind you, you can watch all the action on the track and across these tokyo olympics live and all you have to do is take out that smartphone right now. scan the qr code there it is right there. qr code. do that for the nbc sports app ms. guthrie. >> all right, craig. >> all righty, all righty! >> a great conversation. really appreciate that. al, a check of the weather >> absolutely. let's show you what's happening across the country we start out west. sizzling heat, high fire danger. in northern california, and in the northwest. heavier showers through southern texas. heavy rain through florida, pleasant conditions ohio river valley into the northeast. good thursday morning. i am meteorologist, kari hall. a cloudy start across the bay area but it will clear out and our inland areas will be comfortable. temperatures are heating up in

the low 90s inland, and cooler for the rest of the weekend. as we head into next week 80s expected. san francisco will see foggy conditions with highs reaching in the 60s throughout the weekend. weather. >> thank you, al. still ahead, one of team usa's most inspiring stories diver jordan windle, adopted by a loving father from a cambodian orphanage. the uplifting conversation we shared with both of them. but first, these messages. it's the most comfortable, body-sensing, automatically-responding, energy-building, dually-adjustable, dad-powering, wellness-boosting, foot-warming, temperature-balancing, recovery-assisting, effortlessly life-changing proven quality night sleep we've ever made. save up to $1,000 on select sleep number 360 smart beds and adjustable bases. plus, no interest until january 2024 on all smart beds ends monday. lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose.

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microban 24. touch after touch, it doesn't give up. good morning. it's 7:56. i am marcus washington. here's what is happening now. >> i am bob redell in dublin, and later today we are expecting to see the air quality get much worse. there's an air advisory for today and tomorrow because of the wildfire smoke coming from three wildfires burning north of us. that smoke initially to move into napa, marin, alameda, contra costa and solano. it will not be at ground level and not expected to affect your breathing. and then i am cierra johnson. a booster shot from moderna showing the vaccine booster shot

produced a robust response against the highly contagious delta variant. the drugmaker says it produced a promising immune response against three variants including the delta variant. and now for a look at our weather. meteorologist, kari hall, standing by. >> we have the clouds and the fog right now. it's going to gradually clear out for the inland areas but stay foggy near the coast. the temperatures reach into the 80s and then tomorrow it will be hotter and possibly smoky. as we go into early next week, a little cooldown with the stronger ocean breeze, but overall not really changing for san francisco. we have the fog and highs in the upper 60s with peeks of sunshine for the weekend. marcus? >> thanks, kari. we will have another local news weather update coming up in 30 minutes. hope to see you back here then.

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it's 8:00 on "today. coming up, on the rise coronavirus hit a new milestone as officials urge americans to get vaccinated to slow the spread and this morning, the promising news in that fight what we're learning about the fda's final approval for the pfizer vaccine. >> moving towards full approval will dramatically decrease the virus and increase the vaccine rates among the unvaccinated >> live with everything you need to know. plus, triumphant team usa from shot put. >> 28-year-old from oregon starts with a throw past 22 meters hello!

>> to canoeing >> and the first-ever olympic gold medal in women's canoeing. >> to women's soccer earning bronze just ahead, highlights from tokyo and an incredible story about an olympic diver who owes it all to his adoptive dad. >> he sacrificed just so much and done everything for me, and having him at the olympic trials, i can feel how much he supports me. >> our conversation with father and son straight ahead and flipping out the women's gymnastic team taking over our plaza for a very special homecoming >> oh! >> are you okay? >> yeah. >> they'll join us live afte returning home from tokyo just hours ago. our special conversation, "today," thursday, august 5, 2021 ♪ i got you ♪ [ cheers ] >> we're from --

>> all: easton, michigan. >> all: anchorage, alaska. >> all: ohio. >> all: miami, florida. >> all: we love you, jade carey and congratulations to the u.s. women's gymnastics team ♪ >> all: usa! >> suni. >> gordon. >> simone! >> welcome home! [ cheers ] welcome back thank you for starting your thursday with us hey, guys, we've got a special day on the plaza don't we >> on this day, the u.s. women' gymnastics team returned to the u.s., returned triumphant and decided to make their very first stop right here to this plaza. >> shall we give them the introduction they deserve as they arrive? ladies and gentlemen -- grace mccallum [ cheers ]

jordan chiles! jade carey, suni lee, and simone biles! [ cheers and applause >> this is the first time they really, meeting their fans after being in tokyo, and seeing empty stadiums well, they are getting the applause they could imagine. >> soak it in, ladies! >> all: usa! usa! usa! usa! >> it is so great to see, when we were competing in the arena it was fairly quiet, and it is fun to watch them get embraced by this crowd we love y'all so much. hi, jade [ cheers ] we're going to chat with them. a lot of fun. >> probably a little overwhelming too, considering they just got off the plane a few hours ago. >> but they were partying in times square we saw you

we'll talk about that in a little bit first, craig's in tokyo to get us caught up on the latest olympic action. hey, craig >> hey, hoda, savannah gymnastics wrapped up here in tokyo, but things are heating up in track and field for team usa including a really exciting one-two finish in one event in particular nbc's tom llamas over in olympic stadium covering it all for us hey, tom. >> reporter: hey, craig, good morning again. team usa finally has a gold put, medal on the men's side in track and field thanks to shot put, ryan crouser, took that 16-foot shot and launched it in a new olympic record the women's soccer team also showed up reminding us of that team that won the world cup. >> in the corner, going for goal scores >> reporter: the u.s. women's soccer team came out strong in its final game in tokyo taking

an early and commanding lead over australia, beating them 4-3 and winning the bronze medal match. >> first-ever bronze medal for the u.s. women's national team at the olympic games >> reporter: from the field to the track olympians battling heat, hurdles and heartbreak. >> reporter: the u.s. >> just got out-run here. >> reporter: the u.s. mens 4x100 relay failing to qualify for the final after bumbling a baton transfer, placing sixth. >> the story is the u.s. men are out. >> i did what i could do. >> reporter: other u.s. sprinters fared better grant holloway grabbing the silver in the 110 meters final and noah liles taking the bronze in the men's 200 meter final behind teammate kennive in bednarek and degrasse, who won gold >> you said it was boring to be a bronze medal winner. what did you mean by that? >> it was boring i've been a winner, winning for a very long time and actually losing in that race in these olympics was only my second loss

in my whole pro career, and, you know, i don't like bronze. i'm not satisfied with bronze. that's boring. i want to go for gold. >> you would have to say an a-plus performance today for the united states. >> reporter: on the beach americans april ross and alix klineman both from southern california and so far undefeated in tokyo beating switzerland in straight sets advancing to the gold medal match while many athletes are sprinting for gold, other olympians are walking to the finish line. the men's 20 kilometer race walking requires competitors to keep one foot in contact with the ground at all times. italy's mossimo with a unique stride able to pick up the pace winning gold love the race walkers. all right. throughout the olympics, we've been showing you great moments that signify and highlight the olympic spirit saw a great one recently this is great britain's katerina johnson. take a look what happened with her. she was suffering from an injury in her thigh in the 200 meter.

sort of cramped up they offered her a wheelchair. she refused this and actually decided to finish on her own she walked the rest of the way you could see she was struggling she was in pain, but clearly she doesn't have a medal but clearly an olympic champion, craig somebody who can finish a race like that in pain shows you how tough the athletes are, what they go through and how important to always finish the race craig? >> yep that is why she is an olympian and why you and i talk about the olympics, mr. llamas thank you, sir, and, of course, we'll have much more from here in tokyo. >> reporter: the speed walking thing. >> i don't even think we can do that, my friend. we will send it back to new york for now, though. s.g. >> i've seen you race walk to the sake bar, though, craig. a couple of times. >> true. we'll move to another story. a big story this morning unfortunately the coronavirus surging once again as the number of worldwide cases passes an astounding milestone more than 200 million. here in the u.s., infections

increased sixfold in just the past month nbc's morgan chesky is in new orleans for us, one of the nation's hot spots once again. morgan, good morning >> reporter: yeah, savannah, good morning doctors here are hoping final approval for pfizer's vaccinesod slow down hospitalizations here in the state of louisiana, and across the country seeing unprecedented steps to try to curve the spread of this virus new york city becoming first in the nation to require proof of at least one shot for patrons of any indoor public place like a restaurant, gym, nightclub or other entertainment venue. here in louisiana doctors are seeing a troubling new trend - younger patients getting seriously ill from covid one in five new cases in this state is a teenager or a child they are seeing patients come in suffering from high fevers they struggle to breathe we actually had a chance to speak to a 16-year-old riley breaux, a healthy teenager who just left this hospital amp

spending three days here on oxygen her parents telling me they were unsure of the vaccine initially, but after speaking to staff here they're now convinced they need to get it themselves, and they set up those appointments hoping that other people can hear from their lesson before it's too late savannah >> all right, morgan chesky in new orleans for us thank you. time for the "morning boost. here we go. so many touching moments in tokyo. this one right there on top. tom mentioned ryan crouser set an olympic record in shot put and amazingly on his first throw. second throw, by the way, went even farther, and another even farther than that, but here's what's really going to tug at your heartstrings after crouser won the medal he dedicated the victory to his great grandfather, who died just a week before the games began. he held up a sign. he said, "grandpa, we did it 2021 olympic champion.

" and the olympian especially misses his grandpa first time he ever threw that shot put in his grandpa's backyard he did it for him. we heard that theme. haven't we >> we have beautiful. every olympian has a story a beautiful story. he'll be in our next hour, the third hour of "today." >> great. and we are in the presence of greatness. >> oh, really? oh, i'm sorry. why don't you come over, suni, grace, simone, here they are >> we're going to get up >> oh, come on sit down >> there's room. room over here. >> simone biles. >> squeeze on in here. we're going to have a nice chat. >> the prompter -- want to read? the tease, what does it say? >> much more on "today" right after this >> yeah! gold medals! [ cheers and applause or fourth time streaming that period drama dan...

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good morning. i am meteorologist kari hall. we're starting out with cloudy sky, mist and drizzle near the coast. going to clear out for inland areas, be a nice, comfortable day, highs in the mid-80s. for tomorrow, a lot more clear sky. unfortunately more smoke likely as our temperatures heat to the low 90s. the heatup doesn't last long. we cool off by early next week. san francisco, we'll keep it foggy with highs in the upper 60s. and that is your latest weather. ladies >> all right, al we've been teasing it all morning. it is time we're going to have some fun with the women of team usa gymnastics fresh from tokyo. fresh -- kind of. we got simone biles, suni lee, grace mccallum, jordan chiles and jade carey ladies, welcome. welcome, welcome. >> this is kind of your first

taste of being home, having a crowd, feeling adored and loved. so, simone what does it feel like getting back? >> it feels amazing especially to have all the support and love back here in the states and feel that it feels really nice. >> feels strange overwhelming everybody cheering you on? >> yes. >> yeah. >> not a bad feeling >> jordan what are you feeling >> i feel very honored this is an amazing feeling happy to be back in the united states something we've all been waiting for, so -- >> you guys just got back from tokyo yesterday. >> yeah. >> and then i've already seen on instagram hit the town a little bit. what's going on? >> yeah. >> raise your hand if you were in times square? oh you guys know how to have some fun. what i love is y'all were watching gymnasts perform in times square and y'all were freaking out watching them were people freaking out watching you guys? what happened, suni, when they saw y'all? >> they were asking for pictures and stuff like that. >> they were

>> it was so cool. >> did it feel strange >> yeah. it does feel strange just walking around the town and everyone asking for pictures but it was really cool. >> isn't it kind of weird? i know you guys are kind of famous but now you are household names. now, grace, when you walk around, people know you. jade, they know you. what is that feeling like for you, grace >> i don't know. kind of weird. like walking around having people ask, like, oh, are you grace? i'm like -- >> people asking, can you guys record something for our kids? i guess you have to get used to that everybody kind of wants to have a little piece of you. does that feel exciting or a little bit scary, a little overwhelming simone, what advice would you give you're the veteran. >> i feel like it's overwhelming set your boundaries and stick with that. >> yeah. >> i think what struck me about you guys over there, not just how amazing you were but how amazing you were for each other. i want to know what sportsmanship was in the

dictionary i would look up this team i would look up how you guys were there for each other. simone, how you are leading the cheering suni, when you won, we all felt like "we" won together when you all won the silver, we all felt it, jade. when you hit that gold -- i have videos of us freaking out. the ones i'm going to cherish. talk to me about that sisterhood and that sportsmanship >> i think honestly, we all have just a little, like that piece of us we all can get to each other, even if it's just, like, supporting or giving each other encouraging words. so the sportsmanship aspect of everything is literally just us being together and bonding it definitely helps. >> jordan, you cried literally shots of you sobbing while simone was nailing her routine. you were like -- that's love right there. >> yes >> jordan and simone, pretty

good friends before, but did you guys really know each other all that well from competitions? was this kind of a bonding, was it kind of a bonding experience? >> yes, and, like -- >> yeah, we're kind of always h together and stuff even at competitions we're always cheering each other on. >> and jade, you just get up and look at your gold medal? that gold medal hanging around your neck is something incredibly special. >> yes i just love it so much. >> have you been sleeping with your medals, putting it under your pillow? >> put it in your carry-on. >> yes. >> got to make sure. got to ask al roker. i think he's got a couple of questions from the crowd who do you got, al >> indeed we do. christine from ulbrich, new jersey you have questions >> yes a bunch of us are teachers and would like to know when we go back and brag we met you because we're so proud of you and we love you so much, but what advice would you give to our students who have olympic-sized

dreams >> that's a good question, you guys. >> yeah. >> i would say to dream big. never give up. even if you're walking on that road alone it pays off. >> yeah. >> what does it take jordan to really get here >> it takes a lot of dedication. a lot of dedication, and also the right support that can be behind you for your whole entire journey. >> as well as hard work and sacrifices. >> yes. >> and it takes a lot of courage sometimes to do things that people didn't expect you had a second, simone, to sit with everything that happened because now you've been on a flight a time to rest and reflect on it. >> i feel like i'm so overwhelmed, but i truly believe everything's supposed to happen for a reason, and although it didn't go as planned, the cards that i was played with, i think it ended up better than i expected. >> have you thought, simone, like -- do you feel like you know now why, why it happened then

what kind of brought it on >> i have no idea, but i'll be forever grateful for that moment and everything that happened, because back in one piece, have a good head on my shoulders and i feel -- i just feel fine. >> good head on your shoulders and two more medals around your neck. >> yes. >> mr. roker, another question for us >> antonio from miami, florida what's your question >> so, how -- all your other achievements. >> one more time. >> antonio. >> how did these medals from tokyo compare to all of your other achievements >> oh. >> that's a good question. >> yeah. >> i think these medals just mean a lot more to all of us because we went through so much on the floor and just behind the scenes nobody could see. i feel like it's just more memorable and just means a lot more. >> especially with the whole extra year of all of us training with covid and all of that stuff. >> okay. grace? >> i agree i think it kind of shows all our hard work in the gym and the extra year's paid off.

>> definitely. were there times i mean, having that extra year is hard. the old grandma, we don't even then i mean, that extra year. that's hard! to keep your motivation and also keep yourself in shape i mean -- >> right. >> talk about how difficult that was. >> for me is was really hard because i had already dedicated 3 1/2 years and then another year i wasn't expecting. at that point, every olympian was in it together so it's like, you just have to deal with it, keep training. >> yeah. suni, you got to see your family here on the plaza and everybody else is waiting, jade your dad with you, obviously. first person you want to wrap your arms around when you get home simone biles, who's first? >> i think my dogs i think my mom. >> your mom and puppies and cute ron and cute boyfriend your boyfriend's at training camp

>> training camp i'll see him later >> well, all right jordan, who's first? >> probably my mom. >> yeah. love jamie yes, good. >> yes. >> grace >> either my mom or dad. >> aren't you just dieing? jade, you've got your dad here. >> yep my mom when i get home. >> of course >> another question from mr. roker. who you got, al? >> ally from westminster. >> you are such incredible role models in this moment who are your role models right now >> who are our role models? >> simone. >> me? >> i feel like there's a lot of sports athletes i really love, naomi osaka, serena williams, lebron james. >> what your teammates said, i don't think i heard you. >> mine's simone. >> mine is, too. >> thank you, guys i appreciate it. >> sometimes you just got to receive it. >> yes. >> i love these girls. >> perfect place to end it right there.

thank you. we love y'all. >> thank you. >> you made us proud in every way, and in a really deep way for these olympics so thank you to all of you. >> all: thank you. >> a lot for with these ladies throughout the morning thank you so much. >> we'll sample some of japan's favorite drinks. an good morning. it is 8:26. i am marcus washington. a live look at san francisco. with vaccination requirements on the horizon, thousands of city workers there have not received shots. according to the chronicle, which reports at least 2700 city employees are still not vaccinated, including front line workers. san francisco was the first major u.s. city to require shots or vigorous testing once vaccines have full fda approval.

meteorologist kari hall has the weather. >> drizzle from here to san francisco for the past couple hours, great to see that type of moisture moving in. going into today, won't clear out for inland areas, we head to the mid-80s for concord, low 80s for livermore. we keep the mid-60s near the coast, in the next few days, inland areas are going to heat up and we'll start to feel it tomorrow afternoon. >> thanks. another local news update in 30 minutes. meet you back here then.

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see it all happen on "today." >> the entire u.s. women's gymnastics team. >> tomorrow -- savannah, one-on-one with allyson felix as she gets set to go for gold again at the tokyo olympics. "today" is where the games begin. 8:30 now, thursday morning 5th of august, 2021. oh, what a morning our crowd is just soaking it up. our visit from the women of team usa gymnastics and we added their coach is here, too a shout-out to those hard working men and women. >> amazing. >> who brought this team across

the finish line. jenna and sheinelle join us. i have hinode backstage here i haven't seen her in a long time can i show you something this is might blazer she gave me the biggest hug, but this blazer actually belongs to jenna. >> oh! >> we had a big reunion, and i unfortunately ruined my own blazer. >> i love you, jenna. >> i love you, too. an amazing story, close to my heart u.s. diver jordan windle, an extraordinary journey to tokyo guided by help of his equally remarkable adoptive dad. he's going to be diving today. so it's going to be pretty cool for him. >> yep. >> and we've got candice kumai, another taste of japan to our plaza. snacks, desserts, and beverages. >> on the third hour, mary carillo finds out what it takes to make it in japan's national

sport, sumo. >> look forward to that. a friend you will no doubt recognize. come here and say something about tomorrow on "today." for a second i thought it was going to be hinode, but i don't think she can talk >> coming up, i hope you like it >> coming up, a big noumtd i hope you like it if you don't, what are we going to do? >> oh. >> what are we going to do do y'all like ed sheeran >> a big announcement. that's tomorrow morning on "today." craig? >> hey what's up, guys? by the way, don't miss the exciting show that we have for you on our streaming channel it's a really cool behind-the-scenes look at "today" with inside scoop on everything from how athletes are, you know, hanging out on the set. hinode's journey home. that was really cool and how we created the awesome

olympic plaza. catch it at today.com at 1:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m "today" all day. >> i love it al, the weather? by the way, i'm wearing the same shoes as you >> yes. >> simone -- >> got your kicks on. >> gold medal to craig melvin for the gun show come on. flex for me one time come on, come on >> oh, my gosh >> thank you, al. >> i think i have -- let's see what's going on as far as the tokyo weekend outlook. temperatures going in the mid-90s, and by closing ceremony it's going to feel like 103 degrees out there. yikes! and a little closer to home, our weekend outlook for tomorrow scattered storms down through the south. showers out west for saturday, expecting wet weather along the mid-atlantic coast, inland heat out west.

a heat wave in central plains. sunday -- sunday -- a beautiful beach day up and down the east coast. showers around the great lakes sunny and dry out west good morning. i am meteorologist kari hall. we'll be watching air quality. if we can see smoke coming in, temperature wise, we look good with inland highs in the mid-80s. it will be warmer tomorrow, reaching into the low 90s. a quick spike in temperatures before it comes back down for early next week. san francisco with the clouds and fog, highs in the mid-60s. into the weekend, should see more sunshine, high temperatures reach up to 69 sunday. and that is your latest weather, guys. >> all right, al should we spend more time with our crowd? >> yes >> okay. [ cheers ] where's suni come here. okay where's -- where are the gymnasts from the -- where's -- raise your hand if you're a

gymnast from the gotham gym in brooklyn these guys were practicing and had to pause for a second because you were about to win gold so take a look and then the minute they saw you, they went crazy like everybody. what do y'all want to say to suni? >> we love you so much we were in vault practice, and you just won -- we got in a lot of trouble, but we got up really, really early to watch you guys every morning and it was so fun to watch you all compete. >> thank you >> are they not inspirations they are the bomb. go get 'em, gotham thanks, guys so sweet >> how awesome was that? >> really cool really cool. >> so good. >> coming up next, y'all -- favorite olympic stories pcreditsremises his success to his dad. a conversation with hoda but first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪♪ we are back from here in tokyo and new york with a truly remarkable story of one of the athletes representing team usa. >> yes. >> yes all eyes looking up at diver jordan windle when the 22-year-old texan steps out on the olympic platform tomorrow. >> jordan proudly represents not only the united states but his birth country of cambodia and his adoptive father. their story is so inspiring they've even written a children's book. take a look. >> there once was a man who wanted to be a father more than >> and one day he'd have a magical son who beat the odds and soared above. >> jordan defies gravity when he's in the air, and it really

is poetry in motion. >> reporter: jordan windle's journey has all the drama you'd expect for an olympian, but above all, this is a love story about a bond between a father and a son. >> when he would tell the other animals that he wanted to be a dad. they just laughed at him and said, oh, it can never be. >> reporter: jerry windle, a single man, knew he'd be the best dad, but it was 1997, and most of the world did not agree. having a dream of having a child, that seemed out of reach. why did it feel like that to you back then? >> there was such homophobia and bigotry around the concept of a gay person being a parent. even folks who loved me said, you can't be a dad if you're going to be gay. >> reporter: illegal in the roma was jerry's only hope. >> in a land far away called

cambodia, there was a little boy who was left in an orphanage at just a baby. >> reporter: his parents presumed dead. jordan spent the first year of his life struggling to survive >> the nannies handed the baby to me. i mean, he was 2 years old but he was 16 pounds i didn't know if he would live or die he looked that sick. >> reporter: jordan overcome with parasites, infections, malnutrition. >> i promised him that -- i promised him that i would do everything that i could, that he wouldn't ever have to suffer again. i would make every sacrifice i could as a parent to give him everybody opportunity to know what life was. did take a big mouthful of it? did you? huh? >> yeah. >> reporter: jerry made good on that promise giving his son the world. >> jordy, throw it in there! >> reporter: from little league to diving lessons, jordan took off.

when he was 7, coaches nicknamed him "little louganis" after the olympic gold medalist. he was that good. >> i like it because you get to jump around and have fun, learn new things >> reporter: as jordan reached new heights his number one fan stood by, a proud poppa in the stands, but jordan began to notice he was not like the other kids. >> daddy, jordy whispered, why am i brown and you're white? >> kids at school would ask me why i was a different color or why my dad doesn't have a wife or why i don't have a mom. >> what did you say, jordan, when they said, "where's your mom? >> i didn't have an answer i was so young and it came at me so hard i couldn't say anything back it started to be overwhelming. >> reporter: to comfort his son, jerry fabricated bedtime stories about a prince in cambodia they sleep, but they helped

together they crafted and published a children's book, "an orphan no more." >> not only did they help me sleep, but they helped me keep an open mind, and be my own person and it also allowed me to dream bigger. >> reporter: a few years ago, the two went back to where it all began, a homeland tour and diving exhibition for the children of cambodia [ chanting ] >> chanting his name -- they clamored for pictures. with the one they considered a blessed child. none of those blessings is lost on jordan. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> we were walking around, and i saw just a bunch of kids bare naked and running around playing, and it -- you know, it -- ah sorry. >> it's okay, honey. >> shoot sorry. it, um -- it just -- it hurts just because i can't do anything >> hmm. that's

>> i just don't have the power. um -- so -- you know -- that's where -- you know, reaching the olympic goal and making my name into something that can mean something, will then help others in the future. >> reporter: jordan dive the usa and symbolically for his mother country >> coloring is done. >> he recently tattooed the cambodian flag on his arm so the world can see it when he leaps off the board. jordan also dives for his father >> he sacrificed just so much, and he's done everything for me, and having him at the olympic trials, i can feel how much he supports me and loves me and i was able to perform the best that i could for him. >> for him. >> hmm isn't that nice? >> reporter: the story ends with the ultimate thank you to a man they said could never be a dad >> this was his duckling

he was a father. and the little duckling would be an orphan no more. together they were a family. >> ah. >> is that unbelievable? i mean, don't you -- >> man. >> jordan is an incredible kid his dad is an incredible human being. his dad did say his biggest regret, not being able to be there, but i promise you, you'll be hearing from him on the phone. he competes tomorrow we're working on the time. but he does compete tomorrow look out for jordan. >> that name already means something, but i hope his olympic dreams come true. >> i do, too for more on our conversation with jordan, check it out 2:30 and 6:00 p.m. and more on today.com, too, guys. >> coming up next, candice kumai, a tough act to follow my friend has tasty japanese snacks and treats easy to make,

too and a special lemonade with a twist. >> especially for you. >> we like a twist >> we like a twist >> well, 9:00 your time, hoda. ♪♪ remember when no dream was too big? and you could fearlessly face the unknown? you still can. when you have a rock you can depend on for life, you'll be unstoppable. like the millions of people who rely on prudential for financial planning and investing. who's your rock?

my crew. always on the go. for financial planning and investing. and they work hard, but play harder. you know, day trips. week-long road trips. it's what we do. and nothing gets in the way of our plans... so... ...chevron is always part of the plan. yeah, we get chevron with techron for unbeatable mileage... ...plus snacks and drinks to go. fuel for them, fuel for me! just one stop... ...gets us closer to non-stop... adventures. chevron. together ahead. i got you! (horn beeps) emergency planning for kids. we can't predict when an emergency will happen. so that's why it's important to make a plan with your parents. here are a few tips to stay safe. know how to get in touch with your family. write down phone numbers for your parents, siblings and neighbors. pick a place to meet your family if you are not together and can't go home. remind your parents to pack an emergency supply kit.

making a plan might feel like homework, but it will help you and your family stay safe during an emergency. all right. we are back with "today" food, you can smell it, all right. we are back with "today" food, you can smell it, celebrating the olympic nation. >> hmm >> japanese tradition and yet food made it a top global destination. >> here to give us another taste of tokyo and favorite japanese foods, culture and travel expect candice kumai. welcome back. >> come to my office. >> i did. >> yes >> the gesture good morning. >> and what are we starting with, by the way, speaking of drinks >> start with a japanese lemonade we're going to make a simple japanese cocktail.>> what's tha? >> i love grab some ice. a little syrup. >> what's that

>> i love that. >> this is sparkling water that is delicious got a lot of carbonation. >> the way i like it. >> and rice vinegar made out of japanese white rice. >> are these hard to find? >> these ingredients, if you go to a japanese store, you should be able to find everything >> is there alcohol in this? >> yeah. japanese rice vodka, just for you, al. >> oh! >> and you're going to top it off with a little bit of your favorite tofo. i wore my bartender outfit for you. >> pretty. >> and -- >> there you go. >> a little salt >> it is delicious it's full of flavor. >> you want a bigger one >> so -- oh, that's good. >> isn't it good >> it's like a super rice vodka lemonade. >> oh, my gosh >> right look at jenna's face >> i love this >> here's a straw. >> i think it would go well with, cold noodles. >> there you go, girl. come on down.

>> the next thing we're going to focus on -- >> winning an olympic gold medal. >> and sake in japanese. every summer my mother used to make a big bowl like this around the table. so take your noodles the proper way to eat this -- >> ice cubes on top for a purpose? >> yes you know how hot it is in japan right now? this is how the japanese have stayed cool. >> okay. >> dip it in the sauce. >> oh. dip it in the sauce. >> i can't do this elegantly. >> dip it in the sauce. >> dunk it in like that. >> dunk it in. and then slurp it. >> slurp it? >> slurping is okay in japan made with a little bit of yuzu -- >> you know -- >> how messy i am. >> you can add anything you'd like ginger, a little bit of sesame seed there you go dunk it in exactly! wow, you guys got it >> you guys have a lot of courage wearing white.

>> that is so good >> and soba. >> japanese noodles. delicious. this is, again, dip this with delicious. again, dip this with a little bit of sauce wow. you really enjoyed this! >> where can people at home get the sauce? >> great question. you make this sauce, a little bit of soy sauce >> soy sauce. >> rice vinegar, citrus, like add orange to it it is so delicious stick? >> oh, i don't know. >> here you go. >> take your -- >> all right. >> you know it's like, different sauces >> i love that >> we'll have you -- i would like to try dipping, though. >> look how many -- >> and this -- >> oh, no. >> this sauce. >> thank you. >> what's the dessert? >> yum, candice.

>> we're already moving on why don't you let us eat that? >> try it. >> that is good! hmm. >> how much time do we have? >> one minute. >> okay. one minute got to get to that dessert. >> and wagashi. >> so popular now. >> this is made with ice cream, but that's a very americanized thing. this is japanese mochi, a japanese company in los angeles. >> it's beautiful! >> do any of these have a red bean paste >> and i would try the one in the middle >> which one that one >> and what you don't know -- >> azyuki bean made with sugar cooked down to a paste and inside of the mochi. >> strawberry. looks like a red azuki bean. >> on the inside -- >> oh. >> try whichever one you'd like.

these are made by hand and a quality japanese-american place to -- you can get those here. >> that's good. >> i love -- >> me, too. >> nostalgic. >> yeah. >> these were great, candice. >> amazing >> thank you. >> as always >> we're going to continue eating. >> what did you leave in our office today >> i will get you a good wardrobe, from that -- that dress. >> thank you so much, candice. back in a moment back in a moment this is "today" on nbc ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ return to rugged. the all-new ruggedly redesigned 2022 nissan pathfinder. ♪♪

just ahead from here in tokyo, more medal winners, including ryan crouser and the two that took home gold and silver in shot put hoda a sport you know well >> come on show us your form. show us your form. come on, come on >> and -- >> ah!

>> all the way to -- >> much more with stars of the morning. the u.s. gymnastic team. >> they're amazing. >> thank you to the wonderful medal winners who came here to hang with us. >> yes >> oure >> i think we have video of a sweet little boy, tyler. just wanted to meet suni lee he did come back today. >> what? >> yeah. >> and this morning -- yes there he is! tyler had a wonderful time together and they did get to meet a shout-out to my friend tyler who got to meet suni. >> awesome. guys, a lot more jenna, what's coming up? >> a surprise guest. >> 10:00. >> do you know >> i can't find out because nobody can keep a surprise, but keeping it a surprise for you. awesome. >> we talk to the gymnasts again in the next hour. >> yes. >> we'll be back, guys, after

your local news and weather! >> whew! [ cheers and applause good morning, 8:56. i am marcus washington. a dramatic turn for firefighters on the front lines of the dixie wildfire. flames wiping out the entire town. last ditch effort to save the town of greenville.

conditions took a turn for the worst when winds started to surge up to 40 miles per hour. not clear how many homes and businesses were destroyed. since the fire started, at least 67 homes and buildings before last night. 150 miles south of greenville, 7,000 people are out of their homes from the out of control river fire which started yesterday near colfax. cal fire saying at least 50 structures have been destroyed and 2400 acres burned. happening now, we are monitoring developments on both these fires. head to the home page anytime for the latest. also on the home page, how northern county wildfires are expected to impact air quality. they issued an advisory today and tomorrow due to wildfire smoke that can effect some of the areas in the bay area.

live from rockefeller plaza, this is a special edition of the "3rd hour of today" at the olympic games. >> good morning, and welcome to the "3rd hour of today" on this thursday august 5th. dylan dreyer here on the plaza with al, sheinelle and jenna. craig is in tokyo. sorry to calm you out, jenna, but -- i feel like craig is getting smaller and smaller. >> i didn't say that, craig. [ laughter ] >> but you wear it well, my friend. >> you could! >> in fact, craig's wearing a crop top. >> your shirt is getting s