the u.s. scored its first individual swimming gold medal of the summer olympics in rio. >> michael phelps has another gold to put in his crowded medal closet, i imagine. >> he has a different apartment for it. >> what are the highlights? >> we're going to see tonight exciting stuff. as we head into day three of the games, the united states is leading the medal count with 12. while the weather in rio has proven unpredictable, american athletes are performing solidly across the board. in windy rio, athletes getting literally and figuratively blown out of the water. rowing teams canceling their events after gusts reached up to 35 miles per hour, knocking over fencing and ripping off banners. in the pool, katie ledecky shattering a world record in the 400-meter freestyle to take the gold. earlier that day she anchored freestyle relay team to take silver. michael phelps helping the men's team take a gold. earning his 23rd gold medal. the gymnastics team dominating the first round. an unheard of 10 points ahead of the chinese

simone biles leading the way with electrifying routines on the balance beam, vault, and on the floor. there were still stunning upsets. venus williams and her sister, serena, losing a doubles tennis match for the first time. venus also lost a single match earlier in the day, but serena is still in the running to take it again in rio. >> serena was the best serena in london i've ever seen. i can only hope i get there again. that was insane. >> reporter: other nations had to deal with setbacks off the field. kenya's track and field manager sent home and facing investigation following the release of a video showing him offering to protect athletes from drug tests. and the entire russian

>> they failed para-athletes. their medals over morals mentality disgusts me. >> reporter: now remember, guys, team russia is still competing in the current games. although more than 100 athletes were banned as part of the same doping scandal. in fact, the international olympics committee ignored recommendations to ban russia outright and got a lot of criticism for it, guys. >> all right. >> not a great day for the williams sisters, but a pretty good day overall yesterday for team usa. what happen today? what are the big highlights? >> overall, huge. 12 -- excuse me, 12 medals overall, they're ahead. tonight we'll see the first woman to wear a hijab for the american team compete in fencing. we're also going to possibly see for the first time in 92 years female women's rugby take home a medal tonight. that's right, the women's rugby team could go for the bronze. >> female gymnastics tonight and tomorrow.

parents in the stands during the gymnastics. >> aly raisman's parents looked like my parents watching the pickup games going like this and this as they -- >> swaying along with her. >> re-enacting it with her. it was cute to watch. i think any parent could sympathize. >> special moments. >> thank you for joining us this morning. coming up, the crash on an arizona interstate caught on video. >> what one driver wasoi that nearly cost her life. "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations. one driver was doing that nearly cost her her life.

welcome back. we're always told how dangerous it is to follow another car too closely, especially on the highway. >> rarely do we see a dramatic and frightening video that shows how dangerous tailgating can be. >> reporter: this car caught on camera careening out of control. th accident, a graphic display of the dangers of tailgating. watch again. the driver in the green ford quickly reacts to avoid a mattress on the road. swerving and hitting the truck in the next line and then the rocks on the left flipping across this arizona interstate. the driver, a 23-year-old from texas, miraculously walks away unscathed. her life saved because she was

arizona authorities say she was driving too closely to the vehicle in front of her and didn't have enough time to react to the mattress. so how long does it take to respond? >> a total of about a second and a half to see something, react appropriately. >> and a second and a half doesn't sound like much. does it really make a difference? >> it can when you're at high speeds. that second and a half may mean you've covered 100 feet or so in that time that your brain is processing this. that's precious distance you've lost. >> reporter: a rule of thumb when driving on the highway, give three seconds of following distance. find a fixed object, when a car passes it, count. if you get to the marker before three, you're too close. police telling me tailgating doesn't save you time that road conditions and timing of traffic lights play a much greater role. abc news, los angeles. >> and that three-second rule, by the way, is for optimum daytime conditions. you have to do it longer at night. >> exactly. we'll be right back. you have to do it longer at

we'll be right back. optimum da conditions. now have to do it longer at night. write down this number now. right now, people are receiving this free information kit for guaranteed acceptance life insurance with a rate lock through the colonial penn program. if you are on a fixed income, learn about affordable whole life insurance that guarantees your rate can never increase for any reason. if you did not receive your information, call this number now. your acceptance is guaranteed, with no health questions. stand by to learn more. >> i'm alex trebek, here to tell you about a popular life insurance plan with a rate lock that locks in your rate for life so it can never increase. did you get your free information kit? if not, please call this number now. this affordable plan through the colonial penn program has coverage options for just $9.95 a month. your rate is locked in

is guaranteed, with no health questions. see how much coverage you can get for just $9.95 a month. call now for your free information kit. ? ? susie got all germy ? ? a cold, a bug, a flu ? ? when school was back in session ? ? those germs were shared with you ? back to school means back to germs. and every year kids miss 22 million school days due to illness. but lysol spray and wipes kill 99.9% of germs... including common cold and flu viruses... to help protect your home and family. and now that lysol is the only disinfectant with box tops,

in a world that's trying to turn you into someone new... ...one hair color wants to help you keep on being you. nice'n easy. natural-looking color... ...that even in sunlight, doesn't look like hair color... it just looks like you.

how do you know it's officially getting hot? well, with just three keith urban live. and friday it's a party in the park on good morning america. presented by kings hawaiian. ? ? ? we often tell you about chance encounters really changing the lives of total strangers. this one is really a doozy. one uber driver in

summer olympics because of the kindness of a random customer. >> reporter: ellis hill, the proud olympic dad, now able to be in rio to cheer on his son thanks to a chance encounter behind the wheel of his uber. >> thank you very much for everything, liz, you're the greatest, i'll tell you. >> reporter: when hill picked up liz willock for a ride to a business meeting he couldn't help but beam about his 22-year-old son who is making his olympic debut in shot put next week. >> my son will be competing, doing his very, very best, and i'll will hollering and supporting him 150%. >> when hill revealed he sadly couldn't afford to be there in person, his backseat angel sprang into action. >> two of my friends said "start a gofundme." >> reporter: in two days, the page set up by the health care executive swelled to over $8,000.

sightseeing and souvenirs. >> we're definitely going to be friends for life. >> for sure. i want to take a look at that medal when it comes back to darby, p.a. >> reporter: abc news, new york. >> that's so great that he gets to see him. >> beautiful. yeah, obviously he could have done it on skype, but now he gets to do it in person. >> that's not the same thing. >> very cool, and congrats to sarah sarah haines on being that's it for this half hour. >> follow us on facebook at wnnfans.com and on twitter and instagram abcwnn. view." that's it for this half hour. >> follow us on facebook at wnnfans.com and on twitter and instagram abcwnn.

worldwide. this is after a global computer system outage. this is a look in atlanta...you can see some long lines there. passengers started reporting problems on twitter saying they couldn't check in...or were stuck on the tarmac. delta tweeted saying "our systems are down everywhere...hopefull y it won't be much longer." taking a live look at mccarran right now... we've been monitoring flight delays there overnight. right now only a couple flights have been posted as delayed. it looks like even h says flights are on time...they are still grounded. i'll keep following this from the breaking news center. good morning las vegas! i'm ... and i'm xxx.... the time now is ... let's get over to 13 first alert meteorologist greg bennett... ((ad-lib)) a dry pattern sets up shop here in the southwest for the next 48hrs. mainly sunny to sunny skies will be common along with highs but pick up strength tomorrow as we continue to watch tropical storm javier as it