problem of overcrowded prisons, experts say there's a need for more programs like c.l.i.f.f. at other facilities. that's our report. thanks for watching. i'm john seigenthaler. one week left in the olympics and you are looking at a live picture from london. a lot of history making in the swimming stadium there. we've got today's campus viewing guide and ryan lochte clears up that confusion over what his mother said about his one-night stands. >> i was in shock. i was like -- because i know how the media took it. but i also knew how my mom said it. >> and turning to major news happening overnight. sources say jared lee loughner will plead guilty to shooting 19

people, including representative gabby giffords during a rampage in tucson. mr. romney could announce his vp pick at any time now. so who'sed most likely candidate and who could help him the most? we're going to break that down for you. and historic landing on mars is just hours away. we're going to tell you why it is so important and why the stakes have never been higher for nasa. good morning, everyone. welcome to a special early edition of "weekends with alex witt" ahead of msnbc's day-long olympics coverage. we begin with news from london and the xxx summer olympic games on tap, gearing up for a huge tennis match. venus and serena williams will be going for gold in women's doubles. michael phelps finishes his olympics career on a high note with a gold. phelps swam his last race in the butterfly leg of the men's 4x100 meter relay. missy franklin also ends her last race at the olympics with a gold helping team usa to beat the competition in the women's 4x100 meter medley relay. and here is the latest medal count.

the u.s. holds on to its lead with 54 total medals, 26 of them gold. china remains in close second place with 53 medals, including 25 golds. and great britain now jumps into third place with 29 total medals. let's hear it for the host country. now for more highlights and what to watch today. let's go to stephanie gosk. good morning to you. with all the competition under way today, what are you keeping an eye on today for us? >> well, alex, it's going to be super exciting day today here in london. kicking off really this afternoon, a first for the olympics. women's boxing. you have queen underwood for the u.s. entering the ring for the first time ever as an olympic athlete for the united states. the u.s. team is heavily favored in boxing. at least in the women's. later on today you have a very familiar showdown on centre court in wimbledon. roger federer and andy murray. they faced off in the finals in wimbledon last month. now they're going for gold. and andy murray was the first british tennis player to reach the finals of wimbledon in a

generation. he lost that match to federer. he has a chance to redeem himself in front of his home crowd today. and then probably the most anticipated event of the olympics, the 100 meters in the men's 100 meters that is, usain bolt who won back in beijing, the world record holder. he's going to be facing off against his teammate johann blake who beat him in the trials. an interesting fact, if usain bolt wins the medal he'll be only the second man ever to win back-to-back medals in the 100 meters. the last one was carl lewis in 1984 and 1988 in seoul. alex? >> my goodness. it's like we're being bookended with great stuff. a lot of the buzz has been about this super saturday there, right? it seems like everywhere you looked there was something happening. >> yeah. another, another team gb athlete winning gold. they won six gold medals. and you know, just about four or five days ago, people here were talking about how underwhelmed they were with their home team

performance and then out of the blue they have this unbelievable day. probably the highlight of it, jennifer ennis winning the heptathlon. she won the 800 meter event which is the last event and literally just fell to the ground. was incredibly emotional. cried throughout the national anthem. i mean the crowd in the stadium just went crazy. and now all of a sudden you have team gb jumping into third, and all of that talk of the home team advantage seeming to be coming true, at least yesterday. >> and we were all, you know, doing hip hip hooray for the brits, it was so great. when you think about the competition last night you focus on a couple of things. michael phelps, ending his olympic career. he's got a record 22 medals. tell us about his final race last night. >> yeah, he really did it in style last night, didn't he, alex? they won gold in the medley. the 100 meter medley. it's his 18th gold medal.

here's an incredible statistic on how many gold medals he's won. if you just take the medals that he won in athens, forget beijing, he won more medals in just two olympics than any other swimmer ever. it's pretty incredible. >> yeah. he is pretty incredible. missy franklin is also america's new darling and beach volleyball. we're keeping a close eye on that. we've got kerry and misty. they made the quarters i think now, right? >> yeah, that's right. they're in the quarterfinals. that's been exciting. one of the highlights of this olympics has been watching the beach volleyball at horse guards parade. such an incredible venue. >> stephanie gosk, thank you very much for the wrap from london. have a good one. later on this hour, we're going to hear from the american gold medal in judo kayla harrison. we spoke with her just before she left for london. she was here in the studio with us and i said to her, come on back when you win gold. she's going to make good on that and we're going to talk about what it took for her to get that gold medal. now for the weather across the

pond. here in the states with the drought. the tropics are also making headlines. let's go right to the weather channel's erich fischer for the wrap-up. >> good morning, alex. hello, everybody. talking about some weather that will be unsettled across the uk for today. that's already affecting things. the marathon, rather wet this morning. also talking about wimbledon with the roof closed because of those rain showers moving through. even some thunderstorms crossing the island nation right now. closer look at london, you can see some of the heavier rain moving just east of the city. going to be not ideal for a lot of the events. tomorrow another showery day. after that for the home stretch through the final week of the competition, weather looks much better. we've got the 70s, more drier conditions, and i think it's going to be just fine there for those last few days of competition. meanwhile, stateside a lot of storms on the radar. that includes indianapolis with some heavy storms rolling through. big severe threat, especially new york state, pennsylvania, and then stretching all the way back toward arkansas, western tennessee, mississippi, and alabama. a lot of straightline wind gusts today and some hail.

even a slight chance of a tornado. if you have outdoor plans keep that in mind. the weather could turn in a hurry. the other big story, the big heat across the central southern plains. triple digits for kansas, oklahoma, texas and arkansas. that should last through tuesday. and we have the tropics, ernesto at 150 miles per hour this morning. a little disorganized. rain showers have moved into jamaica. right now looks like the most likely path will take us into belize or the yucatan pen isla around cozumel or cancun by early this week. if you have any interest there we'll be keeping our eyes on it. >> lots of places to watch. thanks eric fisher. ahead here on msnbc, the bronze medal match in men's tennis. that is coming up right after the show ends at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. and of course the networks of nbc universal are the exclusive home of the london olympics. for a complete schedule of the events and to watch the games live online go to nbcolympics.com. now it is time for some other news. sources say thats man accused of shooting former congresswoman

gabriel giffords and 18 others wants to plead guilty. jared lee loughner will have a chance to enter that plea in court on tuesday. nbc news correspondent diana alvear was in tucson the day of the shooting reporting on it. good morning to you. let's go right to what's going to happen on tuesday when loughner is in court. >> alex, good morning. the federal judge handling the case has scheduled a status hearing for this coming tuesday to get an update from prison doctors that are treating jared loughner. he's been undergoing treatment in a bureau of prisons hospital since shortly after that shooting. well loughner now wants to plead guilty at that hearing. that is what they're telling nbc news. >> okay. diana, now you mentioned the prison hospital where he's being treated. what are you hearing about what they are saying? >> well, as far as doctors treating him are prepared to testify that he is mentally competent to offer the plea. >> okay. so does this mean you're saying he's offering the plea. is this an automatic acceptance

of that plea then? >> alex, by no means is this a done deal. under federal court rules the judge must be satisfied that a guilty plea is, quote, knowing and voluntary. now, that's going to require the judge to ask loughner a series of questions in open court to make certain he has the capacity to understand what a guilty plea means. including the fact that he gives up all of his appeal rights. >> okay. so, diana, how long does he serve if a plea, saying you're guilty, is accepted? >> a federal officials says any agreement to accept the plea would require loughner to serve a sentence of life in prison. now, instead if loughner would to stand trial he could face the death penalty if convicted. now if the judge accepts the guilty plea then the sentence would be determined later after another hearing. >> so, are they actively working on a plea agreement? do we know any details about that? and if so, do we know what those

details are? >> you know at this point, they're telling nbc news the terms of any plea agreement are still being worked out. at this point it's not clear whether he would plead guilty to all of the charges in the federal indictment or only some of them. >> okay. it is a pretty extraordinary development. news there from tucson. thank you very much, nbc's diana alvear there, we appreciate that. so we'll stay on top of that story. we'll bring it to you on that. meantime, who is going to get the silver medal on the gop ticket? mitt romney could reveal his running mate any day now. up next a closer look at the names on the leader board there and the strategy behind the timing. i read the line that said lochte's mom says he goes on one-night stands. and i was like, i was in shock. >> and more of my one-on-one interview with ryan lochte. he sets the record straight about his dating habits for all the young ladies who want to listen to that, and when he might have time for a girlfriend. stick around.

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it is 14 minutes past the hour of 11:00 in london, where look at that. staying true to its reputation, there's olympic park and it's wet there. typical london weather. but we do have appropriate competition under way, including women's basketball with france taking on russia. it is time now for front page politics. "the new york times" reports that president obama has spent more campaign funds on the upcoming election than any incumbent candidate in recent history. since early 2001 president obama and the democrats have spent approximately $400 million. meanwhile speculation is growing this morning about mitt romney's vice presidential pick, which could come at any time now. so joining me for more front

page politics, nbc news deputy political editor domenico. good morning to you. >> good morning, alex. >> so we're going to talk about the front-runner right now in terms of the veepstakes. we have ohio senator rob portman. a layman might say, hey, he'd give mitt romney a key swing state, it's a slam dunk. but it's not that simple, is it? >> no. we've seen in a lot of different polls that, in fact, in ohio, where rob portman is from, maybe he makes a difference by a point or two, maybe. and that's within the margin of error. of course a point or two could matter in a very close state. he brings a lot to the table as far as confidence, trusted in d.c. he could give someone like romney, someone like what biden does for obama where he's sort of a lee sayson to capitol hill. but the big negative for rob portman is he was george w. bush's budget director. we've already seen him try to put some distance between himself and the former president this week. even though he says he's not. because he said he was frustrated by budgets and

spending and that he had pushed -- he had pushed back against some of that. but if he is picked that is going to be the big story for a few days. >> you know but it's like sport for us to try to look at clues and figure this out. and he is campaigning all of this weekend. he's got more events scheduled this week. do you think that's just a head fake? >> well, no, i think that mitt romney and his top aide beth myers, who is leading up this search, want to give these guys a little bit of a tryout, see how they do. it's important how they do on the trail. they really do trust rob portman and they do like him. there are possible head fakes this week where we see this bus tour at the end of the week getting a lot of buzz going around that. but my guess is it's possible that we could hear something on that. but not probal. because the olympics would still be going on. >> okay. louisiana governor bobby jindal. he was at an event last night. let's listen to what he said. >> i think picking somebody like a paul ryan would send a very powerful message that this administration was serious about tackling medicare reform,

entitlement reform, shrinking the size of the government, and doing so in a courageous way. >> that's interesting. bobby jindal talking about paul ryan when bobby jindal is allegedly one of those in consideration. what do you read into that? >> well, it's always a love fest between these guys who are all trying out for this job. because you never want to look like you're trying out for the job. you don't want to appear to be too much like -- too much like you want it. so they're always going to pick one guy or another who they're going to try to say nice things about. and of course paul ryan also got a nice endorsement from the national review this week, talking about how he really fought for -- has been fighting for budget austerity. i mean, i think if you were to pick someone like paul ryan, certainly brings a comfort level with mitt romney. conservative intellectual on budget -- on budget process. the problem, of course, is that budget is a lightning rod. and you're going to see, already, the obama campaign try

to tie mitt romney to the paul ryan budget where you're going to have two distinct philosophies of economics come into play. one that the government can do more for you. and the other one about austerity. we've seen that play out in europe. and that is really the drawing the line of what this election is all about. >> a couple of the names we want to put out there as those being in consideration right now. tim pawlenty, kelly a yot but the one name that has waned somewhat is marco rubio. >> marco rubio is certainly somebody who a lot of people bring, they bring up a lot of national review also brought him up because diversity. he's also a rising star in the party. brings a lot of energy. but the problem with marco rubio is he's a risky pick. it doesn't seem like somebody who would fit into the mitt romney way of making decisions. of course, because of he's got his credit card issue in florida, he's only been in the senate for a couple years, so i think that he's probably a risky pick. if he didn't have sarah palin a couple years ago i think you

might see mitt romney more likely to pick a rubio. because of sarah palin i think someone as risk averse as romney probably crosses him off the list. >> never a risky pick talking with you, domenico, thank you so much. >> thanks for that. >> we're going to go back to london. we're going to talk about a little royal pda and a lot of fun going on in the stands during the olympics. fun watching, too. we're going to talk royals after the break on "weekends with alex witt." building pass, corporate card, verizon 4g lte phone. the global ready one ? yeah, but you won't need... ♪ hajimemashite. hajimemashite. hajimemashite. you guys like football ? thank you so much. i'm stoked. you stoked ? totally. ... and he says, "under the mattress." souse le matelas. ( laughter ) why's the new guy sending me emails from paris ? paris, france ? verizon's 4g lte devices are global-ready. plus, global data for just $25. only from verizon. did you know honey nut cheerios is america's favorite cereal? oh, you're good! hey, did you know that honey nut cheerios is...

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will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. burn the program to the ground. agents, assets, all of it. [ glass shatters ] [ man ] who is he? it's aaron cross. [ man ] i thought they were dead! he's supposed to be. you should've left me alone. [ male announcer ] "the bourne legacy." rated pg-13. talk about home field advantage. team great britain is celebrating six more gold medals this morning, all of them won this weekend on supersaturday. and the royal family has been front and center cheering their athletes on. the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry will attend more than 30 games between them. we seen saw a little pda from the royal couple on thursday night on what is being called the kiss cam. robert jobson comes back to us, a royal contributor and he's joining me from london with

more. this is just fun. i love seeing the duke and duchess who normally stick to royal protocol, they were so excited on thursday night. tell us about it. >> this was genuine. they were in the velodrome and kate grabbed william and they seemed to be having such a great time. william spoke about the latest saying he was dreading that moment when he was going to be caught on the kiss cam. rather like president obama, i think. >> that's so funmi. they got caught doing the wave, too. that's something they were doing that watching andy murray. they're just so normal when they're out there. you hit the nail on the head there, robert. it does seem genuine. they're sports enthusiasts. >> very much so. kate loves hockey and tennis, represented her school in both of those. william is so into water polo and he's a great swimmer. swims every day. this is genuine. they are proper ambassadors for team gb and they've been really trailing the blaze going around seeing as many sports as they possibly can. and loving every minute of it. >> yeah. team gb and others, because the

royal trio got some sort of a special innovate from jamaican sprinter usain bolt. he invited them to celebrate if he wins gold tonight, right? what's their connection? >> prince harry was out in jamaica earlier this year on an official visit there. it's the 50th anniversary of their independence, and of course harry had that little runoff with usain bolt where he was really trying to beat him and actually usain bolt pulled back and let him do so. but they've got a bit of a rapport and they'll all be invited to that 100 meters. who knows what the result will be. but it's looking good for usain bolt. >> it's been such great fun watching them in the stands this first week of the games. is that going to continue this next week? are they all over the place for the full two weeks? >> absolutely. william himself won't be there because he's actually going to be going back to raf duties as a search and rescue pilot. but if you like, kate's date will be prince harry. they'll be teaming up a lot more in the next week and will be together at the closing ceremonies. so you're going to see plenty more of the royals. >> you know who else seemed to

be part of this royal trio by attachment, there was david cameron. the uk's prime minister. he was with them having a great time, as well. >> yeah. he seems to fit in quite well. and, in fact, there's been a few jokes about that sort of thing. that everywhere they go the prime minister turns up. maybe trying to get as much popularity from the royals as possible. because their popularities are really up there. 90%, 95%. not bad if you're a politician. >> can i ask you quickly about the queen? since seeing her jumping out of an airplane, kind of, sort of, will we see her at all at events this week? >> after her james bond starring role, that's it, i think. she's appeared in a james bond movie. she's jumped out of a hospital allegedly. no, she's gone back up to scotland now where she started her annual holiday. and if you like, passed the olympic battle on to the younger royals, william, kate and harry and zara, who has done a great job. >> i'm betting she'll catch a

bit of team gb doing their thing on the tele. thank you very much, enjoy the games. >> thanks, alex. >> turning gold into green. which olympic athletes will make the most money after the games and why some won't make a cent. and later the mars rover gets ready to land and why this is being called a $2 billion gamble.

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get that great taste anytime with kingsford match light charcoal. welcome back to "weekends with alex withd" as we give you a live look at what's going on weatherwise in london. there's the swim stadium front and center. looks like a bit of a rainy day in london which is typical with them. we are going to get you ready for the day's olympic coverage right here because it's the second sunday of competition at the olympic games. there are some big events taking place today. one of the marquee events in track and field. the men's 100 meter dash. america's tyson gay, justin gatlin and ryan bayley, they're going to try to knock off the defending gold medalist and world record holder usain bolt of jamaica.

as for the men, switzerland's roger federer will be taking on scotland's andy murray for the gold in the tennis singles final. and some headlines from the morning papers in london feature the latest british medalist, look at that, the uk scoring six golds on saturday. but the u.s. continues to dominate the medal count with 54 total and that includes 26 golds, 13 silvers and 15 bronze. china is in second with 53 medals in all. great britain has moved up to third with 29 medals. in the history of embarrassing mom moments, and i've made a few, but this one has got to rank. what was ryan lochte's mom thinking when she said her gold medalist son was only interested in, quote one-night stands. yeah, well i talked to ryan about what she really meant as well as the one thing he wants for his birthday this weekend. you've got to know that you are a heartbreaker for so many. and i have to ask you, did you talk to your mom about what she said, saying that you're the kind of guy, for lack of a better phrase, that you love 'em and leave 'em? that you go out with a girl once

because, maybe, having a girlfriend takes up too much time? what's that about? >> all right. she -- because i've read the line and it said lochte's mom says he goes on one-night stands. and i was like, i was in shock. i was like, because i know how the media took it. but i also knew how my mom said it. i mean, what she meant by the whole one-night stand is that i do go on dates. i'm not in a relationship because these past four years i really wanted to be committed 110% into swimming. so i really didn't have much time to settle down in a relationship, because when i'm in a relationship i want to give them everything. and i knew i wasn't capable of doing that if i was swimming and always on the go. so i knew what my mom said, that i just go on dates. but the media definitely turned

it to where it was me going on one-night stands, the bad way. >> yeah, well -- >> and that's definitely not the case, because i don't do that. >> okay. well all i can say is whomever ends up dating you regularly is a lucky girl. and by the way, happy birthday. do you have any big weekend birthday plans? >> thank you, thank you. big old 28. i don't have anything planned right now. all i really wanted for my birthday is to see my family. i mean, i haven't seen them all together at once since christmas. so i definitely want to just see them and hang out with them. >> all right. we'll let you get right to that, then. ryan lochte, thank you so much. congratulations. you're a rock star. we appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> well ryan's mom quickly getting a bet more media savvy. she's clarifying her statements about ryan's love life saying he's a sensitive guy who just goes out on one or two dates. there you go, ladies. ryan lochte is just one of several olympic athletes who scored not only medals but endorsements.

>> luck didn't get me to london. i swam here. >> that's a cool one, isn't it? lochte has earned endorsements from at&t, speedo and gatorade. michael phelps, of course, has his own slew of endorsements. gold medal gymnast gabby douglas just scored an endorsement from procter & gamble and one including kellogg's. and you know you made it big when your picture is on the cover of a corn flakes cereal box. joining me is an attorney who has advised a number of nfl, nba and olympic athletes and steven, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> so -- >> glad to be here. >> i'm glad you're here. when you think about the medals, a lot of people think they can mean big money, as well. how much money are we talking about? >> we're probably looking, alex, between $1 million to $3 million. depending if a win a gold medal. plus you've got to realize that the way that they write these contracts, they also have to pretty much participate in the

next olympics. unless you're someone like a michael phelps. >> okay, i want to get to them. also when you look at something like you've got michael phelps and ryan lochte. both of them from the same sport. is there room for more than one star from any given sport? and if not, how long does michael dominate before ryan gets the edge, or does his record-setting achievement? does that mean he stays the big money winner? >> i think michael phelps is probably going to be the big ticket item. plus the big winner throughout all of this. because right now michael phelps makes about $5 million to $7 million a year, coupled with the fact that he is the greatest olympic swimmer that's ever actually participated in the olympics. so i think michael phelps' earning potential, unlike ryan lochte, who is probably a sex symbol plus a great olympian, but michael phelps, because of the historic things that he's done, is going to actually be the high earner throughout probably the next couple years. >> gabby douglas.

making her face onto the way of the cover of a corn flakes back, typically do gymnasts do well? >> yeah, they do pretty well, as long as they win an olympic gold medal or they actually have like a personality. or they have a defining characteristic. such as gabby douglas, obviously being young. but she also has that personality, the infectious smile. >> yeah. >> so i think that, you know, someone like herself, her earning potential, leading up to the next olympics, could be upwards to $10 million. >> and give me just a couple of things that advertisers will look for from these olympic athletes? what is it that they're trying to get from them personalitywise? >> well, i think that they want to see whether they, one, have a personality. that's the most important thing. two, do they have a defining characteristic? which is very important. you know, can they actually say, or put this person in a position where not only are they a brand endorser, but are they a good spokesperson? do they have something that the american people want, or even globally what people in general want? so i think that they have to

have something defining, such as an infectious smile. a great personality. a sex symbol. >> all right. well, thank you for getting up early. i want to point out to folks you are not even on east coast time. it's way early in the morning. thank you. >> thank you. thank you very much, and congrats to the usc community because they just got a great student athlete in sigh husband ray. >> indeed. thank you so much. >> thank you very much. >> the bronze medal match in men's tennis on msnbc, that's coming your way in about 25 short minutes. of course the networks of nbc universal the exclusive home of the london games. for complete schedule of the events and to watch the games live online go to nbcolympics.com. on the heels of the news that president obama has authorized the cia to aid the syrian rebels, secretary of state hillary clinton is reportedly headed to istanbul next week for talks on syria with the turkish government. this comes as the syrian army pounds rebel holdouts in ahelpo while in damascus, heavy explosions have rocked the capital city throughout this weekend.

joining me now, nbc news foreign correspondent just across the turkish border headed towards aleppo. give me the current situation in damascus. what do you know about that? >> well, we know that about two weeks ago rebels had made a very strong push into southern parts of the capital, and some very important neighborhoods that traditionally had been very quiet throughout this conflict. not only were they able to go in and hold these areas, but they were essentially exhibiting a very strong show of force publicly. and so a few days afterwards the syrian military launched an offensive to reclaim it. last week the syrian foreign minister declared that the military had actually pushed back all the rebels from the capital. what we saw yesterday was a change. and what happened was that the rebels managed to once again create some unrest in the capital, and that led to fighting on saturday. so seems that the rebels are making an offensive once again in the capital after the government had declared it under

their control. >> what about the reports that the rebels have lost ground in aleppo, where there's been so much fighting? >> well, there's no doubt that the rebels have been bombarded hard over the past several days. they're being hit with fighter jets and gunships. there are reports that the syrian military had about 20,000 soldiers around the city of aleppo to try to reclaim some of the territory that had fallen into rebel hands. there's no doubt that these battles are kind of running battles. the rebels will make an advance onto some parts of the city and then get pushed back. yesterday they tried to take over a very important part of the city which houses the radio and state television building. they tried to take that over but the government forces were able to push the rebels back. so it is a back and forth type of conflict right now in these two major cities. >> what do we know about supplies getting in to the rebels? i had read something about scarce things like food and the rest of it? >> that's correct. in fact, most of the people we've been speaking to leaving the city of aleppo have been

complaining that there is a humanitarian crisis unfolding there because of a shortage of food, medicine, and fuel. even the international community the red cross has substantiated that by saying there is indeed now a humanitarian crisis unfolding in many of these cities because of a shortage of these supplies. right now most of these supplies are coming from neighboring countries like turkey, where activists and organizations are essentially smuggling in medicine and food into the country. to try to get these people in desperate need of them. >> okay, aman, thank you very much for that live report. stay safe. appreciate it. coming up we've got a couple of stars everyone. gold medalist in judo kayla harrison and bronze medal winner marty maloy from team usa. you guys can wave because we're so excited to talk to you. and cash for gold and silver and bronze. u.s. competitors can win bonuses not just from the u.s. olympic committee but from their sports federations. not too bad. [ male announcer ] every day, the world gets more complex.

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well, the united states has claimed its first-ever olympic gold in judo and it's all thanks to kayla harrison. the 22-year-old won on thursday but it's not the only judo medal for the united states women. you've got marti malloy as well who took home bronze in judo defeating the defending gold medalist from the 2008 olympics to which we say nice. joining me now, gold medal olympian kayla harrison, bronze medal limb. marti malloy. girls, it is so good to see you both. congratulations and kayla, since we met when you were here in studio on your way over to london i have to just tell you that we have all watched you with such passion and we're so thrilled for you. a lot of us like started crying, that's what dweebs we are, when you won. >> thanks, alex. >> but we remember you telling us that you pictured this every night for the last four years. how does it feel when it comes to the real deal? >> honestly, it's -- it's surreal. you know, like -- like you said,

i pictured it every night for four years, so you know, you put in the work. you go to the gym. you put in the hours. and you wonder if it's ever going to be worth it. and it's so, so worth it. i don't think i've slept because i can't dream anymore because all my dreams are coming true. >> aw. that's really great. you beat a brit, gemma gibbons for the gold. she had the hometown advantage, right? >> she did. honestly, it was -- i loved it. the crowd was amazing. the whole time they were cheering, gemma, gemma! but it sounds a lot like kayla so in my mind they were cheering for me. >> oh, my gosh. talk about mind over matter and good concentration. that was really good. marti what about you and your accomplishment. you beat the defending gold medal nist your category. what was that like? i mean how did you get prepped for that knowing who you had to go up against? >> i had just lost my semifinal match so i was kind of going from a really big low and trying

to come back and refocus. and i actually thought i was fighting someone else all the way up until like ten minutes before i walked out. so i kind of had to change my mind frame in like a split second there, as well. but you know what? i was determined not to go home without a medal after coming so far in the division that day and having such a great performance. so i was really pleased with how i won. >> you know, i've heard other medalists who maybe miss a gold but get a silver or a bronze or even fourth place and they say, i'm here at the top of my game, playing in my sport, with the top around the world. i mean, gold is nice. but bronze is pretty darn awesome. >> yeah, i mean, especially in judo, because it's kind of unknown like in most of the world, judo is such a difficult sport. and that's why olympians are big medalists in judo are so praised and so happy to get a medal. of course i wanted gold but i was really, really happy with my performance. so i couldn't have asked for more. >> all about doing the best you possibly can. what about for both of you, what

happens next? marti to you first, where do you go from here? >> well, i'm looking forward to going back to san jose, california, and seeing all the people that helped me get here. my teammates, my coaches, my judo family basically. but it's kind of up in the air. i've always wanted to get a world championship medal and the worlds next year are in rio. so i'm looking forward to that. maybe working, getting some job experience. but i'll never stop doing judo, that's for sure. >> how about you, kayla? also can you give us the qt on who that cute boy was that you ran into the stands and gave a little hug and kiss to? >> that is my fiance aaron. this is my other bling right here. >> nice. he -- yeah so aaron actually is a -- good picture. aaron is actually a firefighter, and that's probably what i'm going to be doing next, if all of this craziness ever dies down, if i ever make it back home. but i'm really looking forward to, you know, helping my teammates. i know that they have a lot of goals that they want to reach.

i'm definitely going to stay involved in judo and help the sport in any way i can. use my voice to help make our sport known in the united states. >> well i think it's a voice a lot of people will listen to. i hope, kayla, your dreams are filled with olympic gold every night going forward. to both of you, congratulations. we're so proud of you. big hugs. >> big hugs. thanks, alex. >> bye. >> well we have another preview of the competition to watch this sunday, but first it's being called seven minutes of terror. why tonight's landing of a mars rover has people from nasa to times square sitting on the edge of their seats. [ buzz ] off to work! did you know honey nut cheerios is america's favorite cereal? oh, you're good! hey, did you know that honey nut cheerios is... oh you too! ooh, hey america's favorite cereal is... honey nut cheerios ok then off to iceland! to experience the lexus performance line... including the gs and is.

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♪ good-bye norma jean joo though i never knew you at all ♪ ♪ you had the grace >> she remains as recognizable as ever, but today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of marilyn monroe, the iconic blonde star was only 36 years old when she was found dead in her los angeles home back in

1962. conspiracies that swirled regarding how she died but the official cause was listed as barbiturate poisoning resulting from a probable suicide. monroe starred in famous films including "gentlemen prefer blondes" and "some like it hot." so far all systems are go for an historic late-night landing on mars. nasa's curiosity rover is set to touchdown on the red planet around 1:30 monday morning eastern time. the landing of the $2.5 billion robot is being called one of the most high stakes and complex projects of its kind. let's bring in tariq malik. why is this such a big deal other than it's just darn cool? i understand you haven't been able to sleep because you're so excited. >> this is an exciting day. not just for nasa, but for the united states space program. basically, tonight, actually on monday morning, 1:31, nasa will get either a yes or a no from

this robot that the biggest rover ever sent to mars, the most capable, and if everything goes the way nasa hopes, it could find out if mars could have ever supported life on its surface in the past or even now. >> and so you take that information, and the answers from those questions, and what do you do with that? >> well, nasa wants to know not only if life is present on mars now or was in the past, but if, does that mean that earth isn't as special? we have life everywhere. on our planet. >> mm-hmm. >> and if we find it on mars, or anywhere else in the solar system, it will help them understand, you know, what are the requirements, how does life evolve. is there life somewhere else on another star? >> it's interesting, nasa is making this a big deal. they're calling it seven minutes of terror. i want to just play a little bit of a video that nasa's released explaining all of this. >> when we first get word that we've touched the top of the

atmosphere, the vehicle that's alive or dead on the surface, for at least seven minutes. >> okay. so the seven minutes we're not going to know what happens. what is the percentage likelihood that it's going to go off okay? because we all get so used to getting the information, we'll expect pictures at some point, and more details. you just kind of think it's going to go okay. >> in fact, this seems to be the most audacious way to land on mars that nasa has come up with. they're very confident. they haven't given actual percentage odds but they're fairly confident that this is going to work. what they're going to do is go from 13,000 miles an hour to zero in seven minutes, using a rocket powered sky crane that won't even touch down on mars. it's going to come screeching out of the atmosphere, and then it's going to basically hover right here on mars and lower

this one-ton rover down on cables, and as soon as the wheels touch the ground it will send a signal to the sky crane it detaches cables, flies off, crashes, the rover, you know, switches on, turns on its cameras, 17 of them, and starts to move back pictures to earth. >> and it will stay there forever. the mars rover will not be something that a mission will be sent to go bring it back or anything because you'll get the information. >> exactly. there's going to be two spacecraft watching it. nasa has a bunch of antennas. this thing is built to rove for two years. it has a nuclear power source to keep it going even in a martian winter. they're in it for the long haul. >> i'll bet. well it's pretty darn exciting, tariq malik, we're so excited to watch it. thank you so much for coming and giving us a preview. >> thanks for having me. >> still to come, tennis, track and field, gymnastics, diving, beach volleyball. it is make or break time for so many sports today. [ donovan ] i hit a wall.

and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medica doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i goa medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses.

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before we go it is shaping up to be a big day at the olympic games. let's go right to nbc's tracie potts who is in london with a preview. what are going to be the big events today? >> okay, well you want to keep your eye on tennis. remember serena williams, she did sort of that little victory dance when she won the gold medal in singles. she's teaming up with her sister venus. they're going to take on the czech republic trying to win another gold medal. we've got switzerland's roger federer and andy murray in a gold medal match today. we've got women's basketball against china. we've got women's volleyball against turkey. so it's going to be a pretty busy day. >> if i won 5-1, 6-0, i'd be doing a little victory dance. what about tonight in prime-time? >> okay, prime-time is something you're going to watch because we've got track and field, that much-awaited 100 meter dash with usain bolt to see if he can sort of recapture the fastest man in the world title from his

countryman from jamaica, johann blake who took it away at worlds. and we got three americans in that, too, tyson gay, rujustin gatlin, ryan bayley. also tonight we've got beach volleyball. both women's team including undefeated team from the last three olympics misty may-treanor and kerri walsh are going to be on tonight. and gymnastics, we've got one of our americans in that trying to sort of reclaim the glory for the men's team. they weren't able to get the gold together as a team but jacob dalton is going to take on that pommel horse tonight. and then we're going to see whether mikaela mar ownny can do that incredible vault we saw her do with the team. >> when she landed we were all like, are you kidding me? that's not a perfect ten. it looked so fabulous. tracie potts we're real excited. i'm a little sad i have to say we only have one more week. can you give me