[ female announcer ] just one dose of tide original liquid helps remove food stains better than an entire 40 load bottle of the leading liquid bargain brand. that's my tide. what's yours? this morning on "early today," disastrous day. mitt romney angers his london hosts, questioning england's olympic readiness. battle of royals. britain's duchess of cambridge trying her hand at ping-pong. and big fish could this white sturgeon be the largest ever captured? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with damage control. this was supposed to be mitt romney's debut on the world stage. instead after questioning whether london is up to task for

hosting the 2012 olympics, mitt romney's camp is doing battle with a foe arguably more than at formidable than any rival here at home, the english press. nbc's brian mooar joining us from washington with those details. brian, good morning. good morning. mitt romney has been careful not to criticize and he probably should have added london to the list. from mitt romney, a gold medal gaffe, questioning london's readiness for the olympics. >> there were a few things that were disconcerting, stories about the private security firm not having enough people. >> those words made the kind of headlines mitt romney wasn't hoping to see on an overseas trip that was about boosting his foreign policy resume. instead he was forced to practice a little diplomacy. >> shows imagination and forethought and a lot of organization and i expect the games to be highly successful. >> the white house says president obama has london's back. >> the president also made it clear that he has the utmost

confidence in our close friend and ally, united kingdom. >> it's not clear whether this might cost romney politically here at home. >> i think the democrats risk overplaying it. this is a gaffe, he probably regrets it, but it wasn't the end of the world. >> but he may have lost a few fans in the host city of london. >> there's a guy -- there's a guy called mitt romney who wants to know whether we're ready. he wants to know whether we're ready. are we ready? >> yes! >> are we ready? yes, we are! >> and romney's ready to leave this baggage behind as he travels on to israel and poland. lynn? >> all right, brian mooar for us in washington. brian, thank you. well, all eyes of the world are on london today as anticipation builds for tonight's big opening ceremony, the 2012 olympics.

nbc's phil rogers has more. >> reporter: the olympic flame arrives at buckingham palace. seven years after it was awarded the games, london is about to put on its big show, the third time the british capital has hosted the olympic games. the u.s. team officially welcomed today, one of more than 200 teams with over 10,000 athletes. >> being able to wear the stars and stripes, there's nothing like it. >> just being here, you know, for the last few days, the atmosphere is electrifying. >> reporter: electrifying but cautious. the games are blanketed by layers of security. 25,000 police and soldiers supplemented by some 7,000 private officers. the "hms ocean" is docked in the river tells and surface-to-air missiles are deployed in several sites, the biggest peacetime operation in british history. >> i'm very confident in the plan. >> reporter: covering the game, some 21 journalists with nbc

providing over 5,000 hours of coverage across the platforms. >> nbc has about 3,000 working for us here for the games. >> reporter: it is a festive time here in london. big ben will toll for three minutes, heralding the arrival of these 2012 olympic games more than seven years in the making. phil rogers, nbc news, london. and don't miss nbc's coverage of tonight's opening ceremony in london. it begins at 7:30, 6:30 central time right here on this nbc station. all right. elsewhere severe weather hit parts of the midwest and northeast thursday knocking out power to more than 200,000 people. in elmira, new york, a possible tornado brought down trees and power lines. there were multiple reports of damaged buildings but thankfully no injuries were reported. a curfew is in effect with only emergency vehicles allowed on the streets while power lines and trees are being cleared there and new york's governor has declared a state of emergency there. meanwhile the drought affecting two-thirds of the u.s.

is getting worse. a new report from the u.s. drought monitor says 20% of the nation is now in the most extreme stages of drought. a 7% increase just in the last week. the states with the worst conditions are colorado, iowa, kansas, nebraska, and missouri, and conditions aren't expected to get better any time soon. with little rain and more intense summer heat in the forecast. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. a brawl erupted outside a missouri courthouse. the violent scuffle began after the son of a motor defendant approached a prosecution witness. a group of women intervened before either man was seriously hurt. police arrested both men after viewing footage of the fight. a horrific crash on a texas highway nearly took the life of an innocent driver. the accident occurred after a suspect sped away from police during a traffic stop.

his escape ended horribly when he veered into oncoming traffic and then collided head on with another car. the suspect was arrested while the driver in the other car was hospitalized in critical condition. and, finally, the outpouring of support continues in aurora. several members of the colorado rockies paid a visit to victims of last week's theater shooting rampa rampage. patients and hospital staff took photos with and got autographs from the manager and 12 players who made the trip. great sight to see there. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has a very busy weather channel forecast. >> yeah. yesterday was an interesting day. it was a setup for this big, big weather event. the storms formed and they did their damage out there. i'll have to go on record and say it probably wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. many areas have a lot of clean-up, still thousands without power. we only had one tornado, so that was good. it was in elmira, new york.

you can see the coverage was where we thought it would be. ohio, western pennsylvania, all of northern new jersey. that was about it. new england didn't get hit that much. this morning we have a couple of areas rain, west virginia, charleston has had overnight rain, a couple rumbles of thunder, but it now is beginning to weaken as it heads through elkins and the higher elevation. the worst is texarcana. pretty good thunderstorm overhead but this area desperately needs rain. you're getting a good soaking and also the southeast corner of oklahoma you're getting a good deal of rain. so your forecast for this friday, we are going to see a chance of thunderstorms on and off here right along the eastern seaboard but it will be more your typical summertime storms during the late afternoon, nothing like what we saw yesterday. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. so there will be a chance of storms in areas like we saw yesterday like baltimore and washington, d.c. notice the temperatures haven't cooled off much in the

mid-atlantic. still a very hot day today from the carolinas northward. baltimore could easily be into the mid-90s. and, lynn, you mentioned the drought conditions especially through the heartland, no rain today for that area. >> unfortunately. that report was disconcerting. bill, thanks very much. well, coming up, facebook falls flat, starbucks weakens, and, finally, a place men can go to stock their man cave. >> it's about time. >> we've been waiting for this, right? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll explain why this star-studded comedy that once was thought to have a chance against "the dark knight rises" will only finish a disstand second. the peyton manning era begins in denver, and what sugary treat does michael phelps compare his career to? you're watching "early today." y"

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. one of jerry sandusky's sex abuse victims is threatening to sue pen state university.

lawyers for the man known as victim number two released voice mails last year reported to be from sandusky expressing his love. they're trying to identify thousands of patients who may have been exposed to hepatitis c from traveling medical technician dravd krakowski. testing has been recommended for about 4,700 people in new hampshire. kate, the duchess of cambridge launched. prince william played a little soccer. prince harry tried a little basketball. in british columbia, look at this guy, a monster white sturgeon weighing more than 1,100 pounds was caught. it may be the biggest and oldest ever caught on rod and reel in north america. imagine reeling that in. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day.

the dow opens at 12,887 after jumping 211 points yesterday. s&p rose 22. the nasdaq climbed 39. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei shot up 123 points, while in hong kong the hang seng surged 382. well, a little hope for europe's finances was just what the markets needed thursday. stocks took off after the european central bank's president vowed to do whatever it takes to keep the eurozone intact, raising hopes it might intervene to lower bauer rowing costs for countries like spain and itly. that optimism settled overseas as asia's market rose on their reasurns. else where overseas samsung rose. back here at home it was an earnings onslaught. despite facebook's first report as a public company having some

solid numbers, shares hit a new low after the bell. earlier social gamer zynga was hit hard by its poor outlook after the bell wednesday. its stock closed down 37%. amazon's second quarter profit tumbled 96%. shares fell after hours but later recovered. starbucks' earnings fell short sending it lower in late trade. the coffee chain blames the miss on economic turmoil overseas. >> on the upside sprint's nextel jumped on its new unlimited data plans. home builder pulte group shot up 18%. and whole foods got a boost from the healthy quarterly report. and finally you heard of a man cave, right? what about the man's aisle. they put all their manly products, you know, chips, beer, salsa, barbecue sauce all in one

place. how convenient for you guys. did i cover all the bases? maybe doritos in there. well, a smashing major league debut, back-to-back jacks, and an early look at next year's nba season. plus, a four-time mvp gets back on his horse, this time in a new set of colors. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and after a severe weather outbreak we have a nice quiet weekend coming your way. that forecast is next. you're watching "early today."

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let the spills begin. p&g. proud sponsor of the olympic games. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports trade rumors are flying in major league baseball with the july 31st deadline fast approaching for trading. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, there, good morning. baseball's trading deadline is four days away and if you're looking for a pitcher look no further than mach. brewers are shopping for zack. now there are sellers at the trading deadlines. nationals wasting no time getting on the board. adam laroche was part of a four-run. the pirates' starling marte

made his major league debut. leads off the game and the first pitch he sees, gone. that's one way to start a career. pirates beat the astros, 5-3. in cleveland the indians jump all over the tigers. justin verlander in the seventh. they hit back-to-back on the second. the tribes win, 5-3. the na schedule is out. the world champion heat will tip off the season on october 30th against the celtics followed by the lakers and mavericks. the brooklyn nets will open their doors on november 1th against the knicks and there will be five games on christmas day highlighted by a finals rematch by the thunder and the heat. look who's wearing navy and orange. the peyton manning era officially began in colorado. the long time colt and future hall of famer was the biggest agent signing in nfl history. he missed last season after having neck surgery. no world if he'll play in the

preseason game on august 9. finally the opening ceremonies of the olympics is tonight on nbc. for 14-time gold medalist michael phelps marks the ending of a career. >> how many toppings do i want on my sundae? that's what i'm doing. i'm having fun. >> he's licking his chops to get back into the pool. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. well, a first for lady gaga and the end for "twilight's" hollywood couple? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus twins, they stick together, do things together, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. you're watching "early today."

well, good morning. if you're one of the billions of people who will be watching the opening ceremony on nbc the forecast actually looks okay. showers look okay. it will be on the cooler side. temperatures in the 70s. then we're back to typical london weather there as we go throughout the beginning of the game. the forecast for your weekend, the best chance of showers and storms saturday up through new england and on sunday we try to clear it out in areas of boston. some of those showers could linger. overall not a bad weekend. well, if you're watching us on news 6, omaha, put your puzzle solving skills to the opening test and experience of interactive brain teeser and mindbender mansion at the durham

museum. and that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. >> all right, bill, thanks so much. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. well, the dark knight rises will finish first at the box office this weekend but with how much? most experts see a 60% drop-off from last weekend. that would earn the film roughly $65 million, closing in on $300 million overall. well, six months ago hollywood had huge expectations for the debuting comedy the watch starting ben stiller, vince vaughn. what could go wrong. well the reviews are awful, it's rated "r" and in wake of the trayvon martin culling the audience may not take to a neighborhood watch comedy. elsewhere director robert rod redwez tweets lady gaga will milwaukee her acting debut in his upcoming film. i'm not sure about that one. and in the wake of his girlfriend having cheated on him, he's moved out of the l.a.

home he shared with kristin stewart. a friend said he was horrified she publicly apologized to him. horrified. and this comes to us from wis news 10 in columbia, south carolina, where pregnant twin sisters ended up sharing more than looks after both arrived at the same hospital. although scheduled to deliver on two different dates they wound up giving birth on the same day just one hour apart. she followed in her mom's footsteps delivering twins while sha ceer ya delivered a healthy baby boy adding to an already long list of bizarre connections and memories that these sisters will share. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. we're starting off another muggy start. the humidity is running high. yesterday we were in the upper 90's. we had a little bit of cloud cover yesterday morning. we will start out with more clouds. there is some light sprinkles in northern carroll county out towards the frederick county as well. those should be shifting east. better chances for thunderstorms

later today. will the tell that in the forecast. >> thank you. 73 degrees in tv hill -- will detail that in the forecast. >> everything you need to know about the olympics kickoff and michael phelps getting ready. >> the roads are still drying out. out.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> any more storms leftover from last night? >> there are still a couple of showers. a little bit of instability to start the day.