captions paid for by nbc-universal television get the gold medal! >> good morning. solid gold in the biggest night yet for team usa, the women's gymnastics team gets it done, winning their first team gold medal since 1996. as michael phelps makes history. >> 48-year-old record! number 19! >> he's now the most decorated olympian of all time today, wednesday, august 1st, 2012.

>> and a familiar chant of "usa." we say good morning and welcome to "today" from london's public park on wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm savannah guthrie. i'm collecting autographs this morning. okay? we are surrounded by the women of the morning, the gold-medal-winning fab five. you look really good in gold. >> yeah. congratulations. [ applause ] how does it feel? has it sunk in yet?

>> it's exciting. we vice president done much celebrating yet but hopefully after the competition's finished we'll have a lot of celebrating and we'll be really excited. >> who could sleep last night? or was it too much excite snm. >> i couldn't really sleep last night. >> who slept with their gold medal on? >> all of us. >> well, we are so excited to have you guys here. we're going to catch up a little bit more. much more with jordyn, mckayla, kayla, gabby, straight ahead. >> you were busy last night. did you hear about the michael phelps news also? michael phelps tied the all-time medal mark with a silver in the 200 meter butterfly, then he broke that mark with a gold in the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay. he now has more medals than any olympian ever. let me just say it again. he now has more medals than any olympian ever. we'll hear from michael and talk to two members of that gold-medal-winning relay team live. later on, team usa plays

beach volleyball on our plaza against phthe men. they like a challenge. >> let us begin with a huge night in london for team usa. natalie has the highlights. matt, savannah, ladies, good morning. it will be hard to match tuesday night's drama and excitement led by michael phelps and the women's gymnastics team. >> oh! unbelievable! >> reporter: the american women thundered their way to victory tuesday, striking gold in the gymnastics team final. >> with a good landing. >> reporter: one by one, the fab five took the floor and nailed every routine. >> gets the gold medal! >> reporter: when it was over, the americans, the dominant winner, with a score five points ahead of the russians, the first team gold medal for the u.s. since 1996. >> the crowd just clapped and

cheered, and it gets me so pumped to have that support behind, you know, your back is definitely an amazing feeling. >> we've worked our whole life for this and just wanted to make it count. i'm so proud of all these girls. >> reporter: 17-year-old jordyn wieber, a moment of triumph after missing out on a shot at the individual all-around title. >> i think this is good redemption for me and just good we all came together and put all our hard work in and came out with the gold medal, it's really amazing and i'm proud of everybody. >> reporter: another crowning moment for team usa. >> 48-year-old record! >> reporter: michael phelps now holds the record for most career olympic medals after helping his team win gold in the 4 x 200 meer relay. >> the last 20 meters of the race i started smiling because i knew we had won, and very, very special night, special feeling. >> reporter: phelps now has 19 olympic medals, including 15

golds. >> i tried to hold myself together as much as i could, but my eyes were getting watery and it was emotional. >> reporter: phelps is hanging on! >> reporter: earlier tuesday, phelps took silver in the 200 meter butterfly, nudged out for gold by south africa. >> allison schmitt is blowing away the field! >> reporter: for the u.s. women, submit subm allison schmitt won her first medal in the 200 meter freestyle. >> it's amazing. just great. >> reporter: teammate missy franklin finished fourth. >> representing great britain! >> reporter: and the queen's granddaughter is now an olympic medalist, zara phillips winning a silver medal with the british equestrian team. phillips' mother, princess anne, presenting her daughter with the silver medal. >> reporter: princes william and harry along with the duchess of cambridge cheering their 'cauco

and their homeland. we know president obama was watching phelps' historic win last night. he tweeted, "congrats to michael phelps for breaking the all-time olympic medal record. you've made your country proud." phelps responded with a tweet of his own. "thank you, mr. president. it's an honor representing the usa, the best country in the world." a quick check of the medal count. china and the u.s. each have 23 total, japan in third with 13. savannah? natalie, thanks. we are delighted to have the u.s. gymnastics women's team here celebrating their gold with us. aly raisman, jordyn wieber, kyla ross, mckayla maroney, and gabby douglas. i don't think you ladies need any introduction any more. has it sunk in? you guys didn't just win. i'll borrow kyla's favorite phrase, you rocked the house last night. kyla, would you agree? >> i definitely think we rocked the house. i hope we made our country proud. we wanted to go out there and

have fun competing. we knew this was our chance to be strong and we did our best and it's happy to know we came out with the gold. >> it's amazing, gabby, because you didn't just win, you won by five points, astonishing, never done before. what did you think about that? >> yeah. i was so confident and so confident in these girls and i knew we could do it. and we had strong events, and i saw bam, bam, bam. i'm, like, we got this. i was so confident and so proud of these girls. and, you know, very excited to represent usa. >> last week when we talked i asked you guys if p any of you visualized that moment standing on the podium, receiving a gold medal, and some of you said yes, you had. now you've done it. mckayla, what was it really like? >> i think the way that i pictured it, this time it was even better. i mean, it was just a dream come true and so amazing. and just to be up there with those girls with the gold medal around our necks, it was the

best experience of my life. >> jordyn, you talked about this last night. over the weekend you said you'd had a little bit of disappointment, but, boy, you could not tell it. you walked out there. you were the first to go, strong and confident. you nailed it. how did you rise above these circumstances and perform so flawlessly? >> definitely after sunday i just had to put it in the past, all the disappointment. but i knew i needed to mentally come together for this team, and we all went out there and did a great job, so i'm really proud of everyone. >> aly, you closed it out for everybody with a floor routine. at that point, did you kind of know, we got this and could you just have fun? >> i had no idea what we needed to get, but i was hoping that if i did a good floor routine that we would win, but i just wanted to finish up strong for team usa. >> mckayla, you did your vault. you're famous for your vault. i read one commentator who said they should rename it the maroney vault. i'm sure you'd be in support of that. >> definitely. but i think i should probably get a new vault named after me. so. >> i know you've had some

problems with your toe. was it bothering you? were you in pain or did it feel okay? >> i felt really good going out there today, and i kind of just ignored the pain and hit my vault for team usa. >> there was that moment after the routines are over but you have to wait and find out what the scores are. jordyn, what was that like? or anybody answer how it felt just waiting to find out whether you had done it. >> i think we knew at that point we were pretty positive that we were going to get the gold, but seeing your country on the top of that scoreboard is an amazing feeling. we were just anticipating that, so it was amazing. >> yeah. it's one thing that really struck me is your camaraderie and your friendship. i have to say even in the stands we could hear you guys yelling for each other. you're loud. how important do you think the friendship was, gabby, in making this team succeed? >> i think it's definitely important to have everyone behind you and cheer for you. that's what this team's about is giving each other pep talks or cheering for each other. i could definitely hear my awesome teammates cheering for

me when i needed a pep talk, and we definitely hype each other up and do the greater and better things. so it's definitely important to have that, you know, behind you. >> you know, one of the things you guys told me last week, some of you, you in particular, had watched that 1996 moment, the magnificent seven team, their winning moment, over and over again. i wonder how it feels today to know that little girls are watching your moment and what you guys did. has that sun income? >> it definitely hasn't, but it gives me the chills just having you say that. it means that everything we've been working so hard to be able to have other people watch us, and it means everything. i'm so proud of these girls, and it was such an honor. >> as i said, you guys were pretty loud cheering, but you have a huge cheering section, your parent, some of whom i think are here today. we can show -- bring them on. come on, folks. anything you guys want to say to the parents who have supported you and loved you through this? [ applause ]

hugs all around. jordyn, i know your mom was here. here she is. >> oh, my gosh. >> you guys, the parents, i know you are so proud. we're going to talk to you a little bit later. but gabby, having the support of your mom, how important has that been? >> it's definitely important to have, you know, your mom or your family support you. you just feel so honored and so happy and you make them feel so proud. and they've done so much for us. and just want to thank them and we love them. >> i bet this whole team agrees with that sentiment. guys, we so proud of you. thank you for performing so flawlessly. and we look forward to more from team usa. thank you for being with us. i see a little tear in kyla mom's eye. i know. it's a little emotional. thank you so much. we appreciate it. it is 7:11. here's matt. savanis savannah, thank yo much.

michael phelps is the most decorated olympian in history. he could not have done it without the-from these two guys, two of his teammates in the 2 x 400 meter freestyle relay. guys, congratulations. good to see you. >> good morning. >> this is a repeat of beijing in 2008 where the team won the gold medal there. how much pressure was there on you guys to repeat? >> a lot. you know, there's always a lot of pressure at the olympics. this is such a huge stage. we come around once every four years. this is when all eyes are on swimming, especially on michael phelps and what he's doing. so to repeat with the competition, it's so much greater than it was in 2008. it's incredible. >> it's a repeat except for one thing, and that's this guy, the new guy on the team this year. you weren't there in 2008 on this team, connor. so how did it feel to be a part of this? >> it was something special with michael breaking the record and making history. it was a blast to be on the relay. and it's easy with these three guys being so good. it takes a lot of pressure off. >> that whole michael phelps

story line, though, i mean, this is a medal for you guys, as well, so was this 50% in your mind this is a gold medal for me to hang around my neck and 50% this also makes history? >> yeah. i didn't know about the -- you know, michael just takes care of his business and the team's business. and he wants us to do our best. he told us after the race, huddled us together, and he said i just want you guys to know i just broke the medal record. >> you weren't aware of it? >> not until the huddle after. he got pretty emotional after it. i had no idea. we were just trying to give him the biggest lead as possible. >> forever linked not just as gold medalists but as part of the team that broke the all-time record. i was going to ask you how you celebrate, but i this i you tweeted that you showed what you went and ate afterwards? >> mcdonald's. >> vast quantities of food. is that out of the ordinary for you guys? >> oh, man.

there it is right there. that's a lot. >> that's just a celebratory meal. >> i didn't eat it all, though. >> i helped him out. >> it's just, you know, we put so much pressure on this meet, we sacrifice so much for the olympic games. and we eat so healthy. we try to do everything right. it's just our time to just relax and really just -- mcdonald's sitting in the dining hall has been calling our names. >> it finally got the best of you. are you going to retire or keep swimming? >> i've got a lot to think about. it's a hard place to be in. i'd love the go out on top the way i did this games, but i'm also still very young. i probably haven't taken more than two weeks off of swimminging since high school. and this is my chance to really take a break and relax. >> are you thinking about rep t repeatinging this medal performance in rio in four years? >> i'll be here for another four years. >> that's great. congratulations. by the way, dating rebecca soni as well. i saw her with a silver the other night. are you getting time to spend

with each other d during the games? >> no. like 30 seconds. >> our best to you guys. nice to see gold and silver hanging around your neck. >> thank you. >> let's gets you caught up on the other top stories of the morning. natalie is in the studio with the headlines. good morning, everyone. trouble in the skies as we have three midair scares to report. a passenger on an air canada flight found a need until a catered sandwich. the airline and police are investigating the incident. in july, four passengers found needles in sandwiches on delta flights. in denver, meanwhile, a united airlines flight is back safe pli on the ground after a bird flew into the nose leaving this gaping hole. no one was injured and fighter jets were scrambled to divert a transatlantic united airlines flight to boston after a suspicious item was found on board. that item turned out to be a camera and the flight was later cleared for takeoff. power has been restored in india after the worst blackout there in history.

less than 620 million people, about half of the country, in the dark. the government has launched an investigation into what caused this system failure. severe flooding in the southwest tuesday. a monsoon dropped major rain in arizona, stranding vehicles in the rising waters. and in henderson, nevada, flashflooding washed out roadways there. president obama is back on the campaign trail today as he heads to the battleground state of ohio. republican challenger mitt romney is now back in the u.s., meanwhile, after his overseas trip. meantime, u.s. defense secretary leon panetta is meeting with israeli officials in jerusalem about the iranian nuclear threat and the conflict in neighboring syria. celebrated writer and cultural icon gor vidal has died. he was famous for his best-selling novel "sir" as well as for his appearances on tv and film. vidal died tuesday at his home in los angeles from complicat n

complications from pneumonia. he was 86 years old. love at the ball game almost struck out when greg tried to propose to his girlfriend, e ka, on the scoreboard at wrigley field. she unfortunately missed it stuck in line getting some beers. when erica finally came back, greg popped the question again, this time on one knee. after all, a girl who buys the beer at the ball game, i think she deserves a second chance. even without seeinging her name in the lights there, erica said yes. sweet story. 7:17. you're up to date. back to matt, savannah, and al. >> he sends her to get the beer? >> i think she volunteered. >> she's a keeper. >> that would be the right one for me. >> going to extra innings. >> natalie, thank you very much. mr. roker with a first check of the weather. turning a little gray here. >> that's right. a few showers, but they've got more than a few showers down through the midwest and into the upper midwest. talking act a risk of strong storms stretching from mccook to rhinelander, wisconsin. we expect more showers and

thunderstorms, isolated, damaging hail. that rain starting to fire up. look for the heat continuing in the midplains from new orleans all the way to kansas city, heat index is 110 to 115. you can look at these air temperatures, anywhere from 105 to 112, and the air index is going to make it feel -- the heat index make it feel in some areas like it's 115 degrees out there. >> good morning. we will see a few scattered showers and thunderstorms. a mixture of sun and clouds. and that's your latest weather.

matt? >> al, thank you very much. the royal family is doing its part to make the london olympics a success. meredith loves a royal sighting, and she's been doing a little royal watching for us. meredith, good morning. >> yes, i do, matt. good morning. hard to keep up with these people, actually, the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry attending a lot of events. tuesday they were in the stands to watch their cousin ride away with a medal. >> reporter: it was a nerve-racking day for the queen's equestrian granddaughter, zara phillips, and cheered on by her royal cousins, in the end, zara was crowned with a silver medal by her proud mom, princess anne. >> great to get a medal. obviously wanted the gold, but, you know, you can wear the silver. >> reporter: the young royal tri owe of william, cate and harry made their way. >> it's historical for the british family to win a medal in the olympics, a great occasion

for the family and for britain, too. >> reporter: as olympic ambassadors, the young royals are determined to do their best in the british battle for medals. they welcomed the torch on its way through buckingham palace and are making appearances at a number of events. prince william rekindled his love for water polo that goes back to his university years. cate was a dedicated field hockey player. and harry, who tried out beach volleyball on a recent trip to brazil, is is throwing his full support behind the teams battling its out at the horse guards parade. they all shared their passion with youngsters at a coaching event last week. >> we love sports. >> reporter: while cate may not be a natural at table tennis and harry will need some more practice on the basketball court, both have just won gold in "vanity fair's" best dressed stakes. cate, whose classic yet trendy style is copied all over the world, heads the list for the third time running. prince harry makes the list for

the first time. could it be those blue suede shoes? >> they're massive sports fans. this is just the beginning. we'll be seeing a lot more of them as the games go on. >> reporter: it was grandma who led the charge at the opening ceremony. and now it's up to the younger generation to keep the olympic spirit going. the princes are watching the rowing competition today, and they could be in for a very busy weekend. usain bolt has invited them to celebrate with him if he wins gold in saturday's 100 meter sprint. not sure what they're going to do. it would be fun. >> thank you very much. just ahead, what is it like to be the parents of the gold-medal-winning fab snooif we'll talk to them and find out how they're doing this morning. hey, there's barely a line at space mountain.

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tears of sorrow. and beach volleyball. we're challenging the defending gold medalists. >> i had to laugh. that's after your local news. "today's medal count" is brought to you by coke. coca-cola -- open happiness. ♪ look out baby 'cause here i come ♪ ♪ and i'm bringing you a love that's true ♪ ♪ so get ready ♪ so get ready ♪ gonna try to make you love me too ♪ ♪ so get ready ♪ so get ready ♪ 'cause here i come ♪ get ready 'cause here i come ♪ i'm on my way ♪ get ready 'cause here i come ♪ every day ♪ get ready

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morning commute. a little rain on the roadways in some areas. sarah caldwell has that for us. >> right now we're looking at westside delays, adding to those, an accident in the outer loop just past liberty. 795, those delays stretch back to edmondson. marriottsville puts 29, watch for a slow-ago perio. further south in anne arundel county, we have an accident. southbound 795, coming towards us from owings mills to the beltway, have there on the west side. coming towards us, these delays stretch back from 71 and 95 down to edmondson. -- 795 down to edmonson. >> so far we have just had light

rain and speckled trout and baltimore. -- sprinkles around baltimore. we have had heavy to moderate rain across the eastern shore counties, sprinkles around baltimore. sunshine will break through the clouds and we will get a few thunderstorms to develop again this afternoon. good idea to take an umbrella with you. there will be scattered thunderstorms later today. high temperatures expected in the upper 80s. we will drop the chance for rain to 30% tomorrow.

a 48-year-old record! number 19! >> that's a call we could be hearing for many, many olympics to come, the moment when michael phelps became the most decorated olympian ever. his family, of course, overjoyed. the crowd is so excited here this morning. good morning, everyone. i'm gu gusavannah guthrie along matt lauer, al roker, and natalie morales. he could add to this record. he has more events. >> he could pad it. another athlete in london getting a lot of attention, some positive, some negative, a

16-year-old swimmer from china, ye shiwen. she won another medal last night and was forced to answer questions about doping allegations. we'll talk about that in a little while. and the men's defending gold medalists in beach volleyball, phil dalhausser and todd rogers, they are on a roll in london. we may not be, but we are going to challenge them, apparently, to some beach volleyball right here on our plaza. i'm not sure how that turns out. >> they're 6'9". i think they tower even over you, savannah. >> talk about tall, what is it like to compete in london when everybody expects that you will win a gold medal? that's what is facinging the dream team, usa's basketball team. we've got one of the prominent members of that team on our plaza this morning, carmelo anthony of dream team and the new york knicks. we'll talk to 'melo in a little while, also. we begin with the fab five

or the fierce five as some are calling them. they won team gold last night in the women's gymnastics competition. and behind every fab gymnast, there are parents who have absolutely loved, cared for, sacrificed, worried, bitten nails, and they are here this morning. congratulations to all of you. >> thank you. >> miss wieber, i'll start with you. what is it like to see your daughter her dream sfs. >> again, i think you can use the word surreal. it was unbelievable. i'm so happy for those girls. they work sod hard. truly proud of all of them. >> when you saw the gold medals placed around your children's necks, do you automatically go back to those cold february mornings where you're driving them to practice and you'rie ii giving up your saturdays and things like that? >> absolutely. i'm with her, it's surreal. even with injuries she had to overcome and just to know that they were able to, you know, overcome so many troubles and, you know, to be able to be here and celebrate with them in this moment in time is just amazing.

>> i have to ask the raisman family because we have more than one raisman star from these olympics. your cheering was the video heard round the world, and we were all there with you, okay, agonizing over it. last night you were more restrained. more confident they had it in the bag or what? >> i kind of learned my lesson the first time not to go too crazy because i'm actually pretty laid back. it was just kind of one of those watching moments where i just let it out. >> down on the end, if you had any piece of advice that you would like to give to the parents of another young athlete, whether they're a gymnast or basketball player or baseball player or anything, what would you say to them if their kids are showing promise? >> i'll tell you what, the best thing a parent can do is just support them and let them live their dream. don't make it your dream. it has to be theirs. because if they want it bad enough, they're going to be able to achieve it. and just give them all the tools that can give them the opportunity to have that success

that their dream is all about. >> pretty well said. >> very well said. a big congratulations to all of you as well. very well done, moms and dads. mr. roker, how about the forecast? well, it's time once again for al's english class to see if you folks know some of these english termses that we all speak english but it's a little different in britain. >> play along with us, parents. >> the places you go, transportation items. our first word, lift. what is a lift? >> elevator. >> elevator? everybody says elevator. that was pretty easy. okay. in fact, it is elevator. okay. our next word, this one pretty easy, too, stag party. >> bachelor party. >> go ahead. bachelor night? >> bachelor night. >> bachelor night. crowd says bachelor night. in fact, it's a bachelor party. our last one. last night of freedom.

somebody needs a little issue -- spend a penny. >> go to the bathroom for $10. >> bend a penny actually is going to the bathroom! >> what a weird saying. >> i know. maybe you have to do that to get into the stall. i don't know. >> good morning. we will see the possibility of some showers and thunderstorms. the best chance would be this afternoon.

and that's your latest weather. >> mr. roker, thank you very much. you get the full range of emotions at these games or any olympic games, from tears of joy like we saw from south african swimmer chad leclose as he claimed gold in the 200 meter butterfly, to a british judo competitor who broke down after losing. take a look. >> feel like i blame myself a bit. i feel like i blame my coaches and blame everybody i've ever trained with. i blame my mom and dad and my brother today. >> you know, it's heartbreaking because you think these people have trained for so long, their moment can be a matter of a few seconds. >> right. >> and if it doesn't go the way they want it, it feels like the bottom has dropped out of their world. >> and when it goes well, tears of joy because it's such a relief. they're under such intense

pressure. we've seen that so many times, that moment when the relief just floods over these athletes. so there's a lot of emotion here, no question about it. >> that's why we love covering olympic gamess because you are catching these people at just the pivotal moment in their lives. all right. coming up next, will anyone ever top michael phelps' new all-time olympic medal record? we'll get into that. >> i know. come on. >> goodness gracious. much more from london after this. hey! you kids almost ready? i've got breakfast waiting for you. wooo! uh oh. what? mom's doing her exercise video again. when mom's on a health kick, all of us are. and now she's made us breakfast. uh oh. [ male announcer ] eggo nutri-grain waffles. you know it's made with 8 grams of whole grain and is a good source of fiber. all they know is it tastes great. eggo nutri-grain waffles.

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throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day women's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants to support cell health. that's one a day women's 50+ healthy advantage. welcome back to olympic park where history was made at the aquatic centre. michael phelps won his 18th and

19th career medals including his 15th gold on tuesday to become the most decorated olympian of all time. rowdy gaines is a three-time gold medalist and nbc olympic swimming analyst. alan abrahamson is a reporter for nbcolympics.com. welcome back. good to see you. both of you called it. yesterday morning you said he was going to have a huge night, get it done. put it in perspective for me. >> i think first of all we can't forget that this guy is the greatest of all time. and i know a lot of phelps fans, that comment, probably a little disappointed he didn't win gold, but, you know, i thought it was a sensational night. it's so hard to come back and repeat and repeat. and we've seen that at these olympic games. >> i think what silver medal shows is that he's imperfect, just like everybody else. >> that's right. >> people think he's an automaton. in fact, he just made a mistake. everybody makes mistakes. he picked a bad time. >> we don't know how many more medals he'll add to that record over the course of these games but --

>> three. >> you say three. but he'll have the record. will the record be eclipsed, and if it is eclipsed at some point down the road is it going to have to be a swimmer who does it? >> it's funny because we were just talking about this, matt. >> we were. >> and we said no way, not in our lifetime. and then you and i were talking about it and the fact we said maybe it's going to be a swimmer because they swim so many different events. but it's going to have to be a power-rich country that includes relays. >> an american swimmer, australian swimmer, french swimmer, someone like that. >> it will be. to go to michael's point, michael has always said anything is possible. so, yes, records are made to be broken, but this record is going to stand for a very, very, very long time. >> do you agree with alan that at the end of these games he'll have 22 medals? >> absolutely. no question about it. he's going to have 22, which is just going to be out of sight. >> all right. let's move on. a young lady that i don't think we've paid enough attention to coming to these games and i want to give her her due right now. her name is allison schmitt. talk to me about her. >> i don't know. i thought it was just a perfect swim for her.

and she is so enjoyable to watch, matt. and it should be all about fun and she's made it fun for michael. >> around allison schmitt, she perks you up, she laugh, she smiles. she's a joy to be around like missy franklin. >> that was the 200 meter freestyle. you mentioned missy franklin. she edged out missy franklin, who failed to medal in this. were you surprised at that? >> not really. that was a very tough field, matt. it was only by 1 w0.01. she still has a lot of chances. >> she's had an up-and-down meet so far. >> i think she's got pressure on her, to tell you the truth. there's the hype machine, and the question is whether she can deliver it. to lose by 0.01 for a medal, there's no shame in that, matt. >> nor do i suggest. more controversy surrounding the

chinese 16-year-old swimmer ye shiwen. and she won again, and people are still asking her questions about doping. should we lay this to rest already? >> well, you know, based on the 200 i.m., it was not pedestrian, but it was certainly not as fast as i thought she was going to go. but i don't know. the 400 i.m. still sticks in my mind. when you race the last 100 faster than the fastest man in the world is pretty impressive. >> let me end with you guys on this note. sebco, who brought the games to london, asked about michael phelps and whether he is the greatest olympian of all time, he said, "i think you can say it is self-evident that he is the most successful. i'm not sure he's the greatest. it's a good haul, but who's the greatest? in my opinion, he's probably not." >> i say this as someone who knows seb far long time, sorry to name drop, but seb comes from track and field. he would say thompson or roger bannister is the greatest.

>> no way. >> you say tomato, i sato matteau. michael phelps is the greatest of all time. >> i don't think it's even close. i don't know why we're having this conversation. >> because we have 30 seconds left. that's why. >> you win 19 medals. >> come on, man. >> four games. what is there to beat? >> come on. come on. >> he said it. >> seb knows what he's talking about. he's a four-time medalist himself. but track and field and swimming are apples and oranges. >> alan abrahamson, rowdy gaines, thank you so much. i might hang out with you guys tonight. just ahead, carmelo anthony will play beach volleyball against the reigning gold medalists. first these messages. hey parents, it's a big year. i'm not just teaching music. ♪ i'm teaching performance. here's what they'll need. ♪ get your backpack, your hoodies, harajuku, ♪ ♪ turquoise kinda purple orangish sorta blue. ♪

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...to the capital one venture card. fly any airline, any flight, anytime. double miles you can actually use. what a coincidence? what's in your wallet? [ all screaming ] watch the elbows ladies. welcome back to london's olympic park. let's talk basketball now. as expected, the u.s. team, the dream team, is off to an impressive start. they knocked off tunisia last night. they are now undefeated, and they were led by carmelo anthony of the new york knicks, who scored 16 points. 'melo joins us on the plaza this morning. >> thank you. >> great to see you. good morning. >> good morning. >> so you're 2-0. those margins of victory pretty large. how you feeling at this stage? >> we're feeling pretty good. we get better and better each day and just taking it one day at a time, just trying to enjoy this experience. >> don't hit me, because you're a big guy, but i'm going to ask you the question and you know this is true -- do you feel that it will be a colossal failure if

you guys win anything but a gold medal here in london? >> i don't want to think about that. >> come on. you know the expectations are very high. how do you deal with that? >> like i said, we take it one day at a time. this is my third olympics, so i've been in 2004 where we didn't win the gold and i remember that feeling. that feeling is in the back of my mind. >> a motivating factor? >> a motivating factor for myself and some of the other guys that was on that team. >> i think most people realize the whole team is made up of nba players. these are the guys you compete with during the regular season. how difficult or how nice is it to be able to pull together as a team? >> it's easy now. it's easy now. during our regular season, we're competinging and trying to beat each other up, you know, trying to win against each other. but now we put it all together as a collective unit and we go out there, and as you can see, we're havinging so much fun doing it. >> but you can tell instantly when someone's got it in terms of the chemistry to fit in, right? >> oh, absolutely. we had it from day one. as soon as we stepped into las vegas, we had it. >> when it comes to chemistry

and teams, how do you think this ragtag group over here might do? >> they'd fare pretty well. >> you think so? you can give them the ball and see how they do. >> you notice matt's not playing? >> well, i've got questions here, natalie. >> come on, carmelo. >> carmelo -- >> it's all in the knees. it's all in the knees. >> oh! >> the debate. between kobe and michael jordan, which is the best dream team, 1992, the original one, or this one? how do you stack it up? >> well, we try to -- whoa. >> you don't take him out, all right? >> we try not to compare ourselves to that team because what that team did was unprecedented. they changed basketball and the way -- changed people's view of basketball in america. we can't duplicate that. what we're trying to do now is establish and do it ourselves.

>> there was a nice moment after one of the games the other night. michelle obama was there and she kind of hugged you guys as you came off the court. did you say anything? >> she said congratulations, keep representing our country, doing it with such class. she's very proud of us. >> we're all proud of you. 'melo, it's great to see you. good luck as you continue through this tournament. we've got high hopes for you guys. ? thank you. i appreciate that. >> carmelo anthony of the droem tea team. and we'll be back as we take on another popular sport of these olympic games. that happens right after 'melo jams. have breakfast with milk

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> still holding on to those west side delays. we had an accident on the outer loop past liberty. that is gone, but we are trying to recover from that from reisterstown road all the way down to edmondson. accident report on eastbound 100 and telegraph road. it will have to delays on the bw parkway and and assault under action -- in the southbound direction, and in the city, looking at an accident at wolfe

street. 18 miles per hour on average to belair road all the way to dulaney valley. southbound 95 out of white marsh, that back up towards the 895 split. southbound delays towards 175. we will switch over to a life of the west side. you can see how backed up it is from reisterstown road to edmondson. tony has a check on your forecast. >> we have a little bit of light rain to contend with this morning. nothing of any consequence. like rainshowers around the beltway to they spen -- they extend over to the eastern shore. we could see another round of thunderstorms develop in the afternoon. 71 degrees in rising sun in cecil county. chance for rain showers this morning, scattered thunderstorms this afternoon.

we will drop the chance for renewed down to 30% tomorrow. still in the upper 80s for an afternoon high. should be dry on friday and saturday. high in the low-to-mid-90's.

♪ 8:00 on a wednesday morning. it's the first day of august, 2012. there's a party in the park here in london. we kouln't get over to horse guard parade so, we brought some beach volleyball action to our little home away from home. i'm matt lauer along with

savannah guthrie and al roker, and these guys are the reigning world and olympic -- reigning olympic champions. >> that's right. we've got phil dalhausser and todd rogers here. they of course are unbeaten in london. we've got the dancers, the champions. now we just need -- us? i don't think so. but we are going to try to take them on in a little beach volleyball on our plaza. >> that's right. and of course we have more on the fab five's spectacular gold-medal performance and a look ahead to the individual all-around competition with former gold medalist shawn johns johnson, carly patterson, and mary lou retton. >> looking forward to talking to those ladies. first we want to get the olympic news of the day. for that we turn to hoda kotb. >> hello, hoda. >> hi, everybody. how are you? we're starting off with gymnastics. the girls had ha wonderful historic win last night, and let's start there. >> the fab five is going gold. >> reporter: the fab five brought home gold, beating their russian rivals by five points.

aly raisman locked up the team title with a closing floor routine, giving the u.s. the first women's team gold since the 1996 atlanta games. >> we all looked up to so many other gymnasts, so to be able to inspire little girls would definitely be a dream come true and mean the world to all of us. it's just such an honor to be here. we've all been working so hard. it's a dream come true and still so surreal to be an olympic champion. >> we realized we were olympic champions. hearing the star-spangled banner and looking at the flag is definitely emotional for all of us and we're all really proud of each other and how we did tonight. >> number 19! no one has won more! >> reporter: swimming superstar michael phelps made history. he has now won the most medals of any olympians, winning his 19th medal as he captured gold, anchoring the men's 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay. >> i said give me the biggest lead you can get me, and these

guys have been awesome. that's the thing. i mean, we're one, and we came out as one. >> reporter: afterwards, i got to give phelps a quick congratulatory hug. we're really happy for you and glad you broke the record! >> thank you. >> reporter: breakout swim sensation missy franklin came in fourth in the women's 200 meter freestyle. franklin bested by teammate allison schmitt, who won the gold and set a new olympic record. so now you have the box set, the gold, the silver, the bronze. is this everything you thought the olympics would be? >> everything. i couldn't be happier. i'm smiling everywhere i go. >> reporter: in soccer, the black eye abby wambach suffered saturday didn't stop her from scoring the only goal in a match against north korea. team usa celebrated with a victory move. and badminton fans booed loudly during a match tuesday when doubles champions from china and their south korean opponents appeared to try to lose their match to get an easier draw. they say they were just trying

to save energy for the next round. >> and olympic officials are taking that very seriously. there's a disciplinary hearing later today. a lot of the people in the stands, can you imagine, you paid all this money for this great match and they keep hitting it out of bounds? >> just to get it over with. >> not good. >> dropping the penny. it's the word of day. >> hoda, thank you. appreciate it. let's go inside to natalie with the other headlines. good morning to you guys once again. good morning, everyone. fieger jets were scrambled overnight as a united airlines flight from newark to geneva was diverted to boston. a suspicious item on an unoccupied seat turned out to be a camera. it was x-rayed and was harmless. tuesday another united flight made a safe emergency landing in denver after a bird strike punched a hole in the plane's nose. and officials are investigating the discovery of a sewing needle

in a sandwich served aboard an air canada flight from british columbia to toronto. u.n. observers say syria government fighter jets have opened fire on the country's largest city. the escalating battle for the city in the 17-month uprising against bashar assad. activists say humanitarian conditions in the city are worsening with dwindling supplies of food, cooking gas, and electricity. a massachusetts experts say it was likely a great white shark that attacked a swimmer off cape cod on monday. the victim is hospitalized with severe cuts on both legs. the beach was open again tuesday with signs warning people to swim at their own risk. great white sightings off the massachusetts coast have increased in recent years because of a growing population of seals, which the sharks prey upon. and now for a look at what is trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. show him the warrant.

oscar-winning actor cuba gooding jr. is a wanted man in new orleans for allegedly shoving a female bartender early tuesday morning. police have issued a warrant for his arrest. and a feature that personalizes the olympics. enter your height and weight and it tells you which athletes you match up with and which events might be right for you. we plug in michael phelps' stats and the site said he could be a swimmer or volleyball player. and cold play's chris martin jokingly blamed the olympics when he flubbed his song "warning sign" during a concert in boston this weekend. end? >> oh -- i was thinking about the olympics. i was distracted. [ cheers ]

>> well, he's not the only one who's distracted. u.s. companies will reportedly lose $650 million of productivity as workers go online to keep up with the olympic games. hard not to be involved in the olympics. it's 8:07 right now. let's go back outside to matt, savannah, and al. >> natalie, thank you. >> nbcolympics.com. >> we support that loss of productivity. >> don't even show up. >> bad for business but good for us. >> where are you guys from? >> wimbledon. >> you live in the stadium? fantastic! >> very comfortable. >> all right. very comfortable. let's check your weather and see what we've got for you. for today, london, we're looking at some showers off and on today, maybe 75, windy tomorrow with sunny intervals and 73. same thing again on friday. affecting a lot of outdoor venues. a lot of heavy rain off the southeastern atlantic coast, strong storms in the midplains.

record setting heat will continue in the midplains, as well weather temperatures well over 100. risk of strong storms from wisconsin on into the dakotas. plenty of sunshine in the southwest. beautiful day in l.a. today, >> good morning. we will see a few scattered showers and thunderstorms. a mixture of sun and clouds. that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thanks very much. when we come back, the fab five's amazing performance last night and we'll look ahead to the individual all-around competition with carly patterson

and mary lou retton. then a little beach volleyball on the plaza. you gonna write tonight? ok, i gotta finish this. fine, but you're missing out. finished! maybe now, this should be a hobby just until you get your feet on the ground. dad, it doesn't work like that. i gotta pay my dues. no, i gotta pay your dues! we don't have any money. i'm not who i thought i was, and i'm terrified that i never will be. it's nice... i'm gonna get it for you. i never thought this would... affect so many different people. wait, this is where it really gets interesting. you think you can just steal a man's life, expect there'd be no price to pay? did you think about what this was gonna do? tell me the truth, what really happened? i look at my life, i look at everybody's life. it's not right! you can't slide out of it now. i want to fix this. don't crucify yourself for the rest of your life for one stupid mistake!

you don't even know who i am. "the words" rated pg-13 like the elephant on my chest... he thought he was having a heart attack. she said, "take an aspirin, we need to go to the hospital." i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm very grateful to be alive. aspirin really made a difference. she gives me snickers peanut butter squared and i eat it. it's snickers with creamy peanut butter, would you like one? let's just keep an open mind. [ groans ] [ male announcer ] if you like peanut butter and chocolate, you'll love peanut butter and snickers. try snickers peanut butter squared. you'll love peanut butter and snickers. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. is that your phone bill? sure is. let's see if we can go inside and save you some money on your plan. you ready? sounds great! can you tell them about straight talk? sure. with straight talk at walmart you get unlimited talk, text and data for only $45 a month.

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won gymnastics team gold. but on tuesday, team usa came out ready to end that drought. >> a great, great start. >> jordyn wieber rebounded from a devastating day in the individual competition to lead the team right from the beginning. and as the night wore on and they nailed routine after routine, it became clear no one was going to top the u.s. >> smile, gabby. >> reporter: a group of fierce competitors pulling together as one. aly raisman locked up the gold with a beautiful floor routine, the 17-year-old in tears before she was even done. still, team usa had to anxiously watch and wait till the judges made it official. >> get the gold medals ready! >> reporter: one team, five young women, a moment to remember forever.

>> one, two, three! >> usa! >> here to talk about the women's big win, former medal winner carly patterson and mary lou retton. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> you both were there last night. are your voices hoarse from cheering? >> yes. >> yes. definitely. >> we were together. >> we were. so we were all screaming and -- gosh, my voice actually is a little scratchy today. >> lucky for you and for all of us they didn't hold us in too much suspense. they won big by five points. mary lou, put that in perspective for everybody. how huge is that at this level? >> it's -- it's really undescribable. i mean, five points. we spanked them. i mean, it wasn't even close. and then, you know, aly was the last one to get up on floor. and when she did her beginning pose and her face was just so confident, like i knew she was going to go out there and do one of the best floor performances, and she did. >> winning gold is something so rare, obviously not since 1996

has this happened. carly, explain why this is such a coveted prize in women's gymnastics. >> well, you know, everyone's been trying to get that gold medal on the team since '96, and, you know, we fell a little bit short and got the silver medal. so did the 2008 team. and so for them to go out last night and just hit so confidently, and like mary lou said, when they went out on vault and they stuck every single vault, the best i've ever seen them do, i just knew they were on their "a" game last night. and, you know, you knew they were taking home the gold. they had a little bit of competition from the russians, but, you know, they just -- like she said, it was a butt whooping. >> the russians worked hard. >> i think the pressure got to them and they cracked. >> they fell apart, but the women did everything right. carly mentioned coming out and nailing the vault one, two, three. >> oh, yeah. >> psychologically, what does that do for a team, mary lou, to have such a strong team if team?

>> we know on vault, we are so much better than rest of the world. we knew we needed to stick those three vaults to get ahead. we were up by two points after the first rotation, which was the vault. that gave us confidence going into the next three events. >> carly, there is something really special about this team. >> yeah. >> i'm sure y'all are partial to your teams, of course, but this is a very deep bench, strong talent, shot through. i mean, could this be some are saying the best team ever? >> you know, they really, truly are the fab five and lived up to their name last night. and i'm so proud of them and so proud for them to take that gold back home for our country. i woke up this morning and to that and michael. they were saying you gave them inspiration. i was their first kind of olympic memory so i woke up all giddy and excited, like that's so cool. i'm so proud of them. i got to give them a hug earlier and say congratulations. i'm so proud of them. to be there last night was an

amazing moment. >> in the amazing club, carly, mary lou, shawn johnson, we've had you all here. marta karolyi, did you train with her, as well, marry lou? >> i did, yes. >> she's the team coordinator. how is she feeling? >> she's a genius. just the program we have set up, the system we have set up in the usa all comes from the karolyis, and they know how to do it. they create champions, olympic champion, and i don't know how many they have. >> real quickly, gabby and aly are on next for the individual all-around. are they in good shape? >> i think they're in the perfect shape they can be in especially coming off the win from last night. i think they're going to go in with that same exact confidence and kind of to already know you're an olympic champion, i think that will take a little pressure off and they can go out there, have fun, and do gymnastics for themselves. >> this they'll have ey'll have in their step but they don't need it.

mary lou retton, carly patterson, great to get your perspective and hear your cheers as well. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> you can catch the men's individual all-around tonight and the women tomorrow right here on nbc. coming up next, cue the congo. we're playing beach volleyball. >> get the gold medals ready! oatmeal, i love you.

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"today's athlete to watch" is brought to you by p&g -- proud sponsor of moms. >> and this morning on "today's athletes to watch," we're talking about beach volleyball. the reigning gold medalists in the olympics, phil dalhausser and todd rogers, took on spain last night and they beat them basically assuring themselves a spot in the knockout round. so, phil, the thin beast and todd a.k.a. the professor join us here on the plaza. guys, congratulations on your game last night. good to see you. 2-0 at the moment? >> yeah. >> you're the reigning gold medalists. everybody expects you'll do it again. are you feeling the pressure of that? >> no, not really. we're actually just kind of enjoying the process monopoly in beijing, we were so focused on beach volleyball, winning everything we can. now we're kind of just enjoying

the venue as we were talking about earlier and the fans and the people and having a lot more fun this time around, actually. >> brazil is the only other unbeaten team. is that who you want to meet in the finals? >> we'd like to meet our other u.s. compatriots in the finals, of course, but chances are brazil will be there in the thick of things so i guess we'll see what happens. >> i was there the other night, and this really has become the sport to go see, not to mention the venue is pretty amazing. what do you think of it, todd? >> it is amazing. it combines all the history that is, you know, great britain and london itself with the new sport in town, beach volleyball. the two have kind of combined to make it a cool place to be. >> speaking of history, you're called the professor because you studied history. what does history tell you about your chances? >> well, looking back to the last five to seven years that we've been playing, i like our chances. >> yeah. >> and why do they call you the skinny beast? >> stand next to him.

>> okay. finally. >> savannah one more time. >> you want to show us? >> why is the ball called the fig? >> this is not a regulation ball. it's just -- >> oh. >> really? we got that from somebody in the crowd, apparently. >> it's a random ball. >> we're going to go over here. >> how does this work? >> ask you to move back just a little bit. >> you two against all of us? okay. >> you're on that side. you're back here with me. okay. natalie, here we go. >> ready? >> go ahead, phil. >> okay. you guys -- >> there you go. >> up. up. uh-oh. watch out.

watch out. >> yeah! >> that was a classic i got it -- you take it. no. you looked at it. >> okay. here you go. >> spike it. >> guys, next game is when? when is the next competition for you? >> tomorrow night. >> and you take on? >> czech republic. >> all right. good luck with that. one more point as we go away. we'll have much more ahead from olympic park. >> some memorable images from these games. >> usa! usa! >> go ahead, natalie. spiking it. >> whoa! ♪

♪ ♪

this morning on "today," we talk gold with the fab five. tomorrow, more medal winners and we get a special tour of london from our very special tour guide.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a check of the commute with sarah caldwell. >> still waiting for the west side delays to dissipate. 24 miles per hour is the average speed from reisterstown road all the way down to edmondson. this is now gone. southbound 795 out of owings mills, watch for a slow-ago period if you want a handout on eastbound 100, watch for delays around telegraph road. delays on 295 south approaching

100 to 32. 15 miles per hour on the north side outer loop. we have all lanes closed due to two separate accidents at the intersection. live view of liberty. was cited as always hurt reisterstown. >> we have a little bit of light rain in some neighborhoods. scattered showers around baltimore, extending to the eastern shore. scattered thunderstorms develop this afternoon. 73 at the airport right now. if you scattered showers this morning. 30% chance for a thunderstorm tomorrow.

a bradys on thursday. it warm-up friday and saturday. another front comes through on sunday and monday. >> another update at 8:56.

one show has been at the center of it all. >> mr. sandusky, what do you say? >> i am innocent. >> this was the longest 40 minutes of my life. >> "rock center "with brian williams returns thursday, august 16th, here on nbc. 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, august 1st, 2012. a bit warmer in olympic park today as we get an aerial view of our home in london courtesy of the folks at goodyear. and down below, we have a crowd who's in a great mood here, many of them to see the olympics all the way from the united states

as we have the sixth day of competition. just ahead, it's a big night for men's gymnastics. exciting. >> the guys will compete in the men's individual all-around, including danell leyva. before he came to london, that man right there, ryan seacrest, caught up with him and talked about his secret weapon. interesting guy. >> an incredible relationship he's got with his stepdad. i spent time in his hometown in miami. >> cool. >> and also, i don't know if you've been to the portobello market. >> no, not yet. >> noting hill, that whole -- researching it. i've been here a couple times but i go there every time. a great place to find amazing things, all kinds of things. jill martin, a perfect place for her fun things. we'll take you on a tour. we'll find out more about the famous cheeses. we are so excited about this segment. >> cheesy.

>> after that last segment? cheesy. we'll have the golden cheese. let us get a check of the weather. >> all right. let's show you what we've got. first of all, for today, a risk of strong storms in the upper midwest today. we're also looking at strong tomorrows along the southeastern atlantic coast, gorgeous weather along the western coast, sizzling conditions texas into the western plains. tomorrow we've got more oppressive heat in the southeast, sizzling from texas into the northern plains. gorgeous day out west from the pacific northwest into southern california. >> good morning. we will see the possibility of some showers and thunderstorms. the best chance would be this afternoon.

that's your latest weather. don't forget, anytime you need weather information, go to weather channel on cable or weather.com online. two members of the u.s. men's gymnastics team will compete for the individual all-around title tonight. john orozco and danell leyva. on the floor with danell will be his personal coach and stepdad. our special correspondent ryan seacrest spent time at home with them in miami. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. this is a relationship that really exceeds definition. danell calls yin his dad and whether they're in competition or hanging out at dinner, these guys are incredibly close and a whole ton of fun. >> this one's the fourth one. that one's ground beef. this one's my favorite, personally. there's another one coming out.

>> is this the famous tow snell. >> that is, indeed, the famous towel. >> let's see. >> put the blinders on. >> he's stealing my thunder. >> what's new? >> exactly. what's new? >> let's see this thing. it's got 400 or 500 followers on twitter already, a mind of its own. you have this with you every time you compete. >> yes, and everywhere i go. >> everywhere you go. is it good luck? >> definitely good luck. >> underneath his lucky towel. >> tell me about the preperformance ritual. can you talk us through it? show us what you do. >> it's slightly different for each event. like if it's -- people are, like, all right, stay tight everywhere and it will happen. >> then i go and go -- do it, baby. you got it. >> what do you say? >> trust in your training. >> trust in your training. you do this very well.

you're nailing it. >> this guy lives his life with passion, and his son is his beneficiary. >> pretty cool. you know, danell did take the team loss pretty hard. he put the towel over his head. were you surprised to see him react so emotionally? >> he's an emotional guy, and he said he uses that towel to help him with his focus through good times and tough times. that's why you see it over his head. >> his teammate, john orozco, will be competing in the individual all-around during the qualification rounds. he had a little trouble on the pommel horse, and based on what you learned about his character, how do you think he'll respond? >> he'ses got a lot of pride,

great work ethic and incredible support. i think he'll tap into all of those things for the next phase of the competition. >> we will be watching, ryan seacrest. >> thank you. >> thanks for bringing us the story. catch the men's individual all-around final tonight on nbc. still ahead, oscar winner kevin spacey on life in london.

we welcome you back now to london and day five of the games of the xxx to lich yad. look who we found taking in some of the action, two-time oscar winner kevin spacey. for nearly a decade he's served as the artistic director of the victory theater in london. good to see you on your side of the pond. >> good to have you on my turf for once. >> you came here a while ago. your home away from home, no question about it.

often t oftentimeses when the olympic games come to a city, the people who live there have mixed emotions. there's the traffic and the security and then the procedure. how do you feel about it? >> i'm lucky because i'm a resident of great britain but i'm a citizen of the united states, so i can root for both countries, which is great. and it's been incredible to be back. i got a chance to come back last thursday, so i was able to go to the opening ceremonies, which i thought was just extraordinary. live. i don't know what they look like on television, but they were quite remarkable to be there. it felt very much like danny boyle had done something that was about the workers, about what it takes to build a country, to build a society. it was an extraordinary look at a village. and i thought he took us through the industrial revolution and everything. i thought it was remarkable. >> i want to talk about your work with the old vic theater in a second. but let me ask you, if a stranger were coming to london, what would you put on your list of must dos and must sees here other than theater, obviously? >> other than the olympics? >> yeah. >> london has so many

extraordinary -- i think it's really become the cultural capital of europe. you look around, i mean, even if you look just between westminster bridge and the london bridge, the am of cultural activity, the amount of theater, opera, film, music, dance, art, the art world is extraordinary here, there's always something to do in london. and i think it's culture that really drives people here. you look around the south bank, why is it teeming with people? they're gong to the places like "the globe" and the national. >> when you took over as artistic director, you said you'd give them ten years, made that commitment. you're about 9 1/2 years in. your mission statement has been what? and do you feel like you've accomplished it? >> first of all, i have to say that if we have accomplished anything it's been because of the remarkable faith and dedication of the british public. you know, they never waited to see which way the wind was going to blow in terms of how our theater company went. it's not easy to start a new

theatrical beginning particularly in a place like london if you're an american. they came early, came often, supported us, they told their friends. if we've had any kind of success it's been because of the british public. the old vic feels very much like their theater. it's always been their favorite. my hope is over these next three years i'm remaining in my position i'll be able to build an endowment large enough and big enough that the future of the old vic will be secure. >> you've been on a lot of planes lately going back and forth to baltimore. you're shooting a series there called "house of cards," kind of a political drama. i want to read how you described your character recently. "a wily murderous politician worming his way to the white house." >> yeah. yeah. >> another great character. >> kind of like this here. >> no, no, no. get yourself in trouble, not me. when are we going to see this? it will be streamed on netflix? >> yes. the first original program for net lix. it's based on a popular british

series about a wily politician worming his way to be prime minister. oddly it was based on richard iii, which i spent the last ten months performing around the world. i feel like i've had a good ten months of rehearsal to play this character. it's been an extraordinary experience. to sort of delve into that world of politics and power and greed and ambition and all that. as david and i like to say, it ain't your daddy's "west wing." >> great to see you. pleasure. kevin spacey. >> thank you. up next, one of london's most popular shopping destinations, noting hill and portobello market.

"today's london" is brought to you by coke. coca-cola -- open happiness.

>> this morning on "today" in london, the world famous portobello market, the perfect place to send "today" and "us we weekly" contributor jill martin to find some fun finds. >> reporter: we are here in posh noting hill in west london. now, you may recognize this neighborhood from the famous noting hill movie also home of the portobello market. so we're going to go shopping. now, i can't promise you a grand sighing but i can promise you some great buys. come with us. >> it's like massive. i thought it was going to end two blocks ago. >> portobello is the best place. >> reporter: first stop, the antiques market. you'll find everything from century-old silverware to vintage jewels. >> good morning. it's a ceramic piece on margaret thatcher. >> reporter: and is that her husband?

>> and dennis, he's playing a supporting role. >> reporter: as the handle. i would say that's a supporting role. oh, look. kathie lee and hoda. if you need a break from shopping for some food, no fear. they have some of the freshest fruits and vegetables in all of london. i'm hungry. what is that? i love it. what's the freshest? >> everything's fresh. >> reporter: all the way from france. we are under the west way, which is the main road in london. but it's what's underneath it that makes fashionistas flock. you tear guy with the vintage jackets. can you hook me up? >> yes, i i can. i think we'll go for the british horse riding country look worn by kate middleton and kate moss and all the kates. brilliant. >> reporter: i'm at my last stop, the second hand market. in addition to the outdoor vendors, there are also these beautiful shops that line the

streets. >> i am pooped. how much for the set? >> and "today" and "us weekly" contributor jill martin is here. reenergi reenergized? >> i'm done haggling for the day. >> you come with gifts. >> i come bearing gifts. >> let's start with the girls. >> you, natalie, hoda, meredith, i got all these scarves. they were four for 30. i got four for 20 pounds. you can bargain down. i know which one you're going for. >> pink for sure. >> of course. this is for matt. it's to go with his jacket, hopefully get us on twitter as well. >> i can speak to him about that. >> al loves socks so i got him socks. for ryan's first olympics with the "today" show, we got him a journal so he can keep -- >> oh, cool. >> this is all hand made, all made in the uk, and really they line the streets, all of these stores. if you come, that is must go for portobello market. i love -- look at the cuff right

here. this was a gift to myself. naomi tate, she's in one of the shops that lines the streets. these are all from the '70s. she takes sheets and curtains and dresses and makes these fabulous cuffs. she used to live on the west side. she met her husband and move here and has been in portobello market for a decade. >> such a vintage look. what about the ceramics? >> great gifts to pick up. you can pick them up for five pounds, another great gift. this is actually a mini model they used at the world cup in 1966. >> wow. >> so, yeah. this is great. >> and alice in wonderland. >> the original one, first edition was 6,000 pounds. this was rereleased. we got this for 35 pounds, originally 38. what a great thing to have. >> a bargain. >> in the fashion department, some jewelry and of course some

knickers. our cameraman said you would model. >> great. >> if you do not have time to go to the market, the three stores you must hit, harrod's jigsaw, kate middleton used to be an accessory buyer there, and booths. they have their own pharmacy. if you can't hit it fridays and saturdays, this is where to go. >> jill martin, very well done. you've got a good job. thank you so much. coming up next, a tour of british cheeses.

and this morning on "today's olympic kitsch. "we are talking about cheese. chef and nbc contributor giada de laurentiis says it's as british as a pint or fish and chips. take a look. >> reporter: cheddar. cheese as british as big ben. some made here in london. i met up with bill ogle thorpe, a cheese maker. hi. good morning. >> good morning. >> where he taught me how to make burgundy cheese. >> put this coat on. i'll finish putting the muck in the vat. >> okay. let's go. i follow you. what are we filling there, a vat full of milk? >> milk. >> that's nice, warm milk. >> yes. >> fresh from the cow this morning? >> that's right. yes. >> can't lift this.

>> whoops. sorry. >> now what's the next step? >> heat it up till it's the right temperature. >> what temperature are we looking for? >> 34. you want it body temperature. >> yeah. so the reason you want to stir it as you're heating it up so it doesn't burn on the bottom. >> that's right. >> is that hard to do? >> do you want to have a go? >> yes. i need my morning workout. >> okay then. >> and then you let the cheese settle. next up, it's time to cut. all the way to the bottom? >> yes. yes. like this. okay. >> one, two, three. >> look at that baby. making cheese. making cheese. glorious cheese. in the mold, a bit of a wait, and then -- okay. off to market. we took a trip to the market to sell our cheese and a few other treats at his stand. really busy. >> yeah, it is. >> we got right to work, frying

up a slice of the burgundy. >> we're just going to cut it and cook it up on the grill. >> you serve it over the potatoes. >> yeah. >> cute. he also gave me a lesson on how to make his super popular grilled cheese sandwicheses with a shredded blend. now, that is awesome grilled cheese. and finally a dish called bcicclet. would you like one? there you go. >> now's the part where it gets dangerous. we've got it here live with ricky and conor of the u.s. swim team. what are you doing here? >> this is a fatty cheese. that's why we can melt it like this. you don't need this kind of machine to do it at home. you can put it under a boiler. it's absolutely divine. come on, guys. you can't just watch. okay. you guys can all try it. >> you can't do this with just any cheese. >> no. it's got to be this kind of

cheese. it's high fat and they add a little water so it's nice and soft and melts under the fryer. >> is that with potatoes, the normal, traditional way? >> yes. there you go. grab your forks. moving on, we've also got -- >> you got a fork there? >> got more cheese over here. another cheese you have to try. >> another spoon. >> another cheese. [ cheers ] >> okay. forget the cheese. come on, ryan. we have a lot more to do! >> sorry. >> we have a lot more to do. >> sorry. >> all right. this is the cheese that i made in the fryer. we fry it up in the pan. it has a texture. >> there's cheese in there. >> this is just cheese. this is the cheese i made. and then look at the traditional english cheese platter. >> that's the -- >> this is the two chutneys that go with the cheeses.

one is a milder, softer cheese. then we've got -- >> a cheddar. >> it's called a cheshire cheese. hard to say. unpasteurized. this goes with crackers. >> the best part is you made up lunch. >> yes, i did. yes, i did. >> now we're talking. we're hungry. >> try that. matt, that might be a little bit -- >> wow. look at that one. go ahead, ryan. >> are we all family here or what? >> yes, we are. >> thank you.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a howard county out colic beverage board rejected a proposal to add a liquor store in the new wegmann's columbia. the company planned to have the operation operate independently

but share the same entrance. it raised concerns among area and liqu

>> mixture of sunshine and clouds expected during the day. hit and miss showers and maybe a thunderstorm. high temperatures will be in the upper 80s. upper 80s again tomorrow. we will sneak into the low-to- mid-90's on friday and saturday.