hope and healing. christian bale, star of "the dark knight rises" visits with survivors of the tragic shooting in aurora, colorado as officials try to figure out if the alleged gunman used taxpayer money, intended for his education, to fund his rampage. a killer whale attacking his trainer in 2006. a man dragged by his foot and held under water. incredibly he survived. we'll tell you why these images just released. team "today" in the uk. with opening ceremonies a few

days away we've all made our way to london today, july 25th, 2012. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," countdown to the olympic games with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from olympic games with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from london, england. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on this wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. my third day here in london during the buildup to the summer olympic games. we're standing here at the tower of london. behind me the famed tower bridge with the olympic ring hanging beneath it as this city gets prepared to welcome the world here in just a couple of days. now, savannah, al and natalie actually arrived a little earlier this morning. but in typical fashion they decided they wanted to make a

grand entrance. here they come in a cab. hey, guys. good morning. >> how are you. mr. roker, sir. nice to see you guys. welcome. >> finally. >> is anyone going to pay the cabdriver. >> we put it on your tab. >> we're big continuers, too. >> how was the flight overnight? >> cruised down the olympic lanes and got here almost in time. good afternoon instead of morning. good hours, we like that. >> we want to mention the competition -- it does start after the opening ceremony but actually began today in some competitors. in soccer u.s. women take on france today. that's a highly anticipated match. by the way, take a look at the aquatic center, one of the great venues over in olympic park and take a look at ryan lochte, one of the stars of the u.s. team

getting a little warm-up action in over there. so things are really heating up. >> talk about heating up, there's going to be a fierce competition in the pool from ryan lochte and michael phelps. they will face off as soon as this week. speaking of ryan, another ryan joining us, our special correspondent ryan seacrest will give us the scoop at the aquatic center. >> missy franklin, the 17-year-old known as the missile. she could swim away with seven medals in london. exciting to watch her as well. >> the mayor of london is quite a character. he's here playing it cool. he's going to be chatting with you a little bit. welcome all of us and welcome the world. >> he's been working on this for a very, very long time. >> we're going to begin with what's being done for the games with stephanie gosk. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. every city that hosts the games

asks the same question, how are we going to keep the games safe. in the last few weeks there's been a scandal with a private security company and has some people in the city wondering whether london is ready. those in charge insist it is. the largest peace time security operation in british history starts at the olympic park. this week athletes are pouring in. soon spectators will as well. so when the private security firm g4s announced four weeks ago they could not provide enough guards at the gates, the british military was forced to step up. 4700 troops now check bags and man x-rays. at venues outside of london, the local police have had to fill in. but metropolitan police commander says the g4s debacle has not compromised security. >> what it did do, people in all the agencies had to work a bit harder. >> reporter: the security guards are just one part of a much

larger operation. from this command and control center broad hurts is in charge on the ground, water, and air. they are backed up by a military arsenal including surface-to-air missiles, typhoon fighter jets and the royal navy's largest ship the hms ocean. it's an historic buildup londoners have noticed. >> if something did happen, we'd be equipped to respond to it quite well. >> there are also multiple layers of security the public won't see, including new technology to remotely control vehicles if they get carjacked installed in thousands of buses. we were given a firsthand demonstration. >> it's measuring everything from speed down to how much i'm pressing the accelerator. >> reporter: at the side of the road a colleague took control of the car electric a laptop. >> really can't do anything with the vehicle. >> reporter: now coming to a

complete stop. even more important than technology and firepower, say commanders, is experience. on july 7th, 2005, just a day after london was awarded the 2012 games, the city was attacked by a home grown terror cell. 52 people were killed. >> terrorism has been a fact of life in the united kingdom since 9/11 and really before. but the security services because of that experience are as good, if not better, than any security service in the world. >> reporter: security says the likelihood of a large scale attack is quite small. what they are more concerned about is the lone wolf attack, a person acting on their own. the best defense against that is public vigilance. matt. stephanie, thank you very much. the mayor of london. make mayor, good morning to you. >> i'm doing well. >> we had you in new york a while back. nice to see you. >> nice to be here.

>> years of planning, a lot of ups and downs, here we are three days away from opening ceremony. you're going to go out to where the torch is being run through london. >> i'm in the going to carry it. >> are you not allowed to carry it. >> there's a no politicians rule. if i tried to grab the torch, policeman would haul me off of it. >> you should do it. you would be on every newscast. >> but not in a good way. >> when you see the torch, is that the moment it will hit home. >> for four years we've been getting this thing ready. i went down to the village yesterday and it was like an incredible time share except more luxurious and with a better economic prospect. i felt very floaty, it's something so huge for london and the whole city. >> you talk about economic prospects. obviously it's about the spirit of competition, the movement but

big business for london. what do you want people to think of your city after they watch this game. >> this is the number one cultural artistic city in europe. it stands in relation to the european continent new york does to the united states. the number one banking finance center. it's the world capital. i'm afraid to say, i've pointed out before on your show, we invented just about every one of the sports including baseball by the way. >> right. i think on my show you said you have invented everything useful to mankind. let's talk about security. some real blunders g4s the private company charged with guarding many venues here. are you worried someone watching those stories who might have considered causing harm at the games might feel emboldened to

do so. >> i think on the contrary, they will recognize what we've got is a very good relationship between the armed services, who were always going to be part of this things. we were going to have loads of military personnel plus g4s, and the police. you go around and look at how they are working it's exceptional. >> on a local level, do you feel you've plugged any holes that might have been created by that private company. >> the venues are as safe as we can make them, matt. the thing about security, politicians can never say the whole thing is 100% nailed down, because there's always a risk, news case, of course that's true. the intelligence we're getting the overall risk has been downgraded from severe to substantial, the terrorist threat, that kind of stuff. on the venue security, it's as

safe as it's ever been. >> now they are whining about the sun. >> we should be olympic contestants for the art of winging. >> we say whining. >> whimpering. >> they are complaining about traffic. we zipped through the olympic lanes, they worked for us, but the people upset about it are complaining. >> when you zipped through the lanes as you did, they were open to everybody because they are open to everybody at the moment. actually so far it's working okay. the traffic system is not throwing up some of the problems perhaps -- >> a little bit of a rail problem the other night leaving the olympic park when people were looking at me and smiling. i have to mention it. >> that's all right. there was a rail problem on the central line but recovered. actually, the interesting thing was that london was able to absorb the problem and we got

64,000 people into the olympic stadium and out again without any problems at all. >> boris johnson, the mayor of london who will make headlines later when he goes out and tackles the olympic torch as it goes through the streets of london. >> i'm in the going to do that, matt. >> good luck. >> thank you. >> pleasure to be here. back to savannah. all right, matt. thank you. back at home, the investigation into the friday's colorado shooting is moving forward, this as survivors got a special visit from "the dark knight rises" star christian bale. mike taibbi is in colorado again for us this morning. mike, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. one sign of how much people return the country are hurting for aurora, the state victims' fund that's been set up has reached $2 million with warner brothers, the studio that produced the film the victims were watching making its own sizable contribution. gun sales here are surging even

as the investigation continues into how the lone suspect could have caused so much misery. batman star christian bale came to counsel unannounced to visit injured victims, victims' families and first responders. it was the posted cell phone photos that got the story out. >> he was very nice, very sincere. he wasn't there about himself. he was just there to show his support and that people cared. >> the theater where "the dark knight rises" may never open again. there and at the apartment home of suspect james holmes, front-runners and fbi agents continued the collection of evidence. they will also pour over the records of the medical college where holmes had been a phd candidate before dropping out, supported by a 26,000 federal stipend. school officials wouldn't say whether the suspect might have used thousands of those taxpayer dollars for the arsenal police say he assembled. >> the national standard for

supplying living stipends for phd students so they could devote 100% of their efforts to research. >> reporter: nbc confirmed he connected on one dating site, called classic jim, said sole penetrating eyes were his best future. and a question for any potential matches, will you visit me in prison? after the world got a first look at holmes in court there was a spike in gun applications, a 43% spike in the week before the massacre. >> when i showed up, about 40 s to get in. >> reporter: there were hopeful signs of renewal. katie medley in the theater gave birth to hugo jackson medley. her husband caleb was gravely wounded. they are doing great.

caleb's brother said he's doing better. >> he's listed as critical but in stable condition and making small improvements, baby steps every day. >> reporter: baby steps in the city's recovery. one step at a time in the case against james holmes. next monday he'll be in court to hear the formal charges against him. in the months to follow, the answer to two key questions, will the state seek the death penalty and will james holmes plead guilty by reason of insanity. savannah. >> a long road ahead. mike taibbi in colorado. thank you. we are here in london, so that raises the trivia question who is holding down the fort at studio 1a in new york. at least temporarily, hoda kotb who is at the news desk with the headlines. how are you? >> how did you leave me and kathie lee here. we are trashing this joint. >> moments of insanity. >> i don't know how you did it. all right, guys. in the news protests have turned

violent in anaheim, california, over recent involved police shootings, including one that killed an unarmed man. the city council asked the city attorney's office to investigate shootings. a newly released video shows an orca at seaworld tempting to drown her trainer. it has been made public in the investigation into the 2010 death of seaworld trainer dawn branche brancheau. the orca drags him under twice as he struggles for his life. once they return to the surface he's able to calm the orca into releasing his foot and he swims frantically away. he survives. the trainer would have released him if he remained calm. the poll on the race to the white house shows the president's negative rating is 43% and republican rival mitt

romney isn't faring much better, a 40% rating, the highest yet. president obama is leading in the poll as 49% surveyed say they would vote for him versus 43% for romney. now onto wall street, courtney regan at the new york stock exchange. another rough day ahead? >> it could be. on tuesday, dow closed are lower by triple digits for the third day in a row, something that hasn't happened since september, economic head winds bruising corporate profits. missed estimates by more than a dollar as iphone sales came up short. investors actually looking to a stream of reports today for a little hope, a bright spot in the summer. >> thank you. three years after michael jackson's debt his family conflicts are taking center stage.

police were called over a fight between his daughter paris and sister janet jackson seen here on surveillance video. over the weekend the family reported jackson's mother jackson missing. she's since been found safe with her daughter in arizona. we'll have a lot more coming up in a live report. actor sherman hemsley, known as upwardly mobile george jefferson. he got his start as archie bunker's neighbor in "all in the family" but it made him a household name. who could forget that deluxe apartment in the sky. let's go back to the gang. >> thanks so much. al, we checked with the weather. this clipboard is doubling as a fan. >> moving around warm air but keep doing it. >> i'm trying to >> thank you, thank you. it's very nice. just keep going. let's see what we got for you. here's the forecast for london over the next three days. we're talking about temperatures

staying in the 80s and chance of afternoon showers by friday. but, the good news is, those shower chances will start to decrease as we get on in to the opening ceremony at 9:00. cloudy, just a 20% chance of showers and temperatures will be in the upper 60s. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> feels like you woke up in may on this late july morning. we are down into the 60s throughout most of the region with low humidity that has moved in overnight. reagan national is at 73 and milder around the bay. later today into the mid and upper 80s and lots of sun and a blue sky with low humidity and then heat and humidity return tomorrow and, again, on friday. both days highs near 100 and maybe an afternoon storm. then over the weekend, cooling down a bit and and that's your latest weather. matt. >> thank you very much. here in london one thing people are not so proud of is the

ongoing tabloid phone hacking scandal. now for the first time it's alleged to have american victims. nbc's michelle kosinski has more on that side of the story. michelle, good morning to you. >> hi, matt, right. london wants to put its best face on display and this scandal keeps rearing its ugly head. former employees charged with hacking into phone mails to get scoops, including voice mails to brad pitt and angelina jolie. they are among the most famous faces on the planet. now the latest they have had their most private lives tapped into by tabloids. in 2005 and 2006 an editor and chief reporter conspired to hack into the voice mail of brad pitt and angelina jolie including a stunt double that worked on tomb raider. >> when a u.s. computer is

hacked into, there's a potential to bring a lawsuit in a u.s. court even if the hacking occurred entirely overseas. >> reporter: they add to a long, long history of confirmed and potential hacking victims, nearly 5,000 of them. celebrities, politicians, victims of terrorist attacks and murders. many testified in the government's ongoing investigation into hacking. >> my access number, pin numbers, e-mail was actually used to hack my e-mail in 2008. >> i said, there is no way you could know that unless you've been listening to my messages and he laughed. >> we're talking about very that's people here. >> reporter: among those charged former "news of the world" editor colson, spokesman. >> we worked on behalf of victims of crime. the idea i would sit in my office dreaming up skins to undermine investigations is simply untrue. >> reporter: and rebekah brooks,

formerly one of rupert murdoch's chief executives accused of conspiring to break into the e-mail of abducted teenager which gave her parents false hope she had not been murdered. >> she picked up her voice mail. she's alive. >> reporter: brooks denies the allegation, denies condoning hacking or knowing about it as his rupert murdoch and his son james. so this question, were there american victims and will that expand the investigation or bring lawsuits in the u.s. in this case the stunt double is british, not clear where she was when the alleged conspiracy took place. there are other alleged victims that think it happened to them while they were in the u.s. matt. >> michelle kosinski, also here in london. michelle, thank you very much. one of the highlights we are all looking forward to is the showdown at the aquatic center between ryan lochte and michael

phelps and our ryan for the games is over at club speedo this morning. ryan, good morning to you. >> good morning, guys. club speedo right outside olympic stadium where it's in the low 80s. it's like southern california here. >> ryan, hi. >> sorry, we thought we lost you. >> we're going to blame jet lag. matt has no excuse but that's our excuse. we're covered. >> so talk a little about club speedo. what goes on there? what do you expect there? >> in a little bit we'll chat with michael phelps and the u.s. swim team. they are all sort of here having some lunch. michael is excited, i think, to get the action started. he's very excited about saturday night, which i think a lot of people are as well. so we're going to chat with them about what's on their minds and get into these games. it's my first olympics so i'm

taking it all in. >> all right. we went out to a restaurant, we should tell people last night, you and me and others, and you won the olympic eating competition. so congratulations on that. >> what was for dinner. >> epic. it was epic. he did himself very proud. >> i still owe you a dinner. two for you, none for me. i'll get you while we're here. >> it's a deal. we're going to have much more from ryan, including an interview with michael phelps and much more from the tower of london. but first this is "today" on nbc.

after your local news.

good morning. on this wednesday, july 25th. i'm aaron gilchrist. some trouble spots for you to avoid on the roads. danella sealock has the situation. >> university boulevard. chopper 4 is flying high over a multi-vehicle crash blocking the left lane about five vehicles are involved in this accident and you are jammed. here is a live look as you make your way past new hampshire avenue and vy sluggish. delays actually start in college park. over to route 50 inbound at 202, slow as you head towards new york avenue. no accidents just deilas. aaron? >> thank you,

good morning. temperatures around the region in the 60s most locations to near 70 degrees with low humidity and a clear sky. sparkling sun and we'll have

that sun climbing higher and, as a result, you'll need sunblock today, even though the low humidity will be in the upper 80s and then near

wednesday morning july 25th, 2012. it's 12:30 in the afternoon here in london. we could not ask for nicer weather, right around 80 degrees. sunny, nary a cloud in the sky. good morning to you. i'm savannah guthrie alongside al roker, al roker and matt

lauer. you said don't bring the weather. >> you did very well. i don't get to hear the word nary. >> it sounded british. >> i also told you to brush up on your nbc information book. >> here we go again. >> i have day three of my olympic quiz. this isn't just olympic quiz, just general knowledge. we all know here in london we're five hours ahead of new york time, right? in terms of time zone. what is the time difference between the site of the 2012 summer games and 2008 summer games. >> ask matt. >> seven hours. >> six. >> that is correct. seven hours. george bernard shaw once famously said england and america are two countries separated by what? >> the pond. >> english. >> we all know here in this country waiting in line is called queueing.

so when people use the word jumper, what are they referring to? >> a sweater. >> very good. >> finally paid off. >> what are they referring to when they say a kit?>> an umbre? >> it's a uniform. wearing his or her kit. >> old troubles in your kit bag. >> that went better than i thought. >> one more. you're not out of the woods. what is the best selling motorized vehicle in the uk last year. >> ford fiesta. >> that was not in the book. >> it was in the book. >> ford is the number one and number two best selling cars. >> i think you guys did very well considering jet lag. congratulations. >> thank you. >> we get the gold medal. >> just ahead, one man could become the most decorated olympian ever. we're talking about michael

phelps. he needs three metals of any color. to accomplish that he would pass a female soviet gymnast. coming up, ryan seacrest will be talking to the man of the hour. in contention for the medal, the american women's soccer team. they will be in action today against france. the goalie has made some controversial comments. we'll get into that story as well. we're begin this half hour in california where an ongoing feud between the jackson family members is escalating. jason kennedy is in los angeles for us. good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, savannah, good morning. the jackson family feud that began this weekend with reports to police that michael jackson's mother katherine was missing has escalated into a face-to-face confrontation involving janet jackson and her niece paris. like the dramatic productions we've come to associate with

michael jackson, this new family conflict was caught on camera. surveillance video at the california home of katherine jackson shows an suv with randy, janet and jermaine jackson as it pulls into the driveway behind the vehicle driving michael jackson's three children home from summer school. at first the meeting appears cordial. prince jackson exits the front passenger seat and walks over to his uncle randy greeting him with a hug. paris jackson is also seen in the grainy video hugging aunt janet. moments later things got heated and police were called. >> jermaine, randy, janet and the kids, something like that. i'm thinking they are bringing them home. then they get out with their cell phones. they are filming, all this kind of stuff. randy calls prince over to him. he was like kind of pushing him aw away. janet ran up to paris and tried to take her phone. she went back and didn't want

her to take the phone. they diverted them in the house. it all happened at once. they all started to come in the door and things got crazy. someone called 911 and the police showed up. >> on tuesday randy jackson spoke to al sharpton and gave his account of what happened. >> we did got to the phone to let paris and prince know they can visit with their grandma at any time. we felt someone was trying to twist the story and make it though we were the problem, denying them access to their grandma. when we got to the home, we were kind of denied access to our own home by security. >> i told them, they are not going to come and take the kids out of here. they already took miss jackson out of the house. we're not going to let them take the kids out of the house. >> i just want to say i love him

so much. >> reporter: when michael jackson died his will left custody of his three children to katherine jackson. jackson's father and siblings got nothing. tuesday the executor of michael's estate issued a statement about the children. we are concerned that we do what we can to protect them from undue influences, bullying, greed and other unfortunate circumstances. >> there's a ton at stake with the estate. they certainly want to make sure not only the entire family is taken care of but they want to make sure the children's best interest are as well. >> it became public when trent reported her missing to police. an investigation found she was safe and with her daughter rebbie in arizona. as of last wednesday she had yet to speak with her grandchildren prince, blanket or paris, who has taken to twitter to urge that her grandmother come back home. >> i'm protecting her and i'm looking out for her best interest.

i don't have no motive behind what i do. she want me there, i'm going to be there. >> trent jackson told us after watching tape of the ugly incident at the jackson home, he's embarrassed and hopes his family can sit down and work things out together. but above all, he just wants katherine jackson back home with her grandchildren. savannah. >> all right. jason kennedy in los angeles. thank you. now we want to get a check on our lovely weather with mr. mr. roker. >> hey, guys. thanks so much. here along the temps. we have am friend over here from minneapolis. hi, what's your names? >> julie. >> and? >> katie. >> having a good time? >> staying for the olympics? >> no. >> when are you going home? >> going to paris from here. >> that's not so bad. nice consulation prize. the water is kind of low here, but in phoenix, just outside of phoenix, boy, was it wet. you want to talk about flash

flooding because of all the burning that had gone on. there was no vegetation to hold back the water and you can see how quickly they had flash flooding here. really unbelievable. let's look as far as the heat is concerned. again, a very wide area of very hot conditions and excessive heat watches and warnings and advisories in effect and the temperatures, again, continue into the upper 90s, well over 100 and, in fact, heat indexes make it feel anywhere from 100 to 110 degrees. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> some of that heat will be arriving here tomorrow. enjoy this brief break why you can. a delightful morning with low humidity and fresh and cool temperatures down into the 60s throughout much of the region. later today, though, hitting the mid and upper 80s, which is the average high this time of year. we'll have the low humidity in place and bright sun and blue sky. increasing hot and humid on thursday and friday both

afternoons near 100 might get isolated storms. here's a look at the weekend. saturday maybe some storms around and a bit >> and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> all right, al. thanks. coming up next ryan seacrest sits down with michael phelps. coming up right after this. big year for spelling. par, here's what the kids will n-e-e-d. ♪ pens and markers, paper wide ruled. ♪ ♪ hoodies, sneakers, tape, sticks of glue.♪ ♪ large boxes pencils, highlighters. ♪ ♪ sneakers and t-shirts. ♪ notebooks and jeans, ♪ notebooks and jeans, ♪ notebooks and jeeeeans, yeah! ♪ ♪ notebooks and jeans! announcer: school takes a lot, target has it all. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee.

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london. we continue the countdown to the summer games. michael phelps already holds the record for the most gold medals. he has 14. if he wins three gold medals of any color he becomes the most decorated olympian of all time. "today's" special correspondent ryan seacrest is standing with the man right now. ryan, take it away. >> here we are with as he said, the man, michael phelps. you got here monday for your fourth and what you say is your final olympics. how was it different the arrival emotionally for you knowing this would be the last one. >> it's kind of been weird. we've said everything, this is my last tuesday afternoon workout. this is my last double. yesterday was my last double. it's like it's cool to say but also kind of emotional. i think back over the last 20 years of what has happened through my career. it's been a lot of great memories. i think that's one thing that i'm looking forward to this week, a lot of good memories and

moments. hopefully i finish my career with some good swims. >> a few weeks back at the trials, you said there's more work to get done. you want to get faster. what have you focused on to do that? >> more stroke control, getting back to my old strokes. i really didn't feel like it at the trial. working on small things. breaststroke, i literally had to start from scratch and work on the entry and my hands, keep my hands together. a lot of little small things we've been able to tweak. >> where do you think you are physically and mentally? >> physically i'm a lot better than what i was. mentally, part of it is coming day by day, being able to kind of visualize my races and prepare myself for what could happen, what i want to happen, what i don't want to happen so i'm ready for everything. >> you have a chance to see the aquatic center, the pool? is it a fast pool? what's it like? >> pretty cool. overwhelming. you look up on both sides of the

stands and there's a lot of stands there. >> you like that, right. >> it will be cool. hopefully some loud cheering and the place will be rocking. i remember in 2000, the floor was almost -- you could feel like the floor shaking. more people here, hopefully a loud venue. >> stay with the other athletes in the village. >> we are. >> what are you doing in your downtime there? >> i've pretty much just been watching tv shows. i started the wire and catching up on breaking bad. a little bit of sitting around watching shows and movies. >> there have been reports of no air conditioning. is that true? >> we walked in and tried to crank the thermostat down. nothing was happening all day. they told us in a meeting we have no air conditioning. some of us are lucky enough to have -- i think everybody on the team has little like college dorm fans that rotate. so we have some air circulating. >> more comfortable now. >> yeah. everybody has to deal with it.

>> if you win three medals here in london, you go on to become the most decorated olympian of all time. have you stepped back to think about how significant that is in history, michael? >> you know, i think a lot of things i've done through my career haven't really sunk in yet. you know, i think i guess the more i move through my life, i think some of those moments will sink in more. i have a job to finish here. that's why i'm here, why i'm setting out on saturday to start my journey. hopefully it's a good one. i'm looking forward to getting in the water and race. the goal is as to try and swim faster here than you did at trials. if i do that, then i've made progress. >> what's the journey after this journey? i know you're looking forward to having a little bit of fun. if you booked any trips, made any plans? >> we have a couple of trips booked, looking forward to relaxes, doing whatever i want to do, going wherever i want to go, just living life.

having fun every day, have a smile, wake up, be lucky to be here. >> you deserve it. good luck. michael phelps, good to see you. >> thank you. >> matt. >> ryan, thank you very much. a little more from ryan later on. michael goes up against ryan in the 400 im. that takes place saturday. you will see it, of course, on nbc. another group of athletes making headlines. this time off the field, the u.s. women's soccer team. some of the comments captured in the headlines concern this program right here. we'll have more about that right after this. [ male announcer ] avocado season's goin' strong at subway. avocado on a subway club... now we're talking! [ male announcer ] this super-food makes a protein packed subway club super delicious. rich, creamy avocado has gotta be part of your training routine. great flavor, great protein. try avocado on any sub. [ male announcer ] like the ultimate veggie. your choice of freshly baked bread piled high with your favorite fresh veggies and power-foods spinach and avocado. subway. the official training restaurant of laila ali...

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so help keep your country's colors true, with tide. welcome back to london, the opening ceremony of these olympic games is two days away. the competition actually begins today. all 12 women's soccer teams take the pitch including the gold meteorologist favorites from the united states. gold medal favorites from the united states. at the beijing olympics in 2008, the u.s. women's soccer team took home the gold and won the hearts of the nation. after the games, their winning streak continued. just last year the u.s. women made it to the finals of the world cup and captivated fans once again as they played their hearts out only to be beaten by japan in a nail biting penalty kick shoot-out. >> they want to make up for that

defeat at the world cup final last year by taking and defending their gold medal here in london. >> expectations are high for team usa as they take the field tonight, a team that has landed in the spotlight over the past few weeks for what has been happening off the field rather than on it. just weeks ago the team's controversial star goalie hope solo received a warning from the anti-doping agency after she tested positive for a banned substance. solo says the positive test was as a result of a prescription drug she was taking and was unaware of the substance. this after she admitted espn magazine she snuck nonathletes into the olympic village during the games in 2008. she said at some point we decided to take the party back to the village, so we started talking to the security guards, showed off our gold medals, got their attention and snuck our group through without credentials, which is absolutely unheard of. >> we are here with u.s. soccer

team -- >> reporter: went on to say she and her team showed up drunk for this appearance after their gold medal win. quote, when we were done partying, we got out of our nice dresses, got back into our stadium coats and at 7:00 a.m. with no sleep went on the "today" show drunk. >> this interview has to raise serious questions about judgment and accountability and responsibility and about the privilege of wearing team usa's uniform. >> with 11 of the 18 members of the team back in action, the women are hoping to defend their winning title and take their place once again on top of the podium. >> everybody knows hope is probably the best goalie in the world. you want to say the team is going to play well. they have won three of the last four gold medals here. they go home with anything shy of a gold medal, it's a disappointment. >> you can catch team usa against france live 11:30 eastern time on the sports network. up next, international soccer

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7:56 is your time now on this wednesday, july 25th, 2012. good morning to you, i'm eun yang. we are not talking about heat or storms. meteorologist tom kierein in the storm center. tom, good morning. >> feels like we woke up in may, not july. there is a live view from our hd city camera right now. in the 60s to near 70 with low humidity, a gorgeous, sparkling sun in a blue sky and low humidity throughout the day. with bright sun, you'll need sun block and highs reaching the upper 80s and then heat and humidity return tomorrow and friday. up near 100 both afternoons and maybe some scattered storms, lower humidity by the end of

good morning, the traveling the outer loop of the beltway had a crash at university boulevard. delays start in college park. let's talk about the inner loop at new hampshire avenue and crash there blocks the left lane and you're absolutely jammed as you make your way past i-270 all the way to

we are back now, 8:00 wednesday morning, 25th day of july, 2012. as you look at the olympic rings hanging from the tower bridge over the thames. countdown under way. for me, more importantly, the team is here. we've got savannah guthrie here, natalie morales here, meredith vieira was here yesterday. great to have you back here. and mr. roker is over on tower bridge just behind us. al, how does it look from there? >> a spectacular view of the tower bridge and of the thames. this is a drawbridge.

it splits in half right about here. so on this side, summer, this side winter. summer, winter, summer, winter. >> we've done that already. >> sorry. sorry. >> all right, al. we're going to see you in just a second. meanwhile a lot coming up here. >> we're going to check in with 17-year-old missy franklin that could walk away or swim away with a lot of hardware. she's swimming in seven econvenience. she may medal in seven events and she's made time for us. we'll talk to her in a bit. >> we'll talk to some of the women on the u.s. women's gymnastics team. they stand a good chance scoring a team goal, which if they do would be the first time in 16 users. >> did you hear bela karolyi yesterday. he was very optimistic. >> it's an incredible team of five young women. >> catch up with soccer star david beckham.

he's an ambassador to the olympics. a lot of people are hoping. it's been reported he might light the calderon. matt and i know the answer to that but i'm not saying a word. we're not saying anything. he is playing an important role. he has a real fondness for the royal family, we'll talk about them, especially the queen. >> we have to be careful. we're taking part in rehearsals, what we do and do not say about the opening. one thing we can say for certain, ryan seacrest will not light the calderon but will join us between club speedo. >> i can't tweet away secrets. goth gotcha. here we are with the swim team. say hi. >> hi. >> let's start with natalie coughlin, how is this different?

>> the village is incredible, the food is good. i'm not going to lie, it's nice to have english. >> you're back after beijing. why the change of heart for you? >> it's one of those deals, i didn't want to sit at home and watch it on tv. i wanted to be here representing my country. every four years you get that itch and here i am. >> dana, you had gold in athens, didn't make it in beijing and back in london. what does it mean to be standing here today? >> such an honor to be here again. gone through that experience missing the team, i got that itch more, wanting to be here and represent the u.s. starting off with my favorite event and kicking off the meet, it's going to be great. >> what advice, natalie, are you giving the newcomers, since you've done it before. >> just take it like any other swim meet. there's so much that goes on with the olympics but you have to realize it's the same 103 you've always been swimming and

have fun, represent your country well and enjoy the experience. take it all in. more than anything, the next three weeks will flyby so take a breath and take it all in. >> good advice. good luck to all of you. nice to see you. thanks for joining us in this wonderful heat. you want to get in the water, in the pool in this heat. back to you, matt. >> ryan, thank you very much. ryan seacrest at club speedo this morning. >> we want to check on the day's top stories. we head back to new york where hoda kotb is holding down the news deck. >> you look great out there. good morning, everybody. batman star christian bale made a low key visit to comfort victims of friday movie massacre, 12 killed, 58 wounded watching "the dark knight rises." donations to a fund have reached $2 million. an official at university of colorado would not say tuesday if suspect james holmes may have used any of his $26,000 federal grant to purchase weapons.

now to the high-stakes contract negotiations for the hit sitcom "modern family." >> we adopted a baby. >> modern family, among the most successful tv shows. >> didn't you teach him how to ride a bike? >> how could i? i don't know how to ride a bike. >> winning awards and making millions. >> yikes. >> five of the lead actors have filed a lawsuit in los angeles superior court against the producers of "modern family" 20th century fox television. sofia vergara, eric stonestreet, ty burrell, julie bowen with sixth lead actor ed o'neill reporting planning to join the lawsuit. even though it went on the air in 2009, the actors want their current contract voided, arking it violates the seven-year rule under california labor code and therefore illegal and wholly void. >> the modern family cast says

they have a right to toss out their contract because from the start of shooting their pilot to the end of their current contract, it goes longer than seven years. >> 20th century fox declined to comment. production was set to begin this week but now on hold. who is going to give, the studio or actors. >> here is the deal. the "modern family" cast is demanding a lot more money. on the other hand, they are irreplaceable. my prediction is they are going to be successful. because what's 20th century fox going to do? they are going to have to get out their checkbooks and pay up. >> according to neilson, modern family regularly draws more than 13 million viewers. host alex trebek returned to the set tuesday for the first time since owe suffered a heart attack last month. he began taping. he's 76 years old. now a quick roundup of what you guys are talking on line.

jefferson out with a new video "good time" a collaboration. good time racked up nearly a half million youtube hits in the first day. the singing walrus, you'll know why he's a top attraction in tacoma, washington. you've got to be kidding me. e.t. was a pup when rescued in alaska. i feel like that some mornings. athletes on the team thank their british host by trying to imitate the well-known cockney accent. >> make a nice cup of rosalie.

>> hansel and gretel and make us a nice cup. >> i don't want to hear you anymore. >> all right. they get a gold medal for just trying. >> it is now 8:07. i don't know what's going on in the studio but kathie lee -- >> hair and makeup in london, i have to help you. >> taking care of al roker. how are you, honey? hello? >> wow, thank you, hoda. thanks so much. we are here at the tower bridge. as we mentioned, there are the olympic rings for all to see as boat traffic goes up and down the thames. as we look and show you our pick city today, basically again not a bad one here in here in london it is a fantastic day. we do have a risk of strong storms back through the mid-plains and record-breaking  heat, again, in the midsection of the country. look for a gorgeous day along

the west coast and we do expect to see wet weather and storms moving later today in through the northeast. that's what's going on around the country and here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> a gorgeous morning. good morning, tom kierein storm center 4. we have bright sun and a blue sky. low humidity. a terrific mid to late summer day under way. 70s throughout the region now and later today into the mid and upper 80s with lots of sun and blue sky and low humidity. then, the humidity returns along with the heat. extreme heat, again tomorrow afternoon and friday afternoon and both afternoons near 100 and could get scattered storms. cooler for the weekend and maybe and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> al, thanks so much. we're going to check in live with 17-year-old phenom missy "the missile" franklin coming up right after this. hi. i'm timothy. i came from the garden. [ cindy ] is he for us? mom, dad... i'm getting that feeling. [ male announcer ] on august 15th

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you'll love peanut butter and snickers. try snickers peanut butter squared. you'll love peanut butter and snickers. celebrate the biggest sale of the year, the 25th anniversary sale & sweepstakes at petsmart. save up to 25% on thousands of items, and save $10 on all bayer k9 advantix® ii and advantage® ii flea or tick products in 6-packs and save $5 on 4-packs. at petsmart®. wednesday morning in london, the tower of london, for another day of olympic coverage. one of the names you're going to be hearing an awful lot about over the next couple of weeks is missy franklin. she's 17 years old. she's from colorado. she's still in high school and she is going to be one of the breakout stars of the game and missy joins us live. great to see you this morning. >> so great to see you. >> before we get to the fun stuff, we also want to remind people you go to school in aurora, colorado, train there, liver in centennial a few miles

away. there was tragedy there last week with the shooting in the theater. your thoughts there right now? >> my thoughts and prayers are constantly with the victims of aurora. hearing that news was so hard, because even a lot of people at home hadn't heard it yet because we were ahead in france, the time zone was so ahead. kind of waiting to hear from my friends and family to make sure they were okay was just miserable. >> you say your thoughts are there. i know they are. you come here to the olympics. focus is so important for you. has it affected your focus at all? >> it can't. i'm thinking about them constantly but i know that unfortunately the only thing i can do to make that situation any better is put my focus here and hopefully do the best i can to shine some light on colorado and make them proud. >> let me talk about expectations. have we been unfair to you? you know what i mean. we have hyped you, not just the "today" show, but the media in general has hyped you so much coming to these games, is it unfair? >> i wouldn't call it unfair,

absolutely not. i think it's so much support and at times could be overwhelming. i've said pit 100 times only expect as are my own. the only thing i care about is my own, my coach and my family. i know that's what you want me to do. >> you made history the first woman in the pool to qualify for seven events in london. that's an amazing accomplishment but adds pressure. >> definitely. it's hard coming to my first olympic games and swim thanksgiving many events. i have so many teams helping me, with me. michael is swimming seven. he'll help me out with that. >> you've been training with the team. have any of the older swimmers, i mentioned you're young, given you any advice that's useful. >> we have constant team meetings where veterans telling us what to expect, what to be preparing for when we get here. it's so helpful. the best piece of advice i got

is to take in every moment, enjoy every second. >> one thing we try to do on this program as we cover the olympics is break news. sometimes it's not great news, athletes blow a knee. you tell me you may have blown a fuse. tell me about this. >> we were straightening our hair to go on the "today" show. >> we meaning you. >> i plugged the converter in and heard a pop and our fan started to turn off. everyone is like, why is nothing working? i was just like -- >> you know half of london went da dark and has no air conditioning. >> all my fault. we went to athletes services. >> your parents such a part of your story, even sacrificed a lot to get you here. they arrived today? >> they fly out today and get here tomorrow. >> what do you think it will be like for them to see their daughter in an olympic pool for the tiers time. >> i think they are so excited.

i've been skipg them every day. they miss me so much, and i miss them. we probably won't have a lot of time this week but after this week we'll be together. >> missy franklin, you've been so generous with your time. i really appreciate it. you've already made us proud. go have fun. >> thank you. >> when we come back, meredith sits down with david beckham for a great interview. that comes after this. [ kristin ] i'm a grazer, i'm definitely a grazer.

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back now in london with the burning question here and around the world with opening ceremonies just two days away, who will light the olympic calderon. a lot of people are speculating it could be soccer sensation david beckham. meredith, opening ceremonies along with bob costas and matt. recently sat down with him. dug the answer? >> he's going to play a significant role. an ambassador, instrumental getting the olympics here. in terms of the calderon, he doesn't feel he deserves that honor because he's never been an olympian, which i didn't realize. never been in the olympics. i recently spoke to him about all things great britain. he talked quite a bit about his relationship with prince harry and william and his adoration of the queen. >> the queen is someone that i

feel that i've grown up with. i have great memories from we sit down on christmas day, and we've done this for years, it's a tradition. we sit down on christmas day and we listen to the queen's speech every year. my nan used to make sure that's what we do. i was brought up to love the royal family. we're big royalists. >> last year president and michelle obama came to london to visit the queen. the beckhams were invited to a dinner to welcome them to britain. >> that was a moment for me when i went to the ambassador's residence in london. there was a small room of four tables, 10 people at each table. i was thinking i'm going to be tucked in the corner somewhere out of the way. then i soot down -- >> i can't believe you would think that. >> sit me with the queen, next to the queen was the president. to my left was tom hanks. i was like oh, my god. i don't think i spoke a word the

whole dinner. i was just in awe of just being there and being opposite, you know, that person as a nation we look up to. >> see, they were sitting probably in awe to be with you. >> i very much doubt that but thank you. no, the queen means so much to us. she's an amazing woman with amazing strength. the family that she's created is incredible. >> you are friends with her grandson. >> yes. >> with william and harry and with kate as well now. how do you think she has influenced william, who will one day have to fill those shoes? >> william is an amazing person. harry is an incredible person. they both are. as brothers, they have gone through such a lot in their young lives. we've watched them go through what they went through. we've watched them grow into young men. you've got harry, who is kind of

cheeky. he's such a funny guy. >> if harry is the cheeky one, what about william? >> don't be fooled by william. william has got an amazing personality. he's a really strong person. harry is such a charismatic character but william is exactly the same. william has grown into this amazing ambassador for the country and so has harry. so we're very lucky to have two people that are going to lead our country. you know, they are both incredible. >> the beckhams had the honor of attending the wedding of the duke and duchess of cambridge. david wore his older british medal bestowed upon him by the queen. >> it was a special day. not many occasions i can wear it. it's not as if i can go and have pie mash wearing it. as i arrived at the wedding, i had it on one side. a military guy came up to me and leaned forward, an older guy.

he leaned forward and said, you've got your medal on the wrong side. i was like, okay. can you put it on the other side for me. so i slowly switched it. i think it had been seen by then. >> did william ever tease you about that? >> no, he didn't. >> maybe he doesn't know. >> i think he knows. >> and william, harry, and kate are expected toafter tend a lot of the events, including rooting on their cousin sarah phillips, competing as an equestrian. her mom was in the montreal olympics and fell off a horse. hopefully she will do better. harry is attending beach volleyball. sitting between you. >> i'm a giver, i had an extra ticket. he talked about his medal from the queen being on the wrong side. the olympic medals are right here in the tower of london. this is where they are housing

them. >> like the crown jewels around here and they still let us on the property. crazy. meredith wants to wear the crown. >> not going to high pressure. >> coming up happen. coming up, natalie has a preview of women's gymnastics. good morning, everyone. i'm barbara harrison. 8:26 is the time. wednesday, july 25th and right to storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein with a look at the forecast. tom? >> gorgeous morning under way and low humidity in place and temperatures right in the comfort zone. mid-70s throughout most of the region and reagan national at 75 now and later today into the mid and upper 80s with bright sun and low sky and heat and humidity returning tomorrow and friday, both afternoons up near 100 degrees. maybe some scattered afternoon storms. and cooler for the weekend. might get storms saturday, lower humidity on sunday, monday. barbara? >> thank you, tom. traffic is next, stay

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good morning. if you're traveling the beltway, had a crash there, it's now clear. but check out the delays still jammed right now all the way from old georgetown road and delays continue to new hampshire

avenue. let's head over to the 14th street bridge there. very slow as you make your way into the city, delays start at the beltway and you're under speed. just 11 miles per hour. barbara, back over to

8:30 on wednesday morning, the 25th day of july, 2012. we have a beautiful view of the tower bridge in london. that's our home for the day. tomorrow we will all head for olympic park at the epic center of the action as the olympics get under way over the next couple of weeks. good morning again, i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer and

natalie morales. we're missing somebody. al roker isn't here. maybe he'll turn up later. >> we have a preview of one of the "glamour" events of the summer games. >> swimming competition. gets under way with five rookies on the team. they are favored actually to win gold. they are led by two remarkable young women, gabby davis and jordan weaver. we'll catch up with them in a little bit. >> a courageous swimmer diagnosed with cancer before the 2008 beijing games. he competed anyway. good news, he is now cancer-free and he's back in a big way. we'll talk to him about his plans to win gold inland. >> we go on the road, we eat. it is the tradition around here. this morning we're going to try something called meat fruit, which does not sound all that good but it actually is food with a sense of humor. >> meat or fruit. >> the good news, i think we're finishing it off with ice cream, which is good. meantime we'll check with al and

the weather. back there clanging. >> you're kidding me. >> wow. >> you look good, al. >> it must be like 1,000 degrees in there. >> none some pass. >> what's the weather like inside your suit. >> it's actually -- i'm the original dark knight. >> how long did it take to get in that thing? >> two people and 15 minutes. all i can say is oil can, oil can. this is very uncomfortable. >> very slenderizing. it looks fantastic. >> well, it's like wearing metal spanx. it's fantastic. you've got to try this. wow. all right. anyway, let's show you what's going on going on as far as your weather is concerned. yes, i know it looks ridiculous, so just keep laughing, please. anyway, i'm going to just use

this on myself. as you take a look at a today, we do have a risk of strong storms making their way through the upper plains. we have more heat in the midsection of the country and then as we look ahead towards tomorrow, you've got more heat in the midsection of the country, but no matter what they're feeling, it's no where near as hot it as it is inside this suit. also a gorgeous day along the west coast and much cooler conditions in the northeast. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning here. feeling more like a morning in may than late july. we are really basking in this low humidity now. it's in the low to mid-70s much of the region and later today into the 80s with lots of sunshine and a blue sky and then the heat and humidity return tomorrow and will be in place as well as on friday. both afternoons up near 100 degrees. maybe some scattered storms and then on saturday, highs near 90, maybe some afternoon storms. and lower humidity near 90, sunday

and that's your latest weather. the keeper of the weapons and the armory here at the tower of london. bridget, thanks for joining us. >> good morning. >> so these weren't just for, obviously, protection. they were also very ornamental, too, weren't they? >> yes. it fit the owner exactly. depends how much money you've got as to how much you can show off. very much like modern fashion. >> this is modern fashion. very nice. actually, this is modelled after the italian -- >> slightly after a germanic one. >> the zany version of armor or armani. >> so heavy they would have to wench a knight on his horse. >> you wouldn't be able to fight. theoretically you could jump on a horse in that. >> theatre equitily. >> i wouldn't want to put you to the test. >> we have a sword.

what else do we have? this isn't a can opener. >> all those flanges are going to get their way into parts between here. it doesn't actually open you up. it's actually going to if you wear it properly. >> thank you so much and thanks for your help getting into this thing. savannah, they have a lady's version if you want to try. >> is that a breathable metal? >> no, it's not. i don't have to worry about a tan, i have to worry about rust. >> thank you, al, very much. appreciate it, bridgette, thank you. when you gaze up at the skyline you see an imposing new edition, a tal tower of glass called the shard. nbc's michelle kosinski has the story behind this. >> you can't miss it. it was 12 years in the planning, just completed at least on the outside. it opened in february. it towers over london making it a little controversial. for the most part people seem to see it as graceful, iconic and cool.

rising 1,016 feet, part of london's south bank that could use developing the shard is development at its most daring. 11,000 panes of glass to glimmer in the sun and reflect the rain. after a very fast elevator ride to the 69th floor, eventually in the 70s, you see everything, the tower, olympic park, 45 miles around. >> nobody in london has ever seen london like this before. >> did the architect immediately know he wanted to build something glass that way. >> it was very interesting. he did an initial stretch on the back of a menu. within 15 minutes he had created what we have today. >> that was the architect that designed structures in paris

inspired here by old london, spires of churches, masts of ships and old paintings. when they dug the foundation, underneath was a roman villa. this is where london really began. >> this building was not to be a symbol of arrogance or power but more like a sparkling spine, floating with the weather. >> for years they had to face the weather but the shard also greatly appears to those who flirt with danger. >> climb the shard, why not? >> american bradley garrett snuck in and scaled the uppermost crane, capturing these incredible views. a base jumper managed to bypass security to hurl himself off wearing a parachute. not once or twice but four times. most of us content to view it from the ground.

behind the glass, that is its glory. >> you think those romans in the villa ever envisioned the shard? >> i shouldn't think so. i expect they thought they had a dominating view of london telt. >> it was financed by investors in qatar. it will house offices, restaurants and 10 very swanky apartments. you know what, right after it was built the city instituted height restrictions. for right now, at least, this is as tall as london will get. savannah. >> michelle kosinski, thank you so much. coming up next, gold in gymnastics, natalie introduces us to the women to watch for. first this is "today" on nbc.

wednesday morning. one of the marquis events in any olympic games is the women's gymnastics competition. by all accounts here in london,

the u.s. has put together a very strong team. here with a preview of the competition is natalie. >> that's right, matt. the five women recently show cav cased on the cover of the magazine, as they come in as rookies, they come into the competition this weekend favored to win gold. >> no other gymnastics team, men or women, has won a team gold medal. >> it's been 16 years since that unforgettable moment. the first and only team gold the u.s. women have ever won in gymnastics. >> the women 2012 olympic team. >> experts believe that this year the team of five young ladies, gabby douglas, aly raiseman, mckaley maroney and kyla ross, all teenagers and firstime olympians could be poised to do it again. >> they are undoubtedly the

favorites to win gold come london time. >> emerged as leaders of this group, jordyn wieber champion in the all around. and gabby douglas, 16, from virginia beach. >> i feel so excited and ready to honor and commit to do my duties in london team usa. >> although they will be competing against one another in most events, national team coordinator mar take karolyi has made it clear team gold is the priority. >> they are very good friends. but all of them are going for the same goal. that goal is to make the u.s. team strong. >> both jordyn and gabby are expected to contend for gold in the individual all around, the most prestigious title in the sport. three american women have won it

in the past. mary lou retton, carly peterson. jordyn is the reliable powerhouse who has won every recent title. >> every since i started when i was 7 years old i learned to focus in on what i need to get done and stay in my zone during the competition. >> at olympic trials there was a different ending. >> gabby douglas isget guarante london. >> i'm not really coming in second. it's my goal to come out on top. >> finish first, so grateful and so happy. >> some say this rivalry sounds familiar. going into the 2008 olympics, shawn johnson was the remaining all around champion. it was her teammate nastia liukin who walked away with the all around gold olympic medal. shawn johnson's coach is now

coaching gabby douglas. >> it's a great situation for team usa. they are pushing each other to be better and better. >> these two have quite a dual. >> the competition was really good not just for me and gabby but the whole team. >> we have all bonded. we're kind of like a family, i think. >> it's that attitude and bond that may just make them the second group of american women to take home team gold. >> to have those ladies heading into lobbed as a one-two punch, wow, look out world. >> well, the women's qualification round stars sunday, matt. definitely the team should be watching. we did hear from u.s. gymnastics mckayla maroney has a slight toe injury. she's taking it easy for practice and she'll be fine for competition. >> when we come back we'll talk about team usa swimmer and ♪

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welcome back to london as we count down to friday's opening ceremony. american swimmer eric shanteau hopes to take home the medal this weekend when he swims the 100 meter breaststroke. you may remember him from beijing, he narrowly missed getting into the finals. he was battling cancer. he just finished three and a half years cancer-free and is ready to get in the pool and go for the gold. eric, good morning. good to see you. >> good morning. >> you feel pretty good. >> i feel great. a little bit different from last time. >> i bet you had a lot on your mind as we talked about. i know you had an opportunity to go over to the aquatic center. what do you think? >> the aquatic center is great. it's going to be an amazing facility when that place gets packed with all the fans. it's going to be a good atmosphere to swim fast.

>> i was going to say, you got to get in the pool. how does it feel? is it a fast pool? >> it's going to be a fast pool? any olympic pool is a fast pool. my teammates are set to go. >> for those not familiar with your story right before the olympic trials in 2008 you found out you had testicular cancer but decided to go ahead and compete. after the surgery you went through the treatment and recovered. how does it feel after going through all that. >> a weight off my shoulders. i'm walking around this olympic games with a lighter step. i'm able to enjoy myself a little more without having to worry about a cancer diagnoses. >> i heard you were back in the pool three weeks after your surgery. how hard was it to get back in that top shape? >> i wanted to return to normalcy. i was really looking forward to get back into training. it's funny how it worked out. that first year coming back was faster than i've ever swum before.

it was kind of crazy how i came back from cancer faster than i ever was. >> i was going to ask you about that. in fact, your career really took off in 2009, 2010, 2011. what do you attribute that to? you can beat cancer, you can get anybody? >> i got a new lease on life and racing. i learned to enjoy racing and swimming in general. i think taking that mind-set behind the blocks helped me take swiming to a new level. >> we remember getting to meet your dad in 2008 who had his own battle with lung cancer. we were sad to learn he passed away. i imagine you're happy he got to see you compete at the olympics. he's still at the forefront of your mind. >> he definitely is. i know he's proud of me right now, looking down with a smile and definitely be with me when i start racing. >> i heard you used to be superstitious about swimming. for example, you'd wear the same boxer. you want to get into that? >> absolutely. >> are you still superstitious?

>> no, i think that's one of the thing that changed. all the superstitions got to be exhausting. you learn to relax and just race. i think that's really been a big help for me. >> we look forward to seeing you 100 meter breaststroke against one of your teammates. right? >> yeah. i'll actually be racing brandyan hanson as well as a member from japan. >> we'll be watching and rooting for you. good luck eric. it's great to catch up with you. glad you're doing so well. we have a lot to catch up with in london, including a [ male announcer ] we've made verizon fios even easier to switch to -- and even harder to resist. because now you can move up to fios with no annual contract required.

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and this morning on "today's" olympic kitchen, a modern twist on specialty, here to tell us about meat fruit, we have to hear this. head chef at the london restaurant. good morning, it's good to see you. >> good morning. >> meat fruit. this was a favorite of henry viii. >> it was. made a cooked meat look like this. this is our interpretation. here we've got some chicken pate. joined together still frozen with a stick. pop that in there.

>> what are you dipping it into? >> this is a mandarin jellry. what we must do. >> let it dry off here. >> kind of like a candy apple. >> it might be a little difficult in the heat. basically we pull them off the stick, pop them onto the board, let them defrost overnight, put that in the top and there's the mandarin meat fruit. >> is this a popular dish at the restaurant. >> does it taste like chicken. >> chicken but looks like fruit. >> exactly. inside the pate itself. >> looks like a mousse. >> serving it with some kind of crusty bread. >> a light bread. >> i'll try one. >> a little pate. did you do a lot of research creating this? >> we used it on tv programs then tried to figure out a way

to make so many. >> delicious and so light. >> i'm wearing the meat fruit. >> the british are great at the open pit roasting, spit roasting. >> yeah, back in the 17th century, we were considered one of the best in europe cooking in front of an open fire. many countries send their chefs over. >> you had cookoffs. >> exactly. >> the idea of the meat fruit, an amusement, surprise for guest. >> it looks like it's going to be, very simple, a technique behind it. >> ice cream. >> next thing we're going to do, make liquid night again ice cream. we have a white trolley around the restaurant. >> do this by the table side. >> exactly. vanilla custard. >> why liquid nitrogen. obviously it freezes it. >> it freezes it quickly. >> what's the fun of it. >> you'll see the fun. >> this is minus 109 celsius. >> pick this up at any store?

? >> very simple. >> yummy. >> you've got to be very careful when you're doing that. >> takes about 90 seconds or so, right. >> you get the liquid knnitroge right down the i'll from the plutonium. >> coming out of the machine. >> how do you know when it's done. >> i think that's ready. >> when it stops smoking. >> going to be worth the wait. >> still smoking like that. >> a fraction more. >> a little more. >> the great thing is you've got nitrogen at the table. >> i was working at the lab late one night. >> what happened to the first one? >> this whole mad scientist thing going on. >> let's try it. twenty seconds.

>> one little scoop. >> dip it right in there. oh, boy. go for it. thank you so much. very interesting. coming up, we'll meet the youngest athlete on the olympic team. >> it's like carrying the torch. we will be back after your local news and weather. gnchlth morning, everyone. ium rr barbara harrison. go right to storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein. >> it is a brief break from our usual high heat and humidity and right now around the region there is a blue sky over the monuments. that was a live view from our city camera and right now into

the mid and upper 70s and reagan national as we approach 9:00 is at 78 and later today into the mid and upper 80s with lots of sun and lower mew m er humidity. highs near tomorrow afternoon, as well as on friday. might get some scattered storms and then getting a bit cooler for the weekend. barbara? >> okay, tom. a look at traffic is just

good morning. traveling inbound route 50 at south dakota avenue. have a crash blocking the right side of the roadway. stick to the left to get by and your jammed at the beltway just sitting at landover road. look, just 8 miles per hour from

"today" this wednesday morning. two days to go until the opening ceremony of the olympic games. our whole game is assembled. good morning to you. i'm savannah guthrie alongside al roker and natalie morales. matt lauer left to get ready for the opening ceremonies. he's back looking at that briefing book to stump us with his trivia. >> perhaps. up ahead, one of the big issues here is security, keeping the games safe. coming up we'll show you

impressive new technology they are using to make sure everything goes off at planned. >> also catch up with some young u.s. olympians, five swimmers. one of them is the youngest member of team usa. >> you might be wondering, how will the royals spend the olympics, what venues will they be going to, can they get tickets? i don't know. the queen's granddaughter is competing. we're going to share their plans with you. >> good. we can follow them around, perhaps. first a check on the top news stories. we've got hoda kotb holding down the fort in new york. hoda, good morning once again. >> reporter: single handedly. officials are trying to find out if any taxpayer money was used to pay for the massacre in colorado. james holmes, a former phd candidate at a medical college had been supported by a $26,000 federal grant before dropping out of school. officials are going over financial records.

meantime, batman star christian bale visited wounded shooting victims tuesday. a pregnant woman in the theater at the time of the shooting has given birth to a healthy baby boy. her house, though, is in critical condition. at least five people are under arrest following more violent protests overnight in anaheim, california. demonstrators clashed with khris over recent deadly police shootings including one involving an unarmed man. police fired beanbags and pepper-balls into the crowd. it was the fourth straight night of protest in anaheim. the city council's office asked the attorney's office to investigate the shooting. an unusual announcement from north korea. for the first time the media says kim jong-un is married. little was known about the mystery woman that accompanied him. he took over as leader after his father died in september. it has been a year since gay marriage became legal in new york. mayor bloom berlg estimated gay

weddings had a big economic impact in the city bringing in almost $260 million including money spent on guests and transportation. it accounted for 20% of all marriage licenses issued in new york city in the last year. one man killed and a police officer hurt tuesday when both went over a retaining wall near niagara falls. the officer fell about 100 feet into the gorge. rescue crews used a truck and rappelled down to chase the officer. it's not clear why the man was chased. the incident is under investigation. the it happened about a mile from niagara falls. actor sherman hemsley has died best known for his rolling on the sit col "the jeffersons" he was found dead in his home on tuesday. he was 74 years old. chad everett who starred in the

medical series medical center died. he was 75 years old. they found a skeleton buried inside a monastery that may be the woman who inspired mona lisa. they plan to use carbon dating and other tests to find out if it is so. if so experts may try to use computers to reconstruct her face, smile and all. a trip to a goodwill star is about to pay off big for a north carolina woman. she bought a painting there for just over 10 bucks and found it was vertical diamonds by 20th century abstract artist. sotheby's will auction it off and predicts it will go for $20,000. twenty minutes past t-- back-of- time to head back to savannah, natalie and al.

>> just bought one that has dogs playing cards. >> to go with velvet elvis. >> hoda, thank you. we'll see you a little later and a check of the weather. >> of course we're talking about strong storms making their way through the midsection of the country. we're also looking at a lot of heat. first, les let's look at what's going on in london. the next few days, a gorgeous couple of day as and even on into friday where we have a chance of showers and by friday that shower chance will decrease and temperatures in the 60s under partly cloudy skies. looks like the weather will be nice for lauer and costas and meredith vieira to bring the world the opening ceremonies. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> a gorgeous morning under way. tom kierein storm center 4. else where low to mid-70s with low humidity and sparkling sun and a blue sky.

highs reaching the upper 80s later this afternoon. then the humidity returns tomorrow, as well as the heat. it will be up near 100 tomorrow afternoon, as well as on friday. might get scattered storms both afternoons and then over the weekend, a bit cooler, highs near 90 a >> and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> al, thanks. more than 10,000 athletes here to compete. some 9 million tickets have been sold. how do you keep the city safe. nbc's stephanie gosk has that story. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. every city has hosts the olympic games has to ask the same question, how are we going to keep the games safe a scandal with a private security firm has some people wondering whether or not london was ready. those in charge insist it is. the largest peace time security operation in u.s. history starts at olympic park. this week athletes are pouring in. soon spectators will as well.

when the private security firm g4s announced only two weeks ago they could not provide enough guards at the gate the british military was forced to step up. 1400 troops check bags and man x-rays. a at venues outside of london, the local police have had to fill in. metropolitan police commander bob broadhurst said the g4s debacle has not compromised security. >> what it did do, people in all the agencies had to work a bit harder. >> reporter: the security guards are just one part of a much larger operation. from this command and control center broadhurst is in charge of more than 1,000 officers on the ground, water, and air. they are backed up by a military arsenal including surface-to-air missiles, typhoon fighter jets and the royal navy's largest ship, the "hms ocean." it's an historic buildup londoners have noticed. >> if something did happen, we'd

be equipped to respond to it quite well. >> there are also multiple layers of security the public won't see, including new technology to remotely control vehicles, if they get carjacked, installed in thousands of buses. we were given a firsthand demonstration. >> it's measuring everything from speed down to how much i'm pressing the accelerator. >> reporter: at the side of the road a colleague took control of the car from a laptop. >> really can't do anything with the vehicle. >> reporter: now coming to a complete stop. even more important than technology or firepower, say commanders, is experience. on july 7th, 2005, just a day after london was awarded the 2012 games, the city was attacked by a home grown terror cell. 52 people were killed. >> terrorism has been a fact of life in the united kingdom since 9/11 and really before. but the security services because of that experience are as good, if not better, than any security service in the world.

prart large scale attack is considered unlikely. what people are more concerned about here is a lone wolf attack, a person acting on their own. the best defense against that is public vigilance. savannah. >> receive any gosk, thank you. up next we'll meet the youngest swimmers on team usa. we'll meet up with the royal family after this. . with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow! 2% on my homemade lasagna. 3% back on [ friends ] road trip!!!!!!!!!!!! [ male announcer ] get 1-2-3 percent cash back. apply online or at a bank of america near you. ♪

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welcome back to london. the first gold medals will be awarded as soon as saturday. three swim teams have finals. some ladies joining us might come home with lard wear. we want to introduce them. ladies, good morning. first of all, just a show of hands. how many of you are either in high school or just graduated. >> high school. >> so pretty young. are you excited to be here at the olympics? >> yes. >> katie, not only are you the youngest swimmer on the team, you are the youngest olympian. >> yes. >> how does that feel? >> feels great to be here with older athletes and being around them and being able to compete with them for the u.s. really great honor. >> get some good advice. >> leah, you qualified to win in

the 4 by 100 meter freestyle. you're from new york city and not exactly known for competitive swimming. how did you get into swimming? >> i started when i was six. my friends in the first grade were taking lessons. they were like, you should join. i was like, okay, why not. my mother wanted me to be water safe. i joined and stikd with it. >> your friends did you a favor. >> what about you, rachel. as i understand it, up until the trials you had been competing at a junior level. you're kind of making your debut at the senior level we olympics. >> wen to the pan american games. this is my first olympics. i'm excited to be here. it's a huge experience for me. >> you are now going to be an olympian for life. what does that mean for you. >> it's crazy. i remember dreaming about it, for as long as i can remember, i guess. now that it's finally realized, it hasn't hit me. it's an amazing accomplishment. i couldn't be more proud to represent the united states. >> elizabeth, you're the veteran of the group competed in 2008 in

beijing. have you given them a lot of advice, what to expect and how to keep calm and cool? >> i think so. probably more of the older people giving better advice. for the most part is just enjoy it and take it in. four years ago i looked like a deer in last wills and testaments and didn't know what to expect. this time i'm trying to take it in. >> are you getting around town and seeing the town. >> this is our first time out of the village. it's cool we get to see a little of it. >> this is where they actually get the medals. there's two ways to get a medal, you can swim you're way there or break into the building. >> kaitlyn, you just missed the olympics in 2008. what have you been doing the last four years to make sure you're here in london and coming on strong. >> just a lot of hard work coming in. i moved from my hometown in tucson and go to school at uc berkeley. my coach has been a huge impact on my life. i think that program in general

has really like brought me to the next level. >> do you train along with natalie coughlin. >> yes. >> you're in good form. >> i have a lot of good people to look up to every day. >> have you checked out the aquatic center? >> yes. >> have you gotten in the pool? >> yes. >> how does it feel? >> fast. >> what does that mean? when you say it's a fast pool, what does it mean? >> you feel like it's all about your race. it's kind of a mental thing, i think. it's not really a fast pool. you just feel ready and prepared. >> we're so proud of you. we can't wait to see you swim. we hope you're standing up there on the podium this weekend. >> make us proud no matter how you do. >> thank you. >> good luck to you. >> thank you. >> coming up next, the olympic athletes show us their silly side. these kids have a silly side, too. this is your chance. is it done?

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one thing we've already learned is that the olympic athletes have a pretty good sense of humor. we decided to ask them what they would do to make the queen's famously stoic guards laugh. >> maybe do a chicken dance in front of them. >> probably start dancing around

them. >> i'm just kidding. >> probably get in their face and stair. >> maybe i'd give a guard a kiss on the cheek. >> get in front of them. i'd be like -- >> we could always walk by in our bikinis. >> that would make them smile, no? >> i think those beach volleyball girls are onto something. make them smile by wearing a bikini. >> get a camera and all of a sudden everybody from america shows up. >> where are you from? >> originally nebraska but live here in england now. >> are you here for the olympics? >> yes. beach volleyball. >> young lady, where are you from? >> houston, texas. >> are you staying for the olympics? >> yes. >> you had to think about that for a second. yes. and what event are you looking forward to seeing. >> the swimming and running events. >> was it hard to get tickets?

>> actually we haven't managed that but we're hoping we'll get a view from somewhere. >> we'll put the message out. >> where are you from? >> north carolina. >> you're here for the olympics i take it. >> we're about to leave but we're here for the beginning of it. >> what do you think? is it pretty cool to be here with the excitement. >> it's so awesome, so cool, coming here and representing usa. >> do that again? bigger. >> we're ready for the olympics. from delaware? your whole family? you're here to see the olympics as well. >> yes. >> what event are you looking forward to. >> hockey. >> soccer. >> excellent. all right. >> excited about that game. can't wait to go to a public and watch it there. >> any excuse for the pub. >> how many have been to the pub so far. >> i'm waiting for the pub call. >> every member of the crews is

waving their hands. all right. coming up, the man on the brink of being the most decorated olympian ever, ryan seacrest catches up with michael phelps. >> i thought you meant ryan seacrest. >> right after this. matt. [ female announcer ] melissa posts,

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good morning. 9:26 on this wednesday, july 25th. i'm aaron gilchrist. let's get right to storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein and our forecast. >> beautiful morning under way and into the upper 70s bright sun and blue sky for us. the rest of the day with highs reaching the upper 80s and low humidity. today and tomorrow humidity return. near 100 both afternoons and scattered storms and then cooler weather begins to move in on saturday and sunday. up high around 90 both afternoons and lower humidity

good morning. if you're traveling eastbound, southeast, southwest freeway at the case memorial bridge, have a disabled dump truck blocking the left lane causing huge delays on 395. in fact, from the beltway, that's where you're absolutely

jammed. edsall hardly moving. 11 miles per hour to get to the shth street bridge, that drive will take you about an

you are looking at london's olympic park. one square mile. home to what will become the iconic venues of the game, the olympic stadium, aquatic center, velodrome. soon it will be our home for the next two weeks. good morning, everyone. i'm natalie morales alongside natalie morales and al roker. one of the biggest names in these games and the last games, too. coming up he's going to talk to ryan seacrest and how he feels about his competition. has he a rival in the pool. we'll talk to him in a few months. >> you know what else is almost

a competition, the royal watching. william and harry will be very visible. they will be cheering one of their cousins competing in the equestrian event. we'll tell you about other events and get a little lesson about the history of the tower of london. >> speaking of history, we'll look at the tower bridge, part of our backdrop. a lot of people confuse it with the london bridge, like some of those people did. there's a big difference. first we want to bring in mario. always good to see you. thanks for being here. >> thanks have having me, al. >> you captured gold in 2004 when women's saber made it to olympic debut, team usa's first gold medal in fencing in 100 years. four years later you do it in beijing. now going for your third consecutive medal. >> do you get more pressure

because you are favored to win. >> every olympic games is different than the last, different cultures, feel, first time, second time. i'm soaking in every moment. it's exciting. it's fun, i do my best for team usa. >> some kids play soccer, baseball, some swim. how did you get involved with fencing at age ten. >> i know. i did all of those sports, too. they bored me too much. my older brother wanted to sword fight when he saw movies. my mother signed him up. i had to learn self-defense, so i said sign me up. we were a disaster running around. >> you have a gutsy mom. >> i know. >> how are you different today as a fencer as opposed to four years ago. our sport is constantly changing. they are changing the rules, the timing. if you're on top like i am, you have to make sure you're

unpredictable. i'm constantly working on trying to improve, have tricks up my sleeve. myself as a fencer, i've changed a lot. >> you're going to try to make me a fencer myself. >> i heard you had on some armor. you've been in the ancient version, now the modern version. >> i can't even get the glove on. >> what do you call that? >> not a helmet, a mask. >> the glasses. >> can't see. >> go easy on him, we need him. >> that's good. >> we have our enguard position. this castle behind us, bend your knees. that's the enguard position. one of you fine ladies. in french.

engarde, press. >> if we were doing medieval fencing the most effective shot. >> don't do that, al. >> on their cue, let's just go for the head and we'll show what a fas saber touch looks like. >> and then, just like that he's out. >> i would score one point and midevil fencing i would probably just win. >> i would say that's pretty much the way it goes. >> but the good news for you, al, you survived. >> thank you. thank you so much. we appreciate it. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, tom kierein storm center 4. right now around the region, temperatures are climbing to near 80 degrees and we will hit the upper 80s near 90 by mid-afternoon, but today with the low humidity, it's going to be a perfect beach and pool day

and then tomorrow heat and humidity. you'll want to get in the pool. highs reaching near 100. both days tomorrow and friday with higher humidity and maybe a few scattered afternoon storms. then over the weekend, cooling down a bit. highs near 90 saturday and sunday afternoons. >> oh, look, i'm back tfrom the dead. >> you've been through a lot today. >> tell me about it. >> up next, how the royals are enjoying the olympic games in london. i don't want healthy skin for a day. i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] don't just moisturize. improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula goes beyond 24-hour moisture. it's clinically proven to improve your skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. for healthy, beautiful skin that lasts. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] daily moisturizing lotion. and for healthy hair every day, try new pure renewal hair care, with balancing seaweed extract. only from aveeno. try new pure renewal hair care, with balancing seaweed extract. mommy! i went potty!

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. welcome back to london as we count down to the olympics. throughout the centuries, the tower of london was used as a royal palace, a prison and eventually as a place of execution. today it still holds the royal crown jewels. now it also safely secures 4,700 olympic medals which will be handed out during the summer games. a royal historian and author of several novels including "the other bolin girl" nice to have you here. i'm a big fan of your work.

>> thank you, nice to be here. >> tell us about the history, the royal palace, fortress. tell us what it was used for back then when it was the palace. >> it was the most secure place in london built by william the conqueror. this castle behind us was back when he invade england and had to make london secure. since then it's been secure. any time the royal family has been in trouble, they have come back behind the river and this has been their safest palace. they have always used it in times of trouble. traditionally any member of the royal family in the olden days would go to coronation from here. a big ceremonial place. >> the tudor period brought in darker times. this came in a prison and place of execution. >> to be honest with you, it's always been a bit dark. this is british history. there is a lot of killing, murdering going on. this is a place people would

have been tortured, political prisoners tortured. here about 60 people over the years, most recently the world war. this is where ann bolin was put together and pretender to the throne mary tudor, lady jane gray was put to death. if anywhere you're going to see ghosts in england, it's going to be here. >> have you experienced gosses here. >> i met a serious historian who said his children had picked up the ambiance of ghosts here. it's a very tragic place as well as a historic place. it's been a tragic place for many people. >> let's talk about olympics. third time is the charm for the olympics. everyone is excited this is the third time they are hosting. we're expecting royal watching as well. the royals attending pretty much every day an olympic event. how much of a place in history

does this royal family have in comparison to past history? >> well, they are not politically effective anymore. so in a sense they are much more figure heads. they represent the people in a sense by the fact they are very well loved. i think everybody is really glad they are turning out. to be honest, the younger once, particularly, they like a good time. they love their sport. they are delighted to go. prince harry, volleyball, every young man's dream. a nice event for everyone and the royal family will clearly enjoy it. >> cheering on their cousin whose mother queen anne competed in montreal. here is a chance for her to compete and hold the crown high. >> both princess anne and her husband, sarah's father were serious competitors. she should have made the olympics before. everyone is really excited.

she got a new horse and seems fit. we're really -- it's a very happy time for england at the moment. >> filipliilippa gregory, thank much for a great history lesson. coming up next, ryan seacrest will catch up with michael phelps who hopes to score three more medals that will put him over the top making history as the most decorated olympian of all time. we're back after this. whether it's showing competitors' rates or striving to be number one,

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welcome back to london. michael phelps needs just three medaling to become the most decorated olympian ever. he was with us live. our special correspondent ryan seacrest asked how his arrival

was different emotionally this time knowing this will be his last olympics. >> it's been weird, my last tuesday, my last double. it's cool to say. but i think back the last 20 years what happened over my career, it's been a lot of great memories. i think that's one thing i'm looking nord to this week, having a lot of good memories and moment and hopefully finish my career with some good swims. >> a few weeks back at the trials you said there's more work to be done, you wanted to get faster. what have you focused on. >> stroke control, getting back to my old strokes. really didn't feel that great at trials. just working on small things. breaststroke, i literally had to start from scratch and just work on the entry and my hands,

keeping my hands together a lot of small things to tweak. >> where do you think you are physically and mentally. >> physically at my best. mentally, every day. visualize races, prepare for what could happen, what i want to happen. >> you've had a chance to see the aquatic center, the pool. is it a fast pool? what's it like? >> it's cool. overwhelming. the deck space is small. you look up on both sides of the stands and there's a lot of stands there. >> you like that, right? >> it's going to be cool. hopefully we'll have some loud cheering and the place will be rocking. i remember in 2000, the floor was almost -- you could feel like the floor shaking. more people here, hopefully a loud venue. >> you're staying with the other athletes in the olympic village. >> we are. >> what are you doing in your downtime there? >> i've pretty much just been watching tv shows.

i start the "the wire" and catching up on "breaking bad." a little bit of sitting around watching shows and movies. >> there have been reports of no air conditioning. is that true? >> we walked in and tried to crank the thermostat down. nothing was happening all day. they told us in a meeting we have no air conditioning. some of us are lucky enough to have -- i think everybody on the team has little like college dorm fans that rotate. so we have some air circulating. >> more comfortable now. >> yeah. everybody has to deal with it. >> if you win three medals here in london, you go on to become the most decorated olympian of all time. have you stepped back to think about how significant that is in history, michael? >> you know, i think a lot of things i've done through my career haven't really sunk in yet. you know, i think i guess the more i move through my life, i think some of those moments will sink in more. i have a job to finish here. that's why i'm here, why i'm setting out on saturday to start my journey.

hopefully it's a good one. i'm looking forward to getting in the water and race. the goal is always to try and swim faster here than you did at trials. if i do that, then i've made progress. >> what's the journey after this journey? i know you're looking forward to having a little bit of fun. if you booked any trips, made any plans? >> we have a couple of trips booked, looking forward to pretty much relaxing and doing whatever i want to do, going wherever i want to go, and just living life. having fun every day, have a smile, wake up, be lucky to be here. >> ryan seacrest with michael phelps a bit earlier. we're going to see michael in the pool this saturday. coming up next, a tour of our magnificent location today, london's tower bridge. but first this is "today" on nbc.

welcome back to london. a lot of americans confuse the london bridge with that bridge over there, the tower bridge. nearly half a million visitors every year go to that bridge, making one of london's most popular tourist attractions. of course it is part of this city's iconic skyline. between morning and night, 40,000 people drive, bike or walk across this london landmark. and three times a day, for six minutes at a clip, the hustle and bustle of the city slows to a stop. people watch and wait for the 2,000 ton roadway to split and soar open. it's the ships sailing below that have the right away. >> we only open it as much as we need to for the vessel to pass safely. >> construction began on the

bridge in 1886 and took eight years to complete. first two massive peers made of concrete sunk into the thames. 4,000 workers fastened 11,000 tons of steel to create the framework for the roads and towers. at the time the structure was considered an engineering marvel, the biggest combination suspended an bascle bridge in the world. it's like a seesaw, each side opening from a counterbalance under the span. originally the bridge was powered by a hydraulic system that used steam to drive pumping engines that would release energy into storage containers called accumulators. that would save until needed by a second set of engines that drive the bridge open and clothes. in 1876 oil and electricity replaced steam as the bridge's

energy. it's now computerized, only second in comparison to its beauty. its red, white and blue color scheme is a tribute to the queen's jubilee over 30 years ago. >> only a few things in your memory if you want to remember london. >> one of those memories, the view from the pedestrian walkway over 10 stories above the busy city. it's no small feat hanging those rings. he they had to put them on a bharnlg, down the thames, chains, then hoisted it into position. the rings actually rise and lower as the bridge does. >> the only thing harder was getting into the armor this morning, right? >> yeah. it was comfortable. very comfortable. >> how are you feeling now? >> you and i will check later. >> oh, gosh. >> only the beginning. >> tomorrow beach volleyball, gymnastics, swimming.

are you catching up with the beach volleyball girls. >> can we have the beach volleyball dancers again? >> those are the mares. >> we will see you tomorrow. hoda and keith lee next with bruce jenner's olympic picks. over the next four months, you have a choice to make. not just between two political parties, or even two people.

it's a choice between two very different plans for our country. governor romney's plan would cut taxes for the folks at the very top. roll back regulations on big banks. and he says that if we do, our economy will grow and everyone will benefit. but you know what? we tried that top down approach. it's what caused the mess in the first place. i believe the only way to create an economy built to last is to strengthen the middle class. asking the wealthy to pay a little more so we can pay down our debt in a balanced way. so that we can afford to invest in education, manufacturing, and home-grown american energy for good middle class jobs. sometimes politics can seem very small. but the choice you face, it couldn't be bigger. ♪ i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

9:57 is your time now on this wednesday, july 25th, 2012. good morning. i'm eun yang. let's check in with tom kierein. we're starting off in such a nice way, tom. hope it lasts. >> it will last through the daylight hours. enjoy it while you can because we will have a hot change on the way. right now near the region, near 80 near washington and still in the 70s and low humidity in

place throughout the rest of the day and highs upper 80s and lots of sun and tomorrow and friday, here comes the heat and humidity and maybe afternoon storms. danella how is the morning traffic? >> still seeing big delays on 395. earlier disabled vehicle blocking on the southeast freeway. it's gone and edsall still jammed to the 14th street bridge. just about 12 miles per hour. almost an hour to get to the 14th street bridge. if you're traveling on georgetown road. slow all the way to georgia avenue. don't forget to tune in tomorrow for news 4 today, wake up with us and get your

it is a gorgeous wines-day wednesday in new york. it is july 25th. we're the only people left pretty much. >> we're in charge. >> which is scary. >> we're trashing the joint. nobody is here! >> and it's all the pregame right now. >> and the weather -- so glad the weather is good.

>> you know what's more beautiful than the weather? >> matt lauer. we're in love. >> he was on the screen with a tan jacket on -- look. excuse us, for a second, let's live here. >> we had to clean up the drool. it was all over hoda. >> i love that look on matt. >> don't you think he should do that all the time? >> right off the yacht look. >> and that tan on him. >> he's looking good. >> he looks great today, too. the opening ceremonies are two days away. matt will host it with meredith. it must be weird for the two of them. >> they know what's going to happen. >> it's a big secret for the rest of us. i'm excited. are you excited? >> i tell you what, i saw what we're going to wear. oh, my gosh. >> tomorrow, we're doing our show on the plaza. friday. we're doing an olympic theme sho

show. >> we need you guys to show up for us, please. >> it would be humiliating if we go outside. >> if we do our olympic stuff with nobody cheering us on in the ugliest track uniforms you have ever seen. >> they are hideous. >> like the old-fashioned from the '80s. >> jane lynch. >> and pull them up. >> never will we be more attractive than friday morning. >> come see us. we'd love it. >> you are actually going to the olympics. >> i heard that. >> your public demands it. >> we're doing a story. not sure what it will be n. people are writing in with all kinds of ideas. >> see that. you're not going to look that good friday. it will be the ugliest track suit ever. it will be fun. >> some people say maybe i should go to the gymnastics competition. i don't think that will be happening. >> why? >> i think it's later. >> while you're there. >> kathleen thinks you need to have high tea, preferably with

the queen. i did make a phone call for you the other day. i happen to know one member of the royal family. >> henry? >> spent a few days with him in scotland and fell in love with ed edinboro. prince edward is best friends with my long-time agent, sam haskell and we all went to scotland for three days and they were with us. i called sam to see if he could set us up, they're very busy. no, not going to happen. >> i was told to check out the u.s. swim team. that's always fun to watch. >> they make it look easy. we shall see. tonight, jimmy fallon has his own primetime music special. >> he is fun. you guys have seen him. he sings tv theme songs, sketches from different tv theme songs and it's been a hit and he

said, why don't we make it into a special. i think we have one of those. let's see what it is. >> ladies and gentlemen, bob dillon. ♪ our days and our nights and our wrongs and rights ♪ ♪ our wrongs and our rights now charles and me ♪ >> brilliant brilliant idea. i don't know why they haven't thought about a primetime special called "everyone has a story" because we have 40 of those! >> unusual how they scream like that when they're in london. money he nobody here. >> we have a nice group sitting with our news team. >> they must be nice, gave birth to a really nice girl.

>> her mom and dad are in the studio and we were wondering, who gave birth to joanne. if you could see what's happening, she's saying to them, wave, mom and dad. here they go, doing what she said. >> joanne has been doing an awesome awesome job for us. >> joanne, turn around. >> while tammy is on maternity leave with her second baby, illana will be coming back next week. we're not losing joanne or per parents, things will change for a little while. >> demi moore has a little bit of news today, doesn't she? it's hard to believe. >> yesterday, she was in a terrible depression. >> today, according to "life and style" magazine, she's been secretly dating a new zealand born actor 12 years her junior. >> which is progress. how much difference was there

between her and ashton? >> he's cute, very cute. they have been seen hanging out, martin henderson, and australian tv star. in a movie called "toxic". >> i love my husband. if anything did happen, i think next time, i would go young and australian. i mean, i'm not planning on it, but why not? >> you know who's here, curtis. >> i wasn't thinking of curtis. curtis is so taking. i was just saying, now my husband is watching, i'm going to kill her. honey, it's a little joke. maybe i'll go after bruce jenner, my long time friend because he's been having marital problems with kris, according o our show. frank, i'm bringing bruce home. >> we have talked about jay on our program before, a beautiful

great terrific relationship, even great relationships sometimes don't last forever. this was a great relationship i enjoyed very much while it was on, now we move forward. >> thank you for asking. >> i do want to say thank you from him. i came home and there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers for "scandalous" going to broadway. >> now, you're going to say, you didn't get me flowers. >> we all have those things, we think this is it, for nobody's fault ever, it's life. on that note, let's talk about dating older women -- this is olderwomen.com. near the cities -- >> the most cougars are. >> on the prowl. >> it's number 3. >> crazy! >> number 2 is houston, texas. one is sydney, australia and the other is melbourne.

>> number 1 is melbourne. >> what are they talking about? what are they doing there? >> i don't know. >> the other top two cities are chicago, l.a., australia, brooklyn, new york and atlanta. that's where the cougars are trolling. >> i think it's because of that guy on the mental list. what's his name, simon baker? so adorable. i think i'll go to australia and get me one of those. i'll take three. here's surprising news. ""america's got talent"" is a big big show on nbc. it's going along swimmingly and suddenly there was a tweet. >> a strange tweet from sharon osbourne. >> she wrote this, my darling, howard stern, money is not the reason i'm not returning t to @nbcagt, which is "america's got talent." it is because...

>> the producer said we don't know what's going on and it may be much ado about nothing. >> people are saying what they want with no publicist and nothing. >> it's a need to control things. so much in our life is not controllable. the one thing you can control is your own message. sometimes people tweet before they think, they don't think it through. maybe she sincerely wants to leave the show, which leaves an opening for aretha. >> r ♪ i would fit perfectly between howie, my old dear friend and howard stern. come on! >> it's made. >> by the way, we did reach out to nbc in our own building. >> no comment. they're all in london. >> they're busy. >> you will love this. every now and then, there is a great animal story. this is a great one. there is a singing walrus in a zoo in washington. >> his name is e.t.

>> the star attraction. watch what this guy can do. >> [ loud noise ]. >> talk. >> [ loud noise ]. >> growl. >> [ loud noise ]. >> bell. >> what was that? i want to hear the other one. >> she says words and he knows the sound. that looks like an old man. doesn't it remind you of an old m man? i had an uncle that looked just like that. that was very cold. where do you go, takoma, washington for that? >> can we talk about our -- >> shamelessly again. we know it's gross. >> no one's watching. >> everyone's watching the olympics. let's talk about how many people are liking us.

>> what's going on? >> we had 388,976. that's where we started. what do we have? >> we're up to 439,000. we were jumping like crazy during yesterday's show. >> because we were shamelessly begging people to like us. cheaper than therapy. >> i think the central time zone had the most empathy. that launched. those midwesterners. >> we want to thank a lot of people. >> debbie from east jordan, michigan said i wish i could like you more than once because i like you everyday. >> and chase from london. i just like wine so i love them. >> and from huo, why is there not a love button on facebook and we left out the other ones that weren't as kind. >> you know who you are. >> we are keeping up with the

olympics, people. this is wines-day wednesday. this is from the fingerlakes. why did i not want to say that? it just didn't sound like something you could say on television. >> but you did and there you have it. we're keeping up with the kardashians. olympic gold medal bruce jenner sits down with us. >> even though he's going home with me to say hello to frank. >> what is he eating? bacon, how about we try this new kind of fiber one cereal? ♪ nutty clusters and almonds, ♪ ♪ almonds. ♪ fiber one is gonna make you smile. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one nutty clusters and almonds. with 43% daily value of fiber for you. crunchy nutty clusters and real almond slices for your taste buds.

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bruce jenner brought home the gold, baby in the 1974 electroni olympics. look at that! what a deal. only chris can get those kinds of deals. you co-hosted with hoda. >> i did. >> and he's on the reality series, "keeping up with the kardashians." >> can i start something? is this your last week? is this your last week on this show? sn>> what? >> is this your last week? i was wondering, should we make the announcement i will replace her and the two of us will do the show together? you and i together? hasn't that been your fantasy all these years, us working together. how long have we known each

other? 30 years? 30 years and we've never worked together. >> never? >> we've done things a little bit but we never actually worked together. >> sometimes being with you when you've had a few is a lot of wor work. >> you're talking to my wife again. >> you're heading to the olympics. >> comcast bought nbc and now everybody is under the same umbrella. we all work for comcast. about six months ago, "e" called and said they will have a presence and send somebody over to cover the fun side of the games. bruce, will you go? >> you're the only one in the "e" family that's won a gold medal. >> it's kind of politically the correct thing to do. >> back then it sounded good. now, you would rather be playing golf, wouldn't you? >> i'd rather be on a golf course. >> what are you going to do on the fun side? >> from the celebrities to interviewing the athletes, we will have the studio next to nbc

and have the athletes after they're done. fun side in london, all the night life. >> when you watch the events, do you long for it again? >> no. >> really? >> honestly i don't. i was so happy, i had my day. i'm very satisfied with that. when i walked away, i kept thinking to myself, i am the luckiest guy in the world, not only because i was walking away, i was totally satisfied with everything. there was nothing left i hadn't done. had the world record three times and got the gold medal and did everything in my sport i could do. in my soul, i had accomplished everything i could possibly accomplish. the hard part was doing it again. >> isn't the hard part you get to the pinnacle, what do i do now while you're still young. in your wildest dreams did you think you would have a reality series with the craziest family on the planet? >> i started reality 36 years ago. >> what do you mean? >> first show i ever did. >> what? >> "battle of the network

stars." pepperdine university. me and howard cosell. that's reality television. putting together the stars. >> and "get me out of here". >> i've been doing this stuff. >> speaking ofr reality, what's going on with kris? >> it's wonderful. we've been together 21 years. i watched it, was it two weeks ago i watched it. had to become a lard and i'm on the other side. i'm a stickler for everybody has to be on time. i'm in boston with chloe and

cr khris. being late and i looked like the bad guy. >> what we read about yesterday you're saying chloe wants to sleep with robert. that was weird. why did you say that? >> i don't know. >> maybe you need to get off the road and whip that family into shape. >> obviously, when the cameras are there, they will find something. >> are my god daughters off the stripper pole yet? >> actually, they're doing extraordinarily well. >> a birthday for kylie. >> i will not be there. i'm sorry, kylie, will not be there for your birthday. >> you can catch bruce jenner's coverage at noon week nights and 7:30. those quirky off the wall photos that will make you say, why? [ male announcer ] food you eat is a blt.

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>> its time to take a look at all those photos that make you stop and say what the what? >> we sorted through every submission and there were thousands to find the best photo. >> thousands? what are they. >> the dramatic video keys it up for me to take the fall. the first video is from columbus, huo. 100% beef made with all white meat chicken. >> that is what the what? >> full disclosure in case you were wondering. and next is tony from california who submitted this photo. they really know how to celebrate special occasion toilet paper. >> ah. >> a little potty party. >> pity party. >> the third photo is from beverly from temple, texas. in most stores, that aisle would read baby wipes but it says butt

wipes. >> it's fuzzy as can be. >> i'm losing sight as well. clearly we weren't picking the words. >> right next to the trash bags and baby food. what the what? >> side splitting, these are side splitting. what's the next one. and from madeira, california send us this one. 12 assorted flavors, bath tissue, 12 assorted flavors for those who take it in the other end. can i say that? if you eat it. >> no, we get it. >> this show is in the toilet. >> you want to see the next one, hoda? >> i don't. >> from sherman, texas, a bean bar rit toe only 79 cents, the cheapest gas in town. >> clever. >> muchos.

thank you, sara! >> we will show you how to turn household items into useful items. and then all things olympic. [ female announcer ] women have made it the number one selling anti-aging cream undeniably. it creamed unbelievably a $500 cream and now women have made regenerist microsculpting cream also unscented. women love it. in original and also fragrance-free.

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we are back with more today on this wines-day wednesday. we play the trivia game called "who knew." to get us ready, we will test our knowledge on everything olympic related, of course. kathie lee is across the street ready to hand out 100 bucks to those who get the questions right and to ones who don't, those lucky ones get a copy of kathie lee's cd. with us is our guest and sportscast sportscaster, glenn brooks.

>> what olympic event once involved animals other than horses. bull fighting, pigeon shooting, greased pig shooting or greyhound racing. you can smell that cd, can't you? >> i can. >> bull fighting. >> [ buzzer ]. >> no. good. she gets her cd. >> the correct answer is pigeon shooting? >> in 1900 in paris, live pigeon shooting. they decided never to do it again because they thought it got a little messy. can you imagine your olympic job, you finally get to work the olympics and your job is to clean the venue? >> back across to kathie. >> from nova scotia. who knew? which is the only country to win at least one gold medal at every summer olympics? these are hard, isn't it, great britain, the u.s., greece or china? >> the u.s. >> good day for me. [ buzzer ].

>> the correct answer there, great britain. >> the u.s. boycotted moscow. that was the trick there. britain won five gold medals. >> how do you think they will do at the summer games? >> they will do well. the home country usually has an added boost. >> where did you say you're from? >> gainesville, olympic medal?12, 14, or>> i will go wi. what was the sport? >> it was swimming. her name was inge sorenson from denmark in 1936. they have no age restrictions in swimming, unlike gymnastics. you have to be 16. they have those rules there. >> i have trouble here. he's from chicago here and he wants to meet you and i told him, no. what will be the penalty for streaking? you'd be the kine that would do

it, at the 2012 olympics in london. 30 days in jail. banishment from the games. a fine of 20,000 pounds, which is over $31,000, if you're thinking about it and charge with trespassing. >> i will go with the money, c. >> i think that's right. >> he's saying c, right? yeah! here's your money. >> you know why it's so much? >> why on earth is it so much? >> streakers often put advertising on their bodies and the olympics people don't want any ambush marketing. >> are you lying? >> no. they're very strict about ambush marketing. >> the streaking -- >> they don't care about the naked parts, they care about the signs. >> from georgia, from the olympic flag, why are the olympic rings black, blue, green, red and yellow? because the colors look nice together or there is no symbolism or one of the colors is on every flag in the world or the greeks picked these colors at the first games? >> i will say c.

>> you are going to be right! go, girl. >> i like to dance. more dancing. more dancing. >> one for every color on the flag. >> and for the five continents and they are joined for the games. >> who has won the most medals at the olympics. michael phelps, carl lewis, larissa or jenny thompson? >> michael phelps. >> nope, nope, nope. that's okay. it's a lovely cd. the correct answer. i don't know if i'm ignorant for not having a heard of her. larissa latinya. who is she? >> a long type gymnast for the soviet union. that contestant should comeback in three weeks. if michael phelps wins three medals, he will be there. where are the drinks? >> i'm sorry.

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beat chobani 2 to 1 in a national taste test. oikos greek yogurt. possibly the best yogurt in the world. now on today's home, we're making something out of nothing. >> you have odds and ends hanging around your house you can't bear to part with, there's a chance you can put those to good use. >> celebrity designer and author

of "dirty little secrets of design," frank fontana has great ideas to share with us. >> what are we going to do on the eve of the olympics. >> we start out with a shipping palate, i turned into an americana theme. this is a ship iping pallet. we will put "go america". >> i love the way you did this. >> i didn't want it so ditchy with stars and -- so kitchy with stars and stuff. before you start, get a ruler and drew yourself a pencil light line. mark your guide up, and stay with that, you'll never have a problem. >> all right. that seems simple, even for h d hodie. >> wines-day wednesday. i know you save the corks from your wine bottles. >> we give them to charity.

>> i'm sure you do. this is a nice cork-themed coaster. i found picture frames 3x5. cheapie $2. pour this cement in and wine corks and i know you will say, what if it's uneven. >> it's supposed to be. >> your wineglass might tip over. >> i made the wineglass so it fits on the lip of the wood so you're covered. >> it fits on the lip of the wood. >> this fiworks if it fits perfectly. but if it didn't -- >> why do you care? you're not going to make it. you're not going to make it. >> this is an old tequila box i love. one of my favorites. i love i kept this for year, how can i reuse it. i got decorative white sand. you have all this stuff. >> you have people that do that kind of strange --

>> like "sanford & son." strange things. you take fake flowers, line it with plastic on the bottom. what you can't see on the int d inside, i printed out the species of flower and how to maintain it. a twist, right? >> it's a twist, make it real flowers. >> we're on tv. i'm lazy. this is one of my favorite diy projects. it's an old cigar box i converted into a lamp. >> how did you do that? >> look at the inside, i ransom wires, magic, hoda. switch that and boom. instant cigar box, perfect for the guy in your life. >> who wouldn't want that? >> i bet frank would want that. >> not after 26 years with me. no, no. >> this is a really cool project. i thought you would like this. it has a literary element to it. take a hard bound book.

put holes in it. and make two tiers and get nice flowers like those. >> are those real? >> look at the water driplets. >> my gosh, that's fake water? they're echo friendly. this is the first official diy throwdown right now on the show. kathie lee versus hoda right here. put your goggles on. >> but your goggles on. >> i'm afraid to get between you guys. you will drill one hole dead center. stick it in there. >> this one? >> yep. start drilling away. >> how do you turn the thing on. >> hold the top down. give you a little more pressure. push, push, push! keep going. you have to get about a good inch of this. >> i have to get rid of you is what i have to do. >> get that in the hole, screw away! >> what did he just say? >> mine is broken. >> keep going, put a little oomp

into it. five more seconds of this. stop the screwing, ladies. >> now what? >> get your tubes and jam it in the hole. >> get your tubes and jam it in the hole. >> i'm a little -- >> harder. >> this double entendre is grossing me out. >> you guys are great. organize your flowers into a nice little display. >> this is one i don't even want to win. i don't want to win it. >> my job isn't that hard, is it? right? >> that's great. >> who wouldn't want this on the kitchen table, i'm telling you. >> do you notice how buff frank is getting? >> too buff. >> this is designer muscle here. >> get ready to pop your cork. >> thank the lord he is here, with wines from all over the world just when we can't take it anymore. >> and curtis is here. there you go. all right? do i win? >> you did, you won. >> what do you mean won? why did she win? ur wrinkles.

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we are celebrating the olympics on this wines-day wednesday with our own competition with wines around the world. >> hoda and i can't get over fra frank. and we will have our table test and it's ray, and we adore him. editor of "food & wine" and everything else. >> i missed you at the food and wine class in aspen. a great event. >> we don't have high plans for this. >> i have confidence in you. there's only one gold medal winner here. someone gets a silver. you will taste each wine and decide what country you think it's from. olympic contending countries. >> almost impossible. >> the first one, speakerling, made from a combination of pinot

and chardonnay. guess. >> i will say the usa. california. sparkling. >> i will go with spain because of no reason whatsoever. >> what is it? >> france. >> no. i said america. >> you put the french wine out. >> that's what i meant. i said red, white and blue. that's what i meant. >> my god. >> next wine. slightly sweet. like -- you know -- >> never mind. >> too easy. >> i know, that's definitely -- >> this one's germany. i don't want to make a fool of myself again. >> germany. >> kathie lee wins. german risling. >> this is one of the things they try and prevent in the olympics is to rig the game. next wine. it is a chardonnay. could be from many countries.

a lot of chardonnay grown in the world. >> that's definitely u.s. >> you suggest what country? >> which is australia? i can't see that far. i'll say that for fun. >> hoda is catching up. the united states. >> la-la-la la la. >> now, we can -- >> i can grab a different flag. >> okay. >> garnotcha. >> god bless you. >> it happens to me. i'm not sure of the olympian level here necessarily. >> i'm going back to spain. where is spain? >> spain is the yellow orange one. >> am i right? >> it is spain. >> this is so rigged.

>> you can still tie. take this wine. it's beautiful and wonderful. garnacha. >> what do we have left? m >> italy and what's the other choice? we have to go. >> italy. >> you win! >> yeah! kathie lee wins the gold. >> on an empty stomach. >> curtis stone is here. >> curtis! >> thank you, baby! release me, momigus!

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i'm cooking with curtis, celebrity chef. he's back in the kitchen and host of top chef mast eers.

on bravo. >> newly engaged with a beautiful baby. >> 12 top masters will compete in the top cosmopolitan place also known as las vegas. looks like we have scallops. >> you like them? >> especially nantucket ones. these are a little large for nantucket. >> these are from maine. beautiful scallops. all you do is put them in a hot pan with a little bit of olive oil. do it with a tiny bit of sea salt, and they will be done. it's a quick dish. >> i don't like them mushy. a lot of people do. >> no. make them for hodie. i'm i'm a nicer person than she is, go ahead. >> scal-lop? sn>> scallop.

and shallots. >> lemongrass. >> garlic. >> chili pepper. you want to saute that a minute or so. i'm lucky i have a nice hot stovetop. a tiny bit more oil. saute that to get the flavors working. >> they're british scones and we love them. >> you add the coconut milk. people always associate coconut milk with being very rich. >> it's very healthy. >> very good for you. what we will do is put the coconut milk in and let those aeromatics flavor that. >> you're into smelly stuff these days. you've been smelling your baby's diapers a lot lately, is that why? >> i have actually. >> a little bit of salt and lime. >> always makes me nervous to put in fish sauce. who knows where that fish has

been, you know, think about it. >> kathie lee, stop that. >> she can't. >> i can't. i've never been more proud in my life than winning that one. >> you turn it, kathie lee, just in case they spit. >> they are already thickened, baby. beautiful. >> you want that nice golden color, caramelization. good job. over here, what you do with the sauce is turn it off, let the flifr steep. >> over here, i've got baby corn and a few of these. you put these together and get those nice and warm. they should be so nice and crunchy. just get over here. >> i'm sorry. >> they go straight into the pan. could you bring those scallops down for me? >> i'm cooking like crazy, all right! sorry, honey. it's just cooked, perfect. you go ahead and put them straight -- >> looks perfect. >> straight into your pan.

>> it's not cooked, i wouldn't eat that. >> she doesn't know how to cook. >> are you sure? >> top chef masters tonight at 10:00