this morning on "early today," disastrous day. mitt romney angers his london hosts, questioning their olympic readiness. battle of royals. britain's duchess of came bridge tries her hand at ping-pong. and big fish. could this white sturgeon be the largest ever captured? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with damage control. this was supposed to be mitt romney's debut on the world stage. instead after questioning whether london is up to task for

hosting the 2012 olympics, mitt romney's camp is doing battle with a foe arguably more than at home, the english press. brian mooar from washington joins us with those details. good morning. good morning. mitt romney has been careful not to criticize and he probably should have added london to the list. from mitt romney, a gold medal gaffe, questioning london's readiness for the olympics. >> there were a few things that were disconcerting, stories about the private security firm not having enough people. >> reporter: those headlines are what he hoped not to see on his overseas trip. instead he was forced to practice a little diplomacy. >> shows imagination and forethought and a lot of organization and i expect the games to be highly successful. >> reporter: the white house says president obama has london's back.

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

arrives at buckingham palace. seven years after it was awarded the games, london is about to put on its big show, the third time the dhamz hosted the olympic games. the u.s. team officially welcomed today, one of more than 200 teams with over 10,000 athletes. >> being able to wear the stars and stripes, there's nothing like it. >> being here for the last few days, the atmosphere is electrifyi electrifying. >> reporter: electrifying but cautious. the games are blanketed by layers of security. 25,000 police and soldiers supplemented by some 7,000 private officers. the hms ocean is docked in the river thames and surface to air missiles are deployed in several sites. the biggest peacetime operation in british history. >> i'm very confident in the plan. >> reporter: coming the game, some 21,000 journalists with nbc providing over 5,500 hours of

coverage across its platforms. >> nbc has about 3,000 working for us here for the games. >> reporter: big ben will toll for three minutes. heralding the arrival of these 2012 olympic games more than seven years in the making. and don't miss nbc's coverage of tonight's opening ceremony in london. it begins at 7:30, 6:30 central time right here on this nbc station. elsewhere, severe weather hilt parts of the midwest and northeast thursday knocking out power for more than 2,000 people. in el my rew, new york, a possible tornado brought down tree apsd power lines. there were multiple reports of damaged buildings but thankfully no injuries were reported. a curfew is in effect with only emergency crews being on the streets and new york's governor has declared a state of emergency there. meanwhile the drought affecting two-thirds of the u.s.

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

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

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

baltimore could easily be into the mid-90s. and, lynn, you mentioned the drought conditions especially through the heartland, no reports of rain today. well, coming up, facebook falls flat, starbucks weakens, and, finally, a place men can go to stock their man cave. >> it's about time. >> we've been waiting for this, right. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll explain while this star will have a chance but will only finish a distant second. the peyton manning era begins in denver, and what sugary treat does michael phelps compare his career to? you're watching "early today."

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

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

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

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

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

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call 1.888.get.fios. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities welcome to life on fios. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports trade rumors are flying in major league baseball with the july 31st deadline fast approaching for trading. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, there, good morning. baseball's trading deadline is four days away and if you're looking for a pitcher look no further than mach. brewers are shopping for zack. now there are sellers at the trading deadlines. nationals wasting no time getting on the board. adam laroche was part of a four-run. the pirates' starling marte

made his major league debut. leads off the game and the first pitch he sees, gone. that's one way to start a career. pirates beat the astros, 5-3. in cleveland the indians jump all over the tigers. justin verlander in the seventh. they hit back-to-back on the second. the tribes win, 5-3. the na schedule is out. the world champion heat will tip off the season on october 30th against the celtics followed by the lakers and mavericks. the brooklyn nets will open their doors on november 1th against the knicks and there will be five games on christmas day highlighted by a finals rematch by the thunder and the heat. look who's wearing navy and orange. the peyton manning era officially began in colorado. the long time colt and future hall of famer was the biggest agent signing in nfl history. he missed last season after having neck surgery. no world if he'll play in the preseason game on august 9.

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

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

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

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

you're looking live over the nation's capital. a warm and muggy start to begin tend of the week. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today"." breaking news. d.c. police are searching for the person who shot and killed a man an park place around midnight. the victim died. his name has not been released. a jogger assaulted on a popular d.c. trail. news4 exclusive we hear from a good samaritan who answers the cries for help. the woman@was attacked along the

capital crescent trail wednesday night. the suspect came up from behind the woman and put her in a choke hold. she tried to fight back but lost consciousness. she woke up a few minutes late we're her pants pulled down. liz byte williams was riding her bike when she heard the woman screaming for help. >> she had dirt on hr chest and a scrape on her face. she was hysterical. she said she had been attacked and she thought she was going to die. >> park police say the man ran almost a mile to fletchers boathouse and got away. police urge people who use the trail at night to always bring oh oenchts governor martin o'malley and future op expanded gambling if the state. he will announce whether to call a special session to address the issue. there seems to be support for the measure in the senate. it's a different story though in the house. maryland voters would have to