good morning, everyone. welcome to news 4 midday. i'm barbara harrison. it's friday, july 27th, 2012. it's been seven years in the making and now we are just a little more than eight hours away from the start of the 2012 london olympics. heres rar live look at the host city, preparing for their moment in the spotlight and tonight's opening ceremony, which will kick off two weeks of competition. much of that ceremony remains a closely guarded secret, but it will be our first chance to see the thousands of athletes from around the world who will compete for that gold, silver and bronze, too.

nbc tracie potts is taking a look inside what could be the final preparations or are the final preparations going on in london. >> 60,000 will pack olympic stadium tonight for a show called "isles of wonder." how will slumdog millionaire director danny boyle entertain billions of viewers around the world. >> trying to save the surprise, not because we want it to be a secret, but we want the event of the evening to be a discovery. >> reporter: the cast of 15,000 is sworn to secrecy. paul mccartney will close singing "hey jude" and ask the audience to join him. mariel zagunis carries the flag for the u.s., an honor she says is almost surreal. >> so speechless and i'm probably going to cry. >> reporter: around olympic park there is plenty for the public to see and do. workers are putting the finishing touches on the park and competition venues,

including the aquatics centre where michael phelps could win more medals than any other olympian in history, phelps not feeling the pressure. >> this is the closure that how many toppings do i want on my sundae, that's what i'm doing. >> reporter: fbi agents are tight and helping keep the olympics secure. this 265-pound wrestler joked, maybe he should be on the security team. >> usually i'm my own security. and all these guys should feel safe because i'm here. >> reporter: the olympic torch is here, too, welcomed by the royals thursday it arrives that stadium tonight. tracie potts, nbc news, london. the first world records of the olympics have already been broken by a legally blind archer. of south korea broke his own records for points in archery's 72 arrow competition. and south korea broke the team

record for points. he has only o10% vision in his left eye and 20% in his right eye. all he can see when he looks at the target are blurry colors and he aims for the bright yellow of the bullseye. mitt romney will be at tonight's opening ceremony. the republican presidential candidate is back tracking from comments he made earlier this week that london may not be prepared. this morning on "today" show he said he is not only can unvinced the city is ready, but he is impressed with its layout. >> of course, it is hard to put on games in a major metropolitan area and what they've done that i found so impressive, they took the venues and put them right in the city. you are on the back side of ten downing street for beach volleyball. >> are you backing off a little bit because if you look at the papers here in london this morning, governor romney, you're everywhere and they're all saying things about this comment. >> i'm absolutely convinced that the people here are ready for the games and in just a few

moments, all the things politicians say will get swept away because the athletes finally take the stage. the games are about the athletes. >> romney will head to israel from london. he'll also visit poland before returning to the united states. first lady michelle obama showed her olympic spirit by visiting some u.s. athletes in london earlier this morning. then she and soccer superstar david beckham hosted a "let's move" event at the u.s. ambassador's event. she talked to al roker earlier today and said she's most excited about representing tonight's delegation at tonight's ceremony. >> it will be awe inspiring and humbling. i have never been to the olympics before and to go from never attending the olympics to heading the u.s. delegation, it will be a proud moment for me, personally. and i know it's going to be exciting for everyone. >> the games of the 30th olympiad kick off right here on nbc 4.

coverage of the opening ceremony starts tonight at 7:30. and new today, maryland lawmakers will return to the capital this summer to debate whether to expand gambling in the state. just minutes ago, governor martin o'malley announced he is calling a special session. megan mcgrath is live in annapolis with this very latest news. megan? >> well, good morning. after much talk, it is now official, governor martin o'malley has called lawmakers back to annapolis. there will be a special session which starts on august 9th. now, lawmakers will vote on a bill that will allow a sixth casino site in the state of maryland and allow table games such as roulette and blackjack in all casinos in the state. mike miller thinks it will take three to four days to pass a bill, but keep in mind that lawmakers believe that they had a deal in the past, only to have it fall through in the end when house leaders withdrew their support. now, i should mention that the speaker of the house michael bush, who has opposed gaming in

the past was here today and he actually spoke at this press conference. so, there is a feeling of confidence that this time during a special session, a bill will pass. >> i think this is a difficult issue for lots of members of the house and of the senate. i don't know that there was one particular breakthrough. we just continued to work at the table to find a way to move forward. >> majority of legislatures, the vast majority of citizens. i believe support the full table games concept, which would go to referendum. the addition of a sixth site gives us the opportunity to take entoconsidi into consideration the means of other subdivisions. >> it's really about dollars going into the state of maryland and prince george's county. >> but there are still obstacles. this plan now goes to a referendum and will need to be approved by the voters in the

state of maryland. again, though, the special session, the first step here takes place or at least begins on august 9th. reporting live in annapolis, megan mcgrath, new 4z. now back to you, barbara. turning to the weather and a sunny start to this friday. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast. you're looking for nasty weather later today, tom? >> yeah, we could get strong storms later this afternoon, just one more day of extreme heat and very high humidity. then we're going to start getting a break as we get into the weekend and next week. now, over the last several hours, we had an increase in sunshine breaking out here around the metro area, but there are some clouds building north and west of us and south, as well. mostly cloudy now western maryland into west virginia where they had some passing showers this morning, but now they're gone and right now it's heating up. 91 at reagan national. southern maryland and pax river now at 93 and there is steam heat all around the region. the heat combined with the

humidity makes it feel like 95. that's the current heat index right in washington and that heat index may get up to 105 or higher by mid to late afternoon. all these areas in orange under a heat advisories today noon to 7:00 and that includes the district, arlington, fairfax, prince george's county and all those areas south and east of washington. we could get some strong storms developing, too. all around our region i'll show you these severe risk zone. we'll look at the forecast for today, the weekend and into next week in just a few minutes. barbara? >> all right, thank you, tom. we have some problems on the roads this morning. danella sealock joins us now with the latest. good morning to you. >> good morning, barbara. here's a look from chopper 4 if you're traveling 29 southbound at 32 have an overturned tractor trailer here and crews are working hard to clear. here are some of the delays right now. i can't tell you all your southbound lanes are blocked along 29 southbound right here at 32. so, your best bet is to jump on

i-95. instead, you may see this will take a while to clean up and delays growing in this area. other delays you have to look out for. i-95 southbound. here's a look at the occoquan. once you pass the occoquan, things look really good. >> thank you, danella a. right now d.c. police are asking for your help to find a special needs boy. jesse raynor was last seen around 8:30 last night. we'll continue to follow this story. look for updates throughout the day right here on nbc 4. this morning, police are asking for your help in tracking down a man who kidnapped cal ripken jr.'s mother. take a look at a these surveillance pictures. investigators say this man abducted violet ripken at gunpoint early monday morning from her home in aberdeen.

she was blindfolded and driven around a in her car for hours and left in her car unharmed. police still have not revealed a motive for the kidnapping. our time right now, nine minutes after 9:00. coming up, dancing on the mall. why lawmaker is encouraging crowds to come out this weekend and do a little dancing. plus, a must-see race taking

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president obama will head to northern virginia to raise money for his campaign. he'll attend a fund-raiser this evening in mcclain. mitt romney has outraised the president in virginia, according to the federal election commission. today, today is day two of redskins training camp. thousands of fans will head to redskins park in ashburn to cheer on the burgundy and gold.

this is the final training camp that is held in our area. the skins will train in richmond next year. richmond can't reveal the entire list because some of the sites aren't owned by the city. robert griffin iii may be the biggest star but still just a rookie. his teammates reminded him of that yesterday. they made him carry their helmets after practice. thousands of fans braved the heat to watch the skins in action. as expected rg3 was the main attraction. >> that dude is going to the championship game because they're not going to be able to stop rg3 and that receiver. >> hot. >> is it worth it? to see who? >> rg3. >> what does it stand for? >> the redskins. >> well, you can see him in the stands for rg3 will be in action, again, this afternoon.

today's practice starts at 2:55. parking lot opens at noon and gates open at 1:00. tomorrow is national dance day. did you know that? d.c. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton is asking hundreds of people to dance with her around the national mall. this year event features two celebrity guests. the dance on the mall will be held tomorrow near 12th and jefferson streets northwest from 1:00 until 4:00. tom's here right now to tell us if he thinks the weather is going to be nice for that. probably on the hot side, i guess you'll have to wear your -- what? should you wear? just a little -- >> have an umbrella like gene kelly. maybe singing in the rain, unfortunately. >> it's going to be hot, too. >> not quite as hot as today, but still hot. you know, anything above 90 is hot and it's going to be uncomfortably hot by mid to late afternoon with the high humidity we have in place and we're

already beginning to climb. live view there from our nbc 4 city camera and it's partly cloudy to mostly clear right now and 91 at reagan national and light breeze and humidity is rather high and as we look at the temperatures around the metro area, it is hovering near 90 and not only right around washington, but in prince george's county and fairfax and arlington counties and montgomery county low and mid 80s there right near the chesapeake bay temperatures in the mid-80s with a breeze off the bay. else where, temperatures on the eastern shore, there into the mid-80s and much of southern maryland and the northern neck and through central virginia, hovering near 90, although only in the low 80s and into the mountains, those are the cooler places later this afternoon, but right around the cities and points south and east. this is the heat advisory zone and all these areas in orange including washington, arlington, fairfax and that heat index over 105 maybe for a time between about 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. and

this heat advisory expires at 7:00 this evening. an extended period of time when we get some of that heat. we get those morning showers going by and they since dissipated and right now getting a couple thundershowers popping up in southern west virginia into eastern kentucky. they're not severe yet. they could, though, later this afternoon. this whole zone in yellow. severe risk zone. this is expanded farther west and north. and this is going to include our nearby suburbs prince george's county, the district and mainly areas south and east of washington. some of the storm business between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. could produce damaging winds. stay tuned if you hear thunder, get inside, turn on nbc 4 and we'll let you know if any storms are threatening where you live. these areas in green, the zones of potential storms popping up and does look like the main threat zone is south and east of washington, however, a few isolated ones around the metro area and our northern suburbs, as well. as we get into saturday, looks like a greater chance. yeah, saturday afternoon, we'll

have quite a few showers and maybe thunder and lightning popping up. much of the region is the way it looks right now. saturday afternoon. probably not severe storms, but rain with thunder and lightning and then as we get into sunday, lower humidity and might have a few isolated thundershowers and otherwise sunday is going to be the best day of the weekend. that's the way it looks right now. for the rest of the afternoon, have an umbrella handy. if you are outside and hear that thunder get right inside and check us out, upper 90s between 3:00, 4:00 and back to the low 90s around 8:00 and by then any scattered storms around will be ending and be here off and on through this friday night and then again tomorrow afternoon. but looking better sunday. lower humidity and highs near 90 and partly cloudy and then as we get into next week, thankfully, no extreme heat. doesn't look like we'll get above 90 each day could get more storms monday afternoon, tuesday and wednesday. barbara, that is the way it looks. >> okay. thank you, tom.

we'll see you again. going to check, again, on the mid-day traffic. danella a, any problems? >> look at the situation as you're traveling on 29 southbound. all your southbound lanes are blocked because of an overturned tractor trailer there. let's over to i-95 in virginia. heavy on the brakes southbound. slow at route 23 and now hitting the brakes at lorton. good news, no accident. bad news, like you, if you're heading on this road, everybody is ready to get out of town for the weekend. 19 minutes after 11:00 and still ahead, the london games are about more than just athletes and athletics. dan hellie will educate us on olympic style. plus, some of the food the athletes and spectators will be eating in london. a local chef shows us how to make fish and chips. but, first, here's a look at what's hot on

with the start of the olympics today, we're celebrating everything british, including the food. joining us now christian and scott and you are showing us how to make a very popular dish in the uk. thank you, both, for coming. >> thank you. >> union jack is the, they're all over our area and you're expecting to be very, very busy and you think mostly everybody is going to be ordering, what? >> fish and chips. >> exactly. what has been the most popular dish since you opened in the area. >> absolutely. >> some folks really like it. tell us how to make it and then we'll talk about other foods that people will eat over there, too. let's do the big one. >> i'll show you how to make the fish and chips. very, very simple. it's new castle brown ale which we use.

>> you have to use beer. >> absolutely. >> is the type of beer important? >> usually people use a brown, type of dark ale for it. gives it that nutty flavor. beer approximately one cup. club soda. >> nice and foamy. >> club soda, too. >> which kind of helps the batter give it that puffy and crispy texture. >> half a cup of that. >> about a cup. here or there, give or take. for the flour, about two cups of flour. the wet ingredients first and then adding all my dry ingredients this will help with lumping and stuff like that. a nice, clean, smooth batter. next, just a pinch of salt. just a little bit to bring out the flavor of the haddock in the fish. fresh cracked pepper. couple twists and then the last ingredient is going to be baking powder. now, you just do a small pinch of baking powder. if you do too much, the batter is going to come out maybe a

little bit too puffy and also going to have kind of like a slight bitter taste. just a little bit, just a touch. you mix everything up. so, it's very, very smooth. and and just so you can get all the lumps of the flour out. kind of like making pancake batter. and next we have, after we finish the batter, you have flour, salt and pepper is your dredging. now, at therestaurant, we use haddock. >> you put the fish just into a flour. >> you put the fish into the flour first. >> this will actually help the batter stick to the fish. what we're going to do there and i actually suggest you have the batter sit for about five minutes when it's really really fresh. it tends to make it kind of fragile. >> this is what it looks like

after it has been sitting for five minutes. >> absolutely. >> gets a little more liquidy. >> it settles a little bit. so, from the flour of the dredged fish, just a small dip. make sure it's fully coated and then you do a little shake just to get a little bit off. not too much excess. >> you have a deep frier over there. >> we have a deep frier over here, at home you can use a thick pot with a little bit of oil. >> it has to be very, very hot. >> 375 degrees. you ease it in there. >> when it comes out, you have some to show us. >> after six to eight minutes, it comes out nice and crispy. >> oh, let me move this so people can see how beautiful it looks. and you have a nice, crispy fish and chips. in the restaurant we serve it with our apple slaw. >> look at those chips. beautiful.

hand cut, i guess. >> yes. >> that's the way they do it in london. >> absolutely. >> union jack is going to be a busy place. all right, good luck with you for the next six, what? 16 days and afterwards, too. thank you so much, both of you, for coming in. i am ready to eat this. they brought london breakfast, the big breakfast. what is this quickly? >> toffee and bananas. >> we have a lot of things to eat. all those things you'll hear about over the next few days. we'll continue our olympic coverage with a look at what role the royals will play in tonight's opening ceremony and how they spent the days ahead of the games. plus, good news for a popular d.c. neighborhood. why it will be easier to get around in that neighborhood. tom kierein is back with an upda

right now on news 4 midday. we are just eight hours away from the 2012 olympic games. here's a live look at london this morning. 60,000 people will pack olympic stadium for the $42 million extravaganza and more than a mi billion people are expected to watch worldwide. maryland lawmakers will discuss expanded gambling. a special legislative session to discuss this issue. they want to legalize table games at all maryland casinos. the special session is scheduled to begin on august 6th. breaking news. a man was take nn to custody after threatening to kill his co-workers. sources tell us the suspect worked for a company in prince george's county and threatened to kill everyone there because he feared he was about to lose his job. police along with the atf

searched his home last night and found several guns some were registered, some were not, but police are not saying how many were registered. the suspect does not face any charges right now. he is being checked out at a local hospital. prince george's county police will be holding a news conference about this case at 1:00 this afternoon. and we will continue to follow this story and bring you more this afternoon starting at 4:00. and then again on nbcwashington.com throughout the day. construction is finally complete on a major road project in adams morgan. crews have spent more than a year fixing up 18th street widening a walk and building new bike and pedestrian lanes and improving the lighting there, as well. tra tracee has more. >> adam morgans is a cultural melting pot and a favorite for wash tonians and out of towners alike. even i have to admit when the

street work got intense, i had to call it quits around here for a while because there was no where to park. now, the good news is, it's all over. it's a fresh start for one of d.c.'s oldest and most historic communities. for months, adams morgan has been a perpetual construction zone. >> there was construction going on, i was working, so that was a bit of a pain. >> reporter: the secretescape project was one of the most ambitious, complex and all inclusive ever done in a dense commercial area in the district. it incompassed a half mile stretch between columbia road and florida avenue. new trees, wider sidewalks, parallel instead of adjacent parking, brighter street lights and a more pedestrian and biker friendly design. >> we want to bring people up hereed adams morgan and 18th street and say look what can be done to bring a community together and be able to support our businesses in this city. >> there are also changes you can't see. there are new underground

infrastructure upgrades, including all new electrical, high-pressure gas and water services, as well as storm sewers. >> really, the street is a new street. and it's a new street for the first time in like, what is it? 100 years. >> reporter: both residents and business owners who had to live through the loud and intrusive construction tells tus was worth it. >> it takes a long time to build a road. they did a good job. >> it's been very challenging to have customers come in and even parking has been very difficult and really basic things but i think it's beautiful. you can see how open it is and it is worth it in the long run. >> this streetscape project signifies the largest public investment ever made in adams morgan. new today, d.c. police are searching for the person who shot and killed a man off park place in southeast. the shooting happened around midnight. the victim died, his name has not been released.

police have not released a motive. a jogger assaulted on a popular d.c. trail and a news 4 exclusive we hear from a good samaritan who answered the victim's cries for help. the woman was attacked along the crescent trail in georgetown. police say the suspect came up behind the woman and put her in a choke hold. they say she tried to fight back but lost consciousness. she woke up a few minutes later with her pants pulled down. elizabeth williams was riding her bike when she heard the victims screaming for help. >> she had dirt on her chest and a scrape on her face. she was hysterical and said she had been attacked and she thought she was going to die. >> park police say the man ran almost a mile to fletcher's boat house and got away. police urge people who use the trail at night to always bring a friend. this morning, residents from ohio to new york are assessing the damage left by a line of

powerful storms. a tornado touched down in elmiraw, new york, and the national weather service is looking into reports of other twisters in that area. the storms were part of a derecho which is the same type of deadly storm that devastated our area last month. last night's storm is being blamed for at least two deaths. one in brooklyn and another in pennsylvania. we're going to check, again, on our weather. let's talk to tom kierein about what we can expect and when. tom? >> as we approach the noon hour around the region, the heat is really beginning to build, but really fairly pleasant out right now. fairly humid and not the sweltering humidity like we had yesterday. and we've got the sunshine out, too. some clouds are beginning to move in and we'll have those in and out here as we get into the afternoon. now, let's take a look around the region at the temperatures. it's already near 90 around the metro area and the nearby suburbs. farther south and east, it's more humid around the bay and northern neck, lower eastern shore where it's already hitting the low 90s in a few locations.

as we look at the wide view what has been happening over the last 12 hours. those thunderstorms last night quickly dissipating and those showers west of us dissipating. but a new line of some showers and thunder and lightning developing now in west virginia. that's a boundary that's going to be drifting east and moving towards us later this afternoon. as it does, it may trigger some strong storms in this zone. covers all of virginia, the district and lots of maryland and this is for the risk of damaging winds between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. looks like the time for that. before then, we ought to reach the upper 90s. today's record is 100 and then tomorrow partly sunny and still rather steamy, but not as hot. could get afternoon storms and less humid on sunday, up near 90 and does not look like any extreme heat as we get into next week, although we could get storms monday afternoon and evening and off and on tuesday and wednesday. barbara? >> all right, tom, thank you. concern over the drought is leading to action on the hill. republicans in the house are planning to vote next week on

federal help for farmers. the drought is driving up the cost of feed, forcing some livestock farmers to reduce their stocks earlier than planned. many corn and soybean farmers are protected by drought by crop insurance. getting caught speeding by a traffic camera in d.c. may soon be less of a drag on your wallet. d.c. council member tommy wells is forming a task force to look into whether fines those cameras issue are just too high. aaa says the cameras brought in $55 million last year and will likely generate even more money for the district this year. wells says he may take up the issue this fall when the council returns from its summer recess. well, getting around the district on metro this weekend won't cost you more money, but it may cost you time. with work on four of the system's five lines. on the red line the medical center and bethesda stations will be closed. that means you have to catch a

bus between grover and on the blue line buses will run, but you'll be able to ride blue line trains to the huntington station. work will start at 10:00 tonight. let's check in, again, on our midday traffic. here's danella. good morning. >> good morning. still seeing problems on the road. if you're traveling 29 southbound at 32, overturned tractor trailer, right on the road here and blocking all of your southbound lanes and be forced to get off and, again, this is going to be shut down for some time, so, just be aware of that as you're making your commute, you may want to jump on i-95, as well. traveling route 50 eastbound and crossing over the bay bridge left lane blocked by the accident there and prince george's county at palmer road all the lanes are blocked by the crash there. barbara, over to you? >> thank you. now to a warning for women filling up at the pump. police in prince jornl's county

say a series of purse snatchings. this surveillance video was taken two days ago in landover. it shows the crooks grabbing a purse through a car window and driving off. keep the windows up and doors locked. george zimmerman's parents are turning to the internet to defend their son. robert and gladys zimmerman have created a website. on that site, they say their son has been portrayed unfairly in the media. they say that george zimmerman denies those claims that he's a racist. they agree with him. the zimmermans says they cannot discuss details of their son's case. he's charged with murder in the death of trayvon martin. jerry sandusky's wife says she's standing by her man. dotti sandusky told reporters, "i still love my husband. he is not who they say he is." she met jerry sandusky at a

picnic in the 1960s and they started dating while he was starting his senior football year at penn state. in june, jerry sandusky was found guilty of sexually abusing ten boys. he's currently behind bars awaiting sentencing in september. and the man sexually abused by jerry sandusky in the penn state showers plans to sue the university. lawyers for the victim say the school's reckless behavior contributed to the abuse. they also claim the abuse lasted many years after that shower incident. lawyers releas voice mails released by sandusky just last fall. in them, sandusky can be heard saying, i love you, to the victim. >> just calling to see whether or not you had any interest in going to penn state game this saturday and when you get this message, give me a call. i hope to talk to you later, thanks, love you. >> the victim's identity is not

being released. penn state is not commenting on the lawsuit or the voicemails. it's 11:41 now and still ahead on news 4 midday, a look at what's new at the movies this weekend. the swimming showdown. we have a preview of tomorrow's big race between michael

working the overnight shift may dramatically increase the risk of heart disease. researchers in canada surveyed 2 million people and found that people who work the overnight shifts are 40% likely to suffer heart attacks or strokes. people working shifts, also those shifts have higher levels of unhealthy behaviors, such as eating junk food, sleeping badly and not exercising, which are linked, of course, to heart problems. a warning for ford owners. ford is recalling nearly 500,000 ford suvs because of a problem with their accelerator. it affects 2001 to 2004 models with cruise control. inspectors found the accelerator pedals can stick.

ford says it decided on the recall in part after looking at the escape an arizona teen was driving back in january when he crashed and died. the automaker isn't blaming the accelerator for that accident but has expressed its sympathy to the teen's family. facetop book stock hit a new low today. we'll check in with cnbc hampton pearson and joins us with more on that and the rest of the business headlines. hey, hampton. >> in fact, we've got overall markets in positive territory for a second day in a row. still counting on actions from the european central bank and pushing aside news about a still sluggish u.s. economy. right now the dow is up 105 points and the nasdaq up 35 and the s&p up 15 and drugmaker, merck, the biggest gainer in the dow after larger than expected earnings. the growth grew in the second quarter but not as much as the analysts expected.

according to the commerce department. the first quarter rate was actually revised upward to 2%, however, any growth rate at 2% or less means the unemployment rate won't drop. it now standses at 8.2%. consumer sentiment has fallen to the lowest level of the year. 72.3 according to the closely watched university of michigan index. americans lowering expectations about job and income even further. it is the second month in a row of downward expectations. the morning after facebook misses hitting analysts targets in the first ever earnings report as a publicly traded company, the stock was down nearly 15% hitting a new low at just under $23 per share and the original ipo was $38. a slow down in revenue growth has traders concerned. ditto for starbucks. down nearly 12%. third quarter earnings were up 19%, but the coffee giant reported slower same-store sales growth and is lowering its future earnings guidance.

the first time in three and a half years that starbucks missed its own quarterly earnings target. enjoy the olympics. >> oh, yeah, you too. are you going to get out to that dance festival on the mall? >> you know what -- >> i know you like to dance. >> i'll check my calendar. >> all right, have a good one. >> okay, bye-bye. and we have breaking news. we're getting a look at the home of a man taken into custody after threatening to kill his sources tell us the suspect worked for a company in prince george's county and threatened to kill everyone there because he feared he was about to lose his job. police along with the atf searched his home last night and found several guns. some were registered. the suspect does face, does not face any charges at this time. he is being checked out at a local hospital. prince george's county police will be holding a news conference about this case at 1:00 this afternoon. we'll continue to follow this

story. >> whoa! >> this thing's awesome. >> reporter: a collection of comedy stars highlight "the watch." four everyday guys from a neighborhood watch group to help escape their boring or they form a watch group to help escape their boring lives but they soon discover their neighborhood was taken over by aliens. they star in this action comedy "the watch. is rated r. the latest installment of "the step up" franchise takes on a bit of a serious vibe. a group of dancers who themselves the mob must fight a wealthy businessman who is threatening to renovate a wealthy neighborhood. they try to change people's minds. "step up revolution" is rated pg-13. and talk about life imitating art.

in a ruby sparks a struggling creator creates the woman of his dreams. imagine his surprise when the girl actually comes to life. he soon discovers whatever he writes, the girl does. that will be interesting. "ruby sparks" is rated r, of course. the time now 11:50. coming up, a look at olympic swag. plus, meteorologist tom kierein will be back with

the royal family is expected to play a big part in tonight's opening ceremony for the olympics and they had the honor of hosting the flame of the games. prince william, kate and prince harry all greeted the olympic torch on the steps of buckingham palace. the flame made its way by some of london's landmarks yesterday and the royal siblings made time for fun and games with prince william playing local soccer and kate tried her hand at ping-pong and prince harry played some basketball. it won't take long before team usa makes a major splash at this year's games. on the first side of competition, ryan lochte and michael phelps will have their first show down for olympic gold. the two swimmers already put on a show at the u.s. swimming trials last month with phelps beating out lochte in three of

four races against each other. but lochte had the upper hand in what will be their first race of the games. the 400 meter individual medley. despite all the hype, they're trying not to focus on each other. >> it's always a challenge to have things go perfectly. for the very first night, it is going to be a very challenging race and very exciting race. >> michael is just one person and a bunch of other swimmers across the world that i have to worry about. i'm just doing what i normally do and i race. >> you can watch phelps and lochte battle it out for the gold tomorrow night right here on nbc 4. primetime coverage begins at 8:00. ♪ ♪ hey, i just met you and this is crazy ♪ ♪ but here's my number so call me maybe ♪ >> it's not all business for the u.s. swim team. they put the talents to the viral hit "call me maybe."

according to the team's website, some swimmers came up with the idea to take their minds off the competition. even the two guys with the weight of the world on their shoulders made cameos in that video. well, all eyes will be on the athletes tonight. but viewers will also keep close eye on what the athletes are wearing. news 4 dan hellie goes behind the scenes to see what it takes to dress the u.s. olympic team. >> reporter: inside this ordinary building in east london is an extraordinary sight. >> that feel right about there? >> reporter: some of the biggest names in the world are here to shop. >> first things first, head on over to follow the pony to ralph lauren. they are way excited to see you guys. >> no credit cards and no cash. this is pure swag and it's mandatory. you want to represent your country, get dressed. even if you're a two-time defending olympic champion like kerri walsh.

>> more wiser and older and more experienced so i'm not like bouncing off the walls this kind of stuff. >> now we're trying on the outfit and doing it where -- >> it's so much more real. >> very real. >> it's been a dream up until now and now starting to become reality. >> reporter: nothing little about this place. 96,000 total items. each olympian rolls away with about 100 items. >> this is your podium outfit. >> reporter: it's not often a room of superstars can check their egos at the door, but it's not often the olympics come around either. >> here we're an extremely small part of something that is a lot bigger than our sport or sports in general. cool to be a part of. >> nbc 4 is your home for the games of the 30th olympiad and visit the london 2012 section of nbcwashington.com any time for updates and a live blog of the games. let's take a look now at some of the stories we're going to be following on news 4 this

afternoon. pat lawson muse joins us in the newsroom with a preview of things to come. >> surveillance video catches a thief with an unusual technique, we'll call it. a man steals a puppy by stuffing the puppy down his pants. honest, we'll show you that story. meet a local man who has a real case of olympic fever and he's in london right now. we'll share his story, coming up on news 4 at 5:00. barbara? >> all right. thank you so much, pat. and, now, to our forecast. but let's find out. is it going to be clear for tonight's big opening ceremony. >> here's your london forecast and if you're watching tonight, it's not looking great. it's going to be mostly cloudy and could get some passing showers. temperatures there are now in the 70s. during the opening ceremony probably back down into the 60s. that was a live view there at the tower bridge and looks like they had a few showers already. we could get some storms and right now near 90 degrees and we do have a possibility of some storms firing up along a

boundary that's now developing to our west. that will be sweeping through later this afternoon and this area in yellow is a zone of potential severe weather and some storms could produce damaging winds and then tomorrow a smaller chance of any severe weather and cooler, probably won't get above 90 sunday into next week. thankfully, no more extreme heat. have a great weekend. >> we'll stay in and watch tv and watch the olympics. that's news 4 midday, thanks for joining us. be sure to tune in for news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and tonight at 11:00 and all through the weekend. "news 4 midday" will be back in two weeks after the olympics. have a great two weeks and weal se ♪ ♪

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