captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. the missile strikes. 17-year-old missy franklin with her very first medal taking the 100 meter backstroke in dramatic fashion. >> it's impossible to describe. i can't believe that just happened. >> as team usa takes gold and silver on the men's side, but for ryan lochte and the u.s. men's gymnastics team, a day of disappointment. next up, women's gymnastics. the fab five's chance to live up to their name today, tuesday, july 31st, 2012. ♪

and welcome to "today" and to london's olympic park on this tuesday morning. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. >> i'm matt lauer. missy franklin came here to london with so much pressure on her shoulders. she was labeled the next big thing in u.s. swimming. and so far she's delivered. >> and you and i were there. we watched her win gold. i had no idea you could scream that loud. >> you know, it's very exciting. we were sitting just down at the end of the pool. when you see that number one go up to missy's name, it's a great moment. >> it was so exciting. chenabed gold and set an american record in the 100 meter backstroke. this is the second medal for her

in these games. and hoda kotb, who has made her way to london, talked to missy right after the race. she was eve therein when franklin reunited with her parents for the first time in weeks. we'll have that touching moment straight ahead and missy's mom and dad will be with us as well. >> also, let's not leave out the men. we mentioned they took gold and silver in the men's 100 meter backstroke. and those two athletes are here with us as well. congratulations to them. we'll talk to them in a second. and tonight, ryan lochte looks to get back to his winning ways in the men's 4 x 200 meter free relay later this morning. ryan's mom and siblings will tell us what it's like to watch the nail-biting races. >> hard for us. i can't imagine how it is for them. also, there's been some controversy in the pool over a record-breaking performance by a 16-year-old chinese athlete. she smashed the world record in the 400 meter i.m., beating her own personal best by five seconds. swimming faster even than the men's champ, ryan lochte, had

swum in his final 50 meters in a different race. so was it too good to be believed? we will get into that controversy. >> a lot of murmurders abos abo. and the royal family. coming up, a busy day at the olympics for the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry. >> natalie morales has the olympic highlights of the morning. natalie, good morning to you. good morning to you, savannah and matt. as you heard, monday was a mixed one for team usa highlighted by tight races and missy "the missile" franklin's big win. >> here comes franklin down. >> 17-year-old missy franklin winning her first-ever olympic gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke. >> yes! >> reporter: the colorado team swam the event just 14 minutes after competing in a semifinal. >> whooo! >> reporter: her reaction just moments after the big win. >> it's impossible to describe.

i can't believe that just happened. just seeing that flag being raised was so incredibly unbelievable. i could have never dreamed it would feel like that. >> here they come down the final ten meters! >> teammate rebecca soni rallied and finished with a silver medal for the men, matt grevers earned gold with nick stowman taking sifr for a one-two u.s. finish. not a good day for star swimmer ryan lochte. he faltered, finishing fourth in the 200 meter freestyle. >> it wasn't a good time for me. but, you know, i raced as hard as i could and that's all i could really ask for. >> reporter: michael phelps finished first the qualifying heat of the 200 meter butterfly. later today he swims for a

medal. >> as ye shiwen pulls ahead of everyone. >> reporter: meanwhile, controversy is brewing over super fast performance in women's swimming. 16-year-old ye shiwen of china set a world record in the 400 meter individual medley saturday. in a final 50 meters, she swam faster than ryan lochte did in the same event. the teen is denying doping allegations. >> oh, god! >> reporter: a major disappointment for the u.s. men's gymnastics team with several falls putting them in fifth place without a medal. >> and this -- oh, my goodness gracious. >> i personally feel like i kind of let the team down because i had five events to do and i really messed up two of them. so, you know, that hurts. >> the chinese took the gold, but there was confusion over who earned silver. >> great britain has taken the silver! >> reporter: at first the british team went crazy, thinking they had won silver. their first team medal in a century. but the japanese team questioned

a score, calling for a review. the judges gave the silver to pan and the british team settled for bronze. but they did get a visit from the royals with prince william and harry showing up to cheer them on. earlier, katherine, the duchess of cambridge, joined the princes for some equestrian events monday. their cousin, dara phillips, competing in the cross-country stage. other big events today, the women's gymnastics team final, and in swimming, the u.s. relay team makes the 4 x 200 meter freestyle final, phelps will have a shot to become the most decorated olympian ever. as for the medal count, china still leads with 17, including nine goals. team usa also has a total of 17, five golds, seven silver, and five bronze. japan, meanwhile, in third with 11 overall. matt? all right, natalie. thank you very much. as you mentioned, missy franklin's first-ever gold medal came in the women's 100 meter

backstroke. "today's" hoda kotb caught up with the 17-year-old after the race. welcome to london. >> thank you. what a great kid missy is. she set an american record on the way to gold, and we had a little surprise waiting for her after that remarkable swim. >> and here comes fra s frankli lane five! >> reporter: it took only 53.33 seconds for missy franklin to cement her first plais in olympic history. the 17-year-old phenom captured her very first gold medal in the women's 100 meter backstroke monday night, setting an american record. >> over here! >> what does it feel like being a u.s. olympian, a gold medalist? >> it's unbelievable. unbelievable. i got my first kind of look of what it feels like to win a gold and see your flag go up at worlds last year, and that was unbelievable. but having this happen at the olympics was absolutely

indescribable. >> when you were swimming the first lap, you were in second, you made the turn, then you turned the jets on. when you touched that wall, turned around, did you know right then that magic had happened? >> you know, you never know until you see that scoreboard. it's so hard to tell , but looking up there and seeing that one, i couldn't believe it. >> looking up, your eyes got so big. you have the greatest picture of all time of your parents. this is the picture, not the greatest, but we have your mom and dad. >> oh! >> come here. come here with me. but we had a bigger surprise for the gold medalist. her parents, who missy hasn't seen in person since early july. >> i miss you so, so much. >> an unforgettable moment for this family. on a night that was golden for this teenage girl. >> i love you.

>> what a great night. fans of missy know that she is a belieber, a justin bieber fan. after her race, justin treat tweeted this to her, "heard franklinmissy is a fan of mine. now i'm a fan of hers too. congratulations on winning gold. much love." pretty cool. >> it is. let's go over to savannah. missy's parents are with us now. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> let's start with that bieber tweet, because i understand that gold is good but missy was really excited about getting a tweet from justin bieber. is that right, dick? >> absolutely. that made her morning. she was delighted. i asked her, now, wait a minute, gold medal, beeber? >> she sent you an e-mail in all caps about that? >> can you believe -- apparently she tweeted back and said something like, i just died. >> it's so cute. we were so excited to watch her. what an emotional reunion for you to get to see her, because

you really don't -- people may not understand, you don't necessarily get to see your child when they're in the olympics. how was it to see her after she won gold? >> oh, unbelievable. we haven't seen her for two weeks. dick went down to knoxville for family day, but that was just for dinner. but i hadn't seen her since she left for camp. >> wow. and so yesterday, we saw her finish, qualify for the 200 meter freestyle, then 14 minutes later have to do the swim of her life in the backstroke. was there any concerns? >> well, she's done it before. the 14 minutes is the tightest she's ever done it. and wonderful that the committee allowed her to warm down in the side pool. i mean, that was pretty exceptional. >> that really made the difference for her for not having to go all the way off and be able to warm up. she's a standout in these games. we're looking at the reason why. she's got this bright, beautiful smile. what kind of person is she? >> missy is exactly like that.

she's always been smiling, happy. i think she smiled when she was born. she's just a happy child. >> we see her dancing during the victory lap the swimmers take, kind of dancing down with the other athletes. when you first gave her swimming lessons when she was just a little one, i mean, i know every parent loves their child, but did you think i've got a future olympian there? >> her grandmother did. >> her grandmother did. it was very embarrassing. her first meet, she was 5, the football fin finals, and she got a record. her grandmother looked around and said she's going to be an olympian one day. i was going, shh. >> when did you know she had potential and it was serious? >> we have some friends in colorado that are very good accomplished swimmer, and they were telling us because i'm a football player, you know, we're not swimmers, and they were telling us 9 years old, 10 years

old, she's the real deal. >> she chose to stay in colorado instead of going to a swimming hotbed. you were canadian. you said maybe it would be less pressure. but she wanted to swim for the usa. >> absolutely. she's a colorado girl. she's so close to family and frien friends. her high school has been incredible and her tome team, colorado star, they've just been amazing. >> i know she's made you proud. she's made all of us proud. >> thank you. >> thank you for being here. congratulations. missy will be back in the pool later today going for medal number three in that 200 meter freestyle. 7:12. back to matt. team usa's dynamic duo of mark grevers and rick stowman are here. congratulations. >> thank you. >> we were there last night as i mentioned. could you hear the crowd yelling in that last leg? >> you could feel it. it wasn't just hearing it.

it was a rumble in your bones. it was awesome. >> you looked up, matt, did you instantly see the one next to your name? >> i did. i felt bad about that. i saw the one, started celebrating before looking where my teammates went. >> had to jump over and grab him and we celebrated together. >> that's when you realized he had taken a silver in. >> a whole celebration. >> did you see the two next to your name immediately? >> oh, yeah. i saw the two lights on my block which indicated i got second, then i looked up at the board and saw matt got first so i had to jump over and give him a big hug. >> back in beijing, i think you got the silver behind aaron piersol. did you know this was your year? >> i had such good trials, had a lot of momentum coming into this olympic games so i felt pretty good about it. >> nick, talk to me about your final 50 meters because you made up some ground. tell me what the it was like. did you think you had done enough? >> my whole goal was to be out

with the field. i'm usually out slower than other people and i know i have the power to come home with the best of them. matt got his hand on the wall and i was thinking oh, my god, i can do this and turns out i did. >> is it true the coach said to you before the race, one-two? >> yeah, david marsh said to both of us, let's do this thing, let's get one-two. >> he didn't tell you which order? you decided on that? >> yeah. >> what do you have left? >> we're both doing the 400 meter relay on the fourth. >> on the third. >> you're on the third, you're on the fourth. one more event to go. then will you enjoy a little bit of london? >> definitely. i'm staying here until closing ceremonies so i can watch some of the other sports and have some fun. >> well, you gave us a great moment. as i said, we were there last night. it was wonderful to be in attendance to see the american flag raised up there and see you guys standing side by side. congratulations. it was huge. >> thank you. >> thanks very much. >> all right. let's head over the natalie at the newsdesk with a check of the morning's top stories. natalie?

good morning to you, matt. good morning, everyone. colorado shooting suspect james holmes could face the death penalty if convicted. on monday, the 24-year-old was formally charged with 142 counts, including two first-degree murder charges for each of the 12 people killed in the july 20th massacre. legal experts say the multiple charges per victim give the state a backup plan for sentencing if, for example, holmes' defense team argues that he was too mentally disturbed to be held accountable. republican presidential hopeful mitt romney is in poland today, but he is still fe feelinging the heat from his trip to israel. nbc's peter alexander has the latest now from warsaw. good day to you, peter. >> reporter: natalie, good morning to you. mitt romney, after accidentally offensive ending the brits then angering palestinians, just finished a foreign policy speech in poland where he tried to project the image of a leader who is ready for the big stage. with a solemn visit to poland's tomb of the unknown soldier and a meeting with the country's

president -- >> friendship between our nations is one which -- >> -- mitt romney has used this trip to contrast himself with president obama, who romney says has neglected its eastern european ally. >> do you feel your debt has overshadowed your interests? >> reporter: this morning, reporterses tried to shout questions to him while he left a plaza near the tomb of the unknown soldier. >> show some respect. >> reporter: a campaign spokesman angrily intervened. the spokesman later called reporters to apologize. romney began the week in israel with a comment that largely overshadowed his visit. he told jewish donors in an off-camera fund-raiser that israeli culture is part of what's enabled israel to be more economically productive than its palestinian neighbors. he said the same holds true for other neighboring countries like the u.s. and mexico. culture makes all the difference, he said. i look out over the city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, i

recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things. some palestinian leaders were outraged. the romney campaign called the reporting of the comments a gross mischaracterization. their top strategist said, "this was not in any way an attempt to slight the palestinians, and everyone knows that." and this visit to poland is in part designed to help mitt romney try to win over support from polish americans and catholics back in the united states. mitt romney does head home a little bit later today. natalie? >> peter alexander in warsaw, poland, thanks so much. a kent state university student must stay away from his school and wear a gps tracking device for allegedly tweeting that he would, quote, shoot up his college campus. 19-year-old william cabern action was released on $50,000 bond on monday. he is charged with inducing panic. to wall street. kayla is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. good day. >> good day.

wall street is recovering from the worst case of the mondays since 1973. nine straight mondays with red arrows in the markets. early optimism from investors fading that economic policymakers would provide a boost. investors now in a wait-and-see mode with market events taking place in the upcoming day, especially an all-important read on the state of american jobs. today we have earnings from drug giant pfizer as well as beer maker anheuser-busch. natalie? >> kayla tausche at the new york stock exchange. thank you. and this kid should go for hurdling gold. the nigerian goat getting serious air on a farm in maine as you see there. not going to make a lot of friends, though, using his buddies as hurdles. just knocks them down. wow. it's 7:18. you're up to date. back to matt, savannah and al. >> like you and meredith race walking. >> cleared the first goat, though. >> all right, natalie. thank you very much.

mr. roker with a first check of the weather. we've got severe weather to talk about in t here with a che of the weather. >> severe weather in the southeast. a risk of strong storms from mobile, alabama to wilmington and as far north as chattanooga. heavy rain in the last several hours and we picked up three to five inches of rain from birmingham down to panama city, florida. more rain falling now, we have severe thunderstorm watches in effect. you can look at that rain just training down and rainfall amounts over the next 24 hours, another three to five inches locally and some areas picking up, generally, one to two inches and flooding is a big problem now throughout much of central alabama. 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. low 70s around the metro area and mostly cloudy and storm 4 radar showing a couple showers and heavier downpours in the lower eastern shore. may get some of those later this morning, but a greater chance this afternoon and this evening along with some thunder and lightning, some downpours quite

heavy. highs reaching the mid-80s. those may continue off and on late tonight into early tomorrow morning. highs low 90s. over the weekend, could get and that's your latest weather. savannah? al, thanks. much more from london's olympic park just ahead, including ryan lochte's personal cheering section. we're going to talk to his mother and siblings.

just ahead -- members of the u.s. men's gymnastics team will open up about a dramatic but what would have to be considered disappointing night for them here in london. they started out the evening in first place, ended up in fifth. we're going to talk to them, find out what they think might have gone wrong. >> we'll ask them and see how they're feeling about their individuals events, which are still coming up. still hope for the men's gymnastics team. also ahead, the royals are out in force at these games here

in london cheering on a relative as it were. but first your local news and weather. today's medal count is brought to you by coke. [ male announcer ] pizza hut believes you deserve better than a boring sub. say hello to the p'zolo, in meat trio, italian steak or buffalo chicken. get one for three bucks or two for five. pizza hut. make it great.

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[ female announcer ] weight watchers -- rated number one best plan for weight loss by u.s. news and world report, again. join for $1. hurry offer ends august 4th. weight watchers. believe. because it works. . good morning. it's 7:26 on this tuesday, july 31st. i'm aaron gilchrist and you might want to stick an umbrella in your bag before you head out. tom kierein joins us. >> storm 4 radar showing a couple showers in the lower eastern shore getting some moderate downpours there. and later today, especially this afternoon, we could get some of those downpours with some thunder and lightning and that may linger off and on into this evening and perhaps into early tomorrow morning. more of the same on wednesday and thursday, although a little bit hotter and settling down a bit on friday. over the weekend, might get more afternoon passing showers and

highs low 90s and still humid. aaron? >> thank you,

good morning. traveling in the district, d.c. police report a cyclist struck. this is on first street northeast at h street.

please, be aware, use caution. taking the outer loop of the beltway at van dorn, multi-vehicle crash, it's gone. aaron? >> thank you, danella. another update in 25 minutes. now back to

all that training has all paid off for lochte, who's going to win olympic gold! >> that was ryan lochte winning gold medal -- a gold medal in the 100 meter i.m. he takes a bouquet afterwards and throws it to who? his mom, of course. and his mom will join us in just a couple minutes along with his siblings to talk about his meet so far. we're back now, 7:30 on a tuesday morning here in olympic park in london. i'm matt lauer alongside savannah guthrie. >> well, coming up, another olympian with a big cheering section, a royal cheering section, none other than the

queen's granddaughter, zara phillips. we've seen a lot of royal support at her events, princes william and harry and a lot of others have come to cheer on their relative. we're going to hear about that in a couple minutes. then u.s. women's olympic soccer star hope solo created quite an uproar about a twitter that she sent out about a former teammate, brandi chastain. on monday, she had a chance to kind of back down on those comments. did she do it? we'll talk about that in a couple minutes. we'll preview a big night for u.s. women's gymnastics. they get to compete for team gold. it's something they've really been working hard for, so we'll catch up with some former olympians and talk about their chances coming up. also ahead, we have reported it was a difficult night for the u.s. men's gymnastics team last night. we've got two of the members of that team, jonathan horton and jacob dalton, here with us this morning. good to see you. thanks for coming in. >> thanks. >> this isn't the way you wanted that part of the competition to end. you started the night in first, ended up in fifth. i'm sure you've had time to think about it. what went wrong?

>> definitely a little l bit of a rough meet. definitely thought about it, slept on it. it's a young team. a lot of nerves, a lot of expectations. we went out there, did everything we could, fought to the end, and that's all you can ask for. >> john orozco, your teammates said i can't help but feel personally responsible because i did five event, the most out of everyone, and botched on two of them. it hurts. i'm sure you guys don't feel that way. what have you been able to say to him to buck him up? he still has big e venls coming up. >> i told john it's the olympic games, be proud to represent the united states of america, soak it in. it's tough. we all make mistakes. i said, listen, you're 19 years old. you're going to be back. you're going to have an opportunity to do this again. >> talk to me about your mind-set as you look to the rest of this meet. >> i'm trying to take the whole experience in. like you said, it's our first olympic games and it's a great experience to be able to be here with these guys, and, you know, it was, you know, disappointing for us at the end but, you know,

we're a team, and i was really happy with the way we finished. we came through with three solid sets on high bar. that's what the usa is all about. >> we know you both have individual events, right? jake, you've got the floor, john, you have the horizontal bar coming up. excited for redemption at this point? >> yeah, no, i'm really excited. i was in the high bar final in 2008 and walked away with a silver medal. so i'm going to try to do a great routine there and see what outrageous high bar routine i can do this time around. >> good luck to both of you. nice of you to come in this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> john orozco and jacob dalton. >> we'll be watching. >> let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. al? of course it's time for our english class. things people say here in england a little different than we say it back in states. are you guys ready for our english class? here we go. all righty. when you say in london here cue,

what do you mean when you say cue in london? any guesses? >> oh, are you talking to us, al? >> are you talking to us? >> was that our cue, al? it means wait in line. next. >> wait in line. all right. in london, when they say biz, what are they talking about? >> bins? >> bins. b-i-n-s. >> shoes. >> bins would be closets. >> pens. >> glasses. glasses. >> oh. that's right. and then finally, i know matt knows these. knickers. >> knickers. >> yeah. underwear. >> underwear. as in don't get your knickers in a twist. >> exactly right. >> i'm always telling him that, but they're still in a twist. >> all right. there you go. all right. we go. let's take a look at you look at

your forecast, show you what we've got for you for today. we are looking at london and, again, we've had some showers move through the area, but the good news is, they are going to start to dissipate as the day wears on. we are, though, looking for windy conditions tomorrow. going to be kind of interesting and that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, tom kierein in storm center 4. the humidity is higher and showing a couple of showers and heavier showers on the lower part of the eastern shore. those are slowly drifting off to the north and east and the rest of the day partly sunny, highs mid-80s and a humid day and an isolated shower or downpour with thunder and lightthening this afternoon and this evening. more of the same on wednesday and thursday, although a little hotter. we are at the london 2012 shop. how much stuff did you buy? >> a ton. >> where are you from? >> from connecticut.

>> all right. >> my nephew is the coxswain in the men's eight boat. >> good luck to him. >> thank you. >> when do they race? >> wednesday morning. >> we'll be rooting for him. >> thank you. >> savannah? hope solo, the star goalie of the u.s. women's soccer team, is not backing down from her twitter criticism of nbc analyst brandi chastain, this as her team returns to action this afternoon. "today" contributing correspondent jenna bush hager has the latest. good morning. >> good morning. solo has been in headlines a lot recently. first she received a warning from the u.s. anti-doping agency, then made attention-getting comments to a sports magazine. and now this. >> megan, tries to get it to her right foot. she does! what a goal! >> reporter: on saturday the u.s. women's soccer team defeated colombia 3-0, securing its place in the quarterfinals. >> rapino down the center. carli lloyd.

3-0. >> reporter: and as the u.s. team celebrates its win, its controversial goalie, hope solo, took to twitter, criticizing former teammate brandi chastain for comments she made during the game's broadcast. >> overall, i'd have to give this u.s. team i'd say an a-minus. both heather o'reilly and alex morgan, not their best games. it was good but not maybe the quality that we're looking for. >> reporter: solo said, "it's too bad we can't have commentators who better represent the team and knows more about the game. it's important for our fans to enjoy the spirit of the olympics. it's not possible when someone on air is saying that a player is the worst defender." on monday, solo backed up those comments. >> it's my opinion. i think commentators should bring energy and excitement and passion to the game and a lot of knowledge. i think it's important to help build the game. i don't think they have that. >> it's extraordinarily difficult to believe that

someone could say that brandi chastain needed to be educated. that's like saying albert einstein needed to be educated about physics. that is crazy. brandi chastain played in 192 international soccer matches for the united states. if anyone knows soccer, it is brandi chastain. >> reporter: chastain defended her own comments telling reporters, "i'm here to do my job, which is to be an honest and objective analyst at the olympics." according to reports, u.s. team coach pia sundage was concerned and met with solo on sunday but said she would not be disciplined. >> in the last three weeks, hope solo has failed a drug test. she has talked about a security breach in the olympics in 2008. now she's called out brandi chastain. and the question we all are asking is what is going on with hope solo? and the answer is we don't know. >> reporter: for now the u.s. team is looking ahead to today's game against north korea, hoping for a win and a chance to hearn their fourth gold medal.

>> i don't really care to talk about it. >> reporter: for its part, nbc olympics released a statement saying "we are thrilled to be able to offer such complete and compelling coverage of the entire olympic soccer tournament, and brandi has been doing an outstanding job." savannah? >> let's hope the next story is about what happens on the field. >> that's what we hope. today let's win. >> exactly. actually, good time to remind everybody you can catch the u.s. take on north korea today 12:15 eastern time on the nbc sports network. coming up next, what's it like to watch your loved one's olympic dreams dashed or fulfilled? we'll ask ryan lochte's mom and siblings, the cheering section. parents this year i'm going to teach your kids that magic does exist. it's called science! here's what they'll need. ♪ pencils, folders, notebooks. ♪ ♪ backpacks, denims, graphic tees. ♪ ♪ markers, calculators. whoa! ♪

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[ female announcer ] packed with fiber and nearly a day's worth of whole grains, kellogg's frosted mini-wheats cereal helps keep your kids full and focused all morning long. now available in touch of fruit raspberry. keeps 'em full. keeps 'em focused. "today's" athlete to watch is brought to you by p&g -- proud sponsor of moms. and this morning on "today's athlete to watch," swimming sensation ryan lochte. he's already experienced extreme highs and a few lows here in london, and his family has been with him every stroke of the way. ryan's mom is with us along with his sisters megan and kristin and his brothers devon and brandon. hi, mom. how you doing? >> i'm doing great. >> are you having any fun, or is it simply too nerve-racking at this stage of the olympic games to have fun? >> i'm having a blast.

>> are you really? >> i am. i'm staying with -- at the hotel, but they're great. >> treating you well? >> yes, and they make me relax. >> are you talking to ryan after every race? do you get to hang out with him a little bit or at least communicate with him? and what's his emotional state of mind right now? >> we get to text him. >> yeah? >> after every time he swims we let him know we're so proud of him and we love watching him swim. you know, he has a lot of goals here, and he's doing something he absolutely loves. so any swim we get to see, we're very emotional. >> let's talk about how it started with this 400 i.m. he basically destroyed the field. he takes a gold medal. you had to really feel good that that's the way this meet got under way after all the pressure on his shoulders. >> well, i think we take it --

events with events. the 400 i.m., it was great. he dropped two seconds. then we went on to the next event and the next event we didn't realize he was on it, on the relay, so that was fantastic. and he actually did have a good time, so, you know, even though the outcome wasn't, but the person that he went against went second fastest ever. >> were you surprised that he was overtaking on that final leg? you're not used to seeingi that. >> i thought that he might have that extra push, but still that time was there and it was great. >> do you think that shook his confidence a little bit going into the next event after that, the 200, which is basically one of his signature events? >> that's a new event for him for the olympics, so we dn't know how to handle that one. we knew who was out there in competition for him so, i think it might have been a little bit of everything. but that wasn't really his best one, but he was right on it.

>> when you all listen to the buildup of the olympics and you heard your brother's and your son's name mentioned over and over, i'm looking at your dpas, i know it's a burden, isn't it? you worry about the hype before the games. >> exactly. i think that, you know, that hype was awful because it was demanding of him. i'm not sure if he really takes that into his thoughts. >> he seems to be the underdog. >> he did great and we're very proud of him. >> but we do place a certain expectation level on some of these athletes that it's nearly impossible to live up to. >> yes. right. i agree. i agree. >> i get nervous that -- that ryan's going to feel that expectation because ryan's mentality when it comes to swimming is there to have fun. he loves swimming, he loves racing, and he's just there to have fun. that's why he does it. that's why we love watching him swim. i worry about that, but i don't think ryan does as much.

i think we worry more. >> does he share when he's a little down after an outcome with you guys, or is he one of these people who keeps it pretty much to himself? >> he saw me up in the stands and he gave me a look. i knew he wasn't happy with the outcome of the race. >> yeah. >> he's, like, okay, next one, let's go. >> yeah. he's got more. >> he said that, you know -- we said how proud we were and good swim. and he was, like, well, i don't think it was a very exciting night. but i said, ryan, you're swimming in the olympics. >> yeah, exactly. he's got a lot of exciting nights to come. no question about it. >> there's only three people that can beat him at this point, so -- >> anyway, you guys are so nice to come by. you have a lot of events to go, and this meet continues on. and you guys are always there for him, and i know he appreciates that. >> well, tonight, but then tomorrow is the big one. >> team lochte here in olympic park. and ryan's going to be back in action. his mom just mentioned. at the aquatic centre tonight.

much more ahead from london including the royal family out in force. not this royal family, a different one. cheering on one of their own. that's after this. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] gillette. the best a man can get. i'm timothy. [ male announcer ] what they got was a miracle. i came from the garden. [ male announcer ] disney invites you... i never thought i'd hear that laugh again. [ male announcer ] ...to the most magical movie of the summer. you know that he's different. that's what i like about him. [ male announcer ] "the odd life of timothy green." rated pg.

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from the royal family on monday. today's correspondent ben vogel has the details on that p good morning to you. >> good morning. well, when your grandmother's the queen, your mother is princess anne, and your father happens to be the captain of the u.s. equestrian team, you can expect the audience to be pretty biased. they have star power and a royal pedigree. katherine, the duchess of cambridge, prince william, and prince harry, all there to cheer zara on. and it was a tough course, during which her horse lost a shoe, but zara kept her nerve. she was thrilled with him and afterwards said, "he's such a dude." equestrian events are not just one athlete competing but two. zara had to drop a previous mount due to injury. during training we asked her how she felt about the horse she's riding now. >> i've had him since a 5-year-old so, again, like, you

know, growing up together a bit and he's much more relaxed and, you know, doesn't seek the limelight and he's really come into himself and improving and just a really fun little horse. >> reporter: she also told us how proud she was. >> really excited and, you know, massive honor to ride for the country at the olympics and hopefully can do a good job. >> reporter: she took the torch in on horseback and hasn't looked back. and with her royal relatives out in force, zara is hoping to bring home a medal for queen and country. >> i think they're all, you know, obviously proud and my family and very supportive and, you know, couldn't do it without them. >> reporter: her father, captain mark phillips, who trains the u.s. team, offered a little support. >> she missed a couple olympic games because her horse got injured. hopefully this time if the horse

can stay healthy, she's got a chance to check that olympic box. that will be a big thing for her. i'm happy for her she's got the hans. >> reporter: and zara looks determined to grasp it. for the girls who was born to wear a tiara, years of hard physical work has brought olympic glory within reach. >> again, the medals are being handed out today after the final eventing discipline, jumping. by the way, the u.s. team is currently in fifth place. >> and as if to prove our point, the royals are out in force again today. we just got some video in. they're at the dressage event. camilla, william and cate there to cheer on their cousin. coming up, we'll preview the women's gymnastics. this morning on "today," we shared missy franklin's first moment with her parents. and misty may-treanor and kerri walsh, a "today" exclusive from

london, tomorrow. your punching r if you opened your stance a bit. because if you win gold, i could win prizes. so chop, chop, marlen. let me know when you're ready to start. there you go, sting like a gnat. [ male announcer ] keep an eye on your us athletes when you enjoy select favorites under 400 calories at mcdonald's. when they wigold, you could win prizes. remember, the ukranians are doing this in the snow. [ male announcer ] the simple joy of winning.

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7:56 is your time now on this tuesday, july 31st, 2012. good morning to you, i'm eun yang. a cloudy start to our morning, is it a sign of things to come? >> good morning. rather cloud ay throughout much of the day and it is certainly humid and you may need an umbrella later right now getting sprinkles in southern maryland and parts of st. mary and later today, highs mid-80s and sun in and out and isolated, scattered downpours with thunder and lightning this afternoon and evening. more of the same on wednesday and thursday. maybe some more over t

good morning. trafling in the district. earlier crash involving a cyclist first street and h street in northeast. let's head over to the beltway traveling the ininner loop and seeing delays as you approach braddock road and your travel speed, you're under speed at about 37 miles per hour. eun, back over to you. >> another news update in 25 minutes. but now back to "today" show after this short break. we'll see you soon.

♪ good morning. it is the 31st of july, 2012, and what a pretty view that is, checking out a bird's-eye view of our home in london's olympic park. and that beautiful olympic cauldron that so many people have come to see courtesy of our friends at goodyear. and back here on the ound, you can see we have a big, loud, boisterous, happy, patriotic crowd. it is drizzling a little bit. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer and al roker. and, guys, are you excited for tonight? >> a big night for jinl

nastices. >> huge night for women's gymnastics. for the first time since the magnificent seven in 1996, they are going to go for team gold and they really have a shot of it. jordyn wieber of course had a disappointing sunday, but let's see if she can shake that off. we're going to talk about it with three lay days who have been there, nastia liukin, shawn johnson and patterson are here with us. >> also, we're going to be talking about a 16-year-old swimmer from china. she's making a lot of headlines here. she's had some faster split times than the 400 meter i.m. than the men's champ, ryan lochte. now some people are asking questions. is this all about natural ability and training or could it be about something else? we'll get into that. and then we're going to take a look at a sport that really requires split-second timing, nerves of steel. we'll talk about the u.s. diving who captured bronze in men's sin

kron newsed platform. >> first let's get a check of all the top news from hoda kotb over in the studio. hoda. hey, guys. good morning, everybody. michael phelps goes for his third straight gold medal in the 200 meter butterfly tonight, but monday night the aquatics centre was all about one swimmer, and her name? missy franklin. >> reporter: 17-year-old missy franklin earned her first gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke describinging after what it was like to win. >> it's unbelievable. >> it? >> unbelievable. >> it was hugs, kisses and tears of joy for missy as she greeted her parents after striking gold. her parents told me what it's like to watch her from the stands. when she's swimming, are you guys watching eyes wide open? do you close your eyes? >> eyes wide open. >> wide open? >> i'm quiet. i just sit there watching. >> okay, so now i'm going to get -- >> he can be obnoxious. >> michael phelps goes for gold tonight. >> i try to put myself in a good

position to try to win that heat and we didn't, so set up for tomorrow night. >> ryan lochte finished fourth in the 200 meter freestyle. >> i said he had to do the little things right. that's what cost him a medal. >> the u.s. men's gymnastics team disappointed finishing fifth in the all-around final after suffering a series of sloppy slips, falls, and tumbles. the home team brits fared bet we are both princes william and harry cheering in the stands. the british team eventually won bronze, their first team medal since 1912. in women's beach volleyball, misty may-treanor celebrated her 35th birthday with kerri walsh jennings and a victory over the czech republic. the americans had a perfect day in tennis winning all the monday events. the williams sisters won in their singles matches as well as doubles. >> it's amazing and thrilling to be back on the court, and i'm

just trying to take it every match at a time. >> a colombian woman's soccer player has been hit with a two-match ban for sucker punching u.s. forward abby wambach in a saturday match. after a stunning view sunday, the olympic cauldron had to be extingui extinguished, moved, and relit. the honors going to an 82-year-old man who was a torchbearer during the 1948 london games. let's turn it over to nat for a check of the top stories. good morning, everyone. colorado mass shooting suspect james holmes now faces the possibility of capital puni punishment. he was formally charged monday with the movie theater murders of 12 people and the wounding of 58 others, 142 counts in all. meantime, a family member says shooting survivor ashley mozer, who lost her 6-year-old daughter and later suffered a miscarriage is expected to be paralyzed

because of her injuries. on the final full day of his overseas trip, republican mitt romney spoke in warsaw this morning, and he praised poland as a longtime u.s. ally. he said americans are inspired by poland's move away from a state-dominated economy. half of india, about 600 million people, lost electricity today, one day after a smaller but similar blackout. hundreds of trains were stalled and traffic lights went out. india's power minister blamed the crisis on states taking more than their allotted shares of electricity. hyundai is recalling about 200,000 santa fe suvs because the front passenger air bag may not deploy in a crash. that recall covers 2007 to 2009 santa fes. in a separate action, hyundai recalled 24,000 sonata sedans for the model years 2012 and 2013 because their side air bags could inflate unexpectedly. the apple versus samsung patent trial gets under way today at federal court in

san francisco. apple is demanding a record $2.5 billion in damages, claiming that samsung's smartphone and computer tablets are illegal knockoffs of the iphone and ipad. samsung countered its products are not copies of apple devices and some apple products infringe on samsung patents. now for an olympics edition of what is trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking on online. swiss soccer player michelle sagornella has been ousted because he posted remarks that insulted people hours after his team lost. he says he maid a huge mistake. kayaker mike dawson has two reason to kiss up to events judges, that's because one is his mother. call it tough love. she had no problem giving her son a penalty for an error he made on the course. his dad is also his coach.

don't expect any complaints about his mother's penalty. he likes her cooking too much, he says, at family dinnertimes. and sir paul mccartney didn't ask for his usual payday when he performed at friday's olympics opening ceremony. mccartney actually was paid a nominal fee of just one british pound to make his contract legally binding. that's about $1.57. and it was an amazing act for sure. it's now 8:07. you're now up to date. al has a check of the weather. a little bit of rain here now, al. >> sure is. let's see what we'venatalie. let's see what we've got. showers moving across london today, but we could use the rain in a good portion of the country. look at the drought, exceptional to extreme drought picking up a little rain over georgia where they could use it, but nearly not enough. going to make much of a difference. as we look at the rest of today around the country, you will see we're expecting strong storms

risk of strong storms in the northern plains and plenty of sunshine and cooler weather in new england and the northeast. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. low to mid-70s around the region now. tom kierein in storm center 4. picking up a couple showers in southern maryland and calvert and modern showers from ocean city. and later today, partly sunny into the mid-80s and could get an afternoon or evening downpour with some thunder and lightning and more of the same on wednesday and thursday, although a little hotter and still humid. humid on friday, too, and through the weekend. maybe some afternoon showers and down >> you know, we've got the rain. now he just need the fog. matt? >> nice, al. thank you very much. up next, can u.s. women's gymnastics team strike gold tonight? we're going to talk to some former medal winners -- nastia liukin, carly patterson and shawn johnson. that's right after this. and there are game-changers.

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stronger. believe. happier. healthier. i believe weight watchers made me more powerful. it's time to believe again. stand up and take charge. i believe if you want to change your life, you can. ♪ believe in yourself [ female announcer ] weight watchers -- rated number one best plan for weight loss by u.s. news and world report, again. join for $1. hurry offer ends august 4th. weight watchers. believe. because it works. "today's athlete to watch" is brought to you by p&g -- proud sponsor of moms. >> this morning on "today's athlete to watch," the fab five. the u.s. women's gymnastics team has a shot at history tonight with the gold medal up for grabs in the team competition. >> reporter: 1996, a golden year for the women's gymnastics team that came down to this indelible

moment. >> she has done it! kerri strug has done it. >> reporter: heroically vaulting the team usa to the gold it was the last time they had taken the top spot in competition. >> we were there in 1996, and i remember that feeling in the arena when those young women took home the gold. it's been missed opportunities ever since. >> here are the women of team usa. >> reporter: 16 years later, the american women are hoping to reclaim that glory and make their mark on olympic history. >> this time around, they are going in as the defending world champions and absolutely this gold medal is theirs to lose. >> reporter: dubbed the fab five, they're still reeling from sunday's dramatic qualifying. >> stepped out of bounds. >> reporter: after several uncharacteristic slip-ups sunday -- >> she was well off to the side on the landing.

>> reporter: -- team leader and world champion jordyn wieber didn't qualify for the individual all-around. >> jordyn wieber is out of the all-around. >> reporter: wieber's emotional setback has some worrying if she can regroup in time for tonight's team final. >> it's a little bit of a disappointment, you know, in my mind to compete and at the olympics. i'm glad i'll be able to help the team out in team finals. >> reporter: the team will be led by gabby douglas and aly raisman. anxious parents watching on. >> stick it, please. >> stick it! stick it! >> yeah! >> reporter: heading into tonight, team usa faces a very talented russian team led by victoria komova, who posted the highest all-around score on sunday. two skwim gymnastics super powers vying for one spot on the medal stand, a showdown for the ages. >> nastia liukin, carly patterson, and shawn johnson won

a collective 12 medals during their olympic careers. ladies, good morning. good to see you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> thank you for dressing in coordinatinging pastels. you look great. they've been looking for team gold since 1996. you all did it. how coveted is this? nastia? >> i mean, it's been 16 years since the u.s. has been able to take home a team title, and that was the first time. so i think just for them to have a chance going in for today is such an amazing feeling. >> we saw obviously the disappointment for jordyn. it was a shocker for the whole team. what kind of an effect does something like that have on a team? shawn? >> i definitely think it rattles them a little bit. it's not what they expected, not what they planned for, but they're an incredibly strong team, they're mentally machines and they know they're out there to go for the gold for the team, team usa, and i think they pull back together. >> you guyses are all olympic competitors. what's the mind-set? if you're jordyn wieber, do you look at it as motivating or can it be potentially something

that's shattering and hard to go on in the competition? carly? >> i think jordyn wieber has shown us how strong she is as a gymnast and a person. she just made a few mistakes in prelim, and i don't think she's going to let that shake her up. i think we'll see her come out really strong and confident tonight because it's not over. then you're doing this for the team tonight. so i think it will be a lot of camaraderie and all pulling together for the team to get that team gold and all have the gold medal they deserve. >> shawn just mentioned they have nerves of steel. i mean, all of us look at this, we think the athletic feats are amazing, but to be able to withstand that pressure and the expectations, how do you do that? >> i think at this point your body is so prepared and more prepared physically than you'll ever be in your entire life, and it's that mental aspect of it just trying to keep a positive vibe for yourself. this is the thing i've been doing so many months, so many years now and just going out there and living in the moment and trying to do the best of your life. >> we're going to see gabby douglas and aly raisman in the

individual all-arounds. they're friends and teammates, something i know nastia and shawn know a little bit about. shawn, what is that like to be -- you want it so bad, you want the gold, you've got your teammate and your friend but now she's your competitor, too? >> i think nastia can agree. it's great during training because we push each other so much, take each other to the next level like gabby and aly. being friends and teammates, you're ultimately wearing the red, white, and blue so they have to be excited and, you know, cheering each other on. >> definitely. >> you agree, nastia? >> yeah, i do. i think it definitely brought out i know in our case in 2008, brought out the best of us because we just kept pushing each other to that ultimate limit where, you know, if we didn't have somebody that was kind of right underneath you or bright above you that you wouldn't even know how far you could push those limits. i think it's the same thing, and not just with gabby and aly but also jordyn. those three have been neck and neck all year, so it will be an amazing competition. >> carly, gabby douglas is in

all four events tonight. the rest of the girls have one or two. that's really difficult. >> right. i know. a lot will be resting on her shoulders, but she's obviously proved she's completely ready. i think she's going to go out there just like prelims. all the girls, like i said yesterday, they all look so confident, and i was so nervous, but after that first event i see that they're ready and they're going to go out there, i think gab gabby's going to do a great job leading the team in all four events. >> you were telling me yesterday you guys are going to be more nervous tonight. >> i know. >> you'll be there watching. we'll get your professional analysis. >> the inside scoop. >> pat pacarly patterson, nasti liukin, shawn johnson, thank you. coming up, michael phelps' shot at history tonight and the controversy over 16-year-old girl posting faster times even than the men. [ dr. feld ] so, arnold, i take it intensive couples' therapy

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we've been training your whole lives to save you money. walmart -- save money. live better. and we're back now with "today's olympic moment." and what else but the missile hitting her target. >> reporter: she's known as the missile. 17-year-old american swimmer missy franklin. missy came to london poised to become the breakout star of these games, the female version of michael phelps. and in the 100 meter backstroke finals, she lived up to the hype. >> missy franklin, to the wall in lane five! her first individual medal going to be gold? yes! >> reporter: missy franklin taking home the gold less than 15 minutes after competing in the 200 meter freestyle semis. emotions ran high in her hometown as friends gathered to watch her race. and both the 17-year-old and her parents shed tears at the playing of the u.s. national

anthem. missy might have to get used to seeing that american flag raised in her honor. she has many more races to go here at the games. and she says she couldn't be happier now. in her words, "i still feel like someone needs to pinch me." >> missy swims for her third medal of these games over at the aquatics centre a little later today. rowdy gaines is a three-time gold medalist and nbc swimming analyst. adam is a reporter for nbc.com. good to see you both. >> pleasure. >> good start for missy franklin. >> and the amazing thing is she only had 14 minutes between qualifying for a race and swimming for the 800 backstroke final. amazing. >> after the qualifying, i was over in the aquatics centre last night, rowdy, and she came over to near where i was sitting and did a warm-down swim in that pool.

how unusual is it? >> unprecedented, matt. you never see that in an olympic competition. but, you know, this games is for the athletes, so they want to try to accommodate them as much as possible. she didn't get a lot in. 375 meters, to be exact. not a lot. but it was enough to win gold. >> let's look at the men in the hundred meters backstroke, one-two for matt grevers and nick thoman. were you expecting that result? >> i wasn't. i mean, i don't know about you, alan, but i thought it was a great performance by the united states. i knew that matt was going to be a huge favorite, but nick thoman getting in there and getting this over with was a big surprise. >> i think nick getting second was a big surprise. a shoutout to the northwestern wildcat purple pride for matt. he's been on fire all year, rowdy, and i think you would agree with me. >> he has. >> matt has been super swimming great, and no surprise he won gold. >> alan, stick with you and talk about ryan lochte. after a nice quick start winning the gold, he then has had a bit of a letdown in his next two events getting overtaken in the final leg of a relay and then

swimming under par in the 200. are you surprised by his performance? >> yeah, and i'll tell you why. ryan sat at the press conference after the 400 i.m. and said these are my games. i've been training hard for four years. this is my time. yes, agnel has been swimming out of his mind, the french guy who took him in the 400, but if these are your games you have to stand up and deliver it. no question about it. >> rowdy, michael phelps, he's going for the record tonight. it could possibly happen. based on what you've seen so far from him, is is it still a reality? >> it's crazy. alan and i were just talking about it, you write this guy off, ice a mistake. he had a great comeback in the 100 free on that relay, and i think rehe breaks a record tonight. >> me, too. i think michael domm nuclear facilities tonight. >> finish with this chinese swimmer, 16 years old. her name is ye shiwen, and she is raising all kinds of questions here. she's swimming faster than some

men swim in similar events. what's going on here, guys? >> what's going on here is a disturbing problem, because when you ask the ioc's medical commission responsible for do dopinging protocols whether we can have confidence in the chinese doping system, he says, "i don't know." >> you know, it does raise some issue, matt, because it was such a key format. not like she wasn't on the radar. she won the world championships last year but a best time by seven seconds? >> seven seconds. >> seven seconds dropping in about a year, right? >> yes, in a year. but it's a big difference from having those suspicions and then condemning her. two different things. >> agreed, but for us not to have suspicions is also inappropriate. >> all right. alan, thank you very much. rowdy, always good to see you as well. up next, the u.s. diving's team terrific start in london. we'll meet the newest medal winners.

this morning on "today," we shared missy franklin's first meeting with her parents. and tomorrow, the dynam good morning, 8:26 on this tuesday, july 31st. i'm aaron gilchrist. let's get to tom kierein for a look at our forecast. >> in the muggy, mid-70s now. a lot of cloudiness around and a few sprinkles in southern maryland and moderate showers lower eastern shore and those are generally breaking down now. now, later today, little sun in and out and highs reaching mid-90s and maybe some thunder and lightning and perhaps some brief downpours. on wednesday and thursday and mainly in the afternoons, highs around 90. looks like we'll do that over ♪

♪ [ male announcer ] every day we are doing our best, to make sure they are at their best. before they move us, we move them. proud to fly team usa for over 30 years. united.

good morning. if you're traveling the inner loop of the beltway at van dorn street, a tractor trailer blocking most of your lanes. you're able to get by, but you have to squeeze by the far right lane. this is the inner loop of the beltway at van dorn street. let's head over to the 14th street bridge. here as you make your way to the city, no accidents. but you are under speed. northbound on 395, travel speed 25 miles per hour and taking

about 30 minutes to get from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. aaron, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. nbc 4 is your home for the london olympics. follow

this fall, matthew perry is starting over, and this group will give him just what he needs. >> aaaa. >> you know what what i need? >> feelings? >> ha-ha. >> "go on" premieres tuesday, september 7th here on nbc. it's 8:30 now on a tuesday morning, the 31st day of july, 2012. another day for us at olympic park in london as you look down at the sites, the place is teeming with people coming in to see events. some of those people stopping by our home away from home here. we thank them very much. >> whooo! >> out on our plaza here in

london, i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, natalie morales and mr. al roker. and right now we are actually in east london, which of course forever more will be known for the olympic games. but before the games came here, it was known kind of as the creativity hub of the city. we're going to take a tour coming up. also, you saw him last week at the tower of london with us, jamie oliver, our good friend. today he's brought some friends along as well. some young kids are helping him cook today, and he'll show us some of his creations. >> come on, faster! >> all right. entering the london game, the u.s. diving team had not won a medal since 1996. well, today david boudia and nicholas mccrory picked up the team's second medal in two days, a bronze in the men's synchronized ten-meter platform. and guess who's on the plaza with us right now? david and nick are joining us right now. guys, congratulations. way to go. >> thank you. >> so we had kelsey and abby the

women a couple days ago, and now it's your turn. you've made history as well, you've got these medals hanging around your neck. how does it feel? >> it's surreal still. i can't believe it's 24 hours into it. the girls started us off right. hopefully keep this momentum going. >> and you guys really nailed your last dive. how does that feel? >> it was incredible. i mean, we knew we needed a good dive and we approached that round the same as every other round, you know, just step by step, focusing on the process and, you know, landing on the medal stand. >> you guys live on opposite ends of the country. how do you train together? synchronized diving is all about kind of working it out together. >> yeah, well, we meet in north carolina. [ laughter ] >> we count one, two, three, go by ourselves and it's just a plus that i can dive next to nick. he's a great athlete so it makes it that much easier. >> when you team up together, do

you guys have to change or adjust your diving styles or what you do to work together? >> yeah. you know, we're always making little adjustments to make things click perfectly. we do have sort of a natural timing. we always, you know, go at the same rate so, that's definitely helpful in synchro diving. you win this medal as a team. >> uh-huh. >> now the events continue, and you each have another event and you'll be competing against each other in that. >> yeah, now we battle against each other, but the cool thing is we're still team usa so we'll compete friendly rivalry. >> yeah. >> but it's us versus the world. looking forward to that on the 10th and 11th. >> raise your hand if you might be wearing a medal after that next event. i will say you were faster. >> you weren't synchronized. >> thanks, guys. >> congratulations. >> thanks for coming down. >> mr. roker, how about a check of the weather? >> let's show you what we have today around the country. risk of strong storms through the southeastern u.s., the northern plains, gorgeous in the pacific northwest, sizzling

record highs continue in the midplains, and then for tomorrow we've got more record-breaking heat in the midsection of the along the southeastern the atlantic coast and sunny and wet and pacific northwest and sizzling weather all the way up into the northern plains. that's what's going on around the country and here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, partly sunny and rather humid on this tuesday morning, final day of july. storm 4 radar showing some showers along the atlantic seaboard and that's moving out to sea. later today, partly sunny into the mid-80s around much of the region and we'll have a possibility of an afternoon shower or downpour and maybe with some thunder and lightning that may linger into this evening as well as tomorrow and thursday, both of t and don't forget, check your weather anytime you need to. go to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. al, thanks. much more from london coming up,

including a tour of one of london's hottest areas. [ male announcer ] olympic tennis players bob and mike bryan are always on the move. so they can't get to the bank to deposit a check. instead, they use citibank mobile check deposit. it's easy. they just snap a pic... ♪ hit send... and their checks are deposited right to their account. well almost all of their checks. stand back. seriously? [ male announcer ] citibank mobile check deposit. easier banking. every step of the way.

"today in london" is brought to you by coke. coca-cola -- open happiness. and this morning on "today in london," the area around olympic park. it's located in east london. it's a place that kate maxwell, editor in chief of jetsetter.com, used to call home so, we asked her for a little tour. take a look. >> reporter: i'm at one of my favorite london neighborhoods. i used to live just down the road, and the olympic stadium is five miles east of here. the best way to start a saturday is with breakfast at the cafe. come meet my friend doug. thanks for coming. >> anytime. >> so you know the only thing to order here is the kidneys on toast. >> i did see that.

i'm not too sure. you haven't sold me on that one. >> what are you going to be doing today? >> it started about a year and a half ago. it's basically a walking tour in which we learn about the history and the culture of this area and we see some of the biggest and best pieces of uncommissioned street art that you'll see in any country in the world. >> all right. it's a little bit scary, maybe, but i think it's delicious. >> mushrooms. >> yeah, they do look like mushroom, done they. there's been a noticeable foodie trend in the last few years, hasn't there. tights idea that you can eat the whole thing. so you can find liver and brain and heart and stuff, like all sorts of those upscale london restaurants. what's the best way of getting around for the olympics? >> that's the boris bike. >> the boris bikes. >> east london is the city's

creative hub and the heart of street art. they've got everything here, tiny things to four-story murals, and we're going to take a look at it. he really made his name on these streets, right? >> definitely. one of the household names of the street art world, not the only household name. this is one of his older pieces right here. there isn't many left around here, but part of the tour is to show you there's so much more than just one man. another piece of art that i love. it's by the artist jimmy see from australia. using spray paint, he sprays and lets it drip a little bit and it builds and builds and builds. >> love it. really great colors. technically unusual. >> yeah. it's nice. >> tell me about this guy here. >> this has been done by al mack from l.a. and it was done about a year ago. he was over in britain, and he had a 24-hour stopover in london, and in that period e he

came to find a quiet street, painted it and jumped on a plane back home. >> thanks for the tour, doug. that was fascinating. >> i hope you have a good day. >> this is broadway market. it's known for its multicultural array of food. the people watching is second to none. could i try some of that? i used to make this at home with my mom. >> okay. >> yep. i'll have a couple of dots with that. listening to music in broadway market is the perfect way to end a great day. >> and kate maxwell joins us here in olympic park. nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> i think a lot of people watching may be more familiar with new york city than london. >> right. >> what would you compare shortage and the east end to in new york city? is it greenwich village? is it sojo? >> right. it's probably the lower east

side or the east village. where we are, it's maybe a bit more like brooklyn. >> is it still affordable here? we have to remember, london is one of the most expensive cities in the world. >> right. >> in these kind of rejuvenated neighborhoods is it still affordable? >> it was affordable, you know, ten years ago, and that's why the artists came here in the '80s. it's less affordable now, very central. but gentrification is moving further east. the further east you go, the more affordable housing is. >> we should be honest, there have been some areas that have not been affected by the rebuilding yet. >> right. >> there are still some difficult areas. when you see what has been affected and renovated, are you concerned when the olympics are gone it will be forgotten again? >> i'm not, actually, because i think it's decades and decades. something i'm excited about at the moment is london's answer to silicon valley, which is right there. there's all sorts of start-ups in east london.

so, you know, this is boom time for london. >> let's broaden our horizons a little bit. you and i have been talking about the games coming to london for a couple years now. >> yeah. >> how do you think the brits are doing in general in terms of hosting the world? >> we all know that the brits are a fairly cynical race, but i've been impressed with the past few days being here how explosive the londoners are. not fantastic weather, but the people are great, people are loving the opening ceremonies, snatching up tickets left and right. everyone i speak to is seriously excited about it. >> okay, maxwell. nice to see you over here far change. thanks very much. we appreciate it. up next, a little cooking with britain's own jamie oliver.

this morning on "today's olympic kitchen," famed british chef jamie oliver.

we'll get to this morning's menu in a moment. but first what jamie is doing to teach kids about the joys of cooking. >> reporter: what may look like a field trip to a farm is actually just another day in class for these kids. their school in suffolk, england, is one of two pilot programs for i don't blajamie o kitchen garden project. in addition to the three rs, students learn about healthy eating and making meals from scratch. >> chop them really thinly. >> reporter: from growing to picking, zesting to beating, and peppered in along the way are some of those normal subjects. where would that vanilla grow? >> where do they come from? >> reporter: there's geography. need a menu? reading and writing. a little math. >> different scales with different measurements. >> reporter: and a bit of science. >> bees pollen make the flowers

to make -- to make honey for us. >> reporter: but the education goes further. >> education is about making -- givinging children better attitudes, so we're trying to make children grow up with healthy lifestyles. if you look around our school, you don't find many children who chronically are overweight or stand around with nothing to do. >> reporter: and while you may not have liked your food at school, this menu, picked and prepared by the kids, is a bit more sophisticated, down to the details. >> the lemon kind. >> reporter: the children love the program, but how about their grades since the launch? >> difficult to pin the results specifically on this project, but within the last three years our results have improved tremendously. >> reporter: with a dash of enthusiasm and a pinch of fun, who knows? the teachers at this program and jamie oliver might have already inspired the next big chef in britain.

and jamie is here now along with some aspiring young cooks. we have matty and maddy as i like to call them. >> lovely to be here. >> how is jamie as a teacher, mautzy? >> he's awesome. >> he is? maddie, what have you learned in class? >> we've learned how to make pasta and -- >> salad? >> salads. >> yes. >> can you cook meat? >> yes. >> can you cook seafood? >> yes. >> if i left you at home on your own for three days could you feed yourself? >> yes. >> chef, what are we making today? >> we are on the olympic camp with the biggest burger joint in the world and there is a few illusions about burgers. i want to show people it can be healthy if you're using great food. first of all, when it comes to buying the meat. if you have the opportunity, buy meat at the butcher or supermarket, definitely to know what's in it.

this is chuck steak. we have four pounds of good quality chuck steak in here. half a grated red onion. matty over here is crushing up some crackers. you pour that in there, honey. a little salt and pepper. >> okay. >> over here, matty is chopping parsley. maddie before us -- >> nice skills. >> can the cameraman get in there? this is the cross chopping technique, the easiest and safest technique for a young person to use. if the hands are out of the way, she's quite soft. yes. a little pro in the making. i'm going to take that parsley, put it in there. scrunch up, baby. scrunch up. matty, you're going to start rolling. you, my friend, we have some burgers over here. >> i'll eat them? no. >> it's a beautiful journey to the shores of america from russia to germany. >> but not everyone thinks of it as health food. >> no, but what happens is because it's a minced meat

product, anything that's minced has the ability to be cheated or become a bit of a dust bin. so making your own burgers is a great way to know what you're eating and it can be great quality and healthy. roll those into a patty quickly. it's worth mentioning the purists for a burger would have literally just ground chuck steak with a little salt and pepper, nothing else. >> okay. >> okay? so what we've done here is slightly flavored it. it does make it delicious and it does make it moist. i'm going to cook these off. i'm going to flip these burgers over. >> do you refrigerate these before you put them in? >> you can refrigerate them or put them straight away. obviously the best way is to with a barbecue or over wood or charcoal. i've got lovely little buns right here. you may not have invented the burger, it came by hamburg, the hamburg steak, but the americans made the burger. >> we perfected it. we thought we invented it. >> like you invent everything. >> i know, i know. >> you did make it famous and turn it into the culture that it

is. one thing you definitely did invent was the slider. heard of it? >> yeah. >> it hasn't come to britain yet. that small burger, one 0-2, different flavors. you see here, they're just rolling them up. like a glorified meatball. show them how you flatten them out, matty. >> looks small by american standards. >> it's a slider. >> all right. >> what we're going to do is rack this up. after this recipe, i'm going to come back and show you an amazing salad. but i'll show you this now. we've lightly toasted this bun. we'll hit it up with the classic ketchup as well, have a little slice over our tomato as we call it. then i'm going to give it one of our beautiful burgers here. of course pickles are our best friend. >> oh, put it right on there, huh? >> anyone hungry here? [ cheers ] >> what about cheese? >> yeah. could you hold that for me, my darling? >> yes. >> i've got some beautiful wet pound cheddar, one of the most

famous in the country. >> that looks good. >> i'm going to put the top of this little bun on here. who would like an olympic burger? [ cheers ] >> 500 takers right behind you. >> okay. come on! who wants it! >> oh, and a kiss, too. chef jamie oliver. thank you so much. back with more recipes in a minute. matty, maddie, you guys will be back, too. thanks so much. much more from london coming up. [ ross ] in the taihang mountains of china, hand-carved on the side of a cliff is the guoliang tunnel. what?! you've got to be kidding me. [ derek ] i've never seen a road like this. there's jagged rock all the way around. this is really gonna test the ats on all levels. [ derek ] this road is the most uneven surface, and it gets very narrow. magnetic ride control is going to be working hard. the shock absorbers react to the road 1,000 times a second. it keeps you firmly in control. whoa!

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most of the athletes here in london are here for one reason. that is the experience. others, of course, come hoping to win a medal. so once they do, what do they do with that valuable treasure? we ask some decorated olympians. >> in a sock drawer? i think that's where all my olympic medals are. >> my sock drawer. >> where else are you going to put it? >> your socks are soft and they'll keep your medals safe. >> i don't keep it in my sock drawer. i keep it inside a sock so it doesn't get rusted or turn messy. >> i have 11 olympic medals. they were in my sock drawer, and then my father decided that wasn't safe enough so he got me a safe. >> i heard that burglars look through sock drawers so i have to replace it somewhere else.

>> i keep my medals in pots and pans in a kitchen. i figure who's going to look in the kitchen? >> i wouldn't have looked in the kitchen. >> no. >> natalie coughlin keeps them in these little makeup cases. she has them by color. >> she sorts them by color? >> yeah. gold, silver -- >> some bronze, some silver, some gold. >> sock drawer. >> you have to keep them organized. >> let's talk about some events. we went to swimming last night. >> beach volleyball. >> you went to beach volleyvoll. how fun was that? >> the venue is amaze, right smack in the middle of the horse's guard parade. the eye of london. beautiful. it's so excitinging and team usa, the men were competing last night. great. lot of fun. >> speaking of beach volleyball, we're going to try to play a little tomorrow out here. >> uh-oh. >> i played volleyball in high school. >> she's got the height advantage. >> do you think you'll beat us? >> we leave you with some images of the xxx olympiad. have great day.

♪ ♪ ♪

from great starts come great things. tune in later today to find out how an olympic athlete got his or her start brought to you by kellogg's. toblt, meet missy franklin. 8:56. a crash on the inner loop is causing some big delays. let's go right to danella sealock with more on that. >> good morning, eun. watching this accident right here at inner loop at van dorn. an overturned tractor trailer blocking most of the roadway here. own lee the right lane able to

squeeze by. delays on the outer loop, as well as the inner loop. check out the scene in this area. expect delays. the inner loop of the beltway at van dorn street and only the right lane will get you by in this area. eun, back over to you. >> we'll take a quick b [ crows cawing ] [ male announcer ] strange things happen in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ] [ car speeding down the road, lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows just waiting at every turn. [ coaster whoosh ] brave the black forest on verbolten. the all-new multi-launch coaster. only at busch gardens. introducing share everything, only from verizon. a shareable pool of data

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good morning. partly sunny now into the mid and upper 70s and rather humid and later today the mid-80s and staying humid throughout the day and maybe an afternoon or evening downpour with thunder and lightning, as well as wednesday and thursday. highs near 90 each day and all the way to next monday. that is the way it looks. back to you. >> thanks, tom. nbc 4 is your home for the

and we're back now with more of "today" on a tuesday morninging. tights last day of july, 2012. the olympics in full swing now. olympic park is the place to be. what a pretty shot of the observation tower there. and we are not that far from that location just on the other side of the olympic stadium where a huge crowd has gathered this morning. and that picture right there courtesy of our friends at goodyear. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, natalie morales, al roker, and ryan seacrest helping us out once again this morning. good to have you here. coming up, one of the most anticipated events of these games, the team final in women's

gymnastics competition. the fab five favored to win gold but will face big competition from the women from russia. we're going to preview the action straight ahead. and then 17-year-old missy franklin swimming to gold monday, but it's not just her skill in the pool that makes her a star. bob costas will explain. all right. then we're going to do some more cooking with jamie oliver and some of his very adorable friends. all right. but first your rundown of the olympic highlights of the morning. >> here she comes in lane five. >> reporter: 17-year-old missy franklin winning her first-ever olympic gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke. >> yes! >> reporter: the colorado teen swam the event just 14 minutes after competing in a semifinal. >> whooo! >> reporter: her reaction just moments after the big win. >> it's impossible to describe.

i can't believe that just happened. just seeing that flag being raised was so incredibly unbelievable. i could have never dreamed it would feel like that. >> here they come down the final ten meters! >> teammate rebecca soni rallied furiously in the final seconds of the 100 meter breaststroke, finishing with a silver medal. for the men, matt grevers earned gold in the 100 meter backstroke with nick thoman taking silver for a one-two u.s. finish. not a good day for star swimmer ryan lochte. he faltered, finishing fourth in the 200 meter freestyle. michael phelps finished first the qualifying heat of the 200 meter butterfly. later today he swims for a medal. >> as ye shiwen pulls ahead of everyone. >> reporter: meanwhile, controversy is brewing over super fast performance in women's swimming. 16-year-old ye shiwen of china set a world record in the 400 meter individual medley

saturday. in the final 50 meters, she swam faster than ryan lochte did in the same event. the teen is denying doping allegations. >> oh, gosh! >> reporter: a major disappointment for the u.s. men's gymnastics team with several falls putting them in fifth place without a medal. chinese took the gold, but there was confusion over who earned silver. >> great britain has taken the silver! >> reporter: at first the british team went crazy, thinking they had won silver. their first team medal in a century. but the japanese team questioned a score, calling for a review. the judges gave the silver to japan and the british team settled for bronze. but they did get a visit from the royals with prince william and harry showing up to cheer them on. earlier, katherine, the duchess of cambridge, joined the princes for some equestrian events monday. their cousin, zara phillips, competing in the cross-country

stage. >> and today's big events, the women's gymnastics team final, and it's the u.s. relay team in swimming makes the 4 x 200 meter freestyle final, phelps will have a shot to become the most decorated athlete ever. colorado shooting suspect james home sales could face the death penalty if convicted. on monday the 24-year-old was formally charged with 142 counts including two first-degree murder charges for each of the 12 people killed in the july 20th massacre. legal experts say the multiple charges per victim gives the state a backup plan for sentencing if, for example, holmes' defense team argues that he was too mentally disturbed to be held accountable. republican presidential hopeful mitt romney is in poland today where he's won the high-profile endorsement of former president electric lech . but a spokesman intervened while

reporters were questioning him telling them to shove it. he later apologized. meanwhile, the controversy from romney's visit to israel is spilling over where palestinians say his choice of words to praise israel was racist. the u.s. postal service is facing a first-ever default on billions of dollars in payments to the u.s. treasury. that includes $5.5 billion for future retiree health benefits due tomorrow. officials say there will be no impact on current employees or retirees. the postal service estimates it is losing $25 million a day. opening statements today at the murder trial of former chicago-area police officer drew peterson. he has pleaded not guilty to murdering his third wife, kathleen fabio, who was found dead in a bathtub in 2004. peterson was only charged after his fourth wife, stacy peterson, disappeared. he has not been charged, though, in that case. could tourists someday be heading to italy for two

monuments? scientists are investigating whether or not the roman coliseum is going the way of the leaning tower of pisa, slanting over the one side by home run than 50 inches. so far the ancient marvel isn't in any danger, but workers are trying to figure out if they ale need to intervene to help stabilize the structure. six minutes past the hour, up to date right now. the weather keeps changing here. you blink and it's cold and cloudy again. >> it's called london. >> it is. >> london calling. >> exactly. >> we have severe weather back in the states, talking about the rough weather, looking at severe weather from new orleans to wilmington and far north to chattanooga, far south is jacksonville, a risk of strong storms, heavy rain, rainfall amounts, some places picking up in the last six ho last six hous about three to seven inches of rain. there have been lots of flooding going on on the radar. you can still see a lot of heavy thunderstorms just training into the southeast. rainfall amounts over the next

24 hours, we're talking about anywhere from three to five more inches. so, flash flooding is going to be a very likelihood stretching from mississippi all the way to georgia. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> a mild and muggy final day of july and on this 31st day of july, right now, as we're just past 9:00 upper 70s. quite a bit of cloudiness and a few breaks of the clouds and sunshine in and out highs mid-80s. mid-afternoon remaining humid and isolated downpours with thunder and lightning, as well as wednesday and thursday afternoon and evening and that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you. we are just hours away from the women's gymnastics team finals with the fab five, will they be able to pull off team gold? tim daggett and elfie schlagel,

our analysts. good morning. >> good morning. >> everyone watching jordyn wieber and everyone wanting to know will she be able to shake off the disappointment sunday after not making the individual all-around. what are your predictions? >> well, i think jordyn is a true champion. she was horly shaken up with the results of the other night and, you know, judging from her practice session the other day, a bit of a slow start for her, but she did manage to get through what she needed to get through. i really believe that yor din is going to come out with a new inspiration because she cannot possibly let what happened the other night be her final moment in the olympic games. and after all, she has come here to win an olympic gold medal. the opportunity is there. >> yeah. i would this be shocked if she doesn't come out and just rock the house. she is such a competitive person and is -- you know, she really didn't have that bad of a competition. it's just that other people did a little bit better. but, you know, if you're a betting man, you're betting on

jordyn wieber. she could be the anchor of this team. >> yeah. tim, you say she's the anchor of the team, but she's competing in three events rather than the four events. she's not going to be doing the balance beam. why is that? >> well, i think it had to do with, you know, how she performed in the qualifying rounds of the competition. i don't know if i would have gone that way, personally. >> yes. >> i might have put her in just because, you know, she really -- i think that she really wants to earn a little bit of respect and to show people that she did belong in the all-around finals. remember, she placed fourth in the world at the olympic games and only because of a two per country rule is she not in the all-around finals and having a chance to win all-around gold. >> although they finished first the qualifications, elfi, some of the girls did sort of step off the maplat during their flo routine. what do they need to work on today? >> they have to keep everything in check and control and trust their training, because believe me, these women are capable of

greatness. we watched the united states in the olympic trials, their scores were far higher than what we've seen at the olympic games. floor has been a really tough scoring event. it's sort of clear across the board. all countries have not been doing as well in that event. they need to take a deep breath, trust in their training, go out there, put on the show, and believe in what they can do. it's theirs for the taking, theirs to lose. >> i think them competing on the floor at the same time with everybody else, i think that that bodes well for team usa. i think it's an advantage for them. they're going to start on vaulting, and they are just going to destroy the competition on that event. they'll have a huge lead, and i think that the other teams will feel a little bit deflated at that point and team usa's got to kind of keep it going at that point. >> you talked about vaulting and the strength on the team. everybody is looking at mckayla maroney because she currently holds the title there, the world champion in the vault. but she's also somewhat injured. do you expect that she will be able to pull it off? >> no problem whatsoever. we've already watched her do it not only in the training but in

the competition. she is here for one reason, to deliver that awesome vault that everybody in the world has been watching. and, you know, this could be a huge, huge advantage for the united states. and remember, she didn't perform it quite as brilliantly as she can, so there's room for improvement for mckayla. >> i said it all along it was much more difficult for mckayla maroney to make an olympic team than to win an olympic gold medal on vaulting. she just has to be herself, and if she is herself, she is absolutely, to quote a british guy coming in through security, she is brilliant! >> got to be spot on. >> let's hope they're all brilliant because we would love a team gold. last one was 1996 since team usa brought home gold for gymnastics. you guys have a long day ahead of you. thanks for sharing your morning with us. >> no problem. >> we'll be watching you tonight on nbc. later, aly raisman's parents will be joining us live.

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this is what the red, white and blue means to me. what does it mean to you? welcome back to london. this city's many historic sites serve as the backdrop to these games. one of the venues a-1,000-year-old manor, hampton court palace. nbc's michelle kosinski is there. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ryan. it is amazing to think of king henry viii at some point standing right where we are now. and he loved sports. he probably would have insisted on getting on a bike himself. relishing that the olympic cycling time trials will take place right outside his door. the races will start at his driveway. what an entrance it is. the handsome court to english history.

even beyond the almost unimaginably rich painting, tapestries and glass, carves, sculptures, seems to breathe majesty into vaulted chambers. it has been the seat of aristocracy for a millennium. >> this is supposed to be the palace of pleasure and parties and honeymoons. >> reporter: the palace itself covers more than six acres, a quarter of which are kitchens. >> so, this is the actual kitchen where they prepared meals here. >> yeah. this is the great kitchen of henry the viii, and this fire, still lit today, is the one that cooked food for his court. nothing has changed and we still use it today. >> reporter: how better to get a bird's or dragon's eye view, up the stairs to the roof, where henry himself would gaze at the stars. eve an chimney decorated. >> had a taste for deranged magpies and everything was painted and guilded and the

whole of palace would have looked a lot more full-on gaudy to our eyes. >> reporter: the bell was forged in the 1400s. >> exactly the same sound that henry heard and it still sends a shiver up my spine. >> reporter: henry lived large here with his wives. >> very difficult to keep happy. >> down these stairs, that's jane seymour's spirit is seen, silent figure, her hair loose down to her shoulders, just in a white shirt, holding a lighted candle, silently gliding down these stairs and across the courtyard in the direction of her sons' rooms. >> reporter: today hampton court tries to let in light and life. come to the legendary world school of needle work, which helped with kate middleton's wedding ground.

>> exactly how how it was done 300, 400, 500 years ago. by a window with natural daylight. >> so relaxing. it's like a vacation. >> it is focused mindlessness. it's like meditating. >> reporter: back then, such artistry was status. waiting for my prince. >> waiting for your prince. >> reporter: galloping over -- >> possibly. >> reporter: impress him with my embroidery. >> possibly, but you might have also been doing this for the lady of the house and you would haven't got a look in. >> reporter: holding on to the threads that still connect us to the past. they've not lived here since the 1700s but they still grant apartments so there are still some people who live here today. just as history rolls forward, so must the cycling time trials, right here tomorrow. ryan? >> michelle kosinski, thank you very much. up next, more delicious cooking with star chef jamie oliver.

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it's yes food. and we are back with more of "today's olympic kitchen" with british chef jamie oliver, cueing the crowd for his applause. >> i want to pick myself up. >> he's on a mission to get kids eating healthy all around the world. he's brought matty and maddie along to help him out today. >> we have information that you two are co-executive producers of jamie's emmy-winning show "food revolutions." good morning once again. the second season. like you need any. you made the yummy hamburgers that are delicious and healthy. now something called a smash salad. >> smash salad. you shouldn't do it because you have to. you should do it because it's delicious. >> okay. >> this is a new thing which was a mistake kind of based around a car crash -- well, let me

explain. >> how does it go? >> the rules are anything crunchy. >> okay. >> if you chop something or bash something, completely different. you stimulate flavor and oils. so we go in with carrots, go in with some cucumber. >> like a mad man with that cucumber. my goodness. >> we've got radishes. >> i feel like -- >> we've got beet root. right? here's the thing. a little apple, anything crunchy. >> right. okay, matty, what do we do? >> oh, wow. >> that is what we're talking about. >> look at your brother. >> ryan seacrest, we've seen him on television. >> come on, ryan! let's do it. >> you ready? >> go on, ryan! >> come on, maddie. >> work out that aggression. now, doesn't this end up beaten to a pulp? >> stop for one second. we've only got a few minutes. tell us what's going on here, please. >> i'm making a salad dressing,

and there's oil and three parts oil and one parts a it, which is vinegar. >> salt. >> and salt and pepper. >> three to one. >> three to one. shake that baby. shake that baby. over here. >> bring your salad. >> now, what happened is smashes it to a pulp. but what you're able to do, and don't judge it yet, don't judge it yet, we go in with fresh herbs, go in with a dressing, and we pour that over. >> i think that looks delicious. >> the flavors are phenomenal. look at the colors of that. just look at the colors of that. ryan, have a little taste of that, my friend. >> feed me. oh, my baby. >> talking about really good -- >> really good. >> thanks so much. >> fantastic.

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good morning, showing clumpy clouds over washington on this final day of july, right now it's 79 at reagan national and

dew point rather high. going to stay that way the rest of the day. going to get some downpours with thunder and lightning, as well as wednesday and third, aaron? >> coverage resumes

come on. come on. let's go. stick it! come on. >> stick it, please. >> stick it! stick it! yeah! >> yeah! >> as the women go for team gold in gymnastics tonight, you can bet that their parents will be watching, perhaps none more so than aly raisman's mom and dad, who rode that emotional roller coaster in front of the world sunday night. we'll talk to them. every parent can certainly rel, whether it's little league or whatever you're watching. >> a helpless feeling. >> go, do it! so cute. >> also, missy franklin won her first gold last night. this morning, bob costas takes a

look at how the 17-year-old became america's new golden girl of swimming. on a different note, we're going to reveal "vanity fair's" annual best dressed list, including a big connection to britain and also to the "today" show. >> that's right. first, we want to say hello to marti malloy. >> hi! >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> just the second woman to win in judo, in women's judo. >> yeah. i didn't know that, actually. they were, like, you're the second one yesterday. and i was, like, oh, i guess i am. >> how does that feel? >> it feels really good. i woke up this morning and i still, like, thought about the day before and got goose bumps so it's still settling in a little. >> judo's a family tradition at your home, isn't it? >> definitely. me and my three brothers starred when we were really small and have done it ever since. >> ever thought about going into

the family business? >> my dad tries. he says if judo doesn't work out, you can come work for me. i'm, like, i think it will work for me. >> is there sibling rivalry? >> no. it's funny because my youngest brother, who will be 24 this year, he's the head sense at the d dojo where we started at 5 years old. it's awesome. >> you said even though it brings you tremendous satisfaction, it's a little frustrating because judo, unlike in other plays in the world, doesn't get the respect it does here in the united states. >> yeah, and i think the current u.s. olympic team is looking to change that. my teammate, travis stephens, is in the semifinals tonight against the current olympic champion. but he beat the number-one person in his weight division to get there. so he's on track to get a medal tonight, and then my other teammate, kayla harrison, is is a favorite for gold on august 3rd. >> just watching here. you haven't even moved your hand away. >> i can't let go of it.

my thumbs are, like, rubbed raw. >> is this from fighting? >> yeah. they covered up all the cuts on my neck, but, i mean, you get scrappy out there, you know? >> yeah. go, girl. >> between natalie and savannah, too. they've covered up very nicely. >> thank you very much. >> congratulations. >> congratulations. so proud of you. al's got a check of the weather. >> let's show you what we've got. first of all, for today, a risk of strong storms in the southeast. london right now, you can see the showers, scattered showers moving in and out. that's what we're going to be looking at today throughout much of the day. and then over the next three days, look at the sailing venue, we're going to be looking at showers, breezy conditions today, mid-60s. the archery venue, lord's cricket ground, 70% chance of showers, temperatures in the upper 60s. so it's going to be kind of a wethe upper 60s. so a wet day over the next few days here in london. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. we could get some needed

beneficial rain later this afternoon. don't have any showing up here on storm 4 radar other than getting a few sprinkles and quite a bit of cloudiness around the metro area later today partly sunny to mid-80s and could get some of the beneficial showers and heavy downpours with thunder and lightning, as well as wednesday and thursday and highs near 90 both of those days. and, you know, it's a big year for james bond, the iconic character a big role, obviously, in the opening ceremony. well, late they are year, the 23rd bond movie hits theaters. here's an exclusive sneak peek of "skyfall." >> welcome to the new mi6. >> you must be joking. >> the ppks man. coded to your palm print. only you can fire it. less of a random and more of a personal thing. >> cue? >> 007.

>> i want to meet your employer. >> how much do you know about him? >> just look at you. chased by england. >> mi6. >> she sent you up to me knowing you're not ready, knowing you will likely die. mommy was very bad. >> they said watch me. >> he needs a hobby. >> so what's yours? >> resurrection. >> oh, yeah. >> whoo-hoo! >> it opens november 9th. up next, missy franklin on being a superstar in the pool. and also out of the water. i'm on break sweetheart.

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well, it's hard for most of us to imagine winning a gold medal, but for 17-year-old missy franklin, who captured her first last night, it almost seemed like destiny. here's nbc's bob costas. >> reporter: it's october of 1995 in centennial, colorado. and d.a. franklin takes her 5-month-old daughter, missy, to a local pool for her first baby swim lesson. >> first thing we had to do with the baby was to take her and go under the water together and back up. so we went under, and there was missy. she kept her eyes open, she had

a big grin on her face and every other baby in the class was swimming. >> go, missy! all right! >> i just remember loving the water. i always had so much fun in it. no matter what i was doing, i could be anything in the water. i could do anything when i was in the water. and i could just let go and have fun and let my imagination run completely wild. >> reporter: imagination is something that missy franklin has always had in ample supply. but even she couldn't have dreamed of her performance at the 2011 world championships in shanghai, just months after her 16th birthday. >> missy franklin shatters the american record! >> i was so shocked, and i couldn't believe what i had done. >> she is blowing away the field right now! >> to come away with five medals? >> and as anchor wins another gold! >> reporter: alongside with the hardware she's earned and potential for so much more, there are other parts of her

life she's proud of. like her new driver's license. >> look at this. >> license. license action. >> reporter: and there are other things besides swimming she's happy to admit she loves, like, for instance, justin bieber. >> she's just a normal kid. but it's been important for us just to keep her as a teenager who happens to have this special gift in swimming. >> reporter: though for franklin how normal she is is really in a sense abnormal when you consider she's turned down thousands in prize money and endorsements already so she can maintain her eligibility and continue to swim for her high school team. >> there were very tangible corporate endorsement offers that we've had to say no thanks to. but this is very much where she wants to be. >> reporter: the decision to remain in colorado with longtime coach todd schmidt, who had never before trained an olympian, led to questions about whether the franklins were doing enough to foster their daughter's talent. >> people were going up to my

parents, like, why are you still here? i mean, this is not exactly a big swimming state. why don't you go to california or florida? and my parents and i automatically are thinking, well, if it's not broke, why fix it? my best friends are here. my coach for almost ten years is here. my teams are here. my school is here. like, if i really did move away, i don't think i would do well because i wouldn't be happy. >> reporter: maybe it's extraordinary. maybe it's simply the new normal. but whatever missy franklin is doing it looks like she's just getting started. >> i know that whatever i do, if i just have faith and my friends and my family and just do the things that make me happy, then hopefully my life will turn out okay. >> and missy goes for her third medal later today in the 200 meter freestyle. up next, we're going to talk to aly raisman's parents about the gymnast's surprise showing here in london.

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that are soft and more absorbent and you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. ♪ ah. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft. olympic athletes deal with a lot of stress and pressure during the games, and so do their parents. done believe us? well, check out gymnast aly raisman's mom and dad in the stands as she competed in the uneven bars on sunday. >> come on. let's go. come on, aly.

come on. come on. come on. come on. catch it! nice. come on. come on. stick. let's go. let's go. stick it! >> stick it, please. >> stick it! stick it! >> yeah! >> yeah! >> ahh! >> even you guys are laughing. that is the best thing. every parent can relate to that. you're watching your girl out there performing. tell me what that was like for you, rick. rick and lynn raisman, by the way, are here. >> it was just -- it was such a relief when she finished the event. it was -- i don't know, so much pressure and it's so magnified. it's just so big that it's just hard to sit there and just -- i can't even explain it. i mean, i'm embarrassed watching it now, but -- >> no, you shouldn't be.

it's so real. >> you don't even realize it. you're just so locked in. it's just unreal. >> your muscles must be burning after the competition as much as your daughter's. i mean, you're sitting there on the edge of your seat. >> i know. i know. >> i really had -- i knew he was movinging. i had no idea he was moving that much. >> you were sticking it like you were saying stick it, stick it. she had an amazing performance in the qualifying rounds. now now she moves into the individual all-around competition with her teammate, gabby douglas. i think watching aly's reaction, she almost didn't even believe that she had -- >> i said something to her and she said i had no -- she doesn't always watch her scores. i said did you know how close you were going into the last event? she said no, i didn't look at the scores. i couldn't understand -- like her coach is usually happy at the end but he was really happy. i had no idea. especially when everybody was

assuming jordyn wieber would be in that top spot. >> was she upset by that, too? >> i mean, she felt terrible that -- i mean, it's always terrible that the two per country rule. when you're from a country like the u.s. with five girls who really could do it if they were all given the chance to compete in the all-around, it could be any number of them. so it's hard. i mean, it's really hard. >> a lot of sacrifices had to be made, rick, for her to get to this level, i imagine, but also for the parents, as well. what goes into raising an olympic athlete? >> you know, it's -- you know, listen, it all comes down to her. i mean, she did all the hard work and effort. we've always been there for her and, you know, whether she needed a ride or just emotional support or anything, we were just there for her. but, you know, listen, she's worked extremely hard for so long. and, you know, for this to happen is just, you know, it's so great for her. >> of course today is a big day. they're going for the team gold. it would be the first time since 1996. this team, everybody keeps saying, probably has the best

shot at it. >> yeah. >> what are your expectations, lynn? >> you know, jus go in and do what they're capable of doing, no question they'll do it. you know, they're just -- they're a good group. they're so close. they're so close and so determined. i'm really hopeful. >> that's what i love about them, having met them. they all seem like they're all for one-and-one nor all no matter what. >> they all get along extremely well. you know, today's the most important day for the team because that's what they're here for first, you know? >> yeah. >> so, you know, we just wish them all the best and hopefully they can do their thing. >> you guys are going to be getting more of a workout later today. >> yes. >> make sure you eat. lynn and rick raisman, congratulations. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> so proud of your daughter. >> we are. >> after aly and the raismans again tonight in action on nbc. back with more from london. ♪

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we're back here in london. "vanity fair" releases its 73rd annual best dressed list today, and the cover girl is none other than britain's duchess of cambridge. >> wow, actually her third time on the list. third time's the charge, i guess. >> there you go. how can you not pick her? she's stunningly gorgeous in everything she wears then becomes a sellout list. it's called the cate effect in london. prince charles apparently sprung for her wardrobe, about $55,000, last year, so i guess he has something to do with what she wears. >> not normal. how would you describe -- >> my father-in-law buys my clothes? >> her style, though. >> i think she's so accessible. what i love about her is, first of all, she knows -- she looks great in everything. you put a paper bag on her, it would sell out in london around the world.

but it's high and low, able to mix and match. >> prince harry. william, on the other hand, not so much. >> if i were william, i would say to her, lay out my clothes the night before. >> i think he's very comfortable letting her be in the spotlight. >> i think so, too. they're both andsome brothers so anything they wear looks good, too. also alicia keys, drum roll, please, one of our own. >> mr. matt lauer. >> he makes the list every year. >> it would be a surprise if he doesn't make the list. >> he doesn't own many socks. >> no, he doesn't. >> mr. roker in his bright orange track suit. >> they would put me off for the next 15 years. >> i pick you, roker. just ahead, nbc's daytime coverage of the olympics, swimming, volleyball, then beach volleyball. >> a broken record sclal!

>> could you hear the crowd yelling in that last leg? >> you could feel it. it wasn't just hearing it. it was, like, a lumable. >> did you see the two next to your name? >> oh, yeah, and i jumped over and gaye him a big hug. >> now the events continue, and you have another event and you'll be competing against each other. raise your hand if you might be wearing a medal after that next event. >> anyone hungry here? [ cheers ] >> to the wall in lane five! her first individual medal! yes! >> missy franklin, better than advertised.

breaking news now at 9:57. a crash on the inner loop is causing some big delays. let's go right to danella sealock with more on that. >> if you plan to take the inner loop of the van dorn, still have the overturned tractor trailer blocking most of your lanes. only the far right lane is able to squeeze by. you're absolutely jammed. local lanes look pretty good,

but, again, those lanes are jammed. avoid this if possible, because it will take a while to clean up. let's go to tom with a check of the weather. good morning, tom. >> humid around the region and clouds passing through the metro area and no storms around, no showers here locally, but could get some later today and highs reaching mid to upper 80s and maybe into the evening hours so so somedownpours with thunder and lightning. low 90s and over the weekend might get afternoon showers and thundershowers. eun. >> tom, thanks so much. nbc 4 is you