on our broadcast tonight -- here in london, a huge day for the american women, a big win on the field. and also at home, will women and donations now come back t those races for the cure? a big change at the top of the nation's biggest breast cancer charity. and tom brokaw tonight on why so many americans have always been just a bit bonkers for the brits. "nightly news" begins now. good evening. after a wild day and a wild night in these summer olympic games, when night fell here in london, there were simultaneous

crowds of 80,000 people in two different stadiums here. it's been a big day for team usa, a big day for both individual and team sports, capped off by the soccer game that aired live a short time ago on the nbc sports network across the country. and this was a big one, especially for all the american families whose weekends are spent on the sidelines cheering on an athlete the u.s. women's soccer team goes to the top of the medal stand again for another gold medal. and nbc's chris jansing is here to start us off. >> we've talked about this as the year of the woman, but team usa has 39 gold, 26 of them, two-thirds of them, won by women. and tonight that epic soccer battle for the americans lived up to the hype. for u.s. women's soccer there had never been a final like this. team usa had waited a year to avenge their devastated world

cup loss to japan. with the clock ticking down and chants of usa in the stadium, redemption for the americans 2-1. goalie hope solo was mobbed. >> it was a team effort for this entire tournament. it shows what it takes to win championships, team work and loyalty and trusting and believing in each other. >> carli lloyd scored twice, once in each half toshgs bring home the team's third consecutive goal, their t-shirt said it all, greatness has been found. and now a warning, we are about to give some results in a race you won't see until tonight, the men's 200 meter are sprint. in a race for the ages, usain bolt exploded into the lead of the 200 meters and became a legend. no olympic sprinter had ever repeated in both the 100 and 200. >> there's no words that say how i feel. i came here to become a legend and i'm now a ledge endz. >> at jamaica house in london tonight, they're celebrating the medal sweep for the world's fastest man and his jamaican

teammates. a sneen-year-old claressa shields from michigan made history. she came to the first olympics with women's boxing. she had fought hard out of the ring against poverty and prejudice. she leaves london with gold. >> i don't know what's next now, you know? this has been the same dream for the last four or five years. >> reporter: oscar possehas alr made history. after reviewing the video, the judges have put the south africans back in the finals although they collided. in the same prelims, team usa got a new hero. menteo mitchell heard a pop in his leg when running. in an inspirational act of bravery, he kept running through excruciating pain only to learn later he had broken his leg. he said, you've got three guys depending on you, you don't want

to let them down. and when i was at olympic stadium tonight, there was a gold medal certiemony for allys felix who won the 200 meters last night. and that crowd that looked like the united nations didn't just cheer. they roared. the olympic spirit and the excitement is alive and well at these games, brian. >> unbelievable day of action. chris jansing, thanks. back home in the u.s. tonight, an update on another story we've been following, the controversy involving the susan g. komen foundation has soiled one of the great names and best-known brand names in all of charity. the instantly recognizable and zealously guarded trademark pink ribbon always stood for one thing, it was the symbol of the fight against breast cancer until controversy came along and komen cut funds for planned parenthood, a decision it later reversed, now senior leadership has given way. the founder, nancy brinker, whose late sister was susan g.

komen, is stepping down from her role as ceo, but will it be enough to restore faith and quiet the critics? our report tonight from nbc's lisa myers. >> reporter: today the shake-up moving founder nancy brinker out as ceo and into a different management role was welcomed as much-needed change at komen affiliates, like the one in seattle where the annual race for the cure raised $500,000 less this year with participation down 30%. donations also were down sharply in many other parts of the country. >> i do see this as a path to recovery. i am hoping that people will begin to look at us moving forward. >> reporter: charity watchers say it is a step forward. >> it was pretty clear that some change at the top was needed as a really strong signal to all the women who depend on susan g. komen and those services. >> komen insiders tell nbc news that this will remove brinker

from day-to-day operations. they say she will retain a significant amount of influence and that this would not have happened without brinker's consent. so it's been very hard for her. but on the web, some skepticism, too little, too late. i will never, ever trust komen again. this longtime donor says she's still not giving any more money. >> i see this as window dressing and as pr, and the bottom line is nancy brinker will still be running the organization. >> reporter: the biggest lose irin all this, low-income women, komen's trouble mean less help for those who kpt afford cancer treatment or mammograms. >> the government's new drought monitor report is out. it's more bad news for the midwest and the plain states. it increases the number of areas suffering under what's called extreme or exceptional drought. in illinois that means 80% of the fields and a lot of places the corn crop is now a total loss, soybeans could be the next

to go. corn place pryces hit an all-time high in today's traitding. we also got a new hurricane forecast for the balance of the season. government scientists have upped their official expectations now for the big storms, predicting 12 to 17 so-called named storms, 5 to 8 hurricanes, 2 or 3 of which could be major. part of the reason here? warmer ocean temperatures out there that can feed hurricane formation. we also learned today the lawyers for the accused gunman in that movie theater shooting in aurora, colorado, feel that their client james holmes is indeed mentally ill. this came during a court appearance today. it could be setting the stage for an insanity plea. overseas now to syria as we reported last night in the fierce fight for that nation's largest city, aleppo, people are being warned to leave as the syrian army now ratchets up their assault. many are leaving, and that's creating a new crisis of refugees. again tonight, our report from

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel inside northern syria. >> reporter: the rebels in aleppo are losing ground, falling back as syrian troops push deeper in the city. and, as we saw traveling through the nearby countryside, the battle in aleppo is creating a growing refugee crisis. in the town of otmay, 500 refugees pack a school, most from aleppo. just minutes after we arrive, a new group is dropped off. there's no water or much food at the school, and it's 100 degrees in the shade. this is china and russia's fault. may god punish them, a woman says. rebels tell us there are now more than 100,000 syrians from aleppo living just like this. hoping to cross into turkey and join the already 50,000 syrian refugees there. 29-year-old hasam dorwish came from aleppo with his son.

he says the government assault is not random. they're only attacking sunni muslim neighborhoods, leaving alone the minority shiite and aloite muslims who have ruled syria for 40 years. it's a claim backed by dozens of witnesses. there's no attacking against the shiite or aloite areas. no, none at all, he says. it's a sectarian war. bashar al assad attacks anything sunni, he says. many syrians say by deliberately targeting along religious lines, the syrian government is trying to provoke a war between sunni and shiite muslims and is already creating sectarian hatred that will make any post-war reconciliation here far more difficult. brian? >> richard engel, reporting again tonight from northern syria. richard, thanks. now to the presidential campaign back home. mitt romney is expected to announce his choice of a running mate soon. speculation, as you may know, is heated. every word he says on the topic

is being scrutinized. our political director chief white house correspondent chuck todd spoeng to governor romney about it today. >> what do you want your running mate to say about you? what do you want your selection to say about what kind of president you're going to be? >> i don't think i have anything for you on the vp running mate other than i certainly expect to have a person that has strength of character, vision for the country, that adds something to the political discourse about the direction of the country. i happen to believe this is a defining election for america that we're going to be voting for what kind of america we're going to have. >> interesting bit of mitt romney's exclusive talk with chuck todd late today. part of a special hour to air on msnbc later this month. one more note on things political. knowing a hot product when he sees one, the u.s. president visited the lch training facility in colorado.

promptly took his shoes off and got on the mat and said his grandmother would be proud there were no holes in his socks. still ahead as we continue from london tonight -- one of the breakout stars of the american women's team with a killer kick that helped to win a gold medal just tonight. and if you've never seen a million dollars on fire, we'll show you that, too. 0.

good eye. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. ooh gas, take an antacid. oh, thanks. good luck. good luck to you. doesn't he know antacids won't help gas? oh, he knows. [ male announcer ] antacids don't relieve gas. gas-x is designed to relieve gas. gas-x. the gas xperts.

. in order to get to today's gold medal game, the u.s. women's soccer game had to make it past canada first in the semifinal and they were powered to that 4-3 win in large part by the play of megan rapinoe, who scored two goals in that crucial game. she's had a stellar olympics after playing as a sub for team usa until about sep weeks ago. had her story here tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: watching the u.s. women's soccer team, it's hard to miss megan rapinoe's shock of blonde hair. especially when she does this. >> drives it! a magnificent goal by megan rapinoe! >> reporter: of the clutch goal in the barnburner of a semifinal against canada. one of the team's newest additions, rapinoe is playing like a star here in london, three goals and three assists. thanks her team says to a

signature style and razor-sharp technical skills. >> she's different, you know. she marches to the beat of a different drum, but we know she's a special talent. >> reporter: even though at times she faces off against players with more power and speed. >> i think that you can be creative and you can understand a game in a way that allows you to beat someone that is stronger and faster than you. >> reporter: she's not just creative. she's a character, both on and off the field. >> she is one of the funniest teammates, one of the funniest girls i know. >> we have so much time together in airports, in hotels. i want to be laughing as much as possible. >> reporter: when rapinoe is not on the road, she comes back home to redding, cal will cal, where she started playing soccer at the age of 5. so what are the chances these are the exact same goal posts as when you guys played as dids. >> by the looks of it, probably 100%. >> reporter: she played here with twin sister rachel, all day long, every chance they got. >> i'm megan rapinoe.

this is my sister rachel. >> they went at each other tooth and nail on that soccer field, day in and day out, month after month. >> and stayed friends. >> and stayed friends. oh, yeah. >> oh, so close. >> reporter: the whole family is close. parents jim and denise dedicated weekends for years driving megan and her sister to games. when not in the car, denise worked at jack's grill where she has been a waitress for 25 years. jack's grill is rapinoe fan club's headquarters. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: when megan was growing up, there were no competitive leelg leagues here in redding, certainly nothing like this. soccer has surged in popularity, the success of their homegrown hero has played a very large part in it. rapinoe has also translated that success into becoming a spokeswoman for a different cause. in june she told "out" magazine she's gay, something family and friends knew for a long time but felt it could help others. >> to feel they kind of have

someone to look up would be really cool for them. i don't feel like, you know, there's anything wrong with me. >> reporter: apeen know proves it every time she takes the field. with the footwork, a lethal left foot, and an undeniable effort. stephanie gosk, nbc news, redding, california. up next hire tonight, when it comes to airlines and schedules, there's a new list of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

the photos of the day from the new mars rover curiosity show more of its new neighborhood, including the first 360-degree panorama in color. and it still looks like the mojave desert. nasa scientists remind us all they've just begun. because you often have to take the bad with the good in the exploration business, this was bad. a major mishap today for a prototype landing craft. this was a test flight of the

morpheus spacecraft. this is not supposed to happen. that's what a million dollars looks like when it's on fire. it was unmanned. there were no injuries. nasa quickly said, for its part, budgeting for failure during testing is part of the process. we never would have gotten to the moon without failure, and better now than later on. and in other space news, one of the old shuttles, the "endeavour" is headed to southern california. traffic there being what it is, they're warning people on october 12th it will make a 12-mile two-day journey at two miles an hour so average l.a. speeds over surface streets from lax to the california science center. los angeles, you've been warned. begin your planning of alternate routes now. and in the flying business for regular people, a lot of new data just out. the big news, the best first half of any year on record for on-time performance in the air. hawaiian and alaska airlines just ranked one and two for

on-time performance. best u.s. airport for on-time departures and arrivals? salt lake. newark worst in both categories. and a new gallup poll shows most americans think the tsa does a good job, though older respondents were less likely to say nice things about the tsa. penn state announced changes today for their iconically plain football uniforms. starting this coming season, they will have blue ribbons for abuse victims and the jerseys will now have players' names across the back. they say it's designed to give credit to those who still choose to play for the nittany lions. when we come back tonight, it's called a special relationship for a good reason after all. what is it about the u.s. and g.b.?

here at these olympics there have been two big story lines in just these recent days, the u.s. surging in the medal count and the stunning success of a small country that just happens to be the home country, team great britain. we two nations have had our issues, like the revolutionary war and the fact that they call soccer football.

but, as tom brokaw reminds us tonight, americans have always reserved a lot of love for the folks here. tom? >> brian, actually, these games have been a reminder of just how imfat waited so many americans are with everything british. and yet every american schoolchild knows that we began our country by rejecting the idea of royalty. not so much anymore. it turns out we're bonkers for royalty. any major royal event is big box office on american television. the queen, so much more than the head of the royal household. >> it's all brand. >> tracy ullman, an american citizen but always a brit. >> she's done a bloody good job, the queen, if i say so myself. and kate middleton just rejuvenated it all again. on we go. >> it doesn't stop with the royals.

on we go to "downton abbey," the lifestyle of the british upper class. >> are you afraid someone will think you're american if you speak openly? >> i doubt it will come to that. >> britain's other royalty has loyal american subjects as well, mccartney and the beatles, mick and the stones. hollywood, that very american institution, some of the biggest stars are british. best pictures? "the king's speech." before that, "shakespeare in love." "harry potter" conquered america, young and old. we know what we like british, so what do british like american? cat tt tt tty kay is a bbc corrt based in london. >> for all our grumbling about how america behaves, we still wear levi's, drinking coke, using ipads. >> in one of our electioning years, the british watch america with a sense of bewilderment.

>> when we talk about god, guns and government. those are the three big things we don't understand. the role of government here is much more complicated. people don't want it in america. in britain, we expect government to provide things for us. >> in these olympic games, there's a kind of mutual admiration society. there are more of us here with a bigger medal count, but britain is having a great run. and it is an agreeable mix. they can row. we can swim. they're better on a horse. we're better on hardwood. >> what i love about this olympic games it seems happening in england is we have imported a ton of america's self steam.

we could never high-five, tom, years ago. but now we are high-fiving, we're winning gold medals. >> wills, kate and harry, the younger royals, are a big attraction for americans in the stands. they seem like the kids next door. if this is your idea of next door. and, brian, tracy ullman also made the point theed kate is so popular, yet she does not have one tattoo and she retains an air of mystery. there's so much about her we don't know, contrary to everything else in the celebrity world these days. >> imagine that. and she still gets by. tom brokaw, thanks. i'm glad we were able to say all of that. and good on both teams for doing well. by the way, tom's documentary tribute called "their finest hour" airs this saturday night on nbc 8:00 eastern part of our prime-time olympic coverage that night. for us, for now, that's our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here with

us. and a reminder, olympic prime-time coverage tonight at 8:00/7:00 central. i'm brian williams reporting from london. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. for all of us here, good night. . we are watching severe storms out there. montgomery county severe thunderstorm warning for you. two separate warnings. one until 7:45 and another to the west. and loudon county until 8:00 tonight. oh, so sweet ♪ ♪ life in the sun is such a treat ♪ ♪ no point in feeling blue, our days are only few ♪ ♪ make your dreams come alive ♪ shine bright