>> it was so special, hoda.mpics have been hit by a lot and this team have been hit by a lot. there's not a lot of storybook endings until now. what suni lee delivered is a gold medal for team usa and it's the most thrilling night, capping off an incredible day. that started with caeleb dressel winning a gold and then having that special moment with his family. this morning a thrilling and triumphant return for team usa. gymnastics suni lee winning gold in the women's all-around. starting strong on vault and soaring to the top of the leaderboard with her bars routine. then nailing every flip and landing during her floor routine. earning the gold on the biggest night of her career. jade carey took over from superstar simone biles who was in the audience and who earlier thanked her supporters after dropping out to focus on her mental health. the outpouring of love and support i have received has made me realize i'm more of my accomplishments in gymnastics which i never truly believed before. >> caeleb dressel from

>> thanks, hoda. >> thank you, hoda. >> by the way, we want to mention our crowd back home.e. there they are. jenna and sheinelle. hey, guys. >> you guys, we have -- good morning. we have an awesome crowd with us. tuesday morning, y'all, come and see us. fans from across the country. we have some olympic rings. >> usa! >> from all over the country. >> sheinelle, can we do a crowd moment? >> okay. >> oh, here y'all are. leya and jeff. y'all, you guys are on your honeymoon. >> yes. >> and you guys -- anniversary. >> anniversary. >> okay. and you guys are cheering on your hometown girl. is that right? >> yes. >> what was it like? y'all stayed up late. >> actually, we fell asleep. it was really late. her final was like around 3:00 in the morning. but we stayed up to her semis and we woke up this morning and had to come here and cheer her on. it's amazing. a gold medal for hawaii. first time for surfing. such a huge deal. >> jenna and i were talking yesterday, there's people from all over the country. we decided to have medals of our own. >> they're real. >> exactly. these are fo

morgan, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. this is shaping up to be a daunting situation. health officials say the delta variant is causing a tidal wave of infections in texas and the south and midwest. we're seeing hospitals that are seeing not just double but triple the number of patients in just the last month. and nearly all of them are unvaccinated this morning with the delta variant spreading like wildfire, the cdc finds more than 97% of patients hospitalized and nearly 100% of those who died are unvaccinated. the president pleading with the public. >> if you're vaccinated, you're not going to be hospitalized, you're not going to be in the icu unit, and you're not going to die. >> reporter: in alabama only one-third of the population is fully vaccinated. new cases up now 738% in the last two weeks. one doctor there going viral in an emotional facebook post writing of her patients who passed away before they're intubated is beg me for the vaccine. i hold their hand and tell them, i'm sorry, but it's too late. this doctor

hoda, back to you. >> fascinating 11 minutes. tom, thank you so much. we'll see you in a bit. >>> now to the fight against the coronavirus with the delta variant spreading wildly throughout parts of this country, and a new call for kids to mask up. the american academy of pediatrics says all students should wear masks in school even if they've been vaccinated. gabe gutierrez is following this one for us from lafayette, louisiana. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. hospitalizations in this state have doubled over the last two weeks and here in lafayette, this hospital and others are seeing younger patients. now a new warning for parents just weeks before the start of the new school year. with rising cases and mounting warnings, a different kind of heartbreak. >> when we're having to go in and talk with families that have children now, having to deal with this situation for our 30 and 40-year-old population, that becomes particularly gut wrenching. >> reporter: louisiana is seeing a potential fourth wave, the most covid hospitalizations here since m

gabe, good morning. >> reporter: hi, hoda. good morning covid patients at this little rock hospital are doubling every ten days and doctors are telling them they regret not getting the covid vaccine when they had the chance over the past three weeks new covid cases nationwide doubling daily. public health officials expect the highly contagious delta variant to keep spreading through at least september prime back to school season. >> unfortunately the worst is yet to come. it's going to get worst before it gets better in terms of spread of this infection right now. >> reporter: in some states the surge is already here. >> we're going to overwhelm the health care system here in arkansas within the next 14 days >> reporter: remarkably, the chief nursing officer at the university of arkansas for medical sciences says for them this covid wave is the worst they've seen. >> far more intense. the patients are sicker, they're younger. >> reporter: across country for many a new school year is just weeks away kids under the age of 12 not

>> reporter: absolutely hoda.n unattended. a pool party, keep count of all swimmers. say you have an inflatable kiddie pool, when not using it, drain it, flip it, leave it to the side. >> important information. a lot rely on floatation devices. my kid's safe. got water wings, my kid's safe, got whatever? >> reporter: super important. especially on the open water, in the bay if a lake, if you're boating. you want to be using an appropriate floatation device. that is most likely an age and weight-correct life vest. as you said it. water wings, they do not suffice. people love the big rafts, perfect for instagram photos. when you buy them, look at the label. it says "coast guard approved." really important. >> lastly, swim where there's a lifeguard. >> so, so important. we are on my home town beach in grand beach, new jersey. joined by julianna, a beach guard 12 years when not teaching science in north jersey. packed this weekend. your tips at the beach? >> make sure only swimming when lifeguards are on duty, swim in

>> reporter: yeah, hoda. the cdc say children who are not vaccinated should wear masks in school, though many states are rejecting those guidelines. here in california, after saying students would be required to wear masks, overnight a reversal that will allow each school district to individually decide their own policy. miguel alma fair -- almaguer for us, thanks. >>> and we turn now to those texas democrats waking up in washington, d.c. this morning after fleeing the state in an effort to block a republican-backed voting bill. nbc's senior correspondent hallie jackson has the very latest on that. hi, hallie, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. when the texas legislature gavels in today, all those democrats plan to be here in d.c. instead, more than 50 of them potentially risking arrest if they go back. that's why they plan to stay here for weeks. at least 25 more days until that special session is over. they have walked out before, in may, but this is that farthest they've gone putting a spot

miguel, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. the cdc has made it clear they want all schools to fully reopen and they want any child who is not vaccinated to wear a mask on campus. many schools don't have mask rules and many have disregarded those guidelines completely. this as we fear we could see a spike in cases this fall. this morning as covid wards reopen in hard-hit hospitals, there's growing worry over protecting the young. new clusters of cases at summer camps are fueling concern. >> to help that person -- >> reporter: just as 28 million school-age kids under 12 who are still likely months away from qualifying for a vaccine get set to soon return to the classroom. >> a big worry right now is there doesn't seem to be a plan. >> reporter: parents say they're frustrated by conflicting messages. although the cdc says any student not vaccinated needs a mask in school, most states have no uniform plan to require that. a few states have passed laws prohibiting schools from doing so. of the 25 million children old enough for vac

>> reporter: there's no way to sugar coat this, hoda.t is so hot right now there are heat warnings at all 42 venues in tokyo and outside of tokyo around the olympics. this includes indoor facilities. i was at a skateboard park two days ago it was the hottest i've ever been in my life and i'm from miami. >> what are the temps, tom >> reporter: the temps -- it's not so much the temperatures they're between 80 and 90. it's the humidity. so you just walk out and you feel like you're in a sauna. luckily the "today" show is on at night here. so there's a bit of a breeze here it's a little different for our friend lester holt when "nightly news" is on. >> sounds a little bit like a new orleans going on there yep. >>> now to those wildfires that are burning out west that are crea thousands of miles away. the smoke so intense, in fact, it's impacting air quality all the way on the east coast. garrett haake is in our nation's capital. he's down in d.c. with all of it garrett, good morning. >> it's a sign of how interconnected our climate is, those

richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. another milestone today. the taliban are gaining ground and could this country once again become a safe haven for international terrorists? as the u.s. military winds down operations, the top american general handing over this morning to a new leader with a far more hands off mission. the taliban are closing in on kabul. as u.s.-trained afghan military forces put up half hearted resistance or surrender outright. so is the united states heading right back to where it started? the u.s. invaded afghanistan taliban were in power and they hosted osama bin laden whose group al qaeda was responsible for 9/11. now one military unit is fighting hard to prevent future bin ladens from taking hold, the elite afghan commandos. i recently saw them in action attack ago taliban safe house. >> what about foreign fighters, extremists, terrorists? we understand that they are starting to come back in once again. >> these people who are coming to create trouble and problems s for the world, for the future as they did in 9/11 >> e

. >>> and the legendary simone biles' one on one with hoda kotb. how she plans to soar even higher. >> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. reporting tonight from tokyo. >>> hello, everyone. a view of the rainbow bridge across northern tokyo bay on a new day in and for tokyo. a palpable sigh of relief here, as the pandemic delay 2020 summer games finally begin in this summer of 2021. it's early-saturday morning, on this side of the world. full competition getting underway. and the first medals to be awarded later today. but perhaps, no athletic achievement can match the monumental lift organizers here faced in staging these games. and the teeth of a raging pandemic. a struggle reflected in the opening ceremony. the start of a worldwide gathering, unmatched in the covid era. this city, still, very much, in the grips of rising infections. the virus, looming over these games. for athletes, however, none of it changes what brought them here. a quest for olympic medals. tom llamas starts our coverage. >> reporter: at times, it's felt this day wo

hoda? >> thank you so much. origin crew, jeff and mark bezos, wally funk and oliver damon. good morning, guys. >> good morning. >> jeff, it's the eve. are you ready? tell me how you're feeling on this day. >> tomorrow we're going to space and we're incredibly excited. i am so excited i can't wait to see what it's going to be like. people say they go into people say they go into space and come back changed. astronauts always talk about that, whether it's the thin earth's atmosphere, i can't wait to see what it's going to do to me >> i had a chance to interview richard branson and he went up he said he beat you by nine days, but you are going higher he says there's no competition between the two of you what say you >> i agree there is one person who is the first person in space and that happened a long time ago i think i'm going on be number 570 or something that's where we're going to be in this list this isn't a competition this is about building the road to space so future generations can do incredible things i

. ♪ i'd be happy anywhere ♪ >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hodarom studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. thanks so much for starting it with us. sheinelle is in while savannah and hoda enjoy some time off. >> good morning. >> that carson daly, what can't he do? >> i just said early this morning, if there's anybody in this building you want to marry you, it would be carson daly and hoda. >> so carson is going to join us with some exclusive details. really cool ceremony. >>> first, we want to get to the latest on tropical storm elsa moving over the florida keys with 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts and heavy rain. >> a tropical storm warning extends from the keys all the way up the west coast of florida with a hurricane watch just issued near tampa. parts of georgia and south carolina now under a tropical storm watch, as well. >> meanwhile, the wind, rain and lightning from that storm is being watched closely by crews working at the site of that condo collapse near miami. >> we have it all covered this morning

shanice saw it herself and tweeted at hoda, i love you. >> she did a good job, give her a 10 for that. >> some people remember aly raisman's parents. >> every move with her. >> and when you get so into it, so emotionally attached to these athletes, you're out there with them. >> 100%. go, team usa. thanks, those proposals were so romantic. >>> a lot going on tonight. here's what to watch out for. cal's ryan murphy swims in the men's 200 meter backstroke semis at 7:00 on nbc bay area. 25later, stick around for stanford's regan she's going for gold in the 200 meter fly. catch the men's water polo team led by stanford's alex bowen. they're going to try to stay undefeated, taking on italy at 10:00 on the usa network. follow our bay area athletes by heading to nbcbayarea.com. have an athlete tracker on our trending bar. >>> a hate crime investigation in mill valley. what a security camera captured that has police involved. >>> he is on the world stage competing in judo. tonight we look at where colton brown got his start -- right here in the bay area. >>> we'll tell you about the pushback

savannah and hoda will be back on monday., al, carson, and i met up in a backyard about a year ago the first time we had all been together in months with restrictions eased this time, we got together at fresco, the unofficial restaurant of the "today" show we ate, drank, lauwegh, right r news at 8:00 >>> a one-two punch of severe weather soaking g the northeast. overnight, a fast-moving storm flooding roads and new york subways, and now another storm, elsa, bringing more heavy rain nbc's kathy park is in the thick of it this morning she joins us live from long island kathy, good morning. >> good morning to you elsa made landfall earlier this week, but we're still feeling the impact of the tropical storm this morning we keep getting slammed with heavy bands of rain and gusty conditions, but keep in mind, the ground is already saturated from the round of storms we saw last night, which caught a lot of people here in the northeast off guard, especially in new york a lot of drivers were stranded, even had to be rescued off the ex

it's hoda here. of the trl back in the day. >> let's go, abby. >> north ar vard high school stud. wait a second, abby. you played basketball. did you play for lynn james? >> i did play for lynn james. wow. incredible. >> how did you get -- so you're a terp. you didn't even get into rugby until you went to college in maryland. is that right? >> correct. i started playing in 2010. i just walked on to the rugby team, thought it seemed like a good time after playing basketball for my entire life. >> and you watch trl. >> we want to hear. >> you were ten years old and watching videos. that's table. >> trl, that was the highlight of my day. i'm running home from school, up my driveway, turning on mtv to say carson on there. >> mine was the only building to have electricity. >> we did have electricity. >> i love that she's an olympic athlete and the thing that made her nervous was talking to carson daly. we hate to see you were eavesdropping when you were getting miked up. tell us about the team. you're coc

from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today" at the olympic games with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb from tokyo, japan. >>> and hey, everybody. good morning. welcome to "today." thank you for joining us on this wednesday morning. it's wednesday evening in tokyo and a lot has happened already. >> it has been an incredible, busy 24 hours. we've got more breaking news overnight from simone biles, the defending champion in the all-around competition now taking herself out of the event here in tokyo. and she hasn't yet said whether or not she will participate in next week's individual events. we're going to talk about that. and, of course, team usa's incredible silver medal win with these two. we've got jordan chiles in the house and grace mccallum. they are right next to us. we'll speak to them in just a moment. >> we cannot wait to talk to them. they are some of the many olympians joining us this morning. we have members of team usa softball and some of the latest american swimmers to nab a host of medals in the last 24 hours. but first, nbc's tom llamas over at the gymnastics cent

savannah and hoda are off. >>> the news out of florida this morning. >> busy morning.ropical storm elsa is making landfall this morning. the storm downgraded from a hurricane overnight, but still dangerous, packing high winds and heavy rains. >> a state of emergency is in effect for more than 30 counties now. we've already seen the storm battering key west where massive waves kicked up by the storm and 70-mile-per-hour gusts crashed into sea walls >> while florida is dealing with elsa, the northeast was hit with severe weather, as well, overnight. powerful thunderstorms bringing intense winds and causing power outages across the region. >> we've got it all covered this morning. we start with nbc's katie beck near tampa in st. pete's beach good morning >> reporter: good morning, craig. tropical storm elsa is now about 80 miles offshore from us producing 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts and packing some strong surge here at the coastline. this is by no means the height of this storm. this is going to continue until it makes landfall later today, which means millions remain in

if you thought that australian coach was excited, you should have seen hoda and i. we were cheering on the gold medal winning u.s. men's relay team. by the way, a couple of the members right over there. right there. >> we are pumped up this morning, man. >> look at this group. it's happening, you guys. the olympics got off to a strong start. the swimmers are killing it. they are here. they brought their hardware. it's kind of fun to see these fresh and happy faces. you're going to see more team usa athletes sporting their medals from the opening weekend of competition. we'll chat with all of them throughout the morning. >> not just swimming, we have fencing, gymnastics, we've got it all. don't forget our friends back home. we've got a party going, live look at our plaza. >> you're invited. 1a out on our plaza. >> if you are vaccinated, wear your red, white and blue. we are celebrating with our athletes. this is just getting started. we'll check in in a little bit with them. >> the athletes are watching folks back home. they're getting pumped up too. >>> but first we

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb from studio 1a inkefeller plaza. >>> and welcome to "today." thank you so much for joining us on this thursday morning. savannah and hoda are both off, and down in florida, it went from hopeful to heartbreak. >> we begin with news out of surfside, florida, where it was two weeks ago today at 1:30 in the morning when the champlain towers south partially collapsed, at the time officials announcing one person was killed and 99 unaccounted for. >> rescuers worked around the clock as both the death toll and the number of missing continued to go up. then on sunday, the decision was made to demolish the remainder of that building, an effort to open up an unreachable area amid fears of tropical storm elsa. >> then last night the news many had been expecting. the operation turning from rescue to recovery. officials telling families there was "no chance of life in the rubble." >> then a short time later, hundreds of those first responders gathered by the site for an emotional moment of silence for the now 54 peo

good morning >> reporter: hey, hoda good morning to you. novak djokovic is out.e'll have more on that in a moment just behind me, track and field is under way at the tokyo games. we are all still talking about suni lee and what an amazing night she had. she has more action here in tokyo. on sunday, she will be competing again, as simone biles' future is now in doubt. she shared some videos on social media we're about to show you. and it shows an athlete trying to come back but struggling. >> the olympic all-around gold medal. >> reporter: when team usa needed it the most, gymnast suni lee delivered the performance of a lifetime the 18-year-old showing the world what it takes to be an olympic champion >> oh, baby. >> i've been working towards this my whole life >> reporter: her loved ones back home in minnesota cheering, while teammates, including simone biles, shouted from the stands lee, now the fifth u.s. gymnast in a row to win the event. jade carey, stepping in after biles withdrew from the competition, making her country proud. >> really nice >> reporter: in

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza >> and welcome to "today" on this monday morning after independence day thanks for joining us. with savannah and hoda off, you're stuck with us early. >> yes >> i hope i had a happy fourth >>> good morning to you. we have a lot to cover including breaking news on this monday, much of it tied to elsa, the dangerous tropical storm making its way toward florida as we speak. we'll take you live to the keys and dylan will have the full forecast >>> and that storm is coming amid the busy post holiday rush. tens of millions now returning home after celebrating the fourth a live look right now at the airport in charlotte international, one of many struggling to keep up with large crowds we're going to have everything you need to know before you head out. >>> but we begin with what remained of that collapsed condo in south florida, coming down in a controlled explosion late last night. but rescue crews are still working at the scene in surfside with more than 120 people still

you want that cooler weather hoda to the coast. 60s and downtown and the mission 70s. through the north bay up to 111. 107 clear lake. and down to nevada 95 degrees. 7-day forecast two days here with the 70s in san francisco. drop it off into the 60s through next week. once again tomorrow the hotst day in the forecast up to 105. 100 sunday. dropping to the 80s for the inland areas as we roll through next week. some extreme heat. with us here especially through inland east bay. and thankfully it will cool off next week. >> it will be fixed in time for november. >> if i can summarize to half-moon bay. >> i like that. >>> the fda reversing the decision on a controversial alzheimer's drug. the restrictions for the drug and the reason for the change. grass looks great, zeus! hey could you maybe trim the hydrangea too? sure thing, kevin. do you want me to do the boxwoods as well? no. finding the right person for the job isn't always easy... ...but when you have an insurance question, you can always count on your local geico agent. they can give you personalized advice and co

the crew talked to hoda kotb on the "today" show this morning. >> i'm so excited to see what it's like. people who go into space, they come back changed. astronauts always talk about that, whether it's the thin limb of the earth's atmosphere. >> plan is to fly for a few minutes and return safely. the capsule is entirely automated, unlike richard branson's >>> colin kaepernick is set to release a children's book. kaepernick grew up in turlock and remembered using a yellow crayon to color his family and a brown crayon to color himself. >>> it could be a financial blow to the tokyo games. one of the top sponsors is pulling out of specific ads. toyota says the games are not accepted by the japanese public. the chief executive officer will not attend the opening ceremony on friday. in the u.s. the ads have begun running and will continue to run throughout the olympic games. >>> a l and there you have it - wireless on the fastest, most reliable network. wow! big deal! we get unlimited for just $30 bucks. i get that too and mine has 5g included. impressive. impressive is saving four hundred b

. >> hoda kotb with a preview of what's ahead on the "today" show. >>> coming up on "today," i am pumpedt of a lifetime. i actually get to be in the venue where women's gymnastics are having the team final. we get to see jordan and grace and suni and simone, the g.o.a.t. herself. i will give you updates live from the venue. can team usa get the gold? i think so! but we're going to find out. join me later on "today." >> of course we'll have more on that as simone biles is out of the team competition. i want to you stick around for us at 5:00. as i was saying raj live from tokyo with more on the shocking news about simone biles pulling out of the games just minutes away. >>> up next on "today in the bay," also minutes away from a crucial hearing on the january 6th capitol insurrection. we're live from washington with what to expect. plus, kari is keeping her eye on the conditions here. >>> we're seeing a little bit of rain to the north, east, south, west, but not yet here in the bay area. we're tracking this rain as it moves in for this unusual event. more coming up. >>> and not so unusual

hoda is getting a jump on the weekend and craig is in. you have some good company on the plaza this morning >> i do. we have the military here. we've got some folks on the plaza, as well a lot of americans getting a jump start on this holiday weekend. aaa expecting nearly 48 million people to travel between now and monday, making it the second busiest july 4th travel weekend of all time. >> people are ready to party if you are driving, get ready to face the highest gas prices since 2014 the national average now stands at $3.12 >>> the weather is a big story for this holiday weekend showers and storms will stretch from the south to the northeast today. meanwhile, out west, those brutal temperatures are pushing further inland now >>> in the meantime, the coronavirus and that dangerous delta strain remain a threat with family and friends set to gather together in the coming days how do you keep yourself safe? our team is spread out we have it all covered let's get started with tom costello who is watching the air and road travel for us hi, t

hoda is getting a jump on the weekend. craig decided to come in a little early to help me out. thank you so much. >> yeah. >> and we've got a lot to talk about this morning we're covering our top stories from around the globe from tokyo where in just one week at this very time, mike tirico and i will be live on our air hosting the opening ceremonies one week from now. tom llamas will be there with the final preparations >>> and then to sout africa where devastating economic conditions turn deadly, we've live just outside of johannesburg kelly is live there. >>> and in paris, the eiffel tower is reopening today as the city of light is showing new signs of life. molly hunter is there live but we're going to start in the u.s. and this startling rise in covid cases. los angeles this morning, once again requiring masks indoors even for the vaccinated. and the surgeon general has issued a new warning about vaccine misinformation calling that a public health crisis nbc's gabe gutierrez in hard hit memphis, tennessee, doctors ar calling for an investigation into the state's handling of

an incredible moment for her that no one saw coming headed into tokyo and hoda is right there, live.onal message. overnight tweet from simone biles thanking fans for their outpouring of love and support. what she's now realizing about herself as a result as the world waits to see if the super star will compete again o

telling hoda, she hopes to be a voice for change in her sport. >> simone, 50 years from now, people will and you'll be in some history books. what do you want to be remembered as? >> hopefully for taking the sport to higher depths, and also for making a change for the newer generations to come. >> something she's already accomplished. nbc's stephanie gosk in tokyo. >> and the extremist threat inside america. how are officials dealing with the evolving nature of domestic terror as described in terrifying new detail from those who fought off the january 6th mob. >> former homeland security secretary jeh johnson joins me next. this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. please hold. ♪ those days are done. ♪ i got you. ♪ all by yourself. ♪ go with us and find millions of flexible options. all in our app. expedia. it matters who you travel with. hey, i just got a text from my sister. you remember rick, her neighbor? sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. wow. so sudden. um, we're not about to have the "we need life insurance" conversation again, ar

mentally it's not there so i need to let the girls go and -- >> reporter: later sharing more with hodaally that varies, being here at the olympics and being the ahead star of the olympics is not an easy feat, so we're trying to take it one day at a time and we'll see. >> reporter: she stayed in the arena to cheer on her teammate who is kept competing with grace and grit, bringing home a silver for team usa. >> i'm really proud of all of us. it's not easy losing a teammate, especially somebody so amazing. >> for days biles hinted the pressure was getting to her. the shaky start in qualifying leading to this post on instagram. i truly do feel like vi the weight of the world on my shoulders. i know i shake it off but sometimes, damn, it's hard. her teammate aly raisman. >> there's only so much people can take and sometimes people forget that. >> put mental health first. it's okay to sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself because it shows how strong of a competitor and person you really are. >> whatever she decides for herself we are all on team biles. and this late note -- team

. >> reporter: and hoda recently sitting down with the u.s.l-out crowds how the lack of fans may impact her. >> do you think it will affect how you perform, simone? >> personally i thrive under pressure so i'm a little bit worried how it's going to affect me once we get over there. >> reporter: katie ledecky says the ban on fans won't take away from the spirit of the games. >> everyone is getting together in this one city for the opportunity to pursue their goals that they have worked for for five years and i still think that's a really beautiful thing and i know this is going to be kind of a made for tv olympics. >> reporter: it's going to be a very unique olympic experience but again still very exciting, tom llamas, nbc news, tokyo. >> olympics are a tv event anyway. >> it's not like we're going to the stands. >> exactly. so it's just sucks for japan because they spent $2.5 billion on these amazing venues. >> yeah. all the tourism money. >> gone. >> yeah. >> that's just not going to be there. but the opening ceremonies will be weird because

here's what she had to say to hoda kotb about pulling out of the competition. >> emotionally, that kindthe moment, you know, coming here to the olympics and being the head star of the olympics is not easy heat. we're just trying to take it one day at a time, and we'll see. >> reporter: you know, you hear her talk about it there, chuck. she talks about coming here as the head star of the olympics. she's right. i mean, simone biles is the headliner for team usa. it is a lot of pressure. she seems to be acknowledging in that moment that it has become a lot for her. chuck? >> it has. so stephanie, we know what happened. the americans got silver. what kind of support is she getting from her teammates? >> reporter: well, a lot of support. we have to take our hats off to that team. under those circumstances and jordan chiles who came in for the team, to be able to still win the silver medal, they deserve an enormous amount of credit. they were all very emotional and shocked by the news. they were supportive of her. she was also supportive of them, bringing them chalk and cheering them on throu

. >> reporter: and hoda, recently sitting down with the u.s.used to competing in front of sellout crowds, how the lack of fans may impact her. >> do you think it will affect how you perform, simone? >> personally i thrive under pressure. so i'm a little bit worried how it's going to affect me once we get over there. >> reporter: two-time olympian and gold medallist katy ledecky says the lack of fans in the stands won't impact her. >> i still think that's a really beautiful thing. >> reporter: it's going to be a unique olympic experience, again, still very exciting. >> thank you, tom. that's nbc's tom llamas reporting. >>> coming up, zaila avant-garde became the scripps spelling bee's first african-american winner. little did i know, she was not just making history. she was repeating it. i'll explain before we go. (vo) the subaru crosstrek. dog tested. dog approved. facing leaks takes strength. so here's to the strong, who trust in our performance and comfortable long-lasting protection. because your strength is supported by ours. depend. the on

. >> reporter: and hoda, recently sitting down with the u.s.rowds, how the lack of fans may impact her. >> do you think it will affect how you perform, simone? >> personally, i thrive under pressure so i'm a little bit worried how it is going to affect me once we get over there. >> reporter: two-time olympian and gold medalist katie ledecky says the ban on fans won't take away from the spirit of the games. >> everyone is getting together in this one city for the opportunity to pursue their goals that they've worked for for five years, and i still think that's a really beautiful thing. i know this is going to be kind of a made-for-tv olympics. >> reporter: it is going to be a very unique olympic experience, but, again, still very exciting. >> thank you, tom. that's nbc's tom llamas reporting. >>> coming up, making history at the scripts national spelling bee when she becomes the first african-american winner. little did i know she was not just making history, she was repeating it. i'll explain before we go. i'll explain before we go. speak. reas

catching up with hoda after her life changing day. >> it doesn't even feel like real life. >> biles olympicding his bid for a grand slam. tsarev still pushing. >> getting the bronze. >> the two americans finishing behind south africa's spoonwalk who are set a jaw dropping world record. the competitors celebrating the historic moment together. in men's bmx, a scary scene. defending gold medalist connor fields crashing, he was put on a stretcher. he is awake and awaiting further medical evaluation. >> tough to watch there for connor fields. we'll bring you updates on how he is doing. we'll have more on his county throughout the day as we learn about it from tokyo. >>> breaking news just in now. as we were in that reporting i want to bring in scott mcfarland, investigative reporter. now just seven months after that insurrection we're learning that ten u.s. capitol police officers are still off of the job because of injuries that happened from the january 6th riot. what are you learning and what are you hearing? >> these are physical injuries. the police union saying we're at 10 right now as we

lee has won hearts all over when she told "today's" hoda kotb the story of how her father built her a>> that beam is like, i don't know, like i grew up going on that beam. if i wasn't in the gym, i was always outside on the beam doing extra things because i didn't want to get behind, or i always wanted to get better so it was something that we kind of like cherished because whenever i was bored i would just go outside and he would watch me and try and coach me even though he didn't know what he was talking about. >> oh, man she says her gold medal still feels like a dream come true what's next for the 18-year-old? college. she plans to attend auburn university on a gymnastics scholarship. >>> well, for the first time men and women will swim together at the olympics in the same race. the 4 by 100 meter mixed medially makes its debut tonight. each country picks two men and two women to swim the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. the teams get to pick who swims each, so we could end up seeing a man and a woman both doing the backstroke at the same time. team usa's lineup

checking in with raj every morning on "today in the bay" and, of course, the "today" show as well, hodatinuing coverage of the recall election release the final list of candidates vying to replaceim in the meantime several court battles are in the works electi. kevin faulconer is expected to seek permission for the right to be called retired san diego mayor on the ballot. and conservative talk show host larry elder has filed a lawsuit arguing that california election officials improperly blocked him from the contest. >>> want to give you a live look at san francisco skyline. you know what the next time you grab a drink in the city you might need proof of vaccination. sf gate reporting the san francisco bar owner alliance might require people to show their vaccination card to get into any of the group's 500 bars. the ahead of the' lines says that he wants to get ahead of a potential surge of covid cases and protect employees and businesses and it would be voluntary for bars to participate. >>> happening now the dixie fire continues to keep fire crews busy in butte and plumas counties. a

i love hoda and jenna. they make a bad, awkward zoom moment awesome.the morning off but we have a lot of news to get to this morning. we're keeping an eye on troubling statistics. back on june 23rd there was just about 11,000 new cases of covid nationwide. this week it's nearly 24,000. and those numbers double over just three weeks? there is renewed concern about what's next for the pandemic, especially with the dangerous delta variant making waves nationwide. this could be coming back. in a few minutes we'll talk to former acting director of the centers for disease control and prevention. dr. richard besser. >>> first learning new information about donald trump's final days in office. new reporting from "the washington post" that the joint chiefs chairman mark milley worried donald trump might try to hold onto power after loing re-election, talking in terms of a coup. it's in a book entitled "i alone can fix it". here's how the post summarized the account. quote, after attending a november 10th, security briefing about the million maga march, milley s