we begin tonight with molly hunter >> reporter: tonight 17-year-old tennis star coco gauff announced she tested positive for covid-19 forcing her to pull out of the olympics. "i'm so disappointed to share the news. it is always a dream of mine. i want to wish team usa best of luck and a safe games." early this moshgs gauff played at wo wimbledon and the prenc french open. it is unclear if she was vaccinated before traveling to europe or where she tested positive:in tokyo, a week non the opening ceremony, the case numbers are rising. >> there is no such thing as zero risk that we all agree. at the same time, the mingling and pressing of population is incredibly limited we can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible. >> reporter: since july 1st, according to the organizing committee, 55 people under the jurisdiction have tested positive for covid-19 including four athletes all nonresidents of japan, four media and the others games concerned personnel. on sunday, the south african team announced two players tested positive in the olympic village. >> scre

the ambitious goal, reopen by 2024 molly hunter, nbc news, paris. >>> when we come back, my exclusive interview with women making baseball history >>> some baseball inspiration tonight, with history about to be made, not on the field, but this the broadcast booth. when the baltimore orioles take on the tampa bay rays tomorrow night in the mlb game of the week on youtube, history will be made >> we realize the gravity of the situation. and we really are just going to work. and oh, by the way we're making history in the process. >> reporter: for the first time in major league baseball, all five broadcasters for the game will be women. >> people wonder what it's like to be doing this job as a female, and the attention does get drawn to it. the benefit is younger generations are seeing that, and are seeing that we're removing gender titles off of job descriptions however, this is what we've been doing. >> reporter: melanie newman, sarah langs, alanna rizzo, heidi watney and lauren gardner, all seasoned professionals recognize this moment, but don't want to be defined by it. you have all d

molly hunter, nbc news, london >>> still ahead for us, behind the scenes as america's biggest july 4th bash makes a comeback >>> finally tonight, its biggest july 4th bash is back in person, and we got a behind-the-scenes first look it's nothing short of spectacular. for the past 45 years, th been delighting us all. and this year, as we celebrate with friends and family, it feels like there is a little something extra to celebrate. so this is one of five barges you're going to have out in the river. >> reporter: gary souza is up for the challenge. his family has been the spark behind the fireworks for the last 38 years behind the scenes, coordinating the show takes a village. over the course of 12 days, 50 pyrotechnicians place more than 65,000 shells on five barges floating in new york city's east river. >> they're about a thousand feet apart on the river. so we're going to spread over a mile wide. >> reporter: and they leave nothing to chance testing the show in the california desert before the big day and this year, more than any other, they want to ensure perfection it's a love let

the vatican says he's doing well molly hunter with the latest on the pontiff's condition. >> reporter: 84-year-old pope francis is recovering after the vatican says a scheduled surgery. in a statement the press office says francis reacted well after under going anesthesia he was diagnosed with navorrowi of the colin >> it is a rare surgery. >> reporter: the pontiff is robust and often holding meetings six days a week hours earlier, the pope held his usual sunday blessing, announcing a foreign trip in september, not mentioning the surgery. last sunday he asked for support, pray in a special way, the pope needs your prayers. with know he suffers from sciatica and tonight italian president wishing the pope a speedy recovery. molly hunter, nbc news >>> why so many who rush to buy homes during the pandemic are now saying buyer be weare. >>> the fire explosion that had beach goers scrambling for safety that's cool. a lot of storage in a small space. hi! is it weird if i buy the same one because i maybe just did. woohoo! and a kitchen refresh in a snap! side table, food wagon - it does it al

molly hunter has details. >> reporter: if there was any tension today between the we couldn't see it in the sunken guard, garden, one of princess diana's favorite places unveiling the statue they commissioned back in 2017, it revealed diana alongside three children to represent the generational impact of her work prince william and prince harry released a joint statement. "we remember her love, strength and character every day. we wish she were still with us. today harry greeting diana's brother, his uncle earl spencer but things have changed since 2017, the year they marked 20 years since diana's death and the year harry got engaged, all in that garden. >> i love william to bits we're on different paths. >> reporter: after the dramatic fallout, they were last seen together at prince philip's funeral. love to see the brothers get on again. but they're not interested in some kind of a public show of affection and continued private animosity. >> they want the real deal >> precisely that. they see in the brothers a reflection, obviously, of their much loved mother. >> reporter: and both

molly hunter, nbc news >>> now to the dire situation in europe. death toll keep climbing as rescuers race to find hundreds of people still missing after historic flooding that has devastated the region. raf sanchez is in germany to night. >> reporter: tonight a grim search by air, land and this sea that was once a major highway. more than 160 now confirmed dead across western europe, but with hundreds more unaccounted for, the true toll may only be known when the water recedes. the worst damage in germany where once peaceful neighborhoods are now in muddy ruin. in ahrweiler, the medieval walls not enough to shield families from the flood. a week ago these bars and cafes were buzzing with tourists. now this picturesque river town is a disaster zone. 78-year-old marita lost a family member, drowned in his own home she grieves him and her hometown it is incomprehensible, terrible, she says i was born here. i played here as a child. dozens of volunteers helping however they can. niklas trying to help salvage his friend's business so all of this is des

one of them 17-year-old tennis star coco goff who dropped out of the games molly hunter has more. >> 17-year-old tennis play jericho could he goff announced she has tested positive for covid-19 forcing her to pull out of the olympics. i am so disappointed to share the news i want to share the news it's unclear if she has been vaccinated before traveling to europe or where she tested positive in tokyo with less than a week until the opening ceremony the case numbers are rising. >> there's no such thing as zero risk and that we all agree at the same time, the mingling and crushing of population is incredibly limited, incredibly limited and we can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible. >> reporter: since july 1st, 55 people under their jurisdiction tested positive for covid including four athletes all nonresident of japan, four media, and the other game personnel. south africa announced two players tested positive in the village. >> screening program since the 1st of july has delivered 30,000 results so that's how diligent we are in terms of monitoring

nbc's molly hunter has more. >> reporter: 17-year-old tennis star coco gauff announced she had tested positive for covid-19, forcing her to pull out of the olympics. "i am so disappointed to share the news," she wrote on social media. "it has always been a dream of mine." adding "i want to wish team usa best of luck and a safe games. early this month gauff played at wimbledon, and before that thene traveling to europe or where she tested positive. in tokyo with less than a week until the opening ceremony the case numbers are rising. >> there is no such thing as zero risk. and that we all agree. at the same time the mingling and crossing of population is incredibly limited, incredibly limited. and we can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible. i'm clarifying almost. >> reporter: since july 1st according to the organizing committee, 55 people under their jurisdiction have tested positive for covid including four athletes, all non-residents of japan, four media and the others games-concerned personnel. sunday the south african team announced two players

nbc's molly hunter is live at the eiffel tower for us. : craig, savannah, bonjour. not even just at the eiffel tower. we are on top of the eiffel tower. so just like last year, it is back open. a couple of different thing, though there are lots of american tourists and this top floor is a lot higher than where we were last year. take a look. after its second closure in two years, the eiffel tower is open for business as paris roars back to life. this morning, tourists are lining up for opening day. >> are you excited, quinn? >> yes it's been on my bucket list. >> it's been on your bucket list. >> i mean, it's nice to have a bucket list at your age. >> yeah, 12 years old. >> reporter: a in typical year, the eiffel tower has 7 million visitors now just 10,000 people a day can visit with social distancing rules. and unlike last year the elevators are working. just one more floor and we get to go to the very top. and that includes american tourists who are now allowed back into france >> how does it feel traveling? >> it feels normal i mean, w

nbc's molly hunter is posted in rome. molly, we don't know more than that from the vatican, right?hat else you have learned. >> reporter: that's right. we know his surgery was last sunday a week ago, and on monday they put out a hallie, and they say he would be in the hospital for about seven days providing there were no complications. so we keep asking the vatican, this is day eight, are there any complications? take a look at the statement they put out this morning. as you said, not a lot of foerp. it says, in order to optimize the medical and rehabilitation therapy, the holy father will remain hospitalized for a few more days. in that statement he also says he sharing the joy, the other big story here is italy's big euro win. hallie, we went back to the vatican and said are there complications, why is he there? they gave us one more line, they said to start his convalescence in a controlled environment. i saw the pope yesterday. he came out on the tenth floor balcony to have his sunday blessing. hundreds and hundreds of people were below. he stood out for about ten minutes and p

molly hunter live in vatican city. molly, thank you. joining me now is dr.us is this procedure and how lengthy will his recovery been? >> good afternoon. we're missing critical details. was mint mally unvase sniff did they stick a cram into a small hole or was it an open procedure? literally opening unand taking out part of the colon. it sounds like the former since he is making great progress. he'll be out for a week and then back home. that sounds like minimally invasive. the first 48 to 72 hours is key. can he start to have flew snidz he is tolerating? can they advance his diet. after that, pain control. we think a week to two weeks is general recovery for minimally invasive procedures like this. >> doctor, you've been on the front lines of the pandemic. we certainly had several conversations about it. from the very beginning when you look at the trajectory of the past year, a lot of questions about our health care system and about our hospitals and how they're navigating their way out of it. what have you seen? >> that's right. hospital as cross the u.s.

in rome, here is nbc's molly hunter. >> reporter: across the entire country they are still celebratingns partied into the night and the focus is on the players, on the game, on their big win, of course. everyone is, of course, still excited. and back in england the picture couldn't be different. it's not just the heartbreak of missing out after 55 years it is this ugly racist side that reared its head. three young black players missed their penalty kicks. all really talented guys on england's national team. seven out of england's 11 starters against italy have apparent or a grandparent born overseas this is a young, diverse and progressive team that was able to unite the team. they were able to unite the country. it wasn't just racist tropes insults really awful nasty language online. it was also offline. marcus rashford, one of the players, a mural was defaced with offensive language. the community covered it up. the nation has been swift from the mayor of london to the prime minister boris johnson denouncing the racism. he tweeted this england team deserved to be lauded as heroes, no

nbc's molly hunter received an exclusive tour inside the cathedral. >> repte notre dame to the faiful. ♪♪ to its former splendor is a work in progress, following the catastrophic fire april 15th, 2019. >> how long is it going to take to rebuild notre dame? >> reporter: the famous lead spire plunging like an arrow into the heart of this sacred space. because of all that lead, we suited up in protective gear. >> all right, let's go. >> reporter: nbc news was granted rare access, an exclusive look at the restoration effort. the magnificent nave transformed a jungle of scaffolding. we are at ground level of notre dame. there are more than a thousand tons of scaffolding around me. we are about to take an elevator more than a hundred feet up to where the fire started. and here at the top of the damaged vault. this is the nave of the cathedral. and you can see the stained glass windows and we can see some of the charred remains. the wood supports are temporary braces for the crumbling flying buttresses more than 800 years old. each one is tailored individually using modern technology but med

molly hunter reports from rome on how long his hospital stay might last. >> reporter: tonight, 84-year-old pope francis is spending a second night in the hospital, recovering from colon surgery, the vatican says the general condition, alert and breathing on his own.ok three hours on sunday, requiring general anesthesia. just hours before going into the hospital, the pope held his usual sunday blessing, not mentioning the operation. why didn't he mention it? >> as much as pope francis is very up front and says exactly what's on his minds, when it comes to his personal life, he is rather private. so he had other matters he wanted to speak about, other appeals in the world and an upcoming trip. as far as himself, he did not want the take the attention. >> reporter: but last week he made a special ask, saying the pope needs your players. but the procedure marking a rare health issue for the pontiff, who keeps a rigorous schedule, already planning his next trip in september. he suffers from sciatica. and he is missing a part of his lung. but the pope will remain in the hospital for at least sev

according to a vatican spokesperson, nbc news correspondent mollie hunter joins us. s going on? >> reporter: hey, jonathan, good morning. good afternoon from here. so, the pope is 84 years old, of course, so any kind of medical procedure, any kind of surgical procedure we pay attention to. we got a statement from the holy see press office a while ago. the pope had gone in for surgery as you said for stenosis. the holy see press office said they would announce when the surgery was complete. like i said, the pope 84 years old, generally in pretty good held, jonathan. he does suffer from sciatica. as a young man he had part of a lung removed, one lung removed. but really we haven't seen that many serious medical conditions. hours earlier we did see the pope today greeting crowds at st. peter's square as he always did. last sunday when he did that, he asked for prayers for himself. many people wondering today if he knew this was coming up and if he was making a special plea last week in preparation. jonathan? >> all right, mollie hunter, thank you very much for that updat

molly hunter has more. >> coco gauff announced she tested positive for covid-19.nt to wish team usa best of luck and a save games. it is unclear if she was vaccinated before traveling to europe or where she tested positive. >>> in tokyo with less than a week before the opening ceremony the case numbers are rising. >> there is no such thing as zero risk. at the same time the mingles and crossing of population is inkredsably limited and we can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible. 55 people under their jurisdiction have tested positive for covid including residents, media, and the games personnel on saturday. >> the screening program since the first of july delivered more than 30,000 results. so that is how diligent we are. we will continue to do so. >> dozens of people following strict protocol now under quarantine. athletes hoping they don't have to miss their big event. >> this just in, speaking of, a female gymnast from the united states has tested positive for coronavirus. the japanese city hosting the athlete at a pre-tourna

nbc correspondent molly hunter has more. >> reporter: 17-year-old tennis star coco gauff announced shepositive for covid-19, pulling out of the olympics. i'm so disappointed to share the news. it's always been a dream of mine. i want to wish the u.s. special luck. it's unclear if she had been vaccinated before traveling to europe or where she tested positive. in tokyo with less than a week until the opening ceremony, the case numbers are rising. >> there's no such thing as zero risk, and that we all agree. at the same time, the mingling of the population is incredibly limited, incredibly limited. we can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible. >> reporter: since july 1st, according to the organizing committee, 55 people under their jurisdiction have tested positive for covid, including four athletes, four media, and other games personnel. on sunday the south african team announced two players tested positive in the olympic village. >> the screening program since the 1st of july has already delivered more than 30,000 results. that's how dill janet we are

savannah guthrie still celebrating after italy defeated england in the finals of the euro cup >> molly hunterght, guys, and there ain't no party like an italian party. this morning, a joy across the country, across the world is still going strong take a look. overnight in italy, pandaemonium, celebrations spilling into the streets after the country's soccer team won the euro cup beating england in are going nu a dramatic final match italy won this one and the streets are going nuts >> score. >> scores for england. >> reporter: in the first half, england started strong, scoring less than two minutes into the game, the fastest score ever in a euro final england's home crowd couldn't get enough but italy tied it up in the second half. >> around dangerously. >> reporter: the match then tied after regulation, extra and overtime, eventually coming down to nail-biting penalty kicks italy's goalkeeper stopping england's final shot to secure the victory. >> and he does it and italy are champions of europe. >> reporter: from california to the coliseum, italy's fans across the world were overjoyed. cele

. >> molly hunter, thank you so much.n of "andrea mitchell reports." kaci hunt will be in for chuck todd coming up next. e in for chk todd coming up next. you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. now as you're thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. ♪ ♪ ♪ aloha! isn't this a cozy little room? sorry your vacation request took so long to get approved, so you missed out on the suite special. but lucky for you, they had this. when employees are forced to wait for vacation request approvals,it can really cramp their style. i'm gonna leave you to it. um, just— with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in a single, easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com and schedule a demo today. this isn't just a walk up the

now, though, hope is rising from the rubble nbc's molly hunter received an exclusive tour inside thelook at that facade, it's hard to tell exactly how damaged that cathedral is inside. then you see the scaffolding, the crane, it is a totally different story inside and we got a rare tour of the ongoing restoration efforts, and they say it's all going according to planned take a look. returning notre dame to the faithful to its former splendor is a work in progress following the catastrophic fire april 15th, 2019 >> how long is it going to take to rebuild notre dame? >> the famous lead spire crashing down like an arrow into the heart of this sacred space because of all that lead, we suited up in protective gear all right. let's go nbc news was granted rare access, an exclusive look at the restoration efforts, the magnificent nave transformed a jungle of scaffolding. we are at ground in notre dame there are more than a thousand tons of scaffolding and me we are about to take an elevat where the fire started and here at the top of the damaged bulk you can see the stain glassed windows ri

coming up on the "today" show, molly hunter will share when officials expect the church to reopen toic visitors. that's at 7:00 a.m. right here after "today in the bay." >>> and a dog missing for five days is safe with its owner after being found and rescued from inside of the wall of a home. >> can you believe it? officials say they weren't able to lift the dog out so they had to break open a wall with a sledgehammer. it took about ten minutes to free that pup. you see them doing it here. the dog's name is gerty. had been missing for five days. it's now believed she was in the wall the entire time. how she got there, though, quite the mystery. >>> right now at 6:00, there's a surge in covid cases. health officials sounding the alarm as new infections are on the rise in nearly every state. a live report on the bay area county bringing back mask mandates to some of its buildings starting today. >> burning out of control the work under way to stop wildfires from growing across the state and the evacuations now under way. >> all of this is designed to sow chaos and confusion and make it

the tourist attraction reopening today for the first time in nearly nine months here's molly hunter.nce world war ii, the eiffel tower is back open. check out that view. and just like last year when it closed and then reopened, we were right here, two different things this year, we got up to the very top of the eiffel tower and this year, there are a lot of american tourists, take a look after its second closure in two years, the eiffel tower is open for business as paris roars back to life. this morning tourists are lining up for opening day. >> are you excited >> yes it's been on my bucket list. >> it's been on your bucket list that's nice to have a bucket list on your age. >> yeah, 12 years old. >> reporter: the eiffel tower has 7 million visitors a year, but now just 10,000 people a day can visit with social distancing rules. unlike last year, the elevators are working. just one more floor and we get to go to the very top. and that includes american tourists who are allowed back into france. >> how does it feel traveling? >> it feels normal we just came in yesterday. it was -- tr

joining me now from rome, italy, nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter g to have you with us.s. fans across italy, they're celebrating the historic victory. but sunday's result also brought on a truly ugly side of racism in this sport. >> yeah. good evening. of it's a totally different picture. st so where i am the focus is on the win. on the players, on the beautiful game. they were in a bus around today. fans lining the streets. they visited the president and just joy kind of coast to coast. everyone is really excited. the picture in it england is very different. and for long time football fans for long time fans of the england team this nastiness and this ugliness wasn't new. now take a listen to gary neville. he spoke with our partners at sky. take a listen. >> neville. >> i expected it the minute the three players that missed missed. the fact of the matter is there is an issue obviously in football, there is an issue in society where we feel it's acceptable basically to criticize players for sporting actions because of the color of their skin. >> reporter: there are a cou

molly hunter has more. good morning. >> reporter: hey, guys, good morning. that's right. a big day.sh she was still here. this morning the brothers reunited to celebrate their beloved mother, a poignant moment as they unveiled this sculpture they commissioned of princess diana by a british artist. the new piece set in a magical garden transformed by five gardeners, 1,000 hours of planting, more than 4,000 flowers including diana's favorite, forget me nots. it was a place she loved. this was her home, where we associate her with. >> the absolute right place for it. she lived here and of course the world came here to mourn her. there were seas and seas of flowers that went from the gates all the way down actually to the road. >> reporter: this sunken garden, where we saw the trio, so close then, will, kate and harry, marking 20 years since diana's death in 2017. that same year, harry and meghan announcing their engagement right here. now, harry's back in the uk. last night meeting with very sick children with the charity "well child." it's just the ki would make his mother so proud. e

. >> molly hunter is back at kensington palace this morning good morning to you. >> reporter: it was. a wonderful, poignant moment to watch. there was so much attention paid to the rift between the brothers on the cover of every tabloid. here is "the sun," princess and the peace. but, guys, if there was tension between the brothers yesterday, we couldn't see it as the brothers walked out smiling for the cameras, they didn't give anything away. there were no speeches in the small, intimate ceremony, together unveiling the statue they commissioned back in 2017, back when they were still close. the statue reveals diana as her sons want her to be remembered, a humanitarian alongside children to represent the generational impact of her work. they put out a joint statement, we remember her love, strength and character. every day, we wish she was still with us. which after the last year seems like progress. >> it is a sign of the importance that these two brothers, divided as they are at the moment, attach to their mother's legacy. >> reporter: and that is what yesterday was really all abou

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