day, a snow soldier, natalie shouts. be brave, natalie. natalie stands in the church hallway, looking at a page of the church bulletin. she touches the page. here. her father's name is here, along with the names of many of the soldiers. people will pray for all of them. a girl behind her is also looking at the names. natalie wonders, is her daddy or mommy far from home, to? is or mommy or daddy safe? i'm sure that's some the things that go through your minds, right? hi, natalie says shyly. high, the girl and just the right await natalie knows they will become friends. be brave, natalie. do you want to turn the page? thank you. natalie's baby tooth is hanging by a thread. mom turns on the computer and get that on video chat. you know that's skype. daddy, daddy, hunter ways. natalie's tooth is ready to come out, says mom. she's going to pull it. natalie sees her dad waiting for and ways that. i'm afraid, daddy. it may hurt. dad smiles. go, go, go. you are a bigger. so i'm sure many of you skype with your mom and dad when they were over seas,

in 2010 she was on the same team as natalie coughlin in dubai. natalie was team captain. >> she welcomed me into the scene and was supportive of me and wanted me to feel comfortable with the team. >> white swims in danville and with coughlin, a lot of people are fans. >> sure. my daughter went to cal berkeley and she is from cal berkeley. >> just about everyone is asking the same question. why was coughlin left out of the freestyle relay. >> it was weird not seeing her in it, but i'm not sure the reason why she wasn't in it. i definitely think that she had a say. >> there was a reason for accepting the coach's decision, but we are saddened she couldn't participate and represent for the area. >> if you would like to until natalie coughlin, keep an eye on madison white. she áwice nearly made it on to the olympic twim team. >> thank you. we have more olympic coverage in a couple of minutes including kerri walsh going for gold in beach volleyball. hear what she had to say about the close call tonight and their choice of uniform. the showdown between

madison did watch natalie swim today and like so many other people she's also wondering why natalie did not swim in the relay final. >> it was a little weird not seeing her in it. i'm not sure what the reason was why she wasn't it, but i'm sure she had a say in what was going on. >> reporter: now, madison is swimming with her shark teammates this year. when i asked madison if she would eventually like to win as many medals as natalie, madison said she would be happy to win just one. we're live in danville, arturo santiago, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, arturo. the 29-year-old won her first olympic medal in 2004 in the summer games in athens. at the 2008 games in beijing, she became the first american female athlete to win six medals in one olympic game. throughout her career, she has won a total, get this of 48 medals in major international competition. and again coughlin joins jenny thompson and dara torres as the most decorated female olympians in u.s. history. >>> to another developing story out of london, a war of words between a south bay soccer legend and current star of the ga

ultimately it was mckeever's decision to bench natalie.al race of her career. she wants to return to the east bay. she has a beautiful home in lafayette. she turns 30 next month and she wants to start a family. we're expected to chat with natalie coughlin later on today. we'll have that report on our evening newscast. we're in london. back to you now in the bay area. >> another upset in olympic swimming centered on the u.s. men. ryan lochte won the 400 meter individual medley, beating fellow american michael phelps, who took gold in the event in the last two olympics. lochte won the event by an incredible three full seconds. phelps did not medal at all. he came in fourth. he still has six more chances to win. with just two more medals, will he become the world's most decorated olympian. >>> we're going to put up the winners overnight, but if you don't want to know who they are, we'll play some music so you can turn your head. when the music is over, it's safe to come back. ♪ >>> lochte did win the united states' only gold medal so far. tha

, natalie coughlin and our natalie. the organic farm. she could end up being the most decorated female athlete ever. >> no question about that. speaking of the other natalie, let's go inside and get a check of the headlines from natalie morales. >> good morning matt and al, savannah, everyone. the brother-in-law of bashar al-assad was reported among those killed today in a suicide bombing in the syrian capital of damasc damascus. also the defense minister died in the blast. the fbi is investigating a security breach at a utah airport. officials say commercial pilot brian hedglin suspected of killing his girlfriend friday scaled a fence in utah. police say hedglin climbed into a 50-seat commuter jet and crashed trying to take off. he was found dead inside the plane after apparently shooting himself. the tsa does not require airports to maintain fulltime surveillance of their perimeter fences. at least one aviation security expert said it might be time to revisit that issue. >>> the obama add manage unveiled a $1 billion

natalie, how about you? >> beam. >> gabby douglas, your daughter is the flying squirrel, we know she's got those uneven bars down. do you get nervous and see her flying and doing things nobody can imagine doing what she does. >> sometimes i do. i wonder, she gets so high in the air. i wonder, is she going to catch that thing when she comes down. every time like clock work. you don't want to get relaxed and say every time she's got it because sometimes you don't know. beam is the worst for me. >> not only is their pressure to compete as the team, there is the individual pressure as well. they are up against each other. there has been much said in the press about friendly rivalry between gabby and jordyn. what do you tell your girls to keep it in perspective? >> i just tell jordyn i'm proud of her no matter what happens. i know she's going to go out there and do her best. they are all friends. they want each other to do their best and they want to do their best. >> they are a team. >> natalie? >> we grew up to

thanks, natalie. >> thank you. thanks. >> reporter: okay.end it back to you. >> she's so likeable. you know? and what are we going to see weatherwise? >> it's london weather. they're used to it there. but here's the satellite view. you look at the mass of clouds off to the west. that is a tuesday storm that's going to be bearing down and the flee-day forecast shows scattered showers tomorrow. tuesday looks like somewhere between 3/4 of the day dealing with some rain. not so good. you know, we had those five days of beautiful weather just leading up to the opening ceremonies. it seems to have gone away. the pattern becoming more active. today we actually had some thundershowers. if you saw the basketball game at halftime, you saw a lightning bolt behind some of the play-by-play folks too. some very active weather unfortunately off and on through london the next few days. >> thank you, rob. and thanks for choosing the bay area at 6:00. the olympics are up next featuring women's gymnastics and both women and is men's swimming finals. and after

natalie? >> such a horrific loss. miguel almaguer in colorado springs, thank you. >>> there is news tonight about the company that makes some very big name prescription drugs. glaxo smith kline has agreed today to pay a multi billion dollar fine, the largest ever in a health care fraud case. here's nbc's justice correspondent pete williams. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome -- >> reporter: at the launch of asthma drug advair prosecutors say global drug giant glaxo smith kline pushed the sales force to push hard even for uses not federally approved. >> who wants to be a millionaire? >> reporter: today the company admitted its sales force bribed doctors to prescribe its drugs by offering such incentives as hawaiian vacations and tickets to madonna concerts. all part, the government says, of a range of misbehavior that resulted today in the largest fine ever paid by a drug company, $3 billion. >> this historic action is a clear warning to any company that chooses to break the law. >> reporter: here is some of what

natalie? >> miguel almaguer in colorado springs. thanks so much, miguel. >>> overseas tonight, supply lines in pakistan that are vital to american interests are now once again open after a serious dispute and an acknowledgement by the u.s. that mistakes were made. nbc's jim miklaszewski joins us tonight from the pentagon with more. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, natalie. that bitter dispute exploded last november, when american air strikes mistakenly killed 24 pakistani troops. when the u.s. refused to apologize, pakistan closed down two critical supply lines into afghanistan. and vital shipments were backed up at the border. today those routes were reopen, when secretary of state hillary clinton told pakistan, we are sorry for the loss of pakistani forces. u.s. officials insist this was not an apology, but it was good enough for pakistan. those routes supply american troops with just about everything they need to survive, and will be just as critical to ending the war. they're

that's right, natalie versus natalie. decorated olympic swimmer heading to her third olympic games in london at the ripe old age of 29. we'll have more of our visit with her as we count down to london tomorrow on "today." i love spending time with her. >> you're in terrific shape for her to dust you like that. >> she blew me away. her back muscles are like this. they are crazy. i'm natalie morales with al roker. al is going to go check out that cool, beautiful kitchen across the street. >> we have the "house beautiful" dream kitchen, throw some tlimp on the barbie, a great asparagus scallion grilled salad. >> from a dream kitchen to a dream home. a 90,000 square foot palace being built by a billionaire couple who had it all until, like most americans, the recession hit them hard, really hard. we'll have that story coming up. >>> then a little later while you're sweating it out on this heat wave, down right chilly for animals who keep their cool in hottest, driest places on earth. he's giving you the hawkeye. >> the hawk i

natalie. >> thank you, stephanie.eality show on trutv called bait car, which is supposed to catch thieves in the act. during one sting in los angeles, it was a very unlikely figure who ended up having to answer tough questions instead. the story from nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> the team deployed to south l.a. and puts their new weapon into play. >> the formula for the tv show "bait car" usually goes something like this. >> undercover deputies act out a theme and abandon the bait with the keys in it. >> reporter: they wait for a would be car thief who inevitably gets in the vehicle equipped with hidden cameras and drives off. for sheriff's deputies, it's an easy bust. >> making a u-turn southbound central. >> reporter: 28-year-old keenan took the bait last july when he found this cadillac too good to resist. the tape eventually turned over to the public defender's office shows los angeles county sheriff's detective anthony shapiro making the arrest. but it's what he didn't say. >> you know you're rights, right? you know

i'm natalie morales. we hop

back to natalie, willie. i would have taken the -- >> it's going to be hot tonight. >> it is going to be a good one for sure. more olympic highlights. let's turn to stephanie abrams and take a look at our forecast. >> unfortunately we have more severe weather to talk about it or the chance in portions of north carolina and also south carolina and portions of virginia. let's have a look at our radar. nothing severe but we do see storms firing up. otherwise we do have threat for severe weather in portions of the upper midwest. a little bit cooler, especially >> good morning.ew england, ew we had some rain last night. there could be some rain lingering this morning. a mixture of sun and clouds. >> natalie, over to you. >> thank you, stephanie. a graduate student from texas is showing signs of improvement after he was mauled by chimpanzees at a wildlife sanctuary in south africa. this morning we're learning more about what may have led to the brutal attack. here is the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morn

we've got natalie morales on the set. natalie, take it away. >> good morning, matt. good morning, everyone. one of the alleged victims of the accused sex abuser jerry sandusky has filed suit. ron has the latest from state college, pennsylvania. good morning, ron. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. we're outside the football stadium and the place where legendary coach paterno's statue was until it was removed last week. paterno was criticized for not doing more in the case of this young man, victim number two, who was attacked in the penn state shower. we still don't know who he is. he's keeping his identity secret but he's speaking out through his attorney about how he was abused by jerry sandusky. >> you know, there's nothing really to hide. if you want, give me a call. all right. take care. love you. hope you get this message. thanks. >> reporter: a voice mail that a young man's attorney say was left by jerry sandusky last september. less than two months before sandusky's arrest. two months before he left this message. >> just calling to see, you know, whether you

this is natalie coghlan 2.0. in the slow lane.t's life she wants to redefine from water to her home in lafayette. >> i do want to start a family at some point. i'm not sure if having a family and traveling, if that's something i top the do and at the same time i love being an athlete. >> you bring up family. this is something we have not talked b. do you embrace your filipino heritage? >> yes. my mom's mom is from the philippines. i'm a quarter filipino. if you squint your eyes you can see it in my nose and the calves and the shape of my face. i'm very, very filipino. i grew up, that was what i embraced was my heritage even though i was blond hair and blue eyes growing up. >> endorsements and dancing with the stars outside the pool, is it hard to refocus. are you as hungry as you were before? >> i am, but in a different way. i don't feel like i have anything to prove. that's a wonderful place to be. >> athens, beijing, london, will we do this in brazil? >> no. i hope not. i don't think so. you never know if i will be swimming in b

natalie? >> michelle kaczynski in london for us. thank you. >> now to the texas graduate student attacked by chimps in south africa. today he's being moved to a new hospital in johannesburg. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, willie. andrew oberle is being checked into a new facility here in johannesburg this morning, a bigger hospital in a bigger city, one with an american consulate and perhaps a little more support for andrew and for his parents. still sedated andrew left the hospital where he's been treated for the last week. he was driven to an airfield to be flown to johannesburg, a step closer to home and perhaps a step closer to the recovery the doctors are hopeful he can make. >> we wish him a very speedy recovery and to his parents as well. >> he's being taken to one of the most highly regarded hospitals, where nelson mandela was treated. he was being treated for injuries head to toe. he's thought to have enraged the chimps when stepping beyond a warning fence. the director had to fire a hand gun at nicky. he's

back to natalie, willie. i would have taken the -- >> it's going to be hot tonight. >> it is going to be a good one for sure. more olympic highlights. let's turn to stephanie abrams and take forecast. >> we have more severe weather to talk about, the chance of it into portions of north carolina, also into south carolina today and portions of virginia. look at the radar right now. nothing severe but we see storms firing up. otherwise, we have the threat for severe weather throughout portion of the p upper midwest, and it's a little bit cooler especially in new england, boston. only 83 today. here's a look at what's happening outside your door. >>> we may see a few isolated, strong thunderstorms today but no severe thunderstorms through the area. look at the gorgeous morning sky. this was sent in from one of our weather watchers. gorgeous there. you see some of the sunshine breaking through the clouds. on radar, a few showers around leesburg and montgomery county. after noontime today we could have a few more s

natalie, good morning. >> good morning. as they said, the first two days of competition have been filled with thrilling victories and heartbreaking disappointments. >> michael phelps and ryan lochte, a part of this relay. >> big surprises so far in the pool. sunday night the men's 4 x 100 relay with superstars michael phelps and ryan lochte leading the way. >> i think the americans are set up well. >> the u.s. started strong but lochte couldn't hold the lead in the final second. >> france will outtouch the americans and lochte. >> the u.s. walking a away with silver. france taking gold. >> michael phelps -- >> on saturday phelps and lochte went head to head for the so-called duel in the pool. >> lochte will win. >> lochte crushed the competition scoring his first gold medal of the game. >> it is not michael phelps, the two-time defending olympic champion. dethroned. >> phelps finished fourth without a medal. >> i have a lot of races. the big thing now is putting this behind me and moving on. >> both men are back in the pool

good morning, nick. >> good morning, natalie.efinitely thought about. you say if you are thinking about camping, you've got to think in three different phase. what should you do. >> be prepared, stay safe and have fun. first be prepared. make the commitment to go. easy way to do that. go to a couple of websites, national park service or go camping america.com. plug in zip code, pick your dates and, bang, your off and camping. >> next you say it's important to get the right equipment. you can spend a lot of money if you don't really know what you're doing. >> that's right. >> what are the things you really need. >> gather your gear. on basic level, tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and cooking stove. go onto the website i mentioned and you'll find a list there. other essentials, basically a first aid kit, insect repellant and sunscreen. that's very important. >> being in the great outdoors. >> nobody wants to look like a cooked lobster on the first day and become a crab for the rest of the trip. there's some equipment to gather. yo

drowning death of natalie wood.ve changed the death certificate from accident to undetermined. abc's bazi kanani. >> reporter: for fans of natalie wood, there are more questions this morning about her mysterious death after reports that the police have changed her death certificate from accidental to undetermined. >> it confirmed for what i asked for all along. >> reporter: she wrote a book about the case. along with a key witness, he was there the night wood disappeared more than 30 years ago, on a boating trip with her husband, actor robert wagner and fellow actor christopher walken. the case was reopened last year. >> it wasn't lying. it was just merely not telling them everything. >> reporter: davern said that wood and wagner were fighting that night. wagner refused to allow them to turn on the search leichts to look for him. wagner has always said that her death was an accident. >> what we think happened was she went out on the swim step and slipped. >> reporter: the autopsy found bruises on her arms and legs.

the godfather of go-go is of natalie wood. ti should be arrested for crimes against potted plant-kind. [ clang ] my houshois where plants came to die. ♪ but, turns out all i was missing was miracle-gro potting mix. it's got what a plant needs. even plant food that feeds them for up to 6 months. you get bigger, more beautiful plants. guaranteed. who's got two green thumbs thanks to miracle-e-gro? uh, this gal. boom! everyone grows with miracle-gro. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] virtual wallet can help you be that person who's good with money. see what's free to spend. move moy with a slide. save with a shake. feel good about your decisions. >> the fbi says it is investigating a serious threat travel. someone aimed lasers add to jets landing in san thursday.on the pilots were temporarily blinded. anyone convicted of doing this to $11,000 perup incident. there is a recall tonight of than 300,000 pounds of meat and poultry products. frozenpany is recalling .nd ready-to-eat products the items involved in the recall about a dozen different

by competing here, natalie becomes the first beach volleyballer to compete in every game since the sportade its olympic debut in atlanta 16 years ago. back then, it was considered a -- but now, it's the hottest tick in town. >> prince harry, one of the highest ticketholders. it really is a sport that captures people's minds. it captures their heart. i think everyone plays it at the beach and they go socially and are amazed at how we can do some of the things we do. >> natalie has seen the popularity of beach volleyball spike every year. while that trend continues as it moves to brazil, these games may well be her last. >> you've been watching london live from the bbc. we'll be back after a small break. break. there's plenty more to come.

it is now 8:05, now back to natalie.t cat didn't want to lose one of his nine lives to that sound. >> thank you, tamron. >> saturday night at the morales house. get drunk and sing to the house. >> not at all. your house, right? let's get a check right now at the weather. stephanie abrams in for al this weekend. hey, stef. >> i found ultimate fans, drove all the way from illinois, 20 hours. what did you guys listen to for 20 hours. >> flo rida. >> so dad you're a fan now. >> oh, yeah. >> we are all blinked out and ready for flo rida. as we head throughout the day today, we do have our pick city in tucson, arizona, going to be hot. 98 degrees. you guys are filming out of illinois. that's nothing. satellite and radar, again, through the midwest we could see storms today. otherwise the heat across the country. >> good morning.tory but will be expect very little changed today. temperatures will be close to 100 this afternoon. a slight chance for some >> willie, flo rida brought out a wild crowd. that's all i have to say. >> h

natalie, over to you. >> all right.>> coming up next, how to cope if you're one of the millions of americans facing this brutal heat wave without power. we'll have that right after this. [ male announcer ] food you eat is a blt. food you love is a blt with best foods. it's made with real ingredients like cage-free eggs for the unmistakable taste that can only be best foods. bring out the best. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] not everything powerful has to guzzle fuel. the 2012 e-class bluetec from mercedes-benz. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. ur eyes will do the talking. [announcer:] new revlon® photoready 3d volume™ mascara the round tip brush coats even the tiniest lash. the innovative formula reflects every lash... for a 100% more magnified look. you squashed my willpower like a fly. you looked so innocent and so sweet. convinced my lips that we should meet. you were a relentless flirt. oh no we had indecent dessert. twinkle twinkle hope appears. a s

i'm savannah guthrie alongside al roker, natalie morales and ryan seacrest.t? >> pretty cool. >> what a moment. dana vollmer, she didn't get to the medal stand in 2008 but last night she broke a world record, won the gold and lost one of her swim caps during the race. she held it all together. coming up, what she said about that. >> also there is an olympic sport called racewalking. it looks easy, but we found out it's not so easy. our team takes on racewalking in our tracksuits. >> at least our outfits weren't embarrassing. >> and we'll find out the reaction the brits have to the newest bond girl -- queen elizabeth acting with daniel craig and taking part in one of the most talked-about parts of the opening ceremony. >> it was good. she delivered. first you will deliver the forecast. >> let's see what we have starting with today. we'll be looking at strong storms down through the gulf coast. also up through the upper mississippi river valley. expect plenty of sunshine up and down the west coast. beautiful in the northeast after a rough day yesterday. as we m

. >>> also coming up, natalie coughlin's quest for the london games reaches its final hours, we'll show you what she needs to do to punsm punch her ticket. >>> and we'll show you why this was an unusual ceremony. >>> and good evening from the nbc bay area weather center this evening, we're talking about temperatures warming. in fact, the east bay and the south bay got into the 80s today. san martin, one of the farmer spots, even san jose topping out at 81. if you're making plans to head down to the alameda county fair tomorrow, gorgeous conditions, but hang on, it's about to get toasty. we'll explain after this. [ wife ] your dad's really giving him the business... the designated hitter's the best thing to happen to baseball! but it's not the same game! [ wife ] wow, he's really gonna get us a good deal. it's better! no it's not! the pitcher comes up and he's out! [ dealer ] he can bunt! whatever. but we're good with 0% apr for 60 months? oh, yeah, totally. thank you so much. that must've been brutal. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. at 0% apr for 60 months, no

. >> natalie inside with a check of the headlines. natalie. >> good morning savannah, matt, al. the heat wave on the east coast appears to have broken. for farmers in the heartland real relief won't come until soaking rain. john at a soybean farm. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. these corn plants are about eight feet tall on a good year. can you see what the hot and dry weather has done to them. it is a severe drought in this county at a crucial time for the nation's corn crop. across the nation's corn belt, crops are roasting in the fields. in kansas, this farmer had nothing to harvest. >> a rain today is not going to do us any good. it's over with on corn. mother nature hasn't been very good to us this summer. >> in southern illinois much the same story for dave. >> here we have some corn plants. >> reporter: plants that should be eight feet tall now but there hasn't been a decent rain since april 14th, three months ago. >> it will be next year before we can start over again. we will be -- we will have to make adjustments economically. >> reporter: the federa

>> natalie. >> natalie. very good.talie -- if natalie has to go on vacation, you could fill in for her. okay? good. we only have people fill in who have the same name. thank you. happy birthday. let's see what we've got for you today. we're looking at a risk of strong storms along the mid-atlantic coast. wet weather stretching back into texas. beautiful day in the pacific northwest. sunshine in seattle, 79. 86 degrees, less humid here in new york. look for 93 in beautiful tampa. and as we make our way into los angeles, sunny skies and 82 >> 7:38 on a monday morning. mostly cloudy conditions over the san mateo bridge. we'll get your official traffic report 18 moment. 60 in sunnyvale. 55 in san mateo. we're on the way to a hot afternoon. by noon temperatures already climbing into the low 80s in livermore, you round out the day at 91 in livermore. i wanted to point out we have good air quality overall across the bay area. moderate air quality in the east bay. matt? >> all right, al. thank you very much. coming up next, a

natalie plummer is either a motorist's best friend or a menace to society.ust depends who you ask. just two weeks ago, she was riding her bike along this road, and noticed that houston police were pulling cars over in a speed trap. so she made a sign alerting her fellow texans to avoid getting a ticket. >> i was completely abiding by the law. i was warning other citizens of a situation ahead. >> reporter: but the officer in charge didn't agree and hauled her off to jail. >> he specifically stated multiple times that he was taking me to jail because of that sign and teaching me a lesson. >> reporter: she was charged with standing in the street obstructing traffic, a misdemeanor, and spent 12 hours behind bars. >> i didn't recall jumping in the road. if there's a video of me jumping in the road i would be more than happy to see that. because i don't think it exists. >> reporter: she said that according to texas law the sign is legal. in fact, some states allow drivers to flash their high beams to alert drivers that police are ahead. while other states's laws a

natalie. >> thanks so much, tamron.y scott, is with us exclusively along with their beautiful baby girl, adeline. tommy, good morning. >> good morning. >> she is absolutely precious. wa a little angel. but you have been through so much in these last couple of weeks. first of all, how is amber doing? i understand it sounds like she was being a great mom, got to feed her baby for the first time and hold her over the week yebd. and she's going to see her again today? >> definitely, yeah. today is her birthday. she turns 30 today. after this we're going straight to the hospital to make our second visit. adeline is going to give her a present. we have card for her. she's doing real good, though, amber. she had a great day yesterday. >> yeah, it sounds like -- >> she was able to -- >> i'm sorry. go ahead. >> okay. she had a great day yesterday. she was able to write for the first time. she gives us thumbs up, thumbs down on yes or no commands so she's doing great. >> it sounds like she's making great progress and a happy birt

it's something natalie salazar wishes she forgets. did waves the white part of this size was covered in blood. and set this is the first time she has been to be exact same spot in her neighbor's yard where she found her five year- old political of blood. he was a really big part of our family. natalie says her neighbors and told her she was sick of her dogs and him. did waves and not going to do anything to me. at his home and they say it a bloody breck was found near collapse his body. she told police he was often in his yard and feared he might confront one of his dogs. natalie believes he may be the father of one of montano tepe taste puppies. the waves and next time his puppy is a more than looks exactly like our dog with the foreign rights. we talk tried to talk to him but he would not answer the door. he is currently out on $10,000 bail. >>> he is now 0 address on this box on the mantle next to their family pictures the city can't imagine getting another dog and a plan to be in his preliminary hearing on august 9th in redwood ci

natalie at the news desk. good morning, natalie. >> good morning.ern half of the nation is finally easing up. officials say the streak of record temperatures claimed at least 74 lives nationwide in the past two weeks. now farmers in the midwest are desperate for rain to relieve a drought that sent corn prices soaring 35%. >>> president obama is using a white house address today to push congress for a one-year extension of tax cuts for the middle class only. republicans want to extend those cuts for all americans. meantime the mitt romney campaign is calling renewed criticism of the republican candidate's personal finances, quote, desperate character attacks. >>> let's head to wall street, cnbc's mandy drury at the new york stock exchange. good morning, mandy. >> good morning. days the kickoff of the second car earnings season. companies with the s&p 500 are expected to post a 5.8% rise over last year in terms of their aerpgs. we're hoping earnings will help put the focus back on corporate issue and economy at home instead of ongoing debt crisis in e

i'm natalie morales alongside natalie morales and al roker.d the last games, too. coming up he's going to talk to ryan seacrest and how he feels about his competition. has he a rival in the pool. we'll talk to him in a few months. >> you know what else is almost a competition, the royal watching. william and harry will be very visible. they will be cheering one of their cousins competing in the equestrian event. we'll tell you about other events and get a little lesson about the history of the tower of london. >> speaking of history, we'll look at the tower bridge, part of our backdrop. a lot of people confuse it with the london bridge, like some of those people did. there's a big difference. first we want to bring in mario. always good to see you. thanks for being here. >> thanks have having me, al. >> you captured gold in 2004 when women's saber made it to olympic debut, team usa's first gold medal in fencing in 100 years. four years later you do it in beijing. now going for your third consecutive medal. >> do you get more pressure because y

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

you spoke to natalie. is she keeping her spirits up?> reporter: my gosh, she has such a good positive attitude. i know deep down this is confusing to her and a bit hurtful. a lot going on. just in case you missed it essentially natalie coughlin was benched by her own team. she wasn't allowed to swim in the finals. in the finals they did win a bronze medal so natalie does win a bronze. however, she didn't really take part in the finals. she took part in the preliminaries. the next question is what happens now. we've been around the world with her. she won 12 medals, a record for an american female athlete. she could retire. seems that team usa is nudging her out of the picture by taking her off the team there for the final race. the question is why would they do that? especially since her coach for team usa is also her personal coach in berkeley. >> there are a lot of factors that go into it. i think we were swimming pretty evenly, if you factor in our relay take-offs and everything. our times are pretty even. i think part of it is havin

natalie. >> good morning to you and everyone.the death penalty against movie theater shooter james holmes. with his dyed orange hair he made his first court appearance. he and dazed and didn't speak. he's accused of killing 12 people and injured 58. his family said they are standing by their son but issued a statement that their hearts go out to the families. >>> penn state handed a penalty for failing to protect children against accused sex abuser jerry sandusky, fined $60 million, banned from bowl play for four years and stripped of all football victories from 1998 to 2011. the ncaa stopped short of suspending the football program. >>> a jury could be seated by the end of the day for the drew peterson murder trial. the former chicago area police chief accused of killing his wife. police began investigating the disappearance of his fourth wife. >>> navy investigators said monday a civilian shipyard worker in maine confessed to torching a nuclear submarine in may and setting another fire last month so he could get out of work ear