and now simone biles. soaring to new heights and changing the game. 18-year-old maya reimers couldn't be more pleased. a junior olympic qualifier she's college bound on a gymnastics scholarship and grateful to simone and others who helped the sport cross color lines. >> you shouldn't feel like you're not able to join a sport because of your skin color. it's a sport for everyone. so if she's able to inspire, then that's amazing. >> reporter: the changing face of the world's best gymnasts inspiring a new generation of young american girls. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >>> we look forward to seeing some of them on the podium someday. that's going to do it for us on a thursday night. i'm lester holt. a reminder, nbc primetime olympic coverage starts at 8:00, 7:00 central with another big night in swimming and gymnastics. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night from rio. >>> right now at 6:00, teammates and friends turn into rivals. four high profile olympians taking to the mat and

and now simone biles. soaring to new heights and changing the game. 18-year-old maya reimers couldn't be more pleased. a junior olympic gymnastics scholarship and grateful to simone and others who helped the sport cross color lines. >> you shouldn't feel like you're not able to join a sport because of your skin color. it's a sport for everyone. so if she's able to inspire, then that's amazing. >> reporter: the changing face of the world's best gymnasts inspiring a new generation of young american girls. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >>> 12 news in rio giving you all access to team usa men's basketball practice. >>> recreational pot in arizona one step closer to reality. >>> mccain versus word the senate race. >>> monsoon 2016 relentless rain leads to flooding. >>> two valley cities some of the pet friendly across america. >>> good evening thanks for joining us. it has been another big night for team usa coming up. the rio games, a look at some of the big event. >>> vanessa breweries here with a preview

although just 4 foot 8, simone biles is not to be underestimated. despite her size, simone's packed with power. refined, concentrated power. tide. number 1 rated. >> announcer: "today's olympic start" is sponsored by kellogg's. what gets you started. >>> and we're back now with "today's olympic start." this morning, the u.s. gymnast who went from an alternate to a star. >> yes, he certainly did. danny leyva scored two silver medals on tuesday, one for his nearly flawless routine on the parallel bars, the other on the horizontal bar. and he is with us now. >> congratulations. >> how are you? congratulations, honey. >> i mean, you weren't even going to be here. you were an alternate, and you end up walking away with those two silver medals. who's going to play you in the movie? i mean, this is really, it's like a fantasy. >> hopefully, i play myself in the movie. that be cool. >> did you feel like you had something to prove, that you needed to prove, you deserve to be here? >> um, in a way, you know. i wasn't really -- that wasn't really my mind-set. i

call from a social worker saying that simone and her sister and brother, they were in a foster home back in ohio. i said, well, send them to me. >> reporter: ron biles, simone's biological grandfather and his wife nelly brought the kids down to houston, eventually adopting them. not long off, simone was jumping off the walls, the furniture and just about everything else. >> she was so tiny and it scared me to death, but it did not scare her at all. >> reporter: there was no other option, at age 6, she started gymnastics. >> the kids at school could never do like cartwheels and stuff like that, but i could always do them on the playground, so i thought that was pretty cool. >> reporter: younger sister adria is a gymnast too, they are extremely close and typical sisters. family meals are a chorus of giggles. like most teenagers simone's bedroom is her sanctuary, lots of trophies and lots of purple, along with a life-sized poster of actor zac efron. >> i used to come in and kiss him. >> you come in and give him a little kiss? >> yeah, it's a little strange. >> reporter: that playful spirit is a big part of who simone is. watch as she outruns a bee at t

simone biles. >> and we have a feeling that the anthem simone biles is about to hear, may not be the last time she stands atop the podium in rio. she has three more events. the vault on sunday. the beam on monday. and the floor on tuesday. she c prance out of here, as the case may be, with five gold medals. aly raisman is back in competition in the floor on tuesday. and she is the defending olympic gold medalist in that event. she won it in london in 2012. >> ladies and gentlemen, the anthem of the united states of america. ?? ?? >> teammates, close friends, medalists tonight in rio, biles and raisman. that brings us to a look at the medal count of day six. presented by m journeys toward olympic gold. another big day and night for the americans, with five golds overall. while the united states owns more gold medals than any other country in olympic history, fiji won a gold in rugby for its first medal of any kind. a nation with a population less than delaware, fiji loves rugby like no other sport. children grow up with a ball in their hands. entire villages huddle around radios and s

of course, we saw her signature move, the simone biles, the second half turn in a move that goes twicee floor. it's a move that no one can touch her with, not even the men. simone only the fifth lady to walk wei with four golds in one olympic games. still a remarkable achievement. meanwhile, in women's usa basketball, the team brushed aside another close one. but japan hung tough in the first half with incredible pace. and tempo trailing the u.s. by just 10 points at halftime but that was as far as they got. 20 minutes later, and the u.s. taking then by a landslide 110-64. and their winning streak of 47 games at the olympics intact. as well as that bid for a sixth consecutive olympic gold still on the cards. now, after completing his first leg of his bid to win the triple-triple here in rio, usain bolt look on track to take the 200 meters. the lightning bolt strolled his way through the heat terse. 20.28 seconds on tuesday. confirming afterwards that he even jogged the final 50 meters. he was that far ahead. he's also looking to go sub-19 seconds in an attempt to break the world's reco

simone biles has completely upended the sport of gymnastics. >> they call that untouchable. call simone, the michael jordan of her sport, making the 4'9", 19-year-old a little uncomfortable. >> i just don't feel like i'm up to the expectation yet, so i kind of just blow it off. >> reporter: what makes her even more remarkable is her story. simone's mother struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and her father was never really there. by age 3, she was in foster care. >> i got a call from a social worker saying that simone and her sister and ot back in ohio. i said, well, send them to me. >> reporter: ron biles, simone's biological grandfather and his wife nelly brought the kids down to houston, eventually adopting them. not long off, simone was jumping off the walls, the furniture and just about everything else. >> she was so tiny and it scared me to death, but it did not scare her at all. >> reporter: there was no other option, at age 6, she started gymnastics. >> the kids at school could never do like could always do them on the playground, so i thought that was pretty coo

there is a $50,000 reward for any information that leads to a >>> simone biles and michael phelps on the cover of sports illustrated. they're inspiring a new generation of athletes here in the valley. plus simone meets her celebrity crush. >>> bethanie mattek-sands returns to the valley sharing what it feels like to win on a big old. >>> taking you behind the scenes of the today show. >> this is really about as good as it gets. >> matt lauer and hoda kotb >>> 12 news back in rio. gymnast lori hernandez making the internet very happy. our friends over at the today show asked her parents what their reaction was after seeing this adorable throwback video. check it out. >> i remember the beauty, a lot of people would come out and comment on lori and what she was doing and how they thought at that age that she was going to do some great things. >> i didn't know the sport. i just enjoyed watching her. i felt it was know, look at are doing all these leaps and all this stuff. as a dad it was like, i get to see my daughter and all, but i'm a little biased. she is my daughter. but i didn't thin

so yes, people are feeling the love and certainly americans love simone biles even more tonight. she's tiny in stature, but a jien giant in her -- giant in her sport considered the best ever, aiming for a fourth gold medal in these rio olympics in the floor exercise, she delivers a near perfect score to win gold. teammate raisman not too far behind, winning silver. biles is the first to win four gold medal in a single olympics. >> that's what we were hoping for, i hi everyone back home is very proud. >> reporter: it would not be olympics without a boxing controversy, the judging under american fighter russell lost his quarter final fight to a boxer from uzbekistan but most of those warching thought -- watching thought russell dominated the flight. floyd mayweather was actually in attendance and says the system's still broken. >> once you put the right people in the right place, and make certain things happen, we can clean the sport up. we can get younger officials not biased. >> reporter: and by the way, the last time mayweather lost a bo m in the olympics 20 years ago, and even

with simone biles. she won the gold over aly raisman by the margin of victory 2.1. now just to put that into perspective, that's larger than the margin of women's all around from 1980 to 2012 combined. >> i'm feeling a whirlwind of emotions, excited, happy, and proud of both me and aly. >> i'm very, very happy, and i'm so excited we went 1-2. that's crazy. >> crazy says aly raisman. she got the silver behind simone biles. emotional night for her as well. the u.s. taking the top two incredible achievement we have not seen since 2008. simone biles says she's not the next michael phelps, she's the first simone biles. she is taking her own place in history. can we talk about the dual in the pool since i mentioned phelps? >> she is the first simone biles, and she has her own moves, new is probably the last time we will see two of the greatest swimmers battled in the olympics. for the last 13 years, michael phelps and ryan locht held the top spot for the 200- meter medley, but this time it goes to phelps. the

power along with simone biles. laura: give us what it is like to mount the podium with that gold medal. it is overwhelming, something you dream about since you were a young girl. my dreams began when i was 10 or 11 years old and simone probably have the same dream when she was young. it was overwhelming and she probably didn't realize it was actually an olympics games and she has 2 olympic gold medals, and standing twice with the national anthem and her hand over her heart and feeling her heart the hardest it has ever beaten. laura: many of us are watching from our couches the gymnastics but how much pressure is there on these women to perform when you have the few seconds for the routine you have been practicing for years? dominique: you have to think about it. we are sitting from the comfort of our couches and my husband and i were speaking earlier that we were watching water polo, feet kicked back, how leisurely we are enjoying this wonderful game about how strenuous these athletes are in the pool and a gym and

that put a big smile on the face of one simone biles. what started as a crush and cardboard cutout -- >> sometimes i used to kiss him on the cheek. >> nancy: you'd come in and just give him a little kiss. >> yes. >> nancy: now a full-blown love affair. gold medalist simone biles can now say she's kissed the real zac efron. the actor flattered when he found out about the world champion's feelings for him, tweeting the night of the team final, "of course i'm watching the final five dominate the floor." several gold medals later, not only had biles' olympic dreams come true, but her daydream, as well. efron was in rio to surprise her the cheek, just to let everyone know." they had to do a retake. "i thought he were taking a picture, and then he kissed me instead." the world champion on cloud nine. we also saw some big smiles from the rest of the final five when they met the actor, but as for biles, her future for the star looks bright, tweet, "just calling me mrs. efron already." >> nancy: they sure move fast. >> sarah: i bet all the girls

. >> simone biles and her long time coach are parting ways. coming up, why that's a good thing for gymnasts in the bay area. >> plus, think your dog the reason you might be onto something. >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching newschannel8. >> many dog lovers swear their dogs understand them. now there is some proof. researchers in hungary says the dogs understand the meaning and intonation of the words we say. they sit still in a scanner and they speak about familiar and unfamiliar sounds to the dogs in various tones. brain scans show the dogs processed and understood sounded. >>> simone biles astounded the world in the rio games. now, her long time coach has moved to sarasota to train the next generation. now that amy boarman beginning a new journey in sarasota, she sat down with us to talk about her future. john rogers, this is exciting! >> reporter: oh, it certai has an eye for talent. she tells me from day one, it was evident there was something very special about simone biles. >> the cheer leaders have great spring floor

the night team's nancy chen live in rio with the dynamic duo, nancy. >> reporter: aly raisman, simone biles walking away with silver and gold standing high above all others. better than their best. >> tremendous. r for team usa. >> she makes everything looks so easy. >> reporter: biles and raiseman owned the floor. >> with that routine guarantees her a medal. >> reporter: alley sticking the landing of every twist and tumble. >> i'm so happy for you. so now you stand alone as the second most decorated american gymnast of all time. how does that sound? amazing shannon miller is the most decorated. she was one of my favorite gymnasts. i looked up to her. >> reporter: alley's olympic tally of 6 put next to shannon's 7. >> if you asked me a few months ago i would have said i was done. yesterday we were talking and i'm going to take a break and i mean never say never. >> reporter: team simone boun medal on the beam to show dominance. how did you feel during all of this? >> i felt good. ended on a good note. >> reporter: for alley it's better than she could have imagined. >> this surpassed my expe

simone biles is not ato be underestimated., despite her size, simone's packed with power. power. that's why she trusts tide pods. she knows small, can be powerful. tide. number 1 rated. ♪ go >>> we are back with all the olympics excitements in rio. one of these superstars everyone is watching, swimmer katie ledecky smashing her own world records. abc's matt gutman has more from rainy rio. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning, amy. now to say that katie ledecky might be the greatest athlete ever might sound like a stretch but we broke down the science and a little bit of math and figured out her margins of victory are simply off the charts. >> she has olympic gold. >> reporter: katie ledecky's performance is measured in the records she shatters. >> that is what you call racing. >> reporter: at 5'11" she's only just average standing next to her swimming sisters but there's nothing common about this human engine in the pool. >> there she goes. >> reporter: just watch her stunning gold medal winning performance from sunday. hitting the wall a full five seconds ahead o

danell leyva won silver medals in both the parallel and horizontal bar, while simone biles and aly raisman finished and then had even more fun. >> yeah, because during the women's competition, we were working on a big surprise for simone and the rest of the final five with zac efron. this is going to be so -- >> notice how her voice goes up like four octaves when she says that? >> this is part of our special real edition of "make your today." take a look. in rio's olympic arena, simone biles was getting ready for one >> when she nails it, like she normally does, it's just fun. >> but little did she know just how good it was going to get, because just a stone throw's away, zac efron, her crush whose life-size likeness she has in her bedroom, is here to surprise here in rio. it's happening. you're here at the olympics, and you know who's going to totally freak out. >> simone. she's awesome. >> we're going to sneak in there, we'll we'll do the surprise after. >> cool, cool, awesome. >> are you ready? we had to hide zac in a room in the national broadcast center near the venue where we watched

simone biles is the greatest gymnast that ever walked this planet. >> no pressure. no buildup. >> i think she's going to go away from these games with five gold medals. there are only six to be had. >> wow. >> high praise from a couple of people who really know the sport. nastia, tim, thank you so much. we'll hear from simone biles women's team go for that gold along with michael phelps and katie ledecky during nbc's prime time coverage at 8:00, 7:00 central here on nbc. right now let's send it back to new york and savannah. >> let's start with the presidential race. election day now just 90 days away and our new poll just out this morning shows hillary clinton opening up a double digit advantage. 51-41 over donald trump. this is clinton's largest lead yet in our nbc news survey o she's above 50%. nbc's hallie jackson is in north carolina where trump has two events today. hallie, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. as we look at those new numbers, we're also looking at donald trump losing more support from inside his own party. another member of congr

simone biles getting the chance to meet her hollywood crush. here's 7's nancy chen with more. >> nancy: what started as a crush and a cardboard cutout. >> sometimes i used to kiss him on the cheek. >> sarah: you'd come in and just give him a little kiss. >> yes. >> nancy: now a full-blown love affair. gold medalist simone biles can now say she's kissed the real champion's feelings for him, tweeting the night of the team final, "of course i'm watching the final five dominate the floor." several gold medals later, not only had biles' olympic dreams come true but her day treatment, too. ephron was in rio to greet her on the "today show" set. "he kissed me on the cheek," she left everyone know. "i thought he were taking a picture, and then he instead." we also saw big smiles from the rest of the final five when they met the actor, but as for biles, her future for the star looks bright, tweet, "just call me mrs. ephron already." the girls also say ephron invited them to have pizza with them, so we'll be on the lookout for more pictures inch rio, nan

simone biles. >> and we have a feeling that the anthem simone biles is about to hear, may not be the last time she stands atop the podium in rio. she has three more events. the vault on sunday. the beam on monday. and the floor ones prance out of here, as the case may be, with five gold medals. aly raisman is back in competition in the floor on tuesday. and she is the defending olympic gold medalist in that event. she won it in london in 2012. >> ladies and gentlemen, the anthem of the united states of ?? ?? >> teammates, close friends, medalists tonight in rio, biles and raisman. that brings us to a look at the medal count of day six. presented by m supporting athletes on their journeys toward olympic gold. another big day and night for the americans, with five golds overall. while the united states owns more gold medals than any other country in olympic history, fiji won a gold in rugby for its first medal of any kind. a nation with a population less than delaware, fiji loves rugby like no other sport. children grow up with a ball in their hands. entire villages huddle around play.

simone biles and needham's own aly raisman in tears of joy there. they took home the gold and silver respectively in the individual all-around final. really just a dominant performance by team u.s.a. >> sarah: an emotional raisman celebrating silver after being denied an all-around medal four years ago 7's nancy chen has all the highlights now from rio. >> nancy: american dominance on display in the women's individual all-around gymnastics final. needham native aly raisman seizing silver. i was there when she stepped off the podium. >> thank you. >> nancy: the entire arena erupted for you. you seemed emotional, as well. >> yes, it was so special, they whole entire arena, they were screaming and cheering and not being in the u.s. it's so amazing, i'll never ever forget it. >> nancy: teammate simone biles crowned the world champion. >> i'm feeling a whirlwind of emotion, excited, happy, proud of both me and aly, because we both went out there tonight and we both did our jobs. i couldn't ask for anything more. >> nancy: but this was a fight to the fini

." >> alley razeman the most decorated gymnastics for the games and her teammate, simone biles and considered the greatest jam -- gymnast and she hopes the third time is the charm and continues to chase third olympic games. i'm trey daerr. there is plenty of local intrigue in the first full day of competition with elizabeth beisel in the medley and the one and only event in rio. getting a hug from michael phelps, the most decorated lamian of all time and and -- decorated olympian. the two time olympian and cambridge boat club coming on top in heat two in the victims skulls advancing to tuesday's quarterfinals. four years ago, alley razeman was the most decorated gymnast and hoping to add to the returning as team captain for the second straight olympics. >> along with gabby douglas, alley razeman is the first u.s. gymnast to make it to the second olympics in 16 years, which was not easy, but she said it was worth it. it would have been easy for alley razeman to walk away from the olympics in london taking photo shoots, endorsements, red carpets and a turn on "dancing with the stars" but throug

and that program will include my interview with simone biles and aly raisman.. ♪ >>> nothing but gold. michael phelps grabs his fourth medal in rio, plus, we take you inside this tricked out spot where team usa spends time away from competition. >>> new era begins. carson went makes his debut. >>> bicycle backlash. cyclists are redding red lin la lights. >>> we get with the sweltering heat. our region is dealing with temperatures that feel like triple digits. and it will only get hotter as we head into the weekend. sheena parveen is tracking this. in it is only going to get hotter as we go into the weekend. it felt as hot as 103 in philadelphia. tomorrow feeling as hot as 105. look at the weekend temperatures, mid to upper 90s. humidity will make us feel around 107 on saturday, maybe 106 on sunday. the bottom of the screen has days outlined in red. those are the first alert days we have for pennsylvania, new jersey and delaware. across the entire weekend, the humidity making it feel like 100 to 110 degrees. most of the areas dry. we're watching thunderstorms th

simone biles springing into action. and grabbing that coveted title in rio, winning the women's individual all-around gold medal. standing tall at just 4'9", the 19-year-old, unstoppable, defying gravity, flipping and flying through the air. landing, a champion. joining the pantheon of great,s and of course her teammate gabby douglas. >> a dream come true for the ohio native. >> i was just a really hyperkid and i was always bouncing off the walls. so gymnastics fit perfectly and i didn't try any other sports. gymnastics chose me. i've loved it every since. >> her signature flip aptly named the biles. on the second flip she does a >> i believe it's the most difficult routine ever performed in the short of gymnastics. >> her teammate aly raisman, impressing with the silver second. biles relishing the victory with her teammates, leaving rio with that coveted medal and a taste of triumph. news.com and our "nightline" facebook page. >> coming up, it's the 100th episode of "comics unleashed" with your host byron allen. tonigh

and simone biles winning her first gold. i began by asking what it was like to be her at that moment. >> what's it like to be me? right now it feels like i'm going to cry every minute. but i remember i'm an ugly crier, so i can't do that. >> you did get emotional. and we haven't seen lot. >> yes. >> what about that moment brought the tears? >> it's something you've dreamed of for so long and it finally happens and it hits you and you have a rush of emotion that you can't even control. >> and aly, everybody likes a good redemption story, how was it for you? >> it's been a hard road, but me and simone kept saying, we're going to go one-two. >> watching the two of you genuinely supporting each other, what was going on down in the way we competed, and to share that moment together, it's amazing. >> and you're competing against each other, you're also rooting for each other. what's that like? >> it's nice because obviously everyone knew that simone was going to win. we went one-two the first day, so that was the goal. i feel like

simone biles. >> and we have a feeling that the anthem simone biles is about to hear, may not be the last time she stands atop the podium in rio. she has three more events. the vault on sunday. the beam on monday. and the prance out of here, as the case may be, with five gold medals. aly raisman is back in competition in the floor on tuesday. and she is the defending olympic gold medalist in that event. she won it in london in 2012. >> ladies and gentlemen, the anthem of the united states of ? ? >> teammates, close friends, medalists tonight in rio, biles and raisman. that brings us to a look at the medal count of day six. presented by m supporting athletes on their journeys toward olympic gold. another big day and night for the americans, with five golds overall. while the united states owns more gold medals than any other country in olympic history, fiji won a gold in rugby for its first medal of any kind. a nation with a population less than delaware, fiji loves rugby like no other sport. children grow up with a ball in their hands. entire villages huddle around play. and today, f

simone biles got two major crash, zac ephron.cond straight olympics, america's christian taylor and bill clay finished first and second image on finals. they repeated their performances from the 2012 london games. taylor went on his first job. after the race they went into the stands and propose to his girlfriend. why did she say? she said yes. settings will not win for gold beach volleyball medals in the road. they were beaten by a team from brazil early this morning. resilience will face a team from germany for the gold medal. another easy win for the u.s. basketball team. they beat japan 110-64. they will play france on thursday. the u.s. has a big lead in the medal count with 84 ahead of china. 51 for china. great written with safety. late in a stadium. in this guide and on the blue jays back. is he the first storm delay admitted the blue jays scored eight runs to beat the new york yankees 12-6. back on top of the al east ahead of all to our boston. lauren: former boston red sox pitcher curt schilling may throw his hat into t

great time for a rio edition of "trending." >> absolutely. >> all the talk in rio has been about simone biles and her "the new york times" took a look at the science behind the superstar gymnast. she designed a move that's one of the most difficult seen in the sports. it's called the biles. it's a double lay out with a half twist and blind landing. simone first performed it back in 2013. no other gymnast has even tried it in competition. so, hoda, how does she do it? simone's starting run is harder and faster than others so she can take fewer steps and generate more power. that and do more with her routine. while she stands at only 4'8", simone reaches double that height in her floor program. experts also say she has probably better wiring in her nervous system giving her better motor skills. >> incredible. >> my system gets nervous when i watch her. >> exactly. did you happen to see that sweet on social media. it shows his grandma back home in a nursing home. she's 95 years old. look at what she's carrying. her very own olympic torch. ryan saying she's representing team usa and no doubt she

more gold. >> more gold from simone biles. she's phenomenon on the balance beam. she's got the most difficulty. her floor routine is spectacular. her biggest competition on the floor will be her teammate aly raisman. >> could we see a medal sweep? >> no, only two on each event but could see a gold on beam and i hope laurie gets in there. this is her opportunity to shine and now a professional athlete so she wants to get out there. >> she is so lovely. >> they're kids. >> we saw that when you were talking to them about celebrity -- blake lively. they want -- who wouldn't want to go shopping with her? but how do you help keep them grounded because you and your teammates, you've done a wonderful job. there is a lot of attention -- a lot of our young audience are staring at the monitors at the final five. >> you know, the best advice i can give them and heard they're had that same experience 20 years ago, and i remember when i walked into the grocery store and i saw myself and my teammates on a cereal box, and it was a surreal experience and my grocery shopping experi

this is simone biles. the numbers work for her. >> some days i train 5 or 6 so at the end of the week i trained 32 hours. >> reporter: she has dedicated countless hours to perfecting her routines on each apparatus, time that the times she will perform at any given event. each discipline at a gam nas tick competition is over 90 seconds after it begins. >> we put in 32 hours a week to compete the one roundine. once outhit, it feels amazing so all those showers were worth it. >> reporter: they have been for biles. >> that is a 10. absolutely, positively a perfect 10 execution! >> simone biles. >> twisting double. >> double layout with a half twist at the end. >> two and a half times around. full twisting double back somer saturday. >> is that going to be a huge number. [applause] >> far and away the best gymnast on planet reporter: as s up for rio and faces the culmination of her 13 years of training she what it has added up to. all the hours and all the dedication, all the fun and experiences i've had. it al