brave unpredictable weather, currents and, yes, shark-infested waters. today, monday, august 8th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. it's about 7:00 on the west coast. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry. good morning. investors are weighing in on the downgrade. they're not happy. >> no, they're not. the dow down about 200 points following a weekend of finger-pointing in washington over the cause of that downgrade. president obama's treasury secretary, tim geithner, lashed out saying standard & poor's showed terrible judgment and a stunning lack of knowledge. straight ahead, the latest on what's happening on wall street with cnbc's jim cramer and maria bartiromo. also ahead this morning, the sci joins the manhunt for two young brothers and their sister. the trio is accused of shooting at lis police during a high-speed chase in florida and brazenly robbing a bank in georgia. the ominous message wasn't sent to their mother. and new concerns for parents, as if we don't have enough concerns, but these are for the parents who make their children school lunches. a new study has found an astounding 90% of those lunches are not kept at the right temperatures even if you use those little ice packs. you know what that means -- bacteria and bad food. how can you guard ens it? more on that. also ahead this morning, the mystery woman in this iconic image of elvis presley. for 55 years, his fans have wondered just who she is. this morning we're going to meet her exclusively live in our studio. but first, let's begin with how wall street is reacting to the downgrading of the u.s. credit rating. cnbc's jim cramer and maria bartiromo join us. good morning. >> good morning. >> where is the market now? >> well, it's kind of holding in. it's actually holding at some of the levels we saw on friday. there was an element at the initial minute of panic, a lot of retail orders coming in, people at home, a lot of people thought we would be down substantially more than we are. i actually take that as quite heartening, ann. quite heartening. >> what do you think, maria? >> the market initially down turned to 50 points, because there's a lot of confusion out there. people are trying to figure out how to invest in an environment where the u.s. economy is quite fragile and perhaps worsening going into the second half of the year. >> we need to mention for the first time ever gold is now selling at $1,700 an ounce. that is the highest the price of gold has ever been. jim, it sounds like people are, however, looking for shelter. >> gold has become an integral part of many people's portfolio worldwide because the paper currency is being debased by almost everyone. i still think gold is in a good position for people's portfolio. but if you see gold come down today, i believe you'll see stocks go up because gold is a sign of chaos right now. you'll see it in gold. that should embolden people to come in from the sidelines and buy high-quality, multinational companies that pay good dividends. >> i think one could argue one would try to prevent chaos, tim geithner saying over the weekend that standard & poor's downgrading was terrible judgment show, quote, a stunning lack of knowledge about basic u.s. fiscal budget mass. do you think the smart money is taking some of that into account this morning? >> well, i mean, there is a debate about ratings agencies. we know that after many of them miss sod much during the subprime crisis. having said that, some of what the secretary said was spin because the fact is we have major issues in this country and we are spending more than we're taking in. so the structural issues that are behind the actual downgrade are very real, and we need to get our arms around our financial house and get things in order in order for investors to have confidence to invest in this market. >> a lot of people very worried about interest rates. what can you tell people? >> i think interest rates will probably move higher. we're at rock-bottom rates right now. even if we see a one percentage point move the the next six months to a year, you're still talking about relatively low rates. the economy is still fragile, so rates should stay relatively low for some time. but no doubt with nervousness like this surrounding treasuries, rates will probably go higher. >> part of that nervousness is because there's a threat of a further downgrade. what should americans be thinking about hearing about that threat? >> i think they have to recognize that rather than attack the ms.essenger campaign that geithner is embarking on, they should be looking for signs of any getting together by the special committee, anything so the government recognizes this is a warning shot from the s&p should be viewed by people at home as our country getting serious and that will help. most of the other countries don't have our kind of rating anyway. you won't see rates spike up. but people at home have to be saying, government, please compromise. >> on that point, the s&p decision basically said in making the downgrade, it said government must take a broad approach, raising revenues and cutting entitlements. this is an interesting comment given the politics. >> it's amazing to me we have not seen more of an effort to cut these entitlements and cut back spending. i mean, that we all know is really where much of the money is spent. at some point, as tough a decision as this is, we are going to have to cut back on medicare, medicaid, and social security. this is where the money is being spent. it just doesn't add up. >> okay, maria bartiromo, jim cramer, thank you so much. 7:06. here's matt. >> we're also following another huge story this morning, deadliest single loss for u.s. forces in afghanistan. coalition troops have secured the site where a chinook was shot down over the weekend, killing 30 americans. richard engel is in kabul with the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. witnesses have been describing this attack. the taliban has been talking about it. but until recently the u.s. military has been very tightlipped about what happened on that secretive operation that ended with the deaths of so many americans. before dawn on saturday, a senior u.s. military official said elite rangers launched to attack a taliban compound. the rangers arrived by helicopter in the tangi valley about 60 miles southwest of kabul. the valley has steep sides of blue shale, almost impenetrable by road. it's a known taliban stronghold. a taliban spokesman tells nbc news 12 of its fighters are in the compound during the assault. they fight hard as soon as the u.s. troops arrive. the taliban says the firefight lasts 30 to 40 minutes before a twin-rotor chinook helicopter is is called in, full of reinforcements. on board are mostly u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s, among the most secretive and deadly of american special operations forces. u.s. military officials tell nbc news as the reinforcements arrive on the target, the chopper goes down, apparently hit by enemy fire. the taliban say one of their fighters fires an rpg from as close as 150 yards away. it hits the chinook, apparently a lucky shot by the unguided rocket. a witness says the helicopter crashes in the valley by a riverbank. after it crashed, it caught fire, a huge fire. we were not able to come out during the night because the americans were around . in the morning, we saw the american bodies, he says. helicopters are especially vulnerable during takeoff and landing, when they fly low and slowly. >> helicopters, no matter how they're outfitted, no matter how well they're armored, are particularly at risk at the beginning and the end of operations. >> reporter: 30 americans are killed on the helicopter, including 22 navy s.e.a.l.s. some of the s.e.a.l.s were from the same unit that killed osama bin laden in pakistan. but u.s. military officials say they weren't involved in the afghanistan raid. >> it's around 300 people. this is a huge blow. but these are very tough, determined people. they'll replace rapidly out of the several thousand s.e.a.l.s in the navy, and it won't impact their operations at all. >> reporter: with the chopper down, fighting erupts again. the battle lasts until nearly 3:00 a.m. the taliban says eight of its fighters are killed, four escaped. nato officials, matt, have now confirmed that the chinook helicopter was shot by an rpg. matt? >> richard engel in kabul, afghanistan, on this story for us this morning. richard, thank you very much. it's nine minutes after the hour. here's ann. >> all right, matt. thank you. the grief is particularly acute in one san diego community. nbc's jim miklaszewski is there with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. as you can see by the aircraft carrier "carl vincent" san diego is a huge navy town. coronado is the west coast base for the navy s.e.a.l.s, and many here who live and breathe the military are still in shock. here in coronado, the small island community took the news hard. i just felt like i was meting. i didn't know what to say or do. i think everyone feels that way right now. >> reporter: in a flash, 30 american forces, including 22 navy s.e.a.l.s, were killed. at the navy memorial in washington, where mourners pay tribute, former s.e.a.l. john maguire said the number of victims doesn't end there. >> it's been a tough weekend, you know, because there are wives involved, mothers involved, children involved. tough times. >> reporter: and who are these heroes who fought in the shadows for so long? 30-year-old navy s.e.a.l. aaron vaughn of virginia beach left a wife and two young children. his family calls him a devout christian but a hardened warrior. his grandmother, geneva, says he loves to hunt. >> he was going to come back and see granny and go hunting. that's the last thing he told me. >> reporter: s.e.a.l. kevin houston, also 30, wanted to be a s.e.a.l. since the fifth grade and swam with a knife in his teeth for early training. cousin teresa hayes calls it a commitment he held to his death. >> he said this is what i had to do. >> reporter: for some, it was a twist of fate. air force tech sergeant john brown's mother calls him a gentle giant who wanted to go into medicine. elizabeth newland says her son instead became a medic for special operations forces. >> if there is a comfort in this situation, i'm so proud of my son, so very proud of him. >> reporter: for sergeant patrick hanburger with the nebraska air national guard, it was simply bad timing. he had been in afghanistan only two weeks. as president obama returned to the white house sunday, this tragedy is sure to renew the political debate over the entire afghanistan war and the withdrawal of american forces. but at coronado, former navy s.e.a.l. ryan mccomebie says the nation must first grieve. >> these men are national treasures, irreplaceable. you don't find them everywhere. so this was a tragedy for the entire country. >> reporter: the u.s. military aircraft that will carry all 30 of the service members remains are expected to arrive at dover air force base in delaware tomorrow for that dignified ceremony that will bring these service members home for the last time. matt? >> jim miklaszewski in san diego this morning. mik, as always, thank you very much. kimberly vaughn's husband, aaron, was one of the navy s.e.a.l.s who died in that attack. she's here with us along with his parents. please accept my condolences. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> kimberly, even as i express my condolences to you, and mr. and mrs. vaughn, i was reading last night that you think we should start by making sure that our condolences are expressed to all the families who are grieving this morning because aaron truly felt he was a member of the team. >> exactly. although i'm able to be here this morning and i'm thankful to share aaron's story, the other people have also lost their loved ones and they're feeling no less grief than i am. >> mr. vaughn, i was reading about your son. and, boy, he was an impressive young man as a child, as a young adult, as a son, as a father, as a husband. he was a young man who stood out. why did he want to be a s.e.a.l.? >> matt, i can just tell you that after 9/11 aaron told me and his mother that he wanted to be a s.e.a.l. and he said that he had wanted to ever since he was a little boy. and aaron, if i can just say it, god bless him, he loved his country, he loved god, he loved kimberly, and he loved reagan and chamberlain, and he honestly believed and saw black and white that what we were involved in, and he told me this, is a war for survival of our republic. aaron knows that the war, islamic fundamentalism, radicalism has gone on for hundreds of years if not thousands. and it can be traced through history. and he felt, and so did the other members of his team, felt that the very existence of our republic is at stake. and because of that, aaron was willing to give his life. and what i have to say is that s.e.a.l. team six, i just know those men felt the same way and they see it clearly, they see it black and white. so many of us don't. aaron told me right out of his own mouth that he had a class where he said, dad, there's three kinds -- the man told us there are three kinds of people in the world, sheep dogs, sheep, and wolves. i can honestly say that s.e.a.l. team six are the desheep dogs. sheep dogs always see the warning, black and white, clearly. most of us are sheep. we don't usually see it. >> karen -- >> and there are some wolves out there -- >> go ahead, sir. i'm sorry. >> there are wolves out there, and aaron explained it to me. and, you know, it's really strange, matt, that -- that 90 some odd days ago s.e.a.l. team six had a big victory and possibly sheep in higher places said thinkgs what made many of s very uncomfortable. and now some 90 some odd days later s.e.a.l. team six has suffered a terrible tragedy. i just pray that during these last days, these next days, they will allow s.e.a.l. team six, the wives, the children, the families to grieve, to bury their dead, and not make it political. >> karen, you -- you said something over the weekend that really struck me. you said, now, if there is anything good to come out of this for the first time you get to talk about the amazing things that aaron did in his life and his career with the s.e.a.ls because there's a huge code of secrecy here and now you get to brag a little about him. what are you most proud of in terms of his accomplishments? >> well, i'm most proud of aaron's humility and his nobility. but more than anything, i'm most proud of the way he loved god and how important his faith was to him. and you know, aaron, everything he did, like you said, was secret and it just feels really strange right now that only in his death can we celebrate who he was in his life. it's very -- it's a very difficult concept to understand. but aaron would want everybody to know most is that he loved america, he believed america could be great again, and he fought for the america he grew up in, matt, and we believe -- we're a very patriotic family, we believe that america will be on its feet again and a country that the rest of the world looks to as a leader. and we're just really sad about this huge loss. we're really sad that our son is gone, but we know -- we know that he would have done it all again. >> kimberly, you met -- >> and he loved every minute of his life. >> kimberly, you met aaron in guam. he was serve ing there. you were a member of the washington redskins cheerleaders. here was this tough warrior but you saw a tender side of him. you have two children, reagan is 2, i believe, and your daughter was born only eight weeks ago. he made it home for both of those births. so he was home just in june. what was that visit like? >> it was wonderful. as much as our men are gone away from their families, over hundreds of days over the years, that we make the most of our time together and we were blessed that we could be together for the birth of our children. aaron was an amazing father. and i'm proud that i will get to carry on his legacy through our children. >> what do you want your kids to know about him when they get old enough to understand who he was, what's the one thing you want them to take away? >> they will take away his love for christ, they will take away his strength and his love for this country. and they will know what an amazing man he is/was. >> karen and billy and kimberly, thank you so much. i know how difficult it is for you to join us this morning. please accept our condolences. and we thank aaron for his service to this country and you for your sacrifices. >> thank you, matt. >> thank you. >> god bless you. let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories with natalie at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. hard weekend of news, indeed. this morning in the news, chaos erupted again in london overnight as riots and lewding swept through the city. the violence was touched off saturday night when police shot and killed a 29-year-old father of four. police arrested 160 people and some 35 police officers were injured as they tried to crack down on the city's worst rioting in three decades. today education secretary arne duncan offers his plan for waivers to prevent failing schools from sanctions that could force them to close their doors. more than 80% of all u.s. schools could be labeled failures next year under the no child left behind policy. a shooting rampage is sending shockwaves through a small ohio town after a gunman tore through a neighborhood killed killing seven people, including an 11-year-old boy. he was killed soon after in a firefight with police. a besieged city came under deadly military fire yet again today. residents report explosions and they say they have been blocked from leaving the city. more than 300 people have died there in the past week. 4,000 furloughed federal aviation administration employees head back to work today. though the partial shut down of the faa is over, the agency is only funded until september 16th. after that, the battle for a long-term solution resumes. and 41 nutty inventors tried out their human pow wered flying contraptions trying to take to the skies off of a 20-foot deck in moscow. luckily they were judged on their creativity and not just liftoff because, as you see there, every machine dropped right into the water with a splash. very creative though. give them a lot of points for that. 7:22. let's turn it back over to matt, ann, and stephanie. >> let's take a look at the weather. al is off this morning. so we've got stephanie abrams from the weather channel. >> talk about the heat. heat advisories still right through the heart of the country. the southern plains are going to be feeling it down into the south east. we could see record highs today. triple digit readings from oklahoma city to corpus christi. the t >> we've got pretty thick fog developing up in the north bay down to a half mile visibility in novato. santa rosa and fog so thick it's generating drizzle. you might use your wipers on the way to work. later on this afternoon, the sun will be out in full force, 79 in fremont, 77 in san jose, and 75 degrees up in wine country, comfortable in santa rosa. not a lot of changes we head through the next few days, temperatures in the upper 70s, low 80s all the way through friday. >> matt, over to you. >> stephanie, thank you very much. coming up, a siblings on the run after allegedly robbing a bank and shooting police. this morning fbi has joined in the manhunt. we'll get the latest, but first, this is "today" on nbc. 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