Declared. Tragedy in texas. Photos taken moments before the debtliest hot air balloon crash in history. More on the 16 people who lost their lives and how it happened. Olympic athletes and fans arriving in rio. Preparations in full swing. Will the city be ready to host its most famous party ever. Find out, today, august 1st, 2016. Announcer from nbc news this is a special edition of today, countdown to rio with matt lauer live from Rio De Janeiro, brazil, and Savannah Guthrie live from rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to a special split edition of today on a monday morning. The 2016 Olympic Games almost at hand. Copacabana beach. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at that. Copacabana is beautiful on a perfect day and by the way, lets get something straight off the bat. In the United States, some people say Rio De Janeiro. Here they call it Rio De Janeiro. Tomato, tomato. Its freaking beautiful. You win the battle of backdrops this morning. May i say to college portuguese. Well catch with you in a moment. Looking forward to your tour of the venues and your live interview with the mayor. The dust up between donald trump and the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in the iraq war. Hallie jackson joins us with more. His running mate praised humayun khan for his service but trump is questioning why his parents have a right to criticize him. This controversy pitting the gop nominee against gold star parents going nowhere and now putting some republicans in the uncomfortable position again of supporting their candidate but not some of what hes saying. New fallout for donald trump as he questions why hes not allowed to respond to the khans, the parents of an army killed in iraq continuing their Public Campaign against the gop nominee. Hes a black soul and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this beautiful country. Reporter after khizr khan delivered a fiery convention speech. You have sacrificed nothing and no one. You tell me. Plenty of people have written that. Reporter ghazala khan said she was asked to speak but could not overcome by grief adding in a the Washington Post oped, trump doesnt know what the word sacrifice means. I think i made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. Reporter trump called humayun khan a hero and tried to turn the conversation instead to terrorism. Democrats arent letting up. To have trump do what he did, ion is. Reporter jeb bush calling trumps comments disrespectful but while Mitch Mcconnell and paul ryan are releasing statements supporting the khans, they arent mentioning trumps muslim ban back in the spotlight even as his team has tried to walk it back in recent weeks. Now with wheel visiting khans grave site in arlington, his fathers speech still resonating. Have you read the United States constitution . Reporter the 1 pocket constitution a bestseller on amazon. And more reaction this morning with senator Lindsey Graham telling nbc news unacceptable doesnt even begin to d similar controversies have not hurt the gop nominee in the past. Remember when he said about john mccain possibly not being a war hero . In the meantime, savannah, were getting a look at a new postconvention poll showing Hillary Clinton getting a bit of a bounce after philadelphia up four points now and total up seven over donald trump. Savannah . Khizr and ghazala khan are with us this morning. I can only imagine what the last few days have been like for you. Mr. Khan, did you accept this kind of reaction to your speech and how did you think mr. Trump himself would respond . I did not expect that but the good thing out of all of this has come that there had been so much love, so much courtesy, so much support. I am just my belief in the goodness of america is reaffirmed. Every street corner, we came into this building, everywhere people are supporting our message, people are hugging, holding hands, wanting to get pictures, that is the goodness of america that i was speaking about so the candidate had this country. Mrs. Khan, one of the things donald trump suggested after your husband spoke at the convention is that you were not allowed to speak. He didnt get into details about who he thought might be preventing you. What is the truth of it . Why didnt you speak at the convention . Actually, i had given my statement why i did not speak because i think it doesnt have to do my religion doesnt prohibit me to do whatever i want to do for the goodness of mankind and for the goodness of myself and my family. I am very thankful that i have been born in this religion because it does not give me any prohibit me from anything that i dont want to do. Mr. Khan, trump said that you what do you think of that . That proves the point that showing him the constitution, the first amendment, freedom of speech, this candidate amazes me. His ignorance. He can get up and malign the entire nation, the religions, the communities, the minorities, the judges, and process in his candidacy for stewardship of this country i cannot say what i feel . That proves the point. He has not read the constitution of this country. Had he read that, his behavior would be different. Finally, i know that speaker ryan and majority leader mcconnell have praised your son as a hero now and reiterated socalled muslim ban, does that go far enough for you . Are you satisfied with their response . That is im grateful. They are as patriotic as we are or as anyone else is, both senator mcconnell, speaker ryan, but i tell you, there had been outpouring support and rebuke of trump. I have email inbox full of assurances that i am right, we are right, and he needs to mend his way. I receive from a prominent republican a written email saying this would be first time that he will not vote. Republican all of their lives and yet in this election for the office of president , they will not vote for this candidate. This candidate has not qualified in their judgment to be deserving of their support. Mr. And mrs. Khan, thank you so much for your time this morning. Again, thank you for the service of your son. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you very much. Another major story this morning, floodwaters ripping a path of baltimore, maryland. Good morning. Reporter good morning. You know, the residents of Howard County say theyve never seen anything like this. The worst flash flood to come through this area in more than half of a century. A state of emergency has been declared and thats because this area got pummeled with six hours. People desperately clinging to their cars when flash floodwaters went through the center of town catching many by surprise. Residents watching helplesly as their town gets destroyed. Two people reported dead in separate incidents swept away by rushing water. Over 100 rescues. This video shows residents creating a human chain to save a woman trapped the floodwaters receded quickly but the damage in the town grim. Cars stacked on top of one another. Streets ripped apart. It looks like a set from a disaster movie. Reporter businesses on main street completely destroyed. Its devastating to see the businesses that are totally gone. Totally gone. I dont even know where to start. Reporter the governor declaring a state of emergency. People and let them know that were all going to be with them and help them get back to normal. Reporter this Historic Town was built in 1772 and it was built on top of a river that runs through the center of town. That river rose 14 feet in just 90 minutes. Savannah . All right. Tammy, thank you so much. Lets turn to dylan in for al this morning. It seems like it caught people off guard. Heavily. In two hours, six inches of rain fell. Thats the same situation were seeing this morning. We do still have Flash Flood Watches across southern new jersey and pennsylvania because of this round of heavier rain right here. Its going to exacerbate flooding that occurred. If you get a heavy pocket of rain, that could lead to more flooding. Well see showers and thunderstorms continue to develop through this morning and more storms later this afternoon the Flash Flood Watches are out. Through st. Louis, stronger storms this morning occurring for the last several hours and more of that heavier rain could fall across the rest of missouri. Its all because of this frontal system. Were waiting for it to make its way offshore. More scattered showers and storms firing up later this afternoon and some of those heavier pockets of rain could cause another one to two inches of rain and if they occur where other heavy rain occurred, that could lead toe from flooding to fires now. Crews are struggling overnight to protect homes from a wildfire that started sunday in the canyons of central montana. It quickly grew to at least 2,000 acres. 500 homes are under evacuation orders now. The red cross has set up emergency shelters. Also this morning, the fight against zika is taking on new urgency in the wake of the recent cases in florida that Authorities Say are most likely we go to miami for this story. Sarah, good morning. Reporter as Senate Democrats push for congress to end its recess and approve emergency zika funding, officials in miami are wasting no time focusing on the possibility of more undiagnosed cases. A door to door battle against zika being waged miami. Health officials collecting a one square mile north of the citys downtown where four people were believed to be infected by mosquitos. Boots on the ground is the only way you deal with mosquito born illnesses. The question is where . The mosquitos suspected of carrying zika have been found across large section of the u. S. Scientists looking at a number of factors have identified charleston and mobile, alabama. Its hard to deal with. As a parent, its concerning. I think there are a lot more things i should be worrying about. Reporter other than zika . For sure. Reporter crowds are not staying away from miamis popular art district which is considered an active transmission area for zika. Local Business Owners already in the low season slump are grateful. Only store we reporter expectant mothers are taking precautions. And tests from door to door samples could be back as early as today providing a clearer picture of what Health Officials are up against and the risks residence face. Savannah . Thank you. Coming up, well show you how drones are now being used to keep zika carrying mosquitos at beach. Hey, matt. Well talk did zika concerns here in rio in a little while. This morning, the primary focus getting ready for fridays Opening Ceremony. Lastminute preparations well under way everywhere you look for what will be the first Olympic Games ever held in south america. Nbcs keir simmons has drawn the long straw. Hes here with us on copacabana beach. Home away from home for the next cole they started, weve seen a doping scandal, a huge political crisis here in brazil and still this morning fears the games wont be ready. In rio this morning, many anxious hours lie ahead. Just four days until the olympic Opening Ceremony. Hundreds of millions watching the worlds biggest sporting event get under way. But at the athletes village, competitors underwhelmed. Repairs. Complaints including water running down walls. The Australian Team tweeting as they were evacuated for a fire, posting pictures of unfinished venues. And along rios stunning coastline, the polluted waters needed lastminute cleaning. Authorities even finding dead bodies in recent weeks. Olympic organizers facing security challenges from the citys rising murder rate to rough seas as high tides and big waves on saturday were to blame marina, the main sailing venue of the games. The ioc saying its confident damage will not affect the preparations for the sailing competition, a 25person work crew now hoping to finish repairs by friday. They built a dune to stop copacabanas waves from flooding Beach Volleyball while the military is already standing guard. Construction workers are racing to be ready. Brazil in the grip of a severe recession and political crisis. We have a lot of people without jobs. Reporter in may, its president , was suspended from office. Brazils new leader accused, too. Ironically, fears over zika are fading. The World Health Organization now calling the risk for infection low and the International Olympic committee u. S. Representative remaining confident. Im certain they will be ready. I was at olympic village. Athletes were there using the facilities. Reporter excitement is building. U. S. Gymnast simone biles tweeting, the dream is real. One olympic spokesperson says this always happens. There are fears until the opening and its forgotten as athens. Been to a lot of venues over the last couple days. Lights on 24 hours a day continuing to hammer and sawing. Ill have a tour of some of those olympic venues later in the show and well talk to the mayor of rio and ask if his city will be ready. Lets go back to savannah in studio 1a. Thank you so much. Dylan and i stuck in the city. Whats happening with the not going to be the best morning here in new york city or most of the east coast for that matter. We do have heavier pockets of rain this morning. We also have a chance of stronger storms through the Northern Plains and upper midwest and monsoonal moisture bringing a lot of rain perhaps up to three inches across the southwest. Thats a look at the weather good morning, everyone. A Flash Flood Watch in effect for much of new jersey today into tonight in fact. New york city not seeing much rain tonight. Down the jersey shore. Anyone can see rain at any time. You to want to see the umbrella. Best chance of rain north and west of town. Very muggy out there. High temperature of 80 degrees with a tropical feel. Few sprinkles early on. Drying out by tomorrow afternoon. Thats your latest forecast. All right, dylan. Thank you. Just ahead, what caused the deadliest hot air balloon crash in u. S. History . What investigators are now learning. A world cup in 2014, olympics in 2016. Who would want to take on a challenge like that . Well talk live to the citys fios is not cable. Were wired differently, which means we can fix things differently. Thanks for calling fios. This is ryan. You cant tell me this cord isnt in. I know its in. Its in, but its not working. Im sending you a link to the my fios app that going to let me see what youre seeing. Really . Yes, mr. Mcenroe. See that cord . Just plug it into the connector on the right. So you can clearly see whats in and whats out . Oh absolutely. Technician see the problem over your smartphone. Coming up on sense of humor. From rio well take you on breyers natural vanilla. Milk and fresh cream and only sustainably farmed vanilla. Breyers has fresh cream, sugar and milk. Breyers. The good vanilla. Our milk and cream come from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones. This is so good . One coat, yes . Behrs most advanced paint. Moms know their kids need love, encouragement and milk. With 8 grams of protein, and 8 other nutrients. 9 out of 10 u. S. Olympians grew up drinking milk. Moms know kids grow strong when they milk life. . Your news 4 new york live update starts now. Good morning. 7 26. Its august 1st. 70 degrees out. Police are looking for the driver who ran from a deadly accident in brooklyn. They say the person theyre looking for was inside an acura tl sedan that was speeding along cypris hills. The car struck and killed two men before hitting two parked cars. Thats when the driver got out of the acura and ran off. Lets take a look at the morning commute. We have delays on downtown q trains. Getting on the roads, this is the bqe here. A truck struck a pole on the eastbound s knocked it on the westbound side. The left lane is closed in both directions by the brooklyn bridge. In addition to that, we have an accident westbound on 80 by mccarter highway. Newark bay by the extend. Disabled bus on the l. I. E. Finally, montauk highway is shut down in both directions by great neck road. Back to you, darlene. Well be back in a few good morning, everyone. Much of new jersey. Were tracking the heavy rain potential. Dry in the city and tracking storms off of ocean county. Some of them seeing very heavy rain. Hit or miss showers or storms. Very warm and very muggy. A High Temperature of 80 degrees. Very steamy. Grab the umbrella as youre heading outside. 68 for your low overnight tonight. Tomorrow back to 79 degrees. We start to dry things out tomorrow afternoon. Looking much better. Wednesday is delightful, low humidity. Heating up though as we head towards the weekend. Darlene . New documentary that focuses on the 1976 Olympic Games and the controversy that may have caught an american swimmer a shot at olympic glory. . . Take me high take me low anywhere we want to go . 7 30. Its monday morning. 1st of august, 2016. Well have andy grammer with which means the 2016 Olympic Games are upon us, matt. It looks beautiful where you are. It is so pretty. Four days to go until the Opening Ceremony. A lot of talk about security here. Let me show you whats happened. The Brazilian Navy patrolling just off the coast here at copacabana beach. Clearly theres a Strong Military and security presence. Just to give you the lay of the land here. This entire stretch is copacabana beach. Beach volleyball venue about a quarter Mile Straight down the beach behind me. Tough for you to see. Beyond the buildings in the distance, thats where you find another beach. Take a look. Taking selfies. Hoda is out there because she saw that shes yelling, sailors, and they kept going. My goodness. Already making friends i see. All right. Now you know what im in for for the next couple weeks. Well check back in with you guys in just a moment. Lets look at the headlines today. A new poll in the presi