The “Final Five” took to the mat, balance beams, and all the gymnastics events in Rio donned in red, white, and blue, with all the bedazzle and sequins befitting the Gold medalists they became.
But who would have known those patriotic leotards were conceptualized and created locally in Reading, Pennsylvania?
GK Elite Sportswear, a Berks County business for more than 35 years, is a production company known for gymnastics and cheer gear. Lead designer and Reading native Jeanne Douglass was inspired by the flag for the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team.
“I wanted to use it as literally as possible, but also highlighting their bodies,” Douglass said.
A former gymnast herself, Douglass was blown away seeing Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, and Madison Kocian wear her design at the Summer Games. The designer wrote on Facebook:
“Many years of hard work, perseverance, and dedication have lead to this moment. My dream of watching my leotard design on Team USA during the Olympic Team Final competition has come true!”
The Olympics have become a tradition for GK Elite. The company faces a monumental task every four years of forming the perfect fitting, patriotic uniform for gymnasts from the Netherlands, Russia and New Zealand, but Douglass says nothing quite compares to dressing your home team.
The entire warehouse is part of the production and careful craftsmanship of the garments.
There's Kira Feick, a laser supervisor at GK Elite, who attaches the sparkling crystals onto the nylon.
“It’s amazing knowing you helped make that beautiful garment that the gymnasts were wearing when they won gold,” Feick said.
“I was really excited to watch it on TV. Because everyone in this building really had a part in making those leotards look amazing,” Douglass said.
A suspected gunman chose the wrong place and wrong time to shoot a man to death late Wednesday in Philadelphia, police said.
A pair of police officers patrolling about 10 p.m. near the scene of the shooting, at Germantown Avenue and Cambria Street in North Philadelphia, heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene. There, they found not only the 46-year-old victim lying on the ground bleeding heavily, but, a police commander said, they also spotted the suspect running down Cambria Street, the gun still in his hand. Other responding officers chased the suspect for a few blocks and eventually caught up with him.
"Plainclothes officers chased him to 11th and Cambria and he threw the gun into some bushes," Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC10. "Officers made the apprehension and recovered a revolver-type handgun thrown in the bushes."
Other officers tended to the man wounded in the shooting as their comrades made the arrest, Small said. They took him to nearby Temple University Hospital, but his wounds were too severe, and Small said he was pronounced dead there at 10:26 p.m. Police said they don't yet know why the gunman shot the man.
Small said investigators found cameras on both a Philadelphia Housing Authority building and a business near the intersection where the shooting occurred. Both appear to be pointed in the direction of where the shooting occurred and where the victim collapsed, he said.
The suspected gunman arrested in the shooting, identified only as a 23-year-old man, went to the Homicide Unit for questioning. Police didn't yet know what motivated the shooting late Wednesday.
Small said officers catching a homicide suspect nearly in the act as they did in this case is rare.
"The officers were in the right place at the right time ... to hear shots and respond so quickly that they were not only able to see the suspect running from the scene, but able to make the apprehension," he said. "Things fell into place for 25th District police for this shooting, and they did a good job."
U.S. women's water polo coach Adam Krikorian shook his head in disgust after an ugly turnover in the third. He put in five new swimmers after China scored in the fourth, and then clapped his hands at his bench as if trying for a late wake-up call.
All that even though the United States was in complete control right from the start, never in danger of losing to overmatched China. It turns out winning isn't the only thing for the defending world and Olympic champions.
"We're more concerned with how we play and trying to be as consistent as possible," Krikorian said after the United States' 12-4 victory on Thursday. "I don't think I saw that in the second half and when you play every other day, there's no reason to rest. We're getting plenty of rest on our off days and we just got to keep it into a high gear there."
The United States improved to 36-2 in 2016 with its 18th straight victory, rolling to titles on three continents before beating Spain 11-4 in its Olympic opener on Tuesday. It has scored in double figures 17 times during its win streak, totaling 231 goals overall and outscoring opponents by an average of seven goals.
But captain Maggie Steffens dismissed any notion of complacency as the U.S. tries to become the first country to win consecutive Olympic titles in women's water polo.
"Each game is a gold-medal game," Steffens said. "Each game is an opportunity for us to represent the USA, and that's the motivation."
Steffens scored three of her four goals as the United States jumped to a 7-1 lead at the break. But it grew more careless with the ball as the game went along, including the third-quarter turnover during a rare 6-on-4 power play that prompted Krikorian's exasperated reaction.
"We had too many turnovers that game," U.S. attacker Kaleigh Gilchrist said. "China capitalized on a few, but they could have capitalized on a lot more, and knowing as we go ahead opponents are going to try to look to do that, so we have to tighten a few things up."
The United States' only two losses so far this year are to Australia, 5-4 on May 26 in California and 5-4 on May 31 in China. But the Aussie Stingers lost 8-7 to Italy on Thursday, a potentially costly result that could force them into a semifinal matchup with the United States.
Australia's Rowie Webster tied it at 7 with 2:37 to go, but Roberta Bianconi had a power-play goal for Italy with 34 seconds remaining.
"I think the game was won and lost in the extra-man goals that they scored and we potentially missed," Webster said.
Australia faces winless Brazil on Saturday on the final day of the preliminary round. Italy, which leads Group A with four points, takes on Russia, Spain plays against China, and the United States faces Hungary. The quarterfinals begin Monday.
Italy's Giulia Gorlero, splashing the water at times in celebration or frustration, had 10 saves in the victory over the Aussies.
"Our match is very important for us," Golero said through a translator. "But that's not enough. ... Our tournament starts in the quarterfinals."
Also Thursday, Ekaterina Prokofyeva and Evgeniya Ivanova scored three goals apiece to lead Russia to a 14-7 win against Brazil, and Judith Forca Ariza scored in the fourth to help Spain hold on for an 11-10 victory over Hungary.
Is that the joker in the pool or Ryan Lochte?
Lochte, 31, surprised many when he dyed his hair ice-blue for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. But perhaps Lochte saved the biggest surprise for himself when his blueish mane met the chlorine in the swimming pools.
It's not easy being green.
Not that the new emerald hue seems to be hurting him much. Lochte, 31, has already won gold as part of the Men's 4x200 freestyle relay alongside Michael Phelps.
Before his hair turned green Lochte posted a photo at a salon getting ready to apply the dye and later gave followers a look at the final product.
"New look.... Here We Go #Rio #2016 thanks @jennjonesatl #turnup #lightblue," Lochte captioned the photo.
His hair stylist also posted a shot on Instagram, posing with Lochte and Olympic swimmer James Feigen, who also got his hair dyed the same shade of frosty blue.
If nothing else Lochte at least has something in common with the Olympic diving pool, which also had athletes and attendees buzzing after it turned a disturbing shade of green.
Next up for Lochte is 200m individual medley Thursday, where he'll be competing against relay partner and Olympic golden boy Phelps.
Research suggests that more car crashes are happening on the roads because of litter and debris.
According to American Automobile Association, more than 200,000 wrecks, 500 deaths and 39,000 injuries in the last four years were caused by blown tires, trash and other objects that litter roadways.
Nearly 37 percent of all deaths in road debris crashes resulted from the driver swerving to avoid hitting an object, the AAA Foundation study reveals. More than a third of crashes involving debris happen from 10 a.m. to 3:59 p.m. Most are likely to happen on interstates.
"This new report shows that road debris can be extremely dangerous but all of these crashes are preventable," said Jurek Grabowski, Research Director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
About two-thirds of debris-related crashes stem from items falling from a vehicle due to unsecured loads. When securing vehicle loads, AAA's Doug Shupe said to tie them down directly to vehicles or trailers with rope, netting or straps. Cover the entire load with a study tarp or netting and don't overload the vehicle.
"Drivers have a much bigger responsibility when it comes to preventing debris on the roads than most realize," said Jennifer Ryan, Director of State Relations for AAA. "States have hefty fines and penalties for drivers who drop items from their vehicle onto the roadway, and in some cases states impose jail time."
As for drivers, Shupe said to avoid tailgating and search the road at least 12 seconds ahead for debris.
If you see you are about to make contact with debris, safely reduce your speed as much as possible prior to making contact.
A Philadelphia man is behind bars for posing as a woman and receiving sexually explicit images of young boys on social media after police asked for the public’s assistance to find the him.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of 30-year-old Brandon Speach of North Chadwick Street after officials learned Speach was posing as a woman on social media sites and receiving "nude and explicit images and video" of underage boys, according to police.
Police asked for the public’s assistance in finding Speach, and a day later he was taken into custody.
The charges against Speach are yet to be announced.
Montgomery County officials urged residents Thursday to take precautions during the next few days as the summer's fifth heat wave blankets the region through the weekend.
County Commissioners declared a "Code Red Hot Weather Health Warning" shortly ahead of what they described as "an oppressively hot air mass" with days where the heat index will climb above 100 degrees.
The Code Red officially runs from 12 p.m. Friday through 6 p.m. Sunday.
Very young children, elderly adults and people with chronic medical conditions are especially at risk, county officials said.
For more information about the hot weather and how to avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke, go to the Montgomery County Health Department's website.
The county also released some tips for alleviating the effects of the hot weather:
• Drink plenty of non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated fluids.
• Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
• If at all possible, try to get outdoor work completed during the morning to avoid the warmest part of the day.
• Keep windows and interior doors open when running a fan at home.
• Keep cool by seeking an air-conditioned building if available, if not, seek rest in the shade.
• Most of the Senior Adult Activity Centers (SAACs) are air-conditioned, as are malls and libraries.
A recent bike theft in Fishtown has one owner scratching his head.
The bike's owner told NBC10 he usually locks his bike up at the tree across the street from his house on Frankford Avenue near Susqehanna.
Thursday morning, he woke up to find it had been stolen – and that tree was chopped and thrown to the sidewalk.
“It’s pretty standard for bikes to be stolen,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve heard of a tree getting cut down to steal a bike.”
The bike's owner, who preferred to remain anonymous, shared surveillance video with NBC10, showing three thieves working quickly early Thursday morning to steal his bike, resorting to sawing the small down.
The timestamp on the video indicates the men stole McKenzie’s bike between 4:58 and 5:05 Thursday morning.
“I woke up and the tree was laying on the sidewalk,” he said.
To him, the tree damage was more disturbing than a stolen bike, which he uses as his primary means of transportation.
“It’s definitely a destruction of public property.”
The owner tells NBC10 while he usually locks both the bike frame and a wheel to the tree, he only locked the bike’s frame Wednesday night.
He remained optimistic that those responsible would be found, citing identifiable features from the thieves in the video, like a tattoo on one man’s leg.
“The odds of them being found are pretty good,” he said.
A police report was filed and the owner was joining Fishtown community Facebook groups to get the word out.
“I’m not too torn up about it because it is a bike,” he said. “For the community, to be aware is my main goal at this point.”
NBC10 reached out the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, the agency responsible for the tree. They said the tree is a city tree, but may be part of the business improvement district because it is enclosed in pavement.
If it is a city tree, they said, the thieves would be subject to vandalism and destruction of public property violations. The department would then need to remove the remaining stump and determine whether a new tree can be added.
Anyone with information about the stolen bike should call police.
