2024 Olympics live updates: Team USA swimmers prepare for ...

World-famous pop icon Céline Dion, who is rumored to be performing at the Olympic opening ceremony, has met with the French first lady Brigitte Macron. A picture posted on Instagram by Macron's chief of staff staff showed the two women standing side by side. 

Videos of Céline Dion in Paris began circulating on social media Tuesday, prompting rumors that the "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" songstress will perform tomorrow when the Games officially open. Yesterday, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera added even more fuel to the rumors, conceding that Celine’s presence in Paris was "not a coincidence."

Yesterday, the French-Canadian singer posted pictures of herself at the Louvre Museum, confirming that she is in Paris. In both English and French, she wrote that "every time I return to Paris, I remember there’s so much beauty and joy still to experience in the world. I love Paris, and I’m so happy to be back!"

Dion has been forced to put her career on hold in recent years. Last year, she canceled all future tour dates after being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome.

Kaetlyn LiddyKaetlyn Liddy is a newsroom coordinator for NBC News Digital.

Olympic gymnastics kicks off in under 48 hours and the GOAT is looking razor sharp.

In today's podium training, which is akin to a "dress rehearsal" for the actual competition, Simone Biles stuck her eponymous Yurchenko double pike vault cold.

The powerful skill is the most difficult vault ever performed in women's gymnastics and is notoriously hard to land cleanly.

If she does the "Biles II" like that during the competition, it is likely to be the highest score of the entire Olympics. Men's gymnastics kicks off with the qualification round Saturday, with the women following Sunday.

Perry Baker's second try, scored in the dying moments of the first half, gave the U.S. moment going into the break.

Uruguay responded with two tries to take the lead, 12-7.

The Americans need at least a tie to advance.

Perry Baker try gave the U.S. rugby team a quick, 7-0, lead over Uruguay.

The Americans need at least a tie to stay alive for medal competition.

With the opening ceremony still more than 24 hours away, one set of American athletes already has its medal hopes hanging by a thread.

The U.S. rugby squad needs at least a draw, and preferably a win, against Uruguay at 9 a.m. ET (USA Network) to advance out of pool play.

The Americans have tied France and lost to Fiji so far. The top two teams of each group advance along two third-place finishers.

France’s counterterrorism prosecutor’s office has confirmed to NBC News that a man from the Gironde region was arrested today on terrorism charges.

The 18-year-old from southwest France was arrested at an undisclosed location while on vacation. Another 18-year-old was arrested in the southwestern Gironde region earlier this week.

Both men are suspected of planning a violent act, the prosecutor's office told NBC News. Investigators are yet to determine the seriousness of the threat and whether their plans went beyond messages that they had exchanged online.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has said Tuesday’s arrest may have involved plans to attack the 2024 Olympic Games.

Team USA's Olympic swimmers are getting in their final training sessions before their events get underway Saturday. But before they walk out to the poolside at the Paris La Defense Arena, they'll have to brave the ready room.

The ready room is where swimmers sit together and patiently await their races. Given that world-class athletes have spent four years training for the Paris Games, the mood is tense and Olympians are nervous with anticipation.

"Swimmers hate the ready room," explains Regan Smith, who won two silvers and a bronze at the Tokyo Games. "I think there are some oddballs out there who crave the ready room and love it. I’m not a huge fan of it ... [but] I’ve gotten much more confident as I've gotten older so it doesn't shake me quite like how it used to."

For others, it's a window into the minds of their rivals. Four-time gold-winner Ryan Murphy likes to listen to music and shut out any noise. "There’s definitely nervous energy in there and I think everyone has some different tendencies when they’re nervous," Murphy says. "You’re always gonna have the chatty person when they’re nervous [but] it isn’t me. You’re getting direct access to their brain."

Today marks the start of the women's soccer competition, with all 12 competing teams in action across the day. That includes the U.S. Women's National Team which faces Zambia in their opening group stage match in Nice at 3 p.m. ET.

The Olympics marks the start of a new era for the USWNT after an underwhelming performance at last year's World Cup in which the team suffered a Round of 16 exit to Sweden after penalties— its earliest ever elimination from the tournament.

The early exit in the World Cup saw former head coach Vlatko Andonovski resign and he has now been replaced by Emma Hayes, who turned Chelsea into a major force in women's soccer. Hayes has won 14 major trophies in her 12 years in charge in west London.

Gone too are USWNT stalwarts Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz — both retired after the World Cup. Alex Morgan, meanwhile, is now 35 years old and was not selected for the Games by Hayes.

Hayes' squad for the Games is much younger and less experienced than the U.S. has had previously — only 10 of the 18-player roster were in the squad for the World Cup last year. But the group will still be considered among the medal contenders.

Hayes insists the team will not be burdened by the memory of its early exit from the World Cup. "I think this team is firmly focused on ... creating a new history together," Hayes said in a press conference. "Our motivation isn’t always about righting the wrongs. Far from it. We’re excited. We’re prepared."

Unlike the men's tournament, the women's soccer competition at the Olympics is not age-restricted, meaning the teams competing at the Games are at full strength.

Defending gold medalists Canada have been mired in controversy this week after being accused of using a drone to spy on the training session of their first opponents New Zealand. Spain is also expected to be in the mix for gold, having won the World Cup last year.

Experienced captain Lindsey Horan will be crucial to the USWNT's chances, while defender Naomi Girma had a breakthrough year in 2023 being named USWNT player of the year. Sophia Smith is another to look out for: the Portland Thorns forward was nominated last week for CONCACAF player of the year.

Even before he arrived in Paris, Australian BMX star Logan Martin's van was broken into in Brussels. In a post on Instagram, the passenger window of the Olympian's van appears completely smashed and Martin can be heard saying "luckily my bikes weren't in there although my bike bags were, with some things in there."

But Martin and his teammate then remembered that they had GPS tags in their bags and were able to locate them with most of their stolen goods. "Thank God for the bag tag. We found all our bags," Martin says in the video.

Anna Meares, Australia's chef de mission, later explained that thanks to the tags, the BMXer lost only his wallet in the end. Unfortunately, the thieves also feasted on Martin's chocolates, leaving the wrappers near the scene of the crime.

World No. 1 archer Casey Kaufhold, who is seeking to be the first American woman to medal since 1976, scored 672 in the ranking round and will enter the knockout stages as the No. 4 seed.

The score was close to par for the 20-year-old from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with a current season average of 675 in 72-arrow play.

"To shoot something close to my average, I'm really happy," Kaufhold told reporters after the competition.

On this world stage, seedings going into knockouts don't matter much, Kaufhold said. "If you're number one shooting against number 64, that can still be a tough match. Anything can happen."

San Diego's Catalina GNoriega (ranked 648) and Boston's Jennifer Mucino (ranked 625) will enter the knockout stages from the Nos. 38 and 57 spots, respectively.

Korean archer Lim Sihyeon set a world and Olympic record, firing a 694 in a ranking round yesterday.

That 72-arrow score topped the previous all-time score of 692 set by Kang Chae-young in 2019 and the previous Olympic-best of 680 fired by An San in Tokyo.

Yesterday's scores don't count for medals, but establish seeding for the knockout competition that starts next Tuesday. The No. 2 seed will be fellow Korean Nam Suhyeon, whose 688 was a personal best and would have been an Olympic record.

Each competitor in the ranking round competes in 12 rounds of six-arrow ends, with scores totaled (60 maximum) after each of those dozen ends. When those 72 arrows have been shot, scores are tallied and competitors are ranked 1 through 64 for one-on-one knockout play.

Archery is being held at Esplanade des Invalides, a few arrows' shot from Napoleon's tomb.

Keir Simmons

The Catacombs of Paris hold millions of skeletons that are hidden 65 feet underground. NBC News’ Keir Simmons visits the Catacombs and talks to a historian about their history and significance.

French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla has been banned from the opening ceremony tomorrow because of a French secularism law that prohibits public sector workers from wearing a hijab.

"You are selected for the Olympics, organized in your country, but you can’t participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf," the 26-year-old member of the French 400-meter women's and mixed relay teams wrote on Instagram.

During the European Championships earlier this year, Sylla wore a blue cap that was incorporated into the team's kit. For the Paris Games, officials are trying to come up with a similar solution with the LVMH group, whose luxury brand Berluti is designing the uniform for the French delegation.

"We want to follow the same logic. That’s why we’re progressing in discussions with LVMH and Berluti," French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said. "I am confident."

British tennis legend Andy Murray has withdrawn from the men’s Olympic singles, he said in a statement. The double Olympic gold medalist said that that he will still take part in the Olympic men’s doubles with fellow Team GB member Dan Evans.

“I’ve take the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan. Our practice has been great and we’re playing well together,” Murray said in a statement today. “Really looking forward to getting started and representing GB one more time.”

The 37-year-old confirmed earlier this week that he will retire from professional tennis after the Paris Games following years of injury-related problems. The tennis player has particularly struggled for fitness in recent weeks in the wake of surgery to remove a spinal cyst.

Murray pulled out of the men’s singles tournament at Wimbledon earlier this month, but still played doubles alongside his brother Jamie Murray.

Max Butterworth

Eagle-eyed photographers in Paris caught the moon rising perfectly in alignment with the glowing Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower last night.

The Olympic Games are beamed to billions of people around the world, giving viewers a real-time, close-up look at every pole vault, layup, breaststroke and backflip.

But there is a crucial part of the Olympic experience that remains largely unknown to spectators, sealed off from the camera crews and off-limits to cheering fans — the Olympic Village.

In recent weeks, NBC News spoke with decorated Olympians about life inside the sprawling residential complexes where thousands of athletes sleep, eat, train and socialize. They likened the villages to summer camps, college dorms, crowded hotels and — in the words of gold medalist swimmer Mark Spitz — a “gigantic cruise ship.”

Read the full story here.

Kaetlyn LiddyKaetlyn Liddy is a newsroom coordinator for NBC News Digital.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. That’s the slogan that drives Team USA’s Olympic alternates.

A slew of season-ending injuries rocked the nation’s best gymnasts at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, highlighting the importance of understudies on the sport’s biggest stage.

“If anything happens, I’ll be ready,” Olympic alternate Joscelyn Roberson said.

The Texarkana-native and training mate of Simone Biles was just one spot away from making the five-person U.S. women’s gymnastics team, but she can still call herself an Olympian.

Read the full story here.