Sheinelle Jones Steps in for Carson Daly During Pop Start Segment on ‘Today’ Amid His Absence

The Pop Start segment of Today is usually led by Carson Daly, but the longtime TV personality was noticeably absent from the program on Monday, July 8.

Instead of Carson, 51, discussing the weekend’s biggest pop culture headlines, it was Sheinelle Jones who filled in for him during the segment. She simply told the audience that Carson was off.

Carson has been a member of the Today team for more than a decade but also has several other jobs that keep him very busy, like hosting The Voice and The Daly Download With Carson Daly. He did not immediately reveal his whereabouts. Carson was also absent from the show on July 5, with Dylan Dreyer leading the Pop Start segment in his absence.

Craig Melvin was also not present in the Today studio on Monday morning. Instead, he paid a visit to the men’s U.S. basketball team, which is currently in training camp in Las Vegas ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Somebody is living his dreams,” Savannah Guthrie said during the episode. “His name is Craig Melvin.”

Craig, 45, appeared in a prerecorded segment with Lebron James to talk about how his eldest son, Bronny James, was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers as the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

“It’s probably, when it comes to basketball, the greatest accomplishment that I’ve ever had,” Lebron, 39, told Craig in the clip.

The Today crew also teased a full sit down interview with Craig and the entire men’s basketball team coming soon.

“He’s just checking off the things on his bucket list,” Savannah, 52, said after a clip from the interview was played. “I’m so happy for him.

The Olympics will kick off on July 26, with the Today team heading to Paris to cover the events. Last weekend, Hoda Kotb headed to Minnesota to cheer on the athletes vying for a spot on the U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team. After the event, she interviewed Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, who were all named to the team.

“It was just such a hard, incredible journey. There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick and it was just so hard to, like, stay motivated, watching everybody get better and I can’t even get back into the gym and constantly self-doubting myself,” Suni, 21, told Hoda, 59, of the accomplishment after battling health issues. “But once I had those people around me who lifted me up and supported me, I knew that this is something that I wanted.”

For Simone, 27, making it to her third Olympics was an emotional and surreal feeling.

“Because of the depth that the U.S., it’s so incredible, so we’re all fighting for basically the same position,” she said of the talent at the Olympic trials. “But that’s what makes Team USA Team USA. We have grit, we have power, we have grace. We kind of have everything. So [we’re] just fighting for that spot.”

“But also, I feel like a little bit of a redemption tour,” the Dancing With the Stars alum added. “In Tokyo, we all didn’t have our best performances, so we’re excited to go out there and kill it.”