the next couple of hours, probably. there could be thunderstorms, 88 degrees, later on in the day. but it looks nice. there'll be a lot of folks there for fleet week. >> there will be. my gosh. and you've seen all the men and women in uniform, here, in and around new york city, so that's been great to see. that does it for us on this memorial edition of "american morning." i'm still waking up, three hours later. i'm alina cho. thanks for joining us. >> cnn newsroom with carol costello joins right now. hi, carol. >> hi. alina, do you want some coffee? >> i do! another cup, please! >> i'll get you some. thanks, guys. have a great day. it is 9:00 a.m. on the east coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. i'm carol costello sitting in for kyra phillips. today, as you know, is memorial day, but it's a working holiday for some big-name politicians. the parades and gather erings aa traditional showcase. a saudi prince wants oil prices to fall, and fast, before the u.s. ramps up its

development of alternative fuels. his warning to arab oil producer comes amid a chilling prediction. goldman sachs says gas will reach $5 a gallon this summer. and remembering the sacrifice s at arlington nationl cemetery. this morning, president obama takes part in ceremonies there, including a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknowns. let's talk politics now. presidential candidates, those who have declared, and those likely to, are reaching out to voters on this memorial day. oh, yeah, sarah palin is using the holiday to kick off her nationwide bus tour. she rode into washington sunday on the back of a motorcycle for the annual rolling thunder event. after a couple of stops in d.c. today, palin's one nation tour heads to gettysburg, pennsylvania. that's where our jim acosta is. jim, tell us more. >> good morning, carol, that's

right. sarah palin will be out here later today, so we're told, and this is all part of a campaign-style swing up the east coast. she's going to be hitting a lot of historic sites, including gettysburg, where we are right now. this morning, she's at the national archives and heading over to mt. vernon. yesterday, as you just mentioned, carol, she was on the back of a motorcycle, rolling across the potomac river, into the nation's capital. if she is getting into the 2012 race, you have to say one thing, she knows how to make an entrance, and it's got the political world in this country buzzing. because the big question right now is what is she doing, what is she up to, and what's it mean for the rest of the field? from what we can understand, tim tle pawlenty and michele bachmann are also out on the campaign trail today, but everybody's talking about sarah palin. speaking of how she's doing right now in the 2012 field, if you look at the polls, carol, right now, she's not too far back in the pack, in second or third place, depending on which

national poll you look at. so she certainly is positioned well to make a run at this, if she goes ahead and takes the plunge, which right now, it looks very much like a possibility at this point. >> i was just going to say, she's doing it her way, in a black t-shirt, motorcycle helmet, sunglasses, she laooks kind of cool. what a contrast with tim pawlenty whose -- i've never seen him in anything other than a suit. >> sort of like fire and ice. the only way she could have made a more dramatic entrance yesterday, if she would have jumped the potomac on one of those motorcycles. this is obviously going to shake up this race. and a lot of republicans are sitting there and watching and wondering, well, what is she going to do? and that's sort of all by design. sarah palin's team has not put out many details about what she's doing over these next several days. the details come in late. and that, of course, generates its own amount of media attention, just in the mystery of it all.

so she's keeping everybody guessing and i think she kind of likes it at this point. >> i think she does. i thought you were going to play a bit of sound that our sandra endo got over the weekend where she was talking -- oh, it's not. i know you were going to do something! >> reporter: well, we certainly can. >> in the next hour -- >> reporter: well, carol, i was going to mention, in looking how republicans view sarah palin at this point, mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader over the weekend was asked about the potential for a sarah palin candidacy, and he gave kind of a surprising answer. if we can listen to, it's pretty interesting. >> you know what i'm reminded of, in how the jimmy carter white house was thinking in '79 and '80, they were pulling for ronald reagan. they thought he was too extreme and too old, and surely, if he were the nominee, they'd be just fine. >> reporter: so, you know, mitch mcconnell right there talking about some of what's going on over at the white house right

now. obviously, the obama political team is cheering the prospect of sarah palin running at this point, but you've got to keep in mind what mitch mcconnell is saying right there. the jimmy carter white house did the exact same thing about ronald reagan in 1979 and 1980, they thought he had no chance of becoming president, and he shocked the world and became president. whether or not that can happen again with sarah palin, well, there's a lot of variables in that and we'll have to wait and see. >> yes, we will. also, john mccain over the weekend said sarah palin could indeed beat barack obama. thanks so much. while sarah palin's taking a tour of the east coast, another conservative woman who might run for president has been testing the campaign waters out in iowa. of course, we're talking about congresswoman michele bachmann. if palin runs, is bachmann's campaign toast? we'll talk more about that later. also on this memorial day, a changing of the guard atop the nation's military command. one hour from now, president obama is expected to nominate martin dempsey as the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

he would become the nation's highest-ranking military officer, as well as a critical adviser to the president. cnn's ed henry is at the white house. tell us what you know about this guy. >> reporter: well, that's right. he's a west point grad, and somebody who is very highly respected, because he's been helping to oversee both the wars in iraq and afghanistan and the president, we're told, to expect him to make at least two more personnel announcements, as well. he's going to name a vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff as well, admiral james winfeld. he's been in charge of the northern command, and general ray odierno, someone we know very well, has been a television spokesman for the war in iraq, but had a son that was fighting and lost an arm. he will be nominated for army chief of staff to replace general dempsey, who's currently the army chief of after. when you ask what we know about him, he's only been army chief of staff for a couple of months.

he was expected to stay on there for some time, but with admiral mike mullen going to be retiring, president obama needed someone to step up. he's been very impressed, we're told, by general dempsey. admiral mullen, in fact, was on cnn's "american morning" a short time ago, and was really singing the praises of general dempsey, saying he's someone who really understands the needs of men and women in uniform. i mentioned that general odierno's son served. three children for general dempsey have served in the u.s. military as well. and i think the big picture here is the president wanted to announce this on memorial day, perhaps for some of those reasons, of sacrifice, et cetera, but also to show continuity. let's not forget, defense secretary robert gates, he's stepping down in june. so there is a changing of the guard, as you noted. leon panetta, the cia director, has been nominated to replace him. so they're all familiar faces, they've been in other jobs, the one key word is continuity. that's what the president's signal is here. >> and you can see why, we're still in iraq and afghanistan

and we've got that thing going on in libya. ed henry live at the white house, thank you. as you heard ed say, we did hear from admiral mullen on cnn's "american morning." he spoke to the men and women serving their country in uniform. >> i just would send them a message of how special they are, and in particular, this memorial day, the losses that have occurred over the course of these wars, over 6,000 now, and the sacrifices of their families. and that through those losses, we, as a country, can commit to them, can commit to our veterans, can commit to those who have sacrificed so much, to make sure that we take care of them for the rest of their lives. >> now, let's head to arlington national cemetery and cnn's chris lawrence. chris, tell us about this section where you're standing, section 60. >> reporter: well, carol, this is where a lot of the men and the women who died in the wars in iraq and afghanistan are

buried here in section 60. for a lot of the families here, they spent their memorial days, just like a lot of americans did, barbecues, picnics, and then things changed. they lost a loved one in one of the wars over the last ten years, and there are men, there are women, and i think when you see the birth dates, you start to get a real sense of the loss here. sergeant ashley moyer was only 22 years old. she was a truck driver during the iraq war when she was killed. specialist ross maginnis was awarded the medal of honor, p t posthumo posthumously. he chose to jump on a grenade and save the lives of some of the other men in their truck. and as you watch around and you just kind of look around, you can see just how many families really take the entire day and

really come and spend time with their loved ones. and also to see each other. you have to remember, for a lot of people, they don't live here in the washington area. some people come out just for this day, and it's a chance for them not only to remember their loved ones, but also to talk to other families who are experiencing somewhat of the same thing. carol? >> just heartbreaking pictures. and you're right. you see some of the birth dates, born in 19 8, and so many young people are dying. chris, arlington cemetery was in the news for mislabeling graves, badly cared for graves. is that situation fixed now? >> reporter: yeah, and you know, i want to be clear, most of that trouble at arlington didn't have to do with section 60. there's 70 sections here at arlington, and it really came out last summer, in which some of the graves were mismarked, some were unmarked, some of the urns were found in piles of dirt. there was found to be very poor

recordkeeping. the army has instituted a lot of changes. you know, changing the sort of line of succession, the chain of command, and which remains are handled. they're also in the process of taking aerial photos and taking photos of both the front and the back of every grave, so that they can then match that and look for any discrepancies. but just on friday, virginia senator mark warner took the army to ask and said he feels that it has not been done quickly enough, that congress has not been kept in the loop enough, about the changes that have been made, and he wants to see more of these changes and more of these updates done, more quickly, to take care of some of these discrepancies for the families. chris lawrence, live at arlington national cemetery, thank you. coming up next, we'll talk more about the extraordinary challenges our veterans face when they come home. well, this challenge might be the most shocking.

27% unemployment rate among young veterans, just returning from iraq and afghanistan. why is that? we'll talk about that, next. and surprising words this week from the prince of saudi arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter says oil prices are just too high. we'll tell you why he said that later this hour. i'm chef michael, and my dog bailey and i love to hang out in the kitchen. you love the aroma of beef tenderloin, don't you? you inspired a very special dog food. [ female announcer ] chef michael's canine creations. chef inspired. dog desired. you can do this... get the ball, girl. hmmm, you can't do that. but you can do this. bengay pain relief + massage with penetrating nubs plus the powerful pain relief of bengay. love the nubs!

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as we honor our war dead on this memorial day, let's take a look at what our veterans are coming home to, the ones that are serving still. they're coming home to unemployment. it's about two points higher than the average rate, and for veterans between the ages of 18 and 24, the jobless rate is 27%. they're also dealing with homelessness. about 1 in 20 people living on the street or in a shelter served our country. they're dealing with the spike in posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, and suicide has become a growing problem. 156 suicides in the army last year. listen to what the head of the senate veterans affairs committee, patty murray, said about their plight. >> if we don't make sure that we help those men and women who are coming home today get a job, help with their physical and mental injuries, get through the benefits claim process, 20 years from now, our country will have on its conscience a high number

of veterans who we've lost because of suicide, who are homeless on the streets, and who have been lost. and i don't want to see that happen. >> joseph sharp is the director of the economic division of the american legion. welcome. >> thank you. glad to be here. >> so this 27% unemployment rate among young veterans, that number is astounding. why do you think it's so high? >> well, there are a couple of reasons. one is we're in a very deep recession, which makes the number of jobs available limited. and the thing is that with such a high recession and such demand for employment, those service members that are currently in the military or are being deployed are currently out of the job market. so as they're performing their duty, time marches on and those individuals or their peers are able to compete for the few jobs that are left.

>> well, let's talk about that competition and job experience. because patty murray says that veterans who are coming home are actually afraid to put their service on their resume or job application because they're afraid the employer will put them at the bottom of the pack. that's crazy. >> well, one of our concerns, especially for the reserve and national guard, is that since the paradigm has changed with the reserve component being used more frequently, and those individuals being deployed more frequently, there is some fear on many employers, especially those small businesses, that they're going to lose a individual that they desperately need. and because of that, some veterans are afraid to put the fact that they are reservists or they are in the national guard for fear of not being hired because of that fact. >> so how do we fix that? >> well, there are a number of things that we can do.

we definitely need to redouble our efforts to assist veterans. we applaud the administration and members of congress for really emphasizing the need of veterans at this particular time. we also applaud senator murray and other congressmen, as far as putting forth legislation to address that issue. but one of the main things that we definitely need to do is first, for the reserve and national guard, make sure that they are able to attend a traditional program that really, more or less, assists veterans, prior to their being -- before they leave the military. >> right. so job training. and that's one of the thing that senator murray, she's introducing legislation to not only require job training for our veterans, but also offering incentives for employers to hire them once they get home. and who knows how long that will take, to make it through the

senate and also the house, we'll see. thank you so much for joining us, mr. sharp. we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. we are remembering fallen soldiers across the country this memorial day. in chesterton, ohio, the army flew home the remains of chief warrant officer, christopher thibodeau. he died when his helicopter crashed on a mission in afghanistan. >> chris was what every dad wants his kid to be. he was hardworking, he was honest, he dedicated -- >> i miss him so much. >> in west salem, ohio, family and friends remember first lieutenant john runkel, who died when insurgents attacked his unit near kandahar, afghanistan. >> very honorable man. the most honorable person that i knew. in fact, my son is my role model. >> and in bremerton, washington, a moving ceremony, honoring nine

service member. all nine died in uniform, but their remains had gone unclaimed until veterans groups decided to honor them. >> it's a frightening thing to think that a human being could die and no one would mark their grave, to know what they had done. we gathered at one to bury their son. and in a greater sense, we are their family, because we have shared a common bond. >> cnn will take you live to arlington national cemetery. at 10:55 a.m., president obama takes part of the ceremonies there, including a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknowns. coming up next, taking down the government's food pyramid, block by block. the government is reshaping traditional guidelines. you know what the shape of the new pyramid will be? we'll show you no two minutes. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can now come from any faucet anywhere. introducing the brita bottle with the filter inside.

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move over, food pyramid. there's a new symbol to get americans to eat right. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here. so, elizabeth, the pyramid is no more. >> right. this pyramid is going to be disappearing. that's why we said r.i.p. it's been around almost 20 years. and tada, what we're going to have now is a dinner plate. we don't know exactly what it's going to look like, carol, because it hasn't been officially unveiled, but cnn's gotten word that the plate will be divided, so you'll see half of what you'll eat every day are

supposed to be fruits and veggies, smaller portions of a protein or a grain, and a little bit of dairy off to the side. >> i was just going to ask you, what was so wrong with the pyramid, anyway? >> take a look at pinpoint it's not exactly the finest public health image this country has ever generated. the supposed you're not supposed to eat is at the top, and that's sweets and fats. and usually we think of the top as the best, so it's counterintuitive. and there's this heavy emphasis on grains and breads. that's at the bottom, the biggest portion. and fruits and vegetables are smaller than grains. which doesn't make any sense, since nutritionists say you're supposed to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. it didn't convey the message very well. you didn't look at it and go, oh, now i get what i'm supposed to do. >> i'm just trying to figure out who actually ever looked to the pyramid. i mean, i learned it in school,

but -- >> yeah, i mentioned it to my daughters, they were like, oh, yeah, the pyramid, what was that again? it didn't sink into their heads. they're hoping that something like this which is so much simpler make more of an impact? >> i'm sure, but will americans really pay attention to what it's suggesting? >> really, americans for the most part do not fill half their plates up with fruits and vegetables. it's going to take more than a really good i con to get americans to change their ways. >> i'm thinking of moms all over america, honey, this is how you're supposed to eat. see that plate? thank you, elizabeth, we appreciate it. the housing market crash, millions of homeowners faced foreclosure and the government promised to help. so how did that rescue plan work out, anyway? >> it's a failure. i mean, i really think it's difficult to define it anything other than as an abject failure. >> tough words from the government's own watchdog over

the pram. we'll take a closer look. and what if sarah palin and michele bachmann both decide to run for president? they're both conservative women with tea party credentials. how do voters choose one over the other? we'll talk more about that, later. excuse me. just... get through here.

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most americans say the price of oil is too high. and guess what, one of the world's biggest oil producers agrees. alison kosik is in new york with details. alison, we're talking about saudi arabia. this was sort of a weird and surprising announcement. >> i agree. you know, that's why i kind of did a double take with my ears as well, carol. and you're right, yes, generally the more your product costs, the more money you're going to make, but there's a tipping point, because if prices get too high, people are going to stop buying, and that's exactly what saudi arabia is worried about. saudi prince al waleed said yesterday that he wants to see prices come down from where they are right now, and right now they're at about $100 a barrel. >> we want the price between $70 and $80, not only to help the west, but to help ourselves. we don't want to west to go and find alternatives, because the more higher the price of oil goes, the more they have an incentive to go and find an alternative. so our interests coincide with

the west's. >> really, prince al waleed wants us to continue to be lo locked in as a customer, to be hooked on oil. we go to saudi arabia for a huge chunk of our oil, 100 barrels a month. remember, we were in this exact position a few years ago, so the sticker shock really isn't as strong the second time around, but if prices wind up getting up into the $130 or $140 range and stay there for a while, americans will start making adjustments and that will affect saudi arabia's economy and the exports of other nations. >> but the bigger question here is, can saudi arabia just say, okay, oil is $80 a barrel? and if they can do that, then, is everybody right, and it's all about price pixing to rip us off? >> you know, and that's what really makes you take a step back and wonder.

you have to remember, saudi arabia is part of opec. you know, and they have a huge vested interest in keeping oil prices high to make a profit. but they don't want to get to that tipping point and really scare off people from using gasoline, and that's what the prince is worried about, carol. >> alison kosik, interesting stuff, live from new york. thank you. for millions of homeowners, it was a perfect storm -- the economy stalled, jobs disappeared, and the value of their homes plummeted. so with millions of americans facing foreclosure, the government stepped in with a program to save their homes. but even the government's top watchdog says the program failed and failed miserably. brianna keilar has more for you. >> reporter: february 2009. with millions of homeowners on the brink of foreclosure, president obama rolled out his plan to keep families in their home. >> the plan i'm focusing on is rescuing families who played by the rules and acted responsibly.

by refinancing loans for millions of families in traditional mortgages, who are under water or close to it -- >> reporter: millions of families, up to 4 million, in fact, were supposed to avoid foreclosure under the plan. to date, it has kept just 630,000 in their homes. neil barofsky, the former independent watchdog for the program, has become its chief critic. this is his interview since resigning last month. >> reporter: so how do you characterize the outcome of this program? >> it's a failure. i really think it's difficult to define it anything other than an abject failure. >> reporter: lenders whose loans to people who couldn't afford them led to the foreclosure crisis were supposed to modify loans, so struggling homeowners could reduce their monthly payments. in exchange, the government would make an incentive payment to the lender, but it didn't really happen. barofsky says it's because the payments are not enough. and there are no penalties for banks not participating. >> reporter: how many fines has treasury imposed in this program?

>> zero. not one. notwithstanding the fact that in november of 2009, they issued a prees and said that they're going to start holding servicers accountable with penalties and withholding payments if they don't comply with the terms of their agreement. nothing followed. >> reporter: while barofsky blames the treasury department, secretary tim geithner points a finger at the mortgage companies. >> they are not putting enough resources in this effort, they are in the doing a good enough jobs of helping homeowners navigate through a very complicated and difficult process. they have to do a better job. >> brianna keilar reporting. right now, more than 1.8 million homes are in foreclosure, and every homeowner is feeling the effects. with home values continuing to slide, some experts predict the housing market will not hit bottom before next year. and that makes some agonizing decisions for homeowners. do they stay put or do they sell now? cnn's allan chernoff takes a closer look.

checking our top stories now. in yemen, more deadly clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters. nearly a dozen people reported killed and 160 hurt. yemen's president has been meeting with advisers to talk about what he calls hostilities and crimes in his country. a changing of the guard atop the nation's military command. less than one hour from now, president obama expected to nominate martin dempsey as the next chairman as the joint chiefs of staff to replace admiral mike mullen. dempsey would become the nation's highest ranking military officer. and hackers hit the pbs website. they posted a story saying that rapper tupac is aliving and living in new zealand. he was killed in 1996. the hackers said they did it in retaliation for the network's program called "wikisecrets." . a bit of breaking news.

shocking news from the college sports world. ohio state has announced that football coach jim tressel has resigned. tressel was caught up in a scandal surrounding several of his players selling memorabilia. tressel at first said he knew nothing about it, but later acknowledged he had known about it for months. tressel will be replaced in the upcoming season by interim coach, luke fakell. in other sports news, rookie jr hildebrand was so close to winning the indianapolis 500, but on the final turn of the final lap, hildebrand crashed into the wall -- there he goes. >> he hit the wall! >> he was trying to pass another driver. that gave dan wheldon an opening. he dashed past the rookie on his way to victory lane. it is the second time wheldon's won the indianapolis 500. danica patrick, by the way, finished tenth amid speculation she may leave the indy car series for nascar. speaking of nascar, there was also a surprising finish in charlotte last night. more sports for you in 20 minutes. and while sarah palin's

taking a tour of the east coast, another conservative woman who might run for president has been testing the campaign waters out in iowa. if palin decides to run, does that kill it for michele bachma bachmann? we'll talk more about that, next. ♪ [car horn honks] our outback always gets us there... ... sometimes it just takes us a little longer to get back. ♪

memorial day is not just a day to remember our fallen

heroes, actually, it's also the start of a political campaign for president. candidates will be out shaking hands and kissing babies, including the former minnesota governor, tim pawlenty. he's in iowa, and yes, he will participate in the proverbial pancake breakfast. congresswoman michele bachmann is set to watch a parade and attend more somber ceremonies in new hampshire. and sarah palin's one nation bus is on its way to gettysburg. it's part of a patriotic sights tour or more, who knows? if she does decide to run for president, john mccain, her one-time running mate, says she'll be fierce. >> of course, she can, she can. now, whether she will or not, whether she'll even run or not, i don't know. but, you know, a lot of things happen in campaigns. you'll remember, i was written off a couple of times and we were able to come back. she certainly is a major factor and i believe that she can be very competitive. >> if palin's bus tour is headed down the road for a presidential run, perhaps the most interesting matchup among republican candidates in the

primary will be palin versus minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann. both women are conservatives, both women are tea party drar darlings, and both will make political history if they run for president on the republican ticket. leslie sanchez is the author of "you've come a long way," a book about women in politics, and also a longtime political observer. welcome. >> thank you! great to be here on this special d day. >> great to have you. okay, mccain says palin could beat president obama. is that possible? >> it would be a steep challenge. he is correct, i like that he used the word "fierce," that she's a fierce campaigner, ferocious campaigner. she can mobilize not only the interest of social conservatives, evangelicals, but also the media limelight, which helps with fund-raising dollars. the biggest test for female candidates, in particular, was could they past the money test. i think hillary clinton and sarah palin proved that in 2008.

they broke that threshold. and now to have so many women, not only here at the top of the ticket, but lining up, shows we've come a long way in the last quarter century in terms of these candidates. she, if she wants to be, could be very viable. >> let's go on to that subject matter, women and politics. on to palin and bachmann. bachmann will announce her plans later this week, but already some are saying, bachmann shouldn't bottom because she's a carbon copy of sarah palin. here's what bachmann said about that on "jk usa." >> i have great respect for senator palin, i consider her a friend. so if she gets in, she gets in. that won't impact whether or not i get in or not. >> leslie, you have to admit, palin has certainly come up with a way to garner attention, you know, with her bus tour.

bachmann sees diminished now. is she toast? >> i don't think so. you can have more than one female candidate. sarah palin has transcended politics into celebrity. she has to deal with highly polarizing numbers, the fact, to your point, she does not appeal to independents. she has her own challenges. michele bachmann can take advantage of that. the point is, there are more candidates that are aggressively appealing to -- these outsider candidates who are appealing to this concern about the direction of the country, and it's good for all republicans to have a healthy debate right now. >> there was an interesting article in the "l.a. times," and they were talking about -- they were talking with voters in iowa. and this is what one independent voter in iowa said about bachmann/palin. she said, and it was a she, "i like what bachmann has to say, but i think we need a very strong male candidate in order to defeat obama. i wouldn't mind having a female president, but i don't think this is the election. after what happened to sarah palin, i don't think the country is ready yet."

is she right? >> not -- i -- i would say that there are a lot of diverse views in iowa, and i don't think gender should be a part of this. unfortunately, we continue to look at things through that lens. it's not male, female, african-american, nonafrican-american, it's the issue of who can lead this country best. who has the best credentials, experience, and more importantly, who can bring people together. that, for sarah palin, is going to be a challenge. for other candidates who have reached across the aisle and proven they can get things done in their states, many as governors, there's a clear opportunity. but overall, the electorate is fickle and they continue to want instant gratification and these candidates have to be very leery and careful with that. >> leslie sanchez, thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. cnn's john king is aboard the cnn express, closely following sarah palin's nationwide bus tour. more on that at 7:00 p.m. eastern on "john king, usa" right here on cnn.

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now sign and drive a jeep wrangler sport 4x4 with zero first month's payment, zero down and zero due at signing for qualified lessees. the memorial day holiday traditionally kicks off the summer vacation season, but are

you among the millions of american who is don't use all the days off coming to you? take a look at this. france mandates its workers get 30 days off every year. germans get more than four weeks! in the states, there is no mandate. now, typically, americans get two or three weeks off a year, yet barely half of us take all of that vacation time. while nearly 90% of french workers take every single day. what does that mean? what do workers do in other industrial countries? we wondered about that. so we've got reports on two from our paula hancock in seoul and kyung lah in tokyo. let's start in tokyo. >> reporter: this is the image that the world has of the japanese workers, serious, buttoned up, and a very hard worker. i'm kyung lah in tokyo. well, guess what, everybody, that stereotype is true. according to japan's government, the average japanese worker gets 18 paid holidays a year, but half, 50% of those workers, take

only eight of those 18 days. that's less than half of their paid vacation. the reason why, there's this long-standing notion in corporate japan that if you take all of your vacation days, you are lazy. you're considered a better employee if you leave those vacation days on the table. little wonder that there is a legal term here in japan called kiroshi which means death by overwork. >> i'm paula hancocks in seoul. south koreans are one of the hardest working people in the world, to be considered a workaholic here is almost like a badge of honor. according to recent figures from the oecd, in 2009, south koreans worked an average 52-hour workweek. that's compared to a 34-hour workweek in the united states. so you would assume that vacations would be very precious. but not so. according to government figures, last year, almost half of all vacation days were simply not

taken. 48% of days off were worked through. now, one of the reasons for this could be that it is equity a hierarchical society. it's frowned upon to arrive at work after your boss or leave work before your boss. and even after your work done, it is good a idea to stay and be seen so you can get ahead. >> so we're not alone in our nuttiness. if you plan to, indeed, take a vacation, go right here. we'll tell you what to pack, the dos and don'ts of vacation. go to cnn.com/travel, it is all there. checking stories cross-country now. a lot of damage to clean up in battle creek, michigan, after severe storms yesterday. winds of up to 80 miles per hour damaged the city's business corridor, uprooted trees, toppling them on to houses and cars. in ft. pierce, florida, a police helicopter crashed aft eed as i

answered a call. a gust of wind caused it to go a spin. the pilot was not hurt. kingston's record label says he is stabilized and refuted online claims that online claime died. his song "beautiful girls" shot to number one in 2007. a dad makes a terrible foul ball catch. why did it make his son cry? he knocked him over to get the ball. you'll see it in sports. [ banker ] mike and brenda found a house that they really wanted.

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several memorial day events are making news later today. president obama takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknowns at arlington national cemetery at 10:55 a.m. eastern. another event, this one in new york, as part of the fleet week ceremonies aboard the intrepid sea, air and space museuming. that will take place at 11:00 a.m. eastern. then at 1:00 eastern, a service

honoring men and women who have fallen in service to the country at the vietnam veterans wall. six are being added to that wall. let's check in first with chris lawrence at arlington national cemetery. >> reporter: we're here in section 60, the sbgz dedicated to those who lost their lives in iraq and afghanistan. for a lot of families here, the wounds are still very, very fresh. going to bring you some of these stories and make it more than just a piece of stone on a grave, coming up. and i'm jim acosta in gettysburg where sarah palin takes her campaign style bus tour later today. is she running for president? it's too early to say you betcha. i'm alison kosich in new york. the prices could hit $5 a gallon. >> that again. thanks to all of you.

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>> okay. i'm kind of shocked by this. ohio state has announced football coach jim tressel has

resigned. tressel was caught up in a scandal with several of his players selling memorabilia. he at first said he had known nothing bit but later acknowledged he had known about it for months. in other sports news. >> dale: earnhardt junior on the final lap earnhardt started slowing down. nobody knew what was happening. guess what? his chevy, it ran out of gas. kevin harvick flew by to take the win, his third win this season and 17th overall. atlanta braves hosting the reds. a 2-1 lead with that home run. sixth inning. okay. let's go to the eighth inning. toronto makes a play in the field. take a look. puts up a single, one hop, and fires the ball home. the runner, out! the braves hold on to win.

another play at the plate. rangers/royals. game tied at six, bottom of the ninth. tries to score. the ball against to brayan pena in plenty of time but napoli slides right underneath him and scores. tough weekend at the ballpark for a couple of kids. a dad makes a fantastic foul ball catch but rolls over his son to do it. dad is hoping that ball will help the tears go away. i bet mom is mad. and he drops his daughter trying to catch a foul ball. >> there comes a foul ball. >> what happened? >> he does get a smack from his daughter. >> get it of here, dad. that's just wrong. awkward moment for a new york city cop. the umpire stops play in the first inning of the mets game with the officer on the field. it's like get off the field.

the officer didn't know the game had started. what? me? relief pitcher opened the bull pen gate to get him off the field and the game resumed. it is 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. i'm carol costello. good morning to you. changing of the guard a a top the nation's military command. minutes from now, president obama is expected to nominate martin dempsey as the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. and the president will honor the nation's war dead. he will take part in ceremonies, including laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. storms in the midwest created some big problems for holiday travelers. in chicago, more than 450 flights were canceled at o'hare international airport. the gop race for the white house is heating up on this unofficial

start of summer. one candidate who has delayered and two who have not are reaching out to voters this memorial day. tim pawlenty already in the fold visits iowa. two potential candidates, michele bachmann and sarah palin. bachmann is in new hampshire and palin on n in gettysburg. any sign of her bus yet, jim? >> reporter: not just yet, carol. she was at the national archives earlier this morning. one of oufr cnn crews was there. apparently at the national archives where you can view the constitution and other historic documents. somebody yelled you should run. she said i'm going to keep fighting. a nonanswer-answer.

trying to figure out, as a lot of other republicans are doing right now, trying to figure out what sarah palin is up to. what we can tell you is she is on this campaign style bus tour. it started in washington as she rolled across the potomac on the back of hairly davidson along with the rolling thunder motorcycle rally that was going on to honor and remember pows and soldiers missing in action. and our cnn sandra endo had a chance to catch up with the former alaska governor for a brief couple of moments where she asked, what are you up to? here's what she said. >> bus tour to get out there and remind americans about our foundation, our independence and constitution and the historical sites that should be a reminder every day to every american about how important it is to stand strong on our foundation and build upon it. that's what made us the greatest

country on earth. >> reporter: now, later tractor trailer day she also had lunch, we understand, with some patients from the walter reed medical center. those are wounded soldiers just back from being in action. and one of the various conflicts around the country -- around the world, i should say. later in the evening, according to her political action website, sarah palin and her family toured the monuments as she put it, incognito. all of this goes to show you, all this media attention goes to show you, carol, if she is getting into this race she sure knows how to make an entrance, carol. >> yes, she does. that's all we're talking about for sure. david, thank you. if you've been enjoying the recent slight in gas prices, buckle up for bad news. goldman sachs is predicting american will see prices rise to

5 bucks a gallon this summer. although we've heard that before, haven't we, and it didn't happen? the national average is $3.79 a gallon, according to aaa. more than a dollar higher than this time last year. alison kosik is in new york. why is goldman sachs predicting this? >> will it go to $5 or won't it, right? with goldman sachs coming out and saying these prices are going to rise because global demand for oil is expected to grow. self new forecasts have come out the last few days. goldman sachs is saying oil is expected to hit 120 bucks by year's end. jpmorgan chase saying 130. but there's an important note to tell you about. they're talking about crude. the european benchmark. that's sitting at $114 now a barrel. u.s. consumers will still see higher prices at the pump. gas prices, they're directly tied to the price of crude oil sitting at $100 a barrel.

those prices lag two weeks before we see them hit the gas pumps. carol? >> i'm just curious about something. if somebody predicts gas will be 5 bucks a gallon by summer; this a self-fulfilling prophecy? does that push prices up artificially? >> it does. these bullish notes really help to bring in speculators that i know you love, carol. if wall street says prices are going to rise, it attracts investors who want to get in and make money. the big wall street firms stand to make a bundle, that is for sure. putting out forecasts by these is legal. it's done all the time. analysts say get used to it. we will probably see more and more of these forecasts. the economic situation we're in is changing so much. expect to get these once a month. not everybody agrees these are going to rise sphfplt say gas prices will continue to drop over the next few weeks.

who knows in some say yes. some say no. who knows in. >> we have no choice in the matter. alison kosik live in new york. president obama about to -- actually, let's listen in and see what he has to say. >> good morning. in a few moments i'll be joining members of the armed forces and their families and veterans fort memorial day observance at arlington. there and across our nation we'll pause to honor all those who have given their last full measure of devotion in defense of our country. theirs was the ultimate sacrifice. but it is one that every man and woman who wears america's uniform is prepared to make so that we can live free. the men and women of our armed forces are the best our nation has to offer, and they deserve nothing but the absolute best in return.

and that includes leaders who will guide them and support their families with wisdom and strength and compassion. that's what i expect as commander in chief as we work to keep our nation secure and our military the finest in the world. i found those quality in leon panetta, who i announced last month as my choice to succeed secretary of defense bob gates, who i thank for joining us today. and i found these qualities in leaders who will complete our team at the pentagon and whom i'm proud to announce today. general martin dempsey as chairman of joint chiefs of staff, admiral james wintpeld as vice chairman and to succeed general dempsey general ray odierno. the chairman is the principal military adviser to me and my national security team,

including secretary of defense. since taking office i've been very grateful for the leadership of the current chairman, admiral mike mullen, and the vice chairman, general cartwright. these two men served our nation with distinction for decades, and i look forward to paying tribute to their lives of service in the months ahead. today i will simply say, like president bush before we, i deeply valued mike's professional steadiness and his personal integrity. on his watch, our military forces have excelled across the whole spectrum of missions, from combat in iraq and afghanistan to relief efforts after the haiti earthquake. he's helped revitalize nato, are set our realizes with russia, and steer our relationship with pakistan and china. and i believe that history will also record mike mullen as the chairman who said what he believed in right and declared no one in uniform should ever have to sacrifice their integrity to serve their country. i've also benefited enormously

from the advice and counsel of cart wright. haas is the rare combination of technical expert from cyber to missile defense and strategic thinker. whether it was updating our nuclear posture or preparing our military for 21st century missions. i'll always be personally grateful to him for his friendship and partnership. and as he concludes four decades of service in the marine corps. that he loves, he can do so knowing our nation is more secure and our military is stronger because of his remarkable career. and i know that michelle joins me in saluting sandy cartwright and deborah mull men for their decades of service, especially as champions of our inspiring military families. with the advice and consent of the senate, it is our hope and expectation that leon panetta will soon take the reigns on the secretary of defense. general cart wright's term ends

this summer. mullen's this fall. i am announcing my choice today because it's essential that this transition be seamless and that we stay focused on the national security challenges before us. i want to thank the secretary of defense bill lynn for the continuity he will provide during this transition. with nearly 40 years in uniform, martin dempsey is one of our nation's most respected and combat tested generals. in iraq he led our soldiers goodness a brutal insurgency. having trained iraqi forces he knows the nations must ultimately take responsibility for their own security. having served as actor commander of central command he understands in iraq and afghanistan political progress and security gains must go hand in hand. just as he challenged the army to embrace new doctrine and tactics, i expect him to push all our forces to continue adapting and innovating to be ready for the missions of today

and tomorrow. i was proud to nominate marty as army chief of staff. i realized he only assumed that position last month. marty, your tenure as chief may go down as one of the shortest in army history. but it's your lifetime of accomplishment that brings us here today. and i thank you for your willingness to take on this new assignment along with your wife dini and your three children, all of whom have served in the army. today i want every one of our men and women in uniform to hear the words that you spoke to your soldiers on your first day as chief. because it's our shared message to all who serve, especially our troops in harm's way. we will provide whatever it takes to chief our objectives in the current fight. as vice chairman admiral winitpeld will draw on 30 years of distinguished service. under his command fighters from the aircraft carrier uss enterprise pounded taliban positions in the weeks after

9/11 and carried a strike group played a critical role in air operations over iraq. having served as nato commander, sandy is well-known to our allies. having served on the joint staff, he is known and trusted here at the white house. most recently as head of northern command, saepbld has been responsible for the defense of our homeland and states and communities in times of crisis, such as the recent tornados and the floods along the mississippi. he supported our mexican partners and the fight against the cartels and our japanese allies in response to their nuclear emergency. so sandy knows that we have to be prepared for the full range of challenges. sandy, i thank you. and your wife mary and your two sons for your continued service. i selected general dempsey and admiral winifeld because of their record and potential as individuals but also because they will make an extraordinary team despite their competing loyalties to army and navy.

between them they bring deep experience in virtually every domain, land, air, space, sea, cyber. both of them have the respect and trust of your troops on the front lines, our friends in congress and allies and partners abroad. both of them have my full confidence. they both have something else. for the first time the chairman and vice chairman will have the experience of leading combat operations in the years since 9/11. two moments in particular speak to this leadership. on the morning of september 11, 2001, the enterprise was returning home from the persian gulf when word came from the attacks. rather than wait for orders, sandy took the initiative, reversed course and put his ship in range of afghanistan by the next morning, setting the stage for the strikes that followed. a few years later, as marty's first armored division was rotating out of iraq, he

suddenly got new orders. he turned his division around, shifted to new parts of iraq, and defeated an insurgent uprising, a remarkable maneuver that entered the anals of army history. while i know folks across the army are proud to see one of their own selected as chairman, i also know this means losing their new chief in a time of war. and that's why for the next army chief of staff i'm nominating one of the most accomplished soldiers and one of the tallest, general ray odierno. in three preuftal deployments to iraq, he commanded the troops that captured saddam hussein, and transferred responsibility to iraqi forces allowing us to remove some 100,000 troops and end our combat mission. after years on the front lines, ray understands what the army must do to prevail in today's wars, to prepare for the future,

and to preserve the readiness of the soldiers and families who are the strength of america's families. we're fortunate that ray's dedication is shared by his wife linda and their family, including their son tony, a combat veteran and advocate for his fellow wounded warriors. i urge our friends in the senate to confirm these young visuals as swiftly as possible. they're innovative, flexible, focused on the future and deeply devoted to their troops and families. general dempsey, admiral, winifeld we have much to do. to bringing our troops home from iraq and reducing our forces in afghanistan. from defeating al qaeda to protecting the libyan people. all this even as we make difficult budget decisions while keeping our military the finest fighting force in the world. above all, as commander in chief

i'll be looking to you and the rest of the joint chiefs for what i value most in my advisers, your honest, unvarnished advice and the full range of options, especially when it comes to our most solemn obligation, protecting the lives of our brave men and women in uniform. we have no greater responsibility as we are reminded today when we honor all those who sacrificed so we can enjoy the blessings of freedom. so, again, to marty, sandy, and ray as well as your families, thank you for your patriotic service and readiness to lead once more. that c thank you very much, everybody. >> with that, we'll step away. perhaps the most important nomination is general martin dempsey, who will chair the joint chiefs of staff. of course all three nomination still has to be confirmed by the senate. as we honor our war dead on this memorial day, we want to look at what our veterans are coming home to. it's not good.

high unemployment, brain trauma injuries and more. we'll take a closer look and tell you what you can do. we'll be right back. [ waves crashing ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] and just like that, it's here. a new chance for all of us: people, companies, communities to face the challenges yesterday left behind and the ones tomorrow will bring. prudential. bring your challenges.

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we honor our war veterans. unemployment is two points higher than the national average. for veterans between 18 and 24, the jobless rate is more than 20%. veterans are also dealing with homelessness. 1 in 20 living on the street are in shelters who served our country. a spike in post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. and suicides. 156 suicides last year. >> if we don't make sure that help those men and women get a job, help with their physical and mental injuries, get through the benefits claim process, 20 years from now our country will have on its conscience, a high number of veterans we lost because of suicide, homeless on

the streets and who have been lost. and i don't want to see that happen. >> chris lawrence is live at arlington national cemetery. chris, we honor our war dead on this memorial day. and we do honor our veterans. but some might say we kind of forget about them after we see that beautiful homecoming. then what happens to these veterans? >> reporter: well, carol, if you go around the country and you talk to a lot of the veterans like we have, you find out a lot of them are struggling to find work, are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. for many americans it's a very tough transition back home. even though for those with very living and supportive families, the economy hasn't made things any better. while it's not terribly out of whack when you look at certain unemployment statistics for vets and for, you know, nonveterans, the fact that a lot of companies aren't really going out of their way to higher veterans i think is the big issue for a lot of

groups. they feel like it's going to be tougher for a lot of these people to transition back. if the cups don't take a proactive step to get them back into the job market quickly. of course today is about honoring and remembering those who have fallen in battle. most of the area here, or some of it at least is dedicated to those who lost their lives in iraq and afghanistan. this may help put it in perspective. a lot of expect say for every soldier, marine, sailor, airman in battle, it will affect 10 americans, mothers, fathers, wives, kids, grandparents. so they estimate maybe over 60,000 people have been affected by the deaths. although you come out here -- and it can be a little overwhelming because just the sheer size of this. when you get down and start to see the individual stories, like the family right over there who we spent a lot of the morning talking with, listen to this and

you can hear she really puts it in great perspective what it means each one of these graves. >> i want everyone to realize these aren't just graves. they aren't just numbers. they're real people. they had wives and husbands and children and siblings and friends. it is about celebrating their life and making sure everyone knows these are real people that we lost. so when i get to talk about my husband i love to laugh and smile when i talk about him and really share the great guy he was. >> and to just bring it home and show you how each is a separate store. nicky bunting, her husband came home for r and r, went back to afghanistan a few years ago. four days back in afghanistan he was killed during an attack there. well, about a month or two later she found out she was pregnant. she's here with their year and a half old son who never got a

chance to meet his dad. she wants this to be a happy place. a place where she tells him this is like heaven. this is heaven. this is where you can come and see your dad. carol? >> chris lawrence live at arlington national cemetery. thank you. let's talk about politics now. sarah palin on her bus tour right now. michele bachmann with a political appearance in new hampshi hampshire. who would win a smackdown of the two? at 190 miles per hour, the wind will literally lift ordinary windshield wipers off the glass. so, did we build a slower car?

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checkinging stories cross country now. singer sean kingston and a female passenger crashed into a bridge in miami. he refuted online claims tae denied. his debut song "beautiful girls"

shot to number one in 2007. the company calls it a significant and tenacious attack but says no critical data was stolen and that it was detected almost immediately. a group of hackers also pirated the pbs website posting a false story about the late wrapper tucpac. they taunted him for a recent document about the wikileaks scandal. the hackers say they were less than impressed by the report. a young man proposes to his girlfriend in a movie theater and he did it by filming the proposal and slipping that into the movie. what motivated him to go big like this? i'll ask him in just a few minutes. [ woman ] welcome back jogging stroller.

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t adwiwiout food al t it is time for political buzz. a lightning fast conversation. each of our brilliant political observers gets 20 seconds to answer three probing questions. jim is a democratic strategist. comedian pete dominic brings his own perspective. and krb contributor will kane, conservative political analyst. we start with a serious question first. one in four young veterans are unemployed on this memorial day. we ask why.

jamal? >> we've got two problems. the first is problem with 18 to 24 male unemployment. for that rate, civilian and veterans are about equal. the big problem we have is in female veteran unemployment rate, which is three points higher than civilian unemployment. and i think the va ought to be able to really address that. we have to target the women veterans and trying to get young men back to work. >> out of time. will? >> debt, carol. that's the answer. i'm not talking about federal government debt. business and household debt are at historic highs. economic environment like that it's hard to businesses to invest, consumers to spend, and hard for unemployment to come down for young people, soldiers or otherwise. >> pete? >> well, carol, the military is disproportionately filled with people who don't have as many options to begin with. they don't come from wealthy homes anyway. we should go to iraq and

afghanistan veterans organizations and support the hiring heroes act. >> well done. at least it will help. question number 2, michele bachmann versus sarah palin. who wins in a smackdown? >> democrats, i think. >> not only do i think they can't win an election, i don't think they should. they suck the air out of people who should be up against barack obama as republican nominee. like, i don't know, tim pawlenty maybe. >> maybe. jim? >> in twefrpb when hillary clinton was running against barack obama we used to say mama had the muscle and obama had the magic. in this case i think bachmann has the muscle. if sarah palin can get some of that her magic ought to be able to win in a fight between the two of them but i don't think either one will be the nominee. >> pete? >> i have not seen michele bachmann or sarah palin in the

same room together. i've never seen them together. maybe if you put them together they could be a legitimate candidate. these ladies are so far out there, democrats and comedians are hoping they will be the nominee. i'll tell you that right now. >> our last question. president obama signed the paet kwrat act by auto pen. that means a machine did the signing. is that constitutional? is it? jamal? >> it might be constitutional. i don't know if it's that good of an idea. he's depending on 2005 legal ruling by the bush white house. trusting the bush legal counsel is not where they should start. >> you only get 10 seconds this time around. i didn't know we were still doing that. will? >> i think for president who from sonia sotomayor's nomination, obamacare, has shown a general disregard. auto pen doesn't crack my top five. >> pete? >> well, the patriot act is

probably what's unconstitutional. auto pen, a lot of people don't know this john hancock used it. we have to look at history. >> who knew? jamal, will, pete, thank you so much for being here, our political buzz. we'll be back tomorrow. in just minutes, a wreath laying ceremony on the "uss intrepid" serving as a museum at pier 86 on the west side of manhattan. 100 foot american flag unfurled during the ceremony. memorial day service is being held at 1:00 eastern on the vietnam veterans memorial in washington. the names of six service phep are being added to the wall. joplin, missouri, an update at 2:00 p.m. eastern on the tornado that ripped across the

city may 22nd. president obama is will take part in ceremonies to honor the nation's war dead. we're expecting that to begin later this hour. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands

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there was a time when a nicely dressed man on bended knee was enough. i man serenaded his girlfriend so he could propose marriage to her. ♪ marry me ♪ if i ever get the words to

say ♪ >> she said yes. then there's the google worker. he got his employer to help him propose by slipping this image into google map street view. and then the latest. according to the groom to be, the greatest took place in a movie theater. >> i would like to have your blessing, sir. may i have your daughter's hand in marriage? >> i would love to have you as a son-in-law. >> this was, traoepl. it got a bazillion hits on youtube. welcome. i just can't imagine what your life has been like since this thing became so huge. so how many tv shows have you been on now? >> we have done a few interviews and a couple of national shows as well. >> when you say a few interviews, 5, 10?

you were just on the ellen show. come on. >> it's crazy. we did a radio show for australia yesterday. it was 6:30 in the morning and 4:30 p.m. here. we've done all over the world. it's been crazy. it's wild. >> it's just become like a business for you, hasn't it, jenny? it's become more than a marriage proposal, hasn't it? >> it really has. >> what's it been like? it. >> was completely unexpected. we did not expect this at all. >> really? >> not at all. >> when you set out to make this elaborate proposal in a movie theater and it became huge on youtube and it is on the internet, you didn't expect this? >> no, ma'am. i did it because it meant a lot to jenny. after our second date she said she felt like she was in a movie. i said, no, we're going to make the movies jealous. that's why the whole movie theater, trailer and asking her father's permission was

important to me. so i wanted to include all that. >> so just personally, i'm not saying there was anything wrong with it, if my husband would make it public like that i would kill him. or my fiancee at the time. so what about this makes you smile? >> that so much thought was put into it. and it did mean a lot to us, making the movies jealous. the fact that he did ask my father. i joked with him and said if he hadn't done it this way i might not have said yes. i would say have you asked my daddy first? i never had an idea for exactly what i wanted. we put it on facebook and youtube for our family and friends that didn't get to be there to see it so they could see it because of course they heard bit. they wanted to see the whole thing. so we put it up and it spread like wildfire. and here we are. >> not only that, i mentioned you went on the ellen show and she's paying for your honeymoon

to jamaica. a free entertainment center, tv and dvd player, free dinnerware, free photography service, free offers for your wedding reception venue. and you guys don't even have a date yet? >> huh-uh. >> people want to cash in on your wedding. >> i don't think it's that. i think people are really inspired by our story. the best e-mails we receive are the e-mails from people that say, you know, me and my husband, we watched this together and we felt a lot of loss of romance. and watching your video has actually inspired us and showed us what real love is. those are the best e-mails. and i don't think people are trying to cash in on this. i think people are actually truly inspired by the story. >> i think some people, cynics, mind you, might turn it around and saying you're using your marriage proposal to cash in on stuff like this, all this free stuff you're getting. so how would you respond to those people?

>> well, there's going to be those kind of people. we get negative comments. fore every negative comment we get, we have 100 positive. and that's not what it's for. >> we actually see others like putting together more elaborate proposals just to get what you guys are gotten. >> they could. it wasn't about that. it was about making something special between me and her. that's all that mattered to me. i love this woman more than anything in the world. there's nothing i wouldn't do for her. >> that's so nice. how can i even argue with that? i can't. when is the date? we want to know. >> we really want to fall but we don't have a date. >> are you going to post it on youtube? >> no. >> we've got a lot of requests of people that want to see it and all. i don't know.

i guess that's up in the air too. we'll see. >> i think she just said no. you're going to have to learn some things before you get married. >> definitely. i'm taking notes myself. >> thank you both. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> we sent rob marciano to cover all kinds of weather, but take a look at this. when he got off that thing he was scared. we'll show you the latest and most dangerous roller coaster in america when we come back. >> that was awesome. nice work. building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible.

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i'll tell you what, for a lot of people, especially in the southeastern or eastern two-thirds of the country it's going to feel more like july fourth than memorial day. severe weather, including a potential for thunderstorms across the upper midwest. severe storm threat farther north. we had rough weather move through new york city area. that's beginning to diminish. that is part of the energy that rolled through last night, knocking out power to over 100,000 people at one point. here's where the thunderstorms are starting to pop up. beginning to intensify later on today. we had daytime highs remarkable. over 100 degrees in some spots yesterday. we may break a record. currently upper 70s. 92 the forecast. if it gets to 93 that would be a record. all right. listen, hit the beach or go to an amusement park. down the road at six flags of georgia. they have a new ride called the daredevil dive.

>> we're going to go 2,000 feet in two minutes. but the most important thing, first and foremost. >> straight up. >> yes. ten stories straight up. and at the back end of this is a 95 degree drop. not 90. not straight down. you're going in and down, 95 degrees. >> are you kidding me? >> we're just going to dangle here at the top before it drops. right here. ahhh! whoa!

whoa! that was awesome. >> nice work. >> i love that. >> i love your hair. >> eat your heart out, huh? my watch almost came off. it's not rough but the g forces from going almost inverted to the bottom is pretty intense. it's a fun ride. nice way to cool off on a hot day. after the parades, go to the beach or take in a roller coaster. >> that looked really cool. i'm going to head out there later myself today. thank youing rob. >> you're welcome. the federal government wants us all to eat more healthy so the department of agriculture food pyramid is going away. it's been criticized as being too confusing. on thursday the feds are coming out with a new icon. the old pyramid is being replaced by a dinner plate. this is just an illustration, not exactly the new icon. it is meant to remind us to make healthy food choices and tell us how many of each type of food we

should be eating. that's what i meant to say. and we are awaiting president obama to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns in arlington national cemetery. we understand he has crossed the potomac. when he starts the ceremony, we'll take you back there. we'll be right back. there's another way to help eliminate litter box dust: purina tidy cats. our premium litters now work harder to help neutralize odors in multiple cat homes. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. the morning after the big move starts with back pain... and a choice.

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you're taking a look at arlington national cemetery. that is the tomb of the unknowns. president obama will soon lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. when he does that well take you back to arlington. a bit of news out of the sports world. it's shocking. from the world of college football, ohio state announced the res gas station of head coach jim tressel.

that comes two months after he admitted he knew some players sold memorabilia although he didn't tell anyone. tim may with the "columbus dispatch" joins us on the phone. tim, i find it so shocking. why did the move come now? >> well, our investigative guy has been on this for a while. in essence, what we can tell it's just a buildup of negative publicity for lack of another word. there may be other things coming down the pike here in the next few weeks that cast even a darker light or more of a shadow on the football program. as late as two weeks ago, the athletic director smith gave jim tressel a vote of approval. then gordon gee said in essence with his board of trustees they decided the time was now to make a change.

and they requested his resignation. he loves ohio state football. i know you used to live here. you understand what goes on in this town. he lives and breathes it. so get him to step up and resign was a big moment. he's trying to do what he thinks is right. >> actually, you know what i thought, i thought of woody hayes. even when he punched that player as the player ran down the sidelines he didn't get fired. he didn't leave his job until much later. this just seemed to come out of nowhere. tell us about these ncaa violations that supposedly many of his players were guilty of. >> well, in a nutshell what was found was the u. s. attorneys' office informed ohio state several of its players had been involved with a tattoo parlor owner in regards to selling or tradinging memorabilia for cash or free or discounted tattoos. and there were other things involved there too.

but pretty much there was nothing illegal going on from the standpoint of these guys weren't, according to the u.s. attorney weren't dealing in drugs or anything like that with these players but they were breaking ncaa rules. and as those guys were suspended but not for the sugar bowl. they were allowed to play in the surely bowl but the first five games of this upcoming season. with that said, found out in january jim tressel had been made aware of one or two from an e-mail from an attorney here but he never turned that attention over to higher-ups at ohio state. he contacted one of his mentors back in his hometown of pennsylvania about it. >> he didn't tell of these infractions because he simply wanted to win with his best players. >> carol, the core -- we can debate the ncaa on another show probably.

but the core values of the ncaa, the 10.1 bylaw requires everyone involved with ncaa sports if they smell, know of or see a violation to alert someone about it. or a possible violation. and jim tressel didn't do that. then he had a couple other chances to come forward with the information and he didn't do that either. the only way it was found was by perusal of his e-mails while preparing an appeal of the players penalties. so that's what in essence started the snowball rolling down the hill, which has gotten us to this point. >> tim day from the "columbus dispatch" joining us live again. jim tressel, ohio state football coach, has resigned. we'll take a short break as we await the president at arlington national cemetery. we'll be right back. active naturals wheat formulas target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life.

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as you can see, president

obama and first lady michelle obama arrived at arlington national cemetery on their way to the tomb of unknowns. it takes place every memorial day. the president readies to lay lay wreath at the tomb. let's listen. ♪ ♪