i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. >> remembering our troops. this memorial day weekend we pay tribute to our veterans for their service and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. plus, planning to hit the beach this holiday weekend? might want to have a plan b. part of the country is bracing for a tropical storm that could hit just hours from now. we'll have a live report. and, later, no, it's not a strip tease. it's a sports craze that now a movement is underway to make pole dancing an olympic event. we'll explain.

>> good morning. it's 4:00 on the west coast. let's get straight to it. we start with what's shaping up to be a pretty ugly holiday weekend in parts of the southeast, and you can blame it all on beryl. subtropical storm beryl is set to dump several inches of rain along the florida, south carolina coast today. already we're seeing warnings and some beach lowerses off tibi island off georgia. at least 20 people had to be rescued because of potentially deadly rip currents. let's bring in bonnie schneider. good morning, once again to you. bring us up-to-date on beryl and the warnings. >> right now we are still watching subtropical storm beryl this time getting closer to shore than we were yesterday. a little more organization. the winds are intense. they're at 50 miles per hour. the storm has picked up strength and sfooed speed in the past 24 hours. it will impact land. you can see the watches and warning posted all the way from savannah down through areas north of orlando and florida. that means we'll see winds at least 39 miles an hour or

stronger within the next 12 to 24 hours. we are anticipating that. the rain doesn't look too heavy. some of the spiral bands forming along the radar picture, but i can tell you that we are anticipating the storm to come on shore and stay on shore for a good portion of the day into the early part of the week. monday and tuesday it will become a depression, but it still be a rainmaker, randi, as we start off this holiday weekend. unfortunately, the timing looks like landfall will occur sometime tonight and then bring a lot of rain into monday and tuesday. >> so you say inland. how far inland is what a lot of folks probably want to know. >> at least 50 miles or more. when we are looking at our computer models, look papz what happens right here. see this area in orange just to the west of jacksonville, florida. so if you are driving along i-10 and you are halfway through the state of florida, you are going to be impacted by beryl, and some of the rain could be two inches, up to four inches. heavy rain pretty far inland. mainly in florida, southern georgia. not so much so for the carolinas. it will be lighter as you head into central north carolina and south carolina. >> a lot of people on the roads, bonnie, and a lot of people at

the airports. are they going to be affected too? >> i think so. we'll be looking for potential of airport delays anywhere you see here. jackson and into charleston. look at this. we're anticipating delays in other parts of florida like orlando and miami, and elsewhere, windy weather continues for denver and stormy weather, severe storms, are possible today for minneapolis. that may impact your air travel there. a lot of different types of weather happening across the country. >> you got it all covered for us. bonnie, thank you very much. we'll be checking back with you throughout the morning. from home to abroad. two americans under arrest right now in tokyo. they were taken into custody after a woman was found dead in one of the men's hotel rooms. cnn's key yon joining us from tokyo. you have been digging into this story. what can you tell us about the woman killed and how she died? >> reporter: well, we know she's 21-year-old nikola furlong. she's an exchange student from ireland who was studying here in japan just north of tokyo. tokyo police are telling us that she died of suffocation by

cervical compression. that sounds like strangulation. what the kyoto news agency -- i'm sorry. on wednesday night when she and her friend were approached by two american men. they went to dinner after the concert. they ended up in a hotel at a party, drinking area, and then the police say she was found dead in a hotel room hours later with one of the americans. that's where the investigation is at this point. >> you mentioned she was an exchange student. what do we know about these two guys? were they students? about how old are they? >> we know that they're both americans. the u.s. state department does confirm that two americans have been arrested. what the tokyo police are telling us is that one of them is a musician. 19-year-old. we don't have his name because he is considered a minor here in japan. the other man is 23-year-old james blackford. he is a dancer. it's unclear if they were performing with the nicki minaj concert or simply there

attending or if they were perhaps with another band. we know that at this point these two people are the focus of the investigation by tokyo police. >> and they have been arrested. what exactly were they arrested for? have they been charged? >> yeah. this is where it really gets interesting, because they arrested the two men not for this murder even though the younger one was allegedly found m room with the victim. what bliss are saying is that they are holding them for fondling furlong's friend in the taxi. at this point that certainly sounds like they're trying to gather enough evidence to charge them for the actual crime itself and that perhaps they're concerned about a flight risk, but as of this point they are simply being held for fondling another woman. >> i know you'll continue to dig on this and we'll check back with you in our next hour. thank you. and to syria now. a massacre blamed on government forces may have also killed any chance for peace in the country.

united nations observers say at least 85 people were killed in the town of hula. at least 32 of them were children. members of the opposition forces now say they are ready to retaliate and say the u.n.-backed peace plan is dead. here's the head of the u.n. observer mission. >> we have observers with a total of 85 corpses. the tragedy is elevated by the fact that 34 of the dead were children under the age of 10 and seven women. the circumstances have led to these tragic events are still unclear. >> the syrian government says regional and western enemies, such as the u.s., are responsible for the massacre. a spokesman for the free syrian army, the leading voice of the anti-government op sfwligs says it's time for u.n. allies to march air strikes against the syrian military.

it looks like we'll get an official end to the presidential race this week, but that's just one of the big events on the political cal lar. here's cnn's political editor paul steinhauser. >> mitt rom my teams up with donald trump tuesday. at trump's las vegas hotel for a fundraiser for rom my. his campaign is also ralphing a hands to have dinner with the donald for supporters who donate to romney. >> i think he will be an amazing candidate. i think he will be not only an amazing candidate, but an amazing president. >> trump flirted with his own bid last year, but eventually decided against it and earlier this year he endorsed romney. >> it's my honor, real honor, and privilege to endorse mitt romney. >> making tuesday's event even spicier, newt gingrich, a real rival, he will also be there. also, tuesday texas holds its primary.

romney, of course, is expected to easily win, and he could capture enough delegates to give him the 1,144 needed clinch the republican presidential nomination. randi. >> thank you very much, paul. wait until you see the next clip. you'll understand one of the many reasons i love my job. ♪ sweet caroline bah, bah, bah ♪ >> how many people can say they got serenaded by neil diamond? still ahead, my conversation with the singer and songwriting legend. ♪

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any chance you woke up this morning humming this song? ♪ sweet caroline >> i do that every once in a while. it is hard to believe, but neil diamond has been making music now for more than half a century. he has sold more than 100 million albums and has been inducted into the songwriter's hall of fame and rock 'n' roll hall of fame and he just tied the knot. i spoke earlier with him about his new bride, his favorite songs, and what gets him tweeting. >> last month you married your music manager katie mcneil. congratulations, by the way. i thought it was really interesting that you sent out a photo of the two of you on twitter because you're pretty private or at least you have been, and now you are a tweeting machine, posting pictures from your wedding.

what has made you decide to be a little more public? >> well, i'm not sure it's a little more public, but it's an easy way to get the word out to the fans and the public, you know. the haut comes to you. hey, i should let folks know that i'm getting married or i'm -- here's a picture of my dog, and it's easy and it's fun. it's instant feedback, and i like it. >> yeah. i love that you announced the adoption of your new puppy on twitter, picture and all. very cute. let's talk about your most recent album. this compilation of your most popular songs throughout the years. i know a lot of folks have their favorites, but do you have a favorite? >> well, you know, "sweet caroline" is at the top, but i do have a dozen or two dozen other favorites, and i try to get them all in the show.

>> any chance we can get you to singe a line or two of "sweet caroline?" >> yeah. let me think. what are the words? oh, yeah. ♪ sweet caroline ♪ good times never seem so good ♪ >> oh, you just made my day. that is wonderful. i am also curious, what artist you are listening to because there are so many new artists, so many new types of music coming out all the time. what's on your ipod if you have one? >> well, interestingly enough, i just put all of my catalog, all of my recorded music on my ipod and some of these things i haven't heard for years and years, so it's a kick to be able to just pull them up and listen to them and it takes me back

instantly. right now i'm listening to neil diamond and getting into neil diamond's music because starting next week that's what we'll be presenting. >> it was great to chat with hem. you can catch the entire interview on my newsroom blog. go to cnn.com slaifsh randi, and you'll find it there. if you are ready to become a homeowner, well, listen up because now might be the best time to buy many more than 60 years. financial analyst clyde anderson will tell us why. also, get a free flight.

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if you are looking to buy a house, then what are you waiting for? this week mortgage rates hit a new low.

the 30-year fixed loan fell to 3.8%. to put that in perspective for you, that is the lowest it's been since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. let's bring in our financial analyst clyde anderson to talk about this. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> do low ratsdz mean the housing -- >> it's a slow recovery, but there is a recovery. think about it. 3.8%. 30-year fixed mortgage. who knew we would get down this low? those are amazing rates, and it's driving a lot of people into the market and it's making mortgages affordable. >> it's a little shuffle, right? it's not a full race. not fully there yet. >> i like that. >> so the rates may be low, but i guess the question is are people buying? >> yeah. people are buying. first time home buyers are the ones really buying. again, banks are lending as much as they were in the past. they're not making it as easy to lend. 640 is barely the rate you're going to have to be around to get a reasonable or good market loan and to take advantage of these low mortgage rates, and you have to make sure the credit is good as well.

>> that's great news. >> all right. so they're up, and that is good news, as you say, or great news as you say. what about the loans? are the loans getting any easier for people to get? >> it's still tight out there. again, banks have report profits where they're going after profs as well, but they're not lending as much on the mortgage side. they're making more money on fees and over things, but not seeing their mortgage portfolios increase because they're still rigid when it comes to criteria for lending and getting money out. >> i want to talk to you about appraisals. they're actually going down. they're coming in lower than they have been, which was a big problem, right? >> it's a huge problem, because if it doesn't come in at an appraised value, you can't buy the house unless you're putting more money down, and everybody doesn't have that ability to actually put more money down and to reduce the amount that they owe on the house. >> because the loan is based on the appraisal, so why are appraisals coming in lower? >> laws are different than the past. you can't take the appraisal that you want to use, and, therefore, you may not have an

appraisal and you may have an appraiser from all over, and they're not looking at the comps that they should look at in a lot of these situations because comparables are really key. it means that what houses have sold in the last six months in my neighborhood comparing to the house that i'm buying, and if you are picking raw comps and including foreclosed properties, you're going to get skewed values, and that really messes things up for a buyer's stand pond point. >> appraisals are part of the big mess. >> that accused a lot of the problems. overinflated appraisals and property values, and, therefore, the true value wasn't in the proper. >> have mortgage rates bottomed out, do you think? >> if i had that crystal ball -- >> i thought you did. that's why we have you here. >> i probably wouldn't be sitting here right now. the thing about it is i always learned if you like it, lock it. lock that rate in. >> i like that. it's a good saying. >> i learned that early on, and don't wait. this is one of the best times in history. what are you waiting for? yes, they may go down.

people had a 4% rate and now it's 3.8%. this is a great rate. talking about -- >> yes or no, buy or no buy? >> buy now. >> more than a yes. buy now. >> many it's a great time to buy. >> okay. lock it. i like it. love it, lock it. thank you, clyde. coming up, olympic fever is in the air as we head into the summer games in london later this year, but here's a stretch. have you ever thought of pole dancing as an olympic sport? advocates say it's time we became more flexible in our perception. with the capital one cash rewards card

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tempur-pedic -- the most highly recommended bed in america. this next story will grab your attention. pole dancing at the olympics. going for the gold on the pole? yes, that's right. serious pole dancers are pushing for it, but can it shake its naughty reputation? sandra endo has more. >> reporter: ramdi, six inch heels skimpy outstits. it's not the typical uniform of an olympic athlete, but pole dancing could become the newest olympic sport. advocates say first people immediate to drop their perceptions. >> don't call this a strip tease or some cabaret performance. for these pole dancers showing some skin is part of their sport. >> it can be extremely challenging. it can be -- it's olympic level

difficulty. ♪ going to make some noise >> this dancer isn't exaggerating. these pole performers could soon be going for the gold. tim trautman is the president of the international pole sport federation and is spearheading the push to make pole dancing an olympic sport. >> the biggest challenge is going to be the stereotyping that we have to deal with, and, you know, quite frankly, everyone thinks that pole fitness and pole sports and everything came out of strip clubs, but it started long before then. we have to take some of the eroticism out of the moves and take out the high heels. we're going to frame it as these are athletes that you are watching. >> you lean back and hang -- >> reporter: over the last decade pole dancing classes emerged as the latest fitness craze offered, but it's moved far beyond a fad. thousands of dancers from around the world train to perform in international pole competitions. u.s. national champion natasha wang hit her passion for the

sport for six years until she started winning titles. >> i was in pr for ten years working in an office, and this was a hobby. it's a sport for regular people who come from, like, very normal backgrounds. >> and that's what you'll see at the annual international pole convention where women and men come to train with the best. >> having fun? >> dancer and convention organizer jesse lynn says there needs to be more public awareness about the sport before it can go on the global stage like the olympics. >> it's where people are just like why are you in a bikini? well, we're in a bikini because we need the skin to stick to the pole. that's what we need to achieve some of our tricks. >> reporter: what pole athletes are decided to celebrate the sport. the world may not be ready for it just yet. >> i feel like the public's perception needs to catch up with what the sport is really about. >> but it could bring some sexy into the world of sweaty sports. >> when can we see pole

performers go for the gold? the international sport federation says it hopes to see pole dancing debut in the 2016 games. randi. >> sandra, what a story. thank you very much. here's a look at some of the big news coming up in the week ahead. kicking things off tomorrow, monday. it is the official start to summer. monday is memorial day, as you know. on tuesday voters in texas have a big day ahead of them. that is the texas primary. they'll get the chance to make their voices heard, the voters will, in a republican prm presidential primary. also on tuesday the nunns will be gathering in washington d.c. a group of catholic nuns begin a week-long meeting. on the agenda, the vatican's -- now, let's move to saturday where we could get a verdict m hasni mubarak trial and sentencing. if that's the case against the former egypt yn president. he is accused of corruption and ordering the deaths of those