this morning on "early today," remembering katrina. the gulf coast marks the anniversary of the storm that shook the nation five years ago. free at last. jimmy carter comes to the rescue of an american detd in north korea. under the sea. spectacular new images of underwater creatures off the spectacular new images of underwater creatures off the coast of indonesia. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry and today we begin with five years later.

hurricane katrina moved into the gulf of mexico five years ago this week before growing into one of the most devastating hurricanes in u.s. history. nbc's jay gray is in new orleans where the city that was hardest hit is still struggling to recover. jay, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. a testimony to the violent power of the storm, the definitetation that still lingers here. katrina almost as strong as the unbreakable spirit of the survivors here. the storm's been gone for a long time now. the casinos are up and running again in mississippi. the excitement of mardi gras, and the surprise super bowl win of the beloved but beleaguered saints have all been reasons to celebrate along the gulf coast. still, the images and painful emotions from hurricane katrina linger. in the ninth ward, years of weeds and vines have taken over much of what the wind and water left behind. >> i don't really think that a lot of these neighborhoods are

coming back. >> reporter: only 24% of the ninth ward residents there before the levees collapsed made their way home. the numbers are better city wide, new orleans is at 78% of its pre-katrina population. while the latest census data shows the population in biloxi has dropped every year since katrina, down more than 10% overall. but 89-year-old al mangon says he had to come back. >> this little window up here, i salvaged. >> it's the centerpiece of his new home now, a symbol like so many along the gulf coast. testimony to the determination and resolve of the survivors here. and again, this area has been affected much, if not more than any battered by katrina, with less than a quarter of those who lived here before the storm returning to the ninth ward. in new orleans, i'm jay gray.

lynn, back to you. >> hjay, thank you. don't miss brian williams broadcasting live from new orleans on "nbc nightly news." brian hosts a special edition from new orleans and his guest brad pitt and the work he's doing down there. sunday on "nightly news," an exclusive interview with president obama in new orleans. former president jimmy carter on the way back to the u.s. after winning the release of an american released in nokz. he secured a special pardon from the man sentenced to eight years of hard labor for illegally entering the communist nation back in january. according to state-run media, carter's trips included talks with north korea's number two leader and relayed his country's interest in six-party nuclear disarmament talks. well, federal health officials say contaminated chicken feed is likely to believe for a salmonella

outbreak that has sickened some 1700 people across the country. at a news conference yesterday, government investigators said that the tainted chicken feed had only gone to two iowa farms and had not been distributed in the country elsewhere. those two farms recalled half a billion eggs last week. that's the largest such recall in u.s. history. and now here is a look at some other stories making news early today in america. police in california are searching for two suspects seen surveillance video smashing into and robbing an apple store. the invasion only lasted between 2 1/2 and 3 minutes, but the thieves got away with 12 iphones with an estimated value of $3600. in new mexico, wildlife officials were called in to capture and remove 150 pound black bear that wandered into a residential area. climbed up a tree to avoid being caught but was brought down by a tranquilizer dart. the animal is in good condition

and will be released into the world. in florida, the owner of a 48-foot yacht that mysteriously washed ashore has surfaced. questions remain. the million dollar yacht reportedly was stole frighten a private marina in mexico over the weekend and set to sale on autopilot at three knots. police looking for a possible motive. in kentucky, a blue ribbon winning 16 pound ham from this year's state fair was auctioned for a record $1.6 million. that's right. the kentucky farm bureau organized the annual fund-raiser which dates back to 1964. 100% of the winning bid will go to charity. no word on who gets to eat the million dollar ham. if they want to. now for a look at the weather, let's check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, i don't know if you eat that or stuff that and put it on your mantle and say, yup, that's a billion dollar ham.

>> they could have donated the money. i guess it's fun. >> it's a tradition from back in the '60s. every year it's gone up and up and up. >> i like my green eggs and ham. let's talk about the hurricane season. this is in full swing in hurricane atlantic. hurricane danielle 135 miles per hour category four hurricane, u.s. east coast is just off the screen here. this storm is going to harmlessly go out to sea, the one behind it that could cause problems for the eastern seaboard middle of next week. tropical storm earl, another off the coast of africa behind it. the atlantic right on schedule is going to be very active as we go through the peak of the season. so far on the west coast, everything is relatively calm. today temperatures cooled off significantly in the last two days. look at boise. 104 yesterday. salt lake city almost there. 99. we were very hot, of course, in vegas. billings also was 99. so the heat is slowly, ever so surely moving through the intermountain west into the central plains. it's going to be cooler days

ahead, especially this weekend. here is a look at the forecast for today. we're relatively quiet. notice these clouds underneath weather.com, these are starting to drift towards the coast. these will bring clouds and showers to the pacific northwest. not a lot of wet weather but mostly clouds will roll in. that's why the clouds will only be 65 in seattle, 64 in seattle. still a nice day, can't complain. 82 in l.a. red bluff. we'll call it 93 in fallon nevada, salem, oregon 71 and mostly cloudy skies. we'll take a look at your weekend forecast coming up, lynn. bill, thanks so much.

wall street jitters ahead of the fed chief's big speech. and what your facebook habits may say about you. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus "the expendables" are expected to be expendable at the top of the box office this weekend, so who will take its place? tiger woods flashes signs of his old self, a huge milestone for albert pujols, and, hey, pete carroll, what's in the cooler? you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. extraordinary video is giving us a new glimpse of the 33 trapped chilean miners. the men are sending messages to loved ones. with a camera lowered down to them. they appear upbeat despite the three week ordeal. a federal judge says he plans to start the retrial of former illinois governor rod blagojevich in january. last week jurors deadlocked on all but one of 24 charges

against him, including trying to sell president obama's old senate seat. in a surprise announcement, prosecutors dropped their case against blagojevich's brother. a man who auditions on a canada i don't know idol in 2008 singi singing was among three arrested in canada on terror related charges. police say they moved in on the men to prevent them from sending money to terror groups in afghanistan. and brilliant underwater images from indonesia. scientists snapped thousands of photographs of plants and animals during a three week excursion using robotic vehicles. they say they may have discovered as many as 50 new species. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 9985 after losing 74 points yesterday. the s&p dipped 8 points and the nasdaq fell 22. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 84 points, but in hong kong the hang seng

dropped 14. the dow swung below that crucial 10,000 mark yesterday as anxious investors wait for word on what's next from big ben. investors will be listening to a speech from fed chief ben bernanke for clues on just how bad the economy is and what the federal reserve plans to do about it. despite news that foreclosures and delinquencies dipped last quarter, the latest data shows a huge jump in new foreclosures in july. round two of the bidding war between tech titans dell and hewlett-packard saw dell raise its bid for data storage maker 3 par to $1.6 billion. hp quickly shot back upping its offer to $1.8 billion after the bell. another recall for toyota. it's 13th this year. more than a million corollas and matrixes are being called back for a computer glitch that could cause them to stall on the road. meanwhile, johnson & johnson has racked up its 11th recall this year, this time for two hip replacement products.

the faa has proposed a record $24 million fine against american airlines for maintenance violations that led to thousands of flight cancellations back in 2008. the airline is planning to appeal. the "wall street journal" is reporting boeing is about to push back its delivery date for the dream liner 787, again. delays could postpone delivery well into next year. keep an eye on shares of j. crew. shares plunged 10% in late trade after lowering its full year forecast. and a new study suggests some people's social networking profiles are a sign that they're disconnected from reality. the study found that facebook users who spent the most time updating their status, uploading new photos, and commenting on friends' walls may be narcicisstic and have low self-esteem. well, coach pete carroll brings a little college mischief to the seahawks. and a rare accomplishment for one cardinals slugger. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

and as we head into one of the last summer weekends, it's going to be gorgeous out there. many great areas will see fantastic weekends. the regional forecast is coming right up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, tiger woods played for the first time since his

divorce became final and he carted his best round of the season. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. coincidence or not, one thing is for sure, tiger woods finally looked like his old self in his first tournament since his divorce. first round, tiger was on fire. seven birdies and only one bogey. putter looking as good as ever. finishing with a 65. his lowest score of the year. he's tied for the clubhouse lead at six under par. albert pujols became the third youngest player to reach 400 career home runs. pujoles doing the honors against the nationals. mvp candidate becomes the 47th big leaguer to reach such a milestone. fans sure got a treat. not only did they watch pujoles achievement but a thriller. niger morgan scored, washington won the 4 1/2 hour marathon 11-10. in texas, rangers looking to sweep the twins. a battle of first place teams.

minnesota, however, had other plans. in the sixth, jim tomorrowy who turns 40 today ripped a solo shot to center. twins win it. san antonio visiting phoenix. murk rice proofing why they are the reigning champs. raining "mvp finished with 14 points. phoenix won it, they lead 1-0 in the series. and pete carroll is bringing his college ways to the pros. seattle's new head coach known for pulling a few pranks at usc, now he's at it again. carroll set up a camera in his office, told his players to grab a drink out of his cooler and let the games begin. carroll put a fake snake in the cooler and you see results. each player kept falling for it. p over and over. their reactions are priceless. nothing like seeing grown men jump in fear. attention seahawks players, it's a long season. expect more pranks. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. we're going to try that on bill. well, will the competition scare

off or steal away the title of box office champ? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, five years later, the tragic images and tales from hurricane katrina earn themselves a place in history. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. a look at your friday forecast. a nice quiet day.

more clouds than we look keeping temperatures cool in the pacific northwest. not quite as hot as many areas, boisee idaho, nevada definitely not at hot as yesterday. a sneak peek at the weekend forecast, tranquil weather, not much happening that's going to be detrimental to outdoor plans. more clouds than we like, of course, the marine layer sneaks in in california. on sunday it will be similar. as far as what we're going to dealw your event of the day, watching krn v reno, nevada, you're in the mood for a gun sling showdown. head on over to the wild west fair at the reno livestock events center. that's your pacific event of the day, lynn. we love a little rodeo. >> why not, you know. bill, thanks. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. will the devil or the chief knock the champ off its pedestal? "takers" could take the top stop. the heist thriller is expected

to draw the teens out and bring in around $15 million. giving it a run for its money is "the last exorcism." young women could carry this one and scare off the competition. and the one to be afraid is two time weekend champ "the expendables." a successful stallone comeback with $71 million to date. experts predict it should get another $9 million this weekend. but the $2 billion gorilla in the room is the limited release of "avatar" special edition. the highest grossing movie of all time will be rereleased with 8 1/2 extra minutes of footage to bring in a few extra million. it's not expected to make the top five. that may go to "eat, pray, love" which brought in $50 million so far and has shown surprising staying power despite brutal reviews. and they have been brutal. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> we haven't been too nice to it either.

>> you haven't been dragged to that yet, bill? you haven't been dragged to that movie? >> no, i don't think it's happening either. >> she's not interested in seeing it. >> not a big julia roberts fan. don't mean to start anything. >> hope she's not watching there in los angeles. okay. and this comes to us from our nation's capital where a new exhibit is commemorating a national disaster that will soon not be forgotten. today is the opening of the covering katrina exhibit at the washington museum. it is a display of the newspaper, radio and television clips from around the world spans the first seven days of the storm which devastated much of the gulf five years ago this weekend. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

chefs from around the world head to tokyo to get a piece of the sushi craze. that's where the delicate art form of sushi making is taught. students hope to master 2900-year-old technique that's boomed in popularity. the diploma doesn't come chief with a $10,000 tuition, but chefs expect it to pay for itself with bigger salaries back home. one man in china is turning his disability into an extraordinary ability. playing the piano with his toes. after having both arms amputated at age 10, this pianist learned to overcome the adversity that's often criticized in china and became famous doing it. the toe tapper has attracted nationwide attention on the

country's hit show china's got talent, which features many disabled musicians. here's one reason to hold on to your spare change. it could really add up. take this businessman in china who saved enough of it to buy a $15,000 van. the loot built up because many of his customers often pay in small change and that left him with 100,000 paper bills with a u.s. value of 15 cents each, which the dealership confirmed was exact change. >> that's cute, i like that. i was wondering what they were carrying out of the back, but it must have been like quarters or small change. >> i get a hard time when i try to pay for an ice cream cone with change. >> you can always find that money. it's down in the seat. you got to dig for it. >> dig a little bit. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. officials from the obama administration will be in the gulf coast for the five year anniversary of the hurricane katrina disaster. they will get updates on the turn around of the region's

schools, meet with volunteers and tour recovery projects. investors will be looking for signs from federal reserve chairman ben bernanke as he delivers his speech from wyoming entitled the economic outlook and the federal reserve's policy response. and the nation's war veterans gather in milwaukee for the american legion's national convention. some of the organization's nearly 3 million members will take part in the week long event. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. matt lauer and al roker report live from new orleans on the city's road to recovery. and pop singing sensation katy perry performs and rocks out on the plaza in this summer's concert series. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com