this morning on "early today," treading deep water. it has been one year since one of the worst oil spills in u.s. history and the after shocks are still being felt. trail of terror, a new wave of severe weather sweeps across the midwest. and secrets revealed, the cia declassifies some of its oldest spy documents. hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with a somber

look back. the nation stops this morning to remember the gulf oil disaster that started one year ago today. a tragedy those who call the region home will never forget. after 87 days last summer, the leak was finally stopped. but the fight against the oil left behind goes on. nbc's jay grey was there when it happens and he's back in venice, louisiana, this morning for a closer look at the recovery. jay, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. hard to believe it's been a year, but for those who live here, they are well aware of the days that have passed. for so many along the gulf coast, lives changed in an instant, and now, a year after the tragedy, many are wondering if life will ever get back to the way it was before the spill. it's been a full year since the explosion that killed 11 crewmen on the deephorizon rig. i just do the best i can. i don't normally plan past a week or two.

we just keep moving forward as best we can. >> for 365 days, this region, these people have been fighting the effects of the oil, a battle that's still far from over. >> we have isolated areas where there's still oil washing up from the bottom, grand aisle. >> 66 miles of gulf coast line are moderately or severely oiled, but thousands of square miles of fishing waters remain closed and the loss in tourism revenues is expected to reach $22 billion by next year. >> it will be a battle to get the fishermen back, to get the people back eating the seafood and that is going to take a concentrated effort. >> there are, though, signs of progress here. fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen are back if the water. and the charter business is starting to build. >> the fish have never been better. seafood is great. >> reporter: but a year later, it's still a struggle to keep their heads above the water financially.

>> if we can get back to 30%, we'll be satisfied because at least it's enough to pay the bills. >> reporter: if one thing is clear now, it's that getting back to normal is going to take a lot longer than a year. now, if we've learned anything in the year since the tragedy, it is that it is going to take a lot longer for this coastline to recover on. but we also now know that the people of the gulf are determined and resilient and few, if any, have walked away from this fight. live in venice, louisiana, i'm jay gray. now back to you, lynn. >> jay, thanks so much. unbelievably, the federal aviation administration is facing yet another embarrassing incident. this time it involved one very high profile passenger. monday, first lady michelle obama's aircraft was forced to abort its landing after an air traffic control error brought the 737 belonging to the air national guard too close to a giant cargo jet that was landing ahead.

this all happens happened at andrew's air force base. while the faa says the planes were never in any danger, it's the latest black eye for the agency which has been struggling over the last few weeks with air traffic controllers getting caught sleeping on the job. mother nature slashed the nation's mid section with tornados in eastern missouri, the twisters damaged homes and pulled down power lines. fortunately no injuries were reported. just unbelievable there. severe storms brought baseball sized hail to the state. chunks of ice caused delays at the air force base. and the weather season just doesn't want to leave minnesota. a month into spring, parts of the state got a coating of snow and, of course, we're going to have meteorologist bill karins check in with us in just a bit with more weather. that's coming shortly. first, let's take a look at other stories making news today in america. high winds continue to fuel

massive north texas fire that continues to creep toward the dallas/ft. worth area and hundreds of homes there. 150,000 acres have been scorched and 150 homes destroyed. about 1,500 firefighters are battling that wildfire but have not yet gained control. the home is 300 feet from shore and has been there for three days. a plan for the home is in the works. >> a wisconsin high school team will make a fashion statement at this year's prom. she is expected to make an entrance in her dress made of star burst wrappers.

along with the matching shoes and purse. it is not known if the teen or her mom have a date with the n dentist after the prom. now for the weather. >> she will smell great though. >>. >> well we had the severe weather yesterday and i'm actually happy to say this time. no fatalities. i haven't seen reports of injuries. there must have been a few. we had 739 reports of severe weather outside of dallas. around chicago and indianapolisle indianapolisless doesn't look like there were long track ones. the storms are heading for the east coast today. there will be delays for areas of dc and new york. the next storm coming into california. this storm isn't at po tent as

the one that swept across the country. nothing too dramatic out here. the high pressure has built into the north and cool air has arrived for the northern rockies. a chance for sh arizona. tucson should be in the 80s. california 72 to 78 degrees. tomorrow's forecast coming up. >> also coming up. big blue beats the street home construction on the rise and raffle and potsy want a cut of the action. plus she got a 100 million youtube hits in a month. and bill is going to sing her

song coming up. she is the subject of a police investigation. >> the magic get even, black hawk hawks avoid elimination and a new career high but was it enough? you are watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. department of homeland security secretary janet napolitano will unveil the new terrorism alert system today. it will replace the five color coded system. the new one is expected to have two levels, elevated and imminent. the army private suspected of giving wikileaks classified data to wikileaks is being moved to a military facility in kansas. this comes following criticism of bradley manning's treatment at the marine corps base in quantico, virginia. but a senior defense official tells nbc news that the timing

was largely driven by the fact that the military had finished interviews on whether he has the mental capacity to stand trial. in houston, three students were injured at an elementary school after a 6-year-old boy who brought a gun to school dropped it, causing it to discharge. the boy was among those hurt. fortunately none of those injuries are life threatening. it's unclear how he got the weapon or who owns it. yesterday, the cia declassified six of the oldest secret documents in the u.s. government archives. they're from 1917 and '18. among the revelations, how spies, generals and diplomates sent secret messages using invisible ink. the papers are believed to be the only remaining classified documents from the world war i era. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,266 after gaining 65 points yesterday. the s&p rose seven points and

the nasdaq added nine. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was up 165 points while in hong kong the hang seng climbed 375. some late day earnings out of the tech sector could give stocks a solid start today. after the bell, impressive first quarter results from intel were the strongest sign yet that the pc market still has some drive, pushing intel's net income up 29%. ibm weighed in with better than expected first quarter numbers, thanks in part to its hardware division. elsewhere, after the bell, investors found signs of success in yahoo!'s turn around efforts sending shares higher in late trade. earlier, johnson & johnson led the dow out of the red with a healthy forecast. a rise of new homes in march gave home builders a boost. declining goldman sachs's revenue fueled speculation the

investor bank may be losing its edge. shares of harley davidson. on the upside, u.s. steel rose 4% on the sale of pittsburgh's tallest building. the 841-foot u.s. steel tower. seagate technology will pay nearly $1.4 billion for samsung's hard disk drive business. toyota is extending production cuts at its north american plants and says it may lower its 2011 sales target due to parts shortages in japan. the government is expected to unveil new passenger protection rules today forcing airlines to be more up front about their fees. finally, some members of the happy days cast are reportedly not so happy with cbs. the group filed suit for unfail royalties after their names and faces popped up on everything from lunch boxes to slot machines. orlando shows off some

playoff magic, the sharks win in o.t. and the black hawks live to skate another day. plus, carmelo anthony does everything the knicks would have hoped for against the celtics, but was it enough? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. i'm continuing to track severe weather heading to the east coast and a new storm arrives on the west coast. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, making their first nba playoff appearance in seven years, in two opening games against the celtics, the new york knicks have battled hard. but in the end, boston has found a way to win. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. carmelo anthony had 42 points. but despite his career high, the knicks let another one slip away in boston. amare stoudamire only played 20 minutes because of back spasms. cue carmelo. 17 rebounds. this goes down to the wire, knicks up with one with under 20 seconds to play. garnett hits the jump post. carmelo is double-teamed, gives the ball to jared jeffries. new york doesn't get another

shot. the celtics hold on to win, 97-93. they lead the series, 2-0. magic and hawks, dwight howard received his defensive player of the year award and then he led his offense. superman with a super half. finishes with 33 and 19 boards. final minutes, jason richardson, three ball corner pocket, magic even up the series with an 88-82 win in orlando. to dallas, dirk nowitzki scores a game high 33 points against the trailblazers including the last final minutes of the game. monte from beyond the arc, he hit five three-pointers. mavericks win, 101-89. nhl playoffs, black hawks live to play another day with their backs against the wall and the season on the line, they explode for seven goals against the best team in the nhl. chicago beat vancouver, 7-2.

sharks rally from four games town into overtime. three minutes into overtime, the game winner, sharks win, 6-5 in o.t. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. charlie battled brooke in court and denise suddenly appears back in the picture. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, he may not look unusual, but this is one super hero high school janitor. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday. seattle to pord portland. partly cloudy skies. chance of showers medford to san francisco. we are dry in la. still in the cooler side there. by the time thursday arrives. showers in portland but nice weather in areas of the west. if you are watching us on in bakersfield watch us on the neon signs. the only one i care about is the

hot doe donut sign. >> here is a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. charlie battled brooke in court and denise suddenly appears back in the picture. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. at least yesterday, charlie sheen was not a winner. despite a well publicized relapse with drugs, brooke mueller has retained primary custody of her two sons. both appeared in court and when it was all over, the judge reportedly left things standing just where they did when the two settled the custody agreement in march. ahead of those proceedings, sheen's ex, denise richards, reportedly offered to help the couple care for the twins. elsewhere, halle berry has figured some things out. she's not cut out for marriage and she wishes she knew earlier. she says her father leaving when she was young deprived her of a male model. she was warned after she turned 40 that her career would drive up, but actually, she feels that hers is just starting. finally, rebecca black's

song friday may be annoying to some and she hasn't exactly paid her dues in the music business. but death threats? apparently anaheim threats are investigating two recent threats against the youtube sensation. that's disturbing to hear. this comes to us from king 5 news in seattle, washington, where the janitor mopping the high school halls happens to be a millionaire. five years after winning nearly $4 million in the lottery, tyrone still cleans ever green high and the coaches the track and field team. he plans to retire in two years but is donating $40,000 for the construction of a new track there. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

for many, easter play bring to mind eggs and chocolate bunnies, but probably nothing like this. people in el salvador kicked off holy week with their annual devil whipping ceremony. men in devil costumes hit people in the streets. it's meant to symbolize the struggle between good and evil. the lashings are a way to repent for sins during the year. tough love. one of the largest ships to ever navigate the ocean has gotten a wee bit smaller. a british artist has created a picture of the uss intrepid all out of lego pieces. the model took thousands of hours to complete and it

contains a approximately quarter of a million pieces. if you think your neighbor's barking dog is a pain, consider yourself lucky. residents in one neighborhood have to put up with a roaring lion. the king sized problem stems from a nearby wild reserve where the neighbors say the roars disturb the peace. the owner says she is ready for a cat fight. unreal. >> you buy a house, you have a barking dog next door, injury upset. you think you would probably know if you live next to a wild reserve. >> and i think i'd probably move. >> poor lion. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. today is the 12th anniversary of the columbine high school massacre. on this day in 1999, eric harris and dillon klebold opened fire on classmates. they killed 12 students and a

teacher before taking their own lives. major league baseball players will have tough competition at today's game between the philadelphia phillies and the milwaukee brewers. a robot designed by the university of pennsylvania and their engineers will be on the field to throw out the first pitch in philadelphia. congratulations to actor ryan o'neal. today he turns 70 years old. 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. find out more about the aborted landing by the first lady's plane and whether the incident is the latest example of an air traffic controller's mistake. and actor ben stiller talk matt lauer about taking his act to the great white way. 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.

have a good one.