thanks for watching. have is a good night. hope to see you tomorrow. bye-bye! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," security in focus, president obama decides against releasing the death photo of osama bin laden. rail hazard, a tanker train carrying ethanol derails in oregon sparking a raging blaze. and danger in the wing, some terrifying moments as a russian military plane lurches out of control. 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.

today, we begin with the final decision. president obama has order that the grisly photo of a dead osama bin laden will not be released to the public, a move that is already sparking some debate. meanwhile, we continue to get more details about how bin laden was ultimately taken down. for more on this, we go to nbc's tracie potts. she's in washington for us. good morning. >> lynn, good morning. first that photo, that controversial photo that the president will not release to the public, at least not now. the white house saying that the risk outweighs the benefit. there are too many radicals out there already been on recal t l retaliation. there's been a fake photo around. some democrats and republicans say they can wait that the dna evidence is enough for them. others say they think the photo needs to be released not only for the u.s. but also so that middle easterners will know that osama bin laden is, in fact, dead and is not coming back, as they put it, to terrorize them.

as for the raid, the details that have been revised, the white house saying three out of four of those who were shot were not armed. and we have new information today from pakistan's foreign secretary. he says that the u.s. should be careful that raids like this could be in violation of international law. lynn? >> all right, tracie potts in washington, thanks. president obama will be in new york city joining families of 9/11 victims at ground zero to mark the death of the mastermind behind the world trade center attack that took their loved ones. nbc's michelle frandsen is in lower manhattan for us. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. the president's visit here to ground zero comes four days after announcing that u.s. forces have tracked down and killed osama bin laden. he will be here to mark the death of al qaeda's leader but also to return the focus on 9/11 victims and their families. the tone of the ceremony is supposed to be very different from those celebrations that

erupted in the hours after osama bin laden's death was announced. instead, the president plans to meet privately with families and first responders, and he will also participate in a wreath-laying ceremony. former president george w. bush was also said to be invited to attend today's ceremony by president obama. he declined but says he plans to honor victims here at ground zero on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. lynn? >> michelle frandsen for us at ground zero, michelle, thanks. well, politically, the decision to take down the world's most-wanted terrorist has proven beneficial for president obama. at least for now. according to a "new york times" cbs news poll, president obama's approval rating jumped 11 points to 57% after the killing of bin laden. meanwhile, a separate "usa today"/gallup poll shows 66% of americans believe a terrorist attack on u.s. soil is likely within the next several weeks.

according to this morning's "washington post," house republicans have conceded they'll have to seek common ground with the white house over spending cuts. "the post" reports house majority leader eric cantor suggests that he'll push for ending subsidies to wealthy farmers, limiting lawsuits against doctors, and expanding government auctions of the broadcast spectrum to telecommunication companies. the gop retreat on medicare came ahead of debt reduction talks led by vice president biden which are set to start later this morning. well, now here's a look at some other stories making news. "early today's in america." oregon firefighters had an intense inferno on their hands after two trains collided. the fire erupted when a derailing train smashed into a parked train carrying cars with ethanol. crews battled the blaze for three hours before putting it out. thankfully there were no

injuries. a snow-laden winter in utah produced a very exciting springtime usually there. due to higher than normal levels, officials released water from the flaming gorge reservoir for only the fourth time in the last 48 years. now local businesses are expecting a busy rafting season. and some florida criminals lacked the muscle to carry a coin machine they stole from a car wash. the 200-pound machine fell on top of one of them as they attempted their getaway. not so bright there. they eventually did get away but not with much. the machine had just been emptied. and also in florida, the u.s. postal service unveiled two stamps to mark today's 50th anniversary of america's first manned space flight. the stamps feature the first "mercury" spacecraft and allen shepherd, the first astronaut

with a stamp all to himself. now for a look at your national and regional weather. here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning, bill. how's it look? >> it's quiet still. shh. >> we like to hear it. >> we still have a disaster on the mississippi river. we had so much snow that melted in april in the northern plains, then all the recent heavy rain and tornado outbreaks. and the mississippi river is the problem area. this is the memphis location in major flood stage. they'll go up within a half foot of their record. in the memphis area alone, they're saying about 2,500 properties will be flooded. that's a lot of people with all their items and property ruined. you can see on this map here, these are the big cities on the mississippi river that are going to see major if not historic flding over the next two weeks. we're now watching that crest north of memphis. it's going to crest in memphis next week. and then we're going to watch it cresting to the south of there in greenville about the 17th. it's going to take until about the 20th to get all the way down to southern mississippi.

so it's a very slow process. this will be known as one of the great floods on the mississippi river. as i mentioned, the weather pattern is calm. we have a weak system moving through the pacific northwest. we have a line of showers. it will go through early today. then we'll have a dry afternoon. at work you'll need the umbrella early today. in seattle, 58 and chance of showers. just about every other location looking at a nice thursday. that's a look fresno. ba bakersfield a little toasty. everyone gets to test their air conditioners at 94. testing an air conditioner. that would be fun, right? >> i know nothing of this. how might that work? >> we're still trying to turn the heat off. >> bill, thank you. well, job news jolts the street. iphones get less nosey. and the fury of one spurned bridegroom.

your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus speaking of marriage, cameron diaz says who needs it? coming up, the bulls rebound, the bruins need a minute to win it and a capital failure in the nhl playoffs. 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. workers have entered the damaged reactor buildings at japan's nuclear power plant. it's the first time they've been inside since right after the march 11th earthquake. crews are connecting ventilation equipment in an attempt to absorb radiation from the air inside the building. the last known combat veteran of world war i has died. claude stanny choules started training with the british royal navy in 1915 at the age of 14. he passed away in australia.

he was 110 years old. his secret to a long life, quote, keep breathing. good idea there. well, hollywood also lost a long-serving star. former child actor jackie cooper. cooper, a former "little rascal," is still history's youngest oscar nominee at 9 years old. in later years he won emmys as a tv director and acted as perry white in "superman." cooper was 88 years old. and here's a flight you can be glad you weren't a passenger on. amateur video shows a plane in russia flying wildly in the sky. despite the plane's control system failing, the pilots managed to land the military aircraft on their second attempt. well, now here's a look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. emerging evidence suggests premature births can run in families. one scottish study found being born prematurely increased a woman's chance of having her own preterm baby by nearly 50%.

even having a premature sibling raised a mother's odds. while dramatic treatment advances have increased survival odds, preemies still face a long list of potential health issues. for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. "early today health" is brought to you by vajisil wash with odor block. the confident clean. here's an early look at how wall street kicks off the day. the dow opens at 12,723 after dropping 83 points yesterday. the s&p shed 9 points. the nasdaq lost 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was closed for a holiday. in hong kong, the hang seng fell 53. as earnings season winds down, serious doubts about the health of the economy are setting in. driving fears yesterday was news that hiring was nowhere near expected last month. raising caution about tomorrow's

monthly jobs report. silver and oil prices slid for another day, dragging down mining giant freeport mcmoran and accideoccidental petroleum. it took a toll on time warner while aol blamed dwindling revenue for its lackluster report. rising costs put a strain akellogg's bottom line while ralcorp rebuffed con agra's sweetened takeover deal for a second time. bailed-out lender freddie mac posted its first quarterly gain in two years and is not asking for more federal aid. apple says a new update will reduce the time your iphone stores location data from one year to one week. this after the phone's tracking device was sending info back to apple. news corp missed earnings estimates while whole foods

weighed in with its strongest results in five years. finally, one runaway bride in italy may have to pay a hefty price for her happiness with another man. the guy she left at the altar is suing her for nearly three quarters of a million dollars. coming up, the mvp leads back the bulls. the lakers stumble again at home. and another sudden-death winner this time for the sharks. plus, lightning strikes the washington capitals and sends them packing. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and our break from our typical severe weather we get in may continues into the upcoming weekend. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, looking more like the team that led the league in wins, last night chicago took game two of its nba playoff matchup with the atlanta hawks. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. before game three, derrick rose received his mvp award, then he showed everybody why he is the most valuable player in the nba. commissioner stern with the presentation of the award. rose then went out and scored 12 in the first quarter, finished with a game high 25. the bulls outrebounded and outworked the hawks.

noah with the glass. an 86-73 win. not even jack could get the lakers going in the fourth. the mavericks ran circles around the defending champs. dirk nowitzki led the way with 24. frustration turned physical in the final seconds. ron artest almost took j.j.'s head off. he was ejected. the mavs won 93-81. they lead 2-0. nhl even with a guarantee from alex ovechkin, washington couldn't be helped. the capitals superstar insisted his team would win game four, but it wasn't meant to be. a pair of goals were scored, and tampa swept the top seated caps for a win. like this hit, the bruins got the best of the flyers in game three. chara scored less than a minute in. 33 seconds later, boston scored again. before the fans were settled in, the bruins had a 2-0 lead. they went on to rout the flyers 5-1. they lead the series 3-0. to detroit, sharks tied the

game late in the third kept the momentum going in the overtime. second goal of the night, your game winner. sharks beat the red wings, 4-3 in o.t. finally, the sharks are so loose, they pulled a practical joke on mitchell. that's a hanger on the back of his jersey during their morning skate. he practiced for ten minutes before he said he knew it was there. he said he knew something was up when players kept asking him if we wanted to hang after practice. the sharks are letting it all hang out. they're a win away from the conference finals. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. which longtime tv and music star has remarried her first husband more than 25 years after divorcing him? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you about a new way to help victims of this pick up the pieces no matter how far they've traveled. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. another dry, beautiful, sunny day in many areas of the west. salt lake city, beautiful day at 72. a little warm in vegas and phoenix today. l.a. and san diego just great weather. a very weak storm system is moving on shore now. that's why seattle, you have a little bit of light rain around. much of washington state, you'll need your umbrella early. another storm for your friday. if you're watching us on kntv nbc 11, bay area, let your imagination run wild with a

collection of three-dimensional art inspired by architecture at train of thought. at the oakland museum of california. that's your pacific event of the day. >> bill, thank you. and now there's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. where relationship news takes center stage. after all the headlines, the phone tapes and the court hearings, oksana grigorieva has dropped her domestic violence claims against mel gibson. tmz reports she hopes the move will convince gibson to fairly settle custody of their daughter, lucia. after three years of marriage, then a divorce in 1985, marie osmond remarried steven craig yesterday in las vegas. osmond wore the same dress that she did three decades ago.recyc. i like that. it was their first wedding. finally, cameron diaz tells "maxim" magazine marriage is a dying institution. paraphrasing more advice from diaz who is currently dating yankee alex rodriguez, guys need

women who challenge them and don't let them get away with stuff. women need to not be crazies who blow off when their guys tell them something that scares them. i don't know if that makes sense. and this comes to us from wxia 11 live news in atlanta, georgia, where a modern-day tech-savvy lost and found is helping last week's tornado victims put their lives back together. deeply personal items thought to be gone with the wind have begun to resurface on a very special facebook page dedicated to reuniting rightful owners with sentimental possessions ripped from their homes. there are photos of about 2,000 items waiting to be claimed, giving some hope to those who thought they have lost it all. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the today today on your nbc station.

after the royal wedding, some may dream of being a princess. and here is your chance, for a price. a tiara made of emeralds and diamonds will be hitting the london auction block. the dazzling 500 carat accessory is expected to bring in $5 million to $10 million. made with 11 rare emeralds, the crown is fit for a queen and was once owned by a princess. for a country known for their baguettes, this next competition was inevitably tough. hundreds of french bakers took to the oven to create paris' best baguette, along with the title the baker earned the right to bake for the presidential palace. being the baguette king is good for business, as well.

past winners have doubled their annual sales. an airport in budapest is hoping to help vip travelers take the edge off waiting foor flight. the eu presidency lounge now offers a vending machine that dispenses shots of schnapps to traveling diplomats. brilliant. appropriately named the schnapps-on-mat, the first of its kind machine has been offering a fine taste of native brandy. why have we not thought of this? we'ding millionaires. >> would you put that in your living room or bedroom. >> on the way out the door, maybe. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. south carolina will host the first primary debate in the 2012 presidential race. five republican canned dates will be squaring off in the gop forum including minnesota former tim pawlenty, former

pennsylvania senator rick santorum and texas congressman ron paul. there will be celebrations of mexican culture and heritage on this cinco de mayo. it marks the unlikely victory over france on the 5th of may in 1862. and congratulations to our own brian williams, anchor of nbc nightly news. today he celebrates his 52nd birthday. 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. ann curry reports live from pakistan as president obama explains why he won't release death photos of terror mastermind osama bin laden. and meet an american woman who went in for oral surgery and came out speaking in a thick british accent. 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. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com