night. hope to see you tomorrow. bye-bye! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," hallowed ground. president obama visits the former site of the world trade center to honor the victims of osama bin laden's terror. big river, high anxiety in the midwest as the mighty mississippi continues to rise. and leap of faith a chilean daredevil launches himself into the record book with a death defying feat. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning.

i'm veronica de la cruz. ground zero, yesterday, president obama made his first visit as commander in chief to the worst disaster site in america. after paying tribute there, today he's expected to meet with members of the special military unit that conducted the operation of that attack. steve handlesman has the details. >> less than a week after he gave the green light to kill osama bin laden, president obama laid a wreath at ground zero looking for closure. but sharing the credit, he told nypd officers u.s. leaders kept their word. >> years of across politics, across party, to make sure. that justice is done. >> reporter: the fight is not over. u.s. officials are warning rail operators materials seized at bin laden's hideout revealed no specific plot, but that al qaeda

did consider derailing a u.s. passenger train on the 9/11 anniversary. on september 11th, 2001, every fireman on duty at engine 54 was killed as the president paid his respects there today. fallen fireman christopher santorez's mother and father saluted the president. >> he acted as the commander in chief and i'm very proud to be an american, and he did the right thing. >> other family members felt the same about bin laden's death and the president's visit. >> it brings up everything, all the images, the pictures, the reliving for my family. we never really had any closure. >> reporter: now mary says almost 10 years after her brother, peter, died at the trade center, she and her family do have closure. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, new york. in tennessee, residents in low-lying areas outside of memphis are being evacuated from their homes as the muddy waters of the mississippi continue to rise. near record flood waters have even begun to pull in downtown

memphis on to the city's famous beale street with residents up and down the banks of the mighty river fears that the worst is yet to come. nbc's jay gray has the details. >> reporter: flood waters continue to rise almost as fast as the tension across six states in the south. >> this is a serious matter. there's going to be a lot of damage. >> reporter: in many areas, it already is. homes turned into desperate islands, residents struggling to save anything they can. make no mistake, this is an all-out fight against the water. and sometimes hand to hand combat. other battles waged with heavy equipment. but in neighborhoods like this one, the weapons don't really matter. mother nature is winning. >> i've never seen it this high, never. and it's still got another four or five foot to go. who says, it may go up another six, seven foot.

>> even now, the only way in is by boat or waders. families forced to choose the pieces of their life that they can save. the rest, they now realize, will be washed away. >> trying to get the most valuable belongings. >> as the water continues to climb, so does the sense of desperation. >> i lost my home. and i was told i wasn't on the flood zone when i took the trailer out of here. >> reporter: one that over the next few days is only going to get worse. jay gray, nbc news, memphis. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. one young man in kentucky made a disastrous decision on a recent late night drive, crashing into a gas station storefront, then leaving the scene. and it was all captured by surveillance cameras. police later arrested the 19-year-old who has been charged with a dui. police in connecticut are having a hard time finding out how this rubber hit the road,

investigating the mysterious question of who dumped as many as 2,500 tires behind a restaurant. the mountain of tires discovered by restaurant employees included multiple brands that were both new and used. investigators are hoping nearby surveillance cameras may help them out. and we end with a warm-up for the 137th run for the roses. the annual pegasus parade entertained thousands of spectators live along the streets of louisville. the kentucky derby prerace parade featured clowns and marching bands draped in greek mythology. the race is scheduled for tomorrow and you can see it live right here on your nbc station. >> here is bill karins with your forecast. the women are wearing the big

hats but you have the tie. >> if you have been there, it is a lot of fun. you can only have one or two mint julips. >> you would love it. >> the hats. the dresses. you love the fashion. let's talk about the forecast. as we go wotowards the weekend, what happened in april is causing problems in may. we are causing the problems along the mississippi. that is not just memphis. it is all the small towns along the mississippi. all of the farmland that is being flooded. the people in the deep south are trying to move the possessions along the way. so greenville, you have until the 17th and the 20th to see the high water marks in your area. in the west coast, we have had weak storm systems coming on

shore. it brings showers and cool air with it. it is nothing that heavy. we have another weak system moving on shore. you see the green on the radar showing up. soon the showers will be hitting the ground during the morning rush hour. cloudy and cool again. temperatures in the 50s there. cooler in san francisco. and oregon t areas we are today. kind of cool today. weekend forecast coming up and of course, mother's day too. >> and i need great weather for vegas. my mom lives there. i think i can deliver on this one. >> sounds good. airlines fly and your chance to

own some his tore yik movie real estate. plus will thor lay the hammer on his competition at the box office this weekend? >> coming up, the celts get a look at game three. you are watching early today.

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. pakistan's army is warning the u.s. not to launch attack there like the one that took out osama bin laden. at the same time, the army is acknowledging shortcomings in developing intelligence on osama's whereabouts in pakistan. meantime, there are accusations that islamabad had a role in giving refuge to bin laden. the fbi is investigating

suspicious letters that were delivered to schools in washington, d.c. the envelope included the words al qaeda, fbi. no injuries were reported. newly released test scores show that about three out of four u.s. students lack a basic knowledge of our system of government. the data shows that just 22% of eighth graders and 24% of 12th graders scored proficient or higher in civics. and a daredevil in chile has taken it to the extreme. using a motorbike, he drove at full speed off a cliff in the andes and plunged for 3,000 feet before opening his parachute. he landed just fine, believe it or not. the bike, on the other hand, smashed into pieces. wow. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,548 after sinking 139 points yesterday.

the s&p lost 12. the nasdaq fell 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 145 points while in hong kong the hang seng shed 102. a stunning one-day plunge in the price of crude underscored wall street's uncertainty about the health of the u.s. economy. oil prices fell 9% yesterday to close below $100 a barrel for the first time in two months. energy giants exxon, chevron and slumburger all fell 2%. that nose dive indicated relief at the pump could arrive in time for memorial day. a big spike in weekly jobless claims caught investigators off guard and raised a red flag ahead of today's monthly jobs report. even an upbeat report from general motors was unable to offset the day's woes.

the nasdaq got help from gamemaker electronic arts, which shot up 9% on its strong earnings. after the bell, bailed out insurer aig reported first quarter losses after paying back $2.4 billion it borrowed more than two years ago. after hours, visa jumped a healthy profit with increased card use at home and abroad. kraft reported better than expected first quarter profit and lowered its full year forecast. finally, how about giving moment a piece of movie history for mother's day. the chicago area where macaulay culkin made movie history in "home alone" is now on the market for $274 million. a big nba playoff

suspension, vancouver is on the verge and a pitcher goes nuts when he hits a home run even though it was only in batting practice. plus, a revived lance bergman gives new life to baseball's red birds. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. your weekend forecast is coming up and, of course, the all-important mother's day forecast. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, once again the los angeles lakers ron artest has gone too far and both he and his team are going to pay for it in the nba playoffs. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. there were no nba playoff games last night. for the lakers' ron artest, there won't be a game until sunday. artest has been suspended for tonight's game three against the mavericks for this cheap shot. mavs hope to take advantage and go up 3-0 in the series. one guy who will be back on the court is the celts shaquille o'neal after he's been sidelined with a calf injury. elsewhere, vancouver got the lead maid way through the third. canucks won it, 4-2. they can close out the predators tomorrow. after four months, who would have thought the cleveland indians would be the best team in baseball? jack hanrahan's single put

cleveland on top. lance bergman is resurrecting a career in st. louis smashed his 10th home run of the season. the three-run shot turned out to be the game winner. card beat the marlins, 10-3. for the orioles, the pop up to short. apparently they weren't there to make the catch. the ball fell between them. in came another run. royals won big, 9-1. finally, rice had fun during batting practice. he showed off his home run trot and price did it in style. cartwheel at first, another at second, got his hands dirty with a slide to third and topped it off with a run to home plate. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin.

to showbiz's biggest drama queens are at each other's throats again. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, the fast-thinking kayaker who helped save a florida treasure. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. let me take you through your weekend forecast today.

including mother's day. today showery weather here. cooler today in medford down through the northern california ar area. warm through the weekend area. saturday looks to be 95 to 100 from vegas to phoenix. cooler along the coast. as we fast forward into mother's day we will be looking at more wet weather in the northern rockies. we are okay and dry in much of california. if you are watching us on kgw news channel 8 in portland, oregon learn how things evolve at the art museum. >> mother's day? >> she is doing vust fine. >> i think she will take it.

now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. make room at the box office for another super hero debut. "soar" may be one of marvel's lesser known heroes. that hasn't stopped the experts from predicting a runway with upwards of $70 million. last weekend's big winner fast five will earn $30 million. kate hudson's romantic comedy "something borrowed" will vie for third. the pg wedding comedy, "jumping the broom." finally, a simmering feud is heating up again thanks to paris hilton being mistaken for lindsay lohan when she gave a homeless woman earrings on her new reality show. she said if she were a lohaloha she would be stealing the earrings, not giving her

say it isn't so. hilton said if she were lohan, she would be stealing the a earrings and not giving them way. away. tmz is reporting the whole thing is so 2006. >> so the only thing we've they are one in the same. >> you better be careful. this comes to us from ft. myers, florida, where a quick thinking 12-year-old saved one of the sunshine state's most beloved attractions. joey was traveling in a kayak. he noticed a manatee with a crab trap on his flipper. he sprung into action. after almost two months of treatment, the manatee was set free. joey's personal contribution to helping prevent manatee extinction. very nice. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

in mexico, cinco de mayo is much more than drinking margaritas. it is not mexico's independence day. it is actually the anniversary of an outnumbered mexican's army decisive defeat of the french army, perhaps the world's best at the time. kids in tokyo performed an astounding feat all for a good cause. a charity event pitted children in a tug of war against an 85-ton airplane. they managed to pull the aircraft over six feet. it was a hard earned victory, but well worth it.

money raised will go to child victims of the earthquake and tsunami. well, extreme sports seems to be an overused term these days, but one sport definitely lives up to that feeling. it is called free ride skiing and norway hosted its most recent challenge. athletes compete navigating through extremely steep terrain, jumping from cliff to cliff. also quite dangerous. not only is there no course, there is no rules, except for don't break all your bones. >> there must have been a bunch of good crashes, you have to imagine. time now for an early look at some of the stories that we are going to follow throughout the day on nbc. supreme court justice will speak at commencement and receive an honorary degree. it is the anniversary of the hindenburg disaster.

36 people died in the fiery crash described by a live radio announcer with a now famous declaration, oh, the humanity. and happy birthday to george clooney. the actor and humanitarian turns 50 years old today. happy 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 officials learn more about the plans bin laden had to strike america. and parents weigh in on a controversial new anti-obesity campaign aimed at children that some say crosses the line. 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. enjoy your friday and have a terrific weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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