hope to see you tomorrow. bye-bye, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on early areally "today," under water. memphis and new orleans brace it for historic flooding as the swollen mississippi river begins to crest. after the raid. new revelations about the covert mission to kill osama bin laden. and extreme rarity. a chinese woman gives birth to twins with a single body and two heads. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with the mighty mississippi. flooding of historic proportion

is hitting areas among america's greatest river. memphis has been hit particularly hard. residents haven't dealt with floodwater this high since the 1930s for the for the latest we go nbc's jay gray. >> reporter: the mississippi has reached its peak cresting at a near 48 feet. >> all we can do now is let the water go down, try to keep people safe, keep them patient, give them the assistance they need. and because this is going to be with us for another few weeks. >> reporter: at least two weeks of homes filled with water instead of families. businesses submerged, frightening images for those down river. >> the floodwaters come to us. it's coming up and it's coming fast. >> reporter: in vicksburg, mississippi, that water is already beginning to swallow homes as it continues to move in. many are being forced to move out and up to higher ground.

but in louisiana where most of this water will ultimately end up, higher ground is hard to find. the army corps of engineers opened 28 of the 350 gates on the spillway diverting some of the water into lake pontchartrain hoping to ease some of the pressure on the swollen river and tensions for those still in its path. jay gray, nbc news, memphis. well, details continue to emerge into last week's mission to nail down osama bin laden. according to the "new york times," two teams were on standby to handle any scenario that could unfold. one to bury bin laden it if he was killed, and a second team of lawyers, interrogators and translators in the event he was captured alive. meanwhile u.s. relations with pakistan continue to be tested after suspicion rose monday that the country's intelligence service leaked the name of the cia chief in islamabad. although since the image wasn't revealed, there are no plans to

pull the operative. for more, we go to steve handelsman. >> reporter: aides say president obama expected tough talk from pakistan. their prime minister denying pakistan was in, quote, cahoots with al qaeda, saying don't blame us for the failure to find osama bin laden. >> cannot be held to account for fraud policies. >> reporter: he warned any future u.s. strike could meet pakistani counter force. no apparent offense taken. >> we remain confident that we will continue to cooperate with the pakistani government. >> reporter: and pakistan agreed to let u.s. agents interview osama bin laden's wives. meanwhile, as the public watches bin laden's home video seized by the s.e.a.l.s, experts say analysis of his hard drives is revealing al qaeda's secrets dot

by dot, code names, phone numbers. >> you'll see the ability to take those mundane dots and the more explicit, the names of war, and connect them in a way that will ultimately unravel the situation. >> reporter: steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. and not surprisingly, our new nbc news poll shows overwhelming support for the president's decision to take out bin laden. 80% of americans say it was the right decision to kill the al qaeda mastermind. and that strong approval could be running off on the president. overall approval rating now stands at 52%, a three point increase. however, when it comes to the economy, the president isn't faring so well, just 37% approve of his handling. that's an all-time low. the reason? analysts point to skyrocketing gas prices. and now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. spectators at a skateboard race

in colorado ran for cover when a helicopter suddenly came crashing down. witnesses hid behind a nearby guardrail to shield themselves from mountain size debris scattered by the propellers. no one in the aircraft or on the ground was injured. a new jersey store clerk is nursing injuries after a brutal confrontation with a thief. a camera was rolling when the 24-year-old attempted to fight back when a suspect tried to exit after cleaning out the register. police have a lead, but no arrest yet. hundreds of fish in a manmade public pond in kansas were found dead. this is the latest case of mass animal death being blamed on leaks within the pond and an invasive plant species that sucks up the oxygen in the water. officials plan to repair the leaks and remove the plant life before restocking the pond with fish. and in massachusetts, doctors introduced america's first full facial transplant recipient.

his face was disfigured after coming in contact with a power line. his two year transformation has been rough, but the patient credits his daughter as the driving force behind his recovery. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. mississippi river, two weeks from now, that is how long it is going to take. we are watching the crest and then it is going to spread downstream. it will be monday before it will take ten days from now. by the time it peaks and gets to the new orleans area, we are talking two weeks from now. we are getting towards memorial day weekend. that is good. all the bad weather lately has been through up here through

idaho. i know jackson's hole is getting through the snow here. seeing a bit of snow fall. temperatures have cooled off to most areas. here is a look at that radar. idaho falls north of there, that is where we are watching the warm weather in the country. another nice day here from california up through oregon and washington washington state. we are cool. temperatures aren't that warm. but at least it should be a dry da protty nice day. up into washington state. two days in a row. that is saying a lot. i did find out official lay that it was the coldest esest april

record. >> all right bill thank you so much. well who is buying skype? and why rome may be a ghost town next week. plus we'll tell you how mccarthy played it when he popped the question to this new fiance. >> coming up, a pair of overi'm games in the playoffs. and why the world smelled so fitchy at a predator's game. 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. in a speech last night, house speaker john boehner said republicans will insist that any increase in the u.s. debt limit, which is necessary to avoid an unprecedented u.s. default on

its financial obligations, must be accompanied by trillions of spending cuts. we'll hear more from him later on the "today" show. jan brewer will ask the supreme court to lift an injunction blocking parts of the controversial immigration law. it took effect last july. it was stripped of a provision that would have given police the power to check the immigration status of suspected criminals. an orthodox jewish newspaper is apologizing for editing out secretary of state hillary clinton from a photo of president obama and his staff watching the osama bin laden mission. the new york paper says it doesn't publish images of women out of respect if jewish laws of modesty. >> former colorado governor arnold schwarzenegger and his wife, maria shriver, are separated. the would have been together 25 years. and in china, a woman has given birth to conjoined twin babies and they both have a single body with two heads.

doctors were quoted as saying it would be nearly impossible to separate them. and now here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12, 684 after gaining 45 points yesterday. the s&p added 6 points. s nasdaq rose 15. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was up 24 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng was closed for a holiday. wall street wakes up this morning to one very big acquisition. reuters reports microsoft will announce it has beat out facebook and google buying the web video conferencing service skype in its biggest deal ever for $8.5 billion. monday the very same companies hobbled by last week's massive commodities selloff rode higher thanks to a rebound in oil and materials. silver rose climbing back from its worst weekly drop since at least 1975. energy stocks also led gains as

oil once again moved above $100 a barrel. in financials, heavily traded citigroup dragged stocks falling over 2% after the company's one for ten reverse stock split. h&r block tumbled 7% after reports a group will try to force the company's defunct subprime lending unit to buy back billions in soured home loans. dollar thrifty soared 13% after hertz rivaling with avis raised its offer to more than $2.2 billion. european markets fell on worries about greece after standard and poors down graded the nation's rating in to junk territory. china posted its biggest trade surplus in four months in april swinging from a first quarter deficit. regulators are investigating a fuel tank problem that could affect more than 2.7 million ford f-150 pickup trucks. and finally, tourists beware. despite assurances from

officials, thousands of romans have left town after internet warnings of a devastating earthquake next wednesday rumored to have been forecast by a long dead seismologist. well, a triple overtime nba thriller, and a strange item hits the ice in hockey. plus lebron and the heat put the celtics on the brink. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather, as the mississippi river continues to rise, we're also very hot and dry in the heartland. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the miami heat stand poised to leap a big playoff hurdle after last night's win over the celtics. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the celtics one shot away from tying their series with the heat, now they're one loss away from the end of their season. we go to boston, final seconds, tied at 86. paul pierce for the win off the mark. pierce thought he was fouled. didn't get the call or the jumper at the buzzer. on to overtime where the heat took over. lebron james with two of his 35 and moments later, the tip that put the celts away. the heat can wrap it up

tomorrow. great game between the grizzlies and thunder. memphis needed heroics in the extra frame. off balance for the tie and he got it. the thunder finally pulled away. they even the series with a wild 133-123 win in triple o.t. it's a tradition to throw an octopus on the ice. now the predators have started something just as fishy. someone threw a catfish on the ice during game six. eliminated nashville from the postseason with a 2-1 win. so much for that catfish. vancouver will either face the sharks or red wings in the western conference finals. game six of that series is tonight. and finally to milwaukee where the brewers turned in one of the best double plays of the season. jason bartlett a shot up the middle, betancourt made the

stop, flipped it behind his back to weeks who barehanded the catch and over to first. it was perfect. let's watch it again. weeks took it from there, caught and threw to first all in one motion. doesn't get any better than that. brewers won it 4-3. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. there is a new entry in the category of weird showbiz baby names. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus these folks are eagerly awaiting a moment they've been looking forward to for 17 years. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. pretty nice day in the northwest. we'll take mid 60s in portland and seattle. idaho also the twin he falls we are watching cloudy and rainy weather. we are looking good today in san francisco. much of tomorrow should be dry tomorrow in the southwest. that is channel 2.

see skru sculptures. >> little bit of a scary image there. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. former beatle paul mccartney spared no expense when it came to popping the question. sir paul proposed to the new york business woman during a romantic candlelit dinner for two and did it with a ring estimated to be worth $650,000. well done. today lindsay lohan pleads no contest to misdemeanor threat paving the way for her to serve her 120 day probation violation sentence at home. she will not be in court. bristol palin is moving to l.a. to live with her former dancing with the stars castmate and film a reality tv show. and finally, we have a new winner when it comes to strange baby names. yeah, head shaker. silver stone and her husband have named their new boy bear blu. >> imagine the pre-school

teacher. >> apple? >> bear blu. >> it is creative. they are artists. >> that is being nice. >> this comes to us from ksl where nearby rain and clouds couldn't put a damper on one woman's dream that finally came true. deborah passed the prison gates and into the arms of her family. she ended a 17 year prison sentence. for now, she has no concrete plans just a mother's day celebration with loved ones who never lost hope.

>> some penguins finally have a place to call home. the group waddled between a few zoos while their permanent living space at the london zoo was being finished. the new digs took some time getting used to, but after a bribe of food and a chance to swim and explore, the penguins are settling in and getting ready for some visitors. and from real animals in london to some party animals. more than 100 dancers took part in a flash mob in front of buckingham palace yesterday. the students spent 12 weeks practicing the five minute romeo and juliet themed routine. it was secretly planned by the palace to honor young people in the arts.

and finally, the vinyl lp isn't dead after all. it's true. one factory owner in new york is churning out more than 10,000 record as month on dated and rare record pressing machines he invested in a few years ago. night clubs tend to be his biggest clients since they prefer to use turn tables to modern technology. he says true music lovers prefer what he calls the warmth of vinyl. nothing like a little barry white on the vinyl. >> i don't have to be embarrassed any more and hide all my records. >> my "thriller" album still remains right there under the bed. >> we were youngin's back then. >> exactly. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. on capitol hill, a senate panel will hold a hearing this morning on protecting cell phone privacy. google and apple executives will be on hand. the companies have been at the center of controversy over how smart phones gather and use location data of users.

also harry connick jr. will help introduce the national juke box. the library of congress project will offer up to thousands of historic sound records for free on the web. and on this day in 1969, apollo 10 transmitted the first color broadcast of earth from space. 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. al roker reports live from memphis with the very latest on the record river flooding that's forced hundreds from their homes. and snl stars kristen wiig and maya rudolph talk about their new wedding day comedy, "bridesmaids." 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