this morning on early today, rise i rising waters flee the mississippi river and a young boy on colorado gets tossed in a horrific hit and run accident. >> hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation. i'm lynn berry and today we

begin with a high profile arrest. one of the world's most powerful men is facing charges this morning. he is the head of the international monetary fund. his arrest has sent chock shock waves aaround the world. we go to kristen dalgren. good morning. >> reporter: as you said. a very powerful man facing those serious charges this morning. that after a maid in manhattan claims she attacked her. she claimed he chased her down the hallway and assaulted her as she was able to break free. police say by the time they got

there, he was gone and had left his cell phone behind though. they were able to track him down to a flight that was able to leave john f. kennedy airport. he has undergone physical and forensic testing. his attorneys say that he denies all the charges and that he will be needing not guilty later on this morning. and now to the dire situation along the mississippi river basin. where residents are being told to leave home as the water rises. >> a tore rent water rushes down the spillway. it opened as part of a plan to

divert water to save the cities. >> number one is that public safety is part of the number one priority and always has been an always will be. >> the water could flood out more than 10,000 structures and 25,000 people. >> it is difficult to understand why you are being flooded in situations like this. >> while residents do what they can to save their property. prayers were offered in mississippi a community battling flooding with the mississippi river still rising. >> how are neighbors are facing significant loss and many others being displaced. >> chris lynn makes his living on the water fishing. even he can't believe what he is seeing. emotion and pain levels rising

along with the flood waters. kirk gregory, nbc news. >> elsewhere there has been a flare up of violence along israel's borders that have level 15 people dead. syr syria, lebanon and gaza fr preventing demonstrators. it came on a day of mourning for event that uprooted thousands of palestinians. and now a look at other news. a camera captured a hit and run accident in denver where a 10 year boy ran into the street. the collision threw the boy several feet leaving him with scrapes and bruises. the driver is still at large.

winds in arizona produced a scary moment at a kid's party. wind ripped it from the ground. the ordeal left one person hospitalized and others with minor injuries. and in connecticut, finally good news from that teen who was banned from his prom. school officials reversed the decision citing multiple disstrksdi distracti distractions. the senior handed down punishment. james, did not come away unscathed. this unspecified new punishment is being called an alter nate consequence. for a look at your national and regional weather, here is bill karins who is going to sleep better tonight knowing he is

able to go to prom. >> right? >> let's talk about what happened this week. in seattle, we had record rainfall. saturday into sunday. pretty good storm system that has moved through. middle of the country, on the west and east coast the bad weather is going to be found. still dealing with the wet weather this morning. the storm and system that came in this weekend. instead of moving across the country. it is rotating back up into british columbia. it is pin wheeling around each other here. it is going to lead to showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. it is cool too behind the storm system. snow at the high elevations. we are going to expect a chance of thunderstorms. when the air mass is this cool. we can get hail with those

storms. here is a look at the radar, lot of rain there. as i mentioned with the high country, we are dealing with the snow. expected to be really arizona cooled it off too. sunny and 87 degrees. soggy forecast for tuesday coming up. >> all right bill, thank you. >> well which way will oil head. sony hits restart and meet the man with the award winning facial hair. plus was a super hero a match for a group of bridesmaids at the box office? >> plus sports.

you are watching early today.

welcome back to "early today." in the east, libyan tv says nato has blasted an oil terminal. a strike deputy foreign minister calls a provocation. flood waters swept away the country has been battling the effects for nearly a year. no deaths of injuries reported from this incident. nas is a has been fueling the space shuttle endeavor for this morning's lift off.

the congresswoman recovering from a gunshot wound to the head arrived in florida yesterday to watch her husband's launch. this past hour, giffords tweeted a photo of the launch saying who is ready for the best show on earth. scientists in england said they found a single gene that controls other genes in body fat and causes obesity. it could lead to other related diseases. half a billion people are obese. for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page on msnbc.com. here is a look at how wall street will kick off the day.

wall street faces an important week ahead. investors are are watching commodities lead by oil which have seen a sharp retreat in prices over concerns of slowi i global growth. t the energy sector has been the best performer over the coming weeks. rising over 15% this year. as for other commodities. recent rallies in gold and silver has ended in a rising slump. copper, known as a predictor has hit a five month low.

wednesday, investors may find hints on how low investors ahead this week retail earnings reports including wal-mart target and home depot. promise a range of new security measures almost a month after a massive security breach. if you think you have an elaborate morning dpro ing groo routine, look at this dry. he holds the record for the world's most grooming beard. the dunkin on duane.

your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> in weather, this is what you see is what you get week. no changes in the forecast. that is coming up. you are watching early today.

good morning if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports chicago kept the momentum going against miami. here is an early look at your sports headlines. >> the bulls kept the trend going into the eastern conference finals. game one in chicago high of the night was by tosh gibson. chicago and miami tied at 48-48 at the break. bulls run away with it at the half. he hit four three pointers and shut down the defense. the mvp scoring a team high 28. the bulls take game one 103 to 82. game two is wednesday. game seven between the thunder and the grizleys. getting it done on both ends of

the court. he jock knocks down the three. 39 points. west brook did everything else. that is a triple double. thunder move on with the win. they will play the mavericks on tuesday night. game one, san jose midway in the third. ties it at 2-2. gives vancouver the lead rally to win gave one 3-2. in golf 1-0 playoff to win the player's championship. now batista is part of that. he belted three home runs against the twinkies. 60 homers crushes minnesota 11

to 3. that is your look at sports on early today. i'm mario solice. >> who out muscled the competition at the box office this weekend? >> plus in this busy graduation season, one student is teaching this fellow classmates about trmpderov trath day. you are watching "early today."

welcome back, thank you for joining us on this monday morning. the rain continuing in the northwest. we have had minor flooding problems. we could get some thunderstorm storms. chance of storms from boisie to medford. we are dry but cool. tomorrow not much warmer. you see the rain is still widespread. if you are watching us in honolulu, we under water features. that jet set at the waikiki a aquarium. >> i know, i always do that. bill, thank you. now here is an early look at

this morning's headlines in entertainment. the three d super hero film, earned $34.5 million to hold the number one spot for the second consecutive weekend. dumbi coming in at number two. stars kristen wig and former snl cast might with the help of an unexpected male audience, "bridesmaids" brought in $24.4 million. the priest starring paul b eeety brought in $44.5 million. lindsey lohan has learned her lesson once and for all. sources tell tmz she has told friends no drugs, no booze, no

breaking the law ever again period. what are we going to talk about? >> the film. i said it would do well and you said it wouldn't. >> this comes to us from kntv bay area news. a college graduate used two of his own. austin has been confined to a wheelchair since a 2007 car accident left him paralyzed. the school's researchers developed a wearable robotic device designed to help them walk. he walked across the stage and turning some small steps into a big moment. congratulations to you. i'm lynn berry and this is just your first stop of the day on

your nbc station.

if a man's home is his cattle, this man's looks the part. a retired decorator spent eight years painting every room of this house inspired by works of art. each corner may look in order. the finished product is impressive considering he is completely self taught. one restaurant claims food in an airplane can be great. a plane has been given a second

cla chance in life in england. it can spot 40 customers and like the real thing, if they need assistance they can push a button for a flight aten tand. this is a first. a fashion trend sweeping through mexico has some scratching their heads. the sequin boots has sparked requested to imitate the trend. the fad has made its way in mississippi and texas. completely a mystery. i have no idea what the appeal is here. that would explain it. >> well, it is time now for a look look at the sorries we will follow throughout the day. rahm emmanuel will be sworn in

today. he stepped down as white house chief of staff last year to run for the office. president will address graduates today. the school won the right to a presidential commencement speech and happy birthday to singer janet jackson who turns 45 today. and tonight be sure to watch brian willians on nbc nightly news. the latest on the sexual assault case on the head of the international monetary fund. and hear from the connecticut high school student who was b banned from attending his high school prom but who is now being allowed to go. now keep it tuned to this

station. thank you for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day, today