this morning on "early today", healing wounds. an emotional day in joplin, missouri as president obama honors victims of the deadliest tornado in more than half a century. driving force, surveillance video captures a bus slamming into a texas gas station. and high-speed wonder, a powerful water spout is spotted off of the coast of australia. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with the long road ahead.

this morning, survivors in joplin, missouri are beginning the second week of what will be a trying and lengthy recovery. yesterday president obama travelled to the tornado-striked zone for the firsthand look at the devastation. nbc's jay gray reports. >> how are you guys doing? >> reporter: looking to raise the spirits of this battered community, president obama travelled to joplin on sunday. >> obviously the scene speaks for itself. >> reporter: the splintered wood and twisted metal spread for six miles, remnants and neighborhoods stretched to their limits. >> this is not just your tragedy. this is a national tragedy. that means there is will be a national response. >> reporter: it's help this city will need for a long time. >> it's overwhelming. >> reporter: but in this place where everything seems to be torn apart, sunday there was evidence that joplin is actually pulling together. ♪ >> reporter: thousands gathered for a memorial to remember and honor the victims of the storm.

>> the loss of even one human life is a tragedy and we have lost scores. >> reporter: a city suffering as it begins what will surely be years of rebuilding and recovery. >> there's no doubt in my mind that joplin will rebuild. and as president, i can promise you your country will be there with you every single step of the way. >> reporter: but right now, solid ground for that first step is so hard to find. jay gray, nbc news, joplin, missouri. across the world in yemen -- there was a deadly flareup of violence over the weekend in the country's ongoing uprising with reports of up to 20 demonstrators killed in one city alone. activists and doctors report at least six anti-government protesters were killed in clashes. witnesses say police fired live ammunition, tear gas, and used water cannons to disperse demonstrators where

demonstrators have been camped out for months. they've been demanding their president step down after three decades in power. four soldiers were killed and dozens were wounded today in an ambush by unknown forces. clashes erupted in serbia's capital over last week's arrest of a war crime suspect. 16 people were injured in confrontation between riot police and supporters demanding the release of wartime general rad co-mladic. they called for the president to step down over the detention of mladic who demonstrators consider a hero. he's accused of orchestrating the massacre of 8,000 muslim men and boys during the '90s. his son claims he did not order the deaths. >> far above the earth it is the

end of an era for the space shuttle. endeavour wraps up nasa's next to last flight. "endeavour" and the six-man crew undocked from the space station for the last time last night. "endeavour" will arrive back on earth early wednesday morning at which time the vehicle will be retired to a museum in california. in texas, surveillance video shows a dramatic start to the weekend as an austin city bus plowed into a veeps store. an onboard camera shows the bus as it appears to run the red light and swerve out of control after a car smashes to the driver's side knocking the driver to the floor. both drivers were take up to the hospital and treated for minor injuries. in michigan, a fast-moving storm blew through battle creek yesterday uprooting trees and tearing the roof off of one building residents are waiting to hear whether the storm that left the city without power was

packing tornado force winds. helicopters and u.s. marines in full battle gear put on a demonstration this memorial day weekend. people got a chance to handle weapons, try on body armor, and even take a seat inside of a helicopter. in los angeles, four-legged dodgers fans got a chance to take in a ball game. decked out in dodger blue, dogs of all shapes and sizes filled the stands and paraded around the field with their owners. the dogs are just one of several major league baseball teams welcoming man's best friend to the ballpark. all proceeds went to charity. oh, that's great. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's meteorologist ginger z. good to have you back. >> i guess the west coast is the only reprieve we are getting. >> today you are going to be

fine in the southwest. it is not the case throughout the rest of the nation and not in parts of the mountains. you see that north-south orientation. well, the cold is on the back end. and i would say cool. we have to make it relative. these are current temperatures. we will see a 15 to 20 degree on top of this. take the surface map and you have the issues here. in parts of montana. but behind it, it leaves clear, skies for lost angeles and not a whole lot of rain. you have to add a little bit. now we look at the forecast. yes, you expect showers with 66 in medford. 74 and sunshine. and phoenix has 86 with the sun. we will go somewhere that doesn't have sun. salt lake city 57 and we will go into a little bit of la.

i think better than the heat advisories. >> all right. thank you so much. >> well private companies seeking profits are rush iing io space. your early morning business h d headlines are straight ahead. record holiday proceeds. >> unbelievable finish at the indy 500. surprising final lap from dale ea earnhardt junior. you are watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here's some of the top headlines this morning. a new poll by a japanese television network finds 81% of japanese voters do not trust government information on the crisis of that country's damaged nuclear plant. nearly 85% of respondents feel that the utility that operates the plant is dealing with the crisis poorly. in the wake of japan's disaster, germany has announced plans to become the first major industrialized power to shut down all of the nuclear plants by 2022. it now has 17 nuclear reactors, some of which are already offline. the decision will force germany to find another source to cover the 22% of electricity currently supplied by nuclear power. news that countries are shifting away from nuclear power to fossil fuels suggests there will be an increase in carbon dioxide emissions according to "the guardian." the english newspaper reports that unpublished estimates show that greenhouse emissions

increased by a record amount last year. remarkable video from australia, a water spout appeared off of the nation's central coast. it sprung up in the middle of the ocean. residents also reported several water spouts elsewhere down under. quite a sight. the u.s. markets are closed for the memorial holiday. but this is how wall street ended. the dow closed 12,441 after gaining 38 points. the s&p added five and the nasdaq was up 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dipped 16 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 66. a handful of private businesses have their eye on the sky. that's because there's a new space race under way, a competition to pick up where nasa's retiring shuttle program is leaving off, carrying cargo and astronauts into space. here's nbc's tom costello. >> one small step for man --

more than 40 years since the u.s. won the first space race with the soviets, the second space race is uniquely american. >> roger, "endeavour". >> with the space shuttle fleet retiring this summer, private industry is battling to win nasa's confidence in transporting astronauts to the space station. and a company called spaceex may be in the lead. it's launched a rocket called falcon 9 with a spacecraft called dragon, orbiting the earth, and splashdown in the pacific. space-ex isn't alone. boeing is developing a rocket system. blue origin found by jeff bezos kept its plans largely secret. nasa provided $319 million in

seed money for the private sector to develop a modern alternative to the aging space shuttle fleet. by turning the job over to private companies, nasa is hoping to focus on the next frontier, developing the rockets to take astronauts to moving asteroids and maybe even mars. meanwhile, tourists could be hitching a ride to space in just 18 months. virgin galactic plans to charge 200,000 dollars round trip. tom costello, nbc news, cape canaveral. a veteran driver hits e. and the come from behind thriller in the lone star state. plus, do you remember racing the toy metal cars on the orange track? you don't want to miss this. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. heat and humidity for the east. then we're looking for dry and cool out west. storms in the middle. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today," and in sports, it's known as the greatest spectacle in racing. and this year, the indianapolis 500 certainly lived up to its legendary status. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all of your sports headlines. hi there, good morning. two big races on memorial day weekend and both ending in

surprising fashion. first off, indianapolis, 100th anniversary of the indy 500. five laps to go, rookie j.r. hildebrand takes the lead. imagine the 23-year-old's excitement coming to the final turn. a four-second edge. uh-oh, hildebrand loses control, passing lap traffic, hits the wall. dan hilden gets to the finish line. the rookie's storybook race comes to an end. the rookie finishes second. hildebrand said he overtook the lap car at the wrong time. perfect timing for weldon. he took the win for the second time. paying tribute to his hometown of joplin, missouri. coca-cola 600. dale earnhardt jr., seconds away from snapping a 400-losing streak. kevin harvick steals the checkers, the third win of the season. junior finishes seventh.

rangers and royals tied at the end of the ninth. mike napoli all the way around from first then all the way home. throw to the plate in plenty of time. he's safe. slides under the tag. the rangers snatches a w from the jaws of extra innings. 7-6. >> oh if you or your kid played with hot wheels growing up, you're going to love this. a replica hot wheels truck, raced down the orange hot wheels track, flew through the air and perfect landing. broke the previous world record by 31 feet. this is stuff you can't do with a set of hot wheels. that's a look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> early today sports is brought to you by just for men mustache and beard. keep your edge. the losers were winners at the box office. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, at first glance on memorial day weekend, the

nation's capitol may not look so different. but upon closer inspection, this weekend looked and sounded very different. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." 15 cities are expecting record

high temperatures. temperatures in the 70s phoenix gets into the mid 80s. salt lake city 57. showers in seattle will become thunderstorms for portland on your tuesday. everybody heads back to work. if you are watching us on kmir 6 in palm springs, california. that is at the palm springs air museum. and that is your pacific event of the day. thank you so much. here is an early look at this morning's headlines of entertainment. >> it helped put hollywood on course to set a new record for memorial day weekend. almost doubling the business. part two took in $86.5 million.

although some estimates had to do it better, the numbers are nevertheless impressive. in the first four days since opening thursday, $118 million on track to finish memorial day weekend with $140 million in the bank. kung fu panda 2 opened solidly in second with $40 million well below the $60 million plus debut of the first installment three years ago. last week's number one, "pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides" slipped to third. don't shed any tears. worldwide after two weeks in theaters, total earnings stand at just under $650 million. we don't feel so bad. >> it is hard to believe there will be a pirates 5, and 6. >> maybe from the other island.

but -- >> that is it for today. this comes to us from washington, d.c. where one group of patriots rolled into town for a tradition that may not be the oldest but is possibly the loudest. thousands of bikers roar through the nation's capital this weekend as members of the rolling thunder veterans group flooded the city's streets for a 24th straight memorial day weekend. the black and denim clad clan rode to the nation's mall in support of the nation's military men and women. today and all day we thank them for their service. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

here's a quirky way to take in a little culture -- paddle through it. a lake in hungary has been transformed to an art gallery for the summer with floating sculptures that people view from their boats. the idea is to bring art closer for people to see. and artists around europe used the environment as inspiration displaying water scened work. cool there. another art exhibit is taking things outside. this time in australia. that's where the annual vivid festival of lights light up the sky in the night with a kaleidoscope of colors. the opera house in sydney served as the centerpiece. it takes place in the winter

season and is a great way to get people out of the house in an otherwise dreary season. it would sink or swim in one competition in florida. participants at think regata built their boats using material including duct tape. most had trouble keeping their vessels afloat. some quickly lost their footing and paddled. they went down fighting. that's the spirit. it gets it done. >> it breaks the myth. duct tape can't do everything. >> crazy glue as well. that i know from experience. time for an early look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. president obama will announce changes from the department of defense from the white house rose garden. he's expected to nominate the chairman of joint chiefs of staff replacing admiral mike mullen. and the national memorial

day parade will proceed past the white house to honor those who have died in military duty. astronaut buzz aldrin will be in attendance. on this day in 1922, the lincoln memorial was dedicate in a ceremony attended by president harding and his only surviving son. you can stay on top of those and other developments as they break on msnbc. watch brian williams with the "nbc nightly news." the latest in the casey anthony murder case, including text messages that prosecutors say prove she set out to kill her daughter. and on this memorial day, meet a military widow who has found a unique way to honor the loved ones she and other women have lost to war. and 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 wonderful memorial day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com