this morning on "early today," badge of courage. president obama along with millions of americans honor the nation's fallen heros. cyber combat, the pentagon declares war on computer hackers. and fifth avenue find, surveillance video captures an attack on an elderly woman in new york city. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with paying tribute. across the nation yesterday,

communities large and small remember generations of brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, serving and fighting in our nation's wars. nbc's kurt gregory reports. >> halt! >> a day of remembrance at arlington national cemetery. president obama honoring tens of thousands of americans who gave their lives defending the united states. >> we remember that it is their courage, their unselfishness, their devotion to duty that has sustained this country through all its trials and will sustain us through all the trials to come. [ taps ]. >> reporter: at the vietnam war memorial, a call to americans to think about all those currently paying the ultimate sacrifice. >> i think there's a sense that in some way, much of the nation has psychologically moved on.

combat casualties are no longer on the front page. sometimes they're not on the second page, sometimes they're not in the newspaper. >> volunteers and civilians in massachusetts and around the country placing flags at grave sites of the fallen. >> this is what you do on memorial day. you honor the people that gave everything so that we have the lifestyle that we have. >> reporter: from south carolina's ft. jackson -- to california and hawaii. a take to thank and remember america's war heros, kurt gregory, nbc news. overseas, libyan ruler moammar gadhafi may be ready to accept a truce to end the fighting in his country, according to south africa's president who met with gadhafi in tripoli. however, rebels are rejecting the offer because it does not require the leader to step down.

the rebels are about to launch an offensive against gadhafi. just yesterday, eight top libyan officers defected urging fellow soldiers to do the same. in the wake of a nato air strike that killed civilians over the weekend, what mid karzai announced the decision to no longer allow air strikes by nato forces. nato apologized but argued those strikes are a necessary tool and that they are always carried out with afghan coordination and approval. >> four tornado survivors in joplin, missouri, now finding a place to live is a top priority. some of the homeless there will reportedly be placed in rental homes nearly an hour's drive away. however, fema says if enough

houses aren't available, it may bring in trailers as it did after hurricane katrina. while the official death toll in joplin has yet to be determined, the number of unaccounted for is down to 29 while the number of remains recovered stands at 146. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. an attack in broad daylight has sent shock waves through one of new york city's neighborhoods. a surveillance camera shows an elderly woman being pulled into a doorway. the suspect robbed the victim and sexually assaulted about fleeing the scene. police have not made an arrest. an invasion of jellyfish added sting to the holiday weekend in florida. the former jellyfish washed ashore stinging more than 400 people on their arms, legs and torsos. officials did not shut down the affected beaches, but did provide medical treatment for victims. finally, some federally

protected wildlife has turned open to all, it is now in its 13th year and attracted a crowd of 40,000. many of the lanterns include hand-written notes in honor of lost loved ones. and now for a look at your national and regional weather. good morning ginger, how does it look out west? >> it is nearly perfect in a lot places. you are not seeing the heat f the east. what you do have is a system hitting the far northwest. if you are up near you know seattle down towards parts of portland today. as the low pressure system crashes ashore, you will be feeling the effects in parts of

california eventually. temperatures are comfy. salt lake is 48 and boise 57. you will start the morning on a comfortable note and end it. sunshine al beker key 84. portland to medford, san francisco at 65 and we have to look at tomorrow to see what is happening. seattle will be still in the clouds with the showers 58 for the high. salt lake city at 81 and phoenix gets up to the big 100 on wednesday. look for warming a break there for a couple of days but it is back. that is a look at your forecast. atures in the 50s for

parts of northern california. so that is a look at your tuesday forecast, lynn? >> thank you so much. it is back to business on wall street after a long holiday weekend. early morning business headlines are straight ahead. anything but smooth sailing in italy for jersey shore's sno snookie. >> and ohio state's sweater vest is put on the shelf. 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. according to the "wall street journal," the pentagon has concluded that computer sabotage coming from another country can constitute an act of war. the journal reports that for the first time, the finding opens the door for the u.s. to respond to such attacks using

traditional military force. europeans are trading blame over the source of a mysterious bacterial outbreak that has killed 14 people in germany and sickened hundreds across the continent. spanish vegetables are being pulled from the shelf something containing e. coli. spain says there's no proof its vegetables are a cause. there's another incident involving sexual abuse of a maid in a hotel. his arraignment is expected today. this comes on the heels of the former head of the imf being arrested on similar charges. and no wonder there's doubt about the future of photographic film. according to the associated press, just 11 years ago, american shutter bugs were buying close to a billion rolls of film a year. this year, they might buy a mere 20 million.

>> and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new report urges kids to avoid energy drinks and go easy on the sports drinks. researchers studying medical reports found in rare cases, energy drinks have led younger users to have seizures and heart problems. ironically, they also found for anyone other than the hardest training athletes due to sugar content, sports drinks simply tend to just pile on extra pounds. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. after the holiday weekend, the dow opens at 12,441 after gaining 38 points on friday. the s&p added 5 points. the nasdaq was up 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei rose 188 points while in hong kong, the hang seng climbed 499.

investors have a shortened trading week ahead on wall street where the economy will be front and center. the federal reserve is expected to end its $600 bond buying program in june. that means officials and investors will be looking for signs the economy is on the right track. elsewhere on this week's economic agenda, traders will get an up-dade on first quarter home prices as well as last month's consumer confidence. manufacturing data is on deck tomorrow, followed by retail sales thursday. and then friday, it's the biggie. the government's may jobs report. companies have been hiring more workers lately, but we'll see if that makes a dent in the nation's 9% unemployment rate. also this week, we'll see how japan's earthquake and tsunami factored into u.s. another sales for may. as for japan, new numbers out this morning show auto production there is down 60% as the country struggles to recover.

driving home those worries, moody's said today japan's debt rating is under review for a possible downgrade. meanwhile, sony says service should be restored to its u.s. play station network by june 5th after internet hackers breached its gaming security system. sony had previously planned to restore service by today. finally, when it comes to tree trimming in charlotte, you may want to go easy with the hedge clippers. a local church was fined $100 a branch for excessive tree pruning for a total violation of $4,000. tough love there. a buckeye boss takes the blame. the astros put on a power display. and a rookie's first homer wins extra innings. plus, a yankee pitcher earns straight a's in oakland. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. another day with strong storms and the sizzle continues for much of the east. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, a long and ugly scandal has finally forced the second most successful coach in ohio state football history to step down.

here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. it's a tactic often employed in the pr world, the best way to bury a story is to announce it on a friday afternoon or a holiday. so the ohio state buckeyes picked memorial day to shake up college football. jim tressel, head coach of the ohio state football team has resigned amyself a growing scandal regarding his players selling team memorabilia. tressel spent ten years in columbus leading the buckeyes to the national championship in back in '02. it's as american as apple pie and pickup trucks, baseball on memorial day. in the windy city, an american bald eagle soaring around wrigley field. then clint barmes and hunter pence hit back to back homers. strohs may have the worst record in the n.l., but they put it outline together for a win.

shows up, gets down on one knee and pops the question. that's as cool as it gets. angels torre hunter has been calm, cool and collected, proving to be the game winner in the ninth, angels take it, 10-8. to new york, bartolo colon strikes out six. the 16th homer of the year was all the yankees would need, they win it, 5-037. finally, the padres kyle phillips picking a perfect time to hit his first major league home run. yankees hold on to win it, 3-2 in ten. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. are brad and angelina heading down the aisle? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a tribute to one veteran of world war ii action in france shows it is never too late to recognize a hero. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." 100 for you in phoenix. denver will be near 80 with the blue sky in place. la more clouds and the showers

stretching up to seattle with the new system that will be affecting the west coast. wednesday good idea what is going to happen tomorrow. denver add the clouds and heat. close to 90 there. phoenix 100 for you. if you are watching us on khnl in hawaii, see 18th century prints by artists at beautiful people at the academy of arts. and that is your pacific event of the day. lynn? >> ginger, thanks so much. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the duke and duchess of cambridge, better known as william and kate, are hop scotching canada on their royal seas tour. the couple will visit eight cities during this july visit to

canada before flying to california to spend two days in los angeles. brad pitt and long time partner angelina jolie have always said they wouldn't marry until gay people could do so. but now that their kids are asking about it, that may all change. pitt told usa weekend, quote, it's meaning more and more to them, so it's something we've got to look into. timely, the queen of "jersey shore" snooki has had a run in with the law in italy, literally. she crashed into a police car in florence where the show is shooting its fourth season. the show's producers called it a minor fender bend ebb, said no alcohol was involved, and although snooki was briefly contained, she was not formally arrested. a huge relief there. >> she was already arrested so she's already had some trouble across the law. that's just across the pond. >> put it in our lindsay lohan mugshot calendar. and this comes to us from wsls 10 on your side in roanoke, virginia, where in nearby bedford a u.s. ally thanks one vet for his duty. now 93, first lieutenant paul lurch landed on normandy's beach

back in 1934. thanks to a campaign on his behalf by his daughter, all these years later, france presented him with the jubilee of liberty medal presented for the role he played in helping to liberate the country from the nazis. amazing, 93 years old and he looks fantastic. >> hopefully hold out until -- >> well, hopefully we'll be covering him turning 100. especially when we are able to give tribute to these guys. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

one piece of art is so large, it couldn't even fit indoors. a rainbow colored glass was mounted on a museum in denmark with a panoramic view of the surrounding city and bay. it's about 170 feet in diameter and the colors vary depending on what angle you're looking out from. two years in the making, the project cost $11 million to complete. in india, devout hindus performed a ritual to revive a tradition. they performed a marriage of dolls. they hope the ritual will bring back the dying cultural practice

and improve the economic conditions of the doll craftsman. perhaps the saying is true that blonds really do have more fun. over 1,000 golden haired gals paraded through latvia's capital during the country's annual blond parade. this year's theme was marilyn monroe. not only do you have to be blond to take part, but you have to wear pink, as well. organizers use the event to raise money for charity. they never do brunette parades. >> do they have to be natural blonds? how many people are natural blonds i wonder in that group. i would imagine not so many. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. d-9, the all things digital conference kicks off in california hosted by "the wall street journal." representatives from google, netflix and twitter are among those scheduled to appear

through thursday. tony award nominees gathered for a conference in new york's times square. winners will be announced june 12th. and the people for the ethical treatment of animals, otherwise known as peta, will unveil this year's man and woman found to be the year's sexiest vegetarians. past winners have included natalie portman and toby mcguire. 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. an exclusive interview with former massachusetts governor mitt romney who is expected to announce his campaign for the presidency later this week. and meet the paralyzed bride who didn't let a tragic crash stop her from walking down the aisle. 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