coming up on "early today" on this friday new this morning an interstate bridge collapses in washington state. a dozen vehicles into the river below. a new era for the boy scouts of america. the organization votes to allow openly gay members. the president lays out now rules for drone strikes overseas and a new push to close gone off and on mow. plus a mistrial the sentencing phase of convicted killer jodi arias. new evidence in the trayvon martin case. free burgers for the man who helped rescue the cleveland kidnapping victims. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, may 24th. good morning. i'm dara brown. we'll get to the landmark boy scouts decision in a moment. first a bridge collapse in washington state. it happened on interstate 5 north of seattle, dumping two vehicles and a trailer into the

waters of the skagit river. amazingly, no one was killed. three people pulled from the water were taken to area hospitals. washington state d.o.t. spokesman said investigators are looking into the possibility that an oversized load hit the 65-year-old bridge and triggered the collapse. it's cut off the main route between seattle and canada. to our top story. the biggest shake up inside the boy scouts of america since their founding 100 years ago. beginning in january and for the first time openly gay youths will be allowed to join and be part of one of america's most storied institutions. however, the decision isn't being welcomed by everyone. and activists say their fight isn't over. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: facing immense pressure from the outside and a fiery internal debate the boy scouts of america has decided to open its ranks to gay youth. >> it's a very difficult decision for a lot of people. but we're moving forward together. >> reporter: more than 1400 scout volunteers from across the

country voted by a 60% margin to change the policy, beginning in january. >> now the decision has been made, it's time to move forward. it's time to stand together. >> reporter: not everyone agrees. >> this will devastate the boy scouts of america. their own estimates show 200,000 to 400,000 young people would leave the program. >> would you allow your young son go camping with a scout troop that has three or four homosexual people who are openly practicing? >> reporter: supporters say the change will make the centuries-old institution stronger. >> scouting values won't change. it will make it more accessible to more people. i don't see how that could possibly be a bad thing. >> reporter: the scout ban on gay adults remain in effect leaving this former den leader out. >> how can they do that to kids? how can they tell little boys that the people that love them and adore them are not good enough? >> reporter: for the boy scouts of america a step forward

steeped in emotion and controversy. brian mooar, nbc news. president obama used a major speech thursday to declare america at a crossroads when it comes to narrowing the scope on the war on terror. the rez's address comes nearly a dozen years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and just as his administration is facing new questions over unmanned predator drones. tracie potts is in washington for us. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. what's new from the speech and what we may hear today as well is a new approach to how the u.s. will deal with terror threats and another look at using those targeted drone strikes. we may hear more today when president obama delivers the commencement speech at the u.s. naval academy. on thursday he warned the war on terror has changed since 9/11. >> we must define our effort not as a boundless global war on terror but rather as a series of

persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten america. >> reporter: extremists like the determined al qaeda affiliate in yemen and accused jihadists in the boston bombing. but he's also making it tougher to use unmanned drones against our ennemies. >> before any strike is taken, there must be near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured. the highest standard we can set. >> reporter: the president's renewed push to close the prison holding terror suspects at guantanamo bay, cuba, has some support on capitol hill. >> we will pledge our willingness to work with the president of the united states to see that guantanamo bay is closed. >> reporter: mr. obama's making it easier to transfer some suspects to yemen and try others in civilian courts in the u.s. >> we're not talking about dealing with people who rob the liquor store but terrorists. >> until congress is willing to look at this issue differently, i think we're stuck in this

stalemate. >> reporter: a reminder as we approach memorial day of the high costs of this new type of war. and the cost of keeping those inmates at gitmo, $1 million a year is what the u.s. could save per inmate. there are 166 inmates there. dara? >> tracie, thank you very much. george zimmerman's murder trial is less than three weeks away. there's also new data from trayvon martin's cell phone they hope to use as evidence for a claim of self-defense. it includes photos of martin blowing smoke, what appear to be marijuana plants and this gun. also texts to a friend about fighting and being forced to move out of his mother's house because of trouble at school. a hearing next week will decide if all this and more can be admissible. a statement from the family says the only photos or videos that are relevant or admissible at trial are those of trayvon taken e day he was shot and killed by zimmerman. zimmerman has pleaded not

guilty. it ignited racial tensions around the country. we should mention zimmerman has sued nbc universal for defamation and the company has strongly denied his allegations. a dramatic turn in jodi arias's sentencing. the judge gave a heavy sigh, dismissed the jury and declared a mistrial. the same jury that convicted her earlier this month for murdering her boyfriend couldn't decide if she should receive life behind bars or the death penalty. they were deadlocked over deliberations spanning three days. the retrial is scheduled for july 17th. nbc's bill karins is here. bill, more cold and rain for the northeast. what is going on? >> the northeast and northwest. the two corners of the country are just kind of fridged headed into the holiday weekend. the way it's set up there, it's not pretty. we had one to two inches of rain in areas especially north and west of the portland area.

and it's still raining this morning. the white on the map is even some snow in the higher elevations of the cascades. that's i-5 for you right there headed into portland northwards. just on the slopes headed up into the mountains. there's the cold upper-level low spinning over top of seattle at this time. it's ever so slowly going to move to the northeast during the day today, but it's going to take a while. and it brought chilly air with it. it's 45 this morning in boise. we're at 49, a pair of them in portland and seattle. so it's definitely some jacket weather. even san francisco is at 49 to start your morning. how does your forecast look for your getaway friday? we're okay in california although it's on the cool side. that on-shore flow, coastal areas near l.a., you have to go to the deserts to get any sense of warmth in the west. a big change. a week or two it was much, much

fresno, you're right with them. enjoy your beautiful day. memorial day forecast does not look as wet as it does today, but monday is a different story. >> oh, monday. i'm getting my exercise that way. bill karins, thank you very much. just ahead, the controversy surrounding eric holder. plus, the man who rescued three women in cleveland is getting a pretty sweet reward.

welcome back. the irs official at the center of the agency's controversial targeting of conservative groups has been placed on leave after rich refusing to resign. earlier this week, lois lerner took the fifth when called to testify before congress. things going from bad to worse for attorney general eric holder.

nbc news confirming he personally signed off on a warrant clearing the justice department to search the e-mails of a fox news reporter. holder recused himself from a separate doj investigation of the associated press. less than a week after a bipartisan immigration bill cleared a key senate hurdle house republicans say not so fast. speaker john boehner said his chamber will chart its own path on overhauling the nation's immigration laws. president obama will reunite with new jersey governor chris christie on the jersey shore. mr. obama will travel to the region on tuesday as beaches are prepared to open for the first time since hurricane sandy. charles ramsey who rescued three women kidnapped in cleveland is getting a reward, albeit an edible one. more than a dozen restaurants in the area are offering him a free burger for the rest of his life whenever he wants it. now it's time for an early look at business headlines. for that we turn to cnbc's courtney regan. >> stocks slid thursday on weak economic data out of china.

the dow, the nasdaq and the s&p 500 are poised for their first weekly loss in more than a month. a congressional budget office estimates the final taxpayer bill for the t.a.r.p. will be $21 billion. sounds like a lot, but that's less than previous forecasts. the price tag for the government's bailout of companies during the financial crisis has declined. as firms pay back loans and the economy improves. and at&t is adding a monthly administrative fee of 61 cents to all wireless contracts. consumer groups criticize the so-called below-the-line fees because they're the ones typically at the bottom of the bill and less likely to be noticed by customers. dara, back to you. >> thanks, courtney. now for more business headlines, we'll take a look, positive economic news including solid job growth with a number of americans applying for unemployment benefits dropping last week. sales of new homes rose in april to the second highest level since december 2008. while the median price of a new

home hit the highest level since 1993 but mortgage rates rose for aid third straight week. sales of recreational vehicles are up more than 70% from the recession between 2006 and 2009. credit card companies visa and mastercard are being sued by big retail stores over so-called swipe fees to process transactions as macy's, target and others opt out of a $7 billion settlement. the republican-controlled house voted to pass a bill to link student loan rates to financial markets as those interest rates are set to double on july 1st. but the senate and the president oppose the gop bill. and "star wars" fans were in new york's times square thursday for the unveiling of the largest lego model in the world. it's made from 5 million plastic bricks. the starfighter will be on display at legoland in california until the end of the year. sports is straight ahead. we'll tell you if the rangers were able to keep their stanley title hopes alive. plus, chuck norris is

teaming up with an nfl player. and you will want to see who it is.

on thursday the old guard at arlington national cemetery marked memorial day with thousands of american flags. the 40-year-old tradition known as flags in have soldiers from the 3rd u.s. infantry placing small u.s. flags in front of

each grave marker. more than 260,000 flags are placed during a three-hour period. in sports and the nhl playoffs. chris kreider steered in a pass from rick nash in overtime as the new york rangers stayed alive with a 4-3 victory over the boston bruins. the bruins now lead the series, 3-1. in detroit, kindle scored on a power play in the second power and daniel cleary led the victory for the red wings. the red wings lead the series 3-1. in los angeles, kopitar and voinov scored from jeff carter adding an empty-netter as the defending stanley cup champions defeated the sharks 3-0 to take a 3-2 series lead. and the penguins holding on to a 3-1 lead in the eastern conference finals. inge decided to dress as mario lemieux before yesterday's game. first there was a white

house petition, now ads, now walker texas ranger is in on it. chuck norris wrote a column calling tebow an ultimate clutch player and perfect for the jaguars. the jags have said all along they are not interested. if tebow can throw a football like norris and roundhouse, he should get a job soon. in thai soccer, a player scores a goal and celebrates by taking off his shorts and putting them on his head. the home crowd love it had. the referee not so much. he received a red card and was out the rest of the game. the university of cincinnati baseball team is better at post-game interviews than playing. watch as teammates perform everything from medieval jousting to the backstroke to all hail the king. "early today sports" is brought to you by new just for men autostop. gray is over. just ahead, a look at the new blockbusters released this holiday weekend. one of america's favorite former child stars gets a

personal escort in handcuffs. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. let me show you your travel forecast throughout the holiday weekend, kind of show you what you'll have to deal with as far as traveling. now, the northeast will be a miserable weekend. airport delays possible saturday and sunday. now, the middle of the country is going to have thunderstorms but not like the tornado outbreak we just got done with. more typical thunderstorms with the heavy rain, maybe small hail. that's in the middle of the country.

and then on saturday it looks like just a few scattered showers in the north west. the storm that's bringing you the wet weather now will be moving out. still enough cold air aloft to get showers in the afternoon, but you will see breaks of sunshine. then on sunday, kind of the same thing. a little more coverage possible. in the middle of the country, still more storms. anyone traveling through arizona and southern california, you're okay. but in southern california, you are going to have pretty much foggy mornings every single -- right through the holiday weekend. and that will burn off during the afternoon. and then finally as we get to memorial day itself, this looks like a more organized storm coming into the northwest and along the west coast. kind of unsure exactly who we'll pinpoint with the heaviest rainfall amounts. coastal areas monday for parades throughout the early morning hours into the afternoon, that's when you could be dealing with wet weather. overall not horrible. we have to watch monday on the west coast. >> thank you, bill karins. moving on to entertainment. fast cars and bad decisions will go head to head at the box office this holiday weekend. the wolfpack stumbles back to vegas in "the hangover iii."

vin diesel and paul walker get back into the driver's seat for "fast and furious 6." and beyonce lends her voice to the animated adventure "epic." amanda bynes was arrested at her new york apartment last night after she reportedly threw something out of her window. >> you've got to give her credit for the hair. >> apparently police responded to complaints alleging she was smoking marijuana in the lobby. bynes faces charges of reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and criminal possession of marijuana. obviously, that leads to the other things she's been arrested for. >> she just needs help. >> yeah, yeah. >> poor girl. >> put her on the list. with paris hilton and the others now. jennifer aniston bares almost all for her new comedy. she plays a stripper posing as a housewife in a drug-smuggling scheme alongside jason sudeikis. bill hader spoke to howard stern about the differences

between hosts justin bieber and justin timberlake. he praised timberlake for showing up on his own, calling him a real class act. jimmy fallon tweeted these photos from "the game of thrones" parody. tune in at 11:35 central time for the big reveal. >> i'll dvr that. >> i'm still catching up on "game of thrones." i turned it on thinking i was watching a re-run, and it was one of the new ones. i'm completely off base on this. i will catch up. >> it's good enough to see twice. >> but "game of cards." i'm going to watch that one for sure. i'm dara brown, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

one of the top stories in the "new york times" in tax overhaul debate large versus small companies. large companies fight for a cut in the official corporate tax rate, small businesses fear they will pay for it. and on "newsweek," the suicide epidemic. it examines how suicide is expected to claim 40,000 u.s. lives this year. more than war, murder and natural disasters combined. topping our news, a change in policy for the boy scouts. they voted to allow gay youths to join but not gay leaders. the policy takes effect january 1st. a deadlocked jury for jodi arias, a judge declaring a mistrial in the penalty phase. the same jury that convicted her of the murder of the death of her boyfriend in 2008. the jury couldn't decide whether she should get death or life in prison. a penalty retrial is scheduled for mid-july.

an edible award for charles ramsey. he helped rescue the three women in cleveland. more than a dozen restaurants in the area are offering him a free burger for the rest of his life whenever he wants it. and mcdonald's is giving him free food for a whole year. like it or not, there is officially a robot for everything. researchers in japan have developed a robotic dog that can detect four levels of foot odor. if your feet smell fine, the pooch will cuddle up on them. but if they absolutely stink, the dog will just roll over and play dead. oh, boy. nothing says the future like a foot-sniffing robo dog. i wonder if it just applies to feet. >> it would be great. you don't tell someone. they come over to your house, make them take your shoes off. you just put it out. all of a sudden it just keels over. it's time for a look ahead. that is very cruel. there will be a -- sorry, we're moving on to another sad story here. a second funeral today for one of the victims of the tornado in moore, oklahoma. 24 people died and more than

1200 homes damaged or destroyed by the massive twister. president obama will be at the u.s. naval academy today. this will be the second time the president delivers the commencement at annapolis. and irs offices will be closed today because of sequester budge cuts. here's a look at what's coming up later on the "today" show. the prince of the plaza towers elementary school returns for the first time since monday's tornado. and today at the jersey shore with governor chris christie as the beaches reopen after hurricane sandy. now keep it to this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm dara brown along with bill karins. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a great and safe memorial day weekend.

. . a peninsula man arrested accused of killing a family of four. details next shocks in northern california after last night's 5.7 quake. police are calling it a miracle. a bridge in washington suddenly collapses and sends cars plunging into the river below. amazingly, no one was killed. we will have the details next. back here in the bay area, we take you outside and give you a live look. that is from our emeryville scam ra in the east bay. looking off at the bay bridge span. we will be checking that friday morning commute on this may 24th. this is "today in the bay."