on this memorial day, storms batter different parts of the country. in maryland heavy rain ands flash flooding devastate ellicott city while in the south alberto is gaining strength. to north korea where plans are seemingly back on track for that all-important june 12th nuclear summit. as summer kicks off, five big safety tips that every parent must make sure their kids can master to stay safe in the water. plus why tennis great serena williams' return to the sport is mired in controversy. and honoring the fallen as america pauses on this holiday to remember the brave est among us to who gave their all to country in service. good morning, i'm phillip mena. we begin this memorial day with

a powerful flash floods ripping through ellicott city, maryland, impromptuing the governor to declare a state of emergency. roads turned into raging rivers and cars were swept away. the water rose above the first floor in some buildings and they responded to reports of buildings collapsing. the governor considers the damage to be worse than the massive flood from two summers ago that claimed two lives. >> it is really truly devastating. i would say it's as bad or worse than the storm two years ago. they say this is a once every thousand-year flood, and we had two of them in two years. >> so far officials have not reported any casualties nor injuries. the u.s. gulf coast is bracing itself as alberto, the first tropical storm of the season rapidly approaches. punishing rains and strong winds are intensifying, threatening to bring tornadoes and dangerous rip currents to the region. states of emergency have been declared from florida to mississippi and over 20 million

americans are now facing flood watches. nbc's dan scheneman tells us more. >> reporter: subtropical storm alberto slammed into cuba 4 1/2 inches of rain fell there in less than 8 hours. now the storm threatens the gulf coast. >> this is going to be a storm that will affect us, sustained tropical storm force winds are dangerous. >> reporter: along with the winds, lots of rain, up to 12 inches across florida, alabama, and mississippi. states of emergency have been declared in all three states. >> the big thing is down here everybody has got to watch. these are unpredictable. >> residents in the florida panhandle are preparing for the worst. >> i am filling up sand bags to hopefully keep the rainwater from coming in my front door. >> reporter: beaches that would usually be packed for memorial day weekend are nearly empty. >> you just never know with mother nature. >> reporter: after the storm makes land fall, it's expected to move across the south. dan scheneman, nbc news.

>> let's go to nbc meteorologist bonnie schneider for more on that extreme weather. bonnie, good morning. >> good morning, phillip. the rain has stopped, it will take a while for the water to subside because it is pooling in one area. incredible amounts of rain in ellicott city. now bracing for more rain in florida, alabama and mississippi. you heard the stage of emergency. subtropical storm alberto continues to be on the move. we are expecting land fall sometime today, possibly late morning, early afternoon. look at all the rain that is anticipated for the region. we'll see the worst of it in and around the big bend area and to the panhandle. that's where we could see up to 10 inches of rain on the higher amounts localized flooding certainly possible and all that rain will stretch across the southeast, creating for potential for flooding. with it being memorial day weekend, a lot of people would have headed to the beaches. we run the risk for high swells and dangerous rip currents along the entire peninsula of florida. so even on the east coast, not the best day to head into the

ocean. something we'll be watching. >> all right, bonnie, thank you so much. in the on again, off again surrounding the high stakes north korea nuclear summit, as of now it is apparently game on again. with president trump now saying him and kim jong-un could still meet for that historic summit in singapore on june 12. the president confirmed on twitter that a team of u.s. officials has now arrived in north korea to, quote, make arrangements for the summit. that as we hear a third person could be in the raj mathai for the cruci-- in the room for the crucial meeting. south korean president moon jae-in could make that trip to singapore. that will depend on the outcome of the ongoing discussions between the u.s. delegation and pyongyang. nbc's bill neely has the latest from seoul. bill, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, phillip. well, the summit between president trump and kim jong-un that was on, then off, does appear to be on again. president trump tweeting about it enthusiastically, the groundwork being set for

singapore. first came the surprise summit between kim jong-un and south korea's president moon. now the surprise visit. an american delegation arriving here at the same border crossing and traveling into north korea. nbc news has learned it's led by u.s. ambassador sung kim who has negotiated with north korea before. he'll meet cho sun wi the deputy foreign minister who undermined talks last week by calling mike pence a political dummy. they'll prepare for a summit that was pronounced dead, but seems alive again. >> it's moving along very nicely so we're looking at june 12th in singapore. that hasn't changed. >> reporter: the momentum was boosted by a korean summit of hugs and smiles. kim jong-un asking for the meeting and according to president moon, committing to a successful summit with president trump. >> and they want a peace treaty because it validates them as a

nuclear weapon state. ensures that trump won't attack. most importantly, means money. >> reporter: moon also reported kim is worried about trusting america not to attack and depose him if he does give up nuclear weapons. north korea's state media says kim is determined the summit with trump should happen. everyone saying they want it for their own reasons. but the problems of trust and what they all mean by denuclearization are still far from resolved. well, another high-level meeting between north and south korea is scheduled friday. and another u.s. team, this time from the white house, is due to begin work soon in singapore to prepare for that summit. the table that president trump kicked over thursday is now, it seems, being set once again. phillip? >> bill neely, bill, thank you. >> this morning we are learning the president trump's legal team is now claiming the russia probe is no longer legitimate.

cautioning him away from an interview with robert mueller and that special counsel's investigation. at least until the lawyers representing the president can review the classified information shared with congressional lawmakers last week on the fbi's investigation into the trump campaign back in 2016. the president's personal lawyer rudy giuliani now claiming mr. trump's unproven claims of a supposed spy within his campaign ranks is all part of a p.r. campaign aimed at sftinghe public against the russia probe. >> they're giving us the material to do it. of course we have to do it in defending the president. we're defending to a large extent -- remember, dana, we're defending here -- it is for public opinion because eventually the decision here is going to be impeach, not impeach. remember, the congress, democrat, republican are going to be informed a lot by their constituents. so our jury as it should be is the american people. and the american people, yes, are republicans largely, independents pretty substantially and even some

democrats now question the legitimacy of it. >> a formal sit down between the president and robert mueller's team has yet to be finalized. in an in-depth interview with british newspaper the guardian, chelsea clinton publicly criticized the competency of the trump administration. clinton briefly discussed president trump's planned visit to britain in july saying if i lived in britain, i would show up to protest because i don't agree with what he's doing to degrade what it means to be an american. clinton said she believes that many of trump's appoint ease were not qualified for their jobs. the 38-year-old who is vice chair of the clinton family charitable foundation also noted she has brought her young two children to anti-trump demonstrations. it was a win or go home situation in game 7 of the eastern conference finals in boston. the young celtics jumped out to an early lead. they were clicking on all cylinders from behind the arc. but the cavs just kept hanging around even without one of their stars kevin love. both teams exchanging blows before boston rookie jayson

tatum grew up before our very eyes. >> 6:45 remaining. tatum drives down and throws it down! wow! >> better get his name right becauseb will -- jayson tatum -- the game was tight before. so you know what it is. king james taking over when it matters most leading his team to tois 8th straight finals.ncing they will now face the winner of the warriors/rockets. their game 7 is tonight in houston. the greatest spectacle in racing went down in indianapolis. willpower became the 72nd person to win the indy 500. it was his first victory after 11 tries at the title. shortly before power crossed the finish line, all eyes, thoughyon danica patrick who took to the track for the final time after announcing she'll be retiring after the race. unfortunately for patrick, her career ended with that crash there on lap 68. it was very similar to her final nascar race. despite the accident, dale earnhardt, jr. tweeted at her thanking her for everything

she's done throughout her career. let's head no to bonnie snyder. >> watching alberto the storm was likely to make land fall bringing heavy rain across florida as we take a closer look at the storm right now, the subtropical system located about 115 miles to the south, southwest of panama city. and we'll be watching for the head towards new mexico. but really hot there. the heat continues. watching alberto's tracking going across the area on monday, phillip, it's going to be a big rain maker for a good portion of the gulf coast. >> all right.

ruining many holidays for this holiday for many people. bonnie, thank you. unreal video to show you. it was a concert performed mid-air in the mountains of central china. the performers all french musicians were suspended on slack lines. look at that, hundreds of feet off the ground. they did wear safety belts. they stood on rope lines playing their instruments. they even included an ode to traditional chinese folk music the band has performed in france, algeria, and the ivory coast. but this was their big debut in china. just ahead, a former president rushed to the hospital over the weekend. plus the five things every parent wants to make sure their kids know when it comes to swimming. you'll make my morning, but ruin my day. complicated relationship with milk? pour on the lactaid. it's delicious 100% real milk, just without that annoying lactose. mmm, that's good. lactaid. the real milk that doesn't mess with you. and try calcium enriched lactaid. 100% real milk with 20% more calcium. still no lactose.

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breakfast in kennebunk port. he is awake and not in any discomfort. this week's unofficial start of the summer, alarming new numbers out about children and drowning reaching the highest levels in years. not just how many children go under but where they are most at risk. nbc's jeff rossen explains. >> reporter: it's official, more children are dying in open water. oceans, lakes and ponds than in pools. safe kids releasing the numbers, an estimated 1,000 children drowning in 2016. a 14% increase from the previous year. who's most at risk? boys, making up 8 in 10 fatal drownings. so, how can you protect your children? we're about to show you. this is wyatt from the lifeguard association. thank you for being here. >> no problem. >> this is your friend's son? >> this is my 9-year-old neighbor. there is an important test all families can give their kids to see if they are competent in the water. number o k letter ler is going

run, jump in the water, come back to the surface. >> reporter: you want to make sure they can get in over their head and come back up. >> control decent and assent. >> reporter: tip number two. >> at this point he's going to have to turn around and/or y and orientate himself to someone on the beach to swim back safely. tip number three is he wants to tread water on the surface and show confidence he can do that. >> reporter: how long do you want a child to do that for and show you? >> 30 seconds to 60 seconds, about a minute. >> reporter: what's number 4? >> number 4 is you want to make sure they can swim in a forward motion breathing. >> reporter: not just under water. you want to make sure they can swim like this. >> absolutely. >> reporter: number 5. >> number 5 get out on the shoreline and get out safely. >> reporter: he can do it. question is can your child pass the test? jeff rossen, nbc news, fort lauderdale. >> solo surprising debut at the box office this weekend, then to

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the force was with solo, a "star wars" story this weekend as the film took the top spot at the box office. though the spin-off beat out its competition, the debut opened well below expectations. bringing in a franchise low $83 million domestically after

critics predicted the film would at least crack 100 million. rounding out the top three "deadpool 2" raking in $57 million, avengers infinity war secured the 1/2 million dol. the eruption of hawaii alwa's kilauea volcano spells trouble for the tourism industry. lava wipes out everything in its path and tourism officials say hotel bookings are down 50% from luxury hotels to the smallest bed and breakfast. nbc's almaguer tells us about the fight to bring profits back to paradise. >> reporter: it's one of the most destructive eruptions since kilauea started bubbling again 35 years ago. and while there's no doubt the ongoing disaster is devastating, communities in this area, it's also impacting the entire island's number one industry, tourism. the biggest hit came right after early may's eruption. >> cancellations were island

wide, from the highest luxury hotel down to the smallest bed and breakfast. >> reporter: the hoskins family from ohio was worried but came anyway. >> we weren't sure what to do honestly. we're not from around here so we didn't know. >> reporter: now resorts, hotels, even restaurants and airlines are offering deals and reassurance desperately trying to lure back sight sighers stressing everything is open for business. >> this is truly isolated to a very small section of our island. >> reporter: in fact, just about 1% of the land here is impacted by the eruption. the island, the largest in the state, is more than 4,000 square miles. hawaii volcano's national park is one of the island's most popular touristwith more than 2 visitors last year alone. but now after this eruption, businesses across the big island are taking a hit. almost 100 miles away, it's

having ripple effects on the island's west side, the kona coast. clear skies there, but this hilton resort is feeling the pinch. >> naturally there have been cancellations that have come through, obviously a lot of people around the world are concerned about what's going on. >> reporter: captain zodiac boat tour says profits and jobs are also at stake. >> we have employees and employees who have families and they depend on this. >> reporter: one reassuring sign, a major cruise liner that stopped service to port here will be back next week. a small bit of hope, even as there's no end in sight for the eruption. miguel almaguer, nbc news, pahoa, hawaii. >> just ahead we have your alberto weather straight ahead. stay with us. ♪ stretched smooth scarred soaked the sun does not care. but we do.

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one of the greatest ever to do it, serena williams returns to battle it out for her 24th grand slam title. the world champion makes a comeback after giving birth to her daughter. the new mom will compete unceded facing tough competitors in the early rounds. steve patterson follows her journey as she works her way back to the top. >> reporter: it was a career defining moment. serena williams defeating her own sister at last year's australian open, taking homan historic 23rd grand slam title, and all with this legendary twist, winning while eight weeks pregnant. williams took the rest of 2017 off and added new titles, wife and mother. >> i've always wanted to be a mom and i've always wanted to be married and it kind of all happened at once. >> reporter: now it's game on.

williams returning to play. her journey back to the court covering the hbo dock yu series, being serena. >> i'm coming back to win. >> reporter: the grand slam, the french open may be an uphill battle. her ranking dropped from number 1 to number 453. now one of the greatest champions of all time enters the tournament unceded. prompting a backlash on social media. serena herself telling "the new york times," if you want to have a baby and take a few months off or a year off and then come back, you shouldn't have to be penalized for that. pregnancy is not an injury. according to the women's tennis association, williams can play in the tournament because of a rule granting a special ranking. it allows players to enter tournaments within two years of returning from childbirth or serious injury, keeping their ranking from the day they stopped playing. the rule does not apply to the way a player is seed ed in the tournament making a longer

journey to the top. the wta is open to making changes. some call the outrage overblown. >> to my mind it n about motherhood, not about any of that stuff. serena has been gone a long time. the happy news is she's back. >> a maternity debate now bursting into grand slam tennis while one of the world's greatest athletes aims to reclaim her crown. steve patterson, nbc news. >> i have a feeling it will not take her long to return to the top. all right. fast forwarding into memorial day, president trump will lay the annual ceremonial wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in arlington national cemetery. the event will also showcase the time honored american flags on each grave and feature thousands in attendance. a wide variety of memorial day parade and other remembrances are also set to be held today in communities all across this country. today is also national burger day in case you didn't know. several restaurants will be serving up deals. burger king has a new buy one get one offer. the app is promoting a buy one

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i am not saying this is worse, i'm just saying my heart is broke. >> a memorial day to remember as flash floods devastate a community. alberto as several states praising for impact. george h.w. bush is back in the hospital. living life to the fullest. meet the friends who buddy bucket list may inspire you, and a tradition unlike any other, the