/s severe weather warnings on this memorial day as tornadoes rip through the central u.s. we've got the latest, including janessa's holiday forecast >> late breaking details from half a world away as president trump is meeting with japan's prime minister, with developments on iran, north korea, and more. >> i found a person bit by an alligator. >> this morning a florida woman is recovering from a large gash after she was attacked by an alligator. >> it was a race for the ages, why t one of the most exciting indy f.

when he died no family members could attend, but what happened will touch your heart. "early today" starts right now >> good morning, i'm marlie hallwetart with breaking news on this memorial day. an out break of deadly storms blasts parts of the central united states. so far six people have been killed three were out of el reno, oklahoma, after a category ef-3 swept through the city leaving a trail of debris in its wake. more than 100 miles away a second twister spawned in tulsa hitting speeds of over 80 miles an hour. payton jaeger, a reporter for our affiliate kfor is in el reno with the latest. >> reporter: frances and marlie, we're outside the hotel where the tornado first touched down in el reno, oklahoma th saturday night and the pe s dark. just beforreno >> all of a sudden we saw the green flash in the air, and then we started hearing a tornado si.

>> reporter: a twister touched down >> we just got hit by a tornado. >> reporter:e est, the ef-3 ble than 2 miles, winds 165 miles an hour >> the units respond and we have one on the ground. >> reporter: at sun up, the extent of the damage was stark this motel took a direct hit this is what it looked like before and after shane clark's mobile home destroyed. >> when i heard the glass and everything started exploding, i thought we were dead >> reporter: all day long search and rescue teams sifted through mangled debris looking for anyone that might be buried under the rubble el reno is battered, but all too familiar with natural disasters like this. 60 years ago a powerful tornado ripped up this community taking eight lives. mayor matt white, a fourth generation el reno-ite is vowing to rebuild gent. >> we have to get to work. that's how we are in el reno

>> reporter: pummelling america's mid section, 231 in the last ten days. and people in this region aren't out of danger yet. the arkansas river is set to reach historic flood levels over the coming days. thousands already evacuated this week but as the day goes, emergency crews and residents in el reno remain focused on helping each other cope in the midst of yet another tragedy here >> it just breaks our heart they lost everything. and they had absolutely lost everything >> reporter: the mayor telling us all who are missing had been accounted for. power crews are already on scene. meanwhile, local residents mobilize to clear debris so that more help can get in frances and marlie >> all right, thanks to payton jaeger from kfor >> let's bring in janessa webb who is tracking all of those storms for us. >> we're on day 12 of the severe weather threat unfortunately it really continues across the plains. right now getting reports across kansas with this squaw line that's forming here. gusts to 60 to 70 miles per hour so the damaging straight line

winds are going to continue throughout, unfortunately, the overnight hours. so these potential for nocturnal tornadoes very dangerous and this will continue into the upper midwest and plains for the afternoon. we still have 18 million under that severe weather risk anunfortunately, i'm forecasting torrential rain really for the southern plains up to the upper midwest where we could see potentially another 2 to 3 inches. guys, unfortunately for tomorrow afternoon, an enhanced risk of more severe storms, though this is going to continue. >> a tough go. janessa, thank you we turn to breaking news out of japan half a world away, president trump held formal talks with prime minister shinzo abe. moments ago, the two leaders addressed trade negotiations north korea and more during a joint press conference let's turn to nbc's kristen welker who is traveling with the president. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hi, marlie and frances. good morning to you. president trump wrapping up a news conference here in tokyo.

a joint press conference with prime minister shinzo abe. the big headline, president trump once again breaking with his own national security advisor john bolton who essentially said that he saw north korea's recent missile test was a violation of u.n. security resolutions well, president trump saying here overnight that it doesn't matter he's not bothered by those missile tests. it was remarkable because the prime minister had a very different message. his message was that north korea has, in fact, violated those u.n. security resolutions and he called that regrettable. so that was really a notable moment another one when president trump doubled down in his criticism of former vice-president joe biden. he was pressed on why he's siding with the murder rust dictator over a former u.s. president. president trump's response to that was that he sees joe biden and former president obama as disasters for the country. he said he's not a fan doubled down in his criticism of him as a low i.q. individual

expect that to make waves back in the u.s it already got heavily criticized by democrats and republicans on the sunday shows. and then finally, no signs that a trade deal between the u.s. and japan are anywhere in sight any time soon. president trump essentially acknowledging that there is not going to be a deal until after the parliamentary elections here that's going to happen in july both sides saying they are agreeing to talk through their remaining sticking points. there are certainly quite a few of them. now, president trump on tuesday will give a speech to those soldiers who are based here at a u.s. air base in the tokyo area, and then he heads back to the u.s. marlie, frances, back to you >> all right, kristen welker, thank you. >> a california man has died after being attacked by a shark in hawaii. the 65-year-old died on saturday while vacationing in maui. authorities say the attack happened as he swam in the ocean about 60 yards offshore.

first responders rescued the man and performed cpr, but he was unresponsive no word on what kind of shark was involved this is the first deadly shark attack in maui since 2015. >> one of the all-time greats of foot ball has died bart starr who played for the green bay packers for 16 years was the first quarterback in history to win five nfl championships. the hall of famer was immortalized in the 1967 game known as the ice bowl using the quarterback sneak to rush into the end zone to score the winning touchdown against the dallas cowboys his health had been failing after a stroke in 2014 bart starr was 85 years old. >> now to an incredible story of survival after a hiker went missing for nearly three weeks, the 35-year-old fell 20 feet off a ifs spotted clinging to life nbc's mollie hunter has her remarkable story, good morning that's right good news this morning amanda is out of the hospital at home resting with her family here in maui, and we're getting new

details about her extraordinary survival this was the moment amanda eller will never forget after being lost for 17 days in the maui forest. >> and there she goes. >> i have the most gratitude and respect and appreciation i can't even put it into words, for the people that have helped me >> reporter: one much her rescuers, former special ops javier describes the moment they first spotted amanda deep in the forest >> i'm just like looking for any sign movement. >> reporter: with just ten minutes left of fuel on their last run, they looked down and suddenly noticed something >> we all looked pretty much at the same time doin take coming out of the woodwork like a miraage. >> everybody started kicking their feet and banging on the chopper and making the chopper vibrate. >> everybody said, we found her, we found her, we found her >> reporter: the 35-year-old yoga instructor suffered a fractured leg, skin. she stayed two weeks alone sometimes

sleeping in the mud or in the den of a wild boar, only able to crawl after being injured when she fell 20 feet off a steep cliff. >> i felt in my heart that my daughter was alive i am human and i had those moments of da spare. >> her father calls her remarkable >> her physical conditioning, mental strnlt. if anybody could survive that, it was hurt. >> it just warms my heart just seeing the power of prayer and the power of love when everybody combined their efforts is incredible >> reporter: and tomorrow night on the island there will be a huge celebration to celebrate the community here that rallied together to bring her home frances, marlie? >> what a survival story mollie hunter, thank you >> some incredible video out of china. a 28-year-old man is a hero after he saved a toddler he put himself beneath a 2-year-old child as that taughtg

>> the moment i saw it, he was already falling, said the samaritan. when i woke up, police and rescuers were all here >> doctors say the toddler suffered minor injuries. as for the man, he was knocked out cold from the child's fall ended up with minor scratches and bruises. >> all right let's check in with janessa on this memorial day. good morning >> good morning. good morning, everyone water is your friend this afternoon across the southeast and portions of the south. look at these dewpoints. oppressive air currently in place. 60s and 70s, and that will continue to rise throughout the afternoon. that's sparking up the severe weather concerns it makes its way into the great lakes and midwest this afternoon. it will travel across the northe

severe weather, it will continue, but we'll take a look at the week ahead coming up. >> all right look forward to it, janessa. thank you. in today's quick hots, the hard rock hotel and kpa sin owe is expanding the plans to make it the world's first guitar shaped hotel. the building is set to open in five months. they'll start taking reservations at the end of july. >> a special engagement took place this memorial weekend. houston texans defensive end j.j. watts announced engaged to his girlfriend on twitter. he said, quote, i'm the luckiest man in the world >> the university of maryland baltimore county, he graduated with his owner he what given his own cap and wngo to participate in the ceremony we'll be right back. that's because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. so, try febreze fabric refresher. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics

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experience for a florida woman who is now recovering after she was attacked by what witnesses described as an 8-foot alligator, leaving her with a large gash here's nbc's kathie clark with the latest >> a person bit by an altoar-fa. >> reporter: nicole was air lifted to the hospital after witnesses sat li later, a gator trapper moved in to trap the reptile. gator attacks are rare, but not in florida an alligator snatched then dragged lane graves under water at a disney resort his body was recovered the following day. disney installed new barriers and posted warning signs after the attack but back in ba vard county, officials say this latest incident is unusual. >> as far as alligator bites, i think this is about the second i've had in 35 years >> reporter: but with the weather warming up, a warning that floridaal gators become

more active this time of year. >> and wildlife officials say that alligators inhabit all 67 counties in florida, and they're typically found anywhere there's standing water the swimmer suffered non-life threatening injuries frances, marlie? >> that was kathy park reporting. thanks, 500 finish for the record books you're watching "early today." don't give it up ♪ ♪ i want it all ♪ 'cause there's nothing like this feeling, baby ♪ now that i've found you ♪

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nbc's first-ever indy 500 broadcast was packed with excitement actors matt damon and christian bail were on hand to wave the green flag and get the first indianapolis 500 running simon pagenaud in the bright yellow car is the racer to watch. the 35-year-old frenchman was able to avoi two attempts of a second victory it's the 7th closest finish in indy 500 history and the indy 500 wasn't th weekend. we saw some established tennis stars push through the first round at the french open both roger federer and sloane stephens advanced in the straight sets. in her 22nd go around at roland garros play,enus v williams fell in the first round >> many rock and roll stars address the politics of their day. from eisenhower to trump

a traveling exhibit opening in chicago shows dozens of rockers. they look at the intersection of rock and politics. >> reporter: the album cover for rod stewart's "night on the town" and the hat he was wearing. the green army jacket worn by curtis mayfield on stage the tour jacket worn by roni vanzant, leonard skin ardern a mpng of th meup the new exhibition "louder than words, rock, power and politics." >> we really wanted to make sure to bring another exhibit in that has a national appeal. >> reporter: this popular traveling exhibit is on loan from the rock and roll hall of fame in cleveland. it's organized by presidential administrations from eisenhower to trump >> the focus is on the music of the times through every president and what was going on at that time >> reporter: this is the tour's first stop that includes the trump administration do you remember this make america great dress designed by andrej soriano

well, he's seeing it in the museum for the first time. joy villa wore it to the grammys in 2017 and it created such an uproar >> i didn't know they were going to chop my head in l.a. because of this gown i lost -- we lost friends from 25 years because of this gown. >> reporter: it's made out of a trump campaign flag and curators added it to the exhibit because it was worn at the grammys >> i didn't know that there is a stigma like that it just ran through my heart >> reporter: this louder than words exhibition brings the impact and inspiration music has had on american history for nearly 60 years. >> all right thanks to lyanne trotter for that report. it's really cool to see because we know when there is music out there, especially so many messages in there, really, really important messages, naturally, politics. >> of course, yeah that's the connection we don't often thinabs it to the forefront in the way this exhibit in the art we see there. >> well, your holiday forecast is just ahead. plus how hundreds of people came

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with tough food, your dentures may slip and fall. fixodent ultra-max hold gives you the strongest hold ever to lock your dentures. so now you can eat tough food without worry. fixodent and forget it. going to contend with rain and extended weekend here, you're severe storms. across the midwest and another storm system moving into the pacific northwest, but if you're across the southeast here, make sure you have the water handy. we have record daytime highs, triple digit heat, and that's going to last until wednesday afternoon. another round of severe weather impacting the central plains

into your wednesday, then things kind of dry out here across the central plains but that same storm system is headed to the midwest. very active weather pattern. >> janessa, thanks when we come back, is it the end of the road for memorial weekend tradition? you're watching "early today." when it comes to scent, helen's motto is, "the more the better." so, when she tried new gain scent blast detergent, she loved it. her son loves it, and her husband loves it, too. and the delivery woman? awkward... new gain scent blast. love it or hate it, it's intense. still nervous about buying uh-oh, la new house.meone's is it that obvious? yes it is. you know, maybe you'd worry less if you got geico to help with your homeowners insurance. i didn't know geico could helps with homeowners insurance.

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president trump tweeted the event will take place again next year >> now a touching story about how hundreds of strangers came together to celebrate the life of a u.s. veteran. his kaa hezekiah perkins passed a what and no family could attend his funeral. the people of ohio came far and wide to give him a proper good-bye here's nbc's kathy park. >> reporter: hezekiah perkins prearranged and prepaid for his own funeral more than two decades ago, but he probably didn't predict the final sendoff he would get this weekend, from strangers. >> once you have been in combat, everyone that was there, you're a brother. and i, i feel like i know him. >> reporter: his only family, a daughter who couldn't attend for health reasons, so cincinnati's spring grove cemetery post aid message on facebook inviting the

community to give this 90-year-old korean war veteran a proper military farewell ♪ ♪ >> this weekend is particularly important because we're honoring those who gave all, but we should never forget those who gave some. >> reporter: rene, the funeral director, received the flag on behalf of the perkins family it took less than 24 hours for the column family to rearrange their day. >> he was willing to risk his life for our freedom this is the least we can do. >> reporter: perkins served in the u.s. army, then worked for the city of cincinnati >> i myself being a two-time iraq war veteran, completely understand what it means to honor somebody and to serve them and to bury them with the proper respect they deserve >> reporter: this soldier got just that, buried with military honors >> please place your hand over your heart >> reporter: and surrounded by family he never knew he had. kathy park, nbc news >> glad to honor mr. perkins

this morning here on "early today. as part of the memorial day weekend tribtd, the annual flag place. ceremony took place in los angeles this past weekend. volunteers gathered to honor fallen service members by placing flags on their 60 boy s present and a total of 88,000 american flags were placed in front of each grave marker the flags will be collected on tuesday. >> well, thanks for waking up with us. eye marlie hall. >> and i'm frances rivera. your news continues right here on nbc and our nbc stations. have a safe memorial day

a very good monday morning to you. it is memorial day, may 27th. as we take a live look outside. ty b the bay, san francisco this morning. a nice start to our day. a lot of people have the holiday off. >> i'm scott mcgrew. marcus has the day off. and kari and mike. so vianey is doing double duty.

>> i've got you covered. folks are wondering if they will be catching rain today. we have been monitoring the system that brought scattered showers sunday. zoom in closer. you get an idea that we are noticing the system is off to the south now. however, we have in stability and lingering moisture just behind that.