beryl bears down. the tropical storm slams ashore along the florida coast with near hurricane-force winds and flood-producing rain. outrage in syria. the u.n. condemns syrian forces for the slaughter of more than 100 civilians. many of them women and children. and finding work. some u.s. veterans facing a tough job market find opportunities working on the rail. this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, may 28, 2012. and good morning, everybody. good to be with us. i'm terrell brown. this memorial day a strong storm is making for a wet and dangerously windy day. for folks in northeast florida. tropical storm beryl made landfall early this morning near jacksonville, florida with hurricane-force winds.

those winds have diminished as the storm moves inland. the same winds now top out at 65 miles an hour with rain accumulations up to 8 inches, 2 to 4 feet of flooding is expected in northeastern florida and georgia. 1 to 2 feet in south carolina. storm warnings are in effect from florida into south carolina. our jackson station wtev is bernadino just north of jacksonville. good morning. this is a tropical storm but a very strong one, nearly a hurricane. what's happening where you are this morning? >> reporter: good morning, terrell. as you mentioned, this was nearly a hurricane. we are at ground zero right now of tropical storm beryl. this is probably the strongest point of the storm in bernadina downtown. we're at the top of the storm, as our meteorologist told us, the strongest point of the storm. the biggest concern is about flooding and electricity.

right now you can take a look behind me. there's still power in downtown berndina but in our area, our north florida area, our electric company reported approximately 37,000 people without power here. that's a lot of people who are not going to have any lights on at home. you can take a look at the video we have from earlier in our area. winds really, really picking up. about sustained winds, last report we got of 30 miles an hour, which isn't too, too bad, 45-mile-an-hour gusts but they are picking up as we speak. the other main concern, as i mentioned, is flooding as well. we have a tide going out at the moment, but when it comes back in starting at 8:00 this morning, we'll have a mixture of some freshwater flooding from this rain we're getting right now as well as flooding from the saltwater tide that will be coming in off the beaches. terrell? >> power outages a concern. we're getting reports now, 38,000 customers in the

jacksonville area don't have power. wind also a concern as well. but this storm may not all be bad news. >> reporter: you're right, absolutely. we've been in a drought here for quite some time here, so we need this rain and we're certainly getting a lot of it. but i spoke with some folks off the coast of bernadina, actually, they had the facade of their condos ripped off. even though we're happy for the rain, the damage is not welcome. >> thank you so much. beryl is already the second named storm in the atlantic this year. hurricane season doesn't even officially start until june 1st. noaa predicts we could see as many as 15 named storms, which is about norm, however, named storms forming this early is rare. the last one to make landfall in u.s. before june was tropical storm arlene in 1959. severe weather forced the cancellation of the national memorial day concert in the nation's capital. the concert came to an abrupt

end when a line of thunderstorms moved in. the crowd was told to seek shelter. country singer trace adkins and natalie cole had already performed. people watching a live tv broadcast of the event were shown last yore's concert. oh. there goes the windshield. >> that is bad hail in north central kansas. hail and thunderstorm hit late yesterday. the hail so big, golf ball size and then some that it broke this car's windshield. for a second day in a row, record-setting heat is expected in chicago. chicago hit a high of 97 degrees sunday, breaking a record which had stood since 1911. the unusually hot weather had people cooling off along the lake michigan shore. it's part of a heat wave across of the midwest. overseas and the massacre of scores of civilians in central syria. women and children were among the victims. united nations has labeled friday's attack as an outrageous use of force, but the syrian

government says it's not special. responsible. kofi anan is due in damascus today. charlie d'agata has more. >> reporter: this 1-month-old girl survived the massacre. her mother did not. the united nations upped the death toll to over 100, including 32 children under the age of 10. british officials called the attack in houla stomach-churning savagery. >> we're absolutely sickened in the british government and across the international community by what we've seen in the last couple days, particularly the death of more than 100 unarmed men, women and children. >> reporter: the syrian government today categorically denied forces were responsible for the bloodshed, blaming terrorists for the killing. syria's powerful ally, russia, again supported the regime's version of events, but u.n. monitors confirmed today that artillary and tank shells were fired at the neighborhood. activists say the attacks began

after an anti-government protest friday. syrian forces started shelling residential areas and then opposition groups say a secret pro-government paramilitary force stormed the village and began executing women and children house by house. u.n. observers arrived to find dozens of bodies in syria's regiment. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. next week marks the 23rd of anniversary of tiananmen square crack down. yesterday in hong kong they marched to remember the victims. hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators were killed by chinese troops at . back in this country it's memorial day and we stop to remember the men and women who gave their lives protecting this country. folks in santa monica put crosses on the beach to remember americans killed in iraq and afghanistan. veterans returning from the wars in iraq and afghanistan are

filing for disability benefits at an historic rate. government officials say 45% of america's new vets filed for disability, that's more than double the amount who filed for benefits from the gulf war. experts say part of the reason is that improved battlefield care allows soldiers to survive injuries that once proved fatal. many vets face another problem when they get home. getting a job, but some companies are making it a top priority. mark strassmann has the story. >> reporter: ohio national guardsman chris moser returned from iraq in 2009 to face a different battle. he couldn't find a job he wanted as a police officer. after two years on unemployment, a military buddy gave him a tip. the railroads were hiring. >> he told me, put my application and resume online and i did and it worked out for the best for me. >> reporter: now he's training to be a signal maintainer with norfolk southern. he says it's a lot like being in the military.

>> the safety issue here at norfolk is huge. i mean, the military's big, too. they want to make sure you don't fail, you know, so i like that a lot about this occupation. >> reporter: america's freight railroad facing a massive wave of retirement, are on a hiring spree. in 2011 rail companies hired 15,000 new employees. they plan to hire 15,000 more this year, all over the country. and industry representatives say that 1 in 5 new hires will be a veteran. >> can't find enough of them. they're outstanding employees. they are dedicated, disciplined, show up for work and they recognize that this is a career choice, not just a job. >> reporter: america's unemployment rate for veterans is 9.2%, higher than the national average of 8.1%. moser says veterans have a hard

time adjusting to the 9 to 5 work day, making the railroad a perfect fit. >> every day i'm going to learn something. i like that. i don't want to be stuck inside anywhere. the railroad provides you with that. >> reporter: also provides him a secure future. salt salary and benefits packages averaging around $107,000. no college degree required. and working for a company he knows appreciates his service in more ways than one. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. coming up on the morning news, a bad romance in indonesia singer lady gaga cancels a sold out concert in jakarta after threats from islamic extremists. this is the "cbs morning news." . [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life.

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reports pedro hernandez killed patz years ago. prosecutors have their work cut out for them. >> reporter: eight years ago a manhattan judge ruled jose ramos, a convicted pedophile was responsible for the death of etan patz but he was never charged with murder. >> investigators both from fbi and federal prosecutor's office over an extended period of time, built up a tremendous amount of circumstantial evidence. >> reporter: not enough to convince prosecutors they could make a murder charge stick, says the police reporter who covered the patz case. >> i don't even know about patz! >> reporter: it was a civil case that resulted in the judgment against ramos. he was ordered to pay $2 million in damages to the patz family. he has no money and is in prison for molesting a pennsylvania child. the ramos case raises serious questions about the arrest of 51-year-old pedro hernandez. police say he confessed to murdering etan patz but they have no evidence.

in fact, it is a murder case standing on its head. >> it's going to be very difficult to convince a jury. >> reporter: a doctor of frens science at jon jay college. >> normally we collect the physical evidence and talk to the witnesses, then we catch a suspect, interrogate him and then sometimes they confess. this is just the reverse. >> reporter: police have no body and no motive, and what if there were no confession from pedro hernandez? what happens if he recants his confession? >> it would not surprise me if pedro hernandez recants. after all, look what he's facing if convicted of second-degree murder. he'll spend his entire life, perhaps, in prison. >> reporter: right now hernandez remains at bellevue hospital awaiting a psychiatric exam to determine if he's competent to stand trial for murder. tony guida, cbs news. pop star lady gaga says she's devastated after having to cancel a sold out concert in indonesia. she was supposed to perform in

jakarta on june 3 rd but islamic extremists called the sing er were protests over sexy clothing and provocative dancing. the singer tweeted last night she canceled the show out of safety for her fans. huge party to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the golden gate bridge. thousands flocked to the water front and festivities ends with a giant fireworks show. the bridge opened in 1937 and since then more than 2 billion vehicles are traveled across it. up next this morning we'll have morning weather. in sports, the swing that should have missed. the record-setting home run derby between the reds and the rockies. home run derby between the reds and the rockies. with the red, white, and blue. ocean spray cranberry, white cranberry, and blueberry juice cocktails. [ coughs ] okay, i believe this one is yours? [ clears throat ] begins with back pain and a choice.

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with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. here's a look at your memorial day forecast. afternoon thunderstorms, 88 in new york. thunderstorms, 89 in miami. afternoon storms in chicago, 90 degrees. partly cloudy, 91 in dallas. clear, 76 in los angeles. let's check your national forecast. in the south, tropical storm beryl will weaken not before dumping up to 6 inches of rain in some areas. thunderstorms will pop from the ozarks to southwest texas. showers and thunderstorms will develop from the lower missouri to mississippi valley. expect scattered thunderstorms in the northeast. in sports, the spurs tie a playoff record against oklahoma city in the fourth tony parker hits from the top. evens out the score against thunder. he finished with 18 points. ginobili has the tie.

popping in 26. 101-98 to win game one. nationals sweep braves in the atlanta. in the third, home plate kerwin danley -- i shouldn't laugh -- goes down for the count. i feel you, bud. he was hit in the groin by a pitch that bounces off the field. he stays in the game, 19-year-old bryce harper blasts his second homer in two days to help the n.l. league leading nationals down the braves 7-2. check out this no hands homer red sox frazer against colorado. totally meant to do that. loses his grip on the bat and the ball goes out of the park. one of nine home runs at great american ballpark, a new record for that stadium. reds win 7-5. a dramatic end to this year's indianapolis 500, on the final lap trying to pass franchitti on the inside but spins out of control and franchitti takes the checkered flag for the third time.

he's only the tenth driver to ever do that. when we come back on a monday, did the pope's butler do it? an investigation into damaging leaks at the vatican. i've been crisscrossing the gulf for the past two years now. i can tell you, down here, people measure commitment by what's getting done. i'm mike utsler, and it's my job to make sure we keep making progress in the gulf. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. another fourteen billion dollars has been spent on response and cleanup. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to the gulf of mexico research initiative... to support ten years of independent scientific research on the environment. results will continue to be shared with the public. and we're making sure people know that the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues, but that doesn't mean our job is done.

bp's still here, and we're still committed to seeing this through.

here's a look at your memorial day forecast. d.c., partly sunny, 91. afternoon thunderstorms, 84 in atlanta. strong afternoon storms in st. louis, 95 degrees. mostly sunny, 74 in denver. cloudy in seattle, 61 degrees. the scandal over leaked documents at vatican keeps growing. the president of the vatican bank has been fired and now the pope's personal butler is under arrest. allen pizzey reports. >> reporter: the butler did it -- or did he? a few days ago the man in the front seat of the pope mobile was serving benedict his meals, helping the aging pope dress in the morning. today papal butler paolo gabriele is in detention in

vatican, accused of illegal possession of secret documents. a scandal, confidential document aalleging cronyism and misrepresentation, along with personal letters to the pope evidence of problems began appearing in the italian media in january. as the highest ranking nonclergyman in the papal household, the butler is privy to the most intimate corners of the hidden world inside the walls of vatican city. if convicted and stealing of the documents, he faces up to 30 years in jail. but many vatican watchers are already questioning why a man described as deeply religious, who had served quietly and faithfully, would risk his career and the privileged position his family enjoyed, residence at vatican city. italian journalist who has published many leaks, says none of his sources had been key to trying to name them. vatican watchers might respond by, take your pick. the secret exclusive club, the highest circle of the catholic

church as been described so driven with rivalries, jealousy and plot, one journalist called it a nest of vipers. the butler may have done it, but the more enticing mystery is whether he acted alone. allen pizzey, cbs news, rome. alien fighters beat out super heroes at the box office. "men in black iii" earning $55 million and knocked "the avengers" from the top spot. a piece of baseball history is about to hit the auction block. york yankee don larson wants to sell the uniform he wore when he pitched a perfect game in 1956 world series. he's 82 and says he wants to help pay for his two grandson's college education. college is expensive. good luck to him. coming up on "cbs this morning," noble prize winning author toni morrison. ñ

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on this memorial day, we honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. meantime, american troops are still arriving home from deployment in afghanistan. more than a decade of war has taken a toll on military families. barry petersen talked to one family in vancouver, washington. >> reporter: homecoming is the end of one journey and the beginning of another. randy didn't realize how much had changed. >> i look the same. i fit in the same clothes. so i must be the same guy. so how come all these other things are strange? >> reporter: navy commander spent a year in the middle east, assisting special operations forces. he came home to his wife, lori, expecting to quickly fit back in. that was not to be. >> there's this honeymoon phase when they come home, and then the shininess starts to wear off. >> reporter: there had been deployments before in their

20-year marriage, but never for a year and never with children. it was just as hard on the kids, 6 and 9. >> my dad was gone. and it was really hard for my mom and everything. >> reporter: signs of trouble started when randy was still overseas and his e-mail answers shrunk to one word, that emotional disconnect lingered months after he came home. >> she'll point out sometimes -- she'll come home and i'll give the kids a hug and i won't give her a hug. i'll miss an opportunity to express myself emotionally to her. >> reporter: a lawyer, lori, continued her career while still solo parenting. >> while he was gone, i started writing, i helped start a nonprofit. i have more skills than i originally thought i did. >> reporter: but that created another problem. fitting randy back into her busy

life. after months of strain, lori moved out for several days. >> i didn't understand when he first came home that the loneliness wouldn't go away right away. i realized that i didn't have anything to lose by waiting a little longer. that's really the only thing that brought me back. >> these mobilizations change you. maybe for the good, maybe for the worst. you don't know right away necessarily, but nevertheless, you change. >> reporter: randy still leaves home as a pilot for u.p.s. he missed his daughter's 9th birthday, just as he missed her 8th while he was overseas. but this time the family celebrated early so dad could be there. >> i would tell any spouse who's going through this is time is your friend. give it time. >> reporter: time helped them rediscover what they once were, stronger, because they were together. barry petersen, cbs news, vancouver, washington.

coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," an interview with general martin dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. plus a report from the scene on tropical storm beryl after making landfall in florida. that is the "cbs morning news" for this monday. enjoy the holiday. i'm terrell brown. take care. have a great day. ,,,,,,

a tribute to america's finest this memorial day parade.