security in focus. president obama decides against releasing the death photo of osama bin laden. rail hazard. a tanker train carrying ethanol derails in oregon sparking a blaze. danger in the wings. some terrifying moments as a russian military plane lumpbs out of control. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with the final decision. president obama has ordered that the grisly photo of a deadly osama bin laden will not be released to the public, a move already sparking some debate.

we continue to get more details how bin laden was ultimately taken down. we go to nbc's tracie potts in washington for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. let's start with that photo. the president says that releasing the graphic photo of bin laden's death and video of his burial could insight radicals who have already vowed retaliation against the united states. so, for now, they will not be publicly released. reaction on chiapitol hill is mixed. a fake photo is already going around. some here say republicans and democrats, that the dna evidence and what they heard privately from the cia is enough. but others say that the u.s. and those in the middle east need to see these photos. now, as for the raid itself, the white house now says three out of four of those who were killed were unarmed and that this was lawful because of bin laden's

history of threatening the u.s. >> thanks. and today president obama will be in new york city. he'll be joining families of 9/11 victims at ground zero to mark the death of the mastermind behind the world trade center attack that took their loved ones' lives. nbc's michelle franzen joins us from lower manhattan. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. certainly the ceremonies come together four days after they announced osama bin laden's death. the tone of the ceremony today will be somewhat different from the celebratory mood that erupted after osama bin laden's death was announced. hundreds of people gathered here overnight sunday into monday celebrating osama bin laden's death. today the president is expected to meet with 9/11 victims' families as well as survivors and first responders and also participate in a ceremony, a

wreath-laying ceremony at ground zero site. and we are told that the president could also possibly make some sort of a speech. we don't know exactly when and what time he will say that yet. certainly he is here to honor the 9/11 victims and bring the focus back to those who died on that day. lynn? >> thank you. well, the night navy s.e.a.l.s carried out their top secret mission on osama bin laden in pakistan, a computer program in that town could hear what was going on. and he posted live what he heard on his twitter account. nbc's stephanie goss got a chance to speak to him while she was in pakistan. >> i heard this helicopter hovering above my house for like five or six minutes. then i got suspicious because abbottabad does not get much air traffic. i knew it wasn't fire cracker or anything. so, i treated about that. then i -- a friend contacted me

on facebook chat. he asked me if i had heard tha yeah, i didn't expect all the attention that my tweets were getting because i did not report him or -- i wasn't involved in the operation directly. all i did was hear a helicopter. >> and that was nbc's stephanie gosk reporting in pakistan new politically the decision to take down the world's most wanted terrorist has proven beneficial for president obama. at least for now. according to a "new york times"/cbs news poll, president obama's approval rating jumped 11 points to 57% after the killing of bin laden. meanwhile, a separate "usa today"/gallup poll shows 62% of americans believe a terrorist attack on u.s. soil is likely within the next several weeks. well, elsewhere, according to this morning's washington post, house republicans have conceded that they will have to drop their controversial plan to

overhaul medicare and seek common ground with the white house over spending cuts. "the post" reports eric cantor suggests he'll push for ending subsidies to wealthy farmers, limiting lawsuits against doctors and expanding government auctions of the broadcast spectrum to telecommunication companies. the gop retreat on medicare came ahead of debt reduction talks led by vice president biden which is set to start later this morning. here's a look at some other news going on around america today. oregon firefighters had an intense inferno on their hands after two trains collided. the fire erupted when a derailing train smashed into a parked train carrying cars with ethanol. crews battled the blaze for three hours before putting it out. luckily, no injuries there. a snow-laden winter in utah ended up producing an exciting springtime visual. due to a higher than normal level of water officials released water from the flaming

gorge reservoir for only the fourth time in the last 48 years. now local business owners are expecting a busy rafting season. you can see why. well, some florida criminals lacked the muscle and a little intelligence to carry a coin machine they stole from a car wash. the 200 -pound machine fell on top of them as they attempted to get away. well, they eventually did get away, but not with much. the machine had just been emptied. also in florida, the u.s. postal service unveiled two stamps to mark today's 50 th anniversary of today's first manned space flight. the stamps feature the first mercury spacecraft and alan shepherd, first man up and first astronaut with a stamp all to himself. now for a check of the weather we check in with meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> have you toured the space center? >> i have not. >> twice i've done it. it's fantastic. >> i bet it is.

we'll get you some of those stamps, bill. >> even if you can't see a launch anymore, it's still a fantastic play. stamps, i like that. let's show you the big story. it's the flooding on the mississippi river. now, there was not a lot of severe weather to talk about, not even heavy rain but all the wet weather in april is heading down the mississippi and flood warnings are nasty. let me show you pictures out of memphis. we have flood warnings and telling people in small towns along the river they'll have to evacuate. floodwater has caused people to leave their homes and mobile homes. you can see lands and islands are being swallowed up. we won't even see crest in memphis area for another four or five days. looks like wednesday of next week will be the crest in memphis. the little star i have there south of cape gerardo, that's where the crest is right now on the mississippi. is it going to take two weeks for that crest to go down the river all the way to vicksburg and down into areas of

louisiana. this is the problem area. these are the big cities on the rivers. the big cities have huge levees because of the great flood in 1920 and a great flood in 1937. they said, let's build up the levees high. we won't see big cities having problems. a lot of the small towns on the rivers that don't have huge levees, those will suffer the worst. this will be a great flood. now, as far as what we're dealing with out there as we look throughout the crest, memphis, we expect you to crest on wednesday of next week. the second highest of all time. greenville, mississippi, we expect you to crest the second highest all-time. these records go back 10 0 years at least, on the 17th. such a slow process that even vicksburg, it's going to take you until the 20th. we expect you to have your number one all-time crest. we're talking serious stuff here on the mississippi river. now, as far as the weather today and preparing you for your day, wet weather, kind of -- rather cloudy and dreary in northern new england. also some heavy rain going through minnesota into the

minneapolis area. also around st. paul we've had a gool deal of rain overnight and that continues this morning and that will continue to push into northern wisconsin during the day today. as far as your forecast goes for your thursday, not bad around new york, philadelphia, also d.c., but it will be breezy. like a fall feeling to the air. and the southeast, gorgeous day for you. slight chance of storms this afternoon. chicago and kansas city and st. louis, really shouldn't ruin your day. it will be in and out in a hurry. also, dallas, 80 degrees today. beautiful for you. we don't have a lot of travel trouble out there, lynn. actually, no tornadoes in the forecast, no severe weather. just watching the slow process of the water heading down the mississippi. >> bill, thanks so much. well, coming up, job news jolts the street. iphones get less nosey. and the fury of one spurned bridegroom. your first look at the business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the bulls rebound. the bruins need a minute to win it. and a capital failure in the nhl playoffs.

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. workers have entered the damaged reactor buildings at japan's nuclear power plant. it's the first time they've been inside since the march 11 th earthquake. crews are connecting ventilation equipment in an attempt to absorb radiation from inside the building. the last known combat veteran of world war i has died. he started training with the royal navy in 1915 at the age of 15 14. he passed away in australia. he was 110 years old. his secret to a long life? quote, keep breathing. good advice. hollywood lost former child actor jackie cooper. cooper, a former little lass

cal, is still history's youngest oscar nominee at 9 years old. in later years he won emmys as a tv director and acted as perry white in superman. cooper was 88. and here's a flight you can be glad you weren't a passenger on. amateur video shows a plane in russia flying wildly in the sky. despite the plane's control system failing, the pilots managed to land the military aircraft on their second attempt. well, now here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12723 after dropping 83 points yesterday. the s&p shed nine points. the nasdaq lost 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei was closed for holiday. in hong kong, the hang seng fell 53. series doubts about the health of the economy are setting in. driving fears yesterday was that hiring news was nowhere near

expected last month. silver and oil prices slid for another day, dragging down freeport pk warren and occidental petroleum. on the earnings front a lackluster first quarter blockbuster took a toll on time warner while aol blamed dwindling revenue for its lackluster report. rising costs put a strain on kellogg's and ralcorp rebuffed gra's sweetened dell for a second time. fannie mae posted first quarterly gain in two years and is not asking for more federal aid. apple says a new update will reduce the time your iphone stores location data from one year to one week. this after criticism that the phone's tracking device was sending info back to apple. after the bell, news corp. missed the street's earning

estimates while whole foods weighed in with its strongest results in five years. and finally, one runaway bride in italy may have to pay a hefty price for her happiness with another man. the guy she left at the altar is suing her for nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. the mvp leads back the bulls, the lakers stumble at home and another sudden death winner, this time for the sharks. lightning strikes the washington capitals and sends them packing. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look." for dentists, the choice is clear. fact is, more dental professionals brush with an oral-b toothbrush than any other brush. trust the brush more dentists and hygienists use, oral-b.

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that's why only zales is the diamond store. welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. in sports, looking more like the team that led the team in wins. last night chicago took game two of its nba playoff match-up with the atlanta hawks. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. before game three, derrick rose received his mvp award and then showed everybody why he is the most valuable player in the nba. commissioner stern with the presentation of the award. rose scored 12 in the first quarter, finished with a game high 25. bulls outworked the hawks. chicago eend the series with an 86-73 win. now to los angeles where not even jack could get the lakers going in the fourth. mavericks ran circles around the defending champs. nowitzki led the way with 24. the frustration turned physical.

artest almost took jj ba ray yeah's head off. mavericks lead the series 2-1. nhl with a guarantee from alex ovechkin, washington couldn't be helped. the capital superstar insisted has team would win game four but it wasn't meant to be. tampa swept the top seeded caps with a 5-3 win. hard-hitting affair between boston and philly. like this hit, the bruins goat the best of the flyers in game three. char row scored less than a minute in. 5 3 seconds later boston scored again. before the fans were settled in, the bruins had a 2-0 lead. they went in to rout the flyers 5-1 leading the series 3-1. detroit, sharks tied late in the third and kept momentum going into overtime. setoguchi's second goal of the night, your game winner. sharks beat the red wings 3-0 in o.t. a hanger on the back of torrey mitchell's morning skate. he practiced for ten minutes

before realizing it was there. he said he knew something was up when players kept asking him if he wanted to hang after practice. sharks are letting it all hang out. they're awin away from the conference final. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. and now for another quick look at the weather. here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning. >> a little chill in the air. you definitely need the jacket today. ohio valley up into areas of new england. we're at 37 right now in chicago. much of ohio, indiana and kentucky is also in the 30s. we're in the 40s in the big cities from i-95 from boston down to d.c. it's going to be a much better day from yesterday where we had all that rain. the storm system is kick up into the gulf of maine. it's going to be a little unsettled during the afternoon today. you'll see some breaks of sunshine here or there. we'll also have a slight chance of a shower, especially up there around albany and boston. a dry day today around new york city, philadelphia, all the way to baltimore and d.c. buffalo, 54 degrees. there is cool air out there and it will be a little breezy. definitely a jacket out there.

maybe your spring coat will work just fine. as we look at friday, a little warmer. temperatures getting up into the 60s, near 70. slight chance of a shower or storm, d.c. and also around pittsburgh. other areas of concern, if you're flying today, going through o'hare airport late this afternoon, you could have a thunderstorm to deal with. also kansas city and eventually late around st. louis. much of the country is looking perfect. even into friday, the warm-up really continues throughout much of the nation. look at arizona, up to 100 in phoenix as we go throughout the day tomorrow. if you're wondering where the hot air is, it's in the southwest. it's not here. >> it's not right here. it's definitely not in the studio either. yes. bill, thank you. well, which long-time tv and music star has remarried her first husband? more than 25 years after divorcing him? yes, you heard that correctly. plus, speaking of marriage. cameron diaz says, who needs it? your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. that's going to go right in your glove. ohhh.

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. last night on late night with jimmy fallon he turned the spotlight on michelle obama who recently showed off some of her dance moves. >> this is cool while promoting her let's move campaign at a middle school, michelle obama danced the cha cha, running man and the dougy. she was just doing her impression of barack after they got bin laden. it was like -- a 90-year-old woman and a 100-year-old man recently became the oldest couple ever to get married. yeah. it was really sweet.

first they exchanged vows and then they exchanged teeth. interesting. the couple actually wrote their own vows. i promise to love you for richer or poorer until next week when we depart. hard place to pick for their honeymoon, up the stars. >> tonight he has tina fey, and musical guest twin shadow. "late night with jimmy fallon" on your local nbc station. it is time for your first look at entertainment news where relationship news takes center stage. after all the headlines, the phone tapes and court hearings, oksana grigorieva dropped her domestic violence claim against mel gibson. tmz reports she hopes the move will help gibson fairly settle custody of their daughter. after three marries, then a divorce in 1985, marie osmond

remarried steven craig yesterday in las vegas. osmond wore the same dress she did three decades ago at their first wedding. and finally, cameron diaz tells "maxim" magazine that marriage is a dying institution. paraphrasing from diaz, currently dating alex rodriguez of the yankees, guys need women who challenge them and don't let them get away with stuff. women need to not be crazies who blow up when their guys tell them something that scares them. i don't know if this makes sense. anyway, i think a-rod is breathing a sigh of relief like, yeah, thank god. >> the crazies. >> what are you looking at me for? >> i'm just saying. >> keep it -- yeah. how about that wedding dress? well, i'm lynn berry and this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early with willie geist" starts right now.

new details this morning about what really happened during those 40 minutes inside osama bin laden's compound in pakistan, suggesting navy s.e.a.l.s met almost no resistance after the first few moments of fighting. the question is, why are the white house and pentagon giving different versions of the story that should be easy to tell. meanwhile, president obama decides not to release the photograph of bin laden's corpse going against the public advice of his own cia director. the question is, do you really think a photo would satisfy conspiracy cooks? and for a little comic relief, the nation turns again to will ferrell. the question is, what announcement did will ferrell's george w. bush make from inside a dallas area sizzler to steal some thunder from president obama's big news. it's "way too early" for this. good morning, i'm willie geist and t