[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news at noon. >> a nation at celebrating after terrorist and al qaeda mastermind osama bin laden is confirmed dead. that is a big story today at noon. i am sarah caldwell. last night, president barack obama address the nation

with the news of hope and progress in the war on terror. celebrations continue across the nation pra the latest from washington. >> as the news spread, a spontaneous celebration brought outside the white house -- >> it is great. but it is amazing source of pride. >> ground zero -- >> usa. >> the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden. >> the world's most wanted till the n -- most wanted killed and not in a remote take part in a fortified compound. in pakistan, special forces moved in, one helicopter making a hard landing as teams came under heavy fire. it took less than 40 minutes to bring the justice that 9/11

victims' families waited so long for. >> it was disbelief middle of hope. i had despaired of ever finding the state of reality. >> the former vice president praised the operation. >> think about all the effort that went into it, and it's been 10 years. you know, it has been worth all of that effort. >> in the midst of celebration, there are also a stark warnings that the threat will likely outlive the world's most notorious criminal. >> we should not forget that the battle to stop al qaeda and its syndicate of terror will not end with the death of bin laden. >> security has been set up around the capital could the department of homeland security says it has no plans to issue an alert.

keeping with islamic tradition, osama bin laden's body was buried at sea, but they have a photographic evidence and they are awaiting dna test results. >> hundreds gathered at ground zero ran for a bittersweet and spontaneous rally. the crowd quickly formed following the announcement of the bin laden's death by president barack obama. people were waving flags and the singing the national anthem. at one point, there was an impromptu moment of silence. almost 3000 people were killed by the terrorist attacks on september 11, 2001, brought another small crowd of four outside the home of president bush to bush. the crowd waved or flax -- waved flags and held it signs thanking president bush co. on sunday, president obama called president bush to deliver the news.

the maryland political delegation is reacting to the news. 11 news spoke to congressman dutch ruppersberger at home about the death. . >> the coverage last night into this morning, the word

ricocheting or around the world that the man who really is the founder of al qaeda and the face of evil in the modern world was in fact killed, taken off the battlefield, and has already been buried at sea as a. we watched this scene, ch uck todd, our chief white house correspondent, is standing by. >> this is the first opportunity the president will have to react to what americans have been reacting as we were running last night and this morning -- courting last night and this morning. the president was maybe, we assume, trying to catch an hour or two of sleep. the reaction we have seen this morning at ground zero and other places around the country -- in fact, this will be the president's first opportunity to address the emotional response that americans have that. >> chuck todd on the north lawn

and an otherwise beautiful day -- >> ladies center bombing, the president of the united states, and mrs. michelle -- ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states and mrs. michelle obama. >> please join me in prayer. almighty and loving god, we ask your blessings on this ceremony as we commemorate the double lives and sacrifices of two of our precious -- commemorate the lives and sacrifices of two of our precious sons. those struck by the news of the past 24 hours, we stop to

remember the air road, actions taken -- heroic actions taken by these two some 60 years ago. they lead from the front and loved beyond measure, which bring the ultimate act of self service. remind us today that our nation has risen to about to witness on the shoulders of americans like -- present to our true brightness on the shoulders of americans like anthony and henry. wavelike and freedom is a priceless inheritance -- our way of life and freedom is a priceless and arrogance. may your blessings be upon -- priceless inheritance. mayor blessings be upon anthony and henry. may we never forget the sacrifice.

in your holy name, amen. >> good morning, everybody. please be seated. on behalf of michelle and myself, welcome to the white house. to our many guests from hawaii, aloha. thank you, chaplain, for that wonderful invocation. i think we can all agree it m -- we can all agree this is a good day for america. our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done. the world is safer. it is a better place because of the death of osama bin laden. today we are reminded that as a nation there is nothing we cannot do when we put our shoulders to the wheel, when we work together, when we remember the sense of unity that defines

us as americans. we have seen that spirit and patriotism in the crowds that have gathered outside the white house at ground zero in new york and across the country, people holding candles, waving the flag, singing the national anthem, people proud to live in the united states of america. we are reminded that we are fortunate to have americans who dedicate their lives to protecting ours. they volunteer, they train, they endure separation from their families, they take extraordinary risks so that we can be safe. they get the job done. we may not always know their names. we may not always know their stories. but they are there every day on the front lines of freedom, and we are truly blessed.

acknowledge, oblig before we begin the ceremony, two individuals who are critical -- first of all, a man who will go down as one of the- secretaries of defense in our history, secretary bob gates, who is here. [applause] sitting beside him, someone who served with incredible valor on behalf of this country, and is now somebody who i think will go down as one of the greatest secretaries of veterans affairs in our history, eric shinseki. [applause]

i have to say that as commander in chief, i could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform. that is true now in today's wars. it has been true in all of our wars. that is why we are here today. long ago, a poet of the first world war wrote of the sacrifice of soldiers in more. "they shall not grow old as we that are left grow old. age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. we will remember them." today we are joined by two american families who, six decades ago, gave our nation one

of their own. they did not grow old. these two soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice one and it just 19 -- when and they were just 19 and 21 years old. in the hearts of their families, they remain forever young -- loving the suns, protective brothers, hometown kids who stood tall -- >> you are the president said this is a good day for america in his remarks at the top of this ceremony, which, again, is designed to give the medal honor to two veterans who sadly did not come home to receive the medal. both of them lost on the battlefield in korea. it has taken a fight to have the

investigation completed, resulting in this ceremony today did ge -- this ceremony today. general barry mccaffrey is with us today. what will the american public take away when we learn all the details there are to learn about this special forces raid that resulted in the death of bin laden, do you think? >> among other things, it is a great reassurance that we have this immense battle force, 100,000 troops on the ground in afghanistan, still 50,000 or so in iraq -- they suffered 48,000 killed and wounded, and here we have this elite commander group, which includes a navy seals, back and pull out an operation -- that can pull out

an operation hundreds of miles from the launch but with professionalism and pitch black ness to avenge -- i use the word deliberately -- the murder of 3000 americans. >> also standing by, our chief white house correspondent, chuck todd. you'll hear already in the public discourse, what does this mean for the war and afghanistan? a lot of americans, because of the personalization and demonization of the war around bin laden at the outset, a lot of americans wonder what kind of policy discussions will go on in the building behind you. >> in the short term, not a lot. we heard from secretary clinton this morning almost restating the case of why we are in afghanistan, almost pleading with folks who are almost sympathizing with the taliban

and al qaeda to drop your arms. july, that is one of the withdrawal is supposed to get out of afghanistan. -- is supposed to begin out of afghanistan. that is when you will see capital, members of both parties -- we have seen this war fatigue with the american public to watch congress over the next couple months. this will be a more heated debate. civil, but quite split. >> you heard the president's remarks, the comment last night on the death of osama bin laden. most of our nbc stations will be carrying a special one-hour version of "nbc nightly news" devoted to this single topic. until then, i am brian williams, nbc news, new york. >> that, of course, a special

report from brian williams. we appreciate you sticking with us, the first opportunity to hear from the president since the address the nation last night brought his reaction -- addressed to the nation last night. the reaction continues to pour in on the death of osama bin bladen. the maryland political delegation reacting this noon to the news. 11 news spoke to congressman dutch ruppersberger by phone. >> we have been advised that the last couple of months that there was a possibility of being able to target osama bin laden. the intelligence had to be gotten, and i've been on the intelligence committee for a long time now. we have adopted many, many beads, but none of them have been this strong -- gotten many, many leads, but none of them have been this strong. if you want to kill a snake, cut

its head off. by the way, this puts us in a very unique position, i believe, throughout the world, and also a good position against the terrorists themselves to said that if you are going to be our enemy, you are going to attack us, we're going to get you. >> we have more political reaction on our website. you with your reacti -- you will see reaction from senators ben cardin and barbara mikulski. wbaltv.com. the world is reacting to the news that osama bin laden has been killed by u.s. forces. world leaders are praising the news. >> it may be a mark of how hated he was. within hours of the announcement of osama bin laden's death, international congratulations poured in. >> this news will be will come

right across our country could of course, it does not mark the end of the threat we face. >> i welcome the death of osama bin laden, i welcome this news. >> the world will be better without him. >> in statements, and germany and france expressed relief but cautioned that this will not mark the end of terrorism. afghan president hamid karzai said that al qaeda at "has murdered and harm our people for many years. i hope terrorism will meet its fate with the killing of bin laden." yemen and welcome to the covert action and encourage more of them. "we hope targeted measures will be taken to end terrorism throughout the world." even the vatican said that, "while christians do not rejoice over a death, osama bin laden

had a grave responsibility of exploiting hate and exploited religion for these purposes." perhaps a turning point may be coming. >> we are hearing from many viewers at home who have gone to wbaltv.com, and they are sharing their thoughts on facebook. brian wrote," this is a good thing . we will all feel safer for all the hard work from bush and obama and all the people involved. linda says, "and our military should be given all the credit for bin laden's death. u.s. military men and women made this happen, and for that, i salute you." the big question is, who will

move into power now? all eyes are on al qaeda's number two man, ayman al- zawahiri. his exact whereabouts are unknown. is believed the 59-year-old is now the top benefit. born in egypt, he is believed to be the logistical mastermind behind al qaeda. in libya today, angry mobs set fire to the british and italian embassies in retaliation to the recent nato air strikes. libyan officials called the strikes an assassination attempt on muammar gaddafi. the strike hit a building that reportedly housed the leader and his wife, along with some of his grandchildren and his children. >> the leader himself is in good health. he was not harmed. his wife also is in good health. she was not harmed brough.

>> nato officials denied it was a direct attack on gaddafi. this is video from gaddafi's son's funeral. he was the second youngest son of muammar gaddafi's eight biological children. >> this morning, the son has broken through the clouds, at least partially. temperatures at to be hot jumped to 68 degrees. we had a couple of sprinkles earlier, and we look at the radar-satellite, nation. you can see sunshine pushing into maryland. there are also clouds and a western maryland. out on the far left side of the screen, you can see activity at the ohio river valley. this will get closer to us over the next day or two. we cannot take the chance of rain out of the forecast at the moment. forecast details for the next

day or two or op- -- for the next day or two are up ahead. . >> today marks another day of pain for recovery, cleaning up the mess that tornadoes left behind homeland security secretary janet napolitano visited the region as people do whatever they cut for families lost everything. >> worshipers and alabama gathered on a concrete slab, all that is left of the church once a year. -- once here. survivors turned their eyes and thoughts to have been as they continue to live through -- to heaven as they continue to live through hell. more than 330 dead across southern states, and that number is growing. homeland security secretary

janet napolitano toured several ravaged neighborhoods. volunteers are also pouring into the strike zone. >> it is amazing, everybody just helping each other out. >> communities take the first few steps on the long road to recovery. >> a lot people in need there, and if you would like to help the survivors of the storms and help with the recovery, log onto our website, wbaltv.com, were you will find information on how to help. we have also posted pictures of the devastation and is like joe explaining how tornadoes form -- a slide show expanding how tornadoes former. how your race and at the location of a flat on your body affects your heart health. affects your heart health.

>> it has been nearly a year since yeardley love of cockeysville was found murdered inside her off-campus apartment near the university of virginia in charlottesville. she was a lacrosse player and george huguely, a member of the men's team, it is charged with

her murder. mary ann banister is this down with her friends as they reflect on her and her loss. >> we were so fortunate to have yeardley in our lives. she forever changed all bus. >> the exclusive and personal conversation with yeardley love's circle of friends is their first interview since her death. it is tonight at 11:00 on 11 news. still to come, expert advice for college graduates heading into the job market. >> it was very alarming. she is a little kid. >> and look at why young girls are hitting puberty early, and what could be contributing to

>> in the "consumer alert," it is a go