their commander in chief. the soldiers who recently survived combat. a staggering 45% of veterans are filing for disability benefits. that's a historic rate. more than 700,000 former soldiers have applied to the department of veteran affairs for compensation to injuries they say are service related. many of the americans newest veterans mostly from the

afghanistan and iraq wars say they have multiple injuries from bomb blasts. it's more than double the number who did so after the first gulf war in the early '90s. well, memorial day festivities could be washed out for some folks in thee southeast after tropical storm beryl made landfall in florida early this morning.mo beryl is bringing heavy rains and winds up to 70 miles an hour to coastal areas of the southeast, knocking out power to more than 20,000 customers in the jacksonville area alone. nbc's kurt gregory has more on a holiday hazards around the nation. >> reporter: on this memorial day weekend, wild weather is turning the holiday into not quite great day at the beach. >> we're really concerned about rip currents associated this or folks the stay out of the water. >> reporter: along the georgia coast, northeast florida, an parts of south carolina, tropical storm beryl has canceled my vacation plans.na >> everyone from back home is

calling us tells us the storm's rolling liin. we decided instead of hanging outt tomorrow we'll go back to gainesville. >> it will be anow indoor day tomorrow for sure. >> reporter: but for some parts of the country it's the lack of rain causing problems making the battles against wildfires more difficult.t. in new mexico, a fire in the hilo national forest has burned more than 150 square miles. in michigan campers were forced to evacuate as more than 21,000 acres burned, fueled by high winds and temperatures. those record highs could be felt across much of the nation. but out in northern california, it's not the warmth but the chill in the air. >> it's freezing. we thought we were going to go up to the sun in taho. >> reporter: that has people double-checking the date on he their calendar. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> no kidding.n the little guy looked excited though. well, now here's a look at other stories making news early

today in america. in florida they brought the ma today in in pennsylvania memorial day final brought the proper recognition to the native son killed at the battle of gettysburg. the grave of sergeant albert bunn had stood unmarked until just this year when the location of his remains were finally confirmed. his family was on hand for the official dedication of his tombstone. in ohio another tribute to the fallen that began just a few years ago. the field of heroes now features 2,500 american flags and draws some 10,000 visitors a year. it started as a one-time tribute but has now become a yearly tradition, which will be on display through this afternoon. and, finally, holiday weekend revelers did a double take after seeing a double rainbow in the waters off tybee island. it wowed the crowd just hours after tropical storm beryl made its way up the east coast. much different scene there now. and now for a look at your

national and regional weather here's nbc meteorologist todd santos with the weather channel forecast. great to have you here this week. the first makes landfall in just over a hundred years in the month of may. so a very early start to the hurricane season, which doesn't really officially begin until friday. but there's a look atut the system. max sustained winds at 65 miles an hour and really some of the bigger gusts with that will be right along the coastline after some of the thunderstorms make their way onshore. you can see the clusters pushing toward south georgia. even some off the coastline. they'll be moving toward e december toe island and hilton head. j we've had rescues in the last 24 hours from the south carolina coast down to florida. there's a look at where the system has gone so far. we're going to be dealing with this early tomorrow morning and the whole chance of oven an off path. especially jacksonville extending to the south and west couldd easily see three to five inches worth of rainfall over

larger areas. some isolated spots could get over 10 inches worth of rain. that system crossing out to the outer banks. that system out to the outer banks. it could restrengtheten into a storm. it's one to keep a close eye on. a number of beaches closed today. i want to mention one other area here, especially chicago down missouri, even eastern portions of oklahoma and northern texas. we could be dealing with chances ofit severe storms today. yesterday we had a number of hail and wind-producing reports. today make sure you have a way warnings and in through the northeast and also a chance for thunderstorms. we'll talk more about that. for now let's check out your local y forecast. baltimore, maryland, coming in at 91 degrees. stilll some very warm spots. 93 in detroit, but there you're going to be dealing with chance for thunderstorms bynd later onn the afternoon. birmingham coming in at 90, make a few stray storms off to the west. so a little bit messy for some folks today, but at least on the whole, a good stretch of the

country looking good for the holiday. >> that's good f. thank you so much, todd. coming up, travels hit the road, consumersing looing on the brighter sierkd and both the good newsnd and the bad news on the zuckerberg wedding dress. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. plus, "men in black 3" takes down more than just aliens at the box office. game one of the western conference finals, another injury for theof fillies, and he crash on the final lap of the indy 500. you're watching "early today."if . you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. the united nations is condemning syria for the shelling of the town of hula in what was called a, quote, outrageous use of force. more than 100 people were killed, including dozens of children. iran says it will not halt its production of higher grade

uranium, which is a reversal of previous statements. more than six power talks about the nuclear program are scheduled next month in motion cow. in idaho, national guard rescuers got to the site of a small plane crash on a snow-covered montana yesterday. a helicopter was able to safely pull out a california fireman, his wife, and their daughter more than 15 hours after the crash. and there was a huge and amazing fireworks display last night in san francisco to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the golden gate bridge. traffic was shut down for the show to mark the bridge's birthday and the 2 billion cars that have crossed it since 1937. well, now here's an early look at how wall street finished trade friday ahead of the holiday weekend. the dow closed friday at 12,454 after falling 74 points. the s&p lost 2. the nasdaq was down 1. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was up 12 points while in hong kong the hang seng gained 87.

well, it will be a short week on wall street with the markets closed today. although stocks were lower friday, all three major indices posted their best weekly gains for the month. more than 30 million americans hit the road this holiday weekend and may be spending a little bit extra along the way. that's because prices at the gas pump dropped to a national average for regular unleaded gas of $3.67 a gallon. that's down 17 cents from a month ago and more than 15 cents lower than a year ago. the euro was higher today as signs improved on the european debt crisis with stronger support in greece with the party that backs the bailout. and in spain, bankia may be recapitalized with government bonds to provide a rescue fund of almost $24 million. we'll get more data this week on consumer confidence after one report last week showed optimism at a four-week

high. also automakers will roll out. they're expected to produce strong sales of new cars and light trucks as well. we'll also get new data on the rebounding housing market with a read on home prices and another on pending home sales. traders will be looking forward this week to the labor department report on may employment friday with economists expecting as many as 150,000 new jobs added. as facebook founder mark zuckerberg and his wife dr. priscilla chan honeymooned in italy, tmz reports her dress drew a lot of attention at the denver dress shop where she got it, but at $4,700, nobody has bought one yet. well, coming up, the thunder scare off with the spurs, roderick is reeling and it's no holliday for holliday. and more mishaps at the famous battle at the brickyard. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. while that one is in the books your holiday barbecue is

not. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, last night in the nba playoff, the san antonio spurs drew first blood in the battle to see who is best in the west. here's nbc's bill seward with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, everybody.

the thunder were a quarter away from taking game one of the western conference finals be u they couldn't finish off the best team in basketball. to san antonio. time winding down. spurs need a bucket. manu can do. manu ginobili drill as buzzer beater. drills by six. spurs respond in the second and third. kevin durant with a game-high 27 points and 10 boards. okc up nine to start the fourth. that's when the spurs put on their work hats. nothing flashy, nothing out of the ordinary, just textbook basketball. san antonio rallies and wins 101-98. they've won a remarkable 19 games in a row. switching gears to the indy 500. pick it up on lap 82. mike conway losing control, hit the wall, and will power drives right underneath him, sending conway airborne. fortunately both drivers okay. thrilling conclusion. final lap he tries to fast franchitti. no go.

spins, crashes, and the race will end under caution. this one belongs to franchitti, his third checkered flag at indy. milk has never tasted so good. if milk's not your thing, how about a coke, kasey kahne taking the checkered flag at nascar's coca-cola 600. grek biffle finished leading by ten points. tennis in paris. first round of the french open, not kind to andy roddick. ousted by frenchman nicolas mahut. andy owen, four on clay this year. his first opening round loss in the grand slam since '07. baseball, something isn't right with roy halladay. pulled after two innings with shoulder injuries. the cards' yadier molina sends them away in grand fashion. the salami. that is adding insult to injury. cardinals avoid a sweep with at 8-3 win. that's your early look at sports on early today. i'm bill seward.

>> announcer: "early today" sports brought to you by aqua velva. gaga gives in and why justin bieber is a wanted man in los angeles. your early morning headlines are straight ahead. plus, military home comings are always joyful moments but one airman hatched his plans to make his extra special. you're watching "early today." o"

welcome back in to "early today." a quick look at the temperatures across the country.

a very warm starting point for places like chicago. even kansas city, both areas could see some thunderstorms into the afternoon. really the only thick this may limit temperatures a little bit, not quite as hot in chicago as we had out yesterday, but still a chance for thunderstorms. isolated chance in kansas city. still rain early on in minneapolis. should, again, see better conditions late this afternoon and remember the southeast coastline, especially northern florida over through the carolinas or especially through the south carolina be safe if you're headed out in the water. still a chance for thunderstorms in the northeast. if you're watching us on wcnc, channel 36 in charlotte, north carolina, in nearby huntersville sup our veterans with music in the biksdale village. that's your early look at "early today." and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. will smith revived his reputation for box in style. "men in black 3" took in $55 million on the first three days of the moment morial day weekend and now rests comfortably in the

top spot with one more day left in the hollywood frame. well, after three humongous weeks "the avengers" may have slipped to the second spot with $37 million, but that $37 million in its fourth weekend is still higher than the opening weekend of all but five films this year. elsewhere, faced with threats of violence by islamic hardliners who called her a devil worshipper, lady gaga has canceled her sold out show in indonesia, sending love to her fans. and, finally, l.a. reportedly wants to talk to the biebs. that's lapd. police say a photographer has complained of being roughed up by the biebs at a shopping center sunday when he tried to snap pictures of the teen and his girlfriend salina gomez. i don't know. he seems too wholesome for something like that. >> i agree with that all e

though we had a great laugh at the canadian border. they were reading our passports and they called out justin bieber and the whole vanful of buddies started laughing. this comes from casey r.a. three reports in sacramento, california, where this memorial day brought a homecoming for one of our troops like no other. a soldier's boyfriend was waiting at the airport. he, too, is in the military but told her he had already shipped off to texas. well, when she came down the escalator, fresh from a tour of duty in afghanistan, there he was. he had one more surprise waiting for her, an engagement ring. she said yes. and now they have a new mission to plan for. their wedding. she looks pretty happy about it. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. f the day, today on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. happy memorial day. another war meant humid start to the day. -- another warm and humid start to the day. humidity, 87%. maybe some patchy fog as the humidity is running very high. temperatures push near 90 degrees. the downtown area could be in the low 90's later this afternoon. there is a chance for an isolated a thunderstorm. we will look the changes in the

seven-day forecast when we come back. >> 66 degrees on tv hill. >> one person stabbed and another person shot in a possible home invasion. >> this is a day of honor and reflection as the nation honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice. sacrifice.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i am lisa robinson. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. another hot weekend. >> we have a slight chance for a shower or thunderst