making news in america this morning. >> tropical storm beryl making landfall near the florida/georgia border and making a mess for travelers on this holiday weekend. >> also, wildfires raging across nine states right now scorching hundreds of thousands of acres and chasing plenty of residents right from their homes. then a bloody weekend in the windy city as scorching temperatures and several murdered. dozens of others wounded. what police are saying about the cause. on this memorial day morning we pay tribute to those who have fallen and died for our country, the real reason for today's holiday.

good morning, everybody. we begin with tropical storm beryl now swapping the southeastern coastline and washing away holiday plans. >> it washed ashore in northern florida and is expected to turn everything in its path into a soggy mess. more from abc's tahman bradley. >> reporter: for residents along the southeast coast beryl crashed the memorial day party. the storm made landfall overnight in florida packing 70-mile-per-hour winds just short of a category 1 hurricane. it continues to cause heavy rain and wind. meteorologists expect the weather system will keep dumping rain in parts of florida and georgia throughout the day. tens of thousands are already without power from savannah, georgia, to daytona beach. in jacksonville, a state of emergency. the city's memorial day plans scrapped. >> due to the concerns for the public safety, we have canceled our memorial ceremony at the

veterans memorial. this storm has the ability to produce localized flooding, downed trees and downed power lines that can pose a threat to public safety. >> reporter: residents along beryl's path from south of charleston to daytona beach were expected to see a storm surge of up to three feet, 3 to 6 inches of rain with wind gusts up of 65 miles per hour. >> the waves and the winds are picking up. tide is coming in a little bit. >> reporter: there's also the issue of rip currents, currents that go perpendicular to the shore forcing swimmers to outside their many powerful forcing at least a hundred rescues along the coast and emptying out beaches over the busy holiday weekend. >> i'm encouraging everyone to stay out of the water. very important. >> reporter: there's one bit of good news. meteorologists think upper level west wind also push beryl back out to sea by tomorrow night but that may be too late to save outdoor plans for so many this holiday.

tahman bradley, abc news. >> our thanks to tahman bradley for that report. bad weather spoiled plans for concertgoers. >> a memorial day concert on the mall was canceled as a line of strong storms moved in. halfway into the show the announcer broke the news to the crowd. >> severe weather is approaching the capital. you are instructed to leave here and in an order early manner. >> they were airing that live. the broadcast continued featuring stories of heroic acts by u.s. troops frpts as beryl soaks the southeast millions of americans are sweating it out. >> it's a hot one. parts of country are bracing for another scorcher with some of the hottest temperatures ever this early in the season. more now from jim dickey. >> many sports once again record challenging heat especially true tennessee valley, lower mississippi value i loo eastern texas up into the northeast into the ohio valley, it continues to

stream in. yesterday chicago hit 97 egg degrees. just as warm with thunderstorms that could be strong during the afternoon. >> where fire crews are spending their memorial day battling fire crews is. >> for firefighters battling a stubborn fire in new mexico improving conditions are offering assistance. we hear from clayton sandell. >> reporter: across the country in new mexico, a 122,000-acre monster is forcing residents to flee the town of mogollon. >> we are hoping and praying mother nature will give us a break. >> reporter: 600 firefighters are up against extreme conditions. high winds, dry fuel and the fire is growing. smoke from new mexico is prompting downwind states like colorado to warn people about breathing unhealthy air. on michigan's upper peninsula, a 20,000-acre blaze is charring the shores of lake superior, destroying 28 homes and cottages. but there's good news in crown

king, arizona. >> been to this place for a long time. ready to go home. >> reporter: firefighters have contained about half of the 16,000-acre gladiator fire. >> we get to go home. and it's going to make me cry. >> reporter: meaning grateful residents get to spend memorial day back at home. clayton sandell, abc news, los angeles. and time now for the rest of the memorial day weather. several storms, severe storms around the great lakes, heavy rain, hail and gusty winds from detroit, chicago and st. louis down to oklahoma city and abilene, texas. showers in the northern rockies with up to 10 inches of mountain snow in montana and wyoming. >> 62 in billings, 68, salt lake city and hot 92 in phoenix, the 0s in chicago and indianapolis. 88 here in new york. 85 in atlanta. and 92 down in new orleans. and the news from overseas. a strong earthquake rocked northeastern argentina this morning. the magnitude 6.4 quake hit a

mostly rural province not heavily populated. there have been no reports of injuries or any damage. the u.n. security council is condemning the outrageous use of force from syrian forces in houla. residential neighborhoods were hammered by artillery and tank attacks friday leaving at least 108 people dead including 49 children and 34 women. syria insists that government forces are not to blame for that massacre. and now to the unfolding scandal at the vatican. one of the pope's top aides is now under arrest for leaking confidential documents. police say the butler paolo gabriele gave information to the italian media. investigators say he was trying to discredit a leading vatican official. investigators now say more arrests are likely. it is a movie in the making. when we come back a new champ at the box office. plus this morning outrage over separating families on airline flights.

that's in your business news straight ahead. later, a serious outbreak of violence in chicago leaves several dead and dozens nursing wounds. details coming up.

welcome back, everyone. there are protests this morning over separating families on flights. airlines are charging extra for aisle and window seats leaving families a choice between splitting up or paying extra for adjacent seats. advocates say that is just wrong. >> more great pr for the airline

industry. not many are taking advantage of a free review of their foreclosure proceedings so the fwefshg has now turned to youtube believe it or not to spread word about the program in both english and spanish. the videos explain who is eligible and what home owners need to do. and overseas markets are a little higher because of signs that greece may not leave the euro currency. tokyo's nikkei was up 13, hong kong's hang seng added 120 points. in london the ftse was up. the nasdaq index was up 59. u.s. markets, of course, are closed today for the memorial day holiday. speaking of greece, tourists are staying away avoiding the frequent street protests as they struggle. travel bookings have been off by almost a third from last year. further hurting the greek economy. and the suits beat the tights at the box office this weekend. "men in black 3" vaporized the

competition in its opening weekend. the will smith/tommy lee jones sequel took in $55 million and "the avengers" fell to second place with a respectable $37 million. meanwhile, "battleship" sank to third with $11 million. have yet to see all three of those. >> we're way behind on movies on this shift. when we come back an alarming new report about the nation's newest veterans on this memorial day morning. a scorcher at the brickyard in indianapolis. the winner meanwhile, takes a second out to remember a friend. [ female announcer ] it all begin with our powder. then we introduced liquid detergent with stainlifters. followed by the number-one super-concentrated liquid detergent. and now, the most concentrated all ever! introducing new all mighty pacs™. packed with all's active stainlifters... each mighty pac delivers more cleaning power per ounce to help tackle your family's tough dirt and stains

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but the storm did trigger flooding on i-95 from south carolina to jacksonville. it will also be wet on i-10 in south florida and i-20 around atlanta. late in the afternoon on i-90 and 95 from new york up to new england and also rain drenches i-35 from duluth to dallas and i-80 from omaha to cleveland. if you're flying, just a couple of airport delays to watch out for in chicago and detroit. and now to an eye-opening headline on this memorial day. on the number of veterans out there filing for disability benefits. the government says among the 1.6 million vets from the iraq and afghan wars, 45% of them seek compensation for injuries suffered while in the service. >> and compare that to the 1990s when 21% of gulf war vets filed claims. today's vets are suffering from back injuries, hearing loss and multiple psychologicalproblems from bomb blasts. they're different than they were.

>> whatever they're getting they certainly earned it. police in chicago are hoping for a peaceful memorial day after a weekend filled with incredible violence in the windy city. four people were killed and more than two dozen injured this weekend including a little girl who was just shot while playing in her front yard. police believe most shootings were gang or drug related. homicides in that city, get this, they're up 58% over last year. 25-foot motorboat plowed through a racing shell in the waters off southern california. rescuers plucked the stunned nine-member team from the waters yesterday after the shell capsized. the driver of the boat said he did not see that much smaller boat. well, residents of a portland, oregon neighborhood are facing an aerial threat. it seems this cranky crow has been dive-bombing and hitting people right in the head. the crow doesn't appear to be doing any harm to those in its path but it is succeeding in getting a reaction and dodging the bird is becoming, well,

yeah, a spectator sport. >> be careful in that neighborhood. >> dive-bombing those people there. well, happy birthday to one of the nation's most recognizable landmarks talking about the golden gate bridge, it's 75 years old, thousands turned out in the bay area to celebrate and watch that spectacular fireworks show. >> since it opened back in 1937, more than 2 billion vehicles have crossed the nearly two-mile-long bridge. do you know the name of this, international orange is the color. >> that's orange? >> apparently so. it's pretty no matter what. >> just a little red. and dario franchitti picked up his first indy 500 victory narrowly avoiding a japanese driver who spun out and crashed on the final lap. >> he sported a pair of light sunglasses to honor last year'sindy winner dan wheldon. his wife ashley judd and

withhewh wheldon's wife were celebrating. as the nba playoffs, highlights from espn. nice shot. >> good morning and welcome to your "sportscenter" update, i'm zubin mehenti. i'm pretty sure the spurs don't remember how to lose. thunder giving them all they had in game one in the western conference finals. tony parker blocked by russell westbrook. he takes it back the other way. the steal and the score. m manu ginobli off the bench. beautiful, san antonio looking to reel off their 19th straight victory. late first quarter, tell you what, the thunder have harden off the bench but they have manu, third quarter, westbrook to durant, familiar combo. had 27. then not scoring but passing to kendrick perkins who knows a thing or two about winning a championship. thunder up 7.

san antonio, 10 deep, 11 deep. spurs scored 39 points in the fourth quarter. ji bloebably steers it, they win 101-98. game two in the alamo on tuesday. let's go racing. sprint cup, charlotte, memorial day on the minds of everyone attending the coca-cola 600. lap 329, kasey kahne flies flew the field and blows by dale earnhardt junior and kahne passes denny hamlin. junior's winless drought is now at 141 races. back to the nba, game one of the eastern conference finals. tonight in "miami," celtics and heat. coverage begins at 7:30 eastern time with "kia nba countdown" kicking you up to tip, 8:30, espn, espn 3 and on watch espn. that 's going to be a good

series. wacky memorial day tradition in key west has crews trying to keep their plywood and duct tape boats afloat for just a short race. >> what in the world is going on? it proved to be quite a challenge but points were also awarded for creativity. that's not going to make it very far. >> key west, those people know how to have fun down. a big surprise for two minnesota sisters who thought they were running a pregame kids' race at target field i should say out in st. paul. >> annie and ale likes were rounding third and heading for home where they were supposed to high-five the mascot. instead it was their dad fresh off a plane from afghanistan where he's been deployed since early january. it was his sixth overseas deployment and they look happy to see their father. >> and that story should touch your heart on memorial day. good for those kids. have a great holiday with dad home. yeah. coming up next this morning the pulse, justin bieber in some unwanted headlines this morning.

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today and we actually start with an honor for one of our very own who sis at this very desk. >> "world news" anchor diane sawyer is now dr. sawyer after receiving an honorary degree from brown use. take a listen. >> you have been a cons mat interpreter of the great moments of your generation. reporting enelucidating the multi-farrous events that have shaped our nation and the world. >> took the words out of our mouth. she complimented diane on her, quote, fantastic shoes. 50 other people also received honorary degrees including try hola davis and congressman john lewis. >> dr. sawyer. that's what i'll call her in the hallways. justin bieber is a wanted man this morning. police in l.a. want to talk to the 18-year-old pop star after a photographer complained of being roughed up by bieber at a

shopping center yesterday. >> it happened when the paparazzi tried to take a picture ofbieber and his main squeeze selena mow guess. investigators want to talk to him to get his side of the story but the breaking news, bieber and gomez are friends. >> tough guy, per se but maybe another side to the biebs. ultimate proof that dogs are, indeed, man's best friends. this stray met up with a team of cyclists traveling from china to tibet and once they fed her, yeah, she became part of the team for good running alongside them every day for 20 straight days. >> get this. they covered more than 35 miles a day climbing 12 mountains and the doggie never lost pace. the dog finished the journey. see what your dog can do. >> benji is in better shape than i am. for some of you local news is coming up next. for everyone else back with

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updating our top stories this morning it turned out to be a very violent holiday weekend in chicago with four people killed and more than two dozen others hurt. police say it was mostly related to gangs and drugs. fire crews in the west are busy battling wildfires. lighter winds are helping the fight against a huge fire which has been burning in a new mexico national forest. >> tropical storm beryl is unleashing flooding rain along the coast of florida, georgia and south carolina. the storm made landfall in northeastern florida overnight but powerful 70-mile-an-hour winds. the rest of the memorial dayforecast, hot with severe storms in the great lakes to texas. rain for new york as well as new england. finally from us this morning the true meaning of memorial day and santa monica, the beach is now covered with crosses this

weekend. all a salute to fallen soldiers from iraq and afghanistan. >> the losses are just heartbreaking for even the most stoic of adults. what about the children of our war heroes. david kerley takes a look at memorial day through their eyes. >> reporter: flags adorn the headstones, the ceremonies are under way. the outward signs of memorial day. >> i love you. you love me. >> reporter: but it is what is inside these young americans which is the true meaning of this remembrance. these are the children of the fallen. >> just a lot of fun stuff mostly. >> reporter: four years ago, captain andrew pearson was killed in iraq leaving four children. >> it's like the whole future that we had planned is all of a sudden, it's gone. it feels like a bad nightmare. >> he was a good person. >> reporter: still grieving, the pearsons have come to this event every year since their loss. tragedy assistance program. they call it tasp. kaley's father was killed in

afghanistan. they shared a love of reptiles. >> we would joke around and sometimes scare my mom and say there's a snake in the backyard. >> reporter: they wrote notes to their loved ones. from caylee, hi, dad. i love you and miss you. another, i really want you to come back to earth. notes tied to balloons. a simple act with deep meaning for a 9-year-old boy. >> three, two, one! >> it helps him because he feels closer to his dad that he's able to send that message. and there's a way to get it there. >> reporter: a little closer to heaven. >> right. right. >> reporter: while we remember on memorial day, they remember every day. david kerley, abc news, arlington, virginia. >> in the midst of all our barbecues today and summer plans and let's remember all the military families here and not here and the families they left behind. >> definitely and thank you for all your sacrifices, past and present, and your