this morning on "early today," remembering katrina. the gulf coast marks the anniversary of the storm that shook the nation five years ago. free at last. jim any carter comes to the aid of an american detaineded in north korea. and spectacular new images of underwater creatures off the and spectacular new images of underwater creatures off the coast of indonesia. captions paid for by nbc-universal television that hoe and good morning. i'm lynn berry and today we begin with knife years later. hurricane katrina moved into the gulf of mexico five years ago this week before growing into one of the most devastating hurricanes in u.s. history. jay gray joins us from new orleans where the city that was hardest hit is still struggling

to recover. jay, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. like much of the fufl coast, a testimony to the violent power of the storm as the devastation as you talked about that linkers almost as strong as the unbreakable spirit of the survivors here. the storm's been gone for a long time now. the casinos are up and running again in mississippi. the excitement of mardi gras, and the surprise super bowl win of the be loved but beleaguered saints have all been reasons to celebrate along the gulf coast. still, the images and painful emotionsloved but beleaguered saints have all been reasons to celebrate along the gulf coast. still, the images and painful emotions linger. in the ninth ward, years of weeds and vines have taken over much of what the wind and water left behind. >> i don't really think that a lot of these neighborhoods are coming back. >> reporter: only 24% of the ninth ward residents there

before the levees collapsed made their way home. the numbers are better city wide, new orleans is at 78% of its pre-katrina population. while the latest sus data shows the population it biloxi has dropped every year since katrina, down more than 10% overall. but 89-year-olded al mangon says he had to come back. >> memories, you know, that i want to preserve and as i say being born here, i want to stay here until i die. >> reporter: his original house built in 1905 was the place he and his six siblings had always called home. but katrina took it away. >> you can see from the photograph that take brie was all in front of the house. just a pile of massive broken timber. >> reporter: still he was able to save one important link to his past. >> this little window up here, i salvaged. >> reporter: its eelt center piece of his new home now, a

symbol like so many along the gulf coast. testimony to the determination and resolve of the survivors here. and, again, this area, the lower ninth ward, has been affected as much, if not more, than any balterred by katrina with less than a quarter of those who lived here before the storm returning. live in new orleans, i'm jay gray. lynn, now back to you. >> a resilient community. thank you. and tonight don't miss brian will womens broadcasting live from new orleans on "nightly news." and this sunday, brian hosts a special edition of "meet the press" from new orleans. his guests include brad pitt on the work he's doing town there. and sunday evening on nbc nightly new, an exclusive interview with president obama in new orleans. well, former president jimmy carter is on his way back to the u.s. this morning after winning the release of an american imprisoned in north korea. during his three day visit, cause ter secured a special pardon for the 231-year-old

boston man who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labor for illegally entering the communist nation back in january. according to state run media, carter's trip included talks with the north's number two leader who relayed his country's interests in resuming six party nuclear disarmament talks. well, federal health officials say con tomorrow natured chicken feed is likely to believe for a sap any la outbreak that has sicken some had 1700 people across the country. at a news conference yesterday, government investigators said that the tainted chicken feed had only gone to two iowa farms and had not been distributed in the company, those two farms, wright county egg, and hillendale farm, recalled more than a half billion eggs last week. and now here's a look a at some other stories making news early today in america. police in california are searching for two suspects seen surveillance video smashing in to and robbing an apple store. the invasion only lasted between

2 1/2 and 3 minutes, but the thieves got away with 12 iphones with an estimated value of $3600. residents in rural idaho are being told to evacuate as firefighters continue to battle an estimated 1,000 acre blaze. the fire began on saturday from a lightning strike and it's being driven by high winds, dry conditions, and pre-sis tent heat there. over 700 firefighters and support staff are working round the clock to put out the blaze that's only 20% contained. and in in a, the owner of a 48-foot yacht that mysteriously washed ashore has surfaced, but many questions still remain. the million dollar yacht was reportedly stolen from a private marina in mexico and is set to sale on autopilot at three knots. police are looking for a possible motive. and in kentucky, a blue ribbon winning 16-pound ham from this year's state fair was

auctioned for a record, get this, $1.6 million. the kentucky farm bureau organized the annual fund-raiser which dates back to 1964. 100% of the winning bid will go to charity. no word on who gets to eat the million dollar ham. i don't even know if you'd want to eat a hill i don't know dollar ham. just frame. now for a look at the weather, here's bill karins. bill, that's like $100,000 a pound. >> you could charge by the bite. >> you got just put it in a little glass case, sit it in your kitchen and just be like -- >> yeah, that was a new one. i never heard of that. let's talk about what's happening out in the tropics. we have hurricane danielle, winds over 110 miles an hour. this is a serious storm as it heads out in the open atlantic, but i'm actually more concerned with what's behind it with tropical storm earl. this is a long ways from any land areas, but this is danielle, category 3, could become a category 4 briefly

later tonight. and then it will accelerate out to sea, not affecting any land area, just heading large waves toward bermuda. here is the same map projection. down to the south, this is the forecast for earl. notice that by tuesday of next week, this is a category 3 storm, a little further to the south than danielle. so this will probably at least affect better new day, maybe the east coast. this is the storm that we need to be concerned about for next week. as far as the forecast go, very simple, high pressure controls much of the country. the only troublesome weather, southern georgia down here through florida, a lot of cloud, a lot of rainy weather from tampa to orlando. but the rest of the country looks fantastic. that's a look at your friday forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. it's going to be gorgeous from the midwest to the tennessee valley. ohio valley all the way through the mid-atlantic into new england. p temperatures will be a little warm down around new orleans, but that's typical for this time of year. the gorgeous weather with the low humidity, look at columbus, 79 and sunny.

that's a look at your friday forecast, lynn. >> all right, bill, thank you. well, wall street jitters ahead of the fed chief's big speech. and what your facebook habits may say but. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus the expendables are expected to be expebdable at the top of the box office, so who will take its place? tiger woods flashes signs of his old self, a huge milestone for albert pujols, and, hey, pete carroll, what's in the cooler? you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early toda today". here are some of your top headlines. extraordinary video is giving us a new xwlim himself of the trapped chilean miners. the men are sending messages to loved ones. they appear upbeat despite the three week ordeal. a federal judge says he plans to start the retrial of

former illinois governor rod blagojevich in january. last week jurors deadlocked on all but one of 24 charges against him, including trying to sell president obama's old senate seat. in a surprise announcement, prosecutors dropped their case against blagojevich's brother. a man who auditions on a canadian idol in 2008 was among three arrested in canada on terror related charges. police say they moved in on the men to prevent them from sending money to terror groups in afghanistan. and brilliant underwater images from indonesia. scientists snapped thousands of photographs of plants and animals during a three week excursion using robotic vehicles. they say they may have discovered as many as 50 new species. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 9985 after losing 74 points yesterday. the s&p dipped 8 points and the nasdaq fell 22.

taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 84 points, but the hang seng dropped 14. the dow swung below that crucial 10,000 mark yesterday as anxious investors wait if word on what's next from big ben. investors will be listening to a speech from fed chief ben bernanke for chews on just how bad the economy is and what the federal reserve plans to do about it. despite news that foreclose surs and delick gwenn cities dipped last quarter, the latest data shows a huge jump in new foreclosures in july. round two of the bidding war between tech titans dell and hewlett-packard saw dell raise its bid for data storage maker 3 par to $1.6 billion. hp quickly upped its offer to $1.8 billion after the bell. another recall for toyota. about its 13th it this year. more than a million corollas and matrixes are being called back for a computer glitch that could cause them to stall on the road.

bleen while, johnson & johnson has racked up its 11th recall this year, this time for two hip replacement products. the faa has proposed a record $24 million fine against american airlines for maintenance violations that led to thousands of flight cancellations back in 2008. the airline is planning to appeal. the "wall street journal" is reporting boeing is about to push back its delivery date for the dream liner 787, again. delays could postpone delivery well into next year. keep an eye on shares of j. crew. shares plunged 10% in late trade after lowering it full year forecast p groo and a new study suggests some people's social networking profiles are a sign that they're disconnectsed from reality. the study found that facebook users who spent the most time updating their status, uploading new photos, and commenting on friends' walls may be narcicisstic and have low self-esteem. well, coach pete carroll brings a little college mischief

to the seahawks. and a rare accomplishment for one cardinals issuinger. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and as we head into one of the last summer weekend, it's going to be gorgeous out there. many great areas will see fantastic weekends. the regional forecast is coming right up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, tiger woods played for the first time since his divorce became final and he carted his best round of the season. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. company inside denies or not, one thing is for sure, tiger woods finally looked like his old self since his divorce. first round, tiger was on fire. seven birdies and only one bogey. finishing with a 65. his lowest score of the year. he's tied for the clubhouse lead at six under par. albert pujols became the third junk youngest player to reach 400 career home runs.youn reach 400 career home runs. he's the 47th big leaguer to reach such a milestone. not only did fans witness the great achievement, they also watched an extra inning thriller.

washington won the 4 1/2 hour marathon 11-10. in texas, rangers looking to sweep the twins. minnesota had other plans. in the sixth, jim tomey ripped a solo shot to center. . twins win it. san antonio visiting phoenix. raining "mvp finished with 14 point. phoenix won it, they lead 1-30 in the series. and pete carroll is bringing his college way it is to the pros. known for pulling a few pranks at usc, now he's at it depend. carroll set up a camera in his office, told his players to grab a drink out of his coolers and let the drink begin fp carroll put a fake snake in the cooler and you see results. each player kept falling for it. nothing like seeing grown men jump in fear. attention seahawks player, it's a long season. expect more pranks. that's your early look at sports

on "early today." have a great weekend. we're going to try that on bill. we, will the competition scare off or steal away the title of box office champ? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, five years later, the tragic images and tales from hurricane katrina earn themselves a place in history. you're watching "early today."

let me take you through your weekend forecast. first off today a dry day in many areas. just florida we have wet weather, but it's a beautiful day from kansas city to st. louis all the way through the ohio valley to the northeast. and this weekend looks the same. it's a really nice weather pattern, it will start getting hotter. first the heat builds from dallas to denver, starting to get warmer on saturday, kansas city, and then by sunday, that heat will be on the east coast. could even see 90s up there around new york city. if you're watching us on wesh 2 in orlando, bound if to a greener tomorrow in the world's largest bounce house at the paradise bounce fund-raising event at the waterford lakes town center and that's your "early today" event of the day. >> a childhood favorite. thanks. >> you don't still do that? good only when i go to chucky cheese. it's fine. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. will the defld or the chief knock the champ off its pedestal

in takers could take top stop. the heist thriller is expected to draw the teens out and bring in around $15 million. getting in a run for its money is the last exorcism p. young women could carry this one and scare scare off the competition. and the one to be afraid is two time weekend champ the expendables. a successful stallone comeback with $71 million to date. experts predict it should get another $9 million this weekend. but the $2 billion gorilla in the room is the limited release of "avatar" special edition. the highest grossing movie of all time will be rereleased with 8 1/2 extra minutes of footage to few extra million. did you miss "avatar" the first time around? >> no, i went and saw it. sgr wasn't this the movie that you and i for weaks on end said is that we'd see that week snend. >> i did finally see it.

are you going to see the last exorcism? >> i hate scary movies. i'm surprised young women is going to be the ones that are driving this movie. i would figure it would be, you you know, their boyfriends and they're hiding underneath their jackets. but what do i know. and this comes to us from our nation's capital where a new exhibit is commemorating a national sdas their will soon not be forgotten. today is the opening of the coverage katrina exhibit at the washington museum. it is a display of the newspaper, radio and television chips from around the world. it spans the first seven days of the storm which devastated much of the gulf five years ago this weekend. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

eye cool start to this friday morning as we look out over the nation's capital. a beautiful weekend. good morning, i'm aaron gillchrist. >> i'm joe krebs, local agencies are preparing for not one but two major rallies on the national mall the one will be at the lincoln memorial which will feature glenn beck and sarah palin while a rally will feature al sharpton. here's more on the efforts to keep the peace. >> reporter: preparations are underway on the mall and

elsewhere for a weekend that embody the principles of free speech. tea party, at the same time another event gathering claimed reliving the dream. >> if we channel into the greatness, we can reclaim the dream for the united states, not just african-americans or european americans but all americans. >> i'm here to help restore honor and faith and charity and to help freedom be preserved. >> themes that don't appear to be mutually exclusive. there is always controversy. the restoring honor rally will be held on the anniversary and site of dr. king's i have a dream speech featuring figures like glenn beck and sarah palin who are seen by some