beryl bears down. the tropical storm slams ashore along the florida coast with near hurricane-force winds and flood-producing rain. outrage in syria. the u.n. condemns syrian forces for the slaughter of more than 100 civilians. many of them women and children. and finding work. some u.s. veterans facing a tough job market find opportunities working on the rail. this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, may 28, 2012. and good morning, everybody. good to be with us. i'm terrell brown. this memorial day a strong storm is making for a wet and dpang yously windy day. for folks in northeast florida.

tropical storm beryl made landfall early this morning near jacksonville, florida with hurricane-force winds. those winds have diminished as the storm moves inland. the same wind top out at 65 miles an hour with rain accumulations up to 6 inches of rain. 1 to 2 feet in south carolina. storm warnings are in effect from florida into south carolina. our jackson station wtev is north of jacksonville. good morning. this is a tropical storm but a very strong one, nearly a hurricane. what's happening where you are this morning? >> reporter: good morning, terrell. as you mentioned, this was nearly a hurricane. we are at ground zero right now of tropical storm beryl. this is probably the strongest point of the storm in berndina downtown. we're at the top of the storm, as our meteorologist told us, the strongest point of the storm. the biggest concern is about flooding and electricity. right now you can take a look

behind me. there's still power in downtown berndina but in our area, our north florida area, our electric company reported approximately 37,000 people without power here. that's a lot of people who are not going to have any lights on at home. you can take a look at the video we have from earlier in our area. wind really, really picking up. about sustained winds, last report we got of 30 miles an hour, which isn't too, too bad, 45-mile-an-hour gusts but they are picking up as we speak. the other main concern, as i mentioned, is flooding as well. we have a tide going out at the moment, but when it comes back in starting at 8:00 this morning, we'll have a mixture of some freshwater flooding from this rain we're getting right now as well as flooding from the saltwater tide that will be coming in off the beaches. terrell? >> power outages a concern. 38,000 customers in the

jacksonville area don't have power. wind also a concern as well. but this storm may not all be bad news. >> reporter: you're right, absolutely. we've been in a drought here for quite some time here, so we certainly need this rain and we're getting a lot of it. i spoke with some people who told me right off the coast of berndchltd berndina had the facade off their condos ripped off. even though we're happy for the rain, the damage is not welcome. >> thank you so much. beryl is already the second named storm in the atlantic this year. hurricane season doesn't even officially start until june 1st. noaa predicts we could see as many as 15 named storms, which is normal but named storms forming this early are rain. the last one to make landfall in u.s. before june was tropical storm arlene in 1959. severe weather forced cancellation of the national

memorial day concert. the concert came to an abrupt end when a line of thunderstorms moved in. the crowd was told to seek shelter. country singer trace adkins and natalie cole had already performed. >> windshield! >> that's bad hail in north central can quan. hail and thunderstorm hit late yesterday. the hail so big, golf ball size and then some that it broke this car's windshield. for the second day in a record, record-setting heat is expected in chicago. chicago hit a high of 97 degrees sunday, breaking a report since 1911. the unusually hot weather had people cooling off along the lake michigan shore. it's part of a heat wave across of the midwest. scores of civilians in central syria, women and children were among the victims. united nations has labeled

friday's attack as an outrageous use of force, but the syrian government says it's not special. kofi anan is due in damascus today. charl d'agata. >> reporter: this 1-month-old girl survived the massacre. her mother did not. the united nations upped the death toll to over 100, including 32 children under the age of 10. british officials called the attack in houla stomach-churning savagery. >> we're sickened and the british government and across the international community by what we've seen in the last couple days, particularly the death of more than 100 unarmed men, women and children. >> reporter: the syrian government today categorically denied forces were responsible for the blood shed blaming terrorists for the killing. syria's powerful ally, russia, again suspected the regime's version of events, but u.n. monitors confirmed today that ar tig tillry and tank shells were fired at the neighborhood.

activists say the attacks began after an anti-government protest friday. syrian forces started shelling residential areas and then opposition groups say a secret pro-government paramilitary force stormed the village and began executing women and children house by house. u.n. observers arrived to find dozens of bodies in syria's regimen. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. next weeks mark the 23rd anniversary of tiananmen square crack down. yesterday in hong kong they marched to remember the victims. hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrator were killed. back in this country it's memorial day and we stop to remember the men and women who gave their lives protecting this country. folks in santa monica put crosses on the beach to remember americans killed in iraq and afghanistan.

veterans returning from the wars in iraq and afghanistan are filing for benefits at an historic rate. government officials say 45% of america's new vets filed for disability, that's more than double the amount who filed for benefits from the gulf war. they say improved battlefield car allows soldiers to survive. some companies are making it a top priority to give vets a job. >> reporter: ohio national guards man chris returned from iraq in 2009 faces a different struggle. he couldn't find a job he wanted assist a police officer. after two years on unemployment, a military buddy gave him a tip. the railroads were hiring. >> he told me, put my application and resume online and i did and it worked out for the best for me. >> reporter: now he's training to be a signal maintainer with

norfolk southern. he says it's a lot like being in the military. >> the safety issue here at norfolk is huge. i mean, the military's big, too. they want to make sure you don't fail, you know, so i like that a lot about this occupation. >> reporter: america's freight railroad facing a massive wave of retirement on are a hiring spree. in 2011 rail companies hired 15,000 new employees. they plan to hire 15,000 more this year, all over the country. and industry representatives say that 1 in 5 new hires will be a veteran. >> can't find enough of them. they're outstanding employees. they are dedicated, disciplined, show up for work and they recognize that this is a career choice, not just a job. >> reporter: america's unemployment rate for veterans 9.2%, higher than the national average of .1%.

mosser says veterans have trouble adjusting to the 9 to 5 work day making the railroad a perfect fit. >> every day i'm going to learn something. i like that. i don't want to be stuck inside anywhere. the railroad provides you with that. >> reporter: also provides him a secure future. salary and benefits package arch around $107,000. no college degree required. and working for a company he knows appreciates his service in more ways than one. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. coming up on the morning news, a bad romance in indonesia singer lady gaga cancels a sold out concert in jakarta after threats from islamic extremists. i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks.

i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. oh, we call it the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? it just came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients, so i'm at my best. centrum. always your most complete. for the latest on the man who confessed to killing etan

patz three decades ago. prosecutors have their work cut out for them. >> reporter: eight years ago a manhattan judge ruled jose ramos, a convicted pedophile was responsible for the death of etan patz but he was never charged with murder. >> investigators both from fbi and federal prosecutor's office built up a tremendous amount of circumstantial evidence. >> reporter: not enough to convince prosecutors they could make a murder charge stick, says the police reporter who covered the patz case. it was a civil case that resulted in the judgment against ramos. he was ordered to pay $2 million to the patz family. he has no money and is in prison for molesting a pennsylvania child. the ramos case raises serious questions about the arrest of 51-year-old pedro hernandez. police say he confessed to

murdering etan patz but they have no evidence. in fact, it is a murder case standing on its head. >> it's going to be very difficult to convince a jury. >> reporter: a doctor of forensic science. >> normally we collect the physical evidence and talk to the witnesses, then we catch a suspect, interrogate him and then sometimes they confess. this is just the reverse. >> reporter: police have no body and no motive, and what if there were no confession from pedro hernandez? what happens if he recants his confession? >> it would not surprise me if pedro hernandez recants. after all, look what he's facing. he'll spend his entire life, perhaps, in prison. >> reporter: right now hernandez remains at bellevue hospital awaiting a psychiatric exam to determine if he's competent to stand trial for murder. tony guida, cbs news. pop star lady gaga says she's devastated after having to cancel a sold out concert in

indonesia. she was supposed to perform in jakarta on june 3rd but there were protests over sexy clothing and provocative dancing. the singer tweeted last night she canceled the show out of safety for her fans. thousands blocked to the water front and festivities ended with a giant fireworks show. the bridge opened in 1937 and since then more than 2 billion vehicles are traveled across it. up next this morning we'll have morning weather. in sports, the swing that should have missed. the record-setting home run derby between the reds and the rockies. with the red, white, and blue. ocean spray cranberry, white cranberry, and blueberry juice cocktails. [ coughs ] okay, i believe this one is yours? [ clears throat ]

begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. that make kids happy.

and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. here's a look at your memorial day forecast. 88 in new york. thunderstorms, 89 in miami. afternoon storms in chicago, 90 degrees. partly cloudy, 91 in dallas. clear, 76 in los angeles. let's check your national forecast. in the south, tropical storm beryl will weaken not before dumping up to 6 inches of rain in the area. thunderstorms will pop from the ozarks to southwest texas. showers and thunderstorms will develop from the lower missouri to mississippi valley. expected scattered thunderstorms in the northeast. in sports, the spurs tie a playoff record against oklahoma city in the fourth. san anton yoen's tony parker hits from the top. evens out the score against thunder. he finished with 18 points.

ginobili has the tie. 101-98 to one game one. nationals sweep braves in the atlanta. in the third, kerwin danley goes down for the can't. i feel you, bud. he was hit in the groin by a pitch that bounces off the field. he stays in the game, 19-year-old bryce harper blasts his second homer in two days to help the n.l. league leading nationals. check out this no hands homer frazer. totally meant to do that. loses his grip on the bat and the ball goes out of the park. one of nine home runs at great american ballpark, a new record for that stadium. reds win 8-5. in a dramatic end to this year's indianapolis 500, trying to franchitti takes the checkered

flag. when we come back on a monday, did the pope's butler do it? an investigation into damaging leaks at the vatican. i've been crisscrossing the gulf for the past two years now. i can tell you, down here, people measure commitment by what's getting done. i'm mike utsler, and it's my job to make sure we keep making progress in the gulf. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. another fourteen billion dollars has been spent on response and cleanup. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to the gulf of mexico research initiative... to support ten years of independent scientific research on the environment. results will continue to be shared with the public. and we're making sure people know that the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues, but that doesn't mean our job is done.

bp's still here, and we're still committed to seeing this through.

here's a look at your memorial day forecast. d.c., partly sunny, 91. afternoon thunderstorms, 84 in atlanta. strong afternoon storms in st. louis, 95 degrees. 74 in denver. cloudy in seattle, 61 degrees. the scandal over leaked documents at vatican keeps growing. the president of the vatican bank has been fired and now the pope's personal butler is under arrest. allen pizzey reports. >> reporter: the butler did it -- or did he? a few days ago the man in the front seat of the pope mobile was serving benedict his meals, helping him dress in the morning. today papal butler is in

detention in vatican, accused of illegal possession of secret documents inspect. a scandal, confidential document aalleging cronyism and misrepresentation, along with personal letters to the pope again appearing in the italian media in january. as the highest ranking nonclergyman in the papal household, the butler is privy to the most intimate corners inside vatican city. convicted of stealing and leaking the documents, he faces up to 30 years in jail. but many vatican watchers are already questioning why a man described as deeply religious, who had served quietly and faithfully, would risk his career and the privileged position his family enjoyed. italian journalist who has published many leaks, says none

of his key to naming them. vatican mate respond, take your pick. the secret exclusive club, the highest circle of the catholic church has be driven with rivalries, jealousy and plot, one journalist called it a nest of vipers. the butler may are done it but more enticingly is whether he acted alone. allen pizzey, cbs news, rome. alien fighters beat out super heroes at the box office. "men in black iii" earning $55 million and knocked "the avengers from" from the top spot. from new york yankee don larson wants to sell the uniform he wore when he pitched a perfect game in 1956 world series. he's 82 and says he wants to help pay for his two grandson's college education. college is expensive. coming up on "cbs this

morning," author tony morrison. ñ [ male announcer ] every day, thousands of people are choosing advil® for their headaches. my name is sunshine and i have three beautiful girls. i like taking advil® for a headache. it nips it in the bud. and i can be that mommy that i want to be. ♪ [ male announcer ] take action. take advil®. actually it can. neutrogena® ultra sheer provides unbeatable uva uvb protection and while other sunscreens can feel greasy ultra sheer® is clean and dry. it's the best for your skin. ultra sheer®. neutrogena®.

it's the chevy memorial day event, right? yeah, that's right. okay, are we running fast enough? don't worry. you made it in time. there's still plenty of award-winning 2012 models left to choose from. we hurried. you want to take a look at some chevys? [ both breathing heavily ] [ male announcer ] it's the chevy memorial day sale. hurry in now during our memorial day sale for $750 cash on the chevy silverado. plus trade in an eligible vehicle and combine trade-in allowance with other discounts for a total value of $7,750. . good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is monday, may 28, memorial day, 2012. i'm mike hydeck. i'm jessica doyle. thanks for getting up with us. andrea roane is off this morning. beverly farmer is in for monika santami with time saver traffic. but we begin with howard

bernstein and today's forecast. big boomers yesterday. >> came to an abrupt end to the memorial day concert on the mall. >> took a tree down on river road. >> much quieter. we do have the threat for an isolated storm but it's going to be another hot action sticky sort of day. yesterday upper 80s. today near 90 degrees. it's quiet thankfully this morning. temperatures 71 with mostly cloudy skies. by noon we'll northbound the mid-80s. this afternoon highs around 90. some spots maybe 91, 92 with that isolated thunderstorm threat. looks like we'll have a better chance of storms tomorrow into wednesday morning. late tomorrow into wednesday morning. look at what happened last night as this cluster of storms here just came right down south and east. it dissipated as it passed d.c. but the damage was done with some of the severe winds we had with that and the postponement of course of that concert on the mall once it got started. mid-60s north to low 70s along the bay and here in town 71

degrees in washington and cambridge. 64 winchester. we're looking at highs this afternoon up around 90. maybe a little cooler right on the bay. annapolis about 86. 92 for manassas. monika is off but we've got our beverly farmer and she's got time saver traffic. good morning, howard. you mentioned the storm last night. it did do some damage along river road which of course howard encountered on his way to work. river road shut down near springfield road because of a tree down across the roadway. here's the beltway moving freely. detour combination of goldsboro, massachusetts, little falls parkway gets you around the tree as crews continue to deal with that. we don't have any overnight construction because of the long holiday weekend. things are moving freely and dry out along the beltway. maryland and virginia looks good. check be out the road on 95, no troubles to report between fredricksburg and springfield. there was a water main break on

telegraph road. incident free if you are making the drive on 66. the toll road, downtown traffic volume light. no troubles to report 395 corridor or downtown across the southeast-southwest freeway. routes into northeast and southeast looking good. back to you. >> thanks, beverly. memorial day 2012. today the nation will pause to remember and honor service men and women who died while serving. >> while there are events planned in every community in our region, here are two of the key events happening today. >> president obama will mark memorial day with veterans and their families at arlington national cemetery. they'll lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns as is custom. he'll also join veterans at vietnam veterans memorial. at 2:00 this afternoon the national memorial day parade will march down america's main street constitution avenue. the other top story this memorial day, a tropical storm, a good size one barreled. it crashed ashore early monday morning near jacksonville,

florida. >> it's packing powerful winds and drenching rains. susan mcginnis has the latest. >> reporter: tropical storm beryl dropped torrential rain on southern florida. it knocked out power for at least 20,000 people and forecasters say the storm surge is higher than expected. jacksonville's mayor canceled memorial day events because of the dangerous conditions. >> this storm has the potential to produce localized flooding, down trees and power lines that can impact the public safety. >> reporter: a powerful line of thunderstorms rolled through washington, d.c. sunday night forcing the cancellation of the annual memorial day concert on the national mall. about halfway into the show, concertgoers were advised to leave and seek shelter. in the midwest scorching heat is dominating the holiday weekend. chicago hit a record 97 degrees. st. louis, missouri reached 93. and south bend, indiana set a