is it moving towards downtown memphis? nformation can we pass on so folks are better prepared? >> it's moved east of memphis slightly, over the northern parts of the metro area. could be affected. there's it is -- it's closer to bartlett, which is -- of memphis -- >> all right, thank you so much for that. we'll have more on the tornadoes in tennessee when we come back. ♪ [ male announcer ] in 2011, at&t is at work, building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. the count on chevy event is here. your ticket to a cruze eco. 42 mpg and over 500 highway miles a tank. one of our 9 models over 30 mpg highway. fuel up, rock on. very well qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on a chevy cr

in downtown memphis, the fight to keep the water out continues. men and machine working around the clock and against the clock with the near record crest expected later today. jay grey, nbc news, memphis. >>> other stories making news early today in america. cup cake frosting and pacifier on the hood of a car provided evidence of a horrific ordeal. a driver under the influence of pcp barreled through a children's birthday party. the driver never stopped plowing through an inflatable bouncer with several children inside and he collided with an offduty police officer who made the arrest. three children were sent to the hospital. >>> a group of children playing on an inflatable slide in california saw their day of fun turn disastrous. eight kids were injured when the slide collapsed. the accident occurred when too many people were on the slide. all of the injuries were minor. >>> in colorado, some people are facing all with gators for the front of it. in the alligator wrestling class, the gators are real and the student learn moves to get the upper ha

in downtown memphis, the fight to keep the water out continues. men and machines working around the clock and against the clock with a a new record crest expected tomorrow. time has already run out. the lower level of genie's home has already gone under water, and now all she can do is watch and wait. >> if the water doesn't receive quickly, maybe that will minimize the damage to the inside of the house -- if the water does recede quickly. >> i hope shared by so many along river right now. >>two anne arundel county police officers are recovering after an early morning accident that happened around 9:00 this morning near the nursery road exit. both officers were taken to shock trauma with non life- threatening injuries. the cause of the accident is under investigation. a johns hopkins didn't hit by a car near the campus is back home tonight. -- at johns hopkins student it by car is back home tonight. zucker has been released and kellen is in stable condition. police said the driver of the vehicle may have been drinking. so far no charges have been

near record flood waters have even begun to pull in downtown memphis on to the city's famous beale streetith residents up and down the banks of the mighty river fears that the worst is yet to come. nbc's jay gray has the details. >> reporter: flood waters continue to rise almost as fast as the tension across six states in the south. >> this is a serious matter. there's going to be a lot of damage. >> reporter: in many areas, it already is. homes turned into desperate islands, residents struggling to save anything they can. make no mistake, this is an all-out fight against the water. and sometimes hand to hand combat. other battles waged with heavy equipment. but in neighborhoods like this one, the weapons don't really matter. mother nature is winning. >> i've never seen it this high, never. and it's still got another four or five foot to go. who says, it may go up another six, seven foot. >> even now, the only way in is by boat or waders. families forced to choose the pieces of their life that they can save. the rest, they now realize, will be washed away. >> trying to get the most valuab

in downtown memphis, the fight to keep the water out continues. men and machines working around the clock and against the clock with a near record crest expected today. jay gray, nbc news, memphis. >>> coming up, a new bank program sends you a text before your atm card takes you into the red. there's a catch. it will cost you. >>> could ethanol do more harm than good? how it's affecting small engines in your life, just ahead. >>> a live picture of the bay bridge. it's 4:40. we'll be back in a minute. >>> it's 4:43. you are looking at the bay bridge toll plaza. we'll check in with mike. a grand jury says richmond, san ramon spends more on councilmembers salaries and benefits than any other county. $77,000 would be average. richmond $267,000, san ramon $163,000. martinez 131,000. that was last year. they say it's small change compared to overall budgets. it says they review compensation and reconsider cuts. >>> bank of america will notify customers by text message if they are going to make an overdraft. if they okay it, they will let the buy go throu

the fedex forum sits right there in downtown memphis and i read something this morning from a columnist at the commercial appeal, the memphis paper that really tells the story in the flooding. reynolds, let me read this to you verbatim. the man says, if you walk out the front door of fedex forum, take a right, walk 25 yards to bill street, walk two blocks and then roll a basketball down a hill, that ball might end up in the gulf of mexico. >> unreal. >> the way he put that. right there and right downtown. you roll a ball down, it's just flooded out in downtown memphis. >> when you're a community that has been under such destress, they are lucky to have a distraction. >> very lucky they are. >> not saying if you're tuning in and you are a fan of another team, let's pull for the grizzlies a little bit. farther down stream in the mississippi river, the situation is very dire. we've been talking all morning how they are going to divert part of the water away from the main part of the mississippi river and push it past the morganza flood gates. where you happen to see red, that is the missis

a ride to safety before all of the roads in the lowest lying areas are blocked and in downtown memphis the fight to keep the water out continues. men and machines working around the clock and against the clock with a near record crest expected as early as tomorrow, but for some -- >> if we had a hole in our living room and cut a little hole, we could probably use our fishing poles right now and do some serious catfishing. >> time has already run out. the lower level of jeanie's home is already under water and now all she can do is watch and wait. >> we wait and see, and hopefully, you know, if the water does recede rather quickly, maybe that will minimize the damage to the inside of the house. >> a hope that is shared by so many along the river right now. jay gray, nbc news, memphis. >> meanwhile, officials in louisiana are worried about the memphis flooding creating a slow developing disaster at the mississippi delta. we are following a developing story right now. two flights have been diverted today, both after security scares on board. the first situation happened on a plane heading

riverside drive in downtown memphis, no longer beside the river, but in it. hour by hour through jittery memphis the mississippi is a rising threat. >> only a few feet between the river and the interstate. >> reporter: a river now three miles wide in some spots, six times its typical width. in south memphis, danny lee mitchell wades through his basement. but he's staying put-- more afraid of looters. >> we got two evacuation notices but, you know, you have to think for yourself. >> reporter: mitchell is exactly what emergency leaders don't want-- holdouts in harm's way with the river cresting within hours. in neighborhoods like this one where you can only see the roof tops, the misery is rising with the water. the mississippi will crest for as long as a week so it could be two weeks before all this water goes away. in memphis, the focus is on three bloated tributaries, so overwhelmed by the mississippi two of them are actually flowing backwards. all that water's pressuring and testing the city's flood protection system like never before. in small teams, 150 en

down river an airport near downtown memphis inundated after a levee failed. they are using sandbags to try to contain the flooding. >>> we are in for big changes in the weather department here as we are going to see much cooler temperatures around the bay area. already seeing that onshore flow kicking in and guess what's showing u we haven't seen that in days. the fog is showing up along the coastline some of that slipping inside the bay still mostly clear inland. this afternoon, temperatures taking a nosedive from yesterday's highs, many place more than 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. still, you will find pleasant sunshine inland, 60s and upper 70s in some of the warmer spots. you will notice cooler numbers inside the bay. 60s and 50s at the coastline, of course much cooler there with that patchy fog. breezy conditions, windy picking up throughout the day, cooler in the bay area. rain in the part north. some of that energy drops in our direction throughout the weekend. today 73 in san jose. 69 in fremont. only 62 degrees in daly city. and 64 in half moon b

downtown memphis and the city's major landmarks are staying dry. now the disaster is slowly making its way downstream. the water on the inis miss is so high right now it's spilling into the yazu river. several homes are underwater, more flooding is expected and farmers are bracing for the worst. in tunica cutoff, mississippi, floodwaters left this deer stranded on a rooftop. all 350 homes in the community are underwater, including charlotte smith's. >> i just really am in bad shape but not admitting it. >> reporter: high water is expected to force all 19 river casinos to shut down, leaving 13,000 employees without a paycheck, and it's a race against the rising water in natches, the oldest settlement on the community. >> the community has a deep concern to protect the buildings and to maintain them. >> reporter: neighbors spent the last five days building a floodwall to hold back the mississippi. forecasts suspect when the river crests, it will shatter the record set in 1937. joel brown, cbs news, warren county, mississippi. >>> fast moving storms s

nbc's ron mott is in memphis, tennessee, today, where the water has reached the downtown area. ron, tell us what you're seeing there. >> hey, there, savannah. good morning. take a look at the headline of the "memphis commercial appeal." field of streams. a beautiful photo of all this water flowing through and above and beyond the mississippi river's bans. pretty pictures here but messy pictures on the ground. beale street, which dumps out on riverside drive about two blocks back, has taken on water because the storm drans are full. they dump into the river. the river this morning at about 45 feet. they're expecting it to get close to a record next wednesday. the record here is 48 feet, seven inches. about 2,800 homes and businesses are in that threat zone for potential flooding. if you're familiar with memphis, harbortown, just west of downtown memphis, has already taken on water. there have been some evacuations there. the concern going forward, the towns along the mississippi south of us, they are getting prepared for what they believe will be record flooding there in about tw

the island connects to downtown memphis by a bridge and a causeway. lesli, topper?l right, anita. i am standing here on behalf of all of the mothers in the area. >> yes. >> going to put you in the pressure cooker and put you on the spot. >> i know. >> could you do it? >> it is going to be okay. >> did you do it? >> i cleaned it up a little bit. it is not going to be like postcard perfect but it will be pretty good. >> sounds like an excuse, topper. >> we actually have some showers south and west of us right now, lesli. one of those weekends where we have a day tomorrow. much like a day. suns come in. maybe some showers. right now the showers are pretty far away. culpeper and winchester and hagerstown and frederick. for the most part you won't see a shower in the immediate metro area unless it gets here by 10. then we will be left by partly cloudy skies. not a blockbuster system coming through. temperature wise, just about on the button for averages. 74 in rockville. 69 in arlington. 72 in college park. 70 in beltsville. 69 over at andrews. temperatures just about ri

this is as live view from downtown memphis with the interstate 40 bridge in the background. a lot of the park you see in this shot is now under water. >>> as you can see from this map, no fewer than eight midwestern and southern states have been dealing with the rampaging river. we'll go to cairo, egypt, in a second. this is cairo, illinois. a move made by the army corps of engineers took place last week. let's go to ted rowlands with more. >> reporter: first we'll look at how much water we are dealing with. this is water from the mississippi river, but it is not the mississippi river. you see way off in the distance that building? that is about a half mile or quarter mile away from the banks of the mississippi river. all of this water into this spillway came from the mississippi so far away and came all the way up the levee here. this is the mississippi levee protecting the city. they've got two problems here. you see the wall on the backside of this little v and that red barge in the back is the ohio river. and that comes right up against that retaining wall, that brick wa

to give you some perspective on that, i'm standing in the middle of field street in downtown memphis of the mississippi river. it washed over its banks and into this area. conditions even worse in some neighborhoods. suburban memphis neighborhoods as you talked about, entire communities swallowed by the floodwaters. more than 300 people are already in area shelters, more than a thousand yesterday were warned by emergency officials going door to door that they needed to get out and move to higher ground. as you talked about, close to 3,000 homes are in the danger zone here. and the concern is, alex, that things are only going to get worse. we're not going to see it crest until at least wednesday. and that will be at a near record of 48 beats. so a bad situation getting even worse here. >> yeah. and in terms of evacuations, that area of beale street goes toward the river. so it there anything in terms of evacuations there or not? the place where the restaurants and the jazz clubs, that's up the street a ways from there, right? >> well, it is just a block and a half or so from here. it i

downtown memphis is on higher ground. it's dry up there.t night there was a grizzlies playoff game, a basketball game and over 18,000 people attended. so people are moving on. the landmark's graceland far away from the water. so you should you know not worry if you are planning on a trip to memphis it is business as usual. that's open. a lot of tourist attractions are open. beal street people on beal street yesterday completely dry except for the very southern end which hits the river bank. and now they're expecting that it's going to be messy for quite some time. forecasters say they should -- don't expect the waters to completely recede until some time in june. so there will be a lot of clean up, but everything else in the city's open for business. and actually memphis in may their annual barbecue festival happens on thursday and people are coming in from all over the world. pam. >> all right. thank you, holly there in memphis, tennessee, thank you for that update. >>> time is now 6:46. overnight there were at least four nato air strikes

the high water has already covered some streets in downtown memphis including river front -- the river front street at biel. right now nerves are on edge. >> it's just bad. like i say, it's an act of god. what can you do with an act of god? >> just use the common sense test. look out the back door. if the water's there today and it wasn't there yesterday, you need to be concerned. >> downstream from memphis, the flooded river won't make it to the gulf of mexico for a couple of weeks now. but no one is waiting around. right now they are shoring up the levees around new orleans. tomorrow the u.s. army corps of engineers plans to open a spillway north of new orleans to divert the floodwaters from the city. let's check in with our meteorologist jacqui jeras. sometimes these efforts are controversial. some feel like let the levees do their work. others say to avert a bigger disaster, you've got to do something about the levees. >> exactly. either way you slice it, it's going to be having a detrimental impact on somebody. that's for sure. let's talk a little bit about this system of hef vlev

we're in downtown memphis, standing in the middle of beale street. the mississippi river has come over its banks and into this area. in the suburbs it's even worse. there are entire neighborhoods that are have already been washed away, more than 300 people are in area shelters. you can hear the trolley above me, just passing here. so there's still activity downtown. there's an nba playoff game as well. again, there are families suffering right now. yesterday emergency officials went door to door, telling more than a thousand people that it's time to move to higher ground. they say right now, about 2,800 homes and businesses are in the danger zone if you will. that could expand, though, especially if this rain is significant. the crest on the mississippi not expected until some time wednesday at about 48 feet, alex. we still have a ways to go. >> okay, unfortunately so. nbc's jay gray. thank you, jay. >>> we will return to our coverage of the death of osama bin laden in just a moment with the political implications. will president obama benefit in the

above flood stage in downtown memphis. you can see the flooding, 48 ft.s the river level right now historic proportions. hundreds of people are fleeing right now as these homes are covered up to the windows. they are trusting levies will hold and protect the musical landmarks. attention is turning down river is the flooding makes its way into louisiana, farmers are making levees to protect their crops, engineers diverting water into the lake to help with the levees. this is an overhead shot. this is the spill way in louisiana it was opened up to allow water to flow from the mississippi into the lake. hopefully relieving some of the pressure. >> darya: we have new details on that man who was on the flight headed towards them francisco, he was tackled by passengers after pounding on the cockpit door. he will appear at court 9:30 a.m. is 20 years old, is charged with the crime of interfering with flight crew members. he tried to get it to the cockpit door and rammed it with his shoulders. he was screaming to passengers and flight attendant tackled him and to

the engorged mississippi river is now lapping at the streets of downtown memphis including here on legendary beale street, a place it hasn't been in almost a century. these are muddy, leech-infested waters that have swallowed neighborhoods all around here and this morning, the water is still rising. with the mighty mississippi swallowing more of memphis by the hour, emergency workers are going door to door, urging holdouts to quickly gather what's important and bussing them to higher ground and safety. >> had to get my medicines together. >> come on, sir. we got to go. >> reporter: evacuations certains like the hope presbyterian church have become sanctuariries for those who made the heartwrenching decisions to leave home. >> you see the heartbreak in their faces and it's out of their hands. there's nothing they can do about it. >> reporter: on sunday the engorged river drew spectators who could only watch in wonder as flood waters crept closer to record levels. roughly 48 feet, just inches below a record set in 1937. >> this is all astounding. it's just overwhelming to see it so high. but -

flood waters have hit downtown memphis. take a look at that big rig getting its load perhaps to higher ground. firefighters and police officers are going door to door in some of the lower lying neighborhoods, telling people that the water is obviously high and apparently, it's expected to go higher. they need to get out. door to door evacuations underway right now in memphis, tennessee, as the mighty mississippi tries to drain all of this water that has fallen on the central part of the country. we'll keep you updated on those evacuations in mississippi on "happening now". jenna: chilling new information of a possible plot to kill americans, reports now that al-qaeda was planning an attack on u.s. trains this september 11th, 10 years after the worst terror attacks on american soil. now, this is according to some of the brand new material found during the raid on usama bin laden's compound. we should note, though, as katharine -- catherine herridge pointed out, we don't know what stage this plan was in so we can't speculate

of course, the downtown memphis area sits right there on the river. island is there and a lot of homes and newer area and upscale area, and what are they are trying desperately of the city to protect? just that downtown area? >> that main downtown area actually has the best protection. that is where you will see the highest levees and the biggest flood walls, so that part of the town is protected. and they feel very confident that those walls and levees will hold. the sandbags they are putting together and the volunteers they are asking to come help fill the sandbags is a precaution. they are taking those sandbags to shore up some of the levees and taking some of the sandbags to put in place around hospitals and other emergency buildings that might be needed just in case one of the levees fail. again, they have a great deal of confidence in those levees, and they don't expect any problems. they actually think they will be able to hold this near historic level of floodwater back in a way they never would have been able to back in the 1930s. >> david ma

riverside drive here in downtown memphis is pretty well flooded out as you can see, as are many roadsn metal fence here is typically where jefferson davis park sits with some pretty nice bike paths. >> reporter: 4 million people down river from memphis are bracing for the mighty and now raging mississippi, moving at more than double its normal speed. >> the velocity is much faster than is typical, and also a lot of the landmarks that we're used to seeing are not here. >> reporter: now, memphis did dodge a pretty soggy bullet when the river crested at about 2:00 tuesday morning. still there are several dangers in this water that could linger for weeks. chemicals, sewage, electric currents, and even dangerous reptiles like water moccasin snake are presenting quite a problem for folks here. >> it's not water for swimming, it's not water for drinking and i wouldn't want anybody to go in it. >> reporter: the flood surge is now upon tunica, mississippi, where some families are in shelters. evacuated as the river swallows riverboat casinos and their homes. >> we love it here. we don't want t

but the historic center of memphis, the downtown area, we are told, withstood the floods because of theystem of levees that was put in place after the 1930's floods. and the worst is possibly past there. but this is going to be an issue that we hear a lot about over the coming days and weeks. roughly 600 kilometers separate memphis from new orleans where the mississippi will eventually discharge into the gulf of mexico. and it will take almost two weeks for the surge of water to flow from memphis down to new orleans. so communities all the way down the route of the river and alongside tributaries flowing into it are very much on alert and wondering how badly they will be hit. >> 1,300 people have been evacuated during this situation, steve. is there a sense they might be likely to get back to their homes any time soon? >> well, again, even in memphis where the initial surge of water has passed, it will be days or weeks before the remaining waters reseed -- recede to normal levels. the mississippi swelled to six times its normal width in that city so people will have to be in this for th

the flooding has been pretty extensive throughout parts of downtown memphis.ile from downtown. that home behind me is a three-story home. you can only see two of the three stories. that gives you a sense of how much flooding we are talking about. it's really rough. let's show you what's going on now. our pick city of the day just happens to be beautiful ft. myers, florida. mostly sunny, hot, 90 degrees today. nbc 2. as we look and show you what's going on today, we have got the expected crests happening. for today, the crest of the river of the mississippi river we are starting in cairo and work down to memphis. it crests today. vicksburg, may 19. baton rouge, may 22. new orleans cresting around may 23 with a crest at 19.5 feet. as you look at the "today" map, we have strong storms, a possibility of some strong storms along with southeastern atlanta coast back through the upper plains. clouds in the pacific northwest. sunshine in southern california into central california. we have a beautiful day in the northeast today with sunshine and seasonal temperatures.

all the things being equal, memphis and then this should survive intact. the downtowna is protected by those levees. so far unaffected by the flooding. >> you are watching "bbc world news". still ahead, blastoff. why the future of the space race could be in corporate hands. it was a show of military might and national pride and russia's capital. each of the country stops to mark the surrender of nazi germany during world war ii. ♪ >> an entered ballistic missile launches its way onto red square. it is the most of unsparing site -- all inspiring sight in the annual military parade. it is when the nazi high command surrendered at the end of world war ii. russia's leadership has made the most a bit in recent years. although may 9 is all about celebrating a victory over nazi germany, even modern russia's leaders still use it as a display of nationalism and military strength. but for the surviving veterans of what russians call the great patriotic war, is a day of remembrance. >> today is very important for me. it's about the memory of those who fought alongside me and were

today in memphis, workers finished sandbagging outside a school downtown, a full week ahead of a projected 48-foot water crest, roughly 14 feet above flood stage. >> we're going to be okay. it's the people in the greenville area, helena, all the way down it's going to be serious. >> reporter: genie has watched water steadily creep toward her cottage -- >> do you have flood insurance. >> no, we don't. >> turning thursday into moving day. >> this will all be under water in a couple days. >> reporter: she expects to return to a mess. tonight the army corps of engineers is expected to detonate the third and final opening in the levee, and record flooding will continue through the weekend as the river levels rise over the next 7 to 10 days. >> we'll watch it in the days ahead. ron mott in memphis for us tonight. thanks. >>> and remember, it was a week ago tonight that the massive storm system brought record tornado outbreaks to the south? good evening. >> reporter: brian, the death toll across seven states now stands at 328. 236 in alabama alone. search and recovery teams are just getting into

. >> the mississippi flood rolled into memphis today, spilling water into the downtown and airport areas. in arkansas, 1,000 people have had to leave their homes. flood waters shed a 20-mile stretch of i-40, the crest at memphis early next week may be the highest since 1937. >>> the jobs recovery picked up speed in april. good news. the labor department says the economy added 244,000 jobs last month. that is 59,000 more than experts actually predicted. still, unemployment rate edged up to 9%, as dus curved workers jumped back into the job market. >>> well, it's only a tenth of a penny, right? but we're all pretty excited about this, american drivers, we're going to take it. aaa says the national average for regular gas has dipped to $3798 a gallon. that is the first decrease after 44 straight days of increases. >>> former president jimmy carter says the obama administration is putting politics ahead of dire human suffering by refusing to send food to north korea. he says it's a violation of basic human rights. take a listen. >> we're trying to punish kim jong il. we are actually punishin

memphis is open for business. we'll play the... the grizzlies will play oklahoma city sunday tonight. and by the way they'll win that game. we're open for business. main street is still ticking. downtown and hotels are open. come on to memphis. the airport is still open. everything. i want everybody to know that. we are not closed. >> brown: you heard it here first. the basketball score for tonight, right? go ahead. >> this city, i might point out, is 345 square miles. it's much larger than most folks think. what happens is we have at most 25 square miles underwater. but when you take an aerial shot, those who don't know how large the city is, gee whiz, that city is covered up. that is simply not the case. memphis is wide open. the areas that are underwater, for the most part, are agricultural areas, industrial areas. so this city is wide open. >> brown: briefly, mayor, no matter what happens tonight, you're going to be dealing with this for, it sounds like, days and weeks. going to have a lot of high water around. >> that's the other thing. this idea that whenever the crest is, whether it's at 11:00 p.m. or 2:00 a.m. tomorrow morning that bells and whistle will blow and everything wi

memphis area alone. entire neighborhoods are under the muddy river. downtown, beale street. taking on water. here in memphis, the river is expected to crest about 48 feet. a number that no one wants to hear. because the 1937 record crest was 48.7 feet. hundreds died in that flood. today, people are hoping levees and spillways built since then will help. you have big crowds at a popular tourist place in memphis. you can barely see mud island. the pyramid is an iconic structure here in memphis. there's water right up to the edge of it. back on the ground, the levees are holding for now. the water is rushing at such an incredible speed, if there was a breach, it could fill an entire football field with 44 feet of water in just one second. government officials are advising caution. >> don't be living an illusion. we have a very serious situation. >> reporter: more than 1,300 homes have been told to evacuate. more have been warned they might need no leave. nearly 1,400 people are in shelters. those that have not evacuated yet are certainly taking precautions. >> it's my house. it's my house. i wan

today in memphis, workers finished sandbagging outside a school in the harbor town section downtown, a full week ahead of a projected 48-foot water crest, roughly 14 feet above flood stage. >> we're going to be okay. it's the people in the greenville area, helena, all the way down the chain, it's going to be serious. >> reporter: genie has watched water steadily creep toward her cottage on the wolf river. now just feet away from entry. do you have flood insurance? >> no, we do not. >> reporter: turning thursday into moving day. >> this will all be under water in a couple days. >> reporter: she expects to return to an expensive mess. >> we like living near to the water but not this close to the water. >> reporter: engineers are expected to detonate the third and final opening on the levee, and the weather channel said major and in some cases record-setting flording will continue through the weekend as river levels rise over the next 7 to 10 days. >> we'll watch it in the days ahead. ron mott in memphis for us tonight. ron, thanks. >>> remember, it was a week ago tonight that that mass

memphis. some flooding downtown. also evacuations, and the mississippi doesn't even crest there until wednesday. russ? >> mark, you hit it on the head. underwater and overwhelming. mark strassmann in finley, tennessee, thanks a lot. it is now 19 minutes past the hour. time to get the rest of the headlines. for that let's go to cbs news correspondent and "morning news" anchor betty nguyen at the news desk. >> good morning, russ and rebecca. good morning to you at home. violence in syria does continue. this morning, syrian tanks rolled into the mediterranean town of banya in a swift crackdown on anti-government protesters. the assault comes one day after army forces attacked demonstrators in cities across syria. human rights activists say more than two dozen people were killed. but that figure cannot be independently confirmed. the u.s. is pressing the syrian government to end the violence against the protesters. >>> amnesty international, the human rights group, claims libyan forces may have committed war crimes durin

memphis where it was just too late to stop this river. morning on the mighty mississippi, and on an ordinary street downtown, you can see the water is rising. you can see it rising as we speak. look at the speed. look at the speed of which it's moving across the road right now. and you can already see what it's done behind me, to the restaurant, the bar there. heaven knows what those houses were over on the other side. think about it this way. a log floating on an ordinary day in the mississippi would be traveling about twice as fast as the average person walks. but the floodwaters raging, it accelerates now to 12 miles per hour, faster than anyone can run. so we board the brand-new vehicle rescuing the stranded. the tank that can transform into a bank in seconds. now we're above? >> now you're above it. >> reporter: we come up first to an intersection normally busy with cars. now, only water. lynn manor, a street sign, just looking at us over the water. look at these houses. and homes, the entire neighborhood swallowed whole. only the roofs visible now. and satellite antenna. did you find people wouldn't leave? even here, they wouldn't le

>> evacuations ramp up in memphis as the swollen mississippi river rises higher and faster than expected. water is now overtaking downtown streets and downstream a big decision to make in louisiana. >>> why saving new orleans could cost thousands of people their homes. >>> also tonight, the strongest words yet on president obama on whether osama bin laden got high-level help while hiding in pakistan. >>> meantime, we'll hear from the neighbors of osama bin laden. >> translator: whenever our cricket ball went into the compound, we knocked on the door and asked for the ball, but the guy always said our ball was lost, gave us 50 rupees, and asked us to buy a new one. >> a little boy who played with children living with bin laden talks about living next to the world's most wanted man. i'm hala gorani at cnn world headquarters in atlanta, in tonight for don lemon. you are in the "cnn newsroom." >>> we begin tonight in memphis, tennessee. a city under siege, if you will. the mississippi river keeps climbing higher and higher. this is what memphis looks like, with the river at 47 1/2 feet. how high it goes won't be known for se

downtown d.c. because when you're giving, lending, and investing in more communities across the country, more opportunities happen. ♪ >>> communities along the mississippi river from ohio to louisiana are bracing for severe flooding. some families in memphisnnessee, have been urged to evacuate. nearly 1,000 homes are expected to be flooded there as the water keeps on rising. officials say dozens of neighborhoods have already been swallowed by floodwaters. >> i don't know what i'm going to do. i've got to wait until this water goes down to see what i can do. >> the river crests at 48 feet in the memphis area. it's already at 46 feet. >>> oil prices have dropped significantly over the past two days, a signal that perhaps prices at the pump might have peaked. crude oil prices now sit at $97 a barrel. that's tonight. that's a drop of 15% for the week. that is the steepest decline in 2 1/2 years. aaa says we could see gas prices follow suit, potentially dropping to $3.75 a gallon by memorial day. and as low as $3.50 later this summer. the demand for gas is down nearly 4% year to year. >>> still to come, the death of a star basketball player led to calls for mandatory team heart screenings. why do some doctors think it's a bad idea? >>> a young

memphis, in the middle of it all. steve? >> reporter: good morning, josh. we are west of downtown.rk bench buried underneath all that water. we talked to homeowners here, who said that last night, they were able to go fishing from their back deck. and they caught a few. the mississippi river is expected to crest at 48 feet on wednesday. already, the rivers and creeks and streams in this region are flooding roadways. we watched many people evacuate. last night, we watched the police academy. they had to evacuate by boat. residents are taking everything they can, from their homes, desperate to save what they can. there's lots of water over many roadways across the region, including interstate 40, the main highway between here and little rock, is closed. >> staggering pictures, steve, of a story that is, sadly, just beginning. >>> finally, this morning, the faa is deciding today whether to allow a swiss daredevil to perform a stunt over the grand canyon. yves rossy wants to fly over the canyon, in his specially-made, jet-propelled wingsuit. he's already used the suit to fly across the

memphis where it is normally just about a half mile wide. it is cresting just below the record setback in 1937. flooding has covered pockets of homes but has spared the city's downtown and world famous musical landmarks including beale street. even though some areas have been spared, it is not easy going for some people? >> reporter: it is not easy at all. it is going to be painful going. the mississippi has finally crested or at least it looks that way. a lot of water and a lot of worry. the hope is that this is the worst of it. if all the city's preparations pay off, it's levees will hold off the crested mississippi. >> we are going to rebuild again. >> reporter: but for pastor john jones, it is already too late. six feet of floodwater swamped his church. >> we don't want to go through this again. if he with have to move to higher ground, that's what we will do. >> reporter: a new high of 48 feet, the mississippi is at a level not seen since 1937, 14 feet above flood stage. it will stay that high for as long as another week. >> we will be okay but we won't be away from this for many, many weeks to come. >> reporter: the u.s. army corps of engineers have promised t