. >> justine: live pictures out of memphis tennessee you can see the flooding the mississippi river cresting short of 48 ft. threatening to bring record- setting flooding to the area. you can see the damage. it has forced hundreds to leave their homes, officials hope the levies will protect musical landmarks

in the meantime more than 350 people are waking up in memphis, tennessee, at a shl ter after forced to evacuate their homes from a rise of the mississippi river. a handful of homes in the northern part of the city are completely flooded and as many homes and businesses are flooded, the river is not expected to crest in memphis until late tomorrow. >> looking at all of this water, there's nowhere to put it. it's just sitting. >> they don't have nowhere totutt money. it has go somewhere. it's going flood our house up. >> jay gray is live for us once again. we've been getting perspective of the deep waters.

. >> president obama is due to arrive in memphis, tennessee this morning. now, he was already scheduled to be in memphis today to deliver the commencement address at a high school that was select as this year's winner of the race to the top because they've increased their graduation rates. but this year, the river has swollen and flooded a lot of low-lying neighborhoods. the president will take some time during the visit there to meet with some of the flood victims. >>> two two ships are set to depart the suisun fleet bay today and more are expected to depart as well. jade hernandez is live with more. jade? >> reporter: good morning. i just got off the phone with the administration with the u.s. maritime association. you are gonna hear from him in a moment, but first, take a look at this. this is sometimes called the mothball or ghost fleet. two that fleet will be minus ship. the two ships will be pulled from the suisun bay today. they will go to a repair facility in san francisco before going to texas to be recycled. it's been years since these ships have

tennessee. and this also is a tornado watch. you can see from memphis all the way from texas to western tennessee until 9:00 tonight. but right here, this is where we do have the tornado warning. just northwest of memphis. these storms moving east at 50 miles per hour. so, again, this storm, a tornado warning, for about one hour from now, until about 3:30 central time. certainly be mindful of that. really the first tornado warning we've seen, though, this afternoon. the biggest concern, there is an isolated threat for tornadoes, but on the upside, what we're seeing, the scenario set up and all the ingredients set up to be a lot less severe than what we've seen. here's the big picture, what we've got on our weather maps right now. but it is a lot less severe than, of course, that three-day tornado outbreak. here's how. a weaker cold front certainly good news. that lifting mechanism is there. the cold front in and of itself is a lot weaker. this low much farther north. this area of low pressure we've been watching now to the north in canada, certainly a g

more coverage on top stories that includes flooding in memphis tennessee, that we're has crested.e have more on the man accused of causing a flight to start prindisturbance. some of s are red says he may have mistaken the bathroom door for the cockpit door. we will be right back. >> mark: top stories cruise on the scene tried to get power back on in san francisco for 1000 customers. >> darya: the man facing federal charges for crating the disturbance on a plane will be in court today. >> mark: memphis tennessee bracing for historic flooding. >> darya: for star own weather and traffic. >> james: a breakdown of what we expect today, for stop it will start off clear and cool, that is of forecast as to wake up, warming this afternoon, chance of rain for the weekend, and of course this is the weekend for the is zazzle bay to breakers. w traffic. >> george: westbound commute is very light no delays on any approaches or through the macarthur maze, no hot spots but we will have it checked coming up. >> darya: new this morning there is a power outage in san francisco causing problems for 1

en memphis tennessee, las aguas del río han penetrado en gran parte de la ciudad como nos muestra vivíano de memphis en tennessee. mientras turistas tomaban fotografías rrx residentes hacían el calculo del nivel de las aguas. >>> próximo malaedmente 15 metros abajo . >>> pero la otra cara de la moneda se ve en estos barrios, casas bajo el agua. donde quedaron sepultados 16 años de arduo trabajo de este inmigrante de guanajuato w hoy lo perdió. >>> esto, la casa, ropa, todo todo el tiempo trabajando para ver que el agua se lo llevó. >>> la misma situación vive marcelo miranda madre de 3 hijos y que hace 2 semanas, se vio obligada a vivir en este albergue, sus hijos preguntan. >>> todo va a estar bien >>> así las personas tratan de rehacer sus vidas. los padres salen a trabajar y lavar su ropa. el regreso a sus casas es incierto. >>> el más chiquito me pregunta si ya no tiene agua en la casa. le digo que aún lo tiene. y que vamos a tener casa. y le digo que por el momento no. >>> y desde el centro de operaciones se acordonan los esfuerzos para ayudar a los damnificados. siguen viniendo per

river could crest at memphis, tennessee sooner than expected >>> it is 5:10. this morning, forecasters say the mississippi river could crest at memphis, tennessee a lot sooner than expected. and now they are saying it could be late tonight rather than tomorrow. officials are going door to door warning residents to get out. hundreds of homes have already been evacuated. and today, a spillway will be opened to ease pressure on levees in the new orleans area. these are live pictures in memphis. they are saying this could be the highest mississippi crest since 1937. >>> president obama admits this were risks to his decision in ordering special forces to go after osama bin laden in pakistan last week. the president's comments were part of a very exclusive interview that aired last night on cbs' "60 minutes." it was focused on the decision- making process that led to a team of navy seals storming a compound and killing the al qaeda leader. the president said despite months of intelligence work, there was no way to determine beforehand that bin laden was actually ins

that dlus parts of memphis, tennessee.ning me live on the phone is john thatcher with the mid south red cross. john, good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> i'm glad you are here. give us an assessment how things are in memphis. how bad is it? >> right now we are experiencing 46.8 level here in memphis. expected crest will be 48 feet on may 11. we did receive some good news yesterday. initially the crest was supposed to last four to search days. er in now saying it will lapse around three days. but we -- we are above flood stage in memphis, tennessee, 34 feet. that's expected to remain the case well through the end of may. so all throughout west tennessee we are -- we are preparing and getting ready for flooding along the mississippi. >> yeah. so where are those residents who have already evacuated and those that will join them? where are they going? >> well, currently we are running shelters all through the -- what woe call the mid south here in this area. we have in arkansas and mississippi we have shelte

and then across the river and into memphis, tennessee. there you go, this is some of the video we've been seeing earlier in the day. i have the video from memphis in my weather wall right behind me. it sure looks ominous now, and there we go, you see that. we believe the one on the right, this over here is the rear flank downdraft. not a tornado on the ground but under that, this would be upward wind pushing down, could get wind gusts to 80 or so miles per hour right here. we're still waiting to see as the storm moves further to the east here maybe the wall cloud back here in the bright area with a tornado in it. hard to tell from the angle i'm in but it still could drop down through here. we could still get a tornado on the ground. with a tornado warning in effect, literally the weather service knows the whole storm is rotating and the tornado could fall out of the sky at any time. some dramatic pictures here. even whether this is a tornado or not, and i don't believe it is, you can still get damage from the wind coming out of the storm a

. >> and graduates in the memphis, tennessee high school received a reward, a visit from president obama for winning the white house race to the top commencement challenge. that is a hero's welcome. the school and one of memphis' toughest neighborhoods saw the graduation rate improve after implementing education reform and adding variety to the curriculum. >> because was success can happen here in booker t.washington it can happen in memphis and anywhere in tennessee and if anywhere in tennessee, it can happen all across america. >> the president's commencement address came after meeting privately with memphis families affected by the flooding on the mississippi river. >> here today, will am is the key note speaker of the after school program. ceremony for students in the college prepatory program will be held in redwood city. >> how the change in the weather brings a change in course to the engine bike tour. >> and bragging rights on board of the shuttle endeavor. the news cococococococococococoo >> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >> ziro and lift off on the fina

president obama is wrapping up a visit to memphis, tennessee high school which one this year's race to the top commencement challenge. >> they were pretty excited to see him. the school is in one of memphis's toughest neighbors after implementing education reforms and adding variety to his curriculum. >> because if success can happen here at booker t. washington, it can happen anywhere in memphis. and if it can happen in memphis it can happen in tennessee. if it can happen anywhere in tennessee it can happen all across america. >> the presidency commencement address after he met with families affected by flooding along the mississippi river. >>> we're getting official word this morning celebrity donald trump has decided not to run for president. he is not ready to leave the private sector. he made headlines after raising questions where president obama was born. he released his long form birth certificate to the public. >> one of the most powerful men in the world is in jail facing criminal charges, he faces a judge today on sexual charges. >> and witnessing history, the shuttle endeav

president obama is wrapping up a visit to memphis, tennessee high school which one this year's race to the top commencement challenge. >> they were pretty excited to see him. the school is in one of memphis's toughest neighbors after implementing education reforms and adding variety to his curriculum. >> because if success can happen here at booker t. washington, it can happen anywhere in memphis. and if it can happen in memphis it can happen in tennessee. if it can happen anywhere in tennessee it can happen all across america. >> the presidency commencement address after he met with families affected by flooding along the mississippi river. >>> we're getting official word this morning celebrity donald trump has decided not to run for president. he is not ready to leave the private sector. he made headlines after raising questions where president obama was born. he released his long form birth certificate to the public. >> one of the most powerful men in the world is in jail facing criminal charges, he faces a judge today on sexual charges. >> and witnessing history, the shuttle endeav

. >>> 1,000 homes in memphis, tennessee have been ordered evacuated because of the rising mississippier there not expected to crest until wednesday, and it could be historic. cnn david mattingly has the latest as that city braces for the worst. >> reporter: just a little over a day ago i would have been standing here on dry land. but now this area along the mississippi river in memphis, completely under water, as the water continues to rise. memphis now is one big city trying to hold off one very big flood. city parks already flooded and water creeping closer to houses by the day. people in memphis watch the rising mississippi river and wonder. >> how high will the water get? you know, who is most at risk? which land sits lower. >> reporter: the mississippi river floods of 2011 are expected to break records to the north of memphis this weekend. and then. continue setting high water marks as far south baton rouge. in 1937 city officials tell me the river rose all the way to here where i'm standing which is four blocks away from the river banks. but there have since been big changes. a

a live look at said, a live look outside at memphis tennessee. --we're getting new information about how they try to do with the situation. we will be right back with the kron 4 morning news, weather and traffic in just a few moments. hey, your high speed internet here, at home... ...and on the go... ...with some really big news. it's b-i-g -- big. high speed internet from at&t at home... ...includes wi-fi access on the go. whoo-hoo! [ both ] it's an unbelievable deal. [ chuckles ] well, gotta go. but wait -- there's more... [ female announcer ] go to the website below today and get high speed internet for the unbelievably low price of just $14.95 a month for 12 months with a 1-year price guarantee. it's all the speed you need at a great price. you can chill online at a park. here, pidgie, pidgie. [ coos ] and surf the web at your favorite bookstore. our internet at home includes access to the entire at&t national wi-fi network on the go. [ female announcer ] go to the website below and get high speed internet for just $14.95 a month for 12 month

en tennessee tienen los peores daños aunque hasta ahora algunas zonas metropolitanas de memphis se hanaguas. en mississippi fueron sacados los presos de las cárceles en otros regiones hay destruido los cultivos de maíz, se cerraron los casinos vital para la economía del estado. y finalmente en luisiana ahí también en el delta del río, ha obligado a muchos residentes a evacuar sus viviendas se anticipa que las aguas llegaran a niveles nunca antes vistos en los próximos caís jordías jorge >>> martín muchas gracias, hasta memphis viajó nuestra reportera viviana avila para transitar por las calles de ciudad ahí faltan para hacerlo un bote o quizás una buenas botes viviana qué viste buenas tardes? >>> qué tal buenas tardes el río mississippi disigue dejando a miles de danmificados. >>> este es el nivel de las aguas del río de mississippi a sólo minutos en memphis tennessee, mientras turistas tomaban fotografías, los residentes tomaban el nivel >>> hace 15 metros hacía abajo mejo >>> pero la otra cara de la moneda se ven en estas casas, porque ellos perdieron todo >>> todo. la casa, todo. to

. >>> meanwhile, here in america, many residents of memphis, tennessee had to abandon their homes and head to higher ground as the swollen river brings more flood waters to the saturated region. jim gray has the report. >> reporter: across memphis, the water continues to rise, pushing up against sidewalks 20 miles from the normal shoreline. >> it's overwhelming. it's just overwhelming to see it so high. >> and getting even higher. emergency teams are helping dozens move to higher ground, some loaded to city buses to push through the water. arrive to safety before all of the roads in the lowest lying areas are blocked. 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 a

the floodwaters starting to move south from memphis, tennessee. ould effect food prices across the nation as farmland is now under water and the river nears record levels. >> came in so fast. my house is completely submerged. >> reporter: south of memphis, tunica, mississippi. hundreds of homes are gone. the floodwaters inundated the 9 casinos. on the other side of the river the waters are rising in arkansas. people who cannot even see the river are now finding it at their door steps. >> i am in the flood. >> the disaster passed through memphis where the water crested at 15 feet above flood level. by the begin of next week greenville, mississippi could see a 65-foot rise. that's 17 feet above flood level. after that levels are predicted to reach 47 feet in louisiana, to protect populated areas louisiana may have to flood some of its farm lands. one spill way was opened last weekend. and the state has mobilized hundreds of national guard troops. >> we got search and rescue teams, state police, national guard. >> reporter: and to give you an idea of

. >> residents of memphis, tennessee are bracing for what could be a once in lifetime flood.er is expected to crest tomorrow and people are being told they should leave their homes. >>> tennessee's largest city is in the crosshairs. memphis has the most high risk population for flooding according to the army corps of engineers. authorities expect the river to crest at 48 feet, less than a foot shy of the record levels set this is the 37. with the mississippi swollen by abnormally high rainfall there is nowhere for the water to flow. 1100 trailers have been evacuated. 400 residents are currently in shelter. on sunday officials went door to door to alert others they may also need to leave their homes. >> memphis is the latest of cities to be affected by the swollen river. last week the army corps of engineers blew up levees to relieve the threat. there is pressure levees around memphis but they are currently. >> low lying farm lands and have been inundated about the situation. >> you were laughing about what happened yesterday for mother's day. a little tired out. >> a little r

hundred offstages memphis, tennessee, hundreds of homes are flooded.tan says it will grant the u.s. access to osama bin laden's three wives. they have been in custody since the navy seals stormed his compound but relations are still tense. >>> newt gingrich used social networking sites to formally announce his plans to run for president. he has a network of supporters and donors. some suspect his divorces may be negs for his >>> now a -- now a look at other big stories around the bay covered by our kron 4 news crews. >> reporter: pg&e begun pressure testing its gas lines, the idea is to identify weaknesses in the line that could fail. they removed the gas from the line, replaced it with water. any weaknesses will be released with a new piece of pipe. they will test 150-miles of pipeline. kron 4 news. >> reporter: the napa state hospital is dealing with another assault. you see these flowers, they are honoring the victims in that assault. the hospital saying on sunday one of its patient attacked a few workers and they sustained minor injuries. the hospi

. >>> air force one touched down at member -- in memphis, tennessee today. the president will deliver the commencement speech at booker high school. this visit was planned well before the flooding in the area but the president took time to meet with victims of the floods and emergency workers. >> and people in louisiana are packing their belongth and -- belongings and getting out. louisiana governor bobby jindle warned today that -- jindal warned today that while the water is moving more slowly than expected, it's still coming -- coming. >>> two more ships were removed from the susan bay today. the two ships are being towed to san francisco. they will be klineed and painted before they head south -- cleaned and painted before any head south. there are 30 ships left in the fleet and two more will be relieved by next -- removed next week and by 2017 all them should be gone. >>> outside your door, you might be thinking those look like rain clouds. they are, beginning to thicken up, darken and even a few light sprinkles reported. the low centered right here will

>>pam: memphis tennessee is bracing for flooding. meanwhile, the u.s.rmy going of the engineers is opening eight new orleans spillway to ease the system make and has the latest on the evacuation efforts and prevention. >> in memphis, anxiety grows as the community waits. the army going of engineers are the army corp of engineers is waiting to do with the can. the mayor is releasing a statement with mandatory evacuations, installations of up to 30 floodgates' along the city's levee and sandbags assembly to support those plug datflood gates. so f, 50,000. >> we think we have a good hold on it, with evacuate foreign people. 1300 people or in low lying areas and we have evacuated already 400 people. >> 14 ft. above flood stage in louisiana, they even have evacuate it their inmates. the mayor has taken and requested. personal evacuation's. >> we anticipate and the worst, and are planning for the worst. >> down stream. the army corps intentionally lead out more water. >> this flow in this stage that you see art in exceed tens of the flood of 1927. >> in washi

the flood continues to roll south toward the gulf of mexico, putting parts of cities such as memphis, tennessee and tunica, mississippi under water. yesterday, in memphis, the water came just inches short of the record set set -- of the record set in 1937. these are live pictures of memphis. many have been forced to evacuate along the river and casinos closed by flooding are losing millions of dollars. >>> the bay area weather pattern for today almost looks like summer with more sunshine inland but still left some haze out there and also patchy, dense fog showing up. here we go on the satellite showing you low clouds concentrated up in parts of the north bay, sonoma county, closer to san francisco. most of the shoreline here. we have this big patch moving across the bay even affecting oakland and also right around hayward has well. for your wednesday, coastal an bay fog warmest locations around 70 degrees. tomorrow another batch of fog out there. a little bit of a bump in the numbers but get ready for a significant change this weekend. major cooling. we're talking about some sunday showers here

más grave las aguas van a llegar a sus niveles más altos 14 pies entre esta noche y mañana en memphis tennesseel jueves. >>> luego de la publicidad vamos a ver cómo fue recibido en venezuela el supuesto traficante. extraditado desde colombia. >>> en perú las encuestas muestran a fujimori ganando terreno a ollanta humala el ex gobernador de california, arnold schwarzenegger anuncian [ motor petardea ] hoy no. por favor, hoy no. [ motor petardea ] [ motor se apaga ] oh. [ se ríe entre dientes ] andale, por favor no hagas esto. [ locutor ] no hay nada peor que una batería muerta. y no hay nada más confiable que una batería duralast. [ motor petardea ] alta ingeniería para arrancar día tras día. aún en las condiciones más extremas. duralast. fortaleza comprobada. sólo en autozone. >>> el gobierno pakistaní permitirá interrogar a las 13 esposas para que washington tenga más información sobre al qaeda el primer ministerio pakistaní anuncio ante el parlamento de su país una investigación para averiguar como bin laden pudo vivir de manera impune por 5 años en su residencia. >>> pasando a otras informac

más grave las aguas van a llegar a sus niveles más altos 14 pies entre esta noche y mañana en memphis tennesseea el jueves. >>> luego de la publicidad vamos a ver cómo fue recibido en venezuela el supuesto traficante. extraditado desde colombia. >>> en perú las encuestas muestran a fujimori ganando terreno a ollanta humala el ex gobernador de california, arnold schwarzenegger anuncian >>> el gobierno pakistaní permitirá interrogar a las 13 esposas para que washington tenga más información sobre al qaeda el primer ministerio pakistaní anuncio ante el parlamento de su país una investigación para averiguar como bin laden pudo vivir de manera impune por 5 años en su residencia. >>> pasando a otras informaciones acusado de narcotráfico en su país venezuela. fue extraditado luego de meses de incertidumbre. se espera que de nombres de militares y funcionario del gobierno venezolano, a quien les habría pagado suma millonarias. >>> tendrá la oportunidad de ser escuchado y aquel que estuviera involucrado, sea quien será se le administrara el peso de la ley a partir que haga revelaciones comprometedoras.

it happens from memphis tennessee to charlotte, north carolina. they were on board as the plane taxied to the runway but it returned and they had to undergo another security screening. >> the luggage and they look at everything. they say you are goe good you are go. when we returned to the plane, the supervisor, mr. russel, he said, i'm sorry. it does not allow you to go. >> interestingly the imams were going to charlotte, north carolina to participate in a conference on prejudice against muslims. >> more on the killing of osama bin laden. president obama said that bin laden had a sophisticated support network in pakistan. he talked about it in an interview for the cbs show 60 minutes. he also said it's still not clear whether pakistani government officials knew he was hiding out in a military suburb near the capital. the national security advisor says c.i.a. wants to ask bin laden's widows if pakistani government or security officials helped them hide, an advisor is calling on them to give them access to bin laden's three widows. he has been in p

. >> memphis tennessee, look to the dark and disturbing sky, a lot of problems in south of midwest, more whether coming up. stay with us. ♪ let's go out to the dmv ♪ it's ok that we're number four hundred and three ♪ ♪ we'll find ourselves a comfy seat ♪ ♪ and watch some shows and stuff ♪ ♪ ♪ let's follow that lady with the laptop ♪ [ male announcer ] now you can watch hit tv shows on your laptop with u-verse online and on your smartphone with u-verse mobile, included with most plans. or get u-verse tv for as low as $29 a month for 6 months. in the network you can take entertainment with you. or get u-verse tv for as low as $29 a month for 6 months. we were the first to ban smoking on airplanes. the first to have smoke-free bars and restaurants. all while saving over $86 billion in health care costs... and over a million lives. we've done a good job. but even if you were born today, you'd still grow up in a world where tobacco kills more people... than aids, drugs, alcohol, murder and car crashes... combined. we have a lot more work to do. >> the neighbors are calling the tree, granny. i

residents in memphis, tennessee, are bracing for the worst.he river is expected to crest there around 48 feet on wednesday. it will be the worst flooding that city has seen since 1937. and if that wasn't bad enough, there's a chance of more rain this afternoon. i want to turn nout to cnn meteorologist jacqui jeras. why is the flooding so bad right now? >> so many reasons, fredricka. it started with a heavy snow pack over winter and then in the month of april, we had some of these areas, as much as 400%, 500% of our rainfall. so much rain, everything -- >> too much at once. >> it goes through the watershed system and ends up into the mississippi river trying to drain its way down into the gulf of mexico. the river has crested. this is the area we're really focusingi focusing in on now. even though many of you have crested into cairo and new madrid now, it's going to stay at record levels and in flood for the next week to ten days, so this is going to be ongoing for a while. and then we'll watch this rush of water make its way all the way down i

the situation is getting more serious in memphis, tennessee. more than a thousand households have received a flood notices. by brian joins us now with more on the flooding in the south and our local forecast. >> it is historic and it is a combination of the heavy rains and the snow melts. here is a great view from space. this is the lower mississippi there you can see, there is new orleans. look at what is moving out into the gulf of mexico. you can see the lower part of the mississippi and the mississippi delta. imagine the tons of topsoil and all those areas that are brown car -- that is in louisiana. imagine the tremendous amount of soil but is now moving into the mississippi and into the gulf of mexico. we had some passing showers and a rumble of thunder but dry air is coming in for us. our temperatures are dropping into the 50's. i think a pretty nice weekend coming up. there may be some passing showers, but a quiet weekend. i will tell you all the details. >>> there is a changing at the gut -- of the guard at the university of maryland. >

a search is still under way for her husband. >>> a nervous wait in memphis, tennessee. mississippi river is expected to crest tuesday just inches below the record flood level in 1937. people living in at least 1,100 homes in the memphis area have been told to evacuate. tourists are among those keeping an eye on the river. >> it reminds us of '93 when i was back home and what we had with the mississippi river there. but we as a group will be leaving here tomorrow. but we did have one of our tours canceled tomorrow morning. the mud island is where we were going to take the group. and they called us yesterday and said they wouldn't be allowed -- be able to have us. >> jacqui jeras with us now with more on this river and the cresting. >> yeah. this is going to continue to push downstream. we've got a long way to go for that high water to continue to push hundreds of miles down. now, we're talking about the lower mississippi river basin at this time. and the river has basically crested right here into the boot heel of missouri. the height of the water still has this entire w

including parts of memphis, tennessee.on the phone is tennessee state senate majority leader is representative marcus. >> i know your coverage has been great. i want to thank you and jay gray and bill karins and everyone else who have been covering this so closely. it really helps us communicate information that people need to know. it's overwhelming when you see it. as one of your commentators said, it's a slow-moving disaster, a watery waiting game for us here. the river is mighty mississippi indeed. it's just -- it's strange to see water where you've never seen it before. >> i can imagine. how about in terms of what's being done to help the people affected by the flooding? just the basics, getting word out that you need to get out. is that going smoothly? >> we had smaller floods a year or so ago. i can see a marked improvement between a year ago and today's efforts. coordinating the command and control for something like this is a major undertaking. you've got not only your emergency services but information and planni

just a couple of hours ago, the river crest in memphis, tennessee. our reporter is live in memphis now, where they are hoping the levees hold. elizabeth? >> reporter: good morning, dave. that's right. we spoke with an army corps engineer who said it appears the leveees are gonna -- levees are gonna hold. we know that hundreds of people woke up in shelters this morning and people who are not in shelters are coming down to see this historic rise and power of the river. as the mississippi washes across memphis, this curiosity- seeker can't help but get his feet wet. >> it's kind of cold. >> reporter: he did what city officials are telling people not to do. >> it's the mighty mississippi. it can be destructive. it's not water for drinking or swimming. i wouldn't want anyone to go wading in it. >> if they get in there, they had be asked to get out. we'll help them get out. >> reporter: hundreds are in shelters waiting to go back to their homes to see what's left. it will be weeks before the water is gone and cleanup is finished. >> we have a lot of displac

. >>> this morning memphis, tennessee is bracing for record floods and some neighborhoods are already under evacuation orders. the mississippi river is overflowing. they are going door to door warning people to get out. heavy rains and melting snow already have triggered flooding in eight states. mississippi and louisiana are next in the path of the rising waters. >>> just downstream from memphis a mississippi town stands to lose 10s of millions of dollars because of flooding. all nine casinos in tun tunica are closed. that could mean a loss of $87 million this month alone. >> here on the west coast near enjoyable day. the low clouds there still hanging off the coast. eventually burning off and not impacting most of us. a cool day over the city and brisk. westerly winds to 25 miles per hour around san francisco, oakland reporting 17. 16 concord, 15 areas around livermore and san jose reporting winds between 10 and 12 miles per hour. san francisco struggling to get out of the 50s, 58, 60 degrees in oakland. inland we have a warm up, santa rosa 71. then as we head south widespread 60s.

during his trip to memphis, tennessee, president obama met with some of the flood victims in the area. the morganza spillway goes south into the heart of cajun country. >> do what you do. pray the lord it don't come up higher than three or four feet. i'm protected up to about four feet. >> reporter: people plan to return, they just hope they have a home to return to. randall pinkston, cbs news, butte larose, louisiana. >>> now to politics -- the race for the white house instead of heating up seems to be cooling down. two top republican contenders have pulled out. >>> and for other candidates, the big money is coming in, tara mergener, good morning, tara. >>> good morning, betty. yeah. they're going to need that money because this is going to be a very expensive race, a race mike huckabee and donald trump will not be running. the race for the republican presidential nomination is down another contender. >> i will not be running for president as much as i would like to. >> after months of flirting with a bid, donald trump announced monday he's sticking with the world of business. while

also a tornado warning, fredricka, in memphis, tennessee.l talk more about that coming up next hour. >> thanks so much. >>> a look at our top stories. right now, texas, the firefighters there are battling at least ten mayor wildfires which have scorched more than a half million acres. texas governor rick perry criticized the federal government this week for not declaring a federal disaster in his state. an administration official insists the federal government has responded by giving 16 assistant grants. >>> no launch tomorrow for the spate shuttle "endeavour." nasa engineers are working to fix a faulty heating system which delayed friday's litoff. nasa says the earliest possible launch date is may 8th. >>> recovering congresswoman gabrielle gifford is back in houston for rehab and plans to travel back to florida for the launch. >>> we want to get back to our coverage of the aftermath of those devastating storms. want to take you straight to mississippi. smithville, we understand. there the governor, hayley barbour speaking now. let's listen

. >>> this comes to us from memphis, tennessee where receiving some extra face it time with the commander in chief caused an overflow of emotion for one graduating class. an impromptu visit from the president was met by an eruption of cheers. he stopped by to chat with the booker t. washington seniors before delivering his speech at their graduation. the surprise moved some to tears, but the president said they were the inspiration after winning the second annual commencement challenge for their stellar improvement in scholastics. lucky kids there. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> while one ship wreck didn't yield any gold, experts say it is a jackpot. after 30 years of searching, divers in romania have tracked down a soviet ship that sang in 1941 in the black sea. they were finally successful in their hunt with the help of modern sonar and gps. experts believe a torpedo hit the ship and call it the most important world war ii military ship wreck in that part of the world. >>> well, some students are looking for new w

. >>> 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 47.5 feet. how high it goes won't be known for several days, but experts predict it won't be more than another foot. there is no other place for the water to go, put quite simply. the mississippi is the watershed for everything west and east of the rockies. eight states are dealing with this historic flood. cnn's david mattingly joins us live from memphis with more on the task ahead for residents in mississippi and elsewhere in the flood region. hi there, david. >> hi, hala. what we're looking at right now is an amount of water that no one has seen in the mississippi in generations. there's so much water here that it's pushing flood control systems to their limits all up and down the mississippi. i had an exclusive interview with a man in charge of that system, and he tells me about a grave decision he had to make early on in in flood and why he had to make this decision again befo

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

farms, small towns and urban areas are already under water including parts of memphis, tennessee. >> i've got a lot of my mom's stuff in there. i don't know if i can even get in. you can only do what you can. >> and joining me live on the phone now, dean fleener. good morning to you. let's got an update. how bad is the flooding in the memphis area? >> we are expecting the memphis mississippi river at memphis to crest next wednesday at 48 feet, which is a record level. and what we're trying to tell people is that if local officials come by your home and ask you to move because of an imminent threat of flooding, please leave because nothing is worse your life. >> absolutely. are you finding people that are being resistant to that? >> well, we haven't had reports of resistance, but we have -- we do have local officials up and down the western part of tennessee along the mississippi river, going to communities and homes where the flooding threat is going to hit, asking people to evacuate in order to protect lives. >> yeah. you know that woman that we just played a sound bite from who los

. >> memphis, tennessee. the home of the blues. but now, the mighty mississippi is calling the tune. thousands of volunteers are filling sandbags for what could be the highest level in years. in this crisis center, workers are comparing the flood to a slow motion tsunami. heavy rains caused it to swallow so far that some tributaries are flying backwards. >> it is a very serious situation. as you know, we have already had to evacuate some of our folks, and we may have to evacuate more. >> days ago, they blew up levees upstream in missouri in an attempt to save cities. over five and a square kilometers of farmland were flooded. local farmers are furious. some are now suing the u.s. government. people in memphis be aired the worst. many streets and highways are already submerged. the sheriff's department as volunteers on patrol in an effort to prevent looting. residents managed to evacuate in time, but their homes have been damaged to a point of no return. >> at this point, the last i heard was about 2800. >> but memphis could just be

what he was unsure of before ordering the raid on osama bin laden's compound. ,, memphis, tennessee late tonight.. and possibly hit a record high. >>> the mississippi river crest is now expected to hit memphis, tennessee late tonight and possibly hit a record high. now, originally they were expecting the river to crest tomorrow but right now official going door it door frantically warning people to get out. hundreds of homes have already been evacuated. and today a spillway in louisiana is expected to be open to ease pressure on the levees in the new orleans area. >>> it is 6:12. president obama says he was well aware of the risks when he ordered a special forces to get osama bin laden in pakistan. the president's comments were part of an interview that aired last night on "60 minutes" on cbs. it was focused in on the decision-making process that led a team of navy seals to storm a compound and ultimately killing the al qaeda leader. the president said despite months of intelligence there was no way to determine beforehand that bin laden was inside the compound. >> at the end of the day,

perhaps even in the city of memphis, tennessee, as we work our way through the next several days.her story right on the heels of this tornadic outbreak. lester? >> all right, jim cantore, thank you. one more note on the flooding. in cairo, illinois, which sits between the ohio and mississippi rivers, the ohio rose to a record level today. authorities have ordered the town evacuated because the flooding has already consumed part of the area. the army corps of engineers wants to destroy a levee on the mississippi river which would protect cairo but flood a huge area of farmland. today the attorney general of neighboring missouri asked the u.s. supreme court to block that plan. >>> the other big story we're following tonight, fallout from a nato air attack that the libyan government says killed one of moammar gadhafi's sons and three of his grandchildren. today angry mobs set fire to the british and italian embassies in tripoli which prompted britain to expel libya's ambassador to london. nbc's mike tie yaibbi. >> reporter: there's no doubt there was an air attack. reporters confirme

. >>> not too soon for the residents of memphis, tennessee, spending the last several days stacking updbags to prohect homes and businesses from the floodwaters. today officials went door-to- door warning some 240 people to leave their homes as a safety precaution. in all, more than 1300 people have been told to go. close to 400 are staying in shelters tonight. the situation is also worrisome for tourists. >> we are very concerned because we realized it is all unpredictable and we do not want to be stuck here in memphis and we don't want to have to flee in a hurry. >> the current flooding is just shy of the record 49.7-foot devastating flood back in 1937. >>> damages in southwest virginia after more than two dozen tornadoes struck is not severe enough for the area to get financial help. that's what the federal government is saying tonight. fema has denied virginia's request for federal disaster assistance. state officials are disappointed because the money is needed to build or repair more than 200 destroyed homes and 1000 more that were damaged. the governor says he just might appeal

gambling industry up river, hundreds of homes, and just about touching a record on its way through memphis, tennessee, and it's not too early to say this, new orleans and the surrounding region could be in flood trouble as this flows south, on top of all the troubles they've had. we want to start off our coverage tonight with nbc's anne thompson in butte larose, louisiana. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. louisianians are busy tonight, preparing for this historic flood which has already done so much damage upriver. as the mississippi river barrels south, satellite images reveal its relentless and destructive impact. this was memphis on april 21st before the flood, and this was memphis yesterday. much of the city underwater as the mississippi reclaims its territory. the damage here pegged at $320 million. the swamped casinos in tunica mississippi, could lose up to $87 million just this month. overall, one economist estimates the flood's toll could reach $4 billion. up and down the raging river, people race against the clock, filling sandbags in yazoo city, mississippi. crews built this

for "nightline," i'm diane sawyer, in memphis, tennessee. >> our thanks, diane. there will be continued coverage on "good morning america" and "world news" with diane sawyer tomorrow. >>> just ahead, he grew up as a little girl, the child of musical legends. but said he always felt like a boy. now, chaz bono is a man. his transition recorded on videotape. how does he feel now? and what about his mother? no pie today, ted? no, no, i just paid my car insurance bill -- ouch. [ man whistles ] sounds like somebody paid too much. excuse me? i use progressive's "name your price" tool. they showed me a range of coverages, and i picked the one that worked for me. i saved hundreds when switching. hundreds? who are you? just a man that loves savings... and pie. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive. before i started taking abilify, i was taking an antidepressant alone. most days i could put on a brave face and muddle through. but other days i still struggled with my depression. i was managing, but it always had a way of creeping up on me. i felt stuck. i just