. >> reporter: the family built a four-foot levee to block the water from the yazoo river.hen it broke it took ten minutes for water to swamp their entire property. >> reporter: what was going through your heart when that happened? >> run, get anything that was worth anything. get it out right then. >> reporter: look how quickly the water is rushing in. just a few minutes ago if you can look this way, it was all the way back towards the yazoo river. the yazoo is a tributary of the mississippi which has caused massive flooding throughout the state. the river has been rising to historic levels and officials are taking drastic measures. in louisiana, water continues to be diverted into the morganza spillway where some 25,000 people live. >> prepare, because the lack of preparation is what can cause destruction. >> reporter: many packed up and left. others trying to protect their property. as this family found out, it may not be enough. karen brown, cbs news, yazoo, mississippi. >>> just ahead on the morning news, the man who may or may not be the head of al qaeda. >>> plus how

talk about the yazoo river, if you will.s a big deal. >> i don't think people realize how flat the land is there. people talk about kansas, how flat it is. i just found this. i went ton google earth. vicksburg, mississippi, we'll talk a lot about that in a second because that's where the yazoo river comes into the mississippi. baton rouge. 215 miles as the crow flies. at least 400 miles as the river goes. it only drops in elevation 32 feet. in two ii 00 miles, the land drops 32 feet. so that's why it's taking so very long for this water to move down river. and in fact, i'm going to take you to place where the water's moving upriver, up the yazoo river -- there's vicksburg right there. just talked about it. up on a bluff, protected by the bluff from the river. there are some areas down here in the lowlands that are protected and they will flood. the mississippi river is getting so high now that it is actually higher than the elevation of the incoming yazoo river. so the water is going backwards. the water is literally in the

there are wiped out along the yazoo. >> all right. holly firfer live in vicksburg, mississippi, holly, thank you. >>> we have some pretty nice weather around the bay area today. not as much fog showing up just some partly cloudy skies to start out your day and temperatures in the 50s and the 40s. this afternoon more sunshine and warming temperatures. we'll see more 70s in the bay area inland. inside the bay breezy a temperatures into the 60s. still not as many clouds and not as thick a fog bank as we had yesterday. we had low clouds and drizzle at the coastline. not today. just some partly cloudy skies. parts of the north bay are clear now and it looks like we are going to see more sunshine for most areas but this guy continues to linger off the coastline. that will bring with it at least a chance of rain heading into the weekend. so enjoy the sunshine this afternoon. plan on about 70 degrees in santa clara. about 69 in mountain vie 69 in union city. 50s and 60s coastside. east bay temperatures into the 70s. inland 60s inside the bay

this is a family that's lived in yazoo county almost 200 years. coming, they weren't going to pack up things and leave their houses behind to be flooded. they took on a major effort. they are farmers. they have a lot of land around them. they have the stuff to make the levee, the dirt, two weeks using earth moving equipment with the help of a contractor. it ranges in height from 8 to 11 feet. that is what is holding out all of that water. when you look at the imagery from up in the sky, it is just phenomenal to see that they are an island. heart island surrounded by what i call the heart lake. so far everything is good. they have electricity, they have television, they have internet. they have it all. they just don't have the floodwaters inside their home. >> that's good. that's what they don't want. it certainly is impressive. is the family, though, in case of an emergency, do they have the means to get out of there? >> they have a couple of things set up. plan "b" and "c." first of all, they have boats. second, it would be possible to wade out o

up and down the raging river, people race against the clock, filling sandbags in yazoo city, mississippi. crews built this temporary levee in the shadow of louisiana's i-10e that crosses the atchafalaya river basin. >> it will be the back-up of the water from the mississippi trying to get out from the river into the gulf. it backed up on us. >> reporter: that's if officials open the morganza spillway, a relief valve for the mississippi river but a potential disaster for part of southwestern louisiana. the morganza could impact 13,000 buildings, 25,000 people, and 3 million acres of land. >> put it back up here. >> reporter: 2 1/2 acres belong to john menard. he's packing up his butte larose home and heading for higher ground. leaving his cypress clad home shattered, this big tough oil worker. what is it like to think about losing your house? >> the words -- no words. because i built this myself. >> reporter: the atchafalaya river is already above 19 feet. the national weather service's jonathan bryzell marked a telephone pole to show residents what could happen. >> if they open the spill

. >> reporter: this warm in yazoo county is already partially submerged. the army corps of engineers is trying to prevent further damage. patching up potential soft spots along the levee system. president obama signed a disaster declaration wednesday, covering 14 mississippi counties. for some, the aid can't get here fast enough. randall pinkston, cbs news, yazoo county, mississippi. >>> president obama holds budget talks with senate republicans today. he told democratic senators yesterday they need to be flexible. the president discussed the budget negotiations during a town hall meeting right here on cbs. >> i think that what we're going to end up having to do, probably, is to set some targets and say, you know, those targets have to be hit. if not, automatically some cuts and tax increases start taking place. >> you can see the entire town hall meeting with president obama coming up on this morning's "early" show. >>> overseas, nato continued its attacks on government positions in libya. overnight at least four air strikes hit tripoli. the attacks follo

but it's at the very edge of its design strength. >> reporter: here where the mississippi meets the yazoo the river is expected to surpass the great flood of 1927 by more than a foot. last week there was a road behind me. tonight it's part of the river. brian? >> anne thompson, along with janet shamlian, our team covering this flood tonight. both of you, thank you very much. >>> now we turn overseas to pakistan, where there's more to report about osama bin laden's three wives who were living with him at the compound when he was killed. as we reported here last night, the pakistanis have agreed to give the u.s. access to them, and now that we know more about that and about the women. nbc's peter alexander is in islamabad tonight. peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. tonight nbc news has learned that u.s. intelligence officials expect pakistan to turn over osama bin laden's three widows for questioning. those women are presently being held in rawalpindi. that's just outside of islamabad. a pakistani military official tells us the u.s. must wait until pakistan has co

this is the yazoo back levee holding back all the water from the yazoo river and the mississippi riveret deep. that normally wouldn't have any water whatsoever. and then the levee is in between. on this side you have pretty much dry land. this is everything that's being protected by this levee, but as you point out, the water level here is about one foot away from going over the top of this levee. if it goes over the top, that's not the end of the world. in fact, levees are designed for what they call overtopping. it is part of the control of the release of water. however, what you don't want to happen is as the water goes over it starts to erode the levee to cause some sort of catastrophic collapse. if, in fact, you did have that collapse, then all the water that's over here, well, it is going to go rushing over in the opposite direction. it is actually going to go against the tide, so to speak, flowing north. and it could go for at least 35 miles. up in twin forks, 35 miles away, if this water got let loose, it would flood up to four feet in that town. it would have disastrous conseq

see the crew on the left hand side, it's for the yazoo and mississippi river. this levee is holding it back. however, there's one foot between the level of the water and when it goes over the top. the prediction is it's going to go over the top. we were talking with the secretary of state of mississippi, they expect it to happen overnight. water going over the levee is not the end of the world unless it triggers the collapse of the levee. they don't want to guesstimate. i put the question of how bad it would be with peter. here is what he said. if this levee were to fail, what are the consequences and who would be impacted and how far? >> the town is 30 to 35 miles from here. that town would be under water. numerous towns would be under water. highways under water. thousands of people have to evacuate the area. hundreds of thousands of acres would be under water. we would flood 1.2 million acres. >> reporter: what do you think the chances are of failure? >> there's a remote chance. we are confident this is going to hold as long as the forecast doesn't change. >

. >> reporter: a frantic rush to stay ahead of the floodwaters continues in yazoo city, mississippi. >> can't be sure of anything. >> reporter: the house is losing right now in tunikca. the city's nine casinos have been swallowed by water. >> this is a flood of a generation. nobody has seen water this high, and it it likely nobody ever will again. this is a monumental flood. >> reporter: downriver in louisiana, crews along interstate 10 rush to finish a temporary levee. bracing for the possibility that the army corps of engineers will open the spillway diverting the mississippi over 3 million acres in southwestern louisiana putting 13,000 structures and 25,000 people in jeopardy. >> i say huge and immense. it's hard to describe how much water is in the system. it's the most that's ever been in the system. >> reporter: a system already stretched past its limits with more water on the way. jay gray, nbc news, tunica, mississippi. >>> a personal journal found in the raid that killed osama bin laden is going an inside look at the al qaeda's leaders disturbing ambitions to kill more ameri

the mississippi and the yazoo desperately want to come right through here.g, as we say, that is the protection for the downtown vicksburg area. i asked the guy who built it, what do you think, did you build it high enough? he took a long pause. he looked at it. he said, "i sure hope so." and a lot of people are hoping that right now tonight. and the other thing to point out, anderson, this doesn't have to hold like, say, through thursday, when the crest goes by. this has to hold for another three to four weeks, as do all the levees in the area. and that's the real problem. >> indeed. briefly, how long is that wall? >> reporter: well, this one here probably stretches for about, i don't know, 75 yards. but they had to build it in a hurry. they got it accomplished. and the pumps are taking this water that's coming in and throwing it back on the other side. hopefully, it will keep pace. >> let's hope it holds. martin, we'll check in with you tomorrow. thanks a lot. >>> isha sesay following some other stories for us tonight. she joins us with a "360" news and bus

in vicksburg, mississippi, residents are hoping the yazoo back water levee will remain intact until the mighty river crests sometime tomorrow night or thursday morning. >>> meanwhile the u.s. is treading dangerously close to defaulting on its debts. after officially maxing out its federal borrowing limit yesterday, timothy geithner told congress that creative accounting will keep the country afloat for now, but warned lawmakers they need to agree on a solution by august 2nd. republicans refuse to raise the debt limit unless the obama administration first agrees to massive spending cuts. however, according to the congressional budget office, republicans' debt reduction plan only slashes $122 billion from the budget, less than half of the $300 million savings they projected. >>> and now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a case of police brutality has put a former south carolina deputy behind bars. surveillance video recorded last august shows the officer hitting a handcuffed victim 27 times with a steel baton breaking his leg. he's been sentenced to five y

take a look at these homes spared of flooding in yazoo city. some homeowners built their own levees ahead of the homes, as you can see they appear to be doing their job. the mississippi could remain above flood stage until june. >>> a plan to close some parks is headed to the state senate. yesterday they passed a bill to make it easier for non-profit organizations to operate state parks. 70 parks, including china camp are slated for closure during the next couple of years. it is a move that could save california 33 million dollars, highway 50 is tentatively set to re-open saturday, tomorrow, three days ahead of schedule. it has been closed since may 11th so crews can rebuild a roadside barrier, replacing a rockwall that had deteriorated, snow slowed the work but they have scheduled the re-opening for tomorrow. >> good afternoon to you. a live look at the east bay. pittsburgh in the distance, blue sky, what a gorgeous looking view here, low clouds have burned off. we still have along the immediate coast. you can see them right here as we move th

residents are banking on the yazoo at water levy to hold the water. it fails, the consequences are dire year. >> that will flood 1.2 million a., 4000 homes, the town will be completely under water. >> louisiana state officials expect that 25,000 homes will be flooded after all is said and done in mississippi more than 5000 residents have been displaced. state officials are warning flood victims watch out for snakes, there are three venomous kinds that can be lurking in the flood waters. in morgan city louisiana my name is sandra in del. >> checking traffic on the golden gate bridge this wednesday traffic is moving in medium speed north and southbound, will be backed [music] ♪ you'll run outside ♪ i'll pass you by ♪ ♪ i want to see the sunshine ♪ ♪ take me where you are ♪ take me where you are ♪ afternoon ride ♪ afternoon ride [ male announcer ] now everyone can explore the world from home. get high speed internet from at&t, just $14.95 a month for 12 months with select services. no home phone required. >> and national news, congresswoman get--gabriell

. >>> also, disturbing sign out of yazoo city, mississippi where a few caskets are in the water here. they popped up out of the ground around a flooded cemetery. the missouri governor, haley bar baue bour is warning people against e. coli dangers. much more on the florida flood in about 20 minutes. jeanne meserve is right along the mississippi rivers. she'll tell you what people there are doing to try to hang on. >>> new storms popping up across the south and midwest. let me say good morning once again top reynolds wolf. talking about the same storm system that caused problems last night? >> same one in kansas? exactly. everything's connected here. it is funny how we're seeing more of this stuff than we ever have before. doesn't mean there's a greater frequency, everyone has a camera able to capture, document and share with others so we're seeing more of this. >> is that really what it is? we know we get bad springs sometimes. is it really not that? are we outside of the norm, if you will, for what we would get for a springtime? >> it's very active but we still have a long way before

that means the yazoo river in mississippi has nowhere to go but into homes and fields as well. flooding that the army corps of engineers says could last until the end of the month. as the flooding moves south, the army corps of engineers has asked permission to open a second spillway near baton rouge. if permission is granted, several communities will have to be evacuated including morgan city and houma. brian. >> and the water keeps on going, anne thompson, janet shamlian before that, part of our team in memphis to start us off tonight, thanks. >>> now we want to turn overseas and pakistan and the ongoing friction with the u.s. over the killing of osama bin laden. the pakistani prime minister said today it's disingenuous to blame pakistan to, quote, being in kohouts with al qaeda. at the same time, the pakistani government has launched an investigation into how bin laden could have lived in a military town undetected for so many years. peter is on the ground in islamabad tonight. good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. tonight, u.s. officials tell nbc news, paki

the yazoo river has nowhere to drain and is spilling over, sometimes with little warning. karen brown, cbs news, warren county, mississippi. >>> the mississippi valley isn't the only part of the country with weather-related troubles. on the east coast, a persistent storm system spun off tornadoes in maryland and philadelphia. in drought-stricken west texas, cattle cannot find enough grass to eat, forcing ranchers to trim their herd. but in northern california, a spring snowstorm decorated the tahoe national forest. >>> just ahead on the "morning news," wall street salivates ahead of a big tech stock offering. >>> plus the crew of the shuttle "endeavour" get an early start to a big day, installing an important new piece of the space station. >>> this is the "cbs morning news." with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. any tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest. no fetchi

this small town sits near the yazoo river. and it's seeping in here close to the craps ed is growing and moving in slowly and surely. he has planted 3700 acres of cotton, soybean and corns, but he says for not. >> it makes you sick to your stomach. you plan and do what you want and you plan and take care and fertilize it and all nor nothing. >> reporter: and he has another business to worry about. carter, mississippi's general store, which his family owned for years. the walls of the store still bear the high water the mark from the last landmark flood. >> we will have another mark. >> reporter: the great mississippi flood of 1928 was the most destructive the nation's seen. following that they built levees along the river. now they are hoping the levees can stem the tide. ed says while the store has survived a lot, he's been here. he is not sure it will make it through this. >> i don't know. i hate to imagine. what's going to happen. it may -- >> reporter: history follows the mississippi here as she winds her way next to vicks

take a look at these homes being spared from flooding in yazoo city. as you can see, the levees appear to be doing their job. the mississippi could remain above flood stage until mid-june. >>> a tornado captured on video in colorado. it's one of two that touched down yesterday just outside of colorado springs. one tornado swept through a field. another tore through a home and knocking done a tree. there are no reports of any injuries. >>> who says books are dead? find out who is buying barnes & noble for a billion dollars. >>> it is a huge moment on this day right now -- >> we're down to the final two on "american idol." who will compete next week to be the season's end champion. >>> the dow just dropped into a triple digit loss. also, s&p s&p is below a key technical level. it is down below 1333, down 10. the dow is down 102. nasdaq down 18. the initial public offering for linkedin was at $45 per share yesterday. when it closed yesterday this was trading at $94. right now it's at $102 per share. it's the first big media stock to be offered to the publ

coli bacteria 200 times the normal level. >>> a disturbing sight in yazoo city, mississippi.. >>> floodwaters in the region aren't going anywhere any time soon. some placed expect to be under water until mid-june, making it tough for everybody especially people who live and work right on the river. jeanne meserve is right on the river for us this morning. jeanne, good morning once again. it's one thing, you try to just save your home, but then you have to worry about saving your livelihood as well. >> reporter: that's right. you have to worry about your business and the full cost of business and to farmers has yet to be calculated, t.j. the good news for this story is that the levee system appears to be holding. there have been minor problems, sand boils keep cropping up but thus far able to control them, there have been no major problems. the second piece of good news is that although the water is still rising in some places, in other places it is dropping, not a great deal yet, but it is going down somewhat. the estimates, as you mentioned it won't go back to normal until m

they're backing up tributaries like the yazoo river and pushing it over its banks. the yazoo is predicted to rise another 10 feet. >> you know, i don't think even the engineers are sure. >> reporter: in vicksburg where the mississippi and yazoo meet, austin golding is the third generation of his family to make his living off these waters. >> it's going do what it wants to do. >> reporter: the headquarters for the family barge business is now an island and austin steers his boat across what was the parking lot. he knows well how the river can give and take. >> you just learn to have patience and stick with it, hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst and hopefully everything turns out okay. >> reporter: as the flood moves downriver, the officials may open the morganza spillway to spare that heavily populated city and new orleans. but that means flooding an area of southwest louisiana with 13,000 buildings, 25,000 people, and 3 million acres of land. in the flood zone is john bernard's cypress-clad home. he's packing up and leaving. big and tough, this oil

given this bloated yazoo river is even impacting the governor's like house.has taken precautions at her furniture store that her family has owned since 1973 and visit her store every day. >> checking of the inventory to making sure that everything is okay. >> despite rising waters she's one of many residents of placing bets on the levees to hold. balance the worry/risk with a potential opportunity. >> if they do come back after the flood? they will need furniture ()laughter)á and they are juicy johnsonville sausage. made with only premium cuts of pork since 1945. johnsonville. sausage is all we do. >> surprised twister. history found. and take a look at and this. >> that tornado. take a look at this tornado residents tried to clean up the damage there were surprised that nobody was seriously injured. this tornado came out of nowhere. with no warning they were thankful that nobody was hurt. the national weather service is saying that it covered over to miles of the ground. >> a man and wales try to walk his pony on the train and the pony he was trying to purch

the water from the yazoo river backed up miles and miles. on this side, it's dry. the difference between the two is 125 feet. this levee is holding back 15 feet of water. here is the concern. there's one foot left of free space. the water will go over the levee and over top it. that's not the end of the world. levees are designed for some of that. if it erodes the levee, that is disastrous. how bad would that be? it's the question we put to peter. here is what he said. >> if the levee were to fail, what are the consequences, who is impacted and how far. >> the town is 30 to 35 miles from here. that town would be under water. all major highways under water. thousands of people would have to evacuate the area. thousands of homes would be under water. we would float 1.2 million acres. >> what do you think the chances of failure are? >> there's a remote chance. we are confidence it is going to hold as long as the forecast doesn't change. >> reporter: here is what they are trying to do. for four miles, which is army corps of engineers says is the most vulnerable. they l

we are in yazoo county and we're on the heart family farm.have been here for almost 200 years. that is why it was so important for them to defend the land. this is where the water swats it help right now it is not. it is a field that would normally have a thousand acres of cotton in it. it does. but it's under water right now. the house in the distance, that is their son's home, todd hart. you can see the roof line peaking above the levee that they created there and that is also working to hold the water back. it's quite dramatic when you see that from the air. we are standing here on the big island and it was constructed, 2200 feet that goes around three acres, sort of a soft sided square, maybe. and it ranges in height from about eight feet to maybe 11 feet and this is what is keeping the floodwatersing from the yazoo at bay. it has been doing that since tuesday. on monday t. would have been bone dry and on tuesday you got a ton of water. and take a step up here. erma heart. why did you go to all of this trouble? >> well, martin, like i sai

let's go around with martin savidge in yazoo city, mississippi. people making handmade levees?he air, it's absolutely astounding to see. you have an entire farm inundated with water but then there is a cotton field completely flooded from the water from the yazoo and mississippi. take a look. this is how much water there is. it is just almost as far as the eye can see. you would swear we were standing on a manmade lake as opposed to what is normally dry farmland. that is their son's home, todd hart's home underneath the levee. it's just the rooftop that you can see and there is deer over there. the deer and the wildlife are enjoying the refuge as well. but take a look at this. this is that earthen levee that is about 8 to 11 feet high in spots and the family put this all together with the help of a contractor to do one thing, and that was save their farm and so far that's what it has done, t.j. >> how much time did it take to get all of that together? >> reporter: it took them two weeks working roughly 12 hours a day each of those two weeks. so they got it together pretty fast

this is flood water from the mississippi river and one of its tributaries, the yazoo river eecd in theiver days to overflow this levee. what the army corps of engineers has been doing is laying nearly four miles of this polyurethane sheeting on what was the dry side of this levee. the idea is it will help prevent erosion from damaging farmland on the other side. working to save farms here, forms there gone and more tough choices to come. casey wian, cnn, vicksburg, mississippi. >>> fighting floods is only part of the corps emission. up next, see what else it does and why it's battling congress. water. u.s. army corps of engineers is front and center when flooding strikes. that's only part of its mission. casey why nan reports it's having to do it all with less. >> reporter: for years this is how the army corps of engineers researched the impacts of flooding in the mississippi river delta, models built to scale to see what would happen, for example, if a barge tried to pass through flood gates. now it's using high-tech tools such as this computer simulator providing a realistic river bo

. >>> even the dead can't escape the flood stones here in yazoo city. caskets floated out of the ground but were recovered after the cresting river moved up. the high water will be around for weeks. health officials warn the floodwaters are full of dangerous microbes and bacteria. >>> you heard jacqui jeras talking about the dangerous weather out there. this is new video just into cnn of a severe storm that passed through minneapolis. this happened just a short time ago. as you can see here, a lot of downed trees, root damage and debris tossed all about. no deaths or serious injuries have been reported. >>> one person died last night when a twister ripped through eastern kansas. a town of redding near imporia, took a direct hit from an ef-1 tornado. 20 homes were destroyed and nearly 200 were damaged. >>> black women, uglier than other women? a shocking statement on any level, but it was made in an article that says it was based on science. next we are going to examine it. >>> but first, we want to tell you about this. many cruise lines are offering gre

. >> all eyes continue to be focused on the yazoo and mississippi rivers here in vicksburg.ope it levels off. even when it does, the water will remain a problem for weeks. it's been creeping into communities here north and south of the city of vicksburg itself. going into a number of subdivisions. there are about 1,700 people who have been forced to flee the waters here. statewide in mississippi that number is closer to 5,000 and continues to grow as the water levels continue to rise in the southern part of the state. you start talking about the dollars and cents. downtown vicksburg, there is a dike created out of lumber, elected in three days to try to prevent further damage into the cats fish row, a popular place for tourists, restaurants. so far, that dike is working but there are a lot of leaks and there's a lot of pressure from the water bearing down on it right now. that's one of the concerns, all the levees, hundreds of miles of levees in the state of mississippi and elsewhere, not to mention the dikes and flood protection systems have been under stress for weeks. the

check out this cemetery in yazoo city. you can barely see the head stones. barely see there. the coroner says several caskets have floated to the top. they're now in a refrigerator truck until the water does go down. inmates meantime at the county's largest maximum security prison are piling up sandbags trying to save it from the floodwaters. the louisiana state pen ten nary is bordered on three sides of the mississippi, hence the name alcatraz of the south. one business is making the best of it. the biscuit copy, a block from the river, has been hosting river crest parties. >>> for others who live and work right on the river, it's tough going. take vidalia dock and storage which is run by three generations of women as jeanne meserve learned no flooding is stopping them. >> reporter: along the mississippi, even those who work on the water, are under water. but vidalia dock and storage isn't out of business. >> what side would you like me to come past you. >> reporter: one of its tugs is headed down the river, though the river has never been like this before. >> mind boggling.

though that is water from the yazoo and mississippi river.ded not only this home but every other home that is out here. the difference of course is that this family is deciding not to take flooding lying down. take a look at the house over there. that actually belongs to todd hart. his home is surrounded by an earthen levee. it is probably about 12 feet high and it is keeping his home completely dry despite the fact the water's all around it. then take a look at what we're standing on here. it would make the army corp of engineers jealous. the family was able to put this earthen dike all the way around. it is about 2,200 feet here. they are saving three acres, that includes their house and the out buildings. not the big barn, but that side is just a barn. but they constructed all of this in about two weeks. and here's the real mind blower. up until last sunday there was no water here. absolutely dry. and then on tuesday is when the water came rolling in. five family members and they were also helped out by a construction crew were able to do

but considerably more along the yazoo river. pretty soon lilt start getting quite serious, i think, and i think it's inevitable the corps of engineers opens the morganza floodway north of baton rouge which runs for a hundred miles... more than that-- 20 miles across and, frankly, that's going to threaten some people, probably several thousand people, in louisiana. a lot of land. >> brown: and mr. barry, is what we're dealing with today all from the aftermath of 1927 or have there been constant fixes, updates and so on? in other words, is this system... has this system mostly been in place all this time? >> well, it's been in place pretty much from the 50s. although the spillway immediately above new orleans which they open early this week, that was first used in' 37. they just finished construction of it. they have made changes. the biggest one would be in 1973. this is probably the second-biggest flood in history. 1927 was the biggest. 1973 was probably third. and '73, when they did... the only other time they opened the morgan

now worries about flooding in their direction, water was diverted from the mississippi--river perrin yazoot. flood wall in place. our record are desperate--army corps are present there. as the governor has tried to fight the flooding with sandbags, but the flooding was up to the second floor yesterday. there also snake advisory's in the mississippi. the floodwaters are now receding fast enough for the casinos and tunica mississippi, costing the casinos millions. now the gold strike is the first in the area to be back in the business. the barges were inspected the in the casino said on and were given you'll kick open back up. a louisiana woman has figured out a fashionable way to recover. she is selling t- shirts, you could see hear what issues and what she is trying to do. she sold about 200 churches two days, along the highway that leads to the spell. also taurus and meet the people around the area. she will use the money to ensure that families can evacuate if they need to. >> 516 rhino, clubs in the background still out right now, not too much wind, light breeze you morning >> the my be

amazing levee, stretches 2200 feet, three acres of land that's become the latest island out here in yazoo the farmhouse over there and this is farmland that's been in the hart family since 1820. i want to bring in erma hart. you are the man behind the plan and construction effort. i have to ask why go to all of this trouble. >> well, martin, this is my home. i have to take my home. that's all i can say. i couldn't walk away from it. >> reporter: did people think you were crazy? you started this two weeks ago when there was no water. >> they didn't tell me i was crazy but i could see the looks in some of their eyes what was going on out here. i don't regret a day of it. >> reporter: lastly, i have to ask, any idea what this has cost? >> at this point i have no idea. just -- we just -- hope -- my friends have mercy on me. how about that? >> reporter: good luck to you. congratulations. amazing feat what they have been able to do with family, friends, and -- determination and a lot of heavy earth moving equipment and so far it is bone dry. it has to stay this way for a while. >> remarkable st

i wonder how the levee is holding up regarding the backwater from that yazoo. guest: that is a good question. one of the problems we have with the mississippi river system is that when the river overflows, those tributaries back up and they back into low lying areas. many of those areas over time have been built in since 1927. that is something that local building codes and inside the cabin parishes that people and r to re-look at. i feel very sorry for those who have lost their homes, a couple of thousand mississippi have been evacuated as a result of this flooding. host: here's another question -- guest: that is the great thing about america abroad sometimes we get to do what we want to do where we want to do it. it goes back to the control measures that the levy boards working with the local parishes and officials and allow building to happen after we have had a flood. hopefully, in each state and county and paris, people will be able to reassess if they want to go back into the flood plain. we have not had a flood of this significance since 1993 and the flo

his lake house near yazoo city is under water. >>> some homeowners in low-lying areas are taking it uponto build their own levees to do whatever they can to protect their homes despite the rising waters. one homeowner tells us his house is surrounded by 12-foot high levees he built up and he's staying there. he's using a boat to get to and from the highway. >> people are trying everything they can to save their homes. >> raising them up on higher -- stilts, hoping that works. >>> louisiana low lands turning into ghost towns. police were going door to door in butte larose, louisiana, clearing people out. >> they're under a mandatory evacuation order there. rob marciano is there in butte larose this morning. what is it like as these waters continue to rise? >> well, the river is still rising around here. but folks are still trying to make a living. some craw fishermen heading out. about 400 traps out there. trying to bring in the harvest, so to speak. you're right, butte larose in this area, they've been told to get out. the mandatory evacuation goes into effect tonight and by 8:00 a.m. to

the hogs in yazoo county are struggling to find dry ground and food and destroying everything if theirproperty owners have been given the green light to shoot them. >>> the former head of the imf is expected to be bailed out of jail later on today. dominique strauss-kahn will be freed under the condition that he remain under house arrest. his wife has rented a two-bedroom apartment which goes for about $14,000 a month. strauss-kahn has now been indicted on seven counts in connection with a sexual assault of a hotel maid. he returns to court in early june. >>> rumors have been circulating for years that the unabomber might have been responsible for chicago's deadly tylenol scare nearly 30 years ago. the cold case has burdened investigators until the fbi asked the unabomber for a dna sample. pierre thomas has the story. >> reporter: it was a national nightmare. someone was lacing tylenol with cyanide. seven people murdered in chicago in the fall of 1982. >> cyanide-contained tylenol. >> this product may be contaminated with cyanide and should be destroyed. >> reporter: it dominated headl

. >> we have about 300,000 acres under water today in the yazoo backwater area. place, we would still have about 200,000 under water but that would include moseley trees. >> reporter: the plan was to build the world's largest hi hydraulic pump. peter says it's been approved since 1941, but still no pump. >> everybody's got it. absolutely i think we deserve our pumping plant. >> the pump moves water from one area to the next. here in louisiana there are lots of pumping stations. the modern-day epa was not happy to have another one built. >> the wetlands and floodplains are the first line of defense, and so this massive project that would have harmed or destroyed 67,000 acres of wetlands was vetoed by the usepa. >> they claim over 600,000 erics would be reforested. >> we figured let's make it good for the economics. what you came out with at the end was a project that was good for the environment the economics. it was a win/win for everyone and everybody. >> reporter: critics say the only winners would be the farmers whose land would be drained. the environmentalis

remember the history from the civil war, there was the great siege of vicksburg now, and now it is the yazoo and the mississippi river. this is looking like a model, but it is very real. that building dates back to 1802, and now it is completely inundated. that water is up 11 feet on the city frontier, and right next door is the blue tarp which is a quickly put together wooden levee that has been constriucte in an emergency to keep the water because of the railroad tracks that ran through there is a gap, and that gap would allow the water to flow through the city which is catfish road down there, which is very, very historic, and so far it is holding, but as you point out the water is rising here and they have surpassed the 1927 record, so the question is how high will it go? we want to show you the pictures we got from the tour going with the sheriff. that is martin pace here of warren county, and this is an area to the north of the town here, and you can see that they were heavily indun daundated. it is hundreds of homes. 1,700 people are forced to flee the rising waters. in those communit

sandbagging was not enough to protect the home from the swollen woofl lake in nearby yazoo river. >>>lan a news briefing to discuss the next step in treating congresswoman gabrielle giffords. she is recovering well, they say, following yesterday's operation on her skull. surgeons implanted a piece of synthetic bone made specifically for the congresswoman. giffords' husband, mark kelly, talked about the surgery from space. >> i had the chance at the end of the day to call her mom and her chief of staff and my brother periodically through as the surgery was going on. she is doing really well. everything went as planned. her neurosurgeons are very happy. she is recuperating and getting back to therapy today. it went really, really well. >> as you know, giffords watched her husband and his crew blast off from the kennedy space center on monday. >>> straight ahead, the arnold schwarzenegger drama. two women, two births, two sons, just days apart. take you live to los angeles. building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, an

the worst of flooding stretches up the yazoo river which emptiesempties into the mississippi mere vicksburg. >>> this is home video of one of the two confirmed tornados that struck northern maryland. the national weather service says this twister near hagers town stayed on the ground for two miles. top winds hit 90 to 100 miles an hour. fortunately no one was hurt. but roofs took a beating. trees were snapped and uprooted about. >>> doctors in husbaouston will update the condition of gabby giffords. her husband in an interview with pbs today from the space station says the surgery went really well. mark kelly says his wife will turn to therapy today. >>> president obama responding to the revolutionary change that is sweeping across the middle east in north africa, that speech happening this hour. our coverage is focusing on how these dramatic changes a world away can affect your daily life. so we are talking about security from iran and its nuclear ambitions to the war on terror. what happens in the middle east influences how safe we are in this country. we're also focusing on the economy.

the army corp of engineers is keeping a watchful eye on that yazoo levee but the backwaters are already. what's the situation where are you? >> reporter: the situation is the same thing we've seen all up and down the mississippi. right now we are waiting for the crest here just as we've seen a little further north, just as we saw last week in memphis. the water creeping up to that crest, that historic level. right now all eyes are a little further north of here on the mainline levee along the mississippi here in the state of mississippi. the army corp of engineers addressing what they're calling a sand boil where water has been undermining one of the levee structures that they have there. they say it isn't a big problem but they expect to see a lot of things like this popping up as this water continues to press against the levee system all up and down the river. they sent a large number of dump trucks to throw a lot of dirt an stone at it to make sure it doesn't get any worse. it was a cause of concern, because if it is left unaddressed, it could undermine the levee and they could have

i wonder how the levee is holding up regarding the backwater from that yazoo. guest: that is a good question. one of the problems we have with the mississippi river system is that when the river overflows, those tributaries back up and they back into low lying areas. many of those areas over time have been built in since 1927. that is something that local building codes and inside the cabin parishes that people and r to re-look at. i feel very sorry for those who have lost their homes, a couple of thousand mississippi have been evacuated as a result of this flooding. host: here's another question -- guest: that is the great thing about america abroad sometimes we get to do what we want to do where we want to do it. it goes back to the control measures that the levy boards working with the local parishes and officials and allow building to happen after we have had a flood. hopefully, in each state and county and paris, people will be able to reassess if they want to go back into the flood plain. we have not had a flood of this significance since 1993 and the flo

because there are about 100,000 homes out there is because they are stuck between two major levees the yazoorganza spillway, and so it is a ghost town and eerie to be out there and it is sis serene and difficult to find anybody except for the sheriff's department who is out there to make sure nobody tries to take advantage of a bad situation. >> thank you, martin. >>> and there was news of maria shriver and arnold schwarzenegger splitting up, and now we know why. it seems, arnold has a secret love child. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a non-narcotic treatment that's fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. seve