>> still looking at memphis. i'm still shaking my head as to whether there was actually a tornado on the ground or not. a trained spotter said there was. i was watching that on there. it didn't look like a tornado on the ground. but that storm that was rotating at least has now moved away from memphis. now there's just rain coming into memphis proper, coming in from the west. i know it looks ominous there. you just had the sirens going on. it is not ominous right now. down towards tunica though it is a little ominous. a new tornado warning. tornado on the ground, to the southwest of tunica, not large but still rotating, on the ground, causing a little bit of damage. let's go to this little tv set. wreg, affiliate, out of memphis, looking at that storm. so still that scud, but it's not reaching the ground. there was maybe some funnels. maybe a little rotation there. still not on the ground there to the north there. so anyway, let's go back to that map. this is the biggest map here. from cleveland, literally down t

it has been a proud monument in memphis. the statue of tom lee, the african-american levee worker. 82 years ago, he saw passengers fleeing a sinking steam boat and even though he couldn't swim, that instinct take over, pulling them out of the water. in the end, he saved 32 people. in a kind of irony, tonight, the statue of tom lee sits, like so much of memphis, engulfed in water. his outstretched arms above reminding us of determination, resilience and how sometimes the odds seem stacked against you. but you just reach out and hang on. ♪ rolling yeah rolling on a river rolling on a river ♪ >> and we have been standing here looking at what people are doing for each other. all those sandbags people filled to protect the neighborhood. i want you to know they are 50 pounds and that's what it took to weigh in and help each other. >>> and we thank you, all, for watching tonight. of course, we're always on at abcnews.com. "nightline" later on tonight. "good morning america" in the morning. we hope you have a wonderful night, an

mississippi is expected to crest tomorrow at memphis. thousands have been forced to evacuate. >>> and president obama tells "60 minutes" that it's clear osama bin laden had some sort of support network in pakistan. he also says he didn't lose any sleep over the possibility bin laden might be killed in last week's raid. >>> the president's decision to go ahead with the bin laden raid was the culmination of years of intelligence gathering. that included the interrogation of captured al qaeda operatives. critics say the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques used on them amount to torture. whit johnson has more. >> reporter: the death of osama bin laden not only unveiled a treasure trove of al qaeda intelligence, it rekindled an old debate over enhanced interrogation. what some have called torture. >> it's clear that -- that that -- those techniques that the cia used worked. and to have taken them away, and -- and ruled them out, i think may be a mistake. >> it was a good program. it was a legal program. it was not torture. and i would

russ. >> mitchell: randall pinkston in memphis, thank you. there has been extensive flooding this spring. we now wonder what lead to these record levels of water. >> this looks like a once in a century type of event. >> mitchell: mike smith a meteorologist says its record rainfall and melting snow, but most of all, it's timing. >> by themselves, the snowfall wouldn't have caused that much problem and the rainfall wouldn't have caused that much of a problem. but they arrived in the same place at the same time. >> mitchell: take a look at the april rainfall. paducah kentucky, nearly 17 inches of rain, normal rainfall is less than five inches. in clarksville, tennessee, 16.7 inches of rain fell, normal is about four inches. and oxford, mississippi, more than 14 inches, its average is about five. >> in some areas during april, they had half a year's rainfall in that one month. >> mitchell: the city of new orleans is also facing a threat from the rising waters. tomorrow morning the u.s. army corps of engineers will open a major water diversion to

memphis is wide open. the areas that are underwater, for the most part, are agricultural areas, industrial areas. so this city is wide open. >> brown: briefly, mayor, no matter what happens tonight, you're going to be dealing with this for, it sounds like, days and weeks. going to have a lot of high water around. >> that's the other thing. this idea that whenever the crest is, whether it's at 11:00 p.m. or 2:00 a.m. tomorrow morning that bells and whistle will blow and everything will be over. that simply is not the case. as a matter of fact, some of the most dangerous times are as the waters begin to recede, we may have roadways that might give way or something. so, no, we will not be out of danger simply because the river crests tonight or early tomorrow morning. whenever that point in time may be. some of the most dangerous times will be after the crest is reached so we'll be on alert for a long, long time. >> brown: mayor a.c.wharton of memphis, thanks very much and good luck to you and the city? >> th

officials around memphis are using the time to prepare. a call has gone out the volunteers to fill sand bags for government buildings and hospitals. the hope is they won't be needed. the greatest concern around memphis isn't for areas like this that are right up next to the river but rather the rivers that are around memphis, the tributaries that flow into the mississippi. water is backing up through those rivers as well now and flooding communities along there. officials now today will be going to individual property owners saying this could be the time that you want to pack up. you don't want to wait for this river to be in your front yard before you make a decision to move. >> david mattingly today in memphis. when the mississippi river does crest next week it's expected to be 14 feet above flood stage. and jacqui jeras, it's not just memphis, not just tennessee but everything up and down the mississippi. >> this is really widespread. this will be ongoing all the way down the river in the weeks and even in the months ahead, believe it o

mark strassmann is in memphis tonight. mark, hundreds of people have already been evacuated. >> reporter: and more will get out tonight katie. this street is a snapshot of why. riverside drive in downtown memphis, no longer beside the river, but in it. hour by hour through jittery memphis the mississippi is a rising threat. >> only a few feet between the river and the interstate. >> reporter: a river now three miles wide in some spots, six times its typical width. in south memphis, danny lee mitchell wades through his basement. but he's staying put-- more afraid of looters. >> we got two evacuation notices but, you know, you have to think for yourself. >> reporter: mitchell is exactly what emergency leaders don't want-- holdouts in harm's way with the river cresting within hours. in neighborhoods like this one where you can only see the roof tops, the misery is rising with the water. the mississippi will crest for as long as a week so it could be two weeks before all this water goes away. in memphis, the focus is on three

memphis is seeing the worst of it. as millions downstream can only watch and wait. >>> pressuring pakistaident the president talks about getting bin laden amidst new charges that an ally was harboring an enemy. >>> the trial gets under way today in the casey anthony case. the question is, where in florida are the jurors being selected? >>> the raging mississippi river is driving more people from their home this is morning as ill swells to near historic levels. >> the flood zone is spanning eight states from illinois to louisiana, with 16 million gallons of water rushing every second. in memphis, the river is expected to crest tomorrow, 14 feet above major flood stage. more from jim ryan. >> reporter: the mighty mississippi is on the move. for millions who live along the length, the river is proving to be a dangerous neighbor. from southern illinois to the gulf of mexico, flood waters are engulfing homes inch by inch. >> most everything got wet. all the carpet will have to come out. the walls are going to have to be red

so the high water at memphis will continue for a while. and the city officials say the cleanup could take months. >> reporter: hour-by-hour, the mississippi is a rising threat. >> a few feet between the river and the interstate. >> reporter: the river is three tim miles wide in some spots, six times its typical width. in south memphis, danny lee mitchell wades through his basement. but he's staying put, more afraid of looters. in neighborhoods like this one where you can only see the roof tops, the misery is rising with the water. the mississippi will crest for as long as a week. so it could be two weeks before all of this water goes away. in memphis, the focus is on three bloated tributaries, so overwhelmed by the mississippi, two are actually flowing backwards. all of that is pressuring and testing the city's pressure system like never before. in small teams, 150 engineers walked the levees looking for soft spots and leaks and the u.s. army corps of engineers promises that system will hold up. that system is now the last event. >> you do

the sun sets over memphis. graceland is still there, so is sun record studio, where so many got their start. and at night, we took a walk on beale street. how does that sound? beale street. soul of the community, home of the blues. there was dancing on the sidewalk, even though the water was lapping just a few hundred yards away. in bb king's landmark house of blues, we asked people, what message they'd send in a kind of bottle down river, to the people bracing for the floods? keep the faith, they said. strength. nothing defeats river people. and then we asked the band, the bb king all-stars, to play one song they would like to play for everyone that loves and fears the mighty mississippi. here it is. ♪ i'm sittin' on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away ♪ >> reporter: tonight, music still playing, the people of the mississippi, still going strong. and we're so glad you're watching tonight. we have news at abcnews.com 24 hours a day. >> b.a.r.t. wins the battle in the death of oscar grant and the

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

janet shamlian, nbc news, memphis. >> reporter: this is anne thompson. this spring, the mississippi river refuses to be tamed. some 30 miles northwest of new orleans, a deliberate rush of water at bonnet carre, louisiana, this morning. officials opening 28 of the spillway's 350 gates, sending some of the swollen mississippi on a six-mile journey to lake pontchartrain, to prevent new orleans from being inundated like memphis. part of the plan following the great flood of 1927. >> there's going to be thousands of people who are affected by this very directly by having either their homes or their property flooded, and that's with everything working perfectly. >> reporter: levees, essentially giant walls made by man or nature, try to contain much of the mississippi where towns and cities crowd parts of the river. today, 4 million people are in the flood zone. what were once natural flood plains are now valuable farmland. the nutrient rich soil feeding america and the world. development that's erased 35 million acres of wetlands, nature's flood protection, an

the damage in memphis after the worst flood there in nearly a century. >> many memphis landmarks were spared, but there are now new fears about hundreds of miles of shoreline to the south. it is tuesday, may 10th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >>> good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i am peggy bunker. flood control precautions are now under way in louisiana, to spare cities there the very worst with of course hurricane katrina's floods still so fresh in people's minds. this is sort of insult to injury. >> it's reminiscent. again the big question, can the levees hold along all of those areas along the mississippi? so the test is coming later this week. >>> also in this half hour, the show, a major lead in the investigation into all of those bodies found on new york's long island. it's not the work of just one killer. >> isn't that incredible? in the fact that forensics can figure that out. it's really an amazing story. >>> also coming up a bit later, a very unusual story involving a wealthy lumber baron. we mean wealthy. take a look at that guy. he

. >>> memphis misery. more residents are told flee as the mississippi river nears its crest. >>> and far from home, an alligator wrestling class popped up in the most unlikely of places. >>> hello. good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. for almost a decade, osama bin laden made threats against the west. now the tables are turned with the u.s. releasing videos of the hermit-like master mind found in his compound. jim miklashevski reports. >> this is the video that the white house wants the world to see, osama bin laden, once the world's most notorious terrorist seen here armed only with a remote as he dials up old videos of himself from the time that the mere mention of his name brought fear. these are the images of an old man in a stocking cap bundled up against the cold, in spartan surroundings. unlike other videos where his beard is black, here it's almost totally gray. in fact, it's the same gray beard bin laden had when the navy s.e.a.l.s shot and killed him. >> in the end, here he died a prison

flooding keeps i-40 shut down, from memphis to little rock. wet on i-20, from memphis to louisiana. and on i-10, from new orleans to baton rouge. rain soaks i-94, from fargo, to chicago. and i-75, from cincinnati to knoxville. icy on parts of i-15, and 80 in the northern rockies. >> and if you're flying, airport delays are possible in charlotte, salt lake city, also minneapolis. >>> low-lying neighborhoods in memphis are under water this morning, as the mississippi river crests 14 feet above flood stage. >> look at those pictures. those rising waters are also creating other lingering dangers. as diane sawyer reports, snake sightings have kept hotline phones ringing off the hook. >> reporter: a vat of water moccasins, known as cotton mouths. venomous and aggressive when they get agitated. when they're upset and open their mouths, there's a white lining. that's where the word cotton mouth comes from. >> they can cause a fairly serious bite. but there's an enormous amount of tissue damage. >> reporter: riding along with director bob nations of shelby county preparedness, i ask him abou

right now in memphis big concert called memphis in may. all these concerts across the city. if you're watching from memphis, certainly be careful. a tornado warning is posted. storms moving east at 45 miles per hour. really heading toward nashville, tennessee. of course, how much are we going to see? more rain in the offing. these areas have seen anywhere from 7 to 14 inches of rain. more rain coming in. you can see the dark yellow, red, orange color. delineating 8, maybe 10 inches of rain in the next five days. why? that front's in place. it's not progressive. more rain just inundating what we've already seen in flooded farmlands in these pictures like cairo and the surrounding areas, fredricka. unfortunately no rest for the weary. the rain continues to come, and just soaking rains. not as big of severe weather threat today, i.e. tornadoes, but memphis, tennessee, tornado warning. >> thanks so much, alexandra. >>> so that means a lot of volunteers from across the country are also heading to these areas in greatest need. in particular, the south, to help out the many tornado

not expected to crest in memphis until midweek. evacuate some.to it has not been mass evacuations at this point. mississippi and tennessee at least 100closed roads saturday. >> we have never seen this in our life. the flood water should come a of the record.t >> my dad told us when he was a boy, he remembered boats. >> in south memphis, residents were on the move. they build a tent city to shelter all of the evacuees. the flood waters will threaten rouge and new orleans in the coming week. >>> governor bob mcdonald says the federal emergency management denied his request for assistance. virginia was hit by more than two dozen twisters. >>> it looks like one restaurant open on the waterfront tomorrow. several restaurants were flooded out. the restaurant reopened after a major cleanup. the kitchen is still closed. restaurant is cutting on a grill in keeping food on ice. they say mother's day is one of themost lucrative days of year four restaurants. >>> what do we expect tomorrow for mother's day? >>> we have been tracking schall tra

janet shamlian, nbc news, memphis. >> reporter: this is anne thompson. 40 miles south of memphis the mississippi is swallowing up the homes and casinos of tunica, washing out much of this mississippi river town and heading south. dump trucks and bulldozers are the heavy artillery in today's battle for vicksburg, as crews add six inches of dirt to the backwater levee, where the mississippi has pushed into the swollen yazoo river and is climbing. how fast is this water rising? >> on the gauge the average here has been about a foot a day. >> reporter: today in vicksburg the river is moving at 1.8 million cubic feet a second, so fast it could fill louisiana's superdome in just 30 seconds. and it's expected to rise another five feet before crest next week. that means the river will run over this levee. so crews are reinforcing it with five miles of black plastic sheeting. >> it will protect the land from being washed away. it will shed the water off without it eroding the soil behind it. >> reporter: there are more than 2,000 miles of levee systems along the mississippi. the most common a

they were flying out of memphis? is that home to both of them? >> yes, they're imams in memphis. >> to ask, as well, not that it should make a difference if they're flying, but are these two muslim americans? >> you know, i didn't ask them that. that's one question i'll ask them. >> and would you believe something like this is actually happened before. it was nearly five years ago where several imams actually travelled to the same conference were taken off a usairways flight. >>> we have some history in the making today. the most prestigious horse race of the year. the derby is today. the kentucky derby. i want to introduce you to a man next who has filmed some of the most historic races ever filmed at churchill downs. [ banker ] mike and brenda found a house that they really wanted. it was in my sister's neighborhood. i told you it was perfect for you guys. literally across the street from her sister. [ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together. we really missed a great opportunity -- dodged a bullet there. [

officials around memphis are using the time to prepare. a call has gone out to volunteer toes fill sand bags for government buildinges and hospitals. the hope is they won't be needed. >> the greatest can concern here in memphis isn't actually for property right along the river front. it's for properties along the rivers, the tributaries around memphis that empty into the mississippi. as this river comes up, it pushes water back up along those rivers and threatens those homes and properties up there. officials today will be going around identifying which areas could be in danger. and they're going to be telling those property owners now is the time to pack up and make plans to leave. don't wait until this river is sitting in your front yard to decide to leave. suzanne. >> thank you. i'm going to go to karen maginnis with the latest on the flooding. karen, i understand you have some incredible video, some pictures, even some casinos, things that are being threatened by these waters. >> absolutely. they're saying they've seen inside the casin

that dlus parts of memphis, tennessee. joining 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 sh

jay gray is in memphis, tonight. >> across memphis, the water continues to rise, pushing up against sidewalks more than 20 yards from its normal shore line. >> this is all astounding. i mean, it's just overwhelming to see it so high. >> and getting even higher. emergency teams are helping dozens move to higher ground. some loaded into city buses to push through the water. a ride to safety before all of the roads in the lowest lying areas are blocked and in downtown memphis the fight to keep the water out continues. men and machines working around the clock and against the clock with a near record crest expected as early as tomorrow, but for some -- >> if we had a hole in our living room and cut a little hole, we could probably use our fishing poles right now and do some serious catfishing. >> time has already run out. the lower level of jeanie's home is already under water and now all she can do is watch and wait. >> we wait and see, and hopefully, you know, if the water does recede rather quickly, maybe that will minimize the damage to the inside of the house. >> a hope that is shared by so

memphis will be fine. we'll talk about 1,000 or so houses, but the city of memphis and shelby county, you will be fine. there are levees that could have problems up and down -- they're made of dirt, most of them. you pile dirt on top, plant grass and trees, hope it stays together. if you get days and days and weeks and weeks of water pushing on those levees, sometimes you can get water coming through. that's when you need the sandbags. we have warnings from the ohio river, mississippi river, down into the gulf of mexico. here's what will go on for the next couple of weeks. as the water continues to go down, the rain is here. everywhere that is green -- this is from 2010. i will push in to where the blue is. the inundation of the farmland and the flood land. honestly, it's the floodplain that is flooding this has been flooding for hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions of years. right now we just put people, towns, houses, farms and people in the way. that's what we do, we put things in good places

famous street in memphis. b.b. king has a club up the street. this street sings the blues. tonight it is under several feet of water. for long time residents here, this is all a bad sign. old man river keeps rolling and rising tonight. >> i had to come down and see this, because this is historic. >> reporter: today the river at memphis was at 47 feet, the second highest ever. major flood stage, putting the city's leaking levees to a test. >> the rivers aren't expected to crest until wednesday? wow! >> across arkansas, missouri, mississippi and tennessee, authorities are asking thousands of residents to evacuate and find higher ground. in south memphis, the grandmother who now lives inches from rising flood waters was refusing to leave. >> this is going to take her to the point that the water is actually coming in the house. when she sees that, she'll leave. until then, you guys, us, it ain't going to happen. >> it looks like you're going to get water though. >> yeah. >> you're going to get some. >> reporter: 7

rising waters in memphis are challenging a record set more than 70 years ago. the sports world mourns golf great seve ballesteros, who died of a brain tumor at the age of 54. and a new stage. singer suzanne vega tries on a new role as a playwright and actress. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" >> mason: good evening. six days after his death in pakistan, a new picture of osama bin laden is emerging tonight. in an-- it is almost certainly not one he would have wanted us to see. video seized by the navy seals who raided his compound show a distinctly unheroic-looking terrorist leader which may be why the government selected them for release. homeland security correspondent bob orr in washington begins our coverage. >> reporter: it's a startling image-- a haggerred looking osama bin laden huddled in a blanket and ski cap, holding a remote control, watching television news coverage of himself. the video, one of five released at a by the u.s. government, shows bin laden sitting alone in a drab, run-down room in front of an old tv connected b

nbc's ron mott is in memphis on some hallowed ground there in that city. ron, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. we're standing at the low end of beale street tonight. as you can see behind me, it's taking on water, water that is starting to flow where it's simply not invited. >> maybe a boat for the lake, but not to your house. >> reporter: after 19 years in her community, tina picked the right time to befriend a neighbor with a boat. as both their mobile homes in memphis are filled with several feet of water tonight. >> i have a lot of my mom's stuff in there. i don't even know if i can get in. you can only do what you can. >> reporter: we paddled along with joe, who offered to help tina get a few more of her valuables. when we reached her place, she waded through leach-infested floodwaters, fought a stubborn door, finally pushing in and finding a mess, also what she came looking for. hers is one of 2,800 homes and businesses officials say are in the flood threat zone. as the mississippi continues to rise, approaching an all-time high

memphis has been hit particularly hard. residents haven't dealt with floodwater this high since the 1930s for the for the latest we go nbc's jay gray. >> reporter: the mississippi has reached its peak cresting at a near 48 feet. >> all we can do now is let the water go down, try to keep people safe, keep them patient, give them the assistance they need. and because this is going to be with us for another few weeks. >> reporter: at least two weeks of homes filled with water instead of families. businesses submerged, frightening images for those down river. >> the floodwaters come to us. it's coming up and it's coming fast. >> reporter: in vicksburg, mississippi, that water is already beginning to swallow homes as it continues to move in. many are being forced to move out and up to higher ground. but in louisiana where most of this water will ultimately end up, higher ground is hard to find. the army corps of engineers opened 28 of the 350 gates on the spillway diverting some of the water into lake pontchartrain hoping to eas

that would include parts of memphis, tennessee. let's get the latest now from nbc meteorologist bill karins. a good morning to you. any relieving in sight? are we going to be waiting a while. >> this will slow -- a slow-moving disaster. we don't get a lot ofas terse like this in the done trip. we get tornadoes and hurricanes. instantaneous. even earthquakes. we know what we are dealing with. this is only going up about a foot a day in some areas on the mississippi river. right now the crest is just south of cape girardeau where the ohio river dumps into the mississippi. the reason the mississippi will take so long to get through all of these flood stages is because the ohio river is where the worst flooding is right now. there is a long journey down the mississippi. we look at these dates by all these cities, memphis, wednesday of next week, we are talking about next weekend. even after next weekend in greenville, mississippi. vicksburg is almost two weeks from now. this just going to take forever and some of these locations talkin

memphis is getting close to that record peak right now. they're going to take some measures coming up now to save new orleans, hopefully, by hoping up some flood spillway. we'll kind of detail that for you and let you know what you can expect and how that's supposed to help. unfortunately it's also going to put some other people in harm's way when they do that. >> fantastic. we'll be looking for those details on that. of course, you know, i've been talking to venus williams face to face all day long in our profile of face to face. we've been talking about this tennis great right here. venus williams. she's out on injury right now. she's nursing the injury, hoping to get back out on the pro circuit. we had to reach out to a lot of viewers fascinated by her on a regular basis to say, wait a minute, what would you ask venus williams if you had an opportunity? we got some great questions. she loved them, too. take a listen. i like to ask a lot of our viewers what kind of questions they may have for someone face to face. >> yay, i love question

steve osunsami tested the water in memphis. >> reporter: we're outside a memphis school because this is one of the locations where we tested the water. health officials have been encouraging residents to stay away from the water, saying it's too dangerous. and we found out why. we tested the water here and in south memphis. while we found no evidence of pesticides or met talls. we found that the levels of e. coli, and bacteria, is 2,000 times above any acceptable limits. residents we talked with who we shared this with were obviously very upset. we're being told that any homeowners coming in contact with this should shower immediately. and that homes will have to be decontaminated because of this water exposure. steve osunsami, abc news, memphis. >>> and yet another consideration, all that standing water could stick around for weeks and also turn into a perfect breeding ground for mosquitos. >>> overseas, now, where nato air strikes have rocked libya's capital this morning. the attacks appear to be targeting gadhafi's compound in central libya. hours before that, gadhafi himself appe

memphis is the next major city in its path. it's expected to crest tuesday night, 14 feet above flood stage, a day earlier than initially predicted. thousands have been told to evacuate. in some parts of tennessee entire neighborhoods are under water. many homes didn't have flood insurance or flood damage is not enough for federal aid, it's a tough spot to be in. affiliate wpsd caught up with one man in kentucky when he got the first sight of his damaged home. >> wow. i mean that's just devastating. i really didn't expect it to get this high and now that i'm here it's -- it's almost breathtaking you know. i worked three years to build that car and just got it finished two weeks before the flood. man, i don't want to go inside but i need to. see what happens here. didn't get inside i guess. that's insulation back here. i'm not leaving. this is home for me. >> all right, i want to bring in meteorologist alexandra steele here with us this weekend on "cnn saturday morning" and "cnn sunday morning." tough to see. some folks got it w

. >> residents of memphis, tennessee are bracing for what could be a once in lifetime flood. river 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 litt

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.

holly is live in memphis. >> reporter: good morning, pam. people are waking up in memphis for another day of waiting and watching as they are expecting the river to crest a little bit sooner sometime within the next 24 hours. tennessee's largest city is in the cross hairs. memphis now has the most high- risk population for flooding according to the army corp of engineers. >> we are very concerned. we realize it's all unpredictable. we do not want to be stuck here in memphis and we do not want to flee in a hurry and we want to return home safely. >> reporter: on tuesday nay expect the mississippi to credit at 48 feet outside the city. less than a foot shy of the record set in 1937. with the mississippi mississippi swollen there is nowhere for the water to flow. 100 homes have been evacuated. 400 residents are currently in shelters. they went door to door to alert others they need to leave their homes. >> the water was all the way up to the window about two feet inside the trailer. >> reporter: memphis is the late nest a string of towns along

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

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 before this is over. levees blown up, flooding 130,000 acres of rich missouri farmland and this is the man who gave the

it's a big weekend here in memphis. they've got an nba playoff game here, a barbecue cookoff was supposed to be in a park along the river. it's been moved to higher ground as well. they're adapting but everyone kind of watching, waiting, very anxious to see what happens. >> indeed. okay. jay gray, thank you very much from the middle of beale street. >> you bet. >> not that you'd be able to tell, though. thanks. >>> let's get a check on the saturday forecast from bill karins. good morning. >> a good saturday to you, alex, we're watching the mississippi river with the flooding, heavy rain in missouri. a loot of people curious about the kentucky derby forecast, the run for the roses. let he had break down the forecast. it's actually a little bit tricky. around the country, the biggest area of rain, we have two of they will, one with showers and thunderstorms rolling through missouri and more rain back up through idaho and montana. it's that area of rain in missouri and illinois, that little weak storm system that will blow

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 endeavour's final launch extra special between gabrielle why do we choose coppertone sport? it works great on wet or dry skin because it's seriously waterproof and ultra sweat-proof. coppertone protects across 100% of the uva/uvb spectrum. coppertone sport. embrace the sun. >> closed captioning brought

las cámaras de univisión están en memphis. ( ♪ música ) este es su noticiero univisión con jorge ramos y maría elena salinas. >>> muy buenas noches reapareció marisol valle quien a los 20 años de edad, fue jefe de la policía en la posible cción mbl importante de méxico. >>> se preocuparon igual >>> el mismo miedo que la hizo huir de méxico con su familia la obligó a estar callada, pero hoy marisol valle compartió su historia con univisión nos dijo por qué vino a estados unidos buscando refugio. >>> ahh... tengo miedo por mi familia, y ay! o sea, no, tengo miedo volver. >>> a los 20 años, marisol se hizo popular al aceptar el cargo de jefa de policía aunque su trabajo era comunitario la atención que trajo el nombramiento hacía la pequeña población no fue bienvenida para el flasnarco frtráfico >>> no le gustó que estuviera yendo mucha gente y por esta razón me amenazaron >>> marisol valle dijo que no quería venir a estados unidos, pero la seguridad de su pequeño hijo y el resto de su familia no le dio ninguna otra opción >>> mucha gente está o sea, yéndose de ahÃ