miles from tunica cutoff, its from tunica cutoff, its evacuees have this growing sense the community they have known and love will never come back. katie. >> couric: mark strassmann, mark, thanks very much. in other news, the peace corps is one of the most respected american institutions, its volunteers admired around the world for its commit and selflessness, but former volunteers appeared on capitol hill today to sea the peace corps did not do enough to prepare them for the risk they faced and to press congress for action. we caution you, some of what you're about to hear in this report from jan crawford is graphic. >> my name is jessica smochek. i'm a former peace corps volunteer and a peace corps rape survivor. >> jessica smochek a 23-year-old college graduate who wanted to dedicate her life to helping others. she joined the peace corps and was sent to bangladesh. three months later, a group of men attacked her. >> they surrounded me, grabbed me, knocked me to the ground, and began touching and kissing me. >> reporter: jessica complained to peace corps staff. she asked for mace o

we are in tunica county which is about 30 miles south of memphis. the river was cresting there yesterday. and the river here is cresting right now. >>> reporter: while the crest of the mississippi has moved past member first, the water and the danger are rising down river as the swollen river continues to flow south. the mississippi has not reached levels like this since the historic floods of 1927. officials are preparing for the worst. >> we have got moving search- and-rescue teams, department of wildlife and fisheries leading the effort positioning assets to the northern part of the state. >> reporter: louisiana has mobilized 500 national guard troops and 21 parishes have made emergency declarations in response to the threat n mississippi about 600 people have been evacuated in the town of tunica where the river cinching towards its 48-foot crest. >> it is devastating. it's painful to watch the slow rise of the water. we can't start the recovery and you can't start the healing process until the water goes down. >> reporter: the gaming industry is

as man as 4 million people in her path smoch he follow her flow to tunica mississippi. this neighborhood known for fishing is known as the tunica cut off. now the residents are cut off. melanie has been living in the gym three days. >> i need my soap and my dog, the most important thing. >> reporter: waterer has been seeping in the town since last week slowly submerging her home and most of her neighbors. most have no flood insurance. >> we need fema. we had have to be a tent city. we aren't going to give up. we are going to go home. >> reporter: it will be declared a federal disaster area. >> the emergency is going what it can right now until the president signs the disaster declaration declaration. >> reporter: it could be the end of the month before they get back to their homes or what is left of them. >> it's a bitch. >> reporter: it's not just the mississippi ritself doing the pummeling down here. when she overflows its banks, the tributaries get backed up as well. which is what we found in carter, mississippi, miles from the mighty mississippi. this small town sit

he's in tunica, mississippi, tonight. good evening, jim. >> reporter: good evening, diane. behind me, you can see the real power of this river. the huge current going by me and through those closed casinos of mississippi now, as the threat of catastrophic flooding moves south to the delta region. the rugged mississippi, often meandering, is now surging towards the delta. moving at more than double its normal speed. america's mightiest river is home to coast guard lieutenant brian miller, and the mississippi he sees today is more ferocious than ever. >> you can see all the swirls and flows. that's really an anomaly, for this particular area. >> reporter: the flood walls and levees held in memphis, sparing one of the largest cities along the river. but now, the flood surge is upon tunica, mississippi, where some families are now in shelter, evacuated as the river swallows the town's lifeblood, riverboat casinos and their homes. >> we love it here. we don't want to leave here. we want to go home. and we're going to do whatever it takes to stay there. >> reporter: down state in

. >> 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 the size of it the flooding, think of a football field covered in 44 feet of water. if you were standing that it edge of the river, that's how much water would be flowing past you. >>> lebron james and the heat are one step closer to bringin

jim avila, abc news, tunica, mississippi. >>> the canadian mom who survived nearly two months in rugged terrain has been released from a hospital in idaho. doctors say rita chretien will continue her recovery closer to her home in british columbia. she somehow managed to survive by rationing trail mix and hard candy for weeks. crews are hoping better weather today will allow them to resume the search for her husband. >> that is amazing. >>> and the u.s. is still waiting to question osama bin laden's three widows now being held in pakistan. but another family member, bin laden's fourth oldest son, is speaking out about the deadly raid. omar bin laden called the killing of his father criminal. also said that his burial at sea humiliated the family. >>> meanwhile, president obama has turned his focus to immigration. visiting the border with mexico to inspect increased security there. the president said new systems are working but that fundamental changes are still needed. karen travers has more. >> reporter: president obama came to the u.s./mexico border to see firsthand the stepped up sec

. >>> es lo peor que he visto, he vivido toda mi vida en túnica y esto es un desastre. >>> la crecida del río mis si i mississippi continúa avanzando en el país, y ingenieros del ejército se preparan para lo peor, el gobernador de luisiana alerta a sus residentes. >>> no hay tiempo para esperar es el momento de buscar donde uno vive de buscar su región y averiguar qué va a pasar y así proteger las propiedad jz es >>> la crecida del río mississippi fue un problema. >>> agentes del favfbi arrestar hoy en cayey puerto rico a uno de los pocos nfugitivos que quedaba en un robo de 1986, el hombre trotaba cuanto lo detuvieron, el fbi dice que sigue siendo del grupo que realizó el robo de 7 millones de dólares >>> tiempo aduade la pausa, oman laden pone en duda que su padre esté muerto >>> no le cambia volvemos con esto. >> nosotros hemos visto la amplia cobertura de las noticias pero no estamos convencidos por la evidencia disponible y la ausencia del cadÁver de que nuestro padre este muerto. nosotros buscamos evidencias concluyentes para creer las versiones publicadas en relacio

in mississippi, in tunica people have been forced to leave their homes. >> it's devastating. it's painful to watch the rise of the water. we can't start the recovery an healing process until the water goes down. >> reporter: the gaming business is one of tunica's biggest employer employers -- employers. now they have been forced to close their doors. >> the water's too high. we don't know how much damage has been done. so no, we don't have a clue. it's way too early to tell. >> and as i said, i'm standing in the parking lot of one of those casinos, the gold strike, and they barricaded the walls here pretty well, water is got seeping into this one. in a town called cutoff, 3 -- cut off -- cutoff, 330 homes have beenth -- have been evacuated. residents have been staying in shelters an they pretty much have no news. they don't even know if they are gonna have any -- gonna have any homes to go back to. back to you. >> back to you. >> thank you. >>> the mount diablo school school board voted last night to eliminate 180 positions. but some employees could be hired back in the fall.

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 we go. san

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 americans. officials say the journal and other materials show that bin laden kept pressing his followers to find new ways to hit the u.s. bin laden suggested striking smaller cities and going after trains as well as planes all with the hopes killing as many americans as possible in a single attack. >>> oklahoma senator james inhoff has become the first member of congress to see photos of bin laden's corpse. he describes the images as gruesome, but the member of the senate armed services committee said the photos left no doubt saying, quote, it was clear that it was him. >>> within hours of libyan leader moammar gadhafi's first public appearance in 11 days, his forces suffered heavysetbacks and the nation's capital was bombed. yesterday state tv showed gadhafi meeting with tribal leaders, the first video seen of the ruler since air strikes last month, which the regime claimed were an attempt on hi

swamped low-lying areas around tunica. you're seeing the pictures oout of tunica. hundreds of homes evacuated and prime farmland is under water right now. it's an economic life blood there. the casinos i was just telling you about, all of those are shut down, damaged, flooded. now, a new warning from the mississippi state health department. telling people to be careful with fish or crawfish from the flood waters. the water could contain bacteria, plus oil, gas, diesel and fertilizers. >>> checking in with reynolds wolf in just a bit. he'll tell us exactly where these flood waters are going and what we can expect. >>> also, we're getting news out of south florida this morning. imans are charged with providing support to the taliban in pakistan. the fbi is identifying them, another one of them under arrest in los angeles. but three people in pakistan right now, including the daughter and grandson are being sought. they're all in connection to the folks who arrested here in the u.s. and they all conspired to provide material support in a conspiracy to kill, injure and

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. menlo park, redwood city, san jose 69, a widespread view here you can see clear skies, a few low clouds along the coastline. those low clouds are a reoccurring theme for the weekend. take a look at the satellite and radar. activity over northern california has kicked up our onshore breeze and that will continue through the weekend. the center cirque lake circulation will continue to send cooler air our way and today a b

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 towards mansfield, columbus, ohio, back to indianapolis, these red x box, still the potential. and chicago, west to aurora, down to st. louis, eastward, memphis, even down into louisiana, every storm is big today. whether it makes a tornado or not, it could still make wind damage with a 50 mile per hour or 60 mile per hour wind gust. if you see a storm, get inside, get the pets inside, get away from the windows and ride it out. it will be over in 15 minutes. >> you are saying 80-mile-an-hour winds, that can do a l

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 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

the floodwaters are affecting the casino business in tunica, mississippi. many of the casinos have been closed for two weeks costing millions. the gold strike is the first casino back open. the inside of the casino was scared after a 1 mi. long perimeter around the resort. the barges that many casinos sit on respected and given the ok to be open. >> 6:16 a.m.. we're just wondering when it will be safe to rotate and take our shorts out of the closet. >> after today, you probably could. this is the view from the roof camera looking back at san francisco. the sun is coming up. in gorgeous way to wake up and head out the door. partly cloudy with to builders in the low 50s and upper '40's. warm this afternoon in getting our target is to the upper 70's, almost 80 degrees. this evening local back down into the '40's. this afternoon will be fantastic. 50 degrees in san francisco, chilly of north, 43 for santa rosa, now also in the low '40's. 48 in san jose. otherwise the heart of the bay is right around 50 degrees. 50 in san francisco, 51 in oakland. let's talk abo

. >> reporter: and casinos in tunica aren't gambling with mother nature's power. many operators expect to be shut down by flooding for at least three weeks. kurt gregory, nbc news. >>> 4:51 right now. coming up -- ♪ imagine all the people >> a bay area teen auditions on "the voice." did she make it? >>> we're looking over here no bonk on the road for 24, caldecott tunnel moves smoothly i'll show you some spots in the east bay. ♪ imagine all the people >> now, mike tells me it's good when they hit the button. a san jose high school student wowing judges on "the voice." she is only 18, didn't miss a note on last night's show. the senior says her experience is proof that dreams can come true. >> keep trying because seriously we all get so many nos and you never know when that lucky yes is. >> now you can find her strumming a guitar on youtube. her parents say she is devoted to music. >>> we mentioned san rafael native lily elise. ♪ >> so now both local products moving on to the next round. we have a lot more to come up. marla has a look at the news ahead. >>> g

. >> reporter: casinos in tunica aren't gambling with mother nature's destructive power. money taken away for safe keeping. many casino operators expect to be shut down for at least three weeks. kurt gregory, nbc news. >>> here is a look at other stories making news around america today. the dramatic rescue of a 93-year-old woman who made the mistake of trying to cross a flooded highway was recorded by a sheriff assisting from shore. using a safety line and cable, two missouri national guardsmen battled raging water to pull her ultimately to safety. no injuries were reported. >>> chicago's lake front has become the new hangout for raccoons. the spike in population has been a problem since last summer, leading to the capture of approximately 120 of the scavengers. officials have classified the situation as an infestation and caution residents not to leave any trash around because that is a steady source of food for the animals. >>> finally, america has its own polar bear survival story to tell. a female cub was recently rescued from an alaskan oil field. it was spotted wee

that warning is too late for people in the town of tunica cutoff. this morning all but four of the 300 houses there already have water inside. outside the roads are under 55 feet of water. some people worry the floods will permanently wash their community right off the map. we may feel the effects of that flooding even here in the bay area. farmers along the mississippi say they may lose all their corn, cotton, rice, wheat and even soybeans. >> i've got a neighbor that's got $2.5 million worth of wheat flooded right now. it's gone. >> 45% to 50% of the nation's rice comes from arkansas. eastern arkansas is where it's grown. so we've lost a big portion of the rice crop. >> supplies were already tight and prices had been inching up. those crops are in nearly every processed food we eat. >>> u.s. investigators are learning more about bin laden's activities by reading his private journal. the journal was among the documents seized at bin laden's compound. in it he writes of advising al qaeda groups to hit other cities besides new york such as los angele

almost no one in tunica cutoff had flood insurance. they will str to start over somewhere else. >> it is hard to face it, you know what i mean. if you hadn't been there, you just don't know. >> reporter: within mississippi spill zone, the state is sounding the alarm. governor haley barbour is urging anyone who has a threat of flooding to get out bhil they can. chris? >> mark, with the mississippi now bearing down on louisiana, some worst case estimates have some low-lying districts in new orleans inundated with up to 25 feet of water down there have the that's the worse the inundation than katrina. could anything be done to avoid this? >> reporter: remember, the mississippi, if it is allowed to run full through louisiana all wait to new orleans. the power of the river could eat away at the levees and potentially expose as many as 1 million people to flooding. there is one option. the morganza spillway outside baton rouge, sort of a pressure valve. if you open it up, you could divert about one-third of the river and its power into an al

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 are earthen levees and flood walls. the earthen levees are mad

some homes nearly completely under water in tunica, mississippi, just south of memphis. 700 people have been evacuated and apparently the damage is so bad, it's unlikely anybody is going to be able to move back. >> absolutely's disaster. worst i have ever seen. >> never, ever seen the water this high. probably never will again. >> floodwaters have already washed away crops, they have flooded casinos in memphis, which is expected to cost the state of tennessee more than $12 million a month. forecasters say the real damage will come when the crest rolls through the delta in the next few days. >>> coming up, a thief targeting downtown walnut creek. we'll tell you what she was after and why her victims made it so easy. >>> and parting with your precious metals. just ahead, how you now getting a a good offer when you sell -- how you know you're getting a good offer when you sell your silver. ,,,,,,,,,,,, an accident. c-h-p says a man driving a pickup truck was struck and killed this morning >>> a deadly car crash on highway 101 is called an accident. chp says a man driving a pickup truck was

. >> reporter: the flood surge is on tunica, mississippi, where some families are in shelters. evacuated as the river swallows riverboat casinos and their homes. >> we love it here. we don't want to leave here. we want to go home. and we will do what it takes to stay there. >> reporter: further south in carter, mississippi, the jordan family's general store still displays the watermark of the 1927 floodwaters. the family's acres of planted cotton, soybeans and corn, soon to be wiped out. >> it's just all for nothing. >> reporter: in vidalia, louisiana, residents have been warned to start working on an evacuation plan. in new orleans, the river is expected to crest just three feet below the levees. and all this water is driving up the price of crude oil with production at certain oil refineries in the mississippi delta and shipping traffic on this waterway, under threat. rob and peggy? >> all right, t.j. thank you for that. >>> here's a look at where the high water is headed next. the river is expected to hit record levels, including a high of more than 57 feet in vicksburg, mis

look at harrah's casino, and this is tunica, mississippi, where everyday the floodwaters are creeping up, and up and up. it timely had to close this week and other casinos following suit as well. at one point, a s.w.a.t. team armed with a machine gun came to help security guards to help remove millions of dollars of cash. i want to bring in valerie morris who is with caesar entertainment, the owner of some of the mississippi casinos, and with all of the money in house and the jobs depending on the casino business there, and valerie, this may not have been a light decision for you. >> no, actually it has been very difficult for tunica county, because it is $87 million of gross gaming revenue in the moh of may that is lost, and for local and state governments it is close to $10 million in taxes. so it was definitely a difficult decision to make, but the safety and the security of the employees and the guests is of what is utmost important and that is why the decision had to be made. >> how high is the river around your casino? >> it is at 41 feet right now, and we have three casinos. >>

in tunica cutoff, mississippi, floodwaters left this deer stranded on a rooftop. all 350 homes in the community are underwater, including charlotte smith's. >> i just really am in bad shape but not admitting it. >> reporter: high water is expected to force all 19 river casinos to shut down, leaving 13,000 employees without a paycheck, and it's a race against the rising water in natches, the oldest settlement on the community. >> the community has a deep concern to protect the buildings and to maintain them. >> reporter: neighbors spent the last five days building a floodwall to hold back the mississippi. forecasts suspect when the river crests, it will shatter the record set in 1937. joel brown, cbs news, warren county, mississippi. >>> fast moving storms swept across minnesota overnight. golf ball sized hail fell during a twins baseball game in minneapolis, stopping play for over an hour and a possible funnel cloud touched down northwest of the city, ripping the roof off of at least one home. no one was injured. >>> in southern new mexico firefighters are battlin

this is tunica, mississippi, an hour's drive south of memphis. all 350 homes were lost and floodwaters stranded this deer on a roof top. every single resident homeless, like charlotte smith at this red cross shelter. >> sometimes i have to go lay down just to have enough strength to stand up or sit down or whatever. i'm just really in bad shape but i'm not admitting it. >> reporter: back here in memphis, police are still keeping away flood victims from neighborhoods like this one, adding to their frustration. they want to get inside to see how bad it is. katie? >> couric: mark strassmann. mark, thanks a lot. now, in floods and other disasters, every second counts and today federal officials said they're launching an alert system that will send messages to cell phones during emergencies like tornadoes and terrorist attacks. it will be up and running by the end of the year in new york and washington and eventually throughout the united states. now to the very latest on the killing of osama bin laden. while the postmortem photos are not being releas

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guard troops and 20 perishes have made declarations. 1500 people have forced to leave their homes in tunica. >> it's painful to watch the slow rise of the water. you can't start the recovery or the healing process until the water goes down. >> reporter: now the town's nine casinos have been forced to close their doors uncertain when they will reopen. >> the water is too high. we don't know what damage has within done. we don't know how much water has gotten inside each casino if any. >> reporter: and i'm standing in the parking lot of one of the casinos the gold strike casino. it's flooded. i want to show you something as workers come in bringing sandbags to keep the waters out the big structures here are called aqua barriers. each one are filled with 90,000 gallons of water. they are six feet tall and the purpose of that is to keep the water on the outside of the casino. we were inside this morning and so far it is dry. >> thank you. >>> investigation has begun into what went wrong with a southwest airline flight that made an emergency landing in oklahoma city late last night. they were go

this is video to show you out of tunica, where they have casinos in the area, nine of them all of which had to shut down. they expect to be closed for the next three to six weeks. today you got lucky in terms of the rainfall. the next five days we're looking at the potential for another one to two inches on top of what you already have. that could potentially aggravate that flood situation. take a look at some of the crests that were expected and when they are going to be down the line. memphis, we're looking at tuesday night or wednesday, 14 feet above flood stage. vicksburg on the 20th about 15 feet above flood stage. natchez, 16 feet about flood stage. many of these rivers, drew, are going to be staying in flood for at least seven to ten days. that's at the high crest level and slowly recede for weeks beyond that. they are talking about opening up the spillways. they will likely be opening the spillway on monday morning down near new orleans to help relieve a little pressure there. >> thank so you much. arab-american pokes fun at himself. he's next. ♪ it's true. you never forget yo

this is video to show you out of tunica, where they have casinos in the area, nine of them all of which had to shut down. they expect to be closed for the next three to six weeks. today you got lucky in terms of the rainfall. the next five days we're looking at the potential for another one to two inches on top of what you already have. that could potentially aggravate that flood situation. take a look at some of the crests that were expected and when they are going to be down the line. memphis, we're looking at tuesday night or wednesday, 14 feet above flood stage. vicksburg on the 20th about 15 feet above flood stage. natchez, 16 feet about flood stage. many of these rivers, drew, are going to be staying in flood for at least seven to ten days. that's at the high crest level and slowly recede for weeks beyond that. they are talking about opening up the spillways. they will likely be opening the spillway on monday morning down near new orleans to help relieve a little pressure there. >> thank so you much. arab-american pokes fun at . but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription streng

tunica county said the doors will remained closed for at least three weeks. >> thousands of people have evacuated their homes ahead of the water. folks in tennessee doing what they can to stave off a disaster. >> at this company, the work has been nonstop. >> we're staying busy, working seven days a week, late hours, and trying to keep everybody from flooding. >> they have already provided over half a million bags for sand, and now they're starting to bag the stand semselves. >> we think this is a big sever service to the community. >> sand bagging has become a community effort. >> we're like digging some dirt to put in these bags. >> this 8-year-old and his brurlth are the youngest volunteers, doing what they can to help. >> so we can stop the flood. >> i told them where we used to walk was covered. i felt there was a need. this is serious. the water, the flood is coming. >> the bags of sand are being placed in several spots across the city and county. some were used in front of city hall after it rained for several days in a row. around the pyramid, the bags are lined up against flood

in the northern part of the state, the river is swallowing up the homes and casinos of tunica and washing out the town. the river's moving millions of cubic feet of water per second, in some places 20 times the amount of watt that goes over niagara falls. the river's expected to rise another five feet before it crests next week. levees are getting reinforced with black sheeting. >>> still ahead at 6:00, trying to lose some weight? aren't we all. a new consumer report out is out and it tells you which plan really helps you shed the pounds. >>> a simple change in diet that could be a key in fighting autism. but is it safe for children? >>> good evening, i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. tracking fog at the coastline. cooler temperatures in san francisco. right now 55. and as we head throughout tonight fog will be creeping into the east bay. swipe your card please. excuse me...? this belongs to you... o...um...thank you. excuse me... this is yours... thank you! you're welcome. with chase freedom, you get cash back on what you buy everyday. this is yours! thank you! that's 5% cash back in

>> reporter: well, much like what we saw up in tunica, there's an area of this town that's completely cut off and inundated with water. if you're on the unprotected side of the levee where we are, things are pretty wet. very wet. yet another casino, at least the non-floating part of it, that is under water and closed for business. another vital part of this area that is shut down economically. the mississippi eventually meets up with the yazoo river down around vicksburg. that's going to be interesting as those two rivers crest here, we could get another logjam as far as serious flooding down there in the next several days to come. want to show you the actual levee that protects greenville proper. here it is. it can take this river to go as high as 75 feet. the forecast crest is for 65 feet so we're confident that the city should be okay but there's a number of lakes and a number of weak spots, seepage, these sand boils that bubble up are constantly fighting that battle. you know what's interesting? wildlife has had basically to scurry away from these floodwaters. just an hour ago jus

there were nine casinos closed in tunica. that's tens of millions of dollars just in tax revenue to the state when they're closed and that's money that they will desperately need for clean-up. president obama did declare that disaster area. so they will get some money but i don't know if it's going to be quite enough for those who lost everything. >> holly firfer live in mississippi, holly, thank you. >>> all right, folks. if you are just heading out this morning, we have a better day weather-wise. sunrise at 6:02. looks like it's coming up with partly cloudy skies outside this morning. as compared to yesterday we were mostly cloudy about everywhere you went so we are going to see more sunshine as we head through the day today if you are heading out temperatures still in the 50s and the 40s. this afternoon, looking good. we are going to sneak in some 70s in some of the valleys. it will be warmer there. 60s inside the bay still breezy. at the coastline you will see a mix of sun and clouds. otherwise looking good. here's a dyin

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 little flaw that on the coast of west pretty good partly cloudy. in the east bay we have more clearing along the coast, by this afternoon should be sunny and warm for just about everybody. temperatures in the upper '70's for most lots. tonight tempters back down to the '40's is going to be a chilly evening. 51 san francisco, 48 san jose, you get t

boats navigated the city streets of tunica, mississippi today. the casino town had already lost an estimated $87 million in gaming revenue, but townspeople said they'd get by. >> we love it here, we don't want to leave here. we want to go home. and we'll do whatever it takes to stay there. >> brown: the moving disaster is testing a $13 billion flood control system that protects the land and the four million people who live in the potential flood zone along the mississippi. it was begun after 1927, when record flooding on the great river killed hundreds of people. all told, an elaborate system of levees stretches 2,023 miles-- starting in illinois and missouri and ending in louisiana, near where the mississippi dumps into the gulf of mexico. along the way are a series of floodways and spillways, channels that can carry surplus water away from a dam when needed. it was near the new madrid floodway in missouri that the army corps of engineers blew up a two-mile stretch of levees last week, to spare the town of cairo, illinois. as a result, 130,000 a

the entire riverside town of tunica mississippi was already underwater. only the tops of houses could be seen. farther down river, william jefferson in vicksburg, mississippi, had a plan to keep the water in front of him. >> as long as i could get out, get more than my feet wet, i just moved over to the next field. when it get there, i moved to the next one. >> brown: despite the flooding at vicksburg the national military park where thousands of civil war soldiers were buried was expected to remain dry. the national weather service projected the river won't crest at vksburg until may 19. at baton rouge louisiana on may 23. records that go back more than 80 years are expected to be broken. the u.s. army corps of engineers had already opened a spill way to ease pressure on the levees of new orleans. the water was being diverted into lake ponchartrain. >> we've all lived through katrina. we've seen systems that were supposed to work that didn't work. it's good to get ready for that and is responsible to get ready for that. >> brown: the army corps has sough

the entire riverside town of tunica mississippi was already underwater. only the tops of houses could be seen. farther down river, william jefferson in vicksburg, mississippi, had a plan to keep the water in front of him. >> as long as i could get out, get more than my feet wet, i just moved over to the next field. when it get there, i moved to the next one. >> brown: despite the flooding at vicksburg the national military park where thousands of civil war soldiers were buried was expected to remain dry. the national weather service projected the river won't crest at vicksburg until may 19. at baton rouge louisiana on may 23. records that go back more than 80 years are expected to be broken. the u.s. army corps of engineers had already opened a spill way to ease pressure on the levees of new orleans. the water was being diverted into lake ponchartrain. >> we've all lived through katrina. we've seen systems that were supposed to work that didn't work. it's good to get ready for that and is responsible to get ready for that. >> brown: the army corps has sou

boats navigated the city streets of tunica, mississippi today. the casino town had already lost an estimated $87 million in gaming revenue, but townspeople said they'd get by. >> we love it here, we don't want to leave here. we want to go home. and we'll do whatever it takes to stay there. >> brown: the moving disaster is testing a $13 billion flood control system that protects the land and the four million people who live in the potential flood zone along the mississippi. it was begun after 1927, when record flooding on the great river killed hundreds of people. all told, an elaborate system of levees stretches 2,023 miles-- starting in illinois and missouri and ending in louisiana, near where the mississippi dumps into the gulf of mexico. along the w s a areeries of fldwd ays an aspillways,s annels that can carry surplus water away from a dam when needed. it was near the new madrid floodway in missouri that the army corps of engineers blew up a two-mile stretch of levees last week, to spare the town of cairo, illinois. as a result, 130,000 acre

and i've got a similar glimpse in tunica the other day. you're in greenville, mississippi. mississippi is dealing with the brunt of this so far right now. what is the governor's message to people who have been hit hardest by this? >> reporter: well, first and foremost, reassured them, again, that the levees are holding, but he warned them to be cautious, not to become complacent, because if there were a break, that would be disastrous and people would have to be ready to move. he said there are not a lot of people in shelters, most have gone to the homes of friends or family. 14 counties in the state have been declared federal disaster areas. and one of the things he was appealing to the citizens who have had flooding was for them to apply for federal aid. the federal aid is available, but hardly anyone has signed up for it. for the most part, it is a good news story. s there suffering, but not all-out calamity as some would fear, so far. >> martin savage, thanks. >>> now, imagine launching your presidential campaign at a time when fema, the federal emergency management age

the entire riverside town of tunica mississippi was already underwater. only the tops of houses could be seen. farther down river, william jefferson in vicksburg, mississippi, had a plan to keep the water in front of him. >> as long as i could get out, get more than my feet wet, i just moved over to the next field. when it get there, i moved to the next one. >> brown: despite the flooding at vicksburg the national military park where thousands of civil war soldiers were buried was expected to remain dry. the national weather service projected the river won't crest at vicksburg until may 19. at baton rouge louisiana o may 23. records that go back more than 80 years are expected to be broken. the u.s. army corps of engineers had already opened a spill way to ease pressure on the levees of new orleans. the water was being diverted into lake ponchartrain. >> we've all lived through katrina. we've seen systems that were supposed to work that didn't work. it's good to get ready for that and is responsible to get ready for that. >> brown: the army corps has soug

casinos are big business in tunica, mississippi. there are nine of them, including a harrah's and bally's. all of them are closed due to flooding. from the ground the flooding is just as impressive. all of this is closed, because that's six feet of water in the parking lot. jim neil, chief of the north tunica fire department, showed us firsthand, the levees that are keeping the mighty mississippi from devastating this area. even though we're sitting in floodwater, and that's not a good thing. you feel comfortable that the water that's on the other side of the mississippi will stay over there? >> correct. i feel about as comfortable as i can feel about water staying where it's supposed to. these levees are doing what they are built to do. >> reporter: but there's more danger ahead. the mississippi river or its tributaries run through 31 of our states. think about it -- square miles of land, draining its water in there. in a week and a half, the crest moves to vicksburg, mississippi, threatening to break the 1927 record by nearly two

. >>> all nine of the casinos in tunica, mississippi are closed because floodwaters are threatening. they're expected to stay closed for at least three weeks. that could mean losing $87 million this month. >>> the 137th kentucky derby is about to get underway. one of the race favorites has been scratched. uncle mo is a no go because of a stomach ailment. the historic race at churchill downs is known as the fastest in hex. >>> nasa is expected to announce a new launch date today for the space shuttle endeavour. it was canceled after an electric power switching box failed. endeavour won't be able to lift off until sometime after may 10th, but it's possible it could be moved back to the july 4th holiday week. >>> the say hay kid is 84. the giants will hold a celebration for the great willie mace. a lot of people consider him the greatest ball player of all time. look at him. he's still going strong. he as his found daption and makes regular trips to at&t and gives lots of tips to players. >>> loyal prices are going down, but prices at the pump are not. we'll explain why. >>> plus, a dog