investigators are learning more about his nightmare, today is saturday, may 14, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to today on a saturday. i'm lester holt. >> i'm amy robach. it's a painful choice in louisiana today. who gets flooded and who gets spared. >> a classic between a rock and a hard place. no good decision. one that's less bad. army engineers open the morganza spillway. thousands of homes and farms could be under 25 feet of water when they do that, the first time they unlock that flood gate in decades, but doing so will avert a bigger disaster in new orleans and baton rouge. much bigger cities, officials say. they'll open the spillway slowly over a few days to give people time to evacuate. the late nest a moment. jury selection continues in a casey anthony murder trial. the judge ordered attorneys and potential jurors to seat a jury. anthony is accusal of killing her daughter caylee in 2008. we'll go to fl forida for the latest. >> they're going to have to speed up. they spent three hours questioning one juror. that's someone who doesn't know too much about the case. a lot of that coming up. plus, the jersey girls are back in what may be the most sizzling drama yet. seizing these of the house wives of new jersey begins with a bang -- or rather a brawl you can see here. the ladies will dish about the new season that promises to be filled with lots of drama. we'll give them plenty of room when they come in. >> whose family does that? >> don't anybody upset them. >> that's at a baby chrysening, by the way. >> is it? >> yes. lovely, pictures, photos, cake. here they come walking down the street. the monkeys. fictional tv band and real live stars are reunited for a tour 20 years later. catch with the iconic band in the next hour. >> can't wait for that. the flooding along the mississippi river in the move to open the flood gate. ann thompson filed this report along the mississippi river. >> these are desperate hours in louisiana. residents waited in long lines for supplies to defend hair hth homes. the mississippi flood water that will flood their neighborhood when the morganza dam is open to save new orleans and baton rouge. >> i'm not agreeable in opening up the gate. no. not agreeing with that. >> upriver in vicksburg, mississippi, highway 61, a main thoroughfare, is closed so crews can build a levee to keep the water at bay. this farmer is doing the same, using dirt from his corn field to construct a 19-foot wall of mud around his house. >> i don't have flood insurance so i have to try to save it, you know? >> in baton rouge, neon colored tiger dams are rolled out to protect louisiana's capital city. but 10% of the state's on shore oil production is in the flood zone. more than 2200 wells that produce 19,000 barrels of oil a day. a drop in the bucket compared to the 19 million barrels america consumes each day but enough to calm a jittery oil market. >> a lot of attention in the oil market. any disruption no matter how small has the potential to affect pricing without question. >> at the north end of baton rouge is the exxon mobile refinery. the second largest in the country. it remains open for now as does the mississippi river to shipping. as the dirty water heads south, there are growing concerns about the hidden toxins in the debris, health threats that won't be become known for years. for louisianians, you can still hear the sound of optimism. >> we are completely surrounded by levees. we have good pumping stations. i have to fell good that the parish itself can handle all this. >> for "today," ann thompson, nbc news, baton rouge. >> tan trong is in vicksburg, mississippi. what's the latest on opening the flood gate? do we have a timeline? >> the army corps of engineers are set to open up the flood gates as early as today. it' not just people. wild animals are finding themselves in familiar territory. the worst flood in more than half a century has swallowed millions of acres of land, sending thousands of residents to seek higher ground while countless wild animals struggle to do the same, the coyote in mississippi swims foris life. >> animals are like human, it's about survival, they want to live. >> natural habitats. >> all they're looking for is dry ground. they just want to be dry. >> many stranded like this raccoon on top of a pole and a wild hog in water. deer are racing for whatever dry land they can find. >> these animals are running. we're seeing deer-vehicle collisions. >> in mississippi, alligators are closer to neighborhoods than ever before as we travelled to flooded communities, water moccasins swimming along what used to be streets is a common sight. the flooding is pushing animals away from the areas and towards civilization. >> as animals are flushed out, unlikely encounters here are taking place. they say a gator claimed a dog. >> alligators, more room to roam. stay away from them. they're not going to bother you if you don't bother them. >> the impact on the animals and the future generations is unclear. for now, it's simply about staying above water. >> the last time this area saw this kind of flooding -- and the last time the area saw this type of flooding was back in 1927. the river is expected to crest later this week on thursday. meanwhile, both man and beast will try to find shelter. lester? >> tan trong in mississippi. thanks. >> oh. >> for more on the path of the floods, we're joined by bill karins. good morning. >> good morning. a slow, painful disaster. once in a lifetime flooding is what we're dealing with. the crest on the mississippi, north of greenville, it will hit record levels, levels never seen before, vicksburg, sunday, natchez later today. baton rouge, there's a spillway opening up north of baton rouge. they say the water levels will be 12 to 18 inches lower than predicted because they're going to open the spillway and that will protect the city of baton rouge and keep the water levels below the levee there. this -- the history of this flood is for all of the areas, not near cities, all of the areas with low eer levees have been flooding. back to you, amy. turning now to the presidential politics where the pool of exon tenders widened. one more republican threw his hat in the ring. the other is expected to make an announcement today. john harwood is the chief correspondent. he joins us from washington. good morning. >> good morning. good week for republicans gearing up to 2012. ron paul launching the third bid for the white house. newt gingrich making his first bid for the white house. mitt romney continuing to defend his health reform, his approach to health care. what do you make of this early batch of candidates? >> it's not complete yet. we're waiting to hear from mitch daniels, the governor of indiana, who might be the most competitive republican candidate of all. he hasn't decided yet. but we're seeing an unsettled field. republicans are unsure whether it's worth it to challenge president obama with a weak economy, he has some vulnerability. but this is a field without a front-runner. mitt romney is the closest thing we had to that. but we saw it in the health care speech he gave the other day that he has clear explaining to do for a central domestic policy initiative that looks like president obama's. >> meanwhile, mike huckabee is expected to make an announcement later today about whether or not to run for president. a lot of people think he'll make an announcement that he will not run. what do you say? >> ed raw lins ran his campaign as the strategist four years ago, that he doesn't expect mike huckabee to run. he's got a job on the fox network hosting. he's making a lot of money giving speeches. mike huckabee is somebody who could be formidable in this race. he's got a lot of support from social conservatives. business conservatives don't like him too much because pof the record in arkansas. he raised taxes too much, they think. if he's so comfortable in his life after politics that he doesn't want to juch back in. ed rawlings thinks it's exactly the decision he'll make today. >> indiana governor mitch daniels, an interesting situation this week where we have the former first lady, laura bush calling daniels' wife sherry to encourage her to support a presidential bid for her husband. what is this gop push for daniels say about the republican party so far? >> they're looking for somebody in the party to survive the primary process and take on president obama. mitch daniels someone with a record of fiscal conservatism, and george bush attacked him when we went to surplus to deficits as a result of the bush tax cuts. he's a fresh face, a gubernatorial record. but he's got real family reservations. i talked to people close to mitch daniels. they think it's more likely than not that he's going to run. but real reservations from his wife and children. we don't know -- nobody knows how that decision will come out yet. >> which candidate has the most to lose if daniels does jump in. >> mitt romney. mitt romney is more likely than not in this republican field right now, you probably have two people who have a real shot at being both nominated and elected. that's mitt romney and tim pawlenty. newt gingrich has a low ceiling of support. a lot of people don't know him and don't like him. if mitch daniels got in his face, that's a real threat to the other two candidates because he's somebody that doesn't have the same kind of baggage that other candidates have. he could rally a lot of the bush forces behind him. a lot of the bush political strategists believe he would be the strongest candidate. the question is, does he have the commitment and the determination and the consent from his family to do that? >> starting to get interesting. john harwood, thanks as always. check now on the headline for the day. thomas roberts is in the newsroom. >> good morning. good morning, i have a frog in my throat to start the morning. >> we begin with revelations of what was found in his compound. a sizable stash of pornography is among the cache seized. it's unclear if it belonged to bin laden or someone else in the compound. think warned they could cut supply lines if more attacks took place. meanwhile, libya state tv broadcast a message from muammar gadhafi on friday. he called nato coward crusaders and said he's still alive despite continued air strikes. gadhafi had not been heard from in two weeks as officials met with libyan opposition leaders in washington, d.c. we turn to a tragic tale out of oregon where forest services found the body of a man trap in his truck in a mountain road for 70 days. jared mcdonald who kept a journal used a calendar to keep track of the weather activities and weather while he was trapped. they found it with his body. he wrote he got snow in on february 14. he had clothes for the cold, gas, water, tried to free his truck with chains. last entry april 15. no signs of foul play. the manslaughter trial of mark kerrigan, the brother of nancy kerrigan. their 70-year-old dad died last year following a fight in which mark was grabbed by the neck. nancy kerrigan is going to testify about her father's health but stands by her brother saying he's not responsible for their father's death. mary tyler moore recovering nicely. she had a benign tumor remove in a four-hour operation. a spokesperson said she won't need any further treatment. 14 minutes after the hour. that eke's a check of the news. remind me to talk more in the morning. >> you didn't say good morning to anyone until that morning. >> until that moment. you didn't say good morning to anyone until that moment. >> i saved it for everybody. there we have it. >> bill karens is back with a check of your forecast. >> good morning. it looks okay out there this morning. the weather's changed it. now the bad weather's shifting to the east coast, and especially through the great lakes and northern new england. a rainy morning in illinois up through michigan. a slight risk of severe storms in the carolinas and all the dry weather is through texas and the northern plains. >> i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. we're off to a very cloudy start this morning. temperatures are in the upper 50s to near 60 degrees right now, with even a few light rain showers showing up on live doppler. 60 degrees downtown, 59 right now in fairfax and falls church. here's a look at doppler. you can see some sprinkles along i-95 south of springfield, down towards dale city and fredericksburg, and more showers out west to have the blue ridge. cloudy today with scattered atu sunday. that's a look at your national forecast, amy? bill, thank you. what began as a minor high school disciplinary case has become an international sensation thanks to social media. a student in connecticut thought up an elaborate way to ask his date to the prom. but his grand gesture got him suspended and banned from the dance. we have the story. >> reporter: it all started with the writing on the wam. late last week in the dead of night, shelton high school senior james tate and two friends dragged a ladder and 12 inch card board letters to campus taping this message to the school wall, sonali rodriguez, will you go to prom with me. rodriguez, a classmate and friend said yes. but school officials said no, suspending tate and his friends for trespassing and banning him from the june 4 prom. as news spread, so did the outrage. >> i think it's kind of ridiculous. >> it went viral. supporters gathered on-line, enchanted by the romance of it all, thousands tweeting words of encouragement. the let james tate goes to the prom facebook page has 180,000 fans. the town's mayor says he's been inundated by e-mails far beyond connecticut. >> china, japan, australia. every last one supporting tate. >> it doesn't make sense. there has to be common sense. >> not everyone has been swayed. thursday, the school's head mapser made one thing clear -- rules are rules. >> students receiving an in school or out of school suspension after april 1 for any reason would not be allowed to attend the prom. >> while tate's sorry for his message on this wall. >> i'm sorry. it won't happen again from me and i would like to go to prom very much with her. >> on-line supporters vow to keep up the fight on this one. for today, mara skiacampo, nbc news, shelton, connecticut. today, james tate is still banned from the prom. he's considering an offer to send him and a date to dinner with a limo. the story continues. one major thing missing from the scorecard today at the players' championship, tiger woods. on thursday, woods withdrew from the golf tournament because of an injury, raising questions about his future and the rest of the field. golf channel on nbc analyst mark rolfing join s us from ponte vedra, florida. >> good morning. >> will this sideline tiger for a while as he tries to make a comeback. >> i think this injury is more serious than tiger has let on and maybe even more serious than what he has thought. at this point, he can't pinpoint whether it's his knee or his achilles heel. but both of the injuries are going to need some rests because the u.s. open is five weeks away. he came back too early. no doubt he should not have teed off at the players. but if he gives it a month's rest, is there a chance he'll be ready for the u.s. open. but i think long term, he needs to look at this and really decide how he's going to go forward playing this game. i don't think he's going to be able to play the way he has early in his career, which is very aggressive, which has put a lot of pressure on his left leg and clearly it's taking its toll. >> he hasn't won a major since his marital problems. he's done well at times. is it safe to say it's possible that he's past his prime? in my mind for tiger, it's all about adjusting his goals. the question is, number one, is he capable of adjusting his goals. does he want to? because you know so much talk has been made is he going to break jack nicklaus' record of 18 majors. i don't think he will do that now. can he be as good as he was. i think the answer is no. so is he willing to settle for less. that's something that's hard for tiger to do. >> what does it do to the pga financially. if tiger is sidelined by a injury or doesn't come back, how much does it hurt. how much does it draw away fans drawn to the sport because of tiger's image sonic. >> you make a good point, lester. not about the core golf fan. the people watching in the mornings and the european tour at 4:00 in the morning, it's not going to matter much to them that tiger is not around. the fan that's going to be affected is the fringe fan. that's who tiger drew in. that's why the ratings for the major championships in part are so big. it will be time for some of the younger players and a guy like phil mickelson to step up. >> thanks so much for being with us. we want to remind folks that you can watch the players championships starting at 2:00 p.m. here on nbc. now here's amy. the housing market is struggling in many parts of the country. but, if you're in the market for a mansion, now might be the time to buy. you better have deep pockets. miguel al meguiar e has the story. >> this sprawling palace gives new meaning to mega mansion. if the lush of 11 acres don't wow you, the $100 million price tag should. the chateau is the most expensive home ever sold in the u.s., the crown jewel among the gems of the high-end realize market. >> i think there's bargains across the board, $500,000, $300,000, all the way up to $70 million. >> he's a realtor to the stars. >> this is amazing. wrapped in limestone. >> but most of hollywood can't afford this listing. >> significant gold guilding throughout the residence. >> a beverly hills kingdom. >> a lot of supply, a lot of opportunities to buy. >> mansions are big business everywhere in the country. sales for luxury homes are up and they're outpacing the rest of the market. in san jose, california, a 27% spike. nashville, salings of million dollar homes are up 13%. and in our nation's capital, washington, d.c., the high-end surge is 20%. experts say there are three driving factors behind the multimillion dollar housing market. better interest rate, a more stable stock market, and what some consider to be a bargain price for a mansion. the problem is, the rest of the housing market is struggling. more moderate priced homes between $100,000 and $250,000 are down 7% according to the national association of realtors. >> the middle end of the market has suffered simply because you don't have cash-rich buyers like the high end and government assistance like the lower end. >> for most americans, the housing market may be in trouble. if you can't afford to buy, you can still be fun to dream. for today, miguel al meguiar e, nbc news, beverly hills. >> we're back. but first this, is "today" on nbls. still to come, she was found guilty of attempting to have her husband murdered. black doll yeah in the act. >> ashton kutcher and the "two and a half men" saga. but first, these messages. somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital's working together, there's a family who can breathe easy, right now. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. "two and a half men" saga. but first, these messages. good morning. 7:26 right now on this saturday, may 14th. i'm aaron gilchrist. in the news for today, a memorial service will be held later this morning in baltimore for felicia barnes. the 16-year-old from north carolina was in maryland visiting family when she disappeared in december. authorities found her body last month in the susquehann