storm surge. powerful winds, tornadoes and widespread flooding calls all kinds of problem in southern wisconsin. bracing for bonnie. a tropical storm takes dead aim for the damaged oil well in the gulf. and up close and personal. a visitor to yellowstone national park gets a little more than she bargained for. >> oh! >> get back. this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, july 23, 2010. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. more severe weather is forecast for parts of the midwest today. on thursday, tornadoes, strong winds and a line of powerful thunderstorms pounded the region causing widespread flooding to

the great lakes region. this tornado touched down about 40 miles west of milwaukee. one of several that was spotted. it's part of a large system that brought torrential rain and massive flooding to southern wisconsin. in milwaukee, more than 7 inches of rain fell within just a few hours. the rain was so fast and furious, it formed a sinkhole that swallowed a car whole. look at that. and the airport had to be closed when the runways flooded. >> it will very, very quickly overwhelm the system when you have that much rain. because of magnitude of the storm, because of the damage it's already done, we again very quickly activated our emergency operation center. >> more than 30,000 customers were without power last night. this morning precautions are being taken in the gulf of mexico as tropical storm bonnie is on a track that would level a direct hit over the damaged bp oil well. bonnie is approaching the florida keys today with sustained winds of 40 miles per hour.

the storm is expected to reach the gulf of mexico by tomorrow. the order to reposition ships working on the well, that was issued last night. tara mergener is in washington with the latest on this. if it's not one thing, it's another thing, tara. >> reporter: that's right, betty. good morning. just as bp was making progress, crews are now clearing out of the area. but officials say, safety first. dozens of surface ships are moving out of bonnie's way. >> while this is not a hurricane it's a storm that will have probably significant impacts and we're taking appropriate precautions. >> reporter: admiral thad allen issued the evacuation order thursday night, just hours after the system turned into a tropical storm. by saturday bonnie could be churning in the gulf. the government is allowing bp to keep its cap in place, confident it will hold. but that means the ruptured well will go unwatched for days. >> we have to take action. we have to make sure the people are safe. that's the first priority. >> reporter: even if it's not a direct hit, the rough weather

will likely delay efforts to plug the well by at least a week. but there is some good news. the government is allowing commercial and recreational fishing again in roughly one-third of the waters. in mobile bay, alabama, shrimp season opens today, two months behind schedule. >> we have to get lines and get hooked back up, get ice and fuel. >> reporter: experts say shrimp caught in the area have shown no traces of oil. local shrimpers hope that's enough to convince buyers. >> ain't no use to even catch them if we can't sell them. >> reporter: but catching anything in the region could still be a challenge with bonnie threatening to stir up new trouble. and president obama has made a point of encouraging tourism in the gulf. he'll head to florida next month for a family vacation. betty, back to you. >> tara mergener joining us live. thank you. folks in florida don't expect major storm damage there but they are preparing for strong winds and heavy rain. on florida's southeast coast, sandbags were handed out and

boats were moved from the water. some visitors are cutting their vacations short, but in the keys, a somewhat more relaxed attitude with the usual parties and annual ernest hemingway festival. looks kind of like him, doesn't it? in other news, president obama says agriculture secretary tom vilsack, quote, jumped the gun when he decided to fire shirley sherrod for what turned out to be edited remarks on the internet. the president personally apologized to sherrod thursday. chip reid reports. >> reporter: the president joined the chorus of administration officials offering her an apology. >> she did accept his apology? >> yes. >> reporter: the white house says it took the president three tries over two days to reach her. she called it a very good conversation. >> he wanted me to know he's supportive. and i've been dealing with some of the same issues he's had to deal with. >> reporter: sherrod was fired monday after a conservative website released portions of a speech she gave earlier this year.

she appeared to say that years ago she was reluctant to help a struggling farmer because he was white, but the full speech shows she was describing the need for racial reconciliation. >> when the president said, i think that's -- there's an opportunity for you to continue that work if you want to do so. >> reporter: sherrod says she hasn't decided if she'll accept that offer. there may be good reason for the president's public silence. the last time he stepped into a race controversy was a year ago when he criticized the arrest of his friend, professor henry louis gates. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly. >> reporter: and recall, that led to a week-long media firestorm and the so-called beer summit at the white house, the kind of circus the president would certainly like to avoid this time around. chip reid, cbs news, the white house. a long-time new york congressman charlie rangel says he's going to fight ethics charges being brought by the house ethics committee. rangel has been charged with

multiple ethics violations that are expected to include failure to disclose financial information. rangel had an opportunity to avoid an ethics trial but was unwilling to accept enough of the charges to satisfy the committee. on the "cbs moneywatch" asian stocks were looking up this morning. ashley morrison is here in new york with the latest on that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you, betty. asian markets rallied this morning. japan's nikkei added more than 2%, snapping a five-day losing streak while hong kong's hang seng gained just about 1%. today wall street gets another wave of corporate earnings with ford, mcdonald's and verizon among the big names to report. thursday the market soared. the dow gained 201 points. and the nasdaq tacked on 58. the checks will be in the mail for 2.5 million unemployed americans. president obama signed an extension of jobless benefits into law thursday after congressmen finally passed it. it effects only the long-term unemployed and applied retro actively. the government's pay czar is

taking aim at wall street. today kenneth feinberg will release a list of banks he has determined paid their executives too much while the financial system melted down. according to the associated press, he will single out jpmorgan chase. this review is likely to be feinberg's last before he leaves the treasury department to focus full time on bp claims in the gulf. general motors is jumping into the subprime lending business. thursday they bought americredit for $3.5 billion. a company that makes car loans to people with bad credit. gm hopes it will boost sales, unlike home loans, subprime auto lending it considered fairly low risk. on new york's long island thursday, the empire struck back. a man dressed as darth vader from "star wars" complete with mask and cape used the force to rob a bank. instead of light sabre, the thief had a gun and made a quick getaway. so, i guess, no jedi was on hand

to stop him, betty. kind of a weird outfit to choose. >> it's incredible. we see all kinds perform earlier this week there was a guy robbing banks, allegedly, with flowers in hand. i mean, it's like they come up with new ideas. i mean, who sits around and thinks about, what kind of character -- >> i don't know what thought process is there. >> thank you, ashley. appreciate it, joining us live here in new york. just ahead on the morning news, latest over illegal immigration and crime. plus, a traffic stop turns into an ugly fight caught on dash cam. first, katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." tonight, terrorer closer to home. we'll show you how mexican drug cartels are using al qaeda tactics in our backyard. that story and more only on the "cbs evening news." is it a place for everything ? is it enough space for a banquet ?

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police police moved in to arrest demonstrators who blocked a street outside the federal courthouse in phoenix thursday. at least seven protesters were

arrested. inside, a judge was hearing arguments on whether to block arizona's controversial law, cracking down on illegal immigrants. arizona says that law is needed to stop illegals and smugglers from flooding across the u.s./mexico border. but as bill whitaker reports, the border region is not the lawless territory many believe it is. >> the border is more secure now than it's ever been. >> reporter: murder, burglaries, rape, the major crimes, up or down on the border? >> they're down. >> reporter: down? >> violence in the cities is down. >> reporter: according to the fbi, that's true across the southern border this decade. in san diego, violent crime is down 17%. in phoenix, down 10%. el paso, texas, one of the safest cities in the u.s., violent crime down 36%. and it sits right across from juarez, mexico, one of the deadliest cities on earth. west along the border in

nogales, arizona -- >> this is a very safe environment. >> reporter: chris, a third generation produce distributor says it's as safe as 20 years ago. one reason? >> we're definitely seeing more border patrol over the last few years. >> reporter: border patrol chief is in charge of the 262-mile tucson sector that covers nogales. 338 agents patrol today, up from a decade ago. when it comes to crime -- does the rhetoric match the reality? >> no, it doesn't. >> reporter: no one is downplaying the magnitude of the problem here. these officers say thousands of immigrants and drug smugglers still cross the border illegally into arizona every day. and they commit a disproportionate amount of crimes. just 7% of arizona's population illegal immigrants are 15% of state inmates, they are 14% of all inmates jailed for manslaughter and murder. 24% of inmates on drug charges. trouble to many arizonaens, even if the overall crime rate is

down. bill whitaker, cbs news, phoenix. in ohio, what began as a routine traffic stop turned into a brawl. all caught on camera by a police cruiser. now, an officer pulled over a van on wednesday, but when the door opened, the driver went on the attack. as you can see from this police cruiser camera. the two struggled. neither gaining an advantage. and the fight went on until a second officer moved in with his gun pulled. the driver is being held this morning on $500,000 bond. three top officials in the los angeles suburb of bell, california, resigned early this morning in the face of voter outrage over their huge salaries. the announcement came after a city council meeting that began thursday afternoon and ran past midnight. the officials stepping down include the city manager, whose nearly $800,000 salary is twice of that president obama. straight ahead, your friday morning weather. in sports, yankee captain derek jeter takes a very quick trip around the bases in the bronx. very quick

trip around the bases in the bronx. guys. can i help you? i'm sandy and i heard you've been struggling with the quilt. i'm here to take you through my 1-step program to break the quilted habit. but i've always used quilted towels. quilted is towel speak for air. but viva puts 35% more towel between you and the mess. wow, 35% more? are you ready to take that 1-step to see what an unquilted viva towel can do? yes, i'm ready. beautiful. [ cheers and applause ] [ sandy ] try viva® and quit the quilt. ♪ everyone wants in on the petperks super summer sale & sweepstakes. use your petperks card and save up to 20% on hundreds of items... ...plus you'll be automatically entered in our sweepstakes which will award hundreds of prizes. petsmart. we love to see healthy, happy pets. let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk.

and get this year's colors up on the wall...this year. let's get better prices... and better paint. let's break out the drop cloths, rollers, brushes, and tape. let's start small. then go big. no matter what the budget. and when we're done, let's take a bow. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. behr premium plus ultra. the only interior paint and primer in one that's rated number one. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the current. new york, thunderstorms, 89. miami, heavy rain, 89. chicago, thunderstorms as well, 90 degrees. partly cloudy in denver, 91 there. a sunny l.a. with 80 degrees. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows a massive cloud approaching florida as tropical storm bonnie draws near.

while out west skies are clear along up and down the pacific coast. later today, though, the east coast gets hot, hazy and humid. more thunderstorms in the midwest. in the northwest it is cool and sunny. in sports, it was a battle of all-star pitchers in texas. the ballpark in arlington, cliff lee was there and he was settling into his new role as rangers' ace. lee had four strikeouts and got some nifty defense as he pitched into the ninth inning. fellow all-star jared weaver was good for the angels, but not quite good enough. as the rangers scored twice in the sixth and won it 3-2. it was cap night in the bronx and the yankees' derek jeter got the crowd going with an inside-the-park home run after david dejesus hit the wall. in the bottom of the eighth, alex rodriguez hit his 599th home run, one away from the elite 600 homer club.

yanks won it 10-4. national league, d'backs' first baseman adam laroche made a great catch in the first inning. check it out. look at that. but it was downhill from there for arizona. giants' pitcher matt cain went eight innings, nine strikeouts and san francisco won 3-0. one last baseball note for you. random blood testing for human growth hormones started yesterday in the minor leagues. it is the first testing program for hgh in american professional sports. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and hollywood's die-hard fans at the annual comic book convention. the annual comic book convention. decadently rich... delightful... chocolate... bliss. hershey's bliss chocolate. crafted for bliss. it's all in the pepperation. we hand-season fresh, never-frozen usda choice beef

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how neighbors describe those dogs, which have been euthanized. new information on that deadly pot raid in santa clara county. why sheriff's deputies say they opened fire on a man... the street value of the confiscated pot. thousands of bees used to help grow food on a bay area urban farm... found dead. why authorities believe it was no accident. and the unusual therapy session that leaves 'em laughing. join us for cbs 5 eyewitness news early edition ... beginning at five. good m on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. thunderstorms will be crossing through much of the northern plains and into the great lakes region. tropical storm bonnie will make landfall around south florida tonight before moving out into the gulf of mexico.

here's another look at this morning's top stories for you. tornadoes and torrential rain pummeled southern wisconsin thursday. there was severe flooding that wiped out roadways and forced the milwaukee airport to shut down. more severe weather is in the forecast for today. and tropical storm bonnie is headed into the gulf of mexico, strad for the damaged bp oil well. most shapes stationed by the well are being moved but the well cap is being left if place. if you're a comic fan, this next story is for you. it's about a convention called comic con where fans get to mingled with their superhero idols and then some. sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: unlike most other film, music or industry conventions, comic con is all about the fan. 125,000 rabidally enthusiastic fans looking for the latest

video games, hottest tv shows, newest cools and coolest sci-fi items out there. >> the beauty of comic con is you get to see a peek into the future and you get to be surprised and delighted by all this stuff, all this new stuff. >> reporter: the fans come dressed to impress in full character. >> captain samueltanius. >> i am the joker. >> reporter: the buzz at comic con this year, the remake of an almost 30-year-old movie called "tron" starring jeff bridges. >> tickled the kid in me to be sucked inside a computer and play with all the new toys we have available to us. you know, that kind of cutting edge, to be involved with something so cutting edge was exciting to me. >> reporter: where else at comic con is there row after row of bright lights and big dreams. who are you dressed up like? >> batman. >> reporter: enough to bring out the kid in everyone. sandra hughes, cbs news, san diego. >> see all sorts there.

all right, so onto this story now. a frightening attack caught on tape of a bison charging a tourist. >> back, back. >> back away. >> back, back! back! get in the car! get in the -- >> oh! >> goodness. the cries to back away apparently got lost in translation. this happened monday at yellowstone national park. kathy hayes and a friend decided to get a better look at the bison. someone nearby threw something at the animal. even worse idea. and it charged, tossing her into the air. >> i could hear him over me stomping and snorting. and i just knew, i knew at that second that that was it. you know, i just thought that was -- my last moments i thought, this is going to be my last moment, in yellowstone park tromped by a buffalo. >> she did survive.

and hayes suffered a swollen knee, minor cuts and bruises. looks like all is well. definitely will remember that trip, no doubt. this morning on "the early show," we will speak with kathy hayes and single enrique iglesias. let's get better prices... and better paint. let's break out the drop cloths, rollers, brushes, and tape. let's start small. then go big. no matter what the budget. and when we're done, let's take a bow. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. behr premium plus ultra. the only interior paint and primer in one that's rated number one. the only interior paint and primer in one i'm from the gulf coast. my family spends a lot of time here. i have a personal interest in ensuring that we get this job done right. i'm keith seilhan. i'm in charge of bp's clean up on the gulf coast. bp's taken full responsibility for the clean up, and that includes keeping you informed.

over 25,000 people are included in the clean up operation. our crews are cleaning the gulf beaches 24/7. we're going to be here as long as it takes to make this right.

american automakers are finding growing business overseas in china. general motors alone, sales soared 49% this year. but chinese car manufacturers are making inroads in the marketplace. cecilia hatten reports. >> reporter: with names like geely, byd, you might not know they're some of china's top automotive companies, but detroit certainly does. >> these are companies that no one heard of ten years ago, that today are getting a lot of international attention. >> reporter: the chinese market is a bright spot on the balance sheets of u.s. automakers. where buying american is a good investment and a status symbol.

for the first time ever, gm has sold more cars in china than the u.s. during the first half of this year. but future demand and untapped markets has foreign and chinese entrepreneurs seeing dollar signs. 64 million vehicles crowded china's streets last year, but over 200 million cars will jam onto those roads by 2020. so, to meet that demand domestic companies are embracing the communist government's push for leaner, greener vehicles. they're fast-tracking r&d in hopes of erasing their past reputation for simply copying american models. take geely, one of the biggest carmakers here, snapped up volvo from ford for an estimated $1.8 billion. while also unveiling 39 of its own car models at the beijing car show, including the world's cheapest car with rooftop solar panels and a $2300 price tag. as these companies grow, their

appetites are going cloeby. geely's rival already exports to asia and south america. some day united states, explains ceo. the american consumer knows cars very well. i dare not send our cars to the u.s. market before we're really ready. other chinese automakers think they are ready. a dozen years ago byd, or build your dreams, manufactured phone batteries. this year it beat gm and toyota to sell the world's fast mass produced electric car. just over 50 of these electric taxi cabs are roaming the streets of southern china. perhaps later this year this same car will go on sale in the united states, brought to the u.s. by china's ambitions and american dollars. u.s. billionaire warren buffett raised eyebrows when he invested $230 million in byd.

it's starting to look like a smart move. and if chinese car companies succeed in making their cars as good as their dreams, the world's next generation of speed demons mike grow up thinking the only cool cars to buy are those made in china. cbs news, beijing. >> that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching, everybody. hope you'll join us later for "the early show." i'm betty nguyen. have a great weekend. ,,,,

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. caption colorado, l.l.c. comments@captioncolorado.com good morning. >> good morning. >> it is friday. excuse me. >> it is friday, the 23rd of july. elizabeth has lost her clicker. [ laughter ] >> it's an important tool. >> that's true. >> yeah. >> we have traffic and weather coming up. the weekend forecast for