narrowly avoided after a giant narrowly avoided after a giant airliner carrying almost 500 air scare, disaster is narrowly avoided after a giant airliner carrying almost 500 people loses an engine mid-flight. conflict or compromise? following the historic power shift in congress, president obama confronts a new political reality. >> i'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like i did last night. >> and surfing shocker, a legend of the waves is found dead under mysterious circumstances. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, november 4th, 2010. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. we begin with serious trouble on board the world's

largest passenger jet. engine trouble forced a qantas airliner carrying 459 people to make an emergency landing in singapore this morning. the giant double-decker airbus a-380 had just taken off when passengers heard an explosion. we get the latest from beijing. >> reporter: a terrifying combination, a qantas super jumbo jet carrying 459 people and an engine that stops working mid-flight. this airbus a-380 had just taken off from singapore en route to sydney, australia, when one of its four engines malfunctioned forcing it to make a dramatic emergency landing in singapore. >> i guess i calmed down when i noticed the aircraft was actually very stable even though the incident happen. >> reporter: not so reassuring for people on the ground. large bits of burnt metal appear to have fallen from the plane on the western indonesian island of batan. some connect it to mount merapi.

its fiercest eruption yet sent ash shooting three miles into the sky wednesday. qantas argues this, saying the flight path was set far away from the eruption. still, it isn't the first time an a-380 has made an emergency landing. in 2009, a singapore airlines super jumbo jet was forced to return to paris when an engine cut out in mid-flight. they are designed to work with just three engines, but qantas isn't taking any chances. its fleet of six super jumbo a-380s is staying safely on the tarmac until it is clear what went wrong with this massive plane. now to politics and the continuing fallout from tuesday's midterm elections a somber president obama described the punishing defeat suffered by democrats as a shellacking, saying he's ready to work with republicans but admitted it won't be easy. preeti arla is in washington with much more on this. good morning, preeti. >> good morning, betty.

republicans are already talking about changing course in the future but they did say they hope the president would be willing to work with them on their priorities. the president signaled that he is willing to listen to republican ideas. republicans aren't wasting any time pushing their new agenda. >> the american people want a smaller, less costly and more accountable government here in washington, d.c. >> reporter: fresh off their historic gains in tuesday's midterm elections, gop leaders vowed to cut the government size and eventually replace the nation's health care reform law. in a speech today, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is expected to urge lawmakers to repeal the law, repeatedly if necessary. >> the health care bill, in my view, is sort of a met for for the government excess that we witnessed over the last two years. >> reporter: president obama says he looks forward to finding common ground with republicans but he doesn't want to rehash debates from the past. >> i think there are going to be a whole bunch of areas we can agree on. >> reporter: he extended an

olive branch wednesday saying he would be willing to compromise on issues like extending bush-era tax cuts for all americans and reducing earmark spending. but the president also warned the two parties wouldn't be able to agree on everything. >> both democrats and republicans have certain beliefs and certain principles that each feels cannot be compromised. >> reporter: some americans worry the newly divided congress will have an even tougher time getting things done. >> it's been difficult already and i think it's just going to make it even harder. >> we're better off with congress not doing anything but, yes, i'm sure they'll do something. >> reporter: president obama plans to sit down with republican leaders in the next few weeks. while results are in for most races, two senate races are still undecided. alaska and washington state. betty? >> we'll be waiting on that. in the meantime what about outgoing speaker nancy pelosi, what are her plans? >> reporter: well, there's a lot of speculation about this

leading up to the election and it seems to be still up in the air. she could try and become the minority leader when the next session of congress begins or she could retire. she did say in an interview wednesday she hasn't made up her mind but she also said she doesn't have any regrets. betty? >> preeti arla in washington, thank you. democrats barely retained control of the senate but it will clearly be hard to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome any republican stalling tactics. in colorado, senator michael bennet narrowly defeated his challenge in tea party republican ken buck. in washington state, democrat patty murray maintains a small lead over her republican challenger dino rossi. state officials say the final result may not be known at least two more days. in alaska senator lisa murkowski was forced to run as a write-in. election officials hope to have a winner by next week. the fbi says the same gun that was used to fire shots at a coast guard recruiting station was used in a string of similar

washington-area incidents. the shots were fired at the coast guard station in northern virginia on tuesday. last month, shots were fired at the national museum of the marine corps, then a few days later at the pentagon then a marine corps recruiting station. no one was hurt. the fbi believes one shooter is responsible. this morning, tropical storm tomas is bearing down on haiti, where over a million earthquake survivors have been ordered to evacuate. tomas is strengthening, expected to be a hurricane when it hits haiti tomorrow with torrential rains and powerful winds. earthquake survivors have been living in flimsy tent cities. voluntary evacuations have been ordered but few have any place else to go. doctors fear the expected floodwaters will worsen and the cholera epidemic will increase. on the "cbs moneywatch" stocks in asia climbed higher this morning. ashley morrison is in new york with the latest on that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you, betty. asian markets rallied to their highest level since june 2008,

japan's nikkei shot up more than 2%, while hong kong's hang seng was also higher. today, wall street gets the october retail sales figures and a look at the weekly jobless claim numbers. wednesday stocks finished higher. the dow gained 26 points, closing at its highest point in two years, while the nasdaq added six. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke is defending the central bank's decision to pump $600 billion into the economy, writing in today's "washington post" he says worries the plan could unleash inflation are overstated. yesterday, the fed announced its plan to buy the $600 billion in bonds hoping to loosen credit and spur spending. auto sales are moving into high gear. new numbers show detroit's big three put in their strongest performance of the year last month. compared to october last year gm sales increased 3.5%, ford's shot up more than 19%, and chrysler's soared 37%. gamers have a new home option this one is unplugged. microsoft's kinect goes on sale

today. the $150 device plugs into the x box and allows users to play games without holding a controller. instead the machine has a camera which can see a player's movement or gestures and also hear voice commands. microsoft expected to sell five million of them this holiday season. and our last story involves a lot of dough. domino's pizza says it will hire one person for one hour of work in one of its stores and pay them $31,000. no experience is necessary. unfortunately, though, betty, it's in japan, where the company is celebrating its 25th anniversary. but, you cannot beat that, $31,000 for one hour of work? >> for $31,000, i'll pay for that flight over to japan. no problem. >> me, too. >> we have to win first, right? >> yeah. >> ashley morrison joining us live in new york, thank you, ashley. >> just ahead on the morning news, george bush reveals the low point in his presidency and how it involves kanye west.

plus going underground. a secret tunnel leads to a major drug bust. this is the "cbs morning news." secret tunnel leads to a major drug bust. this is the "cbs morning news." ? absolutely not. yeah, sure. ♪ chili's $20 dinner for two. share one appetizer, choose two entrees. all you need is somebody to go with. ♪ [ female announcer ] the newest seasonal flavors are here. ♪ express yourself ♪ [ female announcer ] because coffee is like the holidays. it's better when you add your flavor. coffee-mate. from nestle. and the life you want to live. with rheumatoid arthritis, there's the life you live... fortunately there's enbrel, the #1 most doctor-prescribed biologic medicine for ra.

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switch now and if you're not 100% satisfied, we'll give you a full refund. billowing flames engulfed a commercial building in los angeles overnight. the building in the northwest san fernando valley housed a printing business. everything is said to be destroyed. the fire was so intense, firefighters eventually backed off and concentrated on protecting other nearby structures. another u.s. citizen killed in mexico's border violence. the fifth in less than a week. it happened in juarez across the border from el paso, texas. u.s. and mexican authorities say the victim was a student at the university of texas at el paso. shot to death tuesday night with a mexican classmate. most killings along the border are blamed on mexico's violent drug cartels which cater to the u.s. demand for illegal drugs. increasingly the smugglers get across the border by going under it. here's sandra hughes.

>> reporter: immigration and customs officials made one of the largest marijuana seizures in southern california history. they stopped a truck filled with 10 tons of pot then discovered where it picked up the drugs, a warehouse where they found ten more tons of dope. >> this is obviously the work of the cartels. this is obviously the work of organized crime. >> reporter: inside the warehouse, authorities uncovered a tunnel that spanned about 600 yards and came up inside another warehouse in mexico. there, another four tons of marijuana was discovered. >> some type of system, you know, with a cart. >> did have a railway system, ventilation, and lighting. >> reporter: since the early 1990s, about 125 such tunnels of varying degrees of sophistication have sprung up linking mexico to different locations in california and arizona. a joint law enforcement task force has now shut down 75 of them in the past four years.

>> i can promise you there are some very unhappy people in the cartel when you lose that kind of tonnage of marijuana. >> reporter: the drugs on the street would have been worth about $20 million. the couple driving the truck will be arraigned in court thursday on federal smuggling charges. sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. former president george w. bush says the worst moment of his presidency came when he was accused of racism after hurricane katrina hit new orleans. in 2005 with the city under water and residents desperate for help, rapper kanye west and actor mike myers took part in a televised event during which west blasted the president. >> george bush doesn't care about black people. >> more than 1800 people died during the katrina crisis and mr. bush admits it was not handled well. but, in his memoir due out next week he says while he suffered a lot of criticism, quote, the suggestion that i was racist because of the response to

katrina represented an all-time low. straight ahead your thursday morning weather and, in sports, how sweet it is, the world series champion san francisco giants get a hero's welcome. e. caltrate soft chews because they have 20% more calcium per chew than viactiv or for the delicious flavors like chocolate truffle and vanilla creme? mmm. -mmm. -mmm. [ female announcer ] hard to say really. new caltrate soft chews, we put the yum in calcium. ♪ and i feel like... [ female announcer ] kellogg's wants to make kids happy one tummy at a time. because 9 out of 10 kids don't get the fiber they need, that's why froot loops, apple jacks and corn pops have 3 grams of fiber in every yummy bowl. they're the cereals your kids love

and the fiber their tummies love... which makes for a whole lotta happy. froot loops, apple jacks and corn pops, an oh-so-good source of fiber. kellogg's® makes fiber fun. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country, new york, rain, 55. miami, showers, 82. chicago, partly cloudy, 46. denver, sunny, 62. los angeles, sunny and 92.

time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clear skies over the midwest, while parts of the east coast are seeing rain. later today, snow and rain showers are expected in the great lakes region. heavy rains will be in the southeast. and up the eastern seaboard. and another day of very warm temperatures in the southwest. in sports, the l.a. lakers remain unbeaten in this young nba season. the governator was on hand to see kobe bryant lead the lakers to their fifth straight win over the sacramento kings. bryant was hot, scoring a game-high 30 points with a dozen assists and ten rebounds. the lakers won it 112-100. in boston, a tight one all the way for the celtics and milwaukee bucks, tied 91-91 at the end of regulation but boston got a lead and paul pierce nailed it with a free throw also

his career point number 20,000. the final, 105-102, celtics. in the nfl, the tennessee titans claim seven-time pro bowl receiver randy moss off waivers wednesday. he leads all active players with 153 career touchdown catches. it was quite a day in the city by the bay. tens of thousands of baseball fans cheered their world champion giants riding in cable car buses for a ticker tape parade. the giants' world series win over the texas rangers was the first since the team moved west from new york in 1954. congratulations! when we return, another look at this morning's top stories and mystery death. questions over what killed champion surfer andy irons. special for lunch. how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination at red lobster? or maybe skewers of tender, wood-grilled shrimp. or your choice of shrimp paired with wood-grilled chicken. all served with unlimited,

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his ideas to solve our state budget crisis. plus.. giants fans bask in their world series victory.. but which ,,,, swroo on the "cbs morning news," on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. temperatures will be in the 80s and 90s in the southwest, above normal. the midwest is looking at cool temperatures, with breezy conditions.

and up and down the eastern seaboard a large storm system is bringing rain. here's another look at this morning's top stories. a qantas airliner carrying 459 people was forced to make an emergency landing in singapore because of engine trouble. nobody was hurt. qantas has grounded its fleet of a-380s. president obama says he is willing to compromise with republicans. republican leaders say they want to roll back some of the president's signature legislation. the surfing world is in shock this morning over the sudden death of champion andy irons. 32-year-old irons was found dead tuesday in his hotel bed in dallas. the pain killer methadone and a sedative was found in his room. the results of an autopsy are still pending. irons was returning home to hawaii after dropping out of a surfing contest in puerto rico sunday because he was sick. he had apparently contracted a fever while in portugal.

>> the loss is big to the surfing community, as well as his family. and, you know, i couldn't imagine losing a brother or sister. so young and -- with so much talent and so much of a future ahead of him. >> irons leaves behind a wife who's scheduled to give birth to their child next month. in health news, a breakthrough in treating blindness. a report on a new device giving some patients hope they won't be in the dark forever. >> reporter: he hasn't been able to see for more than 15 years until now. in 1992, he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa or r.p., the condition destroyed his retina but today, he's able to see black and white images thanks to this tiny microchip. surgeons implanted it behind his eye. it now does the work of the retina, processing light and sending signals to the brain.

scientists say this bionic eye procedure is more advanced than others because it relies on the eye itself to transmit images. >> i like this particular microchip because it fits underneath the retina and uses a patient's own retinal circuitry to create an image. >> reporter: the device has been successfully tested on three people. scientists are now planning larger studies and hope the technology will be on the market in five years. and doctors hope this device will lead to treatments for other forms of blindness. and a baby giant panda entered this world with some loud squeaks. the giant panda cub was born wednesday at zoo atlanta, the only one born at a u.s. zoo so far this year. the baby, the size of a cell phone, is said to be very healthy.

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they were bitter enemies during illinois's senate race but they put all they were bitter enemies during illinois's senate race but they put all their differences aside at a beer summit. republican senator-elect mark kirk and democrat alexi giannoulias met wednesday evening at chicago's billy goat tavern, had a beer and mended fences after a nasty campaign. >> i don't want especially the young people of illinois to think that everything in american politics is about yelling at each other. >> we got to put down partisan silly politics and should all work together and should all focus on helping people. >> the two men talked for 20 minutes. giannoulias says he genuinely hopes kirk will succeed at being a good senator. it remains to be seen how newly elected tea party candidates will fair in congress. while the movement had a clear

message during the campaign, it's not clear how they will carry out those agendas. ben tracy reports. >> but tonight, there's a tea party tidal wave and we're sending a message to them. >> reporter: whether they won or lost. >> we're not going to be quiet now. >> reporter: the tea party made election night an act of rebellion. >> we have made washington listen. >> reporter: with at least 39 tea party-backed candidates headed to d.c., they hope to put the brakes on the president's agenda. >> tea party activists like to say it's not just no, it's hell no. >> reporter: the tea party express packed up its things in las vegas, still smarting from sharron angle's loss to harry reid. they weren't so sure how the slogans of the campaign. >> lower taxes, smaller, smarter government, less overreach and intrusion. >> reporter: will become policy. what should these folks do day

one to cut the deficit. >> well, you know, we're going to have to make cuts across the board. first of all no one said this would be easy. what programs do we cut? i don't know. >> reporter: in a sign of what may be a conservative culture clash jim demint warned incoming insurgents to fight fellow republicans. he wrote the establishment is much more likely to try to buy off your votes than to buy into your limited-government philosophy. tea partiers may even challenge john boehner as speaker of the house. and will push republicans to repeal health care reform. >> our job is to make those politicians feel the heat, if they haven't seen the light. >> reporter: as for the next presidential race, the movement may already have its front-runner. sarah palin is the tea party's most effective backer. two years from now, she may want their support. ben tracy, cbs news, las vegas. coming up a little bit later on "the early show," the latest on that emergency landing of a qantas passenger plane in singapore. also dr. phil makes a house call and has advice on what we can do to stop bullying.

and actor-comedian will farrell star of the new movie "mega minds" stops by. you don't want to miss this. that's the "cbs morning news" for this thursday. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . . have a great day! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

in sacramento today.. your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. caption colorado, l.l.c. jerry brown's first order of business. the governor-elect makes a stop in sacramento today. his plan to fix our cash crisis