evacuated from libya today. the state department has hired a ferry to take the americans who want to leave the island of malta, or to the island nation of malta. there are approximately 600 americans in libya. meanwhile, libyan leader moammar gadhafi has called on his supporters to rally today, and to strike back at protesters. gadhafi has already unleashed security forces in a brutal attack on those who opposed him. he says he will fight to the last drop of blood. andy clark reports from cairo. >> reporter: raging gun battles in the streets of tripoli. these pictures which surfaced on the internet appear to show control of the capital is still very much in play. on libyan state tv, the country's embattled leader moammar gadhafi gave a rambling speech from the ruins of his former home, which was bombed by the u.s. in 1986. the reason, apparently to show that he is the real patriot.

>> translator: when this place was bombed, here, at my home, and my children were fighting then, where were you rats? where were you men with beards? where were you? you were with america. >> reporter: gadhafi went on to say he'll never leave libya. and intends to die as a martyr. but libya seems to be leaving him a city at a time. benghazi, libya's second biggest, has seen brutal street fighting but now rebels seem to have the upper hand and soldiers are switching sides. gadhafi's power base is now tripoli, and regions to the west. the rebels are strongest in the east and ominously, libya's most productive oil fields lie right in the middle. setting the stage for a fight over control of this precious resource. if gadhafi needs to stay in power he's rushing to

christchurch to aid in the rescue operations there. in other news, rahm emanuel, the former chief of staff to president obama, has been elected mayor of chicago.

emanuel was the easy winner, taking 55% of the vote in a six-candidate race, and avoiding a runoff. emmanuel resigned from the obama administration last year to run for mayor. he called his election humbling. >> what makes this victory most gratifying is that it was built on votes from every corner of this city. from people who believe that a common set of challenges must be met with a common purpose. >> president obama said emanuel will be a terrific mayor. emanuel replaces richard dale kwr. daley and his father had led chicago for 43 of the last 56 years. this morning a legislative standoff over republican efforts to cut back union rights has spread to a second state, indiana. the indiana house could not do business tuesday because 37 democratic lawmakers left the state. instead, thousands of union

activists flooded the state capital to protest the bill to give workers the right not to join a union. republicans say the right to work bill will help struggling businesses. in wisconsin, democratic state senators skipped work again tuesday, as republican lawmakers debated a plan to take most bargaining rights away from state employees. again, opponents of the bill filled the state capitol and union members in several states also held rallies to support them. and in ohio there were more protests against a similar bill to strip away bargaining rights for state workers there, which the republican governor says is good for taxpayers and good for businesses. >> this is just one piece of an overall reform package designed to stabilize the state. >> kasich is facing an estimated $8 billion budget deficit for next year. overseas now, for the first time, pirates off the coast of somalia have taken american lives. four u.s. citizens aboard a hijacked yacht were shot by the captors on tuesday.

they died before u.s. navy sailors could save them. more than a dozen suspects are in custody. david martin has more. >> reporter: ignoring explicit warnings about pirates, two couples, jean and scott adam and phyllis mckay and bob riggle sailed alone across the indian ocean in their 58-foot yacht, "the quest." >> why they were in that area, we don't know. but she was not haphazardly out on the ocean just -- just doing what, you know, loosely traveling around. >> reporter: on friday, their yacht was boarded by 19 pirates who set a course for somalia. four u.s. navy ships shadowed the yacht, knowing if it ever reached land they would lose their best chance of rescuing the americans. >> we understood that if they got to shore it was going to be a really bad situation. we also understood that the navy was doing their best to prevent them from getting to shore. >> reporter: fbi hostage negotiators tried to bargain with the pirates. two of the pirates actually were brought aboard the destroyer

"sterett" for face-to-face talks. then without warning -- >> at 8:00 this morning local time a rocket-propelled grenade was fired from "the quest" by the pirates towards the "sterett". immediately thereafter gunfire also erupted inside the cabin of "the quest." >> reporter: navy s.e.a.l.s. scramble into small boats and approached the quest without firing a shot. two pirates were already dead. most of the rest came out on deck with their hands up. the seales searched the yacht and found two more, killing both of them. one with a knife. inside the cockpit they found the four americans mortally wounded. so what went wrong? one u.s. official says we couldn't keep peace among the pirates. they were arguing among themselves, and that dispute apparently provoked the shooting. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. just ahead on the "morning news," wall street has its worst day in six months. plus, gulf coast mystery as a large number of baby dolphins wash ashore.

first, though, katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> do you feel tired all the time? there may be a reason. how a new study could help explain chronic fatigue syndrome, and what it really means. we'll have that story and more tonight, o radiating pain everywhere... and i wondered what it was. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can do more with the ones i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling.

common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. then i found lyrica. heaven comes to earth. rich, creamy, thick dannon greek, the most delicious yogurt imaginable. heaven on earth! discover dannon greek this way, everyone will know about all our great discounts. safe driver, online, homeowner's -- more discounts than ever before. and they still get great service. ♪ ow! [ disco music plays ]

♪ whoa, yeah is it just me, or is it getting funky in here, huh? get your groove on, y'all! catch you on the flip side! i'd tell him the sign's not finished, but it would just break his funky little heart. more discounts, more ways to save. now, that's progressive. call or click today. this morning a top government scientist says she is worried about the number of baby dolphins dying in the gulf of mexico. in gist the past two weeks, more than a dozen of them have been found dead on the gulf coast beaches of alabama and mississippi. the bodies are being tested to determine if the deaths are connected to last year's bp oil spill. in phoenix, an iraqi immigrant has been convicted in what prosecutors call the honor killing of his daughter. he listened to a translator and said nothing as the jury found him guilty of second degree murder. in 2009, driving his job, he ran over his 20-year-old daughter

after she refused an arranged marriage. his lawyers say it was an accident. on the "cbs moneywatch," stocks in asia saw losses for a second straight day. ashley morrison is here in new york with the latest on all of that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you, betty. asian markets slipped again amid worries of global economic growth. japan's nikkei shed nearly 1% while hong kong's hang seng edged down a fraction. today wall street gets the very latest on home sales. stocks took a dive on tuesday. the worst day for the market in six months. the dow dropped 178 points, while the nasdaq fell 77. the power struggle in libya has pushed the price of oil even higher. overnight oil prices hit a new two-year high, up 30 cents near $96 a barrel in asia. there's concern the trouble in libya could disrupt supply. libya's main oil export ports have been closed. higher fuel costs are taking a toll on airline stock.

delta, united, continental us airways, and american airlines' parent company all dropped 5% or more on tuesday. according to the air transport association, every penny per gallon per year increase means about $170 million in additional fuel expenses for the industry. apple holds its annual shareholder meeting today, with two major questions looming. the first is the health of company founder and ceo steve jobs. currently on medical leave, jobs has appeared increasingly thin and weak in recent months. he has not disclosed the nature of his illness. the second is the new ipad. apple's second generation tablet computer is expected to be unveiled next wednesday. it's rumored to be thinner and lighter with added features such as a front-facing camera for video chatting. amazon is taking aim at netflix. people who subscribe to amazon.com's premium membership can stream movies and tv shows over the internet. the prime membership costs $79 a

year. the netflix streaming service costs about $95. netflix does have more movies to choose from, as well as recent movies, but amazon says it will continue to build its library. and the recession may have had a silver lining, at least if you're a boss. according to a new survey from careerbuilder.com, more workers are starting their day on time. 15% of respondents say they arrived late to work at least one day a week. that's actually down from 20% three years ago. traffic and lack of sleep were the most common excuses. and betty, i use lack of sleep for everything. >> we know all about lack of sleep, don't we? all right. but we're here on time. gotta be. >> got to be. >> the show must go on. ashley, thank you, joining us live here in new york. nevada is the only u.s. state where prostitution is legal. well, now the state's most powerful politician, senate majority leader harry reid, says it is time for that to end.

>> we should do everything we can to make sure the world holds nevada in the same high regard you and i do. if we want to attract business to nevada that puts people back to work, the time has come to outlaw prostitution. >> as reid spoke to nevada legislators tuesday, some brothel owners and workers were in the audience. they say prostitution brings tourists and money to a state that needs both. actress lindsay lohan is due back in a los angeles court today. lohan's attorney says she's open to a plea deal in a felony grand theft case involving a $2500 necklace. lohan faces up to three years in jail. meanwhile, her mother says lohan plans to wear something a little more conservative today, than the short, white dress she had on for her last court date. straight ahead your wednesday morning weather. and in sports, carmelo who? the short-handed denver nuggets soar without their all-star forward. forward. ♪

♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ oh, do it ♪ oh, do it ♪ express yourself ♪ hey [ female announcer ] coffee is like life. it's better when you add your flavor. coffee-mate, from nestle. [ coughs ] [ growls ] [ coughs, sneezes ] powerful nighttime symptom relief in just one dose. [ both snoring loudly ] [ both snoring loudly ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. ♪

how are you getting to a happier place? running there? dancing there? how about eating soup to get there? campbell's soups fill you with good nutrition, farm-grown ingredients, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country today. new york, going to be sunny, 45 degrees. miami, sunny and warm, 84. chicago, partly cloudy, chilly 38. dallas, cloudy, 72. los angeles, 62. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows mostly cloudy skies in the southern plains and ohio river valley.

while it's clear in the northeast, and southwest. later today, though, a storm will descend into the northwest, bringing snow all the way to the coastal areas. along the gulf coast, temperatures will be in the 70s and 80s. and it's very chilly in montana, with daytime highs around zero. in sports, the denver nuggets won without carmelo anthony. j.r. smith had 25 points. denver beat memphis 120-107 without their all-star, who was traded to new york. the nuggets only had nine players as their four new players watched from the sidelines. in miami, lebron james had 31 points as the heat built up a big lead over sacramento. and dwyane wade scored 23, including one basket while he was falling to the court. look at that. the heat beat the kings 117-97. and in los angeles, all-star mvp kobe bryant had 20 points against atlanta, and shannon brown added 15, as the defending nba champ started the second half of the season with a 104-80

win over the hawks. in college basketball, a top-ranked team faces an upset. scottie hopkins had 19 points as tennessee rallied in the second half, and the volunteers knocked off number 18 vanderbilt 60-51. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and cell phones on the brain. a new study tries to clear the confusion over possible cancer risk. cancer risk. >> ( beeping, beeping stops ) >> announcer: free is better. do your simple return for free with the federal free edition at turbotax.com. turbotax. the most trusted brand of tax software. (jennifer garner) there's a lot of beautiful makeup out there to cover up flaws and make skin look pretty but there's one that's so clever, it makes your skin look better even after you take it off. neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% of women saw improvement in their skin's natural texture, tone, or clarity.

does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics recommended most by dermatologists. a crucial meeting today could determine whether hundreds of police officers will be laid off.. the worst case scenario.. if no deal is reached. plus.. voices from the rubble.. the rush to save trapped victims of new zealands quake.. how some are even using their cell phones to call for help. and.. apple shareholders demand answers. what the company could reveal today about the health of steve jobs, and its new ipad. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30.

,,,, on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. there are cloudy skies in the southern plains where severe weather is possible later this evening. it is sunny and more seasonable in the northeast. and more wet and snowy weather in the northwest. here's another look at this morning's top stories. u.s. citizens are being evacuated from libya by ferry. being taken to the island nation

of malta. libyan leader moammar gadhafi refuses to step down and has called on his supporters to fight back against those who oppose him. and rahm emanuel was easily elected mayor of chicago. emanuel quit his job as president obama's chief of staff last year. he collected 55% of the vote, in a six-candidate race. the u.s. supreme court has ruled that parents cannot sue over childhood vaccines. the high court says that's why congress set up a special vaccines court. it handles claims so that drug companies will keep making vaccines. the justices rejected a suit by a couple who did not get compensation for their daughter's health problems from the vaccine court. well, a new study on the effects of cell phones on the human brain found evidence that they do affect brain cell activity. it raises disturbing questions, though, about whether long-term use of cell phones may be harmful to the millions who use them. sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: cell phones are a

part of just about everyone's life. but there are still questions about their safety. >> i worry about kids, i've got a 17-year-old who sleeps with the phone by her bed. >> i'm not worried about it. >> reporter: in a preliminary study from the national institutes of health, researchers found holding a cell phone next to your head for 50 minutes does increase brain activity. >> it's important because it shows that the human brain is sensitive to electromagnetic radiations that are emitted from cell phones. >> reporter: authors studied 47 healthy adults over a year as they held cell phones to left and right side of the head in the on and off position. they used p.e.t. scans to measure brain activity and found increased brain metabolism nearest the antenna. despite other studies that looked at a potential risk of brain cancer from cell phones, this study did not, and experts say more research is needed. >> this is really just the first step. we don't know what the findings really mean. and that i think that the

recommendations are general, that obviously you limit your cell phone use. >> reporter: or you can use an earpiece when making calls. sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. >> makes texting sound pretty good right about now. this morning on "the early show" the latest from libya on the anti-government demonstrations. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." s." when you're a stunt woman, work can be pretty unpredictable. from knowing when my next job will be to what i'll actually be doing. so in the rest of my life i like control. especially in my finances. that's why i have slate with blueprint. i can make a plan to pay off everyday things and avoid interest, or pay down my balance faster on the big stuff. that saves money. with slate from chase, i have everything under control... ♪ ...financially. announcer: debit card control and credit card flexibility. get both with slate. lose those lines for up to a year! juvéderm® xc is the gel filler your doctor uses to instantly smooth out lines right here. temporary side effects include redness, pain, firmness, swelling, bumps, or risk of infection. ask your doctor

about juvéderm® xc. heaven comes to earth. rich, creamy, thick dannon greek, the most delicious yogurt imaginable. heaven on earth! discover dannon greek ,,,, a great change is at hand and our task is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. those who look only to the past or the present, are certain to miss the future.

do not pray for easy lives. pray to be stronger men. ask not what your country can do for you. ask what you can do for your country. an incredible victory to end a 310-game losing streak for the cal tech basketball team. cal tech pulled out a 46-45 victory last night as occidental college missed a desperation shot at the buzzer and the cal tech players and fans celebrated, of course. they had lost all 310 games they played in the conference, going all the way back to 1985. and basketball fans here in new york were celebrating the big carmelo anthony trade to the knicks on tuesday. but the current generation of all-stars owes a lot to an all-black new york team that played during the days of

segregation. they blazed a trail for the superstars of today. byron pitts reports. >> reporter: new york knicks fans awoke to the news. >> i'm pumped. yeah. it's awesome. >> reporter: a star and his shooter was coming to madison square garden. but long before carmelo, before michael or magic could make headlines, it took another generation of young men who could shoot a basketball to make history. >> going all the way. >> reporter: it's the story of sweetwater and his teammates affectionately known as the harlem rens. one of the first all-black professional basketball teams from 1922 to 1948. back when colored couldn't play with whites. this documentary "on the shoulder of giants" tells their story of triumph in the face of bigotry. of dignity claimed when so many tried to deny them. >> it's real important. i just think young kids, whether they're still young right now or

in my position, they need to know their history. >> kareem! >> reporter: it was produced by basketball legend and new york native kareem abdul-jabbar. >> blacks and whites can definitely learn something from this documentary. because it really shows how sports brings us together. especially here in america. >> reporter: but names like "wonder boy" isaacs, "pop" gates and "tarzan" cooper, they played their home games here in harlem. today it's an abandoned building. but back in 1939, that was the renaissance casino and ball room and the harlem rens were the best in basketball. they won the world championship in '39 but the team folded in 1948 when they were denied admission to the newly formed national basketball association. today nearly 79% of the nba is african-american. millionaires in shorts. >> these young guys think they made $20 million a year because they can play. they were just born at the right time. >> reporter: perhaps the harlem

rens were born before their time. they never made millions, but they made their mark. byron pitts, cbs news, new york. >> yes, they did. coming up a little bit later on "the early show," an update from libya on the anti-government protests, as moammar gadhafi vows to fight to the end. also, cell phone safety. details on a new study that looked at how it might affect your brain. and an interview with iowa high school wrestler joel northrop who made headlines last week when he refused to compete against a girl. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching, everybody, i'm betty nguyen. have a great day.

and healthy lungs throughout the country.

the american lung association isn't just fighting for air. we're fighting for all the things that make it worth breathing. join us in the fight at fightingforair.org. your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. the rush right now to get americans out of the country. libya's dictatedder vows to fight to the last drop of blood. the rush right now to get americans out of that country. incredible stories of survival from new zealand. one woman has captured the world's attention using her cell phone to call for help from under the rubble. the sunshine has been nice, now colder days ahead. maybe even a little snow. we'll talk about it coming up. and we are off to a great start so far for our morning commute. no hot spots, but