too close for comfort, a plane carrying the first lady aborts a landing when controllers let a military transport come dangerously close. twister touchdown. tornadoes tear across missouri and illinois. as a major new storm system rolls east. and one year later, assessing the damage for bp's and one year later, assessing the damage for bp's deepwater oil rig disaster. captioning funded by cbs this is the cbs morning news for wednesday, april 20th, 2011. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. the faa insists first lady michelle obama was never in any real danger when her plane had to abort a landing at andrews air force base monday, but the

incident which also involved a military transport jet focused more attention on air traffic controllers who have taken a lot of criticism lately. susan mcginnis joins us live from washington. good morning, susan. how did this happen. >> good morning, betty. this is apparently not an uncommon event. it was not a near miss or even a close call, but when the first lady is on board, it's going to get a lot of attention and it is yet another embarrassment for the faa. the first lady and jill biden, wife of the vice president were returning to washington on monday, after a joint appearance in new york. air traffic tapes showed their plane, a military version of the boeing 737 got too close to a larger cargo plane flying just ahead as both aircraft prepared to land at andrews air force base. >> executive one foxtrot, contact approach 119.3.

>> reporter: an apparent mistake by an air traffic controller allowed mrs. obama's plane to get within three miles of the 200-ton cargo jet. once the cargo plane landed controllers at andrews had a bigger problem. it became obvious the aircraft wouldn't be able to exit to allow the first lady's jet to land. controllers radioed for help. >> can we slow down executive one foxtrot? >> reporter: at first controllers tried to slow the plane having it do a series of turns but then controllers ordered the first lady's pilots to abort the landing and do what's called a go around essentially to circle and then try again. this time, the plane landed safely. the faa says neither aircraft was ever in any danger but it is investigating to find out how the two planes got too close in the first place. now while this incident posed no danger, it is the latest in the string of mistakes by air traffic controllers. the ntsb hasn't decided yet whether to open a formal investigation into this one. betty?

>> susan mcginnis joining us live from washington, thank you, susan. a new round of violent spring storms including tornadoes struck parts of the midwest overnight. this morning that storm system stretches from the ohio river valley to arkansas and is headed east. check this out. tornadoes tore across south central illinois last night, along with heavy rain and damaging winds. >> it just started shaking it real bad. blew all my doors open, broke windows in the back. i got probably seven inches of water in the basement right now. >> twisters were also spotted in missouri, churning up farmland. there was some tense moments for baseball fans in st. louis as the storm system made a direct hit on the cardinals busch stadium. no one was hurt. in texas, they are still battling huge wildfires, major blaze west of ft. worth is the latest round as over 1 million acres of drought stricken brushland have burned. hundreds of homes are destroyed.

authorities say all 400 residents in the town of halo pinto had to evacuate last night as flames approached. one year ago today gulf coast residents thought they were seeing the end of the the world as they knew it. crude gushed from the sea floor when failsafe systems failed and oil began washing on to beaches and into vital marshlands, but the disaster was not the armageddon some had predicted. this morning the closed section of the gulf has been reopened. randall pinkston is live in pensacola beach this morning and here with us now, good morning. how much has this made a difference for the residents there? >> reporter: good morning, betty, quite a difference, i would say, a combination of optimism and anxiety. oil is no longer washing ashore in beaches in pensacola, florida, optimism because the economy is gradually improving,

tourism is coming back but they're also anxious. there are so many unanswered questions. for example, the ultimate impact on the environment and when will all of the claims be settled. there's still an ocean of uncertainty. louisiana state officials flew over a sheen of oil still coating the gulf, one year after the biggest environmental disaster in the nation's history. in a marsh near the mouth of the mississippi river, mud mixes with oil. part of what's left after more than 200 million gallons of oil spilled out of the doomed deepwater horizon. 11 men died when the oil rig exploded including 24-year-old adam weisy. his body was never found. >> it's hard to know that's where my brother is. my brother is at the bottom of the gulf of mexico. >> reporter: the explosion didn't just take lives. the resulting oil spill devastated the region's environment and economy. all along the gulf coast,

fishing and tourism provide jobs and tax dollars for local communities but after the bp spill, fishermen lost their livelihood and tourists vanished. but a year later, pensacola beach restaurant owner michael penzone says business is improving. >> we've gotten a lot of locals and a lot of spring breakers, probably up about 15% to 20%. >> bp said they were going to clean it up. they kept their word. >> reporter: bp is spending millions on promotional ads to reassure potential tourists. >> it's important for people to know that our beaches are safe, they're clean, and we just need them on them. >> reporter: tourists are returning, but some of them fear there's more oil out there, and if there is, no one knows which way it will go. and people want answers. they want bp to pay the claims that people are owed and they also want bp to explain exactly how much oil spilled out of that deepwater horizon rig. one year later bp still disputes

the government's estimate of $200 million. a lot of questions, not so many answers right now. betty? >> randall pinkston in pensacola beach, thank you for that randall. now to a disaster half a world away, in japan authorities are considering limiting access to the evacuation zone around the crippled nuclear plant. there's currently a 12 mile evacuation zone surrounding the plant devastated by the japanese earthquake and tsunami. the government says creating a caution area around the plant would limit radiation exposure for evacuees who want to return home. turning to the crisis in libya, where britain will send as many as 20 military advisers to train rebel forces trying to overthrow moammar gadhafi. the rebels have little, if any fighting experience. britain says it will not arm them. the rebels and gadhafi are locked in a stalemate after two months of fighting. after weeks of anti-government demonstrations the syrian government has passed a law to end a half century of

emergency rule, but protesters say that is not enough and are calling for an end to the regime. on tuesday syrian troops opened fire on a demonstration in the city of homs. at least one person was killed. there are also deadly clashes in yemen, where security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters tuesday. police used tear gas and stun guns. at least three people are dead. demonstrators want the immediate resignation of president ali abdullah saleh. the u.s. army intelligence analyst expected of leaking thousands of documents to wikileaks is being moved to ft. leavenworth, kansas. bradley manning is being held at the u.s. marine rig in quantico, virginia, in what some describe as harsh conditions. the pentagon denies he is being mistreated and say he is being moved as part of an assessment to see if he is mentally competent to stand trial. he faces dozens of charges, including aiding the enemy. the world's youngest

billionaire and the president of the united states come together in palo alto, california, today, to discuss deficit reduction. president obama visits the headquarters of facebook for a live internet town hall meeting with company founder mark zuckerberg, aimed at building support for the president's spending plan, and his re-election. just ahead a shooting at a texas elementary school. plus a fast thinking security guard stops armed robbers at an internet cafe. this is "cbs morning news." dog: bacon? gotta get that bacon! dog: yummy. crunchy. bacon. bacon. bacon. there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin' strip? dog: me! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum... it's beggin'! hm... i love you! beggin' strips! there's no time like beggin' time!

♪ ♪ wake up ♪ it's a beautiful morning ♪ honey ♪ while the sun is still shining ♪ ♪ wake up ♪ would you like to go with me? ♪ ♪ honey

♪ take a run down to the beach ♪ ♪ oh, mama ♪ i wanna go surfing ♪ oh, mama ♪ i don't care about nothing ♪ ♪ ♪ wake up ♪ there's a new kid in the town ♪ a a manhunt is on near orlando, florida, for suspects who tried to rob an all-night international cafe. it was all caught on video as two men burst into the room with guns blazing early tuesday, at one point one of the robbers put the gun to the head of the security guard, but the guard fights back, and fires. when a shoot-out was over, one suspect was killed, two of his accomplices escaped.

in houston a 6-year-old brought a loaded gun to school and he was one of three students injured when the gun apparently went off by accident. parents flocked to the elementary school tuesday on word of the lunch time incident. students and school officers say the gun fired when it fell out of the 6-year-old's pocket. >> he tried to get it, but then he pressed the button. >> and when he sat down to have lunch it fell out of his pocket, hitting the floor, discharged. >> the bullet went up into the light and then bounced back and hit the girl in the leg. >> none of the injuries was serious. authorities say no charges have been filed. on the "cbs moneywatch" stocks in asia rebounded this morning. ashley morrison is here with the latest on that. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, betty. japan's nikkei added more than 1.5% and hong kong's hang seng gained 1% and oil is

trading above $109 a barrel. today wall street gets the latest on housing starts and another round of earnings reports on tuesday, corporate profits helped stocks to rebound. the dow climbed 65 points while the nasdaq added 9. after the closing bell, intel reported profits jumped 29% last quarter. it was a big surprise to most analysts who figured the weakening sales of pcs and laptops would put a dent in the chipmaker's bottom line as smartphones and tablets eat into their business. ibm also reported earnings that blew past expectations. apple typically has nothing to say about it but sources who claim to know say the next generation iphone will be out in september. reports say the popular phone will come with a faster processor but will look much like the current iphone 4. there's positive news about unemployment. the government reports that 38 states gained jobs in march, led by texas with more than 37,000.

and the unemployment rate fell in 34 states, that's the largest number to see a decline in nine months. and some truly tragic news in the retail world. some shops in australia are charging customers to try on clothes in the store. it's not cheap either. the highest one is charging 50 bucks. shops apparently got frustrated because people were trying on expensive outfits and then buying them at better prices online. betty let's hope this doesn't become a trend and come our way. >> is that illegal? that should be illegal. right? >> it's a crime. >> you can't charge people to try on clothes. >> right. >> good luck with that. i wonder how that works when people don't come to the store. >> exactly. >> ashley, thank you, joining us live from new york. straight ahead your wednesday morning weather in and sports a hard fought playoff game. find out if orlando had enough magic to win. we used to bet who could get closest to the edge.

took some crazy risks as a kid. but i was still over the edge with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more, and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol...stop. 80% of people who have had heart attacks have high cholesterol. lipitor is a cholesterol lowering medication, fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems.

tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. great ride down. if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. our premium litters now work harder to help neutralize odors in multiple cat homes. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york thunderstorms, 68 degrees. miami, sunny, 84, chicago cloudy 44. dallas, scattered thunderstorms, 77. los angeles, mostly cloudy there, with 67 degrees. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture

shows clouds over the northern plains and ohio valley, while skies are clear in the southeast. later today, scattered showers and powerful thunderstorms will develop across the mid-atlantic and southeast. the southwest remains dry and much of the plains will enjoy a dry and sunny afternoon. in sports, orlando evened its playoff series with atlanta at one game apiece. it was a back and forth game but the magic dwight howard led the way with 33 points and 19 rebounds. in the fourth, orlando's jason richardson hit a clutch three-pointer from the corner and the magic won it 88-82. in boston knicks scoring machine cor mel he will anthony had 42 points but kevin garnet from the celtics sank a jump hook late in the fourth quarter and pulled out a win, up 2-0 in the series. in baseball, a big win for the milwaukee brewers. a's roy halladay was on the mound at home but milwaukee's

bats were hot including a homer in the third inning. brewers left-hander randy wolf hit six solid innings, the 9-0 victory made milwaukee the first team to win a series against the phills this season. in oakland brett anderson picked off dustin pedroia. red sox manager terry francona argued it was a balk and was ejected. anderson went on to strike out eight sox hitters. oakland ended boston's three-game win streak 5-0. when we return another look at this morning's top stories. and passenger upgrade, air travelers get more protection against lost bags and delayed flights. protection against lost bags and delayed flights. mpulsive in class. and his inattention makes focusing on homework tough. i know how it is because my son has adhd too. i didn't know all i could do to help manage his adhd. our doctor suggested a treatment plan with non-stimulant intuniv.

[ male announcer ] once daily non-stimulant intuniv has been shown to reduce adhd symptoms. don't take if allergic to intuniv or are taking guanfacine. intuniv may cause serious side effects, such as low blood pressure, low heart rate, fainting, and sleepiness. intuniv may affect the ability to drive or use machinery. other side effects include nausea, tiredness, trouble sleeping, stomach pain and dizziness. tell the doctor about your child's medicines and medical conditions, including heart, liver or kidney problems. i'm a mom first and a teacher second. so i did my homework and got informed. [ male announcer ] ask the doctor about once daily non-stimulant intuniv. president obama, making friends in the bay. how he's using.. facebook to jump start his fundraising campaign. a predator follows a woman home in oakland. the common link between several other recent assaults. from more than 100, to less than a dozen. the crackdown on

pot clubs in san jose.. and.. getting smarter about your smart phone bill. the tips, to cut down your costs. join us for cbs 5 early edition, on the "cbs morning news" here is a look at today's weather. strong thunderstorms will be developing across the mid-atlantic and southeast this afternoon. much of the southeast and southern plains remain mainly dry and a few scattered snow showers are likely over the

upper midwest. here's another look at this morning's top stories. today marked one year since the gulf oil spill began with a deadly explosion and fire on bp's deepwater horizon oil rig. the last area of the gulf area closed since that day just opened. and a bit of a scare monday when a military jet got too close to the first lady's plane. the faa now says there was never any real danger but the incident is under investigation. for the flying public, more help is on the way, the department of transportation is beefing up its passenger bill of rights. kendis gibson has details from los angeles. >> reporter: for business traveler kelly benton, irritation is all too common at the airport especially when he arrives before his luggage. >> frustrating especially if you don't get it that day and have plans especially travel for business. >> reporter: but soon you can fly with the confidence you'll

be compensated when there's a problem. the department of transportation is expanding the airline passenger bill of rights implemented last year. lost bag? airlines will now have to reimburse passengers for bag fees. the government is now requiring airlines to prominently display surcharges and hidden fees on their websites. passengers bumped from flights will receive up to $1,300, depending on the length of the delay and value of their ticket. and the rules for how long a planeful of passengers can sit on the tarmac are changing. currently an airline is fined if a domestic flight sits on the tarmac for too long. now international flights are being included as well. the government claims its original bill of rights reduced long tarmac delays by more than 97%. consumer advocates say the new rules are a good start but don't go far enough. the transportation department says it will take up to four months for the new regulations to take effect. kendis gibson, cbs news, los angeles.

this morning on "the early show," much more on the anniversary of the gulf oil spill. i'm betty nguyen. this is "cbs morning news." byg a complete killing force against fleas and ticks. and not just adult fleas. what makes frontline plus complete is that it breaks the flea life cycle -- killing adults, eggs, and larvae. and it keeps killing fleas and ticks all month long. that's why it's the #1 choice of vets for their pets, and yours. unleash a complete killing force in every dose of frontline plus.

all right, check this out, two people claim to have found the remains of an alien in siberia. it is the subject of a wildly popular internet video. the alien's body is said to be about two feet high and half buried in the snow. critics and analysts call it an obvious hoax. tv ads for mcdonald's, the fast food jai on the, often end with the tag line i'm loving it. the ranks of the unemployed may have reason to consider the golden arches. >> reporter: call it a supersized hiring spree. >> thank you. >> reporter: across its 14,000 restaurants, mcdonald's was looking to hire 50,000 new workers. >> i need to be one of those 50,000 people.

>> reporter: and many saw a golden opportunity at the golden arches. >> i really need this job right now. >> reporter: mcdonald's managers can make as much as $50,000 a year but most restaurant workers earn about $8 an hour. that's $16,000 a year. the word mcjob is actually listed in the oxford dictionary. defined as a low-paid job with few prospects. >> the term mcjob is definitely misunderstood and we don't agree with it. >> reporter: mcdonald's president jan fields who can still whip up -- >> a wild berry smoothie. >> reporter: started behind the counter in 1978. >> my story at mcdonald's is not unique. 30% of our executive management started their career at mcdonald's so the opportunities are endless. >> reporter: but turnover reportedly is also high. by some estimates, 90% a year. diashe timberlake, applying for a job in new york, worked in mcdonald's a year ago.

you left obviously. did you think you'd have to come back? >> i didn't. >> reporter: in january she lost her seasonal job with u.p.s. what are you looking for today? >> whatever they have available i'll take it. >> reporter: more than 13 million americans are still looking for work. >> 50,000 net new jobs is a good thing in this economy, but it's just not going to be enough to move the dial. >> reporter: economist heidi scherrhelds says the recovery has barely begun. last month the economy added a little over 200,000 jobs. >> if we continue to grow at the rate that we grew in march, we would get down to the pre-recession unemployment rate in 2018. >> that's a seven-year climb. mcdonald's single day hiring spree may have some elements of a publicity stunt but in an economy starving for jobs we'll take anything we can get. anthony mason, cbs news. new york. coming up, a live report from louisiana on the one-year anniversary of the gulf oil spill and we'll hear from

survivors of the deepwater horizon oil rig explosion. also a look at the newest social websites that can help with you life's little problems. and getting that beach tan in a safe way, a new trend in self-tanning. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching, everyone. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com