pump probe. with gas prices near record highs the president orders an investigation into possible fraud, or manipulation. on the ground. senator john mccain arrives in libya to consult with rebel forces, as fighting rages on and u.s. predator drones patrol the skies. and fuel to the fire. the florida preacher who burned a koran plans to protest today the florida preacher who burned a koran plans to protest today at america's biggest mosque. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody, and thanks for joining us on this good friday. i'm betty nguyen. president obama is returning to washington this morning after a three-day campaign trip to the west coast. appearing at a renewable energy plant in reno, nevada, on

thursday, the president says that he has launched an investigation into why americans are paying so much for gasoline. susan mcginnis is in washington with more on this. good morning, susan. >> good morning, betty. yeah, the president wants this new task force to look into the reasons behind the spike in gas prices, to see if they go beyond the fundamental reasons, like supplies and inflation, and whether any manipulation, fraud or speculation is happening in the oil markets. president obama wants to get to the bottom of the nation's high gas prices. >> we're going to make sure that nobody's taking advantage of american consumers. >> reporter: he's ordered a justice department task force to look in to whether fraud or manipulation in oil markets could be driving up the cost of crude. >> it is disgusting. >> reporter: drivers are sick of the rising prices. the national average now stands at $3.84 a gallon. that's nearly 30 cents higher than last month, and almost a dollar higher than a year ago.

>> it's ridiculous. you know, i'm on a fixed income and i can't afford it. >> reporter: while there are plenty of reasons gas prices are so high, attorney general eric holder says the goal of investigators is to make sure americans are not paying a penny more than they have to. in a statement thursday, he said, if illegal conduct is responsible for increasing gas prices, state and federal authorities should take swift action. the president says he understands rising prices are yet another hardship in this economy. >> it hurts. because you know every time you go to work, a big chunk of your paycheck is being eaten up. >> reporter: experts say drivers shouldn't expect a break at the pump any time soon. >> the sky's the limit. i mean they're paying $8 and $9 a gallon in england. who knows where it could go. >> reporter: if demand keeps up, and the u.s. dollar continues to weaken, some analysts fear prices could top $6 a gallon by the end of the summer. now a lot of analysts are very

skeptical this investigation is going to turn up anything, saying past investigations have not. and that prices are higher because of those fundamental reasons, the deficit, the supply crisis, and inflation. betty? >> all right. susan mcginnis in washington for us. thank you, susan. senator john ensign is resigning. the nevada senator is a republican and says that he wants to spare his family embarrassment over an ethics investigation of his extramarital affair with a former staffer. ensign admitted the affair in 2009, but stayed in office. a watchdog group says his departure will give a republican appointee the advantage of incumbency in the campaign. arizona senator john mccain arrived in libya this morning for a previously unannounced meeting with anti-gadhafi rebels. mccain, the top republican on the senate armed services committee, strongly supports u.s. participation in the nato intervention in libya. as' rived in benghazi, mccain called the rebels his heroes. the u.s. military has a new presence in the skies over libya this morning.

predator drones. they'll provide rebel forces with air support. defense secretary robert gates announced their deployment yesterday. >> the president has said that where we have some unique capabilities, he is willing to use those, and, in fact, he has approved the use of armed predators, and i think that today may, in fact, have been their first mission. >> gates said once again, president obama is firmly against sending u.s. ground troops to libya. the seesaw battle for libya continues to focus on the rebel-held city of misrata. witnesses say rebels are slowly driving snipers out of taller buildings in the city center. but gadhafi forces are bombarding misrata with mortars and rockets. at least 20 people have been killed in just the last three days. elsewhere, rebels gained control of a libyan border crossing in tunisia. in syria, weeks of anti-government protests may be

nearing a climax. protest leaders plan the biggest demonstrations yet, after friday prayers in damascus and other cities. and government troops are deploying against them. a protest march thursday in the of daraw was allowed to go on peacefully but in the past five weeks at least 220 protesters have been shot and killed. controversial florida pastor terry jones plans to stage a demonstration outside the nation's largest mosque in dearborn, michigan, today. jones wants to protest what he claims is the radicalization of muslims in america. last month he burned a koran, setting off deadly protests in afghanistan. the city of dearborn has refused to issue a protest permit to jones. the mayor disputes jones' claim that the city is interfering with his right to protest. >> we aren't going to predetermine anything. the determination of what we have to do with pastor jones will be based on what he does, and what the result of his actions are likely to produce.

>> jones rejected offers to hold his rally at other sites. in japan today, new evidence of the global economic disruption caused bring last month's earthquake and tsunami. toyota, the world's biggest automaker announced because of a parts shortage it cannot resume full production before november or december. an electric car made by nissan was voted world car of the year by an automotive industry panel. the zero emission leaf is powered by a pack of lithium ion batteries. it can travel up to eight hours before needing a recharge. nissan stopped taking orders for the car when the number reached 2,000 last year -- or 20,000, i should say. it will resume taking them on may 1st. on the "cbs moneywatch," wall street is closed for good friday. and asian stocks were flat this morning. japan's nikkei lost a fraction after posting a late-day rally. alexis christoforous has more business headlines. >> soaring jet fuel prices are wiping out profits at the

nation's biggest airlines. united-continental lost more than $200 million in the first three months of the year, after seeing its fuel bill spike nearly $600 million. even low-cost, high-profit airlines like southwest and jetblue saw earnings barely rise above break-even after paying to fuel their planes. carriers have raised ticket prices nearly a dozen tames so far this year to offset the rising price of jet fuel. the stock market is closed for good friday, but stocks wrapped up the holiday-shortened week on an up note. the dow industrials finishing up 52 points. the nasdaq climbed 17. a major legal defeat for mattel. a federal court jury found that the toymaker does not own the sketches or the idea for bratz dolls, made by mga entertainment. the jury also found the rival toymaker did not steal the idea for the dolls from mattel. mattel must now pay mga $88 million in damages. another recall from toyota. letters are going out to the

owners of more than 200,000 rav-4 and 94,000 hilander vehicles. toyota needs to fix a problem with the air bag sensors. that may inadvertently make the air bags deploy. no injuries have been reported. that's your "moneywatch." for more just head to cbsmoneywatch.com. in new york, i'm alexis christoforous. just ahead on the morning news, the controversy grows over smartphones tracking your every move. plus astronaut mark kelly on his wife gabrielle giffords, as he prepares for his mission next week. this is the "cbs morning news." here's to my pants not leaving marks on my waist. achieve small wins with a healthy lifestyle and dannon light & fit. the light fresh yogurt with 80 calories vs. 100 in the other leading brand. here's to 80 calories tasting crazy good.

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nicoderm cq. 3 steps, 10 weeks and you're free. it was quite a sight in cape cod, massachusetts. a record number of critically endangered north atlantic right whales were spotted this week. marine experts identified more than 100 whales, the most ever spotted in a single day. it's estimated that there are only 400 to 500 of the species in the world.

privacy watchdogs and some members of congress, are demanding answers from apple about why its iphones and ipads are secretly collecting location data on their users. security experts say the information is not encrypted, meaning hackers can gain access to it. they're also concerned about what's done with the tracking data. "the wall street journal" reports google is aggressively gathering data on the users of its android phone. apple and google declined to comment. the popularity of online dating services is raising troubling questions about safety. some states want the services to warn daters of possible danger from sex offenders. terrell brown reports. >> reporter: ilana angel knows a lot about online dating. she writes a blog about it. but even she has had some bad experiences. angel recently connected with a man on a popular website. after days of talking online, decided to meet him at a restaurant. she immediately started feeling

uncomfortable. >> we were there for maybe 30 seconds and he said that he didn't like it. and that he knew someplace better. we should go somewhere else. and we could leave my car and go in his. >> reporter: angel decided to end the date right away. the internet has become a popular way to meet romantic partners. some of those meetings have turned violent. in february, police arrested wade ridley in las vegas. authorities say he admitted stabbing a woman he met just ten days earlier through an online dating website. and in 2009, jeffrey marcellus was sentenced to life in prison after sexually assaulting women he met online. because of cases like these some states are working on legislation that would force dating websites to make changes to keep users safe. connecticut and texas are considering bills that would require dating services to give users clear advice on how to protect themselves from violence. new york and new jersey already have similar laws. >> unfortunately, online dating websites are often used by predators. people who misrepresent who they

are in order to take advantage of people. >> reporter: this week one of the most popular sites, match.com, said it will begin screening users against the national sex offender registry. the announcement came after a california woman sued the site, saying she was sexually assaulted by a man she met online. terrell brown, cbs news, new york. "time" magazine has named congresswoman gabrielle giffords as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. the arizona congresswoman was gravely wounded in an assassination attempt in january. president obama wrote the "time" tribute to her, saying, quote, she embodies the best of what public service should be, hard work and fair play, hope and resilience. giffords is recovering at a houston hospital. a week before she attends her husband mark kelly's launch on the space shuttle "endeavour," he talked to katie couric about his wife's state of mind. >> when you ask her what she wants to do -- well, first of all, she'll tell you how badly

she wants to get out of the hospital. when you ask her what she wants to do, one thing she frequently comes back to is, going back to work. going back to her office. and, you know, how important it is for her to serve her constituents. she talks about that all the time. going back to tucson. i mean, she wants to get back to tucson. she wants to get back to her district. she wants to get back to washington. >> and you can see more of katie couric's interview with mark kelly monday on the "cbs evening news." straight ahead your friday morning weather, and in sports, both miami and chicago take commanding leads in the nba playoffs. [ female announcer ] this is not a prescription.

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[ male announcer ] fresh butter taste with 70% less saturated fat than butter. [ kim ] you can have it all. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york it's going to be mostly cloudy, 53 degrees. miami sunny and windy, 84. chicago, thunderstorms there, 49. dallas, windy, 90. and los angeles, partly cloudy, 69. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clear skies over the northeast, and the entire west coast. and storms are hitting the middle of the country. later today, heavy downpours and strong winds are expected from oklahoma to ohio. that system will roll east during the day. the northeast has more clouds to move in tonight. and the west coast sees plenty of sunshine. in sports, chicago and miami are each one game away from winning their first round nba playoff series. mvp candidate derrick rose of the bulls scored 23 points against indiana, including the

go-ahead lay-up with 18 seconds left. chicago beats the pacers 88-84. they lead the series three games to none. the bulls could close it out on saturday. dwyane wade of miami had 32 points as they took a 3-0 lead in their series with philadelphia. lebron james added 24 points. the heat beat the 76ers 100-94. miami can finish the sweep in game four on sunday. wesley matthews of portland had 25 points against dallas. the trail blazers hung on for a 97-92 victory over the mavericks. but dallas still leads the series 2-1. in baseball the last place red sox are heating up. in the 11th inning, adrian gonzalez doubled to break the tie there and boston then closed out a 4-2 win against the angels in anaheim. boston has won 5 of the last 6 games. and matt holliday and albert pujols of st. louis each blasted

two-run homers off washington. and the cards shut out the nationals 5-0. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and some last-minute wedding preparations with just one week to go before prince william and kate middleton tie the royal knot. here's to my pants not leaving marks on my waist. achieve small wins with a healthy lifestyle and dannon light & fit. the light fresh yogurt with 80 calories vs. 100 in the other leading brand. here's to 80 calories tasting crazy good. live light and fit. to london starts with arthritis pain... and a choice. take tylenol now, and maybe up to 8 in a day. or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. enjoy the flight.

[ male announcer ] ragu, packed with two servings of veggies in every half cup of our now thicker, richer, healthy sauce. ragu has a great taste your family will love. ragu. feed our kids well. but a muni driver.. is spotted back behind the wheel of a bus. why muni says she never got the message. you thought 5 dollar gas sounded bad.. wait until you hear what it could cost by the summer. how the president is now taking action. starbucks serving up a sweet treat for earth day. how to get a free cup of coffee this morning. and a presidential candidate makes a surprise stop in libya. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30. "my heart sank, my heart completely sank in my stomach and i thought oh crap. ",,,,

on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. thunderstorms are expected from texas to ohio, but will bring little relief to the drought-stricken south. cool conditions hang around the northeast, as rain moves in by the weekend. here's another look at this morning's top stories. senator john mccain arrived today in libya to meet with anti-gadhafi rebels he calls his heroes. the rebels are now getting extra air support from u.s. predator drones. and president obama has

launched a federal investigation into possible manipulation or fraud behind rapidly rising gasoline prices. britain's royal wedding is exactly one week away. and we'll have to wait until then to see kate middleton's wedding dress. but the bride-to-be has been shopping for some other clothes. charlie d'agata has the latest from london. >> reporter: cameras snapped and heads turned as kate middleton did some retail therapy before her wedding day. she strolled into a popular boutique to buy her very own kate blouse. it's a frilly, silk top she already owns, the same one she wore in her royal engagement portrait. prince william's bride-to-be is the center of attention, with just days to go before the big event. queen elizabeth paid a visit to westminster abbey where the wedding ceremony will take place. it's the queen's 85th birthday and she handed out gifts to 85 women and 85 men. a holy thursday tradition that dates back to the 12th century. the next time the queen visits

the abbey, she'll watch her grandson walk down the aisle. after william and kate tie the knot, the party moves here, to buckingham palace, for a daytime reception, and a royal ball that night. the queen hosted a private lunch for kate middleton's parents wednesday at windsor castle. it's the first time she met michael and carole middleton, who are self-made millionaires in their party planning business. and the stage is now set for the big royal wedding, now just a week away. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. and cbs news will have complete coverage of the royal wedding next friday, april 29th, starting live from london at 4:00 a.m. eastern time. don't miss it. "cbs evening news" will feature the wedding followed by a prime-time special at 8:00 p.m., called "the royal wedding: modern majesty," with highlights of the day's events. this morning on "the early show," katie couric with a

preview of the royal wedding coverage. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." [ alarm ] egg! whites! bay! kin! cheese! [ alarm ] spinach-spinach- spinach-spinach-spinach- spinach-spinach-spinach. to...mae to... tur...key... jal...a...penos. banana peppers... black forest ham... [ dj ] served on toasty flatbread by request. ♪ with sweet onion sauce, drizzled across... ♪ [ male announcer ] wake up to the fresh taste of subway breakfast with the sunrise subway melt on tasty flatbread.

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and a high fly ball into deep left center. back goes mclaud at the wall, gone! >> in los angeles last night, matt kemp of the dodgers hit a walk-off home run against atlanta, wearing throwback brooklyn dodgers uniforms they beat the braves 5-. on the field, the dodgers are winning, but off the field, the dodgers are a mess. that is because of money problems from the owners' brutal divorce battle. and major league baseball is in the process of taking over the team operations. ben tracy reports. >> reporter: at this stadium today, dodger dogs and soft drinks were half price. but it may be a deal the dodgers cannot afford.

on wednesday, baseball commissioner bud selig announced he's taking over the team, because of his deep concerns regarding the finances and operations of the dodgers. >> i'm shocked. i'm completely shocked. i never realized or ever dreamed of something like this ever, ever happening to the dodgers. >> reporter: the problem is not really how the team plays ball. it's how the ongoing soap opera of its owners is playing out. frank and jamie mccourt bought the dodgers in 2004 for $430 million. they then purchased four homes in the area, including this one in malibu. but it all unraveled in 2009. jamie filed for divorce. frank accused her of having an affair. >> frank and jamie mccourt couldn't settle their divorce without airing every bit of dirty laundry. >> reporter: court documents show the couple used $100 million in dodgers' revenue to fund their lavish lifestyle. jamie mccourt says they flew on private jets, stayed in the best hotels, and they even reportedly paid a six figure salary to a so-called psychic to send their team good vibes.

meanwhile, ticket prices have more than doubled in recent years, and attendance is down 11% since last year. frank mccourt reportedly needed a $30 million loan to meet payroll last month. >> i'd love to see things get back on a better track. >> reporter: so now major league baseball will be running the dodgers' day-to-day operations. and many experts believe the commissioner will force the mccourts to sell. forcing an owner to sell could be unprecedented. last year when the league took over the texas rangers, its owner was left in place. the financially strapped mets got a loan from the league but their owners are still in control. so frank mccourt may fight this league takeover. yet his ex-wife said, i welcome and support the commissioners's actions. >> at this point i don't see how the mccourts come out a winner. >> reporter: so the mccourts, already on the outs, now look to be striking out in baseball. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. coming up a little bit later

on "the early show," more on the new poll numbers on president obama, as he wraps up a major fund-raising trip on the west coast. also, what room in your house has the most germs? the results of a surprising study. and, yes, to the inexpensive dress. we're going to take a look at some budget wedding gowns. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. have a great weekend. ,,

my family's lived in this neighborhood for years. recently, things got so tight we had to go to our local food bank for help. i lost a lot of sleep worrying about what the neighbors might think. that is, until i saw them there, too. how'd i do, steve? a little stiff. you could have done a little better. what? come on. you know, i have an academy award. yeah, but not for playing me. announcer: play a role in ending hunger.