under arrest. the head of the international monetary fund, a likely presidential contender in france, is due in a new york court today to face bombshell sex assault charges. water wait. thousands are forced to evacuate cajun country after more floodgates are opened on the mighty mississippi. and all systems go. so far so good for this morning's scheduled blastoff of the shuttle "endeavour." congresswoman gabrielle giffords the shuttle "endeavour." congresswoman gabrielle giffords is on hand to watch the launch. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everyone, on this monday. good to see you, i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen. the head of the international monetary fund is scheduled to be arraigned in a new york city courtroom today on charges of

sexual assault. a maid says dominique strauss-kahn attacked her in his hotel room on saturday. the news sent shockwaves through the french political establishment. strauss-kahn is a leading contender to be france's next president. tara mergener is in washington with more. tara, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, terrell. he's arguably the most important man in global finance. this morning, though, he sits in a new york city jail cell. dominique strauss-kahn is used to photographers, but not like this. the head of international monetary fund was let out of a new york police precinct last night after being picked out of a lineup. >> our client willingly consented to the scientific and forensic examinations. >> reporter: the 62-year-old french politician is accused of attempted rape inside an upscale manhattan hotel. a 32-year-old maid told police she was sexually assaulted saturday inside his $3,000 a night suite after going in to clean what she thought was an empty room.

instead, a naked strauss-kahn allegedly chased her down a hallway, dragged her back to his bathroom and forced her to perform a sex act. >> he intends to vigorously defend these charges and he denies any wrongdoing. >> reporter: police arrested him at jfk airport as he sat in first class on an air france jet just minutes before its flight to paris was set to take off. the arrest set off shockwaves in france, where he was widely considered the strongest challenger to president nicolas sarkozy in next year's elections. he has run the ifm for almost four years, guiding the organization through europe's debt crisis. the twice-divorced strauss-kahn admitted an affair with a subordinate three years ago, but kept his job. his reputation as a charmer led the french media to nickname him the great seducer. his current wife, a well-known french television personality, jumped to his defense saying she quote, does not believe for a second the accusations leveled against my husband. i have no doubt his innocence will be established.

and despite international ties, authorities say there is no diplomatic immunity here. the imf has already tapped a lieutenant to act as interim chief. terrell, back to you. >> tara mergener in washington for us this morning. thank you so much. also due in court today are a muslim religious leader in florida and his two sons. they're charged with sending some $50,000 to the pakistani taliban. 76-year-old hafiz kahn was arrested saturday at a mosque. one son is in florida at a mosque. the third son was detained in los angeles. prosecutors say the money was used to buy guns and promote the pakistani taliban. three others are charged with distributing the money in pakistan. it isn't a sudden surge of water but in the end the results of it just as devastating in louisiana's cajun country. army engineers opened more floodgates at the morganza spillway. it will divert millions of gallons of water to the atchafalaya basin. this is an effort to spare new orleans and baton rouge. thousands of acres will likely be flooded under some 20 feet of water.

25,000 people could be affected. randall pinkston has our report. >> reporter: the bayham store is butte larose is one of more than 10,000 homes and businesses in cajun country sitting inside the morganza spillway. >> how deep are they predicting it will be? >> about 12 feet, 12 to 14 foot right here. >> reporter: the army corps of engineers opened the floodgates of the mississippi on saturday. thousands of acres inside the spillway are already flooded. and water will soon start showing up here, outside the store his father owns. how are you dealing with it? i mean emotionally? >> just trying -- really, ain't really dealing with it. just trying to get as much out as we can. >> reporter: with the mandatory evacuation order looming, it's neighbor helping neighbor, doing what they can to protect their property before the flood gets here. >> this is a very poor community. people who live here are not wealthy. >> reporter: by tuesday, these homes, and everything else in a 3,000 square mile area, millions of acres, will be flooded. water depth will range from 6 to

25 feet. it's part of the army corps of engineers' plan to sacrifice some communities to keep the mississippi floodwaters from flowing into baton rouge and new orleans. and it's working. river levels are dropping. this is the first time the spillway has been used in almost 40 years. but the people here always knew this day could come. >> it's my choice to live here. and i have to deal with it. >> reporter: kip and others say even if the floodwaters take their home, they plan to return and rebuild. randall pinkston, cbs news, butte larose, louisiana. meanwhile an engine fire forced a cathay pacific airliner to make an emergency landing. this morning. the flight had taken off from singapore headed to jakarta. they were forced to turn around. the fire was put out and the passengers were evacuated. no one was injured. israel's borders are quieter this morning. yesterday violence left at least 15 people dead. sunday was the annual palestinian demonstrations marking the anniversary of israel's birth. an event they call the

catastrophe. there were clashes between arabs and israeli security on the borders with syria, lebanon and gaza. senator john kerry is in pakistan this morning. he'll face some tough questions from pakistani leaders about the u.s. raid on osama bin laden's compound. last night kerry met with pakistan's powerful army chief. he told kerry his soldiers have, quote, intense feelings about the raid that killed bin laden. kerry is expected to tell pakistani leaders pakistan's relationship with the u.s. is at a critical juncture. amid suspicions that pakistani officials harbored bin laden. so far, things looking good at the kennedy space center. nasa will try again to launch the shuttle "endeavour." last month it was scrubbed because of a wiring problem. wounded arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords is on hand to watch her husband, mission commander mark kelly, blast off. joel brown is at the kennedy space center with more this morning. joel, good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning to you. second time's a charm, nasa hopes. so far no weather or technical issues to report here. and we're just a few hours away from liftoff. the clock is ticking down to "endeavour's" final mission.

>> launch teams are not working any issues right now. >> reporter: after electrical glitches grounded the shuttle last month, nasa officials say conditions look promising for this morning's historic launch. hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to be on hand, including injured congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> she's, you know, looking forward to having him launch and come back, and, you know, it's just a big moment for all of us. >> reporter: giffords' husband mark kelly is "endeavour's" commander. after she was critically wounded in january's shooting rampage in tucson, kelly rarely left her side. now giffords' chief of staff says the congresswoman didn't want to miss the chance to be by his. >> they're inspiring, individually as a couple for sure. i know a lot of people have taken, you know -- found strength in their love. >> reporter: captain kelly may be embarking on an out-of-this world mission. but he won't have to stay out of touch with his wife. the couple will still be able to talk over the phone. >> that is a love story. it's a wonderful thing that -- that after so much trial and

tribulation, that she made the effort to come, and that she's allowed to see her husband go on this tremendous mission. >> reporter: this is the second-to-last shuttle flight for nasa. "endeavour's" main goal will be to haul a $2 billion astronomy and physics experiment to the international space station. last month's last-minute cancellation is expected to thin out the crowd here today. about 500,000 people are expected to be watching along the space coast this morning. that's down from about 750,000 who showed up last month. terrell? >> still a pretty big crowd. joel brown at the kennedy space center. good to see you. rahm emanuel takes office as chicago's new mayor today. the former white house chief of staff returned to chicago when mayor richard daly decided not to seek a seventh term. vice president biden will attend today's swearing-in. coming up on the morning news, las vegas gets ready to lose another landmark. plus controlling the fat in your body. scientists discover the master switch gene linked to obesity. this is the "cbs morning news."

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a simpler way to ship. a disturbing hit and run in colorado, caught on tape. in denver friday, 10-year-old eric aguilar ran in front of a white parked car. he was hit by a dark-colored sedan. it tossed him several feet. the driver did not stop. luckily he survived with just cuts and bruises. police are looking for the driver of that car. health news this morning. british scientists say they found a gene that could be a master switch preventing people from getting fat. a report in the journal nature genetics says the gene controls other genes found in body fat and helps to manage weight. the discovery could lead to new treatments for obesity-related diseases like diabetes. "cbs moneywatch" time on this monday. sony hits restart on its playstation network. and cash in those chips, the las vegas landmark is closing. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. ashley, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. a down day for the asian markets. tokyo's nikkei dropped a

fraction while hong kong's hang seng fell more than 1%. today, wall street gets the latest on the housing market. stocks are looking to bounce back after losing momentum last week. for the week the dow lost a fraction while the nasdaq stayed pretty much the same. americans are doing a better job of paying their mortgage on time. the credit agency transunion says delinquency rates fell during the first quarter to 6.19%. that rate has dropped for five consecutive quarters, but is still way above the normal 2%. delinquency rates were highest in florida and nevada. the dakotas had the lowest. good news for online gamers using sony's playstation network. service in the u.s. and europe is being restored after being shut down almost a month ago because of massive security breach. over 100 million online accounts were affected. the restored operations are mainly limited to online gaming, chat and music streaming services. well, the tech world is buzzing over what could be the next generation iphone.

pictures emerged online over the weekend that suggest a future version of the best-seller will come with a larger edge-to-edge touch screen, likely in response to android phones that come with screens four inches or larger. apple had no comment. at the movies more thunder from "thor." the big budget 3-d superhero film nailed down the top spot again at the box office with $35.5 million in sales. its total haul is now near $120 million. the raunchy comedy "bridesmaids" beat expectations to debut in second place, with the car-racing sequel "fast five" shifting into third. and in sin city, the end of an era. like the stardust and the desert inn before it, the legendary sahara hotel and casino on the las vegas strip will close its doors today. it opened back in 1952 and was one of the key players during the rat pack era. but it's been slipping for decades, and is known more now for its dollar games, and six-pound burritos.

and terrell, i think it was the six-pound burritos that might have done them in. because who can do anything after eating those? just lay there. >> i had something i was going to say, but it's probably best i leave it alone. we'll keep it moving. ashley, good to see you this morning. appreciate it. thank you. we'll take a quick break. coming up, your monday morning weather. and in sports, game seven showdown. time to drop three against the grizzlies to head to the western finals. pooches and puppies, we are fed up with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. any tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest. no fetching, no friendship till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. 67 and rain in new york. 87 and partly cloudy in miami. 50 and sun and wind in chicago. 72 and sunny in dallas. and 68 and partly cloudy in los angeles. check of the national forecast. latest satellite picture shows rain clouds moving over the northeast while much of the midwest is clear. later today, possible flooding in the northeast, as rain falls throughout the day. expect sunny skies and mild temperatures in the south and midwest. a new storm will bring rain and even snow to the west coast. in sports this morning, a dramatic game seven in oklahoma city. to the highlights. the thunder's kevin durant was on fire against memphis. scored 39 points. his best of the series. the thunder shut down the grizzlies 105-90. they advance to the western conference finals for the first time in franchise history. all bulls against the heat. in the second, chicago's gibson two-handed slam ties the game. then in the fourth, gibson back

at the rim for a ridiculous one-handed put-back. chicago blows out lebron james and the heat 103-82. they win game one of the eastern conference final. in baseball, toronto's jose bautista put on a home run derby against the twins. take a look at this. he hit not one, boom. not two, boom. but three, boom jacks against minnesota. he's now hit a league-leading 16 homers this season. blue jays crushed the twins 11-3. home runs also being launched in new york. boston's kevin youkilis hit a game-tying three-run jack in the third. slow roller got through a-rod's leg in the seventh. allows another boston run. the red sox beat the yankees 7-5 for the first time in seven years. when we come back another look at this morning's top stories. and the debt to pay. uncle sam's credit card gets officially maxed out today. what republicans want and the democrats are willing to give. officially maxed out today. what republicans want and the democrats are willing to give.

his family's tearful message to the people of los angeles.. and the next step for his treatment. a tree that's stood in the bay area for 300 years, could be chopped down today. why neighbors aren't letting it go without a fight. cyclists snowed in. how a huge snowstorm is changing plans for the tour of california. plus.. endeavor's final blastoff. congresswoman gabrielle giffords special goodbye to her astronaut husband. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30.,,

on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. in the northeast a slow-moving storm will bring rain for several days. nothing but sunny skis in the midwest. a storm in the west coast drops rain and even snow. and there will be pockets of cold temps. here's a look at your top stories on this monday. the head of the international monetary fund is scheduled to be arraigned in a new york court today. a hotel maid says dominique strauss-kahn sexually assaulted her on saturday. his lawyer says he's innocent. and the "endeavour" is fueled for this morning's scheduled launch. the next-to-last for the shuttle program. congresswoman gabrielle giffords is in florida to cheer on her husband, mission commander mark kelly. today the national debt ceiling will be reached. and the debate over the $14.3 trillion debt limit is intensifying. whit johnson reports.

>> reporter: with the nation's debt ceiling within reach, the debate over how to raise it is suddenly more urgent. >> i'm ready to cut the deal today. we don't have to wait until the 11th hour. but i am not going to walk away from this moment. we have a moment, a window of opportunity, to act. >> reporter: in an interview with cbs' "face the nation" house speaker john boehner reiterated the debt ceiling he wants must come with significant spending cuts. it's an area where democrats may be willing to give, if they can raise taxes on the wealthy. >> well, i think we do have to cut spending. but we also have to take a look at revenue and the entitlement programs. >> reporter: like medicare and social security. and so the countdown begins. although the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling will be hit, the treasury department says it can extend the deadline to early august using creative accounting. but after that, unless the ceiling is raised, the united states of america would default

on its debt for the first time ever. few disagree on the outcome. >> if we play games with it, or play politics with it, and default on our national debt, we could plunge this country back into a recession with even deeper unemployment. >> reporter: the u.s. government spends $125 billion more than it takes in each month. long-term deficit reduction has driven the debt ceiling debate. but democrats and republicans remain far apart on how to do it. vice president joe biden is spearheading negotiations between lawmakers and the white house. both sides are expecting a deal. but as history tells us, it might not happen until the last possible second. whit johnson, cbs news, the white house. this morning on "the early show," the latest on the warnings to get out as floodwaters threaten entire communities in the south. and a countdown to the blastoff for the shuttle "endeavour." i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." is the c"cbs morning news."

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first lady michelle obama got a big welcome in atlanta on sunday. she gave the commencement speech at spelman college, an historically black women's school. it's the first lady's fourth graduation speech so far this spring. mrs. obama told the 550 graduates about the rewards of community service and giving back. >> find those folks who have so much potential, but so little opportunity, and do for them what spelman has done for you. i wanted to be out there giving folks the same kind of chances that i've had. >> meanwhile, president obama has been trying to reach a younger group of american students. he's hoping that future scientists and teachers in the u.s. will lead the way for high-tech innovation in the years ahead. ben tracy reports. >> reporter: at the largest science fair in the world,

there's no limit to the imagination. whether it's this virtual reality computer system, or a drum set built right in to a pair of pants. austin duff of montgomery county, maryland, has an idea with more legs. >> define what the human mind does to advance robotics to advance farther than it already is. >> reporter: how old are you? >> i'm 17. and i'm a senior in high school. >> reporter: but there's growing concern that the united states is not producing enough austin's and marions. among 34 industrialized nations, american 15-year-olds currently rank 17th in science, and a dismal 25th in math. that's why tech companies such as intel, which sponsors the fair, are trying to get more young people interested in math and science. >> this is our future. if we don't have this talent coming out that pipeline, we can't survive. >> reporter: educators say part of the problem is the way we teach students. so there's now a push for public schools to devote more time to science and math. >> negative 8 --

>> reporter: but the mendez learning center, a new high school in los angeles, many students spend three hours each day on science and math. freshman careen was struggling before she came here. >> i was like straight "f" student in math. now i have a "c" and a "b." i'm going up. and that's awesome. >> reporter: president obama's goal is to train 100,000 math and science teachers by 2015. >> we want to start making science cool. >> reporter: marion would love her science to be as cool as sports. >> no, science isn't just for incredible geniuses. it's for everyday people. >> reporter: and getting more young people into it, is now the equation our country is trying to solve. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. coming up a little later on "the early show." the latest on the evacuations in the south as floodwaters continue to rise. plus, an update on congresswoman gabrielle giffords. she will watch her husband lift off in space shuttle

"endeavour." and the ultimate redemption for boston rob mariano. he won "survivor" last night. this morning, he will get a check for $1 million. must be nice. all that and more coming up a little bit later on "the early show." for now though, that will do it for this morning's edition of the "cbs morning news." appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody. watching. i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody. .