campaign cover-up? the federal investigation of john edwards may reach a tipping point today. job jitters. today's unemployment report expected to confirm the economy is slowing down again. and a super strain. u.s. food officials tighten inspections as a deadly e. coli outbreak in europe gets worse. this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, june 3rd. captioning funded by cbs g news" fforr for friday good morning, everyone. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen. there are indications the

investigation into whether john edwards misused campaign money to end today with an indictment or plea deal. joel brown is in washington with details. joel, good morning to you. >> reporter: terrell, good morning. his infidelity ended his political career, broke up his family and drove him into hiding, but for john edwards, it's about to get much worse. the associated press reports criminal charges are expected today. since 2008 a federal grand jury has been investigating whether edwards misused up to a million dollars in presidential campaign contributions to cover up his long-term affair and out of wedlock child with former aide rielle hunter. edwards has always denied any criminal wrongdoing. his lawyers call the investigation unprecedented and wrong on the law and the facts. but justice department officials have approved charges though it's unclear whether they'll come in the form of an indictment or a plea deal. it's a stunning fall for a man once so near the pinnacle of

power, a multimillionaire trial lawyer who was elected u.s. senator in his first campaign for office. the democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 and then a white house contender in 2008. the downfall began in 2006 when he began a relationship with hunter who produced videos for his campaign. a year later "the national enquirer" reported the affair and later that she was pregnant with his child. after denying it all, edwards eventually came clean acknowledging the affair and the baby. he and his wife elizabeth separated, and she died of cancer last december. if edwards is convicted or pleas to the felony charge, he could be stripped of his law license effectively ending any hope he had of reviving his law career. terrell? >> joel brown in washington for us this morning. joel, thank you. new ly mentioned presidentil candidate rit mommy joins other

gop hopefuls at a gathering of conservative leaders in washington today. romney officially announced he is seeking the nomination yesterday in new hampshire. he says president obama 's economic policies are a failure. >> when he took office, the economy was in recession, and he made it worse, and he made it last longer. three years later over 16 million americans are out of work or just quit looking for jobs. millions more are unemployed. and there was another high-profile republican in new hampshire yesterday. sarah palin hosted a clambake. now to those deadly tornados in the northeast. residents are still picking up the pieces in western massachusetts. watch and especially listen to this video recorded by a man desperately trying to get into his home as a twister hit springfield on wednesday. >> let me in. let me in. let me in. >> he made it in and got his family to the basement. they rode out the storm without injury. the tornadoes tore through springfield and 18 other

communities. the massachusetts storm killed at least three people and injured hundreds and the recovery efforts are ongoing. duarte geraldine know reports. >> this man clung to the pipes in his basement as his house was blown off its foundation. >> god was good to me. took my house but saved me. >> reporter: at these lee tornadoes tore through more than a dozen towns. this twister was caught on tape as it passed through downtown springfield. preschool teacher dorothy malone sprang into action getting all her students to safety without a scratch. >> these children actually ran into a cloud of dust. there was nothing even to see but because i told them to run, they ran. >> reporter: not everyone was as fortunate. a 40-year-old west springfield woman died shielding one of her daughters in the bathtub. her other daughter fabiola was at work. >> she always used to say it's you two first and i'd die for either one of you. >> reporter: residents are in shock saying the possibility of

a tornado in their neighborhood never even occurred to them. >> i'm just crying because it's destroyed. oh, my god. >> reporter: relief workers say while the scale of damage here is smaller than in the midwest, it's no less heartbreaking. >> the devastation is still just as real if you're the person whose home was destroyed. >> we're going to do everything we can to help people get back on their feet. we got a real mess on our hands here. >> reporter: a mess that won't be going away any time soon. duarte geraldino, cbs news, springfield, massachusetts. we go to arizona. officials trying to figure out why a 73-year-old man shot and killed five people in the end and took his own life. the shooting started yesterday morning near the city of yuma and continued for six hours. one of the victims was a lawyer who represented the gunman's ex-wife during their divorce. police say all the victims were targeted. >> these people all knew each other, so, of course, at first you begin to think that maybe this was just a random act and it definitely wasn't.

>> one other man was also wounded during that shooting spree. also in arizona a major wildfire forced the evacuation of dozens of homes. the fire in the white mountains near the mexico border is being fueled by strong winds and low humidity. over 40,000 acres have burned. firefighters are also battling three other fires across the state. u.s. health officials are concerned about a major e. coli outbreak in europe. it's a strain of bacteria scientists have never seen before, and it's deadly. infections linked to contaminated vegetables have spread from northern germany to at least ten european countries. all of this in less than a month. more than 1,600 people have been infected. at least 17 have died. three americans recently back from germany suffered kidney failure, and that's because of that bacteria potentially. dr. jon lapook has more. >> reporter: experts suspect this deadly e. coli strain comes from contaminated fresh vegetables but officials are unable to pinpoint the source of what they're calling supertoxic bacteria. >> the thing that's striking is

how quickly it has spread and it makes public health officials very concerned that we haven't seen the peak yet. >> reporter: stephanie lucas' two cons have been hospitalized with the infection which can affect the entire body. she says her boys may have eaten contaminated cucumbers, lettuce or tomato. there have been a growing number of anti-bacterial infections around the world. this is especially virulent causing kidney failure in roughly one-quarter of patients. more than twice the rate seen in similar infections. >> normally these infections hit children and the elderly much harder. this outbreak seems to be hitting everyone hard. >> the fda says it is stepping up inspections of fresh produce imports from europe. officials noted there have been very few shipments of tomatoes, cucumbers or lettuce from germany or spain this year.

dr. jon lapook, new york. raymond clark will be sentenced for the murder of a yale university medical student. he was working in a university medical lab in 2009 when he killed 24-year-old annie ley. her body hid behind a wall. clark pleaded guilty in a plea deal with prosecutors that calls for a 44-year prison sentence. the war crimes trial of former serbian general ratko mladic opened today at the hague. it's the first public appearance from mladic since he went on the run 16 years ago. he told the court he's a gravely ill man. he was captured in serbia last week. he is accused of genocide and war crimes that claimed the lives of 100,000. coming up on "morning news," on this friday, an important jobs report is expected to show where the economy is headed. plus, you'll be amazed at the word she spelled to become the national champion. this is the "cbs morning news." with chili's new $6 lunch break. choose a texas toast half-sandwich, like our classic turkey, piled high and tasty. pair with a delicious soup or house salad. served with seasoned fries, it's big flavor

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>> you go, girl. that did it. the champion in the national spelling bee, 14-year-old sukanya roy. the word, cymotrichous, relates to wavy hair. roy is from pennsylvania and she takes home the trophy and more than 40,000 in cash and prizes. the fei is investigating allegations that china was behind a hack attack on google, the intergiant says that hundreds of g-mail accounts including those of government officials was breached. secretary of state hillary clinton calls google's accusations very serious. moody's investor service warns it could downgrade the u.s. government's debt rating as early as july, that is, if there's no progress in the tough negotiations between democrats and republicans over raising the debt ceiling. and "cbs moneywatch" on a

friday. stocks were mostly down. ashley morrison with more. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. asian markets dipped on fears the u.s. economy is in trouble. tokyo's nikkei's lost about 0.5% while the hang seng fell 1%. today, wall street looks like a tough finish to a tough week on a high note. on thursday stocks finished mixed. the dow lost 41 points while the nasdaq gained 4. analysts are not expecting good news from today's government jobs report. most predict it will show the economy added just 100,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate will dip to 8.9%. the economy needs to add around 200,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth and 300,000 or 400,000 to put a dent in unemployment. mazda plans to stop building cars in america. this morning japanese media reports the automaker will end its joint venture with ford leaving it no production facilities in the u.s.

starting in 2013 all mazda vehicles told here will be shipped from japan and mexico. chrysler is about to cut the lifeline to the government. fiat has agreed to buy the government's 6% stake in the detroit automaker. once the deal closes, taxpayers will no longer have a stake. the deal will give fiat a controlling interest in chrysler just two years after the italian automaker agreed to manage it after bankruptcy. and groupon is hoping to make another high-tech splash on wall street. the fast growing daily deal site has filed to sell stock to the public. the company is looking to raise up to $750 million in what would make it one of this year's most high-profile ipos. last month the social networking side linkedin went public and was valued at $9 billion by the end of its first day of trading, and, terrell, maybe we should get our "group on." i just love to say that word. i don't know why. ashley morrison here in new

york, a great way to go to the weekend. appreciate it. on that note a quick break. coming up on your friday morning we'll have your weather forecast and get our sports on. talk about a comeback. highlights from game two of the nba finals. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] there's a place where everyone feels at home. where the company, the conversation, and the food make all who enter feel welcome. a place that feels as warm with a crowd... as it does with just a friend. it's a place you'll find town house crackers. because they're part of what makes your place the place. ♪ welcome to town house. where good times reside. to stay healthy. but did you know fiber choice can help support your overall well-being? every tasty tablet has prebiotic fiber from fruits and veggies... that lets your good bacteria thrive

and helps support your immune system. fiber choice. an easy way to defend your health everyday. learn more about prebiotics and get a free sample at fiberchoice.com. here's a look at the weather in some cities in the country. 78 degrees and sunny in new york. sunny and windy in miami. chicago, thunderstorms, 89. dallas, sunny and 99. los angeles, sunny and 77.

time now for a check of the national forecast. latest satellite picture shows a line of thunderstorms shooting from mexico into the northern plains. the southwest is mainly clear. later today, hazy, hot and humid conditions in the southeast and southern plains. strong to severe storms are likely in chicago and wisconsin. more rain is on the way. in sports this morning, the nba finals are tied up. dirk nowitzki scored the go-ahead layup. only 3.6 seconds left last night. dallas made a stunning comeback from 15 points down in the fourth. miami's dwayne wade missed a shot at the buzzer. the mavericks, 95-93 win evens the series at a game apiece. game three, sunday in dallas. in baseball, another big comeback for the mets. their best in 11 years. new york, down by 7. carlos beltre got the rally started with a three-run homer. later drew a walk in the eighth that forced in a run to give the mets a 9-8 victory over the pirates. in st. louis, the giants'

aubrey huff hit three home runs, in the fourth, the seventh and the ninth. he had six runs batted in matching his career best, the giants hammered the cardinals, 12-7. finally, lawyers for the nfl and its players will be in a federal appeals court today in st. louis. it's a hearing on a lower court ruling that briefly blocked the league's lockout of the players. the appeals court allowed the lockout to resume pending its decision. when we come back on this friday, another look at this morning's top stories and the amazing story of how one small victim of the joplin tornado survived. oplin tornado survived. smile, the wte up to 90% oftwo weeks, e.

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here's another look at your weather on this friday. heat and humidity continues to build up in the southeast with a dome of high pressure stuck in the place between texas and georgia. the northeast is cooler and pleasant, the northwest and much of the west coast is cool with some showers. here's another look at this morning's top stories.

today's jobs report not expected to be good news. economists expect may's job gains to be significantly lower than in the past three months. and criminal charges are expected today against john edwards. the former democratic presidential candidate has been the target of a federal investigation into the possible misuse of campaign funds. now to the catch of the day. it is a lobster, and it is blue. one of the rarest creatures that you will find in the ocean. still looks tasty though. it was pulled from the waters off prince edward island. one in a million catch. the fisherman who caught it is donating it to a museum. in case you were wondering, when you cook it, it turns red. i was wondering. there's no lobster category, blue or otherwise, in the government's new guidelines for healthy eating but the new chart makes it easy to tell what kinds of food and how much should be on your plates. here's john blackstone. >> reporter: with as much drama as the department of agriculture could muster and with help from the first lady, america got a

new symbol for good nutrition. >> what's more useful than a plate? what's more simple than a plate? >> reporter: my plate, the government calls it, is a simple graphic suggesting larger portions of vegetables and grains and not so much protein and dairy. >> in the months and years ahead, we hope that my plate becomes your plate. >> i think for government work this is about as good as it gets. >> reporter: graphic designer michael beroot says visually it's a big improvement over what it replaces, the government's iconic but complex food pyramid. >> there's not a child in america or anywhere in the world that could look at it and actually think, oh, now i will remember what's healthy to eat. it just sort of made eating look like the most complicated thing in the world. >> reporter: the most obvious indication of the pyramid's failure may be seen in america's less than ideal eating habits. >> i can tell you that 98% to 99% of the children, whether they're heavy or not, are not following the dietary guidelines.

>> reporter: simplicity may be the key to success, designers say, for this latest attempt to get us to change our ways. >> i look at that plate. i see four sections on that plate, a little bit of dairy to the side. i can see the relative size of each section. it's really, really understandable. >> reporter: then again most of us probably already know what we should be eating. the trouble is, that's not always what we want to eat. john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. and in joplin, missouri, an amazing tale of survival. a dachshund buried in the remains of an apartment building for 11 days. that dog right there survived the tornado that destroyed much of the city. the dog after an exam by a veterinarian proved to be in remarkably good shape considering its ordeal. the woman who found him was delighted. >> that's amazing that it could make it that many days without any food or water or, you know, anybody to take care of him. >> now the humane society will try to reunite the dog with its owners. this morning on "the early

show" republican presidential candidate, mitt romney. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." [ female announcer ] in and out. out and in. now you can apply sunblock to your kids' wet skin. new neutrogena® wet skin kids with helioplex. the first sunblock designed to be applied directly to wet skin. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin kids instantly cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum protective barrier. with wet skin kids, your kids have full strength sun protection. try new wet skin sunblock for adults too. neutrogena® #1 dermatologist recommended suncare. neutrogena® some constipation medications can take control of you. break free. with miralax. it's clinically proven to relieve constipation and soften stool with no harsh side effects. just gentle predictable relief. miralax.

some good news if you're buying or thinking about buying a home. mortgage rates have hit their lowest point this year. the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan fell to 4.55% last week down from 4.6%. a 15-year fixed mortgage also fell slightly to 3.74%. unfortunately, it's not just mortgage rates that are falling, it's also home values. one big reason is that so many of our neighbors are in foreclosure. foreclosed homes selling at bargain prices are dragging the entire market down. bill whitaker reports on some homeowners who are trying to buck the tide. >> reporter: you're looking at a sign of the times. people lined up, some overnight, thousands filling l.a.'s massive shrine auditorium desperate to hold on to their houses.

>> so you're 30 days behind, right? >> reporter: they're hoping to convince banks to modify mortgages they can no longer afford. the nonprofit neighborhood assistance corporation of america has been bringing lenders and borrowers together like this all over the country. >> i don't know what to do at this point. you feel like just walking away. >> reporter: julietta manuken never thought she'd need help like this. her glendale flower shop is barely surviving. she filed for bankruptcy. she and daughter sofia have cut back on everything yet barely manage to scrap together the $3,400 a month mortgage for the house they've call home for six years. when the variable rate jumps next year -- >> mostly like we won't keep the house. we'll have to move on because there's no way we could handle what we're doing. >> it's real people, real family, real communities that are being impacted. >> reporter: mark's group has helped 175,000 homeowners modify their loans since the start of the recession, a drop in the

bucket, he admits, considering the 873,000 now in foreclosure. with more than a million others behind in their payments and facing foreclosure, mark says the current crisis is about to get much worse. >> we have further to go. it's going to -- prices are going to continue to drop. >> reporter: and the loan modification program the obama administration put in place to stem the crisis, it was supposed to save 3 million to 4 million homeowners from foreclosure but so far has helped only 670,000. >> absolute failure. you have to stop begging, pleading and bribing these banks. you have to require them to do it. >> reporter: is this like your last resort? >> almost. if this doesn't work, obviously we'll see what we're going to do then. >> reporter: with the huge federal deficit, it's unlikely the government will be offering any more help. so homeowners facing foreclosure will have nowhere to turn but to programs like this. 25,000 people are expected to seek help here the next few days. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. coming up a little later on

"the early show," the latest on jobs and the sluggish economy. plus, the struggle to recover after those deadly tornadoes in massachusetts and the live interview with the newest republican presidential candidate mitt romney. all that and more coming up a little bit later on on "the early show." for now that will do it for the "cbs morning news." appreciate you watching. as always, i'm terrell brown. have a great day and a great weekend, everybody. have a great day and a great weekend, everybody. take care. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com