ruwa runaway wildfires. thousands forced to flee as a fast-growing blaze reaches the los alamos nuclear facility. guilty in chicagoland. a stunned former illinois governor rod blagojevich is found guilty of trying to sell president obama's former senate seat. and debt showdown. president obama steps in, but the tax issue continues to block president obama steps in, but the tax issue continues to block a deal. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody, and thanks for joining us, i'm betty nguyen. hot, dry weather is fueling an already huge and extremely fast-moving wildfire in new mexico. the fire has reached the los alamos nuclear laboratory, forcing thousands to evacuate. the fire in los alamos, 80 miles

north of albuquerque, has burned thousands of acres, and could grow even bigger. kendis gibson reports. >> reporter: the wildfires which started sunday have reached the los alamos national laboratory. crews were able to contain a spot fire on lab property, and no contamination was released. officials close to the lab earlier monday and ordered a mandatory evacuation for the surrounding community. residents packed up what they could. >> now we're just getting a few last-minute things, the cat and the hamster. >> reporter: and joined the caravan of vehicles leaving. >> we went through, took pictures of everything, took as much as we could. and getting out of town. so you know, you take all the important things, all the memories. >> reporter: for some residents the scene is depressingly familiar. new mexico's worst wildfire burned through this area back in 2000. >> the same anxiety as you did eleven years ago. you don't know if when we leave if we'll have a home to come

home to. >> reporter: the fire began in the mountains and has burned more than 44,000 acres. about 30 structures have been lost. firefighters say shifting winds could make things worse. >> this fire's going to be here awhile. i do not think it's going to be a wallow fire, but it has the potential to double, triple its size. i hope it doesn't. >> reporter: crews are setting backfires outside of the ban deleer national monument in an effort to save the recently renovated visitor's center. in eastern nebraska, the nuclear regulatory commission says two nuclear power facilities remain safe and secure, despite severe flooding. floodwaters surrounded the fort calhoun plant some 20 miles north of omaha. but all areas containing nuclear material remain dry. the cooper plant south of there is more elevated and continued to operate at full capacity. president obama travels to iowa today to talk about the economy. sarah palin will be there, too. their visit comes just one day after congresswoman michele bachmann launched her presidential campaign there. joel brown is in washington with more.

good morning, joel. >> betty, good morning to you. no one knows the political importance of iowa more than president obama. the state helped propel him to the white house. he's going back today, defending his record against a growing list of adversaries who all want his job. president obama heads to iowa today, continuing his push for job creation. he'll tour the alcoa aluminum plant in davenport, during a trip the white house says is aimed at the economy, not politics. still, the visit comes as republican presidential candidates step up their campaigns, and attacks. >> we cannot afford four more years of barack obama. >> reporter: in waterloo, iowa, tea party favorite michele bachmann formally announced her candidacy monday. and tonight, another tea party favorite, sarah palin, will also be in iowa. her political ambitions are still unclear. but she's attending the premiere

of a documentary about her career. >> she was a ceo of 25,000 employees. >> reporter: whether you're a candidate or a potential candidate, iowa is considered a key step toward the white house. not only is it a swing state, it's also the first state to cast votes for the gop nomination. texas congressman ron paul and former senator rick santorum are also courting voters in iowa today. they're expected to use the shaky economy and high unemployment as ammunition against president obama. he hopes highlighting the success at this plant will help defend his policy. >> our business has continued to improve since the economic downturn. >> reporter: but with the nation's unemployment rate hovering above 9%, it may take a lot more to convince voters. the first big test in iowa is the straw poll on august 13th. michele bachmann calls the presidential popularity contest a, quote, big deal. but gop front-runner mitt romney has already decided to skip the contest. betty. >> all right, joel brown in

washington. thank you, joel. former illinois governor rod blagojevich sat stunned when he heard the charges. on monday a jury convicted him on 17 of the 20 corruption charges against him. alexis christoforous reports. >> reporter: a jury delivered a stunning defeat to former illinois governor rod blagojevich, guilty on nearly all counts of trying to sell or trade president obama's senate seat. jurors were deadlocked on two counts. blagojevich was found not guilty of only one count. >> patti and i obviously are very disappointed in the outcome. i, frankly, am stunned. >> reporter: the guilty verdict came in a retrial. the jury in blagojevich's first trial could only reach a verdict on one of it 24 counts. convicting the former governor of lying to the fbi. for the retrial, both sides changed tactics. prosecutors dropped racketeering charges, and dismissed all charges against blagojevich's brother. and this time, blagojevich took the stand in his own defense.

but jurors didn't believe him. >> we felt that it was very clear that he was trying to make a trade for the senate seat. >> i mean, i've got this thing, and it's [ bleep ] golden. >> reporter: fbi recordings captured blagojevich talking about trying to sell the senate seat, in exchange for a high-paying job. >> there is no better evidence you could present to a jury than a defendant's own words. >> reporter: blagojevich testified he was only brainstorming. >> it's so important to still let the people know that i fought real hard for them. and what's really difficult is to think that maybe people might think i may have let them down. and i didn't. >> reporter: blagojevich faces up to 300 years in prison. alexis christoforous, cbs news, new york. president obama plunged into the stalled debt talks. he met with republican and democratic leaders yesterday. he insists the deficit reduction package includes both spending cuts and increased taxes. but republicans flatly rejected the idea. still, the white house believes

a deal can be reached. >> if everyone is willing to abandon the "my way or the highway" approach, to accept that compromise on behalf of the american people requires tough choices, we can get significant deficit reduction done this year. >> if congress does not raise the debt ceiling by august 2nd, the nation could default on its debt for the first time ever. congresswoman gabrielle giffords made her first appearance in front of a crowd since being shot in the head. she attended the nasa awards ceremony in houston yesterday, honoring her husband mark kelly. giffords, who got a standing ovation when she entered, stood up from her wheelchair to hug and kiss her husband. on the "cbs moneywatch," the embattled imf has a new leader. and the city that just hates to exercise. ashley morrison is here in new york with those stories and more. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you, betty. asian markets were mixed today.

toque yoes nikkei gained 0.7% while hong kong's hang seng was less than 0.1% lower. on wall street, monday the dow rose over 108 points. while the nasdaq was up 35. the french finance minister christine lagarde is expected to be chosen today as the new leader of the international monetary fund. lagarde would be the first woman to lead the imf. she would replace dominique strauss-kahn, who resigned after being charged with sexual assault. a two-day-long general strike begins today in greece. the strike hopes to disrupt or stop most public services. demonstrators are opposed to a new round of austerity measures proposed by the government to avoid bankruptcy. a u.s. health panel begins meeting today to consider whether the world's best-selling cancer medicine avastin should retain approval for treating breast cancer. the fda believes avastin is ineffective against the disease. and betty, if you're just not into exercise, well you might want to consider living in

lexington, kentucky. lexington has won the distinction of america's most sedentary city. a survey by "men's health" magazine found lexington, along with indianapolis, and jackson, mississippi, are the most exercise-phobic cities in the nation. in case you're wondering, folks in minneapolis and denver exercise the most. and i think that explains a lot about me since my whole family's from kentucky, and i'm from indiana. that's why i don't like to exercise. >> but you're in new york so you've got to do a lot of walking. >> it's hard to take it out of you. >> it is. all right, ashley, thank you so much. just ahead on the "morning news," moammar gadhafi's reaction to being accused of killing civilians. plus, the supreme court makes a controversial ruling on violent video games, angering many parents. first, though, scott pelley has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." nearly every military family that loses a son or a daughter in the service to the country gets a personal letter from the president of the united states. but we were surprised to find

out that according to government policy, a few families don't. we'll tell you why tonight on the "cbs evening news." vening news." every day you live with the pain of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis could be another day you're living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you by asking your rheumatologist about humira. for many adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis humira has been proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. humira's use in patients with ra has been evaluated in multiple studies during the past 14 years.

humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur such as, infections, lymphoma or other types of cancer, blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make today the day you talk to your rheumatologist. and ask how you can defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira.

naturals from delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life. the supreme court has ruled that violent video games are protected by the first amendment. yesterday, they struck down a california law that made it a crime to sell them to anyone under 18. but as nancy cortes reports, the fight is far from over. >> reporter: violent or not, video games are free speech. that was the majority's conclusion today. this country has no tradition of specially restricting children's access to depictions of violence, wrote justice antonin scalia. he and four other justices called research linking video games like this to increased violence in children not compelling. and indistinguishable from affects produced from other media like books or saturday

morning cartoons. the decision was a victory for the video game industry, which argued that parents, not the state, should restrict what children buy. bo anderson is ceo of the entertainment merchant's association, an umbrella group for the video industry. >> the government should not be deciding what content is good or not good. >> reporter: two justices disagreed. conservative leaning clarence thomas, and liberal leaning stephen breyer. he concluded that extremely violent games can harm children by rewarding them for being violently aggressive in play, and thereby often teaching them to be violently aggressive in life. 12-year-old sam strongham of tacoma park, maryland, had to get permission from his mom tracy before guying golden eye 007, a game that's rated teen. >> you just have to be aware. and you just, i think, have to have an open conversation with your children all the time. >> reporter: nancy cordes, cbs news, washington. now to the battle in libya. moammar gadhafi is rejecting war

crime charges. arrest warrants for gadhafi and others were issued by the international criminal court in the hague. they claim gadhafi is responsible for killing hundreds of civilians. but, he says the charges are politically motivated. in syria, about 200 opposition leaders held a rare meeting in damascus. they demanded a peaceful transition to democracy yesterday, and an end to the rule of president assad. iran is in the second day of military exercises. today they tested 14 missiles. they released video showing missile launches. iran says it could build longer-range missiles, but won't because current weapons could hit israel and u.s. bases in the mideast. straight ahead, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, the dodgers file for bankruptcy, but play like champs on the field.

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sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? it just came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, partly cloudy, 85. miami, thunderstorms, 89. chicago, sunny, 79. it's going to be windy in has but very hot, 101. and l.a. a sunny 80 degrees. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows rain moving into the pacific northwest, and down the west coast. thunderstorms are drifting over the southeast. it's fairly clear from the

southwest to the great lakes. and the northeast has some patchy clouds. but later today, much-needed rain will fall over the southeast. scattered storms will track through the northeast. it promises to be dry in the midwest, while rain comes back to the northwest. and expect high heat across the southwest, and southern plains. in sports, the los angeles dodgers have filed for bankruptcy. owner frank mccourt is expected to ask a federal judge to approve $150 million in financing, and allow him to auction off the team's tv rights. that's something baseball commissioner bud selig has refused. major league baseball took control of the team's day-to-day operations in april, and is looking into mccourt's handling of the team. a hearing is scheduled for today. the bankruptcy filings seemed to energize the dodgers in minneapolis. for the first time in dodger history, every starter had a hit. matt kemp had four, including his national league-leading 22nd home run. dodgers stopped the twins 15-0.

and extra innings in anaheim. touris hit a bases-loaded single in the tenth inning to send in the winning run againsts nationals. the angels beat washington 4-3. and in tennis, a tough day for the williams sisters at wimbledon. serena's run at her first grand slam tournament in a year went down in flames. she lost in straight sets to marion bartoli 6-3, 7-6. and her sister venus, a five-time wimbledon champ is also out after being upset 6-2, 6-3. and when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and a real simple way to help your kids get a better night's sleep. ♪

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dodger stadium before the attack.. and what it means for the case. new eyewitness pictures of the moments after a truck hit an amtrak train. . the truck driver's past violations. a budget breakthrough - with no tax increases. who's sacrificing to make it happen. and.. summer showers on the way. join us for ,,,, on the on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. the heat is a problem for much of the south, with temperatures sizzling into the 100s. a few storms will move into the

northwest. severe thunderstorms are heading into the gulf coast states. and the northeast could hear some thunderstorms later today. here's another look at this morning's top stories. a fast-moving wildfire in los alamos, new mexico, is forcing thousands to flee to safety. the fire has burned over 40,000 acres. more than two dozen buildings, and threatened a nuclear facility. president obama travels to iowa today to promote job creation. sarah palin, who has not said whether she's running for president, will also be there, attending the premiere of a documentary about her. a new report says if your young children cannot sleep at night, there is a simple solution, turn off the tv and the computer. for 3 to 5-year-olds, shows including cartoons or games, video games with violent content are the problem. sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: christine has always monitored what her daughters watch on television.

one way, keeping the tv in the family room, and out of the bedrooms. >> i didn't want them sitting in their bed watching television. it's harder to fall asleep. >> reporter: the american academy of pediatrics agrees with christine. it recommends parents remove tvs from their children's bedrooms. a new study also shows that children, 3 to 5 years old, who watch tv after 7:00, especially violent shows, including cartoons, had more sleep difficulties. with 17% of children overweight in the u.s., and a lack of sleep tied to obesity, this study just reinforces the need for shut-eye. kids need between 8 and 12 hours of sleep a night. and it's not just tv, computer screen time should also be limited. pediatricians recommend children 2 and under should not have any screen time, and older children should keep it to two hours a day. sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. this morning on "the early show," the latest on sarah palin and president obama's trip to iowa. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news."

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more than 75,000 military veterans in the u.s. are homeless. but you may be shocked to see what is being done with land in southern california that was supposed to be used to help homeless veterans. bill whitaker reports. >> reporter: in four tours in iraq, sergeant freddy cordova saw friends blown up by ieds and learned to kill or be killed. >> what keeps you warm in iraq during the winter is your hate. >> reporter: back home in 2008, he was diagnosed with severe depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. >> being very angry. very ill-tempered. very short-tempered. >> reporter: after intensive va counseling he keeps his rage under control and channels the negatives into positives. >> freddy. >> reporter: he helps vets with even worse ptsd like vietnam vet john aldridge who can't hold a job and lives by a freeway in

l.a. l.a. is the homeless vet capital of the u.s., with more than 8,000 on city streets. it makes cordova angry again, especially since just blocks away sits almost 400 acres, half the size of central park, donated to the u.s. government after the civil war, expressly to provide housing for disabled veterans. while today there is a large va hospital there, and an old-age home for veterans, most of the land and buildings that once housed homeless vets have been vacant and dilapidated for decades. what's more, with the city encroaching on all sides, the va now leases about a third of the property for private use. to a bus company, to enterprise rent a car, for ucla's baseball stadium, a private school's athletic field. there's even a golf course and a dog park, and there's no public record of where the money goes. >> i just get furious about it. >> reporter: for seven years,

bobby shriver, former mayor of nearby santa monica has been pressing the va to spend the money to provide housing for homeless, traumatized vets. >> i think it's terrible. it's allowing people to live in the streets and die when you have this kind of a facility and this kind of treatment, it's un-american. >> reporter: so he joined veterans and the aclu in a lawsuit to force the va to rehab this facility to house 200 to 300 vets with ptsd. the department of veterans affairs declined to talk to us. but insists it has gotten thousands of homeless veterans off the streets and into community centers. last week, the va announced a master plan to rehab buildings here for veterans suffering ptsd. but the plan has no timetable, and no budget. while the courts decide the best use of this property, freddy cordova will do the best he can helping one vet at a time. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. coming up a little bit later on "the early show," republican presidential candidate michele

bachmann on how sarah palin could affect her run for the white house. plus the latest on mob boss whitey bulger's bizarre life on the lam. and the bird men who jumped to fame after being profiled by "60 minutes" talk about their incredible death-defying stunts. that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. everybody. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. ,,,,,,

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