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tv   The Early Show  CBS  June 28, 2011 7:00am-9:00am PDT

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on a major highway 93 northbound was getting off the highway. no one knew why. >> caption colorado, llc comments@captioncolorado.com go good morning. fire fears. out of control wildfire threatens the los alamos national lab forcing firefighters to move faster to protect radioactive materials. we will ask a top regulator if los alamos is safe. all eyes on iowa. today the hawkeye state is the epi center of the race for the white house as president obama and sarah palin stop by. we will get the lastest and talk to candidate michele bachmann who wen there to join the big race. gabrielle giffords attending a nasa ceremony honoringing her husband mark kelly. we will get details from one of the guests who was there and
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tell her what she did to wow the crowd "early" this tuesday morning, june 28th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs good morning. welcome to "the early show" here on a beautiful tuesday morning in new york. i'm chris wragge. >> i'm rebecca jarvis. erica is off this morning my, what a busy play iowa is as the presidential race gets into gear. michele bachmann went back to her old hometown to law firm her campaign for the presidential nomination. this morning, we are going to speak to her about the race and we will talk to her about jobs, her view of the economy, the debt ceiling, some statements she made over the weekend to bob schieffer on "face the nation." in new mexico, a fast moving wildfire is threatening america's most important nuclear facility and forcing thousands of people out of their homes.
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david romero of our albuquerque affiliate krqe in los alamos, new mexico, with the latest on the situation there for us. >> reporter: this morning the flames remain dangerously close to this nation's premier nuclear research facility. the flames reached the los alamos laboratory yesterday. a small fire on the lab property was extinguished and radioactive material at the lab is safe. mandatory evacuation was ordered for the town of los alamos. roadways jammed as thousands of residents grabbed what they could. >> we went through, took pictures of everything and took as much as we could and getting out of town. so you take all of the important things. >> reporter: this fire brought back dark memories of new mexico's worst wildfire in 2000. that blaze destroyed hundreds of homes near the lab. >> you go through the same anxiety as you did 11 years ago. >> yeah. >> we don't know when we leave, if we will have a home to come
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home to. >> reporter: the fire began on sunday. at least 44,000 acres have been burned and 30 buildings destroyed. firefighters say this is one of the most active fires they have run into and is probably going to get worse. >> this fire is going to be here a while. i do not think it's going to be a wall fire but it has the potential to double, triple its size. >> reporter: los alamos lab will be closed again today. los alamos is the place where the first atomic weapons were developed and officials are monitoring the fire as well as the lab's sensitive materials. david romero for cbs news. the next half hour we will ask chairman gregory yatzko about the safety of nuclear facilities around the united states. to the race for 2012. president obama is going to iowa today. though, it's not a political trip according to the white house. sarah palin is also going there too, raising new speculation with her future.
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cbs news political correspondent jan crawford is in pella, iowa. >> the new movie about the life and leadership of sarah palin and the alaska governor will be here to watch it. >> reporter: politicians can't come to iowa without raising questions about whether they are running for president. for sarah palin, it's been all about that question. >> sarah palin, are you running? >> you know, i don't know if i'm going to be running yet. >> reporter: after her much hyped bus tour, the former alaska governor's intentions remain unclear. but her decision to attend the movie in this key state can't help but get people speculating. >> i think she is genuinely undecided and that is hard for people to sort of grasp. i mean, tra tishlly politicians make up their mind about this and play coy but i think she is still thinking this through. >> reporter: also in this state today, the man palin could be
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taking on if she decides to run. president obama will ab few hours down the road touring a factory and pushing his case for manufacturing jobs. as part of his effort to shore up his approval ratings for voters dissatisfied by how he is handling the economy as he seeks a second term. but the appearances by palin and obama are unlikely to dampen the shine of the state's star of the moment, michele bachmann who is riding high on strong poll numbers and a monday's announcement speech in waterloo, the town in which she was here. >> i am here today in waterloo, iowa, to announce, we can win in 2012 and we will win! >> reporter: now, at this point, the presidential cycle, iowa always gets a lot of attention and there is a good reason for that. the state really has the power to take someone who might be seen as a long shot and propel them into national prominence and for michele bachman, iowa is doing just that. rebecca?
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cbs' jan crawford in pelld, iowa, thank you. michele bachmann now joins us. great to have you with us this morning. >> good morning to you, rebecca. >> over the weekend, you told bob schieffer on "face the nation," you talked about the debt ceiling and said you would vote no on it. this week, senator mcconnoll is meeting with president obama to try to work out some sort of consens consensus. fountain rank and file republicans at this point, were to come to some sort of agreement with the president would you change your mind' vote yes on that? >> well, it depends, of course, what that agreement would be. i've been in washington, d.c. now time and i've seen a lot of deals that sound good, but when the smoke clears, they turn out to be a bad deal for the american people. and that is why i cannot vote to raise the debt ceiling right now, until i see a legitimate, serious reduction in spending, i can't give my vote because we
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need to remember, this would be 2.4 trillion dollars added to the debt and we will be right back at it again a year and a half from now in a worse position than we are today. >> the reality in the situation is at the same time, though, we have 500 billion dollars in debt maturing in this country in the month of august. and analysts across the board say that if we don't come to some sort of consensus, if we don't deal with our past at this point in time we will default on our debt and send shock waves and a horrible ripple effect, not only through the united states, our economy, our stock market, but through world markets. >> well, of course, we don't have to do that at all, do we? because the interest on the debt can easily be paid for and that would mean that we wouldn't default, then we would continue the full faith and credit of the united states, which we must do. i think these are scare tactics by the obama administration because, clearly, this is the obama debt, this is the obama
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deficit, and this is the very poor working obama economy. remember, president obama said in february of 2009, if he wasn't able to turn the economy around by the third year of his presidency, that he should only be entitled to one term in office. i think the american people agree with that. that's why we've had so many people flocking to my website, michelebachmann.com. people are signing up on facebook and twitter, because they want a president, rebecca, that knows how to actually turn the economy around, get us on the right track, and focus on job creation. i'm a former federal tax lawyer and job creator. >> you've been very much against an opponent of stimulus, but the state of minnesota has benefited from some stimulus. you've actually gone out and requested it, in particular, for the agriculture industry. is there a place for stimulus, given that it's helped your own state? >> well, actually, we spent a trillion dollars in money that
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we didn't have. we had to borrow that money, a trillion dollars and what we know now is as a result of that spending, we are worse off than we were before. so stimulus did not create jobs. stimulus actually led to the reduction in jobs. we have lost millions of jobs. president obama said if we spent a trillion dollars that we didn't have that we have to pay back and create 4 million jobs and it didn't happen. clearly, the president has failed the american people on the economy and what is worse, we have millions of people now that are suffering that aren't in jobs that can afford to feed their families and they are also facing foreclosures. we need to have a president again who understands job creation. my husband and i have started a successful small business. we get it. we know how it works and that is what i want to bring. >> we reached out to the twitter and facebook community to ask them for questions to you and like you discussed, jobs are top
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of mind for many people. this question comes from chris stevens who asked us on facebook, please describe your plans and proposals for job creation in the united states. >> sure. i'll be happy to. that's a great question, chris. first of all, what we need to do is have the federal government stop spending so much money, because the more money that the federal government spends, they get it out of your pocket, chris. that's the only place the government has to go. they don't have a money tree that they can shake, they have to reach into your pocket. so government needs to spend less so you can keep more. number two, i'm a federal tax lawyer. the united states is one of the highest tax rates on doing business in this country. we need to lower that rate so that the united states becomes a positive climate to create jobs. number three, we have a 1.7 trillion dollar burden on job creators in the form of regulations. we need to go and re-examine all of the regulations that aren't
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working any more, that are actually causing more problems than creating help, and i think if we start with those three sets, that will put us on a path to job growth. >> we will have to leave it there for today. thank you so much for joining us. congresswoman michele bachmann. >> thank you, rebecca. jeff glor has other headlines for today. in greece today, a mass protest as workers began a two-day general strike. thousands of protesters confronted police outside the parliament in athens. police used tear gas owe that crowd. lawmakers in greece are scheduled to vote this week on a new round of tax hikes and deep spending cuts. air traffic controllers, public transit workers, even doctors join this strike today. a surprise in houston last night. congresswoman gabrielle giffords made first public appearance since shot? january. a nasa ceremony she was at in houston that honored her husband retiring astronaut mark kelly.
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at one point we are told she got up and hugged and kissed him from her wheelchair. this morning we spoke with robert perlman editor of collect space.com who was there. >> as the event started, just as it began, congresswoman giffords was wheeled in in a wheelchair and it was -- it was a surprise. no one was really expecting her there. but it was met with a spontaneous standing ovation. we all stood and applauded. >> giffords was released from the hospital earlier this month. she smiled and waved, we're told. she is now getting outpatient treatment at a facility in houston. looks like former illinois governor rod blagojevich is going to prison. yesterday, a trial convicted him. dean reynolds has more. >> reporter: the di graced former governor is -- >> i, frankly, am stunned.
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there is not much left to say. >> reporter: because the jury of 11 women and one man said it all. guilty on 17 out of 20 corruption charges for most of which is the ousted illinois governor sought to enrich himself in a scheme to swap or sell the senate's seat once occupied by barack obama. fbi wiretaps played at his trial captured a certain relish he seemed to have about maximizing his appointment power. >> i got this thing and it's [ bleep ] golden. >> reporter: arguments that blagojevich was simply thinking aloud or gauge engaging in the horse trading practice by many politicians did not prove persuasive to the jurors. >> in this instance when it is someone representing the people, it crosses the line. >> reporter: in the end, blagojevich got nothing for the senate seat except an indictment and that led to his impeachment and removal of office followed by a long list of talk shows
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where he pleaded his innocence. he faces up to three years in prison. the legal observers say the judge will surely reduce his time behind bars. >> i expect he is going to get some in the high single digits. >> reporter: the former governor said he expects to see us all again and indeed, the defense expects to appeal the case. dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. crews in nebraska are still working to keep two nuclear power plants safe from flooding this morning. the rising water of the missouri river threatens the ft. calhoun and cooper nuclear plants. the head of the nuclear regulatory commission visited the plants and says they are safe. the areas inside the facilities containing nuclear material remain dry. in minot, north dakota, floodwaters slowly receding today. yesterday fell more than half a foot. 4,000 homes and businesses flooded there when the river peaked over the weekend at record levels. 7:14 and check in with marysol castro for the first
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time. is the danger over there? >> unfortunately, it is not over. good morning everyone at home. northern plains, we check in. the mouse river, souris river almost riccied the missouri river at moderate flood stage. folks around these regions expect to deal with the flooding conditions at least through the summer. today, the weather does cooperate somewhat. so the winds have shifted. folks wake up to morning fog. it is expected to lift in the afternoon hours. sunshine will return. and you can see the temperatures rebound since yesterday. it stays this way until thursday when the next storm system comes in. a few thunderstorms. we will keep a track on it. thunderstorms in two separate areas. can you see this stretch from the northeast in
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thanks so much. that's your latest weather. now over to chris and rebecca. >> thanks. still ahead this morning, more nuclear safety worries. floodwaters approaching two nebraska power plants. we will tell you how they affecting those areas ar battling with the danger.
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whitey bulger is speaking out and hear what he is telling authorities about his 16 years on the run. this is "the early show" on cbs. [ female announcer ] it follows you wherever you go. it's a cloud of depression. and although you've been on an antidepressant for at least six weeks, you're frustrated that your depressive symptoms are still with you. seroquel xr, when added to an antidepressant, is approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder. for many, taking seroquel xr with an antidepressant was proven more effective than an antidepressant alone for treating unresolved symptoms of depression. talk to your doctor about seroquel xr. then visit seroquelxr.com for a free trial offer. call your doctor if you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children,teens,
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coming up, who knows more about whitey bulger's life as a fugitive than whitey bulger himself? >> yes. >> well, authorities say that he is talking a lot about those 16 years that he spnt on the run. how he used to go to las vegas casinos, then he went back to his home turf in boston. and he said, when he went back, he was quote, armed to the "t." >> in full disguise. he eluded capture all those years. now he is behind bars and we're going to have more details of bulger's years in hiding as the mob boss heads back to court later on today. this is "the early show" on cbs. we'll be right back right after this. >> this portion of "the early
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...we finally had a new home. [ male announcer ] from pre-approval to closing, citi is with you every step of the way. what's your story? citi can help you write it. coming up and still ahead, it is more than a movie premiere. it is sarah palin meeting voters in iowa today. >> big bus tour culminates in iowa with a special stop. they're going tody beau this move day, "the undefeated." which will debut never before seen footage of sarah palin back in the early days and will detail her days as mayor of wasilla, governor of alaska, her vice presidential run. and now the big question is, will she run for president. .
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the state senate and assembly n a good morning. it's 7257. time for news headlines. i'm frank mallicoat at 7:25. state senate and assembly are expected to vote today on a new budget proposal. the governor and democratic legislature leaders say it will close a $9.6 billion deficit with a combination of more cuts and newly projected revenues. some people fled their homes in concord when fire broke out in their neighborhood late last night. the fire burned for about a half hour near the contra costa campus of cal state hayward. about two acres burned. no homes were damaged but it was close. the cause is under investigation. an east bay church plans to hold nightly single,les the for a danville -- nightly vigils for a danville teen trapped in a sand tunnel in monterey bay.
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the sand collapsed on two boys after they dug two deep holes and connected them with a tunnel. a 17-year-old was buried for 15 minutes. he is now in intensive care. got your traffic and weather right after this. moment. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@3q odors... my busy family has them. so it's a good thing our new air wick odor detect senses thousands of odors. and automatically releases a burst of freshness... that everyone can enjoy.
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good morning. well, there was a small fender- bender approaching the bay
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bridge toll plaza. that is now cleared to the right shoulder. unfortunately, we got a big backup behind it. stacked up well into the macarthur maze and then it's going to be a slow ride all the way out into san francisco. sluggish from the incline to the tunnel. south bay looks great, no issues now coming out of downtown san jose. in fact, 13-minute drive from 101 out towards highway 85 and cupertino where it is starting to get slow in just the last half hour or so. it's westbound 237, pretty sluggish for your silicon valley commute towards san jose. that is your traffic. for your weather forecast, kind of gloomy tuesday. hi, lawrence. >> i'm excited about the rain making its way into the north bay now. .19" in santa rosa so rain coming down pretty good there. looks like this is sagging south now so if you haven't seen the rain yet in your neighborhood it's coming your way and could be briefly heavy at times. heavy thunderstorms a possibility. hot this weekend.
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you're looking at mob boss whitey bulger who is headed back to court today in boston. his girlfriend has a court date later this week. outside of court, bulger's had a lot to talk about. authorities say he was a very busy man during his 16 years on the run. welcome back to "the early show," everyone. good morning. >> rebecca jarvis in for erica hill, i'm chris wragge. good morning to you. coming up we're going to look at how bulger traveled to las vegas, mexico, even boston. when he was supposed to be in hiding. we're also going to ask legal analyst jack ford about this week's court hearings, and his girlfriend is accused of protecting bulger was really being held against her will. we'll address some of that. >> and what does she know? one thing we'll get to, as well. first jeff glor is at the news desk with another look at the top headlines this morning. hey, jeff. >> rebecca, good morning to you once again.
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good morning to everyone at home. a huge wildfire this morning in northern new mexico might double or triple in size. that blaze northwest of santa fe sparked a spot fire yesterday on the property of the los alamos national laboratory. the fire has so far burned about 44,000 acres since sunday. more than 12,000 residents of los alamos were evacuated. about 30 biddings have been destroyed. congresswoman gabrielle giffords made her first public appearance since being shot nearly six months ago last night. she was at a nasa ceremony in houston honoring her husband, mark kelly. giffords, we're told, stood up from her wheelchair to kiss her
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more now on the safety of the nation's nuclear power facilities. as we reported earlier, a new mexico wildfire has shut down the los alamos national laboratory. rising floodwaters in nebraska are threatening two nuclear plants on the missouri river. and at the same time, a new report claims america's nuclear facilities are outdated, and could pose a public safety risk.
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cbs news correspondent michelle miller has more. >> reporter: in eastern nebraska, the fort calhoun power plant is surrounded by the swollen missouri river. omaha public power, which owns and operates the facility, insists that all nuclear material remains high and dry. but the nation's nuclear regulatory chief came to see for himself. >> the risk is really very low at this point that anything could go wrong. >> reporter: the country is far from prepared. according to a year-long investigation by the associated press. citing their own data, the report suggests america's nuclear power facilities are outdated, and in some cases a safety risk. >> at a time when the nuclear industry is under considerable public scrutiny, this kind of information really doesn't do anything to build public trust or confidence in the nuclear industry. >> reporter: the report claims 66 power plants have been rely sensed to run 20 years beyond their original schett life,
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often in once rural areas that have quadrupled in population since 1980. >> i think the thing that worries me most is what happens if there's an event similar to fukushima. >> reporter: the fukushima nuclear power plant was flooded by a tsunami earlier this year, and the nrsc told americans living in japan to evacuate outside a 50-mile radius. well above the 10-mile radius set up by the nrc 30 years ago. the report also concludes with an aging nuclear program, poor maintenance has led to leaks of the radioactive chemical tridium in at least three quarters of all u.s. nuclear facilities and has even contaminated drinking water in minnesota and illinois. >> i think it's cause for careful public scrutiny, and clear, transparent answers from the nuclear industry. >> reporter: michelle miller, cbs news, new york. >> and joining us now is nuclear
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regulatory commission chairman gregory jaczko in omaha, nebraska, this morning. mr. jaczko, good morning to you. >> good morning, chris. >> just to review some of the things in michelle's report. you've got three nuclear facilities in the united states in harm's way, the cooper and fort collins plants in nebraska and los alamos threatened by wildfires. what's your level of concern here, and are these plants in trouble? >> well, the plants in nebraska that are dealing with the floodwaters, we're -- we're seeing them as being very prepared right now to deal with that situation. it certainly is a challenge. the water levels are very high. but all of the vital safety systems at those plants are being protected. and we've got our staff here 24/7, around the clock, to make sure that the licensees take the appropriate action. with regard to the plant in new mexico, the facility there, that's actually something that the department of energy has the prime responsibility for. so we'll provide them with whatever assistance they need. >> but you can imagine people's,
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i guess, their cause for alarm when they see these pictures and see these fires burning near los alamos. you see those nuclear facilities in nebraska surrounded by water there. >> certainly it is a picture that could cause someone to be concerned. but the vital and important safety systems that are inside those plants are being protected. there's lots of sandbags and other kinds of barriers on all the vital doors to make sure that water can't get into places that it shouldn't be. >> in japan the touch shich ma daiichi plant was crippled by floodwaters that basically killed the electrical systems and the cooling systems there with all the malfunction that they had. could something like that happen here with these floodwaters? >> that's not what we anticipate. all of the vital systems, the electrical distribution systems, are being protected. they have emergency backup diesel generators in the event that they would lose their normal power supplies. so we think that all the right systems are in place. but just to be sure we have our
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inspectors here making sure, round the clock, that all the right precautions are being taken. >> i want to talk to you about this associated press report that conducted an extensive investigation. found, i want to show this, the population size in areas surrounding nuclear plants has quadrupled. 4 million people now live within 10 miles of the 65 operating cites as opposed to 1.5 million in 1980. do you feel that the evacuation plans at these plants have been updated and people could get out of the way in a timely fashion should there be an event? >> absolutely. we have a very robust emergency preparedness program. and let me say this, that program really only kind of kicks in after the many, many layers of protection and defense that we have to prevent any kind of release of radiation to the public. all of those systems would have to fail before we would ever really get into a situation to need an evacuation. and we require every plant in the united states to test those programs every two years. it's a very comprehensive
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exercise involving state governments, local governments, the nrc, as well as the utilities. so it's a very robust program that is there to ensure, in that very unlikely event, that the people will be protected. >> and i want to ask you quickly about this tridium. we said in the report from three quarters of the commercial u.s. nuclear power sites it has leaked into the ground and into the water. the water supply in some states. what's being done? what specifically is being done to prevent this from getting into the drinking water for people in that area? >> well, first and foremost, this is really not an acceptable situation for any nuclear power plant to have this kind of le leaking tridium. we're working with all the plants to make sure they either repair the piping systems or remediate the area to get rid of the ground water in the most effective and most safe way. but fundamentally, it's not something where the public is really being threatened from a health standpoint. it's really, right now, just more of a challenge on the
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reactor sites, and has the potential, if it's not mitigated, to ultimately have some very low-level impacts off the site. but, we're comfortable that the right steps are being taken to prevent that from ever happening. >> all right, gregory jaczko, thank you. we appreciate you taking the time this morning. coming up next, 16 years on the run, the mob boss himself says, had a little fun. we'll hear about his trips to vegas and his old hometown when we come back. this is "the early show" here on cbs. i'm laura, and this is my cvs. i just transferred a prescription to cvs because they have care 1on1. it's where the pharmacist stops and talks to me about safety and saving money with generic prescriptions. laura, let's talk about possible side effects. it's all about me. love that.
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this morning we have surprising new information on what whitey bulger and his girlfriend did during their 16 years in hiding. the accused boston mob boss says he wasn't hiding all the time. as cbs news correspondent betty nguyen reports. >> reporter: 16 years ago, james "whitey" bulger seemed to disappear into thin air when he became one of america's most wanted. but as new details emerge about the once-feared gangster and his girlfriend, it turns out their life on the lam wasn't necessarily a life on the run. according to a filing by the u.s. attorney's office in massachusetts, after waiving his miranda rights, bulger told
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investigators he was living a life of leisure, taking numerous trips to las vegas to play the slots, where he claimed to win more than he lost. he traveled to san diego, where he would cross the border into mexico to purchase medicine. and most surprising of all, the former head of boston's winter hill gang admitted he returned to his former hometown on several occasions, in disguise, quote armed to the teeth because he had to take care of some unfinished business. that even surprised longtime bulger lieutenant kevin weeks. >> i don't know what the unfinished business would be. i mean, if he's armed to the teeth, i imagine he's looking for people. >> reporter: investigators say bulger and his longtime girlfriend catherine greig led a relatively comfortable lifetile. after searching his santa monica apartment, the fbi found more than $800,000 in cash hidden inside the walls. >> you would put in clips or
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some type of a mode where you could open and close the wall. and keep money and weapons in there. >> reporter: on monday, high profile boston area attorney kevin reddington announced he will defend 60-year-old greig. she faces five years in prison if convicted of harboring the 81-year-old bulger. at a hearing today, bulger will go before a judge to determine if he can afford his own attorney. at a hearing last week, he told the judge, quote, well, i could, if they would give me my money back. betty nguyen, cbs news, new york. >> and joining us now is cbs news legal analyst jack ford. great to have you with us, jack. we just heard in the piece, there's this hearing today about whether or not he can obtain legal counsel through the court. why is the prosecution pushing this point? >> a couple of reasons. one is the federal system has a public defender arrangement the way the states do. and the deal is, and we all know the warnings, if you don't have an attorney, can't afford one, we'll provide one to you. but the government doesn't want to be paying for a lawyer if
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somebody has, as we heard whitey bulger talk about, $800,000 stashed in a wall some place. or if they have assets some place else. two things are playing out here. one is the government is saying all right, let's find out if he does have assets that somebody is sitting on that could be used to pay for his lawyer so we, the government, doesn't have to. the other is, you know, i think the prosecution is trying to get a head start on taking a look at, what other assets does he have out there? because if we do convict him here, one of the things we're going to do is, and they traditionally do is, we're going to try to grab all those assets and bring them back to us. i think they're trying to do both things at the same time here. >> whitey bulger's girlfriend, who we're told was on the run with him over all this time, has obtained her own legal counsel. what kind of case does she have in front of her? and what kind of options are at her disposal? >> 23 i'm her lawyer i want to find out, first, did she truly not know who he was and what he was doing? if she did know, was she just under such duress that she was afraid to either leave him or go to the authorities? or, was she an active participant?
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was she helping out these things? then i'm going to go and i'm going to talk to the prosecutors and say, all right, what can we do for you? how can we help you in this case here? and then what can you do for us so that, you know, she's not going to spend as much time, or maybe no time at all in jail. it all depends on what her relationship really was, but i'm sure her lawyer is actively talking right now and the prosecutor is saying, can we work out some kind of deal here. help you and help us. >> we'll be actively talking to you as all of this unfolds. a pleasure. we'll be right back. this is "early" show on this. 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
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is it a blast of clean ? is it winning the race against time ? it's the countless innovations of lg, designed to make life good. so, is it an appliance ? or something better ? sarah palin arrives in the politically important state of iowa later today for the premiere of that new documentary, all about her, "the undefeated." >> we will see how tonight's event plays into balin's long-term future, political or otherwise. big discussion coming up next on "the early show" on cbs. at bayer, we're re-inventing aspirin for pain relief.
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good morning, it's 7:55. time for news headlines from cbs 5. i'm grace lee. investigators are looking into the cell phone of the driver whose truck slammed into an amtrak california zephyr train. they will try to determine if the phone was a distraction. the truck driver and five others died in the crash friday near lovelock, nevada. there is a $1,000 reward to help find the thug who shot two peregrine falcons in oakland. they were hit 10 days apart with pellet guns. both have undergone surgery and are being cared for lindsay wildlife museum in walnut creek. the attacker could face federal charges. and a long-time local congresswoman will not seek re- election next year. democrat lynn woolsey of petaluma announced yesterday
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that she plans to retire. she has served in congress for two decades. we'll have a check of your traffic and weather coming right up. ,,,,,,
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gentlemen. this is the flat section. bridge. there may be delays there. drive time okay, 16 minutes leaving hayward toward foster city. but something is going on westbound 92. at the bay bridge, pretty backed up. backed up to the macarthur maze at least 20 minutes to get on the bridge. then it is sluggish really all the way across the upper deck right now if you are heading into san francisco. lower deck traffic looks okay, though, toward oakland. and yeah, it is a misty cloudy day out there. here's a live look at conditions across the golden gate bridge. with more on your forecast, here's lawrence. >> yeah, hey, this is going to be something else today. late season storm system driving into the bay area. and it is bringing with it some rain. already showing up in the north bay, you can see some moderate amounts of rainfall toward santa rosa and even sagging south now into the bay and won't be long it will make its way across the bay area. so we are all going to get wet outside. plan on showers continuing on and off throughout the day, even the possibility of isolated thunderstorms. maybe a couple of leftover
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showers tomorrow morning and then we're done. here comes the heat cranking it up toward the weekend. ,,,,,,,,
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an and welcome back to the "early show" here on cbs. top of the hour. sarah palin will draw plenty of attention as she heads to iowa today for the premiere of a new documentary about her life and times as governor of alaska. everyone will have that same question, are you running for president? welcome to the "early show." i'm chris wragge. erica is off today. she gets that question every time she steps off the bus. >> it's keeping the press there. some republican voters in iowa are telling sarah palin don't bother because they prefer another woman who will enter the race on monday. >> so many questions to be answered.
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jane crawford is in pella already with more on tonight's big screening. >> reporter: it was just a day ago that michele bachmann announced her candidacy down in waterl waterloo. tonight sarah palin will be here. but their back-to-back appearances have voters drawing interesting comparisons. >> i will be honored to accept your nomination for vice president of the united states. >> reporter: when sarah palin burst on the national scene in 2008 as john mccain's running mate, her political future seemed almost limitless. but now, as she weighs whether or not to run for president, some voters here in iowa are suggesting it may be time for palin to step aside. >> i respect her a lot, and i really do like her, but i think it's time for her to step back. >> reporter: many republicans here say palin has been so badly damaged by years of negative media coverage that it's better to go with someone else like
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michele bachmann. >> bachmann is more credible. she has the knowledge, she has the experience. her family is raised. she has the time to devote her total career to politics and to be president of the united states. >> reporter: even a new des moines register poll of likely iowa caucus goers has palin's disapproval ratings at 37%. enter steve bannen, the director of the new movie about palin. >> governor palin, whether you like her or not, is a person of substance. >> do you solemnly swear. >> reporter: the movie shows the relentless attacks on palin and hso highlights her co ter sec ro at the table alongside governors pawlenty and romney and herman caine and bachmann and others considering the presidency. >> reporter: the film clearly makes the case that she's either running for president or she should be. while voters here in iowa may
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hope that she doesn't, steve bannon hopes that film changes their mind. >> i hope to not hear you yelling, will you run for president? later on tonight. joining us now for a closer look at pale and bachmann margaret hoover and john avlon. good morning to the both of you. let's talk about this film "the undefeated." that would lead me to believe she's never lost anything. and if we go back to 2008, she didn't win even as the vice presidential there. the title alone, kind of winning the super bowl as the assistant coach. you didn't get the title, though. >> you got to channel strength and channel victory. she has an uphill climb, but it's not impossible for her. this video, this movie premiere will be a splash for her in iowa. but what iowa voters need to see is someone who will go to iowa and pound the pavements, go to
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the barbecue, talk to them in their living rooms. they won't vote for you if they haven't met you at least three times. it is not out of the question she could do that, but she's got to show she's committed. >>? a movie premiere. she hasn't done any of the hard work it takes to seriously run for president. put together an organization, start raising money. people notice that. if you want to figure out what's really going on in a presidential race, follow the money. the reality is she's not allocated any of her cash. she's done for her personal brand. >> isn't keeping the mystery alive what keeps the attention on this situation in the first place? >> of course it does. this fills a gap in the republican field. there's still a wanting from republican voters someone who has star power and cachet that someone will flock to. they're still intrigued with sarah palin. she's got to get over the hump. the majority of republican primary votes are say they're not sure if they would vote for
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her for president. >> what is it about this woman? she draws these crowds. you see there are people that love her, just don't want to see her as president. the negatives are so high. how do you get past that with such a polarizing figure. people have their impressions of sarah palin? >> she is one of the most polarizing figures in american politics. this is part of the problem in politics because the parties are polarized. people who do well in primaries can be kryptonite in the election. they represent the same conservative populist evangelical base. >> let's take a listen to michele bachmann. this is what she had to say. >> the real problem is overspending by the federal government, and it doesn't seem like the politicians in washington get it. people are telling me overwhelmingly they don't want to see the country go deeper in debt. >> this is a common thread that we're hearing from a number of new politicians who are putting themselves in the field. they're basically we are the other option.
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we are not the standard status quo that you've grown accustomed to. >> that is a winning argument. with unemployment at 9.1%, with all republicans setting themselves up as an alternative to obama's economic policies, the country is struggling. gas prices are high. people are trying to balance their checkbooks and they think the federal government should have to balance theirs, too. this is what the tea party was originally about. all of the candidates in the republican field are galvanizing that base of supporters because they are all hurting and they feel like economic policies in the obama administration have not worked. >> when michele bachmann presents herself as a candidate that can appeal to disaffected democrats and republican, it just doesn't fly. she sounds very responsible now and she's putting together an economic message that can appeal broadly. but you have to look at her record of states. this is someone who plays politics by talk radio rules. asking whether president obama is anti-american, talking about bringing tyranny to the united states, these are not
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responsible statements. >> yet she's neck and neck with mitt romney in iowa. >> in iowa. mitt romney is not even playing in iowa. the fact that michele bachmann can do well in an iowa caucus should have americans aware. >> let's say palin says i will run for president. you have these two women here. can each beat president obama. >> i go no. >> look, every republican knows that you got to win republicans but you got to get independents, too. and republicans and the conservative base are looking can they beat obama? that's what we're looking for. we're looking for someone who can appeal broadly in the general election. >> will she say, i will run or do the two steal each other's votes. >> they overlap considerably. it would be fascinating. winning a nomination is one thing, winning a general election is entirely another. you got to win independents and centrists. if you appeal to the base, you have alienated the very people you need. >> they don't overlap because
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they're women. we want more women in politics. we want to encourage women to get in politics. women are definitely underrepresented in the federal government. >> they're both creating all the buzz right now. >> that's right. >> you cannot deny. >> re-energize the republican women's base. >> you still can lose something and say, i'm undefeated. thank you very much. >> and now here's jeff glor at the newsdesk with another look at the headlines. >> if you win at some point in the past. i'm winning. there's concern that a large fast moving wildfire in northern new mexico might get much bigger. the blaze near los alamos forced more than 12,000 to evacuate. the federal lab was closed there, would be closed again today. 44,000 acres have burned so far. and david romero of krqe has more. >> reporter: the fire continues to creep closer to the town of
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los alamos. if you take a look off to the west, you can see that the flames are now on the mountains burning areas that were consumed back in the 2000 fire. we spoke with the fire chief a short while ago. he said that crews are currently working to keep the flaps out of the ski area between those two mountains. residents are still in a mandatory evacuation of the town. shelters set up about 30 miles away. we want to mention that the air quality warnings are in effect for los alamos as smoke from the fire drifts over the town. in los alamos, new mexico, reporting for cbs news. drama for the international space station this morning. they took shelter in a soyuz spacecraft because of space debris that was on track to pass within 800 feet of the space station. no impact did happen and normal operation res sum today. most americans don't feel they have much influence on what the government does. nearly three in four people polled are dissatisfied or angry
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with the way things are done in washington. seven in ten think that special interest groups have too much influence. and 85% think they themselves have too little influence. most think that the rich benefit from the policies but not the middle class. there's an fda warning about a specific kind of sprouts. health officials are telling people not to heat alfal ta sprouts or spicy sproutses from evergreen produce. it is linked to 20 reported cases of salmonella in idaho, north dakota, new jersey and washington state. no recall has been ordered yet. a tough new law banning the manufacture other sale of drop-side cribs goes into effect today. the cribs, which has moving sides, have been blamed after dozens of children died. more than 9 million of these cribs have been recalled in the past two years. ten minutes past the hour. scott pelley has a preview of tonight's cbs news krbz.
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>> good morning. nearly every military family who loses a son or daughter in service to their 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 of those families don't. we'll tell you why tonight on the "cbs evening news." now back to the "early show." now over to someone else who remains undefeated this morning. marysol castro with a check of the weather. good morning. >> good morning, jeff. good morning everyone at home. let's look at how your tuesday is shaping up across the lower 48. that storm has pushed south and east. we're looking at two specific areas of severe weather, the rockies and the central plains. let's take a look at the desert
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this weather report sponsored by nivea, 100 years of skin care for life. >> thanks so much. that's your latest weather. now here is chris. up next, the argument over a
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in this morning's "healthwatch" the cancer drug avastin. this morning the fda begins two days of hearings on withdrawals of its approval of avastin for treating breast cancer. and the agency says studies have shown the drug is not effective. but this morning some outraged breast cancer patients are rallying against the fda's upcoming action. one of them told us avastin essentially saved her life. >> my name is carrie harrington, and i'm 49 years old. i have two children, 18-year-old, and a almost 16-year-old. a girl and a boy. and i've been married 25 years. 3 1/2 years ago, i was diagnosed with stage iv met static breast cancer.
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and i found out that it had spread to my liver. my oncologist, thankfully, signed me up to be in a clinical trial that consisted of the drug avastin. as part of it. i used a ruler to monitor how -- what was happening with the tumor in my breast, and you know every week it got smaller and smaller. and after six months, my doctor felt i needed a break. so, after that break we -- the p.e.t. scan revealed nothing. no cancer. avastin saved my life. you know, i'm here three years, you know. the studies are saying -- they're saying that people didn't live for more than five months, you know. and there has to be other people like me that it works on. you know, and there's still a
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chance that it can come back. you know, but i feel confident that there are drugs that can be used. and if i have to go on avastin again, i would like it to be available. you know, i'm hoping i'm going to be able to see my kids get married and have their own kids and be a grandmother. i just -- i don't understand how the fda could remove it when it worked so well for me. you know, it just shouldn't happen. >> a lot to discuss. joining us now is medical correspondent dr. jennifer ashton. great to have you with us. >> good morning. >> so this drug actually got accelerated approval in 2008 for use in breast cancer. but then as of last year, they started talking about revoking it. why? >> well, let's go through some background here, rebecca. this was a drug, as you mentioned, that was approved for women with advanced stage breast cancer, to slow the growth of those tumors that had already spread outside the breast.
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now, this is the latest chapter in an ongoing saga about this drug, about not only whether it works, but is it safe. now when you talk about any drug, especially one being used to treat a patient with cancer, there are always side effects. when you talk about avastin, those side effects can be significant. and they included high blood pressure, incidents of bleeding or blood clots, perforations or holes in the stomach or intestinal tract. even heart attacks or the risk of kidney damage. and, again, with any medication, you want to weigh the risks versus the benefits. >> do doctors have a sense for which patients could really benefit from this, where it could be detrimental? >> they don't really know yet. and they're going to be looking at that in the future, especially whether or not there are specific subsets of women with breast cancer that may benefit from avastin's use. we also should remember, that avastin is used to treat other types of cancers from brain to lung to colon, and those uses are not being debated today. >> how does the decision, then, get made? >> well, there will be six
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panelists who will be hearing testimony, not only from individual patients about their own experiences, but official scientific data and research. ultimately the decision will be made by the head of the fda at some point in the future. >> and we will obviously bring you that information. >> we'll be following it. >> as always, dr. jennifer ashton, thank you. we appreciate it. we'll be right back. this is "the early show" on cbs. the more we loved it. >> "cbs healthwatch" sponsored by lipitor. but i was still taking a risk 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. along with diet, lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39 to 60 percent. lipitor is 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,
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well, still thinking about a trip to your local state park this weekend? better bring your wallet, maybe an alternative plan. >> a lot of states don't have enough money to keep parks open. if they do, they might be charging admission fees for the first time ever. we're going to look at the whole new world of state parks and where visitors can go now. ,,,,,,,,,,[ man ] i got this new citi thankyou card
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[ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it. legislature is set to vote on a new budget proposal. governor brown announced a deal time for news headlines. i'm frank mallicoat. today the state cleggetture is announced a budget deal with democratic leaders from the senate and the assembly with governor brown. 2 will close a deficit with cuts -- it will close a deficit with cuts and newly projected revenues. the cell phone was found of the truck driver in the amtrak crash on friday. the nevada accident killed the trucker and five people on the train. now the cell phone is on its way to the ntsb laboratory. the question, was the driver distracted with texting or perhaps talking on the phone? and a woman accused of kidnapping her granddaughter in the east bay due back in court today. erika gallego pled not guilty to kidnapping and burglary charges. police found the 4-month-old
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girl with her when they arrested her last month in southern california. traffic and weather around the bay area in just a moment. stay with us. ,,,,,,,,,,,,
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good morning. in my last traffic update i mentioned activity on the san mateo bridge.
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it was a water rescue with the coast guard and helicopters. the helicopter has left the scene. there still may be activity off to the shoulder. towards the high-rise section of the span. not much damage to the morning commute. westbound 92 looks okay right now from hayward towards foster city and the peninsula. only an 18-minute drive right now. bay bridge traffic is really thinned out here. metering lights are on but only backed up to the end. lot. and the golden gate bridge we have some -- backed up to the end of the lot. and the golden gate bridge we have some mist across the span. with more on that, lawrence has the forecast. >> we'll see storm clouds gathering there. you're already seeing rain in the north bay but look how close to the golden gate. you can see the gate right here and that front approaching right now. so folks, we are looking at rain out there. we have been looking at moderate amounts of rainfall in the north bay sweeping southward throughout the day. plan on rainfall out there and unusually cool temperatures. 60s and 70s now. hot on the weekend. ,,,,,,,,
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they make it look so easy, just flying through the air with the greatest of ease. you saw these guys first on "60 minutes" awhile back. and the daring young bird men, who have been jumping off years, they are now soaring through chicago's famous loop. there you see it right there. welcome back to "the early show," i'm rebecca jarvis, sitting in for erica hill, along with chris wragge. >> reminds me back in my days when i was a basejumper. >> free falling? >> the bird man j.t. holmes, how he managed the spectacular stunt for the new movie "transformers." there's no special effect that they would turn away. the guys are good. also ahead, an american tradition now in danger. countless people have vacationed in america's state parks but thanks to budget cuts and high
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costs some of them are closing and others are charging add migsz for the very first time. we're going to look at what this means for visitors this summer and communities around those parks. looking forward to seeing j.t. >> oh, yeah, absolutely. can't get enough. >> first jeff glor at the news desk with one more look at the headlines. >> we're going to do an actual demonstration here in the studio. >> you're actually -- >> yeah, happy to do it. jumping right down. good morning, guys. good morning to everyone at home. in our news here this morning, demonstrations in athens turned violent this morning. you're looking at police as they use tear gas on protesters as those protesters threw rocks outside parliament during a gathering against a proposed new round of higher taxes and reduced benefits in greece. lawmakers start voting on those measures tomorrow. president obama has gotten directly involved in budget cutting talks on capitol hill. yesterday he met separately with senate leaders from both parties, and cbs news senior white house correspondent bill plante has more on that.
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bill, good morning. >> good morning, jeff. the president's involvement signals a new phase in these negotiations. the white house went on the offensive, press secretary jay carney saying that everybody believes the deal is possible, if there is a balanced approach. >> one that doesn't put all the burden on certain segments of society, on the middle class, or on seniors. that calls for cuts in nondefense discretionary spending, and in defense spending. >> reporter: republicans remain opposed to any kind of tax increases, which they say would only damage the struggling economy. but they insist on deficit cuts before they will agree to raise the debt ceiling, the nation's borrowing authority. minority leader mitch mcconnell previewed his meeting with the president in a speech on the senate floor. >> i will tell them what republicans are looking for in this debate. to cut spending now. cap runaway spending in the future.
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and save our entitlements from bankruptcy. >> reporter: democrats want to raise revenue by ending some tax deductions, like those for the oil and gas industry, and capping deductions for very high earners, along with cuts in defense spending. senate majority leader harry reid, after his meeting with the president. >> i hope he'll join us for jobs and set aside the desire to -- president obama. >> now this may still look like a standoff, but beyond the partisan rhetoric, the outlines of a deal are beginning to take shape. about $2 trillion in cuts over the next ten years with democrats giving an entitlements, and the republicans giving on tax breaks. we'll see. jeff? >> we will indeed see. bill, thank you very much. officials at the los alamos national laboratory in new mexico say radioactive material stored there is safe from an approaching wildfire. the fast-moving blaze has burned 44,000 acres and destroyed 30
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structures. more than 12,000 people have been evacuated. >> i don't really care if my house burns down. you know, it's just stuff. maybe more concerned about the disruption to the laboratory mission and just the work that we're trying to do. so, that's the primary concern, i guess. >> unfortunately, forecasters say the hot, dry weather fueling that fire is not expected to break any time soon. there may be another suspect in the brutal beating of brian stow. police are now examining this video which was posted on the website tmz. it shows a man wearing a blue dodgers jersey confronting someone who looks like stow. it was reportedly taken shortly before stow was beaten on opening day. he is still listed in critical condition. meanwhile, the los angeles dodgers franchise filed for bankruptcy yesterday, the latest in a series of errors for the club and its owner. cbs news correspondent john blackstone reports. >> reporter: the los angeles dodgers are still playing.
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but with the bankruptcy filing, hits runs and errors seem less important than debts, loans and cash flow. it's fallout from the messy divorce of the team's owners frank and jamie mccourt. they financed a lavish lifestyle on at least $108 million borrowed against the dodgers. divorce court documents reveal the extent of their spending. four luxury homes in los angeles. $225,000 a month for a private jet. $300 a day for hairstyling. the dodgers want a judge to approve a $150 million loan from a hedge fund. the team's future may depend more on what happens in court than what happens in dodger stadium. john parker has cared all his life about what happens to the dodgers. his father, frank, a world war ii vet, grew up in a kansas farm in the 1930s. the first time he heard a radio, baseball was on. >> and it was the brooklyn dodgers.
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he said from that moment on, he was a dodger fan. >> reporter: the dodgers moved to los angeles, and so did frank. raising a family as devoted to the team as they were to each other. >> i would love the old-time family feeling to come back to the dodgers. >> reporter: two years ago, john arranged a very special 87th birthday for his father. though frank's eyes were failing, he got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. >> there's this big roar from the crowd, and it was awesome, and he couldn't see them, but he said, boy, i could sure feel them. >> reporter: frank parker died last year. the only good part of that, his son says, is that he doesn't have to see what's happened to the team he spent a lifetime loving. john blackstone, cbs news, los angeles. >> and the other good part about the dodgers, they still have donny baseball running the team. right, marysol castro? >> they sure do. they sure do, jeffrey. good morning, everyone. let's take a look at the severe weather for today. this is by the way a very
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slow-moving system. denver you could expect to see some thunderstorms and some hail by the afternoon hours and then we're also looking at memphis and atlanta.
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thanks so much. that's your latest weather. now over to chris. >> marysol, do you know who donny baseball was? >> don mattingly? >> do you know what number he wore? >> you think i can remember? >> just checking. now to the latest on the not so great news on the economy. new government figures show consumer spending was mostly flat in may compared to a year ago. and that's the weakest result in nearly two years. and bad news for an economy that needs more consumer spending to fully recover. obviously not great. joining us now is joann lipman a financial columnist for news week magazine. what do the newest numbers tell us about consumer spending? >> what we see with the newest numbers is that personal income is actually up 0.3%. though when you factor in inflation it's only up 0.1%. the problem is that personal spending is actually down after
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inflation by 0.1%. >> so if we read between the lines here, what does this really -- what is this really telling us? why are people so scared to get out there and spend their money? >> you hit the nail on the head. people are scared. and the big, big issue behind all these numbers is consumer confidence. americans are wary. they're wary about their jobs. they're worried about gas prices which have been high. they're worried about home prices which have been continuing to fall. so, you've got a consumer confidence issue. and then on top of that, you have the tsunami earlier this year which meant that a lot of americans buy a lot of japanese cars, which were not available. so americans weren't buying them. and then, on top of that, you have an uptick in inflation, which is for the first time the -- we're seeing large inflation number since 2009. >> okay. i want to ask you about gas prices in a second. we'll talk about the auto industry, as well. what do people need to hear? in order to turn the tides here. because it seems as though everyone's waiting for this kind of this national -- that doesn't exist. what do people need to finally get that consumer confidence
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back? >> you're absolutely right. and the single largest barrier to growth and to confidence is the message from washington. that washington is on top of this and it's going to fix things and the fact is americans are worried and nervous right now because we're in this hyperpartisan atmosphere where there's so much battling between the two parties, that americans are concerned that the parties are too busy battling each other to fix the economy. >> if you're waiting for washington, you might be in a little bit of trouble. >> it's a big problem, because consumer spending is 70% of the economy. so we need to get consumer spending again. >> as far as gas prices are concerned. they're coming down, but they're not where they were a year ago. how much lower do they need to come before people can say, okay, this is tolerable? >> you know what my feeling is, actually gas prices, is only a piece much the equation. the problem is even if gas prices come down, other prices are going up. we have this inflation rate that is starting to see an uptick. but beyond that, the inflation rate, the way the government calculates the inflation rate does not include food, or fuel.
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and food prices are ticking up. and commodity prices like corn and wheat and sugar are way up, and those prices are working their way into the grocery stores. so americans are still facing higher prices on that end. >> all right, let's talk about savings and personal savings. where do we stand as a nation right now? how are people doing? >> that's a very interesting question, because personal savings are actually up to now 5%. which is a huge turnaround. before the financial crisis we had a couple of years of negative savings rates. which essentially means people were spending more than they were earning. and now, we have got 5 pfrs which is quite significant. though there's still a partner of americans, 24% of americans, who don't have any emergency savings at all. >> no rainy day fund. >> no, none at all. >> joanne thanks so much. now let's go over to miss jarvis. >> many of us are ready to spend the july fourth weekend at a nearby state park. these parks have typically offered cheap and accessible vacations for decades. but now state budget cuts are changing that.
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as cbs news national correspondent ben tracy reports. >> this is such a marvelous place. i absolutely love it. >> washington state is a beautiful state and we just want to get out here and enjoy it. >> reporter: for more than 85 years the views of deception pass state park have been priceless. >> it's just peaceful here. just refresh your soul. >> reporter: but this scenery now comes with a cost. as of july 1st, washington state is charging a $10 daily fee to enter any of its parks. >> these are lands that are owned by the people of the state. >> reporter: jack hart has been a ranger for 30 years. he says park's visitors are no longer just guests, they're customers. >> now we're thinking of how do we collect their money? how do we make sure we're meeting the financial needs as well as the recreational experiences. the beauty of parks is that they used to be free. used to be available for everybody. but we're now charging it's going to be a challenge for those who don't have much money. >> reporter: people like randall kelly. he's fished here for 25 years.
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>> it's everything to me. i love this place. my wife says i spend more time here than at home. >> reporter: now he's unemployed and can't afford to pay to get in. what does this mean for you? what will you do? >> what can you do, if you don't have the money, you don't come. >> reporter: the problem is washington state is out of money, too. it has a nearly $5 billion deficit. the state used to spend $87 million on its state parks. now lawmakers are defunding all 118 of them. zero tax dollars. parks will now rely on people paying the $10 daily fee or buying a $30 annual pass. here in washington state, they don't yet know if these user fees will bring in enough money to keep all of their parks open. some may have to close. that's a worst-case scenario already being felt in california. there governor jerry brown plans to close 70 of california's 287 parks. a whopping 25% of state parkland. popular mcgrath state beach north of los angeles will close
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in september. its buildings have been decaying for decades. >> you can see along the brickwork here with the cracks forming. rot issues in our lumber. >> reporter: and this sewer pipe is on the verge of spewing raw sewage into the pacific. it would cost $500,000 to fix. the state doesn't have it. so the park will be shut down. >> the money to even just do repairs is pretty much dried up. >> reporter: the hoffman family has been holding family reunions at mcgrath for 29 years. this may be their last one. >> little ones say, why can't we come? i can't see my cousins. so we'll have to find something else to do. we're going to miss it. it's going to be sad. >> reporter: across the country, many states are making tough choices. cutting funds from their parks, or closing them altogether. ohio may even resort to drilling for oil in its parks to generate revenue. >> the problem is, what will be the next step? will they sell those state parks? and then where will my grandkids and where will your grandkids spend their time in nature? that's a real concern for us. >> reporter: back at deception
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pass, volunteers are picking up the slack. >> we have rangers here that are cleaning rest rooms. these are rangers with degrees. they don't have the time to go out and teach people about their outdoor environment. >> reporter: or show them those priceless views. >> we live in the best place in the world. and it doesn't come free. >> reporter: at least not anymore. ben tracy, cbs news, deception pass, washington. and there is potentially a broader economic ripple effect. one big loser if state parks were to be padlocked would be the nearby communities. everything from stores where park users buy their supplies, to shops where they get their rvs serviced. those could all be hurt. the parks cost state governments about $2.3 billion a year, but they generate nearly ten times that amount for the surrounding areas. about $20 billion. areas. about $20 billion. w[ kate ] if this icelandic mud could work wonders on my skin, imagine what it could do for my business. now, i just had to figure out a way
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to get it back to the states. so i called john, my citibank small business expert. [ john ] kate, how are you? [ kate ] he got me a line of credit and together we made it happen. now, my spa has more business than ever. ...and so does our cleaning crew. [ male announcer ] at citibank, we believe small business is a big deal.
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imagine jumping or flying from the -- j.t. holmes grew up dreaming about being able to fly. so do a lot of other kids, but he is lives that dream. holmes and the so-called bird men have found a way to soar flying off mountains and valleys throughout the world. and now the new "transformers" movie features their most death-defying leaps ever. at first glance these images of soldiers soaring through the chicago skyline seem like computer generated creations. but this is very real. these daredevils plunge from the relative safety of the willis tower roof, 1400 feet above the street, to take flight in the windy city. >> these are actual people flying wings through a downtown city environment, which has never been done before. so it's a lot about geography. we're coming around the building and then turning around 311 whacker and go out here and land. and we only have this area. >> here we go. >> reporter: for his new film "transformers: dark of the moon" director michael bates tapped extreme sports athlete j.t. holmes and his crew of high
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flying bird men to give movie goers a spellbinding look at this type of base jumping. >> michael watched "60 minutes" one night and saw jillian and i flying around mountains in norway. he called spielberg and said i've got to have them in "transformers" 3. >> reporter: in 2009, "60 minutes" correspondent steve kroft and his crew visited norway to profile j.t. julian boole and others over the course of 15 jumps. you feel like you're flying? >> well, i am flying. so, yes, i do. very much feel like i'm flying. >> like a bird? >> yeah. just like a bird. a bird that can't flap his wings and go up. >> reporter: to defy gravity, these high fliers wear specially designed nylon suits. when they jump, air inflates membranes in the wings creating enough lift to propel a flier forward at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour. >> it feels entirely in control, and the speed actually increases your stability. and it increases your safety margin. because with the speed that
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we're flying with, you can create lift and you know you can pop up and fly away at any time. >> reporter: j.t. has completed thousands of jumps across four contine continents. >> you know, it's just that first view looking over the edge that really hits you. you're like, whoa. cool. this is amazing spot to fly. >> reporter: but the challenges presented by the "transformers" producers were unprecedented. >> they had a real challenge to this thing, which is they've never flown in formation. so they had to learn how to fly in tandem as opposed to solo, which is what they'd always done. >> we do tons of flying. we fly mountains, though. this is like nothing else. this was pretty advanced skill level stuff. >> here we go. >> reporter: after 45 days of training for the stunt, j.t. and the bird men took their plunge into history. becoming the first people ever to wing-suit jump in a motion picture. >> when you see something, you say holy cow, well that did just happen. somebody, like me, just went out there and did something rad for a camera all because he wanted
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to be real. >> and the leader of the bird men j.t. holmes joins us here this morning on terra firma. one wrong turn, and this is quite a problem, huh? >> absolutely. >> wow. so what was it like to get this opportunity to be a part of a movie like this and then to perform a stunt that you'd never done before, something that you said was a little trickier of the most? >> it was the job of a lifetime. to fly in a city like that was incredible. >> when you see a stunt like that, how long are you actually suspended in the air? >> we were doing about 14-second free-falls off the skyscrapers when we wore our wing suits. >> and how do you prepare for that? >> a lot of training. >> i mean, what kind of training? i can't even imagine. >> actually, we got some support to the in spitzerland. we found a cliff that was about the same size as the skyscrapers and we just jumped and jumped and jumped. >> you take chances in your life, and for most, i think most people sitting here watching this, this guy is crazy, these bird men are nuts, but when michael bay, who is a little nuts in his own right, when he
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gives you this, okay, this is what we have in mind, this is what we want to do, was there ever a moment in your life, wait a second, this is even a little much for us? >> there was that moment. we actually -- we had this one spot we nicknamed it suicide corner. and it was really perfect for the shot. and it was incredibly intimidating. but when we were scouting we were up there and it was sunny, it just felt right. >> you actually had to go into suicide corner? >> we jumped from suicide corner. >> i mean you talk about the physical preparation. but mentally, what's going through your head ahead of these jumps? >> aah! >> pretty much -- we are terrified up there. but you know, you just have to -- you have to just dissect the jump and think about what's bothering you. >> you ever afraid to push it too far? >> not really. >> no? >> you don't want to end up on "60 minutes" -- >> what would be the farthest you'd be willing to push it? what haven't you done that you want to do? >> that's a great question. i'd love to go jump something massive in the himalaya. >> let's be with you when you do
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that. >> j.t., good luck. continued success. >> thanks a lot. >> everybody, have a great day. ♪
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gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it. a wind-driven grass fire threatened several homes late good morning. it'sle:55. i'm -- 8:55. i'm grace lee with your cbs 5 headlines. a wind-driven grassfire threatened several homes last night in concord. this started behind discovery way and some residents evacuated voluntarily. crews called in extra engines because of the wind. the flames were out in a half hour. an east bay church is holding nightly vigils for a danville teen. he was trapped in a sand tunnel that he was digging during a church camping trip. the sand collapsed on the two boys on saturday at sunset beach in santa cruz county. one boy made it out okay, but the other is now unconscious and in intensive care. today the oakland city council will discuss progress on its labor negotiations. all the major unions representing city workers have reached tentative deals on
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concessions to reduce the steeves al deficit. police officers, firefighters and workers and three other unions may pay 9% of their pension plans in order to try to balance the budget. traffic and weather coming right up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,
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good morning. northbound traffic on two is slow out of downtown san jose. we have an accident just coming in approaching saratoga avenue. possibly still blocking lanes. you will find brake lights as far back as ray street. 880 through oakland, this actually looks good. no issues now heading past the coliseum. it is a little sluggish closer towards downtown oakland. we are seeing some slower traffic sensors up that way. and westbound 237 it's been a backed-up ride through silicon valley for at least a good couple of hours. westbound 237 looks like that from 880 towards zanker road. that is your traffic. for your weather forecast, here's lawrence. >> elizabeth, we have that rain coming. you already see some showers showing up in the north bay already coming down pretty good there as we see some moderate amounts of rain swinging in toward the golden gate. our last update we saw it was just off that golden gate but now we are starting to see it move on the bridge and sliding into san francisco now. so continuing to make its way throughout the bay area today. expect the rain if you haven't seen any, it's on the way.
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things ending for tomorrow. hot on the weekend. ,, i tell ya, i work a long day, every day. i hang my head out the window. oh man, we're delivering everything you can think of: plywood, cement. i, i enjoy the breeze on my tongue. well uh, and every weekend, seems like we're headin' down to the lake. we're pullin' a boat or somethin'. i don't know why. i just do. it's not a problem. i don't mind as long as we always stop at chevron and get that techron stuff. my ears flop around too. check it out. [ male announcer ] your car takes care of you, care for it. chevron with techron. care for your car. it's hard work; i need a nap.

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