dire warning. so let's see how all this shakes out. we take you live to joel brown who is in washington with the latest. >> betty, good morning. short on time and high on frustration, senate republicans unveiled their debt limit plan b, while president obama was on the evening news last night spelling out the scary uncertainties as he sees it of a default. president obama is raising the stakes in the battle over the debt limit. >> i cannot guarantee that those checks go out on august 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue.

>> reporter: tuesday he told cbs anchor scott pelley tens of billions of dollars of social security, veterans and social security checks could be in jeopardy if lawmakers don't raise the debt limit by august 2 right-hand. >> the way it gets resolved is if all of us make some compromises and take a balanced approach that finally deals with this debt and deficit in a serious way. >> reporter: both sides will meet again this afternoon but if the senate's top republican is any indication, a long-term fix may be unlikely. >> i have little question that as long as this president is in the oval office, a real solution is probably unattainable. >> reporter: with a default deadline less than three weeks away now the senate minority leader is proposing a backup plan that would give the president the power to raise the debt limit on his own. >> default is not an option. >> reporter: the president could give the president three times to raise the debt limit three times since 2013.

aides say he prefers his own $4 trillion deficit reduction plan. >> the president talks a good time but when it comes time to putting the issues on the table making decisions he can't quite pull the trigger. >> reporter: the white house insists lawmakers must make a deal by next week if there's any hope of passing it in time. as the clock winds down top business leaders are putting the pressure on washington to come up with a deal. the u.s. chamber of commerce and other business groups interview with mr. obama, scott pelley asked the president about the tone of the debate. >> do you regret any of the things that you've said in all of this? >> no, i think i've been pretty

restrained. >> you told the congress they don't do their works as well as your daughters do their work. >> i think they procrastinate and that's true. i don't think that's disputed anywhere in the country. the fact of the matter is we should not be leaving an issue of this magnitude to the last minute. and yet congress often leaves things to the last minute, and engages in the kind of brinkmanship that i think is pretty dangerous. >> how optimistic are you that a deal can be done? time is running out. >> i think we can get it done. if it ourturns out the other si won't budge on anything we're going to be here every day until we get this done. >> but, sir, the republican leader in the senate said today that they can't do anything with you as long as you occupy this house, there will be no deal. >> well, then he's going to have to explain to me how it is that

we're going to avoid default because i'm going to be president here for at least another year and a half, and i don't think the american people would expect that the leader of the republican party in the senate would simply say that we're not going to do business with the president of the united states. >> and you can see more of scott pelley's interview with the president a little bit later this morning on "the early show." u.s. airports remain vulnerable to terrorists according to a u.s. congressman. a hearing on airport security opens today. representative jason chaffetz says security at airports has been breached more than 25,000 times since november, 2001. more than 14,000 have entered sensitive areas. 25,000 incidents represent 1% of the 5.5 billion people screened since 9/11.

a commission was formed after japan's nuclear disaster and in a report to be released today it recommends 12 safety steps including a reevaluation of the earthquake and flood risk. now to the blistering mid summer heat wave, another day of excessive heat in the southeast. heat advisories remain from the southern plains to the southeast. some cities will register triple digit temperatures for the tenth day in a row. nearly half of the nation was affected by the extreme heat yesterday according to the national weather service. folks are doing whatever they can to keep cool. >> i put my towels in the freezer and then when i come home i lay on them. >> forecasters warn the high temperatures in the plains and southeast could last through the weekend. now to a story about who we are, and the news is as america gets older there are less children in the u.s. than ever

before. according to the 2010 census, children make up just 24% of the population, down from 26% in 1990. children of immigrants make up one in four of those under the age of 18 and are now the fastest growing segment of the nation's youth. the perjury trial of baseball great roger clemens begins today. clemens is accused of lying to congress about steroid use. a lawyer for clemens says he plans to question whether the investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs was proper. a california woman is due in court today accused of -- listen to this -- hacking her husband. police say 48-year-old catherine becker, drugged her husband, tied him to his bed, cut off his private part and put it in a garbage disposal. he is expected to survive. just ahead on the "morning news" get ready to pay more for

movies at home. the sister wives fighting for a lawsuit fighting to get the same rights as gay couples. what does it look like when an entire state government shuts down? we'll take you to a state that's been closed for business for more than a week.

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many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. in michigan an angry bird was caught on video as it was dive bombing people on the street in kalamazoo. it attacked a number of people hitting them on the head. all at tacks took place in the same small area so the bird may be protecting a nest nearby. poor guy. there were no serious injuries, though. well a gigantic crocodile put on a show in australia. you have to take a look at this. the 18-foot-long croc was photographed next to a tourist boat on the adelaide river. look at that.

the two-ton monster is named brutus said to be 80 years old and lost one leg in a battle near a shark. that leads us to wonder, how big was that shark? on the "cbs moneywatch" a restaurant bans kids and subscribers get negative over netflix. susan mcginnis is here. in new york with the latest on those stories. >> good morning betty. the financial markets it was an up day for asian markets. tokyo's hang seng was up a fraction and hong kong's hang vention do seng down a frangs. wall street will also be hearing from fed chairman ben bernanke. we will he'll give an update. stocks finished lower on tuesday, more worries on stocks. concerns about stocks pushed gold to a new record high. the price jumped $13 to nearly

$1,562 an ounce on tuesday, the precious metal up nearly 10% this year and on track for its 11th straight annual increase. silver is up 15% this year. netflix is raising prices and subscribers are not happy. gone is the $10 a month plan that lets customers rent a movie one at a time and stream unlimited movies over the internet. customers have to pay 60% more, nearly $16 a month for the new plan, that one combines the $8 a month streaming only service with this new $8 monthly fee for dvd rentals. we'll see if this changes the number of netflix subscribers now at 23 million. move over chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, healthier kids menus are coming to some chain restaurants, at least 15,000 restaurants in 19 big chains including burger king, chili's and friendley's are announcing a new healthy push,

focusing on fruits and vegetables, have less fats and sodium in kids' food. governments will now require restaurants to post calories on their foods. a restaurant instituted a new policy banning children under the age of 6. he said parents of unruly and noisy children are selfish to others and that too many of their customers have had their meals disturbed by crying babies. the owner says he's gotten e-mails running 11-1 in favor of that policy. betty? >> you're a mom, what do you think? >> i think parents are not going to be happy about that because our children are never the ones that are the problem. >> of course not absolutely, little angels. susan, thank you so much. the sister wives family plans to challenge utah's law against polygamy. cody brown and his four wives are featured on the tlc reality show "sister wives." they move to nevada in january after police launched a bigamy investigation when they saw

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york partly cloudy 88. miami thunderstorms 90 degrees. chicago partly cloudy 70. dallas a sunny 102. los angeles sunny, 75 degrees. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows storm clouds flowing out of mexico toward new mexico and the dakotas. skies are mainly clear in the northeast and west coast. the southeast will have periods of stormy weather. later today it will be hazy, hot and humid in the southeast and much of the southern plains. the northeast can breathe a sigh of relief as drier air moves back in and expect strong winds and heavy rains from montana to nebraska. in sports the all-stars came out to play last night and for the second year in a row the national league won. the top of the fourth,

the astros hunter pence a great throw from left field to get the blue jays' jose bautista at the plate. the bottom of the same frame, one swing and the brewers' prince fielder jacks a three run homer, for that he was named mvp. the national league trounces the american league 5-1. and gets home field advantage in the world series. congratulations to them. just after the game the new york mets announced they are trading former all store closer francisco rodriguez to milwaukee. k-rod has a contract clause that guarantees him $17.5 million if he finishes 55 games this year, which is he on track to do. when we return another look at this morning's top stories. and an army ranger saves lives in combat and gets america's highest honor. ♪

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the coast guard suspends its search for seven missing fishermen off the coast of baja. today... one of the victims will be buried. "oh now. see the zoom lens. you can zoom in" "oh." a glimpse inside the mind of phillip and nancy garrido in newly released home video. how the married couple scouted for victims. and netflix users get ready to,, on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather.

the northeast will get a slight break from the heat but it will be oppressive in the south with temperatures in the 90s and 100s. expect scattered thunderstorms in the southeast and hard hitting storms from the rocky mountains to the midwest. here's another look at this morning's top stories with the budget talks stalled, republican senate leader mitch mcconnell proposed a last choice option allowing the president to raise the debt limit on his own. the scorching heat wave that affected much of the country continues in the plains and southeast but relief is in sight for the mid-atlantic and northeast. family friends and first ladies led the mourners for betty ford in palm desert, california. she was remembered as a first lady who made a big impact on women in all walks of life. karen brown reports. >> reporter: the body of former first lady betty ford lay in repose at st. margaret's church. the public was invited to view the casket and sign a guest book.

>> a great first lady, a great american, a great wife. ♪ >> reporter: the funeral for mrs. ford brought together republicans and democrats alike, including four first ladies, past and present. rosalind carter recalled her battle with breast cancer. >> she used influence of the office of first lady to promote early detection and millions of women are in her debt today. >> as is customary, mrs. ford planned her own funeral and chose who would speak. among her instructions, they were to celebrate the power of friendship over political differences. mrs. ford was not only remembered as a first lady but as the founder of the renowned treatment center that bears her name. >> we listened to you tell stories about your own feelings. we felt close to you for that. >> reporter: a second funeral will be held thursday in grand rapids, michigan. betty ford will be laid to rest beside her husband at the gerald ford presidential museum.

karen brown, cbs news, palm desert, california. president obama awarded the medal of honor to an army ranger who served in afghanistan. in 2008 sergeant first class low rye petrie and his team were caught in a fire fight. he was shot in both legs and when a grenade landed next to him, he grabbed it but it exploded blowing off his right hand. his heroic acts saved the lives of two of his comrades. >> whenever you have a chance or opportunity to thank them, shake their hand, give them a pat on the back for the job they've done because they've earned it, that's the greatest reward any service member can get is a simple thank you. >> sergeant petrie is the second living active duty member from iraq or afghanistan to receive the nation's highest military award. we'll have more of sergeant petrie's amazing story coming up on "the early show." i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪

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if you're looking for a job this summer you're facing a lot of competition. the labor department reports employers advertise nearly 3 million job openings in may but there are almost five unemployed people competing for each available job. now in a healthy economy the ratio is about 2:1. and governments around the country are slashing public jobs. in cleveland police recruits were fired the same day they got their badges. cynthia bowers reports. ♪ >> reporter: the majesty of the graduation march was not lost on these cleveland police academy cadets. many like 32-year-old robbie prock have waited a long time. how long have you wanted to be a police officer? >> reporter: 20 years or so.

>> reporter: the father of two left a steady job shoveling in a salt moo into live his dream but the joy was short lived. less than an hour after they got their guns and badges, they had to give them back. >> it's like we just rented it for a little while. >> reporter: all 42 men and women were immediately laid off, because the city cannot afford to pay them. how'd you feel? >> pretty much like i just got stepped on. you're full of joy that you finally got in, and everything's going good, and then all of the sudden it just gets ripped away from you. >> reporter: so far this year, cleveland has laid off 321 employees to try and close a $35 million budget hole. and this city is not alone, more than a half million state and local government jobs have been lost since june of 2009. in the past, hiring by state and local government has often

helped fuel economic recoveries. not this time. the great recession so decimated tax revenues the local governments still haven't recovered enough to pay their bills or hire new workers. cleveland mayor frank jackson worries about the long-term costs. >> i don't necessarily believe that just hiring a bunch of public employees would get us out of a recession but i do believe that laying off a bunch of them will help make the recession worse. >> reporter: it could be at least a two-year wait for these rookies to get a chance to walk the beat. >> we were all prepared to go hit the streets, try and make cleveland a better place, but it doesn't, you know, it's not going to work out that way this time. >> reporter: for the prock family and millions more, the recession lingers. experts fear the public sector could continue to shed up to 30,000 jobs a month into next year. cynthia bowers, cbs news, cleveland. coming up a little bit later on "the early show," more on

scott pelley's interview with president obama, they discuss the debt showdown. and putting social security and medicare on the table. plus a true american hero, an army ranger is honored for his bravery on the battlefield in afghanistan. and how global warming could ruin your favorite bottle of wine. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching, everyone. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com