space program. randall? >> terrell brown at the kennedy space center. thanks. let's get more on this morning's historic landing on cbs's consultant bill randall. good morning, bill. >> good moving, randall. >> the shuttle comes to an end after three decades. what in your opinion have been the most significant accomplishments? >> you know, when you look back over the last 30 years the shuttle has been operating it's hard to pin down one thing. it was the only one ever built and of course this is the only manned spacecraft that gave anyone a chance go up and work on a satellite, retrieve it as we all saw with the hubble space telescope, the ability to repair the telescope and turn it into

one of the world's premier observatories. i think all the mechanisms they did to make it work will be the hall mark of the shuttle program, plus, randall, the sheer grandeur, the sheer rocket boosters and fire and thunder will be things people will miss. >> not to mention the technical achievement of so many moving parts. another question now, what is nasa's next plan for delivering human beings into space? >> well, you know, part of the controversy is the bush administration had a plan to return to the moon. the obama administration concluded it was unaffordable, and canceled it. in exchange they would put up commercial that nasa would pay go back and forth to the stace and the long-range plan is to develop new rockets to go off into deep space with the eventual goal of getting to

mars, but they're ill-defined programs at present. we have no budgets or set timetables and it's not clear when any of that is going to happen. >> of course, we always focus on the astronauts but we know the shuttle program depended on thousands of people on the ground. what happens to all of them now? >> well, you know, the whole reason to kill the shuttle program in the first place was to reduce the cost of manned space flight to free up money do-to-go into new programs. the cost was really in the people it took to operate. the standing army of thousands of technicians and engineers that were responsible for the karnld feeding of these complex vehicles. that work force has been whittled down over the last couple of years. it's down to 6,000 now. et that force is going to be cut in half within the next couple of weeks and within a year there will only be a few hundred people left working on the museum displays as you talked about and wrapping up the program. it's the end of the line for the shuttle and the people who worked on it.

>> we know the u.s. will have to depend on russia to put human beings in space. will russia be in charge of training will the u.s. continue to train. >> they'll continue to train the u.s. and russian astronauts. that will continue. but the training for launch to ride on russian so i use rockets, that will happen in russia. nasa is going to be paying about $60 million a seat for astron t astronauts to ride on the russian so i use until new commercial aircraft can be developmented. >> this has to be a bittersweet moment for you, bill, watching every launch and landing. what memories will stay with you. >> well, 27 years actually. it's been a long time, as you same. i think my strongest memories, it goes to the second shuttle flight, one i covered for my college newspaper in tennessee. i'll never forget the sound, the thunder, the clothe vibrating on

you as the vehicle leapt off the space pad. i was lucky enough to have that happen. challenger, columbia, repairing the telescope. it's something i'll never forget. >> bill harwood at the kennedy space center on a historic day. thank you.he rest of the day's news. we'll be right back with the rest of the day's news. sweet, ripe blueberries, . or just try this. [ chuckles ] every day you live with the pain of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis could be another day you're living with joint damage.

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are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make today the day you talk to your rheumatologist. and ask how you can defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira. the dangerous heat wave that's lingered over the midwest is moving towards the east today. record triple digit temperatures are expected in several cities and high humidity will make it feel even hotter. but there's still no relief for the midwest, except for the far northern plain states, cooler temperatures won't arrive until the weekend. the sweltering weather is the result of a heat dome. a high pressure system in the upper atmosphere that traps the heat below. in chicago yesterday, the heat

index made it feel like 108 degrees. >> i was in an air conditioned room and the moment i walked out, it was like a heat wave just hit me. it was like, smoldering. >> so you just got done working out? >> in the water, yeah. just a lot of swimming and stuff. >> so you're cool? >> i'm cool right now, but i know if i'm out here for another 20 minutes, it will be back to square one. >> that withering heat has sent dozens of people to the hospital, forced schools to close, and strained electric grids. the. the transportation security administration has made change as to those whole body scanners. the current software shows images of a naked body, but the new software shows only generic images while pinpointing security concerns. the tsa hopes to upgrade half the scanners at 40 airports by the end of the year. now to the budget battle. efforts to avoid this nation's first default may rest with the bipartisan deal, now being hashed out in the senate. it started with the with

so-called gang of six senators, but support for the plan is growing, as danielle noddingham reports. >> reporter: the gang of six is growing its numbers. at least 36 senators have signed a letter backing a new bipartisan plan to slash $3.7 trillion from deficits. liberals don't like the plan's $500 billion in cuts to health programs and cuts to social security, medicare, and medicaid. conservatives oppose $1.1 trillion in new tax revenue, gained by closing corporate loopholes and scaling back deductions. the biggest factor for any deal right now is time. with the august 2nd deadline fast approaching, president obama changed his strategy and met with democrats and republicans separately. >> i think we're moving in the right direction. you know, as i've said consistently, we have to raise the debt ceiling so that with we preserve the full faith and credit of the united states of

america. but we also have to solve the underlying problem, which is, we've been spending more money than we've been taking in. >> reporter: the white house now says the president would accept a very short-term extension of the debt limit, as in days, as long as a bigger deal was essentially in place. danielle noddingham, cbs news, washington. straight ahead, your thursday morning weather and the latest on breast cancer. new recommendations for mammograms. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

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here here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in new york, sunny, 99 degrees. miami, thunderstorms, 91. partly cloudy in chicago, 93 degrees. in dallas, partly cloudy, 100. l.a., sunny, 82. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows mainly clear skies in the northern plains and midwest. thunderstorms moving up the rocky mountains. some scattered showers are dotting the southeast. the northeast, partly cloudy with areas of low-lying flog developing. later today, daytime highs will get into the 90s and hundreds along the east coast as the heat bubble moves east, slowly leaving the northern plains. it's still very hot in the southern plains. more thunderstorms will form in the southeast and in upper new england. in health news, new guidelines for mammograms to detect breast cancer. the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists

says all women should be getting their annual mammograms beginning at age 40. just two years ago, a government panel suggested routine mammography need not begin until age 50. on the cbs money watch, stocks were mixed in light trading on asian markets. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. >> a quiet day for most of the asian markets. japan's nikkei gained a fraction while the hang sang edged down. on wednesday, concerns over the debt debate pushed stocks lower. the dow lost 15 points while the nasdaq slid 12. wells fargo has agreed to pay $85 million to settle charges it engaged in predatory lending. that is the biggest fine ever imposed in such a case. federal investigators say the nation's largest mortgage lender falsified loan documents and pushed borrowers towards dangerous subprime mortgages during the housing boom.

as part of the settlement, the bank neither admitted nor denied any wrongdoing. today could be can a rough day on capitol hill for fed chair ben bernanke. lawmakers want answers about why financial reform signed into law one year ago today still has not been fully implemented. up to 243 new rules created to avoid another financial collapse, fewer than 50 have been completed. photos of the first-ever u.s. concert of the beatles sold for more than $360,000 at auction in new york last night. the fab four's first u.s. show was in 1964 in washington, d.c. the photos were taken by mike mitchell, who was 18 years old at the time and says he was able to sneak close to the stage. and imitation is apparently the not best form of flattery for kim kardashian. she's suing the store old navy

for using a kardashian look-alike in the commercials. kardashian feels her privacy rights have been violated by using a woman who looks like her. apparently they're trying a little too hard to keep up with the kardashians. did look a little like her -- >> you know something, i never would have noticed the difference. but i wouldn't be shopping what they were shopping for. thank you very much, ashley morrison, here in new york. in sports, another breakup for tiger woods. this time he fired his longtime caddie, steve williams, that worked for woods for 12 years. but tiger said on his website, it was time for a change. williams has been working with other golfers while woods has been sidelined with leg injuries. woods won 72 tournaments with will with llamwilliams carrying bag. when we return, phone hacking. it's dominating headlines both here and in the uk and it turns out to be pretty easy to do. ooo whatcha got there?

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interrupted.. trying to ease tensions over a deadly police shooting. why most of the angry voices.. aren't even from the area. your boss.. could soon be paying for your commute. . the catch.. and why not everyone is on board. even more confusion.. over mammograms. the age doctors say women should now get screened. and.. the end to the space shuttle era. the final homecoming for atlantis. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30. "yelling",,,,

on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. the heat dome 's b on the cbs morning news, here's a look at today's weather. the heat dome that is sitting over the middle of the country is slowly moving east. upper new england will see scattered severe thunderstorms. rupert murdos ba rupert murdoch is back in the united states. the media tycoon and his wife with arrived home in new york from london yesterday. murdoch was questioned by members of the british parliament by the phone hacking scandal that has rocked his media empire. investigations are ongoing in britain and in the u.s. british prime minister david cameron spoke to parliament yesterday. cameron trying to distance himself from his former communications chief, andy coulson. coulson is a former editor at murdoch's now-defunct "news of the world." cameron denied claims that he tried to stop the investigation

into the hacking. it turns out that hacking into someone's phone isn't that hard at all. bill whitaker has that part of the story. >> reporter: the targets of the tabloid hacking scandal include british royals, commoners, and screen stars, like hugh grant. >> i think this is the watershed moment. >> reporter: but don't think hacking is just the scourge of the celebrated and sensational on the other side of the atlantic. your phone and my phone can be hacked. >> my ex-girlfriend found her way into my voice mail on my cell phone. >> reporter: -- just as easily as l.a. screenwriter where, rich keith. >> she would know things only on my voice mail and sometimes she would know them before i knew them. >> this is a crime that doesn't really leave a trail of evidence. >> reporter: cyberscientist christopher zboiian says hacking is hard to trace, but easy to do. especially with at&t and sprint, which together serve more than 48 million customers. unlike other customers, they donate require p.i.n. numbers to access voice mail. hacking their phones, zboiian

says, is easy as one, two, three. go to any number of websites, punch in your phone number, punch in the number you would like to hack, and then punch in that number again to cover your tracks. as demonstration, zboiian hacked his own phone in just three minutes. >> i'm in. >> reporter: when asked for interviews, at&t and sprint issued statements instead. at&t says it takes security "very seriously" and "strongly urges customers to set up voice mail passwords." sprint says if customers don't set up passwords, then we make it clear their account could be comparable. they say they allow their customers easy access or they can punch in a password. they say it's customer choice. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. this morning on "the early show," britain's phone hacking scandal is a political crisis there, and it may spread to this country. and we'll have live reports

on the shuttle's final landing. i'm randle pinkston. this is the "cbs morning news." this is the "cbs morning news." ? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. ensure! nutrition in charge! is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose.

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labor talks continued until labor talks continue into the early morning hours, as nfl owners and players try to finish work on a new contract. if they complete a deal, the voters could vote on it later today in atlanta. in baseball, experience counts for a lot, and the manager of the florida marlins has more than just about anyone. steve hartman reports. >> reporter: jack mckeon says he was in church when he got the call, a call from above, asking him to lead a group of young men, if not to the promised land, at least out of the cellar of the national league east. at 80, the new florida marlins manager is the second oldest

manager in major league history. >> why should experience be penalized? i didn't think that no one would rehire me because of the age factor, but no, i'm not too old. >> reporter: if you doubt that, just tease him about his age and you'll see how sharp he is. do you drink ensure? >> yeah. >> you do? >> yeah, i'm insured. >> no, do you drink ensure? clearly, jack is still on his game. he started managing back in 1995 and earned a reputation as a fierce coach and competitor. but it was nl until age of 82 when it finally paid off. >> the florida marlins are the champions of the baseball world. >> reporter: jack quit a couple of years after this, ending a 50-year career, temporarily. >> come on in! >> reporter: now jack is back. and once again the marlins' clubhouse is alive with his boundless energy and countless stories. >> i would like to deck the guy today. boom, with i think i will.

>> reporter: listen to a few -- >> pound his head into the ground. >> reporter: -- and you can see how he got his reputation. >> i forgot we were on tv. that's when you were young. you know? >> reporter: today, he has a much softer touch, more give uppy than marlin. >> good job. keep up the good work. >> a little more patient. don't let little things bother me anymore. >> reporter: what about loss? >> no. >> reporter: they don't bother you? >> no. >> he was like a grandpa being proud of all his guys playing hard. >> reporter: he still takes the game serious, but just now he's more serious about not being too serious. >> keep him smiling and be happy, and they'll play better. >> reporter: actually, they're all playing better. when mckeon took over last month, he not only ended the marlins' 11-game losing streak, he now has them on a winning one, nine out of the last 11 games. >> have fun when you're on top of the ground. >> reporter: and even for jack, that's a feeling that never gets old.

steve hartman, cbs news, miami gardens, florida. coming up a little later on "the early show," the shuttle comes home for the last time. live reports from the kennedy space center. the debt debate in washington. will the gang of six plan to end the crisis? and breast cancer, the latest recommendations on when and how to get mammograms. that's the "cbs morning news" for this thursday. thanks for watching. i'm randle pinkston. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com