tripoli surprise. one of moammar gadhafi's sons shows up free and defiant. but where is his father? taking aim. florida braces as hurricane irene roars through the tropics. and off the hook. former imf head dominique strauss-kahn expected to walk away today from sexual assault strauss-kahn expected to walk away today from sexual assault charges. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everyone. appreciate you joining us, i'm

terrell brown in for betty nguyen this morning. rebel fighters in libya may control most of the country this morning but that battle may be far from over. yesterday rebel leaders said he was under arrest but gadhafi's son and heir apparent saif al islam is free and making the rounds in tripoli. his father's whereabouts are still unknown this morning. joel brown in washington with the latest on this. good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning to you. a day after the rebel's victory dance in tripoli, the bizarre power struggle there took its most bizarre turn. moammar gadhafi's son reappears in the capital after he was believed to have been captured. he claimed it was all a ruz to lure the rebels in, and then gain the upper hand. colonel moammar gadhafi's son made a dramatic appearance in tripoli, to prove rebels had not captured him and the gadhafi regime is still in power.

we arm ourselves today and confront the rest today, god willing. hundreds of pro-gadhafi supporters crowded around saif al islam to receive weapons to fight the rebels, and a pep talk to not give up. he said his father is safe and well in tripoli. and declared the government is winning the battle against the opposition. rebel fighters swept in to tripoli two days ago, triggering massive celebrations. libyans are hoping to see the end of gadhafi's 42-year reign. president obama is pledging america's support to libyan rebels as they look to form a new government. but he acknowledges the fight is not over. >> there remains a degree of uncertainty, and there are still regime elements who pose a threat. but this much is clear, the gadhafi regime is coming to an end. >> reporter: but gadhafi allies are refusing to give up. nato says government forces fired three scud-type missiles from the colonel's hometown

toward the rebel-held city of misrata. rebel commanders claim they now control about 90% of tripoli. and they're using these checkpoints to try and keep it that way. but with gadhafi's son free and determined to crush the opposition, the battle for power rolls on. meanwhile, where is moammar gadhafi? the head of libya's rebel-led transitional government told reporters he has no idea where gadhafi is, or even if he is still in tripoli. terrell? >> joel, if the rebels control most of the city, you would think they could just arrest gadhafi's son. is it that simple? >> well, even if the claims that the rebels control 90% of the capital are correct, that still leaves significant areas that are still in the hands of gadhafi loyalists. and they are rebels on the run there, ducking for cover under heavy gunfire. they haven't given up, terrell. at least not yet. >> joel brown in washington this morning. joel, appreciate the update. thank you. the revolution in libya has renewed calls for the lockerbie bomber to be returned to scotland and put back in prison. pan am flight 103 was blown out

of the sky over scotland in 1988 killing 270 people. libyan abdel basset al megrahi was released from a scottish prison and returned to libya in 2009. it was believed he'd soon die of cancer. now new york's two senators are calling on the new libyan government to put al megrahi back in jail. hurricane irene, now the storm is gaining strength much quicker than expected and could reach the southeast coast of the u.s. by the end of the week. irene is currently a category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 100 miles an hour and gaining strength. fueled by the warm waters of the ocean, irene pummeled the virgin islands and puerto rico yesterday. power was cut to more than a million people. irene is currently northeast of the dominican republic and expected to move to the bahamas later today. the hurricane is gaining strength and could hit the u.s. east coast as a category 3 storm. folks in florida are getting ready. >> flash lights, your lanterns, your charcoal. >> and then at the end we have water and gas cans for your generators and stuff like that. >> i remember hurricane andrew.

i was completely unprepared for it. but this time, i'm going to be prepared. there are reports of rockslides, but no significant damage or injuries. also in colorado, prosecutors fil infant fall on friday.

police are using surveillance tapes to say the circumstances are obviously suspicious. today a new york judge is expected to drop all criminal charges in the sexual assault case against dominique strauss-kahn. prosecutors want the case dismissed simply because they stopped believing their witness. outside the state supreme court house in new york. >> simply put the d.a. doesn't want to fight a fight he believes he cannot win. in court documents he's made clear he and his team don't believe the accuser beyond a reasonable doubt, that's the key phrase, a reasonable doubt, they can't expect a jury to do so. dominique strauss-kahn could soon walk away a free man. today a new york judge is expected to drop all sexual assault charges against the former international monetary fund chief. prosecutors are asking to dismiss the case because they claim they can no longer prove his accuser, a hotel maid, is telling the truth. >> the worst thing the district attorney can do is prosecute people when they're not sure

about their guilt. >> reporter: prosecutors say 32-year-old diallo lied to investigators repeatedly, giving three different versions of what happened inside this hotel. in these court documents, manhattan prosecutors describe an apparent web of lies. the documents show that plenty of evidence to prove a sexual encounter did occur, just not enough to show it was forced. diallo's lawyer slammed the district attorney's decision monday, and asked for a special prosecutor to replace him. >> he has not only turned his back on this innocent victim, but he has also turned his back on the forensic, medical, and other physical evidence in this case. >> reporter: women's groups are outraged. >> dominique strauss-kahn got lucky. he attacked a woman with a shady past, and all too often in rape cases, that's exactly what we see. >> reporter: strauss-kahn has always maintained his innocence. before he was hauled off a plane and arrested in may, he was considered a leading contender

in france's presidential race. he still faces a civil suit in the diallo case, and an investigation in france for a separate accusation of attempted rape. strauss-kahn is expected in court later this morning, and, terrell, it's not clear what a possible dismissal of the criminal case, what impact that will have on the civil suit that's already been filed for unspecified monetary damages. in new york, cbs news. >> all right, appreciate it. thank you so much. coming up on the morning news, putting on the pounds. why marriage affects men different than women. plus, a famous actor plays a real-life hero on the streets of new york city. this is the "cbs morning news." me from leading the way. so, i get claritin clear. non-drowsy claritin relieves my worst symptoms.

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your favorites, in pieces. a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, 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. marriage can pack on the pounds. a new study found that women usually gain weight after getting married while men typically get chunky after getting divorced. that makes a whole lot of sense. researchers say the weight gain usually happens to people 30 and older and has little effect on couples younger than that.

>> switching gears, "moneywatch" time on a tuesday. may be a new iphone coming out. susan mcginnis here in new york with that and more. good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. it was a good day for asian markets today. tokyo's nikkei went up just more than 1% while hong kong's hang seng climbed nearly 2%. and today, wall street is getting the latest on home sales. monday was another rocky ride for stocks but ended up having a soft landing. the dow ended up gaining 37 points. a welcome change after four weeks of losses. nasdaq adding just about 4. the president of standard & poor's is stepping down. the ratings agency is going to announce this morning that 55-year-old deven sharma is leaving the company early next month. s&p has been under fire for that controversial downgrade of america's credit rating. but the company says sharma's decision to leave was made months ago. the number of americans at risk of foreclosure continues to rise. the mortgage bankers association says more than 8% of homeowners

missed at least one mortgage payment in the second quarter. in a healthy market that number is usually around 1%. barnes & noble is expanding content for its nook. time incorporated is making all its magazines available for the color ereader by the year's end. "people", "fortune" and "sports illustrated" were added on tuesday with the rest expected by year's end. the nook has become a strong competitor to apple's ipad, especially for reading magazines online. and get ready for the iphone light. reuters is reporting that asian suppliers to apple have started manufacturing a lower-priced version of the iphone 4 with a smaller 8 gigabyte flash drive. existing iphones come with 16 and 32 gigabyte versions. terrell? >> susan mcginnis. good to see you. thank you so much. billionaire adventurer richard branson says he'll rebuild his famous vacation home on necker island in the caribbean. it burned to the ground after being hit by lightning from tropical storm irene. one of branson's family members took this amazing video.

about 20 people were there including oscar winner kate winslet. branson says winslet saved his mother by carrying her out of that burning home. actor ryan gosling to the rescue. and it's all caught on tape. >> the movie. >> what movie? >> where? >> right here. >> two men were scuffling in the street here in new york. the actor wearing a striped shirt and a baseball cap stepped in to break it up to the delight of some young women nearby. the two men were arguing over a painting. gosling gave one of the men a 20 dollar bill. and some sad news to report from the world of entertainment this morning. singer/songwriter nick ashford has died. ♪ ashford performed with his wife valerie simpson. together they wrote some of the biggest motown hits like "ain't no mountain high enough." for diana ross they wrote "you're all i need to get by"

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our fruit has to be perfectly ripe because it's delivered on the same day. for me? this is so beautiful! edible arrangements. enjoy the most delicious fruit ever. guaranteed. starting at $25. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. 81 degrees and sunny in new york. thunderstorms and 90 in miami. 86 with thunderstorms in chicago. 106 and sunny in dallas. and 85 and sunny in los angeles. time now for a check of the national forecast. latest satellite picture shows scattered thunderstorms from louisiana to florida. the southern plains are mainly

clear. later today, mild, dry weather will visit the northeast. severe weather moves into the western great lakes. the southwest gets super hot with temperatures hovering around 110 degrees. and cool air arrives in the northwest. in sports this morning a preseason laugher as the new york giants trump the bears. the highlights, just one play will sum it all up for you. the giants terrell scott gets the ball at the 3 yard line, busts through the line, and then he could, go, all, the, way. he does. final score, new york 41, chicago 14. in baseball, big come from behind win for the dodgers. chris carpenter shut down l.a. for eight innings, striking out seven. a little weirdness in the eighth. holliday came out of the game because he had a bug in his ear. in the ninth, a terrible throw to home. the winning score comes in. dodgers rally over the cards 2-1. and from a bad throw to a great catch, ben revere bumps to the top of the wall, makes a sensational grab against the

orioles in the seventh. baltimore takes down minnesota 4-1, snapping a five-game losing streak. it got seriously ugly for cleveland's chris perez in the ninth he hits the mariners' brendan ryan in the face. he was okay. perez ends up loading the bases on a sac fly, the dash from third and slides under the throw. he would score the winning run, mariners 3-2 over the tribe. and an odd decision by the u.s. olympic committee. they decided not to submit a bid to host the 2020 summer olympics. several cities had expressed interest, including new york and chicago. but the committee determined there wasn't enough time to put in a winning bid by the september 1st deadline. when we come back we'll get another look at this morning's top stories, and it drives drivers crazy. why prices at the pump seem to go up when the cost of crude goes down. ♪ so, i'm interviewing lots of candidates for this position. why should i choose you? oh, um... well, i'm your wife, and your car's in the shop,

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changes to tailgating rules.. and what we've learned about next year's battle of the bay. from long delays, to baggage fees. the new airline rules, designed to protect you. calling all dads. why millions of fathers are marching across the country today. and teachers fight for the right to use facebook. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30. a bloody,,,, on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. severe storms head in to the

great lakes region. monsoonal moisture moves up through the new mexico area to colorado while the gulf coast has an intense storm moving through the region. here's another look at this morning's top stories. moammar gadhafi's son turned up free and defiant last night at a tripoli hotel. yesterday rebel leaders said they had captured saif al islam. meanwhile moammar gadhafi's whereabouts remain unknown this morning. but his son said he is safe. and gaining strength. hurricane irene intensifying as it makes its way through the caribbean and now threatens to strike the u.s. mainland by later this week. we've been hearing for months about the expected big drop in gas prices. now, by the way, at a national average of $3.58 a gallon they've come down some from their peak. but the price of crude has dropped a lot more. so why is gas still so high? mark strassmann takes a look. >> love you. all right. >> reporter: odetta mohammed is

a single mom, a registered nurse and a frustrated commuter. she drives 70 miles a day and spends $80 a week on gas. >> look at this! my god! >> reporter: you think between the oil companies, and the convenience stores, that you're always getting the best possible price? >> no, of course not. don't quite understand the phenomenon when the gas prices in barrels, the price of gas is going down yet the gas prices are still going up. sounds like a -- a profit-type margin. >> reporter: often the price of crude oil and gasoline rise together. but gas usually lags behind crude as prices fall. the price of u.s.-produced crude oil has dropped 30% since may. but gas prices have fallen only 11%. compare that to 2008 when oil prices fell 77%, and gasoline dropped 61%. as gas prices rise, as increases happen, stores are more apt to maybe absorb some of those price increases during a rise.

and then as prices fall, they may be inclined to lag a little to make up for some of these losses. >> reporter: another important factor is the higher price of imported oil. half the oil america now uses is the more expensive crude produced overseas. >> i'm feeling that every day. you know, along with everyone else. >> reporter: real relief could be awhile. gas prices should drop another 40 cents by christmas. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. and in texas, the catch of the day. >> oh, yeah, daddy! >> it's a shark. >> that's a big boy! >> sure is. >> kevin stevens and his 9-year-old son hunter were fishing in the gulf of mexico saturday about a quarter mile after galveston texas. kevin got a big bite and spent an hour reeling in a 7 foot long black tipped shark in a 12 foot long kayak. >> instead of us using all of

our energy to try to pull the shark, the shark pulled the kayak. it's called the texas sleigh ride. >> okay. stevens says he was worried the shark might tip the kayak over but kept the video rolling until they cut it loose. this morning on "the early show" we're tracking hurricane irene as it pushes closer to the florida coast. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." hey, you made your own lunch. yep! (mom) i'm so proud of you. the bus is here, gotta go mom. okay hunny, have a great day. look in your bag, made you something. (announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. choosey moms, choose jif.

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to colorado we go here. a very large dust devil formed monday in a denver suburb. these whirlwinds are common in the western southwest, especially in hot, dry conditions. they're somewhat similar to tornadoes. kind of looks like one. usually harmless, though, like this one as you see here. in maine one person was seriously injured and four others hurt in what's called a back flash. it's an accident at the great falls balloon festival this past weekend. a cloud of propane was discharged into the air and sparked a fireball. a week of celebrations in washington, d.c. to honor the

opening of the martin luther king memorial. the festivities end this sunday. the 48th anniversary of king's "i have a dream" speech. chip reid takes his first look. >> reporter: when they opened the gates to the martin luther king memorial madeline coleman was one of the first in line, when she looked up at the face of dr. king, 30 feet above, she remembered the first time she saw him, 48 years ago, on the national mall. >> i have a dream. that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed. >> reporter: everyone there, she says, knew immediately it was a defining moment in the fight for equal rights. >> i mean, it was just so emotional, first of all, people were just crying. and i think, because there was so much anger in a lot of people, that their arose hope. that things were going to get better. >> reporter: five years later, she was devastated when king was assassinated at the age.

39. the theme of the memorial is that dr. king is emerging from what's called the stone of hope, leaving behind the mountain of despair. dr. ed jackson, the king memorial's executive architect, led ten other accomplished architects in selecting the design from nearly 900 submissions. >> we were hoping to somehow carve out on the national mall an experience for america where they could move from lincoln to jefferson and beyond. >> reporter: some critics say the face doesn't look like dr. king. a result, they say, of selecting a famous sculptor from china. at the memorial, though, many visitors were focused more on king's message than on his features. >> we're all the same, we're all equal. >> reporter: susan brought her three children from new jersey to teach them the values that dr. king preached. >> just because you're different skin color doesn't mean you have to be treated differently. >> reporter: king's is the only

major memorial on the national mall that honors someone who was not a president. chip reid, cbs news, washington. coming up a little later on "the early show," the latest on the storm preparations as hurricane irene gained strength and heads towards the u.s. plus, senator john mccain on the rebels in libya, and the hunt for moammar gadhafi. and oscar winning actress kate winslet becomes a real-life hero. how she helped save billionaire richard branson's mother while she was on vacation. all that and much more coming up a little later on "the early show." for now that will do it for this monday morning edition. you know what, it's tuesday. tuesday morning edition of the "cbs morning news." appreciate you watching. have a great day. reat day. ,,,,,,