away from the buildings. >> all shook up, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded on the east coast, rattles folks from atlanta to maine. collision course, hurricane irene grows stronger and makes a beeline for the eastern coast but where will she land. plus on the run, moammar gadhafi is nowhere to found when rebel troops stormed his compound. captioning funded by cbs

good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. it was the jolt that surprised everyone. at least three aftershocks have been recorded, the strongest to hit the east coast to hit the east coast since world war ii was felt from atlanta to maine. more than anything it rattled the nerves of millions who were not used to experiencing anything like this. joel brown is in washington with the latest. good morning, joel. i'm sure you felt a little bit of it. >> i did, no deaths, serious or major damage to report but for the 12 million or so of us who felt our typically stable ground shaking beneath us yesterday, this was one of those events we're going to remember. the washington monument remains closed indefinitely as engineers look for any more signs of damage.

a police helicopter spotted cracks at the top of the landmark following tuesday's 5.8 magnitude earthquake. >> all of the sudden you felt the floor rumbling under your feet. when i stood up to see what it was, the whole building shifted like that. >> reporter: a chandelier swayed in a building in new york city, while officeworkers poured into the streets. >> first felt like 9/11, okay, what's happening here. earthquake in new york, it happens. >> reporter: the quake interrupted a cleveland indians ball game. >> there's another tremor. holy mackerel. >> reporter: and this weather forecaster's report. >> omaha you will see tranquil conditions but -- why is everything shaking? >> the capitol, which was also cleared out, suffered some minor damage. the epicenter of the strong quake was in this small town of mineral, virginia. surveillance cameras in a local

store caught an employee running for cover as shelves toppled over. safety systems at a nearby nuclear power station automatically took two reactors offline. as could other east coast nuclear plants will have safety inspections but remain open. no major injuries were reported but the quake did leave its mark. >> it felt just like a walt disney world ride to me. >> reporter: with rattled nerves and minor structural damage up and down the east coast. so it was the strongest tremor to hit the east coast in 67 years but betty the title for the biggest ever on record goes to the 7.3 magnitude quake that hit south carolina in 1886. >> yeah, doesn't really compare to that. joel brown in washington, thank you. the quake rattled the nation's capital. as we report the white house capitol and pentagon were evacuated. president obama vacationing on martha's vineyard was on the golf course at the time. he did not feel the quake but

was quickly updated by his advisers. tremors of this size happen about once a year in california but only once a century on the east coast. lucy jones, a seismologist at the u.s. geological survey says the reason the quake was felt over such a large area is geology. >> out on the east coast your rocks are hard and cold and no faults breaking them up so it's like a good solid bell, it does asking them

"why have you let them wreak havoc" he spoke from an unknown location and also says he secretly inspected the capital but when rebel troops stormed the headquarters the long time libyan leader was gone. barry petersen was there. >> reporter: in a long day of fighting, the rebels were throwing everything they had. to find gadhafi and take his stronghold in the heart of tripoli and after hours of fighting, the doors came tumbling down. >> allahu akbar. >> reporter: this is the moment the rebels have been waiting for. they've breached the walls, there's heavy fighting back there. they're now in fwa dgadhafi's compound. resistance was slim and the rebel's fire power overpouring. >> many, many times.

>> reporter: anything they could carry, hundreds of weapon, a baby carriage for twins and this lucky man found a signature hat the world has often seen on the dictator's hat. >> i'm in gadhafi's room, oh my god and this thing happened, i found this, i was like oh my goodness. >> reporter: but the big prize, the tyrant himself nowhere to be found. the end to more than a 40-year reign of terror where the enemy disappeared into the night. >> from now on we will have a new libya. >> reporter: they celebrate the sweet taste of victory. now comes the question of if the war and all the blood shed on both sides will buy a new day for a people who have waited generations to be free. barry petersen, cbs news, tripoli, libya. just ahead on the cbs news,

amy winehouse, what was not in her system the day she died. plus she force fed hot sauce to get her son onon. now an alaskan mom pays the price. this is the "cbs morning news." e 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. those are your lips with covergirl lip perfection. get beautiful color now... let the silk moisturizing complex give you more beautiful lips in 7 days. [ male announcer ] lip perfection. from easy, breezy, beautiful... covergirl. excuse me? my grandfather was born in this village. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that.

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an an alaskan mom wanted to get on "the dr. phil" show. now she could end up in jail. jessica beagley of anchorage was found guilty tuesday of abusing her son. she made a individualor of her squirting hot sauce into his mouth, and then forcing him to stand in a cold shower. the video aired on "the dr. phil" show last november. beagley will be sentenced on monday. she faces one year in jail and a $10,000 fine. sexual assault charges against dominique strauss-kahn have officially been dropped. the former head of the international monetary fund left court on tuesday. he's a free man and can return to france. prosecutors say they doubted the credibility of his accuser. he still faces a civil lawsuit

filed by the hotel maid, but he may decide to file a countersuit against her. on the "cbs moneywatch" the housing market goes from bad to worse. susan mcginnis is here in new york with that and so much more. >> good morning, betty. the asian market is taking a downward turn so far this morning. tokyo's nikkei dropping more than 1% after moody's downgraded japan's debt rating. hong kong's hang seng fell more than 1.5%. today, wall street gets the july durable goods report. on tuesday stocks shook off the east coast quake. the dow shot up 322 points, the biggest gain in nearly two weeks. the nasdaq gained 101. 2011 is shaping up as the worst year on record for the real estate market. new home sales fell almost 1% in july for the fourth month in a row. the construction industry estimates that every time a new home is built it creates three jobs.

toyota is hoping its redesign can help keep the camry at america's best selling car. the automaker unveiled the new is he dane tuesday. it will come with new technology and upgrades including a new online design system, it has tough competition from the sonata and the malibu. "wall street journal" says when the new iphone 5 comes out in october sprint will join at&t and verizon in offering the service. apple has traditionally launched new iphones in june or july. this year it's been delayed for unknown reasons. facebook is rolling out new controls for sharing personal information in response to user demand. you can no longer be tagged in photos and posted without your permission. friends can post photos of you without getting your okay but can't attach your name to them. if you preapprove the picture that tag will stay.

betty? >> thank goodness, appreciate it. a report on the death of british singer amy winehouse has been released and it found no drugs in her body when she died last month. her family said tuesday that alcohol was present. winehouse had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. authorities still don't know what caused her sudden death. straight ahead your wednesday morning weather and in sports, the hard charging angels try to slide by the white sox and stretch their winning streak. "cbs moneywatch" sponsored by vagisil, introducing vagisil wash with odor block, the confident clean. vagisil wash with odor block, the confident clean. achoo! the seasons change, but we still may suffer from nasal allergy symptoms.

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maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. [ male announcer ] get five dollars in money-saving coupons at v8juice.com. 's here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york partly cloudy, 84. miami, thunderstorms 91. chicago partly cloudy 88. dallas, sunny and whopping 107 today. l.a., sunny 86. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows a band of thunderstorms rolling through the upper ohio river valley toward the great lakes. there are pockets of small storms over new mexico and arizona, and the west coast is absolutely picture perfect. later today the desert southwest will be blistering hot yet again with highs near 110. it will be cool and breezy in the northern plains. scattered storms will turn

severe in the great lakes region and in the northwest it will be partly cloudy. in sports, some great plays at the plate in anaheim. in the fourth, the white sox alex rios makes a great throw from center field but the angels howie kendricks slides under the tag. angels rally past chicago 5-4. game two of a double header against the mariners, jack hanahan stretches over the dugout railing to make, look at this, a sensational grab but seattle wracks up the hits and topples the indians 12-7, cleveland wins the first game 7-5. nascar driver kyle busch won't be behind the wheel any time soon on the streets. he got busted for speeding in south carolina and lost his license for 45 days. police say in may he was doing almost 130 miles an hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone, but the nascar points leader doesn't

need a license to race in competition. and a stunning announcement from basketball coach pat summitt. she has early onset dementia. summitt coaches the university of tennessee and lady vols and has more wins than any other coach, male or female, in basketball college history. despite the diagnosis, the 59-year-old coach says she plans to continue coaching. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and you call that a quake? while the east coast panics, the west coast puts things into perspective for us all. of dry hair. ♪ why you gotta be like that? ♪ don't be like that ♪ 'cause i deserve better than this ♪ ♪ did i catch you playing up like that? ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] make friends with your dry unpredictable hair. dove's range with weightless nutri-oils instantly absorb to nourish dry hair deep down, smoothing away up to 100% of its roughness and frizz.

dove nourishing oil care. make friends with your hair. a mouthwatering combination dovof ingredients...e for you! i know you're gonna love. [ barks ] yes, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. a 3 point 6 quake, jolts the bay area.. just hours after a surprise shaker on the east coast. the damage.. aftershocks.. and why earthquakes feel so different on our side of the u-s. bart riders get a chance to weigh in on the cell phone service shutdown. the bold new demands, from protesters is costco pulling the plug.. on the future? the decision some say the big box chain will regret.

plus a dog's ten thousand dollar meal. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30. ,, on the "cbs morning news," here's look at today's weather. it will be sizzling from texas to nebraska. the northeast will be very pleasant, while the great lakes region could see a dangerous storm by the afternoon time.

here's another look at this morning's top stories. hurricane irene is gaining strength and headed toward the east coast of the united states. irene is expected to make landfall somewhere along the atlantic coast this weekend. a rare east coast earthquake rocks 20 states yesterday. the magnitude 5.8 quake was centered in virginia. some damage is reported but no serious injury. of course, a 5.8 quake is nothing to laugh about especially for people on the east coast who are not used to the earth moving, but on the west coast, a lot of people are asking what's the big deal? reporter mike sugarman of san francisco kpix has the perspective in california. >> reporter: it was felt up and down the east coast, there was some damage on the side of a building in baltimore crumbled, but that was about it. a news conference in new york

was stopped. people freaked and ran outside. >> everybody was screaming, we all got dizzy and ran out. >> reporter: in the bay area you hear about the earthquake, boom, pick up your phone, call your friends back east and they say are you okay? you find out they are and then you probably thought, 5.8, no damage, no injuries, what are they making such a big deal out of this for? >> it's not much. a drop in the bucket. >> coming from a californian's perspective, the earthquake barely registered. >> reporter: we talked to veronica cummings at the university of california's d.c. program via skype. >> if you watch any type of national news you would think that the washington, d.c., is in a rubble of buildings. >> being an intern from california, we both automatically got unconcerned. >> reporter: being from contracosta, they knew what to do. others did the exact wrong thing. >> they were running outside trying to evacuate the building. >> californians from the second grade on learned to drop, cover and hold on.

running outside is the wrong thing to do. "i watched some of the videos of people reacting and sorry to say, they were pretty darn funny" wrote rob chapman. even snooky of "jersey shore" tweeted "2012 is near, i knew it, i hope everyone's okay" referencing the prediction of the world's end. mike sugarman, cbs 5. the quake wasn't all serious business back here on the east coast. for one it made the late night comics' job a whole lot easier especially for david letterman. >> they traced the epicenter of the earthquake to governor chris christie's aerobics class and no, no. they traced the epicenter of the earthquake to kim kardashian's honeymoon suite. you could tell the earthquake, i mean donald trump, you could see the ripples going through his hair.

just the undulations. on the bright side i didn't have to shake my morning martini. >> badabing. he's there all week, folks. this morning on "the early show" much more on the east coast quake. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." [ female announcer ] we all want cleaner laundry. we all want a world with fewer chemicals. we all want the best of both worlds. introducing all free clear oxi-active. a powerful new detergent without dyes or perfumes that helps get out your toughest dirt and stains. its added natural cleaning boosters help get your whole family's wash incredibly clean. tough on stains. gentle on skin. new all free clear oxi-active.

in oklahoma a head-on collision caught on dash cam video, it happened saturday. a sheriff's deputy was following a white pickup truck when it swerved right and suddenly a big suv slams into the cruiser. the deputy suffered minor injuries. the driver of the suv has been charged with driving under the influence. some iowa school kids got out of their bus just in time. look at that.

the seventh and eighth graders were coming home from the first day of school tuesday when smoke started pouring out of the engine. the bus driver pulled over and two boys ran up to help everyone get out. >> they came out and busted the back door open so people could get out. >> it was very loud and trying to not panic. >> someone called me and said "i saved everybody's lives." >> thankfully no one was injured but they don't know why that fire started. good news for airline passengers, a new set of regulations went into effect yesterday. airlines now have to be more transparent about fees. they'll also face some very stiff fines for breaking the new rules. sandra hughes explains why getting bumped may not be such a bad things. >> reporter: pete mcgreeney travels all over the world and says flight delays in the u.s. are the worst. >> we need protection. they treat you like animals. >> reporter: the government is

enforcing a new set of rules to protect passengers. airlines face big fines if an international flight sits on the tarmac for more than four hours. a three-hour rule is already in place for domestic flights. airlines have to refund baggage fees if they lose your luggage, if you're bumped from a flight the airlines have to pay you up to $1,300 and companies have to clearly state the price of a ticket on their websites. no more hidden costs. >> so you don't show up and find out that you've been charged for something that you had no idea you were going to be charged for. >> reporter: the new rules go into effect immediately and even more passenger protections will be added early next year. in january, passengers will be able to cancel some reservations without penalty and airlines will have to tell customers of any delays longer than 30 minutes. the airline industry says it's implementing the new rules but adds that market competition, not regulation, is improving customer service. >> it's in the airlines' best interest to win passengers, provide the best experience possible and increase the traffic on their revenue.

>> reporter: mcgreeney doesn't buy it. >> customer service is a lost art for the airlines. >> reporter: he hopes the new rules will help him get home on time. sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. coming up later on "the early show," the latest on the aftermath of that 5.8 earthquake that forced evacuations from washington to boston. plus the scramble to get ready for hurricane irene as the quick-moving storm barrels toward the east coast. and the fastest growing sport in america? the fun and fear of zip lining. i always wanted to do that. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com