we'll show you where the romney campaign may not be so happy with this summer blockbuster. but first, as we do every morning, we begin with a look at today's "eye opener," your world in 90 seconds. president obama attacks success, and therefore under president obama we have less success, and i will change that. >> mitt romney tries to get back on message. >> john sununu blasted by democrats for what they see as some over the line remarks. >> i wish this president would learn how to be an american. >> mitt romney doubles down, refusing again to release more of his tax returns. >> romney actually did back in 2008. mccain took one look at him and said, you know what? i'm going to go with the crazy moose lady instead. security scare involving a stolen plane. the pilots scaled the razor wire fence before driving off with a jet. >> somebody could jump the fence just like he did, but i don't think we're more vulnerable than

any other airport. >> he was unable to get it off the ground. he clipped an airport terminal before taking his own life. we are having a much rougher time than ever getting employment now. so get to work, mr. chairman. the defense minister is dead in syria after bombers attacked a cabinet meeting in damascus. >> a man shot the suspects. both of them were later arrested. and a small colorado town. a six-foot monitor lizard is on the loose. >> if i ran into him, i'd be freaked out. >> all that -- >> topples into the crowd, and he makes the catch. yes! >> inside of a boston subway system. this didn't work out too well for this woman. >> and all that matters -- >> it wouldn't be a pit bull. >> my birds have pedigrees. we have papers for them. >> pigeons. >> on "cbs this morning." >> 37-year-old marissa mayer, the newly named yahoo ceo,

announced she is six months pregnant. >> apparently, she was able to hide her pregnancy by only posting it on yahoo. welcome to "cbs this morning." we begin with breaking news out of syria, where the u.s. defense secretary says that the situation is rapidly spinning out of control. there was a bombing at the national security building in damascus this morning during a high-level security morning. it's reported that the defense minister was killed along with several other top officials. >> elizabeth palmer is in london with the details. what do we know about this? >> well, we know that this bomb went off in what should have been one of the most secure buildings in all of syria, the headquarters of the national security administration. it killed the defense minister, also one of the most inside of insiders in the bashir al assad government. that is his brother-in-law, who was also deputy chief of staff of the army.

it also now appears that the interior minister has died, and maybe also the head of syrian intelligence. so a devastating blow to this regime. it's not clear exactly how the attack was carried out. some reports say it was a suicide vest on one of the ministerial bodyguards. other reports say that the explosives were planted in the room before hand, and detonated remotely. either way, this really shows the cracks in what was looking like a very impregnable inner circle. and it certainly sends the message far and wide that the opposition is capable of devastating targeted attacks. >> speaking of the opposition, liz, is anyone taking credit for this? >> two groups. the most well-known is the syrian free army. the other group seems to be an islamist group. not clear whether it's a unit inside the syrian free army.

but certainly the message from the opposition is this is an extraordinary victory. in fact, colonel assad, who commands from turkey, said this is a feast day for the opposition. >> and what psychological impact will it have, do you think, on where they are in terms of an imminent civil war? >> i think it's very possible that this will now hasten the defections to the opposition. this could be the beginning of the end. >> all right. cbs' elizabeth palmer reporting from london. thank you. we turn now to campaign 2012. a new cbs news/"new york times" poll out this morning includes some numbers that president obama will not be happy to hear. republicans are much more excited about the upcoming presidential election than dels. 48% of mitt romney's voters describe themselves as enthusiastic compared to only 23% of people supporting the president. >> the other bad news for the white house, people are still very concerned about the direction of the country.

only 30% think we're headed in the right direction. and these numbers come as both campaigns are fighting hard for the political upper hand. dean reynolds is now with the romney campaign in toledo, ohio, where romney is sending off the latest calls for his tax returns. >> good morning to our veiewers in the west. mitt romney is in ohio this morn, a key bath ground state, where he hopes to move the campaign conversation away from his tax returns and back onto the economy. in pennsylvania on tuesday, romney tried to turn the conversation back to the economy. saying it's hurting because of what he suggested was the president's hostility to business. >> look, president obama attacks success, and therefore under president obama, we have less success. and i will change that. >> reporter: but his point was overshadowed all day after romney supporter and former new

hampshire governor john sununu tried to push the argument with words that questioned mr. obama's patriotism. >> i wish this president would learn how to be an american. >> reporter: it was the kind of statement usually emanating from the political fringe, and sununu apologized within hours. but it was another off message distraction, as romney struggled to gain the upper hand. from the spotlig on obama and talk about something other than how much or how little he paid in taxes. romney has released his 2010 return and an estimate of his 2011. but the questions keep coming. to go further, he said, in an interview tuesday night, would be like handing ammunition to the democrats. >> their opposition people look for anything they can find to distort, twist, and try and make negative. and i want to make this a campaign about the economy and creating jobs. >> how are you could go? >> reporter: but even romney supporters are urging a full are you disclosure.

the conservative magazine "national review," former republican party chairman haley barbour, and michael steele, plus, former gop opponents ron paul and rick perry, are just a few of those who say romney should be more forthcoming. >> anyone running for office, you know, if they get asked, within reason, to give people backgrounds about what they have been doing, including tax returns, should do that. >> reporter: and now the republicans are trying to gain some ground with the argument that it's unfair for the obama campaign to insist that romney release more information about his tax returns as long as the president refuses to release his college transcripts. >> dave reynolds, thank you so much. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty is a romney supporter, obviously, and one of the names being mentioned as a possible running mate. he joins us now from minneapolis. good morning, governor. >> good morning, charlie. >> there is a question here that is at the top and at the core of this political discussion today.

and that is why not? even republicans calling for the republican potential -- the republican nominee to release his tax records. he has done that before, when he was being vetted by john mccain. why not now? because the political rule is that anything that would come out eventually should come out now. >> well, mitt romney has released tax records from 2010 and 2011. and that's the standard for republican nominees, two years worth. and, look, we shouldn't be debating tax returns from 10 or 15 years ago or college transcripts from 20 or more years ago. we should be debating the main issue in this race, which is jobs and the middle class. and you can't be middle class if your unemployed. and mitt romney has a better direction. and, look, the president is hanging shiny objects before the public and the press, and the press is taking the bait. there's no indication that mitt romney has done anything wrong with respect to his taxes.

and he's trying to distract from the main issue, which should be his poor performance, the president's poor performance, getting this economy moving again. >> governor, it's norah o'donnell. you said that governor romney released two years of his tax returns. he's only released one year of his tax returns to be correct. you say that the standard is two years. but i must point out to you, george w. bush released 10 years. george hw bush released 14 years. and bob dole released 30 years. mitt romney has only released one. how is that the standard? >> well, good morning to you, as well, norah. as to the two years, he released one year going back and then also the estimate that he has for this year. so that's two at least prel preliminarily on the second year. >> but we don't know how much taxes he paid on 2011. >> not yet, but he said he would release those going forward. and as to the standard that you mentioned, the practice has varied. you cited some examples of some. but there's others who have only gone back a few years. but the larger point is this.

there is no claim or no credible indication that mitt romney has done anything wrong. he's within the range of past practice and custom. but number two, why is the media focused on this issue, 10, 15-year-old tax returns or college transcripts, when we should be focused on the larger issues and the main issues in this race? >> is governor rick perry a member of the media? >> i'm sorry? >> governor rick perry is not a member of the media. he is the governor of texas. and he said yesterday that no matter who you are, or what office you are running for, you should be as transparent as you can be. do you disagree with governor perry? >> well, norah, i heard the clip that you played just before i came on, and his words were within reason. and i think releasing a few years or two years worth of tax returns plus the one coming up is reasonable. given the past practice. >> there is this. and that is the governor who can and simply answer all the critics of those who say he has

something to hide by proving he doesn't have something to hide and then move on to the economy, the issue he wants to talk about. >> well, charlie, look, the fact is that when you have the tax returns that are released, you know, a lot of information comes out understandable. but there's no credible claim that mitt romney's done anything wrong. i mean -- >> then why not let him prove that and show that he like other candidates is prepared to show you exactly the kind of tax rate he has been paying, and why? and that in fact he's proud of the success that he has had as an earner, as a business executive, and as someone who has achieved american success? >> well, i don't think there's any secret to the fact that mitt romney has been successful, that he's achieved success, and he's paid a lot of taxes. but there's also no indication that he's done anything wrong. but the other issue here is, look at president obama's performance on the issues that matter most. and then he allowed the media,

and, you know, pursued these issues, with great vigor. why aren't they pursuing the issue of 6 million fewer jobs, people being employed, since he took office? 23 million americans being underemployed or having dropped out of the work force. 40 months of raised unemployment. those are the issues in the race. not 20-year-old college transcripts or 15-year-old tax returns. >> you are close to the romney campaign, and obviously you do not want to talk about who the nominee for vice president might be. but can you give us any indication as to what you believe the timing of the announcement will be? >> well, charlie, we don't talk about the timing or process relating to the vp aspects of it. i don't know that. i'm sure that governor romney and his team will give you a nice notice when that is going to be forthcoming. but i don't have any insight into that that i can share with you this morning. >> governor, it's great to have you here. thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. a bizarre incident in utah tuesday where a sky west airline

pilot suspected of murder commandeered a plane. >> but the fugitive's attempt at escape came to an abrupt end as bob orr tells us from washington's reagan national airport. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. and good morning to our viewers in the west. this is the bizarre story of a colorado murder suspect who apparently tried to flee in a most unusual get away vehicle. now that suspect is dead, and his last act in utah is raising new questions about airport security. this was the trail of damage early tuesday morning at the st. george, utah, airport. after sky west airline pilot brian hedgeland stole a jet and rammed it into a parking lot. a clipped wing, a damaged jetway, a downed airport fence. >> it was a short window. so between about 12:15 and right around 1:00 would have been the whole incident started and ended in that time period. >> reporter: officials say an officer patrolling around the st. george airport first noticed something was wrong when he spotted an abandoned motorcycle with the engine still warm.

a rug had been tossed over the razor wire atop a perimeter fence. police say hedgeland apparently scaled the fence, found his way onto the aircraft, and started the engines. as the plane began to move, its left wing clipped the jetway and the terminal, then rolled through the fence and into some parked cars. >> at that point, other officers had arrived. they entered the plane and found a 40-year-old male, mr. hedgeland, was deceased in the plane from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. >> he had been on the run since last friday, when police discovered his ex-girlfriend murdered in his colorado springs apartment. police quickly put out wanted posters with his picture. skywest airlines promptly supended him and revoked his security cards. but that did not stop him from finding his way to southwestern utah and commandeering the plane. the incident could force government officials to take a new look at airport security. while the transportation

security administration has to approve all airport security plans, the airports themselves are responsible for policing the perimeters. but the kind of incident which played out in st. george, utah, involving a trained pilot, may be especially hard to prevent. >> commercial aircraft are not locked up. a pilot that's rated in the aircraft can get onboard, get into the cockpit. power up the aircraft. and be able to fly it single-handedly should he need to. >> some critics have suggested that security at small airfields like the one in utah is not as good as security at other airports like reagan national or l.a.x. but there's no evidence that that's true, and it's worth pointing out that the latest incident was spotted by a police officer on patrol paying attention. >> bob, is there any reason to believe that this is a legitimate security incident? >> reporter: well, this is a security breach in the sense that someone was able to jump the fence and gain access to an airplane. that simply shouldn't happen.

we have to say in this case we're not sure what hedgeland's intentions were. it's not clear if he was actually trying to take off or if he intended all along just to crash the airplane. but nevertheless, officials are taking this very seriously because airport security, one of the first layers, is the perimeter and that's why investigators have to take a hard look at this. >> bob orr, thank you so much. turning now to the massive drought that's causing hardship in more than half the country. president obama has scheduled a meeting later today with the secretary of agriculture to address the issue. >> and that's good news for those in texas, where conditions are so severe that ranchers are now selling off their herds. anna warner has the story of this deepening crisis. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, norah and charlie and our viewers in the west. this is what's happening to many herds here. they are being brought here for sale to auction barns like this one, or sent off to slaughter early. the drought has dried up the land and the grass that ranchers need to feed their cattle. buying hay is expensive.

that's a losing proposition for many ranchers. so statewide, the herds have now been reduced 10% to 15%. the sellman family has been raising cattle on 3,000 acres in gonzales since 1861, but this year rancher jim sellman had to sell their cattle. >> if you don't have grass toss grow them and to carry the cows so that they have calves, you're just really up the creek. >> sellman expects to bring cattle back to his ranch eventually. he'll make it. but some other ranchers won't. the drought has put them out of business permanently. and consumers are going to feel the impact from this as well. beef prices are expected to temporarily drop because of the glut in the market from all of these sales, but over the next year, they are expected to rise. milk prices could also be affected. some farmers in wisconsin and missouri are reporting that they have seen a 20% drop in milk production.

so consumers are going to see the effects of the drought as we head into throughout the year. norah and charlie, back to you. and for much of the country, it's going to be another day of intense sweltering heat. heat advisories are posted across the midwest and mid-atlantic states and into the northeast. so far this month, over 2,200 heat records have been broken across the u.s. 14 cities posted record highs yesterday.

. this national weather report sponsored by bp. promising news in the fight against alzheimer's. we'll show you an experimental drug that appears to stop the disease in its tracks. taking the bite out of mosquito mosquitoes. >> if you could come out of this lab and have a mosquito that didn't bite, people would be like bring it on. >> we'd love to be able to do that. in an engineering sense, it

doesn't work that well. >> the buzz over malaria-proof mosquitoes being created in a laboratory on "cbs this morning." portion of "cbs this morning," sponsored by citi thank you cards. sometimes, we go for a ride in the park. maybe do a little sightseeing. or, get some fresh air. but this summer, we used our thank youpoints to just hang out with a few friends in london. [ male announcer ] the citi thankyou visa card. redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. rewarding you, every step of the way. are made with sweet cherries

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>> >> picturmeanwhile, mitt romneys caught off guard by the " show us your tax return " camera ". >> does the new batman

blockbuster have a political agenda? some say it does because the new arch enemy is called " dane " and there are issues of class warfare throughout the film. your local news is next. >> this is a cbs 5 eyewitness news morning update. >> good morning everyone, 7:26 a.m. is your time and lets you caught up with bay area headlines. extra security this morning on the ucsf mission bay campus. university regents' vote today on tuition plans and protesters are expected today. also in san fransisco ileana lopez is back and expected to testify on behalf of her husband, suspended sherrif ross mirkarimi. the ethics commission continues the hearing on his future. san fransisco supervisors will continue to debate whether to allow a new hospital to be built on cathedral hill.

more heard from both sides during a long session last night, seven hours of talking. we have traffic and weather coming up after the break.

>> good morning from the traffic center, let's start you off with a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza where traffic is business as usual. slow and go almost until the maze. busy at the inclined but getting better into san fransisco. south 880 and accident blocking lanes. and if you're headed westbound, 580 at livermore and accidents that an alliance back through the altamont pass. >> once again, just a blanket of clouds over the bay area, there are delays over at sfo, arrivals an hour and 45 minute delays. because of the cloud cover, we can see the golden gate bridge in the distance the temperatures are in the '50s. actually by this afternoon to mergers will soar to the '60s around the bay and then a few 80

degrees as well especially in the inland areas. 80 degrees in livermore and 78 in san jose. warmer by the weekend. ,,,,,, says a seizure

caused her to crash her suv into a tractor-trailer on a new york interstate. kennedy, the ex-wife of governor andrew cuomo pleaded not guilty

last night to driving while drug impaired. kennedy says tests showed she had no alcohol or drugs. the seizure was triggered by an old brain injury. welcome back to "cbs this morning." the new release in the batman franchise is offering some political fodder for the presidential campaign. te caped cue saider's latest nemesis bears a name that perhaps could not have come at a worse time for mitt romney. "cbs this morning," michelle

miller, new york. >> i can tell you one thing, makes me want to see the movie. >> that's for sure. i may this weekend. >> the bane has gone back for a

while. he's a great director. look forward to seeing it as well this weekend. there is a major step in the fight against alzheimer's disease. we'll show you how a promising new drug appears to stop the disease from advancing. it's coming up on "cbs this morning." ♪ you do ♪ something to me ♪ that nobody else could do when i had my heart event.

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'cause it's only here for a little bit. researchers say an experimental drug has had a remarkable result in stabilizing patients in the early stages of alzheimer's disease. >> dr. bill thesis, chief medical chief of the american alzheimer's association. he's at the group's international conference in vancouver this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> so tell us exactly what this does and how significant it is and what amount of hope should it give to people who are living with alzheimer's.

>> well, most scientists believe that one of the key events in alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of a bad protein in the brain, and at least one of the things that this new drug does, ivig, is to lessen that accumulation of this bad protein. it's a mixture of compound, so it does some other things. that's probably the main thing that it does. >> it attacks the -- >> it attacks the protein and cleans it out. one of the most important parts of in study you need to recognize is it's relatively small. it certainly is intriguing and we're very interested in the results. we'll have to do more patients. the good news is that there's a very big study with this drug going on as we speak and within

the next year, we'll see the results of that bigger study. >> doctor, that is exciting. you point out this was a small study. what about the cost, it could be prohibitive for people if you find out it does work, right? >> certainly the cost of this drug under current market conditions would be very expensive. on on the other hand, the market for the drug is relatively small. it's used to treat autoimmune diseases largely. and that's a relatively small population. if we were treating a much bigger population, we could find better ways of harvesting the raw materials for this drug, which is basically blood, and we could get advantages of scale of production that should lower the cost. >> is there any way to accelerate the process so that people who are living with alzheimer's can have access to it? how long will it take? >> it will be about a year before we see the phase iii

study. that's an interesting question. because this is an existing drug, it's available. but it's really not a good idea to take the drug at this point without additional data. it's really not safe. >> all right, doctor, tha . you know the buzz and you know the bite. it's mosquito season and this summer could be really bad. why are scientists intentionally breeding millions of the little

critters? the answer ahead on "cbs this morning." [ female announcer ] teach your kids to shield, sneeze, swish to help keep stuff off their hands. ♪ this back to school ♪ there's a new routine ♪ grab a kleenex® tissue to help keep your hands clean ♪

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they can be deadly. as bill whitaker reports, scientists in california are trying to do something about that. >> it's that time of year when the great outdoors is calling. but all too often that call includes a buzz followed by a bite from the summer's most annoying pest, the mosquito. >> last night i was outside with my dogs. i was covered with bites. >> they're just -- >> the bloodsuckers consider you their meal. you're trying to get your meal, right? >> this is the insectory. >> in this lab at the university of california irvine, they're breeding millions of mosquitoes. >> this is like your summer evening nightmare. >> yeah. >> the life's work of dr. anthony james who hopes to alter their behavior and change their role in world health. >> this is a cage of adult mosquitoes. >> oh, yeah. you don't have to open this one. >> no. >> here the pesky mosquito is also revered where we see a

bloodsucking nuisance, james sees enormous potential. >> you admire these little bugs? >> believe it or not, they're actually quite beautiful. >> admittedly, it's a love/hate relationship. >> what about that annoyance? it's a horrible buzz. >> can't sleep. >> that is the actual wing beat frequency of the mosquitoes. they're beating their wings at a certain frequency. it creates a sound. >> males don't bite. just the females. they're drawn to our scent and need our blood to reproduce. >> if you could come out of this lab and have a mosquito that didn't bite, people would be like bring it on. >> we'd love to be able to do that. engineering sense, it doesn't work that well. the next thing to do is make the mosquito that does bite but is not going to inject you. >> for more than 25 years, james has worked to build a better bug. his team of scientists figured out how to change a mosquito's dna using a tiny needle.

they inject the eggs with malaria-resistant genes. they're one-tenth the size of a sesame seed. as they hatch, this new generation is immune to the disease. once released, they'll breed offspring that also are malaria-proof. >> it's a tremendously significant development. >> each year in the u.s., about 100 people die from diseases carried by mosquitoes. in other parts of the world, it's much worse. parasites for fever and malaria kill one to three million people. >> a child dies every minute of malaria. >> james' breakthrough could help eradicate malaria. but there has been another reaction to his science, fear of tampering with mother nature. >> had people hear the phrase genetically modified mosquito, we've all seen the same science fiction movies, there are images that get conjured up in people's

minds about what that is. >> in south florida, they are combatting the threat of west nile virus and dun gay fever with an air arsenal of chemicals. the state showed an interest in releasing mosquitoes genetically engineered by a british company. a petition in key west against the man made bugs has already drawn more than 100,000 signatures. >> do you see a time when there will be no malaria? >> i am an optimistic person. i like to say we got to the moon, that was a challenge. >> his mission is to launch these high tech weapons as allies to conquer one of the world's oldest threats. for "cbs this morning," bill whitaker in irvine, california. this is exciting stuff because the idea we in this country don't appreciate how many deaths occur around the world, especially in africa, because of malaria. >> every second of every minute of every day children die of

malaria. it's a big issue certainly. i know i'd like to end some mosquito bites, though. get rid of the mosquitoes altogether. on to this. another story that people are taking a bite out of this morning if you will. the new ceo of yahoo is stirring an old debate. is it possible for women to have it all? >> have you weighed in on this debate? >> oh, i've got some thoughts about this. massa mayer was hired by yahoo monday as the new ceo. a short time later, she annou e announced she's pregnant. we'll look at what she faces and all the debate about it. that's ahead on "cbs this morning." cbs "healthwatch" sponsored by nicorette. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette you celebrate a little win. nicorette gum helps calm your cravings and makes you less irritable. quit one cigarette at a time.

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gayle has a look at what's coming up at 8:00. hello. >> oh, you're speaking to me now. norah, i've been here since january 9th. charlie rose comes in practically with a white towel around his arm to serve you pineapple and canteloupe. did you enjoy? >> can i ask you one question? >> yes, mr. rose. >> who took you to dinner sunday night? >> charlie rose he wins.

the divorce rate for military couples at its highest level in years. daniel silva is here to talk about his book and happy >> good morning everyone, 7:56 a.m., some controversial pay raises have been approved by the california state university board of trustees. incoming presidents of the csu san fransisco, northridge, and san bernadino campuses will get as much as 10 percent more than their predecessors. the money for those raises is coming from private foundations. cal fire believes that the end is near when it comes to wildfire this year. the robbers fire has burned more than 2,600 a. in placer county, northwest of forest hill.

one home and some outbuildings have been destroyed, the fire is 60 percent contained and they hope to have full containment this weekend. stay with us, traffic and weather in just a moment.

>> good morning, one of the busiest spots along the bay bridge toll plaza where the metering lights were turned on over an hour ago. traffic slow and go, also slow off the east shore freeway, some delays there as well and a car fire eastbound 880 and no. hundred and one, and maximum blocking the roadway. >> the sun is trying to make its way through the clouds and by this afternoon we're going to see sunshine across much of the bay area but right now we're still gets seeing some clouds. senators mainly in the '50s with a few low 60s. 52 in santa rosa, north bay

little cooler. by this afternoon those temperatures will be slightly below average. more than what we saw yesterday. 60s around the bay and 80s in the inland spots. ,,,,,,

let me tell you someing, let me tell you something, england. nobody puts springstein in a corner. he gets to sing as long as he wants and as loud as he wants and there's nothing that you -- >> nothing. be quiet, john. it's 11:08. keep it down. >> what are you doing? >> it's night, john. bitain has got the olympics coming up. we need our rest. lest we lose either of the two bronze medals that we're hoping for. a lot of people, though, still scratching their heads about who would pull the plug on bruce springstein and paul

mccartney. >> yeah. >> who would do that? >> a sound engineer. >> 10:32. god to go. it's 8:00. welcome back to "cbs this morning." i'm gayle king. erica hill is off today. >> i'm charlie rose with northern ra o'donnell. ptuesday as yahoo's ceo just a day after getting the position and after a uns noing she's six months pregnant. >> the news is shining the spotlight on working mothers with some asking how she'll be able to juggle motherhood and saving the struggling internet company. >> reporter: yahoo stunned the tech world monday when it named marissa meyer its new ceo. >> marissa meyer is a figure head. >> reporter: the real news came hours later when the 37-year-old made her own announcement on twitter, that she's expecting. the former google executive was up front with her pregnancy with yahoo directors who had no reservations at all about her ability to do the job.

meyer is due to give birth in early october. she was pregnant when she talked about her career on "cbs this morning" in may. >> i think silicon valley is a great place for women, but that said i tend to think of my experience there, especially at google, not as one of a woman but as a geek. >> reporter: the self-described geek is now the 19th female ceo of a fortune 500 company. in addition to being the youngest, she's also the first one to get the top job while pregnant. but don't expect motherhood to slow her down. she told "fortune" magazine i like to stay in the rhythm of things. my maternity leave will be a few weeks long and i'll work throughout it. a statement that prompteds criticism from some twitter users. >> i think it will enhance her abilities. >> reporter: new york senator christ continue gillibrand a long time advocate for women's rights and a mother herself, she says it will be a juggling act.

>> you balance your work life with your family life and you can be the best mom you can be and the best ceo you need. >> reporter: meyer will need to be that in order to turn around a company that has gone through five ceos in five years. >> she broke the news of her pregnancy exclusively to "fortune" editor. she joins us from aspen, colorado. good morning, patty. >> good morning, charlie. >> so marissa, how does she view this or is it even an issue for her? >> you know, when she called me the other night and said i saved a piece of the story for you, i'm pregnant. >> hello! >> i was shocked. and she was so calm about it. it was amazing. she told me that this has been a very easy pregnancy, her first. she has nothing to compare it to, and it's been interesting here at brainstorm tech because there are a lot of high-powered women here who are mothers. and i have to say, many of them

think that she's naive, that she's -- she thinks that she's going to be able to juggle one of the hardest ceo jobs in the country and first-time motherhood, but i have to say, this issue of young women not being aggressive enough and risk taking enough with their careers and not leaning into their careers has been such an issue for the last couple of years. and marissa meyer who has been a role model is now a new kind of role model for young women. >> i absolutely agree with that, patty. good to see you and congrats to you for getting that. i can only imagine what it was like for you on the other side of the phone when she said, and, by the way, i'm pregnant. marissa is certainly respected and admired in the tech community. a lot of women i talked to said, go marissa. when we heard the second part, it was like, go yahoo! because there was a conventional wisdom that most companies would

not be that flexible. what are they saying about that? >> absolutely, gayle. you know, there have been two issues to this debate. one is that companies aren't stepping up enough to accommodate working mothers, and the other side of the debate is young women are not being aggressive enough with their careers. and what we have here in the marissa meyer yahoo situation is both sides stepping up to the plate. according to marissa and other people on the board, this was not an issue to the board. of course they thought about it. of course they were concerned about it, but they decided -- they just embraced the idea that we're going to hire what is now the youngest person who is running a fortune 500 company, 37 years old, she's pregnant, and we believe she can do it and marissa said to herself, i believe i can do this. and i think we should -- i think

we should cheer them both on. >> hi, patty. it's norah o'donnell, how are you? >> hello. >> i have a lot of strong feelings on this subject because we talk about young women are not being aggressive enough in their careers. cheryl sandberg of facebook has talked about the ambition gap, that's part of the problem why we don't have more female ceos. isn't part of that then that some of the current ceos stop judging one another and saying she's naive? i think judging the choices that other women make in their careers has got to stop. >> well, you're right. women can be their own worst enemies. you know, there used to be this complex in corporate america called the queen bee complex. the idea was there's only so much room for any of us, and if i help another woman, i am risking my own chance to get to the top. that phenomenon is not as much

of an issue as it used to be because, frankly, there are more women at the top. and honestly, most companies want to promote more women. you know, we've been talking at brainstorm tech here about the dirth of women in tech companies. i was moderating a talent panel yesterday and the consensus was that most of these big tech companies have about 20% of their employee population is female, which is pathetic. and here we have the case of a young woman who is a computer science major, which is so rare today, and we need more marissa meyers who are embracing their full lives and going for the big jobs. >> what's necessary to make that happen, patty? >> well, i think we need more role models. i think we need more marissa meyers, cheryl sandberg. cheryl sandberg, number two at facebook, has two young children.

you know, this whole issue of doing it all, i mean, here we have a case of a woman, ceo, new ceo, yes, trying to do it all at once, but the thing is, most of these women who are very successful don't really try to do it all at once. what marissa did is she focused 100% on her career for the first 17 years of her -- 15 years of her life. >> that's right. >> she's 37 years old. she's having her first child at 37. she didn't try to have her first child at 28. >> right. yeah, you make a really good point. it really, patty, isn't a one size fits all. everybody has to figure out what works for them. right now, congratulations to marissa and to you, patty sellers. that's a big scoop. thanks a lot for

south africa south africa is marking a very special birthday today. nelson mandela turns 94. we'll speak with mandela's grandson right after the break. tomorrow, the remarkable story of spencer west who climbed kilimanjaro, listen to this, despite having no legs. you're watching "cbs this morning." ♪ one man comes in the name of love ♪ ♪ one man comes and goes ♪ one man comes, he's a superstar ♪.

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the news is sending kim kardashian and bruce jenner to the olympics. there was a bit of controversy once they found out part of his face was made in china. i don't want any of that funny business. today is international mandela day set aside by the u.n. to inspire people to change the world for the better.

just as nelson mandela has done. and on this, his 94th birthday, we'll speak with the south african icon's grandson in south africa when "cbs this morning" continues. ♪ this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by bourne legacy. there never was just one. in theaters august 10th. it's strange, i'm getting gray

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i really don't want to be in the public eye anymore. >> you like it better? >> eight years was awesome, i was famous and powerful but i have no desire for fame and power anymore. >> that was former president george w. bush speaking at the hooper institution. welcome back to "cbs this

morning." with more than 72,000 students, arizona state is the largest public university in the united states. dr. michael crow has been its president for the last decade. he's created a model of higher education that has attracted the attention of educators from as far away as china. welcome. >> welcome. >> you use a term called arrogance ignamus. what do you mean? >> the concept of what's happened for us in american higher education is we've built a system, an enterprise, if you will, which is fantastically recognized around the world for successes but not designed because of our success to actually educate the whole of the country. so our arrogance of our success has created an ignorance in how to design a higher education enterprise that can reach the breadth of our talent in the united states. >> so what do we need to do to show that we're getting it and we're smarter? >> we need to innovate on every level. we need to change our clock speed in the universities. we need to change our pedagogical approaches.

we need to find ways to find talent across the broad spectrum of the society. we need to find ways to drive learning at faster rates and all of that requires innovation. >> there's also this debate about whether a college education is appropriate for everyone there. where do you wade in on that? >> a college education isn't appropriate for everyone, but lifelong education is required for everyone in our economy going forward. if we don't figure out how to do that we won't be competitive at the level we need to be competitive. >> what role will online education play in that? >> online will be a foundational base at many levels. there will be courses available from places like cosara which released stories yesterday in "the new york times." there will be online augmentation in the classroom. there will be online augmentation for people in their homes and lives. you have to imagine that education now is not a step that you take, it's a part of your everyday consumption. >> tell me about the role of the president. you've had this job for a while. what have you learned and what

mistakes have you made that were a teachable moment? >> there's lots of teachable moments. lots of things that you learn along the way. i think the role of the president of the university is one where you have to make decisions in the best interest of who you serve. in our case we serve our students, we serve the people of arizona, we serve the people of the united states. that's a slightly different decision than if you think that you're there to serve just the faculty. so then there's a tension if the leader of the institution is attempting to deliver the program for who we serve, our students, there's a tension between faculty and student objectives and there's a lot of lessons about how to do that in the right way. i learned some of them the hard way along the way. >> what are the lessons coming out of penn state? >> the penn state lesson from my perspective is they lost track of why they're there. they're not there to play football. football is a means, it is not an end. and they lost track of the fact that they're there with children and young adults to protect them, to nurture them, to bring

them forward and everything that they do must be related to that. if you don't think that that's what you're doing, then you're making a big mistake. >> should they suspend their football program? >> i would support a severe punishment, yes? >> which might be what? >> it could be what's referred to in the ncaa as the death penalty, which means not playing clearly. >> for aer or more? >> whatever the process is. they have to go through the process and i believe that there has to be some sanction, yes. >> my friend, bill friday from north carolina who you know and respect has been concerned about the impact of college sports. you have a large athletic program. >> right. >> how do you find the balance. >> it's a tough balance to find when college sports, i was a college athlete -- when college sports run away from their purpose. their purpose is to provide young people with an unbelievable opportunity to compete at a very high level across a broad spectrum of sports but also to sort of give this vision of young people

competing. well, we've gotten a little bit away from that. so the way that we're pulling that back is by intensifying our academic requirements across the entire spectrum of colleges and universities. mark em rit, the new president of ncaa is driving those. i support those immensely. he's a college classmate of mine. but it's really about returning to the roots. college athletes competing at the highest possible level. >> what was your sport? >> i was a javelin thrower. >> you were? >> yeah. >> did you have olympic ambitions? >> unfortunately, yes. >> finally this, in terms of how long this balance with the fak t ult at this and all of that that exists at a university, it is also said that university presidents should not stay too long. >> you know what's interesting about that, the turnover rate is probably faster than it should be. i serve at the pleasure of a board. i serve in five-year increments. i can be dismissed at any moment. so it's not some long thing that

is an expectation, it's if the enterprise is moving forward, you're successfully moving the enterprise forward, move it forward and if not get out of the way. >> michael crow, thank you. dan,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

>> it is 8:25 a.m. and time for headlines, a bomb attack outside of the meeting of high ranking syrian military officials has killed three people this morning . among the dead is the country's defense minister and the syrian president's brother in law. rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack. governor jerry brown will be in san francisco to sign a bill that has been approved by legislators. the measure provides $8 billion in funding, that money will cover the construction of the first phase of the project. at 130 mi. stretch in the

central valley and local transportation authorities are considering taxing people for every mile drive. the proposal would rely on gps devices installed in every car in that county area. a study could be authorized as soon as tomorrow. traffic and weather coming right up. >>

>> good morning from the traffic

center, lots of slow and go conditions as you work your way across the east shore freeway. the bay bidbridge toll plaza, sluggish conditions. no. 101 at allan rock, an accident still stopping all planes. no. 101, sluggish through palo alto, southbound 101 sluggish through the peninsula. the golden gate bridge not bad, overall moving in a nice speed into san fransisco, bart and ace and muni and caltrans is right on time. >> we're going to start to see warming trend across the bay area but first we need to get through morning low clouds. overcast skies over pleasanton and the masters warming up a little bit in the past half hours a you can see 60 degree readings there and 60 in oakland and 59 in fremont and 56 degrees in napa. by this afternoon some pitchers will still be unseasonably cool but warmer than what we saw

yesterday. 60s around the bay and seventies to low '80s in the inland areas. warmer by the weekend.

here's a story that caught our eye this morning. a boston woman tries to ride her wheelchair up the escalator last friday. you can see, not a good move. it did not work. she fell backwards. thankfully, she was not seriously injured. >> it happened early on. >> a lot of people came to help her. the good news is she's okay. that's tough to watch.

welcome back to "cbs this morning." nelson mandela turns 94 today. people across south africa and the world are marking this day with celebrations. before we speak with his grandson, mark phillips has a look at the festivities surrounding the special day. >> ♪ school assembly is different on nelson mandela's 94th birthday here at the school about a mile down the hill from the mandela home, they stood in lines forming the number 94 and they sang. happy birthday ♪ >> this may be international mandela day. but here in qunu it's a local event. this little town is the mandela ancestral home. they have an understandable connection to the man who came back to spend the end of his life in the place he grew up. but the idea is for virtually every school in the country to sing out greetings to mandela. the man is affectionate and --

tribal name. >> it's a happy day. around qunu, around everywhere. it's a good day. >> the idea is for people to do 67 minutes of community work, a minute for each year mandela devote today public service. here the school kids went into the village to read to residents. conveniently, today's reading was a book about mandela. it's a scene repeated all over the country, a new generation learning the mandela story. the story of their past. because of him, also the story of the promise of their future. the reverence for him goes far beyond south africa. many leaders including president obama had well wishes. one former president came in person. mandela isn't seen in public anymore. he's confined to his house where he receives guests. the tributes are made outside.

>> i don't think he wanted to be a hero. i think he wanted to lead his country into freedom and unity. it was heroic. and when the price turned out to be very high, he just kept paying it. >> and now people are trying to pay it back giving their time in a small way the way he gave so much of his. for "cbs this morning," i'm mark phillips in qunu, south africa. with us now from inside the family compound in qunu, south africa is nelson's mandela's grandson. >> he's joining us live this more than. good morning to you. >> good morning. how are you? >> we're all very good here. we're excited for you for today. how is your grandfather and what are the big plans? >> he's doing really well. he had a surprise visit from former president bill clinton and his daughter, chelsea clinton, yesterday, which lifted

his spirits. we're looking forward to a really nice 94th birthday lunch today with the entire family. >> this is charlie rose. how is he doing these days? >> he's doing well. i mean, his physical body isn't what it used to be. but his mind is still strong. i think that's the most important thing for us. >> and your earliest memories of his presence in your life? >> the first time i met him, i was about four and a half years old. and we traveled to a prison, which is in the western cape region of south africa. he was still under house arrest at the time. i remember walking in and being told to sit down in front of a tv that was playing cartoons and he walked into the living room and offered us all some hot chocolate. so that was probably my first memory of meeting my grandfather. >> when did you know that he was nelson mandela and all that that meant to everyone certainly in

your country and in the world? >> i think the first time i really grasped it was probably when he was released in 1991. i was living in america at the time. the teacher came in that morning and basically told everyone that my grand dad was a very special person and that he had finally been released from incarceration after a very long time. i started to get an early grasp been struggling against here in south africa. >> what do you call him? >> i call him just grandfather or tata. some people call him by his clan name, others nelson. >> how much does he spend in a sense reading or trying to keep up with world affairs and taking meetings with people who want to come and pay their respects to

him? >> i mean, he tries to do that as much as he can. he has kind of a daily routine where he reads the five local newspapers here in south africa. >> he's a man we can admire. >> he generally takes visitors every day for a few hours. so he's still very active with interacting with people. >> you know, the thing about nelson mandela, whenever people are in his presence, the one thing he always wants to know is about children. he's very big on relationships. that's something that's always -- he's always very affectionate with people who come to see him. do you feel added pressure carrying the mandela name? >> look, i believe it's a gift and ultimately it's a curse. but it's something that i think any individual has a name that they have to live up to. whether that be mandela or that be anything else. i think it's something i've come

to terms with. i just want to be successful with what i'm doing in my life and hopefully that will resonate is people and have an impact in some small way. >> his achievements are monumental. what is it you think he most wants as his legacy? >> i think it's a combination of things ultimately. he's always said he wanted to set an example by the way he lived his life and by his presidential term that he had in south africa. i believe at the forefront of that is giving young children universal education in south africa and hopefully that extending to the rest of the world and another big thing for him is obviously the fight against hiv and aids, which he took up once he retired from office. so i think for him seeing a generation where there is no longer the pandemic of hiv and aids is definitely something that he'd love it see. >> for you personally, what is something that you -- that he has given to you personally?

>> i just think being there ultimately. like you said, he has a great presence. he always tries to make people feel included when he's in the room. he shared a great amount of responsibility, you know, with everyone in this country. i think if i can take up thats day. great day. >> divorces among members of the military skyrocketing and domestic abuse is on the rise as well. meet one couple working very hard to save their troubled marriage.

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medical marijuana in california. trying to send in federal troops to get our medical marijuana. i'll tell you this, obama, you'll get my joint when you pry it out of my cold dead fingers. that's what. >> i think she's serious. >> okay. >> moving right along. >> she has style. >> only one roseanne. as many military families can attest, the wounds of war can easily follow a soldier home. >> a growing number of husbands and wives are fighting themselves on a new battlefield in their own homes. michelle miller met up with one couple who fought to keep their marriage together. >> at mcdill air force base, sergeant major chris faris tries to draw out -- >> combat vets sitting here that hey, man, you're getting touchy, feeley, i'm not going to talk about that. if you don't share it, we can't identify it. ten years of war, there's a lot of cynicism in the force amongst

you as well as your families. >> he started having nightmares. >> lisa faris is chris' wife. >> i didn't find it normal one night when he woke up or i woke up and he was on top of me strangling me. i was trying to wake him up. i'm going chris, chris, wake up, wake up. he finally looks at me and says what? i'm like you're strangling me. he went, no, i'm not. rolled over and went back to sleep. >> together, the faris' tag team a retelling of their troubled marriage. what was it about your story that you thought could help these guys? >> we went through so much bad as a couple that there's got to be something good coming out of that. if we can cause people or effect change in their behaviors and their relationship patterns from the early stages so they don't have to go through this, i think it's a positive thing to do. >> so it's not just about chris and lisa? >> no. it's not about us at all. >> if you've been in this cycle

of deploying and coming home and deploying and coming home, you're probably in the same loop that we were in that led to our problems. >> faris is the top enlisted man in the military's most elite unit. special operations command. >> my coping mechanism for combat was to think of myself as dead. to accept my death. so all those years from '93 until this war began, when my wife looked at me and said something in you has died and i looked at her and said you're crazy, i'm still the same guy, you know what, she was right. that mechanism, to me, absolutely built distance between me and my family. >> after a decade of war, separation and trauma, it is a story shared by many military families. more than 30,000 military marriages ended in divorce last year. its highest level in ten years. >> i love you, i love you. he kept saying it. every time he said that, it was

like i would cringe. i didn't want to hear it. i didn't want him to say it. i didn't want to feel it. i didn't want any part of it. he says, lisa, i will do anything it takes to make it work. >> together, with counseling, they did make it work. healing what faris calls, wounds of the soul. >> we're just a normal couple that has normal issues and normal arguments. that's okay now. >> a work in progress. like any marriage. like any marriage. >> for "cbs this morning," michelle miller at mcdill air force base. >> we were just saying "the new york times" -- "time" magazine has a cover story about military suicides. it really is one of the big challenges for the army as they look at the number of tours that soldiers had between iraq and afghanistan and dealing with these issues. >> military families have suffered so much. it's not just the physical wounds of war, but the emotional wounds of war. the military families need help. >> bravo to them guys. i love what chris said.

if you don't share, you can't identify. being so candid about their marriage. that's going to help a lot of people. author daniel silva, i like him, he's got a new thriller. intrigue at the vatican is the subject of his new book. there he is. he'll tell us all about it when "cbs this morning" continues. ,,,

reviews can barely find enough words of praise for daniel silva's 15 novels. words such as superlative, intense, provocative and fast-paced. >> i'll add another. gripping. his books are international best sellers published in more than 30 countries. his newest thriller is called "the fallen angel."

do you mind if i hold the book up? >> that's fine. thank you so much. >> the whole time i was reading, i thought this could be a movie. it starts with a murder in the vatican. did she commit suicide or was it murder? before we talk about the book, were you a kid that liked spy games? were you that little boy? >> i think i was a kid who enjoyed -- had great friends but i was a kid who spent a lot of time by himself. i was a long distance runner when i was a child out there running hours and hours a day. and i think that i actually started writing stories when i was out pounding the roads training to be a long distance runner. >> how did you create gabriel? >> quite by accident. i had written my fourth book and i had written a couple of books preceding gabriel that dealt with a cia officer named michael osbourne. he was a work a day cia officer who worked in the operation's division of the cia. when i was working on gabriel, i

decided that i wanted to create a very different kind of character. kind of a magical character. a character with two distinct hats. and i had a dear friend of mine who truly is one of the world's finest opera stars. i was having dinner with him one night when i was making the notes on gabriel. there was a bolt of lightning. i pulled him aside and said, listen, i have a crazy ea. i want to turn an israeli intelligence officer into an opera star. can you help me? yes, he said. i was inside the restoration labs at the national gallery of art in washington. and there was a monet on one easel and you see the restorers with the visors on. i knew i had stumbled on something magical. >> he was an art restorer, sa

assassin and -- >> bill clinton inspired the entire series. i started this during the period when clinton was -- in the waning days of his administration, trying to bring peace to the middle east. he went to camp david with everyone. i created a -- conceived a story in which a palestinian terrorist who undermine his work. so 12 books, 12 years later, i never imagined it, that he likes gabriel and appreciates gabriel. i must have done something right. he knows a great deal about the middle east. >> writing can be tough. you get writer's block sometimes. >> no, i don't. writer's block is a myth. it's a myth. >> 15 novels -- >> we write and we don't like what we write. that's writer's block. >> i love all the research. it takes you to some horrible places. rome, paris. >> this book runs along the jerusalem to rome historical axis and goes sort of backward

in time from rome to jerusalem. my research took me along a similar trip. we spent a week in rome. really inside the vatican. i got to go into the vatican museums and inside the restoration labs where my character was working. it took me sort of backwards to jerusalem, backwards in time and into the secret tunnels underneath the old city. >> he's inside your head. you talk as gabriel. >> he's like us -- to me, he's like sitting around here. not just gabriel, but the characters around him. he has a wonderful supporting cast of supporting characters around him. not just israeli spies. he has friends in the vatican, in london, art dealers, art thieves, a lovely wife. don't forget the wife. never forget the wife. >> i seem to recall in one of your books you had a character named nora. >> what was she like? >> she was so horrendous to her husband that she drove him --

>> how long have you known each other? >> about 20 years. >> so horrendous to her husband -- >> was he a chef? >> no a cia officer who sold his soul to get away from nora. >> thanks a lot. >> if you were casting gabriel, who would you cast? >> charlie rose. i think that you are -- >> that's what i need. another job. >> an assassin, charlie rose. >> i've never cast anyone in my head. there are a number of really wonderful actors who would like to play the role. >> where are we in this process of bringing gabriel on to the big screen? >> we're trying. movie deals are complicated instruments. they are more complicated for someone like me who has so many books dedicated to one character. i'm working on it. >> it's great to have you here. the book is called "the fallen angel." it's on sale now. that does it for us this morning. up next your local news. so we will see you tomorrow

right here on "cbs this morning." gayle king will be here. norah o'donnell will be here, i'll be here. and the world each day gets mor,

>> this is a cbs 5 eyewitness news morning update. >> good morning everyone is 8:55 a.m. and i'm here with your cbs 5 headlines. ileana lopez expected to testify in the ethics hearing of her husband, the sherrif ross mirkarimi. she has been living in native venezuela for the past few months. the service is a board of supervisors has decided to delay key vote on a multibillion-dollar hostile expansion project. the proposal includes the construction of a new hospital on cathedral hill along with other seismic upgrades. the board will revisit the issue in two weeks. in the wake of the facebook ipo,

the social media giant is losing both value and users. the company's stock is worth just about 75% of its value before going public and now a technology analyst saying that facebook has lost 1.1% of its users in the past six months. here is elizabeth with the forecast. >> we have overcast skies to start off with and by this afternoon we will see a return of the sun shined as low clouds and fog will burn off. we are watching a low pressure system to the north of the bay area bringing us unseasonably cool temperatures. but by this afternoon it will be slightly warmer especially in the inland spots. 60s around the bay but upper seventies and very low '80s in livermore, concord, and fairfield. a warming trend in the bay area with warmer to amateurs by tomorrow and friday. with the warmest and which is by the weekend. a look at your time saver traffic coming up next.

>> good morning, here's a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza where the morning commute is winding down. less delay is, less cars, you may see a few extra slow and go conditions as you work your way up the incline, a few accidents to report. one of them 101, that has just been cleared but another one at 280. this is northbound 280, multiple vehicles involved but not to bad as far as delays, northbound 85 slow and go conditions. blocking the roadway and you can see that traffic is sluggish as you approach the scene.

slow through downtown san jose. that accident still stuck there but dealers are improving. traffic slow and go as you passed the scene. have a wonderful day everyone. ,,,,,,

>> rachael: today...you know, you have a 13-year-old now, who should the boys, now or later, be more afraid of, are or your husband? >> my husband, barack pretends like he'll handle this so well when it happens. i'm gonna -- it's gonna be fun to watch. [cheers and applause] >> rachael: welcome, everybody, welcome. she is fun to watch and certainly fun to visit with. that was just a sneak peek at my exclusive sitdown with our first lady at the park lawn elementary