george zimmerman wants to apologize to trayvon martin's parents. zimmerman gave his first lengthy interview since the night he shot and killed the florida teenager. he also said he was not following martin even though he told a police dispatcher that's exactly what he was doing. said zimmerman, i meant i was going in t same direction as him to keep an eye on him so that i could tell randall pinkston reports, zimmerman again said he shot in self-defense. >> i do wish that there was something, anything i could have done that wouldn't have put me in the position where i had to take his life. >> george zimmerman says his confrontation with trayvon martin didn't last long before martin started throwing punches. in an interview with fox newschannel shawn hannity zimmerman recalls how he called police about a suspicious person last february. and how martin approached him.

>> he asked me what my problem was. i looked up and he punched me and broke my nose. >> zimmerman appeared with his attorney, mark o'mara. the neighborhood watch captain has been free since posting bond on july 6th. he claims the unarmed teen attacked him while he was patrolling a gated community in sanford, florida. martin's family reports -- zimmerman said as the two struggled that night, he felt his life was in danger. >> he said, you're going to die night. and took one hand off of my mouth and i felt it going down my chest towards my belt, my holster. that's when i didn't have any more time. i feel that it was all god's plan. >> trayvon's father, tracy martin, took exception telling the associated press there is no way god wanted george zimmerman to murder my teenage son. randall pinkston, cbs news. this morning bulgaria's interior minister says a suicide bomber carried out yesterday's

attack on a bus carrying israeli tourists. he was carrying a michigan driver's license. the fbi is determining whether or not it was a fake. the israelis were boarding a bus at an airport. the flight had just arrived from tel aviv. the bus was destroyed. at least eight were killed including the bomber and 30 wounded. israel blames iran and vows revenge. the obama administration says the brazen bombing of the national security building in syria says the assad government is losing control. the rebels that claim they planted the bomb say they planned the attack for months. three leaders were killed, the defense minister, his deputy and a former defense minister one rebel leader hopes this is the beginning of the end of the assad regime. elizabeth palmer has the report. >> a funeral turns to celebration when mourners learn that the defense minister was dead. across the country in this savage civil war, activists celebrated because it struck

inside the syrian regime. the dead men were, like everyone else in the room, masterminding the plan to crush syria's uprising. they were meeting in the national security headquarters near the center of damascus. even though fighting has come uncomfortably close these past four days, it still should have been one of the safest buildings in the country. the opposition free syrian army has claimed responsibility for the bombing syria's information minister blames arab and western governments. their intelligence agencies and spies are responsible he said. a syrian official did tell me the government is horrified at how easily it appears the bomber entered the building. almost immediately after the blast, a new defense minister was appointed and for the first time state television broadcast these pictures meant to reassure the public. on the one hand, they do show

syrian soldiers taking on the armed opposition. on the other hand, they are proof that a deadly opposition offensive is in the heart of the syrian capital. immediately after the bombing, many people wondered whether president al assad himself had been in that meeting. but the syrian news agency says no, he himself appointed the new syrian defense minister. in other words, he is alive. however, he has not been seen in public. wherever he is, he must be wondering who, if anyone, he can trust. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. the taliban says it's responsible for an attack on a nato convoy in afghanistan. a bomb blew up a fuel tanker. in northern afghanistan. the taliban fighters opened fire on the rest of the convoy. 22 trucks holding supplies for u.s. troops were destroyed. elsewhere, three nato troops were killed, two by a roadside bomb and nine afghan troops were killed in an ambush. a spokesman for secretary of state hillary clinton says

accusations against her top aide are nothing but vicious and disgusting lies. several members of congress want the government to investigate huma abedin for ties to the muslim brotherhood. allegedly. tara mergener reports from washington. >> huma abedin has been by hillary clinton's side since 1996. >> abedin represents what is best about america. >> michele bachmann wants the inspector general's office to investigate her. bachmann claims deputy chief of staff has three family members, her late father, her mother and her brother connected to muslim brotherhood operatives and/or organizations. her position affords her routine access to the secretary and to policy making. bachmann says the state department made several decisions which see believes are favorable to the muslim brotherhood. i come to the floor today -- >> in a floor speech, john mccain called her a loyal

american. >> these attacks have no logic, no basis and no merit and they need to stop. >> congresswoman bachmann found abedin's alleged connections to the muslim brotherhood in a paper from a conservative think tank called the center for security policy. senator mccain calls the report scurrilous. >> these sinister accusations rest solely on unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of huma's family. >> congressman keith ellison, a practicing muslim, believes bachmann may have other motives. >> if you're not the right religion or background in some way in her judgment, then you're just suspicious. >> she is married to former congressman anthony weiner. >> now bachmann says her words are being distorted. in a statement she says her intent was to outline syria's national security concerns and get answers about the muslim brotherhood's access to top obama administration officials. terrell?

>> tara mergener in washington for us. tara, thank you so much. we go to the supreme court now. justice scalia says reports that he is feuding with chief justice john roberts is are off the mark. during an interview on piers morgan tonight, scalia said they clash legally but not personally. >> you should not believe what you read about the court in the newspapers because the information has either been made up or given to the newspapers by somebody who is violating a confidence, which means that person is not reliable. >> you've had no falling out with justice roberts? >> i'm not going to talk about -- no. i haven't had a falling out with justice roberts. >> scalia also said the court is not at all a political institution. to politics. in the neck-and-neck race for the white house, the just released cbs news new york times poll finds president obama and mitt romney effectively tied. 79% of those surveyed said they've made up their mind who

they will vote for. 20% said it's too early to decide. speaking in ohio yesterday, romney blasted the president saying mr. obama attacks success. >> he tries to divide america, tear america apart. he tries to diminish those who have been successful in one walk of life or another. it's simply wrong. >> today president obama begins a two-day campaign trip to florida. we'll take a quick break on this thursday morning. when we come back, a line of powerful storms socks the northeast and even blacks out a report by a tv weatherman. t a report by a tv weatherman. if you have copd like i do, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms.

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on vacation on boats, et cetera. this is a dangerous -- >> well then, that cbs station wbz, in boston a weather report was rudely interrupted by that's right the weather. a nearby lightning strike knocked out the lights to the studio. what do you do? leaving that forecast silhouetted by the storm. i don't want to be in that control room. there will be more storm activity across the country today. the big story in the midwest continues to be the drought and the heat continues to be the big story. a huge part of the nation's mid section from the mississippi river valley westward will swelter again with highs in the 90s and 100s while farmers pray for rain. to revive their land. cbs "moneywatch" time on this thursday. a new report shows how hard the nation's housing crisis is affecting older americans. a proposal to tax drivers by the mile. ashley morrison here in new york with more. ash, good morning. >> good morning terrell. the aarp says more than a million americans over the age of 50 lost their homes during

the mortgage crisis and millions more are at risk. the report finds about 600,000 older americans are in foreclosure and 3.5 million hold mortgages that are underwater. >> the rise in u.s. housing, making asian markets a bit of a bounce. the nikkei went up almost 1% and the hang seng jumped over 1.5%. on wall street, stocks were lifted for a second straight day. the dow was up 103 point and the nasdaq added 32. it was a rough day for capital one. the credit card company can reported its second quarter profits were down 90% and the company was ordered by the government to pay a $210 million fine. capital one allegedly misled consumers into buying costly credit card services. city leaders were considering a new tax to fix san francisco's potholes. transportation planners are looking at charging drivers 10 cents for every mile they travel.

that could add up to about $1300 a year on average. but they admit, this tax will not be a reality for some time. something tells me, terrell, that's not going to go over very well either. >> duh. that's what i was thinking. that ain't happening. ashley morrison here in new york. thank you so much. take a quick break. coming up, we'll have your weather forecast and in sports, we go to london. swimmer michael phelps could become the top medal winner in history. his obstacle, a friend and fellow team member. s obstacle, a friend and fellow team member. untans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. thunderstorms in new york, 85. mostly sunny in miami, 93. thunderstorms in chicago, 82. partly sunny skies in dallas, 98. partly sunny skies in los angeles, 81. let's check your national forecast. we'll see scattered thunderstorms across much of the eastern half of the country and from eastern wisconsin to the ohio valley. some of the storms will produce hail and heavy downpours. fierce heat continues in the plains. showers and thunderstorms likely along the west coast and inland as far as idaho. in sports this morning, team usa will have its hands full and many events at the london olympics starting a week from tomorrow. but in swimming, the americans have a pair of not so secret weapons. one is michael phelps who could wind up with more olympic medals than anyone in history. the other is one of his closest friends. bigad shaban reports. >> michael phelps is back in the water hoping to add to his olympic medal collection at the london games.

he has 16 already. 8 from the last summer olympics in beijing. >> the only thing i'm worried about is myself and preparing myself to go out and represent my country and step up wearing the stars and stripes and try to swim as fast as i can. >> but this time, phelps finds himself up against fellow american ryan lochte. they're fierce rivals in the pool but they're also friends. >> we have a great relationship. we have a great rivalry and a great friendship. i mean, last night he was in my room and we were playing cards. >> if phelps earns medals in just three of the seven events he's expected to compete in, he'll break a world's record and become the most decorated olympian in history. >> he's probably the hardest racer i've ever came across. >> but lochte is also a tough competitor with six olympic medals already and he's hungry for more. bigad shaban, cbs news, knoxville, tennessee. whatever happens, the london olympics will most likely be his last.

he says he's retiring. in case you were wondering, he's only 27. to baseball now, atlanta hosting san francisco. game tied into the 11th inning after a hit batter and a walk. brandon crawford fouled one off his knee, then launched a home run into the right field seats. then two out, two on, the giants second three-run homer of the inning. san francisco wins 9-4. in oakland, tied in the bottom of the ninth, brandon hicks smashed his first major league home run. a solo shot deep to center giving the as a walk-off win and hicks a wild welcome at home plate. finally at yankees stadium, third baseman, brett lawrie went after a pop-up and tumbled into a deep camera well next to the dugout. this looked pretty bad. but lawrie suffered only a bruised calf and hopes to play tomorrow. the yankees won that rain-shortened game 6-0. when we come back on a thursday, the man arrested for getting

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c., thunderstorms, 94. same deal in atlanta, 92. thunderstorms in st. louis, 96. also in denver, 94. partly sunny skies in seattle, 79 degrees. nasa has released satellite pictures of a giant iceberg breaking away from a glacier in greenland. the pictures taken this week show a huge ice shell cracking and breaking up. the largest piece is an iceberg of 46 square miles, twice the size of manhattan island. scientists say it happened because greenland is warming five times faster than the

global average. an update on that oregon man who took off his clothes at the portland airport, he was found not guilty of indecent exposure. john brennan said he was protesting what he thought were invasive measures by security personnel. a judge ruled brennan is protected by free speech rights. getting any ideas? imagine working 70 years at one job. that's how long al blackman has been a mechanic at the airport. here in new york. he turns 87 next month and started when he was 16. guess how much he made in 1942? 50 cents an hour. he still reports to work every day for american airlines and has no plans to retire to mark his incredible achievement, he got to ride in a vintage dc 3. now a royal toast. we don't mean the bubbly. a british auction house says it piece of toast was given to prince charles. he gave the uneaten toast to a

woman who kept it all these years in a teacup. the 83-year-old woman hopes a collector will pay as much as $800 for it. coming up after your local news, trayvon martin's parents respond to george zimmerman saying he's sorry for killing their son. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." sometimes life can be well,

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oh, say can you see ♪ that is william dillon singing the star-spangled banner. at last night's tampa bay rays game in florida. he spent 27 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. four years ago dna evidence led to his exoneration and release before his decade behind bars, he was a promising young pitcher. a report out yesterday exposed a glaring hole in air security. it turns out u.s. citizens considered a terror threat and banned from flying on passenger planes can still go to flight school and get a pilot's license. bob orr explains, that same gap applies to people who are in this country illegally. the security hole was first

exposed by the 9/11 hijackers. investigators learned that shortly before the attacks, three of the four al qaeda pilots had taken flying lessons at u.s. flight schools. 11 years later, that vulnerability remains. a new government investigation reveals between 2006 and 2011, u.s. flight schools continued to train some foreign students who had not undergone background security checks. steven lord of the government accountability office told congress the exact number is secret. >> but some that are foreign nationals holding pilot's licenses were not in the tsa's database, indicating that some foreign nationals had not been vetted before receiving flight training and ultimately receiving pilot's licenses. >> at one flight school, tj aviation near boston, immigration and customs enforcement agents found 25 foreign students who were in the u.s. illegally taking flight lessons.

three of them had obtained faa pilot's licenses. one was certified to fly for an airline. in addition, the owner of the school was also in the country illegally. he managed to become certified as a cargo pilot and flight instructor without ever going through the required tsa security check. the gao investigation turned up another bizarre security loophole. u.s. citizens on the no fly list can still take flight lessons. that boston flight school, tj aviation, is now out of business. records show the tsa is getting better in vetting foreign students before they're admitted to u.s. flight schools. officials can see the system is still not perfect. so it's possible a terrorist looking for training could still exploit the vulnerability. bob orr, cbs news, washington. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," trayvon martin's parents react to george zimmerman's first television interview, plus. inspiration story of spencer

west who has no legs will talk about climbing mount kilimanjaro. actor jeff daniels on what it's like to play a fictional cable news anchor on hbo new hit series "the newsroom." want to hear what he has to say about that. that and more coming up later on "cbs this morning." that is the "cbs morning news," i'm terrell brown. take care everybody. news," i'm terrell brown. take care everybody. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com www.vitac.com

i'm so scared of all this madness ross mercury news wire

takes the stand. she's already accused of changing her story wide zimmerman says he was forced to shoot the team in a tv interview a roadwork in full swing a will tell you what to avoid this morning it is july 19th, the time is 430 and yesterday the land of low because explain comments on hurt infamous video. she is going to take the stand again today to resume testifying. she testified for 45 minutes last night.