session on health care tuesday to deal with mounting opposition to their bill. >> good morning, and thanks for joining us. i'm michelle gielan. the president launched an aggressive offensive against growing opposition and a timeline that appears to be slipping. tonight, mr. obama holds a primetime news conference. susan roberts is in washington

with details. >> reporter: good morning. president obama promised health care reform during the campaign. now he's trying to do what he said he would do. he'll make his pitch in a primetime news conference tonight. tonight, president obama will try to asure the public and convince congress that health care reform won't break the bank. >> i want to put the pressure on. ultimately, the test is, is this a bill i think will be better for the american people than not? if it's not, we'll keep at it. >> reporter: the plan will cost an estimated $1 trillion. but the president insists it won't add to the deficit. the goal is to hold down soaring health care costs while expanding coverage to most of the 46 million uninsured. >> mr. president, it's time to scrap this bill. >> reporter: republicans aren't burjing. they argue the august deadline is a case of doing too much too soon. the gop isn't the only group putting up a fight over the proposal. president obama is facing tough opposition from some members of

his own party. many democrats are against the proposed surtax on the wealthy. it adds an extra 1 to 5.4% to individuals making over $280,000 or families making over $350,000. virginia congressman jerry conley represents one of the richest districts in the country. he's urging lawmakers to find the money elsewhere. >> the insurance industry hasn't put a dime on the table yet. >> reporter: despite the criticism, president obama is optimistic that progress is being made. and he warns the price tag opponents keep attacking will only get worse without a major overhaul. and the president's political strategy is pretty much forth right. he wants the committees to move their bills through congress, debate them and reconcile in the house and senate until they both have a friinal product. michelle? >> yep, it's a long process.

susan, thanks. the message from secretary much state hillary clinton to the people of asia is direct and simple. the united states is back. clinton arrived in thailand in the city of phuket for a two-day security meeting. on the cbs money watch, stocks in asia edged up this morning. claire leka is here with more. >> good morning to you. asian stocks moved higher overnight. the nikkei rose 0.75%. coca-cola and caterpillar had big earnings, a sign that the worst of the recession is over. the dow jones industrial average starts the day at a six-month high, up 67 points. the nasdaq begins up nearly seven. times are still tough, but apple continues to shine. that could be enough for stocks

to extend their gains today. apple sold more than 5 million iphones last quarter. it also slashed prices on its laptops, prompting those to fly off store shelves. the company turned in another record quarter as profits jumped 15% in the second three months of the year to $1.25 billion. sales soared 12%. the drum beat of earnings continue today. boeing and delta and morgan stanley and ebay are all on deck. it's day two of ben bern anke o the hill. the fed chairman is sure to face more tough questions about the fed's tough actions during the heat of the financial crisis. yesterday, bernanke said the economy was on track to turn around this year but at a slow pace. he also tried to reassure investors and lawmakers that the fed has an exit strategy. >> the extraordinary measures we have taken in response to the

financial crisis and the recession can be withdrawn in a smooth and timely manner, as needed. >> one promising sign for the economy, a key index of leading economic indicators, which plunged late last year is now rocketing back up. however, a critical shopping season is approaching back to school. one-third of parents say they plan to spend less this year. that could mean trouble for the owners of shopping malls. even along new york's madison avenue, some of the priciest real estate, 15% of stores are vacant or about to be. >> thank you. tempers flared outside south korea's parliament this morning. hundreds of lawmakers and their aides were locked in a scuffle. at issue was a contentious media reform law. south korean tv reports some people were injured. it was lights out across asia this morning. the sun was thrown into darkness

by a record solar eclipse. millions watched as the sun passed between the moon and earth before dawn. >> reporter: it was the longest total eclipse of the sun this century. across asia, people gathered outside, hoping to watch it. although it is monsoon season. in many areas, there were heavy clouds. the eclipse first became visuals in india, where thousands gathered by the river to observe and pray. as the sun disappeared behind the moon. the path of the eclipse made its way against nepal, myanmar and bangladesh and went straight through the middle of china, passing over shanghai before it ended over the pacific ocean south of japan. the total eclipse lasted 6:30 minutes, during which time the outer corona of the sun was visible around the moon. there will not be a longer eclipse until the year 2132.

i see it, i see it, in the chinese capital of beijing. scientists warned people not to stare at the eclipse with the nakedive naked eye. many people had special dark glasses. in hanoi, some people found a different solution. "i watched the reflection in the lake." in manila in the philippines, they were lucky. >> it's been raining cats and dogs and then all of a sudden you have a break. >> reporter: in thailand, people were nervous about the eclipse because of old legends about an angry god eating the sun. monks held ceremonies to protect their country in the words of one man. but for most viewers of the eclipse, it inspired feelings of wonder and awe. as the sun disappeared and then reappeared, bringing its light back to a grateful planet earth. terry mccarthy, cbs news,

shanghai. >> just ahead on the "morning news," an alarming jump in h1n1 flu deaths. plus, a jaw-dropping plane crash and the pilot who lived to tell the story. captioning funded by cbs

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virus. china has one of the most aggressive campaigns to quarantine the flu. >> reporter: chinese health officials in masks and hazmat suits board international flights and point temperature guns at people's foreheads. if someone shows symptoms of the swine flu, authorities track down those seated within three rose of that passenger. just some of the extreme measures china is taking to prevent the spread of the virus. these british schoolchildren in beijing are finally able to remove their masks and breathe freely after chinese authorities forced them into quarantine in their oaths for seven days. >> we got confined to our floor, our corridor and then our rooms. >> reporter: back in 2003, beijing was criticized for not acting quickly enough to contain the deadly sars outbreak. the chinese government

quarantined more than 100 visiting students and teachers arch classmates came down with swine flu. a group of american students in china for a volleyball camp reportedly being quarantined at the same hotel. a few americans were among the 20 british students who were allowed to leave the hotel in the chinese capital tuesday. >> it's quite scary, yeah. these people in big suits surround you and make you feel contaminated. >> reporter: the majority of his classmates remain confined to their hotel room until chinese authorities are convinced they're not contagious. >> straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather. in sports, a dramatic extra innings homer as the phillies win again. i never thought it could happen to me... a heart attack at 53. i had felt fine. but turns out...

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lakes and ohio valley. thunderstorms are likely from the tennessee valley to the gulf coast. it'll be a beautiful afternoon across the northern plains. it stays hot throughout the northwest. and the southwest will see another round of late day and evening thunderstorms. in sports, baseball's defending world series champs, the philadelphia phillies are on their longest winning streak in 18 years. in the 13th inning, jayson werth had a homer with two outs to give the phillies their tenth straight win over the chicago cubs. in houston, carlos lee hit a grand slam as the astros pounded st. louis, 11-6. they beat the cardinals for the second straight night and are now two games back. at yankee stadium, there was a two-run homer and they beat the orioles for their second straight victory. the yanks are alone in first

place in the a.l. east. in kansas city, the angels' aybar had three hits in a double-header. in the night cap, aybar had five more hits as the angels beat k. state. in colombia, a hugging lion you have to see to believe. an african lion celebrating his birthday yesterday gave a hug to the woman who rescued him from abuse in a traveling circus eight years ago. anna torres said that the lion's hug is the most sincere one she's ever gotten in her life. cute. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. bluegrass at the white house.

on the cbs morning news,

here's a look at today's weather. it'll be a gray and foggy day around the eastern great lakes and ohio valleys. thunderstorms will rumble across the south. the southwest will be stormy and the northwest stays hot. here's another look at this morning's top stories. the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century darkened a large part of asia this morning. the sun was blocked by the moon in six minutes in some cases. many gathered to watch. >> reporter: we're an hour and a half southeast of shanghai beside a lake with a bunch of americans led by scientists from m.i.t. hoping beyond hope that the sun is going to show through the clouds here. we've seen the first contact, which was about an hour ago. we're about five minutes away from totality. we can see sometimes a little -- looks like a shaving of a thumbnail through the clouds.

it's trying hard. we're hopeful we'll see the totality. >> 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 -- whoo. >> reporter: we have totality. you can see the corona. >> and president obama is pushing his case for health care reform. he's expected to discuss his plans during a news conference tonight. mr. obama told katie couric he has no intention of signing a bill that adds to the deficit. >> i won't sign a bill that i think does not reduce costs, does not keep deficit neutral and does not benefit middle class families in america. >> the president wants congress to pass legislation before the august recess but won't sign what he considers a bad bill. it was music night last night at the white house. it came complete with a little twang and a lot of heartfelt feeling. susan roberts joins us again from washington with more on that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. as you know, one of first lady michelle obama's ongoing

projects is to highlight music. last night, it was country music. ♪ >> reporter: alison krauss and her band played the east room before an appreciative audience, including the first family, get members and other guests. president obama did the introductions. >> i know folks think i'm a city boy. but i do appreciate listening to country music. because like all americans, i appreciate the broad and indelible impact that country has had on our nation. >> reporter: also on the bill was the singer brad paisley and country legend charlie pride. earlier in the day, krauss and paisley gave a seminar on songwriting for 120 high school students. the show last month featured another unique music form, jazz. last night, president obama praised country artists as

storytellers with a commitment to telling the truth. >> for telling the truth like it is without pulling punches. they proclaimed country music, three cords and the truth. garth brooks said its honesty, sin serity and real life to the hit. ♪ i don't hardly know you ♪ but i'd be willing to show you ♪ ♪ i know a way to make you smile ♪ >> reporter: the third evening in the series will be devoted to classical music. how much fun would that be to line up your personal guest at the white house? >> that would be great. all i can think is sasha and malia have front row seats to this. what lucky girls. thanks. i'm michelle gielan. this is the cbs "morning news." ♪ diabetics on medicare. hello, i'm john fox---you may know that i'm a professional bass fisherman.

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good morning, everybody. let's say hello to tim williams. >> good morning, everyone. deaf fitly recovering from some strong storms that rolled through here last night. temperatures very muggy out there and there are some fog advisories because of all that warm moist air sitting and cooling. we only have just a few little light showers down south of the area and everything else has moved to the north. daytimehigh today in the warm mid-80s. we'll have the first warning forecast coming up in a minute. maryland is facing a multimillion dollar budget deficit. dproeing concern among state workers, their jobs could be on the chopping block. two elementary school children handcuffed and hauled off to jail. and total eclipse of the sun. the longest solar eclipse of the century takes place in

asia. more news and first warning weather right after this. tim, nobody ever asks me what i want to be when i grow up. maybe it's your name. richard? no, smucker. (laughs) (announcer) when your last name is smucker and you live in orrville, everyone knows what you'll do when you grow up. you're gonna make the world's best jam.

i love jam. (announcer) for five generations, with a name like smucker's, it has to be good.

and good morning, everybody. we've made it to wednesday morning, not a bad start out there after storms rolled through last night. i was going to say overnight but it was really last night as we're establishing. i'm mary in for don scott this week. tim is in for marty and sharon will have traffic in just a minute but first we'll start with tim. >> some folks are saying what storms are you talking about. they hader