>> they just, like, collided and broke up sdplor tonight tragedy over the hudson. a small plane and new york city sightseeing helicopter collide. officials believe all nine people on board died. i'm jeff glor. also tonight... >> i, sonia sotomayor, do solemnly swear... sfwlor an historic moment at the u.s. supreme court. sonia sotomayor takes the oath as the first hispanic justice. >> so help me god. >> glor: meet the job savers, big-name companies that have yet to lay off one employee in this recession. and abbey road anniversary.

40 years ago today the beatles took that famous walk. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with jeff glor. >> glor: good evening. seven months after a miracle plane landing on the hudson river in new york there was another incident today, this one with a lot different result. shortly after noon, a small plane and sightseeing helicopter collided. this is what it looked like moments after that collision. this happened between lower manhattan and new jersey, and officials say all nine people on board were killed. "early show" weather anchor dave price is a licensed private pilot who flew this route yesterday. he joins us from near the crash site tonight. dave, good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening to you jeff. this area over the hudson river where the collision occurred has spectacular views that pilots and their passengers flock to see. but it's a narrow corridor, and there's little room for error. >> there's a-- like a big puff

of smoke, and a boom, a couple of seconds afterwards. >> reporter: rescue crews from new york and new jersey raced to the hudson river to search for survivors from the midair collision but that effort was for naught. >> this has changed from a rescue to a recovery mission. >> reporter: there were five italian tourists on a sight seeing helicopter, along with its pilot, and three people aboard a small, single-engine prop plane. the liberty tour's euro copter a-star 350 just took off from manhattan's west side. the piper left new jersey's teterboro airport bound for the jerdzy shore. both were soon over the hudson. >> it is a crowded, busy area, and generally pilots that fly in this area are well trained and they certainly have plenty of practice flying there. >> link in the city you see helicopters touring around manhattan and it was pretty shocking. >> reporter: at this point it was unknown what communication was broadcast in either

aircraft. in this narrow corridor, pilots typically announce their location, direction, altitude and intention. >> we heard a pop and we looked and we saw a small plane and a helicopter. they had apparently collided and they immediately fell into the river. >> reporter: witnesses say both aircraft sank quickly. divers located the wreckage of the helicopter 30 feet below the water's surface in murky conditions. memories are still fresh here of the celebrated us airways emergency landing on the same waters in january. today's outcome, though, tragically different. >> this is not going to have a happy ending like when the airbus went down in the river where everybody survived. >> reporter: now, late this afternoon, the n.t.s.b. has dispatched a "go" team to piece together just how this crash could have happened on what should have been a perfect day for flying. jeff. >> glor: dave, as we mentioned off the top, you did just fly this route yesterday. we were talking about this yesterday morning. how difficult is it? >> well, this airspace is tricky

even for experienced pilots. you have low-altitude flying-- under 1,000 feet in most cases -- lots of aircraft and high speeds. it doesn't give you a lot of options, room, or time to react. so it's tough. >> glor: all right, david price joining us from new york tonight. dave, thank you for your time. now, two days after winning senate confirmation, sonia sotomayor took the oath today as the 111th justice of the u.s. supreme court. that ceremony was historic on a number of counts. kimberly dozier in washington has more. >> i, sonia sotomayor... >> reporter: sonia sotomayor today became the first hispanic, the third minority, and the third woman to join the supreme court in more than 200 years. >> as an associate justice... >> reporter: and it's the first time we've seen this moment on tv. chief justice john roberts swearing in the curt's newest member. >> congratulationses and welcome to the court. >> reporter: her mother was atad

sotomayor on her own. she told her daughter she could become anything she put her mind to. today, the self-described puerto rican girl from the south bronx became living proof of that. and her moment here-- >> go, sonia! >> ...was celebrated across her home town. >> i'm just joyous. she's latina. >> this is our moment. latino moment, people of color. >> reporter: some are hoping she'll champion women's and minority rights. others fear she'll lean left as the first appointee by a democratic president in 15 years. >> a judge embraces empathy at the expense of objectivity. >> reporter: the experts say it often takes three to four years before a new justice's pattern becomes clear. she's replacing david souter, who turned out to be far more liberal than the first bush white house expected. >> my sense is she is going to be moderately liberal, like

justice souter was, and in some ways more conservative. >> reporter: her day of work comes early. the court season officially begins in october but there's a special session on campaign finance reform in september. her colleagues say she's already started studying the case. jeff. >> glor: all right, kimberly dozier in washington this evening. kimberly, thank you. we've heard a lot of past couple of months about justice sonia sotomayor's long career as a lawyer, prosecutor, and federal judge. but her friends say she has another, more personable side. wyatt andrews has that story. >> reporter: what you might not know about sonia sotomayor is that she's not always the reserved, workaholic judge she portrayed in the senate hearings. >> judge sotomayor, she's so different. ( applause ) >> reporter: different because, according to friends like former law clerk allison barked of,let judge has a big, engaging, new york personality. >> yeah. she is fun. she-- she works hard and plays hard. >> she's incredibly funny. >> reporter: melissa murray

clerked for two federal judges, including sotomayor, and when both judges came to melissa's wedding, sotomayor challenged the other judge to a dance-off. >> i think people enjoyed seeing that, seeing two federal judges duel it out on the dance floor. >> reporter: the judge is also known for her cant-miss christmas parties which included salsa dancing inside the federal court of appeals in manhattan. >> out in the hallway. >> of the courthouse. >> in the courthouse with a great spread of food and usually a d.j.. >> reporter: but what allison always recalled from the party and sotomayor knew and invited everyone in the courthouse. >> the peel who worked in the cafeteria, the security guards, the custodian are equally as important as her colleagues. >> reporter: in manhattan today, a group at the development school for youth, celebrated the judge's swearing in. for year, sotomayor has asked them, disadvantaged kids from the inner city, to come to court and stage a mock trial of "goldilocks" on burglary

charges. as they became the jury, prosecution, and the witnesses, melissa recalls seeing the light go on. >> the underlying goal is to make sure tathese kids see that there's something else that's possible. >> reporter: to her friends, this is what what the public did not see in the hearings-- a woman who, the more powerful she got, the less she changed. one of her best friends is federal judge miriam cederbam. >> i think judge sotomayor will be an inspiration to many people she has been already. >> reporter: it's not as if the supreme court doesn't already have its engaging characters or a fun christmas party. it has both. but sotomayor is bringing another level of energy and high-octane personality to the nation's highest court. wyatt andrews, cbs news, at the supreme court. >> glor: in his weekly radio address today, president obama went after critics of health care reform. he said they've been misleading the public and spreading "outlandish rumors" to prevent reform.

mr. obama is staking a lot on winning the health care battle. and lately he is not having an easy time. cbs's john dickerson has more. >> reporter: with members of congress hearing firsthand from their constituents, president obama says he thinks the khans for health care reform will improve, but he may be the only one. >> when people are out of washington, that is the most precarious time for this legislation. and so the president's going to have to stay connected. he can't afford to lose one day. >> reporter: former senator tom daschle would know. he tried to get president clinton's health care bill through congress in the early 90s. so did pollster stan greenburg. >> we're at a tipping point. we're at a moment where we have finally reached a point where there's some progress in the congress but the public's right at the edge. >> reporter: that's because there are five bills, thousands of pages of different policies. the public is, understandably, confused, but the president may have no one to blame but himself. >> you will pass and i will sign >> reporter: mr. clinton

dictated terms to congress and failed. mr. obama took the opposite approach. >> one of the approaches that i've tried to take is to not just put down my plan and say, "it's my way or the highway." >> watch congress do its work. are you kidding? the u.s. congress. and that's why they have to take the prosback, i think now, to the white house and go at this in a very different way. >> reporter: so now the president will try to convince people with coverage that they're not going to lose it. that will be a tough sell. a recent cbs nus/"new york times" poll says more than two-thirds worry a government plan will affect the quality of their care. almost three-quarters think it will limit their access. 81% say it will lead to job cuts. the deficit is another concern. >> when they hear that this will cost a trillion dollars, that it will race the deficit by about $260-plus billion that thurts as well. >> reporter: republicans feel they've got a winning argument. after costly bank bailouts and stimulus spending at a say no more. president obama knows what he's

fighting against but he still has to wait for congress to give him a specific program that he fight for and then he's got to hope by that time the american people are still willing to listen. >> glor: coming up on tonight's cbs evening news, is this young man the next big star in the world of sports? and when we come back, two big companies that are saying no to layoffs. how about a swim? i'm a little irregular today. don't you eat activia? for my little issues? they're not that bad. summer's no time to put up with even occasional digestive problems. believe me, once they go away, it's amazing how good you feel. announcer: activia is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system in two weeks. summer's a wastin'... take the activia challenge now. it works, or it's free. ♪ activia

>> glor: even though the government reported the unemployment rate went down in july from 9.5% to 9.4, many economists expect the rate to hit double digits before going down again for good. some companies, though, are bucking the trend, doing anything they can to keep workers. mark strassmann has two cases in point.

>> amen. >> reporter: alonzo and dolanda burns needed both their incomes and were worried. her job was moving to texas. >> i'm going to miss your first game. >> reporter: and unless she moved there from columbus, georgia, she'd lose her job. but he worked at aflac which has no offices in texas. >> it would be a sacrifice somewhere. >> glor: and a job loss. >> and a job loss. >> reporter: aflac has 4700 employees and a reputation of doing whatever it takes to keep all of thel. >> we will let an unproductive worker go in a minute but if you're a great employee we want to do everything in our power to keep you. >> reporter: and aflac was determined to keep burns. so the company retrained him to telecommute from the family's new home in texas. >> it meant the world to the whole family. >> reporter: aflac offers insurance to customers and a different peace of mind to employee. it's on a short list of major american companies that has never laid off anyone. another one is the container

store. so how's business? >> it's not very good. our sales are down. >> reporter: so in dallas, c.e.o. kip tindell has cut costs everywhere but his payroll. >> i do worry sometimes that some people kneejerk the layoff as the first option. it should certainly be the last option. >> reporter: aflac's c.e.o. gave up his bonus and golden parachute, worth about $16 million, and helped save 500 jobs. >> i think it did send a message to employees because the employees know they care. >> reporter: if business gets significantly worse, both c.e.o.ses say, layoffs could still happen. >> we've got three sales going on right now. >> reporter: but susan ough doesn't brood about it. >> if that were to happen i would sincerely know that everything had been done to avoid that. >> reporter: with so much job insecurity out there-- >> do something! >> reporter: ...some workers actually trust their paychecks will keep coming. >> my hero!

>> reporter: mark strassmann, cbs news, columbus, georgia. major league baseball today said some of the players on a list of those who tested positive for drug use in 2003 did not necessarily test positive for steroids, and the players union said some of the positives may have been caused by nutritionald supplements. boston slugger david ortiz, whose name is on the list, denied today ever using steroids but said he used some supplements. next up on tonight's cbs evening news... meet the young man who some say has the potential to be better than tiger woods. no shocks. dulcolax stool softener provides stimulant-free constipation relief that's gradual and comfortable, like nature intended. dulcolax stool softener. feeling free to be. singers: feelin' free.

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new activia smoothies. ♪ activiaaa! >> glor: alongside the veterans competing in this weekend's bridgestone invitational in ohio is a young man from northern ireland. his name may not be familiar to inch yet, but that mike changing and that is tonight's "weekend journal." the extraordinary promise of young rory mcilroy. when you've been anointed one of the world's next great sports stars it's not impossible to meet expectations, but it's not easy. which is why all eyes in the golfing world are on rory mcilroy right now. from the start, mcilroy's destiny seemed sealed.

at age two, a 40-yard drive on the golf course. he was hitting holes in one by nine, played his first professional event at 16, and went pro at 17. the kind of expectations his accomplishments create can be crushing. but now 20, mcilroy, from a small coastal village in northern ireland called hollywood-- if you can believe it-- it trying not to get swept up in the star machine. >> i know that i've got a long career ahead of me and i'm just trying to pace myself a little bit. >> thank you! >> no problem. >> glor: you come from a working class background. has that helped you? >> i think so. i know how hard i've worked and i know how hard my parents have worked. >> reporter: to support their son's dream, mcilroy's mother worked night shifts at a factory his father two jobs as a bar manager. >> i wanted to become the best golfer that i could be and they supported me, you know, every step of the way. >> glor: then in january, a breakthrough, a place in the top 15 on golf's world rankings,

spurred by his first tour victory. >> i've dreamt about that for so long and for my parents to be there and witness that firsthand was an incredible feeling. >> glor: back home in europe, ireland especially, he's a huge celebrity. here, not quite yet. despite enormous praise. one fellow golfer said mcilroy's swing at 19 was better than tiger woods at that age. woods himself says mcilroy has all the components to be the best player in the world. >> it's arguably the best golf swing in golf right now, which is really saying something, and that includes tiger woods. and that's not me talking. that's a lot of players talking. >> glor: are the comparisons to tiger fair? >> probably not. i mean, i don't know how good i'm going to be. in five or 10 years' time. if i can win half the events that tiger has, i'll be a-- i'll be very happy. >> glor: shy and reserved by nature, the only thing seemingly wild about mcilroy is his hair. i get the sense that you don't love being on the front pages for other things besides golf.

>> no. um-- i'm a golfer. that's all i've wanted to be since i was a little boy. >> glor: when you're not golfing what are you doing? >> ah, um... practicing. >> glor: mcilroy and his intentionally small circle of advisors have studied athlete who have done it right and wrong. >> he certainly has a sense of himself being someone with a real gift, but he's not making that gift public. he's keeping that gift something he manages and nothing others around him. >> glor: that gift was apparent from the very first swing we saw him take in person. >> are you serious? ( laughter ) it was almost in. >> glor: almost a hole in one. which he took in stride. in keeping with the plan. >> i have to say to myself sometimes, like, you're only 20. you've got a 30-year golf career ahead of you. you don't have to rush it. >> glor: and mcilroy's approach could help him deal with the challenge he's facing this weekend.

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>> glor: finally tonight, it is a photo that helped sell 12 million albums and it quickly became legend. 40 years ago today, john, paul, ringo, and george took a little walk into pop history. elizabeth palmer has more from abbey road. >> reporter: beatle look-alike mania almost hit the famous crosswalk as the members of

sergeant pepper's restaged the walk on the cover of abbey road and tourists and fans crowded in for the trophy snapshot. actually, the best view was from the top deck of a london bus stuck in traffic. >> they were geniuses. their music lasts forever, and they changed the lives of a lot of people ♪ here comes the sun... ♪ >> reporter: even on ordinary days, a constant stream of beatles fans makes the pilgrimage to this section, driving london cab drivers crazy. >> very good, very good. >> reporter: it was almost half a century ago that the beatles made their american debut on cbs. ♪ you say good-bye and i say hello ♪ >> reporter: six years of megastardom later, they were in the e.m.i. studios on abbey road recording what was to be their final album. on that morning 40 years ago, there were no crowds. photographer ian mcmillan and the beatles came down to the

famous crosswalk and he took exactly six shots, three of thel walking one way, three the other. it was all over in 10 minutes. that image, arguably the best known album cover in history is still a hot favorite with fans. richard porter, who owns the nearby beatles cafe says it was paul mccartney's idea. >> because a sketch exists, of how he went to the album cover to look for the beatles on the crossing. >> reporter: since, the image has inspired countless knock-off from sincere aherty to spoofs. it has also created a tourist hot spot and traffic hazard that is as enduring as the beatle's legend itself. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> glor: that is the cbs evening news tonight. later on cbs, "48 hours mystery." russ mitchell will be here tomorrow night. i'm jeff glor, cbs news, in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs

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