no violence. no violence. >> poll position. afghanistan's president casts his ballot, but no violence? the taliban have other ideas. >> the white house is switching to night fighting mode. feeling the heat. the healthcare fight gets even tougher as president obama faces resistance froms democrats. and remembering a giant. he was one of the great innovators of television news, "60 minutes" creator don hewitt. good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle guillen. it's only the second presidential election in the long history of afghanistan. this morning afghans are voting, many of them nervously amid taliban threats of violence. susan roberts has the latest on that from washington.

susan, good morning. >> reporter: michelle, good morning to you. there are reports that in kabul itself the streets are eerily empty. but in the outlying areas of afghanistan people are lining up to vote. afghan president hamid karzai was one of the first to cast his ballot this morning. >> this will be for peace, for progress, and for the well-being of the afghan people. >> reporter: karzai, who's seeking a second term, called on afghans to defy taliban threats and participate in today's election. security was tight at thousands of polling locations as residents showed up to vote. for days militants have tried to intimidate voters with a string of attacks. fearing the recent violence might keep people from the polls, the government imposed a media blackout. still there were reports of rocket attacks today near voting sites. on the eve of the election, the military announced six more american deaths. that puts august on track to be the deadliest month for u.s. troops since the war began. afghanistan will need a strong government leadership to combat the growing taliban insurgency.

>> vote. no violence. >> reporter: karzai is the favorite to win, but he'll need at least 51% of the vote or face a run-off election, possibly with top competitor abdullah abdullah. >> the war is getting worse. there's tremendous amount of corruption. the poppies are still being grown. can president karzai stop what he was unable to stop before? we don't know. >> reporter: and before we do know, afghanistan will have to name its next president. preliminary results are expected by the end of the week. international donors are helping to pay for afghanistan's $223 million election undertaking, but right now the u.s. envoy in afghanistan says that it is top in the midst of the war to stage an actual election but that he is confident democracy will prevail. michelle? >> susan roberts in washington. susan, thanks. it's reported this morning the cia hired a secret and possibly illegal squad of private contractors to help find and assassinate al qaeda leaders. "the new york times" reports that five years ago the cia

hired operators from blackwater usa, the private security contractor, for the still classified program. one source says it was unsuccessful and that the contracts were cancelled. scotland will announce today its decision on releasing the only man ever convicted in the bombing of pan am flight 103. the jet blew up over lockerbie scotland in 1988, killing 214 people former libyan intelligence officer abdelbaset al megrahi is dying of prostate cancer and is expected to be released on compassionate grounds 37 now back to iraq. in baghdad today a blast killed two people that follows six major bombings yesterday, pushing the total to more than 100 dead and 500 wounded in just 24 hours. it's the worst violence since forces withdrew from iraqi cities. and turning to something much closer to home, especially those of us at cbs news, we're

remembering don hewitt, a man with a vision of what tv news could be and a producer who made it happen. he died of pancreatic cancer yesterday at his home on long island east of new york city. don hewitt was 86 years old. drew levin has his story. >> reporter: when it came to broadcast journalism, don hewitt was the pioneer, helping to create the blueprint for television news. a career that can be described as illustrious began in 1948. that's when he became the director of the first cbs evening news show. he directed many other programs, including edward r. murrow's signature show, "see it now." >> i can turn to don hewitt and say, don, can you push a button and bring on the atlantic coast. >> reporter: don took on various duties, directing and producing the presidential debate between john kennedy and richard nixon. >> i felt like the referee before a fight. giving them the last-minute

instructions before they went to their corner and came out swinging. >> reporter: hewitt advised nixon to wear makeup, but he did not, losing the debate, appearing tired and pale on television. a couple of years later, don hewitt became the executive producer of the cbs new englaevs with walker cronkite. but his greatest creation was no doubt "60 minutes," the show that changed the face of broadcast journalism. >> go ahead evening. this is "60 minutes." it's kind of a magazine for television. >> reporter: "60 minutes" was the first news program to become a top ten television show. it regularly made headlines from stories ranging from hard-hitting investigative pieces to interviews with the famous and notorious. the show won every award in the book. >> you're gutting the piece. >> then forget "60 minutes." they don't get on this week. >> reporter: tell me a story, hewitt would demand.

he had an instinct for knowing what the average american likes to watch and carefully scrutinized every script. hewitt had already celebrated his 80th birthday when in 2004 he officially stepped down as head of "60 minutes." but don hewitt remained in the cbs family, lending his experience and expertise to the search for new ways to cover tv news in the 21st century. drew levinson, cbs news, new york. >> we'll be right back. you're watching the "cbs morning news." if you think all batteries are the same, consider this: a tornado hits, air life denver takes off... their night-vision goggles keeping

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a tornado caught on cell phone video near st. paul, minnesota. the twister brought down trees on tops of homes, leaving widespread damage. it was worse in williamsville, illinois, near springfield. homes and buildings were reduced to rubble. there were no reports of injuries in either place. in indiana, a possible tornado touched down last night. the storm cut a mile wide swath of damage. thousands were left without power. the roof of an apartment complex was ripped off. no injuries were reported. on the "cbs money watch" a big rally for stock markets in asia. claire leka is here with more. >> good morning to you, michelle. asian markets rebounded overnight.ml japan's benchmark nikkei jumped 1.75%. shanghai stocks rallied back 4.5%. on wall street, a busy day on the economic front. reports on job claims, leading economic indicators, and

manufacturing all due this morning. the dow jones industrial average starts the day up 61 points. the tech heavy nasdaq begins the day higher by 13. car dealers love all the new customers they've gotten because of cash for clunkers. there's just one small problem. many dealers haven't been reimbursed yet because of a government backlog, and hundreds have dropped out of the program. transportation secretary ray la hood says he understands their frustration but insists dealers will be paid. the white house plans to announce today the federal deficit is about $262 billion less than officials predicted earlier this year, but it will still be more than three times what it was last year, totaling $1.58 trillion. and good news for millions of americans. the first provisions of a law overhauling the practices of the credit card industry kick in today. among today's changes, card holders must have at least 21 days between the time a statement is sent out and the payment is due. under the old rules, it was just

14 days. >> that sounds a little bit more fair. claire leka here in new york. claire, thanks. on the "cbs healthwatch," a large outbreak of the h1n1 flu could sweep across the nation this fall. and they're urging businesses to take steps to keep it under control. tari okita reports. >> reporter: new york's hospital is getting ready for a swine flu outbreak this fall, and not just sick patients. the hospital has to prepare for large numbers of employees coming in contact with the virus and being unable to work. >> we have been constantly preparing and updating our emergency management plans. >> reporter: the government is now advising all businesses to have a flu plan in place. guidelines are posted online at flu.gov. >> a little planning now will help ensure that our economy withstands whatever the h1n1 virus throws us this fall. >> reporter: prevention is key.

if the flu hits hard, the government suggests companies cancel face to face meetings. space employees farther apart, encourage workers at high risk of flu complications, like pregnant women, to get vaccina e vaccinat vaccinated. and if possible, encourage employees to work from home. encouraging employees to wash their hands and installing sanitizers may also help stop the spread of flu. but millions of americans may still get sick during a pandemic. companies should be prepared for a worst case scenario where up to 30% of their staff is out. >> they have to cross-train people, where if they do have a larg number of people that are out, they can fulfill those functions. >> reporter: and employees have to do their parts. >> if one sneezes or coughs, stay home. >> reporter: it's not just for your health, but for the health of your co-workers. straight ahead, your thursday morning weather. and in sports, cliff lee

appreciates the offensive support he's getting in philadelphia. my muscles ached all over. i felt this deep lingering pain that was a complete mystery to me. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia muscle pain and then he recommended lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. and with less pain, i can do more during my day. how sweet is that? lyrica is not for everyone. tell you doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people. some of the most common side effects of lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands and feet.

do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should never drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. if you think you might have fibromyalgia, ask your doctor about lyrica. ♪ yes, you're lovely... ♪ what do you think? hey, why don't we use our points from chase sapphire and take a break? we can't. sure, we can. the points don't expire... ♪ there is nothing for me... ♪ there's no travel restrictions... we could leave tomorrow. we can't use them for a vacation. you can use the points for just about anything. i know... ♪ the way you look tonight ♪ chase what matters. get your new chase sapphire card at chase.com/sapphire. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, partly cloudy, 90. miami, afternoon storms, 92. chicago, 75. denver, 80. los angeles, sunny and 75.

and time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows that much of the west is nice and clear. it turns gray and stormy as you reach the central plains and upper midwest. later today, thunderstorms will pop up in many places stretching from the gulf coast northward to the great lakes. it will remain cool and wet across the upper midwest. and it will be another hot day in the northwest. in sports, cliff lee play be the bargain of the baseball season. since coming to philadelphia last month, lee has won all four games, including last night's two-hitter. he had a no-hitter going into the sixth and struck out 11 batters in his fifth complete game this season. jayson werth homered twice for the phillies, who roughed up the arizona diamondbacks 8-1. in toronto, it was a very different story for pitching ace roy halladay. the red sox scored five runs on eight hits off him. david ortiz put boston on the scoreboard with a solo homer in the second. his third home run in as many

games as the sox beat the toronto blue ys 6-1. mark teixeira supplied all the runs for the yankees, including a two-run homer on the first pitch to him in the fourth. new york beat the oakland athletics 3-2. and matt holliday's sacrifice fly in the ninth scored albert pujols to give the cardinals the lead as st. louis edged out the los angeles dodgers 3-2. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and democrats try a new strategy in the effort to pass healthcare reform. first, though, maggie rodriguez has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> the biggest overhaul of the credit card industry in decades takes place today. the government's new rules are supposed to protect consumers, but credit card companies are already trying to find new ways to make money. we'll show you how tonight only on the "cbs evening news." all free clear's powerful clean is free of the ingredients you'll find in most detergents:

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on the "cbs morning news,"

here's a look at today's weather. scattered thunderstorms will extend from the gulf coast to the eastern lakes. and it will bright and sunny from the rockies to the pacific. here's another look at this morning's top stories. afghanistan's president hamid karzai led off the voting this morning and encouraged the country to shrug off taliban threats and cast ballots in the key presidential elections. and a titan of tv news has died. don hewitt, the creator and longtime executive producer of "60 minutes" died of cancer yesterday at the age of 86. turning now to the healthcare battle, one political analyst says the obama white house is feeling so squeezed by republicans and now democrats too that it's switching to night fighting mode. nancy cordes has the latest on that. >> obama!

obama! >> reporter: worried the white house is caving under pressure from the right. >> all lies! >> reporter: some democrats are now pushing for a go it alone strategy on healthcare reform that does not include republicans at all. >> over and over again, the republicans have said no. i don't think that they want reform. >> reporter: the final straw may have been a comment by a top republican senator, jon kyl of arizona. "there is no way that republicans are going to support a trillion dollar bill," kyl told reporters, even if democrats drop the public insurance program the gop so strongly opposes. >> i actually don't think there's any peril in opposing the president's plan at the moment. i think that stopping something bad from happening is the right place to be right now. >> reporter: liberals were already angry that the president seemed to be backing off his demand for a strong public option to compete with private insurance. even as they defend the contentious proposal at their own town halls. >> why do you continue to support a nazi policy, as obama

has, expressly supported this policy? why are you supporting it? >> on what planet do you spend most of your time? it is a tribute to the first amendment that this kind of vile contemptible nonsense is to freely propagated. ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. i have no interest in doing it. >> reporter: going it alone would be a risky approach. even some democrats oppose a public option, and reformers may need a few republican votes if they want to carry the day. >> it's quite possible that the critical votes on healthcare are going to be decided by one vote. >> reporter: but the only true bipartisan effort, a group of six senators trying to reach a compromise, took a hit when the leading republican in the group embraced one of the most damaging myths about reform. >> we should not have a

government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. >> reporter: senator grassley insists he's still committed to finding middle ground, but in this environment, that's getting harder to do. nancy cordes, cbs news, capitol hill. and a san francisco street was transformed into a life-sizeded candyland. 41 squares covered lombard street, the city's most crooked street yesterday, to match the pattern on the board game. it was to celebrate candyland's 60th anniversary. this morning on "the early show," we'll remember don hewitt. we'll speak with "60 minutes" correspondents steve kroft and lesley stahl. i'm michelle guillen. this is the "cbs morning news."

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hello again, in 30 seconds, it will be 5:00. you can tell from that shot, it's a very steamy day. >> it is a very steamy day start, more so than yesterday or for that matter even tuesday. first warning doppler radar. nothing on there, right now, showers and thunderstorms, though, again as in yesterday anticipate tuesday. today's forecast, upper 80s to near 90s. don, take it away. here's shar