rig rescue. the search for 11 missing oil workers in the gulf of mexico. belly of the beast. president obama travels to new york city to pitch financial reform to reluctant bankers. and head over heels. a college baseball player somersaults his way to home plate. this is the "cbs morning news" plate. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, april 22nd, 2010. captioning funded by cbs good morning. i'm emily smith. thanks for joining us. i'm in for michelle gielan. the coast guard has been searching the gulf of mexico for 11 missing oil rig workers. their rig the deepwater horizon is located about 40 miles off the louisiana coast. it was struck by a powerful explosion and fire tuesday

night. 126 people were on board. most were able to evacuate. 17 were injured. terrell brown has more. >> reporter: the coast guard hopes for more rescues like this one. after a fire and explosion on board an oil rig in the gulf of mexico. 115 people evacuated the platform, including several with critical injuries. but 11 workers are still missing. shane's family is praying he's safe. >> it's not even -- words can't even describe knowing that your son's out there or where he's at. >> reporter: he and the other workers have the best chance of survival if they reach the covered lifeboats. >> we have capabilities to search throughout the night and we continue to search and rescue. >> reporter: the rig is about 40 miles off the southern tip of louisiana. workers didn't get any warnings about a problem before the explosion. >> we don't know what caused the incident. our efforts are firstly concentrated on caring for the people. >> reporter: this is what the deepwater horizon looked like before the accident. it's owned by transocean, but is currently under lease to british

petroleum. the companies haven't been able to talk to crew members. many of them arrived here in the town of port fourchon this morning. the rig is tilting and sinking, but the coast guard says it's not in danger of capsizing. so far the environmental threat is limited since the crude oil and gas continue to burn rather than flowing in to the gulf. but any possibility of pollution is a secondary concern until the workers are found. terrell brown, cbs news, port fourchon, louisiana. >> just last year, they won a safety award from the federal government and the platform has been inspected three times this year. still, working in the oil industry is more dangerous than working in coal mines. on rigs in the gulf of mexico alone, there have been 69 fatalities and more than 1300 injuries since 2001. president obama comes to new york city this morning to make a final pitch for financial reform. it's an issue mr. obama has been pushing since he was a presidential candidate. his message to wall street will be simple. don't fight the call for more

oversight. tara mergener is in washington with details. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning. well, president obama will make that pitch before an audience of about 700 today where he'll say the ideas for change come from both sides of the aisle. just a few blocks from wall street, president obama will call on the financial industry to join his fight for reform. >> i don't think you can talk about financial reform without talking about bad actions in the past. >> reporter: the president will argue that the only way to safeguard the economy is by pushing through the biggest regulatory overhaul since the great depression. he told cnbc last night it's in the best interests of all parties. >> not only is that good for the economy, not only does it protect consumers and investors, it's also good for the financial sector. >> reporter: but wall street isn't so sure. lobbyists have been battling hard against the plan and while some traders see the need for transparency, they worry about too much regulation. >> that can definitely hurt the

market. you could see markets go overseas. it's a fine balancing act. >> reporter: here on capitol hill, democrats are preparing to bring the bill up for debate and after weeks of opposition, republicans finally seem ready to negotiate. >> we are pretty close. we have the same goal. we want too big to fail to go away. >> reporter: the gop expressed a change of heart thursday after democrats accused them of siding with banks. >> to say that republicans are representing wall street couldn't be further from the truth. >> reporter: and in another sign washington's ready to take wall street to task, a senate panel approved a measure to crack down on derivatives. many blame the complex financial tools for triggering the economic crisis. and democrats hope to start voting on the bill as early as next week. approval is considered likely but not certain. emily, back to you. >> tara mergener in washington. thank you, tara. well, president obama says he expects to choose a nominee

to replace justice john paul stevens within a couple weeks. he says he won't have an abortion rights litmus test. >> who can do a great job on the court, who can look at a range of really complicated issues and adhere to the law and fidelity to the constitution. >> mr. obama says he believes his choice will be confirmable by democrats and republicans. a federal lawsuit expected to be filed today names pope benedict in connection with a coverup of sexual abuse involving a milwaukee priest. father lawrence murphy admitted he abused some 200 boys at a school for the deaf, but vatican officials including now pope benedict failed to notify law enforcement officials.

the lawsuit wants the vatican to release the names of known priest sex offenders. most air space over europe is open, but it's still a struggle for millions of passengers stranded by that volcanic ash cloud. it could be another week before all the passengers are able to get to their destinations. airlines say their losses could top $2 billion. and charge that the five day shutdown was excessive. on the cbs "moneywatch," most stocks in asia dipped this morning. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. good morning, ashley. >> reporter: good morning. well, a week of futures markets sent stock markets in asia sliding. the nikkei lost more than 1%. today wall street gets the latest on inflation and the weekly jobless claims. we'll also get earnings reports from amazon, microsoft and pepsi. wednesday was a quiet day for the market. the dow gained about 8 points while the nasdaq added 4. starbucks is getting its buzz back. profits for the coffee chain rose more than eight-fold as more customers visited its cafes and spent more money when they did. this was the fourth consecutive

quarter that their profits increased. apple was another big earnings winner. shares soared to an all-time high after the company posted a 90% jump in profits, well above wall street expectations. president obama suggested wednesday that a new value added tax on americans is still on the table. in an interview with cnbc, obama said a value added tax works in other countries and would be novel in the u.s. many european countries impose a value added tax which taxes the value that is added at each stage of production for certain commodities. well, ben franklin has gotten a high-tech facelift because counterfeiters love $100 bills so much, the government unveiled a new one wednesday. it's a lot tougher to copy. among the new features, a blue 3d security ribbon on the front plus an image of a bell inside an ink well changes color as you

move the bill. the new $100 go into circulation next year. and what do you get for that special someone who has absolutely everything? how about their own personal greek island. 40 private islands are now available for sale. they're beautiful, but they don't come cheap. one could set you back as much as $13 million. and, emily, when you think about it, that way houses can be 20, 30, 40, 50. a whole island for $13 million? it's kind of a deal. >> and nice to have friends in high places. thank you, ashley. ashley morrison here in new york. just ahead on the "morning news," the captain of an ill-fated fishing boat is being remembered as a hero. plus, football's big ben faces stiff punishment by the nfl. first, katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." the internet was invented in this country, so why is the u.s. so behind when it comes to keeping the information safe? "where america stands" on cyber security tonight only on the "cbs evening news." bs evening news."

i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. so now i can do more of what i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing or skin or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision, or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. slim-fast gives you proven weight loss,

not celebrities. introducing the new slim-fast 3-2-1 plan. the clinically proven way to lose weight now. slim-fast. who has time to slim slowly? to cover up flaws and make skin look pretty but there's one that's so clever, it makes your skin look better even after you take it off. neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% of women saw improvement in their skin's natural texture, tone, or clarity. does your makeup do that? neutroge® cosmetics recommendemost by dermatologists. ♪ [ slap! slap! slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums

a scary incident in south florida where two window washers were left dangling from the side of a condominium after their scaffold collapsed. by the time cameras arrived, one had been rescued and firefighters finally pulled the second man to safety, then celebrated the rescue with a high five. the crew of a fishing boat that sank tuesday says their captain died a hero. moments before the 75 foot northern bell sank, captain robert royer managed to radio an urgent call for help. and it went down fast. by the time a coast guard rescue helicopter arrived, the boat was gone. the crew was dead. >> we are all suffering hypothermia. the captain has passed away. there was no way to revive him whatsoever. >> royer had struck his head

trying to escape the boat. the other three crew members were pulled to safety thanks to their captain. first six games of this season for the pittsburgh steelers and he may never play for them again. the nfl hit roethlisberger with a six game suspension after a 20-year-old woman accused him of sexual assault. roethlisberger wasn't charged, but the nfl commissioner says that doesn't matter. >> you don't have to be convicted of a crime or even charged with a crime. if there's a pattern of behavior that reflects poorly on yourself, your team, the league in general, it's important for us to have early intervention to stop that behavior and to correct the behavior. and that's what our intent is here. >> the steelers may seek to trade roethlisberger despite his two super bowl wins. this is earth day, but nasa scientists are also celebrating new pictures of our closest star, the sun. the colorful images are the first from the solar dynamics observatory launched in

february. the spacecraft takes pictures of the sun in different wave lengths and with ten times the clarity of previous solar images. that gives scientists new tools to predict solar storms that disrupt weather and communications here on earth. straight ahead, your thursday morning weather. and in sports, why go through the catcher when you can go over him? we'll tell you all about this amazing play coming up. female announcer ] a better start to a better day begins with a balanced breakfast. country crock has 70% less saturated fat than butter, and 30% fewer calories. add multigrain toast, fresh fruit and low fat milk, and they're off to a good start. country crock.

so kate you were stressed, a lot of junk food on the go and you were... a little irregular, sluggish. my daughter needed activia! so i gave it a try and wow. it works. now she has a spring on her step. i'm loving it, every morning. mmmm. avo: help get your system back on track. activia with bifidus regularis helps regulate your digestive system would you recommend activia? i already have. she recommends it. what are you waiting for? singer: activia.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, sunny and 65. miami, sunny and 86. chicago, sunny and 61, denver, thunderstorms and 58, los angeles, showers and 61. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clouds are scattered over the northeast. the southeast is mainly clear. skies are clear around the great lakes and northern plains. and much of the west is looking at cloudy skies this morning. later today, strong thunderstorms will be popping up across the southern plains. the southeast remains mainly dry and pleasant. scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue for much of the west. temperatures will be cooler and some scattered showers are likely around the northeast. now to sports and a gem by a twins left-hander. he struck out six and pitched eight scoreless innings. a solo home run in the sixth gave them a lead and they went on to win it 6-0.

in oakland, phil hughes was in a groove taking a no-hitter through seven innings. on the first pitch in the eighth, a comebacker was smacked and he reached first when hughes couldn't find the ball, but the yanks won it 3-1. in the national league, roy halladay threw a five hitter. he got help from his defense including a great catch by shane victorino in the second robbing troy gloss of a homer. the 2-0 complete game win moves halladay to 4-0 on the season. in new york, the mets lost to the cubs 9-3, but the rookie first baseman ike davis had the play of a night flipping over the railing and hanging on. but the play of the week was a flip in the bronx and not at yankee stadium. fordham university's brian konacki made like a gymnast somersaulting over the catcher tuesday night to score. unbelievable. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories.

and sweet temptation. what the results of a marshmallow test might say about a kid. ,,,,,,,,

on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue across the west. the northwest finally gets a chance to dry out and the southeast will be dry and very warm. here's another look at this morning's top stories. the coast guard searched in the gulf of mexico overnight for 11 missing oil rig workers. there was an explosion and fire on their rig tuesday night. 115 other workers were able to evacuate. and president obama travels to new york city today to make another pitch for financial reform. the president will call on wall street to get behind the plan. a senate vote is expected next week.

an often important life skill is patience. and even though the waiting isn't the easiest course, but often produces the best results. some children and a marshmallow proved the point. michelle miller reports. >> please come back. >> reporter: oh, the agony. these kids are desperately trying to resist temptation. their dilemma, ring the bell and get one marshmallow now or wait and get two later. >> this child is reaching for it and she stops. this child is looking away. this child is just taking the littlest tiny lick. >> reporter: it's called the marshmallow test and it can predict the future. sort of. originally done more than 40 years ago, studies continue today. researchers consistently find that the group of kids who could force themselves to wait tend to have better lives and relationships. they also averaged 210 points higher on their s.a.t.s than the kids who could not hold off.

>> you can be focused on your goal and you can have self-control to achieve that goal, you can achieve a lot more in life. >> reporter: focus and self-control are two of the essential life skills included in the new book "mind in the making." >> simon says step back. >> reporter: she suggests a game like reverse simon says has a fun way to force kids to focus. >> do you like new toys? >> yeah. >> reporter: and balance simple games with high-tech ones. >> here it is. >> reporter: she says kids can learn with the same passion they show playing. >> that's water bubbles. >> reporter: the father of this 2 1/2-year-old claims this was the first time she picked up his ipad. she gets it right away. >> computers appeal to children in a very different way. they actually appeal to children in a way that they learn best. they're active learners, they're not passive. >> reporter: it's the big

challenge, raising children who can get what they want with their fingertips, but who must also learn that some things in life are worth waiting for. michelle miller, cbs news, new york. and the next story is a real tear jerker. a dallas woman had a special last dance. 94-year-old mary coffee has congestive heart failure and has been given six months to live. one of her final wishes, to dance the waltz one last time. it was a tribute to her late husband of 58 years who proposed while they were dancing the waltz. so this week volunteers at her care center got her dressed up and fulfilled her wish. >> and if i go tonight, i'm going to a better place. and i'll be happy there. because i've got relatives there. >> coffee says she looks forward to dancing with her husband again in heaven. this morning on "the early show," celebrating earth day with eco fashions and gardening tips. i'm emily smith and this is the "cbs morning news." alright kid, let's get ready for this morning's quiz.

christopher columbus sailed the ocean blue... in 14 hundred and 92. nice! follow me, the missouri river is this way! lewis and clark expedition of 1804. oh, he'll never get this. magellan, 1520. awww, my 8 layers must've given it away. help keep your kid full and focused with 8 filling layers... of whole grain fiber found in kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats® cereal.

this is one giant leap for mini-kind™. keeps 'em full. keeps 'em focused. hoo hooo!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,