republican votes to push wall street banking reform through the senate. oil spill. it just keeps getting worse. more oil from the gusher in the gulf washes up on louisiana beaches. and doping denial. lance armstrong said it before and says it again in the face of new accusations. he didn't use drugs. this is the "cbs morning news" he didn't use drugs. this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, may 21st, 2010. captioning funded by cbs good morning. i'm emily smith in for michelle gielan. wall street reform is a big step closer to reality this morning. late last night, the senate approved a major financial overhaul bill and a victory for president obama just two months after he signed health care reform into law. the vote was 59-39, including four republicans, for a measure that includes reform of wall street and new rules and protections for home buyers and consumers. the senate bill gives the

government more oversight of the biggest u.s. banks, imposes new trading regulations on complex derivative investments, requires home buyers to prove they can pay their mortgages, and establishes a consumer protection bureau to prevent abuse by lenders. connecticut senator christopher dodd praised the sweeping nature of the reform. >> any one of these major sections of the bill could stand almost as a piece of landmark legislation in and of themselves. whether dealing with consumer protection, too big to fail concept, dealing with the look across the horizon at events that could put our nation at economic risk. >> the senate bill must now be reconciled with the house version. one congressman predicts final passage by july 4th. stocks overseas followed wall street's big plunge thursday. ashley morrison is here with that and more. >> reporter: good morning. well, a big selloff for stock markets in asia. the nikkei posted its biggest weekly drop in more than a year

today losing nearly 2.5%. wall street today will try to recover from yesterday's big plunge. the dow fell 376 points. the nasdaq lost 94. the financial crisis in europe has investors worried about a new shakeup to the global economy. investors also reacted to disappointing employment news. the labor department reported the number of people filing weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week by the largest amount in three months. in washington, a new bill that's expected to pass next week could extend unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in many states. the bill would also extend almost 50 tax cuts that expired in january. the bill which could cost as much as $200 billion will be funded in part by tax increases on investment firms and some u.s. based multinational companies. the bill would also increase taxes on oil companies by nearly $11 billion over the next decade. in response to yesterday's stock market plunge, treasury secretary timothy geithner and

federal reserve chairman ben bernanke will meet with finance officials in both britain and germany next week to discuss ways to restore global confidence in the economy. geithner's trip to europe will come after he and secretary of state hillary clinton meet with chinese officials in beijing on several economic and foreign policy issues. and just a lot of people are very concerned today with regards to what's going to happen to the global economy as well as what's going to happen today on wall street. >> absolutely. we'll all be waiting for that. ashley morrison here in new york. thank you. now to the oil spill in the gulf of mexico. the vast oil slick from the shattered well on the seabed has coated miles of the mississippi river delta with thick red sludge and it's only going to get worse until the leak is plugged. tara mergener is in washington with more. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning. well, a month after the disaster, there is still no fix. a live video was posted online yesterday and the picture isn't pretty.

bp has until today to come up with a safer way to break up the massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico. the epa ordered them to switch to less toxic chemicals thursday because of environmental concerns. so far bp has used more than 650,000 gallons of the dispersants. >> to use the least toxic of those makes the most sense. >> reporter: bp now admits the blown out oil well is spewing more than the 210,000 gallons a day previously estimated. in fact, some scientists think the number could be as high as 3 million. the oil giant released a live video of the leak for the first time thursday, but only after repeated requests by congress. >> it's clear that they have been hiding the actual consequences of this spill. >> reporter: the white house is also turning up the pressure. administration officials want bp to share additional information about the spill, including the measurements of the size of the leak.

>> we are asking for them to provide the data, put it on a website, update that website daily. >> it's devastating. it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: for residents in southern louisiana, all they can do is watch as thick blankets of oil creep on to shore. bp insists a mile long tube is capturing some of the oil and the company's gearing up for its next possible fix set to take place this weekend. it involves pumping heavy mud into the well to plug it up and officials hope it will do the trick. now, if that doesn't work, there is a backup plan which is a junk shot and that means shooting golf balls, rope and other debris into the leak to clog it. emily, back to you. >> it is heartbreaking. tara mergener in washington. thank you. the obama administration's intelligence director, dennis blair, is resigning. blair, a retired navy admiral, was criticized after failing to prevent the attempted jetliner bombing on christmas day.

sources say he learned at the white house yesterday he no longer has the president's confidence. now to iran where the mothers of those three american hikers are remaining in hopes they can convince the tehran regime to free their children from prison. they enjoyed a reunion yesterday. elizabeth palmer has the report >> reporter: proof at last that after 9 1/2 months wait, their children are alive and apparently well. iranian state television filmed the emotional reunion for broadcasts around the world. this visit was always going to be a public spectacle. and the mothers, aware of the stakes, stayed firmly on message. >> gratitude is the biggest word. gratitude to the iranian authorities for allowing us to come and visit our children. >> reporter: at a press conference, the young american hikers brought from their cells to a luxury hotel spoke about their imprisonment. >> our treatment is decent. it's really difficult being

alone. shane and josh are in the room together, but i'm alone. that's the most difficult thing for me. >> reporter: sarah along with shane and josh were hiking last july near an iraqi waterfall close to the border with iran. iranian border guards arrested them saying they'd crossed the line. but it's a charge they deny. so far no court date has been set to hear the evidence. >> we try to stay out of the politics of this because for us we're just mothers and we just miss our children like any mother would anywhere in the world. >> reporter: but there's no way around it. with the u.s. pushing for harsher sanctions against iran for its nuclear program, the three americans appear to be political pawns on the world stage. elizabeth palmer, cbs news. back in this country, the fiercely competitive world of professional cycling is being shaken again by accusations of doping aimed at lance armstrong.

and disgraced tour de france winner floyd landis is the accuser. sandra hughes has more on that from los angeles. >> reporter: after crashing on the tour de california, lance armstrong got back on his bike. but his injuries finally forced him to quit just hours after he vehemently denied the latest allegations of doping. the accusations against armstrong, who has won the tour de france seven times, came in e-mails from floyd landis. landis, who won the tour de france in 2006, tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and was stripped of his victory. he spent four years fighting the allegations. >> did you use testosterone at all? >> no. >> reporter: then he abruptly put the brakes on his defense. landis, according to the "wall street journal," sent e-mails to u.s. and world cycling officials admitting to using the blood booster epo to increase his endurance, testosterone and human growth hormone. he also claims that he and armstrong talked about getting blood transfusions to flush out evidence of drugs.

>> i think it's disgusting for coming out now. >> reporter: the president of the international cycling union says the accusations do not taint lance armstrong's victories or career. the questions about doping have dogged the cycling world and armstrong for years. in 1999, he tested positive for a banned substance, but got a doctor's note to excuse the use. >> he said he has nothing. he's got no proof. it's his word versus ours. we like our word. >> reporter: landis is reportedly working with the u.s. anti-doping agency and claims he only wants to clear his conscience. sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. just ahead on the "morning news," a threatening e-mail grounds a jet blue pilot. plus, cell success. scientists produce a living cell that could lead to a myriad of innovations. first katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." it's a piece of medical equipment decades in the making. how some patients are moving to a whole new beat thanks to this

heartfelt technological breakthrough. that's tonight only on "the cbs evening news." hnological break through. that's tonight only on "the cbs evening news." [ all shouting ] guys. can i help you? i'm sandy and i heard you've been struggling with the quilt. i'm here to take you through my 1-step program to break the quilted habit. but i've always used quilted towels. quilted is towel speak for air. but viva puts 35% more towel between you and the mess. wow, 35% more? are you ready to take that 1-step to see what an unquilted viva towel can do? yes, i'm ready. beautiful. [ cheers and applause ]

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red flag warnings are up in parts of southern california today as crews work to contain an 800-acre wildfire southeast of los angeles. that fire is about 50% contained, but strong gusty winds could raise fire danger in dry mountain and desert areas. in boston, a jet blue pilot is in big trouble this morning after threatening to crash the plane he was about to take off in. the pilot who has not been identified was taken into custody at logan airport. authorities reportedly found an e-mail on his phone warning his girlfriend he'd crash the plane if they didn't reconcile their relationship. the pilot was questioned by the fbi and taken to boston hospital for psychiatric evaluation. an amazing scientific breakthrough. researchers say they've created the first ever synthetic life form. they hope it will create

life-saving medicines and new forms of energy, but the development is not without controversy. randall pinkston reports. >> reporter: scientists say they have created life with a computer. they've made a cell powered by manmade dna. >> this is the first self-replicating species that we've had on the planet whose parent is a computer. >> reporter: researchers designed the dna and assembled it with a machine. it was then transplanted into a cell and grew. >> perhaps it's a giant philosophical change in how we view life. >> reporter: it's the brainchild of j. craig venter. he was one of the first people to decode the human genome. now his companies are working with big business to apply this new technology. right now the potential seems limitless. scientists believe manmade cells can be programmed to do everything from cleaning polluted water to powering your car. exxon has paid venter's company to create a synthetic algae that

can be turned in to fuel. his team is also trying to design cells that can speed up vaccine production. venter even hopes one day to create new treatments and cures. >> wouldn't it be nice to have something to actually block common colds? >> reporter: there are concerns this could be dangerous and used to create new types of biological weapons. >> it would be possible for someone to use this new technology to synthesize a pathogen. >> reporter: researchers can't predict the full impact of this manmade dna, but they hope it will change the way we live. randall pinkston, cbs news, new york. straight ahead, your friday morning weather. and in sports, grand slam homers don't get any closer than this. atlanta's amazing comeback when we come back. [ female announcer ] instead of drinking old office coffee, "know it all" made a cup of premium starbucks via. "know it all" shared it with "single and loving it!" who made a cup the next morning for "ladies man"

as he was rushing out the back door. he shared it with "blondes have more fun" and "fiery redhead," who, after finding out about each other, shared starbucks via with their new boyfriends, "firemen keep it hot" and "drummers rock," who called his friend "know it all," who said he already knew about it. premium starbucks via ready brew. now available wherever you buy groceries. ♪ a deep ache all over. 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 lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, sunny, 82. miami, mostly sunny, 88. chicago, rain, 68. denver, mostly sunny, 79. and los angeles, cloudy, 77. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows the midwest is cloudy and rainy. the southeast and northwest have cloud cover. the southwest and texas are clear. and the northeast is clear, too. later today, the northeast is gorgeous again. the plains could see some severe weather. the midwest as well as the

tennessee and ohio river valleys are stormy. the northwest continues to see rain, mountain elevations of the northwest and western rockies will see snow and high heat takes over in the southwest. in sports, a huge comeback win for the atlanta braves. in the second inning, the visiting reds' joey votto hit a grand slam homer, at one point the reds led 8-0 and it was 9-3 into the bottom of the ninth. but atlanta scored two on a single, another on a reds error and capped it with a walkoff grand slam tipped by the center fielder's glove. that shocked everyone, including pinch hinter brooks conrad. the final braves 10, reds 9. now to houston where the three run bomb in the first was plenty. jimenez held the astros to one hit for a 4-0 victory becoming the season's first eight game winner. in the american league,

toronto at seattle, the mariners' josh bard hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth to tie it and ken griffey jr. came off the bench to smack a single for a 4-3 walkoff win. and in boston, kevin youkilis hit a three run homer in the third and later added an rbi double. and jon lester struck out nine in a complete game red sox win over the twins 6-2. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and newly minted tea party star rand paul in the middle of a firestorm over controversial comments. mments. (woman) dear cat. your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer,

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here's another look at this morning's top stories. the senate has passed a sweeping wall street reform bill that also includes new rules and protections for american consumers and home buyers. it must now be reconciled with the house version. and with oil now clogging beaches and wetlands in the mississippi delta, the government is demanding bp find a less toxic way to break up the still growing slick in the gulf of mexico. fresh from his victory in kentucky's republican senate primary, rand paul is in hot water. paul is trying to contain political damage after suggesting that private businesses should be allowed to deny service to african-americans. later paul said he would have voted for the civil rights act of 1964. mexican president felipe calderon has chimed in on the arizona's new immigration law. he said while immigration reform is crucial, he strongly disagrees with the arizona law which he says uses racial

profiling. and actress lindsay lohan narrowly avoided arrest thursday after failing to show up for a court hearing. lohan was due in los angeles for a probation hearing from 2007 drug and alcohol arrests. an arrest warrant was withdrawn after lohan's lawyer insisted she was delayed because her passport was stolen at the cannes film festival. this morning on "the early show," we have actor ashton kutcher. i'm emily smith and this is the "cbs morning news." shton kutch kutcher. i'm emily smith and this is the "cbs morning news." it's rainy out there. what do you guys want to do? both: make rice krise® treats! six. how many cups is it?

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