hurricane igor. the large storm bashes bermuda leaving tens of thousands in the dark. home at last. but american hiker sarah shourd says she is only one-third free after being released from iran. and not a witch. an internet video comes back to haunt republican senate candidate christine o'donnell. this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, september 20th, 2010. good morning, everybody. good to see you on a monday. i'm terrell brown for betty nguyen. this morning people on the island of bermuda are waking up to a mess left by hurricane igor. the eye of the storm, category 1, by the way, passed just 40 miles west of the island around

midnight and pounded the british territory with heavy rains and winds up to 75 miles an hour. trees and power lines were downed, cutting electricity for nearly 20,000 customers and flooding low-lying areas. >> safety first. we can always rebuild. as bermudaans, we already know how to rebuild. it's just one of those things. >> igor is expected to turn northwest today. later this week it will cause dangerous as well as and riptides along the east coast. the american hiker imprisoned months in iran says her arrest was, quote, a huge misunderstanding. sarah shourd begged for the release of her com pain yons right now still in prison. tara mergener is in new york with more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, terrell. shourd says she is very grateful to be home but the companions mentioned are not so lucky, their families make another appeal for their freedom. the mothers of the two hikers still held in iran want a face-to-face meeting with the

country's president. >> we are encouraged that perhaps the humanitarianism will be renewed and continued and josh and shane will be home very soon. >> reporter: they spoke at a new york news conference sunday with sarah shourd hours after she returned to the united states. shourd, along with her fiance, shane bauer and friend josh fattal were arrested in 2009 after being accused of illegally crossing the iraq/iran border. >> shane and josh do not deserve to be in prison one day longer than i was. we committed no crime and we are not spies. >> reporter: iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad who is also in new york for the united nations general assembly, described shourd's release as a humanitarian gesture. he called on the u.s. to respond by releasing eight iranians he says are being held illegally. >> translator: the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture. >> reporter: the case further complicated matters between tehran and washington.

relations were already strained over the country's nuclear program. just this summer, the u.n. security council imposed its toughest sanctions yet on the country. but ahmadinejad has downplayed the impact. >> translator: we do take take sanctions seriously, but taking it seriously is different from believing that they are effective. >> reporter: the iranian president is expected to face strong opposition while in the u.s. his arrival sparked one protest near central park sunday, with several more planned throughout the week. as for whether that meeting with ahmadinejad will happen, the mothers say they are still waiting for word. terrell, back to you. >> and hopeful, certainly. tara mergener in washington for us this morning. thank you so much. the ruptured bp oil well in the gulf that led to the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history has been permanently capped. over the weekend, workers drilled a relief well in the damaged one and filled it with cement. 206 million gallons of oil spilled from the well since the

deepwater horizon rig exploded in april killing 11 men. bp has already shelled out $8 billion and set aside another $20 billion to compensate victims. campaign 2010, a bizarre development in the campaign of republican senate candidate christine o'donnell. it stems from a tv clip making the rounds on the internet. here's bob orr. >> reporter: there is no hotter political force in terms of buzz than republican senate candidate christine o'donnell. she rallied her delaware supporters at a sunday afternoon picnic. >> we are going to win this by uniting the party and we're going to win sthe county. >> reporter: her campaign took another weird twist which she canceled appearances on two network shows, cbs's "face the nation" and fox news sunday. >> her campaign canceled. she said she had scheduling conflicts and couldn't are here. >> reporter: while the campaign explains she was busy with delaware commitments, the twin cancellations followed the airing friday night of another bizarre video clip from

o'donnell's past. >> because i today belled into witchcraft and hung around people doing these things. >> reporter: in this 1999 interview -- she laughs about an experience with the occult. >> one of my first dates was on a satanic altar and i didn't know it, a little blood there and -- >> reporter: o'donnell brushed off the old comments about witchcraft. >> i was in high school. who didn't have interesting friends in high school? >> reporter: she's also dismissed previous comments about abortion and masturbation and she's dodged questions about personal financial problems turning the criticism into a rallying cry. >> they call us wacky. they call us wing-nuts. we call us we the people. >> reporter: the veteran republican strategist ed rollins says this type of controversy could torpedo o'donnell's chances in november. >> no matter how strong the tea party is or how much they are in the mood for change, at the end of the day, people in delaware, a small state, are going to focus on her, her past

statements, what she's saying now, and this is not a good start. >> reporter: moderate republicans worry her behavior and baggage have cost the party any chance of taking the delaware seat. but, beyond o'donnell, the tea party's low taxes/small government message still resonates and conservatives warn the republican establishment better pay attention. bob orr, cbs news, washington. after a tense hunt 13 missing members of a religious group in southern california have been found. they apparently said they were preparing for the end of the world. their loved ones feared the worst. >> reporter: the frantic search for missing members of a fringe religious group ended at a park in los angeles county. >> they were found in this area right here and they were sitting on blankets. they were together. there were some kids off playing. >> reporter: investigators questioned the group's leader 32-year-old rain yaz, chdz hicas, and say after giving a false name and rambling during

questioning, they hospitalized her for a mental evaluation. deputies spent the weekend combing the area for her and 12 others after family members found letters indicating the group was preparing for an pock lip tick event. >> they left behind notes saying that they were going to go visit their deceased relatives, that they were going to go meet jesus, notes that indicated they wanted to go to the next life. >> reporter: she broke away from a christian congregation about two years ago and began religious meetings at her home with a small group of immigrants from el salvador. according to the sheriff's office the group planned to go to vasquez rocks a wilderness area to await an earthquake or similar catastrophic event early why err this year. when relatives got wind of the trip, they called it off. this time around, the husbands of two women in the group told deputies they thought their wives had been brainwashed by her. this group member says it's all just been a misunderstanding. >> we were just singing and praying at the park. >> reporter: sheriffs officials

say there is no criminal investigation planned at this time. manuel gal lays go, cbs news. coming up, a check of the overseas markets plus dozens are dead after violence erupts in iraq. first, a preview of the cbs evening news. >> steve hartman's mission to prove everybody in the world has a story lands him in argentina. he'll introduce us to a boy who ran away from home just to stay in school. so, that sister and more tonight only on the cbs evening news. the cbs evening news.

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sentiment since the controversy began. stocks in asia were mixed. ashley morrison is here with more. good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. trading on asian markets was subdued. the heng sang mostly down and the nikkei closed for holiday. investors on wall street hope to add gains. friday the dow rose 13 points and the nasdaq added 12. the markets will be keeping close tabs on this week's housing numbers. the housing market index is out today and tomorrow the commerce department will release its report on august housing starts analysts expect home construction to have increased slightly. the report is also expected to show housing permits were higher, as well. this morning, oil is trading about $74 a barrel in asia, in the 70s most of the year. crude inventories in the u.s. are near record highs. oil prices have remained inflated in part because investors have been turning to oil instead of stocks or currency.

investment bankers handling the upcoming gm stock sale are expected to court foreign investors as well as those in northern american according to the u.s. treasury department report. it is reported gm is in talks with a current partner in china saic about buying a stake in the auto giant. saic is owned by the chinese government. and it turns out hunting is good business and has been doing well despite the recession. nearly 19 million people hunted with firearms last year. according to reports from the firearms and ammunition industry, the sale of sporting guns and supplies generated nearly $28 billion last year compared to about $19 billion the year before. and that is a lot of guns, terrell. >> absolutely. i hope that doesn't mean people are turning to hunt their own food instead of going to the grocery store and getting it. i hope we haven't gotten that bad. >> i hope not. >> ashley morrison. moving right along this morning, appreciate it, ash. talk to you soon. straight ahead your monday

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los angeles, partly cloudy and 81. time for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clear skies across the southwest and northeast. not so clear over the southern plains. thick clouds can be found swirling over texas. clouds also gather in the northwest and patches of clouds are breaking down in the northern plains. later today, scattered thunderstorms could be found forming in the northern plains. heavy rain lingers in the southern plains. nice and sunny in the northeast and feeling hot and humid in the southeast. in sports this morning, it was manning bowl 2 on sunday night football. to the highlights. eli versus peyton, who connected for three touchdowns for the colts and eli with three turnovers for the giants. indianapolis rolls over new york 38-14. the eagles' michael vick with his first start at quarterback in four years. remember he missed two seasons in prison. yesterday, he put up two touchdown passes against detroit. he led philly 35-32 over the lions. on a more serious note, the michigan state coach.

mark d 'antonio remains hospitalized, recovering from a mild heart attack this morning after saturday night's overtime win over notre dame the 54-year-old had surgery. doctors had to put a stint in a blocked blood vessel leading to the heart. the coach is expected to make a full recovery. meanwhile in baseball, san francisco now leads the national league west, jose guillen of the giants smashed a grand slam home run against milwaukee. san francisco beat the brewers 9-2. the giants now a half game ahead of san diego in the standings. and scary moments in florida. the cubs tyler colvin, ouch, hit by part of a broken bat. it punctured a small hole in his chest. he's in stable condition this morning after the freak accident. chicago went on to win that game over florida 13-3. when we return this morning, another look at the morning's top stories and texas tragedy. a high school football player dies after collapsing during a game. sears bonus days are here!

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on the "cbs morning news," today's weather. the south heating up again with portions of the southeast approaching triple-digit temperatures. scattered showers hang over the northwest and heavier rain are in the southern plains. another look at the top stories on the morning newew,,,

and died after practice and hayward dennison, a 17-year-old oregon high school player was saved by a nurse who was in the stands after he suffered a sudden heart attack last week. high school football still tops the list of most dangerous sports for serious injury. 12 player deaths were linked to football last year. nearly half a million reported concussions a year. and compared to other high school athletes, football players are ten times more likely to suffer heat-related illnesses. >> all these things are a matter

of education. and i think that we are making progress. it's -- we still have a ways to go. >> reporter: robinson says despite increased awareness, the requirements for medical screening vary from state to state and no state requires teams to have trainers with medical expertise. but, the biggest hurdle is convincing the kids. those who once cheered reggie garrett, all they can do now is mourn. >> i just miss him. >> reporter: and hope one tragedy on the field can help prevent others. don teague, cbs news, dallas. while high school athletes get plenty of exercise it seems the same is not true for the average adult in america. a new study finds that only 5% did some type of vigorous physical activity on any given day. most people reported doing sedentary activities like eating, drinking, watching tv. figures, right? actress lindsay lohan could get more jail time.

she confirmed on her twitter page that she failed a court-ordered drug test. she served two weeks in jail jail in august followed by 22 days in a rehab program. she has to undergo random test can twice a week. failing one test could put her back behind bars. a man in missouri hailed as a hero. cell phone video shows the 59-year-old doug lazar, after he tackled an alleged bank robber last week and then sat on him. despite the suspect's struggles, he pinned the man on the tarmac of the parking lot. this lasted about four minutes until the police arrived. the suspect has been charged with bank robbery. the world's tallest man and the world's shortest woman are both from turkey. the guinness book of records got them together saturday. the tallest man is 8" 3" tall. the shortest woman 2" 4.6" high. wonder if there was a love connection? this morning, tracking hurricane igor. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news."

words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense. i know people are wondering-- now that the well is capped, is bp gonna meet its commitments? i was born in new orleans.

my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

. not a bad one weatherwise. it's bernadette in for marty. good morning, everyone out there. okay, it's a warm one. we're starting out for a lot of us in the 60s. 68-degrees in baltimore and 70 in d.c.. it feels like mid-summer. 64 in westminster and we're warming up to about 77 degrees. we won't go up all that much more. we'll see mixes of sunshine and clouds into the afternoon. we have warm air coming our way later on this week. >> the funeral has been set for a teen killed crossing a harford county road. he was shot by a patient's

son, the latest condition -- the latest on the condition of dr. david cohen. >> the ravens return to baltimore after a tough loss in cincinnati. more news and first warning weather and the first traffic report of the morning in a few minutes. ,,,,,,,,,,,,