good morning, it is wednesday, april 4, 2012. welcome to studio 57 at the cbs broadcast center. i'm charlie rose. people across texas are picking up the pieces this morning after a massive tornado outbreak leaves a path of destruction. more violent weather is expected today. i'm erica hill. mitt romney goes 3 for 3 in tuesday's primaries. we'll speak with senator john mccain. i'm gayle king. when i see you at 8:00 james cameron opens up about his newest version of "titanic" in 3d. we begin with today's "eye opener," your world in 90 seconds. oh my goodness look at this! >> tornadoes tear through texas.

>> twisters sucking a big rig right off the ground and into the sky. >> damaging or destroying hundreds of homes. >> holy moly! oh, my god! >> residents and business owners in at least nine cities are cleaning up the destruction. >> i'm just glad to be here. >> thank you to wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c. we won them all! >> mitt romney pulls off a primary hat trick. >> and put himself more than halfway to clinching the nomination. >> who's ready to charge after a strong second half? >> santorum maintains he can still make the math work for him. >> his continued campaign has proven anything, is that he does not care about math. >> santa monica college, police used pepper spray on students. >> 40-0! the lady bears are the national champs in 2012!

>> ryan gosling is a real life super hero. >> he saved a woman from stepping in front of a speeding new york city taxi. >> all that -- >> if you buy a $10 million chandelier, you should have a house to put it in. >> you're the chandelier? > and all that matters -- >> this is how you fail with dignity and grace and style. wait. he does the worm. >> on "cbs this morning." a bottle of red, a bottle of white. >> what did kathie lee and hoda have for breakfast this morning? captioning funded by cbs welcome to "cbs this morning." it is extraordinary to see that widespread damage and destruction in north texas. violent storms ripped through the dallas/ft. worth area on tuesday. as many as a dozen tornadoes touched down. this morning those storms are moving into the mississippi valley and forecasters say more tornadoes are possible.

>> now incredibly no deaths have been reported in texas but hundreds of buildings, as you can imagine, were destroyed or damaged. special correspondent jeff glor is in forney texas, about 20 miles east of dallas. good morning. >> reporter: erica, good morning. many people across the country watched this unfold on live television yesterday afternoon. but for those who were here a much more personal and much more frightening experience. we're in the diamond creek neighborhood of forney texas, right now, which has some of the worst damage. and there are many more scenes like this. >> oh, wow! >> reporter: as tornadoes roared across north texas, their power left even seasoned storm chasers in awe. >> oh, my goodness! look at this! >> reporter: the force of the outbreak mid-tuesday afternoon enough to suck up and spin back out huge tractor-trailers. >> and he said, save us. >> there is no question it was

coming straight for us. >> reporter: homes leveled in a matter of seconds. >> oh no. >> taking the house. the house is gone. >> what? >> oh my god. >> reporter: this was one of the tornadoes in hard-hit forney. >> holy moly! oh, my god! >> reporter: another tornado whipped across lancaster. >> amazing we're still living. >> reporter: 300 homes in this dallas suburb were damaged or destroyed. >> i was in the house and it just sounded like a whole lot of big crackling noise and stuff. next thing i know, when we open the door later o it was just a big disaster. >> reporter: in arlington, an entire wing of this nursing home came flying off, injuring two and displacing more than 100. at this school, a tree left upside down. >> you could hear the walls shake. we threw ourselves on top of the kids. >> reporter: in this yard, more trailers crumpled up and thrown around. hundreds of flights were canceled at dallas/ft. worth airport where unusually large pellets of hail damaged more than 10 0 planes.

in neighborhoods, rescue workers went door to door, looking for victims, surveying the damage. >> it's hard. but i'm just glad to be here. >> reporter: sherri's home was decimated but she managed to escape alive, along with three infants she was babysitting. >> i went and yuched in the bathtub, put a comforter over us and that was it. >> let's get in quick! >> reporter: she, like so many here, took cover. this morning is thankful and amazed that given the force and devastation of this outbreak, no lives were lost. >> this is material things and it's really sad, but we're okay. that's the main part. >> reporter: the latest numbers we just got, 13,000 customers in texas still without power this morning. the good news here at least, the weather in this area expected to be much calmer today. charlie and erica? >> jeff glor thank you very much. now to breaking news from afghanistan. there's been at least two attacks against nato troops this

morning. cbs news has been told that at least four americans are dead. >> charlie d'agata is in afghanistan's capital, in kabul this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, erica. yes, afghan police officials confirmed to cbs news four u.s. troops have been killed, another four wounded in an apparent suicide attack -- suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck a crowd of people in a town in northern afghanistan this morning. ten afghans were killed in that attack. another 30 people were wounded. the dead include women and children. the u.s. soldiers had met with the local police chief and authorities before going into the village and meeting with some of the locals. these are scenes we see every day up and down afghanistan in an effort to gain some trust and build relationships with the residents there. it's worth noting we are still waiting official confirmation from nato about the u.s. deaths. in what appears to be a separate incident, nato says three servicemen were killed in an ied

attack. again, in the north of afghanistan. a nationality of the service members is still being withheld. >> charlie d'agata in kabul, thank you. turning to politics the race for the white house, mitt romney has a more solid grip on the republican presidential race this morning after winning all three primaries on tuesday. he beat rick santorum by five-point margin in wisconsin, won by a landslide in maryland and the district of columbia. national correspondent chip reid is in milwaukee. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. last night's big win for mitt romney does help clear the path to the republican nomination. according to exit polls here in wisconsin, 80% of republican voters believe he will eventually be the republican nominee. even two-thirds of rick santorum voters agree. >> and thank you to wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c. we won them all! >> reporter: an air of confidence came with mitt romney's triple win as republican front-runner

distanced himself from the primary and took on president obama. >> president obama thinks he's doing a good job. i'm not kidding. he actually thinks he's doing a great job. >> reporter: romney turns the table on a line of attack obama officials have used against him in recent days. >> he seems to be oblivious to the experiences of everyday people. >> i think governor romney is a little out of touch. >> reporter: here is how romney flipped the argument last night. >> years of flying around on air force one, surrounded by true believers telling you you're great, doing a great job, it's enough to think you might become a little out of touch with that and that's what's happened. >> reporter: romney's ability to challenge the president was key to his victory. he overwhelmingly won with voters who said they wanted a candidate who could win back the white house in november. and the president for the first time yesterday singled out the former massachusetts governor in a speech bashing congressional budget plan for its deep cuts. >> governor romney has said he hoped a similar version of this

plan from last year would be introduced as a bill on day one of his presidency. >> reporter: romney now has more than half of the delegates needed to win, but rick santorum refuses to drop out. last night he promised to fight on and continued to take swings at romney. >> the people of this country have stood up and followed because they seen someone who has a clear, positive vision. someone who's convictions are also forged in steel, not on an ech asketch. >> reporter: now, exit polls here in wisconsin say romney did better than evangelicals and tea party supporters than in the past. you think that would increase the pressure on santorum to get out but he says on to pennsylvania. charlie and erica? >> chip reid thank you. now to the man currently in the white house and his battle with the supreme court. >> this morning many conservatives say they're outraged by what president obama is saying about the court and its health care law. chief legal correspondent jan

crawford is in washington looking at possible showdown between the white house and the high court. >> reporter: good morning. this is turning into almost a real food fight between the president and the courts. it's all over that massive health care law. i think the president appears to be laying the groundwork to take on the court if it strikes down that law. >> i don't anticipate the court striking this down. i think they take their responsibilities very seriously. >> reporter: for the second straight day, president obama gave his take on what the supreme court should do uphold his signature domestic achievement. monday he seemed to suggest the court didn't even have the power to strike down the law. >> ultimately, i'm confident that the supreme court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step. >> reporter: of course, it wouldn't be unprecedented. the justices often overturn laws passed by congress if the court believes the law is unconstitutional.

on obama's comments republicans pounced. >> what is this the court must understand? that is a threat. >> reporter: it went beyond talk radio. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell released a statement saying the president lacked fundamental respect for the separation of powers. yesterday afternoon the judges struck back. a federal appeals court in houston issued an order to the justice department to explain whether the president really meant the court had no power to strike down the law. >> i'm referring to statements by the president in the past few days, that it is somehow inappropriate for what he termed unelected judges to strike acts of congress. >> reporter: the stakes are high. if the court strikes the law down which now appears a real possibility, it could be bad for the president's re-election efforts. so the administration may be trying some thin. >> they may be trying to shape public opinion about what a court decision might be.

it may just be president obama as a former teacher of constitutional law can't help but weigh in on what he thinks the courts should do. >> reporter: now, the judge told the justice department to have that answer by noon thursday high noon, but already the president does seem to be backing off a little bit. i mean we just heard he did teach constitutional law. he said yesterday, of course, the court has that power, just that it should exercise it wisely. >> jan, thank you very much. with us from phoenix is arizona senator john mccain. good morning. >> good morning, charlie. >> there has been in the long history of this country much debate about what the supreme court does is what the president is saying appropriate? >> well as usually, he's backing off some from his initial rather remarkable statement. anybody who -- a cursory reading of the constitution of the united states clearly understands there's a balance of powers envisioned by our founding fathers.

one of those important responsibilities is the rein the supreme court places on the legislative branch which has worked pretty well. for him to think it's not within the court's purview to overturn what most of us knew from the beginning was an unconstitutional act by forcing the american people to accept a product and describe what's in the product and fine them if they don't, then clearly the president, quote, a teacher of constitutional law, doesn't have the same fundamental understanding most of us do. >> the supreme court has a right to rule on the constitutionality of federal law? >> since '78. absolutely. in fact, i thought their decision on citizens united that's the campaign finance law, i'm still outraged but i certainly never challenge their right to do it. >> on that, you and the

president agreed. >> that's right. but we agreed in that -- i agreed it was a bad decision but certainly we should -- i never questioned that they didn't have the right to do that. apparently the president doesn't read the constitution the way some of us do. >> this campaign has begun it looks like romney's the nominee you've endorsed him. does mitt romney have to redefine himself now? there's a window of opportunity to define himself against the charges he's out of touch and that by endorsing the ryan budget it is a prescription for american decline? >> well i think that now that it's clear he's the nominee, that most american voters will be looking at mitt romney from that viewpoint. they've watched this really rather disastrous campaign which has really raised unfavorables of all of our republican candidates rather dramatically. but they'll be looking at him and give him, i think, another opportunity. i also hope that rick santorum

would understand that it's time for a graceful exit. but i think that the american people will be looking at him and speaking of out of touch, i can't imagine the president belaboring mitt romney for supporting a budget. at least we voted on. there has been no budget in the united states senate in well over 1,000 days which is required by law. >> let me go to -- >> remarkable. >> your description of disastrous raises an interesting question. whether some conservatives are right in fearing that the nominee will not be as conservative as they would like for him to be and that he will quote, in a sense, etch-a-sketch his own campaign. >> well that was said by an aide. it was an unfortunate comment. obviously, it was pounced upon. that's the world we live in. i'm far more concerned about the president of the united states

telling a corrupt dictator who was just elected in a terribly corrupt election in a corrupt country that he's not our friend that he's going to be quote, flexible on one of the fund meants of our national security since ronald reagan and that's missile defense. the president owes the american people an explanation as to what does he mean by flexible. >> this is a conversation he had overheard by an open mike. >> he said he would pass it on to vladimir. >> yes. >> there's been some talk about the choice of a vice president for the eventual nominee and what that should entail. sarah palin said she thinks the nominee, if it is mitt romney go rogue. what's your advice? >> i think it should be sarah palin. >> do you really? are you endorsing sarah palin? >> have you talked to her about that? >> no, i vaebt. >> and would you characterize her as a rogue? >> i think that we have some very qualified candidates.

obviously, marco rubio is in the top tier. chris christie. there are a number of candidates we have out there. bobby jindall, mitch daniels. i'm sure we'll make the right choice. obviously, it's a touch decision. >> your former running mate is on the "today" show this week. you said if you live long enough, anything can happen. does that mean that if you live long enough, we might find you here one morning as a co-host, getting up at 4:30 to work with us here? >> are you offering him your chair, charlie? >> senator? >> well i got up at 2:45 this morning arizona time to be with you. >> that's when i get up every day. it's perfect. >> it's wonderful. it certainly cuts down on expenses in the evening, doesn't it? >> yes, it does. >> senator john mccain from his home state of arizona. thank you so much. good to see you. >> thanks for having me on.

time to show you some headlines from around the globe. detroit free press says march was the best month for u.s. automakers in five years. all three u.s. carmakers posted significant gains led by chrysler, up 34%, were on pace to buy 14.5 million new cars and trucks this year. >> the l.a. times says students protesting new tuition rates were pepper sprayed by campus police in california. about 100 students tried to storm a trustee meeting in santa monica last night. several student were hospitalized. >> the denver post celebrates the new ncaa women's basketball champs, baylor led by 6'8" brittney griner who beat notre dame 80-61 last night to win the title. the lady bears finished the year 40-0. the best season in college basketball history. tampa tribune reports delta

flight attendant helped a woman give birth on a flight en route from ghana to atlanta. they tied the umbilical cord with a shoe string disinfecting it by soaking it in vodka. congrats to mom, baby and that >> announcer: this national weather report sponsored by starbucks, where you can get the espresso drinks you love hot or iced.

there is a new twist in the case of douglas kennedy, accused of endangering his newborn on. the incident was caught on camera. we'll talk to his lawyer and tell you what an investigation found only on "cbs this morning." plus a pilot's 80-year-old wife is forced to take over in midflight. >> upping her airplane. her husband was the pilot and she thinks he's having a heart attack.

>> we have the story of her near perform perfect and heart breaking emergency landing. you're watching "cbs this morning." >> announcer: this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by universal pictures "five-year engagement." [ female announcer ] ready for a taste of what's hot? check out the latest collection of snacks from

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a little controversy going on with the wisconsin primary. wisconsin democrats are accusing mitt romney of handing out free sub sandwiches in exchange for votes. yeah, which explains today why newt gingrich voted for mitt romney. seven times.

>> there are new details in the douglas kennedy case. at 26 minutes past 7:00, the sun is coming up with some clouds but it is a very mild day start and it looks like it is going to continue to be so. we have got sharp watching traffic and marty is over at first warning weather. >> -- forecast for the day. these clouds will be busting up before not tongs and it should be a pretty fine afternoon with a high temperature of right around 72 degrees, could we pop in first warning weather doppler though for a second? there is light showers up over cecil county but i think that is really going to be about it. now, here is sharon gibala at wjz tv traffic control. >> hi, marty, good morning, everyone, two accidents there. we still have that overturned

vehicle in annapolis there. speeds still looking good overall on your major roadways. the slowest spot now is the top side of the beltway. 52 miles per hour is your average. the west side is back up to full speed. there is a live look outside at baltimore national pike. this traffic report is brought to you by medieval times. back over to you. >> thank you very much. in the news this morning the votes are in and mitt romney wins the republican primary here. monique griego has the latest. >> reporter: good morning, everyone, not that many voters headed to the poles but that did not matter for mitt romney, who is now a shoe in for the nomination. unlike other states exit polling shows he did well with conservative voters. polls show 70% of maryland republicans picked him because they think he has the best chance to beat obama. the others are still in the race. romney does have over 600

delegates, more than half needed to secure the nomination. back to you. >> the teenager involved in a fiery crash has died. two other teens were also killed in the accident. another passenger is injured. police say they were in a stolen car and fleeing from police when they crashed into a tree and burst into flames. classes resume this morning after a bomb threat there yesterday. a schoolworker spotted a note on a door during the morning hours. it said there was a bomb in that school and other schools. more than 2500 students were sent home but no explosive devices were found. stay with wjz 13, maryland's news station. up next the attorney for robert kennedy's son reveals a big development that includes accusations of harassment and child endangerment. again if you are heading outside right now it is a mild morning temperature-wise and sharon says it is a mild

morning traffic-wise as

we did read a tweet you sent out saying we're going rogue and infiltrate some fur. what exactly does that mean? >> what do you think it means? >> oh infiltrating the "today" show. i think it means you're manufacturing a notion of yourself as a crusader against a monolithic media while enjoying a symbiotic relationship only to the detriment of the rest of the country. seriously, seriously, you really believe co-hosting the "today" show is entering the lion's den with iwo jima sized flag pin? look at that. if a hamster went to the moon

that is a flag it would plant. >> welcome back to "cbs this morning." >> douglas kennedy is part of a political designty however robert f. kennedy's youngest son made news two months ago which he was arrested at a new york hospital, charged with mistreating his newborn son. lee woodruff reports, will is an important new development in this case. >> reporter: in the surveillance video, douglas kennedy can be seen walking down a hospital corridor clutching his infant son. he enters an elevator but two nurses fearing a possible abduction, block the doors. kennedy then leaves and enters a stairwell, now trailed by several hospital staffers. moments later, one of the nurses falls to the floor. >> he brought his leg up and kicked me and i went flying through the air. wnbc they were worried about the baby's safety.

>> i was petrified the baby was going flying down the stairs. >> reporter: kennedy insists the nurses were the aggressors. still he was arrested and charged with child endangerment. it's sickening to think our desire to take our son outside for fresh air has been warped into child endangerment, he said in a at the same time. kennedy, infant altercation caught on tape it was a recipe for a media firestorm. cbs news has learned the results of a child protective services investigation into the incident. it found no credible evidence he abused or maltreated his baby, calling the allegations unfounded. kennedy is due in court next week. how the new findings will affect the case against him remains to be seen. but regardless of the outcome, the nurses insist they are still victims. >> i find myself crying sometimes for no reason. and then i remember he gave me that reason. >> reporter: for "cbs this

morning," i'm lee woodruff. >> robert douglas kennedy's attorney, joins us at the table. lee told us the findings of that investigation, which is standard procedure. how do you think it will affect the appearance in court next week? how does it come into play? >> the child protective services agency is an independent state agency. and they thoroughly investigated these allegations that the nurses made. and the allegations included that douglas kennedy, the father actually mistreated or abused his child, is charged with endangering the welfare of his own little boy. child protective services have said there is no credible evidence to support those allegations. so, it just makes sense. we're hopeful the westchester d.a. will re-evaluate this case. this case should never, ever have been brought in criminal court. >> there was question about what was really happening at that

moment. a doctor who has come forward and said i gave hip the okay. the hospital says, we stand by the nurses they were doing their job. it is hospital guideline you may not remove an infant from the ward without written permission. so, where is the disconnect here? is it okay for a doctor to say, yes, go ahead? >> that's not even the issue. the doctor who you're talking about is an independent doctor a friend of the kennedys but he was on duty. a highly respected doctor. >> right. >> he was there that night. what he has said very clearly, the only aggressors, the only people who did anything wrong were the nurses. douglas kennedy the father did nothing wrong. whatever the policy might have been, the fact of the matter is nurses that night initially knew that douglas kptd to take his baby out for fresh air. that's all it was. >> there are two questions a lot of people have. why taking a newborn outside in january? what was his desire in doing that? number two why not just follow protocol and get written

permission? >> this was the kennedys' fifth child. they know how to take care of a baby -- >> i mean, i've had two children. you have to be -- there are a number of proceduresin place. when you leave the hospital with your baby. you can't just walk out with your own child. >> but the thing is they charged him with a crime. this case whatever happens, you know unfortunately, things happen sometimes between human beings. not everything then deserves being brought in a criminal court. the fact of the matter is that morning after three days being in the hospital the baby -- but for the fact that molly, the mother, was breast-feeding and had had a c-section, the baby would have been home and joined the fresh air of westchester, new york, to his heart's delight. so that night at 7:00 after the third day, the baby was perfectly healthy and it was a beautiful -- you know we had a very balmy winter here in new york. so, that night both the mother and the father molly and douglas, said let's take our

child out for some fresh air. that's all it was. >> so in hindsight, then you say there never have have been a charge. there's this protocol in place. their fifth kid. they know how that works. does your client perhaps wish he had had that written permission and avoided all of this? >> yeah, listen, i think everybody everybody, the kennedys -- this should have been the happiest times in their lives. it's their baby. everybody wishes nothing had happened. the fact of the matter is, both the hospital and nurses putting the kennedys through this on the birth of their newborn baby when they did nothing wrong, no criminal charges, has just been a disgraceful episode. we're hoping the d.a. will say, you know what let's reason insanity, rear its head again and just drop the criminal charges. if they want to fight it out because it's all about money, that's all it s nurses are just looking for money. in this country, unfortunately, that happens day in and day out. fight it out somewhere else. it does not belong in criminal

court. >> so you are suggesting -- i was trying to understand. i'm listening and find it interesting. you are saying that if in fact a new parent wants to go in and take their baby from the ospital where the baby is even though there's a protocol and take it outside for fresh air, not a question of law, but that's perfectly fine with you and you would -- perfectly fine that kind of conduct okay? >> not -- listen what happened that night, it's clear and clear on the tapes. douglas actually went to the nurses, had a conversation with the nurses. the nurses and our witness even said initially the nurses said it was okay. douglas went to get a bassinet to put the baby in. two nurses who weren't involved in the initial discussion who initially said it was okay it was suddenly these two nurses jump into the fray and say, absolutely not. you're not allowed to go outside. but this is only after our witnesses and the nurses who were initially involved said it

was okay and they were working out the details. so, it's not a case where somebody said to douglass, you may not bring out your baby. that's not what happened in this case. >> thank you mr. gottlieb. >> thank you very much. an 80-year-old grandmother is stuck in air when her husband, the pilot, blacks out in the cockpit. she did get down to the ground saving herself. it is an incredible story. we'll show you how it happened. you're watching "cbs this morning." ♪ ♪ here you go. [ male announcer ] people everywhere are helping save trees in just 4 weeks... uh...mom? ...without even noticing. as the world's first line of hybrid paper products scott naturals combines the green benefits of recycled fiber with the quality you need -- so only our forests will notice the difference. [ male announcer ] take the scott naturals

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every so often you hear about regular people doing amazing things you should the most intense pressure. >> it happened this week in wisconsin. bob orr has the story of one woman who saved herself when her husband was stricken in midair. >> reporter: helen and john collins were married for 58 years when visiting family they often didn't drive, they flew in a twin-engine cessna like this

one. john was an experienced pilot. averaging 250 flight hours each summer. but late monday afternoon while flying to see one of their sons something went terribly wrong. helen realized john had lost consciousness. with little flight experience of her own and none with this particular plane, the 80-year-old woman took over the controls. captain chesley sullenberger knows something about dangerous flights and emergency landings. >> she obviously paid attention when her husband was flying the airplane. then she was able to master her fear. >> reporter: she called 911 and police dispatchers alerted the faa. >> they said a lady up in her airplane, her husband was the pilot and she thinks he's having a heart attack. she thinks he's not able to fly the plane right now. >> reporter: she was circling at 400 feet over the northern wisconsin when robert vuksanovic, a licensed pilot from sturgeon bay, flew to her

rescue. >> question were putting flaps down, i was doing the same in my aircraft. >> flying in formation and keeping his airplane near hers he was able to judge her speed and altitude by watching his instruments without her having to tell her what hers was. that was critical point. >> reporter: he coached her through several practice runs before she headed for an emergency landing. after a butchy touchdown, helen's plane skidded across a grassy area, glided onto the runway, coming to a stop with its nose on the ground. >> she did a great job. the timing was perfect. >> reporter: john collins never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. but helen survived with only minor injuries. a remarkable heroic feat that her son called justice unbelievable. bob orr, cbs news, washington. >> her son, right, it is unbelievable you can do that and the way they choreographed the

other airplane. >> imagine, too, the composure she must have had and knowing her husband was next to her, knowing he's been stricken and having the wherewithal and focus to follow that. some people look at popcorn as just a handful of empty calories, but it may actually beat some fruits and veggies when it comes to nutrition. we have that full story coming up in "healthwatch." you're watching "cbs this morning."

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his movie-making skills. now it's time for "healthwatch." here's dr. holly phillips. good morning. today in "healthwatch," popcorn popcorn's hidden health benefits. we always knew it was better than other salty snacks like potato chips but now there's evidence that popcorn may even have some advantages over many fruits and vegetables. one key factor popcorn is packed with healthful antioxidant substances call polyphenol. they may have disease-fighting properties. in addition, the hulls of popcorn are high in fiber. one researcher calls the hulls nutritional gold nuggets. one serving provides 70% of the recommended daily intake of whole grains. how it's prepared can quickly make popcorn a nutritional nightmare. movie popcorn is loaded with sodium, fat and calories. one study found a large unbuttered popcorn contains 1200 calories. of course, popcorn cannot replace fresh fruits and

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picture this morning from washington, d.c. that is, of course the new memorial for the reverend dr. martin luther king jr., who was assassinated 44 years ago today. tonight there will be a vigil at the memorial to mark that anniversary. welcome back to "cbs this morning." five minutes before the hour now. >> gayle king will look at what's coming up in the next hour. >> hello, charlie. hi erica. after a scary day, residents of north texas are waking up and assessing the damage caused by as many as 12 tornadoes. michelle miller is on the ground in lan kaseyer texas. for the first time student loan debt has exceeded credit card debt in the united states. rebecca jarvis will tell us what this means for the economy. laura linney is joining us live in studio 57. it won 11 oscars one of the top

box office sellers of all-time. 15 years later "titanic" is back but in 3d. four minutes before 8:00. that is the sun behind the clouds in the east there. it is a mild day start, that is translateed to most of the rush as well. sharon will have the latest on that right after marty's first warning weather. >> let's take a look at the radar. there are showers in the area that is part of the forecast. having said that i am not too worried about that. a high temperature of 72. now, here is sharon gibala at wjz tv traffic control. >> hi, marty, good morning, everyone. well if you are just about to head out we don't have that many problems out there, which is definitely a good thing. an accident in bellaire and another one in the city.

watch for traffic lights on flash labyrinth road. speeds around bad, the top side 40 miles an hour, this shot you can see it is not bad there. this traffic report is brought to you by accord restoration. back over to you. >> thank you. mitt romney's campaign moves on with a win in yesterday's primary here in mayor land. monique griego has details. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. not that many voters headed to the polls yesterday but that did not matter for mitt romney, who is now practically a shoe in for the gop nomination. unlike other states exit polling in maryland shows romney did well with very conservative voters, usually his weakness. poles also show 70% of maryland republicans picked romney because they think he has the best chance to beat president obama. rick santorum, ron paul and newt gingrich are all still in the race. but romney does have over 600 delegates, and that is more

than half needed to secure the nomination. back to you. >> thank you very much. stay with us, up next student ֖֖֖֖֖֖

a lot of competition in early morning tv. on nbc you have "the today show" and here at cbs you have the "cbs this morning" with charlie rose. and a lot of jostling, a lot of fighting, a lot of scrape and scrapping, everybody getting the last possible -- here's what i'm talking about. >> this morning on "today," sarah palin guest hosts, wilson phillips performs we stop by for the second time in a week and star jones discusses whether jessica simpson is too fat. that's why you should watch "cbs this morning," check local listings. >> there you go.

>> so, dave, listen, i was cracking up, erica because i thought that was dave's cracker jack makeup team that super imposed that, then i hear, charlie, that was a real black eye. stop laughing. were you hurt? >> yes i was hurt. a long time ago. had a fight with a street. >> dirty dancing? >> a fight with a street? >> dirty dancing. >> what were you doing? really, what were you doing? can you say? >> yes. i was -- >> i'm curious. >> -- walking across the street there was a pothole, i had some things in my hands, and i tripped. trying to protect the things i was carrying at the same time i went down and glancing blow -- >> that was a serious black eye. >> that was a serious black eye. >> i want to know what you were carrying? would you rather not share? okay. >> i would say that's -- i made that story up. there was another more outlandish story. >> involves a bar and you don't want to see the other guy. that's all we can say. >> okay,ly move it along.

now i'm very curious. i think it was dirty dancing. >> hello, it's 8:00. welcome back to "cbs this morning." i'm gayle king. >> i'm charlie rose with erica hill, recovery crews are busy in north texas this morning after a string of up to 12 tornadoes caused significant damage. >> the storms destroyed hundreds of homes. at least 12 people were hurt. so far though no deaths have been reported. >> michelle miller is on the ground in lancaster, texas. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. ancaster is perhaps, the hardest hit community. it's just 12 miles southeast of down down dallas. if there's any question as to the power of this storm system one only needs to look at the damage done to this one home. and hundreds more just like it. strong enough to hurdle tractor-trailers through the air, twisters scattered this inteem trees, crushed cars leveled homes south of dallas. >> oh, no. the house is gone. >> reporter: witnesses screamed. >> oh, my goodness!

look at this! >> reporter: as up to a dozen tornadoless plowed through the landscape. here in lancaster, at least 300 homes were damaged. half of them severely. >> oh my god, tornado right on the top of my house! oh, my god! >> reporter: as the storm struck, vincent climbed up to his roof for a better look and a plea. >> avoid my house! please! >> ever scared in my life. never scared like this. >> reporter: others hid. >> we heard the siren come and quickly jumped in the bathtub. i had three infants with me three kids with me. i just put them in the bathtub, laid on top of them. we just prayed. >> reporter: this man, being carried out on i stretcher, was taking care of his grandfather, 85-year-old robert simmons when the tornado tore through their home and he was struck by debris

debris. >> and he helped me get in the bathtub and put some pillows over me. by the time he got the pillows over me, i heard this cracking. like a freight train or something coming through the house, and all at once it was gone. >> reporter: prior storm warnings gave people time to react. that meant despite widespread damage, there were no reported deaths. >> amazing we're still living. >> reporter: as the storm approached this man at st. barn bus church took immediate action to get kids save. >> we duck and cover when we knew it was coming about to hit us, we actually put some kids under some choir robes up against the wall and closets and bathrooms bathrooms. we can rebuild, replace but thankful nobody was injured or hurt. >> reporter: simply amazing. well the tornadoes knocked out power to some 40,000 homes yesterday. but power crews have been working through the night. and that number stands now at 7,000. erica, gayle charlie?

>> michelle, thank you. it is -- overcast conditions in the area right now on first warning doppler showed some widely scattered very light shower activity as a matter of fact almost right over the riverside inn across from the naval academy near apnothing else. a n n a p o lis. the number is truly stunning. student death in this country has topped $1 trillion. think about that. that's more than our credit cards or car loans. >> some economists say it could derail the fragile economic recovery. rebecca jarvis is here. also with us is former labor secretary robert rice who teaches public policy at university of california his latest book is "aftershock

cloempb"aftershock: the next economy and future." good morning. >> good morning. >> is this the next financial crisis? >> charlie, i don't think it's a financial crisis but it could be if the level of student debt continues to mount as we are seeing right now. i mean a lot of students cannot get jobs in this economy. they have gone into additional education because they couldn't get jobs but now they're finding that they have more debt they have to pay off and that additional education, although it will pay for itself over the long term, right now is a huge debt burden. >> so -- go ahead. >> mr. rice the president and-n his state of union address said higher education shouldn't be a luxury. is that what it's becoming or has become in this country, do you think? >> undoubtedly the cost of college education is rising faster than inflation. so, it is becoming harder and harder for students to afford. a lot of state governments -- remember, about 70% of students

in college and university today are in state institutions and the states have been under a great deal of budget strain. they have been reducing state support. that means tuition and fees have been going up very very fast. students and their families are under greater and greater strain. >> when you look at this problem, charlie and gayle and robert, when you look at this problem, a lot of people are saying, could this be the next housing crisis? and there are some key differences here. for one thing, the student loan market is about a tenth of the size of the mortgage market so if all the student loans in this country were to go bad at the same time, you would have a tenth of the size of the problem but the other key here is that they likely all won't go bad at the same time. unlike the housing crisis where everything went bad all at once the problem here is more of a slow burn. where you have recent college graduates delaying things like having children, delaying thing like buying homes, like their boomer parents. when you think about, hey, worry in this recovery right now, we need everybody to be a

participant in the recovery to make it real. and when you have all of these recent college graduates, 25% of them can't get a job right now. when you have a problem like that, it just creates bigger problems down the road. >> and then when they get the job, the job doesn't make enough to cover the cost of their student debt. >> exactly. a lot of people who are taking jobs, they're not putting their college degrees to use. a number of the recent college graduates are getting jobs that don't even account for their college degrees. >> how did it get this way and what can we do? that's what we need to do now. >> take this one, robert. >> mr. rice your turn. how did it get this way? >> part of the problem is that college costs have been rising faster than inflation. colleges are not the most efficient institutions. but part of the problem also is that fees and tuitions have not been offset by state legislators. the government used to provide and the federal government also helped provide a lot of student aid. that has been drying up. so, the college loan market

keeps on growing. and i think in the future over the future we are going to see more attempts online education, more ways of getting students good, higher education without necessarily all the expenses and frills that go with attending a four-year college. we also in this country have got to develop a good system of technical education. it's absurd that every young person has got to go to a four-year college in order to get a good education for preparing for the jobs in the future. >> there are 3 million jobs open in this country that can't be filled. i talk to ceos every day, the engineering, math, science programs. they cannot find people to fill these jobs in this country because of the types of degrees that most american students are pursuing. one of the options on the table here is to wipe away all of the college debt of graduates. now, i think there are some unintended consequences because you think about what is college debt, what is student loan debt? it's the first major

responsibility economically speaking, financially speaking that anyone takes on. if you wipe that away, all of a sudden that creates a new -- what do we think about responsibility going forward? that could have negative implications for the economy just in general when people are asked to take on future loans and live up to that responsibility. >> all right. rebecca, you had the final word on that. thank you. >> thank you robert rice. good to see you. you. last night keith observerman told david letterman he got fired from a job he never should have taken. >> i screwed up. i screwed up really big on this. >> sounds humble right? but he wasn't all apologetic. we'll hear what else the combative cable host is saying about his latest breakup. you are watching "cbs this morning."

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♪ ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ ♪ 3q my mom makes a green bean crunchy. it's like totally crunch-erific! what they mean is, it's french's french fried onions in my green bean casserole. french's french fried onions. available in the french's stay-fresh can. outspoken, maybe a bit of an understatement if you're talking about keith olbermann. on friday he was fired by his latest employer. turns out he's not too happy about it. >> jim axelrod reports olbermann made his first extended comments last night right here on cbs. jim, hello to you. >> good morning, gayle. just 14 months after his abrupt de departure from msnbc, he's been dropped by current tv. even though he seemed to admit he played a role in his

dismissal, he was quick to say his big mistake was trusting current tv in the first place. >> reporter: on tuesday night keith olbermann sat down with david letterman and admitted he was partly at fault from his dismissal from current tv. >> i screwed up. i screwed up really big on this. let's just start there, all right? i thought we could do this. >> reporter: but after seeming to take the blame for his latest professional divorce olbermann opened up on the left-leaning network, co-founded by al gore and suggested the network wasn't capable of supporting him or his show. >> you know, if you buy a $10 million chandelier you should have a house to put it in. just walking around with a $10 million chandelier isn't going to do anybody a lot of good. and it's not going to do any good to the chandelier. >> you're the chandelier? >> reporter: but behind all the

banter is a fierce feud between olbermann and his former employer. last friday the cable network announced olbermann, who had been brought in on a five-year deal reportedly worth $50 million h been fired, saying in a statement that its relationship with olbermann no longer reflected the network's value of respect, openness, and loyalty to our viewers. and we have ended it. >> do you expect from those elected officials who no longer know anything of government or governance but only perceive how to get elected. >> reporter: network executive hs been feuding with olbermann for months poor production time off during primary season and even his car service. an issue that letterman tackled head on. >> at least one occasion the car services stopped coming to get me because the bill hadn't been paid. >> reporter: on his website, olbermann has said a lawsuit against the network will follow. >> you got your money. that's all i care about, right? >> well up till last thursday i

got my money. >> right. >> the -- the nice judge will decide whether or not i get any more of my money. >> so ultimately jim, four networks now. what's the thinking? i mean is there anywhere else he can go or is that it for television? >> espn fox sports msnbc, current tv. you know maybe -- maybe keith olbermann doesn't need tv, at least in his mind. maybe he'll go out on his own. there is precedent, can ask his buddy glenn beck. >> i hear the sound of bridges burning. >> current tv didn't even wish him well the formality of that. >> we'll see what happens. to be continued, for sure. thanks. it has been 100 years since the titanic sank 15 years since james cameron put it on film and now he's talking about the new 3d version of that blockbuster and his recent underwater adventure. that's ahead when "cbs this morning" continues. >> announcer: this portion of

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♪ can't buy me love love ♪ on this date in 1964 the first five songs on the billboard top 100 were all by the beatles. qunt can't buy me lieu," "twist and shout," she loves you," qupt i want to hold my hand." >> never go wong with the beatles. as we looked around the web we found a few reason to make "a long stor short." 42% of people would be hurt the most if they were called a liar. 36% said they would be most hurt if they were thought of as a racist. translation, more americans would rather be called a racist than a liar. how about neither, erica? >> i would go with neither, too, gayle.

britain's "daily mail," 4 years after beatles broke up mccarthy paul's son says he's interested in forming a band with the sons of the other fab four. they're all thinking about it. there you go. >> if you're a james bond fan, i would buy their album. 23 you're a james bond fan the story from the new york post 007 has always had one favorite beverage. >> can i do something for you, mr. bond? >> just a drink. a martini, shaken, not stirred. >> not stirred. now we hear that in the next bond movie, daniel craig knocks back a beer. heineken is doing a happy dance. "usa today" is showing off the new nfl uniforms. nike designed them for all 32 teams. they're made with lighter fabric, got a tighter fit. the nfl stars did some modeling at tuesday's event. >> and i'm thinking they look

good. >> i think they look all right, gayle. >> nike gets it right again. we'll be back w mm, these artisan bagels are so tasty. hey, what do you think "artisan" means? it's latin. for what? really, really good bagels. dunkin's new artisan bagels are as authentic as it gets. soft, chewy, and delicious. grab one today.

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right now get any size for just 99 cents. 25 minutes past 8:00, clouds and sun but a mild day start. sharon is here to wrap up the rush right after marty --- >> -- clouds were -- >> -- uh-huh -- >> -- glasses -- let's go ahead and take a look at the forecast. a high temperature right around 72. a couple of showers on the eastern shore, otherwise partly sunny breezy and mild with no rain. now, here is sharon gibala with wjz tv traffic control. good morning. >> two issues out there, two accidents in fact, one of them in bellaire, the other one in the city. traffic lights out on flash

labyrinth at reisterstown road. there are shots running smoothly there also. this traffic report is brought to you by the cochrane firm. back over to you. >> thank you. mitt romney has been declared the rick tore of the maryland republican presidential primary, monique griego has his story. >> reporter: good morning, everyone, not that many voters headed to the polls but that did not matter for mitt romney who is practically a shoe in for the nomination. exit poles shows he did well with conservative voters, usually his weakness, and 70% picked him because they think he has the best chance to beat obama. the others are all still in the race. he does have over 600 delegates, more than half needed to secure the nomination. back to you. >> there is a vigil held in the

towson university campus to mourn the sudden death of two students, ryan bailey was killed and timothy coyer was found death inside his apartment. investigators are still trying to figure out how he died. a reward is offered for information on that hit-and-run driver. a man is facing charges for allegedly taking pictures of women in the restroom. they also say he is a registered sex offender. there is a salmonella scare blamed on sushi. investigators say it may be linked to sushi and has caused at least 7 hospitalizations, they also warn it seems to be

expanding. stay with us. up next james cameron talks about [ male announcer ] what if you have potatoes? but you've got a meat and potatoes guy? pour chunky sirloin burger soup over those mashed potatoes and dinner is served. four minutes

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i thought you were on the midnight train to georgia. where did you hear that? >> through the grapevine. coming from omaha, looks like -- why am i craving steaks? steak anyone? >> time for breakfast. >> welcome back to "cbs this morning." james cameron declared himself king of the world. you remember that? when he won an oscar for directing "titanic" but that was not his crowning achievement.

>> the film returns to theater in 3d and cameron just made a dive to the deepest spot on the earth. >> i'm king of the world! >> reporter: 15 years after "titanic" made him the king of hollywood, james cameron returns to the red carpet to premiere a new version of his blockbuster film. despite grossing nearly $2 billion and winning 11 oscars including best director and picture, cameron believes he could make "titanic" bigger and better by making it 3d. what were the challenges technically in turning a 15-year-old movie into a 3d movie? >> 300 artists working at workstations for over a year about 60 weeks, to literally outline every object every character, every feature on every face and do it for every frame.

>> reporter: the release of the 100th anniversary of a disaster that continues to grip the world's fascination. and none more than that of cameron himself. one of the most inoe ratetive and successful film makers of all time -- >> break down the center. get up. >> reporter: he's also an accomplished underwater explorer and took on the role of method director, diving to the titanic wreck several times as research for his movie. >> were you thinking cinematically when you first came across the titanic's wreck? >> absolutely. when i dove the titanic the first time the first 12 times, it was -- it was to make a movie. it was to make, you know this movie. you know, i went down there with a shot list lights cameras and all that. it can be a very, very powerful place. and once i let that kind of sink in then i had something to share with the actor. >> reporter: the life of a hollywood film maker and underwater explorer is one of

extremes. tonight james cameron is on top of the movie world. just 36 hours earlier, cameron was returning from a first ever solo dive to the deepest part of the planet. the mariana trench seven miles under the pacific ocean. piercing lights and 3d cameras, the action took over two hours to find. the dangerous task of collecting important marine research. >> the whole sub squeezes down almost three inches in length when it gets to the bottom of the ocean because of the pressure. the sphere that i'm in actually shrinks. the window i look out actually pushes in toward me under 16,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. >> reporter: but keeping cool under pressure, he still took time to tweet. just arrived at the ocean's deepest point, hitting bottom never felt so good. back on dry land, the director's

work continues to fuse science and art, growing up he couldn't separate them. >> exploring and storytelling, those two things. as a kid i read adviser rashsly science fiction, fantasy, i would draw. i was taking it in and figuring out a way to put it back out in some way. >> i want a shot of you here playing with more water coming toward them -- >> reporter: one to never let science and art stand still, he's returned to another success story. he's already started a five-year project to bring us "avatar 2" and 3. >> i can't wait. you spent a lot of time with him. i'm assuming you were impressed. >> i was. >> his enthusiasm to me is infectious for this project. >> it really is. i mean he was there in london for this film premiere. 36 hours earlier, like i said in the piece, he had been literally at the bottom of the ocean. he had charted a plane, gone by

siberia to gone there in time. he's spent a lot of his own money and investing in submersibles to get to the bottom of the ocean. >> for what reason? >> only two people to the bottom of the planet, 50 years ago, so there's a lot of things we don't understand about the deepest point in the ocean. he's taken it upon himself to explore that unknown region. >> interesting man. >> nice to have you here on set. come back again. >> i hope he keeps the song. i love the song. i hope he keeps the song. >> good to see you. >> thank you. the idea of a comedy about cancer, pretty shocking to a lot of folks. the big "c" is starting its third season and people love it. we also love its star laura linney. she's with us in good morning, temperatures right now are in the -- let's say low 50s, going for a high

of 72 degrees this afternoon. i am saying becoming partly sunny, a pretty good amount of overcast in the area right now. let's go to first warning doppler weather radar, we have light shower activity widely scattered around the region, this is a morning and early midday thing. i wish i could tell you it was more than

♪ a beautiful day

got love it ♪ in the hit show series "the big c," laura linney tries to play a wife and mother after finding out she has stage four cancer. >> i love you, dear. >> you're smiling. you never smile. i knew it. i knew it! i'm a dead woman. the tumors have grown again. well, it is what it is. >> i can't smile because i'm happy? >> i don't know. can you? >> on sunday laura linney returned for a third season in the role that won her a golden globe. welcome. >> good to have you here in the morning. >> wonderful to see you both. >> tell me why did you think this has been so compelling because it is a comedy good acting, good writing, but there's something about this that makes it even more interesting. >> i think it's the youth of

comedy with something that is -- >> not so funny. >> -- not so funny but i think comedy is effective when you try to make sense of something. when something's overwhelming or threatening or confusing or chaotic, comedy can go right to the center of something and elucidate to make you feel like you know what's going on around you. all of a sudden geography that's not in focus becomes in focus. it's that attempt we try to use with good acting good writers, and entertaining as well. it's that strange combination of things that has made it -- the people who watch it are enthusiastic about it. >> i plead guilty. my name's gayle. yes, i watch. i started watchy because of gabby. i thought, i'll watch buzzt i don't know. then there you are. the critics describe you as the

not so secret weapon of the show. you have the unique ability to play amusing yet sympathetic, strong all at the same time. what's your throughout process going into it. i wonder if people walk up to you and tell you their cancer stories. >> i have a lot of people that come up to me which is wonderful. not just the people who are struggling with cancer themselves but the care takers. the spouses, the sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers. and they tend to be the more emotional of the two, which always gets me. there's been a nice apt of support there. >> did you start thinking about your own mortality? >> you know, it's part of why i did the show in the first place is i was -- before showtime came to me with this project, i was very deep in thought about time the time we have how you use your time the limited time and what is worthy to you, your

family. so, i was deep in that thought process before. the show came to me and i think i need to pay attention to this and jump in here. >> it was also personal. your father had cancer? >> my father died of cancer last year unexpectedly, before -- so i had already started filming the show and then that happened. he died very quickly of lung cancer. we were all there, which was terrific. >> yeah. >> but the one thing that that -- you know the loss of a parent is the loss of a parent for anybody. >> regardless of your age. >> regardless of your age. >> true, yeah. >> but what it did do was -- it was filled with crazy moments. his illness until the time he died was filled with insane things that happened. you know where you can do nothing but laugh in order to stay alive. >> that's what happens a lot on your show. it started with your husband a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.

i wasn't feeling him. his character has changed and you ended on a great cliffhanger in that he's had a heart attack. we don't know whether he survived. you know but the rest of us don't know. it's interesting to see the characters develop in the show. >> yeah. >> and i know that character is really important to you. i just want you to talk about it for a second because that a-ha moment in "o" magazine where you were talking about character is important. so many of us have lost our way about character and no longer think it's important attribute to have. i love what you said that character really matters these day. bring it back. >> well, listening to a lot of my younger female friends who have become heart broken over and over again. they fall into a trap where they haven't quite realized charisma is not character. charisma is powerful, sexy, wonderful, fantastic, but it's not character. and if you think that charisma is going to lead to you a deeper safer place, it might,

but don't be surprised if it doesn't. and i think there's -- you know that sort of infiltrated all over the place. it's an easy thing to fall prey to. >> yeah yeah. >> continued success. i love watching you. i love the show. >> great to have you here. >> great to see you both. >> come back any time. >> season three premieres sunday on showtime. i think it will be revealed what happens to her husband. which, by the way, is now a good guy. a new baseball bat is a big hit in the big leagues. jeff glor takes us with the man who started his company in the backyard. you're watching "cbs this morning."

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♪ can't play ball why not dance? a little rain delay at last night's game so players from ole miss and southern mississippi had a little dance competition. shaking their groove thing. the fans loved it. we did too. there you go. welcome back to "cbs this morning." >> they're thinking i'm looking pretty good. i'm looking pretty good. speaking of baseball and dancing, opening day in miami where the marlins take on st. louis to start the national league season. 20 players in tonight's game will be swinging bats made by marucci sports. >> in fact, a third of the pros now use these handmade wooden bats. jeff glor hopped on a plane to cover tornados in forney texas, he got the story of this secret success. good morning. >> reporter: good morning once again to you. a true american success story here. 300 pros now use these bats a

company that didn't even exist ten years ago. this is where it all began? the shed in jack marucci's backyard is part of baseball history. >> this is a spot where a lot of the bats were first started. >> reporter: all because of what happened ten years ago when his son gino wanted to swing a bat like big league heroes. >> he was 10 years old. he says, dad, i would really like to have a wooden bat. >> reporter: bat companies didn't make wooden bats for kids only aluminum ones. marucci got creative. carving a bat at his workbench. >> this is a crude model. i used -- i burned his name in there. >> reporter: tell me how someone goes making bats for 8-year-olds for making bats for hall of famers. >> well, sometimes i think we still scratch our head. >> reporter: his job as head athletic trainer at lsu put him

in contact with major players, including kurt ainsworth, who talked him into making handmade bats for professionals. how many bats a day? >> 400, 500 bats a day. >> reporter: this is what they have today. a company that provides bats for more than 30% of major league players, including all-stars yoe say reyes, david ortiz and chase utley. >> that is hammered into left. >> reporter: albert pujols was swing a marucci bat hitting 300 home run last year and part of the reason pujols signed a $240 million contract in the off-season. >> pujols, i swing mariucci. now you can too. >> reporter: pujols is not endorsed by marucci. he and other players actually own part of the company. >> we have about 25 players involved in this company. truly, that's our secret sauce to have those guys involved.

>> reporter: is that like the new exclusive club inside major league baseball? if you're part of marucci? >> it's the fraternity. >> reporter: the wood for the bats is harvested from the rich forest of pennsylvania and southern new york. mostly maple, some ash, cut from a mill the company bought four years ago. >> it's an amish-run mill in amish country. it's a really cool story. >> reporter: on avbal he's piece is weighed, graded and separated. just 13% will make the big leagues. >> these are the ones that don't make it to our players or -- >> reporter: the rest look no further than next door. $1 million worth of the world's most expensive firewood. >> one small blelish like that and that never makes a major league baseball field? >> never makes any field. >> reporter: players are that particular. >> certain players have 18, 20 models for thementsdzselves. chase utley has 18 models in our computer of his own bat. >> and he knows every single

one. >> and he knows every single one. >> reporter: we used a pujols bat to take a swing at the training center but they work with ainsworth and joe lawrence co-founders, both now managing day-to-day operations and have expanded the company's offeringsing aluminum bats gloves and clothing. >> the core of the wood bat and we're building everything around that. we're almost becoming a mecca of baseball. >> reporter: jack, who remains part owner never left his day job. but he insists no matter what marucci makes, it will always stay true to the original mission which began in that now famous backyard. >> there it is! woo! >> reporter: guys, if that's not a permitable and imposing whiffle ball bat home run swing, i'm not sure what is. listen, i wanted to be here for this. i wanted to be back in the studio for this. but we got you guys a present in

advance of the cbs softball season that everyone is -- >> no way! >> look at this! >> jeffrey! >> reporter: three custom crafted engraved major league quality bats. >> look at that! >> i was going to ask you -- i was going to say two thing. how does it feel to hit one with this? secondly, will you bring one back? so you did both. >> reporter: in fact i did. i look forward to joining the field with you guys. >> jeff, i like anything with my name on it, so thank you. thank you very much. i haven't changed since i was 12. i love that. >> reporter: those are beautiful. you'll enjoy them. >> can i ask you one quick question? they talked about it but what is it specifically about this process, about this wood that makes it in some players' eyes so far superior to what they used before? is it the process? >> reporter: well, part of it -- it is the pros. part is players involved -- i mean, players have a different feel for these things but marucci says their goal from the beginning to make every bat a gamer that they send out.

some other companies you send every bat and some players discard them. they say every single one can take the field. >> it's a great story, ab an american story, what people can do if they put their mind to it. build a better mouse trap and they'll come to you. >> reporter: look this guy was not -- he was not designed -- he didn't want to make this huge business, necessarily, but he just wanted to make quality bats. exactly, you're exactly right, charlie. this is where it can go from there, just making quality. >> and how was your batting? how was your hitting? >> reporter: i was sore for two days. does that answer your question? >> it does. thank you so much. great story, an american story. we want to congratulate david letterman and craig ferguson signing up for two more years here on cbs. also a congratulations to baylor for that remarkable season they had. >> yeah. >> brittney griner brought it home for baylor. all five starters are coming

back. thank you. up next, your local news. we'll see you tomorrow on "cbs this morning" and we're bringing our bats.

now five minutes before 9:00, a little blue cloud -- blue sky over the clouds, looks like a nice day. marty is over at first warning weather. >> we are going to become partly sunny, breezy and mild with a high of 72, in the low 50s. here is first warning doppler weather radar. we just got widely scattered showers activity about the area, this should be leaving us before not too long, more of a morning feature than a day long part of the forecast. don, take it away. >> mitt romney wins the primary here. monique griego stays on the story. >> reporter: good morning, everyone, not that many voters

headed to the poles yesterday but that did not matter to him, who is now a shoe in for the nomination. he did well with conservative voters, usually his weakness, 70 picked him because they think he has a best chance to beat the president. the others are still in the race, but romney has more than 600 delegates, and that is more than half needed to secure the nomination, back to you. >> a teenager involved in a fiery crash has died, barnard osmond succumbed to his injuries, two others died and another is injured, they were in a stolen car and fleeing police when they hit a tree and the car burst into flames. a man is deaded after being crushed to death in an accident there. he was working on a tractor- trailer when the truck fell on

him. his name has not been rested yet. classes resumed over the eastern shore after a bomb threat. yesterday a schoolworker spotted a note on the door. the note said there was a bomb inside that school and other school buildings. more than 2500 students were sent home. the bomb squad called in but no explosive devices were found. a man convicted of killing a baltimore teenager is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in 2009 dante parish killed 15-year-old jason madison and stuffed his body into a closet. he has a long criminal history and had been released from prison less than a year before madison was killed. the uniforms are getting a new look but you may not notice. nike unveiled them and the changes are said to be minor,

the new ravens has purple trim around the collar instead of the black trim. they will go on sale april the 26th and there is also a lot of ne hey guys, breakfast! ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first on the side. from honey nut cheerios to cinnamon toast crunch to lucky charms, get more whole grain than any other ingredient... without question. just look for the white check.