historic support. for the first time a sitting president says he's in favor of same-sex marriage. >> i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. infiltrating al qaeda. the double agent who helped foil a plot to bomb a u.s.-bound airliner is providing invaluable information about the terrorist organization. and taliban trade. the parents of a captured american soldier say a deal is in the works to swap their son for captured terrorists. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, may 10, 2012. good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm danielle knotting nam. reactions to president obama's announcement that he supports same-sex marriage are

impassioned, running the gamut from joy to anger. political leaders on both sides of the fence agree the polarizing issue will energize their constituents, becoming a key agenda in the november elections. susan mcginnis is in washington with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. as told by his aides the president apparently concluded earlier this year that he supports gay marriage and he planned to say so before the convention, but after vice president biden came out last sunday, talking about his support, the white house apparently felt compelled to move up that timetable. president obama says after several years of thinking about it, he now supports same-sex marriage. >> it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> reporter: the president tells "good morning, america" robin roberts his daughters helped him with the decision. >> malia and sasha, is wouldn't

dawn on them somehow their friend's parents would be treated differently. it doesn't make sense to them. frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective. >> reporter: mitt romney, the likely republican nominee, says his position on same-sex marriage hasn't changed. >> my view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man a woman. >> reporter: the president's announcement puts gay marriage in the spotlight in a critical point in the presidential campaign, with a new poll showing half of american now support it, the issue is sure to energize both sides. gay marriage supporters cheered the decision saying it's about time. >> i think the community is overjoyed. i think it's an incredibly emotional day and an historic day. >> reporter: opponents believe the president's position will cost him both. ralph reed tells "cbs this morning" the president did something romney couldn't do, energize the conservative base. >> that's put a b-12 shot right

into the evangelical vote. >> reporter: it could also give a shot to the president's fund-raising efforts. he's already spotlighting the issue on his campaign website and using it to raise money. tonight the president attends a hollywood fund-raiser at the home of george clooney. it's already raised $15 million. a big chunk of that, danielle, from hollywood circles that support gay rights. >> thank you, susan. susan mcginnis in washington. leaders of the nation's two largest religious denominations aren't happy about the president's declaration. cardinal timothy dolan said the president's remarks were deeply saddening. quote, people of this country, especially our children, deserve better. the reverend bryant wright president of the southern baptist convention called it, quote, a calculated politically expedient decision that completely ignores the biblical foundation of marriage. president obama said he based his decision on his faith in the golden rule. recent gallup polls have shown a slight majority of americans support same-sex marriage.

president obama enjoys wide support among hispanic voters, an increasingly important voting bloc. but polls indicate 44% of them don't support same-sex marriage. bill whitaker has that part of the story. >> reporter: technician robert keeps the computers running at a church which grows a largely hispanic congregation in orange county, california. he voted for barack obama four years ago. but now -- >> no, no, no. i don't. >> reporter: with today's endorsement of same-sex marriage, president obama lost his vote this year. rudy is the church secretary. >> i will not support anyone, you know, that is against my beliefs. >> reporter: nationwide as many as 70% of hispanic voters support president obama, but the problem for mr. obama is not his support nationwide, but in swing states where the election is likely to be decided and where the last gallup poll shows him running neck and neck with republican mitt romney.

any loss of hispanic votes in swing states could swing the election. but polls also show that votes mr. obama loses on this issue could be more than offset with issues like the economy and immigration. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. overseas, dozens of people were killed or wounded this morning by at least two powerful explosions in the syrian capital damascus. residents say the explosions happened at almost the same time. a building that houses syria's military intelligence agency was heavily damaged. there are no signs of survivors following the crash of a russian passenger plane in indonesia. the plane crashed into the side of a dormant volcano yesterday with 45 people on board. search crews today say they have discovered bodies near the wreckage. the new model jet had taken off on jakarta for a demonstration

flight for journalists and potential buyers. contact was lost after the crew asked for permission to change altitude. federal officials are investigating who leaked information about that al qaeda plot to bomb a u.s.-bound airliner. the would-be bomber was working for the cia. and john miller reports the information provided by the double agent is invaluable. >> reporter: the source is described as a saudi national recruited by saudi intelligence service as far back as two years ago. his information was shared with the cia. his true identity only known to a handful. the source volunteered to be the suicide bomber in a plot to bring down a u.s. airliner but instead of carrying it out, he delivered the device to u.s. and saudi officials. phil mudd, former director of cia's counterterrorism center, says a critical source was lost but lives may have been saved. in a case like this, what is the decision like when you say, we're going to have to basically

burn that person? >> if you're faced with a situation like this where there's threat to public safety, public safety wins every time. >> reporter: we're told he was provided information about ongoing plans to attack u.s. and british embassies in yemen and on bombs september as printers to blow up cargo in 2010. he also provided information on the movement of fahd al quso, wanted for the bombing of the "uss cole." he was killed by a drone stroke last like. but ibrihim al asiri may burrow deeper into hiding now that the existence of the source has been revealed. when we look back on this in a year, what are we going to see about this case and this source? >> if you stop plots without taking the people out, the people will regenerate the plot. the question is, was this operation leaked to the press too early for us to find the bombmaker. if he's still around in a year, that's going to be a critical

question everybody's going to ask about. >> reporter: al asiri is well aware he's a target. intelligence officials say he's among those now training five to ten new bombmakers. but the source, who came in from the cold, will find a warm place, relocated with his family under a new identity. >> first, he's going to get a paycheck you and i would want any day of the week. as we should. >> reporter: millions? >> millions. >> reporter: john miller, cbs news, new york. the parents of an american soldier captured in afghanistan say there have been secret attempts to free their son. bowe bergdahl was captured in jub june 200. it's believed he's killed by a group associated with the taliban. his parents say there have been attempts to swap their son for taliban prisoners held by the u.s. but the deal has been stalled for months and they are frustrated. coming on the morning news -- storming ashore. a tornado is captured on video in louisiana as it tears up

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reveal healthy, supple skin. aveeno skin strengthening. amateur video shows the destruction as a tornado swept across grand isle, louisiana, yesterday. it ripped off roofs and knocked out power in the coastal community south of new orleans but no one was hurt. the twister began as one of two giant waterspouts that formed in the gulf of mexico. waterspouts rarely come ashore, but this one did. a mississippi man being sought for murder and kidnapping is now on the fbi's ten most wanted list this morning. 35-year-old adam mayes is charged with killing a mother and her teenage daughter in tennessee almost two weeks ago, and with abducting the dead woman's two younger daughters, aged 8 and 12. a chicago jury resumes deliberations this morning in

the trial of a man charged with killing three members of singer and actress jennifer hudson's family. hudson wept during closing arguments yesterday as prosecutors described the shooting deaths of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew in 2008. the accused murderer is hudson's former brother-in-law. on the "cbs moneywatch," record losses for sony and a move to save thousands of post offices. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. good morning, ashley. >> good morning. markets overseas slid. tokyo's nikkei lost nearly 0.5% after a wild day of trading. hong kong's hang seng also dropped 0.5%. we'll get the report from cisco and labor claims. on wall street, the concerns over europe's debt whoas sent blue chips lower for a sixth straight day. the dow was down 97 points while the nasdaq lost 11. weakening u.s. demand is causing oil prices to inch lower. crude oil prices have fallen

about $10 a barrel over the last week. analysts face fears of a weakening global economy are slowing demand. tough competition in the electronics market has sony reporting its worst ever annual loss. sony lost about $5.7 billion in the last year. it's the fourth straight year the electronics giant was in the red. the british phone-hacking scandal didn't seem to hurt news corp.'s bottom line, beating wall street's expectations by posting a 47% increase in quarterly net income. last week a panel of british lawmakers said ceo rupert murdoch was unfit to lead the company. and the u.s. postal service is back off its plan to shut 3700 rural post offices. instead the agency wants to keep the offices open, but with shorter operating hours. the postal service is nearly bankrupt and has been searching for ways to save money.

the post office continues to struggle. finding a way to stay profitable in the ways we communicate and pay bills online. >> it's the age of the internet. you can do everything there. thank you, ashley. ashley morrison here in new york. pioneering hairstylist vidal sassoon has died. sassoon is credited with creating the wash and wear style for women that replaced the high-rise bufont in the 196 0z. he became a fashion celebrity and a wealthy businessman with a worldwide chain of beauty salons featuring his name brand products. vidal sassoon died wednesday of leukemia at his los angeles home. he was 84. died wednesday of lieukemia at his los angeles home. [ female announcer ] letting her home be turned into a training facility? ♪ this olympian's mom has been doing it for years. she's got bounty. in this lab demo, one sheet of new bounty leaves this surface cleaner than two sheets of the leading ordinary brand. bounty has trap and lock technology

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. new york, showers and 68. miami, 87. chicago, 64. dallas, 80. and los angeles, 75. now for a check of today's national forecast. the northeast will have a rainy morning with showers spreading westward later in the day. the south will be dry and mostly sunny except for scattered thundershowers in central and south florida. thunderstorms will range across west texas, new mexico and the rockies with showers reaching north to montana. the rest of the west will be dry. in sports, starting with the nba playoffs at home against the l.a. clippers, the memphis

grizzlies were led by gasol's 23 points and randolph's 19. memphis won it, forcing game six in the first-round series. in miami, lebron james and the heat scorch the new york knicks. james had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. dwyane wade added 19 as the heat won 106-94. and the series 4-1. miami faces indiana in the semifinals. and now to the nhl playoffs. rangers at capitals. washington's alex ovechkin got things going with a goal 88 seconds into the game. in the second period, jason chimera made it 2-0 and capitals went on to win it 2-1, tying the series 3-3. in baseball, l.a.'s tony gwynn jr. smacked a three-run triple into right field off san francisco tim lincecum in the fourth inning, that gave the

dodgers all they needed for what wound up as a 6-2 win over the giants. in new york, the yankees got a taste of life without injured closer mariano rivera. replacement david robertson gave up a three-run homer to matt joyce in the top of the ninth and the rays won it 4-1. finally, the olympic torch will begin its journey today to the 2012 games in london. yesterday they held a dress rehearsal on the slopes of mt. olympus in greece. a priestess ignited the torch with sunlight, focused by a mirror. the flame will be carried to london in time for the opening ceremonies on july 27th. when we return, a delicate balancing act. a member of a famous dare devil family wows the crowd before making a breathtaking stumble. ,,,,,,,,

forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., 72. atlanta, 78. st. louis, 74. denver, 82. seattle, 57. a $17 million settlement has been reached in the deadly crash of a tourist duck boat two years ago in philadelphia. the boat was hit by a barge on the delaware river killing two students from hungary and a deal approved yesterday, the student's families will split $15 million and the boat's 18 other passengers will share $2 million. in health news a drug used to treat hiv/aids. could get a boost for approval for preventing hiv infection. the fda says the drug truvada appears safe and effective for hiv prevention. an advisory panel votes today for recommending the drug for healthy people at risk of infection. the fda still gets the final

say. high wire performer nik wallenda has set june 15th as the day to try to cross niagara falls on a tight rope, the first to attempt it in more than a century. in baltimore wednesday the 33-year-old took a warm-up stroll over the inner harbor, a tribute to his great, great grandfather karl who did it in 1973. near the end he slipped, giving everyone a scare. >> but, you know, hey, i'm okay. so that's what matters. it's a wake-up call. definitely shows me i need not to lose focus. that's what happens when i lose focus. things like that. >> he better not lose focus over the falls, a walk six times longer than in baltimore. and here's one bizarre stunt in southern india. babies were tossed from the roof of a temple down to a sheet held by men below. it's part of an ancient ritual believed to make the babies grow stronger. coming up after your local

news on "cbs this morning," why your commute may be making you unhealthy. i'm danielle nottingham. this is the "cbs morning news." [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. chili's lunch break combos are full of delicious choices, starting at just 6 bucks. choose from savory favorites or our new philly cheesesteak sandwich. layers of shaved steak and grilled peppers served with fries and a tasty soup or salad. chili's lunch break combos. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. and these come together, one thing you can depend on is that these will come together.

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it's 4 minutes before 5 o'clock on a thursday morning. marty is in the weather from. >> it's a beautiful view this morning. go ahead and take a look at our day. skies have cleared out from the rain of yesterday and last night. it's in the mid upper 50 s right now. the next bedtime about 60. sentencing for a man convicted of fatally shooting an off duty trooper. >> former secretary of state visits the library. >> already in the news, the president announcing his support for same sex marriage. the impact on the ongoing battle in

maryland. >> the failed al-qaeda bomb plot. >> a death defying stuntsing stunt -- stunt over the inner harbor. more news and your first traffic report of the morning in a couple of minutes. [ man ] did we get anything good?

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'malley is it is 5 o'clock on the 10th dpa day of the -- day of the month. there's that