senate confirmation hearings begin for judge sonia sotomayor, president obama's supreme court nominee. former vice president dick cheney accused of ordering the cia to conceal a secret intelligence program from congress. and arrests in the slaying of a florida couple known for adopting disabled children. two men are held on murder charges. captioning funded by cbs good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle guillen. republicans criticize her judicial philosophy. democrats say she's a meticulous judge who strictly follows the law. this morning president obama's supreme court nominee judge

sonia soeotosotomayor faces cris confirmation hearings again. >> reporter: michelle, good morning to you. if republicans mount a vigorous defense, they could unify their base, but they also risk a backlash from hispanics and women's groups who are anxious to see her become the first latina female justice. judge sonia sotomayor gets her chance today to convince senators and a national tv audience that she's ready to serve on the supreme court. >> for someone like sonia sotomayor, the only thing standing between her and confirmation is herself. >> reporter: the 55-year-old new yorker is almost assured a confirmation boarring a bombshel revelation. but that doesn't mean she won't face charges from the gop, especially about her ability to be fair and neutral. a wise latina woman than a white

male who hasn't had that life. also, why she sought no reverse discrimination against white firefighters in new haven. that sotomayor ruling was recently overturned by the supreme court. >> every judge must be committed every day to not let their personal politics, their ethnic background, their biases, sympathies influence the nature of their decision-making process. >> reporter: democrats see a much different justice. they see a woman who rose from a humble, inner city childhood to become a tough prosecutor and an effective federal judge. >> as a judge, she's shown over and over again ultimately and completely the law controls. >> reporter: if confirmed, sotomayor will be the first hispanic to serve on the nation's highest court. and, of course, sotomayor doesn't need any gop votes to get confirmed. that is, if the democrats stay united. but a party line vote could actually damage her perception with the public. michelle? >> susan roberts in washington.

susan, thanks. former vice president dick cheney could be in hot water over his role in what a key senator says is a plan to conceal a top secret cia intelligence program from congress. kimberly dozier has the details. >> reporter: former vice president dick cheney ordered the cia to keep a top secret intelligence program secret from congress, according to senate intelligence chairwoman dianne feinstein. she says current cia director leon panetta informed intelligence committees about it in late june. >> he was told that the vice president ordered that the program not be briefed to the congress. we were kept in the dark. that's something that should never, ever happen again. >> to have a massive program that is concealed from the leaders in congress is not only inappropriate, it could be illegal. >> reporter: the counterterrorism program was established as the cia ramped up its hunt for osama bin laden. no one has revealed details, but a u.s. official familiar with the project told cbs news it was never fully operational.

the firblds said cia director panetta cancelled it when he found it hadn't been reported to congress. his decision to kill it was not difficult or controversial, officials said. it was on again, off again. this was not a capability on which our country relied, and no one called the program illegal. but the cia could still face tough questioning on another front. attorney general eric holder is reportedly leaning toward hiring a special prosecutor to investigate whether the cia's questioning of terrorism suspects broke the law. that's prompting bipartisan criticism. >> the military has done a series of independent reports, and i believe that that's sufficient. i don't believe a special commission is necessary. >> i just don't want to see an instance where, if the higher-ups gave the order to break the law, that the ones who get punished are the people basically on the front lines, the lower level troops. >> reporter: that's exactly what those on the front line believe will happen, according to former

cia official michael scheuer. if there's a special prosecutor appointed, what will it do to intelligence gathering? >> i think it will pull everyone back from doing anything that's nonconventional. >> reporter: he pointed out the cia already encourages its agents to take out personal liability insurance. that's to cover their legal bills in case one white house decides whatever the last one authorized is illegal. kimberly dozier, cbs news, the white house. a close ambassador in iraq christopher hill. hill were traveling in southern iraq when a bomb exploded. no one in the convoy was hurt. president obama has ordered his national security team to investigate alleged war crimes in afghanistan. the state department says the u.s. allied northern alliance is responsible for the deaths of as many as 2,000 taliban prisoners captured in 2001. the prisoners allegedly suffocated in field cargo containers and were buried in a mass grave. northern alliance troops also claim they fired into the

containers. there are reports this morning that north korean leader kim jong-il has life-threatening pancreatic cancer. recent images of the north korean leader looking gaunt fuels speculation his health might be worsening. a south korean tv report says kim was diagnosed with cancer last summer. two men are in due inou crt today in the murder of a well-known florida couple. byrd and melanie billings were shot to death in their home last week. the motive was robbery. they had 12 children, mostly with developmental disabilities. police say the case has plenty of twists and turns. >> please understand i am as frustrated as you are, and mr. edmunds is, i'm sure, also at this point because, when i refer to it as a humdinger, this is like a movie script. >> surveillance tape from the couple's home shows a red van

that led to the suspects. more arrests are expected. on the cbs money watch, asian stocks slid this morning. claire leka is here this more. >> good morning to you, michelle. continued worries the global economy isn't bouncing back as fast as it hopes sends asian markets deep into the red overnight. japan's benchmark nikkei skidded 2.5%. hong kong stocks also plunged 2.5%. on wall street, it's a busy week on the economic front with key reports on retail sales and inflation due out tomorrow. the dow jones industrial average starts the day at 36 points. the tech heavy nasdaq begins up 3. the government is expected to announce today that the deficit through the first nine months of this budget year hit a historic milestone in june, topping $1 trillion. and to help calm nerves around the world, treasury secretary timothy geithner heads to the middle east this week, his mission to reassure officials their investment in the u.s. are

safe. geithner is scheduled to hold high level meetings tomorrow and wednesday with government and business leaders in saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. the two-week selloff in oil prices continues in asia this morning. crude prices have fallen $14 a barrel, or 19% since june 30th. that's been welcome news at the pump. gas prices have fallen about two cents during the last two weeks to a nationwide average of $2.56 a gallon for regular. and goldman sachs is expected to report blockbuster profits tomorrow. analysts predict the bank earned more than $2 billion last quarter thanks to placing winning bets across world markets. it's a dramatic turnaround just nine months after being slammed by wall street's worst crisis since the great depression. michelle? >> claire leka here in new york. claire, thank you. a custody hearing scheduled today for michael jackson's children has been delayed. jackson's mother is the children's temporary guardian.

his ex-wife debbie rowe is considering seeking custody of the two older children. just ahead on the morning news, an unlucky strike for the shuttle "endeavour." and a race to get vaccines ready for the h1n1 flu before the next outbreak. first, katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> across the country, over $1 billion stimulus are being spent for the airports. so why are they funding a new runway at this tiny airport when larger ones are in desperate need of help? we'll follow the money tonight. ct most for headaches.

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the world health organization says production is going slower than expected. meanwhile, the obama administration is pouring new resources into having the vaccine ready before the fall season. here's priya david. >> reporter: are washington is racing to come up with a vaccine to combat the h1n1 swine flu, fearing the sometimes fatal virus could sweep the nation in the coming months. >> the potential for a significant outbreak in the fall is looming. >> reporter: so the government is now putting big money into finding a vaccine fast. >> congress has agreed with the president that this is a number one priority, keeping americans safe and secure. >> reporter: according to the centers for disease control, 211 americans have died after contracting h1n1. a cdc map shows some h1n1 activity in almost every state with widespread illness in more than 20 states. hawaii saw 100 new cases in just the past week. and in colorado, the air force

academy says more than 80 cadets are being tested for h1n1 after coming down with flu-like symptoms. some summer camps are closing early after 50 outbreaks among campers. in britain, actor rupert brent, who plays harry potter's friend in the movie, is now recovering. >> you've got to keep your eyes pealed. just because it's mild now doesn't mean it can't change and come back in the fall. >> reporter: in the southern hemisphere, where it's winter and flu season now, thinker watching to see what effects h1n1 will have in the coming months. >> we can't predict where it's going to go, but we'll have a vaccine ready by october. >> reporter: some worries about rushing a vaccine to market could have add version effects. in the '70s, more than 40 million people were vaccinated.

only one person died from the flu, but 25 died from the vaccination, and more than 500 developed a severe autoimmune disorder from it. priya david, cbs news, new york. the military should ban all personnel from using tobacco. officials say it could be phased in over the next 20 years. studies found one in three service members smoke, leading to higher medical costs. straight ahead, your monday morning weather. and in sports, all-stars like orlando hudson are helping the dodgers run away with the national league west. i never thought it could happen to me... a heart attack at 53. i had felt fine. but turns out... my cholesterol and other risk factors... increased my chance of a heart attack. i should've done something. now, i trust my heart to lipitor. when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. unlike some other cholesterol lowering medications,

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seven. it's six. why? why is... one... yeah! hundred. no. cheer brightclean. surprisingly bright in just one wash. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, mostly sunny, 78. mia miami, thunder, 92. chicago, 93. denver, sunny and 90. los angeles, 84. in cleveland, a lightning bolt did major damage inside a house. the lightning blasted a huge hole in the chimney over the weekend. it sent debris and broken glass flying through the living room where two boys were sitting. they needed stitches, but they should be wsokay.(mme now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows that clouds are s tteder er t northwest, but the southwest is clear after wha was a very hot weekend. it's a nice morning around the great lakes and northeast and

the mid-atlantic states are looking at cloudy skies. later today, scattered storms will be popping up across the southeast while the ohio valley and northeast remains mainly dry. it will be another scorcher from the southern plains into the southwest, where temperatures could top, get this, 115 degrees. and some strong storms are likely around the southern plains. in sports, major league baseball is now in its all-star break, and the los angeles dodgers easily have the best record in the majors at the halfway point of the season. 56 and 32, holding a seven-game lead in the nl west. their best start in 32 years. last night orlando hudson broke out of a slump and homered twice as the dodgers beat the milwaukee brewers 7-4. in denver, brad hawpe warmed up for his first all-star game with a game-ending run scoring double, as the rockies edge the atlanta braves 8-7. boston's josh beckett earned

his 100th career victory by starting with a strikeout and ended the game with his seventh strikeout as the red sox blanked the kansas city royals 6-0. and detroit's brad inge warmed up for today's all-star home run derby by clouding two of them last night as the tigers routed the cleveland indians 10-1. inge now has 21 homers. when we return, a look at the nation's top story, and a private swim club tries to make amends in the wake of a discrimination scandal. what does v-e-g-e- t-a-b-l- e-s spell? well, honey, that spells... ( thinking )vegetables! oh wait, i want her to eat it... but i can't lie. lying's bad. mommies don't lie. you get grounded for lying. and how am i going to drive the carpool if i'm grounded? announcer: there's a full serving of vegetables in every bowl of chef boyardee. and that's no lie. it's obviously delicious, secretly nutritious.

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v.a. cares about you. v.a. is reaching out to veterans who are thinking about suicide. so reach back now. don't wait. call 1-800-273-talk and press "1." our counselors will not share your information with anyone. thousands of veterans have had the courage to call. how about you? call... on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. powerful thunderstorms will be developing across the northern plains. it remains extremely hot in the southern plains and southwest. northwest will be dry and pleasant.

here's another look at this morning's top stories. senate confirmation hearings begin today for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor. republicans are out to question her judicial record, but the judge is widely expected to be confirmed. and former vice president dick cheney is under fire for reportedly ordering the cia to conceal a top secret intelligence operation from congress. a u.s. officials told cbs news cia director leon panetta cancelled the program when he found out it hadn't been reported to congress. a private swim club near philadelphia says it plans to ask dozens of minority children to return. yesterday members of the valley club voteded unanimously to reinstate the memberships of three day camps. the swim club was accused of discrimination after it refunded the membership of one camp whose members are minorities. the children reported hearing racial comments when they visited the pool last month. >> this is not something you ever expect to have a child worry about, to grow up thinking, well, am i going to be

accepted here because of my skin color? >> the pool says it revoked the campers' memberships because of safety concerns, not racism. sarah palin may be resigning as governor of alaska, but she's apparently not done with national politics. palin says after she leaves office, she'll write a book and cam tan for candidates who support defense and energy. in china, an incredible survival story. three miners were rescued yesterday after being trapped in a flooded mine for 25 days. an official says they survived by drinking water that seeped through the earth. 12 other miners are still missing. at the movies, a flamboyant austrian model was number one. >> hello. i'm bruno. i'm here for milan fashion week. >> "bruno" is the latest movie from comedian sascha baron cohe, and it took in $34 million.

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this broadcast realtime captioned by: christine stifter. her nomination to the nation's highest court made history. today confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor get underway. good mo