alexis christoforous, cbs news, wall street. >>> in the gulf of mexico, bad weather is threatening toay bp's efforts to permanently plug the damaged oil well. a storm in the caribbean has a 60% chance of becoming a tropical storm by friday as it moves into the gulf. if that happens, ships would have to leave the spill zone. bp couldn't keep an eye on the capped well. this is a live look at what is happening under water. without the ability to observe the cap, bp says it may have to open it up for nearly a week and let the oil flow until the weather clears. >> we said before if we have to evacuate the area to move off the area then come back and redeploy, we can be looking at 10 to 14 day gaps in containment or proceeding with the drilling rig. this is a significant issue related to weather driving the lines of operation. >> scientists are closely watching to determine if the cap is displacing the pressure and creating other leaks underground. >>> terrifying moments aboard an airplane high over kansas. the yet hit severe turbulence. dozens were injured and one critical. they had to mak

alexis christoforous reports. >> reporter: change is coming to wall street. >> conference report is agreed to. >> reporter: the senate voted to approve the long-debated crackdown on the financial industry. >> we're giving wall street the strongest oversight it's ever had. >> reporter: the final bill weighs in at over 2,000 pages. it takes on the issue of too big to fail, meaning regulators will have the power to break up large financial firms that pose a risk to the economy. it also creates a new agency to protect consumers' financial transactions and cracks down on high-risk trading at the banks. the goal is to protect the nation from another financial meltdown. the house already passed the bill and president obama plans to sign it into law next week. >> because of this reform, the american people will never again be asked to foot the bill for wall street's mistakes. >> reporter: wall street knew change was coming and waited for a year for the final version. in the end it's actually less restrictive than it started out. >> we have answers now. the transparency is there. we know what the r

>> you bet, big time. >> alexis christoforous joining us live here in new york. thank you. have a great weekend. >>> just ahead on the morning news, "american idol" shocker. ellen degeneres calls it quits. >>> important news about taking calcium supplements and heart attack risks. news about taking calcium supplements and heart attack risks. if you fight to sleep in the middle of the night, why go one more round ? you don't need a rematch, but a rethink. with lunesta. lunesta is thought to interact with gaba receptors associated with sleep. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. lunesta has some risk of dependency. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in other activities while asleep without remembering it the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or thr

alexis christoforous is here in new york with the latest on that. good morning, alexis. >> good morning, betty. asian markets saw some profit-taking after some downbeat economic news here in the u.s. japan's nikkei gave back more than half a percent and hong kong's hang seng was mostly lower. today wall street gets a look at weekly jobless claims numbers. on wednesday stocks fell after the federal reserve said the economic recovery will continue to be slow going. the dow lost 39 points, breaking its four-day winning streak. the nasdaq gave back 23. >>> there appears to be no end in sight to the nation's foreclosure crisis. 75% of the top metro areas showed an increase in foreclosure activity in the first half of the year. according to realty track, the hardest hit city, las vegas where 1 in every 15 homes received a forecloser notice. even with mortgage rates at the lowest level in decades, applications for home loans fell by over 4% last week. the rate on a 30-year loan is now at 4.69%. that's slightly higher than the week before. but still near rec

alexis christoforous is here in new york with the latest on that. good morning. >> good morning to you, betty. that's right. asian markets got a big boost from strong corporate earnings here at home. japan's nikkei added more than 2 2% for it's highest close in two weeks. hong kong's hang seng was up 2%. wall street gets the june durable goods report. tuesday, a drop in consumer confidence slowed the market's winning streak. the dow gained 12 points, but the nasdaq lost 8. >>> homeownership is now at the lowest level in a decade. according to the census bureau, about 19 million homes stood empty in the u.s. this spring because of surging foreclosures. homeownership rates were the highest in the midwest but lowest in the west. >>> the white house will hold a conference next month to discuss the future of mortgage giants fannie mae and freddie mac. together they own or guarantee about half of all u.s. mortgages. the two companies had to be bailed out during the financial meltdown and it cost taxpayers $145 billion so far. >>> general motors has put a