steele, as always, a pleasure to chat with you this morning. >> all right. >> russ mitchell is at the news desk this morning. should be an interesting speech tonight. >> it certainly should. >> interesting interview right there. >>> good morning, guys, good morning at home. the president speaks today on health care. his back to school address was labeled propaganda by conservatives, but in the end, many agreed it was more of a pep talk. >> what you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. the future of america depends on you. >> some school districts refused to show the president's address. >>> british commandos rescued a kidnapped "new york times" reporter from the taliban this morning. he was being held in northern afghanistan, taken hostage on saturday. >>> some incredible flooding pictures from istanbul, turkey this morning. cars and buses were swept away. some people had to be rescued from the rushing waters. 20 people died. >>> archard has died. he wrote stories about movie stars for daily variety. arnie archard was 87 years old. >>> some

on the website. >>> that's a quick look at what's going on in the next hour, let's say hello to russ mitchellood morning to you, russ. >> you okay, dave? >> i'm fine. >>> good morning to you at home. connecticut police have identified a yale employee as a person of interest in the murder of annie le. raymond clark was taken into custody last night but he is not under arrest and no charges have been filed. clark is a technician who works in the same building as le. a search warrant was issued for his home and police want to compare his dna with evidence found at the crime scene. >> we'll take samples of his hair, we'll take another sample from him, scrape his fingernails, a variety of things we do. >> le's body was found on sunday. investigators noticed marks and scratches on clark's hands. his family says they are from his cat. >>> news of more u.s. casualties this morning in afghanistan, tle american service members were killed yesterday in southern afghanistan. this year has been the deadliest for u.s. and nato troops since the 2001 invasion. >>> congressman joe wilson was officially rep re

. >>> now let's check in with russ mitchell at the news desk. >>> good morning. in space this morning, the shuttle "discovery" astronauts are hoping for a bak in the weather on earth. "discovery" was due to return home yesterday from its police to the space station, but storms near the kennedy space center forced a delay. >>> it appears this morning that 18-year-old caster semenya may be something more or less than a woman. cbs news koernts mark phillips has more on that. >> reporter: in south africa, caster semenya has been celebrated as a world leader. her no contest victory at the world championships last month was the result of simply running faster they say, not the result of gender advantage. but while caster has joined the pan these on of south african icons, unconfirmed reports claim that a gender test has been inconclusive, that she may have a rare inter-gender condition including some internal male organs. that might explain semenya's deep voice and masculine build. the international athletics federation says it's still studying the results of the test

russ mitchell is at the news desk. >>> it is reported this morning with the top u.s. commander in afghanistan fears the war will be lost unless he gets administer troops. in a confidential report obtained by the "washington post," general mcchrystal says that failing to boost the number of u.s. troops is, likely to result in mission failure, end quote. p. >>> a funeral is being planned for annie le, the yale university grad student who was strangled earlier this honts. cbs news koernu ews corresponde solorzano is in new haven with the latest. >> reporter: as annie le's family moves one step closer to saying their final dwoo g. by, questions still surrounds the motive in her murder. annie le's body matt long trip home to california this weekend, one week after the shocking discovery in the baechlt wall at the yale lab where she warninged. >> the arrange wants will an private funeral mass for annie. >> really a special time of pulling together for the family. >> reporter: today's new york "post" reports le's body was so mangled with broken bone it is wasn't recognizable

. >>> now let's check in with russ mitchell at the news desk. >> good morning, maggie, good morning, everybody. >>> while the recession is easing, many americans out of work. the house has voted to extend unemployment benefits in the workers in the hardest-hit states. 13 extra weeks to jobless in 27 states. the senate is working on a similar bill. >>> the terror investigation that began with a rash in denver and new york has expanded and put cities nationwide on alert. hunting for suspects in possible hidden explosive and is the attorney general tells "60 minutes" he is not taking the threat lightly. >> i think it is clear that something very serious and something very organized was underway. >> the suspect of the center of the alleged plot has admitted he has links to al qaeda. >>> bullets were flying at the border between california and mexico. four people were injured as four people fired shots to stop three vans suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants, more than 70 people taken into custody and border traffic into the u.s. was stopped for hours. >>> southern california has alre

first let's go inside to russ mitchell at the news desk. >>. >>> good morning.onal republicans say president obama missed a chance to build bipartisan support for his health care reform plan. speaking to a joint session of congress last night, mr. obama spoke in favor of the so-called government option, but said he remains open to other ideas. the president promised to protect medicare and lashed out at opponents he accused of using scare tactics. >> i will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better poll tick its to kill this plan than to improve it. >> the president also said illegal immigrants would not benefit from his proposals. that brought an unusual breach of decorum in these types of proceedings from republican congressman joe will so who calleded the president a liar. >> who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> it's not true. >> later wilson apologized, saying i let my emotions get the best of me. my comments were inappropriate and regrettable, end quote. >>> there is a new twist on the unfolding story of better nad madoff. i

russ mitchell not in bed.he job this morning at the anchor desk. >> all those that option sound xws. good morning to you at home. the man accused in what officials call the most serious terror threat to this country is in court this morning. najibullah zazi will be arraigned in brooklyn on charges of conspiring to use weapons of mass depruks. zazi says he's not guilty. authorities say he was captured at a beauty supply store in denver buying high dough gasoline peroxide and acetone. authorities now known the identities of three people who allegedly help zazi. >>> a mother and her male friend are in jail charged in a shocking case of child an pews. they tortured her 14-year-old son for 4 1/2 years and kept him locked in a closet. here's don teague. >> reporter: the unidentified boy escaped from this northeast on oak what city apartment last friday with the help a sin link me his way to this national guard post dirty malnourished wearing only a pair of oversized shorts. he walked up to a security guard and asked

i'm russ mitchell, cbs news. >> stahl: after his death last month, it seemed everyone had a story tor ted kennedy-- the president, his senate colleagues, his family, the hyannis port postmaster. but senator kennedy was determined to tell his own story in his own words before he died. so over the last two years, through his illness, he wrote the only memoir ever written by anyone in the kennedy family. the result is a revealing, emotional account of "big teddy," as he called himself, and the life he led. the book, called "true compass," starts-- boom-- with a harsh diagnosis of his brain tumor, and the doctor telling him somberly that he was about to die. senator kennedy went on camera to talk about the book, five months before he passed away. >> senator ted kennedy: the longer i live... >> stahl: it was an interview he gave for his publisher, while he was on chemo. >> ted kennedy: what i've tried to do in the united states senate is to be true to the things which have been important in my life. >> stahl: i asked his son, ted jr., about the book. >> ted kennedy, jr.: even though he re

. >>> i'm russ mitchell. coming up on the "early show," think you are safe in your hotel room? you may want to think again. we will show you ways to ensure your family safety on their stay away. >> and talk talk about seeing double. meet the proud parents of three sets of twins. talk about what life is like raising twins times three. if i lost the weight, i could stop taking so many medications. if i lost the weight, maybe my feet... my back... ...my knees would stop hurting. if i lost the weight, i'd feel more comfortable shopping for clothes. i'd visit my sister in seattle more often. i might be able to improve or even resolve my type 2 diabetes. so, i finally lost the weight after talking with my doctor about the lap-band system. announcer: the lap-band is placed around the upper part of the stomach-- often as an outpatient procedure-- to help you achieve long-term weight loss. unlike gastric bypass, it can be adjusted, and there's no stomach cutting or stapling. call for your free fact kit or visit lapband.com. lap-band is not for those who are pregnant, or have symptoms of

i'm russ mitchell, cbs news. >> pelley: when americans are wounded in afghanistan or iraq, no expensehey're home, if they've suffered an amputation of their arm, they usually end up wearing an artificial limb that hasn't changed much since world war ii. in all the wonders of modern medicine, building a robotic arm with a fully functioning hand has not been remotely possible. but that is starting to change. you're about to see a remarkable leap in technology called the deka arm, and as we first reported back in april, it's just one of the breakthroughs in a $100 million pentagon program called "revolutionizing prosthetics." to see how far they've come, have a look at where they started. >> fred downs: it's a basic hook. and i can rotate the hook like this and lock it. >> pelley: fred downs has been wearing the standard prosthetic arm since 1968, after he stepped on a landmine in vietnam. >> downs: in those days, they didn't have a lot of sophistication about it. they fit you and say, "this is your arm, this is your leg." and it was the best technology available in those days, and you j

i'm russ mitchell, cbs news. s >> logan: last month was the deadliest month for american troops since the start of the war in afghanistan in 2001. responding to calls for more troops by u.s. commanders, president obama has pledged to nearly double the number to 68,000 troops by this fall. what will they be facing? tonight we're going to tell you about a small group of american soldiers on the front lines of the war. we lived with them for a month last september, on a small forward-operating base in eastern afghanistan, not far from the pakistani border. it's where the real fight against the taliban and al qaeda is happening, in canyon valleys and jagged mountain hideouts which are crawling with enemy fighters. there is a reason the base we traveled to is called "wilderness," because it's in the middle of nowhere, nothing but desolate mountains stretching endlessly into the distance-- until you drop onto this tiny patch of ground not much bigger than a football field in the heart of enemy territory. >> staff serge

. >>> first, let's go inside, say hello to russ mitchell. morning at home. >>> there's breaking news on two earthquakes in the south pacific and indonesia. a powerful quake struck today just off the island of samatra. the same fault that brought the catastrophic tsunami in 2004. a tsunami warning issue today has been canceled. >>> but the other big quake in the south pacific did generate a tsunami that slammed samoa and american samoa with a series of four destructive waves a day earlier. 90 people were killed and a dozen are missing, possibly swept out to sea. president obama has declared american samoa a major disaster zone. >>> najibullah zazi is in a new york city jail after pleading not guilty to planting a bomb attack. he was brought from denver where he was arrested earlier this month. claiming he traveled to afghanistan to get weapons from al qaeda. this morning, zazi's attorney told harry that even if his client did all of that, the public and the press should avoid making a rush to judgment. >> the prosecutions of terrorism in the

but first, let's check in with russ mitchell at the news desk. >>> good morning.al queda bomb plot, the task force staged a series of raids in new york city. three apartments were searched and several men detained. a man with possible links to al queda had been under surveillance, but there were no arrest, no weapons found, and no sign of a plot against any american target. >>> today is the anniversary of the lehman brothers collapse and this morning elizabeth warren was asked if changes are in place to make sure that could never happen again. >> the problem we have is that all the same rules that got fuss to this crisis to begin with are basically the same rules that are in place. we haven't yet made the structural changes we need to make to make sure we don't head that again. >> specifically professor, what do you think needs to be done? >> i think this is about big change. this isn't about saying this one thing and we'll make them stop doing the other thing. it's really about structure and the way the plan works is that it starts at the consumer end. we have to

let's go inside and say hello to russ mitchell. >> thank you day, on this your last day of "the early's what is happening this morning. president obama heads to pittsburgh today for the g-20 economic summit. security is very tight with massive protests expected. officers are patrolling on horse book. streets are blocked off and hups of police were brought in from other cities. >>> believe leaving energy for pits about your president obama is adding another first to his re may. he's the first u.s. frod chair a session of the u.n. security council. bill plante is at u.n. headquarters out on 1st avenue with the latest. good morning, bill. >> reporter: good morning. the president's campaign too-to-get iran to stop developing nuclear weapons or put more sanctions on it got a pretty cold shoulder from the president of iran but a nice boost from the president of russia. just days after president obama canceled plans for u.s. missile deployments in eastern europe russian president medvedev agreed for the first time that in some cases sanctions are inevitable. iran's president ahmadinejad bega

. >>> russ mitchell is off today. >> chris wragge is sitting in at the news desk. >>> good morning tocolorado man with possible links to al queda is expected to talk to the fbi again today. zazi is suspected of being involved in a terrorist bomb plot against new york city. he was questioned by federal agents for more than eight hours yesterday. his home was also searched. on monday, police raided apartments in new york where zazi had visited friends. zazi who recently traveled to pakistan denies any involvement. >>> in afghanistan this morning, a suicide car bomber attacked an italian military convoy. six soldiers were killed and ten civilians were injured. >>> it's reported this morning that president obama is canceling plans for a missile defense shield in eastern europe. the czech prime minister says mr. obama phoned to tell him of the decision. russia has strongly opposed the missile shield plan. >>> more potential evidence in the case of phillip garrido charged in the kidnapping of jay see due guard. police pound more bone fragments nmt backyard and in the property mix door. auth

let's grow to russ mitchell at the news desk. >>> good morning about. the u.s.itary reports five more american service members killed in afghanistan. four soldiers died yesterday in the southeastern province of sab bull. three in an armored vehicle hit by a bomb ppd a. >>> the recent jump in u.s. combat deaths is forcing strategy changes. the u.s. commander says the top priority must be protecting the afghan people. >> if the people are against us, we cannot be successful. if the people views as the enemy, we can't be successful and our casualties will go up dramatically. >> and you can see more of that interview sunday on 6"60 minutes." >>> ruth bader ginsburg spent the night at a washington hospital. doctors call it a precaution. the 76-year-old apparently became ill after being treated for eastern deficiency. ginsburged a cancer surgery in february. >>> the man appointed to the senate seat held by ted kennedy gets sworn in today. paul kirk gives democrats 60 senate seat, enough to stop a republican philly bust thaer would derail health care reform. he will ev

russ mitchell with president clinton as he kicks off one more edition of the clinton global initiative, lots of questions to answer including on president obama's health care initiative. >>> first, a warning this morning, the government wants transit system workers across the country to beef up security. three terror suspects currently behind bars, but with as many as a dozen others in the crosshairs of federal authorities. cbs news justice and homeland security correspondent bob orr joins us from washington with more. bob, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, harry. that fbi and homeland security transit warning this morning grew out of still sketchy evidence that najibullah zazi may have been planning attack oos new york trains. now, no plot has been confirmed, but also this morning the new york daily news is reporting that zazi has now told investigators that he was a jihadist intent on carrying out mayhem. sources say while nazazi is did energy of a group attacking new york, but no specific targets have been identified, but sources say zazi was intent at setting off explosives