Betty Nguyen, Jon LaPook, Sandra Hughes, Joel Brown
CBS Morning News
06-07-2011
BETTY NGUYEN: Photo Fallout: Congressman Anthony Weiner fesses up to sending a lewd photo of himself over the internet and then lying about it.
REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY WEINER (D-New York): I haven`t told the truth and I I`ve done things that I deeply regret.
BETTY NGUYEN: Up in Flames: A monster Arizona wildfire burns out of control forcing thousands to leave.
And On the Front Lines: Battling the Taliban as the U.S. prepares to start brining troop`s home from Afghanistan.
This is the CBS MORNING NEWS for Tuesday, June 7th, 2011.
Good morning everybody and thanks for joining us. I`m Betty Nguyen.
Congressman Anthony Weiner says he will not resign but he promises to cooperate with a House ethics investigation. In an emotional news conferences here in New York yesterday, Weiner confessed to inappropriate online exchanges with six women. He also admitted sending a lewd photo of himself to one woman and then lying about it.
REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY WEINER (D-New York): I regret not being honest about this. This was a big mistake to-- to-- I was embarrassed, I was humiliated, I-- I am still to this moment. I was trying to protect my wife. I was trying to protect myself from shame. It was a mistake. And I-- and I-- and I really regret it. It wasn`t part of a plan. It was a-- a destructive thing that I did that I accept responsibility for. But if you`re-- if you`re looking for some kind of deep explanation for it I simply don`t have one except-- except that I`m very-- excerpt that I`m sorry.
BETTY NGUYEN: Joel Brown is in Washington with more on this. Good morning, Joel. How likely is this ethics investigation?
JOEL BROWN: Well, Betty, the House has rules about the conduct of its members and we know that the ethics committee has ruled several times in the past against members who violated those standards.
(Begin VT) JOEL BROWN: New York Congressman Anthony Weiner could soon find himself at the centre of a congressional investigation.
REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY WEINER: I haven`t told the truth. And I`ve done things I deeply regret.
JOEL BROWN: Top Democrats are calling for an ethics probe after the forty- six-year-old confessed Monday to tweeting a lewd photo of himself to a young college student. Weiner also admitted to inappropriate exchanges with six women before and after he married a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY WEINER: To be clear I have never met any of these women or had physical relationships at any time.
JOEL BROWN: Despite the scandal the congressman says he will not resign.
REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY WEINER: I don`t see anything that I did that violated any rules of the House.
JOEL BROWN: Once considered a rising star here on Capitol Hill, Weiner had been expected to run for New York City mayor in 2013. Now it`s unclear whether his apology and promises to cooperate with congressional investigators will be enough to save his career.
DAVID MARK (Senior Editor, Politico): If Congressman Weiner have truly come clean, there`s no more tweets out there, no more lewd phone calls, I think he can ride this out.
JOEL BROWN: While some political analysts believe Weiner will bounce back.
Reactions among his constituent are mix.
MAN: Totally dumb, ridiculous.
WOMAN: I think he`s a great congressman. But he did a stupid thing and people do stupid things.
JOEL BROWN: Weiner says he`s worked hard for voters over the years and will continue to work just as hard to win back their trust.
(End VT) JOEL BROWN: The congressman says he used his personal computer and BlackBerry, not his government issued devices to carry on with these women on Facebook and Twitter. Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN: Well, Joel, is the congressman getting any kind of support on Capitol Hill?
JOEL BROWN: You could hear a pin drop on the Democrat side of the aisle yesterday. Weiner`s political allies don`t want any part of his personal crises. He does seem to have the support of the wife. Reportedly, she offered to stand by his side at that news conference yesterday, and he told her he wanted it to do it alone. Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN: And that he did. All right. Joel Brown in Washington. Thank you, Joel.
Sources tell CBS News Weiner decided to fess up over the weekend but only did so Monday when more damaging photos turn up. The pictures of a shirtless Weiner were released by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart.
Breitbart claims they were sent by Weiner to a woman. And that he has an x- rated photo of Weiner that he won`t release.
ANDREW BREITBART: I`m the one who`s chosen not to do the salacious thing, the thing that would get a billion hits on-- on my website. I`m not releasing the salacious photo because I`ve no intention to rub salt in-- in-- in his wounds. All I wanted to do was tell the truth all along.
BETTY NGUYEN: Breitbart says he is not releasing the x-rated photos you heard there to protect Weiner`s family.
Now to the weather and tornados that touchdown over night in Montana. This twister that you are about to see right their spotted last night near the Billings airport. It was one of several that struck the Billings area. Now no injuries are reported and the extent of the damage is not yet clear.
In southwestern Iowa, residents worked through the night to protect the small town of Hamburg from the swollen Missouri River. They`re trying to reinforce one faltering levee. But officials predict the river will crest at record levels leaving the town under eight feet of water. Most residents are evacuating.
Now to eastern Arizona where a huge wildfire has now forced more than three thousand people to evacuate. The Wallow fire believed-- caused by a campfire has burned about three hundred and sixty square mile-- miles near the New Mexico state line. The fire`s effects are being seen and felt far away. Kendis Gibson reports.
(Begin VT) KENDIS GIBSON: A thick haze of smoke blanketed the city of Denver nearly seven hundred miles from the wildfires burning in eastern Arizona. This wildfire is the third largest in Arizona history and growing. And here`s why. High winds and low humidity are helping fuel the flames and it`s only expected to get worse. More than twenty-five hundred firefighters from as far away as New York City are on the ground battling the flames. But after more than a week, the fire is still zero-percent contained.
JIM WILKINS (Firefighter): We continue to put resources on it. We-- we continue to change our tactics to-- to meet the different needs and such.
But so far that fire is-- is still pretty much burning freely.
KENDIS GIBSON: Despite its size, already more than three hundred sixty-five square miles, the fire has only burned a handful of buildings so far. But officials continued to issue mandatory evacuations. The two hundred residents of the small picturesque tourist town of Greer are among the latest to get orders to pack up and leave.
WOMAN: Nothing`s safe in this fire. They`re not going to fight that fire.
This wind is too much.
KENDIS GIBSON: Residents and firefighters know until those winds die down, there`s very little anyone can do but to get out of the fire`s path.
Kendis Gibson, CBS News.
(End VT) BETTY NGUYEN: Now to the war in Afghanistan. Some of the more than one hundred thousand U S. troops serving there now will begin coming home in July. How many and how quickly will depend on President Obama who is waiting for a final recommendation from his top commanders.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (Hearst Television): I intend to follow through on that commitment that I made to the American people. It`s now time for us to recognize that we`ve accomplished a big chunk of our mission and that it`s time for the Afghans to take more responsibility.
BETTY NGUYEN: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is wrapping up a visit to Afghanistan today. He has said that he wants to begin the drawdown slowly leaving as many combat troops as possible in the field for now. As President Obama considers whether to pick up the pace with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the war on the front lines does con-- continue. CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark is with soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division in Paktika Province.
(Begin VT) MANDY CLARK: Fox Company, headed out at dawn on Saturday. Their mission: to cut the enemy off at the source along the border with Pakistan, the razor`s edge of the war. The pilots struggled to land the helicopters on the rugged mountaintops. Soldiers rushed out and took up defensive positions. Three armed men, possibly enemy spotters, were identified on the next ridge. The response was swift and fierce. Two five-hundred-pound bombs dropped right on the border with Pakistan. Three dead bodies were later recovered along with heavy weapons and communication equipment.
CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER TANNER: Watch up there. Get your guys down, go along.
MANDY CLARK: Fox Company pushed on, hoping to flush the enemy out. Company commander Captain Christopher Tanner, a West Point graduate from Alabama, was waiting for his men to gather on the ridge when rockets started raining in.
CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER TANNER: There`s another one.
MANDY CLARK: He called in counterfire.
CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER TANNER: See if they got an acquisition on that anything.
MANDY CLARK: Within minutes he had close air support.
CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER TANNER: We got-- MAN #1: Nothing to-- CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER TANNER: --on right now.
MANDY CLARK: And back at base heavy guns opened up.
MAN #2: Fire.
MANDY CLARK: Tanner waited for the enemy to reveal itself, but the insurgents chose to wait and fight another day.
CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER TANNER: Every fighter we stop out here on the border is one less fighter that makes it into the heart of Afghanistan.
MANDY CLARK: This mission was considered a success if only because every member of Fox Company came back safely. But the battle continues. While they we were away, this base--FOB Boris--came under indirect fire. And all day today the heavy guns have been lobbing shells at targets more than twelve miles away.
Mandy Clark, CBS News, Paktika, Afghanistan.
(End VT) BETTY NGUYEN: Just ahead on the MORNING NEWS, the hunt for the source of that deadly E. coli outbreak in Europe.
Plus, one of the most prized pieces of video history goes on the auction block. This is the CBS MORNING NEWS.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS) BETTY NGUYEN: Hear that? The chorus of boos greeted the former head of the International Monetary Fund. A crowd of hotel workers blasted Dominique Strauss-Kahn as he arrived for arraignment on charges of sexual assaulting a hotel maid. In court, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Strauss-Kahn will remain under house arrest until his next court appearance in July.
Health authorities in Germany this morning are still trying to find the cause of the deathly E. coli outbreak. Test results release Monday showed no evidence that vegetable sprouts from a German farm carried the bacteria.
At least twenty-two people have died from E. coli infection and more than two thousand have gotten sick.
On the CBS MoneyWatch, stocks in Asia were mixed today. Ashley Morrison is here in New York with the latest on all of that. Good morning, Ashley.
ASHLEY MORRISON: And good morning to you, Betty. Well, that`s right a mixed day for the Asian markets. Tokyo`s Nikkei gain about half a percent while Hong Kong`s Hang Seng was slightly lower.
Today, Wall Street gets the latest on the labor market and consumer credit.
On Monday, stocks fell again. The Dow lost sixty-one points while the NASDAQ was down thirty.
President Obama is losing the head of his economic council. Austan Goolsbee announced late Monday that he will resign his post this summer to return to teaching at the University of Chicago. He`s advised Mister Obama on the economic matters since 2004.
The eyes of the gaming world are on E3. The Electronic Entertainment Expo opened Monday in Los Angeles. It`s usually focused on unveiling the latest in video games but Sony took center stage to apologize for its recent security breach that compromised the personal information of seventy-seven million users of its PlayStation network. The company also unveiled the PS Vita, its next generation handheld gaming device.
Well, if you haven`t planned a weekend get away because of high gas prices, Ocean City, Maryland, might fit the bill. The city council plans to give away one hundred thousand dollars worth of gas to draw tourists proposing a free gallon per each night spend in a local hotel. But details are still up in the air and critics have blasted the plan as a shameless gimmick.
And the jacket that launched the video revolution is hitting the auction block. The iconic red and black leather jacket Michael Jackson wore in Thriller will be up for bid later this month in Beverly Hills. But it`s going to take some deep pockets. Organizers estimate it may bring in up to four hundred thousand dollars, maybe even more. Betty, that`s a lot of money to pay for a jacket.
BETTY NGUYEN: Yep. You know what I kind of think it`s going to bring in even more. Don`t you think?
ASHLEY MORRISON: I do.
BETTY NGUYEN: All right. Well, I won`t be bidding, unfortunately, I don`t have that kind of cash. All right. Ashley Morrison here in New York. Thank you.
Straight ahead, your Tuesday morning weather.
And in sports, the Brewers bring out the brooms as Prince Fielder smashes another home run.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS) BETTY NGUYEN: Now for a check of the national forecast. The latest satellite picture shows a few storm clouds forming in the Southeast. While clear skies stretched from the Northeast to the Southwest. Later today, record-breaking heat is possible across two-thirds of the nation from Texas to Wisconsin and across the Deep South. Thunderstorms are possible along the Gulf Coast. And a few lingering showers out West.
In sports, Milwaukee completed a four-game sweep of Florida. The Brewers` Prince fielded a three-run homer run to right field in the third inning, his fourteenth of the season. And Milwaukee went on to beat the Marlins, 7 to 2.
In Kansas City with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eleventh inning, the Royal`s Eric Hosmer single to center driving in the winning run. Kansas City beat Toronto, 3 to 2.
And the University of Southern California has been stripped of his 2004 BCS National Football title. The action was for rules violations involving former USC star running back Reggie Bush. The NCAA found that Bush received improper extra benefits during that season and was ruled ineligible to play.
When we return another look at this morning top stories. And Steve Jobs unveils the future in the cloud for Apple.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS) BETTY NGUYEN: Here`s another look at this morning`s top stories. New York Congressman Anthony Weiner admits he sent a lewd photo of himself over the internet and he confessed to having inappropriate online exchanges with six women. Weiner says he won`t resign but will cooperate with a congressional investigation.
And that huge wildfire burning in eastern Arizona has grown to three hundred sixty square miles. The blaze is being pushed by strong winds and residents of a third town have been ordered to evacuate.
Apple software and service pipeline is filled with new products this morning one day after Steve Jobs came off medical leave to appear in a conference in San Francisco. Sandra Hughes was there.
(Begin VT) SANDRA HUGHES: James Brown`s "I feel good" introduced the Apple CEO. Steve jobs opened the Worldwide Development Conference to cheers and even an audience shout-out.
MAN: I love you.
STEVE JOBS (CEO, Apple): Thank you.
SANDRA HUGHES: Looking gaunt in his uniform of black turtle neck and jeans, Jobs who is fighting cancer was only on the stage a few minutes.
STEVE JOBS: Today we`re going to talk about software. We`ve got some great stuff to talk about. OS X Lion, iOS-5, and some kind of interesting new cloud stuff.
SANDRA HUGHES: Then he tossed much of the presentation to others. This was only his second public appearance since going on medical leave in January.
It was the worst kept secret by Apple`s new iCloud service was still the big news.
Jobs came back on stage to launch it.
STEVE JOBS: Now some people think the Cloud is just a hard disk in the sky.
SANDRA HUGHES: iCloud stores music, videos and other content for devices like iPhones and iPads online. It also syncs devices without connecting them. It will be free for now.
STEVE JOBS: They can all talk to the cloud whenever they want.
SANDRA HUGHES: Lion, Apple`s new operating system and iOS-5 system for mobile devices were also introduced.
MAN: Energy in the room, this is the developer conference.
SANDRA HUGHES: Lion is available in July and iOS 5 this fall. When we see Jobs again was not announced.
Sandra Hughes, CBS News, San Francisco.
(End VT) BETTY NGUYEN: This morning on THE EARLY SHOW, Congressman Weiner`s confession.
I`m Betty Nguyen. This is CBS MORNING NEWS.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS) BETTY NGUYEN: A scary moment for three police officers in Washington State as a full-grown black bear roamed through a neighborhood north of Seattle.
When the animal spotted the cops, it charged and they were forced to shoot.
The bear was killed.
Hundreds of volunteers are searching in and around Bloomington, Indiana, for a missing Indiana University student. Twenty-year-old Lauren Spierer hasn`t been seen since she left the party alone early last Friday morning.
Community, residents, students and even Indiana University head of basketball coach joined the search.
TOM CREAN (Indiana University, Basketball Coach): Anytime you can do something to help people that`s first of all what we`re supposed to do. But that most importantly I just agonize over the fact that-- that there`s a mother and a father out there that have no idea where her daughter is.
BETTY NGUYEN: Spierer`s parents say she has a heart condition and needs her medication.
Finally this morning, medical researchers are reporting dramatic success in treating cancer by tailoring drugs to the genetic makeup of individual patients. Doctor Jon LaPook has more on that.
(Begin VT) DR. JON LAPOOK (CBS News Medical Correspondent): In 2007, Bill Schuette was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Seven different chemotherapies failed.
He was told nothing more could be done.
BILL SCHUETTE: I basically was looking at going to go home and make arrangements is what the doctors basically told me to do.
DR. JON LAPOOK: But then he heard about something new: an experimental drug that targets a certain type of lung cancer based on its genetic makeup.
Tests showed he was a candidate. His rare form of non-small-cell cancer has a genetic mutation called ALK that fuels cancer growth. The new drug, Crizotinib, works by blocking this abnormal gene causing tumors to shrink.
DR. ALICE SHAW (Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center): One of the very first things they`ll tell me is how much they feel-- they feel so much better on after starting on the drug. And they feel so much better than they ever did when they were on chemotherapy.
DR. JON LAPOOK: In preliminary results presented over the weekend, more than half the patients were alive after two years. That`s more than four times the usual survival rate.
BILL SCHUETTE: I`m able to get back on the bike. I`m doing a lot of swimming, walking, hiking. And I`m hoping to do one of my first major bike rides here in September.
DR. JON LAPOOK: This drug only works for the four percent of patients with this kind of lung cancer. That may not sound like much, but this is the future for all cancers--finding treatments that may only work for a fraction of patients, but that work very well.
Dr. Jon LaPook, CBS News, New York.
(End VT) BETTY NGUYEN: Coming up a little bit later on THE EARLY SHOW, political implications of the Anthony Weiner scandal now that the New York Democrat has confessed. Plus, the latest on the Western wildfires, especially that huge blaze in Arizona. And Scott Pelley the news, CBS News anchor on big changes in the Middle East as the Arab Summer heats up.
That`s the CBS MORNING NEWS release Tuesday. Thanks for watching everyone.
I`m Betty Nguyen. Have a great day.
END
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