so far so good. bp's new containment cap is holding and at least for now the gulf oil leak has been stopped. crackdown. congress passes a sweeping financial reform bill to rein in wall street. apple's announcement. the tech giant to address problems in the latest iphone. this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, july 16, 2010. good morning, everybody, and thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. the worst offshore oil leak in u.s. history has stopped, at least for now. take a look at this. this is a live picture in something we haven't seen in nearly three months. bp's latest containment cap is holding and oil is no longer gushing into the gulf of mexico,

but it is a temporary fix and a lot of work remains. tara mergener is in washington with us for you, joining us live. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, betty. as you said, this fix is not permanent but there is a big sense of relief this morning, albeit, a cautious one. bp's latest fix appears to be doing its job, at least for now. >> i think everyone feels we've begun to turn a corner. >> reporter: for the first time thursday the company managed to block the flow of oil with a new tighter fitting cap. it's what gulf coast residents have been waiting nearly three months for. >> that is a big relief. at least part of the problem is over. >> reporter: but to one is celebrating just yet. engineers must closely monitor the pressure buildup to make sure the well stays intact and no new leaks erupt. >> once we're convinced it can withstand the pressure after that 48 hours, we can certainly consider shutting in the well. >> reporter: president obama is cautiously optimistic. he called thursday's progress a

positive sign, but warned the cap is still in its testing phase. the next two days will be critical. there's a possibility oil forced down into the bedrock could rupture the sea floor or the pressure buildup could cause another explosion. even if the test results are good, bp hasn't ruled out releasing some oil again as a precautionary measure. the company calls the containment cap a temporary fix, at best. while it finishes drilling two relief wells. >> that activity will continue until this well no longer has the capability to ever flow again. >> reporter: even when the gusher is plugged for good, experts warn oil could continue washing ashore for months to come. and bp will be assessing pressure readings and other data every six hours to decide whether or not to continue with the test. betty, back to you. >> as we continue to watch and see if this does hold, want to know, how is all this work under water affecting the clean-up operation on the surface?

>> reporter: betty, now that the oil is supposedly contained, crews can focus more now on the clean-up and experts say the slicks, at least some of them, will get a chance to weather and dissipate. remember, this clean-up will take years, not to mention billions of dollars. betty? >> cbs's tara mergener in washington this morning. thank you. the oil spill is not the only reason bp is in the headlines this morning. the senate foreigns relation company is demanding answers from the oil giant about the release of the lockerbie bomber. al megrahi was the only one released, but he was freed from prison last summer after just eight years. officials said it was because he was sick and dying. now with al megrahi alive, officials say it was because of an oil deal with libya and bp.

bp admits it lobbied british government to release him. >> if bp is found to have gained access to libyan oil reserves by using a mass murderer as a bargaining chip, then make no mistake, any money it makes off that oil is blood money, pure and simple. >> senate hearings on bp and al megrahi will begin july 29th. after a year of partisan debate in congress, a sweeping financial overhaul is about to become law. the senate passed the bill thursday and president obama says he will sign it next week. 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 rules and regulations are going to be moving forward so that brings investor confidence back to the markets. >> reporter: only three republicans supported the bill. one opponent dismissed it as a legislative monster. >> unfortunately, the bill does very little to make our financial system safer. >> reporter: even the bill's most passionate supporters admit, change will be slow. it's one thing to have the new rules on paper. it's another to actually enforce them.

alexis christoforous, cbs news, wall street. and on the "cbs moneywatch," a mostly down day for stocks in asia. ashley morrison is here in new york with the latest on that. good morning. >> good morning to you, betty. worries about the american economy sent most asian markets into the red today. japan's nikkei lost almost 2.5% while hong kong's hang seng was also lower. today wall street get the latest on inflation. thursday a seven day winning streak came to an end. the dow lost seven points while the nasdaq was down a fraction. wall street powerhouse goldman sachs will pay $500,000. to settle charges it defrauded. it's the biggest penalty ever levied by the s.e.c. in the settlement goldman neither admits or denies it committed fraud but failed to disclose vital information to its clients. the fine includes $250 million to compensate harmed investors. goldman will write another $300 million check to the united states treasury.

now, it may sound like a lot of money, but it amounts to a little more than two weeks of net income for the firm. and getting it over with is good for business. by the end of trading day yesterday, goldman stock was up more than 5%. the eyes of the tech world will be focused on apple as they hold a news conference. while apple execs have not said what it will be about, they are expected to address complaints the latest iphone drops calls and has other reception issues. what started as a minor headache has turned into a pr disaster for the company. there have been several reports apple's own engineers knew about the problem but did nothing to fix it. apple is expected to offer some kind of solution today but analysts don't expect them to announce a recall. americans appear to be getting a better handle on their credit card payments. five of the top six u.s. credit card companies report declines in june chargeoff rates. those are the unpaid balances they had given up on collecting.

only citibank says writedowns and late payments increased last month. get ready to say good-bye to five of the 31 flavors. baskin-robbins is replacing some of its older tastes with new ones to celebrate its anniversary as well as national ice cream day on sunday. french vanilla, carmel pra pra linecheesecake, campfire s'mores, apple pie ala mode and truffle is being put in the deep freeze. you have until july to fill up and stock up all you need to on those flavors. >> how do you get rid of french vanilla? >> and the apple pie ala mode? one of my favorites. >> i wonder what they're going to replace them with? bubble gum? i mean, how do you change ice cream? >> those are classics. >> ashley morrison joining us live here in new york. thank you. just ahead on the morning news -- you keep hearing about cheap mortgages. well, getting one, that is a whole another matter. pink goes plump. the pop star takes an on-stage tumble. first, though, katie couric

has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." our four-month investigation first told to about the widespread use of antibiotic and healthy livestock and how it could be hazardous to your health. now the government is taking action. should the practice be banned? tonight only on the "cbs evening news." bs evening news."

you're about to see something went wrong at a pink show last night in germany. the pop star fell out of an aerial harness and tumbled eight feet to the floor. she was rushed to the hospital. pink later sent a tweet to her fans saying, quote, seriously sore but nothing's broken. a lightning strikes and a searing heat wave has sparked stubborn wildfires in southern california. firefighters say they expect to make more progress this morning battling several blazes, including one in riverside county.

there's been no property damage so far but dozens of residents were forced to evacuate their homes for a for you hours yesterday. to the economy. mortgage rates are at historic lows and you would think it would be good news for potential home buyers or homeowners looking to refinance. actually, getting one of those cheap mortgages is anything but easy. anthony mason reports. >> i don't think i've heard of a rate better than that. >> reporter: when cindy and paul went to refinance their new jersey home, they couldn't believe the interest rate they were offered. >> i let out a little scream. >> i heard it from downstairs. >> reporter: they bought their house nearly two years ago with an interest-only loan at 6 3/8%, this week they refinanced to a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4.25%. >> that's going to save us 300-plus a month. >> that's a car payment. >> reporter: with interest rates falling to 50-year lows, the phones are ringing at crossroads

finance in new jersey. but tighter lending standards are making it hard for many to take advantage of the lower rates. >> you have plenty of assets but they're not liquid assets. >> reporter: completely different climate? >> completely different. >> reporter: this mortgage broker says banks won't cut corners anymore. >> we want to see people who have money in the bank for reserves. we want to see people who have decent credit scores. >> reporter: in the wake of the recession, more than a quarter of all consumers, 43 million people, have credit scores below 600, marking them a bad credit risk. >> that's what we do for you. >> reporter: scott doesn't have that problem. >> i'm current on my mortgage. i'm current on my bills. >> reporter: but foreclosures in his ft. lauderdale, florida, neighborhood have driven down the value of his home. >> houses that were in the 400 to 500 range are now, you know, barely above the 200 range. >> reporter: with his house now worth less than his mortgage, banks won't let him refinance to a lower rate. >> i'm being told the same thing. i cannot qualify based on the

value of the property and its current location. >> reporter: so many of the people who need the relief the most, can't get it, which is one reason why even with these record low rates, applications for home loans are declining again. anthony mason, cbs news, new york. straight ahead, your friday morning weather. and in sports, just 21 years old and 9 under par, rory mcilroy leads the british open. right now when you stay ] two times with comfort inn or any choice hotel, you can feed a family of four. book now at choicehotels.com to start earning your $50 restaurant gift card. at the end of the day as they do at the beginning? air optix® contact lenses have superior deposit resistance for cleaner lenses. air optix®, the lens you can survive a long day in. go to airoptix.com for a free one month trial offer.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, partly cloudy, 94. chicago, sunny, 91. sunny in denver, 93. los angeles, a sunny 93. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows a large band of clouds and storms moving throughout the great lakes. skies, they are clearer over much of the northwest and northern plains. later today, severe weather heads into the northeast. and look for scattered thunderstorms in the southeast and southern plains. plus, expect triple digit temperatures in parts of the northwest. in sports, the second round of the british open championship is under way in scotland. 21-year-old rory mcilroy held the first round lead after shooting a blazing 9 under par 63 yesterday, matching the

lowest round shot in any major. john daly is three shots back, tied for third. tiger woods is in the hunt, tied with eight others, 4 shots off the lead. to baseball. back in action after the all-star break. in san francisco, carlos beltran returned to the visiting mets' lineup after missing the first half of the season following knee surgery, but the giants' tim lincecum pitched a complete game shutout and the mets lost 2-0. in atlanta, chipper jones hit one of two braves' home runs. atlanta beat the brewers 2-1 and now lead the n.l. east by five games. in the american league, chicago at minnesota. the white sox's a.j. pierzynski hit a go ahead rbi double and bobby jenks picked up his 28th save in 21 chances. sox beat the twins 8-7. the tour de france where cooler heads did not prevail. take a look at this. australian mark renshaw head-butts another racer during a sprint clearing a path for his

teammate to pull ahead. he was expelled from the race. first time i've seen one of those. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and president obama has accomplished much of what he set out to do, yet his poll numbers are way down. we'll show you why. you'll never go back to your old duster. [ funny voice ] hey, duster! wanna attract dust like swiffer 360 duster? then try the magnet hat! ♪ whoa! wow! [ female announcer ] sorry, duster, but swiffer 360 dusters attract dust with over 500,000 fibers and lock it away to clean better than a feather duster. swiffer's built smarter to clean better. ♪ she blinded me with science ♪ haha, here already? i got another 300 miles in me. sure you do, honey. come on guys, give me a hand. we can make it to paper clip mountain! looks like somebody needs a comfort inn. hi, reservation for the carter family? ahh yes. your room is ready. [ female announcer ] free high-speed internet...

relaxing pool... cozy beds and free breakfast with hot waffles. need to relax after a long day of vacation? comfort inn. now stay two times with comfort inn or any choice hotel... and you can earn a $50 restaurant gift card. book now at choicehotels.com. i'm john kessler. and i'm sydnie kohara. coming up at 5: the uninvited guests.. who pulled a gun. what happened right before they started shooting. the leak is capped! no more oil is gushing into the gulf. but will it hold? why the next 48 hours are critical. in just a few hours - apple will hold a rare news conference, to talk about problems with the new

i-phone. what insiders expect to happen. plus, check your fridge. a huge lettuce recall.. how to tell which greens should be tossed. join us for cbs 5 eyewitness news early edition ... beginning on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. the heat is on across much of the nation with triple digit temperature moving into parts of the northwest. and 90s all the way from the california coastline through the midwest and into the northeast. there will be scattered storms in the northeast. here's another look at this morning's top stories. the oil has stopped flowing into the gulf of mexico. the new containment cap is working so far but it is a temporary fix and the next 48 hours will be critical. the senate completed passage of a sweeping financial overhaul bill.

it imposes new controls on banks and financial institutions. president obama says he'll sign it next week. with congressional passage of financial reform, president obama has achieved much of his agenda, despite tough republican opposition, but democrats have their issues with mr. obama as well. chip reid has the story. >> reporter: when he signs the wall street reform bill next week he'll add it to a long list headlined by health care reform and the stimulus. with so many accomplishments in just 18 months, you'd think the president would be flying high. instead, his approval rating continues to sink and now stands at just 44%. so, what's the problem? in a word, jobs. the president, who visited yet another stimulus project this one in michigan, seems powerless to do anything about an unemployment rate stuck at an excruciating 9.5%. >> what the president has been pushing is not working.

washington reports filled with a bunch of fuzzy math won't chain change the fact that the stimulus is failing. >> reporter: the bad economic news has fearful democrats lashing out at each other. white house press secretary gibbs ignited a firestorm with this comment. >> i think there's no doubt there are enough seats in play that could cause republicans to gain control. there's no doubt about that. >> reporter: gibbs says he's stating the obvious but sources say speaker nancy pelosi is angry at him and deeply unhappy the white house isn't doing more to help. after meeting with the president, pelosi said he will now campaign more for house democrats, but that creates another problem. many vulnerable democrats don't want the increasingly unpopular president in their districts at all. many of those vulnerable democrats say, yes, wall street reform is a good thing, but what their constituents desperately need now is jobs. chip reid, cbs news, the white house. this morning on "the early show," new revelations about the mel gibson phone rant.

and a performance by sting. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." my job is to hunt it down. i'm fred lemond, and i'm in charge of bp's efforts to remove oil from these waters. bp has taken full responsibility for the cleanup and that includes keeping you informed. every morning, over 50 spotter planes and helicopters take off and search for the oil. we use satellite images, infrared and thermal photography to map and target the oil. then, the boats go to work. almost 6,000 vessels. these are thousands of local shrimp and fishing boats organized into task forces and strike teams. plus, specialized skimmers from around the world. we've skimmed over 27 million gallons of oil/water mixture and removed millions more with other methods. we've set out more than 8 million feet of boom to protect the shoreline. i grew up on the gulf coast and i love these waters. we can't keep all the oil from coming ashore, but i'm gonna do everything i can to stop it, and we'll be here as long as it takes

to clean up the gulf.

it is a long forgotten piece of movie history. a 1914 comedy called "a chief catcher" turned up at an antique sale. charlie chaplain appears in a cameo role as a keystone cop. but with the mustache and mannerisms of his little tramp character. the film hadn't been seen in nearly a century. finally this morning, a story with a twist and a flutter. it's about a teenage pitcher who came to the country from japan to play professional baseball, armed with the rarest of pitches, the knuckleball. as john blackstone explains, she is no ordinary ballplayer. >> reporter: on the mound for chico california outlaws, knuckleball pitcher has already made baseball history. the only woman now playing professional baseball against

men. >> you don't notice that she's 5-foot nothing, 120 pounds. she fits in so well. >> reporter: in the dugout she seems to be one of the guys. but the 18-year-old, who arrived from japan just a few months ago, is crossing barriers of culture, gender, tradition and language. still struggling to learn english. >> very difficult. >> reporter: it's very difficult? >> yes. >> reporter: but baseball comes easy. >> that sidearm, i tell i, that thing is awesome. >> reporter: though other players tower over her, on the mound the knuckleball is a big equalizer. >> so, i thought maybe this is the way that i can compete with men if i can master it. >> the knuckleball's not about power. it's about precision. >> reporter: uc-berkeley bob jacobsen says it's all about physics. a well-pitched knuckleball doesn't spin. with no spin, just air friction

on the seams changes the ball's movement unpredictably. >> half an inch is more than enough to ruin a batter's day. >> reporter: the guys batting against her -- >> they turn around like, i can't believe i missed it. >> reporter: why doesn't everyone throw the knuckleball? >> because it's not that easy. >> reporter: tim wakefield is the knuckleball ace in boston. eri yoshida knew exactly what she wanted to do when she saw wakefield on tv in japan throw his knuckleball pitch. >> i was mesmerized by it. >> reporter: when the two met, wakefield gave her some tips. >> for her to carry the torch for our little fraternity of knuckleballers is amazing. >> reporter: eri may not get them out but she sure does bring them in, filling the stands in a way that hasn't always happened here in chico. even baseball's hall of fame

came to collect her jersey from her first game, a milestone for the few women who have ever challenged men at their own game. john blackstone, cbs news, chico, california. >> good for her. well, that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching. hope you'll join us later for "the early show." i'm betty nguyen. "the early show." i'm betty nguyen. have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. caption colorado, l.l.c. comments@captioncolorado.com good morning, it's friday, the 16th of july. we have a reporter in palo alto. there's been a string of break- ins in silicon valley. and we'll tell you the businesses