>> mitchell: one day at a time: on day 90 of the oil blowout, b.p. believes its new cap should stay on until the well is finally sealed. the government says let's wait and see. i'm russ mitchell. also tonight, soaring temperatures and high humidity stifled most of the country this weekend as the heat wave lingers on. high end repo man: if you miss a few payments on your yacht or plane, expect him to pay you a visit. and take a tour of the granny pad, the high-tech backyard cottage that could be an alternative to a nursing home. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. there is good news this sunday, day 90 since the oil spill began.

the custom-built cap is still working, and b.p. wants to keep that cap on until a permanent plug is ready. let's take a look at the latest. despite b.p.'s optimism, the government still has concerns about the temporary solution. it is now estimated that as many as 184 million gallons of oil have spilled into gulf since the crisis began. but for the past two days along the gulf, beaches had their busiest weekend in weeks. kelly cobiella is in grand isle, louisiana, with the latest tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, russ. and it's not just the beaches. marinas like this one are filling up again with people coming to fish. but the crisis that kept them away so long is not over yet. for a third day, b.p. held back the oil. the pressure in the well is still rising slowly, and b.p. now says the cap could remain closed for weeks until the well is sealed for good. >> we're hopeful that if the encouraging signs continue, we'll be able to continue the integrity test all the way to

the point that we get the well killed. >> reporter: that could be risky. with the oil held back, pressure is slowly building in the well bore and the failed blowout preventer. if there's a weak point, the pressure could make it worse. tests have found no signs of leaks so far, but the government's man in charge wants b.p. to keep looking. in a statement, thad allen said, "we must ensure no irreversible damage is done, which could cause uncontrolled leakage from the sea floor." and no one is ruling out the option of reopening the valve and collecting oil again to avoid stressing the well. >> it would require flow into the gulf of mexico for up to three days, but we just have to monitor this test, i think, sort of moment by moment, hour by hour, and day by day. >> reporter: for nearly three months now, thousands of workers here at the command center have been trying to defend against the oil's onslaught. now with b.p.'s cap holding, their strategy is shifting from defense to offense. >> this particular map we use to show us the change from

yesterday, which was in gray, the size and shape of the oil, to today. >> reporter: so now you're seeing it shrink? >> we are seeing it shrink, and that's a wonderful feeling at this stage. >> reporter: skimming boats and controlled burns are eating away on the oil atop the water, yet in the bays and marshes across the gulf coast, the damage is already done, and biologists don't yet know how long it will take to recover. scientists say that oil from other spills has stayed in the environment and affected marine life for decades. but, they say, in some cases, trying to remove every last drop of oil from sensitive areas like marshes has done more harm than good. russ? >> mitchell: kelly, let's go back to that leak issue. late this afternoon federal officials say scientists are now concerned about possible seepage and methane at the cap site. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: well, there was some concern-- not concern actually, just notice of some bubbles coming off the valve at the pipe casing yesterday. b.p. said they were going to test those and find out if they were coming from the well.

they haven't been able to actually capture those bubbles as yet, so they're not certain what they are. this report is coming from an unnamed federal source. so far, no announcement from either thad allen or b.p. on any possible leaks. >> mitchell: kelly cobiella in grand isle, louisiana, thank you very much. in iraq, a suicide bomber attacked a group of sunni awakening council fighters who were waiting to get paid west of baghdad. officials say the bomber killed at least 45 of the anti-al qaeda fighters and wounded dozens more. and a suicide bomber struck in afghanistan today as well, one day ahead of an international conference to be attended by secretary of state clinton. mandy clark has the latest tonight from the afghan capital of kabul. >> reporter: kabul is getting ready. this week delegates from 44 nations will arrive here for an aid conference in, and the afghan president wants to show that he's in control. but the insurgents sent a

message of their own. a suicide bomber killed at least two afghans and injured 20 on this busy street. the leader of the taliban ordered his followers to kill any afghan who works with foreigners. security is still the urgent need here, and increasingly it's the u.s. that is shouldering that responsibility, as secretary of state hillary clinton made clear today in an interview with cbs news. >> we have redoubled our efforts working with the afghans to improve and field a much more professional military. we think that we now are putting into place the pieces of a successful strategy. >> reporter: that strategy-- sending more troops into the heart of afghan cities-- has been costing a growing number of american lives. >> this is a very hard struggle, and general petraeus has said very clearly that it's likely to get worse before it gets better.

>> reporter: and it's getting worse. 15 american troops were killed here just this week, putting july on track to be the deadliest month since the war began. most of the deaths occurred in or around the city of kandahar, where more american soldiers are being posted to police stations, checkpoints, and patrols to try and show the afghan police what law and order looks like. i was just in kandahar, and while the american presence is having an effect, the afghan security forces still need a lot of work. it's very hard to see how they'll take control of the country before the americans start putting out in a year's time, which is the schedule that president obama has set. russ? >> mitchell: mandy clark in kabul, thank you. back in this country, it is hot, and this weekend residents from coast to coast are in the grips of another heat wave. michelle miller is in the new jersey shore town of long branch with more. michelle, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, russ. well, the jersey shoreline is just across the way, and with temperatures in the 90s, it was

almost too hot to be at the beach. though the water might have cooled you off, precautions are still in order as this hot spell continues, and it was tough keeping some folks away from the heat. ( horn sounds ) dozens of competitors were treated for heat exhaustion at the new york city triathlon, swimming, biking and running. it is the middle of july. what were you thinking? >> it's hot. it's hot. it felt like 120 degrees. >> it was tough. this is the hardest one i have ever done. >> reporter: it's uncomfortable from coast to coast. in the west, the heat is sparking dangerous fires. warm waters in the pacific, called an el nino, is blamed for getting 2010 off to the hottest start ever around the world. june was a record breaker in new jersey, delaware and north carolina, and in all 31 states were above average in june and some scientists believe that could become a trend. >> temperatures of 105 degrees in the northeast, those type of events are expected to occur

much more frequently in the future. >> we've been getting august weather in june. >> reporter: hot weather this spring put tomatoes and corn on the market several weeks early in new jersey and put stress on the produce. >> this is a sun spot. that's created from just no water and too much heat. the other thing that it does is, it causes dry tips. if it continues like this, it will continue to cause problems. >> reporter: business is booming today at this lighthouse on new jersey shore, but when it gets too hot, people just stay inside. >> too hot is no good. last week we had 103 degrees. it was like a ghost town out here actually. >> it's cold, right? >> reporter: oh, thank you. can i have some? and business certainly is hot here as feverish beachgoers cooled off from the inside out. russ, i bet you they didn't even know today is national ice cream day. >> mitchell: i bet you're right. >> reporter: did you? >> mitchell: i did not, but thank you for telling me. michelle miller in long branch, new jersey.

hundreds of protesters made their voices heard at the beginning of an aids conference in austria shouting, "broken promises kill." they marched through the conference center to demand rich countries promise pledges to fund aids drugs. little has been done in haiti to fund homes and lives who have lost so much. dozens of relief agencies have been helping, one in particular taking a novel approach, using movies to lift spirits. cbs medical correspondent dr. john lapook is there. >> in a tent camp in port-au- prince, patients are resuscitating one of the earthquake's cruelest casualties, childhood. >> oh, i'm very sorry. a friend of yours died? >> reporter: on january 12th, this 11-year-old girl lost her friend and home. now an organization called film aid is helping to bring some

magic into her life with an outdoor screen and a movie projector. at this camp more than 1,000 people came to see the disney film "up." why did you come tonight? you've come to see the film. >> when you see a child laughing uncontrollably, it's like they're not in fear, they're not frightened, they're not hurting, they're not hungry. they're laughing. >> reporter: who likes the film? mary stone helps run this operation in haiti. >> film aid uses the power of film to inform, educate, and entertain. >> reporter: when it's a daily struggle to provide food, water, and shelter, mental health is often forgotten. this woman lost her mother in the earthquake. >> ( translated ): that's why i love to watch, because when i look at the film, i forget about my mother. >> reporter: film aid shows movies to more than 250,000 refugees a year, from afghanistan... >> there's no place like home. >> reporter: ...to africa. and back in haiti, the

organization is teaming up with local film schools to make short documentaries shown before the main event and act as public service announcements, like this one on tent safety. the stars of the films are the haitians themselves, highlighting issues like the 300,000 survivors. >> haiti is a country, due lack of access to education, with a lot of prejudice. >> reporter: amputation and paralysis have become common place but not accepted. on the night we were there, the children initially laughed at the man in the wheelchair, but by the end, they were cheering as his rival was defeated, a moment of pure empathy and a small victory for film aid, as it let them, if only for a moment, be kids again. dr. john lapook, cbs news, port- au-prince, haiti. >> mitchell: and the "cbs evening news" continues after a break. a completely blocked artery,

>> mitchell: it has been another bloody weekend in mexico.

this time 17 are dead after an ambush, and once again police say mexico's violent drug war is to blame. bill whitaker has more. >> reporter: even in a country grown almost numb to drug violence, this was shocking, a massacre at party in the northern mexico city of torreon. witnesses say gunmen broke down the door and opened fire, killing 17 partygoers, including young people and women, and wounding at least 18 others-- this on the heels of a massive car bomb explosion thursday that killed three people, including a police officer and a medical technician, on the streets of juarez, just across the border from el paso, texas. investigators believe it was remotely detonated with a cell phone, the first time in mexico's bloody drug war that drug cartel gangsters have used a car bomb, a device usually associated with baghdad or kabul. more than 25,000 people have experienced drug violence across mexico since president felipe

calderon declared war on the rich, powerful drug cartels upon taking off in 2006. despite flooding the bloody border region with 40,000 troops, the violence has only escalated, the cartels battling each other for control of lucrative smuggling routes to customers in the u.s., and now battling federal police and soldiers. and the brutality of their tactics has escalated, as well-- beheadings, massacres now common. in juarez earlier this year, 15 people were killed, many of them high school students, when gunmen opened fire on a party. police think it was a case of mistaken identity. in march three people with ties to the u.s. consulate in juarez were murdered by drug gangsters. north of acapulco, school children learned to duck and cover to survive the increasing violence. tonight it's unclear who is responsible for the torreon massacre. what is clear: mexico's drug war

rages unabated. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. news, los angeles. with cialis.

>> mitchell: of course the recession has led to higher unemployment, more home foreclosures and difficulties even for the very rich in paying their bills on time. and that's tonight's "sunday cover": the banking industry's last resort, the high end repo man. if you own a plane, like this lear jet, you don't want to see this guy, ken paige, walking on your runway. people see you as the bad guy. >> we know things are tough for people. >> mitchell: the tough economy of the last two years has caused a spike even among the wealthy, defaulting on loans for planes, boats, luxury r.v.s, and occasionally racehorses. >> we've probably seen, gosh, six, seven times more, not only the number of cases up since the beginning of '09 but the value. >> mitchell: before the recession, paige's company, the international recovery and marketing group, typically would repossess a $30,000 plane. these days $300,000 is the norm.

he says the jet being repoed today is worth $12 million and the owner is 95 days overdue on their payments. the rich are not necessarily getting richer? >> no, the rich are getting hit hard. >> mitchell: the legal process of taking possession of the plane begins with a call to police. >> hi. i'd like the call in the repossession of an airplane please. it's a 2008 lear 60. >> mitchell: cage says the owner was a high-flying florida real estate investor, now experiencing hard times. >> look how new these tires are. >> randy craft, a one-time professional wrestler, is cage's scout and muscle. this lear has seven seats and a first-rate cockpit. >> now we're looking at everything-- the wood, the seats. >> mitchell: its inspection complete, the jet is towed to a nearby hanger for safekeeping. >> this plane we picked up in northern florida. >> mitchell: cage stores his repos at his orlando headquarters until he has a chance to resell them for the banks.

>> we're living off the commissions on the sales. >> mitchell: his next job brings us to a marina in central florida. ken, what are you looking for here? >> i'm looking for a 45-foot newer sport fish boat. >> mitchell: a boat cage says worth $300,000. >> the debtor is 78 days past due. >> mitchell: detective work and a tip lead to the find. >> it's kind of like putting the puzzle together and you get the missing pieces until you get enough where you can find what you're looking for. that's it. >> mitchell: the owner happens to be on board. >> can i help you? >> can i talk to you for a second please? >> mitchell: and he's not happy to see ken and randy. >> the boat has been repossessed. >> get off my boat and get out of here. >> mitchell: but a chat persuades him to abandon ship. and within minutes, against the owner's wishes, the boat is driven offer. >> i always get nervous because

you never know what to expect. you never know if the guy will pull a knife or gun or beat you with a stick. >> mitchell: do you ever feel bad when you have to come to somebody's house, somebody's hangar, somebody's boat club and pick up something that belonged to them ten minutes ago? >> yes. if we're not aware of how people are feeling, we're just thugs, and there's no good in that. >> mitchell: and since cage bought his company back in 2005, he says he's completed more than a thousand repo jobs. we'll be back. we'll be back.

>> mitchell: finally this sunday, it's a dilemma no family wants to face, how to care for an aging relative without putting them into a nursing home. for many families, the housing unit being unveiled tomorrow in roanoke, virginia, just may be the answer. whit johnson gives us an early look. >> reporter: when you think of a room in a nursing home, this may not be what comes to mind, but that's what this cottage is designed to be, right in your backyard. >> it feels like this could be your home, and this is very intentional. >> reporter: the idea came from reverend ken dupic, pastor in virginia. on mission trips overseas, he saw caring for the aged was family affair. >> families should participate in care giving.

they should be an intricate of that entire process. >> so he created the med cottage, 288 square feet. it's designed to help families monitor aging relatives. >> place the blood cup on your right arm. > reporter: the cottages have camera that lets a caregiver check remotely whether the patient has fallen while still providing privacy, a system available on any computer monitors vital signs. can be pulled up on your >> all of that, for instance, can be pulled up on your blackberry as a caregiver, and you can interact with them so that you're participating in their life. >> reporter: other companies also make backyard dwellings, but the med cottage is the first primarily designed for medical care. florida recently passed a bill allowing these structures on residential property. >> reporter: i coined the term "granny pod" early on in the legislative session. >> reporter: patients need a doctor's authorization, and the cottages are supposed to be removed when no longer in use,

but district supervisor jeff mckay says there is no way to enforce that. >> it's going to be "i have houseguests coming in town, wouldn't it be nice if they had their own freestanding hotel room in the backyard?" it will become an opportunity for people to use their property illegally. >> reporter: but the a.a.r.p. believes the idea is a good alternative to a nursing home. >> with the population increasing dramatically like it is, we really need the look at innovative ideas, and this is one of those. >> reporter: so get ready. the nursing home may be coming to a backyard near you. whit johnson, cbs news, washington. >> mitchell: and that is the "cbs evening news." i'm russ mitchell. katie's here tomorrow. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

area freeway. a raging gun battle. a suspicious device a bizarre scene unfolds on a bay area freeway. a raging gun battle. a suspicious advice blown up and an alarming discovery inside a suspect's truck. guardian angels beginning stepped up patrols following police layoffs. the megsage they want everyone to hear. and just how much money can 25,000 people raise in one sunday? the whopping total that will save lives. cbs5 eyewitness news is next. signal. airborne. beautiful. and strong. there to ensure the most powerful transmitter is you.