deepening scandal. the investigation into the secret service prostitution scandal widens and more firings are expected today. cold case. new evidence leads police to search a new york city basement for a young boy who vanished back in 1979. and back in court. george zimmerman could be a free man after a bond hearing later today. this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, april 20, 2012. good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle miller. we begin with the investigation into the secret service prostitution scandal in colombia. more agents are expected to lose their jobs as early as today. meanwhile, the white house is standing by the secret service director. susan mcginnis is in washington

with more. good morning. >> reporter: michelle, good morning. as more information comes to light about what really happened that night in cartagena, it does look like more firings are going to happen fast. meanwhile, members of congress are now speaking out. more secret service agents involved in the prostitution scandal in colombia could resign or be fired as early as today. according to new york congressman peter king. >> director sullivan said as soon as he believes he has sufficient evidence to require someone to leave, he will act. >> reporter: three agents have already been forced out. supervisor david cheney retired, greg stokes who ran the canine unit was removed with cause but can appeal, a third agent resigned and eight more are under investigation. the agents are accused of hiring prostitutes and bringing them back to their hotel in cartagena last week. they were in columbia setting up security for president obama's trip to the summit of the americas.

the secret service is updating congressmen about the investigations under way here in washington and in colombia. lawmakers are expressing outrage over what happened. >> this is unacceptable behavior. >> those people who are responsible have brought disgrace and it's disgusting. >> reporter: former house speaker nancy pelosi says agents need to be held accountable. >> i don't see those involved in this could continue with their work. >> reporter: white house spokesman says jay carney says the president still has confidence in the secret service and the agency. >> he has high regard for and great appreciation for the extraordinary work that the secret service does to protect him. >> reporter: the secret service says the actions of its agents never compromised the president's security. now, some republicans are painting this as showing questionable leadership on the part of the president. the white house says they're simply trying to politicize something that's not political. michelle? >> susan mcginnis in washington, thank you.

one of the agents who has already lost his job in the scandal, supervisor david cheney, joked about sarah palin online. this picture guarding palin during the 2000 campaign was on his facebook page. he wrote, i was really checking her out, if you know what i mean? speaking on fox news last night, palin says the joke is on him. >> this agent who was kind of ridiculous posting pictures and comments about checking someone out, well-being check this out, body guard, you're fired and i hope his wife kicks him and sends him to the dog house. >> palin also said the scandal is a symptom of the government run amuck and that the president better be wary. the secret service may be checking out the first lady instead of guarding her. a bail hearing is scheduled today for the man who admits he shot and killed florida teenager trayvon martin. george zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder last week. he says he shot martin during a confrontation on february 26th.

the attorney for martin's parents said yesterday, zimmerman should not be allowed out of jail. >> we stand on legal, public safety and moral grounds to solidify our position that zimmerman should be held without bond until these matters are concluded. >> martin's parents say zimmerman reached out to them on thursday, requesting a meeting. the family denied the question and said they question zimmerman's motives and sincerity. this morning in a new york city basement, the police and fbi will resume their search for a young boy who has been missing for more than three decades. etan patz vanished without a trace in 1979. the case drew attention to child safety and missing children. new evidence has led law enforcement officials to a building just a few doors from where patz's home was and back

to someone they had questioned before. john miller reports. >> reporter: for the first time in three decades police and the fbi returned in force to the new york city block where etan patz vanished. new york police spokesman paul brown. >> we're putting great emphasis on this location, looking forensically for any evidence of human remains, of clothing. >> reporter: investigators intend to dig up the concrete floor of a basement, which was once the work shop of a handyman who befriended the boy. the concrete floor was laid days after etan vanished. etan vanished in may 1979. he was last seen by his mom walking to a school bus stop by himself. the case tapped into the fears of every parent. it was one of the most highly publicized disappearances of a child. author lisa cohen wrote a book on the case. >> i think this really was

a turning point for american culture. i can't tell you how many people who say, how could you let him walk to the bus stop by himself? that's what people did back then. that was absolutely a standard. that was before etan. after etan everything changed. >> reporter: images were placed on milk cartons and the case started the movement that led to the founding of the national center for missing children. but for sam and julie patz, there was never closure. the disappearance became a cold case. for years jose ramos, a convicted child molester from the neighborhood, who dated etan's babysitter, was considered the prime suspect. miller, the handyman, was considered a friend to the young boy. the day before he disappeared, he came home with a dollar bill that he said miller had given him for helping out. the fbi and police say miller is cooperating with the investigation.

john miller, cbs news, new york. secretary of state hillary clinton wants the u.n. to adapt new measures against syria, including an arms embargo. speaking in paris yesterday, clinton did not call for military intervention. meantime, videos that appeared online yesterday, allegedly shows angry syrians with a u.n. observer as they examine the damage caused by government shelling. poor weather may have caused the crash of a u.s. military helicopter in afghanistan. four u.s. troops are feared dead after their blackhawk crashed yesterday in southwestern afghanistan. the crash is under investigation and one u.s. official said enemy fire cannot be ruled out. coming up on the morning news, a tense takeoff caught on tape. a delta airlines jet gets hit by birds and forced to make an emergency landing. first, scott pelley has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." two years after one of america's biggest environmental

disasters, scientists are still concerned about the impact of the bp oil spill. we'll take a trip to investigate the health of the gulf tonight on the "cbs evening news." ng news." over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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mmm. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. even in china, it's pretty unusual to look into your attic and find a panda. in this case, a red panda, a protected species that normally stays in the trees. a wildlife rescue team collected the animal and took it to a temporary new home at the zoo. a bird strike forced a delta airlines jet to make an emergency landing at new york's kennedy airport. shortly after takeoff yesterday, a passenger with a phone camera on flight 1063 to los angeles caught a flock of birds sweeping past, some knocking out the 757's engine. the plane returned safely to jfk where technicians inspected the damaged engine. penn state university has paid more than $3 million to the

family of the late football coach joe paterno. paterno died in january after 46 seasons in penn state. he was fired in november after a former assistant was arrested and charged with sexually abusing young boys on campus. the payments made yesterday to paterno's estate were bonuses due under his contract. on the "cbs moneywatch," big takeover talks in the airline industry. and no more beetle juice from starbucks. ashley morrison is here with that and more. good morning. >> good morning. renewed fears about europe's debt dragged down overseas markets. tokyo's nikkei lost 0.25% for a third straight week of losses while hong kong's hang seng gained a fraction. despite good earning reports from southwest airlines, ebay and bank of america, stocks on wall street solid thursday. the dow lost 67 while the nasdaq lost 23. today's the second anniversary of the explosion on the deepwater horizon in the gulf of mexico.

it killed 11 people and triggered the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history. economic repercussions from the disaster are still being felt. on thursday the justice department said about 7300 residents and businesses harmed by the spill will get more than $64 million in extra payment because their claims to the compensation fund set up by bp were wrongfully denied. bp has spent more than $22 billion on responding to the oil spill. unions at american airlines are reportedly supportive of a potential takeover bid by us airways. cbs news has learned us airways is planning a hostile takeover of the nation's third largest airline, gaining the support of unions is a key to that bid. american airlines says the company is focused on reorganizing on its own under bankruptcy protection. american announced yesterday it lost nearly $1.7 billion in the

first quarter of 2012. and starbucks says it's phasing out a red dye that drew the ire of vegan customers. the dye was made from crushed bugs and used to color strawberry flavored foods and drinks like the raspberry swirl cake. instead, starbucks will use lycopene, which is extracted from tomatoes. i'm not a vegan, but even i can agree, that sounds a little more appealing than bugs. >> i want to know who made that decision? >> i think the good one. they should get a pat on the back for that. >> talking about the original one. i'm telling you. a correction was made. ashley morrison here in new york, thanks, ashley. well, levon helm, drummer and singer for the band has died. the son of an arkansas cot to know ton farmer, his best known songs were tales of the south. ♪ in the winter of '65

in the delta valley ♪ >> helm and the band, who once backed bob dylan was a focus of what was called the greatest film of all time "the last waltz." he died yesterday in new york hospital after a long battle with cancer. he was 71 years old. [ male announcer ] this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word.

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forecast in some cities around the country. new york, partly sunny, 71. miami, thunderstorms, 81. chicago, rainy, 47. dallas, thunderstorms, 65. los angeles, sunny and 84. now for a check of today's national forecast. showers and thunderstorms will extend from the western great lakes to the southeast. showers and scattered thunderstorms are also likely across much of the southeast and as far north as western new york. showers will fall along the northwest coast with snow in the high mountains. highs could reach 100 degrees in some parts of the desert southwest. in sports, the pat summitt era in women's college basketball is over. summitt spoke at a retirement news conference yesterday at the university of tennessee. she said coaching the ladies vols to a record 1,098 wins over 38 years was a great ride, but the decision had to be made.

>> it's never a good time, but you have to find the time that you think is the right time. and that is now. >> summitt, who is 59 revealed last year she has early onset dementia. she'll remain tennessee's head coach emeritus. cbs sports has confirmed dwight howard of the orlando magic will have season-ending back surgery this morning in los angeles. the all-star center told espn he tried to play through the pain, but that just made the injury worse. now to baseball and a night for the yankees' curtis granderson that babe ruth would appreciate. watch his first. in the first inning against the twins, granderson hit a solo home run to right. he followed that in the second with a drive into the second deck of yankee stadium for two more runs. and then followed that with another solo homer in the fourth. new york won it 7-6. in washington, the houston

astros had a three-fer of their own. first jose altuve in the first inning. then brian bogusevic mashed one off the scoreboard for another triple driving in two runs. and then matt downs drove one deep to center, cruising into third. an mazing three triples in just one inning. the astros beat the nats 11-. in stanley cup action, it was st. louis at san jose. andy mcdonald score the blues' second goal on a power play in the third period, that was enough. the 2-1 st. louis victory puts the blues up three games to one in the first round series. when we come back, another look at this morning's top stories and some serious horsing around. a woman is accused of stealing millions of dollars from a small town to fund a horse breeding business. breeding business. [ male announcer ] every day thousands of people

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., partly sunny, 72. atlanta, thunderstorms, 76. st. louis, thunderstorms, 67. denver, partly sunny, 64. seattle, morning rain and 55. and here's another look at this morning's top stories. george zimmerman charged in the murder of florida teenager trayvon martin is due in court today for a bail hearing. his attorney says if zimmerman is granted bond, he would be allowed to leave the area because of safety concerns. law enforcement officials are searching a new york city basement for the remains of etan patz, who vanished in 1979 when he was 6 years old. the search is expected to take

five days. the fbi has charged the finance chief of a town in northern illinois with embezzling millions of dollars from the town's treasury. rita crundwell alleged stole $30 million in the past six years, using most of the money for her illinois ranch and wisconsin horse farm. the town's mayor and its residents are shocked. >> this is a traumatic, upsetting event the citizens and council are experiencing. >> when i first heard of it, i couldn't really believe what i was hearing. >> she was a respected member of the community of about 15,000 and widely admired for her world champion horses. the world's oldest man may be a bit jaded on birthdays but jiroemon kimura said he was delighted when he turned 115 years old yesterday. he lives in japan and he's got 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great grandchildren. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning,"

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it's going to be a gorgeous day. it's 49 degrees, going to be a very pleasant evening. >> this is what we have our eye on for you today. earthquake drills this morning at towson university to teach students about emergency preparedness. students and volunteers are coming together to plant 2,000 square feet of floating wetlands that will live in the inner harbor. already making news this morning, new details in the

secret service scandal. three are fired and more could come today. police make a gruesome discovery and student outrage over the doomsday budget, how they are making their voices heard. more news and weather in a couple minutes. ♪ i, i'll bring the fire make you come alive ♪

♪ i can take you higher what this is, forgot? ♪ ♪ i must now remind you let it rock, let it rock ♪ ♪ let it rock