tara mergener is in washington with more. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning. the victims were with the international assistance mission, a group that serves the most difficult and remote parts of the country. afghan police are on the hunt this morning for the killers of ten foreign aid workers. their bodies were flown back to kabul sunday, three days after police say they were lined up and executed one by one as they returned from a medical mission. >> four sundays ago tom little stood right here -- >> reporter: in upstate new york sunday, church remembers remember the team's leader, tom little, an eye doctor and father of three. little worked alongside his wife in afghanistan for more than 30 years, and that's where he'll be buried. >> it's a family decision. our girls all felt that should happen. he gave his life in afghanistan, and that's where we were called to as a family and that's where he will be buried. >> reporter: the bodies of the other victims will return home. among them, thomas grams, who quit his dental practice in colorado to work full time he

tara mergener is in washington with details on this. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, betty. this ruling came after 13 days of testimony and arguments. it was a historic moment for gay rights supporters but certainly not the end of the fight. it's a major victory for supporters of same-sex marriage in a battle that could end autopsy the nation's highest court. >> we're on our way. we're one step closer to the equality we absolutely deserve. >> reporter: on wednesday judge vaughn walker proposition 8, california's voter approved ban on same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional. in his 136-page ruling he struck down every argument for the ban saying, quote, proposition 8 fails to advance any racial basis if singling out gay men and lesbians. >> this decision says we are americans, too. we, too, should be treated equally. >> reporter: but same-sex couples won't be able to mary immediately in california. judge walker put a temporary hold on his ruling until at least friday after supporters of the ban filed an appeal. many believe

tara mergener is in washington with much more on this. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, betty. the government says jobless claims are piling up now at levels not seen in three months. today's numbers are not expected to be strong. beverly gordon never imagined it would be so hard finding work. >> i feel like it's, in a sense, like a depression more so than a recession. >> reporter: she lost her job as an administrative assistant a year and a half ago and now holding down temp positions. now she says even though are hard to come by. >> it seems like there's sort of an abyss there. i don't think the jobs really are there. >> reporter: today's unemployment report isn't expected to show any improvement. analysts predict the economy lost at least 65,000 jobs in july and the unemployment rate will edge up from 9.5% to 9.6%. the economy has grown in the past year, regaining 73% of the output lost during the recession. but only 7% of the more than 8 million jobs lost. >> huge disconnect between recovery and output and recovery and j

tara mergener is in washington with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. if the stay is lifted, same-sex marriage will be legal in california, but the ruling will be watched closely from coast to coast. this could be the day eric ross and his partner get to say "i do." >> this is pie application for marriage certificate. >> reporter: judge vaughn walker is expected to announce today whether same-sex marriages in california can resume immediately or if couples will have to wait for a federal appeals court ruling. last week he struck down the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage known as proposition 8, calling it unconstitutional. but walker issued a temporary stay on the ruling while he heard arguments from both sides. >> if the stay is lifted today, we want to make sure we can get in and get married unless another stay gets put back on or reversed. >> reporter: currently same-sex couples can marry legally in five states and washington, d.c. but the ninth circuit case could make it legal in many more states. that's the last thing supporters of the ban wa

tara mergener has more on all of that. >> reporter: good morning. the white house calls today a milestone in the mission, but says it is not abandoning iraq. the end of america's combat operations in iraq marks the beginning of a new mission. >> what you'll see is the changing of a mission from one of combat to one of support. >> reporter: roughly 50,000 american forces will take part in operation new dawn, down from the nearly 170,000 that once patrolled the streets. they'll focus on stabilizing the country, training and advising security forces. vice president joe biden flew to iraq monday to reassure the nation of america's commitment. he'll preside over today's ceremonies and push leaders to end a six month old stalemate that's prevented them from forming a new government. president obama heads to ft. bliss, texas, this morning to meet with soldiers who served in iraq. later he'll return to the white house to deliver a prime time address from the oval office. the president is expected to tell the american people iraqis are now in charge of their

tara mergener is in washington with the latest. good morning, tara. >> reporter: hi, betty. this plane crashed with such force, it left a 300-foot gash on the slope. the ntsb meets together today to try to piece together clues. investigators this morning are combing the remote mountainside where former alaska senator ted stevens lost his life. >> we're looking to see whether or not there were any pilot reports, distress signals. >> reporter: he and four others were killed when their plane went down 325 miles southwest of anchorage. the group of nine was headed out on a fishing trip. four others survived the crash, including former nasa chief sean o'keefe and his teenage son. they were left stranded overnight until rescuers could reach them. >> they can provide us the best information about seating location and survivability, but our first priority is for their health. >> reporter: investigators are looking into weather as a possible cause, noting conditions at the time included light rain, clouds and gusty winds. stevens served 40 years in the senate, longer than any other r

tara mergener is in washington with much more on this. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, betty. waters says she did nothing wrong and so far is planning to fight instead of settle. the ten-term democrat is accused of using her influence to secure $12 million in federal bailout funds for a troubled bank tied to her husband. waters denies any wrongdoing. she would join new york congressman charles rangel in fighting charges of misconduct in office. both could face ethics trials this fall, right in the thick of congress's midterm elections. at least 65 house seats, most held by democrats, are at risk of changing hands. top democrats insist they remain confident but high-profile corruption trials would hand the gop huge issues on a silver plat per. what had been the democrats' ace in the hole isn't what it used to to be. today the republicans are using the president's face and policies to attack. president obama and his staff are said to be well aware that his presence might actually hurt more than it helps. "the new york times"

tara mergener has more from washington. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, emily. what started as a local issue is now a national and a political one with the president at the heart of the debate. republicans say they have new ammunition against democrats in november's midterm elections. >> the white house, the administration, the president himself seems to be disconnected from the mainstream of america. >> reporter: the gop slammed president obama sunday for comments he made about a controversial plan to build a mosque near ground zero. >> i believe muslims have a right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. >> reporter: he appeared to clarify later saying while muslims have the right to build a mosque, that doesn't mean they should. >> you can't change your position from day to day on an issue which does go to our constitution. >> reporter: republicans argue the proposed plan is insensitive. according to recent polls, nearly two-thirds of americans are also against it. still, supporters, including new york city's mayor pikal bloomberg insist

tara mergener is in washington with more on this. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning, betty. officials say documents contain some very sensitive information. information the taliban and al qaeda are anxious to get their hands on. wikileaks is about to do it again. >> we have a duty to all the people who can benefit from the release of that information. we are talking about information that derives from the war. >> reporter: the website's founder julian assange says his organization will soon release thousands more secret military documents about the afghan war. he didn't give a specific time frame but revealed his staff has already gone through roughly half of the 15,000 remaining records. >> this information is so valuable. >> reporter: the online whistle-blower sparked a firestorm last month when it posted some 76,000 files. pentagon blasted the leak, one of the largest in u.s. history, saying it put american troops and afghan informants at risk. military officials believe they identified the additional batch of document

tara mergener has more from washington. she joins us live. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, betty. today's hearing should be a simple one. clemens will be asked if he understands the charges and to enter a plea. legendary pitcher roger clemens is expected to plead not guilty today in federal court. the 48-year-old will be arraigned on six charges he lied to congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. >> let me be clear, i have never taken steroids or hgh. >> reporter: in 2008 before lawmakers, clemens denied taking steroids or human growth hormone but at the same hearing his former trainer brian mcnamee claimed he injected the baseball player with those drugs more than 30 times between 1998 and 2001. >> throughout the course of the years it was winstrol, also known as stanozolol, testosterone, steroids and hgh. >> reporter: the indictment charges clemens with one counted of obstruction, three counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury. federal prosecutors reportedly offered him a plea deal but he rejected.

emily, back to you. >> tara mergener in washington. thank you, tara. >>> as democrats fight to hold on to congress, long time democratic congressman maxine waters is fighting ethics charges. on monday, the house ethics panel formally accused waters of three counts of ethics violations. waters is accused of trying to secure assistance for a bank where her husband owns stock. she denies the charges. a trial is expected this fall. >>> former vice president dick cheney spent his first night at home following last month's heart surgery. cheney was released from the hospital monday. doctors had installed a battery powered pump to assist his failing heart. cheney suffers from congestive heart failure and has suffered five heart attacks. >> the youngest prisoner at guantanamo bay goes on trial today after a military judge ruled his confessions can be used against him. canadian-born omar cotter was just 15 when he was captured on a battlefield in afghanistan. he is charged with killing an american soldier with a hand grenade. cotter's attorney

betty, back to you. >> tara mergener from washington. thank you. >>> now to a tragedy in northwest louisiana. six teenagers drowned at a popular recreation area in shreveport. the victims were playing in an often used swimming area, the red river, on monday. the teenagers had been wading in shallow water when they stepped off of a ledge about 20 feet deep. >> the wave pushed them out there and they tried to swim back up and then they were hollering for help and started going down. >> they had one life jacket here and as you can imagine, everybody started yelling for help. nobody could swim. >> the victims were ages 13 to 18, including three brothers from one family and a sister and two brothers from another. none of the adults with them could swim either. a 14-year-old was rescued, though. >>> this morning the full senate begins debate on the nomination of elena kagan to the supreme court. she'd be the fourth female justice to sit on the nation's highest court. she served as solicitor general in the obama administration and would succeed

>> tara mergener joining us live in washington. thank you for that. >>> now to the deadly workplace shooting. witnesses say the alleged gunman, 34-year-old omar thornton was, quote, cold as ice as he started shooting coworkers on tuesday. nine people, including the gunman, were killed at a beer distributor's warehouse in manchester, connecticut. the rampage was over in a matter of minutes. manuel gallegus reports. >> reporter: employees of this beer distribution plant were loading trucks for the day's deliveries when authorities say one of their coworkers started shooting. police and tand the s.w.a.t. tem raced to the scene. nine were killed, including omar thornton, who took his own life. >> third shift leave, first shift coming on, all the sales mernmen going out on their various routes. yeah, couldn't are been a worse possible time. >> reporter: thornton, a truck driver at the company was called into a meeting where he was told he was losing his job for stealing beer. as he was being escorted out, police say he pulled out a hand

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. >>> i'm tara mergener in washington. efforts to kill the broken well in the gulf for good are now under way. the latest coming up. >>> and an historic decision expected today on california's prop 8. we spoke with an expert who thinks the prop will be overturned. we'll tell you why and what could be next. coming up. ,,,,,,,, activia is better than ever! hey, you guys. want to try activia's great new taste? today is your tasty lucky day! sure, why not? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. ooh, i think i'll pass. no, no, no! trust me. it is beyond tasty. okay! mmm! wow! i can't believe it, i love it! mmm, this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! taste it, love it, or it's free! good morning... it's wednesday the fourth of august. >>> your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. caption colorado, l.l.c. >>> a view from high atop world headquarters of cbs 5 at battery and broadway looking at the bay bridge this morning, a little haze and fog. we have the forecast coming

in washington, tara mergener, cbs 5. >>> that flight attendant who quit his job in dramatic fashion and is now a folk hero is out of jail. >> steven, how are you feeling? >> i'm not going to say anything at all, not just now. >> what about all the people who have supported you? >> to berate a passenger had been causing trouble, then grabbed beer and exited the plane on the emergency chute. this all happened sunday after the jetblue plane landed at kennedy international airport. . in missouri, slater's ex-wife came to his defense. >> i find it more offensive that this passenger isn't being put on trial than steven being put on trial. i see it every time i'm at a grocery store, department store, people treating poorly the clerks, our service personnel. >> slater faces charges of criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. slater's attorney says his client never put anyone in danger. >>> the weather has stopped work at that broken oil well in the gulf of mexico. crews drilling the relief well have quit working because of a tropical depression in the gulf. it could become a tropical storm

for cbs news, i'm tara mergener. >> 20 years, that's serious stuff. >> sometimes serious consequences are the only way to turn things around in your life. >> maybe. we'll be right back. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. at the end of the day. kinda relaxing [ female announcer ] relaxing for who? try new market creations from lean cuisine. the new steam pouch locks in the fresh taste of crisp veggies, tender chicken, and al dente pasta, new market creations from lean cuisine. ♪ ♪ oh, do it ♪ oh, do it [ female announcer ] coffee is like life. it's better when you add your flavor. coffee-mate. from nestle. they had 30 people and an idea. meg's job was to make it happen. it took leadership. focus. and the ability to bring people together. meg whitman delivered. named one of america's best ceo's by harvard business review, she grew ebay 15,000 strong and made small business dreams come true. now meg has a plan to create jobs. fix sacramento. and deliver results. meg whitman. for a new california. thais...peggy. whatng usa pris problem, please? peggy? sure...well...suddenly it