katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone. the government is taking new steps to control the rain- swollen mississippi. for weeks now, flooding along the river has wiped out roads, destroyed homes and forced entire towns to evacuate. today to relieve pressure on levees the u.s. coast guard closed the port at natchez to barge traffic, effectively severing a major shipping artery. and, as national correspondent dean reynolds reports, that could cost the u.s. economy dearly. >> reporter: in vidalia, louisiana, carla jenkins tug boat business is down 80%. >> i would say probably $70,000, $80,000 a week which for a small company is a lot of money. >> reporter: her tug boats are usually out pushing barges on the mississippi now but orders have been shortened because flooded midwestern farmers had less grain to move for exports. now with the decision to close the river to barge traffic for 15 miles from the port of natchez plus a second stoppage near morgan city, things just got worse. >> we're going to do everything we can to hang on to our people but when there's no work, there's no work. >> reporter: the river at natchez is three feet higher than its record but closing the river at any point threatens to back up the conga line of commerce usually plying its waters. experts say a larger closure all the way to new orleans could cost the u.s. economy $300 million a day. but the coast guard said the barge traffic-- and the wake it stirs up-- would put too much pressure on the fragile flood walls. on saturday, the army corps of engineers opened the floodgates at a spill way to relieve pressure on the main levee systems. this latest move to stop barge traffic is yet another desperate attempt by authorities to tame the mississippi. so while actual flooding around here may not be so apparent yet, the steps taken to keep that from happening are already having an economic impact up and down the mississippi. katie? >> couric: dean reynolds in baton rouge tonight. dean, thank you. now to the case of dominique strauss-kahn. pressure is building on him to step down as the head of the international monetary found. strauss-kahn is in a new york city jail tonight, accused of sexually assaulting a maid at a luxury hotel. today we heard from her lawyer and from another woman who says she warned the i.m.f. about strauss-kahn. michelle miller has the latest. >> reporter: it's a stunning turn. this wealthy and powerful titan accustomed to luxury accommodations now inhabits an 11 x 13 cell at this jail on rikers island. dominique strauss-kahn is being held alone in protective custody. today the 62-year-old politician is eating the same food as 11,000 other inmates with only one hour of exercise a day. his alleged victim, a 32-year- old african woman and mother of a teenaged daughter, is in hiding. >> now she knows it's her word against a man who is powerful and rich in the world and she is grateful to be in a country where her rights are equal to his. >> reporter: and there may be more charges. the attorney for a french writer who claimed in an interview nine years ago that strauss-kahn sexually assaulted her now says she'll file a formal complaint against him. as more sensational allegations surround the man so influential he's known by his initials d.s.k. the french are riveted and repulsed. >> it's back to back coverage... >> reporter: this french t.v. journalist says the photographs of strauss-kahn the suspect in handcuffs and in court were seen by the french as insulting and unfair, showing such images before a conviction is against the law there. some even suggest the probable presidential candidate was set up by his rivals. >> people have been so shocked, you know, by the downfall of this guy that there trying to find an explanation. >> reporter: but d.s.k. had a reputation as a ladies man. a former i.m.f. staffer who had a brief affair with him told the i.m.f. board that he was "a man with a problem that may make him ill equipped to lead an institution where women work." and cbs news has learned that strauss-kahn has been placed on suicide watch as a precaution and, katie, he's due back in court on friday. >> couric: michelle, thanks so much, michelle miller. in other news, when arnold schwarzenegger and maria shriver announced their separation after 25 years of marriage, it came as a big surprise to most people. to the outside world, they seemed like a happy couple. but today ben tracy reports the outside world learned the secret the former governor had been keeping from his wife and almost everyone for a decade. >> your governor for the next four years, arnold schwarzenegger! >> reporter: maria shriver was her husband's biggest backer. many say she's the reason he was elected california's governor. >> i know how many votes i got today because of you. ( cheers and applause ) yes. >> reporter: but what she did not know at the time was that schwarzenegger had a secret. at least ten years ago he father a child with a woman who worked in their home. he's reportedly been supporting the child financially ever since including his seven years in office. the bombshell of a headline in the "los angeles times" this morning forced shriver to respond. she said: shriver reportedly learned the news in january and moved out of their los angeles home. >> we both love each other very much. >> reporter: the couple announced their separation last week. now in a statement, schwarzenegger says: this revelation makes schwarzenegger's 2003 run for governor seem incredibly risky. >> the rule in political scandals is it's not so much the original offense, it's the cover-up. and in this case, there was a cover-up. >> reporter: during the campaign schwarzenegger was accused of harassment by a dozen women. >> i have behaved badly sometimes. >> reporter: it was shriver who said he changed. >> he is an extraordinary father. he's an extraordinary husband. >> reporter: on his twitter page today, their 17-year-old son patrick said he still loves his family but he signed his tweet with the last name shriver. this news has clearly taken a toll on schwarzenegger's family. what remains to be seen is what impact it could have on the movie career he's trying to relaunch in hollywood. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles >> couric: to presidential politics now, just days after newt gingrich announced he's running for the republican nomination, his campaign is in trouble. jan crawford is in washington tonight, and jan his candidacy has been marked by a lot of missteps straight out of the gate. >> reporter: that's right, katie. i mean, top republicans are now saying gingrich is in serious trouble and that his campaign tonight is in jeopardy. it all started with his appearance on a sunday talk show. he was rolling out his presidential campaign when he suddenly took aim at republicans specifically congressman paul ryan's budget plan. >> i don't think right wing social engineering is any more desirable than left wing social engineering. i don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate. >> reporter: now, leading conservatives went ballistic. they said gingrich had hurt the party and all those republicans who were supporting the ryan plan. and then there's embarrassing news this afternoon for gingrich. his wife's financial disclosure form revealed they recently had owed american express between $15,000 and $50,000 and he owed between $250,000 and $500,000 to the upscale jewelry store tiffany's. that is not a good message when voters care most about the economy and how they're going to make ends meet. so the question now is how does gingrich survive? with all that's happened this week, will he be able to hold on to some of those big money donors or are they going to take a walk? katie? >> couric: jan crawford. jan, thank you. turning overseas, something happened today that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. britain's queen elizabeth flew to ireland, a visit made possible now that peace has been made possible in president north but police diffused a pipe bomb outside the royal capital. more from mark phillips in dublin. >> reporter: it takes about an hour to fly from london to dublin but this trip took 100 years. 100 years since an english monarch walked the ground her ancestors had ruled for five centuries. and, my, how things have changed in their absence. no bowing to british monarchs now. from president mary mcaleese just a hand shake, gratefully accepted. not everyone welcomed the visit. perhaps 100 protestors made their feelings known. as did the irish government, no protests allowed. in fact, almost nobody allowed anywhere near the queen. her motorcade rolled through empty streets. three bomb squares-- one of them involving a real bomb that police made safe-- had preceded her arrival. normally a royal visit presents problems of crowd control. here they've solved they that by crowd avoidance. this is central dublin, effectively locked down for this visit. anglo-irish history is written in blood. from the brutal suppression of the 1916 uprising that led to independence through the decades of violence of the troubles in northern ireland. but this visit was about moving beyond history. the queen laid a wreath at the memorial to the irish who had died fighting against the british. then it was the talk of dublin streets. >> with royalty and state visits it's all about gestures. it's gesture politics and, yeah, i think they're important gestures. >> reporter: there was another subtle gesture. the queen wore green. mark phillips, cbs news, dublin. >> couric: to health news now in an intriguing new study about prostate cancer. the study involved 47,000 men and it found those who drank a lot of coffee-- six or more cups a day-- reduced their risk of lethal prostate cancer by 60%. dr. jon lapook is our medical correspondent and, john, we've heard a lot about the health benefits of coffee before. >> right, there's emerging evidence it may help lower the risk of parkinson's disease, liver cancer, cirrhosis, even diabetes. but never anything like that but never anything like this where drinking even one to three cups a day lowered the risk of dying from prostate cancer by 30%. >> couric: why do they think coffee is so beneficial, is it the caffeine, or what is it? >> it's specifically not the caffeine because men who drank decaf had the same benefits. there are a lot more thing in those coffee beans than just caffeine. antioxidant, things that lower inflammation. that may help. there are things in the coffee beans that can lower, at least theoretically, the levels of insulin and testosterone. those hormones are things that can fuel cancer growth, so lowering them could put the kibosh on the cancer. >> couric: so should men head out to dunkin' donuts and starbucks stat? >> no, there's a lot more research to be done, katie. >> couric: dr. jon lapook, jon thank you. and coming up next on the "cbs evening news," possible cancer causing chemicals found in products that are supposed to protect infants. that's going to go right in your glove. ohhh. oh. see that? great job. ok, now let's get ready for the ball... here it comes... here you go. good catch. perfect! alright now for the best part. let's see your pour. ohhh...let's get those in the bowl. these are way too good to waste, right? 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! >> couric: we put babies in car seats to protect them from danger. but there could be a danger hidden in those car seats and other products as well? a study to be published in environmental science and technology looked at the flame retardant chemicals used in dozens of baby products. wyatt andrews now on what that study found. >> here is an insert from a car seat. >> reporter: the study focused on the foam padding that comes in baby products like car seats and diaper changing pads. the researchers, led by heather stapleton of duke university expected to find flame retardant chemicals, but not this. of the 101 products tested, five contained the chemical penta which was banned by eight states as a neurotoxin and phased out by industry. nine had small amounts of the chemical t.c.e.p. which california has labeled a human carcinogen. and 36 had chlorinated tris, a chemical that consumer product safety commission calls a probable carcinogen. >> i became concerned when we were finding certainly chemicals that were expected to be carcinogens or known carcinogens. >> reporter: the study does not identify brand names but cbs news has learned chlorinated tris was found in three evenflow car seats and one snugli baby carrier. what's causing some of the concern is that flame retardant chemicals are known to migrate from foam into the air. that means that a baby being changed on a foam pad will be exposed twice-- first through the skin and then by simply breathing. >> to me dr. stapleton's paper is a wakeup call... >> reporter: dr. linda birnbaum is the director of the national institute of environmental health sciences and leading expert on toxins. >> i am concerned about not only cancer but reproductive or neurological effects as well. >> reporter: the developing brain? >> the developing brain. >> reporter: the makers of evenflo and snugli tell cbs news in a statement protecting children is evenflo's number one priority and that it uses chemicals to meet mandatory federal and state flammability requirements. the chemical manufacturers tell us flame retardants provide important fire safety benefits that chlorinated tris is safe for use in consumer products and says the new study does not show harm to infants because it does not address exposure or risk. dr. birnbaum agrees there is no proof of harm but says that's not the question. >> i think the question would be why do we need these chemicals in baby products at all? >> reporter: by coincidence, professor stapleton had her second child last week and at home has replaced as many foam- based baby products as possible in the balancing act between fire safety and chemical exposure, she sees chemicals as the greater risk. wyatt andrews, cbs news durham, north carolina. >> couric: meanwhile, in baseball, few players were as possible as harmon killebrew. his homers soared like mortar shots, over 22 seasons, mostly with the minnesota twins. enough to make him number 11 on the all-time list and a hall-of-famer. harmon killebrew died today in his home in scottsdale, arizona, of esophageal cancer, he was 74. and coming up next, ship wreck on land. two months after the tsunami, the cleanup has barely begun. kept coming back... tos ...kept coming back. then i found out advair helps prevent symptoms from happening in the first place. advair is for asthma that's not well controlled on a long-term asthma medicine, such as an inhaled corticosteroid. advair will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. advair contains salmeterol which increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. advair is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled your doctor will decide if you can stop advair without loss of control and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, such as an inhaled corticosteroid. do not take advair more than prescribed. see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. is advair right for you? ask your doctor. get your first prescription free. advair helps prevent symptoms. 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[ male announcer ] if you cannot afford your medication, call 1-877-niaspan. niaspan is not for everyone, like people with stomach ulcers, liver, or serious bleeding problems. severe liver damage can occur when switching to niaspan from immediate-release niacin. blood tests are needed to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness; this could be a sign of serious side effects; this risk can increase with statin use. tell your doctor about alcohol use, if you've ever had gout, or are diabetic and experience increases in blood sugar. flushing, a common side effect, is warmth, redness, itching, or tingling of the skin. ask your doctor about niaspan. fight back. fight plaque. niaspan. soldiers wounded on the battlefield next on cbs 5 >> couric: finally tonight, consider the toothpick, that most humble of manufactured products. a simple sliver of wood, it can hold a sandwich together, spear an olive and, of course, get that little piece of lettuce out of your teeth. that's about it. or is it? here's john blackstone. >> reporter: those who see it are amazed at what scott weaver has built with just glue and toothpicks. a vision of san francisco from its cable cars to its rows of victorian houses. >> this is art. this is not just toothpicks. this is art. >> reporter: why toothpicks? why not. >> reporter: weaver says he's used at least 100,000 toothpicks to recreate virtually every landmark in the city. i mean, the amount of time and detail in this, people are going to say "this guy's crazy." >> yeah, what kind of eccentric idiot would spend thousands of hours making this toothpick sculpture, that's me. >> reporter: he's been working on it for 36 years. >> my mom always said "scottie, get that thing done and get it out of your wife's living room." >> reporter: it's now on display of san francisco's science museum, the eploratorium, where he's giving guided tours. follow the ping poll balls. >> it goes behind the cable car transamerica building, they go into chinatown under the bridge, underneath the palace of fine arts dropping down into the building. the world series trophy for the giants. shoot the tube underneath this guy's surf board and then across the golden gate bridge. >> it's a piece of art. no question. it's absolutely art and it's beautiful. >> it's the way art should be. there's no rules. >> reporter: and with no rules, scott weaver has turned the humble toothpick into a building block of wonder. >> it's pretty fantastic! it's unbelievable! i mean unbelievably beautiful. >> reporter: john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. >> couric: and we agree. that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. i'm katie couric. thank you for watching, see you tomorrow. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org you're watching cbs5 eyewitness news in high- definition. "this broadcast realtime captioned by becky lyon." >> you know something. the weather is always weird. and how. how this taste of january is affecting northern california. from landslides to highways and, yes, even your garden. another week, another piece of videotape used against san francisco police. what critics say is happening in this latest piece of video. a cheaper option at the gas pumps. one you might not even know about. good evening, i'm dana king. >> i'm allen martin. a live look at the wet, gloomy weather hanging over the bay. it is the kind of day that makes you want to stay inside. ann notarangelo shows us it is that kind of thinking that has got a lot of people skipping thei