this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, may 31st, 2013. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. well, a tense week of severe weather across the middle of the country will continue today. at least five tornadoes touched down on thursday. three in oklahoma and two more in arkansas as a line of powerful storms reached from the south all the way to the great lakes. but it's not just the damaged winds from tornadoes that are causing worries this morning. heavy rains are threatening to trigger damaging floods. >> you need to go home to your mom and dad, babe. that is a tornado. >> this twister formed thursday afternoon in oden, arkansas. it swept through part of the rural community, smashing a home and injuring four people. >> we carried her out of the window and carried her in the back of the truck -- back seat of the truck until the ambulance got here. >> just to the south the storm flattened a mobile home. a total of nine people were hurt as the storms moved across arkansas. two men were hospitalized after they were struck by lightning. a witness says the strike happened without warning. >> it was just like this, and there was a dark off in the distance and it's like we were standing here talking and that was it. >> tornadoes also struck across oklahoma. this twister touching down between tulsa and oklahoma city. >> it did hit one home that we had quite a bit of damage to. >> the tulsa suburb of broken arrow took a direct hit. a tornado damaged some buildings, but no one was injured. thursday's storms were far weaker than the powerful ef-5 twister that ravaged moor, oklahoma, last week. >> i talked to my wife, and she said the house had been hit. thus far, all we know my next-door neighbors to my parents lost part of their roof, and we lost a couple of windows, got some branches down, and that kind of thing. >> in iowa that made it the wettest spring in history. that's caused worries about the rise of the river. volunteers loaded up sandbags in the eastern part of the state while some homes had to be evacuated. >> i've been out here for about an hour and i plan on staying out until we can't sandbag no more tonight. >> cbs weather consultant david bernard has a look at what's ahead for today. >> look at all the severe weather reports we had in. lots of hail and severe wind reports, those indicated in blue. but a number of tornadoes as well. those were primarily in oklahoma and also in arkansas. so what lies ahead for today? well, in the southeast we'll have temperatures in the mid to upper 80s, a chance of showers and a few thunderstorms, mainly scattered. 88 in birmingham, atlanta, 86 degrees. in the northeast, sweltering again. temperatures into the 90s. 92 in boston. even montreal can be around 89. but once again, the high severe weather threat, particularly in oklahoma, that will stretch out as far east as chicago and out west it looks dry and seasonable in california but hot in the desert southwest with highs around 100. i'm david bernard, cbs news, miami. well, this morning a wildfire that's burning north of los angeles has been slowed by diminished winds and cooling temperatures. an evacuation order for the area has been lifted. the fire broke out thursday afternoon in the angeles national forest and quickly consumed a thousand acres. the fire destroyed at least one building and threatened water and power facilities. it remains out of control, and the forest service warns the potential for this growth of this wildfire is great. now the secret service says the suspicious letter sent to president obama is similar to the threatening ricin-laced letters sent to new york city mayor michael bloomberg, and this morning the fbi is questioning a texas man about the case. tara mergener is in washington with more. tara, good morning. >> good morning to you, anne-marie. yeah, no one has been arrested or charged yet, but authorities are looking into whether the person who sent the letters to mayor bloomberg may have also sent one to president obama. fbi agents swarmed a home in new boston, texas, to question a man being called a person of interest in the ricin letters case. early this morning officers were seen leaving the house carrying electronics. new boston is about an hour and a half from shreveport, louisiana, where two of the letters were postmarked. thursday the government confirmed a third letter. this one, a letter to president obama, is being tested for ricin. it was intercepted at a military base here in washington, d.c., where all of the white house mail is screened. sources tell cbs news the letter had the same markings as the two letters sent to new york mayor michael bloomberg and to his washington, d.c.-based gun control group. the letter arrived in a white business envelope with no return address. the letter was unsigned and contained oily orange stains which tested positive for ricin. >> there's different ways of deducing it, and i don't want to speculate for what this way was, but this was a gooey substance. >> the letter to bloomberg also contained a threat. it read, you will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns. anyone who wants to come to my house will get shot in the face. what's in this letter is nothing compared to what i've got prepared for you. ricin is made from caster beans and can be lethal in very small doses if inhaled or ingested. and bloomberg's office said the substance did not appear to be in a form that could be easily inhaled or ingested. anne-marie? >> tara mergener in washington. thank you, tara. well, the suspect in the boston marathon bombing says he's innocent. zdzhokhar tsarnaev spoke to his mother last week. he is say to be comfortable enough to be walking on his own, and he said he and his brother are innocent in the deadly attack. ♪ but i love that dirty water boston you are home ♪ >> there was a benefit concert for the boston marathon victims last night. the boston strong concert lasted five hours. a aerosmith, james tay lork and jimmy buffett were among the performers. the money will go to the onefund for boston. the freight company had a poor safety record. new surveillance video of tuesday's crash was released. it shows the truck approaching the crossing and not stopping before it is hit by the train. the engineer says he was going below the speed limit. the national transportation safety board said the truck's owner alvin waist has an above average number of violations. >> coming up on the "morning news," class act. oprah winfrey addresses graduates at harvard university, and we hear some of her advice to the class of 2013. and it could be the next weight loss craze. we'll see how the mcdiet plan helped one man shed the extra pounds while eatingfast food. this is the "cbs morning news." pounds while eating fast food. this is the "cbs morning news." l st niar y h. your generation is charged with this task of breaking through what the body politic has thus far made impervious to change. each of you's been blessed with this enormous opportunity of attending this prestigious school. you now have a chance to better your life, the lives of your neighbors, and also the life of our country. >> oprah winfrey addressing the graduates at the 362nd commencement of harvard university on thursday. she told the students to expect failure at some point in their lives, but they're also to find their purpose in life. on the "cbs moneywatch" now, electric cars get a jolt, and a fast food diet that might help you lose weight. ashley more sop is here in new york with that and more. good morning to you, ashley. >> good morning to you, anne-marie. well, honda is the latest automaker trying to boost sales of its electric cars. starting in june, the monthly lease of the honda fit ev will be cut. electric cars represent less than 1% of all car and truck sales. that's due to stable gasoline prices and worries that electric cars can't go far without a recharge. most asian stocks rebounded from big losses thursday as investors re-entered the market. tokyo's nikkei jumped more than 2% while hong kong's hang seng lost half a percent. wall street's stocks ended higher on expectations that the fed will continue its efforts to bolster the economy. the dow was up 21 points at the close on wednesday. the nasdaq gained 23 points. the u.s. is trying to calm fears over unapproved genetically modified wheat. the strain foend by monsanto was found on a farm in oregon last month. japan, a major u.s. grain importer, suspended some purchases. the european union is increasing testing of u.s. wheat. the agriculture department says genetic engineered wheat is safe to eat and did not enter the marketplace. the union representing the photographers who were fired by the "chicago sun-times" plans to file a bad faith bargaining charge with the national labor relations board. about 30 full-time staffers were dismissed thursday. the newspaper said it is moving to more online video. the company told the union in recent contract talks that photographers' jobs were safe. unionized workers are ending their strike against a chicago hotel after ten years. the walkout at the congress plaza hotel may be the longest in u.s. history. it began over wage cuts and other issues. the union says any workers who return will come back to wages that are half the city standard. and you might call it the mcdiet. mcdonald's ceo don thompson says he lost about 20 pounds last year even though he eats at his restaurant every day. he says he keeps the weight off by working out every day. salads make up about 2% of mcdonald's sales. thompson said, though, they are not big money makers. i would believe that. it's pretty hard to walk into mcdonald's and order a salad. >> i know. >> i don't have that willpower. >> not just a salad anyway. you know there are fries on the side here. ashley morrison in new york. thank you, ashley. straight ahead, we'll see how the job market has changed for them. plus, we'll meet the student who had one tough job beating out all the other competitors at the national spelling bee. this is the "cbs morning news." so do tire swings! this is our ocean spray cran-lemonade. it's good, old-fashioned lemonade. only better! whoa! [ splash! ] ocean spray cran-lemonade. a bold twist on an old favorite. here's look at today's here's look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. new york, sunny and humid. 92 the high. rainy and thunderstorms in miami. chicago, thunderstorms as well. dallas, partly sunny. los angeles, a clear day. well, three time's a charge if 13-year-old arvind mahakali. >> knitel, k-n-i-t-e-l, knitel. >> you are the champion. >> after finishing in third place the past two years, the new york native won the scripps national spelling bee in maryland. his last two losses came on german-deriving words, but last night he won the competition by correctly spelling knitel, which is a german-derived word for a small mass of leavened dough. and speaking of dough, he'll win $13,000 in cash and prizes. he said he'll spend more time studying physics this summer now that he's won the spelling bee. led by lebron james' 13 points and eight rebounds miami beat the indiana pacers in game six of the eastern conference finals, 90-79. miami now holds a three games to two lead in the series. indiana hosts game six on saturday. >> and now to baseball. the yankees fans are certainly thinking say it ain't so. the mets pulled off their first ever season sweep of their crosstown rivals. marlon byrd's second inning two-run homer put the mets ahead for good. dillon gee struck out a career-high 12 batters. the mets beat the yanks 3-1 to take all four games of the subway series. watch this great diving catch by carl crawford of the los angeles dodgers. but crawford's great defense wasn't enough to stop the red-hot los angeles angels. chris nelson's rbi single gave the angels a 3-2 win and a split of the three-way series. and in philadelphia boston red sox' jacoby ellsbury set a club record of five stolen bases. he had three hits and a walk as the phillies beat the sox 9-2. when we return, a bear scare. we'll see how this bear perched high in a tree managed to keep the police at bay for hours. managed to keep the police at bay for hours. love holds us in the beginning. comforts us as we grow old. love is the reason you care. for all the things in your life... that make life worth living. ♪ ♪ sweet love of mine ♪ ♪ that's why we're donating to wounded warrior project. at brawny® paper towels, we admire strength. we stand strong with our nation's heroes and their families. pick up a specially marked package of brawny® to learn how you can help. the scene of a restaurant fe in the city's mission distr. a look at the damage this morning. plus: another fast-moving wildfire in southern califo. evacuation orders were lift but crews say a serious thrt remains. and finally free. an arizona mother accused of dg smuggling is out of jail th morning. what she has to say about the ordeal. join us for kpix 5 news this morning... beginning at 4:3 good morning. it's friday, may 31st. i'm frank mallicoat. ,, here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, sunny, humid, a high of 92. atlanta, mostly sunny. st. louis, thunderstorms. seattle, partly cloudy. well, police may have finally caught up with the elusive prowler of a new jersey housing complex. the 350-pound bear tried to avoid capture by staying at the top of a tree for four hours thursday. he fell into a safety net after wildlife officers used two tranquilizer darts on him. the bear was eventually released in a forest. and for millions of students graduating from college, finding a job can be its own adventure. t the height of the recession, unemployment for recent college grads topped 10%. now it's less than 9%. chip reid looks at the job prospects, the class of 2013. >> reporter: he looked at getting a degree in accounting and in looking for a job. how did it feel. >> amazing. it was pure bliss. it was a relief like the weight was off my shoulders. >> reporter: taibib was hired by david dorsey, a manager of an accounting firm. this year he says the balance of power is shifting. >> i know in our experience as we're going around interviewing folks at various campuses that we're not the only firm they're talking to or we're not one of three or four firms. now we're one of ten or 12. >> reporter: but in a slowly recovering economy, not all share. they plan to hire only 2% more college graduates this year than in 2012. that's down from a predicted 13% increase at the beginning of the school year. and while prospects are bright for business majors with salaries up 7.1%, in the humanities and social sciences they're up only 1.9%. karen fadango wants a job in retail but major in art and history and wants a job in a gallery. the problem there is there are no jobs? >> there are no jobs without any experience, internships and the internships are hard to get. it's very tough. >> reporter: with a slower than expected economic recovery, fewer seniors than expected are graduating with their dream jobs. chip reid, cbs news, college park, maryland. well, coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," an update on tornadoes in the midwest. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." the midwest. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ the joint is jumpin' ♪ it's really jumpin' ♪ ♪ come in, cats ♪ and check your hats ♪ i mean this joint is jumpin' [ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex helps revitalize your joints to keep 'em jumpin'.° like calcium supplements can help your bones, osteo bi-flex can help your joints. ♪ osteo bi-flex... the best stuff in the joint. now in joint and muscle formula for people that demand even more for their bodies. so do tire swings! this is our ocean spray cran-lemonade. it's good, old-fashioned lemonade. only better! whoa! [ splash! ] ocean spray cran-lemonade. a bold twist on an old favorite. we listened. that's why jcpenney is the only place to find liz claiborne. effortless. beautiful. and now 25% off. liz claiborne. confidence you wear all day. we are we are learning more about a secret troop of u.s. soldiers in world war ii. their job was to fool the enemy through their art. jim axelrod spoke with a member of that elite force. >> reporter: 88-year-old jack macy's army job in world war ii was to blow things too, but not the way you might think. >> i was in the rubber army as you might call it. >> the rubber army? >> the inflatable army. >> reporter: it was 1944. macy was a 19-year-old aspiring artist who had just been drafted to fight the nazi's. the arm had just a job for him. they had a mission. to deceive the forces to thinking the allies were in one location while u.s. troops were miles away. their weapons were decoy sherman tanks that the nazi's picked them up. >> reporter: the nazi's picked that up? >> we think so. >> reporter: they became known as the ghost army. a thousand artists, designers, and audio technicians using sights and sounds to dupe the enemy. did you actually take incoming? >> yeah, we took incoming. we did have casualties. there weren't many, but there were casualties. >> reporter: the existence of the ghost army remained classified for more than half a century after the war. to this day, little is known of these artist warriors. but filmmaker rick beyer hopes to change that with a new documentary called "ghost army." >> this is just like so out of left field, you know. you want to preserve that. you want to preserve the quirkiness so that people understand the range of what world war ii in involved. >> reporter: many of this band of creative brothers would go on to have successful careers. bill blass would become a successful designer and arthur singer's designs went on u.s. postage stamp. macy went on to design backdrops for the department and created the kitchen where there was held the famous debate. >> reporter: you've done a lot of important and influential things in the world of design. where does the rubber army rank? >> i would rank it, ironically enough, high. it exposed me to the first time for the power of an object to communique. that's strong tough. >> reporter: the ghost army. an infantry of illusion that gave new meaning to the art of war. jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. well, coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," more into the fbi investigation of the shooting death of a man linked to the boston marathon bombing suspect. we'll get the latest in washington. plus the search for amelia earhart. researchers believe they have found her name. and the ceo of domino's patrick doyle joins us in the studio. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com and i'm michelle griego. tis 4:-- >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. good morning, everybody. it's friday! it has arrived. last day of may, too, by the way. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time is just about 4:30. we have some breaking news for commuters this morning. >> some delays for bart riders. right now we understand they are single tracking in both directions between san francisco and the east bay. there's some sort of obstruction on the tracks. the track itself may have been damaged. overnight for months they have been doing overnight roadwork in the transbay tube. not sure if it's related to that. usually it's all picked up and bart is systemwide on time at this time of the morning but again there was an obstruction on the tracks, not sure how long this is going to last but they are saying it could last much of the morning commute. again, they are single tracking between the east bay and san francisco so expect major delays >> at least it's friday. >> right. >> thank you. let's check in with lawrence out at the county fair, huh? >> yeah. contra costa county fair. it is friday. and it is fair day here and we have some great activities roller derby, a smashup derby and just about everything out here and, of course, the great fair foods. we'll talk about that coming up. right now, temperatures in the 40s and 50s but it's going to get