>> hill: good evening, katie is off. as we celebrate america's independence, millions of americans are increasingly dependent on air conditioning. look at the heat index here. it's a combination of temperature and humidity. from florida to massachusetts it shows what feels like triple-digit temperatures and it could stay that way for much of the week. national correspondent jeff glor tells us the rising mercury has sparked growing concern. >> reporter: up and down the northeast, as the holiday weekend winds down the heat wave of 2010 kicks up. >> i'm evaporating. i'm melting. >> reporter: from washington... >> it is hot and it's going to get hotter. >> reporter: ...to philadelphia. >> hot today with near record heat. >> reporter: to new york and beyond. >> there you go! there's the sizzle in the city! >> reporter: broiling temperatures are breaking records. >> it's kind of a once in a decade heat wave with what we're seeing here. >> reporter: for tuesday, expected highs of 100 in d.c., philly, and new york during the day and only limited relief at night. temperatures at night in many of these locations along the eastern sea board will fail to fall below 70 degrees. so as a result, your house or even outside never really cools. >> reporter: meteorologists are blaming a ridge of high pressure parked over half the country showing little sign of breaking until the end of this week. all while humidity rises. >> increasingly here in new york and other cities, cooling centers like this one are being set up. they're public air conditioned spaces open to anyone. doctors warn that the very old and the very young are most susceptible to heat-related illnesses. hyperthermia and heat stroke. >> they have less ability to tolerate the extremes of temperatures, extremes of dehydration. >> reporter: the heat comes on the heels of an already record-setting month in many spots. philly, washington, and miami all had their hottest junes ever. >> if you're going to be out in the heat, rehydrate and don't stay out too long. >> reporter: there have already been at least 14 heat-related deaths on the east coast before this heat wave settles in this year, erica. >> hill: electric companies have been calling people asking them to scale back but people are going to crank up that air conditioning. can the power grid withstand that surge? >> reporter: i got that call as well. power use will increase. thigh ear expecting near record usage late tuesday into wednesday. that does increase the chances of brownouts up and down the east coast, erica. >> hill: something we'll be watching for. jeff glor. jeff, thanks. weather is also a big factor in the gulf of mexico. on day 77 of the disaster, more storms rolled through, kicking up seas and forcing skimmer boats to remain idle for another day. this as more oil washed asnore alabama. it's part of a slick of heavy delude is 15 miles wide. relief wells are still weeks away from completion, though the oil continues to spew into the gulf at a rate now of more than a million gallons a day. b.p. says it has spent more than $3 billion on cleanup so far. mark strassmann is in grand aisle, louisiana tonight. mark, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, erica. there are tar balls now in texas, the first time b.p. spill has touched that state's coastline. and officials say those tar balls-- mostly the size of nickels and dimes-- probably arrived just north of galveston on the hulls of ships used in the cleanup. but it's one mores me on a day when bad weather hurt b.p.'s response across most of four gulf states. on biloxi's beach, tim southworth and his nephews volunteered for the gulf's cleanup. not oil, trash from last night's fireworks show. but they suspect the oil is on its way. >> you just never know when it's going to come in. >> reporter: new oil washed ashore today in fort morgan, alabama, near the state's border with florida. but across the gulf today, cleanup boats anchored, their yul low boom for skimming hung above rough waters. and in biloxi, b.p.'s idled fleet, including these docked barges in mobile bay feeds the fear of tim southworth. >> i think the boats will make a big difference on how much oil comes ashore. if they're not working, we're screw. >> reporter: and ten foot seas bullied "a whale," the world's largest skimmer, more than three football fields long. no boats were skimming today in bar the area bay, these waters were too much. waves of five to six feet. anything over three feet is too much for almost any skimmer. "a whale's" ownerss claim the ship can collect 21 million gallons of oily water a day. that would almost equal what b.p.'s entire fleet has collected since the leak began. the coast guard wants proof but testing has to wait for calmer waters a couple days away. wildlife officials say a generation of sea turtles can't wait so in panama city, florida, they're making crates to help move 70,000 turtle eggs about to hatch in florida and alabama and then head straight for the gulf and all that oil. >> it's precious cargo that needs to be saved from certain doom in the gulf of mexico and moved to these t east coast where they've got a fighting chance. >> reporter: on sea and land, b.p. says its fight to clean up the gulf has collected almost 50 million gallons of oil. but that's perhaps one-third of what has spilled into the gulf's ecosystem, smearing wildlife and blackening miles of beaches and coastline. many gulf coast residents now track the drifting blob like a hurricane. >> i don't believe it's going to be oil balls. it's going to be big oil slicks and that's what's going to ruin our marshland our our beaches. >> reporter: the one silver lining in all the day's bad weather, rough seas did not stop the drilling of b.p.'s two relief wells considered the permanent solution to this crisis. air kachlt. >> hill: mark, as you mentioned, the weather forecast for the coming days isn't exactly uplifting when you look at the need to continue the efforts in the gulf. >> reporter: a series of small storms through wednesday, possibly easing on thursday so you could get another full emergency response. but forecasters also spot a possible tropical storm in another couple days, more bad news here on a coastline that does deserve to catch a break. erica? >> hill: mark, thanks. turn not guilty to to the economy, unemployment nationwide is still at a painfully high 9.5%. a big problem for retailers. a report this week is expected to show same-store sales rose more than 3% in june, which isn't bad, but it's not good enough to make up for what retailers have lost during the recession. some now are trying imaginative new ways to boost sales. here's national correspondent jim axelrod. >> reporter: it's not as bad as it was, but retail's rebound in the last year is sluggish. >> as long as unemployment is in somewhere the 9-plus range, off significant percentage of the population being underemployed, there's just less money. >> reporter: the big chains are trying bold new approaches to spark sales, toys "r" us will add 3% to whatever shoppers put away in an account for christmas. target credit card holders will get 5% discounts. office depot will price some school supplies for less than a dollar. staples will go as low as a penny on some items. >> the consumer expects to see 30% off or buy one get one fwre. that's not enough anymore to drive traffic it's so kind of to the next level. >> reporter: sam's club defines the "next level" as helping to arrange loans from $5,000 to $25 for members who own small businesses. they get an interest rate a quarter point lower than prevailing rates and a $100 discount on the application fee for the loans which are backed by the small business administration. sam's club started testing this program this past may. since then, they've had a 44% approval rate for their members who run small businesses who then have more money to spend on their small businesses right here at sam's club. >> you have to be on the cutting edge of everything today. you have to listen to what your members say and you have to be able to provide the service in order to be able to keep them continuously shopping. >> reporter: most analysts don't expect any significant growth in retail until 2011. until then, chains like sam's club will try to innovate their way back by thinking outside the big box. jim axelrod, cbs news, secaucus, new jersey. >> hill: a follow-up now on that alleged russian spy who skipped bail after being arrested in cyprus. the f.b.i. says christopher metsos was the pay master for the ten alleged russian agents arrested last week in the u.s. cyprus police said today they have metsos' laptop computer and some u.s.b. plug-in memory stick which is u.s. authorities have requested. meantime, an american geologist convicted of spying on china was sentenced to eight years in prison there today. chinese authorities say he was stealing state secrets when he gathered information about china's oil and gas wells. u.s. officials have called for his immediate release. still ahead on the "cbs evening news," the statue of liberty gave him goose bumps. an immigrant's love letter to america. and up next, the ripple effect. how the disaster in the gulf is hurting a secretary in los angeles. jirjs meet the recommended daily intake dults don't for all vitamins and minerals through diet alone. that's why there's... it helps provide key nutrients your body could be missing. one serving of boost contains twenty-six essential vitamins and minerals plus 10 grams of protein. these nutrients help promote bone health and muscle mass to help keep your body moving. achieve a balanced diet so you can live life to the fullest. find boost in the nutrition isle. brand power. helping you buy better. discover customers are getting 5% cashback bonus at the pump... and at many of the places their summer plans take them. it pays to get more. it pays to discover. another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. [ female announcer ] certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. >> hill: the pictures from the gulf coast are heart breaking, birds covered with oil, beaches littered with tar balls. spill are being felt far beyond the gulf. bill whitaker now on the ripple effect. >> reporter: like an oily octopus spreading its tentacles through the gulf of mexico, this spill is choking off sea life and on shore a whale's life. this pier in hopedale, louisiana, is usually bustling with a bounty of gulf oysters. with oil encroaching on oyster beds, the harvest is down drastically. the gulf states haul in more than 20 million pounds of oysters a year, worth more than $60 million. this year say, oystermen like nathan asapedo, the catch is down by half. >> we have a lot of people depending on oysters. everybody was happy, everybody was making money and now this happened. >> reporter: the ripple effect is washing over truckers like herbert bell. he makes his living hauling oysters from the pier to the processor. these days he loses more than $1,300 every time his truck pulls away from the dock. >> because we're having to run with a half empty truck several times a week. >> reporter: herbert bell delivers oysters to a processing plant 138 miles away. for plant owner pat fahey, this ecological did zazier is a financial disaster. he buys and cleans oysters for shipment across the country. last year, he was snapping up 1,000 bags of oysters everyday. now he's lucky to snare 250. >> it's just sort of a real clear reminder of how far we've fallen. >> reporter: and he has fallen far. his business is down $195,000 just in the month of may. he expects to lose as much this month. it's a hit he can't absorb, so he's closing his plant down today until things improve. putting 60 people out of work. >> this is absolutely worse than any hurricane there's ever been. and that's saying a lot when you live in south louisiana. >> reporter: it's not just south louisiana. pat fahey's oyster crisis is rocking angel de la riva's seafood business more than 1,600 miles away in los angeles like an economic earthquake. oysters account for 10% of the seafood he sells to l.a. restaurants. before the oil spill, this warehouse was filled with 700 cases of oysters a week from pat fahey. now he has just one. >> that's what i'm getting from louisiana. one case. >> reporter: when he can get more, they cost him more. a case that was $28 before the spill now costs $65. $37 more. >> i think i'm losing easy $10,000 a week just on oysters. >> reporter: to save money, he cut his staff's work week from six days to five. that means $300 less a month for secretary and single mother yadira. >> to me that's a lot. for example, i used to live in a little studio and now i have to go to my mom's to rent a room to pay less. >> reporter: she now shops at less expensive stores, she gave up singing lessons, cut back and clothes and extras for her daughter. >> we're all suffering because of the oil thing. i don't think it's only us, you know? there's probably more people out there that's suffering the same thing as all of us. >> reporter: many more people just like these, their livelihoods drowning in a sea of oil. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. >> hill: from ripple effects to raging surf. in southern california a high surf advisory turned into a play land for experienced surfers. waves over 15 feet high came courtesy of a storm system in far-away new zealand. coming up, if you can dream it up, there's a machine that might just be able to build it. ia lig? sometimes i have no choice but to eat on the run and to eat whatever happens to be around. heavy greasy food that's hard on my diet and my digestive system. so i eat activia light every day. activia light, with bifidus regularis, helps regulate your digestive system in two weeks. mmmm. activia light is not light on taste! and with only 70 calories activia light helps make it easier to watch my weight. it helps me feel good and look good too! ♪ activia are the things we make. this has always been a nation of builders, craftsmen. men and women for whom straight stitches and clean welds were matters of personal pride. they made the skyscrapers and the cotton gins. colt revolvers, jeep 4 x 4's. these things make us who we are. as a people, we do well when we make good things and not so well when we don't. the good new is, this can be put right. we just have to do it. and so we did. ♪ this, our newest son, was imagined, drawn, carved, stamped, hewn and forged here in america. it is well made and it is designed to work. this was once a country where people made things, beautiful things, and so it is again. the new jeep grand cherokee. ♪ i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day men's 50+ advantage... has gingko for memory and concentration. plus support for heart health. ( crowd roars ) that's a great call. one a day men's. [ man thinking ] i'm so stuffed with gas. ohh, noo, not that! not, not here! [ male announcer ] prevent uncomfortable gas moments with gas-x prevention. just one before meals helps prevent gas before it starts. from gas-x, the gas-xperts. >> hill: four people remain in critical condition tonight after a fourth of july parade in bellevue, iowa, turned tragic and it was caught on tape. two horses became spooked and took off, trampling spectators before crashing into a parade float. one woman was killed, two dozen others were hurt. many of the victims were children who were picking up candy at the time this had been tossed to them. now to the loorjest study ever of video games and kids. it finds all that time in front of a t.v. can have a big impact on their ability to pay attention. researchers at iowa state university studied both young children and teens. they found that at any age the more time students spent playing games or watching t.v., the more attention problems their teachers reported at school. many experts believe children's time might be better intent devices that actually help them be productive. and what better than a gadget that can produce almost anything? you've, of course, heard of the personal computer. as john bentley shows us, here's the personal factory. >> reporter: ma what if there was a machine that could make anything you could think of right on your desk? >> a makerbot is this magical device that turns ideas into objects. this is one of the inventors. a thin line of heated blast sick forced through a narrow tube that shapes it into whatever you want. more layers of plastic are added until the object is finished. objects run from the practical-- like interlocking gears or a working whistle-- to the playful like a foos ball player or a transformer. >> it's a new way of thinking in terms of how do we get things. >> reporter: here's how it works. say you have a bottle but no bottle opener. you go on to the internet and find a 3-d design of a bottle opener. feed that design into the makerbot and in about 15 minutes off bottle opener. >> i think the first thought i had was just like, "oh, my god, that's awesome." >> reporter: winter goes to school near the headquarters. at 15, he's already designing items for the makerbot. >> i think it's a great educational tool and a reasonable price. >> reporter: makerbot's price is one of the things that sets it apart from other 3-d printers. most of them cost tens of thousands of dollars but you can get a makerbot for less than a thousand it comes in a kit you put together yourself. >> i really believe we'll all have one of these in our home. >> reporter: professor evan port bought one of the first makerbot. he compared them one of the world's most successful companies. >> i really got the sense that i was stepping back in time to maybe 1940 and hewlett-packard in the valley. >> reporter: makerbot says they've sold more than 1,400 units in just under a year with orders faster than they can be shipped out. >> it's really just down to your imagination. how far you can go. >> reporter: judging by the hundreds and hundreds of items created so far, it may only be the beginning of what the makerbot can do. john bentley, cbs news, new york. >> hill: competitive eating hit a new level during the annual nathan's hot dog eating contest. the former champ, takeru kobayashi, stormed the stage and was arrested. kobayashi wasn't competing because of a contract dispute. in fact, the coney island spectacle came just after his arch rival, joey chest nutt, won the contest for the fourth time, wolfing down 54 franks in ten minutes. after kobayashi, he left jail hundredry, he got one sandwich all night. he claims he was urged on to the stage by fans chanting "let him eat." up next, he is living the dream-- the american dream. [ male announcer ] prilosec otc traveled to fairbanks, alaska. home of one of the coldest, longest nights on the planet. and asked frequent heartburn sufferers to take prilosec otc for two weeks. the results? prilosec otc's 24 hour heartburn protection gave a whole lot of people their days and nights back. ♪ [ cheering ] [ man ] prilosec otc has let me live the life that i love. [ male announcer ] prilosec otc. heartburn gone. power on. join us at projectfairbanks.com. they're fishermen, they're shrimpers, they're laborers, they're deckhands, they're people who work in restaurants... these are the people of the gulf coast who need our help. i'm darryl willis. i oversee bp's claims process on the gulf coast. bp has got to make things right and that's why we're here. part of that responsibility is letting you know what we're doing to make it right. we're replacing the lost income for fishermen, small businessmen and others who aren't able to work until the spill is cleaned up. our claims line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. people can call or go online and 900 people are here to help them file their claims and get their checks. working with the government, we're already paying tens of thousands of claims. we've agreed to create a $20 billion claims fund, administered independently, and it's at no cost to taxpayers. i was born and raised in louisiana. i volunteered for this assignment because this is my home. i'll be here in the gulf as long as it takes to make this right. no pain medicine is proven to last longer than advil. not tylenol. not aleve. nothing lasts longer than advil. pain relief that lasts. one more reason to make advil your #1 choice. pain relief that lasts. we asked real people to film themselves taking the activia 14-day challenge. i'm mary ellen smith. day one of the activia 14-day challenge. my digestive problems are irregularity. so i'm really excited to see if this really works. my husband tried this last night. he loved it. he said it's the best yogurt i've ever brought home, so...mmm. have just started to notice a slight difference in my digestion. help regulate your digestive system. take the activia challenge. it works or it's free. >> hill: finally tonight, in case you had any doubts, america is still the land of opportunity. the young man you're about to meet is living proof. seth doane has his story. >> reporter: he's so quick, so quiet that one could easily overlook jose gutierrez. but his story as s as inspiring as the exhibits he polishes at this museum. as a kid in mexico, he'd seen pictures of the statue of liberty and dreamed of a better life in the u.s. so at just 15, jose crossed the border without his parents, a journey made more difficult considering he's deaf. "friends told me i'd be able to work in the qus" he says. "but when i got here everything fell apart." by age 17, jose was living like a slave, forced to sell trinkets on the subways and streets of new york city and turn over the money he made to the bosses of a smuggling ring in exchange for shelter. then, in july of 1997, new york city police raided the smuggling ring. >> they were essentially being used as slaves, which is unthinkable in the modern world. >> reporter: jose was allowed to stay in the u.s. and learned of a nonprofit group which helps people with disabilities find work. >> i can tell you, he set out to work everyday, support his family, and he did what he needed to do to get the job. >> reporter: and he found a job at that museum, ellis island. the entry point for 12 million immigrants. "i clean the exhibits" jose tells me "and i think about all the different places that they came from and all the things they went through, just like i did coming to america." and now he works in the shadow of the statue of liberty. "i saw it and i had goose bumps" he says. "i couldn't stop looking at it. i just kept taking pictures. i was crazy. i took way too many photos." now he has a daughter and a green card. it was "it was a dream to be able to come here and to get a job and to succeed and i love it and i love america and i love working." dusting off the display of his own american dream. seth doane, cbs news, ellis island. >> hill: that is the "cbs evening news" for tonight. i'm erica hill, thanks for watching. katie is back tomorrow and i will see you first thing on the "early show." good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org it looks like those restrictions will last until tomorrow. they need another day to let some water samples incubate and then check