>> god bless alaska, god bless america. >> mitchell: tonight sarah palin officially steps down as alaska's governor while giving few clues about her future political plans. i'm russ mitchell. also tonight, the stock market rebound. is it a signal of recovery or too good to last? the problem of america's underinsured, how medical bills can bankrupt families even though they have health insurance. >> i've got about $80,000 of bills right now. and they're still coming in. >> and numbers game. a look at the new technology that watches fielders and base runners tracking every move they make. >> this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. it is the end of a short era in alaska today as governor sarah palin steps down amid questions about her political future. the former vice presidential hopeful is still seen by many republicans as a rising star. and tonight both supporters and opponents are wondering if she isee gone from politics for good. bill whitaker has the latest. with true to her style, sarah palin will hand over the reigns of power to lt. governor sean parnell at a picnic in fairbanks. alaska's first woman governor stepping down just halfway through her first term. she's been saying good-bye all week. >> i hope to get to shake as many hands as possible. and tell you from the bottom of my heart, how much i thank you and love you. >> reporter: but the looming question is why leave now. no one seems to know. not her father. >> si have no idea what her game plan is. >> reporter: not her colleagues. >> i have no idea what her future plans are. >> reporter: as for palin, she's offer nothing more clarity or closure than when she announced her resignation three weeks ago. >> all can ask is that you trust me with this decision and know that it is no more politics as usual. >> reporter: it seems nothing is politics as usual with sarah palin. she shot from little-known governor to one of the most popular if polarizing politicians in the country when john mccain tapped her to be his running mate, hailed as an asset when she first hit the national stage -- >> the chant is drill baby, drill. >> reporter: she soon was criticize as a liability. >> everybody, i'm going to rogue right now. >> the butt of late night comics. >> and while a majority of americans, 53% view palin negatively, she remains wildly popular in the republican party. 70% have a positive opinion of her. now with a book deal, book tour in the works and one million in political action committee coffers, she's not stepping off stage, supporters hope, but is setting the stage to run for president in 2012. but is a presidential bid now harder? >> she kind of quit her stigma that has been attached to her will be very damaging in any future campaign that she does decide to take on. >> reporter: whatever the now ex-governor of alaska decides to do, you can betcha it won't be politics as usual. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. >> mitchell: for more on sarah palin and what may be next for her we are joined by jeff greenfield, good evening to you. >> howdy. >> mitchell: what do you think if sarah palin does want to run for president in 2012, does spep stepping down now help her. >> it is not clear that staying on would help because the alaska republicans were giving her a hard time in the legislature. governors in every state are going to be having to inflict pain and sacrifice in the coming years. and if she wants to stay visible, it would be just as easy as well as more lucrative to go on the rubber chicken circuit around the country than stay on as governor av las ka. the damage was that it helped to reinforce the notion that she is fundamentally not serious enough to be president. but in terms of fixing that image she would have had her work cut out for her whether she stayed on as governor or not i think. >> mitchell: you look at some of the cbs poll numbers. 65% of americans don't think that sarah palin would have the ability to be an effective president. granted t early in the game. but what does she need to do to turn those numbers around? >> well, first we have to ask whether that is what she wants to do. i don't think i ever saw her happier than when she was on "saturday night live". and the idea for making a lot of money for speeches, big book advance, speaking to audiences that adore you, that take any criticism of you as proof of media bias, this is not a bad way to live. but if we do think that she has national ambitions, she's got to deal with this seriousness issue. america has elected inexperienced candidates. we did it last year. remember obama said the issue is not experience but judgement. but the problem is that and other numbers in the polls suggest that people don't think she has that judgement. now you can see how she fixes that. heavyweight speeches, conferences with significant thinkers. but to put it politely, the jury is very much out on whether she has either the desire or the ability to do that. and that's where we are. it's also three years out as you point out. >> mitchell: definitely, as you said, we should not make the assumption, people should not make the assumption that, in fact, she wants to run for president. >> there not a bad life she could carve out for herself if she sticks with this. >> mitchell: jeff greenfield thank you. turning to the arrest of henry louis gates, president obama invited gates and the arresting officer, cambridge police sergeant james crowley to the white house. on face the nation this morning bob schieffer asked presidential advisor david axelrod whether where mr. obama stands on that invitation. >> he did get assurances from both of them that they do want to meet and kind of talk this out. >> they expressed an interest in coming -- in coming to the white house. and -- and, you know, i think that -- that will likely happen. >> mitchell: secretary of state hillary clinton meets with china's foreign minister this week in washington. continuing what has been a busy time for the state department. kimberlie dozier has more now on the obama administration's globe-trotting summer. >> reporter: if you think this administration is stuck on the domestic u.s. agenda, hillary clinton would degg to -- beg to differ. >> the united states is back and ready to read. >> reporter: she racked up et0,000 air miles in the crofsey aras secretary of state touring from germany to india des pit a brief pause after breaking her elbow in june. last week on a visit to asia she issued a tough warning to north korea after its multiple missile launches and nuclear test this year. >> they have no friends left. >> reporter: and today she sent a hawkish message to iran while still keeping the door open to talks. >> if you are pursuing nuclear weapons for the purpose of intimidating, projecting your power, we're to the going to let that happen. >> reporter: clinton lunched with the president on friday as she tries to do once a week to keep the foreign agenda on the oval office radar but her goal of leading a renewed american diplomatic charge overseas is complicated by a lot of help. that includes middle east envoy george mitchell who is in syria and israel for talks this week. and there's envoy for afghanistan and pakistan richard holbrook, even man with a direct line to the white house. then there is the most prominent foreign enjoy -- envoy of all, vice president joe biden. he has taken on iraq as his special project. the vice president has also been locking nearly as many frequent-flier miles as the secretary. last week he visited georgia which is still recovering from last year's russian invasion. and yesterday in "the wall street journal," he said of russia, the world is changing before them. and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable. that left secretary clinton to explain that washington does not intend to try to push russia around. >> no, and i don't think that's at all what the vice president meant. >> reporter: those who know hillary clinton well say her new visibility is about laying down the law inside washington but not necessarily in a confrontational way. they say she wants to run a foreign policy team like a ceo runs a company or a candidate runs a campaign. russ. >> mitchell: kimberlie dozier, at the white house, thank you very much. >> the eyes of investors will be on wall street tomorrow. where the dow jones industrial average will be opening in just over 9,093, that's the highest all year and a big rebound from its low point in march. of course the recent rise is encouraging, but can it last? karen brown has been looking into that. >> reporter: the stock market closed friday with a surge of excitement and worry. the dow rallyed to its best level all year climbing past the 9,000 mark. investors are hoping the gains are a signal that the worst of the economic downturn is over. >> it's very clear that the recession is ending this summer. and that a recovery will be beginning as a result. >> reporter: but analysts are concerned that wall street is too far out ahead of an economy that is still ailing. >> the number itself is just purely psychological. we are out of the operating room but you're still in recuperation. >> reporter: the rally which produced an 11% gain in only two weeks came after 77% of reporting companies had better-than-expected profits. but analysts say those improvements came mainly as a result of cutting costs which means cutting jobs. >> they fired people and they closed down plants and they did all kinds of things that are very painful. but it sets the stage for a very healthy recovery. >> reporter: despite the optimism, unemployment is still inching towards double digits. housing prices are still falling in most places. and the economy is propped up by trillions in government bailouts. but can an economy on life-support sustain the market's steep gain? >> the dow is up 39% since march, the nasdaq up 55%. >> i would not at all be surprised to see a significant correction in the stock market sometime in september or october. maybe up to about half the increase so down around 15, 20%. >> and the stock market is an early predictor of recovery so even when it does find its footing, analysts say it will be months if not years before the 7 million jobs lost in this recession come back. karen brown, cbs news, new york. >> mitchell: coming up on tonight's "cbs evening news", this couple has health insurance, but doctor bill wiped out wiped out their savingsth anyway. blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack 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 clots. ask your doctor about plavix, protection that helps save lives. 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(announcer) excedrin pm. relieves pain fast. plus a sleep aid to help you fall fast asleep. excedrin. what ache? >> mitchell: a three-vehicle crash on a highway north of new york city has left at least eight dead. four of them youngsters. police said the crash was triggered by a minivan that was going the wrong way and crashed head on into an suv. a third vehicle was also involved. >> president obama will be promoting health-care reform this week in virginia and north carolina. and plans to keep the pressure on congress during next month's recess. 47 million americans are uninsured but often to their surprise another 25 million are under insured. michelle miller has more. >> john stewartson is up at dawn working for the local 602 union in washington d.c.. >> reporter: but by 11:30 a.m. he's home fixing lunch for his ailing wife linda. >> thank you. >> reporter: a cancer survivor. >> i was going to have to take medicine for the rest of my life. >> reporter: diagnosed with a brain tumor last summer, she's in remission. now it's her family's financial health at stake. >> there is a big one here. >> reporter: in march their health care insurance capped out at $150,000, minimum coverage by industry standards. the cost of treating cancer and its side effects, demolished their life savings. >> when the cancer treatment, -- >> they still owe more than $100,000 in medical bills. >> we've had to do a lot of balancing act. >> reporter: dr. subramanian is counselling more and more patients like lindar forced to decide which treatments are worse the cost. >> you are worried that somehow by choosing a treatment that is less expensive, that we are compromising the quality of the care. >> we have to fix this. >> reporter: senator chris dodd is leading the effort to push the affordable health choices act through the senate. he supports eliminating lifetime and annual caps on all health-care plans. >> but the under underinsured are a critical group, people that have insurance, as many as 53% don't realize they are underinsured so they either have huge copains if a problem happens or the deductible is so high that they might as well to the have insurance. >> reporter: the stewartsons were only offered one option with their union which left them uninsured after they reached the cap. john calls his union and the medicare offices every day asking for supplemental coverage. he's had no luck so far. linda knows john has her covered. >> he has to cook dinner, clean the house, get up, make me breakfast, help me bathe. >> reporter: she wishes her health care insurance plan was just as dependable. >> he's a good man. >> reporter: michelle miller, cbs news, alexandria, virginia. >> mitchell: in norts sports this sunday the tour de france ended if paris. spain's alberto contador won for the second time. lance armstrong making a comeback after four years was third. >> next up on tonight's "cbs evening news", high-school students on track for success thanks to their toh love principal. ding. okay...um...eighteen pounds and a smidge. a smidge? y'know, there's really no need to weigh packages under 70 pounds. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, ips anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. cool. you know this scale is off by a good 7, 8 pounds. maybe five. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. you're ready for the mid-morning rush thanks to a good breakfast. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte. medium macchiato, light hot chocolate hold the whip, and two espressos. make one a double. she's fiber focused! i have two cappuccinos, one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate, hold the whip, and two espressos, one with a double shot. gonna take more than coffee to stay this focused. stay full and focused through the morning... with a breakfast of kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats® cereal; an excellent source of fiber that helps you avoid... the distraction of mid-morning hunger. no thanks, i'm good. dr. scholl's back pain relief orthotics with shockguard technology give you immediate relief that lasts all day long. dr. scholl's. pain relief is a step away. 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(announcer) are you gellin'? dr. scholl's. >> mitchell: three players join baseball's hall of fame today. the late joe gordon, boston red sox slugger and 1978 mvp jim rice and the ultimate leadoff hitter ricky henderson who holds the record for stolen bases and runs scored. >> runs, hits, error, a all ways to measure a player's value but is there a way to compute what separates an average play frere a great one. here's randall pinkston. >> reporter: baseball has always been a game of statistics. >> 55 rbis. >> reporter: and bats provide valuable information. >> and knowing what kind of hitter, what a hitter's tendencys are is all stuff that we all study before games, before a series. >> reporter: it's easy to measure how many times a batter strikes out or how fast a pitcher throws. judging a fielder's performance is much harder to quantify but that may be changing. the giants at&t park in san francisco is the testing ground for a revolutionary data gathering system for major league baseball, combining cameras on top of the light grid and computer software designed by physicist marv white. >> so as each player moves, the computer senses it. >> yes, you can see this player moved. and this box is following him. >> reporter: the technology has been around for several years. it began with tracking pitches. now that technology is being expanded to track everything that happens on the field for the entire game. where the players are, where the ball is, more information than they have ever had. >> reporter: here's how it works. the pitcher throws, the batt a high fly ball, the system tracks the exact trajectory, the players are met too. the left fielder tries to much cat ball but misss it, then picks it up and throws it to the shortstop who throws it home. but too late. two players score. >> the player motion gives us information that in the past statisticians could only get with a stopwatch. now we can see exactly what happened in a play. >> reporter: once it's fully developed, major league baseball officials believe all team owners will want to install it. >> it will enable scouts and talent evaluators and general managers to get a better sense of athletes. it will also allow them to set a bench line. >> but giants manager bruce bocci says better data does not mean a better game. >> reporter: what is the biggest downside of more data. >> well, i think sometimes it's like the adage, browns by analysis. you don't want to dictate all your moves. >> reporter: and there are some moves that are impossible to measure such as left fielder carl crawford's amazing save at the all-star game and last week's another unbelieve catch by dwayne wise, robbing a home run for the rays and saving pitcher mark burle's perfect game. it was magic. how do you measure that? >> randall pinkston, cbs news, san francisco. >> mitchell: and that's the "cbs evening news." katie's here tomorrow. i'll see you on "the early show" good night. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org dealer: during the autobahn for all event, you can get great deals. yeah it's great. i just really want to be sure. whoa, it's us from... ...the future. 11 days in the future. look, you love your new routan. you love the german tuned suspension. you love not having to pay for scheduled maintenance,you- i love what you've done with your hair. we'll take it.