discount bias. orbitz admits blocking users to more expensive hotels and showing pc users rooms that are $30 a month cheaper. targeted markets or computer discount discrimination? ann curry and matt lauer may be splitting up. where and when will curry go and who will take her place? "cnn newsroom" begins right now. good morning to you. happy tuesday. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. we begin this morning in florida. much of that state is underwater, including parts of interstate 10 east of tallahassee. tropical storm debby is clinging to florida's gulf coast, dumping more than a foot of rain on some areas and threatening to wipe out another 12 inches before it moves on. many lifelong floridians are seeing their worst flooding in a generation. george howell is there in the panhandle, south of tallahassee. >> reporter: carol, good morning. i'm standing in about a foot of water right now, just outside this convenience store. and if you pan over here, you can see this is the situation. a lot of water fell very quickly. a lot of rain in a very short amount of time. and this is what people are dealing with. this water at this convenience store, it has been receding very quickly. in fact, when we got here, it was a lot higher. in fact, it got into the store overnight. came up to about right here. when we got here. but it's been dropping substantially. so that is good news for people. people dealing with the flooding conditions in the low-lying areas. now, this county was the hardest hit, one of the hardest hit so far in the storm. the county has seen 25 inches of rain in the last several days. again also the winds associated with the storm knocked down trees, knocked down power lines. and right now crews are restoring that. we did talk with a few people with emergency management, with the sheriff's office. officials have been going around surveying the damage. here is what one person had to say about what he's seen. take a listen. >> if you're not prepared, you can really get caught and pushes up a real bind. in my own personal case, it came up on my house, within three feet of the front of my house, and i'm not in any kind of flood zone or anything. so you can see it coming, and it comes fast. it was amazing from about 5:00 to, oh, about 10:00 or 11:00 last night how quickly it came up. >> reporter: a live picture here back at this convenience store where the owner there, the owner did put sand bags out in preparation for what she expected to happen overnight. still the water did get inside the store. caused some damage. but again, she says at least, you know, she can start over. the damage not so bad. so she will start over. >> yeah. our best to her. george howell from wakulla county, florida. a dozen wildfires in colorado are sweeping across the state. more than 140,000 acres have burned. the denver post reporting military planes are now dropping flame retardant on the waldo canyon. that fire is burning out of control just north of colorado springs, and is now within 10 miles of the u.s. air force academy. fire officials have backed off earlier warnings that the academy could be in danger. evacuation orders have been lifted for about half the 11,000 people chased out of their homes. for those still in shelters, the wait is agonizing. >> i know where the fire was. i've sooeen it up close to my home. and i'm thinking there's no way we don't have structures damaged unless there's a miracle. that's what i'm praying for. >> fire crews warn that hot, windy conditions will give them problems for at least a couple more days. as you know by now, arizona's immigration law was gutted by the u.s. supreme court. yes, the show me your papers part of arizona's law stands, but only because it has not been enforced. once it is, you can bet someone will file a lawsuit, and then it may again wind up in the supreme court. but in some people's minds, the bigger story here is justin antonin scalia, now accused of being a, quote, politician in a robe, and that's not a compliment. here's why. justice scalia voted against the majority. he believed all of arizona's law was constitutional. since states have the right to protect their borders. but scalia went one step further and criticized president obama in his written didssent. here is the quote. but to say as the court does that arizona contradicts federal law by enforcing applications of the immigration act that the president declines to enforce boggles the mind. end quote. our expert on the u.s. supreme court is here, jeffrey toobin. hi, jeff. >> hi, carol. >> so when you read this did dissent, did your eyes bug out? >> it was even better than that. because when the justices are very agitated about a decision of their colleagues that they disagree with, they read their opinion from the bench. they don't just file the written dissent. so justice scalia dissented from the bench, and even his colleagues were sort of looking up at the ve hemmence of his rhetoric. at another point in his dissenting opinion, he said, you know, if this decision had come about in the 18th century, the entire united states would never have been formed. the states would never have agreed to join. and i'm thinking to myself, there can't be another of the 300 million people in america who think this decision is that big a deal that it would have cancelled the entire united states of america. but that's the way justice scalia talks. he is a very enthusiastic person. >> well, specifically, when he was criticizing president obama, he was talking about obama's executive directive allowing some young illegals to stay if they came here through no fault of their own. would you consider that partisan? >> well, i don't know about partisan. it is legally irrelevant to this case. this case was argued in the supreme court well before president obama even issued that order. so it's not evidence in the case. it was not part of the case. it was obviously just something justice scalia wanted to get off his chest. you know, this is the way justice scalia is. he is very engaged in the politics of the day. you may remember in the health care case, he asked a question about, you know, could the federal government force you to eat broccoli? that is a question that had come up on a lot of conservative websites. something he is obviously very much in touch with. i don't think it's improper, but i think it tells you a lot about justice scalia's orientation. >> but justices aren't supposed to insert themselves politically into issues that could wind up at the u.s. supreme court. right? but that's exactly what he did because president obama's, you know, executive elective decision or directive, rather, could wind up in the u.s. supreme court, couldn't it? >> it could. but i think justices have some flexibility in acknowledging what's going on in the world. you know, they are allowed to cite newspaper articles, and they recognize that the political context of what's happening. look there, is no doubt what's going on here. justice scalia is a very conservative man. he is very much opposed to president obama. there is no mystery about that. you know, whether it's judicially improper, i'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. but it is worth all of us taking note of just how conservative and just how anti-president obama justice scalia is. >> so thursday should be a mighty interesting day. >> oh, i can't wait. even though i have a seat in the courtroom, i may camp out in advance just to kind of soak up the vibe. >> i would not be surprised. jeffrey toobin, many thanks. >> thank you, carol. >> thursday the u.s. supreme court is supposed to hand down its decision on president obama's health care law. now let's cross the border to southern ontario. rescuers are venturing back into the ruins of a collapsed shopping mall where at least two people remain trapped. search and rescue teams say they have heard possibly sounds of breathing, but crews are moving cautiously because they fear the entire structure could collapse. we'll have a live report in just a few minutes. also this morning, tensions are ratcheting up after syria shoots down a warplane. turkey says it will treat any future approach as a threat and will take action accordingly. also new this morning, nato condemned syria's attack. the military alliance met to discuss the danger flare-up between the two armed regional powers. a new chapter in the showdown in the government's controversial fast and furious gun running sting. house oversight committee chair darrell issa has fired off a letter to president obama. issa is asking the president to reconsider his decision to cite executive privilege in that investigation. this comes just days before the house gets ready to vote whether to hold attorney general eric holder in contempt for not turning over documents related to the case. the vote will happen on thursday. two veteran capitol hill lawmakers face bruising primary challenges today as they try to hold onto their seats. orrin hatch appears poised to win. hatch has mitt romney's support. and harlem congressman charlie rangel is hoping to be re-elected to his 22nd term. rangel thinks voters will support him despite being found guilty of ethics violations in 2010 by fellow lawmakers. here's what he told our soledad o'brien a short time ago. >> i got 83% of the vote the last time out. but the most important thing, if people would read the website of the ethics committee, read "the new york times" about a month ago, where sam roberts put an expose out against the conduct of the committee that right now as you and i talk, that committee is under investigation by private counsel for wrongdoing. now, that's behind us. i have been elected overwhelmingly. >> we'll see. the former house ways and means chairman is in a locked five-way race in a newly drawn district. ? >> in you use a mac and search orbitz for the cheapest travel, you may not be getting it. n in fact, the site is showing you a more expensive hotel. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. so mac users are being taken advantage of just because they use macs? >> looking from the outside in, it looks that way. travel website orbitz has found that mac users spend as much as 30% more a night on accommodations versus a pc user. so the "wall street journal" says that orbitz is steering mac users to more expensive hotels. what they found is that depending on the city, the results interestingly enough come up very different between pc and mac users. as you can imagine, this is not sitting very well with many people. some are actually accusing orbitz of charging mac users more. but orbitz tells cnn this is not the case. prices are the same. results are just displayed differently. rbitz says that the story g hotels more than pc users. we make recommendations about hotels along a number of variables, such as traveling with or without children. regardless of what type of computer you're using at home, you can still sort your results by price, carol. >> how common is it for websites to do this? >> well, rival sites, expedia, priceline, and travelocity say we don't base suggestions on the type of computer a customer is using. but the ceo of rue-la-la says they pay very close attention to ipad and iphone users because they account for a huge chunk of mobile sales. and analysts say that's likely to become more common. it makes sense. if someone is willing to spend $600 on an ipad, probably a lot more likely that they'll have extra money to spend elsewhere. carol? >> thank you. gas prices keep falling. they are already down 14 cents in a year. how low will they go, though? [ female announcer ] fashion or food, it's all about taste. and the chefs at lean cuisine are loving tangy lemon, peppery poblano, sweet butternut. we're roasting, and grilling to create must-have meals with no preservatives. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. that could adapt to changing road conditions. one that continually monitors and corrects for wheel slip. we imagined a vehicle that can increase emergency braking power when you need it most. and we imagined it looking like nothing else on the road today. then...we built it. the 2012 glk. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. for exceptional offers sometimes, i can't believe the things i'm able to do. without shriners hospitals, my life would be completely different. when i was seven, we found out i had scoliosis. everything changed when they stepped in. it was like they gave me my future back. tori's life is one of nearly a million changed by donations from people like you. send your love to the rescue. donate today. it is 15 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, this morning parts ever interstate 10 east of tallahassee are closed due to flooding from tropical storm debby. debby could dump another foot of rain. some people have been trapped in their homes since sunday. several colorado wildfires are still raging out of control. hot, dry, windy weather are fuelling the flames. the fire has already destroyed 250 homes. another fire has forced 11,000 people out of their homes. in money news, the national average gas price drops to $3.40 a gallon. aaa says that's a plunge of 10 cents in a week, and down 14 cents from a year ago. we can expect even lower prices in the coming weeks as oil prices fall. in weather, extreme heat in south central texas. austin and san antonio could see afternoon highs of 102 to 107, and it will feel more like 110 in some spots. rolling power outages might be necessary if demand for electricity gets too high. in sports, it was florida's ryan lochte locking up the first spot on the u.s. swim team. he edged michael phelps at the olympic swimming trials in omaha. both swimmers, though, are headed to london. in canada this morning, a pain staking search is underway. crews are meticulously picking through the debris of a collapsed shopping mall in southern ontario. at least two people are believed to be trapped underneath the rubble. but officials fear that if they probe too deeply, the entire structure could collapse. let's get the latest from ctv. good morning, john. rescue workers say they hear breathing. is that right? >> reporter: yeah. that was yesterday morning at 4:00 a.m. they have some specialized equipment that can monitor whether or not somebody may be buried underneath the rubble. and they detected signs of breathing by someone underneath giant concrete slabs inside of this mall. when the roof came crashing down, and this was saturday afternoon at 2:00, you know, big concrete slabs and metal came crashing into the mall. they are not sure how many people were trapped underneath that rubble. but they have detected signs of life yesterday morning of at least one person. they also say that one other person is now confirmed dead in that disaster. and there may be many other people trapped underneath the rubble. and the rescue yesterday temporarily at least at one point was called off because of safety concerns. however, they decided late last night after people in this town reacted very angrily to that decision, they are going to try again using another method, heavy machinery, to try and dismantle sections of the building to get to where people may be trapped. >> i was going to ask you what kind of equipment they're using because the whole thing could go down. >> yeah. i mean, and the hope was yesterday at least earlier in the day that the rescuers could sort of pick their way through the rubble and get to where the signs of life were detected. but at one point, the engineers just looked at the situation and said, look, guys, this whole thing could come down. we just have to pull out. so last night the decision was made by officials that we're going to try again, but perhaps using some unconventional methods here. so they are going to bring in heavy equipment. they are not sure how long this is going to take, but they say they'll try and get in from the outside and dismantle the building to the point where maybe they can get rescuers in. maybe they can look lithrough tt rubble to determine whether anyone is still alive three days later. >> thanks so much. in washington, the pentagon is making history today. their first-ever gay pride event. the pentagon hosting a gay pride event. that would be history making. and history will be made today. it was just last year don't ask don't tell went away. the controversy remains, though, but the pentagon is moving on. today, gay and lesbian service members will be recognized for their commitment to the gay community and their service to this country. the pentagon is hosting its first-ever pride event since the repeal. defense secretary leon panetta had this message. >> i want to personally thank all of our gay and lesbian service members. lgbt civilians and their families for their dedicated service to our country. and now after repeal, you can be proud of serving your country and be proud of who you are when in uniform. >> serving openly in the coast guard is lieutenant commander zach matthews. welcome. >> carol, good morning. thank you for having me. >> thanks for being here. lieu, this must be an exciting day for you. did you ever think you would see this day? >> well, it certainly is. and i think there are quite a few of gay and lesbian service members who are very excited to see this day come. >> it's a rather subdued event, including a roundtable discussion. certainly not the festive raucous street parties we usually associate with gay pride evens. why do you suppose that is? >> i think it's important to focus on the service of gay and lesbian service members around the world today. like the -- even before the repeal of don't ask don't tell, gays and lesbians came to work every day and did their job. they did what they were trained to do. and now that don't ask don't tell has been repealed, they do the same thing. nothing has changed. they continue to come to work every day. they drive tanks. they fly helicopters. they protect this nation's freedoms. and it's -- it's important because it shows that gays and lesbian -- gay and lesbian service members serve with the same enthusiasm as any other service member, regardless of sexual orientation. >> you say it hasn't changed, but, it's changed. tell me how it's changed for you. >> well, it's a big change. it's a big change because i can be open and honest with my co-workers. integrity is important to me. and as a leader in the military, that honesty and that communication that i have is important. and that is the biggest change. but other than that, it's all in a day's work, so to speak. i continue to come to work and do my job. >> your fellow service members are -- if they're gay, are they coming forward now? do they feel comfortable enough to do that already? >> i think that each service member -- or each gay and lesbian service member's to come out is their own individual decision. but i think it's important that as leaders in the military we stand up and give a good example to others that gay and lesbians serve in the military and also to dispel any negative stereotypes as well. >> and as far as gay people signing up, is there an increase? do you know? >> well, i don't know. that's a good question. and hopefully events like today at the pentagon may inspire some gay or lesbian person who is interested in military service to join. >> lieutenant commander zac matthews, thanks so much for being with us this morning. >> thank you, carol. he has written about the face of our current and immediate past presidents. now a "new york times" best selling author goes in depth about the religion of the republican presidential candidate mitt romney. i'll talk to him about how it's hip to be mormon. 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