home this morning after making a surprise visit to afghanistan. the president signed a strategic agreement with afghan leaders and outlined the end of the war, saying, we can see the light of a new day. but this morning the taliban is claiming responsibility for a series of explosions in kabul that killed at least seven people. tara mergener is in washington with more. good morning, tara. >> reporter: good morning to you, michelle. that's right. that violence a year to the day after the death of osama bin laden and just after president obama vowed to end america's longest running foreign war. a series of explosions hit kabul just hours after president obama left the afghan capital. a taliban spokesman tells cbs news, the terrorist group deployed bombers once they learned of the president's visit. they say the attack was meant to show that the taliban is still strong and still a threat. the president made a surprise visit to spell out america's future involvement in afghanistan. >> we must finish the job we started in afghanistan and end this war responsibly. >> reporter: combat troops are scheduled to pull out of afghanistan in 2014, but some american forces will remain behind. president obama signed an agreement with president hamid karzai to help train local soldiers and provide support in counterterrorism efforts. >> our goal is to destroy al qaeda. we are on a path to do exactly that. >> reporter: the war on terrorism has become a campaign issue in recent days. republican presidential hopeful mitt romney praised the president's trip and stressed afghanistan's importance to our security. in a statement released after the visit, romney said, it would be a tragedy for afghanistan and a strategic setback for america if the taliban returned to power and once again created a sanctuary for terrorists. but president obama did say, the u.s. is trying to negotiate a peace settlement with the taliban. >> if they break with al qaeda, renounce violence and abide by afghan laws. >> reporter: after today's attack, the taliban says it is still capable and willing to strike anywhere. now, the international security assistance forces praising afghan forces for containing that attack, the victims, michelle, included children from a nearby school. >> tara mergener in washington, thank you. the president spoke from the same base in afghanistan where u.s. special forces launched their raid to kill osama bin laden. one year after his death, there have been dramatic changes to bin laden's hideout in pakistn and al qaeda. clarissa ward reports. >> reporter: for six years it was the hiding place of the most wanted man in the world. we arrived in abbottabad to find bin laden's former home is now a playground. pakistani authorities leveled the house in february. we met this man in kabul in 1996 when he was a spokesman for the taliban. is he one of few people with close contacts to militant groups in the region. what was your impression of him? >> i was impressed by him. and everyone who met osama bin laden had been impressed by him. even as he was an enemy. >> reporter: one year after bin laden's death, they say forces in pakistan have been diminished to just a few hundred. how much of an impact does osama bin laden's death have on al qaeda? >> you know, first thing is that the drone attacks have been a bit hostile in limiting their leadership circle. when their leadership circle fall, now stle they only have a few young guys to lead with the vision. >> reporter: the circle of new leaders has struggled to maintain al qaeda's profile. spectacular coordinated attacks in the west, such as those on the world trade center, have been replaced by smaller operations in the region. >> they are using the label of al qaeda to carry out their own -- achieve their own goals. and al qaeda is happy just to keep a pressure upon the pakistani authorities. you know, that means that the u.s. was special in breaking the al qaeda trend in this regard. >> reporter: clarissa ward, cbs news, islamabad. pconvicted in an al qaeda-linke plot to attack the city subways plans to appeal. yesterday a jury found adis medunjanin guilty. of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. authorities say he and two others plotted to attack the subways as suicide bomber. sentencing is scheduled for september 7th. in ohio, five alleged homegrown terrorists are being held without bail, charged with conspiracy for plotting to bomb a bridge near cleveland. the men described as anarchists said they wanted to strike out against corporate america. after the suspects bought explosives from undercover fbi agents, authorities say they made their move. >> the co-conspirator fights the two ieds at the base of a concrete support pillar and attempted to remotely detonate the twidevices in the location y deemed safe and one that would possibly give them an alibi. >> the men were arrested monday night. the fbi says the suspects discussed other plots before settling on the bridge. a senior u.s. official says chinese dissident chen guangcheng has left the u.s. embassy in beijing. he had been there six days. he's reportedly in a medical facility and will be reunited with his family. meantime, secretary of state hillary clinton is in beijing for economic talks tomorrow. chen's fate was expected to overshadow that agenda. activists across the united states took part in worldwide may day demonstrations pushing workers' rights. there were marches and rallies and some clashes with police. anti-wall street proceed protesters joined those demonstrations. >> reporter: occupy protesters marched on wall street with a familiar message -- >> we are the united. >> this is what democracy looks like. >> reporter: the occupy movement returns to cities around the day nation on international workers' day. >> people are fed up, the 99%. it's time for people to hit the streets and start fighting back. >> reporter: this time demonstrators joined the union workers to protest economic inequality. >> it is nothing we are with them, we are with us. everybody together here. >> reporter: while the majority of marches were peaceful, some turned violent. in seattle a group of hooded anarchists mashed windows and set small fires. portland police wrestled with protesters in the middle of the street. in chicago officers in riot gear used tear gas to break up a massive crowd. in los angeles, police arrested demonstrators who blocked traffic. this is the first major demonstration for the occupy movement since their camp was dismantled during the winter. organizers hope these protests will reinvigorate their movement. may 1st is the traditional date workers around the world demonstrate. people across the world and in asia people protested cuts in pay and benefits. here in the u.s., the demands are similar. >> that's what may day is really about, connecting the struggle to the working class struggle. >> reporter: demonstrators hope these may day marches will start protests like last year. cbs news, new york homeland security chief janet napolitano says the secret service has find no basis to allegations that its agents hired strippers and prostitutes in el salvador. the charges were made by an anonymous source and reported by cbs station in seattle. the allegations followed news that agents in colombia hired prostitutes prior to the president's visit there last month. so far, no indication that the columbian women pose a national security threat. at least five people are expected to be charged today in the hazing death of a florida a&m drum major. authorities say robert champion was beaten aboard the marching band's bus last fall. his death was ruled a homicide. witnesses say champion was targeted because he had opposed the culture of hazing. coming up, a big time theft in a small town. a former official is indicted for stealing $53 million to fund a lavish lifestyle. to fund a lavish-skil. sorry. sore knee. blast of cold feels nice. why don't 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[ female announcer ] hallmark blooming expressions delivers your love again and again. this is something a lot of people around the world thought they'd never see. aung san suu kyi being sworn in as a member of burma's parliament. the former political prisoner has been fighting for decades against her country's oppressive military rule and today she finally took the oath of office, promising to continue her struggles. on the "cbs moneywatch," facebook fans have a date with wall street. and chrysler drives off with some impressive sales. randall pinkston's here in new york with that and a whole lot more. good morning, randall. >> good morning. stocks overseas rallied. tokyo's nikkei gained 0.5%. hong kong's hang seng added about 1%. a strong report on u.s. manufacturing sent stocks on wall street higher. the dow gained 65 points to close at its highest level since 2007. nasdaq up 4. mark your calendars for may 18th. that is reportedly the day that facebook shares will go public. according to t"the wall street journa journal", the social networking site will begin meeting with investors early next week ahead of the initial public offering. facebook hopes the ipo will raise about $5 billion. both ford and general motors reportedly april sales were down from a year ago but the news was good for chrysler. the u.s. automaker had its best april since 2008 with sales up 20% from last year. a group of british lawmakers say rupert murdoch is unfit to run his worldwide media company, news corp. the ruling is based on last year's phone-hacking scandal at his newspaper, "news of the world" and could affect british sky broadcasting. federal prosecutors say the former controller of an illinois town stole millions more of the city's money than previously thought. rita crundwell is accused of embezzling more than $53 million from the town of dixon since 1990. an initial investigation accused her of stealing $30 million. she allegedly used the money to finance a horse-breeding operation. that's it for me. >> and that's a lot of money. randall pinkston here in new york, thank you, randall. alexander dale oen, another norway's best hope for a swimming medal in the london olympics died. officials say the world champion in the 100-meter breast stroke was training in flagstaff, arizona, monday and suffered an apparent heart attack. he became a national hero last year when he won the championship just three days after 77 of his countrymen were killed by a right-wing extremist. police say there are no signs of trauma or foul play. dale oen was 26 years old. it's time to get real about what happens in the bathroom. and start talking about what you really want from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft & strong. stronger than the leading rippled brand. for a confident clean. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. new york, morning fog, 60. miami, partly sunny, 83. chicago, thunderstorms, 80. dallas, partly cloudy, 85. and l.a. turning sunny and 66. now for a check of today's national forecast. a triple storm threat for the upper midwest, large hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes are possible. afternoon thunderstorms could pop up from eastern tennessee to north carolina. the mid-atlantic states could experience some severe storms and a new storm system will push into the pacific northwest. in sports, the lakers have put the nuggets in a playoff hold. kobe bryant kept driving and drawing contact against denver. he finished the big game high 38 points as l.a. holds off the nuggets 104-100. the lakers now have a 2-0 series lead. a blowout in chicago in the third, williams goes up high for the alley-oop jam to put philadelphia up 14 over chicago. drew holliday tosses in 26 as the sixers gore the bulls, 109-92 to tie their first-round series. the atlanta hawks were feeling it. leading the celtics at the half. with paul pierce's driving layup in the fourth puts boston up by to. they hold on to stun atlanta, 87-80. and that evening their playoff series at one game apiece. in hockey action, the new jersey devils shoot down the philadelphia flyers and they did it during the third period, scoring four unanswered goals. devils blow by the flyers 4-1, evening their eastern conference semifinals at one game each. in baseball, texas pays for just one bad pitch. in the top of the ninth, the rangers' michael young knocks in the tying run against toronto, but in the bottom of the frame, full count, brett lowrie blasts the walkoff homer to give the blue jays an 8-7 win over the rangers. that's got to hurt. when we come back, an all-star lineup in federal court. roger clemens comes face to face with a former teammate during his perjury trial. come for a smoke? yeah. no. you quit? i'm trying nicoderm cq. [ male announcer ] nicoderm cq, the patch with 24-hour smart control technology, lets you celebrate a little win every time you say no to a cigarette. nicoderm cq. quit one day at a time. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word. you have yet to master the quiet sneeze. you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts. well, muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. zyrtec®. love the air. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., mostly cloudy, 80. atlanta, mostly sunny, 87. st. louis, partly sunny, 86. denver, partly sunny, 79. seattle, mostly cloudy, 58. the wife of a government star witness against john edwards is expected to be back on the stand today. under intense questioning from edwards' lawyers yesterday, sherri young admitted her husband drank heavily when he worked for edwards and that they kept about a million dollars from two wealthy campaign supporters. she also said that edwards' lies about his affair with rielle hunter forced her husband to go public. in a perjury trial of roger clemens, andy pettitte will be back on the stand today. the yankees pitcher testified yesterday his former teammate told him he had taken human growth hormone. clemens says pettitte, quote, misremembered the conversation. clemens is charged with lying to congress about his alleged abuse of performance-enhancing drugs. talk about snail mail. a virginia man finally got a postcard from his mother 54 years after she mailed it. she put it in a chicago mailbox back in 1958. it was recently delivered to a woman in florida. she posted it on facebook and managed to track down scott mcmurray. >> it was a very pleasant surprise. you know, it's just like hearing from somebody who you never expected to hear from before. >> why it took so long to deliver remains a mystery. and in a house in grand forks, north dakota, turning heads. the owner painted bright polka dots all over it. city officials say it's an eye sore and believe he's protesting the city's decision to back out of a deal to buy the property. the owner denies it. one good thing he says, the pizza delivery guy won't have trouble finding it. that is for sure. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," more on president obama's surprise visit to afghanistan. plus, how being happy can lower your risk of a heart attack. i'm michelle miller and this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ [ upbeat ] [ barks ] [ announcer ] all work and no play... will make allie miss her favorite part of the day. [ laughing ] that's why there's new beneful baked delights. from crispy crackers to shortbread cookie dog snacks, they're oven-baked to surprise and delight. beneful baked delights: a unique collection of four new snacks... to help spark play in your day. and many allergy medicines. the difference is claritin clear. claritin gives me powerful relief that won't make me drowsy like zyrtec can. in fact, it warns drowsiness may occur right on the label. non-drowsy claritin. live claritin clear. dramatic new video of a deadly duck boat crash in philadelphia. it happened nearly two years ago. it shows the disabled tour boat drifting in the delaware river. as a barge approaches, you can see a crew member diving into the water right before impact. two of the 35 tourists drowned following that collision. the video was released days beore a wrongful death lawsuit goes to federal court. family and colleagues remembered veteran "60 minutes" correspondent mike wallace at a memorial service here in new york yesterday. wallace died last month at the age of 93. scott pelley looks at some of the stories they shared. ♪ so here's to life and every joy it brings ♪ >> reporter: that's barbara cook, who mike once profiled for "60 minutes." one of mike's seven grandchildren said this is his favorite picture. >> it's one of those perfect pictures napped that nobody knew was being taken. he gathered around the steps, smiling wide, basking in the love of our grandfather. >> mike loved being mike wallace. >> reporter: "60 minutes "producer bob anderson traveled the world with mike for 18 years. >> sometimes when we entered an airport and people hadn't realized mike was there, he would look up at a flight monitor and in his distinctive voice, he would say, i see united is running late again. >> reporter: morley safer remembered playing a practical joke on mike. >> i was part of a group that sent a spirited letter from the so-called genius sperm bank, inviting mike to join various noble prize winners in making a deposit or donation or whatever it's called. he roamed the hall brandishing that letter. >> reporter: chris wallace, now the host of "fox news sunday" remembered the last time he saw mike. shortly before his death. >> even in his diminished state there was no one who was more fun to be around. he was still mike wallace and that was still plenty. so long. ♪ and here's to you >> what a guy. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the latest on president obama's unannounced trip to afghanistan. we'll get a wrap from the white house. also, jack welch, legendary former ceo of general electric and his wife susie weigh in on the presidential politics. plus, a preview of tonight's auction of the painting "the scream" expected to fetch $200 million. and a fascinating look at the life of britain's queen mother. we'll talk with the author of a new book. and that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm michelle miller. have a great day. ler. have a great day. ,,,, >> amassed man hurling bricks into the crowd from a rooftop.