fares sky high, millions are opting for the budget-friendly bus. it's perfectly safe... most of the time. >> motor coach travel is among the safest form form transportan in the u.s. >> reporter: but it could be safer. >> every day we're working to make it safer. every day. >> reporter: fasten your seat belts, if you can find them. a few words about bus safety later on sunday morning. >> osgood: then we move on to the black keys, whose music you may know best from any number of commercials. anthony mason this morning tracks their path from obscurity in ohio to center stage this the world of rock music. >> reporter: the black keys sold out madison square garden in 15 minutes. not bad for a couple of college dropouts from akron, ohio. did you figure coming out of akron you were a long shot. >> we felt like underdogs. reporter: even three grammies haven't changed them. >> everybody makes fun of us. reporter: but they just may be the hottest rock band in the country. the black keys later on sunday morning. >> osgood: you say you've always wanted to be in the movies. there's a place to go for that. it's call central casting, really. lee kon will be taking us there. >> reporter: of all the story book places in hollywood, few are quite as storied and yet quite as generic as central casting. >> it's the one place where who you are matters not at all. it's what you look like. >> it's what you look like. reporter: it's as superficial as it comes. >> and extreme stereotypes. reporter: the hollywood background you're not supposed to notice later on sunday morning. >> osgood: it's glass that plays a starring role in serena altschul's story this morning. glass in a class of its own. >> reporter: it makes the craft of glass making an art. a fine art. >> this is putting that glass in the hands of the artist. that happens here. >> reporter: here is toledo, ohio, where 50 years ago the studio glass movement fired up a whole generation of artists. later on sunday morning, the art of making glass. >> osgood: rit a braver visits a frequent player on the world stage, former senator george mitchell. barry pederson has sent us a postcard from guam. david edelstein has movie picks for this labor day weekend and more. but first the headlines for this sunday morning, the second of september, 2012. hundreds of thousands remain without power in louisiana. in the after math of hurricane isaac. thousands still can't return to their homes because of flooding. insurance claims from the hurricane could top a billion dollars. the silver lining is that the storm has brought some relief from drought in sections of the mississippi and ohio river valleys. after campaigning in ohio and florida yesterday, mitt romney is taking a break for the rest of the weekend. his campaign says he'll begin preparing for the upcoming presidential debates. president obama is on a three-day campaign tour of swing states starting in iowa. it will end on tuesday when the president arrives at the democratic convention in charlotte. the pentagon says the u.s. military has stopped training afghanistan's militias. that move follows recent attacks against coalition troops by afghan soldiers. they say training will resume once a new system of vetting recruits is in place. ♪ what the world needs now is love, sweet love ♪ >> osgood: you most likely know this song sung by deon warwick. the man who wrote the words has died. he and bert back rack who wrote the tunes for many of the songs collaborated on dozens of hits. david's wife said even at the age of 91 david always had a song in his head. we'll have more on his songs later on sunday morning. the author of the 1970s best seller jonathan living seagull is in serious condition in a seattle hospital. the small plane richard back was flying clipped some power lines and crashed. penn state went up against ohio university in its home opener yesterday. the nittany lions lost 24-14. playing their first opener without joe paterno since 1949. in a nod to the scandal that system jerry sandusky to prison, the game included a moment of reflection for victims of sexual abuse. paterno's widow and their daughter were among the 90,000 fans in the stands. now today's weather. cooler in the northeast. but summer is still going strong else with with plenty of rainstorm and triple digit heat to go with it. as for tomorrow, what remains of hurricane isaac will continue to drench the ohio valley this labor day and beyond. up to seven inches of rain could fall before it's over. ahead,. >> start over here on the right-hand side. >> osgood: we're off to a casting call. >> osgood: we're off to a casting call. up next, america's buses,,,,,,,, warwick. >> osgood: we americans love planes, trains and automobiles. but recently we've been flirting more with buses and with good reason. buses are comfortable, convenient and cheap. but with buses in the fast line, bus safety is getting more attention and with good reason. our sunday morning cover story is reported by peter greenberg. ♪ we like to ride in a greyhound bus ♪ ♪ we're seeing all the scenery in comfort plus ♪ >> reporter: if you had a tv in the past 50 years, then you probably remember these commercials. ♪ no need to worry about driving when... ♪ >> reporter: or at least a very familiar slogan. ♪ go greyhound and leave the driving to us ♪ >> reporter: those ads are long gone. but now buses are back. at a time when gas prices are soaring, train service is limited, and flying has become an expensive tour, the bus business is booming. after falling off for most of the last five decades, bus travel has gained ground since 2006 with more than 700 million passenger trips last year alone. the biggest jump is in what are called curb side bus operators like bolt bus and mega bus. they load passengers on city streets as well as terminals and take them between big cities, often for next to nothing. how much did you spend? >> $15. reporter: to go where? from new york to boston. i think my ticket i bought it a couple days in advance. it was like $9.50. >> $1.50. you paid $1.50 to get here from new york. >> yeah. reporter: for many it's just too good a deal to pass up. in 2011, a year that saw air travel up about 2 percentage points and train travel up 5, curb side bus trips shot up more than 30%. clearly, the bus game has changed. >> this is a story of america. and some of the people along the way. >> reporter: in the 1956 film "freedom highway," produced by greyhound, no less... >> i hear it's quite a country. t is. reporter: ... the bus lookedded more like a country club lounge, only somehow nicer. >> the men who drive for greyhound are proud they've made it the safest transportation in the land. >> reporter: it was safe but now with more bus trips than ever, safety officials have their hands full keeping it that way. in march last year, more than a dozen died in a crash on i-95 near new york city when a drowsy driver lost control and hit a sign post cutting the bus nearly in half. just days later, another bus crash on the new jersey turnpike left two dead. two months later, a crash in virginia killed four people when their speeding bus rolled on to its roof. for federal regulators, scenes of horror like these were a wake-up call. transportation secretary ray lahood. >> these really pointed out to us that we needed to focus like a laser beam on these bus companies to make sure the buses are safe, mechanical lea okay, the bus drivers are well rested and properly licensed. >> reporter: in may, the d.o.t. shut down 26 bus companies for everything from bad drivers to bald tires. and the hunt for rule breakers is ongoing. >> where are you coming from? reporter: last month the federal motor carrier administration allowed our cameras along while they carried out random inspections at boston's south station bus terminal. this bus was starting to load passengers when d.o.t. inspector patty lavoie stepped in. >> patty lavoie, we're going to do an inspection on your bus. get back up on the bus, please. >> reporter: they looked at the engine, checked treads and tire pressure and to see if the windows would actually open in an emergency. so you were off duty at noontime. they also go through the driver's logbook to make sure he's not driving longer than the legal limit. they found nothing wrong with this carrier. but in general, safety officials say driver logs are a trouble spot. ann farrah runs the company. >> we believe they provide too many opportunities for falsification. it's a paper book. >> reporter: what's to prevent a driver from carrying two sets of book. >> the solution is an electronic log much like an lech throne i can time sheet. it ties into the engine of the bus that identifies whenever that bus is moving, whenever it's being operated by that driver beyond their limit. >> reporter: she said electronic driver logs could be on buses as early as next year. there are other ways to make bus travel safer. at penn state's larsen institute, researchers, working with both private and federal agencies, put just about every kind of bus sold in the u.s. through a brutal battery of tests. from big motor coaches to those little airport shuttles, and where else would you see this? a new york city bus rolling past a dairy farm on a bone-jarring streets of manhattan. >> the point is that not all buses hold up that well. we've had buses that leave the program on a truck because they've fallen apart. >> reporter: they do make 'em and you do break 'em. >> we do break 'em sometimes, yeah. >> reporter: down the road buses could get sturdier. under new federal law, bus companies will look at ways to make roofs less likely crush, windows less likely to shatter. some new buses like this greyhound model already come with seat belts, but there's no new rule for belts in buses already on the road. pennsylvania congressman bill schuster helped draft the new law. >> in doing our research for this, back in 19... it was like 1964 or '68, the national transportation safety board made an urgent recommendation to put seat belts in buses. here we are over 40 years later and no seat belts. >> what we've seen in a very safe bus industry, motor coach industry today, they are moving towards with their new buses getting seat belts on but to retrofit them costs them thousands of dollars and the cost-benefit is just not there. it's a huge cost. i used to have the number off the top of my head. it's several thousand dollars for each us. you have small business owners that run a very safe business, 99% of them. we're diagnose to have the federal government come in and mandate something that is probably not going to save any more lives. >> reporter: it's one thing to install the seat belts, right? his company has been in business for more than 100 years with a solid safety record. what he hasn't seen is a demand for seat belts. >> we look to see if people are wearing them. they're not. >> reporter: you can't enforce that? >> you can't. reporter: the bottom line is you can retrofit the bus. you bring the horse to the water. you can't make it drink. >> you can't make it drink. reporter: seat belts or not, there's no sign of slowdown in the bus industry. or with the people whose job it is to keep up with it. >> every life counts. we have to continue to work to make sure that every company operating a bus, moving passengers, puts safety as their top priority. that's our focus. for m >> osgood: coming up, a visit to middle earth. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can plan my days and accomplish more. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. ask your doctor if lyrica is right >> osgood: and now a page from our sunday morning almanac. september 2, 1973, 39 years ago today. a day of mourning in the imaginary world of middle earth. for that was the day that john ronald rul tolkein died. in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbitt and so began a fantasy novel about a small creature with furry toes who embarks on dazzling adventures in the company of dwarfs, wizards and elves. he was a professor at oxford when he wrote the book which is said to be based on a story he told his children. first published in 1937 it became an instant classic. the lord of the ridges followed the sequel that would take more than a decade to complete and would become one of the best-selling book of all time. in 2011, the lord of the rings, directed by peter jackson, came to life on the big screen. >> is it safe? never put it on for the agents of the dark lord will be drawn to its power. >> osgood: it was followed by two other films. all box office hits. earning nearly $3 billion worldwide. the movies received a combined total of 30 oscar nominations and 17 wins including one for best picture. a new trilogy of hobbitt movies is set to hit theaters starting in december. toll keen is still a part of pop culture, spoofed in shows like the big bang theory. and just last month, the late british author was honored with his very own crater on the planet mercury. a place very far indeed from his mythical world of middle earth. up next, reflections on studio glass. this country was built by working people. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year. in pipes, cement, steel, jobs, energy. we need to get the wheels turning. i'm proud of that. making real things... for real. ...that make a real difference. ♪ did you know when heartburn, it's too late to take prilosec because... but it's but zantac® works differently. it relieves heartburn in as little as 30 minutes. in fact, so, when heartburn strikes, try zantac® this has been medifacts for zantac® exclusive to the military, and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. with our award winning apps that allow you to transfer funds, pay bills or manage your finances anywhere, anytime. so that wherever your duty takes you, usaa bank goes with you. visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients, so i'm at my best. centrum. always your most complete. >> osgood: there was a time when toledo, ohio, was considered the glass capital of the world. not so much these days but when it comes to artistic glass, toledo is still in a class by itself. serena altschul now with a touch of glass. >> very hot. yeah, that furnish ace is probably about 2100 degrees fahrenheit. >> reporter: it may not look like it, but what you're seeing is a celebration. a celebration of the liberation of glass. >> this is putting that glass this the hands of the artist. that happened here. >> reporter: what happened right here at the toledo museum of art 50 years ago was one of those moments in history when imaginative people intersect with technology to create something new. in this case, freeing artists to make glass in their own studios. in 1962, ceramics instructor harvey littleton created a workshop in a garage at this museum to explore the possibilities of newly developed small furnish aces. >> the real innovation was, of course, any artist could use this in their garage. they could make a furnace and make a little workshop for glass and learn the techniques. >> reporter: jeff mack knows how difficult and dangerous it is to work with glass. >> when you approach the furnace and the molten glass, you have to approach it with humility. >> reporter: beautiful glass has been around for thousands of years from ancient egypt and rome to tiffany's in 19th century america. but making it is so difficult that before 1962, artists had to hand over their designs to industrial furnaces to be completed. all that changed with harvey littleton's modest workshop which gave rise to what came to be known as the studio glass movement. >> thed idea behind it, to have an artist with a vision create works in glass by himself in a studio setting was absolutely revolutionary. >> reporter: the curator of the toledo museum of art's show called color ignited in honor of the 1962 workshop. of course, back then things didn't seem so promising. >> it was fly by the pants. they had to figure out what tools to use, what materials to use, how to work with them. >> reporter: at first, the achievements were small. these glass blogs may not look like much. >> normally something like that would go right back into the furnas. we're very lucky that we have them because they document to us how far the has come. >> reporter: littleton's experiments were looking like a failure until toledo glass scientist dominic labino came to the rescue. >> he really brought the technological knowledge to the success of the early workshop. >> reporter: he was an engineer with over 60 patents to his name who helped develop fiberglass insulation for the nasa space program. but he also wanted to be an artist. so he joined forces with littleton and showed him how to build a usable furnace and supplied him with glass beads that could be melted more easily. >> it was dominic labino's input that allowed the design to be changed and made into something workable. >> reporter: ultimately, labino came to be an artist himself. wow! creating such works as this wall of color. >> each one of these is very hard. lots of levels of experimentation. behind the individual patterns that are reflected in this. >> reporter: he would eventually create these beautiful designs too. hare veal littleton was also mastering glass techniques evolving from simple experiments to intricate creations. >> he also goes back again to transparent glass and the optical qualities of color. >> reporter: while traditionally glass makers jealously guarded their secrets, littleton and labino wanted to share their hard-won expertise with university students. >> harvey littleton knew from the very beginning that a movement really could not take hold unless you have people propagating it. you need to have artists taking it to the next generation and the next generation after that. >> reporter: and so the studio glass movement caught on. these are some of the stunning results. there's the work of littleton's student. and yet another generation is represented by this piece. it's by the show's youngest artist. what started in an ohio garage back in 1962 has truly blossomed into creations of startling beauty. the studio glass movement freed artists from around the world to express themselves fully in the difficult but brilliant medium of glass. >> osgood: coming up the black keys. for the recor