hell. >> the white house weighs in on the controversy the president is madder than hell. >> the white house weighs in on the controversy clouding the department of veterans affairs as more allegations of death related to treatment delays at v.a. hospitals come to light. a mega merger telecom deal nears completion. at&t agrees to buy directv for more than $48 billion. and trouble's brewing for java drinkers. what's behind a potential dip in production of some of the most sought after cough beans and what it could mean for a price of a cup of joe. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, may 19th, 2014. good morning. thank you for joining us. i'm lauren lyster in for anne-marie green, and this morning a political firestorm over alleged treatment delays and falsified records at veterans hospitals is growing.

more hospitals are under investigation and now there are new reports of deaths that could be linked to delays in treatment. susan mcginnis is in washington. susan, good morning. >> good morning, lauren. here's the latest. the number of deaths related to deaths in patient care could be much higher than was originally revealed. this is coming from a report after an investigation by a newspaper in dayton, ohio, and now the president is demanding action from his veterans affairs chief. >> the president is madder than hell. >> president obama's top aide says the commander in chief is furious about the treatment of patients at v.a. hospitals and he's demanding the problems get fixed and never happen again. >> we've now deployed additional staff over to the veterans administration to dig into this to find out if this is a series of isolated cases or whether this is a systemic issue

that needs to be addressed. >> the v.a. admits 23 people have died waiting for care and now the report reveals it could be much higher. its investigation revealed the agency paid more than $36 million since 2001 to settle at least 167 cases reportedly related to delays. >> there are a lot of veterans who rely on this system, and they deserve as much transparency as possible. >> on friday, robert petzel, the v.a.'s undersecretary for health resigned just a day after testifying before the senate committee, but that's done little for critics who also demand that secretary eric shinseki step down. >> a lot of people on the hill are saying resignation is not the right word. >> the house would vote to give shinseki more authority to fire or demote executives and administrators at the agency's centers. and there seem to be more calls for the president to speak out directly and publicly on this particular issue. the president's chief of staff

was asked this repeat ily on "face the nation" and he repeatedly answered the president will continue to fight for more resources for veterans and more v.a. reform. no sign yet he will speak out publicly but i wouldn't be surprised if he does that soon. >> susan mcginnis in washington. thanks so much. parts of the southwest are under a critical fire watch this morning. gusty winds, low humidity are forecast for the next several days. states at highest risk are texas, oklahoma, new mexico, arizona, kansas, and colorado. in southern california 47 homes were destroyed by last week's string of wildfires. at least 39 in the hard-hit san diego suburb of san marcos. it's nearly 90% contained. over the weekend cooler temperatures and calmer winding helped firefighters. so far the damages from fires are estimated to be over $20 million. overseas now, the balkans, the worst flooding in years. it's wiped out entire towns and killed at least two dozen people.

a bosnian official describes the situation as catastrophic, and in some areas, the water is still rising. tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate and their nuclear power plant is in danger of being inundated. allen pizzey has our report. >> reporter: as fast as people are rescued, more become victims, but helicopters can only rescue one at a time. the flooding has hit croatia as well as serbia and bosnia. the death toll has more than doubled. serbia's main power plants are in danger of being swamped by what one rescue worker describes as a monster. many of the flood victims were dislocated in the wars that ravaged yugoslavia in the 1990s, a and the flood has brought it all back. there are fears that have moved land mines and signs that are from the war. a municipal official describes

the situation as a disaster. water is up to the roofs, he said. there isn't a single house that hasn't been flooded. estimates of the damage are running into hundreds of millions of dollars, but the real cost is one that those who are already paying it cannot begin to comprehend, never mind count. we have nothing left, she said. what shall we do? what shall we do? with more flooding to come, it's a question no one can answer. allen pizzey, cbs news, rome. south korea's president wants to break up her country's coast guard following last month's ferry disaster. in an address to the nation this morning park geun-hye apologized and said she bears ultimate spot for the rescue effort. park says she plans to root out the corruption between the government and the shipping companies. the disaster left more than 300 dead or missing. >> federal officials say they've identified the first

person-to-person spread of the mers virus in this country. the cdc says an illinois man picked it up after coming into contact with an indiana man. he was the first case with the respiratory syndrome. the illinois man does not have an active case of mers, but blood tests show he had been infected. the cdc says the risk to the public remains low. on the "cbs moneywatch," at&t's mega deal with directv, and what you'll be paying at the pump as you hit the road for memorial day. jill morgan is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, jill. >> good morning, lauren. the mega merger is a go. at&t agreed yesterday to buy the satellite provider for $48.5 billion. if it goes through, the combined company would be the second largest paid tv operator behind the other mega deal, comcast/time warner cable. the fcc and justice department still have to approve the deal.

another possible mega merger was rejected this morning. astrazeneca turned down pfizer's $119 billion offer. it was the u.s. company's third, and they say last attempt to take over its british rival. if the deal had gone through, it would have created the world's biggest pharmaceutical company. asian markets were mostly lower. to tokyo's nikkei lost half a percent. hong kong's hang seng dropped a quarter percent. they'll keep a close eye on u.s. home sales and the federal reserve minutes, which will be released this week. the dow dropped 92 points. the nasdaq rose 18. some good news for drivers. the price of gas has dropped 3.5 cents in the last two weeks. the lundberg survey says the average cost for a gallon nationwide is $3.69. the downtick comes after a 43- cent rise from february 7th to may 2nd.

and "godzilla" has smashed its way to one of the biggest box office debuts this year. the monster movie reboot starring bryan cranston pulled in $93 million. 3-d showings accounted for about 51% of sales. the seth rogan comedy "neighbors" was knocked down to number two with $26 million and "the amazing spider-man" slipped to third. lauren? >> jig wagner at the new york stock exchange. thank you, jill. coming up this morning. a cropping crisis. we'll tell you what's destroying bean crops which could make the price of your cup of coffee more expensive. this is the "cbs morning news." this is the "cbs morning news." was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body.

in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make the most of every moment. ask your dermatologist about humira, today.

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it is so on. coppertone sport accuspray. it's on. yes, that is the late king of pop. michael jackson made an appearance at the billboard music awards last night. as a hologram. the computer-generated image performed a song jackson recorded in 1998. it's called "slave to the rhythm" and it's on his posthumous album called "xscape." coffee beans are at risk of being wiped out. it's already caused a billion dollars worth of damage and as anne-marie tells us the government will tell today to fight the fungus.

>> it's called coffee rust that's affecting beans. coffee growers in guatemala, el salvador, panama, costa rica have been hit the hardest. >> this is a disease that's been around for a long time. we believe that hotter and dryer growing conditions related to change in climate is making it more prevalent. >> reporter: he's the administrator for the u.s. agency for international development. >> in its worst form it actually destroys the trees and prevents future years from having agricultural output on those farms. >> reporter: many high-end coffee beans are grown on small farms that can't afford the fungicide. researchers say production will increase by 15% to 40%. >> millions of kids would go hungry. economies throughout the region would face significant strife and the loss of the basic

economic activity that supports 20%, 30%, 40% of their populations. >> reporter: large u.s. coffee companies like starbucks have been able to secure enough supplies to avoid price increases, but it's the smaller boutique coffee houses that are so popular with coffee connoisseurs that may have to increase their prices if they don't get the fungus under control. the u.s. government will announce a $5 million partnership with texas a&m university in an effort to stop the fungus from spreading and the coffee industry in latin and central america from rusting away. anne-marie green, cbs news, new york. straight ahead, your monday morning weather. and in sports, peyton manning goes deep while addressing the class of 2014. with helioplex does. on wet skin, ordinary sunscreen mixes with water and drips. neutrogena wet skin sprays on and stays on. forms a broad spectrum uva/uvb barrier.

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in the nba playoffs the rematch of last year's eastern conference finals gets under way. this time the indiana pacers hold home court advantage over miami, and the pacers make it count in game one. paul george scores 24 points, and indiana leads from start to finish in a 107-96 win. how's this for some teamwork. boston red sox' a.j. pierzynski tries to catch a pop-up that goes into the stands. but he's there to make the bear-handed catch. the red sox fall to detroit, 6-2. california chrome is on the verge of becoming the first horse to win the triple crown since 1978, but the horse's owners may keep him out of next month's belmont stakes. california chrome wears a nasal strip to hip him with breathing. that practice is prohibited in new york where the last leg of

the triple crown is run. california chrome's owners will ask the commission for use of the strip, but the state gaming commission turned down a similar request in 2012. peyton manning graduated from the university of tennessee. this weekend the mvp quarterback went back to school to deliver the address at the ceremonies at the university of virginia. >> when you're chided for your naivety, and you will be, remind your critics that an amateur built the ark, experts built the titanic. >> manning's remarks wouldn't have be complete without a few passes thrown. he threw to the class of 2014. when we return, a football player's dream. a player's emotional homecoming as the new orleans saints offer him with a deal.

young man's death. a missing construction work from the east bay -- missin more. where he turned up overnight. and we're on a "collision ce with nature"... what california's governor predis we'll be facing in wildfire

seasons to come. join us for kpix 5 news this morning... beginning at 4:3 good morning. it's monday, may 19th i'm michelle griego. ,,,, here's look at today's forecast in some cities around the country.

the long road of recovery for paralyzed college football player eric legrand takes him front and center before his classmates. dressed in cap and gown he the former defensive tackle graduated from rutgers university yesterday. in the 2010 game legrand was paralyzed from the neck down. he resumed classes a year later during an emotional commencement speech, he told his fellow graduates to never give up. >> don't never let somebody tell you you can't do something. don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something. don't let anybody ever tell you you can't do something. if you put your mind to something, anything is truly possible in this world. >> legrande received a degree in labor relations. now, the rutgers grad wasn't the only football college player whose life was forever changed during a game. jeff glor takes a look at the

inspirational story of devon walker. >> reporter: devon walker was a senior safety for tulane university when in 2012 he collided with a teammate and went down. >> definitely concerned about devon walker. >> reporter: the impact fractured his spine, leaving him paralyzed below the neck. >> i tried to shake it off and say, okay, next play, let's go. but i couldn't move. >> reporter: walker spent three months in the hospital. the courage and endurance he once applied to the game he now used for his recovery. >> just being able to get out of the bed and get dressed, you know, something that might have taken me 20, 30 minutes takes two hours now. >> reporter: his comeback winning him new fans along the way. this weekend only a year and a half after his injury, walker was back in front of a packed stadium. >> devon walker, congratulations. >> reporter: he graduated from tulane with a degree in

molecular biology. then he was invited to a mini camp tryout for the new orleans saints where he heard his name called for a second time. >> we're signing devon walker to a contract today with the new orleans saints. congrats, man. >> reporter: even though he'll never take the field coach sean payton says he deserved the jersey. >> he's been an inspiration, and it's carried over to all of us at the saints. >> just to be a part of the team and just to be around the players and thing, it's more than i could have hoped for. >> reporter: a dream come through for new orleans' newest saint. jeff glor, cbs news, new york. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," we'll show you one commencement speaker who had some tough words for the class of 2014. plus, an update on the first case of the mers virus contracted in the united states.

i'm lauren lyster. this is the "cbs morning news." [ hair dryer whirring ] this is the "cbs morning news." [ male announcer ] there's a simpler way to fluffier eggs. ♪ ♪ i can't believe it's not butter! the simpler way to delicious fluffy eggs. [ chicken clucks ] believe. help keep teeth clean and breath clucks ] fresh. with beneful healthy smile snacks. with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture,it's dental that tastes so good. beneful healthy smile food and snacks.

another successful trip for the dragon. the space excargo ship detached from the international space station yesterday and five hours later splashed into the pacific ocean. it brought back 535 pounds of science samples and equipment. the recovery ship will retrieve the capsule and bring it to a port near los angeles. aaa says more than 36 million americans will travel 50 miles or more from home memorial day weekend. if you're looking for a place to go, there are 50 state tour ism departments eager to help you. vinita nair reports. >> reporter: the state of nebraska wants you to visit, and they've spent three months and $75,000 researching their new slogan. here's what they unveiled earlier this week. >> and experience all the wonderful things our state has to offer.

>> do you like it? >> the purpose of this campaign is to get people to come off of the interstate highway when they're driving through nebraska as fast as they can, but nice isn't going to get them off the highway. >> reporter: she teaches branding and tourism at new york university. she said there is a technique in creating a successful slogan. >> you have to catch them. it's like fishing. you have to have something that catches them right away. >> how can a state know that an ad is successful? >> for every dollar that goes into advertising, the return on that dollar can be anywhere for some states as low as $48, some states around $330. >> reporter: some ads have been so successful, they even gone international. virginia's ad claims it's a state for lovers and new york's campaign ad, i love new york. here's the what happened here stays here ad for las vegas. it isn't just that ads are

clesher. they can generate tourism dollars. from 2012 to 2013, all 50 states combined spent more than $450 million for advertising and promotion. nationwide, tourism generated $888 billion in direct spending last year. an unsuccessful ad gets pulled almost immediately like washington state's "say wa" campaign that was retired in subscription months, or alaska's "b4udie" ad that lasted 30 days. >> so much competition you have to stand out. you have to distinguish yourself. >> reporter: her fear is that the new ad won't have anything nice to say. vinita nair, cbs news, new york. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," more on the latest case of mers in the united states. dr. holly phillips will look at how it's spread. plus we'll take you to the persian gulf where three major

airliners are set to become big players in the aviation industry. and comedian cian peel joins us in the studio. that's the "cbs morning news" for this monday. thanks for watching. i'm lauren lyster. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

and i'm frank mallicoat time is 4-- here's good morning. monday, may 19th. i'm michelle griego. >> nearly 4:30. let's start with traffic and weather. good morning. >> good morning. happy monday. we have changes coming in our direction today.

a cool breeze going to be developing. lots of clouds rolling through too. there's even a slight chance of showers. we'll talk more about that coming up. a busy start to the monday morning drive. reports of an accident northbound at sycamore valley road blocking two lanes but tow trucks are on the way and wind advisories this morning, bay bridge, san mateo bridge, pretty much everything but the golden gate. more coming up. we begin with this story at 4:30. a hiker makes a disturbing discovery. a body in the berkeley hills found above the uc berkeley campus. reporter brian webb shows us the area where that body was found. >> reporter: the trails along grizzly peak boulevard popular with hikers or people who want to take in a spectacular view. christopher has been coming here for years. >> my buddies like to backroad and we have wonderful viewing of all the bay area. >> reporter: on this day the view included a possible crime scene with police, firefighters and coroner's van after