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tv   CBS Overnight News  CBS  December 19, 2023 3:12am-4:30am PST

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three more hostages have appeared alive in a new video released by hamas. in the middle is 79-year-old haiem bery. >> every day is a death sentence to them. >> reporter: lior bery is his son. >> are you angry? >> my anger only aims toward my government. >> reporter: the white house is raising concerns tonight about the deaths of two christian women sheltering in gaza's only roman catholic church. the archbishop of jerusalem says the women were killed by israeli soldiers, which the idf denies. the pope has weighed in, calling it terrorism. urgently needed aid is beginning to trickle into gaza again. israel reopened its direct crossing at kerem shalom. as desperate palestinians ransacked a u.n. aid truck crossing in from egypt into rafah. now the chaos of this conflict threatens to expand as oil giant bp and other shipping companies say they are pausing all transit
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through the red sea after recent attacks on ships by iranian-backed houthi rebels. and those diversions will have massive impacts on oil prices and supply chain costs. and in response, defense secretary austin has just announced a new international coalition to help protect commercial ships sailing on the red sea. norah. >> ramy inocencio, thank you. and tonight we're getting a look inside what israel says is the largest tunnel troops have discovered inside gaza. it was previously estimated that the vast underground system used by hamas was about 60 miles long. but israel's army now believes it's actually more than 300 miles long. here's cbs's charlie d'agata. >> reporter: we passed into gaza with israeli soldiers through the ruins of the once heavily fortified erez crossing. there's several layers of security as you cross into the territory. blast walls behind us. a lot of them have been shot up and destroyed, including the observation posts and towers.
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>> this is what hamas did. >> reporter: less than 500 yards away from that crossing, israeli forces discovered this, a mega tunnel. walls and ceilings of reinforced concrete, pipelines for ventilation, a web of cables carrying electricity, and communications system wiring. >> careful here. >> reporter: and deep. we're probably already 40 or 50 feet underground already. and as you can see, it just sinks down into an abyss. we're told this is one of the longest tunnels that they have found. more than 2 1/2 miles long, wide enough to drive a small car through. allegedly doing just that, the brother of hamas leader yahya sinwar shown driving through the tunnel in idf handout footage. hamas released video of the tunnel saying, you arrived too late. mission complete, allegedly showing surprise ambushes and the abduction of israeli hostages. the subterranean network shows
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the complexities in searching for hostages among hamas, says idf spokesman daniel hagari. >> it means hunting them down and finding them wherever they are, inside the tunnels and above the ground. >> does that carry risk for the hostages that are being held? >> i think we are managing the risk. >> reporter: he said once they're satisfied the entire tunnel has been cleared of hostages and hamas, they plan to blow the whole thing up. charlie d'agata, cbs news, inside gaza. back here at home, with less than a month until the first votes of the 2024 presidential election, donald trump used his latest campaign speech to praise multiple authoritarian leaders, and as his critics put it, echo the racist rhetoric of adolf hitler. cbs's ed o'keefe is following the backlash. >> reporter: former president donald trump's comments about immigrants came saturday night in new hampshire. >> they're poisoning the blood of our country. that's what they've done. they poisoned mental
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institutions and prisons all over the world, not just in south america, not just at three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world. >> reporter: president biden's re-election campaign denounced the comments, saying trump parroted adolf hitler. the nazi leader criticized the mixing of races in his "mein kampf," arguing the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning. the former president also praised authoritarian leaders, including hungary's viktor orban, china's xi jinping, and north korea's kim jong-un. cbs news has asked the trump campaign for comment about the reaction to his remarks. among trump's gop opponents, only former new jersey governor chris christie strongly rebuked him. >> he's disgusting, and what he's doing is dog whistling to americans who feel absolutely under stress and strain from the economy and from the conflicts around the world. >> reporter: but trump continues to dominate because gop primary
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voters generally back the idea of mass deportations the former president supported and view immigration as a key issue. >> having a porous border is leading to a lot of problems. it's creating an unsafe environment for our citizens. >> reporter: cbs news has learned last week the border patrol apprehended nearly 7,900 people each day from 6,000 in october. the white house now deep in negotiations with congress. a compromise could include expelling migrants without processing their asylum claims and expanding the detention of migrants allowed to stay in the u.s. pending a decision on their cases. and now some border state governors are taking aggressive steps to address illegal border crossings. in texas, republican governor greg abbott today signed a bill authorizing local and state police to arrest migrants believed to be in the state illegally while in arizona, democrat katie hobbs has deployed national guard troops to the border. norah. >> ed o'keefe, thank you very much. an extraordinary sight today at the u.s. supreme court as a
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flag-draped coffin holding the body of the late justice sandra day o'connor lay in repose in the court's great hall. all nine current justices and retired justice anthony kennedy stood solemnly, paying their respects to the court's first female justice. o'connor died earlier this month at the age of 93. her funeral is tomorrow at the national cathedral. in a historic move today, pope francis formally signed off on allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. the landmark policy stopped short of approving same-sex marriages but allows priests to bless the couples as long as it isn't a wedding or civil union. the pope citizen people should not be deprived of a blessing and subjected to an exhaustive moral
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you need sinex saline from vicks. just sinex, breathe, ahhhh! what is — wow! sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh! there's some breaking news tonight about actor jonathan majors. marvel studios just dropped the once rising star after a jury in new york found him guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend. marvel was building a movie franchise around majors before his arrest in march. cbs's jericka duncan was in court today for the verdict. >> reporter: tonight, jonathan majors walked out of court with heavy security after being found guilty of assault and harassment. he was acquitted of two other charges that required prosecutors to show majors' intentionally committed those acts. >> do you think your son got a fair trial? >> reporter: the 34-year-old
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star has dimmed since he was arrested in march after a fight with his ex-girlfriend, grace jabbari. he played roles in marvel films and ceo 3, but it was his performance in the tv series love craft country that made hollywood take notices. during deliberations, the jury asked to rewatch surveillance video from the incident in slow motion, where it appears majors shoves jabbari into a black escalade. another video showed jabari running after majors following the incident. s in a criminal complaint, jabbari accused majors of assaulting her, leaving a cut behind her ear and fracturing her finger. cbs news legal analyst rikki klieman. >> that jonathan majors did not intend to cause any physical harm to this woman. but what jonathan majors did by virtue simply of his actions, his size, his strength, was create a substantial risk of
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physical injury. >> reporter: majors and his family did not speak to the media as they left the court today. grace jabbari, who was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read, did release this statement saying she was, quote, gratified to see justice served. majors faces up to a year behind bars, norah. he is scheduled to be sentenced on february 6th. >> jericka duncan, thank you. border patrol officers make a spicy discovery in san diego. what k-9 dogs helped sniff out, next. this new charmin ultra soft smooth tear is soooo soft and soo smooth. new charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better for a smooth more enjoyable go. charmin, enjoy the go. hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers
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quaker oats has issued a nationwide granola career val and bar over salmonella risk. the company has pulled 90 varieties off shelves. it's still unclear how the potential contamination occurred. quaker oats says so far, it has not received any confirmed reports of people getting sick. you can go to cbsnews.com for more information. a dress worn by the late princess diana fetches a king's ransom at auction. we've got details next. we end tonight with new evidence of the popularity of princess diana. more than a quarter century after her death, an evening dress first worn by lady di in florence, italy, in april of 1985 was sold at auction on sunday for more than
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$1.1 million. that is 11 times its original estimated value of $100,000. diana wore the dress a second time to the vancouver symphony orchestra in 1986. the sale to an anonymous buyer nearly doubles the previous record price for one of princess diana's dresses. a fitting tribute to a beloved icon. and that's the overnight news for this tuesday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back later for "cbs mornings" and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm norah o'donnell. this is "cbs news flash." i'm courtney kealy in new york. cleanup and recovery is under way across the northeast after a heavy rainstorm flooded the region on monday. authorities confirmed at least two deaths due to trees falling from the storm. monsanto has been ordered to pay $857 million to seven former
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students and parents at a seattle school who were exposed to toxic pcp chemicals. monsanto, owned by bayer, already owes $870 million from other lawsuits tied to the school. the company plans to appeal. and a volcano in iceland has erupted. iceland's government says the eruption does not pose a threat to people, but residents of a nearby town were ordered to evacuate. for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm courtney kealy, cbs news, new york. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." we're going to begin with dangerous weather sweeping large parts of the country. hundreds of thousands of americans from new york to massachusetts and maine are without power tonight after that
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massive storm battered the northeast with torrential rains and wind gusts up to 90 miles per hour. two people were killed by falling trees in new england. in michigan, the intense system caused this massive pileup on interstate 94 near kalamazoo, michigan. near whiteout conditions and blinding snow caused multiple crashes, leaving cars and people stranded. well, from the road to the skies, major disruptions at u.s. airports today. more than 3,500 flights delayed and more than 500 canceled. a rough start to the holiday travel season. meteorologist mike seidel with our partners at the weather channel leads us off tonight from boston. >> reporter: tonight a powerful storm packing 60-mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain continued to wreak havoc across the northeast. waist-deep water in new jersey. firefighters taking people to safety. near boston, flames shot out from a downed power line, and in queens, new york, a massive tree fell onto this house. no one was hurt.
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>> the house has some damages, but it did not came into the house. >> reporter: students in campton, new hampshire, were dismissed early as floodwaters from a nearby dam started to rise. it's the same storm system that slammed into the south this weekend, dumping more than 10 inches of rain. an ef-1 tornado touched down near myrtle beach, and winds up to 90 miles per hour tossed cars and turned businesses and homes into debris. >> once we came out, one of the trees just started cracking like it was a little stick. and it falls on the corner of the house. >> reporter: some people in south carolina had to wade through the water in a paddle boat as the storm brought record-breaking rain to the city of charleston. as warmer ocean and air temperatures continue to fuel storms that are wetter than ever, inland and coastal communities across the country are dealing with more extreme flooding and damage. according to a recent study, in the last two decades, more than 3 million people have left high flood risk areas.
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at the peak of the storm, over 700,000 customers were without power. some still in the dark as the storm passes through. back here in boston, peak winds were 68 miles an hour. that was a southeast wind. that's why we had the record high of 63. meanwhile, this major storm is taking its leave away from the maine coast tonight, leaving a path of destruction from florida all the way into new england. norah. >> mike seidel, thank you so much. well, for more on what's to come, including colder temperatures and snow, let's get the forecast from weather channel meteorologist mike bettes. good evening, mike. >> norah, good evening. obviously weather has been a major factor across the northeast in particular today. but there are improvements on the way. the entire system is on its way out. the rain will be leaving. the snow eventually will be dying down as well. and those winds in particular will be coming down pretty significantly overnight tonight. there's the snow that remains in the morning, especially off of lake erie and lake ontario. some areas could pick up another 5 to 8 inches of snow. down through the mountains of
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west virginia as well. because we've had so much rain, dozens and dozens of rivers expected over the next two days to be at moderate or major flood stage here from around the tri-state area all the way through northern new england. then to the west coast we go. two different rounds of storm come in. one comes in now. one comes in later in the week with incredible amounts of rain, especially in california, and widespread snow. that includes the colorado rockies and the wasatch, norah. >> good information. mike bettes, thank you. well, this storm has many holiday travelers struggling to get to their destinations, and we also learned today about the record fine that southwest is paying for last year's holiday travel meltdown. what does it mean for you? here's cbs's mark strassmann. >> reporter: as airlines get ready for a week of record holiday travel from boston to baltimore, monday had its stumbles. but today's disruptions are a blip compared to last year's fiasco by southwest airlines. >> i literally slept the whole day inside an airport. not fun. >> reporter: the airline froze during a pre-christmas winter
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storm. nearly 17,000 flights canceled. 2 million passengers stranded. today the d.o.t. fined southwest $140 million for consumer protection violations. that's 30 times greater than any previous similar fine. >> this was a historic meltdown, and we believe there needed to be historic consequences. >> reporter: southwest will pay the u.s. government $35 million and set aside another $90 million in travel vouchers for future passengers delayed three or more hours. add this punishment to more than $600 million southwest has paid already in refunds and reimbursements. >> we need to make sure the fines and penalties aren't just a rounding error or something they kind of figure into being the cost of doing business, but are actually a reason to do business differently. >> reporter: airlines have made changes to avoid similar meltdowns, not overscheduling and improving operations. >> i think we are in a better place now than we were going
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into christmas 2022. are we as good as we need to be? perhaps not. >> reporter: southwest says it has spent more than $1 billion upgrading software and technology and the ceo has promised this will never happen again. the d.o.t.'s message, it better not. norah. >> mark strassmann, thank you so much. there's some breaking news tonight about actor jonathan majors. marvel studios just dropped the once rising star after a jury in new york found him guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend. marvel was building a movie franchise around majors before his arrest in march. cbs's jericka duncan was in court today for the verdict. >> reporter: tonight, jonathan majors walked out of court with heavy security after being found guilty of assault and harassment. he was acquitted of two other charges that required prosecutors to show majors intentionally committed those acts.
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>> do you think your son got a fair trial? >> reporter: the 34-year-old's star has dimmed since he was arrested in march after a fight with his ex-girlfriend, grace jabbari. he played roles in marvel films and "creed 3," but it was his performance in the tv series "lovecraft country" that made hollywood take notice. during deliberations, the jury asked to rewatch surveillance video from the incident in slow motion, where it appears majors shoves jabbari into a black escalade. another video showed jabbari running after majors following the incident. he testified she grabbed majors' phone after seeing a text message from another woman. in a criminal complaint, jabbari accused majors of assaulting her, leaving a cut behind her ear and fracturing her finger. cbs news legal analyst rikki klieman. >> that jonathan majors did not intend to cause any physical harm to this woman. but what jonathan majors did by virtue simply of his actions, his size, his strength, was create a substantial risk of
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physical injury. >> reporter: majors and his family did not speak to the media as they left the court today. grace jabbari, who was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read, did release this statement saying she was, quote, gratified to see justice served. majors faces up to a year behind bars, norah. he is scheduled to be sentenced on february 6th. >> jericka duncan, thank you. there's a lot more news ahead on the "cbs overnight news." ugh, this guy again... pops! ay son! ya got a little somethin' on yuh face. needed a quick shave. quick shave? respect the process! it ain't my dad's razor, dad, it's from gillettelabs. gillette...labs? gillette's ultimate shaving experience. this green bar releases trapped hairs from my face. gamechanga! while the flexdisc contours to it. lookin' smooth. feelin' even smoother. how 'bout hookin' me up with some gillettelabs? check your texts. you're the best. nah, you're the best.
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vicks vapocool drops. vaporize sore throat pain. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." i'm olivia gazis in washington. thanks for staying with us. tensions are rising in asia where russia and china have been conducting joint military
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exercises off the coast of japan. japanese fighter jets were scrambled last week when the two nations sent bombers flying between japan and the korean peninsula. china's navy has also been threatening pacific islands claimed by both japan and the philippines. and then there's north korea, which is reportedly seeking to join the russia/china axis, and this weekend they conducted another ballistic missile test. elizabeth palmer reports. >> reporter: in recent military parades, north korea has shown off its new long-range missiles, likely to have been similar to the one it launched early this morning. the hwasong, which has been tested before, is designed to be nuclear-tipped and has a range of more than 9,000 miles according to a japanese defense official, which means it could reach anywhere in the continental united states. 2023 has been a record year for north korea. it's launched at least 36 missiles, including one this fall that carried a spy
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satellite into space. all of them violate united nations security council resolutions that ban missile development by dictator kim jong-un. but he claims the weapons are necessary to defend against the threat of attacks by the u.s. and its allies. these two most recent launches looked like a response to nuclear deterrence talks in washington between the u.s. and south korea and also probably the arrival of a u.s. nuclear submarine in a south korean port. >> that was elizabeth palmer in tokyo. the pentagon is also concerned about russia's military buildup in the arctic circle. just last week, russian president vladimir putin unveiled two nuclear submarines in the country's far north. holly williams traveled to a remote island off of norway, a key nato ally of the u.s. >> reporter: deep inside the arctic circle, norway's
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archipelago is home to the world's northernmost permanent human settlement. scientists say climate change is happening faster here than anywhere else on the planet. >> welcome aboard. >> thank you. >> reporter: captain steeg henningson told us when he was a child, even the widest fjords used to freeze over. >> earlier we had sea ice during the winter, but very seldom now we have sea ice in the fjord here. >> reporter: a warming arctic is destructive to the environment, but it could also turn the top of the world into a military flash point with the u.s. and its nato allies on one side and russia on the other. the melting polar ice cap has opened up new shipping routes and vast reserves of oil and gas. to assert its interests, russia is using the arctic to test hypersonic missiles designed to avoid american defenses. in august, russia and china sent a flotilla of warships to patrol
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waters just off alaska, and moscow now commands a third more arctic bases than the u.s. and nato combined. experts say the west lags ten years behind russia's military in the region. hedwig mow is the former deputy head of norway's intelligence service. last year she helped catch a suspected russian spy. >> why is norway a major target for russian espionage? >> the northern parts of norway, including sa wall bad is particularly important to russia because they have nuclear submarines stationed very close to the norwegian border. those nuclear submarines need a clear line to get out to prom cola towards the u.s. to be able to launch their nuclear weapons in case of a conflict with the u.s. >> it's about potential nuclear war? >> we all hope we're not going to end up in that situation, but it's part of the defense that russia has.
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>> reporter: on sa develop bad, russia already has a toehold because of a century-old treaty that allows russian citizens to live here visa-free in a nato state. barrettsburg is a russian coal mining settlement complete with its own school, a giant russian consulate, and earlier this year, a russian military-style parade on norwegian territory. >> everything is owned by the russian state-owned company. >> yeah. >> reporter: dmitry told us he's in charge of public relations for the company that owns the mine. >> is it profitable? >> to my knowledge, not really. >> because the coal mine here doesn't seem like it's profitable, that in part fuels accusations that barrettsburg is a base for russian espionage. >> i can give you a very simple answer, that it's not. >> reporter: the russians say there's nothing to see here.
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this is not a base for espionage. do you necessarily believe them? >> i wouldn't go into specifics, but i can say that sa volunteer bad is super important to russia, so it might be important to the intelligence services as well. >> reporter: the u.s. department of defense told us the number of russian bases in the arctic is not a useful measure of comparing capabilities. but it also says it's closely monitoring russia's military buildup. america's ambassador to norway told us russian espionage in the country is worrying. and earlier this year, norway expelled 15 russian diplomats that it accused of spying. >> that was holly williams reporting from london.
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do. people think we only work once a year, but we work year-round to make this happen. >> reporter: stone's family ships about 200,000 trees each year. >> this product takes 8 to 10 years to come to your home, and so there's a lot of love and attention that our family puts into these. >> reporter: but the trees grown by stone's family only get a single christmas in the spotlight. for monica hudson, that's not nearly enough. >> so these are all nordmann fir over on this side as we're walking through. >> reporter: on her much smaller tree farm in california, hudson does not cut trees down. she keeps them growing in containers. >> they're beautiful, aren't they? >> they are. >> they haven't been dead for a month or two. >> reporter: hudson doesn't sell her trees. she rents them. >> you don't need to struggle getting a stand onto the tree and making it stand up straight. >> see, i could rent you a tree.
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you know all the advantages. >> reporter: she has about 1,000 trees on her farm near carmel, 100 miles or so south of san francisco. each tree is numbered and fitted with a tracking device so families can get the same tree year after year. >> i have one tree that's gone for six years to the same family. if you liked it and it was 4 feet and next year it's 4 1/2, we tell you in september, yeah, it looks good. it costs a little more this year, but you can have your baby back. >> do you have names for them, then? >> no, i don't go that far. but the customers do. they'll say, i want charlie back or i want -- you know, we named ours ben or whatever, definitely. >> reporter: in early december, the potted trees start getting loaded for delivery. a favorite part of his job is returning a tree to someone who had it last year. >> they see their tree every year and it becomes part of
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their family in a way. >> reporter: that's exactly how anthony walker and his sons feel about their rented tree. >> we had the same one a couple years in a row, so it's kind of like another family member, you know? >> reporter: as christmas tree farms go, hudson's is tiny. she limits rentals to communities close by with a few going as far as san francisco. >> what does it cost to rent a christmas tree? >> that varies a great deal. >> so from --? >> so from $35 to $400. >> wow, that's a bit of a span. >> depending on size and variety. >> what's the tallest tree that you rent? >> we have a 13-foot dee odor cedar. >> somebody's got to have a high ceiling for that one. >> it goes to a big office complex in menlo park. >> so you're providing christmas trees to silicon valley. >> right. >> make a lot of money out of this business? >> only crazy people would undertake that. it's not a business that's easy to operate, and it doesn't make
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a huge profit. but it's a labor of love, and it has grown. >> beautiful. >> reporter: pam zeer ling was one of hudson's first customers 15 years ago. >> you obviously have a deal. they deliver it. you play with it. then they take it away. >> and bring it back next year. >> and bring it back. this is the tree i had last year. >> reporter: hudson has one unbreakable rule for her renters. >> they have to water it every day. >> every day. you have your morning coffee. go water that tree. >> do you tell the trees how lucky they are not to be chopped down in october. >> like you pardon a turkey, you pardon the tree. >> reporter: back in oregon, where millions of trees are cut down, tyler stone assures us his family plants a new one for every one they harvest. >> it's a tree, so it's providing oxygen. there's nothing better for the environment than a real christmas tree. >> reporter: in truth, christmas trees are harvested like any other agricultural crop. but for a few weeks in december,
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it becomes so much more. john blackstone, carmel, california. turning now from flying christmas trees to electric airplanes, for some it's child's play. tina kraus reports. >> reporter: at age 10, amy spicer is too young to drive, but her fascination with flight earned her another license. >> i am very interested in aviation, so much that i'm already a pilot. >> reporter: the young australian aviator recently took the controls of an all-electric aircraft operated by fly on e. >> this is the first of a production electric aircraft created. >> turn on that first switch first. >> reporter: with western australia quickly becoming a hub for electric flying, the company trains pilots and campaigns for emissions-free flights down under, an idea amy is fully on board with. >> i am very proud to be able to help the future of aviation by
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lessening carbon emissions and flying electric. >> reporter: fly on e founder cora mellis said electric planes like this can only fly for about an hour, they're perfect for training. and he says maneuvering an electric plane is typically a bit easier. >> the way the information's displayed is a little bit better and easier to consume as a pilot. it's also a lot safer and there's more information that the aircraft will give you about things that might be going wrong. >> reporter: so far it's been smooth sailing for amy, who sees sustainable skies
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a growing colony of african monkeys is thriving in south florida. but they face dangers from cars to high voltage electric lines. cristian benavides paid a visit to a sanctuary where dozens of them are living in safety. >> no, you just want to pull my hair. i'm not going to fall for that. >> reporter: biologist missy williams doesn't monkey around when it comes to preserving
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wildlife. it's why she founded the damia beach vervet project to save a group of african monkeys living in the shadow of fort lauderdale international airport. >> my goal was to provide some sort of welfare for them. >> reporter: this group of about 50 monkeys is not native to florida. they are descended from about a dozen vervet monkeys that escaped the lab 80 years ago and made this urban jungle their home. >> since they are considered a non-native animal, we can't release them. so instead of being euthanized or sent to another facility who might participate in the pet trade, which i don't agree with, we are open to provide a very safe home for thee animals in need. >> reporter: two of the vervet monkeys currently living in the sanctuary came from the wild. a third one was given up by its owner. >> where do you think you're going? >> reporter: williams was able to nurse one of the monkeys, betty, back to health after she lost her leg. >> inadvertently sometimes they
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do make contact with the wires. >> reporter: williams says electrocutions present the biggest threat to the monkeys though some have been hit by cars and others have been captured and kept as pets. there's currently no permanent solution for the monkeys' safety. williams says she plans to expand on her 16 acre sanctuary to give more of the monkeys a home. cristian benavides, cbs news, dania beach, florida. and that's the overnight news for this tuesday. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm olivia gazis. this is "cbs news flash." i'm courtney kealy in new york. cleanup and recovery is under way across the northeast after a heavy rainstorm flooded the region on monday. authorities confirmed at least two deaths due to trees falling from the storm. monsanto has been ordered to
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pay $857 million to seven former students and parents at a seattle school who were exposed to toxic pcp chemicals. monsanto, owned by bayer, already owes $870 million from other lawsuits tied to the school. the company plans to appeal. and a volcano in iceland has erupted. iceland's government says the eruption does not pose a threat to people, but residents of a nearby town were ordered to evacuate. for mo , download the cbs connected tv. i'm courtney kealy, cbs news, new york. tonight, tens of millions of americans are under flood alerts as a powerful storm slams the east coast. could it impact your holiday travel plans? roads turn into waterways and strong winds knock out power to a quarter of a million people. >> just driving a regular sedan, that wind is going to be
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potentially pulling your vehicle, so just be careful. growing pressure tonight on israel, including from the united states, to scale back its offensive. and we're in gaza with an inside look at a massive hamas tunnel. >> you can just see how wide this tunnel is for starters. you can drive a small car through it. >> this is the biggest tunnel that we've found ever. >> ever? >> ever. i am the only shot you have. >> breaking news. the marvel star just found guilty of assault and harassment. how much jail time he could face. the major recall of popular granola bars. what to look for in your pantry. and a record-breaking $1.1 million. that's the hefty price tag of one of princess diana's dresses. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." we're going to begin with dangerous weather sweeping large parts of the country. hundreds of thousands of americans from new york to
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massachusetts and maine are without power tonight after that massive storm battered the northeast with torrential rains and wind gusts up to 90 miles per hour. two people were killed by falling trees in new england. in michigan, the intense system caused this massive pileup on interstate 94 near kalamazoo, michigan. near whiteout conditions and blinding snow caused multiple crashes, leaving cars and people stranded. well, from the road to the skies, major disruptions at u.s. airports today. more than 3,500 flights delayed and more than 500 canceled. a rough start to the holiday travel season. meteorologist mike seidel with our partners at the weather channel leads us off tonight from boston. >> reporter: tonight a powerful storm packing 60-mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain continued to wreak havoc across the northeast. waist-deep water in new jersey. firefighters taking people to safety. near boston, flames shot out from a downed power line, and in queens, new york, a massive tree
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fell onto this house. no one was hurt. >> the house has some damages, but it did not came into the house. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: students in campton, new hampshire, were dismissed early as floodwaters from a nearby dam started to rise. it's the same storm system that slammed into the south this weekend, dumping more than 10 inches of rain. an ef-1 tornado touched down near myrtle beach, and winds up to 90 miles per hour tossed cars and turned businesses and homes into debris. >> once we came out, one of the trees just started cracking like it was a little stick. and it falls on the corner of the house. >> reporter: some people in south carolina had to wade through the water in a paddle boat as the storm brought record-breaking rain to the city of charleston. as warmer ocean and air temperatures continue to fuel storms that are wetter than ever, inland and coastal communities across the country are dealing with more extreme flooding and damage. according to a recent study, in the last two decades, more than
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3 million people have left high flood risk areas. at the peak of the storm, over 700,000 customers were without power. some still in the dark as the storm passes through. back here in boston, peak winds were 68 miles an hour. that was a southeast wind. that's why we had the record high of 63. meanwhile, this major storm is taking its leave away from the maine coast tonight, leaving a path of destruction from florida all the way into new england. norah. >> mike seidel, thank you so much. well, for more on what's to come, including colder temperatures and snow, let's get the forecast from weather channel meteorologist mike bettes. good evening, mike. >> norah, good evening. obviously weather has been a major factor across the northeast in particular today. but there are improvements on the way. the entire system is on its way out. the rain will be leaving. the snow eventually will be dying down as well. and those winds in particular will be coming down pretty significantly overnight tonight. there's the snow that remains in the morning, especially off of lake erie and lake ontario. some areas could pick up another
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5 to 8 inches of snow. then down through the mountains of west virginia as well. because we've had so much rain, dozens and dozens of rivers expected over the next two days to be at moderate or major flood stage here from around the tri-state area all the way through northern new england. then to the west coast we go. two different rounds of storms come in. one comes in now. one comes in later in the week with incredible amounts of rain, especially in california, and widespread snow. that includes the colorado rockies and the wasatch, norah. >> good information. mike bettes, thank you. well, this storm has many holiday travelers struggling to get to their destinations, and we also learned today about the record fine that southwest is paying for last year's holiday travel meltdown. what does it mean for you? here's cbs's mark strassmann. >> reporter: as airlines get ready for a week of record holiday travel from boston to baltimore, monday had its stumbles. but today's disruptions are a blip compared to last year's fiasco by southwest airlines. >> i literally slept the whole day inside an airport. not fun.
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>> reporter: the airline froze during a pre-christmas winter storm. nearly 17,000 flights canceled. 2 million passengers stranded. today the d.o.t. fined southwest $140 million for consumer protection violations. that's 30 times greater than any previous similar fine. >> this was a historic meltdown, and we believe there needed to be historic consequences. >> reporter: southwest will pay the u.s. government $35 million and set aside another $90 million in travel vouchers for future passengers delayed three or more hours. add this punishment to more than $600 million southwest has paid already in refunds and reimbursements. >> we need to make sure the fines and penalties aren't just a rounding error or something they kind of figure into being the cost of doing business, but are actually a reason to do business differently. >> reporter: airlines have made changes to avoid similar meltdowns, not overscheduling and improving operations.
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>> i think we are in a better place now than we were going into christmas 2022. are we as good as we need to be? perhaps not. >> reporter: southwest says it has spent more than $1 billion upgrading software and technology, and the ceo has promised this will never happen again. the d.o.t.'s message, it better not. norah. >> mark strassmann, thank you so much. there's news tonight about that driver who crashed into president biden's motorcade. the delaware man is now charged with driving under the influence. video shows the president appearing stunned by the crash. he was less than 200 feet away. no one was hurt. today president biden and family members went to church, marking 51 years since the president's first wife and 13-month-old daughter were killed in a crash with a tractor-trailer just a month after he was first elected to the u.s. senate. there's a lot more news ahead on the "cbs overnight news."
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deck the halls and get ready
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for holiday festivities full of games and music. join me and some of my dear friends as we celebrate with laughs, fun and more on a very merry and bright joni christmas. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." top members of president biden's national security team are overseas tonight. the cia director is in poland meeting with israel and qatar in
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hopes of restarting the negotiations for releasing those hostages that are held in gaza. and there's news tonight out of the pentagon. a new u.s.-led international operation will aim to protect commercial ships in the red sea. cbs's ramy inocencio has the late developments from tel aviv. >> reporter: defense secretary lloyd austin landed in israel for his second visit since hamas' terror attack on october 7th and minced no words. >> this is israel's operation, and i'm not here to dictate timelines or terms. america's support for israel's security is unshakeable. >> reporter: but there's less certainty about how israel's military mistakenly shot and killed three hostages last friday. the idf released photos of the s.o.s. signs they made from leftover food and admitted they were shirtless, carrying a makeshift white flag in their last moments of life. their three grieving families buried their sons while tonight
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three more hostages have appeared alive in a new video released by hamas. in the middle is 79-year-old haiem bery. >> every day is a death sentence to them. >> reporter: lior bery is his son. >> are you angry? >> my anger only aims towards my government. >> reporter: the white house is raising concerns tonight about the deaths of two christian women sheltering in gaza's only roman catholic church. the archbishop of jerusalem says the women were killed by israeli soldiers, which the idf denies. the pope has weighed in, calling it terrorism. urgently needed aid is beginning to trickle into gaza again. israel reopened its direct crossing at kerem shalom as desperate palestinians ransacked a u.n. aid truck crossing in from egypt into rafah. now the chaos of this conflict threatens to expand as oil giant bp and other shipping companies
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say they are pausing all transit through the red sea after recent attacks on ships by iranian-backed houthi rebels. and those diversions will have massive impacts on oil prices and supply chain costs. and in response, defense secretary austin has just announced a new international coalition to help protect commercial ships sailing on the red sea. norah. >> ramy inocencio, thank you. and tonight we're getting a look inside what israel says is the largest tunnel troops have discovered inside gaza. it was previously estimated that the vast underground system used by hamas was about 60 miles long. but israel's army now believes it's actually more than 300 miles long. here's cbs's charlie d'agata. >> reporter: we passed into gaza with israeli soldiers through the ruins of the once heavily fortified erez crossing. there are several layers of security as you cross into the territory. blast walls behind us. a lot of them have been shot up and destroyed, including the observation posts and towers.
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>> this is what hamas did. >> reporter: less than 500 yards away from that crossing, israeli forces discovered this, a mega tunnel. walls and ceilings of reinforced concrete, pipelines for ventilation, a web of cables carrying electricity, and communications system wiring. >> careful here. >> reporter: and deep. we're probably already 40 or 50 feet underground already. and as you can see, it just sinks down into an abyss. we're told this is one of the longest tunnels that they have found. more than 2 1/2 miles long, wide enough to drive a small car through. allegedly doing just that, the brother of hamas leader yahya sinwar shown driving through the tunnel in idf handout footage. hamas released video of the tunnel saying, you arrived too late. mission complete, allegedly showing surprise ambushes and the abduction of israeli hostages. the subterranean network shows
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the complexities in searching for hostages among hamas, says idf spokesman daniel hagari. >> it means hunting them down and finding them wherever they are, inside the tunnels and above the ground. >> does that carry risk for the hostages that are being held? >> i think we are managing the risk. >> reporter: he said once they're satisfied the entire tunnel has been cleared of hostages and hamas, they plan to blow the whole thing up. charlie d'agata, cbs news, inside gaza. back here at home, with less than a month until the first votes of the 2024 presidential election, donald trump used his latest campaign speech to praise multiple authoritarian leaders, and as his critics put it, echo the racist rhetoric of adolf hitler. cbs's ed o'keefe is following the backlash. >> reporter: former president donald trump's comments about immigrants came saturday night in new hampshire. >> they're poisoning the blood of our country. that's what they've done. they poisoned mental
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institutions and prisons all over the world, not just in south america, not just at three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world. >> reporter: president biden's re-election campaign denounced the comments, saying trump parroted adolf hitler. the nazi leader criticized the mixing of races in his "mein kampf," arguing the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning. the former president also praised authoritarian leaders, including hungary's viktor orban, china's xi jinping, and north korea's kim jong-un. cbs news has asked the trump campaign for comment about the reaction to his remarks. among trump's gop opponents, only former new jersey governor chris christie strongly rebuked him. >> he's disgusting, and what he's doing is dog whistling to americans who feel absolutely under stress and strain from the economy and from the conflicts around the world. >> reporter: but trump continues to dominate because gop primary voters generally back the idea
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of mass deportations the former president supported and view immigration as a key issue. >> having a porous border is leading to a lot of problems. it's creating an unsafe environment for our citizens. >> reporter: cbs news has learned last week the border patrol apprehended nearly 7,900 people each day from 6,000 in october. the white house now deep in negotiations with congress. a compromise could include expelling migrants without processing their asylum claims and expanding the detention of migrants allowed to stay in the u.s. pending a decision on their cases. and now some border state governors are taking aggressive steps to address illegal border crossings. in texas, republican governor greg abbott today signed a bill authorizing local and state police to arrest migrants believed to be in the state illegally while in arizona, democrat katie hobbs has deployed national guard troops to the border. norah. >> ed o'keefe, thank you very much. an extraordinary sight today at the u.s. supreme court as a flag-draped coffin holding the
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body of the late justice sandra day o'connor lay in repose in the court's great hall. all nine current justices and retired justice anthony kennedy stood solemnly, paying their respects to the court's first female justice. o'connor died earlier this month at the age of 93. her funeral is tomorrow at the national cathedral. in a historic move today, pope francis formally signed off on allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. the landmark policy stopped short of approving same-sex marriages but allows priests to bless the couples as long as it isn't a wedding or civil union. the pope says people should not be deprived of a blessing and subjected to an exhaustive moral analysis. analysis. the "cbs -we're done. -what about these?
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star has dimmed since he was arrested in march after a fight with his ex-girlfriend, grace jabbari. he played roles in marvel films and "creed 3," but it was his performance in the tv series "lovecraft country" that made hollywood take notice. during deliberations, the jury asked to rewatch surveillance video from the incident in slow motion, where it appears majors shoves jabbari into a black escalade. another video shows jabbari running after majors following the incident. he testified she grabbed majors' phone after seeing a text message from another woman. in a criminal complaint, jabbari accused majors of assaulting her, leaving a cut behind her ear and fracturing her finger. cbs news legal analyst rikki klieman. >> that jonathan majors did not intend to cause any physical harm to this woman. but what jonathan majors did by virtue simply of his actions, his size, his strength, was create a substantial risk of physical injury.
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>> reporter: majors and his family did not speak to the media as they left the court today. grace jabbari, who was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read, did release this statement saying she was, quote, gratified to see justice served. majors faces up to a year behind bars, norah. he is scheduled to be sentenced on february 6th. >> jericka duncan, thank you. border patrol officers make a spicy discovery in san diego. what k-9 dogs helped sniff out, next. king c. gillette is an award winning lineup men's health best beard trimmer for beginners among men's journal's best beard shampoos and washes and gq's best beard conditioners for soft no-itch, facial hair. your beard is our trade these are your tools king c. gillette theo's nose was cause for alarm, so dad brought
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policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. investigators say a propane leak likely led to a deadly hotel explosion in central pennsylvania. the blast leveled the front office of the hotel in the amish-related tourism area in lancaster county. the person killed has not been identified. the hotel owner says there were no guests present since the hotel is typic ly closed the
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police dogs sniffed out a spicy discovery near the u.s./mexico border in san diego. customs and border protection officials say more than 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine were hidden inside bins of jalapeno paste. the drugs had a street value of more than $10 million. the driver of the tractor-trailer was arrested. quaker oats has issued a
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nationwide granola cereal and granola bar recall over salmonella risk. the company has pulled 90 varieties off shelves. ranging from chocolate chip chewy bars. it's still unclear how the potential contamination occurred. quaker oats says so far, it has not received any confirmed reports of people getting sick. you can go to cbsnews.com for more information. a dress worn by the late princess diana fetches a king's ransom at auction. we've got details next. we end tonight with new evidence of the popularity of princess diana. more than a quarter century after her death, an evening dress first worn by lady di in florence, italy, in april of 1985 was sold at auction on sunday for more than $1.1 million.
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that is 11 times its original estimated value of $100,000. diana wore the dress a second time to the vancouver symphony orchestra in 1986. the sale to an anonymous buyer nearly doubles the previous record price for one of princess diana's dresses. a fitting tribute to a beloved icon. and that's the overnight news for this tuesday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back later for "cbs mornings" and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm norah o'donnell. this is "cbs news flash." i'm courtney kealy in new york. cleanup and recovery is under way across the northeast after a heavy rainstorm flooded the region on monday. authorities confirmed at least two deaths due to trees falling from the storm. monsanto has been ordered to
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pay $857 million to seven former students and parents at a seattle school who were exposed to toxic pcp chemicals. monsanto, owned by bayer, already owes $870 million from other lawsuits tied to the school. the company plans to appeal. and a volcano in iceland has erupted. iceland's government says the eruption does not pose a threat to people, but residents of a nearby town were ordered to evacuate. for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv it's tuesday, december 19th, 2023. this is the "cbs morning news." growing pressure. israel facing global calls to scale back its offensive and resume talks with hamas after accidental shooting deaths of three hostages. drying out and cleaning up,

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