cbs's cristian benavides has more. >> reporter: ecuador at war..s. ally, carrying out its largest military operation against criminal drug gangs that have taken over prisons and parts of the country. new video obtained by cbs news showed journalists evacuating an ecuadorian tv station this week, gunmen took over the studio during a live broadcast. jose luis calderon had guns pointed to his head, a stick of dynomite put in his pocket. "they said they'll kill us all." >> i was under a desk -- >> reporter: diego arcos was one of many staffers who ran for safety, hiding on the roof, inside offices, unbeknownst to the gunmen, behind a studio wall. >> we were just trying to stay still, not moving, not even trying to breathe. >> reporter: the national police responded quickly, arresting the gunmen. what is causing the violence? >> the fundamental root is drug trafficking. >> reporter: eduardo gamarra teaches international relations at florida international university. >> basically, an internal war between the government against transnational criminal org

here is cristian benavides. >> reporter: clayton and carrie lost a their seven-year-old goldendoodlermally a very good boy. except for the time he eight $4000 in cash , left on the kitchen counter meant to pay for a new fence. >> it was 30 minutes and the money was on the floor . half eaten bills in the envelope was gone. she is good at researching stuff so she is googling dog eight money, what do you do kind of thing? >> reporter: it happened last month. the pennsylvania couple quickly called their vet who told them cecil likely just needed to be monitored for a few days . >> as long as he is eating and going to the bathroom normally, don't worry about it. >> reporter: what was the reaction of the vet and the manager at the bank when he explained what happened? >> nobody was super shocked. i guess this happens a lot. >> reporter: the bank told them they could take together bills with visible serial numbers and that would replace them. they knew what would up -- what would have to happen next. you sifted through vomit and droppings? >> yes. i will follow him and see if anything comes

cristian benavides, cbs news, miami. >>> and that is the overnight news for this wednesday. "cbs mornings." reporting from the nation's capital, i'm major garrett. >>> this is "cbs news flash." i'm shanelle kaul in new york. u.s. customs and border protection is reopening four locations along the southern border that have been closed recently due to record-high numbers of migrant crossings. senior u.s. officials say the number of migrants processed at the border has dropped significantly in recent days. >>> the trsury department says the national debt is now over $34 trillion. congress returns to work next week ahead of deadlines on january 19th and february 2nd to continue government funding. >>> and baseball legend david ortiz struck out on this gender reveal pitch from his girlfriend. that didn't stop the hall of famer from recei ng the big news it's a boy. >>> for more, download the cbs news pp on your cell phone connected tv. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. >>> tonight, the president of harvard university resigns after criticism of the university's handling of an

cristian benavides tells us what that means for your health. >> reporter: brian and katie feely say theyusually have their reusable water bottles on them, but you can't always avoid plastic. >> we typically only do that if we go out like we were just out to get lunch. >> reporter: new research suggests bottled water contains a lot of something we can't see. >> on average a quarter of a million particles, including both microplastic and plastic per liter. >> reporter: multiple samples of three common bottled water brands were looked at. they used a special type of microscope that was able to detect microscopic nano plastics. >> being able to see smaller and then be able to tell what type of plastic chemical composition is that. >> reporter: researchers say the plastic seems to be coming from the bottle as well as filters used in the products. dr. mason studies plastic pollution in the water. >> the findings are significant because once you're looking at a particle that is smaller than 100 microns, it can make its way across the gastrointestinal tract , be carried in your blood and end up

christian cristian benavides reports. this >> reporter: this is what the stadium looked like the same time the pittsburgh steelers were originally set to face off. that game postponed to monday. >> probably for the greater good. getting home would probably be a little tough. right? it's probably better off. >> reporter: new york governor kathy hochul said the storm was stronger than forecasted. >> what that means, whiteout conditions, limited or no visibility, and again, very, very dangerous on our roads. >> reporter: across the eastern seaboard, flooding remains a major concern. >> there's water coming up in the shower. everything is flooded. >> reporter: the midwest is digging out. in nebraska where the windchill is negative 40, treacherous driving conditions led to a snowplow getting stuck. while in iowa, this couple was e ready to ditch the snow boots for some beach sandals. >> in florida, it's 75 and sunny. >> we're excited to see both ends of the spectrum. negative 20 to 8 o degrees. >> reporter: but much of the sou

cristian benavides reports. >> reporter: in tampa's black english bookstore, a celebration of africanbook is liberated. >> reporter: gwendolyn henderson is the store's owner. >> when i walk into a space, i really need to see myself. >> reporter: from cooking to nonfiction to -- >> mind your business, taking care of yourself. >> reporter: henderson, a public schoolteacher, has witnessed the growing culture wars over books and race. current florida law allows parents to challenge books over perceived indoctrination, race-based teachings, sexual content, or gender identity. pan america, an advocacy group tracking educational censorship, found more schoolbooks were banned in florida than any other state. >> is this a response to that? >> i'm a rebel, so i cannot deny that. >> reporter: a complaint over indoctrination got amanda gorman's poem "the hill we climb" restricted to middle schoolers and up in one miami-dade public school. >> we've seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it. i mean people will destroy a place or a people rather than to be accepting of diversit

i'm cristian benavides with the findings of a new study. >>> and if it seems like everyone you know is sick right now, you're not alone. according to the cdc, covid and flu activity is rapidly increasing all across the country. the agency says flu-like activity is high or very high in all but a dozen states and the jn.1 variant now accounts for most new covid infections. here to sort ought for all of us, dr. peter chin hong, infectious disease expert at ucsf. thank you for joining us. typically we see a spike in respiratory illnesses after the holidays. what are you seeing now? >> we're definitely seeing a spike, ryan. the problem this year compared to last year when things took turns, influenza went up, then down, covid went up, then down, kind of all coming together at the same time. rsv never really went down too much. you have covid going up and you have flu just starting in california and colds are also going around. so that's why it seems almost everybody is sick right now. >> how does this compare to previous upticks and do you think we need to be worried about a continued surge

cristian benavides picks it up from here. >> reporter: pup parents clayton and carrie law say their 7ldendoodle cecil is normally a very good boy, except for the time he ate $4,000 left in cash on a kitchen counter meant to pay for a new fence. >> literally about 30 minutes, the money was just strewn on the floor. like half eaten bills and the envelope was completely gone. so. she's really good at researching stuff so she was like googling "dog ate money. what do you do?" kind of thing. >> reporter: it happened last month. the pennsylvania couple quickly called their vet who told them cecil likely just needed to be monitored for a few days. >> as long as he's eating and going to the bathroom normally, don't worry about it. >> reporter: what was the reaction of the vets and the manager at the bank, when you explained what happened? >> honestly, nobody was super shocked and i guess this happens a lot. >> reporter: the bank told them they could tape together any bills with visible serial numbers and they'd replace them. the two knew what would have to happen next if they were going to re