strongest challenger for the gop presidential nomination. questions this morning about the shooting death of an armed african-american man by l.a. county sheriffs who repeatatly fired while the suspect was on the ground. and weird weather. snow, rain and strong winds out west. while the east basks in spring-like temperatures. good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs news headquarters here in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. this morning, republican presidential front-runner donald trump is fending off a serious challenge from surging texas senator ted cruz. cruz has built up a ten-point lead in iowa, just seven weeks ahead of the caucuses. the gop candidates face off in their final debate of the year tomorrow night in las vegas. don champion is here in new york.

fireworks tomorrow night. trump spent the weekend still defending his proposed ban on muslims entering the u.s. he also went on the offense against cruz. the gloves have finally come off in the battle between donald trump and his new top rival ted cruz. >> i don't think he is qualified to be president. >> reporter: hours a aer referring to cruz as a maniac fox news, trump took to twitter expressing his disappointment in the texas senator for questioning his judgment and remarks cruz made at a private fund-raiser. cruz jokingly responded by posting a video of the song "maniac" from the '80s hit movie "flash dance." the jabs come as polls show cruz ahead of the billionai in the key state of iowa, the bloomberg politics poll in iowa shows cruz ten points ahead, an unprecedented 21-point surge since the poll was last taken in october. he is doing the groundwork.

he's working the constituentsies that matter a lot in iowa. >> reporter: cruz has become a target for marco rubio. >> he talks on these examples but he is ing to carpet bomb isis. . >> r rorter: a new nbc news "wall street journal" poll finds democrat hillary clinton would trounce both cruz and trump in a general election matup, but would lose to rubio. now, that nbc news poll also found that neurosurgeon ben carson would beat hillary clinton in a general election helped by independent voters, but carson has fallen to fourth place nationally in new polls on the gop side. >> don champion here in new york, thank you, don. the underwater search for evidence in a san bernardino, california, lake has ended. divers were looking for a computer hard drive and other itememlinked to the husband and wiwi shooters who killed 14

anything significant was found. meanwhile, more victims were remembered this weekend. hundreds of people gathered in orange county y r the funeral of tin nguyen. the service was largely in vietnamese. the fbi is investigating attacks on several california mosques as hate crimes. vandals spray painted two mosques in hawthorne and left a device that looked like a hand grenade at one and a suspect is in custody after a fire at a mosque in palm springs. a man faces possible hate crime charges for a fire that damaged the building's lobby. the los angeles county sheriff's department is defending a deadly shooting on saturday. the deputiesired 33 bullets in the encounter. criticare calling for an independent investigation into the shooting that was caught on video. chris martrtez reports. >> reporter: store surveillance

los angeles county sheriff's deputies fired multiple shots at nicholas robinson in the linwood neighborhood in los angeles. angry demonstrators gathered at the shooting scene friday night. pam rah brown is robertson ease mother-in-law. >> he left three kids behind, two daughters and a son. they could have tased him. >> reporter: investigators say the confrontation started when deputies responded to multiple 911 calls about a man firing shots into the air. the sheriff's department released this video showing robinson minutes before his encounter with deputies and walking down a busy street carryiyi a gun. >> he did not comply with their repeated requests to drop the weapon. >> reporter: the sheriff's department also released these images of robertson onn his stomach during the confrontation. deputies fired 33 rounds. robertson was pronounced dead at the scene.

>> appears this young man crawled to his death. he wasashot again and again n d again. >> reporter: local civil rights indepeent investigation into robertson's death. chris martinez, cbs news, los angeles. this morning, i-5, north of a mudslide closed northbound lanes. traffic was snarled for miles sunday night on the freeway near the grapevine. drivers say the backups lasted for hourur mud and debris on the road closed about 35 miles of the interstate. parts of the pacific northwest face new rain after they clean up from a week of heavy flooding. a massive landslide in hilllamuk, oregon. what started as a series of cracks on a hillside street, turned into a crater as the earth gave way. homeowners say therereas no warning.

not sound one. it's just the land went away. >> friends and neighbors helped fill hundred dollars of sandbags. they hope a tarp will prevent the hill from sliding more and taking the house with it. the storms that triggered flooding and lanlides on the west coast are moving st. winter watches and@advisories are in e eect in the mountain west a a the plains. heavy snow in kansas is making the roads dangerous for drivers. meteorologist eric fisher of our bost station wbz says the winter weaer is moving across the country. >> we have been watching this parade of storms moving into the west over these last couple of weeks and this storm has more cold air to work with and seeing much more widespread snowfall and some of energyill s sn out into the plains as we head into late monday, tuesday, and wednesday and producing snowfall there. every western state picking up snow with this particular snow. even the mountains outside of los angeles and southern california, eventually that snow moving into nebraska by tuesday. that's where winter is living. it's not in the east. high temperatures on sunday, besting some longstanding

some of those have stood over a hundreyears. a few more records are possible today, especially from the d.c. area reaching up toward the eastern great lakes and we are tracking gusty rain showers. even a little bit of thunder with this particular system. there is a change coming. the end of this week, colder air working its way east and fell feel like winter in places where it really hasn't so far this december. i'm meteorologist eric fisher for cbs news. nearly 200 nations came together this weekend to approve a global pact to fight global change. the pact is legally binding and establishes a hundred billion dollar fund to help poor countries cope with the consequences of climate change. >> the targets we have set are bold and by empowering businesses, scientists, engineers, workers and the private sectors, investors to work together, this agreement represents the best chance we have had to save the one planet

>> the president says future generations will see the greatest benefit from this deal. today, president obama visits the pentagon and the national counterterrorism center. it's part of events this week to sell his strategy to fight terror groups like isis and they are aimed at easing public safety concerns ahead of the holidays. coming up on the "morning news." runoff winner. a veteran democratic lawmaker declares victory in a tight race toe houston's next mayor. be make a big move on interest rates. this is the "cbs morning news."milk! milk! okay! fun's over. aw. aw. irsty? they said it would make me cool. they don't sound cool to me. guess not. you got to stick up for yourself, like`with the name youj price tool. people tell us their budget, not the other way around. aren't you lactose intolerant?

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bill king in a runof eleltion. his priorities are keeping the roads safe and keeping the finances in order. the 61-year-old mayor-elect was nothing but smiles after two earlier mayoral bids that fajled. >> hey, man, i feel excited. i mean, it feels good. i'm not going to lie to you. >> houston hasn't elected a republican mayor in more than three decades. ;>> "wall street journal" reports women in saudi arabia voted and ran fofooffice for the first time. saudi has elected at least a dozen female candidates to municipal councils following saturday's national elections. municipal councils are the only p elected offices in the ultra conservative monarchch "usa today" reports a fire killed nearly two dozen patients in a russian psychiatric hospital. the fire broke out ithe one-story brick building late saturday. 350 miles south of moscow. 23 patients died and another 23 were injured. the cause is under

the bbc reports that julian asasnge will be questionon by swedish authorities at the ecuadorian embassey in london. he has been living there three yearss to void extradition charges. he fears that sweden will extradite him to america for releasing public classified documents. on the cbs "moneywatch," the federal reserve prepares for a big move and amazon puts the brakes on hoverboards. hena daniels is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. >> the federal reserve is expected to raise its near zero interest rate for the first time in nine years this week. experts predict the fed will boost the rate to a quarter percent and increase it the next few years to more than 3%. the hike meansnsore interest for savers but borrowers would pay more. falling oil prices could up-end the fed's plan to raise those rates.

dipping 3% on friday. rent crude used as the international oil benchmark fell 4.5%. it could last through 2016. cbs news business analyst jill schlesinger says some economists fear that is a sign of another slowdown. >> these with people like larry summers, the former treasury secretary. they cite the fact thax crude oil which fell by almost 11% last week down to seven-year lows, that is a sign of the slowdown. janet yellen, the fed chair, said don't worry about that. if things s ow down, we don't have to raise ratete if things speed up and we get inflation, we could raise rates by more than a quarter of a percent and more often. >> that slump in oil prices battered wall street last week. the dow lost 583 points in tring. the s&p 500 shed 79 and the nasdaq lost 208 points. amazon is yanking certain hoverboards from its online store after reports of the toys

amazon is reportedly now requiring manufacturers to prove their hoverboards meet safety requirements. the e-tailer giant wants to remove low quality boards from its site. competitor overstock.c.c also announced it's stopping its sales of hoverboards. "the hunger games" kept its top at the box office for the fourth straight week. the final chapte of"theunger games" earned more than $11 million over the weekend and its domestic total is just shy of $225,000. in second place eart of the sea" took in 11 million. the good dinosaur earned 10.5 million. hena daniels at the new york stock exchange, thank you, hena. up next in sports, anchor management. browns quarterback johnny manziel takes his frustration out on a aablet after a play gone wrong.g cough, and people can spread it without knowing it.

talk to your doctor or pharmacist about a whooping cough vaccination today. and that is where soup comes from. campbell's fresh-brewed soups. oh, i thought we wererealking about babies. made for real, real life. mom! now? can i at least put my shoes s ? if your bladder isiscalling the shots... ...you may have a medical condition called overactive bladder or oab. you've got to be kidding me. i've had enough! it's time to talk to the dtor. ask your doctor about myrbetriq to treat the oab symptoms of urgency, frequency, and leakage. myrbetriq is the first and only medicine in its class. myrbetriq (mirabegron) may increase blood pressure. tell your doctor rht away if you have trouble emptying yoyo bladder or have a weak urine stream.. myrbetriq may cause serious allergic reactions. if you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue...

myrbetriq may affect or be affected by other medications. before taking myrbetriq, tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems. common side effects include increased blood pressure, common cold symptoms, urinary tract infection, and headache. take charge by talking to your doctor about your oab symptoms and myrbetriq. and learn abouousavings at myrbetriq.com > here's a look at today's recast in some cities around the country. in sports, the carolina panthers are three wins away from a perfect season. cam newton had another good day, throwing three touchdown passes, as carolina dominated atlanta, winning 38-0! the panthers, at 13-0, are the

clenched a first round bye in the nfc playoffs. ththpatriots became the first team in the afc to clench a playoff berth. new england ended its two-game skid, beating houston 27-6. passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. and cleveland quarterback threw an interception. hit himself in the head wiwi a tablet several timeses but the browns went on to beat the 49ers 24-10. the win ended a seven-game losing skid for cleveland. still to come, health scare. hundreds of babies are among those who may y ve been exposed to tuberculosis at a california hospspal. there's a whole lot of happy in every jar of nutella. spread the happy. when your cold makes you wish... ...you could stay...

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the country. here's another look at this morning's totostories. a surge by ted cruz is reshaping the republican presidential race. the texas senator rocketed to a ten-point lead over donald trump in iowa. the latest gop debate is tomorrow night in las vegas. the fbi divers have finished their search of a san bernardino california, lake. they were looking for a cocouter hard driveveonnected to the husband and wife who killed 14 people about three miles away. it isn't known if anything significant was found. health officials are trying track down 350 infants and their parents who may have been exposed to tuberculosis at a california hospital. a nurse at valley medical center in san jose might have exposed the newborns, their mothers, and coworkers. all of the babies will receive

this morning, investigators are trying to figure out why a tractor-trailer driver crashed into railroad tanker cars. on sunday, the truck hauling fuel slammed into the parked tankerars s lled with liquid asphalt in portland and igniting eight of them. the truckdriver died. hundreds of new yorkers and tourists enjoyed the sounds of the holiday season. hundreds of tenor and bass tuba players belted out the classics at rockefeller center and helping usher in the holiday spirit. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," actress jane fonda shares her note to self.

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there is massive anticipation for episode seven in the "star wars" series. "the force awakens" opens on friday. billhitaker talkedith a.j.

"60 minutes." >> reporter: six weeks before the series opens up, we dropped in on a scoring session for "the force awakens. composer john williams who won an academymyward for the first "star wars" film was back, along with iconic refrain he wrote 38 years ago. >> reporter: take a look behind williams. that's not some e e-struck groupie. that is the movie's director, a.j. abrams. >> john williams is conducting his "star wars" music. as a fan, i can't believe i even get to be here. >> reporter: a aams saw "star wars" when he was 11 and never outgrew his passion for the film. n this day, when he wasn't in the middle of the orchestra

racing around the sound stage. here, the fan. >> do you think it could work? >> let me just think. yes. it's incredible! >> there, the director. >> you may need to make the dah, dah, repeat thososbars just because it m mht be a little bit longer before we get into the interior of the transport. >> reporter: i see you running around. i mean, you're very -- >> really? i felt so confident. really calm. >> reporter: you're calm? >> yes. >> r rorter: is it intimidating in any way? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: oh, yeah? >> it's -- there are moments of just abject terror as to what we are alaltaking on. >> reporter: what he's taking on is this -- "the force awakens." disney is counting on abrams to expand the universe of "star wars" fans, while staying trtr to george lucas' original vision. and the die-hard fans? their expectations are out of

>he force. it's all into you. >> reporter: when the official trailer was posted online, it was viewed 112 million times in just 24 hours! >> nothing will stand in our way! >> if you dodot have a ticket now or you're not in line someplace, you're probably not going to see it on friday. you can watch the rest of bill whitaker's "60 minines" interview with j.j. abrams on cbsnews.com. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the newest twist in the robert durst case. he is expected to plead guilty to a federal gun charge. and oscar winning actress jane fonda shared her note to self. that is the "cbs morning news" for this monday.

have a great day. right now on cbs 2 this morning...the latest information from a stand off in cedar rapids over the weekend. the touching way students in cedar rapids are remembering the sandy hook shooting victims three years after the tragedy. find out the line up for the final republican prpridential debate of the year -- happening tomorrow night.