countdown. new york gets ready for the party of the year, as the clock ticks down to 2011. white-out, a winter blast in the plains as severe storms make a mess out of the country's midsection. and husky heartbreak. the top-ranked women of uconn finally meet their match. this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, december 31st, 2010. good morning, everybody on this new year's eve. good to see you. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen this morning. the countdown to the new year is on. in new york, the switch is flipped for rehearsal of the midnight ball drop in times

square thursday. it took a small army of plows to clear the snow from a massive snowstorm. times square is finally ready and security for tonight's festivities will be extremely tight. whit johnson is in times square with more. whit, good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning to you. happy new year. the new year's eve bash in times square has happened every year for more than a century and despite all the people crammed into just a few blocks, it's been a very safe event in recent years and new york city police say they are doing everything they can to keep it that way. nearly a million people are expected to pack new york's times square tonight. along with plenty of security. >> the cia, the fbi, all sorts of homeland security operatives will be here. >> reporter: no reported threats against the city so far, officials aren't taking any chances. thousands of extra police, bomb-sniffing dogs and even radiation detectors will be on hand to help keep revelrs safe. a network of police cameras will

also give authorities a bird's eye view of any trouble. >> we have seen a lot of security out here. it's been overwhelming. >> reporter: since september 11th, there have been six foiled terror plots against the city. the new york police department tweaks its security plan every year based on past threats here and around the world. just last may this pakistani-american tried to blow up times square using a car loaded with explosives. the plot failed but had the device gone off, hundreds could have been killed. >> obviously the attempt here this last spring is in everybody's mind. >> reporter: still that isn't stopping ron tran and his family from seeing the ball drop in person the very first time. >> i think we're pretty safe, yes. we have no problem with that. >> reporter: authorities are hoping they won't have any problems, either, so revelers can focus on ringing in the new year in style. and the entire scheduled event will last for about eight hours.

one thing party-goers won't have to deal with, all the snow. most is gone, trucked and moved out of town. mother nature and warmer temperatures took care of the rest. terrell? >> whit johnson in times square for us this morning. whit, happy new year, take care. scary moments as a delta flight was forced to make an emergency landing. the boeing 757 left detroit for phoenix thursday it developed engine troubles and landed safely in colorado springs. as a precaution, the 231 passengers and crew were evacuated down the emergency slide. a passenger used the cell phone to capture the seconds after the plane touched down. >> all of a sudden they said, everybody off the left side of the plane as soon as you possibly can. leave everything. don't bring anything with you. get off as soon as you can and that's when we got on the evacuation slides and ran away from the plane as soon as we could. >> the faa says there may have been a fire in the plane's landing gear. two passengers suffered minor injuries. the storm that hammered the west thursday is now hitting the plains. heavy snow and gusty winds expected there today.

some extreme winter weather caused a huge pile-up in north dakota. a massive chain reaction involving 100 cars, police closed the interstate as an army of tow trucks cleared the wreckage. kendis gibson has more on the storms making their way across the country. >> reporter: western states digging out from the snow and mud, the same winter storm has brought both kinds of misery. ice and snow is making driving treacherous in parts of new mexico and arizona, including some areas that rarely see snow. >> i didn't know it snowed in flagstaff, arizona or arizona period. >> reporter: along the nevada-california border icy conditions shut down a major interstate, traffic backed up for miles. skiers are happy to see more than a foot of snow on the ground near lake tahoe. but, the unusually frigid temperatures are less welcome. >> my door's frozen shut. >> reporter: ice also a problem in washington state where these cars slid to a halt and got stuck. here in los angeles, it's the

calm after the storm. earlier in the day, winds were gusting up to hurricane strength in one case, as high as 94 miles an hour the wind knocked down trees and power lines. >> when you see how big that tree is, i mean, you wouldn't think something that big could get knocked down by just wind. >> reporter: the latest storm on the heels of record rainfall and mud slides in southern california. >> just devastated, devastated. >> reporter: the martinez family's home in highland, california is buried under several feet of mud. >> looking at it, it's a disaster. we're not going to be able to move back in the house, to be honest. there's just no way. >> reporter: among 50 families left homeless by the storm and their insurance doesn't cover mud slides. kendis gibson, cbs news, los angeles. finally official in alaska senator lisa murkowski will head back to washington. the paperwork was signed thursday giving her the win over tea party candidate joe miller. miller won the primary in august but murkowski decided to run for re-election as a write-in. the two have been battling out in court since the midterm elections.

murkowski is the first u.s. senate candidate to win as a write-in in over 50 years. good news in the job market this morning. a sharp drop in claims for unemployment benefits last week. the labor department reported 388,000 americans filed for unemployment for the first time, that's a drop of 34,000 from the week before. the fewest new claims since july of 2008. it also makes four straight weeks of flat or declining claims. it's another sign the economy may be making a turnaround. don teague reports. >> reporter: in suburban dallas, bill harris's computer repair business is doing something now it hasn't in two years, hiring new employees, three in just the last two weeks. >> i see a lot of businesses that have held back are now realizing it's time to move forward. >> reporter: the sudden hiring spree isn't over. he expects to add three more employees sometime next year starting at $12 an hour. >> feel very lucky.

i learn every day. >> reporter: if the number of people filing for unemployment continues moving lower, that means what's happening here is happening elsewhere. businesses finally hiring. >> this week, we passed that threshold. may not stay there but at least part of an ongoing downward trend and it is a really good sign that we're heading in the right direction. >> reporter: ryan holland, who's been looking for a job since he was laid off in april, says competition for good jobs is still intense. >> you've got to be best of the best to really land the type of job that you want to land. >> reporter: still, holland is looking on the bright side, with his wife caring for their newborn he's helping run her growing internet coupon business, a business that, once holland finds his own job, will need new employees of its own. don teague, cbs news, dallas. homeland security secretary, janet napolitano, will spend the new year in afghanistan, in kabul, visiting u.s. troops

now. she'll meet with the top american and afghan officials while there and then head to qatar, israel and belgium. relentless rain in northeast relentless rain causing a flood crisis in northeast australia. as much as two feet in some areas. thousands have been forced from their homes, open sewage is pouring into the floodwaters causing a major health hazard. the flood zone is so big, larger than france and germany combined. officials say the flooding could get even worse. we'll take a quick break this friday morning. just ahead on the morning news, wall street tallies up big gains for the year. plus, weapon of choice, a robber with a really big stick shakes things up in a convenience store. this is the morning news. convenience store. this is the morning news. the s, so it looks like...makeup. but trublend has skin twin technology to actually merge with your skin. you get skin twin coverage that's perfectly true. and you're more perfectly you. [ female announcer ] plus, with trublend, you always get a perfect match. if you're a shade 1 here, you're a 1 here... and here.

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the owner and his friend were unharmed. and in virginia tuesday, surveillance video shows a hooded man robbing a convenience store. that's a really big stick, that's right. it was taller than he was. when a clerk defended himself with a small hammer, the crook knocked him down he escaped with some cash and still on the loose of the the clerk wasn't seriously injured. concerns of a large flu outbreak. federal health officials say widespread reports of flu in alabama, mississippi, georgia, virginia and new york. the report says the test of virus samples show the flu strains are well matched to this season's vaccine. cbs moneywatch time now this friday morning. asian stocks end the year on a high note. ashley morrison is in new york with more. good to see you. welcome back. >> thank you so much. good morning to you, terrell. most asian markets finished with overall gains for the year. this morning, hong kong's hang seng had a shortened session, ending up a fraction, while japan's

nikkei is closed for the holiday. today, wall street tries to end the year on a high note. thursday, stocks dipped as investors locked in profits. the dow lost 15 points. the nasdaq gave back nearly four. no matter how today's trading session ends up it has been a good year for wall street. for the year the dow is up almost 10% and the nasdaq, more than 16%, both are back to levels last seen more than two years ago, before the financial crisis really took its toll. and a handful of new recalls from detroit to end the year chrysler recalling 2008 to 2011 dodge ram trucks because of possible steering problems. 65,000 dodge journey suvs are recalled to fix side airbags that might not deploy. and ford is recalling nearly 15,000 trucks and crossover suvs. the automaker says a faulty piece of equipment in some of these models can cause the electrical system to short and

spark a fire. directtv customers will continue getting their network channels thanks to a last-minute deal with hearst. subscribes in boston, pittsburgh and other markets were in danger of losing programs as the two companies clashed over fees but they came to an agreement thursday. and google's rein as the most visited site has come to an end. you guessed it, facebook now has the top spot, at least in this country. a new analysis shows that the social networking site with its, get this, half a billion users, now accounts for almost 9% of all internet traffic here in the u.s. terrell, you know, i guess everybody's doing it, just not everybody wants to admit it. i know you're always on there. >> probably my new year's resolution to cut back a bit if i can. >> i know. we need to have an intervention for you. >> while i have you here, a toast with a white cup. >> cheers to you. >> with water. happy new year to you. thank you so much. nadya suleman, the so-called octomom, will not be evicted

from her home today. the mother of 14 children, including octuplets. she failed to make a $450,000 mortgage payment a man who runs one of the biggest porn companies wants to pay for it. he's in talk with the mortgageholder. he wants her to work for him at company parties. she has declined his offers to appear in porn videos. moving right along this morning, coming up your friday morning weather forecast and in sports, the uconn women's basketball team's historic win streak is over. we'll be right back. wait, did you say? i did! no preservatives. [ female announcer ] only lean cuisine's got over 90 dishes with no preservatives like sesame stir fry with chicken. it's got crisp, farm picked broccoli and bell peppers, and 100% tender white meat chicken steamed in a savory sesame sauce. yum. mmm. yum is right. can i have a bite? uh huh. [ female announcer ] no preservatives, all delicious. lean cuisine.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. sunny and 45 in new york. partly cloudy, 76 in miami. 57 degrees with thunderstorms in chicago. 65 and partly cloudy in dallas. and 57 degrees and sunny in los angeles. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows storms moving through the lower mississippi river valley towards the great lakes while the west coast sees clear skies. later today, temperatures are going to be plummeting in the west and soaring in the east. sunny skies will be around on both coasts top to bottom and strong thunderstorms will roll through mississippi and into missouri. in sports this morning, the uconn women's basketball team's 90-game win streak is over. poland, number 9, stanford, hit three -- five three-pointers on the way to a career-high 31 points. stanford played tough defense to upset the top-ranked university of connecticut. they broke the ucla men's team record win streak last week.

>> we just didn't play like ourselves, you know. give credit to stanford. i thought they played an unbelievably good game. defensively, they just took us out of everything we tried to do. then they made big plays when they had to make them. >> the final stanford beating uconn 71-59. in the nba, a showdown between the top two teams in the western con frerns. tim duncan of san antonio had 17 points against dallas, gary neil added 21 for the spurs. the spurs win it 99-93, their 12th victory in 14 games. they are 28-4. san antonio with the best record in the nba. in orlando, dwight howard of the magic had 24 points against the knicks. orlando built a 20-point lead and held off a new york rally. the a magic over the knicks. 112-103. the nfl fined the new york jets $100,000, the punishment for the assistant coach sal alosi tripping nolan carroll on the sideline during a punt return in a game earlier this month. you may remember this. he had already been suspended.

for telling some of miss players to form a wall on the sideline forcing miami's kick coverage to run around them. we'll take a quick break. when we come back, another look at this morning's top stories and the big boom. baby boomers start turning 65 tomorrow in droves. so, how will we pay for medicare? and she's obviously never dieted, or ever eaten anything. [ laughs ] and she says to me, "where would you like to be in six months?" six months? i need to be in a pink bridesmaid's dress in one month. i just want to be able to zip it up! [ female announcer ] sound familiar? then try the slim-fast 3-2-1 plan. 3 snacks, 2 shakes or meal bars, and 1 balanced meal. clinically proven. ridiculously simple. slim-fast. who has time to slim slowly? >> man: delivering a 200-pound ice sculpture means i don't have any margin for error. one wrong turn, and i could end up unloading a puddle of water. >> gps: turn right ahead. >> man: so i make sure i have the right guidance to get me exactly where i need to be. it's the same with taxes. turbotax has a unique

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,, on the on the "cbs morning news," a look at today's weather. the southeast could see severe thunderstorms as a strong system moves north and east blizzard-like conditions hamper the northern plains. temperatures in the west fall sharply and the east is warming up. another look at this morning's top stories. the countdown for the biggest party of the year. a million revelrs expected to ring in the new year in times square. security will be extremely tight. the city has managed to clear all the snow from this week's northeast blizzard.

white-out conditions as a severe storm makes a mess of the nation's midsection. some areas could get as much as an inch of snow an hour. that is from the same storm that soaked california and pounded the desert southwest with snow. the new year brings a start in a major shift in the population. the first of the baby boomers turn 65 making them eligible for medicare. their sheer numbers spell economic disaster for health care. sharyl attkisson explains. >> reporter: boomers are the 77 million americans born from 1946 through '64. beginning january 1st, 10,000 a day will turn 65. that will continue for the next 19 years. >> the retirement of the baby-boom generation will bring a tsunami of spending that will cause a severe problem for the federal government's budget over time. >> reporter: take medicare, health care for the elderly and disabled. the number of people eligible will nearly double from 46

million to 80 million by the time all the boomers reach 65. it's estimated the cost will grow from $500 billion a year today to $929 billion by 2020. >> ultimately we are going to have to make tough choices about how much health care can we afford and sustain and how are we going to change our payment systems to make sure that it doesn't bankrupt the country? because if there's one thing that could bankrupt the united states, it's out-of-control health care costs. >> reporter: a majority of both democrats and republicans young and old would rather raise taxes than cut benefits >> what are you talking about? >> reporter: the health care town hall meetings gave a glimpse into how americans react when they think their benefits might be cut. >> this is anarchy. it's anarchy, don't you dare take it away from me. >> reporter: to save the system fiscal watchdogs insist americans will ultimately have to work longer and get used to less government help. the question is not if changes will have to be made but when politicians will choose to make them. sharyl attkisson, cbs news, washington

this morning on "the early show" a preview from times square of the big new year's eve celebrations. i'm terrell brown. everybody, have a happy new year. this is the "cbs morning news." get the ball, girl. hmmm, you can't do that. but you can do this. bengay pain relief + massage with penetrating nubs plus the powerful pain relief of bengay. love the nubs! mattress spectacular at sears! get an extra 10% off mattresses already half off. plus instant rebates up to $300 on select mattresses. and free delivery and haul away hurry, it all ends sunday. sears. with tomatoes and jalapenos -- i didn't finish ordering. oh. yeah, ya did. no. no, i didn't. oh. yeah, ya did. no, i didn't. ya did. i did not! yes, ya did! i didn't. ya did. i didn't. yes, ya did.

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as wleav as we leave 2010, we take a fond look at the people who left us this year. they each made an impact on the world as we know it and illuminated our lives, as only they could. lives, as only they could.

>> they will certainly all be missed. coming up later on on "the early show" a preview of tonight's new year's celebration in times square. we'll hear from the new york city police commissioner, ray kelly. also how the economy and the jobs picture shape up for the cominging year. an expert offers her insight. and attention shoppers. find out what you should buy if you are looking for the best bargains in january. all that and more coming up a little bit later on "the early show." that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. i'm terrell brown. happy new year, everybody, hey! take care. see you next year. take care. see you next year. have a good one, everybody! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com year. year. have a good one, everybody! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com