>> mason: tonight, the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes that swept across the american heartland. officials get their first look at a trail of destruction that reaches from the deep south to the midwest. i'm anthony mason. also tonight, what's ahead for the new congress? we'll talk to freshman republicans about their plans for a change of course when they take control of the house next week. the first baby boomers start turning 65 today, but can america's health care system handle them? and cable queen-- oprah winfrey takes a gamble launching a new tv new york that is all her own. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news"

>> mason: we begin with the killer tornadoes that barreled through the center of the country last night, part of the weather system moving into the east. here's the latest the storms left seven dead, three in arkansas, four in missouri. dozens more were injured. peak winds reached 165 miles per hour. 40 tornadoes in all reportedly touched down in four states. cynthia bowers is in the st. louis suburb of sunset hills tonight. cynthia. >> reporter: you know, and no one was injured here, which is amazing, considering that the tornado sirens sound around noon. there were a lot of people here and they tell me they ran for refuge. it was all over in a matter of seconds and today family like the gasts were totaling up their losses and counting their blessings. >> this is where i survived under here, right under that counter. >> reporter: in her newly remodel kitchen, cathy gast took shelter from a powerful f-3 tornado with wind over 150 miles per hour that destroyed nearly everything she owned, including her home of the past 40 years.

>> it's jut unbelievable. you never think it's going to happen to you. >> reporter: husband harlen lived to tell about it thanks to some quick decision making and his old tractor. >> i looked and there were two trees going across the street about 40 miles per hour. and all i knew to do was crawl under the tractor. >> reporter: their neighbor, jim bearden, welcomed the new year digging through the remains of his past. his garage once held a lifetime of memories. >> we're just trying to figure out what we got, you know, what, we have left. >> reporter: the tornadoes that struck central missouri are the worst to hit this state on new year's eve in more than 50 years. that same powerful storm system exploded over the small arkansas town of cincinnati with wind topping 140 miles an hour. more than a dozen homes were destroyed, and there was major damage to that town's fire department. >> i grew up here, and everything's gone. it's just-- it's all gone. there's nothing left. >> just look at that. i'm trying to count elsewhere. >> reporter: winter tornadoes are rare. they move quickly through colder

air leaving little time for warning. >> it was a tightly packed piece of upper level energy bowling its way over the mississippi valley. at the same time we had this real strong temperature contrast and a very vigorous jet stream and that was what was unusual for this time of year. >> reporter: surrounded by devastation, jim bearden is simply glad everyone in his neighborhood made it out alive. how luck you do you feel that there was no major damage there has to be a god. >> reporter: when you consider the unseasonably warm temperatures. it was in the mid-60s here, and the storm system left behind bitter cold. i'm told cleanup will continue throughout the night tonight and the cold will make the painful process even tougher. anthony. >> mason: cynthia bowers in sunset hills, missouri. thanks, cynthia. the first of the new governors elected last november were inaugurated today. rick schneider took the oath in economically distressed michigan while democrat andrew cuomo was

sworn into the job his father, mario, once held in new york. new mexico inaugurated the nation's first latina governor, republican suzannea martinez. the biggest freshman class in more than 70 years will be taking the oath of office in the u.s. house of representatives this coming week. most of the new members are republicans committed to making congress change course. bob orr in washington sets the scene. >> reporter: freshman florida republican allen west arrived in washington with an agenda and an attitude. >> the whole place is abuzz already about what is about to happen. >> reporter: west, like many of the 87 new republicans who will be sworn in wednesday, is vowing to shrink government spending and he's taking a hard line. >> compromise is not something they think is a great thing if you surrender your principles. >> the motion is adopted. >> reporter: it's a warning of sorts that the collaborative spirit of the recent lame duck congress may soon dissolve into renewed partisan bickering. president obama, vacationing in

hawaii, today made a preemptive bid for continued cooperation. >> i'm willing to work with anyone of either party who's got a good idea and the commitment to see it through. and we should all expect you to hold us accountable for our progress or our failure to deliver. >> reporter: but representative- elect ben quayle of arizona, accuses of president and congressional democrats of wasting taxpayers' money. >> they had massive spending and stimulus programs that did absolutely nothing to actually jump start our economy. >> reporter: quayle agrees both parties need to work to grow the economy but says spending cuts are required to reduce our trillion-dollar-plus annual deficits. >> there are going to be no sacred cows. everything will be looked at to see where we can make the cuts. >> reporter: republicans pledged to repeal health care reform, stop tax hikes and strengthen congressional oversight. with democrats still controlling the senate and white house, the political reality is the new

g.o.p. reformers can't do anything alone. >> republicans, even though they don't like to talk about it now, also will have an incentive to compromise, to show they can govern, that they're not just the party of no. >> reporter: now, the new republican freshmen could also cause trouble in their own party caucus. nearly half were elected with tea party support. that means they're not beholden to their party leaders and they're real anxious to flex their new political muscles. anthony. >> bob orr at the capitol. the capitol building was briefly evacuated today and fighter planes were scrambled after air traffic controllers briefly lost radio contact with an airliner headed for regan national airport. the f.a.a. says the pilot inadvertently turned his radio to the wrong frequency. you probably didn't notice, but a population tidal wave began to break this new year's day. the fist of 79 million baby boomers turned 65 years old. for the next two decades, 10,000 a day will be mark the milestone.

are there enough doctors to care for them? >> reporter: kathleen casey- kirschling is a retired teacher, grandmother, and one of the very first baby boomers. she was born just after midnight on january 1, 1946, one of 3.5 million americans born that year. >> it is a full-time job to stay healthy. >> reporter: today, kirschling turns 65, an age typically linked with retirement, medicare eligibility, or just plain growing old. >> to any of my fellow boomers are getting sick, having open- heart surgery, going through cancer. >> reporter: time is starting to catch up to the generation that brought more than peace and love to the world. when they went to school, they overcrowded classrooms. boomer women flood the workforce for the first time. and now that 10,000 of them are turning 65 every day, they're set to overwhelm the health care

system, too. >> i don't know how we're going to sustain the system. >> reporter: dr. camilo echanique already works 60 hours a week and sees about 20 patients a day. >> bring your arm up here. >> reporter: that's common in an industry severely short of primary care physicians. he estimates over the next 10 years, there may be 40,000 fewer doctors than needed. >> i don't see that we're going to be able to capable to take care of all of these patients that are coming into the system. >> reporter: 50% of boomers have some chronic disease like diabetes and with thousands of them now eligible for medicare, health care costs are expected to skyrocket. the price tag is estimated to grow from $500 billion a year today to $929 billion by 2030. that's when the tail end boomers will reach 65. >> go ahead, jane. >> reporter: for now, kirschling is in good health and embracing the next phase of life. along with millions of others.

seth doane, cbs news, new york. >> mason: there isn't much oprah winfrey hasn't conquered in the world of entertainment. now today, in the biggest gamble of her career, the queen of daytime television launched her own cable network. michelle miller has more. >> happy new year, everybody and welcome to own. >> reporter: at the stroke of noon, the oprah winfrey network went on the air and the queen of talk became a network mogul. >> bet on yourself first. >> reporter: it's a giant bet. winfrey and the discovery channel have reportedly invested $189 million in the 24/7 lifestyle cable channel featuring oprah-branded stars like dr. phil, rachel ray, and dr. oz. >> i watch all their shows anyway, so just to have it on one channel is great. >> reporter: viewers can also expect a range of reality shows with the likes of country music star shania twain and the former duchess of york, sarah ferguson. >> i'm extremely damaged.

>> reporter: and a biography show called "master class." >> that's the foundation of everything great. >> reporter: then there's oprah herself. her showcase program will take cameras behind the scenes of the last season of her 25-year-old daytime talk show. >> i'm excited! >> reporter: still, she's committed to being on air herself only two or three times a week. >> will people tune in and watch even if oprah's not there? that's really the wild card. >> reporter: full programs begin monday, but the network schedule is in flux. despite the uncertainty, sponsors like proctor & gamble and kohl's are counting on winfrey's midas touch. >> if anybody can pull this off, which has never been done before by someone coming from where she's come, from it's oprah. >> reporter: one number working against winfrey is 50, the average age of her viewers. advertisers prefer a younger demographic, but she brings a committed audience to the venture. >> she really speaks to what people want to see, and she's got an interesting way of taking audiences even where they might

not know they want to go. >> reporter: with her name and legacy on the line, winfrey acknowledges the channel say work in progress. >> it will show itself to be whatever it's supposed to be. >> reporter: winfrey won't retire from her day job for seven more months. that's how long viewers will have to wait for their chief taste make tore host a new show of her very own. michelle miller, cbs news, of new york. >> mason: and still ahead on tonight's cbs evening news, a banner year for stocks and what's in store for the economy.

>> mason: in the cbs news money watch, wall street finished the year on a high note. the dow closed at 11,578, a gain of 11% for the year. but for many investors, it was still a lost decade with stocks going nowhere.

>> ♪ we will be happy nelly ♪. >> mason: as they've done since the depressions, traders at the new york stock exchange closed out the year with a song and this year they've had a lot to sing about as all three major indexes scored double-digit gains. >> the great lehman panic is finally behind us. we're back to prices we were at just before lehman went under. >> mason: the rally ignited in august after fears about european bank defaults faded. and what happened in august? what changed? >> you know, i think there was a mindset change. >> reporter: trainer alan valdez. >> i think people felt more confident. >> mason: but stocks are still well shy of their all-time highs, and despite the market's sharp climbs and steep falls over the past 10 years, the dow will end the decade very close to where it began it. >> it would indicate that the so-called strategy of buy and hold shouldn't be held.

you know, you've gone nowhere. >> mason: the dow started the decade just below 11,000, then plummeted after 9/11. it recovered and rallied to an all-time high of more than 14,000 before the financial crisis cut it in half. even with the latest rally, the dow has gained less than 8% over the past 10 years. >> but i think we're going to build from here. it feels like it. it really does. >> mason: the volatility scared many investors out of the market. >> but over the last two years, from what i've seen, it's picked up a little bit, so i do plan to slowly get back in after the first of the year. >> i think in the long run, it all-- it will all come back and the market's the place to be >> ♪ wait till the sun shines, nelly ♪ . >> mason: with the economy finally picking up speed, investors may not have to wait until the sun shines. as for what 2011 may bring, we asked two economists to take we asked lakshman achuthan of the economic cycle research institute and jim awad, of

zephyr management, to take part in this new year's day economic forecast. lakshmamman, let me start what are they telling you about this year? >> for 2011 least, for the first hatch, if not into the second half, we have a revival in economic growth, meaning that not only production but also jobs and sales and income. >> mason: how strong a revile do we think? >> you know, look, we've slowed down to 1% or 2% growth, depending on how you add all these numbers together. so it will be faster than that. >> mason: jim, the stock market seems to have been tell us for months now that it thinks this year is going to be very strong. do you agree? >> yes. if this economic forecast is correct-- and you have to say it looks like that's the most likely scenario-- that's very good for corporate profits. corporations are in terrific shape. so all of this speaks to a favorable environment for financial assets, stocks particularly. there are risks to that that you

have to be attentive to. there's a lot of debt in the system. but we have cyclical momentum that if there isn't an external shock or an accident should allow stock price to go up. >> mason: well, here's the question. everybody was told last year that the recession was over, but it didn't feel like it. >> right. >> mason: is it going to feel like it this year? >> a lot of that depends on how fast we have jobs recovering. we have recovered about 80% of the g.d.p. lost during the recession and about 10% of the private sector jobs that were lost during the recession. that's a real divergence. we have to see more private sector jobs growth. >> mason: how soon do you think we could see that? >> i think you're already-- you'll see a revival in that stronger than we've seen recently. we've seen a slowing in private sector job growth. that will start to lift in the next few months so by midyear you'll look in the rearview mirror and say, ah, the growth started again but it won't feel- - it won't make you feel healed.

>> mason: jim, the market, if you look back's decade, it's almost just about even although we had a very strong year. is there significant room to go up here? >> yes, and here's the icing on the stock market cake is the demand in the emerging markets, the emerging markets are absolutely on fire. and most of the large multinational u.s. corporations get a majority of their growth, if not their earnings from there. so when you combine all that it makes a very attractive picture for profits. again, there are risks, but based on what you see today, it's looking favorable. >> mason: so overall, a healthy outlook. gentlemen, thank you, both. happy new year. >> and to you. >> and to you. >> mason: and we'll be back.

>> mason: in siberia today, a russian airliner caught fire as it taxied for take off on a flight to moscow. most of the passengers and crew escaped before the plane exploded, but at least three people were killed and more than 40 injured. here at home, a sunny but chilly day for the 122nd rose parade in pasadena featuring 47 floats, 22 bands, and 18 million roses. 700,000 people lined the parade route to see it all. at coney island, the new york polar bear club chilled out with its new year's day swim. about 1,500 members braved the atlantic ocean's 39-degree

temperatures. still ahead on tonight's cbs evening news, might the billionaires who pledged to give away half their fortunes.

>> mason: finally tonight, they say you can't take it with you. now some of america's richest people, 58 so far, are taking

those words to heart and promising to give away their millions or in some cases billions. as rich rich tells us, it's quite the new year's resolution. >> reporter: wall street investor lee cooperman is a self-made billionaire who plans on giving his fortune away. >> you can give it to your children. you can give it to uncle sam. or you can give it to people in need. >> reporter: cooper man and his wife of 46 years, toby, are among 58 of america's wealthiest families who have pledged to donate at least half of their worth to charity. >> there are more worthwhile organizations in meade of 99 than there is money so you have to try to find who you want to support and when you want to support them and in what amount. >> reporter: it's called the giving pledge and billionaires from mike bloomberg to facebook founder mark zucker berg have signed up, all at the beheaviest of warren buffet. >> i said to warren over dinner,

"i think if you're really dealing with people of high wealth, asking for half, you're not asking for enough. >> reporter: cooperman came from modest beginnings in the south bronx, the son of a polish immigrant plumber who worked six days a week. he went to public school and college and put himself through column cra university business school. >> what's going on in the market? >> reporter: the day after graduating, cooperman went to work for goldman sachs and stayed for 25 years before starting his own hedge fund, omega advisers, in the early 1990s. >> i had a sense of living the american dream. you've got to be motivated to give back. >> reporter: private investor tom steyer and his wife, kat taylor, are also giving back. the wealthy san francisco couple has promised their fortune to nonprofit organizations. >> we hope that the pledge will be a symbol of people reconnecting to the idea of

service to the country and their communities. >> reporter: they launched a community bank called one california three years ago to provide alon loan for affordable housing and small business in low-income neighborhoods. >> especially when we're in tough times to remind each other that we are, you know, part of one society, something that we feel strongly about. >> reporter: they also feel strongly about i environment, starting a ranch that raises grass-fed cattle and backing research into clean tech energy. >> sustainable banking, sustainable food, and sustainable energy are critical to every person who walks this planet. and they can be giant vectors for change, for positive change. >> reporter: all of the pledgers say they've had many inspirations over the years. the lee cooperman says he likes this quote from winston churchill-- "we make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give." russ mitchell, cbs news, new york. >> mason: and that's the cbs evening news. i'm anthony mason. thanks for watching. good night, and happy new year.

captioning sponsored by cbs country on your favorite fast-food menus. ((79 - 9:50:35 a new year and a number of new laws. the changes taking place across the country on your favorite fast food menu. >> just like any city part is bad and part is wonderful. may be difficult for some people in the bay area to believe that the overall crime rate in oakland is down for a fourth year in a row. and the first new year's baby. cbs5 eyewitness news is next. ,,