down to business. republicans take over the house and plan to take their first budget cutting vote today. american arrested. iraq picks up another u.s. citizen on espionage charges. a nebraska teen leaves a rambling facebook message before opening fire at his high schoolç good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. this is the first full day of the 112th congress, and republicans who now control the house are wasting no time going after what they see as government bloat. they plan to vote at least once

a week on bills that cut spending. the first vote is scheduled for a spending cut vote. this is what got many of those republicans to washington in the first place. this vote today, though, is more symbolic. it's lead by example, if you will. but at some point republicans will have to deliver. now that the house is back in republican hands, the pressure is on for the gop to live up to its promises. >> no longer can we fall short. no longer can we kick the can down the road. >> reporter: house leaders will begin today with a vote to reduce congressional budgets by 5%. the potential savings, $35 million, and it won't stop there. republicans promise to vote on bills at least once a week that scale back federal spending. >> i think that people are going to be looking for those positive indicators and trends in those first 90i] to 120 days that we'

going in the right direction. >> reporter: newly minted speaker john boehner is opening with fair debate the agenda to the floor. >> my belief is that we can disagree without being disagreeable. >> reporter: but it didn't take long for the partisan bickering to kick in. >> our mission is not to redistribute wealth or tell people how to live their lives. >> my head is spinning because not 20 minutes ago the new speaker of the house of representatives stood where you are and said he's going to be listening to people. >> reporter: fireworks are expected well into next week when members take up a measure repealing president obama's health care law. the bill is set to sail through the house before hitting a dead end in the democratic-controlled senate. yesterday we had a little bit of history here in washington. today it continues. for the first time ever, betty, on the house floor, the constitution will be read aloud word for word. it will take two hours. >> terrell brown in washington. thank you.

the white house is tweaking the new health care law, reversing course on end of life counseling. the new law includes provisions for end of life discussions between doctors and patients covered by medicare and annual checkups. sarah palin and other critics describe the discussions as death panels. the white house says it will drop the end of life reference because there wasn't enough time for all sides to comment on the change. secretary of defense robert gates is expected to announce cuts to the pentagon budget today. gates is under pressure from newly-elected conservative lawmakers to cut military spending. he's expected to announce the cancellation of a $13 billion plan to buy the marines new amphibious assault vehicle. and it is reported that secretary gates is expanding the troop surge in afghanistan. "the wall street journal" says 1400 additional marines could begin arriving by the middle of this month. the plan is to counter an expected spring offensive by the taliban. an american woman has reportedly been detained in iran

on spying charges. an iranian newspaper says the 55-year-old woman was picked up in a border town. customs agents allegedly found espionage equipment on her body. she is the fourth american accused of spying by iran in less than two years. president obama is shaking up the white house staff as he enters the second half of his term. he is close to a decision on a new chief of staff, and he'll need a new press secretary. robert gibbs is just one of the president's top advisers who is leaving. chip reid reports. >> reporter: robert gibbs will hit the lucrative speaking circuit but he won't be gone for long. the president has asked him to stay on as a top adviser to his re-election campaign. gibbs is more than half a dozenx senior white house officials expected to leave soon in what he described as a major retooling. >> i think the president believes that's important, that they're having additional voices, having different and

fresh perspectives. >> reporter: in fact, though, in an administration often criticized as too insular, the jobs of nearly all of those departing are being filled by other insiders. the closest thing to an outsider is bill daley who the president is considering for chief of staff, but he, too, is no stranger to democratic politics as commerce secretary under president clinton and brother of the mayor of chicago. he could bring fresh perspective to the president's top priorities. >> the president knows that the key to his re-election is economic growth, which means jobs and that he has to establish better ties with the business community. >> reporter: chip reid, cbs news, the white house. police in nebraska say the student who opened fire at an omaha high school was the son of a police detective. the gunman is identified as 17-year-old robert butler. butler had attended miller's south high school since november. on wednesday he shot and killed the assistant principal and wounded the principal.

butler then fled in his car and killed himself. >> the investigation continues as to what his mind-set was, why we think he may have been up here at the school in the capacity that he came here to do damage, and we'll be assessing that as the days continue. >> on an expletive-filled facebook post, butler said the school was worse than his previous one and drove him to violence. this morning there are conflicting stories concerning the death of a mexican teenager along the u.s. border. the 17-year-old apparently threw rocks at border patrol agents in the arizona city of nogales. a mexican official said he died early wednesday after falling from a border fence and hitting his head. but police in mexico say the boy's friends told them he'd been shot by a u.s. border patrol agent. the seven-member presidential panel investigating the gulf oil spill concludes that risky decisions taken to save time and money led to the massive blowout. the panel also warns another çó

massive spill could happen again unless there are significant changes in the oil industry. 11 people died in that explosion which poured more than 200 million gallons of oil into the gulf. a study that triggered widespread fear that a childhood vaccine is linked to autism is now being called a hoax. the 1998 study by andrew wakefield alleged a link between the mmr vaccination and autism, but a review of his research found doctored information and wakefield is accused of, quote, deliberate fraud. just ahead on the morning news, gains in the jobs market boost stocks, plus check out the coolest gadgets that will be on your wish list as we take you to the consumer electronics show. your wish list as we take you to the consumer electronics show. knows how to make things that are good for you. new v8 v-fusion + tea. one combined serving of vegetables and fruit with the goodness of green tea and powerful antioxidants. refreshingly good.

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an annual event in colombia turned ugly when dozens of amateur bull fighters tried their hands at the dangerous game. 48 people have been injured so far in the six-day event. on the cbs money watch, stocks in asia got a lift this morning. ashley morrison is here with the latest on that. >> asian markets rose on signs that the u.s. economy is picking up. hong kong's hang seng gained a ÷ fraction. today wall street gets the final retail figures from the holiday shopping season and a look at the weekly jobless claim numbers.fá on wednesday stocks finished higher. the dow jones gained 32 while the nasdaq added 21. there is no optimism the unemployment rate may have bottomed out. private companies added almost 300,000 jobs in december. the most in nearly a decade. and three times what had been expected. that has boosted analysts' expectations of the government's jobs report to be released tomorrow.

the economy needs to add at least 200,000 jobs a month to really put a dent in 1io($7 in bank of america customers will soon have some new options when it comes to paying fees. the bank is testing a new program in georgia, massachusetts and arizona that lets customers choose how they pay for their checking account. monthly fees will range from $6 to $25 depending on what kind of service you want. the program also includes ways to avoid fees by linking multiple accounts, credit cards and brokerage services. the post office is getting in the gift card business. beginning in may, 2,000 post offices will begin selling prepaid gift cards issued by credit card companies. the cards starting at $25 and $50 apiece can be used at any store that also accepts the credit card. and what's in a name? well, for starbucks, apparently not much. on wednesday the coffee chain unveiled its new logo, dropping

both its name and even the word "coffee." the new image will appear in stores starting in march. the company says its brand has become so widely recognized that it no longer needs that old logo and that it also is better suited to expanding starbucks enterprises beyond caffeine. i guess we'll just call it the coffee chaindc formerly known a starbuck. kind of like they did with prince. >> all right, ashley. thank you, joining us live here in new york. for gadget lovers, the biggest event of the year opens today in las vegas. it's the consumer electronics show. with more than 2,000 manufacturers showing off their latest products. we have a preview. >> reporter: where else can you find 120,000 people ogling 20,000 new products in the space of 17 football fields? at the annual consumer electronics show, of course. >> this show is about innovation, excitement, optimism. and i think we'll see more new product launches here than at any show in our history. >> reporter: gary shapiro is the ceo of the consumer electronics association.

he says there are several major trends to keep an eye out for this year. at what the considered the mecca of the next generation of electronic gadgets. for starters, tablets. >> the ipad in 2011 will get some competition. we're waiting to see if it's serious competition. >> reporter: next smart tvs that combine the functionality of the smartphone and laptops into a television.&&[ finally there's 3-d tv, but the trend we're seeing this year are inexpensive glasses or no glasses at all. besides the big flashy products, there's no shortage of smaller, quirkier device, too. and this little guy is actually part flashlight. the coolest part is actually this guy over here. it's a crank that keeps it powered up. a couple of products down. thousands and thousands more to go. for cbs news reporting, las vegas. speaking of gadgets, many

owners of the iphone are alarmed because of a glitch in its alarm clock function. lindsey was fired after a failed iphone alarm made her late to work. she wrote steve jobs a letter. >> it was really just a rant of me saying, heads-up would have been nice. if you think these things don't affect people, i just want to let you know that they do. >> she just wants an apology and a little understanding because her iphone payment could be late this month. straight ahead on your thursday morning weather and in sports, at the end of a tight game, try a little defense for a big win. [ robin ] my name is robin. and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke,

[ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these symptoms or behaviors, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. if you develop serious allergic or skin reactions, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown. "ben, how many days has it been?"

"5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting. [ male announcer ] it's a new year. so, ask your doctor about chantix. and find out how you could save money on your prescription go to chantix.com to learn more and get terms and conditions. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, cloudy, 35, miami showers, 77, chicago flurries 24, dallas sunny 65, l.a. partly cloudy 67. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows cloudy skies fading away in the southeast. and from washington to montana, there is a steady stream of rain and snow. later today, the southwest will be mild and sunny with 50s and 60s. the northeast has clouds rolling in and heavy rains can be found on the northwest coast. in sports, a second straight setback for san antonio.

in boston, third quarter, paul pierce's dunk gave the celtics a 7-point lead. the spurs fought back but the celtics surged back into the lead and blocked shots to seal the 105-103 victory. the spurs still have the nba's best record at 29-6. in phoenix, kobe bryant scored 24 points and four other lakers hit for double figures to beat the suns 99-95. in college basketball, duke remains undefeated, led by noah smith with a career high 33 points, the top ranked blue devils stomped visiting alabama birmingham. 85-64. duke is now 14-0 on the season. and baseball's hall of fame is getting two new residents. roberto alomar won a record ten gold gloves at second base. he was a 12-time all-star and helped toronto win back-to-back world series in '92 and '93. bert blyleven won 287 games in

his 22-year>icñ career and rank fifth all time with 3,700 strikeouts. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories, and tweaking twain. a new edition of "the adventures of huckleberry finn" hits rough waters. she felt lost... until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. and give it a whole new life! with the aveeno nourish plus moisturize collection. the only hair care with active naturals wheat formulas, that target even the weakest parts of hair

with hydrating proteins to help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. [ female announcer ] aveeno nourish plus. discover the power of active naturals. see this sunday's paper for $25 dollars in savings, including a free full-size lotion offer. another man is murdered.. just one day after a bloody shooting rampage. the plea for help from police this morning. and.. the san bruno blast leads to a nationwide alert. what pipeline officials across the country are being told to do. they look normal.. but these gift card are no good. what to do if you're turned away at the register. and.. a new twist in the debate.. over whether vaccines lead to autism. join us for cbs 5 early edition lead to autism. join us for cbs 5 early edition ,,,,beginning at 4:30.

on the "cbs morning news" here is a look at today's weather. an arctic blast is slowly entering the country over the dakotas. showers in the great lakes region, rain in the southeast should end early today. the rain in the northwest is not ending any time soon. here's another look at this morning's top stories. it is reported that an american woman has been detained in iran on spying charges. an iranian newspaper said she had espionage equipment hidden on her body. the 112th congress takes its

first budget cutting vote today. the vote involves congressional offices and staff. republicans plan at least one budget cutting vote a week. a sanitized edition of the mark twain classic "the adventures of huckleberry finn" has some people getting out the tar and feathers. the version substitutes a racia3 slur which some argue is crucial to the novel. mark strassmann reports. >> there ain't no home like a raft. >> reporter: like this movie about huckleberry finn, mark twain's classic book still navigates america's river of race relations. twain's classic used racial slurs. words customary for twain's on one page of huck finn, twain wrote the n-word six times. should each one be edited out and replaced with the word "slave"? alan grimmens says yes. he's a twain scholar at auburn university in montgomery and will publish a new edition of twain's classic without the n-word.

>> seems to me that i'm doing something constructive by simply eliminating a word that's a clear barrier for many people. >> reporter: in the entire book, mark twain used the n-word 219 times, deliberately, to spotlight 19th century racism. at atlanta's morehouse college, david wall rice says twain's slurs actually help americans face the issue of racism today. >> we have to have a discussion about it. we can't skate over it. >> reporter: on twitter reaction to editing twain's text was overwhelmingly negative. take out the n-word one person wrote, and you have to take the the hol o cost out of "anne frank" and aconsultary out of "the scarlet letter." >> you going to move forward. there will be agitation. you want to make sure that you are going to kind of disturb the equilibrium a little bit or there won't be growth. >> reporter: mark twain started the debate, he'd probably like the last word. >> i don't give a damn what the whole world says.

>> reporter: mark strasmann, cbs news, atlanta. this morning on "the early show" actress gwyneth paltrow. w. ncer ] looking for long-lasting freshness? try snuggle! ultra snuggle blue sparkle with fresh release technology keeps clothes smelling fresh up to 14 days. and has the ultimate in snuggly softness® your family loves... you can always count on snuggle. fitting into c is naturally satisfying. so select harvest light soups are 80 calories or less, 100% natural. and-oh-so-satisfying. select harvest light from campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ >> ( beeping ) ( beeping stops ) >> announcer: free is better.

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get up out of your seats, everybody. this is for you and you. come on. get 'em up, get 'em up. >> that's queen latifah got the audience moving when she opened the people's choice awards wednesdayás4s! "dynamite." the night's big winner, though, as decided by the fans, the vampire series "the twilight saga: eclipse." which got favorite movie. >> i can't believe this. you guys are unreal. it still amazes me. >> thank you very much for everything. it's been a wonderful experience. thank you. >> the winners include conan o'brien for favorite talk show host, johnny depp was named

favorite actor and taylor swift got the people's choice award for favorite country artist. congratulations to them all. gwyneth paltrow is getting a lot of attention as she shows ñi off her own country music singing talent in a movie that opens tomorrow. it's called "country strong." manuel gallegus sat down with her for a sneak peek. >> reporter: in "country strong" gwyneth paltrow plays kelly cantor, a drug addicted singer who ruins the lives of those around her with little regret. >> that's how it's done, sweetheart. >> reporter: for paltrow, it was a role she couldn't pass up. >> i read it and i couldn't stop thinking about it. it was very -- really kind of got into my brain. ♪ because i'm country strong >> reporter: the 38-year-old actress is no stranger to music. she sang in duets with huey lewis and is married to coldplay frontman chris martin. but there was no faking it for "country strong," paltrow took intense singing lessons.

and it paid off. this was paltrow singing live at the country music awards. ♪ you may fool me >> reporter: a solid performance for country's royalty. >> i was like hysterically nervous for sort of the two weeks before i got to nashville. i was really, really nervous. and then when i got to nashville, i was like, okay, right. i've got to focus. i knew, you know, like if i could just do what i had been doing in rehearsal, the band that i was working with, i would be okay. >> reporter: after winning an oscar in 1998 and then depressed from the death of her father, paltrow said she didn't want tok act any more, but now she's happy to be back in the spotlight again. manuel gallegus, cbs news, new york. coming up later on "the early show," the next step for the new congress. we'll hear from republican house majority leader eric cantor. plus understanding baldness. the new study may offer new solutions on how to fight it.

more on the amazing story of the newly discovered radio phenom ted williams. and an exclusive interview with his mother julia. that's the "cbs morning news" for this thursday. ,,

of one of the most influential women of our time. the woman who, after having one too many drinks, chose not to drive home buzzed. here today to honor rachel is the family whose lives she spared.