winter whiteout. a massive winter storm that ran over the midwest with paralyzing snow and ice heads east. too little, too late. angry anti-government protesters in egypt say president mubarak's offer not to run for re-election isn't enough. and dow 12,000. a milestone wall street hasn't and dow 12,000. a milestone wall street hasn't seen for 2 1/2 years. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody, thanks for joining us, i'm betty nguyen. that crippling winter storm that plowed through the midwest is ready to pummel the east this morning. the storm is massive. blanketing an area from texas to maine, with record-breaking snow falls, dangerous ice, and powerful winds.

a foot of snow is almost the norm, and some areas can expect twice that. travel is dangerous on the roads, and difficult in the air. 9,000 flights have been canceled nationwide so far. terrell brown is here in new york at times square with much more on the weather out there. good morning, terrell. >> betty, good morning to you. you know, it may not look like very much is happening out here right now, but you can feel it and certainly hear it. this is nothing but ice coming down right now here in the city. a little bit windy, about 28 degrees. it's all part of that major winter storm that continues to slam portions of this country. chicago's used to brutal winters, but not like this. a so-called mega blizzard is slamming the windy city this morning with up to two feet of snow and gale force winds. >> it's a lot of wind, it's very biting. but i think we'll be all right. >> reporter: drivers were stranded for hours on chicago's lake shore drive after police were forced to shut it down last night. and for the first time in 12

years, city schools made today a snow day. all the heavy snow is proving too much for some buildings to handle. surveillance video captured this roof buckling at a hardware store in minnesota. five workers inside narrowly escaped. >> i run back into the back room and hit the floor, the building's coming down. i look, you can see the roof collapsing. >> reporter: here in new york and much of the northeast, the problem isn't snow. take a look. it's ice. it's coming down right now. forecasters warn freezing rain could cause power outages and make any kind of travel treacherous. >> right now, i'm just stuck. >> reporter: more than 4,000 flights have already been canceled today, and that number is sure to grow. >> this is probably going to be one of the more disruptive storms for the united states as a whole. we're seeing in the last 10 to 15 years. >> reporter: and if snow and ice weren't enough, once the storm moves out a deep freeze will set in with temperatures in some places well below zero. so more snow and ice on the way to the northeast. and some residents north of here, betty, in town, are worried they are literally running out of space to put all

of this snow. >> all right, a lot going on out there. stay warm terrell brown in times square. thank you for that live report. the storm first clobbered texas and oklahoma before moving across the rockies. listen to that. there were whiteout conditions in oklahoma city. the tulsa newspaper will not publish today. the first time that that has happened in 106 years. in texas the snow collapsed the roof of a structure near cowboys stadium. tens of thousands lost power. now to egypt in the throes of a revolution and a defiant president refusing to step down. elizabeth palmer has the latest from cairo. good morning, elizabeth. >> reporter: -- more normal. there are people going to work here from, that i can see under the balcony. but we can also still hear the protesters in the square. they're not happy, and that discontent started last night.

it was too little, too late, for the protests in tahrir square who watched president hosni mubarak tell the nation he wouldn't run again for president. that speech was an emotional appeal to good-hearted people, she said. poor people who were sleeping, but we're awake now and we won't accept this anymore. a joint meeting of all opposition groups insisted mubarak must step down, and leave the country. they also demanded a broad coalition to lead the transitional government, new elections, and new constitution, and the dissolution of parliament. but yesterday there was at least one pro-mubarak demonstration in cairo. the president does have some supporters, and many more egyptians may want to accept his promise not to run, as the face-saving exercise for an old man who has, no matter what else, kept egypt safe and stable in a volatile region.

but mohamed elbaradei, the nobel prize winning diplomat, who is emerging as a key figure to manage political transition here said mubarak didn't go far enough. his speech, he said, is an attempt to circumvent the demands of the people. demonstrators stayed in tahrir square all last night, and there's certainly no sign this morning they're going anywhere until the president goes first. the opposition parties are going to meet in about an hour from now, and so the next step in this drama will be them either coming out with a joint statement saying we're not having this. or we'll see some disarray and disagreement, and perhaps a fragmenting of that opposition. betty? >> all right, elizabeth palmer joining us live from cairo. elizabeth, thank you. president obama spoke to mubarak shortly after he spoke to the egyptian people, and the conversation was described as direct and frank. and suggested that mubarak's decision not to run for re-election isn't enough. >> what is clear, and what i indicated tonight to president

mubarak, is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now. furthermore, the process must include a broad spectrum of egyptian voices and opposition parties. the people of egypt, particularly the young people of egypt, i want to be clear, we hear your voice. i have an unyielding belief that you will determine your own destiny, and seize the promise of a better future for your children and your grandchildren. >> mr. obama also raised the egyptian army for allowing peaceful protests. the anti-government protests that began in tunisia has spread across the middle east, reached yemen. this morning yemen's president ali abdullah saleh said he would not seek re-election or hand power over to his son. a huge anti-government rally is planned for tomorrow in yemen. on tuesday, amid growing protests, jordan's king abdullah

fired his cabinet and promised to hold long-delayed elections. this morning, one of the most powerful storms in australia's history is about to strike its northeast coast. cyclone yasi is 300 miles wide, packing winds of 186 miles per hour. residents are fleeing the coast, and evacuation centers are already full. government officials warn the storm has the potential to be catastrophic. >> the window of opportunity for you to get to a safer area is closing very quickly. do not bother to pack bags. just grab each other and get to a place of safety. >> storm surges of nearly seven feet are expected. cyclone-force winds are expected to reach 250 miles inland. the fbi and cia are refusing comment on a new disclosure from wikileaks involving a 9/11 attack. "the washington post" says a classified u.s. diplomatic cable obtained by the wikileaks website identifies three men

from qatar as suspected members of the plot. the cable says they lived in the u.s. in august of 2001, visited the world trade center and other potential targets, and left the country on september 10th. just ahead here on the morning news, new competition for the popular ipad is unveiled today. plus from rehab to robbery? actress lindsay lohan reportedly under investigation for a missing necklace. you're watching the "cbs morning news." of beautiful makeup out there to cover up flaws and make skin look pretty but there's one that's so clever, it makes your skin look better even after you take it off. neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% of women saw improvement in their skin's natural texture, tone, or clarity. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics recommended most by dermatologists.

neutrogena® cosmetics

discover customersl are getting five pcent cashback bonus at restaurants. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. on a bridge in peru, emergency workers offered a cell phone to a man threatening to jump, then grabbed him. it was a struggle, with a 100 foot drop below. the firefighters finally pulled the man back over the barrier. police say he was distraught because his girlfriend left him. on the "cbs moneywatch," stocks in asia extended a rally. ashley morrison is here in new york with the latest on that. good morning, ashry.

>> and good morning to you, betty. asian markets rose for a second day. japan's nikkei shot up nearly 2% while hong kong's hang seng also climbed nearly 2% in a shortened session. on wall street it opens today with the dow jones industrial average above 12,000 for the first time in more than 2 1/2 years. on tuesday, strong corporate earnings helped send it up 148 points, while the nasdaq gained 51 since hitting a 12-year low in march of 2009, the dow is now up nearly 84%. airfares are going up again. american airlines has added a $5 fuel surcharge on most of its flights while united has tacked on three bucks. other carriers are expected to match those hikes. it's the fifth increase since december. airlines hadn't used fuel surcharges since 2008 when oil prices spiked. a high tech showdown is in the works after google accusing microsoft of cheating. google claims microsoft is stealing its search results for its own search engine bing. google set up a trap recently by

manually linking jibberish searches to completely unrelated web pages. then when they tried the same search on bing the results were the same. microsoft says it simply combines its own results with that of google's, adding, that's the way the internet is supposed to work. at&t's been slapped with a lawsuit claiming iphone customers are being overbilled. the suit accuses the carrier of charging for more data than has actually been used, comparing the practice to a rigged gas pump. an at&t spokeswoman -- spokesperson denied the charges and said accurate billing is a top priority. and the world's first newspaper for ipad is set to be unveiled today. the media mogul rupert murdoch will take the wraps off the tablet publication called the daily, and will cover general news, culture, entertainment and also include video. no word yet on what that might cost. it will certainly be interesting to see it. >> no doubt.

all right. ashley, thank you so much for that, joining us live here in new york. if an online report out this morning is accurate, lindsay lohan may be in trouble with the law again. celebrity website radar online says los angeles police are seeking a search warrant for lohan's home. it says lohan is suspected of stealing what's described as high-end jewelry, including a necklace. the report has not been confirmed by police. this will be another day in court for roger clemens. the former major league pitcher accused of lying to congress about using steroids. clemens will appear before a washington federal judge who will decide a conflict of interest question involving one of clemens' lawyers. trial is currently set for july. straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather. and in sports, a look at the silly side of the steelers and packers in their run-up to super bowl xlv. go bold instead of the same old -- with chili's new $6 lunch break. choose a salad or tasty soup. pair it with a texas toast half sandwich, like our southwestern blt with applewood smoked bacon.

served with fries, it's big flavor for just 6 bucks! weekdays at chili's. >> ( beeping, beeping stops ) >> announcer: free is better. do your simple return for free with the federal free edition at turbotax.com. turbotax. the most trusted brand of tax software. how are those flat rate boxes working out? fabulous! they gave me this great idea. yea? we mail documents all over the country, so, what if there were priority mail flat rate... envelopes? yes! you could ship to any state... for a low flat rate? yes! a really low flat rate. like $4.95? yes! and it could look like a flat rate box... only flatter? like this? you...me...genius. genius. priority mail flat rate envelopes. just $4.95. only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship.

funny how nature just 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. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, a wintry mix, 38 degrees. miami, partly cloudy and 80 degrees down there. chicago, blowing snow, 20 degrees. dallas, mostly cloudy, 23. l.a., sunny, 61. now time for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows the size and scope of this storm, the largest one of the season, from the great lakes through the northeast, and down toward the gulf of mexico, ask a threat of blizzard-like conditions.

later today, the heaviest snow will be in the northeast. some areas could see one to two feet. the southeast is at risk of severe weather along the atlantic coast. and dangerously cold air is going straight down the midwest toward the mexico border. in sports, a couple of big basketball upsets. in portland the trail blazers, with marcus scoring a career high 40 points along with 11 rebounds to give san antonio as the blazers beat the nba leaders. in college ball an excited crowd at ole miss got what they played for. reginald buckner got the job done early but it was chris warren's three pointer with less than three seconds to play that sealed the deal. mississippi won it 71-69. on sunday, the pittsburgh steelers and the green bay packers will put on their game faces and go at it in super bowl xlv. but the mood was warm and fuzzy inside cowboys stadium on tuesday, even though it was icy outside. kendis gibson reports.

>> reporter: texas was hoping to make the packers and steelers feel at home super bowl week. but not this way. conditions were icy outside the arlington, texas, stadium where the two teams gathered. >> i didn't know it snowed in dallas. >> reporter: but inside the climate-controlled $1 billion cowboys stadium, the temperature was a balmy 52 degrees. each tuesday before a super bowl is media day, when the big name players and their coaches meet the media. >> it was great. it was fun. i'm blessed. >> reporter: it's a mob scene with more than 1,000 reporters and camera crews. but not everyone here is in the spotlight. while his teammates were busy doing interviews with foreign journalists, guys in costumes and entertainment shows, green bay packers rookie chris campbell was hanging by the water cooler. >> none of those microphones in my face. last time i got hit in the face with one. >> reporter: number 69! even when we tried to help, no one seemed interested. campbell played it cool as the press hung on quarterback aaron rodgers' every word.

>> aaron, he needs the attention, you know. so many years being behind brett favre, you know. >> reporter: but finally one reporter noticed. >> great. >> reporter: this is the last fun the teams will have before getting down to the very serious business of preparing for sunday's game. kendis gibson, cbs news, arlington, texas. ahead when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and protecting passenger privacy. images from a new security scan leave a lot more to the imagination. imagination. the best device for everything you love to read editors' choice. best dedicated ereader. magazines look spectacular. fantastic device. touch the future of reading at barnes and noble. nookcolor. whoo! [ chuckles ] tuna tacos, tuna burgers, and tuna panini. all quick and healthy bites for an active lifestyle.

these 35 bungee jumpers agree... [ excited shouts ] we agree! we agree! we agree! incoming! incoming! incoming! incoming! you're not going to bring that back are ya?! well there ya have it. tuna great on the gooooo! tuna the wonderfish! we'll have the latest on airport closures.. and how it's impacting flights at bay area airports. and.. new leaks found in pg&e pipelines. what we're learning about more pipe weaknesses in the wake of the san bruno blast. a heartbreaking end to the search for a kidnapped boy. what police think happened to his killer.

plus.. the new military crackdown in egypt.. on day 8 of massive protests. join us for cbs 5 early edition, on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. the northeast and east coast see a wintry mix for the north and heavy rains in the south. and temperatures will be dropping throughout the midwest and arctic air surges down from canada.

here's another look at this morning's top stories. that massive winter storm is headed to the northeast today, after grounding chicago with snow and ice. the storm, some 2,000 miles wide, crippled air travel nationwide. and the offer by egypt's president mubarak not to seek re-election isn't enough for protesters who want him out now. president obama told mubarak an orderly transition must begin immediately. here at home, airline passengers who objected to revealing body scanners may soon have a less-intrusive option. on tuesday, federal security officials tested new software that will help preserve a person's privacy. sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: the new technology unveiled by the transportation security administration uses existing scanning machines, but with a new software that shows only a generic body image that the passenger can see when crossing through security. not the detailed image that caused an uproar. not every airport has the more

intrusive full-body scanning system. there are about 500 of them in use in 78 airports. when the tsa rolled out the full-body scan last year, critics cried foul, even calling for a nation at opt-out day when all passengers who objected would slow the entire tsa system in protest, by asking for a pat-down, instead. still, a cbs news poll found four of five people don't really mind the full-body scan. >> you know, it doesn't really matter to me. i think -- i've seen some of the images on the news what the scanners look like currently and i don't think it's that invasive. if it's for safety, the images aren't being published anywhere, i think it's fine. doesn't really matter to me. >> reporter: but for those who do the more generic imaging system could solve the problem if the tsa finds it's just as good at detecting security breaches, sandra hughes, cbs news, burbank, california. this morning on "the early show," full coverage of the blizzard that crippled the midwest and is now headed to the northeast. i'm betty nguyen.

this is the "cbs morning news." le announcer ] many people don't understand their occasional digestive upsets. gastroenterologists do. they've made align the #1 recommended probiotic. ♪ align is the product of 10 years of research... and it has something you can't get anywhere else, a patented good bacteria called bifantis. and when it's added to occasionally unbalanced digestive systems... they can become balanced again. align. great digestion through science. your favorites, in pieces. ♪♪ a flavor paradises aof delicious fishes ♪♪

♪ friskies seafood sensations. ♪ ♪ feed the senses.

this is definitely not your average rescue for firefighters in richmond, california. they rappelled down a cliff tuesday to save a dog and sheep stuck halfway on a 300 foot cliff. it took about two hours before the animals were brought to safety and reunited with their owners. now, to a case of, what was she thinking? a minneapolis woman has been charged with animal cruelty for trying to mail her puppy to georgia. yes. officials say she went to the post office last month to ship the box with the puppy inside by two-day priority mail. postal workers got suspicious when the box fell off the counter. >> the puppy must have moved in that time, and the box had shaken and fallen. at that point the clerk and the

supervisor went and they could hear a sound like panting coming from inside the box. >> reporter: when workers opened the box they discovered a 4-month-old poodle mix. police say she would not have survived the trip to atlanta in a plane's freezing unpressurized cargo hold. the puppy's being kept at an animal control facility pending her owner's appeal on animal cruelty charges. meanwhile, the government is waging a war against a different type of creature. the relentless bed bug. today, a national bed bug summit wrapped up in washington. michael hertzenburg reports from new york city where bed bugs have taken a bite out of the big apple. >> reporter: beyond pest control in new york city says it gets 25 calls a day about bed bugs. alex says he's never seen so many of the blood-sucking insects. >> people are nervous, you know, it's -- it's insane. >> reporter: with the bed bug epidemic spreading across the nation, the government is looking at ways to help. the federal bed bug working

group is holding a two-day summit in washington to examine how different cities are dealing with the infestations. especially now that so many bugs have built up a resistance to pesticides. >> we've got serious situations in cincinnati and columbus and we're seeing other cities, as well. >> reporter: new york city has the worst bed bug problem in the country. they're turning up everywhere from fancy hotels to retail stores, even movie theaters. >> oh, like that's gross. >> they're disgusting. >> scheevey. >> reporter: bed bugs are the size of apple seeds. they get into mattresses and in small crevices, and even, the experts admit, they're difficult to eradicate. >> just because a bed bug doesn't necessarily mean dressers, night tables, closets, walls, couches. they're everywhere. >> reporter: the key is to catch the problem early and wage an all-out war before the bed bugs take over. michael hertzenburg for cbs news, new york. coming up a little bit later on "the early show," live reports from egypt on the mass political protests. we'll hear from former

ambassador to the u.n. bill richardson. also help for the high cost of health care. tips on saving money on your medical bills. and a special series continues on what our anchors always wanted to do. today chris wragge gets behind the camera. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks, everyone for watching. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day.