oh, yeah. >> wicked weather. from tornadoes to floods to fires, mother nature unleashes an assault on almost half the country. affecting more than 40 million people, and it's not over yet. peace talks. the battle for libya takes another turn as leader moammar gadhafi says he'll agree to a cease-fire. but will the rebels? and toddler trauma. how one family went out for a quick meal, and ended up with a how one family went out for a quick meal, and ended up with a drunk baby. captioning funded by cbs and good morning, everybody, thanks for joining us on this monday.

good to see you this morning, i'm terrell brown, in for betty nguyen. from tornadoes and floods in the north to wildfires in texas, it was a wild and dangerous weekend for millions of americans. and the threat isn't over just yet. we begin with storms that battered the midwest, and the plains. tornado watches and warning stretch from texas to michigan. one massive tornado pummeled a town in western iowa. twisters were also reported in tennessee, wisconsin, and minnesota. powerful storms thought to include a tornado hit southeastern minnesota sunday. it tore a farm apart. the wind so powerful that parts of the barn blew through another building. last evening two twisters slammed down in wisconsin. at least 50 homes were severely destroyed. >> there was rotation, came out that way, and then the other one, as i was getting in the house for the two of us to go to the basement, there was rotation here. and that's the one that came through here and did all this damage. >> many of the damaged homes are vacation properties and were unoccupied. no injuries are reported. it was more of the same in

tennessee. they're picking up the pieces this morning after at least three twisters struck on saturday. several homes were destroyed, power was out for thousands. one person was killed by a downed power line. but the weekend's worst damage was in a town in western iowa. a massive tornado witnesses say was three quarters of amile wide plowed through mapleton saturday night. population there 1200. mayor estimates about 20% of the town was flattened. more than a dozen people were injured. but amazingly no one was killed. >> tornado. right in front of us. >> reporter: flashes of lightning lit up the funnel cloud touching down on the small town of fonda. >> look it. >> reporter: the twister flattened a farm but mir ackously didn't kill anyone. the tornado destroyed homes and businesses along as many as 15 blocks. >> we saw debris flying around. the tornado was coming down the road right here.

then it came over and went through my garage right there 73 >> reporter: the national weather service says the twister had wind speeds of up to 135 miles per hour. measured as much as three quarters of a mile wide. mapleton's sheriff says those winds destroyed more than half the town. >> it can't be overstated how bad this damage is. >> reporter: the state's governor toured the devastation sunday. >> people have done a lot of cleaning up and clearing so i think it says a lot for the under water. 25 miles of highway had to be shut down. >> it was pretty scary.

it wasn't too deep but still with kids on the car and driving the interstate with water coming across. never had that happen before. >> fargo the national guard is standing by to help with evacuations. so far the center of the city has been spared serious damage. residents, though, are being urged to not travel outside of the city. in texas this morning, firefighters have their hands full battling at least four major wildfires. the wind-driven fires have already burned nearly 400 square miles. one 60,000 acre blaze east of el paso destroyed 40 homes. it just missed forthdavid's national historic site. two towns north of amarillo are threatened by another huge blaze and smaller fires are reported elsewhere in the state. to libya now this morning where a cease-fire may be formally in the works. high ranking delegations from the african unions of moammar gadhafi has accepted its proposal for talks with his opponent. now the group has to get the rebels on board. tear were mergener has more on that from washington.

tara, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. libyan rebels have agreed to consider a plan, but insist gadhafi must go. leaders of the african union plan to meet face-to-face with libyan rebels in benghazi today to try to broker a peace deal. the meeting comes just a day after ruler moammar gadhafi agreed to get on board. >> the leader of the revolution confirmed he's acceptance of the african union road map. >> reporter: but selling the plan to the rebels could be more difficult. the agreement calls for an immediate cease-fire, opens dialogue between the two sides, and allows humanitarian aid to move in. but there's no mention of whether gadhafi would step down. >> the african union considers that it is up to the libyan people to chose democratic leaders. >> reporter: later this morning, president obama will hold a private meeting on libya at the white house. since the u.s. handed over control of the mission to nato

last month, there has been no sign of the fighting letting up. nato stepped up its air operation over the weekend, after rebels accused of reacting too slowly to government attacks. the air strikes were credited with helping the opposition recapture the city of ajdabiya sunday. the town is considered the gateway to benghazi, the capital of the rebel movement. following the fighting, hundreds of libyans danced in the street. celebrating the victory, and hoping for many more. and since the fighting started, thousands of libyans have crossed the border into neighboring countries to flee the violence. area, around

the plant, residents, rather, have already been evacuated. coming up on the "morning news," which reality tv stars are in line for some big-time pay raises? plus, why one mom will always check her toddler's apple juice. at appleby's. this is th

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diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more, and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol...stop. 80% of people who have had heart attacks have high cholesterol. lipitor is a cholesterol lowering medication, fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. great ride down. if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. an investigation is under way this morning into a fiery plane crash in maine. take a look.

the single engine plane pilot was killed when it crashed into the roof of a house sunday and burst into flames. witnesses say it was flying very low and the engine apparently failed before it could reach a nearby airstrip. no one was in the house at the time. on the "cbs moneywatch," stocks were mostly down on asian markets this morning. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. ashley, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. oil prices kept most asian markets lower today. tokyo's nikkei dipped about half a percent while hong kong's hang seng finished mostly unchanged. and oil prices rose to nearly $113 a barrel. this week stocks should take their cues from corporate earnings. jpmorgan chase, bank of america and google are among the big names to report. last week was a quiet one for the markets. the dow was basically flat while the nasdaq lost a fraction. next time you pull up to the pump, try not to look. gas prices have shot up 19 cents in the last three weeks to a nationwide average of $3.76 a gallon.

that's 91 cents higher than it was this same time last year, and now just 10% beneath the record of $4.11 a gallon, which was set in the summer of 2008. many cities are already seeing four bucks a gallon and most analysts think it's only a matter of time before the national average hits that mark. well consider this your one-week warning. you now have seven days to file your federal tax return. surveys show about a quarter of americans wait till the last minute. but, if you need more time, you can file an extension. form 4868 will buy you another six months. but you will still have to pay 90% of your estimated taxes by the deadline. at the movies, good and bad news for actor russell brand. his animated comedy "hop" took in $21.7 million in sales to win the box office for the second straight weekend. and is expected to remain a top draw through easter. but his remake of the comedy "arthur" disappointed, opening in a distant second place.

the action tail "hanna" finished in third. and this will certainly buy a lot of bronzers. the stars of mtv's "jersey shore" are reportedly getting huge raises for the fourth season. $100,000 an episode. snooki, the situation, and the rest got just ten grand an episode for season two. and now there's talk of spinoffs. for some cast members. and, terrell, they can certainly now get their orange on all they want. >> and bmws and everything else. ashley, i'd do it, too, if i got that much money for an episode. i'm just saying. >> i'd be there, too. no one's offering, though. >> ashley morrison and terrell brown's reality show. we'll work on that. ashley morrison here in new york. ash, appreciate it. thanks. new study out this morning suggests that being a parent can be bad for your health. the report in pediatric says that mothers of young children are heavier than women without kids, consuming more calories, sugary drinks and fattier foods than their childless peers.

both moms and dads get less exercise than couples with no children. a michigan toddler is okay this morning after a scare when a restaurant gave him an adult beverage. the 15-month-old child was served a kid's meal friday at an applebee's restaurant in michigan. but it came with a glass of margarita mix, including alcohol. the child's mother said her son started acting strangely after drinking what she thought was apple juice. >> he was saying hi and bye to the walls. and he eventually laid his head down on the table. and we thought maybe he was just sleepy. >> doctors say the baby was over the legal blood alcohol limit for an adult driver, but he's fine now. applebee's called the incident, quote, unacceptable, and apologized. coming up we'll have your monday morning weather. and in sports a masterful performance by a surprise winner at the masters. this is the "morning news." act my age? -why? -why? -why? [ female announcer ] we all age differently.

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against fleas and ticks. and not just adult fleas. what makes frontline plus complete is that it breaks the flea life cycle -- killing adults, eggs, and larvae. and it keeps killing fleas and ticks all month long. that's why it's the #1 choice of vets for their pets, and yours. unleash a complete killing force in every dose of frontline plus. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, mostly cloudy and 75. sunny and 90 in miami. morning rain and 60 in chicago. windy in dallas, 81 degrees. los angeles, sunny and 70. get a check now of the national forecast. latest satellite picture shows thunderstorms in the southern plains to the great lakes and northeast. patchy fog while the southeast and southwest are clear. later today, severe weather could reach from new york to texas, with the threat of heavy downpours, strong wind gusts,

and a chance of tornadoes. showers are expected in the northwest. southwest will see plenty of sunshine. in sports this morning, a young golfer from south africa is the newest master of golf. 26-year-old charl schwartzel made some great shots on the front nine of the final round of augusta yesterday. he had an eagle on the third hole. he worked hard, though, to ignore the pressure. >> calmed myself as much as i could. finally worked. on the first hole things started going for me, and, you know, it's always nice when things start in the right direction. >> on the back nine he had four birdies and finished with a 66. the cheers from the gallery. early leader rory mcilroy, northern ireland, fell apart on the last day. tiger woods, though, finished four strokes back. in baseball boston finally got its second win of the season. the red sox josh beckett gave up just two hits in eight innings against the yankees. the double to give boston the lead. the sox went on to win 4-0.

in the national league, philly center shane victorino had three hits including a homer against atlanta. boosted his average to .417. philadelphia beat the braves 4-0. to the nba, the lakers lost again. oklahoma city's kevin durant scored 31 points against los angeles. the 120-106 loss was the fifth straight for the lakers. the oklahoma city thunder now just a game behind l.a. in the race. the playoff seeding in the western conference. in the nba, as well, lebron james collided with jermaine o'neal and we've got a scuffle between miami and visiting boston. james would end up scoring 27 points. they take sole possession of second seed in the eastern conference. when we come back, another look at this morning's top stories, and the debt debate. the budget battle that just ended was only a warm-up for the fight to come. battle that just ended was only a warm-up for the fight to come. for pain?

oh, bayer aspirin? i'm not having a heart attack. it's my back. it works great for pain. [ male announcer ] nothing's proven to relieve pain better than extra strength bayer aspirin. it rushes relief to the site of pain. feel better? yeah. thanks for the tip. the damage from the latest aftershock.. one month after the deadly tsunami.

stanford students on alert, after a sexual assault on campus. how a man broke into a student's dorm while she was sleeping. security tight, as the dodgers square off with the giants. the plans to keep the peace after a giants fan was attacked. prices at the pump, out of control. how soon we could see 5 dollar gas. and.. the barry bond's jury back in action. join us for cbs 5 early edition ,, on the "cbs morning news"

here's a look at today's weather. strong thunderstorms will range across the midwest, heading to the east coast. warmer air surging up the eastern sea board will bring highs into the 70s in the northeast and 90s in the southeast. here's another look at this morning's top stories. much of the nation has been battered by wild weather. tornadoes pounded the midwest, including one that caused severe damage to a town in western iowa. there's record flooding in the upper planes and wildfires have blackened nearly 400 square miles of texas. the african union says moammar gadhafi is willing to go along with the cease-fire today scheduled to meet with rebel leaders who insist that this morning gadhafi must leave office. the house and senate plan to vote this week on the budget deal agreed to late friday covering the remainder of the fiscal year. the deal includes $38.5 billion in spending cuts. republican proposals to cut federal funding to planned parenthood were dropped. work has already begun on the

2012 budget which is likely to become an even bigger fight than the one just settled. the issue is bigger, too, not just the deficit but the sky high national debt. whit johnson reports. >> reporter: the government may have staved off a shutdown but a deal to cut $38 billion does little to solve this. the ticking national debt, now dangerously close to its $14.3 trillion limit. to deal with that and long-term deficit reduction, the white house announced that president obama will lay out a plan wednesday. >> i think his belief that it has to be a balanced approach. it has to be serious. it's got to put us on a firm fiscal trajectory that the country needs to grow economically. >> reporter: white house senior adviser david playoff says the president is exploring savings in medicare, medicaid, defense spending and is taking another look at tax increases for the wealthy. but in the near-term there's a looming vote in congress over increasing the nation's debt ceiling. it's expected to hit its limit

by mid-may. >> if the markets believe we are not going to pay our debt, it could be a formula for recession, or worse. so this is playing with fire. >> reporter: to democrats who want a straight up or down vote, republicans say that's not likely to happen. >> the president says i want you to send me a clean bill. well, guess what, mr. president, not a chance you're going to get a clean bill. there will not be an increase in the debt limit without something really, really big attached to it. >> reporter: another big fight is the 2012 budget. republican congressman paul ryan of wisconsin unveiled his controversial plan last week. it makes dramatic changes to medicare and medicaid. while aiming to cut $6 trillion in spending over the next decade. >> i think that's what the country wants. they want growth, they want a debt-free nation. they want government to begin living within its means and stop spending money we don't have. >> reporter: the house is expected to vote on congressman ryan's budget late this week. it has no chance of make being it through the democratic senate. still, republicans hope they can shape the debate moving forward.

whit johnson, cbs news, washington. this morning on "the early show," more on the wild weather affecting nearly half the country. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪me and you, a little rendezvous.♪ luscious, creamy filling, combined with our slow melting chocolate. ghirardelli squares chocolate. ♪that little reward for all the things you do.♪ moments of timeless pleasure. here's to my pants not leaving marks on my waist. achieve small wins with a healthy lifestyle and dannon light & fit. the light fresh yogurt with 80 calories vs. 100 in the other leading brand. here's to 80 calories tasting crazy good. live light and fit.

24,000 children... every day. they die for reasons we can prevent. like not getting enough food or medicine... or clean, safe water to drink. but we are gaining ground. a generation ago, twice as many children were dying. still...24,000? every day?

i believe... i believe... i believe... i believe... i believe... believe... i believe that number should be zero. believe in zero. oh, look at the bear. yeah, this little guy is the kind of guy here who gets a shiny new toy for christmas and would rather play with the box instead. video from a zoo in denmark was posted online by a pet food company. the star is a 4-month-old polar bear cub fascinated by a blue plastic bucket left in his enclosure. makes a pretty good hat. but kind of tough to see when it's on your head. even farther north in scandinavia comes these amazing pictures. you've got to see this. one of the most spectacular northern lights shows in years. it was captured in time lapse photography in northern norway. it happens when energized pars from the sun strike the earth's magnetic field, making the

northern sky dance with curtains of color. hmm. formerly known as the aurora borealis, we just like to call it beautiful. meanwhile back in this country, be prepared for a rough ride on a lot of roads this spring. potholes are blooming faster than april flowers and they're leaving a big hole in many city budgets. susan koeppen reports. >> reporter: it's a bumpy ride on america's roadways. a brutal winter has led to a bumper crop of potholes. >> they're just immense. and they're everywhere. in >> reporter: in boston the mayor's office has developed an app trying to track and fix the pothole problem. in new york city, crews have filled more than 213,000 potholes this year. an 11% increase over last year. the city is spending an additional $2 million on plugging potholes. in philadelphia, the city has filled more than 11,000 potholes this year. and mechanics are busy. >> cars that are coming in with an influx of suspension problem, blown tires, bent wheels. >> reporter: there's a huge

pothole. we decided to drive into potholes using a seismograph app to measure the force of impact. that was almost 2 gs. >> driving along, the jolt that you feel from a pothole is much greater than the jolt you would feel from an earthquake. >> reporter: a third of the nation's roadways are listed in poor or mediocre condition, costing american drivers $67 billion a year in extra repairs. that's $324 per motorist. so really it's hitting drivers in the wallet at a time when many of them can ill afford it. >> reporter: wow. >> that's a big one. >> reporter: during a ride with aaa -- this is what we call a monster pothole. we found this hole. measuring 70 inches wide, and five inches deep in spots. capable of putting a big dent in your car, and your wallet. susan koeppen, cbs news, new york. coming up a little later on "the early show," nature's fury strikes the heartland.

tornadoes, floods and wildfires make for a wild weekend from the canadian border all the way to the texas plains. then one federal budget battle may be over, but there's much more to come. and travels with william and kate. the latest on the prince and princess-to-be as they tour the uk. that is the "cbs morning news" for this monday. we appreciate you watching this morning. i'm terrell brown. have a great day, everybody. take care. ,,,,,,,,