comments@captioncolorado.com & %f0 . good morning. good morning. republicans in the house vote to extend a payroll tax cut, but democrats in the senate don't like the details. so, once again, a congressional standoff threatens to shut down the governments. we'll get the latest from capitol hill. newt gingrich sees his best poll numbers yet. a 17-point lead over mitt romney and the republican race for president. we'll show you why those numbers may be good news for president obama. the national transportation safety board says drivers should not use cell phones at all. no matter what state you live in, no matter what road you drive on, it's too dangerous. we'll get reaction from the former ntsb chairman and ask if it will happen. and big bucks for big gems as elizabeth taylor's fabulous jewelry collection sets an

all-time auction record. more than 115 million dollars. early this wednesday morning, more than 115 million dollars. early this wednesday morning, december 14th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs and good wednesday morning, everyone. i'm jeff glor. >> i'm rebecca jarvis. yesterday we were talking about gifts for guys. well, the elizabeth taylor jewels, i think a lot of women would be happy with those, if you are thinking about what to get your wife, for example. >> the one from cleopatra went for 20 grand. >> amazing to think what an old head of hair could cost. the budget battle that might keep congress in session the week before christmas. voted last night to extend a payroll tax cut, but there is still a deadlock over the details. >> this latest impasse in congress threatens to block a spending bill that would keep

the government running past this weekend. congressional correspondent nancy cordes has the latest from capitol hill. good morning, nancy. >> good morning, rebecca. the house republicans did pass that bill last night, but with very little democratic support, which means it is doomed to fail in the senate. these benefits are about to expire and the two sides are still very far apart over how to renew them. >> now, senate democrats must act. the senate can take up our bill, they can pass it, they can amend it and they can move their own bill. but it is time for the senate to act. >> the republican bill that passed the house tuesday would extend the payroll tax cut for another year. meaning individuals would pay 4.2% instead of the standard 6.2%. democrats want it lowered even further to 3.1%. democrat jim mcgovern. >> i'm not sure if they understand how americans are struggling. what it feels like to be out of

work. >> reporter: unemployment insurance is the other major sticking point. democrats want to maintain benefits at their current level of 99 weeks, an all-time high. republicans want the benefits scaled back dramatically to 79 weeks in january and 59 weeks by mid-2012. republican david drier. >> our goal as we extend unemployment benefits is to encourage reemployment of our fellow americans who are having a difficult time trying to make ends meet. >> reporter: then there is the clash over how to pay all that. democrats want a 1.9% surtax on millionaires while republicans want to impose a federal worker pay freeze for another year and charge higher rates for mortgages backed by fannie mae and freddie mac. and if all that isn't enough to divide the two sides, republicans added a provision to their bill, giving president obama 60 days to approve or reject the construction of the

controversial keystone xl pipeline from canada to texas. the president wanted to wait to make that decision until 2013, but republicans say the pipeline will create thousands of jobs. rebecca. >> so, nancy, does congress actually go home without resolving this? is there a chance of that? >> a tactic that house republicans have used before is to pass a bill, send it to the senate and say, here's our plan, take it or leave it. we're going home. but what the senate democrats are doing now to try to prevent that is holding up a spending bill, refusing to sign off on it. this is a spending bill that would fund the government for the next nine months, but this is a very high stakes game of chicken, rebecca, the government is set to run out of funding on friday. >> you also have this high-profile election taking place right now. cbs' nancy cordes on capitol hill, thanks so much. speaking of that election and the race for the white house this morning, there are signs that newt gingrich is starting to pull ahead of the pact. >> pretty extraordinary to think about it. new poll shows gingrich leading mitt romney by 17 points among

republican voters nationwide, ron paul is in third place, far behind our chief political correspondent jan crawford is here with more. jan, these numbers. a lot of people thought newt gingrich was out of this race just a few months ago when his campaign. >> he was written off for dead. >> 17 points up now. >> no, it's an astonishing poll. 17 points ahead of romney, who everyone thought was going to be kind of the inevitable nominee and not a lot of time left before people start voting in january. not all good news in this poll for newt gingrich. half of the people surveyed said they wouldn't vote for him and if you look at that critical head-to-head match up with president obama he is down by ten points and mitt romney is down by two points and the margin of error in this poll is three points. romney and obama are tied in that pivotal head-to-head matchup. remember, he kind of came out of no where for someone who has been around forever. everyone has written him for

dead. negative ads started coming and opponents piling on and the latest gallup poll shows his support is going down. >> when you look at the gop certainly cont emplating that question. if romney is the frontrunner in that matchup, what does the gop do in putting their minds, money and effort behind one of these two candidates going into the elections? >> of course, for a lot of voters, it's all about beating president obama and who can do it, they also want someone who think they is conservative and who is a true conservative and concerns about whether or not mitt romney is that person. this is a time when you see the tea party supporters saying we want someone who can articulate this vision of the role of government and where america stands and they're not sure romney is the person to do that. that's why you've seen all these other candidates that we've been talking about over the last few months, rise and fall and rise and fall and the latest gingrich. >> romney and gingrich are lobbying charges at the other.

it's progressive, even liberal at times. >> romney didn't help his case when a video emerged with him saying in 2002 that he did have progressive views. wait until you hear his opponents take on that in iowa. you'll hear a lot about that. that wasn't that long ago, nine month ago. when did he change? gingrich has a lot of problems as far as conservatives go, too. whether or not he's a true conservative. he's embraced this big government vision on a lot of different programs, so, we've got three weeks for these voters to start sorting it out. you're going to hear a lot about who is the real conservative and who can beat barack obama. >> they could be two different things. cbs' jan crawford, thanks for being in this morning. >> good to see you in the studio, jen. now to the penn state scandal. a lot of name calling after the suspect jerry sandusky left court. the alleged victims made up their stories. one of his accusers called sandusky a coward.

>> ramen keteyian has more on that five-minute court hearing. good morning. >> good morning, rebecca. a much, much quieter day than it was yesterday morning. a day in which jerry sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing just as he was about to face his accusers in court. now it appears we are headed to trial. in a day filled with high drama, two law enforcement sources told cbs news the prosecution is not entertaining a plea bargain in the case. a hardline stance more than matched by sandusky attorney joe amendola. >> there will be no negotiations. this is the fight of jerry s sandusky's life. >> reporter: he had entered the courthouse under heavy security holding his wife, dottie's hand. as he walked out of court after the ten-minute hearing he used a football reference to profess his innocence.

>> fight for four carters. we'll make the opportunity to present our side. >> reporter: sources say as many as eight alleged victims were prepared to present their sign. attorney read a hand-written statement from his client, identified as victim number four. >> i can't believe they put us through this until the last second only to waive the hearing. >> reporter: two other attorneys say their clients both allegedly abused by sandusky felt both outrage and relief. >> i think it's abusive to the boys, again. i think it reflects a total disregard for them. >> every time he has to tell it in preparation and otherwise, it relives those ghastly moments for him and now he doesn't have to do that. >> reporter: if both sides hold firm, a trial could come as early as next summer. amendola seemed to be addressing a jury and not a sea of reporters as he fielded questions for more than an hour in the courthouse square. >> when we knew we were going to waive and we knew everybody was

here, we realized this was an opportunity for us to speak with you as opposed to piece meal. >> sandusky will now be formally arraigned on january 11th. he remains free on $250,000 in bail. and that electronic monitoring device. jeff? >> armen keteyian, thanks. mike, attorney for victim number one. good morning. >> good morning. >> what was the reaction yesterday? >> his reaction was mixed. he is a young man, 18 years old and felt a great sense of relief that he would not have to face more than 200 people in the courtroom and tell a very lstor of what happened to him at the hands of jerry sandusky. at the same time, he was angry. he was thoroughly prepared by the lead prosecutor to testify and got himself psychoed up to

do just that and was really angry that after being so well prepared he was denied the opportunity and the potential cathartic release that comes with it and was angry that he didn't have the chance to do so. >> but he's still prepared to do that at trial? >> oh, sure, absolutely. >> joe amendola raised the possibility that there was collusion between some of the victims here. what is your reaction to that? >> i was extremely offended by that remark. if mr. amendola wants to be a fact witness in the case, then he should stop representing jerry sandusky and get on the witness stand himself. what he's doing is he's trying to try this case in the media. it's improper, it's extremely offensive to the victims of his client, those who were sexually abused serially by him and then

to add insult to injury, claim without an iiota of evidence to back that claim up that there was collusion. the fact is this, victim one does not know any of the other victims. he has not spoken with them. he was the first person to come out and bring these charges against mr. sandusky. and it is ludicrous not to mejz extremely offensive for him to level those charges against these victims. >> mike boni, we appreciate your time. i'm sure we'll speak to you again very soon. thanks, again. >> my pleasure, thank you. we want to bring in now jerry sandusky's lawyer, joe amendola. good morning to you. >> good morning, jeff. >> we just heard from mike boni, the lawyer for victim number one. his victim does not know any of

the alleged victims. yesterday you raised the possibility of collusion. >> we know that accusers number two and number six know each other and we believe number seven also knows two and six and it's quite possible that number four knows all of those three. we're checking into that. this is information that we received, jeff, that, obviously, we need to investigate. at the current time, we don't have the legal authority to check into background information on these individuals, but we will have that authority via court's order later on in the case and we intend to pursue that possibility. >> joe, what happened yesterday, obviously, surprised a lot of people. your defense strategy has been described as bizarre and unorthodox. how would you describe it? >> well, certainly unorthodox and it's unorthodox because although i practice law in a traditional matter, this case is anything but traditional. as you know, when charges were first filed against jerry

sandusky on november 5th, almost immediately the public decided, as did the media, that jerry sandusky was guilty of these horrific offenses. in fact, media people and the public refer to the accusers of victims and victims are only victims if and when a judge or jury finds him so after a trial or after a defend pleads guilty. but jerry sandusky has had an uphill battle and i've compared it to climbing mt. everest from the bottom and the only way, the only way i think wree can give him a chance at a fair day in court is to get his side of the case out. so, we had to act in a very unorthodox way and i'm sure there are a lot of legal pundits out there scratching their heads saying, what are we doing? yesterday was just another example. typically i would have had a preliminary hearing and taken advantage of the opportunity to cross examine the witnesses but on the other hand, the preliminary hearing is not a trial and not a time when we can present our defense and not a time when we can cross examine

the witnesses to their credibility. so, at the end of the night before the end of last night's preliminary hearing they would not attempt to raise bail between now and the trial as long as jerry didn't violate any of his bail conditions and also to get us early pretrial discovery which we need and voluminous in this case and we can properly analyze that evidence and prepare jerry's defense. for all those reasons, we decided to weigh the preliminary hearing yesterday. and we did that and we notified the commonwealth attorney the night before that was the commonwealth attorney who decided to have all of his witnesses available yesterday and in the event that jerry might come into court and change his mind at the last minute and decide he wanted a preliminary hearing. >> joe, wish we had more time with you because there's a lot more questions we would like to ask, but i'm sure we'll see you, again, very soon in the future. >> a lot more information i'd like to give you, jeff. >> we'll see you soon, thanks,

again, joe. and now for a check of this morning's headlines. we join terrell brown who is standing by at the newsdesk. opec oil ministers are meeting in austria this morning. they decided to keep oil productions at current levels. that is 30 million barrels a day. meanwhile a new study out this morning shows that crude oil averages $111 per barrel this year. the highest annual price in 150 years since 1860, the year after the birth of the modern oil industry in pennsylvania. the cost of electric power is also way up. the average household spent more than $1,400 for electricity last year. that's up $300 in five years. and

still ahead this morning, billy graham on facing old age with grace. we'll ask his son, franklin, how the legendary evangelist is doing and just what lessons his long life brings for all of us. we also are joined by best-selling author nicholas

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♪ we probably all, at times, founds ourselves texting or talking at times when we shouldn't be on the phone and you wonder what might happen. well, after a series of deadly car crashes, the national transportation safety board you may have heard is making a radical suggestion. it wants all 50 states to ban cell phone use while driving. that means no texting, no phone calls at any time behind the wheel even if you had hands-free. >> it is interesting to see that different states have different rules about this and why they want to formalize it throughout the country. safety advocates love it but some critics say it goes too far so we will take a look at the controversial issue on "the early show."

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good morning. let's get you caught up on some of the bay area headlines on this wednesday. nfl owners will be talking about the future of the 49ers when they meet today. the league needs to sign off on the financing of the new deal for the stadium. last night santa clara city council voted unanimously for the plan that could have the 9ers playing football in the south bay by the year 2014. at least one suit is threatened after governor jerry brown announced billions in state spending cuts. the cuts are required because state revenues are short of expectation. education and in-home support services will be hardest hit by the cuts that take effect january 1. less pain at the pump for holiday travelers. aaa reports the average price of gas in california is down a quarter in the last month.

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bridge toll plaza. there was a fender-bender before the pay gates a stall past the metering lights. the metering lights are on for more than an hour so unfortunately, it is jammed solid to the macarthur maze. about a 20 to 25-minute wait to get on the bridge. elsewhere we were also following another accident at the san mateo bridge toll plaza. that's now cleared. but it's still heavy through that area. traffic is still backed up. and your drive time from 880 out towards 101 is now at 26 minutes in those westbound lanes. fog is also an issue this morning. chp issued a couple of fog advisories not one for the golden gate bridge but one for the carquinez bridge and one for the benicia bridge. with more on your forecast, here's lawrence. >> we have some dense fog showing up around the bay area today. it should lift to be a nice day outside. freeze warnings up in the north bay valleys this morning, some temperatures already plummetting to the 20s and 30s. by the afternoon we are expecting 50s and 60s. california should be proud.

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welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis with jeff glor. pop quiz for you, j.j. >> oh? >> which one was america's first ally? >> reporter: you have a head start on me. france during the war of independence that was obviously, a long time ago. >> it was, indeed. the latest case now of french flayizing going on here in the u.s. because mitt romney speaks french. some democrats are drawing attention to that and trying to stir up some voters. we will hear more about that with a very cool piece from chip reid here in a few minutes. >> mercy. >> you speak french? >> the government has a plan to

change the way you drive. on tuesday, the national transportation safety board called on all states to make texting, e-mailing, or talking on a cell phone illegal while driving. >> right now, 35 states and the district of columbia have banned texting while driving and nine states bar hand-held cell phones by drivers and 30 states ban all cell phone use for beginning drivers. noin is the ntsb chairman, mark rosenker. he doesn't speak french, as far as we know. bonjour. you do know about all things transportation. this is clearly a radical suggestion. mark, you call it a noble cause. can it happen? >> certainly it can happen. but there may well be technological advances that actually negate the need for something like this. >> like? >> well, for example, the ntsb asked the manufacturers of the consumer electronic product and the cellular self industry to

create some applications which, in fact, would disable the device while the driver is moving. that can happen. but also i think the board really missed the boat with an opportunity to really advance highway safety by not only requiring, for example, the banning, if you will, of the cell phone use, but to of required the manufacturers of automobiles to put in frontal collision avoidance technology, which means not only did you not necessarily have to worry about the cell phone being a distraction, but any other distraction might have also been covered, for example, a coffee falling in your lap, for example. the car would sense as it approaches another car an eminent collision and, tapts apply tat that point, apply the brakes. >> the kids are in the back seat, there is an animal in the

car. how difference is the threat of dealing with a cell phone, texting, e-mail the more common things around for years ever since the car hit the road? >> we always know there are distractions. but we know for example 3,000 people died last year and 900,000 people were in accidents as a result of distracted driving. so something needed to be done and that is why the board, after they investigated this missouri accident, decided to really take a very, very giant step toward eliminating distracted driving as a result in cell phone use. >> you think if all of this stuff gets implemented, if it does, it would take decades? >> i believe it's going to be a long haul, a very heavy lift. it has now left the ntsb and put in the lap of the 50 state legislatures. when you get into the legislative process, it becomes a political process and, at that point, the user community will come out in droves if they want to continue to use their cell

phones. >> hard enough to get them to agree on the budget. try cell phones. >> exactly. >> mark rosenker, thank you for being with us. >> thank you very much. here is terrell brown at the news desk with a check of today's other headlines for us. payroll tax cut extension passed by the house has no chance in the senate. the president has threatened to veto. the bill would extend the payroll tax cut one year but it's not as low as democrats want and speeds up the construction of an oil pipeline that is controversial from canada to texas. post offices closing are on hold for now. it will be

coming up next, at age 93, billy graham is talking about nearing home, the right way to

end a good life. >> we will ask franklin graham, the son of the legendary preacher about his father's health and his new book. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. ne done done done done,done,done,done,done done done done ♪ ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain.

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jaelvet bill. evangelist billy graham is recovering from the hospital. >> joining us is his son franklin graham, ceo of bill li graham evangelical association. thanks for being with us. first off, how is your father doing? >> my father is doing fairly well. he is back home. he was in the hospital last week for pneumonia, but he's home and getting ready for christmas. >> you said he didn't want to leave? >> no. he kind of likes the hospital. he is the only person i know that likes the hospital and he enjoys all of the people he gets to meet but he is doing well. thank you for asking. >> good friends there i'm sure he has made there? >> he has. >> what is a typical day for him these days is what? >> he'll get up in the morning.

of course, he'll try to work a little bit. each day, he answers mail. he worked on this book the last few years. it's done fairly well so he started another book and it's a book he is going to try to do this year or this coming year about salvation. but he works a little bit every day. always working. of age so he is >> i was going to say in "nearing home" it has lots of life lessons. >> it does? >> oo terms of growing up with he as your father, what would you say the biggest lesson he imparted, the biggest lesson he imparted to you? >> as he said in "the home" the same billy graham we have seen on television is the same one we have seen at home. all of his life he has preached that god loves us, that god sent his son jesus christ to this world to take our sins, to die on the cross for our sins and buried for our sins and rose again. if we are willing to put our faith and trust in god, god will

forgive us and heal our hearts and we will have that hope of eternal life. that has been his message all of these year. in his book "nearing home" he couldn't believe he has 93 years of age. his book isn't for old people, it's really for all ages but it's got some great lessons about life and how to be prepared for the last years of life, especially like for retired people. so many retired people, they retired and then they get bored and don't know what to do. and my father has got some great ideas about how they can stay involved and how they can be more active in their retirement years than the earlier years. >> you yourself went through a little bit of rebellious period at one point in your life. what lessons from the book did you not know maybe about your father? >> well, you know, being the son of a preacher doesn't mean that you're going to be a good guy.

>> that's true. >> we all have to make that decision ourselves. i was 22 at the point of my life where i was sick and tired of being sick and tired. hi a big black hole in my life, i couldn't fill it. i got on my knees one night and asked christ to forgive me and christ to come into my life and it's been great. >> was it difficult growing up in the spotlight? >> we lived in the country. i didn't have any other home to compare it to. it was just that home so i figured all houses and all homes and families were like that. >> franklin graham, thank you. appreciate it. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas and wish your dad, please, the best for us. >> thank you. >> you can read an except of "nearing home "by billy graham at earlyshow.cbsnews.com. >> new attack coming up for mitt romney being bilingual. >> how anything that has anything to do with france is a political handicap. this is "the early show" on cbs. (greenery) hey cheese log. (cheese log) hello centerpiece.

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♪ don't you just love that. >> props to our miskal selection picker this morning. >> something from mitt romney's past is coming back to haunt him this morning. apparently he speaks french. fluently. because he lived in france in the 1960s. >> i don't want to show off again now, do you? >> no, i don't. but if this is wrong, i don't want to be right. >> there you go. wow. apparently speaking french is not a plus when you're running for president. national correspondent chip reid is in washington with more on that. bonjour, sir. >> reporter: i'm going to do this in english if that is okay with you. we have been hear with super pacts and can raise unlimited amounts of money and spend it any way they see fit and now one has decided to spend some of its money attacking mitt romney for speaking french. ♪

>> reporter: to many, paris is the city of love. but on this side of the atlantic, the romance has faded. at least when it comes to american politics where speaking french is take boo. this ad showing romney speaking french ten years ago was paid for a democratic political action committee in hopes that rye marry voters would see him as too french. not the first time association with france has been political poison. in 2003, the french fries and house of representatives cafeterias were renamed freedom fries to oppose the frent ch opposition to the iraq war and some accused john kerry of looking french to portray him as out of touch. >> lay say lay bone tump roux

lay. >> reporter: they say it wouldn't be for american if it wasn't for the french during the rev nu revolutionary war. this sits on some of the best real estate in washington right across from the white house. romney, for his part, isn't hiding his fluent french. this week in new hampshire, he spoke with a french canadian barber. >> speak french? >> yes, i do, very well. >> not as well as you do. >> reporter: romney learned the language when he was in france as a mormon missionary. this reporter doesn't think the french bashing works but he also doesn't expect it to stop. >> there is really very little downside to attacking france whether you're a late night comic or the producer of an attack video for a primary campaign, there isn't the kind of pushback from a french lobby or even much from french officials if you do that.

>> reporter: if you're wondering why mitt romney was speaking french a few years ago he was doing commercials for the olympics. i bet you $10,000 he will continue to speak french because one-quarter of the popular state of new hampshire is a french or french canadian ancestry. >> how did that for teasery? thank you, chip. good stuff. appreciate it. >> mercy. >> mers yif. >> it's crazy talk. still ahead we will save you money on your electric bill and meet a family who took part in an eye-opening experience. there's no shame in calling us. if th, ♪call 1-800-steemer.

is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain... two pills can last all day. ♪ >> how did that for teasery? ,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,

♪ coming up, we will be joined by best-selling author nicholas sparks who is here to tell us about his new novel "the best of

knee." good morning, nicholas. could it ab movie? we will talk about that? will jarvis play the lead and will she speak french? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents: the cold truth. i habe a cohd. and i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] sorry, buddy. truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. really? [ male announcer ] you need a more complete cold formula, like alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. it's specially formulated to fight your worst cold symptoms, plus relieve your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. sears real big gift sale is on now. save 50-60% off clothing for everyone on your list. and incredibly low prices on fleece activewear, only $9.99. plus, get coupons at searsstyle.com for over $100

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at least one suit is t good morning. it is 7:55. i'm grace lee with your cbs 5 headlines. at least one suit is threatened after governor brown announced $1 billion in new state spending cuts. those cuts are required because state revenues are short of expectations. education and in-home support services will be hardest hit by those and they will take effect january 1. monday's "occupy" protest was a multi-million dollar hit for the port of oakland. only one of the 7 terminals operated all day and three were totally shut down. the tribune says losses are estimated at $4 million to $8 million plus up to $1,000 for each trucker. the national football league team owners are discussing the future of the 49ers. that meeting is happening later today. they need to decide whether to approve a financing deal for the new santa clara stadium.

last night the city council voted unanimously for the plan. so the 49ers could be playing in silicon valley as soon as 2014. and an update of your traffic and weather coming up. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,

good morning. slow traffic along the peninsula. northbound 101 right around ellis street there was an accident involving a motorcycle and traffic is still backed up behind it at least one lane block. emergency crews are on scene

there. also another one northbound 280 magdalena may have just been cleared. but traffic is still pretty slow coming out of downtown san jose. this is an improvement in the last 10 minutes or so in those northbound lanes. towards the bay bridge, we were dealing with a small fender-bender and a stall. everything is now goran so no incidents record at the bay bridge now. unfortunately, we are left with a backup all the way to the macarthur maze. 20 to 25-minute wait to get on the span. that's traffic. for your forecast, here's lawrence. >> elizabeth, couple of patches of fog around the bay area this morning. take you out there now, it is chilly in spots in the valleys, looking toward mount diablo shrouded in fog now but looks like by the afternoon, we are expecting some hazy sunshine. and temperatures should begin to move up into the 50s and 60s. still a freeze warning in effect until 9 a.m. in the valleys. tomorrow could change with clouds to roll in chance of showers headed into the bay area on thursday. friday we start to dry out and warm up into the weekend. partly cloudy on sunday. ,,,,,,,,

♪,,,,,,, ♪ ♪ welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis with jeff glor. erica hill and chris wragge are off this morning. coming up, we will be joined by best-selling author nicholas sparks. he's here. he's responsible for tons of heart-warming novels starting with "the notebook." and he'll start about his latest project this morning, how he gets the ideas for all of these stories. we're going to find out if his own life is anything like his novels. >> 77 million copes of his book. >> 77. i want to know is there a formula? that's what i want to know. >> we will ask him very soon. speaking of formulas, you'll meet the world's oldest stockbroker. he's been applying the same

formula for a long time. he is 106 and goes to work every single day and scientists are studying him and others like him if they have a gene that they might unlock the secret to successful aging. >> really cool story. but first, every homeowner knows electric bills have skyrocketed in the last five years. last year alone average bill jumped $300. the average household pays a record $1,400 a year. >> one power company in houston decided to try to help consumers cut costs and save them money. so far, it seems to be working as anna werner reports. >> reporter: the shoemaker family wanted to find a way to cut their rising electricity bills. >> we were interested in monitoring our energy more. >> reporter: they got an opportunity to do just that when their utility company came knocking with an offer. >> we're giving you refrigerator and microwave and oven and big screen tv. we're like, oh, that sounds really good. it sounds crazy. >> reporter: crazy, but it was true.

in fact, all 12 households on their block were outfitted with new energy-efficient appliances for free as part of a demonstration project by houston's reliant energy called innovation avenue. reliant president jason few says the company wanted to show how consumers could use their energy consumption. >> you have to have a way to change your behavior and what you need to change your behavior is information. >> reporter: he says that should lead to lower energy bills. >> by giving consumers the information and giving them the control, they will make the decisions that are best for them. >> reporter: now, a monitoring system on the shoemaker's kitchen counter tells them what they are spending each day. >> yeah, that daily energy cost was very startling. >> reporter: the family has also found out a lot about just how much energy each electric device is using. for instance, this tells them that their biggest expense, air-conditioning, costs them $169 last month.

but they also learned that the overhead kitchen lights cost $5 a month. and the refrigerator cost $9. they say it's been a learning experience, especially for their kids. >> i think they are getting tired of us telling them to turn off the lights, but now at least we can show them this is why. take a look at this! >> we told them before and it just -- i don't think it was real to them. they don't see, you know, turning on a light as money. >> we can see how much energy we are using and view the carbon footprints. >> reporter: the shoemakers aren't sure whether they have saved money because the extremely hot summer in texas drove everyone's bills up and skewed comparisons to last year, but they are changing their habits, turning off lights has become the norm. >> this is a smart appliance. >> reporter: reliant estimate consumers might save up to 6% on their total electric bill through use of smart appliances. but consumer reports said last month, that the jury is still

out as to how much consumers will benefit from smart technology. tyson slocum of public citizens, a watchdog group, questions whether the appliances will save most consumers money. >> for the most part, average families simply don't use enough energy to be able to shift it around in meaningful ways. >> reporter: and slocum says this kind of technology may not be feasible or practical for everyone. >> this is not a question of does it technology work. the question is the technology affordable for working families? right now, it isn't. >> reporter: it might be in the future. but, for now, the shoemakers found some of the more immediate energy savers were the low-tech kind like extra insulation in their attic to keep heat in the house this winter and dollars in their pocket. anna werner, cbs news, houston. >> now that winter is coming, experts say you can save money with a well maintained heating system and properly insulation and a modern thermostat that keeps the house cooler when nobody is home.

also you can also let the sun in during the day and warm up the house a little bit and close the shades at night to keep the heat in. >> these are things that might cost a little bit up front but pay off down the line. terrell brown is at the news desk with a look at the other headlines. hey, terrell. >> hey, jeff and rebecca. extension of the social security payroll tax passed by the house is headed to the senate. the president has promised a veto, but the bill seems sure to die in the senate, anyway. the measure also extends long-term unemployment benefits. the democrats want a more

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report sponsored by macy's. >> are you ready to cry, jeff? let it all out. >> i'm already tearing up. >> that's because best-selling author nicholas sparks is here to talk about his new novel. >> actually, i think it was your french. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. we'll be right pack. french. you're watching the "early show" on cbs. >> cry it out. just cry it out. you're heavy. up. are you sure these letters will get to santa? yes, of course. hold still. almost there. a little bit higher. i can't hold you up much longer. ah! whoa! [ all giggle ] ♪ hi, fellas. hi, virginia. why are you on the floor? [ female announcer ] bring your letter to santa into macy's and we'll donate to the make-a-wish® foundation. together, we'll collect a million reasons to believe.

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nicholas sparks has sold more than 90 million books in more than 45 languages. >> and then there's the movies that have been made out of his love stories. hit latest novel "the best of me" is on its way to the big screen. it is incredible, your body of work, so extensive. when you sit down, the question is do you think about it? do you think can i see this on the big screen? how is this going to play out when you put characters in front of it? >> yeah, i do. i mean, let's be honest. i end up selling a lot, especially with this latest one,

you know, the best of me, for instance. i actually ended up selling that in on a pitch. i hadn't written a word of the novel yet. i just kind of -- >> is that scary? >> yes! >> here is a great idea, but i haven't written it yet. >> exactly, it was. then all of a sudden, i feel this extra weight of trying to come up with a great story. which the novel ended up becoming "the best of me." i had this vague idea and i kind of laid it out and they said, we'll take it. and i'm like, okay, great. this is terrific news. >> let me get to work. >> yeah, let me quick get to work and make sure it works out. you do want to think about the film because one of the things i try to do, even though love is a -- everyone has written about it, it's been written about forever it seems like, you want be very original. you don't want to do something done in a film like i would never do a love story set on the titanic because that was a big film, so think of what you want to do which might make a good film and what films you don't want to say, hey, he just copied that. >> you've said no to certain ideas before because that's been

done before? >> oh, absolutely. >> and it doesn't fly. >> look. i'll cut 10,000 ideas and 9,999 nos and a lot of them are for just that reason because you do want it to be original and interesting and universal all at the same time. >> tell me about "the best of me." >> it's a good story. i like it. it's a reunion story about a couple that falls in love in high school. of course, they are from different sides of the track and he is actually not just like noah in "the notebook" not just poor, but literally, he's from a family of criminals but he's different. well, it doesn't work out in high school. but 25 years, they are reunited at the funeral of an old friend and 25 years is a long time. she's now married and got three kids but she's unhappily married. meanwhile, he has never gotten over her. and you're kind of at that what-if stage of life. so, well, let's throw this into the pot and see what happens.

>> something that probably a lot of people can relate to. >> that was the hope. >> "the notebook" is going to broadway now. >> yes. >> what is it like to, your baby is your book and you write this thing. you have total control over it. what is it like then to see someone else take a little control, whether it's in the movies or on broadway and see it, then, perform live? >> it's interesting, to be very frank. we are still time-out. we are in the development of this process, but the best way that i've always found and it's what i've done in hollywood or whether it's working with the publishers that i've worked with for a long time, it's to work with people that you really trust who understand what it's about. and they want to take that and mold it into something new. obviously, "the notebook" is going to be some sort of musical and it's a lot of fun to be getting involved in that process, too. >> who do you want to play lead roles in the musical? >> gosh, i don't know. someone who can sing! >> you've thought about it, though, haven't you? >> no. we're not even to that stage. the next stage we're casting is

for safe haven, which starts in march, of course. then we'll turn my attention to the next cast, which is probably "the best of me" and then to "the notebook" musical. >> which movie do you like the best? >> that's a tough question. i think i've been fortunate in that all of them, i like them all for very different reasons. "the message in the bottle" was the first one. i get -- i remember for this, it was the weirdest experience. i'm getting ready to head to christmas eve mass and the phone rings and i answer it and he says, nicholas sparks? this is kevin costner! which is a wild experience when you're 30 years old and he has, you're like, hey, kev? so you have different wonderful memories with each. >> you talked that you kind of think topically, that you're looking at a love story but you're thinking, what hasn't been done yet? is there a type of love story or an area type of context you would love to set your next story in? >> yes. and that is what i'm working on right now. it's really a six-step process i go through to come up with those

kinds of stories, but i -- and i'd never, of course, say anything about what i'm working on now. >> you're not going to tell us what you're working on? >> it's breaking news. i could tell you the lucky one is coming out in april and it's fabulous, i've seen the film and it's awesome but i'm a man of ideas. i can't just give them out. >> all right. >> because someone might come along and steal them? >> exactly. >> is there a concern about that? >> there's a concern about the ideas because good ideas are very easy but ideas that are big and broad enough to be a good novel and film are actually kind of hard to come up with. >> nicholas sparks, thanks for coming by, sir. happy holidays to you. >> thank you. >> we'll see you again soon. up next the man who could hold the secret to the fountain of youth. >> we will meet the world's oldest stockbroker who is about to turn 106. this is "the early show" on cbs. it's a great hd tv... shhh. don't speak. i'll just leave you two alone. [ male announcer ] the big christmas event is here. 8 a.m. saturday.

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>> very cool. >> the race to find the fountain of youth is taking a new path. scientists are studying a special group of senior citizens who never seem to grow old. >> they are all a hundred years young. "the early show" contributor karen winter brill found one who is definitely still in business. >> market, beat activity. >> reporter: irving kahn has tracked the markets highs and lows since 1928 a year before the great depression. >> one of the biggest countries in the world is looking pretty attracti attractive. >> absolutely. >> reporter: he presides over a madison avenue firm. what is your secret to a long and healthy life? >> being in a very changeable world which is always interesting. in other words, that's one good aspect of wall street that you never know what is going to happen in the next hour or two. i watch these 30, 40 here.

>> reporter: he is the world's oldest stockbroker. >> is it true you're involved with everything the firm does? >> sometimes too involved. >> reporter: sometimes too involved? >> irving? >> yes. >> i want to talk to you about a stock. >> he gets our tradings, a copy of it every day, so he sees every buy and every sell. all of these companies have europitis. >> reporter: irving reports to work every day around 10:00 and reads the economist and the financial times. all under the watchful eye of his son and grandson. your dad sat in on a 45-meetiin meeting? >> absolutely. >> reporter: kahn defied family. came to the attention of dr. nir barzilai at albert einstein college of medicine student for aging research. after all irving has two sisters

and a brother who all made it past 100. >> it's not that we're taking everyone who is a hundred years old. we are trying to get the best of the best because we want really to understand the biology of those who are best, those are likely to get to 110 without diseases. >> reporter: he looks like he's 50. >> reporter: the doctor is studying super agers. not just people who live long but live well as they grow old. >> this is a very robust guy who is driving every day. he is actually driving kids to school. >> reporter: his study is unique in its focus on 540 centenarians who are all jews. all of our participants are in this freezer? the participants similar gene that appears to have helped centenarians like irving stay healthy longer. >> we found people who have this mutation in the gene have higher

good cholesterol, but also they are protected from hard disease and from decline in alzheimer's. >> reporter: researchers are currently developing a pill they hope will mimic super genes anti-aging effect that have allowed irving kahn to drink from the fountain of youth. do you have an ipod? >> no, it's too big and too difficult. >> reporter: you have to ask him if he refers a kindle to the ipod. what would you like to do what you haven't done yet? >> reduce the number of words on a page. >> reporter: reduce the number of words on a page? >> yeah. shorten them. don't waste a lot of words when you're talking to people, and get the -- the only thing you really have is time and you can't really replace that. >> reporter: a quote from medieval author jeff i didn't

chaser seems only fitting for a man born in 1905, who explored yellowstone at 14 and rang the opening bell on wall street at 100. i wanted to say thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for spending some time with us. >> i think -- i don't think it's worth it, but i think it will be useful for somebody who is writing a book about longevity. >> reporter: karen winter brill, cbs news, new york. >> looking forward to that book. >> awesome. >> irving kahn plans to celebrate his 10 6th birthday with a coconut birthday cake. >> coming up, liz taylor's jewelry sold last night for more than $115 million. you're watching "the early show" on cbs.

city council has now agreed to cover a large portio good morning, everyone. it's 8:25. get you caught up with some of the bay area headlines now. the santa clara city council has now agreed to cover a large portion of proposed billion dollars stadium for the 49ers in santa clara. last night councilmembers unanimously approved an $850 million funding. national football league will fund $150 million in the deal. today the nfl owners will be briefed on that santa clara proposal. a couple of hours from now state lawmakers will hold a hearing on how university police respond to student protestors in response to recent controversies involving pepper spray and other use of force at protests at uc-davis and berkeley. the bay bridge western span could soon become a work of art

as part of a sculpture. an artist wants to install 25,000 l.e.d. lights on the bridge's cable and have them flicker to resemble waves. the plan still needs caltrans' approval and, oh, by the way, $7 million in private donations. we'll have an update on your traffic and weather coming right up. ,,,,,,,,,,

good morning.

fog is still an issue out there bigger on our bridges. chp issued several fog advisories this morning, one for carquinez bridge and benicia bridge, richmond/san rafael bridge you can see fog is obviously an issue across the golden gate, as well. long line of slow traffic. slower speeds. no accidents reported. but you can see slow traffic all the way through novato down towards the francis drake. and westbound 4 at hillcrest, an accident blocking one lane. traffic is sluggish across that stretch. and then more through pittsburg. that's traffic. for your forecast, here's lawrence. >> elizabeth, patchy fog and cold temperatures around the bay area. looks like it will warm up nicely though toward the afternoon. coit tower there starting to disappear there in the distance, but i think in the latter part of the day hazy sunshine for most folks. temperatures up in the 40s some low olympics sock by the afternoon. things changing overnight tonight. clouds moving in. there is a chance we could see some showers some cooler temperatures for thursday. drying out warming up on friday and saturday. ,,

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sounds like things really bizarre. ten times. >> an old school clip of elizabeth taylor talking about an auction. things going for ten times their value. she was just exaggerating a bit. christie's auction house played that before selling off her jewelry collection. it took in more than $115 million. all week taylor fans will be gathering to check out our belongings up for auction. welcome back to "the early show." i'm jeff glor along with rebecca jarvis. chris wragge and erica hill are off this morning. we have a local legend coming up this morning in el

paso, texas. he runs an old fashioned car wash and serves up award winning food and offering advice for half a century. customers don't always like it but they always do listen he is probably stern of that. we will meet him in a few minutes. a holiday gift from fannie mae and freddie mac begins next week. they, along with mortgage banks suspended foreclosures and evictions. >> 4 million are at serious risk even with new government plans to help homeowners who are in trouble. financial contributor carmen wong ulrich has more on this. so far the programs haven't panned out. why? >> goa office did a survey. they found 60% of them said that here is the deal. they actually lost documentation. this is a servicer answer

lenders loss of documentation. 54% said it took too long to process and folks went into foreclosure anyway and 42% felt the applicants were wrongly denied about their assets or income. >> the counselors and banks are saying different things? >> the banks are saying, listen. we have a historical housing collapse and we did not have the personnel available and trained to actually deal with this. if you look at the way mortgages are made and created in the past, mortgages, you owed the bank, right? we know that mortgages were packaged up and sold off so maybe you owe about 30 people. it's untangling a big crochet. >> what percentage of mortgages are sold off now? >> a large percent, especially with the big banks but this is not common any more but this is what happened. do you actually owe that lender? who does the lender owe in terms of that debt obligation. >> you're saying how many of them are in the hands of another lender because -- yeah. that is a big issue. >> very hard to tell.

also don't forget that during the housing boom a lot of people had second mortgages and you don't have to satisfy one mortgage lender who satisfies a whole bunch of other folks but another bank as well and getting them all to play together is a very difficult thing. >> due to that, partly is government programs put out to help millions of homeowners as a result helped very small numbers of homeowners. >> there are several programs out. the hamp program, home affordable modification program. developed back in 2009. set to end next year. designed to help 3 million to 4 million and only helped 800,000 so that didn't do well. harp is the home affordable refinance program and that is set to end at the end of 2013. designed to help 4 million to 5 million people and helped about 930 million people so far and by the end of the program will help fewer than 2 million and one more program and this fell flat.

the fhasr and designed to help almost a million people and only helped a couple hundred people. >> none of these programs have been that effective. if you're in a rough situation what do you do? >> i recommend you go to those programs first and making home affordable.gov. you need to get people to help you through this process so get a nonprofit housing counselor. granddad hud.gov and get a housing kourcounselor from therd nfcc.org. there a lot of foreclosure fraud out there so be very careful. >> speed, obviously, is important here too. >> thank you. appreciate it. here is terrell brown glor at the news desk with a final check of today's other headlines for us. >> good morning. this morning, opec announced it's keeping his crude oil output insteady.

their 12 oil ministers met this morning and decided to keep the cartel's daily oil production at 30 million barrels a day as the global economic recovery faces rising fuel prices. one of jerry sandusky's adle victims is calling him a coward for waiving the preliminary hearing yesterday. several of the victims were prepared to testify. sandusky faces 22 criminal counts. this morning, the attorney for one of the alleged victims said his client wanted to face sandusky in court. >> he was thoroughlily prepared by the lead prosecutor to testify and got himself psyched up to do just that and was really angry that after being so well prepared, he was denied the opportunity. >> sandusky who repeatedly has said he is innocent, remains free on bail. there are new developments in the sexual abuse allegations against another college coach. syracuse former basketball coach bernie fine, two of his accusers

announced a defamation lawsuit yesterday against syracuse head basketball coach jim boeheim who initially insisted they were lying. they claim they were molested by fine when they were children. >> i want to help children who have the courage to tell adults, their family, their teachers, their coaches and the police if they are sexually aboous bused. >> bernie fine says he is innocent of the accusations. he has been fired by syracuse university. federal highway safety officials are calling for a total ban on drivers use of cell phones. national transportation safety board says talking, texting or e-mailing behind the wheel is too dangerous. more than 300 people died in accidents caused by distracted accidents last

one of the hottest trends

for the holiday is accessories that go with your smart phone or tablet turning a digital device into a physical toy. >> c-net.com senior editor bridget carey is here to show us some of her favorites. great to have you here. apps are more a part of our nomenclature and part of the conversation which is why they are making them into toys all of a sudden. >> we are seeing the bridge now and this is the first time we are seeing a lot on the toy shelves that are from major companies like disney and crayola and leggo. >> my son was using one last week. it's extraordinary. can you sync them up with a car like we see over there? >> over disney cars and this matchboxcar-sized toy and it doesn't do anything until you hold it and put it on your ipad screen. and that little car -- yeah,

yeah, one of those little guys. and when you put it on the screen, the background of the screen comes to life and you're driving around and interacting with friends and it's talking and you have adventures to go through. it doesn't scratch the screen because it's flat but i suppose if you have a kid that gets too excited, you may want to have a screen protecter. >> those are magnets on the bottom of it. >> crayola has a draw set. you put case around the ipad 2 and tracing paper on top and we don't have an ipad inside there but that is what the case looks like. then as you can go through the app you learn how to draw and when you're done the little guy an mates and you have somebody for mom and dad. >> a special pen for that? so you're not accidentally drawing on the ipad? >> it's a marker but you have a screen protecter so the icky fingers don't get on the screen. >> a box of leggos and iphone

app and ipod touch app. so you get your box of legos and the screen on your phone or ipad touch gives you a puzzle and you have to quickly make this image and you're timed. so you have to quickly make it and build it and when you're done, you put it on a special pad, point your phone's camera at it and it detects whether you did it right nor not. the app is free but the box costs about $30. >> that takes legos to a whole new level. i never thought of legos as a competitive game for kids but now, all of a sudden, it is. what is this? >> another absolutely cutest little cell phone protecter. >> that's a cell phone protecter? >> is that all it is? that will fit in your handbag nicely. >> what you do is you put your phone or ipod touch, anything about the size of an iphone in there and now your kid can watch

movies or play music and they can snuggle with it. >> he can snuggle with it but i guess you could probably get it out of here but it does provide a little bit of protection. there you go. >> i guess if you sleep with your phone, gives you something to snuggle with. >> who doesn't these days? >> one more thing, right? which is kind of arcade? >> this is the icade and takes your ipad into the old school arcade. you can download atari games and play them like on asteroid and shoot and jump games that i would love for the day to come when you see things more like of a combat on there and other fighting games. right now, it's the basic atari style of games. >> 90 bucks? >> about 80. they dropped the price. >> how much is this? >> 20 bucks. >> you're going to get one? you're starting to fall in love with it? >> bridget carey, thank you very much. we are continuing our local

legends series. people around the country preserving their local tradition. >> in el paso, texas, a car wash and restaurant owner has been handing out advice for more than 55 years even those this loyal customers might not agree with him, they can't stay away. >> el paso is the greatest city in the united states. i lived here all my life and grew up on this block right here where our business is. open in october of '58. my dad and other brother opened it. here is where the cars come and you get out of your car. the kids take over and vacuum it. good afternoon. you want french fries with that? >> no thanks. >> will you tell them that? and we have great customers and every once in a while, we get a gut check. >> i brought my car in to be washed. do not screw it up.

>> shoe shine is great. >> not doing it. >> he's a grouch, but in a good way. >> we are pretty loose with our language and we are very opinionated and, you know, most people understand it. a few get offended. we do a good car wash, but naturally the food attracts people because that's what they like to do is eat. >> i heard you're being nice to do because you're on camera? >> am i being nice or am i being myself? >> why do you like to come here? because the owners abuse me every day when i come in. it feels good. >> he's never in a bad mood. >> i'm not politically correct, okay? i don't play any games and i don't say things nice. i just tell you the way it is. you either like it or you don't. so you either come back or you don't. but i don't do that sweet talk. not even to my wife. maynard? >> yeah. >> let me call you back in a few minutes. >> let me wish you a happy

thanksgiving. >> i was going to call you and tell you. >> okay. bye-bye. >> maynard is el paso. >> maynard is a teddy bear. >> he's not going to like that we say that about him but he's a teddy bear. >> they are great. absolutely great. >> you can always ask me anything you want. if you're willing to listen, it's all good. they said you give senior citizen discounts? i said, if i was going to give a discount, i would give it to kids. seniors have all the money. >> what a character. >> that gruff exterior can often conceal a softer side. >> the tacos looked great. >> yes, they did. >> i happen to love tacos. >> up next, jewelry and dressers fit for a queen. >> we will take you inside the auction of liz taylor's extraordinary collection. $115 million. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. look at that picture! ,,,,,,,,,,

or creates another laptop bag, or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $13.2 billion to small businesses across the country so far this year. because the more we help them,

♪ diamonds are forever >> they are forever and also expensive. it is one of the richest, most extravagant auctions. >> the auction began last night and nearly three days left, it's already brought in a record 115 million dollars. nearly every sale has far surpassed its estimated price. her historic 50 carat pearl alone sold for nearly $12 million and the diamond ring that richard burton bought her sold for almost $9. >> this is it. this is the baby. this is what elizabeth had.

>> reporter: it's the iconic elizabeth taylor diamond. >> 33.19 carats. >> reporter: so pure, experts have rated it potentially flawless. >> pure of the ypure. >> reporter: worn by the actress almost daily 40 years the diamond was a gift from the man taylor married twice, actor richard burton. the occasion? just because it was a tuesday. >> elizabeth referred toeternity. >> reporter: this tuesday. >> sold for $7,800,000. >> reporter: and three times of its price at the christie's auction house, as part of the elizabeth taylor's jewelry and fashion. >> offered on the market so many years. >> reporter: a 50 carat rare gem. >> it was covered over 400 years ago by a slave in panama. >> reporter: that once belonged to the crown jewels of spain and

the bonapart family. >> purchased by richard burton in the '60s and at that time he paid $74,000 and this day it's estimated $2 million to $3 million. >> reporter: wow. but it sold for nearly five times that. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: and burton wasn't the only one who gifted taylor. a bride eight times to seven different men, taylor was showered with gems. film producer mike todd, husband number three, gave her this tierra, along with other pieces, including this now famous set of rubies. >> they had been renting a chateau in the south of france and elizabeth, at the age of 21, had been swimming in the pool doing laps, wearing the tierra, ran mike todd and carrying red boxes and we know what that means. cartier. there wasn't a mirror around so elizabeth yoot the reflection of the pool to see herselves. >> did men compete when they gave her jewelry? >> it looks like they did.

>> reporter: a style in "vogue" she dressed herself. and it 5'2", taylor was a standout. >> she was so beautiful with that dead black hair. those amazing eyebrows. the gray and green eyes. and wonderful match. it was such a definite look. no one else could be like that. for my money, the thing that makes me laugh the most and she was had a sense of humor was the outfit she wore to active at london's heathrow airport made out of white daisies because she had become a grandmother at the age of 37 and walked down with knee-high leather boots. that, my dear s style. >> reporter: to diamonds, taylor took impeccable care to take care of it. >> she was a true protecter and looked after her wardrobe the same way she looked after her jewels, very carefully. this is museum quality care.

we haven't sent these to the dry cleaners. >> a rare collection for a rare beauty whom the public surely won't forget. >> miss taylor is one of. in the kind of cliche of life and when they break the mold, they really did. >> reporter: the sale of taylor's entire collection over four days was originally estimated to reach up to $50 but it's already more than doubled that. close to 1,000 items up for sale no telling how much her highly sought after items will fetch. money from those will go to elizabeth taylor foundation. >> i was interested to hear what the weirdest thing you saw at the auction was. >> one of the most unique was one of the pieces that michael jackson had gifted to her elizabeth taylor. i mean, you know, start with that but it was fantastic. it was monkeys with bananas. a big necklace matching clip-on earrings. it was fantastic. encrusted, of course, with diamonds and rubies. >> what else?

of course. >> literally a wild piece. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. that will do it for us today. see you back here tomorrow morning. have a great day. your local news is coming up next. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

a pair of violent sexual good morning. 8:55. i'm grace lee with your cbs 5 headlines. a pair of violent sexual assaults in san francisco's mission district are prompting a meeting tonight between police and residents there. police have a vague suspect description from surveillance footage. a woman was recently raped on 24th street on thursday. monday's protest at the port of oakland cost the facility up to $8 million not including the $1,000 per trucker who was there that day. those demonstrations completely shut down three of seven port terminals. "time" magazine could not narrow its person of the year for 2011 to one individual. "the protestor" took the award, based on the amount of global

dissent that caused political and economic change this year. a whole lot of it. coming right up traffic and weather coming right up. secondhand smoke affects everyone's health. it's not just irritating. it can cause heart disease and even death. speak up about secondhand smoke. your health and the health of your family depend on it.

good morning. we'll start off with a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza where things have thinned out quite a bit so not too bad

anymore. metering lights remain on. there's also a lot of fog still. we have fog advisories on the carquinez bridge, benicia bosnia and the richmond/san rafael bridge and the benicia bridge. nimitz 880 through oakland past the coliseum kind of slow and go from the coliseum towards downtown oakland. that drive time about 36 minutes between 238 and the maze. slower speeds out of downtown san jose. you can see it's sluggish all the way out towards cupertino. that is traffic. for your forecast, here's lawrence. >> patchy fog around the bay area and cold temperatures to start out the day. it is a chilly start to the day out there right now. we have some fog continuing around the bay area a little thick especially in the north bay this is looking actually toward the east bay right now. but toward the afternoon, that should dissipate. we are look at skies really clearing out. hazy sunshine, temperatures moving up into the 50s and a few 60s. now, by tomorrow, things change a bit. weak system making its way toward the bay area. a chance we could see a few showers and some cold temperatures. drying out and warming up on friday and into the weekend.