death of a dictator. breaking news overnight. north korea's long time leader kim jong-il dies. now who takes over and what does it mean for the region and washington? whiteout. millions in the plains and the southwest hunker down as a colossal prewinter storm takes aim. and going postal. why today is the worst day all year-round to be a mailman. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, december 19th, 2011. good morning, everyone, on this very busy monday. good to be with us. i'm terrell brown. for 17 years, king jom ill ruled north korea with an iron fist. this morning, his reign is over. he has died at the age of 69.

a weeping broadcaster for north korean state tv broke the news today saying their dear leader died of heart failure on sunday and asking the 24 million citizens to rally behind kim's song, heir apparent. big questions about regional stability and the future of north korea's nuclear program and the relationship with the u.s. we begin our coverage with tara mergener in washington this morning. >> reporter: the white house says it is watching developments in korea very closely at this point, and that is efforts to get north korea to abandon their nuclear ambitions may have to be delayed. north koreans openly went over the death of their long time leader kim jong-il. both men and women broke down after hearing he died of a heart attack while on a train on saturday. it's urging its people to rally

behind his third son and heir-apparent kim jong-un. >> he apparently studied abroad in switzerland in his early years so he has kind of a western education but we don't know what kind of leader he is going to be and what direction he is going to take the country. >> reporter: immediately following news of kim's death, japan set up a crisis deem while south korea put its military on high alert. president obama called south korea's president overnight. he reaffirmed the commitment to south korea security and the overall stability to the region. kim's death comes just days after u.s. and north korean officials discussed possibly s somewhat. they are very unlikely is what i

would say to give up their nuclear program but they may freeze it for a while. >> reporter: before any decision is made, north korea will likely first bury its beloved leader. a funeral for kim is planned for december 28th. and the official mourning period will go on for ten days. no entertainment will be allowed and no foreign delegations will be allowed to express their condolences. >> tara mergener in washington this morning, thank you. joining us with more is cbs news correspondent celia hatton in beijing. what is the reaction from china? >> reporter: well, china is north korea's biggest ally, so officially the chinese government said that mr. kim was a true friend to china, it was very distressed to hear the news and called mr. kim a great leader. they aren't certain whether future leadership of north korea will embrace the ongoing relationship with china or whether they will decide to warm up relations with washington and

that is something washington doesn't want. >> kim juong-un the heir-apparent. >> nobody knows much about him and has the region in a panic. we know he is somewhere in his 20s. he was announced as the successor a year ago by passing his two older brothers but since then, we have hardly heard anything about him. he is rarely seen in public so we aren't sure what is happening with his succession and it really is a bit of a concern if he does become leader, he will be a very young person in charge of a country with a lot of problems, military armed country that really has serious economic issues. >> celia hatton in beijing, thank you. appreciate it. we will have much more on kim jong-il's death and what it means for the region and the world a little later

modesty isn't just the norm, it's the law. one soldier tried to cover her up but the video was already gone viral on social networking sites. capping a drawdown that saw the u.s. go from 50,000 troops in iraq as late as august to zero. the warp cost the lives of 4,000 u.s. military and 100,000 iraqis. the top u.s. general in the country called the exit the most complex logistical operation since world war ii. he said he is optimistic the iraqis are ready to assume total

control. >> i'm very hopeful that things will continue to move in the right direction. it's going to take the iraqi government, the iraqi people to make the right decisions and work together. >> the big challenge now is getting many of the u.s. servicemen and women back stateside for the holidays. a massive blizzard is taking aim in parts of the southwest and central states. the storm is expected to strike the southwest and central and southern plains. blizzard conditions with heavy snow and strong winds are expected. colorado and kansas may be hardest hit. winter storm watches and blizzard watches are in effect from southeastern colorado to kansas. the oklahoma and texas panhandles and eastern new mexico. snowfall amounts may range as high as a foot and a half in some places. snow over the weekend hit parts of the midwest including indiana. the slippery conditions on the road caused some accidents and minor injuries. to washington now. so many americans depend on is unknown. we all thought they had a deal after the senate battle it out

and now lawmakers appear headed for another capital showdown. whit johnson has more. >> reporter: in a surprise move, house speaker john boehner rejected saturday's senate deal to extend the payroll tax holiday for two months. >> it's pretty clear that i and our members oppose the senate bill. it's only for two months. >> reporter: yesterday, boehner supported the measure, but following a series of calls with house republicans, he changed his mind. he now insists any deal should last for a year. >> i believe that two months is just kicking the can down the road. the american people are tired of that. frankly, i'm tired of it. >> reporter: bipartisan majority of the senate voted to stop the payroll texas from going up on 160 million americans and extend long-term benefits for the unemployed. >> we had a tutduty to be here united states senators. >> reporter: threatening the senate which is now on vacation will stay on vacation even if the house tries to change the

bill. if speaker boehner refuses to vote on the bipartisan compromise that passed the senate with 89 votes, republicans will be forcing a thousand dollar tax increase on middle class families. in the house, minority leader nancy pelosi wrote the only thing standing in the way of a middle class tax cut are tea party republicans. right now both sides are bigging this their heels. if the house won't pass the bill and the senate won't come back, most americans will see their taxes go up come january 1st. whit johnson, cbs news, washington. republican presidential candidate mitt romney got a boost heading into the important iowa caucuses with the endorsement "the des moines register." the paper said in its sunday edition, quote. newt gingrich reacted to the endorsement saying it's a liberal newspaper and he says he is the true conservative candidate in this race. take a quick break.

coming up on the morning news, wall street wonders what happened to the santa claus rally. a frantic search for a toddler who vanished in maine into thin air. this is the "cbs morning news." i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. thanks for joining us.

the board of trustees of florida a&m university meets today to discuss suspending the university's president. robert champion's death was ruled a homicide. in waterville, maine, the search continues for missing 20-month-old toddler. ala reynolds was last seen asleep at her father's house. her parents who don't live together is said to be cooperating with police. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. good morning. >> good morning, terrell. >> reporter: asian markets fell on the news of kim jong-il's death.

both tokyo's nikkei and hong ko kong's hang sang lost more than a%. any uncertain in the region is bad for stocks. markets are still on edge about european debt. those worries weighed heavily on stocks last week. for the week, the dow is down more than 2.5%, while the nasdaq lost 3.5%. don't look to your mutual fund for any holiday cheer. the average diversified fund is down almost 6% this year. that compares to 1.5% its yearly loss for the s&p 500 and that has investors looking for the exits through october, they pulled out almost $85 billion from stock funds this year. last year, that number was 37 billion. today is expected to be the busiest shipping day for the u.s. postal service. the usps says today is your last chance to get your package sent on time for holidays. if you don't make it, you should

upgrade on the shipping. 801 million cards and letters are expect to be processed. nearly double the average volume between thanksgiving and new year's, they will deliver 16.5 billion letters, packages, and cards. and at the movies, it was elementary, my dear, terrell. the new sherlock holmes film "a game of shadows" won the box office. "alvin and the chipmunks was in second. 12% fewer people went to any movie this weekend than they did last year. overall box office revenues are down 4% for the year. terrell, who has time to go to a movie with all this last-minute shopping? i still have to get your present! >> i haven't gotten yours yet, so no rush. don't worry. ashley morrison in new york, appreciate it. thank you. straight ahead, your monday morning weather. and in sports, all of the great win streaks

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but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum, a name i trust. it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too. and these ultra-concentrated minigels are much smaller than many others. it's part of a whole new line of supplements. there's probiotic and fruit & veggie too. new pronutrients from centrum helps make nutrition possible. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clouds moving to the

southern plains, where a storm system is taking shape. the southeast and northeast have clear skies. fair weather clouds are moving across the northern plains. a low lying coastal fog in the northwest. later today, a chance for severe thunderstorms in eastern texas and heavy snow in western kansas which will come from one storm system crossing the southern plains. the southeast will be sunny and mild. the northeast will be cool. wn 80-yard td.

colts get their first win of the season. 27-13 over tennessee. after the game, colts announced injured quarterback peyton manning will not return this season. manning hasn't played since having neck surgery back in september. no miracle comeback for tim tebow and the broncos. denver scored on their first possession, including this tackle-breaking td run for tebow. but it was all pats after that. new england qb tom brady tossed for a pair of scores and ran for another. the play boy outduels the preacher and patriots blow out denver. chargers quarterback philip rivers hit the 4,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season. running back ryan mathews got to

thousand yard rushing milestone and scored twice. chargers crush baltimore 34-14. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and what a deal! retailers pull out all of the stops as the christmas shopping season comes into the home stretch. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records.

next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. a van, plows into a children's nursery.. as people leave a holiday service. the major mess left behind. the world is watching north korea after the death of dictator kim jong il. who's taking over, and what it means for the u-s. a new era for facebook. the big milestone today, and how it could change the social network for the better. and it's the last chance to mail that holiday package. what procratinators need to know. join us for cbs 5 early edition

on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. activity over the southern plains will pick up through the day as a storm system goes to the south. snowfall ranges 3 to 12 inches. here is another look at this morning's top stories. kim jong-il, the dictator of communist north korea, has died of heart failure. he was 69 years old. kim's death has sparked worldwide concerns over what is next for north korea, its nuclear ambitions and its relationship with washington. and a major preseason blizzard is heading for t

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in california, dare devil driver proved you can ride a new chevrolet sonic like a skateboard in a 360-degree stunt. he took the car on a defying gravity kick flip on saturday. it goes without saying, probably not a good idea for you to try that at home. a run-away car plowed into a crowd on saturday. stadium workers were picking up markers when the cart took off. there were no reports of serious injuries. we see cell phone video on youtube and other web sites all the time. people phone in news and celebrity sightings and stupid

tricks. now cell phone video arrives in movie theaters. ben tracy has more. >> reporter: now for the first time, a smart phone was used to shoot an entire feature length film that will actually be released in a theater. the moviee is called "off live." >> yeah, we are breaking all of the rules but somebody has to, right. >> reporter: huma khalili is the director. >> you see how vibrant the colors are and you see how crisp everything looks and how perfect the resolution is, you're going to forget you're watching a cell phone film. >> reporter: every shot of the film was shot in nokia and a smart phone. they strapped the phobe to a remote-controlled helicopter and hoping for the best. it took 17 takes to get it right. >> it was difficult, but

ultimately it was so much cheaper than getting a crane because that helicopter pilot cost 600 bucks. >> reporter: one of the biggest challenges is that smart phones think they are smarter than we are. the crew had to hack into their phone and permanently disable the auto zoom and auto focus features to get the shots they wanted. they then attached a 35 millimeter lens to the front of the phone in very low tech and low budget fashion. they used double-sided tape, he yet the film had the makeup and two-time academy award nominated actress janet roll land. it took $500,000 to make. chris kelly, a former facebook executive, put up some of the money. >> somebody has to do it first and that is what we wanted to do. >> reporter: "olive" will run for a week so it can be considered for an academy award in february. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. >> for some reason, i'm not. coming up later on "the

early show," more on the death of the north korean leader kim jong-il and what danger the u.s. and other nations may face. plus, out of iraq. what it it means for the future in the middle east. and going green. ecofriendly cars that are paying off big time for an automaker. that and much more coming up on "the early show." that's the "cbs morning news" for this monday. i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. have a great day. have a great day.