iowa intrigue. a big shake-up? the gop race. michele bachmann campaign suffers a major defection and new poll numbers show rick pgingrich slipping. newt criminal charges considered for the massive gulf oil spill. a lucky puppy. one very cold labrador is rescued from a frozen river just in the nick of time. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, december 29th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, december 29th, 2011. good morning, everybody, i'm a new cnn/"time" poll shows

mitt romney in first place. ron paul in first and there is new trouble for michele bachmann. with an 11th hour defection by her iowa campaign manager. duarte geraldino is in washington with more. >> reporter: michele bachmann was certainly surprised by that defection but such dramatic shift have become common in the weeks leading up to the caucus. now everyone is waiting to see what bold move will happen next. michele bachmann's campaign is dealing with another blow. just hours after appearing with the minnesota congresswoman at an event wednesday, her iowa campaign manager state senator kent sorensen defected, joining ron paul's team. >> i believe two tier of candidates and i believe ron paul is in that tier and i'm here to help him. >> kent sorensen personally told me he was offered a large sum of

money to go to work for the ron paul campaign. >> reporter: paul's team insist it did not pay sorensen slamming the state senator. a new poll shows only 9% would vote for her at next tuesday's caucus. the poll's biggest surprise, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum after struggling for months he suddenly surged to third place with 16%. that is an 11-point gain since the beginning of december. one continue onetime newt gingrich plummeted to third place. ron paul is three points behind the leader mitt romney. >> the president said he wants to fundamentally transform americans. i kind of like america. >> reporter: last night, the former massachusetts governor drew one of his largest crowds yet at a town hall meeting in iowa and hoping for a bigger turnout next week at the iowa

caucuses. it shows whoever wins there will face a rough battle for the eventual republican presidential nomination. on tuesday, perry said he had undergone a transformation on the issue and opposed all abortions, including cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life was in danger. but, yesterday, perry said he would allow abortion if a woman's life was at risk. ten members of the occupy des moines protest movement were arrested at a demonstration at mitt romney's campaign offices. the demonstrators banged on the office windows demanding that romney release his tax returns. they say they will not disrupt the caucuses but want their case heard. >> instead of saying this is the candidate i want to vote for, we say this is a candidate i'm going to occupy. this is a candidate i think really pushing just destructive

discourse. >> reporter: romney, a multimillionaire says he has no plans took release his tax returns but might disclose more financial information in the future. overseas. tens of thousands of mourners gathered in took center stage today alongside the nation's military elite. iran's new threat to cut off a key oil supply route drew a quick response from washington. it won't be tolerated. iran is threatening to block the strait of hormuz at the mouth of the persian gulf. traders say the iranian threat sounds empty. >> it really doesn't behoove iran to shut the strait of hormuz because those barrels that they sell to china and

travel through the strait of hormuz as well. >> this morning, the price of oil dropped on world markets after rising for six straight days. it's reported the justice department is considering filing the first criminal charges in its probe of the gulf oil spill case. the charges would be brought against employees of british oil giant bp. an explosion on the deep water horizon oil rig in 2010 killed 11 workers and led to a massive oil spill. nearly 5 billion barrels. "wall street journal" reports prosecutors are focusing on u.s. based bp engineers. the government says bp failed to conduct accurate tests on one part of the drill. 2011 may prove to be the safest year on record for air travel. as the year comes to a close, there has been one fatality for every 7.1 million air passengers. according to an aviation industry consulting firm. that compares with the previous record in four of one passenger

death per 6.4 million flyers but that year, there were 33% fewer passengers on many fewer flights. on the cbs "moneywatch," a vending machine that can tell your age and gender. drew levinson is here in new york with that and much more. >> good morning, whit. asian markets finished mostly lower today on new signs of strain on the european banking system. hong kong's hang sang lost almost 1% while tokyo's nikkei ticked down a fraction. today, wall street gets the latest on home sales and a look at the weekly jobless claim numbers. on wednesday, stocks stumbled, snapping a five-day rally. the dow fell 140 points. the nasdaq was down 35. wednesday's losses pushed the s&p 500 into the red for the year after barrelly turning positive on friday. for all of 2011, the index largely viewed as the best barometer for the market, is down 0.6%. the gold rush on wall street is long gone.

gold fell almost 2% yesterday toity lowest closing price since july. silver was also down. the precious metals value is dropping largely on signs of strength in the u.s. economy. one of those signs of strength, holiday sales. last-minute shoppers helped push retail sales up 4.5% the week before christmas. americans spent a record $35 billion online this holiday season and that is up 15% compared to last year. the next big shopping wave is expected to come when people start cashing in their gift cards. meanwhile, a new survey shows netflix and gap among the worst performers when it comes to customer satisfaction this season. the poll also had four marks for sony and toys "r" us. amazon the top spot with the biggest improvements coming from tigerdirect.com and j. krchlt pc. pen

ney ney's. the technology was designed for market research but could be used to control who is permitted to buy a particular product. that, i'm not so sure about. >> a little creepy. >> very strange. >> drew levinson here in new york, thank you. a kind of time travel. the south pacific island nation of samoa is skipping friday. at midnight tonight, its calendar will change to saturday, december 31st. the reason? after nearly 120 years east of the international date line, samoa has decided it wants to be west of it to match up with trading partners like

staying healthy. a study that it's possible for seniors to keep their body young tonight on the "cbs evening news." the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists.

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two new studies suggest the cancer vuk avastin does not improve survival for most women suffering from ovarian cancer. and that it causes unnecessary side effects. last month, the food and drug administration revoked its approval avastin for treatment of breast cancer. colorado has become the third state to ask the federal drug enforcement administration to reclassify marijuana in a way that allows doctors to prescribe it as a medical treatment. last month, the governors of washington and rhode island also asked that the government list marijuana as a scheduled 2 drug like morphine. starting next year, california will become the first state in the nation to ban the sale of some over-the-counter cough syrup to most teenagers. bigad shaban explains. >> reporter: the doctor's office isn't the first place jennifer

berry turns to when she has a cold. the 16-year-old almost always relies on over-the-counter cough si syrup, but starting january 1st, jennifer will no longer be able to buy a bottle on her own. california lawmakers are baping the sale of most cough medicine to teens. dextromethorphan or dxm can cause hallucinations or even death. >> the number one drug of children under 18, more common than marijuana because it is is so easily accessible. >> reporter: teens will be able to buy the cough syrup if they have a prescription. an estimated 5.5% of ten graders got high on cough medicine this year. >> people using it for recreational purposes may be taking half a bottle to a full bottle and maybe even more that on a daily basis. >> reporter: the makers of cough medicine support the change and are trying to raise awareness about dxm online.

>> it seriously destroyed me, it really did. >> reporter: but this teen convinced the law will prevent abuse. >> if they want to get it, they will. doesn't matter if there is a law against it or not. >> reporter: and she says it only makes it harder for people like her who want to take the right dose for the right reason. bigad shaban, cbs news, los angeles straight ahead, your thursday morning weather. and in sports, texas trickery. the longhorns pull a surprise play in the holidy bowl game. multi-policy discount. paperless discount. paid-in-full discount. [yawning] homeowner's discount. safe driver discount. chipmunk family reunion. someone stole the nuts. squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today.

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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 thick clouds in the northwest producing rain showers and snow showers and mostly clear in the northeast. the southern half of the country is calm with just a few clouds cutting over the southeast. the northwest will have rain and wind with snow in the northern rockies. the southwest will be mild with highs in the 60s

california. later the longhorns went on to a 21-10 victory. in college basketball, number one ranked syracuse remains undefeated. the orange got a career high 12 points from fab mellow against seton hall. he blocked ten shots. a new school record. syracuse crushed the pirates 75-49. in kentucky the fourth ranked louisville cardinals were upset by number 12 georgetown as starks had a career high 20 points. the hoyas held off louisville in the closing seconds for a 71-68 win. in the nba, the heat are still perfect this season. in the fourth quarter, miami's lebron james went for a dunk.

take a look at this. it goes through the rim but the ball hit gerald henderson's head and bounced out. the refs should have called it a score but didn't. in the closing seconds, dwyane wade hit a clutch bank shot over henderson. miami went on to beat charlotte 96-95. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and a milestone achieved for new york city's 9/11 memorial.

it's sears happy new year's sale save on all fitness equipment, including nordictrack. save up to 25% on all kenmore appliances. plus save an extra 15% on all appliances over $499 with your sears card. don't miss the happy new year's sale. sears. in the berkeley hills. a fast moving fire, forces the evacuation of more than a dozen homes. the damage.. and power problems it caused. a not so smooth criminal. how a hit and run driver, left a trail of evidence that could lead police right to him. it's getting harder to eat natural. the surge in chemicals in california crops. and why farmers say they have no choice. and a soupy morning.. the bay area bridges with fog advisories. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30.

on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. another storm system is on its way into the great lakes bringing light snow and rain to michigan and pennsylvania. other storms are delivering rain and snow to the pacific northwest. here is another look at this morning's top stories. michele bachmann's iowa campaign manager has jumped

ship. bachmann says kent sorensen join the ron paul campaign because he was offered, quote, a large sum of money. paul's campaign says that's not true. and federal prosecutors are said to be considering filing criminal charges in the gulf oil spill case. the "wall street journal" reports prosecutors are focusing on bp engineers based in the u.s. a milestone for the september 11th memorial here in new york. it will be announced today that the site has had 1 million visitors since it opened to the public this past september. about 10,000 people visit the ground zero site each day. no more than 1,500 people are allowed into the memorial grounds at one time. the library of congress has chosen more than two dozen new titles for the national film registry. the selection brings to 575, the number of classic movies to be preserved for their cultural, artistic, or historical significance. manuel gallegus reports.

>> my mom always said, life was like a box of chocolates. >> reporter: 1994 forrest gump is one of 25 films the library of congress chose this year to preserve for future generations. the newly honored classic span decades from 1912 silent medicalmelo drama to "bambi." >> it's a film that succeed with each generation. it captures a new age of viewers and is one of those films that endures from one generation to the next. >> reporter: some are based on true stories like "stand and deliver." a wave of movies that latino filmmakers made in the '80s. and "norma rae." any new movies out now have to wait. they have to be at least ten years old.

>> the current films, i don't think any of them would belong in that. >> reporter: the library chooses movies that reflect american culture and history. from the controversial depiction of african-americans in this one, to the cold war hysteria of alien invaders in 1953 "war of the worlds." and one of the greatest of all time made the cut, hannibal made the cut in "silence of the lambs." something for every taste. manuel gallegus, cbs news, new york. a dog in north dakota is back home safe and sound after a big scare in a rescue. the black lab named jake fell into the icy red river in fargo, tuesday. you can see his paws just barely holding on and holding on for dear life on the edge of the ice with his front paws but could not get out of the water. a firefighter who was wearing a

small camera was able to pull jake out. he was wet and very cold but not seriously harmed. there he is. back home. a little warmer. i'm whit johnson. and this is the "cbs morning news." t fall. ugh, it's my sinus congestion, and it's all your fault. naturally blame the mucus. he's funny. instead of blaming me, try this, advil congestion relief. often the real problem is swelling, not mucus. advil congestion relief reduces swelling due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. happily ever after. another story? from him! [ mucus ] advil congestion relief. the right relief for the real problem. [ mucus ] advil congestion relief. you could get money that's both fast and free on an emerald card. just bring in your tax information... and get a refund anticipation check in 7-14 days, for up to $9,999. call 1-800-hrblock to make an appointment. new pronamel iso-active is a toothpaste in a can.

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pronamel iso-active helps protect against being found but you can bet some lobbyists were out there looking. speaking of the beauty of nature. consider the snowflake. seth doane has the story of the man who was the first to show the world just how beautiful and elegant a tiny ice crystal can be. >> reporter: in places like vermont this time of the year, the treetops really can glisten but even here when wintry nostalgia is part of the

landscape, remember the for snow. wilson bentley was known the world over as the snowflake man. the first person ever to photograph microscopic images of snowflakes. they were delicate, stunning, and complex. >> people still find them lacy and afemoral and they speak to people in a beautiful way. >> reporter: wayne howe preserves the legacy of the on snowflake man in the old red mill. here is bentley's first microscope. a childhood gift from his mother and the camera that he engineer jury-rigged. >> when the snows came, he had a blackboard. it was actually a tray and the snowflakes would fall on that tray and with a feather, he would kind of rifle through and then he would pick that up with the edge of the feather because if he picked it up with his finger, it would melt. put it on the slide, a glass slide, put that under the

microscope and then he could photograph it. >> reporter: in the 1920s, bentley's life work was finally discovered and published worldwide and celebrated in "national geographic." after an especially ambitious snowflake safari in 1931, bentley caught a bad cold which developed quickly into pneumonia, and two days before christmas, the snowflake man passed away at the family home. >> the sum of his story is that perseverance matters. perseverance makes a difference. if you pick something you love and keep doing it over your lifetime, that is what makes life really satisfying. >> reporter: tucked away in a discrete corner of the town's cemete cemetery, his gave is marked by the humblest of stones. it is, however, surrounded by a beautiful blanket of snow. seth doane, cbs news, new york.

coming up later on "the early show," it's down to the wire in iowa, with a new poll showing a surge for mitt romney. then as thousands of women leave the military after the iraq war, they face problems mail veterans don't. and whale watchers delight. record numbers of gray whales are being seen off the california coast. that's the "cbs morning news" for this thursday. thanks for watching. i'm whit johnson. have a great day.