bloodshed in syria. representatives at an international conference are expected to demand the regime agree to a cease-fire. quran controversy. the president's apology has newt gingrich burning mad. >> he is consistently apologizing to people who do not deserve the apology of the president of the united states, period. pomp politics. president obama says republican arguments about how to lower the price of gas don't hold water. >> there is no silver bullet. price of gas don't hold water. >> there is no silver bullet. there never has been. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, february 24, 2012. good morning everybody. happy friday. thanks for being with us. i'm betty nguyen.

>> this morning, an international conference opens today representatives from 70 nations and organizations are considering a response to syria's brutal crackdown on opposition groups. they're expected to issue an ultimatum to president bashar assad for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian aid or face further sanctions. susan mcginnis has more. good morning, betty. it's been a year now of bloodshed in syria and world nations have met before to try to figure had out. today, they're meeting again to try to craft a demand for a cease-fire and to let that humanitarian aid in and get president assad out of power. government forces have been bombing the syrian city of homs for more than two weeks. they are reportedly blocking food and medical supplies from reaching the rebel stronghold. secretary of state hillary clinton and leaders of about 70 countries, including much of the arab world, are expected to

demand a cease-fire so humanitarian aid can reach homs. the agenda for the meeting in tunisia today includes finding ways to pressure president bashar assad to step down. >> we must never lose sight of what this is about. a regime making war on its own people. >> the united nations estimates more than 5400 people have died in the pro democracy uprising in the past year. u.n. investigators say president assad's regime is committing serious crimes against humanity. one syrian who fled to lebanon said he'll return to syria to & fight if he has to. >> we will not left our people in homs. we will not left them. we will go there and die there. >> the white house has said it wants a diplomatic end to the crisis in syria. in recent days the administration signaled it may consider other options, including supporting opposition forces. >> it is clear to me that there

will be a breaking point. >> sources tell cbs news, some arab countries are supplying rebels with weapons. syrian opposition groups are expected to attend the conference in tunisia to talk about a transition to democracy if assad's regime falls. international pressure on syria intensified after two western journalists were killed there on wednesday. betty? indeed it did. susan mcginnis from washington. thank you, susan. this morning, al qaeda said it was responsible for a deadly wave of attacks in iraq yesterday. iraq security forces are targeted in a string of bombings and shootings in 12 different cities. 55 people were killed. 225 wounded. more protests are expected today in afghanistan following the burning of islamic holy books on an american military base. the backlash from outrage afghans has grown. yesterday, two american soldiers were shot to death yesterday by an afghan soldier. earlier, president obama

apologized to afghan officials for the quran incident. >> newt gingrich called the president's apology astonishing. >> the president apologized for the burning. i haven't seen the president demand that the government of afghanistan apologize for the killing of two young americans. >> gingrich says afghan president karzai needs to apologize for that. >> gingrich made the remarks while campaigning in washington state is focusing on the march 3rd caucuses and the ten state up for grabs an super tuesday. this tuesday republican primary voters will go to the polls in arizona and michigan where the latest poll shows rick santorum in a dead heat with mitt romney. santorum's stances on education, santorum's stances on education, that's coming under scrutiny. in an interview on wednesday, he said president obama's efforts to boost college education are meant to foster a secular world view in students.

>> 62% of kids going to college with a commitment leave without it. i understand why barack obama wants to send every kid to college because they're indoctrination absolutely. rick santorum defended his stance that the federal government should play no role in the education system. he was put on the defensive after wednesday night's debate in which he said he took one for the team when he voted for president bush's no child left behind education program. santorum said circumstances would be different if he is elected. >> i'll be the team leader. not a team member. >> campaigning in arizona, mitt romney went after santorum's votes while a member of congress. >> we saw in this case, senator santorum explain most of the things he disagreed with. for and he talked about this as being taking one for the team. i wonder which team he was taking it for. my team is the american people. not the insiders in washington.

>> meanwhile, ron paul focused on president obama's proposal to reduce corporate taxes to 28%. in a statement, the texas congressman said tax, borrow, spend and inflate is not the way to balance the budget, restore the economy or create jobs. and newt gingrich pushed his energy platform which he says could lower gas prices to $2.50 a gallon. >> when obama was sworn in, the average price was $1.89. so trying to get to somewhere between $2 and $2.50 is closer to the historic norm. think of it as the pre-obama norm. >> the president is keeping a close eye on how much you're paying at the pump. an ap poll this week show the majority of americans disapprove of his handling of the rising gas prices. ashley morrison is here with more on that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning, betty. as we're seeing, gas prices are becoming a bigger election issue and they went up again yesterday. according to aaa, the average

cost of a gallon of regular rose 3 cents. it's now $3.61 a gallon. in florida, a key swing state in the election, the price is even higher at $3.69 a gallon. president obama says republicans don't have the answer for lowering gas prices. >> anybody who tells you that we can drill our way out of this problem doesn't know what they're talking about or just isn't telling you the truth. >> some analysts predict gas prices could go as high as $4.25 a gallon by the end of april. overseas markets, any key nikkei rose a half a percent and hong kong's hang seng added a fraction. on wall street, 13,000 is within range today. the dow gained 46 points to finish less than 16 points from the 13,000 mark. the nasdaq was up 23. investors are hoping to get more positive news from the housing market today. the commerce department releases its january report on new home

sales. the number of new homes sold fell in december after being on the rise for four straight months. and the postal service is moving ahead with major cuts to staffing and services. the agency is planning to close more than 260 processing centers, a move that is expected to result in the loss of 35,000 jobs. the post office is also looking at eliminating saturday mail service. it's all part of an effort to come up with a billion dollars in savings. betty, it's never good when we hear that many jobs are going to be lost. >> not at all and possibly losing saturday mail service as well. ashley morrison in new york. thank you. the chicago area is expected to get walloped with a major snowstorm this morning. a saskatchewan screamer is expected to dump up to 7 inches of snow in parts. it's been snowing through the night. this morning's commute is expected to be rough.

more than 350 flights have already been canceled at o'hare airport. a winter weather advisory remains in effect through the morning. maryland is the 8th state to legalize same sex marriage. it's on the verge of it. the state senate approved a same sex marriage bill yesterday. a week after the house passed the same bill, governor martin o'malley is expected to sign the bill into law this week. opponents want to challenge the law with a referendum on the november ballot. coming up on the morning news, the suspect in a washington school shooting gets his day in court. the nine-year-old accused in the accidental shooting hears the charges against him as his father issues an apology. you're watching the "cbs morning news." him as his father issues an apology. you're watching the "cbs morning news." [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

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and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can do more of the things that i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, t new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. whoa, whoa, whoa. that's right. a carjacking at a gas station in los angeles ended in a hail of bullets last night. police say the suspect had a gun and was waving it at them. you can see a bystander trying

to fill his car up with gas. well, he hit the ground as the bullets whizzed by. he's okay but the suspect was killed. in washington state a nine-year-old boy who accidentally shot a classmate in school has reportedly been released on $50,000 bail. the boy was in juvenile court yesterday. meanwhile, the little girl who was shot is still in critical condition. jane yamamoto reports. >> the father of 8-year-old amina kocer-bowman says his little girl likes pokemon and riding her bike. she almost lost her life after being shot at her elementary school in bremerton washington. >> you'd do anything t take away the pain she's feeling right now. >> doctors at the medical center in seattle had one immediate goal to get her bleeding under control. >> she was very close to death yesterday. now, she stopped bleeding but still is critically ill and has a long road ahead of her. >> the bullet went through her right arm and into her abdomen.

doctors say she has significant organ damage and will require more surgeries. >> fortunately, being a child, the recovery tends to be better because you're young and otherwise healthy. >> how old are you? >> the nine-year-old boy who brought the gun to school is before a judge. she'll determine if he'll face criminal charges. >> the prosecutor is saying that you caused a.s.k. bodily harm with a weapon. does that make sense to you? >> the boy's father wiped away tears and rubbed his son's back. >> he made a bad mistake. he i'm sorry. i apologize. >> the boy got the gun from his mother's house. it allegedly belongs to her boyfriend and accidentally went off. >> i don't know what happened. >> what happened changed two young lives forever. jane yamamoto for cbs news. so unfortunate. straight ahead, your friday morning weather and in sports, national league mvp hits one out

of the park against baseball's doping policy. of the park against baseball's doping policy. did somebody just...? impossible. ♪ yes. yes. yes. noooooooo! [ male announcer ] yep, subway broke the 200-calorie breakfast barrier with delicious subway fresh fit breakfast sandwiches. like the black forest ham, egg white & cheese on mornin' melt flatbread. subway. build your better breakfast. i've been so looking forward to this. when my asthma symptoms returned, my doctor prescribed dulera to help prevent them. [ male announcer ] dulera is for patients 12 and older whose asthma is not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. dulera will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. dulera helps significantly improve lung function. this was shown over a 6 month clinical study. dulera contains formoterol,

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a foot of snow. a threat of severe thunderstorms extends from northern florida to the carolinas. wind gusts reaching 50 miles an hour will race across montana to new mexico and a snowstorm moves into the northwest later today. in sports, a huge victory for national league mvp ryan braun. his 50-game suspension for testing positive for testosterone at the end of last season has been overturned. the first time that has ever happened. braun says it's the first step to restoring his reputation. in basketball, the miami heat brought lin-sanity crashing back down to earth. the knicks jeremy lin had a tough game. making eight turnovers. he just could not get a shot off. lebron james, though, seals the win with a big jam near the end of the 4th. he finished with 20 points as the heat stop the knicks, 102-88. in golf, tiger woods had another horrible day and is out of the match play championship. it was so bad in arizona, he had

to shoot left-handed between the cactus on the tenth hole. that shot came up way short. then on the 18th, he misses a very makeable five-footer. the birdie putt just zips by the hole. woods is out but u.s. open champ rory mcilroy advances to the third round. in nascar, danica patrick hit the wall in the final lap of the first daytona 500 qualifying race. she's in the green car and gets nudged off the track slamming hard into the retaining wall. she is okay and will make her debut at daytona driving a backup car. tony stewart took the checkered flag. he'll also be driving in sunday's season opener. when we return, scare mail. more threatening letters with suspicious powder are sent to members of congress. ning letters with suspicious powder are sent to members of congress. living with the pain of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... ...could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you...

...with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra,... ...humira's proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, blood, liver, and nervous system problems,... ...serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against... ...and help stop further joint damage with humira. water. the trouble search

crews are having with the rescue operation. plus, a wildfire in the heart of wine country. the mistake that caused the fire to burn dozens of acres. and another discovery... connected to the speed freak killers. how investigators were lead to a new set of remains in calaveras county. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30. bc frightening moments after a bo here's a look at today's forecast for some cities around

the country. washington, d.c., thunderstorms, 75. atlanta, morning storms, 62. detroit you're going to find snow out there today, 38 degrees. denver, mostly sunny, 38 and seattle 47. officials are trying to figure out why two military helicopters crashed in midair wednesday. seven marines were killed. this is the fifth aviation accident in almost a year. as bigad shaban explains, military officials want to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> scorched earth and twisted metal dot the site where seven marines died in southern california. military helicopters were taking part in a training exercise wednesday night after taking off from the camp pendleton military base. they collided over the chocolate mountains near the arizona border. >> i understand that they were carrying rockets. i don't know what type of rocket and i can't say that the mission that they were on was a live

fire or an ordinates expending mission. in the nearby military town of oceanside, the community is in mourning and shock. tiffany cam roo's husband is a helicopter crew chief based there where six of the fallen marines were stationed. the seventh was based in yuma, arizona. >> it's scary to hear that stuff. when i hear a helicopter crash, i call my husband and makes sure he's okay. >> the marines were preparing to be deployed and trained above the california desert to simulate conditions in afghanistan. >> it's a marine corps motto. fight like you train and train like you fight. as dangerous as combat is, to be able to succeed in it, the things we do back here have a lot of inherent risk in them. investigators are reviewing the crash site and flight plans to find out what caused the collision and to prevent similar crashes from happening in the future. bigad shaban, cbs news, los angeles. officials are investigating

four suspicious packages sent to congressional offices. oseph lieberman's office in connecticut was evacuated while the suspicious mail was removed yesterday. similar letters were also received at the offices of senators patrick leahy, pat toomey and lamar alexander. >> this week, several congressional members received the threatening packages. the fbi says they contain a powdery substance that has proved to be harmless so far. in alabama, a bombshell in a trial of a man accused of murdering his wife. on their honeymoon. gabe watson was abruptly acquitted by the judge saying prosecutors did not show enough evidence that watson drowned his wife for her insurance money. her policy was worth $33,000. he was accused of killing his wife of 11 days while scuba diving on the great barrier reef in 2003. coming up on "cbs this morning," the five things the airlines do not want you to know. can't wait to see that. i'm betty nguyen. you're watching the "cbs morning news."

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well, you might be surprised to learn that, despite the tough economy, homelessness nationwide is decreasing. some communities are taking a different approach to helping the homeless. it appears to be paying off. seth doane has the story. 51-year-old gordon kos at that once stood on the other side of this food line for the homeless. >> i come here to sleep better at night. >> what do you mean by that? >> i try to give back what was given to me. coming in with a hot plate. >> alcoholism cost him his marriage, job and kids. he ended up at father bill's shelter in quincy, massachusetts. >> i took for granted having a wife. i took for granted having two beautiful kids and a nice house to have it all pulled away is a little tough.

how am i going to survive? where am i going to get food from? unfortunately, i'm a diabetic. where am i going to get my health insurance from? >> when he was homeless, his diabetes just got worse. no surprise to dr. jesse gada. >> you started working as a doctor with homeless population. what challenges were you seeing for your patients? >> i think people have a really hard time prioritizing their health needs over things like figuring out where you're going to sleep that night. >> the doctor realized the boston medical center e.r. had become a revolving door for homeless patients. >> wasn't until i had a couple patients housed that i saw this turn around in their health. basically, i was seeing if i could write prescription for keys to an apartment, that that was going to do more to improve the health of the patient sitting in front of me than the prescription that i can write for anything else. >> so in 2006, the doctor started a program called home

and healthy for good with state funds. its approach of providing housing first and then counseling for drugs and alcohol has helped costa stay sober. shortly after moving into his apartment two years ago. the program helped reduce homelessness by 63% in quincy and cut medical costs for formerly homeless people by more than two-thirds. >> it was astonishing that a year into this project, we saw such a decrease in the medical costs that we could basically afford to pay for the housing. >> how important was this home in pulling yourself away from that place? >> it was important because i felt like life can get better. >> today, costa pays 30% toward the rent. 200 square feet never felt so good. >> got my own keys to my apartment. it's all good. >> seth jones, cbs news, quincy,

massachusetts. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," a live report from chicago on the winter storm hitting the area. plus, details on a major outbreak of the norovirus hitting schools and cruise ships. and we'll hear from the makers of the new movie, act of valor. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching everyone. i'm betty nguyen. thanks for watching everyone. i'm betty nguyen. have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. some very frightening moments after a boat overturns in the east bay. the coast guard rescue and the trouble crews are having. a wildfire scorching dozens of acres