half a billion bucks on the line as lottery players await tonight's drawing of the biggest powerball jackpot in history. >> 500 million? >> 500 million. >> that's what i'm talking about. i have no clue what i'll do after that. >> this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, november 28, 2012. good morning. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. this morning little progress to report in efforts to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, those are the tax increases and spending cuts that will take effect next year. republicans and democrats continue to squabble over raising taxes and sparing entitlement programs like medicare and medicaid. today the president discusses the issues with leaders of major corporations. he met with small business leaders yesterday. susan mcginnis is in washington.

>> reporter: while the two sides remain deadlocked president obama is taking his case to the american people trying to drum up support. republicans are complaining that instead of being out campaigning he needs to sit down with them and work out a deal. it's a short drive up pennsylvania avenue from the capital to the white house but congressional republicans and president obama are getting farther apart in their effort to keep the nation from veering off the so-called fiscal cliff. a series of tax hikes and spending cuts due to kick in at the end of the year. >> seems like our friends on the other side is having difficulty turning off the campaign. >> reporter: the white house says the campaign gives the president support from the american people. >> the election was conclusive in terms of which path a majority of the american people want to take. >> reporter: president obama will try to build more support when he meets with middle class americans here in washington today. he'll ask them how the fiscal cliff could impact their lives. on tuesday he invited small business owners into the oval

office to offer their ideas. >> they had one message for the president which is they need certainty. please get this deal done as soon as possible. >> reporter: but spending any time on capitol hill it's easy to see a deal forthcoming isn't coming soon. >> there's been little progress with the republicans which is a disappointment to me. >> their hard left doesn't want to change anything ever. they think any dollar spent or any commitment made by the federal government on any program at any time ought to be there in perpetuity. >> we are not going to accept an unfair deal that will hurt middle class today and protect the wealthiest americans. >> reporter: the president and congressional leaders have no talks scheduled for this week. now the president's meeting today with leaders from goldman sachs and comcast and yahoo! among others on friday he's hitting the road going to a toy factory in pennsylvania. >> susan mcginnis in washington. thank you so much. one option to generate revenue is limiting or eliminating tax

deductions. one deduction as seen untouchable is the mortgage interest rate tax break. but now that may even be on the table. dean reynolds reports. >> reporter: how is the market right now, would you say? >> things are better. >> reporter: chicago area realtor debbie scully shutters at the idea that the mortgage interest deduction may be on the carving table. >> what would it do to your business? >> it certainly wouldn't be good. now there's a glimmer of hope that thing are stabilizing. why would they do anything that could hurt that? >> reporter: scully helped stacey sell her home. >> always thought that that's one of the incentives to buying. >> builders like it because it helps support the market for bigger homes. the larger the mortgage the greater the deduction. it will cost the treasury $100 billion next year. now the talk in washington is

about lowering the cap for the maximum mortgage amount you can claim interest on down from $1 million. >> if you keep the deduction for the bulk of americans and limit for the oversized home you still get the american dream. >> reporter: affluent owners end expensive areas especially on the coast would see the biggest change. >> if you have the money and want to spend it feel free to do it. i would much rather see lower tax rates or deductibility for investment in our future which creates productivity which create as higher potential for the future of the economy than just big homes. >> reporter: economists who favor lowering the mortgage interest deduction cap from a million dollars to $500,000 say it will help cut the deficit, keep interest rates low, and that could help the housing market all by itself. dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. >> u.n. ambassador susan rice returns to capitol hill today her meeting with lawmakers yesterday to discuss her

explanation of the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya didn't go over very well. she met with three republican senators strongly opposed to her possible nomination to be secretary of state. they were not satisfied with her explanation. >> all i can tell you is that the concerns that i have are greater today than they were before and we're not even close to getting the basic answer. >> following the benghazi attack rice said the assault grew out of a protest and not a terrorist attack. yesterday she said that was incorrect. that there was no protest or demonstration in benghazi. overseas now in egypt the largest crowd yet have turned out to demonstrate against president morsi's declaration of wide ranging new powers. hundreds of thousands of protesters in cairo's tahrir square screamed for morsi to leave. another mass rally is planned for friday. today the cabinet meets to discuss the crisis.

holly williams is in cairo with more. good morning. we saw a big escalation in these protests yesterday. what happened in tahrir square overnight and then again this morning? >> reporter: good morning. well the crowds are dispersed now but yesterday we saw scenes that were reminiscent of the egyptian revolution of two years ago. at tahrir square which you can see behind me the birth place of that revolution was carpeted in tens of thousands of people who poured in from every direction. they even chanted the same slogan they chanted during the revolution the people want the downfall of the regime. this time the target of their anger is not the old dictatorship but the country's first elected president, mohamed morsi who they accuse of overreaching himself before i assuming sweeping new powers. >> egypt and the u.s. have a very important relationship. what side is the obama administration taking in this crisis? >> reporter: well, u.s. criticism so far has been extremely muted. some people here in egypt are disappointed by that.

the u.s. government is really in a tricky situation because it's relying on president morsi to help with peace efforts in the israeli-palestinian conflict. last week he helped broker a truce between hamas and israel. so we're back in the same situation we had under the old dictatorship which is that the u.s. can't be to overtly critical because it relies on egypt's help here in the middle east. >> holly williams in cairo for us this morning. thank you so much. let's take a quick break. when we come back the latest on the civil war in syria including a report from one city at the center of the conflict. later, would be millionaires line up for a chance at tonight's historic powerball lottery drawing. this is the "cbs morning news." powerball lottery drawing. this is the "cbs morning news."

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found the body of a woman inside her flooded home in north wales on tuesday. heavy rain has ended but flood warnings are in effect across many parts of england because the rivers are expected to continue to rise over the next couple of days. in syria two deadly explosions rock the capital of damascus this morning. 20 people were killed when a pair of car bombs detonated. debris fell from buildings. a video posted shows rebels shooting down a government helicopter with a missile. a second video shows the chopper losing altitude and crashing into a field. during the 19 month conflict activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed and cities and villages have become ghost towns. elizabeth palmer managed to make her way to the city of homs. at one point half million people lived there. >> reporter: here's what's left when the battle moves on. just over a year ago these desolate streets hummed with life. it was a bustling neighborhood

until suddenly it turned into the epicenter of syria's civil war. armed opposition gunmen against the syria military machine. after months of fighting the syrian army did manage to take back the neighborhood. but at terrible costs. even now only 5% of the residents have returned and the fight just moved down the road. but to get to it we had to take a surreal trip through a fully functioning business district crowded with shoppers and students. then down the street the next front line was marked by tanks and syrian soldiers. a young captain who wanted to be known only as omar offered to show us around. look at this. months of fighting have shattered this part of the old city.

omar gestured to a curtain hung in an alley to block the sniper's view. even so when soldiers past the place they duck. just behind these battle scarred buildings rebel fighters are assuming control. we climbed inside to try to have a look. not a lot moving out there. i can see more from this hole but they say it's too big if we get visible we'll be sniped at. there are rebel snipers in the building just across the alley. the private told me the army has the rebels surrounded on all sides. how do they get supplies, food, water, ammunition? mostly through tunnels he told me and the sewage system. so this fight for central homs continues on.

with pot shots from both sides. the army at war now on multiple fronts across the country has been forced to accept. elizabeth palmer cbs news, damascus. in maryland the pretrial hearing of bradley manning the army private accused of leaking private documents to wikileaks continues today. manning's lawyers want the charges dropped. they said he was held in solitary confinement for nine months and at one point had his clothes taken from him. he's expected to take the stand sometime this week. coming up next your wednesday morning weather and did you buy your ticket? the powerball lottery reaches a record jackpot for tonight's drawing. lottery reaches a record jackpot for tonight's drawing. [ cat 2 ] do i look like i'm stalking plants? [ male announcer ] most dry foods add plant protein, like gluten but iams never adds gluten. iams adds 50% more animal protein, [ cat 3 ] look at this body!

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these nasal strips instantly open my nose, like a breath of fresh air. i was breathing and sleeping better. [ female announcer ] exercise your right to breathe right. get two free strips at breatheright.com. hey it's your right to breathe right. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in new york partly sunny 42 degrees. same deal in miami 80. mostly sunny in chicago 40 degrees. sun in dallas 65 and rain in l.a. 66 degrees. let's check your national forecast. series of storms will pound the west coast. parts of california and southwest oregon could see as much as 15 inches. several feet of snow is expected to fall in the mountain regions. look for lake-effect snow in parts of michigan. dry in the northeast and south. brisk sales have pushed tonight's powerball jackpot to $500 million. it's a record amount for powerball and the second biggest lottery jackpot in history

behind the $656 mega million prize in march. a single powerball winner would take home a lump sum of $327 million before taxes. >> build myself a nice home. >> donate a bunch of it. i don't need that kind of money. i'm content with what i got. >> people just rolled their eyes across america because of that. the federal government takes off 25% in taxes. then depending on where you live there's state and city taxes. if you don't see me in this seat tomorrow it's because i hit it. if you don't see me or ashley morrison tomorrow it's because we're halfway to a caribbean destination sipping on cocktails. ashley morrison has moneywatch this morning. am i telling the truth here? >> i would have two tickets to paradise so quickly. you have no idea, we would be out of here. good morning. lack of progress on fiscal cliff talks in the u.s. sent asian markets lower this morning.

tokyo's nikkei loss more than 1% hitting a one week low while the hang seng fell half of a percent. the deficit reduction talks weighed on wall street. the dow lost 9 points while the nasdaq gave up 9 points. brick-and-mortar sales reported increased sales to kick off the holiday shopping season. home prices in most major american cities are on the rise. a survey showed prices rose 3% in september. the bangladesh garment factory where 112 people were killed produced clothes for disney and walmart and sears. the ap discovered clothing and records connected to the retailers inside the remains of the factory. walmart says it stopped doing business with the factory after learning the facility was deemed high risk. this morning three factory officials were arrested on suspicion they locked the workers inside the building.

the surge in cyber monday shopping on monday means big business for shippers. federal express expects to deliver 280 million packages during the holiday season. to handle the extra work fedex says they hired 20,000 seasonal employees. and pop star adele is rolling in the dough or at least her record company is. her album "21" has sold 10 million copies. it reached that mark last week. that's less than two years after it was released. "21" is the 21st album to hit that milestone since nielsen started to track sales in 1991 which was 21 years ago. i bet her boyfriend is probably feeling really salty right now. >> feeling real happy. >> the one who dumped her. >> oh, yes. there you go. >> ashley morrison here in new york. when we come back, near collision caught on tape, a toddler narrowly escapes getting hit by an out of control car, plowing into the front of a store. of control car,

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lit up this morning. heavy rains and gale force winds e moving into the bay area. as the storm approaches. fos are reaching for sandbags ad plastic sheeting. power outs and flooding are almost guaranteed. and inching closer by the d. what president obama is doio keep the nation from veerinf the so-called fiscal cliff join us for cbs 5 eyewitness news this morning... beginng at 4:30. ,,,,

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in d.c., partly sunny, 47 degrees. mostly sunny in atlanta, 57. same deal in st. louis, 47 degrees. mostly sunny in denver, 62 and showers in seattle, 48 degrees. a 16-month-old boy in savannah, georgia has a guardian angel. look at this surveillance video. he was walking across his dad's jewelry store on saturday and moments later a car slams through the front window. the boy was in his dad's office and thrown into the air and not hurt. the 84-year-old driver has been charged with reckless driving and said she will not drive any more. in minnesota, while we're talking about babies, baby boy ruling the delivery room for almost five days. starting friday to monday

morning, the hospital delivered 19 boys in a row, not a single girl was delivered. the baby girl who broke the string of girls her dad is ceo of a diaper company. >> get ready for one of the most polarizing baseball hall of fame votes ever. the 2013 ballots will be available for the first time today. barry bonds, roger clemens and sammy sosa, each of them posted some of baseball's biggest numbers and each have been tainted by accusation of steroid results. results of that voting won't be announced until january 9th. coming up after your local news on cbs "this morning," a preview of tonight's historic powerball jackpot dlaug. i'm terrell brown. this is the "morning news." ,,,,,,

the young star of the hit cbs comedy "two and a half men" has some explaining to do after recently going on a public rant over his show. angus t. jones is his name. he apologized on tuesday. teresa garcia reports on the embarrassing episode for the

teen actor. >> reporter: teen actor angus t. jones said he's sorry for the viral video in which he's seen and heard trashing his sitcom "two and a half men." in a statement released tuesday night jones said i apologize if my remarks reflect me showing indifference to and disrespect of my colleagues and a lack of appreciation of the extraordinary opportunity of which i have been blessed. i never intended that. the 19-year-old was apologizing for this video posted on youtube by a religious production called forerunner chronicle. the recently converted seventh day adventist appears next to his spiritual guide, christopher hudson. >> i don't want to be on it. stop watching it. sop filli-- stop filling your h with filth. >> reporter: in his apology he goes on to thank the show's creators, warner brothers studios and cbs. i thank them for the opportunity they have given and continue to give me he says. and to help and guidance i have

and expect to continue to receive from them. it's unclear what effect jones' comments will have on the show which is shot here on the warner brothers lot in burbank. jones' character jake has joined the army this season and has had less screen time. also "two and a half men" go on it's holiday hiatus next month. the young actor is in the final year of a contract that pays him over $300,000 per episode, around 8 million per year. teresa garcia, cbs news, burbank. >> the film version of the lord of the rings sequel the hobbit premieres today. it was in new zealand. thousands of fans gathered early for the red carpet celebration. the first film in the trilogy. peter jackson was on hand for the movie debut. the hobbit is released in the u.s. december 14th. folks looking forward to it. it is not the first time someone has been fooled by an article from the onion.

the satirical newspaper and web side named north korea dictator kim jung un the sexiest man alive. they ran a story tribute to kim calling him devastatingly handsome. today they said the photo spread will be taken off line. they are mad, embarrassing. coming up after your local news on cbs "this morning" powerball fever sweeps the nation. we have a preview and some important legal advice -- legal advice here. important if you do end up with that winning ticket. plus senator amy klobuchar will join us. she will tell us about being part of the largest group of female senators in history. and supreme court justice antonio scalia sits down with charlie rose. that and more a little later on cbs "this morning." we appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown. take care everybody, have a great day. ,,,,

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald keeping an eye on the storm as it roars towards the bay area in a big way. high-def doppler radar shows the first wave of rain just now moving into the north bay. good morning, everybody. it will be a wet wednesday, november 28th. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time now 4:30. we have our "eye on the storm" this morning as wet and windy weather starts in the bay area. lawrence karnow is back and tracking the storm from the cbs 5 weather center. cate caugiran has a look at conditions at the richmond bridge, but we begin our team coverage with elissa harrington