today the white house ramps up talks on gun control. vice president biden will meet with gun safety organizations and groups representing victims of gun violence. tomorrow he plans to meet with advocates of gun ownership including nra. it's been nearly a month since the sandy hook elementary shooting and in that time the gun control debate in this country has been stirred up. susan mcginnis starts us off in washington with more. susan, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. the aim of the vice president's task force is to build consensus on curbing gun violence, but it seems that advocates on both sides of the issue are digging in. in tucson, arizona, residents rang bells to mark the second anniversary of the shooting spree that killed six people and also wounded former congresswoman gabrielle giffords. but nearby the nation's gun control debate played out in public. a city councilman who supports stricter gun laws offered gift cards in exchange for guns. >> whether it's working or not, bring it in and we'll properly

dispose of it. >> meanwhile in a nearby parking lot, it was transformed into a marketplace for firearms. >> anyone here with anything decent that shoots is going to get good fair offers and cash in hand. >> the competing gun purchase program and the memorial ceremony coincided with a strong statement by giffords and her husband mark kelly. the couple announced they are forming a political action committee with the goal of preventing gun violence. in an op-ed published in tuesday's "usa today," kelly and gifford criticized congress for not doing enough. vice president biden's team has been tasked with delivering proposals on policies to the president by the end of the month, but the white house says there are steps congress can take immediately. >> pass the assault weapons ban, pass the bill that would close loopholes in our background check system. >> but senate minority leader

mitch mcconnell warned it could be spring by the time congress looks at any firearms legislation. meanwhile some gun rights advocates are organizing national gun appreciation day on january 19th. they're asking gun owners to attend a gun show, go to a shooting range, or buy ammunition. >> this is the kind of moment where our freedoms are at stake. some states are working on gun control measures of their own. in new york, today, governor cuomo is going to call on his state to pass one of the toughest assault weapons bans in the country. also terrell, today connecticut lawmakers are going to be debating tougher gun laws as well. >> susan mcginnis in washington this morning. susan, good to see you. thank you so much. on the second day of a pretile hearing in the colorado shooting for james holmes prosecutors portrayed holmes as a man on a mission to kill. they claim holmes methodically armed himself with an extensive arsenal starting two months before the massacre, he then set

up an elaborate booby trap inside his home designed to cause more death and injury. prosecutors also played the chilling and desperate calls for help from holmes' victims. teresa garcia reports. >> reporter: a beard and emotionless james holmes stair aid head as the prosecutors played frantic 911 calls from victims. they say it was a premeditated act. a detective testified he counted 30 gunshots during the first call, which lasted 27 seconds. another call came from a teenaged cousin of 6-year-old victim veronica mowser-sullivan. the dispatcher said she was crying. she said, quote, it's too loud. i can't hear you. >> it hurts because you can hear the gunshots. >> reporter: chantel blunk who lost her husband in the shooting things homes is in an act. >> i think he's in shock and he wants to stick with it because he knows what he's done. >> reporter: there wls also

gripping photos that the fbi showed from inside holmes' apartment. it was described how it was meticulously rigged to explode. the agent said he programmed his stereo to play loud music hoping to attract attention hoping someone would hit a trip wire. the investigator said a thermos of explosives was set up to spill into a frying pan creating another chemical that would create sparks and start a fire. holmes told investigators he rigged a box of fireworks to be detonated by a remote-controlled car he placed in the alley outside his apartment. an agent testified that in the ten weeks leading up to the attack, holmes purchased four guns and almost 360 rounds of ammo. teresa garcia senn tencbs news centennial, colorado. we've been reporting that this is a particularly bad and early flu season and now most of the country is reporting high levels of the flu with an increase in severe illness. hospital emergency rooms are feeling the strain as more patients seek treatment.

inez ferre has the report. >> reporter: emergency rooms are filling up from coast to coast all because of the flu. the centers for disease control are reporting 41 states are reporting widespread cases of the flu and at least 18 deaths have been blamed on the virus. it's hitting harder and earlier than expected. >> we're seeing activity levels that are approaching peak levels of previous influenza seasons, and we're not at the peak yet, i don't believe. >> reporter: overnight hospitals in and around chicago had to turn patients away. part of the problem, a strain of the flu that's not included in the latest strain of vaccines. >> it's not unusual for new or additional strains popping up during the season. so at the moment we have kind of we might call it a rogue virus out there causing about 10% of the cases. >> reporter: this is lehigh valley hospital in allen town pennsylvania where they've set up tents to handle an increase

in flu patients. cheryl palm is a nurse here. she also just found out she has the flu. >> this is the worst. this is the worst. and i did get flu shot. >> reporter: even if you got the flu shot you're still at risk. >> there are communities which will have earlier influenza, some will have more severe influenza influenza. it's not at all predictable. >> reporter: doctors suggest washing your hands often and getting the flu vaccine. ee necessary nez inez ferre, allen thanh, pennsylvania. view which for the first time the obama administration says it's considering pulling all u.s. troops out of afghanistan at the end of next year. this latest news from the white house challenges the pentagon view which says thousands of troops may have to is remain to support afghans. a judge has reduced the possible sentence of accused wikileaks source private bradley manning. manning is accused of downloading thousands of

sensitive intelligence and diplomatic cables. a military judge reduced by 112 days any sentence manning receives as compensation for the harsh treatment manning received while being held by the military. his trial is scheduled to begin starting march 6th. u.s. officials say the iranian government may be behind the abduction of retired fbi agent left inson. he disappeared in 2007. photos of levenson that had been anonymously e-mailed to his family have been released for the first time. it was initially thought he was being held by terrorists. iran has denied any involvement. we'll take a quick break on a wednesday morning. when we come back on the "morning news," warming trend. the u.s. has its hottest year yet. how high the mercury hit when we come back on the "cbs morning news." me back on the "cbs morning news."

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55.3 degrees, a full degree warmer than the previous record set in 1998. scientists say records are normally broken by a tenth of a degree, so jumping an entire degree is unprecedented. the widespread drought which is affecting almost two thirds of the nation in an almost nonexistent winter caused the temperatures to go up last year. forecasters say rain is expects. up to four inches are expected to fall in parts of texas. a flash flood warning has been issued for the dallas-ft. worth area. it is blistering hot in australia with the mercury topping out at 104 degrees. the heat is fueling more than 140 wildfires across the country. more than 120 homes have been destroyed, and more than 320,000 acres burned since tuesday. hundreds of people have been evacuated. so far no deaths have been reported but around 100 people are missing. "cbs moneywatch" time on this wednesday.

the earning season gets under way, and why your tax refund may be late this year. erica ferrari here in new york with that and more. erica, good morning to you. good morning, terrell. asian markets rallied tokyo's nikkei gained half a percent. hong kong's hang seng also added half a percent. alcoa posted its fourth quarter earnings and it met wall street's expectations. america's largest producer of aluminum reported profits of $242 million. that's about a 6% increase from last year. alcoa is predicting a 7% rise in demand for this year. alcoa posted its numbers after wall street closed. the dow dropped 55 points to 13,328 and the nasdaq also fell 7 points. >> and if you're going to fire your taxes early, you'll have to wait until january 30. filing was supposed to start january 22nd but it was moved up because of the fight over the fiscal cliff.

some are worried the upcoming fight over the debt ceiling could force the treasury department to delay sending out tax refunds. and on march 1st, the treasury department will stop sending social security checks through the mail. recipients have to switch to electronic payments, either direct deposit or debit card. the change is expected to save taxpayers $1 billion over the next ten years. terrell? >> erica ferrari, thank you so much. coming up next your wednesday morning weather and how lance armstrong allegedly bullied his critics into keeping quiet. scott pelley spoke with the person in charge.

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ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage before they stop you. here's a look at the weather in some cities here's a look at the weather in some cities toward country. partly sunny in new york, 52, partly sunny in miami, 82. sunny in chicago, 42. heavy rain in dallas 56. and mostly sunny in los angeles, 70 degrees. let's check your national forecast. heavy storms wind gusts and isolated tornadoes are possible in some areas. rain and snow continue to fall in the northwest. it will be dry and warm in the midwest and northeast. temperatures could be 15 degrees a above average. lance armstrong has reportedly agreed to talk to oprah winfrey about the doping charges that led him to be stripped of his seven tour de france titles.

he spoke with scott pelley during the premiere of "60 minutes: showtime." he said he was doping since 199 using a drug called epo. >> six samples that were taken from lance armstrong were retested in '05, and they were positive. >> in '99 when the tests were originally taken, was it reported they were negative? >> there was no test for epo. they were not tested for epo at that time. >> and when you tested them in 2005 you discovered -- >> all six were flaming positive. >> flaming positive. >> flaming positive. >> all witnesses were intimidated to try to keep the code of silence from breaking. >> was lance armstrong personally involved in intimidating these other riders to keep them quiet? >> he was. it was tough. all these witnesses were scared of the repercussions of them simply telling the truth. >> what could lance armstrong do

to them? >> incinerate them. >> ladies and gentlemen -- >> a former teammate felt the heat. in his sworn affidavit he said he came to a cycling dinner after he testified to the grand jury. he said armstrong was there and sent his wife a text that read, "run, don't walk." is what did she take it to mean? >> it's a veiled threat knowing her husband had just testified in front of a grand jury and had told citizens of this country about this great fraud, that it was a message, you'd better run. >> your investigation showed that there were personal threats made against riders who had decided to come clean. i wonder if there were any threats against you. >> there were, scott. >> these threats came from where? >> e-mails, letters -- >> anonymous. >> yeah.

>> can you remember any of the lines from the e-mails or the letters? >> the worst was probably putting a bullet in my head. >> did you take that seriously? >> absolutely. >> you can catch scott kelly's entire interview tonight at 10:00 on "60 minutes: sports." on the showtime network. when we come back interstate roundup. a bull with bad attitude and a deputy who luckily is fast on his feet. o luckily is fast on his feet.

the warning the tanker pilot got, right before the mishap. a life and death struggle with a home intruder. the crazy bay area break-in - that ended with the burglar dead. and something that could really 'jolt' you this morning: how diet soda could be linked - to depression. join us for cbs 5 eyewitness news this morning... beginning at 4:30. good morning. it's wednesday,

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., partly sunny, 578. showers in atlanta, 60. turning sunny in st. louis, 50 degrees. sunshine in denver. 51 and rain ending in seattle. 44 degrees.

google executive chairman eric schmidt is getting a first-hand look of internet use in secretive north korea. he's visiting the north with former governor bill richardson. they're also pressing the government to allow more cell phone use and internet service for its citizens. they're pushing north korea to suspend their missile and nuclear work. for the second time in two days there's been trouble onboard a high-tech 787 dreamliner. about 40 gallons of fuel spilled. the plane was inspected and effectually departed. on monday a fire broke out and a battery on another jal dreamliner parked at gate in boston. a lucky landing in australia as a 21-year-old student pilot proves he's got the right stuff. he was taking a solo flight monday when his instructor noticed he had only two landing

wheeling instead of three. check this out. the pilot landing, it skidded off the runway and came to a full stop. he was not hurt. my luck would not be that good, ever. his instructor called it a textbook crash landing. and the crash of a semitrailer hauled 32 bulls turned an interstate into a dangerous rodeo. a deputy jumped out of the way fast. look at that. the incident caught on police dash cam. later the bull hit a sheriff's sergeant. he should have got out of the way like the deputy did. he was treated for bruises. one of the aggressive bulls had to be put down. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," a firsthand look at the new baby panda making its debut at the san diego zoo. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." ut at the san diego zoo. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news."

i bet you're like what is happening here. well, this is what it sounded like when about 15,000 drummers got together in northeastern india on sunday dressed in traditional attire. the drummers played for 15 minutes and got into the india book of records. they also hope to get into the asian and guinness book of records. to vegas we go, baby. the consumer electronics show, it is drumming up enthusiasm for the next generation of gadgets. the show upped up yesterday and as bigad shaban reports, bigger and better television screens are stealing the spotlights. >> reporter: it didn't take long for the crowds to outnumber the gadgets at the annual consumer electronics show. >> this year the big trend is called ultra hd tv. and that's basically four times the pixels as the previous hd hd tvs that we're all familiar with. >> reporter: brian chan is a

writer for "the new york times." developers are promising sharper picture quality, but chan says that will likely go unnoticed by viewers watching tvs in their living rooms. >> extra pixels is what you're buying, but you can't actually see them unless you're buying a tv that's 80 inches or bigger but most of us don't have a living room that's going to handle that. >> reporter: that doesn't stop them from creating a screen that's 150 inches. lg hopes its line of smart appliances catches on. you can make an e-mail grocery list right from your fridge using wi-fi. you also control your washer and dryer with the touch of your phone. even dressing rooms are going digital. this lets you try on clothing virtually. you can try on several outfits without ever having to undress. >> it could be in the store or a way to advertise outside of a

store, whether it be at a train station. i see it somewhere else in a mall just to draw new customers in. >> reporter: at this show little new gadgets can reach new heights in the tech world, thanks to a tradition of showcasing tens of thousands of the newest inventions. bigad shaban, cbs news, las vegas. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," an update on the debate over gun control legislation. we'll talk with new jersey governor chris christie. plus, the record-early flu season. we'll hear from dr. jon lapook about spotting the symptoms. and disturbing new clues in the search for former fbi agent john levenson. for now, though, that is the "morning news" for this wednesday. as always i appreciate you watching. i'm terrell brown in new york take care, everybody. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

and i'm michel 4:-- >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. good morning. it's hump day. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time now is just about 4:30. let's check weather with lawrence. >> we have a storm system headed our way. we could see a little rain today maybe a little snow tomorrow. we'll talk about that coming up. and we want to get you started on your morning drive.

from you about to head off, so far we have a lot of areas of overnight roadwork. this is a nice stretch, though. 880 in oakland. we'll have much more "timesaver traffic" coming up. >> all right, liz, thanks. 4:30 now, flu season is off to a quick start in the united states and health experts are concerned it could be especially bad this year. cbs 5's cate caugiran joins us from san francisco with more on that situation. cate, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, frank. yes, hospitals in our area are already seeing a slight increase in flu cases from last year and but it might be too early to say, but medical experts say it could be worse than a normal year. flu season normally reaches its peak in mid-february, but the situation is already bad in some cities like chicago. some hospitals are so overrun with flu cases, patients are turned away from emergency rooms. the current vaccine does not prevent one of flu strains currently making the rounds. >> at the moment we