big city police are on high alert after the deadly ambush of two new york city patrolmen by a gunman intent on murder. north korea warns of strikes against the entire u.s. mainland as the obama administration considers a response to the cyber attack against sony pictures. and a massive holiday storm threatens travel from the midwest to the east coast. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, december 22nd, 2014. good morning. i'm lauren lyster in for anne-marie green. police departments across the country are on heightened alert after saturday morning's deadly ambush of two new york city officers. the nypd said the gunman

ismaaiyl brinsley told two witnesses just before the shooting, quote, watch what i'm going to do. police say he also posted threats online. brinsley has a long criminal record. don champion is at the scene of the shooting in new york. good morning, don. >> reporter: good morning, lauren. you can see over my shoulder a memorial continues to grow steps away from where the officers were gunned down. as the nypd works, they're being told to stay alert and work in pairs. nypd officers stood alongside members of the public in brooklyn to pay tribute to two officers who were ambushed. >> the assassination of members of our family, of our community, we all mourn today. >> reporter: 40-year-old rafael ramos and 32-year-old wenjian liu were shot and killed as they sat in their cruiser on sunday. brinsley took his own life. a moment of silence was held

at the madison square garden before the carolina hurricanes game. liu had been married only two months. ramos, the father of two, joined the nypd two years ago. >> i hope and pray we can reflect on this tragic loss of lives that have occurred so we can move forward. >> reporter: hours before the shooting here, witnesss say brinsley shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and posted media on the deaths of eric garner and michael brown. this weekend hundreds marched in philadelphia while others shut down streets in downtown cleveland. in the wake of this weekend's shooting, officers in new york city have been advised to work in pairs for their safety. and later today, mayor bill de blasio is said to deliver a speech aimed at bringing the city together. we are told that it will focus in on strengthening the ties of

the community and police. lauren? >> don champion in brooklyn, new york. thank you, don. a florida man faces first-degree charges after shooting and running over a tampa bay police officer. authorities say michael per rhea was trying to evade arrest sunday. the case doesn't appear to be connected to the killing of two officers in new york. the slain officer charles kondek was the father of six children. as president obama figures out how to respond to the sony cyber attack, north korea is making threats against the white house, the pentagon, and the whole u.s. mainland. as julianna goldman reports, the president is reviewing whether to return pyongyang to the list of state sponsors of terror. >> in what you said. >> well, look. >> reporter: in an interview with cnn, president obama said north korea's attack on sony pictures is not an act of cyber warfare. >> i think it was an act of cyber vandalism that was very costly, very expensive. we take it very seriously.

we will respond proportionately, as i said. >> reporter: a senior administration official tells cbs news that the appropriate response to a cyber attack is not always a counter-cyber effort. in addition to bolstering defenses officials say they're putting together a package of options that includes diplomatic and economic measures. the u.s. believes north korea is using their infrastructure in other countries to stage their cyber attacks. they've reached out to other nations including china for help in identifying and disrupting those assets. officials are also exploring additional economic sanctions that includes targeting north korea's elite similar to sanctions imposed in russia where the u.s. has cut off access to cash for those close to president vladimir putin. but the rest of the public says north korea did commit an act of war and we should respond in kind.

senator lindsey graham. >> when the president calls this an act of vandalism, that bothers me greatly. it is an act of terrorism. >> an administration official cautioned against a response that would escalate tensions. a holiday storm could cause travel headaches for millions of americans this week. the system developing tuesday in the southeast will bring mostly rain, but as it moves along the east coast could flood roadways and disrupt air travel. meteorologist eric fisher of our boston station wbz has the holiday forecast. >> well, over the weekend we were tracking an atmospheric river of moisture that was just dumping rain across the pacific northwest and a lot of that energy has a lot to do with the weather across the country this week. so starting off for monday, some areas of light rain and snowfall across the midwest, maybe some travel disruption because of that. but the real show starts to get going as we head into tuesday. gulf of mexico open for business. a lot of moisture across the northeast. strong storms are starting to develop and start to work their way farther eastward as we head into christmas eve.

the severe outlook for tuesday anywhere from southern louisiana along the gulf coast. we could see tornados and strong gusts. tuesday looks to be a very disruptive day. as we move toward wednesday, the rain moving along the east coast, gusty winds as well and some snow on the back end. overall it's a pretty mild storm. as we head toward christmas eve itself, slight winds and a broad area disrupting travel. i'm eric fisher for cbs news. travel safely. parts of southern california are bracing for damaging winds today. the national weather service warns of gusts up to 70 miles an hour in the mountains. heavy surf pounded the coastal regions causing hazardous conditions. high tides bring the possibility of flooding along california's coast through tuesday. lightning strike injured several fans in the tampa bay

buccaneer stadium that sent more than half a dozen people to the hospital. the lightning hit the top of an suv minutes after the game against green bay ended at raymond james stadium. people were knocked to the ground. witnesses described a loud boom. wikileaks has released what it says are classified cia documents that show operatives how to avoid detection during international airport screenings. cbs news senior security analyst juan zarate said it's a dangerous leak. >> part of the problem here is that this is new information. it appears to come from perhaps a new source, perhaps a source within the cia. and if this means that wikileaks will begin to release more cia information, that means that their trade craft, their secrets are now going to be on the internet. >> one document is a secret manual providing operatives how to preserve their cover under questioning.

with just three days before christmas, stores are counting on last-minute shoppers to help lift profits. mark albert looks at the growing retail trend. >> reporter: the national retail operation found shoppers waited till the end of the shopping year hoping for better deals. jesse ferraro is one of them making a final dash at the sunrise mall on long island. >> some of the stuff we put off, now they're on sale. >> reporter: retailer f & f plan their best deals for the last minute says manager martina edmund. >> we pile it high and watch it fly. >> reporter: it's likely this weekend will set a record for spending. for the first time the final saturday before christmas known as super saturday was poised to be the biggest shopping day of the year, eclipsing black friday by almost a billion dollars says the firm shoppertrak. retail analyst jordan goodman thinks he knows why. >> more and more people think if they wait until the last minute they'll get better deals. to many extents, they're right.

>> reporter: many had to scramble at the last minute with labor unrest with west coast ports slowing delivery and they traditional retailers face other challenges with foot traffic down a sharp 14% last year. consumers, though, are in a better mood with confidence at its highest since 2007 partially due to lower gas prices. one-third of shoppers tell america's research group they're spending more because of those savings, but they're spending later at a cost to retailers' bottom line. >> the retail profits are going to be relatively lower this year because they have to give such an enormous promotional discount. >> reporter: tomorrow nielsen plans to release its holiday shopping forecast. it anticipates an encouraging increase, 1.9% of last year. mark albert, cbs news, new york. coming up on the "morning news," shipping scramble. ups expects its busiest shipping day of the year. we'll show you how it will plan

to get tens of millions of pack js to their destinations. this is the "cbs morning news." [announcer] this is my business. i started it. i believe in it. i know and grow it. i live it and breathe it. i put my heart and soul... ...blood,sweat and tears into it. i run on quickbooks. that's how i own it.

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on the "cbs moneywatch" a busy day for the big brown and a boost for public transit. jill wagner is at the new york stock exchange. good morning, jill. >> good morning, lauren. the shipping company is expected to deliver 34 million pack ands, the most in its history. it will be a test of the new automated sorting system that was put in place to prevent a repeat of last year when millions of packages did not arrive on time for christmas. asian stocks were mostly higher on reboundingoil prices. tokyo's nikkei added a fraction, closing at a two-week high. hong kong's hang seng gained more than 1%. the markets here on wall street start what will be a short holiday week. the dow gained 26 points friday. the s&p 500 was up 9. the nasdaq rose almost 17 points. despite falling gasoline prices public transit ridership is up. "the new york times" reports about 2.7 billion passenger trips were taken on transit

systems in the u.s. in the third quarter of this year. a trade group reports that's an increase of 1.8% from a year ago. staples says that credit card information from more than 1 million of its customers was stolen earlier this year. staples said malware tackled computers in more than 100 stores. it's offering free identity protection services for customers who are at risk. and the last of three hobbit films was tops. "the hobbits: battle of the five armies" ruled it all. in second place, "night at the museum: secret of the tomb," and the anomie remake were third. >> jill wagner at the new york stock exchange. jill, thank you. straight ahead, your monday morning weather, and in sports

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subway. eat fresh. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. in sports, florida state in sports, florida state quarterback jameis winston was cleared in a sex assault investigation at a school code of conduct hearing. winston faced accusations of sexual assault in a case two years ago. the former florida supreme court judge heading the hearing found the evidence insufficient to satisfy the burden of proof. a year ago a prosecutor cited lack of evidence when he decided not to charge winston. former heavyweight boxing champ muhammad ali is being treated for a mild case of pneumonia. ali was hospitalized saturday and is listed in stable condition.

ali has been battling parkinson's disease for years. the three-time former champ is 73 years old and lives in arizona. in the nfl the dallas cowboys are going to the playoffs for the first time in five years. tony romo was almost perfect completing 18 of 20 passes including four touchdowns. romo broke the team record for passing yard as the cowboys manhandled minneapolis 42-7 to clinch the nfc east. the packers also clinched a win. aaron rodgers threw for 318 yards. they lead green bay to a 20-3 win over tampa bay. they secure a wild-card spot. they play detroit next week to decide the nfc north title. and the seahawks trumped the arizona cardinals, 35-6. russell wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the seahawks erupted. seattle is now in a tie with arizona atop the nfc west. when we return, car attack.

a driver plows his car into a crowd of people in france in what's being described as an extremist crime. joirks suffering from the flu is a really big deal. with aches, fever and chills- there's no such thing as a little flu. so why treat it like it's a little cold? there's something that works differently than over-the-counter remedies. attack the flu virus at its source with prescription tamiflu. and call your doctor right away. tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu in people 2 weeks and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting.

ask your doctor about tamiflu and attack the flu virus at its source. execution-style in new yorke renewed calls -- for peace. a warning for bay area beac goers: stay away from the water. we haven't seen the end of the heavy surf and hh tides. north korea makes new threa against the u-s as president obama weighs how to respondo the cyber attack on sony pictures. join us for kpix 5 news this morning... beginning at 4:3 ,,,,

here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. here's another look at this morning's top stories. police departments in new york and other cities are on alert after the slaying of two officers saturday. the nypd said the gunman made threats online before the ambush. and upset about being blamed for the sony cyber attack, north korea threatens to strike targets in the u.s. president obama calls the attack cyber vandalism and promises a proportionate response.

in france police have a man in custody after police say he deliberately slammed his car into a crowd. 11 people were hurt last night. they say the motive is unclear but it's being called an extremist act as islamists are calling for attacks. president obama is on vacation with his family in hawaii. the family's motorcade was seen on friday as he went to play golf on a marine base. he later joined his family at the beach and they had dinner at a restaurant. and ringing in the holiday season with tubas. ♪ >> in chicago, hundreds of tubas belted out holiday songs at the annual tuba christmas event at the hilton. guests brought nonperishable food items to be donated to the chicago food depository.

coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the holiday movies you don't want to miss this season. i'm lauren lyster. this is the "cbs morning news." exchanging gifts. ha ha ha/ohmigosh! a samsung galaxy s5! thank you! yeah it's on verizon's super fast 4g lte network! so we can upload and share photos and videos at amazing speed. hey hey...what are ya doing? i just posted a pic. (ding) tagged, no? uh..uh like! sign up at walmart and receive a $75 verizon bill credit with your purchase of a samsung galaxy s5 or any other smart phone.

associated press reporter linda deutsch retires today. she covered some of the most famous trials in the last 50 years, ranging from manson to michael jackson. danielle nottingham sat down with her. >> reporter: linda deutsch has spent nearly half a century covers the trials of the century. her face and byline now well known, but on her very first day at the "associated press" -- >> i was the only woman -- i was replacing the only woman who was leaving to have a baby. the editor on the desk looked up and said, oh, no, another new one. that was my welcome to the a.p. >> reporter: deutsch was just 26 when she was assigned to cover the manson murder trial, using

the same typewriter she got when she was 10. dozens of high-profile cases followed including o.j. simpson which led to her greatest scoop. when that trial was over, o.j. called you first. >> he did. >> why? >> he would say later that the reason he talked to me was because, as he said, she never said she thought i was innocent, but she never said she thought i was guilty either. >> michael jackson, did he reach out to you? >> he did. michael jackson called me and he said he wanted to thank me for being fair. >> reporter: deutsch has covered at least 50 major trials. in almost all of them she said the jury got it right with one notable exception. >> i covered the rodney king case, and it almost destroyed my belief in the justice system. the verdict was wrong. there is no question the verdict was wrong. and as a result, my city was almost destroyed. >> reporter: a far different scene from her very first story in journalism, a 19-year-old

intern covering the march on washington. >> it was one of the really main watershed events of my life, and after that, you never turn back, never. what i wound up being was a social historian. it's an incredible privilege, and i hope that reporters today realize what a privilege it is. >> reporter: danielle nottingham, cbs news, los angeles. and singer elton john and david furnish are enjoying their first morning as a married couple. the two tied the knot in england sunday. same-sex marriages in that country became legal this year. john and furnish met more than two decades ago. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," reaction to the deadly shooting of two new york city police officers. we'll hear from philadelphia police commissioner charles ramsey. plus, why lawmakers and pilots are fighting the

expansion of discount airline norwegian air. and we'll sit down with garfield creator jim davis. that's the "cbs morning news" for this monday. thanks for watching. i'm lauren lyster. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com www.vitac.com

good morning. it's monday, we begin this morning with a beautiful look at the bay bridge right now. the lights are on. and it's looking pretty good out there. >> all is calm. >> that's right but it's only

4:30 right? good morning everyone, it is monday, december 22nd. i'm michelle griego. >> it is mighty early, good to have you on board. i'm frank mallicoat. 4:30 we're going to kick it off with traffic because we can. good morning. >> sounds like a good idea to me. the monday commute. we have a rock slide which is expected to cause problems later in the commute. this is just outside of the golden gate bridge on the marin side. two lanes of traffic are shut down because of this rig rock and mudslide. they do have it coned off and hopefully caltrans will have at least one lane open at some point during the morning commute. but it could be slow later. >> okay. thank you. well police departments across the country are on high alert after the weekend killing of two officers in new york. >> investigators now trying to determine if the mentally disturbed shooter took part in any of the protests over the deaths of michael brown and eric garner. don champion has the very latest now out of brooklyn. >> reporter: nypd officers stood alongside members of the