another twist in the already dramatic investigation of accused murderer and millionaire robert durst. authorities in california look into whether he might be connected to a cold case disappearance. despite a tight race israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu comes away with an election victory, setting up the likelyihood of further strained relations with president obama. poisoned letter. an envelope addressed to the white house tested positive for cyanide but is discovered before it reaches its destination. away we go. the ncaa tournament is off and running. >> and the madness begins. the first games of the ncaa tournament kicks off and one team is already vying to be this

year's cinderella. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, march 18th, 2015. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. real estate millionaire robert durst is scheduled to appear in a new orleans court next monday. durst is charged with first-degree murder in los angeles but is being held in louisiana on drug and weapons charges. durst was transferred to a mental health facility in louisiana yesterday. it's unclear when he'll be sent to california. but also yesterday federal agents and police searched durst's houston apartment for several hours. they carried away two boxes of evidence. the durst investigation is picking up steam. now police in eureka, california, are looking into the possibility that durst is connected to another missing woman. brittney hopper of our los

angeles station kcbs talked to a reporter who said there's even more to consider. >> reporter: as with dust i've always maintained since covering this case since back in 2000 that he was psychotic. >> reporter: matt bertbeck spoke to us via skype from new york. for years he's been covering robert durst, the real estate heir who was just charged with murdering an l.a. woman and was the subject of "the jink" linking him to others. berbeck says dust needs to be looked at in two other california disappearances karen mitchell and kristen modafferi who both went missing in 1997. >> durst had visited or seen mitchell at a homeless shelter that she had volunteered at. >> reporter: at the time mitchell was living in eureka and at the time durst would visit her store even dressing in drag. he was said to be at the store when she disappeared.

and this is a sketch of a suspect. the other picture, dust. as for modafferi, her story was featured in "most wanted" in the 1990s. durst was living in the area. >> reporter: before these cases even came up before the public he had been living this random bizarre lifestyle through the 1990s. he had been stealing identifies. >> reporter: modafferi's father said there are potential red flags to look at. but he told me in his heart he doesn't believe there's a connection. >> that was brittney hopper reporting. durst waived extradition. if convicted he could face the death penalty. the secret service is testing an envelope that could possibly possess cyanide. the letter was received monday at a screening facility. susan mcginnis is in washington.

susan, good morning. >> anne-marie, good morning. this letter is now on its way to another lab for more confirmation, but it has already tested what's called presumptive positive for cyanide. the letter was addressed to the white house but it was screened with all white house mail at a facility in maryland and never got to the white house. the secret service said an envelope sent to the white house was potentially tested positive for cyanide. it was located miles from the executive mansion where white house mail is screened. initial biological testing showed up negative but follow-up testing on tuesday showed a positive reading for cyanide. the envelope was carrying an unknown milky substance. if the envelope was addressed to president obama. the sample has now been taken to another facility for more testing.

cyanide is a lethally toxic substance that attacks the heart nervous system. so far there's no word whether the mail handlers at the facility were exposed. the secret service says investigation into the letter is continuing. now, packages including poison like anthrax and ricin have been sent to the white house in the past. in january of last year a mississippi man got 25 years in prison after pleading guilty for sending letters laced with ricin to president obama, also a president in mississippi and a mississippi judge. >> susan mcginnis in washington. thank you, susan. phone calls to the u.s. embassy threatened kennedy and another american diplomat. japanese media report the threats came last month from a caller speaking english. and a u.s. air force veteran is due in federal court in brooklyn today for allegedly trying to join isis in syria. aviation mechanic tairod nathan

webster pugh is accused of attempting to travel to syria earlier this year. prosecutors say a search of his computer found nearly 200 jihadist propaganda videos. he faces charging for allegedly providing support for a terrorist group and obstructing justice. in israel what was to be a razor close election wasn't. prime minister's netanyahu's opponent conceded and that sets netanyahu up to form another government and serve his fourth term as prime minister. barry petersen joins us now by phone from tel aviv. barry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. well, i think there's some interesting parts of this. first it was a surprise. netanyahu obviously did a good job. hi was trailing in the polls over the weekend. secondly i think we need to talk about the relationship between the prime minister and our

president obama. it's been rocky, it's been rough. i think personal relation ships may not mean everything but there is some fence mending that's going to have to be done. also the iran nuclear deal which the obama administration is trying hard to make, netanyahu is against it. he came to the u.s. congress and said the ultimate to a bad deal is no deal. so there's going to be some real resistance. he's not among the parties -- israel is not among the parties making the deal but certainly influential in the united states in terms of generating any anti-deal sentiment. and, finally, let's talk a little bit about the palestinian question. the prime minister had said he supported a two-state solution right up until the night of the election when he simply said he doesn't. now, what this means is it's going to be really more complicated to figure out mid east peace, a term that's always used loosely and so far never achieved. so i think it really throws some

significant road blocks into any effort to resolve the issues between israel and the palestinians that this is not a good sign. his opponent said he wanted to work it out. netanyahu is no way. anne-marie? >> barry petersen, thank you so much for your observations. barry petersen in tel aviv. well premera blue cross said said it has been the victim of a cyber attack. they say names, social curety numbers and bank account information could have been breached. the company learned in january that hackers had gained access to its technology systems last may. so far there's no evidence that information has been removed. illinois congressman aaron schock says he will resign from the house at the end of the month. there was mounting evidence that the republican lawmaker used

taxpayer money to pay for a lavish lifestyle. the 33-year-old was a rising star in the gop and a top fund-raiser. schock made headlines by decorating his capitol hill office like a set from the tv show down"downton abbey"." schock said tuesday he was stepping down because constant questions had become a distraction. well, coming up on the "morning news," new fraternity scandal. a greek house at penn state is suspended over disturbing social media photos. and sparks fly in one of two dangerous police chases on the streets of california. we'll have the dramatic footage. this is the "cbs morning news." can i at least put my shoes on? if your bladder is calling the shots ... you may have a medical condition called overactive bladder ... ...or oab you've got to be kidding me. i've had enough! it's time to talk to the doctor. ask your doctor how myrbetriq may help treat... ...oab symptoms of urgency frequency, and leakage. which may mean fewer trips to the bathroom. myrbetriq (mirabegron) may increase your blood pressure. myrbetriq may increase your chances...

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firearms explosives. the court ordered that the fireworks be destroyed. two wild police pursuits ended dramatically. last night in los angeles a woman driving a stolen car tried evading police for more than an hour even after one of her tires were shred. once she stopped a man gets out of the passenger seat and makes a run for it. officers chase him through a neighborhood before finally apprehending him. the woman was also taken into custody. earlier a driver fleeing from police hit speeds of more than 100 miles an hour on a highway near san francisco. it all comes to an end when his suv crashes and flips over. moments later the driver emerges from the vehicle apparently escaping any serious injury. after surveying the damage he's placed under arrest. a fraternity at penn state university has been suspended after police say members used a facebook page to post nude women online. police say tuesday they don't think the women knew the photos were being taken. kris van cleave has the story.

>> reporter: kappa delta rho fraternity at phen state university has been suspended for a year. police say its members ran an invitation invitation-only facebook page that featured nude or partially nude women who appeared to be asleep or passed out. police were tipped off. >> we were able to capture some images, graphics, some very disturbing images. >> reporter: the pages included comments from those who could view it. some bragging about certain sexual acts. a search warrant showed some posted about cocaine, marijuana, and a.d.d. medication. police say the secret facebook page called 2.0 was created eight months after after an original page was seen by someone. this is the second time in days that a fraternity faced a downfall. last week a frat at the university of oklahoma was suspended and two students

expelled after a video of a raucous chant went viral. >> we're looking at harassment which could be a summary or misdemeanor level. >> reporter: investigators are urging witnesses and victims to come forward. kris van cleave, cbs news. straight ahead, coming to america. a european airliner gets set to offer rock bottom prices to the u.s. and in sports tournament tip-off, march madness is officially under way. i know a guy in new york vegas, dallas. my competitors may know a guy, but i know over 60,000 guys. priceline.com i found out the hard way... not all washes take care of intimate odor. vagisil odor block wash stops odor from happening for all day confidence. when you feel fresh all day you feel confident. vagisil. your intimate health experts.

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. violent confrontations between police and anti-austerity protesters in germany this morning. in frankfurt demonstrators set fire to police cars and burned barricades around the headquarters of the european central bank. thousands of protesters are trying to disrupt a ceremony for the new building over the bank's efforts to reduce debt in countries like greece. on the "cbs moneywatch" now a mac and cheese recall and a european airline is set to offer super cheap airfare to the u.s. jill wagner is at the new york stock excange with that and more. good morning, jill.

>> good morning, anne-marie. kraft is recalling 6 million boxes of its original mac and cheese. some of the boxes contain small pieces of metal. they have best when used by dates from september 18th, 2015, to october 11th, 2015. they're marked with the code c2. the infected boxes were sold in the u.s., puerto rico, caribbean, and south america. consumers should return the boxes for a full refund. asian stocks rose on the possibility of new stimulus from china. the shanghai composite gained more than 1% for a seven-year high hong kong's hang seng added 1%. on wall street the investors are waiting to see if the federal reserve is going to raise interest rates. the fed released as a policy statement today.

the dow lost 128 points yesterday. the s&p fell nearly 7 points. and the nasdaq finished nearly 8 points higher. microsoft is finally giving up on its once aligned internet explorer. it will use a new name. code name. project spartan. the new browser is expected to be the primary way for windows 10 users to access the internet. another way to send money from your phone is facebook's messenger app. it's free, works with debit cards, and is available on android, apple devices, and desktop computers. facebook will process the payments. its payment systems are separate from other netbook services for security purposes. and europe's largest airliner ireland's ryanair is beginning transatlantic flights. promotional flights are starting at $15. they won't start until 2020. ryanair will fly to 14 u.s. cities including boston, new york, chicago, and miami. anne-marie? >> $15? something tells me the peanuts are going to cost about $35. they've got to make that up somehow.

jill wagner at the new york stock exchange. thanks a lot, jill. when we return, a tall order. after winning his first game in the ncaa tournament, one coach gets ready to face college basketball's top team. we'll hear his plan on how to beat kentucky. this is the "cbs morning news." entucky. this is the "cbs morning news." or a healthy start before the big meeting there's a choice hotel that's waiting for you. this spring, choose choice twice, get a night at no price at 1,500 hotels. book now at choicehotels.com i knew instantly that this was...wow! it's crest hd. it's amazing. new crest hd gives you a 6x healthier mouth and 6x whiter teeth in just one week. it gets practically every detail. that's why it's called hd. try new crest pro-health hd.

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. the madness of march is under way. the first two games of the ncaa tournament tipping off last night in dayton, ohio. in the late game, byu appears to have things under control against mississippi. the cougars holding a 17-point lead at the halftime, but mississippi uses some hot shooting from stefan moody to get back in the game.

the rebels rally to win, 94-90. they will take on xavier in the next round. hampton was the only team to enter the tournament with a losing record, but they will keep playing. the 68th and final team to earn a spot in the bracket beats manhattan, 74-64. it doesn't get any easier for hampton though. their next opponent is unbeaten kentucky. coach edward joyner jr. was asked how his team will climb that mountain. >> hold on. i told you i had jesus on speed dial, so -- hey, jesus, first of all, you can't play so i ain't worried about you being hot, okay. first of all they want to know how much of a mountain and what our odds are. hello? hello? i guess he'll get back to me, so i'll get back to you. >> the madness begins tonight with the remaining first four

games. robert morris takes on north florida. followed by dayton and boise state. coverage of those games starts at 6:40 eastern on trutv and the round of four starts tomorrow. you can watch notre dame take on northeastern at 12:15 eastern. that's right here on cbs. ♪ ♪ need a little honey in the bowl. yeah!!! badabopbopbopa!!! no? must be the honey!!! i have a cold with terrible chest congestion. i better take something. theraflu severe cold doesn't treat chest congestion. really? new alka-seltzer plus day powder rushes relief to your worst cold symptoms plus chest congestion. [breath of relief] oh, what a relief it is.

a royal visit to washington. britain's prince charles and his wife camilla attended a reception last night. they're scheduled to visit cultural and educational sites in washington in the next three

days including lincoln memorial and martin luther king jr. memorial. prince charles also meets with president obama. and in western new york a man is being called a hero for rescuing a man trapped in his burning vehicle. rich newberg of our buffalo affiliate wiib reports. >> reporter: imagine this happening on a throughway right before your very eyes. >> oh my god it's going to explode, bro. >> reporter: he watches flames licking up alongside of his truck. he was trapped along the guardrail and his cab was filling up with smoke. colter could not break the windshield, which was his only way of escape. >> i thought that was it. i thought i was going to die. >> reporter: that's when brunner pull up. at his own peril saw the driver was trap and used concrete to break the windshield. his motivation was simple. >> to save another human being. the guy was trapped. and somebody had to escape.

>> reporter: colter escaped through the open windshield and with brunner's help crawled along the narrow guardrail about 40 feet above the ground. after firefighters and paramedics began tending to the driver, ed brunner left the scene and coulter never got to say thank you until now. we brought the two together less than 24 hours after the accident. >> how are you, big guy? >> pretty good. thanks, guy. >> you're welcome. >> being able to throw that hard concrete into that windshield to get my husband out of there, my husband would have been gone. >> my guardian angel. >> i'm very grateful that i was there to be able to do that. >> reporter: ed, by the way, had shoulder surgery recently but told me he wasn't thinking about that shoulder when he picked up the concrete and threw it to free the driver. rich newberg cbs news buffalo.

coming up on "cbs this morning," the latest on the white house cyanide investigation. major garrett has details. plus hertz rental cars installing cameras in its vehicles. we'll go to its headquarters. and we'll take you to jackson hole, china. a city drawing inspiration from the west. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. taking a live look out at the golden gate bridge this

morning, a little empty at 4:29. good morning, it's wednesday, march 18. i'm michelle griego. >> hi, everyone. i'm frank mallicoat. it's 4:30 right now. we're going to talk about a little weather and traffic on this "hump day." and roberta, you're out of the gate first. >> i figured out a new way to see just how dry it is outside. how low the relative humidity is. [ laughter ] >> let me help you with your hair! [ laughter ] >> lots of static cling this morning. current out the door we go, it's dry, temperatures in the 40s and 50s. later today bright sunshine extremely dry conditions low humidity, northwest winds 10 to 20. temperatures 60s and 70s. >> out the door we already have a couple of accidents. this one coming into south san jose northbound 101 at hellyer avenue. that crash is still there blocking partially the on-ramp and then we just have the usual overnight roadwork. so we'll talk a lot ab