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tv   CBS Overnight News  CBS  January 4, 2017 3:12am-4:01am PST

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from san antonio to orlando. the airline says the 133 passengers on board had to put on oxygen masks after a pressurization problem developed in flight. the boeing 737 diverted to jacksonville, where it was met by emergency vehicles. there were no injuries. and a baggage worker was not injured sunday after being locked in the cargo hold of a united express flight from charlotte. crews on the ground at washington's dulles airport found him there once the plane landed after an hour-long flight. the worker declined medical attention. we should tell you that cargo hold is pressurized. still, the faa is going to
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investigate how this situation happened and how no one appeared to notice that it had happened. jeff? >> kris van cleave, thank you. the deep south is drying out and cleaning up after severe storms, including tornadoes that swept through several states yesterday. at least five people were killed. omar villafranca is following this. >> reporter: residents in southeast alabama woke up in the path of the storm's destruction. in rehobeth, four people were killed when powerful winds sent this 50-foot tree crashing into a mobile home. next door, j.p. kelley spent the morning corralling his cows. the storm raked across his family farm, destroying a 50- year-old barn. >> it's the worst wind that i have been through. >> reporter: he rode out the storm with his wife, huddled in an interior room of his home. >> the tornado sirens went off probably 30 seconds ahead of it. >> reporter: is that all the time you had?
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>> i think so because it built so fast. >> reporter: in jackson, alabama, blinding rain flooded the streets while the high winds ripped the roofs off of homes and left thousands without power. even animals at the alabama gulf coast zoo had to duck for cover after the storm shredded their enclosures. patti hall is the zoo's director. >> our perimeter fence, part of that, about 30 feet of that has been taken down, and it has disappeared. it has gone away. >> reporter: the system shifted east to georgia where kenny simmons and his wife watched the fast-moving storm hit their home. >> the whole trailer started shaking. i looked at her. she grabbed ahold of me. i grabbed ahold of her. the winds came through. >> reporter: nearly 80,000 people in two states are without power. jeff, clean-up is expected to take several weeks here, and there are more storms in the forecast for this weekend. >> omar, thank you very much. coming up next, a dresser tumbles and a 2-year-old saves his twin bother. also ahead, a tragic mistake
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calls attention to the dangers of pesticides at home. and new evidence about what sank the "titanic." ugh, it's only lunchtime and my cold medicines' wearing off. i'm dragging. yeah, that stuff only lasts a few hours. or, take mucinex. one pill fights congestion for 12 hours. no thank you very much, she's gonna stick with the short-term stuff. 12 hours? guess i won't be seeing you for a while. is that a bisque? i just lost my appetite. why take medicines that only last 4 hours, when just one mucinex lasts 12 hours? start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this.
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a mother in utah wanted to warn parents of young children about the dangers of unsecured dressers. so she posted video of her 2-year-old twins knocking over the dresser in their room. one was pinned. for two minutes the other searched for a way to help before nudging the dresser off of him. their mom says the dresser was made by ikea. the company could not confirm that but says it tells consumers all dressers must be secured to the wall using anchors it provides. ikea recalled millions of dressers last year following the deaths of three children. in amarillo, texas, four children were killed yesterday in an accidental poisoning at their home. their father set off a chemical reaction while using professional grade pesticide.
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mireya villarreal is there. >> reporter: amarillo investigators say the father caused the deadly chemical reaction when he sprinkled pellets of a pesticide called weevil-cide under the home and tried to wash them away. >> reporter: fire captain larry david says the water intensified the release of the toxic gas aluminum phosphide, which killed several family members as they slept. do we know how the homeowner got his hands on this chemical? >> we're not positive. we were told the homeowner was given this chemical by a friend. >> reporter: the environmental protection agency restricts the purchase of weevil-cide to licensed professionals and warns it should not be used within 100 feet of a home. the four children killed were ages 7 to 17. six other family members are in stable condition.
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has hazmat teams returned to the house today beginning the process of cleaning one of the worst poisoning accidents ever in amarillo history. the pesticide pellets are smaller than this dime, which will make finding them all and decontaminating the home extremely difficult. jeff, experts say that if you need this level of pesticide, follow the law and use a professional. >> mireya, thank you very much. millions were looking into a crystal ball, but no one saw it coming. the great new year's eve jewel heist, next.
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speaking of great, check out these hot riffs. you like smash mouth? uh, yeah i have an early day tomorrow so... wait. almost there. goodnight, bruce. gotta tune the "a." (humming) take a closer look at geico. great savings. and a whole lot more. in his role as president of the senate, joe biden swore in new members today, but as it often happens, kids stole the show. >> that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office you're about to take. so help you god. >> i will. [ crying ] >> she's not so sure. >> how are you doing? >> politicians are used to kissing babies. this one vetoed that idea. researchers say they discovered a new organ in the human body. it is called the mesentery. it attaches the intestines to the abdomen. scientists have known about it
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since the days of leonardo da vinci. it was long thought to be several separate structures, but now research shows it functions as one organ. on new year's eve, thousands of new york city police officers had their eyes on the ball, and that's apparently what a band of jewel thieves was counting on. here's don dahler. >> reporter: at the exact moment 1 million revelers were ringing in the new year in times square, blocks away three burglars smashed their way to an estimated $6 million fortune in gems and jewelry. as two of the men used a sledgehammer and heavy wrench to break into the offices of gregg ruth, a commercial jewelry company, one caught sight of the surveillance camera and put it out of commission. the jewelry store is in a non- descript building in midtown manhattan. authorities say the thieves made their way to the sixth-floor offices and waited until the stroke of midnight before making their move. 7,000 nypd officers were on
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duty nearby. the nypd is looking at this as a possible inside job. the freight entrance would ordinarily be locked. and the burglars either found two of the four safes already open or they had the combinations. former fbi agent manny gomez. >> the timing was no accident. >> the focus on that day was terrorism, active shooter, violent crimes. burglary of a jewelry store was not on their radar, and that's why these perpetrators acted on new year's eve. >> reporter: detectives are currently interviewing employees and anyone else who might recognize this man. gregg ruth jewelers specializes in rare pink and yellow diamonds. there was reportedly another $7 million in jewelry in the other two safes, but, jeff, those were left unopened. >> all right, don. thank you. what sank the "titanic." a change of course from investigators. that story is next. ,,,,,,,,,,,,
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father: [beat box sounds] baby: [giggling]
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more than a century after the "titanic" sank in the north atlantic, there are new clues to the cause of the disaster. researchers say it wasn't just ice but fire. here's mark phillips. >> she was the largest ship ever built. >> reporter: the documentary gives a new twist to an old story. >> and yet her maiden voyage would be her last.
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>> reporter: everybody knows why the "titanic" went down, she hit an iceberg, and despite being supposedly designed as unsinkable, she sank and took 1,500 lives with her, but that, the filmmakers say, isn't the whole story. the whole story involves a fire that had been smoldering for days in one of the vessel's coal storage bunkers. >> look at this anomaly in the hull. >> reporter: a fire whose heat may have severely weakened the ship and hastened its sinking. the new theory comes from recently discovered old photos of the "titanic's" launching. >> they gambled? >> yes. >> reporter: irish journalist senan maloney had been working on the fire theory for years. he says the dark patch on the "titanic's" hull shows the coal was burning even as the ship was being launched. >> the intensity of the fire not only weakened the forward bulkhead but also may have caused that severe deformity to the hull and the ship put to sea
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with an out-of-control fire that required 12 men to try to tackle it for most of the maiden voyage. >> reporter: the coal fire was known about at the time and was dismissed as the cause of the disaster by the official inquiry that followed it. the smoldering fuel was dug out and burned in the ship's boilers, but maloney says the need to get rid of that burning coal quickly may have been one of the reasons "titanic" kept going at high speed despite knowing here were icebergs around. almost 105 years later, there's still enough doubt and interest to keep the story of the world's most famous maritime disaster alive. mark phillips, cbs news, london. that is the "overnight news" for this wednesday. for some of you the news continues. for others check back with us a little later for the morning news and "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new york city, i'm jeff glor.
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this is the "cbs overnight news." >> welcome to the "overnight news." i'm jericka duncan. the 115th congress has been sworn in. seven new senators and 52 members of the house took the office. when donald trump is sworn in january 20th, the republicans will control the white house and both houses of congresses for the first time in a decade. the first order of business in the house was to kill a republican plan to gut the congressional ethics office. nancy cordes begins our coverage. >> do you solemnly swear. >> reporter: the first controversy of the 115th congress came even before members were sworn in.
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house republicans voted to gut the office of congressional ethics only to reverse themselves 19 hours later in the face of bipartisan condemnation. virginia republican dave brat. >> part of it is the headlines where we were backing off on ethics. that's not a good headline when it comes to messaging. >> reporter: the white house called it revealing. >> that's not draining the swamp. >> reporter: the final straw came in the form of a social media swolding from president-elect donald trump, who urged the party to focus on tax reform, health care and so many greater things of far greater importance. that prompted an emergency meeting and an about-face. >> it's been withdrawn. it's been withdrawn. >> reporter: republicans say they still intend to reform the office, which currently has the power to investigate anonymous complaints that can turn out to be baseless. iowa's steve king. >> jesus had the right the face his accusers. he asserted that before the high priest, and we're saying members of congress shouldn't? >> reporter: some democrats saw today's flip-flop as a gift, but
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missouri's emmanuel cleaver argued the episode hurt both sides. >> everybody is getting an avalanche of angry phone calls from around the country on this issue. >> reporter: what are people saying? >> well, they're saying you guys are trying to remove any kind of ethical standards. you guys want to be able to do wrong and hide. >> plans for president-elect trump's inauguration are moving along. thousands of protesters are expected to line the parade route causing headaches for kret service. and dozens of a-list performers say they want nothing to do with the parade or the parties to foll follow. >> reporter: performing in an inaugural parade is considered an honor, something to cheer. these days it's also considered something to protest. ♪ the mormon tabernacle choir often participates. it has sung in five inaugurations over the last half century.
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but this time member jan chamberlain resigned from the choir rather than sing for president-elect donald trump. >> i have to take a stance against something that i see as coming across to others throughout the world as supporting someone with horrible practices and beliefs, and i can't support that. >> reporter: groups from new york's marist college will perform for the first time, but several students are refusing to appear, and the college is under pressure from alumni like kelly hetrick to back out. >> it's also sending the message that we're okay with the things that the president-elect says. >> reporter: alabama's oldest private historically black liberal arts college also plans to march, but it's taking some heat for doing it. there are petitions online, both for and against the talladega college marching band's appearance. >> we're open arms to everybody. >> reporter: but boris epshteyn with the trump inaugural
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committee says who is in and who is not does not matter. >> i will tell you, this will be an inaugural unlike any other, and it will truly, truly, truly show off the best of america. >> the big political changes are not limited to washington. after this latest election, recreational marijuana use is now allowed in eight states and washington, d.c. as for medical marijuana, it's legal in 28 states, along with the nation's capital. one study predicts the legal marijuana market will be a $21 billion industry within the next three years. that's got a lot of younger americans looking at pot as a harmless drug that could generate even more problems. john blackstone has the story from a marijuana store in san francisco. >> we're here at spark, a medical marijuana dispensary. despite legalization in california, this is the only place you can legally buy marijuana in california while the state develops rules for
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recreational marijuana for anyone over the age of 21. a new study suggests that legalization for adults may be impacting the way some teenagers view the risks of marijuana. clay hurst and his mother now agree that teenage use of marijuana can be dangerous. but when clay was 14, he didn't see the risk. >> my son is an addict, and he has -- >> was an addict. >> he has been in recovery for over five years. >> reporter: you were a young teenager when you started using marijuana. >> uh-huh. >> what attracted you to it? knowing your parents are not going to support you as a 14-year-old smoking marijuana, so it's kind of the danger, the rush of that. >> he started using just very casually, and then it started being more of a daily habit, and that was quite alarming. he was really spaced out and zoned out all the time. >> reporter: clay started using
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ecta ectasy, prescription drugs and alcohol. you put your family through some hard times. >> absolutely. i was one of the lucky ones. a lot of my friends, it did not end that way. i had a few die, a few overdose. >> reporter: today he helps educate young people about the dangers of drugs. >> we know that early initiation of marijuana use is associated with a greater risk for marijuana dependence later on in life. >> reporter: co-author of a new study of marijuana use by teenagers in colorado and washington, two states that legalized use of marijuana for adults in 2012. >> we found very different things in colorado and washington. >> reporter: in washington state, she found that since 2012, marijuana use among 8th graders has increased by 2% and 10th graders by 4.1%. and the perceived harmfulness of pot has declined by 15%.
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but in colorado, her study found legalization had no impact on marijuana use by teenagers. >> the risk to young people appear not to risk. for many years now, people have argued that it's a bad idea to legalize marijuana for adults, because that will lead to more young people getting in trouble with marijuana. if anything, the latest results prove that is not the case. >> reporter: but the conflicting results point to the need for more study of the impact of legalization for teenagers. >> we know that long-term use is associated with mental health problems, economic and social problems, financial difficulties. that's what we really want to prevent. >> reporter: it could be another year before sellers in california receive permits for resale sell of marijuana.
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the longest running bar fight in history has been going on for 50 years. and it's fueled by rum. havana club rum. some of it's made in cuba, but some is made in puerto rico. with the new recent thaw in u.s.-cuba relations, the battle over a name is coming to our shores. sharon alfonzi has the story for "60 minutes." ♪ >> reporter: it's a tuesday afternoon here in old havana, and we and lots of other visitors to cuba are filing in and filling up the bar that calls itself the cradle of the dackarie. the head bar tender nears to double up on rum bottles just to keep up with demand. >> how many bottles do you go through a day?
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>> between 60 and 80 bottles per day. >> that's a lot of dackaries. is this just from today? >> yeah. >> reporter: all those bottles were filled with havana club rum, produced by a 50-50 joint venture between the cuban government and a french beverage giant. which sent jerome to cuba to run the business. we met him in a place that's rarely open to outsiders. a warehouse stacked to the ceiling with oak barrels full of rum. >> we built a very great success. when we started the partnership in 1993, we sold 5 million bottles a year. today we sell 50 million bottles a year. >> reporter: 50 million bottles. 11 million of them sold here in cuba. the tourists drinking here are obvious. but we went looking down the
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side streets and found locals drinking it, too. and domino games and dance halls and discos. and sipping it along havana's sea front promenade. to distill and age all that rum, the cuban government relies on azbel morales. he loves talking about rum, but he says to really understand it, you have to drink it. [ speaking foreign language ] the first sip will impact you the most, he says, and mange you anxious for a second. >> i am anxious to continue the second sip. >> reporter: and a third and a fourth. >> we don't have anything else to do today, do we? >> reporter: and the cuban cigar that he says pairs perfectly with this havana club, as we drank and smoked, morales told
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me cubans are born with a rum gene. and to be real havana club rum, he said it must be made from cuban sugar cain and aged in the hot and sticky cuban climate. here's where it gets confusing. this is another bottle of havana club rum. exact same name, but you can see right here, this one is made in puerto rico. and it's read by bicardi. how in the world can you say havana club when you're making it in puerto rico? >> just the way that you say i'm calling it arizona iced tea and i'm not making it in arizona. >> reporter: rick wilson is an executive at bacardi. originally a cuban company and now the largest privately held liquor business in the world. >> the true havana club, made with the recipe of the original founders is the havana club bacardi is making and selling here in the united states. >> reporter: bacardi bought that
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recipe from the family of this woman. >> and it was one of the healthiest families in cuba? >> definitely. >> reporter: the family fortune was built on sugar and shipping and rum. havana club rum. like hundreds of other cuban companies, theirs was confiscated shortly after fidel castro's revolution in 1959. >> they took over the company on december 31st, 1959. >> do you remember that day? >> i remember that day vividly. my husband came home. he went to work early, and then he came home and he says they've thrown us out. it's over. >> it's over he said? >> he said, it's over. >> reporter: all of their assets gone, she and her husband were ordered to leave cuba with only the clothes on their backs.
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>> how much money did you have? >> absolutely nothing. nothing, nothing, nothing. >> what was it like when you got on the plane? >> everybody on the entire plane was crying. i remember, i look out the window as we were taking off, and i say to my husband, take a good look, because you're not going to see it again. >> reporter: in cuba, they and bacardi had been competitors. but when the revolution came, rick wilson says bacardi had an advantage. >> bacardi, unlike most other cuban families and companies, had assets outside of cuba. >> is that the reason they were able to survive? >> yes. because we could continue to produce and sell our product, unlike them. everything they had was in cuba, everything. >> reporter: everything except the recipe for havana club rum. they eventually sold it tocardi
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this version in puerto rico. they did it to compete with this version, made by the cuban government and their partner. that set off the longest bar fight ever. it has been fought, both in the court where is the latest lawsuit is pending, and the marketplace, between two of the world's largest liquor companies. pinot ricard produces vodka, scotch and gin. bacardi makes vodka and sapphire gin. and now they both make havana club rum and both claim the moral high round. >> it wasn't they looked up and were a competitor to you? >> we don't mind competition from them. pinot ricard, though, is partnering with the cuban government, who has confiscated
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the assets of a family, no compensation paid. >> it's hard to believe that a company like bacardi is just making a moral argument. >> we're not, we're making a moral and a legal argument. >> and the legal argument is? >> theft. it comes down -- it's stolen property. that's what it comes down to. >> the bacardi family will say that this havana club is stolen property. >> well, you see the place we are in or distillery? it was built in 2007. >> and none of these facilities were used before the revolution? >> none of these facilities were used before the revolution, no. >> reporter: as he dismisses the argument that the havana club rum he produces for pinot ricard in cuba is not the real thing because it's not made from the original family recipe. the recipe remains in this land, he said.
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sit here in this climate, the culture. >> it's very simple. to make a cuban rum, you need to make it in cuba. it doesn't take more than that. you cannot make cuban rum in puerto rico. >> reporter: and they cannot claim, he insists, to own the havana club rum decades after abandoning it. how do you feel them saying the family abandoned the brand? >> they can say whatever they want. they can say that we abandoned. we didn't abandon anything. they threw us out. >> reporter: the castro government did that. the french company, pinot ricard, came along much later, and turned the cuban havana club into a global brand and icon of cuban culture. >> you can so, mr. harris, we have your fingerprints on the safe. a photo of you opening the safe. a post using the hashtag "#justrobbedthesafe"
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america has been employing lovable mascots for years. they run around the field, sometimes interacting with players or fans. but in japan, mascots are the main event, generating more than $16 billion a year. adriana diaz has that story. ♪ >> reporter: they're cooky, cuddly, and for some, a little creepy.
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in japan, mascots aren't warmup acts. they're the main event. it's been dubbed the capital of cute, and at the world's character summit outside tokyo, you can see why. "you can love mascots just like people, everything about them is cute." cuteness, or kawaii in japanese, dominates pop culture. that's why from young to old, the japanese are smitten. but don't be fooled, mascots are master salesman. danny chu makes a living off his doll-like mascot. she's an official tourism ambassador for japan, appearing on planes and buses. chu says mascots are an essential marketing tool here. >> whether it's branding or new customers, folks that like a
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particular character, they would buy those goods. >> reporter: the government alone has thousands of them. take pipo kuhn with tokyo police. the bowl shaped toilet kuhn with waste management. the disarming waka pi, who promotes a prison of all things. and this is tom, the u.s. embassy mascot. but for every d-lister, some hit it big and cash in. the feisty pair funashai earns millions a year, and even has a hit single. and domo has appeared in u.s. tv adds for 7-eleven and target. but when it comes to celebrity, kumamo is king, generating billions through tourism and
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bear-related products. so how does one become a mascot? you guessed it, there's a school for that. the owner is a mascot veteran. "it's common knowledge that when you want to draw a crowd, use a mascot," she said. so lots of companies are creating their own to boost their profile. she teaches exaggerated moves that will work under heavy suits and the nonnegotiable mascot code, never break character or admit there's a human inside. that's why we weren't allowed to film them suiting up. but we saw the before, and the after. 51-year-old shinji gave up computer programming for a mascot career. "in my regular life, i'm just a middle age guy, but in costume, i can forget myself and be someone else." hard work that generates billions. but the currency of smiles and
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hugs may have no match.,,,,,,,,,
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>> and then one day you go to a grocery store? >> reporter: it all changed inside this publix. dan was nearing the end of the canned vegetable aisle.
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he hates grocery shopping and the expression on his face confirmed his aggravation. but that's when this unapproachable man was approached, by a 4-year-old girl named norah wood. in the security footage, you can see norah randomly reaching out to him. her mom, tara, says it was quite embarrassing. >> she said, hi, old person, it's my birthday today. >> yeah. >> reporter: and then had the audacity to ask for a hug. >> i said, a hug? absolutely. >> reporter: norah got her hug and asked her mom to take a picture of her with her new friend. >> she just wanted to make him feel loved and give him a hug. his little lip quivered and it was just sweet. >> i said, you don't know, this is the first time for quite a while that i've been this happy. >> reporter: that all happened
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back in september, and his grin has only gotten wider since. >> hi, sweet heart, come in. >> reporter: today, norah visits at least one a week. and every time, it's the grocery store all over again. >> i knew i was going to get a hug. >> reporter: their last visit was over christmas. he got her some dress-up clothes and she got him a gallery of framed photos. >> it's a bridge. >> oh, okay. >> reporter: by the way, dan does have grand kids of his own. but they're grown and gone. and norah does have grandparents, but her mom says this is a completely different kind of bond, that almost defies explanation. >> she fell asleep holding a picture of him. what? >> she opened me to a love that i didn't know existed. >> do you feel like you have a purpose now? >> of course. norah. i know i made room in my heart for a lot more. >> reporter: steve hartman, on the road, in augusta, georgia.
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>> that's the "overnight news" for this wednesday. for this wednesday. from the cbs broadcast c c c captioning funded by cbs for this wednesday. from the cbs broadcast c c c it's wednesday, january 4th, 2017. this is the "cbs morning news." with a rocky day one in the books for the new congress, lawmakers today are in for a battle between the president and the next vice president over obamacare. overnight turkish police arrested several subjects linked to the attack at the nightclub but they're still looking for this person. and the cops slammed a girl to the ground in a

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