captioning funded by cbs it's wednesday, march 29th, 2017. this is the "cbs morning news." the russian meddling investigation is on hold. >> same thing as always around this place. a lot of politics. more than a dozen reported tornados in texas, and three storm chasers die in apparent pursuit of one twister. and silent no more. u.s. gymnasts go to capitol hill to share their stories of alleged sexual abuse in a push for change. good morning from the studio

57 newsroom at cbs headquarters here in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. the chairman of the house committee denies he's delaying the investigation into last year's russian meddling into the elections, but devin nunes canceled many hearings and he refused to again step away from the investigation. the fbi and the senate are conducting their investigation into the campaign. hena daniels is here in new york with the details. good morning, hena. >> good morning, anne-marie. they plan to update the committees on the russian meddling in the 2016 election, this as the house intelligence committee's probe continues to come under scrutiny. >> nobody ever told me that politics was going to be so much fun. >> president trump hosted senators and their spouses at the white house tuesday night as

lawmakers in the senate intelligence committee gear up to interview witnesses into its russian probe. >> my hope is that sally yates would be someone we'd like to talk to. i have not discussed it with the chairman. >> yates, the former acting attorney general fired by mr. trump, was set to testify tuesday before the house panel, investigating possible links between trump's administration and russia. in a letter obtained by the cbs news she was warned last week as the what she could reveal in her testimony. yates followed up with the white house on the matter friday, the same day devin nunes canceled the hearing. >> we have no problem with her testifying. to suggest in any way, shape, or form that we stood in the way of that is 100% false. >> the controversy along with nunes's secret meeting on white house grounds last week only added to democratic belief that nunes cannot lead an impartial investigation. >> this is what coverup behavior looks like.

>> still nunes insists he won't step down. >> are you going to stay on during the house investigation? >> why would i not? >> while house speaker ryan is standing by nunes, at least one house republican senator walter jones is now demanding he recuse himself. jones is calling for an independent commission to probe russian interference in the u.s. election. meanwhile a russian billionaire with ties to both vladimir putin and paul manafort says he's ling to testify with trump's former campaign chair. the senate intelligence committee is scheduled to hold the first public meeting sometime tomorrow. >> hena daniels here in new york. thank you, hena. ahead this morning on "cbs this morning," adam schiff. he's going to be called upon. the latest proposal calls for cuts of 18 billion dollars in domestics programs to finance the border wall with mexico the president wants to build.

the cuts would come from funding for medical research, heating subsidies for the poor, infrastructure, and community grants, but these are just proposals. congress has until april 28th to come up with a plan to prevent the government from shutting down. environmental groups and others are denouncing president trump's executive order undoing possible's president obama's efforts to curb greenhouse gases. by eliminate restrictions the president said he's creating jobs. >> i'm taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on american energy, to reverse government intrusion, and to cancel job-killing regulations. >> president trump made history of the obama administration's efforts to curb greenhouse gases. by signing an executive order at the environmental protection agency, mr. trump took the first step toward erasing rules from limiting carbon dioxide

emissions from coal-powered fire plants and restricting emissions from coal mines. >> my plan is to putting an end. >> you know what that says? you're going to back to work. >> coal mining accounts for up to nearly 50,000 jobs in america, down from its peak of nearly 180,000 in 1985. automation and the ability of natural gas from fracking has made it less competitive. >> we're here to announce the single most important step america has ever taken in the fight against global climate change. >> mr. obama emphasized the need to tackle rising global temperatures. >> no challenge poses a greater threat to our future and future generations. >> but president trump once called climate change a hoax, and his epa administrator scott pruitt recently denied a direct

link between carbon dioxide and global warming. >> no, i would not agree it's a primary contributor to the global warming that we see. >> major garrett, cbs news, the white house. this morning the threat of severe weather is shifting east. some 19 million people in arkansas, texas, and louisiana could see significant thunderstorms, hail, possible tornados, and flood-producing rain. there were reports of over a dozen tornadoes in texas yesterday. the national weather service described this storm in central texas as large, dangerous, and violent. but so far no injuries or significant damage are reported. police in west texas say three storm chasers were killed in a car crash yesterday apparently while driving toward a tornado. it happened about 50 miles southeast of lubbock. tornadoes had been reported at the time. police say one vehicle ran a stop sign and hit the other but severe weather was not the direct cause of the crash.

the senate judiciary committee took up a sex abuse scandal that's rocked usa gymnastics. retired gymnasts testified they were sexually abused by former gymnastics doctor larry nasr, and the government has failed to protect them. women have come forward to testify against nasr. >> i was disbelieved and even criticized by some in the gymnastics community to bringing this disturbing issue to light. now i know i'm not alone. >> the culture was money and medals. the culture wasn't about the girl. >> senator dianne feinstein is sponsoring a bill that requires tougher sex abuse reporting for olympic sports. larry nassar is being held in michigan on charges and also pornography charges. and briton is askiain is as

divorce. prime minister theresa may formally makes a launch for brexit. the impending departure from the eu has divided britain. well, coming up on the "morning news" now, a fiery plane crash. a plane burst into flames in peru sending passengers running for their lives. and hillary clinton makes a rare public appearance rallying for gender equality. >> i'm fighting for a fairer, big-hearted inclusive america. . it's 24 hour, non-drowsy and prescription strength. free yourself with clarispray, from the makers of claritin. come on! dogs just won't quit. neither does frontline gold. its triple action formula is relentless at killing fleas and ticks for a full 30 days. good boy. go for the gold. befi was active.gia, i was energetic. then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy.

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video for planned parenthood are facing more charges. the "los angeles times" reports the filing of felony charges against two california abortion opponents. prosecutors say they invaded the privacy of medical providers. the pair secretly made videos of themselves trying to buy fetal tissue from planned parenthood. the ameri"mercury news" rep. clinton addressed a women's business group yesterday in san francisco. she said her election defeat hasn't changed her mission. >> i do know what i'm still fighting for. i'm fighting for a fairer big-hearted inclusive america. >> clinton criticized the trump administration for holding a meeting about pregnancy and birth control without a single woman present. britain's "guardian" said the bodies of two u.n. investigators were found yesterday in the village in the democratic republic of congo. one of them was an american, michael sharp.

he was part of a group that vanished more than two weeks ago. they were looking into allegations of human rights violations by the army and militia groups. "the new york times" reports the settlement in the pay dispute between usa hockey and the national women's teams. the players had threatened to boycott the upcoming world championships. including pay, each player can now earn at least $70,000 a year. and "variety" covers the review of a new trailer of al gore's global warming. >> an inconvenient sequel is a followup to "an inconvenient truth." the former vice president screened it yesterday at a film convention in las vegas. the new video including footage of donald trump joking about climate change during his campaign. well, still to come, amazon goes supermarket shopping for you. we will tell you how the online retailer will gather your groceries for you to pick up. >> announcer: this portion of the "cbs morning news" sponsored by seabond. stronger hold all day.

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way at crayola. the company will retire one of the colors in its classic 24 crayon box. now, they aren't saying which one yet. the announcement will be livestreamed friday on facebook on national crayon day. i didn't know about that. on the "cbs moneywatch," congress deletes internet privacy protections and amazon saves you a trip down to the supermarket aisle. jill wagner is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, jill. >> good morning, anne-marie. new signs of strength in the u.s. economy. the consumer confidence index rose last month to its highest amount. home prices rose in january at their fastest pace in more than two years. yesterday the dow gained 150 points. the s&p was up about 17. the nasdaq rose about 34 points. the house has voted to scrap fcc rules meant to give consumers control over how internet providers share their information.

those regulations prevented the sale of things like customers' browsing habits without permission. they were put in place during the final months of the obama administration. the legislation now goes to president trump. he is expected to sign it. ford motor company says it's putting more than a billion dollars into three manufacturing plants in michigan. those investments include an engine plant where ford plans to add 130 jobs. the automaker said in late 2015 it planned to upgrade some of michigan facilities, part of a contract with united autowork errs union. wells fargo will pay $100 million to settle a lawsuit. it's tied to a lawsuit that it opened millions of unauthorized customer accounts. the money will compensate those who say they were victimized by the practice. the settlement still needs a federal judge's approval. and amazon wants the take your grocery order and then put the goods right into your car. the e-commerce giant is testing its amazon fresh pickup service.

at two locations in seattle. you place your order on online and drive to a pickup location where crews load your items. amazon says your orders can be ready in as little as 15 minutes. anne-marie. >> that's pretty good. i read all about it. the service is going to be free if you're an amazon prime customer. the price is right. >> kbra. now i just need a car. >> yeah. there's that little thing there. jill wagner at the new york stock exchange. thanks a lot, jill. still to come, kennedy correspondence. romantic letters from jacqueline kennedy to a friend years after her husband's assassination go on the auction block. it can be hard to breathe. f alked to my doctor. she said... symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement

of your lung function. symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. you should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. watch out, piggies! (child giggles) symbicort. breathe better starting within 5 minutes. get symbicort free for up to one year. visit saveonsymbicort.com today to learn more. deportations under the trump administration... the battle is ratcheting up over whether enough was done ahead of san jose's devastating flooding -- and who's to blame... and more trouble expected today for the developers of the san francisco luxury high-rise that's been slowly sinking for years. join us for kpix 5 news this morning... beginning at 4:30.

good morning. it's wednesday, march 29th. ,,,, here's look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. ♪

well, there are a lot of things you wouldn't want to bump into in the dark, but this small south american frog may not be one of them. scientists learned that the polka dot tree frog emits a green glow. it's the first amphibian known to have a phosphoric quality. newly released letters jacqueline kennedy exchanged with a british man will be auctioned on monday. they offer a glimpse into the former first lady's love life. >> reporter: an old battered briefcase containing the secrets of two battered lives. a case full of letters between a former british ambassador of washington and a woman he knew well, a woman named jacqueline kennedy. >> the minute we cracked open the box, i immediately knew her loopy handwriting and loopy js and i knew it was jackie k.

>> reporter: they were locked away in a british home when the contents were put up for sail. you have to roll back the clock to camelot years when jacob ormsby-gore, an old friend of jfk, was british ambassador to washington and the kennedys and ormsby-gores were good friends. then fate took over. a few years after jfk was killed, ormsby-gore's wife died, too, in a car crash. maybe it was the common tragedies or their friendship or mutual affection but in the following years jackie and david became an item, vacationing together here in cambodia. >> the salutations on the letter, dear david, dear, dear david, dearest david, are love letters going back and forth? >> i think there are, particularly the way she signs

off, with all my love. i think there's a real warmth. >> reporter: the letters contain no real proposal but the clear sign was made and rejected. when jackie decided to marry air stossel aristotle onassis, ormsby-gore writes as a bitter heartbroken man. as for your photograph, he said, i weep when i look at it. her last letter to him is a touch of reality and it must be said cruelty. >> she's writing from aristotle's yacht. >> and stationery and a great stamp from the yacht, the "christina." >> and that was it or was it. >> reporter: when david ormsby-gore died in a car crash, jackie went to his funeral.

mark phillips, cbs news, london. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," country singer luke brian and dierksbentley join us in the studio for a preview of the acm awards. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." acm awards. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." ask your vet for more information. reported side effects include vomiting and itching. nexgard. the vet's #1 choice. whfight back fastts, with tums smoothies. it starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum -tum -tum -tum smoothies! only from tums doctors recommend taking claritin every day distracting you? of your allergy season for continuous relief. claritin provides powerful, non-drowsy, 24-hour relief.

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our top stories this morning, severe weather including tornados, powerful wind, and hail is hitting parts of texas, arkansas, and louisiana. at least 14 tornados were reported in texas yesterday, but so far there are no reports of injuries or significant damage. and devin nunes, chairman of the house intelligence committee, denies he's holding up the investigation of russian meddling in the 2016 election. but nunes canceled several hearings including one where the former acting attorney general sally yates was to testify. a climate scientist who had sent president trump a warning about rising temperatures is forecasting a bleak future against global warming. john blackstone spoke with him.

>> reporter: climate scientist ben santer has long believed that with temperatures rising and glassiers melting, climate change denial would melt away. >> boy, how naive were we. >> reporter: now he's faced with a new president raising old doubts. >> a lot of it's a hoax, a hoax. >> imagine you spend your entire life trying to do one thing and then someone comes along and says everything you've done is a hoax or a conspiracy or is worthless. what do you do with that? >> reporter: in the 1990s, santer became one of the first scientists to analyze all of the climate data and reach what at the time was a startling conclusion. >> the balance of evidence suggests influence on global climate, and like it or not, i was the guy who carried the can for that finding. >> reporter: santer wrote an open letter to president trump urging him not to listen to ignorant voices. he said science has argue again and again that they're wrong.

>> these zombie arguments take a life of their own once they're out there. they keep on coming back and you can't slay them. that's the frustration. the alternative facts. this is not a hoax. it matters to every american. >> reporter: now climate change funding is on the federal chopping block. >> what happens to those scientists? what happens to you? >> if the funding goes away, it will be difficult for me to do my job. >> reporter: difficult, he says, but not impossible, since much of san ter's research at lawrence livermore laboratory is covered by grants. what worries him more, he says, is a new climate of intimidation. >> there's been a statement get with the program or get out. if the program is to advance ignorance, then i'm not with the program. >> reporter: santer would prefer to let the science speak for itself, but now he's speaking up as other scientists are beginning to do. on april 22nd, not so

coincidentally earth day, thousands of scientists are expecting to join a watch on washington. john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the first woman running the vatican museum takes us on a special tour of vatican city's iconic art. plus, nearly a year after prince's death, we'll talk with a close friend of the pop star who was among those who found him dead, and that's only on "cbs this morning." 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

it's wednesday, march 29th. i'm kenny choi. hey, thanks for waking up with us. good morning, it is wednesday, march 29. i'm kenny choi. >> i'm michelle griego. beautiful conditions right now and for the rest of the day,

right? >> yes. >> awesome. >> the winds are going to to pick up again so when we're looking at the calm waters, a small craft advisory will go effect inside the bay and outside, as well. it's gorgeous. how are your allergies. >> i was just about to sniffle and say i can't control it. whenever i come into the studio, it's like -- >> i'm feeling great. [ laughter ] >> give it a honor two. >> it still hasn't affected me so -- >> you're not acclimated yet. they will kick in. but it is the ash, alder and the mulberry. let's dance around the mulberry bush. >> lead the way. our live weather camera. i'll be dancing while we do that. got to my dance on right now. [ laughter ] >> clear skies, so clear, you can see the twinkling lights of the estuary this morning in oakland and in alameda. temperatures are in the 40s and 50s. boy, everybody was talking about it. it was the talk of the town yesterday with the gorgeous conditions in san francisco. it's going to be a beach day tot