captioning funded by cbs it's wednesday, march 13th, 2019. this is the "cbs morning news." college admissions scandal. celebrities, wealthy parents, and coaches caught up in an alleged scheme to get kids into good colleges. who's accused so far. safety calls. the u.s. faces new pressure to ground boeing 737 max 8 jets following the deadly ethiopian airlines crash as countries around the world suspend the aircraft. and missing guns. the atf is searching for possibly thousands of firearms stolen from one of its

facilities. good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs headquarters here in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. federal authorities say that an investigation into a college admissions scam is far from over. the scheme involved wealthy parents paying bribes to get their children into elite schools. actresses felicity huffman and lori loughlin are among those charges. authorities are calling it the biggest such fraud in u.s. history. laura podesta is here in new york. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. eight colleges are entangled in this bribery scandal including yale, stanford, and the university of southern california. no students were charged with any crime, and in many cases investigators say they had no idea their parents had allegedly broken the law to get them in.

>> it's not all right. >> they should study instead of cheating their way into there. >> reporter: students across the country are feeling cheated themselves after a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal came to light yet. >> it kind of hurts when you see someone getting in for not really doing anything. >> reporter: court documents say the scheme was an operation for nearly a decade and involved at least 33 wealthy parents paying $25 million to get their kids into some of the country's most elite schools through falsified test scores or pretending to be student athlete recruits. >> for every is not admitted through fraud, an honest, genuinely talented student was rejected. >> reporter: at the center of it all, william rick singer, a college admissions consultant who pled guilty to racketeering it, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. >> numerous families paid

between $15,000 and $75,000 to have someone either take the exam for their child or to correct their child's answer afterwards. >> reporter: that includes "desperate housewives" star felicity huffman who posted $250,000 bail yesterday. >> their actions were without a doubt insidious, selfish, and shameful. >> reporter: fellow hollywood actress lori loughlin of "full house" allegedly paid half a million dollars in bribes to get her daughters into usc as members of the crew team, even though they didn't row. nine coaches were charged with using recruitment slots for kids who had no intention of playing college sports. investigators say this conspiracy had been ongoing from 2011 up until last month. anne-marie? >> laura podesta in new york, thank you so much, laura. european aviation officials are grounding boeing 737 max 8 jets following a deadly plane crash in europe.

-- crash in ethiopia. and it joins asian and middle eastern governments and carriers that have barred the plane. as mola lenghi reports, pressure is mounting for the u.s. to follow. >> reporter: dozens of airlines in countries suspended flights of boeing 737 max 8 jets after sunday's crash killed 157 people in ethiopia. just months after the lion air disaster in indonesia, the tragedy raised new concerns in the u.s. about the aircraft's safety. >> if an issue that affects safety is identified, the department and the faa will not hesitate to take immediate and appropriate action. >> reporter: on tuesday the faa said its review so far shows, quote, no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft. but that stance is putting the agency under increasing pressure. >> these planes are accidents waiting to happen. >> it made sense to ground

aircraft that's been involved in two very tragic accidents in only six months. >> reporter: 72 of the jets are used by u.s. airlines. in a statement, boeing said, "we have full confidence in the safety of the max." and "based on the information currently available, we don't have any basis to issue new guidance to operators." travelers expressed concern but also faith. >> i think they would have grounded the fleet until they knew what the problem was. >> i guess if they're leaving them in service, they should be able to handle it i think. >> reporter: president trump tweeted tuesday that airplanes are becoming far too complex. he wrote, "pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from mit." in a phone call, boeing ceo dennis mullenburg told the president he has full confidence in the plane. mola lenghi, cbs news, reagan national airport, virginia.

we learning more about the passengers that died in the ethiopian crash. eight of the victims were american including two brothers. mel and bennett riffle from reading, california, were on one last adventure before mel's wife was due to have their baby in may. >> the most loving, most joyful, most positive person i've ever had the pleasure of knowing. >> antwan lewis, a u.s. serviceman from chicago, also died. lewis was heading for kenya on vacation. federal agents have launched a multistate search for firearms stolen from an atf facility in west virginia. the weapons were supposed to be destroyed. jeff pegues was first to report this and has the story from martinsburg. >> reporter: investigators tell cbs news they fear thousands of guns and gun parts were stolen from this facility in martinsburg, west virginia. the case began when police searched christopher lee yates'

car and found a pistol. they ran a check and determined the gun had been stolen from this atf facility. according to court papers, yates unlawfully stole parts and sold firearm slides which are used to make guns. investigators believe they were being sold on line. atf has begun a multistate search for weapons taken from the west virginia facility where they were supposed to be destroyed. the agency has notified the justice department inspector general, and it has begun an internal investigation. >> they need to remedy there -- remedy this right away. >> reporter: mark morgan, a retired assistant director of the fbi, says investigators need to jump on this fast. >> that should be extremely alarming whether it was a single weapon or 100 weapons. that's definitely an issue with their process, and it's got to be looked at, and it's got to be fixed. >> reporter: officials have confirmed for cbs news that among the thousands of firearms stolen or even gun parts that at one time belonged to atf agents.

jeff pegues, cbs news, martinsburg, west virginia. president trump's former campaign chairman, paul manafort, is due back in federal court this morning for sentencing in his criminal case in washington, d.c. the hearing comes less than a week after manafort was sentenced to just under four years in prison in virginia. a jury convicted him of bank and tax fraud. manafort faces a maximum possible sentence of ten years in today's sentencing. in australia, cardinal george pell was sentenced to six years in prison for molesting two choir boys more than 20 years ago. pope francis' former finance minister is the most senior catholic who has been convicted of child sex abuse. pell denies the allegations and is planning to appeal. coming up on the "morning news" now, california's governor plans to suspend the death penalty. and a legal breakup. porn actress stormy daniels parts ways with attorney michael avenatti. this is the "cbs morning news." michael avenatti. this is the "cbs morning news."

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a highway shoulder in venezuelan capital of caracas is turning out to be one of the most popular places in the beleaguered country. people are flocking to the spot because it's one of the few places to get a cell phone signal that's strong enough to reach loved ones around the world. much of the country has been gripped in a massive power blackout since last thursday, and the government is struggling to restore power. stormy daniels is breaking one up -- breaking up with her lawyer, and california is suspending the death penalty. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." the "los angeles times" reports california governor gavin newsom will sign an executive order today placing a moratorium on the death penalty in the state. newsom is vowing that no prisoner will be executed while he's in office. he says capital punishment discriminatory and unjust.

the order also closes the new execution chamber at san quentin prison and puts an end to efforts to devise lethal injection regulations. there are 737 inmates on california's death row, and none of them will be released or have their sentences altered. the "washington post" reports the white house and republican senators are negotiating a deal to prevent the senate from rejecting president trump's emergency declaration for border wall funding. vice president mike pence met with five republican senators yesterday to try and work out a compromise that would limit a president's power to declare national emergencies. the senate is expected to vote on the measure to block mr. trump's emergency border declaration tomorrow. the democratic-run house approved it last month. "usa today" reports on the split between porn actress stormy daniels and her attorney michael avenatti. real name is stephanie clifford, announced they are parting ways. avenatti represented daniels in her battle to free herself from

a hush-money agreement about an alleged affair she had with donald trump. avenatti said that he told daniels last month that he was ending their agreement for reasons he could not disclose and wished her all the best. and "the new york times" reports joe biden's signaled that he is close to entering the 2020 presidential race. he spoke to members of the national association of firefighters yesterday in washington. they chanted "run, joe, run." mr. biden told them, "save it a little longer. i may need it in a few weeks," and added, "be careful what you wish for." more than a dozen democrats have already launched formal 2020 presidential campaigns. still ahead, frankenfish may soon be coming to a table near you. the fda lifts the ban on genetically engineered salmon. fts the ban on

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yesterday. her hair measured more than 7.5 feet, and she says she has never cut it. on the cbs "money watch" now, lumber liquidators agrees to pay a big penalty, and a ban is lifted on genetically modified salmon. diane king hall is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, diane. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. on the economic calendar today investors will look at durable goods orders for january. market watchers look at the date as an indicator of spending on big-ticket items like cars, planes, and electronics. meantime, stocks finished mixed yesterday. the dow closed down 96 points, the s&p 500 was up 8, and the nasdaq gained 32. lumber liquidators has agreed to pay a $33 million penalty for lying to investors over sales of its laminated flooring from china. this follows a "60 minutes" undercover investigation in 2015. federal authorities accused of company of falsely saying the

chinese-made flooring met formaldehyde emissions strrsds. -- standards. they halted the sale of laminate flooring in the u.s. dick's sporting goods will stop selling firearms at 125 of its stores nationwide. the concept was tested at ten stores last year. those stores posted strong sales and profit margin numbers in the fourth quarter. you may recall the company decided to stop selling guns to buyers under 21 and took assault-style weapons out of stores after the deadly school shooting in parkland, florida, last year. dick's is also working to stop slumping sales as more shoppers buy sporting goods on line. the fda has lifted an import ban that prevented genetically modified salmon from entering the u.s. the salmon, some dubbed as frankenfish, was created by biotech company aqua bounty technologies. its dna has been altered to speed up growth. it's the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption in the u.s.

and chipotle is expanding its rewards program. you could end up getting free cash. for the rest of the week, the restaurant chain will give away money to 25,000 people per day. the company is prepared to give away $250,000 in total. that's a quarter of a million. to participate, people have to sign up for the rewards program. winners will receive a payment via venmo accounts. >> you know they've been doing all sorts of things to improve their image. don't know if it's working or not, but i'm sure some will take advantage of that. >> they have worked to improve after the food scares they had. and they have seen some bounce-back. they're continuing to try to recover from those food safety issues they had. >> yeah. definitely. diane king hall at the new york stock exchange. thanks a lot, diane. >> all right. thank you. still to come, scoring a prank on david beckham. the soccer star suffers through an awkward moment with a statue before james corden springs the ultimate surprise. what does help for heart failure look like? it looks like george having a busy day.

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next at 4:30 am, governor newsom suspends allstate executions. what happens to those on death row? the bay area coaches and parents accused in a college admissions scandal. a mother murdered in her home by a suspected undocumented emigrated. he look at the

forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ ♪ how's this for a workout, as if spinning class wasn't hard enough. a ukrainian gymnast and personal trainer has created a new workout that adds gymnastics. it's called spin bike fit. talk did keeping your balance. a video of the workout has collected tens of thousands of views. i'm tired just watching it. good enough for me. the host of cbs' "the late, late show," james corden pulled quite a prank two months in the making on soccer superstar david beckham. beckham was getting a first look at what he thought was a statue of him commissioned by his

former team, the los angeles galaxy. corden and his crew created their own less-than-flattering version. >> david beckham, we want you to meet david beckham. [ laughter ] >> beckham was not too happy with the statue's huge chin, giant arms, and large backside. corden watched the whole thing unfold from backstage. a few minutes later a forklift driver knocked the statue over and corden revealed that he was behind the stunt. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> probably done me a favor there. >> oh, my god. what's happened? [ bleep ] ♪ [ beep ] the real statue will be erected outside the galaxy stadium. gohehole thing on line. it is hilarious.

coming up onn morning," we facebook's virtual reality headquarters to look at the future of communications and what are the concerns when it comes to privacy. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." ews." whooo! want to take your next vacation to new heights? tripadvisor now lets you book over a hundred thousand tours, attractions, and experiences in destinations around the world! like new york! from bus tours, to breathtaking adventures, tripadvisor makes it easy to find and book amazing things to do. and you can cancel most bookings up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. so you can make your next trip... monumental! read reviews check hotel prices book things to do tripadvisor we really pride ourselvesglass, on making it easy to get your windshield fixed.

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autismspeaks.org. our top stories this morning, authorities who found stars who paid thousands in bribes to get their kids into elite colleges, and the investigation is not over. actresses felicity huffman and lori loughlin are among 50 people charged in connection with the scheme. some parents allegedly paid millions to get their children into colleges like yale, stanford, and the university of and the faa is facing mounting criticism for backing the airworthiness of boeing's 737 max 8 jets. several countries have grounded the aircraft following sunday's ethiopian airlines crash, but the u.s. has not. boeing says it has full confidence in the safety of the max 8. the ceo of wells fargo, the

nation's fourth-largest bank, testified before congress on tuesday. he said that the bank has cleaned up its act after years of scandals affecting millions of customers. but as anna werner reports, many lawmakers are not buying it. do you realize how serious this scenario is? >> reporter: wells fargo ceo tim sloan faced a grilling from legislators during the hearing. >> let me be blunt, you're here today because wells fargo mistreated and defrauded its customers. >> reporter: sloan has tried to repair the damage in the wake of numerous consumer scandals like accounts opened for consumers who didn't ask for them, auto customers forced to buy insurance they didn't need, and homeowners who should have gotten loan modifications but did not, and later lost their homes. all of it costing the bank some $4 billion in consumer settlements and fines. >> when i stepped into this role, i promised that accountability and transparency would define our efforts, and they have. >> reporter: but at that

hearing, a wells fargo mortgage division employee, megan halverson from minneapolis, minnesota -- >> i have to say that i don't agree. the culture there is pretty toxic and pretty stressful. >> reporter: she and other workers joined the committee for better banks, a workers rights group, to push leaders like sloan to listen to their employees' concerns. >> i think that a lot of employees still feel that high pressure in order to push through transactions. and i can also say that just in general employee morale is really low. >> reporter: wells fargo ceo tim sloan isn't done with his capitol hill grilling. he'll be back in a couple of weeks. this time with the other big bank ceos sitting next to him. anna werner, cbs news, new york. coming up only on "cbs this morning," we take you to facebook's virtual reality headquarters to look at the future of communications, and what are the privacy concerns when it comes to that? in our "eye on money"

series, a look at another costly mistake that people make with their finances. this time, how many people do not have wills. and a conversation with singer loudoun wainright iii. that is "cbs this morning" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day.

live from the cbs bay area studios, this is kpix 5 news. good morning, everyone. you were taking a live look outside from our salesforce tower camera looking north. it is wednesday. it is hump day, march 13.

we are halfway through. i am michelle griego. >> i am kenny choi. let's check with mary lee for our weather. it is not friday yet, but we are warming up. >> it will be a beautiful day. we have plenty of sunshine. enjoy it. we are looking at gorgeous area across the bay area as high pressure builds in for us. here is a live look at the southbay, good morning to you wonder clear skies. temperatures are in the 40s. 46 in san jose, 41 santa rosa, 42 concord, 42 in oakland. livermore, you are 43. it is chilly. bundle up heading out the door. we will warm up in the afternoon. our warm-up starts today through the week into