>> that is the overnight news for this wednesday. for this wednesday. from the cbs broadcast center in it's wednesday, d it's wednesday, december 18th, 2019. this is the "cbs morning news." [ chants ] rallying for impeachment. coast-to-coast demonstrations are held ahead of today's historic vote on capitol hill. reaction from the president and his supporters. plea deal. a grandfather who was holding his granddaughter when she fell to her death on a cruise ship faces a major decision. and fake kidnapping. a teenager seen abducted on surveillance video, dragged off the street and into a car admits the street and into a car admits it was all a hoax. captioning funded by cbs good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs headquarters

here in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with a historic day in america. the house of representatives is set to vote today on whether to impeach president trump. the house will first debate two articles of impeachment against mr. trump -- abusing his power and obstructing congress in a scheme to lure ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election. mr. trump could be only the third president to be impeached. protesters rallied against the president in dozens of cities across the nation last night. [ chants ] some protesters in philadelphia held up lights that spelled out "impeachment." in milwaukee, demonstrators had signs reading "no one is above the law," and similar scenes played out on the west coast. we have more from capitol hill. how is the president responding to this historic vote today? >> reporter: well, anne-marie, president trump wrote a six-page

letter to house speaker nancy pelosi. in it he said that the impeachment is worse than the salem witch trials. he also tweeted saying he's not worried about it and he's done nothing wrong. today the house of representatives is expected to impeach the president of the united states for just the third time in the nation's history. >> the president is completely unrepentant and defiantly declares his behavior here perfect. >> reporter: yesterday the house rules committee laid the ground rules for today's vote. >> six hours of debate -- >> reporter: which comes almost 21 years to the day that the house voted to impeach president clinton. >> article one is adopted -- >> reporter: president trump called the 2019 effort a partisan attempted coup in a six-page letter to speaker nancy pelosi. >> other presidents are going to have to live with this -- >> reporter: the president wrote, "democrats are on a vicious crusade" and accused them of the charges he's facing, abuse of power and obstruction of congress. in a letter to her democratic colleagues, pelosi wrote, "if we do not act, we will be derelict

in our duty." >> to impeach the president of the united states for that is a disgrace. >> reporter: the next step will be a trial in the senate. republican leaders are trying to shut down the democrats' request to have new witnesses testify. >> i'm not an impartial juror. this is a political process. >> senator mcconnell wants to use the senate to help participate in a cover-up. >> reporter: hundreds of pro-impeachment rallies were held around the country yesterday. >> he's got to go, he's got to go! >> reporter: it's unclear if they'll sway any gop lawmakers. >> have you not witnessed those -- >> reporter: a small number of democrats say they'll vote against impeachment. and when it comes time to vote, what's going to happen is they're going to handle those articles of impeachment separately. and then nancy pelosi will then choose impeachment managers. you can consider them like prosecutors. then it goes over to the senate, and that's going to set us up for a senate trial in january. anne-marie? >> going to be another late night. debra alfarone on capitol hill, thank you so much.

so stay with cbs news for live coverage throughout the day of the historic house vote on the impeachment of president trump. former trump campaign chairman paul manafort is in the hospital. the 70-year-old reportedly suffered a cardiac event. his attorney says manafort is in stable condition after being moved to a hospital last thursday from a federal prison in pennsylvania. manafort was supposed to be in court today in new york city where he's facing financial crimes. he's currently serving 7.5 years after being convicted as part of special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation. meantime, paul manafort's former deputy will be heading to jail. yesterday, a federal judge sentenced rick gates to 45 days behind bars. he will also have to serve three years of probation for financial crimes and lying to investigators. gates pleaded guilty in february of 2018 to charges brought by the special counsel's office. the judge cited gates', quote, extraordinary cooperation with

council mueller's office and other investigations. prosecutors had pushed for a light sentence to reflect gates' assistance. tornadoes have ripped apart communities for a second straight day across the south. these pictures are from mystic, georgia. it's just one of 30 storms reported in only 24 hours. some of the worst damage in mississippi and louisiana. at least three people were killed by the tornados and another person died in kentucky due to flooding from heavy rain associated with the same storm system. the cold temperatures overnight are hindering efforts to restore power where it's been lost. a 13-year-old boy has been charged with felony murder in the case of tessa majors, a barnard college freshman killed in new york city at a park. one 14-year-old suspect was questioned and released, while another jumped from a moving car on his way to the police station. nikki battiste reports. >> reporter: in a murder that's rattled the nation, a baby-faced

13-year-old had his day in court. what can you tell us about your nephew? the boy's family was not talking. the 13-year-old suspect sat slumped in court staring ahead blankly. at one point yawning during the evidence hearing that would determine his role in the stabbing death of tessa majors. an nypd detective testified that surveillance video shows the boy never touched majors or held a knife, but the detective says the teen told him he had picked up the knife before the robbery when his friend dropped it. he was charged with felony murder and robbery. the 13-year-old's name has not been made public, but the nypd testified the teen told them he watched as his two friends grabbed majors and put her in a choke hold. they said he identified the 14-year-old he said slashed majors several times in the torso with a knife, causing feathers to fall out of her coat, and that majors yelled for help. after the attack, majors was found facedown and eventually

stopped breathing. tessa majors played in a band and was just finishing up her first semester at barnard college. so far the murder weapon has not been found, and there are no eyewitnesses. the 13-year-old will remain in police custody, but his alleged 14-year-old accomplice is still on the run. nikki battiste, cbs news, new york. a new jersey detective killed in what's being investigated as a domestic terror attack has been laid to rest. yesterday thousands of police officers lined the streets of jersey city to honor detective joseph seals. seals was shot last week during a confrontation with two suspects who murdered three other people during an hour's long gun battle. the suspects were killed during the shoot-out. seals was a 13-year veteran of the force, and he leaves behind a wife and five children. a plea deal has been offered to the grandfather of a toddler who fell to her death on a royal caribbean cruise ship in puerto rico. prosecutors say that the deal

would require sam anello to plead guilty to negligent homicide. in exchange he would get no jail time and minimum probation and supervision. anello was charged in the death of his granddaughter, 18-month-old chloe weigand. she fell from an open window in july. anello said he thought the window was closed. his attorney says anello is thinking about the deal. coming up on the "morning news" now, the struggling boy scouts of america takes another hit as the mormon church removes hundreds of thousands of young people from the program. and a window to the past. dna from an ancient piece of chewing gum reveals the life of a girl from the stone age. this is the "cbs morning news." frorom thehe stone age.. frorom thehe stone age.. what does help for heart failure look like? it looks like this. ♪the beat goes on entresto is a heart failure pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. ♪la-di-la-di-di

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16-year-old girl off the street and pushing her mom to the ground. after a frantic day of searching, the girl admitted she staged her own abduction to run away from her family. she told detectives that her mother was too protective. the two had reportedly argued about a plan to leave the united states for honduras. a piece of ancient chewing gum reveals details about the life of a girl from the stone age, and ruth bader ginsburg offers her opinions on the impeachment of president trump. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." our partners at the bbc report supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg weighing in saying mr. trump is not a lawyer. her words after mr. trump suggested on twitter the supreme court could stop the impeachment process. in the interview, ginsburg said the president is not law trained. she said that the judiciary is a reactive institution and does not have an agenda. ginsburg added senators who show bias should be disqualified from participating in the impeachment

trial. the "salt lake tribune" says the latest move by the church. jesus christ of latter day saints is hitting the struggling boy scouts organization hard. the mormon church is ending its nearly century-old relationship with the boy scouts of america. according to the church, many of its values no longer align with the scouts, and the church is ready to start a new program. more than 400,000 boy scouts will be shifted into the new global program by the end of the year. the lds church says it will be titled "children and youth program," which it will not require a uniform and does not include the eagle ranking most boy scouts hope to earn. according to "stars and stripes," a new defense bill is aimed at protecting tenants who live in military housing. that includes giving military commanders the last word in solving disputes between residents and the private companies that manage military housing. since 1996, that power had been given to the private companies. the bill also creates a new position of a chief housing

officer to hold companies accountable to the standards described in their contracts and the new law. the senate passed the bill yesterday. it is now awaiting the president's signature. and "usa today" reports dna from an ancient form of chewing gum is providing insight into the life of a girl from the stone age. the chewing gum was recently discovered in what is present-day denmark. here's an artist's rendering of the girl. scientists now know that she lived about 5,700 years ago, that she had black hair, dark skin, and blue eyes. her most recent meal included duck and hazelnuts. all the information came from the genetic material contained in a single piece of heated birch bark she chewed and spat out. still ahead, tragedy on the streets of new york. a prominent architect walking on a sidewalk is suddenly killed when she's hit by debris falling from a building. building. we know that in nature, scent comes in waves...

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around 11:00 yesterday morning when she was struck by a piece of the facade from a 17-story office building. earlier this year the city warned the building's owner that something like this could happen after finding numerous violations. on the cbs "money watch" now, profits plummet for fedex, and the federal government joins a lawsuit against cvs. diane king hall is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, diane. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. all eyes on capitol hill today and how the markets react to the house impeachment vote. meantime, notable companies reporting earnings include paychex and chip maker micron. there were more record highs on wall street led by gains by big banks. the dow rose 31, the s&p 500 added a point and the nasdaq gained 9. fedex is taking another hit, this time impacting the company's bottom line. profits slumped 40% to $560 million in its latest quarter. fedex blamed higher costs, a shorter holiday shipping season, and a move to cut ties with amazon for the decline. earlier this year, fedex stopped making ground deliveries for amazon, and just this week, the e-commerce giant temporarily restricted third-party sellers

from using fedex's ground service to ship to prime members. meantime, ford is bringing thousands of jobs to michigan. 3,000 new positions will be added at two factories in the detroit area. ford is also investing $1.4 billion to build new pickup trucks, suvs, and electric and autonomous vehicles. the company says $750 million will go to an assembly plant in wayne. another $700 million will be invested in a truck plant in dearborn. hiring will begin next year. the federal government is joining a legal fight against cbs health. the lawsuit accuses its troubled omnicare business of routinely filling prescriptions that had expired or run out of refills. cvs is also accused of fraudulently billing medicare and medicaid for drugs dispensed without a valid prescription. omnicare delivers to senior living facilities. a spokesperson says the suit has no merit. a new type of cigarette

could help ease smoking addiction. the sale of the first low-nicotine cigarettes has been approved by the fda. i products contain 95% less nicotine than standard cigarettes. regulators warn this does not mean the new products are safer than regular cigarettes. the fda says there are no safe tobacco products, as cigarettes can cause cancer, lung disease, and strokes. anne-marie? >> yeah, it doesn't mean you get to smoke twice as many. it's to cut back. >> there's your psa right there. exactly. >> diane king hall at the new york stock exchange. thank you. >> you got it. still to come, a trooper helps a couple deal with tragedy. how a routine police traffic stop turned into a powerful moment of prayer. owerful moment of prayer.

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here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪

a rare set of panda twins have been spotted in the wild in china for the very first time. they're believed to be about two years old based on the fact that they're playing, along with certain facial characteristics. pandas are no longer considered an endangered species, but there are still fewer than 2,000 of them known to exist in the wild. and a routine traffic stop in texas turned into a powerful moment for prayer. a woman and her husband were driving from houston to dallas after a death in the family. the couple was pulled over for not having a front license plate. when the state trooper asked where they were headed, the couple told him what happened. and instead of giving them a ticket, the trooper gave them a warning and offered to pray with them. >> we're in prayer, i'm like, i have to get a picture of this because, i mean, clearly he was

white, we were black, and there's a lot of racial tension going on. that was just what we needed. that was just what we needed. >> trooper ross bates is a 16-year veteran with the department. he recently became an ordained christian deacon. ross said that he was humbled that his actions had an impact on the couple's lives. coming up on "cbs this morning," in our "world of worship" series, dana jacobson explores what's drawing people to one of the fastest growing new religions in the world, the baha'i faith. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." b'hai faith. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news."

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our top story this morning, the house of representatives is set to vote today on whether to impeach president trump. lawmakers will first debate two articles of impeachment against mr. trump -- abusing his power and obstructing congress -- in a scheme to lure ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election. it would be just the third time in the nation's history that a president has been impeached. and be sure to stay with cbs news for live coverage throughout the day of this historic house vote on the impeachment of the president. in parts of the bahamas, they weren't expecting all that much for christmas this year. not after hurricane dorian which wiped out 13,000 homes and killed at least 70 people. errol barnett found the holiday spirit is stronger than even a category-five storm.

>> reporter: as hurricane dorian battered grand bahama island last september, thomas stewart and his partner scrambled to save their family. >> i was like thinking, praying in my head, just save my kids. everything gone. >> reporter: days later they found little to salvage. as with so many bahamians, the damage goes far beyond their possessions. they wake up screaming at night? >> yeah. >> traumatized. they do wake up in the night crying. >> reporter: more than three months after the most powerful hurricane ever recorded here, the water is not safe to drink. 300 people are still listed as missing, and some 30,000 bahamians remain homeless. that's why johnny morris, the founder of bass pro shop, the nonprofit convoy of hope, are importing a four-day holiday fest. >> i just started thinking that what can we do for the kids. can we make them happy. >> reporter: 10,000 people

attended opening night. christmas music, santa claus, and amusement rides helped them put aside the pain of hurricane recovery. there was even a surprise from above. skydivers dressed as elvis. [ cheers ] as tamar and keon left this temporary wonderland, their arms were filled with toys and groceries. their hearts with joy and gratitude. when is the last time you've seen them that happy? >> what should i say? before the storm. >> we just want these kids to have some fun time and forget about rough times, even if it's just for a little while. >> reporter: just one effort to make sure dorian's smallest survivors feel the joy this holiday season. errol barnett, cbs news, freeport, bahamas. coming up on "cbs this morning," in our "world of worship" series, dana jacobson explores what's drawing people to one of the fastest growing new religions in the world, the baha'i faith.

plus, in our "morning rounds," a look at the growing sobriety movement in america. why so many people are giving up alcohol. a look at why shoppers are embracing used gifts this holiday season. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. ♪