news" and "cbs this morning." from the broadcast cente in ne york city, i'm nikki battiste. it's wednesday, february 26, 2020. this is the "cbs morning news." >> i think -- i think she was talking about my plan not yours. >> i think we were talking about math and it doesn't take two hours to do the math. because -- >> carolina contention. the democratic candidates for president face off for the last time before super tuesday and at times things got heated. preparing for a potential pandemic as the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, the u.s. is urging americans to get read the warning from the cdc. and breaking overnight. the largest refinery on the west coast goes up in flames. what happened in the cooling tower before the fire broke out.

good morning from the studio 57 news room at cbs news headquarters here in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. so we begin with last night's highly contentious debate. bernie sanders' rivals launched attacks over him and he faced attacks again on his signature policy medicare for all. the debate took place ahead of the state's primary on saturday and super tuesday contests follow next week. danya bacchus is in charleston. were they able to slow his momentum? after all, he is leading. >> it look like that momentum has not slowed. last night the candidates came out swinging all putting up a fight and making the case for why they should be the next president. >> i will win south carolina. >> reporter: joe biden is staking his campaign on a

victory in the south carolina primary this saturday. >> i have worked like the devil to earn the vote of the african-american community. not just here but across the country. >> reporter: but the focus at the tenth democratic debate last night was on the national front-runner, bernie sanders. >> i'm hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. >> bernie will lose to donald trump. >> where it comes down to donald trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and bernie sanders for a nostalgia for the 1960s. >> reporter: sanders was prepared for the attacks. >> do we think that health care for all is some kind of radical communist idea? do we think that crazy taxes n billionaires is a radical idea? >> reporter: a cbs news poll found 69% of viewers felt the candidates spent more time criticizing each other instead of making a case for themselves. >> if we -- if we spend the next four months tearing our party apart, we're going to watch

donald trump spend the next four years tearing our country apart. >> reporter: the moderates and progressives all tried to sell their brand. >> progressive ideas are popular ideas. even if there are a lot of people on this statement who don't want to say so. >> i don't believe that a government takeover of large parts of the economy makes any sense. >> reporter: this was the final debate before 14 states hold primaries on super tuesday next week. and the latest cbs battle ground tracker poll from february 23rd has joe biden in first place here in south carolina with 29% of the vote. right behind him is bernie sanders with 23%. and then tom steyer is in third with just 18%. anne-marie? >> so you mentioned that cbs news poll taken directly after the debate that showed most viewers actually thought candidates spent more time criticizing each other than making a case for themselves. did the viewers think that there was a clear winner in this debate?

>> well, according to that poll, bernie sanders had a very good night last night. some of the numbers that we have, 45% of viewers said they found that his debate performance was impressive. followed by former vice president joe biden with 43% and then senator elizabeth warren with 40%. viewers also said those same three candidates also made the best case for why they could beat trump. but the bad news for democrats our cbs news poll show that the edebate made 47% feel nervous about the candidates and 43% optimistic. >> thank you, danya. this morning an urgent warning from federal officials about the coronavirus here in the u.s. the centers for disease control and prevention said americans should start preparing for what could turn into the pandemic. right now there are at least 58 cases confirmed in the u.s. the cdc says it's not a matter of if the virus will spread it's

when. laura podesta is here in new york. what measures is the cdc asking the americans to take? >> well, cities and towns across america should plan for social distancing measures like dividing school classes into smaller groups of students or closing schools altogether. this as stocks tumbled for a second day, the dow has dropped more than 1,900 points in two days that's a loss of nearly 7%. the trump administration sent congress an emergency funding request for $2.5 billion to combat the virus. that money would go toward things like buying protective gear and work on new treatment and vaccines but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say that money may not be enough. >> if you low ball something like this, you'll pay for it later. >> the dollars will come if the plan is there. but we're not just going to give the president dollars that we

don't know when he's going -- what he's going to do with. >> the trump administration is also downplaying the potential crisis and he said the country is in quote, very good shape to handle the outbreak and says he thinks it will be under control. globally over 80,000 people have been infected and 2,700 people have died. a majority of the deaths and cases are from china. the epicenter of the outbreak. >> but laura, there are other countries seeing spikes as well, including south korea. how serious is it getting there? >> that's correct. south korea has at least 1,200 confirmed cases. the cdc raised the travel barning to level 3 so that means that americans avoid all nonessential travel to the country. meanwhile, italy has reported a 45% single day increase in infections. that country now has more than 300 confirmed cases and 11 deaths. anne-marie? >> all right, laura podesta, thank you so much. fire crews in southern california rushed to extinguish

a massive infer know overnight. the flames broke out following an explosion at the marathon petroleum refinery in carson. it's the largest refinery on the west coast. al lanes of the 405 freeway were temporarily shut down. fire officials say that there was some kind of blast in a cooling tower before the fire broke out. there's no immediate word of injuries and an investigation is under way. more of harvey weinstein's accusers are reacting to his conviction for rape and sexual assault. in los angeles where he's facing additional charges, several of his alleged victims gathered on the courthouse steps on tuesday. they told weinstein, quote, you messed with the wrong women. one of the jurors in the new york trial has also spoken for the first time. >> describe the moment where you all reached a decision. >> i felt like my heart was literally going to pop out of my chest but it was just like this is it. like this is the moment.

>> since his conviction weinstein has been at a new york hospital with heart troubles. his attorney says that he's flabbergasted by the verdict but excited for a chance to appeal. the grandfather of a toddler who died after falling from the cruise ship has accepted a plea deal. salvatore anello agreed to plead guilty to negligent homicide in the death of chloe wee gand. she fell from the cruise ship last summer and anello said he believed there was glass in the window. this plea deal allows anello who is from indiana to avoid jail time and serve probation. coming up on the morning news now, the mother of a missing tennessee toddler is arrested a week after an amber alert was issued. and caught on video. a deacon is attacked during a florida church house. this is the "cbs morning news." attacked during a florida church service. this is the "cbs morning news." h chronic migraine,

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violent clashes between hindus and muslims in the indian capital of new delhi have left at least 20 people dead and more than 150 hurt. at the center of the dispute is a controversial new law which makes it easier for nonmosl-mus to become part of india. and an attack at a florida church is caught on video. a mother of a missing toddler is arrested. those are some of the headlines on the morning newsstand. our affiliate in tennessee reports that the mother of a missing toddler than charged -- has been charged with filing a false police report. her 15-month-old daughter evelyn was reported missing february 18th and she claims that the grandmother was baby-sitting and took her to virginia to campground. investigators say they searched the area but did not find the

girl. >> just bring her back. i just want her back. that's all i want. i have been so long without her and i know people are like why didn't you report it earlier, because my mom threatened me and i just want her back. >> the grandmother and her boyfriend were arrested last week in north carolina on fugitive warrants up related to the toddler's disappearance. rolling stone reports that duffy revealed that she was kidnapped, drugged and raped. the 35-year-old welch singer made the revelation in an instagram post yesterday. she said that she was held captive over a few days. she said she has been out of the public view for years to focus on recovery. and she also said that she would share more in an interview that will be published soon. duffy is best known for her 2008 hit "mercy." our miami station wfor says surveillance video shows a

florida man attacking a church deacon during mass. it happened saturday at st. coleman catholic church in pompano peach. the man ran up and tackled the deacon. he was not seriously hurt and the 28-year-old suspect appeared in court yesterday. he was charged with battery. police say he was on probation for a 2017 attack. >> it's kind of infuriating, you know? just, you know, that all this stuff is going on out there, you know? just not safe anymore. >> there's no word on a possible motive for the attack. well, still to come, clearing up confusion. a peanut butter maker releases a limited edition jar in the long running debate over how to pronounce the word spelled g-i-f. to pronounce the word spelled g-i-f. helping many people with type 2 diabetes like james lower their blood sugar. a majority of adults who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it.

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all the way to 1699 that's when some home sick french canadian explorers threw a party on the night before lent. on the "cbs moneywatch" now, new leadership at disney, and jif peanut butter weighs in on the long running debate. diane king hall is at the stock exchange and more. >> well, all eyes will be on wall street after the coronavirus triggered another sharp sell-off for a second day in the road and the investors are worried about the growing number of cases in other countries as well as the global economic impact the outbreak could cause. the dow plunged some 879 points on tuesday. the nasdaq 255 and the s&p dropped 97. bob iger is stepping up to from disney, effective immediately. he will take over the role as executive chairman of the company through 2021 focusing specifically on disney's creative strategy.

iger was named president/coo of disney in 2000. bob chapek will assume the role of ceo. jimmy john's is removing sprouts from the menu. they received a warning letter from the fda linking several e. coli outbreaks to the sandwich chain. the letter accuses them of engaging in a pattern of receiving and selling adulterated fresh produce, clover sprouts and cucumbers. the fda says it impacted consumers in many states. and the sprouts have been removed until further notice. amazon wants the checkout line to become a thing of the past. yesterday the e-commerce giant opened up the first cashierless store. items are charged to the amazon

account after leaving and amazon go grocer is an expansion of the go convenience stores. peanut butter making jif is releasing a limited edition jar. it's supposedly to settle the great debate over how to pronounce the words spelled g-i-f. people often pronounce it as gif, hard "g." but it's pronounced jif according to the maker. they're already sold out of the jars. >> i knew it was pronounced jif but the "g" stands for graphic so i argue it should be pronounced gif. >> i know, the debate just continues on this one because the creator has said and he's done a whole power point display about this that it's pronounced jif. then you have the company behind giffy the website of the

graphics who say it's pronounced gif. it won't end soon. >> no. diane king hall -- i'm sure they'll sell a lot of peanut butter. >> indeed. still ahead, getting out of the weeds. a home owner in washington state battles a massive invader on his front lawn. >> man: what's my safelite story? my truck...is my livelihood. so when my windshield cracked... the experts at safelite autoglass came right to me. >> tech: hi, i'm adrian. >> man: thanks for coming. ...with service i could trust. right, girl? >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ say yes to lifted, firmer looking skin at home. and look up to 5 years younger in 12 weeks with new no7 laboratories firming booster serum. made with our powerful age-defying complex,

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. a city in washington state is fighting a tumbleweed takeover. normally they just blow through town but wind patterns have them accumulating in piles against houses in kenwick including literally on one man's doorstep. >> yeah, not going out the front door right now, using the garage as the only exit from the house.

so that's convenient. >> that's jordan bradfield. he says some people havm. the best thing to do is to burn them, but naturally, you'd warrant to move them away from your house before you do that. and a wayward sea lion was spotted crossing a street in washington state. the sheriff's officer found the animal in the wooded area. now wildlife officials say sea lions venture out of the water into the forest. it took some doing but the officers got the 600 pound animal into a cage and put it back into the natural habitat. coming up on "cbs this morning," financial guru suze orman joins us in the studio with her new book "the ultimate retirement guide for 50 plus." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." the "cbs morning news."

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>> let me -- i think she was talking about my plan, not yours. >> i think we were talking about math and it doesn't take two hours to do the math. because let's -- >> our top stories this morning, senator bernie sanders' rivals got together to unleash a blistering assault during last night's presidential debate in south carolina. sanders challengers grilled him over electability and his signature policy, medicare for all. it's the final debate before the state's primary on saturday and the super tuesday contest next week. and an urgent warnin from a federal official about the coronavirus here in the u.s. the centers for disease control and prevention says americans should start preparing for what could turn into the pandemic. there are at least 58 cases confirmed in the u.s. the cdc says it's not a matter

of if the virus will spread but when. the agency says cities and towns across america should plan for social distancing measures and possibly close schools all together. meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases globally continues to rise along with the death toll. china still has the highest number of cases and deaths. but other countries are now seeing spikes too. mark phillips reports from italy. >> reporter: the number of coronavirus cases is up 50% in a day to well over 300. at least 11 people have now died. the bulk of the virus cases in italy have been from within this cordoned off area but there are a few cases reported else where in the country and that's a worry. police road blocks can stop people, but can they stop a virus? new cases have now spread from the north across the whole country. and to other countries, austria, croatia, switzerland, france and spain. another unrelated cluster has

emerged in iran. where an unwell looking deputy health ministr iraj harirchi who had downplayed the outbreak of the disease there has now admitted he's got it. at least 11 people have now died of the virus here. it takes the vulnerable, the elderly who are already weakened by another illness and there are more than 30 people in intensive care here. mark phillips, cbs news, rome. coming up on "cbs this morning" the latest on the coronavirus risk here in the u.s. we'll talk to the principal director of the cdc. plus more on the harvey weinstein verdict. jodi cantor discusses the impact on the me too movement. and suze orman joins us in the studio with her new book, "the ultimate retirement guide for 50 plus." that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day.