connected tv. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. it's tuesday, february 28th, 2023. this is the "cbs morning news." breaking overnight, snow, sleet, and rain pummeling parts of the northeast. how much snow could the region see? we're tracking the latest. student debt relief, the supreme court tackling president biden's student loan forgiveness plan. the challenges that could lie ahead. the defense rests in alex murdaugh's trial. his brother took the stand with emotional testimony. the details he gave the night his nephew and sister-in-law were found dead. captioning funded by cbs his nephew and sister-in-law were found dead. good morning and good to be well, good morning and good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. breaking overnight now, a powerful winter storm is moving

into parts of the northeast. snow, sleet, and rain are expected to continue falling in new york city today. up to 7 inches of snow is possible in interior portions of the region. forecasters also expecting wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour. the same system pounded the south. at least eight tornadoes ripped through oklahoma overnight monday, tearing roofs off homes and flipping trucks. one woman said the wind shattered the window right next to her 10-year-old daughter's bed. >> she threw her blanket over her head and she waited for me to come get her. >> the storm brought golf ball-sized hail to texas. it also spun up dust storms in the northern part of the state turning the sky yellow. the storm system also dumped historic rain and snow on the west coast over the weekend. the supreme court is set to hear arguments today on president biden's student loan relief plan.

it erases up to $20,000 in federal student debt for millions of borrowers. it's opposed, though, by six republican-led states and it faces legal hurdles. jarred hill is in new york with more on all of this. jarred, good morning. >> good morning, anne-marie. the details of these challenges get a little complicated, but the question before the supreme court is did the biden administration go about this the right way or does relief of this scale actually need the explicit sign-off of congress? today the supreme court will hear arguments on two challenges to the biden administration's federal student debt relief plan. >> an entire generation is now saddled with unsustainable debt. >> reporter: president biden announced the program back in august, making good on a campaign promise. it offers $20,000 for pell grant recipients and $10,000 for other federal student loan borrowers who make less than $125,000 a year. according to the white house, more than 26 million americans submitted applications.

16 million of them were approved before lower courts paused the program. the congressional budget office says the plan, which has been widely criticized by republicans, would cost almost half a trillion dollars. >> i think the legal justification for it is highly questionable. >> reporter: this morning the nine justices will hear a challenge from six republican states who say the president's plan is a, quote, breathtaking and transform active exercise of power and another from two borrowers, one who doesn't qualify for the program and the other who's only eligible for partial relief. >> the justices will be considering whether both the states and the individuals even have the legal authority to challenge the plans as well as whether the biden administration has its legal authority to forgive student loans. >> we're confident in our legal authority. we're going to see what the supreme court decides. >> reporter: a decision is

expected by early summer. the administration also enacted a moratorium on federal student loan payments during the pandemic. president biden said that will end either 60 days after the court's decision or 60 days after june 30th, anne-marie, whichever one of those two comes first. >> jarred hill in new york. a u.s. citizen was killed in the west bank amid the escalating violence there between israelis and palestinians. israel says the 27-year-old man was in a car when palestinian gunmen opened fire from another car yesterday. the day before is when palestinian settlers torched homes after a palestinian shooter killed two israeli brothers. one was killed during the violence, more than 100 others were hurt. the state department condemned both sides. >> we think the equal administration of justice is important. it's important in every context around the world. it's important in this context. we want to see full accountability and legal prosecution of those responsible for these attacks.

>> israel sent hundreds more troops into the west bank to try and restore calm after sunday's violence. a magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern turkey again just three weeks after a catastrophic earthquake there killed more than 50,000 people. yesterday's quake caused more than two dozen buildings to collapse. at least one person was killed and more than 100 injured. rescue crews again searched for survivors under the rubble of several buildings. well, back home, the defense rested its case in the double murder trial of disgraced former attorney alex murdaugh, but not before a defense witness offered a theory that not one, but two shooters killed murdaugh's wife and youngest son. nikki battiste reports. >> reporter: alex murdaugh's defense team's final witness was one of his brothers who recalled the night of the

murders. >> when i pulled up, i saw alex. >> what was his condition, alex? >> he was just broken, i mean, distraught. >> reporter: john marvin murdaugh says he went back to the scene the next day after it was released by law enforcement. >> it had not been cleaned up and i started cleaning. no mother or father or aunt or uncle should ever have to see or do what i did that day. it's the hardest thing i've ever been through in my life. >> reporter: the defense called a witness who cast doubt that murdaugh was the lone killer. >> it was more suggest irv of a two-shooter scenario. >> reporter: on friday murdaugh took the stand in his own defense. >> i can promise you i would hurt myself before i would hurt one of them. >> reporter: but he did admit he'd lied about stealing millions of dollars and about where he was on the night of the murders.

>> everything about me not going to the kennel was a lie. >> you were able to do that so convincingly and easy and natural, weren't you? >> that's not for me to judge. >> reporter: the prosecution said murdaugh wanted to distract from his financial crimes. the defense says he's not a killer. >> the defense just has to poke holes in the case in order to raise reasonable doubt, and all they need is one juror. >> reporter: the judge granted a request by the defense to allow the jury to visit alex murdaugh's home where his wife and son were killed. they will go after the prosecution calls a handful of rebuttal witnesses to testify. nikki battiste, cbs news, walterboro, south carolina. well, coming up, ron desantis versus disney. the latest move by florida's governor to punish the theme park. and an artificial sweetness warning. a new study finds possible stroke and heart risks. this is the "cbs morning news." warning. a new study finds possible stroke and heart risks. this is the "cbs morning news." nothing.

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a social media influencer will remain in jail at least for now, and rupert murdoch's testimony about stolen election claims emerges. those are some of the headlines on he morning newsstand. reuters says fox corp lawsuit omn s against fox news s parent company. the documents unsealed yesterday shows how murourdoch and other executives believe president biden beat former president donald trump fairly. he claims dominion raised lies. the trial will begin in april. the "orlando sentinel" says governor ron desantis stripped disney of its control over a governing tax district in the

state. >> so i'm going to put my john hancock on this piece of legislation. that will make it official, and so just look at your watch and you'll know at what time the corporate kingdom finally came to an end. >> the movie gives -- rather the move gives the republican government control of the board that oversees development at the resort's properties. they said the previous arrangement gave disney an unfair advantage. the move is seen as punishment after the kompany opposed desantis's so-called don't say gay law. and an iranian court upheld andrew tate's case for a third month. the 36-year-old former professional kick boxer is being held on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking. the british u.s. citizen known for his misogynistic views

arrived at court in bucharest yesterday with his brother who's also being held. they lost three appeals while investigators continue their work. well, the most consequential legal ruling over abortion right since roe v. wade was overturned could impact 40 million women nationwide. a federal judge in texas is set to rule on restricting a drug. one of the drugs is typically used to medically induce an abortion. >> reporter: dr. kristyn brandi is nervous. the federal court ruling could mean drastic changes for her patients. >> if this lawsuit bans this drug, how would that affect patient care? >> it would be devastating because a lot of people rely on this medication. it's something that has been the standard of care for over 20 ye >> reporter: but a lawsuit filed by the alliance for hippocratic medicine, an antiabortion association, seeks to reverse the fda's approval of the drug and remove it from the market

claiming insufficient safety studies. >> we're confident when any court looks at the law and looks at the science, it will realize the fda has completely failed in its responsibility to protect women and girls. >> reporter: the fda says it does not comme o pending litigation, but a group says the drug is safe and effective. it can be ordered online even in states where surgical abortions are prohibited. it can also be used to manage miscarriages. it's now in the hands of a federal trump-appointed judge. >> if there's a nationwide restriction, the drug would be off the market in all 50 states at least where it's enforced. >> reporter: dr. brandi says

patients can still get a prescription even if it's banned. >> it's a little less effective. >> reporter: meghan boone says it may undermine the approval process setting damaging precedent. meg oliver, cbs news, new jersey. still to come, making social media safer. instagram and facebook launch a new tool to help young people to take control of their images. he. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis.

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people with diabetes are most at risk. a rush of homes go under contract, and meta cracks down on one of the biggest crimes against teenagers. shanelle kaul has your "moneywatch" report. all three major indexes closed in the green on monday as wall street braced for its last trading day of the month. the dow gained 2 points, the nasdaq also up 2, and the s&p 500 gained 12 points. some signs the housing market may be rebounding. pending home sales saw the largest monthly increase since june of 2020. the national association of realtors say the number of signed contracts to buy existing homes in the u.s. rose 8.1% in january. yearly, though, pending transactions dropped almost 24%. facebook's parent company meta is cracking down on a growing crime against teenagers' revenge porn. the national center for missing and exploited children says since 2016 their cyber tip line

has received more than 250,000 reports of sextortion. the company now introducing a new tool called take it down that would help minors scrub intimate photos and videos from both facebook and instagram. and bmw is launching a new demonstration fleet of hydrogen cars. the ix5 hydrogen will use fuel cells sourced from toyota. it will have the power to reach roughly 112 miles per hour and can be filled up in under four minutes. the company says it plans to only release under 100 of these pilot cars for target groups to use as a trial. that's your "cbs moneywatch" for this tuesday morning. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. up next, a mini "friends" reunion. what brought courteney cox and her friends together. a mini "f reunion. what brought courteney cox and her friends together. a better treatment than warfarin...

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ coach lasso and afc richmond are returning to the pitch. apple plus released the official trailer for season 3. it promises a face-off between

lasso and former richmond coach nate. it premieres march 15th. chris rock is gearing up for a stand upcomedy that will air live on netflix. he's expected to use the slap by will smith in his routine. he's been touring and has joked in front of live audiences, but he's never talked about it on tv. the netflix special streams this saturday. and courteney cox got her star on the hollywood walk of fame. the actor unveiled her new star in front of some famous friends yesterday, longtime buddies lisa kudrow and jennifer aniston. they joked about their lasting bond. >> we've known each other for a long time. >> that's been almost since we met almost 30 years ago. >> no, not 30 years. that's a typo. are you sure? >> yeah. >> okay. >> cox spoke about her early

days in hollywood. coming up on "cbs mornings," actor willen dafoe joins us in studio to discuss his new movie. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." studio to discuss his new movie. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." quaker oats... y heart-healthy, a good source of fiber, and for only cents per day... there's no denying quaker oats are the grain of all time. quaker oats. a super-trusted superfood. ♪♪ allergies don't have to be scary. (screaming) defeat allergy headaches fast with new flonase headache and allergy relief! two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good! your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire [sfx: stomach gurgling] it's nothing... sounds like something.

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good morning on another first alert weather day, luckily one of the last. we are still dealing with a very active radar. i will break down this next

series of storms coming up. that rain will affect your morning commute. we'll have a look at the roadways and let you know what your travel times are throughout the day. this is terrific. we want winners like this. we will check how recent wet weather is affecting the water supply and how timing is key for a scenario some are hoping for. some small business owners no choice but to leave the city or close up shop for good. changes one business owner is forced to make in order to stay open. many people will be waking up to another cold, rainy morning. good morning. the rain isn't here yet but the commute promises to be a challenging one. yesterday this is what it looked like for a lot of us. windshield wipers on in heavy downpours. a lot of us heard those storms moving in. >> whoa, major hail, serious ha