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this is "cbs news mornings." the california connection. the teenage girl who went on a deadly school shooting rampage apparently communicated and coordinated with a man 2,000 miles away. waiving extradition. a suspect accused of killing the united health care ceo is expected to return to new york city today. and strike threat. thousands of amazon workers set to walk off the job this morning at the height of the holiday shopping rush. good morning. i'm michael george. while we begin with the showdown over a possible shutdown, that could leave millions of government workers without a paycheck, just days before the holidays. let's set the scene. the house was set to approve a bipartisan spending bill yesterday. that is until billionaire elon musk, who was not elected, fought to blow up the deal, followed by president-elect trump. jarred hill joins us with the details. the deadline is tomorrow night. what's the chances we'll reach a

deal in time? >> reporter: i ditched my crystal ball when it's talking about how likely congress is to do anything. lawmakers are back on the hill, trying to hammer out a deal to keep pay chex and benefits going after the plans collapsed quickly yesterday. capitol hill in chaos. as lawmakers huddled in closed-door meetings, hoping to avert a government shutdown at the end of the week. >> we're in the middle of negotiations. but i think we'll be able to solve some problems here. >> reporter: earlier yesterday, congress seemed poised to pass a 1,500-page bipartisan spending measure to fund the government through mid-march. it included billions in disaster and farm aid and the first pay raise for members of congress since 2009. then, tech billionaire and close trump ally, elon musk, called it pork and pushing lawmakers to kill the bill. suggesting that members who support it should be voted out of office. president-elect donald trump also came out against the bill.

saying a clean measure should be passed without what he called democrat giveaways. >> as a republican, why would i want to carry the water for a democrat bill? >> reporter: later, house republicans declared the bill dead. >> a comment that by one person that triggers this kind of result, it doesn't bode well for the new congress or the new administration. >> reporter: congressional democrats are blaming republicans. >> house republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the american people. >> reporter: in a statement, the white house warned that a shutdown would warm americans who rely on basic services like social security. adding, a deal is a deal. republicans should keep their word. president-elect trump wants the bill to include raising or suspending the debt ceiling while president biden is still in office, instead of bringing that fight into his term. meanwhile, michael, sources are saying the federal agencies are

told to discuss shutdown procedures with their employees today. back to you. >> the clock is ticking. jarred hill, thanks. a new twist in the investigation into the deadly shooting at a christian school in wisconsin. was the shooter plotting a coordinated attack with a california man? first, the two victims killed have been identified as rubi vergara, a 14-year-old freshman and 42-year-old erin west, a substitute teacher. she brought two guns to the school and only used one. she was in contact with a 20-year-old man in carlsbad, california, who told the fbi he was planning a mass shooting at a government building. the latest from cbs' ian lee. >> reporter: authorities investigating the deadly shooting at abundant life christian school are combing through social media to find out why 15-year-old natalie rupnow was motivated to kill. rupnow is in this photo, posted by her father.

he shares a photo of his daughter at a gun range last agust. a neighbor who did not want to be identified, says rupnow would sometimes watch his pets. >> just completely went above and beyond what was needed. she seemed very kind with animals. >> reporter: according to court records, rupnow was an only child. her parents married and divorced each other at least twice while she was growing up. after the couple's second divorce in 2020, rupnow, a preteen, had been alternating between her parents homes every two or three days. and legal documents show rupnow was in therapy. female school shooters are rare. less than 5% of the shooters have been female. >> we just heard lock down. lock down. not a drill. >> reporter: seventh grader angel brube was in a classroom during monday's rampage. >> we started hiding. we got in a corner.

turn off the lights. and after two minutes, you could hear bangs upstairs. >> reporter: two people were killed, including a staff member, who has not been officially identified. but is someone angel knew. what was she like? >> well, she was very nice. she was always caring. always spread positivity around. and just made everybody feel happy. >> reporter: of the six victims who survived the shooting, police say four remain in the hospital, including two still fighting for their lives. ian lee, cbs news, madison, wisconsin. the man accused of killing united health care ceo brian thompson is expected to waive extradition from pennsylvania to new york city today. an attorney for luigi mangione says he will likely be in manhattan this afternoon to face charges. he was indicted in new york on multiple charges, including first-degree murder as an act of terrorism. mangione was arrested in pennsylvania last week after a five-day manhunt. the teamsters says thousands

of amazon workers will walk off the job this morning at the height of the busy holiday shipping season. the union says workers will join the picket line in locations in new york city, illinois, southern california, san francisco and atlanta. the union had given amazon a sunday deadline to begin negotiations over wage and work condition issues. amazon claims the workers represented by the teamsters aren't their employees and work for a third party. turning overseas, the head of the rebels who overthrew syria's assad regime, told the bbc they are not a threat to the world. that's despite the past ties to terrorism. imtiaz tyab says they want to wipe away memories of the dictator, including the lucrative business selling illegal drugs. >> reporter: in a remote corner, outside damascus, an abandoned chip factory, that shined a light on the busted assad

regime's dark and open secrets. in this storeroom, we found the key components of making synthetic drugs. things like hydrochloric acid and aseedic acid. and there's lots of it. industrial quantities of chemicals needed to make one of the most popular street drugs in the middle east and beyond, captagon. wow. he is representing hayat tahrir al sham. he said this was captured after the rebels take over. packed in these regulator kits. they look like what should have been coils of wire. inside, it's hollow and just full of captagon pills. the highly addictive amphetamine is referred to as poor man's cocaine. it costs just pennies to make and can sell up to $20 for a single tablet. for years, neighboring countries accused assad syria's being the

world supplier of the drug. it's considered a narco state. how does that make you feel? >> translator: we feel bad for the young people that are addicted to it. the regime was destroying a generation. they only cared about making money. >> reporter: and the money is staggering. the bankrupt assad government raked in up to $5 billion a year from the illicit trade, nearly equal to syria's entire official budget. we're looking at millions of dollars worth of captagon here. are you going to destroy all of it? yes, we will destroy it all, he says. we will eliminate anything that has to do with the criminal assad. just last year, the u.s. treasury sanctioned two of bashar al assad's cousins and others involved in the trade. now, the business has been crushed, along with the brutal and corrupt regime.

imtiaz tyab, cbs news, damascus. coming up, deadly train crash. how a freight train hit a chamber of commerce building in texas. and how california declared a state of emergency.

this low boy is stuck on the tracks. oh. >> horrified witnesses watched as a freight train struck a tractor-trailer in west texas. the train derailed and slammed into the chamber of commerce building in the city of pacos. one person died and four others were injured. california declares a state of emergency over the bird flu. and an investigative report on matt gaetz is set to be released. those are some of the headlines we're following on "the morning newsstand." "the hill" reports the house ethics committee voted to release its report in the former

florida congressman matt gaetz. the report concludes the nearly four-year investigation into gaetz, that included allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and illicit drug use. gaetz fired back at the panel, proclaiming his innocence and defending what he calls embarrassing but not criminal behavior from his past. npr says gavin newsom declared a state of emergency over the rising spread of bird flu in dairy cattle in the state. 300 herds have tested positive in the last month. and half of the more than 60 human cases in the u.s. have been in california, mostly in farm workers exposed to sick poultry or cattle. the most severe case was reported in louisiana. that person remains hospitalized in critical condition, after exposed to sick, dead birds. the associated press says invasive murder hornets have been wiped out in the u.s., five years after being spotted for the first time. the world's largest hornet, that can be two inches long, haven't

been seen in washington state since 2021. they're known as murder hornets because of the dangerous sting and ability to wipe out a honey beehive in hours. they're a threat to insects. ahead, the fight against inflation. the fed signals plans for interest rate cuts next year.

here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ ♪ well, the first signs of 2025 have arrived. and in the new year's eve capital of the world, the seven-foot-tall l.e.d. numerals for 2025 arrived in times square ahead of the new year's celebration. and the year is going out with a whimper on wall street, after the federal reserve signaled fewer interest rate

cuts in the new year. here's shanelle kaul with today's "money watch." >> stocks plunged wednesday, marking one of the worst days of the year. the dow lost 1,123 points. the nasdaq dropped 716. and the s&p 500 lost 178 points. the federal reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point. its third this year. it also forecast only two rate cuts next year, instead of the four it had earlier predicted, due to still elevated inflation. the new projection suggests consumers may not enjoy much lower rates next year for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. the fight over the future of tiktok is now headed to the supreme court. the high court said it will hear arguments next month over the law that could ban the popular app here in the u.s., if its chinese parent company doesn't sell it by the january 19th deadline.

tiktok argues the law that passed in april, with bipartisan support, violates the first amendment. arguments are set for january 10th. and kfc is opening its first spin-off restaurant this weekend. and it's called saucy. the restaurant will be a stand alone concept, debuting in florida. on the menu, you'll find chicken tenders with, as the name suggests, an expanded sauce and beverage selection. that's your "cbs money watch" report for this thursday morning. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. it's showtime for a new york institution. a famous theater receives a high honor.

here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ it's showtime at the apollo. >> you know the apollo theater, a launching pad for well-known black performers for 90 years. it's finally getting its due, becoming the first institution to join a long list of american greats to receive a kennedy honor. jarred hill was backstage at the event. >> reporter: at the 47th annual

kennedy center honors, a recognition like never before. >> if you love the apollo, make some noise. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: harlem's iconic apollo theater, now the first institution to join the kennedy center's storied list of honorees. >> the apollo broke the mold by opening its doors to everyone. in a time of segregation. and the kennedy center, they broke the mold in acknowledging the apollo. >> reporter: originally a whites-only burlesque theater, new management opened it as the apollo theater in 1934, welcoming the growing black population. >> it's not just music. it's dance. it's comedy. exactly. that was what made it so amazing. >> every comedian. every singer. every dancer. and it's a place where we could go at the beginning to showcase our talents. >> reporter: the theater motto is where stars are born and legends are made.

actual are actual r a are amate allowed performers test their talent in front of a tough crowd. >> that's where i did one of my first shows, major shows of my career. one of the scariest ever and made it through. >> there's one guy that didn't have time for it. boo, here it comes. and everyone started booing. >> reporter: but it was nothing but love at the kennedy center, where through dance -- ♪ >> reporter: and song. ♪ ain't no mountain high enough ♪ >> reporter: the spirit rang true. >> we're at the kennedy center honoring the apollo theater. it's a big deal. >> reporter: an honor, many say is long overdue. jarred hill, cbs news. >> the kennedy center honors airs sunday night right here on cbs. we'll be right back.

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