the west coast gets whacked with another powerful storm. millions from washington to california brace for drenching rain, hurricane force winds and blizzard conditions. the head of the cia answers questions today about this week's explosive report on post 9/11 interrogation tactics while a showdown between the agency and the senate heats up. >> torture didn't keep us safer at all. >> and the navy unveils a high-test weapon, a laser beam that can destroy a moving target. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, december 11th, 2014. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. this morning, a large, powerful

and potentially dangerous storm is slamming the west coast. the storm is expected to produce hurricane force winds and excessive rain. some areas could see eight inches in the next 24 hours after drought, flooding and mudslides are expected. schools in san francisco and oakland are closed today. a blizzard has been issued for the sierra nevada mountains. wkvr reports folks spent the night scrambling to get ready. >>reporter: fairfield and all over northern california as people filled sandbags to protect what is theirings. >> trying to make sure i don't get water in my home. >> reporter: crews here have been installing wipers nonstop for two days. hoping it will battle sheets of

rain. >> she wants to be safe. i want her to be safe, too. what better day to do it than this day. >> reporter: the wind baily whispered outside this target. with 70-mile-per-hour winds threatening to knock out power. she is worried about the wind. she made a late run to home depot to keep things from going airborne. >> i want it to be secure. >> reporter: it's not just homes people are protesting. this mom is leaving the house early to drop off her kids at school to make sure she had time to drive safely in what could be a hectic commute. >> i'm worried about if there's going to be flooding or, just, wrecks. you never know. >> that was kovr reporting. a high surf advisory issued for

much of the pacific coast. high waves have been pounding the coast for days. several houses have been lost in wash away beach and more are in danger. weather forecaster jackie johnson of kcbs is following the big storm. >> a powerful storm is slamming the west coast today bringing heavy rain, snow, strong winds and surf from washington down to northern california, even into the bay area. three to five inches of rain is expected. up to eight inches of rain is posz zable in the sierra foothills. above snow level, blizzard warnings issued for parts of the sere era. up to three feet of snow is expected. it will move thursday night into friday morning, bringing heavy rain and mudslides to the burn area. it could prompt more evacuations. i'm jackie johnson, cbs news.

digging out after a nor'easter in syracuse, new york. more snow is expected there today. more fallout from the senate report on the post 9/11 cia interrogations. this morning, demands for new investigations, prosecutors and firing of the spy agency. meanwhile, current and former cia employees are pushing back. susan mcginnis is in washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. more calls are coming in for those responsible for ordering it and carrying it out. the white house is coming under pressure to make changes at the cia starting at the top. >> the cia is lying. >> reporter: in the wake of tuesday's senate report, mark udall is accusing the white house and the cia of trying to cover up a legacy of torture. he's pressing president obama to clean house at the cia beginning

with the current director, bronen. >> for the next cia director, fix the false record and reforms to restore the reputation from integrity and analytical rigor. >> reporter: the white house came to his defense. >> he is somebody who, i think, adheres to the highest ethical standard that you would expect of a government official. >> reporter: brennan has said mistakes were made, but they helped save lives. he's expected to defend the cia during remarks at the headquarters. 39 prisoners were subjected to water boarding, sleep deprivation between 2003 and 2009. techniques that were ineffective because they produced no intelligence. dick cheney is among republicans who denounce the report. in the first public comment,

cheney called it deeply flawed. they are considering bringing charges against government officials and cia agents involved in the interrogation tacti tactics. they continue to assert the report is filled with errors in a 136-page rebuttal. it suggests that senate staffers comb through millions of documents and pull out only information that supported predetermined conclusion. >> susan mcginnis in washington, thank you. an al qaeda affiliate targeted a base in yemen. a powerful blast rocked the base in yemen. the terror group says it fired six missiles at the base. it was in retaliation on the raid to free luke somers. there was no confirmation the base was hit or if there were casualties. the united states has never acknowledged it has forces at

the base in yemen. for a fifth night in berkeley, california, a group of 150 demonstrators marched through the city and a b.a.r.t. transit station was closed. there was at least one arrest and in chicago, two people arrested during protests in that city, including outside president obama's house. a cbs news poll shows a racial divide. 82% of blacks were disappointed or angered by the michael brown decision compared to 33% of whites. more than half of blacks surveyed say they have been discriminated against by police because of their race. coming up on the morning news, curbside collision. a car slams into a busy new york street packed with holiday shoppers. and futuristic defense. the navy tests their laser

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over the story of an alleged gang rape at the university of virginia. at least one friend of the alleged victim backs up the allegations made in a "rolling stones" magazine. another student has another account. >> reporter: when the rolling stone article went up, alex started to read the piece not knowing he would be a central figure. >> it dawned on me, this was, in fact, the story jackie told me, in some ways. >> reporter: he asked we only use his first name, realized he was in the article, identified as andy. in the article, jackie portrayed as coming to three of her friends with obvious injuries. the friends discouraged her coming forward out of fear. >> i don't recall her being injured.

no, maybe she had minor scrapes, i don't remember. i don't remember that. >> reporter: the worst is how it portrays the friends themselves. >> the response was the friends don't care, the administration doesn't care, nobody cares, you know. i think that that depiction is false. >> reporter: we spoke to the other male friend mentioned in the story and he correspond ob rates the account. they have never been contact ee by "rolling stone" and they are cooperating into what happened that night. cbs news, charlottesville, california. this morning, detroit is no longer in bankruptcy. the largest bankruptcy in u.s. history officially ended at midnight. they filed in july, 2013. last month, detroit won approval to restructure the $12 billion

debt. the city is still dealing with a high crime rate, tens of thousands of abandoned homes and lack of revenue. the u.s. navy successfully tested a laser beam weapon. it's mounted on a u.s. ship in the persian gulf. it could hit small targets. the beam was used to shoot a drone aircraft out of the sky. it uses a beam of energy to cripple or destroy targets. back on land, we will hear from a boater about how fish helped him stay alive. if you are looking to buy an ugly christmas sweater, we'll show you a store that specializes in them. with juicy, sizzly steak, stacked high with protein-packed egg whites, melty cheese and whatever else you love, like jalapeños or spinach - all on warm, toasty flatbread. subway. eat fresh.

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on the "cbs moneywatch," saving money on your next flight and where you can shop for that special ugly christmas sweater. jill wagner is at the new york stock change with that and more. good morning, jill. >> good morning. buying an airline ticket could get cheaper next year thanks to a drop in oil. they expect ticket prices to drop 5% in 2015 thanks to cheaper fuel. record profits are expected. fares have been going up this year because demand is so strong. the falling oil prices mean good news for airline passengers, it's bad news for investors. the dow lost 268 points yesterday. that's the biggest one-day loss in two months. s&p is down 34 points and nasdaq finished the day 82 points

lower. mcdonald's is slimming down. they plan to trim the menu. the big macs will stay. next month, eight items will be cut from the mcdonald's menu. they reported the deepest sales decline in 14 years. they are reviewing some of the ingredients they use. instagram is more popular than twitter. instagram, the photo and video sharing app, owned by facebook has 300 million monthly users. twitter had 284 million monthly users as of the third quarter. here in new york, the original apple one personal computer will be auctioned off. it traces history back to steve jobs parent's garage. it was bought for $600. it is estimated it will sell between $400,000 and $600,000. if you need an ugly

christmas sweater, go to a thrift store in colorado that exclusively sells used, tacky, holiday sweaters. they are prices $3 to $43 and up to 150 of those sweaters are being sold each day. >> i don't need to buy an ugly sweater. i can go through my dad's closet. just kidding. jill wagner at the new york stock exchange, thank you very much. in sports, a college basketball team survives a scare. columbia scores the first 11 points of the game versus kentucky. the wildcats were behind at halftime. in the second half, kentucky overcomes the deficit to win, 56-46. when we return, give it up for dead. a boater tells us how he stayed alive after two weeks lost at sea and his plans for what he's doing now that he's back on dry land.

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here is a look at today os forecast in cities around the country. we are hearing, for the first time, from ron ingram, he has the boater missing at sea for two weeks. tim sakahara harrah reports. >> reporter: after 12 days lost at sea and presumed dead, ron ingram and his boat was brought back. how does it feel to be back on dry land. thanksgiving day, he says a winter swell with 15 to 20 foot waves knocked him overboard, killed his engine and broke the antenna. >> i'm a fisherman, so i caught

fish and that's what -- it wasn't a sushi bar, but it's how i hydrated. >> reporter: the coast guard called off the search and friends were planning a memorial. >> i thought i was going to die, too. >> reporter: it took discipline to stay alive and improvising. >> try to get up there. i got a coat hanger and wire, stuck it in and got on a transmission. may day. may day. >> reporter: picked up their location. does this change your perspective on life? >> yeah. i'm real thirsty. i'm going to get a beer. if you want to join me. >> reporter: sure enough, he found himself a drink and has a tale to tell. he's going to keep fishing and

will keep his boat. reporting from hawaii. tim sakahara harrah. give a little joy. a book is a gift like no other. and barnes & noble is like no other book store in the world. with so many books to discover and the new nook by samsung now a full featured tablet. a book is the gift they'll remember long after the holidays are over. when you donsleep...nough and your body aches... you're not yourself. tylenolpm relieves pain and helps you fall fast asleep and stay asleep. we give you a better night. you're a better you all day.

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president obama and the first lady brought gifts to the boys campaign. p president introduced himself as the big elf before he took off his suit jacket. he made a point of making sure that some of the sports toys went to girls. a little boy in brenham, texas is getting a helping hand thanks to computer science students at a local high school and 3-d printer. we have the report. >> reporter: his name is caden. today is a day for hugging. he made sure he found everyone in the room. >> he's a simple little boy. a simple 2-year-old boy. >> reporter: he began less than

typical. am knee yachtic ban syndrome left him without a fully formed right hand. he knows no different? >> no. >> reporter: a mom worried, wanting her son to have more. >> the possibilities of whatever he can do. >> reporter: which led to the computer science class at a high school and 3-d printer. >> we have done bracelets and iphone cases. >> reporter: his mom found out about it and asked if it could make a hand. >> built a computer, stuff like that. i never thought we would be changing someone's life. >> reporter: with a design found on the internet, they did. he got his right hand this week. >> it closes the finger. >> reporter: at day care the next day, he instinctively reached out at picked up a snack cup. >> an amazing moment.

>> reporter: what was that moment like for mom? >> one of the greatest moments. i could see my son pick up something with that hand. knowing there's many possibilities for the future for him. >> it's been as much of a blessing for us as his family. >> it made me feel good that i could make a difference in someone's life. >> he's got two hands. if it's different, hopefully somebody will think it's cool. >> it's not every day you get a build a hand for a little boy that's going to change his life. >> great to be part of that. >> if you could see his hand -- he had that choice now. >> reporter: a choice offered by students who will keep making hands as he grows, each time, doing it for free. >> amazing. there's no way i could thank them enough. >> reporter: for a little boy now able to reach for his life, with both hands.

>> that was khou's kevin reece reporting. why highway projects are taking longer to finish and costing more. and smokey robinson joins us in the studio. that is the "cbs morning news" for this morning. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day.

today, it is thursday, december 11th, good morning, i'm ukee washington. i'm quarter von tiehl. here are stories we are following today. waking up to morning snow falling in montgomery county and too here in center city. katie had has your forecast for your morning commute. new clues could help police find a missing west chester university student shane montgomery. we will have very latest in the search coming up in a live report. end of an era, philadelphia slugger jimmy rollins reportedly heading to los angeles, but what phillies fans are saying about the short stop's departure this morning. we have word of that last night during five and 6:00, i thought he would be here in red pinstripes for a long time. >> been here what 15 years.