♪ it's tuesday, december 20th, 2016. this is the "cbs morning news." breaking overnight -- officials in berlin suspect terrorism after a truck plowed into a packed christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more. this morning, efforts are under way to step up security in the u.s. also breaking, hours after a russian ambassador was assassinated in ankara, the u.s. shutters its embassy in turkey, just across the street, after just across the street, after shots were fired overnight. captioning funded by cbs

good morning from the studio 57 newsroom here at cbs news headquarters in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. well, german police are investigating a suspected terrorist attack on a berlin christmas market. at least 12 people were killed when a truck loaded with steel beams plowed through a crowd monday night at least 50 others were injured. elizabeth palmer is there with the latest. >> good morning. earlier, police have towed away the truck that plowed into one of berlin's most famous christmas markets. examining it for evidence to help scomplien why anybody would have used it as a deadly weapon. the truck itself was from poland. security forces say it was driven by a 23-year-old pakistani man known to police for minor offenses and was actually staying in a refugee center.

and he, of course to witness jumped out of the truck once it had stopped and sprinted away from the dead and dying victims. but he was arrested about a while away from the scene and is now being interprrogated. we do know that isis and al qaeda both have called on their followers to use trucks to attack crowds. and security officials had warned in the runup to this christmas season that markets and other festive gathers might be targeted. we've seen this rather crude form of attack before. this summer in nice, in southern france. a young tunisian living there drove a truck down by the beach. in this berlin attack, another man, a polish citizen was in the cab as it plowed into that crowd but he died at the scene as paramedics treated him. some reports coming out of berlin say he was the original

driver of the truck that was badly wounded when the truck was hijacked. elizabeth, thank you. less than a month ago, the state department called for increased caution at public gathers in europe. last night's incident prompted increased security. several large police vans were placed at entrances to a christmas market in chicago. they were also increased police patrols. the annual market attracts hundreds of thousands each year. and heavily armed officers were patrolling a market here in new york city as well. coming up on "cbs this morning," we will talk about the berlin attack with john miller, the deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism at the new york city police department. in turkey now. the united states embassy and two consulates are closed this morning after a man fired shots in the air just outside of the embassy in ankara.

the u.s. embassy is located just across the street where the russian ambassador to turkey was shot hours earlier. the asill lant was a turk kish police officer and he was killeded in a shoot-out with police. holly williams has details. >> reporter: the assassin shot the russian ambassador from behind. remember aleppo, remember syria, he shouted. murdering andrei karlov apparently until revenge for russia's deadly intervention in syria. shooter was a 22-year-old turkish police officer, later shot in the streets by turkish security forces. it comes a week after thousands rallied in turkey, protesting support for the syrian regime. russian air strikes were escalating, to control the city of aleppo, forcing the

evacuation of thousands of civilians. some of them will end up here, at the communal camp in northern syria where agents are putting up new tentses. we visited. the people already living here say they have nothing but mud. we can't keep our children warm said this man. he told us he's been living here with his five children for over a year, after their home in aleppo. we've done everything to stay warm. even piled up plastic bags. there's one for 200 people. this woman told us she's 95 years old and wants to die. god save us, she said. we need your mercy. but even alkanuna was bombed last may. this man is a wheat farmer and

rebel fighter. he joined the hardline islamic group that now controls this area. leaving aleppo isn't the end, he told us. the revolution will continue even if we all die. but if it's not the end of the line in this miserable war it's difficult to imagine what is. russia's air campaign condemned by the u.s. has helped the victory for the syrian regime in aleppo but it has not stopped syria's civil war from spilling into its borders. with its violence. holly williams, cbs news, near the turkey/syria border. president-elect donald trump addressed it. he said the murder of an ambassador is a violation of all rules of civil i'ded order and must be universally condemned.

back here and in politics, mr. trump officially won the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency. the electoral college is yesterday. just two defected. >> texas now puts president trump over the top. >> a motion for the president-elect calls a report that mr. trump plans to keep a private security team after he's sworn in. complete nonsense. politico said mr. trump will not solely rely on personal protection. this is a break in tradition. he will continue to be surrounded by longtime allies, including security. but the main protection will fall to the secret service. but one former secret service agent says even that type of arrangement increases the supervise's liability and it creates greater connice and

greater risk. the underwater drone that it captured last week. the drone was returned to a u.s. navy ship in international waters about 50 miles from the way in the philippines. the drone uses unclassified technology to collect ocean 0 graphic data. first lady michelle obama sat down with her first interview with oprah winfrey. mrs. obama made it clear she will not be running for political office. >> no, that's one thing that i don't do. i don't make stuff up, i'm not coy. i'm very direct. i don't believe in playing games. it's not something i would do. but it also speaks to the fact that people really don't understand how hard this is. and it's not something you that

cavalierly just ask a family to do again. maybe because we got it wrong or we think you got it wrong. you just go back and do it. you're the closest thing to that, so, you do it. but let me just tell america, this is hard. it's a hard job. i said it on the campaign trail. it requires a lot of sacrifice. it is waiis weighty thing. it's not something that you even look to one family to take on at that level for that long of a period of time. >> mrs. obama says she would never run for office because of the impact it would have on her family. >> the president of the front tear airlines pilots union said the airlines fell on its face. frontier hopes to return to normal operations today after a major weekend meltdown when frontier cancelled 70% of its flights because there was more snow than expected in denver. some passengers are still

stranded. and others have not been able to locate checked bags for days. >> it was wall-to-wall luggage. you could barely walk. >> i took a budget airline. that's my fault. i don't know, i feel like i paid for a flight. >> frontier apologized and is offering refunds to passengers affected by significant delays or cancellations. coming up on the "morning news" now, a controversial bathroom law may soon be history. 11 states and north carolina move to appeal the law for transgender rights. and a star gets a surprise. when coughing keeps your family awake. breathe easier with vicks vaporub. soothing cough relief that starts working instantly. yep, got tno, no, no,ll she wantebe right home. ♪

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approaches but they're doubling down on that in philadelphia. eight buss were decked out in holiday themes for a santa contest. and the winners will be revealed today in downtown philadelphia. president obama grants prechristmas pardons in efforts to roll back a controversial law. the charlotte observer reports that north carolina lawmakers will consider repealing the state's notorious bathroom law tomorrow. it was enacted nine months ago to block an lgbt rights law passed in charlotte. charlotte's council rescinded the law yesterday at the acting of the state's governor elect. the "times-picayune" reports there's a policy for crimes committed around katrina. mitch landrieu's statement comes as he repealed a $13 million for

victims' families. city police killed four men in less than two months in 2005. the "san francisco chronicle" reports the dismissal of bias complaints against a judge whose sentencing of a rapist was widely criticized. six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. prosecutors sought a six-year term. >> the "washington post" reports a historic number of pardons by president obama. he shortened prison terms of 153 nonviolent drug offenders. that's the most clemency ever issued by a president in one time. "the new york times" reports a drop in the number of work-related deaths among journalists. at least 48 were killed this year, but that's down from 72 in 2015. more than half of this year's victims were killed in war zones.

and national public radio says elderly hospital patients cared for by female doctors live longer than those treated by men. why? the harvard study are not sure. they found that female doctors were more attentive to testing and other steps. still ahead, the word of the year. we will tell you the words that people looked up the most in this unbelievable year. that's a hint. >> the other top lookups this year also tells its a lot that makes us curious among words. among them is the word big league. why is it all (mimics a stomach grumble) no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? yeah, happens to more people than you think... try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. i got your back. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you.

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. the definition of surreal is marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream. >> merriam-webster announced its word of the year. and it's surreal. that's the word "surreal." the selection was based on the number of searches for the word and surreal topped queries three times as much in 2016. the turkey attempted coup and the attack in nice. and also in the aftermath of the 2016 election. so keeping it on topic, deplorable and big league were

also popular searches. bigly is a real word, just so you know. on the "cbs moneywatch," privacy concerns over cell phone tracking. and facebook launches a group video. hena daniels is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, hena. good morning, anne-marie. technology and industrial stocks continue to tried around all-time highs. the dow jones gained 39 points. the s&p 500 rose 4. and the nas zack gained just 20. the head of the international monetary fund christine lagarde will keep her position despite being convicted of negligence. the negligence case goes back to lagarde's time as minister. imf executive board praised her

quote outstanding leadership. a house standing committee calls for tougher rules to regulate cell phone tracking. the key issues that allow law enforcement departments to covertly surveil cell phone data. the data includes what number of cell phone calls, its location. the number of devices known as stingrays use warrants. and facebook messaging is starting a group video chat. up to 50 people can listen and join in by sending text, stickers and emojis. facebook has 1 billion users. facebook hopes it will entice them to spend more time online, creating opportunities. anne-marie. >> hena daniels at the new york stock exchange. thank you so much, hena. still ahead, christmas surprise. >> a notre dame player gets an

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. [ applause ] a shock last night for notre dame junior guard matt farrell. he and the crowd had just watched the video from he and his brother bo. but bo was actually in the arena. and to top it all off, the irish won. >> it is that time of year when the salvation army hopes you'll drop a little something in heir kettle. zeke elliott of the cowboys added his reminder sunday by depositing himself in the huge

kettle. and he's also donating $21,000 and the nfl won't fine him for his touchdown celebration either. coming up on "this morning," al pacino. all the partners agree? even iced tea? especially iced tea. goodbye, sugar. hello, new splenda naturals. to being extremely yellow leading would probably gross me out! my dentist recommended pronamel. it can help protect enamel from acid erosion. pronamel is all about your enamel. ♪ yopantene expert gives you thee? most beautiful hair ever, with our strongest pro-v formula ever. strong is beautiful.

well, a musical prodigy will have a big feature in vienna next week. ♪ >> reporter: just 11 years old, her talent is unmistakable. but what makes her extraordinary, is not her ability to play this music, but to write it. >> i did it. >> reporter: and not just a song or two, she composed an entire opera. >> here. and then here. yeah. >> how is it to see your opera coming to life?

>> well, it's wonderful i can't even imagine how exciting it is. i've seen this all in my imagination. how it sounds like, how it looks like. and i find that it's actually coming true. >> reporter: we get a peek currently in rehearsal. she grew up on the side of london and sang before she could speak. alma said she does her best work when she's relaxed, often playing and skipping rope. magic skipping rope, why is it magic. >> i wave it around like this. and i tell stories in my mind. and it comes into my head. ♪ >> reporter: that's how she came up with her version of "cinderella." >> my "cinderella" it sounds. and but in my story, i tell it.

>> reporter: she's still getting used total fairy tale term. >> i think it was many years ago that it was being performed in vienna, the capital of music. and i would laugh. i would have thought it was a joke. ♪ >> reporter: she devours 100 and doesn't have a computer, tv or smartphone. she doesn't have time. >> and i'm also writing a book now which i want to publish and make into a film. and i want to write the music for it. >> reporter: she's excited about opening here in vienna. but she's already dreaming of another venue in new york. seth stone, cbs news, vienna. >> it will probably happen before she's 15. coming up on "cbs this morning," a new report explores the possible dangers of fracking on a water supply. plus, the year in food, bon

appetit magazine looks at the food trends and what to expect in 2017. and charlie talks with al pacino. >> you get nominateded for an oscar, it's great. you don't go back and think about where you came from and how got here. so that in and of itself was just different. >> that's the "cbs morning news." thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day.

live from the cbs broadcast center in philadelphia. this is cbs-3 "eyewitness news" this morning. a live look this morning from berlin where daybreak reveals destruction after a truck rams into a crowded christmas market. at least 12 people are dead. dozens more are hurt. why police say this was no accident. new jersey lawmakers say no deal, why he has to leave office until he write a book. >> busy morning here at cbs-3, it is our "joy of sharing" toyfest drop-off day. the trucks ready. we're ready. finds out how you can help us fill this truck with toys. today is tuesday, december 20th, good morning, i'm jim donovan. >> i'm rahel solomon. let's get the day start wad check on weather and traffic with meisha. >> good morning, you guys, happy tuesday, day two, nice