♪ skbrienchts it's thursday, march 2nd, 2017. this is "the cbs morning news." breaking overnight. ties to russia. meetings with attorney general jeff sessions are in question. top democrats are asking him to step down. stocks get a major boost from president trump's conciliatory tone on capitol hill. good morning. it's cbs news headquarters in new york. good to be with you. i'm annette daniels. this morning top congressional democrats are calling on

attorney general jeff sessions to resign. the justice department confirms sessions had contact with the russian ambassador during the campaign. something sessions did not reveal during his confirmation hearing. good morning. >> good morning. the news comes as lawmakers and the fbi investigate russian interference into the presidential election. now, democrats are intensifying their calls for sessions to recuse themselves from any investigation or even to step down. >> reporter: the justice department confirms to cbs news that attorney general jeff sessions met with the russian envoy during the presidential campaign, but says those discussions were part of many kwf conversations then senator sessions had with the armed services committee. meetings first reported to the washington post thursday. he was a top advisor to the campaign, and he did not disclose the encounters when asked about possible contact between members of the campaign and representatives of moscow during his january confirmation

hearing. >> i have been called a surrogate a time or two in that campaign, and i did not have communications with the russians. >> reporter: in a statement last night the attorney general said "i have never met with any russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. i have no idea what this allegation is about. it is false." democratic house minority leader nancy pelosi is calling for sessions to resign, claiming he lied under oath. >> there may be nothing there, but if there is something there, if the fbi believes it's criminal in nature, then for sure you need a special prosecutor. >> reporter: the story broke on the same day the "new york times" details efforts by members of the obama administration to disseminate information about possible contact between associates of then president-elect trump and russia. >> if there's nothing to further investigate, what are you asking people to investigate? >> reporter: the trump administration says aides are -- that could be used to connect the probe in the 2017 election.

>> yesterday the house intelligence committee formally outlined its plans to look at russian meddling in the election. they will examine communications between russia and the campaign. >> thank you. ahead on "cbs this morning" mrgt br margaret brennan will have the latest on campaign ties to the russian government. wall street liked the business-friendly proposals in trump's speech to congress. the major indexes hit record highs wednesday. jill wagner has details from the new york stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning. optimism about the president's plans to help business keeps pushing stocks higher. yesterday the dow finished above 21,000 for the first time ever closing 303 points higher. its biggest gain for the dow this year. the s&p 500 gained 32. its biggest single day gain since november. and the nasdaq added 78 points.

the markets have soared more than 15% since donald trump won the presidency. 19,000 and 21,000. the climb is driven by mr. trump's pro-business stance. he proposed corporate tax cuts, the loosening of regulations, and a proposal to spend $1 trillion to fix the nation's infrastructure. throw in the promise of higher interest rates and a massive tax cut, all laying the ground work for continued market growth. >> thank you, jill. we'll check in with you a little later on headlines. republicans are trying to push forward with plans to repeal and replace the affordable care act. senate republicans and house republicans have yet to come to an agreement. a draft of the plan that leaked last week replaces obama care's low income tax credits and subsidies with smaller tax credits that go to everyone, like obama care. low income americans would get the money even if they paid no or little taxes. that could be a deal breaker for

some more conservative republicans. this morning a dangerous storm system that's blamed for three deaths in the midwest is bearing down on the east coast. dozens of tornadoes destroyed more than 100 homes. the storm is headed east. last night birmingham, alabama, was pounded by large hail. elsewhere recovery efforts are underway as people in hard hit neighborhoods assess the damage. michelle miller has our report. >> reporter: a tornado was spotted wednesday morning in brickwood, tennessee, outside of nashville as powerful storms tore through the area. it's the same system that left a trail of destruction across the central united states. zoom it's undescribable. unbelievable. >> reporter: in perriville, missouri, homes were reduced to piles of debris after a twister touched down tuesday night. >> it's very much -- there's a lot of -- everything.

everything -- this is my grandmother's house. photos, anything to do with the family was in this house. >> reporter: one person is dead, and more than 100 homes are destroyed. it is a similar scene in ottawa, illinois, where residents started to clean up the damage. illinois governor toured the aftermath. >> i heard a freight train. ran to the basement. basement window was -- >> blew out? >> yes. and we were covered. >> reporter: illinois emergency officials are concerned about more severe weather. >> recovery efforts have become even more dangerous with dropping temperatures, potential for additional rain and even in some parts of illinois it's turning into snow. >> reporter: utility companies are working hard to get power and gas restored. michelle miller, cbs news, illinois. a federal immigration judge will determine the fate of a young woman who was arrested while trying to renew per permission to stay in the united

states legally as a dreamer. 22-year-old daniella vargas was picked up yesterday by immigration agents when she pulled over a friend's car in mississippi. she urged president trump to protect people like her. >> a path to citizenship is necessary, also for the 11 million undocumented people are dreams. today my father and brother await deportation while i continue to fight this battle as a dreamer to help contribute to this country, which i feel that is very much my country. >> vargas was brought to the u.s. from argentina when she was 7 years old. she reapplied last month. a woman charged with helping her husband plan the orlando nightclub shooting has been released. the judge ruled that she is not dangerous, and there is no proof she is tied to isis or has extremist views. last year omar mateen opened

fire at the pulse nightclub killing 49 people. coming up on "the morning news" a high-flying crash caught on video. a truck that flees police goes airborne after a wild chase. and oprah winfrey hints at a run for the white house. >> i thought, oh, gee, i don't have the experience. i don't know enough. i don't know. now i'm thinking, oh. at least the car's quiet. snowboarding is better than skiing. i completely disagree. the 1 for everyone sales event is going on now and we have one for you. during toyota's 1 for everyone sales event you can get 0% apr financing on the adventurous rav4 and 10 other select models. offer ends april 3rd. for great deals on other toyotas visit toyota.com. toyota. let's go places. bounty is more absorbent,mom" per roll

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test test test test gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can be more active. ask your doctor about lyrica. a high speed police chase in louisiana ended up with a high-flying crash all caught on camera. police say the stolen truck was going more than 115 miles per hour when it hit a spike strip on tuesday and went soaring. the 18-year-old driver survived. flint, michigan, sending water subsidies, and oprah considers a political future. those are some of the headlines on newsstands.

oprah for president? her hometown, "chicago tribune" reports it's possible. the queen of daytime tv said that she didn't think she had the experience, but then president trump got elected. >> i thought, oh, gee, i don't have the experience. i don't know enough. now i'm thinking oh. >> right. >> oprah supported hillary clinton in the last presidential election. "vanity fair" reports -- the academy has told price waterhouse coopers that ryan and martha reed will not be invited back for next year's ceremonies. the accounting firm has apologized for handing out the wrong envelope for best picture. >> the washington post reports that the white house has concluded that senior advisor kellyanne conway acted

inadvertently when she endorsed ivanka trump's clothing line during a tv interview. a federal ethics official has suggested she be disciplined for the apparent violation of federal rules. fortune magazine says facebook is boosting its suicide prevention tools. the social media giant is allowing users to report if a facebook live video is suicidal. from there users will be offered live chat support through services like the national suicide prevention help line. national public radio is reporting that the people in flint, michigan, will now be paying the full cost of the water flowing through their pipes. until now the state paid about two-thirds tv residents' water bills after it was laiden with lead. still to come, mcdonald's beats up delivery. the fast food chain is launching an ad that might make ordering

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some female pioneers at nasa. lego announced it's developing women of nasa lego sets. it includes figurines of the mathematicians portrayed in the movie "hidden figures." on the cbs money watch snapchat's ipo is ready to take off, and mcdonald's customers can use a new app to make their fast food even faster. jill wagner is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, again, jill. >> good morning. snap inc, the popular messeninging app snapchat. the initial public offering at valued at $17 a share. that's higher than expected. the company is valued at $24 billion. this is the most anticipated technology ipo since twitter back in 2013. the federal communications commission gave internet providers the go ahead to sell your personal information

without your permission. the ruling overturns a rule passed in october that requires users explicit permission before their private data could be sold. the fcc says the privacy rules puts an unfair burden on internet service providers not shared by web sites and social media networks. zwriench well, those two security braec breaches atta hue cost the ceo her bonus. her management team was found to be reacting too slowly. the two breaches exposed the personal information of more than one billion users and cost the company about $350 million. mcdonald's plans to launch a new app allowing diners to place orders for pickup. customers could place an order on the app and then read a keyed to the drive-thru cashier. the mobile order and pay option will be launched in 20,000 restaurants in the u.s. and abroad this year. mcdonald's is also expanding its

delivery service. we could definitely use that down here at the stock exchange. >> especially at 2:00 a.m. thank you, jill. still ahead, dashboard confessionals. the ceo much uber issues an apology after a video shows him arguing with one of his drivers. y we'll play something besides video games. every day is a gift. especially for people with heart failure. but today there's entresto... a breakthrough medicine that can help make more tomorrows possible. tomorrow, i want to see teddy bait his first hook. in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto was proven to help more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. if you've had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, don't take entresto. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems,

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. p march madness has arrived at northwestern right at the buzzer with 1.7 seconds left. the wildcats beat red hot michigan with a buzzer-beating hail mary pass and layup.

67-65 was the final. there's a new attraction at the denver zoo. a baby giraffe that was born on tuesday. he is a big healthy boy. zabe measured 5 feet tall and weighs 73 pounds. he was also a surprise. zookeepers did not know until recently that his mother was pregnant because she had been on birth control. the ceo of uber says he needs leadership help. travis kalanick also says he is ashamed. the acknowledgment follows a heated argument with one of his drivers that was caught on video. ben tracy has the story. >> reporter: this video obtained by bloomberg news shows uber ceo travis kalanick swaying to the music in the back seat of an uber black car, but at the end of the ride he also gets an earful from the driver identified as vafawzi kamel.

he explains that cuts in uber rates have hurt him financially. >> i lost $90,000 because of you. yes, yes, yes. you keep changing every day. you keep changing every day. >> hold on a second. what have i changed about black? >> you changed the whole business. >> what? what? >> you dropped the prices. >> on black? >> $20. started with $20. how much is the mile now, $2.75? >> some people don't like to take responsibility for their own actions. >> reporter: in a memo kalanick afollowsed writing it's clear the video is a reflection of me and i must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. this is the first time i've been willing to admit that i need leadership help, and i intend to get it. lately the company that made it possible to catch a cab using an app can't seem to catch a break. last week a lawsuit was filed alleging uber stole trade secrets for the development of its self-driving cars, which uber denies. and uber recently launched an

internal investigation after an ex-employee levelled allegations of sexual harassment. uber declined our request for an interview. i did take, however, three uber rides, and all three drivers said they were aware of the company's problems, and one said the ceo should maybe hire his own private chauffeur. coming up after your local news on cbs this morning, casino tycoon steve wen.

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our top story this morning. the severe weather that pounded the midwest is now heading east. dozens of tornados destroyed more than 100 homes. at least three people were killed. one man in missouri and two people in illinois. recovery efforts and damage assessment continues this morning. wall street is feeling good about president trump's business-friendly proposals. the dow finished above 21,000 for the first time yesterday. market soared more than 15% since mr. trump won the election. proposals to cut corporate taxes and -- the justice department confirms attorney general jeff sessions spoke twice with a russiaon envoy during the

presidential campaign. sessions did not disclose the meetings during his confirmation hearings. democratic congressional leaders are calling for sessions to resign. sessions said in a statement, "i never met with any russian official about issues of the campaign." he said conversations were part of many he had as a member of the armed service committee. in his address to congress tuesday night president trump had little to say about foreign policy. margaret brennan reports. >> reporter: the president's speech left diplomats and allies wondering just how president trump views america's role in the world. he made no mention of the thousands of u.s. troops in afghanistan and iraq or the small number in syria, and he did not explain why he is expanding the fight against al qaeda in yemen. there was a statement of support for israel, but no explanation of his repeated calls for a new relationship with russia. that's been worrying european allies in natur nato who presid

trump called on, again, to spend more on their defense. many see that white house proposal to cut 30% or more from the foreign aid budget as a sign that the president doesn't value diplomacy. rex tillerson, the secretary of state, did release a statement today clarifying that u.s. policy is still to promote freedom, democracy, and stability. >> and that was margaret brennan reporting. coming up after your local news on "cbs morning" a look at how ivanka trump and her husband may be influencing white house policy. plus, the controversy over the apparent attack of a great white shark at huntington beach here in california. and we'll go to turkey to show you how hundreds of stray dogs are finding new homes here in the united states. that's "the cbs morning news" for this thursday. thanks for watching. have a great day.

philadelphia mayor jim kenney formerly lays out his budget before city council and what his plan could mean for your wallet and daily commute to work. >> i didn't ask if i had communications with the russians. >> well, not so fast, as justice department calls for attorney general to resign and how he is responding this morning to accusations that he met with russian officials during the presidential campaign. and hundreds, will the georgia tore day on independence mall for a rally we will tell you about the message they had and what is sparking the movement. today is thursday march 2nd good morning, i'm jim donovan. i'm rahel solomon all that plus all major plans announced for old trump taj mahal. >> good morning, katie and meisha