captioning funded by cbs it's wednesday, december 27th, 2017. this is the "cbs morning news." cold blankets of areas in the northeast and west and the danger is expected to last until the new year. president trump says thanks to the tax cut bill 2018 will be a great year for companies and jobs and he takes on the russia investigation and obamacare. and two men who have shared things for 50 years finds their connection runs much deeper. and good morning from the

cbs studio headquarters in new york. i'm brook silva-braga in for anne-marie green. the record-breaking snow continues to fall around the great lakes. windchill advisories are in effect for dozens of states. temperatures today could hit up to my muss 17. pittsburgh and chicago are expected to be in the single digits. the hardest hit area is eerie, pennsylvania. that's an all-time record and more is expected today. roxana saberi has the latest. >> reporter: residents in erie, pennsylvania, spent the day after christmas digging out from record snowfall even as more piled on from the great lakes. >> it's a little ridiculous. i keep pecking away at it. we'll get it cleared. >> you can't tell how bad it is,

i don't think. >> reporter: even by lake-effect standard, the scene was jaw-dropping. 30 inches of snow fell in 36 hours. >> a lot of snow keeps coming, won't stop. >> reporter: in ohio it backed up traffic on a portion of interstate 90. snow and ice led to this deadly accident on a highway in kansas city, missouri. four people were killed. record low temperatures sent parts of the midwest into a deep freeze. minneapolis saw a low of negative 2. in chicago, temperatures hovered around zero degrees, not cold enough to keep shoppers from hitting the malls for post christmas deals. >> we're from around here, so we're pretty used to this. >> reporter: forecasters say a cold bath of air will hang around until the new year. roxana saberi, cbs news. president trump spent the

day after christmas on his golf course. he also fired off a series of tweets covering everything from tax cuts to john sh john schumo is here with more. president trump took aim on twitter tuesday at some of the most polarizing issues facing capitol hill. on the russia investigation, he cited a fox news report that investigators cannot verify claims made in a dossier circulated over the summer. compiled by a former british intelligence officer, it contains allegations of mr. trump's ties to moscow. the president called it a, quote, crooked hillary pile of garbage. >> that's how this has become such a hyperpart of the issue. they're trying to discredit the findings that come out by pointing to the flaws in the process. >> president trump also went after obamacare writing the o

unpopular and individual mandate has been terminated as part of our tax cut bill which repeals over time obamacare. evidence suggests public support is far exceeding expectations. >> i would like to see a commitment to this program so that there's stability. >> in the obamacare enrollment there was just a 4.4% drop from last year in the states that participa participate. and according to one nationwide analysis, republican states are signing up faster than democratic ones. 62% who enrolled live in red states that voted for president trump in 2016. and president trump in another tweet on the tax cut bill wrote that a quote will be a great year for companies and jobs. he also tweeted continued success for the stockmarket in

2018. brook? >> okay. and plenty to do in the knew year. john schumo, thanks. any response the state department said the u.s. has the ability to communicate with north korea through a variety of diplomatic channels, but it's up to north korea to change action. they announced yesterday two sanctions targeting two key north korean officials who are behind the program. they're not commenting on a lawsuit by three u.s. cities that says the military failed to report the names of those who disqualified for done ownership. david martin reports. >> reporter: devin kelley's massacre displayed a long running issue by the pentagon to report to a data base that would disqualify them from ever buying

weapons. now three cities have asked a federal judge to compel the military services do what they already should have done. the lawsuit relies in part on fin findsi findings of the pentagon's own. fein told congress earlier this among the military has systematically failed to report violent criminals in its ranks to the fbi. >> i am struck by the failure of the department of defense to comply with the law. >> we say go all the way back 20 years to at least 1998. we looked at 2015 and 2016 and found significant problems. we think there are problems all the way back. >> kelley was the most glaring failure. he used a ben to kill 26. within weeks of the massacre the

air force admitted to finding dozens of other cases it had failed to report. the pentagon says it's going back over old cases to make sure violent criminals are reported to the fbi. but three of the country's major cities are no longer willing to take the military's word for it. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. good news in southern california where the thomas fire is 88% contained this morning. it's not expected to grow. officials say there is little smoke and air quality has improved. the fire burned more than 4040 square miles in ventura and santa barbara counties and is the largest wildfire. it also destroyed more than a thousand buildings. today's drawing to determine the winner of the tied election will be postponed. shelly simonds asked the court to delay it.

simonds said that ballot was wrongly concluded. if she is the winner, virginia's house will be split 50-50. coming up on the "morning news." taking aim at orrin hatch. his hometown newspaper makes a very public and slightly odd call for his resignation. we'll have the senator's response. family secret of long-time friends makes an incredible discovery. this is the "cbs morning news." weight watchers freestyle program? i love freestyle. you can have anything you want. it's real food. it's so much easier going out to eat now. it feels great. you are living dangerously! i'm living freestyle. here's to freestyle! freestyle! the new weight watchers freestyle program has over 200 foods that are zero points. now you can count less and enjoy more. join for free and lose 10 pounds on us. hurry, offer ends january 8th.

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the senator tweeted he was grateful. they say his response was tongue in cheek. u.s. news and world report says excessive video gaming will named a mental health disorder. it says gaming becomes a problem when it takes precedent over your personal and work/life. next year doctors will be able to diagnose someone with gaming disorder. facebook can't be behind. two men who have been friends for 60 years actually found out they were born brothers. one of the men never knew his father. separately they sought answers about their anxious saystry. they learned they had the same mother and revealed the news to their family over the holidays. npr reports the line brair of congress will no longer archive every tweet.

the library says beginning january 1st, it will only acquire tweets on a very selective basis. the "washington post" says a large portion of the magnolia treat that was plant odden the white house grounds by andrew jackson will have to be removed. he added the tree in 1835. the white house says it's too old and badly damaged to have it replaced. melania called for part of the tree to be cut down after a report from the national arboretum. coming up we'll tell you which popular items made this the biggest christmas yet for the yonge line retailer. and class act, what harley-davidson is doing to attract younger riders. when my smile is bright, i feel ready to shine. some whitening toothpastes only remove surface stains, colgate optic white high impact white is different.

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well, how about tomorrow? ask your doctor about entresto and help make tomorrow possible. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. on the "cbs moneywatch" this morning, amazon's holiday bestsellers and harley-davidson tries to take the fear out of riding. hena doba is here with that and more. good morning. >> good morning. stocks were much lower. the dow jones lost 7 point, the s&p 500 fell by 2 points.

the nasdaq lost 23 points. amazon is celebrating a record-breaking holiday shopping season. in one week alone, more than 4 million people signed up to try amazon prime. they saw the highest holiday sales yet with tens of millions of products sold worldwide. the echo dot and fire tv stick with alexia voice remote were the best-sellers. a new report published by bloomberg predicts china will overtake the u.s. economy by 2022. they say asia's major economies will continue to grow in the coming years. it predicts china, japan, india, and the u.s. will be the four largest economies in 2032 with china pushing the u.s. out of the number one spot. harley-davidson will teach more people to drive. they're expanding their riding

academy. the program launched in 2000 offering classes on how to ride a motorcycle. sales have been declining for years and the main customer base is getting older. since 1990 the median age has increased from 32 to 47. and "star wars," the last jedi, was the biggest box office hit over the holiday weekend. the film made almost $100 million over the four-day holiday weekend keeping it in its top spot. it was followed by jumanji: welcome to the jungle and "brave." in the coming days, shopper, of course, will flood into stores across the country to use all those gift cards and return

a few unwanted presents. meg oliver has some tips for those holiday returns. >> reporter: it's the most wonderful time of year until -- >> do you look forward to returning gifts? >> no. >> reporter: stacy flynn takes her time picking out gifting hoping to avoid returning them. >> it could take a whole day, depending how much stuff you have to return. >> reporter: a survey estimates almost two-thirds of people made a return. return policies vary dramatically from no questions asked to strict rules which can aggravate the most season eed shopper. consumer report senior editor donna rosato. >> don't open a box. most stores will charge you a restocking fee on certain items especially electronics if you don't return it in original packaging. >> reporter: rosato says keep all receipts. if you're returning to a store,

bring your i.d. and keep an eye on the calendar. >> some are very generous, but others have very limited time to return. for example, most major stores will only allow you 90 days to return an item, but some as little as 30 or 15 days. >> reporter: most shoppers try to avoid one day in particular. >> you definitely don't go the day after christmas. i think we all know that rule. >> reporter: it's a rule that could save you time, money, and aggravation this holiday season. meg oliver, cbs news, new york. still ahead, all night long. we'll take a look at the highlights from last night's kennedy center honors. ship in juice from overseas. only florida's natural grows all of our oranges in florida. great taste. naturally. i used to have more hair. i used to have more color. and ... i used to have cancer.

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a plane heading from los angeles to tokyo had to turn around because a passenger had boarded the wrong flight. the all nippon airlines flight was headed. she live tweeted the plane's u-turn back. the pilot turned that plane right around. it's scheduled to depart today. it was a night to pay tribute to five legends in the arts as the four kennedy centers honors were broadcast last night. they were honored. carmen de lavallade, norman lear, gloria estefan, ll cool j, and stevie wonder performed one of his greatest hits.

♪ easy, easy like sunday morning ♪ it was in washington, d.c. on december 3rd. time is rubbing out to collect a $10 million reward in the unsolved largest art heist in u.s. history. works of art including paintings by rembrandt and da ga were stolen from an art museum in 1990. there are the empty frames. the deadline to collect the reward leading to the recovery of the 13 pieces will end at midnight on new year's eve. and the joy of christmas is captured on video when a little texas girl is surprised with a puppy. >> put your hands out. >> my god! >> camden said at first she thought it was a beginy big. no, when she opened her eyes,

her christmas wish had come true. she had wanted a dog for years. she named the puppy sugar. now you have to take good care of it, camden. this is the "cbs morning news." i'm brook silva-braga. ir® works in just one week. with the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and wrinkles. one week? that definitely works! rapid wrinkle repair®. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena®. see what's possible. some attention...pick 2 for 5 deal is gaining just like we thought, more taste is coming to the new menu.

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recapping our top stories this morning, millions of people are waking up to freezing cold temperatures. windchill advisories are in effect from montana to maine. more heavy snow is expected around the great lakes. in erie, pennsylvania, more than 8 inches of snow has fallen. president trump took aim at the russian investigation calling the dossier bogus and a, quote, crooked hillary pile of garbage. he also went after obamacare saying the very unpopular and unfair individual mandate has been terminated. as the holiday season continues the u.s. is also entering peak flu season and i a cording to the centers for

disease control say many can die from the complications from the flu each year. >> reporter: earlier this month rame ebrahim had a flare-up. >> he had a minor cough so we thought it was asthma. >> reporter: the diagnosis was flu and the virus was attacking his lungs. he spent the week in intensive care. this season could be a nasty one. nearly double the number from the week before. dr. mary healy is an infectious disease doctor. >> it looks like we're really starting to get into the season in earnest, and that seems to be the trend certainly nationally as well.

>> reporter: what concerns experts is the flu season that just concluded in australia, which sometimes can preview the season here. australia had its most severe flu season in five years and the vaccine used there is the same one used here. it's believed that one of the strains covered mutated making vaccine only 10% effective. >> if you look at the cdc data, we don't have evidence that the virus has changed significantly. so hopefully we're not going to face the same situation. >> influenza vaccine takes months to make and scientists are looking at new ways to make it so when viruses mutate, they can make a new vaccine. in the meantime the cdc recommends getting immunized even if it ontario gives you a small amount of protection. coming up on "cbs this

morning," hotels tack on pricey fees that may mislead you. ahead, the hotel chain resort fees and why efforts to crack down on them has become more difficult. plus, what would the father of a nuclear arms weapon think about north korea. we'll speak with his daughter. and we'll sit down with lionel richie. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thank so much for watching. i'm brook silva-braga. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ we're here when you're ready.

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a massive fire breaks out in the delaware county apartment complex, leaving a family trapped, how crews were able to rescue that family. and a teenager accused of killing two other teens in south philadelphia faces a judge, next step in brandon oliveri's case. we will not be breaking the freezing mark today this is a live look from the art museum, we will tell you how high the sun will go and it won't go very high. wednesday december between the i'm rahel solomon. jim donovan has the morning off. lets have a check of the forecast with katie and pat gallen in for meisha. >> my weather forecast, it stinks out there, windy, brutal. as for roadways, not that bad with the weather. different story. >> i feel like usually is there annex s