for this wednesday. captioning funded by cbs it's wednesday, december 30th, 2015. this is the "cbs morning news." the midwest braces for historic flooding. millions are affected as major waterways reach record heights. >> if that river hits the targets that are predicted right now, at that chester gauge, that is higher than the mississippi river has ever been. >> the severe weather has create an air travel nightmare, stranding thousands of travelers

periods of the year. it's reported that the u.s. government was spying on i'll and it also swept up private conversations of u.s. lawmakers. good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs news headquarters in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. the potential for historic flooding in the midwest threatens to swamp hundreds of homes and stems from the massive storm system that killed 65 people as it moved across the united states. days of downpours in the midwest have caused rivers to swell. flooding threatens about 18 million americans. it is blamed for at least 13 deaths in missouri alone. rivers, including the mississippi, could reach historic levels in the next couple of days. don champion is in new york. don, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. right now, officials are monitoring 19 levees that are considered vulnerable. the floods have already shut

widespread evacuation. >> missouri in the midst of a very historic and dangerous flooding event. >> reporter: missouri governor jay nixon called in the national guard as the state grapples with deadly flooding. volunteers throughout st. louis worked late tuesday night laying out sandbags. the situation was dire at this water treatment plant in the town of high ridge. its reserves only contain enough water up to four days. >> we are all going to get through it and have to work together as a community and get through it. >> reporter: the winter deluge has left the town of union under water. rising water along the mississippi and other major rivers have forced people out. >> we took everything important out of aurour basement which is strictly storage anyone and cleaned the house out of clothes and things that can't be replaced and important things,

worst by getting things up to higher grounds. >> reporter: water levels in some locations could exceed those not seen since the great flood the 1993 but officials maintain they are prepared. >> in terms of forecasting river levels we are light years better than '93. now we are putting in forecast rainfall so that has given us a much more heads-up. >> reporter: more than 20 people in missouri have been killed in the flooding. the mississippi river in st. louis is expected to reach nearly 15 feet above flood stage in st. louis tomorrow, which would be the second worst flood on record. >> that's pretty bad. don champion in new york, thank you, don. travel delays associated with the weather are not expected to get any better for a few days. there are nearly 1,200 flights cancelled yesterday nationwide and 6,000 were delayed and already about a hundred flights have been cancelled.

long lines at chicago's o'hare airport. some passengers stranded in the terminal and became emotional. [ screaming ] this is bull [ bleep ], it's [ bleep ]. >> reporter: o'hare supplied cots for some passengers and others had to sleep on the floor. the system is linked to the system that brought the deadly tornadoes to the midwest. six inches fell in parts of new england and ten inches fell in western maine. more snow and ice is expected today. a moderate earthquake rattled southern california last night. the epi center of the magnitude 4.4 quake was northwest of san bernardino. dozens of aftershocks followed. there are no reports of damage or injuries, though. the national security agency faces new allegations this morning of spying on members of congress. "wall street journal" cites

ordered the nsa to eavesdrop on conversations between u.s. lawmakers and israeli officials. it was allegedly part of an effort to make sure the nuclear deal with iran was not derailed. a spokesperson for the national security council tells cbs news we are not going to comment on any specific alleged intelligence activities. we do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose. the so-called affluenza teenager could return to the united states sometime today. ethan couch and his mother were found this week in mexico after disappearing from texas. authorities believe the teen may have violated his probation for killing four people while driving drunk. it was a pizza order on a cell phone that led authorities to couch. >> reporter: mexican authorities

mother in port via are take. the 18-year-old apparently tried to disguise himself. the teenager's blond hair was dyed to dark brown. >> the plan to disappear, that they even had had something akin to a going away party before they left town. >> reporter: ethan couch was given probation and no jail time two years ago after killing four people in a drunk driving crash. during the trial, a psychologist testified that the teen suffered from affluenza, suggesting his parents' wealth left him without a sense of responsibility. authorities say they will try to transfer couch's case to an adult case. >> now that he is in custody, what do you want to happen to ethan couch this time around? >> well, i'd like for him to be held accountable. >> reporter: they will charge apprehension apprehension. >> do you want the full tens

>> i feel she needs to be incarcerated. >> reporter: omar villafranca, cbs news, ft. worth, texas. campaign 2016 has turned into an escalating showdown between front runners donald trump and hillary clinton. the billionaire is stepping up attacks against the former first lady, including comments about former president bill clinton's affairs. kenneth craig reports from new york. >> reporter: donald trump touched down in omaha tuesday night and ratcheted up his attacks on democratic front-runner hillary clinton. >> franklin, hillary brought up the whole thing with sexist and all i did was reverse it on her because she has a major problem and it happens to be right in her house. >> reporter: trump claims trump's extra mayor tall affair with monica lewinsky is fair gape. campaigning in new hampshire

swipe at trump's campaign slogan. >> i think america is great and if we work together, we will be greater. >> reporter: clinton sent out a fund-raising letter saying we can't make donald trump stop talking but we can make sure he never, ever becomes president. >> if it's got to be a woman, with which i'm all in favor hillary. >> reporter: trump is planning to use savings on ad buys in early voting states. kenneth craig, cbs news. the republican field of presidential candidates is smaller this morning. george pataki dropped out of the race tuesday. a campaign official said the former new york governor struggled to raise money or gain media attention. overseas now. coalition air strikes have killed an isis leader linked to last month's attack in paris. a u.s. official confirmed

adan and say he is linked to the paris attacks and planning more violence against the west. nine other isis leaders have been killed in the past month. coming up on the "morning news." cold case. the government investigates blue bell ice cream following a list

this is the "cbs morning news." a former "glee" star is arrested and new training for chicago's cops. those are some of the headlines on the morning newsstand. the "chicago tribune" reports chicago's mayor is set to announce major changes today in training for police officers. it will emphasize deskaiting conflicts and including the goal to equip every officer with a taser by summer. the plan comes in the wake of high profile deadly shootings by police. "the hollywood reporter" says police aaggravated former "glee" arc mark salling on child pornography.

the show. police took the 33-year-old actor in custody on sunday and he is free on $20,000 bail. "the new york times" reports on a possible data leak affecting millions of california voters. a database of more than as 191 voters nationwide had reportedly been posted publicly online by a third-party. it allegedly includes names and addresses and birth dates and whether the person voted in elections since 2000. twitter cracks down on threats and the fed looks into tainted ice cream. jill wagner is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. the justice department is now investigating what management at a texas ice cream maker knew did dangers in a ice cream process. an fda investigation found the bacteria in each of its three plants and a number of safety problems. blue bell did not responsible to

the markets reopen in a few hours fresh off a rally boosted by the tech and health care industries. the dow gained 192 points yesterday. the s&p 500 added 21 and the nasdaq added nearly 67 points. fears over falling oil and commodity prices. twitter is clamping down on threats and hate speech on its service. users who violate the new policy by making violent threats will face suspension or they could be banned. this comes as twitter and other services face pressure with extremists using them as recruiting tools. seaworld is challenging a ruling banning it from breeding its captive killer whales. in october they were prevent from breeding whales at its san diego park or trading or transferring the whales elsewhere. seaworld claims the commission

a german entrepreneur gave 2600 people $1,100 a week. some spent it on partying, on education, and to expand a small business. >> i read an article on this experiment. the organizers said, you know, it changed people's lives in a number of ways but everyone said they were sleeping better at night. i don't think that is surprising.

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learn more on specially marked packs. light & fit. feel free to enjoy. here in new york city, times square will be packed on new year's eve as revelers watch the 2016. it poses a major security challenge for the nypd but the don dahler reports. >> reporter: with over a million people expected in mid-town manhattan and a billion more watching on tv, new york officials are determined to make

earth. mayor bill de blasio. >> we are the best prepared city in the country and we know how to do big event and shown it time and time again. >> reporter: snipers will be on rooftops and garbage cans removed and manhole covers sealed shut and radiation detectors deployed. this year, the nypd established a 500-person special response unit that holds regular drills. at a new operation center in downtown manhattan, officers monitor thousands of camera feeds. on new year's eve, the room will be staffed with members of governmental and private agencies. last month, chief james o'neill gave us a tour. do you think people should feel safe? >> you know what? i'm not going to tell people not to be concerned but i'm going to tell them to feel safe. i don't think anyone does this work better than the nypd, along with our federal partners.

pair paris and california terror attacks a fresh. the pattern this year is terror attacks on small, soft targets with focus on times square. what about the thousands of businesses outside this area? >> both to capabilities on the threat analysis beforehand, that side of it, as well as the capability to respond, very quickly. we believe we are as prepared as anybody can be. >> reporter: spectators coming to this area will all be searched. they are required to get to their places early and stay there. they will also not be allowed to bring in large bags, backpacks or alcohol. don dahler, cbs news, new york. in sports now. the philadelphia eagles fired coach chip kelly. kelly was fired with one game left in his third season falling a pair of 10-6 seasons. the eagles have won just six games this year. kelly came to philadelphia with high expectations following great success at the university of oregon. in college hoops, the top ranked michigan state spartans were handed their first loss of

the spartans played iowa in their big ten opener. peter jock scored 19 and the hawkeyes never trailed. iowa state beat michigan 83-70. still ahead, holding out hope. the search for country music singer craig strickland who is missing after a hunting trip in severe weather.know that i can put into words how happy i was when i quit. it's like losing some baggage, i don't have to carry it around with me anymore. chantix made it possible for me to quit smoking. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix definitely helped reduce my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you haveheart or blood vessel problems,

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here is another look at this morning's stop story. there are flooding concerns in the midwest, as rivers could reach historic levels. it follows days of heavy rain from a massive storm system that began soaking the area last weekend. floods threaten about 18 million americans.

country singer whose boat cap-sized in severe storms resumes today. bath road anthem leader craig strickland was reported missing on tuesday. in china eight more survivors of a collapsed mine were found. the mine collapsed on christmas day killing at least one worker. they waited five days for their rescue and nine are still missing. the sea lion we told you about trying to cross a california highway on monday camped out on tuesday and prompted marine biologists to tranquilize the 900-pound elephant sea lion. it's now been relocated to the sea. sure happy about that. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the biggest lies on the presidential campaign trail. i'm anne-marie green.

news." anybody who struggles with their weight and i'm at the head of that class, knows that it's not just about the weight; it's about something bigger. you've been fighting with then wrong tools; you've been looking in the wrong direction. so every time i tried and failed, and every time i tried again has brought me to this most powerful moment. to say, if not now, when?

a california woman is enjoying her newfound freedom, thanks to a special christmas gift. 21-year-old brenda gutierrez biaza got a robotic arm that attaches to her wheel cheer. her santa cruz community area raised $50,000 to help her buy it. she has a rare disease that limits the use of her arms. the first thing she did with the robotic arm was turn on her computer. is there a festival trying to change the color of classical music. fewer than 4% of classical musicians are african-american. but as lee cowan reports, it's

>> reporter: mark was seamless on this night in charleston, south carolina. remarkable because this was the very first time many of these musicians had ever played together. >> reporter: maestro marlon daniel conducts this festival called "the color of music" now in its third year. >> a lot of get pigeon holed into jazz and it's a big stereotype. they say there are not any musicians ever color doing classical music when there are tons of us. >> reporter: robert davis says in most symphonies he sticks out as a black classical artist but not here. >> you usually get to see the same ones. then i came down here and it's a whole other group and where are they coming from? so i was very shocked about

>> reporter: the festival also highlights black classical composers. on this night it was adolfus. historic black church, in june, a white gunman opened fire, killing nine. >> we are very lucky. >> reporter: businessman lee pringle who founded the event hopes sights like this will help diversify other orchestras. >> i think most orchestra want to change. they just don't know how to change. >> reporter: and how do they change? >> by having people at the table who look like me. >> music should be colorblind and to make it that way, you have to infuse in it all of the colors. >> reporter: a unique unit that, for a few days, at least, makes an especially powerful sound.

south carolina. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," more on allegations that white house spying swept up intelligence on u.s. lawmakers. we will hear from cbs news national security analyst. and questions about an old murder case in wisconsin. we talk with an actress from "the danish girl." that that is the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. i'm anne-marie green.