last ditch pitch. president obama holds apunprecedented health care reform summit that will be broadcast live. shock at seaworld. a guy and killer whale drown as veteran trainer. >> grabbed her, started thrashing around. and he was thrashing her around pretty good. it was violent. and another blast. a second winter storm in as many days is ready to pound the northeast with heavy snow and strong winds. this is the c"cbs morning news" for thursday, february 25th, this is the c"cbs morning news" for thursday, february 25th, 2010. captioning funded by cbs good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle gielan. this morning president obama hosts a high risk televised debate on reforming health care.

the stakes are high not just for the future of health care, but politically, as well. 40 high ranking members of congress will attend and some lawmakers are already saying an agreement will be be impossible to reach. tara mergener is in washington with details. good morning, tara. >> reporter: well, by most account, expectations are very low for actually breaking this impasse. but the president is determined to try. republicans are holding out little hope for compromise at today's health care summit. the gop wants president obama to pull the plug on his trillion dollar bill and start all over again. >> unless they're willing to do that, i think it's nearly impossible to imagine a scenario under which we could reach an agreement. >> reporter: but the president has no intention of giving in. >> i know that there are many who have been skeptical of our reform efforts. . right up up yesterday, he was still campaigning if an overhaul. today he'll lead talks on several topics including controlling costs and expanding

coverage. he's hoping to convince the american public and skeptical members of his own party that his plan is the best way to overhaul the nation's health care industry. republicans have been repeatedly criticized for not bringing enough ideas to the table. but ahead of today's meeting, had they said they now have specific solutions. >> we have six steps that we think will make our current health care system work better. >> reporter: analysts say the president may have to compromise to get results. >> this is a signature domestic issue. he campaigned on having this pass in his first year. so it is really a do or die summit for this white house and the democrats. >> reporter: even without republican backing, democrats could still push through health care reform on their own. a procedure known as reconciliation would require only a simple majority. but so far democrats have been reluctant to use such strong-armed tactics.

and skeptics say it may be more like scoring points in an election year than actual problem solving. michelle, back to you. >> and speaking of problem solving, apparently there was some major issues to work out before the two sides could even sit down, weren't there? >> reporter: there were. it's all about the setup. apparently the white house wanted to put a podium up and republicans said no. that would make it look like the president was giving them a lecture. so the white house wanted a table shaped more like this with the president at the center. republicans said no to that. they said the table should look like this, making every more equal, and the white house apparently has said okay. should be interesting. >> all right. tara mergener in washington. thanks. seaworld says it hasn't decide what had to do with a giant killer whale that killed one of its trainers in orlando. seaworld has suspended its kaler what i will shows at all of its parks. on wednesday, an experienced trainer was grabbed by the park's largest whale and

drowned. kelly cobiella reports. >> reporter: the popular shamu show at orlando seaworld hasn't yet begun when the park's laernlg kirl whale, a 12,300 pound male or came named tilikum swam toward the female trainer dawn brancheau and according to one witness pulled her understand water. >> she was standing on the racks right above the viewing area. like he took off, and came back, he jumped up, grabbed her, started thrashing around. and then she shoe fell off and he was thrashing her around pretty good. it was violent. >> reporter: a tourist at an earlier show said the animal seemed agitated. >> i was afraid that they hadn't gotten to the pool since the whale it was clear it was upset and just my prayers go to that person's family. >> reporter: seaworld closed part of the park and canceled killer whale shows in orlando and san diego. >> we have never in the history of our parks experienced an incident like this. >> reporter: yet this killer whale reportedly has been involved in another death at seaworld.

in july of 1999, a man apparently stayed in the park after hours, jumped into the animal's tank and was killed. and in 1991, before being sent to seaworld orlando, tilikum and two female killer whales dlouned a young train at canadian park. other killer whales have been known to turn on hear rarns. in 2004 at seaworld in san antonio, and in 2006 at seaworld in san diego. the worst of the injuries in those cases was a broken foot. investigators believe this trainer, who is described as one of the park's most experienced, may have schlepped and fallen into the tank. this killer whale normally doesn't have swimmers because of his size and strength. he's primarily used for splashing the audience. kelly cobiella, cbs news, miami. another day, another winter storm. this morning the second storm in as days is about to pound the mid-atlantic states and northeast and this one's a kuzzy, described as significant and long lasting.

the first storm dumped a foot or more of snow on areas from eastern pennsylvania to northern new england. albany, new york got up to two feet of snow. and at least three deaths are blamed on the storm. some 150,000 customers lost power. a jobs creation bill was passed by the senate and now moves to the house. the bill got bipartisan support passing 70-28. it has two maim provisions, hiring tax breaks for businesses and an extension of highway funding. some house members think the $35 billion proposal doesn't do enough, but house leaders hope to get it passed this week. the nation's controversial counterterrorism surveillance law, the patriot act, has been extended by the senate. the senate passed a one year extension of the law while packing off adding new provisions for privacy protection. the measure now goes to the house. nato forces in southern afghanistan are moving to flush out the last pockets of resistance from the taliban stronghold of marjah.

this morning control of marjah was handed over to civilian shorts. u.s. marines led a 15,000 strong international force in the largest military operation in afghanistan since the start of the war. former cuban leader fidel castro is doing exceptionally well this morning koorgts president of brazil. castro met yesterday with diesel have a, cuban it tv showed he's pictures. castro has not been seen in public since falling ill with an undisclosed ailment 3 1/2 years ago. just ahead, toyota's president gets a capitol hill grilling. plus, boxing brawl. a spectator gets koed after storming the ring. first katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." did it former government employees limit investigations into toyota? a special cbs news investigation reveals more to the story that you haven't heard so far. that's tonight only on the "cbs evening news." hey!

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it was a unique experience for the head of of wootd's auto make per temperature tow's president faced criticism as he testified and apologized for safety defects lead to go 34 deaths in the country. whit johnson has the story. >> reporter: toyota's president took full responsibility for his company's safety blunders. but for angry lawmakers, it wasn't enough. >> has toyota disclosed all information about other potential safety defects? >> translator: i do not know the specifics. >> reporter: as the grand so that of the company's founder, akio toyoda is part of japan's corporate royalty, but here in washington, toyota admitted it losing sight of priorities. he said the automaker's business growth overshadowed its commitment to safety. having already recalled more than 8 million vehicles, toyota promised to put the company back on track. >> i have personally placed the

highest priority on improving quality over quantity. >> reporter: anger here in congress is directed not just at toyota, but at the transportation department. lawmakers accuse safety officials of dropping the ball on thousands of complaints about runaway engines. >> nhtsa failed the taxpayers, toyota failed their customers. >> reporter: in particular, lawmakers wanted to know whether safety officials were too chummy with the auto industry, relying on manufacturers to volunteer safety information. >> nhtsa is supposed to be an watch dog, but has instead become a lap dog. >> we've been a lap dog for nobody. >> reporter: ray lahood promised to continue reviewing toyota electronic system and whether it has played a role in sudden accelerations. his pledge to congress, to work 24/7 until all toyotas are safe. whit johnson, cbs news, washington. on the cbs "moneywatch," stocks in asia edged down this morning. and emily smith is here in new york with that and more. emily, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning. the continuing debt problems of greece through a sdar into most asian markets. p nikkei lost almost 1%, while the hang seng closed down a fraction. wall street reversed a two day slide where the dow gained 9 # points. the nasdaq was up 3 # # 2. vip toss will get a look at the latest unemployment numbers. there's yet another auto recall, this time for chrysler. the dough is asking the owners of more than 355,000 of its minivans to take them to deal ners a few months to replace crash sensors that help to control the air bags. the company says the sensors can crack and fail. the hummer is now history. gm says it's shut do you think the brand after a deal to sell to a chinese company fell lieu. hummers became a status symbol until high gas prices drove them out of fashion. well, federal regulators have voted to impose controversial curbs on short sell which go is a practice in which investors bet against stocks. the move by the securities and exchange commission will help prevent downward price spirals

that can increase market turmoil. under the new rule, a short selling circuit bringer is triggered when a stock falls 10% or more. and finally, some of the e from the airlines in decade, japan and i wears will introduce women only bath rooms on its plaeps. they were responding to, quote, numerous requests for this service. and i'm afraid they're going to find -- these women will find ms are not always cleaner. >> yeah. and there will be a line all the way town the aisle, right? >> like at the movie heater. funny. >> emily smith, thanks. here's one for you. a fight fan in chili learned the hard twi leave to the professionals. after a knockout in a boxing match, spectator stormed the ring starting a big brawl. several people swung at the boxer. one unsuspecting man seen in a heavy jacket was knocked out cold and landed flat on the canvas. he was taken to the hospital. but did not suffer any serious injuries. of course except to his pride.

straight ahead, yours thursday morning weather. and in sports, a frightening high speed crash for women bobsledders at the vancouver olympics. [ female announcer ] we all love. ♪ we all share. ♪ we all create. ♪ and we all get dirty. try new and improved all with more cleaning ingredients. all's trusted, powerful stainlifters help get your whole wash incredibly clean. and costs up to 40% less than the leading brand. for all your laundry, it's all good. hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me.

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time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows that a monster storm is now just off the eastern seaboard. skies have cleared over the south. and it's a clear morning across the midwest and plains. later today, a heavy mix of rain, sleet and snow will be spreading over the mid-atlantic states and northeast. most coastal locations will receive mainly rain. this mixed precipitation will last into friday and it will be dry across the plains and west coast. at the winter olympics, a big day for american women even though lindsey vonn suffered another painful crash. this times of in the giant slalom. halfway down the foggy course, vonn lost her balance and crashed in to the fence breaking her right pinky finger and banging her hip and chin on the hard packed snow. it's unclear if he'll be able to ski in the slalom on friday. there was another scary crash wednesday in the two women bobsled. the german sled overturned. the brake woman fell out the back. and the sled banged its way down

the rack with the driver inside. both women walked away luckily. now, later on, though, the american team, erin pac and elana meyers, had good run to take the bronze medal. ? n. speed skating, the u.s. women indicated welled and had a bit of good luck. during the race, a skater from south korea bumped one from china. that south korean team member was disqualified giving the americans the bronze. finally, to men's hockey. and team usa versus switzerland. in the first two periods, the goalies ruled. there was no score for either side. then in the third, zack pa recity kicked it into gear scoring first on a power play and again with seconds to go to an empty net. the u.s. wins 2-0 and moves to the semifinals friday against finland. so let's take a look at the medal count after wednesday's olympic action. the u.s. leads with 28 total medals followed by germany and norway. but host canada is moving up.

canadians took four medals yesterday, including a gold. when we return, we'll take another look at this morning's top stories. and power players. a glimpse at the future of energy technology. ,,,,,,,,

on the "cbs morning news," here's look at today's weather. a mix of heavy rain, sleet and snow will be spreading over the mid atlantic states and northeast. it will last right through the night and in tory. and it will be cool but dry across the deep south. here's another look at this morning's top stories. executives at seaworld in orlando can't explain why a giant killer whale grabbed an experienced trainer and pulled her under water. she drowned as horrified visitors watched. and president obama hosts a televised health care summit this morning, about 40 members of congress will attend. but some lawmakers are already

saying it will be impossible to reach a deal. a california company has unveiled what it believes may be the future of energy production. it's called a bloom box. it's a fuel cell that's able to supply enough energy to power an entire home. john blackstone has details. >> reporter: the unveiling of a gray box the size of a parking space been surrounded by such hype. >> it's my baby. isn't she beautiful is this. >> reporter: but its indiana sven tore says what's inside the box can supply the world with clean, cheap energy. >> the technology simply is sand. >> reporter: the sand is the raw material used to make these waivers that can make electricity. >> what i want to introduce to you, the bloom energy fuel cell. >> reporter: bloom's fuel cell works like this, oxygen is pulled in on one side, natural gas on the other. the two combine inside the cell to create a chemical rooe reaction that produces electricity. no burning, no combustion, no

power leans from outside. bloom's founder has persuaded some big names that by using sand, can he make fuel cells that are efficient and inexpensive. >> will it work for 10 or 20 years without something going wrong some we'll find out. >> reporter: bloom energy says the best proof that its fuel cells work is in the ones already working like these at ebay's headquarters. but bloom is not the only company pursuing this kind of technology. among bloom's many competitors, utc power has built fuel cells for some businesses. now the race is on to see who can make them affordable. a half dozen big companies have already bought bloom boxes at a cost of $700,000 to $800,000. >> there's always the hope that the price will come all the way down like it did with computers. >> reporter: bloom's goal is a $3,000 box that anybody can use to power their home. >> don't start signing up for orders yet. is this a product of the future. >> reporter: a future that's at least a decade away. tom blackstone, cbs news, san

jose, california. this morning on "the early show," an update from orlando on the deadly whale attack at seaworld. i'm michelle gielan and this is the "cbs morning news." everything about you is unique. including your skin. discover aveeno positively ageless. with shiitake complex, it helps speed... your skin's unique renewal process. 94% of women showed an improvement... in lines or wrinkles. for younger looking skin: aveeno positively ageless. - increase in 6 months. - pete, back it up! ( marker squeaking ) when business travel leaves you drained, re-charge with comfort suites. spacious rooms, free hi-speed internet, and free hot breakfast. comfort suites. power up.

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. good morning, maryland, now, don scott, marty bass, breaking news with the news team and wjz traffic control