the big chill. a bitter blast of arctic air blasts the eastern seaboard. unconstitutional. a federal judge delivers a major blow to the president's health care reform law. and free agent shocker. baseball ace cliff lee pulls a stunner leaving tens of millions baseball ace cliff lee pulls a stunner leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody. good to see you on this tuesday. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen.

we begin with the bone-chilling weather that's gripping much of the country. the mid-winterlike storm system has socked the midwest and is now blasting most of the eastern seaboard. this morning the arctic mass is triggering dangerously low windchills from florida to the northeast. dean brooks has our report. >> reporter: howling 50-mile-per-hour winds that produced blizzards and whiteout conditions lashed the great lakes region and drove temperatures into the 20s and teens deep into the south. >> the space heater following me would be nice. >> a lot of folks don't have heat. so this kind of cold air is really difficult to cope with. >> reporter: in indiana, traction is hard to come by. >> you can see that that truck that's trying to move it is just sliding on the ice. >> reporter: drifts as high as six feet have caused major traffic delays and put lives at risk. >> i don't care what the freight is. i'll park it. my life or anybody else's life isn't worth the freight that's in that box. >> reporter: motorists were stranded for 12 hours near interstate 65 in indiana, when

an accident boxed them in. >> been on the road an hour we've made about eight miles. >> really? >> yeah. >> so you're giving up? >> we're giving up. >> reporter: it snowed all day in cleveland, accumulating seven inches. schools were closed or delayed there and in the pittsburgh area. waves menaced chicago's lake shore drive, and the plunging temperatures created another issue for travelers. what's the deal here? was this ice? >> the roads are ice. it's probably too cold for the salt to work. >> reporter: the frigid weather is expected to continue through the middle of the week, and then, on thursday, a brand-new storm is expected to land on the midwest with both boots. dean reynolds, cbs news, saint joseph, michigan. >> these freezing temperatures in the south have citrus growers scrambling to try and save their crops. once temperatures fall below 26 degrees for more than four hours the crops are at risk and frozen crops and prices at the grocery store will jump. farmers are used to dealing with freezing temperatures, but this year's freeze is harsher and

earlier than usual. republicans are hailing a ruling by a federal judge. it struck down a key provision of president obama's health care law. at issue, the part of the law requiring all americans to buy health insurance. a federal appeals judge in virginia ruled that part of the law is unconstitutional. but judge henry hudson says the law can remain in effect while appeals are made. part of the health care law that mandates insurance coverage isn't scheduled to begin until 2014. but the next legal stop for the ruling is the circuit court of appeals in richmond. the white house says the law will ultimately be upheld. >> we're confident that it is constitutional, and quite frankly, of the three courts that have rendered decisions on this question, two have ruled in our favor. >> the appeal is expected to reach the supreme court, but it may be a year or two before it gets there. the senate could pass the compromise tax bill as early as today. the president reached a compromise with republican leaders monday during a procedural vote to move forward.

preeti arla is in washington. preeti, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, terrell. the bill cleared a procedural hurdle by a vote of 83-15, many more than the 60 votes necessary. and while the senate is expected to quickly approve this, there seems to be a tough fight ahead in the house. with the senate on track to approve this tax deal as early as tonight, president obama is urging house democrats to get on board. >> if there's one thing we can agree on, it's the urgent work of protecting middle-class families, removing uncertainty for america's businesses, and giving our economy a boost. >> reporter: he turned up the pressure monday after the senate overwhelmingly decided to move ahead with a final vote either late today or tomorrow. the measure would continue long-term unemployment benefits, and extend all bush-era tax cuts for two years. >> we're telling the american people to keep money that's rightfully theirs so they can spend it and invest it as they please. >> plain and simple.

this bipartisan compromise is about creating jobs. >> reporter: if the senate approves the bill it will go to the house where it faces stiff opposition. many democrats are especially unhappy with the provision they believe favors the rich. >> there's much consternation in the house about the estate tax. i expect there to be some consideration of that. >> reporter: leading democrats want to raise the estate tax. if they do, the bill would go back to the senate, possibly putting the whole deal in jeopardy. >> i understand those concerns. i share some of them. but that's the nature of compromise. >> reporter: house leaders say no matter what, they hope to get a bill to the president by the end of the week. and house democrats are scheduled to meet behind closed doors later today to discuss the package. terrell? >> preeti arla in washington with our report this morning. thank you. wikileaks founder julian assange is due in a london court today. he'll fight his extradition to sweden. assange has been in custody

since last tuesday. he's wanted in sweden for questioning in two sex crimes investigations. assange says he's innocent. his supporters say he's being targeted because of wikileaks' release of secret u.s. diplomatic tapes. veteran american diplomat richard holbrooke is being remembered this morning for his dedicated public service, and no-nonsense attitude. holbrooke died last night in washington. he had just had surgery to repair a tear in his aorta. holbrooke was 69 years old. monday afternoon, the president paid homage to holbrooke. >> he is simply one of the giants of american foreign policy. america is more secure and the world is a safer place because of the work of ambassador richard holbrooke. >> david martin has more. >> reporter: richard holbrooke was a legendary multitasker famous for both his effectiveness as a diplomat, and his ambition to become secretary of state. when president obama picked hillary clinton as his secretary of state, holbrooke signed on for arguably the second-hardest

job in the department, special representative for pakistan and afghanistan. >> it's going to be a long, difficult struggle. and we require honesty and candor with the international public, the american public, and ourselves to proceed. >> reporter: he was a key player in afghan war policy. although he was said to have rocky relations with the leaders of both afghanistan and pakistan. rumors routinely circulated that he was about to quit or be fired. which may have just been wishful thinking on the part of his bureaucratic opponents. >> ask not -- >> reporter: he had served every democratic president since john f. kennedy, beginning with vietnam, where he learned early lessons in the limits of american power and rising to public attention as the negotiator who brokered a peace deal to end ethnic cleansing in the balkans. his job as special representative for pakistan and afghanistan made him the civilian equivalent of a four-star general. although he commanded a much

smaller army of agricultural workers and other aide specialists. at the age of 69, holbrooke was said to have resigned himself to the fact that he was never going to be secretary of state. the job as special representative for pakistan and afghanistan was to have been his last government assignment. david martin, cbs news, washington. just ahead on the "morning news" on a tuesday, a cruise ship safely docks after a high seas scare. plus action star hugh jackman in a high-flying stunt that goes wrong for the oprah winfrey show. this is the "cbs morning news." "cbs morning news." knows how to make things

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>> all hell broke loose. you know, everybody's beds, who was in their beds got thrown from side to side like a rag doll. >> people were screaming. i mean it was just like "titanic," what you hear, with the creaking, and the thrashing of the boat, and the screaming. i'll never forget it as long as i live. >> the cruise line is giving the passengers a full refund for the trip. convicted ponzi swindler bernard madoff will not be going to the funeral of his son mark. madoff has decided against attending services in new york where mark madoff committed suicide on saturday, that is to spare the feelings of mark's wife and children. madoff will attend the private service for his son at the north carolina prison where he is serving a 150-year term. "cbs moneywatch" time on a tuesday. stocks in asia got a boost this morning. ashley morrison is here with more. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. asian markets got a lift from upbeat economic news from china. the nikkei rebounded to gain a fraction while hong kong's hang seng finished higher about half

a percent. today wall street gets the latest on retail sales and inflation. on monday stocks finished mixed. the dow gains 18 points to close at its highest point in two years, while the nasdaq lost 12. the federal reserve holds its last meeting of the year today in washington. wall street is betting the central bank will signal it's willing to buy more government bonds if the economy needs the extra boost. the fed has already committed to buying $600 billion of government debt to help keep interest rates low and support job growth. for the first time in years, consumers are paying more for personal computers. according to "the wall street journal," the average retail price for a new pc last month was $615, up more than 6% compared to last year. that reverses a trend that saw computers getting cheaper, even as they got more powerful, as competition forced prices lower. continental airlines is now allowing passengers to lock in

ticket prices for a small fee. the carrier's new fare lock system lets you hold a reservation and lock in a quoted ticket price for up to a week. the cost is between $5 and $9, depending on how long the reservation is put on hold. and a new app for the iphone lets you keep close tabs on your friends. the google latitude app allows users to see exactly where their friends are and vice versa. using the phone's mapping service. the feature could catch on, especially with parents trying to find out where their kids are. if you're the private type, though, you can set it so that no one can see your location, but you can see everyone else's. and this sounds a little creepy to me, terrell. >> i can already see the problems that this app is going to cause. >> me, too. we need to figure out how we set it so no one can see where we are. >> right. you can run but you can't hide with this one. ashley morrison in new york. thanks. actor hugh jackman was injured this morning doing a stunt for the oprah winfrey show.

he was zip lining from the top of the sydney opera house in australia onto the stage. the actor said he hit the brakes too late causing him to smack his face on some scaffolding hurting his eye. paramedics said he was okay. the stunt was for a taping of the oprah winfrey show. he was accompanied by american audience members who traveled with her to the land down under. only oprah could pull that off. straight ahead on your tuesday morning we'll have your weather forecast and in sports, surprise, surprise free agent ace cliff lee shocks the baseball world with his destination for 2011. r 2011. if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1.

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my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. in new york, cloudy, 24. windy and 62 in miami. partly cloudy, 19 in chicago. sunny, 66 in dallas. and 69 and sunny in los angeles. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows cloudy skies in the northeast. more snow and rain is falling in the northwest. going to be clear across the south. and the southwest to the southeast. later today, cold in the northeast, with temperatures in the 20s. another round of wet weather is moving to the northwest where a strong storm system spinning off the coast. and the southeast is going to remain storm free but still cold. in sports this morning, cliff lee is returning to the phillies. lee helped philadelphia get to the world series in 2009. the free agent pitcher has reportedly reached a five-year deal for $100 million. one more time, $100 million with

the phillies. he rejected longer and more expensive offers from the yankees and texas rangers. in the nfl, brett favre, that record, that streak hat he thad of 297 straight starts. done, shoulder injury forced minnesota's favre to miss a start for the first time since 1992. the vikings were beat badly. the giants rolled for a 21-3 win in detroit. that was the same game that was delayed by the snow and collapse of the minneapolis metrodome. in overtime, matt schaub was intercepted by josh wilson of baltimore. he returned it 12 yards for the winning touchdown. 34-28 victory keeps the ravens one game behind pittsburgh in the afc north, and punishment for the new york jets strength and conditioning coach. he tripped miami nolan carroll on the sidelines. sal alosi has been suspended for the rest of the season without pay. >> if i could go back and do it

again, i sure as heck -- i sure as heck would take a step back. it was just a situation where i just wasn't thinking. >> alosi was also fined an additional $25,000. take a quick break. another look at this morning's top stories coming up. and striking a middle ground. new political movement hopes to be the antidote to radical politics. radical politics. at purina one, we want your dog to be as healthy as possible. so, we set out to discover the science in some of nature's best ingredients. we created purina one with smartblend. new, delicious shredded morsels and crunchy bites, with real meat, wholesome grains and antioxidants, for strong muscles, vital energy, a healthy immune system, and a real difference in your dog. purina one improved with smartblend. discover what one can do.

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on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. colder than normal air hitting the southeast. warm air is in place in the southwest and southern plains. the northeast is cold, windy and seeing snow showers. the northwest can expect more rain and snow as a system moves ashore. here's a look at the top stories on this tuesday. an arctic air mass is bringing bone-chilling temperatures to the east coast. there are below freezing temperatures in florida and georgia and president obama's tax deal, republican leaders

made it through its first test in the senate. a final vote could come as early as today. in a surprise move michael steele says he plans to fight to keep his job as chairman of the republican national committee. the embattled steele told members of the committee monday night that the party's work is not done. steele was the first african-american chair of the gop. he's been at odds with party leaders who are backing challengers. the committee votes in january. here in new york, a new group is hoping to transform the political landscape as we know it. the organization called no labels launched monday. randall pinkston reports. >> and to the republic for which it stands -- >> reporter: people and politicians tired of excessive partisanship in washington are launching a movement to do something about it. >> i think it's really a search for common sense, and putting labels behind us, and putting our country in front. >> reporter: these democrats, republicans and independents are banding together under no labels. >> the radical sides of our parties are a lot like that crazy relative at your thanksgiving dinner. the one that everybody just smiles and nods and ignores.

however, that crazy relative has taken over thanksgiving dinner and we want it back. >> reporter: they say no labels is not a third party but a new grassroots movement. focusing on ending the name calling and working across party lines to get things done. >> we've got to put pressure on our leaders in both parties to compromise. >> reporter: the founders of the movement urge their supporters to go back home and recruit more no label members in their communities. mark mckennen helped create no labels and says the key is to mobilize enough people to get washington's attention. >> politicians respond to numbers. and if people get organized it shows they have numbers, they can have a real impact. >> reporter: no labels is hoping to have the same kind of impact the tea party had in the midterm election, supporting democratic, republican, and independent candidates who really represent the center, not the right or the left. many thought michael bloomberg fit the bill for president. he was a panelist at today's launch. but insists he will not make a

run for the white house in 2012. randall pinkston, cbs news, new york. coming up in a couple of hours from now, it is awards season. this morning on "the early show," the announcement of this year's golden globe nominations. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." " ah, it's stinging a little bit more than usual! yeah, you'll get used to it.

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hello again on this tuesday morning. it's cold outside. >> it's like 20 degrees. we have clear skies from yesterday's overcast. it's going to be a cold one. at lunch at 30. 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with temperatures in the low to mid-20s. this wasn't his plan. hear what defense attorneys for the man accused of blowing up a recruiting center are saying. and how a 6-year-old falling

off a school bus could have been finished. a feet for the finish. the ravens hang on during overtime. we will have more in a couple of minutes. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

hello -- hello again. in 30 seconds it will be 5:00. it's very cold outside. marty is in first warning weather. >> temperatures are at t