the motion is adopted. >> a done deal. congress passes president obama's tax cut compromise with republicans. free on bail. wikileaks founder julian assange is released from a london lock-up and pledges to continue blowing the whistle online. and larry's last stand. the king of cable finally hangs up his suspenders. >> thank you. and instead of good-bye, how about so long? >> this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, december 17th,

2010. good morning, everybody. good to see you on a friday. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen. it was seconds before midnight when congress passed the tax cut plan reached by president obama and republican leaders. the bill avoids an increase in income taxes and renews jobless benefits. after contentious debate and compromise, it'll now head to the white house. whit johnson is in washington with more. whit, good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning. despite the kicking and screaming, most democrats eventually went along with the president. in the end it was a bipartisan vote to jump-start the sluggish economy. >> the motion is adopted. >> reporter: the sweeping tax cut deal is now headed to president obama's desk. in a rare late-night session, the house widely approved the $858 billion measure ending days of bitter debate. >> i want the republicans to stop holding us hostage for hard-working americans to get a dime from this country. >> a gun is pointed at the head

of our taxpayers and it'll go off january 1st unless congress acts. >> reporter: the bills offers a two-year extension of bush-era tax cuts for everyone, extends long-term unemployment benefits, and cuts social security taxes for nearly every worker. president obama struck the deal with republicans a little more than a week ago. since then, democrats have accused him of caving to gop demands. >> let's be honest about what this deal is, a bipartisan deal gone bad. >> reporter: the biggest sticking point? an estate tax for the wealthy, which democrats tried but failed to remove. >> we should be a country that fights for those who really need the help. we should not be a country that says, you know what, if you're a billionaire, we want to give you a little bit more. >> while not perfect, this is the kind of action that most americans voted for last november. >> reporter: analysts predict the measure will give the economy at least a short-term boost, but it will also add billions to the deficit.

there was, also, bipartisan opposition to the bill but for different reasons. most democrats say it was too generous to the wealthy. republicans griped that none of it is paid for. terrell? >> whit johnson in washington for us this morning. whit, have a good weekend. thank you. >> back to the drawing board in the senate. a $1.3 trillion bill to fund the federal budget was pulled from the table late last night. senate republicans balked at the budget's cost and more than $8 billion in earmarks included earmarks are the home state pet projects paid for by tax dollars. two dozens senators, most republican, put earmarks in the bill even though they recently voted to ban that sort of funding. >> if you went to "h" in the dictionary and found "hypocrite," under that would be people who ask for earmarks but vote against them. >> a slimmed-down budget bill to keep the government running is likely to pass by saturday. aside from the budget bill the lame duck congress also will has other issues to take up

before the new year. expected to repeal the repeal of gays openly serving in the military and a nuclear arms treaty with russia and a bill to allow children of illegal immigrants to become u.s. citizens. the so-called dream act. this morning, relief expected from the bitter cold that's gripped the eastern seaboard. the freezing temperatures, snow and ice caused travel problems thursday in virginia, north carolina and maryland. thousands of people lost power, and dozens of flights were canceled. the freezing mix is blamed for at least four traffic deaths yesterday. and hundreds of accidents. >> i was coming down and hit a piece of ice in the road and it took control of my car and went straight into the ditch. >> and look at this picture from ohio. this is a lighthouse in the cleveland harbor encased in ice. take a look, almost looks like a popsicle almost. for the first time, a drug normally used to euthanize

animals was used to execute a human being. john david duty was executed last night in oklahoma, convicted of murdering his cell mate. he was given a three-drug cocktail including pentobarbitol, normally used in animals and as a sedative in humans replaced another in short supply. prison officials said quote there were no apparent issues. los angeles police released over 150 photos that may be related to the so-called grim sleeper serial killings found in the home and garage of suspect lonnie franklin accused in the murders of ten women. police say he could be involved in other murders and they need the public's help. >> lonnie franklin's rein of terror in the city of los angeles, which spanned well over two decades, culminating with almost a dozen murder victims, certainly needs to be investigated further. and we certainly do not believe that we are so lucky or so good as to know all his victims. >> all of his alleged victims were killed within a few miles of his home. wikileak founder julian

assange is out of jail and back at work. he arrived late last night in rural england in a supporter's mansion. he he will have to wear an electronic tag and report to police every day but he is free to work on his website, fighting extradition to sweden, a legal battle he says has roots across the atlantic. >> the extradition proceeding to sweden which is occurring in a very strange and unusual way is actually an attempt to get me into a jurisdiction which will then make it easier to extradite me to the united states. >> charlie d'agata has more. >> reporter: wikileaks founder julian assange walked free after spending more than a week in a london prison. >> well, it's great to smell fresh air of london again. >> reporter: a british judge released assange on $315,000 bail. the 39-year-old australian thanked celebrities who put up the cash and also thanked --

>> to all the people around the world who have had faith in me, who have supported my team while i've been away. >> reporter: assange is wanted in sweden for questioning over rape allegations. he's not been formally charged and denies the accusations. the judge rejected an appeal by prosecutors that assange would flee britain. he ordered assange to stay put at his friend's mansion outside london, wear an electronic tag and report to the police every evening. the decision to grant bail here at the high court is just the beginning of a long legal process. assange will be back in court for an extradition hearing early in the new year. >> i hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter. >> reporter: even while assange was locked up, his wikileaks website has been free to release hundreds of thousands of secret u.s. diplomatic documents. federal prosecutors in america

are reportedly trying to build a conspiracy case against him. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. it's cbs moneywatch time on a friday. mixed day for stocks in asia. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. ashley, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. investors were cautious following signals china will not raise interest rates. japan's nikkei lost a fraction, while hong kong's hang seng had a late-day rally finishing higher a quarter percent. today, wall street gets the leading economic indicator list for november. on thursday, stocks got a lift. the dow gained nearly 42 points while the nasdaq added 20. online shoppers have extra incentive today. more than 1500 retailers including macy's, toys are us and sears are taking part in the third annual free shipping friday guaranteeing free delivery by christmas eve if you order today. more than 60% of them have no restrictions or minimum purchases. a handful of retailers including amazon.com have extended their free shipping offers through

this weekend. washington's trying to crack down on debit card fees. the federal reserve proposed a 12 cent cap on the fees banks charge retailers for a transaction. that's far below the average of 50 cents they charge now. that would hit visa and mastercard where it hurts. both companies' stock took a plunge thursday. the proposal is still being debated. get ready to pay more at the supermarket. grocery prices grew by more than 11.5 times the overall inflation rate this year according to the government. and economists say things are going to get worse. higher costs for wheat, sugar, corn and soybeans are likely to push supermarket prices higher, next year, as well. and how's this for creepy? the coffin of jfk assassin lee harvey oswald sold at auction thursday for more than $87,000. the seller has had the coffin since oswald's body was exhumed

in 1981. no word yet on what the buyer might want to do with it. terrell, i think somebody's getting a surprise for christmas this year. >> you know, i'm a history buff. i get it. i just don't know if i would want that. >> a conversation piece, maybe. >> right, exactly. >> right? ashley morrison in new york, something like that. we'll stay with that and stick with that. appreciate it. still ahead on the morning news, larry king signs off one last time on his historic show. plus bus brawl, young girls caught on tape in a shocking attack. this is the "cbs morning news." hey, guys. printer's out of ink. just shake it. [ rattling ] [ male announcer ] need ink?

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♪ the best is yet to come ♪ the best is yet to come and, babe, won't that be fun ♪ >> tony bennett serenaded him, the president saluted his 25 years on the air. katie couric and other network news stars stopped by. it was all for larry king's final show on cnn last night,

it's the last of nearly 7,000 including about 50,000 interviews. at the end the 77-year-old king addressed his fans. >> i am -- i don't know what to say except to you, my audience, thank you. and instead of good-bye, how about, so long? >> king will continue to appear on cnn in occasional specials and plans to work in radio and he says have time for baseball. there is newly released security video this morning showing a violent incident aboard a seattle school bus. it happened last month. five teen-aged girls seen attacking another girl, who is pregnant. her boyfriend steps in but the fight goes on and investigators say several items were stolen. the oldest of the five attackers was 19 and later arrested and charged with assault. the other four are charged with second degree robbery.

in health news this morning, the swiss drugmaker roche defends the use of its popular breast cancer drug avastin. the fda says studies have failed to show it slows breast cancer or extends patients' lives. the company is taking the rare step of requesting a public hearing on the issue. avastin remains approved for colon, lung, kidney and brain cancer. private services planned for oscar-winning filmmaker blake edwards who died wednesday in santa monica, california. he directed more than 40 movies but will be best remembered for his comedies. edwards directed seven "pink panther" movies, along with "10" and "breakfast at tiffany's" and wrote and directed "victor, victoria," which starred his wife, julie andrews, of 42 years. blake edwards died of complications from pneumonia. he was 88 years old. ications of pneumonia. he was 88. because it was different

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scattered rain showers and the northeast will enjoy a sunny but chilly day. in sports this morning, the chargers charging toward a fifth straight afc west title. to san diego we go. philip rivers connected with receiver vincent jackson for three touchdowns against the 49ers, including a 58-yarder in the first quarter. san francisco looked like they scored in the second but a review of the play put the ball on the six inch line and the 49ers couldn't push it across. rivers and jackson went right back to work scoring on an 11-yard pass. a chargers full-back rushed for another touchdown right here and san diego gets the "w" 34-7. to the nba a wild finish in denver. late in the fourth quarter the nuggets steal the inbounds pass carmelo anthony lays it in with the lead over san antonio. seven seconds left, hitting a wild runner off the glass and then the assist buzzer but called for an offensive foul. spurs win this 113-112. in boston, the celtics gradually opened a big league

over the atlanta hawks. glenn davis 18 points and 10 rebounds. the celts won their 12th straight, 102-90. when we return this friday morning, we'll have another look at this morning's top stories and under fire. security guard describes his heroic actions during a florida school board shooting. we'll be right back. ♪ hey! wait up! ♪ [ female announcer ] you see a mud stain. but new wisk sees a particulate stain. with our breakthrough stain spectrum technology, wisk is engineered to fight all the major stain groups like particulates and oils. [ girl ] that lip gloss is soooo cute on you. [ female announcer ] you'll never look at stains the same way again. for a powerful clean against a full range of stains, use new wisk. fight stains with science.

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on the "cbs morning news," a look at today's weather. california will get rain in the valley and snow in the mountains. some areas around the great lakes are looking at a few inches of lake-effect snow. the southeast has rain and northern plains are sunny with temperatures in the teens. another look at this morning's top stories. late last night congress passed a tax cut compromise worked out by president obama and republican leaders. the bill also will cut social security taxes and extends long-term unemployment benefits. wikileaks founder julian assange arrived at a supportes's

estate in england last night. he's free on bail. assange is fighting extradition to sweden under house arrest but can resume work on his website. the security guard credited with saving lives at a florida school board shooting this week is speaking out. thursday mike jones provided new details about the incident. he also reenacted the horrific shoot-out. mark strassmann has the story. >> i wasn't in this building five minutes and i was in a gunfight. >> reporter: when clay duke held an entire school board hostage, mike jones suddenly faced a security chief's nightmare. he showed me how he hurried to the boardroom's back door. >> when i look in there, i see the shooter with a gun. and i seen all the board members and they were all sitting upright. i didn't have a shot. >> reporter: jones tried but failed to get duke out of the room, so he went to plan b. >> plan b was i ran outside to my car, which is parked right outside the back door here. grabbed some clips, .40 caliber, i had my .38 on, grabbed my bull proof vest, shrunk it on

came back to the door. >> i knew the fight was fixing to happen. >> please don't, please don't. please. >> he fired the first shot at the superintendent. i thought he was dead and i just opened the door and he and i went at it. i was opening the door with one hand and firing with the other hand. >> reporter: jones wounded duke at least three times in his back and midsection. >> but, man, he wouldn't go down. and then, and then he started shooting at the board members again so i kept shooting. >> reporter: for cover, jones showed me how he crawled behind the back row of chairs. >> i was firing shots on the ground like this trying to keep him pinned down and i looked and he wasn't moving. and i thought, okay, he's dead, the gunfight's over. about that time he pulled his gun to the head and squeezed the trigger. >> reporter: then the big surprise, miraculously, superintendent bill husfelt was alive. >> i just remember when he came up over that chair, i lost it. i went to my knees like this and started crying, like, oh, my god he's alive and i couldn't believe it. i looked up and the rest of them were up and i was like, yeah,

this is a miracle. >> reporter: mark strassmann, cbs news. and this morning on "the early show," we will hear from that man in an interview with security guard mike jones and his wife. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." seasonal flavors are here. t ♪ express yourself ♪ [ female announcer ] because coffee is like the holidays. it's better when you add your flavor. coffee-mate. from nestle. it's better when you add your flavor. the are now availableove about in our toploads. remarkable energy savings extraordinary capacity, introducing the no compromise kenmore elite topload washers save now at sears

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hello again, we had a weather thursday. three words, i hate snow. as a matter of fact, we have a broken sky conditions out there right now. you can see the stars and planet, we have a good amount of sun today. believe it or not, it's about five degrees warmer now than any other morning this week. it's in the low 20s. going to 34. in the news this morning, wintry weather hits baltimore. how the state's handling the

first cleanup. the tax cut compromise. the lawmakers make a vote. did the results fall in our favor? the ravens practice in doors, are they ready for the match up against the saints? fully we'll have more in a few minutes. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,