on the brink. world markets go into a tail spin after greece balks at the european debt deal. the defense rests. dr. conrad murray, charged in the death of michael jackson, decides not to testify. and wheels up. a polish jetliner makes a dramatic landing with more than 200 people aboard. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, november 2nd, 2011. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. we begin this morning with a

surprise move in greece that may delay or even derail the european debt deal and threatens the entire world economy. the greek cabinet ended a seven-hour meeting early this morning by agreeing to the prime minister's call for a referendum on the debt deal but also calls for the prime minister to resign. he faces a confidence vote on friday. the news that greece might reject the bailout sent stocks tumbling. japan's nikkei fell 2.2% this morning and that follows a big sell-off yesterday on wall street. the dow lost nearly 300 points and is up now just a half percentage point for the year. the nasdaq dropped 77. susan mcginnis is in washington with more on this. good morning, susan. >> reporter: good morning, betty. this announcement has hit the global markets very hard. the big fear is that a no vote by the greek people could completely unravel this european deal that took european leaders and banks so long to reach. ahead of tomorrow's g-20 summit, french president sarkozy and

german chancellor merkel are hold than an emergency meeting today to head off the crisis. the greek prime minister surprised everyone by announcing the european deal to save his own country would have to be approved by greek voters. the announcement sent world markets tumbling. >> the worst case scenario is right now that if greece is really rejecting the rescue package, the european rescue package, that it might blow up the whole euro system. >> reporter: putting the bailout plan to a national vote looks like an invitation to disaster. for months, greece has been rocked by violent demonstrations against cutbacks and tax hikes. the european rescue plan only cuts deeper. >> they have the capacity to do it and we will continue to work with them and consult with them as they do. >> reporter: president obama leaves tonight for the g-20 summit, but instead of dealing with plans to fix the stuttering global economy, the summit looks almost certain to be side-tracked by greece, a small

country causing some very big problems. so possible outcomes, greece ends up leaving the european union and on collapse takes place or a no vote could send greek into default and cause financial havoc across the world. betty? >> susan mcginnis in washington, thank you. for more on why the greek crisis means so much to the economy here at home, ashley morrison from cbs "moneywatch" joins us in new york. good morning, ashley. explain to us how this ripple effect works. >> reporter: good morning to you, betty. it may seem it's happening a long way away but the european crisis is the single biggest threat to our economy. if greece and europe cannot agree on a solution, we may well be dragged back into a recession. europe is, by far, our biggest trading partner and a default in greece or anywhere else in the eu could send shock waves through the american banking system, and that includes

i.r.a.s, and almost everything. the congressional research surface estimates that u.s. bank exposure at $640 billion. that is nearly 5% of total u.s. banking assets. and american banks also have more than a trillion dollars in loans with german and french banks, which are the biggest lenders to those troubled european economies. it could shut down the financial global system so a lot is riding on this, betty. >> no doubt. ashley morrison in new york, thank you. now to the bankruptcy investigation of the giant securities firm mf global. the company has admitted using clients' money for company business. the firm headed by former new jersey governor jon corzine filed for bankruptcy on monday. federal officials want to know if clients money, hundreds of millions of dollars, was misappropriated, violating criminal laws.

an attorney for the firm yesterday said no money is missing from client accounts. bank of america is canceling its plan to charge a $5 monthly fee for debit customers. they were deluged with complaints about charging clients for the fee. their banks, other banks including jpmorgan chase and wells fargo, canceled trial tests of similar debt car fees. anti-protesters hope to shut down oakland, california today. they called for a general strike. the protesters want businesses to close and plan to march on the port of oakland to shut it down. last night, angry business leaders met with the mayor. >> there's no plans to remove the people who are camping illegally and causing major disruption to commercial -- to commerce in downtown oakland. >> several major labor groups say they support the strike. the oakland teachers union says it expects hundreds of its members to take part. well, the lawyer for one of the women who accused republican presidential candidate herman

cain of sexual harassment says she wants to talk. cain has offered contradictory explanations of what happened. a lawyer for one of cain's accusers wants the restaurant association to waive its confidentiality agreement. >> i think the national restaurant association ought to waive the confidential it'sity provision. and let the two women, if they choose to do so, come forward and tell their stories so it will get a complete public airing. >> one was paid a year's pay to sign a confidentiality agreement. >> i believe the answer is yes, but we do not have any evidence to support it. there are some people who are democrats, liberals, who do not want to see me win the nomination and there could be some people on the right. >> the cain campaign says

despite the controversy, fund-raising is surging. federal authorities in georgia are holding four men in an alleged plot to attack police and government agencies. the four are suspected members of a french militia group. prosecutors say they tried to buy explosives and planned to make ricin, a deadly toxin. the fbi is holding a u.s. army soldier on the charge of espionage. he is a soldier and is 22-year-old specialist william milla. a military policeman from kentucky. he was stationed at a joint army and air force base in anchorage and is being held at the anchorage jail. the fbi won't say much about the case, except it does not involve passing secrets to the wikileaks website. in london, wikileaks founder julian assange is back in court today. rita nissan is there with details. good morning, rita. what is expected to happened in court today? >> reporter: julian assange is

expected to learn his fate this morning, whether he will be extradited to sweden to face charges of rape and sexual assault, or whether he will be a free man after 11 months under house arrest. he is accused of attacking two women in stockholm last summer. assange's attorneys say the charges are unfounded. he outraged u.s. officials last year after releasing thousands of classified documents. they said that put american soldiers at risk. assange's legal troubles here in europe are only part of his battle. a grand jury in the united states is decided whether to indict him on charges of espionage. betty? >> thank you, rita. secretary of state hillary clinton and her family are mourning the death of her mother, dorothy rodham. in a statement, the clinton family says mrs. rodham overcame hardship as a girl to become,

quote, a warm, generous and loving wife and mother and grandmother. dorothy rodham died yesterday at a washington, d.c. hospital surrounded by family members. she was 92. coming up on the morning news, a possible link between alcohol and breast cancer. plus, conjoined twins now able to lead separate lives. this is the "cbs morning news." [ flamenco guitar music plays ]

welcome mi amiga, an adventure awaits. ♪ a celebration of flavor and magnificent tastes ♪ [ cow bell, cow moo ] ♪ like chicken beef or seafood ole' ha haaa ♪ adios little one ♪ your time here is complete ♪ and my kitten just a thought, put some boots on those feet. ♪ friskies ♪ feed the senses [ female announcer ] see puss in boots, only in theaters. [ male announcer ] these days, even your trash can be a gold mine for identity thieves.

♪ we don't believe your garbage should be used against you. [ alarm blares ] we're lifelock. go to lifelock.com and join the fight against one of the fastest growing crimes in america. lifelock. relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1 (800) lifelock today. now, there is a sight you don't see every day. in california, a stolen car smashed into a fire hydrant in san diego. the water lifted the vehicle ten feet into the air and, as you can see, it stayed like that for more than an hour, as firefighters tried to shut the water off. the car thieves, well, they got away. in colorado this morning, travel may be dangerous because of a snowstorm. blizzards are up for strong winds and frigid temperatures. denver may get 5 to 10 inches of snow.

windchill readings could drop to 10 degrees. after hitting colorado and wyoming, the snow will move into nebraska and kansas. more than 1.5 million people in the northeast remain without power this morning. utility crews and residents are cleaning up after the weekend storm that knocked down trees and power lines. at least 25 deaths, including one in canada, are blamed on that storm. in health news this morning, a cancer warning about johnson & johnson baby shampoo. a coalition of health and environmental groups want the company to remove two potentially causing cancer chemicals in the shampoo. johnson & johnson says it is phasing out the chemicals and makes versions of the products without them. in california, a pair of conjoined twins are now separated and expected to recover. the 2-year-old twin girls were joined at the chest and abdomen when they were born in the philippines in 2009.

they were separated during an eight-hour operation yesterday. their mother says it is a dream come true. >> words cannot express for the successful operation of our twins. >> reporter: the girls are expected to be in the hospital about two weeks. doctors say they should make a full recovery. a new study found a link between alcohol and breast cancer. it reports that a woman who has a few, as many as three drinks a week, may face an elevated risk, but there are still questions to be answered, as dr. jon lapook reports. >> reporter: today's study added confusion about the role of alcohol and women's health. it shows even a moderate amount may increase the risk of breast cancer. study author dr. wendy chen. >> what was new about our study we had enough statistical power. to look at the lower effects of alcohol and breast cancer risk. >> reporter: more than a hundred thousand nurses were followed for nearly three decades. compared to nondrinkers, women

consuming the equivalent of three to six glasses of wine a week, had a 15% increased risk of invasive breast cancer. for every 10,000 women, that translates to an additional 52 cases of breast cancer over ten years. but a previous study of the same group of women found that roughly the same amount of alcohol may lower the risk of heart disease. so where does that leave women? >> they don't need to stop drinking altogether. in terms of breast cancer risk to minimize their drinking, we recommend that you consume alcohol of several glasses, several drinks per week or less. >> reporter: if you're wondering what several drinks means, dr. chen told us there is no hard cutoff, meaning the study provides more of a guideline than a set of absolute rules. dr. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. a new report shows that abuse of prescription painkillers is surging in this country and it is deadly. the government report says painkiller overdoses kill 15,000 americans every year. that is more than cocaine and heroin combined.

the manslaughter trial of michael jackson's doctor is taking today off, with closing arguments set to begin tomorrow. in court in los angeles yesterday, though, dr. conrad murray's defense rested and murray told the judge he had decided not to testify on his own behalf. murray is accused of giving jackson a fatal dose of propofol in the singer's bedroom in june of twine. if convicted, murray could face more than four years in prison. straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather. and a for sale sign goes up on dodgers stadium and the l.a. dodgers. oh boy... i used our slate card with blueprint. we can design our own plan to avoid interest by paying off diapers and things each month. and for the bigger stuff, we can pay downalance faster to save money on interest. bigger? bigger. chase slate with blueprint helps you save money on life's little surprises.

trip...lets... start your path to saving today, call 855-get-slate.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows a mass of clouds extending from wyoming to wisconsin. a new storm is approaching the northwest, but later today, snow will move eastward out of wyoming and colorado. temperatures will tumble into the 30s and 40s in western kansas and nebraska. both coasts will have pleasant weather throughout the day, but showers will soon reach the northwest. in sports, the los angeles dodgers are for sale. financially stressed owner frank mccourt and major league

baseball have agreed to auction the franchise. the sale is expected to include the team, dodgers stadium and its parking lots. the league hopes a new owner can be in place by opening day. and in college football last night, a dramatic finish in toledo. with just 19 seconds left and trailing by four, northern illinois quarterback chandler harsh threw a touchdown pass. his sixth passing td of the game. the huskies beat the toledo rockets 63-60. the 123-point total is the most ever in a regulation game in the mid-american conference. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and this is not the way the plane is supposed to land. we will show you what happened. like kenmore, craftsman, nordictrack, die hard, samsung...

and our gifts will be top notch. our wrapping? that's another story. only sears has this collection of leading brands you can't find anywhere else. now that's real joy, guaranteed. sears. ♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for unsurpassed fruit and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion. could've had a v8.

on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. it will be beautiful along the east coast with mild temperatures in the north and warm readings in the south.

a storm system is dropping snow in the rockies and pushing showers and chilly temperatures into the southern plains. here is another look at this morning's top stories. a renewed debt crisis in europe triggered by greece balking at the european debt deal. the uncertainty is sending shock waves through stock markets worldwide. occupy oakland. demonstrators are calling for a city-wide strike today. several unions say they support the action< but business leaders are complaining to the city government. more than 200 air travelers are thanking their lucky stars and a good pilot that they are alive today and their plane made a crash landing in poland. the jetliner on a flight yesterday from new jersey couldn't deploy its landing gear in warsaw. manuel gallegus shows us what happened. >> reporter: the polish airlines boeing 767 carrying 220 passengers skidded on its belly

down a runway in warsaw after the plane's landing gear failed. passengers were told during the flight that something was wrong, but they didn't know exactly what, until they were safely on the ground. >> very good. excellent landing. pilot was really good, yes. >> reporter: the pilot circled in the sky above the runway for an hour, dumping fuel and trying to fix the landing gear. the airline says the plane's central hydraulic system failed. the pilots knew shortly after taking off from newark they had a problem. an aviation expert says they likely continued to their destination to lighten their fuel load along the way. on the runway, firefighters laid down a massive coat of special flame retardant foam to prevent a fire. sparks shot out from beneath the cabin as the boeing 767 slid to a halt. crews doused it with water and foam. no passengers were injured. according to an airport spokesman, they were taken to a

terminal where psychologists were waiting to counsel them. it's unclear how many americans were on board. manuel gallegus, cbs news, new york. >> what a landing. this morning, on "the early show," we will talk to some of the passengers on that plane. i'm betty nguyen. and this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. ♪ a little rendezvous ♪ that special something ♪ that will carry you through ♪ that little reward

♪ for all the things you do [ female announcer ] luscious, creamy filling -- perfectly combined with our intense, slow-melting chocolate -- the one and only ghirardelli squares chocolate. for all the things you do. ghirardelli. moments of timeless pleasure. ♪ when life gets busy... there are days where you want to give your immune system some support. try airborne. each serving contains 14 vitamins, minerals and herbs

including zinc, echinacea, ginger, and a blast of vitamin c. it's the easy, great-tasting way to help support your immune system. try airborne. in fast-acting effervescent formula, and new super-convenient chewable tablets! affect over one million homes each year. without regular maintenance, septic tanks can back up, causing a disgusting mess and countless hours of repair. introducing new rid-x septi-pacs. easy-to-use dissolvable pouches that help prevent disgusting septic back-ups. the powerful dual action formula has enzymes to immediately break down waste and time-release bacteria that work continuously to reduce tank build-up. use rid-x once a month and help save yourself from disaster. rid-x. number one in septic maintenance.

four minutes before 5:00 on a wednesday morning, a clear crisp start, marty is over in the first warning weather center. >> it sure is, should be normal 40 degree reading, it is 36. sunshine through the day gorgeous, 58 at lunch, going to a high of 62. call it 57 degrees dinnertime this evening, don, take it away. >> thank you. here is what we have got our eye on for you today. the president heading to france for the opening of the g-20 summit, the prosecution wraps up its case in the trial and a citywide service here in

baltimore in honor of the late william donald schaffer. the convicted man may learn today his fate and for the first time his father speaks out. a police pursuit ends in a firey wreck, a look at the mayhem before and after that crash pt and herman cane continues to fire back and one of the women involved comes forward. more news, first warning weather and your first traffic report of the morning in a couple of minutes. ,,,,

[ female announcer ] having grands! biscuits in the morning is easy. just pop 'em in... then go about your business... and in just 15 minutes, your family can enjoy warm fresh from the oven biscuits. grands! warm ideas made easy. ♪ in the rhythm of my weekday flow ♪ ♪ something new -- ooo! ♪ just what i want ♪ prepared for me and ready to go ♪ ♪ taste...mmmm a brand new morning ♪ [ female announcer ] new pillsbury egg scrambles. ♪ a brand new morning

♪[ music ] >> this is w j z tv, wjz hd, and wjz.com, baltimore. >> good morning, mayorland, now don scott. marty bass and the latest breaking news from wjz's news team. your first warning weather and wjz traffic control