newt gingerich submits his front-runner in the republican pack, but a top democrat warns gingerich his past will tore newt gingerich submits his front-runner in the republican pack, but a top democrat warns gingerich his past will tore peato his campaign. inside syria, cbs gets an exclusive look at the uprising in the regime. and not too hot, not too cold, astronomers find an earth-like planet not too far away. this is "cbs morning news" for tuesday, december 6th, this is "cbs morning news" for tuesday, december 6th, 011. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody. and thanks for joining us. we begin with the republican politics and the surging popularity of newt gingerich. he is now leading hits gop rival necessary most polls and says he'll challenge president obama

in every state. republican caucus goers in iowa think gingerich has the best chance of defeating the president according to a new cbs news/"new york times" poll out this morning. gingerich campaigned here in new york yesterday and dean reynolds has the details. >> reporter: to those surprised by newt gingerich's rapid rise in the gop field, you can apparently add donald trump. >> it's amazing how will he's doing and how it's resinated with people. >> reporter: surging in the polls, gingerich used his time in new york to meet with trump, who he called a great showman and raised money. but also to explain another one of the former speaker's debatable ideas. last week, gingerich said the nation's child labor laws were truly stupid, unquote, and that at-risk youngsters could learn the value of work by taking on janitorial jobs at schools. ed the, though, he tried to

refine that view. >> i do not suggest that children up through 13, 14 years of age do heavy dangerous janitorial work, all right? >> reporter: or his denunsation of a republican budget plan as right wing social engineering was a are minder that gingerich can be a little too spontaneous for his own good. >> working together, we can and will rebuild the america that we love. >> reporter: he unveiled his first state-wide television ad this morning and opened his first office last week. mitt romney, whose aides confide that he'll be satisfied with a finish in the top three here has likewise just opened his first office, an old blockbuster video store, and is running his first ad. >> i spent my life in the private sector. >> reporter: dean reynolds, cbs news.

elsewhere in politics, former house leader nancy pelosi is hinting that she has some dirt on newt gingerich. according to talkingsitememo she said, one of these days we'll have a conversation about newt gingerich. when the time is right. i know a lot about him. she served on an ethics committee that investigated gingerich for tax violations. gingerich responded that if pelosi was to release closed door information, it would violate house rules. republican mitt romney now says he supports extending payroll tax cuts. during a radio interview yesterday, romney says he knows that working families are feeling the pitcher right now. last october, romney called the cuts little band-aids. president obama will press his campaign for extending the payroll tax cuts in kansas today.

most republicans oppose the cuts. democrats say the average family would have to pay another $1,000 a year in taxes if congress fails to act by the end of the year. >> there aren't many folks who can afford to give up, at not right now. >> a bipartisan plan released yesterday includeds a proposed tax hike on millionaires. in california, a woman died after falling to her death from the queen mary. police say the woman fell 75 feet overboard last night. a man jumped in to save her and two police officers followed him to help with the rescue. in kansas city, missouri, a delta jet landed safely last night after experiencing engine failure shortly after takeoff. the delta airbus was on a flight to detroit.

there were 73 passengers and crew on board. no one was hurt. faa administrator randy babbitt has been placed on administrative leave after he was charged with drunk driving. babbitt was arrested saturday night in fairfax, virginia. police say he was driving on the wrong side of the road. babbitt apparently didn't tell administration officials about the arrest until monday. overseas, there's been a deadly suicide bombing at a shiite shrine in kabul. it was packed with hundreds of holiday worshippers. a police spokesman says around 30 people were killed. the death toll is expected to rise. another bomb in northern afghanistan killed at least three. secretary of state hillary clintson is meeting in lithuania today with syrian refugees supporting the uprising in their homeland. in syria yesterday, opponent of president assad were in the streets as they have been in the last month. over the weekend, police opened

fire on demonstrators. the u.n. estimates that since the uprising began, it's 4,000 civilians have been killed. the syrian government does its best to keep the crackdown under wraps. hidden well away from the media. cbs's clarissa ward managed to sneak a camera across the border to file this exclusive report. >> if you will come, you will see real bodies. they are not stone, they have not toys, they are real bodies. >> they want international military support. and they say they will not give up their protests until president assad's regime falls. a military helicopter circled overhead, but the chanting only grew stronger. we are peaceful and they are shooting us, they shouted. we want freedom. there's a special graveyard for protests that have been gunned down in duma. there are 60 graves.

a man just handed me this photograph of a family member of his that was killed. he was only 13 years old. the u.n. estimated in early november that at least 4,000 people have been killed. activists tell us the number is much higher. these protesters had rarely seen reporters from outside the country. they handed us notes, we don't shed tears for the martyrs, we shed tears for the cowards, one read. certainly it's a regime that shows no signs of listing its crackdown on the opposition. what's your message to president assad? >> leave. leave now because you know that you will leave in the end, but with more victims and more suffering of the people. so just leave and leave us to start our new future and our new country. you have enough of our blood.

>> cbs news, new york. and coming up on the morning news, a major lawsuit in the gulf oil spill. plus, a rare night of frigid temperatures and heavy snow near mexico. this is "cbs morning news." this is "cbs morningews." race l without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness.

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been almost impossible almost a month after a storm hit the areas. now a russian tanker that can cut through up to four feet of ice will bring much needed heating oil and gasoline to the area. it's expected to arrive by late december. scientist report the discovery of a new planet around a distant star that might be able to harbor life. there's a nasa illustration. officially it's called kepler 22b. our fastest rocket would need 20 million years to get there. but like earth, the planet orbits its sun in the so-called goldie locks zone, which is not too hot, not too cold, but just right for life to form. very interesting. the astronomers have discovered the biggest black holes yet.

two of them at the center of galactic clusters deep in space. black holes are like giant vacuum cleaners, if you will, sucking in stars and planets. these two have been busy. one has grown to the mass of 21 billion suns. on the cbs money watch, markets in asia fell today. ashley is here with more on that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you, betty. the pressure is building on europe to straighten out its economic problems. on monday, standard & poors put 15 euro zone countries on notice that their ratings could be downgraded. today treasury secretary tim geithner is in germany for talks with the leading european finance ministers. monday, nicolas sarkozy and german chancellor angela merkel announced a plan on countries that don't get their financials under control. eu leaders will vote on the plan friday in brussels. asian markets fell following that warning from s&p.

tokyo's nikkei and hong kong's hang seng lost more than 1% apiece. on wall street, stocks started the week with a rally. the dow gained 78 points while the nasdaq was up nearly 29. bp is accused haliburton of destroying evidence in last year's gulf of mexico oil spill. the explosion killed 11 workers. in a suit filed in federal court yesterday, bp says haliburton destroyed evidence about the cement work it did on the rig. more retailers are hiring for the holidays. the pace of seasonal hiring is up 15% from last year. so far this holiday season, retailers have added more than 547,000 workers. that's the best showing in four years. your xbox could be the ultimate device for couch potatoes. microsoft has released a software update to its 360 that

allows users to talk or wave a hand to change what's on tv. today's upgrade enhances the xbox's streaming video options. and today is your chance to get a piece of the pack. starting today, you'll be able to buy stocks in the super bowl champion green bay packers. the nfl's only publicly traded team will be selling shares to the public for $250 apiece. value will never change and they won't pay any dividends, but at least you'll be able to call yourself an nfl owner. betty, i don't think that brings with it any real power, either. >> i don't suppose we get any season tickets or anything like that. just to say i'm an owner. all right. see if we can afford that, ashley. maybe we'll pool our money. >> a christmas gift. straight ahead, your tuesday morning weather. in sports, the chargers had the long ball, making it a long night for the jaguars. all, making it a long night for the jaguars. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. here is a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, showers and 60 degrees. atlanta, sunny and 80. chicago mostly cloudy, 37. dallas, mostly cloudy and 41. l.a., sunny and 65. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clouds covering most of the eastern half of the nation. the west coast is clear. later today, scattered snow showers will continue in parts of the desert southwest. rain will slide up into the northeast and look for fog along much of the atlantic coast.

in sports, the san diego chargers were flying high on monday night football, courtesy of the arm of philip rivers. the chargers quarterback tossed some big bombs against jacksonville, throwing for almost 300 yards and three touchdowns. a charger snapped a six-game losing streak by taking down the jaguars, 38-14. in baseball, a year too late, the cubs ron santo finally got the honor he so dearly wanted. he is in the baseball hall of fame. the all-star third baseman was voted in yesterday, almost a year to do to the day after you died. in the 1960s, santo hit 362 home runs and won five gold glove awards. he was a cubs broadcaster for 20 years. and "sports illustrated" has named its sportsman and sports woman of the year. they are the winningest coaches in college basketball. tennessee's pat summitt and duke's mike krzyzewski.

in august, summitt announced she had early onset dementia but is still coaching and has won over 1,000 games. krzyzewski has had over 900 victories. congratulations to them. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. also, the bad news about snail mail gets worse. it's getting slower. mail gets worse. it's getting slower. ood price? pretty sure... sfx: truth phone rings hello? pretty sure? consider this yor wake-up call. everybody has a price guarantee. but only sears guarantees the best price on all top 10 brands, because only sears carries them all. with experts who know them all. it's called the top 10 advantage. boom! what was that? me dropping some knowledge on you. thinking about buying appliances somewhere else? think again. sears.

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on the "cbs morning news," here is a look at today's weather. the snoem snowstorm in the desert southwest is easing, but parts of new mexico could see a lingering snow shower earlier today. cold temperatures will continue all the way to the mexican border. here is another look at this morning's top stories. republican caucus goers in iowa think front-runner newt gingerich has the best chance of defeating the president. that's according to a new poll

out this morning. and president obama says he will go along with the move to scale back his payroll tack cuts, but the bipartisan proposal includes higher taxes on millionaires that most republicans reject. first it was apple and grape juice. now another warning about arsenic. this time in rice. a new study found that pregnant women who ate just a half cup of rice a day had 56% more arsenic in their bodies than those who did not. scientists say that puts them at risk of premature birth. cutbacks by the u.s. postal service will make the term snail mail even more meaningful. allison has the story. >> reporter: it's going to take longer for your mail to get on to its destination. for the first time in 40 years, the u.s. postal service says it will slow down first class mail starting this spring. >> it's not fair. >> i think it's ridiculous. >> right now, nearly all of first class mail arrives the next day.

but the postal service plans to close nearly half of its processing center. the results, it will take at least two days to receive magazines, mail order manage and the birthday card to mom. the cut comes as the postal service faces default on a payment for retiree health benefits. and as most people move from snail mail to e-mail, the post office has been in the rest of the last five years. our network is too big. we have more capacity in our network than we can afford. >> the postal service already announced the price of a first class stamp is going up to 45 cents. 3700 local post offices are set to be shut down. nationwide, 100,000 postal workers could lose their jobs. >> everything in the world is more efficient and the post office is less efficient now. >> the u.s. postal service wants mail delivery cut down to five days a week, a decision that would need approval from congress. cbs news, new york.

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it is four minutes before 5:00. >> it is a warm and wet one. putting the radar in motion, some rain moving through and mer on -- more on the way. this is moving from the west and it will be a storm that will effect us for the next few days. the temperatures in the 50s to near 60. he with will take you closer, for most of us, mid 50s this morning and as we head into the afternoon, in the 60s, but the rain will be around for at least the next day or so. more in a bit.

thank you, we have our eye on this today. inauguration day and a teen has been charged of stabbing a man 19 days in a feud over his girl friend and the man survived. meeting his fans, williams and the fundraiser for the casey cares foundation. a baltimore county police officer killed in a friendly- fire accident. we will go inside the house where it happen. a violent turn, police made several arrests at the baltimore occupy forecast and the dressing room reinvented. more on what could make that more bearable. more news and the first traffic report of the moment in a few minutes -- ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,