attack in afghanistan. an american soldier accused of a savage house to house shooting rampage that left 16 afghan civilians dead, mostly women and children. >> it's tragic. it's a tragic incident. but it would be far greater to let this affect what we're doing in the country. >> southern swing. tomorrow's primaries in mississippi and alabama shake out the race for the gop presidential nomination? >> and the madness begins. the ncaa tournament brackets are set. will a cinderella team crash the set. will a cinderella team crash the dance again this year? captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, march 12, 2012. good morning everybody.

good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. this morning the u.s. embassy in afghanistan is warning americans of possible violence in retaliation for sunday's mass shooting allegedly by a u.s. soldier. the soldier is accused of shooting and killing 16 afghan civilians and turned himself in. president obama promises a full investigation. u.s. officials say the soldier was acting alone when he opened fire early sunday morning in the villages located in kandahar province. the soldier is reportedly based in washington state at joint base lewis-mcchord. we have more. good morning, terrell. the white house is still gathering its facts. but right now here's what we know. the villages where these killings took place are 500 yards away from a u.s. base in afghanistan and the shooting started sunday morning around 3:00 a.m. villages pointed to a bullet hole as they examined the damage to a home after an american soldier allegedly went on a shooting spree in afghanistan's

southern kandahar province. witnesses say the u.s. serviceman went house to house sunday morning killing people in two villages. afghan president hamid karzai says the deaths of 16 people, mostly women and children, cannot be forgiven. nato launched a full investigation. >> we are still looking with the local villages, with the elders and the -- into the background what actually happened in the villages. >> the soldier is in custody. cbs news has learned he's an army staff sergeant from fort lewis-mcchord, washington state on his first tour of duty in afghanistan. president obama called afghanistan's president to express his condolences. the president says the incident is tragic and shocking but does not represent the exceptional character of our military. the white house is on damage control. the shooting comes less than a month after u.s. soldiers accidentally burned copies of the koran at a base in afghanistan. february's incident touched off

deadly riots and six american soldiers were killed. in retaliation. the military says these events won't force them to retreat. >> what's not going to happen is the mission suffers as a result of this. it's tragic. it's a very tragic incident. but it would be a far greater tragedy for us to let this affect what we're doing at large in the country. >> american soldiers are training local forces to take control of afghanistan in 2014. >> the area where these killings took place is a taliban stronghold. the taliban is using the incident to focus anger against american troops. terrell? >> duarte geraldino, thank you. as reported, the soldier was based at joint base lewis-mcchord in washington. home to 100,000 military and civilian personnel. it's had a share of controversies. in 2010, the newspaper stars and stripes called it the most troubled base in the military.

four lewis mcchord soldiers were convicted of killing three afghan civilians in 2010. one, calvin gibbs, received a life sentence. another soldier based there, benjamin colton barnes killed a park ranger at mount rainier national park. he possibly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. in the past five years, about 300 patients at the base had their ptsd diagnosis reversed by a forensic psychiatry team. the seattle times reported that this month. the army is reviewing whether those doctors were influenced by how much a ptsd diagnosis can cost in terms of pension and other benefits. republican presidential candidate newt gingrich said on face the nation yesterday it's time for the u.s. to leave afghanistan. >> i think we need to reconsider the whole region. we nied to need to understand that our being in the middle of countries like afghanistan is counterproductive. we're not prepared to be ruthless enough to force them to change. yet we're clearly an alien presence. >> gingrich said american lives are being risked in afghanistan on a mission that may be impossible.

campaign 2012 in tomorrow's possibly decisive primaries in alabama and mississippi, on saturday, mitt romney won the caucuses in wyoming. adding to his lead in delegates. rick santorum scored a landslide victory in the kansas caucuses. it's tomorrow's votes in the deep south that could be a game changer. nancy cordes has our report. >> i like grits. >> it started on thursday in mississippi when mitt romney professed a newfound love for southern cuisine. >> i got started right with a biscuit and some cheesy grits. delicious. >> that led newt gingrich who called georgia home for 40 years to stir the pot in alabama. >> unlike one of my competitors, i have had grits before. [ laughter ] if you don't understand grits, there's a pretty high likelihood you don't understand the rest of the south either. >> rick santorum stayed out of the food fight but he came to mississippi today hungry for votes.

why should a southern voter go for you as opposed to newt gingrich? >> i understand there's some regional appeal for congressman gingrich. but he's won two states out of, what, 25 races so far. he's finished third or fourth in almost every other race. so it's just not going anywhere for him. >> for romney, a strong showing in mississippi and alabama tuesday would further cement his position as the prohibitive front-runner. for santorum, victories here would bolster his case that romney struggles outside his stronghold like the northeast and upper midwest. for gingrich, a pair of wins would enable him to argue he's a better conservative alternative to romney. >> the romney model which is to overwhelmingly out spend your opponent is hopeless to obama. there's no possibility that he can can outspend obama. >> there are several more southern primaries in the weeks to come. so we'll probably be hearing a lot more about grits and possibly hush puppies and catfish too.

nancy cordes, cbs news, meridian, mississippi. there's more fighting on the border between israel and the gaza strip this morning. it's the fourth consecutive day of violence. the violence began with an israeli air strike on friday that killed a top militant leader. that led to back and forth rocket attacks and air strikes. gaza sources say 20 palestinians have been killed since friday. kofi annan left damascus without securing a cease-fire. the former u.n. secretary general met with president bashar assad sunday and he was hoping to allow humanitarian aid to reach areas being attacked by syrian troops. syrian forces continue to pound rebel strongholds. throughout the weekend. this morning, syrian activists say government troops killed more than a dozen people in the city of homs sunday night. journalist marie colvin will be buried to the. she was killed during a rocket attack last month in homs. she had been urged to leave but

wanted to file one more report. colvin grew up on long island, covered wars for the times of london. she was 56 years old. coming up on the morning news, why some apple fans have to wait to get their hands on the new ipad. not good. plus, the girl scouts celebrate their 100th year anniversary today. we'll show you former scouts who made it big. this is the "cbs morning news." versary today. we'll show you former scouts who made it big. this is the "cbs morning news." not gonna need those. come on. let's go, mikey. sandwich boy. what do you mean? [ grunts ] still training. ♪ what'd you get? black forest ham egg & cheese on flatbread... what's next? now i train. [ male announcer ] subway has what michael phelps needs. high-protein favorites to get him started and the turkey breast with kickin' jalapeños to keep him going. subway. the official training restaurant of michael phelps... and jay glazer. hey! and athletes everywhere.

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now this medieval castle in slovakia was not being sacked when it was destroyed by flames. on saturday. police say two kids may have set the grass on fire when they were trying to light some cigarettes. the castle was built back in the 14th century and open to the public for about a year. no tourists were inside when that fire broke out fortunately. cbs money watch time on a monday. greece moves closer to the debt crisis. a longer wait for the those who pre-ordered the ipad.

that spells trouble. ashley morrison has more. >> good morning, terrell. markets slipped the nikkei lost nearly half a percent as profit takers moved in and hong kong's hang seng shed a fraction. this week we'll get data on retail sales, manufacturing and inflation. friday'ses employment report showed the economy added about 227,000 jobs in february and the unemployment rate stayed flat at 8.3%. that gave wall street a boost. the dow is down 55 points and the nasdaq gained 12. for the week. if there's one thing threatening the economic recovery in the u.s., it's the rising price of fuel. according to the lundberg survey, the average cost of a gallon of gas is up 12 cents in the last two weeks. it's now at $3.81 a gallon. eurozone finance ministers are in brussels today expected to sign off on their portion of the greek bailout. the deal was reached after last week's debt swap which cut about

100 billion euros off of greeces death. if the elections in greece fail to deliver on promised economic reform. if you've pre-ordered the new ipad to avoid long lines at the apple store, you still have to wait. the new tablet hit store shelves this friday but pre-ordered ipads won't be shipped until next monday. last week apple promised the new ipads would arrive at customers' homes on the release date. apple is blaming the delay on high demand for the gadget. if you got an extra $78 million in your bank account, you might be interested in this southern california mansion. check it out. the 32,000 square foot home has seven bedrooms, six fireplaces and a two-story lobby. i could be happy there. there's also room for 2,000 bottles of wine in the cellar and an underground shooting range. with a wine cellar like that, it's probably good that the shooting range is underground.

>> that's the perfect place for a shooting range. >> i think so. >> oh, boy. ashley morrison here in new york. thank you so much. the girl scouts are celebrating their 100th anniversary today. the organization was founded in savannah, georgia in 1912. that's where about 3,000 girl scouts gathered this weekend to mark the occasion. some famous girl scouts include singer mariah carey, secretary of state hillary clinton and barbara walters. and ashley morrison. there are 2.5 million girls enrolled nationwide. they'll be well-funded as long as they keep selling those cookies. because of me. coming up, your monday morning weather and in sports, all you bracketologists, grab your pencils, the seeds are set for march madness. we'll tell you who came out on top. rab your pencils, the seeds are set for march madness. we'll tell you who came out on top. whoa! chase freedom is offering 5% cash back at gas stations this quarter. that's great. i know, right? just learned how to drive this yesterday. one second. i'll be right back around. here's that 5% cash back you earned.

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its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable versus the ultra rippled brand so it holds up better for a more dependable clean. fewer pieces left behind. now who's the man? you both are. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong? here's a look at the weather here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. partly sunny, 67 in new york. 80, partly sunny in miami. morning showers in chicago, 66. mostly sunny, 82 in dallas, mostly cloudy 64 in los angeles. let's check your national forecast. showers and thunderstorms roll across the lower mississippi valley into the south -- wow. southeastern states. that's what that is. another storm system into the midwest. some areas could get as much as 1 inch of rain. storms and winds across oregon with gusts topping 75 miles per hour in some areas. in sports, break out the brackets. the teams for march madness have been selected.

the kentucky wildcats are overall the number one seed despite losing the southeastern conference championship. syracuse orange are on top in the east. north carolina tar heels are number one in the midwest. and in the west, it is michigan state. the spartans earned their number one seed the hard way. they beat ohio state 68-64 for the first big ten tournament title since 2000. that year michigan state went on to win the national title. vanderbilt has momentum after taking down kentucky. the rally that beat the wildcats, 71-64 for the first s.e.c. trophy since 1951. commodores are seeded fifth in the east and will play harvard on thursday. florida state took down another number one seed, north carolina. they beat the tar heels for the first atlantic coast conference championship. hamilton is the first african-american coach to ever win that title. get ready for the big dance. tipoff for march madness begins tomorrow with the first four games. you can catch second round coverage thursday at noon here

on cbs. murray state against colorado state. in football a whole bunch of teams are pursuing peyton manning. met with the arizona cardinals yesterday in tempe. four-time league mvp was released by the colts after missing the entire season. he's already met with the denver broncos and the tennessee titans want him to pay a visit. when we come back, one year later. we'll go to japan where solemn remembrances were held on the anniversary of a disastrous earthquake and tsunami. anniversary of a disastrous earthquake and tsunami. we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

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the more dirt can spread around the kitchen, and the more germs we can spread on our hands. that's why we created the lysol no-touch kitchen system. one no-touch solution for sparkling dishes, plus clean surfaces, plus healthy hands. lysol. mission for health. get a $3 coupon for the lysol kitchen system starter kit. only in this sunday's paper. here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. d.c., partly sunny, 68 degrees. mostly cloudy, 68 in atlanta. cloudy, 61 degrees in detroit. mostly sunny, 68 in denver and chilly with rain, 46, in seattle. people around the world

yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami that leveled japan. nearly 20,000 people died or went missing. bill whitaker was there as survivors remembered. >> on the day of great suffering, no place suffered more than the small coastal city here. 3,182 people died in the tsunami here. it was only fitting this place would ring in this day of remembrance. starting at dawn, people rang this bell found in the debris one strike for each of the dead. all across japan today in cities and towns and all alone with flowers and bells and tears, people took time to remember those who perished in the earthquake and tsunami a year ago.

precisely at 2:46, the time the magnitude 9 earthquake struck, this country went silent. the emperor and empress bowed deeply. in fast-paced tokyo, commuters stopped on platforms. on board trains, passengers prayed. the tragedy a year ago wasn't just about death but about destruction too of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. in downtown tokyo, thousands of people marked this day by protesting the nuclear industry. this evening in sendai, the largest city hit by the tsunami young people sang while citizens of all ages lit candles and prayed. this is a day for japan to look back while looking forward, to remember the horror as well as the outpouring of help. these candles spell thank you to the world. you can still see the pain in

the faces in the crowds today. but you can see silent determination, too. bill whitaker, cbs news, sendai, japan. and new yorkers remembered the one-year anniversary. hundreds gathered at the japan society for a moment of silence. they stood at 2:46 p.m., during the ceremony. japan thanked the u.s. for helping out. in southern california, hundreds of people marked the anniversary with a rally in demonstrators questioned the safety of the nuclear generating station in the aftermath of a possible earthquake or tsunami. local officials say the plant's design in the area geography make it unlikely that will be a japan-style disaster. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the latest on the deadly shootings in afghanistan. plus, a look at hygiene and its link to higher allergy and asthma rates. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." ñ

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four minutes before 5:00 own a monday morning. waking up to stars and a pretty big moon, marty is over in the weather center. >> it is going to be a gorgeous day, clear skies and sunshine, cloud up and after dinner showers around. keep in mind the heat of the day now is choicer to 3:00 in the afternoon. 64 at lunch on its way for a high of 2 shy of 70 at 68. take it away. >> here is what we have our eye on for you, the defense begins for a rutgers student. debate begins on a bill to ban smoking in cars with young children inside and cardinal

edwin o'brien leads the march for life in annapolis. already in the news a u.s. soldier is in custody accused of murdering civilians in afghanistan. the potential fail fallout from his shooting spree. the crime on campus that has a student facing serious jail time. april the greyhounds are headed to pittsburgh for the first round of the ncaas. hear from the team as they prepare for the buckeyes. more news, first warning weather and your first traffic report of the morning in a couple o ♪ you signed up weeks ago ♪ sunlight says get up and go ♪ mountain-grown aroma coming through ♪ ♪ a new challenge waits for you ♪ ♪ ♪ jumpin' into something new ♪ you really see all you can do ♪ ♪ ♪ the best part of wakin' up ♪ is folgers in your cup

vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. this is wjz tv, wjz hd, and wjz.com, baltimore. >> good morning, maryland. now don scott, marty bass, and the latest breaking news, from wjz's news team, your first corning weather and wjz traffic