damage control. the secretary of defense tries to improve strained relations in afghanistan as the u.s. soldier accused of massacring afghan civilians has been flown out of the country. on his last day on the job, a goldman sachs executive blasts the investment bapg with an op-ed piece in the new york times. flood fears. a new report finds rising ocean levels will put millions of people at risk of rising ocean levels will put millions of people at risk of flooding in the years to come. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, march 15, 2012. good morning everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen defense secretary leon panetta meets with afghan president karzai in kabul today.

panetta will try to calm growing tensions over the massacre of 16 afghan civilians allegedly by an american soldier. the suspect was flown out of afghanistan yesterday. president obama says the incident will not change the timetable for drawing troops by end of to 2014. a usa today gallup poll taken after sunday's attack find 50% of americans want to speed up the u.s. withdrawal. duarte geraldino is in washington with more on this. good morning. good morning, betty. military officials say that american soldier is in pretrial confinement as the united states tries to strengthen its relationship with afghanistan. secretary of defense leon panetta is in kabul to meet with afghan president hamid karzai. the meeting is less than a week after an american soldier is accused of going on a shooting spree in kandahar province killing 16 civilians. secretary panetta arrived in afghanistan yesterday. he met with coalition forces and

afghan leaders. the trip was scheduled for before sundays shooting but incident and the killing of six americans in retaliation of burning a koran was -- it has dominated discussions. >> we will continue to face challenge. we must stay committed to achieving the mission that we are all unified in achieving. >> president obama says the plan is still to hand over security to afghanistan to local troops by the end of 2014. >> our forces are making very real progress. dismantle al qaeda, breaking the taliban's momentum and training afghan forces so that they can take the lead. >> but afghans and protests in recent events are calling on nato forces to leave now. secretary panetta is using the troip to afghanistan to mend relationships. >> we have to learn the lessons from each of those incidents so that we do everything possible to make sure that they don't happen again.

>> the united states has assured afghans those responsible for sunday's shooting will be held accountable. the suspected shooter, a 38-year-old staff sergeant was moved out of afghanistan wednesday to a detention center in kuwait. as the secretary of defense's plane was descending in afghanistan a local man in a stolen truck sped to a group of marines and crashed in a ditch. military officials tell us that man died today of severe burns. they also tell us that it was an extra fuel container in his truck. betty? >> thank you. during his three-day visit to afghanistan panetta is meeting with u.s. troops trying to understand the stress they go through and how that may have played a role in sunday's shootings. >> when you go to the war zone time and time again, whether iraq or afghanistan, there's no question in my mind that it impacts on individuals. >> do you think it's time to change the policy on >> i've

always thought that shorter deployments make better sense. you know that you're not going to be there that long. you'll be able to get back to your family. >> the pentagon has not released the identity of the american soldier who allegedly shot the afghan civilians. but we know he served three tours in iraq before serving in afghanistan. >> the next big state primary for republican presidential hopefuls is illinois on tuesday. mitt romney is spending nearly a million dollars in tv ads there. romney was the easy winner in hawaii's caucus on tuesday. he heads to puerto rico tomorrow to campaign for sunday's primary there. rick santorum arrived in puerto rico yesterday hoping to duplicate his big wins in alabama and mississippi. santorum spoke at a town hall meeting. 20 delegates are up for grabs but puerto ricans cannot vote in the fall election. it was a parting shot heard around the world. executives at goldman sachs were taken by surprise wednesday when they opened up the new york

times and saw a scathing op-ed piece written by an out going co-worker. he calls the company toxic and destructive. greg smith worked for goldman sachs for 12 years. on his last day the investment banker ripped his former bosses in a resignation letter published for the world to see. it makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. over the last 12 month, i've seen five different managing directors refer to their own client as muppets. these days, the most common question i get about junior analysts is how much money did we make off the client. in the wake of the financial collapse, goldman sachs faced allegations it made profits off the failures of clients. a senate investigative subcommittee accused the firm of selling financial products to it's customers while positioning itself to gain if they failed. goldman sachs responded to the letter reading in part in our view we'll only be successful if our clients are successful.

this fundamental truth lies at the heart of how we conduct ourselves. smith's letter may have had -- an impact on the bottom line. shares of the company were down more than 3% on wednesday. on "moneywatch," the rising cost of a college loan and life after warren buffett. ashley morrison is here in new york with more on that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning, betty. overseas stocks extended a rally. tokyo's nikkei gained more than half a percent while hong kong's hang seng was higher by a fraction. a day after the biggest gain of the year wall street stayed mostly flat. the dow gained 16 points and the nasdaq added a fraction of the point. millions of college students are going to see the interest rate on their loans double. the stafford loan which helps low and middle income students currently has an interest rate of 3.4%. but it's scheduled to jump to 6.8% in july. some berkshire hathaway investors do not want to wait to

to see who will replace warren buffett. a group of shareholders from the afl-cio is -- a vote to require the company to disclose a written succession plan. much of the success is attributed to the 81-year-old buffett. last month, buffett announced the board had chosen a successor but buffett says he has no plans to retire. and a new jersey man will have to share nearly $40 million in lottery winnings with his co-workers. america lopes claimed he purchased the winning ticket on his own and not part of a lottery pool with his colleagues. but a jury disagreed. lopes five co-workers will be awarded somewhere between 2 and $4 million apiece. betty, can you say hostile work environment? you share with me, wouldn't you? >> of course, i would. i would be scared not to. >> that's true. keep that in mind. go play the lottery, would you?

>> you know where i live. >> ashley morrison here in new york. thank you. coming up on the morning news, a black tie affair at the white house. plus, sea change. how some u.s. coastlines are in danger of being washed away by high tide. this is the "cbs morning news." re in danger of being washed away by high tide. this is the "cbs morning news." as fibromyalgia, t thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can plan my days and accomplish more. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet.

don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. ask your doctor if lyrica is right last season was the gulf's best tourism season in years. in florida we had more suntans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better...

and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. president and mrs. obama hosted a lavish state dinner at the white house last night for visiting british prime minister david cameron and his wife. the 360 guests included celebrity, political figures and big donors to president obama's reelection campaign. the president toasted queen elizabeth on her diamond jubilee. the camerons and the long-standing friendship between the u.s. and the uk. that dinner was held in a tent on the south lawn and in mid-march, which is still officially winter. it could have been very cold and just nasty outside, but not this march. look at these record highs from yesterday. 81 in chicago where it wouldn't be unusual to have snow on the

ground. 83 in st. louis. 77 in milwaukee and 73 in minneapolis. in washington, they do expect the cherry blossoms to start appearing this weekend, which is a week early. many believe it's all a sign of climate change and if so, it could be bad news for a lot of coastal residents as john blackstone reports. >> while the new report says climate change could raise sea levels by only a few inches over the next decades, those few inches will be magnified by high tides and storms. by 2030, that could mean much of the american coastline may be in danger of severe flooding. ben strauss is a scientist with climb central, the nonprofit that studies the potential impact of climate change. >> there are pockets of vulnerability all over the nation, including new york city, southern virginia, louisiana and both southern california and the bay area. >> for new york city that means

by 2030 there's a one in six chance floodwaters will rise five feet beyond current high tide levels. 100,000 homes would be at risk. in new orleans, 169,000 homes could be flooded. sea levels change constantly of course, affected by the weather and the pull of the moon. measurements here on san francisco bay show the average sea level has risen 8 inches in the last century. that doesn't only mean more flooding. those higher sea levels also increase coastal erosion. in california houses have already gone tumbling into the sea as the coast is worn away. florida faces the greatest threat as sea levels rise. beach erosion is already an ongoing battle in some communiies. the study says one out of ten homes in miami could be lost by 2030. john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. >> scientists do disagree on just how fast sea levels are rising and climate change

skeptics say studies like these are estimates with no proven forecasting ability. straight ahead, your thursday morning weather. and in sports, the first round of ncaa tournament action wraps up and the first fan makes his picks for the final four. and the first fan makes his picks for the final four. chilis are full of delicious choices, starting at just 6 bucks. choose from savory favorites or our new philly cheesesteak sandwich. layers of shaved steak and grilled peppers served with fries and a tasty soup or salad. chili's lunch break combos. blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. that's chilly. [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on.

[ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. new york, partly sunny, 61. miami, thunderstorms, 81.

chicago, thunderstorms there as well. 64. mostly cloudy in dallas but 78 degrees and morning clouds in l.a., 67. time now for a check of the national forecast. more wet weather today in the pacific northwest with rain on the coast and snow in the mountains. the northern rockies will also get heavy snow. the southern great lakes and ohio valley will see showers and thunderstorms, some turning severe this afternoon. it will be warm with occasional thunderstorms in the plains and southeast. mostly fair in the mid-atlantic and northeast. in sports, it's become an annual tradition for basketball loving president obama to reveal his ncaa tournament picks. so here is the first fan's final four forecast. try saying that three times. kentucky, missouri, ohio state and north carolina. and the 2012 champion, the president likes the north carolina tar heels over the kentucky wildcats. not exactly my bracket. but we'll see how it plays out.

last night's first round action south florida turned dayton into big d with freshman anthony collins scoring against cal. the bulls held the golden bears to 13 in the first half and won 65-54. south florida plays temple on friday. in the other game, vermont freshman scored 18 against lamar. they won 71-59 but they better stay with the feeling. they face north carolina on friday. in the nba, a big surprise as knicks coach mike d'antoni quit yesterday. apparently, frustrated by the team's latest six-game losing streak. naturally the knicks were solid against the visiting trailblazers last night. jeremy lin fighting for a rebound and get it to amar'e stoudamire. for the jam. carmelo anthony making a fast break to chandler for the lay-up. the knicks won 121-79. when we return, new cancer screening options for women. government guidelines say forget about an annual test depending

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., partly sunny, 82. atlanta, afternoon thunderstorms, 82. st. louis, thunderstorms, 80 degrees there. denver, sunny 70 degrees and seattle, rainy, 54. the state of virginia is expected to appeal a verdict that found virginia tech university negligent in that deadly campus shooting. in april of 2007 a gunman killed 32 people on campus. yesterday a virginia jury found the school waited too long to warn students. the families of two victims were awarded $4 million each. they were the only families who

rejected their share of an $11 million settlement. the award will likely be reduced. in pennsylvania, democratic lawmakers and the aclu plan to challenge a new voter identification law. one of the toughest in the country. republican governor tom corbett signed the measure into law yesterday. it requires voters to show a photo i.d. before their votes can be counted. opponents say the law discriminates against minorities, the elderly and poor. in health news, there are new guidelines for screening for cervical cancer. every year about 4200 women die of the disease in this country. dr. jon lapook takes a look at the new recommendations. the new guidelines present women and their doctors with a difficult decision. for decades women have been told to get a pap smear as often as once a year. while the new recommendation calls for a test every three years for women 21 to 65. some ages 30 to 65 are being told they can wait five years if

they get an additional test for human papillomavirus or hpv. the pap smear looks for abnormal cells in the cervix. the hpv looks for viruses that causes virtually all cervical cancers. the task force says waiting five years is reasonable they say because if the tests are negative, women are at very low risk for developing cervical cancers. gynecologist, dr. joan kent, is just starting to talk about the guidelines with her patients. >> half were thrilled that we could prolong the interval testing and about half said no, i'd really rather you go ahead and do the testing any wait. >> what's your comfort level to going to five years? >> i think in a lot of situations i would be comfortable with three years. five years, i think it's a jump for many of us who were trained to do it annually. i don't know how i'd feel about five years yet. >> screening too frequently can lead to false alarms and unnecessary worry, testing and procedures. the problem from the doctor's point of view is we don't want to miss anything.

even if it's once in a blue moon. it's a balancing act between the guidelines and what we're comfortable actually doing in our practices. dr. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. today former illinois governor rod blagojevich begins his 14-year prison sentence for corruption in office. blagojevich greeted supporters at his chicago home yesterday still insisting he did not break the law but accepting the verdict. >> the decision went against me. i'm responsible for the things i've said. i accept that decision as hard as it is and the law as it stands right now is that i have to go do what i have to go do and this is the hardest thing i've ever had to do. >> blagojevich will serve his time in a low-security federal prison in colorado where he won't have to change his hairstyle. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the latest on the race for the gop presidential nomination and award winning movie producer, harvey weinstein. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." weinstein.

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you are waking up to a still very pretty moon overhead. marty is over in first warning weather. >> it is a great morning. some shower come in dinnertime through bedtime through the work and school day we are living large again. it is 54 degrees on tv hill, 76 degrees at lunch on its way to a high of 80, 77 after dinner, there is that chance for sharp, don, take it away. >> thank you very much. here is what we got our eye on for you today, labor leaders joining the push for a casino in this state. a heated debate on whether inmates should get reduced sentences for earning academic degrees and a local man attempts to set a world record

as the strongest person living with multiple sclerosis. already this morning a jury says virginia tech did not do enough to protect students during the massacre, details on a ruling. the governor makes his case for raising the taxes on gasoline, while protesters try to put the brakes on his proposal. and tide detergent is being taken from store shelves all across this country, the reason behind this new bizarre theft ring. more news, first warning weather and your first traffic report of the morning in a couple of minutes. ,,,,,,,,,,,

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 warning weather, and wjz