murder charges. sergeant robert bales accused in the cold blooded killings of 17 afghan civilians expected to be officially charged today. calls for justice. outrage there's still no arrest in the shooting death of an unarmed teenager in florida. >> we come to tell you tonight, enough's enough's! threatened at gunpoint. >> get the camera away from me now. >> no you can't touch the camera, man. >> we're leaving. we're leaving. >> a camera is rolling when a man pulls a gun on a television news crew. this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, march 23, 2012. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us on this

friday. i'm betty nguyen. the american soldier supported of killing 17 afghan civilians, sergeant robert bales s expected to be officially charged today. bales is being held at a military prison in kansas. prosecutors say in the early morning of march 11th bales went on a shooting rampage in two afghan village. nine of his victims were children. bales will be tried in a military court. his lawyer says bales does not remember much about the incident. the taliban said again this morning it will seek revenge for the attack against u.s. troops stationed in afghanistan. the u.s. currently has 90,000 troops in afghanistan. the remaining 28,000 surge troops are scheduled to be withdrawn by this october. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan told a senate investigation yesterday he does not envisioning a drawdown next year. >> we'll need significant combat power next year. >> 68,000? >> that's a good going in number.

but i owe the president some analysis on that. >> president obama plans to have all u.s. forces out of afghanistan by 2014. now to the case of trayvon martin, the black florida teenager gunned down by a neighborhood watch volunteer. the police chief in sanford, florida, and the prosecutor who investigated the case have stepped down. last night thousands rallied, demanding the arrest of the gunman. susan mcginnis reports. >> no justice! >> reporter: protesters chanted for justice as thousands packed a florida park demanding action for an unarmed teenager killed by a neighborhood watchman. >> you want an arrest? >> reporter: they're calling for the prosecution of george zimmerman. he claims he shot trayvon martin in self-defense. the 17-year-old was killed while visiting his family in sanford last month. >> he didn't deserve to die. and i pledge i will not let my son die in vein. >> reporter: zimmerman was never arrested and there are questions about whether or not race played a role in the investigation.

>> enough's enough's, we are tired of going to jail for nothing and others going home for something. >> reporter: the congresswoman representing sanford, florida, says martin's case will be the focus of a hate crime hearing on capitol hill next week. mounting pressure forced the police chief to step down temporarily. >> i do this in the hopes of restoring some semblance of calm to the city, which has been in turmoil. >> reporter: cbs news has learned the suspect was interviewed the night of the shooting and sources say evidence supported zimmerman's claim of self-defense, but some sanford residents say the case was mishandled. >> we wanted to come out and show support for the family and show unity in the community to try to make right an unjustice. >> reporter: the justice department and fbi are also investigating and zimmerman could still face charges. susan mcginnis, cbs news. in france, investigators are

trying to determine if the gunman who killed three school children, a rabbi and three french paratroopers aced alone. 23-year-old mohammad merah was killed yesterday after a 32-hour standoff with police. french officials say he had been under surveillance for years and had traveled to afghanistan and pakistan, where he claimed to have been trained by al qaeda. today is the second anniversary of president obama's health care overhaul law. on monday the supreme court is scheduled to begin hearing three days of arguments on why the law should be overturned. in a just-released poll from the american bar association, 85% of the academics, lawyers and journalists asked, believed the court will uphold the law. 64% say the case will have a major impact on the presidential election. another issue front and center in this year's campaign, the price of gas. and president obama's energy policy. mr. obama has taken some heat for his decision to block part of the keystone pipeline project.

yesterday the president said he was directing federal agencies to put part of the project on the fast track. nora o'donnell has our report. >> and today i'm directing my administration to cut through the red tape, break through the bureaucratic hurdles and make this project a priority. >> reporter: today while the president threw his support behind a portion of the pipeline, he failed to mention a critical point. these pipes will be used to build a 485-mile southern portion of the pipeline, transporting 700,000 barrels a day in cushing, oklahoma, to the gulf of mexico. here's something to keep in mind. this part of the pipeline never required presidential approval. only the pipeline's northern leg required presidential action. house speaker john boehner today. >> the president can take credit for having nothing to do with the bottom half of the pipeline. the fact is, is there's only one permit that requires his approval because it crosses our

national boundaries. >> reporter: but the truth is, the pipeline's northern route was blocked after republican governor of nebraska, dave heinemann, asked the president to reject it because of environmental concerns. that the pipeline's oil could threaten drinking water for 2 million americans provided by a nebraska aquafirm. >> the northern portion we have to review properly to make sure the health and safety of the american people are protected. that's common sense. >> reporter: that northern part of the pipeline won't be approved until the company resubmits to the federal government to address those environmental concerns. we've learned from the company that that could come in the very near future. nora o'donnell, cbs news, columbus, ohio. all four republican presidential hopefuls are campaigning in louisiana today, pushing for votes in tomorrow's primary. a poll released wednesday finds rick santorum with a substantial lead over mitt romney. newt gingrich is in third. a coroner's report says whitney houston was a chronic

cocaine user and that played a major role in her death. preliminary autopsy results show houston drowned in her hotel bathtub with cocaine in her system and that heart disease was a contributing factor. theresa garcia reports. ♪ i'm saving all my love >> reporter: almost six weeks after whitney houston's death, we finally know what killed the 48-year-old grammy-winning singer. >> the department of coroner has concluded its investigation into the death of miss whitney houston. the final cause of death has been established as drowning due to atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use. >> reporter: houston's body was discovered february 11th, the evening before the grammy awards, submerged in the bathtub of her beverly hills hotel room. investigators found several prescription medications in her room. toxicology tests reveal houston had cocaine in her system and

that it was a factor in her death. >> cocaine indicated an acute use and it appeared that the cocaine had been used in the time period just probably immediately prior to her collapse in the bathtub at the hotel. >> reporter: the test also say houston had used marijuana and other prescription drugs, but not an amount that would have killed her. the coroner's announcement ends weeks of speculation about whether the singer's death was the result of overdose, axe deputy or foul play. whitney houston was buried alongside her father in new jersey. theresa garcia, cbs news, los angeles. coming up on the "morning news" a plan to keep families in their homes as renters. plus, ever wonder what it's like to be a firefighter? we'll show you dramatic video taken inside a burning house. first, scott pelley with a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." tonight we'll have the top stories from all around the world, plus steve hartman celebrates march madness with a

group of guys who hit mind-boggling basketball shots that you will have to see to believe. that story's tonight on the "cbs evening news." onight on the "cbs evening news." ♪ [ upbeat ] [ announcer ] who could resist the call... of america's number-one puppy food brand? with dha and essential nutrients also found in mother's milk. purina puppy chow.

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pronamel protects your teeth from the effects of acid erosion. i don't have to cut out the things that i love in my diet. i can have the best of both worlds with pronamel. ever wonder what a major house fire looks like to a firefighter trying to put it out? check out this recent helmet camera footage from inside a burning home. it was posted online by the volunteer fire department in little rock, arkansas. no injuries were reported. pretty intense. president obama is expected to sign a just-passed congressional reform bill called the stock act. it was approved in a senate procedural vote yesterday, 96-3. the stock act bars members of congress and thousands of federal workers, including the president, from profiting on financial information they learn on the job. the bill was introduced after cbs's "60 minutes" revealed

members of congress were making money on wall street because laws against insider trading did not apply to them. on the "cbs moneywatch," what's behind the swoon on the stock market and one bank's plans to help troubled homeowners stay in their home. ashley morrison with the latest on that. good morning. >> good morning to you. china's manufacturing slowdown and europe's economic problems sent asian stocks into a tailspin today. both japan's nikkei and hong kong's hang seng fell over 1%. those concerns sent stocks down on wall street. the dow lost 78 points while the nasdaq also lost 12. the slump on wall street overshadowed the latest evidence of an economy that is getting stronger. according to the labor department, the number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell to a four-year low last week. applications for unemployment have been declining since the fall. at the same time, employers had been adding an average of 245,000 jobs a month. bank of america is

experimenting with a plan that would help keep troubled homeowners in their home as renters. this week they started the pilot program called mortgage to lease. homeowners facing forclosure can transfer the title of their home to the bank in exchange they will have their mortgage debt relieved and will be able to rent their home at or below market value for up to three years. the program is only available to about 1,000 customers in select cities. and the etch-a-sketch has shaken up the presidential campaign and now the classic toy is seeing a sales resurgence. sales of the etch-a-sketch on amazon.com are up more than 1500% the day after a mitt romney adviser said the campaign would change in the fall just like shaking up the toy. the company that makes the etch-a-sketch also saw its stock price more than double yesterday. betty, we learned this morning the company is sending a box of etch-a-sketches to each of the candidates. i'm sure they'll love getting those. >> of course it is. great marketing for them.

all right, ashley, thank you. well, this is opening day for the "hunger games" and some fans have already seen it. theaters here in new york and elsewhere offered midnight screenings and the couldn't wait crowd, well, those guys turned out, of course. "hunger games" is expected to bring in more than $100 million this weekend. straight ahead, your friday morning weather. in sports, sweet 16 action as the louisville cardinals play giant killer against the top-seeded team. ng a taste test. ocean spray cranberry juice versus vegetable juice. first the cranberry. mm! tasty. now, the vegetable juice, with more than 10 times the sodium of cranberry juice. we have a winner! are made with sweet cherries and the crisp, clean taste of our cranberries. i cannot tell a lie. 'tis tasty. okay, george washington, did you take my truck out last night? 'tis tasty.

♪ abracadabra. new hershey's milk chocolate with almonds in pieces. your favorites, in pieces.

here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. new york, partly sunny, 78. miami, partly cloudy, 83. chicago, thunderstorms, 64. dallas, mostly sunny, 80. and l.a., mostly cloudy, 65. now for a check of the national forecast. a storm system will slowly move into the ohio valley and the southeast. severe storms with hail and flood-producing rain are likely from the tennessee valley to the gulf coast and east to georgia. it will be windy from eastern california with gusts up to 50 miles an hour. to sports now. the sweet 16 turned sour for michigan state. top-seeded spartans led early by green's big jam but they couldn't beat the top defense and sharp shooting of fourth seeded louisville. in the second half, the cardinals poured on an alley-oop. and the three-pointer sealed the 57-44 win.

michigan state is the first number one seed to fall in the tournament. the seven seeded florida gators took it to number three, marquette. boynton's long alley-oop jam in the first half. late in the game, bradley beale took a fast break pass and jammed it home. florida won it 68-58. they'll face louisville in elite eight. ohio state ended cincinnati's hope behind jarod sullinger's 23 points. and 26 more from thomas. second seeded buckeyes won it 81-66. and it was tight all the way for top-seeded syracuse against number four, wisconsin. in the second half the orange up for good with a drive, spin and layup. syracuse won it 64-63 setting up an elite eight match-up with ohio state. and sweet 16 regional semifinal action continues tonight in the south. it's baylor and xavier at 7:15

eastern. and kentucky versus indiana at 9:45. those games right here on cbs. in the midwest, north carolina takes on ohio at 7:47. and kansas plays north carolina state at 10:17 on tbs. when we return, terror for a tv news crew. a man gets angry and pulls a gun on a reporter in arkansas. we'll show you what happens next. [ female announcer ] with xfinity,

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it's irresistible. experience this in your home with resolve deep clean powder. its moist powder penetrates deep, removing three times more dirt than vacuuming alone while also neutralizing odors at their source. it's a clean you can see, smell, and really enjoy. resolve deep clean powder. don't just vacuum clean, resolve clean. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., 82. atlanta, thunderstorms, 79. st. louis, thunderstorms, 67. sunny in denver, 74. partly cloudy in seattle, 50 degrees. here's another look at this morning's top stories. the army sergeant accused of murdering 17 afghan civilians is expected to be formally charged today. robert bales is being held at a

military prison in kansas. he could face 17 counts of murder and 6 counts of attempted murder. preliminary autopsy results show whitney houston had cocaine in her system when she drowned in a hotel bathtub. heart disease also played a role. the l.a. coroner says houston was a chronic cocaine user. now to a caught on video incident involving a reporter and a camera crew for cbs memphis affiliate wreg. they were looking into the death of a man in northwest arkansas and were confronted by an angry man who turned out to have a gun. >> we were just trying to find out what was going on. that's all. >> well, everybody's lying. my best friend -- look, get your camera out of here. >> no you can't touch the camera now. >> you really -- >> okay. >> we're leaving. we're leaving. >> but before they could leave, he sped away. the crew called the sheriff's department and the station plans to press charges against the man. we also have an update on

that boom town in wisconsin. for days residents of clintonville have reported a mysterious loud booming with no apparent cause. now experts say the booms appear to have been caused by a string of small earthquakes in granite three miles beneath the town. >> in other places in the united states, a 1.5 earthquake would not be felt, but the type of rock that wisconsin has transmits seismic energy very well. >> well, some folks are relieved to know what's going on, but others say earthquakes are just one more thing to worry about. the european space agency launched a powerful rocket early this morning from its space center in south america. the rocket is carrying more than seven tons of supply and equipment to the international space station. what a sight. coming after your local news on "cbs this morning," the

supreme court showdown over president obama's health care law. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,