released. george zimmerman, the man charged in the shooting death of florida teen trayvon martin walks out of jail. spring storm. after a warm winter, a massive nor'easter is moving up the atlantic coast delivering snow and rain to millions. and the scandal continues. one of the secret service agents implicated in the columbian prostitution scandal stayed at the same hotel as the president. this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, april 23, this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, april 23, 2012. captioning funded by cbs good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle miller. the man who admits he shot and killed trayvon martin has been released from jail. george zimmerman charged with second-degree murder was set free on $150,000 bond early this morning.

his whereabouts are unknown. randall pinkston is in sanford, florida, with the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, michelle. this release of george zimmerman is just the one step in what is expected to be a long process that would eventually lead to his trial for the shooting death of trayvon martin. his attorney says his freedom will help him prepare a defense. george zimmerman walked out of seminole county jail at midnight, not looking at cameras as he followed a man to a white vehicle and drove away to await trial of 17-year-old trayvon martin. his attorney says he will not reveal where zimmerman will go because of safety concerns. >> we have a lot of concerns throughout security and around the family as well. >> reporter: zimmerman posted 10% of $150,000 to get out of this jail. according to the terms of his release he must comply with dusk to dawn curfew and wear a gps ankle bracelet to track his

every movement. >> i wanted to say i am sorry for the loss of your son. >> reporter: in a dramatic gesture, zimmerman took the witness stand to apologize to martin's parents, a move their attorney denounced. >> it was devastating that he got to give a self-serving apology to help him get a bond. >> reporter: the 28-year-old volunteer night watchman claims he acted in self-defense in a confrontation with the unarmed black teenager in a gated community. the initial refusal of seminole county authorities to arrest zimmerman sparked racially charged protests which spread from sanford throughout the nation. a special prosecutor appointed by florida's governor took over the investigation and brought second-degree murder charges against zimmerman. there is a possibility zimmerman will be allowed to live out of state. he's also required to report to authorities every three days. reporting live in sanford, florida, randall pinkston. back to you. >> all right, randall, in sanford, florida, thank you. memories of a mild winter

and record warm march are fading in the northeast this morning as a massive storm makes its way up the east coast. the nor'easter started delivering rain and heavy wind gusts sunday and is expected to intensify today. flood watches are up in four states but the storm's real damage could come from a heavy dose of late april snow along its western edge. it may be spring but public works employees in pittsburgh were in winter mode on sunday, retooling their trucks ahead of the storm. >> what we're doing here today is getting all of our equipment remounted with winter maintenance, salt spreaders, if you will, putting them on the backs of the trucks. we want to be prepared in the event, whatever the case may be. >> reporter: a spring snowfall in buffalo, new york, isn't rare but after a warm winter, many packed away their snow gear. >> that's why i'm shopping so i don't have to go out. i'll watch it from the window. >> i cut my tulips down and brought them in the house.

i'll see the beauty of them and they won't be doused in all that snow tomorrow. >> reporter: pittsburgh could end up with as much as half a foot of snow. buffalo could see up to 8 inches. johnstown, pennsylvania, residents are bracing for well over a foot of april snow. this storm closely resembles the one that dumped a record amount of snow on the northeast last october and could bring with it many of the same problems. >> both producing heavy, wet snow. and both happening at times when we have a lot of leaves on the trees, which will cause more weight on these trees. probably cause a lot of these trees to tumble down on top of power line. that's why we think there could be widespread power outages. >> reporter: from the mid-atlantic to southern new england, a steady stream of rain has been falling. some areas could see up to 4 inches with the heaviest downpour coming this morning. a nightmare may be in store for millions of commuters getting ready to head into new

york city where a flood watch is in effect. the rain will be welcomed on long island, which is experiencing drought conditions. former democratic presidential candidate john edwards goes on trial today in greensboro, north carolina. edwards is charged with six felony and misdemeanor counts for allegedly using campaign contributions to hide his pregnant mistress. edwards says his actions were not illegal. if convicted, he could face 30 years in prison. lawmakers are calling for an expanded investigation into the secret service prostitution scandal. another agent who has been implicated had a room at the same hotel in colombia, where the president stayed. danielle nottingham reports. >> reporter: more secret service agents involved in the columbian prostitution scandal could soon be out of a job. >> i would expect within a very near future to have several other secret service agents leaving. >> reporter: members of congress investigating the scandal expect the secret service to fire more agents this week. so far, six agents have lost

their jobs. five are on administrative leave. and 11 members of the military are under investigation. they were part of an advanced team, setting up security for president obama's trip to cartagena, colombia. some agents are accused of hiring prostitutes and bringing them back to the hotel caribe. but a law enforcement official tells cbs news, another agent brought a woman back to the hilton. the same hotel where president obama stayed five days later. >> now you're into the hotel where the president of the united states was going to stay. it just gets more troubling. >> reporter: senator joe lieberman says congress plans to launch hearings and will try to determine if this type of behavior has happened before. former secret service director ralph basham doesn't think lawmakers will find anything. >> i don't believe in the past these type of things have happened. they certainly didn't happen on my watch.

>> reporter: u.s. authorities are in colombia, investigating the scandal. the secret service says at no time was the president's security compromised. danielle nottingham, cbs news, washington. coming up on the morning news, the hottest ticket on campus. students at unc camp out overnight for a chance to see president obama. why his message may be of particular importance to them. first, though, scott pelley has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." the economic recovery may be slow going but we're going to show you a place where innovation has launched a tech boom that is creating thousands of jobs. that's this week on the "cbs evening news." this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word. you have yet to master the quiet sneeze. you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts. well, muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin®

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u.s. officials are skeptical about iran's claims it is building a copy of a captured spy drone. last december the iranians showed off the sleek jet-powered drone which crashed in eastern iran.

they claim they reverse engineered the aircraft but u.s. experts doubt their ability to construct one of their own. nato said this morning that two service members were killed by a bomb sunday in eastern afghanistan. most nato troops in that region are american. meanwhile, u.s. and afghan negotiators have reached a deal on a log-term strategic partnership. it commits the u.s. to provide military and financial support to afghanistan well beyond the withdrawal of american forces in 2014. as clarissa ward reports from kabul, it's clear the afghan government will need the help. >> reporter: staring blankly at the camera, they clutch their korans to their chest. some barely look like teenagers. according to taliban website, these are some of the fighters in last sunday's coordinated attacks that left nearly 50 people dead. with their final words, they proclaim a desire to avenge the american military's burning of korans and the massacre of

civilians by a u.s. serviceman in kandahar in march. >> burn our holy koran. >> reporter: but it was the afghan government that was most rattled by last week's attacks. an unwelcome reminder that the taliban can still strike inside the capital. president karzai blamed intelligence failure by his government and by nato forces. afghanistan's intelligence apparatus fought to show it was still in control. national security spokesman announced that security forces had captured five insurgents with 22,000 pounds of explosives. hidden underneath piles of potatoes in a truck bound for kabul. that he claimed three of the five insurgents. pakistani and that the truck had pakistani license plates. he also said security forces had thwarted a second plot to assassinate the afghan vice president, allegedly organized

by haqqani, a network of terrorists based in pakistan who are also blamed for last week's attacks. clearly the government of afghanistan trying again to pressure pakistan to help with its security problems. clarissa ward, cbs news, kabul. the united nations is sending more observers to monitor the cease-fire in syria. the observers visited opposition stronghold of homs yesterday. rebel forces say government troops continued to attack. the u.n. voted to send up to 300 observers to syria. france will hold a presidential runoff election on may 6th. hollande barely beat sarkozy. in yesterday's first round. it's the first time a sitting president has lost the first round of voting. hollande promises to boost government spending. on the "cbs moneywatch," gas prices hit reverse and bribery allegations against walmart. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. good morning, ashley.

>> markets overseas were cautious. tokyo's nikkei fell a fraction while hong kong's hang seng dropped more than 1.5%. this week ben bernanke will answer questions about the weak march jobs report. and could hint about any future economic stimulus. wall street is coming off its first winning week in the month of april. dow was up 179 points for the week, but the nasdaq dipped 10. after a four-month surge, gas prices are starting to head back down. according to the lundberg survey, prices at the pump have fallen five cents a gallon over the last two weeks. the nationwide average is now $3.91. walmart says it's deeply concerned about bribery allegations involving its unit in mexico. according to a report in "the new york times," the reseller launched an investigation in 2005 but shut the probe down and failed to notify u.s. or mexican law enforcement officials.

"the times" reports walmart did eventually disclose information to u.s. authorities but only after the paper notified walmart it was looking into the allegations. and hundreds of people at university of north carolina lined up in the rain to get tickets to president obama's on-campus speech tomorrow. the president will address student loan issues and push congress to extend a law that cuts rates on stafford loans. if the law expires, the rates on those loans will double on july 1st. certainly nothing any of those students want to happen. >> certainly not. ashley morrison here in new york, thanks. straight ahead, your monday morning weather. in sports, who said basketball isn't a contact sport? this could affect the nba playoffs. ould affect the nba playoffs. [ male announcer ] there are only so many foods that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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i get the power of claritin-d. sinus pressure? nothing works stronger or faster than claritin-d. get non-drowsy claritin-d at the pharmacy counter. live claritin clear. here's another look at today's forecast. new york, morning showers is, 58. miami. partly sunny and 81. chicago, partly sunny, 54. dallas, mostly sunny and 73. l.a., morning clouds and 68. now for a check of today's national forecast. the weekend nor'easter that battered the northeast and mid-atlantic will ease during the day but heavy rain will continue in new england. higher elevations in western new york, pennsylvania, ohio and west virginia could get several inches of heavy wet snow. the rest of the country will be mostly dry with thunderstorms in california, oregon and in the rockies.

in sports now, it doesn't seem right for a guy world peace after the l.a. lakers metta world peace dunked against oklahoma city, he pounded his chest and gave the thunder's james harden a vicious elbow to the head. harden was down for about a minute, then helped to the locker room. world peace was tossed and could face a multigame suspension headed into the nba playoffs. oh, yes, the lakers won 114-106. now to baseball. texas at detroit. top of the 11th inning, tied 2-2, bases loaded agonzalez bunted. the ball hit his leg but the umpire missed the call and it turned into an rbi single. and texas hung on for a 3-2 victory. in the stanley cup playoffs, first round action, overtime in vancouver and l.a.'s jarod stoll beat cory snyder with a wrist shot. the kings beat the top-seeded canucks 2-1 and took the series in five games.

boston also took an overtime win last night. the bruins' tyler seguin snuck a shot past washington's goalie for a 4-3 win to tie the eastern conference series at 3-3. in philly giroux scored half a minute into the game and the flyers went on to beat the pittsburgh penguins 5-1, taking the opening round series in six games. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and a soccer ball that got swept out to sea in the japanese tsunami reaches land thousands of miles away. ese tsunami reaches land thousands of miles away. uncover stronger, younger looking skin. [ female announcer ] new aveeno skin strengthening body cream helps transform dry, thinning skin, by strengthening its moisture barrier, for improved texture and elasticity in 2 weeks.

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., showers, 51. atlanta, sunny, 60. st. louis, partly sunny, 63. denver, partly cloudy, 81. seattle, mostly cloudy and 74.

another look at this morning's top stories. george zimmerman was released from a florida jail early this morning on $150,000 bail. zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of florida teenager trayvon martin. his whereabouts are unknown. and an area from virginia to new england is getting hit with a nor'easter this morning. heavy rain and strong winds are expected. parts of pennsylvania, ohio and new york could see heavy, wet snow. here in new york, the search resumes this morning for new evidence in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old etan patz. the sensational case was revived after a police dog scented human remains in a basement where patz vanished 33 years ago. investigators are digging up the ce will. lar floor. in tucson, arizona, a search is on for another missing 6-year-old who may have been abducted from her home. isabel vanished friday night or early saturday.

her father says her bedroom window was open. last night, tucson residents held a candlelight vigil. police have found no trace of the child so far. it was hold on to your hat this weekend in northwest china. wind out of siberia bent trues, blasted vehicles with dust and sand. some could only hold on or be blown away. in one city, a wind gust hit a record 131 miles an hour. one of the first pieces of debris from last year's japanese tsunami has washed up on u.s. shores. a soccer ball was found on middleton island, alaska, last month. it had japanese writing on it and traced to a teen in japan. the ball had traveled more than 5,000 miles. the man who found it plans to send the ball back to the boy. nice. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," football hall of famer dan marino. i'm michelle miller and this is the "cbs morning news." this is

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4 minutes before 5:00 on a monday morning. marty is in the first warning warning weather center. >> what we're seeing is the actual low itself starting to band more moisture on the way from the south. the winds on the flags in the parking lots coming out of the east. we're nowhere near out of the woods. a sloppy day start. let's take a look at how the day will square away. cool side. 41 now. 50 at lunch. a high of 51. a full 16 degrees below normal. don, take it away. >> thank you very much. this is what we have our eye on for you. the governor meeting with legislative leaders about holding a special session. despite the bad weather, the inaugural race in ocean city for the susan g. komen race for the cure draws nearly 3600 participants. towson university unveils a

new monument for students in the military and those who will enter in the future. already in the news, breaking news out of florida. george zimmerman is out of jail this morning. after posting bail overnight. a big blaze breaks out at a warehouse. wjz is live at the scene as firefighters continue to monitor the hot spots. and busted, federal agents swarm the flea market and what they say they found inside. more news and traffic and weather and the new week, in a couple of minutes. ♪ i, i'll bring the fire make you come alive ♪

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