as president obama and congress tangle over how to avoid steep cuts to the budget, the white house angers some lawmakers by drafting its own plan to tackle immigration reform. on hold, olympic sprinter and accused murderer oscar pistorius cancels his upcoming races as new details emerge about the shooting death of his girlfriend. and poll position. danica patrick makes history, becoming the first woman to grab the top starting spot at the daytona 500. this is the "cbs morning news" for february 18th, 2013. captioning funded by cbs morning. good to be with you. good morning.

good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with immigration reform and the stir caused by a leaked white house proposal. critics are blasting the plan. the administration says the alternative proposal is just a backup in case congress can't agree on a deal. as reported by "usa today," the president's plan would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents within eight years. they would have to pass a background check, learn english and u.s. history, and pay back taxes. susan mcginnis with more now from washington. susan, good morning. >> good morning, anne-marie. it is not clear whether the white house leaked this plan on purpose or not, but either way, lawmakers here on capitol hill want that plan tabled so that a group of senators known as the gang of eight can continue their work on a bipartisan bill. the white house is responding after a draft of its version of an immigration reform bill was leaked to the press this weekend. the white house says it's simply a backup plan.

>> we will be prepared with our own plan if these ongoing talks between republicans and democrats up on capitol hill break down. >> white house sources tell cbs news this wasn't a planned leak but some republicans are skeptical. >> leaks don't happen in washington by accident. this raises the question many of us continue to wonder about. does the president really want a result or does he want another to beat up the republicans so he can get political advantage in the next election. >> i met with the president wednesday, and he agreed to give us the space we need to come up with a bipartisan proposal. >> still many republicans here on capitol hill tell us they were shocked to see this white house draft and even more shocked that the president's plan did not require tougher border security. >> this is the president torpedoing his own plan and shows me that he's really not serious. >> florida senator marco rubio

says if the plan is sent as it is, it will be dead on arrival. his colleagues have had to smooth things over. >> we've talked with marco rubio and he's fully on board with our process and i'm hopeful that in march we'll have a bipartisan bill. >> in march is when the president wants to see a bill in congress that's ready for a vote. now, despite this latest commotion, washington has not come this close to immigration reform in 20 years. anne-marie? >> susan mcginnis in washington, thank you. when congress returns from break next week, it will have just a few days before those dramatic across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester. some republican lawmakers warn there is no way to avoid them and as bill plante reports, the administration is also warning of the dire consequences. >> what our friends in the house have told us is that they will not even consider anything that includes increased revenues, not even closing loopholes for corporate jets, closing loopholes for oil and gas

companies. >> reporter: with everyone out of town, there's no sense of urgency, only finger-pointing. republicans say it's the president's fault. >> we're here because the president back in the last session of congress refused to cut spending in any place, and, therefore, we've wound up with a sequester. >> reporter: democrats blame the republicans. >> their arguments are untenable and don't meet the favor of hardly anyone other than themselves and the few whose special interests they're protecting. >> reporter: the long-term consequences of the spending cuts could be severe from thousands of federal jobs food inspection head start childhood education, small business loans, and most controversial, $46 billion less in defense spending. >> we're going to begin to unravel the finest military in the history of the world at a time when we need it most. >> reporter: the defense department cuts range from the furloughing of workers on friday

to reducing aircraft carrier groups in the gulf. with the middle east in turmoil and iran working to acquire nuclear weapons, south carolina republican lindsey graham warns that this is the wrong time for cutbacks. >> i think we should in bipartisan fashion stop see question station before in the words of the secretary of defense, destroys the pentagon. >> reporter: if there's any silver lining in this mess it's that the cuts would phase in gradually so if the two parties could come to agreement in a few weeks or a few months, much of the damage could probably be undone. bill plante, cbs news, the white house. some republican opponen chuck hagel's bid to be defense secretary say they will probably allow his confirmation vote to proceed. hagel's nomination has been put on hold trapped in battle between republican lawmakers and the administration over the attack on the u.s. mission in libya. well you've probably already noticed this but the price of gas has risen 32 straight days.

this morning the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas is $3.69. that's up 14 cents from a week ago and 43 cents a gallon from last month. experts say rising oil prices, reductions in cuts are all adding to the dramatic increase. well arkansas law enforcement officials say troubled country sing erminedy mccready has apparently taken her own life. she was found with a single bullet to the held. her talent was overtaken by her personal problems. the 37-year-old entered court-ordered rehab this month. her two sons were put in foster care. her long-time boyfriend david wilson died last month and his death was also investigated as a suicide. and oscar pistorius's track career has been put on hold while he fights charges of murder. the double amputee olympian is defending charges that he kills

his girlfriend. funeral services for her will held tomorrow. tetiana anderson reports. >> reporter: south african oscar pistorius is leaving the track for now. the olympian is wanting to focus on murder charges. the police arrested the double amputee track star on thursday. prosecutor says he shot his girlfriend model reeva steenkamp at his home in the south african capital. he's charged with premeditated murder, but he claims he thought he was shooting an intruder. >> it's tragic circumstance and it's unfolding. we can only give oscar our support at this time. >> reporter: now new details are being told of what happened in the house. steenkamp was sleeping in the same bed as piz torous and she was in her night gown when she was first shot in the bedroom. she then ran in the bathroom and locked herself inside where she was shot in the head, hand, and arm.

police took a 9 mm gun from the home and found a bloody bat. it's uncertain if it was used. they visited him over the weekend and say they're standing by him. >> we have had overwhelming support for oscar from a lot of fans on a global scale, really on a global scale. >> reporter: locals prayed for pistorius and steenkamp at church services on sunday. >> i think it's important for the church to show the love of god in the whole situation. >> reporter: lawyers for the runner are preparing for his court date later this week. tetiana anderson cbs news. well, coming up on the "morning news," black gold. people in russia are collecting fragments from the meteorite that crashed into their town now said to be worth a whole lot of money. this is the "cbs morning news." are just $1 each friday through monday only, at petsmart®.

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he'll step down at the end of the month, and the vatican says a new pope could be installed by mid-march. pope benedict's last public appearance is scheduled for sunday. in russia, a modern-day gold rush for meteor fragments. people say they found chunks of space rock buried in snow. if they're real the fragments could be worth thousands of dollars. meanwhile an army of volunteers turned up sunday after the blast that blew out windows in an industrial town about 950 miles from moscow. around 1,200 people were injured. well it is tax season and tax fraud continues to be a growing problem. just last month, the irs made over 100 arrests in identifying theft-related cases, and as segtd doan reports, the irs is struggling to keep ahead of this crime wave.

>> reporter: in 2011 joe bianco waited patiently for a $10,000 tax refund. when he contacted the irs, it said he had already been paid. >> somebody filed with a forged w-2 from walmart, claimed a refund, got the refund, using my name and social security number. >> reporter: in the past 12 months the irs confirms 770,000 cases of refund fraud due to identity theft up from 250,000 case the year before. thousands more are still under investigation. >> phony w-2 and a social security number and you're in business. >> reporter: adam levin is chairman of identity theft 911. a recovery service for victims. he said the crime wave is a the result of a faster digital irs. >> unfortunately as that process has evolved, security has become compromised. >> reporter: the irs has doubled the number of i.d. theft caseworkers in 2012.

it cracked down on 2,400 cases on phony tax preparers as well as ordinary employees with access to social security numbers including bank tellers, hospital workers, and even member of the armed services. what have you learned about this identity theft? >> it must be awfully easy and it's a lot like crossing a busy street. >> reporter: what do you mean? >> somebody's going to get hit. hopefully it's not you. >> reporter: beanco received his refund 90 days after he reported it missing. the irs says personal info is key. but perhaps the best advice is to file early before someone files for you. seth doane c b sbs news, new york. president obama teed up with tiger woods sunday, but the white house reporters say they're the ones who were tee'd off. the president and woods shot a round at a club in florida, but the media was not allowed to take any pictures. reporters expressed their frustration, but the white house

says press access was consistent with other presidential golf outings. straight ahead, your monday morning weather, and in sports, danica patrick outraces the boys, making history as the first woman to win the poll at the daytona 500. the daytona 500.

whatever it takes, get to sears presidents day sale mattress close out. get 24 month special financing. and save up to 60%, plus get an extra 10% off. and free delivery. this is eye opening. this is sears. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities is around the country. new york, mostly sunny, 35 the high. miami, 70 the high. chicago and dallas can expect rain today, 45 and 71. los angeles, 63 the high.

and time now for a check of the national forecast. the first of two storms rolls into the midwest tomorrow, bringing snow, ice, and thunderstorms to much of the region. showers and thunderstorms will hit oklahoma to the lower mississippi valley and it will be fairly quiet across the northeast and the west. in sports danica patrick has made history again. she won the poll position for next sunday's daytona 500. in 2008 she became the only woman to win an indycar race. now she's the first woman ever to grab a top spot for any nascar sprint cup race. during her qualifying race sunday she averaged 196 miles an hour. >> i've been lucky enough to make history and be the first woman to do many things, and, you know, i really just hope that i don't stop doing that. i mean we have -- we have a lot more history to make and we're

excited to do it. >> sitting next to danica at the poll will be four-time cup champion jeff gordon. in basketball now, the west beat the east in the all-star game. the lakers' kobe bryant played some tough "d" on lebron james blocking his shot that left 50 seconds on the clock. on the side for the west, chris paul had the hot hand scoring 20 and handing out 15 assists, and for that he got the mvp award. he's now the first l.a. clipper to ever win the title. the best of the west gunned down the east all-stars, though, 143-138. when we return, we'll introduce you to the martial arts-based sport that's vying for a spot in the olympic games. but don't worry he'll find someone else. ♪ who's that lady? ♪ ♪ who's that lady? ♪ ♪ sexy lady, who's that lady? ♪ [ female announcer ] swiffer 360 dusters extender cleans high and low with thick all around fibers that attract and lock up to two times more dust than a feather duster. swiffer gives cleaning a whole new

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., 42 the high. sunny in atlanta with a high of 57. st. louis can expect rain, though, 56 the high. denver, clearing and 37. seattle, 46.

the mother of a toddler who was slapped by another passenger on a flight is breaking her silence. jessica bennett was flyin from minnesota to atlanta with her 2-year-old son joshua when joshua began to cry, she says the man sitting next to her, joe ricky hudley, used a racial slur. and i said what did you say? because i couldn't believe that he would say that to me. his mouth was in my ear and he said it again but even more hateful and he was on my face, so i pushed him away. >> hudley then allegedly slapped the toddler. he's facing criminal charges and his employer says he's now out of a job. in may the executive board for the international olympic committee will beside whether wrestling will be included in the 2020 games.

as terrell brown reports it will compete with other contenders including a little known sport based on martial arts. >> reporter: in the early 1970s, bruce lee movies picked up the kung fu phenomenon around the globe, and from traditional kung fu has come one of the world's fastest growing sports, wushu. competitors perform a series of routines with kicks, punches, and jumps judged to the smallest detail. george vega has trained in wushu for 13 years. is it more of a fight or more of a performance? >> what you want is a perfect balance, fight and performance. this year the international olympics committee will consider adding wushu to the olympic summer games of 2020. al bender has been the master

trainer there for 30 years. he said wushu is like another high-flying olympic sport, gymnastics. you know, you watch gymnastics. you get that wow factor. are you going to get that when you watch wushu? >> you're absolutely going get that wow factor. you'll get more because they're using weapons and the weapons are moving very fast. >> reporter: but in order for that to happen wrestling which dates back to the ancient greece might be out. could it be that wrestling has become boring? i.t. shows low tv ratings, fewer hitting, and shrinking coverage. wrestling isn't quite down for the count. it can get back is in the 2020 games but has to beat out six other sports including wushu. >> there are teams all over the world, and they do come together for competition. i don't think it's going to be stoppable. >> reporter: the ioc will decide who makes the cut in may. terrell brown, cbs news, bloomfield, new jersey. well, a massive tomato toss in chile on saturday. take a look at this. about 7,000 people turned out for the third annual war of the

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4 minutes before 5:00 on this monday morning. colder than your temperature says. >> there's not a chill but it's cold this morning. sunny today we'll lose that wind machine. 21 now 39 at lunch going to a high of 40. here's what we have our eye on today baltimore county police shipping down the plaza flee narcotic market. >> nina harp er was elected in the house of delegates. >> the governor is set to deliver a speech in annapolis. >> the search for a killer.

a university of md aryland student is killed and now police are looking for who did it. >> olympian oscar pistorius's career is on hold as he's behind bars charged with his girlfriend's murder. >> bwi sets another record. why it means good news for travelers in and out of here. >> more news, first warning weather and your first traffic report of the morning and new work week in a couple of minutes.

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