the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. [ vocalizing ] [ buzzing ] [ tree crashes ] [ wind howling ]

there's more extreme weather in the forecast. with arctic air blasting the northeast, rain and snow in the west, and in the midwest, the historic winter flood is rolling on. at least 25 people have been killed there. there's no peace in olive branch, illinois, where we find david begnaud tonight. david? >> reporter: scott, at least half of the town of olive branch, illinois, is underwater tonight. there are flooded homes like the one behind me for miles in areas that are known to be vulnerable to major flooding. >> there's the breech. >> reporter: in alexander county, illinois, the flooding is disastrous, and the temperature is near freezing. >> it's gotten real bad here. >> reporter: today the u.s. coast guard flew us over the

failed about 72 hours ago. >> this is where the levee breeched sending water from the mississippi river into a flood plain. at least 100 strucucres are flooded, 14,000 acres of the county are under water, and the water is rising. >> reporter: this is the home of brandon dillow and jennifer korte. they built their levee eight feet high. tonight they're dry. they learned a lesson in 2011. then the levee was five feet high and water got inside the home. >> depressing. it changes your whole life. >> reporter: many like them have been asked to evacuate but refuse. david bigham's elderly parents got out, but the others stayed behind to save what was left. >> you worry about everything you got and everything you're going to lose. >> reporter: from the air you see the home is surrounded by water on three sides.

and eight water pumps working to keep the property dry. so far they're holding. >> reporter: back near the levee breech, we spotted this herd of deer, victims of the unrelenting flood running for an escape. we noticed tonight the water seems to have dropped about an inch in the last six hours. that's great news for the bigham family. friends and family are working around the clock, dead set on saving this house that has been here since 1959. scott, some of this floodwater could reach memphis by friday. >> david, thank you very much. ben tracy is reporting much of this crazy weather is being driven by the warming pacific current known as el nio. >> reporter: el nio has already hit california's mountains. the latest snowpack survey found five feet of snow in the sierras, a welcome sight after four years of f ought. southern california is now bracing for a series of storms. josh rubenstein is a meteorologist at kcbs in los angeles. >> we're looking at about an

the l.a. basin, and right on its heels, here's that third system that's moving in on wednesday. the rain from that could linger all the way into friday. >> reporter: el nio is an intense warming of the pacific ocean near the equator that changes weather patterns around the world. this is one of the largest on record. in glendora, california, eric erby was stocking up on sandbags. >> it could happen any time anywhere. it depends on how much. either way, i'll make sure i'm prepared. >> reporter: los angeles is designed to prevent flooding, which is why the los angeles river is encased in all of this concrete. it may look like a pathetic little stream tonight, but, scott, later this week you could have ten to 20 feet of water filling this channel. >> ben tracy, thanks. well, it was a wave of worry that swept world financial markets today after stocks in china plunged. the dow was down as much as 467

with a loss of 276 or 1.6%. it is the worst start to a year since the great recession. the markets were also rattled by saudi arabia and iran. the two are rivals because the saudis represent the sunni branch of islam and iran is home to the shiite branch. over the weekend, the saudis executed a shiite cleric. after a furious iranian reaction, countries in the gulf are choosing sides. here's holly williams. >> reporter: in iran today, angry protesters denounced saudi arabia's execution of the shiite muslim cleric nimr al-nimr. his death has opened a 1,400- year-old wound, enflaming tensions between sunni and shiite muslims. in the sunni-led kingdom of saudi arabia, al-nimr dared to demand equality for shiites and

2012. it was in shiite-dominated iran that saudi arabia's embassy was ransacked and burned on saturday. around 40 people were later arrested, but iran made its feelings clear by renaming this street in honor of the executed cleric. saudi arabia and iran are already fighting two deadly proxy wars against each other in syria and yemen, taking sides along religious lines. now there are fears that al nimr's execution will fuel even more violence in the middle east. shiite muslims also clashed with police in bahrain. they used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters. blaming iran for the escalation, saudi arabia has severed diplomatic ties with tehran. its ally, bahrain, has followed suit, while the united arab

ambassador. with many countries in the middle east already torn apart by religious differences, these tensions could destabilize the region even more, especially, scott, if saudi arabia and iran try to use those religious divisions to further their own interests. >> holly williams reporting for us tonight in istanbul.. holly, thank you. is man creating earthquakes in oklahoma? and they've discovered the wreck of "el faro," the worst u.s. maritime disaster in 30 years. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. phil! oh no... (under his breath) hey man! hey peter. (unenthusiastic) oh... ha ha ha! joanne? is that you? it's me... you don't look a day over 70. am i right? jingle jingle. if you're peter pan, you stay young forever. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. you make me feel so young...

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after a swarm of small earthquakes in oklahoma, the state has ordered oil drillers today to reduce the amount of f wastewater they inject into the ground during a process known as "fracking." here's mark strassmann. >> reporter: oklahoma, not california, is now america's earthquake capital. >> who do you call if you feel an earthquake? >> reporter: until 2008, the state averaged one or two a year. now it's almost three a day. >> it was a big boom. and everything started shaking. >> reporter: including you? >> including me.

earthquake hit crescent, oklahoma, last july. grocery clerk lois gillette hugged a coworker. >> i thought i was going to fall. there was a lot of stuff fell off the shelves. >> reporter: oklahoma keeps breaking records for earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher. more than 900 last year alone. but why? most geologists connect the spike in earthquakes to the state's oil and gas industry and its disposal of massive amounts of water into underground caverns. geologist todd halihan teaches at oklahoma state. >> unfortunately there is a side effect and now we are generating seismicity due to the injection wells, they're startling when you feel them, and there are now a lot of people experiencing them on a pretty broad scale. >> reporter: lois gillette isn't taking sides. >> i don't know if it's manmade. i don't have any idea. >> reporter: you would just like it to stop?

please. >> reporter: one geologist we talked to said no question something has reactivated fault lines here, fault lines that had been dormant for 300 million years.

and we'll be right back.

transportation safety board said that it may press for more evidence in the sinking of the american cargo ship "el faro," lost this past october in hurricane joaquin. all 33 crew were killed. recently on assignment with "60 minutes," we sailed with the ntsb's investigator, tom roth-roffy as "el faro" was discovered 15,000 feet under the atlantic. this is where "el faro" came to rest, upright, hull largely intact, her name mangled on the stern. her depth markings reported that this, the bow, had sunk 15 feet into the mud. her autopsy revealed a body that had been savagely beaten, steel crushed, equipment collapsed. there was no sign of the 33 crew members. equipment and cargo litter the seabed.

the right, that's a printer. here is the top of a car with a sunroof, part of the cargo. >> at the top of that white line there is the most surprising part of our video surveys. there's nothing above there. >> what should be there? >> there should be two decks above that. the lower navigation bridge deck and the bridge deck. >> the two top decks had sheered off, including the bridge, where captain davidson would have been fighting the storm. they were nowhere near the ship. also missing, the voyage data recorder, like a so-called black box on an airplane. the safety board says it may search again for that data recorder, which would have captured conversations on the

our final story coming up next. the government says we need 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week. dr. jon lapook has one way to get it. >> reporter: this is considered vigorous? >> right. >> reporter: dr. carol ewing garber teaches the science of exercise at columbia's teachers college. how many calories a minute do you burn procrastinating? because i'm really good at that. >> i don't think you burn too many at all. >> reporter: for those who get tired just thinking about strenuous exercise without rest, there's a fitness approach called high intensity interval training or h.i.t. short bursts of high intensity exertion, say a minute or two of running as fast as you can, followed by a slow period of recovery, maybe a slow jog for a

>> so i'll row for 100 meters. so that's a short row. it will be high intensity. i'm going to try to bring the power up. >> reporter: h.i.t. is the mantra at orange theory fitness where eddie diaz is a coach. >> this will be a recovery period here. get those nice deep breaths in, and after you're done with your ten seconds, you get back the work. >> reporter: the h.i.t. regimen varies from place the place. here the goal is to work out in what they call the orange zone, at a high intensity level for 12 to 20 minutes of an hour-long class. >> i felt completely out of shape. >> reporter: 36-year-old shelly ramsammy has asthma and used to be afraid of vigorous exertion. she tolerated the interval training well and last summer she had added incentive. >> i was trying to get fit for a trip. i'm going to be in a bikini. i have to get fit. >> reporter: after building up slowly, exercise experts recommend, she now runs twice as fast as before. research shows high-intensity training stimulates the muscles to burn fat and sugar more

why is it hot now? >> i think because research has been showing that it can be pretty powerful in improving people's risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. >> reporter: powerful, too, in getting some people off the couch. because at the end of the day, exercise works best if you actually do it. dr. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. that's the "overnight news" for this tuesday. for some of you, the news will continue. for others, check back with us a little bit later for the morning news and "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new

this is the "cbs overnight news." >> welcome to the "overnight news." i'm elaine quijano. president obama fired the opening shot in the latest battle over gun control. he met with attorney general loretta lynch and fbi director james comey to come up with a strategy to reign in gun violence. the president plans a series of executive actions to make it more difficult for some people to purchase weapons. and he'll do it without going through congress. >> we have tens of thousands of people every single year who are killed by guns. we have suicides that are committed by firearms at a rate that far exceeds other countries. we have a frequency of mass

countries in frequency. and although it is my strong belief that for us to get our complete arms around the problem, congress needs to act. what i asked my team to do is see what more we could do to strengthen our enforcement and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands, to make sure that criminals and people who are mentally unstable, those who could pose a danger to themselves or others are less likely to get a gun. and i have just received back a report from attorney general lynch, director comey, as well as deputy director brandon, about some of the ideas and initiatives they think could make a difference. and the good news is, these are

authority, and the executive branch, but they're also ones that the overwhelming majority of the american people, including gun owners, support and believe. so over the next several days, we'll be rolling outhese initiatives. we'll be making sure that people have a very clear understanding of what can make a difference and what we can do. and although we have to be very clear this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country, it's not going to prevent every mass shooting, it's not going to keep every gun out of the hands of criminals, it will potentially save lives in this country. and spare families the pain and the extraordinary loss that they've suffered as a consequence of a firearm being in the hands of the wrong people.

made by my team here are ones that are entirely consistent with the second amendment, and people's lawful right to bear arms. >> reporter: already it has a lot of people on capitol hill fired up. jan crawford reports. >> reporter: the president is going to be holding a series of events, then he's going to sign those executive actions he hopes will help curb some of this gun violence. but before we know the details, opponents are sharpening their attacks. >> my new year's resolution is to move forward on our unfinished business. >> reporter: president obama teased this latest round of executive actions over the weekend. >> we know we can't stop every act of violence. but what if we tried to stop even one? >> reporter: he signalled a november last month in an interview with norah o'donnell, after 14 people were killed in san bernardino by terrorists using legally purchased firearms. >> there's some steps we could

of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently. >> reporter: nearly three years after the president side stepped congress with 23 executive actions on gun control, advocates are urging him to do more. the white house is now considering several steps to clarify existing laws, forcing more gun sellers to conduct background checks on potential buyers, and makes it more difficult for convicted domestic abusers to acquire firearms. democratic candidates for president were quick to praise the president's upcoming action. >> most gun owners in this country understand that people who should not own guns should not be able to buy them. >> what if it's republican that walks into the white house? within the first day, the executive orders will be >> reporter: the repeplicans immediately objected. >> on my first day behind that desk, those orders are gone.

boom, first hour, first minute, you can rescind that. >> reporter: and they attacked the president for going around congress. >> this top-down driven approach doesn't create freedom or safety, it doesn't create security. >> reporter: now with all these legal questions swirling around whether the president even has the authority to do this, to do an end-run around congress, one thing is almost certain, this all is probably going to end up in court. in the wilds of oregon, a group of self-styled militiamen continue to occupy several buildings in a federal wildlife refuge. the group calls itself citizens for constitutional freedom. members are apparently armed and are protesting the way the government runs federal lands. there's no visible law enforcement presence in the area, and the fbi insists it's seeking a peaceful resolution. john blackstone reports. >> reporter: while the american flag is draped over the sign here, that's the protester's signal that they are in charge here, they're calling on

country to come and join them here. they say they'll stay here as long as it takes, until their demands are met. at the occupied compound, protesters are setting up camp and settling in for the long haul. ammon bundy is leading the occupation. he says they're fighting back against the government's expansion of the over 100-year-old federal wildlife refuge at the expense of local ranchers. >> this refuge here is rightfully owned by the people, and we intend to use it. >> reporter: back in 2014, bundy's father, cliven, was embroiled in a dispute with federal officials over grazing rights on federal land. that escalated into an armed confrontation. this group says up camp saturday after a march in a nearby town in support of two ranchers. dwight hammond and his son steven were convicted of setting

and served jail time. they say it wasn't arson, but controlled burns to protect their property. in october, a judge added four more years to their sentence. 73-year-old hammond says this could be a death sentence for him. >> this makes it over for me. it just seems like a little overreach for having burned 127 acres. >> reporter: in a statement, the hammond's attorney reports they're not associated with bundy's group, saying -- >> reporter: but protesters say they plan to stay put until all local ranchers reclaim land they allege was stolen by the u.s. government years ago. >> we'll be here as long as it takes, and being as gentle as possible. but this is important. >> reporter: here outside the compound, armed guards are standing by to monitor those entering the property.

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the ntsb has released underwater video of what's left of the cargo ship "el faro." it took on water and sank in a hurricane last october. the "el faro" sits in water deeper than the "titanic" in the heart of the bermuda triangle. all 33 crew members were lost at sea. the worst american shipping disaster in 35 years. the exact cause of the wreck remains a mystery. scott pelley has the story for "60 minutes." >> reporter: september 29th, "elel faro" left jacksonville, florida. captain michael davidson, who had a long career, intended to steer 65 miles south of the storm's predicted path. even in a hurricane, the ship could likely survive by using

bow pointed directly into the waves. a ship's most survivable angle. but in 18 hours, joaquin spun into a category 3 and slid southwest toward "el faro." david made an emergency call to the ship's owner, tote maritime. what do we know from the captain's last report? >> w w know that he had lost propulsion, that the engineers were unable to restart the main engine. the vessel was listing about 15 degrees and one of the hatches had popped or come open. >> reporter: he was taking on watter? >> correct. >> reporter: if the ship lost power as the captain reported, you would expect her to turn sideway to the waves, and that is her most vulnerable position? >> that's correct. >> reporter: the ship was approximately here, miles from the eye of the storm. the forecast predicted gusts of

30 feet. three weeks later, apache arrived in a search area of 198 scale miles. charles kapeka towed a side scan sonar for five days, when he spotted something you don't see in nature, a right angle. >> it's very ststight with a shadow. at this point i'm calling over saying i think there's something coming up you want to seechlt>> reporter: as the sonarcan unfurled, the sound waves reflected the shape of a shift, about 800 feet long. >> at that point, we talked to the ntsb and said we believe we have found it. we then put our curve in the water and did a survey of the hull with moving and still photography. >> reporter: the cable controlled underwater recovery vehicle can reach 20,000 feet.

>> correct. so here's a pan and tilt camera. you have some lights right here. >> reporter: there is zero light at 15,000 feet. >> correct. >> reporter: total utter darkness. so any light you have, you have to bring with you. >> absolutely. >> reporter: apache dropped down 15,500 feet, nearly 3 miles. the pressure is more than 3 tons per square inch. flurries of tiny marine life drift by, by fish are rare in the impenetrable darkness. this is fromel faro" came to rest, upright, hull largely in tact. her name mangled on the stern. her depth markings reported that this, the bow, had sunk 15 feet into the mud. her autopsy revealed a body that had been savagely beaten. steel crushed.

there was no sign of the 33 crew members. equipment and cargo litter the seabed. that's a microwave oven. on the right, that's a printer. here is the top of a car with a sunroof. part of the cargo. what do we see there? >> that is a liquid storage container. you can see that it's kind of compressed, kind of imploded by the pressure of the sea. >> reporter: of its 400 cargo containers, only two remain on deck. and toward the stern, in the structure called the house where the crew lived and work, he discovered the most chilling evidence of the power of an unforgiving sea. >> at the top of that white line there is the most surprising part of our video survey. there's nothing above there. >> reporter: what should be there? >> there should be two decks above that. the lower navigation bridge deck and the bridge deck.

had sheered off, including the ridge where captain davidson would have been fighting the storm. they were nowhere near the ship. also missing, the voyage data recorder, like a so-called black box on an airplane. it had been bolted to the top of the bridge and was the one piece he wanted most. >> because it would have told us what the crew was experiencing at the time in the minutes before the vessel sank, what they observed, the extent of the flooding, how they are responding. essentially the events leading up to the actual catastrophe. >> reporter: i'm curious. when you first saw the video of the ship, what did you think? >> we're looking, of course, for the bridge, and the voyage data recorder. we got up to that level and to see just openness was extremely

was a very big surprise to see that. >> reporter: moving in what way? >> just to see the violence of the sea and winds that would have had to have occurred to cause that kind of -- i'm sorry. to cause that kind of an event. >> reporter: because certainly there would have been people on the bridge. >> yes. >> reporter: when that happened. >> yes, quite certainly. and the shock and surprise to them, as waves and whatnot, and they're just washed into the ocean. >> reporter: when you found out the news, how did you tell your son and daughter? >> how do you say anything to your kids? >> reporter: jeremy reed left behind two children, 13 and 22, and his wife, tina. >> and that was hard, because i guess i was in denial.

that it wasn't looking good for daddy's ship, and that was terrible. it was like my chest collapsing and i couldn't breathe. >> reporter: deb roberts lost her son, michael holland. deb, do you have an opinion on where responsibility lies in this? >> i'm not a professional, i'm not an engineer. i'm a business manager. i think it was a series of unfortunate events, and without any other information, i truly blame it on hurricane joaquin. >> reporter: glenn, in your estimation, where does the responsibility for this lie? >> squarely on tote maritime. you've got to understand, commercial shipping, they've got to keep that ship moving to make money. that's the whole horror of this tragedy. 33 people died so that frozen chickens could be delivered on

that's it. >> reporter: the safety board told us that tote maritime, the owner, is cooperating fully. tote declined to talk to us, other than to say it created a fund for the families and that "el faro" was regularly maintained. the ship had past two inspections. a week after we left, the two bridge decks were located about a half mile from the ship. the windows were blown out. the voyage data recorder was not there. but based on the captain's last message, investigators have a lead on the loss of propulsion. >> i bieve we have an understanding that it was actually the main turbine, the steam turbine, that was lost. >> reporter: one theory is in violent seas, the propeller might have been thrust out of the water, causing it to spin too fast and shut down the

the captain sailed into this hurricane, we know that much, but what we don't know is why. >> so we're looking at the oversight and the direction, the advice provided by the operating company, toto, to see what information was available to him. certainly also we're looking at the weather forecast. the accuracy and the timeliness of the information when he made his decision to sail where he did. >> reporter: to your knowledge was he receiving orders from the company to press on? >> no. from what we've identified so far in the information that we've reviewed, there has been no direct guidance by the company to sail on the route he chose. >> you can see scott's full report on our website, cbsnews.com.

right back. (cell phone rings) where are you? well the squirrels are back in the attic.

can i call you back, mom? he says it's personal this time... if you're a mom, you call at the worst time. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. where are you? it's very loud there. are you taking a zumba class? boy now, you've probably seen a lot of christmas trees out on the curb waiting to be picked up by sanitation. steve hartman checked back in on the ugliest christmas tree he's ever seen to find out what's become of it. >> reporter: we returned to redding, pennsylvania to investigate reports that the world's ugliest christmas tree has been immortalized. you may remember back in 2014 it was all the rage. and i do mean rage.

better tree than we do. >> everybody who brought this tree here should get fired. >> reporter: the tree is so ugly, the city decided to take it down before christmas. workers removed the lights and the pretzel of bethlehem and made arrangements to bring in a new strew. francis acosta told me this was like that tree in the charlie brown story. although the lesson had obviously eluded him. who was the moral of that story? >> being together. >> reporter: what did they do with the tree at the end? >> save it, embrace it. but it's not about charlie brown or not charlie brown tree, it's about a beautiful christmas tree for the city. >> reporter: they really were going to get rid of it. until the phones started ringing off the hook at city hall. public opinion changed. and the mayor issued a stay of

>> we will keep this thing here. >> reporter: and t tt was the end of the story. or so i thought. >> i said we're going to do something with it. >> reporter: luke was on the crew that was supposed to mulch this tree after the holidays. but he didn't. >> i thought there was no way we were going to run it through a chipper. >> reporter: so luke turned that pull try pine into a piece of art. a bench as quirky ass the tree it came from. today, it sits in city hall. a reminder that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. and ugly, nothing more than attitude. steve hartman, on the road, in redding, pennsylvania.

will be right back. "star wars" continues to conquer the movie universe. for the third straight weekend, the film was number one at the box office. it's already the second highest grossing domestic movie of all-time. worldwide records will likely fall when "the force" opens in china. vlad dutiers reports. >> you might need this. >> i think i can handle myself. >> reporter: since the latest chapter the "star wars" franchise hit theaters three weeks ago, it's attracted enough moviegoers to sink the "titanic" and pass "jurassic world."

office. >> shut up and fly straight. >> reporter: surpassing "avatar" as thehe biggest grossing domestic film of all time. >> when "star wars" passes "avatar," it will be the first time in 18 years that a james cameron film is not the top of the highest grossing film list. >> reporter: it's that star power that helped make 2015 hollywood's biggest year yet, pushing it past $11 billion in domestic sales for the first time. more than 20% of that came from the top five movies, as the film industry battles competitors like netflix and on demand cable. >> there is concern that so much of the money was in the so few of the big movies. i think as long as those smaller movies are still making money, i'm not as concerned about the top heavy nature of the industry overall. just because i think those big films just overperformed.

box offices of all time include 1999's "the phantom menace" and the original "star wars." a phenomena even critics of "the force awakens" can't deny. >> it's destined to be a hit. >> reporter: whether the latest installment will take the global record remains t tbe seen. >> it's not showing "avatar" legs, it's making so much money, who cares? >> reporter: what is clear -- >> may the force be with you always. >> reporter: -- is that the force is here to stay. >> that's the "overnight news" for this tuesday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back with us a little later for the morning

from the bro the president does an end run around congress to restrict gun sales. also tonight, armed protesters versus the feds in a dispute over private property. >> i want the federal government to abide by the constitution of the united states. a levee proves no match for the mighty mississippi. el nio storms are about to hit the west. and -- getting fit. orange is the new way back. >> it's pretty powerful in improving people's risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. this is the "cbs overnight news." >> we've learned how president obama intends to tighten gun sales without the approval of congress. the president, frustrated by mass murders that seem to come every month, has decided in his

his power. chief legal correspondent jan crawford has the news from the white house. >> reporter: well, scott, senior administration officials just executive actions the president will announce tomorrow which he says will help keep guns out of the wrong hands. a major focus are what officials say are flaws and loopholes in the nation's system of background checks. among the recommendations are requiring gun dealers, including those who sell firearms on the internet or at gun shows, to be licensed and conduct background checks for gun sales. changing federal privacy rules to help keep people with mental health restrictions from possessing guns. hiring more than 230 additional fbi employees to help process background checks. and a budget proposal for an additional 200 agents and investigators at the bureau of alcohol, tobacco & firearms. now, after meeting this afternoon with his attorney

president said he was confnfent these changes are consistent with the second amendment, that they're not an unconstitutional end run around congress, but, scott, one thing is all but certain -- these proposals and these executive actions are going to be challenged, whether in congress or in court. >> just as the president's executive actions on immigration have been challenged in court. jan crawford at the white house tonight. jan, thank you very much. the president's shot was heard everywhere on the campaign trail today, and with less than four weeks to the first voting, candidates are turning to their own big guns. major garrett is in new hampshire toninit. major? >> reporter: scott, republican presidential candidates condemned the president's executive action as overreach even before the details were known. not surprisingly, president obama received strong support from democrat hillary clinton, who today deployed one of her most potent political weapons. bill clinton held his first solo campaign event of this election

a bit unsettling. >> i don't fit anymore. first of all, i'm a happy grandfather. i'm not mad at anybody. >> reporter: clinton was in new hampshire, a state where his affections run deep. the former president's second- place finish here in 1992 paved the way to the nomination. hillary clinton's win in 2008 got her back into the race against barack obama. unlike that campaign when bill clinton acted as his wife's co- strategist and hyperactive endorser, today he brought a quieter pitch. >> i do not believe in my lifetime anybody has run for this job at a moment of greater importance who was better qualified by knowledge, experience and temperament to do what needs to be done now. to restore prosperity! >> reporter: clinton did not directly address donald trump's recent attempts to dredge up his 1990s sex scandals. campaigning in iowa, hillary

inspired new year's resolution. >> i'm going to let him live in his alternative reality and i'm not going to respond. >> reporter: trump took on the democratic front-runner in his first television ad. >> the politicians can pretend it's something else, but donald trump calls it radical islamic terrorism. >> reporter: the border images of migrants are not migrants crossing from mexixi into the united states but crossing a border in morocco. the trump campaign said it used that video on purpose to show what would happen in america if illegal immigration is not stopped. >> major garrett on the campaign. thanks. now for some insight we turn to john dickerson, our cbs news political director and the anchor of "face the nation." john, what do you make of that trump ad? >> reporter: well, it's an ad about fear and walls, fear of mexicans crossing the border illegally. trump started his campaign promising a wall to keep them out, and it's about fear of islamic terrorists.

by temporarily walling off muslims from entering america. republican voters rank these emotional issues as top concerns and trump on these issues has a decided advantage over his opponents. >> the iowa caucus is february 1st, less than a month away. where does the race stand? >> reporter: on the republican side the race is a battle between trump and everyone else. the alternative might be ted cruz or a mainstream candidate republicans like, someone like marco rubio or chris christie. on the democratic side, bernie sanders is the grassroots champion, but unlike on the republican side, establishment support is not split. there's just hillary clinton, who is the stable front-runner. with less than a month to go before the voting starts, campaigns are at the point where travel, about resources could have irrevocable consequences. >> john dickerson, we'll be watching sunday on "face the nation." thanks, john. >> thanks, scott.

not moving to retake a government building at a national wildlife refuge in oregon. the building was seized two days ago by armed protesters, another flare-up in the generations-long showdown between ranchers and the largest landndrd in the west, uncle sam. john blackstone is there. >> reporter: at the entrance to the wildlife refuge headquarters, ammon bundy declared this a fight he's determined to win. >> and it is left to us to decide whether we allow these things to go on or whether we make a stand so they will not happen to other people across this country. >> reporter: the occupation began saturday after a demonstration in support of local ranchers dwight and steven hammond. they were convicted for arson after a fire on their ranch spread on to federal land. they arrived at a prison in southern california today to begin a five-year sentence. so you want the federal government to give up this

ranchers? is that the demand? >> i want the federal government to abide by the constitution of the united states. >> get out of here, you cowards! >> reporter: in 2014, bundy's father cliven battled government officials over grazing rights on federal land in nevada. that escalated into an armed confrontation. so far in oregon there has been no confrontation. not a single law enforcement officer to be seen for miles around the occupied refuge. here inside the compound there is plenty of heavy equipment, but we don't see any evidence of heavy defenses or even weapons by the occupiers. frankly, we don't see many occupiers. while there is no evidence of broad local support for the occupation, in this wide-open country, independence is highly valued. the county sheriff did have a message for the occupiers today. he said if they're here to help the people of this county, it's time for them to go home. >> john blackstone reporting tonight. john, thank you. the "cbs overnight news" will be

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there's more extreme weather in the forecast. with arctic air blasting the northeast, rain and snow in the west, and in the midwest, the historic winter flood is rolling on. at least 25 people have been killed there. there's no peace in olive branch, illinois, where we find david begnaud tonight. david? >> reporter: scott, at least half of the town of olive branch, illinois, is underwater tonight. there are flooded homes like the one behind me for miles in areas that are known to be vulnerable to major flooding. >> there's the breech. >> reporter: in alexander county, illinois, the flooding is disastrous, and the temperature is near freezing. >> it's gotten real bad here. >> reporter: today the u.s. coast guard flew us over the

failed about 72 hours ago. >> this is where the levee breeched sending water from the mississippi river into a flood plain. at least 100 structures are flooded, 14,000 acres of the county are under water, and the water is rising. >> reporter: this is the home of brandon dillow and jennifer korte. they built their levee eight feet high. tonight they're dry. they learned a lesson during a flood in 2011. then the levee was five feet high and water got inside the home. >> depressing. it changes your whole life. >> reporter: many like them have been asked to evacuate but refused. david bigham's elderly parents got out, but the others stayed behind to save what was left. >> you worry about everything you got and everything you're going to lose. >> reporter: from the air you see the home is surrounded by water on three sides. >> bigham has 25,000 sandbags and eighghwater pumps working to

so far they're holding. >> reporter: back near the levee breach, we spotted this herd of deer, victims of the unrelenting flood running for an escape. we noticed tonight the water seems to have dropped about an inch in the last six hours. that's great news for the bigham family. friends and family are working around the clock, dead set on saving this house that has been here since 1959. scott, some of this floodwater could reach memphis by friday. >> david, thank you very much. ben tracy is reporting much of this crazy weather is being driven by the warming pacific current known as el nio. >> reporter: el nio has already hit california's mountains. the latest snowpack survey found five feet of snow in the sierras, a welcome sight after four years of drought. southern california is now bracing for a series of storms. josh rubenstein is a meteorologist at kcbs in los angeles.

inch to two inches of rain in the l.a. basin, and right on its heels, here's that third system that's moving in on wednesday. the rain from that could linger all the way into friday. >> reporter: el nio is an intense warming of the pacific ocean near the equator that changes weather patterns around the world. this is one of the largest on record. in glendora, california, eric erby was stocking up on sandbags. >> it could happen any time anywhere. it depends on how much. either way, i'll make sure i'm prepared. >> reporter: los angeles is designed to prevent flooding, which is why the los angeles river is encased in all of this concrete. it may look like a pathetic little stream tonight, but, scott, later this week you could have ten to 20 feet of water filling this channel. >> ben tracy, thanks. well, it was a wave of worry that swept world financial markets today after stocks in china plunged. the dow was down as much as 467

with a loss of 276 or 1.6%. it is the worst start to a year since the great recession. the markets were also rattled by saudi arabia and iran. the two are rivals because the saudis represent the sunni branch of islam and iran is home to the shiite branch. over the weekend, the saudis executed a shiite cleric. after a furious iranian reaction, countries in the gulf are choosing sides. here's holly williams. >> reporter: in iran today, angry protesters denounced saudi arabia's execution of the shiite muslim cleric nimr al-nimr. his death has opened a 1,400- year-old wound, enflaming tensions between sunni and shiite muslims. in the sunni-led kingdom of saudi arabia, al-nimr dared to demand equality for shiites and was shot and then arrested in

it was in shiite-dominated iran that saudi arabia's embassy was ransacked and burned on saturday. around 40 people were later arrested, but iran made its feelings clear by renaming this street in honor of the executed cleric. saudi arabia and iran are already fighting two deadly proxy wars against each other in syria and yemen, taking sides along religious lines. now there are fears that al nimr's execution will fuel even more violence in the middle east. shiite muslims also clashed with police in bahrain. they used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters. blaming iran for the escalation, saudi arabia has severed diplomatic ties with tehran. its ally, bahrain, has followed suit, while the united arab

ambassador. with many countries in the middle east already torn apart by religious differences, these tensions could destabilize the region even more, especially, scott, if saudi arabia and iran try to use those religious divisions to further their own interests. >> holly williams reporting for us tonight in istanbul. holly, thank you. is man creating earthquakes in oklahoma? and they've discovered the wreck of "el faro," the worst u.s. maritime disaster in 30 years. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. enough pressure in here for ya? ugh. my sinuses are killing me. yeah...just wait 'til we hit ten thousand feet. i'm gonna take mucinex sinus-max. too late, we're about to take off. these dissolve fast. they're new liquid gels. and you're coming with me... wait, what?! you realize i have gold status? do i still get the miles? new mucinex sinus-max liquid gels. dissolves fast

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after a swarm of small earthquakes in oklahoma, the state has ordered oil drillers today to reduce the amount of wastewater they inject into the ground during a process known as "fracking." here's mark strassmann. >> reporter: oklahoma, not california, is now america's earthquake capital. >> who do you call if you feel an earthquake? >> reporter: until 2008, the state averaged one or two a year. now it's almost three a day. >> it was a big boom. and everything started shaking. >> reporter: including you? >> including me.

earthquake hit crescent, oklahoma, last july. grocery clerk lois gillette hugged a coworker. >> i thought i was going to fall. there was a lot of stuff fell off the shelves. >> reporter: oklahoma keeps breaking records for earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher. more than 900 last year alone. but why? most geologists connect the spike in earthquakes to the state's oil and gas industry and its disposal of massive amounts of water into underground caverns. geologist todd halihan teaches at oklahoma state. >> unfortunately there is a side effect and now we are generating seismicity due to the injection wells, they're startling when you feel them, and there are now a lot of people experiencing them on a pretty broad scale. >> reporter: lois gillette isn't taking sides. >> i don't know if it's manmade. i don't have any idea.

it to stop? >> i want it to stop. please. >> reporter: one geologist we talked to said no question something has reactivated fault lines here, fault lines that had been dormant for 300 million years.

and we'll be right back. today the national

that it may press for more evidence in the sinking of the american cargo ship "el faro," lost this past october in hurricane joaquin. all 33 crew were killed. recently on assignment with "60 minutes," we sailed with the ntsb's investigator, tom roth-roffy as "el faro" was discovered 15,000 feet under the atlantic. this is where "el faro" came to rest, upright, hull largely intact, her name mangled on the stern. her depth markings reported that this, the bow, had sunk 15 feet into the mud. her autopsy revealed a body that had been savagely beaten, steel crushed, equipment collapsed. there was no sign of the 33 crew members. equipment and cargo litter the seabed. that's a microwave oven, and on

here is the top of a car with a sunroof, part of the cargo. >> at the top of that white line there is the most surprising part of our video surveys. there's nothing above there. >> what should be there? >> there should be two decks above that. the lower navigation bridge deck and the bridge deck. >> the two top decks had sheered off, including the bridge, where captain davidson would have been fighting the storm. they were nowhere near the ship. also missing, the voyage data recorder, like a so-called black box on an airplane. the safety board says it may search again for that data recorder, which would have captured conversations on the

our final story coming up next. the government says we need 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week. dr. jon lapook has one way to get it. >> reporter: this is considered vigorous? >> right. >> reporter: carol ewing garber teaches the science of exercise at columbia's teachers college. how many calories a minute do you burn procrastinating? because i'm really good at that. >> i don't think you burn too many at all. >> reporter: for those who get tired just thinking about strenuous exercise without rest, there's a fitness approach called high intensity interval training or h.i.t. short bursts of high intensity exertion, say a minute or two of running as fast as you can, followed by a short period of

few minutes. >> so i'll row for 100 meters. so that's a short row. it will be high intensity. i'm going to try to bring the power up. >> reporter: h.i.t. is the mantra at orange theory fitness where eddie diaz is a coach. >> this will be a recovery period here. get those nice deep breaths in, and after you're done with your ten seconds, you get back to work. >> reporter: the h.i.t. regimen varies from place the place. here the goal is to work out in what they call the orange zone, at a high intensity level for 12 to 20 minutes of an hour-long class. >> i felt completely out of shape. >> reporter: 36-year-old shelly ramsammy has asthma and used to be afraid of vigorous exertion. she tolerated the interval training well and last summer she had added incentive. >> i was trying to get fit for a trip. i'm going to be in a bikini. i have to get fit. >> reporter: after building up slowly, exercise experts recommend, she now runs twice as fast as before. research shows high-intensity training stimulates the muscles to burn fat and sugar more

why is it hot now? >> i think because r rearch has been showing that it can be pretty powerful in improving people's risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. >> reporter: powerful, too, in getting some people off the couch. because at the end of the day, exercise works best if you actually do it. dr. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. that's the "overnight news" for this tuesday. for some of you, the news will continue. for others, check back with us a little bit later for the morning news and "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new

this is the "cbs overnight news." >> welcome to the "overnight news." i'm elaine quijano. president obama fired the opening shot in the latest battle over gun control. he met with attorney general loretta lynch and fbi director james comey to come up with a strategy to reign in gun violence. the president plans a series of executive actions to make it more difficult for some people to purchase weapons. and he'll do it without going through congress. >> we have tens of thousands of people every single year who are killed by guns. we have suicides that are committed by firearms at a rate that far exceeds other countries. we have a frequency of mass shootings that far exceeds other

and although it is my strong belief that for us to get our complete arms around the problem, congress needs to act. what i asked my team to do is see what more we could do to strengthen our enforcement and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands, to make sure that criminals and people who are mentally unstable, those who could pose a danger to themselves or others are less likely to get a gun. and i have just received back a report from attorney general lynch, director comey, as well as deputy director brandon, about some of the ideas and initiatives they think could make a difference. and the good news is, these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal

branch, but they're also ones that the overwhelming majority of the american people, including gun owners, supporor and believe. so over the next several days, we'll be rolling out these initiatives. we'll be making sure that people have a very clear understanding of what can make a difference and what we can do. and although we have to be very clear this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country, it's not going to prevent every mass shootinin it's not going to keep every gun out of the hands of criminals, it will potentially save lives in this country. and spare families the pain and the extraordinary loss that they've suffered as a consequence of a firearm being in the hands of the wrong people. i'm also confident that the recommendations that are being

that are entirely consistent with the second amendment, and people's lawful right to bear arms. >> reporter: already it has a lot of people on capitol hill fired up. jan crawford reports. >> reporter: the president is goininto be holding a series of events, then he's going to sign those executive actions he hopes will help curb some of this gun violence. but before we know the details, opponents are sharpening their attacks. >> my new year's resolution is to move forward on our unfinished business. >> reporter: president obama teased this latest round of executive actions over the weekend. >> we know we can't stop every act of violence. but what if we tried to stop even one? >> reporter: he signalled a move last month in an interview with norah o'donnell, after 14 people were killed in san bernardino by terrorists using legally purchased firearms. >> there's some steps we could take not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to

happen as frequently. >> reporter: nearly three years after the president side stepped congress with 23 executive actions on gun control, advocates are urging him to do more. the white house is now considering several steps to clarify existing laws, forcing more gun sellers to conduct background checks on potential buyers, and making it more difficult for convicted domestic abusers to acquire firearms. democratic candidates for president were quick to praise the president's upcoming action. >> most gun owners in this country understand that people who should not own guns should not be able to buy them. >> what if it's republican that walks into the white house? within the first day, the executive orders will be reversed. >> reporter: the republicans immediately objected. >> on my first day behind that desk, those orders are gone. >> the new president comes in, boom, first hour, first minute, you can rescind that. >> reporter: and they attacked the president for going around

>> this president wants to act as if he's a king, a dictator. >> this top-down driven approach doesn't create freedom or safety, it doesn't create security. >> reporter: now with all these legal questions swirling around whether the president even has the authority to do this, to do an end-run around congress, one thing is almost certain, this all is probably going to end up in court. in the wilds of oregon, a group of self-styled militiamen continue to occupy several buildings in a federal wildlife refuge. the group calls itself citizens for constitutional freedom. members are apparently armed and are protesting the way the government runs federal lands. there's no visible law enforcement presence in the area, and the fbi insists it's seeking a peaceful resolution. john blackstone reports. >> reporter: while the american flag is draped over the sign here at the wildlife refuge, and that's the protester's signal that they are in charge here, they're calling on supporters from across the

here. they say they'll stay here as long as it takes, until their demands are met. at the occupied compound, protesters are setting up camp and settling in for the long haul. ammon bundy is leading the occupation. he says they're fighting back against the government's expansion of the over 100-year-old federal wildlife refuge at the expense of local ranchers. >> this refuge here is rightfully owned by the people, and we intend to use it. >> reporter: back in 2014, bundy's father, cliven, was embroiled in a dispute with federal officials over grazing rights on federal land in nevada. that escalated into an armed confrontation. this group set up camp saturday after a march in a nearby town in support of two ranchers. dwight hammond and his son steven were convicted of setting fires on federal land in 2001

they say it wasn't arson, but controlled burns to protect their property. in october, a judge added four more years to their sentence. 73-year-old hammond says this could be a death sentence for him. >> this makes it over for me. it just seems like a little overreach for having burned 127 acres. >> reporter: in a statement, the hammond's attorney reports they're not associated with bundy's group, saying -- >> reporter: but protesters say they plan to stay put until all local ranchers reclaim land they allege was stolen by the u.s. government years ago. >> we'll be here as long as it takes, and being as gentle as possible. but this is important. >> reporter: here outside the compound, armed guards are standing by to monitor those entering the property. meanwhile, dwight and steven hammond are on their way to southern california to begin

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the ntsb has released underwater video of what's left of the cargo ship "el faro." it took on water and sank in a hurricane last october. the "el faro" sits in water deeper than the "titanic" in the heart of the bermuda triangle. all 33 crew members were lost at sea. the worst american shipping disaster in 35 years. the exact cause of the wreck remains a mystery. scott pelley has the story for "60 minutes." >> reporter: september 29th, "el faro" left jacksonville, florida for puerto rico. captain michael davidsds, who had a long career, intended to steer 65 miles south of the storm's predicted path. even in a hurricane, the ship could likely survive by using its turbine engine t tkeep the

waves. a ship's most survivable angle. but in 18 hours, joaquin spun into a category 3 and slid southwest toward "el faro." at 7 a.m., october 1, davidson made an emergency call to the ship's owner, tote maritime. what do we know from the captain's last report? >> we know that he had lost propulsion, that the engineers were unable to restart the main engine. we know that the vessel was listing about 15 degrees and that one of the hatches had popped or come open. >> reporter: he was taking on water? >> correct. >> reporter: if the ship lost power as the captain reported, you would expect her to turn sideway to the waves, and that is her most vulnerable position? >> that's correct. >> reporter: the ship was approximately here, miles from the eye of the storm. the forecast predicted gusts of

30 feet. three weeks later, apache arrived in a search area of 198 square miles. chief sonar operator charles kapeka towed a side scan sonar for five days, when he spotted something you don't see in nature, a right angle. >> it's very straight with a shadow. at this point i'm calling over saying i think there's something coming up you want to see. >> reporter: as the sonar scan slowly unfurled, the sound waves reflected the shape of a shift, about 800 feet long. >> at that point, we talked to the ntsb and said we believe we have found it. but before we give confirmation we then put our curve in the water and did a survey of the hull with moving and still photography. >> reporter: the cable controlled underwater recovery vehicle can reach 20,000 feet. and these are the cameras? >> correct.

you have some lights right here. >> reporter: there is zero light at 15,000 feet. >> correct. >> reporter: total utter darkness. so any light you have, you have to bring with you. >> absolutely. >> reporter: apache dropped curve down 15,500 feet, nearly three miles. the temperature is about 33 degrees. the pressure is more than 3 tons per square inch. flurries of tiny marine life drift by, by fish are rare in the impenetrable darkness. this is where "el faro" came to rest, upright, hull largely in tact. her name mangled on the stern. her depth markings reported that this, the bow, had sunk 15 feet into the mud. her autopsy revealed a body that had been savagely beaten. steel crushed. equipment collapsed. there was no sign of the 33 crew members.

seabed. that's a microwave oven. on the right, that's a printer. here is the top of a car with a sunroof. part of the cargo. what do we see there? >> that is a liquid storage container. you can see that it's kind of compressed, kind of imploded by the pressure of the sea. >> reporter: of its 400 cargo containers, only two remain on deck. and toward the stern, in the structure called the house where the crew lived and worked, curve discovered the most chilling evidence of the power of an unforgiving sea. there is the most surprising part of our video survey. there's nothing above there. >> reporter: what should be there? >> there should d two decks above that. the lower navigation bridge deck and the bridge deck. >> reporter: the two top decks

ridge where captain davidson would have been fighting the storm. they were nowhere near the ship. also missing, the voyage data recorder, like a so-called black box on an airplane. it had been bolted to the top of the bridge and was the one piece tom roth-roffy wanted most. >> because it would have told us what the crew was experiencing at the time in the minutes before the vessel sank, what they observed, the extent of the flooding, how they are responding. essentially the events leading up to the actual catastrophe. >> reporter: i'm curious. when you first saw the video of the ship, what did you think? >> we're looking, of course, for the bridge, and the voyage data recorder. we got up to that level and to see just openness was extremely moving and difficult to -- it was a very big surprise to see

>> reporter: moving in what way? >> just to see the violence of the sea and winds that would have had to have occurred to cause that kind of -- i'm sorry. to cause that kind of an event. >> reporter: because certainly there would have been people on the bridge. >> yes. >> reporter: when that happened. >> yes, quite certainly. and the shock and surprise to them, as waves and whatnot, and they're just washed into the ocean. >> reporter: when you found out the news, how did you tell your son and daughter? >> how do you say anything to your kids? >> reporter: jeremy ream left behind two children, 13 and 22, and his wife, tina. >> and that was hard, because i guess i was in denial. i thought we had to tell my kids

daddy's ship, and that was terrible. it was like my chest collapsing and i couldn't breathe. >> reporter: deb roberts lost her son, michael holland. deb, do you have an opinion on where responsibility lies in this? >> i'm not a professional, i'm not an engineer. i'i'a business manager. i think it was a series of unfortunate events, and without any other information, i truly blame it on hurricane joaquin. >> reporter: glenn, in your estimation, where does the responsibility for this lie? >> squarely on tote maritime. you've got to understand, commercial shipping, they've got to keep that ship moving to make money. that's the whole horror of this tragedy. 33 people died so that frozen chickens could be delivered on time in puerto rico. that's it.

told us that tote maritime, the owner, is cooperating fully. tote declined to talk to us, other than to say it created a fund for the families and that "el faro" was regularly maintained. the ship had past two inspections in the months before the accident. a week after we left, apache located those two bridge decks about half a mile from the ship. the windows were blown out. the voyage data recorder was not there. but based on the captain's last message, investigator tom roth-roffy has a lead on the loss of propulsion. >> i believe we have an understanding that it was actually the main turbine, the steam turbine, that was lost. >> reporter: one theory is in violent seas, the propeller might have been thrust out of the water, causing it to spin too fast and shut down the turbine. the captain sailed into this

but what we don't know is why. >> so we're looking at the oversight and the direction, the advice provided by the operating company, tote, to see what information was available to him. certainly also we're looking at the weather forecast. the accuracy and the timeliness of the information when he made his decision to sail where he did. >> reporter: to your knowledge was he receiving orders from the company to press o o >> no. from what we've identified so far in the information that we've reviewed, there has been no direct guidance by the company to sail on the route he chose. >> you can see scott's full report on our website, cbsnews.com. the "overnight news"s"ill be right back.in water. and even though their dentures look clean, in reality they're not. if a denture were to be put under a microscope, we can see all the bacteria that still exists on the denture, and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. that's why dentists recommend

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by now, you've probably seen a lot of christmas trees out on the curb waiting to be picked up by sanitation. steve hartman checked back in on the ugliest christmas tree he's ever seen to find out what's become of it. >> reporter: we returned to redding, pennsylvania to investigate reports that the world's ugliest christmas tree has been somehow immortalized. you may remember back in 2014 it this sorry excuse for a confer was all the rage. and i do mean rage. >> i think charlie brown has a

>> everybody who took part in bringing this tree here should get fired. >> reporter: the tree is so ugly, the city decided to take it down before christmas. just so people wouldn't have to look at it anymore. workers removed the lights and the pretzel of bethlehem and made arrangements to bring in a new spruced up spruce. former city councilman francis acosta told me this was like that tree in the charlie brown story. although the lesson had obviously eluded him. who was the moral of that story? >> being together. >> reporter: what did they do with the tree at the end? >> save it, embrace it. but it's not about charlie brown or not charlie brown tree, it's about a beautiful christmas tree for the city. >> reporter: they really were going to get rid of it. until the phones started ringing off the hook at city hall. public opinion changed. and the mayor issued a stay of re-execution, if you will.

>> reporter: and that was the end of the story. or so i thought. >> i said we're save thing tree and we're going to do something with it. and we kept it kind of under wraps. >> reporter: luke was on the crew that was supposed to mulch this tree after the holidays. but he didn't. >> i thought there was no way we could run this tree through a chipper after everything that was said and done. we couldn't let that happen. >> reporter:o luke turned that poultry pine into a piece of art. a bench as quirky as the tree it came from. today, it sits in city hall. a reminder that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. and ugly, nothing more than attitude. steve hartman, on the road, in

will be right back. "star wars: the force awakens" continues to conquer the movie universe. for the third straight weekend, the film was number one at the box office. it's already the second highest grossing domestic movie of all-time. and it's just $20 million short of "avatar." worldwide records will likely fall when "the force" opens in china. vlad dutiers reports. >> you might need this. >> i think i can handle myself. >> that's why i'm giving it to you. >> reporter: since the latest chapter the "star wars" franchise hit theaters three weeks ago, it's attracted enough moviegoers to sink the "titanic" and roar pass "jurassic world." now "star wars: the force awakens" is climbing toward the top spot of the north american box office.

>> reporter: surpassing "avatar" as the biggest grossing domestic film of all time. scott mendleson is a forbes contributor. >> when "star wars" passes "avatar," it will be the first time in 18 years that a james cameron film is not the top of the highest grossing film list. >> reporter: it's that star power that helped make 2015 hollywood's biggest year yet, pushing it past $11 billion in domestic sales for the first time. more than 20% of that came from the top five movies, as the film industry battles competitors like netflix and on demand cable. >> there is concern that so much of the money was in the so few of the big movies. i think as long as those smaller movies are still making money, i'm not as concerned about the top heavy nature of the industry overall. just because i think those big films just overperformed.

highest box offices of all time include 1999's "the phantom menace" and the original "star wars" a phenomena even critics of "the force awakens" can't deny. >> it's destined to be a hit. not because of the quality but because of the name. >> reporter: whether the latest installment will take the global record remains to be seen. >> it's not showing "avatar" legs. but having said that, it's making so much money, who cares? >> reporter: what is clear -- >> may the force be with you always. >> reporter: -- is that the force is here to stay. >> that's the "overnight news" for this tuesday.

continues. >> it's tuesday, january january 50, 2016. president obama delivers a parting shot on gun control, using executive orders to expand background checks on fireman purchases. wild weather from the coast to the plains. flood waters rise in the mississippi, while a string of storms, powered by el nino barrel in from the pacific. a moment of relief, a toddler a found abandoned in an empty parking lot hours after someone stole the car she was in. >> are you okay?