he's back. after months in exile, tiger woods announces his return to professional golf. health care hardball. republicans accuse democrats of dirty tactics in their push for reform. >> i don't care what trick they try, it's not going to work. this is the biggest vote that most members will ever cast. you can't hide from it. and the mayor up there. an arizona tourist goes for the and the mayor up there. an arizona tourist goes for the ride of his life. captioning funded by cbs good morning, thanks for joining ugs, i'm michelle gielan. under normal circumstances the masters attracts more media

attention than any other golf tournament but this year should be a record breaker. tiger woods has decided to end his self-imposed exile from golf next month at augusta. when woods tees it up, it will have been nearly five months since he played competitive golf. his career put on hold by a sordid sex scandal. >> there it is. >> reporter: golf is getting its biggest star back. days after photographers snapped the first image of tiger woods with his wife elin since the sex scandal broke, the golfer says he'll be ready to tee up for the masters on april 7th. woods said in a statement, after a long and necessary time away from the game, i feel like i'm ready to start my season at augusta. fans of the sport have mixed feelings about woods choosing to end his four-month hiatus at the masters. >> part of me says it's kind of that's a big event, got a lot of history and tradition and he's going to steal the spotlight. >> i'm excited about it. i think everybody deserves redemption and i hope he comes in and plays really well.

>> reporter: restrictions at augusta are so tight that spectators aren't even allowed to use cameras and cell phones. even the media has to agree to extremely strict ground rules making it the most logical choice for his return. >> if we've learned anything about tiger over the last few months it's how controlling he is. >> reporter: other than this photo there aren't many clues to the state of woods' marriage. he said on his website that even though he's returning to competition, he still has a lot of work to do on his personal life. the other golfers on the tour just want to get past the media circus. >> we're all looking forward to having him back. we want him playing. we want the best player in the world out there playing an event. but i'm sure we're also looking forward to everything being back to business as usual. >> reporter: woods has been the biggest draw at the masters since he became its youngest champion in 1997. now the tv audience for april's tournament is expected to be off the charts. cbs news, new york. turning now to health care reform. democratic congressional leaders are scrambling, trying to get the 216 votes needed to pass the

health care bill. in order to secure those votes house speaker nancy pelosi is considering a parliamentary tactic that republican leaders have labeled in the ultimate washington power grab. good morning. >> reporter: michelle, good morning. it's being called march madness on capitol hill this week. some democratic lawmakers, especially those in conservative districts, are faced with the tough choice, listen to their constituents, or support the president. the democrats' latest strategy to push through health care reform has republicans fuming. >> it is jaw dropping, in its audacity. >> i don't care what trick they try, it's not going to work. this is the biggest vote that most members will ever cast. you can't hide from it. >> reporter: instead of a simple up or down vote, house speaker nancy pelosi has called for a short-cut procedure. it would require members to vote only on changes to the senate bill. rather than the measure itself. it's a process she says the gop

knows all too well. >> and i didn't hear any of that ferocity when hundreds of times the republicans used these methods when they were in power. >> reporter: pelosi has invited other democratic congresswomen to meet with her today, with about 30 house members still undecided, both sides of the debate are doing everything they can to win support. >> after all these wheeling and dealing we will still have a cost raising, tax increasing bill. >> reporter: millions of dollars in ads are flooding the airwaves this week. >> if the insurance companies win, we lose. tell congress to pass health insurance reform now. >> reporter: and on capitol hill tuesday -- [ chanting ] -- hundreds from the conservative tea party movement called out congress. afterwards demonstrators took their war of words inside to the offices of wavering democrats. supporters of the plan get their turn this morning. a coalition of advocates will gather on capitol hill, urging members to pass the measure.

the president says his health care plan will cost about a trillion dollars over ten years. some lawmakers who are still holding support are waiting for final details, and a final cost estimate which still hasn't been released. michelle? >> thanks. virgin america's airline has apologized to the passengers on board that nightmare flight from los angeles to new york, offering refunds and a future credit. passengers were stranded on the ground for hours. flight 404 left l.a. on saturday about 10:30 eastern time, headed to kennedy airport. it was diverted by high winds to stewart airport, 60 miles north of the city. well, some passengers claimed they were forced to sit on the plane for more than 4 1/2 hours, as food and water ran out. they were rescued by jetblue airlines which got them bused down to jfk airport. the department of transportation is investigating the incident. folks in the midwest are bracing for what's become an almost annual battle with

floodwaters. in fargo, north dakota, more than 400,000 sandbags have been delivered so far. to battle the rising red river, which is expected to crest now on sunday. last year, thousands were forced to evacuate in iowa. in one part of the des moines river, it's expected to crest tomorrow, threatening vaefl areas hit hard by flatting two years ago. in the northeast, it's a cleanup effort. from new jersey to new england, the high water has yet to dissipate, following last weekend's powerful nor'easter. tens of thousands remain without power or have been forced to evacuate. at least 11 deaths are blamed on the storm. pakistani officials say american drone aircraft carried out two missile attacks in northwest pakistan this morning. the first attack targeted a vehicle and a house, killing at least six suspected militants. about 50 minutes later, a second attack on another vehicle killed three other alleged insurgents. al qaeda leader osama bin

laden has been eluding capture for years, suspected of hiding somewhere near the pakistan/afghanistan border. attorney general eric holder, speaking at a congressional hearing tuesday, said that bin laden will never be taken alive. >> the reality is that we will be repeating miranda rights over the corpse of osama bin laden. he will never appear in an american courtroom. that's a reality. but he will be killed by us or he will be killed by his own people so that he's not captured by us. we know that. >> holder also rejected criticism that it's too risky to put terror suspects on trial in civilian courts. the murders of those three people with ties to the american consulate in mexico may have been a deadly case of mistaken identity. three adults were killed, two of them american citizens, and at least two children were wounded last saturday. the fbi says the hitmen, members of a drug cartel, killed the wrong people, and that there's no evidence they were targeted

because they were americans or worked at the consulate. just ahead on the "morning news" a reality tv show shocking. plus surf's up. an alpaca rides the waves on a long board. first katie couric has a preview of tonight's cbs evening news. >> they're wrapping and rhyming but not for the reason you sing. how a famous pop song is helping these school kids turned cs and ds into as and bs. that's tonight. become a statistic. let your immunem support your immune system with patented ester-c. ester-c provides up to 24 hours of immune support. ester-c. the better vitamin c. doing yothis year,lone i did my taxes two ways: could really cost you. i did it on my own online, and then i went in to an h&r block.

when i get there, and he told me my refund, it was $2,000 more than what i had found on my own. - surprise! - [ announcer ] tax laws are always changing, so doing your taxes alone isn't for everyone. i went to h&r block. you know, somebody that i can have confidence in. [ announcer ] if you want to make sure nothing is missed, choose the pros at h&r block, just like isis and half a billion others did. h&r block. get it right. with thermacare® heat wraps.

that's 8 hours while you wear it, plus an additional 8 hours of relief after you take it off! when i put it on the heat really releases all the muscles and the tension that i have in my lower back. [ spokesperson ] thermacare® delivers heat that penetrates deep, to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. you've got to try it, because once you try it you'll be hooked. [ spokesperson ] go to trythermacare.com for a $3 off coupon, and get up to 16 hours of pain relief... with thermacare®. this might be a first. in peru, take a look, a surfer who lives south of the capital of lima is training an alpaca to ride the waves. the surfing alpaca wore a flotation vest and crashed on the board for a few seconds before jumping off into the water. alpacas look like small llamas and are used as pack animals in the andes mountains. on the "cbs moneywatch" stocks in asia posted big gains this

morning and emily smith is here in new york with that and more. emily, good morning. >> hi, michelle, good morning. technology stocks pushed asian markets to two-month highs today. japan's nikkei gained more than 1%. the hang seng also closed higher. this morning, wall street gets the latest numbers on inflation. tuesday the market closed higher after the fed held the line on interest rates. the dow gained 43 points. the nasdaq added 15. it could get ugly on capitol hill today when fed reserve chairman ben bernanke testifies before a house committee. he'll be arguing against efforts to curb the fed's role in supervising the nation's banks. monday senator chris dodd proposed the bill limiting the federal reserve's power. honda is recalling more than 400,000 cars because of a problem with the brake pedal. recalled models include 2007 and 2008 odyssey minivans, and element light trucks. the problem is air that leaks into the brake system that can cause the pedal to feel soft. honda says no accidents have been reported. toyota's engineers are on their way to a new york suburb

to investigate a 2005 prius that crashed last week. the driver says the car sped up on its own before smashing into a stone wall. the government is also looking into that. more americans are showing up for work on time. a new survey from careerbuilder.com finds 16% of employees say they arrive late to work at least once a week. but that's down from 20% last year. the most common reasons given for tardiness, traffic, oversleeping, and getting the kids ready for school. and move over google, there's a new king of cyberspace. for the first time more people are facebooking than googling, based on which sites scored more hits on its home page, google has responded to the social networking craze by creating its own service called buzz. just like facebook, it allows users to add status upgrades, friends and pictures. just what we need, michelle, another facebook in the world. >> another time waster. >> but we love, facebook. >> and in other facebook news,

emily, thanks. your next friend on facebook might just be the fed. an internal report from the justice department shows that law enforcement is increasingly logging on to social networking sites to track suspects or check alibis. even going undercover with phony profiles. critics argue it further blurs the line between cyber privacy and surveillance. a shocking tv show airs tonight in france. it's called "the game of death kths. contestants do not know that they're taking part in a phony game show where they're told to deliver what's supposed to be a near-fatal electric shock to people that they believe are rival contestants. well the victim is really an actor. it's based on the famous stanley milburn experiments on obedience to authority figures. more than 80% of contestants agree to trigger the shock.

wow. straight ahead your wednesday morning weather. and in sports, march madness begins with the first game of the ncaa tournament. if you've taken your sleep aid and you're still fighting to sleep in the middle of the night, why would you go one more round using it ? you don't need a rematch-- but a re-think-- with lunesta. lunesta is different. it keys into receptors that support sleep, setting your sleep process in motion. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need.

when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in other activities while asleep without remembering it the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. stop fighting with your sleep. get a free 7-night trial on-line and ask your doctor about switching to lunesta. discover a restful lunesta night. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, sunny and 64. miami, showers and 73. chicago, 62. denver, 65. los angeles, mostly sunny and 84.

time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows that skies are mostly cloudy across the deep south. but it's nice and clear from the mid-atlantic states to northern new england. now, later today it will be nice and dry across the rockies and plains. showers will be scattered across the gulf coast, and southeast. and it will be a picture perfect day across the mid-atlantic and northeast. in sports, the best team in the nba had to turn it on in the fourth quarter to pull out a win. cleveland's lebron james scored 29 points, including a three-pointer in the closing minute. he led the cavs to a 113-101 victory over the detroit pistons. the lakers' kobe bryant had 30 points against sacramento, and the lakers won their fourth game in a row. 106-99 over the kanes. and march madness is officially under way. allen smith scored 14 points for arkansas pine bluff in a 61-44 win over winthrop in the opening game of the ncaa tournament.

arkansas pine bluff will play the number one seed in the south, duke, on friday in jacksonville, florida. and while you're busy filling out your brackets, president obama has picked kansas, kansas state, kentucky and villanova to make it to the final four. last year he picked north carolina to win it all, and he was right. of course, you can catch all the march madness action right here on cbs starting tomorrow at noon eastern time. when we return we'll take another look at this morning's top stories. and the late king of pop still rules. after landing the biggest record deal in history.

♪ (announcer) right now, all over the country, discover card customers are getting five percent cashback bonus at grocery stores. it pays to get more, it pays to discover. want more acid-stopping power? prilosec otc has 24% more acid-stopping power than prevacid 24 hour. so... more power to you. prilosec otc. heartburn gone. power on.

on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. showers will be scattered across the southeast. it will be a gorgeous day throughout the mid-atlantic states and northeast. the plains will be dry, and it will stay nice and warm from the rockies to the southwest coastline.

here's another look at this morning's top stories. democratic leaders are scrambling to get enough votes to pass a health care reform bill. but they may employ an obscure tactic that has republicans stomping mad. a vote could come this weekend. and folks in north dakota and iowa are filling sandbags and building dikes as rivers in north dakota and iowa are threatening to overflow their banks. last year thousands were forced to evacuate. almost nine months after his sudden death, michael jackson's estate has signed a record-setting music deal. it could be worth as much as $250 million over seven years. the biggest ever. ben tracy reports. >> reporter: michael jackson is still rocking the music industry. the new deal between his estate and sony is the most lucrative recording contract ever. ♪ it guarantees $200 million and could be worth as much as $250

million. it calls for ten albums over seven years, compiled from as many as 60 unreleased songs. remixes and his greatest hits. >> it's just a handful of artists who have that kind of appeal, and a long-lasting legacy that i don't see disappearing any time soon. >> reporter: jackson's deal is more than double the $120 million contract madonna signed in 2007. and bigger than the $150 million deal jay-z got in 2008. jackson's longtime lawyer negotiated the deal, and seems to have taken note of the beatles' booming business. ♪ i wanna hold your hand ♪ don't be cruel >> reporter: jackson's estate is far outpacing elvis', which takes in between $50 million and $60 million each year. jackson's team already planned to haul in $250 million by june. mainly from the concert film "this is it" and the 31 million albums sold since he died. jackson's estate is growing rapidly, in part because the

famously extravagant singer is no longer around to spend the money. that's allowed his team to start paying off some of his estimated $400 million in debt. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. and it's not every day you see a horse fly. in western arizona on tuesday, a horse stranded on a sand bar for five days was airlifted to safety. it was sedated before being strapped into a special harness. the horse, along with two other horses and their riders tried to cross the gila river last week and got washed away by strong currents. the riders were rescued friday. his owner got emotional after being reunited with his horse. >> i just want to get him home, and my wife is so happy. i'm just completely relieved. all these people did all this work just for me and my horse. >> oh. well the horse was checked out by a vet and is said to be doing in good condition. this morning on "the early show" an exclusive interview with pro golfer jesper parnevik

on the return of tiger woods. i'm michelle gielan and this is the "cbs morning news." resilience. elasticity. imagine that kind of vitality... in your skin. aveeno introduces ageless vitality. as skin ages, elastin fibers break down. this exclusive biomineral concentrate system... has active naturals ingredients shown to multiply... elastin's elements. i'm impressed. the study showed improved firmness, texture, wrinkles, or spots in 100% of women. how uplifting is that? new ageless vitality. save $15 at aveeno.com. that's the beauty of nature and science. can you believe how fast kids grow these days? and since 90% of bone strength is developed before adulthood... it's so important that they get enough calcium every day. that's why there's new danonino. danonino! unlike leading kids yogurts, danonino has twice the calcium of milk, ounce per ounce, with vitamin d. so it's power packed for healthy growth. and its rich creamy taste is... yummy! so they can start building strong bones today...

for stronger bodies tomorrow. new danonino from dannon. power packed to help kids grow.

democrats are doing everything they can to keep waiverring members of their own party on board. nancy pelosi has invited them to a meeting this morning and president obama has been conducting one on one meet wgz

several lawmakers a the white house. at a house hearing today bernanke plans to tell lawmakers it gives insight in to the health of the banking system. tiger woods will return to the masters tournament next month. he say he is looking forward to competing but admits he has a lot of work to do in his personal life. it is expected to be one of the highest rated events in cbs history. we say good morning to devon lucie. how are we looking. >> finally got sunshine yesterday. if you like yesterday you will love the next few. a great forecast in store for you. great weather is heading our way. 43 is what washington is at national. the rest of us upper to mid- 30s. chilly in many spots this morning. temperatures will be starting to rise with a lot of sunshine by later this afternoon.

we are looking all the way up to about, i'd say 60 degrees in at least everywhere. mid-60s even closing in to 70 in some cases coming up later on. there's a look at temperatures where you are this morning. get you caught up on the rest of the forecast in a little bit. exactly what to expect for not only today but the rest of the week, too. we are waking up to construction, surprise. until 5:00 a.m. this morning expect fur traveling 0 the inner or outer loop in virginia to so road crews out and about near the 66 braddock road telegraph exits. on the outer loop in maryland, it say peering everything -- it appears everything is a go. an live from silver spring we have more road crews at georgia avenue and 29 and then also northbound route 29 at tech road. back to you. if you park in the district you know how easy it is to get a ticket.

the city halved a half million of those since october but people are less likely to pay up leaving an $18 million hole in the budget. lindsey mastis has the story. >> can't be five minutes late. you will get a ticket. >> they show no mercy sometimes. by the time we come out there is a ticket on the truck. >> reporter: the district is notorious for handing out tickets and drivers are notorious for failing to pay. >> when i get a ticket it is usually deserved. >> reporter: they collected $70 million from tickets last year but is owed $36 million from people who haven't paid and this year it is expected to be worse. >> this is a blow. >> reporter: chairman graham blames the economy for lack of parking ticket payments. the solution. >> we don't have one at the moment. what we are doing at the moment is gathering information on what happened. >> reporter: the city hired more parking enforcement officers. while they are expected to

generate more money, graham says that's not the point. >> it is not about more parking control officers, but tip fact that our revenues associated with parking control are down significantly. >> i don't know how much they can ramp up parking enforcement anymore. i see them out all the time. >> reporter: lindsey mastis, 9 news now. good morning. welcome to 9 news now. i'm andrea roane. today is wednesday, march 17th. happy birthday to angie goff. she will have this traffic in just a moment. and we say top of the morning to devon lucie in for howard and he has a look at the forecast and if we liked yesterday we will love today. >> beautiful st. patrick's