school board standoff. a gunman storms a florida school board meeting and opens fire. wintry wallop. the east coast and midwest remain locked in the icy grip of a dangerous deep freeze. and the belaggio bandit. in a holy orders wood-worthy heist, a robbed man robs a vegas casino of $1.5 million and slips into the night. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, december 15th. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, december 15th. 2010. captioning funded by cbs good to see you this wednesday. i'm terrell brown for betty

nguyen. this morning, still isn't clear why a man opened fire at a florida school board meeting. what's amazing, that no one was hurt but the gunman. the gunman was shot in that case minutes before the room was filled with students, the dramatic confrontation was caught on tape. man well gallegus reports. >> i don't want anybody to get hurt. >> reporter: the superintendent of schools pleads with a man who pulls out a gun at a school board meeting. the man identified as clay duke refuses to back down. >> please don't. please don't. please. >> reporter: he doesn't hit anyone. but, he keeps shooting, exchanging fire with the district security chief before turning the gun on himself. >> on the ground. on the ground, freeze. >> reporter: by the time s.w.a.t. team officers sbefr the room, the gunman was lying on the floor, no one else was hurt. a television room inside the room covering the meeting ran to

safety but kept her camera rolling. she described what happened before the shooting. >> i saw him come out, spray-paint a big circle with a line or "v" through it and said i have a motion for you and liked pulled out his gun. when he pulled out his gun, that's when i hit the floor. i like ducked, probably one of the most scariest moments of my life. >> reporter: shortly after she left the room a school board member attacked the gunman with her purse. littleton says duke had a clear shot but left her alone. state records show the 56-year-old served four years in prison from 2000 to 2004 for aggravate the stalking and other charges. he told the board his wife was fired from the district but didn't say what job she held. district officials are calling the security chief who isn't seen in the video a hero for stopping the shooting. man well gallegus, cbs news. for the weather and that slow-moving chilly air that won't go away. more snow in areas from ohio to new york, the frigid air extended up and down the east

coast, even in florida, freeze warnings remain for much of the state. mark extras men reports. >> reporter: in wintry central florida, citrus farmers with froen by fear. his crop faced ruin. >> we haven't slept in a day and a half. >> reporter: that's scary. >> yeah. >> reporter: overnight freezing temperatures menaced the state's billion dollar citrus crop, two-thirds unhas vested. across the northeast temperatures plunge to 30 degrees below normal. with records in atlanta, viro, beach, florida and daytona beach. >> i'm wearing my florida winter clothes, which are ridiculous. >> reporter: and there was snow, lots of snow. two feet fell outside cleveland. with nine more inches expected by morning. more snow is on the way in pennsylvania, ohio, and new york. where the layered look is back in. >> one. two. three. more. >> reporter: not a fashion statement, a survival strategy.

>> i don't care really how i look as long as i'm warm. >> reporter: and on a snowbound highway in ontario, kafnd today, military choppers had to rescue motorists. more than 300 people had been stranded in snow and ice for more than 24 hours. >> i seen a snow-covered event. you should have seen the vehicles. >> reporter: back in florida, john arnold has his grapefruit harvest back under way but still feels anxious. these are typically february events, not december. >> we still have a long potentially very cold winter ahead of us. >> reporter: below freezing temperatures are expected again here overnight. 28 or 29 degrees, but no lower. yes, farmers like john arnold are concerned, but they hope the worst is over. mark strassmann, cbs news, claremont, fellow pla. no serious injuries reported after a tornado ripped through a small oregon town. the twister touched down in

aumsville, south of portland. the storm ran down main street destroying shops and homes and uprooting trees. one man said he saw a trampoline fly over a church and the roof of a barbershop was torn off. >> when the roof came off, it just started swirling and glass started breaking and the tv come down and the air conditioner went with the roof and it was terrible. >> reporter: tornadoes in oregon are rare. this was one of just four to hit the state in the past decade. the senate is expected to overwhelmingly pass president obama's tax agreement with republicans today. but house democrats want to change that legislation. republicans are warning them that a deal is a deal. preeti arla is in washington with more. preeti, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. the big issue for house democrats remains the estate tax, which they want to raise. the question is, will they try and change that part of the legislation? if they do, senate republicans say it will undo this deal.

republicans are urging house democrats not to mess with president obama's tax cut deal. >> this agreement is not subject to being reopened. >> reporter: tuesday, the senate minority leader warned changing the bill could result in no bill at all and taxes going up for everybody. the senate is expected to approve the measure later today before sending it to the house. >> i don't think we're basing what we want to do on mr. mcconnell. >> reporter: after a meeting tuesday night house democrats still worried the plan favors the rich. they want to amend certain provisions including what some see is an overly generous estate tax. despite their concerns, which president obama says he shares, the white house is optimistic the compromise will go the distance. >> i think the president has had some good conversations and i think we are on a path toward getting this agreement through the house and ultimately to the president's desk. >> reporter: with so much senate support for the bill, some house democrats admit they probably

can't make big changes. still, that won't stop them from trying. >> i'm hoping that the bill is improved. and i'm hoping that it passes before the end of the year. >> reporter: a house vote is expected within days. and while some democrats have expressed strong opposition to this deal, 31 house democrats did send a letter to speaker of the house nancy pelosi urging quick passage of the deal. terrell? >> preeti arla in washington for us this morning, thanks oonz. tomorrow the white house releases a year-long review of the afghan war. the classified report concludes progress has been made but there are lingering troubles including militants' ability to hide in pakistan. there are about 100,000 american troops in afghanistan. the president is expected to say enough gains have been made to begin withdrawing troops in july. this morning a suicide bomber killed dozens of worshippers in iran. the bomber struck outside a shiite mosque in southeast iran near the border with pakistan. the iranian news agency says

dozens more were injured. in medical news this morning a man infected with aids appears to have been cured by a blood transplant. the patient was an american living in germany. he had a blood stem cell transplant in 2007 to treat leukemia. apparently a blood donor had a gene mutation with a snarl resistance to hiv. three years later he shows no sign of cancer or hiv infection. doctors say it is far to risky to become standard therapy. bail has been set but looks like he he will remain behind bars at least until tomorrow. he was in court tuesday to fight extradition to sweden. the court set bail but swae den appealed. assange's lawyer says the case is turning interest a show trial. >> the swedes won't abide by the umpire's decision and they want to put mr. assange through yet more trouble, more expense, more hurdles. they clearly will not spare any

expense but to keep mr. assange in jail. >> assange is wanted in sweden for questioning in two sexual assault cases. just ahead on the morning news the rock 'n roll hall of fame reveals latest inductees, plus citizen to the rescue. a cop in trouble gets help from a woman passing by. this is the "cbs morning news." . with chase freedom you can get a total of 5% cash back. fun money from freedom. that's 5% cash back in quarterly categories and an unlimited 1% cash back everywhere else. and this too. does your card do this? i'm going to need a supervisor over here at gate 4. sign up for this quarter's bonus today. chase what matters. go to chase.com/freedom. it can take so much out of you. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed.

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(woman) for me, pristiq is a key in helping to treat my depression. (announcer) ask your doctor about pristiq. we go to dayton, ohio, a traffic stop that went bad to one police officer saturday. the officer asked the driver to step out of the car and that turned into an argument. there it goes. the two men struggled as the driver tried to grab the officer's gun and taser a. woman ho happened to be walking by tried to help by hitting the suspect when police backup arrive the driver was subdued, charged with assault on a police

officer and other counts. police in las vegas meanwhile are looking for a motorcycle rider with a lot of nerve and $1.5 million in casino chips. in a scene out of the movies the daring robber never took off his helmet inside the casino tuesday. he pulled out a gun at the kraps table, grabbed the chips and calmly made his exit. >> the industry has some safeguards in place that make that, i don't want to say not impossible but it makes it extremely difficult. i'm not going to go into -- i don't want to compromise any of the security measures they have in place but that could prove to be difficult. >> reporter: some casinos have microchips embedded in their chips to trying to cash them in may set off alarm bills. asian stocks took a late-day dive. ashley morrison is in new york with that and more. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell a. rough day for most asian markets. japan's nikkei down a fraction while hong kong's heng seng shed nearly 2%. today wall street gets the very latest on inflation and the housing market. stocks finished higher tuesday

even after the federal reserve warned the economic recovery is still not picking up enough speed. the dow gained 48 points to hit another two-year high. while the nasdaq added two and some change. president obama meets with 20 ceos today at the whilt house. the group including the heads of ge and google will discuss tax reform, trade and job creation. a recent survey finds top executives are the most optimistic they've been about the economy since 2006. 45% of ceos surveyed expect their companies to hire more workers and spend more money in the next six months. it is shaping up to be a merry holiday season for retailers. sales have been strong so far, with the biggest jump in department store purchases seen in two years. a new survey shows 17% of americans haven't even started their holiday shopping yet. and if you feel like the walls are closing in on you at work, you might be right. the lasts times system reporting the average office space in the

u.s. is about 200 square feet per employee. that's down from five to seven hundred feet back in the '70s. analysts say the recession and emphasis on teamwork is driving the trend and that younger workers actually prefer less space. at least on the upside, terrell, it is less to go to go talk to somebody. >> we know very well about that around here, don't we, ashley? oop. >> close quarters. >> very. thank you very much, ashley morrison here in new york. good to see you, talk to you soon. some rock stars have waited for years but finally being inducted into the rock 'n roll hall of fame. neil diamond part of the class of 2011 to be inducted, alice cooper -- the other include straight ahead your forecast this wednesday morning. in sports, kobe bryant's anger lifts the lakers against the wizards.

we'll have that coming up. i was really excited to use sensodyne iso-active because it was different than any other toothpaste i'd ever seen before. i have sensitive teeth as well, so i want to make sure that i can deal with that problem. i love the fact that the gel turns into a foam. it spread all over my mouth and was able to get all areas of my teeth -- in the back and around. you just feel like it's really working. my mouth and breath felt really fresh and clean. not only does sensodyne iso-active make my mouth feel fresh, but it also has that ability

to help me with my sensitive teeth... and it's totally working. in new york, partly cloudy, 31. 66 and sunny in miami. 25 degrees and sunny in chicago. 76 and windy, dallas. and los angeles, showers and 58. time now for chaek of the national forecast the latest

satellite picture shows clouds over the plains, the southeast is mainly clear. later today, snow showers are expected across the northern plains. the record-breaking cold continues across the southeast. and the northeast sees more gusty winds and scattered snow. in sports this morning, the lakers surged past the wizards, coby brien scored 12 straight points in the third quarter against washington after he missed three free throws in a row. kobe finished with 24 points in only 24 minutes. the lakers, 103-89 over the wizards. los angeles has won five of their lax six games. in denver, carmelo ant that, 35 points, as the nuggets pulled away in the final minutes to beat orlando. denver over the magic, 111-94. the nuggets have the best record in the league at 11-1. if you are going to next monday night's game between the minnesota vikings and chicago bears bring the coat, the gloves, the snuggy, all of it. vikings say the metrodome will not be repaired in time for the

game so the teams will play outside at the university of minnesota. the dome's teflon roof collapsed sunday morning under the weight of the snow and ice. another look at the top stories coming up and the dental debate. the safety of s popular fillings getting a serious look amid serious health concerns. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] every day thousands of people are switching from tylenol® to advil. to learn more and get your special offer, go to takeadvil.com. take action. take advil®.

on the "cbs morning news" here's a look at today's weather. a wintry mess for the middle of the country, snow showers developing for the plains. bitter cold in the east along with a few scattered snow showers around the northeast. here's another look at the top stories this morning. a florida school tupt dent says god protected him were when a gunman opened fire at a school board meeting. that gunman took his own life. a review of the afghan war is expected to be released tomorrow by the white house

showing lasting problems but enough progress made to begin withdrawing troops in july. a disturbing trend involving teenagers and drug use. a new survey found daily marijuana use increased among all groups surveyed, eighth, tenth and 12th graders for the first time pot is now more popular than cigarettes among 12th graders and a growing number of eighth graders, 16% admit trying some type of illegal drugs. an fda hearing wraps up today. at issue the commonly used cavity filler is poisoning patients. randall pix ston reports. >> reporter: he has suffered allergies most of his life. but says he started breathing a whole lot easier after his silver fillings were removed. >> my sinuses kept getting clearer and much less symptoms, no sneezing, runny nose. >> reporter: the fillings contain murk reef. a year and a half ago the da ruled them safe. but now an advisory panel is

holding a about two-day meeting to review the scientific evidence again. consumer advocacy groups claim mercury can trigger health problems from neurological disorders to breathing issues and even heart disease. >> that mercury is a hazardous material before it goes into the mouth. it has to be dissupposed of as hazardous waste when it comes out of the mouth. why would it be safe in the mouth? >> reporter: but the american dental association stands by the fillings. the group says millions of americans have used the fillings and have never had a problem. numerous studies show the level of mercury in amal gams is too low to cause health problems. >> there is absolutely nothing wrong with the use of amal gone gams. >> reporter: many dentists are using this because it looks better but amal gam is popular because it is cheaper. the panel isn't looking to ban them but they hope for restrictions against pregnant women and children.

he believes getting rid much his silver fillings improved his health dramatically. randall pinkston, cbs news, new york. this morning on "the early show" actor mark wahlberg stops by. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." [piano keys banging] [scraping] [horns honking] with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with our most powerful deposit fighting ingredient ever. castrol gtx exceeds the toughest new industry standard. don't let deposits hold your car back. get castrol gtx. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. [ male announcer ] got a cold? [ sniffles ] [ male announcer ] not sure what to take? now click on the robitussin relief finder at robitussin.com. click on your symptoms. get the right relief. ♪

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. good morning. i'm andrea roane. thanks for joining us. welcome to 9news now. we do weather first with howard. >> it's so cold.

>> it is something. >> as i wrote on facebook, it's one of those notes you find out how bad your windows and insulation are let's get going on the day planner. still very cold. not quite as windy and nobody is complaining about that but we'll still have winds gusting 25, 30 miles an hour. temperatures strug toll get close to 30, 31 for a high. noontime temp 29 and still breezy. 5:00 p.m. clear and 29. 22 in annapolis. near 30 in the shenandoah valley. oakland, maryland still has gusts to 35. as far as the temperatures this morning with the clear skies, it's cold. teens and low 20s. 22 in town. orange, virginia, the winds have calmed down to 10 -- down with a temperature at 10. that's not wrong.

it's 10. now traffic. just construction to tell you on the southbound side of ien when 956789 we'll start in laurel at route 198 where it's sitting in the right lane. we'll to you -- take you to the west side. construction clopper road and in virginia northbound i-95 between route 1 and route 642. construction in the right lane. i'll have more for you in my next report at 4:41. here are some stories we're following for you this wednesday morning. >> the senate is expected to vote on president obama's tax cut compromise. republicans are warning, though, if it passes, house democrats should not change it or they say the whole deal could be jeopardized. some democrats are worried that the measure right now is tilted too much in favor of high income earners. mike, you may have known this but i bet patrick did. there are more than 160,000 different toys on the market this hole say season--

>> holiday season. >> we show you which ones are topping sales and maybe catching on with your kids. >> reporter: teacup piggies, scwirchgies, they're among the hottest selling toys this christmas but which one will captivate your child? >> the average family in the u.s. spent about $300 per year per child on toys. >> reporter: toy expert and kid at heart chris burn showed us around toys are reduce. >> this is tiana. >> reporter: oversize dolls are big this year from disney to dora the explorer. if your child's past the princess phase, there are the kids of monster high. >> these are the sons and daughters of the classic monsters. >> reporter: and they text on a little i-coffin which is a hot seller too,. on the timey side there are squinkies, kind of like the toys you get out of gum ball machines. >> little girls love the miniature things. >> reporter: here's another popular toy this christmas. it's called the wave.

it has a sensor and it keeps levitating as long as you sort of keep your hand under it like that. the classics are still popular. there's a new take on simon called loops and the v-reader like a kindell for kids. >> kids think they're doing something mom and dad do. >> reporter: believe it or not the best selling toy this year is sing-a-ma-jigs. the main squeeze this hole say season. -- holiday season. that was us. >> i know. >> good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is wednesday, december 15. already halfway through this month. i'm andrea roane. monica is in for traf