this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, november 23rd, 2011. good morning, everybody. good to see you. i got turkey and everything on my mind, i forgot what i was going to say. i'm terrell brown. this year, despite the lagging economy a significant increase in holiday travel is expected. 42.5 million are expected to travel 50 miles or more this holiday according to aa most by car. a 4% of those traveling on the roadways compared to last year. it could be a travel nightmare for many. storms are pounding both the east and west coast, making to slick spots on the roads and may be big problems at the airports. >> reporter: the skies could stay dark all day in the

northeast. a major storm system pushed into the region tuesday and stalled threatening to make a busy travel day messy for millions. 8% of the holiday travelers will go by air, or at least try to. >> i think we are an hour late. we just checked. >> this flight is delayed by one hour. >> even though a lot of these flights are just on a couple of hour delay, you're missing connections. >> reporter: already jammed airports will get swamped today. in the ripple effect of delays and cancellations could extend all over the country. the northwest knows the feeling. a huge autumn storm slammed into the pacific coast tuesday, packing hurricane force winds and flooding coastal communities. with so much rain, you could find fish where you least expect. >> they should have signs up, salmon crossing. >> reporter: the deluge made any kind of travel like swimming upstream. especially in the mountain areas where freezing temperatures turned inches of rain into feet of snow. the good news, though, tomorrow, thanksgiving day, the weather in

most of the weather will be calm, sunny, and cooler in the northeast and midsection. but folks in the northwest will have to deal with rain, and, yes, snow. politics now on this wednesday. at last night's republican presidential debate, their 11th, by the way, newt gingrich raised eyebro eyebrows. the good news for gingrich, he is surging in the polls. a just released poll of republican voters finds 26 of them would vote for the former speaker of the house. 22% for romney and herman cain 14% and followed by rick perry and ron paul. tara mergener is in washington with more. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. >> reporter: the former house speaker really stood out last night, taking a softer stand on immigration and breaking with traditional republican thinking. newt gingrich says he is prepared to take the heat for his stance on immigration. >> i don't see how -- the party that says it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been

here a quarter century. >> reporter: at last night's debate in washington, the latest gop front-runner risked alienating the core base proposing that illegal immigrants be allowed to stay in the country if they have already laid roots in the u.s. >> i don't believe you would make 11 million workers legal bus that, in effect, is amnesty. >> reporter: his rivals fired back. >> people respond to incentives and if you can become a permanent resident of the united states by coming here illegally, you'll do so. >> reporter: national security and foreign policy dominated the agenda, but the candidates also discussed congress' failure to reduce a deficit reduction deal this week putting the blame on president obama. >> we have a president of the united states who is not a leader. he pitched this over to them and said, here, y'all figure this out. >> reporter: rick perry and mitt romney slammed potential budget cuts the pentagon is now facing as a result.

other contenders were open to trimming military spending in order to bring down the deficit. >> everything has got to be on the table. the defense department has got to be on the table, for heaven's sake. >> reporter: the candidates have just six weeks to go before the iowa caucuses, the first chance for voters to officially make their first presidential pick. and there were definitely fewer fireworks in this debate. all of the candidates were not allowed to answer any one question, resulting in little back and forth. terrell? >> tara mergener in washington for us this morning, good to see you. thanks. president obama is back in washington this morning, after pushing his payroll cut in new hampshire. he was interrupted by members of the occupy movement. >> i had -- >> after the speech, as mr. obama worked the groued, a member of the group handed president a note and mentioned the arrest to protesters and

said stop the assault on our first amendment rights. anti-government protesters shouting leave, leave. demonstrations throughout the country continue this morning. at least 30 people have been killed since the clashes with police began on saturday. egypt's army chief promised the civilian president would be elected by june, six months earlier than planned, but then he suggested a referendum on whether military rules should end early. talk to the three meth college students arrested during the anti-american protesters. derrick sweeney's mother said he got caught up. z seth doane reports. >> reporter: this was the first video she seen of her son derek. she described her 19-year-old a

student at georgetown university as passionate and bright. >> he believes in being peaceful, peaceful negotiations, peaceful discussions, so that's why we just have a hard time believing that he could be part of anything violent. >> reporter: but the twitter page of another one of the students, 21-year-old luke gates, a junior at indiana university, appears to reveal his thinking on his alleged role in the protests. gates writes, he was feeling reckless. in another tweet, he admits we were throwing rocks and adds, honestly, hopefully, i die here. the third american, 19-year-old gregory porter, a student at drexel university, was known at his glennside, pennsylvania, prep school as a nationally ranked member of the debate team. the head master remembers porter who graduated in 2010. he spoke with porter's mother. what was his reputation like at this school? >> he was a very fine guy and a

gifted intellect. he was a very good debater. >> reporter: seth doane, cbs news. the three-man crew of the international space station may have to take refuge in their soyuz space capsule this week. it may come within half a mile of the station. most times the station is able to move out of the way of space debris, but this morning, it came too soon. angry students confront the head of uc davis. this is the "cbs morning news."

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prosecute presiding over the penn state sexual abuse case. pennsylvania officials are investigating two new cases of child abuse alleged against former football coach jerry sandusky. they are the first known cases of people under the age of 18, ma means the abuse may have happened recently. the chancellor of university of california-davis got a surprise. >> why is it that riot police were called from districts as far away as berkeley and oakland if you did not expect an escalation of violence or you were not trying to arrest or pepper spray the students? >> the protesters have set up tents on the occupy site on campus again. so far, the university is allowing them to stay. the texas judge caught on tape beating his daughter back in 2004 has been suspended. the disturbing video has been viewed more than 6 million times

on youtube. county court judge william adams had been suspended with pay pending investigation. adams has not sat on the bench since his 23-year-old daughter uploaded that video. your boss may be watching you on cyberwednesday. here we go. ashley morrison is in new york and more on that. hong kong's hang sang was down more than 2% and japan's nikkei was closed. today, wall street gets the weekly jobless claim numbers and new reports on durable goods and personal income and spending. tuesday, a downward revision of gdp sent stocks lower. the dow lost 53 points, while the nasdaq was down by 1. the federal reserve is ordering a new round of stress tests for the nation's biggest banks. 31 banks will have to show they would be able to withstand a recession if unemployment reaches 13%. there is concern the banks are

far too exposed to the european debt crisis. the fed will public list the results next year. netflix is in fival mode. they hope to raise more than 400 million as it tries to recover from a customer backlash that has battered its stock and tarnished its brand. investors are worried about netflix to recover from management's decision to raise prices as much as 60% in september. the post office is raising rates on express and priority mail beginning january 22nd. the cost will increase roughly 5%. but still cost less than fedex or u.p.s. cybermonday isn't until next week, but your coworkers are getting a head start. 50% of all american employs say they have already spent time shopping online at work. 22% of employers said they have fired someone for using the internet for nonwork related

activities, including shopping, and half of bosses said they keep tabs on what their employees are doing online. that's up 3% from last year. that's good to know, right, terrell? >> yeah, it's nice that you keep an eye on it, but who is watching the bosses, you know? >> good point! >> you yell at me for shopping online but you're updating your status on facebook. how does that work? >> i don't know how that works. i'm doing research. >> ashley morrison in new york, good to see you. thanks. straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather. and in sports, mauy would youy. duke battles michigan.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows rain clouds sliding into the east coast with snow falling across portions of the northeast. the middle of the nation has clear skies. in the northwest, showers continue and move toward the northern rockies. later today, it will be windy and rainy from new york to maine with snow in upper new england. temperatures are cool in the northern plains and great lakes, and a large storm system on the northwest coast could bring wet and wild weather. in sports this morning, there may not be any nba, but there some great college basketball. let's take a loop.

the shots kept falling for duke last night at the maui invitational. they will play kansas. number 14 jayhawks almost blew a 20-point lead against ucla. kansas takes on duke tomorrow night for the tournament title. less than a second on the clock, tennessee with a chance to tie. the shot comes up short. tigers hold on to beat the volunteers 99-he want. in baseball, ryan braun has been named the national most valuable player. he smacked 33 homers and 111 rbis and a league leading 77 extra base hits and it helped the milwaukee brewers win their first division title in nearly 30 years. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and the mystery of an

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new simpler packaging, same effective relief. here's a look at today's weather. a huge system is bringing lots of wind and rain and mountain snow into the pacific northwest. the northeast will be hampered by a mix of rain, sleet and knows. but the middle of the nation will be wonderful. warm in the southern plains. here is another look at this morning's top stories. it may be a rough get-away today for the 42.5 million americans expected to travel this thanksgiving. heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected in much of the northeast and parts of the midwest. it will be much nicer for the holiday. today, the american embassy in college expect to see the three american college students who were arrested during the anti-american protests in cairo. officials say the three were throwing fire bombs from a roof. incredible video here of a helicopter crash in new zealand.

the chopper was trying to install a christmas tree today when a blade appears to hit a cable, it breaks apart. parts are flying everywhere and workers are running for safety. amazing, the pilot walked away from the crash with only minor injuries and no one else was hurt. a man is in custody this morning after leaving a big bag of money in an italian restaurant. he suffered a medical problem and taken to a local hospital so police are still waiting to question him. >> reporter: it is a bizarre story of a mystery suitcase full of cash, a very nervous customer and two extraordinarily honest cafe owners. now, police won't say exactly how much cash was in the case but i understand it to be around $1 million. in any event, i'm sure i'm saving in saying no one has ever paid more for a skinny latte than the gentleman who entered the cafe marco behind me before 9:00 this morning.

suitcase in hand and dressed in beach wear, he strolled casually up to the rear of the restaurant and took a seat before placing his coffee order. >> a mild appearance. approximately 30 years of age and wearing a pair of board shorts and was seen to carry the suitcase into the coffee shop and after he had spoken to a number of people inside the coffee shop, he seemed to get spooked. >> reporter: witnesses have told police the man had a brief and curious exchange with a young couple who had been seated nearby as he left the restaurant. the cash laid in the suitcase behind him as he left. the owners of this cafe had a moment of deliberation but they quickly notified police. >> went to go walk out and put his hands into a woman's bag. a couple sitting there. apparently a couple who haven't been there before and either pulled something out or put something in and then walked out. >> reporter: now, no matter how hard i tried to convince the

detectives i misplaced a lazy million this morning, they say is there a rifle owner for this large sum of cash and they are now appealing them for come forward. >> must be nice. this morning, on "the early show," what to expect when you hit the road this weekend the road. i'm terrell brown. and this is the "cbs morning news."

good morning and welcome to 9news now. i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck. >> green bean casserole, right? >> it is my favorite thing. beverly farmer has traffic because monika is still o howard has your weather first. >> the rain is pulling away. the heavy rain is pulling away. don't put the rain gore away even though we've got showers film, we'll have a couple this morning and then again this afternoon. maybe a second or third round. >> there is already ponding on the roadway. >> very high up in frederick county. >> carol in frederick county, urban and small stream flood warnings, frederick is done for

another couple of hours. an active weather day. 62 with light rain. 64 degrees as we head toward 9:00. midday still in the 60s. more rain returns by mid afternoon for the afternoon rush hour, so, could be a pain getting out of town with some rain. 53 degrees at 5:00 with the rain around. you can see what happened. one batch of rain. heavy rain this morning pushing through. a thin line coming through western pennsylvania and west virginia here and then some showers here will rotate back as we get into the afternoon. live doppler 9000 hd down to southern maryland, benedict. heavy line of showers push through. there may be a rumble of thunder. just general to heavy downpours here moving toward st. leonard, prince frederick. north beach, this is past you. lighter rains extend back toward national airport, over toward national park. here's clinton, y wine, down toward la plata and you get east of 301, we still have heavy rains occurring this

morning. temps are running in the 50s. 48 in winchester. we're in the 60s here. not getting too much cooler before we warm up. the cooler air comes in this afternoon. i want to caution you folks out west, we have a wind advisory from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., western areas in the mountains and the shenandoah valley could see some gusts later to 50 miles per hour. good morning, beverly farmer. it is a wet start. >> it is another wet start. yesterday was a rough enough drive. terrible traffic turkey tuesday we called it. but we still have to deal with some stuff this morning. lot more stuff out on the roadways later on. right now, the pace in springfield, incident-free. pavement still looks wet. there is a crash northbound 95 at thornburg before the exit for thornburg moved on to the shoulder now. maryland, a crash on interstate 95, north of the intercounty connector between 198 and 216. that is going to be block the left side of the roadway northbound. you can see the light volume southbound on the foreground of

your screen. right now on the intercounty connector, still available to you and free. no incidents to report. had a crash in southern maryland on route 4, south of waysons ended up in the median. downtown traffic has been light. we caution you, a new crash on 66 eastbound at 123 tying up the right lane. this wet pavement this early, speeds are up a little too high. >> slow it down, people. we begin with a developing story out of st. mary's county, maryland where a school bus carrying high school students was involved in a crash with a pickup truck. according to the web site, the bay net.com, the bus was traveling along route 234 when it was struck. >> 14 people are being treated at a local hospital with injuries. the driver of the pickup truck was arrested and charged with dui. they identify hem as patrick kravis of mechanicsville. kravis is a registered sex offender who has also been arrested for drug possession previously. in campaign 2012, republican presidential hopefuls gathered here in washington last night for their

11th debate. national security and foreign policy dominated the agenda. >> the candidates discussed potential cuts when it comes to military spending. as tara mergener reports, they all had different views on pretty much everything. >> reporter: newt gingrich says he's prepared to take the heat for his stance on immigration. >> i don't see how the party that says it is the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century. >> at last night's debate in washington, the latest g.o.p. front-runner risked alienating the core conservative base proposing illegal immigrants be allowed to stay in the country if they've already laid roots in the u.s. >> i don't agree you would make 11 million workers legal because that, in effect, is amnesty. >> his rivals fired back calling gingrich's proposal is a magnet for illegal aliens. >> people respond to incentives. if you can become a permanent resident of the united states by coming here illegally, you'll