inches of snow, with others getting a lot of heavy rain. winter weather advisories are posted along the virginia and west virginia border and also for parts of pennsylvania and new york. this is the same system that hit new mexico where near zero temperatures are expected today. as the storm moved east, there was rough weather in texas, arkansas, and illinois. the snow, ice and strong winds made highway travel dangerous. >> lots of wrecks. lots of sliding into curves and breaking the tires off their beads, cars rolling over on their tops. >> little rock, arkansas, and nashvill nashville, tennessee, could get an inch of wet snow today. now to politics. mitt romney has unveiled what he calls his closing argument, promising a more aggressive campaign. and president obama is also on the attack making it a pitch to the middle class. tara mergener is in washington with more on all of this. good morning, tara.

>> good morning to you, betty. republicans are trying to keep the president on the defense over the weak u.s. economy. in the meantime, mitt romney is ramping up his campaign as newt gingrich surges in the polls. mitt romney is battling to take back his lead in the gop race. >> now it's time to make our case to the people. >> reporter: and in arizona tuesday, he promised a more aggressive campaign ahead of next month's iowa caucuses including a new wave of tv ads and appearances. the former massachusetts governor is trying to catch up to newt gingrich who now holds a double digit lead in iowa in a cbs news/"the new york times" poll. >> this election is really going to be a fundamental choice about what path america is going to take during this century. >> reporter: today, romney will join is rivals in washington for the jewish conference. the president himself has been hitting the campaign trail this

week. yesterday in kansas, he laid out his case for re-election. >> the philosophy is simple. we are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i am here to say they are wrong. >> reporter: the president blamed republicans for the growing gap between the rich and poor and promised to continue fighting for ordinary americans. >> this is a make or break moment for the middle class and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. >> reporter: republicans fired back, insisting the speech was just another attempt to distract from the president' failed economic policies. and mitt romney is the latest candidate to decline a debate moderated by donald trump. so far, newt gingrich and rick santorum on the only ones who is agreed to participate. apparently there is concern donald trump will make the debate all about him. by moving to the front of the republican pact, knew gingrich has made himself a target.

recently, mitt romney said gingrich has spent 40 years as a washington insider and ron paul is airing this hard-hitting commercial in iowa. take a look. >> newt gingrich renewed his support for an individual mandate a key tentative president obama law. >> support for an individual mandate? folks, don't ask me to explain this! everything that gingrich railed against when he was in the house, he went the other way when he got paid to go the other way! >> he is demonstrating to be the very essence of the washington insiders. >> it's about serial hypocrisy. >> now to a surprise turn in congress. unnamed republican sources say house republicans will propose an increase in medicare premiums to pay for the cost of renewing the payroll tax cut. president obama is pushing hard for the extension. most republicans are refused to pay for it by raising any texas. by the way, today is the last day to join, switch, or drop

your medicare drug d prescription plan. former illinois governor rod blagojevich today will give what may be the most important speech of his life, a speech for mercy. he will speak on his own behalf at his sentencing hearing. in one recording, inrecording want him to serve 15 to 20 years in prison. faa ghar randy babbit has resigned. he was arrested saturday night in virginia on drunk driving charges. babbitt says he doesn't want anything to cast a shadow on the work done by the faa. iran says the u.s. spy drone it claims to have shot down was flying deep over the country not over western afghanistan as u.s. officials said previously. unnamed us ofgs say the top secret drone was part of a cia

fleet of aircraft that has been spying on iran for years. on the cbs "moneywatch," upswing in the stocks in europe. asian markets got a jolt today on more optimism the eu will get a handle on its debt crisis. each closed up close to 2%. today, wall street gets the latest on consumer debt. tuesday, stocks were stuck in neutral most of the day before a late day rally. the dow gained 52 points, while the nasdaq was down six. citigroup is slashing 4,500 jobs worldwide, that's about 1.5% of its work force. the bank says it's all part of its effort to trim costs. the cuts will be made over the next few quarters. bank of america will pay $3.15 million to settle claims by merrill lynch customers they were misled by investments and mortgage-backed securities. ba acquired merrill lynch during

the meltdown in 2008. the second such settlement in a week' analysts predict more to come. gm thinks it knows why fires have been breaking out in its electric they have chevy volts. coolant leaks may be the cause. the government is investigating, but the transportation department says the vehicle is safe to drive. gm is offering refunds to dissatisfied customers. verizon is about to take on netflix. the telecom giant is planning to launch a new service that lets customers stream movies and tv shows over the internet. the new service could be rolled out as soon as next year. netflix shares almost 5% on the news. and if you think your tweets just die in cyberspace, well, think again. the library of congress has struck a deal with twitter to archive every public tweet that is billions and billions. betty, that means getting a cool tour of an animal e.r.

just saw a dog get a huge tooth pulled or checking out the dallas world aquarium. who knew they had a tropical rain forest? those will live forever. you'll be happy to know only public tweets are used and nothing protect or private will be archived. i hope you don't tweet any of our conversations. >> if those are the best you can find, i better step up my tweet game. are you on twitter? >> i am not. no tweeting for me. >> settle to being facebook friends then. thank you, ashley morrison, in new york. just ahead on the "morning news," a not so sweet study of children's breakfast contraerea. plus a cannon ball run using a real cannon. plaque psoriasis. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months,

and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better.

and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. yet another alleged victim has come forward in the penn state sexual abuse scandal. the man says that former penn state assistant football coach

jerry sandusky abused him at the age of 12. at least six of sandusky's ten accusers are expected to testify tomorrow. a new study out this morning, says many cereals for kids are loaded with more sugar than dessert snacks. the report says the biggest offender is kell logs honey smacks with one cup containing more sugar than a twinkie! and a cup of quaker oats cap'n crunch. oops. the popular myth busters tv show had an accident, shall we say, while firing a cannon for an episode of the show. it happened in dublin, california. it smashed all the way through a nearby house leaving holes in the door, the walls, and then through the window of a minivan outside. luckily, no one was hurt.

well, actor alec baldwin got in a dispute with a fly attendant on tuesday and kicked off an american airlines plane. according to fellow passengers before takeoff from los angeles, baldwin refused to stop playing a word game on a cell phone. our station kcbs in los angeles has more. >> reporter: on the same flight alec baldwin was kicked off, oscar de la hoya. >> alec baldwin was turning off his devices. i don't know. he got a little angry. that's about it. >> reporter: in new york passengers on the flight tonight react to their celebrity-caused delay. >> does that bother you? >> alec baldwin. he looked a little bit intoxicated to me. >> reporter: actor alec baldwin says he is addicted to his favorite word game. after removed from an american airline flight he took to his twitter account to say a flight attendant on american rooeamed

out while we sat at the gate not moving. the actor's rep says he left his seat to ask for the attendant's name to file a complaint. it was then the crew asked him to leave. baldwin then unleashed an all-out rant, tweeting about the airline's bankruptcy status, saying it will be the last american flight he will take, tweeting there is always united. in a calmer tweet, he says, now on the 3:00 american flight, the flight attendants already look smarter. passengers on board join the twitter game. michael wolf from mtv said on an american airlines flight at lax, alec baldwin removed from the plane. we had to go back to the gate. terrible that everyone had to wait. he loves "words with friends" so much that he was willing to leave a plane for it. >> the rock 'n' roll hall of

fame class of 2012 is out. ♪ >> oh, yeah. gun sin s n' roses lead the pac. they will all be inducted next april. congratulations. straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather. and in sports, the competition heats up over free agent albert pujols who may become baseball's $200 million dollar man. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol 200 million dollar man. and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke

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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 cloudy skies vi and showers in the east. light snow is falling in the lower mississippi valley and it's clear on the west coast, but later today, there will be rain showers from new england to the southeast. it will stay muggy and warm along the coast. behind the system is colder air. the rest of the nation has mostly sunny skies concept for a few snow showers in the northern rockies. in sports, number three syracuse remains unbeaten in college basketball. playing at home, the orange got

15 points from dion waders and hung on mens marshall. kir sues got its ninth win, 62-56 over the thundering herd. appear chapel hill, barnes had 17 points as the tar heels more than doubled the score against evansville in a 97-48 victory. in baseball, david ortiz is expected to stay with boston. espn reports he will accept salary arbitration for next year, a deal likely to be in the 14 to $15 million range. and the miami marlins are trying to make their big off-season splash bigger by signing number one free agent albert pujols. speculation is the deal for the three-time national league mvp could be worth, get this, a whopping $200 million or more over ten years. the marlins have already signed two other all-stars, shs jose

reyes and closer heath bell. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and remembering pearl harbor 70 years on. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals. ready, go! so skin feels pure and healthy. sears super saturday is on! all treadmills are on sale, like 40% off this nordictrack, plus a craftsman 200-piece mechanics tool set is 50% off. come shop the early preview. real deals. real savings. sears ready, go! sears super saturday is on!

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on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. a slow moving storm system will keep things muggy and warmer than normal along the east coast. the northern rockies and parts of the mississippi valley are getting some wet snow and stagnant air is in the northwest. here is another look at this morning's top stories. the winter-like storm that hit the southwest is headed east. snow is expected today at higher elevations from virginia to parts of maine. former illinois governor rod blagojevich is expected to speech at his corruption sentencing hearing today. prosecutors are asking for a 15 to 20-year prison term.

this is the 70th anniversary of the day that thrust this country into world war ii, pearl harbor day. on december 7th, 1941, japan launched a surprise air attack on the u.s. navy base in hawaii and sank more than a dozen ships, including four battle ships and killed more than 2,400 americans. today, the ranks of pearl harbor survivors are dwindling fast. sandra hughes has one man's story. >> reporter: survivor of the "uss arizona" was given a hero's welcome at the pearl harbor memorial. here to commemorate the 70th anniversary, four generations of don stratton's family. back then, he was a fresh face 19-year-old sailor on board the "uss arizona." >> i headed from my battle station which was about five ladders up. >> reporter: but he couldn't do much against the onslaught of

bombs. then it exploded. >> i was burned over 65% of my body. it's been a long time. rest in peace, ship mates. >> reporter: more than 1,100 men were killed and many still entombed below this memorial. of the survivors, only 35 are known to still be alive. there are more who survived on other battle ships but one by one, they are passing away. the remains of a sailor who survived the attack on the "uss utah" and died this year, were interred under water. the dwindling number of survivors make this an important anniversary. >> the first time i came out here, i was 19, knowing he was 19 at that time, being there, same age. i mean, it's a life changing experience. >> reporter: it took a year for don stratton's burns to heal but he didn't lose his fight. he reenlisted and went back to war. what do you say when people call

you a hero? >> they are still out there. >> reporter: they will sacrifice something he'll never forget. sandra hughes, cbs news, honolulu. >> they are all heroes. this morning, on "the early show," how to protect your smart phone from a hack attack. i'm betty nguyen. and this is the "cbs morning news." those with frequent heartburn imagine a day when we can eat what we want and sleep soundly through the night. prevacid®24hr prevents the acid that causes frequent heartburn all day, all night. go to prevacid24hour.com for a $4 coupon. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] yes, it is. [ growling ] captain, one step at a time.keep going! come on, snowy. look! did you ever see a more beautiful sight? captain! it's just a mirage. - snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ]

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good morning and welcome to 9news now. today is wednesday, december 7th. i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck. here's monika samtani.

hi, monika. >> hi. >> there's howard bernstein. >> core temperature is about 92 now. >> from yesterday. >> with the wind chill, it is about minus 6. if you weren't with us yesterday, i was out at the ice exhibit out at the gaylord. >> i went out two weekends ago. >> really cool. >> really cold. we've got some issues today. got a severe weather alert day because we're more concerned about flooding than snow. we do have snow in the forecast but the immediate concern will be the one to two inches of rain we could pick up today. temperatures will be dropping through the 50s. we may see temperatures drop into the -- into the 40s in spots here by the afternoon. you can see why. the cold air is off to the west. 30s across ohio now down to 39 in pennsylvania. on the other side of the divide, the cold air. we're still looking at 50s and 60s this morning. look at some rain.

had light showers overnight. here is a lot of rain off to the west and southwest. it is all going to track toward us. here's live doppler 9000 hd. light showers here. couple of heavier ones west of annapolis on route 50. also down route one as you get south of prince william county up to quantico, right along the potomac, western charles, eastern areas of prince william county into southern fauquier as well. we're only going to see the moderate to heavy rain increase. flood watches in effect later this afternoon for the immediate metro. a flood watch out to the shenandoah valley and mountains of west virginia for later today. tonight into early tomorrow. on top of that, we've got some winter weather advisories in the form of a winter storm watch. has not been upgraded to the mountains of west virginia. but garrett county, under a winter storm warning tonight. we'll look at the snow totals

coming up. monika samtani, good morning. >> good morning, howard. >> as howard's been saying with all of the rain and the flood watch as well in parts of our area, you want to be very careful and give yourself the extra time you may need morning and keep your speed limits down. the beltway is looking fine except for one spot. just got word of an accident on the outer loop of the beltway here at connecticut avenue in the right lane. authorities should be driving up to it shortly. be aware of that if you're heading westbound on the beltway toward connecticut avenue. let's take a live look at university boulevard right now. all of the construction has been picked up. you're good to go until you get to connecticut here on the outer loop. be aware of that. let's take you over to the roosevelt bridge on the inbound side from constitution avenue, watch out for the construction in the right lane, good news, we mentioned yesterday in arlington on the westbound side of i-66 between north george mason drive and sycamore

street, three lanes available for you. should help the bottleneck there. coming up, more on area roadways at 4:39. >> thank you, monika. montgomery county police are searching for answers after a teenager was stabbed last night outside northwood high school in silver spring. >> a group of girls from kennedy high school were at northwood watching a basketball game. well, apparently they got into an argument which spilled into the parking lot and one of the girls ended up getting stacked several times. she was taken to suburban hospital. she is expected to recover. police aren't saying whether or not the victim is a student. the former executive of prince george's county has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. >> jack johnson accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from developers doing business with the county during his eight- year tenure as executive from 2002 to 2010. during the hearing, johnson apologized saying he was haunted by his actions. johnson's wife, lesli, a former county council member is scheduled to be sentenced later

this week for her role in covering the whole thing out. randy babbitt stepped down yesterday just days after he was arrested for drunk driving. after his resignation, babbitt released a statement saying he didn't want anything to cast a shadow on the work of his faa colleagues. legally owning a firearm in d.c. could soon become significantly easier under a bill proposed by phil mendelssohn. >> it would lift several restrictions which now continue to make it difficult for d.c. residents to own guns. ken molestina has more. >> we've had three years experience and there's some issues that have come forward. >> d.c. councilman phil mendelssohn is talking about the resident residents must go through to own a handgun in the district. he's calling for a change. several steps in the current process will be removed. >> some aspects, could be just a