became a government security center and now protects some of the most iconic photographs "early" this thursday morning, december 8th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs good thursday morning, everyone. i'm jeff glor. chris wragge is off this morning. and miss erica hill is in washington, d.c. this morning. erica, good morning. >> jeff, good morning to you here from washington. we will have a closer look at the race as it it's shaping up for 2012. also the increasingly important impact of so-called super packs and what we are talking about there is big money. jerry sandusky this morning is waking up in jail. he was arrested wednesday after two more men came forward with graphic accounts saying he abused them when they were boys. anna werner has more. >> reporter: jerry sandusky's trip to jail began shortly after

1:00 wednesday afternoon when pennsylvania state police showed up at his home, put him in handcuffs, and escorted sandusky wearing his penn state windbreaker to a waiting car. law enforcement officials tell cbs news sandusky received no advanced notice of the arrest, which outraged his lawyer, joe amendola. >> the question begs to be asked why would the attorney's office decide not to tell me because they knew i was the attorney and why go to his house and take him out in handcuffs. >> reporter: the arrest came as the state attorney general announced new child sexual abuse charges against the former penn state coach, including nine first-degree felonies. two more young men have come forward claiming they also were molested by sandusky when they were children. in the grand jury's report victim nine who is now 18 says his contact came when he was 11 or 12 years are hugging and rubbing and cuddling and

tickling that escalate to sexual assaults that included rape. he said many occurred in the basement bedroom of sandusky's home and at least once, he screamed for help, knowing that sandusky's wife was upstairs, but no one ever came to help him. the second accuser, victim ten, said his abuse began in 1997 when wrestling sessions turned into oral sex on repeated occasions. after his arraignment, sandusky was brought out of the courthouse and taken to jail. but his lawyer promises a fight. >> if this is the way the case is going to be handled by the other side, we can do things to kind of make it miserable too. >> reporter: now sandusky maintains his innocence in the face of all of these charges, including these new charges but the priority for him right now, his lawyer says, is try to raise that $250,000 bail. he would like to try to get out of jail today, obviously, if possible, but even if he does get out on bail, he is going to be subject to some strict conditions.

house arrest with electronic monitoring and no unsupervised contact with minors. jeff? >> anna werner, thanks very much. at kir syracuse university the attorney general saying bernie fine cannot be charged for the sexual abuse charges in 1980 because the statute of limitations have run out now. he believes the two accusers are telling the truth. fine was fired by syracuse last month and denies any wrong doing. the latest on a mystery involving more than $1 billion missing from failed mf global. the money belonged to the firm's customers and today a committee is set to ask ceo jon corzine what happened. nancy cordes is live on capitol hill. any indication whether corzine will speak or take the fifth? >> reporter: we are hearing he will probably say something, though, probably not much.

he could take fifth as you mentioned, but as a former senator himself he knows that doesn't look very good so he may make an opening statement and may answer some questions but don't expect him to go into a lot of detail because he knows that this could end up being dragged through the courts for years to come and he doesn't want to say anything that could put him in jeopardy. >> we know zone corzine is a public figure a long time, a senator, governor. as fm global was a figure head or was he really making decisions? >> reporter: by all accounts he was an extremely hands-on manager, jeff. in fact, by some reports, he went defense his chief risk officer in making this very risky $6 billion bet on the debt of some sovereign european nations like italy and spain that were really struggling. that bet as we now know went bad. there is always the possibility that he could face jail time as a result of this. no charges filed right now. but the fbi is investigating.

>> there is the question of whether we ever find the $1.2 billion in missing money. nancy cordes from capitol hill, thanks very much. you'll be watching that. also in washington, erica hill. back to you. >> thanks. a surprising decision on what is known as plan b or the so-called morning after pill. the secretary of health and human services overruled her own medical experts deciding that younger teenagers should not buy plan b without a prescription wyatt andrews is here in washington with that story. >> good morning. >> reporter: this is the first time the white house has ever publicly overruled an fda safety recommendation and it just happened to take a controversial issue off the table just before an election year. for millions of women, it was a stunning reversal. the makers. plan b, the emergency contraception drug sold with no prescription to women 17 and older, had applied to loosen the rules and sell the drug over-the-counter with no

restrictions on anyone, including teenager girls. looking at strictly at the safety studies, the fda approved the change, but the secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius stepped in and reversed the fda's decision. >> i find this decision to be -- i'm really mind boggling. >> reporter: dr. jack moritz says plan b prevents conception if taken quickly. >> plan b is safe. it's effective. it's easy to use. and it's shown to prevent unwanted pregnancies. what more with an obgyn want. >> reporter: plan b is known for its overall safety but can be side effects including bleeding and severe nausea. sebelius reversed the fda saying young girls needed to no' that and the fda wasn't clear girls as young as 11 could understand the warning label. a pharmacist yvette fulgeras

believes. >> i believe it's something should be talked with your physician. >> reporter: and says talent females were not for routine use. was this a political decision? white house officials deny that but plan b's approval in 2005 was held up by abortion-related concerns, even though proponents say the drug, by preventing pregnancies, has the effect of reducing abortion. the effect of this decision means that plan b still remains available, but this is what is called a behind the counter drug if you're 17 or older, you show the pharmacist a prescription but you can buy it. women 16 and under, though, need a prescription. >> you mentioned the side effects here and other medications with side effects available to broader audiences. what makes this different to the administration? is it political? >> reporter: that question gets to why people think it is political. you go down the aisle of a drugstore and lots of drugs there you can buy that will make

you sick. you could technically overdose on amphetamine, tylenol. maybe some teenage girls can't read the label but take aside moral judgments this has never been applied to the fda said is safe to rule over-the-counter. >> in a related story this morning, the government is taking a closer look at the risks of the popular birth control pill yaz. medical contributor dr. holly phillips has more on this for us this morning. good morning. give us an idea. the fda is going to hear from an advisory panel today which took a look at yaz at reviewing this data. looking at increased blood clots. what specifically are they considering? >> absolutely. yaz contains a hormone which does have a slightly higher risk of blood clots than the hormones found in the older birth control pills, specifically according to the latest analysis, 10 out of every 10,000 women who take yaz

over the course of a year, will develop a blood clot. that is opposed to 6 out of every 10,000 women who take one of the older drugs. this might seem like a small difference, but it's certainly enough that the fda wants to take a look. on the other hand, this is a very popular drug because in terms of other side effects, there are many fewer. women find it causes less weight gain, fewer mood swings, and it actually even fights acne, sometimes it's pretty bad specifically to fight acne. >> then based on what is released ahead of time what is the thinking in terms of what the fda will recommend? >> it's very unlikely that they will pull the drug off the shelves. the most likely thing they will increase warnings on the label and encourage doctors to talk to their patients about it even more thoroughly. >> you mentioned the risks of some of the other pills. what specifically are the dangers of a blood clot and what are the signs? >> blood clots can certainly be life-threatening. they tend to form in the leg below the knee.

the first signs are pain and swelling in the calf. they become life-threatening when the clot breaks off from one of the veins in the leg and moves up to the lungs. at that point, it can cut off breathing and stop your heart. so these are things we take very, very seriously. once it has moved up to the lungs, you may see symptoms such as shortness of breath and palpitations. but the idea is to catch it when it's still in your leg. i always tell young women do not ignore any calf pain or any swelling. don't just think it's a cramp in your leg especially if you're on the pill. >> great advice. holly, thanks. nice to see you. >> sure. turn to politics now. the republican presidential field is scrambling to deal with newt gingrich sudden rise in the polls. he is already taking on the president. >> i believe if president obama is reelected after this mess that eight years of obama will truly make the country dramatically more difficult and have dramatically greater

problems. >> here is a closer look at campaign 2012 is jan crawford and norah o'donnell. things are shifting a little bit when it comes to the republican candidates here. it seems like mitt romney really changing focus at this point. speaking to the press more which he had been criticized for in recent days and also they have this new ad out which seems to be touting family values but some may say is almost a direct target at newt gingrich. how are they refocusing sneveef? >> romney numbers are getting nervous and seeing big numbers for newt gingrich across the country and in the key early states. there was ura of inevitability of rom. look, it's only four weeks until iowa, not a lot of time. you got that week of christmas and people aren't going to be paying attention so supporters say we have to have a reboot and gel him out there.

the campaign is not seeing it like that. they expected a serious challenger and built a xap for the long haul. mitt romney has a lot of money and a lot of organization and you see them now unleash things you mentioned like tv ads and key supporters coming out with endorsements and going on the stump. >> do they expect that serious challenger to be newt gingrich? >> they expected a serious challenger and did not expect it to be newt gingrich. who did? his campaign was written off for dead six months ago and now newt gingrich was the only one thought he would make a come back and surprising everyone. >> the white house is also now saying, what were they words? they see a realistic chance newt gingrich could be the nominee. >> i was told by some of the president's campaign advisers they think there is a chance newt gingrich could be the nominee. i think that is a bit of mischief making of playing around. you still guess 100% opposition research assault from the

campaign and the dnc focus on mitt romney. while they are playing a little bit in the field saying we look maybe newt gingrich could be the nominee, he is strong. their goal is a long, drawn-out bloody primary battle because guess what? it will sap mitt romney's strength and it will drain his coffers and fake him a weaker republican nominee and therefore a better person to run against. >> this could be drawn out like president obama and now secretary of state hillary clinton as we saw for 2008. jan, when we look at the republican support in recent days there have been multiple who have come out and some served under newt gingrich and said we are not comfortable with this. how much support is there for newt gingrich among the republican establishment? >> we will see more of that in the days to come including later on this morning when two key congressional people who worked with gingrich are coming out and speak against him. he is running to be president of the united states.

the question is what was his leadership in congress? a lot of people worked for him have been openly already. senator tom coburn found his leadership lacking and he was lacking in discipline others have said and refuse to support him. you will see more of that and i would expect his opponents, knew beginni newt gingrich opponents will being making that too. >> they see a lack of leadership from the president. >> there is no doubt. i think the obama campaign wants to see newt gingrich perhaps win iowa. he may not win new hampshire but he could win south carolina. and then this could go on. remember the republican won't have 40% of the delegates by super tuesday. you're exactly right when you say there could be a drawn-out contest like 2008 between barack obama and hillary clinton. you could see that on the republican side but jan knows this better than anybody not clear newt has the resources to last that long. >> he almost failed to qualify

for the ballot. his campaign is in debt. he doesn't have the organization. and if you're thinking long term you have to have a campaign for the long haul. >> absolutely. >> open question on whether or not he would -- >> that is why the obama doesn't want to draw any fatal blow on newt gingrich because they want him to last a little bit longer. >> nice to see you both. betty nguyen is at the news desk in new york with more headlines. a disturbing new report finds many more remains of american war dead were mishandled by the air force tha. "the washington post" reports between four and 2008 the partial remains of at least 274 service members were dumped. is says cremated remains mixed with medical waste and incinerated and sent to a virginia landfill. the practice was stopped three years ago. recovery efforts resume this

morning in nevada following the crash of a sightseeing helicopter. the helicopter flew over the las vegas strip and hoover dam before slamming into a mountain near lake mead yesterday. the pilot and four passengers were killed. a prewinter snowstorm is moving through new england this morning. that same fast moving storm blanketed memphis, tennessee, with snow yesterday. it is interesting to note, though, that nearby jackson and other parts of the south have seen more snow since october than buffalo, new york, which typically gets more than 4 inches by now.

still ahead this morning, what is next for disgraced governor rod blagojevich facing 14 years in prison for corruption. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. you learn to get a feel for the trouble spots. to know its wants... its needs...its dreams. ♪call 1-800-steemer. look, honey... it's santa. [ mom ] i thought i heard reindeer. mom... i mean, mrs. nelson, i have the perfect gift for you. he must've gotten my letter. ♪ oh...santa. [ male announcer ] levian jewelry featuring levian chocolate diamonds at kay jewelers. levian. one more reason kay... is the number one jewelry store in america.

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coming up, an extraordinary look at some of america's most iconic photos that are kept undergrounds in an old mine called iron mountain and we were lucky enough to get a rare look inside. >> very cool stuff. this archive has millions of photos and negatives featuring who is who in the 20th century from marilyn monroe to albert einstein. we will crack open the vault. we will be right back after this.

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♪ welcome back to "the early show." i'm erica hill in washington. you see there the russell rotunda. before that, a beautiful shot of the sunrise over the capitol. ahead we have a rare look for you at the home of some of this country's most enduring photographers kept in an underground facility outside of pittsburgh. millions of photos and negatives are kept in a strictly temperature-controlled environment there to preserve them. the photos were sent there years ago by bill gates. he owns them all but we have a

tour and show you the treasures that are kept there. that is coming up. first, back to new york and jeff glor. >> good morning. rod blagojevich is paying a very high price for corruption. is it too high? in chicago wednesday, a judge sentenced the former ill loy governor to 14 years in prison and michelle miller has more on that. >> reporter: the once flamboyant fallen governor described to reporters in 50 seconds and no more what is next for him and his family. >> this is a time for me to be strong for my children, be strong for patty and this is also a time for pam patty and me to get home so we can explain to our kids, our babies annie and amy, what happened and what all this means and where we are going from here. >> the sentence sends a strong message the public has had enough and judges have had enough. this needs to stop. >> reporter: the democrat was convicted on 18 counts of

corruption, largely due to profanity-laced wiretaps that caught him offering political favors in return for financial gain. >> i've got this thing and it's [ bleep ] golden. >> reporter: the most notorious reporting seemed to implicate blagojevich. he appointed roland burris, the unknown former attorney general to the seat. actions defense claim were nothing more than political jockeying because no money had been exchanged. then blagojevich launched an all-out media offensive proclaiming his innocence. in the end, jurors said he should have known better. >> i think anybody that grew up in illinois, especially a politician, and a lawyer, knows what is legal and what is not legal in campaign financing, and i know he knew that he was doing

wrong. >> reporter: blagojevich narrowly escaped the prosecution's request for 15 to 20 years. still his 14-year sentence is the longest of anyone in state history for a politician. michelle miller, cbs news, new york. here is betty nguyen at the news desk with a check of today's other headlines for us. former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is in jail morning, after new child sexual abuse charges were filed. he was arrested yesterday and hasn't made the $250,000 bail. two new accusers claim sandusky molested them, one says he was attacked in the basement of sandusky's home. in thailand this morning u.s. citizen joe gordon was sentenced two and a half years in prison for insulting the king of thailand. the thai born gordon pleaded guilty in october to using the internet to disseminate information that insulted the monarchy. he admitted posting material on

a blog in the u.s. and an apology of sorts from actor alec balancedin after he was booted off a cross country flight on tuesday for refusing to turn off his cell phone but he did not apologize to the flight attendant he argued with. in a statement, baldwin said, quote, i was singled out by this woman in the most unpleasant of tones. baldwin continued. i guess the fact that this woman who had decided to make some example of me while everyone else was left undisturbed did get the better of me.

up next, a rare look at a treasure trove of american history. we will take you deep inside iron mountain. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. chase freedom gives you 1% cash back. and the largest cash back card only gives you a quarter percent until you spend $3,000 every year. but you know, it's your choice, so... don't' get short changed. get your cash back. chase freedom.

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150 years of history is sitting in an old mine in pennsylvania. millions of photographs and negatives, even glass plates from the 19th century cameras are stored deep underground in this high security facility. whit johnson got a rare look at these treasures. >> reporter: celebrities. >> i must be the greatest! >> reporter: athletes. >> let us go forth to lead the land we love! >> reporter: presidents. >> into space. >> reporter: in history. to unlock the stories of in of america's most iconic images, follow the roads an hour and a half north of pittsburgh to iron mountain. a maximum security cold storage facility in an old limestone mine 220 feet underground. this is where we met ken johnston. >> after you. >> reporter: we are entering

what here? what is this? >> this is the corvis film preservation facility. >> reporter: ken is the chief historian and ar take visit bill gates company that licensed the right for photographs visual media. climed controlled at 45 degrees. it is freezing in here, by the way. stores the negatives and original prints for 15 million images. marilyn monroe gets her own drawer. >> all right. let's explore. death, divorce. it's very newsy. >> reporter: yes. many of the photographs you've likely seen. it's kind of hard to focus on the photography. >> i've seen it a lot. >> reporter: yes. some you haven't like snapshots of monroe and husband joe dimaggio in korea. >> she always comes across with a presence. >> reporter: or this tearful drive following the couple's divorce. >> it's very strong and sad and emotional. >> reporter: then there is albert einstein. >> he was pretty fed up with

people taking his picture. >> reporter: that's quite a reaction. >> he had had enough. >> reporter: the physicist who brought us the theory of relativity. this is close to the modern day paparazzi stuff we are used to seeing. replaced einstein with kim kardashian or fill in the blank? >> yep. just everywhere we ent. >> reporter: and photographed like a celebrity. >> einstein in his pjs rowing a boat. wow. that's something else. >> it's really a neat thing. >> reporter: corvis has rare images dating back to the civil war. president lincoln reading troops in the field. how many of these pictures have you seen? if you can ballpark. >> oh, i would think ballpark, i guess i would have to say i've seen hundreds of thousands. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands? >> yeah. >> reporter: ken has spent 26 years around these photos. he worked for the private bettman archive before it was purchased by corvis which

included millions of news photographs from the united press international. some decades old are in perfect condition. this is the exact film that was in the camera in vietnam. these from the vietnam war showing horrified children running may look familiar. this ap photo won a pulitzer price and this one which is owned by corvis didn't. it shows photo journalists working in the background. >> it changes the story a bit. it's the great thing about working with this kind of material is that you see things that you don't always get to see. >> reporter: however, there are negatives that are nearly ruined. can i smell it? >> you should smell it. >> reporter: wow. that is vinegar and what is happening here is the plastic base of the piece of film is literally turning to vinegar. >> reporter: from plastic to glass plates like the original 1932 workers lunching on a beam.

>> interestingly enough, it is broken. >> reporter: now cracked in five pieces. or this decaying portrait of fdr. photographer unknown. >> i would say 99% of the material within all of this collection is anonymous. >> reporter: without question, ken is emotionally tied to the archive. nothing replaces the original. >> nothing replaces the original. the original is the thing. it's the object that was on-site. it's what was in the camera at that event. that is the famous shot. >> reporter: a connection he says will never be the same in the user-friendly digital era of tomorrow. >> digital, what is it? you don't see it. you can't hold it. the photographer, when he shoots, can, in his camera, delete images now. he can make an editorial choice. i don't want anyone to ever see this again and it's gone. >> reporter: but not this collection. after moving underground in 2001, corvis hopes the bulk of

it will survive for thousands of years. >> this is incredible story. what a great story to do and to see all that is there. there was a little bit of controversy when corvis the gates company talking about moving all of its material mere. why? >> in the beginning the critics said a billionaire bill gates coming into new york city and purchasing all of these priceless images and taking them and shoving them down into some abandoned mine in the middle of nowhere pennsylvania. so people were initially upset but over time the controversy faded as people recognized that really now you have better access to these images. many of them have been scanned, they have been put online, available to everyone. so whereas before they were literally roting in new york city. now, in theory, they will be preserved for generations. >> because in this very well-controlled, safe place. this is not the only thing in there. iron mountain is the company that does this and owns that mine. there is all kinds of stuff in there. >> oh, absolutely. it's massive. it has its own fire department inside.

this is a place that 150 developed acres underground. you're going through this maze of tunnels. 2,000 customers. when i say customers, we are talking about major government agencies, major corporations. i can't name all of them. they prefer to remain anonymous. the u.s. trademark and patent office, the national archives. cbs has an archive down there. so we are talking about national treasures and national secrets in iron mountain. >> wild stuff and only one exit. >> yes! >> that part was a little creepy for you. >> a little scary. >> thanks, whit. up next a special initiative on helping families deal with hunger in america and that is what brought us here to washington this morning. we will tell you a little bit more about that ahead. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma

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do not take dulera more than prescribed. see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. ask your doctor if dulera can help you breathe easier. ♪ ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. one year ago, sesame workshop launched food for thought eating healthy on a budget to teach families about the rising number of kids who

have trouble getting enough healthy food. >> in washington they will reveal new research which shows the initiative has increased family's knowledge of nutrition and changed their behavior which is important stuff. you may remember two months ago, lily, who is a new sesame street character, stopped by "the early show" to talk to us about the importance of recognizing the issue of hunger and also helping people cope with it. >> i know it was hard for my dad because when he got laid off, he felt bad. so i kind of felt bad because he did. and my mom too, you know, she was -- everybody was trying to, you know, be careful around everybody's feelings, but they sat me down and, like i said when we went to the food pantry and saw other people, it was okay. my friend amy was there and i was really surprised because a lot of times people don't talk about it. but once you start, then you realize you just feel better and people can find comfort in each

other. >> it's that message of comfort and of working together which is actually why we are here in washington this morning. the department of agriculture says 1 in 4 children in america is food insecure. translate that, it means they are hungry. 9.6 million of them are under the age of 6. the field research corporation studied the families who were using sesame's workshops food for thought kit and found just after four weeks, the family had used their knowledge and behavior and attitude toward the project. they found ways to save money for food and ways to eat a healthier diet and helped them talk about the issue too with everybody in the family and found caregivers who used food for thought and found it easier to speak with their kids with the realities and food and security. this morning, i will be moderating a panel how to talk about these findings and how to continue to help families eat better. stay with us. you're watching "the early show" on cbs.

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♪ a beautiful sunrise over new york city. welcome back to "the early show," everyone. i'm jeff glor. erica hill is in washington. chris wragge is off. an inspiring group over the age of 50 who spouveupport eachr and run together and compete in races all over the world. we will get a look at their training and why it has a huge impact on their lives. avoiding identity theft, we will speak with two women who made a career out of stealing identities. they are now in a california prison but they are going to share some of the tricks of the

trade that they used to clean out bank accounts and it is frighteningly easy. first, here is erica in washington. reports say president obama's re-election effort to spend as much as a billion money. unlike traditional campaigns have a limit on how much people can donate these groups can accept unlimited funds with no restriction on how the money is spent. they are legally barred from working directly with the campaigns. former white house deputy press secretary bill burton is joining us this morning. nice to have you here. we should point out the super pacts people with donate huge amounts of money anonymously. you cannot work with the white house in this case. >> there are two arms what we do. one is a super pact you can donate unlimited sums but that is all disclosed. the other arm you can donate unlimited sums but it's not disclosed. >> but regardless, when we're donating this it's a ton of

money you get to work with and a lot of people look at it on both sides of the aisle and say this is a administration -- >> i think more money than ever this time around than before. you can bet they will try to tear down the president and advance the tax policies that help millionaires and the environmental policies that help oil companies. yes, i think they will be particularly nasty. the reason we got involved we thought there could be a force to all of those dollars pouring? >> you say you're not going to be nasty and out with a new ad attacking republicans but saying they will not be dirty or nasty. >> we tell the truth. we use ronald reagan's own words to talk about fairness in the tax policy. all we are going to do is have very serious direct truthful factual contrasts with republicans. we don't have to lie in order to make our points. what we can do is be

straightforward and still win. >> both sides will probably say the same thing. you talk about money and politics seems to be about money and campaigning is about money. you said your goal is to raise and spend a hundred million dollars with this particular super pact. so far you've spent about a million and a lot of talk about the trouble that there has been with big donors and the president this time around. why is it to hard to get big donors to shell out money right now for president obama's re-election? >> we think we are on pace to reach our goal. we think that we always thought that most of the money would come next year and not this year. secondly, we aren't surprised that republicans are doing better at raising money from their huge contributors. you look at the tax policies they are promoting, they are designed to attract the kind of million dollar checks that their wealthy donors are giving to them. we had no doubt when we started the koch brothers and karl rove have millions of hundreds of dollars. we are working with what we have to make an impact and confident we will. >> you have said you probably won't be able to match the

hundreds of millions that car rove and others likely to raise. it is still more and more about money. so are you concerned at all being outspent in that means more ads and advertising they can take out to win the hearts and minds of americans. >> i have no doubt they probably will have more money. if you look at whomever the republican nominee is, newt gingrich, be it mitt romney, they probably will raise as much as president obama raises if not more. they are so tied into wall street and the oil companies i have no doubt they will be able to raise a lot of money but the outside groups they will have a tremendous amount of money. yes, i think a chance that democrats will be outspent. all we can do is what we can to make sure the american people know the truth and be efficientive with our communication with voters and what we are going to do. >> who are you more focused on or rather want to run against? we are looking at romney and gingrich in the polls right now leading. >> democrats were hoping they would be able to run against somebody who was an actor who

laid in movies with monkeys and we know how that turned out after eight years with ronald reagan. i think newt gingrich and mitt romney a formidable opponent for the president but both deeply flawed and i think the president will beat either one of them in what will be a very close election. >> thank you, bill burton. >> thank you. eric holder has said the government's highly criticized gun-walking operation was, in his words, flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution. investigative correspondent cher atkinson broke this story of fast and furious and joins us now. >> brewer said he didn't tell the attorney general eric holder when he first learned atf had led guns walk into the hands of mexican drug cartels and said in hindsight he wishes he had. a spokesman for the justice department said brewer acknowledged his mistake and holder still has confidence in him but in testimony for today's

hearing attorney general said he has cooperated with congress and he will be facing tough questions after charles grassley called for holder's criminal chief brewer to resign. >> he has failed to do his job of ensuring the government operate property including holding people accountable. because of that mr. brewer needs to go immediately. anything less will show the american people that the justice department isn't serious about being honest. >> so that will be just one of the topics that holder will have to answer today. a discussion about whether his criminal division chief is fit to serve him in that capacity. >> what other questions does he face? >> a big one will be who exactly provided false information to congress. in a letter from the justice department when the scandal first broke and denied any gun-walking had occurred and late last week the justice department turned over more than a thousand pages of e-mails and subpoenaed documents that the

justice department played a role in drafting in niche letter to congress. >> some officials -- they originally discussed using the gun-walking case to press for new gun regulations? >> that's right. new e-mails we have add to documentation we already had that showed government officials never planned to reveal their role in letting the guns fall into hands of mexican drug cartels. the planned result to argue for new gun regulations they wanted and you can read more at cbsnews.com. >> we will be following the story today. thanks very much. here is betty nguyen at the news desk with a check of today's other headlines for us. russian prime minister vladimir putin was highly critical of secretary of state hillary clinton for encouragie ing russian protesters. speaking today putin said clinton gave a signal to demonstrators by describing the parliamentary regulations as rigged. clinton is in brussels this

morning for nato foreign minister meeting and asked about pew putin's comments she had well- founded concerns. clinton said russian voters deserve a full investigation. two new drug studies offer options for women with advanced breast cancer. the treatment attacks the cancer but leaves healthy tissue alone. it combines a drug called aromosin that blocks production of cancer fielding hormones and another afinitor that attacks cancer cells. women who took both drugs went four months longer without cancer growth than those receiving just one. a snow day in parts of new england this morning. a fast moving storm brought snow earlier to parts of new york causing slippery conditions for the morning commute and north of new york city overnight, cars were stranded. look at this. after heavy rain from the same storm that caused

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in this morning's "healthwatch," more of our series on active aging. in 2005's triathlon had 58,000 members and this year it soared to 85,000 as baby boomers get more involved in these endurance events and we found one group of runners determined to stay in the race. >> how do we explain the marvelous women? i am 57. the only criteria, we be over 50. i feel sometimes like i'm in my 40s. >> my good days, i can almost feel like i'm in my late 30s. i feel better than i did when i was in my 40s. >> women are as ferocious about their sports these days as not, and it's not uncommon to hear about a woman doing three different aerobics classes, a spin class, running and playing

tennis and something else in one week. >> i started running in 1991 and i did my first marathon in '93, and i just finished my 17th this year. >> sometimes it hurts. but i wrap my knees to keep them strong and just, you know, take care of them. and hope for the best. see how long they go. >> i think the concerns are that some people in that age group will approach exercise the same way they did when they were 20 or the same way they approached their jobs, which is really fast and furious, and they go all out without recognizing limitations any more and, unfortunately, all of us have some limitations as we get older. >> i fell a couple times, broke my ribs, finished the race after i broke my ribs, and you just get up and go, you know? i fell on the boardwalk in the

brooklyn half. that was at mile one. and, you know, i got up and i finished. they said how come you finished? i said because i had to get there. >> good job, ladies. good job. >> good job. >> thank you. >> i started by running from the apartment to the lamp post. and then from the lamp post back. so i started with baby steps. >> running makes you very, very stiff, so i try to do stretching on a daily basis and i try to do weights so you strengthen your core because that is important to running as well. >> with stretching, i like to use a technique called low low long duration stretches. what you're trying to do is take a muscle on out to its limit and gently stretch it and maybe go a little beyond and that way you're not injuring anything but you're going to give it that much more flexibility. >> good job!

>> you probably don't bounce back as fast as if you were younger, but it's a different generation than our parents. i don't know if you say they acted their age, but as they turned their 60s and 70s, they sort of slowed down because of the age, butdefying that and stay as young as we can. >> women are likely to have osteoporosis so exercising and strengthening is important. so check with your doctor before you start any major activity. if you want more, go to earlyshow.cbsnews.com. two women convicted of identity theft tell us how easy it was coming up and how you can avoid it. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by bayer. try new bayer advanced aspirin. extra strength pain relief, twice as fast as before. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast,

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we often hear nightmarish stories from identity theft victims who have to worked incredibly hard to fix the damage done. this morning, we hear from two women who know a lot about i.d. theft because they made a career about it. july yi watts of kpix was given exclusive access behind prison walls for this story. >> it's easy, it's fast and it's a fast comer. >> reporter: it's somehow cheryl thrasher emptied bank accounts for a small crime ring. tiffany anders did it to get drugs. they are among two of 1400 behind bars for criminal identity theft and agreed to sit down with us to reveal the tricks of the trade by accepting bonnie hoag's story. >> i contacted every single bank and let them know i had identity theft and made sure they closed my accounts and put out any alert they could. >> cheryl says that doesn't matter and not surprised even though banks were notified, this

happened. one week after her wallet was stolen bank materials say this woman used bonnie's i.d. to clean out her accounts at two different banks. >> we talked into banks and used fake i.d.s to take money out of accounts. how is that possible? >> you basically try to find a teller who looks young, you know? just starting or whatever. >> reporter: cheryl says the secret is distracting those materials with friendly conversation, something she says every i.d. thief knows. >> like oh, yeah, i'm going to go purchase this car or go put a down payment on this. >> another common trick? >> if you go more towards the end of the day you know they are not really paying much attention. they are just doing their transaction to get it gone and hurry up. >> reporter: she says something identity thieves count on and likely this woman say when bank materials said she tried to steal money out of bonnie's third account. >> the teller called me were you in here? i said absolutely not you need to get her. she said we just closed and we same in two minutes of closing and tried to ask another

question and she got scared and went out. >> reporter: they say thieves know it's unlikely even when materials suspect fraud because she feels banks are too worried they might offend a customer if they are wrong. and when cheryl was stealing money she often had help from the inside. >> they had told me who to go to so that's who i went to. >> reporter: when didn't have an inside man she was taught everything from passwords to fingerprints. >> they would use like superglue and bandage and put it on their fingers and wait for it to dry just a little bit and then like put it to somebody else. that's how they would get a new set of prints. >> reporter: is there something banks can do to prevent people like that from coming in and stealing other people's money? >> make sure cher asked a stringent amount of questions before taking a large amount. >> i don't think there is enough

security in place. >> reporter: they suggest real-time fingerprint verification and impemployee dr tests. they point out how to steal your identity. >> people dig in dumpsters or may break into houses or cars and then they may know somebody, hey, this looks like so and so. >> reporter: but cheryl says the most commonplace to have your identity stolen is right in your front yard. >> don't put your outgoing mail in a mailbox at night ever! you know? if they see a flag up its gone! uchlt jul >> reporter: julie watts. >> the woman in the surveillance reports are not charged with any crime and police are asking for help to identify her. tv's favorite serial killer. "dexter" star michael c. hall will tell you why season six has been more challenging than usual.

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♪ welcome back to "the early show." i'm jeff glor. erica hill is on assignment in washington today. chris wragge is off. coming up here an interior designer he everybody wants to hire who is barely out of high

school. 19-year-old sam allen is already building a successful business out of decorating high-end homes with high-end taste. this very hard working teenager will tell us how to get started. his mom gets a little bit of the credit. doesn't hurt she is friends with martha stewart. first, this is the time for stringing lights and speaking of interior decorate, baking cookies and, for many, buying on credit. personal finance expert carmen wong ulrich is with a list of items you should avoid putting on plastic and maybe some you should. >> credit card usage has gone up in the last quarter compared to 10% last year. 8% credit card usage up from last áy one thing you should not put on your credit card is a car. it's tempting for point junkies. here is the thing. auto loan rate not to mention the fact it's a different kind of debt, a secured debt. your auto loan rate is a fixed

rate. even with a 0% transfer if you're late it can change. if you don't manage it can go up a lot. if you put a car loan on a credit card and car loan is a long thing so be careful and not charging a car. >> medical bills? >> this is a big one. i want to make sure everyone understands. please do not pay hospital bills -- it's different than paying your copay at the doctor's office if you don't have insurance coverage or your insurance doesn't cover a lot don't charge your hospital bills. here is why. they are negotiable. if you put it on that card you lock in the retail price. make sure you get a bill, ask for an itemized bill and negotiate it down. maybe it's already down, then you can charge it but do not charge your hospital bills on a credit card. it becomes unnegotiable. >> how about tax bills? >> don't do that either. a lot of folks do this because i can rack up points. if you can pay it off in 30 days but taxes are a different kind of charge.

over 2% surcharge when you charge your taxes on your credit card. getting points may not make any sense. >> you have to pay not the credit card company. >> you pay, yes, 2.38% on that not the credit card company. so that is an additional charge just because it's for the tax man. here is the thing, if you're charging because you can't pay the whole tax bill in full, know that you can contact and work with the irs to have a monthly payment plan and they will work with you and each settle with you if things are bad and you can go to irs.gov and talk to them and work it out. >> things we should always put on the credit card include what? >> here is the thing. big ticket items. especially during the holidays. you're looking at electronics. you're buying jewelry. big ticket items. a credit card protects you from liability if you have a fraudulent item, if you order something online, it never shows up. anything like that or even extra warranties or extra insurance on big ticket item purchases. a credit card has that. a debit card does not.

>> travel expenses? >> it includes air fare and car ren rentals especially. it has additional protection. rental car coverage. go look at your policy and see. a lot of cars offer additional insurance. lost baggage. hotel stays if anything gets stolen while you're away. >> most of the parts of vacation at least put on the credit card? absolutely. >> what about your bills? cable? >> recurring bills like a gym membership, for example, or subscriptions to magazines. anything recurring month-to-month. the credit card is a middle man and they can help you when you have a dispute. when it comes to a recurring bill you don't want any more but someone doesn't want to stop taking the money out then you have someone in the middle who can say we're not paying this right now, let's negotiate and you don't necessarily have to pay. the credit card will work on your side for that. >> carmen wong ulrich, always great information. thanks for coming in. >> thank you, jeff. here is betty nguyen at the news desk with a final check of

today's other headlines for us. >> that was good information. feel free to charge anything you want to buy me on your credit card, all right? just a tip there. good morning, everybody. german authorities are hunting for a letter bomber who targeted the head of germany's biggest bank. this morning, deutsche bank has tightened security at its offices in new york and around the world. after a bomb was addressed to the bank chief joseph ackerman. it was stopped by the mail room at the bank headquarters in frankfurt yesterday. fans are remembering actor harry morgan this morning. he is best known for playing colonel potter on m.a.s.h. cbs news correspondent bill whitaker reports. >> on your feet, soldier. i'm colonel potter. >> reporter: he called it the best part he ever had. harry morgan's portrayal of the wry and sarcastic colonel sherman t. potter in the long run television comedy m.a.s.h. won him an emmy and millions of fans. >> m.a.s.h. ended up being a great thing for him. he was an instant hit and totally redefined his career after that. >> reporter: but m.a.s.h. was

actually his second iconic tv role. the first being "drag net" by the book cop bill gannon. >> to be on hit show "drag net" and this back and on another hit show is something not many actors get to do in their careers. >> reporter: morgan started in movies starring in over 100 films, including land mark westerns like "high noon" and the "shootist." >> i want you out of town. >> the hallmark of a great character actor you never realize they in the movie until you see them and you say i know that guy. that is why m.a.s.h. was interesting because it allowed him to break out. ♪ into the land of my dreams >> reporter: morgan was a continuous fixture on prime time television for three and a half decades. the small screen will

traveling is tough but is there a bright spot you might not know about. more hotels and resorts than ever are concierge like services at airports making you feel like a first class guest. mark orwoll of "travel and leisure" magazine has been checking these out. this is hotels stepping up where airlines fail? >> airlines are charging for other services and cut a lot of services. at the airport we find a

traumatic situation for most people. >> it's a mess. >> hotels realize there is an opportunity for them to offer services and build some brand loyalty among these guests. >> what are are they doing? vip style lounges? are they similar to the lounges that the airlines have? >> yeah. a quick example. hilton hotels out in the indian ocean have built several passenger lounges and vip lounges for their guests. you can get a massage and go gourmet meal. they only charge $80 for departing passengers and it's free when you're arriving. the airport experience, another one. quickly. peninsula at beverly hills a program called airport concierge the people will meet the guests at l.a.x. and pick up your bags and escort you out to the tra s transportation and on the way back ease you through the security lines and make the travel experience much more

enriching and fulfilling. >> helping with the bags as soon as you arrive? >> yes. more one quick thing. sheraton hotels at their airport hotel properties offering half day rates. if you're stuck at the airport you can get a half day rate and wait in comfort. >> the western fairmont. >> hotels are trying to lesson the half. the gym clothes they lend you are laundered just like the sheets and towels are gym shoes have insoles that are new. >> another way to get rid of luggage almost entirely the luggage collection is par of the starwood group and have a luggage liaison and collect your bag at home and the next time you see that suitcase is when you enter that hotel room and charge $99 for that service but

it's a freeing experience. >> absolutely. meals, we complain about airline meals. they have gotten a little bit better, maybe. are hotels helping with that as well. >> don't forget you're paying for those meals. they are not free mi moni more. in los cabos mexico, a great program they put together gourmet sandwiches and fruit and bresh baked cookie and charge you $20 but it's a lot better. >> so they make it for you and you bring it on the plane and as long as it gets through security? >> hotels going a little bit out of their way to make the travel experiences easier for all of us. >> good stuff. a look at the day time series hit show "dexter" dexter applies his own unique form of justice. now in season six, he is a

vigilante serial killer. >> when i killed travis. >> to make that happen? >> isn't that what you taught me to do? >> i didn't have a choice. >> according to you, i didn't have one either. >> you have a choice to make right now. maybe you should call the police. >> i told you, i don't call the police! travis is mine! >> dexter, don't make this personal! >> frightening. michael c. hall, is "dexter" how are you doing? >> good. >> six seasons strong? >> yeah, we are wrapping up the sixth a week from sunday the second to the last episode on sunday night. >> are you surprised when you started this whole thing it would go this long? >> yeah. i knew we were on to something and that if we got it right, we might develop a bit after cult following. i didn't anticipate the cult would be as big. >> it's a huge cult. 2.6 million viewers at times? >> yeah, yeah. and with the dvds and

everything, a lot of people watching the show. >> so this -- you say this season has been the most challenging in some ways. >> really? did i say that? >> let's see here. go back into the research. >> i think as you move forward with the character initially, he claimed that he wasn't even really human. >> right. >> but he has gotten -- he has been through experiences ma mth make that harder to claim and yet he continues to indulge in his darkness and kill people and sense of walking a tight rope. >> how old is his boy? >> he is about 2. he is about 2 and a half, pushing 3 in real life with the characters too. >> my kid is 2 too but i'm not moonlighting as a serial killer. >> good. it's stressful. >> i imagine it can be at times. dexter's sister this year debra becomes his boss. >> yes. >> and that has changed the relationship as well in what ways? >> i think that always had been sort of an intense relationship. she's known him the longest. he sort of helped her to move forward in the police department

but the more he helps her, the more potential threat she becomes in terms of ultimately finding out what he does, so it's sort of fundamental tension in the show. >> two more episodes left. a lot to resolve? any clues? >> a lot to resolve and -- well, i don't want to give too much away. >> right. >> people want to be surprised. but there is a lot to resolve but also things in store that will propel us forward. >> and then you've been renewed for two more seasons as well. what else do you want dex toter do? you're one of the executive producers. >> i'd like to do an all musical episode to the show. just kidding. no. >> i want to ask you about that. you've done theater and sung before. >> i have, though, i don't know that dexter is going to do a song and dance. i shouldn't have planted that seed. but i don't know. i think we want to find a way to bring the story to some sort of

conclusion that some satisfying for us as story tellers and satisfying for the audience too. >> did we just break some news here this morning? "dexter" season seven will be the all musical episode? >> no, we did not. >> michael c. hall, always a pleasure to see you. the show is wonderful. and we will be tuning in every sunday night. you can see new episodes at 9:00/8:00 central on showtime. thanks for coming in, buddy. >> sure. good to see

would you trust a 19-year-old to decorate your home? growing number of upscale clients are going along with one

man's eye for design and "the early show" contributor katrina zir szish is here with more. >> sam has a proclivity for animal precipitate. allen may be just a year out of high school, but his work has the look of a seasoned pro. >> these are some great 1930s club chairs. a pair of red chinese chairs. >> reporter: sam allen wants to make your home a better place to live. thank you. even though he doesn't have a place of his own. >> so this is my house. >> reporter: yet. >> i grew up here with my family. >> the interior designer is just 19, but don't let his age or lack of his own studio lead you to believe he is not able to flourish in this business. he has clients spending top dollar for a style as sophisticated as anything you have seen in the pages of design magazines where his work has

also been featured. when you're designing a room, what is your creative process? how do you pull it altogether? >> the creative process could start from a fabric sample. is it a wallpaper or piece of art, a small accessory. >> reporter: interested in the design industry long before he could legally work, allen first offered to help the owner of this connecticut store when he was only 12. he was eventually hired at 15. can you take me for a spin around the store? i want to see some of your favorite items and that office back there. >> definitely. take a look. this is a great kind of old hollywood glamour. >> reporter: you love old hollywood glamour, don't you? >> yeah. a little bit of hollywood glamour or pa reion hotel apartment. >> reporter: what is the significance of this store? is it like a second home? >> i'm very close with all of the women who work here. it's like family. i can come in here, sit down on the sofa. when i'm not working come here with a friend or come here and

talk on the phone. >> reporter: what kind of money are we talking about here? >> this is definitely west elm or pottery barn catalog. my first client, i didn't have a budget. sleepover room with bunk beds and 600 threat count bedding. >> by the time he headed off to college, demand for allen's work became higher than any grade he could earn in school so he left after one semester. >> fs havii was having to turn real life projects which is a great experience in the real world and since i was at fit i wasn't able to with the workload. >> reporter: much of his education came from his mother who is also an interior designer and a friend of martha stewart. you grew up with a mom who was a successful interior designer. lived down the road from martha stewart.

your mom was friends with martha stewart and here you are. a lot of people would say this has handed to sam allen on a silver platter. >> definitely people have said that to me and that is so not the case at all. i worked very hard from a young age and i've worked my way up to where i am now. so we added a coffer and ceiling and molding. >> reporter: whether by chance, privilege or plain old hard work, sam allen is busy. >> we have the white bedding and white glass. lamps. >> reporter: he goes on buying trips to paris and recently designed this connecticut studio for photographer debra summerville. >> look. he did such a great job. i'm so pleased with it. >> reporter: allen's age appears to have little effect on his work. besides perhaps guaranteeing a longer career. when you told maybe family members or friends that i hired this 19-year-old kid to do my new studio, what were the reactions? >> i didn't tell anybody. >> reporter: allen got his first

big commission two years ago. a 7,000 square-foot home in western connecticut and now juggle half a dozen projects. >> he looks like he is 30 or older. does he act like than adult generally speaking? >> there are moments you forget a 19-year-old kid but when you forget that he'll be thinking of something and his mom is downstairs in the kitchen and he'll just say, mom! and it's just one of those things that reminds you, okay, 19. >> yes. he charges the day with the help of caffeine? >> diet coke is his best friend. one time he had about four diet cokes tucked into his various pockets from one location to another. he has it down pat. i say this kid will have a reality show in less than a year. mark my words. >> katrina szish, thanks very much. have a great day, everyone. your local news is coming up next. see you here on "the early show" this morning. wm÷so ñh

go sit in the corner, bad boy alec baldwin alone, for learn, moments after he is kicked off the plane. the nation reacts. >> you're not special or different because you are alec baldwin. >> he was 14u7b% wrong. then inside canon ball house, the family at home when the cannon ball came blasting through. were these tv hosts responsible? >> school science lab gone horribly wrong, a chemistry exempt that blew up in -- experiment that blew up in his face. the science y