patty: boldly go! kol come blizzard. the rockies get socked by a major storm that could dump nearly two feet of snow on denver. trump card. the donald throws his hand behind mitt romney. >> mitt is tough. he's smart. he's sharp. targeting iran. new reports that panetta believes israel could launch a new reports that panetta believes israel could launch a strike by spring. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, february 3rd, 2012. good morning everybody. happy friday. thanks for squoing us today. i'm betty nguyen. the snow started falling in colorado last night and it may

not stop for another day. blizzard and winter storm warnings are in effect in denver and its surrounding areas. when it's all over, it could be one of the top ten snow makers in the city's history. there could be up to 22 inches of snow. last night the public works department shifted into high gear putting nearly 200 plow trucks on the road including four by four pickups that will be responsible for clearing side streets. >> for this program, we have to find people that generally have desk jobs to drive the small plows. >> it's not just the snow that will cause problems but wind. gusts topping out at 30 miles per hour could lower visibility to zero and make driving nearly impossible. snowplows work throughout the night to clear runways at the airport. before the flakes started falling, airlines had canceled nearly 200 flights. passengers scrambled to get ahead of the storm. >> the plane was booked up. all the seats were taking.

everybody is trying to get out before the storm hits. >> my flight was tomorrow at noon, because of all the snowy switched it to tonight to try to get out of here. >> in suburbs, people are stocking up on groceries, bracing for a storm that could leave them stranded through the weekend. >> if anyone is pleased about the snowstorm, it's denver's schoolchildren. the city canceled classes at all of its schools today. parts of wyoming, nebraska and kansas will also feel the chill from this snowstorm. take you to politics now. newt gingrich gets trumped. real estate mogul donald trump surprised everyone when he endorsed mitt romney instead of the house speaker ahead of the nevada caucuses. meanwhile, romney is still trying to recover from remarks about america's poor. tara mergener is in washington with that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning betty. mitt romney is still trying to explain what he meant by that comment. then came this high-profile endorsement even he may not have

expected. at a packed rally in reno, mitt romney called on voters to help keep his momentum going. >> it would be helpful if nevada did what florida did and give me a boost. >> the former governor heads into the caucuses with a solid lead and the backing of donald trump. >> he's smart, he's sharp. he's not going to allow bad things to continue to happen. >> romney seemed almost surprised as he accepted the real estate mogul's endorsement on thursday. >> there are some thing you can't imagine happening in your life. this is one of them. >> earlier newt gingrich's campaign suggested the former house speaker would be the one getting trump's support. >> a majority of republicans polled last month say trump's endorsement would have no impact on their decision. instid, most volters are concerned about the struging economy. >> gingrich tried to tap into those worries at a manufacturing plant on thursday. >> i really believe that we should care about the very poor,

unlike governor romney. >> he again brought up comments the front-runner made earlier this week. romney said he wasn't concerned about the poor because they have a safety net. >> what the poor need is a trampoline to spring up and quit being poor. so i'm for replacing the safety net with a trampoline. >> gingrich is hoping to bounce back himself tomorrow with a win in nevada. >> meantime, gingrich is challenging floridas winner take all primary, since the state held the primary early, they should be awarded proportion natalie under party rules. gingrich was a distant second in florida. tara mergener in washington this morning. thank you, tara. so far the investigation into the murder of two american missionaries in mexico produced no arrest and very few clues. the bodies of john and wanda were discovered by their son at

their home near monterrey. the couple had been strangled, their house ransacked and car stolen. the area is plagued by drug-related violence but relatives believe their killer was something they knew and not drug-related. congress is demanding the justice department hand over more information about the botched gun smuggling operation known as fast and furious. attorney general eric holder denied there's a cover-up. but congressional republicans are threatening to charge him with contempt. agents lost track of more than a thousand guns they were using to track smugglers. some of the weapons turned up at crime scenes. now to the middle east. israel says time to stop iran from building a nuclear weapon is running out. it's reported that defense secretary leon panetta believes israel may take action by spring. david martin reports. >> reporter: defense secretary panetta believes there is strong

likelihood israel will strike iran in april, may or june. that according to columnist david ignatius writing shortly after he completed a transatlantic flight with the defense secretary. panetta did not dispute it. as if to show panetta has cause for concern shall israel's defense minister seemed to reject economic sanctions need more time to work. sprinkling his hebrew with english, he said it's too late. >> as long ago as november, they said there was six to nine months left before iran buries the nuclear facility so deeply as to make them immune from attack. the u.s. spending $80 million to update its bunker buster bomb to go after deeply buried targets. when martin dempsey tried to convince it's too soon, he came away admitting he had not changed any minds.

israel recently canceled a missile defense exercise for the spring. a move interpreted as evidence israel is focusing all efforts on preparing for an attack. as panetta explained in an interview with "60 minutes," an israeli strike would almost certainly have consequences for the u.s. >> the united states could be targeted. as a result of that, we would get blamed. whether we like it or not, we would get blamed. >> nobody, including the israelis thinks a strike with unforeseen consequences is a good option. but if sanctions don't work and work soon, the israelis could decide it's the only option. david martin shall cbs news, the pentagon. in egypt, demonstrations over the soccer riot turned deadly this morning. two protesters were killed in clashes with police. in cairo yesterday, police fired tear gas at demonstrators who were chanting, down with military rule. thousands took to the streets blaming police for losing control of events after a soccer

match on wednesday. 74 people died during the riot. more than 100 people are still missing after a ferry sunk off the coast of new guinea. it's believed they were trapped when the ship went down. more than 250 people have been rescued. the ferry capsized and sank after being hit by three large waves thursday morning. rescue efforts continue but no survivors were rescued today. coming up on the morning news, the bizarre story of a millionaire who actually adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend. plus, a texas streaker. a bright ufo caught on a police dashcam. this is the "cbs morning news." and i quit smoking with chantix. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions

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abracadabra. new hershey's milk chocolate with almonds in pieces. your favorites, in pieces. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. an ordinary highway stop in central texas this week was interrupted by a visitor from outer space. you see it there. scientist who is looked at this video say the light moving across the night sky was a

meteor. you could see the shooting stars are big and bright deep in the heart of texas. i like that. on the cbs money watch, good news for home buyers as mortgage rates hit rock bottom. a move to ban insider trading in congress crosses an important hurdle. ashley morrison is here with more on that. >> good morning, betty. overseas markets dipped this morning. the nikkei snapped a three-day ral losing. and the hang seng finished a fraction higher. investors are anxious to hear the latest government jobs report. analysts are estimating the economy added around 170,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate remains at 8.5%. it was a flat day on wall street. the dow lost 11 points while the nasdaq gained 11. the senate passed the stock act by an overwhelming margin on thursday. the legislation is aimed at preventing members of congress and their staffs from using inside information to make stock

deals. only three senators voted against the measure. the house will consider can the bill next week. mortgage rates have once again hit a new low. the average on a 30-year fixed rate is 3.87%. a 15-year fixed is now 3.14. both are at record lows. authorities in the u.s. have indicted switzerland's oldest bank on charges it hid american assets from the irs. the justice department says the company conspired to keep more than a billion dollars in u.s. assets from being taxed. justice officials say they seized more than $16 million from the correspondent bank here in the u.s. a wealthy florida polo exec is going to great lengths to protect his fortune. he's adopting his girlfriend. john goodman is accused of dui and vehicular manslaughter. they say the adoption is a good way to shield his money from a

lawsuit. one florida adoption lawyer called the move brilliant and awful. betty, just when you think you have heard it all. >> i don't know if she can be called his girlfriend if he adopts here. there's another law for that. ashley morrison, thank you. straight ahead, your friday morning weather and in sports, will injured rob gronkowski play in sunday's super bowl. find out what madonna thinks he should do. - i'll be home soon. until then...tommy? - behind every open heart is a story. - it's beautiful. - tell yours with my open heart collection at kay jewelers. keep your heart open, and love will always find its way in. >> announcer: one fabric softener has that special snuggly softness your family loves. >> hi, i'm snuggle. snuggly softness that feels so good. look, i get towels fluffy... [giggles] blankets cuddly... and clothes stay fresh... [sniffs] for 14 days, with my snuggle fresh release scent droplets.

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here's a look at weather around the country. new york, sunny, 47. miami, partly sunny, 80 degrees. chicago, morning fog. 42. dallas, you'll see thunderstorms at 74 there. l.a., a sunny 75. time now for a check of the national forecast. snow will continue in the central rockies and plains with blizzard conditions in eastern colorado. denver could get 2 feet of snow. rain will change the snow in nebraska and western kansas. thunderstorms in the southern plains and lower mississippi valley will spread to the southeast. severe storms in west texas and oklahoma will move eastward during the day. in sports, the surgeon who operated on indianapolis colts quarterback peyton manning's next last fall has cleared him to play next season. but team doctors still have to sign off on that. for now, manning will just have to root for kid brother eli in sunday's super bowl. speaking of the super bowl, new england fans are praying for

star tight end rob gronkowski to see if he can play against the giants. he practiced with the team yesterday for the first time since spraining his ankle in the title game. walking with a limp as a joke, he told reporters, he's anxious to play. at another news conference, madonna was asked how she would handle a sprained ankle before a show. >> well, a lot of people would say i'm a bit of a mass kis. i would just tape my ankle and say prayers. take an anti-inflammatory and get my butt out there. is that an answer? >> you think he'll play? >> i hope he does. >> a lot of people do too. asked which of the two quarterbacks she'd rather go out with, she picked eli manning. the l.a. clippers hosting the nuggets, the clippers led early, including a nice reverse layup by williams in the first period. denver came on strong in the

third. a blocked shot and then there was a three. win streak. 112-91. knicks and bulls, derrick rose made a great driving layup on his way to 32 points on the night. look at that. the knicks carmelo anthony has 34. but missed a three-pointer at the buzzer and the bulls won it. 105-102. when we return, another look at the top stories and important findings on the way alzheimer's disease may spread. opening doors for new treatment.

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here's a look at weather. washington, d.c., mostly sunny, 51 degrees. atlanta, sunny as well, 64. going to see sunshine in detroit. 44 there. snow in denver, 30. partly sunny in seattle, 48.

here's another look at the top stories. a winter storm is hitting colorado. nearly 2 feet of snow could fall between now and saturday, which would make it one of the heaviest snowstorms in denver's history. and in las vegas, donald trump endorsed mitt romney for the republican presidential nomination. nevada holds caucuses tomorrow. this country's leading breast cancer charity, susan g. komen for the cure faces criticism over its decision tuesday to cut funding for planned parenthood. the critics say komen is giving in to pressure from anti-abortion rights groups. komen denies it. but the group's facebook page drew thousands of angry messages and planned parenthood has received more donations this week than the $680,000 it got from komen last year. that includes a $250,000 donation from new york city mayor, michael bloomberg.

medical researchers report a discovery that may be the key to blocking the mind killing spread of alzheimer's disease. jim axelrod explains what they found and how it might lead to a treatment. >> reporter: researchers have long wondered how alzheimer's ravages the brain, whether it develops independently in different part of the brain or starts in one area and spreads as suggested in a new study co-authored by dr. scott mall of columbia university. >> if it's right, you might be able to prevent the spread of alzheimer's, which is interesting. >> brains of people with all hiemers, include a protein thought to play a role in memory loss. researchers genetically engineered mice with this in their brains and mapped its spread over 22 months. as the mice aged, it spread from cell to cell destroying them as it moved. >> there's no -- an appreciation

that at the very least, it's an executioner. it's the abnormality that really results in cell death and cell dysfunction. >> co-author karen duff say it raises hope for new therapies that would block it. >> it can spread from cell to cell and that allows us a whole rapping of intrange of interventions. >> it could take five more years of research before conclusions can be drawn. one red flag, there have been many approaches that seem to work in mice but didn't translate to humans. clearly, much more research is needed. that's not giving up the hope of the scientists. jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. roseanne barr is getting into presidential politics. she's seeking the green party nomination and insists it's not a joke. barr says neither democrats and republicans acting in the best interests of the public. coming up after your local

news on "cbs this morning," former treasury secretary larry summers on january's job numbers. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." maybe you can't. when you have migraines with fifteen or more headache days a month, you miss out on your life. you may have chronic migraine. go to mychronicmigraine.com to find a headache specialist. and don't live a maybe life. ♪ sfx: sound of bubbles being popped. sfx: sound of a space vehicle lowering. sfx: sound of a crowd cheering. sfx: sound of bubbles being popped. sfx: sound of someone hitting a table hard. sfx: sound of a animal. sfx: the sound of fizz. sfx: sound of something dropping on the ground.

sfx. sound of something pouring into a glass. so how was everybody's day? great. you have better news then just great. i got an a on my final.

. good morning. welcome to 9news. it's friday. i'm andrea roane. i'm deb deck.

here's monika samtani. howard bernstein, my friend. how are you? >> good. we have the weekend ahead. this morning no real problems except the chill in the air. let me show you the day planner. temperatures right now 40 under clear skies. we'll drop a couple more before sunrises at 7:13. mid-40s at noon. highs today low 50s. might get to 55 south and west of town. by 5:00 p.m. sunny and 50 degrees. yesterday we shot up once again to the upper 50s. this morning we've got clear skies overhead. a couple of patched of clouds in the mountains of pennsylvania. with the clear skies and generally light winds, temps in the 30s in many areas. 20s in the mountains well to our west. still 40 in annapolis. it is still 40 down at the pax river naval station. in washington we've got 40

drivers. highs low 50s. mid-50s like culpeper. let's go to monika at 4:26. a first look at time saver traffic. good morning, everybody. things are looking great out on the roads early this friday morning with the exception of that construction on the west side of town. no problems to report other than that you've got some lanes blocked on the beltway through the tysons area and 66 inbound side as well. we'll take a live look at what it looks like at 66 at gallows road. nutley street and westbound. inbound 66 at route 7 watch out for that construction. all of that should be clearing shortly. we'll take a live look on the northbound side of i-95. no problems to report as you head up from the occoquan river all the way up the line into springfield. southbound between the occoquan and route 1 there is construction as well. we'll go back over to the maps. no problems to report on the beltway between college park and silver spring. we'll take a live look at 270.

a lot of you remember the problems we had on the northbound side yesterday. all is clear through rockville. coming up, another look around the area the 4:39. most of the republican presidential candidates will be campaigning in nevada today ahead of tomorrow's caucuses. front-runner mitt romney picked up a surprise endorsement in las vegas from donald trump. >> it was a surprise because hours earlier night gingrich's camp suggested the mogul would back him but gingrich does not consider this to be a setback. >> reporter: mitt romney called on voters to help keep his momentum going. >> it would be helpful if nevada did the same thing florida did and gave me a real good boost. >> reporter: the former massachusetts governor heads into tomorrow's caucuses with a solid double digit lead and the backing of donald trump. >> he's smart. he's sharp. he's not going to allow bad things to continue to happen.

>> reporter: romney seemed almost surprised as he accepted the real estate mogul's endorsement thursday. >> there are some things you just can't imagine happening in your life. this is one of them. >> reporter: earlier gingrich's campaign suggested the former house speaker would be the one getting trump's support. a majority of republicans polled last month said trump's endorsement would have no impact on their decision. instead most voters are kenned about the struggling economy. gingrich tried to tap into those worries at a manufacturing plant thursday. >> i really believe that we should care about the very poor unlike governor romney. >> reporter: he again brought up comments the front-runner made earlier this week. romney said he wasn't concerned about the poor because they have a safety net. >> what the poor need is a trampoline so they can spring up and quit being poor. so i'm for replacing the safety net with a trampoline. >> reporter: beginning river is hoping to bounce back himself tomorrow with a