ors at uso.org. the uso. until every one comes home. savage storms, a deadly string of tornadoes causes severe damage in the midwest and south. >> it's like they say it sounds lieb. it sounded like thunder that just didn't quit. back in port. a powerless cruise ship with more than a thousand people on board is towed to port after three very rough days at sea. and close call. a tourist in alaska shares his frightening encounter with an a tourist in alaska shares his frightening encounter with an angry grizzly bear. captioning funded by cbs s this the "cbs morning news" for thursday, march 1, 2012. good morning everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. at least 12 people are dead following a barrage of tornadoes

that ransacked the midwest and south. rescue and recovery efforts are under way in seven states this morning. there is widespread destruction and another powerful storm system is headed to the same area tomorrow. dart i jerrel dind owe has the story. the storm hit just before dark on wednesday and damaged more than 50 homes. >> we got a track home to go down an old highway over here. clear it out. we'll get ambulance in to the people that was injured. >> more than 27 tornadoes ripped across the midwest and south wednesday. a twister with winds up to 170 miles per hour devastated harrisburg, illinois. >> it was like a growling. it was the loudest growling that i've ever heard. it sent a i chill up my spine. >> the tornado leveled neighborhoods and left a path of

destruction 200 yards wide. >> cabinet fell over on top of me and it picket me and the cabinet both up and took us about 50 feet through the air. >> president obama directly called illinois governor pat quinn to get an update on his home state. hair us burglary is under state of emergency and branson, missouri. crews are fixing up some of the music theaters badly damaged in branson. officials say a tornado marched down the main street of this country music resort town. musician denny strickland's bus was picked up. >> my driver, had to pull him out. >> his tour hits its peak later this month. it oent ruin the economy there. maryland officially becomes the 8th state to legalize same sex marriage today. the governor will sign the measure into law this afternoon. opponents will work to bring the

law up for a public referendum on the november ballot. republican presidential candidate mitt romney has reversed his position on a senate bill that would exempt employers from a white house rule requiring free birth control coverage. the senate is scheduled to vote on senator roy blunt's amendment today. it would allow employers to deny insurance coverage based on moral objections. yesterday romney said he opposed the measure. >> i'm not for the bill but look the idea of presidential candidates getting into questions about contraception within a relationship between a man and a woman, husband and wife, i'm not going there. >> later, he said he didn't understand the question saying "i thought he was talking about some state law that prevented people from getting contraception, so i misunderstood the question and of course, i support the blunt amendment." today romney and the other presidential hopefuls are gearing up for next week's super

tuesday primaries. 119 delegates will be up for grabs. this week's michigan primary, romney won 13 and rick santorum 11. six will be allocated later. romney won 157 delegates so far and rick santorum has 58. 1,144 are needed to win the nomination. randall pinkston has more. >> mitt romney wasted no time getting back on the campaign trail. he toured a factory in ohio hoping to build on his primary wins in michigan and arizona. we've got work to do. i need your votes. i need you guys to get out. >> ohio is one of the ten states holding a contest next week on super tuesday. the latest polls show romney trailing rick santorum in ohio. santorum is also beating romney in tennessee. he visited a college near knoxville as he continues to court social conservatives. >> i'm running because i want to return the power that's gone to washington back to the american

people. >> the results on super tuesday could determine which gop candidate will face president obama in november's election. newt gingrich and ron paul see it as an opportunity to get back in the race. >> gingrich is campaigning in georgia, the state he represented in congress for more than 20 years. he's pinning his hopes on them. >> that is the key building block that we have to have to move forward in the presidential campaign. >> the middle class really hurting. >> congressman ron paul was at work chairman criticizing ben bernanke during a hearing on capitol hill. >> as much as i would like do something with the fed, i say the fed is going to self-destruct when the money is gone. >> paul is hoping his message of economic reform will resonate with voters and give him a charns to catch up to the frontrunners. randall pinkston, cbs news the white house. bob kerry says he wants to get back into politic.

kerry announced yesterday he'll seek the democratic nomination for the senate seat he used to a few weeks ago he said he would not run to replace the retiring ben nelson. kerry is a former nebraska governor and ran for president in 1992. republican olympia snow wants out. snow known for moderate positions is retiring after three senate terms. she says she's fed up with the increasingly partisan politic. >> i didn't want to have to continue to explain to people well, you know, people just arguing, we can't solve problems. can't get together. i didn't think that was satisfactory. i said time and again, let's cancel recesses, work weekends. let's get it done for the country. i mean, that's what people want and should expect from their elected officials. that wasn't happening. >> potential candidates to replace snow have just two weeks to qualify for the ballot. snow's retirement is a blow to

republicans trying to gain control of the senate. democrats hold a slim 51-47 majority in the senate. north korea said today the top nuclear negotiator will visit the u.s. next week. it follows an agreement by the north to suspend nuclear weapons work in exchange for u.s. food aid. analysts say that may indicate that kim jong unis open to reopening talks. the obama administration calls the agreement limited but important. former u.n. secretary general kofi annan has been appointed as a special envoy to syria. a nan met with ban ki-moon yesterday and told reporters he will fly to the middle east soon. he says persuading bashar assad to end attacks on government opponents is "a very diva signment". after three days at sea without power, a disabled cruise

ship has docked on an island. the costa allegra was towed to port. there were more than a thousand people on board. a generator fire knocked out power. no light, no showers and no toilets. can you imagine? on capitol hill yesterday, there was a hearing on cruise ship safety. that was prompted by the capsizing of the allegra's sister ship, the costa concordia. one passenger told lawmakers the crew didn't know what to do. >> people started to panic and getting frustrated as the ship is tilting more by the minute. we were getting frustrated and aggravated and the crowd was pushing and shoving against each other. still to sign of any emergency alarms or evacuation instructions from the captain. >> the costa concordia grounded off the coast of italy last month. at least 25 people are confirmed dead. ohio prosecutors have until today to file charges against the teenage suspect in this week's school shooting.

17-year-old tj lane is accused of shooting a group of students in the school cafeteria on monday. three died. today, students plan a march to return to their school where counseling will be available. classes resume tomorrow. >> coming up on the morning news, google's new privacy policy goes into effect today. then we were all believers. remembering monkes front man, davy jones. this is the "cbs morning news." there's dulcolax stool softener. dulcolax stool softener doesn't make you go... it just makes it easier to go. dulcolax stool softener. make yourself comfortable. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team.

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. economically, it seems like a good choice now. we need environmental protection. we've got more than 100 years worth of energy, right here. [announcer:] who's right? they all are. visit powerincooperation.com. m on "moneywatch," americans sound off on rising gas prices and google implements its new privacy policy today. ashley morrison is here in new york with more on that. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you, betty. overseas markets retreated. the nikkei slipped a fraction and the hang seng was down nearly 1.5%. today we'll get government reports on personal spending data.

the dow's ride above 13,000 is over. the blue chip sank 53 points and the nasdaq lost 19. folks across the country are starting to feel pain at the pump. according to a cbs news poll, two-thirds of americans say the rising cost of gas is causing them a financial hardship at home. 38% categorized it as a serious hardship. the average price of a gallon of gas has risen 30 cents in the last month. according to the firm realty trac, nearly a quarter of all homes sold last year were in some stage of a foreclosure process. that's down from the past three years. but in 2005 shall the number of foreclosure sales comprised less than 1% of all sales. today, google is beginning to use its controversial new privacy policy. the policy affects users logged into a google account, such as g-mail, google plus or you-tube. it allows google to gather data

about what an individual user does on online and target advertising towards them. critics say it's an invasion of privacy. a judge says tobacco companies do not have to print graphic images on packs. a federal government mandate required packs to carry images like these later this year. the judge says it's a violation of free speech. i'm sure it may make people think twice about buying them. >> no doubt. ashley morrison in new york. thank you. a funeral and memorial are being planned this morning for davy jones. lead singer of the made for tv rock band the monk yeast. jones died in florida. we look back at his life. >> ♪ here we come walk down the streets ♪ davy jones was already a seasoned performer when producers picked him and three other unknowns to be the monk yes, it was 1965.

hollywood wanted to create its own american version. the monk yeast tv show featured jones as the heartthrob singer. born in england in 1945, he was the only british monkee. the others were his bandmates. the band churnd out a string of hits, including i'm a believer, last train to clarksville and daydream believer on which jones sang lead. most of the hits were actually written by well-known songwriters like neil diamond and carol king. critics dubbed the group a pre-fab four. a knock he dismissed. >> like anything, you make arrangements to do stuff. >> the show aired from 1966 to 1968 and turned jones into a teen idol. after the show was canceled, jones continued acting. the monkees got a star in 1989. fans will never for get the theme song

>> hey hey we're the monk yee. it probably goes off in your head when you mechg the name. steppingstone. all kind of things. >> i could hide 'neath the wings ♪ >> jones periodically reunited with some of his former bandmates and toured. >> i've heard people say to me, aren't you singing daydream believer. i say no. because this is the first time some people have seen me singing the song. >> edward lawrence for cbs news, hollywood. davy jones died in a florida hospital after suffering a heart attack. he was 66 years old. are made with sweet cherries and the crisp, clean taste of our cranberries. i cannot tell a lie. 'tis tasty. okay, george washington, did you take my truck out last night? 'tis tasty.

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here's a look at today's forecast. new york cloudy, 47. miami, mostly sunny, 84. chicago partly sunny, 46. dallas, you're going to see some partly sunny skies, 82. l.a., partly sunny, 62. time now for a check of the national forecast. showers and thunderstorms will spread from southwest texas across the south to i can't ja gentleman and south carolina. it will be relatively quiet in the midwest after wednesday's violent storms and tornadoes. snow will fall across much of new england will rain along the coast. rain will fall from california to western washington with heavy snow in the mountains. in sports, a double dose of optimism from president obama. the chicago bulls biggest fan was interviewed for the sports website grantland.com. he said he plans to welcome the team to the white house as nba

champions sometime in the next five years. in san antonio last night, the bulls got a scare when star point guard derek rose went down clutching his right knee. but rose shook it off and proceeded to put on a show. driving to the basket and piling up 29 points. the final, bulls 96, spurs 89. in new york, the knicks hosting the cavaliers. double-teamed under the basket, jeremy lin got an early wakeup call but stayed in the game. cleveland's jameson nailed a three-pointer. the cavs led at the half but the knicks came back strong including lin's 19 points and 13 asists to win 120-103. a finish for -- the wildcats hit a three to tie it with less than eight seconds to play. sullinger took a feed and banked in the winner with just over

three seconds level. 75-73, ohio state. finally a big night for the u.s. soccer team playing italy, in the 55th minute of an exhibition match, democracy took a short feed in front of the italian goal and shot it past the goalkeeper. that 1-0 lead held up. the americans had their first ever victory over italy in 11 games going back 78 years. congratulations to them. when we return, man versus nature. tourists on a brown bear safari in alaska get more than they bargained for after a grizzly decides to offer a personal greeting. little pop ♪ ♪ could open a world of wonder? ♪ ♪ so sensory ♪ so satisfying ♪ the discovery never seems to stop ♪ ♪ it's the magic friskies makes happen ♪

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., partly sunny, 68, atlanta, morning showers with 74 degrees. detroit, partly cloudy, 45. denver, partly sunny, 46.

you'll see rain and snow in seattle, 43. all right. now we want to show you a very close call for some tourists in alaska who got a bit too close to a grizzly bear. this happened a couple of years ago but the video was just posted to the internet. look at this. the 14 tourists were on a riverbank watching the grizzly fishing when the bear turned on them and charged at them. the group held very still while the bear sniffed around and wandered off and everyone got a chance to exhale. i can't even imagine. well, the arizona jury, in fact one of them has convicted an indiana man of child abuse for forcing his three grandsons to make the grueling hike in the grand canyon last summer. 45-year-old christopher allen carlson forced boys, ages 8, 9 and 12 to make two hikes of more than 15 miles. the boys testified that carlson pushed, choked and kicked them during those hikes.

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. good morning. it's thursday, march 1. i'm monikai'm jessica doyle in for

andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. i'm sitting down. i'm done leaping. i wonder if my dogs are going to come out from under my bed because of the thunder. welcome to meteorological spring. well up in the 60s this afternoon. we start with the day planner. we are looking at a lot of sunshine. a little breezy. we'll have winds at times gusting to 30 miles an hour. it's already 59 at reagan national. we're well above there. low to mid-60s by noon with highs in the mid- to upper 60s this afternoon. it's been a crazy winter, hasn't it? sunrise at about 6:40 this morning. we do have a dense fog advisory. cold air still hugging the counties toward the maryland- pennsylvania border n. northern loudoun county not on the advisory. leesburg half-mile.

even warrenton and central fauquier county reporting quarter mile visibility. most of the problems seem to be north and west of d.c. visibility wise. the rest of us, probably leave the umbrellas at home. look at the temps. upper 50s in many areas. fredricksburg 51 at this hour. hagerstown upper 30s to around 40. again we're going well up in the 60s. might even touch 70 south of town today, monika. amazing. >> amazing. sounds good to me. if you're planning to head around town, this is going to sound good to you. there are no problems to report close into d.c. there are problems as howard was talking about with the fog north of frederick and the northern areas as cow in on i-7 -- as you come in on i-70 and 270. i hit a few patches as well closer in on river road heading into work toward d.c. we'll show you what it looks like live at route 121 and 270. patchy fog as well as you travel through clarksburg and down to the point where the lanes divide. on the northbound side of i-95

in virginia, still looking great coming up from the occoquan river into springfield. we'll take a live look at 395 at duke street. no problems to report to the 14th street bridge. inbound . /-66 at the fairfax county parkway all lanes are open. in my next report, another look at the big picture at 4:39. we're going to find out later today when the best times will be to check out the cherry blossoms this year. >> absolutely stunning. around 10:00 this morning organizers of the national cherry blossom festival will hold a news conference announcing the plans for its centennial celebration. the 2012 festival runs from march 20 through april 27. these trees are more than a hundred years old. japan gave about 3,000 cherry blossoms as a gift to the united states back in 1912. a deadly storm swept across the midwest and south touching off more than two dozen tornadoes. >> at this point at least 12 people are dead and forecasters say more bad weather is on the way. the white house is now keeping

a close eye on those communities. >> reporter: emergency groups used flashlights to search for anyone trapped by a tornado. the storm hit just before dark wednesday and damaged more than 50 homes. we got a backhoe to go down an old highway, clear it out to get into the people that was injured. >> reporter: more than 27 tornadoes ripped across the midwest and south wednesday. a tbisser with wind -- twister with winds up to 170 miles an hour devastated an area in illinois. >> it was like a growling, the largest i -- the loudest i ever heard. >> reporter: the tornado leveled neighborhoods and left a path of destruction 200 yards wide. >> a cabinet fell over on top of me and picked me and the cabinet both up and took us about 50 feet through there. >> reporter: president obama directly called illinois