oh, sorry! excuse us. shhh-shh! air disaster. a russian passenger plane crashes shortly after takeoff killing most of those on board. closing in, mitt romney sets his sights on president obama has he likes to widen his lead for the race in the gop nomination. >> we don't have to guess where the choices the president would take will lead america. and rescue at sea. coast guard is called in to save two sailors injured in an around the world yacht race. this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, april 2, 2012.

good morning, everybody, good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. we begin with a russian passenger plane that crashed this morning in siberia. the twin engine plane went down in a snowy field. it was taking off from a major regional center 1300 miles oes of moscow. 32 were killed. the survivors are hospitalized in serious condition. the cause of the crash is under investigation. russia has had a series of very deadly crashes in recent years. in u.s., voters go to the polls. mitt romney is predicting victory in wisconsin. if he win, he could reach the halfway point. rick santorum says he'll stay in the race no matter what happens tomorrow but a number of senior republicans are calling on him to quit. >> reporter: mitt romney is leading the pack but he still needs to more than double his

delegate count in order to secure the gop nomination but that's not stopping him from going after president obama as if he's leading the republican party. mitt romney predicts he'll win tomorrow's wisconsin primary and the republican nomination. >> can't wait to get america back on track. >> reporter: while campaigning in middleton, wisconsin, mitt romney looked forward to a november battle with president obama. >> this president can't run on his record, and so he's going to try whatever he can to divert to some other kind of attack and have people disqualify nominee. >> reporter: a win in wisconsin could put romney firmly in control. he only needs 18 more delegates until he's halfway to the number needed to clinch the nomination. 44 delegates are at stake in wisconsin. rick santorum says he has no plans to bow to pressure from the party establishment to drop out. >> the establishment keeps thinking that if we just friend of theirs, you know, that they

have more for republicans. if we deal with them, we can win. >> reporter: mitt romney could face an uphill battle if he wins the nomination. a new "usa today"/gallup poll shows the president with a nine-point lead over the governor in battleground states. president obama's team is already launched attacks against the gop front-runner. >> this is about the middle class. and it's return to the old politics. >> reporter: mitt romney argues his background makes him the best candidate to challenge the president on the economy. mitt romney has 554 delegates, more than. >> thank you. a group of 70 nations including the united states has decided to send millions of dollars to the aid to the syrian opposition groups. friend of syrian people summit in istanbul, secretary of state

hillary clinton called on special envoy kofi anan to set a timetable. the u.s. and others are getting more involved. >> the united states is also going beyond humanitarian aid and providing support to the civilian opposition. including communications equipment that will help activists organize, evade attacks by the regime and connect to the outside world. >> kofi annan reports to the u.n. security council this morning. this morning there appears to be evidence that north korea has stepped up preparations for a planned rocket launch. satellite images show a satellite radar launch and empty fuel tanks. north korea says it's launching a satellite into orbit. washington calls it cover for a long-range missile test. the launch is scheduled between april 12th and 16th. the trayvon martin case. this weekend there were rallies across the country calling for

justice. elaine quijano has this. >> what do we want -- >> reporter: five weeks after trayvon martin was killed, his parents joined thousands of people in miami asking justice for his death. michael brought his young family to the rally. he worries what happened to martin could happen to his own son. >> i look at him and i can't even imagine something like that happening. >> reporter: it has sparked questions nationwide asking whether race played a part in the killing. martin was walking home when neighborhood watch man george zimmerman shot and killed him. zimmerman says it's self-defense but martin's family does not accept his story. >> justice must be won! >> reporter: activists marched on the sanford police department demanding zimmerman be jailed. >> people have grown tired and frustrated with seeing him go free, not be charged, not be

locked up, not brought to justice. >> reporter: the passion stirred up in the wake of martin's killing shows no signs of subsiding. >> as much as i can, i think it's something that's going to continue and continue until we get justice. >> reporter: a florida special prosecutor has begun her investigation and says she'll have no comment until its completion. the fbi is also investigating. elaine quijano, cbs news. fire fires have all but contained that firefighter south of denver, colorado. colder temperatures and snow is expected in the fire area today. fire started last week, apparently when a controlled burn flared. at least 27 homes were destroyed or damaged and two people killed. a u.s. coast guard cutter is carrying two injured crew members from a racing yacht to san francisco after a rescue at sea. it was one of ten yachts taking part in a round-the-world race.

on saturday it was hit by a huge wave that killed four of 13 crew members. other racers battled the same conditions. >> not surprised. we saw huge waves and winds. anything can happen really. >> the crew plans to repair the boat and continue that race. unbelievable. up next on the morning news, shopping snafu, visa customers couldn't use their card. unlocking secrets of past. tonight on the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. hello. we're doing a taste test. ocean spray cranberry juice versus vegetable juice. first the cranberry. mm! tasty. now, the vegetable juice, with more than 10 times the sodium of cranberry juice. we have a winner!

b a big lunch doesn't mean a big price. start with a savory soup or a fresh salad. then choose a texas toast half sandwich, like our classic turkey, served with fries, all for just 6 bucks at chili's. hundreds of russians who

live on a island north of japan they were stuck. took emergency crew and helicopters more than six hours to rescue them. amazing them, they got back safely. the wife of the yet blue pilot whose alarming behave forced the landing last week is thanking those. in a statement she said she and her family, quote, would like to recognize the crew and passengers of flight 191 for their effective yet compassionate handling of the situation. pilot clayton osbon was removed from the plane after the co-pilot landed in amarillo, texas, last week. she says he was clearly distressed but she doesn't believe he was intentionally violent. more proposed cuts for a knack maker and a mcdonald worker is going to retire from the french fry station. >> good morning to you.

visa says its credit card system is up and running again after an outage on sunday afternoon. some customers were unable to make purchases with their cards for about 45 minutes. visa says the outage was caused by a recent upgrade to its network. the company added the problem has nothing to do with the security breach reported last week. overseas markets were mostly higher. tokyo's nikkei added a quarter%, while hong kong's hang seng lost less than half a percent. markets will have to wait through the weekend to react to jobs report. last week dow wrapped up best first quarter since the 1990s adding 130 points for the week while the nasdaq gained 23. according to a report in "the wall street journal," hose es' plan from emerging from bankruptcy is to ask union workers to accept a salary freeze. they went into bankruptcy court early this year.

the company says freezing wages for about 16,000 workers will save it more than $6 million. and mcdonald's said good-bye to one of its oldest employees this weekend. 97-year-old dorothy evans retired from the central california mcdonald's where she's worked since 1993. when she started out she was a hostess, then moved to the kitchen. she says she enjoyed working because it got her out of house and the paycheck always came in handy. certainly well deserved retirement. >> people in their 20s and 30s you can't get to work. she doesn't want to stop. >> she has a great attitude. >> ashley morrison here in new york, thank you. coming up next, your monday morning weather. in sports could this be the world's greatest skateboarder? g. what? that lovely girl, caught your eye? 20 piece mcnuggets are only $4.99. you offer to share them. a conversation begins. that's pretty smart. i been around. [ male announcer ] 20 piece chicken mcnuggets only $4.99,

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i came to find my 'new normal' and i love it! ♪ activia and try new silky, fruity activia harvest picks. another way to enjoy activia. here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. new york, 58. miami, 87. partly sunny, 68 in dallas. los angeles, 78 and sunny. let's check your national forecast. a stormy day from the northern mississippi valley to ohio. damaging hail likely in the ohio valley. northeast showers with snow in northern new york and new england. sunny along the east coast. south and southern plains will have sunshine and record heat. rain and mountain snow will stretch from the pacific northwest to the central rockies. in sports this morning, it's being reported the nfl players association is warning new orleans saints offensive players

they may face criminal charges in the team's bounty case. sources tell the associated press the union hired legal counsel to represent the players if needed. the nfl says from 2009 to last year as many as 27 saints players received thousands of dollars in cash bonuses for hits that knocked opponents out of the game. in the ncaa women's college tournament it's down to denver and baylor. grind griner led the team and bears will try to be the first in ncaa women's history to go 40-0. natalie scored 20 points including a put-back shot that left the game tied at the buzzer. fighting irish beat connecticut in overtime 83-75. by the way, a reminder, cbs will bring you tonight's ncaa men's final, the kentucky wildcats versus the kansas jayhawks. all the action right here 9 p.m.

on cbs. to the nba, chicago at oklahoma city and the thunder lived up to their name. they storm past the bulls. 27 points for westbrook including a fast break jam. in the second quarter, 26 from kevin durant with an alley-oop jam off a fast break pass from westbrook in the third. the thunder will win this one 92-78. finally, why is 12-year-old tom grinning? this weekend in southern california he became the first skateboarder ever to complete what's called a 1080, three complete twists in the air and a complete landing. the world's best skateboarders have tried this trick. they have not managed to do it. this guy did it. leave it to a 12-year-old to get the job done. when we come back, a historic moment in burma. one of the world's most famous political prisoners celebrates a landmark election victory today. b and got this one free. really? wow, you can buy one 6" sub and get another one free?

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here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. partly sunny, 86 in atlanta. partly sunny, 88 in st. louis. 59 in seattle. top stories now on a monday. russian passenger plane crashed in siberia this morning shortly after takeoff. there were 43 people on board. russian emergency vehicles say at least 32 were killed. the cause of the crash is being investigated. republican primaries in wisconsin, maryland and the district of columbia tomorrow. mitt romney could reach the halfway point and enough delegates to win the gop presidential nomination. in burma aung san su u-k-y- is claiming victory in election. it would be a remarkable turn-about for suu kyi. she spent two years under house

arrest. seth dillon reports from burma. >> reporter: celebration broke out on the streets of rangoon, as supporters packed the area outside aung san suu kyi's party headquarters as opposition trickled in, she felt she was watching more than just election results. how does democracy feel? >> here? i don't know how it feel because we don't get it much before. i hope we can see democracy. one day i hope i can show you how democracy feels here. >> reporter: election day started early in the rural district suu kyi fought to represent. before dawn crowd gathered just to get a glimpse of the noble peace prize winner. it's her first bid for elected office, just the latest in her

decade's long battle against the government military here. on the way to the polling station, there was no mistaken suu kyi's car, as hundreds of ethnic people in their special formal dress flocked to her. suu kyi's party is competing for just 44 seats of the 664 in parliament. the military and its political party dominate the governing body. aung san suu kyi just walked into this polling station here. they're keeping the press away from this school so she can have a few moments to talk to the people she hopes to represent. we found this family of farmers just off the main road in this hamlet. you voted for aung san suu kyi -- they voted for the lady because they see her as courageous. international election monitors only invited at the last minute seemed initially optimistic despite widespread concern and reports of voting irregularities.

on friday suu kyi said it's not power we're trying to win but democracy for our people. so the official results are not expected for a couple days, it may be the exercise of voting that really counts. seth doane, cbs news, burma. back to politics in this country. mitt romney's campaign stop must be confident but they pulled a april fool's prank on their boss. >> next president of the united states! >> april fool's! >> he's like, wait a minute, where is everybody. expecting a small crowd, not that small and his staff posted that video online.

coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," oprah winfrey talks about her future in tv. ♪ ♪ ♪ grande caramel macchiato. iced grande caramel macchiato. make that iced. actually, hot, please. [ male announcer ] come into starbucks for the espresso drink you love, hot or iced.

. good morning. welcome to 9news now. today is monday, april 2. happy monday. >> it is indeed. frost on the windshield. you guys, too? >> yeah. >> welcome back to monika santami, back with traffic.

is this going to end soon, howard? >> mere moments. south and southwest of town still a few showers and i'll show you that in a moment but the rain quickly moving. we'll have a nice, sunny monday around here. a little cool, a little brisk. temperatures by midday in the mid-50s. we're going to drop a little bit over the next few hours. 54 at reagan national. 62 for the high and 60 at 5:00 p.m. the winds could gust out of the north sometimes at 25 miles an hour. you see the area of showers that moved through during the overnight period and early this morning. now off to the south and west. that's all that's left. south of luray, the heavier showers will pass south of culpeper headed toward orange. you might still get a sprinkle or two. leesburg down to 49. still 59 in fredricksburg this morning. annapolis 54. easton 48. i was in oxford over the weekend. what a beautiful place that is. this afternoon we've got temperatures in the low 60s in

town. might get to the mid-60s south and west. 4:26. monika santami stepping in with a look at time saver traffic. welcome back. >> thank you. it's good to be back. thank you so much. if you're planning to head out the door early this monday morning, a couple of a little hot spots i need to tell you about. good morning. if you're planning to head into virginia, the outer loop of the beltway, a little slowdown. the traffic pattern on the inner loop of the beltway between springfield and braddock road, lanes shift sharply to the right. do you have four lanes maintained. but just be aware of that early this morning. if you're planning to head outside, let's take you live over to springfield on the northbound side of i-95. no problems heading on to 395 and to the 14th street bridge. we'll go back to the map, this time in maryland. we're looking great on the beltway. just the wet road conditions. keep the speed limits down. no problems on 270.

a live look in clarksburg, this is pretty much what it looks like coming in from frederick. in my next report, we'll go to the east side of town. g.o.p. presidential hopeful mitt romney predicts he'll win the wisconsin primary padding his lead in the race for the republican nomination. voters in wisconsin, maryland and the district of columbia go to the poles tomorrow. rick santorum says even if he loses wisconsin, he's going to stay in the race despite calls from the republican establishment to get out. >> reporter: mitt romney predicts he'll win tomorrow's wisconsin primary and the republican nomination. >> i can't wait to get america back on traffic. >> reporter: while campaigning in middleton, wisconsin, romney looked forward to a november battle with president obama. >> this president can't run on his record. so he's going to try every way he can to divert to some other kind of attack and try and have people disqualified -- disqualify our nominee. >> reporter: a win in wisconsin could put romney firmly in

control. he only needs 18 more delegates till he's halfway to the number needed to clinch the nomination. 42 delegates are at stake in wisconsin. rick santorum says he has no plans to bow from pressure from the establishment to drop out. >> establishment keeps thinking -- [ inaudible ] -- you know, at the -- [ inaudible ] >> reporter: mitt romney could face an uphill battle if he wins the nomination. a new u.s. sa gallop poll shows president obama with a 9-point lead over the massachusetts governor in battleground states. president obama's team is already launching attacks against the front-runner -- g.o.p. front-runner. >> this is in the bidle class and none -- middle class and none of what he's done