good morning. it is tuesday, february 26, 2013. welcome to "cbs this morning." forecasters call it crippling and historic inside the blizzard slamming the midwest. plus, why conservatives may be snubbing governor chris christie. and john kerry says americans are v-- americans hav a right to be stupid. his first overseas trip as secretary of state. can wine and olive oil stop heart disease? what you should know about the diet study making headlines. we begin this morning with a look at today's "eye opener," your world in 90 seconds. measure this -- we lost my stick. that's three feet deep.

>> another brutal wirntd blast buries the heartland. >> wreaking havoc up into the plains states. hurricane-force winds brought travel to a halt. >> the second powerful winter storm in a week continues to dump snow and knock out power. >> it may be worse than the last one. >> congress has until friday to hammer out an agreement to avoid the so-called sequester, a series of sweeping federal spending cuts. >> it looks like we can't defend america, our allies are going to be uncertain and our enemies are going to be on steroids. >> hundreds of thousands of americans will lose access to prime care and preventive care like flu vaccinations. [ beep ] an explosion rocks a hot air balloon in egypt -- >> a couple disappears in peru. back in december. family members fear the couple has been kidnapped. >> i just want somebody to find my sister. >> the dow posting its worse

loss of 2013 on worries that italy could spark another debt crisis. >> free speech of speech. in america you have a right to be stupid if you want to be. >> all that -- >> here's the guy so many of us have wanted to be when things don't go right at the airport. this all happened in china. he actually is a high-level government official. >> living la vida loca. [ cheers ] >> and all that matters -- >> the horse meat scandal has snared furniture giant ikea. ikea says the meatballs in the states are safe. >> makes you want to stop taking your family to dinner at a furniture store. >> on "cbs this morning." >> mrs. obama give it to the most american movie, "zero dark thirty," wouldn't want to honor the movie that showed the killing of osama bin laden. her husband wants all the credit killing of osama bin laden. her husband wants all the credit for that. captioning funded by cbs

welcome to "cbs this morning." for the second time in a week, a giant winter storm is hammering the country. it's marching across missouri on its way to the east coast. it's already shutting down highways, airports, and schools in texas, oklahoma, and kansas. >> now the storm is blamed for at least two deaths. emily rittman from our kansas city affiliate, kctc, is in overland park, kansas. good morning. >> reporter: many people are already digging out of last week's snowstorm where a foot and a half of snow fell. and they are expecting much more today. they could see another foot here in kansas. the latest winter storm is unleashing blizzard conditions from texas to oklahoma and kansas. a system so powerful you can literally hear its fury. this was amarillo, texas, monday where howling winds whipped around more than a foot and a half of snow creating five-foot snow drift in some areas. >> we're going to step outside

and let you see what it's like so far. ooh. >> reporter: the storm knocked out power to thousands in texas and oklahoma and brought traffic to a standstill, closing miles of interstates and highways across the southwest. on some road, strong winds and driving snow reduced visibility to near zero. emergency crews focused on locating and rescuing stranded drivers while in some spots motorists abandoned their cars altogether. by monday afternoon, the system had moved into kansas which had barely finished digging out from last week's storm. >> the last storm -- i hadn't seen anything like it since i was a kid. if it's going to be anything like that, there's no need to be out here. >> reporter: at kansas city national airport, crews worked to de-ice planes. still many flights were canceled as the blizzard continued battering the state overnight. >> we're very concerned about the storm. we believe it may be worse than the last one. and in portions of our state, it

will be worse than the last one. >> reporter: because snow is expected to fall throughout most of the day, officials are urging people to stay off the roads. even if they did decide to get out, most places are closed including businesses, schools, and government offices. for "cbs this morning," emily rittman, overland park, kansas. let's check in with meteorologist jeff berardelli of our cbs station woor. where is the storm heading? >> part of the storm is moving into the great lakes. the other part is moving into sonoran and central florida now. i want to show the map. a tornado watch issued for central and northern parts of florida. that means isolated tornadoes are possible and wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour or so. if you're in and around the tampa area, orlando, through jacksonville, watch out. some pretty big storms are headed your way. and as we head further north now into the northern side or cold side of the storm, you see how heavy the snow is now.

kansas city, snowfall rates about two inches an hour. heavy snow in job lynn. that's all headed toward the northeast during the day today. we expect significant snowfall totals in the area. in fact, as we look at the map, you see the purple areas. that's where we expect to see another about foot of snow on top of what we have already. in chicago, probably in general around six inches of snowfall. the good news for the major cities of the northeast, shouldn't be a big deal. it's mostly rain. north and west of there, to upstate new york and the mountains of vermont and new hampshire, we could see up to about a foot of snowfall. the moral of the story is tough traveling today and tough traveling tomorrow. >> jeff, thanks. there are just three days left before huge automatic spending cuts hit the nation. a new pew research poll shows more than six out of ten americans think the cuts will have a negative effect on the economy. >> if they come, nearly half of those surveyed say they will blame republicans. just over 1/3 will hold president obama responsible. bill plante is at the white house. bill, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, nora.

the president has been blaming republicans. they call it scare mongering. his aides say that he's just warning the country about what could happen if congress doesn't stop the automatic budget cuts scheduled for the end of the week. the white house stepped up its campaign to pressure republicans, enlisting the secretary of homeland security to suggest that layoffs could make it more difficult to prevent terrorist attacks. >> i don't think we can maintain the same level of security at all places around the country with sequester as without sequester. >> reporter: if the $85 billion in across-the-board cuts known in washington as the sequester takes effect on friday, federal agencies will be forced to make tough choices, laying off some workers and putting others on involuntary leave. ♪ >> reporter: the military will be hit the hardest. they must slash $46 billion in spending. at the white house monday, mr. obama painted a bleak picture of the impact to the nation's governors.

>> companies are preparing layoff notices. families are preparing to cuts back on expenses. and the longer these cuts are in place, the bigger the impact will become. >> reporter: in order to prevent the cuts, the president and democrats want to replace them by closing tax loopholes and targeting the spending cuts. but house speaker john boehner and republicans say they're finished raising taxes. >> the president says we have to have another tax increase to avoid the sequester. mr. president, you got your tax increase. it's time to cut spending here in washington. >> reporter: skeptical republican governors accuse the president of exaggerating. >> the reality is he's been engaged in almost nonstop campaigning, trying to scare the american people. >> reporter: now the president's pressure campaign on republicans will continue today. he's heading to newport news, the nation's largest naval base, where layoff warnings have already gone out to hundreds of shipyard workers on. another front, though, there may be a little bit of a sign of

progress. the president is also meeting today with senators mccain and graham to talk about immigration. some sign of progress underway. nora, charlie? >> bill plante, thank you. washington state congresswoman kathy mcmorris rodgers is the highest ranking republican woman in the house. she joins us this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> so given the lack of negotiations, i have to ask this question -- do republicans, would they rather have the sequester than any deal that raises taxes? >> we are very concerned about the impact of the sequester. this was president obama's idea back when we were negotiating raising the debt ceiling. the across-the-board cuts that disproportionately affect the military. the republicans almost 300 days ago put forward our plan to replace these cuts with smarter reforms, smarter cuts. there's a better way to do it. what we need is for the president to get off the

campaign trail, quit talking about raising taxes, and actually deliver on his promise to cut spending. we're talking $85 billion. >> congresswoman, you say the president's got to stop campaigning and start negotiating. but if you look at the latest polls, it appears it's working. the public is going to blame your party, republicans. >> well, these cuts were the president's idea. we are very concerned about the impact that they're going to have. we hope as we move forward that the president will come back to washington, d.c., sit down with the senate democrats, urge them to come up with a plan to show that there is a better way to implement these cuts. $85 billion out of a $4.2 trillion budget. it can be done. but there's a smarter, better way to do it. >> what's the smarter, better way other than raising revenue? >> well, the president got revenue increases on january 1. over $600 billion. the republicans have put forward two bills. we've passed legislation twice

to show a smarter way -- >> congresswoman, let me ask one specific question. do you believe that the president when he points out the impact of the sequester is either using scare tactics or misleading the american public? >> well, we won't know that answer until march 1. but this was the president's -- >> but you know what the president's saying -- >> across the board cuts -- >> you're aware of what he's saying because he's gone across the country to say it. it seems to be working, as nora pointed out, because the president looks like the american people in polls support the idea that if the sequester happens, the republicans will be blamed. >> well, america also knows that we have a spending problem. that washington, d.c., has a spending problem. every year we're spending more than we bring in. and it never seems to be the right time to cut the spending. president obama made a promise as a part of this big compromise to raise the debt ceiling. he made a promise that we were going to cut spending. it seems like it's never -- we never get to the place of

cutting spending. >> some people point out that it looks like the republicans have changed their position, that in the beginning they talk about how bad the sequester would be, but now they're saying, okay, if we don't get revenue, it's okay to have the sequester. that's a better and new policy. >> no. we are -- we're very concerned about the sequester. there's a better way to find the spending cuts, the reforms. we've spent $2.2 billion on a free cell phone program. just in 2013. president obama has spent over $50 million promoting obama care, hiring a public relations firm to promote obama care. there is a smarter way to find the savings, reduce spending in the federal government, than the president's sequester. these across-the-board cuts. and what we need, we've known for nearly two years this day was coming, we need the president, we need the senate domes sit down and put together that plan to move forward. the republicans have put forward a plan cathy mcmorris

rodgers, thank you. >> more on tonight's interview on cbs evening news. secretary of state john kerry is already making news. in germany he talked to students about his adventures as the 12-year-old son of a diplomat in post-war berlin. he urged young students to be tolerate of all points of view, even if they are unpopular or offensive and said this about the united states -- >> in america, you have a right to be stupid. [ laughter ] >> if you want to be. and you have a right to be disconnected to somebody else if you want to be. we tolerate it. we somehow make it through that. >> now kerry heads to paris tomorrow for a meeting on the crisis in syria. kerry said monday the u.s. is determined not to leave syrian rebels "dangling in the wind." when pope benedict officials steps down thursday he'll take on a new title.

the vatican announced this morning benedict will be called emeritus pope and will continue to wear white. 115 cardinals are expected to vote for his successor. britain's highest ranking catholic leader will not be taking part. in one of his final acts, the pope changed the rules of the meeting. allen pizzey is in vatican city. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the newest guessing game here is how soon the conclave will begin. by both law and tradition, the cardinals can't talk openly about it until one day after benedict officially leaves office. the cardinals want to get on with the job of choosing a new pope as soon as possible, according to a well-placed vatican source. a major issue plaguing them will be the sex abuse scandals. but they must be dealt with in the view of cardinal james stafford, who is too old to vote in the conclave. >> if it mean to be despised which many of us it does mean, then we accept that. >> reporter: you also have to overcome that if you want to get

people back in the church. you have to rebuild the image, as it were. >> we rebuild the image by accepting the reality that we're living in. and not being angry. and not being defensive. >> reporter: how it affects the choice of a new pope will never be known. the penalty for anyone involved in the conclave who breaks the oath of secrecy including technician technicians used to be by the pope. it was issued almost at the same time as that cardinal keith o'brien took the unprecedented step of refusing himself from the concave. the first in the role over the sex abuse scandals. he stepped out of the voting so as to not have the focus on the issue rather than on the business of choosing the new pope. and there are plenty of other challenges for the conclave, according to john sovos, author of "the vatican diaries."

>> i think it will be an issue when the cardinals meet. i'm sure that now that the sexual episodes have been sort of thrown to the mix, i think they're going to be looking at that, as well. >> reporter: those who have been in the conclave say they have a deep sense of responsibility and pray for divine guidance. something they'll need more than ever this time. charlie, nora? >> allen pizzey, thank you. a hot air balloon crash in egypt has killed at least 18 tourists. an explosion in a gas canister caused the balloon to crash in luxor. the victims included tourists from france, britain, and hong kong. >> we heard a large explosion behind us. and i looked back and saw lots of smoke. it wasn't immediately clear it was a balloon. we were surrounded by the balloons that had been flying with us. then we could see the reaction of the pilot on the balloon. he said this hasn't happened in a long time. >> three people who survive read in the hospital.

furniture chain ikea is the latest to become involved in the horse meat scandal. the swedish company pulled meatballs off the shelves in europe. it does not include meatballs sold at its american stores. we look at the widening investigation. >> reporter: it looks like business as usual. ikea customers still shopping for just about everything at more than 100 stores across europe. except, that is, for meatballs. fresh or frozen, they were one of the company's signature products. but ikea pulled them off the shelves after inspectors in the czech republic discovered traces of horse meat in them. >> we take, of course, this very, very seriously. >> reporter: the meatballs are no longer available in more than 20 european countries which were supplied from a main factory in sweden. in the u.s. and canada, though, ikea meatballs are still on sale because they come from a separate local supply chain. >> we haven't had horse slaughter in the united states

since 2007. so it's unlikely that there's a lot of horse meat floating around. >> reporter: the wider horse meat scandal erupted last month when irish food inspectors found horse dna in meat labeled as beef. since then, horse meat's been detected in a whole range of products. and thousands of packages of processed food across europe have been recalled. it's raised serious questions about criminal fraud in the meat processing business and about food inspectors and regulators who failed apparently for years to detect what was going on. even though technology should have made their jobs more precise. >> dna technology has changed the game on this one. it's now possible to go in and do species-specific testing. >> reporter: while it's still unclear how horse meat got into ik ikea's meatballs or any of the other products, it does seem certain that meat inspection is about to become more rigorous in

europe and that prices are almost certainly going to go up. for "cbs this morning," elizabeth palmer, london. it is time to show some of the morning's headlines from around the globe. britain's "daily mail" says eating a mediterranean-style diet can cut the risk of heart attacks and stroke by as much as 30%. eat plenty of fish, vegetables, and nuts. they also enjoy olive oil and wine. we'll talk about the findings with dr. roney in a few minutes. "the new york times" says dozens of prominent republicans are endorsing gay marriage, calling it constitutional. their legal brief is part of the supreme court lawsuit seeking to strike down california's ban on same-sex marriage. new york's "daily news" looks at macy's lawsuit against martha stewart company. the ceo testified monday he hung up on stewart more than a year ago and has not spoken to her since. that came after stewart called to tell him she struck a deal with jcpenney. macy's says stewart is violating an scloefb contract.

the "wall street journal" says the results of italy's election could shake financial markets. the lack of a clear winner sent european mar

republican governor chris cysty is considered a front-runner in 2016. sources say he won't be invited to a major republican gathering. we look at whether this is a good or bad thing. new trouble at america's most contaminated nuclear site. underground tanks are leaking more radioactive waste. >> 1/3 of these tanks have failed already, 1/3. they've leaked a million gallons. there's more to come. >> we'll ask a professor about the danger and why he calls it a scandal on "cbs this morning." [clucking].

everyone wants to be the cadbury bunny. cause only he brings delicious cadbury crème eggs, while others may keep trying. nobunny knows easter better than cadbury! living with moderate to semeans living with pain.is it could also mean living with joint damage. humira, adalimumab, can help treat more than just the pain. for many adults, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma,

or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve your pain and stop further joint damage. ( birds chirping ) exceptionally smooth with a harmonious blend of flavor and aroma. green mountain coffee for your keurig brewer. brew a better day. [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette you celebrate a little win. nicorette gum helps calm your cravings and makes you less irritable.

quit one cigarette at a time. ah beautiful. work the camera... work it...work it! those hands. oooh la la! magnifique! what's your secret? what? huh? dawn? how can this be? [ female announcer ] dawn hand renewal with olay beauty helps lock in skin's natural moisture to improve the look and feel of hands in 5 uses. [ sponge ] gotta hand it to your beautiful hands, huh? [ female announcer ] love it, or get double your money back. dawn does more. [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. you know what, while we're waiting why don't we play a game of hide and seek? right now? yeah go hide. go on buddy. one, two... [ son ] come and find me! three! [ son ] are you even looking for me? i am looking! [ male announcer ] bite-sized chicken's grown up. kfc bites. freshly hand-breaded big bites of premium breast meat, seasoned in the colonel's original recipe. try 10 bites with an 8 piece meal for $19.99.

[ son ] dad? [ male announcer ] today tastes so good.

[ female announcer ] from more efficient payments. ♪ to more efficient pick-ups.

♪ wireless is limitless.

[ female announcer ] from tracking the bus. ♪ to tracking field conditions. ♪ wireless is limitless.