did through radio and jveng jfk through television. >> i have several announcements to make. >> reporter: --in today's social media era, trump's tweets can dominate a news cycle. >> he said on twitter -- >> he's all over twitter this morning. >> reporter: lesley stahl of "60 minutes" asked him after the election if he would keep it up as president. >> i'm not saying i love it, but it does get the word out. when you give me a bad story or when you give me an inaccurate story or when somebody other than you, in another network or whatever -- because of course cbs would never do a thing like that, right? i have a method of fighting back. >> reporter: two former presidential chiefs of staff, democrat bill daley and republican andy card told "cbs this morning" they don't expect him to walk away from the medium he's made his own. >> i think the tweet world is going to be our world for a long time. >> think before you tweet or speak. >> reporter: trump's tweets are also rattling corporate boardrooms and have even affected the stock price of specific companies. josh, as a result, some corporations are mg

trump tweets about them. >> certainly understandable.

a promise that hit the beaches of normandy. a covenant that split the skies over berlin. a vow that captured iwo jima. a promise was made. a solemn oath that liberated seoul. a sacred trust that defended khe sanh. a pact that dug in in da nang. a contract that weathered tet. a promise was made. a pledge that stormed the desert in iraq. a bond that patrolled door-to-door in fallujah. an iou that braved ieds in kandahar. a promise was made. to america's veterans. a promise we all must keep. dav fights for all veterans and their families so they get the health care, financial benefits and support they earned. if your'e a veteran who needs help, or you'd like to help us keep the promise,

visit dav.org. well, the president-elect chose wall street insider jay clayton today to head the securities and exchange commission. the s.e.c. regulates the financial industry. mr. trump has made clear he wants to ease regulations on american businesses. and do you remember this? >> you know, i've always been a big omarosa fan, but omarosa, you're fired. >> that was one of three times in fact, that mr. trump fired omarosa manigault on "the apprentice." well, today he hired her to be director of communications in the office of public liaison. and there is pushback against mr. trump's choice for attorney general. six arrests were made last night when protestors from the naacp staged a sit-in at jeff sessions' senate office in alabama. they've blasted his record on civil rights and voting rights enforcement.

more now from david begnaud. >> reporter: the protesters said they were taking a stand by sitting down. >> we're either arrested or our demands are met. >> reporter: refusing to leave senator jeff sessions' mobile, alabama, office. this is what they got. six protesters were arrested last night. one of them was bernard simelton, president of the alabama naacp state conference. you were handcuffed, taken to jail, mugshot. >> yep. >> reporter: was it worth it? >> oh, absolutely, absolutely. >> sessions was the first senator to endorse donald trump and became the president-elect's first cabinet selection, nominated to be attorney general. critics like simelton say sessions' record as alabama state attorney general and then federal prosecutor make him unqualified. >> ensuring that people like you and i, our civil rights are protected, we do not believe that he will do that. >> simelton points to sessions' admission to the u.s. senate in 1986 that he had previously called the naacp

un-american for its advocacy tactics. senators rejected sessions' appointment to a federal judgeship. >> senator sessions may be a good person, but he's not the right person for this job. >> william smith disagrees. he's from alabama and he's worked with senator sessions for ten years. he's known him for 20. >> the people making these allegations haven't spent any time with senator sessions. you won't find anyone who has spent a substantial amount of timeith senator sessions who would make these allegations, no one. >> on tuesday, senator sessions goes before the same senate judiciary committee that rejected him in 1986, although there are new members now. josh, the naacp has taken their protest from here in alabama to d.c. they wouldn't tell us what they're planning. >> david begnaud there in birmingham, david, thank you. well, today in south carolina, dylann roof spoke to the jury that will decide whether he gets the death penalty for the charleston church massacre. the same jury convicted him of federal hate crimes for the murders of nine black parishioners.

charleston. >> reporter: dylann roof spoke softly and calmly to jurors. the reason i chose to represent myself was to prevent my lawyers from presenting a mental health evaluation. forget what my attorneys have told you about mymental health. there is nothing wrong with me psychologically. he did not apologize. he also never admitted to the killings the way he did to fbi agents the day he was arrested. >> reporter: assistant u.s. attorney nathan williams was emphatic today. "this >> reporter: williams introduced roof's jailhouse journal, which he wrote six weeks after the murders.

clementa pinckney, mother emanuel's pastor, was one of them. his wife jennifer and six-year- old daughter malana were hiding under a desk in this adjoining office during the massacre. jennifer pinckney told jurors, as roof kept shooting, the petrified girl whispered to her, "mama, is daddy going to die?" by then, clementa pinckney lay among the dead and dying. sharon risher's mother ethel lance and two of her cousins were among roof's victims. >> to have him non-existent on this earth, i mean, my life still has to go on. if he dies, it's not going to make my life better. >> reporter: at one point, roof objected to the sheer number of relatives and friends testifying about their losses. josh, the judge reminded him, that's because there are so many victims. >> mark strassmann, there in charleston. mark, thank you. ,

had one of its most violent years ever, was the scene of another horrifying attack this week. a young man described by law enforcement sources as developmentally challenged was beaten, kicked and tormented for half an hour. video of the assault streamed live on facebook yesterday. the victim had been reported missing from his home in the suburbs. he is now in the hospital and four suspects are in custody. while in new york today, more than 100 people were injured during the morning rush when a packed commuter train crashed as it entered its brooklyn terminal. many had cuts and bruises. the worst suffered a broken leg. the long island railroad train, though moving slowly, plowed through a bumper block. the front of the train lifted off the track and crashed into a work area. federal investigators are now on the scene. still to come here on the "cbs evening news:" consumers find a big tax on soft drinks hard to swallow. and a consumer alert about those special offers from pi

disinfect with lysol bathroom toilet gtrigger... just stay in the toilet. ... and lysol power foamer. they kill 99.9% of germs. to clean and disinfect your bathroom... ...lysol that. this week philadelphia became the biggest city to impose a tax on soft drinks, hoping to bring down obesity rates. even diet sodas are covered, though it didn't take long for some to sour on the idea. jericka duncan found out why. >> reporter: at this shoprite supermar

people are experiencing sticker shock over the increased cost of sugary drinks. elois dickerson saw the price of her favorite drink jump more than 100%. >> ridiculous. >> reporter: maurice broadwater misunderstood the 96-cent tax on his juice. >> i thought that was the sale price of 96 cents off. >> reporter: philadelphia became the first big city to impose a tax on all sugary or artificially-sweetened drinks. the tax adds 1.5 cents per ounce. grocery store owner jeff brown says it's hurting his customers. >> this three-liter soda, our price is $1.39, and the additional tax is $1.52. and then there's sales tax. >> reporter: that's more than the actual soda. before the tax, an eight-pack of gatorade with 160 ounces costs $5.99. the new price is $8.39. and this gallon of iced tea, which was $2.79, is now $4.71.

deputy revenue commissioner marisa waxman says the tax is meant to help the community. >> we anticipate that the first year of collections will generate about $91 million that we can put toward pre-k community schools as well as our parks, libraries and rec centers. >> reporter: but ervin graham says the city has to find a better way. he returned his iced tea. >> i got my money back. >> reporter: after realizing he paid almost $2 in beverage taxes. some people told me they'll consider traveling outside of philadelphia to avoid the tax altogether, and others say they'll simply start drinking more water. josh, at least four other cities across the country have passed a similar tax on sugary drinks. >> more water certainly can't hurt, jericka. jericka duncan, there in philadelphia, thank you. well, still to come here -- mypillow -- why the better business bureau is on the case. jack be nimble, jack be quick, jack knocked over a candlestick

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a pillow company known for late-night infomercials is now taking some lumps from the better business bureau. anna werner has the story. >> no matter what position you sleep in, this will work for you. >> reporter: the infomercial for mypillow helped sell millions of pillows. >> call now to order one of mypillows. when you do, i'll give you a second one, absolutely free. >> reporter: but it's this advertising that caused the company to come under fire at minnesota's better business bureau. >> the problem happened when mypillow started to advertise buy one, get one free, and didn't stop. >> reporter: the bureau's barb greiman says a pricing deal with no time limit is really just the product's regular price. of 232 bbb complaints, many came from consumers confused about the offer. the bbb dropped mypillow's company rating from an a-plus to an f, and revoked its accreditation. >> i want it to come with a guarantee, in case it doesn't work.

inventor and ceo michael lindell explained the buy one, get one, offer to cbs station wcco this way -- >> that bogo offer will probably not be an offer we're going to do. we like to change it up. but this was so successful, we ran it longer than we would normally run. >> reporter: but it's not the only complaint. in november, the company settled a case with district attorneys in california, who sued the company over its claims that the pillows could help with conditions, including sleep apnea, migraines and fibromyalgia. while admitting no fault, mypillow settled and agreed to pay over $1 million in penalties. so how often does the bbb drop a company's rating down to an f? the bureau says it's pretty rare, and only happened after bbb officials attempted to persuade mypillow to discontinue the buy one, get one free offer, without success, josh. well, that will certainly do it. anna werner, thank you. well, still to come here -- blessed arth

a big mac at the vatican.

and finally tonight, a new restaurant has come to a holy place, though some would say it is wholly out of place. here's seth doane, in vatican city. >> reporter: there are a number of places here where you can get classic roman dishes, and now it turns out you can get a classic dish of a different sort, a bigmac. michelangelo helped design the glorious dome of st. peter's basilica. and now there are modern arches, the golden arches. [ speaking foreign language ] >> do you like the mcdonald's here? >> m

>> reporter: si. >> no. >> reporter: for four generations, manuel tosti's family has had a restaurant across the street. "mcdonald's is producing a lot of problems," he told us. "it has the same food everywhere, whereas we do pasta that's famous worldwide and typical roman dishes." in an interview, cardinal elio sgreccia called the arrival of mcdonald's a disgrace. pope francis, who once used a bolivian burger king to change into his religious vestments, regularly rails against consumerism. but the vatican is said to be receiving $31,000 a month in rent. mcdonald's certainly sticks out on these quaint, ancient streets. the the restaurant is just there. behind me, here, you can she

peter's basilica. even the window the pope speaks from. and around the corner is another piece of vatican property that now host a different restaurant chain. hard rock cafe opened a store. the grand boulevard which leads to st. peter's square. near the vatican, some are pragmatic. it's an inexpensive meal, after all. "i think there are more serious problems in the world," this priest said. "there are greater scandals." but italians are bracing themselves for another fast food scandal. starbucks has announced plans to open up here in italy, the land of small mom and pop coffee shops. >> that's the "overnight news" for this thursday. for some of you the news continues. from the broadcast center here in new york city, i'm josh elt.liot

this is the "cbs overnight news." >> and welcome to the "overnight news." i'm don dahler. two days into the 115th congress and the first shots have been fired in the showdown over the affordable care act. president obama was on capitol hill trying to rally the democratic troops to beat back the republican assault on the act. vice president-elect mike spence was also on hand as the senate cast the first votes to fast track a repeal. nancy cordes reports. >> look out for the american people. >> reporter: president obama and vice president-elect mike pence rallied their respective troops today in the pr war over obamacare's demise. democrat jerry connolly described mr. obama's marching orders.

make sure every american who loses his or her health care knows that the republican repeal vote did that. >> reporter: president-elect trump pushed back on twitter, writing -- the dems own the failed obamacare disaster with its poor coverage and massive premium increases. >> the simple fact is the american people know who owns obamacare. it's the first half of the title. >> reporter: pence promised repeal would be followed by a grace period until his party can craft a new law, but house speaker paul ryan was short on specifics. >> we have plenty of ideas to replace it. you'll see as the weeks and months unfold what we're talking about replacing it. >> reporter: democratic leader nancy pelosi -- >> to repeal and then delay is an act of cowardice. that means we don't really know what we're doing. >> reporter: new york governor andrew cuomo entered the fray, announcing that 2.7 million of his state's residents were at risk of losing coverage. he even broke them down by

>> the ayes have 51. the nays are 48. >> reporter: two hours later, senate republicans voted to start the repeal process. >> we're legislatively at a disadvantage. they have all the cards. >> reporter: new york democrat joe crowley -- >> they've done absolutely nothing to help advance the cause of health care, insurance and premiums in this country when they had the opportunity to do it. now they have all the power. let's see what they do with it now. >> reporter: a poll taken after the election, 26% of americans say they want the law repealed. 17% say they want it scaled back. 19% want it kept as is. and 30% say expand the law. so it's clear that no matter what happens, at least half the country is going to be pretty unhappy. former president george w. bush once referred to himself as the decider in chief. president-elect donald trump may soon be using the

#tweeterinchief. his use of social media has a lot of people, both friend and foe, checking their phones to see what he has in mind. jan crawford reports. >> reporter: just this week, mr. trump has tackled not only hacking, but house ethics, guantanamo, obamacare, crime, and the auto industry. on monday, he had this message about north korea for china. china has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the u.s. in totally one-sided trade but won't help with north korea. nice. that prompted this response from china. twitter shouldn't become an instrument of foreign policy. foreign policy isn't child's play. >> i want to tell you what has been done in the last few days. >> reporter: like fdr did through radio, and jfk with television-- >> i have several announcements to make.

media era, trump's tweets can dominate a news cycle. >> he said on twitter -- >> he's all over twitter this morning. >> reporter: lesley stahl of "60 minutes" asked him after the election if he would keep it up as president. >> i'm not saying i love it, but it does get the word out. when you give me a bad story or when you give me an inaccurate story or when somebody other than you, in another network or whatever -- because of course cbs would never do a thing like that, right? i have a method of fighting back. >> reporter: two former presidential chiefs of staff, democrat bill daley and republican andy card told "cbs this morning" they don't expect him to walk away from the medium he's made his own. >> i think the tweet world is going to be our world for a long time. >> think before you tweet or speak. because before, it was "before you speak." now, it's "before you tweet." >> the use and abuse of opioids is perhaps the fastest growing threat in united states. the centers for disease control reports

from opioid overdoses in 2015. some were using heroin, but a growing number are hooked on prescription drugs. turns out there's a lot of money to be paid peddling opioids, and six former executives of the drug maker are due back in court this month. they've been charged with bribing doctors to prescribe their drugs, even when it wasn't necessary. jim axelrod reports. >> reporter: the centers for disease control and prevention has said the united states is in the midst of an opoid overdose epidemic. doctors wrote 259 million prescriptions for painkillers in 2012, enough for every american adult. as many as 1 in 4 people currently struggle with addiction after long-term open yoed treatment for non-cancer pain. >> there's been excessive

are outside the standard of care that is driving some of what we're seeing currently. >> reporter: the problem is back in the spotlight. after the arrests of a half dozen former executives and managers at insys therapeutics, including the former ceo. >> device i brought with me today allows the patient to simply spray the drug underneath their tongue. >> reporter: three years ago on cnbc, he demonstrated the company's drug, a pain reliever pour cancer patients delivered through a spray. the medication, which the company first sold in 2012, racked up $329 million in sales last year. according to the indictment, the defendants conspired with one another to use bribes and kickbacks for doctors who wrote large numbers of prescriptions, most often for patients who did not have cancer. the scheme allegedly funneled tens or hundreds of thousands of do

including one whom a sales representative boasted in an e-mail is running a shady pill mill. >> is that the exception for rule? >> there that is the exception. there is egregious behavior out there, but that is the 1% giving the 99% a bad name. most of the prescribing is well intended and just done inappropriately due to lack of educational foundation. >> this issue didn't evolve overnight. >> reporter: ann pritchett says the drug industry supports changes, including the creation of evidence-based guidelines to lay out exactly when opioid painkillers are appropriate and the development of new formulations that make drugs more resistant to certain types of abuse. as for trey laird, he's been clean since 2011 and now runs a sober living house in connect.

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retired marine general john kelly is president-elect donald trump's nominee to head the department of homeland security. kelly's marching orders include protecting the nation's borders, and he'll be taking aim at a program that sell passports for profit. steve kroft has the story for "60 minutes." >> reporter: if you're shopping for another passport, the top of the line right now is malta. by investing $1 million in this mediterranean island, a russian or chinese or a saudi can become a european citizen with a new eu passport that will allow them to travel just about anywhere without a visa. there are also much cheaper, less discriminating alternatives

how much does it cost to get citizenship? >> $100,000. >> do you have to come here and live here if >> no, you don't even have to come here to get the citizenship. >> so it's mail order citizenship? >> something like that. >> reporter: our introduction to this world of citizenship by investment came in dubai, the gleaming international bazaar hosting the citizens conference. gathered here were lawyers, bankers and real estate developers who facilitate and profit from the trade of citizenship for cash. >> good evening and a very warm welcome. >> reporter: this is the man who more or less invited the business, ceo of a consulting firm in zurich, switzerland. for a fee and healthy commissions, he helps countries set up their program, rewrite their citizenship laws and

for a second, third, or fourth passport, which he sees as just another travel accessory. a passport of convenience. >> you probably have more than one credit card, i would assume. and if visa doesn't work, mastercard will do. so i think any wealthy person nowadays should have more than one credit card and likewise, more than one passport. >> reporter: but you would need money to do this? >> absolutely. it's just for wealthy people. >> reporter: quite often, customers come from country where is their passports don't work very well. global citizens like international lawyer cyrus montevosal, who travels on a west indian passport. where do you live? >> i'm living in dubai, united arab emirates. >> so you're an iranian living in dubai with st. kit citizenship. >> yeah, yeah.

>> yeah. this is the life. >> reporter: it's the life, because his passport, available for $250,000, or a $400,000 real estate investment, allows him entry to more than 100 countries without having to get special permission. it's legal way to circumvent visa controls that nations set up to screen people coming into their country. but also an opportunity for shady characters to mask their identity and avoid suspicion as they travel around the globe. the business was born here in st. kitts, when chris kalen struck a deal with the government a decade ago following the collapse of the island's sugar industry. since then, passports provide hundreds of millions in income. in fact, in 2014, the last year for which there are statistics available, 40% of the government's revenue came from selling passports. it's provided

hundreds of millions for infrastructure projects, private development and tourism. but a lot of the money is unaccounted for. more than 10,000 people have purchased citizenship here, but it's almost impossible to tell who they are, because the information is not public. chris kalen doesn't like the word "citizenship for cash" or any suggestion that all you need is money to get a passport. >> you have to go through a process. you have to apply, and you have to answer a million questions, and you have to undergo a background verification, and you have, at least in the properly run programs, you have to be a reputable person, and that's checked. >> reporter: but evidently not that carefully. about the only way to identify people who have purchased st. kitts citizenship is if they turn up on a list of fugitives or get in trouble with the law. and st. kitts has more than its share for two sleepy

islands. its passport holders include a russian wanted for briby, two ukrainians suspected of bribing a u.n. official, and two chinese women wanted for financial crimes. >> i think it's no secret that these islands have made decisions that are not always optimal. >> they've taken some bozos. >> yes, exactly. >> what about crooks? >> yes, it goes all the way down to crooks, absolutely. people that i would never let into the country. but i'm not the government. >> but you set up their program. >> we helped set up the program. but advisers add vise, ministers decide. >> reporter: three suspected iranian operatives were caught here using their passports to launder money for banks in tehran, in violation of u.s. sanctions. it also ha

5,000 passports, because they either didn't include a place of birth or issued to people who changed their names. since then, reforms have been made but questions remain. >> they are not safeguards in place. >> reporter: until 2014, peter vincent was the top legal adviser for u.s. immigration and customs enforcement, part of the department of homeland security, which he says is well aware of all the vulnerabilities. in fact, the person in line to take over homeland security, general john f. kelly, expressed concern in a report last year that cash for passport programs could be exploited by criminals, terrorists, or other nefarious actors. >> does that represent a security threat, do you think? >> it does. in my opinion, the global community has established a very effective global security architecture to prevent terrorist attacks.

i see these cash for citizenship programs as a gaping hole in that security architecture. >> reporter: but it's not stopped the programs from multiplying across the caribbean. several islands are competing with st. kitts for customers in badly needed cash. what is are we supposed to do, sit back and do nothing? >> reporter: the prime minister of antiga says it has turned the economy around and they claim to have among the strictest programs in the caribbean. you actually have to show up here to get citizenship, albeit very briefly. >> our law provides them to spend five days here. >> that sounds like a vacation. >> yes, i understand. however, we have made sure that at least there must be some

who they are. >> what kind of people are you looking for sh >> we're looking for high net worth individuals. people who are well known, and to make sure we get the creme de la creme. >> reporter: last summer, antiga announced it was opening an embassy in baghdad, hoping to sell passports to iraqis. it didn't work out. but it's doing better next door in syria after hiring a relative of bashar al assad to represent them. >> have you had applications from syria? >> yes. syria is an area we have had some concerns but did not place it on a restricted list. >> you can see the full report on our website, cbsnews.com. the "overnight news" will be right back. for the right used c? i am! you got it. just say show me millions of used cars for sale at the all new carfax.com. but, i don' want one that's had a bunch of owners

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2016 was the 100th anniversary of the u.s. parks service. our own connor spent the year visiting every park in the system, and here's his final report. >> reporter: i knew yellow stone would be cold in the winter, just how cold was a bit of a surprise. it was negative 34 degrees when i was there two weeks ago. but a smile would have been frozen on my face no matter what. america's first nationa

was my last stop, on a year-long quest to visit every national park. all 59 of them. as a journey that began with a hike in the dark one year ago today. i joined a small group of strangers on the top of cadillac mountain in maine to see the first rays of sun hit the contiguous united states. i wanted to get a head start on 2016, the 100th anniversary of the national parks service. i knew i had a lot of ground to cover. soon, i was underground, at mammoth cave in kentucky. then underwater at biscayne in florida. walking across stand and soil. the lowest point in the united states. the 59 national parks are spread out across the country. and for most of the trip, i drove.

it was sometimes scary. when i did hop on to a plane, the change in landscape was even more dramatic. one week, i was marveling at lava in hawaii. the next i was in awe of a glacier in alaska. setting aside these places for enjoyment of all was and is a uniquely american idea, and i've never felt prouder to be an american. it was certainly an interesting year to be crisscrossing the country. i spent plenty of time in red states and blue states. i saw a 1500 foot high wall that already exists on the mexican border. i watched a debate in samoa where the people i met can't even vote for the american president. much has been made about how divided we are as a country. but you don't really feel that

the places were red and blue, they come together. sometimes in the same vista. naturalist john muir once wrote, everybody needs beauty as well as bread. places to play in, and pray in. where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. you may need that now more than ever. fortunately, there's no shortage of cathedrals. you'll continue to see stories from the parks on this broadcast, but i encourage you to go out and see one for yourself this year. i spent the last few days reflecting on the places, people, and puppies i've experienced along the way in 2016. i spent last night at point reyes national seashore in californ

sun

the sinking of the "titanic" more than a hundred years ago is the stuff of history and legend. conventional wisdom says the ship hit an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the sea killing more than 1500 peng passengers and crew. but producers say there was a massive fire on board that weakened the steel hull. mark phillips has that. >> reporter: well, say "titanic" and you think icebergs and human folly. but according to a new theory, to the ice we can add fire. it was the end for the band that played famously as the great ship went down in the 1958 film "a night to

♪ the tune was "nearer my god to thee," and it seems almost 105 years later we may be nearer the complete truth of what caused the disaster. >> she was the largest ship ever built. >> reporter: a new documentary provides a twist on an old story. >> her maiden voyage would be her last. >> reporter: everybody knows why the "titanic" went down. she hit an iceberg, and despite been unsinkable, she sank and took 1500 lives with her. but why was she going so fast through an iceberg filled see and why did she go down so quickly? the filmmakers say it has to do with the dark smudge on the hull. >> look at this anomaly in the hull. wow. >> reporter: the mark on the hull, says irish journalist maloney, is the result of a smoldering fire that raged for days in one

storage bunkers that weakened the ship. >> the intensity of the fire and the effect on the steel, very likely the fire itself was co-author of the catastrophe. >> reporter: the film even suggests that the need to put out the fire by moving the smoldering coal into the ship's boilers was a reason she kept traveling at speed, despite snowing the icebergs were lurking. the official inquiry into the sinking blamed it on the ship's speed, but "titanic" apparently didn't take all her secrets with her to the grave. more than 12,000 feet down on the north atlantic seabed, some are now still being revealed. the "titanic" has become more than a well known tragedy, it's become a metaphor for disaster and it looks like the deck chairs are being arranged once again. >> that's the "overnight news" for this thursday. for some of you the news continues.

little later for the morning news. for the broadcast center in new york city, i'm don dahler. pulling the plug. >> the first order of business is to repeal and replace obamacare. >> if you are repealing, show us what you'll replace it with first. also tonight, the cyber attack on the dnc. the president-elect quotes wikileaks on how easy it was. >> podesta gave out that his password was the word "password." the big gulp. shock over a super-sized tax on soft drinks. >> ridiculous. >> i'll give you a second one absolutely free. a wake-up call to consumers about those mypillow ads. and, mickey d in the holy see? some cry blasphe

>> this is the "cbs overnight news." obamacare is on the critical list. in the new congress, republicans, led by the vice president-elect, set out to kill it. the law's namesake, meanwhile, rushed to capitol hill to try to save it for the some 20 million people who rely upon it for health insurance. here's congressional correspondent nancy cordes. >> look out for the american people. >> reporter: president obama and vice president-elect mike pence rallied their respective troops today in the pr war over obamacare's demise. democrat jerry connolly described mr. obama's marching orders. >> make sure they own it. make sure every american who loses his or her health care knows that the republican repeal vote did that. >> reporter: president-elect trump pushed back on twitter, writing --

>> the simple fact is the american people know who owns obamacare. it's the first half of the title. >> reporter: pence promised repeal would be followed by a grace period until his party can craft a new law, but house speaker paul ryan was short on specifics. >> we have plenty of ideas to replace it. you'll see as the weeks and months unfold what we're talking about replacing it. >> reporter: democratic leader nancy pelosi -- >> to repeal and then delay is an act of cowardice. that means we don't really know what we're doing. >> reporter: new york governor andrew cuomo entered the fray, announcing that 2.7 million of his state's residents were at risk of losing coverage. he even broke them down by county. >> the ayes have 51. the nays are 48. >> reporter: two hours later, senate republicans voted to start the repeal process. >> we're legislatively at a disadvantage.

they have all the cards. >> reporter: new york democrat joe crowley -- >> they've done absolutely nothing to help advance the cause of health care, insurance and premiums in this country when they had the opportunity to do it. now they have all the power. let's see what they do with it now. >> so nancy, with this fight now squarely in the court of public opinion, where exactly does the american public stand? >> reporter: well, americans are all over the map, josh. in fact, take a look at this recent kaiser family foundation poll taken right after the election. 26% of americans say they want the law repealed. 17% say they want it scaled back. 19% want it kept as is, and 30% say, expand the law. so it's clear that no matter what happens, josh, at least half the country is going to be pretty unhappy. >> indeed it will. nancy cordes in washington. nancy, thank you. president-elect trump continues to question the conclusion of u.s. intelligence agencies, that the russians are behind hacking here in the u.s. homeland security correspondent jeff pegues has the latest on that for us tonight. jeff?

morning mr. trump appeared to agree with recent comments by the founder of wikileaks, someone he denounced just six years ago. mr. trump wrote on twitter -- julian assange said a 14-year-old could have hacked clinton campaign chief john podesta. why was dnc so careless? also said russians did not give him the info. some republicans disagreed with the president-elect. speaker paul ryan called the wikileaks founder a sycophant for russia, while senator lindsey graham called him a fugitive from the law with a history of undermining u.s. interests. josh, in addition to posting podesta's email, you'll recall wikileaks also published classified information from nsa leaker edward snowden. that happened in 2013. u.s. intelligence agencies say they have yet to fully recover from those disclosures. >> so, jeff, mr. trump will get a briefing on the final report into alleged russian cyber attacks on friday, the day after tomorrow. what can we expect?

>> reporter: well, it's going to be in new york at trump tower. and this is going to be an unprecedented meeting with the heads of the cia, fbi, nsa and the director of the national intelligence, who will brief the president-elect. on top of that, our law enforcement sources are telling us that this will be the first meeting between the president- elect and fbi director james comey. comey's future at the fbi has been the subject of intense debate after his decision to reopen the clinton private email server investigation just 11 days before the election. some democrats believe comey was part of the reason why hillary clinton lost. and josh, even mr. trump has criticized comey's handling of the email investigation at times. >> jeff pegues in washington. jeff, thank you. well, late today, cbs news learned that mr. trump is considering a restructuring of the office of the director of national intelligence created after the 9/11 attacks. he may even leave the post, now held by james clapper, vacant. president-elect trumha

over 18 million followers on his preferred medium of twitter. following him feels more and more like a full-time job, as he is about to become the "tweeter in chief." here's jan crawford. >> reporter: just this week, mr. trump has tackled not only hacking but house ethics, guantanamo, obamacare, crime and the auto industry. on monday he had this message about north korea for china -- china has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the u.s. in totally one-sided trade but won't help with north korea. nice. that prompted this response from china's state news agency. twitter shouldn't become an instrument of foreign policy. foreign policy isn't child's play. but twitter has proven an important tool for trump, a modern way of talking directly to the people. >> i want to tell you what has been done in the last few days. >> reporter: like fdr did through radio and jfk through television. >> i have several announcements

>> reporter: in today's social media era, trump's tweets can dominate a news cycle. >> he said on twitter -- >> he's all over twitter this morning. >> reporter: lesley stahl of "60 minutes" asked him after the election if he would keep it up as president. >> i'm not saying i love it, but it does get the word out. when you give me a bad story or when you give me an inaccurate story or when somebody other than you, in another network or whatever -- because of course cbs would never do a thing like that, right? i have a method of fighting back. >> reporter: two former presidential chiefs of staff, democrat bill daley and republican andy card told "cbs this morning" they don't expect him to walk away from the medium he's made his own. >> i think the tweet world is going to be our world for a long time. >> think before you tweet or speak. >> reporter: trump's tweets are also rattling corporate boardrooms and have even affected the stock price of specific companies. josh, as a result, some corporations are making plans for to

trump tweets about them. >> certainly understandable.

well, the president-elect chose wall street insider jay clayton today to head the securities and exchange commission. the s.e.c. regulates the financial industry. mr. trump has made clear he wants to ease regulations on american businesses. and do you remember this? >> you know, i've always been a big omarosa fan, but omarosa, you're fired. >> that was one of three times in fact, that mr. trump fired omarosa manigault on "the apprentice." well, today he hired her to be director of communications in the office of public liaison. and there is pushback against mr. trump's choice for attorney general. six arrests were made last night when protestors from the naacp staged a sit-in at jeff sessions' senate office in alabama. they've blasted his record on civil rights and voting rights

more now from david begnaud. >> reporter: the protesters said they were taking a stand by sitting down. >> we're either arrested or our demands are met. >> reporter: refusing to leave senator jeff sessions' mobile, alabama, office. this is what they got. six protesters were arrested last night. one of them was bernard simelton, president of the alabama naacp state conference. you were handcuffed, taken to jail, mugshot. >> yep. >> reporter: was it worth it? >> oh, absolutely, absolutely. >> reporter: sessions was the first senator to endorse donald trump. and became the president-elect's first cabinet selection, nominated to be attorney general. critics like simelton say sessions' record as alabama state attorney general and then federal prosecutor make him unqualified. >> ensuring that people like you and i, our civil rights are protected, we do not believe that he will do that. >> simelton points to sessions' admission to the u.s. senate in 1986 that he had previously called the naacp

un-american for its advocacy tactics. senators rejected sessions' appointment to a federal judgeship. >> senator sessions may be a good person, but he's not the right person for this job. >> william smith disagrees. he's from alabama and he's worked with senator sessions for ten years. he's known him for 20. >> the people making these allegations haven't spent any time with senator sessions. you won't find anyone who has spent a substantial amount of time with senator sessions who would make these allegations, no one. >> reporter: on tuesday, senator sessions goes before the same senate judiciary committee that rejected him in 1986, although there are new members now. josh, the naacp has taken their protest from here in alabama to d.c. they wouldn't tell us what they're planning. >> david begnaud there in birmingham, david, thank you. well, today in south carolina, dylann roof spoke to the jury that will decide whether he gets the death penalty for the charleston church massacre. the same jury convicted him of federal hate crimes for the murders of nine black

mark strassmann is in charleston. >> reporter: dylann roof spoke softly and calmly to jurors. the reason i chose to represent myself was to prevent my lawyers from presenting a mental health evaluation. forget what my attorneys have told you about my mental health. there is nothing wrong with me psychologically. he did not apologize. he also never admitted to the killings the way he did to fbi agents the day he was arrested. >> reporter: assistant u.s. attorney nathan williams was emphatic today. >> reporter: williams introduced roof's jailhouse journal, which he wrote six weeks after the murders.

clementa pinckney, mother emanuel's pastor, was one of them. his wife jennifer and six-year- old daughter malana were hiding under a desk in this adjoining office during the massacre. jennifer pinckney told jurors, as roof kept shooting, the petrified girl whispered to her, "mama, is daddy going to die?" by then, clementa pinckney lay among the dead and dying. sharon risher's mother ethel lance and two of her cousins were among roof's victims. >> to have him non-existent on this earth, i mean, my life still has to go on. if he dies, it's not going to make my life better. >> reporter: at one point, roof objected to the sheer number of relatives and friends testifying about their losses. josh, the judge reminded him, that's because there are so many victims. >> mark strassmann, there in charleston. mark, thank you. well, chicago, which just

had one of its most violent years ever, was the scene of another horrifying attack this week. a young man described by law enforcement sources as developmentally challenged was beaten, kicked and tormented for half an hour. video of the assault streamed live on facebook yesterday. the victim had been reported missing from his home in the suburbs. he is now in the hospital and four suspects are in custody. while in new york today, more than 100 people were injured during the morning rush when a packed commuter train crashed as it entered its brooklyn terminal. many had cuts and bruises. the worst suffered a broken leg. the long island railroad train, though moving slowly, plowed through a bumper block. the front of the train lifted off the track and crashed into a work area. federal investigators are now on the scene. >> still to come, consumers find a big tax on soft drinks hard to swallow. and a consumer alert about those special offers from mypi

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this week philadelphia became the biggest city to impose a tax on soft drinks, hoping to bring down obesity rates. even diet sodas are covered, though it didn't take long for some to sour on the idea. jericka duncan found out why. >> reporter: at this shoprite supermarket in philadelphi

people are experiencing sticker shock over the increased cost of sugary drinks. elois dickerson saw the price of her favorite drink jump more than 100%. >> ridiculous. >> reporter: maurice broadwater misunderstood the 96-cent tax on his juice. >> i thought that was the sale price of 96 cents off. >> reporter: philadelphia became the first big city to impose a tax on all sugary or artificially-sweetened drinks. the tax adds 1.5 cents per ounce. grocery store owner jeff brown says it's hurting his customers. >> this three-liter soda, our price is $1.39, and the additional tax is $1.52. and then there's sales tax. >> reporter: that's more than the actual soda. before the tax, an eight-pack of gatorade with 160 ounces costs $5.99. the new price is $8.39. and this gallon of iced tea, which was $2.79, is now $4.71. aside from health benefits,

deputy revenue commissioner marisa waxman says the tax is meant to help the community. >> we anticipate that the first year of collections will generate about $91 million that we can put toward pre-k community schools as well as our parks, libraries and rec centers. >> reporter: but ervin graham says the city has to find a better way. he returned his iced tea. >> i got my money back. >> reporter: after realizing he paid almost $2 in beverage taxes. some people told me they'll consider traveling outside of philadelphia to avoid the tax altogether, and others say they'll simply start drinking more water. josh, at least four other cities across the country have passed a similar tax on sugary drinks. >> more water certainly can't hurt, jericka. jericka duncan, there in philadelphia, thank you. well, still to come here -- mypillow -- why the better business bureau is on the case.

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late-night infomercials is now taking some lumps from the better business bureau. anna werner has the story. >> no matter what position you sleep in, this will work for you. >> reporter: the infomercial for mypillow helped sell millions of pillows. >> call now to order one of mypillows. when you do, i'll give you a second one, absolutely free. >> reporter: but it's this advertising that caused the company to come under fire at minnesota's better business bureau. >> the problem happened when mypillow started to advertise buy one, get one free, and didn't stop. >> reporter: the bureau's barb greiman says a pricing deal with no time limit is really just the product's regular price. of 232 bbb complaints, many came from consumers confused about the offer. the bbb dropped mypillow's company rating from an a-plus to an f, and revoked its accreditation. >> i want it to come with a guarantee, in case it doesn't work. >> reporter: yesterday, mypillow

inventor and ceo michael lindell explained the buy one, get one, offer to cbs station wcco this way -- >> that bogo offer will probably not be an offer we're going to do. we like to change it up. but this was so successful, we ran it longer than we would normally run. >> reporter: but it's not the only complaint. in november, the company settled a case with district attorneys in california, who sued the company over its claims that the pillows could help with conditions, including sleep apnea, migraines and fibromyalgia. while admitting no fault, mypillow settled and agreed to pay over $1 million in penalties. so how often does the bbb drop a company's rating down to an f? the bureau says it's pretty rare, and only happened after bbb officials attempted to persuade mypillow to discontinue the buy one, get one free offer, without success, josh. well, that will certainly do it. anna werner, thank you. well, still to come here -- blessed are those who hunger for a bic

and finally tonight, a new restaurant has come to a holy place, though some would say it is wholly out of place. here's seth doane, in vatican city. >> reporter: there are a number of places here where you can get classic roman dishes, and now it turns out you can get a classic dish of a different sort, a bigmac. michelangelo helped de tsignhe glorious dome of st. peter's basilica. now not far from that famed dome are modern arches, the golden arches. [ speaking foreign language ] >> do you like the mcdonald's here?

>> mcdonald's? >> reporter: si. >> no. >> reporter: for four generations, manuel tosti's family has had a restaurant across the street. "mcdonald's is producing a lot of problems," he told us. "it has the same food everywhere, whereas we do pasta that's famous worldwide and typical roman dishes." in an interview, cardinal elio sgreccia called the arrival of the taste food chain a disgrace. pope francis, who once used a bolivian burger king to change into his religious vestments, regularly rails against consumerism. but the vatican is in on the deal, said to be receiving more than $31,000 a month in rent. this mcdonald's is a tenant in one of the many vatican owned buildings surrounding vatican city. mcdonald's certainly sticks out on these quaint, ancient streets. the restaurant is just there.

wall of vatican city, st. peter's basilica. even the window the pope speaks from. and around the corner is another piece of vatican property that now hosts a different restaurant chain. hard rock cafe opened a store. the grand boulevard which leads to st. peter's square. near the vatican, some are pragmatic. it's an inexpensive meal, after all. and there's a little perspective. "i think there are more serious problems in the world," this priest said. "there are greater scandals." but italians are bracing themselves for another fast food scandal. starbucks has announced plans to open up here in italy, the land of small mom and pop coffee shops. >> that's the "overnight news" for this thursday. for some of you the news continues. for others, due check back with us a bit later for the morning news and "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center here in new york city, i'm josh elliott.

this is the "cbs overnight news." >> and welcome to the "overnight news." i'm don dahler. two days into the 115th congress and the first shots have been fired in the showdown over the affordable care act. president obama was on capitol hill trying to rally the democratic troops to beat back the republican assault on the act. vice president-elect mike pence was also on hand as the senate cast the first votes to fast track a repeal. nancy cordes reports. >> look out for the american people. >> reporter: president obama and vice president-elect mike pence rallied their respective troops today in the pr war over obamacare's demise. democrat jerry connolly described mr. obama's marching orders. >> make sure they own it.

loses his or her health care knows that the republican repeal vote did that. >> reporter: president-elect trump pushed back on twitter, writing -- the dems own the failed obamacare disaster with its poor coverage and massive premium increases. >> the simple fact is the american people know who owns obamacare. it's the first half of the title. >> reporter: pence promised repeal would be followed by a grace period until his party can craft a new law, but house speaker paul ryan was short on specifics. >> we have plenty of ideas to replace it. you'll see as the weeks and months unfold what we're talking about replacing it. >> reporter: democratic leader nancy pelosi -- >> to repeal and then delay is an act of cowardice. that means we don't really know what we're doing. >> reporter: new york governor andrew cuomo entered the fray, announcing that 2.7 million of his state's residents were at risk of losing coverage. he even broke them down by

>> the ayes have 51. the nays are 48. >> reporter: two hours later, senate republicans voted to start the repeal process. >> we're legislatively at a disadvantage. they have all the cards. >> reporter: new york democrat joe crowley -- >> they've done absolutely nothing to help advance the cause of health care, insurance and premiums in this country when they had the opportunity to do it. now they have all the power. let's see what they do with it now. >> reporter: take look at this recent kaiser family foundation poll. 26% of americans say they want the law repealed. 17% say they want it scaled back. 19% want it kept as is. and 30% say expand the law. so it's clear that no matter what happens, at least half the country is going to be pretty unhappy. former president george w. bush once referred to himself as the decider in chief. president-elect donald trump may soon be using the #tweeterinchief. his use of social media has

foe, checking their phones to see what he has in mind. jan crawford reports. >> reporter: just this week, mr. trump has tackled not only hacking, but house ethics, guantanamo, obamacare, crime, and the auto industry. on monday, he had this message about north korea for china. china has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the u.s. in totally one-sided trade but won't help with north korea. nice. that prompted this response from china. twitter shouldn't become an instrument of foreign policy. foreign policy isn't child's play. but twitter has proven an important tool for trump, a modern way of talking directly to the people. >> i want to tell you what has been done in the last few days. >> reporter: like fdr did through radio, and jfk with television. >> i have several announcements to make. >> reporter: in today's social media era, trump's tweets can dominate a news cycle. >> hid

>> he's all over twitter this morning. >> reporter: lesley stahl of "60 minutes" asked him after the election if he would keep it up as president. >> i'm not saying i love it, but it does get the word out. when you give me a bad story or when you give me an inaccurate story or when somebody other than you, in another network or whatever -- because of course cbs would never do a thing like that, right? i have a method of fighting back. >> reporter: two former presidential chiefs of staff, democrat bill daley and republican andy card told "cbs this morning" they don't expect him to walk away from the medium he's made his own. >> i think the tweet world is going to be our world for a long time. >> think before you tweet or speak. because before, it was "before you speak." now, it's "before you tweet." >> the use and abuse of opioids is perhaps the fastest growing health threat in the united states. the centers for disease control reports 33,000 americans died

some were using heroin, but a growing number are hooked on prescription drugs. like oxycontin and fentinol. turns out there's a lot of money to be paid peddling opioids, and six former executives of the drug maker are due back in court this month. they've been charged with bribing doctors to prescribe their drugs, even when it wasn't necessary. jim axelrod reports. >> reporter: the centers for disease control and prevention has said the united states is in the midst of an opoid overdose epidemic. the agency reports that doctors wrote 259 million prescriptions for painkillers in 2012, enough for every american adult. as many as 1 in 4 people currently st addiction after long-term opoid treatment for non-cancer pain. >> there's been excessive prescribing for an excessive number of conditions that are

indiscriminate, outside the standard of care that is driving some of what we're seeing currently. >> reporter: the problem is back in the spotlight. after the arrests of a half dozen former executives and managers at insys therapeutics, including the company's former ceo. >> the device i brought with me today allows the patient to simply spray the drug underneath their tongue. >> reporter: three years ago on cnbc, michael babic demonstrated the company's drug, a pain reliever for cancer patients, delivered through a spray. the medication, which the company first sold in 2012, racked up $329 million in sales last year. according to the indictment, the defendants conspired with one another to use bribes and kickbacks for doctors who wrote large numbers of prescriptions, most often for patients who did not have cancer. the scheme allegedly funneled tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to practitioners, including one whom a sales representatioa

e-mail was running a very shady pill mill and only accepts cash. >> is that the exception or the rule? >> there that is the exception. there is egregious behavior out there, but that is the 1% giving the 99% a bad name. most to have misprescribing that occurs out there i believe is well intended, and is just done inappropriately due to lack of educational foundation. >> this issue didn't evolve overnight. and it's not going to be solved overnight. >> reporter: ann pritchett says the drug industry supports changes, including the creation of evidence-based guidelines to lay out exactly when opioid painkillers are appropriate and the development of new formulations that make drugs more resistant to certain types of abuse. as for trey laird, he's been clean since 2011 and now runs a sober living house in connecticut. he suggests he might have been able to pren

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retired marine general john kelly is president-elect donald trump's nominee to head the department of homeland security. kelly's marching orders include protecting the nation's borders, and he'll be taking aim at a program that some small countries use that sell passports for profit. steve kroft has the story for "60 minutes." >> reporter: if you're shopping for another passport, the top of the line right now is malta. by investing $1 million in this mediterranean island, a russian or chinese or a saudi can become a european citizen with a new eu passport that will allow them to travel just about anywhere without a visa. there are also much cheaper, less discriminating alternatives available in the caribbean. especially on they

dominica. how much does it cost to get citizenship? >> $100,000. >> do you have to come here and live in dominica? >> no, no. you don't even have to come to dominica to get the citizenship. >> so it's mail order citizenship? >> something like that. >> reporter: our introduction to this world of citizenship by investment came in dubai, the gleaming international bazaar hosting the ninth annual global citizens conference. gathered here were lawyers, bankers and real estate developers who facilitate and profit from the trade of citizenship for cash. >> good evening and a very warm welcome. >> reporter: this is the man who more or less invited the business, chris kalen, chairman of a consulting firm with offices where else, but in zurich, switzerland. for a fee and healthy commissions, he helps countries set up their program, rewrite their citizenship laws and recruit people of means looking

passport, which he sees as just another travel accessory. a passport of convenience. >> you probably have more than one credit card, i would assume. and if visa doesn't work, mastercard will do. so i think any wealthy person nowadays should have more than one credit card and likewise, more than one passport. >> reporter: but you would need money to do this? >> absolutely. it's just for wealthy people. >> reporter: quite often, customers come from country where is their passports don't work very well. making it difficult for them to get where they want to go. global citizens like international lawyer cyrus montevosal, who travels on a west indian passport from st. kitts. where do you live? >> i'm living in dubai, united arab emirates. >> so you're an iranian living in dubai with st. kitts citizenship. >> yeah, yeah. >> it's complicated.

this is the life. >> reporter: it's the life, because his passport, available for $250,000, or a $400,000 real estate investment, allows him entry to more than 100 countries without having to get special permission. it's legal way to circumvent visa controls that nations set up to screen people coming into their country. but also an opportunity for shady characters to mask their identity and avoid suspicion as they travel around the globe. the business was born here in st. kitts, when chris kalen struck a deal with the government a decade ago following the collapse of the island's sugar industry. since then, passports provide hundreds of millions in income. in fact, in 2014, the last year for which there are statistics available, 40% of the government's revenue came from selling passports. it's provided st. kitts with nd

infrastructure projects, private development and tourism. but a lot of the money is unaccounted for. more than 10,000 people have purchased citizenship here, but it's almost impossible to tell who they are, because the information is not public. chris kalen doesn't like the word "citizenship for cash" or any suggestion that all you need is money to get a passport. >> you have to go through a process. you have to apply, and you have to answer a million questions, and you have to undergo a background verification, and you have, at least in the properly run programs, you have to be a reputable person, and that's checked. >> reporter: but evidently not that carefully. about the only way to identify people who have purchased st. kitts citizenship is if they turn up on a list of fugitives or get in trouble with the law. and st. kitts has more than its share for two sleepy little islands. its passport holders include a

canadian penny stock manipulator, a russian wanted for bribery, two ukrainians suspected of bribing a u.n. official, and two chinese women wanted for financial crimes. >> i think it's no secret that these islands have made decisions that are not always optimal. >> they've taken some bozos. >> yes, exactly. >> what about crooks? >> yes, it goes all the way down to crooks, absolutely. people that i would never let into the country. but i'm not the government. >> but you set up their program. >> we helped set up the program. but advisers advise, ministers decide. >> reporter: two years ago, three suspected iranian operatives were caught here using their passports to launder money for banks in tehran, in violation of u.s. sanctions. it also had to recall more than

either didn't include a place of birth or issued to people who changed their names. since then, a number of reforms have been made, but questions remain. >> they're not transparent programs. there are not safeguards in place. >> reporter: until 2014, peter vincent was the top legal adviser for u.s. immigration and customs enforcement, part of the department of homeland security, which he says is well aware of all the vulnerabilities. in fact, the person in line to take over homeland security, general john f. kelly, expressed concern in a report last year that cash for passport programs could be exploited by criminals, terrorists, or other nefarious actors. >> does that represent a security threat, do you think? >> it does. in my opinion, the global community has established a very effective global security architecture to prevent terrorist attacks. i see these cash for citizenship

that security architecture. >> reporter: but it's not stopped the programs from multiplying across the caribbean. dominica, grenada, antiga, are all competing with st. kitts now for customers in badly needed cash. >> so what are we supposed to do sit back and do nothing? >> reporter: the prime minister of antiga says it has turned the economy around and they claim to have among the strictest programs in the caribbean. you actually have to show up here to get citizenship, albeit very briefly. >> our law provides them to spend five days here. >> that sounds like a vacation. >> yes, i understand. however, we have made sure that at least there must be some face-to-face contact so we know who they are.

>> what kind of people are you looking for? >> we're looking for high net worth individuals. people who are established business people, who are well known. and to make sure we get the creme de la creme. >> reporter: last summer, antiga announced it was opening an embassy in baghdad, hoping to sell passports to iraqis. it didn't work out. but it's doing better next door in syria after hiring a relative of president bashar al assad to represent them. >> have you had applications from syria? >> yes. we have had applications from syria. >> and you've approached them? >> syria is one of the areas which we have had had some concerns but did not place it on a restricted list. >> you can see the full report on our website, cbsnews.com. the "overnight news" will be right back.

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water completely destroyed his swedish foam mattress. he got full replacement and now owns the sleep number bed. his sleep number setting is 25. call geico and see how much you could save on homeowners insurance. 2016 was the 100th anniversary of the u.s. parks service. our own connor knighton spent the year visiting every park in the system, and here's his final report. >> reporter: i knew yellow stone would be cold in the winter, just how cold was a bit of a surprise. it was negative 34 degrees when i was there two weeks ago. but a smile would have been frozen on my face no matter what. america's first national park was my last stop, on a year-long

quest to visit every national park. all 59 of them. as a journey that began with a hike in the dark one year ago today. i joined a small group of strangers on the top of cadillac mountain in maine to see the first rays of sun hit the contiguous united states. i wanted to get a head start on 2016, the 100th anniversary of the national parks service. i knew i had a lot of ground to cover. soon, i was underground, at mammoth cave in kentucky. then underwater at biscayne in florida. walking across stand and soil. the lowest point in the united states. to the base of our highest peak. the 59 national parks are spread out across the country. and for most of the trip, i drove.

it was always scenic, only sometimes scary. when i did hop on to a plane, the change in landscape was even more dramatic. one week, i was marveling at lava in hawaii. the next i was in awe of a glacier in alaska. setting aside these places for enjoyment of all was and is a uniquely american idea, and i've never felt prouder to be an american. it was certainly an interesting year to be crisscrossing the country. i spent plenty of time in red states and blue states. i saw a 1500 foot high wall that already exists on the mexican border. i watched a debate in samoa where the people i met can't even vote for the american president. much has been made about how divided we are as a country.

in the national parks. the places were red and blue, they come together. sometimes in the same vista. naturalist john muir once wrote, everybody needs beauty as well as bread. places to play in, and pray in. where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. you may need that now more than ever. fortunately, there's no shortage of cathedrals. you'll continue to see stories from the parks on this broadcast, but i encourage you to go out and see one for yourself this year. i spent the last few days reflecting on the places, people, and puppies i've experienced along the way in 2016. i spent last night at point reyes national seashore in california. on december 31st, it's where the

sun sets last in the lower 48. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ you look incredible. ♪ did you go tanning? ♪ yeah, check it out. ♪ jealous. ♪ ♪ best spring break ever. ♪ i know. ♪ you're getting so tan. ♪ ♪ finals are the worst. ♪ i'm so glad they're over. ♪ we need some sun. ♪ i can't believe our friends are getting married. ♪ she looks amazing.

o tanning anymore. ♪ doctor's orders. ♪ ♪ it's melanoma. ♪ i'm stage three. ♪ melanoma is the 2nd most common cancer ♪ for young women, 15 to 29. ♪ ♪ protect yourself. ♪ protect your friends. ♪ stop tanning. ♪ learn more at spotskincancer.org. ♪ a message from the american academy of dermatology. son: it's been more daughter: no, it hasn't. mom: hey, can you two keep it down? son: i want it. it's my turn. daughter: no it isn't. mom: please just keep it down. [tires screeching] mom: i remember days when just driving down the street would give me anxiety. and now look at me. [restaurant sounds] man 1: don't get me wrong, i still don't love crowded places, but it's good to get out again.

[plates crashing] man 2: noises like that used to make me hit the deck, but now i can keep going. announcer: transitioning from the military can be tough. we all have unique experiences, but many veterans are facing similar challenges. life goes on, but some things are different now. visit maketheconnection.net to watch our stories and learn ways to create the story you want to live. no one can write it for you. make sure it's a good one. make the connection.

adcastststr captioning funded by cbs it's thursday, january 5th, 2017. this is "cbs morning news." while casting new doubts on reports russia hacked the election, president-elect trump appears set to scale back the nation's top spy agency. it was a battle over obamacare on the hill. the next step for republicans to repeal and replace the legislation. broadcasted brutality. four suspects were arrested in chicago after streaming their extreme attacks on a man with