president. thank you. now a look at some other stories we are following in the evening's news feed. mastercard spending, said retail sales jumped nearly 5% this holiday season. biggest year to year increase since 2011. another company estimates th companies will return $90 billion of merchandise. a study reported by journal of american medical association said vitamin d and calcium supplements do not prevent bone breaks and fractures. the supplements had no clear benefit according to the study. >> the salt lake tribune was being sarcastic when it named senator orrin hatch its utahan of the year. the editorial blasted hatch for utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for power. some wondered

the article when he tweeted he was gr

as the holiday season continues, the u.s. is also entering peak flu season. according to the centers for disease control, up to 650,000 people worldwide could die from complications of the flu. more now from dr. jon lapook. >> reporter: earlier this month. 3-year-old, had a flare-up of ads asthma. he didn't improve with treatment. >> he had a minor cough. thought it was as ma. wasn't anything that was shouting out this is the flu for him. >> the diagnose was flu. the virus was attacking his lungs. he spent a week in intensive careun

his throat. he had a tube in his nose. he had three or four ivs. >> this flu season could be a nasty one. texas is one of 23 states already seeing widespread flu activity. nearly double the number from the week before. dr. mary healy is infectious disease expert at texas children's hospital. >> we had more positive tests over the last couple of weeks. so it looks like maybe we are really starting to get into the season, in earnest. and that seems to be the trend certainly nationally as well. >> what concerns experts is the flu season that just concluded in australia. which some times can preview the season here. australia had the most severe flu season in five years. and the vaccine used there is the same one used here. it is blaefd thelieved one of t strains covered, mutated. making the vaccine only 10% effective. >> if you look at the

we didn't have evidence that the virus has changed significantly. so, hopefully we are not going to face the same situations. >> influenza vaccine takes months to make. scientists are looking at ways of making is so when the virus mutates they can make a vaccine. cdc recommend getting immunized only if it may provide a relatively small amount of protection. dr. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. rockport, texas, the first town hit by hurricane harvey four months ago. also one of the slowest to recover. some who lost homes are still living in motels or in tents. and recently went back to rockport. >> the beauty of this texas gulf coast peninsula can't hide the devastation. a massive boat house mangled. homes shredded. >> this property was kind of like a -- a refuge.

kennedy lost everything. >> yesterday i had tears. they just come. >> one of the thing that remains is frustration. >> knnobody gives you a surviva guide. when a hurricane comes. and, what you need to do. none of us knew what to do. >> harvey made landfall with 150 mile per hour wind. and 13 feet of storm surge. in the aftermath. nearly 1500 area families sought federal housing assistance. nearly 300 still don't have permanent housing. and a third of rock port was so damaged, it will be impossible to rebuild. there is still tons of debris. there is so much, the state is having to use this highway median, as a collection point. the mayor of rock port estimates that more than 2 million cubic yard of debris, has been coll t collected so far and that is just on the first pass. the

about 10,000. >> cj wax is the mayor. he says 70% of the town's businesses are still closed. >> i have got an attraction problem. a hotel problem. a business problem. a restaurant problem. it sound almost overwhelming. >> except, the attitude of the people. >> thank you. very much. >> thank you. >> that altitude is apparent in samantha mccrary, she sent up the city and released two days after the storm. at her peak, she was serving 1,000 meals a day. and had more than 50 people living on her property. today, it is down to about two dozen. but each day, she says, someone gets back on their feet. >> blessed every day. by something here, blessed every single day. >> what the hour cane quickly tore apart, the people are slowly rebuilding. omar villafranca, cbs news, rockpo,

♪ ♪ investigators raise alarms about the effectiveness of the fda food recall. >> every day when the recall is not initiated a person could potentially die from eating it. >> dad delivers his own christmas baby. >> not a huge fan of blood. >> she has ben teaching ballet for 67 years and at 95 years old, she has no intention of slowing down. >> i take my oxygen from them. ♪

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i had this chest cold, but my medicine kept wearing off. (coughsah! hey, chad! i missed you. ah! i was in the tree watching you, and then i fell. i'm not eating pizza from the trash. then i discovered mucinex. huge difference. one pill lasts 12 hours, and i'm good. oh, here kitty, kitty...ah! not a cat, not a cat! why take 4-hour medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. you might think if a food could make you sick, it would be pulled immediately from store shelves. but today thear

inspector general reported that hasn't always been the case. anna werner is following this. >> in a 49-page report, the inspector general's office reviewed 30 voluntary recalls overseen by the fda most hive risk and found the fda could not always ensure that firms initiated food recalls promptly. george netter headed up the investigation. 23 of the recalls were class one. by definition cause a condition or death. >> for example auditors found a recall of cheese products linked to a 2014 listeria outbreak took 81 days to complete. an infant died and two pregnant women lost fetuses. in the case of an dietary supplement, the firm did not recall the product until 303 days after receiving a warning letter from fda. >> three places for the one recall. that stuff was still on the shelf when they want out

303 days later. that meant people could have been buying it. >> so this product, potentially jeopardized lives, and they left it on shelves for close to a year? >> that would be correct. >> investigators were so concerned by what they were finding, they issued an alert midway through the review in 2016. at that time, fda put a special team in place to focus on challenging high risk recalls. now, in response to this full report, fda said the 30 cases selected were extreme outliers in the highest risk recalls, recall initiation took place on less than three days. netter disagrees. >> i have serious concerns about that analysis. >> why? because his team found in a third of the cases they examined fda put the wrong recall start date into its database. so basically saying when they say, three, four days you are

>> i'm saying their system, from what we found could not be relied upon during, based on our sample of 30 items. >> in a statement to cbs news, fda commissioner said -- but he said he knows much work remains to be done to assure safety. elaine. >> sobering report, anna, thank you. >> still ahead, light braer the congress gets picky over twitter.

♪ ♪ few people know this, lut the library of congress began archiving sweets seven years ago. every single tweet. but the novelty has worn off with 500 million new tweets each day. so starting january 1, only tweets the agency deems significant will be archived. >> christmas day saw a surprise delivery in

four week early as she and her husband raced to the hospital her water broke. two minutes later, little poppy began to pop out. medical dispatcher helped guide dad through the delivery. mom, dad, and poppy are doing fine. a >> don hogan charles has died. in 1964, he became "the new york times" first african-american photographer. he is best remembered for an iconic photo of malcolm x for ebony magazine. he was 79. >> up next, living stronger through ballet. ♪ ♪

i am the founder and director of slam dunk for diabetes. slam dunk for diabetes is the only day basketball camp in the country

and type 1 and type 2 diabetes to get together, play ball and to learn to manage their diabetes. [olivia] when i first got to the camp, it wasn't like oh it's so sad, all the kids have diabetes, it wasn't that at all, it was happiness, it was kids laughing and running and playing and i wanted to be a part of that so much. [monica joyce] coming back year after year, what olivia learned is that she really isn't alone. [olivia] she created a world for diabetic kids to play and be normal and have fun and meet people and meet other kids that have diabetes. i can't thank her enough [monica joyce] i met olivia in 2004 and i said to people, stick around, olivia is going to set the world on fire one day. olivia has really been a marvelous example of what camp can do for children

what's the secret off to staying young? for one woman it is doing the thing you love. no matter the obstacle. julianna goldman now with "living stronger." ♪ ♪ five, six. show your shoulders. solange binda mclane, madam binda has been teaching ballet for 67 years. at 95 years old she has no intention of slowing down. the story of your birth is, pretty noteworthy, huh? >> that was a little

it was at that time, no doctor, so it happened to be a japanese vet. >> veterinarian tlifrd ydeliver. >> in china where her belgian father worked as engineer. a privileged childhood, big house, horses and dance lessons with a renowned russian ballerina. all of which went away during world war ii. >> we had about a week to be told that we were going to go to a concentration camp. and we stayed there for 3 1/2 years. >> amid starvation and the conditions at the can send tracing camp she managed to dance. >> we made our own costume out of sheets, or anything. >> after allies liberated the camp. she married a soldier and moved to the d.c. suburbs. the marriage didn't last. with two children to support she started teaching dance. in 1950.

thousand of students many of whom have gone on to dance careers themselves. >> these are the little ones. >> her studio a shrine to decade of rehearsals and recitals. packed with hand stitched costumes. >> do you think thousand of costumes in here? >> yeah. yeah. >> she doesn't sew as much. she still drives both her car and her lawnmower. >> you have to look at your heel. >> of course she teaches. >> you could have stopped doing this years ago? >> oh. that's my vitality. i take my oxygen from them. >> for madam binda, ballet is life. it kept her on point throughout the years. julianna goldman, cbs news, falls church, virginia. off a thank you, ladies. that's the "overnight news" for this wednesday. for some the news continues. for others check back with us a little later for the morning news and you don't want to miss "cbs this morning." from the broadcast

welcome to the "overnight news." it is still just the first week of the season, but old man winter is making his presence felt across the entire northern tier of the nation. snow and bitter cold stretches from the pacific northwest off to the rockies, the great plains, and into new england. the severe weather is closing highways and grounding flights. demarco morgan reports from frigid eerie, pennsylvania. >> reporter: the snow is falling as we speak. so much so this area declared an emergency because of the heavy snowfall. and some areas, it is chest deep. a winter blast dumped foot after foot of snow. across the great lakes.

>> lot of snow. keeps coming. won't stop. >> the city of eerie, pennsylvania, shaltered the state record with over 50 inches. the nearly 4 1/2 feet of snow fell in just under 36 hours. the snow pack forced trucks to be dug out along with cars and streets blanketed with snow. in ohio, traffic backed up interstate 90 forcing authorities to drop the speed limit from 65 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour. kansas city, missouri, the snow caused many accidents on the highways. in one crash, four people were killed. not to be outdone, record temperatures sent the midwest into a deep freeze. parts of wisconsin experienced minus 20 degree weather. minneapolis had a low of negative 2. the snowfall is far from over. this area could g

from 5 to 10 inches of snow. before the week is out. >> well it was 74 degrees in west palm beach, when president trump hit the golf course yesterday. the first family will remain at his florida resort through the holidays. when he returns, things will get busy. chip reid reports. >> resney has stage four breast cancer and what that insurance she says she might not be here today. now uncertainty over whether her coverage will continue leaves her terrified. >> what do i do? ended? not ended? what is happening. i would look to see -- a commitment to this, this program, so that there is -- stability. >> but president trump appears intent on doing the opposite. creating uncertainty and instability. in a tweet today he claims that the tax cut bill he

week whi -- signed last week, ended the mandate. essentially repeels obamacare. evidence something jes instead of one foot in the grave, obamacare is showing signs of life. for example in the obama care enrollment period that ended december 15th. 8.8 million americans signed up in 39 states that participate in federal health care.gov market place. far exceeding expectations. that is a drop of just 4.4% from last year's 9.2 million. even though the trump administration cult the enrollment period from 90 days to 45 and did far less advertising and public outreach. and another surprise, red states are signing up faster than blue states. according to one nationwide analysis, 62% of the people who enrolled in obama care this year, live in states that were won by president trump in 2016. >> it is shaping up to be a tough flu season. the viral infection is hti

with flu outbreaks in two dozen states. dr. jon lapook has more. earlier this month, the 3-year-old had a flare-up of asthma. he didn't improve with treatment. so it wasn't anything that was shouting out this is the flu for him. >> the diagnose was flu. the virus was attacking his lungs. he spent a week in intensive care unit. >> today that he had a tube down his throat. he had a tube in his nose. he had three or four ivs. >> this flu season could be a nasty one. texas is one of 23 states already seeing widespread flu activity. nearly double the number from the week before. dr. mary healy is infectious disease expert at texas children's hospital. >> we had more positive tests over the last couple of weeks. so it looks like maybe we are seally starting to get into the

and that seems to be the trend certainly nationally as well. >> what concerns experts is the flu season that just concluded in australia. which some times can preview the season here. australia had the most severe flu season in five years. and the vaccine used there is the same one used here. it is believed one of the strains covered, mutated. making the vaccine only 10% effective. >> if you look at the cdc data, we didn't have evidence that the virus has changed significantly. so, hopefully we are not going to face the same situations. >> influenza vaccine takes months to make. scientists are looking at ways of making is so when the virus mutates they can make a vaccine. cdc recommend getting immunized only if it may provide a hurricane harvey devastated the texas gulf coast. rockport found it self in the cross hairs when the storm made landfall. people there are still picking up the pieces. omar villafranca reports. >> the beauty of this

coast peninsula can't hide the devastation. a massive boat house mangled, homes shredded. rockport homeowner, annalisa kennedy lost everything. >> no one gives you a survival guide. none of us knew what to do. >> harvey made landfall in rockport with 155 mile per hour wind and storm surge. in the aftermath. 1500 area families sought federal housing assistance. nearly 300 still don't have permanent housing. and a third of rock port was so damaged, it will be impossible to rebuild. there is still tons of debris. there is so much, the state is having to use this highway

the mayor of rock port estimates that more than 2 million cubic yard of debris, has been collected so far and that is just on the first pass. the population of rock port is about 10,000. >> cj wax is the mayor. he says 70% of the town's businesses are still closed. >> i have got an attraction problem. a hotel problem. a business problem. a restaurant problem. it sound almost overwhelming. >> except, the attitude of the people. >> thank you. very much. >> thank you. >> that altitude is apparent in samantha mccrary, she sent up the city and released two days after the storm. at her peak, she was serving 1,000 meals a day. and had more than 50 people living on her property. today, it is down to about two dozen. but each day, she says, someone gets back on their feet. >> blessed every day. by something here, blessed every single day.

>> what the hurricane quick ly tore apart, the people are slowly rebuilding. omar villafranca, cbs news, rockport, texas. i had this chest cold, but my medicine kept wearing off. (coughsah! hey, chad! i missed you. ah! i was in the tree watching you, and then i fell. i'm not eating pizza from the trash. then i discovered mucinex. huge difference. one pill lasts 12 hours, and i'm good. oh, here kitty, kitty...ah! not a cat, not a cat! why take 4-hour medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this.

it says you apply the blue one ok, letto me. this. here? no. have a little fun together, or a lot. k-y yours and mine. two sensations that work together, so you can play together.

the latest news outlet caught up in the firestorm of sexual abuse allegations. more than two dozen women alleged they either experienced or saw sexual misconduct. and tony dokoupil has the story. >> the allegations aimed at vice employees top down including current president. accusers told the times improper behavior ranged from unwanted kissing to groping and propositions for sex. >> from north korea, to syria, and iraq. vice news made a name for itself by gaining extraordinary access to some of the world's most dangerous places. but accor

times," the organization run by vice co-founder shane smith and fostered a culture of inappropriate behavior in clueding sexual harassment and misconduct. and she worked as a news writer at vice from 2014 to 2016. >> sort of felt like a few way to get ahead. whether it was dating your boss. sleeping with your boss. >> in $135,000 settlement last year, the time says the vice president was accused of firing a staffer who rejected intimate relationship with him. he said he had been occasionally intimate with the employee, a close friend not involved in the termination. he apoll joyed for the situation. he says work often spilled over into parties. if you've didn't attend it could mean missed opportunities for advancement. >> at the parties. there is a lot of alcohol. and things go downhill really fast. >> because vice told edgy, provocative stories. vice required

an agreement saying it was nontraditional work place. employees took it to moon they couldn't complain about harassment. it was to protect content. in 2015, smith appeared on the late show with stephen colbert. >> everybody is looking at us, we are hot. new media. we are new media. not old media. we have the demo. and we are trying to do it. >> but what they did may have created a toxic environment for women. >> never felt ads if a lot of mn worried they could getten trouble for their actions. >> in a statement vice founders apoll joyed. we have failed as a company to create safe, inclusive work place where everyone, especially women can feel respected and thrive. vice has ens to theed a number of reform measures including clarification of its relationship policies and sensitivity training for management.

tame. the thomas fire broke out december 4th. and spread through the bone dry landscape of ventura. and santa barbara counties. there are little active flames. >> it is not, how 1600 firefighters expected to spend the holidays. >> woke up on a cold hard, cement floor. surrounded by snoring men. not how i thought i would wake up on a chris morning ever. >> mar keel loss is almost 700 miles a way from her home in central utah. >> this is not the, it doesn't come often. glad to be here. >> december 4th, the fire destroyed over 1,000 homes and buildings. amount least one fire fighter died. for others. weeks on the line have taken a toll. why did you volunteer to beep here on christmas. >> so other people didn't have to. >> merry christmas, everybody. >> j.p. blare didn't hatch off to beep here. >>

years. >> and birthday. anniversary. wife's birth day, yeah. >> severe drought conditions have made things worse this season. and the manager of the fire fight. he says this area hasn't seen any manageable rain. >> everything has been a record. >> what does that indicate. we are in a year round fire season. >> and he has spent 90 day fighting fire from oregon to california. spending time with other fighters, and seeing that the surprise visitor with a welcomed escape. >> been working in the wood seven years, never got to meet you. >> look most here. he would rather be with his family. including grandson, sterling. bumt at least he can tell him one day. he meflt santa. off off it's nice. it's nice. they know most of us want to be home with family. they're doing the best they've can. means a lot to

>> myrrh yeecht christmas. >> firefighters typically work 14 days before they get a break. many of them here on the west coast have been working since june. with abnormally dry conditions. here at this fire. wind conditions are supposed to be the next couple days. they're coaching it gets wrapped up soonen than first thought. >> the cbs "overnight news" will be right back.

my dbut now, i take used tometamucil every day.sh it traps and removes the waste that weighs me down, so i feel lighter. try metamucil, and begin to feel what lighter feels like. it says you apply the blue one ok, letto me. this. here? no. have a little fun together, or a lot. k-y yours and mine. two sensations that work together, so you can play together.

in case you missed it. kennedy center honors aired last night on cbs. featured the first ever rap star chosen for the prestigious award. l.l. cool jay. anthony mason sat down with jay to discuss his life and career. >> one of rap's first solo stars. when a kid from queens, james todd smith found his alter ego. l.l. cool jay. he found his ticket out. >> what did you hear? in hip-hop and rap? >> when you go up in the inner city, you feel like nobody cares about you. >> uh-huh. >> you feel like -- you feel invisible. >> for the first time i heard --

these young, black men, rapping on the record. saying these rhymes. they sounded powerful. they sounded powerful. and, and, in them, sounding powerful. it made me feel powerful. >> his grandfather, bought him a d.j. system. and as a teenager, he started making tapes. >> you were 16 when you sent a tape to def jam. >> sent a tape to rick ruben. in the dormitory at nyu. >> auditions are over today. come back next week. work something out. all right. >> ruben was launching, def jam record still at new york university. >> yeah, 5 university place was the address. >> was that the phone number into? >> yeah, the number. i would call, rick you get the tape yet. rick you get the tape yet. >> no. >> but when ruben finally heard it, he inved

to record. that's when smith had to settle on a stage name. >> ladies love cool jay. and, then i talked to rick, i'm like thinking ladies love cool jay. that's really long. how about we make it ll. yeah, ll. i think ll work. >> in 1984 "i need a beat" was def jam first release. it sold 100,000 copies. radio, ll cool j's first al bomb would sell a million. his stage show also electrified. hip-hop suddenly had a heartthrob. but rap also had its rap. >> i think that so many people fall in love with themselves overnight. >> were you tempted to fall in love with yourself at any po

times in my life when i was probably, i was never -- yeah. >> ha-ha. >> the more i think about it, yeah. yeah. i think i went crazy. >> he heard about it one night from his audience. >> i was just celebrating. i had a mink on, gold chains. i got booed. >> what did you make of the boos in the moment? >> oh, it hurt. it hurt. >> but it also, inspired and motivated me. >> in 1990, he bounced back. with mama said knock you out. ♪ ♪ i'm going to knock you out. mama said knock you out ♪ >> some people call that a come? back album. you said don't call it a come? back. o >> yeah. ♪ don't call it a come? back ♪ >> because i -- i didn't g

anywhere. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: on his way to ten platinum records, he grew interested in acting. but something held him back. >> i can't really act. i don't look taking my hat off. i decided to not act for ten years because i didn't want to take my hat off. >> you didn't? >> i promise you. [ laughter ] >> ridiculous. you can't -- >> what made you reconsider? >> debbie allen. >> can't we talk about it. >> not often that i say this to a woman. >> the actress he worked with in the series "in the house" put the pressure on. >> you said what? >> i said i dent want to do it. tie don't want to do it. too if don't want to do it. i can't do it. she said, you know you got to do

i said. >> you're right. >> he spent nine seasons now on the cbs series, ncis los angeles. playing agent sam hammond. >> what's the hardest part about acting? >> when you have to really go to some dark places and tap into some pain in order to bring something to life. ♪ ♪ >> one of the darkest places for ll, a childhood shooting, in which his father wounded his mother and grandfather. >> you were 4. >> yeah. but i remember it vividly. >> you do? >> i can see it vividly. >> how much of it did you steep? >> i saw the aftermath. i heard the, the things happen. shots go off. and then i heard, went and saw the aftergnat. mat -- the aftermath. >> i saw all the blood. then i've went off to

cloltz closet and got towels. >> his mother recovered. his parents separated. but his mom allowed his dad back into their son's life. >> a really huge gesture. >> that its -- that's some next level stuff. i never really asked her. >> of right. >> why she did that. >> but he came to his own conclusion. >> sometimes people make mistake they need a little mercy. >> there have been a lot of challenges for ll cool j who turned 50 in january. >> so when you end up at the kennedy center, when you end up at the kennedy center you realize, you know what, man, that was really an against all odds story. ♪ ♪ there is not a man on the earth ♪ >> you realize how lucky and

that's why i tell you, it its amazing.

if you lake to get your coffee from starbuck's you are not alone. seattle coffee giant has more than 27,000 stores worldwide. so far there are none in italy. that is about to change. seth doane has the story from milan. >> in italy this the daily ritual. and you don't hear the word grande, venti or frapaccino. coffee is simple. straight forward. >> it is our way to, to, enjoy

>> but ask him about starbuck's plans to open and the tone changes. >> we have got it. yeah, we got it. >> the seattle cough fief giant makes for awkward conversation here. >> i like starbuck's. it's like. a big invasion. awful awe an invasion. >> yeah. >> tradition runs deep here in italy. coffee is no exception. but with starbuck's planning to open its first store here in milan next year, the italian cough fief culture under threat. after all the cookies and cream frozen cappucino is already here. even before starbuck's arrived. several american style coffee shops are catering to changing tastes. >> can you make a unicorn, please? >> he has eight of the coffee

>> customers can silt and drink from cups. >> something beautiful. off awe absolutely. but there is plenlty. like that. so, why not, give, give us the talent, the opportunity of having an alternative. >> we found some americans, including bob from ohio lamenting the looming u.s. import. >> not a huge fan of starbuck's myself. they run a lot of the mom and pop coffee shops out of the u.s. >> the coffee shops may need to concoct if something else is wrong. to hold their ground. seth doane, cbs news, milan. i'll take a cafe latte, seth. he gets all the tough assignments. the "overnight news" for this wednesday. for some the news continues. for others check back later for the morning news and of course, cbs this morning. from the

york city. thank you for watching. a christmas blizzard followed by a bitter arctic chill. also dr. jon lapook on why the flu season could be one of the worst in years. >> rockport, texas, after the hurricane. >> just yesterday i had tears. they just come. >> government investigators uncovered dangerous lapses in food recalls. this product potentially jeopardized lives. they left it on shelves for close to a year. that would be correct. ♪ ♪ >> no slowing down after 67 years of teaching ballet. >> you could have stopped doing this. >> long ago.

>> that's my vitality. i take my oxygen from them. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: this is the cbs "overnight news." winter has arrived with a vengeance. arctic air is plunging deep into the lower 48 states. almost the entire northern half of the country will wake up this morning to below freezing temperatures. eerie, pennsylvania, city of 100,000 people is buried under a pile of snow. demarco morgan is there. demarco? >> good evening, elaine. the snow falling as we speak. so much so the area has been declared an emergency because of the heavy snowfall. and some areas it is chest deep. >> a winter blast dumped foot after foot of snow across the great lakes.

>> lot of snow. just keeps coming. won't stop. >> the city of eerie, pennsylvania, that shattered the state record. fell in over 36 hours. it forced trucks to be dug out with cars and streets, blanketed with snow. in ohio, the visibility and hazardous conditions backed up traffic on a portion of interstate 90 forcing authorities to drop the speed limit from 65 miles an hour to 30 miles per hour. and kansas city missouri, the snow and ice caused many accidents on the highway.

in one crash, four people were killed. record setting temperatures sent the midwest into a deep freeze. parts of mississippi, experienced minus 20 degrees weather. and minneapolis, negative 2. but 6 degree wind chill in illinois didn't stop people from shopping after christmas sales. >> we are from around here. pretty used to this. i go to school downtown. real used to the wind chill. >> now it is far from over. the area could get 5 to 10 inches of snow before the week is out. elaine. >> remarkable. demarco. thank you. three large cities are suing the department of defense for failing to report the names of service members disqualified from gun ownership. the former airmen who attacked a texas church was able to buy a rifle because of this lapse. here is david martin. >> devin kelley's massacre of 26 worshippers, exposed a long running failure of the pentagon to report violent criminals to an fbi database that would disqualify them from buying weapons. three cities have asked the federal judge to compel the military services to do what they already should have done. the lawsuit relies in part on the finding of the pentagon inspector general glen fine.

>> 2500 fingerprint card required to be submitted. 601, or 24%, were not submitted. >> he told congress earlier this month the military has systematically failed to report violent criminals in its ranks to the fbi. >> i am struck by the failure of the department of defense to comply with the law. >> you say go all way back 20 years to 1998. not just 20. we looked at 2015, 2016. found significant problem. we think there are problems all the way back. >> kelly was able to purchase the weapon despite conviction for domestic assault against his wife and infant stepson. within weeks of the massacre the air force admitted finding dozens of other cases it had failed to report. the pentagon says it is going back over old cases to make sure violent criminals are reported to the fbi but three major american cities are no longer willing to take the military's word for it. elaine. >> david martin. thank you.

course, president trump tweeted that obamacare had been essentially repealed now that the mandate will not be enforced. chip reid reports that is not the case. >> whole thing saved my life. >> reporter: by the whole thing, she means obamacare. she has stage four breast cancer and without that insurance, she says she might not be here today. but now, uncertainty over whether her coverage will continue, leaves her terrified. >> i am in chaos about what do i do? ended, not ended, what is happening? i would look to see a commitment to this program so that there is -- stability. >> president trump appears intent on doing the opposite. creating uncertainty and instability. in a tweet today he claims the tax cut bill he signed last week which ended the individual

mandate essentially repeals obamacare. but recent evidence suggests that instead of having one foot in the grave, obamacare is showing signs of life. for example, in the obamacare enrollment period ended december 15th, 8.8 million americans, signed up in the 39 states that participate in federal health care.gov marketplace exceeding expectations. a drop of just 4.4% from last year's 9.2 million. even though the trump administration cut the enrollment period from 90 days to 45 and did far less advertising and public outreach. and another surprise, red states are signing up faster than blue states. according to one nationwide an am sis. 62% of the people who enrolled in obamacare this year, live in states that were won by president trump in 2016.

himself in the foot by trying to destroy obamacare when it is doing so much good for many of his own supporters. elaine. >> chip reid traveling with the president. thank you. now a look at some other stories we are following in the evening's news feed. mastercard spending, said retail sales jumped nearly 5% this holiday season. biggest year to year increase since 2011. another company estimates companies will return $90 billion of merchandise. a study reported by journal of american medical association said vitamin d and calcium supplements do not prevent bone breaks and fractures. the supplements had no clear benefit according to the study. >> the salt lake tribune was being sarcastic when it named senator orrin hatch its utahan of the year. the editorial blasted hatch for utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for power. some wondered if he hatch read the article when he tweeted he was grateful. his communicat

in cheek. as the holiday season

as the holiday season continues, the u.s. is also entering peak flu season. according to the centers for disease control, up to 650,000 people worldwide could die from complications of the flu. more now from dr. jon lapook. >> reporter: earlier this month. 3-year-old, had a flare-up of asthma. he didn't improve with treatment. >> he had a minor cough. thought it was as ma. wasn't anything that was shouting out this is the flu for him. >> the diagnose was flu. the virus was attacking his lungs. he spent a week in intensive

>> today that he had a tube down his throat. he had a tube in his nose. he had three or four ivs. >> this flu season could be a nasty one. texas is one of 23 states already seeing widespread flu activity. nearly double the number from the week before. dr. mary healy is infectious disease expert at texas children's hospital. >> we had more positive tests over the last couple of weeks. so it looks like maybe we are really starting to get into the season, in earnest. and that seems to be the trend certainly nationally as well. >> what concerns experts is the flu season that just concluded in australia. which some times can preview the season here. australia had the most severe flu season in five years. and the vaccine used there is the same one used here. it is believed one of the strains covered, mutated. making the vaccine only 10%

>> if you look at the cdc data, we didn't have evidence that the virus has changed significantly. so, hopefully we are not going to face the same situations. >> influenza vaccine takes months to make. scientists are looking at ways of making is so when the virus mutates they can make a vaccine. cdc recommend getting immunized only if it may provide a relatively small amount of protection. dr. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. rockport, texas, the first town hit by hurricane harvey four months ago. also one of the slowest to recover. some who lost homes are still living in motels or in tents. and recently went back to rockport. >> the beauty of this texas gulf coast peninsula can't hide the devastation. a massive boat house mangled. homes shredded.

>> this property was kind of like a -- a refuge. >> rockport homeowner, annalisa kennedy lost everything. >> yesterday i had tears. they just come. >> one of the thing that remains is frustration. >> nobody gives you a survival guide. when a hurricane comes. and, what you need to do. none of us knew what to do. >> harvey made landfall with 150 mile per hour wind. and 13 feet of storm surge. in the aftermath. nearly 1500 area families sought federal housing assistance. nearly 300 still don't have permanent housing. and a third of rock port was so damaged, it will be impossible to rebuild. there is still tons of debris. there is so much, the state is having to use this highway median, as a collection point. the mayor of rock port estimates that more than 2 million cubic yard of debris, has been collected so far and that is just on the first pass. the population of rock port is about 10,000. >> cj wax is the mayor. he says 70% of the town's businesses are still closed. >> i have got an attraction proble

a hotel problem. a business problem. a restaurant problem. it sound almost overwhelming. >> except, the attitude of the people. >> thank you. very much. >> thank you. >> that altitude is apparent in samantha mccrary, she sent up the city and released two days after the storm. at her peak, she was serving 1,000 meals a day. and had more than 50 people living on her property. today, it is down to about two dozen. but each day, she says, someone gets back on their feet. >> blessed every day. by something here, blessed every single day. >> what the hour cane quickly tore apart, the people are slowly rebuilding. omar villafranca, cbs news, rockport, texas. ♪

investigators raise alarms about the effectiveness of the fda food recall. >> every day when the recall is not initiated a person could potentially die from eating it. >> dad delivers his own christmas baby. >> not a huge fan of blood. >> she has ben teaching ballet for 67 years and at 95 years old, she has no intention of slowing down. >> i take my oxygen from them.

that cough doesn't sound so good. well i think you sound great. move over. easy booger man. take mucinex dm. it'll take care of your cough. fine! i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night. ah! david, please, listen. still not coughing. not fair you guys! waffles are my favorite! ah! why take 4-hour cough medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. it says you apply the blue one ok, letto me. this. here? no. have a little fun together, or a lot. k-y yours and mine. two sensations that work together,

♪ you might think if a food could make you sick, it would be pulled immediately from store shelves. but today the department of

inspector general reported that hasn't always been the case. anna werner is following this. >> in a 49-page report, the inspector general's office reviewed 30 voluntary recalls overseen by the fda most hive risk and found the fda could not always ensure that firms initiated food recalls promptly. george netter headed up the investigation. 23 of the recalls were class one. by definition cause a condition or death. >> for example auditors found a recall of cheese products linked to a 2014 listeria outbreak took 81 days to complete. an infant died and two pregnant women lost fetuses. in the case of an dietary supplement, the firm did not recall the product until 303 days after receiving a warning letter from fda. >> three places for the one recall. that stuff was still on the shelf when they want out there. 303 days lat

been buying it. >> so this product, potentially jeopardized lives, and they left it on shelves for close to a year? >> that would be correct. >> investigators were so concerned by what they were finding, they issued an alert midway through the review in 2016. at that time, fda put a special team in place to focus on challenging high risk recalls. now, in response to this full report, fda said the 30 cases selected were extreme outliers in the highest risk recalls, recall initiation took place on less than three days. netter disagrees. >> i have serious concerns about that analysis. >> why? because his team found in a third of the cases they examined fda put the wrong recall start date into its database. so basically saying when they say, three, four days you are saying they don't know that. because their dates were wrong?

>> i'm saying their system, from what we found could not be relied upon during, based on our sample of 30 items. >> in a statement to cbs news, fda commissioner said -- but he said he knows much work remains to be done to assure safety. elaine. >> sobering report, anna, thank you. >> still ahead, the library of congress gets picky over twitter. ♪ ♪ ♪when you've got...♪ ♪...nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪

ah. ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ it says you apply the blue one ok, letto me. this. here? no. have a little fun together, or a lot. k-y yours and mine. two sensations that work together, so you can play together. i had this chest cold, but my medicine kept wearing off. (coughsah! hey, chad! i missed you. ah! i was in the tree watching you, and then i fell. i'm not eating pizza from the trash. then i discovered mucinex. huge difference. one pill lasts 12 hours, and i'm good. oh, here kitty, kitty...ah! not a cat, not a cat! why take 4-hour medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. hey! yeah!? i switched to geico and got more! more savings on car insurance!?

they helped with homeowners, too! ok! plus motorcycle, boat and rv insurance! geico's got you covered! like a blanket! houston? you seeing this? geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more. few people know this, lut the library of congress began archiving sweets seven years ago. every single tweet. but the novelty has worn off with 500 million new tweets each day. so starting january 1, only tweets the agency deems significant will be archived. >> christmas day saw a surprise delivery in minnesota. hannah lindman went into labor four week early as she and her

her water broke. two minutes later, little poppy began to pop out. medical dispatcher helped guide dad through the delivery. mom, dad, and poppy are doing fine. >> don hogan charles has died. in 1964, he became "the new york times" first african-american photographer. he is best remembered for an iconic photo of malcolm x for ebony magazine. he was 79. >> up next, living stronger through ballet. ♪

ues they're dealing with can be awkward and uncomfortable. but when their behavior changes, it's time to act. because if we don't, our families and relationships will suffer. listen to the veterans in your life and show you care. it matters. when you recognize a veteran is in crisis, call the veterans crisis line at 1-800-273-8255 and press "1".

♪ what's the secret off to staying young? for one woman it is doing the thing you love. no matter the obstacle. julianna goldman now with "living stronger." ♪ ♪ five, six. show your shoulders. solange binda mclane, madam binda has been teaching ballet for 67 years. at 95 years old she has no intention of slowing down. the story of your birth is, pretty noteworthy, huh? >> t

it was at that time, no doctor, so it happened to be a japanese vet. >> veterinarian delivered you. >> in china where her belgian father worked as engineer. a privileged childhood, big house, horses and dance lessons with a renowned russian ballerina. all of which went away during world war ii. >> we had about a week to be told that we were going to go to a concentration camp. and we stayed there for 3 1/2 years. >> amid starvation and the conditions at the can send tracing camp she managed to dance. >> we made our own costume out of sheets, or anything. >> after allies liberated the camp. she married a soldier and moved

to the d.c. suburbs. the marriage didn't last. with two children to support she started teaching dance. in 1950. in the years since she taught thousand of students many of whom have gone on to dance careers themselves. >> these are the little ones. >> her studio a shrine to decade of rehearsals and recitals. packed with hand stitched costumes. >> do you think thousand of costumes in here? >> yeah. yeah. >> she doesn't sew as much. she still drives both her car and her lawnmower. >> you have to look at your heel. >> of course she teaches. >> you could have stopped doing this years ago? >> oh. that's my vitality. i take my oxygen from them. >> for madam binda, ballet is life. it kept her on point throughout the years. julianna goldman, cbs news, falls church, virginia. thank you, ladies. that's the "overnight news" for this wednesday. for some the news continues. for others check back with us a little later for the morning news and you don't want to miss "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new york city i'm elaine quijano.

welcome to the "overnight news." it is still just the first week of the season, but old man winter is making his presence felt across the entire northern tier of the nation. snow and bitter cold stretches from the pacific northwest off to the rockies, the great plains, and into new england. the severe weather is closing highways and grounding flights. demarco morgan reports from frigid eerie, pennsylvania. >> reporter: the snow is falling

as we speak. so much so this area declared an emergency because of the heavy snowfall. and some areas, it is chest deep. a winter blast dumped foot after foot of snow. across the great lakes. >> lot of snow. keeps coming. won't stop. >> the city of eerie, pennsylvania, shaltered the state record with over 50 inches. the nearly 4 1/2 feet of snow fell in just under 36 hours. the snow pack forced trucks to be dug out along with cars and streets blanketed with snow. in ohio, traffic backed up

authorities to drop the speed limit from 65 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour. kansas city, missouri, the snow caused many accidents on the highways. in one crash, four people were killed. not to be outdone, record temperatures sent the midwest into a deep freeze. parts of wisconsin experienced minus 20 degree weather. minneapolis had a low of negative 2. the snowfall is far from over. this area could get anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of snow. before the week is out. >> well it was 74 degrees in west palm beach, when president trump hit the golf course yesterday. the first family will remain at his florida resort through the holidays. when he returns, things will get busy. chip reid reports. >> resney has stage four breast cancer and what that insurance she says she might not be here today. now uncertainty over whether her coverage will continue leaves her terrified. >> what do i do? ended? not ended? what is happening. i would look to see -- a commitment to this, this program, so that there is --

stability. >> but president trump appears intent on doing the opposite. creating uncertainty and instability. in a tweet today he claims that the tax cut bill he seend last -- signed last week, ended the mandate. essentially repeels obamacare. evidence something jes instead of one foot in the grave, obamacare is showing signs of life. for example in the obama care enrollment period that ended december 15th. 8.8 million americans signed up in 39 states that participate in federal health care.gov market place. far exceeding expectations. that is a drop of just 4.4% from last year's 9.2 million. even though the trump administration cult the enrollment period from 90 days to 45 and did far less advertising and public outreach. and another surprise, red states are signing up faster than blue states. according to one nationwide analysis, 62% of the people who enrolled in obama care this year, live in states that were won by president trump in 2016.

tough flu season. the viral infection is hitting hard and early. with flu outbreaks in two dozen states. dr. jon lapook has more. earlier this month, the 3-year-old had a flare-up of asthma. he didn't improve with treatment. so it wasn't anything that was shouting out this is the flu for him. >> the diagnose was flu. the virus was attacking his lungs. he spent a week in intensive care unit. >> today that he had a tube down his throat. he had a tube in his nose. he had three or four ivs.

>> this flu season could be a nasty one. texas is one of 23 states already seeing widespread flu activity. nearly double the number from the week before. dr. mary healy is infectious disease expert at texas children's hospital. >> we had more positive tests over the last couple of weeks. so it looks like maybe we are really starting to get into the season, in earnest. and that seems to be the trend certainly nationally as well. >> what concerns experts is the flu season that just concluded in australia. which some times can preview the season here. australia had the most severe flu season in five years. and the vaccine used there is the same one used here. it is believed one of the strains covered, mutated. making the vaccine only 10% effective. >> if you look at the cdc data, we didn't have evidence that the virus has changed significantly. so, hopefully we are not going to face the same situations. >> influenza vaccine takes months to make. scientists are looking at ways of making is so when the virus mutates they can make a vaccine. cdc recommend getting immunized only if it may provide a hurricane harvey devastated the

texas gulf coast. rockport found it self in the cross hairs when the storm made landfall. people there are still picking up the pieces. omar villafranca reports. >> the beauty of this texas gulf coast peninsula can't hide the devastation. a massive boat house mangled, homes shredded. rockport homeowner, annalisa kennedy lost everything. >> no one gives you a survival guide. none of us knew what to do. >> harvey made landfall in rockport with 155 mile per hour wind and storm surge. in the aftermath. 1500 area families sought federal housing assistance. nearly 300 still don't have permanent housing. and a third of rock port was so damaged, it will be impossible to rebuild. there is still tons of debris.

there is so much, the state is having to use this highway median, as a collection point. the mayor of rock port estimates that more than 2 million cubic yard of debris, has been collected so far and that is just on the first pass. the population of rock port is about 10,000. >> cj wax is the mayor. he says 70% of the town's businesses are still closed. >> i have got an attraction problem. a hotel problem. a business problem. a restaurant problem. it sound almost overwhelming. >> except, the attitude of the people. >> thank you. very much. >> thank you. >> that altitude is apparent in samantha mccrary, she sent up the city and released two days after the storm. at her peak, she was serving

1,000 meals a day. and had more than 50 people living on her property. today, it is down to about two dozen. but each day, she says, someone gets back on their feet. >> blessed every day. by something here, blessed every single day. >> what the hurricane quick ly tore apart, the people are slowly rebuilding. omar villafranca, cbs news, rockport, texas. no. have a little fun together, or a lot. k-y yours and mine. two sensations that work together, so you can play together.

that cough doesn't sound so good. well i think you sound great. move over. easy booger man. take mucinex dm. it'll take care of your cough. fine! i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night. ah! david, please, listen. still not coughing. not fair you guys! waffles are my favorite! ah! why take 4-hour cough medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this.

the latest news outlet caught up in the firestorm of sexual abuse allegations. more than two dozen women alleged they either experienced or saw sexual misconduct. and tony dokoupil has the story. >> the allegations aimed at vice employees top down including current president. accusers told the times improper behavior ranged from unwanted kissing to groping and propositions for sex. >> from north korea, to syria, and iraq.

vice news made a name for itself by gaining extraordinary access to some of the world's most dangerous places. but according to "the new york times," the organization run by vice co-founder shane smith and fostered a culture of inappropriate behavior in clueding sexual harassment and misconduct. and she worked as a news writer at vice from 2014 to 2016. >> sort of felt like a few way to get ahead. whether it was dating your boss. sleeping with your boss. >> in $135,000 settlement last year, the time says the vice president was accused of firing a staffer who rejected intimate relationship with him. he said he had been occasionally intimate with the employee, a close friend not involved in the termination. he apoll joyed for the situation. he says work often spilled over

if you've didn't attend it could mean missed opportunities for advancement. >> at the parties. there is a lot of alcohol. and things go downhill really fast. >> because vice told edgy, provocative stories. vice required employees to sign an agreement saying it was nontraditional work place. employees took it to moon they couldn't complain about harassment. it was to protect content. in 2015, smith appeared on the late show with stephen colbert. >> everybody is looking at us, we are hot. new media. we are new media. not old media. we have the demo. and we are trying to do it. >> but what they did may have created a toxic environment for women. >> never felt as if a lot of men worried they could getten trouble for their actions. >> in a statement vice founders apoll joyed. we have failed as a company to create safe, inclusive work place where everyone, especially women can feel respected and thrive. vice has ens to theed a number of reform measures including clarification of its relationship policies and sensitivity training for

management. >> biggest wildfire in california history is all but tame. the thomas fire broke out december 4th. and spread through the bone dry landscape of ventura. and santa barbara counties. there are little active flames. >> it is not, how 1600 firefighters expected to spend the holidays. >> woke up on a cold hard, cement floor. surrounded by snoring men. not how i thought i would wake up on a chris morning ever. >> mar keel loss is almost 700 miles a way from her home in central utah. >> this is not the, it doesn't come often. glad to be here. >> december 4th, the fire destroyed over 1,000 homes and

buildings. amount least one fire fighter died. for others. weeks on the line have taken a toll. why did you volunteer to beep here on christmas. >> so other people didn't have to. >> merry christmas, everybody. >> j.p. blare didn't hatch off to beep here. >> you are for christmas and new years. >> and birthday. anniversary. wife's birth day, yeah. >> severe drought conditions have made things worse this season. and the manager of the fire fight. he says this area hasn't seen any manageable rain. >> everything has been a record. >> what does that indicate. we are in a year round fire season. >> and he has spent 90 day fighting fire from oregon to california. spending time with other fighters, and seeing that the surprise visitor with a welcomed escape. >> been working in the wood seven years, never got to meet you. >> look most here. he would rather be with his family. including grandson, sterling. bumt at least he can tell him one day. he met santa. it's nice. it's nice. it's nice. they know most of us want to be home with family. they're doing the best they've can. means a lot to all of us.

>> firefighters typically work 14 days before they get a break. many of them here on the west coast have been working since june. with abnormally dry conditions. here at this fire. wind conditions are supposed to be the next couple days. they're coaching it gets wrapped up soonen than first thought. >> the cbs "overnight news" will be right back. ♪ get on up. ♪ get on up, mama. ♪ get on up. ♪ do what you want. ♪ do you want, let the record hop. ♪ degree motionsense. ultimate freshness... with every move. the more you move, the more it works. degree, it won't let you down.

it says you apply the blue one ok, letto me. this. here? no. have a little fun together, or a lot. k-y yours and mine. two sensations that work together, so you can play together. that cough doesn't sound so good. well i think you sound great. move over. easy booger man. take mucinex dm. it'll take care of your cough. fine! i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night. ah! david, please, listen. still not coughing. not fair you guys! waffles are my favorite! ah!

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in case you missed it. kennedy center honors aired last night on cbs. featured the first ever rap star chosen for the prestigious award. l.l. cool jay. anthony mason sat down with jay to discuss his life and career. >> one of rap's first solo stars. when a kid from queens, james todd smith found his alter ego. l.l. cool jay. he found his ticket out. >> what did you hear? in hip-hop and rap? >> when you go up in the inner city, you feel like nobody cares about you. >> uh-huh. >> you feel like -- you feel

invisible. >> for the first time i heard -- these young, black men, rapping on the record. saying these rhymes. they sounded powerful. they sounded powerful. and, and, in them, sounding powerful. it made me feel powerful. >> his grandfather, bought him a d.j. system. and as a teenager, he started making tapes. >> you were 16 when you sent a tape to def jam. >> sent a tape to rick ruben. in the dormitory at nyu. >> auditions are over today. come back next week. work something out. all right. >> ruben was launching, def jam record still at new york university. >> yeah, 5 university place was the address. >> was that the phone number into? >> yeah, the number. i would call, rick you get the tape yet. rick you get the tape yet. >> no. it but when ruben finally heard

to record. that's when smith had to settle on a stage name. >> ladies love cool jay. and, then i talked to rick, i'm like thinking ladies love cool jay. that's really long. how about we make it ll. yeah, ll. i think ll work. >> in 1984 "i need a beat" was def jam first release. it sold 100,000 copies. radio, ll cool j's first al bomb would sell a million. his stage show also electrified. hip-hop suddenly had a heartthrob. but rap also had its rap. >> i think that so many people fall in love with themselves overnight. >> were you tempted to fall in love with yourself at any point? >> i think i had, there were times in my life when i was probably, i was never -- yeah. >> ha-ha. >> the more i think about it, yeah.

i think i went crazy. >> he heard about it one night from his audience. >> i was just celebrating. i had a mink on, gold chains. i got booed. >> what did you make of the boos in the moment? >> oh, it hurt. it hurt. >> but it also, inspired and motivated me. >> in 1990, he bounced back. with mama said knock you out. ♪ ♪ i'm going to knock you out. mama said knock you out ♪ >> some people call that a come? back album.

you said don't call it a come? back. >> yeah. ♪ don't call it a come? back ♪ >> because i -- i didn't go anywhere. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: on his way to ten platinum records, he grew interested in acting. but something held him back. >> i can't really act. i don't look taking my hat off. i decided to not act for ten years because i didn't want to take my hat off. >> you didn't? >> i promise you. [ laughter ] >> ridiculous. you can't -- >> what made you reconsider? >> debbie allen. >> can't we talk about it. >> not often that i say this to a woman. >> the actress he worked with in the series "in the house" put the pressure on. >> you said what? >> i said i dent want to do it. tie don't want to do it. too if don't want to do it. i can't do it.

she said, you know you got to do it. i said. >> you're right. >> he spent nine seasons now on the cbs series, ncis los angeles. playing agent sam hammond. >> what's the hardest part about acting? >> when you have to really go to some dark places and tap into some pain in order to bring something to life. ♪ ♪ >> one of the darkest places for ll, a childhood shooting, in which his father wounded his mother and grandfather. >> you were 4. >> yeah. but i remember it vividly. >> you do? >> i can see it vividly. >> how much of it did you steep? >> i saw the aftermath. i heard the, the things happen. shots go off. and then i heard, went and saw the aftergnat. -- the aftermath. >> i saw all the blood. then i've went off to the linen closet and got towels.

his parents separated. but his mom allowed his dad back into their son's life. >> a really huge gesture. >> that its -- that's some next level stuff. i never really asked her. >> of right. >> why she did that. >> but he came to his own conclusion. >> sometimes people make mistake they need a little mercy. >> there have been a lot of challenges for ll cool j who turned 50 in january. >> so when you end up at the kennedy center, when you end up at the kennedy center you realize, you know what, man, that was really an against all odds story. ♪ ♪ there is not a man on the earth ♪

amazing.

captioning funded by cbs it's wednesday, december 27th, 2017. this is the "cbs morning news." cold blankets of areas in the northeast and west and the danger is expected to last until the new year. president trump says thanks to the tax cut bill 2018 will be a great year for companies and jobs and he takes on the russia investigation and obamacare. and two men who have shared things for 50 years finds their connection runs much