jan crawford tonight is in our washington bureau with detail, jan good evening. >> with the gun control debate raging here in washington people are actually buying pore guns than ever. and that is prompting one senator today to make a direct appeal to the stores selling the guns. >> reporter: let's than a month after the mass shooting in a newtown connecticut elementary school gun shows across the country are drawing record numbers. >> we were expecting a large crowd but we had no anticipation that we would have a crowd like this. >> reporter: sales are soaring, triggered by concerns congress soon will ban or limit assault weapons and some forms of ammunition. new york senator chuck schumer asked retailers to take action before congress. >> today i'm urging our countries major gun retailers leak wal-mart and sports authority to suspend sales of modern assault-style weapons until congress is able to fully consider and vote on legislation to curb gun violence. >> reporter: and this week vice president biden is expected to release his report on guns. recommendations could include restricti

for "cbs this morning," jan crawford, washington, d.c. >> like what she said. good old horse sense.rybody wants somebody to listen to them. >>> bad cough can last a whole lot longer than a cold or a flu. we'll show you why it usually doesn't pay to go back to the doctor. next on "cbs this morning." >> announcer: this morning's eye opener at 8:00 brought to you by sponsor, with an inside story on shingles. and the doctor said, cindie, you have shingles. he said, you had chickenpox when you were a little girl... i said, yes, i did. i don't think anybody ever thinks they're going to get shingles. but it happened to me. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com it wasn't their cup. if you don't like that dark roast, we've created a coffee for you. blonde is a beautiful, light roasted coffee. kind of mellow, sweet, a little citrusy. for me, personally, i love connecting with people, so blonde roast just gives me a whole nother reason to connect with more customers. ♪ >>> the first jazz concert ever give at the metropolitan house in new york. ♪ i'll get by as long as i have you

. >> so jan crawford from the romney campaign to tasting food?it's good to see you. thank you. >> reporter: thank you. great to be back. >>> there are a lot of surprises this morning in the oscar nominations, starting with the way they announced them. lots of unexpected choices, too. we'll show you the nominees in all the top categories when staples is the number 1 office super store ink retailer in america. now get $6 back in staples rewards for every ink cartridge you recycle when you spend $50 on hp ink. staples, that was easy. [ female announcer ] there are lots of different ways to say get well to your loved ones. ♪ ♪ this came for you, mommy. [ female announcer ] but it takes the touch of kleenex® brand, america's softest tissue, to turn a gesture into a complete gift of care. [ barks ] send your own free kleenex® care pack... full of soothing essentials at kleenex.com. kleenex®. america's softest tissue. >>> we're about to show you the nominees and there are some huge surprises for the 85th academy awards. they were announced a short time

jan crawford looks back at her long and influential career. >> reporter: her pen name was abigail van in an interview in 1958 with edward r. murrow's "person to person." >> all kinds of people write to me, ed because everyone if he's honest has a problem. >> reporter: they wrote thousands of letters a week to dear abby the despondent, the lonely and confused. she was the wise friend and sounding board. in some ways ahead of her times as in this response to "up in arms" in san francisco, a reader who was worried about an apparently gay couple living across the street. abby, these weirdoes are wrecking our property values. how can we improve the quality of this once-respectable neighborhood. abby's response? you could move. >> how do you come up with the answers to these important questions? >> well, ed it's just horse sense. as my good friend dr. franz alexander says horse sense can be found in a stable mind. >> reporter: the first year abby appeared in the "san francisco chronicle" in 1956. at the time a suburban housewife from iowa with no writing experience, still convinced the pape

jan crawford thank you. we'll talk more with jason wu.h attention. gayle? >> nor raa, as a mother of daughters, when you look at the obama gishlgsz don'trls, don't you think they're so age-appropriately doctorsed? >> age appropriately dressed and also wear casual clothes so seem >>> a lot of sunshine coming our way. you'll notice a few high clouds beginning to must have in overhead as things begin to shift gears in the atmosphere. outside we go towards san jose. we have high clouds there, otherwise sunshine and the temperatures a little cooler to start off the morning. storm clouds gathering off the coastline. you can see them there but it will take another day before they get here. one final dry day. highs expect to be in the 60s in the south bay. 50s out toward the coastline. a chance of showers tomorrow. >>> james taylor performed "america the beautiful" at the inauguration yesterday. today we'll hear the grammy winner talk about his hit songs and the inspiration for them. >>> surfers have been waiting three years for these waves to ro

jan crawford is in washington. jan, good morning. >> good morning, norah. good morning, charlie. these allegations surfaced back in november right before the election and from the beginning menendez has denied them. from the beginning they have all the earmarks of a smear campaign, but the question is are they true? the raid on the office of menendez's friend who seems to be at the center of all this could be a signal that the fbi is applying pressure to see whether the allegations have any merit. federal agents on wednesday hauled away boxes of documents from the office of a south florida eye doctor, a prominent democratic donor with ties to senator menendez. they refused to say publicly why they're investigating. they investigate health care flood. he current le has an outstanding irs lien for back taxes but it's his relationship with menendez that has become a focus. the daily caller accused menendez of accepting prostitutes at the man's mansion. at the time a spokesman for menendez said he was not going to respond to a completely false accusation and menendez easily one re-el

>> jan crawford. you look great. it's good to see you. >> thank you.er: we'll bring you the oscar nominations. (woman) 3 days of walking to give a break cancer survivor a lifetime-- that's definitely a fair trade. whoo! you walk with friends, you meet new friends, and you keep those friendships. it was such a beautiful experience. (jessica lee) ♪ and it's beautiful ♪ undeniable (woman) why walk 60 miles in the boldest breast cancer event in history? because everyone deserves a lifetime. visit the3day.org to register or to request more information and receive a free 3-day bracelet today. ♪ building up from deep inside it was 3 days of pure joy. susan g. komen's investments in early detection and treatment have helped reduce breast cancer mortality in the u.s. by 33% since 1990. help us continue serving the millions of women and men with breast cancer who still need us every day. register for the 3-day now. (woman) it's just been an amazing, amazing journey. i love these people. ♪ and it's beautiful >>> we're about to show you the nominees for the 85th a

jan crawford is here with the story. jan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, nora. good morning, charlie. this would be a big change for an organization that just this past summer reaffirmed that policy. but cbs news has confirmed they could make that change in the position as early as next week. >> 52,000 boy scouts at their national jamboree -- >> reporter: with a past defined by a 100-year history, the boy scouts are facing a change that could alter its future. a change some members welcome. >> we're all excited and thrilled. >> reporter: richard meyerdirk is a member of a maryland troop that posted a message saying "we will not discriminate based on sexual orientation." the boy scouts ordered it removed. >> we just want to stand up and keep the momentum going so they do the right thing and change their membership policy. >> reporter: more than a million people have signed petitions protesting the scouts' anti-gay policy. corporate sponsors like u.p.s. and merck have stopped financial contributions. but some conservatives remain staunchly opposed to change. in a

jan crawford is in washington. jan, good morning. >> good morning norah and charlie. these allegations really surfaced first back in november before the election and from the beginning, menendez has denied them. on the one hand they have the earmarks of an orchestrated smear campaign but the question is are they true? the raid on the office of menendez menendez menendez's friend who seems to be the center of all of this could be the signal the fbi is applying pressure to see whether the allegations have any merit. federal agents on wednesday hauled away boxes of documents from the office of a south florida eye doctor a prominent democratic donor with ties to new jersey senator bob menendez. the fbi is refusing to say publicly why it's investigating dr. salomon melgen. melgen currentcally has an outstanding irs lien of $11.1 million for back taxes but it's his relationship with menendez that has become a focus. last month "the daily caller" accused menendez of accepting prostitutes at melgen's mansion in the dominican republic and using his private jet for transportati

jan crawford is here with the story. jan, good morning. >> good morning norah and charlie. this would be a big change for an organization that just this past summer' firmed that policy but cbs news has confirmed they can make that change in the position as early as next week. >> 52,000 boy scouts hold their sixth senate jamboree. >> reporter: with the past defined by a 100-year history the boy scouts are facing a change that could alter its future a change some members welcome. >> we were all excited and just thrilled. >> reporter: richard meyerdirk is the den leader of a maryland troop which posted a message on its website said it would not discriminate based on sexual orientation. the boy scouts ordered it removed. >> we just want to stand up and keep the momentum going so that they do the right thing here and change their membership policy. >> reporter: more than 1 million people signed petitions protest the scout's anti-gay policy and corporate sponsors like u.p.s. and merck have stopped financial contributions, but some conservatives remain staunchly opposed to change

. >>> jan crawford is in washington with the story.ing. >> good morning, norah, good morning, charlie. we've pretty much seen mark sanford at his lowest. after sinking so low and saying he was done with politics sanford is now saying he wants to come back. >> the bottom line is this. i've been unfaithful to my life. >> reporter: this was the last time most americans heard from mark sanford. >> and all i can say is that i apologize. >> reporter: it was a press conference that was painful to watch. sanford, then south carolina governor, caught in a lie nearly four years ago and forced to confess to cheating on his wife with an argentinian woman he called his soulmate. his wife jenny drew praise for refusing to stand beside him, and she moved out of the governor's mansion with her four sons. facing messy divorce charges sanford wouldn't step down and served out the next two years of his term. pundits were confident sanford's political career was over and even he seemed to agree. >> there's been a lot of talk about you maybe re-entering th

jan crawford is on the parade route now. jan, what do you see?wd is almost leaning forward 20 people deep to try to see the president as he drives by in hi -- motor kied. people are waving. they've been here since the early morning hours to see the president. >> it's an impressive zult. we were talking about bad weather during inaugurations, and you talked about president grant. >> it was so cold. they were having a big dance, and they put up a tent. and nobody was take their coat off. they were all dancing in their coats, and they had a hundred cages with canaries around the tent to sort of add to the decorations. what happens was not pretty. the canaries froze. no canaries survive thad inauguration. >> this will go down in history in terms of the weather as one of the prettiest inaugurations in history. cheryl atkinson is there. what do you see? >> it's a big crowd. we're passing pennsylvania avenue. the president traveled all the way down to the white house where he will get out of the limousine and go into the president's reviewing stand and

jan crawford is inside with that story.nian. in fact, it is one of the most popular exhibits in the smithsonian exhibits. i remember going there with my mom as a little girl. there's something magical about it. and, gayle, let me tell you what. the designers of those gowns are well aware of that. >> it looks lighter and a little fresher. >> for dallas designer michael faircloth, the man behind laura bush's first inaugural gown, the assignment of a lifetime came with a special challenge. he got a late start. >> mrs. bush would never, ever look at a sketch a piece of fabric until the election was totally settled. >> reporter: in 2000 that took until mid-december when the supreme court decided bush versus gore. >> i remember sitting there, it was like oh thank heaven. now we can get going. >> reporter: he called her the next day to show her sketches he had been working on in secret. he had about a month to make the dress. >> reporter: you have to consider everything. >> oh, yes, absolutely. how it dances up and down the stairs

our jan crawford is inside the capitol now, as a number of people are beginning to arrive. cott, a few moments ago almost all of it seemed like the united states senate just walked by here to file outside and take their seats. they're on the west front to await the ceremonies that of course will be coming up. then after the president gives his inaugural address he will come in here, he'll come through the rotunda, walk by that bust of dr. martin luther king, jr., and then into statuary hall for a tradition that's the most exclusive lunch you can imagine. all of the nation's leaders, the president, the vice president, congressional leaders, supreme court justices, their spouses, they will all gather for a lunch to put politics aside for at least a brief moment. >> thank you very much, jan. >>> as we watch the president's motorcade approaching the capitol, let me give you a little bit of an advanced look on what you're seeing as the inauguration ceremonies proceed. as we mentioned, senator charles schumer of new york will be the master of ceremonies. he will have a short speec

cbs news reporter, jan crawford, was one of those reporters.ing biased in their reporting. but as we've seen throughout the years, it's not surprising. >> steve: so this is clearly, in your estimation, an example, glaring example of liberal media bias? >> i think it is. and at least with mr. dickerson, he is honest about, in his biothat he's work for slate and the cbs political director. but -- >> steve: how do you do both? >> that's the question. i mean, if cbs is going to portray themselves as a middle of the road, unbiased news source, then it seems a little strange that you would have someone who is writing regularly for a far left publication, as the political director. i think that we saw that with the election reporting. we've seen that in the past four years with the obama administration with cbs. we've seen the results of that conflict of interest play out when questions are asked. >> steve: where he writes in slate, the lefty blog u got to destroy the republican party. i guess he just wants one party which would essentially make it a