hurricane, utah, a small desert town about two hours from lake mead, nevada. it's a place that embraces strangers. in the spring of 1995, the town opened its arms to a newcomer named joseph benson. benson and his family lived in a tiny house on the outskirts of town. he told neighbors he was a private detective who had recently retired from the marine corps. but there were things about his past he did not tell anyone, things no one in town had any way of knowing. the man they knew as joseph benson was really marine corps staff sergeant arthur bennett. and back in yuma, arizona, where he had been indicted for raping a 13-year-old girl, everyone thought he was dead. well, almost everyone. >> i never stopped loving him. >> incredibly, three months after crying over his casket at a military funeral, amelia bennett and her three children had reunited with arthur. but now he had a different name. joe benson. why did you go back to him? why did you agree to do that? >> i'm thinking the protection of my children and the protection of my family. >> she says joe benson

national park service says five people died when the helicopter went down in the mountains near lake mead during a tour of the hoover dam. sundance helicopters owned the chopper. >>> wall street protesters in san francisco reeling after police took apart their camp and arrested dozens of people. protesters were warned several times to pick up their tents and leave over the past several weeks. authorities took down over 100 tents and were removing shopping carts full of debris from the camp. >>> former illinois governor rod blagojevich sentenced to 14 years for trying to sell president obama's old senate seat. blagojevich said he was sorry in court yesterday, but the judge said that his apology sounded more like one, a politician or lawyer would give. >>> former president bill clinton had a very active and charitable post-presidency. the only person with more on her plate may be his daughter. alina cho sat down with clinton as part of her big stars, big giving holiday special. clinton talks about how chelsea has really hit her stride. >> chelsea, be she's taking an increasingly public role

the aircraft crashed into the river mountain surrounding lake meade a security guard from the national recreation area heard the crash and reported seeing smoke about 4 miles west of the lake's edge. >>> talk about a grand entrance a pair of suspected thievescrashed an suv through the front door of an indiana gun shop. for them, they didn't get much. most of the merchandise was locked away in a safe. the damage to the store is estimated to be around 35,000 dollars and the rifle handgun and silencer the two made off with said to be worth around 10 grand. the federal investigators are on the hunt for the two bandinsits. >>> a school bus driver is on -- banits. >>> a school -- bandits. >>> a school bus driver is on leave after being caught sleeping behind the wheel. bus dropf 10 minutes into the route the driver started to nod off and the boy on the second row sprang into action as the bus was veering off the highway. listen. >> if something wouldn't have happened if i didn't get up i know there would have been a huge thing going on because whoa have crashed and it would have been more th

a security guard at the lake meade recreation area says he heard the crash and saw smoke at a nearbyity. investigators are trying to figure out how the crash occurred, but the crash site is only accessible by air. >>> this morning, a former assistant penn state former football assistant coach jerry sandusky is waking up in jail, but he could post bail as early as today. he's facing two new charges of sexual abuse. in court documents, one of the accusers told the grand jury that sandusky assaulted him in the basement of sandusky's home. the victim says he, quote, screamed for help, knowing sandusky's wife was upstairs. but she never came down to help. sandusky's attorney maintains his client's innocence. >> how would you take it if you were facing the kind of charges he's facing and your life's work is helping kids? he's devastated. >> a judge set bail at $250,000. sandusky is due in court next tuesday when the two newest victims are expected to testify. so far, sandusky faces more than 40 counts of child sex abuse involving ten victims over a 15-year span. all the victims met sandusk

helicopter flown over the las vegas strip and a dam yesterday when it slammed near the mountain near lake mead. the cause of the crash hasn't been determined. >>> a us airways flight 436 was headed to las vegas. the crew declared an emergency after the pilot reported fumes in the cockpit. no one was injured. >>> occupy wall street protesters in san francisco clashed with police last night vowing to retake their encampment. about a half dozen protesters were arrested. earlier in the day, police raided the camp, arresting at least 85 others and clearing the downtown encampment. >>> a new and disturbing report is out this morning on how the remains of american war dead were dumped by the u.s. air force. it was previously reported that dover air force base disposed of some remains in a virginia landfill. now "the washington post" reports that the incinerated partial remains of at least 274 service members were dumped in that fashion. the practice was halted three years ago. >>> the race for the republican presidential nomination is heating up and getting personal. mitt romney has unveiled a new ad

a tourist helicopter crashing into a mountain on the western side of lake mead. it's some 30 miles from the las vegas strip. five people, including the pilot, have been killed. they were on a sunset tour of the hoover dam. rescue crews are being forced to wait until first light this morning to recover the bodies because of the remote terrain. >> we've had emergency landings, but i don't know the last time we've had an aircraft crash of this nature in the park. >> the chopper was similar to this one used in a promotional video. no word on the cause of the crash. the weather, mostly clear at the time. now, the chopper belonging to the same company crashed near the grand canyon in 2003. that crash killed seven people and was blamed on pilot error. >>> meanwhile, former illinois governor, rod blagojevich, will begin serving his prison sentence in february. despite a long series of apologies, a federal judge sentenced him wednesday to 14 years behind bars for corruption, for trying to sell president obama's vacant senate seat to the highest bidder. the judge said blag

las vegas has a troubled past the pilot and four tourist died when they crashed in a canyon near lake meade. they have had five accidents and federal violation since 1994. ntsb says the site will make it difficult to recover bodies. >>> police in texas say two children shot by their mother in a welfare office have died. they say rochelle grimmer shot them during a 7-hour stand off with police earlier this week. she then took her life. the 12-year-old girl and 10- year-old boy died at a san antonio hospital. their mother went to the office about being denied food stamps. >>> controversial video surfaces showing dominique strauss-kahn minutes after an alleged sexual assault in a new york hotel. the video aired on french tv and shows the former head of the international monetary fund casually leaving the hotel in new york. another clip those shows his accuser a maid appearing to act out the attack to coworkers. and there is a third clip showing two workers celebrating. strauss-kahn's lawyers says itprovence he was too casual to committed a crime the maid attorney says she is reenacting the att

was on a sunset tour of the vegas strip and hoover dam, when it crashes into the mountains near lake mead. several people heard the crash and saw the smoke. the weather was mostly clear at the time. crews will resume the search for the victims later this morning. >>> at least two prisoners were shot by corrections officers after a riot broke out at the maximum security section of a california prison. it started when officers tried to break up a fight between 50 inmates at the prison, east of sacramento. most of the prison's 2,800 inmates were locked in their cells while the disturbance was being investigated. >>> a new clue has turned up in the search for a missing fl mom who vanished after appearing on "the people's court." michelle parker's family has found her iphone. detectives made a stop at the home of parker's ex-fiance, prime suspect, dale smith. parker hasn't been seen since she dropped off their 3-year-old twins at his condo three weeks ago. >>> and from washington state, a 17-year-old high school student says he was only doing the right thing. what emmanuel williams did was lik

the sundance helicopter plane crashed in the river mountains surrounding lake meade. >>> the bother of a man suspected of killing a 7-year- old girl says the arrest is a mistake. ryan brunn was working where the girl was sexually assaulted and murder. but his brother says he would they have do something like that. >> -- would never do anything like that. >> he he never been to jail and has been a good kid. just out of the blue just something crazy. >> authorities say that girl died of blunt force trauma to the head and was stabbed. her body was found in the trash bin in the complex's playground. >>> 1980 this day the anniversary of the death of john lennon killed outside his new york apartment and the shooter was david chapman. >>> many people dread putting the effort in writing a holiday card one man -- but one man does it year-round e sends them all around the world signed and delivered in -- he sends them all around the world signed and delivered in different languages. if you receive a christmas card this year and a return address, if you never seen it, check inside for his signatu

. >>> a recovery at the site of a deadly helicopter crash near lake mead in nevada. the helicopter slammed into a mountain and fell into a ravine yesterday. the pilot and all four passengers were killed. they were heading back to las vegas after take an aerial tour of hoover dam. a team of 12 federal investigators will try to determine what went wrong. >>> the big island of hawaii getting a little bigger. >> lava is flowing from one of the volcanos toward the ocean. that flow is about a mile and a half from shore. it's already reached the subdivision that's almost abandoned. the one resident who still lives there says the current flow is about 500 yards from his home. oh. >> look at that. >> go on a nice triphawaii right now? >> new real estate, can you imagine? i guess you knew there was a volcano there. i think they would disclose that. >> earthquakes clear it's a cheap house. bad news, see that mountain over there? it may in be your front yard in a couple of weeks. [ laughter ] >>> true story, i was fortunate to go to the big island this summer with my family. we'

the pilot and four tourists were killed when the aircraft crashed into a ravine in lake mead. the air is not accessible by any road. investigators say that will make the recovery of the body and the investigation more complicated. the weather was clear and winds were calm at the time of the accident. >>> iran says it has proof of a captured u.s. drone. state tv in iran showed video of what it says is an undamaged sentinel drone. the defense department has acknowledged losing a drone. the iranian military says it used an electronic ambush to bring the drone down, 140 miles from the afghanistan border. >>> the military's mishandling of the remains of the war dead is more widespread than they first acknowledged. that's according to a report by the washington post. they say the incinerated partial remains of at least 247 american troops were sent to a virginia landfill. their report is based on information from the dover air base mortuary, where most of the war dead return. the families of the deceased gave the military permission to dispose of the remains. they were not notified

scene last night, four tourists and pilot were aboard the craft when it crashed into a ravine near lake meades returning from a tour of the las vegas strip and hoover dam. the cause is under investigation. >>> jerry sandusky remains in jail in morning on new child sex abuse charges. he was rearrested yesterday following allegations made by two new accusers. both claim they met sandusky through the charity he founded for at-risk children. one side he was molested in the basement of sandusky's home. sandusky now faces more than 50 counts from 10 accusers, all of which he has denied. he's being held on $250,000 cash only bail which he has been unable to raise so far. >> nation's health secretary has ruled that young teenagers will not be allowed to buy the morning after pill without a prescription. now only 17 and older can buy plan b without a prescription. the fda was preparing to lift that age limit and let plan b, be sold over-the-counter, health and human secretary sebelius has overruled her own agency. she is concerned that very young girls wouldn't understand how to use plan b without gui

a tourist helicopter flying over the famous las vegas strip and lake mead crashes into a mountain killingoard. the wreckage so remote rescue crews risk their lives to get there. late details on this sunset tour tragedy. >>> behind bars. jerry sandusky arrested at his home, after two more accuse him of sexual abuse. now, a shocking new allegation. did his wife know all along? >>> an abc news exclusive. country star mindy mccready speaking out about the terrifying moments when u.s. marshals ripped her son from her arms. and why she'd do it all over again. >> what i did was to protect my

it happened around sunset in the river mountains that surround lake meade about 30 miles east of las. the four passengers were on a tour of the las vegas strip and hoover dam. it was operated by sun dance helicopters. investigators are trying to figure out how the chopper went down, but the crash site is accessible only by helicopter. meteorologist say the skies were clear with about 5 miles per hour winds at the time of the crash. >>> this morning, penn state football coach jerry sandusky is waking up in jail, but he could post bail as early as today. he faces two new charges of child sexual abuse. police arrested sandusky yesterday at his home. in court documents, one of the accusers told a grand jury sandusky assaulted him in the basement of his home. the victim says he, quote, screamed for help knowing that sandusky's wife was upstairs, but she never came down to help, she says. conditions for bail for sandusky would includes a $250,000 bond and house arrest. >>> in new york, the district attorney williams fitzpatrick says he cannot bring state criminal charges against a former s

luxury sunset tour of the las vegas strip and hoover dam when it crashed into a mountainside near lake meadepilot and four passengers were killed. >>> some sad news to report out of japan, the world's oldest dog, according to the guinness world records has now died. he was just 4 months away from, get this, being 27 years old, she, 27 years old. now her owner says that the fluffy tan short-beda mix passed away monday after suddenly falling ill and refusing to eat. >> 26 years. unbelievable for a dog. wow! >>> check this out, a tech- savvy pope benedict xvi flipping the switch on the world's largest christmas tree with just a tab of the tablet. the tree is on an italian mountainside and seems he prefers google's android system over apple's ipad. d. he turned the light with a sony tablet s. >> how big of an endorsement then for android? >> that carries some weight, doesn't it? >> imagine if they ran with that. the pope says -- >> trusted by the vatican. >> i would advise them not to do that. >> little too commercial? >> geting into a little trouble. >>> hey, it's cold outside, you know it, you

the pilot and all four passengers were killed in the accident near lake mead. sundance helicopters was operating the tour. the national transportation safety board is now investigating. >>> in greenwood, indiana, an suv crashes into a gun shop. two burglars then storm into the store and then steal guns worth about $10,000. but the damage to the store was more than three times as much. >>> in tacoma, washington, a school bus driver falls asleep at the wheel. a high schooler comes to the rescue. here you can see 17-year-old emanuel williams rush forward to wake the driver up. the bus had been swerving on the interstate. >> nobody else noticed anything and he was asleep. and he can't notice anything. >> williams is being called a hero by other students on the bus. >>> the flow of hot lava is coming dangerously close to the last house standing in the royal garden subdivision on hawaii's big island. homeowners have been running from hawaii's volcano since 1983 when it began erupting nonstop. this week the lava flow moved more than 500 yards within a home there. >>>

that helicopter slammed into a mountain and fell into a ravine near lake mead just before 5 p.m. yesterday. the pilot and all four passengers were killed. they were heading back to las vegas after taking an aerial tour of hoover dam. a team of 12 federal investigators will try to determine what went wrong. >>> big riot forced new folsom state prison to lockdown this morning. guards shot at least two prisoners as they broke up the brawl in the prison yard. they also used pepper spray and rubber projectiles to stop the riot. 10 prisoners were treated for stab and gunshot wounds. several staff members were also injured. >>> now to some bay area headlines. pittsburg police are investigating a pursuit that ended in a crash. they say they tried to stop one of the cars last night but the driver took off. a collision ended the chase and two people were taken away in ambulances. >>> the city of richmond is letting several medical marijuana dispensaries open up for business despite a federal crackdown. the city council has approved permits for three pot clubs. earlier this fall, top federa

the security guard is the lake meade recreation area said he heard the crash and saw smoke at a nearby water treatment facility. investigators are trying to figure out how the helicopter went down, but the crash site is only accessible by helicopter. meteorologists say skies were clear at the time with about a 5 miles per hour wind. >>> authorities reportedly found missing mother michelle parker's phone. she was last saw on the same day she appeared on the tv show "the people's court" with her former fiancee. the two were fighting over a $5,000 engagement ring. smith is the father of her twins. >>> this morning, former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is waking up in sdwral again, but he could post bail as early as today. in court documents, one of the accusers told a georgia that authorities assaulted him in the basement. authorities say that he, quote, screamed for help knowing sandusky's wife was upstairs, but she never came down to help. sandusky's attorney maintains his client's innocence. >> how would you take it if you were facing the kind of charges he was fac

. >>> a recovery operation begins this morning at the site of a deadly helicopter crash near lake mead in nevada. the helicopter slammed into a mountain and fell into a ravine just before 5 p.m. yesterday. the pilot and all four passengers were killed. they were heading back to las vegas after taking an aerial tour of hoover dam. a team of 12 federal investigators will try to determine what went wrong. >>> this morning, a confession from caltrans. it painted an extra diamond on the westbound carpool lane in emeryville about 100 yards beyond the point that the lane is actually supposed to become a standard lane. drivers say it's causing backups. the "mercury news" reports caltrans says the lane configuration should not have been changed and that crews will fix the mistake. >>> today a federal appeals court in san francisco will hear arguments on a couple of issues involving proposition 8. supporters of the ban on gay marriage want the court to block release of videos from a trial last year. in that trial, judge vaughn walker ruled prop 8 unconstitutional. today, supporters of the measur

luxury sunset tour of the las vegas strip and hoover dam when it crashed into a mountainside near lake meade. the pilot and four passengers were all killed. >>> an american citizen is spending the next 2 1/2 years in a prison in thailand. a thai court sentenced 55-year- old joe gordon who was born in thailand for insulting thailand's royal family. he translated parts of a biography about the king which was ban inside thailand and posted links to the biography when he lived in colorado. the case is raising questions about freedom of speech and applying thai law to acts committed outside of the country. >>> well, police are still searching for spiderman. surveillance images show a person dressed like the superhero robbing the bb and t bank on livingston road in fort washington. police say the suspect passed a note to a teller, showing a gun. spiderman got away with an undisclosed amount of cash. >> apparently he drove off in a chevrolet which is very unspidey-like. >>> we've got a special -- i'm sorry, this is you. >> you go ahead. >> we have a special ornament from a viewer. i'm hiding it rig

a recovery and investigation team will be out there again today near lake mead. he conceded yesterday as they were investigating after the crash in a remote area 30 mi. from the loss vegas strip. it is unclear what might have triggered that crash. the helicopter was operated by sundance helicopters. >>mark: not house of the state's families are considered middle class anymore. 30 years ago 60 percent of california families were considered middle-class. now just 49.7 percent are earning between 44,000-155,000 a year, that is considered middle-class. most are now in a lower blackett. not working in of ours was the biggest cause of declining income in california. >>justine: the number of people whose credit and debit card information was stolen at lucky supermarkets has jumped. the store now says it has been contacted by more than 500 customers who believe that their account information was compromised by those skimmers that were put on a self check out card readers. if that number is up from 300 customers that reported earlier this week. lucky also announced an add

four people and a pilot were killed after this sundance helicopter's chopper went down near lake meadee also had a fatal accident in 2003. a pilot and six passengers died in that one. the ntsb ruled that crash was caused by unsafe flying procedures and bad judgment by the pilot. >>> former mf global chief jon corzine will not take the fie in the congressional hot seat this morning. he was expected to stay quiet about the scandal. more than a billion dollars in customers' money is missing from the brokerage firm he used to run. but fox business correspondent peter barns reports the governor from new jersey has a 21-page statement prepared for the hearing which begins in 90 minutes from now. in it, corzine says in part, i apologize to all those affected. i simply do not know where the money is. >>> police in south florida looking for two clumsy criminals. video shows them holding up a hotel lobby. they get tripped up at that pesky automatic door. at one point they dropped the cash all over the floor. in the end, they did manage to escape. no one was hurt. those are your headlines. >> ste

the helicopter flew over the las vegas strip and hoover dam before slamming into a mountain near lake mead yesterday. the pilot and four passengers were killed. >>> a prewinter snowstorm is moving through new england this morning. that same fast moving storm blanketed memphis, tennessee, with snow yesterday. it is interesting to note, though, that nearby jackson and other parts of the south have seen more snow since october than buffalo, new york, which typically gets more than 4 inches by now. >>> >>> still ahead this morning, what is next for disgraced governor rod blagojevich facing 14 years in prison for corruption. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. you learn to get a feel for the trouble spots. to know its wants... its needs...its dreams. ♪call 1-800-steemer. look, honey... it's santa. [ mom ] i thought i heard reindeer. mom... i mean, mrs. nelson, i have the perfect gift for you. he must've gotten my letter. ♪ oh...santa. [ male announcer ] levian jewelry featuring levian chocolate diamonds at kay jewelers. levian. one more reason kay... is the number one jewelry store in amer

on wednesday afternoon a sundance helicopter plunged into a canyon near lake mead, killing everyone onboardy the day before the crash the aircraft engine and other parts were changed during routine maintenance. the investigation is going to continue for the weekend. this includes further evaluation of the maintenance work and a look at the pilot's life 72 hours before the crash. >>> in our election 2012 coverage, the g.o.p. candidates for president meet in iowa tonight for another debate it. will happen at drake university. it comes eye few weeks after the candidates last debated in washington, d.c. since then out in newt has cemented his front- runner status and the other candidates are expected to make the former house speaker a prime target. another g.o.p. debate will happen this upcoming thursday in sioux city, iowa. >>> rick perry is one of candidates and that's where he made another campaign gaff. he met yesterday with the editorial board of the des moines register newspaper. during that meeting he told the board there are eight supreme court justices, instead of nine. perry also coul