>> preeti arla in washington for us this morning. preeti, thanks. tomorrow the white house releases a year-long review of the afghan war. the classified report concludes progress has been made but there are lingering troubles including militants' ability to hide in pakistan. there are about 100,000 american troops in afghanistan. the president is expected to say enough gains have been made to begin withdrawing troops in july. >>> this morning a suicide bomber killed dozens of worshippers in iran. the bomber struck outside a shiite mosque in southeast iran near the border with pakistan. the iranian news agency says dozens more were injured. >>> in medical news this morning a man infected with aids appears to have been cured by a blood transplant. the patient was an american living in germany. he had a blood stem cell transplant in 2007 to treat leukemia. apparently a blood donor had a gene mutation with a natural resistance to hiv. three years later he shows no sign of cancer or hiv infection. doctors say it is far too risky to become standard therap

preeti arla is in washington with the latest. preeti, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. the drills ended just a short while ago with no sign of military action yet from north korea. south korea did launch fighter jets during the drills just in case. residents of south korea's yeonpyeong island took cover in bomb shelters this morning as planned military exercises got under way. seoul carried out the drills despite increasing threats of retaliation from the north. but, so far, there's been no response from pyongyang. last month after similar exercises, north korea bombarded the island with artillery fire killing four people. pyongyang later warned seoul's military maneuvers were pushing the region to, quote, the brink of war. china, the north's only ally warned south korea against any unnecessary provocation but u.s. officials continue to back seoul's right to hold the drills. >> the republic of korea has every need and right to ready its self-defense. >> reporter: the united nations security council held an emergency

preeti arla is in washington with the latest on that. preeti, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, terrell. it has been an emotional debate over that legislation to help those workers. now there have been changes to the bill. one big change is the cost was scaled back from $7.4 billion to $6.2 billion. now 9/11 first responders are pressuring congress to pass the legislation before they leave for the holiday. first responders who got sick at ground zero are taking their fight to washington. >> to me this is a no-brainer. we're going to get this done. >> reporter: this morning the rally at the white house and capitol hill, urging congress to pass a bill that would provide billions of dollars for their health care. a previous version of the measure passed the house, but failed to get a vote in the senate this month. >> it's a lot of money, and so, my early response is that i am skeptical about that bill. >> reporter: but now that lawmakers have trimmed the final price tag and changed how to pay for it, supporters believe they ha

terrell. >> preeti arla in washington for us, preeti, thanks. >>> here in new york, the new "spiderman" musical resumes this morning following a terrifying accident monday. take a look. christopher tierney, a stunt man was seriously injured. he fell about 30 feet after a cable apparently snapped. today's matinee performance will be postponed but other tickets have been selling fast. >> ironically because people are fascinated by a train wreck, the injuries have led to a boom at the box office. you cannot get a ticket to "spiderman" in the coming week. >> producers have agreed to implement new safety measures. they met tuesday with federal and state labor officials. >> we'll take a quick break here. still to come this morning, we'll check your weather forecast. in sports, nowitzki passes bird for a new nba scoring milestone. of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. ♪ keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. [ female announcer ] so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. ♪ because it is. choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. choose. b

preeti arla is in washington with more. preeti, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. the big issue for house democrats remains the estate tax, which they want to raise. the question is, will they try and change that part of the legislation? if they do, senate republicans say it will undo this deal. republicans are urging house democrats not to mess with president obama's tax cut deal. >> this agreement is not subject to being reopened. >> reporter: tuesday, the senate minority leader warned changing the bill could result in no bill at all and taxes going up for everybody. the senate is expected to approve the measure later today before sending it to the house. >> i don't think we're basing what we want to do on mr. mcconnell. >> reporter: after a meeting tuesday night house democrats still worried the plan favors the rich. they want to amend certain provisions including what some see is an overly generous estate tax. despite their concerns, which president obama says he shares, the white house is optimistic the compromise will go the distance. >> i think the president

preeti arla is in washington. preeti, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, terrell. the bill cleared a procedural hurdle by a vote of 83-15, many more than the 60 votes necessary. and while the senate is expected to quickly approve this, there seems to be a tough fight ahead in the house. with the senate on track to approve this tax deal as early as tonight, president obama is urging house democrats to get on board. >> if there's one thing we can agree on, it's the urgent work of protecting middle-class families, removing uncertainty for america's businesses, and giving our economy a boost. >> reporter: he turned up the pressure monday after the senate overwhelmingly decided to move ahead with a final vote either late today or tomorrow. the measure would continue long-term unemployment benefits, and extend all bush-era tax cuts for two years. >> we're telling the american people to keep money that's rightfully theirs so they can spend it and invest it as they please. >> plain and simple. this bipartisan compromise is about creating jobs. >> reporter: if the senate ap

terrell. >> preeti arla in washington for us this morning, preeti, thank you so much. appreciate it. >>> this evening the embattled chairman of the national republican committee michael steele reveals his plans for the future. steele is expected to announce he will not seek re-election. steele has been under pressure to step down, discontent has grown because of his poor fund-raising and several spe speaking gaffes. >>> a ship headed to port after being battered. another the brilliance of the seas" was en route to egypt sunday when the rough weather hit. the ship changed course and is expected in malta sunday morning. there were 2,095 passengers. 978 of them americans. the ship's interior was damaged. the piano smashed flew a window. some passengers were injuried when they were tossed out of bed. >>> american diplomat richard holbrooke remaybes in critical condition in a washington home, president obama's special envoy to afghanistan and pakistan. he collapsed during a meeting with the secretary of state, clinton, friday. he underwent surgery saturday to repair a tear

>> preeti arla in washington for us this morning, preeti, thanks. >>> security at the home of former president george bush near dallas officials say a man was showing off his classic sports car wednesday morning, his gas pedal got stuck and ended up on the former president's front lawn. the man passed all sobriety tests and released. the former president and his wife laura were home at the time but never in any danger. >>> former white house chief of stam rahm emanuel one step closer to running for mayor of chicago. a hearing officer recommended this morning his name appear on the february ballot despite challenges of residency. he spent much of the last two years living in washington working for president obama. the chicago board of election commissioners needs to approve the ruling. >>> after a week of torrential rain, southern california is finally drying out. totals range from over 8 inches in los angeles to over 26 inches in san bernardino county. but the threat of more dangerous mud slides is not over yet. kendis gibson reports. >> reporter: after a week of torrential downpours

>> preeti arla in washington with our report this morning. thank you. >>> wikileaks founder julian assange is due in a london court today. he'll fight his extradition to sweden. assange has been in custody since last tuesday. he's wanted in sweden for questioning in two sex crimes investigations. assange says he's innocent. his supporters say he's being targeted because of wikileaks' release of secret u.s. diplomatic tapes. >>> veteran american diplomat richard holbrooke is being remembered this morning for his dedicated public service, and no-nonsense attitude. holbrooke died last night in washington. he had just had surgery to repair a tear in his aorta. holbrooke was 69 years old. monday afternoon, the president paid homage to holbrooke. >> he is simply one of the giants of american foreign policy. america is more secure and the world is a safer place because of the work of ambassador richard holbrooke. >> david martin has more. >> reporter: richard holbrooke was a legendary multitasker famous for both his effectiveness as a diplomat, and

>> preeti arla in washington. thank you. >>> that massive and unusually cold weather front that blasted the midwest with heavy snow, howling winds and biting temperatures has settled along the east coast this morning. below freezing temperatures in some cases, 20 degrees below normal, are forecast as far south as central florida. the storm system dumped more than a foot of snow on the midwest, and then headed east. >> this is very unusual this early in the season. you're only into the first week of december, to see this kind of cold over thousands of miles. >> citrus growers in florida are scrambling to save their crops, hoping a layer of ice will insulate the fruit. >>> secretary of defense robert gates arrived in afghanistan this morning. gates plans to visit u.s. troops and assess u.s. policy. the obama administration plans to begin withdrawing u.s. forces in july. there are close to 100,000 americans serving in afghanistan. >>> wikileaks founder julian assange is expected to turn himself in to british authorit

's preeti arla explains -- as preeti arla explains, approving that measure may not happen before congress sick at ground zero are taking their fight to washington. >> to me this is a no-brainer. we are going to get this done. >> reporter: this morning the rally at the white house and capitol hill urging congress to pass a bill that would provide billions of dollars for their healthcare. a previous version of the measure passed the house but failed to get a vote in the senate this month. >> it's a lot of money and so i -- my -- my early response is that i am skeptical about that bill. >> reporter: but now that lawmakers have trimmed the final price tag and changed how to pay for it, supporters believe that they have the votes to get the job done. >> the men and women who answer the call on and after september 11th, we are absolutely obligated to pass this bill for them. >> reporter: the house and the senate would both need to approve the bill before the new congress convenes next month or else it's back to the drawing board. 14,000 first responders are currently living with illnesses they

preeti arla for cbs news, washington. >>> some unfortunate news out of chicago this morning.refighters in the city remain hospitalized after battling a fire that killed two of their colleagues. the roof of a vacant building suddenly collapsed trapping numerous firefighters inside. now, investigators say it appears the roof collapse was not directly related to the fire. those still in the hospital are listed in good it stable condition. >>> what was he thinking?? the wife of a florida school board shooter says murder was not on his mind. clay duke didn't hit anyone when he opened fire in a school board meeting last week in panama city. he was apparently upset about his wife losing her job with the schools. on the on "the early show," his wife says she thinks it was no accident that no one was hit. >> he was not trying to hit anyone. in my opinion, he wanted to just scare them. from what i can tell... he wanted them to get -- to get down. >> clay duke took his own life after a security guard wounded him and stopped the shooting. >>> the time now 5:40. yet another change to face

preeti arla for cbs news, washington. >>> 5:38.estigators call him a criminal but some people in berkeley are calling him a hero. the city council is considering a resolution that would declare private first class bradley manning a hero. he is suspected of leaking classified information to wikileaks. the a authority of resolution calls manage -- the author of the resolution calls manning a patriot. >> things that have come out including collateral murder show americans committing war crimes and nobody is prosecuting the war criminals. >> these things weaken america's position and it makes america look weak to people who are not necessarily open to negotiations. they think in terms of strength and weakness. >> a city commission has already approved the resolution. the city council will vote on it tuesday. >>> it is 5:39. the murder of a top hollywood publicist was the result of a random robbery. that is the conclusion by police in beverly hills where ronnie chase zen was shot to death in her car last month shortly after appearing at

as preeti arla explains, south korea moved forward with military exercises despite stern warnings fromorth. >>> reporter: residents of south korea's island took shelter. there were increasing threats of retaliation from the north but so far there is no response from pyongyang. just last month, after similar exercises, north korea bombard the island with artillery fire killing four people. pyongyang later world that those military maneuvers were pushing the region to "brink of war." china, the north's only ally, has warned south korea against any unnecessary provocation. but u.s. official continue to back those rights to hold the drills. >> the republic of korea has every need and right to ready itself defense. >> reporter: the u.n. security council discussed the ongoing conflict but after 8 hours behind closed doors members failed to reach a unified statement condemning north korea's actions. >> the situation continues to be very tense and very dangerous. >> reporter: the escalating tensions come on the heels of new mexico governor bill richardson's unofficial visit to north korea. met

preeti arla for cbs news, washington. >>> well, it's going to be a wet start to the morning.doppler showing we have some light scattered showers in the bay area. but look at what's behind me just off the coastline here. move out the way. those are rain showers moving towards the bay area. and that's what we're expecting a good deal of rainfall for the morning and also for parts of the afternoon. here's a look at who is picking up what. light rainfall through sonoma, napa, san rafael, mill valley, scattered in nature from vacaville to fairfield to vallejo and moving east so it is moving into concord and danville. light activity north of half moon bay pushing into fremont, milpitas and light activity outside of san jose. our forecast for this morning, cloudy, we have report of fog this morning especially inland. san jose airport as well as santa rosa. the showers will be with us for the morning as you head out the door and the chance of showers will continue well through the afternoon. temperatures not moving. lower 50s for the morning and the mid- to upper 50s for the afternoo

as preeti arla explains it might be a hard sell for some democrats. >>> reporter: vice president bideno capitol hill to pitch a new tax cut deal to democrats. the plan, which president obama and republicans agreed to monday, would offer a two-year extension of bush era tax cuts not just for the middle class but for higher income earners, as well. >> it's not perfect. but this compromise is an essential step on the road to recovery. >> reporter: the white house won a 13 month extension of unemployment benefits as part of the deal. there would also be a one-year, 2% cut in payroll taxes. but the president gave in to gop demands to temporarily keep estates under $5 million free from federal estate taxes. >> i'm confident congress will do the right thing. >> reporter: it may be a tough sell among democrats who think the president should have held out for more. >> certainly none of us in the house have signed off on any kind of understanding like this. we are going to have to look very carefully at the details. >> reporter: senate minority leader mitch mcconnell applauded the deal in a stat

preeti arla has the latest for wjz oar -- >> apologized for that. a federal judge ruled that the president's health care plan is unconstitutional. yesterday u.s. district judge henry hudson rejected a key provision. two other judges have upheld the law that's expected to and up in the supreme court. >>> mrs. in washington, d.c. he has seen his fair share of problems in office but he says he's not giving up just yet. gop chairman chairman michael steele said he's going to run for reelection. the rnc will vote on whether to grant him another two-year term. >>> this time next year slot machines will be ringing loud in anne arundel. the company announced plans to build a temporary casino. it will be located oned ground there are of a new parking garage. it will hold about 2,000 slot machines and will keep gamblers entertained until the permanent casino opens in late 2012. >>> the rave went head to head with the hue stones. mark viviano reports this morning. the game at one point seemed to be going great for the ravens but turned into a real nail biter.

cbs's preeti arla has more. >> reporter: this was the scene on tuesday where the luxury ship that cruises the antarctic battled it's way through high seas and heavy winds. the ship, 500 miles from its port city in argentina, reportedly lost an engine after 35-foot waves pushed by 50-mile-per-hour winds crashed over its deck knocking out several windows and communications. >> the captain we have on the "clelia" has gone to antarctica 459 times and he told me that he had never seen anything like this. >> reporter: the ship has 88 passengers on board. all americans with a crew of 77. >> the passengers were not injured. there was no panic. >> reporter: the closest vessel, the national geographic explorer was 20 miles away when the worst hit. >> we helped them re-establish their own satellite communications through the radio network. we actually sent them a hand-held satellite phone. >> reporter: it began its voyage 10 days ago normally sails at 14 knots scheduled to return to southern argentina today. under reduced power, the crew now hopes to reach port friday morning. >> i was amazed that t

the dew point at 9 it ndicates that it's preety dry out there.30 mills per hour while it's feeling cold enough inn3 baltimore. look at what it's feeling in oakland, 11 below zero. a winnchill advisory continuus until 10:00 this morning. we continue too he orthwest that ww're feellng.3 but it will still be a breezy night and tooorrow it will still be a bit breezy as well but not neary as windy. thaa low pressure center bears watchiig, as it moves northeast and, it brings snow chances for inch of snow to the south, lesser amounts further north..3 if it comes up he coast, it's a totally different sttry. the one that has more potential, might be the one bind it which -- behhnd it which will come uú of the gulf coast area. that one is coming up theecoast sunday. ww will watch that closely, because that could be significant in the waa of a few inches offsnow. obviously coll here with a 15-22-mile-an-hour wind gusting to through. about the same foo the central part of the state. a few ccluds mixed but eneralll we will he so a sunshine mix, a few clouds

preeti clear ied -- clear eyes and pragmatic about the game plan that is required. when need to mobilize our own community to do what is within our control to empower our people and children to get ahead. that is the essence of about what empowerment means to me. for me, there are 5 core component. one is responsibility, wellness, education, political clout, and economic power. the key to empowerment is not a government program. it started the assertion of personal responsibility. they should not have children until they earn a high school diploma, it turned 21, and get married. if they do these things first are the chances that their children will never experience poverty. it is essential that male parent shoulder the full responsibilities of fatherhood to being there in earnest for their mothers and their offspring. my dictionary defines it as lifelong responsibility and not a fleeting moment of ecstasy. i've seen commercials of p. diddy selling vodka. i want to see them selling literacy. a second component is being serious about our health. i teach a course here

preeti passed his designated term big bear -- past his designated term. he has the opportunity to be a statesman and become a cynic mark in the future of the ivory coast to -- significant market in the future of the ivory coast. there can be a peaceful transition like ghana. you had an economy that is moving forward with economic growth and that kind of country. with that kind of political stability, that is the climate that bring significant government support and private sector investment. it is a country with resources. what is absent is a commitment to democracy and stability that can make a meaningful difference in the lives of the citizens. there are two paths for the ivory coast. one is greater integration in the region and around the world b. the other is increasing isolation. >> do you think burma -- what sort of contacts had had with the president? >> -- contact had you had with the president? >> the president has had contact with him. johnny carson -- we are monitoring the situation. i can i give you any particular dialogue this week except for

preeti arla in washington joining us live, thank you, preeti. >>> now to afghanistan a senior american general says the battle for the taliban stronghold of marjah is essentially over. nato sent 7,000 troops to root the taliban from there in february and faced stiff taliban resistance and the effort has taken much longer than anticipated. the general says the taliban have lost their ability to impact the city. >>> the taliban released what it claims is new video of the only american serviceman held captive in afghanistan. he disappeared in eastern afghanistan june 30th, 2009. the video apparently showing him was released on tuesday. >>> north korea held more military drills this morning firing artillery shells off its west coast. the top u.s. military officer admiral mike mullen arrived today. the chairman of the joint chiefs said the u.s. and south korea plan more joint military exercises. >>> in other news, wikileaks has released a new batch of secret u.s. cables detailing nato plans to defend eastern europe, specifically the former soviet republics of e stone yeah, latvia and lithua

preeti arla is in washington with the latest on this.we know who the next target is going to be? >> betty, it appears it may be twitter. wikileaks supporters say they will target the site for censoring them. i guess we'll see what happens. what we do know they have already caused plenty of problems for several of their websites. a cyber war is being waged in defense of wikileaks and its founder, julian assange. wednesday, supporters of the whistle-blowing website claimed to have launched onlike attacks against commercial websites that cut ties to the organization. the targets mastercard and visa, which stopped processing payments to the sigh in a swiss bank which froze his kkt, called operation payback. >> the group that's taking credit for this is a group called anonymous, a very well-known dark-side hacker group. >> reporter: the latest target, sarah palin. cbs news has confirmed the former alaska governor's website and personal credit card information were, also, hacked. palin is a sharp critic of wikileaks, accusing it it of being an