57 newsroom at cbs news headquarters here in new york. Good to be with you. Im annemarie green. We begin with a wildfire emergency in south australia. Around 4,000 people are trapped on the beaches of a seaside town as raging bush fires race to the coast. The fires are so bad near the coastal town that theyve turned the skies a blood red color. The temperature there reportedly topped 120 degrees. Residents say the smoke is so thick that its like choking on dust. Roads to the town are cut off, and australian Officials Say ththat they may have to evacuat people by sea. At least one firefighter was killed yesterday, and the death toll is expected to rise. More than half a dozen people are missing. The bush fires have been raging for several weeks now. Australias Prime Minister fears it may take months to put out the fires. North of the fires, thick smoke can be seen in sydney where new years fireworks are scheduled. Elsewhere around the world people are preparing to welcome in not only a new year but a new decade. Huge crowds are expected in new yorks times square, and thats where Laura Podesta is. Laura, whats security like there . Reporter good morning, annemarie. You n seell the barricaydes ver behind me, a very heavy police presence. And for the very first time, the nypd will be flying drones around times square to monitor the crowds. Sydney, australia, always one of the first big cities to lead the world into the new year. A lot of color, a lot of special effects. Reporter devastating wildfires have prompted some australian cities to cancel their fireworks displays, but sydney decided the show must go on in the sky above its famed har bauer house and bridge. Celebrations began 15 months ago. Reporter elsewhere around the world, brazils copacabana beach is ready to host 2 Million People for its party. Heightened security at eiffel tower in paris is not deterring these american tourists. You cant let that stuff stop you from getting out and explores the world. Reporter in new yorks times square, police are expecting more than a Million People to crowd into the surrounding city blocks to watch the iconic ball drop. Come out and have a great time and you will be very safe in times square. Reporter lastminute preparations have the Waterford Crystal ball ready to shine. Science teachers and students will help flip the switch to ring in the new year. I never knew i would have the opportunity to stand up and press the button for the new york ball to fall. Reporter in chagrin false, ohio, popcorn takes the place of crystals. We havent tested all systems yet, so we hope its going to fly. Reporter its creator says the popcorn ball, which was 90 pounds last year, has been beefed up to 230 pound this time around. And the teachers and students who are going to be helping with the countdown, helping with the ball drop, are all from new yorks public schools, and theyre part of this years theme, climate change, annemarie. Very interesting. Laura podesta at new yorks times square. Thank you, laura. A volunteer Security Guard is being called a hero after he shot and killed a gunman at a Church Shooting in texas. Two victims were killed in that sunday attack, but many more could have died. Reporter jack wilson knew something was wrong the moment the gunman walked into the church. He was wearing a wig and a fake beard and a toboggan on his head. Reporter he got up and had a conversation with tony wallace. Nearby was another security member, richard white. Richard white got his gun out of the hollister around i think he got a shot off as he was being hit, but it went into the wall. You took a pause because you were analyzing. At that point, i guess, the shooter caught me out of the corner of his eye because he was walking down toward the front of the auditorium. He then halfway turned toward me arc me, and i took a shot because i had a full frontal face. I took out some evil, and thats again, thats the way im processing it. I was taking out someone who was evil and had evil intent. The 43yearold suspect had been arrested multiple times ingechas ts ex n andje more ar people. Reporter Isabel Arreola was sitting with her family, including her 7yearold daughter, feet away from the gunman. Thank god our church was proactive and did all that and put that in place, because it could have been worse. Reporter weve been able to confirm through Oklahoma Court documents the gunman had a history of violence and Mental Health issues. In fact, his exwife was granted a protective order back in 2012. We reached out to the lead agency, the Texas Department of public safety. Right now we want to get more information on the gunman and his history, but we have yet to hear back from them. Federal hate crimehas hanukkah celebration in new york. Former u. S. Marine Grafton Thomas is accused of stabbing and wounding five people saturday night in the home of a hasidic rabbi. Pros kuf prosecutors say there were items found in his car. Reporter the federal charges against Grafton Thomas were described in a criminal complaint. Authorities say the charges were prompted by handwritten journals found inside thomass home that show references to adolf hitler and nazi culture on the same page as the star of david and a swastika. The criminal complaint also says grafton used his phone to say why did hitler hate the jews and why do german jews hate me. Dozens were celebrating the end of shabbat and the seventh night of hanukkah. He covered his face with what appeared to be a scarf and said no one was leaving, slashing and establishing as many people as he could, injured five people, at least one critically. Josef gluck was inside. All the people inside starting to run out. I took the coffee table nearby and threw it in his face. Reporter thomas was apprehended within two hours by police about 35 miles away in new york city. Officers say they detected a strong smell of bleach coming from his car and saw what appeared to be blood on thomass clothing and hands. This was just the most recent in a spade of antisemitic attacks na including this deadly attack in jersey city earlier this month. Thomass attorney sitting with his mother and family pastor talked about the suspects struggle with mental illness. It may be that he was noncompliant with medications which were prescribed to deal with his severe depression and other manifestations of psychosis. Reporter thomass family says he was not violent and never raised to hate anyone. In addition to the federal hate crime charges, hes charged with five koults of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Don dahler, cbs news, new york. Senate democrats say a New York Times report that president trumps security advisers tried to convince him to release military aid for ukraine could have a big impact on the upcoming impeachment trial. Yesterday minority leader Chuck Schumer said trump repeatedly overruling his advisers shows the need to have four witnesses for the trial. Schumer said four witnesses the democrats have requested including former National Security adviser john bolton had direct knowledge of the president s decision to withhold aid to ukraine. These new revelations are a gamechanger. The new reporting shows that there were serious concerns raised by Trump Administration officials about the propriety and legality of what the president was doing. Republicans downplayed the news saying it was only a disagreement within the white house. Well, coming up on the morning news now, dozens of correctional cadets are fired after a controversial nazi salute photo. And fatherly concerns. Why Greta Thunbergs dade says hes worried. This is the cbs morning news. This is the cbs morning news. Gets in the way, e and that stubborn fat just wont go away. Coolsculpting takes you further. A nonsurgical treatment that targets, freezes, and eliminates treated fat cells for good. Discuss coolsculpting with your doctor. Some common sideeffects include temporary numbness, discomfort, and swelling. Dont imagine results, see them. Coolsculpting, take yourself further. Save 100 on your coolsculpting treatment. Text resolution to 65190 to learn more. Save 100 on your coolsculpting treatment. Fact coffee stains teeth. 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Change a little, or a lot. Nutrisse. Nourished hair. Better color. By garnier, naturally the father of climate activist Greta Thunberg said hes worried, and there are new allegations in the opioid epidemic. Those are some of the headlines on the morning newsstand. The New York Times reports documents show the fda failed to make sure opioids were safely prescribed. The new review shows that in 2011 the agency asked companies that make oxycontin and other opioids to pay for Safety Training for doctors who prescribe the drugs and track how effective it was. But researchers say the opioid makers did not collect the correct data. They never called for the tar gazprte imsaid mor. E thanoved 30 offic fired for a nazi salute during a training class. It started when this photo surfaced showing the entire class doing the salute. The governor fired all 34 guards and three staff members. I think theyre supposed to be leaders in their community. Theyre supposed to be setting the standard. And, again, this is unacceptable, and theres no place for that in leadership in west virginia, whether its Law Enforcement or corrections or any other type work. Four instructors were also suspended without pay. Our affiliate koning report as teenager who fell 500 feet down mt. Hood only injured his leg. He fell down a slope called Devils Kitchen while summiting the mountain with a group. He was put on a stretcher and guided down the mountain. Our partners at the bbc say the father of teen climate activist Greta Thunberg worries about her. He told the bbc that he was not supportive of her skipping school for the climate strike and while he says shes much happier after becoming an activist, he worries about the hate she faces. S auitghs she handles the trieto l most of the time. Still ahead, sharon stone was looking for love in all the popular places. Why the awardwinning actress was kicked off of a popular dating app. Love in all the popular places. Why she was kicked off a dates app. Ocean spray. Harvest goodness. My derm jglycolic acid. On her little antiaging secret revitalift 10 percent glycolic acid serum. With our highest concentration of glycolic acid. Resurfaces skin to visibly reduce dark spots and wrinkles. Revitalift glycolic acid serum from loreal. [sneezing] you dont want to cancel your plans. [sneezing] cancel your cold. The 1pill power of advil multisymptom cold flu knocks out your worst symptoms. Cancel your cold, not your plans. Advil multisymptom cold flu. Heres a looked a todays forecast in some cities around the country. Ill be there for you well, they wont be there for you anymore, at least not on netflix. Today is the last chance to stream the hit sitcom before it takes a break from the internet. The show will be offered on warnermedias new Service Called hbomax which is set to launch in may and costs about 15 a month. Netflix was reportedly paying 100 million to license friends, and the stars of the show are still seeing big paydays too. Usa today reports the cast still received cash from the syndication. Theyre about 20 million each year. On cbs moneywatch, uber and postmates sues over a freelance law and why actor sharon stone was blocked from a dating app. Good morning, marc. Hey, good morning, annemarie. Wall street fell back from record highs yesterday with the biggest oneday percentage declines in about four weeks. The drop came despite reports that a u. S. china trade agreement could be signed next week. The dow lost 183 points, the s p fell 18 points, and the nasdaq dropped 60 points. Uber and post mates have filed a lawsuit against california giving protection to people working as independent contractors. The law set to take place sets tough new rules in which the workers must be considered employees. The u. S. Army is joining the navy in banning the use of the popular chinese social media video app tik tok on government owned phones. An Army Spokesperson told military. Com that tik tok is considered a security threat. It comes after both democrat and republican lawmakers called on regulators and intelligence used toollect ta the movie cats is not purring along at the box office after getting terrible reviews. Variety says universals big screen adaptation of the Broadway Musical is on its way to losing upwards of 100 million. After two weeks in theaters, it brought in only 38 million globally. The movireportedly cost 100 million to produce and another 100 million for marketing and distribution fees. And sharon stone is back buzzing around the dating app bumble. The 61yearold actress tweeted sunday that bumble had closed her account becae her thought her profile was fake. Yesterday bumble apologized for the confusion. It said stone was mistakenly blocked because there was no verification and people figured it couldnt really be her. Stones second marriage to Phil Braunstein ended in divorce in out, i feel like shes going to absolutely kill it on bumble. Shes gorgeous. When i read why did she get blocked, my question was, why is she on bumble. I dont get it. Not that theres anything wrong with bumble, but she would kill it in the dating world. Youd think so, but you never know. You never know. Marc liverman at the new york stock exchange. Thanks, marc. Thanks, annemarie. Still ahead, the poll of the most admired men in 2019. President s, both past and present take top honors this year. Soothing relief to defeat your worst cold and flu symptoms fast. Device sneezes theraflu. The power is in your im craving something were missing. They help restore my natural barrier, so i can lock in moisture. Weve got to have each others backs. Cerave. Now the 1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand. 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Coming up on cbs this morning, chris van cleaves shoes how families are taking the fear out of flying with children with autism. Im annemarie green. This is the cbs morning news. Introducing new Vicks Vapopatch easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. New Vicks Vapopatch. Breathe easy. My derm jglycolic acid. On her little antiaging secret revitalift 10 percent glycolic acid serum. With our highest concentration of glycolic acid. Resurfaces skin to visibly reduce dark spots and wrinkles. Revitalift glycolic acid serum from loreal. Wildfires are raging through southeast australia, turning the skies red. Thousands of people in a seaside town fled to the beach for safety, and at least one firefighter was killed yesterday. The death toll is expected to rise. The bush fires have been raging for several weeks now, destroying millions of acres and more than a thousand homes. The u. S. Military released new video of american air strikes in iraq and syria. The strikes targeted a military group and were in response to an attack in iraq last friday that killed an American Defense contractor. As the civil war in syria rages on, Charlie Dagata reports on the search and rescue group known as the White Helmets. Reporter the characteristic White Helmets didnt offer much protection as they defied death to rush head first toward air strikes, but they served as a beacon to the trapped and desperately wounded that the only help around was on its way, often the deciding factor between life and death. Among them was ahmed whose identity is obscured to protect his family. Do you have any idea how many families youve protected over the years . A lot, he said. I dont know exactly, but more than 40. He was once a farmer. Then the war came. He trained with the White Helmets to drive ambulances and fight fires, but to the syrian regime, he and his colleagues were seen as the enemy, and when Syrian Forces began to win the war, retaking territory, ahmed and his coworkers found themselves cornered. You had isis on one side, the regime on other, and youre toward the golan heights. Exactly, he said. We slept in the forest with the ground as our bed and the sky as our blanket. A coalition of countries, including israel and the united states, came up with a plan to get them out. Last july, 422 White Helmets and their families were smuggled out to neighboring countries. Now theyve found asylum a world away from the war zone, places like canada, germany, france, and here in britain, where adjusting to a new climate means more than just the weather. Are you able to enjoy the peace, or is it difficult to put the memories behind . Its not easy to forget eight years of shelling, destruction, and war, he told us. You see things like cold weather and rain, but youre alive and you have a future. Everything else is easy. As he well knows, saving one life does not change the world, but for that one life, the world will change forever. Charlie dagata, cbs news, in northern england. Coming up on cbs this morning, in our continuing series bill of the month, partnership with Kaiser Health news and npr, were going to show you how a scratching throat led to more than 28,000 in medical bills. Plus kris van cleave shows us how some American Airlines are trying to take the fear out of flying with families with children with autism. Thats the cbs morning news for this tuesday. Thanks for watching. Im annemarie green. Have a great day. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com announcer 1029