countdown. a house vote on health care reform could come by week's end, about but democratic leaders are still scrambling for votes. stalker sentence. the espn reporter victimized by a peeping tom wants a harsher sentence. >> i'm mad. i appreciate the judge today and what he could do. three months isn't enough. and rock royalty. the rock 'n' roll hall of fame inducts its latest class of legends. ♪ this is the "cbs morning news" for tuesday, march 16th, this is the "cbs morning news" for tuesday, march 16th, 2010. captioning funded by cbs good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle gielan. "we're going to make this happen." that's what president obama says about congress working to pass a health care reform plan. a vote could come this weekend. the heat is on democratic lawmakers, but leaders of the party admit they still do not have the votes. whit johnson is in washington with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: michelle, good morning. 216 is the magic number. that's how many votes house democrats need to pass health care reform. after a year of missed deadlines, time may be running out. top democrats are confident they'll lock in enough support to make health care reform a reality. >> i believe we have the votes and that we will get this bill done this week. >> reporter: representative john larsson told reporters monday he believes lawmakers could take up the measure as early as thursday or friday. a house committee took the first step toward a quick final vote with the approval of a set of fast track rules. >> the ayes are 21, the nos 16. >> taking the next step, we begin the process of bringing to fruitful conclusion our work on these vital issues. >> reporter: the vote mostly along party lines had republicans steaming mad. >> my friends in the majority claim that what we're doing here is simply paving the way to fix a mildly flawed senate bill. but that's not what's happening here and we all know it. >> reporter: republicans are vowing to make democrats who support the overhaul pay come election time. still, president obama is urging his party to stay strong. >> we need courage. >> reporter: he told a crowd in springfield, ohio, the status quo on health care is unacceptable. he says lawmakers and the public can't afford to wait any longer. >> we can't have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the american people. >> reporter: labor unions and other supporters are launching a new ad campaign this week urging house democrats to support the plan. but some say if president obama wants a bill to sign, he may have to do it the old fashioned way, meeting wavering lawmakers face to face. and we're hearing that's exactly what the president is doing. aides say president obama has held one-on-one sessions in the oval office with at least two freshman lawmakers. michelle? >> whit johnson in washington. thanks. the supreme court's oldest serving justice, john paul stevens, is giving serious thought to retiring. stevens tells the new yorker magazine he'll decide in the next month or so if he'll step down at the end of the current term. stevens is 89 years old and a leader of the court's liberal wing. stevens says he will definitely retire in the next three years. now to that ferocious weather that has the northeast reeling. three states, massachusetts, connecticut and rhode island have declared states of emergency. eight inches of rain fell in massachusetts where there is wide spread flooding. hundreds of thousands remain without power as the torrential rains and high winds closed roads and forced rivers over their banks. and in the midwest, it's the red river that's threatening homes and businesses in minnesota and north dakota. more than a million sand bags and miles of levees will be used to control the rising water. the red river is expected to crest by saturday at 20 feet above flood stage. last year thousands were forced to evacuate. skeptical republicans want to put the brakes on overhauling the financial system. the house has passed one plan and yesterday the chairman of the senate banking committee unveiled his. connecticut's chris dodd wants to debate and vote on the measure by next week, but gop leaders say that's not happening. anthony mason reports. >> reporter: 18 months after lehman brothers' bankruptcy sparked a global financial crisis, senator chris dodd unveiled proposals for the most sweeping reforms since the depression. >> our goal with the legislation is to end business as usual. >> reporter: the bill would give the government power to seize and dismantle failing financial companies and require banks to contribute to a reserve fund to pay for it. >> the legislation will end too big to fail bailouts. >> reporter: the bill would also create a consumer financial protection bureau, the agency would have an independent director but would be part of the federal reserve. >> there's no two ways about it, that the fed's reputation in protecting consumers is not very good. >> reporter: critics say the reforms do little to police derivatives and credit default swaps, the@omplex financial contracts which help set off the financial crisis. >> we don't think that the current legislation in its form today goes far enough. >> reporter: even jamey collie wants more reform. his company trades $200 million in derivatives every day. the crisis occurred, he says, because the market is interconnected and unregulated. and that risk is still there? >> and that risk is still there. >> the key question of whether we really will be able to fight future recessions, near depressions, is our ability to get a handle on these toxic instruments and we have not even heard the opening shot on that today. >> reporter: democrats are pushing the financial reform bill without republican backing, betting they can rally support from an angry public still suffering the aftereffects of the financial crisis. anthony mason, cbs news, new york. on the cbs "moneywatch," stocks in asia edged down this morning and emily smith is here in new york with that and more. hi, emily, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. that's right, tokyo's nikkei dipped more than a quarter percent while the hang seng also edged down. wall street gets the latest housing numbers today along with a decision on the interest rates from the federal reserve. investors played it cautious monday. the dow gained 17 points, the nasdaq was down 5. the treasury department says new lending plummeted in january at the nine largest banks that have yet to repay the bailouts. treasury's monthly survey of bank lending shows overall new loans dropped 35% from december's level. the obama administration's pay czar is limiting 2010 compensation for top executives at gmac. the auto finance giant continues to lose money and can't yet repay its $16.3 billion taxpayer bailout. well, get your free food while you can at continental airlines. starting this fall, the houston based carrier will begin charging for meals. the switch affects passengers in coach on many north american flights. the airline expects to save $35 million. you may soon be seeing some healthier choices at your local movie theater. the head of sony has asked theater owners to offer alternative foods at its concession stands. requests include fruit cups, veggies with dip and granola, but don't worry, there will still be plenty of popcorn and candy. and nine months after his death, michael jackson has landed the biggest recording contract in history. the king of pop's estate has reportedly agreed to a $200 million deal with sony for ten projects over the next seven years. the first is an album of never released songs that should come out in november. they're also talking about a double cd based on his film "this is it" and a dvd compilation of videos. the official announcement is expected today. michelle? >> all right, emily smith here in new york. thanks. and just ahead on the "morning news," new doubts about the story of a runaway prius. plus, a victim's rage. sports reporter erin andrews says her stalker got off with a light sentence. first katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news". >> stem cells have the potential to treat or even cure many diseases, but patients want results now. how can scientists harness their power in the next decade? "where america stands" on stem cell research tonight, only on the "cbs evening news." night, only on the "cbs evening news." some models look so mad. [ ellen ] i'm beautiful. maybe it's because they pay so much for department store makeup when there's an amazing anti-aging makeup from covergirl and olay. simply ageless. this advanced formula with olay regenerist serum won't glob up in lines and wrinkles like the leading department store makeup can. get out of that department store! and into simply ageless. you'll look amazing and happy too. simply ageless, from olay and easy breezy beautiful covergirl. i'm a covergirl. simply ageless blush and new corrector and concealer. gladys has always loved the scent of gain laundry detergent. and the moment she set eyes on gain fabric softener, she found herself overwhelmed with desire. ( ♪ ) ah, the things we do for love. the amazing scent of gain in detergent and fabric softener. sniff, sniff, hooray! in houston, texas, there was another bus and train collision at a particular downtown intersection. 19 people were taken to hospitals after the bus crashed into the light rail train yesterday. none of the injuries is life-threatening. officials are investigating and trying to determine why a similar accident happened at the same intersection last month. hundreds of passengers have gotten sick on a third trip in a row of a celebrity cruise ship. the celebrity "mercury" is headed back to port in south carolina from the caribbean after more than 300 passengers became ill from a stomach bug. more than 500 people had been sick on two previous cruises aboard the same ship. those two northwest airlines pilots who overflew the minneapolis airport by 150 miles last october could fly again. they reached an agreement with the faa to not fight the revocation of their pilot licenses, but they can apply for new ones on august 29th. they told investigators they were distracted by working on schedules on their laptops during the flight. lawsuits have been filed in washington and arizona by toyota drivers who want their money back because of safety concerns. meanwhile toyota questions the story of the runaway prius. the automaker says the gas pedal was normal and the brakes should have been stopping the car. dean reynolds reports. >> reporter: a week ago, jim sikes called 911 as his prius accelerated out of control to 94 miles an hour. >> my car can't slow down. >> you can't slow down? >> no. >> reporter: but as soon as the car stopped, speculation started about his story. and now after days of road testing his vehicle, toyota and federal regulators are raising serious doubts about it. >> while our analysis is not finalized, toyota believes there are significant inconsistencies between the account of the event of march 8th and the findings of this investigation. >> reporter: after their road test of sikes' car, toyota said the gas pedal, gear shift and power switch were all working fine. there were no trouble codes in the computer or warning lights on the dash. no bunched floor mats or sticky pedals. but the brakes showed severe wear and damage from overheating. the transportation department said we may never know what happened to sikes' car, but toyota offered a possibility. >> i think it also has to be mentioned that there are human factors. no one likes to talk about that, but people do make mistakes in driving. >> reporter: former federal investigator richard schmidt studied a similar runaway phenomenon in audis in the 1980s and said it turned out that human error was largely to blame back then and may well be now. one study he noted had a related and possibly telling statistic. >> the 60- to 70-year-old group of drivers complained about unintended acceleration about six times as often as the 20 to 30 group. >> reporter: that fits conveniently with what toyota has been implying all along, and it shifts the spotlight away from their cars and on to the drivers. dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. >> the man who secretly took nude videos of erin andrews is headed to jail. michael barrett was given a 2 1/2 year prison sentence in los angeles. he pleaded guilty back in december to shooting the videos through hotel peepholes and then posting them on the internet. andrews says that barrett deserved a more severe punishment. >> i'm at the angry stage right how. i'm mad. i appreciate the judge today and what he could do. three months isn't enough. >> barrett has until may 3rd to surrender to authorities to start serving his sentence. straight ahead, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, the lakers turn it up a notch the month before playoffs. fore adulthood.. it's so important that they get enough calcium every day. that's why there's new danonino. danonino! unlike leading kids yogurts, danonino has twice the calcium of milk, ounce per ounce, with vitamin d. so it's power packed for healthy growth. and its rich creamy taste is... yummy! so they can start building strong bones today... for stronger bodies tomorrow. new danonino from dannon. power packed to help kids grow. - need any help cleaning up? - nah, i think i'm pretty much... 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( boy shouts, water squirts ) - welcome to my world. - thanks. do you know scott? scott towels are cleanup, done right. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, partly cloudy, 58. miami, 75. chicago, 57. denver, sunny at 62. los angeles, partly cloudy and 77. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clouds scattered over the northeast and the ohio valley. it's a nice morning around the central rockies and central plains. and the northwest is looking at cloudy skies. now, later today, scattered showers will be developing across the northwest. the northeast finally enjoys a dry and sunny day. the southwest and southeast remain mild and dry. and scattered showers are likely around the deep south this afternoon. in sports, with about a month before the nba playoffs, the lakers are back on track. kobe bryant scored 29 points for los angeles against golden state. the lakers had to hold off the warriors in the final seconds for a 124-121 victory. after a short losing streak, l.a. still leads the western conference with the second best record in the league. in houston, aaron brooks of the rockets hit a jumper in the closing seconds and scored 31 points to help beat denver. the 125-123 houston win ended denver's six game win streak. in salt lake city, williams of the jazz had 17 points and boozer scored 23 against the wizards. utah pulled one game closer to denver in the nba's northwest division with a 112-89 win over washington. and in boston, ray allen had 15 points as the celtics coasted to an easy victory at home. boston had some fun in the fourth quarter of a 119-93 win over detroit. the celtics have the fourth best record in the eastern conference. when we return, we'll take another look at this morning's top stories. and iggy pop and the stooges fire up the crowd and get inducted in to the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. for this morning's quiz. christopher columbus sailed the ocean blue... in 14 hundred and 92. nice! , the missouri river is this way! lewis and clark expedition of 1804. oh, he'll never get this. magellan, 1520. awww, my 8 layers must've given it away. help keep your kid full and focused with 8 filling layers... of whole grain fiber found in kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats® cereal. this is one giant leap for mini-kind™. keeps 'em full. keeps 'em focused. hoo hooo! diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating. that's me! can i tell you what a difference phillips' colon health has made? it's the probiotics. the good bacteria. that gets your colon back in balance. i'm good to go! phillips' colon health. on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. scattered showers will be developing across the deep south. the northeast will finally have a dry and sunny day and more scattered showers are likely around the northwest this afternoon. here's another look at this morning's top stories. a house vote on health care reform could come by this weekend, but democratic leaders admit they still are short of the votes needed to pass the bill. and emergencies have been declared in three northeastern states hit hard by heavy rains and strong winds. in the midwest, the red river is expected to flood in minnesota and north dakota. and the newest members of the rock 'n' roll hall of fame include what can be best described as an eclectic mix of musicians from progressive rockers to pop stars. terrell brown reports. ♪ >> reporter: the members of the band maroon 5 were not even born when the hollys were taking england by storm, but they teamed up monday might to honor the newest batch of music legends. it was a virtual who's who of music at new york's waldorf astoria hotel where the rock 'n' roll hall of fame officially welcomed its 2010 inductees. a mixed bag of artists including the quiet rebels of rock, genesis. swedish pop sensation abba was the most unexpected inductee. their work has gone on to inspire the broadway musical and movie "mamma mia!." two of the original four were there. >> in a way, not surprised that actually we have influenced a lot of other musicians and singers. >> reporter: earning this honor is no easy feat. groups and individuals must have released their first album at least 25 years ago and the more than 500 rock experts who vote must deem that the inductees music significantly influenced the history of rock 'n' roll. jimmy cliff is a reggae legend, iggy pop and the stooges credited as the fathers of punk rock. the hall of fame is in cleveland, but the organization is based in new york. organizers say this is one of the best spots to fund raise so they can continue to honor those that have shaped rock 'n' roll history. other honorees, a handful of songwriters who penned such classics as "you've lost that loving feeling," "leader of the pack" and "all shook up." influences that continue to shake up today's music. ♪ terrell brown, cbs news, new york. i'm michelle gielan and this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ ♪ [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze, my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that's the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i'm ready by the time we get to the first hole. and that's good because the competition's steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™ ♪ (announcer) right now, all over the country, discover card customers are getting five percent cashback bonus at grocery stores. it pays to get more, it pays to discover. average miles, well maintained. so, what do you think? i think i'll go with the preferred package. good choice... oh. only meineke gives you options on complete car care, and we'll help you choose what's right for you, your car, and your budget. at meineke, you're always the driver. thank you. yeah. ♪ good morning,, we have a few clouds overhead and we have bernadette woods. >> well, good morning, everyone. it's quieter than past mornings with the storm, it's finally, almost gone. i want to show you the radar, we have a few sprinkles and don't be surprised if you encounter some. it's 46 degrees at this point and we have a few breaks in the clouds and a lot of clouds. as we head into the afternoon, things will change. sunshine returns and we'll warm up and you'll like the forecast, a lot of you dying for spring out there. in the news, charges timed, a parent of the infant buried in druid hill is charged. and billing the city. former mayor sheila dixon under fire for having the city pay for her hair. and fighting the flooding, the north east dealing with several inches of water. several states are in states of emergency. we'll have more in just a few minutes. ,,,,,,,,