Today, we saw new evidence that the barbarity of syrias civil war has not lessened, even a town is being starved by the dictators forces. Men, women and children are dying in slow motion as one resident put it. Heres elizabeth palmer. Reporter months of deprivation have pushed the smallest and the poorest to the very brink. A mother feeds her child with what looks like broth, but its actually water, flavored with jam. In an online appeal, a man explains, we have no food, no water and no power, and then he bursts into tears. Please, world, he says, we are dying. Activists say the most wretched are making soup with grass, and some have died of starvation. And all this just 30 miles from the capital, damascus, in fertile hill country. We traveled there in 2012 when it was still safe enough to area. Now they and more than 40,000 residents are trapped, surrounded by Syrian Government forces who have sealed off all the roads. This video, posted by activists, shows the residents begging the government soldiers to let Food Supplies in. But the last aid convoy they allowed to pass was back in october. But suddenly today, scott, after those pictures of the starving people had caused international consternation, the Assad Government announced that it was going to allow one humanitarian aid convoy into madaya probably some time over the weekend. Liz palmer reporting from the london newsroom tonight. Liz, thank you. A runaway natural gas well in los angeles has been flooding a neighborhood with methane for 76 days. 2,000 people have been evacuated as Southern CaliforniaGas Companies struggles to stop the Mireya Villarreal is following this. Reporter this infrared video shows you what you cant see with the naked eye, a geyser spewing at least 70,000 pounds of gas every hour into Southern California neighborhoods less than two miles away. We call this the bp oil spill on land. Reporter environmental activist Erin Brockovich was blunt about the latest gas leak findings. A new study commissioned by a law firm suing the utility says gas is now reaching porter ranch neighborhoods 18 hours of the day. This isnt a onetime assault. This is an ongoing assault every single day. Reporter the source of the leak is a hole in a 62yearold pipe. Southern california gas chief operating officer brett lane. I personally apologize to the residents. This is something that, you know, the nuisance that they face, the different issues that they have faced, we do apologize for that. Try to eliminate that nuisance or the issues that they face by stopping the leak as fast as we can. Reporter to stop the leak, the Utility Company needs to drill down 8,000 feet. Theyre using a relief well to intersect the leaking pipe and plug it up. The gas Company Estimates the process will take until april. Christine soderlunds home is less than two miles from the gas leak. She moved after her children started to get sick with unexplained headaches, nausea and nosebleeds. I am worrying about the gas every day. Im worrying about my familys health. Reporter there are 115 wells in the hills that you see behind me, including the one that is leaking, and, scott, of those 115, only ten have safety valve shut offs. Mireya villarreal reporting for us tonight. Mireya, thank you. Last night, we showed you remarkable pictures of people lining up down the block to collect painkillers at a an office the Authorities Say is really just a front for drug dealing. Well, tonight jim axelrod and producer ashley velie continue their investigation in West Virginia, where the state is suing, accusing pharmacists and drug distributors of making millions, pushing narcotics to anyone who wants them. Reporter no state has had more trouble with prescription pain pills than West Virginia, and no town in West Virginia more trouble than kermit, population 400. This undercover video of kermits main pharmacy shows scores of people picking up prescriptions inside and at the drivethru window. They fill more scripts for oxycodone than all but 21 pharmacies in america. Reporter in the country . In the country. Reporter jim cagle represents the state in the pill mills and wholesale drug distributors. What you have is some bad doctors and pharmacies who are willing to turn a blind eye because of the money thats involved. Reporter more than three million doses of hydrocodone were ordered by a kermit pharmacist, james willie, in one year. He paid drug distributors hundreds of thousands of dollars, while netting more than 6 million in profit. In 2012, willie lost his license and served six months in prison for illegally dispensing drugs. But cagle told us the problem persists. This pharmacy, tug valley, is now being sued for negligently filling prescriptions. Records show tug valley was filling more than 150 pain prescriptions a day from one clinic alone. Hi, you mr. Bellengee . Im jim axelrod with cbs news. We decided to ask owner randy bellengee about the charges. Youre named in a lawsuit, you have nothing to say to me directly . At his lawyers direction, he wouldnt respond. We would think an alarm bell would go off. Reporter West Virginia secretary of health Karen Bowling says until now, the drug distributors have escaped scrutiny. If youre a distributor, if youre providing medication to pharmacies, someone would say, wow, this is a lot. What do we need to do about it . Reporter thats the premise behind the unprecedented lawsuit. Under West Virginias law, distributors are legally bound to report suspicious orders from pharmacies. If that distributor has good reason to believe that the prescriptions that are being filled are not for legitimate medical purposes, then they are not to make that delivery. They have an obligation . They have a duty, yes. Reporter Amerisource Bergen wholesaler in the country and one of 11 defendants in the states case. Over a fiveyear period, they filled orders for 118 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills, enough to supply every West Virginian with 13 pain pills a year. Thats scary math. It is. Yes, it is. It is actually the product of what i would refer to as a Business Plan, a Business Plan by people that are not honorable people. Reporter we reached out to lawyers for Amerisource Bergen. They told us they couldnt comment because of this ongoing litigation. This potentially precedent setting trial is set to begin in october. Remarkable reporting, jim. Thanks. The military has identified the green beret who was killed tuesday in afghanistan. Hes Staff SergeantMatthew Mcclintock of new mexico. Hes 30 years old. He leaves a wife and their threeyearold son, declan. Mcclintock was killed in a firefight with the taliban on theres more news ahead. New dietary guidelines from the government wont sit well with anyone who has a sweet tooth. And well take a fine italian sports car for a dive. The cbs overnight news will be right back. Its time to dance freely thanks to new pampers cruisers the first and only diaper that helps distribute wetness evenly into three extra absorb channels. So it doesnt sag and stays dryer so wiggle it jiggle it and do, whatever that is, in new pampers cruisers cell phone rings where are you . Well the squirrels are back in the attic. Mom . Your dad wont call an exterminator. Can i call you back, mom . He says its personal this time. If youre a mom, you call at the worst time. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Where are you . Its very loud there. Are you taking a zumba class . So how ya doing . Enough pressure in here for ya . Ugh. My sinuses are killing me. Yeah. Just wait til we hit ten thousand feet. Im gonna take mucinexsinusmax. Too late, were about to take off. These dissolve fast. Theyre new liquid gels. And youre coming with me. Wait, what . do i still get the miles . New Mucinex Sinusmax liquid gels. Dissolves fast to unleash max strength medicine. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. Lets end this. Today the government revised its advice for a healthy diet. The headlines lean meat and and salt still bad. Heres dr. Jon lapook. Reporter the new usda guidelines recommend people consume less than 10 of calories per day from added sugars, about 12 teaspoons. Less than 10 of calories per day from saturated fats, about a fastfood cheeseburger, and less than 2,300 milligrams per day of sodium, about a teaspoon of table salt. Women should consume between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day. Men, 2,000 to 3,000. Lets see how this sample of daily meals stacks up. If you have cereal and coffee for breakfast, a cheese wrap for lunch, an apple for a snack, lmon, vegetables and a glass of wine for dinner, add small piece of cake for dessert, you consumed about 2,150 calories. But the soda alone exceeded the recommended sugar limit, and the turkey wrap and chips contain about 1,100 milligrams of recommended amount. Sharon zarabi is a registered dietitian at lenox hill. Is honey added sugar . Honey is added sugar, although it is natural, but youll notice that milk products, such as milk or even a yogurt, has 12 grams of sugar per cup, and then when you are making it a fruitflavored yogurt, that doubles the sugar from 12 to 24 grams per serving. Reporter we also asked about foods with unexpectedly high sodium. The same type of flavor dressing, which is italian, in one bottle can be 450 milligrams of sodium versus 300 milligrams. Reporter thats a huge difference. Yeah. Reporter scott, its so easy to get faked out. You might think this spinach wrap is better than this piece of white bread, but the bread has 90 calories and no saturated fat, and the wrap, 210 calories and two grams of saturated fat, so you have to read the label. Read the labels. Dr. Jon lapook. Coming up, were going to remember an actor that got a lot of laughs one day at a time. Tonight arizona is getting the el nio rains that flooded Southern California this week. 200,000 lamborghini, the white one there, into a speedboat. But believe it or not, the engine did not stall. And near san francisco, a man watching waves roll in got pounded by one. Actor Pat Harrington has died. He was schneider, the super on one day at a time. I got a little present here for you. Its something that all the ladies in the apartment are fighting over. Its a whispersilent flush valve for your can. Pat harrington died of alzheimers disease. He was 86. In a moment, defying the investment. I guess sometimes things just happen. Devastating things. Your whole world changes in an instant. Thats what happened to me. The day my mother had a stroke. Im paul george, and i want you to spot a stroke, f. A. S. T. F, face drooping. A, arm weakness. S, speech difficulty. T, time to call 911. Protect the ones you love. Americans pursuing a dream have driven the jackpot for saturday nights powerball to more than 700 million. Heres mark strassmann. Those are the winning numbers right there. Reporter not much got done at the office today. The winning tickets. Reporter everyone was out working on a retirement plan. There was definitely a buzz about it. Reporter jeff rosen organized his office pool in atlanta. Lets look at those numbers one more time. Reporter last nights 500 million drawing was the 18th time the jackpot has rolled over since the last winner in november. Have you watched it climb 300, 400, 500. You drive down the interstate and see those big billboards and youre like, wow. You sit in traffic in the morning and think, man, if i won that. Reporter this 700 million could actually mean a onetime cash option of 428 million. To win, you just got to defy odds of 292 million to one. Just one . Reporter you have a better chance of being hit by lightning while drowning. Why do i play . Because i want money. I only play when its 700 million. 50 million . Im not interested. Reporter this jackpot is already a record by 110 million, and players in 44 states will drive it higher by saturday nights drawing. I feel lucky today. Reporter which is why so few people felt like working today, and tomorrows not looking much better. One. Thats it. Reporter mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. Thats the overnight news for this friday. For some of you, the news continues. For others, check back with us just a little bit later for the morning. York city, im scott pelley. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com the is the cbs overnight news. Welcome to the overnight news. Im elaine quijano. Come out with its latest guidelines on what you should eat to stay healthy. Most will come as no surprise. Less sugar, less salt. Dr. Jonathan lapook has the rest. Reporter the new usda guidelines recommend people consume less than 10 of calories a day from added sugar, about 12 teaspoons. Less than 10 of calories per day from saturated fats, about a fastfood cheeseburger, and less than 2,300 milligrams per day of sodium, about a teaspoon of table salt. Women should consume between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day. Men, 2,000 to 3,000. Lets see how this sample of daily meals stacks up. If you have cereal and coffee for breakfast, a cheese wrap for lunch, an apple for a snack, salmon, vegetables and a glass of wine for dinner, add small piece of cake for dessert, you consumed about 2,150 calories. But the soda alone exceeded the recommended sugar limit, and the turkey wrap and chips contain sodium, already half of the recommended amount. Sharon zarabi is a registered dietitian at lenox hill. Is honey added sugar . Honey is added sugar, although it is natural, but youll notice that milk products, such as milk or even a yogurt, has 12 grams of sugar per cup, and then when you are making it a fruitflavored yogurt, that doubles the sugug from 12 to 24 grams per serving. Reporter we also asked about foods with unexpectedly high sodium. The same type of flavor dressing, which is italian, in one bottle can be 450 milligrams of sodium verus 300 milligrams. Reporter thats a huge difference. Yeah. Reporter scott, its so easy to get faked out. You might think this spinach wrap is better than this piece of white bread, but the bread has 90 calories and no saturated fat, and the wrap, 210 calories so you have to read the label. Dr. Jonathan lapook, cbs ws, new york. The family of a florida woman who died after being forcibly removed from a hospital by police say they want a federal investigation. Barbara dawson went to the e. R. Complaining of stomach pains. When the doctors tried to discharge her, she refused to leave. Police were called and placed her under arrest for Disorderly Conduct and trespassing. On the way to the squad car, she collapsed and later died. Video. Please leave or i can take you. Barbara dawson said she was in pain and couldnt breathe. But officer john tadlock tried to remove her oxygen mask. You cant take that off i can. No, you cant yes, maam. You have to leave. Dawson arrived by ambulance eight hours earlier. Angela was with her niece. I said she need her oxygen. No, she dont. Shes fine, shes fine. Leave it alone i cant even breathe the officer suspected dawson was trying to avoid going to jail. Put your hands behind your back. I cant breathe. You seem all right. Please, i beg you. Dawson collapsed outside of the hospital just feet from the police car. Thats not going to stop you from going to jail. Shes sick. Shes okay. Dawson remained next tohe police car for 18 minutes. Medical staff tried to get her in. Shes just dead weight. Lay her back. Minutes later, a doctor demanded dawson be readmitted to the hospital where she died. The hospital said they continue patient and setting up a medical and Community Task force to review best practices. In that tape, she was begging for help. Martha smith dixon said her community. Everyone knew barbara. She was a jewel. Benjamin crump is representing the family. Nobody should die like this. Today it was barbara dawson. If we dont speak to this, lit be someone else tomorrowow the medical examiner determined she died from a blood clot in her lung. State and local authorities are investigating. The restaurant chain chipotle is promising to cooperate with a federal criminal investigation. The probe focuses on a norovirus outbreak at a restaurant in california. Was linked to food born illnesses in nine states last year. Police are asking for the publics help in finding a pair of Jewelry Store robbers. Investigators believe theyve hit half a dozen stores in five states. Mark strassman reports. Reporter this mall is where this string of robberies began last april. These thieves have a plan and they stick to it. Find a Jewelry Store near a highway and hit the store when it first opens and there are no customers. The Surveillance Video shows one of the brazen thieves pulling off the latest heist earlier this week. The woman, believed to be in her late 20s or early 30s, locks the front door at a jared Jewelry Store in North Carolina before making her way to the expensive merchandise. This was after the fbi says she forced two employees into a back room at gunpoint and zip tied their hands. Woman and man are behind six heists in georgia, florida, south carolina, tennessee, and North Carolina. These are very well planned Jewelry Store robberies. They are not just walking into the Jewelry Stores. They have some knowledge about the industry. I believe theyre possibly bringing them to a larger city such as new york city or some of the larger cities where these theft rings operate from. Reporter they carefully inspect their targets. In panama city beach, the woman spoke to an employee the day before she was caught shoving diamonds into a bag. For some reason, shes never hidden her face. The most challenging part of the case is the pictures are so clear and we have such good Surveillance Footage that nobody has come forward yet with information to help us identify these people. Reporter its believed the thieves have stolen millions in high end jewelry. They pick stores by the easy escape, using a different car each time to avoid further detection. With social media these days, somebody knows who they are. Theyre using services in the community, such as hotels, restaurants, gas stations. They could be anywhere. Reporter again, the fbi is hoping somebody will identify the woman at least very soon, because shes making no effort to hide her face as weve seen that in Surveillance Video. Theyre also worried that these thieves are becoming more confident and their robberies could become more risky and violent. Will be right back. We are in the age of ageless. Age neutral. Age defiant. Age agnostic. Olay is a purveyor of ageless. Only the best 1 of ingredients make it into our products. For transformed skin without expensive brands or procedures. Nobody has any idea how old you are. With olay, you age less. So you can be ageless. Olay. Ageless. On the president ial campaign in burlington vermont for Donald Trumps latest campaign rally. He continues to hammer rival ted cruz for being born before canada. He said he should go before a judge to determine if hes qualified to be president. Reporter ted cruz has argued nine cases before the United States supreme court, and was once a collegiate debate champion. None of that has prepared him for the birther debate now raging with donald trump. Or for trumps unsolicited legal advice. I dont like the issue. I dont like bringing it up. Reporter against all evidence, donald trump claims an aversion to birtherism. I like him and he likes me. Reporter but for cruz, born in canada to an american mother, the issue is an unwelcome, possibly damaging distraction. Cruz some legal advice. Go to the federal court to ask for a declaratory judgment. As a legal matter, its straightforward. D. I would note its occurred many times in history. John mccain was born in panama, but he was a natural born citizen. Reporter but mccain, a frequent opponent of cruz in the senate, offered no help. Thats different from being born on foreign soil. So i think there is a question. I am not a constitutional scholar on that, but i think its worth looking into. Reporter in new hampshire, jeb bush called the issue phony. This is donald trump trying to put everybody into his own reality tv show. Im not going to play it. Reporter and rand paul says one thing is for certain hes qualified and eligible to be the Prime Minister of canada. Middle of a weeklong bus tour of iowa. Cruzs strategy is simple, harvest votes whenever and at whatever quantities he can. 7,000. Four years ago, charlie, Rick Santorum carried this county with 101 votes. Back in washington, Vice President joe biden says he still thinks about what might have been. Biden decided not to run for president because his heart wasnt in it. Now he says i regret it every day. Lianna goldman has the story. Reporter the Vice President did a round of interviews to talk about president obamas executive actions on gun control, but just months after announcing he wouldnt challenge Hillary Clinton for democratic nomination, the Vice President made clear its still something he thinks about daily. I regret it every day, but it was the right decision for my reporter in an interview with wvit, Vice President joe biden conceded he still is conflicted about his decision not to run for president. I plan on staying deeply involved. Weve got two good candidates. Theres a real robust debate between hillary and bernie. Reporter bidens remarks come nearly three months after president. I believe were out of time, the time necessary to mount a Winning Campaign for the nomination. Reporter the Vice President always said it was the grief over the death of his son, bo, from brain cancer that made the decision so difficult. I went out to denver and landed at a military base and met a whole group of military families. And a guy in the back yells, major bo biden, served with him in iraq. Reporter days after he announced he wouldnt seek the white house, he said how his son felt about him running. Some people have written that, you know, bo on his deathbed said dad, youve got to run and there was this hollywood moment. Nothing like that ever, ever happened. As a matter of fact, it was the almost the opposite at that point. It was almost, dad, youve got to stay strong, because the family is going to look to you, dad. Winter has finally arrived on the east coast, and thats good news for ski resorts. The region still does not have much fresh powder. But at least its cold enough to make snow. Don dahler went for a couple of runs. Reporter these are the days i really hate my job. Shawnee mountain was covered with snow by thanksgiving the past two years. But now because of this heat wave weve been going through in december, theyve had a hard time getting people on the slopes until january. Skiers are rejoicing. For this group of joyful skiers, you can mark january 6th as the best day of the year. Thats because snow has finally arrived on the poconos shawnee mountain. Well, not real snow, but a machine made blend of water and compressed air thats now covering a third of the slopes thanks to frigid temperatures. Were anxious to get the season started. Reporter jim tust is a managing partner and in his 35year career here there hasnt been a season quite like this. From a cabin named hope, he looked toward the brighter and colder future this winter and his machines could deliver. It has to feel good to look out and see these machines blowing snow. Its terrific. I live close by and i can hear them at night. Its really making good snow. Were optimistic. Three quarters of the season lies ahead, so were looking forward to a good january and february. Reporter but december disappointed just about every ski resort in the northeast where the number of usable trails is only 43 . Compare that to 99 thats skiable out west. This is footage of my family skiing in wyoming a few weeks ago, where the snow was over 11 feet deep. You can blame this boom or bust season on the el nino weather pattern, which kept temperatures high and dry in the east. This lateseason freeze hasnt only held up those eager to hit the slopes, but nearly every local business connected to the ski economy. Its not close to what it was last year. Reporter she works at the starting gate Action Sports where sales have dropped 75 and for those resort employees as seasonal as the snow, its been no vacation. The papaits took a toll on. Reporter she went more than a month without pay. What is it like for you when you havent gotten thatphone call and january comes around . What its hike for me, its just hard. Im not used to starting this late in the season. Its hard and theres bills to be paid. Thats the one that hurts the most, having to tell people, gee, we just dont have work yet. Reporter but jim tuss sees an opportunity for crowds looking to make up for lost time. Calling in sick to school. I hope thats okay. Take a snow day. Its all right with me. Reporter a lot of resorts to convince people that even though it has. Been snowing, it doesnt 2450 mean you cant come skiing. The cbs overnight news will be right back. Im alex trebek. If youre age 50 to 85, this is an important message. So please, write down the number on your screen. The lock i want to talk to you about isnt the one on your door. Its a rate lock for your Life Insurance that guarantees your rate can never go up at any time, for any reason. But be careful. Many policies you see do not have one, but you can get a lifetime rate lock through the Colonial Penn program. Call this number to learn more. This plan was designed with a rate lock for people on a fixed income who want affordable thats simple to get. Coverage options for just 9. 95 a month, less than 35 cents a day. Act now and your rate will be locked in for life. It will never increase. Your coverage can never be cancelled as long as you pay your premiums, and your acceptance is guaranteed, with no health questions. You cannot b bturned down because of your health. Call for your information kit and gift. Both are free, with no obligation. Dont wait, call this number now. [cough, cough] mike . Janet . Cough if you can hear me. Dont even think about it. I took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. Yeah. But what about mike . Guess what . It works on his cough too. Cough guess what . It works on his cough too. Whatatstop dont pull me spoiler alert she doesnt make it only mucinex dm relieves bothwet and dry coughs for 12 hours with two medicines in one pill. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. Lets end this. When you think of mens fashion, you probably think of suits, ties, a nice leather jacket. But as jamie wax reports, the Fastest Growing trend in mens wear is the festive sock. Revolution afoot. Wow these are great. Reporter a revolution deep in the sole of mens fashion. We just want to see your socks. A revolution in socks. Oh, wow banana socks. Socks are really easy fix to spice up your wardrobe. I really love the gown. Reporter brad goreski is pleased with the statement hes seen. Has it surprised even you that socks have become such a big thing . It has, actually. In terms of this trend specifically, its kind of like the gateway drug to mens fashion. Anything that gives guys the daring in their fashion choices, thats a really cool thing. Reporter one man driving the sock revolution is the always dapper dwyane wade. You think about socks and the black socks with the gold toe. Thats all i used to have. Reporter the 11time allstar has his own line of fashion socks that he helps design. This is an accessory for men that we can have a cool moment underneath our pants or on our feet that we feel a little e era about our outfit. When youre able to spend 14, 15 on socks different from a watch. Reporter wades socks are created for the California Based Company stance. So this is the house that socks built. Yes. Reporter which john wilson helped found after surveying the bland landscape below mens knees. The category itself was asleep. Reporter literally white space. White and black space. Reporter he filled that space with bold colors and patterns. They made mismatched pairs a marketing tool. They went for fun and quirky and introduced a line for those looking to step into a galaxy and then there is basketball. On the court, where shoes have always been king, stance wants fans to see beyond or underneath the sneaker. It is literally a game changer. Reporter as of this season, stance is the official sock su prior to the nba. And though the details arent public, stance will have its logo on all the shins in basketball. How much has the nba deal represented to you as a company in terms of sales . Its been a huge contributor of growow, and its a good chunk of our overall revenue. Thats the kind of deal that you want. Reporter the sock market is a multibillion dollar business. More than 5. 5 billion worldwide. So entrepreneurs are dipping their toes in. I think not a lot of people wake up on a certain morning and say, im going to refresh my whole sock drawer. Collections. They only sell socks in bunlddlebundles. And they aurnlg kus urge customers to dabble in them all. You go through five or six pairs in a week, so we bundle them and sell them to customers. Reporter naturally, there are holdouts. Not everyone has gotten the wear your fancily socks memo. Which begs a question do you think this trend in mens socks is here to stay in i hope it is. I dont know. One thing about fashion is some things surprise you when author mitch albom has old 35 million copies of his book. His latest work focuses on how we can touch others with our those talents are. Jim axelrod has the story. Reporter before tuesdays with mory became one of the best selling memoirs of all time and the five people you meet in heaven sold 10 mlion copies. Mitch alboms dreams had nothing to do with writing. I was a musician when i began and i thought thats where my talent lay. I never wrote anything. Reporter the piano player moved to new york, booked any joint he could, while he knocked on record companys doors and got them all slammed in his face. Was it painful when it didnt happen . Yeah, it was the first time in my life that all the lights hadnt turned green. Reporter failure became fuel. In large part your traractory was set my failure. Yeah. The effort that i put in to achieve what ive been able to do in the world of writing is the direct result of my failure. Wasnt a wound for me. Time has healed that. Again. Reporter the result is his latest book, the magic strings of frankie presto. I created this character that is so pure in his musical talent that his guitar string turns life. Everyone joins a band in life. Only some of them play music. Thats the truth. We all affect one another. Reporter its as much a project as a book. For a companion cd, albom gets reallife musicians to offer their takes on frankies fictional songs. Every time he hit a note his heart was breaking. He came up with a number of these artists took the name, the lyrics, and the year the song was supposed to have come out and made a song. Essentially they remade songs that never existed. Is there a chance that some day reporter among those playing on the cd, the author and his wife. Finally, albom has an album. You can die happy. Yeah. I was already going to die happy, but i can die happier and with a soundtrack now. Thats the overnight news for this friday. For some of you the news continues. For others, check back with us from the Broadcast Center in new york city, im elaine quijano. Investors head for the exits and stock prices plummet. What has wall street rattled . Also tonight, a massive gas leak in Southern California. We call this the bp oil spill lining up for painkillers. A landmark suit against drug distributors that allegedly got them hooked. Uncle sam cooks up a menu to keep america healthy. What Government Research says you should and should not eat. If you cant pronounce it, dont eat it. And saturday night fever. Millions of americans chase the biggest Powerball Jackpot in history. Why do i play . Because i want money. This is the cbs overnight news. Retirement accounts are taking a beating this week. For the third time, the dow suffered a tripledigit loss. 392 points this time, or 2. 3 . Investors are worried that the chinese economy, second largest in the world, is slowing more than the Chinese Government is letting on, and that the to intervene in its markets and devalue its currency are giving the impression that it doesnt know how to manage the trouble. Our Senior National correspondent Anthony Mason is following all of this. Anthony . Reporter scott, it was a painful day to check your 401 k . The dow is down more than 900 points since monday, thats more than five percent. The catalyst for the selloff once again was china. The Chinese Market shut down after less than half an hour this morning after plunging 7 . It was the second shutdown this week. Investors are worried the chinese economy is slowing. Gdp growth, which hit 12 five years ago, is now below 7 . If chinas in trouble, that could mean trouble for the rest of the world. And with this chaos in the shanghai markets, there are worries the chinese dont have a handle on their own economy right now, scott. And anthony, the chinese are also the second Largest Consumer of crude oil in the world. Impact of that. Reporter yeah. Crude, scott, hit a 12year low today. 33 a barrel. The price has fallen by nearly half just since may, when it was 60. If you drive to work, its like a huge tax break, but its pretty painful if you work in the oil industry in houston. Theres just too much supply now. And if china continues to slow, there will be less demand and gas prices could stay low for a while, scott. Anthony mason, thank yovery much, anthony. The folks at dow jones told us today that the plunge this week in the 30 blue chip stocks alone represents a market value loss of nearly 260 billion. Well, ted cruz is watching his stock rise, in iowa. Major garrett took a ride with the republican frontrunner 25 days before iowans cast the first votes of campaign 2016. Reporter we rode with ted cruz on day four of a sixday bus tour of iowa and asked about his birth in canada, and donald this issue is a nonissue. The law is quite clear that the child of a u. S. Citizen born abroad is a naturalborn citizen. Reporter you perceive this as an attack. Donald trump says hes trying to help you. The funny thing about politics, its fairly unusual for your opponents, who are running for the same position, to be actually trying to help you. I will hear their prayer and forgive their sins, and i will heal their land. Reporter cruz has climbed to the top of the iowa polls by reaching out to evangelicals and social conservatives. In 2012, 57 of republican caucusgoers describe themselves as evangelicals. 47 said they were very conservative. But cruz says his strategy does not rely just on iowa or new hampshire, whose more moderate electorate has not been as welcoming. There are a lot of candidates in this race who have to win iowa. There are a lot of other candidates who have to win new from our perspective, we dont view any one state as a must win. Were going to compete hard and try to win everywhere. Reporter cruz has taken a harder line on immigration than trump, opposing trumps willingness to allow deported immigrants to return to the u. S. Does the fact you enter illegally permanently bar you from ever entering the country legally . I dont believe that anyone who has come here illegally should be eligible for citizenship. Reporter cruz faced the reality of that policy yesterday in storm lake when he met a woman protected from deportation by Obama Administration executive actions. Cruz told the woman, under a cruz presidency, she would have to leave and he told her, scott, breaking the law creates human tagedies. Major garrett in iowa for us tonight. Major, thank you. 17 miners who were trapped for ten hours in a salt mine in lansing, new york, were rescued today. They had gotten stuck in an elevator 900 feet underground. They were lifted out by a crane nobody hurt, but they were cold. The shaft was 20 degrees. Today, there was a scare in paris on the anniversary of the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine. Mark phillips is there. Reporter this time the only body lying on the streets of paris belonged to the attacker. He had approached a Police Station carrying a butchers knife and shouting the islamist militant war cry allahu akbar, god great. Police said there were wires coming out of his jacket, as if from a suicide vest, shot him dead. An examination of the body found no bomb, but police say they did find a handwritten note claiming allegiance to isis. Jawad rabi runs a Clothing Store nearby. I was really concerned becacae there was a school, you know, just near the Police Station. Reporter the attacker was later identified as a local petty thief known to police but terrorist group. He apparently acted alone. Paris was already on edge before the incident. It took place as president Francois Hollande led a ceremony commemorating the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre a year ago. And the memories of the second wave of attacks less than two months ago are still vivid. President hollande said france was now living under a constant threat and Charlie Hebdos typically defiant anniversary cover suggested why. A godlike image carries an Assault Rifle murder in the name of religion. The killer, it said, is still on the run. As terror attacks go, scott, this one, an apparent loner with a knife and fake bomb, is less deadly than the others which have taken place here, but it still sends a message the enemy is among us. Be afraid. Mark phillips in paris tonight. Late today in oregon, the Harney County sheriff met with the leader of a group of protesters who have been ococpying buildings at a National Wildlife refuge. The sheriff offered them safe escort out of town and is waiting to hear back. The protest is in support of ranchers who were sent to prison for setting a fire that spread to federal lands. The cbs overnight news will be right back. Almost sixty million americans are affected by mental illness. Together we can help them with three simplplwords. My name is chris noth from maine to maui, thousands of High School Students across the country are getting in on the action by volunteering in their communities. Chris young action teams of High School Students are joining volunteers of america and Major League Baseball players to help train and inspire the next generation of volunteers. Carlos pea its easy to start an action team at your school so you, too, can get in on the action. If you were a hippie in the 60s, you need to know. Its the dawning of the age of aquarius. Yeah, and Something Else thats cool. What . Osteoporosis is preventable. All osteos preventable . Right on if you dig your bones, protect them. All cbs cares today, we saw new evidence that the barbarity of syrias after five years. A town is being starved by the dictators forces. Men, women and children are dying in slow motion as one resident put it. Heres elizabeth palmer. Reporter months of deprivation have pushed the smallest and the poorest to the very brink. A mother feeds her child with what looks like broth, but its actually water, flavored with jam. In an online appeal, a man explains, we have no food, no water and no power, and then he bursts into tears. Please, world, he says, we are dying. Activists say the most wretched are making soup with grass, and some have died of starvation. And all this just 30 miles from the capital, damascus, in fertile hill country. We traveled there in 2012 when it was still safe enough to area. Now they and more than 40,000 residents are trapped, surrounded by Syrian Government forces who have sealed off all the roads. This video, posted by activists, shows the residents begging the government soldiers to let Food Supplies in. But the last aid convoy they allowed to pass was back in october. But suddenly today, scott, after those pictures of the starving people had caused international consternatatn, the Assad Government announced that it was going to allow one humanitarian aid convoy into madaya probably some time over the weekend. Liz palmer reporting from the london newsroom tonight. Liz, thank you. A runaway natural gas well in los angeles has been flooding a neighborhood with methane for 76 days. 2,000 people have been evacuated as Southern CaliforniaGas Companies struggles to stop the Mireya Villarreal is following this. Reporter this infrared video shows you what you cant see with the naked eye, a geyser spewing at least 70,000 pounds of gas every hour into Southern California neighborhoods less than two miles away. We call this the bp oil spill on land. Reporter environmental activist Erin Brockovich was blunt about the latest gas leak findings. A new study commissioned by a law firm suing the utility says gas is now reaching porter ranch neighborhoods 18 hours of the day. This isnt a onetime assault. This is an ongoing assault every single day. Reporter the source of the leak is a hole in a 62yearold pipe. Southern california gas chief operating officer brett lane. I personally apologize to the residents. This is something that, you know, the nuisance that they face, the different issues that they have faced, we do apologize for that. Again, our focus right now is to or the issues that they face by stopping the leak as fast as we can. Reporter to stop the leak, the Utility Company needs to drill down 8,000 feet. Theyre using a relief well to intersect the leaking pipe and plug it up. The gas Company Estimates the process will take until april. Christine soderlunds home is less than two miles from the gas leak. She moved after her children started to get sick with unexplained headaches, nausea and nosebleeds. I am worrying about the gas every day. Im worrying about my familys health. Reporter there are 115 wells in the hills that you see behind me, including the one that is leaking, and, scott, of those 115, only ten have safety valve shut offs. Mireya villarreal reporting for us tonight. Mireya, thank you. Last night, we showed you remarkable pictures of people lining up down the block to collect painkillers at a doctors office. Dealing. Well, tonight jim axelrod and producer ashley velie continue their investigation in West Virginia, where the state is suing, accusing pharmacists and drug distributors of making millions, pushing narcotics to anyone who wants them. Reporter no state has had more trouble with prescription pain pills than West Virginia, and no town in West Virginia more trouble than kermit, population 400. This undercover video of kermits main pharmacy shows scores of people picking up prescriptiononinside and at the drivethru window. They fill more scripts for oxycodone than all but 21 pharmacies in america. In the country. Reporter jim cagle represents the state in the groundbreaking lawsuit against pill mills and wholesale drug distributors. What you have is some bad doctors and pharmacies who are willing to turn a blind eye because of the money thats involved. Reporter more than three million doses of hydrocodone were ordered by a kermit pharmacist, james willie, in one year. He paid drug distributors hundreds of thousands of dollars, while netting more than 6 million in profit. In 2012, willie lost his license and served six months in prison for illegally dispensing drugs. But cagle told us the problem persists. This pharmacy, tug valley, is now being sued for negligently filling prescriptions. Records show tug valley was filling more than 150 pain prescriptions a day from one clinic alone. Hi, you mr. Bellengee . Im jim axelrod with cbs news. We decided to ask owner randy bellengee about the charges. Youre named in a lawsuit, alleging substandard care. Directly . At his lawyers direction, he wouldnt respond. We would think an alarm bell would go off. Reporter West Virginia secretary of health Karen Bowling says until now, the drug distributors have escaped scrutiny. If youre a distributor, if youre providing medication to pharmacies, someone would say, wow, this is a lot. What do we need to do about it . Reporter thats the premise behind the unprecedented lawsuit. Under West Virginias law, distributors are legally bound to report suspicious orders from pharmacies. If that distributor has good reason to believe that the prescriptions that are being filled are not for legitimate medical purposes, then they are not to make that delivery. They have an obligation . They have a duty, yes. Reporter Amerisource Bergen is the Third Largest drug wholesaler in the country and one of 11 defendants in the over a fiveyear period, they filled orders for 118 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills, enough to supply every West Virginian with 13 pain pills a year. Thats scary math. It is. Yes, it is. It is actually the product of what i would refer to as a Business Plan, a Business Plan by people that are not honorable people. Reporter we reached out to lawyers for Amerisource Bergen. They told us they couldnt comment because of this ongoing litigation. This potentially precedent setting trial is set to begin in october. Remarkable reporting, jim. Thanks. The military has identified the greeeeberet who was killed tuesday in afghanistan. Hes Staff SergeantMatthew Mcclintock of new mexico. Hes 30 years old. He leaves a wife and their threeyearold son, declan. Mcclintock was killed in a firefight with the taliban on his third combat tour. New dietary guidelines from the government wont sit well with anyone who has a sweet tooth. And well take a fine italian sports car for a dive. The cbs overnight news will be right back. Phil oh no. under his breath hey man hey peter. unenthusiastic oh. Ha ha ha joanne . Is that you . Its me. You dont look a day over 70. Am i right . Jingle jingle. If youre peter pan, you stay young forever. Its what you do. Fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. You make me feel so young. Its what you do. You make me feel so spring has sprung. Hey buddy, lets get these dayquil liquid gels and go. But these liquid gels are new. Mucinex fast max. Its the same difference. These are multisymptom. Well so are these. This one is max strength and fights mucus. That one doesnt. Uh. Think fast oh. Ill put it back on the shelf. New from mucinex fast max. The only cold and flu liquid gel thats maxstrength and fights mucus. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. Today the government revised its advice for a healthy diet. The headlines lean meat and and salt still bad. Heres dr. Jon lapook. Reporter the new usda guidelines recommend people consume less than 10 of calories per day from added sugars, about 12 teaspoons. Less than 10 of calories per day from saturated fats, about a fastfood cheeseburger, and less than 2,300 milligrams per day of sodium, about a teaspoon of table salt. Women should consume between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day. Men, 2,000 to 3,000. Lets see how this sample of daily meals stacks up. If you have cereal and coffee for breakfast, a cheese wrap for lunch, an apple for a snack, salmon, vegetables and a glass of wine for dinner, add small piece of cake for dessert, you consumed about 2,150 calories. But the soda alone exceeded the recommended sugar limit, and the turkey wrap and chips contain about 1,100 milligrams of sodium, already half of the Sharon Zarabi is a registered dietitian at lenox hill. Is honey added sugar . Honey is added sugar, although it is natural, but youll notice that milk products, such as milk or even a yogurt, has 12 grams of sugar per cup, and then when you are making it a fruitflavored yogurt, that doubles the sugar from 12 to 24 grams per serving. Reporter we also asked about foods with unexpectedly high sodium. The same type of flavor dressing, which is italian, in one bottle can be 450 milligrams of sodium versus 300 milligrams. Reporter thats a huge difference. Yeah. Reporter scott, its so easy to get faked out. You might think this spinach wrap is better than this piece of white bread, but the bread has 90 calories and no saturated fat, and the wrap, 210 calories and two grams of saturated fat, so you have to read the label. Read the labels. Doc, thanks very much. Coming up, were going to remember an actor that got a lot of laughs one day at a time. Tonight arizona is getting in san diego, a driver turned a 200,000 lamborghini, the white one there, into a speedboat. But believe it or not, the engine did not stall. And near san francisco, a man watching waves roll in got pounded by one. Actor Pat Harrington has died. He was schneider, the super on one day at a time. I got a little present here for you. Its something that all the ladies in the apartment are fighting over. Its a whispersilent flush valve for your can. Pat harrington died of alzheimers disease. He was 86. In a moment, defying the investment. Americans pursuing a dream have driven the jackpot for saturday nights powerball to more than 700 million. Heres mark strassmann. Those are the winning numbers right there. Reporter not much got done at the office today. The winning tickets. Reporter everyone was out working on a retirement plan. There was definitely a buzz about it. Reporter jeff rosen organized his office pool in atlanta. Lets look at those numbers one more time. Reporter last nights 500 million drawing was the 18th time the jackpot has rolled over since the last winner in november. Have you watched it climb 300, 400, 500. You drive down the interstate and see those big billboards and youre like, wow. You sit in traffic in the morning and think, man, if i won that. Could actually mean a onetime cash option of 428 million. To win, you just got to defy odds of 292 million to one. Just one . Reporter you have a better chance of being hit by lightning while drowning. Why do i play . Because i want money. I only play when its 700 million. 50 million . Im not interested. Reporter this jackpot is already a record by 110 million, and players in 44 states will drive it higher by saturday nights drawing. I feel lucky today. Reporter which is why so few people felt like working today, and tomorrows not looking much better. Were trying to win the big one. Thats it. Reporter mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. Thats the overnight news for this friday. For some of you, the news continues. For others, check back with us just a little bit later for the morning news and cbs this morning. York city, im scott pelley. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com the is the cbs overnight news. Welcome to the overnight news. Im elaine quijano. The federal government has come out with its latest eat to stay healthy. Most will come as no surprise. Less sugar, less salt. Dr. Jonathan lapook has the rest. Reporter the new usda guidelines recommend people consume less than 10 of calories a day from added sugar, about 12 teaspoons. Less than 10 of calories per day from saturated fats, about a fastfood cheeseburger, and less than 2,300 milligrams per day of sodium, about a teaspoon of table salt. Women should consume between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day. Men, 2,000 to 3,000. Lets see how this sample of daily meals stacks up. If you have cereal and coffee for breakfast, a cheese wrap for lunch, an apple for a snack, salmon, vegetables and a glass of wine for dinner, add small piece of cake for dessert, you consumed about 2,150 calories. But the soda alone exceeded the recommended sugar limit, and the about 1,100 milligrams of sodium, already half of the recommended amount. Sharon zarabi is a registered dietitian at lenox hill. Is honey added sugar . Honey is added sugar, although it is natural, but youll notice that milk products, such as milk or even a yogurt, has 12 grams of sugar per cup, and then when you are making it a fruitflavored yogurt, that doubles the sugar from 12 to 24 grams per serving. Reporter we also asked about foods with unexpectedly high sodium. The same type of flavor dressing, which is italian, in one bottle can be 450 milligrams of sodium versus 300 milligrams. Reporter thats a huge difference. Yeah. Reporter scott, its so easy to get faked out. You might think this spinach wrap is better than this piece of white bread, but the bread has 70 calories and no saturated fat, and the wrap, 210 calories and two grams of saturated fat, so you have to read the label. New york. The family of a florida woman who died after being forcibly removed from a hospital by police say they want a federal investigation. Barbara dawson went to the e. R. Complaining of stomach pains. When the doctors tried to discharge her, she refused to leave. Police were called and placed her under arrest for Disorderly Conduct and trespassing. On the way to the squad car, she collapsed and later died. The family obtained the dash cam recording. Peacefully oh, my god. Or i can take you out. Barbara dawson said she was in pain and couldnt breathe. But officer john tadlock tried lets take this off. You cant take that off i can. No, you cant yes, maam. You have to leave. Dawson arrived by ambulance to Calhoun Liberty hospital angela was with her niece throughout the ordeal. I said she need her oxygen. No, she dont. Shes fine, shes fine. Leave it alone i cant even breathe the officer suspected dawson was trying to avoid going to jail. Put your hands behind your back. I cant breathe. You seem all right. Please, i beg you. Dawson collapsed outside of the hospital just feet from the police car. Falling down like this, laying down, thats not going to stop you from going to jail. Shes sick. Shes okay. Dawson remained next to the police car for 18 minutes. Officer tadlock and medical staff tried to get her in. Shes just dead weight. Lay her back. Somebody grab her feet. Minutes later, a doctor demanded dawson be readmitted to the hospital where she died. Calhoun Liberty Hospital said they continue to grieve the loss setting up a medical and Community Task force to review best practices and better communication. In that tape, she was begging for help. Martha smith dixon said her cousin was a pillar of her community. Everyone knew barbara. She was a jewel. Benjamin crump is representing dawsons family. Nobody should die like this. Today it was barbara dawson. If we dont speak to this, it will be someone else tomorrow. Determined she died from a blood clot in her lung. Hospital staff said they had not they discharged her. State and local authorities are investigating. The restaurant chain chipotle is promising to cooperate with a federal into the safety of its food. The probe focuses on a norovirus outbreak at a restaurant in california. Was linked to outbreaks of food born illnesses in at least nine states last year. Police are asking for the publics help in finding a pair of Jewelry Store robbers who have been terrorizing the south. Investigators believe theyve hit half a dozen stores in five states. Mark strassman reports from just outside of atlanta. Reporter this mall is where this string of robberies began last april. These thieves have a plan and they stick to it. Find a Jewelry Store near a highway and hit the store when it first opens and there are no customers. The Surveillance Video shows one of the brazen thieves pulling off the latest heist earlier this week. The woman, believed to be in her late 20s or early 30s, locks the front door at a jared Jewelry Store in North Carolina before making her way to the expensive merchandise. This was after the fbi says she forced two employees into a back room at gunpoint and zip tied their hands. Federal agents believe the woman and man are behind six south carolina, tennessee, and North Carolina. These are very well planned Jewelry Store robberies. They are not just walking into the Jewelry Stores. They have some knowledge about the industry. I believe theyre possibly bringing them to a larger city such as new york city or some of the larger cities where these theft rings operate from. Reporter Authorities Say the team carefully inspects their targets. In panama city beach, the woman spoke to an employee the day before she was caught shoving diamonds and watches into a plastic bag. She wears gloves to hide any fingerprints, but for some reason has never hidden her face. The most challenging part of the case is the pictures are so clear and we have such good Surveillance Footage that nobody has come forward yet with information to help us identify these people. Reporter its believed the thieves have stolen millions in high end jewelry. They pick stores by the interstate, presumably for an easy escape, using a different detection. With social media these days, somebody knows who they are. Theyre using services in the community, such as hotels, restaurants, gas stations. They could be anywhere. Reporter again, the fbi is hoping somebody will identify the woman at least very soon, because shes making no effort to hide her face as weve seen that in Surveillance Video. Theyre also worried that these thieves are becoming more confident and their robberies could become more risky and violent. Will be right back. On the president ial campaign trail, it was standing room only Donald Trumps latest campaign rally. He continues to hammer rival ted cruz for being born in canada. He said he should go before a judge to determine if hes qualified to be president. Major garrett was with the Cruz Campaign in iowa. Reporter ted cruz has argued nine cases before the united state supreme court, graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and was once a collegiate debate champion. None of that has prepared him for the birther debate now raging with donald trump. Or for trumps unsolicited legalal advice. I dont like the issue. I dont like bringing it up. Reporter against all evidence, donald trump claims an aversion to birtherism. Im doing this for the good of ted because i like him and he likes me. Reporter but for cruz, born in canada to an american mother, the issue is an unwelcome, possibly damaging distraction. Everybody tells me he had a joint passport. Reporter the real estate mogul offered cruz, a harvard trained lawyer, some legal advice. Ask for a declaratory judgment. Reporter cruz denied having a canadian passport and as a legal matter it is moot. As a legal matter, its straigigforward. I would note its occurred many times in history. John mccain was born in panama, but he was a natural born citizen because his parents were u. S. Citizens. Reporter but mccain, a frequent opponent of cruz in the senate, offered no help. Mccain faced similar questions in 2008 due to his birth on a u. S. Military base overseas. Thats different from being born on foreign soil. So i think there is a question. I am not a constitutional scholar on that, but i think its worth looking into. Reporter in new hampshire, jeb bush called the issue phony. This is donald trump trying to put everybody into his own reality tv show. Im not going to play it. Reporter and rand paul says one thing is for certain hes qualified and eligible to be the Prime Minister of canada. Reporter cruz is in the of iowa. Hoping to avoid the seeds of doubt trump is trying to plant. Cruzs strategy is simple, harvest votes whenever and at whatever quantities he can. The math works this way here in the county, population of about 7,000. Foururears ago, charlie, Rick Santorum carried this county with 101 votes. Back in washington, Vice President joe biden says he still thinks about what might have been. Biden decided not to run for president because his heart wasnt in it. Now he says i regret it every day. Julianna goldman has the story. Reporter the Vice President did a round of interviews to talk about president obamas executive actions on gun control, but just months after announcing he wouldnt challenge Hillary Clinton for democratic nomination, the Vice President made clear its still something he thinks about daily. I regret it every day, but it was the right decision for my family and me. With wvit, Vice President joe biden conceded he still is conflicted about his decision not to run for president. I plan on staying deeply involved. Weve got two good candidates. Theres a real robust debate between hillary and bernie. Reporter bidens remarks come nearly three months after announcing he would not run for president. I believe were out of time, the time necessary to mount a Winning Campaign for the nomination. Reporter the Vice President always said it was the grief over the death of his son, bo, from brain cancer that made the decision so difficult. I went out to denver and landed at a military base and met a whole group of militay families. And a guy in the back yells, major bo biden, served with him in iraq. All of a sudden, i lost it. How could you not . Announced he wouldnt seek the white house, he said how his son feltltbout him running. Some people have written that, you know, bo on his deathbed said dad, youve got to run and there was this hollywood moment. Nothing like that ever, ever happened. As a matter of fact, it was the almost the opposite at that point. It was almost, dad, youve got to stay strong, because the family is going to look to you, dad. Winter has finally arrived on the east coast, and thats good news for ski resorts. The region still does not have much fresh powder. But at least its cold enough to make snow. Don dahler went for a couple of runs. Reporter these are the days i really hate my job. Shawnee mountain was covered with snow by thanksgiving the past two years. But now because of this heat wave weve been going through in december, theyve had a hard time getting people on the slopes until january. Skiers are rejoicing. For this group of joyful skiers, you can mark january 6th as the best day of the year. Thats because snow has finally arrived on the poconos shawnee mountain. Well, not real snow, but a machine made blend of water and compressed air thats now covering a third of the slopes thanks to frigid temperatures. Were anxious to get the season started. Its been a little tough go this year. Reporter jim tust is a managing partner and in his 35year career here there hasnt been a season quite like this. Tourism is the most important here. Reporter but from a cabin named hope, he looked toward the righter and colder future this winter and his machines could deliver. It has to feel good to look out and see these machines blowing snow. Its terrific. I live close by and i can hear them at night. I listen to that at home. I know just from experience when its really making good snow. Were optimistic. Lies ahead, so were looking forward to a good january and february. Reporter but december disappointed just about every ski resort in the northeast where the number of usable trails is only 43 . Compare that to 99 thats skiable out west. This is footage of my family skiing in wyoming a few weeks ago, where the snow was over 11 feet deep. You can blame this boom or bust season on the el nino weather pattern, which kept temperatures high and dry in the east. This lateseason freeze hasnt only held up those eager to hit the slopes, but nearly every local business connected to the ski economy. Its not close to what it was last year. Reporter nicolette works at the starting gate action reports where sales have not only stalled but dropped 75 compared to a year ago. And for those resort employees been no vacation. The past year, to open this late, it took a toll on us. Reporter nicole fox is a Seasonal Employee who went more than a month without pay. What is it like for you when you havent gotten that phone call and january comes around . What its like for me, its just hard. Im not used to starting this late in the season. Its hard and theres bills to be paid. Thats the one that hurts the most, having to tell people, gee, we just dont have work yet. Reporter but in winters long awaited arrival, jim tust sees an opportunity for crowds looking to make up for lost time. Calling in sick to school. I hope thats okay. Take a snow day. Its all right with me. Reporter a lot of resorts are offering online incentives though it hasnt been snowing, it doesnt mean you cant come skiing. The cbs overnight news will be right back. But theres a difference between the omega3s in fish oil and those in megared krill oil. Unlike fish oil, megared is easily absorbed by your body. Which makes your heart, well, megahappy. Happier still, megared is proven to increase omega3 levels in 30 days. Megared. The difference is easy to absorb. cell phone rings where are you . Well the squirrels are back in the attic. Your dad wont call an exterminator. Can i call you back, mom . He says its personal this time. If youre a mom, yoyocall at the worst time. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Are you taking a zumba class . [cough, cough] mike . Janet . Cocoh if you can hear me. Dont even think about it. I took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. Yeah. But what about mike . He has that dry scratchy thing going on. Guess what . It works on his cough too. Cough guess what . It works on his cough too. What . Stop dont pull me spoiler alert she doesnt make it only mucinex dm relieves bothwet and dry coughs for 12 hours with two medicinesesn one pill. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. When you think of mens fashion, you probably think of suits, ties, a nice leather jacket. But as jamie wax reports, the Fastest Growing trend in mens wear is the festive sock. Very colorful. Reporter there is a revolution afoot. Wow reporter a revolution deep in the sole of mens fashion. We just want to see your socks. A revolution in socks. Oh, wow banana socks. Socks are really easy fix to spice up your wardrobe. I really love the gown. Reporter brad goreski is pleased with the statement hes seen. Has it surprised even you that socks have become such a big thing . It has, actually. In terms of this trend specifically, its kind of like the gateway drug to mens fashion. Anything that gives guys the courage to want to be more daring in their fashion choices, thats a really cool thing. Reporter one man driving the sock revolution is the always dapper dwyane wade. You think about socks and the black socks with the gold toe. Thats all i used to have. Right. Wade, fadeaway. Reporter the 11time fashion socks that he helps design. This is an accessory for men that we can have a cool moment underneath our pants or on our feet that we feel a little extra about our outfit. When youre able to spend 14, 15 on socks different from a watch. Reporter wades socks are created for the California Based Company stance. So this is the house that socks built. Yes. Reporter which john wilson helped found after surveying the bland landscape below mens knees. The category itself was asleep. Reporter literally white space. White socks. White and black space. Reporter he filled that space with bold colors and patterns. They made mismatched pairs a marketing tool. They went for fun and quirky and introduced a line for those looking to step into a galaxy and then there is basketball. On the court, where shoes have always been king, stance wants fans to see beyond or underneath the sneaker. It is literally a game changer. Reporter as of this season, stance is the official sock supplier to the nba. And though the details arent public, stance will have its logo on all the shins in basketball. How much has the nba deal represented to you as a company in terms of sales . Its been a huge contributor of growth, and its a good chunk of our overall revenue. Thats the kind of deal that you want. Reporter the sock market is a multibillion dollar business. More than 5. 5 billion worldwide. So entrepreneurs are dipping their toes in. Wake up on a certain morning and say, im going to refresh my whole sock drawer. Nice laundry hopes to refresh sock collections. They only sell socks in bundles. Designs range from the sut toll the loud. And they urge customers to dabble in them all. For us it never made sense to go buy socks one by one. You go through five or six pairs in a week, so we bundle them and sell them to customers. Reporter naturally, there are holdouts. Not everyone has gotten the wear your fancily socks memo. Which begs a question do you think this trend in mens socks is here to stay . I hope it is. I dont know. One thing about fashion is some things surprise you when it author mitch albom has sold 35 million copies of his book. His latest work focuses on how we can touch others with our talents once we discover what those talents are. Reporter before tuesdays with mory became one of the best selling memoirs of all time and the five people you meet in heaven sold 10 million copies in 35 different languages, to do with writing. I was a musician when i began and i always quamt wanted to be a musician. I always thought thats where my talent lay. I never wrote anything. Reporter the piano player moved to new york, booked any joint he could, while he knocked on record companys doors and got them all slammed in his face. Was it painful when it didnt happen . Yeah, it was the first time in my life that all the lights hadnt turned green. Reporter failure became fuel. In large part your trajectory was set my failure. Yeah. The effort that i put in to achieve what ive been able to do in the world of writing is the direct result of my failure. It took a long time before music time has healed that. And i can take joy in music again. Reporter the result is his latest book, the magic strings of frankie presto. I created this character that is so pure in his musical talent that his guitar string turns blue when he changes someones life. And he gets six chances in life to change six lives. Everyone joins a band in life. Only some of them play music. Thats the truth. We all affect one another. Reporter its as much a project as a book. For a companion cd, albom gets reallife musicians to offer their takes on frankies fictional songs. Every time he hit a note his heart was breaking. Frankie had a hit song career. He had a number of hits that i invented. I came up with the name and lyrics. Lyrics, and the year the song was supposed to have come out and made a song. Essentially they remade songs that never existed. Is ththe a chance that some day reporter among those playing on the cd, the author and his wife. Finally, albom has an album. You can die happy. Yeah. I was already going to die happy, but i can die happier and with a soundtrack now. Thats the overnight news for this friday. Captioning funded by cbs its friday, january 8th, this is the cbs morning news