to the u.s. from thailand despite fierce protests from moscow. what's the latest on this, whit? >> good morning. among other things he's accused of supplying weapons to the taliban. the long battle came in time for the u.s., days before bout was scheduled to be released. the accused russian arms dealer makes his first court appearance in new york today. he faces four counts of terrorism, including conspiracy to kill u.s. nationals. >> vk tore bout, times called the merchant of death was the premiere international arms merchant fueling conflicts around the world for almost two decades, willing to do business with anyone willing to bay his price. >> reporter: he was extradited from thailand tuesday despite strong protests from russia's foreign ministry. the russians have claimed he's a legitimate businessman since arrested in bangkok two years ago. u.s. relations between russia have been steadying improving but there is concern this tug-of-war over him could jep poois arms control, nuclear weapons and the war in afghanistan. >> we agree to disagree sometimes. we have tensions that crop up periodically and we work to manage those. >> reporter: analysts say the u.s. is willing to risk some turbulence with russia in order to make sure the most notorious arms merchant in the world stays out of commission. >> he built an international empire supplying everything from ak-47s to helicopter gunships to the heart of africa. >> reporter: he faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the terrorism charges. bout is a former soviet military officer and wealthy air cargo executive. the u.s. estimates his fortune worth $6 billion. betty? >> whit johnson live in washington, thank you, whit oonz. there is concern russian anger over bout's arrest could derail president obama's push for a new nuclear arms treaty with moscow and senate republican leader jon kyl added to those concerns saying it may be pushed into next year. charles rangel faces punishment after a house ethics panel found him guilty of financial misconduct yesterday. rangel insists he's treated unfairly. >> the fact that they had no criminal evidence, i really thought that with my opponent and newspapers and television pundits talking about crime, scandal and corruption, that the ethics committee might come forward and say there's a lot of stuff here but no -- >> the full house ethics committee will hold a hearing tomorrow to decide an appropriate punishment for rangel. randall pooing ston has more. >> count 11, conduct in violation of the cody of ethics. >> reporter: the house ethics panel announced its verdict against him. >> we found a conviction by clear and convincing evidence. >> reporter: the veteran new york congressman found guilty on 11 counts of breaking house rules including failing to disclose at least $600,000 in assets and income, failing to report rental income to the irs, and improperly soliciting donations from foundations and businesses that could benefit from his vote in congress. >> we have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law. >> reporter: the 80-year-old w lawmaker addressed the panel monday claiming he had run out of money to fight the case and needed more time to set up a defense fund and hire a lawyer. after the verdict, rangel told reporters he didn't get a fair hearing. >> i will ask anybody anywhere that i can, does this sound like it has a scintilla of -- >> reporter: one of the most influential members of the house, serving 20 terms in congress. voters in his harlem district re-elected him just two weeks ago. 80% voted for him. >> my opinion of him really hasn't changed. he's done a lot of good things for harlem. >> i think that the bottom line is it's a witch hunt. >> reporter: the full committee will recommend his punishment. he faces formal reprimand or censure. president obama was said to meet with congressional leaders thursday but republicans asked that tm wait a while, at least until after the thanksgiving holiday. republican leaders say they want to discuss areas of possible kroopgs with democrats and the white house. now to a story that could be titled murder on sunset boulevard. the mysterious shooting death of a well-known movie publicist in the heart of beverly hills. it happened early tuesday as kendis gibson reports. >> reporter: the story could have come straight from the big screen, famed hollywood publicist ronnie chasen had just left a premiere for her latest film when she was gunned down in the middle of beverly hills. >> we heard a big boom. >> reporter: the sound was her car slamming into a light pole shortly after midnight tuesday. she had been shot five times in the chest. the gunfire shattering the normally quiet affluent beverly hills neighborhood. >> normally it's safe but, you know, it can happen, but it's tragic. >> reporter: the 64-year-old well known in hollywood circles lead publicist on oscar-winning movies like "driving miss daisy" and "on golden pond" hob knobbing with one of on of her latest projects moments before her death but police have few clues as to what happened between the premiere party and her car crash. >> we don't have a motive right now or suspect information. everything is actually in its preliminary stages. >> reporter: that mystery is only adding to concern if neighbors in her up-scale community. >> i will continue to run here on a daily basis and not fear like i'm in fear for my life. have to move forward hoping, indeed, this was an isolated incident and won't happen again but you never know. >> reporter: police spent several hours searching her car, home and office for clues but so far, her death remains a mystery. kendis gibson, cbs news, los angeles. on the "cbs moneywatch" stocks in asia struggle again this morning. ashley morrison is no new york with much more on that. good morning. >> good morning, betty. the markets were lower on new worries china will raise interest rates this week. japan's nikkei mostly down before finished up a fraction while hong kong's hang seng dropped more than 2%. wall street is hoping for a rebound after some big losses. yesterday, the dow lost 1778 points, hitting its lowest level in a month while the nasdaq fell 44. stocks are reacting to the growing debt crisis in europe, particularly in ireland. a meeting of european finance ministers ended without an agreement to bail out o the debt-stricken dublin government. ireland has taken over three banks, a bailout that already cost $61 billion. the dublin government says it does not need help but eu officials fear the crisis will spread. now to the passenger backlash over airport screening. the government says if you don't want to go through a whole body scanner or get a patdown, don't fly because you won't be aloud on planes. but the government says children will no longer be subjected to the aggressive patdowns that o fends many passengers. more americans will be hitting the roads this thanksgiving holiday. aaa says about 42 million americans will travel more than 50 miles from home this year. that's up 11.4% from last year. and betty, it looks like the workplace perk is making a comeback at least a little. a management company that keeps track of these things finds that 12% of firms say they will give out thanksgiving gifts to employees, a slight rise from last year and employees can expect more year-end parties. you know, betty, who doesn't like the hole kay work party. >> bring them on, right. >> a good time. >> ashley morrison joining here in new york, thank you. just ahead, accusations that bp ignored warning signs before the deadly oil well blow-out. plus, a fairy-tale wedding in the works for prince william and kate middleton. first, though, katie couric with a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." more than 65 million people are expected to be diagnosed with alzheimer's disease by the year 2030, robbing them of their independence and sometimes their life savings. what can you do to spot the hidden warning signs? we'll look at new good lines helping family cope tonight only on the "cbs evening news." yeah, maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. v8. what's your number? no way. covergirl has lightweight coverage just for your skin type. clean makeup for normal skin, oil control, and clean for sensitive skin. so take off that mask and slip into lightweight coverage that really fits. ♪ it's makeup that works for you... -and you. -and you. 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[ woman ] it's my right to breathe right. ah, it's stinging a little bit more than usual! yeah, you'll get used to it. the longer you keep your high mileage car, the more it pays you back. get castrol gtx high mileage. it helps engines last longer by fighting the main causes of engine failure. i think a dime went up my nose. yeah, it happens. don't change your car. change your oil to castrol gtx high mileage. its more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination? or maybe skewers of wood-grilled shrimp. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 at red lobster. a new report says before the oil well blowout in the gulf of mexico, bp and its contractors ignored a series of warning signs. 11 workers died in the april 20th explosion that led to the largest offshore oil spill in u.s. history. the report buy technical experts says there was a failure to consider risk and lack of management discipline. there are fears the cholera epidemic may spread to neighboring dominican republic. the country reported its first case, a haitian citizen who recently vacationed in haiti has been hospitalized with it. no other cases have been confirmed there. meanwhile, the cholera death tomorrow in haiti has topped a thousand. in other news the excitement is already building in britain over the royal wedding. prince william, second in line to the throne, and kate middleton finally announced their engagements according to buckingham palace the actual wedding ceremony will be held next spring or summer. mark phillips reports. >> reporter: she had been called waity katey, but kate middleton, katherine elizabeth middleton according to the palace announcements is waiting no more. finally a marriage wildly rumored for years is official. an engagement sealed with the same sapphire and diamond ring william's father had given his mother. his way, william said, of bringing princess diana close to this joyous event. >> my way of making sure my mother is taking part in today. >> reporter: william had popped the question three weeks ago on a romantic vacation in kenya prompting the question today for a couple who had been together for at least eight years, why the wait? >> trying to learn from lessons in the past and i just wanted to give her the best shot to -- to settle in and see what, you know, what happens the other side. >> i'm -- also glad i've had the time to sort of grow and understand myself more. >> reporter: william's father took a pragmatic view of a relationship that's been going on so long. >> obviously thrilled. thank you very much. practicing for long enough. >> reporter: william avoiding some of the pit-falls that helped doom his father's first marriage but comparisons between diana and kate are inevitable. the camera loved diana. it likes kate, too. diana loved fashion. so does kate. diana was hounded by the paparazzi. kate's had her share of that, as well. in the chess game of royal succession, this modern marriage settles a future that looks shaky not too long ago. behind the queen and prince philip stand charles and camilla. next in line behind them will be william and kate. if the function of the royals is to provide continuity, the pieces are now all in place. they've had a tough enough time carrying on their relationship in the past and, as they showed at the end of their interview, they seem to know there are tough times ahead, too. >> all done. >> reporter: mark phillips, cbs news, london. in other news, the defense is getting its tern in the elizabeth smart kidnapping trial in utah. yesterday the defense called witnesses who knew accused kidnapper brian david mitchell when he was a member of the mormon church and defense attorneys asked the judge to acquit mitchell saying prosecutors failed to prove their case. straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather and in sports an overwhelming choice as the best pitcher in the national league. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor about your medical history and find an arthritis treatment that works for you. ask your doctor about celebrex. and, go to celebrex.com to learn more about how you can move toward relief. celebrex. for a body in motion. here's a look at the weather. new york, showers, 65. miami, partly cloudy, 82. partly cloudy, 45 in chicago. denver is going to be sunny, 50 degrees. and los angeles, sunny, 72. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows the northeast blanketed with clouds from a storm system racing through the great lakes. another storm is descending upon the central plains. on the northwest coast, another batch of rain clouds and down in the southwest, clear skies are prevailing. later today a gusty wind will blow into the northeast as showers begin to wrap up. rain is just getting started in the northwest. sections of the northern plains will see temperatures in the 20s and 30s, and temperatures in the 50s and 60s hang on in the southern plains. in sports, roy halladay of the philadelphia phillies won the national league cy young award, the 13th unanimous winner of the award pitching a perfect game in may and no-hitter in the playoffs. halladay is only the fifth pitcher to win the cy young in both leagues. in the nba. the lakers get back to winning, kobe bryant had 31 points guess milwaukee to end a two-game los angeles losing streak and the lakers beat the bucs 118-107. derrick rose of chicago scored 17 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter against houston. the 95-92 victory is the fourth straight for the bulls. in college basketball, some upsets. the team ranked 25 in the country, san diego state, pulled out a win over number 11 gonzaga. san diego state, 79-7 of over gone zag gachlt louisville knocked off butler which went on to the national championship game last year. unranked louisville got out to an early lead and upset number 16 butler, 88-73. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories and a day of honor and emotion for a war hero given the nation's highest military decoration. thank you for calling usa pmy name peggy. peggy, yes, i'd like to redeem my reward points for a gift card. tell points please? 250,000. calculating... ooh! answer: five fifty! 550 bucks?! 5 dollar, 50 cents. minus redeeming charge. leaving 50 cents. say what? happy time! what kind of program is this? want better rewards? switch to discover. america's number 1 cash rewards program. it pays to discover. okay, now here's our holiday gift list. aww, not the mall. well, i'll do the shopping... if you do the shipping. shipping's a hassle. i'll go to the mall. hey. hi. you know, holiday shipping's easy with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. yea, i know. oh, you're good. good luck! priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.90 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. on the "cbs morning news" today's weather, the northwest with rain showers returning again to the region. from the mid-atlantic states through the northeast there will be scattered showers and windy conditions and a cold brisk wind blows through the northern plains. here's another look at this morning's top stories. viktor bout, alleged russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death will appear in court today in new york. he was extradited to the u.s. from thailand despite strong protests from russia. police in beverly hills hunt for clues in the murder of a prominent publicist shot and killed in her car on sunset boulevard early tuesday. a soldier receiving the nation's highest military award remains humble. president obama awarded the medal of honor of to 25-year-old army staff sergeant sal giunta. three years ago he rescued two fellow soldiers caught in an ambush in afghanistan. two men were killed in that attack. >> this is an incredible time, but it's also kind of a bittersweet time. times like this, because of this day, i lost two dear friends of mine, specialist hugo mendoza and sergeant joshua brennan. and, although this is so positive, i would give this back on a second to have my friends with me right now. >> he is the first living veteran of the iraq and afghanistan wars to receive the medal of honor. this morning on "the early show" live reports from london on the newest details of prince william's royal wedding. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." [ female announcer ] treat yourself to something special for lunch at red lobster. how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination? or maybe skewers of wood-grilled shrimp. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 at red lobster. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. recently tested automatic dishwashing detergents. they rated finish quantum number 1, beating cascade. try finish quantum for amazing clean and shine. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. i'm chandra wilson, and i'm a mother of three. please store over-the-counter medicines properly out of the reach and sight of children and do not give otc cough and cold medicines to children under the age of 4. to learn more, visit otcsafety.org. things are relaxing. storms did their damage. we have downed power outages. you will run into down signals as well. for us, the wind is the big story behind the storm. looking at the day planner this wednesday morning, temperatures are still mild. mid-50s at 9:00. low 60s at noon. look at the winds, westerly wind 18, 19, 15, sustained winds. at times, gusts 30, 40, up to 50 in the mountains, out to the west. last night, had some big storms pushing through. stop this here, i was trying to stop it at 1:00 hour when we had the big line of storms push through. right now, the only thing left is a few showers coming south of hagerstown, through smithsburg, meijersville, moving to washington county. that's it for the morning, we are done with the rain. wind advisory in effect until 9:00 a.m. here is angie with the traffic. we are dealing with trees in the roadway. massachusetts and 34th because of trees. arlington north at george mason, shut between 16th and washington for another tree. buoys, maryland, 197 at old laurel, we have some downed wires. same situation in potomac northbound on 190 at persimmon road. in the next report at 4:31, a look at the dulles toll road, why you're losing a couple of right lanes. back to you. here are some stories we are following today. >> president obama's push to get republicans and democrats to work together in congress is on hold this morning. the administration says republican leaders asked to reschedule a congressional meeting at the white house. the president called for the meeting two days after mid term elections, which is, of course, when republicans won control of the house. federal transportation officials say airline passengers will not be able to avoid body imaging screening or pat downs based on religious beliefs. passengers that refuse security regulations won't be allowed to board flights. civil rights groups say it violates civil liberties including free freedom of religion. prince william county has been under a microscope at university of virginia. >> they released a study of a policy yesterday. the man behind the measure calls it a slam dunk. >> it is great news. confirms everything we've been saying over the past three years. >> reporter: cory stewart pushed through an antiimmigration policy that produced praise and protest. >> this is pure racism against these people. >> reporter: the policy requires police to check immigration status of everyone arrested and alerts ice if they are not here legally. today, researchers from university of virginia released their study of the policy and found it did work in decreasing number of illegal immigrants and decreased crime. >> drop in overall crime rate, 47 drop in aggravated assault, which university of virginia attributed to implementation of this policy. for all of the grief that our county and the board and the police department received in 2007, the benefits are now there for everyone to see. >> reporter: but john steinbeck doesn't see it that way. >> it has been three years of terror. >> reporter: the study found hispanic populations of every county in northern virginia increased in the last three years, except prince william county. he says that's because the new policy gives the county a bad reputation. >> this community has been forever changed. it has been torn apart. and in a real sense,