57 newsroom at cbs news headquarters here in new york. Good to be with you. Im annemarie green. A republican kentucky lawmaker accused of sexually assaulting a teenager four years ago has apparently killed himself. Dan johnson died last night from a single gunshot wound on a bridge in northern kentucky. Monday there was an article published that johnson allegedly assaulted a girl in the basement of his home. Tuesday in a church where he was a pastor he called the allegation totally false. He admitted he was gruff with the teen on the night of the alleged incident, but denied that he sexually assaulted her. Before these accusations came up, i dont want to get into any details, but it was nothing to do with me or anything sexual. Johnson said the allegations were politically people to care for his life. He said ptsd will take my life. I cannot handle it any longer. An autopsy will be performed today. President trump invited doug jones, the democrat who beat roy moore to the white house. Moore continues to insist the race is not over. Brook silvabraga is here this morning. Brook, good morning. This was a close race, but not that close. They called it soon after polls closed. Alabamas secretary of state didnt agree, but its two weeks abay, and so the battle of this seat drags on. Roy moore, the republican candidate for alabamas highly contested senate seat sri fusing to concede defeat. Last night he posted this video message. In this race we have not received t f and were awaiting certification by the secretary of state. Nearly everyone else agrees Democrat Doug Jones won. Unofficial returns show him up 20,000 votes or 1. 5 . Thats three times the amount needed to avoid an automatic recount. When he calls me to congratulate me, i think he feels like we did the right thing. I wish we would have gotten the seat. A lot of republicans feel differently. Theyre very happy with the way it turned out. As the leader of the party, i would have liked to have had the seat. After moore was accused of sex yule misconduct, many withdrew their support. Many were happy to see him leave. I hope it sends a message we can do bet e republicans can do better if the current tally is certified, jones can be sworn in in january. Certification of the vote will happen somewhere between december 26th and january 23rd. He needs to be seated in washington. The democrats are happy for it, republicans not so much. Republican congressional leaders agreed on a plan to overhaul the nations tax laws, and you could feel the effects early next year. President trump is selling the deal as a boost for the middle class, but corporations and the wealthiest americans benefit the most. Weijia jiang has the details. President trump made his final pitch for the republican tax plan surrounded by people, he says theyll reap the benefits by early next year. The typical family earning 75,000 will see an slashing their tax bill in half. The president s remarks came shortly after the house and Senate Republicans reached agreement in principle on a final tax package. Were so close right now, so close. In fact, almost i dont want to talk about it. Maybe we should. Talk about it. Taxpayers will also be able to deduct the first 10,000 from either their property taxes or their state and local taxes. President trump wants congress to send him a bill by christmas to secure his first major legislative victory. I think i can say were very close. Were very, very close. Utah senator orrin hatch and texas representative kevin brady met with President Trump at the white House Wednesday as they worked behind the scenes with other lawmakers to hammer out the final details. Gr we continue to reach common excited about this tax plan. Democrats are calling on republicans to delay their tax plan vote until their colleague, Alabama Senate elect doug jones is seated. Weijia jiang, cbs news, capitol hill. Also on capitol hill, Deputy AttorneyRod Rosenstein defended special investigator rob mueller that the testimony is bias. It comes after antitrump text messages. Rosenstein said the investigation is not a witch hunt. If you were ordered today to fire mr. Mueller, what would you do . As i explained previously, i would follow the regulation. If there were good cause, i would act. If there were no good cause, i would not. And youve seen no good cause so far. Correct. Some texts called an idiot and loathsome. Net neutrality makes sure all are treated equally. Opponented say that will allow broad band providers to block rival apps, slow down competing services, or offer faster speeds to those who pay. Senator john mccain is at Walter Reed Medical Center being treated for the side effects of treatment for brain cancer. He was diagnosed in july. On the view yesterday, former Vice President joe biden, his son beau had the same diagnosis consoled johns daughter. Your dad you may remember when you were a little kid. Your dad when he became friends with beau and beau talked about your dads courage, not about illness, but about his courage. Mccains office says he hopes to return to work as soon as possible. Talk show host tavis smiley says hell fight allegations of comments that lead pbs to dismiss his show. Early this morning on Facebook Smiley said he was shocked by the socalled investigation. Pbs investigators refused to look at any of my documentation, refused to talk to any of my current staffers, refused to give me the names of any of my accusers, and refused to give me any semblance of due process. It is clue that this has gone too far, and i for one intend to fight back. Smiley says he has the utmost spect for all women. Is denying allegations that he sexually assaulted three women. The women told the New York Times simmons raped them. In a statement simmons said i vehemently deny all of these allegations. Its shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual. The allegations stem from the 80s and 90s. In each case, they said they had been told of the incidents at the time. Coming up on the morning news now, breaking her silence. Selma high shares her story of Harvey Weinstein and omarosa is out of a job. This is the cbs morning news. Psoriatic arthritis tries to get in my way . Watch me. Ive tried lots of things for my joint pain. Now . Watch me. Think id give up showing these guys how its done . Please. Real people with active Psoriatic Arthritis are changing the way they fight it. Theyre moving forward with cosentyx®. Its a different kind of targeted biologic. Its proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. Dont use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. Or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. With less joint pain, watch me. For less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. If you spit blood you may have gum problems,s try parodontax toothpaste. Its clinically proven to remove plaque, the main cause of bleeding gums. For healthy gums and strong teeth. Leave bleeding gums behind with parodontax toothpaste. A russian soyuz space capsule returns to architect after undocking a few hours space station. It carried Randy Bresnik and a russian cosmonaut. They were on board for nearly six months. There was drama at the white house and selma hayek speak out about Harvey Weinstein. In an oped for the New York Times, actress selma hayek said for years Harvey Weinstein was her monster. She said she repeatedly turned down weinsteins requests for massages, showers, and sex, and she claims he would turn up at her door at all hours of the night at different hotels. She says he even threatened to kill her. A spokesperson denied hayeks depiction of the relationship. And ahead on cbs this morning, more on the issue of sexual harass management. Alex wagner leads a panel of five men who are leaders in their field who share their thoughts on the manner. Ni omarosa was allegedly escorted out of the white house after her firing. Officials tell cbs news the chief of staff john kelly fired omarosa on does. Swhenlt to the residence on tuesday and tripped the alarms. Kelly had her escorted from the building. The Los Angeles Times reports on the continuing battle of the Southern California wildfires. Theyve made Good Progress of the thomas fire, which is now 30 contained. But officials warn nearby communities theres still a risk if the winds whip up again. And the Hartford Courant honors those killed in the sandy hook attack. The Photo Exhibit at the Newtown Municipal Center displays the 26 students and a still to come, how walmart is helping workers strapped for cash. Just press clean and roomba from irobot gets to work using two multisurface brushes and powerlifting suction to grab and remove everything from fine dust to large debris. Daily dirt doesnt stand a chance. You and roomba from irobot. Better together. Nice man cave nacho . [ train whistle blows ] what . stop it mmhmm. Weve been saving a lot of money ever since we switched to progressive. This bar is legit. And now we get an even bigger discount from bundling home and auto. I can get used to this. It might take a minute. Swing and a miss slam dunk touchdown together sports and clean and real, its ok to crave. And with panera catering, theres more to go around. Panera. Food as it should be. Being in love with your best friend. Is everything. Ever us one diamond for your best friend. One for your true love. For the one woman whos both. Ever us. Available at kay, jared and zales. Heres a look at todays forecast in some cities around the country. Shake it up shake it up is j bands, the cars. They were inducted in the 2018 rock and roll hall of fame. Joining them, bon jovi, dire states, and nina simone. And Sister Rosetta Tharpe will be awarded. On the cbs moneywatch, a Cell Phone Company is launching a payee service. Diane king hall is at the New York Stock Exchange with that and more. Good morning, diane. Good morning, annemarie. As expected the fed raises rates for a third time this year. Besides raising it by a quarter point, it continues to shrink its bond loan. The central bank also says it expects the job market and economy to get stronger. The major averages finished mostly higher here street. Dow gained 80 points, closing at its third record high in as many days, the s p 500 shed a point. The nasdaq ended 13 points higher. Walmart is giving workers the option of getting paid before payday. Theyre offering the employees an app that allows them to access cash before payday up to eight times a year. Critics say the move is another sign that walmart doesnt pay enough. New workers earn 9 an hour. And tmobile says its launching a tv service next year. They bought the cable tv startup layer three which is currently available in five cities. Keep in mind many tmobile wireless customers are getting netflix for free. Annemarie . Diane king hall at the New York Stock Exchange. Thank you so much, diane. Thank you. Still ahead, young guns. Why some parents are their children use firearms at the shooting range. Just like my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. And i was worried about joint damage. My doctor said joint pain from ra can be a sign of existing joint damage that could only get worse. He prescribed enbrel to help relieve pain and help stop further damage. Enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. Serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. Tell your doctor if youve been someplace where fungal infections are common, or if youre prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. Dont start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. Joint pain and damage. Can go side by side. Ask how enbrel can help relieve joint pain and help stop joint damage. Enbrel, fda approved for 18 years. Heres a look at todays forecast in some cities around the country. Dreams of joy from a 16yearold louisiana student and his friends and family. Its the moment he found out online he was granted Early Admission to harvard university. He posted the video on twitter saying all the hard work was worth it. His older brother, by the way, was accepted to stanford days earlier. The question of whether kids should be around guns is a controversial one. Nikki battiste visited a class where children are learning how to risen is pulling the trigger for the very first time. Hes learning how to load and fire a. 22 caliber handgun during this class called first shot. Its designed for children as young as 8. The goal of this twohour lesson is to teach gun safety while satisfying a childs curiosity about fire arms. Brodies father is a gun owner. I think the younger you are and the more comfortable you are around them, the better they are to handle them. In kansas city, kansas, this Company Offers birthday parties. Sharon han by is studying the impact of guns on children. Impulse control and maturitity and cognitive capacity are all different development, you have to say mid20s. They lost their 14yearold son juwan last year. His 13yearold cousin accidentally shot and killed him at a relatives house with an unsecured handgun he thought was unloaded. Even if they go through safety classes, its not going to prevent them from showing their friends, like what i can do. Reporter as for brodie, he hit the bullseye. What did you learn today . I learned the four safety rules. Which are . Never point the gun somewhere or in danger. But theres a lot to remember. I got got. His dad says theyll be back. Neck nikki battiste, cbs news, kansas city, kansas. Coming up on assistant spying on you . How it could be collecting a lot of information about you and what it may be doing with that data. Im annemarie green. This is the cbs morning news. Give the gift of effortlessly smooth feet. From amope. Amope pedi perfect with diamond crystals. Removes rough, hard skin effortlessly. For touchably smooth feet. Salon quality results you can see. And feel immediately. Perfect for that special someone on your list. Now find savings. With up to 15 off at coupons. Com. Amope. Love every step. But when we brought our daughter home, that was it. Now i have nicoderm cq. The nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release Technology Helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. Its the best thing that ever happened to me. Every great why needs a great how. With a crucial vote looming there are reports mike pence has postponed an over seas trip to help get tax reform passed. There are new headaches for riders on metros busiest rail line. Plus denying allegations of Sexual Misconduct as his show is taken off the air. We are talking about the weather outside. What can we expect for the day. Good morning larry. Good morning everyone. A chilly start to the day and a few flurries mainly north and west of d. C. 33 in gaithersburg and 33 in manassas. Youll have time before the system will fall. We already have snow showers developing over western maryland and a few of them around the hagerstown area so should not slow you down too much but if it does look like it will slow you down for traffic we will issue the yellow weather alert. This is at 6 00 a. M. We can see flakes and flurries popping up between gaithersburg and the Baltimore Area north of d. C. Wouldnt rule out a stray one flying in and after 11 00 th flurry goes out the window. A breezy day with mix of temperatures highs around 40 degrees. Ellen. You can keep saying that all morning. If you are out on the roads we did have a pretty serious crash that just cleared. Northbound and southbound lanes have been impacted at rockville right at route 28. Pretty big section there. Thats why they were investigating. I am seeing delays on 355. At least the sensor is picking up on some. It just cleared before we went to air. 66 heading westbound by the beltway we have construction. However if you have coming in on the beltway heading on the outer loop or inner loop i am seeing delays around that construction zone. Thank you ellen. Right now we are awaiting confirmation that mike pence has delayed his planned trip to israel this weekend. Leaders say he will not arrive in time to celebrate the he was supposed to arrive on sunday but will not head there until the middle of next week so hell be available if he does need to cast a tie breaking vote on tax reform. This really cool video from the russian capsule undocking from the International Space station. In the past 30 minutes they did touch base on board after 139 days in space. Their replacement crew will take off on sunday and the crew thats currently at the station will be able to leave. Flurries coated the streets of philadelphia overnight but only about an inch of snow is expected so the commute shouldnt be too ugly for those getting ready to head out the door. They have a Winter Weather advisory but we are not sure what we have here. We are going to check in with mary to see. Lets get to the news at 4 30 that starts right now. On wusa 9. You know what . We are happy because its friday eve. Good morning everybody thanks for joining us im jan jeffcoat. Im larry miller. We are off on our best foot possible. We are happy that snow went to philly and not here. I know topper was upsee. Areas north of d. C. Are more favored to see this. Lets put this into motion at 6 00 a. M. Flakes and flurries making their way around the gaithersburg or north of baltimore. As the morning progresses this system quickly pushes over to the east and does not leave us much snow. By 8 00 a. M. Well to the north and west of us around oakland and western maryland. By noon a break from the clouds, a little sun coming in and returning by 6 00 this evening. By that time shouldnt have to worry about any flurries on that drive home. 43 days, breezy, winds switch in from the northwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour. A stray flurry possible this morning. Breezy by noon down to 38 degrees. We have construction on 66 at least at 4 30 in the morning its not slowing you down. Im seeing delays because construction heading westbound on 66 right at the beltway so quickly the outer loop through that stretch or heading northbound the inner loop youll see a slight back up here with those crews out there blocking a couple lanes. We are seeing delays on the beltway. Also 355 a pretty serious crash overnight they have just now cleared northbound and southbound lanes on rockville