hahny. he shows us how he goes from a shy alabama boy to an international superstar. but we begin with today's "eye opener," your world in 90 seconds. >> the weather outside is frightful. >> this is really bad. >> better bundle up. >> this bitter blast is here to stay. >> millions of americans face plunging temperatures. >> this as some areas in the midwest and northeast continue digging out. >> crews have been out 24/7. >> a packed jet makes a u-turn midair returning to l.a.x. >> it all had to do with an unauthorized passenger. >> president trump took to twitter to slam the fbi. >> he called that infamous russian dossier a pile of garbage. >> the trump administration says it is sanctioning two north korean officials linked to kim jong-un's missile program. >> three cities are suing the department of defense for failing to report service members disqualified from gun ownership. >> the department of defense and its service branches have failed miserably. >> the biggest wildfire in california history is now all but tame. >> there is little smoke and air quality as improved. >> all that -- >> a thrilling finish for the suns. >> exactedly what they do. over the top, counting it! >> -- and all that matters -- >> my brother. >> two men in hawaii who have been best friends for 60 years made an incredible discovery. >> it turns out they're actually biological brothers. >> it's the best christmas present i can ever imagine having. >> -- on "cbs this morning." >> this kid is a huge cleveland fans fan. when he opened his presents for christmas? what was inside? it was a steph curry jersey. >> that's lebron's arch enemy. look at the look. upon further inspection, there's the lebron james jersey and he starts jumping on the furniture. >> yes, yes, yes! yes! >> announcer: this morning's "eye opener" is presented by toyota. let's go places. it all ended well. he got what he wanted. the lebron jersey. >> that is what fandom is all about. >> and true happiness. >> what a happy boy. welcome to "cbs this morning." i'm bianna golodryga with dana jacobson and vladimir duthiers. norah o'donnell and gayle king are off. is it cold enough for you here? >> brr. >> the northern half of the country is waking up in a deep freeze actually after record-shattering snowfall along the great lakes. >> icy roads caused dozens of accidents, including one that killed four people in missouri. and the cold air means more lake-effect snow is likely in hard-hit places like erie, pennsylvania. >> 22 states have windchill alerts in effect. advisories and warnings stretching from the texas panhandle into northern new england. the coldest temperatures this morning are around 30 below. forecasters warn that can cause frostbite in as little as ten minutes. demarco morgan is in erie where they're already buried under more than five feet of snow. demarco, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. up to be 7 inches of snow fell overnight in this area, and that's in addition to what happened on christmas day with that record snowfall. now city of officials are asking for extra snow plows and the help of additional national guard. a snow emergency is in effect in erie, pennsylvania, after a winter blast dumped a record 53 inches of snow in less than 36 hours. >> you can't even tell how bad it is. >> reporter: snow is piling up on the roads, burying cars and bringing traffic to a halt. >> all i could do is laugh. you know, it's a little ridiculous. but i keep pecking away at it. >> reporter: as people try to dig out, more lake-effect snow is piling up across the great lakes. >> a lot of snow keeps coming, won't stop. >> reporter: emergency management coordinator matt exley says plow drivers are working around the clock to clear the streets. >> we have all of our people out doing a fantastic job with the elements that have been out there. it's really hard to keep up with this amount of snow. >> reporter: slick roads are making for a tough commute. >> i could only do about 20 miles an hour. >> reporter: snow and ice led to more than 40 accidents in missouri on tuesday. at least six people were killed in three separate crashes n new england, bitter cold followed the christmas snowstorm. the windchill could reach 40 below zero in some parts of the region today. >> the wind is the worst part. you can't do anything about it. >> reporter: city officials are not sure when they'll be out of the state of emergency, but they are asking residents to stay inside until crews clear the streets. you can see it, it's one big mess here, but it's absolutely beautiful, so it's a lot to take in. if you plan on going outside, just do so at your own risks. >> beautiful but dangerous. demarco, you get inside as well and stay warm. thank you. meteorologist danielle niles of wbz looks at how long this winter blast will continue. danielle, good morning. >> good morning. well, the dangerously cold windchill values are in place. windchill warnings, windchill advisories all the way from kansas to new england today and tomorrow as a blast and core of that arctic air streams right down from the arctic and polar regions. we're talking about windchill values 15 to 30 below zero, tonight, tomorrow. this is the dangerous cold where windchill values and frostbite can set in in as little as 30 minutes. you have tor lay be layered up bundled up. we're talking about a quick-moving disturbance enhancing some of the lake-effect snow over the next 24 to 48 hours. streaming into new england is snow showers or friday. another storm in the pacific northwest as well. snowfall totals over a foot, could be as much as 2 feet with the highest elevations of northern idaho stretching towards montana. 3 to 6 in central iowa and a big swath in the northern tier of the united states over the next couple of days with over a foot still possible on the east side of the great lakes. >> all right, danielle niles, thank you as always. federal authorities are investigating how a so-called unauthorized passenger boarded a flight from los angeles to tokyo. police interviewed some of the passengers after that plane returned to l.a. last night. nippon airways 175 has been in the hour when it turned around and went home. don dahler is here and the celebrity couple first to report it. good morning. >> good morning. passengers tell cbs news the possibly unauthorized flier was a young adult male who seemed to be trying to switch seats. he drew the attention of flight attend and tts and they drew th attention. >> hey, guys, i'm reporting live. >> chrissy teigen documented the trip from the flight back to l.a.x. >> thank you so much for taking me on this awesome vacation, babe. >> welcome to los angeles. >> she and her husband, actor and musician john legend, were on the flight to tokyo before it was forced to turn around. the plane left l.a.x. at around 11:30 a.m. it was roughly four hours into an 11.5 hour flight when the pilot made a u-turn. at 7:30 p.m. the plane was back in los angeles. after all this, i will have spent eight hours on a flight to nowhere, she tweeted. in a statement to cbs news, ana said the cabin crew became aware that one of the passengers boarded the incorrect flight. as part of the airline's security procedure, the pilot in command decided to return to the originating airport. whether or not there was an unauthorized passenger remains unclear. a spokesperson for l.a.x. police told cbs news there were no security breaches and there was no unauthorized passenger. >> i've never seen people walk around with like a clicker and click people. >> reporter: naomi kamidate said things on the plane seemed off when they started manually counting passengers. she had to turn to the internet and teagiegen's tweets for answ. >> we shouldn't have to google to read an article about us. >> the fbi says no arrests have been made and the investigation continues. passengers tell cbs news that the crew was apologetic and equally upset by the turn-around. one traveler told us he was missing the first day of his honeymoon and that all he was getting back for it was a brief hotel stay or a $200 credit. so in this case i guess cbs stands for the chrissy broadcasting system. >> thank goodness they had an intrepid reporter. >> i just wish they'd get the miles for the eight-hour trip they made. >> hopefully john provided some in-flight entertainment. >> don dahler, thank you. president trump on vacation in florida promises more bipartisanship in the new year. the president tweeted that republicans and democrats will come together on a new plan to replace obamacare. chip reid is in west palm beach, florida, near the president's mar-a-lago resort. chip, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. president trump played golf yesterday with georgia senator david perdue, a big opponent of repealing obamacare. that's a big priority for president trump next year but the numbers suggest that could hurt many of his own supporters. >> it ultimately leads to the ending of obamacare. it's essentially -- i think obamacare is over. >> reporter: the president's prediction of the demise of obamacare comes as about 8.8 million americans in 39 states signed up for coverage at healthcare.gov this fall. that's down just 4.4% from last year despite the trump administration pulling advertising and slashing the enrollment period from 90 days to 45. >> the fundamental reality on health care is people wanting health care. >> reporter: gentlemjamelle bou red states are signing up faster than blue states. both republicans and democrats view health care as a top p priori priority, making it a central issue in the midterm elections. repealing the individual mandate will leave about 13 million more people without coverage by 2027 and according to one respected analyst, 62% of this year's obamacare enrollees live in states that president trump won in 2016. >> i do think this is a dangerous game for the president. one of his single largest drops in popularity came in march after congressional republicans began moving ahead with obamacare repeal. >> reporter: in addition to his tweet on health care yesterday, the president also sent out a tweet on the russia investigation in which he said that the fbi is tainted. he also sent out a tweet about the trump tax cuts, which he said will boost both jobs and the stock market next year. >> chip, thank you. three major u.s. cities are suing the pentagon for an alleged failure to tell them when service members are disqualified from owning a gun. new york city, philadelphia and san francisco filed that lawsuit yesterday. they want defense officials to openly report all military criminal convictions. david martin is at the pentagon with the legal action and the government response. david, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the defense department's mission is to protect the united states, but a lawsuit filed by three big city mayors claims the pentagon's repeated failures to report violent criminals to the fbi have actually put the public in danger. th lte from last month's texas church massacre by a former member of the air force. devin kelley was able to buy the gun he used to kill 26 worshippers in sutherland springs just outside san antonio because the air force failed to report his conviction for domestic assault to the fbi. if the conviction had been reported, his name would have been entered into the database of people barred from purchasing firearms. the air force admitted it failed to report several dozen other violent offenders as well. san francisco city attorney dennis herrera believes court intervention is needed to make sure the defense department does its job in the future. >> it's unfortunate that it took that tragedy to highlight and bring out into the mainstream what has been going on for all too long and that is the department of defense's failure to live up to its responsibilities. >> reporter: according to the lawsuit filed by the democratic mayors of new york, philadelphia and san francisco, a 2017 defense department study revealed the air force failed to submit final reports in about 14% of cases. the navy and marines in about 36% of cases and the army in about 41%. the pentagon's inspector general told congress earlier this month such failures were long running and widespread among all the armed services. >> inadequate training, inadequate verification. they didn't take these recommendations as seriously as they should have. >> reporter: the pentagon has promised to fix the problem, but the lawsuit asks the judge to compel the military to go back over old cases and identify all the violent offenders it failed to report to the fbi. the justice department says it is examining the lawsuit to determine its next step. >> david martin at the pentagon. david, thank you. four ohio teens face murder charges after allegedly throwing a sandbag from a highway overpass. the bag hit the car marquise byrd was riding in. the 22-year-old died from severe head injuries on friday. jericka duncan is here with more on the suspects and the dramatic call for help from the car's driver. >> three of the boys are 14 years old, the other just 13. they had already been charged with felonious assault, but now that the man hit by the sandbag has died, the teens are being charged with marquise byrd's murder. around 10:00 p.m. a week ago tuesday, a woman was driving with her friend, marquise byrd, under an overpass in toledo when something came crashing through the passenger side windshield. she pulled over and called 911. >> i don't know what happened. my friend -- i don't know what happened. he's not moving. something hit my car and hit my friend. he's not moving. >> you don't know what hit him? >> no. my windshield is smashed out. he is laid out. i think it might have smacked his head. >> police arrested four juveniles after seeing them leave the area near the overpass. they're accused of throwing objects off the interstate bridge. it was a sandbag that broke the windshield and hit byrd in the passenger seat. he leaves behind a 2-year-old son and was reportedly engaged to be married. the arrests come nearly two months after a similar incident near flint, michigan. five teens there are facing charges of second-degree murder after throwing rocks off an overpass, hitting a vehicle and killing 32-year-old kenneth white. meanwhile, the four ohio teens are waiting confirmation of their next court date. >> it's not fun and games. people are losing their lives. the consequences for these kids that think it's fun and games and a prank, they're going to go to prison. >> prosecutors say given the ages of the boys, 13 and 14, their case will likely remain in juvenile court. in addition to the murder charges, the boys are facing charges of felony vehicular vandalism. >> 911 audio is horrifying. thank you. this morning our bbc radio partners broadcast former president barack obama's first interview since leaving office. he was questioned by britain's prince harry. they sat down in toronto in september. barry petersen is outside the prince's home in london, kensington palace, with the royal interview. barry, good morning. >> reporter: the president and the prince bonded over the prince's charity to help wounded soldiers. that age-old journalistic tradition that it's not what you know but who you know that counts, the former most eligible bachelor in the world asked the former leader of the free world in for a chat. >> the do i have to speak faster? >> reporter: it was a mixture of personal life and public policy. there was a reference to social media, something the current tweet-loving president often uses. >> one of the dangers of the internet is that people can have entirely different realities. they can be cocooned in information that reinforces their current biases. >> reporter: and what does an ex-president do these days? well, for one thing, sleeps in. >> the fact that i can wake up and if i want to spend an extra 45 minutes talking to michelle and take a long breakfast, i can do it. >> reporter: and what about long term? he's working to correct climate change, something his successor calls a hoax. >> i can focus over the next 20 years in making sure that we don't have more hurricanes and natural disasters that are accelerated as a consequence of climate change. >> reporter: at the ending, harry fired off quick questions, including a reference to the tv show "suits" that featured his fiancee. >> "suits" or "the good wife." >> "suits" obviously. >> great, great answer. cigarettes or gum. >> gum now, baby. >> white house or buckingham palace. >> white house just because buckingham palace looks like it would take a really long time to mow. >> reporter: in a separate interview, harry was asked about christmas when meghan markle joined the royal family. and except for a couple hundred well-wishers and photographers, it sounded surprisingly normal. >> together we had an amazing time. we had great fun staying with my brother and sister-in-law and running around with the kids. christmas was -- christmas was fantastic. >> reporter: the couple face that operation infinite justiag. president trump is not likely to make it past the invitation first cut. >> thank you very much. even big city hotels can add resort fees that mislead you about the actual cost of a room. ahead, why efforts to crack down have become harder over for 23 years, an ohio woman jailed for a teenager's murder insisted she was innocent. >> ahead, the effort to win her freedom and the release that her family calls a christmas miracle. >> you're watching "cbs this morning." y calls it a christmas miracle. >> you're watching "cbs this morning." >>ou >> announcer: this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by to toyota. let's go places. sporty new 2018 camry and more. and that means huge year end savings for a very short time. right now during toyotathon. get great year end savings on a 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his patrol vehicle. the suspect was drunk and stoned christmas eve on 880 in hayward. biologists are awaiting test results on a dead whale that washed up in point reyes. the male humpback is about 30 feet long. it's still unclear what killed it. but it does not appear to be a boat. traffic and weather in just a moment. trouble spot on 101 southbound side of 101 at the cesar chavez off-ramp. an overturned vehicle. they have pushed everything from the off-ramp over to the right shoulder. we are seeing delays on the southbound side of 101 as you head through san francisco. here's a look at conditions near 17th street. traffic moving along but a little slow in that area. and a traffic alert continues closed between 35 and monte vina, black road closed. a live look at the kpix 5 camera, it's foggy. 46 degrees, cooler in the east bay, 40 in concord, cooler in the north bay. 33 degrees in santa rosa. your high temperatures today in the mid-60s. cooler closer to the water. anything from 63 to say about 57. sunny today and through the end of the week. our temperatures are going to warm up for the weekend. people across new england and canada reported seeing a mysterious fireball last night. a research facility in canada recorded the ball of lights shooting across the night sky. it is believed to be a meteor or as we talked about this past saturday, perhaps aliens. >> or santa. >> i want to believe, i want to believe. >> santa going home. welcome back to "cbs this morning." here are three things you should know this morning. a train station expected to be built next to the western wall in jerusalem play be named after president trump. the transportation minister offered up his name. mr. trump visited the western wall earlier this year. it's in jerusalem's old city home to muslim, jewish, and christian holy sites. homeowners are lining up to prepare their tax bill before 2018. it caps the detukz for state and local taxes at $10,000. that is expected to hit taxpayers hart in places like california, connecticut, new york, and new jersey. their average state and local tax deduction in 2015 was more than $17,000. and new research finds calcium and vitamin c s supplements do not help with hip fractures. that i found no clear benefit to taking calcium and vitamin d. that's regardless of things in their diet. an intended crackdown on hidel hotel charges now face a potential roadblock in washington. a growing number of travelers complain that resort, urban, or facility fees can add up to $50 to your bill. even lower priced hotels are adding fees to room charges. one watchdog said hotels charging extra fees has grown 26% year over year. the size of fee has risen 12%. our own watchdog anna werner has more. good morning. >> good morning, bianna. if you're a trip cal traveler, you probably go online to look for the best deals b whau if that deal on a hotel isn't one. >> it was the most expensive hotel room i have ever paid for in my life. >> when lauren vacationed in key west last year, schu knew her $400 hotel room wasn't bargain. when she arrived she learned she had to pay a 20% resort fee. >> it doesn't make a lot of sense. it's not fair and taking advantage of people. >> reporter: she's an attorney. she started a website. she found show's not the only one who says they were blind-sided by fees. this customer said we got killed on undisclosed resort fees, didn't know about them until we checked out. another, very disappointed. $25 a day urban facility fee. i was charged this with no explanation of the benefits. others complain the services they're getting for so-called fees don't add up. it included two beach chairs. there was neither a beach nor pool. another said if you charge $29 for complimentary recreational activity, then they aren't complimentary. he's looking into a dozens major hotel chains. >> what these lodges companies do is hook the would-be buyer with a lower rate and then spring the additional charge on them. >> reporter: we found this las vegas hotel charging a room rate of $26 with a resort fee of $34. the san francisco hotel add as $20 urban facility fee. and this hotel in arizona listed its resort fee of $50 underneath taxes. >> what's illegal about it is it misleads consumers as to what the actual price of a hotel room is. >> reporter: even properties with a certain famous name makes money off resort fees. we found three trump hotels charge resort fees of $35, $24, and $20. the american hotel and lodging association told us the hotel industry provides guests full disclosure from mandatory resort fees charged up front and said the hotels want to provide consumers with the best value by grouping amenity fees in one cost following the ftc's guidance. but in january of this year the ftc found charging resort fees separately without first disclosing the total hotel price likely harms consumers and racine said the ftc was working with the states on their investigation, at least, she says, until the trump administration came in. >> the ftc in a way has gone dark. i think to be honest that has given some confidence to the hospitality industry perhaps they're going to be able to wait out or otherwise evade the efforts of the 47 states because the ftc is no longer our partner. >> you're saying the ftc has backed off. >> that is the case. >> reporter: backed off, he claims, during a crucial time in negotiations with the hotel chain. >> we were heading toward what i thought would be a pretty fair settlement. >> really. >> yep. the election hit and all of a sudden the hospitality industry sort of dug in against our position. >> we asked the ftc about racine's allegation. officials there responded with a statement saying the agency was never a co-plaintiff with the attorneys general but has worked with the industry and state agencies to try to improve the disclosure fees. we asked the white house if they have any comment but received no response. >> you might call the hotel before you go. if you don't see resort fees hotel. >> being charged beach chairs when there's no beach. >> or pool and there's five different charges on there. that's what millions of americans are facing and that doesn't look like it's changing. >> especially if you're a family. if you have two hotel rooms because there's two of you and two children, that's $50 times two and that's six. ahead, the high-profile effort that finally allowed tyra patterson to regain her freedom. we invite you to subscribe to our "cbs this morning" podcast. you'll get the news of the day, extended interviewses, and ipod originals. get them on apple's itunes and a ipodcasts. you're watching "cbs this morning." you mean after that? no, i'm talking before that. do you have things you want to do before you retire? oh yeah sure... ok, like what? but i thought we were supposed to be talking about investing for retirement? we're absolutely doing that. but there's no law you can't make the most of today. what do you want to do? i'd 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procedures. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made eliquis right for me. ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you. an ohio woman is free on parole after more than two decades in prison for a crime she says she did not commit. tyra patterson was released on christmas day. she was serving a possible life sentence for the 1994 murder and robbery of a teenager. patterson insisted she was innocent of the killing and over the years, lawyers, politicians, and celebrities took up her cause. patterson's next goal is to overturn her conviction. adriana dias is here with the case that put patterson behind bars. good morning. >> good morning. on the day she was murdered michelle lay and a group of friending were out burglarizing a bunch of garages. the two sides got into a shouting match that ended up with lay getting shot in the head. tyra patterson's release after almost 23 years in prison came as a christmas miracle. >> to sit with with my bend friend and mother is the best part of my christmas. >> reporter: the 42-year-old was an accomplice in the murder of a 15-year-old. david singleton is patterson's attorney. he believes his client was coerced. she said at the time she was at the murder scene and committed a robbery. >> and from which girl in the back seat did you take that necklace? >> the driver. >> reporter: at trial the jury heard that convention and although show didn't pull the trigger, it ultimately landed her in prison. >> she was 19. inexperienced with the system, naive, and the detective pushed her too hard and said things that made her admit to something she didn't do. >> reporter: the public defenders were overmatched. failing to introduce a crucial 911 call that showed patterson called the cops. the turning point in this case came when singleton found the missing call and with this discovery came the new interest of the unlikely oeft places. michelle lay's own sister. holy lay holbrook was at the murder scene when her sister was killed. she sent a letter to ohio governor john kasich asking for patterson's release. >> i am tyra patterson. >> that letter led to a campaign that included celebrities, politicians, and even former jurors. but not everyone agrees patterson's innocent. >> she's not the victim in this case. the victim was 15-year-old michelle lay. >> reporter: the prosecutor believes patterson should still be behind bars. >> she needs to own up to what she did and own the aggravated murder and robbery they've been contesting all these years. >> reporter: still patterson remains grateful to those who helped her. >> any time somebody signed a petition, said a prayer, became my litigant they gave me the breath to go forward. >> since then she's received her ged, putting herself through pair a legal school and her attorney says she'll work for his firm in cincinnati to help others falsely accused of crime. >> quite something to hear the support from the victim's sister as well 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"usa today" said people have just opened $90 billion in unwanted gifts over the holiday season, and that's good for fedex and u.p.s. fedex and u.p.s. encouraged customers to bring returned items to drop-off and pickup locations. >> that's a lot of money. >> it is. and a tree that's been at the white house since 1835 will be partly removed this week. the tree is weak and poses a safety risk according to the white house. first lady melania trump made a decision to remove the section after its conditions was checked out. she wanted wood from the tree to be preserved and seeds be made available in case a new magnolia tree is replanted. >> good news going forward. russia didn't stop med until the u.s. affairs after the election. ahead michael morell tells us how the u.s. can step up deterrents. it's all pop-culture trivia, but it gets pretty intense. -ahh. -the new guy. -whoa, he looks -- -he looks exactly like me. -no. -separated at birth much? we should switch name tags, and no one would 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just a moment. good morning. we have a trouble spot along 680 in walnut creek. a dump truck and vehicle involved in an accident. you can see the flashing lights in our live shot here. it is blocking lanes. debris record across the lanes as well so a lot of activity. this is south 680 right at main street. so give yourself some extra time. thank you plan to take 680 through walnut creek, you are going to see delays as a result. so give yourself some extra time there. towards the bay bridge toll plaza, outside of a little fog, traffic is clear out of oakland into san francisco. speaking of fog, it is foggy out there. let's take a live look out at the kpix 5 cameras looking for the transamerica pyramid. you cannot hardly see the top. right now in san francisco, 46 degrees. 41 degrees in concord. santa rosa still in the 30s at 33 degrees. your highs are going to be at or just slightly above seasonal for this time of year. the mid- to low-60s in the inland areas. cooler around the bay right around 60 and then along the coast you will be in the high 50s. for your seven-day forecast, after that fog burns off we should be clear a few high clouds here and there. sunny to the end of 2017 before clouds will be returning for the new year. your temperatures will warm up then cool off. ♪ good morning to our viewers in the west. it's wednesday, december 27, 2017. welcome back to "cbs this morning." ahead, new claims that russia's government is still launching cyberattacks against the u.s. and why the president needs to take action. cia insider michael morell joins us. plus, a conversation with lionel richie, the kennedy center honoree, who gets us dancing on the ceiling. first here is today's eye opener at 8:00 the northern half of the country is waking up in a deep freeze after a record-shattering snowfall along the great lakes. >> up to seven inches of snow fell in the area and city officials are asking for extra snowfalls. >> a storm in the pacific northwest as well. snowfall totals over a foot flight 175 was in the air about four hours when it turned around. >> the possibly unauthorized flyer was a young adult male who seemed to be trying to switch seats. now on the russia this week, he said the fbi is tainted. he also sent out a tweet about the tax cuts which he said will boost both jobs and the stock market wall street claims the pentagon's repeated failures to report violent criminals have actually put the country in danger the former most eligible bachelor in the world asked the former leader of the world in for a chat. the president and the prince bonded over the prince's charity to help wounded soldiers. it appears this dinosaur might have learned a lesson from the last ice age. a new hampshire man decided to clear his lawn but decided to wear a t-rex suit to make it more interesting. >> a dinosaur is snow blowing! >> at least he is having fun in the cold. >> buried in snow. nothing like it. >> feels like ground hogs day. it will be cold quite a bit longer. >> indeed. >> i'm bianna golodryga with dana jacobson and valid vladimir duthiers. temperatures across much of the northern u.s. won't get above freezing today and for many, well, the worst is yet to come. >> yeah. the chill follows a winter form that pummelled erie, pennsylvania. more than five-feet of snow fell on the city this week alone. dimarco morgan is in the middle of the historic snowfall. good morning, dimarco. >> reporter: good morning to you, vlad. it is indeed historic. the folks here are used to heavy snowfalls but they've not seen anything like this. look at this house behind me. you can see it is actually covered up to the door steps and that's pretty much the same story for just about every home along this block. you hope they teamed up and went to miami for a week or so. already the storm has dropped more than 62 inches of snow erie. it is shattering state and local records. they got more snow, listen to this guys, from this one snowstorm than places like minneapolis, chicago and boston receive in an average year. there could be more to come. a lake-effect snow warning remants in effer remains in effect until later this afternoon. temperatures will remain low into the new year and wind chills could dip as low as six degrees below zero. officials are calling on additional snowplows and getting extra help from the national guard just to deal with this mess here. i said it earlier, it is beautiful but it is, indeed, one big mess. if you have to get out, be careful and be safe. >> dimarco, thank you. you stay warm, too american intelligence officials say russian cyberattacks could threaten the 2018 and 2020 elections. now an essay in "the washington post" warns russia never stopped cyberattacks, and the u.s. government has not done much to stop them. >> it is written by former republican congressman mike rogers and cbs news senior national senior contributor michael morell. morell is a former deputy and acting director of the cia, also the host of "the intelligence matters" podcast. michael morell is joining us live from washington with more. great to see you. thank you for coming on and writing that important piece. >> good morning. >> it follows up on a "washington post" report that lists all of the inadequate attempts that the obama administration made trying to thwart russian meddling. now president trump doesn't even seem to be acknowledging it it. so is russian meddling justin he have ta have -- just inevitable in the months and years to come? >> it is not inevitable. there are many things we can do about it, many things to do to defend ourselves here at home. for example, we can pass the legislation that's been proposed that puts the same rules on political messaging on social media that we have on tv, radio and print. we can do a better job imposing costs on vladimir putin and russia to make putin think twice about continuing to do this. so there are many things we can do about this. we are just not doing them. >> it has been reported that the president has yet to have a cabinet meeting on this issue. jeff sessions has acknowledged not enough has been done, and many americans don't seem to think it is a pressing issue as well. why do you think that is? >> i don't know. it is a new -- it is a new type of attack on america. this is not a terrorist attack where you can see the consequences immediately. it is not a military attack where you see the consequences immediately. this is a slow erosion of our confidence in our democracy. this is affecting the way we think about our country, the way we think about on democracy, the way we think about our society. so it is a new type of attack, and i think that's the primary reason why we're not focused on it. >> michael, speaking of vladimir putin, how involved is the russian president and what is he hoping to accomplish here? >> vlad, i have no doubt that he is fully involved in this. i have no doubt that he approved this. i have no doubt that he is following it closely. he is trying to accomplish two things. one is he is trying to weaken the united states, weaken our influence overseas. so if he can create discord here at home for us, he will weaken us overseas. the second thing he is doing which may be the most important thing from his perspective is the greatest threat to him is democracy in russia. if he can undermine it in the united states, if he can undermine it in western europe, he can raise questions in his own country about the value of democracy. that's very important to him. >> you know, michael, you also write that other countries are following suit. did ours sort of ignoring this russian interference play a role in that as well? >> absolutely. our failure to deter russia has led other countries to think maybe it is a tool that they can use. we see the chinese doing this already. we see the turks doing this in western europe. we see the chinese doing it in taiwan. so i think more countries will start doing this unless we deter them from doing so, and they're going to start doing it against us here at home. so the chinese have not done it here yet, but you can rest assured that they will unless we deserve russia, china and the other countries going down this road. >> michael, let me ask you, because despite the president not acknowledging some argue that those around him, that his advisers have now enlisted sanctioning three prominent russians including the leader of chechnya and arming the ukrainians, something that president obama wouldn't go as far as doing. is that at least the first step in deterring vladimir putin? >> those are first steps, those are good things. but sanctioning specific individuals will not get putin to think about what he has to do here. we need much broader sanctions, much more pain on the russian economy and the russian middle class to get his attention. >> and he has not yet sanctioned the russian sanctions that president obama enlisted as well it is important to note. michael, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> it may be hard to get your kids away from the new tech toys they got for christmas. eye doctor christopher starr is in our toyota green room. up next, what the digital devices may be doing to in our morning round new evidence that digital devices can hurt your children's eyesight. the average kid spent more than 7.5 hours a day in front of a screen. a new study finds school-age children who spent seven hours or more a week using computers or mobile video games triple their risk for near-sightedness. dr. christopher starr is an ophthamologist in new york city. good morning. >> good morning. thank you for having me. >> what is myopia? am i saying that right? >> yes. >> how common is it in children? >> very common these days. first of all, that is near-sightedness, which means being sighted at near. usually the near vision is okay but distance vision is blurry but needs glasses or contact lens. conversely, far-sighted means the opposite. the rates of myopia are increasing worldwide. the india study we just talked about, a usc study showed the rate of myopia in the u.s. has doubled in the last 50 years. in asian countries it is even higher. >> as far as reasons why it is going up, there was one study that found kids eight and under spent over two hours on screens. >> yes. and the reason why that's a problem, it is not so much that the device is sending a magic signal to the eye that is damaging it. it is that when you are on the devices you tend to be inside and not outdoors in the sunlight. interestingly, sunlight actually triggers dope me triggers dopamine which is a neuro transmitter that keeps the eye from elongating. >> this isn't when your mother used to warn you, don't get up on top of the tv. >> no, it is not the same. that is one of the warning signs, by the way, if a kid is sitting too close to the television, it might be a sign they're near-sighted and can't see until they get close. >> let's be honest. it is the new normal. we're not taking away our devices now. >> sure. >> doo it, bianna. >> is there anything that can be done to protect their eyes though with technology that you can put on the screens? >> that's a good question. not really. nothing i know of. it is more about limiting the time and sort of encouraging them to get outside in the sun. but no screen protector is going to make a difference. >> hard to do that when it is 10 degrees outside. >> exactly. >> what are the signs parents and teachers need to be looking for. >> there are a few things, and this is a great time of year to observe your kids. they're home from school, you might be off from work as well. things like squinting, if they're squinting to see things, that's a good sign there's a problem. if they're sitting too close to the television or holding their digital device right here, that's a problem. but other things like attention, like if they used to be very much interested in reading or drawing and all of a sudden they're not interested in it or they're reading and they lose their place online, those are signs there might be a vision problem. some of the learning disabilities like adhd are sometimes misattributed to those things rather than a visual problem. learning is about 80% of visual. if you think of the traditional way we learn, you need good vision to learn. >> as you said, great time now. >> it is a great time to sit and look at them. >> thank you very much. >> the president of harvard durld world war ii led the program to build the first nuclear bomb and spent the rest of his life worrying about it. ahead, his granddaughter explains why his warning is especially important now. you're watching "cbs this morning." >> cbs morning round sponsored by vision works because life is meant to be seen. visionworks because life is meant to be seen. ♪ when food is good and clean and real, it's ok to crave. and with panera catering, there's more to go around. panera. food as it 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"man of the hour" is published by simon and schuster of cbs. >> cone nanlt was in charge of bringing america into the nuclear age, but his grandfather said his efforts to control it were ignored. >> this was his nightmare scenario that we would have this enormous arms race and we would inevitably find ourselves, as he said, like two gun men with itchy trigger fingers. >> reporter: jennet conanconant grandfather wasn't someone to give in to fear. >> my grandfather was so terrified of a nuclear conflict. i think it would have upheld for almost 70 years would have surprised him. >> reporter: in the late '30s conant was a brilliant chemist and a successful president of harvard university, but his life changed course after albert weinstein warned about the potential for extremely powerful bombs. that triggered a desperate race to build a nuclear weapon before hitler's germany, and the task of winning fell to conant and a secret team of scientists. >> he was the supervisor of everything that happened in terms of the bombs development. >> reporter: what happened in the summer of 1945 was the first open air test of a nuclear weapon, a blast so shocking that conant from a nearby bunker was sure the team had miscalculated. >> and he thought in that moment the world is over. >> he did. terrifying. absolutely terrifying. >> reporter: just three weeks later, hiroshima and then nagasaki. still the only wartime use of a nuclear weapon. >> we have spent more than $2 billion on the greatest scientific gamble in history, and we have won. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands died in the blast and their aftermath. >> people also asked me, you know, did they feel guilty. they really felt they had done the right thing in building the bomb. it did shorten the war. it did save lives. >> reporter: and yet conant and his colleagues warned of the need to control the bomb by sharing the science and striking a global deal to curtail production, but the scientists were overruled. and today -- >> do you feel safer or less safe? >> oh, we're less safe. we have this massive destructionive force out there and ultimately we have no sane option, but for the international community to come together to try and find a way to control these weapons. >> there hasn't been a mushroom cloud seen live in seven decades. >> don't tempt fate. that's what my grandfather would say. these are not weapons to play with. we must find a more sane way forward. >> we must, but will we? >> i hope and pray. >> reporter: this year's nobel peace prize went to an organization hoping to ban weapons and this last summer they advanced the very first treaty to do so. the united states boycotted the talks saying the timing is not right to lay down nuclear arms. i cannot get over the image of her grandfather in the desert watching the very first nuclear explosion and not being sure if they've done the math right. they don't know if the explosion explosion is ever going to end. >> don't tempt fate. lionel richie said he joined a band to meet women in college. not a big surprise. they would later become the commodores. how the group that made him famous helped the kennedy center honoree find his true self. you're watching "cbs this morning." is cold hard cash becoming a thing of the past? awaiting more test results on a dead whale, that washed up in point reyes. it's a male humpback, about 30 good morning. it's 8:25. i'm anne makovec. biologists are awaiting more test results on a dead whale that washed up in point reyes. it is a male hump back about 30 feet long. skin and muscle tissue samples will be sent for more testing and a final report is expected in a couple of weeks. another candidate cast entered has entered special election to replace the late mayor ed lee. ellen lee zhou is in the department of public health. raffic and weather in just a moment. we have a trouble spot in walnut creek. a traffic alert is issued for southbound 680 right at main street. they have two lanes shut. an accident involving a dump truck, the dump truck spilled mud in the freeway. so a lot of debris and traffic in the area. so it is affecting your drive time this morning. if you are travel southbound 680 from willow pass road at least down to highway 24, that will take you 12 minutes now. so an extra 7 minutes for your drive time there. speeds down to about 7 miles per hour in some spots. so very slow and go conditions. two lanes shut down south 680 right before highway 24. if you want to avoid those delays, use bart. that's a great alternate. all trains are on time. no troubles for ace, muni or caltrain. that's a good choice also. it is not clear as far as your skies are concerned. taking a live look out at the transamerica pyramid you can see see the tip-top of the "salesforce" tower. that is keeping temperatures in san francisco insulated. 46 degrees in the city. santa rosa 33 degrees. 41 in concord. 46 in san francisco. 46 in oakland. fog burns off with seasonal temperatures later on today. 60s and 50s in the area. welcome back to "cbs this morning." right now it is time to show you some of this morning's headlines. "the hill" says the library of congress will no longer collect every public tweet. the library says beginning january 1st it will only archive tweets connected to certain themes including elections and public policy posts. the library says the change is partly because twitter doubled its character limit. it's also hard to keep up with the rising number of tweets. >> especially possibly from one in particular. >> you're right. "newsweek" says more pregnant women are using marijuana posing an unknown danger to their baby. the study looked at 72 pregnant women at a california over eight years. nearly one-quarter of the women under 18 had used marijuana, those 18 to 24 used it while pregnant. researchers say the impact of prenatal marijuana use has not been very well studied. "usa today" says u.s. home prices are going up faster than the size of our paychecks. home prices climbed 6.2% this year from 2016. that is more than double the pace of wage growth. in metro areas with blooming job markets where prices are rising faster, it means more people can end up staying as renters. "business insider" says a thimble sized gadget is the world's smallest fully functional cell phone. it's lighter than a coin. the maker said it was created as a joke. >> nobody could use it. >> they now recommend carrying it when you jog or as a backup phone for a night out. the company has raised more than $100,000 on its kick-starter page. >> it looks like my 5-year-old's lego. and environmental experts tell "the new york times" don't just throw away your christmas tree. they say trees can be recycled to give back to the planet. old trees can be used to support sand dunes. and create fish environments at the bottoms of lakes and can be turned into mulch in parks and community gardens. new technology is transforming the way we pay for things. mobile transactions worldwide are expected to top $721 billion this year as customer us and businesses turn away from cash. in a recent survey, 75% of shoppers expect mobile payments to grow in the next five years. robert safian is the editor. and managing director of the business magazine of that company. joins us now, good morning. >> good morning. >> why are we getting away from using cash? >> first of all there are restaurants and places that won't let you use cash. they want you do this. part of it is we have these devices with us all the time wherever we are, right, and we have our wallets with us. they may be in our pocket or our bag, but they're not out and a part of us in the same way. so businesses are trying and as consumers, we're more comfortable using them all the time. >> we see it on airplanes as well. it definitely is convenient. is there any downside for consumers? >> well, there are risks for some of it. risks for certain privacy issues if you're paying for everything with your phone as opposed to your cash, you can be tracked, right? and there's the fear or question about electronics fraud, identity fraud. things can be stolen. listen, the reason restaurants -- part of the reason they want you to pay with crash, not credit card, they don't have to worry about cash. robberies, but there are electronic thieves that are out there, so these are two different sides to it. >> you know, robert, one of the two things people worry about, it is easy to spend when all you're doing is hitting that little thumbprint on your iphone >> this is something we've been talk about. this is a continuation of the same types of things, technological changes from credit cards to atms. this genie is not going back in the box. the reason it's happening, it's easier for retailers, it's easier for us as consumers to like it. we look at peer to peer. you look at venmo. you want to split the cost for a gift for your grandmother, you can do it via text. >> very, very easy. is it generational, though? >> owneh, i think it has starte with millennials, certainly. this is something that's not going to change. now, there are groups of people who are left out in this. if you're in part of the unbanked part of our population. it means that there's establishment and economic activity that you can't participate in. so that is one of the societal challenges we have to deal with as the proliferation continues. >> this is a global trend, right? we're seeing this across the globe? >> absolutely. in sweden, in china. wherever people are more connected to their phones and doing more activities on their phone, the more economic activity, you're going to see more business. it's not going to change. >> it's really interesting. >> how about the impact overall on the economy? is there an advantage to not using cash? >> for businesses and banks, the reason they want to do it, there are a lot of transactions, when you use your credit card, the bank makes a small piece of money on it, right? >> right. >> so all of these cash transactions, they're not making money on. this is part of the reason the banks are pushing into this area and technology companies are using it as a way themselves to get into the banking business, to get into that part of the transaction. venmo, the peer-to-peer network is run by paypal. if you bought paypal stock earlier this year you're very happy about it, 90% this year. >> as long as they don't start tacking on fees. every time you use the phones or global technology? >> right. >> you don't necessarily see the fees buried inside. >> convenient though. >> mm-hmm. >> robert safian. thank you very much. >> good to see you. lionel richie said it wasn't easy to become a superstar. >> i grew up extremely shy, and going out on stage used to be torture for me for many years. >> did you have stage fright? >> please. panic attack. >> really. >> no kidding. and, of course, when i went solo, i really had a panic attack. >> all night long, how the kennedy center nominee learned music from his grandmother and built an extraordinary you could save energy by weaving your own shoes... out of flax. or simply adjust your thermostat. do your thing, with energy upgrade california. sing along with lionel. lionel richie's hit song "hello" is from his grammy-winning album, "can't slow down." it's one of four grammys ritchey has an oscar. his latest is a kennedy center honor. it aired last night on cbs. alex wagner spoke with him at his home to learn how a shy boy from alabama became an influential star. >> everybody, let's get up on our feet. >> you hear about these awarding your entire lifetime. and then it finally happens -- it's almost disbelief. >> you know, lionel, my brother, no one deserves this award more than you do. ♪ but i'm easy ♪ >> it's one of those things where you walk in the backyard, sit down quietly and go, how did this happen. >> reporter: it happened because of a decade's worth of massive hits. ♪ oh what a feeling >> reporter: especially ballads. you've been called the king of love songs. my question is are you a romantic? >> i'm a hopeless disgusting romantic. i can fall in love in 15 seconds on anything and everybody. when i walk on stage, i meet the people i've never met before. they know me forever. i walk out on stage and they're my old friends right away. >> what is it like for you? >> one big night of ham sandwich, one big great karaoke night. the more i give them to do, the louder they get. >> do you think when you're playing or it just comes to you? >> and you don't think when you write. i'll go. next day. then third day. ♪ three times a lady and then nothing. ♪ easy, easy like sunday morning ♪ same cord. the cords don't go anywhere. cords don't change. it tees melody you hear on top. >> reporter: ritchie found music growing up in tuskegee, alabama. his grandmother taught him how to formally play. >> were you trained? >> no. i was terrible. and my grandmother, god bless her, tried her best to teach me how to play. she would show me how to play the piece properly on the piano with the hand music. instead of watching the music, i would watch her hands. she would leave and say go rye hers and i'll be back in a moment. i would play by ear not knowing that was special. as soon as she walked away, i wouldn't play anybody's music. i played my own, not knowing that was called a songwriter. >> he took his song writing to college. >> it was not supposed to be the career. ♪ she's a brick house ♪ >> that band would become the commodores. >> did you ever doubt you could achieve success? >> when you're 19 to 25, ever possible. we're the black beatles, we're the commodore, and we're going to take over the world. >> did you believe you were the black beetles? >> i believed it. not just knew it. we didn't have one song, but we were the opening act for the jackson 5 and we're on our way. >> reporter: the commodores ruled the charts in the 1970s, but the attention ritchie was getting as a songwriter convinced him it was time to go solo. >> 14 years of amazing times. i always tell people every day, thank god for the commodores because without them, i would have never discovered lionel ritchie. >>. >> reporter: and the world discovered a superstar. ♪ hello, is this me you're looking for ♪ >> can you tell me how you got the idea for "hello?" >> it was a joke. my producer james anthony carmichael was coming to the house. i came walking around the corner and sate, hello, id, hello, is e looking for. he said finish that. i finished the song and we finished finifi lushed it up with strings. >> lushed it up. >> lushed it up. i can see it in your eyes and feel it in your eyes. >> reporter: but one of ritchie's most crowning achievements was anything be solo music. teaming up with michael jackson in 1985 wrote "we are the world" and recorded it with 40 singers including the biggest stars of the day. the single raised more than $60 million for african famine relief. >> every time i hear the song, it's even larger than i could ever imagine. ♪ we are the world we are the children ♪ >> at the end, that night, when we finally played it back at 7:30, 8:00 in the morning, it was another planet. it was another planet. >> did you ever machlk back in alabama that you'd end up in this life? >> it's not where you start. it's where you end up. but when i want to go get grounded, i go back to tuskegee, alabama, i still have that home. i was born and raised by the tuskegee airmen. i am standing on the shoulders of those people. i want them to understand this is possible. ♪ yes, i'm on my way >> it's not where you started. it's where you end up. ♪ i'm mighty glad you stayed ♪ >> the music we've had. >> we just relived our childhood. >> yes. >> "say you say me" from white knights. that is my russian background. that song impacted my entire family. >> "hello." i remember my crush, shane doyle. we could go on. >> i dance on the ceilings even today. >> yes, you do. >> like how he said when you're young, anything is possible and it's so true. >> it really is. >> you can hear alex wagner's entire interview with lionel richie on our cbs podcast. find it on apple's itunes and podcast app. ahead two best friends of hawaii discover the true meaning of brotherly love. you're watching "cbs this morning." ♪ ♪ think of your fellow man, ♪ lend him a helping hand, ♪ put a little love in your heart.♪ ♪ you'll see it's getting late, oh please don't hesitate...♪ ♪ put a little love in your heart.♪ ♪ in your heart... ♪ in your heart... ♪ in your heart... ♪ in your heart. (vo) get zero percent financing for 63 months on select models, plus we'll donate two hundred and fifty dollars to charity. without further ado, my brother. a pair of friends made that surprising announcement in hawaii last weekend. they've known each other for 60 years. a dna matching website recently revealed they had the same birth mother. the brothers called the discovery a christmas miracle. >> that's an understatement. >> wow, amazing. amazing what science can put together. bring families together. that does it for us. be sure to tune in to the "cbs ev ♪ whoa! the mercedes-benz winter event is back and you won't want to stop for anything else. [ barks ] ho! lease the cla250 for $329 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. a memorial bell-ringing ceremony for officer andrew camilleri will be held at the c-h-p good morning, it's 8:55. i'm anne makovec. a memorial bell ringing ceremony for officer andrew camilleri. the officer died after a car slammed into the patrol vehicle on christmas eve. it happened on interstate 880 in hayward. investigators believe the other driver was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. san jose investigators looking into a grass fire at a homeless encampment near curtner and stone avenues at about 7 p.m. last night. a stretch of curtner was closed as crews put out the flames last night. and stanford swimmer and olympian katie ledecky has been named "associated press" female athlete of the year. she won five golds and a silver at the aquatic world championship in budapest. traffic and weather coming up next. we have been tracking an accident along walnut creek south 680. the good news is chp just canceled the traffic alert associated with t southbound 680 at 24, a dump truck and vehicle crash. there was debris in the road. everything is cleared. damage is done, still a little slow and go as you work your way through there so expect some delays. past that, though, traffic is improving nicely on 680. if you are heading through the maze this morning, westbound 580 right around 24, this is a live look at conditions heading towards oakland. a little foggy out there but moving along. no delays to report and clear at the bay bridge. in fact, all the way clear into san francisco. here's emily. it is certainly foggy out there, in fact taking a live look out at the sutro tower cameras towards the east, you can see just the very tip-top of the "salesforce tower" peeking out but as you can see, above the fog, there is sunshine. your temperatures right now in san francisco, nice and mild, 46 degrees. 45 degrees in concord. santa rosa cooler at 37 degrees. your high temperature is in the inland areas will be the mid- to low-60s. cooling off the closer you get to the water. around 60 around the bay and then along the coast you will be in the high 50s. nice and sunny today, all the way through the weekend before those temperatures start to climb tomorrow. and then dip again through the weekend for a nice new year's 2018. wayne: (high pitched sounds) you got the car! tiffany: oh, yeah, that's good. wayne: you won the big deal! - oh, my god! wayne: cat gray, superhuman? jonathan: it's a trip to belize! wayne: perfect. jonathan: true that. wayne: but that's why you tune in. - happy hour! jonathan: it's time for "let's make a deal." now here's tv's big dealer, wayne brady. wayne: hey, everybody. welcome to "let's make a deal." this is it, season nine. this has been a great week, because every single day this week we've stacked the deck with huge prizes. and today is no different. today someone could win this. tiffany coyne? jonathan: it's a trip to germany and a bmw. (cheers and applause) experience history firsthand with a five-night stay