>> mitchell: tonight, home field disaster. a huge midwest snowstorm collapses the metrodome roof in minneapolis and forces the vikings to play in detroit tomorrow instead. i'm russ mitchell. also tonight, deal nor deal. the white house says the tax cut compromise will pass despite the objections of liberal democrats. family tragedy. more details about the final hours of mark madoff, who killed himself on the anniversary of his father's arrest for stock fraud. and picture-perfect. the first look at prince william and kate middleton's official engagement portraits. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" >> mitchell: and good evening. even for a midwest that is no

stranger to winter storms, this weekend's powerful blast is a stunner. the storm is sweeping eastward tonight across the heart of the country with no let-up in sight. besides playing havoc with nfl schedule, the storm is also disrupting air and ground travel across the region. cynthia bowers is in a less-than-balmy chicago this evening. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, russ. it's hardly that. a lot of times winter storms don't live up to the hype, but this one has, dumping snow from the dakotas to nashville, tennessee, an behind that precipitation, bitter cold. wind chills here expected to be negative 25 tonight. first came heavy snow. enough to collapse the 9.5 acre roof of the minneapolis metrodome, hope of the minnesota vikings. it gave way this morning, unable to stand up to the fifth heaviest snowfall in twin cities' history, 17 inches in 18 hours. the vikings will now play the morning giants in detroit on monday, but the giants were

unable to get to minneapolis anyway because the airport there shut down for the first time in 19 years. roads across the region were also closed. heavy snow kept firefighters from getting to a house fire where two people died. more than 600 vehicles slid off the road. there were so many accidents in iowa, troopers say they quit counting. in lacrosse, wisconsin, where snowplows could not keep up, drivers were urged to keep off the roads. >> stay home. do not come out in this. this is ridiculous. >> reporter: state of emergency has been declared in all 72 wisconsin counties, but this massive storm dumped snow as far south as lexington, kentucky, and nashville, tennessee. as the snow moved east, blizzard-like conditions led to the cancellation of more than 1,500 flights out of chicago's o'hare and midway airports. >> it's almost like white-out conditions at times.

>> reporter: visibility was also near zero at chicago's soldier field where wind chills made the temperature feel well below zero at the game and along lake michigan. >> freezing. >> polar express, big time. >> the impact of the storm will be felt long after the weather has moved out because millions of americans no doubt stayed home today, cutting into retail sales on a critical prechristmas holiday. russ? >> mitchell: cynthia bowers in snowy chicago, thanks a lot. much of western washington state is feeling the effects of warm, wet weather off the pacific. flood watches are in effect through tomorrow afternoon with some rivers expected to overflow their banks because of record rains. to help us get a better fix, let's turn to accuweather. what's going on in the pacific northwest, all this flooding? how much more flood canning folks there expect? >> well, we're going to get a repeat of the pattern. if we look up in the pacific

northwest, we see a storm coming ashore now. that's been causing a lot of heavy rain in the pacific northwest. this will move inland. they'll get break tomorrow. then another one comes in tuesday into tuesday night. and then that transfers to the central part of the united states where all this cold air is. >> let's talking about the huge midwest storm, a big, record-breaking storm in the midwest. where is that off to? >> well, certainly the arctic hound is howling. its bite is as bad as it's bark out there. that will be moving slowly east over the next couple days. you can see all the snow swirls around here and the big news now will be lake-effect snow behind this, one, two, three feet of snow in some places downwind from the great lakes over next few days and the very cold air coming in behind that, too. >> the arctic hound. how cold will it get? >> well, temperatures will be averaging 20 to 30 degrees below normal in the snow cover in the northern plains and the cold is going deep into the southeast also. by the way, this pattern that is bringing all the storms into the pacific northwest and then tailing down here next week at this time because of the cold air here and another storm

coming along, we may see a repeat of this, but further south and east, perhaps even into the mid atlantic states. >> surely we'll talk again. accuweather meteorologist joe bistardi. in washington, the tax cut battle is entering a crucial week. many democrats are speaking out against the white house compromise with republicans, the white house predicted today the package will pass in the end. wyatt andrews has the latest. >> reporter: despite the relentless pounding from democrats over the tax cut deal, the white house projected confidence the deal will survive both houses of congress with very few changes. >> i believe that this will pass. >> because as david axelrod said on cbs's "face the nation," in the end very few members will want to vote against it. >> i don't think anybody wants to be responsible for taxes going up on january 1st because we couldn't come to a resolution. >> reporter: but even if that's true, it tbloses over the anger of many house democrats, who argue the president got

rolled by republicans and gave away too much to high-income taxpayers. >> open pra winfrey and santa claus, everyone gets a tax cut. >> some house democrats have vowed a challenge. >> we're going to change this and hopefully the president will back us up as we try the take out the worst things that are in it. >> the worst thing to democrats is the deal reached on the estate tax. estates below $5 million would be inherited tax-free, but above that would be taxed at 35%. democrats would start taxing at $3.5 million in inheritance with a rate of 45%. it's a change worth $4.5 billion with some in the house saying this is amendment number one. >> the most egregious provision in this deal relates to the estate tax provision. it did not have to be part of the overall deal. >> republicans still say it's the original deal or nothing. >> no, we're not interested in changing this deal. we're interested in passing this through. >> the voting on the tax package

is certain to bring political drama this week. the senate, which did not change the death tax provision, could vote its bill out as early as tuesday. and despite the demands from house democrats, it's not clear they have the will or the votes to kill this deal. russ? >> mitchell: wyatt andrews in washington, thank you. one day after mark madoff's suicide, family, friends and investigators are struggling to reconstruct the final hours of the old etest son of convicted stock swindler bernard madoff. manuel gallegus has morement. >> mark madoff could never shake so many people's suspicion that he must have been involved or at least known about his father's elaborate ponzi scheme. >> i think mark was probably trying to say to his father, look what you've done to me and my life. and my family's life. >> george lost his life savings to bernie madoff believes mark is just another victim. >> i think it's extremely tragic. >> reporter: the medical examiner confirmed today the 46-year-old did take his own

life. madoff's father-in-law discovered him hang from a dog leash in his posh manhattan apartment as his two-year-old son slept in another room and his wife was away at disney world with their daughter. a lawyer for his mother ruth madoff said simply ruth is heartbroken. there's been no public reaction from bernie madoff, who is currently serving a 150-year sentence in a federal prison in north carolina. >> i have no comment. i'm sorry. >> reporter: since the scandal broke, the pressure has not let up on mark or his brother andrew who ran the firm's trading division, which was separate from the division that oversaw the massive fraud. still in 2009, the court-appointed trustee in the case filed a civil suit against both brothers, trying to recover money from the victims. the lawsuit accused mark madoff of using $66 million he received from the firm to buy lavish properties in nantucket and connecticut. author andrew kurtzman says it was a long fall for an outgoing man who at one time seemed to

have it all. >> he couldn't land a job. his wife had to change the last name of the children and of herself because the madoff name was radioactive. >> reporter: some victims say mark madoff's death may make it even tougher to find answers in the fraud investigation. manuel gallegus, cbs news, new york. > mitchell: overseas sweden's foreign minister said yesterday's two bombings in crowded downtown stockholm were a failed terrorist attack that could have been truly catastrophic. the twin attacks occurred ten minutes and several hundred yards apart. spreading panic among shoppers on a busy stockholm street. two people were slightly injured. the only death, the suspected bomber. swedish security police say the blasts are being investigated as acts of terror. sweden raised its alert level to elevated in october due to concerns that home-grown groups

were plotting attacks. today swedish prime minister frederik reinfeldt called upon swedes to defend what he called their open society. an audio recording e-mailed to a swedish news agency came ten minutes before the blast, threatening attacks over the swedish nato contingent in afghanistan and caricatures of the prophet muhammad drawn by a swedish cartoonist several years ago. >> we'll never understand what brought us to this unpleasant situation. the people have now begun to fulfill their promises. >> mitchell: police declined to give details about the suspected bomber's identity, though they say they believe he was working alone. still ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news," why seeing an obsty trition with other suspecting mothers may be the best prescription for a healthy baby. >> the obama administration is

expected to present its latest review of u.s. strategy in afghanistan on thursday. earlier today a car bomb attack took the lives of six u.s. soldiers in kandahar in southern afghanistan. veteran u.s. diplomat richard holbrook, president obama's special envoy to afghanistan and pakistan remains in critical condition tonight in a washington hospital. the 69-year-old holbrook had 20 hours of surgery yesterday to repair a torn aorta. the march of dimes said last month that america's pre-term birthrate has declined over fast two years but is still too high. one innovative approach to health care for expecting mothers may help improve that. here's dr. jennifer ashton. >> reporter: when expecting mom stacie walsh goes for her regular check-up -- >> take a nice slow deep breath. >> reporter: -- she's not alone. in fact, she's surrounded by pregnant women. >> we learn so much about the pregnancy, about what to expect,

and we bounce ideas off of each other. >> massage and walking and position changes. >> reporter: unlike individual prenatal care where appointments are often just a few minutes per visit, women in group care spend two hours with their provider. boston mid-wife beth monahan says it's a win for everyone. >> i feel like i know my patients that i spend time in group with far more intimately than i ever do the patients i spend time in the office with. >> reporter: women receive all routine screenings in group prenatal care which also offers several health benefits. studies show that women receiving care together have a 33% reduction in preterm deliveries, fewer low birth weight babies and higher breast-feeding rates. >> this is a really big deal to be finding this because we're really working hard to look for strategies to reduce pre-term birth and also to reduce the racial and ethnic disparities. >> reporter: research can't pinpoint why pregnant women seen in a group do better.

there are about 300 of these groups in a country. these boston women are entering their third trimester. they monitor their progress. >> 54 and now you're 159. five pounds. you go, girl. >> reporter: talk about their babies. >> he was on one side and wound just ball up in that one spot. >> reporter: and the big day itself. >> i just really want my mom to be there. > you get to see other peopls experiences and know you're not alone. >> reporter: stacie walsh didn't make her last appointment. at 38 weeks and full term, ryan michael walsh was ready for the world. >> do you want to open your eyes and say hello? >> reporter: and thanks to all the love and support from her group, his mom was ready too. dr. jennifer ashton, cbs news, westhaven, connecticut. >> mitchell: and just ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news," aspiring journalists take notes. we'll have a glimpse of the future. >> he's the next speaker of the

house. so why is he crying on "60 minutes"?

>> i want to hold you hand. i don't want you to try. >> find out tonight. >> mitchell: remember that old riddle: what's black and white and "read" all over? well, for years the answer was the newspaper. but with traditional local papers in decline, that old punch line is getting makeover, and that's tonight's sunday cover, news that's more than just black and white and that's being read online. >> revolutionizing the game. that's what we're doing. every single day we're working as hard as we can to help adjust the field. >> chris vacarro is part of a surprising new trend in journalism, the growth of local news coverage. surprising because over the last few years newspapers have been hemorrhaging jobs, some going out of business altogether. >> what do you think the future of newspapers is at this point? >> it's online. it's the digital age.

>> reporter: vacarro, who at age 24, has already been fired from two newspaper jobs, is part of a new venture called "patch" run by a.o.l., it has a network of local online sites spread across america, covering everything from politics to fires to high school football. >> as traditional media outlets scale back out of local community, patch is filling a real need and a real void. >> mitchell: as patch president warren webster points out, creating much-needed jobs. >> patch is the largest hirer of journalists this year. >> reporter: by the end of the year, patch will have hired 800 journalists. contrast that with the traditional newspaper industry which lost 13,500 between 2007 and 2009. but patch has its critics. it's been accused of focusing on creating content that attracts advertisers and shying away from controversial stories. >> they clearly are not going to be staffed at a level where they

can do anything of any substance as far as investigative reporting goes. >> patch definitely does not steer clear of controversial stories. in fact, we look for the most important news every day. we had a story just recently about a tragic drunk driving hit-and-run incident in connecticut that inspired over 74 comments from the community. >> mitchell: patch editors like chris vacarro, who covers a community on long island, also hire local freelance reporters to help give more comprehensive coverage. >> we're all focusing on our one goal here, which is to be objective reporters in our communities. >> reporter: for vacarro, that goal also includes covering the local high school football team, which he sees as a way to get young people interested in the news, usually a tough sell. >> the news hits them really hard when it comes the sports and education. the younger generation is tuning in. >> reporter: what attracted you to journalism in the first

place. >> being the person to let everyone else in the community know what is going on. >> mitchell: and patch has just reached its target of 500 sites up and running by the end of the year. we'll be back. >> mitchell: former vice

presidential candidate sarah palin is in haiti, visiting earthquake victims. auburn university quarterback cam newton won the heisman trophy this week. questions have followed newton since it wasry field that his father tried to arrange pay-for-play scheme to send his son to mississippi state.

on the cbs sports nfl today program, james brown asked niewlt newton about the controversy. >> final question, and i know you've been asked this before, but no way will this trophy be returned like that of reggie bush? you're saying definitively you've done nothing knowingly and willingly wrong? >> absolutely. i did nothing wrong. this trophy is going back to college park, georgia, and it's going to make a little stop in auburn, alabama. >> still ahead, pictures of the prince and his fiancee. >> mitchell: finally this

sunday, for the british royal family, these truly have been the best and worst of times. official engagement photographs released today of prince william and kate middleton provide a sharp contrast of thursday night's images of prince charles and his wife camilla in the midst of a violent street protest. elizabeth palmer has more. >> all right, charles, how you doing? >> reporter: in the shaky

window, you can see the windows of the royal rolls-royce were open, so prince charles and camilla weren't completely shielded from the crowd. britain's home secretary didn't specify what kind of contact was made with camilla, but she did hint the royal couple might travel in a more secure vehicle in the future. >> i think you'll see more security and it won't be happening again. >> reporter: british police have released 14 photos of people they want to question in connection with thursday's violence, although it's not clear which, if any, are suspected of attacking the royal car. pockets of demonstrators also defaced public buildings and monuments during a protest against the tripling of university tuition fees. meanwhile, new official photographs of prince william and his fiancee kate middleton were released today, taking by the fashion photographer mario testino. he's photographed the royal

family before, but he's most famous of taking the iconic black and white photos of william's mother princess diana. >> i think by choosing the photographer who took the pictures of his mother looking so incredibly happy, he's almost bringing her in again in the situation of the engagement. >> report front and center in the pictures is diana's engagement ring. she may be gone from the royal couple's life, but she clearly won't be forgotten. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> mitchell: and this is the "cbs evening news." later on cbs, "60 minutes." thanks for joining us this sunday evening. i'm russ mitchell, cbs news in new york. katie couric will be here tomorrow. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

stepping up patrols. holiday shopping comes with shopping. the recent spike in robberies that has police stepping up patrols. virginia place in the bay area, investigating the discovery of a missing 12-year- old girl. they now say they are concentrating on a murder case. >> my kids are sad right now. everybody's sad. muni workers complain the grinch has stolen christmas. why the city is holding up millions in year end bonuses. cbs 5 eyewitness news is next. ,,,,