russ. >> mitchell: elaine quijano in raleigh, morning, thank you. there is some severe weather to tell butonight. a major winter storm has dumped up to two feet of snow in the upper midwest. the storm is moving east and bringing some of the coldest temperatures of the season thus far. liz colin of our twin city station wcco joins us from downtown minneapolis with the latest. liz trk looks cold. >> reporter: it certainly is,erous. really a whopper here in minneapolis. you think it's minnesota, of course, and it's supposed to snow but it's been years since we heard the words, "blizzard" and "crippling snowstorms." this drift was at least 10 feet high at one point. the cold and the wind are only going to make things worse. the large and powerful storm is blanketing the upper midwest with nearly two feet of snow. strong winds gusting at 50 miles per hour are creating blizzard-like condition conditim south dakota to minnesota. residents here in minneapolis are trying to stay ahead of the 18 inches expected to pile up by the storm's end. >> it's rough. it

elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: president obama and the first lady delivered a joint christmas message today. michelle obama made an appeal for americans to support members of the military and their families. >> when our men and women in uniform answer the call to serve, their families serve, too. and they're proud and glad to do it, but as long as that service keeps the rest of us safe, their sacrifice should also be our own. even heros can use a hand, especially during the holidays. >> axelrod: some american troops were able to enjoy a brief break from the rigors of battle on this christmas. at bases around the world, u.s. forces celebrated with a holiday meal as well as some prayers and carols. some troops even ran a marathon. mandy clark spent the day with task force bandit in kunar, afghanistan. >> hallelujah. >> reporter: christmas mass from a visiting catholic priest. for colonel vincent it's a rare moment of reflection on christmas day. >> what's up, man? merry christmas. >> reporter: this 41-year-old officer is responsible for around 650 soldiers in task forc

elaine quijano has the numbers. >> reporter: in the midst of christmas gift crunch time, retailers are crunching the number says and seeing consumers back in the holiday spirit. last super saturday weekend, retail sales increased 5.5%, compared to a year ago. foot traffic in stores was up 3%. and online sales jumped a whopping 17%. >> we're letting our breath out, we're feeling better about our economy. and one of the ways to express that is i'm a shopper and i'm back and i'm ready to spend. >> reporter: business is so, good the national retail federation revised its holiday sales forecast from 2.3 to 3.3%, with consumers heading back to traditional holiday gifts like electronics, jewelry and clothes. apale sales up almost 10% over last year, a sign consumers are once again spending money on themselves. did you get anything for yourself? >> of course. >> reporter: what did you end up getting? >> a sweater for myself, too. >> reporter: christmas eve expected to another big shopping day as consumers hold out for deals. >> we soo a lot of last-minute shoppers. looking for that bang for th

>> elaine quijano in times square, thanks, elaine. and overseas, millions in britain and across europe had their christmas shopping and travel plans upset this weekend by an unusually heavy snowstorm. elizabeth palmer in london has more. >> reporter: now this is winter weather as europe seldom sees it. heavy snow has blanketed italy, belgium, germany, scandinavia, northern france and the u.k., throwing people's travel plans into chaos. britain's major airports were closed on and off all day saturday while staff battled to keep runways clear. london's heathrow is now closed and will remain that way at least until tomorrow. this is the weekend many passengers were hoping to fly home for the holidays. >> i'm a bit anxious, but what will be will be. if it's canceled, it's canceled. >> pretty frustrating at this point. just trying to get home before christmas. >> reporter: for many areas, it's the heaviest snowfall in decades, between eight and 10 inches in just a few hours. >> we were just outside of gatwick and there was nothing, and fiv

>> mason: elaine quijano. thanks. with so many people traveling tonight, security is a big concern at the airports, and t.s.a. screeners are on the lookout for a new threat. bob orr is in washington with a look at what has officials worried. bob? >> reporter: good evening, anthony. u.s. officials, i have to tell you, are more concerned than i've seen them in a long, long time. al qaeda and its affiliates are threatening holiday attacks and, like last year, a top target is aviation. it was christmas day one year ago, umar farouk abdulmutallab tried to bring down a northwest airlines jet liner with a type of underwear bomb most counterterrorism agents had not seen before. now security officials are on alert for another potential terrorist weapon: explosives hidden inside the liners of insulated drink containers. sources say there is no specific intelligence that al qaeda is planning a thermos-bomb plot. but as a statement just posted on the t.s.a. web site warns, the possible tactics terrorist might use include the conc

>> mitchell: elaine quijano in central park, thanks so much. this day after christmas is a give back for many americans but the nasty weather is making it tough, if not impossible for thousands. an estimated 92 million americans were traveling this holiday. most of them by car. roads in the east are a mess and travel by train and plane can be very frustrating. nancy cordes is live at reagan national airport just outside washington with that. nancy, good evening to you. >> reporter: russ, good evening, late this afternoon american airlines announced it was canceling all of its flights into and out of the northeast until at least 10:00 tomorrow morning. here at reagan national, about two-thirds of the flights are canceled right now on what's supposed to be one of the busiest travel days of the year. snowplows at newark airport couldn't keep up with this storm. >> praying that i can wait out this storm and make it home safely. >> reporter: by midday, nearly 1 1,000 flights have been canceled at new york's three airports. in philadelphia, 400 out o

elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >>> coming up a little bit later on "the early show," a live report from the white house on the tentative tax cut deal reached by president obama and congressional republicans. >>> also before you head into the kitchen, an important warning about dangerous exploding glass bakeware and tips on how to handle hot glass ware. and legendary comedian steve martin stops by with his new novel, "an object of beauty." that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. nguyen. have a great day. . ,, [ bell rings ] what are you doing, friending somebody? yeah. you got time for that? you got time to earn more on your savings, online at capitalone.com. that's new school banking, baby! instead of earning squatootski... your savings will be earning three times the national average. now, let's review. capital one interestplus savings... at three times more. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? are you a pisces?

elaine quijano, cbs news. >> smith: the largest sex discrimination suit in u.s. history is going to the supreme court. as many as 1.5 million current and former female employees are suing wal-mart for allegedly paying them less than men. but the court will not be ruling on the merits of the case, only on whether the women have a right to join together and bring it as a class action lawsuit. when we come back, remembering the man they called "dandy don." called "dandy don." life you wa. fortunately there's enbrel, the #1 most doctor-prescribed biologic medicine for ra. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, fatigue, and stop joint damage. >> ur immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, and other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis. ask your doctor if you live or have lived in an area where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection

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elaine quijano has more. >> reporter: mayors in the cities in the path of the storm have all declared states of emergency. in philadelphia, where sunday night football is postponed until tuesday -- >> we fight storms. that's what we do. that's what we're in the business to do. >> reporter: in new york, where one to two inches of snow is steadily falling every hour -- >> we also have more than 180,000 tons of salt on hand over at 30 locations. >> reporter: and in boston. >> we're asking everyone to stay home, stay off the main thoroughfares. >> reporter: the blizzard has already caused treacherous conditions in the south. the storm is being blamed for at least two deadly crashes and throughout the region the nor'easter has broken numerous records. the snowstorm arrived in time to alter holiday travel plans. in richmond, virginia, steven sutton held off visiting family in north carolina. >> as soon as i get this gas, i'm going in the house. >> reporter: the snow means holiday headaches for some. for others, including tourists in new york, the snow only adds to the holiday spirit. >> las

elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >> couric: and coming up next, the women of uconn: flirting with a record. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. [ female announcer ] certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. tell

>> elaine quijano in western new york this morning, thank you very much. >> hopefully elaine makes it home at some point, too. >>> more of the day's headlines now with jeff glor. good morning. >> this is nothing. 32 inches. 36. whatever. we deal with it. >> you're from buffalo. >> exactly right. good morning, guys. >> like a dusting. >> dusting, exactly. good morning, everyone. the controversial wikileaks website is under attack again this morning and dropped by another domain name owner. they pulled the plug saying it was the target of multiple hacker attacks and still getting out the information through a european provider. meanwhile, wikileaks founder julian assange is said to be hiding in europe right now. >>> at least 41 prison guards killed by the largest wild fire in israel's history. the fire started yesterday in israel's carmel forest. 30,000 people have been forced to evacuate now. the prison guards got caught in the blaze trying to rescue inmates an at nearby prison. firefighters from several countries are now battling that blaze. >>> in connecticut, a man sentenced to deat

. >> glor: all right, elaine quijano from new york tonight. thank you. authorities in oregon with questioning a man who lives near a mosque set on fire last month. he is 24-year-old cody crawford who has a prison record. the fire broke out shortly after a somali-born worshiper, mohamed osman mohamud allegedly tried to bomb a portland gathering in portland. he has pleaded not guilty. still ahead tonight on cbs evening news-- snow snarls the american heartland and fire threaten the holy land >> glor: a big swath of the country is getting an early taste of winter weather today. a powerful storm raced through the midwest, leaving almost a foot of snow and snarling travel plans for thousands. cynthia bowers in chicago has more. >> reporter: across much of the midwest today, a number of folks were out shoveling snow... >> you don't want to shovel any more? >> reporter: ...while others were out enjoying it. >> how was it, alex! >> good! >> reporter: the nearly 700-mile-long storm system stretching from fargo, north dakota, all the way down to peoria, illinois,

cbs' elaine quijano, thank you. >> they're doing it last minute. >> that is true. as i will later on today. >>> still ahead today, "spider-man" is back in action on freeway after a terrifying accident. safety questions remain. we'll ask a veteran stuntman if the show should go on. >>> if you need to buy presents on christmas day, we'll tell you surprising places to go for those last-minute gifts. this is "the early show" on cbs. naturally, blame the mucus. well, i can't breathe. did you try blowing your nose? of course. [ both ] and nothing came out. instead of blaming me, try new advil congestion relief. what you probably have is swelling due to nasal inflammation, not mucus. and this can help? it treats the real problem of your sinus symptoms, reducing swelling due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. [ mucus ] new advil congestion relief. the right sinus medicine for the real problem. that saves you hundreds of dollars a year. it's called the new humana walmart-preferred prescription plan. ♪ it's a breakthrough in medicare prescription drug plans... hey bu

elaine quijano shows us now procrastinators are giving retailers and additional last- minute boost. >>> reporter: with just hours to go until christmas -- >> oh, wow! oh, my gosh. they have been very busy. you go in, lines everywhere. >> reporter: -- the shopping frenzy is at a fever pitch. >> i think i'll take anything. >> reporter: and overall consumers appear to be getting back in the holiday spirit. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: last super saturday weekend retail sales increased 5.5% compared to a year ago. foot traffic in stores was up 3%. and online sales jumped a whopping 17%. >> we're feeling better about our economy and one of the ways to express that is, i'm a shopper and i'm back and i'm ready to spend. >> reporter: business is so good, the national retail federation revised its holiday steals forecast from 2.3% to 3.3% with consumers heading back to traditional holiday gifts like electronics, jewelry and clothes. apparel sales are up almost 10% over last year, a sign consumers are once again spending money on themselves. >> did you get anything for yourself? >> of cours

>> elaine quijano in times square, thank you very much. cbs news correspondent seth doane in cambridge, massachusetts, where as we said, they are still getting hit by the storm. seth, good morning to you. >> reporter: that's right. good morning, russ. yes, i just heard he elaine say times square is usually packed. this street here in cambridge is normally busy, too. as you can see just a few brave souls out this morning. this blizzard has really packed a powerful punch across the northeast, wreaking havoc on the roadways. coastal cape cod here in massachusetts did not see as much snow but they saw very, very strong winds, up to 80 miles per hour overnight. that's hurricane-force winds and coastal flooding. as elaine mentioned, power is out to thousands across the region. road crews are working feverishly to try to make this treacherous morning commute as good as possible. some folks are being asked to stay home, non-essential personnel asked not to come in. it is a wintry, wintry morning here in boston. still snow, >> that's a look at your

elaine quijano is in times square with a few shoppers. >> reporter: good evening to you erica-- last-minute shoppers have plenty of company. one survey shows 23 million people plan to wrap up their holiday shopping tomorrow, christmas eve. in the midst of christmas gift crunch time... >> anything, i'll take anything. >> reporter: ...retailers are crunching the numbers and seeing consumers back in the holiday spirit. last super saturday weekend, retail sales increased 5.5% compared to a year ago. foot traffic in stores was up 3%, and online sales jumped a whopping 17%. >> we're letting our breath out. we're feeling better about our economy, and one of the ways to express that is "i'm a shopper and i'm back and i'm ready to spend." >> reporter: business is so good the national retail federation revised its holiday sales forecast from 2.3% to 3.3% with consumers heading back to traditional holiday gifts like electronics, jewelry, and clothes. apparel sales are up almost 10% over last year, a sign consumer are once again spending money on themselves. did you get anything for yourself? >> of cou

>> elaine quijano in chapel hill, north carolina, thank you. joining us are two friends of the family, jennifer palmieri and glenn bergenfield. we thank you very much joining us this morning and please accept our condolences. jennifer, let me start with you. elizabeth from everything we read was clearly in charge in these last weeks and days of her life. what did she want most and what did she want others to get and understand? >> uh-huh. well, she really wanted to not just -- she wanted to leave behind a message to not just her family and friends and we were grateful to be able to have time with her the past few days but for the people that she had met along the way that read her books and that's why she wanted to most the message she did on the facebook page which was to, you know, even at the end of her life to reassure people that she still felt that living a life that was filled with hope and really believing in resilience gave meaning to her life and she said to me, as you know, i know that it doesn't mean you have more days, it doesn't.

. >> all coming up but first for a look at this morning's headlines we turn to elaine quijano. >> good morning, merry christmas. christians around the world are celebrating the birth of christ. at the vatican pope benedict gave his message to the world. security was tight at last night's midnight mass following two package bombs this week in rome. an estimated 100,000 pilgrims gather in bethlehem to celebrate christmas, the largest crowd in ten years. prayers said at the church of the narvety built on the site where tradition holds jesus was born. >>> a deadly christmas morning in northwest pakistan. at least 41 killed and 60 injuries when a suicide bomber attacked an aid distribution center. local officials believe the bomber was a woman, a first forring pakistan. >>> in the afghan capital of kabul, the nato-led international security assistance force says afghan and nato troops killed two men during a raid ron a private security firm this morning after receiving a credible threat of an attack on the u.s. embassy. >>> here at home, a christmas storm is moving in on the southeast. afte

cbs news correspondent elaine quijano is here with the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, harry. drop-side cribs have always made it easier to lift babies in and out of a crib. the problem, they can also be deadly. after more than 30 fatalities and millions of recalls, a federal ban will take drop-side cribs off the market for good. in a unanimous vote the consumer product safety commission ruled it will soon be illegal to manufacture, sell, or re-sell cribs with sides that drop down. in six months all retailers have to sell only the new cribs. >> reporter: the problem with drop-side cribs, sliding side rails can malfunction due to hardware poorly made and create a space big enough for an infant to become trapped and suffocate that. happened to this 10-month-old in 1997. his mother, mishel, found him. >> to see the horrific sight of him strangled was just horrifying to me. >> reporter: tyler was sleeping in a crib with a doctor-down side when his head got stuck in a gap between the siderail and the headboard. >> i just immedi

cbs news correspondent elaine quijano in times square with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the musical resumes tonight even as investigators continue the work trying to determine what went wrong earlier this week. on the heels of monday's terrifying accident, when stuntman christopher tierney plunged about 30 feet, producers for the musical agreed to implement new safety measures, the additional precautions come after a meeting with federal and state labor officials tuesday. in the video of the incident, it a peers that the safety line is not anchored to anything. he suffered broken ribs and internal bleeding. the accident the fourth since the musical began preview shows last month. >> this latest injury, again, throwing everything off because all of the actors now so cautious and tentative and so afraid to perform the show. >> reporter: in a written statement, the director said, an accident like this is obviously heartbreaking for our entire team and, of course, to me personally. nothing is more important than the safety of o

cbs news correspondent elaine quijano is in raleigh with the latest. good morning, elaine. >> reporter: good morning to you, rebecca. her funeral here today will be open to the public, a chance for family, friends, and strangers alike to pay tribute to her. >> it's been painful. >> reporter: he has struggled to write the u jolg he will deliver today for his friend, elizabeth edwards. >> the challenge of this is to try to give, to try to put into words some sense of what, you know, astonishing courage she had. >> bergenfield first met edwards in law school. the two remained friends through the years and became even closer after edwards' son wade was killed in a car accident in 1996. now, at this same rollie church where he attended wade's funeral, bergen 2350e8d will be one of three people, including edwards' daughter, cate, who will u joois her. >> among the reason, she doesn't fear death she fears she has at least the chance to be reunited with her son. >> reporter: today, she will be laid to rest next to wade's grave. in her last television interview

cbs news correspondent elaine quijano in times square with the latest. >> reporter: good morning to you, this is the biggest, most expensive production in broadway history and also appears to be one of the most troubled. ♪ it's the show that has broadway buzzing but for all the wrong reasons. in the closing minutes of monday night's performance, "spiderman: turn aft dark" once again stunned the audience. an actor took a terrible fall. it's believed one of the tethers broke and fell more than 30 feet to the pit below. it's just the latest in a string of accidents and injuries that have plagued the show in recent weeks, in a little over a month, one actress suffered a concussion while two actors were injured in a flying sequence, one breaking his wrist. the director says it's part of the creative process. >> i don't think anything that's creative can be done without danger and risk. ♪ >> reporter: after last night's accident, a blog was flooded by outraged fans. this is just getting silly. time to shut this down. and this show is doomed. i think theater goers should stay away. but dir

elaine quijano. >> joining us from raleigh, north carolina, a long-time family friend and former campaign adviser to john edwards. thanks for being with us this morning and our condolences. >> thank you very much. >> john, you were invited to come to the home. you arrived after elizabeth edwards had passed. tell us, what was the mood like at that point and how was everyone doing and coping? >> you know, it's a hard time, as you know. but i will tell you the home right now, i think, is exactly the way that elizabeth would want it. there is more laughter than there are tears. there's amazing strength there in that home for the children. their sisters are with them, their aunt, uncle, father, friends. there's a lot of love in that family and in that house. >> exactly as she would have wanted it. >> yes. absolutely. >> we just heard some of her words there, she spoke about her children in elaine's piece talking about the most important thing you can give your children was wings. how did she prepare kate and claire and jack for this? >> elizabeth always believed that you lead by example. and i

correspondent elaine quijano is in raleigh, north carolina. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is where the funeral will take place. personal deeply meaning for the edwards' family. elizabeth edwards will be remembered by friends and family tomorrow in a ceremony celebrating her life. two close friends and elizabeth's 28-year-old daughter cate will have the difficult task of offering eulogies. >> she's been through so much, losing her brother and now her mom. she's very strong and has so much of her mother in her. >> reporter: estranged husband john will not be speaking at the service. it will be held at edenton street united methodist church in raleigh, a very close to the edwards' family. it's where their 16-year-old son wade's funeral was neld 1996. elizabeth will then be laid to rest right next to his grave. a place she visited every day for years after he died. >> every day i would sit beside him on a blanket with a thermos of water and i would read the bible aloud to the place on the ground underwhich he was buried. >> reporte

elaine quijano has more. >> reporter: ratcheting up the legal pressure on wikileaks founder jewel jan assange attorney general eric holder is vowing to go after anyone the u.s. believes has broken american laws but he acknowledges there might be loopholes. >> they will be held responsible, they will be held accountable. to the extent there are gaps in our laws, we will move to close those gaps. >> reporter: a former bush administration official says those gaps in u.s. law could make it difficult to prosecute assange. >> the most likely statute that would be used in a case like this is the espionage statutes that were passed around world war i and those were designed for a different era. >> reporter: so, lawmakers are moving quickly. senator john ensign introduced legislation called the shield act which would make it illegal to publish the names of informants for the u.s. military and the intelligence community. cbs news spoke to him by phone today. >> for people who are acting irresponsibly and putting people's lives in jeopardy but the way they are acting, we want to give our attorne