foreign affairs, president obama flies to europe for a fast-paced round of sim mitts on the afghan war and global economics. mine explosion. dozens are missing after a powerful blast rips through a new zealand coal mine. and censuhe. veteran lawmaker charles rangel faces an embarrassing punishment rarely imposed on congress. this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, november 19th, 2010. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. just days after completing a disappointing tour of asia, president obama is beginning

another overseas trip. he's attending a nato summit in portugal where the war in afghanistan will top the agenda. whit johnson is in washington with more on this. good morning, whit. >> betty, good morning. there are about 140,000 nato troops serving in afghanistan. support for the war is slipping in many of those countries, but this summit will be an international show of solidarity. president obama and dozens of world leaders are expected to open today's nato summit with a way out of afghanistan. the military alliance is set to endorse a plan that would begin bringing home tens of thousands of troops early next year. by 2014, the goal is to hand over most of the security to afghan forces. but, some experts fear that may be too soon. >> unfortunately, afghanistan is not yet ready. >> reporter: violence is at its worst since the taliban were toppled from power in 2001 and insurgents vowed to continue stepping up their attack. >> if the u.s. and other nato

allies start withdrawing their forces the taliban will quickly take over the whole country. >> reporter: despite the 9-year-old war's growing unpopularity, pentagon officials insist they are not rushing to the exit door and called the 2014 timeline a target, not a deadline. european tensions will also be discussed at the two-day summit. saturday nato will hold its highest level talks with russia in two and a half years. at issue, how much input the country should have in a u.s.-backed missile defense system in eastern europe. >> i suspect that we'll get a lot of very warm feelings but, in practice, the outcome is unlikely to be very significant. >> reporter: experts say russia isn't fully convinced the system won't be used against it. in fact, the country has already warned if it feels threatened, it could pull out of the missile treaty worked out with the u.s. last year. president obama has been accused of neglecting some of his european allies. this will be his eighth trip to the continent since taking office. he'll also address growing concerns over the global economy.

betty? >> all right. whit johnson in washington sh, whit, thank you. before leaving washington, mr. obama called on senate republicans to ratify a nuclear arms treaty with russia by january 1st. the treaty would cut both arsenals from 2200 warheads to 1500 with inspectors to verify compliance. former top officials from both parties joined the president in support of the ratification. >> the key point here is this is not about politics. it's about national security. this is not a matter that can be delayed. every month that goes by without a treaty means that we are not able to verify what's going on on the ground in russia. >> mr. obama needs at least eight republican senate votes to ratify the treaty. rescue efforts are under way this morning in new zealand where 27 coal miners are missing after a mine explosion. the mine is near a town on the western side of new zealand's south island. local authorities say if there

are survivors, they could be trapped nearly a mile underground. the mine has emergency exit tunnels but it's unclear if the miners could reach them. in haiti, anti-u.n. violence spread to the capital of port-au-prince. protesters believe u.n. peacekeepers from asia brought cholera to the island. at least 1100 haitians have died since the epidemic broke out last month. florida health officials confirmed a woman who visited relatives in haiti returned suffering from cholera. she was treated in naples at a hospital there and has recovered. in washington, the house ethics committee has recommended censure for veteran new york congressman charles rangel. he was convicted earlier this week of financial misconduct. it is the second most serious punishment the house can impose on a member. joel brown reports. >> reporter: as he arrived at the hearing, serious and sullen, convicted by a congressional ethics panel of 11 violations. congressman charles rangel was

here to learn his fate. >> mr. rangel can no longer blame anyone, other than himself, for the position he now finds himself in. >> reporter: rangel would be just the 23rd congressman in history to be censured by his peers, a significant and embarrassing procedure. it would mean he'd be escorted to the front of the house chamber to receive a public rebuke from the speaker. rangel was convicted this week of misusing his office for fund-raising, running a campaign office out of his subsidized harlem apartment and failing to pay taxes on rental income from his dominican villa. the congressman said he was careless but not corrupt. he admitted he made mistakes. >> no matter what you decide in the sanctions that you put in that report that charles rangel never sought any personal gain. >> reporter: after the ethics panel makes its decision, the full house will vote for or against the punishment it

selects for this 80-year-old political giant. joel brown, cbs news, washington. in alaska, senator lisa murkowski's write-in election victory is being challenged by her tea party republican rival. joe miller wants a federal judge to block state officials from certifying murkowski the winner. election officials gave her credit for ballots with minor misspellings of her name. miller says that is illegal but excluding the challenge votes miller would still trail murkowski. back in washington, democrats and republicans squaring off in a battle over tax cuts. democrats plan to vote on extending them for the middle class but not for the wealthy. republicans have the senate votes to block them. on the "cbs moneywatch" a mixed morning for asian stocks. terrell brown is in new york with much more on that. good morning, terrell. >> hey there, betty, good morning to you. happy friday. a rally for asian markets. japan's nikkei gained a fraction

hitting a five-month closing high, while hong kong's hang seng ended down a fraction. wall street ends the week after major gains. yesterday, the dow shot up 173 and the nasdaq added 38. president obama says the early success of gm's public stock offering shows the $50 billion taxpayer-backed rescue program is paying off. general motors stock began trading yesterday when the administration stepped in to save gm there were many critics. the public offering reduced the government's stake in the auto giant from 61% to about 36%. a bill to extend jobless benefits to some two million long-term out of work americans failed in the house yesterday. the current extension enacted this summer runs out december 1st. speaker nancy pe lows says she will introduce the measure shortly. the senate passed a measure delaying a massive cut in medicare payments to doctors, threatening not to take new medicare patients if the cut goes through. the 23% cut is scheduled to go into effect december 1st. the only thing would change that if the house goes along with the senate action.

betty, comedian will farrell among investors who lost an $18 million security arbitration case against jp morgan. according to the "wall street journal," ferrell and others filed the case in 2008 alleging unauthorized and unsuitable purchases of preferred stock. betty, back to you. >> very interesting. terrell brown here in new york, thank you. we appreciate it. just ahead on the morning news, dramatic new details in the qantas engine blow-out two weeks ago plus a tragic ending in the case of an ohio family missing for more than a week. first, though, katie couric with a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> you're supposed to fasten your seat belt for safety. so, why didn't it save this baseball player? our exclusive investigation reveals what you need to do before you buckle up. that's tonight only on the "cbs evening news." combination? grilled shrimp sad or maybe skewers of wood-grilled shrimp.

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new details in the november 4th engine blow-out on a qantas jumbo jet. photographs show the massive damage, metal sliced through electric and hydraulic cables and left a big hole in the plane's wing. two fuel tanks were punctured, fuel leaked out plus wing flaps and a landing gear door didn't work. but the pilots miraculously landed the jet with 450 passengers aboard. the investigation of natalee holloway's disappearance is focusing on forensic records authorities in the netherlands are comparing her dental records to a jawbone with a tooth in it found in aruba last week. she disappeared during a high school trip there in 2005. the bodies of three missing people have been found in ohio. information on their location was provided to the police by the ex-con accused of kidnapping another family member, a 13-year-old teenager. manuel gallegus reports. >> reporter: white sheets covered the ground in a wooded area in knox county, ohio, where police made a gruesome discovery. >> today, this investigation

took a major turn. >> reporter: information from 30-year-old matthew hoffman led police to a missing mother, her son and family friend. >> the bodies were located in a wooded area inside of garbage bags in a hollow tree. >> reporter: they disappeared last wednesday. she was reported missing after she didn't show up for her shift at this dairy queen. >> we loved tina very much and we're sorry this has happened, her son, kody was constantly in the store. >> reporter: a large amount of blood was found in the home. police were encouraged when they found her 13-year-old daughter sarah tied up but alive in hoffman's basement. but after days of searching the nearby area, hope faded they would find more survivors. >> this is probably the saddest day in knox county history that i can remember. >> reporter: the prosecutor wouldn't say whether hoffman confessed to the killings. he's being held on one million dollars bond on a kidnapping

charge. more charges are pending. manuel gallegus, cbs news. the two men who chair a presidential commission on cutting red ink in washington called for drastic measures including reducing social security payments and raising the retirement age. nancy cordes spoke with commission chairmen who have a frank warning for congress and all of us. >> this baby is lying there like a big stinkbomb. >> reporter: after ten months of searching for ways to eradicate the debt republican allen simpson and democrat err skin bowls are convinced the nation is approaching a crisis point. bowls was president clinton's chief of staff. simpson served in the senate for 18 years. in february, president obama appointed them co-chairs of a new fiscal commission made up mostly of current members of congress to propose the painful solution congress has avoided for decades. >> we're not going to get the support of the hard right or the hard left, just not going to happen. >> reporter: because the plan takes dead aim at sacred cows

like social security, reducing benefits for all but the lowest income americans, trimming the annual cost of living increase, and slowly raising the retirement age from 67 to 69. the two men also proposed freezing federal pay for three years, cutting the federal workforce by 10%, and raising an extra $960 billion in taxes over ten years by doing away with a raft of popular deductions. and the mortgage deduction, you eliminate the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. >> and use the money to reduce the tax rate which everybody has been whining about for years. >> reporter: a stunning reduction, actually, with just three tax brackets depending on their income americans would pay either 8, 14 or 23%. certainly it would make doing your taxes a lot easier. >> it sure would, take you about two minutes and save you some money, too. >> reporter: their goal to wipe nearly four trillion dollars off the books the next ten years. everyone supports the goal.

the problem is democrats don't want spending cuts and republicans don't want tax increases. nancy cordes, cbs news, capitol hill. straight ahead your friday morning weather. in sports, overwhelming defense in a shut-out on thursday night football. know the stain. after an alpaca? i have. it was awesome. ♪ call 1-800-steemer

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miami, sunny, 82, partly cloudy and 50 degrees in chicago. denver is also partly cloudy, 61. l.a., rainy, 72. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows thick clouds plus snow and rain in the northwest and northern plains. the northeast has some fair-weather clouds moving across the region and in the southeast and southern plains, skies are clear. now, later today, sections of california will see rain and snow in the mountainous areas. the northwest with a storm system moving through bringing heavy snow to higher elevations. frigid air is sliding down into the midwest. temperatures drop into the 20s and 30s and the southeast is warm with sunny skies. in sports, felix hernandez won the american league cy young award. he only had a 13-12 record with a last-place team but led the league in earned run average and was second this strikeouts. in the nfl chicago shut out

miami on thursday night football. matt forte had the game's only touchdown. chicago's defense almost completely shut down the miami offense. the 16-0 victory gives chicago sole control of the nfc north. in the nba, portland makes a fourth oop quarter comeback. the trail blazers were trailing the nuggets in the second half but matthews had 20 points and led the rally to pull out the win at home. what an upset in college basketball. in overtime, jordan hamilton of texas led the way against number 13, illinois, and the longhorns beat illinois 90-84. texas has won its first three games of the season. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories and caught on tape, a brazen jewelry store heist carried out with hammers and axes? [ male announcer ] if you think you can only charge your things the same old way... consider this: things just got beautifully simple. introducing the duracell mygrid™. simple and smart. it's mygrid™.

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♪ ♪ cadillac cts sports sedan. top-tier status edmunds.com. right now get this attractive lease offer on a cadillac cts sport sedan. ♪ cadillac. the new standard of the world. on the "cbs morning news" a look at today's weather, warm sunshine hangs out in the

southern plains as well as the southeast. the southwest is looking at showers, especially around los angeles. and the northern plains will see frigid temps, in the teens and single digits. here's another look at this morning's top stories. president obama is on another foreign trip, this time to attend a nato summit in portugal. the war in afghanistan tops the nato agenda. 27 miners are missing after a powerful explosion deep in a new zealand coal mine. if any survived, they could be trapped a mile underground. we want to turn you now to a breakthrough in antimatter, scientists claim they have successfully created and captured antimatter for longer times than ever before. they trapped 38 atoms of antihydrogen. it is believed this energy can one day be used to fuel a powerful rocket or even a bomb.

in glendale, california, a dramatic smash-and-grab at a jewelry store. surveillance tape shows a gang of robbers monday busting glass cases with axes and hammers while others scoop up jewelry into bags. so far, only two suspects have been detained. not far from there in hollywood a superstar left a big impression. yesterday, singer and oscar-winning actress cher was immortalized in cement in front of the famed bron man's chinese theater. at the ceremony the 64-year-old was also joined by her son, chaz. it was love at first height for a california couple. wayne and lorie halquist named the world's tallest living married couple yesterday by guinness world records. get this. he is 6'10" and she is 6'5." they say one advantage to being so tall, they could find each other very easily in a crowd. that's quite a couple there. on this morning's "early show" tsa administrator john

pistole on the new airport screening procedures. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." [ female announcer ] treat yourself to something special for lunch at red lobster. how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination? or maybe skewers of wood-grilled shrimp. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 at red lobster. [ male announcer ] new one a day vitacraves gummies hello. plus immunity support. a complete adult multivitamin in a great-tasting gummy. hello? with more vitamin c for extra immune support for you and your inner child. one a day vitacraves. gummies for grown-ups. ah, it's stinging a little bit more than usual! yeah, you'll get used to it. the longer you keep your high mileage car, the more it pays you back.

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hello again, not a bad start to the week's end on a purple friday. >> not bad at all. clear skies and expected throughout the day. low 40s now and 52 at lunch and going to 53 actually. 49 this clear, friday evening. >> the weather, a long week for hundreds after a storm blows through the city and the county. now, it's confirmed, a tornado touchened down and it may not have been as weak as some

assumed. a dog fighting ring busted amid-a disturbing discovery. and one of the harshest penalties possible. charlie wrangle learns his punishment for violating the ethics rules. more traffic, weather and news, coming up in a few minuteses,,,,

>> >> it's friday! >> and in 22 seconds, it will be 5:00 a.m.