The race to recover flight 8501. Seven bodies have been confirmed recovered from the sea. The u. S. Now has a second naval ship ready to deploy. An icy blast. Its colder than usual in practically every part of the country. Things got dicey in california. No surprise families traveling over the grapevine. Look at all these cars inching down the mountain. The new years ball is ready to go. Nypd is ramping up security. Officers will be out in full force to keep you safe. The energy is fantastic. Its new years eve, whew Speaker Boehner is putting his full support behind congressman scalise. Boehner said, have my full confidence. Burglar in houston did not make it very far. He fell asleep in the guest bedroom. All that for the win it may have been knocked in by a gator at the top of many peoples list of resolutions. Have you ever seen one of these things before . Do i look like and all that matters it is new years eve in the u. S. In some parts of the world, theyre already ringing in 2015. Australia always does it best. Look at those images. On cbs this morning. And Ndamukong Suh getting to play, suh appealed a onegame suspension handed down. The lions star player Ndamukong Suh. Announcer this mornings eye opener is presented by toyota. Lets go places. Captioning funded by cbs welcome to cbs this morning. Charlie and gayle are off. Good to have you both here. Search crews are fighting storms in rough seas this morning to recover the debris of flight 8501. Researchers believe they know the final resting place of the plane. One said a body was recovered wearing a life jacket. We learned this morning that 31 people aboard the jet belong to the same church in surabaya, indonesia. Alan pizzy is there. Good morning. Reporter good morning, bad weather hampered the rescue this morning. Some have drifted as much as 30 miles since yesterday. The first bodies brought back to the airport where the plane took off from came back in numbered coffins, for now, the only identification they have. Several more bodies were recovered and brought back to the search and rescue base. One of them was dressed in her distinctive stewardess uniform. At the airport crisis center, officials are taking details from relatives to help put names to the victims. Each case in its own documents folder and heart wrenching story. The i. D. Tag that identifies him as Family Member also has andreas, his 32yearold son written on ink pen. He dropped him off at the airport last sunday. A small bandage is where they took blood today for dna identification if his body is found. He says he is still praying for a miracle. The only thing left to cling to. Friend and relatives of some of the victims held a kind of impromptu service at the airport today. Another way of dealing with grief too profound for those not directly affected to comprehend. All but a handful of the 162 people on board the plane were end indonesian, whose fingerprints would have been placed in a National Database when they turned 17. Bodies and remains will be put in this area until they are autopsied and can return to families for burial. The doctor says that local religious customs and sensibilities must also be honored. Even a body part. Must be treated with respect . Yes. Indonesian officials promise the effort will go on as long as necessary. And the story grows more poignant as it develops. Accord to local media, the copilot of the search and rescue plane reported seeing three bodies floating in the sea holding hands. Vinita. Allen, thank you. That bad weather at the crash site would make it even harder to find out why flight 8501 fell from the sky. Jeff pegues is tracking the investigation from washington. Good morning. The debris field in the sea is starting to yield more evidence about what may have gone wrong. The condition of the bodies and wreckage suggests the plane may have hit the water relatively intact. Seasoned investigators tell us that increases the possibility the pilots may have had time to react to what was going on, the plane could have stalled and air speed may have been a factor. But its the black box that will tell all of this story, most of it. In an a320, its located in a tail section of the plane. Although its called the black box, it contains the cockpit voice recorder. Both will provide Vital Information about the planes altitude, air speed and Engine Performance as well as the pilots final words. Accident investigators will use the information to determine if weather played a role, if mechanical systems failed or pilot error led to the crash. Just a reminder, how long do crews have to find those black boxes . Well, jeff the black boxes have a locator beacon which will emit a ping for about 30 days. Sometimes longer than that. They can survive saltwater. Time is of the essence when it comes to recovering the black boxes. Once investigators locate those black boxes, they will take them out of the saltwater, submerge them in fresh water. What that does is drain the corrosive saltwater from the system. Then they will be able to get the memory board from the black boxes. Thats about the size of this cell phone, thats what contains the vital data they are looking for. Norah. All right, jeff, thank you so much. Freezing weather is creating Hazardous Conditions in some parts of the country. Californias big bear area stranded dozens of drivers. Rescuers made sure to keep warm. John blackstone is in pasadena, california, they are in for an unprecedented chill. Good morning. Reporter good morning. Well, in 24 hours, this is where thousands of spectators will be gathered for the start of the annual rose parade. This years parade is expected to be a record breaker as the coldest in the parades 126year history. Snow and freezing temperatures are creating dangerous driving conditions in the Mountain Community of big bear, california, about 100 miles northeast of los angeles. Its cold. There is a lot of people slid out everywhere up there. Reporter in San Bernardino county, fire crews used snow cats to rescue stranded motorists. More than 100 people were stuck on highway 148. But fire crews in tuften south of l. A. , were the ones that needed saving. A downed power line started an electrical fire, leaving them trapped in the fire station. Roads were blocked off, utility crews were able to shut off the power. No one was injured. These heavy wind chills will bring the temperatures down to the low 20s in sacramento new years eve, 90 miles to the north, strong winds knocked down trees, killing two in paradise, california, including a motorist. As they were driving, it appears the tree fell into the vehicle. Reporter in Southern California, the frigid cold is causing concerns about the floats and the spectators at thursday mornings rose parade. Hundreds are expected to camp out here overnight, and many may be unprepared for the deep freeze. It doesnt seem cold to much of the country, low 30s, thats not cold. The temperature at this time of the year. Well, the fear is, we live in sunny california most of the year. The fear of hypothermia is real. Can be lifethreatening and fatal. Reporter the temperature has dropped into the low 40s. I know for much of the country at the end of december thats not a bad temperature. But here in balmy Southern California well that is gloves weather. Jeff. Low 40s, horrendous. John, thank you very much and happy new year. Part of arizona preparing for up to a foot of snow this morning. Heidi gotea, our cbs station is in flagstaff as that city prepares to handle these treacherous conditions, heidi, good morning to you. Good morning, everybody. Dropping quite the snow on california. Were in flagstaff where several inches have fallen. Ill estimate about 3 inches of snow here on the ground. Were expecting a total of about 12 to 15 inches out of that storm. Theyre ready for this up here in the flagstaff area. Whats unique about the storm is the way its impacting other parts of arizona, down to the valley, where they are seeing snow on the mountains. So folks here spending their new years day leaving what old man winter is leaving behind. The record breaking cold is also hitting colorado, as many areas cope with slick conditions on the road. Denver International Reported a temperature of 15 degrees below zero. That shattered the low set in 1898. Meteorologist evelynn taft of cbs station kcbs is tracking the last winter blast of 2014. Evelyn, good morning. Good morning, and good morning to our viewers in the west. Were expecting temperatures to drop below freezing in a lot of spots. Weve got windchill warnings and advisories still posted across 15 states this morning. As we look at your future cast were also looking at snow and the rain in the forecast. Up to a foot of snow for flagstaff. As we head towards new years eve here as we ring in the new year, las vegas could get a little bit of snow on the strip. Its been a while since weve seen snow on the strip, since 2008, to be exact. Temperatures for california below average today. Were talking 30s, 40s, 50s. Thats pretty much it. Very cold. And temperatures across the nation in the 20s, even the Single Digits in denver, 29 degrees in new york. Evelynn, thank you so much. Moments ago in tokyo the clock turned midnight and new years celebrations began in japan. In australia fireworks lipt up the night sky. New york city is ready for tonights massive celebrations in times square and Jericka Duncan is already there. Good morning. Reporter the streets are bustling here with a lot of people in times square, some staking out the perfect spot for tonights performances. Now, the new York City Police department will, without a doubt, have a large presence. Officials say the city is on high alert for various reasons. Those who have come to witness the festivities in person have come out early. Stacy jepsen made the 15hour drive from gainesville, florida. Why is it so important for you and your family to be in times square . Its a once in a lifetime for the ball dropping in new york city. Every part of the world reporter the president of the Times Square Alliance is in charge of planning this years party. The energy is absolutely amazing here. People are here, theyre taking selfies of themselves, theyre knowing a billion people around the world are watching. Reporter and watching the crowds will be thousands of nypd officers, bomb sniffing dogs and radiation detectors have been deployed. Hundreds of Security Camera feeds will allow Law Enforcement officials to spot suspicious activity from their command center. Times square is probably the safest place in new york city on new years eve. We will be patrolling, in the air, by sea, on the ground and in the subway system. We have not received any specific threats but the city will be on high alert for any kind of trouble. Reporter the end of 2014 brought many challenges for the new York City Police department. Demonstrators targeted cops during weeks of protests, following a and jurys decision not to indict an officer in the chokehold death of eric garner. As authorities prepare to ring in the new year, they are also concerned for their own safety, adding additional officers to handle potential protests. There is obviously a heightened sense of security during this detail. As we turn Police Officers out, we rye mind them that they have to look out for each other and Work Together and make sure we all stay safe. Reporter everyone who enters this socalled frozen zone will be subject to several Police Safety screening, and the zone will live up to its name. Its expected to be 29 degrees when the ball drops. Much cooler than temperatures youre experiencing out west. Thank you very much. A small idaho town is reeling after a tragic shooting. A twoyearold boy got ahold of a gun and shot his mother to death in a crowded store. It happened at a walmart in the town of hayden idaho. Don dahler is here with more. Reporter what should have been a normal shopping trip for an idaho family quickly turned tragic. It unfolded in a store full of holiday shoppers. There was like it sounds like an accidental shooting at the walmart in hayden. 29yearold Veronica Rutledge was in the Electronics Section of this walmart with four children monday afternoon. A small child around the age of 2 accessed a concealed weapon inside the victims purse and discharged it, striking the victim. Reporter rutledges 2yearold son accidentally fired the shot. She was struck by the bullet and died at the scene. The three other kids were members of her extended family, all under the age of 11. On tuesday night the fatherinlaw said the family lost a beautiful, loving mother. Walmart issued a statement saying a very sad incident occurred at our store today involving the death of a female customer. We are fully cooperating with the sheriffs deputies. As they investigate this matter. Carrying a concealed weapon is legal in idaho and many adults have a permit to do so. This is a tragic incident we are dealing with. When you have small children, young people, holiday season, its not a pleasant experience right now. Law enforcement officials we reviewed the surveillance tapes from inside the store, but they have yet to decide whether to make that video public. Vinita. Dopn, thank you. There is hope the new year could bring freedom for three journalists jailed in egypt. They were convicted of supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood ad spreading false news. Elizabeth palmer is in london. Take a look at a Court Hearing tomorrow that could end more than a year of captivity. Elizabeth, good morning. Good morning. Well, right from the start, this case has been more about politics than crime. Recently, though the political wind in egypt has shifted a little. And that could mean the end of this nightmare for the three jailed journalists and, of course, their families. We just hurt so much that everything sorts itself out on the 1st of january. Reporter his parents are hoping an appeals judge will rule on new years day that their son is free to leave egypt and fly home. To keep the pressure up, al jazeera staff held a vigil at the networks headquarters in doha, qatar, this week. While in london, friends and colleagues demonstrated outside the Egyptian Embassy and supporters tweeted solidarity with the hashtag, free a. J. Staff. The three men were arrested last december in cairo, where they had been covering the story of egypts military seizing power from the elected president mohamed morsi. The government accused them of acting as a mouthpiece for the Islamist Party the Muslim Brotherhood. Most diplomats think the men are guilty of nothing more than a tv network funded by the arab kingdom of qatar. Egypts bitter enemy. Mohammed is upon you in a cold war between egypt and qatar and he didnt do anything. He didnt commit any crime. Reporter back in june, the men were convicted in a trial that was farcical and chaotic. President obama have joined the calls for their freedom. We have been clear both public and privately, they should be released. Reporter al jazeera, itself, has made a concession and shut down its egyptian affiliate. Id like to think if removed, the political aspect of the arrest. Which is another reason wed like to be hopeful for the outcome on the 1st. The appeal hearing is scheduled to start first thing tomorrow morning in cairo. Egyptian courts are notoriously unpredictable. So we could have a verdict almost immediately or it could take several days. Norah. All right, well be watching, elizabeth, thank you. This morning, Republican Leaders in congress are standing behind one of their own, House Majority whip Steve Scalise says it was a mistake to speak to White Supremacists in 2002. House Speaker John Boehner says representative scalise made an error in judgment. He was right to act knowledge it was wrong. He wholeheartedly condemns the groups values. George h. W. Bush left houston Methodist Hospital tuesday after a weeklong stay, doctors say his breathing is back to normal. The first president celebrated his 90th birthday in june with a tandem sky dive. His 70th wedding anniversary is coming up too. I know, good to see him back home. Ahead on cbs this morning, why some American Companies seeking justice against hackers may have gon it will be breezy today but certainly not as windy as yesterday. Good morning, everybody. Heading out tout right now, we have temperatures below freezing in concord. Upper 30s across the santa clara valley, back through the trivalley. It is now 40 in mountain view, 30s in santa rosa. Todays highs 40s and 50s. Wind advisory expires at noon. Once it does, remaining breezy throughout the afternoon. Happy new years eve. This National Weather report sponsored by yoplait. It is so good. A young couple escapes death twice. Ahead, how they survived two avalanches just moments apart. See the splitsecond decision that saved their lives. The news is back in a moment on cbs this morning. Stay tuned now for your local news. Announcer this portion of cbs this morning sponsored by toyota. Lets go places. Picked up someone i hadnt seen in far too long. Went somewhere wed both never been. 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