This Morning from CBS News, Feb. 4, 2015
Editor's note: The original version of this story incorrectly identified the airline involved in Wednesday's plane crash in Taiwan as AirAsia. It was a TransAsia Airways flight. We regret the error.
Train crash
A crowded commuter train rammed a sport utility vehicle on the tracks at a suburban New York crossing setting a train car on fire, killing six people and seriously injuring nearly a dozen in the railroad's deadliest crash, authorities said. CBS News correspondent Vinita Nair reports the collision involving a Metro-North Railroad train and a Jeep Cherokee last evening about 20 miles north of New York City sent hundreds of passengers scrambling to get to safety.
On-camera crash
A TransAsia Airways flight with 58 people on board turned on its side in midair, clipped an elevated roadway and careened into a shallow part of a river today shortly after takeoff from the Taiwanese capital of Taipei. At least 23 people were killed, government officials tell CBS News correspondent Seth Doane.
Jordan executes
Jordanian justice came swiftly after ISIS released a video purportedly showing Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh being burned alive by the extremist group. CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports Jordan executed two prisoners at dawn. One of those hanged was Sajida Al-Rishawi, the failed, female Iraqi suicide bomber Jordan had agreed to swap for Al-Kaseasbeh if ISIS could prove he was alive.
Horror tactics
The video purporting to show a Jordanian pilot being burned to death at the hands of ISIS is a defiant message to the countries fighting against the militant group, according to Michael Morell, a former acting director of the CIA. Despite the barbaric video, Morell doesn't think ISIS' intimidation tactics will work.
Defending Defense
If Ashton Carter is confirmed as the next Defense Secretary by the Senate, he faces both a daunting to-do list and a limited time frame in which to operate - the final two years of President Obama's term. Carter goes before the Senate Armed Services today for his confirmation hearing. Although he does not face any significant opposition in Congress, he will still have to address the challenges that lie ahead for the department.
Optimistic price
Is the Fed overoptimistic about where the economy is headed? If so, that could cause the central bank to raise interest rates too soon, a policy error that could leave the economy stuck in a "deflationary trap" and remain at subpar growth levels for an extended time period.
Human trafficking
Sex trafficking is a crime most people associate with foreign women or girls -- from Latin America, Asia, or Eastern Europe -- but pimps and criminal gangs across America are increasingly targeting runaways from the U.S., typically teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds, who they force into prostitution. Experts say that the nature of the crime and the organized gang networks involved make it difficult to estimate exactly how many children are victimized, but according to the FBI, up to 300,000 children across America could be at risk.
Three parents?
A hybrid human egg, with the mother's and the egg-donor's DNA in it, is fertilized with the father's sperm. The resulting embryo then has genetic coding from three parents -- the mother, the egg-donor and the father. CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports Britain is the first country to sanction the technique, approving it in a House of Commons vote, but only after a heated debate with loaded language about "playing God" and "designer babies."
Three sisters
One of the most closely watched Grammy categories on Sunday will be Best New Artist. Among the past winners are Mariah Carey, Maroon 5 and Adele. The contenders this year include three sisters who make up the group Haim. CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy spoke with the sisters about what's ahead for the band.
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