U.S.

This Morning from CBS News, Dec. 4, 2014

By Dan Woo

December 4, 2014 / 7:49 AM EST / CBS News

Chokehold fallout

Thousands demonstrated throughout New York City and across the country last night after a grand jury decided not to indict an NYPD officer in the death of a Staten Island man, Eric Garner. Attorney General Eric Holder announced last night the Justice Department will open a criminal civil rights investigation into the death of Eric Garner. Garner's widow last night rejected the officer's apology.

Shooter's fitness report

Cleveland police officer Tim Loehmann, who fatally shot a 12-year-old boy holding a pellet gun, was described by former supervisors as a "distracted and weepy" officer who failed to follow orders during firearms training. CBS News Correspondent Dean Reynolds reports the officer worked at Independence Police Department before coming to Cleveland, and former supervisors questioned Loehmann's maturity and were already in the process of removing him from the police department when he left for Cleveland.

Mission to Mars

"The launch of "Orion" -- NASA's state-of-the-art spacecraft -- is a bit delayed due to weather, but that doesn't stop Bill Harwood and Chip Reid from getting deep into the space mission details. The mission carries hopes of sending humans to Mars. Chip Reid sat down with NASA administrator Charles Bolden to talk about the mission. "

Sporting change

Saudi Arabia's religious conservatives believe women's sport is un-Islamic, and it's still banned in public schools. But Lina Al-Maeena disagrees. CBS News Correspondent Holly Williams reports, in spite of many hardliners in the kingdom considering her actions sinful, she founded a women's basketball club.

Military sex assaults

The Pentagon announced yesterday the results of its yearlong study of sexual assault in the military. It found there were nearly 6,000 reported cases of sexual assault in the military this year, an eight percent jump from last year. The study was delivered to the President on Tuesday. What happens now may depend on whether Mr. Obama finds that the military has made enough progress in curbing sexual assault and reforming the military justice system.

Scamming soldiers

Troops are targets for everything from early payday loans, to fake charities, to outright theft. Some scammers even pretend to be part of the military, and try to cash in. For U.S. troops, it's one of the most reviled issues they have to deal with. Jan Crawford reports that on one man, Sean Yetman, who was caught on camera posing as a soldier by army ranger Ryan Berk after he noticed some anomalies with the uniform.

Avoiding fraud

Americans are expected to fire up their credit cards this holiday season, spending hundreds of billions of dollars over the two last months of the year. But how safe are these transactions? Here a few simple measures are often enough to keep consumers safe.

Robotic training

The stroke left marathoner Brad Berman partly paralyzed on the left side of his body. He has recently been using an exoskeleton called the Ekso to help develop a more balanced, symmetrical walk.

Testing toys

This year, many boys and girls aren't looking to elves for gift inspiration. They're going online, where other kids are influencing toy sales and Christmas lists. CBS News Correspondent Adriana Diaz is at a Toys 'r' US in Dallas where one young tester, 11 year old Gracie Hunter, is drawing fans from all over with her videos on YouTube that have been viewed more than 100 million times.

Footwear icon

From the catwalk to the sidewalk, the name Christian Louboutin has come to define glamorous footwear to women around the world. The iconic designer showed CBS News Correspondent Charlie D'Agata the passion and vision behind his shoe empire.