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NORAH O`DONNELL: Wow. Dramatic video shows an e-cigarette exploding in a man`s pants. The Fresno man had reportedly just put his e-cigarette away yesterday after the bus driver asked him to stop smoking. Well, moments later you see it burst into flames. The man burned his thigh and his hand. And in England, newly released surveillance video captured another e- cigarette-- e-cigarette explosion.
ALEX WAGNER: Wow.
NORAH O`DONNELL: This one was right next to a baby stroller. That man was treated for minor injuries. No one else was hurt. Not-- not a laughing matter, but you do not want something like that exploding in your pants.
ALEX WAGNER: Be careful with your e-cigarettes.
ANTHONY MASON: Yes. Ano-- another consequence of smoking.
ALEX WAGNER: Even electronically.
ANTHONY MASON: Yes, electronic consequences of smoking.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Welcome back to CBS THIS MORNING. Coming up in this half hour, a claim of racial bias after a well-known internet prankster is thrown off of a flight. We`ll see part of the incident captured on video. And find out why the airline says the man and a friend were removed.
ANTHONY MASON: Plus, the criminal conspiracy charges against six former pharmaceutical employees. Prosecutors say they bribed doctors to prescribe an addictive drug even when it wasn`t needed. Ahead, how the alleged scheme raises new concerns over the country`s opioid epidemic.
ALEX WAGNER: Time to show you some of this morning`s headlines. The Washington Post says new evidence strongly links Russia`s military with the hacking of the Democratic National Committee. The cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says malware used against the DNC was also used also by a Kremlin intelligence unit against Ukraine`s army. CrowdStrike was hired by the DNC to investigate the e-mail bridge.
NORAH O`DONNELL: New York`s Daily News says an unannounced low-level flight over Manhattan was on a mission connected with the President-elect`s security. 911 operators got panicky calls last week when a huge plane appeared. A source tells the Daily News the Secret Service is making plans to rapidly relocate Mister Trump in a possible emergency. Officials have agreed to warn the city next time.
ANTHONY MASON: The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. carmakers are idling plants for longer than usual this holiday. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler plan to shut down factories for up to three weeks in January. Typically, they`re idle for only a week or two. Carmakers want to clean out an oversupply of some vehicles. Consumers are more interested in SUVs because of low gas prices.
NORAH O`DONNELL: The Los Angeles Times follows the latest wrangling over evidence in Robert Durst murder case. The seventy-three-year-old real estate heir sat in a wheelchair during yesterday`s hearing. He has pleaded not guilty to killing a friend sixteen years ago. Durst now says he was high on meth when a documentary crew recorded him mumbling that he, quote, "Killed them all, of course."
ALEX WAGNER: And USA Today reports on a cause of Alan Thicke`s death. The actor`s death certificate states he died of a ruptured aorta. No autopsy was performed on the Growing Pains star. Thicke died last week at the age of sixty-nine after collapsing while playing hockey with his son.
ANTHONY MASON: Delta is firing back against allegations of racial bias on one of its flights. The airline escorted internet star Adam Saleh and a friend off one of their flights. They are accused of being disruptive. Saleh says Delta kicked them off because other passengers were upset they were speaking Arabic. Reena Ninan of our streaming network CBSN is here with what`s behind the claim of prejudice. Reena, good morning.
REENA NINAN (CBSN; CBS News Correspondent): Anthony, good morning to you. Adam Saleh`s pranks are very well known to his over 2.2 million YouTube followers but on Wednesday, Saleh says the discrimination he faced on board a transatlantic flight was all too real.
(Begin VT)
ADAM SALEH (internet video): We spoke a different language on the plane and now we`re getting kicked out.
MAN #1 (internet video): That`s insane.
ADAM SALEH (internet video): Now we`re getting kicked out.
REENA NINAN: Adam Saleh recorded himself on board Delta Flight 1 as he and his friends were being escorted off the plane.
ADAM SALEH (internet video): Because we spoke a different language. Thank you so much. You guys are racist.
REENA NINAN: Saleh claims he had just finished a phone conversation with his mother when another passenger overheard the two men speaking in Arabic.
ADAM SALEH: When you speak Arabic, people have (INDISTINCT) foreign people, we speak like this. She was like, oh, my God, they need to speak English. I feel so uncomfortable.
REENA NINAN: It was then that Saleh says an argument erupted which led to his removal from the flight.
ADAM SALEH: It`s just turned like a whole chain reaction like, ten, fifteen, twenty people just got up, they need to get off.
REENA NINAN: In a statement, Delta said, "the customers who were removed sought to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior, including shouting, what is paramount to Delta is the safety and comfort of our passengers and employees. It is clear these individuals sought to violate that priority."
CHRIS ASHFORD (Witness): They could have had somebody, you know, ask him what he said and-- and-- and interpret that. But they didn`t do that. They immediately escorted him off the plane.
WOMAN: He stood up and started shouting, putting his fist in the air, shouting something that sounded remotely Arabic for no reason, sat down. He did it three times until eventually people said, no, no.
MAN #2: Right, right.
WOMAN: We`re not-- not happy with it.
(Adam Saleh speaking foreign language, internet video)
REENA NINAN: Saleh has become famous on YouTube for prank videos. Some where he uses his Middle Eastern heritage to provoke reactions. In 2014, Saleh admitted to having staged a video where NYPD officers depicted harassing a pair of Muslim teens for an apparent stop and frisk.
(End VT)
REENA NINAN: Well, Saleh denies that he and his friends put their fists in the air. He also insists this is not one of his famous pranks and Saleh and his friends were later rebooked on another flight. They arrived in New York a few hours later. And last night, Saleh told CBS News he`d be speaking to his attorney before deciding whether to take legal action.
ALEX WAGNER: Tense time.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Yeah. I`m not sure what I think yet of this story, he-- but he`s a prankster in the past.
REENA NINAN: Total prankster. And they`re so divided on Twitter, Norah, over they support him or agree with him.
ANTHONY MASON: Interesting.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Thanks, Reena.
ALEX WAGNER: Reena, thanks for that.
The Minnesota state police just posted a holiday warning for drivers. The alarming video shows an eighteen-wheeler serving into a ditch and knocking down a sign. After a trooper stopped the truck, the driver literally fell out of the cab. It took him several minutes to stand up and to answer questions.
MAN #1 (dash cam video): Do you feel the effects of the alcohol you drank?
MAN #2 (dash cam video): Yup.
MAN #1 (dash cam video): Yup? Okay. Do you have alcohol in the vehicle?
MAN #2 (dash cam video): No.
MAN #1 (dash cam video): No? Okay.
ALEX WAGNER: The trooper found two bottles of vodka in the truck. The driver`s blood alcohol level was .28 and he was convicted of a DWI. He was carrying Walmart packages but working for an independent trucker. We have asked Walmart for comment but have not gotten a response.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Wow. That`s really dangerous.
ANTHONY MASON: Yeah.
ALEX WAGNER: That`s really, really dangerous.
ANTHONY MASON: He was not on a-- on a major highway.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Yeah.
ALEX WAGNER: Exactly.
NORAH O`DONNELL: All right. Former top employees of a drug company are accused of bribing doctors to push unnecessary pain medications. Ahead, the criminal case that`s focusing new attention on the addictive medicines that are fueling the opioid crisis.
And we also want to invite you to subscribe to our CBS THIS MORNING podcast. You`re going to get news of the day, extended interviews and podcast originals. Find them all on iTunes and Apple`s podcast app. I`ve got one where I talk about what I did in high school.
ALEX WAGNER: Uh-oh. Big tease. Deep tease. Deep tease.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
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