tonight, for the first time, the wife of a retired fbi agent held captive in iran tells us why he was there. robert levinson was captured in march of 2007 and is one of the longest-held american hostages in history. christine levinson spoke with bob orr today. >> reporter: for the nearly seven years robert levinson has been missing, his wife has backed the u.s. government's claim that levinson was kidnapped in iran while working as a private detective investigating cigarette smuggling. but today, for the first time, christine levinson confirmed her husband bob was also working for u.s. intelligence. >> he was working as a consultant for the c.i.a. he was also a private investigator. he was able to do both at the same time in his travels. >> reporter: so as he would work on these private initiatives, from time to time, he would funnel information to the c.i.a.? >> correct. >> reporter: her lawyer, david mcgee, said the u.s. government should make a similar public admission to iran in a bid to win levinson's release. >> there is no further value in continuing to deny what everyone in th

at this point the fbi is investigating this as a standard criminal act, not terrorism. >> we have not received any responsibility notes or demands from anyone at this time. >> firefighters managed to control the fire within minutes wednesday night so the damage was limited to just the front exterior. the consulate was also attacked back in 2008. at that time someone set the building's back gate on fire. at the time demonstrators were protesting the summer olympics in beijing because of china's human rights record. >>> an illegal immigrant is now reasoning the rewards of hard work. the state supreme court granted him his law license. >> keep going on, never give up and eventually if you persevere, you will manage to make your dream a reality. >> sergio garcia of chico came to the u.s. from mexico with his father 20 years ago. he got his law degree and passed the bar. his next challenge was to change a federal law that bans illegal immigrants from getting professional licenses from government agencies. and he won. >>> time now 6:10. big changes on the way after hackers accessed the pers

robbery celebrated on the big screen in the movie "good fellows," and 35 years after the holdup the fbi has arrested vincent asaro, with the bossano family. >> it could be the largest cash holdup in u.s. history. >> reporter: 1978 a half dozen heavily armed men broke into the lufthansa offices at kennedy airport and rounded up eight employees. >> they handcuffed them and forced them to open the security room. >> reporter: the robbers made off with a $6 million haul. prosecutors say asaro was a lookout for the holdup crew led by jimmy the gent. actor robert de niro portrayed burke in the film. >> don't buy anything don't get anything, what's the matter with you? >> reporter: jimmy burke died in prison in 1996 while serving time on a murder rap. over the years, other co-conspirators were killed and only one airline employee was ever convicted in the case. most of the stolen loot is still missing. retired new york homicide detective bo dietl spent years investigating burke. >> i thought this was all done. all the people that were involved ended up dead. jimmy burke is dead. i mean it's dea

the fbi says yan feng called police and confessed two days late every. he was wearing voices in chinese leading him to believe the consulate was involved. >>> happening today, the biggest tech event of the year will get underway in las vegas. kpix 5 reporter kiet do is not in vegas, but at intel headquarters in santa clara is some of the next big things will be the wearable electronics, right? >> reporter: we're live here at intel because they made some big announcements last night regarding wearable tech. we're talking about watches and headsets and also a new dedicated chip and a million dollar prize to anybody who invents the next cool product using their technology. now intel along with 2700 other companies from 130 countries are in las vegas right now. las vegas is a techie playground as inventors from around the world unveiled tens of thousands of gadgets at this year's consumer electronics show. >> the biggest ones and both literally and figuratively are the ultra hdtvs. >> reporter: mark purr tan is executive director of the online tech magazine.

. >>> the fbi has made an arrest at the arson case at the chinese consulate. one person has been taken into custody. that's all the information we have at this hour. surveillance video showed a person getting out of a van and pouring two buckets of gasoline, and as you can see, lighting it on fire. no one was on injured. more information on the arrest coming up tonight at 5:00 and 6:00. >>> in news around the bay area, a car slammed into an oakland duplex. pg and e tells us, the gas line itself was not broken. the front end of the car was pretty damaged. >>> the mayor of daly city announced the launch of a new bus shuttle. it connects them with b.a.r.t. shopping centers and doctor offices. it includes wheelchair exits. today's event happened at one of the new bus stops there. >>> a san francisco ban on plastic bags can serve as a precedent for similar laws elsewhere in california. a state appeal's court upheld the ban last month. the chronicle reports the decision was published on friday. the san francisco ordinance bans plastic bags that can be used only once

operation funneled by ex-cops joseph esposito and john minerva as well as raymond lavallee, a former fbi agent, and thomas hale, a pension consultant. the attorney. >> the mention of this indictment is that if you're considering falsifying or bilking any administration service for disability benefits, you shouldn't and if you do, you're going get caught. >> reporter: joseph esposito's attorney is brian griffin. >> mr. esposito proudly served this city as a new york city plifb and he came to court today and said two very important words. he said "not guilty." >> proposition cuters say the investigation is far from over and they expect many more cases to emerge. jeff glor, cbs news, new york. fiber that's taste-free, grit-free and dissolves completely. so you can feel free to add it to anything. and feel better about doing it. better it with benefiber. lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no

the fbi says yon fang called police and confessed two days later. the suspect told authorities he was hearing voices in chinese leading him to believe the consulate was involved. he's facing two charges of maliciously damaging property. >>> jahi mcmath is at a new medical facility office being transferred from -- after being transferred from children's hospital oakland. she is now with a catholic organization willing to care for the child. they're keeping the location is secret though because the family received death threats from all around the country. >> it's a sad sad thing when you are fighting for somebody's rights and people feel this need to vomit their hatred. >> mcmath's family says the girl had not had food in weeks and they say the brain dead teen is in bad shape. they claim the lack of nutrition cent today -- criminated to her -- contributed to her condition. >>> in news around the bay an 85-year-old pipe from 1929 burst in san francisco's sunnyside neighborhood. people on two blocks had to do without running water for hours yesterday a

the fbi does not know whether the two arson attacks are related or connected. at this point, no motive and no suspects. live in san francisco, i'm da lin, kpix 5. >> despite the fire damage, the chinese consulate is open for normal operations. >>> new at 5:00, someone torched a memorial for the santa rosa teenager who was shot and killed by a sonoma county sheriff's deputy. christin ayers is there, and you just spoke to investigators. what did they tell you? >> reporter: firefighters actually just left the scene a few minutes ago. and i want you to take a look of what's left of the altar that was torched. it's in pieces there and slightly charred and behind that you can see bags of debris left over from this small fire that broke out early this morning. firefighters are not yet calling this arson even as members of the community feel certain the fire was set on purpose. firefighters were here for five hours where andy lopez was shot. they were inspecting the wooden altar that caught fire. it happened early this morning shortly after midnight. firefighters recre

the former fbi agent disappeared seven years ago in iran. his wife is revealing new details about his work that she hopes will bring him home. she sat down with our bob orr. good morning. >> good morning. christine levinson confirmed her husband bob was working in part at least for the cia. she hopes that information will help the iran and u.s. speak more freely and find a way to win his release. >> he was working as a onsultant for the cia. he was also a private investigator. he was able to do both at the same time in his travels. >> reporter: the confirmation comes as christine levinson is planning a second trip to iran. she will try to make her case with a personal plea to iran's president at a time when relations between the u.s. and iran have improved. >> if president rouhani could find bob and send him home to his family he could make a wonderful humanitarian gesture. >> reporter: but the u.s. government still has not admitted that levinson ever worked directly for u.t. intelligence. the family's attorney david mcgee says it's time to

fbi says a chinese national by the name of yan feng called police and actually confessed two days later. the suspect told authorities he was hearing voices in chinese leading him to believe that the consulate was involved. >> we investigated the incident as a criminal matter and there are no indications at this time to suggest it was motivated by terrorism, politics or civil rights issues. >> the suspect, mr. feng, has permanent residence status and lives in daly city. he is facing two charges of maliciously damaging property. >>> jahi mcmath is in a new medical facility tonight but her family won't say where because of death threats. >> reporter: jahi mcmath arrived monday morning at a new facility in bad shape but getting antibiotics, nutrition and care. >> we were all very afraid that given the fragile condition that she wasted away at children's she might not make it. >> reporter: the move was made late sunday night after the coroner released the 13-year- old to her family. she was placed on a new ventilator, put inside a private ambulance with family members and driven away arrivin

the fbi says 39-year-old yan feng turned himself in two days later. he claimed he heard voices in chinese leading him to believe the consulate was involved. >>> elsewhere in the bay area, police in antioch are looking for thieves who burglarized the same home twice. the homeowner says they broke into her car in pittsburg on christmas eve and stole her garage door opener. that same day they used it to enter the house and steal electronics and jewelry while someone was in the shower. then last week, the woman's daughter was home when the burglars returned. >>> a car chase ends with a violent crash at a pittsburg car dealership. it started yesterday when police tried to pull over a car on highway 4. officers suspected the car may have been stolen. the driver a wanted parolee took off and didn't stop until she slammed into two other cars. the driver and her passenger were hurt but should recover. >>> televisions are getting bigger and better and now they're also becoming bendable. check out these new shape shifting concepts that samsung and lg are introdu

>> reporter: the club says they've received numerous death threats and have turned them over to the fbi. don dahler, cbs news, new york. >>> coming up on the "cbs this morning" scott pelley joins us on more on the rodriguez doping allegation. >>> plus, we'll speak with alan mulally, ceo of ford, as the international auto show opens today. >>> and mo rocca takes us behind the scenes of "sesame street." that's the "cbs morning news" for this monday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com tac.com ♪[ music ] >> this is kpix 5 news. >> good morning, everyone, it is monday, january 13th, i am michelle. >> hi everyone, i am frank, nearly 4:30, someone is going to be singing don't you think? >> can't wait to hear that, the niners won and now here we go, the nfc championship, one game away from the super bowl, great stuff. here we are guys, the skies are clear but the fire danger is here, we will talk about that coming up. >> i was going to say that was under construction but they picked that up and northbound traffic looks good so mo

will station about 40 fbi agents in russia to help with security. meanwhile russian officials continue their search for potential female terrorists, one of whom may already be in sochi. bob orr has our report. >> reporter: russian police say they shot and killed a wanted islamic leader in the northern caucasus region tuesday. the area is a hotbed for radicals planning possible attentions against the sochi winter olympics just over two weeks from now. cbs has learned that one of the so-called black widows who may have been trained in suicide bombings was also killed by russian authority bus they're looking for ruzana ibragimova. her husband was killed in the past. she and one other may have already been dispatched to attack the olympics. juan zarate served on george w. bush's national security team and worked on security plans for several olympics. >> certain females don't attract as much security attention as certain male suicide bombers or fighters, but i think now with ramped up security around sochi, females are going to get just as much scrutiny

the backlash is so heated the fbi is involve. don dahler is with us. good morning. >> good morning, norah, good morning, charlie. the hunting permit is for an older male nonbreeding rhino who's been killing other animals. it's an idea money people find abhorrent. of the roughly 5,000 black rhinos left in the world, namibia is home to almost 2,000 of them but it's the rhinos, specific look i their horns, that are worth tens of thousands of dollars on the black market. so to raise funds for its antipoaching plans, they offer a permit each year. this year an auction for one permit was handled by one safari club. >> 100% of the proceeds from the sale go directly to the namibia wildlife products trust which is their trust fund for conservation. >> susan oakley was among those picketing at auction. >> we think it is ludicrous to say, oh, we're doing this to save this species. we've heard that from hunters and it really does not hold water. >> jeffrey flocken of the international welfare sends the message that rhinos are worth more dead than alive. >> rhinos

he told fbi agents he was hearing chinese voices and that's why he went after the consulate. >>> 6:38 now. a transgender teen who says she fought back after she was bullied for months by her classmates is now being charged with misdemeanor battery. [ fighting [ >> jewyles and the other teens in this video were suspended for the november fight at hercules middle and high school. she doesn't know why police got involved. >> if a crime happens a crime happens but i'd like to have a better understanding of the rationale and motivation behind it and learn why this is not punishment enough especially when the child has expressed a position of being bullied. >> jewyles' public defender is also confused by the charges against the teen. prosecutors wouldn't explain why there was charges even after school district punishment. >>> arraignment is delayed until next week for the man accused of kidnapping a 7-year- old girl in antioch. 43-year-old david douglas is charged with six felonies. police say douglas kidnapped the girl outside her home on friday and was caught with her a few hours later at

the fbi says the man called police and confessed two days later. he said he was hearing voices in chinese leading him to believe the consulate was involved. >> we investigated this incident as a criminal matter and there are no indications at this time to suggest it was motivated by terrorism, politics, ourself rights issues. -- or civil rights issues. >> he lives in daly city and facing two charges now of damaging property. >>> jahi mcmath in a new facility this morning but kpix 5's reporter brian webb explains her family won't say where because of death threats. >> reporter: jahi mcmath arrived monday morning at a new facility in bad shape but getting antibiotics, nutrition and care. >> we were all very afraid given the fragile condition as she wasted away at children's she might not make it. >> reporter: the move was made last sunday night when the coroner released the 13-year- old to her family. she was placed on a new ventilator, put inside a private ambulance with family and driven away arriving at an unnamed catholic organization. >> we have

the fbi investigating political charges of payback by christie. agents interviewed two op aides to zip mmer. christie's administration denies the charges. >>> the man suspected of hack into the e-mail of former president george w. bush is under arrest in romania. a man that goes by the nickname gutchifer, he may have also hacked colin powell and a journalist, burnstein. >>> and then beck returned to the network to offer regrets. >> i think i played a role in help tearing the country apart, and it's not who we are, and i didn't realize how fragile the people were. i look back and i realize, if we could have talked about the uniting principles a little bit more, instead of just the problems, i think it -- i think that i would look back on it a little more fondly. >> in 2010, beck suggested that president obama is a marxist. >> too little too late? >> i think self reflection is always good. it's never too late. >> perhaps we should be talking about what unites us. >>> a pilot crashed his plane but managed to call 911 for help. >> yeah, i just crashed

the fbi always believed he was alive. price and investors are accused of stealing $17 million of his clients' money. >>> a new study shows that dialing, reaching, or answering a cell phone increases the risk for a crash. the study did not distinguish between handheld and hands-free phones. anne-marie? >> there's so many distractions nowadays. wendy gillette at the new york stock exchange. thank you, wendy. >>> straight ahead, controversy at the rose parade. and in sports an emotional win for michigan state in the rose bowl, but the spartans' celebration comes up short. spartans' celebration comes up short. down the lights? to e not good. going to the kmart winter sales event? good. get up to 60% off winter apparel, and shop your way members get 10% back in points. kmart. get in. get more. ♪ [ girl ] roses are red. violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you. [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. ♪ splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar with

the fbi say as chinese national -- says a chinese national turned himself in two days later. he said the voices he was hearing were in chinese so he believes dense lat was somehow involved. >> there are no indications at this time that suggest it was motivated by terrorism, politic or civil rightsishes. >> he is facing two charges of maliciously damage property. no one was hurt in the blast. >>> a san jose state student awe caused of hazing his african american roommate pled not guilty to hate crime and battery charges. 18-year-old faces up to a year in jail if convicted. he and three other students are accused of clamping a bicycle lock on the victim and tormenting him with a series of racial slurs. all four have been suspended from san jose state. >>> a blast of arctic air has sent much of the nation into a freeze. this thermometer in st. paul minnesota clocked in hat 22 below zero overnight. and that's the actual air temperature. cc is warning people to stay indoor -- cdc is warning people to stay indoors. a new record low at minus 16 degrees. what is the temperature now?

the fbi said he poured two bucket of gasoline on the front door and set it on fire. why? the fbi says he told them he did it because he had been hearing voices. >> my understanding is there is no indication to indication it is terrorism, political or civil rights related. >> the feds say this surveillance video played a crucial role in cracking the case. >> very helpful in terms of providing us with lead information to try and track down the subject. >> the new year's day fire became an international incident. all the more reason authorities say a quick arrest is helpful. >> within 48 hours reassuring the consulate and all the other consulates that we got this and it appears to be isolated. that is the best news we can hope for. >> reporter: joe vasquez, kpix 5. >> the fbi says the suspect does not have any criminal history. >>> a powerful explosion blew out the windows and a wall just after 10:15 last night. kpix 5's ann notarangelo spoke with the home owners who saw smoke and knew something was wrong. >> bob alvarado had gone to bed and woke up smelling smoke, so he che

the fbi will investigate the death to see if further investigation is warranted. six police officers were videotaped beating and jolting thomas with a stun began in 2011. thomas was well-known in california. thomas suffered from schizophrenia. thomas died five days after his arrest. yesterday, his acquittal outraged his parents. >> all of us need to be very afraid now it's carte blanche for police officers everywhere that can beat us, kill us, whatever they want. it has been proven right here today -- >> they'll get away with it. >> -- they'll get away with it. >> it took jurors less than two days to reach a verdict. police say thomas refused to obey their orders and was fighting. >>> and new jersey governor chris christie is likely to have a larger than normal audience when he gives a state of the state address. the state legislature has expanded its investigation to include the possible abuse of power and now we are learning about what appears to be more hard knuckle politics practiced byes christy administration. elaine quijano reports. >> reporter: the day aft

an fbi source said about three dozen fbi personnel will be there for the games. anne-marie. >> susan mcginnis in washington, thank you, susan. >>> russia's foreign minister is urging the european government not to interfere in ukraine where more anti-government protests took place overnight. demonstrators in the capital of kiev tossed fire bombs and stones. police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. dozens of people have been injured since the protests began months ago, when the government decided against joining a trade pact with europe. >>> and it appears the syria peace conference is back on track again this morning in montreux, switzerland. u.n. chief ban ki-moon has withdrawn an unexpected invitation to iran. the last-minute invitation infuriated syrian opposition leaders who threatened to skip the talks. the russians say not having the iranians is a mistake but not a catastrophe. >>> embattled new jersey governor chris christie will be sworn in for a second term today. but christie's inauguration comes as his administration fights the latest allegat

the fbi does not know if the two arson attacks are connected. at this time, no motive and no suspects. and they still don't know if this attack is politically motivated. by the way, the chinese consulate did not release their surveillance footage to the public. live in san francisco, i'm da lin, kpix 5. >> and we can tell you despite the fire damage, the chinese consulate remains open for normal operations. >>> a $10,000 reward is being offered tonight to help solve oakland's first homicide of the year. a 13-year-old boy was shot to death just blocks from his home as he returned from a new year's eve party at the boys & girls club. the family of lee weathersby says he wasn't involved in any trouble. they think it's a case of mistaken identity because lee looks older than his age. police don't have a motive in the case. the family is trying to come to grips with what happened. >> this is really shocking. he was 7 blocks on his way walking up the street home. >> who expects their child to come home from a boys & girls club and to be killed? nobody

the fbi doesn't consider it terrorism. >> this does appear to be significant blunt-force trauma. >> we are learning more about the man accused of killing eric freed a priest found death at his eureka church. gary bullock is charged with the murder. police say bullock was in jail for public intoxication just hours before freed was killed. >> temperatures will be extreme and they are -- that's a serious hazard not just for ice conditions but for the impact on human beings. >> a monster winter storm in the northeast and some areas will see 2 feet of snow. 2300 flights were canceled including dozens at airports right here in the bay area. from across the bay to around the world, the stories that matter on "kpix 5 news this morning." captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> your realtime captioner is mrs. linda m. macdonald. >>> good morning, everyone. it's friday, january 3. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time now 6:00. we begin with developing news in the northeastern united states which is being pelted by snne-chilling winter

fbi says $2 million. police say $4 million. there was a scene of the heist at jfk. looks like a big one. >> it was a heist that inspired the hollywood gangster hit "goodfellas," and it turned out to be worth $6 million. on thursday, more than 35 years after the infamous luf tan za robbery at kennedy airport a refuted mobster and associates were hauled into brooklyn federal court. they plead not guilt in what was the largest crime in history. ko im reports. >> reporter: fbi agents arrested 78 yld vincent de-sarao wednesday morning for a 30-year crime. >> he got rousted out of bed at 6:00 for something he didn't do. >> reporter: the refuted captain of the bonanno family pulled off a heist at the kennedy airport. the robbery was the essential story of the 1990 martin scorsese movie, "goodfellas." jimmy burke. asorrow was not in the movie. he helped masked gunmen get away with $5 million in untraceable cash and $1 million in jewelry. he plead not guilty and is now behind bars. they each expected to receive $750,000 in stolen loot. the lieu tan za investigation. they fou