[Romans:] International anger over the CIA torture report is growing. Allies offering criticism and U.S. adversaries having a field day. Live in Cairo now, CNN's Ian Lee. Ian, is there any chance U.S. officials implicated in torture will be prosecuted? If not, then what?
[Ian Lee, Cnn Reporter:] Christine, there has been a strong international call for the prosecution of Bush-era officials, especially coming from human rights groups like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, as well as the United Nations. A U.N. human rights official recently talked to our Christiane Amanpour.
[Ben Emmerson, U.n. Human Rights Official:] Whether the program produced actual intelligence or not is irrelevant. The obligation to prosecute crimes of torture is an obligation resting on the United States, because it's party to the Torture Convention. And whether or not actionable intelligence resulted makes no difference to the legal liability of those who committed the crimes of torture.
[Lee:] Christine, so far, the Obama administration has resisted any calls for prosecution. But that doesn't mean all options are off. The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union has issued Obama to offer a pardon. Now, while that would let these Bush era officials off the hook, it would send a strong message to anyone in the future who considers torture that they could be prosecuted. The other option is going to the European courts who have shown more willingness to prosecute or to at least investigate U.S. involving torture. There's one case in particular, from 2009 when almost two dozen CIA operatives were convicted in an Italian court for nabbing a man off the streets of Milan and bringing him to Egypt for investigation. Well, even though those convictions went through, it is unlikely any of them will be brought over to Italy to face their sentence Christine.
[Romans:] All right. Ian Lee for us this morning live from Cairo thank you, Ian. The West Coast pummeled by a monster storm packing gusty winds, torrential rain and communities crippled, flights canceled, subway shutdown and streets under water. I want you to look at this scene, this is San Francisco where cars these cars are submerged. The rain is making it completely, absolutely treacherous for people to get around. Winds also packing a punch, toppling trees. You can see this one uprooted, crushing this SUV parked in a driveway. Two children were hurt when the tree came crashing down on the school playground in Santa Cruz. Emergency crews rushed to save an 11-year- old boy pinned underneath the tree. He is OK. Another young girl who was struck by branches was treated for minor injuries. One person injured in San Jose when heavy rain sparked a roof collapse at a Safeway grocery store. People who were inside at the time, they describe the scene as chaos.
[Unidentified Male:] It's hectic. You just hear loud noises and crashing. And it's just really scary. I had to call 911 and just freaked out.
[Romans:] Besides the rain, there was also snow. You can see this blizzard coming down in the northern sierra. At least two feet of snow fell there. Here's a couple of daredevils making the best of the rough surf. This surf, you're never going to believe this, on Lake Tahoe. The storm's gusty winds made for some impressive waves for surfers. Again, on Lake Tahoe. In Oregon, a homeless man was killed when a tree toppled on his tent in Mt. Ashland. The 40-year-old son said the tree fell across his dad's arm and chest. The teenager said he tried to give his dad CPR, but it was just too late. And strong winds also picked up a sheet metal, causing it to fly to a high rise in downtown Portland, metal shattered a window in a lawyer's office. People inside had to duck for cover fast.
[Unidentified Male:] It was coming so fast, I had about one second to turn away from the window so my back was to the window. It blew in and shattered glass went everywhere, totally. And papers, it was like being in a tornado. My papers in my office were flying in all directions.
[Romans:] One of the lawyers suffered a nick to the face. Fortunately, no one else was seriously hurt. So, is there any relief in sight for the West Coast? Let's get to meteorologist Derek Van Dam for an early look at your weather. Some of those pictures are just amazing.
[Derek Van Dam, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, impressive stuff. Winds totally in excess of hurricane force. I have good news to report. The rain is slowly starting to subside in San Francisco Bay Area. In fact, the National Weather Service has lifted the flood watch for the area. But now, we're going to focus our attention on Los Angeles and San Diego. A band of heavy rainfall will move in over the next three to four hours. That means morning rush hour, avoid it if you can. Two to four inches expected for the greater Los Angeles area. Still, a foot to 2 feet of snow across the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. We also have high wind warnings for the Southern California region, including Nevada. And that is going to pick up winds in excess of 70 miles per hour in some locations, especially in the higher elevations. We say good-bye to the storm system, but hello to another storm come Monday and Tuesday of next week. Elsewhere across the rest of the United States, sunny and mild across the Southeast, but very cold across the New England coast. Temperatures in the mid-30s for the Big Apple and surrounding areas. Boston will top 40 degrees. Christine, back to you.
[Romans:] All right. Derek, thank you for that this morning, this Friday morning. Your weather for the weekend. Another Cosby accuser steps forward, this time Beverly Johnson, an iconic model from the 1970s. In an essay for "Vanity Fair", she details an incident where she says Cosby drugged a coffee for her during a read through for a role on "The Cosby Show."
[Beverly Johnson, Model:] In the second sip, I knew I had been drugged, and I had been drugged really good. He was getting angry. He was pissed and he grabbed me by my arm and dragged me down the brownstone stairs. He threw me in the taxi.
[Romans:] Johnson says Cosby escorted her out of his home when she wouldn't stop cursing at him. CNN has reached out to Cosby's attorney but has not heard back yet. Stay with us. Johnson will join us live during the 8:00 a.m. hour of "NEW DAY." New questions are being raised about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia. The college students described as friends of the alleged rape victim Jackie have come forward and are challenging key aspects of her story. Two of her friends told ABC News some of "Rolling Stone's" article are false.
[Ryan, Friend Of Alleged Uva Victim:] The reason we did not go to the police is because Jackie didn't want to.
[Interviewer:] Jackie said to you, I don't want to go to police. She said those words to you?
[Ryan:] Yes.
[Interviewer:] They attribute to you in this article as saying, she is going to be the girl who cried rape and will never allowed into any fraternity party again. Did you ever say that?
[Kathryn Hendley, Friend Of Alleged Uva Victim:] No.
[Interviewer:] So, this is not true.
[Hendley:] No.
[Romans:] Police in Virginia are still investigating that alleged assault. President Obama is backing Washington, D.C.'s vote to legalize marijuana. Voters in the nation's capital approved the measure to legalize possession of up to two ounces of pot, or up to three plants for personal use. Meantime, the Justice Department has given the OK for Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana on their lands as long as they follow the same federal conditions laid out for states that have legalized the drug. A whooping cough epidemic spreading in California. The state Department of Health tallying nearly 10,000 cases so far this year. The worse outbreak there in 70 years. Epidemiologists blame the high number on the limitations on the new vaccine introduced in the '90s because it has fewer side effects on better testing and diagnosis. And another epidemic starting in California. This one spreading among professional hockey teams mumps. It's basically a childhood disease, but at least five NHL teams have been affected so far. The outbreak started in Southern California with the Anaheim Ducks, and it spread to teams in Minnesota, New York, New Jersey. Teams offering booster shots to their players. Hackers exposing private e-mails from Sony executives, revealing some embarrassing moments, comments about celebrities and even the president. New developments after the break.