>> tonight, the long haul. nato backs a u.s. plan to end combat in afghanistan by 2014, but the president won't rule out a longer stay. >> i'll make that determination when i get there. >> also tonight a change of course at the vatican. pope benedict xvi says condom use can be justified in some cases. seasonal stoerdz. why stores in your neighborhood are coming and going faster than ever. and piling up points. when college football teams run up the score, is it bad sportsmanship or just smart strategy? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with jeff glor. >> good evening. it was president obama's second big overseas trip this month and so far, this trip appears to be

more successful than the last one. the white house today won allied support for its strategy in afghanistan and the president signaled the u.s. role there might last well past 2014. he was in lisbon, portugal at a nato summit. also under discussion a controversial nuclear arms reduction treaty with russia. bill plante has more. >> reporter: afghanistan and the new u.s.-russia arms treaty were the big stories. u.s. agreed to end the combat mission in afghanistan by the end of 2014 while still offering support and training but the president in a news conference later wouldn't rule out the possibility that u.s. troops could have a combat role in afghanistan even after that. >> hard to anticipate exactly what is going to be necessary to keep the american people safe as of 2014. i'll make that determination when i get there.

>> reporter: president obama also sat down with afghan president hamid karzai for the first38& karzai has demanded lower visibility and a much earlier departure date for u.s. troops, but today's meeting was cordial with karzai complimenting the president on the tone of his remarks. >> once in a while i do things right. >> reporter: a fresh start with russia. the secretary general saying that nato and russia -- >> could conceivably, even, cooperate eventually in shooting down an >> reporter: russia's president medvedev joined nato allies in urging the senate to ratify the new start treaty reducing nuclear weapons. he suggested that delay could threaten u.s. relations with russia. president obama also noted russian help with sanctions on iran, and he warned that u.s.-russia relations could slip back into an atmosphere of

mistrust if the start treaty is not ratified before the end of the year. he insisted that all the questions about the treaty which republicans have raised have been answered. >> there is no other reason not to do it than the fact that -- you know, washington has become a very partisan place, and this is a classic area where we have to rise above partisanship. >> reporter: president obama has even taken to quoting president ronald reagan who used to go around after he made an arms deal with the russians saying, "trust but verify" but republicans say congress simply has too much to consider to get this done before the end of the year. jeff. >> bill plante in lisbon, portugal, tonight. bill, thank you. pope benedict xvi is sparking new controversy tonight with published remarks that would seem to contradict longstanding church doctrine saying the use of condoms can sometimes are morally justified.

>> the comments are revealed in a book due out tuesday tuesday, the product of days of interviews by a journalist. the vatican released transcripts today. >> the pope is saying that condoms in themselves aren't inherently wicked, it's what people do with them that can be good or bad. >> reporter: in the book, the pope was asked about controversial comments he made last year while on a visit to africa, saying the aids crisis there could not be helped by distributing condoms to prevent the spread of the disease. those comments parked international outrage, and in the book, the pope said his point then was that simply handing out condoms was not enough to handle the problem of h.i.v./aids. he said in certain instances using a condom might be morally defensible, not to prevent pregnancy but to prevent spreading disease, "there may be a basis, in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom,

where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility." experts say that view is one the pope and catholic theollogians have privately held for years but never stated publicly until now. >> the fact that there is any kind of movement at all on the question of artificial contraception and even more importantly on the question of how do we stop disease by the use of condsoms -- that's significant. >> reporter: the pope also defended the church's traditional teachings, banning contraception and abortion yet his comments are drawing mixed reactions from catholics. >> if you start changing things like that, i don't know what would come next. >> i think it's very advanced for the pope and catholic thinking. >> i think it's long overdue, frankly. >> reporter: the pope's comments do not carry the weight of official church law, but many interpret his remarks as a clear sign the vatican may have more to say on the issue in the future.

>> a setback today for efforts to rescue 29 men trapped by an explosion yesterday inside a coal mine on new zealand's south island. officials say they'll have to drill a new shaft to test for toxic gases before teams can start searching for the men trapped more than a mile inside that mine. the f.b.i. in los angeles is investigating a threatening letter containing a white powder that was addressed to the "dancing with the stars" show addressed to cbs studios. officials gave no information but it was reportedly to sarah palin's daughter bristol who is a dancing finalist. talk about the huge new congressional class which just arrived following a historic midterm election, now the new members are staking out their positions and their claims to capitol hill office space. >> reporter: don't let the smiles fool you -- incoming

lawmakers capped off a crazed week of orientation feeling a little disoriented. >> l=÷s fire hose. >> reporter: newly elected bobby schilling of illinois. yesterday he had the added stress of finding new digs. >> mr. schilling drew number 46. >> he got number 46 in the chaotic and also entertaining office lottery. >> number eight. >> reporter: schilling's mid level pick ruled out an office close to the capitol floor. >> what we're seeing if you're going to get a lot of windows, you get less square footage. >> elevators go to his office and some of his work space is across the hall. still he's ready to hang his picture of ronald reagan and get to work. what do you want to tackle first? >> i think we have to tackle the big, huge bills like health care, cap and trade, the

national energy tax, things thar shutting down small businesses across the backbone of america. >> reporter: but sweeping change won't come easy. >> what you learn the first week in washington is that things take time. there is a long process. there is seniority. it's hard to get even a chance to speak in some of these large meetings. >> reporter: maintaining public support for the republican agenda could also be tough. in a recent cbs news poll, 56% of americans care most about the economy and jobs. the g.o.p.'s hot campaign issues like repealing health care and the deficit don't even come close. >> many of these new members have come to washington to cut spending, to cut taxes, to reduce the size of government but government is big and has grown under both parties for one reason. it's a very hard thing to do. >> reporter: the real work for the new congress won't begin until january. in the meantime, the lame duck congress has a full plate starting with the expiring bush-era tax cuts. jeff. >> whit johnson in washington tonight. whit, thank you. black friday, the day after thanksgiving and the traditional

start of the holiday shopping season is less than a week away now but the frenzy of the past may be gone this year. an estimated 102 million shoppers will hit the stores next friday but that's 16 million fewer than last year so retailers are switching gears as we hear from jay dow. >> reporter: just in time for the holidays. toys "r" us is changing the way it does business and for the second year in a row will expand its reach with smaller, pop-up stores. >> the first nine months of the year are basically preseason for us. last year we opened 90 stores, this year we're opening 600 stores around the country. >> reporter: that more than doubles the retail footprint for toys "r" us and c.e.o. jerry storch says the successful locations could become permanent. retail analysts say nationwide the number of pop-up stores has more than doubled from last year -- a trend driven by cheap real estate and a desire to provide a new shopping experience, which

is exactly what this glee tv show themed store going for in california. >> it's as close as some people may ever get to the real "glee" set. >> reporter: the timing may be right for popups. according to a gallup poll, shoppers say they will spend almost $100 more this year on christmas gifts than they did last year. >> consumers are ready to spend. they're ready to stop thinking about the recession and get out there and make purchases. >> reporter: enter the popups which are no longer just for traditional retailers. take "wired" magazine for instance which has managed to dreck its readers from the printed page to this brand new popup store in new york. it will be open for just six weeks sell issing the latest gadgets to consumers. >> i think when you get to experience and play with it a little more, you tend to want to -- >> reporter: this wasn't here three months ago. >> this wasn't here two weeks ago. >> reporter: retail consultant paco underhill says by editing the choices on the shelves, successful popups are a

barometer for social change. >> we have reached the epogee of the big box. i don't think we can grow the box any bigger. popups i think are a very important bellwether to the speed at which our lives are lived. >> reporter: a pace that, like many popups, are here today and gone tomorrow. jay dow, cbs news, new york. >> still ahead on tonight's ""cbs evening news,"" lopsided college football stores. part of the game or just piling on?

>> glor: as the college football bowl season approaches, teams are frantically fighting for position right now. undefeated oregon is number one. another top team, wisconsin, ignited a controversy last week when it demolished its opponent,

winning by more than 60 points and fueling charges of poor sportsmanship. cynthia bowers has more. >> reporter: wisconsin mascot bucky badger never dreamed it would have to do 83 push ups at one time -- one push-up for every point. after all, this is a football game. although the score looked more like basketball. >> it's not our job to stop scoring, that's their job. >> reporter: that may be but the final score was ugly. wisconsin 83, indiana 20. there have been other outlandish scores, this season. oregon slam-dunked new mexico 72-0. ohio state beat eastern michigan 73-20. and last night, undefeated boise state won 51-0 over fresno state. but this was wisconsin planning one of its -- planting one of its own conference brethren into the turf. indiana coach bill lynch refused to speculate on the score. >> i have always thought it's our job to stop the team and win

the game. we didn't do that well. they're a great football team. >> reporter: former northwestern player and "sun-times" columnist says the beat-down was harsh. >> it is rude. there is no question about it. >> reporter: rude, but a reality in the b.c.s. -- the bowl championship series -- where the top teams are determined by computers that only look at wins and losses and people who also look at scores. >> it's a message that, yeah, we want to be ranked pretty high for all you voters who are affected by this. >> reporter: some teams feel the best way to affect the voters is with what's called style points. that is, running up the score on your opponent. >> i think what you do is you look at the score and you say that's a brand name team and they laid it on this other team and ultimately you come to the conclusion they're a little bit better. >> reporter: lopsided scores have been around as long as the sport. in 1916 georgia tech beat cumberland 222-0 -- a score the

sore-armed mascot bucky badger doesn't even want to think about. cynthia bowers, cbs news, chicago. >> glor: the first college football game at chicago's wrigley field in more than 70 years was nearly all played just one way. because of a brick wall at one end of its tightly-configured field, illinois and northwestern had to4t direction of the safe end zone. a pass was intercepted and returned into the supposedly dangerous end zone but there was no problem. just ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news." prince charles stirs up controversy in remarks.

>> glor: royal watchers were thrilled this week when prince william and kate middleton said they would marry next year but now prince charles, heir to the

throne, is making waves of his own about his wife, camilla. mark phillips has more from london. >> reporter: kate and william are keeping the world waiting again -- this time for the details on when and where their marriage will take place. but some leftover business from another royal marriage -- the one five years ago between william's father, prince charles, and the then camilla parker-bowles, has filled the information void. then, because of misgivings about camilla, who had, after all, been the other woman in charles's doomed marriage to diana, charles let it be known that when he became king camilla would only be princess consort and not queen consort -- the normal title for a queen's wife. now, though, in an interview charles seems to be reconsidering making her queen. >> does the duchess of cornwall become queen if you become queen? >> that could be.

>> reporter: charles's musings have provided a distraction while plans for the next bill royal wedding remain on hold. after the "will they, won't they" suspense of their eight-year courtship, the delay is no surprise. taking their time to announce their wedding plans is very much in keeping with what we know about william and kate. they do not rush in to things. as william has said, "this isn't a race." the smart money is still on westminster abbey as the site for the ceremony. despite the sad memories of william's mother dianne's funeral there. as for the style of william and kate's wedding, look for something perhaps a little less dramatic than the fabled fairy-tale-turned(lñrp william's parents' wedding at st. paul's cathedral. >> the details like the moment in which the bad fairy appeared at your wedding and lays a curse upon you. >> reporter: are we stuck with it? >> we are, except everybody is

apart from kate middleton who exudes a kind of straightforward common sense. >> reporter: whatever they do, they'll do it in their own time. mark phillips, cbs news, london. >> glor: we'll be right back.

>> glor: chicago, tonight, has another candidate for mayor. former u.s. senator and presidential hopeful carol moseyley braun. when she was elected in 1992 she became the first black woman in the u.s. senate. her five rivals include former white house chief of staff rahm emanuel. the new "harry potter" movie could make a box office record. it's on track to crush the previous franchise record for an opening weekend of 103 million

set by "the goblet of fire" in 2005. more hollywood news tonight. dream works studio says president lincoln will be played by british actor daniel day-lewis in the film directed by steven spielberg. day-lewis has won two academy awards. up next on tonight's "cbs evening news."

>> glor: finally, tonight, he's one of the most interesting musicians you will ever see, but you won't actually hear him. he creates his songs with his hands. with a profile tonight, here is john bentley. >> reporter: he is a one of a kind rapper. that's because this artist who goes by signmark, was born deaf. in an art form rooted in speaking, signmark doesn't say a word. instead, he performs in sign

language. >> "deaf," they've never gone together. >> reporter: deaf and hearing music fans haven't gone together before either. the rapper brandon gives voice to his lyrics. signmark recently performed in new york city as part of international deaf awareness week during his u.s. tour but he hasn't always been interested in rap. he got his music at start at seven years old translating christmas carols. >> we felt isolated when they started singing christmas carols and it wasn't fair, so i said to my grandmother, "stop playing the piano a minute. look at me. let me try to read your lips and i'll try to interpret what you are saying to my parents so we can participate." >> reporter: as a teenager, rap appeared to signmark because he identified with rappers' feeling of not having a voice in society. >> they want equality, fighting for rights from the government, fighting for information, that

was right up my alley and i said that's what i want to do. >> reporter: last year, steinmark became the first deaf rapper ever to land a record contract. even though steinmark can't hear the music, he can feel the beat. his fans can feel it too. >> you can go to a concert with earplugs and you will feel it. you will notice that you feel it in your body. >> reporter: his sign language is part of the performance, a new art form that creates a shared experience for the hearing and the deaf with neither side left at a loss for words. john bentley, cbs news, new york. >> glor: that is "the cbs evening news" tonight. later on cbs, "48 hours mystery." russ mitchell will be here tomorrow night. i'm jeff glor, cbs news in new york. goodnight. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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