>> cordes: tonight, syria's deadliest day. the opposition claims government forces have killed hundreds. the united nations fails to condemn syria's regime. whit johnson reports on the deepening crisis. the g.o.p. presidential race heads west with caucuses today in nevada. jan crawford, chip reid, and john dickerson are tracking the candidates. a bitter cold wave and heavy snow have killed more than 200 people across much of europe. charlie d'agata reports from a freezing london. and sizzling cuban jazz in a u.s. home. michelle miller takes us to meet the band leader who is up for a grammy award next weekend. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news."

>> cordes: good evening. i'm nancy cordes. syrian government forces have launched their most deadly one- day assault on the opposition, killing more than 200 people in the city of homs. the overall death toll since the uprising began last march, more than 5,400, according to the united nations, where an emergency security council meeting ended in deadlock. whit johnson has more on the violence and its wider repercussions. >> reporter: following the deadliest one-day crackdown in syria's 11-month uprising, in today's emergency session, the u.n. security council failed to approve a resolution calling for president bashar al-assad to step aside. his allies, china and russia, executed their veto power. u.s. ambassador to the u.n., susan rice, expressed her disgust. >> for months, this council has

been held hostage by a couple members. these members stand behind empty arguments and individual interests. >> reporter: today's ruthless shelling on the city of homs, considered the capital of the revolution, came as syrians were protesting another massacre 30 years ago in nearby hama, which was carried out by assad's farther and killed thousands. in a blistering statement, president obama said assad's son and successor has similar disdain for human rights, has no right to lead syria and has lost all legitimacy with his people and the international community. in europe and the middle east, protesters stormed syrian embassies. they clashed with police in london, chanted slogans in istanbul and washington, d.c., and tunisia, the birth place of the arab spring, today cut relations with syria. u.n. observers tell us the failed resolution only

encourages syria to continue its crackdown. the u.s., its european and arab allies seem to agree. there will not be military intervention. nancy. >> cordes: whit johnson at the white house tonight, thanks. now to russia where in a rare show of defiance, tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the nation to protest against prime minister vladimir putin and a legacy of corruption. some voters mobilized in favor of putin, who is seeking an unprecedented third term as president next month. elizabeth palmer is in moscow tonight with more on the protests. >> reporter: with the wind chill, it was minus 13 as determined opposition groups started their march through moscow. cold like this is a real test political conviction are but in spite of the temperature, thousands of russians did come out today from across the political spectrum to demand clean elections. young liberals joined forces with old communists, and even extreme right wing nationalists, all of them united in their

opposition to russia's leader, vladimir putin. "corruption, bribes, injustice," says dmitri. "this outrage can't continue. i'm here to say no to putin and the government." a government which rigged last parliamentary election, says the opposition, to give putin's party a clear majority. widespread outrage then sent a wave of furious russians into the streets. this banker with them. he volunteered as an election monitor and saw with his own eyes what he believes was blatant fraud. he told us officials at his polling station crudely subtracted 20 votes from each leading opposition candidate and gave them to putin's ballot. >> when they stuffed the ballots, they needed to make sure they could still. >> reporter: when he tried object he says he was escorted away by the police.

today's protesters want to make sure nothing like that happens next month when vladimir putin runs once again for president. they accept that he will probably win, but hope that a clean election will reveal cracks in his support and hasten democratic reforms. >> cordes: now to campaign 2012. it's caucus day for nevada republicans, the first state in the west to vote in the g.o.p. presidential race. the latest poll shows mitt romney set to romp to victory there. he leads his closest rival, newt gingrich, by 20 points, 45% to 25%. jan crawford and chip reid are in las vegas. first, we go to jan crawford who is following romney. jan, good evening. >> reporter: well, good evening, nancy. that is right. romney is not only expected to win here but win big, and because he's got that kind of commanding lead, he's been able to get a head start campaigning in the other states that are next.

>> i know i did well in henderson last time. i owe you a lot. thank you. >> reporter: nevada is romney country. he won here four years ago with 51% of the vote. he and his supporters are pushing hard this time with television ads targets his main rival. >> reagan rejected newt's ideas. >> reporter: campaign rallies, and a celebrity endorsement. and with polls showing voters again are solidly behind him, romney can afford to look ahead. earlier this week, he was in minnesota. >> how you doing, thank you? >> reporter: and this afternoon he ducked out of nevada for a quick campaign rally in colorado. both states vote tuesday, and romney has the organization to campaign in several places at once, which gives them an edge. now, that kind of campaign organization is important because romney spent a lot of the week digging himself out of a hole he got himself into when he said in an interview that he wasn't concerned about the very

poor, that his focus instead was on the middle class. that really knocked him off his message a bit, that he is the most qualified candidate to fix the economy. >> cordes: jan, thanks. and despite the odds, newt gingrich is still hoping for a competitive finish in nevada, especially among conservatives who are displeased with the notion of a romney nomination. chip reid in las vegas has more on that tonight. chip, good evening to you. >> reporter: well, good evening, nancy. the gingrich campaign concedes they have no chance of winning here in nevada. the most they can hope for say strong second-place finish and they're counting on evangelical and tea party voters to make that happen. at the international church of las vegas friday night, newt gingrich said because children were present he wanted to speak from the heart. >> i am ashamed of the negativity and the dishonesty that has characterized this campaign. >> reporter: just minutes later, though, gingrich repeated his most recent negative attack on mitt romney. >> at least one of my opponents doesn't seem to think he should be concerned about the poor, except after he got beaten up about it, he decided he really

was concerned about the poor. >> reporter: gingrich has also criticized romney for running on the power of money while he runs on the power of people. but campaign officials say he spent most of his time in las vegas this week behind closed doors raising money. and gingrich is staying in a hotel that's owned by sheldon adelson, whose family has given $11 million to a superpac that supports gingrich. gingrich campaign officials say they're focusing on fund-raising now because they need to raise tens of millions of dollars if they hope to compete with romney on super tuesday, which is now just about a month away. >> cordes: chip reid in las vegas this evening, thanks so much. cbs news political director, john dickerson, is in washington tonight, and he's following developments in the silver state. john, good evening. what are you going to be watching for this evening? >> reporter: well, everybody expects mitt romney to win. it will be the first consecutive win of the republican cycle, and the thing to watch is the margin of victory. one of the knocks against romney

is he has a limited amount of support among republicans. if he can get over 50%, he can argue that he can actually bring conservatives into his coalition. a nevada win also demonstrates that organization matters. it mattered in nevada, and romney has a strong organization going forward. >> cordes: so with no debates scheduled in the next few weeks, how does gingrich change the game heading into colorado? >> reporter: he has to do something to break back into the conversation. he's got a news conference after the results in nevada, and that might generate some news. he needs it, especially if he comes in third behind ron paul. he's trying to not only reach voters but also donors. he needs money to catch up with romney. he's been arguing recently that romney's wealth makes him out of touch with people. he can't win an argument in the general election based on talking about the economy. he says romney is tied to wall street. this is a little strange because gingrich tried that gambit before. it didn't work. he was also criticized for attacking the free market. it's puzzling, but it may be all

gingrich has to work with. >> cordes: john dickerson in washington, as always, thank you. later the deep freeze and deep snow that are grinding europe to a halt. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] from the soups you know and love come soups that you'll love getting to know. new slow kettle style soups from campbell's. extraordinary taste sensations crafted from premium ingredients. slow kettle. new from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. but i'm an on the go woman. i've been active all my life. that's why i'm excited about reclast. it's the once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment. reclast helps to restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture.

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[ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! >> cordes: europe is in the grips of a deadly deep freeze. so far, the cold there has killed at least 220 people across the continent. arctic winds have driven down temperatures for a week, and the snow is piling up in the unlikeliest of places. charlie d'agata is in london with the latest. >> reporter: ukraine has suffered the heaviest toll from the arctic conditions sweeping across europe. the continent's worst deep freeze in decades. the government blames subzero temperatures for the deaths of at least 120 people. the vast majority were homeless, many were found frozen in the street. more than 1,600 ukrainians have been hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite.

bosnia declared a state of emergency in its capital sarajevo, as blizzards dumped more than three feet of snow. in neighboring serbia, record snowfall has trapped tens of thousands of people in mountain villages. the only way to get aid in and get the elderly out is by helicopter. in romania, a thick sheet of ice covers more than 80% of the danube river. even the black sea is frozen in some places. few parts of europe have been spared from the siberian cold snap. a rare snowfall covered rome. city officials had to close down the coliseum over fears tourists could slip and fall on the icy ruins. just outside the italian capital, passengers were evacuated from a storm-battered ferry that banged into a dock. here in britain, forecasters warn that more heavy snow is on the way. that's prompted officials at europe's busiest airport, london heathrow, to cancel about 350 or

roughly 30% of its flights tomorrow. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >> cordes: the american plains are getting another big blast of winter. tonight a storm warning has been issued for parts of nebraska, kansas, and iowa. up to nine inches are forecast. it's the same storm that clobbered colorado, dumping six feet of snow in some parts of the rockies. just ahead, public employees working together to turn their bankrupt city around. that that story is next. rician . everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care.

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so really good progress, nice, broadbased progress. >> and yet economists say we could see the unemployment rate bounce back up to 9% or even higher. why is that? >> so this is the law of unintended consequences. the way we figure out unemployment rate is they say who is looking fair job and can't find one? a lot of people have left the labor market. they got so discouraged, they said i don't want to look anymore. as things start to improve in the labor market, those folks are going to jump back in. that could nudge up the unemployment rate, maybe towards 9%, but still, it will help us get more people back to work and that is a good thing. >> double-edged sword. jill schlesinger, thank you so much. one sector that lost jobs last monthful the public sector, federal, state, and local governments shed 14,000 jobs in january, and 280,000 jobs in 2011 as they tried to make up for massive budget shortfalls. john blackstone takes us to one california city that went bankrupt nearly four years ago.

>> reporter: working class vallejo, california, is a hard-pressed city that could teach a lesson in civility and economics to communities across the country. in 2008, it was in financial ruin. phil batchelor was hired as city manager to clean up the mess. >> we had $6 million to satisfy $382 million worth of claims. and the process began. >> reporter: the process was bankruptcy. foreclosures were up, tax revenues down. the city was reeling after the navy abandoned a shipyard there. 80% of the city budget was its ballooning payroll. fire chief paige meyer heard all the criticism. you're overpaid. your pensions are too bad. that's what the public-- some of the public is thinking. making double what i make. they suddenly cared when they didn't have a job. >> reporter: city employees and city officials were at each other's throats. >> there were some people, and probably on both sides, who kind of enjoyed the fight.

>> reporter: bachelor, an expert in fixing broken cities, would take the city manager job only if the fighting stopped. when people in vallejo stopped blaming each other, they recognized something important-- that police and firemen do necessary and dangerous work, and police and firemen remembered why they got into the job in the first place-- to help others. >> we could kick the dirt and feel sorry for ourselves, but we're not victims. find ways to do more with less. >> reporter: much less. nearly half the fire department was laid off, three of eight fire stations closed. >> where before maybe they made 10 runs during a shift. now they're making almost twice that. >> reporter: the police force was cut in half. at any given time, just six cops covered the city of 120,000. and at city hall, almost half the building is empty. the hard times are far from over in vallejo, but there is a

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bronx. >> a rare public appearance in cuba today by fidel castro. the 85-year-old former president appeared vigorous as he showed off his new memoir in havana. the 1,000-page book called "a guerilla of time" covers castro's life from childhood to the revolution. no audio of castro speaking was provided. he hadn't been seen in public since april of last yea cuban revolution plays a crucial role in the family history of one nominee at next sunday night's grammy awards. michelle miller hases had story. >> reporter: this is latin jazz. and sunday night at new york's birdland, arturo o'farrill can't sit still. this blend of american-style

jazz and afro-cuban rhythms is in his blood. >> you can't define jazz without cuba. american jazz is one small strand of a very large fabric. >> reporter: o'farrill is a piano player, composer, and band leader. his latest release, "40 acres and a burro," is up for a grammy this year. 2008 for "a chico," a tribute to his farther, chico o'farrill, a kook an born musician who pioneered latin jazz. the castro and the decades-long u.s. embargo meant he could never return. >> it was the one thing that could make him weep, it was the one thing i ever saw my farther cry about. >> reporter: chico came to new york and worked as an arranger for benny goodman and dizzy gillespie before founding his own oh, tra. he taught arturo his own music and after chico died in 2001,

arturo took over. the following year, arturo went to cuba. he went again in 2010. that visit was filmed for the forthcoming documentary "oye cuba, a journey home." people have politicized cuba and politicized your visit there. >> i got a lot of hate mail. >> reporter: saying? >> that i was a disgrace to my farther's name. my farther was rolling in his grave. >> reporter: what remember you hoping to accomplish? >> i brought my father's music back to cuba to be played by his orchestra. the last number was called "fathers and sons, from havana to new york and back." and it featured my children, zach and adam. >> reporter: zach, a drummer, and adam, who plays trumpet, shared the stage in this tribute at the havana jazz festival. >> man, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. >> reporter: o'farrill's sons aren't the only ones to inherit his musical legacy.

twice a week when he's not on the road, o'farrill mentors school kids in manhattan and the bronx. through his nonprofit, afro latin jazz alliance, he's raised $1 million to help groom the next great latin jazz musicians. what do you teach? >> you teach them life. you teach them who you are, how you walk, how you carry yourself, the commitment and dedication it takes to become a musician. that's real mentoring. >> reporter: on stage and off, o'farrill's devotion to his roots is for all to hear. michelle miller, cbs news, new york. ( applause ) >> and a reminder, you can see the grammy awards right here on cbs a week from tomorrow, sunday february 12, at 8:00 p.m., 7:00 central. and that cbs evening news. i'm nancy cordes, cbs news in new york. good night.

picking up steam in the silver states. mitt rom mi is the projected winner. why the real look at the caucus was for second place. resume, interviews and everything in between. the one-stop shop set up today to get the unemployed back on track. a new deal on the horizon. but it is not clear who would come out ahead. what is now on the table for america's cup developers. cbs 5 eyewitness news is next.