completely control the sky. >> axelrod: how do the free syrian army rebels deal with the fact that they're so overpowered? >> reporter: well, two things. firstly, they're working inside a city, ancient city, quite high buildings, probably five or six stories. they can hide beneath those. they can move in those always. they have beaten many tanks already. these, again, are russian-made tanks. due to the makeup of them, they explode very easily. they have that advantage. the other, of course, is that they are quite prepared to die. and they believe that this is the-- to them, the holding on to aleppo is the end game, or part of it. and that is something of an advantage over the syrian troops who, of course, conot quite have the same motivation. interestingly, a couple of mediterranean coast is an area called tartous, a base where the russians are reinforcing at the moment. the belief among the free syrian army-- we can't confirm this, of

course-- that bashar al-assad is already there, effectively the control of the government is no longer with him. he is seeking refuge in that area. i am told by eyewitnesses it is absolutely full of soldiers and weapons and armory, and that that would be the exit strategy, we believe, for bashar al-assad. >> axelrod: stuart ramsay reporting for us from inside aleppo tonight. thank you so much. the heavily outgunned rebels are struggling to hold on to every piece of territory they can in and around aleppo. charlie d'agata now with a firsthand report from one village in the area. >> reporter: from their base in tal raffat, rebels set off to fight the syrian army under the cover of darkness. aleppo is an hour's drive. the rebels are facing a much larger enemy equipped with tanks, heavy weapons, and helicopter gunships. are you afraid today? "no," this fighter told us. "we are looking for death." the rebels push was cut short

when suddenly we heard explosions and saw tracer fire nearby. the syrian army had begun an assault on the city of tal raffat. the fight had come to the rebels' doorstep. we followed the rebels into an olive grove it take shelter. the rebel fighters prayed for protection. the few civilians with gasoline for their vehicles raced to open farm land. abu ibrahim made it, along with his wife, and eight children. how far into the area were you and why do you feel that you're safer here now? "we had to go," he said. "there were explosions. i had to get my children out." as dawn broke, children scrambled across the fields. a fighter jet flew overhead. then an attack helicopter circled tal raffat and opened fire with heavy machine guns. even as the fierce fighting continues in aleppo, the syrian

army's reach extends far beyond the city into rebel-held territory. the rebels told us they lact firepower to defend tal raffat. after two hours the assault stopped as awhere you wantly as it had started. relieved residents felt safe enough to go back home to tal raffat, at least for now. charlie d'agata, cbs news, aleppo province, syria. >> axelrod: turning to the economy now, this week's jobs report was a good news/bad news story. good news-- 163,000 jobs were created last month, more than expected. the bad news-- unemployment ticked up to 8.3%. the reason? more americans began look for work. still, plenty of job-seekers have given up. we visited with one of them. >> reporter: this is your resume? >> reporter: 45-year-old camilla shung gave up her job search two years ago. >> i felt it was a little humiliating to look fair job, that if you didn't look hungry

enough you weren't going to get awe call back. i just got tired of the rejection, tired of trying and trying and looking and looking, and it's just so hard. >> reporter: shung says her graduate degree in psychology and her chinese language skills only landed her temp jobs. what kind of jobs were you hoping to get? >> oh, social services, counseling agencies. >> reporter: and couldn't find anything? >> no. i'm good at my job. whatever i do, i'm always good. it's just the availability. it's just the chance, the luck. it's not there. it's not there. >> reporter: people like shung make the real unemployment rate feel much higher, says economist peter morici. >> if we counted those folks who are discouraged or working part time because they couldn't get full-time work the unemployment rate is 15%. >> reporter: shung doesn't qualify for jobless benefits. how do you survive? >> well, i live on savings. i live day to day.

i don't think of the future too much. i have a very tight budget. i manage. i-- i just-- it's america. so it-- it's-- there are ways. >> reporter: hoping to some day rejoin the workforce, shung is pondering a second graduate degree to become a guidance counselor. ines ferre for cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: a little niement history here. for two years, starting in early 2008, 7.5 million american jobs were lost. then a turnaround. in the last 22 months, some four million jobs were created. cbs money watch editor jack otter is here to help us figure out what to make of all these numbers. thanks for joining us. 163,000 new jobs, good news or bad news? >> it was better than expected so the market rallied on the news but at this rate it would take four years to create as many jobs as we need to get back to full unemployment and that's a long time.

>> axelrod: what kind of jump start is needed? >> the number one problem in the economy now is lack of demand. people are doing the smart thing, paying off credit card bills after years of too much spending but in the big picture that means there is no demand so businesses don't need to hire. there's no one to come in and fill in the gap and create demand. >> axelrod: look ahead for us, say six months, a year. what are we going to see? consumers and businesses certainly want to know. >> well, it's tough. in fact, there's a lot of uncertainty out there, partly because of the so-called fiscal cliff. on january 1, taxes are set to go up and government spending is set to plummet, so much so that we actually would go into recession. we're hoping the politicians are willing to make some kind of a move to stave that off, but there's no certainty. europe could blow up. i think people are going to be playing it very conservative. we're certainly not going to see any government stimulus. i'm not optimistic we're going to stee a big move ahead. >> axelrod: jack otter, "cbs money watch," thank you. no mixed messages from

consumers. they've had the registers ringing. a number of retailers say their sales jumped in july, some up as much as 10%, and now it's time for back-to-school shopping, the second largest selling season of the year. rebecca jarvis has more. >> reporter: it starts earlier every year. >> we try and buy early and all at once. >> reporter: with the summer sun still broilg, the deals are already under way for crayons, notebooks, glue sticks and computers. >> i dedicated this entire day to back-to-school shopping. >> reporter: according to the national retail federation, spending on back to school this year will average $689 per family up from $604 last year. total spending is expected to be $30 billion. when you include college books, dorm furnishings and supplies, it's $84 billion. the projected uptick in spending is not necessarily a sign of economic recovery. rather, it signals a coming

population boom. >> one of the reasons why we're seeing an increase in back-to-school spending this year is simply because there are more children that are going off to school. >> reporter: according to government statistics, a record number of students enter schools this fall, and that number is expected to climb 7% a year until 2020. >> back-to-school shopping is about $100 a kid and i have four kids so that's $400. >> reporter: one note of consumer caution-- teenagers told america's research group in a poll that their parents plan to spend less this year. >> these kids are being told by their parents, "johnny, you're not going to get that new computer this year. you live with what you've got because we can't afford a $300, $400 purchase. >> reporter: so far, retailers are optimistic that with more kids headed to class in the fall, school spending will still get a boost. >> axelrod: coming up, the flodz and famine putting north korea's new leader to the test.

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>> axelrod: firefighters are getting the upper hand on a wildfire in luther, oklahoma, just outside oklahoma city. several grass fires are burning niross the state. the luther fired destroyed nearly five dozen homes and other buildings. euthorities say they suspect arson. turning to a continuing disaster overseas, north korea's state news agency reported today that floods have killed almost 170 people and forced more than 200,000 others from their homes. the u.n. is rushing emergency thod aid to the north korean people. barry petersen has more. >> reporter: a week of devastation has left tens of thousands homeless and follows a summer of massive crop failures. millions are already malnourished. e at same combination triggered years of famine in the 1990s, so bad that two out of three

children under seven suffered sum stunted growth and hundreds of thousands starved to death. if it happens again, a hungry nation may be the first real mallenge facing kim jon un, named supreme leader last december. north korea's propaganda machine projects him in two ways-- as a man of his people, complete with isglamorous wife, and as the ifrong man vowing to continue with the nation's nuclear onspons program. christopher hill is a former sts. assistant secretary of state for east asian affairs. >> so they have kind of brought him out and, you know, tried to make him look like he's kind of usnning the show because even an out-and-out totalitarian dictatorship, there needs to be. >> reporter: in china there eems little interest in forcing kim to change his or his country's ways.

so china, as it did this week, sends officials to encourage pmonomic development but remains quiet when the north talks of another nuclear weapons test. to china's leaders, supporting north korea is better than the r ternative. he that you might have the sort of unintended consequence of ngeing that regime, the north korean regime, topple. >> reporter: the propaganda achine portrays kim as a man ready to ride to his country's rescue, but massive flooding and looming famine may test that. will he spend millions on nuclear weapons or on food to save the lives of his necreasingly hungry people? barry petersen, cbs news, beijing. it axelrod: to the middle east now, where iran today said it .ssted a new and more accurate short-range missile. it claims to be able to hit targets in israel and u.s. bases in the region. the big concern is that this

kind of missile could potentially carry nuclear weapons. next, the green that came out of the blue. rhe surprising discovery of millions of extra dollars for rhe surprising discovery of millions of extra dollars for california's parks. els like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better.

does breathing with copd weigh you down? ask your doctor if spiriva can help. ( bell rings ) i've been thinking about theymoving in with my daughter of mand her family. it's been pretty tough since jack passed away. it's a good thing you had life insurance through the colonial penn program. you're right. it was affordable, and we were guaranteed acceptance. guaranteed acceptance? it means you can't be turned down because of your health. you don't have to take a physical or answer any health questions. well, how do you know? did you speak to alex trebek? because i have a policy myself. it costs just $9.95 a month per unit. it's perfect for my budget. affordable coverage and guaranteed acceptance? we should give them a call. do you want to help protect your loved ones from the burden of final expenses? if you're between 50 and 85, you can get quality insurance that does not require any health questions or a medical exam.

your rate of $9.95 a month per unit will never increase, and your coverage will never decrease. so call now and ask one of their representatives about a plan that meets your needs. go call now! we'll finish up here. cash-strapped california are welcoming the news late this week that 70 state parks have been saved from the chopping

plok. at the same time, they're questioning why the parks were ever in jeopardy in the first place. brian rooney looks into a high-stakes case of lost and found. >> reporter: the preserved home of mexico's last governor of california sits within one of the parks to be closed. carolyn schoff has worked to preserve this for nine years. >> this is our history. if we let it close, it's going to-- it's going to fall down. we're going to lose it. >> reporter: april blanchard hunt home schools her three children and likes to take them and their friends to parks like this to teach california history. you like to get them out and show them this is the way things used to be. >> exactly. >> reporter: when she heard about the closures, she made it a civics lesson. the children raised money to help keep the park open. >> we've done a car wash. we've done two bake sales. we started a facebook page which the kids did themselves. >> reporter: her 11-year-old daughter dakota went door to door asking for money. what did you learn while doing that? >> it's not always easy. that's for sure.

>> reporter: they raised $500. people all over the state raised money. it was all good, except for one thing-- it turned out that california's parks were not completely broke. an audit turned up $54 million, more than twice the amount of money that would have been saved by closing the 70 parks. yesterday, the state announced it has since discovered more than a quarter billion dollars in dormant accounts, feeding taxpayer suspicion that there's always hidden money in government. >> it certainly does put a shadow over our ability to raise funds in the future. that's true. >> reporter: did you feel at all like grown-ups misled you? >> a little. it would have been nice if they told us earlier. >> reporter: but they did learn something about how government works and sometimes doesn't. but for now, the 70 parks will stay open. brian rooney, cbs news, los angeles. >> axelrod: turning to politics now, republican presidential candidate mitt romney campaigned in indiana

today, the state that president obama won in 2008, becoming the first democrat to win there since 1964. but mr. obama is not expected to hold on to indiana this year. mr. romney flew in from idaho, where he raised $2 million for his campaign last night. among the guests was hollywood actor and director clint eastwood, who was in a humorous mood with reporters. >> reporter: kind of curious why you decided to endorse the governor? >> i haven't endorsed the governor. oh, yeah, no. ( laughter ). i'm just-- because i think the country needs a boost somewhere. >> axelrod: eastwood's coast star in "million dollar baby" and "unforgiven," morgan freeman, is among the movie stars supporting president oba obama. freeman donated $1 million to the political action committee supporting the president. mr. obama celebrated his 51st birthday today, playing some golf in the morning and then heading to camp david. ahead, michael phelps already had the most medals ever at the

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medal in doubles. the overall medal count so far, the u.s. leads china with great britain in third with six golds and a silver, today was great britain's most successful olympic days in 104 years. fair warning-- we're going to end tonight with a report on how michael phelps and other olympians made out today. mark phillips has the results and the inspiration of super saturday, the day of this olympics with more events than any other. >> and here comes phelps to the wall! >> reporter: the olympics have another week to run, but the michael phelps show is over. and there may never be another like it. gold in his last individual race, gold in his last team race, the four by 100 medley, and every medal phelpss has won-- 18 golds now, 22 medal overall in three olympic games-- makes his grip on the title "winingest olympian ever" more secure. >> i was able to really put the final cherry on top tonight and

put all the whipped cream i wanted and sprinkles. i was able to top off the sundae tonight. >> reporter: as the old stars dip below the olympic horizon here, new ones emerge. 17-year-old missy franklin's four gold. >> ledecky is a gold medalist. >> reporter: but if you're going to talk about winners save some space for oscar pistorius, the double amputee south african, whose prostetibs legs gave him the nickname "blade runner." pistorius fought his handicap and the courts to get here and today against the world's best able-bodied athletes, he finished second in his 400 meter heat. he'd said his dream was to get to the olympic semifinal. he'll live that dream tomorrow. every games produces heroes, but none like michael phelps. he's dominated his sport at

three consecutive olympics. the record he broke here had stood for 48 years. the record he set may never be broken. mark phillips, cbs news, london. >> axelrod: one more note from london, actually, one more image, and, no, this is not photo shopped. the full moon was perfectly positioned last night at the bottom of the five olympic rings that have been placed in the middle of tower bridge during the games. we just wanted to share with you a gold medal picture. and that's the cbs evening news for tonight. later on cbs, "48 hours mystery." for all of us here at cbs news, i'm jim axelrod in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

" a do you know a did not what my job to be s statistics what is being done to protect children from increasing violence in oakland. protesters on the attack against president obama's campaign office the clean-up begins. a big day in east bay and must be nice, cheering on team usa from the shallow end. back in '08, we didn't have these u-verse wireless receivers that let you move the tv around wherever.

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down violence especially by and against children a police chief called for curfew fourteens in this city cbs by reporter lisa washington shows us parents take a different approach. another statistic on oakland crime since january more than 400 juveniles arrested for major and violent crime is such as car thefts and homicide and oakland pastor hopes the parenting conference will reduce youth crime i'm not excited about my son is doing well i want yours to do well also that is our fight growing up i was his mother i'm still his mother but we have formed a french ship as well she is a conference attendee and proud mother of for 24 year- old son brined there were challenges rng