>> jeff: tonight pointing the finger on budget cuts. the candidates offer sharply different accounts of whose's to blame for the fiscal gridlock in washington. scott pelley, norah o'donnell, jan crawford have more. >> with the presidential election still very close, we'll hear from the suburban moms who could be the deciders. >> middle class are the ones that are hurting. >> jeff: thanks to the drought the price of corn is no longer chicken feed. dan raviv with the story of poultry farmers pushed to the brink. and gold stars, tony guida looks at the winning americans on this closing day of london's paralympics. >> this is the captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> good evening, i'm jeff glor. campaign 2012 took a distinctly dollars and cents

turn today as the candidates battled over whose policies on taxes and spending would best help the middle class. and there was plenty of talk about sequestration, the term for automatic budget cuts in january if congress and the white house can't agree on them before then. jan crawford is with the romney campaign in boston tonight. jan, good evening. >> reporter: well, good evening, jeff. with those convention now behind us, the president and romney have really sharpened their attacks and their focus on the middle class. here's the president today in florida. >> they couldn't answer questions about how they'd pay for $5 trillion in new tax cuts and $2 trillion in new defense spending without raising taxes on the middle class. >> reporter: it's a scene the president and the vice president are hammering. today in ohio another key state, joe biden questioned romney's priorities. >> but giving these massive tax cuts to the very wealthy, what happens? you got to make it up somewhere. you got to. and guess who?

you. >> reporter: the obama campaign is trying to portray romney as out of touch in the pocket of big business. but in an interview on nbc's "meet the press" romney offered a forceful defense. >> contrary to what the democrats are saying i'm to the going to increase the tax burden on middle income families. it would absolutely be wrong to do that. >> reporter: accusing democrats of playing politics, he also flatly denied he would give the wealthy a tax break. >> we're not going to have high income people pay less of the tax burden than they pay today, that is not what is going to happen. high-income taxpayers are going to fewer deduction and exemptions. >> reporter: but democrats say the path doesn't add up. if romney refuses to raise taxes, how does he pay for it all without cuts. especially to defense spending. romney said his tax policies would encourage hiring and grow the economy and balance the budget by the end of his second term. he also criticized the president and republican leaders for agreeing to

mandatory across-the-board spending cuts, including on defense if both sides didn't strike a deficit reduction deal by the end of the year. >> i thought it was a mistake on the part of the white house to propose it i think it was a mistake for republicans to go along with it. >> reporter: now romney said the president was more to blame for that deal but of course, jeff, one of the republicans who agreed with it was his own running mate paul ryan. >> jeff: jan crawford, thank you. running mate paul ryan was quick to attempt to distance himself today from those mandatory budget cuts or sequestration. during an exchange on "face the nation", cbs's "this morning" coanchor nora-- norah challenged the contention that he only voted for a meck nism, a way for budget cuts rather than for actual reductions. >> congressman, it's my understanding that as part of the budget control act there was not just the sequestration, the defense sequestration but there was also a trillion dollars in immediate spending cuts which included the defense cuts, almost $400 billion, that were proposed by the chairman of the joint chiefs

of staff, mr. dempsey, as well as secretary panetta. and you also voted for those. and now you're saying that -- >> no. >> that you didn't vote for them? >> we can get in this no enclay ture. i voted for the budget control act but the obama administration proposed 478 billion in defense cuts. we don't agree with that, our budget rejected that. and then on top of that, is another $500 billion. >> right. >> in defense cuts. >> a trillion dollars in defense spending and you voted for it. >> no, norah. >> you voted for it. >> i voted for the budget control act. >> that included cuts in the defense spending. >> are you mistaken. i do not support the obama budget or the obama $478 billion in cuts suspect so number one that is half of the trillion we don't support, our budget rejected-- reflected that. number two we passed legislation to reflect what we want, as part of the budget control act, which is to cut spending in other areas of government instead of the pentagon. that bill is sitting in the senate right now. president obama has done nothing to support it, to oppose it, he hasn't even

shown us how he's going to implement the he is quest jerdz congressman ryan told o'donnell he would be happy to work with obama but said the president hasn't been acting on it. if the president wins a second term he might still face a republican house including john boehner as speaker and ryan as chairman of the house budget committee. would compromise be possible? scott pelley ask thed president in an interview for tomorrow's "cbs evening news." >> if you win will you be willing to compromise? what are you willing to give in order to complete this grand bargain on the budget that had failed? >> well, keep in mind that the trillion dollars that we cut, you know, was a painful exercise. there are some programs that are worthy, but we just can't afford right now. and i'm willing to do more on that front. because as i argued at the convention, those of us who believe that government can

be a force for good when it comes to creating opportunity for folks who are willing to work hard and play by the rules, to get into the middle class, we have an obligation to make sure government works. and there's still ways there, there are still programs that don't work there are still ways that we can make it leaner and more efficient. so i'm-- you know, more than happy to work with the republicans. and what i've said in reducing our deficits, we can make sure that we cut $2.5 dollar every dollar of increased revenue. >> that's the deal they turned down, mr. president. >> well, that's part of what this election is about. governor romney said he wouldn't take a deal with $10 of spending cuts for $1 of revenue increases. and the problem is the math or the arithmetic as president clinton said doesn't add up. you can't reduce the deficit unless you take a balanced approach that says we've got to make government leaner and more efficient.

but we've also got to ask people like me, or governor romney, who have done better than anybody else over the course of the last decade and whose taxes are just about lower than they've been in the last 50 years, to do a little bit more. and if we go back to the tax rates for folks making more than $250,000 a year, back to the rates with we had under bill clinton we can close the deficit, stabilize the economy, keep taxes on middle-class families low, provide the certainty that i think all of us would be looking for, and i'm also willing, by the way, to make some adjustments to medicare and medicaid, that would strengthen the programs. but the way to do that is to keep health-care costs low. it's not to voucherize programs so that suddenly seniors are the ones who are finding their expenses much higher. >> jeff: you can hear more of scott pelley's interview with president obama right here on tomorrow's "cbs

evening news." >> and during a campaign stop in fort pierce, florida, today, the president got a lift quite literally from scott van duzer, pizza shop owner and self-identified republican, who nonetheless said he's voting for the 181 pound president. the admiration was mutual. later honoring the stars of the london paralympics. which should come first, the chicken or the ethanol. and dissident tv. syrian rebels put their lives on the line and their views on the air. those stories when the cb cbs-- "cbs evening news" continues.

>> jeff: it was a day of horrific violence in iraq. in attacks stretching across at least 11 cities from bag good to basra, more-- baghdad to basra more than 360 were hurt, the attackers targeted

iraqi security force, many civilials were killed, al qaeda is being blamed for attacks. in syria aleppo came under fierce air attack again. amateur video claims to show the results of a government attack, crowds pulling victims from the rubble. in addition 17 others were killed when a car bomb exploded in aleppo. we have received a series of dramatic photos from our partner the world news web site globalpost which show how a neighborhood in aleppo was transformed in just seconds. first a number of family members were washing down a street in aleppo, they are alerted to something, a government tank approaching. so they grab their arms. the tank fires first, hitting the rebels, only one survives. the others lie dead on the street. they just washed. >> secretary of state clinton met with president vladimir putin of russia this weekend urging him to help end the conflict in syria. but she came away with no agreement. our state department

correspondent margaret brennan sat down with clinton who said the syrian stockpile of chemical weapons is of special concern right now, especially if they fall into the wrong hands. >> we're very watchful about this. and working with other countries on it. >> so there is a plan to secure those. >> there is a lot of work going on. >> reporter: you told us in july that you would be willing to speak with bashar al-assad. does that offer still stand? >> if he will step down i will meet him anywhere outside of syria. >> reporter: what would you say? >> i don't know, i-- i have no idea. i've never met him. but i-- you know, i would hope that it would not be too late to end this. but i see no indication that he's willing to. >> with assad unwilling to step down the syrian opposition is fighting not just on the battleground, it's also fighting from outside syria. and information war. charlie d'agata got a rare look behind the scenes. >> reporter: from a secret

location in jordan-- a handful of journalists are risking everything to make sure the world doesn't turn its back on syria. the opposition channel syria alshaab meaning syria of the people broadcast powerful and graphic amateur video and live reports from inside the war zone. this is where we have it. >> they left a comfortable life in virginia and moved thousands of lives away. >> everyone in syria that has a cell phone or camera, they want to show people what is going on. >> because it is available in syria it gives hope to those caught up in the violence that the horrors they're witnessing 9 world is seeing too, it also means the syrian regime is watching. since the channel started broadcasting a year ago the employees had faced daily threats from those loyal to syrian president bashar

al-assad. most of the staff don't want to be identified. >> look, look, look it, man. >> syrian anchor knows of the dangers firsthand. >> they burn down your family's house. >> yes. >> they kill two of your cousins. >> and they looked up your brother. >> yes. >> they showed us their extensive network of trusted contributors, their own war correspondents. >> it's not hard for the agents of the regime to hunts them down inside syria, and out. >> the journalists are doing a great personal risk and the syrians here, how dangerous is it, how do you deal with them. >> coming to work is dangerous, going home is dangerous. being here is very dangerous. we do this for a cause so nothing stops. >> charlie d'agata cbs news, amman, jordan. >> up next, chicken feed, it

is no longer cheap.

>> jeff: a new u.n. survey revealed that the price of meat rose worldwide last month in part because of the summer drought in the u.s. and once again much of it is connected back to corn. dan raviv reports it could get worse. >> reporter: brett mcevoy raises cows and chickens in georgia but it's the drought in the midwest that has him worried. >> i've already experienced a loss because of it. >> reporter: relentless heat and drought scorched much of the nation's corn crop.

production has plummeted and the price of feeding these chickens has spiked 60%. >> i've invested more than 1.5 million dollars in these houses and the farm is the collateral. so if something were to happen to the chicken industry around here t happens to me too. >> reporter: georgia is the nation's biggest poultry producer serving up 9.2 million eggs in 26 million pounds of chicken per day. microwelch, c.e.o. of the harrison poultry says skyrocketing corn prices are costing his company an additional $2 million per month. >> we're not getting $2 million a month additional selling price. and so somebody has got t to finance the difference. >> that difference might mean raising fewer birds. donnie will burn director of live production. >> it will mean fewer people in the process and facility it will mean fewer growers that are needed in the family farms to grow the chickens. >> to ease pressure on poultry producers, the industry is now campaigning.

under federal law about 40% of the nation's corn crop makes ethanol, six states are petitioning the epa to waive that requirement. utilizing ever greater quantities of corn to produce renewable fuel, contribute directly to the escalating corn and related crop prices. so wrote georgia governor nathan deal. >> the epa tells cbs news it's evaluating the requests and has 90 days to respond. the poultry industry says if price relief doesn't come soon, the cost of corn could not only force layoffs but would add to rising food prices this fall. >> dan raviv, cbs news, washington. >> ahead, listening to florida's moms. swing voters in a key swing state.

>> jeff: in a presidential campaign that remains very close, the outcome could very well be decided by a few swing voters in a handful of battleground states. one of those states is florida. so we went to hear from a group that both candidate was dearly love to win over, married women with children. >> kelly o'brien worries unless the economy grows faster, opportunities for her 15-year-old son will be limited. >> i know several moms that their kids are graduating from college and they can't get a job. they've, some of them are getting their mbas and they get out of school and can't find a job. >> reporter: o'brien believes a catalyst for her real estate development company will be lower taxes under mitt romney. letting her keep more money. >> the government's getting and we're not able to put it back into our business and hire people and create jobs.

>> reporter: but veronica kreemer the mother of a 16-year-old girl and business systems analyst rejects romney's proposed tax cuts for top earners. >> sounds like he wants to place the burden on the middle class again. and the middle class are the ones that are hurting. >> reporter: kreemer believes president obama now has the economy on the right track and is skeptical that romney has the right recipe-- resume. >> there is some perception for some reason that businessperson, a businessperson is going to get us out of this mess when it was businesspeople without got us into this mess. >> reporter: carlynn bullock the mother of two teenage boys went to work for a legal services company when her husband's landscaping business soured. she's backing romney. >> since president obama took office, i, my husband lost countless accounts. it really hit our family hard. >> reporter: yet as a breast cancer survivor, bullock objects mostly to the president's health-care reform. >> my biggest concern is that medicine is going to end up being rationed.

somebody is going to decide whether or not i can receive care or not receive care. >> reporter: dr. mona monday gatt disagree, an allergist and believes the obama reform requiring every american to get insurance will deliver better care. >> every day in my practice i have patients that can't see me because they don't have insurance, or they have deductibles that are so high they can't afford the treatment or the cost to see me. or they can't afford the medicines that i do prescribe for them. >> a mother of four kids from age -- to 9, she believes as more americans get preventive care, overall medical costs will go down. >> if we don't do something, we'll continue to have more uninsured, continue to have people that are suffering, going bankrupt because they can't afford their health care. >> reporter: like the women we interviewed, about 95% of florida voters say they have already made up their minds about who they will be voting for. coming up at the paralympics, we have winners

>> the paralympics which close today got their start when a doctor used sports to rehab wound world war ii soldiers. they have grown dramatically ever since. over the past two weeks more than 4,000 disabled athletes competed in 20 different events. here's tony guida. into the festival of the flames as the closing ceremonies were called, marched the jubilant para limb means, 28-year-old lieutenant bradley snider representing the american team, snider was blinded by a taliban bomb in afghanistan a year ago. five weeks later the veteran of the navy swim team was back in the water. >> hopping in the pool felt very organic, very natural, saying hey, are you actually still good at something. >> bradley had an amazing paralympics winning three medal its, two golds and a silver. >> it's for you, usa, right here. >> six time para limb mean allison jones won cycling's

gold. she can display it for the gold she took for alpine skiing two years ago at the vancouver games. joe pereni set a world's record as he captured a gold in cycling and 18-year-old raymond martin leaves london with four gold metals winning in each track event in which he competed. it's been incredible. everything is beyond my dreams. >> it's hard to imagine dreams beyond those already reached by these competitors, triumph over disability that make life difficult enough let alone achieving world-class status as athletes. >> tony guida, cbs news, new york. >> jeff: that is the "cbs evening news" tonight. i'm jeff glor. cbs news, in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

search for missing student from the bay area over how his body was found. two years later but not forgotten san bruno remembers the deadly gas line explosion. it could be anybody's family my heart goes out to their family investigators pieced together what a truck slammed into two women walking on,,,,