the fighting and the first efforts to stop it. searching for answers in yesterday's oil rig fire off the louisiana coast. manuel bojorques is tracking the investigation. what's next in the drive to legalize marijuana in colorado and washington state. as carpter evans explains, it's complicated. and the sound of music. john bentley visits the only school teaching afghan students about their musical heritage. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> brennan: good evening. i'm margaret brennan. there is no cease-fire as yet between israel and hamas militants in gaza, though diplomatic efforts are under way. here's the latest-- israel says it's launched nearly 200 airstrikes against more than 800 targets. gaza officials say today's strikes killed 12 people,

including eight militants. all told, 42 palestinians and three israeli civilians have been killed in four days of fighting. allen pizzey is in tel aviv tonight. >> reporter: only hours after it was set up, this antimissile battery in tel aviv interpreted a long-range rocket aimed at the hate of israel's commercial capital. five such batteries, called iron dome, have been keploid and three more are being rushed into production. in an expansion of the air war against hamas, the israelis struck the office of the movement's prime minister overnight. attacks were also aimed at other parts of hamas' political struck the uincluding a building with where the cabinet meets. gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world and any escalation to nonmilitary targets carries the risk of increased civilian casualties. more than 40 palestinians have been killed, at least half of them civilians, including women and children. this girl, who was pulled from the rubble, appears to be alive.

hamas released this video they claim was their rockets being launched. apartment buildings in the israeli city of arbdon were hit by four of then that eivated the iron dome battery in the south. hamas is getting a political boost by visits like this one, from the tunisian foreign minister. rafik abdessalem called on the international community to help stop what he called this blatant aggression against our families our citizens, and our brothers in gaza. the israelis insists their actions are purely defensive and warns hamas they are risking an escalation in the conflict. massive amounts of armor and troops are being deployed in preparation for a possible ground invasion, but there is an international effort under way to work on a cease-fire. egypt has been taking the lead role, and today the egyptian president, along with representatives from qatar and turkey, held talks in cairo with hamas' leader in exile. the israelis call him a

terrorist, but so far, they haven't object the to the egyptians' efforts. margaret. >> brennan: allen pizzey in tel aviv. thank you. for more on the gaza conflict we're joined in washington by our senior national security analyst, juan zarate. juan, good evening. >> good evening, margaret. >> brennan: what exactly is egypt trying to accomplish? >> well, egypt is trying to broker a cease-fire here. they want the violence to stop. they also want to demonstrate that they can serve as a regional power, they can bring peace, and for the sake of president morsi and the muslem brotherhood running egypt they want to consolidate power and get the economy running. they don't want a war to be starting on their doorstep at a time when they are not in full control in cairo. >> reporter: egypt and israel are the top recipients of u.s. foreign aid. what kind of leverage does the u.s. have? >> president obama has pledged $1 billion in aid to the egyptian government. that money is incredibly important to the egyptians.

their economy has been faltering. in addition, the egyptian military receives almost $1.3 billion per year from the united states. in addition, the egyptian government is looking for support from other actors, like the international monattorney fund and the european union. so all of that-- the money that the egyptian government needs, the u.s. leverage to try to get the egyptians to bring peace to to conflict. >> brennan: juan zarate, thank you. >> thank you. >> brennan: in egypt today, at least 49 children were killed when a train smashed into a school bus. 1190 miles sowpght of cairo. the force of the crash broke the bus in half, and the destruction made it difficult to count and identify bodies. the man in charge of closing the gates at the crossing has been arrested. authorities say he was sleeping when the bus crossed the tracks. two oil workers remain lost at sea tonight, a day after an explosion and fire on an oil platform in the gulf of mexico.

officials say no oil was leaking from the charred platform 25 miles southeast of grand isle, lose. manuel bojorques is there. >> reporter: at the site of the explosion divers searched beneath the waters and a coast guard plane scanned the area, some 1400 square niles, for two missing workers. there were 22 people on the rig when the blast occurred. four remain in the hospital, two in critical condition. >> all these patients are suffering from major burns. the next 48-72 hours is a critical time period. >> reporter: the rig's owner, houston-based black elk energy said yesterday a worker cutting a pipe ignited vapors from oil still in the system setting off the explosion. the couple said the worker used a cutting torch. today the contractor doing the maintenance work, grand isle shipyard said there is no torch and called that account completely inaccurate.

one of the things federal strangers will be looking into is why there was still oil in the pipe that was being cut. oil should have been purged from the system when it was first shut down. this platform is 80 miles away from b.p.'s deepwater horizon, which exploded in 2010, leaking five million barrels of oil into the gulf. unlike deepwater horizon, which was a mile deep, this rig was in shallow water, just 56 feet, and since it was not producing oil, there was only a small leak of about 28 gallons. the c.e.o. of the company which owns the platform toured the site with investigators. he says while his main concern remains the victims, the company still plans to eventually bring that platform back online. margaret. >> brennan: manuel bojorques, grand isle, louisiana, thank you. the threat of job cuts and tax hikes that may result from the fiscal cliff loom over the holiday shopping season. the national retail federation

projected $586 billion in spending, an increase of more than 4% over last year. drew levinson tells us store owners are holding their breath. >> reporter: as in years passed with elbows sharpepped and smart phones in hand, shoppers are getting primed for black friday, the most analyzed day of the retail year and the holiday season opener. the good news for retailers, an early thanksgiving means the season is longer with 33 shopping days. but the economy is still sluggish, and washington atmospherics have rattled consumers. >> retailers are very concerned about the fiscal cliff situation. in a receipt survey, 72% of consumers say they were changing their shopping patterns as a result of the uncertainty over the situation. >> reporter: also dampening the forecast is super storm sandy. by one estimate, nearly 5

million households in its path will have to curb spending this year. to counter, the retailers are going all in, already offering discounts. and like last year, some stores will start opening on thanksgiving at midnight. with wal-mart, target, sears, and toys "r" us opening even earlier in a fierce competition to get very first shoppers. >> retailers know after many black fridays, that typically the place where the person shops first is the place where they spend the most money. >> reporter: the strategy is working. last year a quarter of all black friday shoppers were in the stores by midnight. and the weekend was a record breaker. laurie levenson, cbs news, new york. >> brennan: one day after former c.i.a. director david petraeus' testimony the woman with whom he had an affair was spotted in public. she arrived late today at her brother's home in washington, d.c. in an parent show of

marital solidarity the two walked arm in arm from the garage to the house. later, why is fukushima relief money being used to build shopping malls? marijuana decriminalization remains on hold in two states that voted in favor. we'll tell you why. and homeless families still looking for shelter nearly three weeks after super storm sandy. those stories when the cbs evening news continues. >> brenns

returning to congress. 11 days after the election, the arizona democrat was declared the winner of the cite formerly held by gabrielle giffords. barber, her former district director, won a special election to replace giffords last june. this time he beat his republican

rival by just over 1,000 votes. homes in new york city severely damaged by hurricane sandy will be demolished. city officials say about 200 buildings will be bull dozed in the coming days. 500 other damaged homes and structures are still being inspected and could meet a similar fate. as michelle miller reports, replacing what was lost won't be easy. >> the water was already coming up to the window. and inside the house, it was already above my knees. >> reporter: it was a harrowing night for michael peters, his wife, and four daughters. hurricane sandy swept their three-room home off its foundation two weeks ago, forcing them to spend the night on the roof. >> we were there from 9:00 p.m. in the night all the way till, like, 8:00 p.m. in the morning. >> reporter: you were on your roof for 12 hours? >> yes. >> reporter: for now, they're staying at mount manresa, a religious retreat housing more than a dozen families. they're among 47,000 new yorkers who have applied for housing

help from the federal emergency management agency. do you feel safe here? >> oh, yes, yes. this is definitely, we feel secured. and the children are happy. >> reporter: finding a permanent place to live is perhaps the biggest challenge for victims of sandy. housing around new york is scarce and expensive. the average rent is $3,000 a month. two tent cities have been set up in new jersey. governor chris christie says he'll open up a military base for families. fema has already delivered mobile homes. there are 60 fema disaster recovery centers, including the one at mount manresa. storm victims can apply for up to $31,900 for repairs or rent. so far, they've given cash assistance to nearly 30,000 people. mike byrne is with fema. >> a lot of homes can be repaired, and that's-- we certainly want to do that. but the destroyed homes, it's going to take longer to do that. >> i don't care about all those

things i lost. i'm just happy that my kids and i, my wife, we survived it. >> reporter: michael peters applied for fema aid last week but whatever he gets, he'll never be able to return home. it's been condemned. michelle miller, cbs news, staten island, new york. >> brennan: next up, popular votes in favor, but still no clear path for marijuana use in two western states.

passed since voters in two western states approved the legalization of marijuana for personal use. how long before they can walk into a store to buy marijuana is still anybody's guess. here's carter evans. ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: in colorado and

washington state, voters have stirred the pot. >> you cannot be arrested for being in possession of an ounce of marijuana. ( cheers ) >> just can't wait to go to 7-eleven and buy a pack of joibts. >> reporter: what's not clear is exactly when or how that will happen. >> legalized marijuana, i could pass a joint to a friend of mine. no, you can't. i could grow it. you you can't. i could transport it. no, you can't. >> reporter: it could take a year or more to develop regulations and until then, in colorado or washington, there is no legal way to procure pot for recreational use. >> i don't know if it's supposed to fall from the sky or how people are supposed to get it, but once they have it and if you're tbownd it, if you're caught by a police officer with under an ounce you're not going to get prosecuted. >> reporter: but federal stlrtz not changed their view. marijuana is a schedule one controlled substance, considered more dangerous than cocaine. >> everybody is sort of operating on the blank slate of what do we do now? >> reporter: laurie levenson is a former federal prosecutor.

>> i don't think the feds-- i don't think anybody wants to go into somebody's house and say you can't smoke a joint on your sofa. >> reporter: governors of both states have already met with federal authorities and it's still unclear if the feds will sue to block the new laws. colorado governor john hickenlooper says he's now prepared to fight. >> i didn't support the initiative, but you can't argue with the will of the voters. the sentiment was pretty clear. >> reporter: what happens when the smoke clears is still up in the air. carter evans, cbs news, los angeles. >> brennan: the legalization of marijuana use in colorado and washington is putting some latin american governments in an awkward position. after four decades on the front lines of the u.s. government's drug wars, some countries are now wondering if it was worth the cost. it is no longer a criminal act to possess small amounts of marijuana in mexico and nine other latin american countries. producing and selling those drugs remains illegal.

but after decades of battling drug lords and seizing and burning illicit drugs, the presidents of guatemala, colombia, and mexico, crucial aflies america's war on drugs, are wondering if they are fighting a losing battle. >> look at mexico the past six years, more than 60,000 dead in their drug wars, and that's just one country. >> reporter: this week, the president of mexico believes honduras and costa rica called for an international debate on legalization. >> there's a real concern over rising crime, and in particular, violence. so rather than just escalate the routine enforcement, they've decided that we ought to look at a legal, regulated market as a possible solution. >> brennan: according to the u.n., cannabis, which include marijuana and harbish, is the world's most widely used illicit substance. next, a question facing japan. where did the money for fukushima's reconstruction go?

months since the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that devastated northeastern japan. today, thousands of people still live in temporary housing, and residents say much of the money meant for rebuilding has been misspent. lucy craft reports from tokyo. >> reporter: a massive, $150 billion budget was earmarked to rebuild northeastern japan, but a quarter of those funds ended up far away from the disaster zone paying for projects of dubious value to the rescue effort. about $400,000 was spent, for instance, to promote tokyo's sky tree, a glitzy shopping mall, office complex, and tv tower hundreds of miles away from the

disaster zone. that was small potatoes compared to the windfall dropped on the japanese whaling industry. almost $28 million of reconstruction money was earmarked for so-called research whaling, and even to pay for equipment to fight off antiwhaling protesters. government auditors in hearings this week reveal the reconstruction funds have become a pork barrel free-for-all, especially at a time when austerity is pinching the rest of the budget. money that was supposed to help rebuild the northeast has been doled out for public works projects, all outside the disaster zone. meanwhile, more than half the budget has not even been spent at all. critics blame red tape and heavy-handed control by tokyo, but local towns have also struggled because of a lack of manpower after the catastrophe. embattled prime minister node awho attended the first day of hearings, promised pork would be wrung out of the budget, but the prime minister is almost certain to get the axe when general

elections are held in mid-december, dimming hopes for the ruined towns of northeastern japan and the hundreds of thousands of uvacueees who remain in limbo. >> brennan: coming up, a school for music in a land where it was forbidden.

visit to afghanistan's only music school. in a country where the taliban once banned all music, today a teacher from colorado tries to help. here's john bentley. >> reporter: only 18 years old, milad is one of the most talented students here at the afghanistan national institute of music. >> go slow. >> reporter: his teacher is allegra boggess, a classically trained musician from denver. >> he's interested in developing himself as a pianist first, but he doesn't want to live abroad. he wants to come back and teach.

>> reporter: when the taliban were in power, these instrumentz were destroyed and the school was torn apart. the taliban banned music threatening to maim or imprison anyone caught playing or teaching it. dr. ahmad sarmast, the school's founder and a musician, fled the country for several years. >> the people of afghanistan depriving them from their musical identity. >> reporter: even today, professional musicians are almost nonexistent. this is the nation's only music school. >> when i enrolled in the school, my friend said music doesn't have any future in afghanistan. i didn't hear them. and i hear my heart. that's why still i'm here. >> reporter: milad is learning both afghan and western music plus getting a complete education. in a society deeply divided by tribal lines, this band features boys and girls from different ethnic groups making music together. >> the students have fallen in love with what this place

represents. and music, they'll never give up. >> reporter: the real test comes next year. as u.s. troops pull out, afghans fear their country will get less attention and less funding for programs like this. >> it's important that the afghans do this for themselves because they do love music. and we can just help them set up the infrastructure to make it successful. >> reporter: after 30 years of war, the hope is that this is the sound that afghanistan is beginning to heal. >> brennan: and that is the cbs evening news. i'm margaret brennan, cbs news in new york. good night. ca lm springs. the ques >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald he served in afghanistan and was killed in palm springs. questions family members want answered as his body returns to the bay area.

>> it was crazy, scary. >> a wild and dangerous crime spree that strikes over several miles in san jose. and that includes a shootout with police. the latest from the search for the missing gunmen. >> and now that prop 34 defeated, a new push to resume and speed up executions in california. cbs 5 eyewitness news is next. ,, ,, woman: oh! tully's. how do you always have my favorite coffee? well, inside the brewer, there's a giant staircase. and the room is filled with all these different kinds of coffee