>> jeff: tonight the search resumes. >> it is a terrible feeling. >> jeff: as day breaks in southeast asia crews try to find missing airasia flight 8501. we have reports from deborah patta and jeff pegues plus captain sully sullenberger on the type of plane one he is very familiar with. a ferry disaster off the coast of greece. fire leaves it stranded and more than 300 trapped. carter evans details a difficult rescue effort. >> federal lawmakers have signed off on a new kind of savings account that awards not interest but prize money. jill schlesinger explains. and new technology meets the new testament. allen pizzey on the nano -- >> this is the

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> jeff: hi, everyone, i'm jeff glor. and the first full day of searching is under way. crews are looking for airasia flight 8501 which has now been missing for more than 24 hours. teams from at least three different countries are involved. 162 people were on 8501 including 17 children. the search zone is in the java sea in between surabaya indonesia, where the plane took off and sing more-- singapore its intended destination. we have a series of reports. a terrible nine months facing malaysia we begin with deborah patta, deborah? >> search-and-rescue operations for the plane were called off as night fell in the southeast asian region. those operations resumed again at dawn local time. indonesia, singapore and malaysia are all involved in a massive search-and-rescue operation for the missing plane. rescuers spent hours flying over areas of the java sea but the dark and stormy

indonesian waters have so far provided no clues. >> the flight time line is also murky. because indonesian and singaporean authorities are reporting different times for radar contacts with the plane. here's what they know so far. the plane took off from surabaya airport in indonesia at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time. for what should have been a quick two hour hop to singapore. but around 6:10 the airasia pilots asked to turn left and climb to a higher altitude to avoid clouds. and indonesian transportation official said the request was denied due to traffic. some time between 6:17 and 6:24 a.m. airasia flight 8501 lost contact with indonesian air-traffic control. there was no distress signal. vie lent thunderstorms were reported at the time the plane disappeared. weather reports show it vanished in airspace thick with dense storm clouds as high as 44,000 feet. the pilot has been

identified as captain-- who had over 20,000 hours of flying experience. on the ground the airline information boards were an ominous reminder that something terrible had happened. instead of a routine arrival time a terse message advising relatives to contact the airline. desperate friends and family huddled into the airport anxiously scouring passenger manifests. airasia tony fernandez missed his loved ones but struggled to bring hope to a hopeless situation. >> a terrible feeling of loss right now. but i think the indonesian authorities are doing their best now for search-and-rescue. >> the airline has set up an information center at the airport in surabaya where family and friends have gathered. as each hour drags by, they are bracing themselves for the worst possible news. as authorities scramble to find the plane the hunt for

answers also begins. families of passengers on board the aircraft will want to know exactly what happened and jeff how it is possible that once again a plane has simply disappeared from the sky. >> jeff: deborah patta thank you very much. the disappearance of the airasia plane comes on top of two other disasters from malaysian-based airlines this year. here's transportation correspondent jeff pegues. >> reporter: never before has commercial aviation in one region experienced so much heartbreak. in march malaysia air 370 disappeared from radar with 239 people on board. nine months later the search continues in the southern indian ocean across 23,000 square miles of water off australia's coast. and in july malaysia air flight 17 went down in conflict ravaged eastern ukraine. the plane was heading to kuala lumpur from amsterdam when according to investigators the boeing triple 7 broke up in the air as a result of a large

number of high energy objects. it was damage consistent with a missile strike. but dutch authorities are at least six months away from completing the investigation. all 298 people on board were killed. but unlike the still missing mh 370 the airasia flight could be found much sooner even in a matter of days. it disappeared from radar in heavily traveled airspace. it also took a flight pass over the java sea which only reaches depths of about 150 feet. shallow waters which would make a signal from the flight-data recorders easier to detect. the missing plane and airbus 320 has about 23,000 hours of flight time over 13,000-- 13,600 flights. according to a boeing safety study published in auingt a a-320s have one of the lowest accident rates it in the industry. airasia is widely considered to have a good safety record, a record similar to malaysia air before mh 17 and mh 370.

the national transportation safety board tells us that it continues to monitor the situation, but for now it has not been asked to assist. jeff, the ntsb has been helping with the investigation into mh 17 and mh 370. >> jeff: jeff pegues, thank you. the airbus a 320200 is the same model plane that captain chesley sully sullenberger safely landed in new york's hudson river six years ago next month. he is now cbs news aviation safety expert. he joins us from reno. sully, always good to see you. you have more than 5,000 hours experience in a320s. how does a pilot handle an emergency situation in a plane like this? >> it requires great team skills, jeff. just as my crew and i and all the first responders handled that situation almost six years ago it requires a well delineated series of roles and responsibilities knowing which is the pilot flying, which is the pilot monitoring cross-checking

and assisting. and in any situation in flight, it's important first to fly the airplane, fly it well and then to begin troubleshooting in a step-by-step process to solve the problems. >> jeff: how do you maintain control of the plane when weather really does become an issue? >> it requires making deviation horizontally or vertically in altitude when necessary to make a safe flight path. >> jeff: how often do you make requests like this. >> requesting deviation for weather avoidance is routine that happens many times every day, often several times on a given flight. it is part of the business of keeping the risks manageable all through the flight from beginning middle to end. >> jeff: sully, as we mentioned, in what appears to be the third major disaster in nine months for a malaysian-based airline as they look forward and try to rescue and then also investigate, do you have thoughts on what the airline industry has gone through in the past year? >> these incidents are reminders that this is a complex system. we must make it robust and resilient. we must consider the human

factor. we must have equipment designs that are appropriate. and we must give pilots the best tools we can to allow them to handle whatever may come. >> jeff: captain sully sullenberger from reno captain, thank you very much. a brutally challenging rescue effort continues tonight off the coast of greece. a ferry is stranded after a fire on board. more than 300 were trapped. carter evans has the latest. >> reporter: as smoke poured from the burning ship desperate passengers made frantic phone calls for help. it's chaos said one passenger. no one is taking us off. bring someone for help. 60-mile-per-hour winds and pounding waves have slowed rescue efforts. greek military helicopters began plucking passengers a few at a time from the ship's bridge just after night fall. more than 14 hours after the fire began 300 passengers remain huddled on deck in nearly freezing temperatures waiting to be rescued.

italian media reports some children appear to be suffering from hypothermia. the fire is now partly under control. the ferry was headed across the adriatic sea from greece to italy. it's unclear how the fire started. but some who escape say the intense heat below deck melted their shoes as they scrambled for safety. >> the greek coast guard says it will be a very difficult night trying to rescue the remaining passengers. they will be battling rain strong winds and growing despair. carter evans cbs news, los angeles. >> jeff: here in the u.s. at least five are dead after a fire broke out at a senior living center near san antonio, texas. dozens were evacuated. many had to be helped out of that 11 story building. several others were hurt. the cause of that fire is under investigation tonight. the commissioner of new york city's police department had strong words today about officers who turned their backs on mayor bill de blasio at the funeral for a fallen colleague yesterday. don dahler has more on the

rift between new york's mayor and the nation's largest police force. >> tens of thousands of police officers attended yesterday's funeral. but it was in action by a few hundred that still has people talking. as mayor bill de blasio took to the podium -- >> all of the city is grieving. >> cops gathered outside turned their backs on the large television monitor. on "face the nation" this morning, new york police commissioner bill braden expressed his disappointment. >> that funeral was held to honor officer ramos and to bring politics, to bring issues into that event, i think, was very inappropriate. >> braden says part of animosity relates to difficult contract negotiations between the city and police unions. but many nypd officers also resent mayor de blasio's comments after a staten island grand jury failed to indict an officer involved in eric garner's death. he said he was astonished by the decision and admitted to worrying that his biracial son could also come to harm at the hands of the police. the president of the largest

police union pat lynch put the blame for last week's murders of officers ramos and wenjian liu on the mayor's support of anti-police protests. >> that's blood on the hand starts on the steps of city hall in the office of the mayor. >> reporter: former new york mayor rudy giuliani has been a major critic of de blasios but he says in this instance the cops were wrong. >> but i do believe mayor de blasio should a approximately gize to the new york city police department. i said it day one. and i think he would get this over with if he did it. >> now mayor de blasio has expressed his support for the nypd numerous times including during yesterday's memorial service. jeff, the fawn ral for the other officer killed wenjian liu is scheduled for next saturday. because of chinese privacy customs t is expected to be on a much smaller scale. >> jeff: don dahler, thank you. a police spokesperson in ferguson missouri, has been suspended without pay for calling a memorial to michael brown a quote pile of trash. the officer initially denied

but now admits making the remarks to the "washington post" friday morning after a car plowed through a memorial of stuffed animals and flowers. city officials say the officer's remarks do not reflect the feelings of the ferguson police department. a new blast of arctic air will have temperatures plunging across much of the u.s. this week. for more on this we're joined by eric fisher, jeef meteorologist at wbz. what's happening? >>. >> it has been so warm over the holidaysing especially in the eastern united states, it didn't feel like christmasment but now the colder air returning, in particular watching the upper midwest across the plains and front range well below average temperatures. for the rest of the country more typical winter chill that has been absent over the last faw days. core of the cold northern montana, north dakota northwestern minnesota windchill 25 to 35 below zero. we'll feel that monday through much of tuesday. then slowly the cold air works its way eastward, so monday's highs starting to see it across the northern plains. tuesday single digit highs in denver minneapolis 20 for a high in chicago and

subfreezing highs into the northeast as well. and all this with some snowfall mainly in the west some in the central plains. new year's eve might be their first snowfall six years on the vegas strip. >> jeff: eric fisher thanks very much. u.s. and nato forces held a ceremony in afghanistan today marking the end of their 13-year combat mission. but more than 13,000 troops most american will remain as they transition to a supportive role. chip reid is traveling with president obama in hawaii tonight. he has this report. >> reporter: the flag of the u.s.-led international force was lowered in a ceremony in kabul. american general john campbell rolled up the flag symbolically transferring leadership of the war to afghan forces. >> working together we cannot fail. working together we will succeed. >> reporter: in a written statement, president obama said today's ceremony in kabul marks a milestone for our country. for more than 13 years ever since 3,000 innocent lives from taken from us on 9/11

our nation has been at war in afghanistan. now thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform our combat mission in afghanistan is ending. but the end of the combat mission does not mean the end of the war. from a peak of about 100,000 u.s. traps in afghanistan, there are now about 10,600. and it will be two years before they all come home. until then u.s. forces will advise and assist afghan troops and will engage in counterterrorism operations in a war that has already taken the lives of more than 2300 american servicemen and women. and they will be facing a ferocious enemy attacks by the taliban are surging. president obama recently expanded the role of u.s. forces authorizing counterterrorism operations against the taliban in addition to al qaeda. >> well, merry christmas everybody. >> reporter: earlier in his vacation on christmas day president obama visited

marine corps base hawaii to deliver his thanks in person. >> the greatest christmas present we have is the finest military the world's ever known. >> reporter: a military that in smaller numbers will be in harm away in afghanistan for at least another two years. >> the volatile situation in afghanistan is one of many controversies the president will face when he returns to washington. but in the meantime he has another week of vacation here in hawaii where he is spending a lot of time on the beach with his family and where in nine days so far he has played golf six times. jeff? >> all right, chip, thank you very much. libya launched air strikes today in areas controlled by islamic militants. those strikes are in response to escalated attacks by extremists on the country's main oil facilities. at least 8 -- 850,000 barrels have burned in recent days. up next here a new type of savings account that gives out prize money instead of interest. and after sony decided to

release "the interview" on-line, how many people watched? the numbers are out when the "cbs evening news" continues.

>> jeff: congress squeezed quite a bit into its final days in session this year. agreements to fund the government for another year, an extension to big tax benefits. but one item you might have missed potential prize money for people who save. cbs news senior business analyst jell schlesinger is here with more on this. so these are called prize-linked savings account or plses, what are they in. >> they don't pay you interest directly, but the interest is pooled and then you have the ability to win a prize periodically. now before you think prize i'm going to get a toaster we're talking about a cash prize, can be a few dollars up to several thousand dollars. the more you save, the better chance you have to win. it's based on a british program that started in 1957. and it was great. they called it savings with

a thrill. >> jeff: congress has cleared the way for this. the president is expected to sign but we haven't seen this much in the u.s., why is that? >> there are federal mandates that actually were working against these types of accounts. so any federal thrift or organization could not use them. some states like michigan have had them. now if the president does sign t i think you will see a lot more of them. >> jeff: part of it sounds a little bit like a gimmick but it's for real. >> well behavioral economists say this taps into our desire to win big. and you know we all feel that on some level. and it can actually encourage savings. now unlike say a lottery where so many people lose there really are no losers in this. because everybody is saving so i think that's why we got both sides in congress behind it, and the president is lakely to sign. >> jeff: you have a chance to win big but you're not going to get the interest. >> that's exactly right. >> jeff: jill, thanks very much. >> great to be here. >> jeff: sony announced internet sales and rental figures for "the interview" despite being pulled from its original theatrical

release, sony says it made $15 million on-line in four days. today ale itunes showing a list of sights distributing the movie. up next girl high school basketball team says it was trying to make a statement. tournament organizers responded with one of their own

>> jeff: a blizzard stranded thousands of tourists in the french alms overnight 15,000 cars and trucks were abandoned on roads hit hard by snow. the drivers were forced to seek shelter. many were returning from holiday ski trips. the storm's started the world cup of ski jumping in germany it high winds were a big hazard there. some nearly crashed. the event was rescheduled for monday. high school basketball team has been banned from a tournament after a protest during warmups. the girls team in california wore t-shirts reading, i can't breathe, the last words of eric garner who died after a con frntation

with new york city police. tournament officials said they could play if they agreed not to wear the shirts. the girls refused. at the same time the new york giants and philadelphia eagles honored the two nypd officers killed last weekend. the rivals joined in a moment of silence before today's game. many players wore nypd caps. a member of the precinct where the fallen officers worked took part in the coin toss today. a stunning image taken from space. we notice today, here is the moonrising over the earth. the picture was tweeted by terry virts an astronaut from maryland who recently arrived at the international space station. he said hashtag moonrise. still ahead here, the nanobible. how did they fix the entire new testament on a chip the size of a fingernail.

>> finally tonight many know the bible as the good book. thanks to high-tech scholars in some cases it can now also be called the small book, very small. here's allen pizzey. >> the original bible was probably written like this feignfully inscribed by hand, a process that took years if not centuries. think musty rooms candlelight. scroll ahead a thousand years or so and think lab coats and lasers. to get where this really hightech company is engraving with what they hope the guinness-- gun is book of records will certified as the world's smallest bible. suiting up to keep the items not the people from being infected. the manufacturing process for the aptly named nanobible is something akin to a religious mystery for

anyone but a techie. >> it's little square is, in fact one single product. it's a full bible. 1,210 nanobibles on this waiver. >> to put that in perspective. >> we have here is a greek new testament. a real life book, in here is the nanonew testament. >> to read t you need a microscope that will magnify it 1,000 times. and since it's in ancient greek -- --. >> son of the messiah. >> you also need the language skills of dr. jack taser. >> i can attest that it is a true and faithful copy of the accepted greek version of the new testament. >> it's also jewelry which explains why an israeli company is making a product that has no local market. but christian tourists flock

to israel. their appetite for religious ornamentation ranging from kitsch to spiritual is inning but nano. allen pizzey cbs news jerusalem. >> jeff: that is the "cbs evening news" tonight. later on cbs 60 minutes and first thing tomorrow cbs this morning. also don't forget our new digital network cbsn. i'm jeff glor in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

plus: it's official. the 49-ers and coach jim harbaugh are going their separate ways-- leaving many frustrated fans wondering: what now? and a great white shark takes a bite out of a surfer along the central california coast. kpix 5 news is next. stunned and saddened. students

area high school are mourning the loss of a popular administrator.. killed in a bicycle accident. good evening, i'm brian hackney. i'm ann notarangelo. our christian hartnett is live outside saint mary's college keley.. where tributes stunned and saddened. a