elections. >> it took the jury just four hours hours to return the guilty verdict in this first- ever election on fraud law. >> a jury convicted him on charges. the call the jury agreed was intended to suppress african american voter turnout. >> it's an attempt by the state to regulate the content ofit political speech. >> three jurors said they took issue with wording on the call that made it sound like it was coming from the democratic party, and not bob ehrlich. schurick admitted he approved. >> he is a nice guy. but sometimes nice guys do the wrong thing.

>> suppression of the vote, or confusion to suppress the vote is a very big problem because our country is founded on the right to vote. >> reporter: it's a victory for state prosecutor emit daffit, who hopes the conviction sends a message. >> that this is not just unfair tactics, not just political dirty tricks. it's against the law and we the enforce it. >> paul schurick faces the possibility of up to 12 years in prison, when he is sentenced on oned scaij 16th. it is unlikely he will get that much. time. >> former governor bob ehrlich said, quote, while i vehemently disagree with the decision from the jury, i do support our legal system and continue to support my friend, paul schurick. >> reporter: and a short time after schurick was found guilty, a federal judge handed

out one of the longest sentences ever for this. jack johnson learns he heads to prison. >> reporter: jack johnson got one of the longest sentences for corruption. and he apologized to the people of prince george's county. >> reporter: johnson, once the leader of maryland's second largest county, sold his office, prosecutors say bribes worth millions of dollars and then laughing off the investigation. if one of the prosecutors is able to bring somebody like me down, they brag their whole career, you know. i prosecute jack johnson. [ laughter ] >> reporter: but he was not laughing in federal court when a judge ordered him to pay $100,000, seized his classic 1953 mercedes like this one, and sentenced him to seven years and three months in federal prison. johnson's lawyers argued with his medical problems, that's a death sentence. but the judge shot back.

you were not elected to line your pockets. you brought this on yourself. >> reporter: if jack johnson's johnson's story were a screenplay, critics would say it's too bizarre to be true. >> reporter: and johnson got his wife leslie involved. asking her to hide thousands of diswhrz in -- dollars in bribe money. >> put it your panties, leslie. yeah, stuff it in your panties. >> reporter: johnson said he is now suffering from parkinsons disease. he said, i fell from grace. judge, i pray that you will be merciful. i am a very ill man. >> jack johnson could have been a role model for integrity, instead he chose to be a poster child for corruption. >> reporter: at federal court in prince george's county, mike hellgren, wjz eyewitness news. >> and johnson will report to prison, february 3rd. new information tonight about a sex assault inside an anne arundel county school. mary is live in the newsroom

with the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: a 14-year-old boy is now charged with attempted rape. the investigation began when a female student said she was attacked inside a girls bathroom at arundel hills high school. the suspect was served on a juvenile citation. he has been released to the custody of a relative. school officials have been working closely with police to prevent any contacts between the suspect and the victim. back to you, vic. >> the police investigation remains open. well, turning to the weather, there are changes on the horizon. a live look outside right now. it's still rather warm out there, albeit wet. bob turk is tracking rain and possibly snow headed this way. >> seems hard to believe because it's still 62 degrees out there. hasn't dropped one bit all afternoon. take a look at radar. there's spotty rain around most of it, now south and east of the region. but there's still a little more down across virginia there. locally, very light, echoes here. west of us, spotty rain.

eastern shore, that's where it's raining steady. and it's rather light. and west of us, more spotty rains. so it's not going to be heavy tonight. looks like tomorrow will kind of fill in and see more rain. perhaps even heavy rain can develop by late tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow night. and then this low pressure will pass quickly off to the east. and what happens is the winds go back to the north. colder air comes to the north. so just before the rain comes in. we'll probably see the rain mixed with snow for hours, early thursday morning. we'll talk about what we expect here on thursday. coming up in a few minutes. new information tonight about what went wrong in a drug raid in anne arundel county that left an officer shot. wjz is live. mike schuh updates this investigation. >> reporter: the stakeout and arrest by regional narcotics task force went by the book. but the subsequent search of the house we learned tonight, that's when things went wrong. >> reporter: here, near fort

meade, so many neighbors worked during the day, that the retired woman in the house lets their friends send packages to their door. that's just what happened when the cops sho -- showed up on monday. >> the homeowner tells me, she didn't even think about it. sign for the door. didn't even look at the package or who it was from, left it on the stoop and went inside. then 10 minutes later, the police task force arrived with a search warrant. >> reporter: outside, a friend of the homeowner, 31-year-old andre jackson is arrested as he collects the package, containing 21 pounds of reefer. jackson also has $twitch,000. -- $25,000. officers go inside to check for accomplices. hardly inside, there was an accident. >> there was an accidental discharge of a weapon from an officer. >> the detective shot starts shooting. >> believing that they were under fire at the time, also discharged the weapon several times. >> reporter: being questioned upstairs, the homeowner.

>> this is so crazy. >> reporter: the detectives bullets go through the wall. five of them. >> this is crazy. >> the back door slider, shot out. both sides, standing here. turn around and look the other way. >> they shot the refrigerator. why? it was empty. >> at anyempty, too, it seems are her hopes that they will pay for the cleanup. >> i'm stuck with damages. >> but today, she learns the county might pay. but she could file a formal claim. >> they they could certainly assess that risk through the county management. >> reporter: the city officer who was struck is on medical leave. he's been with the force for 16 years. reporting live, mike slew, wjz eyewitness news. >> the baltimore narcotics officer who accidentally shot the first shot is a 26-year veteran. he is now on paid administrative leave pending the outeconomist investigation. we now know what sparked the blaze that left nearly 100.

investigators say a tea kettle was left on a stove in one of the units. and the resulting fire quickly spread to several other apartments. no one was hurt. a big day downtown, as baltimore native, stephanie rawlings-blake is sworn in as the 49th mayor. >> reporter: stephanie rawlings- blake first became mayor of baltimore to replace sheila dixon who resigned in disgrace. as of today, she is now the city's elected chief executive. >> reporter: mayor rawlings- blake takes the oath of office. >> without partiality or prejudice. without partiality or prejudice. >> execute the office of mayor of baltimore. >> execute the office of mayor of baltimore. >> according to the constitution and laws of this state. >> according to the constitution and laws of this state. >> ma'am, you have been so sworn. may i be among the first to

congratulate you. >> reporter: in the drizzle, amid a bloom of umbrellas, the mayor stated her goal. by making sacrifices and everybody pitching in to do their part. >> this is a new way of thinking for some of us. it will require a leap forward in renewed faith and trust. but it's how we begin to gather, to grow baltimore again. and we can get to work right now. >> reporter: hers is a 10-year- long plan and she hopes for another term of office after this new one. >> a shrinking city simply cannot stand. but a growing city is the center of a creative and stronger society. this work is urgent. it is the urgent work before us. it begins in earnest today. right now, baltimore. we can make it happen. thank you very much. god bless.

>> reporter: mayor rawlings- blake has also come up with a task force to come up with a 10- year financial plan for the city of baltimore. report being live, i'm pat warren. back to you on tv hill. >> there is an inaugural ball. >> i didn't bring my tux. >> i think it would be just as appropriate. >> we'll see. still to come on wjz eyewitness news. >> i'm alex demetrick. coming up, a close call. that story as eyewitness news continues. a family member comes to the defense of the man who tried to assassinate president reagan. more on the future of john hinckley. i'm mary bubala. guess who is behind me. ricky williams of the ravens. coming up, we'll show you how play 60 is in a baltimore school today. and still drizzling out there in some areas. after a very gray day. will snow follow this way? we'll update coming up. ,,,,,,

900 gallons of gasoline. alex demetric reports, it was triggered by a rapid chain reaction collision. >> heavily traveled route 3 was sealed off after a car and two trucks collided. investigators say this box truck swerved toward a second truck, hauling 900 gallons of gasoline. >> the tractor-trailer driver apparently attempted to evade the crash but was unable to do

so, struck the back of that box truck and then went into the median and overturned. >> reporter: the crash began a very long night for prince george's county firefighters, who had to oversee a potentially explosive situation. keeping the cover back until the gasoline could be transferred into another tanker. >> it posed enough of a danger to keep the roadway closed. but the source of that spill did not come from inside the tanker. >> troopers told me today that they believed the only fuel that spilled was actually coming out of the gasoline tanks, the fuel tanks on that tractor-trailer, not from the trailer itself. so we were fortunate overall that there was not an explosion. >> reporter: alex demetrick, wjz eyewitness news. >> no one was seriously injured in the accident, which was finally cleared, during the morning commute. maryland's newest casino is almost ready to fill hundreds of job openings. maryland live casino at arundel mills is looking to fill

several management positions. officials are urging job seekers to start applying right now. when it is finished, the casino will feature 4,000 slot machines and table games. the first feature opens in june. the nfl awards 32 deals. mary joins us now with more. one of the favorite players. >> they are -- ray rice. for ravens running back. but today, he turned the attention to the students, presenting him with the $10,000 play 60 grant. >> what's it like to connect with kids there tonight. >> it's amazing because i'm a big kid at heart. >> ray then got active with a hula hoop, while they did

squats with the students. ask andre gerrard got the kids running. >> it amazing me a lot, seeing how they exercise even more. >> play 60 launched in 2007 with the goal of getting nfl players into school. showing kids they need to be active for at least 60 minutes a day. >> people look at us and you see guys. but it's really a buildup. >> students donated $500,000 to the charity. >> i'm so glad i'm here today. >> and they honored the check. >> to find out we won and find this happen. it's just amazing. it's awesome. >> lots of screaming all day long. emaculate heart. and how students answered some essay questions.

a lot of money out there. >> of course, the first placed ravens take on the indianapolis colts. we have the best seat in the house. we have more live. continues this saturday. you can see the 12th edition of the army-navy game here on wjz 13. looks like it will be clear, cool. good football weather. >> sunday here. 40, 42 degrees. still, it has not moved one iota. all afternoon. 93% humidity. still south/southwest winds at 8. the barometer has been holding steady. come back and look at that big change headed our way right after this. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

here's a live look outside right now. >> very, very mild conditions. our normal high today is 48. right now, we are still stuck at 62 degrees. which is really remarkable. really like october or april-

may weather. school here. 63 at pax river. and over in ocean city 59. even in oakland, it's still warm at 52 degrees. hagerstown, 59. columbia, 62. rock hall, kent island, annapolis, coming in at 59 degrees. remember, the airport there is right on the potommic. cooling down temporarily. southerly winds, southwesterly winds. keep this warm air in for about maybe 23 hours or so. start bringing in potentially cooler air. to the west of us this afternoon, snow across portions of the midwest. south and west of us, just rain across this region. but as this rain moves into this air mass that is going to be coming in from the northwest, it may just get cold enough for a transition by early thursday morning. i'm talking after midnight

tomorrow night, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 in the morning. maybe an hour, two hour, three- hour period, where it can snow even in the baltimore region. right now, there's not a whole lot of rain. we go back and in north carolina, there's rain building down there. so a wet night tonight. not drenching downpours. but tomorrow, another low pressure moving up from south is going to tap more moisture. we could see milder, even heavy rain. late in the day tomorrow. and then the chilly air starts moving in. but the low, quickly moving out. so it will be kind of a draw play, enough moiferlts is left. there could be a little snow on the other around our region. how much? in garrett county, there could be heavy snow. some neighboring counties could see a couple of inches. locally, here's what we expect. basically across the central portions of maryland. a trace. streets, nothing. just too warm. north and west, maybe as much as an inch or three inches.

far western maryland. some of the higher elevations. 3, 5, maybe 6 or 7 inches. south and west, just rain with temperatures above freezing. north winds, there you go. 5 to 10 knots. and the small craft advisory on the bay. tomorrow night, bay temp around 60. tomorrow night, rain, fog, drizzle. mild. 56 for the low. tomorrow, back up to 58. but that will occur early in the day. temps falling. rain and then it could end as a period of wet snow. late, late tomorrow night, into early thursday. then sunshine comes back out on thursday afternoon. once again, the road temperatures are around 60 degrees right now. >> can still put bulbs in the ground if we have to. >> it is moving day for east baltimore. andrea fujii explains, some women, including famous faces made it possible. it may be a gloomy day outside. but inside, it's all smiles and dancing as moms and sons tour

their habitat for humanity home. >> i like it. and i just want to be in our own house. >> after eight month of hard work, they have the keys. construction on this east baltimore home began in may, complete with help from the orioles's' wives, including manager buck showalter's wife. >> hallmark is important to have. >> reporter: this home is part of the organization's women build project. 75% of the labor is built by women. 100% of the funds are raised by women. >> reporter: homeowner sequoia gaylord contributed 250 hours of sweat equity. >> i can pinpoint things, walls i've imorked down and work i- done in the your. >> reporter: and there is a mortgage. the family will pay one-third of their income with a 0% income. >> i can at least feel more confident with my son, you

know, being outside and playing. and i guess better school systems. >> reporter: and a room 9-year- old jay den doesn't ever have to share. >> it's mine. i own it. >> reporter: so far this yore, habitat for humanity has built 35 homes for baltimore and arundel families. >> reporter: the women build project is planning to build another home next year. they're looking for a family to fill it. for information, log onto wjz.com, click on the seen on section and look for this story. >> so you could work out your frustration. >> i have done it. it's a lot of fun. >> really? >> you know that. chainsaws. i do it all. >> there's nothing more frightening. still to come. a terrifying crash for dozens of people, siting down to eat lunch. the details coming up. monstrous crime. the search for a little girl in georgia comes to a tragic end. a holy day turns violent in afghanistan. the latest on a brazen attack that rocked the nation. ,,,,,,,,

it is 6:28. 62 degrees and partly cloudy

outside, as we look over the harbor. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. the worst since the fall of the taliban a decade ago. dozens of people are killed and hundreds injured. heather has more on the chaos. >> reporter: the first blast hit during religious ceremonies near a mosque in kabul. a suicide bomber killed more than 50 people and wounded more than 160 others. survivors held shoes of the dead and wept in the streets. several more afghans died in a second blast. a bomb strapped to a bicycle, exploded near a mosque. this happened on the shiite holy day of assura. the -- ashoura. the taliban condemned the violence. attacks on religious days are rare.

afghan president hamid karzai called the first attack unprecedented in scope. it happened near the presidential palace where he lives. he spoke from germany, a day after afghanistan's western allies pledged long-term support, once their combat troops leave the country. president obama has pledged to pull u.s. forces out by the end of 2014. heather cobar, wjz 13 eyewitness news. >> ashoura is the biggest event in the shiite muslim calendar. making it the largest event of worshipers. a target for military attacks. wjz has just obtained this video of the scene at west patapsco avenue in baltimore. firefighters say a person was struck by a light rail train just after 4:00 this afternoon. we don't have word yet on the person's condition or how the accident happened. buses are transporting light rail. well, family members of the

man who tried assassinate president reagan say he diswerves more freedom. -- deserves more freedom. >> hinckley's sister, diane, told a federal judge, her brother does not bother anyone when he is allowed free time outside the mental hospital. hinckley has been confined in st. elizabeth hospital washington since 1981, after a jury found him insane when he shot and nearly killed president reagan. over the years, he has allowed more time outside that facility. his fam argues he should be allowed to be able to spend up to three weeks unsupervised at his mom's house in virginia. hinckley's sister said she doesn't believe he poses a threat to anyone. >> reporter: prosecutors say they are not convinced that hinckley is well enough to be allowed additional freedom. police are looking for a killer tonight. and the victim is a en-year-old girl. the body was found near a trash bin.

police say she was sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten to death. after being abducted while getting a drink for her mother's friend at a playground. >> the investigators feel very strongly that the kill erof the child resides in the apartment complex, or has ready access to that apartment complex. so our efforts at this point are in that area. >> police hope to find information that leads them to a suspect. two elderly women strip searched by the tsa at a busy airport. it is once against raising questions about public security, versus the right to private security. kathryn brown has more on this controversy. >> reporter: they took me into a private room and strip- searched me. >> that was the first time my -- i had to do that. >> reporter: ruth sherman and

lenore zimmerman don't know each other, and they weren't traveling together last weekend. but the women have strikingly similar stories. >> she said, will you pull your pants down, please? then she pulled my underwear down. >> please remove your pants, low -- lower your pants. that's what i did. >> reporter: both women said they were forced to take off their clothes in a private screening last weekend, one day apart as part of an extended patdown by tsa agents. >> this 85-year-old woman, they thought needed to be strip- searched. >> reporter: congressman peter king, who chairs the department on homeland security points out not all terrorists look like terrorists. and the incident highlights a frustrating problem. >> there have been cases overseas, where elderly women and young children have been used to hide bombs. so i understand why the tsa is concerned but you can't treat everyone the same. >> the tsa is getting better and better alt finding the

balance between privacy and security, but as this case shows, they still have a ways to g. >> reporter: they issued i statement, saying, quote, the tsa does not include strip searches as part of our security protocols and one was not conducted in this case. but there are no security cameras in the private screening room. so it boils down to a he said, she said. state senator michael desnaris is outraged auto what they say happened. and he is demanding a deeper investigation. >> where there's smoke, there's fire. and it seems we have tsa agents that are crossing the lines in terms of their search of passengers. both women say they are considering legal action against the tsa. new developments in the penn state sex abuse scandal tonight. a lawyer for one young man who accused former football coach jerry sandusky of sexual abuse expects at least five to testify. sandusky denies any wrongdoing.

at any time, disgraced governor rod blagojevich could learn his fate for corruption in office. he was convicted for trying to sell president obama's senate seat after he was elected. prosecutors want him elected. blagojevich's attorney says that he has already paid a price and should get just a few years. president obama heads to america's heartland, trying to sell his taxplan to the middle class. as danielle nottingham reports from washington, lawmakers have just four weeks to strike a deal or taxes will go up. >> reporter: president obama laid out his case for economic fairness in front of hundreds of supporters, packed into a kansas high school. >> this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class. >> reporter: the president channeled one of his predecessors to argue that all americans deserve a fair shot at financial security. republican president theodore

roosevelt delivered a similar plea in the same small town of osawatamy more than a century ago. president obama argued that fair shot includes extending the payroll tax break, set to expire at the end of the month. >> if we don't do that, 160 million americans, including most of people here, will see their taxes go up by an average of $1,000. >> both parties say they want an extension. but lawmakers are still at odds for how to pay for it. two senators offered a bipartisan proposal tuesday. >> their plan would pay for the extension with a 2% tax on millionaires and provide an exception for small business owners. >> we're protecting the owner- operator. on the front lines, running the business. creating those jobs. >> reporter: still, it may not be enough to convince fellow lawmakers. many republicans insist any tax hikes would damage economic

growth. the white house is using a countdown clock to remind lawmakers, time is running out to reach a deal. in washington, danielle nottingham, wjz eyewitness news. >> and that bipartisan proposal is one of several plans being floated around capitol hill. senators have voted down two so far. one proposed solely by democrats. the other proposed by a group of republicans. time now for a look at the baltimore sun. more on the verdict and possible political fallout of the guilty verdict in the robocall trial. a look at how increased demand has made maryland crab a rare ingredient in maryland crab cakes. this saturday will be the last. remember to look for the update the forecast from wjz's first warning weather team. and style to come on wjz's eyewitness news. a robbery attempt ends very badly for a man in chicago. why police say he picked the wrong person to prey on. a young model is lucky to be alive, after a freak

accident on an air field. we'll tell you what happened next. i'm bob turk in the first warning weather center. warmth to depart the region. i'll have the exclusive first warning five-day forecast. and wjz is always on. here top stories. for updates on all the day's news, and the updated forecast any time, log onto wjz.com. ,,,,

a california driver will likely not face charges for an unusual accident. take a look at surveillance video from inside a san diego restaurant, as the car plows through the dining room. police say the driver mistook the accelerator for the break. and of course, you see the result. police in chicago say a would-be mugger picked up the wrong victim. take a look at what happened as 24-year-old anthony mir randa. police say he tried to rob a mixed martial arts champion friday night. got a beating for it. the fighter does not want police to release his identity at this point. a young woman remains hospitalized after walking into a plane propeller. jd miles has the story. >> reporter: lawrence scruggs had a career when a flight on a

small plane left her disfigured and close to death. >> i asked her if she could hear me. if she could hear me, to squeeze my hand and she did. >> scruggs' parents maintained their christian faith while maintaining a vigil. sources say the pilot was hosting a party at his house near the lun way. and taking a look from the air. >> the faa says the young woman was exiting the aircraft when she moved right into the moving propeller blade. >> scruggs had risks. itself appeared as though she put up her left left hand to block her face. >> she was even responding today. this afternoon, she was moving around the bed, which was really good. she's uncomfortable, but moving, which is a good thing. >> the pirot did not respond to

our request for an interview. the faa declined an interview but released a statement saying, we will release a pilot and any other witnesses. scruggs' spokesperson spokesperson handled this. >> we really believe that this is one of those horrific accidents that just happened. >> we know that lauren will soar because of this. and she was hit by a propeller, but she will be propelled to do god's work and to claim him in all that she does. >> now, there is no timetable on how long it will take scruggs to recover. a christmas carol is at the center of controversy. the music city in travers city, decided to change the lyrics to deck the halls because one word in particular had the students giggling. the word is "gay." but in this case, it refers to happy or joyful.

so the teacher decided to change the words to don we now our bright apparel. >> students were snickering at the lyrics. she had attempted to get them back on track quite a few times and just decided to make a change in the wording. >> reporter: the principal said he wished the teacher would have used the situation as a teach believe moment. teachable moment. scott pelley has a preview of what's coming up tonight on the cbs evening news. the images the syrian dictator does not want you to see. cbs news gets inside syria and speaks to a growing army fighting for freedom. that's tonight on the cbs evening news. >> thanks, scott. and here's a look at tonight's closing numbers from wall street. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,

stir we could be in store for a wet night bob has the updated first warning weather forecast. late, late wednesday night. it's going to start mild as it is. it will be turning colder during the afternoon.

temperatures dropping back into the 40s late tomorrow night, getting bag into the mid- to upper 30s. then we could see a transition to wet snow around the region. most of us, as we said, in the area. 48 on friday. chilly for the weekends. but sunshine. 42. and 44 on sunday. good football weather this weekend. >> let's hope for good football. can the ravens count on their kicker to win a close game? >> some fans say they are losing confidence. mark has the latest next in sports. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

oh, boy, the colts are coming to town. marx is here with the sports report. >> kicker matt stover. with him gone, we'll see how this goes. ravens, heavy favorites to beat the colts. and a fourth sunday win would certainly keep the ravens' play- off hopes alive. how important is the home field? one way to answer that is to look at the ravens' kicker. billy cundiff hasn't missed a field goal at home this season.

he's 16-16. but he suffers a drathe maic dropoff on the road. he missed two field goals in cleveland sunday. on the road, he's just made 10 of 15 attempts. coach harbaugh says he believes in cun dif. >> he expects to make all of those kicks. and that's, you know, of course we all agree with that. but it's a little tougher sometimes, i think, than we realize. the way the wind was blowing, it was tough to kick the ball. not an excuse. just the reality. but he knows, and billy will tell you, he has to make every kick. >> a short 21-yarder after missing the two. of his eight, five have been long ones. colts should not come down to kicks. a game you can see here on wjz. coverage comes your way at

1:00. still hard to believe, the ravens lost to the lowly jaguars. mel tucker, taken over on an interim basis. jacks played host to struggling san diego. but phillip rivers and the chargers came to life monday night and did something at jacksonville the ravens couldn't. they beat the jags. and they did it decisively. they led the rest of the way. that was the first of three t.d. passes for rivers. chargers win, 38-14. that snapped a 16-game losing streak for them. ravens play at san diego a week from sunday. major changes continue to alter the college football landscape. the next big move belongs to the big east. now, east refers to the eastern part of the united states. but the big east is about to add san diego state, boise state, houston and southern methodist. some for football only. all nowhere near the east.

the naval act in espn reports both navy and espn. that would not be affected by navy joining a conference. slugger albert puhols is a free agent. and the miami marlins have thrown serious bait his way. pujols received a 10- yearconference. dollar amount unknown, but believed to be in the range of $25 million. pujols played all. they offered him a mere nine- year deal. you want that guaranteed extra year. and miami may give it to him.

>> you know how many cuban sandwiches? >> oh, wow. >> thank you, mark. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

don't miss the cbs primetime lineup tonight. it's an episode of the hit drama, unforgettable, followed by eyewitness news at 11:00. that's it for us tonight at 6:00. back for us at 11:00, i'm denise koch. >> for bob and mark, i'm vic carter. don't go away. there's much more ahead on the cbs evening news with scott pelley, including what the numbers in the new cbs news poll mean for gop presidential hopeful newt gingrich. we'll have those stories plus so much more. we invite you to join us back here at 11:00. but for now, we'll take you to the cbs evening news in new york with scott pelley. we'll see you later. ,, >> pelley: tonight, inside syria. clarissa ward travels to meet syrian army defectors who refuse to fire on their own people.

>> reporter: we left at night and were blindfolded in the backseat as the car twisted along back roads outside of damascus. >> pelley: the battle for iowa. our new poll tonight finds newt gingrich opening a wide lead. dean reynolds is there. in the investigation of a possible death by hazing, florida a&m defends itself but anna werner speaks to the victim's parents. and the final days. jim axelrod is with american soldiers as they get ready to leave iraq. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. dozens of bodies, some decapitated, others dismembered, have been dumped in the streets of one syrian city. the violence in the syrian rev lyings in hitting new heights as the obama administration increases the pressure tonight on the dictatorship of bashar