>> axelrod: tonight the mounting death toll in syria. more civilians are reported killed as the spreading conflict closes in on damascus. elizabeth palmer is there. treacherous tunnel. john bentley takes us through the dangerous passageway that's a lifeline for nato forces in afghanistan. keeping your eye on the road and not the dashboard. mark strassmann on new federal guidelines targeting distracted drivers. and lasting image, 40 years after this vietnam war photo shocked the world, the photographer and his subject meet again. tony guida has the story. >> captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news."

>> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod. the fighting in syria is widening tonight and claiming still more civilian lives. more than 50 today alone according to one activist group. more than a dozen people are reported dead in the southern city of derra, and today there was combat, as well new york damascus itself. elizabeth palmer is there. >> united nations observers arrived in syria supposedly to monitor a ceasefire. instead they're documenting constant fighting. today they drove to an outer suburb of damascus, mehleha, and meade lay crowd formed to point out the damage they say syrian soldiers did last night. there are what looked like armored vehicle tracks in the road and burned-out cars say -- residents say were destroyed by artillery. >> yes, yes. and hospital. >> they damaged these buildings? >> yes. >> suddenly a helicopter appears overhead and the crowd starts to

chant "the syrian army are cowards." we are killing bashar. >> why would the army attack this town? well, here's a clue. all along main street opposition flags. this town is known to be anti-regime, and hint that there are anti-government fighters here. a few miles away in another suburb, it was those very anti-government fighters who we were told went on the attack yesterday with a car bomb that killed three police officers. syrians are reluctant to call this a civil war yet, but it certainly has all the hallmarks. in the southern town of derra, opposition fighters traded fire with the syrian army, which say activists then shelled civilian neighborhoods. at least 15 people died, and online video shows injured women and children being treated in a mosque. meanwhile, u.n. observers are still trying to make sense of

what they and a handful of journalists saw yesterday at the site of a massacre. a neighbor told me 78 people were murdered on wednesday by armed men, some in uniform, and some local thugs. 20 bodies were piled in this house alone. by the time the u.n. arrived, only ruin, blood stains and ammunition cases were visible. but a pattern seemed to be emerging. the victims were sunni muslim, a group active against the regime. as for the attackers, witnesses say they were regime supporters. there is a real fear now that ethnic violence may become ethnic cleansing. in fact, one of the u.n. observers said to me yesterday when we were in the village of qubair, "i haven't seen anything like this since i was in bosnia." >> axelrod: you've been in and out of syria several times in the last few months.

does damascus feel any different tonight than it did a few weeks ago? >> very much some the fighting is coming closer to downtown. in fact, last night, jim, for the first time there was a stunned gun bat until a very prestigious and stable neighborhood. in fact, the one where the u.s. embassy was located until the embassy staff were evacuated. >> axelrod: liz palmer in damascus for us tonight, thank you. russia's foreign minister said today that the situation in syria is becoming "more alarming." but he repeated his country's opposition to the use of outside force to stop the killing. with no sign of foreign intervention, the syrian regime has free rein to brutally crack down on the opposition. from washington, whit john son ads more. >> reporter: in its effort to crush the rebellion, the syrian government has unleashed a deadly one-two punch. first there's the syrian army, accused of attacks like this one in northwest syria on april 3rd. activists say helicopters, tanks

and heavy artillery slaughtered 57 people. but the regime is also known to deploy the shabiaha, meaning ghost in arabic, armed thugs loyal to president bashar al-assad. this amateur video reportedly shows shabiah beating and torturing an unarmed man. residents say the houla massacre on may 25th that u.s. observers confirmed began with shelling from the u.s. army, but it was shabiha, they say, who plunsdered the town at night, committing most of the murders. villagers also blame shabiha for wednesday's massacre in qubair and the killing of nearly 80 men, women and children. >> it's a coordinated effort. >> andrew tabler says the syrian army, estimated nearly 300,000, is a strong internal force, but as the uprising spreads, it needs help from the shabiha,

long used as gangsters for the regime. >> this is not a new concept. they're just being used in a new way. and that is to reassert fear in these areas, to try to convince people who have been out in the streets for 15 or 16 months to go home. >> reporter: the shabiha also give the assad regime cover, allowing the government to blame these massacres on terrorism and foreign influences. so far the only peace process the international community has come up with is clearly failing. jim? >> axelrod: whit johnson in washington, thank you. in afghanistan today, a suicide bomber dressed in a berkea killed four french soldiers and wounded five others. since pakistan closed the khyber pass border crossing late last year, nato has had to supply its forces through the salang tunnel, a 1.6-mile-long soviet relic with unforgiving dimensions and a deadly history. here's john bentley. [horn honks] >> reporter: with only inches to spare, this huge tanker

squeezed past a bus through the salang tunnel. the badly-rutted road can jam trucks against the rocks or tip them over. drivers can wait for more than a week to get through this dangerous mountain pass. despite the risks, coalition troops rely on the tunnel for 85% of their fuel. this is the best route available since pakistan closed its borders to nato trucks seven months ago. since then a tunnel built for 1,000 vehicles a day has ten times that traffic. afghan general mohammad rajab is in charge of maintenance on the pass. "it's just one accident away from disaster," he said, "and unless something is done soon, it will be impossible for the tunnel to function." the tunnel has no light and the ventilation system doesn't work. the air is choked with such high levels of carbon monoxide that some passengers get sick. while there are other routes through the hindu kush mountains, this is the only one that's protected, so drivers have to make a choice: either

take their chances on this road or risk being attacked by insurgents. like many here, this driver hauls fuel for u.s. troops. "i have been stuck for days on this road," he said. "it's very dangerous." >> the salang tunnel was built by the soviets in 1964 but never completely finished. almost 1,000 soviet troops died of asphyxiation in 1982 when an explosion trapped them in the tunnel. since then hundreds of travelers have died of accidents and avalanches. coalition forces wouldn't comment on the tunnel. [horn honks] but general rajab told us nato should pay for the repairs the added traffic has caused. "their convoys destroyed the road," he said. "they have a responsibility to help us rebuild it." so far there are no plans to rebuild. the salang remains a critical artery for coalition supplies. john bentley, cbs news, salang, afghanistan.

>> axelrod: spain today joined greece, ireland and portugal in seeking an emergency bailout from its euro zone partners. the country's economy minister says the cash is needed to save spain's battered banks. e.u. finance ministers say they're ready to give madrid up to $125 billion. in washington, treasury secretary timothy geithner welcomed the e.u.'s bailout. there are fears europe's economic crisis could cross the atlantic and drag down the fragile u.s. economy. turning our attention to new mexico where three wildfires are burning across the state, one of them expanding from 100 to 10,000 acres overnight. this is only making matters worse in a state where firefighting resources are already stretched to the limit. lee cowan has the latest. >> reporter: what they called "the little bear fire" was until last night just that, little. but stiff winds turned it into a monster. it jumped 100 times its original size before the sun came up

today. 10,000 acres and growing. firefighters say flames are leaping 150 feet in the air and hot embers are being carried by the wind, igniting the tinder-dry forest as far as two miles away from the main fire line. while the area is not heavily populated, at least a dozen homes have been damaged or destroyed. but it's the frosty of the blaze that has fire crews concerned and conditions are only expected to deteriorate. the national weather service has issued a red flag warning for much of new mexico today and tomorrow, making a lot of people nervous. there are several fires burning, including a blaze in southwestern new mexico that's khared a staggering 423 square miles. it's the largest wildfire recorded in the state's history and the largest currently burning in the nation. lee cowan, cbs news, los angeles. >> axelrod: late ear government crackdown on dashboard distractions, a reunion of two people behind an unforgettable image from the vietnam war, and a second chance

for high school drop-outs. those stories when the "cbs for high school drop-outs. those stories when the "cbs evening news" continues. tourism season in years.st

excitement of the high school graduation season, it's easy to overlook the fact that one in four american high school students drop out before getting their diploma. with job prospects for drop-outs bleecker than ever, an innovative program is helping many of them get back on track. this is a day many in this room thought would never come. a day when 50 high school drop-outs are receiving their diplomas. the future is now looking much brighter for 19-year-old nick andino. >> if i didn't finish school,

the best job i could get was pumping gas or flipping burgers at mcdonald's. >> the companies are creating no jobs for them, zero. >> doug stites says unlike in previous decades, unskilled plus unschooled equals unemployed. >> how are they ever going to get chance? they're never going to own a house. they're never going to buy a harley. they're cut off from the economic middle class from the rest of their life. >> there are 31 million high school drop-outs in the u.s. more than half are unemployed. the majority of those under 30 who do have jobs work part time and make an average of $9,400 a year. but this class beat the odds. they found newbridge. >> so each one of you have different strengths. >> axelrod: a 20-year-old public/private partnership that helps drop-outs earn a high school diploma and places them in schools and jobs. >> these young adults are the ones that we've pushed aside. >> axelrod: robert parker is the newbridge c.e.o. >> but that's very short-sighted. they're going to collect food

stamps and they're not going to be taxpayers. in a sense we're investing in these people in order for them to pay back. >> and then we move up the top. >> axelrod: brian wells, a recent newbridge graduate, is at 19 already paying it bang. >> i feel like i'm 100% where i should be. >> axelrod: newbridge helped place this high school drop-out at a top automotive school and then provide job leads. wells is now a mechanic at a mercedes dealership. >> i got my self-confidence. i can get this. i can do this. it's no longer i can't. >> axelrod: which perfectly sums up nick andino's future, as well, future chef nick andino. >> i feel it's great to know that i will be going to college soon, and i will get a job that i want. >> 12 months ago they were sleeping late and the parents were pulling their hair, and all of a sudden they're in a cap and gown walking in front of the crowd of people applauding and

saying, you did it. you did it. >> axelrod: newbridge is compiling an impressive report card. 85% of the graduates we just saw will move on the college or vocational school, many while juggling jobs, as well. ahead, putting the brakes on dashboard distractions. that story is next.

being driven to distraction. more and more dash boards on new cars are looking like video games. the trouble starts when drivers pay more attention to their dash boards than the road. mark strassmann now with a new effort to ensure more technology doesn't mean less safety. >> reporter: ups driver ron "big dog" sowder retired last month with a remarkable safety record. 50 years behind the wheel of his big rig and not a single fender bender. you've driven four million miles without an accident. how is that possible? >> i always keep my space in between other vehicles. >> reporter: what is it that causes most accidents? >> inattention i believe. >> reporter: distracted driving. the department of transportation estimates it plays part in one-quarter of all accidents and kills more than 3,000 people a year. the dot's new focus is dashboard

distractions. in some cars as worrisome as handheld cell phones. transportation secretary ray lahood. >> and our guidelines are saying to car companies, if you're going to put all this technology in cars, don't allow people to use it while they're supposed to be driving safely. >> reporter: those new guidelines call for automakers to disable certain functions while driving, restrict the number of button presses for a single task to six, and limit the time a driver needs to look away from the road to two seconds. >> these are some of the complexities of it. >> reporter: david champion directs automobile testing for "consumer reports." he showed us distracting car technology, such as the gps system in the audi a6. we can do destination, address. i'm looking to find the right letter. my eyes have been off the road for i don't know how many second, but just to get to this point here, so i have to rotate this down to the left. press list. and then rotate the down.

>> that is a lot of steps. >> that's a lot of steps as you're driving along. >> or the radio in this lincoln mkx. >> all these controls are touch sensitive. to look while you're driving, to touch, you know, the area that you want is very distracting to use. >> reporter: constantly fumbling. >> you're constantly fumbling with it. >> and big dog sowder growls at gizmos on your dashboard. >> multitasking, you can't do that and drive i don't think. >> reporter: the dot agrees and says dashboard distractions are a growing danger. mark strassmann, cbs news, colchester, connecticut. >> axelrod: the girl scouts of merrimacked their centennial today with a jamboree on the national mall. organizers say it's the largest gathering of girl scouts ever, some 200,000 in all, from every state around the world. russia's maria sharapova made tennis history today. sharapova completed a career grand slam after capturing the women's singles title at the french open. she defeated italy's sara errani

6-3, 6-2 and collapsed to the clay in victory, overwhelmed at becoming just the tenth woman ever to win all four major tennis tournaments. the third jewel in horse racing's triple crown, the mile and a half belmont stakes in new york, went to union ration, who came from behind to win. the derby and preakness winner "i'll have another" was scratched and retired yesterday after being injured. ahead, reunited 40 years after the photo that shocked the world. that story is next. good insurance. yup, i've got... ve

entering a london hospital for a bladder infection, britain's prince philip was released today, apparently restored to his usual pippy self. asked if he was feeling better, the prince answered, "well, i wouldn't be coming out if i wasn't." prince philip turns 91 tomorrow. it's now been 40 years since this photograph shocked people around the world. it would win the pulitzer prize and galvanize opposition to the vietnam war. last night in toronto, canada, that child and the photographer who took the picture reunited to mark the anniversary of this iconic image. here's tony guida. >> kim puck, a nine-year-old girl runs crying, screaming, she is naked, her clothes and some skin burned away by napalm. her wounds could have killed her. ironically, this photograph may

have saved her life. >> i want to honor all my heroes. >> kim phuc got the chance last night, an occasion for her to thank strangers who knew her only as the girl in the picture but fought to save her life. her heroes include the british journalist who gave a traumatized child water from his canteen. vietnamese photographer nick ut who took the picture then rushed her to a small, nearby hospital. and former nurse, 91-year-old martha arsenault from quebec. >> somebody took care of her, but now she's taking care of other people. >> principally through a foundation that helps child victims of war and in her work through the u.n. as an ambassador for peace. the scars kim phuc battled were not only physical. for years she battled anger, hatred and self-pity. >> is the fear always there?

>> yes. i remember the terrifying the moment i got burned. i remember that. >> finally she learned to forgive. she now treasures the harrowing photo. >> i can use that picture to promote peace, to talk with people, let them know that is the real war. >> the child from that photo is now 49 and has two children of her own. she is determined to channel her suffering into lessons for them and for future generations. tony guida, cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: and that is the "cbs evening news." later on cbs, "48 hours mystery." for all of us here at cbs news, i'm jim axelrod in new york. good night.