>> tonight, combat alert, ukraine pushes back after russia send troops into the country, while the u.n. and u.s. work the diplomatic channels. elizabeth palmer in ukraine, and margaret brennan in washington have the latest. they wanted rain in california, but how much is too much? john blackstone on the continuing threat of mid-slides. big changes for frequent flyers as delta decideses to reward passengers for dollars spent, rather than miles flown. jeff pegues is tracking the reaction. and backcountry snow boarding. sharyn alfonsi has the remarkable pictures of an adventururer who dares to go

where others have note. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod. it has been a day of high tension in ukraine, in particular the southern peninsula known as crimea. russia has sent thousands of troops into crimea where many ethnic russians live. the troops were deployed after the russian parliament gave vladimir putin the go-ahead to use military force to protect russian interests in crimea. the new government in ukraine, which had a revolution last weekend, has respond bide moving their military to i state they call "combat alert." u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon said he is gravely concerned, and nato said there's, "an urgent need for desque alation." elizabeth palmer joins us from southern ukraine. liz, what are you seeing? >> reporter: jim, it's been a day of real escalation here in

southern ukraine. some of the soldiers you mentioned were specifically sent from a russian military base across the border, into the ukraine. and they're taking control of roads, crimean airspace is closed to civilian flights, and the acting ukrainian prime minister has warned the nation that military intervention by russia would lead to war. in eastern ukraine, festering resentment turned into outright violence when pro-russian crowds beat supporters of ukraine's new government which favors greateritize with europe and the u.s. many people in this region don't feel ukrainian at all. in fact, today, they hoisted the russian flag over kharkov city hall to underline just where their allegiances lie. but it was in the black sea region of crimea, in ukraine's extreme south, that russia really raised the stakes as the soldiers openly moved it take control. crimea is where the russian

navy's black sea fleet is based. it's a strategic and a military prize, so when the recently appointed prime minister of crimea, sergei askyonov, appealed to president vladimir putin to, in his words, assist in providing peace and calm, putin didn't hesitate. a tame parliament in moscow rubber stamped his request to send in the troops. so president putin has sharply raised the stakes here in ukraine, especially after the warning from president obama yesterday that there would be costs if russia intervened militarily. well, that is exactly what it's done. so the question is now what? >> axelrod: elizabeth palmer reporting tonight from southern ukraine. thank you very much. ukraine is asking the european union, nato, and the u.s. for help. let's bring in our statement correspondent meg now. margaret what, is the administration saying to that request? >> reporter: well, president obama had a tense 90-minute-long call with russian president

vladimir putin and told him step back. the u.s. considers russia's action to be a clear violation of internal law, but no military response is being considered. the next step for the u.s. is to hold meetings at the u.n., at the nato military alliance, and with some european partners. the white house is also offering financial help to ukrainian leaders who are trying to keep the country from economic collapse. today, the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., samantha power, also asked for monitors to be sent to the region to make sure that the russian-speaking population there is being treated fairly because that's the basis russia is claiming for this so-called intervention. >> axelrod: so if the focus right now is on diplomacy and not military response as far as the u.s. goes, what are the options available? >> reporter: president obama consulted with his national security team today. at this point, no military response. the worst that's being

threatened at this point is possible damage to strayed deals. the only concrete move is for the u.s. to boycott upcoming meetings for the g-8 summit, which have been planned for in th summer in sochi, russia. the white house is basically saying this is going to be a lot of diplomatic push. >> axelrod: margaret brennan, thank you. defense secretary chuck hagel also spoke by phone with his russian counter-part today. while the pentagon had no immediate details on the conversation, hagel cautioned russia in an interview recorded yesterday with bob schieffer for "face the nation." >> reporter: this in your view would be a mistake for the russians if they decided to go into the ukraine. >> ting would be a mistake. and this would set in motion so many different dynamics that are not in anyone's interests. >> axelrod: please note that secretary of state john kerry will also be speaking with bob schieffer tomorrow morning on "face the nation." chinese state media is reporting

28 people were killed and 113 injured in what's being called an orchestrated knife attack in the southwestern part of the country. this took place in kun-ming when a group of men reportedly wearing all black stormed a busy train station and began stabbing people with long knives. the attackers were shot and killed by police. now to southern california, where the headline is be careful what you wish for. after months of drought, they're now getting pounded by rain. nearly nine inches of rain had fallen at dam since friday. nearby crystal lake has gotten more than 7. the 5 inches. the big concern? the hills east of los angeles, which are still at high risk for mudslides tonight. john blackstone is there. >> reporter: the storms blew in from the pacific with rain, wind, and waves that threatened oceanfront homes in malibu. beaches disappeared in the storm surge. many places in the los angeles area recorded 2-4 inches of rain

since friday. fast-moving rivers and creeks swelled dangerously. strong winds knocked down trees. in oxnard air, large old oak uprooted and smashed on to a parked car. in hollywood, crews setting up for the oscars struggled to keep the redpe cart dry. the storm should pass in time for tomorrow's ceremony. in most of southern california, the heavy rain was more an inconvenience than a major problem. biggest threat is the communities on the edge of the san gabriel mountain where's rains are washing mud and debris off hillsides burned over by a wildfire in january. this is what it looked like here in 1969 when mudslides buried whole streets in glendora, damaging 300 homes, and killing 34 people. in the years since, los angeles has built huge debris basins in the foothills as a defense against mudslides. >> this is one of our bigger basins in this area. it's about 40%-50% full at the

moment. >> reporter: steve sheridan is an l.a. county engineer. just on the other side of this there's a whole subdivision. >> true. >> reporter: so this has saved these homes. >> that's the purpose of these facilities is to hold back any of the debris thats does does come down from the hillside. >> reporter: many homeowners have taken their own protective measures. tom verdi has built a line of defense behind his house. >> everything now is so saturated, so even though we don't have the rain falling on us right now, we know, you know, if a cell comes over here it could release like an aflarch. it could release mud flow so we're still on pins and needles until the storm is over. >> reporter: the storm is far from over and another storm cell is coming through with plenty of rain and muddy runoff from the mountains. scattered downpours are expected overnight but by tomorrow, southern california should begin to dry out. john blackstone in a mainy southern california. as john mentioned, mudslides are a particular concern in areas recently hit by wildfires.

here's why. when trees and plant life burn, a gas is formed and trapped just below want surface, eroding the roots. then when the ground cools, the gas becomes a solid, creating a slippery, wax-like layer just underground. so when the rain comes, the soil, the rocks and trees all break loose, creating a mudslide with speeds that can top 35 miles per hour. some treacherous weather in montana as well, where some sparts of the state just sent records for a february snowfall. missoula is having a really rough go of it. they woke up this morning to white-out conversation cns after suffering a devastating avalanche yesterday. >> reporter: the torrents of snow bent a telephone pole and upended homes at the foot of mount jumbo. this is what one home looked like before the avalanche. here's what was left. riley konoske was nearby. >> the whole entire house shook, heard a loud news, looked out

the window and it was just white everywhere. >> reporter: a husband and wife were inside one of the homes that was destroyed, and an eight-year-old boy was playing nearby. this is his mother flanked by first respond irsers superpower firefighters, volunteers and anyone with a shovel began digging frantically for survivors. an hour later, rescuers found the boy buried under no. he was taken to the hospital where he remains in fair condition. a 66-year-old man was pulled from the snow conscious and talk two hours after the avalanche struck. his wife was rescued about an hour later. both were able to survive in air pockets in the snow created by the collapsed debris. missoula police detective travis welsh. >> i guess you could said we had a minor miracle in that we found all three of them and all three of them still alive. >> reporter: police haven't said what caused the avalanche but they're conducting interviews to see if human activity played a role. terrell brown, cbs news, new

york. >> axelrod: it's been a rough start to march weather-wise in much of the country. in denver, thick snow led to this massive pileup. at least 30 cars were ver invol, one death that wean of. 104 cars were involved in accidents today, joust this stretch of highway. this is all fallout from a storm system working its way from coast to coast. we turn now to meteorologist lauren casey of our minneapolis station wcco. lauren, who has to worry the most in the next tworp hours? >> well, unfortunately, a lot of people have to worry the most. a strong tropical low pressure-- trough of low pressure will allow cold canadian air to plunge south and at the same time allowing abundant moisture to flow north from the gulf of mexico. the mix will bring another round of havoc-reek, snow and ice from oak pla homa to new jersey. in the southern plains, residents will face severe storms tonight followed by snow and ice tomorrow. the biggest concern for icing is the mid-south where over half an inch will cause likely

widespread outages. and snow from the lower midwest to the northeast on monday. in new york city, 57 inches of snow has fallen so far this season. that's three feet above normal. philadelphia is currently at 60 inches of snow. an additional 6-12 by late monday will push the city's seasonal snowfall total to second most on record. >> axelrod: lauren casey wcco thank you so much. dollars, not miles. delta turns its rewards program upside down. and eagle parents keeping an iegle eye on their eagle eggs. those stories when the cbs evening news continues. but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel. the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites.

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will not be positive changes. here's jeff pegues. >> reporter: at regan national airport, passenger rana boone was not happy with delta's changes. >> the idea you have to expend x-number of dollars and it's not based on miles anymore is ridiculous. >> reporter: but in a statement, delta says they are responding to feedback from customers. beginning next year, the airline will revise the formula it uses to award frequent flyer miles. instead of giving credit for the number of miles flown, flyers will be rewarded for how much they spend. currently, a $700 ticket from new york to los angeles would earn almost 5,000 miles. the new formula would qualify for nearly 1500 fewer miles. brian kelly follows the travel industry. >> it's not like these programs are costing the airlines. it's the exact opposite. they're making a lot of money. so i don't see why they need to continue to drastically deval the frequent flyer programs. >> reporter: delta has 90 million sky miles members across the world, and under the new program, the business traveler who typically spends the most

will fare the best. transportation expert ken button says that's key for the airline which felt compelled to change the rules. >> in many cases it attracted low-cost fare travel. those at the front are finding the lounges crowded and difficult to get seats up front because passengers at the rear use the awards to upgrade. >> reporter: airlines also make money by linking rewards programprogramsprograms to cred. experts say hang on to the card but consider diversifying. it's unclear whether spending more will trlts into more miles. >> these card allow you to pool point into central pools and you have numerous partners-- hotels and amtrak-- to take advantage of. if one makes negative changes you can transfer your point to another. >> reporter: delta is the first to go this route, but other airlines could soon be heading in the same direction. jeff pegues, cbs news,

washington. >> axelrod: some college basketball history was made today with its win over missouri state this afternoon, the wichita state shockers finished their season undefeated at 31-0. now, other teams have gone undefeated in their regular seasons, but none had ever played or won so many games. up next, pg-13 or r.? an oscar weekend at look hollywood ratings. in taste, freshness, and nutrition? it's eb. eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. better taste. better nutrition. those little cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.

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biggest weekend of the year in the movie business, with the oscars tomorrow night, consider this-- not one of the top 14 gross movies last year was rated "r," which is why whether a movie gets an "r" rating versus a pg-13 is such a high-dollar question. joining us for some answers is joan graves who oversees the rating board for the motion picture association of america. joan, who exactly decides the ratings is there is it industry people? >> no, not at all. it's a board of parents and they can't have anything to do with the industry, as a matter of fact. there's a board of 12 now, equal fathers and mothers, and their whole purpose is to rate the films the way a majority of american parents would rate it. >> axelrod: in drawing the line between an "r" and pg-13.

letat's ke violence. wh is "r" violence and pg-13 violence. >> pg-13, violence even though there can be a lot more of it, it's centered on the action. anything grisly or graphic, brutal, turture, goes into the "r." >> axelrod: let's take profanity. not all swear words are created equal, i'm sure. >> actually, that's the easiest part of rating. there is the famous or infamous "f" word rule. if there was one use of the "f" word the film would get at least a pg-13 rating. more would get an "r." >> axelrod: sex is a big issue. let's take the movie "endless love." it's about first love, about intimacy. so why pg-13 as opposed to "r"? >> that's easy to identify. it's the graphics or absence of graphics that enableaise film to be in pg-13. so whatever you see in "endless

love" is going to be more suggestive than graphic. >> axelrod: when you look at a rating is there is thrs sort of a descriptor box at the bottom. >> yes, the rating indicates the level of content in the film and the descriptor box gives all the elements that rise to that rating level because different children have different sensitivities. different families have different cultural values. and it's really our best way to passing information to parents. >> axelrod: joan graves, this is such an interesting topic. thank you so much for joining us. >> i've enjoyed it. thank you. >> axelrod: bird experts tell us for just the second season in more than 200 years, bald eagles are ntiesng in pittsburgh and a web cam is documenting the eagle's nest. this is what happened when a raccoon tried to steal some of the eagle's eggs. not such a great idea for the raccoon. the camera has caught everything that's happened in the nest 24/7 since december. still ahead, the snow boarder who knows no fear. why do people count on sunsweet prune juice to stay fit on the inside?

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report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer, worsening prostate symptoms, decreased sperm count, ankle, feet or body swelling, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing while sleeping and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. ask your doctor about axiron. news business is pretty simple-- take people places they've never been before. that's pretty easy to do as we close tonight because sharyn alfonsi of "60 minute sports" recently tagged along with a legendary snow boarder named

jeremy jones who goes places no one has ever been. >> 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. jeremy jones dropping. >> reporter: as we found out, jones' imagination is as big as the mountains he rides. >> that's where i do my finest work. that's my art is nigh snowboarding. >> reporter: jeremy jones has spent two decades trying to reach unreachable places, dangling into dangerous terrain to carve down thousand-foot runs in seconds. nothing seemed to be off limits. >> i'm in a metropolitan saying, "yeah, i want to go to that peak there, "and the helicopter pilot requests, "actually, we can't go there." and i'm like, "wow, i never heard those words. like, that's crazy." >> reporter: when someone tells you, "we can't go there,."

>> yeah. >> reporter: what's your reaction? >> my reaction is that's not a true statement. >> reporter: jones climbs the mountains helicopters can't reach. battling punishing wind and subzero temperatures for weeks. >> so, yeah, these mountains are deeply etched in my d.n.a. at this point. >> whooo! >> axelrod: and you can see jones' attempt to climb and snow board a mountain in the himalayas more than 21,000 feet high this sunday night on "60 minutes sports" on showtime. later on siebs, "48 hours. for now, i'm jim axelrod in new york, and for all of us here at cbs news, thanks for joining us. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by

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