but before you feel completely deflated by this latest news, anthony mason tells us there are at least some signs of a turnaround, at least on the home front. >> reporter: in los angeles, so many of the 27,000 foreclosed houses have fallen into disrepair. >> we felt we needed to do something about it. >> reporter: today the city raised fines on banks that don't keep up their properties. >> it's $1,000 per day, per violation. and they can take up to $100,000 per property. >> reporter: with more than five million people behind on their mortgage payments, bank repossessions have hit record levels. >> we're on a pace right now to see about 1.2 million homes repossessed by the end of the year. that's simile unprecedented in the history of the housing market. >> reporter: the banks have taken possession of about 900,000 homes, only about a third of which are actually on the market. >> the banks could be flooding the market with a lot more distressed properties, and i think the fact that they're not is showing some restraint in trying to keep the housing market stable. >> reporter: americans

anthony mason is keeping an eye on all this and, anthony, what's this designed to do ideally? >> reporter: simply, katie, to give the economy a quick shot in the arm and even some republicans are applauding the proposal. if passed it would give businesses that buy new equipment an immediate tax break in the struggling economy. david campbell has been holding off buying new forklifts for his connecticut lumber business, but the president's tax incentives could make him change his mind. >> we're still being very cautious and we don't really want to be replacing a lot of equipment so this might tip the scale on some of our purchases. >> reporter: the obama proposal would allow companies to immediately write off 100% of any new investments in plants and equipment through next year. businesses can currently write off those investments, but only over a three to 20-year period. so this would allow them to keep more cash in what the administration says would amount to a $200 billion tax cut affecting 1.5 million businesses. does this kind of stimulus have immediate effect? >> it can.

anthony mason, cbs news, new york. >>> president obama said the recession may be over but he realizes times are still tough for most americans. during a town hall discussion yesterday, he assured americans he understood their frustration with the slow pace of the economy. >> even though economists may say the recession officially ended last year, obviously for the millions of people still out of work, people who have seen their home values decline, people who are struggling to pay the bills day to day, it's still very real for them. >> the president also defended his administration's economic record and challenged republicans to come up with a better approach. >>> on the "cbs moneywatch," in asia stocks were mostly higher. with that is ashley morrison. >> asian markets advanced. japan's nikkei closed about a quarter of a% while the hang seng was higher. the dow added 145 points yesterday in it's highest close since may while the nasdaq gained 40. >>> and today's federal reserve meeting the slowed recovery for economy and double-digit unemployment numbers are likely to top the agenda.

here's our senior business correspondent anthony mason. >> you know, unless it was an air bubble.... >> reporter: in south salem, new york, 53-year-old chuck tater has been working overtime at the garage he owns but still earning less money. >> between shop work, answering the phone and, you know, answering tech questions on the internet, i put a good 70 to 80 hours in. doesn't work very well that way. >> reporter: tator says he's barely keeping his head above water. >> yeah, the middle-class has been taking the brunt of it. that's what it seems like to me. >> reporter: across the country, americans are losing ground. the new census data shows median household income dropped in 34 states last year and rose in only one-- north dakota. and the disparity between rich and poor is growing. >> most people thought that inequality would decline in a recession, it didn't. it's still ticking up. >> reporter: the top 20% of earners in the country now make more than half of the income generated in the u.s. that's up from 49.7% in 2007. and the poorest 20% earn only 3% of the country's income. th

anthony mason has more. >> reporter: across the country, the arrow went up for home prices in june.hicago, minneapolis and detroit led the rebound, according to the case-shiller index. among 20 major metropolitan areas, only las vegas fell. nationally, house prices are up nearly 7% from the lows in 2009 with some cities showing double digit gains. >> notably, san francisco, our best-performing city since 2009, it's up 21%. that's -- that's booming. >> reporter: but ominous signs still loom for housing. sales of existing homes plummeted 27% last month. and some economists believe house prices are about to drop again, too. >> we're not quite through with the housing crash. we've got another 5% or so to go on house prices. >> reporter: because the first time home buyers tax credit which fueled much of the growth has expired and foreclosures continue to mount. hundreds showed up for a workshop for distressed homeowners in west palm beach, florida, this past weekend. >> we've been here all night. >> reporter: like raquel and robert turner who have fallen three months behind on their mort

i'm anthony mason. also tonight on this labor day weekend, the president starts to outline a plan to jump start the economy and create jobs while republicans say the problem is mr. obama himself. former british prime minister tony blair on his book tour, faces a backlash and protest. and drilling for natural gas in shale deposits. is it a bonanza for landowners or a disaster for the environment? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with jeff glor. >> good evening, jeff is off. we begin with a stunning turnaround by one of the web's most popular and controversial sites. craigslist, after months of pressure, abruptly took down the adult services section of its web site today. bill whitaker has the details. >> reporter: this is what greeted visitors to the adult services section of craigslist today-- censored. the online classified ads network apparently bowing to public pressure and mounting criticism that the site was little more than a high-tech marketplace for prostitution and hum

>> smith: anthony mason, thanks. a report out today says the bad economy is a big reason the number of illegal immigrants in this country has dropped for the first time in two decades. beefed-up security at the mexican boarder is another one. last year there were about 11 million immigrants living in the u.s. illegally. that's a million fewer than in 2007, an 8% drop. few issues have dominated the world's attention as much as the middle east peace process. every american president since harry truman has tried in vain to work out a lasting peace between israel and the palestinians. today, president obama opened a new round of talks, but as senior white house correspondent bill plante reports, hope once again collided with reality. >> reporter: president obama's entry into the treacherous thicket of middle east peacemaking was marked by bloodshed. four israeli settlers gunned down yesterday in the west bank by hamas, a palestinian faction which opposes peace talks. >> our goal is a two-state solution that ends the conf

anthony mason, anthony, thank you so much. the economy is the number-one issue as the battle for control of congress heats up and here's where the battle stands now 43 days before the elections. our cbs news election team has analyzed a variety of factors, including what we know about the voters' likely turnout and poll numb tabors determine the critical contest that will decide the fight, first, the house. all 435 seats are at stake. republicans need a net gain of 39 of them to take control. and 84 may change hands. since 77 of them are now held by democrats, republicans have a very good shot of taking back the house. it will be a lot harder, though, for them to take control of the senate where 37 seats are up for grabs. the republicans need a net gain of ten. and where to get them? cbs news considers 13 seats now held by democrats to be in play. that includes a race in pennsylvania which is why the president took a campaign trip to the keystone state today. our chief white house correspondent chip reid went with him. chip, a

anthony mason, cbs news, new york. >>> shifting gears now.s to dancing, this dog has talent. kerry, the golden retriever is seen dancing with her owner, decked out in full costume. she appears to know every move of the three-minute choreographed routine. my goodness, that is wild looking. by the looks of it, she seems to enjoy every bit of it. her enthusiasm may be contagious. the video has gone viral in the last few days with about 1 million views. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbsthorning news." ning news." it's almost tee-time... time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. comes i♪ a liquid gel. hurry in and load up on great savings during the petsmart labor day sale. this friday through monday, save up to 50% on select items. and select varieties of tropical fish are $1 each! petsmart. we love to see healthy, happy pets! you know she always finds out. oooh! you ruined mom's tableclot

anthony mason reports that the price rise is not expected to last. >> reporter: across the country, theow went up for home prices in june. chicago, minneapolis, and detroit led the rebound according to the schiller index. among 20 metropolitan areas, only las vegas fell. nationally house prices are up nearly 7% from the lows in 2009, with some cities showing double digit gains. >> notably san francisco, which is our best-performing city since 2009. it's up 21%. that's... that's booming. >> reporter: but ominous signs still loom for housing-- sales of existing homes plummeted 27% last month-- and some economists believe house prices are about to drop again, too. >> we're not quite through with the housing crash. we've got another 5% or so to go on house prices. >> reporter: because the first time home buyers tax credit which fueled much of the growth has expired and foreclosures continue to mount. hundreds showed up for a workshop for distressed ismeowners in west palm beach, florida, this past weekend... >> we've been here all night. >> reporter: ...lycra kel and robert turner who've fa

anthony mason is our senior business correspondent. overall, anthony, a bit of a mixed bag? >> yeah, erica. weak as the job numbers were, they were better than wall street expected and seemed to give investors confidence the economy can avoid a double-dip recession. with american businesses creating 67,000 jobs in august, the private sector has now added jobs for eight straight months. >> these numbers are telling us that the economy is not falling off a cliff. it's not booming, either, which is the bad news. >> reporter: but the median length of unemployment fell below 20 weeks in august. it had been 22.2 weeks in july. 19,000 construction jobs were added last month, and 17,000 temporary jobs. nearly 400,000 temporary jobs have been added over the past year as employers have remained cautious. >> there's a great uncertainty the economy right now. >> reporter: daniel herrick is c.f.o. of pilla performance eyewear in connecticut. a year ago his company had five employees. today it has 18. >> almost all of you are expansion has been with the use of temp employees. >> reporter:

this morning anthony mason brings us up to date. ♪ >> reporter: she's the pop princess who scoreded theiggest hit of the summer. do you think there are people who don't take you seriously enough yet? >> i mean, come on. i've got a whipped cream bra. >> hi, elmo. >> reporter: she might be too sexy for sesame street. but later on sunday morning, we visit with california girl katy perry. >> there's just something really magical about this place. >> osgood: the rock stars our bill geist will be showing us have nothing to do with music but they've developed quite a following just the same. >> reporter: to most of us skipping stones is idle activity. something to do when you're not doing anything. >> nice skip. >> reporter: but to a select few, it's a highly competitive sport. >> there you go. >> reporter: we'll take you inside the world of plink, plonk and pitty-pat later on sunday morning. >> osgood: david edelstein reviews the new movie the social network. ben tracy shows us the colorful of designer kelly wearstler. food from thought from our man in paris david turecamo and more but first

anthony mason, cbs news, new york. >> even though the unemployment level edged up modestly, it does sugge suggest, perhaps, that the nation's economy is moving forward. for more on this, we join john challenger, chief executive for outplacement for challenger, gray and christmas, a consulting firm. great to have you with us this morning. >> nice to be with you, rebecca. >> i wanted to start off where anthony mason left off. we've seen these eight straight month months. unemployment is still 9.6%. what's your read on the jobs picture right now? >> we're in the first year of recovery. everybody expects so much. if you look at the last two first years after a recession, '91 recession and 2001 recession, we've seen unemployment go up. even though it's not the kind of job growth we would like, it's much better than we've seen coming out of previous recession. >> define for us, if you will, what kind of job growth you would like to see. what kind of growth would bring us back to those more 5% unemployment levels, the type we would call normal? >> most feel we need at least 100,000 jobs a month

here is anthony mason with a summer song. ♪ my eyes are so bleary ♪ i guess i'm young but i feel so wearypital of texas becomes the capital of music. as thousands of musicians take over austin. >> just a kid from chicago illinois. >> los angeles california. >> reporter: they come from all over the country and all over the world. and turn austin into a musical mecca for south by southwest, what's become the world's most influential music festival. for four day and nights, music seems to pour out of every pour of this city. from front porches, parking lots, and more than 80 bars and clubs. south by southwest attracts the unknown, the up and coming, and established stars like jakob dylan. >> i feel something really cool here every time i've been here. >> reporter: every year nearly,000 acts compete for the industry's attention. hoping to catch a break, build some buzz, or land a record deal. along sixth street austin's main drag, tommy blank's group quiet company was offering free hugs. >> it's embarrassing at first. >> reporter: did it work? >> people love it. look, i'm talking to you right

as you tells our colleague anthony mason it was quite a ride. >> today after consulting with my auto steps have been taken. >> reporter: as the american auto industry was swerving to avoid a disastrous crash last year, president obama handed the steering wheel to a wealthy wall street investment banker who had only... who would only appear at the rear of the president's news conferences but played a central role in the crisis. how much did you know about the auto industry going into this? >> roughly zero. >> reporter: but steve ratner got a crash course. as a lead advisor on the president's auto task force, a job the media dubbed the car czar. ratner helped allocate billions of tarp dollars to try to save detroit. >> i would wake up in the night sometimes and say to myself, this whole auto industry is resting on whether our team can figure this problem out. it was pretty scary. >> reporter: it looked even scarier when in march of 2009 ratner and the auto team went to look under the hood of g.m. on a visit to the motor city. did the management at general motors surprise you? >> i was

mason. this is anthony peacher. ain't nothing going to break his stride. going to slow him down. whoa. he's got to keep on pushing. he'll score 12 straight to take a 12-9 lead but they couldn't hold off george mason. they win 16-12. great stuff. all right. if you like those highlights, you're going to love this. our new website for high school sports is dc.highschoolsports.net. if you want to get up-to-date on everything high school in the metro area, check it out. stats, scores and some great features on student athletes like bishop mack namaras, it's on our website right now. and there's more. if you want to join our team, we'll give you a flip cam and you can capture pep rallies, interviews and earn scholarship money as well. that's an awesome deal. you can log on to wusa9.com. click on sports. and apply. all right. that's going to do it for this week. thanks for all of the people behind the scene who made it happen. we leave you now with our band of the week. the flowers making funky sweet music and take us out of here. ♪ music playing