clarissa ward is in turkey tonight which is 11 mile from its syrian border. she joins us to talk about that and more. good evening to you. what is happening in these refugee camps? >> good evening, jeff, well the conditions in some of these camps are really quite bleak. it's january. it's a cold winter. temperatures plunging below freezing particularly at night. there's been a lot of rain in the region. but for the most part people in the turkish camps are in fairly good conditions. it's the tens of thousands of syrians who are stranded along the syrian side of the border in makeshift camps who are really struggling with no power, no heat and very limited facilities one camp has just 80 toilets for about 12,000 people. >> jeff: why are so many people still stranded on the syrian side? >> reporter: at this stage turkey says it simply can't take any more refugees. it can't keep up with this seemingly endless wave of syrians who are desperate to flee their country. currently there are more than 150,000 syrians living here. the turkish government says it has sent

clarissa ward is joining us on the border with turkey and syria. clarissa, what is the refugee situation there now? >> reporter: well, it's incredibly difficult, scott. the turkish government is really struggling to house this wave of refugees. they say that they've spent a billion dollars on trying to host them. there are currently more than 150,000 syrian refugees living here. but they simply can't build these camps quickly enough. and one result that you are starting to see because of that is that there are now tens of thousands of syrian would-be refugees who are massing along the turkish border, but still stuck inside syria where that aid cannot reach them easily. >> pelley: clarissa, thank you very much. new rules to prevent anotherge mortgage meltdown will make it harder to get a loan. and killer whales trapped in ice. what happened next when the "cbs evening news" continues. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doc

and clarissa ward is following the story for us tonight. >> reporter: they were dumped in a canal, theirhands tied behind their backs. most of the men appear to have been shot at close range. most looked to be in their 20s and 30s. for months, rebels have fought the syrian army to a stalemate in aleppo, syria's largest city. on monday, we sat down with u.s. ambassador to syria robert ford. he was an early backer of the syrian opposition, but in 2011 was forced to leave the country after an armed mob of assad regime supporters attacked his car. he told us that the u.s. is still committed to bringing assad down. >> oh, the u.s. has done a lot! we're playing a leading role in many ways. for example, we have substantially tightened the financial squeeze on the regime. and at the same time, we're providing vital humanitarian assistance... >> reporter: humanitarian assistance doesn't stop bombs. >> well, it's important, though, for syrians to stay alive. >> reporter: so, are we willing to wait another two years and another 60,000 dead? >> i don't know how long it will take. we obviously deeply

tonight clarissa ward of cbs news, she has been inside syria, reporting from inside syria. >> on the issue of our policy towards syria, what sometimes seemed unclear to me is what is our syria policy. what is the u.s.'s policy. because at the moment it's sort of looks like a kind of nonpolicy in a sense. i mean it's clear that the u.s. supports or does not support and condemns bashar al-assad but they're also not helping the rebels. >> rose: we conclude with a look at two recent elections in the middle east, one in jordan and one in israel. we talk with jordan's ambassador to the united nations prince bin ra'ad and efraim halevy. >> when we first heard the rumblings of the arab spring some may have thought that thises with a train that was passing through the station in and out. i think his majesty understood full well that these were seismic rumblings. and the region has had for a long time been bereft of real reforms. his majesty began earlier on. and i think you know now felt that for those who had a vested interest in the stat usco, this is their time to understand-- status quo,

it is extremely hazardous for reporters to enter syria, but our clarissa ward managed to reach a campof syrian refugees. >> reporter: less than a mile from the turkish border, these syrians are stuck in no man's land, unable to go back to the bombed-out towns and villages they fled, and unable to cross into turkey, where the refugee camps are already full. for now, this is home. how many bathrooms do you have here? >> we have 90, and that's an improvement. >> reporter: 90 bathrooms for 12,000 people? >> yes. >> reporter: yakzan shishakly is the syrian american who owns an air conditioning business in houston, texas. four months ago, he came to visit and found hundreds of people sleeping in this olive grove. he decided to stay and help. he built what is now the largest camp in syria, relying mostly on private donations. what's the biggest challenge of running a camp like this? >> we don't have funding. that's the biggest challenge, we have nothing. do we need food? yes. do we need winter clothes? yes, we do. do we need the clinic with more doctors? of course. >> reporter: life here is

correspondent clarissa ward has been working inside syria and is just back across the border in turkey tonight. clarissa, you've been talking to your sources. what can you tell us about the university bombing? >> well, scott, this university is located in a relatively calm part of the city that is under government control. but so far, we don't really have a sense of who was responsible for this attack-- both sides, of course, blaming each other. activists we spoke to saying that regime fighter jets bombed the university, but spokesmen for the syrian government saying that, in fact, it was rebel rockets that hit the school. one thing certainly is clear from this grotesque incident which is the exceedingly high price that ordinary civilians are having to pay for this civil war. >> pelley: about 60,000 people it's been estimated, have been killed, most of them civilians and a great many more syrians are refugees. you spent time in a refugee camp in syria today. tell me, what did you find there? >> few people realize that tens of thousands of syrians are stranded along the syrian border. t

clarissa ward has the latest. >>> and consumers reports offers tips on buying a new television set beforeer bowl sunday. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com it's friday, january 25-th. i'm frank mallicoat. and i'm anne makovec michelle >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. >>> hi, everyone. good morning. it is friday, a blessed event. january 25th. i'm frank mallicoat. >> and i'm anne makovec. michelle griego is off this morning. it is just about 4:30. and lawrence is here with a check of our weather forecast. looks like we have some chilly days to come. >> we have cold days ahead for the weekend. today a few scattered light showers continuing on our high- def doppler radar. will we see more for the weekend? we'll talk about that coming up. >> we want to take you out live towards san jose. we have slick road conditions this morning. 101 at trimble. we'll show you where all the overnight roadwork is and tal

clarissa ward has been covering it extensively. she's in london. good morning. >> good morning, norah. good morning, charlie. there's still very few details as to exactly what happened yesterday. the syrian government has said that that israeli air strike hit a military research base about seven miles northwest of damascus. israeli officials are not saying anything, but a pentagon official tells cbs news that, in fact, the intended target or target was believed to be a convoy that was carried heavy weapons out of syria into lebanon to go to hezbollah, the shiite militant group. now, obviously syria share as border with israel. it has very serious concerns about the security situation inside syria particularly because syria has a significant stock of chemical weapons. at this stage no one expecting syria to launch a retall ta torre torrey attack but serious concerns that their civil war is spilling across its borders. >> thank you, clarissa ward. >>> time now to show you some of the headlines from around the globe. the new york times says last night

this award is in paris -- clarissa ward is in paris and talked with ambassador ford. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, charlie and nora, from a very wet and windy paris. ambassador ford was here yesterday to attend meetings between the syrian opposition and its international backers. this comes on the heels of an announcement from the white house that the u.s. will give a further $10 million in humanitarian aid to the syrian people. yesterday the syrian opposition saying the time is for action and not for words. but in an interviewer with cbs news, ambassador ford was adamant that the u.s. will not intervene directly in syria even if this conflict drags on. so are we willing to wait another two years and another 60,000 dead? >> i don't know how long it will take. we obviously, deeply regret the violence that this regime has inflicted on the people -- >> reporter: but are we doing enough to stop it? >> in a situation like this we have to work on multiple fronts. as i mentioned, we're isolating the regime, weakening the regime. we're setting the opposition up so

he's a friend of our own correspondent clarissa ward who is now in london. clarissa, good morning. >> good morning, norah and charlie. >> and you know james foley. how concerned is everyone? certainly his colleagues. you know him. >> everyone's extremely concerned, as you said before james was abducted by armed gunmen on thanksgiving day. he was on his way out of syria, trying to reach the turkish border and since then really nothing has been heard from him. we don't know who has him, we don't know what the motivations were for kidnapping and really in that part of syria there's no way of narrowing it down. it could be rogue or criminal elements from within the free syrian army and rebel fighters it could be extremist elements. it could also be there are still pockets of regime presence in northern syria, in the province and of course there are the pro-regime militias known as shabihab so it's hard to get a sense of who has james. >> if syria is one of the most dangerous places for reporters to cover, how do you cover the story? >> it's incredibly challenging

international community may have to decide when and how to intervene am joining me cbs news correspondent clarissa ward. she has spent much of the past year reporting from inside sirria. she is one of the only journalists to tell this story from the front lines. i am pleased to have her here become on this program and to congratulate her because she received the dupont reward, one of the most prestigious awards in journalism for her reporting from syria, so congratulations. >> thank you very much. >> rose: i should also say that when she was formerly at abc and other places. an when i got to know her she was covering china for abc news and we very pleased to have her at cbs. so thank you. >> thank you. >> rose: so tell me where syria is as we speak. >> as we speak syria is in a bloody quagmire. it is a stalemate currently at the moment. i think there was a real sense towards the end of last year that the momentum was on the side of the rebels, that they were moving closer to the capitol, that they had launched this audacious attack into aleppo. but when president bashar al-assad stood up and made that

. >>> clarissa ward has made her way into syria. >> someone has been hurt very badly.ing to take him to the hospital. >> this is the most coveted voting bloc in france. >> we're about a mile from the fukushima nuclear ♪ >>> welcome back to "cbs this morning" on this new year's day. we're looking back at some of our favorite stories of 2012. >> and one of our favorite guests was, well, one of my favorite people. oprah winfrey was here last april to take part in our "note to self" series where people give advice to their younger self. here's a look. >> dear beautiful brown-skinned girl, and i use the word "beautiful" because i know that's never a word you would call yourself. i look into your eyes, and i see the light and hope of myself. in this photo you're just about to turn 20, posing outside the television station where you were recently hired as a reporter. you look calm. you look happy. but i know how scared you are. if i could say anything to you, it would be, relax. it's going to be okay, girl. you're proud of yourself f forgetting this job. but also uncertain. u

. >> thank you clarissa ward. >>> time to show you morning's headlines from around the globe. "the new york times" says it was an emotional affair parents of victims of the sandy hook school shooting were among those testifying, many in the room called for stricter gun control. >>> "the tennesseean" says prostate cancer treatments can feel worse than the disease. research by vanderbilt university found men experienced widespread complications after undergoing surgery or radiation therapy. the study notes not all prostate cancer requires aggressive treatment. >>> "usa today" says the fda is cracking down down on fake flu products. the products claim to treat, prevent or shorten the length of the flu. the fda has already warned one company which claims its nasal spray reduces cold bacteria and flu viruses. >>> the london times" reports a biggest british territory is used to avoid taxes. the cup truck charity raised $278 million from 2010 to 2011 and only paid out $87 million to worthy >>> and our weather is going to be great here. a lot of sunshine, the sun just coming up, our m

. >>> clarissa ward has made her way into syria. >> someone has been hurt very badly.ospital. >> this is the most coveted voting bloc in france. >> we're about a mile from the fukushima nuclear >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald >>> i'm frank mallicoat. get you caught up with some bay area headlines now. three people are recovering from two shootings along the san francisco waterfront overnight. they happened at fisherman's wharf and at pier 23 as people gathered prior to last night's fireworks. >>> san jose mayor chuck reed continues a new year's tradition this morning. he is visiting the police officers and the firefighters that are working on this holiday. >>> and the contra costa county fire protection district closed four fire stations today. county supervisors ordered the closures to save millions of dollars a year. the stations are in clayton, lafayette, martinez and walnut creek. no firefighters have been laid off. >>> got your traffic and weather on this new years day coming up right after the break. to give a break cancer survivor a lifetime--

. >> great interview, clarissa ward thank you. >>> and residents of one of the world's most fabled and mysterious cities are celebrating timbuktu driving out rebels tied to al qaeda. it fell into lebl hands nearly a year ago. as the rebels left they set fire to a library full of priceless, ancient manuscripts. >>> people in brazil are talking to four people for the most deadly fire in a decade. they were honoring the 231 victims of sunday's fire. the fight club had no fire armz la, no sprinklers no fire extinguishers and only one exit. reports say the men being held are two co-owners of the club and two members of the band blamed for starting the fire. >> and it's been a boy scout policy for decades, one upheld by the supreme court but now the national organization is reconsidering its controversial ban on gay members. jan crawford is here with the story. jan, good morning. >> good morning norah and charlie. this would be a big change for an organization that just this past summer' firmed that policy but cbs news has confirmed they can make that change in the position as early as next