elizabeth palmer is there. two campus police are put on leave as the investigation into the pepper spraying incident at a california university is stepped up. ben tracy tracking today's developments. and joplin, missouri, on the mend six months after this devastating tornado. karen brown talks to survivors about a new symbol of hope. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. the white house tonight is calling on the congressional super committee to do its jobs and produce a deficit-cutting plan by the wednesday deadline. that's easier said than done because signs of progress are virtually non-existent tonight. while the sounds of partnership are mounting to a roar. whit johnson in washington is tracking the debate. >> reporter: staring down another congressional failure. >> i think we're deep into the fourth quarter, but there's still time on the clock. >> super committee members seem resigned to their opportunity. >> it's not entirely too late

elizabeth palmer spent the day on the frontlines. >> reporter: on the 5th day of violence a group of protesters fought with police who fired tear gas. while just yard away among the huge crowds of demonstrators makeshift field hospitals growing larger to cope with the flow of injuries. we saw one body being loaded into an ambulance. more than 30 are thought to have died. they are furious with the ruling military council who they say has botched its rule as the care taker government. around noon the military tried to broker a truce between protesters and the police held the line briefly. by night fall the battle was on again. this is the frontline. just down there the police and the soldiers are -- the protesters, it's -- suddenishly we were pulled out of the way of a stampeding mob desperate to escape another cloud of gas. . one says in the eyes of thousands of demonstrators egypt's generals have now lost all creditability. >> it's disgusting. they have to go. they have no right to have any claim on any authority to make any decisions in this country ever again. >> reporter: so what

>> mitchell: elizabeth palmer in cairo, thank you. nato and the united states are both investigating the weekend air strikes along the afghan border that left 24 pakistani soldiers dead. thousands of pakistanis converged outside the u.s. consulate in karachi today as antiu.s. protests spread. charlie d'agata has the latest. >> reporter: in a small village in northern pakistan today, they held a funeral for najeeb ullah, a young soldier mistakenly killed by nato forces. it was the last chance for asfand yar to see his young son's face. "we've given our children up for the security of this country," he says, "not so that they're killed in their own land." the pakistani government called the cross-border air strike an unprovoked attack and shut down vital supply routes to u.s. troops in afghanistan and demanded the u.s. vacate a key air base. today afghan officials said its forces called in the air strike after taking fire from the direction of two pakistani border posts. they've also expressed concern the attack may cause long-term dama

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >>> coming up on this wednesday, we will have your weather forecast> in sports, a record-setting win for duke's coach k. >> has set the record in men's division i basketball with -- hi. you know, i can save you 15% today if you open up a charge card account with us. [ male announcer ] identity thieves never stop coming up with ways to steal from you. they can open up an account in your name and go on a serious spending spree. do you have cufflinks? mm-hmm. gold ones? [ male announcer ] not on our watch. we're lifelock. go to lifelock.com and learn how our patented billion point database can help protect you. call 1-800-lifelock today. lifelock. relentlessly protecting your identity. >>> here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. >>> time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows thick clouds leaving the southern plains and heading into the mid atlanta area bringing heavy rains and windy conditions. section of the northern plains will see some snow showers. most of the west coast is clear but stor

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, cairo. found this morning >>> bay area head lines, an 8- year-old boy found dead in a house in concord. he was found this morning by his foster mother. one neighbor says the couple who lives in the house is known for taking in special needs children. police are releasing little information except to say the incident is being investigated and an autopsy will be done next week. >>> it could take days to clean up the mess and weeks to figure out what caused this massive water main break in south san francisco. the 60-foot tower of water unleashed just before 10:00 this morning. the break sent the torrent of water and mud flowing down into local streets. it actually flooded dozens of homes, so far no estimated cost of the damage and clean-up. >>> not just a family portrait taken on thanksgiving. this is the first picture of bryan stow released by the family since he was attacked outside dodgers stadium last march. the picture was posted on the family's website. it says it's been a long time sinc

as elizabeth palmer shows us, a muslim group is poised to take control of the parliamentary election. >> reporter: the polls had not opened up this morning and already the sidewalks were jammed for the historic vote. >> we're looking for the country for our future. >> after the week of extraordinary violence leading up to the elections, there was some speculation that people would be too afraid to turn up and vote while clearly not. inside, rival party workers and election officials, they watched each other and the voters like hawks. and everyone was on the lookout for cheating. they prevent anyone from going twice. >> this is my first sign. multiple rounds of voting will continue over the next seven weeks. and with final results not due until mid-january. but the big winner is a forgone conclusion who is writing a book on the islamic party. >> this is the muslim brotherhood's coming out party, the moment they have been waiting for. >> reporter: the muslim brotherhood is an islamic group. it was banned for e decades -- banned for decades. in february, the brotherhood joined the revolu

elizabeth palmer is there. lipitor for less. wyatt andrews says americans are about to save billions when the ic.-selling drug goes generic. and for a lot of kids, this is kidsonly home they know. eyott pelley on the hard time generation. >> pelley: how long have you been living in this truck? >> about five months. captioning sponsored by cbs ca ng this is the "cbs evening news" news"scott pelley. with scott p >> o'donnell: good evening, i'm norah o'donnell, scott is off tonight. noack friday is the most anticipated shopping day of the year. with the economy inching along toward recovery, the stakes are high for retailers between today and sunday, 152 million americans are expected to do at least some shopping. and the stores went out of their e two entice the early bird. we have two reports beginning with elaine quijano at macy's in new york city. >> reporter: good evening, norah. evres call this black friday because it's the day they turn a profit. it's always an important day for retailers, but this was a new twist: stores to

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> pelley: tonight it appears there is a new drug that can raise a patient's good cholesterol. the new air travel security risk. too much carry-on luggage. and we'll take you to the hottest thing in iceland when the "cbs evening news" continues. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year. time for campbell's green bean casserole. you'll find the recipe at campbellskitchen.com. ♪ campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles for up to 16 hours of relief. that's 8 hours while you wear it, plus an additional 8 hours of relief after you take it off. can your patch, wrap, cream or rub say that? so if you've got pain... get up to 16 hours of pain relief with thermacare. for a medicare plan? now is the time to take action. the medicare annual enrollment period ends wednesday, december 7th. call unitedhealthcare medicare solutions today. consider a medicare advantage plan. it combines your doctor an

elizabeth palmer is in the capital. and a drought of historic proportions: cities running out of water. anna warner reports from a town that is down to its last drops. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. having failed to bring the federal budget under control, congress left on vacation, pulling the rug out from under consumer confidence as we head into the most important shopping season of the year. the failure to reach a compromise means that payroll tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits could expire new year's day, cutting into the income of millions. add to that uncertainty a report that we just got: the government says that the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, grew more slowly in the third quarter than we thought. it was revised to just 2%. that is down from the previous estimate of 2.5%. we we have asked several story tondents to work on this story today. this hitsthony mason on how this hits consumer confidence. >> reporter

elizabeth palmer is right in the middle of this. >> reporter: on the fifth day of violence, a group oftesters up a side street skirmish with police who fired volleys of choking tear gas while just yards away in tahrir square itself, among the huge crowds of temstraighters, makeshift field hospitals are growing large tore cope with the constant flow of casualties. we saw one body being loaded into an ambulance. more than 30 protesters are thought to have died so far. the demonstrators are furious with egypt's ruling military council who they say has botched its role as the caretaker government. around noon, the military tried to broker a truce between protesters and the police and held the line briefly with military vehicles. but it didn't last long. and by nightfall, the battle was on again. this is the front line, just down there, the police and the soldiers, all around me the protesters. it's-- suddenly, we were pulled out of the way of a stampeding mob desperate to escape yet another cloud of stinging gas. khalid abdalla is a political activist and he said in the eyes of thousands o

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, cairo. >> oakland occupiers were at it again today. the fight this time was over porter potties. according to police, this delivery truck with portable toilets was turned away from the plaza for not having a permit. the protesters who wanted them delivered argued with police, well then they surrounded the truck preventing it from leaving. the truck did finally make it out of the plaza. one person was arrested. >>> and just as you've been enjoying your thanksgiving, so have the participates of the occupy movement. and just like a lot of others, they celebrated with turkey and all that goes with it. kristen shows us what could be a new tradition made possible by a local supporter. >> ten days after being evicted from the city hall lawn, returned to frank ogawa plaza. enough feed to food to feed an army of activists. feeding the homeless draws attention to the plight of the 99%. >> in san francisco's justin herman plaza, it was the occupiers themselves receiving thanksgiving dinner. glide memorial church serves 5 ,000 meals, but this day

as elizabeth palmer shows us, the military government is blaming foreigners for the violence that erupted in the country in the past week. >> gregory, luke gates, and derrik sweeney appeared on television tuesday. the channel broadcast pictures allegedly showing them in the crowd of protesters in the square. today, she was waiting to welcome them home to their dorm at the american university of cairo. >> i know derek and greg and luke is their friend. >> for the last five days, egypt's uprising has challenged the mood in general. blamed the violence on invisible violence. that, says the students friend, may explain what happened to the americans. >> i honestly buy into this idea that it's kind of putting some blame on foreign elements. i think that's why they are targeting. >> whoever the generals blame for the unrest, today they tried and to some extent succeeded in calming the violence. soldiers set up barricades to separate protesters and the military issued an unprecedented apology for the deaths of protesters on of all places, facebook. but on the core demand that they step down imme

but those protesters were not the only ones in the streets, as elizabeth palmer reports. >> reporter: the start of the muslim weekend meant tens of thousands more people were free to join the crowds the tahrir square in the biggest turnout this week. they all want the same thing: an immediate end to military rule. but across town, the military supporters came out, too, demanding that the general stay in power until a new president is elected next summer. two demonstrations; two entrenched camps that have paralyzed the country: yehia ghanem, the editor of "al ahram" international newspaper says it's a dangerous crisis. >> i hope that there will be sort of contentment quickly in this country because i guess the country going down the drain. >> reporter: the man appointed by the military to build consensus is kamal ganzouri, newly named prime minister but, in fact, an old veteran of hosni mubarak's regime. he told journalists he wants to name a broad-based unity cabinet. "i hope that the youth and all political parties will submit names." he said. but that didn't impress demonstrators in

elizabeth palmer in cairo reports egyptians hope that this come their vote will count. >> reporter: then't d tn opened this morning and already the sidewalks were jammed for this historic vote. >> we are voting for our country for our future. >> reporter: after the week of r futurdinary violence leading up to these elections, there was up to peculation that people hould be too afraid to turn up and vote. t.t clearly not. nside, rival party workers and election officials watched each other and the voters like hawks. kseryone on the lookout for oeating. indelible ink prevents anyone ents anying twice. ice.his is my first time to vote. s> reporter: multiple rounds of vote willing continue over the next several weeks with final results not due until mid- y.nuary. but the big winner is a foregone conclusion says shadi hamid, shting a book on islamic political parties. isthis is the muslim brotherhood coming out party. this is the moment they've been coiting for. e moeporter: the muslim ter: theood is an islamist movement that was officially nt that wa decades but kept on ganizing tganizing t

elizabeth palmer is in the heart of cairo at tahrir square tonight. >> reporter: for the past three days, the struggle for democracy in egypt has looked more like a war with the front lines once again here in tahrir square in the heart of cairo. thousands of protesters vented their anger at egypt's ruling generals who took power temporarily this spring. they promised to hand over to an elected government soon, but they've since been dragging their feet, fueling suspicion they have no intention of giving up control. >> they want to take the power. they want to give us a new dictator, military dictator. and we don't want. we want a civil government. >> reporter: the running street battles have left almost 2,000 people injured and at least 24 dead. this violence recalls the vast popular uprising last february which toppled egypt's authoritarian president hosni mubarak. back then, soldiers were welcomed as heroes for siding with the people not anymore. cell phone video posted on youtube shows them alongside riot police beating demonstrators. here dragging a woman along by her hair until an o

elizabeth palmer is in the capital. and a drought of historic proportions.ities running out of water. anna warner reports from a town that is down to its last drops. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. good evening. having failed to bring the federal budget under control, congress left on vacation. pulling the rug out from under consumer confidence as we head into the most important shopping season of the year. the failure to reach a compromise means that pay

but elizabeth palmer in cairo tells us that few protestors believe that offer is real. >> reporter: in central cairo, vast crowds gathered in the largest demonstrations since the mass uprising last spring. braving clouds of tear gas, more than 100,000 people jammed into tahrir square tonight demanding an end to military rule in egypt. by mid evening, they had an answer from the general. it was a concession. the head of the ruling council, field marshal tan wauy promised the military would hand over power earlier than planned. next june rather than 2013. but many listening here just don't believe it. >> ten months ago they said they would be leaving in six months and they are still here. why should we believe them this time? >> reporter: egypt's military council has little credibility left. it was initially welcomed when it took over in february after president hosni mubarak was toppled by mass protests. but almost immediately the general started maneuvering to hang on to power. that triggered the unrest that so far killed more than two dozen people and injured almost 2,000 but the gene

. >> elizabeth palmer is in cairo with the latest on the voting there.rter: good morning. well, there are no firm figures on turnout yet, but i think it's safe to say huge. even the chief electoral official here in egypt said, look, these are crowds even we didn't anticipate. for the second day in a row, egyptians cast ballots. polling stations weren't swamped like yesterday, but a steady stream of people flowed through, daring to believe their votes will put an end to egypt eight's dictatorship. >> i hope that it matters. before, votes were rigged and, you know, we hope it's going to be different this time. >> reporter: it's likely to be very different. the big winners will be the islamic freedom and justice party. shala hamid says they will almost certainly end up with the lion's share of seats in the parliament. >> the new parliament will be able to come in and say, we represent the egyptian people. we are the legitimate, elected body. that's crucial. >> reporter: in tahrir square, a dwindling group of protesters is still camped out, boycotting this e

elizabeth palmer is there. lipitor for less.ericans are about to save billions when the top-selling drugs go generic. and for a lot of kids, this is the only home they know. scott pelley on the hard time generation. >> pelley: how long have you been living in this truck? >> about five months. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> good evening, i'm norah o'donnell, scott is off tonight. black friday is the most anticipated shopping day of the year. with the economy inching along toward recovery, the stakes are high for

cbs news correspondent elizabeth palmer is in cairo with the latest. elizabeth, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, russ. well, those students were technically freed on thursday, but then they had to stay in custody an extra 24 hours where the lawyers and the police dealt with the bureaucracy of their relesion. once they were allowed to walk free last night, things happened very fast. they were taken to the airport by police where they each boarded separate flights to different destinations in the states but all three planes took off, so in just a matter of hours, they will all be back in the arms of their families. here in the center of cairo, just by tahrir square, there are still demonstrators around but things are calm. these, mostly young, activists, still hope to force egypt's miller rulers to go immediately. and they received backing from the white house yesterday which said the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place as soon as possible. overnight, there were small pockets of extreme violence. in the city of alexandria,

>> elizabeth palmer in cairo this morning, thanks.orning from cairo is actor kalid. he has been part of the protests in egypt since long time president hosni mubarak was ousted in february. good to have you with us morning. give us a sense where things stand after yesterday's protests and event this morning and apparent concessions by the military which were said to be by many too little, too late. >> yeah. i think the situation that we are in is many situation the we were in nine months and the situation four days ago when we qam came into the square. as you said, most no one in the square considers anything that the military suggested yesterday as a concession. we have a very clear demand which is that the military steps down. the staff steps down immediately. it is unacceptable that the military tries to be above the law, above its citizens, above the constitution, that it tortures, that it kills. we do not recognize their authority any more and asking them to leave immediately. the spirit in the square, i would say, is very strong

>> cbs' elizabeth palmer in cairo, thank you very much. >>> we turn to politics. washington, d.c. >> correspondent whit johnson is there with a look at how dysfunctional things are right now. . whit, good morning. >> good morning. >> reporter: like most americans, congress off for another holiday weekend. no surprise. considering congress has had more vacation days this year than the number of bills they have passed and sent to the president. new york city is notorious holiday season gridlock has nothing on washington, d.c. >> nothing big is getting done in washington. >> reporter: where the 112th congress, according to university of virginia larry sabato is as backed up as ever. >> you have nobody in the middle to broker deals. >> reporter: the failure of the super committee this week how to tackle the nation's debt was a continuation of the same old fight, one that caused a credit downgrade and near government default in august and a near government shutdown back in april. >> they should be doing everything in their power to make our economy stronger, not weaker

. >> elizabeth palmer is in cairo with the latest. liz, good morning. >> good morning. well, this protest is picking up steam now. activists have called for a million man march today across the country. here in cairo, you can probably see tahrir square behind me. it's filling up with many thousands of people. day four of this uprising, small numbers of protesters skirmish with police. in tahrir square itself, thousands of peaceful demonstrators from all political parties assembled around clear and common demand for democratic reform. >> we need to have a clear cut timetable. we need to have a president by april. we need to have a proper democracy in place and a proper system so that we know where we stand. >> overnight, the beat of anti-military chanting stills tahrir square. the crowds want to get rid of the generals running egypt. the military took power last february. some welcomed them back then. most tolerated them as caretakers until a government could be elected. the general ves lost all man credibility by maneuvering to hang on to power. the protesters want the

. >> elizabeth palmer is in cairo and she reports now with the latest. >> reporter: all mornings demonstratorsed with egyptian police who lobbed tear gas and fired rubber bullets. many of the protesters are young activists who accuse egypt's military of hanging on to power and dragging its feet on compromised democratic reform. others, though, are professionals. furious that nothing has changed since the great uprising in the very same tahrir square ten months ago that toppled egypt's president. this man taking refuge from the tear gas works at the stock exchange. why are you here? what do you want? >> because i want freedom. i want the police not again catch and shooting and kill people, no, no, no! no again. >> reporter: over the weekend soldiers joined police in a battle of thousands of egyptians. in replay of scenes from the uprising this spring, the injured and the dead were treated at make-shift field hospitals which sprang up around tahrir square. today, there's a standoff in the square between protesters and security forces, each waiting for the other to make a move. in syria, a second

. >> many protests continue in the capital and where we find elizabeth palmer in cairo with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. we were up at the crack of the dawn to get out to the polling stations by the time the doors opened at 8:00. by the time we arrived hundreds of people were already on the sidewalk lined up determined to vote. it's the police and the army keeping order outside polling stations for the long lines of voters waiting patiently to be allowed in. in the street, an obvious breach of the rules. activists were supposed to stop handing out campaign literature 48 hours ago. but inside, party workers and officials are watching like hawks to make sure the voting is free and fair. so far, at least in this suburb of heliopolis, so good. >> i think it's my first time to vote. >> reporter: a few miles away in downtown, a few hundred protesters are still camped in tahrir square, most of them boycotting the election. they argue egypt's ruling generals have to hand over power first. but in all of the polling stations, proof that vast numbers of egyptians disagree. they want to

. >> this morning, they face several more days in custody and elizabeth palmer is in cairo with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. yes, the egyptian prosecutor has just said that the students are being interrogated, still, that they have access to a defense lawyer and also a representative from the american embassy. however they added they are going to be held for at least another four days. that is all the way through thanksgiving weekend. state television said when the three americans were arrested earlier this week, they were carrying fuel, empty bottles and a camera. the students who were shown on national television after their arrest are alleged to have thrown molotov cocktails at egyptian police. on day six of the unrest here, there's a break in the violence. overnight, the army put up barbed wire at the enter the side street which had been the epi center of the battle and the protesters, at least for now, are cooperating, even talking to the soldiers sent to enforce the troops. >> it was terrible in front of the tvs when you see people dying and trying to get back to life, that

elizabeth palmer is in cairo with more. good morning to you, liz. >> good morning. it's pretty loud here. i'm in tahrir square, which is filling up, once again. very fast. but you ask about the students. that's right, we think they're still in the police station here. certainly still in custody. working with their lawyer going through lengthy bureaucratic procedures before they're finally physically able to go free. at the american university of cairo dorm friends were waiting to welcome them, relieved to hear the jipgzs weren't going to going press charges. >> my first reaction because i know them personally is that there is no way they could have had those. i don't think they would have figured out how to get molotov cockta cocktails. >> i wanted to come here so i could see them before they leave. i have been freaking out the last two days. >> reporter: they haven't been seen in family or friends except in this police video on egyptian state television may not be freed from custody until the end of the muslim weekend on sunday. today, though, demonstrators in tahr

elizabeth palmer is in cairo with the latest. >> good morning. this protest is really picking up steam now. activists have called for a million man march across the country. here in cairo, you could probably see tahrir square behind me and already filling up with many thousands of people. day four of this uprising. small knots of protesters squirmish with police regarding key buildings near tahrir square while behind the frontline volunteers provided backup, including the antic dote to tear gas. thousands of demonstrators assemble around clear demands. >> we need to have a clear cut timetable and a president by april and we need to have a proper democracy in place and a proper system so that we know where we stand. >> reporter: overnight, the beat of anti-military chanting filled tahrir square. the crowds want to get rid of the generals running egypt. the military took power last february after a popular uprising toppled the authoritarian government. some welcomed them back then. most tolerated them as caretakers until a civilian government could