it's still moving across the country, harry. toward the east there have been reports of tornadoes today in illinois this evening, and there are concerns about severe weather and tornadoes from chicago all the way down to louisiana tonight. >> smith: don teague in cincinnati, arkansas, this evening. good job. thank you very much. sunset hills, missouri, was also devastated by a tornado and cynthia bowers is there. cynthia, what does it look like? >> reporter: well, it's dark here. the power is out, but what we're told is that, much like don just reported, folks here say the tornado system came through so quickly that it just touched down about 400 yards behind me over this shoulder and came across where i'm standing and then it was gone. but in the meantime, while it was down, it leveled about 20 homes and businesses. it toppled power lines and trucks, and they say cars actually were pushed down the street as if they were still on and rolling. a lot of people feel really lucky tonight because they took refuge in a bar/restaurant

i'm harry smith. also tonight, the legacy of "challenger." >> "challenger," go with throttle up. >> smith: a quarter of a century after the disaster, a legacy of learning. and "the american spirit." an amazing rise-- from defeat to can't be beat. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> smith: good evening, katie is off tonight. egypt's president, hosni mubarak, is facing the most serious threat to his 30-year- old regime. for decades, anger has simmered near the surface in egypt and throughout the arab world, anger over corrupt governments, poverty, and a lack of freedom. today, for the fourth straight day, protesters poured into the streets of cairo and other cities in egypt, throwing rocks at the police, who fired back with water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas. president mubarak imposed a curfew and cut off all internet access. he also called out the military to restore order. late tonight, mubarak went on te

>> harry, government has to give predictability. it's why regulations have to flow from the intent of the legislation. it has to be done over time with public hearings, comments, and buy-in. one of our problems, president obama recently said that he had learned that there's no such thing as "shovel ready." well, during the fdr administration when the wpa programs and other work programs went into place, "shovel ready" meant you made a decision today and within a week or two you began working on a project. america has to get epa, osha., fish and wildlife, all these agencies to have to get to where you can decide to do something worthwhile, get through the process to make sure it's done right, and do it in a short period of time-- a year, not ten years. >> smith: the mandate it seems to me of especially the new republicans being sent to congress is to shrink the deficit, shrink government, save money. with oversight, how much money do you think you can save the taxpayers, say, over the next two years? >> i'm looking at about $200 bill

no greater counsel than the current attorney general, kamala harris, herself. i've known her well before both of us were not elected office. we have had a unique relationship where we are quite honest with one another, perhaps above and beyond the normal course of what one would call protocol. we had a good back and forth over the last few months about the bush a thought would be outstanding and what kind of qualities she was looking for -- about what she thought would be outstanding. i had the privilege of including many of you, including many of the people better up here today to counsel me on this process as well. yesterday, the entire day was spent going through the finer points and asking questions back-and-forth of some of the candidates. there are probably six or seven people that we gave a very serious consideration to. the point i'm making is that there are a lot of good people out there. they have a lot to add. each one made a compelling case. every time i got off the phone, i said, that's the right person. i got on the phone with a new person and i s

harris isn't the only new face in san francisco's leadership. coming up at 6:00, a look at the other changes in the city's political structure. >>> despite a bad economy and fewer officers on patrol, police in san jose reporting a significant drop in homicides last year. there were 20 homicides in 2010, down from 28 the year before. the last time it was that low was back in 2000. and during that time the number of police on the street went down by 100. the numbers also buck the trend of rising violent crime in a worsening economy. some criminologists point to san jose's pro active and aggressive policing by experienced officers and advances in law enforcement technology >>> investigators in santa clara county aren't saying much about a couple found dead inside a home. autopsies were performed today, but detectives aren't saying yet who the deceased man and woman are or how they died. they will say, however, that the case isn't a threat to public safety. the bodies were found during a welfare check just before 1:00 yesterday afternoon. neighbors

i urge you to reappoint harry kim as the relocation appeals board. thank you. >> this will be my last testimony today. i wanted to speak about both mr. kim and also heard -- herb cohn. harry kim has had a unique place in city hall. he has been very involved with the city committee. he has a tenure with the relocation appeals board. he has been an important part of the civic fabric, recognizing there has not been strong petition -- participation with the korean-american community at city hall. he has been part of the process and deserves continued service. herb cohn i have known for 10 years. he was providing assistance to the merchants of upper market and castro. one of the things that has distinguished his participation is his level of positivity. he is proactive. he is looking for solutions, not to blame our be negative. brought people who had not been participating in the district merchants into it, but stepped up and is now a resident of the council. he is an incredible member of our community. he is doing great work citywide. the thing he will d

harry reid is the pocket veto.resident will not veto anything in his first term because of harry reid. chris: when we return, by the spring, who's going to be on top, key question, the president or republicans in the house? [ female announcer ] to do well, kids need to eat well. and eating well means getting enough whole grain and calcium. and general mills big g kid cereals can help. did you know it's the only leading line of kid cereals with at least 8 grams of whole grain and a good source of calcium? cereals they already love, like lucky charms and cinnamon toast crunch. give your kids more of what they need to be their best. grow up strong, with big g kid cereals. ♪ chris: welcome back. this week's a new era in washington with republicans in charge of the house and a stronger republican presence in the senate which brings us to the big question this week. by spring, the end of this season, who will have the upper hand, president obama or the republicans running capitol hill? >> i think president obama will be

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he plans to consult with harris before making that appointment. newsom will be the one lawmaker not in the spotlight. he is taking over the office of lieutenant governor, but he is not ready yet. newsom wants to hold off on the inauguration until the new san francisco board of supervisors takes office. that board will be responsible for choosing his replacement as mayor. we don't know exactly when newsom will take the oath of office as lieutenant governor, but we know the date for his party is january 10th at the state capital. his office said it will be on or before that date. two high profile east bay lawmakers will take new posts. outgoing tom tor lickson will be the new school chief and jean quan will be the first woman and the first asian-american to be mayor of oakland. christie smith live in oakland with what's ahead. >> this is a big day here in the east bay. first as you said jean quan will be sworn in as oakland's first woman and first asian-american mayor. she will start with a walk that ends here at the fox theater in downtown oakland

pamela harris was sworn in as attorney general.he becomes the only woman and a person of color to hold that office. harris said that she wants to use innovation to be not just tough but also smart on crime. she talked about assembling some working groups to look at strategies to combat gang violence, truancy, and i den theft. harris had served as the district attorney of san francisco since 2004. >> the meantime there was no swearing-in ceremony today for gavin newsom, he has beanie elected lieutenant governor but is delaying being sworn in. newsome expected to put it off until at least the weekend. he says the new san francisco board of supervisors can choose his replacement. four new supervisors take office this weekend. so if newsome isn't lieutenant governor tonight, who is, and who's gonna take newsome's spot as mayor? and is it even legal to delay taking the oath of office? joe vasquez helps clearing out some confusion. joe? >> reporter: it appears to be a legal grey area whether he can delay his inauguration. the fact is he

every year at the end, when in the low harris -- emmylou harris closes the festival and someone elsepens the festival. i always call them the heart and soul of the festival. those are wonderful must object moments. having a chance to listen up close to some of the greats. those are some of the great emotional moments. there's always one moment that is so bizarre. 3 or four years ago i was sitting out front listening to emmylou harris. she was very stylishly dressed. i turned to her making conversation. i said there was a strong smell of pot and she asked if i wanted some. [laughter] the following year my wife said there was an elderly gentleman old banjos. he was a very nice man sitting on the ground. he said he understood that i like old benches. he said he had three that he would like to show me. he said he understood that i liked white ladies. he said i would like this one. i asked if he was trying to sell the banjos. he said he was giving it to me. he was giving me a $3,000 musical instrument. he said he really wanted me to have it. >> that is a beautiful story. it is true. >> do

kamala harris is going to be california's next attorney general. her inauguration ceremony will be under an hour at 1:00 at the california museum for history, women and the art for s acramento. harris is the first woman to be elected as the state's attorney general. and oakland is also well coming a new mayor. jeanquan took a public walk through oakland to acknowledge both the city's history and her own. tara moriarty joins us with m ore. >> reporter: g., tori. jeanquan took her first steps literally and figurativety as the first asian-american women. here is a look at where she will be sworn in in about 15 minutes we're told. earlier, she marched through the streets of oakland, starting in chinatown where she said it all began for her. >> i want to start the morning where my great-grandfather s tarted out. >> reporter: lion dancers for good luck, jean quan retraced her history, starting at 9th streets. >> after the san francisco earthquake, my great- grandmother literally grabbed his two sons and took the ferry across the bay because san francisco

hello, ladies and gentlemen, i'm christine harris. i'm the victim of police brutality by sergeant beasley and his teammates at san francisco police department. he stalked me and burned by vital organs to near death and wiretapped my phones. still, my phones are still tapped. the san francisco police department has done nothing to help me to date and has covered up his crimes and his accomplices. i have never done anything to him or his wife except make requests of his wife when she was a property manager via e-mail. it is in the news too often another human being or animal is murdered and terrorized by a police officer, unarmed men like derrick jones, oscar grant, rodney king and most recently a man in a wheelchair. the videos tell the truth. police officers need to be trained foreeemectively and learn ho to deal with all kinds of people. they need to be given ample tests to show their worthy of protecting and serving the public and carrying lethal weapons. they need psychiatric evaluations before entering a police force and they need

but there is one fundamental difference between harris and gascon. >> i am not philosophically opposed to the death penalty. i think it has to be proper. i think there are some cases where it may be appropriate. >> reporter: san francisco public defender jeff adachi says san francisco has had a long tradition of not seeking the death penalty and hopes the chief prosecutor will honor that. >> death penalty cases are very expensive, and they take years and years to prosecute. so i would hope that george gascon would look at the social cost as well as, you know, the ineffectiveness of the death penalty. >> reporter: gascon will serve as district attorney until an election is held in november. in san francisco kimberly tere, nbc bay area news. >>> the assistant chief of operations will be interim chief in san francisco for now. godowns has been with the san francisco police department for about a year. he and gascon actually both worked for years in the lapd. a police spokesman says he will remain interim chief until the police commission appoints a replacement with the mayor's approval. >

fraud. >> today with this oath, we affirm the principle that every californian matters. >> harris is6 years old and she is the daughter of a jamaica father and an indian mother. >>> well it is the final chapter for two east bay borders book stores. the border express at concord sun valley mall and the borders express in hayward are expected to close by the end of the month. they will join 184 other borders book stores nationwide that will be closed. with the huge rise in online book sales and ereader, board withers has been forced to not only close store bus also to stop payments of some publishers. >>> there is no stopping jeff ranieri when it comes to the weather. >> no there is not. and we could use a little drying out spell, don't you think? >> yeah. you know, and it is going to be coming here as we head through the next five tires so welcome back to jessica. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. you look here at 2010 as we start off 2011. right now, we are doing great when it comes to rainfall for the season, anywhere from 100 to 150% of normal for the rainfall season. so a nice star

john boehner and harry reid, both no-shows.the north portico, the first lady wearing alexander mcqueen. and president obama greets president hu. the room fills. the evening begins. presidents both offer toasts and a surprise. >> our national zoo will continue to dazzle children and visitors with the beloved giant panda. >> reporter: dinner begins. on the menu, surf and turf. lobster and ribeye. apple pie for dessert, an american meal, just as the chinese delegation requested. jazz fills the east room. even sasha and malia get to stay up. chris botti, dee dee bridgewater, and headliner, herbie hancock. just another day at the white house.

real quickly, the other race with camilla harris who was the district attorney in san francisco is now going to be california's attorney general. she beat the district attorney steve cooley from los angeles. and she now is i think hands-down going to be a rising political star on the national scene. >> i was just going to say i had been doing a story about indian-american politicians across the country, it was a record year for them running for office, six running for congress, every operative in washington, d.c., was interested in the camilla harris race, because that was the one they felt money was being poured into in order to defeat here, people saw her as the real rising hope of the democratic party. >> interesting. >> what about, rachel, the effect on the budget for this city of san francisco? with gavin being there to carry that message as the state has cut, cut, cut? >> we'll see. san francisco had a daunting deficit this year in 2010, more than $522 million it was. next year they're looking at about $380 million going into it, but they're expecting it to be a lot worse, becaus