. >> axelrod: i'm jim axelrod. also tonight, across the nation, stormy weather is on the prowl as the system that brought snow and sleet to the house is headed north. business professors might flunk the idea-- a successful restaurant chain says it won't charge for your meal but feel free to make a donation. and santa's story, you'll never guess where he was born or when. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> axelrod: we begin tonight in rome, where pope benedict xvi celebrated christmas mass. in his traditional christmas day message, the pope spoke to catholics in china, urging them to have courage in the face of oppression. amid heightened security at the vatican, the pope prayed for a just and peaceful coexistence in the middle east. in bethlehem, an estimated 100,000 pilgrims made the journey to the birthplace of christ. officials say that's double the number that visited last year. security, as always also, was tight but th

>> smith: jim axelrod in midtown tonight. thank you. a new report shows a sharp jump this year in the number of police officers killed in the line of duty. nationwide, 160 officers have died from gunfire, auto crashes, and other causes. compared with 117 in 2009. texas had the most police deaths followed by california and illinois. firefighters also assumed plenty of risk when they answer the alarm. some situations make it even more dangerous, like when squatters occupy a vacant building. cynthia bowers reports two deadly fires, one early today, the other last week, illustrate the terrible danger. >> reporter: surrounded by thousands of mourners, the casket of chicago firefighter edward stringer was carried to his funeral atop engine 63. the same truck he road to the fire that claimed his life. >> mayday, mayday... >> reporter: stringer was one of two firefighters killed when the roof of an abandoned building collapsed on them. 17 firefighters were injured. they were inside searching for homeless men and women. >> there were some squatt

we have several reports on the storm and we begin with national correspondent jim axelrod in new york's midtown manhattan. >> reporter: it was a nasty one, harry, and while it's clear now, as you can tell from the looks of things behind me, it's going to be several days until life returns entirely to normal around here. plows were getting stuck. at the storm's peak, 68 mile per hour winds left 43,000 without power in new york. the city's 911 service had a backlog of 1,300 calls and left the mayor pleading for emergency calls only. >> 911 has to be free for the genuine emergencies. people's lives depend on it. >> reporter: the three major metropolitan airports were closed. 2,000 flights were canceled and tens of thousands of travelers were stranded. american airlines has already canceled all of its flights for tomorrow at laguardia airport. many new yorkers started this past holiday weekend disappointed there was no white christmas. they ended the weekend reminded of the old saying "be careful what you wish for." the 20 inches of snow makes it the fifth-snowiest storm ever here. in less

jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. >> glor: in london, a rare picture book sold at auction for a record price, more than $10 million. it's a 19th century printed edition of john james audubon's "birds of america" with 435 hand-colored illustrations. the new owner, a british book collector, calls it priceless. coming up next here, barefoot in the park with a man in search of shoes. uh, a little help... oh! you know shipping is a lot easier with priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. plus, you can print and pay for postage online. and i can pick them up for free with package pickup. perfect! cause i'm gonna need a lot of those. wow! i knew i should have brought my sleigh. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at $4.90 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. [ male announcer ] an everyday moment can turn romantic anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take ever

here's national correspondent jim axelrod with tonight's "american spirit of giving." >> i'll get themeporter: forget the red suit white beard, and belly. sometimes santa goes for a slightly different look. >> say thank you. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> reporter: justin martin is all the santa these kids could want. >> this is my third year doing it, and so far, in all the years that i've done it, i've given away over 2,000 bears. >> reporter: which is a good thing. oh, my goodness! because for some, at this inner- city school in newark, new jersey, he's all the santa they're going to get. what are you going to do with him? >> take him home! >> reporter: you're going to take him home? >> of course! >> reporter: what are you going to do with him at home? >> i'm going to put him in my bed and go to sleep. >> reporter: at eight years old, justin has a deeper understanding of the holiday spirit than many adults ever will. >> thank you! >> reporter: what feels better, the presents you get or all these bears that you give? >> the bears that i give. i don't know why. >> reporter: three

our cover story is reported by jim axelrod. >> some place on the back. >> photographer kent miller isbefore sunrise to make sure everything's perfect for his shoot. >> perfect. >> he wants to capture a triathlete at the foot of the george washington bridge just across the river from manhattan in just the right light at dawn. >> this is a great opportunity to photograph him in really special way. body facing that way then spin back around. >> professional photographer for more than 20 years, kent shoots mostly digital now. >> you can't see the picture. >> but this is a job for film. >> now we got it. got to love the sound of a film camera. >> jim: not just any film, kodachrome. >> just reproduces colors in a way that most other films never did and lasts forever. something that's difficult to shooting digital until you bring it in to photo shop and do owl your work. the camera doesn't have that density and that dynamic range as the kodachrome does just naturally. love it. >> reporter: the shoot goes great. >> beautiful colors. >> reporter: but it's a poignant day for kent miller because

robert gibbs in a strategic group with david axelrod, jim ma cena, now deputy white house chief of staffthey'll set up, organize the obama re-election campaign. gibbs also could go to a senior adviser role. he almost certainly will be stepping away from the podium. possibly stepping in, bill burton, familiar to us, his deputy, jay carney, "time" magazine, well known to "morning joe" viewers, who has been a communications director to the president. >> jay f you know your "morning joe" history is the one that goded me out. >> he's behind the f bomb. >> a special place in our history. >> we don't want him. mike, i saw in the graphic, tom perriello, he walked the plank with president obama and then loss in virginia. is president obama going to reach out and bring him along? >> the president instructed his advisors to look at possible jobs for some of the people who lost in the last election. so as they look at what new faces they might bring in, those include congressman perriello of virginia, a couple congressmen from ohio. another place we'll see a new face, at the national security counci