jan crawford, chip reid and john dickerson watch the race out west. dramatic video of the snowboarder who survived a colorado avalanche. john blackstone shows us the high-tech backpack that may have saved her life. and elizabeth ii celebrating 60 years as queen. aarlie d'agata takes a look at the second longest reign in british history. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> jeff: good evening, i'm jeff glor. for more than three decades, the u.s. and egypt have had a strong s.liance, but tonight that relationship is on shaky ground following egypt's decision to try 19 americans on unspecified charges. the americans, including the son of cabinet secretary ray lahood, are barred from leaving egypt. senior white house correspondent norah o'donnell is tracking developments tonight in isshington. norah, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, jeff. and the obama administration says tonight that they are seply concerned about these eeplrts and urging the egyptian government to change course or risk more than a billion dollars in amer

jan crawford, chip reid, and john dickerson are tracking the candidates. a bitter cold wave and heavy snow have killed more than 200 people across much of europe. charlie d'agata reports from a freezing london. and sizzling cuban jazz in a u.s. home. michelle miller takes us to meet the band leader who is up for a grammy award next weekend. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> cordes: good evening. i'm nancy cordes. syrian government forces have launched their most deadly one- day assault on the opposition, killing more than 200 people in the city of homs. the overall death toll since the uprising began last march, more than 5,400, according to the united nations, where an emergency security council meeting ended in deadlock. whit johnson has more on the violence and its wider repercussions. >> reporter: following the deadliest one-day crackdown in syria's 11-month uprising, in today's emergency session, the u.n. security council failed to approve a resolution calling for president bashar al-assad to step aside. his allies, china

this is causing problems. >> schieffer: john dickerson, put it all in perspective now.grich says he's hanging around for the long haul. how does this work out? can he do this. >> it's very hard. romney has had a consecutive win which we haven't seen so far in this primary. he's trying to start the victory parade. gingrich is trying to convince us he's not on a death march to tampa. gingrich has a lot of obstacles. of the seven remaining contests romney has won four in the past in 2008. he has a lot more money than gingrich. what we've seen in nevada and we saw it in florida too, organization matters. romney's group has been preparing for a long fight. that matters in terms of turning out your vote but getting on the right page keeping a single message. those are challenges for gingrich and also he's got to find, as you quite rightly pointed out, he has to find a way to break into the cycle. he has a lot of different messages. he may be able to nick romney a bit. he needs to explain to people why he's the alternative, why he's the general election candidate. he just does

cbs news political director john dickerson is also in traverse city tonight. john, good evening to you. what's your sense on the ground now? >> it feels very close here, jeff. coming in to this vote mitt romney has some of the momentum after that last debate where rick santorum didn't do so well. when you talk to voters at his rallies they say they like mitt romney because they think can beat barack obama, can turn around the economy. but when you go to a santorum rally they rch more enthusiastic. voters are responding to santorum when he talks on stage and draws that clear contrast between his policies and barack obamas. so the enthusiasm feels like it's with santorum, though romney has the advantage in money, organization and ties to the state. >> jeff: john, what happens to mitt romney if he loses mitch itch-- michigan? >> it would be a near fatal blow. his campaign would be in critical condition. because he has so many advantages in michigan. he has money, his family lived here, he grew up here. he has been playing on all of those ties. so if he lost, when

himself as the only candidate talking about fixing the economy. >> jeff: our political director john dickerson as we close in on the critical michigan primary, john, thank you. >> thanks, jeff. >> jeff: also in campaign 2012 rising gasoline prices are getting the attention of both the republican challengers and the white house. gas is now the costliest it's ever been this time of year. an average of 3.56 per gallon, up 40 cents in a year. wit johnson explains what that means during a presidential election year. >> reporter: amid rising gas prices, republican presidential hopefuls have a new line of attack. >> this president is anti-american energy. >> reporter: today newt gingrich was quick to point out the price for a gallon of gas is now $1.64 higher than the day president obama took office. >> so what i can guarantee su the obama program is higher prices, more dependency in the middle east, more vulnerability to saudi arabia and iraq and iran, exactly the wrong direction. >> reporter: at a tea party event yesterday, rick santorum hammered the president for blocking the keystone pipeline, sl

reports from dean reynolds and john dickerson. the u.s. heads toward the mildest winter since 1950, while parts of europe are frozen solid. chip reid on what's behind the winter extremes. and should women fight? david martin on a pentagon plan that only starts to catch up to the reality of women at war. >> it's not just the men getting hurt. it's the women, too. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it's a blood letting in syria. civilians facing tanks. there is every indication that th the dictatorship is moving to crush once and for all the 11-month-old rebellion. this is homs, a city of 1.7 million people, a little bit more than philadelphia. it's under siege by tanks and artillery for a fifth day in a row. scenes like this are playing out in several syrian cities and towns tonight. syria matters because of its neighborhood. it borders both israel and iraq. the assad dictatorship, 40 years old, has banned independent reporting but cbs news correspondent clarissa ward got t

reports from norah o'donnell and john dickerson. with iran threatening to close the strait of hormuz, allen pizzey is aboard a u.s. warship sent to make sure it stays open. wyatt andrews reports long after the caucuses, iowa welcomes another man with his eye on the presidency, the president of china. and seth doane catches up with greg brooks who may have found $3 billion off the coast of massachusetts. >> the hunt for the treasure keeps you excited everyday. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, president obama has not been enjoying the kind of popularity that gets presidents reelected. but in a new cbs news/"new york times" poll out tonight, there are signs he has turned a corner. for the moment, at least, half the public now approves of the job he is doing. have a look. last may, right after navy seals killed osama bin laden the president's job-approval rating soared to 57%. but by november it was back to 43%, tying his all-time low. then the numbers started rising.

him about all of it this morning and then check in with our round table of norah o'donnell and john dickerson plus karen tumulty of the "washington post" and todd spangler of the detroit free press. this is "face the nation." captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news in washington, "face the nation" with bob schieffer. >> schieffer: good morning. welcome, senator. you are the leader in the polls this morning. i have to say you were very busy yesterday. the associated press led its story of your appearance in columbus ohio by saying, quote, rick santorum questioned barack obama's christian values. that was after you lashed out at the president's proposal on energy of all things when you said this. >> it's not about you. it's not about you. it's not about your quality of life. it's not about your job. it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. oh, not a theology based on the bible, a different theology. ( applause ) >> schieffer: so, senator, i've got to ask you. what in the world were you talking about? >> well i was talking about the radical environmentalist. that's what i was talking

john dickerson on the run-up to super tuesday. a moderate calls it quits in the ever-more-polarized congress. nancy cordes on why olympia snowe is leaving the senate. remembering former teen idol davy jones of the monk monkees. >> and david martin, with a wounded veteran of iraq who fights on at home. > captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. they came after midnight when most folks were sleeping. by the time the sun rose today, survivors could see what had terrified them in the night. from a helicopter over harrisburg, illinois, you can follow its path that one tornado took, buildings blown apart on their foundations, winds as high as 170 miles an hour did this. and harrisburg was not alone. 27 tornadoes have been reported. at least nine people are dead, more than 150 injured. the resort town of branson, missouri, is hit hard. the storm system moved east. tornado watches and warnings were posted from mississippi to ohio. we have two correspondents in the disaster area

also covering the battle for michigan is our cbs news political director john dickerson. john, of all 50 states you would think that michigan would be a sure thing for romney. why is he tied there? >> well, you know, romney does have a lot of advantages here. he has a better organization, more money and he has family ties. in fact, the building on my right is named after his father, the former governor. voters say they like romney because they think he can beat barack obama but there's a segment of the party that wants something more, a candidate who talks to their passions and who, in fact, can answer their fears and that's what rick santorum does. we're seeing in michigan the first direct contest between two divisions in the republican party, the establishment represented by romney and the more populist conservatives, that's who's backing rick santorum, the evangelicals, the tea party voters, who are the passion of the party. there's not a split in that vote here as there has been in other states because newt gingrich is not running, if romney can pull off a victory in m

the battle could be taking a toll on republicans want cbs news political director, john dickerson says the race is hurting the gop's chances in november. >> a month ago, ron paul and mitt romney beat barack obama among independents, obama beats them all now. why? because the attacks hurt individual candidate images. mitt romney in particular, has been very hurt. >> arizona and michigan holds the next contest on february 28. super tuesday will be one week later. >> whitney houston's life will be celebrated this weekend in the place where the star first showcased her talent. her funeral will be at a church in new jersey. and tonight, fans are showing up there to express their condolences. randall pinkston tells us about the singer who will deliver the eulogy. randall. >> ken, from the time whitney houston was a young woman, her life has been played out of the public spotlight. her triumph and tragedies. as her family prepares to say good-bye, they say that they have lived with her being shared with the world for some 30 years and now it's time for a private farewell. >> the fence around

cbs news political director, john dickerson says all the republican insiding isn't helping the republicanause. >> a month ago, ron paul and mitt romney beat barack obama among independents, obama beats them all now. why? because the attacks in the republican field have hurt individual candidate images. mitt romney in particular has been very hurt. >> arizona and michigan hold the next contest on february 28. super tuesday will be one week later. >>> yeah, you have been to the gas station lately? we are seeing prices that we normally don't see. this time of the year at least. juliette got goodrich is checking out what's going on. >> we are seeing double digit increases and here it's only february. you can see the marquee. regular unleaded at $3.99. and it's not even the summer driving months yet. the state's average of the pump price is now 40 cents higher than it was this time last year. why? because gas prices are largely influenced by investor activity. that affects supply and demand. prices also have gone up because of tensions with iran, which have added uncertainty to the future crud

john dickerson is our cbs news political director and, john, you've been digging into the numbers and you found something fascinating. >> well, you know, rick santorum is becoming the conservative alternative to mitt romney by arguing he makes the sharpest contrast with barack obama. there's a number that point this is out. we asked voters who would have very different policies from barack obama. 60% said santorum. for mitt romney, only 36% said he would have the most different policies. the snapshot we're seeing now is that santorum... people are so take within santorum it's changing the way they're looking at the race. asked what qualities they'd look for in a candidate they picked moral character and values. those are santorum's strong points. beating barack obama used to be the number one thing people cared about. it's now the fourth thing they care about. >> pelley: john, i wonder, is this race hurting republican chances in november? >> 57% of republicans say yes. and they have a right to be worried because of those independents we were talking about. a month ago, ron paul and mi

. >> pelley: john dickerson is our cbs news political director and, john, did we witness a fundamental change in the race last night? >> in talking to republican strategists today, they would say no. that mitt romney is still the odds-on favorite. he's got a lot more money than rick santorum and he's got organization in future states that are more like florida where romney won than like the states in which santorum did well. also he benefits from the splitting of the vote. newt gingrich and rick santorum split the voters who don't want to vote for mitt romney. but here's one thing to watch in future contests. last night, newt gingrich did very poorly. what if conservatives are now rallying around santorum? they're not going to split the vote anymore. it's just santorum against romney. if that's true in these future contests things really will have changed. >> pelley: john, thank you very much. in a rare moment today the republican speaker of the house took to the floor to denounce a new federal rule on contraception. the obama administration is requiring faith-based employers such as h

john dickerson in washington is our cbs news political director. john, to whom is santorum appealing with this message? >> he's appealing to religious voters, scott, who like his specific stance on the social issues and conservatives who like he shows conviction. the risk is that he becomes defined by his passion and they miss a chance to reach those republican voters looking for a candidate focused on other issues like excessive government spending and job creation. another risk is republicans thinking about the general election. whether santorum's unapologetic talk about social issues could hurt him with swing voters who are less ideological. voters, republicans, who might have thought mitt romney wasn't conservative enough may decide compared to santorum romney is more dependable. a more dependable candidate to deliver the republican message. >> pelley: john, thank you. a growing issue in the race is the rising price of gasoline. it's up to a nationwide average $3.57 a gallon. 40 cents higher than a year ago. oil hit a nine-month high after iran

john dickerson of "slate" magazine and cbs news. nia malika henderson of "the washington post," and pete williams of nbc news. >> award-winning reporting and analysis, covering history as it happens. live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week." produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> a lion is a powerful thing. it connects the global economy. to your living room. cleaner air to stronger markets. factory floors, to less crowded roads. today's progress do tomorrow's promise. norfolk southern, one line, infinite possibilities. >> corporate funding is also provided by -- prudential financial, boeing. additional funding is providing by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. once again live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. last week we were talking about the economy, but this week republicans jockeyed for the party's most conservative

john dickerson, thanks. >> thanks. >>> now to the bloodbath in syria. government continues a relentless assault, especially in the city of homs. dozens have been killed during a week of bombardment. correspondent clarissa ward is traveling with rebels, and they show no sign of backing down. >> reporter: across syria, friday is the day for prayer, and protest. as they emerge from the mosque, the faithful called out to god to win free dom. young boys led the chant. we need a god-fearing president this one cried. they marched together in the main square, the free zone, where government forces have been pushed out. after days of fighting and mourning, today offered a rare moment of joy. the rebels have managed to carve out this small enclave so the people of this city can come out here without fear and celebrate what this uprising is really all about. freedom. >> we need freedom! >> reporter: they burned photographs of the leaders of russia and china supporters of assaad's regime and pledged support to the people of the city of homs. with our soul and our b

reports from norah o'donnell and john dickerson.hreatening to close the strait of hormuz, allen pizzey is aboard a u.s. warship sent to make sure it stays open. wyatt andrews reports long after the caucuses, iowa welcomes another man with his eye on the presidency, the president of china. and seth doane catches up with greg brooks who may have found $3 billion off the coast of massachusetts. >> t hunt for the treasure keeps you excited everyday. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, president obama has not been enjoying the kind of popularity that gets presidents reelected. but in a nes

reports from dean reynolds and john dickerson. the u.s. heads toward the mildest winter since 1950, while parts of europe are frozen solid. chip reid on what's behind the winter extremes. and should women fight? david martin on a pentagon plan that only starts to catch up to the reality of women at war. >> it's not just the men getting hurt. it's the women, too. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it's a blood letting in syria. civilians facing

cbs news political director john dickerson will tell us what does that mean for mitt romney, newt gingrichnd the conservative message? a retired general takes aim at the admiral in charge of the ben bin laden raid. we'll ask senior correspondent john mill better concern that too many secrets -- john miller about the concern that too many secrets are being exposed. darrell waltrip is in the green room. we'll see you at 7:00. >>> tough. >>> let's check in with lawrence for a last check of perfect. yesterday rain, today fog and waves, trying to kind busy. >> we thought it was going to be quiet today. but waves rocking along the coastline today, big-time surf out there, 18-foot breaks. that's pacifica pier. you want to stay away from the rocks today as those waves are expected to continue to crest into the afternoon. now, we're also seeing some dense fog all around the bay area right now. temperatures running in the 40s and 50s. dense fog advisory continuing in the north and east bay. some of the visibilities down to less than a quarte mile or eighth mile. the fog gone this afternoon, plenty o

political director, john dickerson is with us now. hn, good morning. >> good morning, charlie. >> how did santorum do it? >> he appealed to the core of the republican party and they've been consistently unsure about mitt romney. they've been looking for a place to land. they landed for a little while with newt gingrich. they have been shuffling around and like what rick santorum had to say and they turned out for him. >> the romney camp says we didn't focus on these and secondly, it's more defeat for newt gingrich than for us. >> there's an old line in politics when you're explaining you're losing. they have to explain away these losses. they are right in that romney has a lot of money and he has an organization and he didn't play as hard in these states. but he is the one who is supposed to be taking on barack obama. he needs to be strong in his own party. these victories, by rick santorum showed that he's not strong in his own party, can't seal the deal with the core of that party. these doubts persist. so he's got a lot of work to d

political director, john dickerson is with us. >> good morning. >> this could be a tough one. >> very tough one. also because romney put all of his chips on michigan. they can't really lower expectations. when you say this is personal, this was my home, it's really put the focus on michigan. >> where will the romney camp go after santorum? >> two places. one, washington insider. he's a part of the problem and romney will, of course, point out that he was never in washington. also on leadership. romney will say in my business career, in turning around the olympics, i had she is attributes. romney can't go after him too hard. because his numbers have been getting worse among independents who he'll need for the general election. he gets in the way of his message about the economy. if he's attacking all the time, he can't talk about what people like about with romney which is hopefully his ability to turn around the economy. >> does social conservatives play a role there? >> they do. in the 2008 exit polls after the primary, 36% were evangelical christians. that's a number to watch. those

john dickerson is with us this morning. good morning. >> good morning, charlie. >> the story of the super pacs and this change of a decision by the obama campaign says what about the looming fight with republicans to have the most money in the general election? >> it's going to be big, this fight. it's going to be ugly. we've already seen this. it's going to be on the air waves. what the obama camp saw is these fundraising numbers from last year. the republicans able to raise so much money. they also saw what romney was able to do with newt gingrich in florida. just absolutely bury him under ads. they started to worry about what this was going to mean for the president in the general election. >> what do we know about how the obama campaign looks at romney as a competitor? >> well, they look at him basically -- he has a great argument. the economy's bad. the election will be a referendum on the president. here's a candidate who can say i understand the economy. he has a good top line argument. they see real weakness at the

. >>> cbs news political director john dickerson is with us. how did santorum do it? >> the conservatives spoke. 'peeled to the core of the republican party and they've been consistently unsure about mitt romney. they landed for a little while with newt gingrich. they've been shuffling around. they liked what rick santorum had to say and they turned out for it. >> the romney camp says we didn't focus on these. it's more of a defeat for newt gingrich than for us. >> there's an old line in politics, when you're explaining you're losing. they're having to explain away the losses. they are right in that romney has a lot of money and an organization. he didn't play as hard in these states, but he is the one who's supposed to be taking on barack obama. he needs to be strong in his own party. and these victories by rick santorum showed that he's not strong in his own party. he can't seal the deal with the core of that party. the doubts persist. so he has a lot of work to do. >> where is the process now to select a republican nominee? >> rick santorum is now going to fell a l