captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. if a terror suspect had carried out his alleged mission today, we would be starting to want with a suicide bombing at the seat of the united states government. instead, we begin with the story of how federal agents arrested that man today. on his way, apparently, to the u.s. capitol where the f.b.i. says he was out to kill as many people as possible. undercover f.b.i. agents were on to him from the start and we begin our coverage tonight with chip reid at the capital. chip? >> reporter: good evening, scott, the suspect is a citizen of morocco. he's been in the united states illegally for years. law enforcement sources say he came here today with the intention of conducting a suicide attack. the suspect was arrested this morning in this underground parking garage about one block from the u.s. capitol. i,-year-old amine al-khalifi, according to court documents, was wearing a vest contain what is al-khalifi believed to be a functioning bomb and carrying a mac 10 automatic weapon. the f.

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. two more families in chardon, ohio have suffered the death of a child. as the toll in the high school shooting there rose to three today. russell king jr. and demetrius hewlin, both 17, died of their wounds. 19-year-old danny permanent ter died yesterday. bob orr tells tus suspect in the shootings made his first court appearance. >> reporter: accused gunman t. j. lane was wearing a bullet proof vest and was flank bid heavily armed officers as he arrived at the juvenile court in chardon, ohio. inside prosecutor david joyce told judge grendell lane had admitted firing 10 shots. the 17-year-old suspect sat quietly with his grandfather and two aunts outside the camera's view , and spoke only briefly when questioned by the judge. >> you understand, t. j., that you have the right the remain silent with respect to any of the allegations pending in this court at all times? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: after a short 20-minute hearing lane was returned to juvenile detention. and was said to be s

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: the decision is one part solomon, one part semantics. president obama rushed to resolve an election year battle over religion, health insurance and birth control. under new rules that he announced today, employees of faith-based institutions will still have contraceptives covered by their insurance plans, but the cost will be picked up by the insurance companies, not by the religious institutions. so they can say they don't pay for the contraceptives, but their employees can still get them for free. norah o'donnell is at the white house tonight. norah? >> reporter: scott, this is clearly a change in policy by president obama aimed at calming this political firestorm that could have cost him support among catholic voters, a key swing group that he won by nine points in the last election. calling himself both a citizen and a christian, the president today announced a compromise. >> after the many genuine concerns that have been raised over the last few weeks as well as, frankly, the more cynical des

wall street to a new one on the captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it's a massacre in syria. entire neighborhoods and apartment blocks are being blasted by artillery fire. today, the united nations said that the dictatorship of bashar al-assad is engaged in an atrocity. this is the city of homs, a city of 1.7 million. a little more than philadelphia. it appears assad is moving to crush the freedom movement that began nearly a year ago. today, secretary of state hillary clinton raised an alarm about where all of this is headed. >> they are leading syria into the outcome that we all deplore. we do not want to see a civil war in syria. no one wants to see a civil war in syria. >> reporter: but it seems a civil war is what they have. this is the most serious uprising ever against the 40- year dictatorship of the assad family. cbs news correspondent clarissa ward has been with the rebels in the northern city of it lib. >> reporter: the city of idlib is under siege. every time the people here venture out into the streets, they are

saved from foreclosure and resume some form of lower mortgage payment, scott, the theory is everyone wins, including the bank. >> pelley: but, wyatt, how does someone who is underwater take part in this money? >> reporter: scott, that's very complicated. two things we learned today. if you're a homeowner who is hoping for a principal reduction, you shouldn't just apply to your bank-- this will probably take months-- but you should also apply to your state attorney general. the a.g.s in each state will play a major role on keeping the banks honest on who gets these loan reductions and how much. as wyatt mentioned, the banks got in trouble over fraudulent paperwork. when they started to foreclose on homes in big numbers they discovered a lot of the legal paperwork was missing, so document mills sprang up to relace the missing paperwork. "60 minutes" investigated one of those mills, called "docs." chris pendley was a robo signer there. he showed us how he signed 4,000 documents a day for major banks. they were supposed to be sworn statements from bank vice presidents to be used as evidence in court. when you came in to do

iran could be cut off as early as next month, scott. >> pelley: anthony, thanks very much. the white house think it is economic sanctions already imposed against iranian banking and trade are beginning to bite. for example the value of iran's currency has dropped about 20%. there are some food shortages and a basket of groceries in the capital tehran that was $70 in 2010 runs $44 now. syria's dictator is ignoring the u.n. resolution that called on him to step down. today bashar al-assad kept up his attacks on his own people. $this is the city of homs, devastated after two weeks of shelling. assad seems intent on crushing the year-old rebellion against his family's 40-year dictatorship. one of the few american journal who's risked his life to report from inside syria died there yesterday. the "new york times" anthony shadid apparently suffered an asthma attack. his photographer tyler hicks carried his body over the board interturkey. shadid also worked for the "washington post". he won two pulitzer prizes. he was one of america's best foreign correspondents with a keen eye a

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. you've been telling us in poll after poll that the economy is the biggest problem facing the country. so we start tonight with new evidence that it's getting better. the number of americans putting in their first claims for unemployment benefits is at a four-year low, 348,000. home construction is up 1.5%. and general motors back from bankruptcy, reported record profits for 2011, $7.6 billion. we have three correspondents covering. first, ben tracy in california, where unemployment still tops 11%. >> reporter: scott, more than two million people are still out of work here in california but the good news is businesses are hiring. and they're now expected to create half a million new jobs in just the next two years. at this clothing maker in downtown los angeles, johnny quintero is the newest hire. >> it feels great, yeah. i learn something new every day. >> reporter: he was brought on in january after being out of work for two years, forced to move back in with his parents. >> got lai

there's much more ahead on the cbs evening news with scott pelley, including rick santorum surges. t could super >> pelley: tonight, the billionaires pore money into the race for president. new figures reveal a tsunami of superpac money is helping romney but today's poll shows it may not be enough. reports from wyatt andrews and dean reynolds. the massacre in syria. a key u.s. senator tells us the time for the u.s. to take action is now. bill whitaker sits down with a survivor of the deadly avalanche in washington state. >> i definitely have the fear that this could be the way i ended. >> reporter: and john glenn tells bill plante about the moment america held its breath. >> looks like a good flight... oh, golden! >> pelley: 50 years ago today. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. on a day america honors our first president, we begin with the men battling for the chance to become the 45th. th r

we now take you to new york and the cbs evening news with scott >> pelley: tonight, turning up the pressuren syria's dictator. >> it is clear to me that there will be a breaking point. >> pelley: wyatt anadriewz and clarissa ward on the world's response to the continuing slaughter and growing humanitarian crisis. john miller reports iranian agents have been casing potential targets in the u.s., including the new york city subway. is this the answer to rising gas prices? anna werner on why an oklahoma oil man believes the u.s. is on its way to energy independence. and seth doane with a doctor who has a prescription for homelessness. >> i got my own keys to my apartment. it's all good. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it read like an indictment today, a new united nations report accusing syrian president bashar al-assad of crimes against humanity. assad is trying to crush a freedom movement that has risen qunicy his family's 40-year dictatorship. this is one street today in the city of homs. more than a million and a half people live in homs, but they're in hiding, amidst the distant thunder of assad's artillery. there are reports from homs tonight of hunger and of wounds sewn up with sewing thread. secretary of state hillary clinton is headed to tunisia for a conference on what to do next and wyatt andrews is with the secretary tonight in london. >> reporter: scott, that international conference the secretary will attend has two main goals, the first, getting food and medicine into syria and then getting rid of bashar al- assad. >> but it is clear to me that there will be a breaking point. >> reporter: in london, secretary clinton predicted that assad, by shooting his own people, has already doom

much more ahead on the cbs evening news with scott pelley, including president obama ,, >> pelley: tonighte president and the pill. mr. rob tries to head off a runaway controversy. >> religious liberty will be protected and a law that requires free preventative care will not discriminate against women. >> pelley: norah o'donnell has the story. chip reid on the republican candidates and who they're courting. >> conservatives... >> conservatives... >> conservatives! >> pelley: cla vases ward is with the rebels in syria where today the people parade for freedom. and today, on the road with steve hartman. noah saves the day with a flood of help. >> there's a lot more good people in the world than i captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: the decision is one part soloman, one part semantics. president obama rushed to resolve an election year battle over religion, health insurance and h

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, it has been a long time coming. the stock market returned to a major milestone today. the blue chip index crossed 13,000 for the first time in ne nearly four years. it wound up closing south of that at 12965, a gain of 15 points for the day. but that 13k was a feel-good moment for everyone whose 401(k) was pw-tarred. the last time the dow cross 13,000 in may of '08 it was heading in the wrong direction. by the next year, it had bottomed out at 6,547. now it has recovered nearly all of that loss. anthony mason is at the new york stock exchange tonight. anthony? >> reporter: two hours into the trading day the dow finely kissed the 13,000 mark again. did that number mean anything to you? >> i think investors look at those milestone numbers as stepp as the market moves higher. >> reporter: trader jonathan corpina. >> when main street opens up their newspaper one morning when the dow reaches 10,000, 11,000, 12,000, that helps the market skhrolgally. >> reporter: worries about last summer'

captioning sponsored by cbs s this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it's getting more dangerous by the hour in syria. ng dangerous today that today u.s. diplomats evacuated the country, the embassy is now closed and britain recalled its ambassador. this is the city of homs, naptured on cell phone video, under bombardment by the government, the 40-year ilctatorship of the assad ngmily. the uprising began in syria 11 months ago. the u.n. estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed, many of them civilians. why does syria matter? have a look at the neighborhood. what happens in syria will have big implications for neighboring israel and for the u.s. the government of bashar al- assad does not want the outside world to see what's happening inside syria. reporters are not welcome. rut our clarissa ward managed to get in to introduce us to some of the rebels who are rising against the government. >> reporter: rebel forces here are preparing for the fight they know is coming their way. these men call themselves the syrian liberation army, though they h

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. on a day america honors our first president, we begin with the men battling for the chance to become the 45th. the republican candidates for g.o.p. nomination. mitt romney is in a bit of trouble, trailing rick santorum in national polls and in polls in his home state of michigan. but don't count him out just yet. one reason, in a word, money. new figures just out from the federal election commission showed that a superpac supporting romney is raising and spending millions. we asked wyatt andrews to tell us how all that money is changing the race. >> florida, you're the best! >> rhe best! >> reporter: superpacss and the candidates' campaigns are not supposed to coordinate, but last month, the superpac supporting mitt romney spent big when he needed it big. >> gingrich even teamed up with nancy pelosi and al gore on global warming! >> reporter: and what romney needed in january were attacks on newt gingrich. the superpac called "restore our future" spent $14 million on romney's behalf

there's much manufacture ahead on the cbs evening news with scott pelley, including th >> pelley: on day, heartening news for president obama and rick santorum. the president's job-approval rating hits a surprising number. while santorum takes the g.o.p. front-runner title. 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. >> 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

there is much more ahead on the cbs evening news with scott pelley, including more on iran's growing r ambition >> pelley: tonight, deifying the world. the iranians claim a major advance in their nuclear program but are they closer to building a bomb? reports from david martin and anthony mason. her country's economy trove he her-- drove her out on a ledge. elizabeth palmer reports on the crisis that may threaten the u.s. recovery. as china's next president visits the u.s., bill whitaker investigates whether china is undermining our industry. and his supreme court appeal cannot be denied. but jim axelrod will talk to the coaches who passed on jeremy lin. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. much of the world is lined up against iran's nuclear program. israel is threatening to go to war over it, and the u.s. is sashing for extreme new

there's more ahead with scott pelley. e going to new >> pelley: tonight, the best news for the economy in three years. jobs up, unemployment down, stocks soar. the president sends a message to congress. >> don't muck it up. >> pelley: anthony mason and norah o'donnell are covering. an apology from the world's largest breast cancer charity. it says cutting funds to planned parenthood was a mistake. nancy cordes reports. federal prosecutors end their doping investigation of lance armstrong. the seven-time tour de france winner will not be charged. and on the road with steve hartman and candidate jim oharry o'hara didn't just approve this ad. he participated it. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. we begin tonight with a big improvement in the unemployment picture.

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good eveningerror suspect had carried out his alleged mission today

don't go away, much more ahead on the cbs evening news with scott pelley. we now take you to >> pelley: tonight, a rebellion fights for its life. the syrian dictatorship sends an army to crush the freedom movement. clarissa ward is with the rebels dying under the onslaught. rick santorum's clean sweep. after his win in three states, what does front-runner mitt romney do? 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

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good eveningore dangerous by the hour in syria. so dangerous today that today u.s. diplomats

later in this episode, scott pelley reports from antarctica on the wide-ranging effects of global warming. and later bob simon has a story from canada on the environmental damage caused by the next great oil rush. but our first story involves a controversial waste product that could have damaging effects on the environment. there are more than 600 coal-fired power plants generating electricity in the u.s., and those plants produce 130 million tons of waste called coal ash. it contains concentrations of mercury, arsenic, lead, and other toxic materials. and as lesley stahl first reported in 2009, when coal ash is dumped into wet ponds--and there are more than 500 of those across the country-- the result can have an enormous health risk on the people living in nearby communities. >> we get about 48%, nearly half of the electricity in this country from coal. >> jim roewer is one of the top lobbyists for the power industry. >> coal is going to be around for a long time. >> and we really can't get rid of coal. >> we shouldn't get rid of coal. >> well, should or shouldn't, we can't, and coal ma

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley reporting tonight from miami. >> pelley: good evening. mitt romney is now 2-for-4 in the race for the republican presidential nomination. cbs news is projecting that romney has defeated newt gingrich in today's primary here in florida, taking the biggest delegate prize to date. the win was expected but the surprise tonight is how wide it was. romney won conservatives, moderates, tea partyers, young voters, women and hispanics. have a look at the vote so far. this is the tabulated vote: 70% in, romney well ahead of gingrich, 47% to 32%. here's one reason romney won tonight. when we asked voters today their number-one concern, 62% told us the economy. and more than half of those voters went for romney. we have a team of campaign 2012 correspondents covering the florida primary. first jan crawford with the celebrating romney campaign in tampa. jan. >> absolutely, scott. governor romney is just coming out to address this very excited crowd. his wife ann just finished speaking a few moments ago. what this shows here t

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good eveningit's a massacre in syria. entire neighborhoods and apartment blocks are being blasted by artillery fire. today, the united nations said

for all of us at cbs news all around the world, i'm scott pelley.y on "60 minutes." good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >>> now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. >>> maw cally culkin, skeleton. scare are skinny. the headlines today. how much weight has he lost? >> the latest on his health and -- >> i had a beer. you know, i smoke a joint. >> his past drug arrest the fear of leaving hiss house and his first interview. >>> the modern-day titanic, br

we'll have that and much more at 6:00. >> "cbs evening news with scott pelley" is

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. much of the world is lined up against iran's nuclear program. israel is threatening to go to war over it, and the u.s. is pushing for extreme new sanctions. so you might not expect the iranians to go on tv to brag about their nuclear achievements, but today, the iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, claimed that his country has made an important advance in the process of enriching uranium, which is necessary to make the fuel for a bomb. we asked david martin to find out what the iranian development means. >> reporter: iran's president may have impressed his own people by showcasing his country's latest advances in nuclear technology, but experts like david albright found no new evidence iran is dramatically closer to building a bomb. >> the announcement today certainly is an attempt to show iranian resolve in the face of international opposition, but they say that every day. and this doesn't really add any credibility to that threat. >> reporter: both the fuel rods loaded into a re

scott >> pelley: good evening. the combat role for u.s. troops in afghanistan may end a full year earlier than expected. secretary of defense leon panetta said that today for the first time on behalf of the on.inistration. he was talking to reporters traveling on his plane headed to europe. elcretary panetta said "hopefully by the mid-to latter part of 2013 we'll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise, and assist role." u.s. forces are due to remain in afghanistan through 2014. panetta did not suggest today that americans would be coming home any sooner. the u.s. goal is to keep the taliban from returning to power, but in another development mday, david martin tells us that a u.s. military report says the administration's goal may be out of reach. >> reporter: the report, classified secret and entitled state of the taliban, 2012, makes for discouraging reading to anyone who thinks the taliban is a spent force. based on interviews with taliban and al qaeda prisoners, it states that: prisoners, of course, are n

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good eveningstart tonight with a story that sent a chill through parents today-- parents who send their kids to school trusting and hoping that they will be safe. but in one

scott? >> pelley: thanks, dean. for his part, president obama took the occasion of the michigan primary to address a friendly audience of auto workers in washington d.c., and attack the republican candidates for opposing the bailout of g. m. and chrysler. >> you folks say well the real problem is what we real need was the workers, they made out like bandits. saving the auto industry was just about paying back the unions. really? even by the standards of this town that's a load of you know what. >> pelley: the white house later denied that the president's remarks were political, saying that he was addressing policy issues. bob schieffer is our chief washington correspondent, and the anchor of "face the nation," and back to the republicans, what if mitt romney loses his home state of michigan? >> you know, scott, this whole thing, i mean if he wins arizona tonight and gets 90% of the vote, all people are going to want to know about is what did he do in his home state. i think his home state comes down to this. can he

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, a federal appeals court says that california's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. the ban, known as proposition 8, was narrowly approved by voters in 2008. 52% to 48%. today a three-judge panel in san francisco ruled that the ban violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment which basically says that the law must treat everyone equally. john blackstone is looking into where this case is headed next. >> reporter: outside the courthouse, supporters of same-sex marriage cheered the ninth circuit's decision overturning proposition 8. the ruling says proposition 8 serves no purpose and has no affect other than the lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in california. when proposition 8 passed in november, 2008, it brought an abrupt end to five months when same-sex marriage was legal in california. the fact that same sex couples had once been allowed to marry was a key factor in the appeals court decision says law professor even lee. >> once there'

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. there is growing talk about a military strike against iran to stop its from developing a nuclear weapon. some of it came from israel's defense minister, and some of it came from u.s. defense secretary leon panetta today. more about all of that now from national security correspondent david martin at the pentagon. >> reporter: defense secretary panetta believes there is strong likelihood israel will strike iran in april, may, or june. that, according to columnist, david ignatius, writing shortly after he completed a transatlantic flight with the defense secretary. panetta today did not dispute it. as if to show panetta has cause for concern, israel's defense minister seemed to reject u.s. arguments economic sanctions need more time to work. sprinkling his hebrew with english ehud barak said. >> as long as as november, barak said there were only six to nine month left before iran buried its nuclear facilities so deeply to make it too deep to attack. when joint chiefs chairman martin de

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. two more families in chardon, ohio have suffered the death of a child. as the toll in the high school shooting there rose to three today. russell king jr. and demetrius he,

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. the combat role for u.s. troops in afghanistan may end a full year earlier than

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good eveningthe mortgage meltdown cost millions of americans their homes. millions more are still struggling to avoid foreclosure. for months now, the states have been negotiating with many of the banks over the price that the ba

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. we begin tonight with a big improvement in the unemployment picture. the labor department reported today that the jobless rate in january fell .2 to 8.3%. the lowest in three years. and the economy created 243,000 jobs. that's a lot more than economists or wall street were expecting, so the news sent sock prices soaring. the dow gained more than 156 points to close at 12,862. and have a look at this-- that is the highest close for the dow since may of 2008. the financial crisis sent the index as low as 6500 the following year, so that's quite a recovery since then. we asked anthony mason to tell us who's posting the help wanted signs. >> reporter: patriots trash cans and giant towels are rolling off the line this week at wincraft, the sports collectibles company in winona, minnesota. super bowl sunday is big business for wincraft, and president john killen sees business growing 10% this year. >> we're ahead of plan already in the first month of the year. so we're bullish on 2012. >>

surprise at the white house. >> captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelleyelley: good evening. you've been telling us in poll after poll that the economy is the biggest problem facing the

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, a federal appeals court says that california's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. the ban, known as proposition 8, was narrowly approved by voters in 2008. 52% to 48%.