captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley reporting tonight from havana, cuba. >> pelley: good evening. tonight u.s. corporations have lined up behind the new opening to cuba. mastercard, cisco, marriott, pepsi, caterpillar and major league baseball all expressed interest in doing business here. it won't happen overnight, but cubans here in havana are just as eager. in terms of u.s. relation, it's been 54 years that they've been frozen in time. for all any cuban can tell, detroit hasn't made a car since 1961. chevys and fords familiar to eisenhower and sinatra live forever thanks to a uniquely cuban industry, counterfeiting new parts from designs of the '50s. nearly everyone in havana is ready to move on. >> the average cuban is ecstatic. they're euphoric. they believe that this is a new beginning for cuba. >> pelley: alberto cole is a professor of international law at depaul university in chicago, a specialist in cuba, he moved to the u.s. as a child in 1961 when castro imprisoned his father. i wonder how today the average cubans' aspirations have change

you guide my sleigh tonight ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley pelley: good evening. this is our western edition. the senate intelligence committee laid it all out for the world to see-- an accounting of the c.i.a.'s extreme interrogation of terror suspects after 9/11. today, the panel, controlled by democrats, released the results of a six-year investigation that found the agency misled the president and congress. the report concluded that better intelligence could have been obtained by more humane methods. we'll begin tonight with nancy cordes. >> a 500-page executive summary. >> reporter: in a one-hour speech, senate intelligence chairman dianne feinstein laid out her case, that the c.i.a.'s interrogation program after 9/11 was far more brutal than the agency claimed. y interrogators and guards used what they called "rough take- downs" in which a detainee was grabbed from a cell, clothes cut off, hooded, and dragged up and down a dirt hallway while being slapped and punched. >> reporter: her report says abu zubaydah, a top al qaeda associate,

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening this is our western edition. the police in sydney, australia waited hour after hour today, then gunfire rang out and they could wait no longer. they stormed a cafÉ where a gunman had taken 17 hostages. the prime minister said the man who apparently acted alone, had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability. ben tracy begins our coverage in sydney. >> reporter: just before 2:00 a.m., five hostages managed to escape and made a frantic dash toward riot police. minutes later there was a series of loud explosions. ( three explosions ) followed by flashes of heavy gunfire that continued for 30 seconds. ( gunfire ) more than 16 hours after the hostage crisis began, australian army commandos poured in to end it. when it was over, five people were injured and three were dead, including the hostage- taker, an iranian refugee called man haron monis. monis sought asylum in australia in 1996 and was well- known to authorities. a self-proclaimed sheik, he so

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> mason: good evening. scott's on assignment. i'm anthony mason, and this is our western edition. the f.b.i. confirmed today that the communist north korean government was behind the hack attack against sony pictures entertainment. at his year-end news conference, the president promised the u.s. will respond. he did not say how or when. he did say sony should not have pulled the movie "the interview" in response to the hackers' terror threat, suggesting it set a bad precedent. major garrett at the white house begins our coverage. >> we cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the united states. >> reporter: the president said he understood sony faced serious financial and liability issues, but said the company should not have caved. >> i am sympathetic to the concerns that they faced. having said all that, yes, i think they made a mistake. i wish they had spoken to me first. >> reporter: in an interview with cnn, sony pictures c.e.o. michael linton said so

. >> i'm scott pelley in havana. at the end of a historic week, cubans are trying to figure out what this new opening with america will mean. >> mason: dr. jon lapook on a surge in flu cases and new questions about the vaccine. and steve hartman with cops following the letter of the law. >> hello, ma'am. your vehicle was targeted. >> mason: and the spirit of the season. >> oh, my gosh! are you serious? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> mason: good evening. scott's on assignment. i'm anthony mason. the f.b.i. confirmed today that the communist north korean government was behind the hack attack against sony pictures entertainment. at his year-end news conference, the president promised the u.s. will respond. he did not say how or when. he did say sony should not have pulled the movie "the interview" in response to the hackers' terror threat, suggesting it set a bad precedent. major garrett at the white house begins our coverage. >> we cannot have a society in which some di

no one, scott, is openly advocating for those to be voinstated. >> pelley: bob, thanks. our congressional correspondent nancy cordes is on her post on capitol hill tonight. nancy, why is the report being released now? >> politics, scott. because this report is dianne feinstein's baby, and she will lose her chairmanship in just three weeks when republicans take control of the senate. there is no guarantee that her replacement, richard burr of north carolina, a republican, would be in any hurry to release it. he voted against it. and so, yes, she has faced a lot of pressure from the c.i.a., from republicans, from some in ome administration, who argue that releasing this report will make americans less safe, will anger our enemies, but she has always argued that it will do exactly the opposite, and that shining a light on these past practices will ensure that they're never used again. >> pelley: we will see. nancy cordes, thank you very much. s another story, the white house says the president has no regrets and no second thoughts about the failed attempt over the weekend to

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. parts of california so desperate for rain got it in buckets today from a fast-moving storm hitting the west coast. at least a billion gallons of waiter fell into los angeles reservoirs, a year's supply for at least 30,000 people. but drought relief came at a price. at least two dead in oregon, flooded roads, mudslides, and now a massive cleanup. we have two reports, beginning with bigad shaban in los angeles. begad. >> reporter: scott, the mudslide buried this neighborhood after just about two inches of rain fell in a matter of hours. now, last year a wildfire actually burned much of the vegetation along these nearby hillsides so when the rain came down the dirt had nothing to hold on to. on this secrete in the community of camarillo, there's mud and rubble up to the roof lines. the mudslide actually blew out the front door? >> yeah. you can see the hinges and frame are ripped right ow. >> reporter: firefighter nick cleary helped rescue three people from this home, including a blind

and our scott pelley is in havana tonight with more on how that is playing there. cott, good evening. >> pelley: good evening. it is a beautiful and blustery night in havana where almost no one is talking about anything else other than today's diplomatic breakthrough. there have been celebrations in the streets, swarms of motorcycle riders honking horns, children parading in the streets. this is seen almost universally as very good news. cuba has its economic problems and people are beginning to think that this could be the beginning of the end of those problems. they see this as an opportunity for americans to travel to cuba, to bring money to cuba. they see this as potentially the opportunity to increase trade with the united states. this is still a country where you can walk into a supermarket and see the shelves empty. so there is a great deal of optimism, a great deal of hope tonight that this will bring those days to a close, at least eventually. but overwhelmingly, cubans are saying that, as they say in this city, we haven't had time to swallow this yet. they

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. reporting tonight from havana, cuba. >> pelley: good evening. this is our western edition. this is about the last place we thought we would be reporting from tonight, but after 18 months of secret negotiations, the word came out about noon today eastern time simultaneously in washington and here in havana that the united states and cuba would form normal diplomatic relations for the first time since 1961. the idea was met here with jubilation by cubans who feel that this will be a major boost to their economy. we have correspondents covering this story around the world, including reports from moscow, the vatican, miami and washington, and we'll start tonight with major garrett at the white house. >> i am convinced that through a policy of engagement we can more effectively stand up for our values and help the cuban people help themselves as they move into the 21st century. >> reporter: it started this march with a meeting between president obama and pope francis at the vatican. the pre

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. today, a grand jury in new york city declined to bring charges against a white police officer in the death of an unarmed black man, this as the nation is still debating a similar decision nine days ago by a grand jury in the ferguson, missouri case. late today, the justice department said it will launch a civil rights investigation in new york just as it's doing in ferguson. the president felt compelled to make these unplanned remarks a short time ago. >> we recognize this is an american problem and not just a black problem or a brown problem or a native american problem. this is an american problem. when anybody in this country is not being treated equally under the law, that's a problem. and it's my job as president to help solve it. ( applause ). >> pelley: protesters in new york staged what they call a die-in, lying on the floor of grand central terminal. we have more now on the case from jim axelrod. >> i continue to pray that justice will be peace. it has to be justice. somewhe

for scott pelley, i'm jim axelrod.of us here, good night, merry christmas, and we ave you with a look at the national christmas tree in washington. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ♪ >>> ever wonder how the stars celebrate the holidays? >> we have you covered tonight on "e.t." ♪ >> we're going to go to my parents' farm and hang out and cook. an italian christmas and none of us are italian. >> the kooblging, the traveling, the stars do it too. >> i'm getting out of l.a. >> we got a 2-year-old boy at home. we're going to shower him with presents and be at the grandparents' home back in washington state. >> some have other plans. >> stay as far away from your family as possible. once my mom is halfway through a box of wine, she's uncontrollable. >> we're talking to idina menzel, dishing on her holiday album, moving on from her split with taye diggs and is there really a "frozen" backlash? >> parents are sick of me. >> this is going to get you into

the cbs evening news with scott pelley is next. >> the latest news and weather always on kpix.com. >>pelley: tonight, a deadly end to the siege in sydney. police storm a cafÉ where a terrorist held more than a dozen hostages. ben tracy is in sydney. jericka duncan on a deadly shooting rampage in the philadelphia suburbs. oil prices fall again, but not air fares. manuel bojorquez on the airlines defying the laws of gravity and supply and demand. and michelle miller on report card day for high school dropouts getting a second chance. >> a lot of these kids have never accomplished anything in their lives. >> pelley: until now. >> i want to rock your world. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

scott pelley is in cuba's capital and we'll speak to him in a moment. first major garrett is at the white house where the president made the historic announcement. major, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. president obama said it was time to end the experiment and isolation that dates back to a the eisenhower administration. critics said the president was misinform and naive. >> we will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests. >> reporter: the white house negotiates the release of u.s. aid worker alan gros unjustly jailed in cuba for five years at the same time it worked on normalizing relations with havana's communist government. the pope urged them to resolve and initiate a new phase in relations. the president sealed the deal with castro in an oval office phone call tuesday. freedom for gross triggered the lifting of certain travel and trade restrictions but only congress can remove all barriers between the u.s. and cuba. democrat robert menendez is the outgoing chairman of the foreign relations committee.

. >> scott pelley joins with us a look ahead, scott. >> hi chris and jessica great to be here in philadelphia. there is a new investigation today into how many cars must be recalled for deadly air bags. the fbi is warning of a hacking attack that destroyed the computers of its victims, foreign government may be behind it. >>> and how can schools get drop outs back in class, california calls out the national guard. we will have have those stories yaws head on the "cbs evening news" >>> we continue examining sunday's key match ups when the seahawks visits lincoln financial feel. we have lesean, they have marshawn lynch. he is a high knee driving punish runner who looks forward to the high tackling stiff arm eating new millennium nfl defender. eagles need to hit him low and gang tackle. brandon graham who has adapted to the eagles 3/4 defense remarkably talk about facing lynch one on one. >> wow, that boy marhahn got smack, that is what is going to happen. at the even of the day, ultimately hepp it it do. hopefully that moment does come. >> i am sure he got probably going be good hit good nice v

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley reporting tonight from washington >> pelley: good evening. this is our western edition. the terrorists showed no mercy. this time they aimed for the children. taliban forces stormed a school in pakistan today. more than 140 were killed, all but about 10 of them students. the taliban are trying to topple the pakistani government and set up their own version of an islamic state. it appears they targeted the school, which includes grades one through 10, because it's principally for the children of soldiers. a taliban spokesman said, "we want them to feel our pain." more n issa ward. >> reporter: as hospital beds filled up with wounded children, doctors made an urgent appeal for blood, and ambulances continued to ferry in more young victims. thstraught family members waited for news of their loved ones, combing through lists of the wounded. one young boy who escaped described the attack. "suddenly, there was gunfire behind us," he said. "some kids were killed, and i e s shot in the back. the army came then and killed some

jim axelrod in for scott pelley. see you in 30 minutes. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> axelrod: tonight, tears of a city. a sea of blue pays respect to a fallen officer, even as threats against cops pour in. jericka duncan reports. holiday joy urns into frustration when the video games don't work. >> kind of, like, blowing my mind. >> axelrod: ben tracy on how the hackers stole christmas. bad tires cause thousands of accidents each year. jeff pegues reports most drivers wouldn't know if their tires had been recalled. and steve hartman is on the road with jason brown who quit the big time and headed to the farm. >> my agent, he said, "you're making the biggest mistake of your life." captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> axelrod: good evening. scott's off tonight. i'm jim axelrod. this is our western edition. the line of mourners stretches for blocks, and they are here from every corner of new york city and well beyond to pay their respects to officer rafael ramos, one

scott. >> pelley: thanks, jim. joining us now is bill bratton on his second tour as new york police commissioner and the former headline of the los angeles police department and the boston police. commissioner, thank you for your time. do you see anything in that videotape that you can justify? >> well, the way it's going to now work, i will be doing an administrative investigation of the now that the criminal case is over. we'll make a determination if anything that occurred is in violation of our policies and procedures. >> pelley: mayor deblazeio said the we we go about policing has to change. >> we are doing a lot of changing in the n.y.p.d. we put in place new training for recruit officers, post-recruit training. we are going to retrain 20,000 officers with in-service training on policies, procedures, protocols to try and reduce some of the tension, to try and reduce some of the use of force we have to engage in from time to time. >> pelley: what does a black man in new york city have to fear from the n.y.p.d.

scott pelley is in cuba's capital and we'll speak to him in a moment. first major garrett is at the white house where the president made the historic announcement. major, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. good morning to our viewers in the west. president obama said it was time a diplomatic and political experiment that dates back to the eisenhower administration arguing closer ties would coax cuba's communist government toward all manner of reform. the president's critics called him misinformed and naive. >> we will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests. >> reporter: the white house negotiates the release of u.s. aid worker alan gross unjustly jailed in cuba for five years at the same time it worked on normalizing relations with havana's communist government. pope grab sis set the process in motion urging president obama and cuba president raul castro to resolve the dispute over gross' fate and initiate a new phase in relations. the president sealed the deal with castro in an oval office phone call tuesday

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. the killing of unarmed black men by white police officers helped expose again the racial divide in this country. well, tonight a new cbs news poll shows just how deep it is. have a look. back in 2009 after barack obama was inaugurated, 66% of americans said race relations were good. now it's 45%. that's a drop of 21 points and the lowest in 17 years. and jim axelrod is here with more of the story that the numbers tell. jim? >> reporter: scott, our cbs news poll gives us a window into a nation divided along racial lines. 74% of blacks we asked believe police resort to deadly force too quickly compared to just 28% of whites. 84% of blacks say police are more likely to use deadly force against a black person and no black, zero percent believe police are most likely to use deadly force against whites. just 10% said race had nothing to do with the decision at all. compare that to how whites feel. one-third said police are more likely to use deadly force against a black person, but well mo

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. this is our western edition. the west desperately needs the rain, but some places got a lot more than they could handle today. the most powerful storm in five years flooded roads across northern california. parts of sonoma county got more than nine inches. at times, the wind reached hurricane strength. on mount lincoln near lake tahoe, one gust was clocked at 147 mph. in the bay area, trees crushed cars, and more than 370,000 homes and businesses in northern california lost power. john blackstone is there. >> reporter: the wet and windy storm hit most of the west coast from central california north to washington state, where houses in the town of washaway beach were washed away. one of them belonged to tom peterson. >> it was hanging barely on the edge yesterday, it's completely over. so it's a done deal. >> reporter: kayakers took to the flooded streets of healdsburg, california. hurricane-force winds churned up huge waves on lake tahoe. in the san francisco area, sustained winds of

here is "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: tonight from havana, where the world changed overnight, cubans stuck in the past are now looking toward a future without an embargo. >> the average cuban is ecstatic. >> pelley: and u.s. corporations are ready to make a 90-mile dash for dollars. the white house considers what it calls a proportionate response to the cyber attack against sony, and there's angry reaction to the decision to pull "the interview" after a terror threat. >> i think it's a coward way to go out. >> pelley: most americans are enjoying those falling gas prices, but manuel bojorquez reports they could cost tens of thousands of people their jobs. and a sign of changing times in cuba. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" th

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: gooen

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> brown: scott is off tonight. i'm james brown. the mayor of america's largest city called to a temporary halt to any police protests the as the city mourns two murdered officers. the officers were murdered saturday as they sat in they patrol car. the attack inflamed a growing rift in the city. police union leaders accused the mayor bill deblasio >> reporter: the network crerkd raising speculation -- >> at a press conference, deblasio and police commissioner bill bratton faced a study vied energies this tragedy, maybe we find a way to move forward, an appropriate way to honor the fallen officers and families. >> brown: saturday afternoon the officers were sitting in their patrol car working an overtime shift at a housing project when police say ismaaiyl brinsley walked up, took a shooter's substance and opened fire. the 28-year-old brooklyn native shown here before the shooting in surveillance video at a nearby mall warned of his intention to shoot cops and post on instagram, saying they take one of ours,

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> o'donnell: good evening. scott is off. i'm norah o'donnell. tonight the search is expanding for a missing air asia flight. by all indication, this is the third tragedy to hit that part of the world this year. malaysia airline flight 370 vanished in march. flight 17 was shot down o ukraine in july. now light 8501. the airbus with over 300 on board left indonesia this weekend heading for singapore and vanished when the pilot changed course due to weather. allen pizzey? >> reporter: good evening norah. the u.s. is being asked for help in the search and the navy said it's in discussions to send ships and submersibles to comb the waters. relatives huddled together for comfort to check the list of missing. days after the aircraft went missing in the java sea hope is all they had. one woman wandered around stunned, holding a photograph of a family of 5 all on board. the captain's 22-year-old daughter angela issued a heartfelt plea pa parks come on, i still need you pa parks please come home. the pilot iryanto had 2

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> o'donnell: good evening. scott is off, i'm norah o'donnell. this is our western edition. tonight the search is expanding for a missing air asia flight. by all indication, this is the third tragedy to hit that part of the world this year. malaysia airlines flight 370 vanished in march. flight 17 was shot down over ukraine in july. and now fight 8501. the airbus a320 with 162 people on board left indonesia this past weekend headed for singapore and vanished shortly after the pilot made a request to change course because of threatening weather. we begin our coverage tonight, in singapore, with allen pizzey. alan? >> reporter: good evening, norah. indonesia has asked the u.s. navy for help in the search and the navy said it's in discussions to send ships and submersibles to comb the waters. anxious relatives huddled together for comfort to check the list of missing. days after the aircraft went missing in the java sea, hope isys all they have. one woman wandered around stunned, holding a photograph of a family o

up next "cbs evening news" and in tonight for scott pelley here is jim axlerod. >> axelrod: tonight,remiere like no other. >> whoa! >> i feel like nobody should tell me what i can and can't watch. >> axelrod: ben tracy looks at how a satire with mixed reviews became a symbol of democracy. just days after two new york city cops were murdered, the. in y.p.d. arrests a man accused of making new threats and finds an arsenal in his home. anna werner on plunging oil and gas prices. good news for many americans but not for all. >> take a shot at letting the ruler rule! >> axelrod: and jericka duncan introduces us to an unusual pastor with a gift for growing his flock. >> i just know what we do, which is love god, love life, love people. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> axelrod: good evening. and merrst

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> o'donnell: good evening. scott is off tonight. i'm norah o'donnell. the news came suddenly and cut like a dagger. after three days of searching debris and bodies from air asia flight 8501 were located today off borneo, not far from where the a-320 vanished from radar screens with 162 people on board. many of their families were overcome with sorrow as they saw the television footage. allen pizzey begins our coverage tonight in indonesia where the flight originated. >> reporter: as the search resumed in the java sea, there was a grim discovery-- a body floating in the water. for the families, it shattered all hope that their loved ones would be found alive. the picture was shown on indonesian television in a room where families and rel iatives have waited since sunday. for many, the news were more than they could bear. at least two people collapsed and had to be taken away on stretchers. others wept inconsolably, holding each other in a shared grief that for some verged on hysteria. this man lost a friend in

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> brown: good evening, scott is off tonight. i'm james brown. this is our western edition. the mayor of america's largest city today called for a temporary halt to any police protests as the city mourns two murdered officers. officers wenjian liu and rafael ramos were ambushed saturday as they sat in their patrol car in brooklyn. fellow officers turned out in force to honor their fallen comrades the attack inflamed a growing rift in the city. police union leaders accused the mayor bill deblasio of siding with protestors. don dahler begins our coverage. >> reporter: this morning, new york mayor bill deblasio visited the families of the murdered officers. >> it's something you can never get used to, trying to console families who have lost so much. >> reporter: at a press conference, deblasio and police commissioner bill bratton faced a city divided. >> in this tragedy, maybe we find some way to move forward, that would be an appropriate way to honor the fallen officers and ormilies. noon the: saturday aftern

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> good evening, scott is off tonight, i'm jeff glor. the helicopters can't fly and the divers can't go in the water. heavy storms over the java sea have prevented a closer search for air asia flight 8501. relatives have jammed a crisis center in indonesia desperate for word. hundreds took part in a candlelight vigil. allen pizzey begins our coverage in surabaya. >> reporter: wooden coffins, simply numbers 1 and 2 brought the first bodies back to the airport from where the doomed flight took off. they were identified only as a woman wearing blue jeans and a boy four and a half feet tall. the recovery effort is being hampered by bad weather and is now a race against time. a search-and-rescue official said bodies and debris have drifted as much as 30 miles in one day. at the airport crisis center, officials compile physical details, such as tattoos and birth marks provided by relatives, anything to help with the positive identification. each case has its own folder, its own heart-wrenching story. the i.d. tag

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

. >> scott pelley had has a look ahead, scott. >> protests have been peaceful but new york demonstrators are demanding change, the police officer who strangled an unarmed black man faces investigation, despite yesterday's controversial grand jury deis. we will talk to insuring police commissioner bill braton about the nypd's retraining program following the choke hold death of eric garner. we will have have those stories and rest of the world news coming up on the "cbs evening news". >>> well, the innings isers try for two in a row after picking up their first win of the season last night in milwaukee but the game was clearly a contest of two teams with a combined four victories. sixer with zero victories. after the opening tip off they played the wrong hoop. officials had to start play, restart with the teams deeven ifing the correct baskets. sixers won the game and we will take it. >> to the flyers the free fall continues. last night they pick up their ninth loss on the rose lose nothing a shoot-out to the buck is five to four. flyers are one-eight-two in the last 11 games. makes you y

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> axelrod: good evening, scott's off tonight. i'm jim axelrod. this is our western edition. we begin tonight with the weather and a violent storm system that struck just as millions were preparing to celebrate peace and joy. tornadoes killed four last night in mississippi. columbia, mississippi took a direct hit. buildings were torn apart. this is what's left of the showroom at one business. hundreds were left to pick through belongings. the system is heading up the atlantic seaboard and causing major problems for holiday travelers. jericka duncan begins our haterage tonight. >> reporter: the tornado that hit columbia had winds that reached 165 miles-per-hour. it damaged more than 70 homes and businesses and knocked out power to thousands. pastor mike dykes and his wife sought shelter at this gas station as the twister barreled down on them. >> it blew this tank over on the top of our vehicle and was shaking our car, our truck. thankfully, it didn't burst fuel loose from the piping. it could have been a lot

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> brown: good evening.cott is off tonight. i'm james brown. this is our western edition. on a night when millions are heading out for the holidays, severe thunderstorms are lashing some parts of the country. at least one tornado was reported in southern mississippi. our cbs affiliate in huntsville, alabama, whnt, is reporting at least two deaths. cars, and in this case, a ambulance flipped over in high winds. this system is expected to cause problems through christmas. eric fisher, the chief meteorologist at wbz, our cbs station in boston, is following this. eric? >> j.b., a rough night of weather here across the southeast. tornado watches in yellow, and we've already had several tornadoes touch down. you can see some of the video, in particular, around marion county in mississippi. columbia community very hard hit. we saw widespread damage with cars flipped over, trees uprooted, certainly a lot of damage to homes, some roofs that were taken off. and so, all of this weather continues to work its way eastwar

the cbs evening news scott pelley is coming up next. >> latest news and weather go to our web site kpix.com pelley: tonight a worldwide warning, u.s. diplomatic and military posts are on high alert as the senate prepares to report on the c.i.a.'s harsh interrogations that some call torture. bob orr has the story. new details of the failed rescue that left an american and south african dead just as one of them was about to be freed. reports from debora patta and david martin. the northeast braces for a storm packing high winds, heavy rain and six are killed when a plane crashes into a house in suburban washington. jeff pegues has the latest. and mark phillips with a new british invasion. ladies and gentlemen, the royals. captioning sponsored by cbs

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> axelrod: good evening. scott's off tonight. i'm jim axelrod. the line of mourners stretches for blocks, and they are here from every corner of new york city and well beyond to pay their respects to officer rafael ramos, one of two cops murdered last weekend as they sat in their cruiser. an honor guard saluted as the casket was brought into the church. some of the mourners are carrying pictures of ramos and his partner wenjian liu. blue ribbons hang on a nearby fence, a gesture of support for police, as the n.y.p.d. continues to investigate dozens of threats against its officers. jericka duncan is outside the service. >> reporter: just after 12:30, the nation's largest city came to a pause as thousands gathered to honor a fallen officer. following the strict somber protocol that guides mourning of a cop killed in the line of duty, a slow, steady stream of blue flowed into the church to say good-bye to 40-year-old rafael ramos. >> nobody deserve deserves to de way he did, police officer or civilian, especial

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> axelrod: good evening. and merry christmas. scott's off tonight. i'm jim axelrod. it was once famously said that any society that will give up a little liberty to gain a little security would deserve neither and lose both. whoever thought benjamin franklin's words would be used to describe a seth rogue an-james franco movie, but after a remarkable nine day back-and-forth, in which an embarrassed and embattled sony picture pulled the more "the interview" after threats of 9/11-style violence, the film was shown in theaters today. ben tracy tells us highway a sophomoric comedy is now being hailed as an affirmation of one of the nation's most cherished principles-- freedom of speech. >> reporter: at a screening in los angeles just after midnight seth rogan, the star and director of "the interview," made a surprise appearance to say a rather colorful thank you. >> just wanted to say thank you. if it wasn't for theaters like this and for people like you guys this literally would not be ( bleep ) happening right

jim axelrod in for scott pelley. see you in 30 minutes.s by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> axelrod: tonight, tears of a city. a sea of blue pays respect to a fallen officer, even as threats against cops pour in. jericka duncan reports. holiday joy urns into frustration when the video games don't work. >> kind of, like, blowing my mind. >> axelrod: ben tracy on how the hackers stole christmas. bad tires cause thousands of accidents each year. jeff pegues reports most drivers wouldn't know if their tires had been recalled. and steve hartman is on the road with jason brown who quit the big time and headed to the farm. >> my agent, he said, "you're making the biggest mistake of your life." captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

. >> i'm scott pelley in havana. at the end of a historic week, cubans are trying to figure out what this new opening with america will mean. >> mason: dr. jon lapook on a surge in flu cases and new questions about the vaccine. and steve hartman with cops following the letter of the law. >> hello, ma'am. your vehicle was targeted. >> mason: and the spirit of the season. >> oh, my gosh! are you serious? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.