weather always on exhibition -- kpix doing -- kpix.com. see you at 6:00. on syria. the administration still faces doubts. nancy cordes is on capitol hill. liz beth palmer is in damascus as it braces for an american airstrike. the prosecutors in the jerry sandusky case speak for the first time. armen keteyian breaks the news. >> do you believe the coach paterno was a part of the conspiracy to conceal? >> pelley: after diana nyad's record breaking swim across the florida strait she sat down. with elaine quijano. >> it was like >> pelley: and on opening day for california's new super bridge, john blackstone with the man who captured the toil, sweat and triumph of american craftsmen.

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, president obama and house speaker john boehner don't agr on much. so it was a big victory for the president today when the top republican announced that he supports military action against syria. this action would be punishment for what the administration says was a nerve gas attack that left more than 1,400 syrian civilians dead including more than 400 children. this was the speaker today after meeting with the president. >> this is something that the united states as a country needs to do. i'm going to support the president's call for action, i believe that my colleagues should support this call for action. >> pelley: it's not clear how many republicans boehner can bring along to vote for a resolution endorsing a military strike. president obama said again today that he has decided that the

united states should take action against syria but that it would be more effective if congress authorized it. to date he sent his secretaries of state and defense to make the case. nancy cordes is there. nancy, put boehner's endorsement in context for us. >> reporter: well, scott, it doesn't guarantee victory for the president on this vote but he almost certainly would have lost without it. so it is a break through for the white house, especially when paired with the backing from the house minority leader, nancy pelosi who is hardly a hawk, who says this time to different. >> hundreds of children were killed. this behavior outside the circle of civilized human behavior and we must respond. >> reporter: her support and speaker boehner's will convince some skeptic, though not all. democrat rick nolan at home in

minnesota doubts administration can keep its promise not to deploy ground troops. >> guess what, a strike inevitably leads to retaliation which leads to a change in circumstances and the very same people who were against boots on the ground are now the ones, guess who, are saying well i guess we'll have to put some boots on the ground here to get this guy. >> this is not the time for arm chair isolationism. >> reporter: at the first of several hearings scheduled for this week secretary of state john kerry was pressed on the issue of ground troops by republican senator bob corker of tennessee. >> i don't think any of us here are willing to support the possibility of having combat boots on the ground and i do hope as we move through this the administration can be very clear. >> well, let me be very clear now. there will not be american boots on the ground with respect to the civil war. >> reporter: kerry was joined by defense secretary chuck hagel and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. general martin dempsey described publicly for the first time the military's plans for targeted strikes in response to a

question from florida republican marco rubio. >> how confident are you and express to this committee you are that we can in fact put in place a military plan that is limited to scope and duration that can effectively degrade assad's capability to carry out future chemical attacks. >> i'm confident we can bring to bear to deter and degrade and it wouldn't surprise you to know that we will have not only an initial target set but scent targets set should they become necessary. >> reporter: kerry argued that failing to strike syria would put u.s. allies like israel at put u.s. allies like israel and jordan at greater risk and embolden assad to get more creative with women call weapons. still too early to say whether the president's resolution will pass next week but has more momentum today than just a couple of days ago. >> pelley: nancy, we spoke to the house late today talked to senior official who said the president has the authority to go ahead without congress, the

white house official would not say what the president would do if congress votes no. nancy, thanks very much. now, before we take to you the syrian capital, let us remind you quickly of how we got here. syria is ruled by the dictatorship of bashir al-assad. it started with his father 43 years ago. two years ago there was a popular revolt, assad responded by laying waste to his country. 100,000 have died so far and we learned today from the united nations that two million civilians have fled the country. to make matters even worse, the war is now also a fight between the two main branches of the islamic faith. all of this in a powder keg region which includes israel, jordan, iraq, turkey, and lebanon. the syrian regime does not welcome reporters and it's rare for an american correspondent to get to damascus but that's where elizabeth palmer is for us tonight.

liz, i take it that the capital is a lieutenant emptier than it was last time you were there? >> reporter: well, scott, either very empty or over full depending on the area. in the suburbs where the fighting is very heavy, about 80% of the population has cleared out. the 20% who are left are mostly the members of something called the civilian defense force, it's a militia being set up by the assad government. you might think of it as neighborhood watch on steroids. to help the over stretched military, the civilians, young men and families and have access to guns, grenades, weapons and also back up from the syrian military. now, in the center of damascus, which is one of the safest places in the country behind a whole barrage of checkpoints, people have poured in from the countryside and also from the suburbs i mentioned.

they're living in overcrowded conditions in any available building from converted schools to the homes of their families and relatives. >> pelley: they are essentially damascus bracing for an american airstrike what is it like to be a citizen of damascus these days? >> reporter: very stressful. there's this weird veneer of normality but of course their is constant thunder of fighting just a couple of miles away in the suburbs and death can rain out of the sky, mortars fall randomly, children aren't going to school regularly and a lot of businesses are closed, and so there's a huge amount of unemployment and idle as people are sitting home worrying and wondering how they're going to get out of this mess. >> pelley: elizabeth palmer for us in damascus, thank you, liz. here at home lightning fast changes in technology are slaying giants and remaking some of the world's biggest corporations. it happened again today, one day after verizon and vodaphone announced their break up,

microsoft said it's buying nokia's line of mobile phones in a deal worth more than $7 billion. ben tracy tells us what's on the line in the wireless business. >> reporter: there are now more than one billion smart phones in the world. >> windows phone, nokia lumia, 920. >> reporter: but just a fraction are made by microsoft and nokia. once the world's largest cell phone maker. >> today's announcement is a bold step in to the future. >> reporter: so microsoft c.e.o. steve balmer explained his company is buying nokia's entire line of phones and patents. the throne help microsoft attempt to catch up with the smart phone rivals. >> windows phone has grown over 78% in the last year and is now clearly the number three offering in the marketplace. >> reporter: but it is a very distant third in a market dominated by apple and devices that use the operating system called android. android phones now make up 51%

of u.s. smart phone sales. the iphone 43.5%. microsoft's windows-based phone, just 3.5%. >> microsoft had to get more serious about mobiles. they can't check out and say, we're just not going to compete in that business fully. that is not an option any more. >> reporter: brian coolly is editor at large for technology website "cnet." >> we're in a place in the mobile electronic world where we're questioning two chairs at the table or three. there may not be a third. microsoft needs to make the chair and then sit in it. it's twice the work. >> reporter: microsoft's fortune was built on desktop software. but desktop computer sales that have dropped 16% since the end of last year in large part few to the explosion of smart phones and tablet computers. last summer the company launched a tablet called surface. it hasn't clicked with consumers selling about 1.7 million units in the same time apple sold 57 million ipads. this deal between microsoft and

nokia shows just how far and fast nokia has fallen in 2007 the company had 48% of the cell phone market was worth $10 billion more than apple. scott just five years later nokia fallen to 3.5% of the market. >> pelley: ben tracey in our los angeles newsroom. ben, thank you. the centers for disease control and prevention puts out a lot of numbers but this one really got our attention. in 2010, more than 200,000 americans died who should not have because the disease that killed them, cardiovascular disease, was preventable. the cdc estimates one in four deaths from heart attack and stroke can be prevented by such things as treating high blood pressure and quitting smoking. and talking about a good cardio work-out diana nyad completed a record swim yesterday from cuba to key west, florida. she's the first person to do it without a shark change and dealt at the age of 64. elaine quijano caught up with

her today. >> reporter: how did you sleep last night? >> like a baby. and i kept waking up and i was smiling. >> reporter: diana nyad says there were moments during her swim when a struggle was almost too much. especially saturday night when she became nauseous from swallowing sea water. >> it was like hell on earth. at your lowest part think, that is enough? i admit during saturday night i thought, can i do this for two more nights? think, that is enough? >> reporter: things turned around the next night when nyad's best friend saw something on the horizon. >> i thought, the sun is coming up. she said, "no, that's not the sun. those are the lights of key west." my heart skipped a beat. >> reporter: when you looked over and you saw the lights you felt what? >> i thought, this is it. i'm not going to go through the crushing disappointment again.

it doesn't matter now, nothing can stop this. >> reporter: she swam 15 hours more before reaching land. [ cheering and applause ] her last four attempts to cross the florida traits cost a million dollars. but not everyone saw the value. >> people have written me, criticize say, it's all great, it's inspiring, but it could be done with that kind of money instead of financing your little personal dream? forget about the world record, just a human willing to chase a dream and show the resolve to the point that she just won't give up. after all this failure, just won't give up. that message the way people resound to it that's worth a million bucks. >> reporter: diana nyad is done now with enduring swimming in the open ocean. scott, she's already planning another swim next month. 48 hours in a pool in new york city to raise money for hurricane sandy victims. >> pelley: incredible. thanks very much. for the first time the legal

team that prosecuted jerry sandusky is speaking about the penn state sex abuse case. and a man opened a drawer and found a treasure. when the cbs evening news continues. ech gear only to wreck your face with just any razor? upgrade to the gillette fusion proglide, for unrivaled comfort even on sensitive skin. gillette -- the best a man can get. hearty cheeseburger. creamy thai style chicken with rice. mexican-style chicken tortilla. if you think campbell's 26 new soups sound good, imagine how they taste. m'm! m'm! good! they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains so dentures are cleaner, fresher, and brighter. [ male announcer ] polident.

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it was college football's darkest episode, former assistant coach jerry sandusky was convicted of abusing ten boys, he'll likely spend the rest of his life in prison. but serious questions remain, were top penn state officials involved in a cover up and what about the legendary head coach, joe paterno, here is armen keteyian. >> reporter: frank fina the chief deputy attorney general for pennsylvania was the architect of the case against sandusky. joseph mcgettigan was the hammer, a seasoned no nonsense prosecutor. it took awhile before the prosecutors realized that penn state president graham spanier, senior vice president gary schulz and athletic director tim curley were putting the school's brand above the repeated sexual abuse of young boys. >> got massive multi-billion dollar entity that at the time we don't realize, although we would come to realize, may not be fully submitted to disclosing what the reality is, we come to realize that they are actively obstructing our investigation.

>> reporter: they're obstructing justice. >> had been for many years. >> reporter: in a detailed independent investigative report commissioned by the penn state board of trustees, former fbi director louis freeh found spanier, schulz, curlily, repeatedly concealed facts about the abuse from the authorities. >> i think the evidence now they're going to be tried on that, i investigated that case. they deserve to be charged. and i hope justice will be served there. >> reporter: did you two ever look at each other and go, i can understand if they're covering up recruiting violations but this is serial sexual abuse of children that they are institutionally resisting efforts to uncover? >> many times. that happened over and over again. just astonished. >> you know what, some of the thinking on the simple level was the eggs proceedings, well, that

was then, this is now. let's move on, we are penn state. >> reporter: do you believe the coach paterno was a part of the conspiracy to conceal to, cover up the crimes at penn state? by jerry sandusky? >> i do not. i'm feeling this strictly on the evidence not anything else, i did not find that evidence. >> reporter: you know as well as i do, frank, joe paterno was the most powerful man on that campus, arguably most powerful coach in college football. he knew it was going on in that university the argument is if he knew what he knew he should have put a stop to it. he should have done more. >> well, that's right. and i don't see any need to judge him beyond his own words. he said it best. i didn't do enough. i should have done more.

>> reporter: spanier, shultz, and curley have vigorously denied in any cover up they argued they were never informed sandusky had committed any sexual abuse. they are due to stand trial on charges of perjury and other related crimes, scott, some time next year. >> pelley: armen, thanks very much. you can see the rest with armen's report on "60 minutes sports" that's tomorrow on showtime. the school girl who was shot by the taliban has a recipe for eliminating terrorism. her story is next.

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>> pelley: malala yusufzye has been an inspiration ever since the taliban tried to silence her.

last october she was shot in the head for demanding education for girls in her native pakistan. she was taken to england for treatment and today she officially opened a new library in birmingham. now 16, she told the audience she has a new goal. >> i have challenged myself that i will read thousands of books and empower myself with knowledge. pens and books are the weapons that defeat terrorism. >> pelley: she went on to say, one book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world. how about this for investment. a man in britain bought a painting the size of a postcard at an auction. he spent $46 on it and stuffed it in a drawer. ten years later he brought it to some experts on a tv show, turns out it's an original work of john constable, an english

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>> pelley: we end tonight with the grand opening of america's newest bridge. a ceremonial chain was cut last night and vintage cars crossed eastern span of the oakland bay eastern span of the san francisco oakland bay bridge. forgets the men and women who build great structures but not this time. here is john blackstone. >> reporter: the new bridge across san francisco bay was designed not just to withstand earthquakes but also to impress. the suspension span is supported by a single tower 525 feet high. during construction, among the iron workers a slight 72-year- old man could often be found climbing the catwalks camera in pond. joe blum was on a mission to photograph the people building the bridge. >> you know, we take all of this stuff for granted and so my project was to say to people this is what it takes.

for these things that you take for granted. >> reporter: blum there was getting photos of the construction crews down at the water and high in the tower. he took pictures in the wind and in the fog, by day and by night. >> i'm not saying some of the days weren't hard. but, no, not a single day i can think that i was out here that i didn't think that this is privilege. >> reporter: blum recorded it all as the workers turned iron and cement in to an elegant bridge. iron worker ed meyer. >> joe was everywhere that joe could be. we provided as much access as we could. because we knew that joe was putting us in a favorable light when most people nowadays put labor down, like sorry to get political. >> reporter: both blum and workers are now being recognized in exhibit of blum's photos sponsored by the san francisco arts commission at city hall. a photographic record of construction that from start to finish took 15 years. >> reporter: you're not as young as when you started. >> that's true.

>> reporter: for blum, it was a true labor of love. nobody paid him to take the pictures. his income is social security and a small pension from his own years as a boilermaker and welder in san francisco's shipyards. then, photographing the bridge became his passion. >> hi, guys, how are you doing? >> reporter: the bridge designed to stand for 150 years, through blum's photos those who built it may be remembered just as long. john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. >> pelley: and that's the cbs evening news for tonight. for all of us at cbs news, all around the world, good night. ood night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

new eastern span of the brie is finally open to drivers,e that project will actually knock the bay bridge off the list as the most expensive thing. now that the new eastern span of the bay bridge is finally open, we wanted to know what the next big thing is t in the bay area. i am allen martin. >> i am juliette goodrich in for elizabeth cook. commuters are still making their first evening drive across the new bay bridge. but this evening, transit leaders have their sights set on the next big transportation procorrect. our ken bastida says the price tag on this next project will surpass even that of the new bay bridge. ken. >> reporter: yeah, julia, there is always one more. that's the case in the bay area as swell. believe it or not, the bay bridge was the last of 2

thousands overpasses that had to be retrofitted. so what do you do after you finish, you look back and then right away, you look ahead >> director of the metropolitan transportation commission says yesterday's bay bridge opening went off without a hitch, but, he says, looking back on this monster project, they probably should have asked a lot more questions early on. >> i think all of us went into this project correct -- in the mid nineties. i don't think any of us had nearly enough humility about what we didn't know. and the fact is the cost estimate that we were given at the time was worthless. >> he says looking ahead, the next big project on the list the b.a.r.t extension from freemont san jose, eclipsing even the cost of the new bay bridge. >> that project actually will knock