>> pelley: tonight, the school girl who stood up to the taliban. malala yousafzai goes to britain for treatment of gunshot wounds while her classmates in pakistan vow they won't be stopped. reports from charlie d'agata and elizabeth palmer. wyatt andrews on the romney tax plan. >> i will not under any circumstances raise taxes on middle-income families. >> pelley: do his numbers add up? that meningitis outbreak from tainted steroids may be just the beginning. now dr. jon lapook reports other drugs could be contaminated. and bob orr with the notes president kennedy wrote when the world faced nuclear war 50 years ago. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening.

for us today the most compelling story in the world involves a 14-year-old girl fighting for her life. she held up a light against the darkness of ignorance and now millions around the world are watching to see if she will die for her cause. malala yousafzai was taken today to a british hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to the head. a week ago in pakistan a taliban gunman climbed aboard her school bus to assassinate her because of her long campaign to open schools to more girls in that country. we have two reports tonight. elizabeth palmer went to malala's hometown in pakistan. but we're going to begin with charlie d'agata in birmingham, england. charlie? >> reporter: doctors here are just beginning to examine malala scott, but they said this afternoon there's every reason to hope she will make what they called a decent recovery. but her treatment and rehabilitation could take months

malala was flown out of pakistan on monday in a specially-equipped air ambulance. she arrived this afternoon at a queen elizabeth hospital in birmingham, a state-of-the-art medical center that specializes in the treatment of serious traumas like head injuries and severe gunshot wounds. the hospital has treated thousands of injured soldiers from afghanistan. dr. dave rosser said that was part of the reason why malala was flown here. >> because we are the receiving hospital for the british battle casualties and have been for the last ten years. we do, unfortunately, have very extensive experience in dealing with this sort of traumatic bullet-related injury. >> reporter: malala flew here without her family but we're told now her parents have left pakistan and they're expected to arrive sometime tomorrow. >> pelley: charlie, thank you. malala is from the swat valley in pakistan, once a popular resort area. it has become a taliban stronghold. western reporters rarely get

inside, but elizabeth palmer persuaded the pakistanis to give her a military escort, and she got all the way to malala's school. >> reporter: where malala yousafzai used to sit today there was an empty chair. but all around the desks in her class at the school were full of girls determined to keep on learning. "we will not be stopped from getting an education" one student told me. but it's now too dangerous for any of them to speak on camera. in the grim hours after malala was shot, then medevaced to a military hospital, melinda, the school principal, didn't leave her side. >> i can't forget when we sat in the helicopter and she started vomiting and it was all blood. >> reporter: the taliban attacked the school bus on a busy stretch of road just half a mile from the school. but if anyone saw what happened

they're not talking. police say that the gunman stopped the driver and actually asked him "where's malala?" and he gestured to the back. she was sitting here near the opening. for the gunman it was a simple matter of raising his weapon and firing. one of his bullets hit chai gnat riaz, who's now recovering at home. what kind of a gun was it? "a pistol" says kainat, but she was too terrified to take in the man's face. terror first came to this town with the taliban six years ago. they forced women to stay home, blew up girls schools and carried out executions and flogging. then, in 2008, the pakistani army moved in and forced the taliban out. since then, life has slowly returned to normal. just look at the crowd that turned out yesterday for the first post-taliban cricket match.

sports fan shafiq aziz can't believe it. if they had done that during taliban times would they have been killed? >> yeah. >> reporter: pleasure and public confidence returned to mingora in part because malala yousafzai led the way in denouncing taliban repression. tonight she's recovering from terrible injuries thousands of miles away while her school friends muster their courage to carry on her fight. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, mingora, pakistan. >> pelley: elizabeth palmer has made her way back from the swat valley to the capital city of islamabad and, liz, i wonder: what's the general reaction in pakistan to this terrible shooting? >> well, the viciousness of the attack has prompted universal outrage from women's groups, from clerics, and certainly from politicians. there have even been some protests. but nothing like the numbers that come out for other causes. for example, to protest against u.s. drone strikes.

it may be because the whole subject of girls' education is controversial. it's estimated that only 22% of girls in rural areas even finish primary school. >> pelley: elizabeth, thanks very much. the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks went before a military tribunal today on the u.s. naval base at guantanamo bay, cuba. khalid sheikh mohammed and four co-defendants are charged with conspiracy and nearly 3,000 counts of murder. the defendants sat quietly today, in contrast to when they disrupted the proceedings with protests last time. this was a pre-trial hearing today. the trial itself won't start at least for another year. the investigation into the deadly meningitis outbreak is widening. the food and drug administration said today two more medications from the specialty pharmacy may be vovled. the infection has spread now to

15 states, 214 cases have been reported and 15 people have died. dr. jon lapook has the latest. >> reporter: today's f.d.a. statement raises the possibility that other medications shipped by the new england compounding center-- n.e.c.c.-- were contaminated. until now, all the cases of meningitis have been linked to a single steroid called methylprednisolone. one patient treated with a back injection with a different steroid called triamcinolone has developed possible meningitis. two heart transplant patients who received another drug supplied by n.e.c.c. during surgery have developed an infection withs a per jill lis, a fungas linked to the outbreak. it has not been disclosed whether these two patients have meningitis or something else. last week, the f.d.a. told doctors not to use any products distributed by n.e.c.c. today it went further saying doctors should now call patients who received any injectable product from the company after nee 21. n.e.c.c.'s product list includes hundreds of injectable drugs, for everything from treating

infections to cancer. the company told cbs news they are reviewing the f.d.a. statement and will continue to cooperate with the investigation. dr. william schaffner is an infectious diseases expert who has been following the outbreak. >> this story has not yet ended. it may not even have peaked. we're all concerned about that. and surely we need to do something going forward that nothing like this happens again. >> reporter:. >> pelley: jon, i don't recall a time that the f.d.a. told doctors to go out and find possible patients. how unusual is that? >> it's very unusual. i think the f.d.a. is concerned because until now, scott, we were talking about 14,000 possibly contaminated vials of a single drug. if other drugs are now involved, this could get a lot bigger. >> pelley: a story still developing, jon, thanks very much. the second presidential debate is tomorrow and have a look at how much is at stake. today's gallup daily tracking poll has mitt romney up by two points, 49% to 47%. but a new "washington post" poll

has the president up three points. both polls are within their margins of error, so it's a tie. as we look on the debate hall at hofstra university in new york, let's bring in our political director, john dickerson. john, the format tomorrow is a town hall meeting. what kind of challenges does that present for the candidates? >> well, both candidates are trying to strike a balance, criticize their opponent while not appearing so aggressive that they turn off voters. that would be hard to do in any debate setting, but in this case they'll be doing it in response to a question from a voter in the audience. the more the candidate talks about their opponents' flaw it is more it looks like they're not answering the voter's question. it's one thing to ignore at a moderator but when it's a voter it's more dangerous, especially when the voter shows their displeasure on their face for the cameras. >> pelley: john, you've been talking to your sources at the obama campaign. tomorrow will be their last

chance to talk about the economy and the obama campaign is changing its strategy a bit. >> they're betting people are feeling better about the economy. the unemployment rate is below 8% and in that "washington post" poll today it showed 42% think the country is on the right track. that's the highest in three years. it's not "happy days are here again," but the obama campaign sees enough optimism they're making a little pivot. in the new obama advertisement, voters cite examples of the improved economy, a plant that added another shift, a store parking lot filled with customers, referring to the president, a fellow says "stick with this guy." before the risk of boasting it was that the president would look out of touch. now campaign strategists are making a bet that voters feel good enough about the economy that they can say "don't blow it by changing presidents." >> pelley: thanks, john. we've learned also that mitt romney won the coin toss and he will get the first question tomorrow night. cbs news coverage of the presidential debate will begin at 9:00 eastern time. that's 6:00 in the west. on the eve of the debate, some

better news tonight about the u.s. economy. the government reported that retail sales were up more than expected last month, up 1.1%. that's important because consumer spending is the driving force of the economy. do the numbers in the romney tax planned a up? we'll check them out. look out below. a sky diver becomes the first to break the sound barrier. while a shuttle rolls to a stop on its final journey in california when the "cbs evening news" continues.a i took dayquil, but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth!

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>> pelley: if anything's certain about the presidential debate tomorrow, it's debt and taxes. both are sure to come up. on taxes, the obama campaign says that if you run the numbers mitt romney's plan for cutting taxes just doesn't work. romney insists, of course, that it does. so we asked wyatt andrews to dig into this. >> it's math. it's arithmetic. >> reporter: the president's basic claim is that mitt romney's tax numbers do not add up. that romney's promise to lower tax rates for all families can't be paid for without cutting popular tax deductions for middle-class families. last week, the vice president was specific. >> the only way you can find $5 trillion in loopholes is cut the mortgage deduction for middle-class people. >> reporter: romney argues that lower rates will stimulate the economy and he is emphatic the

middle-class will not pay. >> i will not under any circumstances raise taxes on ncome families. >> reporter: romney's plan starts by lowering tax rates 20% for everyone. it's a major tax cut that the non-partisan tax policy center says will cost the federal budget $480 billion a year, roughly $5 trillion over ten years. but romney and his running mate paul ryan say they will offset those costs by reducing tax deductions. they won't say which ones-- that's to be worked out with congress-- but they promise they will only target the rich. >> deny those loopholes and deductions to higher income taxpayers so more of their income is taxed, which has a broader base of taxation so we can lower tax rates across the board. >> reporter: in theory, there is plenty of money in tax deductions, $1.1 trillion a year. but the most valuable deductions don't just benefit the rich. the tax-free benefit workers receive when employers pay for

health insurance. the tax deduction for mortgage interest. and the tax-free contributions workers make to 401(k) pensions are all heavily used by both the rich and middle-class and are all politically popular. do the details matter? maya macguineas says until romney releases more details it's not clear if he can pay for the tax cut. >> the question is can you do it without going into the middle-class at all? that's the big question the governor has claim bud we haven't seen the numbers either try know whether for sure it's doable. >> reporter: now this question of "doable" has become central to both campaigns. >> not mathematically possible. >> it is mathematically possible. >> reporter: romney's argument this that can be done rests on two assumptions: the first is that the lower rates themselves will help grow the economy. but the other big assumption, scott, is that the bipartisan deal is possible when they're trying to lower some very

popular tax deductions. >> pelley: wyatt, thank you. millions of people have watched felix baumgartner take his one giant leap. the austrian daredevil jumped yesterday from a capsule-- watch that-- 24 miles above new mexico. he fell at nearly 834 miles an hour and became the first sky diver to break the sound barrier with his body. baumgartner deployed his parachute and landed safely. he now plans to live a simple life. for him that means flying rescue helicopters and coaching other daredevils. the captain in that cruise ship disaster in italy appears in court.um his story's next. osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels have been seen with nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. talk to your doctor about nexium.

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>> pelley: in italy today, the drama surrounding this year's cruise ship disaster landed in a theater turned into a courtroom. it was the only place big enough to hold a hearing for the captain of the "costa concordia" who could face manslaughter charges. allen pizzey was there. >> reporter: the captain of the "costa concordia" slipped into the courtroom through a back door. francesco schettino know stands accused of hitting a reef and abandoning his ship where 32 people died. the salvage operation will cost $300 million. the lawsuits against the ship's american owners make that look like a bargain. more than 100 lawyers for victims' families have descended on the hearing where a judge will decide if there's enough

evidence to formally charge the captain. american lawyer john eaves represents 150 clients. >> we think there's a minimum value for anyone who had to go through this "titanic" horrifying event to be at least $200,000. >> reporter: so $200,000 times 150? >> that's just the minimum. >> reporter: the lawsuits may drag on longer than the cleanup, which is scheduled to take another 260 days. there are only a few sad remind that this was once one of the most luxurious cruise ships in the world. the scale of just about everything involved in this operation is so massive as to be scary. the salvage men say there's never been anything like it. a single washer on one of the underwater anchors weighs 450 pounds. steel flotation tanks-- some of them 11 stories high-- will be attached to help the ship float again. nicholas sloane is the senior salvage master. so we have 60,000 tons of buoyancy, so you're almost recreating the whole thing around her.

>> reporter: then you'll tow it away to be cut up? >> yup. >> reporter: a report about what went wrong that night was tabled in court today. pieced together from a ship's data recorders it showed a confused captain, a disorganized evacuation plan and the "costa concordia" ended up with 90 tons of reef stuck in its hull. allen pizzey,'ll go owe island, italy. >> pelley: another ship has found its resting place. back when it flew in space, the shuttle "endeavour" traveled faster than a rifle bullet. but after 123 million miles in orbit, its last 12 miles came at a crawl. she arrived yesterday at the california science center in los angeles after a two-day trip on the ground. "endeavour" barely fit through the tight city streets. its wings nearly clipped trees and yule poles. this family got a close-up look from its living room. the slow motion voyage seemed to captivate the entire city. people young and old stood at attention to witness the end of

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america was on the brink of nuclear war. the national archives is marking the anniversary of the cuban missile crisis with an exhibit of artifacts from those 13 days in october. bob orr takes us back in time. >> reporter: on october 16, 1962, the c.i.a. alerted president john f. kennedy the soviet union was staging nuclear capable missiles on the island of cuba. the president took this map, marked suspected missile sites with xs and asked intelligence analysts some frightening questions. >> reporter: it was the most perilous moment of the cold war. over 13 days, the u.s. and the soviet union traded threats and inched ever closer to nuclear annihilation. kennedy imposed a naval blockade around cuba and delivered a dire warning to the soviets. >> it shall be the policy of this nation to regard any

nuclear missile launched from cuba against any nation in the western hemisphere as an attack by the soviet union on the united states requiring a full retaliatory response upon the soviet union. >> reporter: the c.i.a. scrambled for fresh intelligence. analysts prepared psychiatric profiles of nikita kruschev and cuban dictator fidel castro if i had. "castro is not crazy" one analysis concluded. "but he is highly neurotic and unstable." kennedy and his cabinet studied diagrams of potential impact zones from miami to st. louis to washington and the president prepared a grim address to the nation. this morning, kennedy wrote, a reluctantly ordered the armed forces to attack and destroy the nuclear buildup in cuba. kennedy never had to deliver that speech. as artifacts commemorating the

50th anniversary of the crisis reveal, kennedy and kruschev exchanged a flurry of private messages searching for a way out. three days before the standoff ended, kruschev wrote kennedy "let us therefore display statesmanlike wisdom." perhaps most interesting are notes from a white house meeting the day 14 soviet ships, believed to be carrying missile parts, encountered the u.s. blockade and turned around. on his legal pad, president kennedy twice scrolled and circled the word "euphoria" cautioning his advisors not to be overly optimistic. but those words reflected obvious relief. the president and the world had stepped back from the brink. bob orr, cbs news, washington. >> pelley: and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.

we have breaking news and if is great news tonight about those two 7 -- it is great news tonight about those two virginia hikers missing for days in glacier national park. jason higher is richmond and neal peckens of herndon have been found in the rugged montana backcountry and the crews are preparing to fly the men out. the men are able bodied and probably able to walk out, but rescuers aren't taking any chances tonight. peckens' dad said he cried all over the ranger when they told him his son was fine. what happened exactly remains a bit of a mystery. however, the men who are endurance athletes and veterinarians plan to fly home to virginia tomorrow. virginia voters, time is just about running out. this is the last day to register before the upcoming election. virginia is a key battlegr