elaine quijano has the story. and it was the other speech at the march on washington. 50 years later, a look back at a rabbi's moment and a warning to never forget. >> the most tragic problem is silence. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod with a western edition of the broadcast. president obama spoke to the american people from the rose garden this afternoon, pressing his case for a military action against the syrian regime and calling the chemical attack that claimed more than 1,400 lives in syria 10 days ago "a menace that must be confronted." but the president also made it clear he does not want to proceed alone and will seek authorization and support for a limited strike from congress. we have several reports tonight beginning with bill plante at the white house. bill, we understand the president's decision to take this to congress came as a surprise even to his own advisers. >> reporter: absolutely, jim. he called them into his senior office l

elaine quijano on the cuts in one of the biggest districts. >> i'm terrified that we're going to lose children because of these cuts. >> pelley: and greetings from planet earth. >> we have liftoff! >> pelley: for the first time, a spacecraft has left our solar system. bill whitaker on the triumph on "voyager." >> we made it! "voy captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. tt pelley. >> pelley: good evening, torrential rains sent walls of water crashing down mountainsides in colorado today. in many places there was nothing to stop the water because wildfire r destroyed the vegetation. at least three people have been killed and at least one town is surrounded by water. as much as eight inches of rain has fallen since yesterday. flood watches and warnings are up throughout much of the state and barry petersen is in boulder. >> reporter: it was a day of frightening moments as roads turned into rivers. this section of highway collapsed when a culvert washed out just as rescuers were about to pull one of the motorists out the swift current toppled the car.

as elaine quijano reports, the schools were barely able to open this week. >> reporter: few were sure philadelphia's school year would begin on time, including the superintendent, william hite. >> we had cut all assistant principals, guidance counselors, all music, all sports, all secretaries. >> reporter: 24 schools were closed. more than 4,000 employees were laid off. the city's pledge of $50 million last month allowed thousands to come back, just enough to open the doors this week. philadelphia's school crisis has been building for years. debt and pension obligations piled up as students moved out to charter schools ort suburbs. federal cuts cost the city $130 million in aid. it's a pattern seen in the country's biggest school districts over the last 18 months. chicago laid off 3,000 teachers and closed 49 schools. in cleveland, 500 teachers and staff lost their jobs in 2012. in los angeles, 4,000. constitution high school in philadelphia lost a quarter of its staff, including its full-time guidance counselor and shares a counselor with seven other schools. >> i'm scared we'll lose

elaine quijano, cbs news, key west, florida. >> next month? remarkable. >>> coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," congress weighing in on military action against syria. we'll hear from republican representative marsha blackburn. >>> plus, more on the apparent suicide of convicted kidnapper ariel castro. we'll get the latest from ohio. >>> and nfl commissioner roger goodell stops by the studio. >>> and finally, a man in singapore has a very unique hobby, at least for a man. he collects barbie dolls. the 36-year-old has about 6,000 of them and 3,000 other dolls. his barbie obsession began when he was only 13 years old. >>> that is the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com com >>> good morning. it is wednesday. september 4. i'm michelle griego . >> hi, everyone. i'm frank mallicoat. time now 4:29. almost 5:30. >>> breaking news at this hour out of san leandro. fire investigators say a person was killed in a mobile home fire overnig

elaine quijano is at the finish line. the designer drug that is killing people and canceling concerts. michelle miller tells us why molly is so dangerous. and scott pelley back to the beginning. >> good evening from our cbs news room in new york on this, the first broadcast of network television's first daily half hour news program. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> glor: good evening, everyone, i'm jeff glor. scott will be here later in the broadcast. the u.s. administration says a the u.s. administration says a chemical attack carried out by the syrian government two weeks ago killed 1,429 civilians including 426 children. congress officially returns from vacation next monday. in the meantime, the president is trying to win over a majority of the house and senate. congressional correspondent nancy cordes is on capitol hill tonight. nancy? >> reporter: jeff, the white house was hard at work on this labor day trying to convince lawmakers that the u.s. should strike syria. the

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

elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >> pelley: what's it like to fly over the waves? we'll show you how they do it at the america's cup next. next. duracell quantum. with its high density core, it's a quantum leap in battery power. power. in the hands of the most powerful. duracell. trusted everywhere. [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums! ♪ hands, for holding. ♪ feet, kicking. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz is an ra medicine that can enter cells and disrupt jak pathways, thought to play a role in the inflammation that comes with ra. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infection

elaine quijano on a sign of the times. and "on the road" with steve hartman. >> he's got a special magic about him. >> pelley: there's magic in melvin pickens' bristles, sweeping up the heart of little rock. >> you just can hardly turn him down. just can captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. ning sponsored b >> pelley: good evening. the week is ending the way it began-- with a mass shooting. this time the scene was chicago. the police say suspected gang members opened fire at a park late last night with a semiautomatic rifle. here, a neighbor, alejandro quebada took cover. when the shooting was over, 13 people were wounded, including a three-year-old boy. fortunately, amazingly, no one died. the police are searching for the gunmen. and this was just one of a number of shootings overnight in chicago which has been fighting an epidemic of gun violence. in all, the "chicago tribune" reports 23 people were shot last night, three of them died. dean reynolds is in chicago. >> reporter: nei

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.

elaine quijano has the story. and it was the other speech at the march on washington. 50 years later, a look back at a rabbi's moment and a warning to never forget. >> the most tragic problem is silence.

here's elaine quijano. >> reporter: there were no police officers on hand for the transfer. veronica said good-bye to her biological father, dustin brown, and was escort bide an attorney to her adoptive parents. brown's supporters described it as dignified. todd hembrie is the cherokee nation attorney general. >> what was best for her today was a peaceful and honorable transition. she deserves to know him and to have a relationship with him, and that's what we have fought for all along. >> excuse me. >> reporter: veronica lived with prown for the last 21 months. saying good-bye was unimaginable to brown when we spoke to him? july. >> i don't want to deal with it. i don't want to have to be told that. i want someone to tell me that i've lost the right to be a father. >> reporter: but brown agreed to relinquish his parental rightses before veronica's birth. they began the process of adopting veronica from her mother and were in the delivery room when she was born. >> thought she was the most beautiful child i had ever laid my eyes on and she was felt like ours immediately like

elaine quijano on a sign of the times. and "on the road" with steve hartman. >> he's got a special magic about him. >> pelley: there's magic in melvin pickens' bristles, sweeping up the heart of little rock. >> you just can hardly turn him down.

elaine quijano on the cuts in one of the biggest districts. >> i'm terrified that we're going to lose children because of these cuts. >> pelley: and greetings from planet earth. >> we have liftoff! >> pelley: for the first time, a spacecraft has left our solar system. bill whitaker on the triumph on "voyager." >> we made it! "voy captioning sponsored by cbs

elaine quijano is looking into this. >> reporter: the dow's down day didn't create a rush of worried investors at this charles schwab office in midtown manhattan. but the company's top market analyst, liz ann sonders, expects the mood to change. >> given this latest dysfunction around the potential shutdown and the debt ceiling fight i would expect another hit to occur to consumer confidence, business confidence and probably even investor confidence. >> reporter: investors paid a price during the last shutdown. the s&p 500-- the stock index of the nation's biggest companies-- fell nearly 4%. stocks rebounded after the end of that shutdown, up 10.5% the next month. but the markets may not be as resilient this time. the washington standoff sap it is faith investors and businesses have in a recovery that appears fragile. >> they're less willing to take risk. by risk i mean long-term capital spending projects, long-term hiring. so they tend to make these short-term decisions and it doesn't add to the strength of the long term. >> reporter: many investors view the debate as a prelude to t

elaine quijano is at the finish line. the designer drug that is killing people and canceling concerts. michelle miller tells us why molly is so dangerous. and scott pelley back to the beginning. >> good evening from our cbs news room in new york on this, the first broadcast of network television's first daily half hour news program. captioning sponsored by cbs

elaine quijano has more. >> reporter: "grand theft auto 5" allows video gamers to play criminals, bank robber suspects often bell. freshman daniel bell started playing four years ago. >> all these charactering who are insane criminals who rob banks and stealing cars. >> i'm here if "grand theft auto 5." >> reporter: on tuesday fans around the world lined up for the chance to be the first to plop down $60 for the game. friday there were no signs momentum was slowing at the manhattan game stop where we ran into terisa rotundo. he sbout it for her 13 and 17-year-old. >> i don't like it but i let them buy it because all their friends are playing. >> reporter: this woman bought it for herself. >> i think it's game to have fun with eight plant and that's it. for me it is. >> reporter: "grand theft auto 5" made just as much as the last harry potter movie held. it's the best box office opening every, but critics have complained about the violence including a torture scene. the company declined to comment on the criticisms of it. sales could jump even higher. for "cbs this morning saturday," el

elaine quijano reports, the three-year-long custody dispute may now be over. >> reporter: late monday evening, veronica's biological father, dustin brown, handed the child over to her adoptive parents, matt and melanie kappa bianko. it's the culmination of an emotional, four-year-long battle, between brown and the kappa biankos that began shortly after the south carolina couple began the process of adopting veronica in 2009. her unmarried biological mother gave permission for her daughter to be adopted by the kappa biankos. though brown had given up his parental rights before she was -- auto child was born, he objected to the adoptd doption. he cited native american law. >> the only people who can give you your ancestry is your family. >> reporter: the south carolina supreme court ruled in brown's favor. and since 2011, veronica has lived with him and his wife robin. >> everybody needs to realize shoo she's happy. she's very happy with us. >> reporter: but the kappa biankos appealed. and this past year, the united states supreme court ruled against brown because he gave up his parenta

elaine quijano is with us. >> good morning, we sat down with her parents, matt and melanie capobiancos. they told us how they were there and raised her for the first two years of her life. while dustin brown said he misunderstand stood and never meant to sign away his parental right. it's a heart wrenching case. late monday evening, veronica's biological father dustin brown handed the child over to her adoptive parents, matt and melanie capobianco. it's a four-year battle that began shortly after the south carolina couple began the process of adopting veronica in 2009. her unmarried biological mother gave permission for veronica to be adopted by them. as a cheerky, she cited a federal law, protecting native-american being separated from their families and tribe. >> the only people that can really give you your history your ancestry is your family. >> reporter: the south carolina supreme court ruled in brown's favor and since 2011, veronica has lived with him and his wife robin. >> i want everyone to realize that she's happy. she's very happy with us. >> reporter: but the capobiancos ap

elaine quijano in key west, florida. good morning. >> good morning charlie and norah and viewers out west. diana nyad was just 28 years old when she first tried crossing the florida strait. the first time she was knocked off course by very powerful winds. this time the weather, the currents and the wildlife all cooperated allowing her to reach her goal. hundreds of people lined the beach in key west to greet diana nyad as she emerged from her nearly 53-hour swim. her team helped push back the surging crowd so nyad, as required by official record keepers, could take the final steps of her journey unassisted walking into history books as the first person unassisted from cuba to florida without a shark cage. then her crowd and crew enveloped her. >> you're never too old to chase your dream. >> afterwards the 64-year-old athlete was placed on a stretcher and briefly accepted congratulations from spectators before an ambulance took her to a nearby hospital. she was released a few hours later. >> i think my strength is okay. m