>> caption colorado, llc comments@captioncolorado.com >> couric: tonight, the bin laden raid. it was captured by the commandos' helmet cams. now investigators are constructing a picture of exactly how it all went down. i'm katie couric. also tonight, a major development in the fight against aids. a new study finds early treatment of h.i.v. patients dramatically lowers the chances they'll spread the virus to a sexual partner. where will the mississippi floodwaters go next? engineers in louisiana are facing a tough decision. and hunting for a job. when you're worn out your shoes, try selling them. >> i'm a sneaker head. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric.

>> couric: good evening, everyone. the killing of osama bin laden was a major victory for the u.s. in the war on terror. and it could lead to still more victories, because, among the evidence recovered from bin laden's hideaway in pakistan is information about other terrorists. it was all gathered by the u.s. commandos who invaded the compound. they also brought back pictures that are helping investigators clear up the confusion over exactly how the raid unfolded. here's national security correspondent david martin. >> reporter: the 40 minutes it took to kill bin laden and scoop his archives into garbage bags were recorded by tiny helmet cameras by each of the 25 navy seals. officials reviewing the videos are reconstructing a more accurate version of what happened. the only fire fight took place in the guest house, where one of bin laden's couriers opened fire and was quickly gunned down. no one in the main building got off a shot or was even armed-- although there were weapons nearby. the seals first saw bin laden

when he came out on the third- floor landing. they fired but missed. he retreated to his bedroom. the first seal through the door grabbed bin laden's daughters and pulled them aside. when the second seal entered, bin laden's wife rushed at him or perhaps was pushed forward by bin laden. the seal shoved her aside and shot bin laden in the chest. a third seal shot him in the head. the top democrat on the house intelligence committee went to c.i.a. headquarters today to view photos the seals took of bin laden's body. >> they're probably about maybe four, five, or six photos. there were just a couple body shots. he was in a white undershirt and a tan robe. >> reporter: the electronic files the seals carted away from bin laden's compound contained, among many things, the names of terrorist operatives which until now were unknown to u.s. intelligence. the files also contain a small 12-page journal of bin laden's handwritten notes about launching a major attack against the u.s.

don't use arabs because they arouse too much suspicion. go after trains. time it to coincide with the tenth anniversary of 9/11. there are also messages to his senior lieutenants and to al qaeda affiliates, urging them not to waste time on small local operations and focus their efforts on the u.s. >> he kept all of that information and he kept all of the data-- computers, hard drives-- and this is what we're analyzing and it shows his focus was clearly the united states. >> reporter: u.s. officials can not understand why bin laden apparently left what amounts to the keys to his terrorist kingdom just lying around his compound in plain sight. none of it rigged for self- destruction. if he had just hidden his files, the seals would not have had enough time on the ground to find them. katie? >> couric: and david, are you surprised that so much detail about such a secret mission has gotten out? >> reporter: well, i'm not, but defense secretary gates is. he said today that on the day of the mission, the president and

his top advisors all agreed not to release any details. that lasted less than 24 hours. >> reporter: all right, david martin. david, thank you. one thing gates is talking about is the tension inside the white house situation room. in a "60 minutes" interview, his first since the raid, he told me his heart was in his mouth that night. >> i worked for a lot of these guys and this is one of the most courageous calls, decisions, that i think i've ever seen a president make. for all of the concerns that i've just been talking about-- the uncertainty of the intelligence, the consequences of it going bad, the risk to the lives of the americans involved. it was a very gutsy call. >> couric: you could see in the his face in that photograph. what was it like being near him in that room? >> let's just say there wasn't a lot of conversation-- by anybody in the room. >> couric: and you can see more of that interview with secretary

gates-- one of his last before he retires-- this sunday on "60 minutes." turning to health news now, what could be a big advance in stopping the spread of h.i.v., the virus that causes aids. more than a million americans are living with h.i.v., with about 150 new cases diagnosed every day. but a study out today says treating patients early on can dramatically lower the chances they'll transmit the virus to their sexual partners. here's dr. jon lapook. >> reporter: this landmark study, conducted in nine countries, could change the way h.i.v. patients are treated around the world. giving drugs to patients early lowered the spread of infection by more than 95%. >> treating individuals who are h.i.v. infected sooner rather than later has a major impact on not having those individuals infect their uninfected sexual partners. >> reporter: over 1,700 mostly heterosexual couples with one

h.i.v.-infected partner were divided into two groups. in one, treatment was delayed until there was evidence of a weakened immune system. 27 partners became infected. in the other, treatment was immediate and only one partner got h.i.v. patients receiving a drug cocktail right away were 96% less likely to infect their partners. >> the trial was cut short because the data are so overwhelmingly positive. >> reporter: like all h.i.v.- positive patients, everyone in the study was told to practice safe sex. even so, patients still infected their partners if they did not receive the drug cocktail. >> my prediction will be that now that we know that treatment will also be effective in prevention, what we're going to see is that much of the world will seek to start people earlier. >> reporter: an important note: once the study was stopped, all h.i.v.-infected people were offered immediate treatment with the drug cocktail. katie? >> couric: so did these drugs benefit the patients themselves, jon, in addition to stopping the spread?

>> they did. and, katie, when you think about how far we have come in the last 30 years-- i was an intern in 1981 when the aids epidemic hit new york city. every one of my patients who had h.i.v./aids died. every one of them. we didn't know what caused it. we didn't know how to treat it and, of course, my patients were saying "how can i help prevent infection in my loved ones?" i would say "safe sex makes sense, but i don't know." now we have this dramatically effective treatment. it's really a big deal. >> couric: and are there enough of these drugs or this medication to treat patients all around the world? because there's so many. >> reporter: not really. i spoke to the lead author and he said that's going to be a big problem, getting the resources. then there's a big problem. there are a million people who have h.i.v. in the united states. 21% of them have no idea that they're h.i.v.-positive. so we have to get them diagnosed earlier, so we can treat them-- which will be good for them-- and treat them which will be good for their loved ones. >> couric: not to mention all the impoverished people who are suffering from this. jon lapook. jon, thanks so much. now turning to the disaster

along the mississippi. the river crested in helena, arkansas, at 12 feet above flood stage, and in the days to come the rain-swollen waters are expected to reach record heights in the coming days all the way down to the gulf of mexico. mark strassmann is in vicksburg, mississippi, tonight. mark, i understand some communities are a losing what little they have. >> reporter: katie, these are folks by and large who have no place to go but a shelter. that is the now massive mississippi behind me, up another foot here in just the last 24 hours. flooding has now reached the mississippi delta and people who can least afford it. >> it's a struggle. it's a struggle. >> reporter: gloria king's stunned. her home disappearing in rising water. >> who would think the water would get this far up? >> reporter: this vicksburg neighborhood is called king's community. low-lying, low-income and sinking from sight. one of its streets yesterday. that same street today. >> i hate to even look at it. >> reporter: william jefferson paddled us to this house, his home since 1968.

>> well, when that's all you have, you know? it hurts. >> reporter: just in mississippi, $275 million is a conservative estimate of total damages. $150 million to farms, $50 million businesses, $75 million homes and property. but uninsured losses will send those damage estimates much higher. people without flood insurance, like william jefferson. >> we're a poor community but we all come together, we live together, we're going to take care of each other. >> reporter: more than one-third of vicksburg's 26,000 residents live below the poverty line-- almost triple the national average. and in this flood, hundreds of them could lose it all. katie? >> couric: mark strassmann. mark, thanks so much. downriver, a system of failsafes is supposed to protect major cities from the threat of flooding. today the army corps of engineers opened more of the bonnet carre spillway north of new orleans and it's considering doing the same at the morganza spillway near baton rouge.

dean reynolds on how these spillways work. >> reporter: in butte larosa, louisiana, duane ferrell is gathering up what he wants and leaving the rest to the floodwaters about to inundate his home. >> there's nothing we can do about it. get our stuff out and hope for the best. >> reporter: his property lies two football fields from the atchafalaya river, where the water is over its banks and up in the trees. perhaps as early as saturday the army corps of engineers will open the spillway at morganza, an hour's drive away, to relieve pressure from the bulging mississippi river as it rolls south. >> we're doing everything that we can to take that excess water off of the river and take the stress off of the levee systems. >> reporter: by opening the floodgates, some of the mississippi river water will temporarily be allowed to merge with the atchafalaya and pour of a torrent of water over the low- lying farms, homes, and businesses for a hundred miles south to the gulf of mexico but bypassing big cities.

they really had no other choice. by keeping the spillway behind me closed, it would have meant that the mississippi river would have reached catastrophic heights. the army corps said that would have destroyed floodways and levees all the way down to new orleans. and it would have inundated new orleans in up to 25 feet of water. katie? >> couric: dean reynolds. dean, thank you. we have another vivid example of nature's power. on a stormy night in london last month, a photographer captured an emirates airbus a-380 en route from dubai getting hit by lightning. you can see the bolt strike the top of the plane. the jet, with 500 people on board, landed safely at heathrow. planes get hit by lightning all the time, by the way. it's usually not dangerous, just scary. and still ahead here on the "cbs evening news," the economic lesson college students are learning: if no one will hire you, hire yourself. but up next, oil company executives warn congress, take away our tax breaks and gas

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have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. chances are your soil is like this: compacted, drained of nutrients. it'll hold your plants but it'll also hold 'em back. the solution: miracle-gro garden soil. the perfect mix of rich, organic ingredients, and miracle-gro plant food. just mix it in. and turn bad soil into great soil. helps plants grow twice as big. instead of holding 'em back, they'll leap ahead. miracle-gro garden soil. and moisture control garden soil. >> couric: they're the biggest oil companies in the world and they're making profits to match. exxon mobil, chevron, b.p., royal dutch shell and conoco

phillips earned a total of $35 billion at a quarter this year at a time gas prices were heading ever closer to $4 a gallon. at a cbs news town meeting at the newseum in washington, president obama was asked about what can be done about high gas prices. >> by making our energy usage more fuel efficient, particularly in the transportation sector, that will bring demand down, and that will bring prices down. but there's no single silver bullet. we're going to have to do efficiency, we're going to have to do alternative energy, we have to develop electric cars that can be cheaper and those are all things we've been investing in over the last two years, which is why it's going to be important for us to continue making those investments in the years to come. >> couric: meanwhile, the c.e.o.s of those five oil companies we mentioned appeared before the senate finance committee today. democrats on the panel want to know why the companies should continue to get tax breaks when they're making such big profits. nancy cordes is our congressional correspondent. and nancy, i know these c.e.o.s have been down this road before.

>> reporter: right, katie. it's practically a rite of passage on capitol hill. when gas prices soar, they haul in the oil executives for a public flogging. the leaders of the five largest private oil companies did not give an inch as senate democrats argued they should give up their tax credits. >> i don't think the american people want shared sacrifice. i think they want shared prosperity. and what we have to... >> oh, you... lovely statement. but do you understand how out of touch that is? >> reporter: those five companies are on track to make a combined $140 billion in profit this year. so democrats want to eliminate $2.1 billion worth of tax deductions for domestic production and other writeoffs. >> do you think that your subsidy is more important than the financial aid we give to students to go to college? could you answer that yes or no? >> well, that's a very difficult question for me. two totally different questions.

>> but we have to weigh those two things, mr. mulva. >> reporter: but the executives argue that raising their taxes would push gas prices even higher and drive down domestic production. >> i'm going to take my capital, then, since the u.s. is not attractive, i've got to go somewhere else. >> even in the context of record profits. >> we make about six cents on sales. >> and it's true. last year, oil producers had a net profit margin of six cents per dollar compared to 16 cents for computer makers and 17 cents for the pharmaceutical industry. >> we're asking for the same treatment and comparable treatment to other industries, senator. >> reporter: the top republican on the committee called the hearing a farce. >> it is designed to distract their constituents from the simple fact that the democrats have no energy policy whatsoever. >> reporter: but oil industry analysts say the republican proposal to expand u.s. production wouldn't bring down prices either. >> it's a little disingenuous to suggest we're going to drill our way out of this as well. >> reporter: in fact, if

anything, what this hearing highlighted is just how little congress can really do to bring down gas prices. katie? >> couric: nancy cordes reporting from capitol hill tonight. and we'll be right back. back. so now your doctor's talking about plaque building up in your arteries -- she called it coronary artery disease. you think that's something you can just stick in an email and that's the end of it? do you know me? look, bonnie. i know you've been exercising and eating a healthier diet. and that's great. but you wrote that your doctor also wants you on this cholesterol medicine -- niaspan. i know -- another pill. i get it, i do. but i am not taking no for an answer. [ male announcer ] if you have high cholesterol and coronary artery disease, and diet and exercise are not enough, niaspan, along with diet and a bile acid-binding resin, is fda-approved not only to slow down plaque buildup but to actually help clear some of it away. bonnie, ever since we were kids, you would do anything for me.

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we can cut wasteful spending without cutting the benefits you've earned. join us. tell congress to stop the harmful cuts to medicare and social security. >> couric: if john ensign thought that by resigning from the senate he'd avoid legal trouble, he was mistaken. the senate ethics committee today referred his case to federal prosecutors. ensign, a republican from nevada, is suspected of making false statements to the federal election commission.

all of this stems from an affair he had with his campaign treasurer, who's also the wife of his former chief of staff. here in new york, police say they've broke up a home-grown terror plot. two men were charged today with planning to blow up a synagogue. the police say the accused were heard on tape complaining that the world treats muslims "like dogs." one was arrested yesterday just after he allegedly bought guns and a fake hand grenade from an undercover officer. neither suspect is believed to have any ties to al qaeda. actress mary tyler moore has gone into the hospital to have a tumor near her brain removed. this is moore with former costar dick van dyke on the "rachel ray show" taped last week. a spokesperson says doctors have been keeping an eye on the noncancerous tumor in the lining of her brain and decided it was best to remove it. mary tyler moore is 74. and we want to take a moment, now, to note the passing of a legendary journalist-- jeff gralnick. >> cbs news presents...

>> couric: jeff began his career in 1959 as a desk assistance on this broadcast. anchored then by douglas edwards. and would go on to help shepherd news into the modern age. >> it's been like this all weekend in hawaii. >> couric: over four decades, jeff reported, wrote, and produced coverage of wars, the space program and political conventions, and was one of the first producers on "60 minutes." after a stint as senator george mcgovern's press secretary, jeff served as executive producer of abc's "world news tonight" and later "nbc nightly news." he earned the respect of all of us in this business who had the privilege to work with him and learn from him. when he died this week of cancer, jeff gralnick was 72. with recipes from campbellskitchen.com, and campbell's cream of chicken soup.

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>> i was up at 5:00 this morning. are you waiting in line for this table? >> reporter: a business major, zema graduated from the university of connecticut last summer. >> quite a big turnout and, you know, i only got about 30 seconds where i can talk to an employer. >> reporter: employers do plan to hire more new graduates this year, surveys say, still, only one in four seniors will graduate with a job. you've been looking for work for over a year? >> oh, yeah. internships, full-time positions, anything. >> reporter: are you getting discouraged? >> yeah. >> reporter: the job market may be improving slightly, but with the sea of competition still so deep, some students have decided they're not going to wait in line at job fairs anymore. >> those job fairs, 400 people competing for ten jobs. >> reporter: john campbell is a senior at babson college outside boston. >> it's about creating your own destiny. >> reporter: campbell was just a sophomore when he found a store front in saugus, massachusetts, and set up shop in the back room. he took the money he'd raised

working summer jobs, pooled it with two college friends and together they opened foot traffik. you're in the collectible athletic footwear business? >> i guess you could say that, yeah. i'm a sneaker head. >> reporter: through the store and a web site, he's selling limited edition sneakers to high school and college kids. >> it's good. >> reporter: colleges report a growing interest in entrepreneurship courses. >> right now you should be focusing on two things. >> reporter: 27-year-old scott gerber, who started several businesses... >> be somebody who is going to think about "how am i going to get started?" >> reporter: ...now teaches seminars to other aspiring entrepreneurs. >> entrepreneurship has become a viable career path, whereas it used to be considered a renegade's choice. >> reporter: christy tyler is what they call a cyberpreneur. tyler got a job as a paralegal while she was in school. >> can you kiss again? >> reporter: but she's using that money to start her own photography business. shooting weddings... >> looking into my camera? good. >> reporter: ...and children. >> now i'm booking probably two

to three a weekend. >> there he is! my ultimate goal is to be a full-time photographer. >> reporter: the risks of entrepreneurship are high. roughly half of all new businesses fail in the first five years. but john campbell says it's worth it. >> the security that the job market offered 20 years ago isn't there. >> reporter: by selling fancy footwear, he's run around the job market and is charting his own path. >> take care, man. >> reporter: anthony mason, cbs news, saugus, massachusetts. >> couric: and before we leave you tonight, we want to take a moment to wish our executive producer rick kaplan the very best. this is his last broadcast at cbs news. and while we could go on-- as rick has told me many times-- we're tight on time. so from all of us at cbs news, thank you, rick, good night and good luck. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

car sale booms in 30 years, and you're watching cbs5 eyewitness news in high- definition. what's driving one of the biggest car sales booms in 30 years and what it means if you're looking for some wheels. not exactly something a friend would do. why facebook launched a campaign to smear google's reputation. first, they lost their jobs now they say they have lost even more. the growing complaints from laid off muni workers. i'm allen martin. >> i'm dana king. an obvious casualty of the tough economy. new car sales. so how about plan b. mike sugerman will show us how gently used is suddenly a very hot commodity. mike? >> reporter: dana, what's it going to take to get you into e