bring you about the b.a.r.t strike, coming up at 6:00. cbs evening news with scott pelly is next. is back to square one with less than 48 hours until the government can't borrow anymore. nancy cordes and major garrett are on the breaking news. chip reid looks at the tea party role. anthony mason questions alan greenspan. >> reporter: so we're playing with fire? >> pelley: can states ban affirmative action? at was before the supreme court today. jan crawford reports. middle schoolers are arrested in the bullying suicide of a classmate. anna werner that has story. and david martin on the harrowing battle that earned will swenson the medal of honor.

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. this is a special western edition. a warning flare streaked across washington this evening. the credit rating agency fitch says that it is reviewing america's stellar a.a.a. credit rating and may downgrade it. this because of the budget siege in washington which is only deepening tonight. it was just 24 hours ago, senate leaders boasted tremendous progress on a deal to reopen the government and allow uncle sam to borrow money to pay his bills. but today in a surprise, house republicans rushed out a new proposal that included rollbacks in obamacare which is what led to the government shutdown in the first place. then late today the republicans called off even that vote. so here is where we stand: the country is in the 15th day of the shutdown and, more important the day after tomorrow the government loses the ability to

borrow money and it could start defaulting on its debts sometime after that. we have a team of correspondents covering this fast-breaking story. first we'll go to nancy cordes on capitol hill. >> reporter: house republicans tried to pull a hat trick today but it turned out to be a little trickier than they thought and the plan they introduced in the morning had to be scraped in the evening because they didn't have enough votes from within their own party. what they were trying to do was to upend a compromise that was being worked out in the senate and replace it with something a little more conservative. but it didn't go far enough for their tea party members who wanted bigger changes to the president's health care law in exchange for reopening the government than their leaders were willing to give at this stage of the game. so all day long leaders tried to tinker with the plan a little bit to get enough votes from their right flank, but at the end of the day it was not looking good. and then heritage action, a very conservative group, sent out this note to members saying "the proposed plan will do absolutely

nothing to help americans who are negatively impacted by obamacare." and it looked like they just weren't going to have the votes so they ended up throwing in the towel. the plan is now dead and shortly thereafter we got the signal from leaders in the senate that their negotiations are now back on and that they think they can finalize the plan in very short order to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. but the question is how quickly that can happen because of the rules of the senate passing anything, even if it has big bipartisan support, can take days, scott. >> pelley: nancy, thank you very much. the house has passed several bills to fund the government, but each of them had amendments to roll back the president's health care law which the senate controlled by democrats, wouldn't stand for. the obamacare rollback is the cause of a few dozen conservative members of the house known as the tea party republicans and chip reid spoke to one of them today. >> reporter: well, scott, if you look at the national polls, most

americans want the government shutdown to end even if that means accepting the fact that obamacare is the law of the land. but in the districts of tea party republicans, there is nothing more important than ending obamacare. >> the president has his principles. he's fully committed to obamacare and a government takeover of our health care system. i'm fully committed to making certain that doesn't happen. >> reporter: republican tim huelskamp was elected to the house from a very conservative district in kansas in the tea party wave of 2010. what percentage of your constituents agree that it is worth keeping the government shutdown in order to fight obamacare? >> our best guess is 2-1. >> reporter: monday evening at this capitol hill restaurant, huelskamp and a dozen or mother other tea party republicans dined with republican freshman senator ted cruz who's leading the effort to repeal obamacare. >> i intend to speak in support of defunding obamacare until i am no longer able to stand.

>> reporter: democrats and even some republicans have accused the house tea party members of taking orders from cruz, but huelskamp says he takes orders only from his own constituents. >> what is most interesting is hearing from folks who are furloughed right now saying "congressman, keep fighting." >> reporter: so even your constituents who have been furloughed want you to keep the government shutdown in order to fight obamacare. >> they understand there's a higher principle here. >> reporter: it's not unusual for members of the two houses to confer and even have dinner and exchange information, but it is highly unusual for a freshman senator like cruz of texas to be driving the debate over in the house and, scott, he may still try to derail a possible deal here in the senate. >> pelley: chip reid. thank you, chip. the president tonight says he's optimistic though it may be hard to see why. major garrett is at the white house for us tonight. major? >> reporter: scott, all day long

the white house opposed whatever house republicans efforts were to put a bill on the floor and they're hopeful the senate compromise deal nancy referred to, might verge. that's why the president in an interview with one of our affiliates in des moines, iowa, said on that he's still optimistic. >> there's a faction there that believes any compromise of any sort is unacceptable, that they've got to get 100% of what they want or at least a lot of what they want. and they haven't been willing to engage with democrats over there. so we're stuck in the house but i remain optimistic that this will eventually get resolved. >> pelley: scott, as for fitch credit rating agency's designation that it's reviewing the united states credit rating the treasury department noted it didn't downgrade the credit rating, just put it on a negative watch. treasury said fitch didn't not find fault with the underlying strength of the u.s. economy but it did find fault with congressional gridlock. >> pelley: major garrett at the

white house for us tonight. major, thank you very much. all of this is costing real money. we asked the research firm moody's analytics today and they told us that the government shutdown and the risk of default have cost the u.s. economy $22 billion just these last two weeks because of the threat that uncle sam won't be able to pay its bills, investors today demanded a higher interest rate on u.s. treasury bonds. that higher rate costs the government $22 million-- just today. and then there's the cost to investors as prospects for a budget deal rise and fall, so do stock prices. today the dow fell 133 points and closed at 15,168. corporate c.e.o.s have been telling us on this broadcast all week that a u.s. government default would be armageddon for the economy. senior business correspondent anthony mason talked to an expert on the economy today, former federal reserve chairman

alan greenspan. anthony? >> reporter: scott, alan greenspan says jeopardizing trust in u.s. credit and effectively the u.s. dollar is very dangerous. at his home in washington today, the economist who ran the federal reserve for 18 years told me hitting the debt ceiling will force the president and the treasury to decide who to pay and who to delay. >> you may very well choose to pay interest to the debt and to whom does it go? china. and who don't we pay? social security. that is a political system which will not hold together. i think they have to resolve it but the shock to the system, i think is -- not necessarily permanent but really debilitating. >> reporter: so we're playing with fire? >> indeed, we are. and then there's the psychological impact. >> reporter: you don't want to test it? >> i'd just assume not. >> reporter: nobody really know,

do they? >> i don't think so because i know everyone is discussing it, and everyone is guessing and i know they don't know. >> reporter: alan greenspan believes the shutdown is not having a deep impact on the national economy yet but he added "we're a democratic society, shutting down the government should not be on the agenda." the system, he said, is broken. >> pelley: anthony, thank you. you can see more of anthony's interview with alan greenspan this coming weekend on sunday morning. business leaders have found themselves allied with some traditional foes on finance-- democrats. together they're pressuring republicans to end the budget and debt impasse. here's sharyl attkisson. >> reporter: heavy hitters on wall street are looking to persuade congress with lobbyists like scott talbot who represents citibank, wells fargo, and visa. >> everyday that we're up there talking to somebody it is a constant, continuous drum beat to deliver the message. >> reporter: talbot was at a

white house meeting of big business lobbyists friday. obama administration officials urged them to press lawmakers far negotiated solution to the fiscal standoff. the chamber of commerce in the same white house meeting joined the united way and the a.f.l.- c.i.o. and sent this letter to every member of congress. it urges they end the shutdown immediately because "no one benefits and everyone will be harmed if the government defaults." >> the challenge comes in talking to members who don't necessarily agree with all or part of what we're trying to relay and don't necessarily understand or agree with our position about the need to get it done. >> reporter: are those mostly republicans? >> they're on both sides. both sides of the aisle. >> reporter: members of both political parties are inclined to pay attention because these groups are major campaign contributors. the a.f.l.-c.i.o. spearheaded $22 million in campaign contributions in the last election, most of it for democrats. the bankers, insurance, and real estate sector gave a record $665 million with a heavy tilt toward the g.o.p.

defense contractors lockheed martin, boeing and general dynamics are also busy on the hill trying to end the shutdown. the defense industry gave $27 million to candidates in the last election, scott. >> pelley: sharyl attkisson in washington tonight. thank you, sharyl. the libyan terror suspect who was captured by the u.s. army's delta force earlier this month pleaded not guilty today in new york. abu anas al-libi appeared in federal court with a thick gray beard. the judge ordered him held without bail. al-libi is accused of planning and conducting surveillance for the 1998 bombings of two u.s. embassies in africa which killed more than 200 people. the supreme court takes up a key affirmative action case. after a classmate's suicide, two girls face felony charges for cyber bullying. and was it a fish or a sea serpent off the coast of california? when the "cbs evening news"

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but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. open enrollment ends december 7th. so now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare >> pelley: the supreme court heard oral arguments today in a case that could decide the future of affirmative action. at issue whether the state of michigan can tell public colleges that they cannot consider race when deciding whom to admit. here's jan crawford. >> reporter: justice sonia sotomayor fired off the first question within seconds, mounting a defense of affirmative action.

when michigan solicitor general john bursch argued there were other ways for colleges to achieve diversity, sotomayor interrupted. bursch argued there were other ways for colleges to achieve , so d. when bursch offered specifics he said have worked at other institutions such as eliminating policies that give preferential treatment to children of alumni she had a response. sotomayor is the court's first sotomayor is the court's first hispanic justice. she credits affirmative action for helping her get from a poor neighborhood in the bronx to the nation's highest court. today the outspoken liberal dominated the arguments over michigan's proposal, too. the constitutional amendment voters passed in 2006 to outlaw the use of racial preferences in college admissions. five other states have similar bans. the court's conservative justices appeared to support those laws, suggesting voters simply were taking race off the table.

chief justice john roberts said that "was the whole point of something like the equal protection clause." but a federal appeals court struck down the michigan amendment last year ruling it the weighted the political process against minorities. university of michigan professor rosie ceballo is challenging the amendment. >> prop 2 has taken away the policy that the university has for hearing everybody's voice. so essentially the will of the majority has silenced the minority. >> reporter: but michigan attorney general bill schuette disagrees. >> we think it's wrong, fundamentally wrong, to treat people differently based on the race or the color of their skin. >> reporter: now, in court, the liberal justices suggested-- of course led by justice sotomayor- - suggested those laws send the wrong message to minorities, that they can be shut out of the political process but, scott, the conservative justices indicated it was a question about treating everyone equally and that voters could decide

whether the time for racial preferences has passed. >> pelley: jan crawford at the foot of the supreme court tonight. jan, thank you. how about this for the catch of the week on california's catalina island. it's a sea creature rarely seen by humans, it's an oarfish. it's 18 feet long. it was dead apparently of natural causes. it took more than 15 people to haul it ashore. we'll be right back. but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t.

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>> pelley: a sheriff in florida has arrested two girls ages 12 and 14 on felony charges of aggravated stalking in a case of cyber bullying. a 12-year-old classmate jumped to her death a month ago and anna werner has more. >> reporter: police say rebecca sedwick was relentlessly tormented by two classmates for a year. the arrests were made after the 14-year-old suspect boasted on the internet about the bullying. sheriff grady jud. >> she made a comment in reference to "yeah, i bullied rebecca and, yeah, she's dead,

but i don't give blank." we saw that and thought that was over the top. >> reporter: the 14-year-old and 12-year-old accomplice allegedly harassed sedwick at school and then followed her online. taunts included "you should drink bleach and die, no one likes you." and "you should go kill yourself." sedwick jumped off a tower near her home after writing friends "i am jumping. i can't take it anymore." we spoke to her mother tricia norman last month. >> i want them to pay for it because they took my baby away. they took her confidence away. they took her self-worth away. they just -- and now she's gone from me. >> reporter: the sheriff hadn't ruled out charging the suspects' parents. >> if you can't supervise your child, if they don't behave then take away their devices! don't allow them to have facebook. >> reporter: so who do you blame more here-- the girls or the parents? >> i blame them both equally. this incident goes way back to

2012, back in november and december with fights, with intimidating, with terrorizing rebecca sedwick. so the defendants' parents knew she was bullying. >> reporter: the two suspects are now under house arrest. scott, if convicted, the sheriff says it's unlikely they would face jail time because this would be their first offense. >> pelley: anna, thank you. this footnote from history caught our eye today. in 1963, an unemployed 24-year- old man applied for a job in dallas as a typesetter trainee. they liked him at first, but after checking his references they didn't hire him. the following week-- 50 years ago today, in fact-- he got a job packing books in this building, the texas school book depository. he was lee harvey oswald, the man who shot president kennedy from that building five weeks later. an american hero was awarded the nation's highest military honor. how he risked his life next. honor.

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fight with the taliban in afghanistan. david martin has the story and the pictures. >> reporter: this is captain will swenson in the opening hours in the battle for which he would receive the medal of honor. >> we had an enemy in hand grenade range. >> reporter: 30 yards? >> approximately. >> reporter: and you were taking fire? >> we were taking fire. >> reporter: sergeant westbrook was wounded in and a medevac helicopter came to pick him up. >> he was bleeding profusely. >> reporter: swenson and one of the crew helped westbrook to the helicopter. >> he gets to walk off that battlefield on his own strength- - with our support, but he gets to walk off that battlefield. >> reporter: why is that so important? >> here is an opportunity for the westbrook family to see their soldier walking off that battlefield regardless of the severity of his wounds. >> reporter: this video taken by helmet cams worn by the medevac crew was a revelation to swenson. >> i do not know existence of

the video and i had not remembered that moment. i just -- i couldn't look back and see that moment in my head, in my memory. so it was lost. >> reporter: but now it's found, including the moment when swenson gave the man he'd been fighting side by side with for almost a year a kiss. >> we had a moment, we looked at each other, he almost had a smile on his face. >> reporter: did you ever see him again? >> i never saw him again. one month later he passed away at walter reed. >> reporter: swenson turned back to the battle to the search for four missing marine. by the time he and marine corporal dakota meyer-- who already has received the medal of honor-- got to them, they were all dead. >> dakota, myself and a contingent of afghans moved into the trench and we began the horrible task of bringing those marines off the battlefield. >> reporter: when it was over and the wounded evacuated, swenson delivered a scathing sworn statement about the lack of artillery and air support

that day despite his repeated calls for help. "when i'm being second guessed by somebody sitting in an air conditioned operations center why the hell am i even out there in the first place?" were you bitter? >> i definitely had some choice commentary. was i bitter? i was angry. >> reporter: he quit the army thinking his angry words had ruined his career. >> those choice comments sometimes chase you down. >> reporter: but swenson missed being a soldier so now the first army officer since vietnam to receive the medal of honor has asked to come back on active duty. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >> pelley: and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. , good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

slow signs of movement- buto deal... as bart riders face a third night on pins and >> we still have major economic issues and workloads to be worked out. slow signs of movement but no deal as b.a.r.t riders face a third night on pins and needles. i am elizabeth cook. >> i am ken bastida. heading into another night of nervous waiting, will b.a.r.t trains roll tomorrow morning? well, the bay area white is in -- commute is in chaos. brian webb has more. >> reporter: another hour has passed and we haven't heard a peep out of either side. so we really don't know whether there will be a strike tomorrow. both sides staked out the top floors of this building and trying to hammer out a deal in

what is now day 156 in these negotiations. both sides came back to the table around 1:00 after basically spending the night. they were done here at 6:00 a.m. seems to be kind of a shell game at this point. b.a.r.t's best and final offer is valued at 57 million over four years for salaries, pensions and benefits, and the unions trying to find a way to make those dollars makeceps to what they ant. and they still seem pretty positive on the way in. >> hope today we'll reach an agreement. as you know, we were here until 6:00 in the morning. we're back now. we will stay as long as it takes tonight to reach an agreement. we're doing everything we know how to do. >> reporter: one man who has been noticeably about stent past few days is thomas hawk you see here, b.a.r.t's management chief negotiator. he is literally at disney land giving a prescheduled speech on, you guessed it, contract negotiations. the irony is hawk