today to consider start, the strategic arms reduction treaty with russia. democrats this afternoon turned back one republican effort to amend the treaty but final ratification is still anything but a done deal. bob orr has the latest. >> reporter: with adjournment and the holidays looming,. >> senate will be in order. >> reporter: backers of a new nuclear arms treaty with russia took to the senate floor in a lame duck sunday session urging an 11th hour ratification of the deal. >> we 2k07b9 want to do damage to the treaty and kill a treaty which does so much for the security of this nation. >> reporter: vice president biden predicted the obama administration has the votes. >> i believe we do. >> reporter: for the so-called start treaty which would cut strategic nuclear warheads were the current level of 12200 to no more than 1550 for each side within seven years. >> every former republican secretary of defense, secretary of state, national security advisor, and head of strategic command says this is essential foru.s. security. >> reporter: but ratification requiring 67 votings in the senate is far from certain. republican leader mitch mcconnell vowed to oppose it. >> i think if they had taken more time with this, rushing it right before christmas strikes me as trying to jam us. >> reporter: supporters argue there has been plenty of time for deliberation. with 18 hearings since president obama and rush ran president medvedev signed the arms control deal in april. and in his weekly address mr. obama warned against delaying ratification. >> every minute we drag our feet is a minute that we have no inspectors on the ground at those russian nuclear sites. >> reporter: but opponents argue the treaty is flawed. claiming language in the preamble could restrict plans to build a missile defense system in europe. the administration insist missile defense will not be hindered but republican lindsey graham is waiting to hear from russia. >> i want the russians to tell me their ability for strategic missile defense. >> reporter: so the fate of the start treaty is still uncertain and no final vote has yet been schedule. but at the risk of disrupting the holidays democratic leaders say they will stay here as long as they have to russ? >> bob orr on capitol hill, thanks. >> mitchell: another item on the docket for the lame duck congress, a bill to provide health-care benefits for 9/11 first responders. >> which was a demolition supervisor. >> mitchell: one day after the twin towers fell, construction worker john feal began working at ground zero. >> i never felt more proud and more proud to be an american. >> mitchell: but five days later a steel beam fell and crushed his foot. it became infected and he barely survived. he's been struggling to pay his medical bills ever since. >> i went years. i had to sell everything i own to keep a roof over my head. >> mitchell: feal is headed to washington this week to lobby for a bill that would provide aid for first responders made sick by the dust and debris at ground zero. >> the motion is not agreed to. >> mitchell: earlier this month the bill was shot down by republicans opposed to the $7 billion price tag and the way its paid for. >> it's one thing to make an emotional appeal to say we fwheed to care for somebody without did something good. if is another to do it in a sensible way. >> mitchell: today the senators from new york announced plans to scale back the bill by more than a billion dollars. and pay for it with new federally imposed fees. >> as a result of these major changes, we believe we've secured enough republican votes to prevail. >> america will be watching very closely to how this senate votes on something that goes to the fundamental issue of who we are as americans and whether we stand by our heroes. >> mitchell: even more passionate on the issue is the daily show's jon stewart who hammered the senate over its failure to act. >> this is an outrageous abdication of our responsibility to those who were most heroic on 9/11. >> mitchell: the new york senators is have been given assurances by the democratic leadership that the bill will get a vote in the senate after the final vote on the start treaty. here is what else is happening. weather is doing a number on travel plans on two continents today. in the united states heavy rain and high winds are sweeping up and down the west coast. and as ben tracy tells us, the worst may be yet to come. >> reporter: in sacramento, california, you would be better off with a boat than a car. >> wild, i will tell you. >> i have never seen it like this, in years. >> reporter: in spokane, washington, icy streets caused a multicar pileup and howling winds with near seattle sent a tree crashing through the roof of this house. >> the roar of the wind was horrible. we were covering our ears. it was awe. >> reporter: and when the gusts snapped nine power poles a burst transformer caused this house to go up in flames. firefighters could only watch it burn as the road was blocked. >> i just saw all potter poles all the way down the road just sandwich to the road. >> reporter: the series of rainstorms is being caused by a large plum of subtropical moisture stretching all the way from asia, mixing with a low pressure system that is slamming it into the pas civic coast. >> we have a long trail of moisture that extends well out into the central pacific and that's exactly what we are seeing right now. until we get a change in the weather pattern this moisture is going to keep coming in from the west and southwest. >> reporter: in water-logged los angeles a two-storey fig tree toppled over when the ground gave way and flash flood watches are now in effect for areas burned by recent wildfires. the massive station fire 16 months ago charred more than 160,000 acres leaving them prone to mudslides. sandbags and concrete barriers are now the last line of defense if the hillsides don't hold. >> i hope they hold up and do their job. because we have to protect the home. >> reporter: california is not expected to dry out for several more days. the most powerful of the series of storms is said so arrive tuesday night and could last through wednesday. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. >> mitchell: across the atlantic the weather is even worse in much of europe where a prewinter storm has frozen holiday travelers in their tracks. mark phillips in london has that part of the story. >> reporter: it's not how much snow fell, it's how quickly it fell. and when it fell. at the beginning of the holiday travel rush. >> good even, thousands of people have spent another day going nowhere. >> reporter: to try to prevent chaos some airlines even cancelled flights before the snow arrived which had the effect of creating chaos. >> being strafernded here now for 48 hours. >> well, we are supposed to get married on the 27th of december. we've been stuck here now 24 hours. we're not leaving now until tuesday. >> reporter: maybe. the plan was to try to hunker down as the storm passed through and regroup after but bad weather is to you predicted across europe for the entire prechristmas period it makes for pretty pictures but if you are trying to get some where it doesn't look good. >> there is no way out. you can't come in but you can't leave. >> reporter: with nowhere to go, passengers have made camp in the airport. and complained about the lack of facilities. they've been sending lucky you're not here cell phone videos home. >> there's been no food. there's been no vouchers at all. there's been insulation blankets at midnight and even then they weren't passed out by staff t was a free-for-all. there has been water crates dumped in the center of the concourse. >> reporter: the storms have affected rail and road traffic across europe as well. >> i've been stuck for nearly three hours now. >> reporter: and with with the next snow bands lining up to roll across europe, the toll charges will add up. mark phillips, cbs news, london. >> mitchell: it is six days and counting until christmas. retailers, however, are already pretty merry. a new study out tonight confirms holiday sales are up more this year than last. among the retail highlights, a rebound in jewelry and luxury good sales. >> if the height woon something like this perfect briolette diamond. >> reporter: after a two year low in the economy high-end luxury is back in business at harry winston is new york. >> it is a greater sense of optimism and confidence from our clients right now. sales for the third quarter were up 48% over last year. >> reporter: bling is not only making a comeback, it's leading a surge in retrail sales. >> basically the best season since 2007. >> reporter: mastercard analyzed billions of its own card transactions along with cash and other credit card purchases. from october 31st through the second week in december. after steep across-the-board declines in 2008 in several retail sectors and flat numbers last year, appear elevator and e-commerce are back up this year. >> it's like are you starting to see again those higher end purchases starting to pick up. >> it's a good sign because are you seeing better spending in am so of the discretionary areas, not just on necessities like food and gasoline now. >> reporter: at the malls shoppers are spending again, though not always with full disclosure. >> i always feel good. i never have a problem spending. i bought cuff links. i bought myself a bracelet. he doesn't know that yet. >> reporter: and for big spenders, there's always neiman marcus's exclusive christmas book which this year sold out all of its 100 limited edition chevrolet cameroes in just three minutes. price tag $75,000. at harry winston, absolute. >> absolutely there has been greater demand for treating themselves to these gifts. >> reporter: it's a dazzling bright spot in a retail sector that analysts say is often the last to rebound during an economic recovery. jay dow cbs news, new york. >> mitchell: still ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news", a key challenge for u.s. forces, training afghan army recruits. mrz at least 13 people were killed in afghanistan today after insurgent attacks on security forces in kabul and kunduz. one gun battle raged for hours and ended with the last attacker blew himself up. as terri mccarthy reports the attacks come amid mounting pressure for afghan troops to step up. >> reporter: azim is a private in the afghan army, a former shepherd, he has his own unique way of finding roadside bombs. >> they go and yarning it out of the ground. >> reporter: a quick way to get blown up say the marines with who are training him and the other afghan soldiers here. >> it scarce the hell out of us the way he grabs ieds. >> reporter: they all think are you crazy. >> yeah. >> doesn't matter. >> reporter: i do t he says, to serve my country and to page money for my family. there are a lot of things these 32 afghan army recruits to that make the marines nervous. >> muzz ale wareness and keeping the finger off the trigger can be an issue at times. >> given you a few scares. >> absolutely, absolutely. >> reporter: corruption and abuse of civilians is common amongst the afghan forces. so the marines keep a close eye on these soldiers during their daily patrols. the marines here all tell us that one of their most challenging task is training the afghan army but they stick at it because they know that ultimately that's the best strategy for getting american forces home. the u.s. and its nato allies want to increase the afghan army and police force from 240,000 today to 300,000 by the end of yeex next year and make them better able to defend themselves against the taliban. but there are high dezrtion rates, heavy drug use and wide spread i literacy. the u.s. now runs reading and writing courses for many of the recruits. >> once you come out and start training with the afghans it's-- su start from the ground up. you have to build that foundation from scratch. >> reporter: in a classroom competition to put down their guns they couldn't stop taking shortcuts. >> no, no, you cheat. you cheat. >> if you are going to stand-up in a professional army you have to act like a professional and there are certain disciplines you have to have. they are brave as heck, the technicallities of the whole thing. >> reporter: after three months of training these afghan soldiers have improved considerably but defending their country without american help, that say the marines is still very much a work in progress. cbs news, southern afghanistan. >> mitchell: just ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news", a crash course in runnaway education spending earmarks >> mitchell: public school budgets are being cut across the country, forcing teacher furloughs and even layoffs. so how are some members of congress spending your education tax dollars. sheryl attkisson has been doing the math. >> reporter: to get educated on some of the decades worst pork you need only go to school. critics say two federal programs to improve education have turned into slush funds. both began with modest budgets but then congress added earmarks, pet projected funded by your tax dollars without the normal public review. take the fund for improvement of education. one recent year it started at $12 million, then congress tacked on one earmark after another until they added up to $245 million. senator coburn sayings the funds don't go to the neediest or most deserving causes. >> whoever is well connected and well-heeled gets money. >> reporter: coburn has flaingd 71 pages of examples like the 273,000 education tax dollars congressman sam graves devoted to fight goth culture. after public outrage more than half the money was returned to washington where congress found plenty more ways to spend it. congressman benny thompson ear-marked 478,000 dollars to jackson state to study opening an osteoporosis medicine school. funny because jackson state had no intention of starting such a school. >> that was known at the time. was that a good use of the $7 or $10 an hour wage earners money that goes to the federal government. >> reporter: the same money could have covered tuition for 200 struggling undergrads. while new jersey grapples with laying off thousands of teachers congressman andrews funneled 2.2 million to rutgers law school where the congressman's wife happens to be associate dean. the congressman told us his wife doesn't benefit from the money and some of it goes to students who agree to represent powerless victims. as 13,000 public schoolteachers face furlough in hawaii, hawaii senators generously supplied $500,000 education dollars to the polynesian voyaging society. we were told the voyages have real life applications, inspire students and may lead to college programs. but the saddest story is from the university of louisville, it goth $700,000-of-your tax dollars for its education center. too bad the dean stole more than half. he's now in prison. for taxpayers it has been an education in politics. the two small funds averaged $18 million but wound up stuffed with 5,500 earmarks. in ten years that cost taxpayers $2.3 billion. sheryl attkisson, cbs news, capitol hill. >> mitchell: and we'll be back. >> mitchell: an american tourist has been killed in israel. the body of a 40-year-old woman was found bound with bhult pell stab wounds in a forrers-- forest near jerusalem where police shi he had had been hiking with a friend. she survived. the friend told police they were attacked by arab men. >> a-- there was a metal in the public drinking water of 31 of 35 cities tested. oklahoma had the highest levels of the toxic metal which figured in the movie erin brockovich. the chemical industry says it is conducting its own research which will allow for a more informed risk assessment. and in mexico a pipeline explosion has killed at least 27 people and injured dozens more. the predawn explosion was apparently triggered by thieves trying to steal crude oil. dozens o s in the city of st. martin were scorched. and just ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news", the moment of truth for the record chasing uconn women's basketball team. >> mitchell: finally this evening it is a record long shot thought to be unapproachable, until now. tonight the university of connecticut women's basket ball team won its 88s consecutive game, tying the men's record which has stood for some 36 years. seth doane has the story. >> reporter: they are poised to shatter a sports record, and chisel a crack in the glass ceiling. >> 88 has always been that magical number, people just assume that that is never going to be touched. >> reporter: university of connecticut's lady huskies scored their 88th consecutive win today, tying legendary coach john wooden's 1974 ucla men's team record. one more victory and thed willee huskies will have the most back-to-back wins of any division 1 team in ncaa history. >> 88. >> the team hasn't lost a game since the national semi-finals in 2008. that means the freshman, sophomores and juniors have never tasted defeat in a college game. >> the reason everybody is having a heart attack the last four or five days is a bunch of women are threatening to break a men's record. >> reporter: the coach has taken the team to seven national championships. >> the women's basketball players want to play for me because they see he is this gentle person that can guide them to where they want to go, you know? and all that crap. >> reporter: but it's not just winning on the court. the lady huskies have a 92% graduation rate. compare that to 31% in the men's program. the team's star player carries a 3.7 gpa. >> there's more to the game than athleticism. >> reporter: female athletes must play for four years in college to be eligible for the wnba draft. meanwhile the nba can poach male players at any time. >> they've got a very difficult job on the men's side, very difficult. i get to keep my team for three or four years and get a chance to build a team. >> reporter: today's win here at madison square garden was historic moment. but one many sports fans could not watch on television. that's because women's sports still do not receive the same attention that men's sports do. today's game was only carried on a college sports network. seth doane, cbs news, new york. >> mitchell: and the husky kos break the record on tuesday when they play florida. and that is the "cbs evening news." later on cbs, "60 minutes." thanks for joining us this sunday evening. i'm russ mitchell, cbs news in new york. katie couric will be here tomorrow. good night. another round of heavy rain and strong winds in the bay area, the damage left behind and how long before the next wave hit. the sierra getting buried under a preholiday blanket of snow, the danger for travelers beyond the road conditions. and major delays on b.a.r.t. cause problems in the transday, too. cbs5 eyewitness news is next. e? her diary. when you're done, i'd love some feedback. sure. your mom and i read that thing cover-to-cover. loved it. thanks. would you mind if i cut the lawn this weekend? only if you let me talk to your mother on the phone for hours on end. done. 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