whether changing those rules could save lives. captioning sponsored captioning sponsored by cbs elles is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. >> pelley: good evening. mitt romney has just found out that you can't count on anything in politics, not even the elections you win. today iowa republicans took away his victory in the caucuses, and his lead heading into saturday's disary in south carolina has thinenly disappeared. look at how quickly things have changed. in a poll taken the day after se iowa caucuses, romney was far ahead in south carolina, 31% to newt gingrich's 24%. but in that same poll today, gingrich leads by one point, a statistical tie. gingrich picked up the endorsement of texas governor rick perry. perry ended his campaign today after polling in single digits. dean reynolds is following the hast-changing race in north dearleston. dean? >> reporter: scott, aides to the ourmer speaker say that without ng dtion his rebound in the polls is due to a strong debate s anormance last monday night, ton he gets another chance here in north charleston tonight. decood morning. >> reporter: the decision by governor perry to withdraw from the presidential race and endorse the former speaker has added to gingrich's surge just when he needed it most, giving him an opportunity that seemed beyond his reach only days ago. n if we can win here, i will become the republican nominee because south carolina does have a huge impact. >> reporter: it was in monday's anbate that gingrich brought the audience to its feet with an answer that was quickly turned into a gingrich ad. >> i'm going to continue to find le leao help poor people learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job and learn some day to own the job. >> reporter: but personal awayacter, raised repeatedly in ads attacking him, is an issue that won't go away. today gingrich's second wife, marianne, told the "washington post" that he had once asked her for an open marriage, so he could date other women. she claims his request came in the midst of an affair with the odayn who is now his third wife. roubleorter at a rally today told gingrich he was troubled by character questions and gingrich answered the way he has the entire campaign. >> i think this is a decision you have to make. i've been very open about my life. s th 68 years old. we k a grandfather. we entered this race and we had we think this through for a year because we knew we'd get beaten up, we knew we'd get lied about, we knew we'd get smeared. >> do you think that your persona and your record both as well as well as personal, is retarding your climb in the polls? an and is it an issue that you are going to have to confront r?rhaps more directly than saying you're 68-year-old grandfather? >> it's an issue i confront t.ery time it comes up and i confront it the same way every time, and people seem to be satisfied with it. >> reporter: we'll find out, scott, just how satisfied they are with his answer to those questions sometime late saturday night. >> pelley: dean, thanks very much. on caucus night two weeks ago, the iowa republican party said romney had defeated rick santorum by eight votes, the todaest caucus ever. today, the party said its final totals show santorum is ahead by e g.o.es. ssedthe g.o.p. also said several precincts missed the deadline ecr reporting their ballots and without them the party declines to declare a winner. romney may be feeling whipsawed aw today's events. jan crawford is with his campaign in charleston. jan? >> reporter: well, scott, romney has tried to keep his focus on president obama, but with those polls now showing him in a dead heat here with newt gingrich, ch a had to shift gears. today, he used the president speech at disneyworld to attack them both. romney first took on the d itident. >> he's going to be in fantasy land, and it's obviously earsopriate, because he's been living in a sort of fantasy land these last few years, he'll be doiing about what a great job he's doing on the economy. has he not been out here? >> reporter: then he went after the man now threatening to win south carolina. own e may bump into speaker gingrich down there in fantasy land. ( laughter ) i only say that... i only say that because the speaker was talking about all the jobs that he helped create in the reagan years. ess tw been in congress two years when reagan came to office. >> reporter: romney's shift in focus, back to attacking gingrich, shows how concerned his campaign is about how quickly the race has turned. the campaign's polling shows what public polls show, that the race is neck and neck. is nting back, romney's campaign has mobilized the troops, with a new ad featuring some of gingrich's former congressional colleagues. ne coeir assessment of gingrich's ngriership was harsh. >> chaotic decisions, erratic dehavior, it's a problem when ved own leader is the biggest political problem that you're dealing with, which is why we >> reporter: n oiseved him. >> reporter: now, the campaign thought it was poised to leave the state with a win, use that s thntum to go to florida and lock up the nomination. but gingrich's surge says that these voters, the republican voters, aren't prepared yet to pke romney the nominee. >> pelley: primary day is saturday. thanks, jan. john dickerson, our political director, has been driving the by-ways of south carolina talking to folks, and john, why gingrich, why now? >> reporter: the reason gingrich has momentum is south carolina voters want to beat barack caroa. it's the central thing that himes up in every conversation i have with voters, and that's why momee debates have worked so well to give gingrich momentum over rick santorum, who is also trying to consolidate those voters who don't like mitt ns wey. when happens when people think about the debates is they think about that time in the fall when the republican nominee will go up against barack obama, they gric gingrich in there to, as ter voter put it, "bloody the president's nose." >> pelley: john, thanks very much. bror in the broadcast, we will take you back to south carolina for elaine quijano's look at a tontroversial new rule that requires the unemployed to take jobswork that's available. jobs are on the minds of 18,000 people who work for eastman kodak. storieoried company based in rochester, new york, since 1888, itled for bankruptcy today. it plans to reorganize to stay in business. that's what formerly bankrupt general motors did, and tonight, s arly three years after taxpayers rescued the company, g.m. says it's back on top. new sales figures show g.m. told more than nine million vehicles last year, better than volkswagen or toyota. g.m. now reclaims the title of world's top-selling auto company. we were surprised to hear today that it was the passengers of the "costa concordia" who called for help, not the captain or the crew, when the cruise ship collided with a reef and sank off the coast of italy last friday night. at least 11 people were killed, 21 are missing, including a retired couple from minnesota. allen pizzey is at the scene. >> reporter: rescue workers are concentrating on reaching an assembly point on the ship's fourth level that is considered the most likely place to find more bodies. ett it's now under 60 feet of icy water. they're under pressure from predictions of bad weather, and a plea from the mother of a missing 5-year-old girl. a "please keep searching for my child," susie albertini said on italian tv, "don't stop, bring her home to me." today, a new audio recording 't saced that seems to show the decision to evacuate passengers was delayed by as much as an hour. passengers had made calls to friends and family to tell them the ship had hit something. but when the coast guard called, they weren't told the whole story. "good evening, 'costa ouncordia,'" the coast guard says, "please, are you had a encing problems on board?" "we had a blackout," a crew member replies, "we are checking conditions on board." cht that call came more than ore an hour after the ship had k anck a reef. it took another half an hour before the order came to abandon now . now prosecutors want to interview dominica cemortan, a moldovan hostess who was seen dining with the captain when the ship foundered. ovan's still being called a rescue effort involves as many as nine different agencies, erent g from the coast guard to police authorities, to cave and mountain rescue specialists. and it's on a scale unprecedented for such a tiny island. the overall commander is from the national fire service, and thile this may look like lots of people milling about in stylish uniforms, it works. for example, navy demolition divers blow an access hole in ave rell, then cave rescue divers, used to murky conditions, find a cabin, so divers from a special police unit can drill into and it use their mini spy cameras. "we all know each other," chief engineer marco trezzia says, "and who is specialized in what, so we know when to step back and hand over." and the searching will go on, pitil all the bodies are found. allen pizzey, cbs news, giglio, italy. >> pelley: among the missing are jerry and barbara heil of minnesota. last night, more than 400 people filled a church in their hometown, white bear lake, to pray for them. rescue workers are telling allen pizzey that they've heard no ing hiof life aboard. >> when a soldier is badly wounded, the windo for seaing his life is called "the golden vail." in south carolina, some of the unemployed are being required to take any job available. and a monumental donation to ir air an american monument, when the cbs evening news continues. 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[ female announcer ] live the regular life. i remember the day my doctor told me i have an irregular heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mgs reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin without the need for regular blood tests. i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodthinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk of stroke with pradaxa. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have 6 grams of sugars. with 15 grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. >> pelley: the unemployment picture is slowly improving. day government reported today that the number of americans putting in their first claims for unemployment benefits fell oyst week to 352,000, that's the lowest level in nearly four years. all the same, four million out oans had been out of work for a year or longer. we heard that one state, south carolina, has a controversial new rule to get people off unemployment, so we asked elaine quijano to find out more. >> reporter: sherry mabrey has been collecting unemployment benefits for a year. she sent out hundreds of resumes but had just one interview. difficu think it would be this work tult? >> no, i've never been out of work this long before. >> reporter: mabrey has a masters degree, management experience, and earned more than $45,000 a year. but a new policy in south fit lina could strip her of her weekly unemployment benefit if she refuses to take a minimum wage job. >> i don't think i'm a valued person as i used to. mo reporter: under the new rule, tster a month of collecting benefits, the unemployed must now accept any offer for a job that pays at least 90% of what they used to earn. after five months, workers must accept a job that pays minimum wage, or $7.25 an hour. what do you have to offer that you think this kind of policy to des? >> i don't mean to dismiss people who flip burgers, because that's a valuable service, but i don't think that that would be e.e best place for me to be. >> reporter: south carolina's department of employment says the policy is an incentive to push people to find work. >> when you can't just sit at home and wait for someone to call you, because they're not going to. >> reporter: scott morrison is a povil engineer. he supports the new policy. even though he spent three and a half years looking for a full- time position. he often had to work odd jobs. and you never said no? >> no. o woeporter: and you think other people need to not say no? >> well, i think they need to be mlittle more open minded. >> reporter: morrison says low skill jobs helped him support his family, but mabrey says minimum-wage work will get in the way of her search for a good job. job. >> they see numbers, not necessarily individuals, so they don't understand. >> reporter: the state expects rcemene a reporting and enforcement system fully in uijae by the summer. elaine quijano, cbs news, lexington, south carolina. onument was damaged >> pelley: a lot of americans were concerned when the byshington monument was damaged by that earthquake in august, including billionaire investor david rubenstein. today, to help pay for the repairs, he donated $7.5 million, matching the amount that congress approved. it seemed appropriate since the monument was started with satiate money, back in 1848. helping the conversation between patient and doctor. new guidelines about when it's safe to resume your sex life after a heart attack. next. next. food, meet flavor. flavor, meet food. introducing swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth in easy to use packets. mix it into skillet dishes, for an instant dose of... hell-o! 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[ female announcer ] eggland's best. the better egg. >> pelley: for a patient re >> pelley: for a patient recovering from a heart attack it can be one of the most difficult questions to ask the doctor: when is it safe to resume a normal sex life? today for the first time, the american heart association answered the question with new guidelines. here's dr. john lapook. >> reporter: kirk devereaux had a common fear after having a heart attack at age 48. >> the fear is that you're going to die while you're having sex, and that's a horrible thing to happen-- for both of you, obviously. >> reporter: today's guidelines from the american heart association are designed to ease those fears. key points include: most patients can resume sex if they can walk up two flights of stairs or walk briskly without a problem. patients with cardiac symptoms like chest pain after minimal activity should not resume sex until symptoms are under control. after a heart attack, the risk of death or another heart attack after sex is low-- only 2 to 3 per 100,000. >> a lot of times it's in people's minds, but they don't verbalize it. >> reporter: cardiologist lenna narula of lennox hill hospital says patients are afraid to bring up the subject. .> i want them to understand that they should feel free to communicate about this, that's the biggest thing is breaking down the communication barrier, because that way there's a free dialogue between the physician and patient. >> reporter: five years after his heart attack, kirk devereaux married his girlfriend, livia, who has helped him deal with his fears. report for both of us there was still that fear in the background, you know. it fades. you know, it fades, and you start feeling better. >> reporter: these are general guidelines. it's crucial that patients undergo thorough evaluation to determine their specific individual risk. >> pelley: jon, thank you very much. one of freestyle skiing's biggest stars died today. sarah burke, a canadian daredevil who soared over 22- foot walls of snow and was favored to win at the next winter olympics. she crashed during a training run in utah nine days ago, her brain was damaged. sarah burke was 29. in a race against time, did the rules of war cost a wounded soldier his life? david martin has that story next. only coricidin hbp has a heart, right here. it's the only cold and flu brand that won't raise your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. powerful cold medicine with a heart. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum. it's a smaller minigel. with two of the best omegas to support my heart, brain and eyes. new pronutrients from centrum. how about the beat of a healthy heart? campbell's healthy request soup is delicious, and earned this heart, for being heart healthy. ♪ feel the beat? it's amazing what soup can do. >> pelley: finally tonight, combat medics call it the golden hour. it's the window of opportunity to treat the wounded and save a life. on a september night in afghanistan last year, the minutes ticked away as an american soldier lay wounded, waiting to be evacuated. david martin has the rest of the story. >> reporter: a roadside bomb just went off. a soldier let out that timeless battlefield cry. >> medic! >> reporter: the specialist stepped right on the bomb and lost both feet and his left forearm. the race to get him to a hospital was videotaped by freelance journalist michael young. his commanding officer, lieutenant seemed confident clark would survive. >> reporter: medevac helicopters were less than five minutes flying time away, so the odds were with clark, who seemed fully alert but in pain. the minutes ticked by. then the colonel wanted to know what was taking so long. >> hey, what time did you make the call? >> it's been over 30 minutes. >> reporter: clark's medevac had been waiting for an armed escort, but all the apache gunships were off on other missions. under the geneva convention, medevacs marked with red crosses cannot carry weapons. the red cross is supposed to make them off limits to enemy fire, but doesn't. report here's a medevac under fire in a previous battle. in a six-month period last year medevacs came under fire 57 times. on this night, the wait for an armed escort meant the medevac did not get to the landing zone where clark was fighting for his life until 47 minutes after the call for help went out. it took another 12 minutes to load him aboard and fly to the nearest hospital. it was the last hour of chazray clark's life. >> my husband laid there, wondering why nobody is coming to get him, for how long? like 40 minutes, an hour? >> reporter: it was 59 minutes, according to the logs. >> 59 minutes? why did it take them that long? there's no excuse. >> reporter: clark's wife, christina, did not object to our showing her husband' dying moments, because she wants an answer. >> i just don't understand why they had like, can't they take the red crosses off and put machine guns on them? like, why do they have to wait for somebody to escort them? >> reporter: that would be permitted under the geneva convention, but lieutenant general john campbell says it would not save more lives. >> i don't think arming a medevac bird or taking a cross off a medevac bird will change whether or not we can get in and save our soldiers. >> reporter: machine guns would add weight and reduce the number of patients a medevac could carry, and would not bring nearly as much firepower as an apache escort. today in afghanistan, a wounded soldier stands a 92% chance of surviving-- the highest rate of any war. campbell, a former commander in afghanistan and now chief of army operations, says that is the best argument for unarmed medevacs. >> i lost 235 soldiers in the year that i was there. you don't think i would do everything i could to make sure that that didn't happen? if i thought arming a medevac bird or taking a cross off would save additional soldiers, i'd do it in a heartbeat. >> reporter: the odds started out in chazray clark's favor, but by the time that medevac with its red cross found an armed escort and picked him up, he was too far gone to save. david martin, cbs news. >> pelley: and that's the cbs evening news for tonight. for all of us at cbs news, all around the world, good night. mark your calendars. today's the day the rain finally came back to the bay area. this is what it looks like good evening, i'm allen martin. >> i'm dana king. mark your calendars. today is the day the rain finally came back. this is what it looks like outside right now in san francisco. it's the first in a series of storms getting ready to make their way into northern california. roberta robert has a look at the areas seeing the -- roberta gonzales has a look at the areas seeing the heaviest rain right now. >> we have the first storm in the past 34 days and the first rain of the season as far as this year is concerned now inundating the entire bay area. it's our high-def doppler radar and we have a huge plume of moisture sagging south. it's been dumping lots of rain throughout portions of the north bay at least so far .25" of rain in santa rosa and petaluma. the eastern portion of our district, all this is beginning to move east. san jose, you're getting a break. so we move to the peninsula, where so far we have one hour and 51--minute delays at sfo. but again, the most moderate to