with scott pelley. ning news" >> pelley: good evening the president said today that the united states cannot stand by and permit the systemic use of chemical weapons on civilians. he said it in the oval office the day after his administration confirmed evidence of nerve gas in the syrian civil war. this was the president today. >> it is obviously horrific as it is when mortar are being fired on civilians and people are being indiscriminately killed to use potential weapons of mass destruction on civil populations crosses another line with respect to international norms and international law. and that is going to be a game- changer. >> pelley: he did not say whether changing the game involves u.s. intervention. the syrian war started two years ago as a popular uprising against a now 43-year-old dictatorship. 80,000 have been killed. a million are refugees. and ancient cities have been turned to rubble. the dictatorship has largexd stockpiles of chemical weapons. mr. obama said today he will act prudently and deliberately before taking action. david martin has been talking to his sources and he joins us now from the pentagon. david, the president says the evidence is preliminary. what more is needed? >> well, to make an airtight case you need fresh samples collected by inspectors at the scene of an alleged chemical weapons attack. a 15 man team of chemical experts from the united nations is standing by in cypress ready to go into syria to do just that but they haven't been allowed in. and the head of the team has been recalled to new york. so that leaves it to intelligence agencies to find, collect, and analyze more evidence. and the president said today they would be devoting more resources to do that. >> pelley: what is the evidence they have now? and how reliable is it? >> well, it's blood and tissue samples that were smuggled out of syria and analyzed at labs in the u.s. and britain, and found to show exposure to the nerve agent sarin. however those samples had passed through many different hands before they reached u.s. intelligence. so they could have been contaminated or degraded. but even if the samples met scientific standards, a positive test does not reveal how a person was exposed to sarin or who did it. >> pelley: more on this story as the days go by, david, thank you very much. the new head of the main syrian opposition group is a syrian american from texas. and a little later we will ask him whether u.s. forces should be involved. congress today put an end to those furloughs of air-traffic controllers, and right after the vote members raced to, where else, the airport for a week- long recess. the faa was forced to cut back on controllers because of those mandatory budget cuts. the agency says the furloughs delayed more than 1,600 flights yesterday and more than 5,000 this week. congress got an earful about it. and here's nancy cordes at the capitol. >> reporter: as flight delays mounted and a one-week congressional recess loomed, lawmakers suddenly got to work. >> on this vote the yeas are 361. the nays are 41. >> reporter: they passed a bill that was crafted so quickly parts of it were handwritten. the bill allows the faa to use about $250 million in unspent airport improvement funds to pay furloughed air-traffic controllers. republican senator susan collins of maine was the bill's chief author. >> this really matters. because it affects jobs. particularly as the peak summer travel season occurs, it would affect jobs in the hospitality industry as well as the airlines themselves. >> reporter: the furloughs were the byproduct of sequestration, washington's name for the across-the-board federal spending cuts imposed by congress last month. today house democrats argued all federal agencies should get the same flexibility as the faa to save crucial programs. maryland steny hoyer. >> 70,000 children will be kicked out of head start. nothing in this bill deals with them. 4 million fewer meals on wheels for seniors. 600,000 people dropped off wic, nothing in here for them. >> reporter: wic is a nutrition program for low income whim and children and its funding could be restored under legislation that gives every agency the leeway to shift funds around. so far, scott, that legislation has not gotten a lot of attention from lawmakers. >> pelley: nancy, thanks. well, the economy continues to take off. after growing a stingy 4/10 of 1% in the final quarter of last year, the government said today the economy grew 2.5% in the first quarter of this year. here's anthony mason. >> reporter: a cold spring at the gorham paper and tissue mill has not kept business from heating up. sales revenue here has soared 23% from a year ago. back in 2011 this plant was shuttered. but john harrington, a managing director with the new owner says it now employs 212 workers. >> bring people back to work, investing in new technology, investing in new equipment and betting on the american labor. >> reporter: nationally the economy picked up speed in the first quarter. the growth was powered by consumer spending which jumped more than 3%. >> well, there is an old adage among economists, don't underestimate the american consumer and that certainly was the case in the first quarter of this year. >> carl riccadona senior u.s. economist for deutsche bank said it came despite the reinstatement of the payroll tax. that took $125 billion out of shoppers pockets. >> in my opinion, i think that speaks to the underlying resilience in the economy. >> reporter: that strength is giving new confidence to workers like willo carrier, a tissue machine manager at the gorham paper plant. >> we're just starting to get our feet back on the ground. folks are starting to say okay, i'm ready to buy a new car, you know, i'm taking a chance now. >> reporter: but cuts in defense spending have been a big headwind for the economy. defense spending is off almost 17% over the past two quarters. that's the biggest half year decline since the end of the korean war the. >> pelley: anthony, thanks very much. the surviving suspect in the boston marathon bombing has been transferred to a prison hospital. dzhokhar tsarnaev is recovering from gunshot wounds to his neck and leg. we just checked with the hospitals. and 29 victims are still being treated in the hospital, one is in critical condition. many of the wounded have faced a terrible choice. amputation or living with a certificate very-- severely damaged limb. they're called gray zone patients. and don dahler met one and the doctor who helped her make a decision. >> reporter: the force of the second explosion blue heather abbott into a boylston street bar. >> my foot felt like it was on fire. and i wouldn't look at it, though. >> reporter: you wouldn't look at it because you didn't want to know how badly you were injured. >> right. >> reporter: but it was dr. eric blueman's job to tell her, an orthopedic surgeon at bringham and women's hospital. how badly damaged was heather's foot? >> it was extensively damaged, boyne bone, joint, cartilage, ligament, there was loss of each of those. >> reporter: abbott was given a choice, live with he is vore pain and limited use of her foot or amputation. how difficult is it for you to tell someone that they're going to lose a limb. >> i think that happens fairly rarely that we tell them that there is no way that we can save this limb. much more frequently it's a decision-making process that we go through. >> reporter: and your priority, obviously, is to save their life. but i would guess second is to give them the best possible life. >> sometimes saving the limb is the best choice. and other times it's not. >> he said that i could decide to keep the foot and i would not likely be able to use it though. >> i think a lot of people would have said keep it no matter what. >> i think when he told me the reality of the damage, i certainly didn't want to, but to know that i wouldn't be able to do any of the things that i love to do for the rest of my life. you know, i'm 38 so hopefully i'm going to be around awhile. you know, i think i would have a miserable life. i don't think i would be happy with that at all. >> reporter: abbott will be fitted with a prosthetic leg next month. she hopes to return to the aerobics and jogging she loves by the fall. don dahler, cbs news, boston. >> pelley: we got quite a surprise in new york today. a reminder of the worst terror attack on america. two blocks from ground zero surveyors working on an islamic community center discovered a five foot long piece of landing gear wedged between two buildings. one of which is a mosque. the gear is believed to be from one of the boeing jetliners that hit the twin towers nearly 12 years ago. police say it has a boeing i.d. number on it. >> it is not often that we have a eureka moment in medical research but this may qualify. today a scientist says that his team made a discovery that could change the way we treat die bet- - diabetes. we asked dr. jon lapook to look into it. >> scien particular research is deeply personal for doug. >> both of my children suffer from juvenile diabetes. my lab has been work on it for more than a decade. >> people with diabetedon't have enough insulin to control their blood sugar. insulin is made in the pancreas by beta cells. diabetes patients lack sufficient beta cells. other people such as pregnant women have more than normal. >> we noticed that there are certain circumstances where the body makes more beta cells. and so we wanted to figure out could we manipulate that? >> melvin's colleague peng yi injected a newly discovered hormone into a mouse with the hope it would make beta cells grow. this is the note he sent to yi when the results came in. >> it says dear peng, i can barely sleep, i'm so excited by your result. >> all the green cells are beta cells. >> yeah. >> the hormone doubles the number of beta cells in less than a week. >> did you get a surge of adrenaline or something? >> yeah, i did. because in this business you don't get a discovery every day or every week. >> they name the hormone betatrophin. on the heels of this discovery drug companies are working to develop betatrophin treatments for humans to replace insulin injections. >> and are you thinking throughout all this this could some day maybe help my own kids? >> i would certainly like to think that's true. >> reporter: and that's both the scientist and the father talking? >> that's right. >> reporter: dr. milton says if all goes well human trials could begin in about three years. and it will still be at least five years before betatrophin is commercially available. >> pelley: jon, thank you very much. we have lost a country music legend. we'll remember george jones when the "cbs evening news" continues. s.ó the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. i took my 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[ male announcer ] add a wireless receiver. call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month with qualifying bundles. rethink possible. >> pelley: he had a number one song in every decade from the 1950s to the '90s. he was notorious and many loved him for it. george jones died today in nashville at 81 after a year of bad health. his voice and his phrasing created a standard for traditional country. ♪ well >> pelley: the hits are legendary, white lightning. the race is on. often it seemed jones lived by the lyrics. divorced. drinking. a near fatal car wreck. bob schieffer spoke to jones for sunday morning in 2009. >> the one thing lead to another. you go to something stronger. and the next thing you know, you're just going down the road a hundred miles an hour and don't have no brakes, you know. >> pelley: sometimes jones was too drug to perform. they started calling him no show jones. the marriage to tammy wynette failed and it seemed like it was all over until his career was rescued by one new song. ♪ he stopped loving her >> pelley: it was about a man who loved his wife until the day he died. some people think he stopped loving her today, is the best country song ever. >> how long are you going to keep doing this, george? >> well, i'm going to keep doing as long as this body will put up with me. ♪ he stopped loving her today (applause) >> pelley: george jones. in a world gone text and twitter crazy, this man still writes thousands of letters by hand. steve hartman on the road next. >> tonight's on the road segment is sponsored by phillips caplets. live the regular life. live the regular life. . ted? mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. 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[ clang ] my house is where plants came to die. but, it turns out all i was missing was miracle-gro potting mix. it's got what a plant needs like miracle-gro plant food that feeds them for up to six months. you get bigger, healthier plants, guaranteed. who's got two green thumbs thanks to miracle-gro? ah, this gal. boom! with the right soil, everyone grows with miracle-gro. this was me. then i found dr. scholl's pain relief orthotics. they reduce the impact on my lower body. so i feel less pain and more energized. dr. scholl's pain relief orthotics-- pain relief that starts with your feet. i'm a believer. safety? the dangers of the oncoming crush. next on kpi5 it's about the last thing most kids would want, their teacher sending a letter home. of course, most kids don't have the teacher steve hartman met "on the road." >> reporter: i'm always skeptical of junior high teachers who smile. >> isn't that great? >> reporter: especially the ones who smile as broadly as dan stroup. seems like you really do care about them? >> well, i do. >> reporter: no, but they're junior high kids. i don't know if that's possible. >> it is. it is, if you spend time with them, you love them. >> all right. >> reporter: dan teaches an 8th grade bible class at heritage christian school at indianapolis. what he is most known for are his own writings, handwritten letters to his students on their birthdays. who here gets a birthday letter from mr. stroup? every kid in every one of his classes gets one. >> everybody. >> reporter: that's 105 personalized letters. >> number 3. >> reporter: and that's just the beginning. >> right. >> reporter: melissa bird was in dan's class in 1985. >> every year like clockwork, you know you're going to get a letter from mr. stroup. >> reporter: ryan had him in 1989. >> i have missed birthday letters from my family but i have never missed a letter from mr. stroup. >> reporter: and amy hasn't missed one, either. not in 27 years. >> growing up, going away to college, moving, i have lived in several states. and to think, i still get these letters from mr. stroup. >> reporter: a long time ago, dan made a decision to send birthday letters to his students indefinitely. at the time, he had no way of knowing how the school would expand like it has or even that he would still be teaching 30 years later. but here we are, 2800 birthdays and counting. >> i haven't had an end game on this. >> reporter: i hope you're planning to retire soon, for the sake of your wrist. >> i don't know. i haven't found a good time to stop. so -- >> reporter: what used to take him a few minutes a week now takes up to three hours a night an average of 9 letters per day, although really his biggest problem is that he refuses to computerize the operation and insists on actually keeping up with all these people. >> he actually remembers who i'm married to. he remembers how many kids i have. >> that's what's crazy. i don't know if he is talking to my parents. i don't know if he's talking to siblings. >> i don't know how he dos it. >> reporter: he does it by attending reunions, weddings, baptisms, pretty much any event he is invited to. when all is said and done, what do you hope the kids get from it? >> i just want them to know that i knew them and that i cared. >> reporter: and lest anyone ever forget that there's always a reminder in the mail. >> thank you very much. we'll see you. >> reporter: steve hartman "on the road" in indianapolis. >> thank you, mr. stroup. >> thank you very much. >> and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, i'm scott pelley. and i'll see you sunday on "60 minutes." good night. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioni captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good evening, i'm elizabeth cook. >> i'm allen martin. one part of a long and ugly dispute over police pensions in san jose is finally settled. the city and unions worked out a deal on benefits for new recruits. len ramirez on the savings and the worries it could drive away some of the best officers. len. >> reporter: allen, sort of a good news bad news proposition for the city of san jose. yes, there was an agreement on this one aspect of the deal as it relates to new hires. but no, this does not mean labor peace in san jose. new recruits to the san jose police department will receive the same training and face the same dangers on the streets as officers do now. but they will have to work longer to retire and they will get a stingier pension than those who came before. >> we have now the worst pension benefit in all the statfor law enforcemt. >> reporter: that is the police union president who says the city is penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to the new pension deal because officers won't stick with san jose. >> for the next year and a half, it will look like we're kind of keeping our head above water. but by about the year 2015, the dam is going to break and we're going to have a flood of people leaving between retirements and resignations. >> reporter: the deal was brokered hours before it went to arbitration and only affects newly hired officers. instead of retirement at 50 they have to work until 60. instead of 90% of their final salary as a pension, they will now get 65%. >> as you increase the number of new employees you save money so it grows for 30 years. >> reporter: mayor reed says san jose's budget will no longer be devoured by payin