>> stay hungry, stay foolish. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, drivers in the las vegas 300 are telling us tonight it was an accident waiting to happen and, of course it did. taking the life of one of the superstars of this sport-- 33-year-old dan wheldon. now many are asking questions about how it happened and whether it could have been averted. today at the indianapolis motor speedway where wheldon twice drove to victory in the indy 500 fans paid their respects. he leaves behind a wife and two small children. wheldon's father spoke to reporters earlier today. >> daniel was born to be a racer and left us doing what he loved to do. >> pelley: we asked bill whit dore look into the crash and tonight he is at the las vegas motor speedway. bill? >> reporter: scott, in the days before yesterday's race, some drivers had expressed concerns about the track speed here at the las vegas motor speedway and especially the high banks that allow drivers to maintain speeds above 200 miles per hour. >> looking for dan wheldon... >> reporter: just 11 laps into the race with cars packed four deep at speeds approaching 225 miles per hour, one car bumps another triggering the 15-car crash. driver dan wheldon was killed when his car went air born and crashed into a fence. >> what i saw driving through, i thought everyone was going to be okay. >> reporter: ed carpenter was in the race and was a close friend of wheldon's. >> i think we all felt like there was a chance for there to be some crashes in the race because we were running close, it was fast, there were a lot of cars, the way the track was we knew we were going to be in a big pack. >> reporter: this was the indy car season finale. promoters promised excitement and speed. wheldon, a charming, popular british-born driver and two time indianapolis 500 winner called the race a thrill just moments before he was killed. >> this is a great way to go out. >> reporter: there's the car. >> reporter: but many inside racing question there was more can't for spectacle than safety. there were 34 cars, ten more than often seen in indy races. it was a short, oval track built for slower nascar race which is run at least 30 miles per hour slower. these factors increased the risk of so-called dirty air-- turbulence stirred up by lead cars, creating waves of violent air current for cars behind. >> we've seen big accidents where people do walk away and that's, i think, what makes it so shocking and more tragic when these things do happen just because we get used to it not happening and i don't want to say we forget that it can happen but i... but when it does happen you know, there's just a shock about it. >> reporter: scott, the coroner said wheldon died of blunt head trauma. now, indy car had made some impressive safety improvements over the years that have reduced deaths and serious accidents, like head restraints and traffic barriers and even a new padded car that wheldon himself was testing for next year. >> pelley: bill, a lot of drivers this evening are saying they were concerned about the race before it happened and i wonder what were their areas of concern? >> reporter: well, some drivers were tweeting and talking about the speed that you can reach on this track and how many cars would believe on this track and, again, these high banks that allow the cars to go so fast. but they all ended up saying that danger is one of the things you put up with when you're an indy car driver. >> pelley: bill, thanks very much. president obama today flew to the swing state of north carolina and then boarded what looked like a campaign bus, he's apparently decided that if he can't get his jobs bill passed then he'll beat his opponents over the head with it instead. chief white house correspondent norah o'donnell is traveling with the president. norah? >> reporter: scott, north carolina for decades was solidly republican. but in 2008 president obama won this state by a whisper, the first democrat to do so since jimmy carter in 1976. now with his approval ratings falling, the president has a tough sales job. >> we can't do nothing, too many folks are hurting out thereto to do nothing. >> reporter: in ashville, north carolina, the president rolled up his shirt sleeves and capped cast republicans as the party of no. >> they said no to putting teachers and construction workers back on the job. >> reporter: with his jobs bill dead in the senate, mr. obama said he would still fight for parts of his plan and he belittled his opponents. >> we'll break up my jobs bill. maybe they couldn't understand the whole thing all at once. (laughter) so we're going to break it up into bite-sized pieces. >> reporter: today we learned the first piece is a $35 billion provision to keep teachers in the classrooms and police and firefighters on the streets. and the president said republicans pay a political price if they continue to block his proposals. >> they're going to have to come down and explain to you why they don't have an answer for how we're putting americans to work right now. >> reporter: the white house claimed this three-dus bus tour was the chance for the president to talk jobs and hear the concerns of smaller communities. but with the crowd shouting "four more years" it felt more like a kickoff to his reelection campaign. >> i appreciate the "four more years" but right now i'm thinking about the next 13 months. >> reporter: myra ramsey supports president obama. >> i want him to be a little tougher. >> reporter: but with unemployment here at 10.4%, she says winning north carolina this time will be a challenge. >> a lot of people are out of work, though, this area a lot of people out of work. >> reporter: republicans denounced this tour as little more than a taxpayer-financed campaign trip. the president heads next to virginia, another conservative state that the president won in the last election with the help of african americans and young voters. >> reporter: norah, thanks very much. on wall street today, a three-week-old rally came to an end after an 8% runup the dow lost 247 points today or more than 2% as investors got worried again about the european debt crisis. it was one month ago today that the occupy wall street protests began here in new york city. the movement has spread to cities all around the world. a quinnipiac university poll out today asked new yorkers' view of the protestors and 67% said they agree with them. but agree what? seth doane is in the park where it all began. >> reporter: so you're against... >> unequal distribution of wealth. >> reporter: zoe joined on her college break. a platform to protest everything from day care funding cuts to age old grievances voiced by farrell jordon from north carolina. >> i'm talking about the native american indian issues that haven't been addressed since the '60s. >> reporter: it can seem chaotic and confusing but there's actually a structure and working committees. mark bray is part of the press team. isn't there a danger that without specific goals that the movement will lose them? that people could be confused about what you want. >> have goals. we want economic justice and a real democracy. >> reporter: the movement's lack of clear message hasn't hurt its ability to collect money. so far, 215,000 dollars has poured in online and another $80 was raised here in the park. pete dutro is part of the finance group. >> this is basically like having an office job in a mosh pit. >> reporter: he's planning to drop out of his finance program at n.y.u. to help manage the $10,000 a day he says they spend to operate. most money goes for food, but also covers sanitation and sleeping bags. is there one person who signs the checks and holds the purse strings? >> no. you have to have multiple signatures to sign any check. >> reporter: when we asked to see their books they said they would not make them public. they did tell us, though, that no one here is getting paid. this remains an all-volunteer protest. >> pelley: seth, thank you very much. tonight the secretary of defense says that al qaeda terrorists may regroup in africa and that is why the u.s. is sending 100 special forces troops to one of the most violent places on earth. the first 40 americans have arrived in the region that includes south sudan-- scene of a long-running civil war-- and congo, the sight of the deadliest conflict since world war ii. today we sat down with the defense secretary, leon panetta, and he told us the americans will train local forces to fight terrorists, including al qaeda. you're sending 100 troops in, roughly, is that the beginning of many more? >> obviously we are all very careful about making sure that no mission like this expands beyond limits and that we keep a tight rein and for the moment this is more than adequate to meet the mission we're assigned. >> why now? >> the longer you delay, the longer you avoid trying to provide assistance there, the more dangerous these groups become and the greater the instability that develops there. >> pelley: did you have reason to believe that this part of central africa was becoming a haven for terrorism? >> there are elements there that either have ties to al qaeda or that represent the forces of terrorists among their own and that's what's dangerous. >> pelley: a lot of folks at home would be concerned after the experience of afghanistan and iraq to hear about more u.s. forces going into an area that you consider to be unstable. >> the american people should be concerned. i'm concerned. the congress is concerned. and for that reason i think we have to exercise the greatest caution. >> pelley: in that interview for "60 minutes," secretary panetta also told us that he hopes to keep some u.s. forces in iraq beyond the deadline for withdrawal at the end of this year. that is still under negotiation with the iraqi government. in a few hours, israel and the palestinian group hamas will begin a historic prisoner swap. israel is getting one man that it has desperately wanted. but some people are agonizing over what israel is giving up in exchange. mark phillips is in tel aviv. >> reporter: to hamas, the militant planian group which controls gaza, the prisoner swap deal has been portrayed as a great victory by a lopsided score: 1,027-1. they'll get back many of the people who caused this kind of carnage in israel. among them, they'll get back nasser yateima who planned this 2002 hotel booming that killed 30 people celebrating passover. they'll get back awana jawad mona who, over the internet, seduced a 16-year-old israeli boy to come meet her. he was shot and killed when he arrived. in return, the israelis get gilad shalit, a soldier who was captured more than five years ago when hamas fighters tunneled into israeli territory and attacked his army outpost. is such is the value israel says it puts on its citizen soldiers. while opinion polls show most israelis are prepared to hold their nose and accept the deal, some are not. especially people like ron kehrmann, who called the deal a surrender. ron's daughter was 17 when she was killed in this bus bombing along with 16 others. >> the government of israel made the memory of my daughter cheaper. >> reporter: israeli cities have too many monuments like this one. this one marks the spot where 21 young people were killed by a terrorist bomb ten years ago. now the instigateor of that attack is about to be set free. not only that, of the 280 prisoners with blood on their hands, several say they are unrepenitent, have not renounced terror and given the chance to attack again, they would. hamas didn't get everything it wanted. the most pardoned high profile terrorists are not being released and many who are will be sent into exile but with the score of 1,027-1, the price of terror just went up. mark phillips, cbs news, tel aviv. >> pelley: a wrongly convicted man finally gets to live his dream. we'll have that story and more of the day's news when the "cbs evening news" continues. hearty chicken and noodle casserole. so easy, you just need campbell's cream of mushroom soup to make them and a hungry family to love them. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪ the best in nutrition... just got better. high in vitamins d, e, and b12. plus omega 3's. there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed: better taste. better taste. yum! 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[ female announcer ] new swanson flavor boost. >> pelley: president obama's bus tour is taking him through a region that's been hit hard by the recession. in moore county, north carolina, the poverty rate has more than doubled. the fifth-biggest increase in the nation. michelle miller tells us that a growing class divide there is delaying financial aid. >> reporter: daniel and leanna marley's chicken farm near robins, north carolina, once earned $90,000 a year. today their henhouses are empty. what is this worth? >> as it stands with no birds, nothing. >> reporter: skyrocketing fee prices forced the area's last poultry processing plant to close in august. >> we still have a payment on our farm loans. we have a home payment. and we just have a lot of debt. and no way to get out of it. >> reporter: the unemployment rate in robbins is almost 16%. the poultry plant was the town's only major employer. the textile mill which is once employed close to 1,300 people moved to asia years ago. robbins' mayor theron bell. >> they went over there and they left these people in the united states in robbins, north carolina, without jobs. >> reporter: globalization cost this town jobs. now geography threatens its recovery. robbins is just 17 miles away from pinehurst, north carolina, home to eight golf courses, the u.s. open, and wealthy retirees. >> we are one n one of the wealthiest counties according to the state in north carolina. so therefore even though we have a poverty level of 36%, we cannot get the help because we are in that upper tear. >> reporter: north carolina uses a tear system to figure out how to help needy counties. moore county, home to both robbins and pinehurst is in the affluent tier 3. neighboring montgomery county in tier 1, a poorer county. >> we are more like montgomery county because they're rural and have a lot of poverty, but they cannot pull us out of that tier in order to help us. >> reporter: so this year, robbins is ineligible for at least $750,000 in state money to repair infrastructure and attract new business. new census data could push moore county out of the wealthy tier, but it will take more than a year for north carolina to change aid formulas, that's too late for the marleys. >> we farmers just feel lost. we don't know what to do with ourselves. you know, we've been used to doing this for years and what do you do now? you feel like there's no hope except for faith. >> reporter: they hope the farm's small pottery shop will help pay some bills before their savings run out in a few weeks. michelle miller, cbs news, robbins, north carolina. >> pelley: the cell phone industry is taking action to eliminate surprises on your bills. the phone companies say today they will now send you an alert when you are approaching your monthly limit on calls, text messages, and data. a health crisis at the south pole. what was done to get an american the help she disprettily needs coming next. the way you want? e day can orencia help? 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[ male announcer ] introducing the reinvented 2012 toyota camry. it's ready. are you? ♪ >> pelley: steve jobs' family and friends gathered at stanford university in california over the weekend for a private memorial service. jobs was legendary for being private, rarely talked about himself. but a few years ago-- also at stanford-- he told the story of his life in a commencement speech and we asked john blackstone to find out what happened to the student he is inspired. >> i dropped out of college.... >> reporter: in june, 2005, as steve jobs spoke to stanford's graduating class, a political science major, amy halvorsen, listened nervously. >> i was graduating at stanford without a job in place and i felt like such a loser. >> reporter: but then she heard apple's c.e.o. talk not about his successes but his failures. >> i got fired. how can you get fired from a company you started? >> his speech made me feel really comforted. he was like, you know, you'll find your own path, you don't to live somebody else's life. >> you can't connect the dots looking forward... >> ...you can only connect them looking back wars. >> reporter: steve myrick was one of the student leaders who chose jobs as speaker. now working as a business consultant, he remembers jobs saying... >> stay hungry, stay foolish. >> it's a reminder you haven't figured everything out and keep relentlessly looking for things that will make you happy. >> reporter: jobs told the students he'd seen the words in 1974 on the back of a magazine called "the whole earth catalog." steward brand, its publisher, wrote the phrase. >> stay hungry, stay foolish was i suppose kind of a hippy perspective on things. >> reporter: years later, brand was surprised when jobs asked for an autographed copy. nobody else ever seemed to notice "stay hungry, stay foolish." nobody but steve jobs came back and said "i love that phrase?" >> that's correct, nobody else. there's only one steve jobs. >> reporter: amy halvorsen is now working in film production in los angeles, but her ambition is to be on camera hosting her own show. >> that's what i want to do. even though it might be a little foolish. >> reporter: it is, after all, what steve jobs told her to do on graduation day. >> there is no reason not to follow your heart. >> hi, everybody, i'm amy halvorson seine with broke girls guide. >> pelley: that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh acce police continuing a desperate search for 11-year- old william mcquain. his stepfather today agreed to come back here from north carolina to face murder charges in the death of his estranged wife. and the montgomery county state's attorney is still holding out hope that william will be found alive, but also said as the time goes by, he has to be realistic about it. investigators say curtis lopez had murder victim jane mcquain's credit card and a box cutter in the charlotte motel room he was sharing with another woman. friends say the last time they saw mcquain or her son al