japan's nuclear reactor. >> i'm looking into this geiger counter. it's going crazy. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. in the long war in afghanistan-- ten years and counting-- it will go down as among the darkest days. the u.s. military acknowledges that a single american soldier walked off his post before dawn yesterday and shot 16 civilians to death in their homes. villagers wrapped the victims in blankets. the dead were mostly women and children-- in fact, nine were children. president obama stopped while taking his daughter to her basketball game yesterday to talk by phone with the president of afghanistan and expressed "his shock and sadness." mr. obama has said that most u.s. forces will be out of afghanistan by 2014 and he says this tragedy won't change that timetable. but the president added this in an interview with reporter john delano of pittsburgh's cbs station kdka. >> it's time. it's been a decade and frankly now that we've gotten bin laden, now that we've weakened al qaeda we're in a stronger position to transition than we would have been two or three years ago. >> pelley: as we said, the u.s. military acknowledges an american soldier committed this atrocity, but it hasn't charged him or released his name. he turned himself in at his post after the killings. here's david martin with what investigators know about him and the shootings so far. >> reporter: with blood still on the floor, a distraught afghan woman described in horrific detail what happened when a u.s. army sergeant went on a cold-blooded killing spree. "he dragged the boys by their hair and shot them in her mouth she says he went door to door in two villages, showing no mercy. "is this two-year-old a taliban fighter" this woman asks. the sergeant tried to burn some of the bodies then walked back to his base and turned himself in. 38 years old and a veteran of three tours in iraq, he was assigned to a special operations unit training local villagers to fend for themselves. according to seth jones who served as an advisor to the training teams until last year, the sergeant might even have known some of his victims. >> it's a very hands-on effort that needs interacting with villagers literally 24 hours a day seven days a week. >> reporter: this soldier likely knew these people? >> it's possible. in most cases a soldier would be extremely well acquainted with villagers. >> reporter: according to jones, this part of southern afghanistan has been fought over ferociously. >> it has changed hands multiple times between the taliban on the one hand and the afghan government and nato forces on the other. >> reporter: the villagers were caught in the middle just trying to survive. >> they will shift to support which ever side is in control. >> reporter: none of which explains why an american soldier would kill children in what military defense attorney neal puckett says could be tried as a case of premeditated murder. >> based on the facts we know now, this would be a case where the army absolutely would start out, at least, seeking the death penalty and refer it as a capital case. >> reporter: pentagon officials say they are sure the sergeant acted alone because after afghan guards had reported he had left the base, u.s. troops held a roll call. he was the only one not present and accounted for. they went to his bunk and saw he had taken his rifle with him. >> pelley: david, have you been able to learn anything about his mental health? >> reporter: well, earlier in his career he passed a battery of psychological tests in order to qualify as a sniper. then, in 2010, he was evaluated for mild traumatic brain injury after he rolled his vehicle in iraq. but he was judged to be fit to return to duty. >> pelley: david, thank you very much. the taliban, of course, are vowing revenge for the killings. and even afghans who have supported the united states say that the relationship may never be the same. we have more on that from mandy clark in kabul. >> reporter: president hamid karzai called the attack an assassination and unforgivable. antiamerican sentiment is already running high after a number of serious mishaps by the u.s. military. in january, a video surfaced that appeared to show u.s. marines urinating on dead militants. the desecration outraged the afghan public. then three weeks ago u.s. soldiers mistakenly burned copies of the muslim holy book, triggering mass protests across the country. six american soldiers and at least 30 afghans were killed. weeks ago, these streets were full of angry protesters. today all is quiet. but that doesn't mean that the shooting hasn't been a terrible setback for u.s. and afghan relations. opposition leader abdullah abdullah said he fears that u.s./afghan relations have reached a new low. >> it is no doubt that it is very harmful and it puts under question those american values which the free world is so much proud of. and that's the danger. >> reporter: that danger is now very real for u.s. troops on the ground here. the taliban called the americans "savages" and vowed to avenge the 16 civilian deaths. all this comes as the u.s. and afghanistan are trying to entice the taliban to the negotiating table to end the war. this latest incident gives the taliban hard-liners who oppose the talks more reason to resist. >> pelley: mandy, thank you very much. we're told tonight the suspect's family has been moved on to his home base here in the united states for their protection. the sergeant is attached to a brigade at joint base lewis-mcchord near tacoma, washington. troops from that base have been involved in other unjustified attacks recently, so we asked ben tracy to fill us in. >> reporter: iraq war veteran jorge gonzalez was shocked by the murder of the afghan civilians, but not by where the suspect is based. >> when i heard the soldier was joint base lewis-mcchord it was like it figures he's from here. >> reporter: gonzales owns a veteran owned coffee shop to the base where he offers comfort to troubled soldiers. lewis-mcchord is home to 37,000 u.s. soldiers. some here had four or more combat tours in iraq and afghanistan. >> nobody can take that much combat. nobody can take that much stress and they're finally going to just hit the wall and explode. >> reporter: this base has grappled with a series of high-profile incidents. four soldiers from lewis-mcchord were convicted in the 2010 thrill killings of three civilians. in january, a 24-year-old iraq war veteran from here murdered a park ranger on mount rainier. since 2010, 26 lewis-mcchord soldiers have committed suicide. >> a lot of soldiers give up and they have cases of domestic violence and suicide. they have nowhere else to turn and they thought the military would have their backs. >> reporter: last month, the head of the base medical center was placed on administrative leave for reversing the diagnosis of 285 soldiers who were told they had post-traumatic stress disorder. megan mccloskey is reporting on the controversy for "stars and stripes," the military's independent newspaper. >> there have been allegations that it was for reasons of money. soldiers just... being too expensive to take care of soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. >> reporter: members of congress are now looking into the allegations of how those cases of p.t.s.d. were handled here on this base. meanwhile tonight, scott, more than 5,000 soldiers from here are currently deployed in afghanistan. >> pelley: ben, thanks very much. we think it's important to remember that there are 91,000 u.s. troops serving in afghanistan-- working to build that country. and the suspect in this massacre is only one. as we mentioned, president obama plans to get most u.s. forces out of afghanistan by 2014. with an election coming up, we wondered what his republican challengers would do in afghanistan and nancy cordes found out for us. nancy? >> reporter: scott, the candidates have been sharply critical of the president's handling of the war in afghanistan but they themselves are at odds over whether the u.s. should be leaving that country faster, slower, or not at all. former house speaker newt gingrich has criticized the president in the past for setting a date for withdrawal from afghanistan. but for the past several weeks, he's been calling for a rapid exit from the country, especially after this weekend's tragedy. >> well, my feeling is we should leave. that i think as fast as we can with safety. i think the possibility of us changing afghan culture is virtually zero. >> reporter: that sets him apart from former senator rick santorum who has said that as president he would cancel the administration's plan to bring most troops out by the end of 2014. >> i think we have a mission to accomplish. i think what the president's done in his policies have made it much harder to accomplish that mission, by putting an artificial timeline, he's given the enemy an end date. >> reporter: former massachusetts governor mitt romney supports the end date. he says the drawdown should be swift but criticized the president when he brought home 10,000 troops last fall at the height of fighting season. >> our commander said that puts our troops at risk, at danger. please don't pull them throughout he said, but he said i'm going to get them out early, i think that was a mistake. >> reporter: all the candidates condemned the president for apologizing to the afghan people two weeks ago after korans were burned at a military base near kabul. >> apologizing for america is something i will never, ever do as the president of the united states. (cheers and applause) >> reporter: but today all three candidates acknowledged this weekened's massacre is a different situation, requiring a serious apology. >> so we have to have a thorough investigation. we have to convince people there will be justice and there has to be an understanding that we police things like this. we have to offer condolences to the families and probably some form of compensation. >> reporter: santorum said today this shooting may require a reassessment of the mission in afghanistan. but romney countered that u.s. policy in afghanistan should not be altered by, as he put it, scott, the actions of one deranged person. >> pelley: nancy cordes on the campaign trail in mississippi. nancy, thanks very much. in syria, there is no one to stop bashar al assad's forces in the city of homs and today we got word of a new massacre there. human rights group said at least 16 people were killed, some of the victims were children. homs was the center of the year-old freedom movement fighting to overthrow the assad dictatorship. the rebels have been under a withering assault in several syrian cities. president obama's job approval rating plunges to an all-time low. researchers find a link between sugary drinks and heart disease. and sharks-- all over down under when the "cbs evening news" [ male announcer ] every day, thousands of people are choosing advil. my name is lacey calvert and i'm a yoga instructor. if i have any soreness, i'm not going to be able to do my job. but once i take advil, i'm able to finish out strong. it really works! 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[ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil. >> pelley: president obama's job-approval rating is down sharply and rising gas prices may have something to do it. a new cbs news/"new york times" poll out tonight finds the president's job approval has fallen from 50% last month to an all-time low now of 41%. in that same period of time, gas has risen 29 cents to $3.80 a gallon-- 31 cents short of the all-time high. a lot of people apparently are blaming the president and anthony mason has been booking into the poll numbers for us. anthony? >> reporter: scott, in our poll we asked "are gas prices something a president can do a lot about?" more than half said yes. historically, that's been the case during the george w. bush presidency to a majority. regularly told us a president can do a lot to affect gas prices. so rightly or wrongly, scott, this is being laid a at mr. obama's doorstep. >> pelley: but is there much a president can do about the price of gasoline? >> one thing a president can do is tap into the strategic petroleum reserves, scott, our emergency oil supply. it's only supposed to be used in the event of severe supply disruptions but president obama did tap into it last june and gas prices fell about three cents a gallon over the next two weeks. but they'd already been on their way down for a month it's so difficult to tell, scott, what impact that move had. >> pelley: you were telling us last week about the role wall street plays, people investing in oil futures. >> it's a big one and growing, scott. the amount of money being bet on oil prices going higher has hit record levels in recent weeks. by several estimates it's added about $20 a barrel to the price of oil or 50 cents to every gallon of gas at the pump and there's not much, scott, the president can do about that. >> pelley: anthony, thanks very much. legendary football coach joe paterno was fired by penn state in november. the university's board of trustees is still explaining that decision. it said today that paterno showed a failure of leadership in not doing more to report an alleged sexual assault by assistant coach jerry sandusky. paterno died in january of lung cancer. soda and sugary drinks. cancer. soda and sugary drinks. for men they could mean a forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. call now for our free guide and tips on planning for your retirement this tax season. but does bringing a floor back to life really make us heroes? 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[ humming ] >> pelley: a new health study really got our attention today. it's in a health journal called "circulation" and it says men who drink soda or other sugary beverages greatly increase their risk of heart attack. we asked dr. jon lapook to tell us more about it. >> reporter: americans consume almost a tenth of their calories by drinking beverages packed with sugar. dr. walter willet is a co-author of the study. >> your typical 12-ounce soda contains about ten teaspoons of sugar and many people are consuming 20 ounces of soda in a standard serving which is about 15 to 128 teaspoons. that's a huge amount in a short time. >> reporter: he says the quick hit of sugar can seriously affect heart health. researchers enrolled more than 42,000 men and followed their diet, weight, smoking and exercise over 22 years. men who drank just one 12-ounce sugar sweet drink a day had a 20% higher risk of heart attacks. >> continually subjecting our body to high amounts of glucose, high blood sugar levels that trigger large secretions of insulin result in stresses that in the long run show up as high risk of heart disease and diabetes. >> reporter: but showing a link between sugary drinks and heart attacks doesn't prove that's what's causing them. dr. steven nissen is chair of cardiovascular medicine at cleveland clinic. >> i suspect they're drinking the drinks along with bugars and fries and other kinds of unhealthy fast foods. so it's very likely that people that choose to drink sugared soft drinks actually have a variety of health habits which are not heart healthy. and it may well be those health habits that are responsible for the increase in risk. >> pelley: jon, you can hear the folks at home saying "great, another medical study, what am i supposed to do with this"? what are you going to tell your patients? >> reporter: i know, scott. my phones will be ringing off the hook on this one. first i'm going to point out this is an association, it does not prove cause and effect. but then especially for those patients of mine who are already at high risk of heart disease, they have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, not exercising and especially they're obese. think about it. if you cut out one 12-ounce sugary drink a day, at the end of the year you'll lose 15 pounds of fat. that's a good incentive. >> pelley: can't hurt. thanks, jon western australia today the signs read "beach closed" and with good reason. this was the scene yesterday less than half a mile offshore. the crew of a rescue helicopter spotted about 50 sharks in a feeding frenzy and the sharks were back at it today, turning tuna into a school lunch. it is a place where time stood still. bill whitaker takes us inside still. bill [ male announcer ] that. right there -- reminds you why you fell in love with her in the first place. and why you still feel the same. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. and these come together, one thing you can depend on is that these will come together. delicious and wholesome. some combinations were just meant to be. tomato soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. my doctor prescribed dulera to help prevent them. 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[ bird chirps ] ♪ 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. ♪ >> pelley: one year ago tonight the building housing japan's fukushima number one nuclear reactor exploded and three of the reactors there were melting down. the tsunami that hit the plant the day before had knocked out the water that kept the nuclear cores under control. fukushima is said to be safe now but the area around it will be radio logically hot for years. 12 miles around the plant is considered no-man's land. but bill whitaker put on a radiation suit and was able to get inside the exclusion zone for this report. >> reporter: the area is totally off limits without a government pass-- not something handed out to journalists. we went in with volunteers pre-approved to monitor radiation levels. we are now approaching the checkpoint. we have to get through this before we can get into the no-go zone. we are now in. we safely got through the checkpoint and we're now in the no-go zone. dead zone is more apt. this area was hit by a tragic trifecta: earthquake, tsunami, radiation. more than 70,000 people became nuclear refugees. the first town we entered was odaka. a year ago 13,000 people lived here. today, zero. what's most unsettling? on first glance everything looks normal. but take a closer look. this shop, that store, every store on this once-busy shopping street abandoned. every neighborhood in this city abandoned. there are signs of happier times. now traffic lights flash but no traffic. the only sound? the ticking of our guide's geiger counter. he'd found a hot spot. big towns and small towns, all ghost towns. houses left in haste. only a few unfortunate cows roam empty streets. we drive south toward the cause of all this. we're now about a mile from the fukushima nuclear plant and listen to the geiger counter. it's going crazy. this is why people have been evacuated from here. this is why this is a no-go zone. at one point, it got up to 3.8 microsooefrts. anything above 3.8 is considered unsafe. we got out of there quickly. about ten miles down the road we met this couple. despite threats of radiation and government warnings they refuse to leave. the woman, who's 63, grew up here. for 12 years she grew up with her... she's been caring for her mother with alzheimer's. her mother wants to die her. she will grant her wish. she told us "wherever you go in japan, there are nuclear power plants, there are 54 in this country. where is safe?" we left the i toes and left the exclusion zone in and out in three hours to limit our exposure. plant operators say it could take decades to completely dismantle the fukushima nuclear plant. how long will it take for the surrounding dead zone to come back to life? nobody has set a time for that. bill whitaker, cbs news, in the no-go zone around the fukushima nuclear plant. >> pelley: and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. and breaking news from washington, d.c. just a short time ago, police announced they have busted a city wide fencing operation. now this may be the group behind many of those cell phone robberies that have plagued parts of the district. several people under arrest and we'll have more on 9news now at 11:00. in the meantime, we are learning more about the 19-year- old university of maryland student that threatened a pass kier. alexander song told them he was feeling stressed out. he was not armed at the time. scott broom with the rest of that story. >> reporter: this chain of events started overnight saturday night when university police here got calls from three separate people. one as far away as nt