this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. you've been telling us in poll after poll that the economy is the biggest problem facing the country. so we start tonight with new evidence that it's getting better. the number of americans putting in their first claims for unemployment benefits is at a four-year low, 348,000. home construction is up 1.5%. and general motors back from bankruptcy, reported record profits for 2011, $7.6 billion. we have three correspondents covering. first, ben tracy in california, where unemployment still tops 11%. >> reporter: scott, more than two million people are still out of work here in california but the good news is businesses are hiring. and they're now expected to create half a million new jobs in just the next two years. at this clothing maker in downtown los angeles, johnny quintero is the newest hire. >> it feels great, yeah. i learn something new every day. >> reporter: he was brought on in january after being out of work for two years, forced to move back in with his parents. >> got laid off, and just couldn't really find anything after that. that's when i decided to move back to arizona. >> reporter: retail sales are up 5.5% over last year. that's ignited a hiring burst in southern california's apparel industry, the first in a decade, up 6%. that brought johnny quintero back to california. laurel berman hired him and four other workers in the past year. >> there are so many great, qualified people looking for work that i feel like we get the cream of the crop today. >> reporter: nearly nine million jobs were lost during the great recession. more than a quarter of working americans have been laid off at least once since 2007. but economist christopher thornberg is optimistic. he expects the unemployment rate to drop another 1% this year. >> you have layoffs diminishing substantially. incomes are starting to rise again. everything says that the top- level growth in the u.s. is starting to spill down to workers. >> reporter: the challenge, of course, is that 13 million americans are still unemployed and, scott, the competition is strong. >> pelley: thank you. home construction creates jobs, and as we mentioned, construction is picking up. we asked anthony mason to find out today if home sales are increasing, too. >> reporter: on the front lines of real estate-- >> you see a two-car garage. >> reporter: agents like ali memar see the housing market turning. in new jersey, memar says his january business was up 25%. >> this was the best january we had since things started going bad. >> reporter: five years ago? >> five years ago, yeah. >> reporter: falling prices are finally luring buyers back into the market. >> even though nationally prices are going down but sales are going up. >> reporter: sales are up? >> sales are up nationally. >> reporter: and up in all four regions of the country. in the northeast, sales rose more than 3% in the foruth quarter fray year ago. in the west, more than 8%, in the south more than 9%. in the midwest, more than 14%. you think this pickup in sales is sustainable? >> i think it is because it's happening naturally. this is happening on its own. >> reporter: it's happening because not only have prices fallen, mortgage rates are at a record low. >> i think you can get a lot for your money. >> reporter: so robert katz, a new jersey police officer, is looking to upgrade for his wife and three kids. is your feeling that the market is probably bottomed, or is bottoming? >> i believe so, yeah. and that's why, you know, my wife and i are trying to catch a great deal before it starts to go back up. >> reporter: also helping the market? inventories. that's the number of houses for sale, have been steadily coming down. it's a sign that the foreclosure crisis while not over, scott, is beginning to ebb. >> pelley: but a ways to go yet. anthony, thank you very much. the stock market liked the news today. the dow closed today at 12,904. that's its highest close in nearly four years. general motors stock was up 9%, after it posted its highest profits in history. g.m. was bailed out only three years ago, causing many to joke that g.m. stood for "government motors." the car maker has covered a lot of road since then, so we asked dean reynolds to catch up with the man in the driver's seat. >> reporter: what do you say to the people who call this government motors? >> well, i think it's important that we just do the best job we can. >> reporter: we met dan akerson, c.e.o. and chairman of general motors since september of 2010, along a detroit assembly line producing g.m.'s volt electric car, what it calls a symbol of its rebound. >> we've got a second chance here. a million jobs are saved. the industrial infrastructure and the manufacturing base of america in large measure is still intact. in fact, it's prospering. all three of the big auto makers are now profitable for the first time since maybe the '60s or '70s. >> reporter: the 63-year-old akerson is a naval academy graduate who's run several telecommunication companies but never an auto maker. when you took over did you look at the place and go, "gee whiz? how screwed up is this?" >> well, there were some long nights. >> reporter: u.s. taxpayers have recovered nearly half of their $50 billion investment in g.m. when the u.s. treasury took a majority stake in the company back in 2009. the government still owns 500 million shares and if it wants to sell and just break even, g.m. stock will have to double in value from where it is today. >> they're a shareholder, just like a couple of hundred thousand shareholders that we have. we work on their behalf and we hope they get all their money back. it will be determined by them, depending on when they want to sell. >> reporter: g.m. has 12,000 fewer employees than it did the year before restructuring, and has cut back on pay and pension benefits. but work shifts have been added at three u.s. facilities and two plants here have been reopened. did president obama save general motors? >> without the money, without the funding, it would have been very-- very problematic. so at the risk of alienating a whole lot of potential customers, i would say the obama administration did a good job. >> reporter: republican presidential hopeful mitt romney and other critics have argued the bailout was unnecessary, and that the regular bankruptcy process would have made g.m. and chrysler stronger companies. would that have happened? >> not in my opinion, and we would have been in bankruptcy for years, and i think you could have written off this company, this industry, and this country. >> reporter: instead, scott, g.m. announced today that 47,500 blue-collar workers in the u.s. will be getting profit sharing checks next month-- checks of approximately $7,000 apiece. >> pelley: dean, thank you very much. we noticed g.m. is selling more cars in china than it does in the u.s. g.m. sold 2.5 million vehicles in china last year, and it turns out the chinese love buicks. they bought 645,000. but nearly all of the cars that g.m. sells in china are made in china. only 1% are imported from north america-- they're cadillacs. we were surprised on tuesday when the f.d.a. warned doctors about a fake chemotherapy drug. it turned out that lung cancer patients who were prescribed avastin could get instead a worthless counterfeit. that was enough for us to ask our investigative unit to have a look, and here's chief investigative correspondent armen keteyian. >> reporter: the fake cancer- treating drug contained no active ingredient. it was purchased from a company called montana health care solutions, whose address traces to this house in tiny belgrade, montana. the counterfeit drug eventually found its way to at least 19 doctors in three states. the avastin case exposes the dangers of suppliers operating on the fringes of the prescription drug market. they often advertise drugs at much lower prices to doctors and medical clinics. according to state records, montana health care solutions was started by a man named paul bottomley. in text messages to cbs news, bottomley said that montana healthcare solutions closed its doors in 2010 and he knew nothing of this avastin matter. but in march 2011, one doctor's office we contacted received this price list from the company. it shows bottomley as the company's business development director. on the price list, avastin sells for $1,995 per 400 milligram vial, $400 less from the average price from legitimate distributors. a source told cbs news when doctors called an 800 number for montana healthcare solutions, the call was redirected to a company with an address listed at this office complex in barbados. today a representative for the company there told us in a statement, "as a reputable supplier of medicines, any risks to the medicine supply chain are of significant concern to us. we are, therefore, working with the appropriate regulatory authorities and we feel it would be better not to comment further until the investigation has been completed." the food and drug administration was made aware of the problem last december after authorities in the u.k. found 167 packs of the fake cancer-treating drugs in a warehouse. without the active ingredient, patients who received the counterfeit avastin weren't getting the life-extending drug they needed. and scott, none of the doctors who purchased the bogus avastin would speak to us to camera. >> pelley: armen, i wonder, is there anything about the companies that distribute these drugs that contribute to the counterfeiting problem? >> reporter: well, yes. 90% of the drugs are distributed through three very reputable companies. the problem is the 10%, the other 10%, where you literally have thousands of these so- called fringe operators who are working out of their house, behind web sites or they have a post office box and they're very, very difficult to track down and they're real tough to take out. >> pelley: remarkable. thank you, armen. nearly the wheel world came out against the syrian dictator today. the u.n. general assembly voted 137-12 on a resolution calling for bashar al-assad to step down. china and russia were part of the 12. today, assad continued his assault on the city of homs, and an apartment building collapsed after being hit repeatedly by artillery. for nearly a year, a freedom movement has been fighting the assad family's 40-year dictatorship. the so-called underwear bomber, umar farouk abdulmutallab, was sentenced to life in prison today for trying to blow up a jetliner over detroit two years ago. he failed, but prosecutors showed the court what might have been. abdulmutallab remained defiant at his sentencing, calling this his day of victory. the senate candidates who are taking a pass on superpacs. a baseball hall of famer, remembering "the kid." and a surprise for tourists at the white house when the "cbs evening news" continues. sleep number store different? 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"the kid" played 19 years, mostly with the mets and montreal expos. gary carter was 57. inside the other battle in afghanistan. a raging drug epidemic. we'll take you there next. osteoarthritis pain. to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine a and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. i had[ designer ]eeling enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. 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[ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel. >> pelley: u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon said today that afghanistan will never be stable unless it tackles its drug problem. he spoke at an international conference in vienna. 90% of the world's opium originates in afghanistan's poppy fields, and much of that is turned into heroin. we asked willem marx in afghanistan to show us the problem. >> reporter: beneath a notorious bridge in downtown kabul, a human tragedy festers. for more than a year now, hundreds of heroin addicts have lived here, an ancient opium den in a modern, urban sewer. thousands more drop in each day to buy, smoke, and inject their daily fix. how do you react when you see that level of misery? >> appalling, appalling. and even more appalling, it is happening just below and in front of us. >> reporter: jean-luc lemahieu heads the u.n. office on drugs and crime for afghanistan and says with ever more users injecting their drugs, there's a troubling new statistic. around one in 14 of afghanistan's drug users is now believed to be hiv positive, and with addicts sharing needles in places like this, that number is soaring. this is how an h.i.v. epidemic brews. we watched as men reused bloody syringes again and again, so many that we had to walk carefully among the addicts for fear of treading on an errant needle. "each day my life was getting worse and worse," says abdulrahim rejee, a former heroin user who crawled out of this despair a year ago. today he lives with nine other recovering addicts in a shared home. abdulrahim credits his improvement on a pilot program involving methadone, a heroin substitute that requires no needles. it is widely used as the best defense against the spread of h.i.v. here. "i feel my life has changed 100%," he told me. "i have rejoined my family and i feel very healthy." but methadone is available for just a fraction of afghanistan's addicts-- abdulrahim and 70 others. >> we need to expand the delivery of that service to a lot more addicts than what we are able to do today. >> reporter: the only other option here is to go cold turkey at a detox clinic. under the bridge one morning i saw an addict collapse after an overdose. "when i go to that bridge," he told me, "i want to help those people that they can live like me." the man survived, barely, but with limited care available, he lived only to shoot up another day. this misery persists while a deadly virus continue to spread. willem marx, cbs news, kabul. >> pelley: visitors to the executive mansion in washington today got an unexpected welcome from the lady of the house. that's next. i had to switch my insurance plan. but then my prescriptions got more expensive. i felt helpless... frustrated. it was very frustrating. then john... maurice... jill stepped in... made some calls... and saved me hundreds of dollars. that's a lot. it meant a lot to me. taking the time to help you with insurance questions. the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. my feet and exactly where i needed more support. i had tired, achy feet. until i got my number. my dr. scholl's custom fit orthotics number. now i'm a believer. you'll be a believer, too. learn where to find your number at drscholls.com. if you sleep in your contact lenses. lucky for you, air optix brand has a lens approved for up to 30 days and nights of continuous wear. 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( laughter ) read. cook. dana and allen are off tonight. right now president obama is in good evening, i'm ken bastida. >> i'm elizabeth cook. dana and allen are off tonight. president obama is in san francisco raising money. he arrived at sfo this morning. mayor lee, lieutenant governor newsom and attorney general harris made up the official welcoming party. harris got a presidential kiss and most of the tarmac time. later on the president made a surprise detour for a little lunch in chinatown. he visited with customers at the great eastern restaurant shaking hands, posing for pictures with very surprised customers. >> we just went for a dim sum collection. this is a midafternoon snack. didn't want to have the whole full seven courses. i have like
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