koreas on edge. see you at 6:00. >> smith: the eve of thanksgiving-- travelers breeze through the new airport security screenings, but on the road, storms make it tough going in much of the nation. i'm harry smith. also tonight, the clash of the koreas. after the deadly battle, the u.s. shows its support for the south and urges china to rein in the north. they're popping up all over this holiday season, on main street and the malls-- pop-up stores. and 50 years after cbs exposed a harvest of shame, we return to the fields of america's migrant workers. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric.

>> smith: good evening. katie is off tonight. those anticipated thanksgiving- eve protests at airport security stations never happened. instead, it was the weather that made travel difficult today. a huge storm moved in to the northern plains, bringing snow yid freezing rain, as skies coast to coast were filled with planes carrying holiday travelers. at the airports, the new screening program went smoothly, but on the roads, ice and rain made driving in the midwest treacherous. and authorities closed several interstates. we have two reports tonight. first, cynthia bowers in chicago. cynthia, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, harry. 42 million americans are traveling this weekend, that's 11% higher than last year. air travel is up 3% with 1.8 million people coming through this one airport over the next few days.

now that may sound frightening, but the truth is, these folks have it easier than people who hit the road. for many americans, weather was the real roadblock, not the feared airport security slowdowns. >> we've been here for hours on end trying to get on to several different flights. we've missed three of them flying standby. >> reporter: in salt lake city airport travelers were forced to wait out a blizzard. there were also white-conditions across the mountain west, great plains, and upper midwest. it is also brutally cold. a record-breaking 14 degrees in seattle, a frigid ten in truckee, california. eight below in minet, north carolina, and minus 18 in montana. >> if i was rating this 1-10, i would rate this over the next 24 hours as probably a 7.5 to 8. certainly weather is having a huge impact on travel wednesday night. >> reporter: pre-winter blizzards shut down parts of interstate 80 in wyoming, i-84

in idaho, and i-15 in northern utah. 50-mile-per-hour winds blasting northern colorado. fargo, north dakota, which got a record 12 inches of snow yesterday got more today. in iowa, icy roads were blamed for at least one traffic death and dozens of crashes near des moines. on the east coast, wind gusts topping 40 miles an hour slowed air traffic at busy airports such as newark and laguardia. but most everywhere else, flights were close to on time. more wind and rain are in the forecast for thanksgiving day. the bad weather will run all the way from the deep south through new england. the good news here is that despite sleet this afternoon, i looked at the board, it looks like all the flights through this, the busiest airport, are on time tonight, so far. this is just a sign that everything is turning out to be better because the weather guys say that if you did manage to get where you're going, getting home is going to be a heck of a lot easier. harry. >> smith: cynthia bowers, thank you very much from chicago's o'hare airport. now to the airport body scans

and pat-downs. mark strassmann in atlanta has the story of the holiday protests that weren't. >> can i give you information on what's happening inside? >> reporter: outside atlanta's airport, protesters urged passengers to slow this holiday travel day to a crawl. >> we're asking that people do opt out of the scanner. >> reporter: opt out of full-body scanners which average 20 seconds per passenger for pat-downs, like these today in los angeles and chicago, which average two minutes. the goal: clog security lanes at almost 70 airports. >> as long as i can make my flight, i'll do it. >> reporter: at new york's laguardia, one protester went through security in his underwear. there was another colorful protest in phoenix. but the vast majority of passengers decided to opt out of the protest, some even thanked t.s.a. agents. >> they can screen me up one side and down the other. i've not nothing to hide. i don't care. i'd rather i be safe on the plane. >> reporter: by mid-afternoon in st. louis, only seven people had

opted out. 47,000 were screened. security lines took under 20 minutes. >> i value my privacy and dignity. >> reporter: she got an earful when she suggested the terror threat had passed. >> look how long we have gone... >> it could happen tomorrow and you'd be same person out here with probably a picket sign saying the federal government didn't do enough to protect us. so i just don't understand it and i don't get it. but have a blessed day. >> reporter: today, there were minimal airport delays from honolulu to myrtle beach. almost all passengers wanted to get somewhere for the holidays rather than make a stand. harry. >> smith: mark strassmann in atlanta this evening. thank you. he was once the most powerful republican in washington. tonight, former house majority leader tom delay is a convicted felon. a jury in austin convicted him today of money laundering charges.

prosecutors said he illegally funneled corporate donations to legislative campaigns in texas. delay, who is 63, could get anywhere from five to 99 years in prison. his lawyer called the verdict a miscarriage of justice and vowed to appeal. now to the tension on the korean peninsula. today the obama administration called north korea's artillery attack on the south korean island earlier this week a premeditated violation of the long-standing truce. ceila hatton reports tonight from seoul, a city on edge. >> reporter: images of emotional memories, exhausted evacuees and mangled buildings gripped south korea today. the country is on high alert following yesterday's artillery battle between north and south korea that killed two south korean marines and two civilians on the island of pyongyang. "i was really scared," said this evacuee. many here, especially young south koreans, say it's time to retaliate.

"i wonder if south korea appears to be too weak," worries this seoul resident. but older generations who have memories of the carnage in the korean war are more fearful of what might happen if pyongyang is pushed too far. >> how do you slap north korea down? teach it a lesson without actually spreading conflict? >> reporter: president obama's been in close contact with his ally, south korean leader lee mhyung-bak, but even the strongest of allies left with what one official calls the land of lousy options. a joint u.s.-south korean naval exercise this weekend that includes the u.s. carrier "george washington" will demonstrate resolve but few believe it will deter north korea from future provocations. some analyst argue that the outside world must understand that the kim jung il regime operates according to its own

logic. >> if you're a military first state and the only thing you have that your people can be proud of and support you for is military strength, than it stands to reason you can't make any concessions. >> reporter: flexing north korea's military muscle is one way for kim jong il to win over the country's hard liners as he hands over power to his son, kim jung un. yesterday's attack proves just how far he's willing to go. ceila hatton, cbs news, seoul. >> smith: in london today, thousands of students clashed with police for the second time in two weeks. the students were protesting plans to triple university tuitions. it's just one of a number of draconian steps being taken to balance britain's budget. some tried to force their way into government offices but were not successful. two officers were injured, 15 protesters were arrested. 30 shopping days now till christmas. and there are some hopeful signs for retailers. the government says americans earned more money in october and we spent more money as well.

seth doane tells us to rack up sales this year, retailers are thinking outside the box. >> reporter: holiday displays also pop up in stores right after halloween, but these days, entire holiday stores are popping up, too. from nike to gucci to e-bay, 2,000 temporary stores called pop-ups are opening this season. even pop-tarts has a pop-up. >> pebbles! >> reporter: last year, toys "r" us opened 90 temporary stores. this season, 600. >> we are going to reach every nook and cranny of america and that's what we're doing with these holiday stores. >> reporter: why is this year so big for pop-up stores. >> retailers are confident they can get good results in a pop-up store, and the consumers are beginning to shop again. >> reporter: in just three days this empty shell on new york's 5th ave. became a holiday store.

it will be gone in six weeks. >> for consumers it creates excitement and energy and a little bit of urgency. >> reporter: they were invited by the gap to fill its small space next door. >> there are a few products in the store which you can't find anywhere else. it doesn't seem like it mixes. >> i think gap has always been about individuality and what is innovative. >> they sell terrareiums and kimono-covered skateboards. pop-up stores evolved. as much about building image as boosting sales. catalog retailer harry and david hope this temporary store will reinvigorate the brand. christina is a pop-up matchmaker, connecting retailers with empty real estate. >> why not open up a temporary store and have the opportunity to meet customers and educate them about what you're doing? >> reporter: as these pop-ups find a more permanent place on the retail landscape. seth doane, cbs news, new york. >> smith: coming up next... >> they are the migrants, workers in the sweatshops of the

soil, the harvest of the shame. >> smith: 50 years later, cbs news returns to the fields.

that's the "cbs evening news.

>> smith: it was the day after thanksgiving 50 years ago. "cbs reports" presented what would become one of the most important documentaries of its time. "harvest of shame" chronicled

the crime of america's migrant farm workers and byron pitts returns to the fields to continue the story. >> reporter: they are the migrants, workers in the sweatshops of the soil, the harvest of shame. >> reporter: in 1960, cbs news correspond edward r. murrow called them the forgotten people, the undereducated, the underfed. with raw and striking images, murrow's documentary exposed the poverty and deplorable working conditions endured by america's two to three million migrant farm workers. >> only in name they are not a slave. but in the way they are treated they are worse than a slave. >> reporter: men, women, and children who harvested crops for the best-fed nation on earth earned barely enough to feed themselves. >> reporter: what is an average dinner for the family? >> well, we just... you mean what do we have in? >> reporter: yes. >> well i cooked a pot of beans

and fried some potatoes. >> reporter: from the tomato, bean, and sugar cane fields of florida, working steadily north to the apple orchards of new york, life was an endless road trip, in housing, crowded, dilapidated, often filthy, but all a worker could afford on an average yearly income of $900. that's about $6,700 today. today, 50 years later, migrant work is still back-breaking. here in immokalee florida, the tomato capital of the country, harvest season is just beginning. while the work is the same, wages have improved. that's if the work can be found. in this tiny trailer he shares with his wife and five children, 62-year-old juan lopez gets up before dawn, hoping to find work as a tomato picker. how much money do you make in a year most years? >> ( translated ): last year, in 2009, i earned $7,800 for the

entire year. >> reporter: $7,800? for a few months this rented trailer is home. six, sometimes seven days a week, he competes with younger men and women for a limited number of jobs. like every other industry, farming has suffered in this economy, and those at the bottom suffer most. on this day, lopez is hired to work on a tomato farm more than two hours away. over the years, the faces in the fields have changed from poor whites and poor blacks to poor hispanics. today, most migrant workers are from mexico. workers make about $10,000 to $12,000 a year. there are no mandated benefits like health insurance, overtime, or sick pay. in extreme cases, some farm workers have been held against their will, forced to work for little or no pay, modern-day slaves. women routinely endure sexual harassment. since 1997, seven slavery

operations have been prosecuted in florida. more than 1,000 workers have been freed. most migrants are hardworking people like claudia vasquez, a mother of four. this year, vasquez has already picked michigan blueberries, georgian tomatoes and now it's florida grape tomatoes. on top of her $7.25 an hour minimum wage, she'll earn $60 cents for each 32-pound bucket she fills. >> ( translated ): not a lot of money, just about enough to eat, but we don't have any money to save. >> reporter: but soon, that may change. under an agreement between florida tomato growers and the ciw-- an advocacy group for field workers-- working conditions will improve to

include shade in the fields, a strict code of conduct, and perhaps most importantly, increased wages. nine national food giants, including whole foods and mcdonald's, have agreed to pay an additional penny for each pound of tomatoes picked. that penny a pound program could put another $5,000 to $7,000 in the pockets of america's field workers each year. john's family owns pacific tomato growers, the first grower to sign on to the new agreement. >> our effort was really about making it a public conversation because it's intolerable that anybody behave inappropriately within agriculture. >> we know that the industry is changing. we know that it doesn't have to be a harvest of shame anymore. it can be a harvest of hope. >> reporter: hope for a better tomorrow. what will you and your family do for thanksgiving? >> ( translated ): if we have enough, we'll try to buy a turkey, and we'll share that. >> reporter: 50 years ago this week, america was given its first glimpse at what murray called the sweatshops of the soil. 50 years later, the bounty and

blessings of many this thanksgiving remains the burden of a few. byron pitts, cbs news, immokalee florida. ,,,,

>> smith: the government is cracking down on synthetic marijuana which has become the new drug of choice for many teenagers. the dea said today it will ban the chemicals used to make fake pot, putting them in the same category as heroine or cocaine.

susan koeppen has more on the drugs and the dangers. >> here we go! k-2! >> reporter: with names like k-2, spice, and summit, synthetic marijuana has become a more popular alternative to the illegal version. >> it's about ten times more potent on the receptor in the brain than marijuana is. >> reporter: it's sold as incense and labeled, "not for human consumption." but our investigation found stores were giving instructions on how to smoke. >> so i've never done this. is it pretty serious? >> yeah, you just get a mellow high. >> we're seeing patients who have nauseous, vomiting, getting agitated, paranoid, have to come to emergency departments. >> reporter: jan and michael rozga's 18-year-old son david shot himself in june after smoking synthetic marijuana. >> it takes away your sense of reality and puts you in such a terrible place that you'll do anything to get away from it.

>> are the hallucinations or agitation... >> reporter: the number of calls about synthetic marijuana to poison control centers has gone from just 14 in 2009 to more than 2,000 this year. i would assume there are teenagers out there who walk into a shop and say, "you know what? i can buy this legally. it's not that bad." >> legal doesn't mean safe. >> reporter: the manufacturer of k-2 says, "there hasn't been a single proven death by use/misuse or abuse of any products of this type. but the rozgas blame this drug for their son's suicide. >> i don't want anyone to go through what we've gone through. >> reporter: and hope his death will be a warning to others. susan koeppen, cbs news, washington, d.c. >> smith: coming up next, answering the call to make sure no american goes hungry. the call to make sure no american goes hungry.

costs. how one bay area campus may cut its power bill in half, thanks to student power. next on cbs 5 >> smith: finally tonight, it is simply shocking that in a nation as rich as ours, anyone would go hungry. as don teague reports, a lot of people find that unacceptable and they're doing something about it. >> we need a lot of good variety here. >> reporter: ask vickie dean if life is easy and she'll be the first to tell you it's not. still, this single mother, who once depended on charity to feed

her special needs son, has much she's thankful for. >> i'm thankful for my family, my friends. >> reporter: today dean is not receiving a meal from the north texas food bank. instead she and her son are volunteering to help provide 13,000 meals for others. >> we've pretty much been on both sides, and so this is our way of paying forward. >> reporter: this food bank is one of the largest in the nation. it has provided food like this for 2.3 million people so far this year. but doing that requires a tremendous number of volunteers, 22,000 at this facility alone. with so many in america struggling, unemployment stuck near 10%, 42 million people using food stamps, simple acts of generosity are as important today as ever. >> thank you. >> reporter: and americans are responding. in the last year, more than 63 million have volunteered. in colorado, a bride whose wedding was suddenly called off, decided to go ahead with the reception feeding 150 homeless.

>> you've got turkey... >> reporter: and here dallas, one steak house went all out, providing five-star thanksgiving meals for ten families. for robin barnes, an unemployed single mother of three who doesn't even have a table to eat on, this makes all the difference in the world. >> they want the dressing. they want the turkey. they want to have like others have, you know. but if i didn't, for them, it probably would have been a disaster. >> reporter: this year, many in america will give thanks for the helping hands of others. >> god bless you. >> reporter: don teague, cbs news, dallas. >> smith: when the folks at dell frisco's steak house learned robin barnes had no kitchen table, they had one delivered today with chairs. that's the "cbs evening news" for katie couric, i'm harry smith. thanks for joining us. i'll see you in the morning on "the early show." good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org cess group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

budget cuts and layoffs - a question for neighbors in contra costa: how much would you be willi our at time of budget cuts and layoffs, a question for neighbors in contra costa, how much would you be willing to pay to keep your local fire station? [ laughter ] >> i think it's great. >> elected then booted. who is reveling in jean quan's boot and the just-released statement from the mayor-elect. and attention, shopper! s what you should know before you bite on up with those store credit card offers. good evening. how much would you pay to protect your family? one bay area county faces the threat of losing crucial emergency services and a very unpopular option could be the only way to save them. ann notarangelo asked taxpayers how much is your safety worth? what kind of