simulation shows that the failed attack in times square would have been devastating. i'm katie couric. also tonight, new safety questions about regional jets. after landing gear failures on a number of canadian-built planes. >> stay down! stay down! >> couric: and a new treatment for the most common cancer in babies and children produces exciting results. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> couric: good evening, everyone. the world watched stunned as terrorists trained in pakistan attacked mumbai, india, nearly two years ago. they killed more than 170 people and wounded 300. now officials say terrorists tied to al qaeda have been planning new attacks just like it in europe, and some of the recent c.i.a. drone attacks in pakistan may have been launched

to disrupt the plot. justice correspondent bob orr is following this still-developing story. bob, the details of the european plot are absolutely chilling. >> reporter: well, katie, yes, they are. u.s. and european officials say the plot called for a spectacular multipronged attack on numerous cities in great britain, france, denmark, and germany. teams of terrorists, trained by an al qaeda-linked group along the pakistan-afghan border, plan to carry out commando-style shooting sprees. patterned on the mumbai attacks of 2008. sources describe the plot as credible, but say it was discovered at an early stage and had not gone operational. still, terror experts say there is much they don't know. >> the only thing i think that is fairly, fairly concrete is that it would have taken place in germany and other european countries. >> reporter: intelligence officials are concerned that squads of trained terrorists are still on the loose, so plot has

not been completely wrapped up. >> they know that al qaeda intends to send operatives into western capitals with mumbai-style attacks against soft targets in cities. but they don't know who they are. they don't necessarily know where they are. 7. >> reporter: while there is no indication this particular plot targeted america, secretary of state hillary clinton said today the u.s. remains on guard against a persistent threat. >> we know that al qaeda and its network of terrorists wishes to attack both european and u.s. targets. >> reporter: the european plot was uncovered just a few weeks ago when a radical german of afghan heritage was captured in afghanistan. the man told interrogators of the plan to launch multiple suicide missions. the terror threat levels in the targeted countries, though, have not been raise, and are not expected to be, but security forces are on a hair trigger. twice in the past two weeks, french police have evacuated the eiffel tower after phoned in

bomb threats. and there's no question, u.s. officials are also nervous. the department of homeland security now has called for a series of classified briefings for the private sector over the next two weeks to outline the possible threat of mumbai-style attacks. katie. >> couric: bob orr reporting from washington. bob, thank you. the man who tried unsuccessfully to set off a car bomb in times square back in may also received his training in pakistan. faisel shahzad will be sentenced here in new york next week. meantime, prosecutors today released a tape of a simulation they say shows that if the bomb had gone off, the results would have been devastating. here's national correspondent jeff glor. >> reporter: the just-released material include the government's most damaging information against faisel shahzad, including this detonation video. that's what investigators say would have happened if shahzad's bomb went off in new york city this past may. he says he wanted to kill at least 40 people, and he confessed to investigators he was planning a second bombing in

the city only two weeks later. he never got there. arrested only three days after his crude car bomb fizzled in times square. >> it is probably more than this to life. >> reporter: also included in evidence this chilling video of a calm, determined shahzad, then 30 years old, explaining why he went to a terrorist training camp in pakistan last july. >> the intention of making this video is not to show off or to gain fame, and to insight the muslims to get up and fight. >> reporter: shahzad, who pled guilty in june, will likely get a life sentence next week. prosecutors say he never showed any remorse. jeff glor, cbs news, new york. >> couric: in other news, there are big safety questions tonight about commercial jets made by bombardier, the canadian company a big supplier to regional airlines, more than 900 of its jets in service with 11 u.s. carriers. but since 2008, six bombardier jets have had to make emergency

landings because of faulty land gear. two in just the past week. national correspondent dean reynolds reports federal investigators want to find out if this is part of a bigger problem. >> reporter: skywest flight 3074 was approaching milwaukee yesterday when the cockpit called for help the 36-passengers faced a harrowing descent as the left landing gear refused to budge, but the plane did finally land sail. >> you could hear them trying to put the landing gear down about four or five times. >> reporter: it was too similar to a delta connection flight saturday night at new york's kennedy airport, an emergency captured on a passenger's cell phone camera. >> ska stoun down! stay down! >> reporter: the faulty landing gear was involved in both cases, one large plane, one small, with different landing systems but one manufacturer, bombardier of canada. federal records show in the last

two years, there have been only two such incidents involving airliners made by other companies but in that time you have the six bombardier incidents, two in the last four days plus chicago, atlanta, ontario, california, and philadelphia. in each case, the planes landed safely without injuries to those on board, but with that many accidents involving similar aircraft made pie by the same company, authorities want to know if that's a pattern. the f.a.a. and national transportation safety board are investigating and aviation investigators say wear and tear could be an issue. >> they're designed and used for short-haul uses of passengers so they may take off and land three five, seven, 10 times a day sometimes. so their landing gear are put under a lot more stress. >> reporter: today bombardier said it would support any investigation. dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. >> couric: in health news, there's been a lot of debate about what causes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,

commonly called a.d.h.d. some say it has to do with diet. others suggest parenting may be to blame. but today, for the first time, researchers say they found a definitive link between a.d.h.d. and a genetic mutation. here's dr. jon lapook. >> thanks, mom. >> reporter: carol siege always suspected a.d.h.d. ran in her family. all four of her sons have been diagnosed. >> people going through the experience, it makes perfect sense to them. >> reporter: today's news confirming a genetic link comes as a relief to parents of kids with a.d.h.d. >> it's wonderful because it's been so obvious to us. and so it takes away that-- the blame and the shame that you feel as a parent. >> reporter: researchers have found specific genetic mutations that double the risk for a.d.h.d. >> it's not a single gene to a single disorder. >> reporter: scientists examined the chromosomes of 366 children with a.d.h.d. and found either too many or too few copies of

certain genes. studies suggest these genes may help control brain development and behavior. >> many years ago, people didn't used to think of autism as a brain disorder. people used to think it was due to negligent parenting. nobody would think that now. >> reporter: for now, genetic testing for a.d.h.d. remains a research tool with the diagnosis still made on the base of behavior. >> couric: i know a.d.h.d. is a broad term used to describe kids with the disorder even though cases range from mild to severe. how do you think the new finding will impact the way doctors treat the disorder? >> katie, the researchers in the study found one child with a.d.h.d. can have a totally different mutation than another kid with a.d.h.d. rather than treating everybody in the same way in the future maybe we'll figure out, okay, exactly what kind of a.d.h.d. do you have and develop a more personalized treatment plan. >> couric: all right, dr. jon lapook thank you. an update on the megachurch pastor in atlanta being sued by four men who claim he lured them into sexual relationships when they were teenagers.

on sunday, bishop eddie long vowed to fight the allegations. now as mark strassmann reports, one of the accusers is telling his story. >> reporter: jamal parris says he's now haunted by a father figure, bishop eddie long, pastor of new birth missionary baptist, one of america's most powerful megachurches. >> i cannot get the thought of his voice out of my head. i cannot forget the smell of his cologne. and i cannot forget the way that he made me cry many night when i drove in his car on the way home not able to take enough showers to wipe the smell of him off of my body. >> reporter: as teens, parris and three other young men claim long adopted them as his spiritual sons then exploited them. their civil suits allege long used scripture, cars, jewelry, and trips on his private plane in a sexual seduction. >> that's not a father. that's a predator. >> reporter: long built this megachurch into 25,000 members, four u.s. presidents attended

coretta scott king's funeral here. he flaunt his wealth and his physique. his so-called muscular christianitiy preaches homosexuality is sinful. now these allegations. >> i have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man. but i am not the man that's being portrayed on the television. >> reporter: but here's what make many church members here wonder. long has never taken his public denileses one step further. never said flatly, are these allegations are false." all four teens met georgia's legal age of consent, but that's hardly the moral standard for any pastor. >> you are not a man. you are a monster. >> reporter: allegations that leave long's congregation trying to decide whether their pastor is a predator. mark strassmann, cbs news, lithonia, georgia. >> couric: in other news, just 34 days before the election of bombshell in the california governor's race, and tonight's

campaign 2010 hot sheet-- an allegation that republican candidate meg whitman continued to employ a housekeeper six years after the government informed whitman the woman might be in this country illegally. whitman fired niki diaz last year and according to diaz gave her this warning.... >> you don't know me and i don't know you. you never have seen me, and i have never seen you. do you understand me? >> couric: whitman, whose call for tougher sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers, denies receiving a notice questioning the housekeeper's immigration status and says "this is all a political stunt by her opponents." and diaz' lawyer refused to say what her status actually is. still ahead here on the cbs evening news, why japanese teachers are outperforming americans. could their system work here? but up next, the new treatment that may have helped her beat cancer. for good. [ male announcer ] if you have type 2 diabetes,

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so talk to your doctor about prescription treatment options and support. and make this time, your time. about prescription treatment options and support. want to transform dinner from blah to oh la la? cook with campbell's. with touches like a splash of fresh cream or sauterne wine. our soups help you put smiles on the faces of the ones you love. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ but my doctor told me that most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. citracal. >> couric: the most commonly diagnosed cancer in babies under the age of one is neuroblastoma. it's an aggressive disease, and fewer than half its victims survive. but there's new hope tonight and a new treatment. cnn's dr. sanjay gupta, a

neurosurgeon and cbs news contributor reports on this promising therapy that is already saving lives. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: kindergarten is supposed to mean new friends and ballet for six-year-old hayley kudro. so you were feeling fine? you were going to ballet and everything? >> uh-huh. and then i wasn't eating good because of my tumor. it filled up my whole belly. ♪ gotta keep my head held high ♪ >> reporter: instead she spent the past year enduring toxic treatments for a cancer her family had never even heard of. >> we didn't really have a choice. it was do this or lose her. >> reporter: last year, hayley was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. that's a cancer of the nervous system, and it was the most aggressive form. she had a softball-sized tumor in her bell echoking her liver and her cancracy. >> without treatment, it will grow and spread and kill the

child within a matter of months. >> i took a bath in hot water it burned. >> did you make a fuss or were you brave? >> i made a fuss. ( laughter ) >> reporter: hayley had the standard treatment, including chemotherapy, major surgery, radiation. but she's also receiving a drug treatment called immunotherapy. it's designed to ref up her own immune system to kill the cancer. take a look at the neuroblastoma cells. this is what an aggressive cancers under the microscope. and this is the immunotherapy drug. it not only stimulates the child's own immune system. it helps attack those tumor cells. a new study of 226 high-risk patients like hayley found adding the immunotherapy to standard therapy improved the survival rates by 20%. it was so effective, the trial was stopped early. how often do you get to say in the world of cancer research, "wow, we actually figured out something that works, maybe even

cures?" >> this is one of those moment where's we have proven that a therapy really makes a major difference. >> i don't like needles. >> reporter: i don't think many people like needles. >> do you? >> reporter: no. haley is back in first grade. the doctors believe her tumor is gone. thanks to immunotherapy, it may not be coming back. how much longer do you have to take the medicines? >> uhm, my line will be taken out before christmas. >> reporter: hayley is expected to do very well from this. and it's important to point out, needles really do hurt, as she pointed out. it's expensive treatment. it costs as much as $40,000. its side effects, though, are israelatively mild compared to what she went through, just severe flu symptoms, katie, once a month during the treatments. >> couric: this is very exciting for these young cancer patient 37z do you think we're going to see more situations, sanjay, where immunotherapies are added to traditional therapies in a whole variety of cancers? >> i think so.

we're seeing it in breast cancer melanoma kidney cancer, for example. what i was struck by is you give chemotherapy, you give radiation you really suppress the immune system, but you need it for immunotherapy to work. so here they boost up the immune system, they give you immunotherapy simultaneously. that's what makes it so much more effective. >> couric: it really is exciting. sanjay gupta thank you so much, sanjay. and we'll be right back. mmmm.

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parent, but today the government wander that a product meant to prevent sids is itself a danger. parents are being told to stop using infant sleep positioners. that's because children can roll over and suffocate against the padding. 12 infants have died this way in the last 13 years. it was a war to end all wars, and now the final chapter of it will end on sunday. that's when germany will pay off the last of its debt from world war i. the fighting stopped in 1918, and under the treaty of versailles, the victorious allies forced germany to pay $38 billion in reparations. payments stopped in 1931 during the great depression, and they only resumed after world war ii. here in new york, the legendary hollywood director oorth penn died last night. he's best remembered for a movie that turned a couple of outlaws into folk heroes. >> this is miss bone parker. i'm clyde barrow. >> clyde. >> we rob banks.

>> couric: in addition to "bonnie and clyde" he directed dustin hoffman in "little big man" arlo guthrie and anne bancroft and patty duke in "the miracle worker." coming up next, a teachable moment. a school system that's working. can we learn something from the japanese? [ man ] then try this. new and improved freestyle lite® blood glucose test strip. sure, but it's not gonna -- [ beep ] wow. [ man ] yeah, that's the patented freestyle zipwik™ design. [ woman ] did it just -- target the blood? target the blood? yeah, it drew it right in. the test starts fast. you need just a third the blood of onetouch®. that is different. so freestyle lite test strips make testing... [ man ] easy? easy. [ man ] great. call or click -- we'll send you strips and a meter, free. free is good. [ man ] freestyle lite test strips. call or click today. [ but aleve can last 12 hours. frtylenol 8 hour lasts 8 hours. and aleve was proven to work better on pain than tylenol 8 hour. so why am i still thinking about this?

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>> couric: and finally tonight, president obama has vowed to improve education in america, and there are lessons to be learned from some of the countries that are outperforming us right now. like japan, where they focus on recruiting the best teachers, then treat them with the reverence and respect they've earned. ceila hatton in tokyo continues our series "reading, writing, and reform." >> reporter: first thing in the morning... japanese children bow to their teachers. it's a small gesture that says a lot. ♪ ♪ here, respect is not a song title. it's the backbone of japan's school system, which for decades what topped international rankings while spending the lowest amount on education among developed democracies. 3.3% of japan's gross domestic

product, or g.d.p., goes towards schooling compared to 5% in the u.s. how do they do so much with so little? by investing in top-notch teachers. >> teachers are given a good deal of respect. they're expected to devote their life. the whole system is set up to emphasize the development of teachers. >> reporter: retirement comes at 60 for japanese educators with a salary of more than $62,000, compared to $53,000 in the u.s. but in return, teachers are tasked with transforming children into model citizens. if a student is caught shoplifting, forecast the child's teacher is usually alerted before a parent. >> ( translated ): if a student does something wrong outside of school, we tend to think we should have taught them better." >> reporter: inside the classroom, children learn responsibility. changing into slippers at the school's entrance, and cleaning the building themselves. children take turns derbing out food to their class mates and their teachers.

and no one takes a bite until everyone is served. teachers also have scheduled periods to compare notes. they're grouped together in one room. >> ( translated ): i spend 60% of my time with students and 40% with other teachers." >> reporter: classes are regularly videotaped, allowing senior teachers to mentor juniors. it's a technique that's gaining traction in the u.s. ineffective teachers aren't fired or sidelined here. they're given extensive retraining, explains the president of japan's teachers union. >> ( translated ): it's impossible for someone who is incompetent to get through the system. >> reporter: despite all this, those all-important global test scores have slipped. japan topped international math rankings in 2000 but dropped to sixth in 2006, still far ahead

of the u.s. at 225. what hasn't changed in japan is the value placed on education, best summed up by a japanese proverb, "better than a thousand days of study is one day with a great teacher." ceila hatton, cbs news, tokyo. >> couric: and that is the cbs evening news for tonight. i'm katie couric. thanks for watching. i'll see you tomorrow. until then the news continues 24/7 at cbsnews.com. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org