their homes in record numbers, there are growing questions about the documents lenders are using to repossess them. some of them may be flawed and so today the country's largest bank announced it will stop foreclosures in every state while it continues an investigation. bank of america handles more mortgages than any other lender-- more than 14 million, accounting for about 22% of the market. and 420,000 b.o.a. loans are in some form of foreclosure. three other lenders have announced moratoriums on repo saying homes in 23 states while they review their paperwork. john blackstone has more. >> reporter: it's a symptom of the chaos in america's troubled mortgage system. >> i had wilshire and they sold my loan to bank of america. >> reporter: many distressed borrowers aren't even sure who holds their mortgage. >> they bought it from the original people that had our loan, i can't remember who that was. >> reporter: the frenzy of mortgage lending during the housing bubble has now turned into a record-keeping nightmare with major banks admitting they did not follow the rules for handling paperwork on hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. the problems may affect all 50 states. >> how can there be people like that to just, you know, do stuff without even being contentious of what the consequences might be? >> reporter: in florida, cecilia vignoli learned the foreclosure documents on her home were signed by jeffrey steven, a g.m.a.c. processor who admitted he signed 10,000 such papers every month, swearing he'd reviewed in one in detail when he had not. >> that's not a mixup, that's intentional fraud. >> reporter: attorney margery golant is trying to help vignoli save her house. vignoli's foreclosure is one of those halted as at least four big banks have suspended foreclosures in much of the country as they try to sort out the paperwork. >> they claim that what they're trying to do is to hold these borrowers to their agreement and yet they're breaking the law! >> reporter: it used to be that the paperwork tracking mortgages was easy to find, filed at a local recorder's office. more than a decade ago, big mortgage lenders set up their own alternative system. it's called mers, instead of filing papers at a local courthouse, mortgage changes are simply registered inside the mers computer. but with no official paper trail, lenders are scrambling to produce documents they have the right to foreclose. >> i think it's going to complicate the market with a lot of questions, a lot of things people don't understand and your average home owner is confused on this. >> reporter: the fear is that with so many foreclosures on hold across the country, the housing market will now be clogged up with homes that can't be bought or sold. john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. >> rodriguez: and then there is the unemployment problem. in the final report before the midterm elections, the labor department said today the jobless rate held steady in september at 9.6%. it has now topped 9.5% for 14 straight months for the first time since the great depression. the economy last month lost another 95,000 jobs overall, though it did create 64,000 private n the private sector. wall street hopes that the jobs report will spur the fed to take more action to stimulate the economy and with that the dow gained nearly 58 points to close above 11,000 today for the first time in five months. anthony mason now with more on the struggling job market. >> reporter: your total is $4.89. american businesses were hiring in september but cautiously. toys "r" us will add 45,000 seasonal workers to staff its pop-up stores. >> this is 10,000 more christmas season hires than last year. >> reporter: but those are still just temporary positions. american companies created a modest 64,000 jobs last month, but that was enough to push the dow over 11,000 for the first time since may and could signal the psychology among american businesses is starting to shift. is the dow telling us there's basically been a mood swing about the economy? >> you know, there has been a mood swing about the economy. it's almost palpable. >> reporter: economist ellen zentner. >> it's telling us investors are becoming more confident about the outlook. we've survived that rough period over the summer where things were looking shaky. >> reporter: but the job market is still shaky, especially in the government sector. in addition to 77,000 temporary census jobs lost in september, 76,000 state and local jobs were cut-- many of them teachers. >> your next employer will notice. >> reporter: in minnesota, alan hill has helped coach more than 3,000 laid off workers over the past year at the bloomington work force center, but the day we are interviewed him was his last. >> tomorrow i become a job seeker. i've probably got 40 to 50 applications out there. >> reporter: when the federal stimulus money that paid for his position ran out last month, hill and 84 other counselors lost their jobs and hill was forced to follow the same advice he gave his last class. >> the thing i teach job seekers first and foremost is know your value but secondly keep hope alive. >> reporter: alan hill's story has a happy ending. he starts a new job next week counseling veterans. but more than 40% of the unemployed-- that's over six million people-- have been looking for work for more than six months. maggie? >> rodriguez: that's because businesses are still so cautious about hiring, even though the stock market is up. what are they waiting? >> reporter: they're waiting for the elections. they want to know who's going to control congress and what their taxes are going to be and they're waiting if r demand to rebound. companies are sitting on a mountain of cash, maggie. they have the money to hire, they're waiting for the confidence to do it. >> rodriguez: hope they find it soon. anthony mason, thank you, anthony. >> reporter: pleasure. >> rodriguez: to chile now where the wait has been agonizing for 33 trapped miners and their families. but their long ordeal could be over within days. rescuers have now drilled to within 130 feet of the miners who've been stuck in that gold and copper mine for 65 days. once the escape shaft is finished, they'll be lifted to the surface one by one. seth doane is in a very anxious chile tonight. seth, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, maggie. chile's mining minister told us today that it will likely be at least another 10 hours before the drill punches through to the area where the miners are trapped and that's a moment these families have been waiting for. roughly half a mile deep under the barren desert those drill heads keep grinding ever closer. above ground rehearsals for the rescue are under way. the target area for the drill is known as the workshop located across from and slightly higher than the miners' living area. the miners themselveses will complete the rescue shaft by blasting it with dynamite. engineers above ground will then use a t.v. camera to inspect the rescue hole and decide if it needs to be reinforced with a metal lining. installing the lining could delay rescue anywhere from four to ten days. >> it's not a technical piece of cake. >> reporter: and before any miners come out, a doctor and a rescue expert will go in. once cleared, miners will leave in a prearranged order. first the strongest, then the sickest and finally those considered psychologically sound enough to be the last ones out. in the nearby city, a stage is being set up to hold a giant screen so that folks here can watch the rescue live. >> (translated): the last few days have been encouraging but the rest have been very anxious. we are all very anxious. >> reporter: while their loved ones are trapped in the mine, many family members have keep-to-keep living, keep working. and so this bus takes them the mine everyday. you're heading up to the mine right now. what are you thinking? what's going through your mind? >> (translated): we are so happy because we know this is almost over. >> reporter: now, we're told this last hundred or so feet of drilling is meticulous work. rescue workers want to be certain to be careful and not to damage the hole that has already been drilled. maggie? >> rodriguez: and, seth, how long will it take to get all the miners to the surface once the rescue operation begins. >> rodriguez: maggie, we're told once those miners start being hoisted to the surface, the entire process could take two days to lift all 33 men up. >> rodriguez: seth, how soon will those rescued miners get to see their families? >> reporter: the ones who are healthy enough, maggie, will be able to see them right away before they are all flown off to a local hospital for observation. maggie? >> rodriguez: seth doane in chile, thank you, seth. rescuers plan to bring up the miners in a tiny capsule just a bit wider than the average man's shoulders. the engineers who designed it consulted with rescuers in pennsylvania because eight years ago they used a similar capsule to pull nine men to safety from the flooded quecreek mine. we sent national correspondent jeff glor to somerset, pennsylvania, to see how it works. >> reporter: this is the rescue capsule that was used at quecreek in 2002. it's still kept on site. it's slightly smaller than the one that will be used in chile. this one is just over nine feet tall and 600 pounds. the one in chile is ten feet tall and weighs more than 900 pounds. but what hasn't changed as we get inside are the dimensions inside. miners will be dealing with a diameter of 21 inches so they'll be told to keep their hands in and their faces back as they door closes. the biggest difference and the biggest concern here is the distance traveled. in pennsylvania, miners were only 240 feet below the ground. in chile, it's 2,300 feet. almost ten times the distance. and they're worried the capsule may get stuck somewhere which is why they're taking their time to make sure hole is really ready. in 2002, miners in pennsylvania said they had nine perfect lifts. nine people saved. in chile, they're hoping for 33. jeff glor, cbs news, somerset, pennsylvania. >> rodriguez: the nobel peace prize was announced today but the winner probably won't be able to accept in the person. he's in prison. liu xiaobo is a chinese dissident. last year's winner-- president obama-- urged china today to release lieuy calling him "an eloquent and courageous spokesman for the advance of universal values." jim axelrod reports tonight from beijing. >> reporter: 54-year-old chinese dissident liu xiaobo is a veteran of the teen men square protests. he subsequent close to tiananmen leading the call for free speech and religious tolerance in china and an end to communist party dominance. while the government sentenced him to 11 years in prison for subversion, the nobel committee calls him the foremost symbol of human rights in china. the chinese government is furious. police surrounded liu's home today so his wife could not speak with reporters and sensors are blocking internet reports. when we typed his name and nobel prize into one of china's most popular search engines we got this "search results might not comply with laws." chinese state-run t.v. called the award an obscenity. >> i would actually expect many in china to be very angry that this peace prize was awarded, that they would consider it to be a huge loss of face for china. >> reporter: tonight sitting in a prison 300 miles from here it's unclear if liu xiaobo even knows he's won the nobel peace prize. jim axelrod, cbs news, beijing. >> rodriguez: now to a very badly kept secret in a very secretive state. a top official in north korea confirmed today that the youngest son of dictator kim jong il is in line to succeed him. kim jong un, seen here on the left, was made a four-star general last week and given a top political post. he's believed to be 27 years old. his father, who is 69, is reportedly fighting a serious illness. still ahead here on the "cbs evening news," before there was sully there was denny, a hero pilot who's now out to save one more life. but up next, a senate race as hot as the nevada desert. or this. or this. you definitely couldn't do this. play kate's mix. or this. temperature, 72 degrees. say hello to the new edge with myford touch.™ quite possibly the world's smartest crossover. you should get some custom fit orthotics. dr. scholl's custom fit orthotic center. it recommends the custom fit orthotic that's best for your feet. and footcare scientists are behind it. you'll get immediate comfort... ... and, you could save a couple hundred bucks. for locations see drscholls.com everything is better with swanson broth in it, an essential ingredient in any kitchen. swanson 100% natural chicken broth. they believe with olay you can challenge what's possible and gave us their good housekeeping seal. for smooth, firm, younger looking skin shape up in the shower with olay total 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fighting for his political life in a race that's down, dirty and, oh, so close. >> introducing sharron angle's crazy juice! >> reporter: in nevada, it's become a race to the bottom. >> harry reid, the best friend illegals have ever had. >> reporter: in a new ad, tea party favorite sharron angle says senator harry reid even supports child molesters. >> reid actually voted to use taxpayer dollars to pay for viagra for convicted child molesters and sex offenders. >> reporter: reid calls angle a pathological liar. >> more crazy talk and outright lies. >> reporter: for the pea party, this is the biggest senate race in the country. >> it would show not only that they have influence but they have enough influence to knock off the most powerful democrat in the senate. >> save america! >> reporter: tea party groups have rallied in reid's hometown and have now spent more than one million dollars mostly on t.v. ads. yet harry reid has another tough opponent-- the economy. the unemployment rate here in nevada is the highest in the nation and the foreclosure rate is worse here than anywhere else that's made reid deeply unpopular and an easy target for republicans. and yet sharron angle's own words could be keeping reid alive. she suggested americans may need to bear arms against the government and that islamic law is being set up in some u.s. cities, calling it a militant terrorist situation. >> she's not of this planet and it would be embarrassing to the state for her to be our u.s. senator. >> reporter: even some republicans worry. on thursday, a top party leader in nevada reluctantly endorsed reid citing angle's calls for privatizing social security and medicare, calling that extreme. but her supporters say she has the momentum. do you think if you had a more moderate candidate you would be doing a lot better? >> i don't think so. if the dalai lama ran against harry reid, he bead attacking him for his choice of clothing him or for hanging out with too many bald people. >> reporter: the bottom line is that a surprisingly high number of voters in nevada dislike both candidates and a whopping 10% plan to vote "none of the above." which makes this dog fight in the desert still a tossup. ben tracy, cbs news, las vegas. >> rodriguez: in another hotly contested race, some nasty language was caught on tape and that's tonight's campaign 2010 hot sheet. in the california governor's race, democrat jerry brown and an aide were caught on voice mail blasting republican megawhitman, accusing her of cutting a secret deal with a police union. a warning, the language is graphic. >> rodriguez: it's not clear who spoke the offensive word but the brown campaign apologized to whitman and anyone else who may have been offended. a whitman spokesman said the language was an insult to the women of california. still ahead, a new study says older folks aren't laughing enough. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] try fixodent with a time released formula. use just once per day for all day 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[ male announcer ] aleve. proven better on pain. all-natural benefiber. the fiber supplement that's tasteless and dissolves completely. to make getting fiber easier. that's the beauty of benefiber. >> rodriguez: how many members of the u.s. supreme court can you name? according to a recent survey, two out of three americans can't name even one. well, here they are. they sat down for their annual class photo today. sonia sotomayor, stephen breyer, samuel alito, elena kagan, ruth bader ginsburg, anthony kennedy, john roberts, antonin scalia, and clarence thomas. for more than 5 years, americans have visited the vietnam war memorial in washington to hop more to the americans who lost their lives in that war. today the wall was visited by geophysicist there is to examine new cracks in its black granite panels. experts say there's no chance the panels will fall apart and there are no plans right now for any repairs. as people age, some lose their hair, others height, and now a british study says that some also lose their sense of humor. the study finds that infants laugh as much as 300 times a day but by the time they're teenagers it's down to just six and by the time they're 60 they're laughing just two and a half times a day. so what are seniors doing instead of laughing? the study says they spend on average 1:41 everyday worrying. and now to some sad news tonight. gospel music has lost its queen. albertina walkier died today of respiratory failure. the life long chicago resident was 81. congressman bobby rush called walker a voice for the civil rights movement. he said that her music was a healing balm to those who struggled for justice. ♪ keeps me from my goals, but i can just go to god in prayer. ♪ i know i can find him there to whisper... ♪ i think i'll walk...hough, (announcer) are you gellin'? dr. scholl's [ smack! ] [ smack! smack! smack! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums you do? your medicare card. 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(high-pitched laughter) man: hey you dang woodchucks, quit chucking my wood! vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. >> rodriguez: we end tonight with a man who, two decades ago, had a very well-deserved 15 minutes of fame. he was honored by the president for actions that saved dozens of lives. all these years later, he finds himself in another tough situation. national correspondent dean reynolds has his story. >> reporter: the name denny fitch may not ring a bell these days, but his heroism is'm playsonned on anyone who remembers what happened that july day back in 1989. >> united flight 232 was bound from denver to chicago this afternoon when an engine apparently blew up over iowa. >> reporter: the explosion knocked out one engine and the plane's hydraulics, no steering right or left, up or down. >> it's almost 100% fatal every time it happens. >> reporter: fitch, a flight instructor, was passenger on the plane and volunteered his services. he wound up controlling the aircraft by adjusting its speed on a harrowing 44-minute descent to sioux city. >> i'll help you. >> i've got 269... 296 lives in my two hands, literally and it's the most overwhelming feeling i ever had in my life and all i had a chance to do is i looked up and i said "god, help me get this done." >> reporter: of those aboard, 184 miraculously survived. >> there's no way that i could say that honestly i'd be the same person without sioux city. >> reporter: after flying for a few more years, he felt another calling. >> how many here in have had a bad day? >> reporter: he turned to motivational speaking. >> you are the captain of your ship! you've got to take the helm. >> reporter: he was in chicago this week at a benefit for northwestern's brain tumor institute. >> jim, how are you? >> reporter: which bring us to james chandler, denny's doctor. fitch was diagnosed with brain cancer in january and though the odds are not good... >> he's never going to be a loser in this scenario regardless of the outcome. >> reporter: denny fitch has faced death more than most. his father died of the same ailment he has and so did his first wife. >> situations like this, the inevitable question is why me. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: but you have so many "why mes". >> it's an unanswerable question. it's a fool's game. i believe that we are going to conquer this damn disease. you never give up till they throw dirt on you. >> reporter: few know that better than denny fitch. dean reynolds, cbs news, st. charles, illinois. >> rodriguez: and with denny's inspirational story we wrap up this edition of the "cbs evening news." for katie couric, i'm maggie rodriguez. see you monday on the "early show." until then, have a great weekend and for the latest news and much more, go to cbsnews.com. good night.