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new scenes from above the red planet. you can see craters, icy polar dunes and even a possible landing site. nasa's next project is called mars 2020. jan crawford was allowed in the room at the jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena, california. >> everyone that goes in this room has to be suited upp because they can't risk any contamination to this spacecraft is going to mars in four years with an unmanned rover that's going to explore the surface. this is all part of nasa's plan to send humans to mars in the next 20 to 30 years. this is what you have to do when you go into a room with a wow. that is going to be on the that? >> absolutely. curiosity.

miles away, a speck in the sky. and in just four years, this spacecraft will blast off for an unmanned mission to the red planet. it's a crucial step toward nasa's goal of some day sending humans to mars. so everyone that works on this has to wear these suits. nasa agreed to let us go inside the clean room, where even engineers working on the spacecraft have to be covered head to toe. >> it needs to be cleaned in order to work properly and it's going to the surface of mars. we can't have earth stuff going there. we don't want to contaminate mars. >> reporter: for generations, mars has been a source of fascination. >> we can be on mars within 24 hours. >> reporter: a favorite of hollywood. >> 4.5 billion years, nobody here, and now me. >> reporter: but here at the jet propulsion laboratory, it's no longer science fiction but

this piece of metal will be a sophisticated landing system for mars 2020. what all is put on this? >> the most important part that gets put on is the propulsion system, our rockets. >> reporter: yeah, that's pretty important. this animation shows how it will slow down the spacecraft. and gently drop an suv-sized rover onto the surface of the planet. nasa used the same technique in 2012 to land the curiosity rover. >> we're at 150 meters per second. >> curiosity is the first rover to really confirm that mars was a habitable place. >> reporter: steven lee is the deputy project manager for curiosity. this is a replica here at the mars yard. >> curiosity really is the parent of mars 2020. >> reporter: so, this is like the mom and daddy. >> the mom and daddy, exactly. >> reporter: the next generation rover will be loaded with a lot more technology.

drill. >> this is the rock room. >> reporter: which deputy manager says will help search for signs of martian life. >> we're going to drill core and make small samples of rock that we'll leave on the surface. we hope future missions will get those samples, bring it back to earth so earth scientists can study those samples. >> reporter: we've never gotten anything off the surface of mars. and for the first time, nasa will test missions that future astronauts would use to survive their journey. in this room, what you're doing, could determine whether or not humans make it to mars in the near future. >> using this technology, that's absolutely true. and -- >> reporter: that's a lot of pressure. >> it is. we try not to think. >> reporter: they are working on

atmosphere into atmosphere, for astronauts to breathe and use as fuel. >> inside this chamber is the pressure. >> reporter: this experiment is critical because astronauts couldn't bring enough oxygen from earth to last for what will be a three-year mission. >> if you want to go to mars as a human or if you want to launch a rocket from mars to bring a sample back, you need oxidizer to do that. if i could fly >> reporter: all making this upcoming mission a giant leap for human travel into deep space. and down below >> reporter: do you think that some day humans will be on mars? >> oh, without question. >> reporter: without question? >> absolutely. >> eventually we'll be able to overcome all the challenges that are ahead of us. >> reporter: that seems crazy. seems like a movie. >> crazy but certainly a wonderful goal. >> reporter: a goal generations in the making. now closer than ever. do you ever think, like, that is 200 million miles away? >> it's sometimes just amazing

a large system, so much complexity that's so capable and we send it on a rocket. when you go out in the morning and you look and it's a point of light in the sky. >> reporter: now for all those kids out there who are going out at night and seeing that point of light in the sky, they could be the first humans to step foot on mars. and this spacecraft carrying that rover for all that important research will pave the way to get them there. >> the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. (sounds of birds whistling) music introducing new k-y touch gel cr me.

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music will gather in los angeles tomorrow to honor four-time grammy winner lionel richie. he's being honored for his remarkable career. >> lionel ritchie's peers will honor him, reihanna and is expected to raise millions for charity. it's a huge honor for ritchie and i got to spend an after with him singing those time-honored songs. i can tell you at 66 he's definitely still got it. morning's just a moment away and i without you once again >> reporter: he's responsible

songs of the past five decades. you're once twice three times a lady >> sing it now! >> reporter: let's just say, it's hard not to sing along with lionel ritchie. yes you're once everybody! twice three times a lady >> the best thing that ever happens, the music stayed around. it stuck. we're talking about the third generation of folks are now sitting in the audience. >> reporter: and you've been going now, okay, i don't want to date you here -- >> no, no, 230 years, i know. since '73. >> reporter: born and raised in tuskegee, alabama, ritchie led the come adores to the top of the charts in the 19 0s. she's a brick house >> reporter: he went solo in

say you say me >> reporter: dominating popular music with 13 consecutive top ten hits, including five number ones. oh what a feeling when we're dancing on the ceiling all night long >> reporter: ritchie had no formal music training. he says he just somehow knew how to write songs by ear. >> so, i don't know why i know how to play that. it's just that i can play that. >> and so, trying to explain it to you is harder than trying to -- than just playing, because there's no real -- >> reporter: you can't stop just there.

>> but you got to know that -- sail on down the line about a half mile or so and don't really want to know where you're going where you're going maybe once or twice time after time we tried but now we're going and i don't mind about the things you're going >> reporter: o his many hits, this may be ritchie's most famous line. hello is it me you're looking for >> reporter: of course, when adele released her new sing, the similarity was hard not to hear. hello it's me >> reporter: the internet didn't

hit songs. hello hello is it me you're looking for >> reporter: let's talk about who owns it, you or adele? >> well, i was here first. no, no, listen. first of all, there's only so many ways you can say hello. so many people call me, rich, the goal stole your song. the girl stole your word. no, i don't own hello. hello >> reporter: there are one-hit wonders. people who are hot and blazing and are gone in a minute. >> yeah. it's not an easy business. ego is the first part that kills you. the second part of it is just the stress. it's the stress. because can you outdo your last show? i bet you can't do that again. >> reporter: so, how did you do it? >> i did it again -- >> reporter: but how did you deal with the stress? >> i kept going back to the

we weren't keeping up with the joneses in alabama. we were just keeping up with the comodores. we weren't at the clubs, hanging at the club scene. my grand month said, just don't drink any of that dope. i said, grandma, i promise you i won't drink any dope. i promise you. >> reporter: instead, ritchie was focused on making music and giving back. >> as i started gaining a bit of success, then it was even more apparent that, you know, how do i give a voice to the voiceless? >> reporter: he did just that when he and michael jackson sat down to write "we are the world." there comes a time when we heed a certain call >> reporter: the remarkable collaboration raised more than $60 million for humanitarian aid in africa. we are the world

we are the ones that make a brighter day so let's start giving >> reporter: this year music cares is paying tribute to ritchie for both his musical contributions and decades of charitable work. >> i said, i'll receive this award if it doesn't mean good-bye because, as far as i'm concerned, i'm just getting started now. all night long all night >> reporter: all night long. ritchie puts on a great show and his resistcy at planet hollywood in vegas begins april. in addition to start's music cares tribute, big stars will be joining ritchie at the grammys. everybody three times a lady imagine how your doctor feels. as a urologist, i have performed 9,421 and a half prostate exams. so why do i do it? because i get paid. und... on this side of the glove

so, if you are a man over 50, talk to you doctor to see if a prostate exam is right for you. if we can do it, so can you.

the hunt continues in the florida everglades f f those giant pythons.

>> reporter: in the florida everglades, this is basking season for burmese pythons, when the cold-blooded snakes seek out the warmth of the sun. >> there's a lot of native plants we should be aware of. >> reporter: tom's team is hunting for snakes. burmese pythons are an invasive species and an evasive one. tom, one of the team. >> reporter: it's a challenge, though. >> it is a challenge. >> reporter: burmese pythons average about eight feet and camouflage themselves in more than 1 million acres of sawgrass here. rayhill is known as the snake whispers. >> i've got over 300 captured personally. >> reporter: he tracked down his first burmese in 2008 and was hooked. >> you go into an alpha predator mind set. if you don't, you could get hurt conceivably.

>> if hundreds of sharp, razor-sharp teeth, you just have to breathe deep and just let it release on its own. if you pull away from a python when it bites you, your arm is going to be shredded. >> reporter: and big burmese can also coil and crush you. >> i had ahold of a 17-foot python a number of years back. totally ecstatic. this is great. i had a hold of it like i was a feather on a freight train. >> reporter: a big burmese can swallow a deer. in this video, the alligator inside the python's stomach was so big the snake actually exploded. like the population of the snakes in the everglades. a female can lay up to 100 eggs. >> there could be tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of snakes, we just don't know. >> reporter: penny works for the florida conservation company. some pet owners release the burmese into the wild when their

>> they don't have any natural predators in the state of florida. >> reporter: for help removing them, florida's fish and wildlife started the python challenge. top prize, $5,000. rayhill is competing with his group of volunteers called the swamp apes. they grab a burmese by the neck, behind the jaw and let it wear itself out and then drop it into this bag. they can deliver it dead or alive to wildlife officials. everglades. that's the "overnight news" for this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back a little later for the morning news and "cbs morning news." from the broadcast center in new york city. this is the "cbs overnight news". >> the presidential campaign

south carolina, the next primary state. for the democrats, it's a chance for hillary clinton to regain her footing after being soundly beaten by bernie sanders in new hampshire. for sanders, it's the opportunity to introduce himself to a group that he will need to win the nomination. african-americans. clinton and sanders squared off last night in milwaukee for their final debate before the south carolina vote. here is some of what they had to say. >> senator, do you worry at all that you will be the instrument of thwarting history, as senator clinton keeps claiming, that she might be the first woman president? >> well, you know, i think from an historical point of view, somebody with my background, somebody with my views, somebody who has spent his entire life taking on the big money interest, i think a sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as

>> you know, i have said -- i have said many times, you know, i am not asking people to support me because i'm a woman. i'm asking people to support me because i think i'm the most qualified, experienced and ready person to be the president and the commander in chief. and i appreciate greatly senator sanders' voting record. and i was very proud to get the endorsement of the planned parenthood action fund because i've been a leader on these issues. i have gone time and time again to take on the vested interest who would keep women's health care decisions, the province of the government instead of women -- >> sanders faces an uphill battle in south carolina. more than half the electorate is african-american. a group that has long supported both clinton and her husband. here's nancy cordes. >> hillary clinton has been there. >> reporter: nearly 20 members of the congressional black caucus vowed today to campaign

hakeem jeffries of new york was one of them. >> hillary clinton has been there from the very beginning to deal with the gun violence epidemic and its impact on african-american communities across the country. >> reporter: she has prayed with black pastors, met with black lives matter protesters and is airing this new ad in the south. >> you have to face up to the hard truth of injustice and systematic racism. >> reporter: her campaign says sanders is a johnny-come-lately on race issues. he says he got his start in movement. georgia congressman john lewis scoffed at that today. >> but i never saw him. i never met him. i would chair the student nonviolent coordinating committee, but i met hillary clinton. i met president clinton. >> reporter: sanders does speak frequently about incarceration rates and poverty. >> 51% of young african-american

unemployed or underemployed. that is a national tragedy. that has got to change. >> reporter: the influential writer ta-nehisi coates called sanders the best option and harry belafonte endorsed him today. >> i think he represents opportunity. i think he represents a moral imperative. >> reporter: when clinton and sanders face off here in milwaukee tonight, she'll argue that she will actually do more to carry on the legacy of the nation's first black president, while he'll argue, scott, that he'll actually do more to help minorities with his proposals for things like free public college tuition. >> nancy, thanks very much. the republican primary in south carolina is just nine day as way and the attacks are getting louder and cruder. here's major garrett. >> we win here, we're going to run the table. >> reporter: donald trump in south carolina, by turns optimistic and vulgar. >> what the hell is this guy talking about?

doing. >> what the hell are we doing? >> senator marco rubio. >> reporter: marco rubio campaigning in the state with more conservative cultural instincts criticized trump's language as an assault on decency. >> you turn on the tvs you have a leading presidential candidate saying profanity from a stage. profanity from a stage. i mean, all these things undermine what we teach our children. >> reporter: jeb bush also piled on. >> he says, we're going to bomb the blank, blank, blank out of isis, using a vulgarity. that's not leadership. >> reporter: in 2012 about two-thirds of republican primary voters in south carolina described themselves as christians. trump, despite his large lead in the polls. voters we spoke to here were divide. >> just the way he carries himself and when he claims to be a christian and you only quote

>> i think that's what a lot of people like about him, he says what he means and means what he says. i love it. >> reporter: trump today pulled an ad criticizing ted cruz and said he would only run positive ads from now on. john kasich's campaign has been doing that for weeks and described bush's efforts in south carolina of having all the joy of a texas chain saw massacre. >> thanks, major. cbs news will host the next republican debate. that's saturday evening at 9:00 p.m. eastern time and john dickerson is the moderator. in another important story tonight, the zika virus, suspected of causing birth defects, keeps spreading. 79 cases now in the u.s. it's active in 26 countries and territories in the americas. brazil is the hardest hit. and with the olympics there this summer, hard choices have to be made. here's dr. jon lapook.

>> reporter: the u.s. women's soccer team started on the road to rio last night with a win in their first olympic qualifying game. the team's goalkeeper, hope solo, is raising concern about the risk of zika infection during the games. >> if the olympics were today, i want to go. fortunately, the olympics aren't today. so, we have six months. we have a little bit of time to figure things out. >> reporter: u.s. olympic committee ceo scott blackmun tried to address questions and doubts in a memo to prospective olympians. he said the organization is working with the cdc and infectious disease specialists to closely monitor the situation. but no matter the preparation, he wrote, there will always be risks with olympic competition. officials with the rio games told cbs news all rooms in the olympic village will be air conditioned and venues inspected daily to remove standing water where mosquitos might breed. the population of the mosquito

significantly in the cooler, dryer months of august and september, when the games will take place. the main worry is the suspected link between the virus and microcephaly, an unusually small head at birth. that link has been strengthened both in brazil and the united states. the virus has now been found in the placenta of mothers who miscarried and the brain tissue of newborns with microcephaly who died. i spoke with an official from the rio olympic organizing committee today and asked, are there any thoughts of canceling or postponing the olympics or is it full steam ahead? he said, full steam ahead. he said this weekend they're having a test event in rio for the diving competition. >> thanks. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back.e is chris noth

from maine to maui, thousands of high school students across the country are getting in on the action by volunteering in their communities. chris young: action teams of high school students are joining volunteers of america and major league baseball players to help train and inspire the next generation of volunteers. carlos pea: it's easy to start an action team at your school so you, too, can get in on the action.

if you were a hippie in the '60s, you need to know. it's the dawning of the age of aquarius. yeah, and something else that's cool. what? osteoporosis is preventable. all: osteo's preventable? right on! if you dig your bones, protect them. all: cbs cares! in oregon today, a six-week standoff between the fbi and

ended peacefully. the final four holdouts surrendered. though, ranting, liberty or death. tonight weave learned that the isis terrorist group in syria and iraq has chemical weapons in its arsenal. in a rare interview for "60 minutes" we spoke to the director of the cia, john brennan. >> we have a number of incidents where isil has used chemical munitions on the battlefield. >> artillery shells. >> yeah, sure. >> isis has access to chemical artillery shells? >> there are reports that isis precursors and munitions that they can use. >> the cia believes that isis has the ability to manufacture small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas. and the capability of exporting those chemicals to the west? >> i think there's always the

this is why it's so important to cut off the various transportation routes and smuggling routes they have used. >> are there american assets on the ground right now hunting this down? >> the u.s. intelligence is actively involved in being a part of the effort to destroy isil and to get as much insight into what they have on the ground inside of syria and iraq. >> we'll have our full interview including the threat that he says keeps him up at night. that's this sunday on "60 minutes". millions have fled syria, but there are tens of thousands who can't get out. bombers and a closed turkish border. holly williams is following this. >> reporter: imagine the terror. never knowing where and when the warplanes will hit next. we can't independently verify

show the aftermath of air strikes on the town of tel rifaat this week. in the syrian regime's new offensive, which is backed by russian air power, civilians are once again paying with their blood. crossing the border into turkey, we met abdul kahrim bahloul, who runs a school in tel rifaat. the shelling and air strikes are random, he told us. homes are destroyed and children's bodies lie in shreds on the ground. he told us he came to ask the turkish authorities to give refuge to children from the town. but after absorbing more than 2 million syrians, turkey is reluctant to let any more in. syrian regime forces have now nearly encircled the city of aleppo. the u.n. fears that 300,000

they were in the town of madaya, during a siege by the regime. more than 40 starved to death. dalia al awqati that her charity, mercy corps, feeds and clothes half a million people in northern syria each month. >> it's not much. >> no, but it's essentials to keem a family alive. >> reporter: now they're racing to get food parcels to families in aleppo city, fearing more starvation in a country that's already exhausted by a senseless war. and as if syria's war isn't complicated enough, today some american-backed rebels told us they were attacked by kurdish fighters, who were also supported by the u.s. now, the kurdish fighters say it wasn't deliberate, but, scott, this shows just how difficult it is for the u.s. to unite

ground in syria. >> holly williams, thanks. so, what can the u.s. do to stop the war? for that we turn to margaret brennan. margaret? >> reporter: well, today, the u.s. is trying to broker an immediate cease-fire. secretary kerry pushed russia and iran to stop attacking civilians in aleppo and let in aid to besieged areas. vladimir putin's military has cut off supply lines to the u.s.-backed rebels, and u.s. officials warn that that strengthens both isis and assad and it leaves the u.s. with little leverage in a war president obama has resisted getting involved in for five years now. >> margaret brennan at the white house, thank you. today cleveland mayor frank jackson apologized to the family of tamir rice after the city billed his estate $500 for ambulance services. the city also tore up the bill. in 2014 a cleveland cop shot rice who was 12.

out to be a toy. he died the next day at the hospital. the officer was not charged. in a big development today, scientists have announced what may be among the greatest discoveries in the history of physics. they believe they found gravity waves predicted by einstein but never observed. two huge antennas, one in washington state, the other in louisiana, detected a gravity wave last september. this confirms einstein was right when he described the universe as like a fabric, woven from the three dimensions, plus time. what what physicist call space time. the gravity wave was set off sending a ripple through the fabric. the effect is so tiny, one scientist estimated the ripple consisted the entire milky way

thumb, observing that the fabric of the universe stretches and compresses may open an entirely new understanding of nature. coming up next -- how explosions like this are improving airport security. and a scoop by a newspaper sets off an uproar. "cbs overnight news" will be right back. and take a big smell. they smell really fresh what if we told you we washed these sheets 7 days ago. really? no way downy? downy fabric conditioner give us a week, and we'll change your bed forever. want more freshness? add new downy fresh protect. (ugh.) does your carpet ever feel rough and dirty? don't avoid it, resolve it. our formula with a special conditioning ingredient, softens your carpet with every use. it's resolve,

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the tsa is looking for a more professional and effective force of airport screeners. kris van cleave is in glenco, georgia, tonight at the tsa's new training academy. >> reporter: seeing the power of even a small explosive made the threat real for nearly 200 soon-to-be airport screeners. >> two, one. >> reporter: they're going through a new training program here in georgia designed to address troubling security gaps within the transportation security administration. a damning report by homeland securities inspector general last summer found screeners failed to detect 6 of 70 suspicious items brought through airport check points. peter neffenger became the tsa administrator last july. >> what the inspector general reports show us you can never

>> reporter: shawn weeks-freeman is one of the academy instructors. she was a flight attendant on pan-am flight 330 standing where a bomb explode, where the 737 prepared to land in honolulu. one was killed, more than a dozen injured. >> when i talk to my class, i tell them, you're not here by accident. and i wasn't saved at that moment by accident because that threat in 1982 is today's threat still. >> reporter: the academy marks the first time all transportation security officers will have standardized training. previously new hires were largely trained on the job at their home airport. the i.g., if they're going through check points today with one of their teams trying to bring things that should be flagged, will those thipgs be caught? >> i think we'll catch them today. >> reporter: all of them? >> i don't know. i sure hope we catch all of them. >> reporter: the students will work at this mock checkpoint. it's complete with all the equipment, scott, they're going to use in the field.

and we'll be right back. a small catholic university in maryland is in turmoil after a report that its president wanted to weed out struggling students quickly to improve the school's standing. some professors had been sent packing. here's chip reid. >> reporter: ed egan was a professor at mt. st. mary's university in maryland. what would you normally be doing on a day like this? >> i'd be on campus. today i'd be teaching my class on the first amendment. >> reporter: but on monday he was fired in a letter a school official said he is persona non grata and not welcome to visit the university's campus because

to the school. it all began last month when the student newspaper reported that the school president simon newman wanted professors to identify struggling students in the first few weeks of school so they could be encouraged to drop out. some faculty members resisted and the school paper reported that newman told them, this is hard for you because you think of the students as cuddly bunnies but you can't. you just have to drown the bunnies. put a glock to their heads. many students and faculty were outraged. >> it's not just the words, but it's the plan that the words described. >> reporter: what's wrong with the plan? >> weeding out students because we think they might not do well in order to make the numbers look better. that's not mt. st. mary's. >> reporter: egan was the faculty adviser to the school paper and says he's being punished for accurate but embarrassing reporting by the students. you did not tell them what to write? >> i did not. >> reporter: in any way?

anybody on campus who knows the students, knows that nobody would manipulate these students. >> reporter: they can't be manipulated? >> they are independent, strong, bright people. >> reporter: a petition protesting the firing of egan and another professor has been signed by about 7500 professors across the country, and, scott, the university declined our repeated requests for an interview. instead, they issued a statement saying the two professors had violated the code of conduct. >> chip reid, thanks, chip. in a moment, how a mother's words can turn a child's pain into joy. woman: what does it feel like when a woman is having a heart attack? chest pain, like there's a ton of weight on your chest. severe shortness of breath. unexplained nausea. cold sweats. there's an unusual tiredness and fatigue. there's unfamiliar dizziness or light-headedness.

even your upper stomach, are signs you're having a heart attack. don't make excuses. make the call to 9-1-1 immediately. learn more at womenshealth.gov/heartattack. when the twins were about 10 days old, the doctors told us they were going to need blood transfusions. we're so proud of who they've become. as a result of one person, deciding to spend an hour of their life giving blood is just immeasurable, how powerful that one donation could possibly be.

our final story tonight is written on the face of a young child, whose joy mere words cannot describe. here's elaine quijano. >> elsa had magical powers and could create things out of snow and ice. >> reporter: 4-year-old mattie zapata can't get enough of her bookings on tape. >> anna was delighted. >> reporter: because the voice is her mother, mandi balderas, locked in a prison four hours away. >> i told her how i missed her. >> even though i'm not there physically, i know she's listening to my voice, spending time with me. >> reporter: each month while balderas and other selected inmates choose a story to record and then mail it home. it's called storybook project, and it runs in six women's prisons across texas. >> it was a sunny afternoon at the end of may. >> this story begins within the walls of a castle. >> we weren't scared as long as we were together. >> reporter: 64% of incarcerated

their children before prison. storybook tries to ease the pain of separation. >> if you put your hand in mine, you'll feel my love powers. love you. >> reporter: mattie was 18 months old when her mother went to prison for a dwi crash that killed the other driver, a crime of manslaughter that victimized her daughter, too. >> i cry for mommy. >> how come? >> because i miss her. >> if it wasn't for the books, she wouldn't be able to have the bond that we have now. i know that means something to her and i know it means something to me. >> reporter: but the fact is, you got behind the wheel of a car when you had alcohol in your system and a person is dead because of that. didn't you forfeit your right to do things like this when you made that decision? >> yes, i made a decision. but it's not about the decision anymore. it's about how we handle the circumstances. that's how i'm choosing to

helping my kids the best i can from where i'm at. >> hey, mattie, it's me, mommy. >> reporter: balderas has four years left of an eight-year sentence. when she finally re-unites with her family, she hopes her children won't mistake her voice for a stranger's. >> you are my sunshine, my only sunshine -- >> reporter: elaine quijano, cbs news, columbus, texas. >> i love you always, mommy. and that's the overnight news for this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back with us later for the morning news and for "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new york city, i'm scott pelley. this is the "cbs overnight news."

"overnight news." the federal government is warning of possible shortages of test kits for zika virus. the tests are designed to let pregnant women know if they've been infected by the virus that can cause severe birth defects. the cdc is hipping more than 60,000 test kits, but admits there may not be enough to go around. the virus is mostly spread by mosquitos. people who live in southern states are especially vulnerable. and the cdc is warning of a possible widespread outbreak in puerto rico. women who are thinking about getting pregnant are to avoid traveling to latin america, especially brazil. brazil is hosting the summer olympics and that puts america's female athletes in a bind. >> morgan in the box with that shot and they're on the board! >> reporter: world class female athletes, including members of the u.s. women's soccer team are raising safety concerns ahead of this summer's olympics in rio de janeiro.

alex morgan called the virus a very scary thing and goalie hope solo went even further, saying it's possible she might skip the games. >> all i can do is speak for myself. if the olympics were today, i wouldn't go. we have six months. we have a little time to figure things out. >> our goal really is to protect pregnant women. >> reporter: the cdc says it's working nonstop to gain control over the rapidly spreading virus. suspected ties between the virus and the birth defect microcephaly appear to be strengthening. on wednesday the cdc reported that zika was found in the brain tissue of two brazilian babies who died from microcephaly less than 24 hours after birth. >> the strongest evidence today that zika is the cause of microcephaly but it's still not definitive. >> reporter: the new england journal of medicine cited a separate case from october. according to the report, a 25-year-old woman living in slovenia chose to have an

child she was carrying had severe developmental abnormalities. an autopsy later revealed the fetus had microcephaly. the woman who had been living in northern brazil showed zika symptoms during her pregnancy. officials say the virus is spreading quickly because the aedes aegypti, which transmits the disease, is difficult to eradicate. >> its eggs can be drought-resistant and can persist for some time. and it can bite four or five people in the course of one blood meal, meaning it can spread disease quite quickly. >> reporter: according to the cdc, a zika vaccine could be available by the end of 2017. meanwhile, a group called catholics for choice is asking pope francis not to condemn contraception or abortion in an attempt to help women protect themselves from the virus. the department of homeland security is taking steps to ensure airport screeners are properly trained. for the first time the

administration will start training all screeners at one centralized academy, sort of a tsa boot camp. kris van cleave reports from the federal law enforcement training centers in glenco, georgia. >> reporter: this checkpoint is the centerpiece of the new tsa academy and the two-week training course. this grows out of a top to bottom review done by the agency that found gaps in training and he proficientcy on equipment like this. the new training academy aims to change that. an explosive lesson on the dangers these soon-to-be airport screeners will be asked to help prevent. >> this is a explosive -- >> reporter: the nearly 200 students assembled are some of the first to go through the new tsa training academy. >> it's controlled chaos. it's a very difficult job. >> reporter: among those, 19-year-old yasmin. >> it's a challenge but it's a rewarding challenge. >> reporter: this is the first time since the agency's creation

centralized training of newly hired screeners, who make between $31,000 and $45,000 a year. previously they were trained largely on the job at the airport where they work. >> do you see anything in that bag? >> reporter: the academy opened in january as the tsa tries to recovery from a series of high-profile embarrassments, including two officers fired for allegedly groping a passenger in denver. and in a test where they failed to catch 67 out of 70 tests. peter neffenger took over as administrator following that report. >> i tried to refocus on the mission. i said, what a screener's job is to ensure something that doesn't get past the checkpoint doesn't get past. >> reporter: will you catch -- >> i hope so. >> reporter: all of them? >> i sure hope we catch all of them. my test shows we have dramatic dramatically improved. >> reporter: can you show us

goes to -- >> reporter: i'm talking about the vast majority? the majority? >> majority. >> reporter: for shawn weeks-freeman, the success of the screeners trained here this year is personal. she was a flight attendant on pan-am in august of 1982 and a few rows away when a bomb went off on board. a 16-year-old passenger died. more than a dozen others were hurt. >> when i talk to my class, i tell them, you're not here by accident. and i wasn't saved at that moment by accident. because that threat in 1982 is today's threat still. royal crib caribbean's "anthem of the sea" is undergoing repairs and inspection at a dock in new jersey. the ship sailed into a massive storm last week on its way to florida and had to limp back to port. passengers describe a terrifying trip and there are calls for a federal investigation into why the ship set sail in the first place.

>> reporter: ths gives you some idea of the enormity of the ship. look at the size of this thing. that also tells you something about the size of the storm that it ran into that tossed it around like a paper cup. last night passengers streamed off, some were cheering, some were kissing the ground. who can blame them when you think about what they went through. beaten, battered but home, royal caribbean's "anthem of the seas" limped back into cape liberty, new jersey, last night. >> free at last, free at last! >> reporter: putting an end to the terrifying trip. but as some of the 4500 passengers poured out of the >> awful experience. >> reporter: -- frustrations boiled over. >> we thought we were all going >> the worst part was the fear and the lies because we were told over and over we were in good shape. >> the reality is we shouldn't >> we were trapped in a room for 17 hours. like on a roller coaster you can't get off of and you weren't strapped in.

facing criticism for going forward with the trip, despite the forecast. a senior vice president with the cruise line says the strength of the storm caught them offguard. would you say the captain ultimately made a mistake in deciding to go ahead with this voyage? >> if we knew that winds of 125-mile-an-hour sustained were going to be in that area, we never would have gone. there's no question about it. >> reporter: but after reviewing weather reports for the area, a former cruise line captain told us the ship never should have set sail. >> there really was absolutely no way that ship was going to avoid that storm. it's a miracle that the damage and injuries were as minimal as they were. this could have been an absolute catastrophe. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back.finish jet-dry with five power actions that dry dishes and prevent spots and film, so all that's left is the shine.

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the red planet. you can see craters, icy polar dunes and even a possible landing site for a future mission. nasa's next project is called mars 2020. jan craford was allowed in the assembly room of the mars 2020 at the jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena, california. >> reporter: everyone that goes in this room has to be suited up because they can't risk any contamination to this spacecraft, is going to mars in four years with an unmanned rover that's going to explore the surface. and this is all part of nasa's plan to send humans to mars in the next 20 to 30 years. this is what you have to do when you go into a room with a spacecraft headed for mars. wow. that is going to be on the surface of mars? that? >> absolutely. >> lift-off of the atlas 5 with curiosity. >> reporter: it's 200 million

and in just four years, this spacecraft will blasasoff for an unmanned mission to the red planet. it's a crucial step toward nasa's goal of some day sending humans to mars. so everyone that works on this has to wear these suits. nasa agreed to let us go inside the clean room, where even engineers working on the spacecraft have to be covered head to toe. >> it needs to be clean in order to work properly and it's going to mars, we can't have earth stuff going there. we don't want to contaminate mars. >> reporter: for generations, mars has been a source of fascination. >> we can be on mars within 24 hours. >> reporter: a favorite of hollywood. >> 4.5 billion years, nobody here, and now me. >> reporter: but here at the jet longer science fiction but cutting-edge science.

sophisticated landing system for mars 2020. what all gets put on this? >> the most important part that gets put on is the propulsion system, our rockets. system? >> yeah, the rockets. >> reporter: yeah, that's pretty this animation shows how it will slow down the spacecraft. and gently drop an suv-sized rover onto the surface of the planet. >> we are decelerating. >> reporter: nasa used the same technique in 2012 to land the curiosity rover. >> we're at 150 meters per second. >> curiosity is the first rover to really confirm that mars was a habitable place. >> reporter: steven lee is the deputy project manager for curiosity. this is a replica here at the mars yard. >> curiosity really is the parent of mars 2020. >> reporter: so, this is like the mom and daddy. >> the mom and daddy, exactly. >> reporter: the next generation rover will be loaded with a lot more technology. like higher resolution cameras and an advanced robotic arm and

>> this is the rock room. >> reporter: which deputy manager says will help search for signs of martian life. >> we're actually going to drill cores and make small samples of martian rock that we'll leave on the surface. we hope future missions will get those samples, bring it back to earth so earth scientists can study those samples. >> reporter: we've never gotten anything off the surface of mars. >> we've never brought anything back from the surface of mars. >> reporter: and for the first time, nasa will test systems that future astronauts would use to survive their journey. in this room, what you're doing, could determine whether or not humans make it to mars in the near future. >> using this technology, that's absolutely true. and -- >> reporter: that's a lot of pressure. >> it is. we try not to think about it. >> reporter: engineer jim lewis and his team are working on how

into at months fewer, for astronauts to breathe and use as fuel >> inside this chamber is the pressure. >> reporter: this experiment is critical because astronauts couldn't bring enough oxygen from earth to last for what will be a three-year mission. >> if you want to go to mars as a human or if you want to launch a rocket from mars to bring a sample back, you need oxidizer to do that. if i could fly >> reporter: all making this upcoming mission a giant leap for human travel into deep space. and down below >> reporter: do you think that some day humans will be on mars? >> oh, without question. >> reporter: without question? >> absolutely. >> eventually we'll be able to overcome all the challenges that are ahead of us. >> reporter: that seems crazy. it seems like a movie. >> crazy but certainly a wonderful goal. >> reporter: a goal generations in the making. now closer than ever. do you ever think, like, that is 200 million miles away? >> it's sometimes just amazing to imagine that we've built such

complexity that's so capable and we send it on a rocket. when you go out in the morning and you look and it's a point of light in the sky. >> reporter: now for all those kids out there who are going out at night and seeing that point of light in the sky, they could be the first humans to step foot on mars. and this spacecraft carrying that rover for all that important research will pave the way to get them there. >> the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. (sounds of birds whistling) music introducing new k-y touch gel cr me.

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some of the biggest acts in music will gather in los angeles tomorrow to honor four-time grammy winner lionel richie. he's being honored as a 2016 music cares person the year for his remarkable career. michelle miller got to spend some time with him. >> lionel richie's peers will honor him, chris stapleton, rihanna, and so many more. it's expected to raise millions for charity. it's a huge honor for richie, and i got to spend an afternoon with him singing some of those time-honored songs. i can tell you at 66 he's definitely still got it. morning's just a moment away and i without you once again >> i don't even dare jump in. >> reporter: he's responsible

songs of the past five decades. you're once twice three times a lady >> sing it now! >> reporter: let's just say, it's hard not to sing along with lionel richie. yes you're once everybody! twice three times a lady >> the best thing that ever happens, the music stayed around. the music stuck. we're talking about the third generation of folks are now sitting in the audience. >> reporter: and you've been going now, okay, i don't want to date you here -- >> no, no, 230 years, i know. since '73. >> reporter: born and raised in tuskegee, alabama, richie led the commadores to the top of the charts in the 1960s. she's a brick house >> reporter: he went solo in 1982 and became a superstar.

>> reporter: dominating popular music with 13 consecutive top ten hits, including five number ones. oh what a feeling when we're dancing on the ceiling all night long all night >> reporter: richie had no formal music training. he says he just somehow knew how to write songs by ear. >> so, i don't know why i know how to play that. it's just that i can play that. >> and so, trying to explain it to you is harder than trying to -- than just playing, because there's no real -- there. come on --

sail on down the line about a half mile or so and don't really want to know where you're going where you're going maybe once or twice time after time we tried to hold on to what we got but now we're going and i don't mind about the things you're going to >> reporter: of his many hits, this may be richie's most famous line. hello is it me you're looking for >> reporter: of course, when adele released her new single, the similarity was hard not to hear. hello it's me >> reporter: the internet didn't

hit songs. hello hello is it me you're looking >> reporter: let's talk about "hello." who owns it, you or adele? >> well, i was here first. no, no, listen. first of all, there's only so many ways you can say hello. you know, so -- so many people your song. the girl stole your word. i said, no, i don't own hello. >> reporter: there are one-hit wonders. and are gone in a minute. >> yeah. it's not an easy business. ego is the first part that kills you. and then the second part of it stress. because can you outdo your last show? i bet you can't do that again. >> reporter: so, how did you do it? >> reporter: but how did you deal with the stress? >> i kept going back to the alabama. we weren't keeping up with the

we were just keeping up with the comodores. it was never that hanging at the club, here's the drug scene. my grandmother, she said, now, you have to promise me one thing. i don't want you drinking any of that dope. don't drink any of that dope. i just said, grand marks i promise you, i won't -- >> reporter: i won't drink it. >> -- i won't drink any dope. i promise you. focused on making music and giving back. >> as i started gaining a bit of success, then it was even more apparent that, you know, how do i give a voice to the voiceless? >> reporter: he did just that when he and michael jackson sat down to write "we are the world." there comes a time when we heed a certain call >> reporter: the remarkable collaboration raised more than $60 million for humanitarian aid in africa. we are the world we are the children we are the ones that make

so let's start giving >> reporter: this year music cares is paying tribute to richie for both his musical contributions and decades of charitable work. >> i said, i'll receive this award if it doesn't mean good-bye because, as far as i'm concerned, i'm just getting started now. all night long all night >> reporter: all night long. richie puts on a great show and his residency at planet hollywood in vegas begins in april. in addition to music cares tribute, big stars will be joining richie at the grammys.

three times a lady when the engines failed on the plane i was flying, i knew what to do to save my passengers. but when my father sank into depression, i didn't know how to help him. when he ultimately shot himself, he left our family devastated. don't let this happen to you. if you or a loved one is suicidal, call the national suicide prevention lifeline. no matter how hopeless or helpless you feel, with the right help, you can get well. (franklin d. roosevelt) the inherent right to work is one of the elemental privileges of a free people. endowed, as our nation is, with abundant physical resources... ...and inspired as it should be to make those resources

...we approach reemployment with real hope of finding a better answer than we have now. narrator: donate to goodwill where your donations help fund job placement and training for people in your community. the hunt continues in the florida everglades for those giant burmese pythons. it's a month-long harvest aimed at bringing down the population.

everglades, this is basking season for burmese pythons, when the cold-blooded snakes seek out the warmth of the sun. >> there's a lot of native plants we should be aware of. >> reporter: tom rahill's team is hunting for snakes. burmese pythons are an invasive species and an evasive one. tom, one of rahhill's team. it's a challenge, though, isn't it? >> it is a challenge. >> reporter: burmese pythons average about eight feet and camouflage themselves in more than 1 million acres of swamp and sawgrass here. rahill is known as the snake whisperer. >> i've got over 300 captured personally. >> reporter: he tracked down his first burmese in 2008 and was hooked. >> you go into an alpha predator mind set. if you don't have an alpha predator mind set, you could get

>> reporter: first, they bite. >> hundreds of sharp, razor-sharp teeth, you just have to breathe deep and just let it release on its own. if you pull away from a python when it bites you, your arm is going to be shredded. >> reporter: and big burmese can also coil and crush you. >> i had ahold of a 17-foot python a number of years back. totally ecstatic. whoa! this is great. i had a hold of it like i was a feather on a freight train. >> reporter: a big burmese can swallow a deer. in this photo, the alligator inside the python's stomach was so big, the snam actually exploded. like the population of the snakes in the everglades. a female can lay up to 100 eggs. >> there could be tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of snakes, we just don't know. >> reporter: somers worked for company. some pet owners release the burmese into the wild when their snakes grew too big. >> they don't have any natural predators in the state of florida.

>> reporter: for help removing them, florida's fish and wildlife officials started the python challenge. top prize, $5,000. rahill is competing with his team of volunteers called the swamp apes. these hunters grab a burmese by the neck, behind the jaw, and let it wear itself out, and then drop it into this bag. they can deliver it dead or alive to wildlife officials. mark strassmann in the florida everglades. that's the "overnight news" for this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back a little later for the morning news and "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center here

this is "cbs overnight news qult ". the next primary sanders the opportunity to prove himself he will need to win the nomination of the african-americans. >> senator, do you worry at all that you will be the instrument of recording history as senator clinton claims she might be the first woman president? somebody with my background. somebody with my views. somebody who has spent his entire life taking on the big

be an accomplishment. >> you know, i have said many times, you know, i am not asking people to support me because i'm a woman. i'm asking people to support me because i think i'm the most person to be the president and commander in chief. and i appreciate greatly senator sanders voting record and i was very proud to get the endorsement of the planned parenthood action fund because i've been a leader on these issues. i have gone time and time again to take on the vested interest who would keep women's health care decisions, the province of the government instead of women -- >> sanders faces an uphill battle in south carolina. more than half the electorate is african-american. a group that's long supported clinton and her husband. here's nancy cordes. >> hillary clinton has been there. >> reporter: nearly 20 members

caucus vowed to endorse hillary clinton. >> hillary has been there to deal with the gun violence and the african-american community across the country. >> reporter: she has prayed with black pastors, met with black lives matter protesters and this ad in the south. >> you have to face up to the hard truth of injustice and systematic racism. >> reporter: her campaign says sanders is a johnny come lately. georgia congressman john lewis scoffed at that today. >> but i never saw him. i never met him. i would student -- but i met hillary clinton, i met president clinton. >> reporter: sanders speaks frequently about incarceration rates and poverty. >> 51% of young african-american

unemployed or underemployed. that is a national tragedy. that has got to change. >> reporter: the influential writer ta-nehisi coates and harry bellefonte endorsed him today. >> i think he represents opportunity. i think he represents a moral imperative. >> reporter: when clinton and sanders face off here in milwaukee tonight, she'll argue that she will actually do more to carry on the legacy of the nation's first black president while he'll argue, scott, that he'll actually do more to help minorities with his proposals for things like free public college tuition. >> thanks very much. the republican primary in south carolina is just nine days away and the attacks are getting louder and cruder. here's major garrett. >> we win here, we're going to run the table. >> reporter: donald trump in south carolina, by turns

>> what the hell is this guy talking about? i don't know what the hell i was doing. >> senator marco rubio. >> reporter: marco rubio campaigning in the state with more conservative cultural instincts criticized trump's language on an assault on decency. >> you have a presidential candidate saying profanity from a stage. profanity from a stage. i mean, all these things undermine what we teach our children. >> reporter: jeb bush also piled on. >> he says, we're going to bomb the blank, blank, blank out of isis, using a vulgarity. that's not leadership. >> reporter: in 2012 about two-thirds of american primary voters in south carolina describe themselves as evangelical or born-again christians. presenting a challenge for trump, despite his large lead in the polls. voters we spoke to here were divide the. >> just the way he carries himself and when he claims to be

one verse out of the bible, i mean, come on. >> i think that's what a lot of people like about him, he says what he means and means what he says. i love it. >> reporter: trump today pulled an ad criticizing ted cruz and said he would only run positive ads from now on. john kasich's been doing that for weeks and describes the bush campaign of enjoying all the texas chain saw massacre. >> cbs will host the next republican presidential date d john dickerson is the moderator. the zika virus, suspected of causing birth defects keeps spreading. 79 cases now in the u.s. it's active in 26 countries and terts in the americas. brazil is the hardest hit. with the olympics there this summer, hard choices have to be made.

>> morgan in the box and they're on the board! >> reporter: the u.s. women's soccer team started on the road to rio last night with a win in their first olympic qualifying game. the team's goalkeeper, hope solo, is raising concern about the risk of zika during the games. >> i want to go. fortunately, the olympics aren't today. so, we have six months. we have a little bit of time to figure things out. >> reporter: u.s. olympic committee kei scott blackmun memo. he says the u.s. is working with situation. but no matter the preparation, he wrote, there will alwaysing risks with olympic competition. officials with the rio games told cbs news all rooms in the olympic village will be air conditioned and venues inspected

where mosquitos might breed. the main worry is the suspected link between the virus and microcephaly, an unusually small head at birth. that link has been strengthened within the past day by reports both in brazil and the united states. the virus has now been found in the mraplacenta of mothers who miscarried. i spoke with an official from the rio organizing committee today and asked, are there any thoughts of canceling or postponing the olympics, or is it full steam ahead? he said, full steam ahead. he said this weekend they're having the [ vocalizing ] [ buzzing ] [ tree crashes ]

in oregon today, a six-week

armed anti-government protesters ended peacefully. the final four holdouts surrendered. one refused to go quietly, though, ranting, liberty or death. tonight we've learned the isis terrorist group in syria and iraq has chemical weapons in its arsenal. in a rare interview for "60 minutes" we spoke to the director of the cia, john brennan. >> we have a number of incidents where isil has used chemical munitions on the battlefield. >> artillery shells. >> yeah, sure. >> isis has access to chemical artillery shells? >> there are reports that isis has access to chemical precursors munitions that they can use. >> the cia believes that isis has the ability to manufacture small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas. and the capability of exporting

potential for that. this is why it's so important to cut off the various transportation routes and smuggling routes they have used. >> are there american assets on the ground right now hunting this down? >> the u.s. intelligence is actively involved in being a part of the effort to destroy isil and to get as much insight into what they have on the ground inside of syria and iraq. >> we'll have our full interview with cia director brennan, including the threat that he says keeps him up at night. that's this sunday on "60 minutes". millions have pled syria, but there are tens of thousands who can't get out. they're trapped between russian bombers and a closed turkish border. hollywood williams is following this. >> reporter: imagine the terror. never knowing where and when the warplanes will hit next. we can't independently verify

show the aftermath of air strikes on the town of tel rifaat this week. in the syrian regime's new offensive, which is backed by russian air power, civilians are once again paying with their blood. crossing the border into turk y we met abdul kahrim bahloul, who runs a school in tel rifaat. the shelling and air strikes are random, he told us. homes are destroyed and children's bodies lie in shreds on the grounds. he told us he came to ask the turkish authorities to give refuge to children from the town. but after absorbing more than 2 million syrians, turkey is reluctant to let any more in. syrian regime forces have now nearly encircled the city of aleppo. the u.n. fears that 300,000

they were in the town of madaya, during a siege by the regime. more than 40 starved to death. dalia al awqati that her charity, mercy corps, feeds and clothes half a million people in northern syria each month. >> it's not much. >> no, but it's essentially to keep a family alive. >> reporter: now they're racing to get food parcels to families in aleppo city, fearing more starvation in a country that's already exhausted by a senseless war. and if syria's war wasn't complicated enough, today some american-backed rebels told us they were attacked by kurdish fighters, who were also supported by the u.s. now, the kurdish fighters say it wasn't deliberate, but, scott, this shows just how difficult it is for the u.s. to unite different faxes on the ground in syria. >> holy williams, thanks.

stop the war? for that we turn to margaret brennan. margaret? >> reporter: well, today, the u.s. is trying to broker an immediate cease-fire. secretary kerry pushed russia and iran to stop attack in aleppo and let in aid to bee sieged areas. vladimir putin's military has cut off supply lines to the u.s.-backed rebels, and u.s. officials warn that that strengthens both isis and assad and it leaves the u.s. with little leverage in a war president obama has resisted getting involved in for five years now. >> margaret brennan at the white house, thank you. today cleveland mayor frank jackson apologized to the family of tamir rice after the city billed his estate $500 for ambulance services. the city also tore up the bill.

rice who was 12. he was holding a gun that turned out to be a toy. he died the next day at the hospital. the officer was not charged. in a big development today, scientists have announced what may be mongsamong the greatest discovery in the history of physics. they believe they found gravity waves predicted by einstein but two huge antennas, one in washington state, the other in louisiana, detected a gravity wave last september. this confirms einstein was right when he described the universe as like a fabric, woven from the three dimensions, plus time. what physicist call space time. the gravity wave was set off sending a ripple through the air. so tiny one scientists saying

milky way galaxy about the width of a thumb, observing the fabric of the universe stretches and opens may open an entirely new understanding of nature. coming up next -- how explosions like this are improving airport security. and a scoop by a newspaper sets off an here in the city, parking is hard to find. seems like everyone drives. and those who do should switch to geico because you could save hundreds on car insurance. ah, perfect. valet parking. hello! here's the keys. and, uh, go easy on my ride, mate. hm, wouldn't mind some of that beef wellington... to see how much you could save on car insurance, go to geico.com. ah! (car alarm sounds)

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more professional and effective force of airport screeners. kris van cleave is in glenco, georgia, tonight at the tsa's new training academy. >> reporter: seeing the power of even a small explosive made the threat real for nearly 200 soon-to-be airport screeners. >> two, one. >> reporter: they're going through a new training program here in georgia designed to address troubling security gaps within the transportation security administration. a damning report by homeland securities inspector general show screeners failed to detect 67 of 70 suspicious items brought through airport checkpoints. peter neffenger became the inspector general.

the academy instructors. she was a flight attendant on pan-am flight 330 standing where the 737 was preparing to land in honolulu. >> when i talk to my class, i tell them, you're not here by accident. and i wasn't saved at that moment by accident because that threat in 1982 is today's threat still. >> reporter: the academy marks the first time all transportation security officers will have standardized training. previously new hires were largely trained on the job at their home airport. >> t ig, if they're going through checkpoints today with one of their teams trying to bring things that should be flagged, will those things be caught. >> i think we'll catch them today. >> reporter: all of them? >> i don't know. i sure hope we catch all of them. >> reporter: the students will work at this mock checkpoint. it's complete with all the

to use in the field.

and we'll be right back. a small catholic university in maryland is in turmoil after a report that its president wanted to weed out struggling students quickly to improve the school's standing. some professors had been sent packing. here's chip reid. >> reporter: ed egan was a professor at mt. st. mary's university in maryland. what would you normally be doing on a day like this? >> i'd object campus today. i'd be teaching my class on the first amendment. >> reporter: but on monday he

official said he is per sona non grata and not welcome to visit the university's campus because he violated his duty of loyalty to the school. it all began last month when the student newspaper reported that the school president simon newman wanted professors to identify struggling students in the first few weeks of school so they could be encouraged to drop out. some faculty members resisted and the school paper reported that newman told them, this is hard for you because you think of the students as cuddly bunnies but you can't. you just have to drown the bunnies. put a block to their heads. many students and faculty were outraged. it's not just the words but it's the plan that the words described. >> reporter: what's wrong with the plan? >> weeding out students because we think they might not do well in order to make the numbers

that's not mt. st. mary's. >> reporter: egan was the faculty adviser to the school paper and says he's being punished for accurate but embarrassing reporting by the students. you did not tell them what to write? >> no. i did not. not in any way. >> reporter: they can't be manipulated. they are independent, strong, bright people. >> reporter: a petition protesting the firing of egan and another professor has been signed by about 7500 professors and across the country and the

questions for interview. every day it's getting closer going faster than a roller coaster a love like yours will surely come my way hey, hey, hey babies aren't fully developed until at least 39 weeks. if your pregnancy is healthy, wait for labor to begin on its own. a healthy baby is worth the wait. o0 c1 travel is part of the american way of life. when we're on vacation, we keep an eye out for anything that looks out of place. [ indistinct conversations ] miss, your bag. when we travel from city to city, we pay attention to our surroundings.

everyone plays a role in keeping our community safe. whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, be aware of your surroundings. if you see something suspicious,

our final story is written on the face of a young child, whose joy mere words cannot describe. here's elaine quijano. >> elsa had magical powers and could create things out of snow and ice. >> reporter: 4-year-old mattie zapata can't get enough of her books on tape because the voice is her mother's, mandi balderas, locked in a prison four hours away. >> i tell her how i missed her. >> even though i'm not there physically, i know she's listening to my voice, spending time with me. >> reporter: each month while balderas and other selected inmates record a story and send it home. it's called storybook project and runs in six women's prisons across texas. >> it was a sunny afternoon at the end of may. >> this begins within the walls of a castle. >> we weren't scared as long as we were together.

women nationwide lived with their children before prison. storybook tries to ease the pain of separation. >> if you put your hand in mine, you feel love powers. >> reporter: mattie was 18 months old when her mother went to prison that killed the other driver, a crime of manslaughter that victimized her daughter, too. >> i cry for mommy. >> how come? >> because i miss her. >> if it wasn't for the books, she wouldn't be able to have the bond that we have now. i know that means something to her and i know it means something to me. >> reporter: but the fact s you got behind the wheel of a car when you had alcohol in your system and a person is dead because of that. didn't you forfeit your right to do things like this when you made that decision? >> yes, i made a decision. but it's not about the decision anymore. it's about how we handle the circumstances.

handle the sishs, by helping my kids the best i can from where i'm at. >> hey, mattie, it's me, mommy. >> reporter: balders has four years left of an eight-year sentence. when she finally re-unites with her family, she hopes her children won't mistake her voice for a stranger's. >> you are my sunshine, my only sunshine -- >> reporter: elaine quijano, cbs news, columbus, texas. >> i love you always, mommy. and that's the overnight news for this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back with us later for the morning news and for "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new york, i'm scott pelley. this is the "cbs overnight news." hello and welcome to the

the federal government is warning a possible shortages of test kits for the zika virus. the tests are designed to let pregnant women know if they've been infected by the virus that can cause severe birth defects. the cdc is shipping test kits but admits there may not be enough to go around. the virus is mostly spread by mosquitos. those in southern states are especially vulnerable. and the cdc is warninging of a widespread outbreak in puerto rico. women who are thinking about getting pregnant are to avoid traveling to latin america, especially brazil. brazil is hosting the summer olympics and that puts america's female athletes in a bind. >> morgan in the box with that and they're on the board. >> reporter: world class female athletes, including members of the u.s. women's soccer team are raising safety concerns ahead of this summer's olympics in rio dede janeiro

earlier this week star player alex morgan called the virus a very scary thing and goalie hope solo saying it's possible she might skip the games. myself. wouldn't go. we have six months. we have a little time to figure things out. >> our goal really is to protect pregnant women. >> reporter: the cdc says it's over the rapidly spreading virus. suspected ties between the virus and the birth defect microcephaly appear to be strengthening. on wednesday the cdc reported that zika was found in the brain tissue of two brazilian babies who died from microcephaly less than 24 hours after birth. >> the strongest evidence today that zika is the cause of definitive. >> reporter: the new england separate case. according to the report, a

slovenia chose to have an abortion after learning the child she was carrying had severe developmental abnormality abnormality. the woman who had been living in northern brazil showed zika symptoms during her pregnancy. officials say the virus is spreading quickly because the aedes aegypti, which transmits the disease, is difficult to eradicate. >> the eggs can be drought-resist end and persist for some time. and it can bite four or five people in the course of one blood meal, meaning it can spread disease quite quickly. >> reporter: according to the cdc, a zika vaccine could be available by the end of 2017. meanwhile, a group called catholics for choice is asking pope francis not to condemn contraception or abortion in order to protect the women. the department of homeland security is taking steps to

for the first time the transportation security administration will start training all screeners at one centralized academy, sort of a tsa boot camp. kris van cleave reports from glenco, georgia. >> this checkpoint is the centerpiece of the new tsa academy and the two-week training course. this gross out of a top to bottom review done by the agency that found gaps in training and proficiency on equipment like this. the new training academy ames to change that. an explosive lesson on the dangers these soon-to-be airport screeners will be asked to help prevent. >> this is a explosive -- >> reporter: the nearly 200 students assembled are some of the first to go through the new tsa training academy. >> it's controlled chaos. it's very difficult job. >> reporter: among those, 19-year-old yasmin. >> it's a challenge but rewarding challenge. >> reporter: this is the first

after 9/11 that the tsa has centralized training of newly hired trainers who make between $31,000 and $45,000 a year. previously they were trained on the job at the airport they work. the academy opened in january as the tsa tries to recover from a series of high-profile embarrassments, including two officers allegedly groping passengers in denver and where screeners failed to cast 67 out of 70 tests. peter neffenger took over aadministrator following that report. >> i tried to refocus on the mission. what is a screener's job is to ensure something that doesn't get past the checkpoint doesn't get past. >> reporter: do you think we'll catch -- all of them? >> i sure hope we catch all of thempy my tests show we have dramatically improved. >> reporter: can you show us your finding? >> i won't publicly because this goes to --

the vast majority? the majority? >> majority. >> reporter: for shawn weeks-freeman, the success of the screeners trained here. she was a flight attendant on pan-am in august of 1982 and a few row as way when a bomb went off on board. a 16-year-old passenger died. more than a dozen others were hurt. >> when i talk to my class, i tell them, you're not here by accident. and i wasn't saved at that moment by accident. because that threat in 1982 is today's threat still. >> royal caribbean's "anthem of the sea" is undergoing repairs and inspection at a dock in nj nmg. the ship sailed into a massive storm last week on its way to florida and had to limp back to port. passengers describe a terrifying trip and there are calls for a federal investigation into why the ship set sail in the first place.

>> reporter: this gives you some idea of the enormity of the ship. look at the size of this thing. that tells you something about the size of the storm that ran into that tossed this around like a paper cup. last night passengers streamed off, some were cheering, some were kissing the ground. who can blame them when you think about what they went through. beatened, battered but hoim royal caribbean's "anthem of the seas" caped back into cape liberty last night. >> free at last, free at last! >> reporter: putting an end to the terrifying trip. but as some of the 4500 passengers poured out of the storm-damaged cruise line. >> awful experience. awful. >> reporter: frustrations boiled over. >> we thought we were all going to die. >> the worst part was the fear and the lies because we were told over and over we were in good shape. >> the reality is we shouldn't have set sail. >> we were trapped in a room for 17 hours.

couldn't get off of and you weren't strapped in. >> reporter: royal caribbean is facing criticism for going forward with the trips despite the forecast. a senior vice president with the cruise line says the strength of the storm caught them offguard. would you say the captain ultimately made a mistake in deciding to go ahead with this voyage? >> if we knew that winds of 125-mile-an-hour sustained were going to be in that yashgs we never would have gone. there's no question about it. >> reporter: but after reviewing weather reports for the area, a former cruise line captain told us the ship never should have set sail. >> there really was absolutely no way that ship was going to avoid that storm pipts a miracle the injuries and damage were as if a denture were to be put under a microscope, we can see all the bacteria that still exists. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher, brighter denture every day.

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new scenes from above the red planet. you can see craters, icy polar dunes and even a possible landing site. nasa's next project is called mars 2020. jan crawford was allowed in the room at the jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena, california. >> everyone that goes in this room has to be suited up because they can't risk any contamination to this spacecraft is going to mars in four years with an unmanned rover that's going to explore the surface. this is all part of nasa's plan to send humans to mars in the next 20 to 30 years. this is what you have to do when you go into a room with a spacecraft headed for mars. wow. that is going to be on the surface of mars? that? >> absolutely. >> lift-off of the atlas 5 with curiosity.

miles away, a speck in the sky. and in just four years, this spacecraft will blast off for an unmanned mission to the red planet. it's a crucial step toward nasa's goal of some day sending humans to mars. so everyone that works on this has to wear these suits. nasa agreed to let us go inside the clean room, where even engineers working on the spacecraft have to be covered head to toe. >> it needs to be cleaned in order to work properly and it's going to the surface of mars. we can't have earth stuff going there. we don't want to contaminate mars. >> reporter: for generations, mars has been a source of fascination. >> we can be on mars within 24 hours. >> reporter: a favorite of hollywood. >> 4.5 billion years, nobody here, and now me. >> reporter: but here at the jet propulsion laboratory, it's no longer science fiction but

this piece of metal will be a sophisticated landing system for mars 2020. what all is put on this? >> the most important part that gets put on is the propulsion system, our rockets. >> reporter: yeah, that's pretty important. this animation shows how it will slow down the spacecraft. and gently drop an suv-sized rover onto the surface of the planet. nasa used the same technique in 2012 to land the curiosity rover. >> we're at 150 meters per second. >> curiosity is the first rover to really confirm that mars was a habitable place. >> reporter: steven lee is the deputy project manager for curiosity. this is a replica here at the mars yard. >> curiosity really is the parent of mars 2020. >> reporter: so, this is like the mom and daddy. >> the mom and daddy, exactly. >> reporter: the next generation rover will be loaded with a lot more technology.

and an advanced robotic arm and drill. >> this is the rock room. >> reporter: which deputy manager says will help search for signs of martian life. >> we're going to drill core and make small samples of rock that we'll leave on the surface. we hope future missions will get those samples, bring it back to earth so earth scientists can study those samples. >> reporter: we've never gotten anything off the surface of mars. and for the first time, nasa will test missions that future astronauts would use to survive their journey. in this room, what you're doing, could determine whether or not humans make it to mars in the near future. >> using this technology, that's absolutely true. and -- >> reporter: that's a lot of pressure. >> it is. we try not to think. >> reporter: they are working on how to turn the martian

astronauts to breathe and use as fuel. >> inside this chamber is the pressure. >> reporter: this experiment is critical because astronauts couldn't bring enough oxygen from earth to last for what will be a three-year mission. >> if you want to go to mars as a human or if you want to launch a rocket from mars to bring a sample back, you need oxidizer to do that. if i could fly >> reporter: all making this upcoming mission a giant leap for human travel into deep space. and down below >> reporter: do you think that some day humans will be on mars? >> oh, without question. >> reporter: without question? >> absolutely. >> eventually we'll be able to overcome all the challenges that are ahead of us. >> reporter: that seems crazy. seems like a movie. >> crazy but certainly a wonderful goal. >> reporter: a goal generations in the making. now closer than ever. do you ever think, like, that is 200 million miles away? >> it's sometimes just amazing

a large system, so much complexity that's so capable and we send it on a rocket. when you go out in the morning and you look and it's a point of light in the sky. >> reporter: now for all those kids out there who are going out at night and seeing that point of light in the sky, they could be the first humans to step foot on mars. and this spacecraft carrying that rover for all that important research will pave the way to get them there. (sounds of birds whistling) music introducing new k-y touch gel cr me. for massage and intimacy.

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music will gather in los angeles tomorrow to honor four-time grammy winner lionel richie. he's being honored for his remarkable career. >> lionel ritchie's peers will honor him, reihanna and is expected to raise millions for charity. it's a huge honor for ritchie and i got to spend an after with him singing those time-honored songs. i can tell you at 66 he's definitely still got it. morning's just a moment away and i without you once again >> reporter: he's responsible

songs of the past five decades. you're once twice three times a lady >> sing it now! >> reporter: let's just say, it's hard not to sing along with lionel ritchie. yes you're once everybody! twice three times a lady around. it stuck. we'r talking about the third generation of folks are now sitting in the audience. >> reporter: and you've been going now, okay, i don't want to date you here -- >> no, no, 230 years, i know. since '73. >> reporter: born and raised in tuskegee, alabama, ritchie led the come adores to the top of the charts in the 19 0s. she's a brick house >> reporter: he went solo in

say you say me >> reporter: dominating popular music with 13 consecutive top ten hits, including five number ones. oh what a feeling when we're dancing on the ceiling all night long >> reporter: ritchie had no formal music training. he says he just somehow knew how to write songs by ear. >> so, i don't know why i know how to play that. it's just that i can play that. >> and so, trying to explain it to you is harder than trying to -- than just playing, because there's no real -- >> reporter: you can't stop just

>> but you got to know that -- sail on down the line about a half mile or so and don't really want to know where you're going where you're going maybe once or twice time after time we tried but now we're going and i don't mind about the things you're going >> reporter: of his many hits, this may be ritchie's most famous line. hello is it me you're looking for >> reporter: of course, when adele released her new sing, the similarity was hard not to hear. hello it's me

hit songs. hello hello is it me you're looking for >> reporter: let's talk about "hello." who owns it, you or adele? >> well, i was here first. no, no, listen. first of all, there's only so many ways you can say hello. so many people call me, rich, the goal stole your song. the girl stole your word. no, i don't own hello. hello >> reporter: there are one-hit wonders. people who are hot and blazing and are gone in a minute. >> yeah. it's not an easy business. ego is the first part that kills you. the second part of it is just the stress. it's the stress. because can you outdo your last show? i bet you can't do that again. >> reporter: so, how did you do it? >> i did it again -- >> reporter: but how did you deal with the stress?

we weren't keeping up with the joneses in alabama. we were just keeping up with the comodores. we weren't at the clubs, hanging at the club scene. my grand month said, just don't drink any of that dope. i said, grandma, i promise you i won't drink any dope. i promise you. >> reporter: instead, ritchie was focused on making music and giving back. >> as i started gaining a bit of success, then it was even more apparent that, you know, how do i give a voice to the voiceless? >> reporter: he did just that when he and michael jackson sat down to write "we are the world." there comes a time when we heed a certain call >> reporter: the remarkable collaboration raised more than $60 million for humanitarian aid in africa. we are the world

we are the ones that make a brighter day so let's start giving >> reporter: this year music cares is paying tribute to ritchie for both his musical contributions and decades of charitable work. >> i said, i'll receive this award if it doesn't mean good-bye because, as far as i'm concerned, i'm just getting started now. all night long all night >> reporter: all night long. ritchie puts on a great show and his resistcy at planet hollywood in vegas begins april. in addition to start's music cares tribute, big stars will be joining ritchie at the grammys. yes you're once embarrassed by a prostate exam? imagine how your doctor feels. as a urologist, i have performed 9,421 and a half prostate exams. so why do i do it? because i get paid. und... on this side of the glove i know prostate exams can save lives.

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the hunt continues in the florida everglades for those giant pythons.

>> reporter: in the florida everglades, this is basking season for burmese pythons, when the cold-blooded snakes seek out the warmth of the sun. >> there's a lot of native >> reporter: tom's team is hunting for snakes. burmese pythons are an invasive species and an evasive one. tom, one of the team. >> reporter: it's a challenge, though. >> it is a challenge. >> reporter: burmese pythons average about eight feet and camouflage themselves in more than 1 million acres of sawgrass here. rayhill is known as the snake whispers. >> i've got over 300 captured personally. >> reporter: he tracked down his first burmese in 2008 and was hooked. >> you go into an alpha predator mind set. if you don't, you could get hurt conceivably.

>> if hundreds of sharp, razor-sharp teeth, you just have to breathe deep and just let it release on its own. if you pull away from a python when it bites you, your arm is going to be shredded. >> reporter: and big burmese can also coil and crush you. >> i had ahold of a 17-foot python a number of years back. totally ecstatic. this is great. i had a hold of it like i was a feather on a freight train. >> reporter: a big burmese can swallow a deer. in this video, the alligator inside the python's stomach was so big the snake actually exploded. like the population of the snakes in the everglades. a female can lay up to 100 eggs. >> there could be tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of snakes, we just don't know. >> reporter: penny works for the florida conservation company. some pet owners release the burmese into the wild when their

>> they don't have any natural predators in the state of florida. >> reporter: for help removing them, florida's fish and wildlife started the python challenge. top prize, $5,000. rayhill is competing with his group of volunteers called the swamp apes. they grab a burmese by the neck, behind the jaw and let it wear itself out and then drop it into this bag. they can deliver it dead or alive to wildlife officials. mark strassmann in the florida everglades. that's the "overnight news" for this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back a little later for the morning news and "cbs morning news." from the broadcast center in new york city. this is the "cbs overnight news". >> the presidential campaign

south carolina, the next primary state. for the democrats, it's a chance for hillary clinton to regain her footing after being soundly beaten by bernie sanders in new hampshire. for sanders, it's the opportunity to introduce himself to a group that he will need to win the nomination. african-americans. clinton and sanders squared off last night in milwaukee for their final debate before the south carolina vote. here is some of what they had to say. >> senator, do you worry at all that you will be the instrument of thwarting history, as senator clinton keeps claiming, that she might be the first woman president? >> well, you know, i think from an historical point of view, somebody with my background, somebody with my views, somebody who has spent his entire life taking on the big money interest, i think a sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as

>> you know, i have said -- i have said many times, you know, i am not asking people to support me because i'm a woman. i'm asking people to support me because i think i'm the most qualified, experienced and ready person to be the president and the commander in chief. and i appreciate greatly senator sanders' voting record. and i was very proud to get the endorsement of the planned parenthood action fund because i've been a leader on these issues. i have gone time and time again to take on the vested interest who would keep women's health care decisions, the province of the government instead of women -- >> sanders faces an uphill battle in south carolina. more than half the electorate is african-american. a group that has long supported both clinton and her husband. here's nancy cordes. >> hillary clinton has been there. >> reporter: nearly 20 members of the congressionallack caucus vowed today to campaign

hakeem jeffries of new york was one of them. >> hillary clinton has been there from the very beginning to deal with the gun violence epidemic and its impact on african-american communities across the country. >> reporter: she has prayed with black pastors, met with black lives matter protesters and is airing this new ad in the south. >> you have to face up to the hard truth of injustice and systematic racism. >> reporter: her campaign says sanders is a johnny-come-lately on race issues. he says he got his start in activism during the civil rights movement. georgia congressman john lewis scoffed at that today. >> but i never saw him. i never met him. i would chair the student nonviolent coordinating committee, but i met hillary clinton. i met president clinton. >> reporter: sanders does speak frequently about incarceration rates and poverty. >> 51% of young african-american

unemployed or underemployed. that is a national tragedy. that has got to change. >> reporter: the influential writer ta-nehisi coates called sanders the best option and harry belafonte endorsed him today. >> i think he represents i think he represents a moral imperative. >> reporter: when clinton and sanders face off here in milwaukee tonight, she'll argue that she will actually do more to carry on the legacy of the nation's first black president, while he'll argue, scott, that he'll actually do more to help minorities with his proposals for things like free public college tuition. >> nancy, thanks very much. the republican primary in south carolina is just nine day as way and the attacks are getting louder and cruder. here's major garrett. >> we win here, we're going to run the table. >> reporter: donald trump in south carolina, by turns optimistic and vulgar. >> what the hell is this guy talking about?

doing. >> what the hell are we doing? >> senator marco rubio. >> reporter: marco rubio campaigning in the state with more conservative cultural instincts criticized trump's language as an assault on decency. >> you turn on the tvs you have a leading presidential candidate saying profanity from a stage. profanity from a stage. i mean, all these things undermine what we teach our children. >> reporter: jeb bush also piled on. >> he says, we're going to bomb the blank, blank, blank out of isis, using a vulgarity. that's not leadership. >> reporter: in 2012 about two-thirds of republican primary voters in south carolina described themselves as evangelical or born hive-again christians. presenting a challenge for trump, despite his large lead in the polls. voters we spoke to here were divide. >> just the way he carries himself and when he claims to be a christian and you only quote one verse out of the bible, i

>> i think that's what a lot of people like about him, he says what he means and means what he says. i love it. >> reporter: trump today pulled an ad criticizing ted cruz and said he would only run positive ads from now on. john kasich's campaign has been doing that for weeks and described bush's efforts in south carolina of having all the joy of a texas chain saw massacre. >> thanks, major. cbs news will host the next republican debate. that's saturday evening at 9:00 p.m. eastern time and john dickerson is the moderator. in another important story tonight, the zika virus, suspected of causing birth defects, keeps spreading. 79 cases now in the u.s. it's active in 26 countries and territories in the americas. brazil is the hardest hit. and with the olympics there this summer, hard choices have to be made. here's dr. jon lapook. >> morgan in the box and they're

>> reporter: the u.s. women's soccer team started on the road to rio last night with a win in their first olympic qualifying game. the team's goalkeeper, hope solo, is raising concern about the risk of zika infection during the games. >> if the olympics were today, i want to go. fortunately, the olympics aren't today. so, we have six months. we have a little bit of time to figure things out. >> reporter: u.s. olympic committee ceo scott blackmun tried to address questions and doubts in a memo to prospective olympians. he said the organization is working with the cdc and infectious disease specialists to closely monitor the situation. but no matter the preparation, he wrote, there will always be risks with olympic competition. officials with the rio games told cbs news all rooms in the olympic village will be air conditioned and venues inspected daily to remove standing water where mosquitos might breed. the population of the mosquito

significantly in the cooler, dryer months of august and september, when the games will take place. the main worry is the suspected link between the virus and microcephaly, an unusually small head at birth. that link has been strengthened within the past day by reports both in brazil and the united states. the virus has now been found in the placenta of mothers who miscarried and the brain tissue of newborns with microcephaly who died. i spoke with an official from the rio olympic organizing committee today and asked, are there any thoughts of canceling or postponing the olympics or is it full steam ahead? he said, full steam ahead. he said this weekend they're having a test event in almost sixty million americans are affected by mental illness. together we can help them with three simple words. my name is chris noth

from maine to maui, thousands of high school students across the country are getting in on the action by volunteering in their communities. chris young: action teams of high school students are joining volunteers of america and major league baseball players to help train and inspire the next generation of volunteers. carlos pea: it's easy to start an action team at your school so you, too, can get in on the action.

if you were a hippie in the '60s, you need to know. it's the dawning of the age of aquarius. yeah, and something else that's cool. what? osteoporosis is preventable. all: osteo's preventable? right on! if you dig your bones, protect them. all: cbs cares! in oregon today, a six-week

ended peacefully. the final four holdouts surrendered. one refused to go quietly, though, ranting, liberty or death. tonight weave learned that the isis terrorist group in syria and iraq has chemical weapons in its arsenal. in a rare interview for "60 minutes" we spoke to the director of the cia, john brennan. >> we have a number of incidents where isil has used chemical munitions on the battlefield. >> artillery shells. >> yeah, sure. >> isis has access to chemical artillery shells? >> there are reports that isis has access to chemical precursors and munitions that they can use. >> the cia believes that isis has the ability to manufacture small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas. and the capability of exporting those chemicals to the west? >> i think there's always the

this is why it's so important to cut off the various transportation routes and smuggling routes they have used. >> are there american assets on the ground right now hunting this down? >> the u.s. intelligence is actively involved in being a part of the effort to destroy isil and to get as much insight into what they have on the ground inside of syria and iraq. >> we'll have our full interview with cia director brennan, including the threat that he says keeps him up at night. that's this sunday on "60 minutes". millions have fled syria, but there are tens of thousands who can't get out. they're trapped between russian bombers and a closed turkish border. holly williams is following this. >> reporter: imagine the terror. never knowing where and when the warplanes will hit next. we can't independently verify these videos, but they appear to

strikes on the town of tel rifaat this week. in the syrian regime's new offensive, which is backed by russian air power, civilians are once again paying with their blood. crossing the border into turkey, we met abdul kahrim bahloul, who runs a school in tel rifaat. the shelling and air strikes are random, he told us. homes are destroyed and children's bodies lie in shreds on the ground. he told us he came to ask the turkish authorities to give refuge to children from the town. but after absorbing more than 2 million syrians, turkey is reluctant to let any more in. syrian regime forces have now nearly encircled the city of aleppo. the u.n. fears that 300,000

they were in the town of madaya, during a siege by the regime. more than 40 starved to death. dalia al awqati that her charity, mercy corps, feeds and clothes half a million people in northern syria each month. >> it's not much. >> no, but it's essentials to keem a family alive. >> reporter: now they're racing to get food parcels to families in aleppo city, fearing more starvation in a country that's already exhausted by a senseless war. and as if syria's war isn't complicated enough, today some american-backed rebels told us they were attacked by kurdish fighters, who were also supported by the u.s. now, the kurdish fighters say it wasn't deliberate, but, scott, this shows just how difficult it is for the u.s. to unite different faxes factions on the

>> holly williams, thanks. so, what can the u.s. do to stop the war? for that we turn to margaret brennan. margaret? >> reporter: well, today, the u.s. is trying to broker an immediate cease-fire. secretary kerry pushed russia and iran to stop attacking civilians in aleppo and let in aid to besieged areas. vladimir putin's military has cut off supply lines to the u.s.-backed rebels, and u.s. officials warn that that strengthens both isis and assad and it leaves the u.s. with little leverage in a war president obama has resisted getting involved in for five years now. >> margaret brennan at the white house, thank you. today cleveland mayor frank jackson apologized to the family of tamir rice after the city billed his estate $500 for ambulance services. the city also tore up the bill. in 2014 a cleveland cop shot rice who was 12.

out to be a toy. he died the next day at the hospital. the officer was not charged. in a big development today, scientists have announced what may be among the greatest discoveries in the history of physics. they believe they found gravity waves predicted by einstein but never observed. two huge antennas, one in washington state, the other in louisiana, detected a gravity wave last september. this confirms einstein was right when he described the universe as like a fabric, woven from the three dimensions, plus time. what what physicist call space time. the gravity wave was set off sending a ripple through the fabric. the effect is so tiny, one scientist estimated the ripple consisted the entire milky way

thumb, observing that the fabric of the universe stretches and compresses may open an entirely new understanding of nature. coming up next -- how explosions like this are improving airport security. and a scoop by a newspaper sets off an uproar. "cbs overnight news" will be right back. take one of those pillows and take a big smell. they smell really fresh what if we told you we washed these sheets 7 days ago. really? no way downy? downy fabric conditioner give us a week, and we'll change your bed forever. want more freshness? add new downy fresh protect. (ugh.) does your carpet ever feel rough and dirty? don't avoid it, resolve it. our formula with a special conditioning ingredient, softens your carpet with every use. it's resolve,

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the tsa is looking for a more professional and effective force of airport screeners. kris van cleave is in glenco, georgia, tonight at the tsa's new training academy. >> reporter: seeing the power of even a small explosive made the threat real for nearly 200 soon-to-be airport screeners. >> two, one. >> reporter: they're going through a new training program here in georgia designed to address troubling security gaps within the transportation security administration. a damning report by homeland securities inspector general last summer found screeners failed to detect 6 of 70 suspicious items brought through airport check points. peter neffenger became the tsa administrator last july. >> what the inspector general reports show us you can never

>> reporter: shawn weeks-freeman is one of the academy instructors. she was a flight attendant on pan-am flight 330 standing where a bomb explode, where the 737 prepared to land in honolulu. one was killed, more than a dozen injured. >> when i talk to my class, i tell them, you're not here by accident. and i wasn't saved at that moment by accident because that threat in 1982 is today's threat still. >> reporter: the academy marks the first time all transportation security officers will have standardized training. previously new hires were largely trained on the job at their home airport. the i.g., if they're going through check points today with one of their teams trying to bring things that should be flagged, will those thipgs be caught? >> i think we'll catch them today. >> reporter: all of them? >> i don't know. i sure hope we catch all of them. >> reporter: the students will work at this mock checkpoint. it's complete with all the equipment, scott, they're going to use in the field.

and we'll be right back. a small catholic university in maryland is in turmoil after a report that its president wanted to weed out struggling students quickly to improve the school's standing. some professors had been sent packing. here's chip reid. >> reporter: ed egan was a professor at mt. st. mary's university in maryland. what would you normally be doing on a day like this? >> i'd be on campus. today i'd be teaching my class on the first amendment. >> reporter: but on monday he was fired in a letter a school official said he is persona non grata and not welcome to visit the university's campus because

to the school. it all began last month when the student newspaper reported that the school president simon newman wanted professors to the first few weeks of school so they could be encouraged to drop out. some faculty members resisted and the school paper reported that newman told them, this is hard for you because you think of the students as cuddly bunnies but you can't. you just have to drown the bunnies. put a glock to their heads. many students and faculty were outraged. >> it's not just the words, but it's the plan that the words described. >> reporter: what's wrong with the plan? >> weeding out students because we think they might not do well in order to make the numbers look better. that's not mt. st. mary's. >> reporter: egan was the faculty adviser to the school paper and says he's being punished for accurate but embarrassing reporting by the students. you did not tell them what to write? >> i did not.

anybody on campus who knows the students, knows that nobody would manipulate these students. >> reporter: they can't be manipulated? >> they are independent, strong, bright people. >> reporter: a petition protesting the firing of egan and another professor has been signed by about 7500 professors across the country, and, scott, the university declined our repeated requests for an interview. instead, they issued a statement saying the two professors had violated the code of conduct. >> chip reid, thanks, chip. in a moment, how a mother's words can turn a child's pain into joy. woman: what does it feel like when a woman is having a heart attack? chest pain, like there's a ton of weight on your chest. severe shortness of breath. unexplained nausea. cold sweats. ere's an unusual tiredness and fatigue. there's unfamiliar dizziness or light-headedness.

even your upper stomach, are signs you're having a heart attack. don't make excuses. make the call to 9-1-1 immediately. learn more at womenshealth.gov/heartattack. when the twins were about 10 days old, the doctors told us they were going to need blood transfusions. we're so proud of who they've become. as a result of one person, deciding to spend an hour of their life giving blood is just immeasurable, how powerful that one donation could possibly be.

our final story tonight is written on the face of a young child, whose joy mere words cannot describe. here's elaine quijano. >> elsa had magical powers and could create things out of snow and ice. >> reporter: 4-year-old mattie zapata can't get enough of her bookings on tape. >> anna was delighted. >> reporter: because the voice is her mother, mandi balderas, locked in a prison four hours away. >> i told her how i missed her. >> even though i'm not there physically, i know she's listening to my voice, spending time with me. >> reporter: each month while balderas and other selected inmates choose a story to record and then mail it home. it's called storybook project, and it runs in six women's prisons across texas. >> it was a sunny afternoon at the end of may. >> this story begins within the walls of a castle. >> we weren't scared as long as we were together. >> reporter: 64% of incarcerated

their children before prison. storybook tries to ease the pain of separation. >> if you put your hand in mine, you'll feel my love powers. love you. >> reporter: mattie was 18 months old when her mother went to prison for a dwi crash that killed the other driver, a crime of manslaughter that victimized her daughter, too. >> i cry for mommy. >> how come? >> because i miss her. >> if it wasn't for the books, she wouldn't be able to have the bond that we have now. i know that means something to her and i know it means something to me. >> reporter: but the fact is, you got behind the wheel of a car when you had alcohol in your system and a person is dead because of that. didn't you forfeit your right to do things like this when you made that decision? >> yes, i made a decision. but it's not about the decision anymore. it's about how we handle the circumstances. that's how i'm choosing to handle the circumstances, by

from where i'm at. >> hey, mattie, it's me, mommy. >> reporter: balderas has four years left of an eight-year sentence. when she finally re-unites with her family, she hopes her children won't mistake her voice for a stranger's. >> you are my sunshine, my only sunshine -- >> reporter: elaine quijano, cbs news, columbus, texas. >> i love you always, mommy. and that's the overnight news for this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back with us later for the morning news and for "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new

it's friday, february 12th, 2016. this is the "cbs morning news." campaign 2016 democrats take center stage in another debate, but the republicans snag a few headlines of their own and a few young fans. polar plunge. the lowest temperatures of the winter are heading to the northeast with forecasters warning the cold could kill. restaurant rampage. several people are hurt when a man wielding a machete goes on a violent spre. the ocean doesn't see male or female. >> and making waves at mavericks. women argue it's time for a change at one of surf's biggest competition. good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs news headquarters in new york.