>> axe >> axelrod: tonight, president obama backs off on immigration. why his vow to take action turned into a political timebomb. powerless-- the lights are out for hundreds of thousands of adericans as storms rip across both ends of the country. homes in paradise threatened by lava. teri okita on a disaster three decades in the making. doing time at the dairy, the inmates creating the food you might put on your family's plate. >> our best workers tend to be the murderers. >> axelrod: speeding through the sky-- racing on the wings of extremes. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod.

and this is a western edition of the broadcast. the midterm elections are still a couple of months away-- eight weeks from this coming tuesday, to be exact-- but their influence over the political landscape is being felt right now. the issue is immigration. congress has long been deadlocked on immigration even more urgency this summer when children from south and central america started streaming over the border. the president had promised he would go it alone and at the end of the summer would issue an executive order to reduce the number of deportations and offer a path for illegal immigrants to become residents. which brings us to today, and a reversal on the part of the president, who announced he will now wait to act until after the midterms. here's juliana goldman. >> reporter: president obama began calling lawmakers from air force one last night with his decision. just hours earlier, at the end

of the nato summit in europe, the president said his cabinet had submitted policy recommendations and he promised an announcement soon. >> i suspect that on my flight back this will be part of my-- my reading, taking a look at some of the specifics that we've looked at. >> reporter: his decision is a retreat from his statement june 30, when he said he will use his executive authority to change the nation's immigration system. >> today in an interview with nbc, the president said the surge of undocumented children across the border this summer changed his timing. >> i'm going to act because it's the right thing for the country but it will be more sustainability and more effective. the public understands what the facts are and why it's necessary. >> reporter: republicans have questioned the legality of taking executive action. today a white house official said politics were to blame. labor unions and immigration

advocates said they were deeply disappointed by the president's decision, some calling the delay a betrayal. but president obama also has to answer to fellow democrats, several of whom are facing tight elections this november and who have urged the president to wait. they include senators mark pryor of arkansas, mary landrieu of louisiana, and kay hagan of north carolina. >> the president should not take that executive action, that that should be a congressional decision. but immigration is broken in our country and inaction is not an option. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell, the top republican in the senate, called the president's decision politics at its worst. in a statement he said: white house aides say that even though the president still plans to act unilaterally after the elections, he'll continue to push for a comprehensive immigration bill in congress. but, jim, no timeline has been set. >> axelrod: juliana goldman, thank you.

from coast to coast, severe weather is bearing down on tens of millions of americans tonight. dne system has already passed through michigan, where hundreds of thousands are without power. let's bring in meteorologist eric fisher of our boston station, wbz. eric, quite a nasty weather map across the country. >> reporter: certainly is. a lot of he headlines to get to, jim. we start in the west and move to the east. we begin with wildfires. it's been a very hot, dry summer, particularly western oregon, northern california, very low humidity in an environment where fires could grow very rapidly. now a little farther to the south, fires burning in yosemite, so for folks visiting there, certainly a safety hazard. all across the west coast, a lot of dry conditions. the opposite of that farther off to the south and west, this is hurricane norbert, a really classic-looking hurricane. it will be moving right along the baja peninsula, not necessarily making landfall but spreading a lot of moisture into the southwest. we're talking big rain totals for the desert, very humid air, and flash flooding a very large concern here, especially into the day on sunday and monday. be watching out for that then to the east coast, the same storm system that brought all

those power outages to michigan, severe thunderstorm watches up from boston down toward d.c. we've seen some tornado warnings already embedded in this tonight. this will continue to move off to the south and east. the storm's ahead of the front, you notice the line right in there. that's the cold front, the back edge of the clouds, not just bringing the storms but afterwards a big change of air mass. it's been so hot in the east, 90's today. tomorrow replaced by the 70s and 80s. and, jim, an air mass that's going to feel a little bit more like it should in september. >> axelrod: eric fisher, with an awful lot to keep his eyes on tonight. eric, thank you. and tonight, one of the world's most active volcanoes is threatening dozens of homes on the big island of hawaii. geologists say lava from the kilauea volcano is now less than a mile from homes. teri okita reports they could start burning in less than a n ak. >> reporter: the kilauea volcano has erupted continuously since 1983, but a recent lava flow that began over two months ago has been creeping ever so slowly

toward nearly 40 rural omes in subdivision. piilani kaawaloa knows the dangers all too well. lava has threatened her family's home three times in 30 years, the latest in 2006. after that near miss... >> you could hear the cry, the tears, the happiness that we were fortunate that our home was :pared. >> reporter: the red-hot molten lava moves in and out of underground cracks, but needicting what that river of lava does next is an inexact science, says geologist tim orr. >> it's difficult to assess when and where the flow might go. the cracks are the real difficult part to judge. >> reporter: some residents in the nearby town of puna asked authorities to try to divert the lava, but officials say that could put other homes at risk. and to native residents like this woman with indigenous and cultural ties to the land... >> it is lava. you cannot change the direction. it is mother nature.

>> reporter: barricades and restricted access are in place for the ka'ohe residents. evacuations haven't been ordered yet. in hawaiian, "lava" means spewing or much spreading. residents just hope the volcano slows down before lava reaches their doorstep. teri okita, cbs news, los angeles. >> axelrod: the search continues tonight for the american couple presumed dead after their plane lost cabin pressure and crashed near jamaica. it is still not clear what caused the crash, but, as vladimir duthiers reports, the accident is leaving an entire city grieving. >> reporter: jamaican officials believe the debris from the small plane that crashed off their coast has now sunk. real estate developer larry glazer and his wife, jane, were aboard the plane, which took off from rochester, new york, at 8:26, a.m., headed for naples, florida. at about 10:00 a.m. a federal official says the pilot asked air traffic control to go to a lower altitude but there was another plane in the way.

an f.a.a. source says the pilot was advised to make a 30-degree turn to the left. the order was acknowledged, but the plane didn't descend and air traffic control never heard from the pilot again. two u.s. fighter jets were dispatched and made visual contact with the plane. they saw the pilot slumped over the controls. jim tilman is an aviation consultant. >> if that was the case, we're dealing with a pilot that was, for all intents and purposes, incapacitated, even if he was still breathing. >> reporter: the two jets flew with the plane but turned back before entering cuban airspace. at 2:15 p.m., the plane crashed into the waters. in a statement the glazer family said: larry glazer was the c.e.o. of

buckingham properties, a real estate company he founded in 1970. his wife, jane, was a successful entrepreneur. both were respected in the business community for their commitment to rochester. glazer was currently working on other projects in the city he loved so much. vladimir duthiers, cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: now to ukraine, where there are reports tonight of artillery fire near a major port city on the southern coast after a cease-fire began yesterday. as charlie d'agata shows us, it's happening in an area where the battle for control kept going right up until the start of that shaky truce. >> reporter: just moments before the cease-fire took hold, pro-russian separatists and ukrainian government forces faced off with a barrage of fire near the city of mariupol. today, there wasn't much left in the battlefield but smoldering ukrainian artillery weapons and wrecked, abandoned tanks. although there had been reports of cease-fire violations from

both sides, for the most part there's been a hault to five months of fighting that's left more than 2,500 people dead. in announcing the cease-fire yesterday, ukrainian president petro poroshenko said the truce was struck after a personal conversation with vladimir putin. >> reporter: the two leaders spoke again today and agreed the cease-fire's holding, but there's work to be done to make sure it sticks. the 12-point plan calls for an exchange of prisoners and the pullback of heavy artillery from major cities. but eastern ukraine remains deeply divided in parts under control of ukrainian forces, in other areas surrounded by pro-russian separatists. one rebel fighter who identified himself as oleg said his men vowed to continue to fight for independence.

"we will have our own president, our own currency, our own banking system," he said. "and we won't obey poroshenko." >> reporter: it may have brought an end to the fighting and bloodshed for now, but the cease-fire is more like a stalemate. ramping up tensions even further, the u.s. and europe are threatening to hit moscow with the toughest sanctions yet, this time taking aim at the energy sector. and, jim, today, russian officials say if that happens, moscow will have no choice but to retaliate. >> axelrod: charlie d'agata reporting from our london newsroom tonight, charlie. thank you. a case of fraternity hazing is being blamed for the death of a college student in california. 19-year-old armando villa, who would have been a sophomore at cal state northridge, passed out after an 18-mile hike in july in flimsy shoes and without enough water, part of the pledging process for the pi kappa phi fraternity. villa's family calls the death barbaric. the university's president says

the hazing was "stupid and senseless." >> to humiliate and potentially harm others, it has no place on this university or on any university campus. >> axelrod: a criminal investigation is under way. we saw some tennis history at the u.s. open today. kei nishikori was up against novak djokovic in the meny's semifinal. djokovic is the number one ranked player in the world and nishikori beat him in four sets. nishikori, who is japanese, becomes the first man from asia ever to reach a tennis grand slam final. ahead, deer find a golden new path in the city by the bay. the natural wonder that took prer an engineering marvel. prisoners are turning into cheese makers, but are states milking the profits? when the "cbs evening news" continues.

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states are desperately trying to make up budget shortfalls with a captive workforce: prisoners. t michelle miller shows us, in colorado, that means turning hard time into soft cheese. >> reporter: about 100 miles south of denver on this 6,000-acre farm, men are serving up some of colorado's finest goat milk. they're also serving time. tony tate's sentence is eight years. >> 58 years old and on a goat farm. (laughs) >> reporter: tate used to be a flight attendant. >> i took an early retirement. i had too much time on my hands, and i headed down the wrong path a little bit with the drug. >> reporter: he landed in colorado correctional industries, a for-profit business run by the prison

system. director steve smith says the inmates he employees range from nonviolent offenders to more serious criminals. >> our best workers tend to be the murderers because most of the time, it's a crime of passion, it's a one-time deal. they've made a mistake, and now they're trying to make up for it. >> reporter: it's not just license plates they produce. inmates make custom fishing rods, tame mustangs, even run a vineyard. the goat milk goes to dairies that produce artesanal cheeses which are sold at whole foods. c.c.i. generated $65 million in revenue last year with inmates earning anywhere from 66 cents a day to $600 a month. without the program, smith says taxpayers would spend $5,000 more per inmate every year. >> i see exploitation. >> reporter: critics like law columbia professor brett dignam

question whether these programs provide any real benefit to the prisoners. >> most of the people who are populating our pritzons are from concentrated urban environments where's it's unlikely that they'll be able to use those skills. >> reporter: prison director smith believes putting inmates to work makes sense. >> 97% of them are going to hit the streets, so would you rather them go out with the same tools they came in with, or would you rather them coming out with the tools that we give them? >> reporter: for prisoner tate, the payment is the process. >> to come out to a wide-open goat farm and not be, you know, locked up in a little cell room, it's something i don't take for granted. >> reporter: he also gets satisfaction from knowing his cheese makes it to market. michelle miller, cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: just ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news," how president obama made new friends in a land of prehistoric wonder. [ telephone rings ]

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south of england had been on his bucket list, the visit of a lifetime. it seems as though janice and james raffle of nearby amesbury could say the same about their impromptu meeting. >> we went for a walk on the eields because we saw helicopters flying overhead and realized quite quickly on from facebook that people were saying obama was up here. >> axelrod: she quickly tweeted, "i can see president obama. any messages?" >> as we kept coming in closer, he happened to see us, gave us a wave, and we waved back, and the next thing we know, we were being beckoned to go closer to him. and he was coming closer to us. >> axelrod: what followed was a friendly chat and the obligatory selfie. >> i said, "hello, mr. president. welcome to england." >> i shook hands with him. >> the boys were trying to climb over the barbed wire fence, and the president was getting a bit worried that they were going to hurt their hands and stuff. yeah, it was amazing. it was really nice. >> axelrod: the raffles said they moved to the countryside for the quiet life, something

temporarily suspended during the president's trip. san francisco's golden gate bridge looked more like the golden gate forest last night. two deer wandered onto the bridge, bringing rush hour to a beautiful stop. like many other friday commuters the animals wandered north from the city headed for marin county. now, then, who says chivalry is dead? a 12-year-old boy got the ultimate souvenir at fenway park last night, a foul ball, but he gave it away to the little girl behind him, didn't even hesitate. and look at her smile. the two didn't know each other. ohe boy said he just wanted to make someone happy. still ahead, no room for error-- the pilot taking sports and the laws of physics on a wild ride.

>> >> axelrod: this w 180,000-seat stadium built for car racing is hosting another sport. this time, the thrills are not on the track but over it. vanita nair shows us the daring world of high-speed air racing. >> number 10 chambliss, you're cleared into the track. smoke on. >> reporter: 54-year-old kirby chamblis is a former airline pilot who now makes his living cheating death. >> when i'm making that corner

and pulling 10 gs, it's like a house sitting on your chest. >> reporter: chambliss is one of the world's fastest pilots. today, he's one of two americans competing along with ten international flyers. like a slalom skier, the fliers at the red bull air race world championship must navigate through a challenging course of pylons at up to 230 miles per hour. for the first time, they will compete inside a crowded texas motor speedway instead of over water or empty terrain. >> to draw, you know, the differences between, say, you know, racing an automobile and race an airplane, well, one, one big difference is, if the engine quits, you can't pull off the side of the road. you're actually looking down on us as we're racing through the track. and to see the speeds and how hard and how fast these airplanes will turn a corner will just blow you away. >> reporter: chambliss has scars to prove how dangerous the sport can be. >> in china, during an

exhibition, i hit the water at 180 miles per hour, cartwheeled several tiles, and i got this nice little souvenir across my head where i ate the panel. >> reporter: chambliss is not alone. after a crash and a series of near-misses organizers took a three-year hiatus to make safety improvements to the pylons. they raised their height and changed the materials so they are more likely to burst apart when clipped. today, chambliss is gunning for his eighth world title. >> i'm an adrenaline junky. i race motorcycles. i love speed. i love to spydive. i love doing this. >> reporter: at tomorrow's finals the texas native would love to win on his home turf. vanita nair, cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. later on cbs "48 hours." for now, i'm jim axelrod in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by

tonight: oakland mayor jean quan says -- it won't be ba. police say they've identifi the su it's an event that protestors say goes over the top for police practices. jean quan says it's gone. >> police identified the suspected car thief that sent a ac transit bus into a house. now they need to find him. >> more firsts for levi's stadium tonight. the sold-out soccer match that will put the latest batch of turf to the test. >> kpix 5 news is next. ,,,,,,

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