>> axelrod: the backlash grows against a controversial new religious freedom law. ( applause ) protesters at indiana state house call it a license to discriminate. officer down-- a hero cop in boston honored for valor after the marathon bombings now fighting for his life. new information about the killer copilot in the alps crash. reports say he had an eye problem that also could have affected his job. and she has already biked and road 21,000 miles. now comes the final challenge in this woman's journey around the world. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod.

this is the western edition of the broadcast. we begin tonight in indiana, the latest flashpoint in a national debate about freedom and discrimination. two days ago, indiana's governor mike pence, surrounded by nuns franciscan monks and orthodox jews, signed the religious freedom restoration act into law. going into effect in july, it protects the right of people or businesses to follow their religious beliefs. today, hundreds of people gathered at the state house in indianapolis to protest, saying the law sanctions discrimination against gays and lesbians. as adriana diaz reports, this backlash is building. >> reporter: more than 700 protesters turned out at the state capital today to voice their fears that the new law could give businesses the right to refuse to serve gays and lesbians under religious grounds. >> this is what democracy looks like! >> reporter: rachel and amy have been married for 15 years.

>> i don't want my child living in an environment where she's made to feel like her family is somehow less than other families. >> reporter: today's protests echoed growing opposition online as companies from apple to pharmaceutical giant ely lilly took to social media to express reservations about the law. angie's list said they will delay expanding into indiana until we fully understand the implications of the act on our employees. ud salesforce.com has already canceled planned events in indiana. rachel works for salesforce.com. she and amy fear for their family and their jobs. >> both of our employers have started sending out notices about not wanting to be here. >> reporter: indiana's chamber of commerce is urging businesses not to pull out of the state but some business owners, like casey sampson, support the law. >> we're not here to discriminate. we're here to serve anybody we can. but just as they have the right to live their life their way.

i believe we should have the life-- the right to live how we want to. >> reporter: indiana's governor mike pence says the law is about protecting business owners. >> this is not about legalizing discrimination. it's about restricting the government's ability to intrude on the religious liberty of our citizens. >> reporter: the opposition to this law just keeps growing. jim, basketball commentator charles barkley says big events shouldn't be held in any state with what he calls antigay legislation. the final four is set to take place next weekend here in indiana. >> axelrod: adriana diaz in indiana, adriana, thank you. amanda knox says she's "incredibly grateful "after italy's highest court acquitted her and her ex-boyfriend of murdering knox's roommate in 2007. as vinita nair reports, the decision ends an almost decades long international legal drama. >> reporter: standing outside her mother's seattle home last

night, 27-year-old amanda knox seemed as relieved by her second acquittal as she was by her first. >> i'm incredibly grateful for what has happened, for the justice i've received, for the support that i've had from everyone. you saved my life. >> reporter: knox has maintained her innocence since the 2007 death of her british roommate meredith kercher in perugia, italy. italian prosecutors accused her and her then-boyfriend rafael sollecito of slashing kercher's throat in a sex game gone wrong. they were both convicted of murder twice, and knox served four years in an italian jail. the murder victim's mother told the press association, "they've been convicted twice, so it's a bit odd that it should change now. >> i think most legal experts were stunned. >> reporter: rikki klieman is a legal analyst for cbs news. >> no one, including the lawyers, ever thought that they would hear not only the word "acquittal," but "annulled." this is over.

this is final. >> i think that she knew at some level that this day would come. >> reporter: attorney kathleen zelner acted like a mentor to knox and encouraged her to go law school. >> she wasn't free. now she's finally free, and that's a great thing. >> thank you. >> reporter: when asked what she would say to the victim's family knox said, "meredith was my friend. she deserved so much in this life. i'm the lucky one." >> axelrod: we have new details to report about andreas lubitz the troubled copilot of germanwings flight 9525 who investigators say deliberately crashed into french alps tuesday killing 150 people. allen pizzey is in lubitz's home down of montabaur, germany. >> reporter: figuring out why copilot andreas lubitz acted as he did is proving complex. german media today quoted unnamed sources as saying lubitz was suffering from an eye problem that could have affected

his job, that police found medicines for psychological illnesses at two of his residences, and that he was being treated by both psychologists and neurologists. flight crews are supposed to report illnesses that could affect their performance, but it's voluntary. lufthansa first officer markus wahl is spokesman for the german pilots association. "if the person in question wants to conceal things," he said "lying and suicidal thoughts can't be prevented by any tests." lubitz is no longer able to hide anything, it seems. germany leading tabloid quoted what it described as a former girlfriend saying he told her that one day, "everyone will know my name." on the slopes of the mountain below the crash site, family members made their way to a memorial plaque today. the area was closed to all but them. ♪ ♪ ♪ in a nearby village, local people held a service to deal with the trauma they, too, suffered and to honor the victims and support their families. "it's terrible. it's horrible for the families,"

this woman said. "there are no words for that. i'm broken." retrieving bodies and debris from the 10-acre crash site in france will take weeks. each red flag marks a body part. so far, several hundred have been found. they will be identified through d.n.a. testing and dental analysis. french investigators still have a lot of work to do, but eventually, they will almost certainly be able to figure out exactly what happened. police here in germany, however, may never be able to determine why. jim. >> axelrod: allen pizzey reporting for us tonight from montabaur, germany. alan, thank you. the talks with iran over its nuclear program are in a critical phase this weekend. secretary of state john kerry and iran's foreign minister are trying to reach an agreement by their self-imposed deadline of this tuesday, march 31. margaret brennan is following the talks in switzerland. >> reporter: the pressure to reach a deal intensified today as france's top diplomat

insisted on more rigorous inspections of the regime's nuclear facilities. while iran demanded additional sanctions relief. still, negotiators claim they've never been closer to a potentially historic agreement. iran analyst karim sadjapour: >> i think the united states wants a transformative deal with iran, a deal which will not only resolve the nuclear issue, but eventually transform the u.s.- iran relationship into something more constructive. whereas i think the iranians are looking for something that is much more transactional. they're not interested in becoming friends with the united states again. >> reporter: the u.s. and iran are working both with and against each other in several conflicts across the mideast in what is becoming an even more complex relationship. in yemen, a coalition of arab countries, led by saudi arabia is now bombing iranian-backed militias with the help of u.s. intelligence. and in syria, the united states opposes the iranian-backed assad

regime. but in iraq, the u.s. and iran have found themselves on the same side in the fight against isis. state department spokeswoman marie harf said a diplomatic deal would help contain iran. >> the middle east is a more complicated place than in decades. we are facing an incredible set of challenges and iran with a nuclear weapons would make all those challenges worse. >> axelrod: margaret brennan joins us from switzerland where she's traveling with secretary of state john kerry. margaret, what happens if these talks fail? >> reporter: well, nothing immediate. the current deal with iran suspends its nuclear production and lifts some sanctions through june. the gamble here is whether tehran decides to throw that out and start producing weapons- grade enriched uranium once it sees the deal it wants is unavailable. the u.s. congress could also decide to add more sanctions and that may blow up any chance at restarting these talks. >> axelrod: margaret brennan in

switzerland, margaret, thank you. a boston police officer is in a medically induced coma after being shot in the face during a traffic stop. officer moynihan is no ordinary cop. he's a hero from the boston marathon bombing, well known for being there when boston needed him most. boston police officer moynihan never saw it coming. last night, he and other officers pulled over a car in a high-crime area with his gun still in his holster, moynihan helped the driver out of the car. >> as the driver is getting out of the motor vehicle, you can see his right arm come up, pointblank, and shoot officer moynihan right below the eye. >> reporter: other officers returned fire. the gunman, identified as angelo west, was killed. moynihan, who is 34, was critically injured. the bullet remains lodged behind his right ear. officer moynihan is a highly decorated cop.

a former army ranger, he was a first responder to the shootout in april of 2013 between police and boston marathon bombers tamerlan and dzhokhar tsarnaev. he helped save the life of transit police officer richard donohue, who was bleeding heavily from a gunshot to his leg. ( applause ) moynihan was honored for his actions by president obama as one of the country's top cops. boston's police commissioner agrees. >> one of our most outstanding officers in the youth violence task force who are all, you know, out there every night taking the guns off the street. >> reporter: the man who shot officer moynihan, angelo west, had a history of violence, and several prior convictions on gun charges. almost two dozen people were hurt in los angeles today when a commuter train struck a car near the university of southern california campus. most of the injuries were minor, but the train operator and the driver of the car were critically hurt. two of the train's passenger cars derailed.

it turns out, the racist chant that got sigma alpha epsilon kicked off campus at the university of oklahoma was not some sort of spontaneous act. the school's investigation found the chant began, of all places on a national fraternity leadership cruise four years ago. here's jericka duncan. >> reporter: the investigation found the racist chant became part of the institutionalized culture of the sigma alpha epsilon chapter at the university. o.u. president david boren says the chant was part of the regular pledge process and was taught in the local s.a.e. chapter. >> when we make serious mistakes as individuals or as organizations, we're held accountable for them. we pay a price, and then we move forward. >> reporter: since the cell phone video surfaced three weeks ago, another two students have been expelled. levi pettit publicly apologized this week for his role, but

refused to discuss details. >> i'm not here today to talk about where i learned the chant or how it was taught. i'm here to apologize for what i did. >> reporter: the national s.a.e. office states there's no evidence that the chant is widespread across its 237 chapters, but it admits members likely learned the chant on the leadership cruise. in an e-mail today, a spokesperson writes, "there is a seminar that teaches our songs to brothers who attend it, but that chant has never been part of any of our songs." in an effort to address issues related to racism, the national s.a.e. organization has made online sensitivity training mandatory, and, jim, it plans to hire a director of diversity and inclusion. >> axelrod: jericka, thank you. a gender discrimination case sheds light on challenges for women in silicon valley. and only an ocean stands between a world traveler and the finish line when the "cbs evening news" continues.

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>> axelrod: for every five high- tech or venture capital jobs in silicon valley, just one is held by a woman. last night, a san francisco jury rejected a gender discrimination case. but as carter evans reports, even though the plaintiff lost her case, she's claiming a victory. >> reporter: even though ellen pao's claim of gender discrimination against kleiner perkins, one of silicon valley's largest venture capital firms was dismissed by the jury, she says there is a larger message. >> i have told my story and thousands of people have heard it. >> reporter: pao claimed she was denied promotions because she was a woman and that she was retaliated against and ultimately fired for complaining. gender discrimination has long been a concern in silicon valley. at apple, only 20% of tech workers are women. at google it's just 17%.

and there are even fewer women in pao's field. "fortune" magazine analyzed data from the top producing venture capital firms. in all, they employ nearly 1700 investment professionals, but only 168 of them are women. less than 10% of the workforce. after the trial, juror steve sammut said the verdict had less to do with hiring than it did performance and personalities. >> based on the testimony we heard, it probably had more to do with her sales ability and her ability to get along with people. >> reporter: attorney lynn hermle, who represented kleiner perkins, said the facts of the case were clear. >> it never occurred to me for a second that a careful and attentive jury like this would find either discrimination or retaliation, and i'm glad to have been proven right about that. >> if i've helped to level the playing field for women and minorities in venture capital, then the battle was worth it. >> reporter: and on that issue

the jury's still out. >> thank you. >> reporter: carter evans, cbs news, los angeles. >> axelrod: there are bumpy roads ahead. coming up, we'll go pothole hunting in a high-tech van. hunting in a high-tech van. killing weeds where they grow. a barrier forms so weeds can't appear - serious weed prevention up to a year. [chorus singings:] ♪ roundup max control 365 ♪ so i'm fighting weeds on opening day and preventing weeds while i get away. weeds stay dead as we carve this beast, and they still aren't back when i cook this feast. [chorus singings:] ♪ roundup max control 365 ♪ one more time let me make it clear. with no more weeds it's your year. introducing... a pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until... the am. new aleve pm the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour strength of aleve.

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and seek medical help right away. do not take farxiga if you have severe kidney problems, are on dialysis, or have bladder cancer. tell your doctor right away if you have blood or red color in your urine or pain while you urinate. farxiga can cause serious side effects including dehydration, genital yeast infections in women and men, low blood sugar, kidney problems, and increased bad cholesterol. common side effects include urinary tract infections changes in urination and runny nose. ♪do the walk of life♪ ♪yeah, you do the walk of life♪ need to lower your blood sugar? ask your doctor about farxiga. and visit our website to learn how you may be able to get every month free. >> axelrod: drivers in places just emerging from a brutal winter are being reminded daily by the time you discover a pothole, it's usually too late. but in boston, researchers are using technology to spot

problems earlier. eric fisher from cbs station wbz-tv took a ride with those paving the way. >> if you go down this one fast enough, it's definitely like a roller coaster. >> reporter: it's the tricked- out brain child a team of engineers at northeastern university in boston, a city still reeling from record snowfall. >> we're not just seeing things that are obvious to the human eye. >> reporter: it comes equipped with a mic recording the sounds of the road, a digital camera to document it, and radar to see beneath it. >> so this is the ground- penetrating radar array. >> reporter: david vines- cavanaugh is the driver and a ph.d. candidate. >> it's hard for cities to locate where all of their potholes and the more obvious damage is. so we do help them do that. >> reporter: his high-tech ride does in hours what it takes human inspection weeks or even months to complete. >> so on that road, there were potholes. there were cracks. there were also patches or band- aids over the potholes and we

would detect all of those things. >> reporter: after just a few hours of driving around, you have piles of data to process, all to answer the question exactly how much work has to be done. >> we also get the image of the pavement. >> reporter: researcher assistant salar shahini shamsabadi showed us the results of a survey done last november in beverly, city just north of boston. using google maps, they color code each street based on its damage, pointing out which ones require immediate attention by analyzing the road's composition, the system can even calculate estimated cost of repair for a city. professor ming wang leads the team. how much could they actually save by using this problem? >> for inspection alone, you can cut down about 50% of your cost. >> reporter: so half the cost and about 50 times less time to do it. >> yes. >> reporter: time that can then be used to repatriate roads and smooth out the ride ahead. in boston, eric fisher, for cbs news. >> axelrod: and we'll be right back. back. when diet and exercise aren't enough, adding crestor lowers bad cholesterol

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it tastes better when you grow it. it tastes even better when you share it. it's not hard, it's doable. it's growable. get going with gro-ables. miracle-gro. life starts here. >> axelrod: we close tonight with one woman's amazing journey around the world now entering its final leg. as anna werner reports it's a trip that took an unexpected romantic detour. >> reporter: on a bike, in a kayak, and in a row boat, sarah outen has been making her way around the world solo for the last four years. 21,600 miles so far. next stop, london and home-- that is, after one more leg, a 3,000-mile row across the north atlantic.

>> it's a big, rough ocean. it is. i'm definitely not taking it for granted. >> reporter: outen started her trip from london in april 2011 and cycled across europe to russia, then went on to japan to row across the pacific ocean. it was there in 2012 that she encountered a tropical storm. for three days, she tried to ride it out through 50-foot waves. >> that was three utterly frightening days when i didn't know if i was going to be okay. >> reporter: the japanese coast guard had to rescue her. but they didn't put you off from going across another ocean. >> i was really clear in my head, in my heart during that storm that i was going to go back out. >> reporter: but back home depression set in. it took her six months to get back her passion for adventure and a new boat. it helped that during that time she met the love of her life

her girlfriend, lucy. six months later, after returning to japan to complete that pacific ocean leg, she called lucy from her satellite phone and asked her to marry her. >> i was about 1,000 miles out to sea in the middle of the pacific, totally alone, in a storm, i think. >> reporter: just your standard marriage proposal. >> i think so, i think so. >> reporter: since then, outen has battled the waves, the cold, snakes and the occasional grizzly bear. all in a quest to experience the journey of life. >> i faced repeated setbacks in this journey and met them. i still believe in the journey. >> reporter: but one thing she says she's learned from her travels is you don't have to make that journey alone. next time, she'll take her wife. anna werner, cbs news, new york. >> pelley: and that's the cbs evening news for tonight. i'm jim axelrod in new york. thanks for joining us. good night.

police say he could be behind a rash of kidnapping events in one bay area city. i'm christian hartnet. powerful business leaders here in the bay area talking. what they have to say coming up. >> a chp officer puts his life on the line when a drunk driver passes out on the freeway. >> kpix5 news

live from the cbs bay area studios. this is kpix5 news. someone around, you know, trying to harm our children. very concerning. >> the hunt is on for a would