by the president for lying about his connections with the russians. with james comey out at the fbi, acting director andrew mccabe has taken over the russian investigation. jeff pegues brings us up to date on that. >> reporter: the investigation had been picking up speed in recent weeks and that it now includes grand jury subpoenas. james comey's request last week for more money and resources was a sign the probe was far from

over. now sources say there is a worry the investigation, as well as separate congressional probes, will slow down. republican richard bird, the chairman of the senate intelligence committee. >> an interruption in any of the access we have to the documents and personnel would be harmful to our investigation. it wouldn't in any way, shape or form preclude us from coming to a conclusion, but it might delay us. >> reporter: in recent weeks, sources say they have been intensely focussed on following the money, trying to identify who might have paid the hackers involved in russia's campaign to interfere in the 2016 election. they are also scrutinizing the activities of president trump's associates, including former national security adviser, michael flynn, former campaign chairman, paul manafort, and former campaign adviser, carter page. all have contacts too or ties

with russian officials. ron whose coe worries that comey's firing could have a chilling effect. >> if the timing of this termination lines up with timing about a slow down in the investigation, the russia investigation, then i think there are serious, serious questions that are going to need to be answered by this white house and by the department of justice. >> reporter: acting fbi director, andrew mccabe met with the president today. the president wanted to discuss bureau morale. tomorrow mccabe will be on capitol il testifying at a previously scheduled hearing. earlier we mentioned the memo from rod rosenstein, the white house is pointing to that memo to justify president trump's decision to fire comey. rosenstein who has been the number two at the justice department for just two weeks specifically criticized a news conference that comey held last july on the hillary clinton

e-mail investigation. chip reid has more on this. >> our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. >> reporter: on july 5, 2016, then fbi director james comey in a highly controversial press conference said he would not recommend prosecution of hillary clinton, but at the same time, he launched a scathing attack on her private e-mail system, calling it extremely careless. >> any reasonable person in secretary clinton's position should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation. >> reporter: comey later told congress he would keep them informed of any changes in the investigation. and on october it 28th. just 11 days before the election, comey wrote to key congressional leaders, the fbi has learned of the existence of e-mails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation, and he reopened the clinton case. the e-mails were found on the laptop of disgraced former congressman anthony weiner, the husband of clinton aide huma

abedin. ach reviewing the e-mails, comey told congress in another letter just two days before the election, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in july. >> it makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election. >> reporter: despite that, comey defended his decision making. he argued he had little choice, because of the need to dispel suspicions of improper influence after then-attorney general loretta lynch had an impromptu meeting with bill clinton. >> her meeting with president clinton on the airplane was the capper for me. >> reporter: robby mook, who was hillary clinton's campaign manger tweeted, if members of congress are patriots, they will call for a special prosecutor to take over this investigation and take over this investigation and they will call for it i just saved a bunch of money on my car insurhuh. with geico. i should take a closer look at geico...

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workers began filling the gaping four-foot square hole over the tunnel containing nuclear waste. basically pouring dirt in, that's the plan? >> yes. >> reporter: it doesn't sound like a very sophisticated solution. >> it's got to be done carefully. >> reporter: when the hole was discovered yesterday, much of the vast hanford site was put on lack down. >> dirt collapsed into the tunnel. nobody's involved. there's no people involved. >> reporter: sirens go off, you're told to take cover. how unusual is that out there? >> very. i've never experienced it. >> reporter: this welder was working about a quarter mile away. >> then when i see the fire trucks and ambulances and all that, that, that kind of sunk home. like geez. >> reporter: the department of energy says no radiation has escaped from the damaged tunnel, hanford has a long history of problems. plutonium used to make nuclear weapons for 40 years left a

contaminated mess of buildings and equipment. this includes 56 million-gallons of radioactive waste stored in 177 underground tanks, some of which have leaked. hanford is often described as the most-polluted site in the country. >> a major earthquake, a major fire at the site with all these toxic, much of them flammable liquids, could cause a disaster beyond our imagination. >> reporter: the cleanup at hanford started more than 25 years ago, but it's far from finished, scott, latest estimates show it's likely to take at least another 30 years before the work sheer is complete. >> thanks. a new daughter: uh oh. irreplaceable monkey protection. detergent alone doesn't kill bacteria, but adding new lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria with 0% bleach. lysol. what it takes to protect.

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and they happen easily. the other side of this... is they can be removed... easily. spray and wash's... powerful formula... removes over 100 stains. spray and wash. better on over 100 stains. doctors have been warning about the risk of heart attack from common pain kill earners. but a new study reveals the dangers can occur just days after use. >> reporter: they studied 450,000 patients. the risk of heart attack after taking common painkillers like ibuprofen and naproxen rose. dr. steve nisen has studied the link between heart disease and

nsaids. he says the risk has to be balanced with the been fit of pain re lief. >> allowing people to suffer from pain is also not always acceptable. so we try to work with our patients, and we try to find the best pathway to relieving their pain without causing them to have a second heart attack. >> reporter: a 20% to 50% risk has to be put in perspective. for example, a healthy young man has much less than a 1% annual risk of a heart attack. would you say then that the home message really applies to people at high risk for heart disease rather than the general public? >> there probably is some risk for everybody. but the absolute degree of risk is much higher for people that have heart disease. it's intermediate for people who don't have heart disease but have risk factors, and it is particularly low if you're young and healthy. >> he says nsaids always carry some risk. so people should take the lowest

dose for the shortest time. >> dr. jon lapook, thank ,,,,,,,

jackson, board of trustees, thank you so very, very much for this great honor and privilege. i am honored to become a wildcat. >> in daytona beach, florida, many graduating students booed or turned their back on education secretary betsy devos as she spoke today at beth you know university. she said such historically black schools were pioneers in school

choice. she later acknowledged because african-americans were banned from many colleges. at one point, the university president warned the crowd that if the booing continued, their degrees would be mailed to them. it subsided after that. when we come back, with james comey gone, what's next for the fbi and the russia investigation. this portion is sponsored by td ameritrade.

one day after the president fired fbi director job. today, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell rejected calls for an independent counsel to investigate the russian ties. vladimir putin told our liz palmer, quote, we have nothing to do with it. and that's the overnight news for this thursday. 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 in new york city, i'm scott pelley. this is the "cbs overnight news." welcome to the overnight news. i'm tony dokoupil. the fallout continues over the firing of james comey. some republicans are demanding answers, and democrats are demanding a special prosecutor. major garrett begins our coverage. >> reporter: as comparisons to watergate swirled, president trump met today in the oval office with president richard nixon's secretary of state henry kissinger. president trump offered a brief explanation for his firing of james comey. >> he was not doing a good job. very simply. he was not doing a good job. >> reporter: the white house

described it as an erosion of confidence. deputy press secretary sarah huckabee sanders. >> he had been considering letting him go since the day he was elected. director comey has shown over the last several months and fra frankly the last year a lot of missteps and mistakes. >> i have confidence in him. we'll see what happens. >> reporter: the president met monday with deputy attorney general rod rose ensteen and jeff sessions. comey was the los angeles fbi field office when he learned of his dismissal from television reports. rosenstein's hem memo to the president criticized comey's investigation into the clinton e-mails. today on capitol hill.

vice president mike pence said comey's dismissal had nothing to do with russia. >> it was time for a fresh start at the fbi. >> reporter: but sources tell cbs news just last week comey asked rosenstein for more resources for the fbi's russia investigation. something the justice department denies. on monday, president trump tweeted, the russia-trump collusion story is a total hoax. when will this taxpayer-funded charade end? but with the president's decision made without a successor in mind caught his star flat-footed. >> why was he fired today? >> i think the biggest reason is really, really simple. i lost the confidence of the rank and file members of the fbi. >> reporter: on twitter this morning, the president pointed to democrats who faulted comey's handling of the clinton investigation. the democrats have said some of the worst things about james comey, but now they play so sad.

another tweet today called democrats phony hypocrites. deputy attorney general rosenstein is held in high bipartisan regard. attorney general jeff sessions recused himself from both the clinton e-mail and russia investigations. but nevertheless played a role in comey's ouster and will help decide his successor. now former fbi director comey was supposed to testify today on capitol hill. instead, acting director andrew mccabe will take his place. but the senate judiciary committee still wants to hear from comey next week. nancy cordes has the view from capitol hill. >> what happened yesterday was truly shocking. >> reporter: senate democrats accuse the president today of courting a constitutional crisis. >> he feels the dragnet tightening on the russia investigation. i believe that's why he let comey go. >> reporter: they argued there is now just one solution. >> we need an independent, special prosecutor. >> there has to be an

independent, special prosecutor. >> if we're going to get to the bottom of it, we need a special prosecutor. >> reporter: but mitch mcconnell said that would impede the russia investigations that are already under way. he accused the other side of shedding crocodile tears for comey. >> our democrat colleagues complaining about the removal of a fbi director whom they themselves repeatedly and sharply criticized. >> reporter: democrats do have a history of slamming comey over his handling of the clinton investigation. >> the fbi director has no credibility. >> reporter: but pennsylvania democrat bob casey argues, it's the timing of comey's dismissal that's problematic. >> once the world knew that this investigation was under way you can't fire the investigator in the middle of an investigation. >> reporter: several republicans agreed, including the chair of the senate intelligence committee, richard bird. >> i think the timing and the reasons for the decision did, made little sense to me.

and i don't think i've heard anything since last night that would clarify that in any way. >> reporter: he and his democratic counterpart mark warner have asked the now former fbi director to come before the committee next tuesday. >> i think jim comey ought to have his, if not his day in court at least his day on the hill to be able to lay out his side of the case. >> reporter: to show that their russia investigation is continuing at pace, the senate intelligence committee announced just tonight that they are issuing their first subpoena for documents belonging to the disgraced former national security adviser, michael flynn. these are documents that the committee requested from flynn last month, but he declined to comply. despite the controversy engulfing washington, it was all smiles and handshakes at the white house as president trump played host to two top kremlin officials. elizabeth palmer reports. >> reporter: all suited up for an amateur hockey match, president vladimir putin took the time to weigh in on

washington's latest scandal. how will the firing of james comey affect u.s./russia relations? >> translator: there will be no effect. your position looks very funny to me. don't be angry with me. we have nothing to do with it. he's acting in accordance with confidence and the constitution. what about us? we came to play hockey with the hockey fans. >> reporter: officially, he denies russia even has an opinion. but he as as skilled a player on the world stage as he is on the ice. as the president scored in

sochi, sergey lavrov was chalking up a win in washington meeting president trump in the oval office. american reporters were shut out, so it was up to the russians to tweet this picture, and this one, with russia's controversial ambassador, sergei kislyak who remains at the heart of the alleged collusion of the trump campaign and russia's meddling in the last election. the pictures would have pleased kremlin spokesman dimitri peskov who in a quiet back room at the hockey arena explained that any mention of washington is so toxic in russia that real relations are a long way off. >> it's quite difficult about mr. trump to speak about willingness. he is definitely under a huge pressure who still argue his presidency. by those who still cannot accept that he has a stake in the

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there's been new attention focussed on the world's oldest profession, prostitution. police are using new tactics to combat the trade and others are pushing to make it legal. lee cowen has both sides of the story. >> reporter: it was like any evening. mt. rainier hovered in the distance, and along aurora avenue, business was booming. every city has its underbelly, where sex is bought and sold. arrests are being made, but what might surprise you is just who's being arrested. it's not those selling sex, women and young girls, although to be clear, men are prostitutes, too. instead, seattle has shifted their focus to arresting the customers, those buying the sex.

>> we're not trying to harass women who are caught up in the trade. we're not trying to add to their burdens, we're actually trying to help. >> reporter: six years ago, seattle city attorney, pete holmes adopted what's called the nordic law, a strategy pioneered in sweden that aims to reduce sex trafficking by cutting off demand. >> what we have been doing historically and what most of the country still continues to do is to further victimize women that are caught up in the life. >> reporter: according to the international labor organization, human trafficking is a $32 billion a year industry, and many who are trafficked for sex are under the age of 18. that's how old marin stuart was when she entered the trade. >> there was always something that kept me in the life. there were always reasons i needed to stay longer. i should have been murdered, many times. i should have died of an overdose, many, many, many, many

times. >> reporter: how did you survive it? >> i don't know. i don't know. >> reporter: she considers herself an abolitionist, calling prostitution nothing short of modern-day slavery. and the focus on buyers and not the sellers, she says is an enlightened, modern approach. >> the women are not being treated like they're bad and dirty, and that this is just who they are. you're going to need to hang in there though. >> reporter: she now works for a seattle nonprofit, a group that not only provides services for women, but also helps counsel the men who buy them, too. >> the men who are buying sex are buying it from a very broken place in their heart where they're trying to fill a void, they're trying to numb whatever pain they have, they're trying to fill powerful, in control and desirable. >> you know, prostitution is called a trick for a reason. he's paying for the illusion of

concept, the illusion of mutuality, in fact what we know is that it's not a mutual sexual experience. >> reporter: peter works here as well and leads a ten-week class on the consequences of prostitution. is anyone caught buying sex in seattle is now required to attend that class by law. >> until we take on the issue of demand and the issue of why men feel entitled to pay for sex in the first place, we're really not going to be able to move the needle in any significant way. >> let's gijust see where these girls are going to go for example. >> reporter: seattle is unique. most cities have a zero tolerance approach. and you might be surprised to learn that includes the city of las vegas. >> if we suspected that they were involved in prostitution in this area, they'd be a prime target to watch. >> reporter: that's right. prostitution is not legal in sin city. but lieutenant patricia spencer

of the vice and sex trafficking department says most people seem to think otherwise. >> it's everywhere. it's not just on the street. it's not just in a casino. it's everywhere. >> reporter: unlike seattle, las vegas cracks down on everyone, the sellers as well as the buyers. lieutenant spencer doesn't see that as victimizing the victims. in her experience, the arrests help identify those too afraid to identify themselves. >> i've talked to numerous survivors that say it saved their life. >> reporter: being arrested. >> being arrested. we open the door for help. and if we don't do that, who's going to do it. if i don't offer them help, who's gonna? no one. >> reporter: rethinking just how or whether to crackdown on prostitution has been making headlines. last year while acknowledging the harm that comes with the sex industry, amnesty international called for the decriminalization

of consensual sex work saying laws against that force women into the shadows, which can compromise their safety. >> it doesn't help people with no options to take away their source of income. but it sounds good. >> reporter: carolyn mccloud calls herself a sex worker, not a prostitute. she's a see at many mother of two who despite the fact that it's illegal sees it as her right to run her body as a business. >> i choose this. i say to people when they say no one would choose this, i say, i do. i choose this, because i'm proud of what i do. >> reporter: she knows she's largely the exception and sympathizes with those who aren't doing this willingly, but she says the best way to protect them and at the same time to preserve her rights is to legitimatize what she does. >> it would bring it out of darkness and back streets and into the light. >> reporter: what might decriminalization look like? carolyn says just the way she practices her sex work now. she has no pimp.

she doesn't roam the streets. she works out of a condo she rents with two other women and she says they all have strict safety guidelines. >> all of my clients need to have references from other sex workers. and if they don't have references, then potential client would have to give me their real first name and their real workplace, and i will call them at work through the main switchbod of that. >> reporter: her point, and this is controversial, is that sex traffickers don't generally trade in places where buying sex is permitted. and that, she says, keeps everyone safer. >> there's a huge population of sex workers who are doing this in aay and you don't see us, because we're not causi problems. >> reporter: shari's ranch may be the halfway point in this debate over prostitution. it's one of a handful of brothels in rural nevada where

prostitution is legal but regulated under state law. alissa, a single mom left working the streets of seattle left to move here where she feels someone is watching out for her. >> you come here and sit down and tell me, this is what i want to happen. i want this and this and this and this to happen, and i tell you what i'm going to charge for that and what i'm comfortable doing and what the rules are. there's no gray area. >> reporter: what do you say to people who think this is just a crazy lifestyle that no single mom should be doing this? >> i tell them it's not their life and you don't walk in my shoes every day. i live a very clean, safe life. i go home, do my cooking, cleaning, chores. you don't grow up thinking i want to be a prostitute when i grow older many but things happen in your life and you make different decisions. >> reporter: venus, the madam says they give some protection. >> the state's watching us. and they're not going to play with any funny business.

so everything is up and up legit. >> reporter: still, critics say anything short of outlawing prostitution all together amounts to the legal acceptance of objectifying women. >> is there going to be a theme? yes. >> reporter: he says that's not what this is about. she sees it as giving women a choice, offering a safe place to make a new start. >> this is just a means to an end. this should be a steppingstone into something better. and greater. >> reporter: alissa, caroline, marin. each a different face of an age-old question, is prostitution an illicit vice? or a lawful business, sex work? or sexual exploitation. the divide is deep and the battle lines are being drawn, however uncomfortable, an issue long in the shadows seems to be hiding no more.

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two kids barfed in class today. it was so gross. lysol disinfectant spray kills 99.9% of bacteria, even those that cause stomach bugs. one more way you've got what it takes to protect. more than half the fruits and vegetables sold in the u.s. end up in the garbage, mostly because they go bad before they're eaten. well, a company in california has a new technique to extend the shelf life of fresh food by up to five times. the. >> reporter: on this lush hillside farm, it's not just the views that grab your attention but the rare produce on the treeses including these aptly

named caviar limes. >> once you pick it, there's a tierm going off. >> reporter: they're prized because of their acidity and texture, but they only last a week to ten days after picked, making shipping and distribution difficult. that's where a scientist comes in. rusky teamed up with him more than two years ago. >> we use food to preserve food. >> that simple. >> that simple. >> reporter: they start with material like these frozen grape skins, extract molecules and mix them up. the powder is mixed with water and sprayed on fresh produce. >> when it dries, it leaves behind an imperfect septemberably thin layer of plant material. and that thin barrier slows down the rate that water gets out of the produce and slows down the rate oxygen gets in, and by doing that, we can naturally preserve the shelf life. >> reporter: how much longer does the average piece of fruit

last with your product on it? >> each piece of produce has different characteristics. we can get twice to five times the shelf life. >> reporter: so you're basically monitoring how this lemon is dying over time? >> exactly. >> reporter: this time lapse room is where they study the results. by day five, the untreated strawberries on top rot. but the treated ones on the bottom are still good to eat. it's fda approved, and the thin layer it leaves behind is edible and tasteless. it would replace the wax that is often used on grocery store produce. >> you're going to have some people who look at this and say this is franken food. i don't want that sprayed on my food, because that reminds me of a pesticide. how do you get over that hurdle with those people? >> the way we try to do this is be very open with people about what we're doing. we're taking stuff you're eating already in every bite of your produce and just reapplying exactly where it is on the produce. we're putting it on the outside.

>> reporter: the company hopes their product will help with global hunger and places without access to refrigeratoration. it could also reduce food waste. here in the u.s., 24% of produce is tossed out before it reaches the grocery store. another it 28% is thrown out at home. no one technology is going to solve a problem this big. >> fundamentally, this problem is driven by our habits around food. and so we can't technology our way out of that. i think it needs to be paired with really careful shopping. >> reporter: epeel is in talks with brands. it remains to be seen whether using the product would pass the cost along. >> we've been able to do two to three times the shelf life, and i'm super happy to see the

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secretary of state rex tillerson is in fairbanks, alaska. they will be discussing the thorny issue of climate change. president trump has called climate change a hoax and has made conflicting statements about whether the united states will adhere to the paris accord. on the bottom of the world, the largest predators are suffering from a rise in sea temperatures. our mark phillips reports for his series, "the climate

diaries." >> reporter: a pod of killer whales is spotted crossing a stretch of open water. researchers jump into small boats to chase them, just like in the old days. this hunt, though, isn't about killing whales. it's about trying to save them. >> one of the reasons we study top predators is to understand the health of the ecosystem that supports them. >> reporter: an ecosystem that is changing. modern whale hunters, using modern kbeer. a camera mounted on a drone, to give the whales a health checkup, and finding some are in trouble. >> she's very, very thin. you can see her ribs really clearly. so she's lost all of the fat along her entire body. >> reporter: a dying whale. >> you're looking at a dying whale. and she has dependent offspring. once she dies she's going to lose her calf. >> reporter: the prime suspect,

antarctica, is warming up. >> fewer seals. >> less ice, fewer seals. it's a hypothesis. >> reporter: they've had to cobble this project together. she works for a marine animal welfare organization called sr3. he works for noaa fisheries department. they get transportation in antarctica with national geographic expeditions. >> this is the seventh year in a row we've conducted research aboard this ship. >> reporter: and it's the long-term commitment that's important. >> to understand them and get opportunities with them, it takes multiple years. >> reporter: right now, though, even the short-term commitment is in doubt. mark phillips. cbs news, antarctica. and that is the overnight news for this thursday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back a little later for the morning news and of course cbs this morning.

from the bruoadcast center in nw york city, i'm tony dokoupil. captioning funded by cbs it's thursday, may it's thursday, may 11th, 2011. this is the "cbs morning news." president trump defends firing the fbi director in a tweet, and the new acting head of the fbi appears before lawmakers today. >> i'm very grateful for the opportunity to be with you today. >> students take a stand on graduation day at a historically black college, turning their backs on the education secretary. good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs news