captioning sponsored by cbs >> mason: what happened? the military struggles to give details of the niger ambush that took four american lives. one widow is demanding answers and respect. me if my husband is out here fighting for our country, why can't you remember his name? >> mason: also tonight, paid to keep quiet. reports that bill o'reilly paid $45 million to settle sexual misconduct claims. >> this is not unique. women everywhere are used to being dismissed, ignored, or attacked. >> mason: plans to release the last classified documents from the j.f.k. assassination. and a hero's medal of honor for a top-secret mission half a century ago. >> it wasn't what we were doing.

it was where we were doing this. this is the "cbs evening news." >> mason: and this is our western edition. good evening. i'm anthony mason. the highest-ranking u.s. military officer took questions today on the deadly ambush in the african nation of niger 19 days ago. but he had few answers on what went wrong in what was supposed to be a low-risk operation. four american soldiers were killed, and among the unanswered questions: why it took two days to recover one of the fallen geericans. nancy cordes begins our coverage. >> the perception is the department of defense has not ten forth coming. o reporter: the chairman of the onint chiefs of staff tried to dispel that perception today. >> the assessment was that contact with the enemy was unlikely. ro reporter: general joseph dunford said the group of u.s. soldiers and 30 nigerians had

had been on a reconnaissance patrol 85 kilometers from niger's capital city. >> they came under attack from approximately 50 enemy using small arms fired, rocket- propelled grenades and technical vehicles. ri reporter: he describes the enemy as local tribal fighters affiliated with isis. he said the u.s. forces equipped idth machine guns and small arms lp fno air cover didn't radio for help for an hour. >> reporter: my judgment would be was that that unit thought they could handle the situation without additional support. s reporter: he said an unmanned drone was overhead in minutes. french mirage jets arrived an hour later. two wounded americans were f rlifted during the firefight, and the bodies of three killed in action were evacuated that rgening. but sergeant ladavid johnson was still missing. >> i want to know why it took d.em 48 hours to find my husband. my reporter: johnson's widow teshia told abc today that she

still has not been told where her husband's body was found and why she wasn't allowed to open knocasket. e, i know my husband's body from head to toe, and they won't let me see anything. i don't know what's in that box. it could be empty for all i know. ti there are times when we make a suggestion to the family that they may not want to review the remains. at the end of the day, the policy is it's the family's decision as to whether or not they do that. >> reporter: dunford promised ilansparency and said investigators are still working to gather answers for the families and for members of congress. evme key lawmakers said they weren't even aware that the u.s. had 800 service members stationed in niger until after this happened, anthony. >> mason: nancy cordes. thanks, nancy. espor garrett has been looking into the white house response to this. >> reporter: myeshia johnson spoke for the first time about the call she received from

president trump. >> the president said he knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway. he couldn't remember my husband's name. >> reporter: mr. trump said on poitter the conversation was respectful and that he spoke johnson's name from the d.ginning, without hesitation. johnson's widow disagreed. >> the only way he remembered my husband name because he told me he had my husband report in front of him. d frieorter: mrs. johnson is a wonstituent and friend of congresswoman frederica wilson, a member of congress since 2011 and before that the florida legislature. calson listened to the president's call last week and accused him of insensitivity, prompting a barrage of white house criticism that persisted ofrough the weekend. ede president described her three times on twitter as "wacky." press secretary sarah huckabee sanders. >> as we say in the south, "all hat, no cattle." >> reporter: and chief of staff john kelly piled on.

>> even for someone that is that erpty a barrel, we were stunned. >> reporter: again sergeant johnson's widow disagreed. >> what she said was 100% correct. >> reporter: mrs. johnson was asked if she had anything to say to the president. n' no. i don't have nothing to say to orm. >> reporter: arizona senator john mccain, a former prisoner of war in vietnam, joined other republicans in urging the president to end the dispute ldth the johnson family. >> we should not be fighting about a brave american who lost his life serving his country. that should not be the topic of discussion in america today. >> reporter: in a different interview, mccain indirectly criticized the five vietnam war stferments mr. trump received, the last in 1968 for bone spurs. afcain said during vietnam the poor were drafted in droves while the rich could buy their way out of combat with concocted diagnoses. anthony?

>> mason: major garrett at the r.ite house. boanks, major. army sergeant bowe bergdahl's sentencing trial got under way t fort bragg, north carolina. bergdahl was held by the taliban ior five years. last week he pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, which could put him behind bars for life. corgdahl's lawyer claim the case should be dismissed because comments by the president made it impossible to get a fair trial. the president called him a "dirty, rotten traitor." the allegations against harvey weinstein have opened a window into sexual misconduct in film studios. over the weekend, writer and director james toback was accused of sexual harassment by 38 women. ye denies it. now there are reports that bill o'reilly, the former fox tv host, paid tens of millions to settle claims. breanna goladriga is following this.

>> never one time was there any complaint filed against me with human resources or anybody's legal team. >> reporter: that's bill o'reilly responding today to the bsew york times" bombshell report that he paid lees weil $32 million to settle a sexual harassment claim. former fox news host megyn kelly disputed o'reilly's statement today. >> o'reilly's suggestion that no one complained about his behavior is false. i know, because i complained. >> reporter: in an interview both the "times," o'reilly was erfiant, saying what his family .as been through is horrible. >> we have physical proof that this is ( bleep ). ( bleep ). r.ay. so it's on you if you want to eistroy my children further. >> reporter: weil initially claimed o'reilly repeatedly harassed her and e-mailed her gay pornography.

she then signed a sworn affidavit renouncing the allegations. 21st century fox reportedly knew of the settlement but signed r.reilly to a four-year, $100 million deal just one month later. the company issued a statement saying it was informed by mr. o'reilly that he had settled the matter personally. according to the "times," this is the sixth known settlement that either o'reilly or fox news has made. news of o'reilly's earlier settlements came on the heels of fox news' chief roger ailes ouster following claims by boetchen carlson. o'reilly was asked about carlson when he was on cbs this morning promoting his children's book. >> i'm not that interested in this? >> no. t sexual harassment? you're not interested in sexual harassment? >> i'm not interested in basically litigating something that is finished that makes my network look bad. eday. i'm not interested in making my network look bad at all.

that doesn't interest me one bit. >> reporter: today o'reilly posted friendly letters on his website. he says kelly and carlson wrote to him when they worked together. sgyn kelly says she complained to the co-presidents of fox news about them at the time, one of llem, bill shine, was ousted. the other, jack abernathy, remains president of the company. >> mason: thanks, breanna. police in florida are searching test test test heat waived of weach has centersthe threat of new wildfires from san diego to dash. >> here is jamie yuccas. >> annalise tansy wanted to go to the beach in santa monica. >> we thought better ways, at santa monica and eating some good food.

>> noirldz a good idea when beaches get cool those winds could gust to 40 to 60 miles per hour, and this has firefighters concerned wildfires will start under the intense triple digit temperatures. >> kind of like a perfects storm. >> eric scott is from the los angeles city fire department. engines and aircraft will be ready. >> we predeploy engines and other resources, we can hit it hard, hit it fast and we can keep these fires small before they get out of control. >> red flag warnings the highest alert for fires are in effect from santa barbara to san diego. more than 85 schools from san diego will close because of lack of air conditioning. coronado schools were closed today because of heat. the heat today and tomorrow could break records across

southern california, including here at dodgers stadium writ could be the hottest ever when the houston as stroas play the dodgers. it is expected to be 100°. >> thanks, jamie. >> today, the highest honor was awarded to mike gary rose, for extreme heroism in an e-a secret war. inspires us >> reporter: mike gary rose was a green beret medic in 1970 when he and 15 other americans were sent on a top-secret mission velyde laos. >> this was a relatively cleared area. >> reporter: which explains why it took him to so long to get the medal. >> it wasn't what we were doing, it was where we were doing it. laos was originally a country where the u.s. could not go. the north vietnamese were using it as a base camp from which to launch attacks into south vietnam, so the u.s. military

oint in secret. all rose was told was to bring extra medical supplies. what does that tell you about a e mission? ve it's going to be a tough one, and it proved to be. rs reporter: helicopters carried the americans and a company of about 120 montagnard tribesmen to miles inside laos. >> we took two casualties going in, and we hit the ground running. and it became a running gun ayttle for the next four days, which seemed like one long day. st reporter: this is the one picture that exists from those four days, taken during a rare break in the fighting. according to the citation, rose continuously exposed himself to intense fire as he fearlessly moved from casualty to casualty. he is credited with treating 60 ne 70 wounded. >> if i had done anything less e an what i did on those four days, i would have failed myself, the guy on my left, and the guy on my right. he reporter: rose himself was hit by shrapnel in the foot. how bad was the wound to you? >> about that deep, about big

yround as my thumb. >> reporter: that would qualify as a serious wound. >> in that location and that environment, yeah, not a serious wound. >> reporter: rose was on the last chopper out and saved the life of a crewman who had been anot through the neck. >> he was going into shock, and i remember leaning down to him, sad i said, can you say this on tv? >> reporter: try it. >> listen, you stupid son of a bitch, if you were going to die, you'd already be dead. then he came out of shock. >> reporter: three montagnards were killed on the mission, but all americans came out alive. here they are coming out on crutches. five decades later he's incepting the honor on behalf of all the soldiers who fought in heos. he could be accepting it on behalf of any soldier who has ever been in a desperate ontuation. >> keep putting one foot in thont of the other. that's what you do. either that or you give up.

are you going to give up? no, you're not going to give up. >> reporter: sounds simple until you try to live or die by it. ( applause ) david martin, cbs news, huntsville, alabama. >> mason: a soldier's secret bravery, a secret no more. maming up next on the "cbs iening news," up in smoke. legal marijuana farms were burned in the california fires. later the kennedy assassination, the last top-secret files are due to be released. cc1: cd's, baseball cards... your old magic set? and this wrestling ticket... which you still owe me for. seriously? $25 i didn't even want to go. ahhh, your diary. "mom says it is totally natural..." $25 is nothing. abracadabra, bro. the bank of america mobile banking app. the fast, secure and simple way to send money.

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>> this was a 40,000 square foot barn, which is about an acre in size. >> reporter: not just a barn... >> that's right. there was processing for marijuana in here. >> reporter: the first marijuana for recreational use became nigal in california. rd long days of hard work but exciting. >> reporter: he's c.e.o. of sparc, a company that's been running a medical marijuana dispensaries since 2009. he had hoped to capture some of the $5 billion expected to be a.ent annually on legal larijuana in california. last month we toured sparc's new snoma facility where marijuana g cause being processed and prepared for retail sale. cases of marijuana were stacked along the wall. but then, wine country went up n' flames. >> if it wasn't metal, it's in the here anymore. planeporter: many of the morijuana plants survived, but e maged by smoke and ash, they will lose much of their value in the retail market. how much did you lose in this? >> i couldn't tell you exactly at this point. a

>>lot. >> reporter: a lot. e' a lot. io reporter: and he's not alone. there are at least 3,000 marijuana farming operations nearby. ese growers association estimates tens of millions have seen lost. o it's a setback, but on the other hand, we're trying to make lemonade out of lemons. >> reporter: you'll find some way for the business to survive this? >> we'll figure it out, yeah. >> reporter: growing marijuana already faced a troubling reality. the federal government still considers the harvest a crime, so there is no insurance coverage for marijuana. : mason: still ahead, the nation's five living former presidents unite in a rare rablic appearance. your eyes work as hard as you do. but do they need help making more of their own tears? if you have chronic dry eye caused by reduced tear production due to inflammation, restasis multidose® can help, with continued use, twice a day, every day,

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the boston marathon bombing in 2013. seretta lynn had not been seen in public since suffering a stroke last may. but last night she made a surprise appearance at the country music hall of fame tremony in nashville. lynn, who is 85, was there to indebt alan jackson, who said he didn't mind being upstaged. great to see her back. it's rare the see all five living former presidents in one place at the same time, but it happened saturday night. errack obama, george w. bush, bill clinton, george h.w. bush, and jimmy carter shared the stage in college station, texas. the former presidents united to attend a concert that raised more than $31 million for victims of hurricanes harvey, irma, and maria. siey did not talk politics, but mr. bush did share a joke with mr. obama behind president clinton there. mr. obama struggled to keep a straight face.

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small boxes popping up all over san jose state campus, how the devices will help police solve crimes next on kpix5 news. ioom the j.f.k. assassination are due to be released on thursday. that's the deadline set by congress 25 years ago. will they finally answer all the questions? here's chip reid. >> something has happened here. we understand there has been a shooting. >> reporter: november 22, 1963, president john f. kennedy was shot as his motorcade passed through deeley plaza in dallas. o cret service agent clint hill leaped into the limousine and

was horrified by what he saw. >> i assumed it was a fatal eeund. >> reporter: lee harvey oswald was captured and charged with murder, but while he was being transferred to jail, he was shot and killed. in 1964, a special commission ld aluded oswald acted alone, vet in 2013, the 50th anniversary of kennedy's death, 61% of americans still said they believed others were involved in a conspiracy. clint hill believes oswald did act alone, and he hopes to learn why. de perhaps somewhere in that material will give us some idea as to the motive. we reporter: it's unknown if the thousands of documents to be released this week will solve the many mysteries of the j.f.k.'s death. joe kennedy iii, a great nephew of the former president and the current massachusetts congressman, supports release of the file, but he wishes the white house had handled it whiterently. >> it would have been nice if there was some communication between the administration and members of our family.

>> reporter: most of the documents have been released over the years. one concern about this final batch is that it could ignite new conspiracy theories to go along with so many others, including an unfounded one suggested last year by then- candidate donald trump, who tried to link senator ted cruz's father to j.f.k.'s death. pr his father was with lee harvey oswald prior to oswald being shot. >> reporter: the c.i.a. is reportedly demanding that some of the files remain secret in the interest of national security. it's now up to president trump and the white house has suggested it is possible that some of the documents will never see the light of day. bsip reid, cbs news, washington. >> reporter: and that's the "cbs evening news." i'm anthony mason in new york. thanks for watching. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

country. heated moments today- as officials plead with homeowners kpix5 news begins with plans late out for a class sal clean-up job in wine kun -- colossal clean-up job in wine country. it's the next major challenge for the north bay, clearing the mounds of toxic debris in neighborhoods that were burned by the wildfires. >> today the government said many people won't be able to start building before next spring. kpix5's betty yu with our first details of a timeline for this daunting operation. betty? >> we are talking about an epic clean-up. officials understand that they need to move fast, but they also have to be very careful and systemic about addressing all of the hazards. their goal is to be done cleaning up by early next year. the office of emergency services is mobilizing resources at every level of government. first the federal epa will be on the ground this week to start removing toxic materials

from homes, things like batteries, propane tanks, paints and pesticides in garages. s with homeowner only after the epa has finished next the u.s. army corps of engineers will move into neighborhoods with homeowner permission to clear debris. the soil will need to be tested as well. ial. so for example what we don't want to happen is for people k and have lots of >> we're asking that no one do large scale debris removal until we've had a chance to make sure that the way the debris is being removed is the best way to manage hazardous material. so, for example, what we don't want to happen is for people to fill up a dump truck and haul lots of hazardous material in it and it goes down the highway. >> the army corps of engineers says that it will use local label as much as possible. so the money -- label as much as possible so the money -- labor as much as possible so the money from the federal government stays in the community and it wants to help workers get back on their feet as early as this weekend. at times in the news conference members of the public got frustrated for who will pay for