coastline, mid-70s. that is a pretty live picture. >> that's gorgeous. ♪ ♪ ni captioning sponsored by cbs >> mason: a grand old mess. tw's war between president trump and senators from his own party. >> the president has great difficulty with the truth on many issues. >> we must stop pretending that the degradation of our politics and the conduct of some in our alecutive branch are normal. >> mason: also tonight, ambush in niger. did american soldiers walk into a trap? a near disaster when air traffic controllers can't reach a passenger jet. >> 781 go around. air canada 781, go around. >> mason: and... >> fantastic run by alex asllins. >> mason: he's one of the n.f.l.'s best young running e'cks thanks to some special training. >> imagine this defensive lineman coming at me and i just

start doing some irish dance move and i just run right by him. this is the "cbs evening news." >> mason: and this is our western edition. good evening. n.m anthony mason. the sniping between president trump and some members of his own party has now escalated into open warfare. eoday the president went to capitol hill to have lunch with republican senators, but two of them issued stark warnings about the president's ability to lead. arizona republican jeff flake announced he won't run next year so he can freely speak out against mr. trump, calling him "a threat to democracy." nancy cordes has more on this extraordinary day. >> none of this is normal. >> reporter: arizona's jeff flake stood on the senate floor, his voice quivering as he called the president indecent, reckless, and undignified. >> so, when the next generation asks us, why didn't you do something, why didn't you speak

up, what are we going to say? mr. president, i rise today to say enough. >> reporter: the breadth of his condemnation was matched by a maries of comments made by his g.o.p. colleague, bob corker, earlier in the day. >> the president has great difficulty with the truth on many issues. >> reporter: like flake, corker is retiring at the end of this term. >> it's a sad day from my perspective for our nation, and i think the worst of it is going to be just the whole debasing of ir nation. wh reporter: corker chairs the powerful foreign relations committee. he says white house aides have repeatedly asked him to talk president trump out of bad decisions. >> it's obvious his political model and governing model is to divide, and he has not risen to the occasion. >> reporter: mr. trump once thought so highly of corker he considered him for vice president. >> a great friend of mine,

bmebody respected by everybody, cnator bob corker. ep reporter: but today the president called corker incompetent and a lightweight who couldn't get elected dogcatcher in tennessee. >> when he gets hit, he's going g hit back. and i think senator corker knows that, and he's maybe trying to get a headline or two on his way out the door. t reporter: that does not explain why other big-name republicans have also recently slammed the president's politics and behavior. >> bigotry seems emboldened. >> reporter: it all made for a tense lunch today between the president and senate republicans, who said tax reform barely came up. >> i don't have any observation about that. >> reporter: after lunch, the senate's top republican wouldn't address the elephant in the room. at what point do you have an obligation as a leader of this party to weigh in on these very serious criticisms of the tesident? >> what i have an obligation to do is to try to achieve the

greatest cohesion i can among 52 republicans, to try to achieve ar the american people the agenda that we set out to achieve, and tax reform is what we are about. >> reporter: flake argued his party has a duty to speak out. >> we have fooled ourselves for long enough that a pivot to governing is right around the corner. i have children and grandchildren to answer to, and so, mr. president, i will not be complicit or silent. >> reporter: the president's allies were undaunted. in fact, the conservative outlet breitbart cheered flake's decision to retire after just one term. they argued it was proof that steve bannon's strategy to force out vulnerable mainstream republicans is working. anthony? >> mason: nancy cordes with the latest episode of "family feud." thanks, nancy. now, to the ambush in niger. investigators want to find out u u.s. soldiers and their allies were set up by villagers.

four americans were killed in the october 4th shoot-out. they were part of a larger atrol. margaret brennan, now, is following this. >> reporter: the 12 u.s. soldiers and 30 nigerian forces had been on a reconnaissance mission for nearly 24 hours. the patrol then received new orders to meet with elders in the village of tongo-tongo where an isis offshoot had recently been recruiting supporters. a u.s. official tells cbs news that the patrol wanted to speak with the elders about countering isis' expansion. they may also have been searching for a wanted terrorist. the villagers delayed the troop's departure. and when they left, they were diverted from their planned route for unknown reasons. that's when they were ambushed by 50 enemy fighters. u.s. officials say it is unclear whether the attack was planned or simply one of opportunity. chairman of the joint chiefs general joseph dunford. >> so, they did not expect resistance on this particular patrol, at least when they first planned it.

>> reporter: when the attack was over, three u.s. soldiers were mortally wounded, two injured, and one stranded. sergeant ladavid johnson was separated from the group and his body recovered 48 hours later by nigerian forces. s litary investigators andgresaw asking whether this was a failure of intelligence or areparation. white house spokesperson sarah sanders. t we're going to make sure that we get full and adequate answers str not just the american people but for the families of those that were lost. >> reporter: 800 u.s. troops are i niger to advise and assist dvcal forces in their fight against terrorism. >> americans aren't doing the actual fighting unless it's self-defense, and in this instance to me, clearly, it was lelf-defense. >> reporter: lisa williams served as ambassador to niger igring the obama administration. >> it's important because niger can create a bulwark. it can be... we can... if we can help them stop terrorism there, then we are less to worry about on the homefront. >> reporter: cbs news spoke with ermily member of one of the injured u.s. soldiers.

he's a staff sergeant with seven deployments, and he's back at fort bragg recovering from a bullet wound to his elbow. meanwhile, nigerian authorities have arrested that village elder. >> mason: margaret brennan at the white house. thanks, margaret. the f.a.a. is investigating a close call at san francisco's airport when an air canada jet eailed to respond to repeated orders to abort its landing. this follows another near disaster three months ago involving the same airline at the same airport. here's transportation correspondent kris van cleave. >> 781, go around. air canada 781, go around. >> reporter: with air canada flight 781 closing in on runway 28 right sunday night, air traffic controllers at san francisco's airport made six calls to the pilots to abort the landing. there was no response from the m ight from montreal with 149 on board. controllers feared a previous arrival wouldn't be clear of the

same runway in time. e supervisor in the tower resorted to using a red light to alert the plane, which landed anyway, only moments after the other airplane cleared the way. erter landing, the tower made three more attempts to reach the air canada plane before finally hearing from the pilot, claiming there was a highway with the airliner's radio. ty that's pretty evident. es i'm afraid these fellas were almost clueless. >> reporter: ross aimer is a retired airline captain who often flew into san francisco. >> going into a place like san francisco, if i don't hear any transmission on a very busy frequency for more than 30 seconds, i know i have a problem, and i either switch radios or get a radio check. >> reporter: in july, a different air canada a320 came within feet of colliding with keur airliners waiting to take off from san francisco. >> united one air canada flew directly over us. rs reporter: in that incident

fe air canada pilots mistook the taxiway for the runway. an n.t.s.b. investigation is ongoing. in a statement, air canada says its flight was initially cleared to land when it was six miles out and the airline will investigate what happened. the f.a.a. is investigating, as well. s thony? >> mason: kris van cleave on the near disaster there. thanks, kris. s ere was plenty to clean up today after tornadoes tore through the carolinas and parts of virginia. the national weather service confirmed two tornadoes touched down in south carolina. a suspected tornado in hickory, north carolina, flipped planes and damaged hangars at a local airport. usavy rain also caused flash flooding in the region. the f.b.i. today released 1,500 pages from its investigation owto the 2012 massacre in newtown, connecticut. anna werner reports they shed muw light on the troubled young man who murdered 20 first graders and six adults at sandy hook school.

>> reporter: the f.b.i. documents include an interview with an unidentified woman who said she was in contact with adam lanza for over two years on a gaming web site dedicated to the 1999 columbine high school shootings. she told investigators lanza kept a spreadsheet, meticulously documenting the details of hundreds of spree killings and mass murders. she described him as depressed, isolated, and someone who said he viewed death as an escape from his joyless existence. the files show indicators of a young man headed for trouble in a briefing with victims' families in 2014, f.b.i. profilers said lanza didn't snap, but was careful, methodical in his planning. another woman interviewed told agents she previously heard lanza say he planned to kill his mother and children at sandy hook. he was diagnosed with asperger's, a high-functioning form of autism, but was gifted enough with computers that his mother nancy said her son had

hacked into a government computer system, bringing authorities to authorities to her door. witnesses described his mother's behavior, too, telling agents she never let anyone come into her home. one describing her as a gun nut, who loved the feeling and power of a gun in her hand. usnza used his mother's gun to kill her and then the 20 elementary school students and six adults at sandy hook elementary. manny gomez is a former f.b.i. agent. >> there are a lot of mentally ill people that are actively seeking to copycat these types of situations. it's going to happen again if people don't step up and try to identify the next adam lanza. >> reporter: the documents also show that lanza talked about school killers with what was described as "respect and understanding." he was also apparently thinking about the attack as early as march 2011, almost two years

before it happened, anthony. >> mason: anna werner, thanks. we're getting new insight into another mass shooting, the attack in las vegas that killed 58. the "new york times" has developed a new time line by piecing together evidence from videos taken at the scene. here's jamie yuccas. >> reporter: the "new york times" investigation says the shooting started at 10:05, matching the investigators' time line. and after some initial single shots, automatic gunfire can be heard with jason aldean on stage. (gunfire) but at 10:06 p.m., one minute into the attack, the "times" says stephen paddock wounds mandalay bay security guard jesus campos in the hallway. this contradicts investigators' latest time line, which says paddock first shot campos and o en began to shoot into the crowd uninterrupted. st's one of the many questions being raised by a team of digital investigators at the edew york times," which used 30 videos to create a time line.

>> ours is not the definitive picture of what happened. more information will emerge, but it does give us new insights into what happened. >> reporter: senior story producer malachai brown. >> we analyzed every burst of gunfire which had its own fingerprint. >> reporter: 36 seconds after campos radioed in came a second round of automatic gunfire into the crowd of the route 91 harvest festival. there is just a 17-second lull. before a third burst of gunfire. and only 20 seconds later a fourth burst. ore "new york times" counts more than 900 rounds in all into the crowd. at 10:10, muffled gunfire is heard from a taxi driver's cell phone video indicating that the shooter might have been firing into the hallway again. fiat's unclear is why officers wouldn't arrive on the 31st floor for another two minutes and not until 10:22 to the 32nd floor. at where are the cops at? >> reporter: a full seven

afnutes after the shooting tearted, taxi driver corey langdon questions why there are no officers or panic outside mandalay bay. >> everybody is just standing around. >> reporter: more than three teeks after the shooting, there are still many unanswered questions, like what was paddock's motivation, why did he allegedly shoot himself, and why are there still so many questions about the timeline? anthony, we reached out to the sheriff's office, who is the lead investigator in this case. they told us there is no investigative update at this time. >> mason: jamie yuccas with that still-confusing las vegas timeline. coming up next on the "cbs evening news," an ancient exercise that may help heart attack patients. later, how an n.f.l. star stays a step ahead of the competition. megared advanced triple absorption it supports your heart,

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it can be a long road to recovery, but jon lapook found an ancient form of exercise can be medication in motion. >> reporter: in the early rerning hours in a new york city park, there's a quiet revolution in exercise. >> begin. te reporter: tai chi is a chinese practice dating back centuries. y connects mind and body using slow, deliberate movements. >> never in any other exercise have i had something that was both energizing and relaxing at the same time. s reporter: 73-year-old susan werbin has taken tai chi classes for more than 15 years. a recent study found it improves balance, especially in older people, and may reduce the rate of falls by more than 40%. ou you're moving slowly, but ju're oiling your joints. you're letting everything flow together so that you, you know, instead of the "use it or lose it." >> reporter: now there is evidence it can be used to fight heart attacks. cardiac rehab can help patients recover more quickly.

but the american heart association says more than 60% ren't do it. dr. elena san marago blacher of the miriam hospital in providence wanted to see if tai chi could help. 29 heart attack patients who iclined cardiac rehab entered a six-month tai chi program. 25 of them completed the program, and also increased their level of physical activity. >> someone said, "i got back on my bike. i felt that i could do it again." thing i was doing before my heart attack and i got scared, that gave me the confidence of t ing it again. >> reporter: fear of another heart attack is a common reason for declining cardiac rehab. researchers believe tai chi deuld be a way of gently easing into a more vigorous exercise program. anthony? >> m cation in motion, john. thanks. toill ahead, director james toback faces new sexual harassment allegations by the hundreds.

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>> mason: the allegations directed at writer and director james toback are adding up. 38 women originally accused toback of a report of sexual misconduct in a report over the weekend. now, more than 200 additional women told the "l.a. times" they were subjected to unwanted sexual advances. toback, who is 72, has denied the allegations. walking while distracted will cost you in honolulu. starting tomorrow anyone caught looking at a phone or texting while crossing the street could face a maximum $35 fine the first time. eepeat offenders could be charged up to $99. they're going to make a lot of money in honolulu. robert guillaume died at home today in los angeles. he won two emmys playing benson dubois, the acerbic butler on "soap" and in the spin-off "benson." >> you are leaving muddy tracks all over the place.

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>> reporter: and, in fact, he is. he's irish dancing. he learned it from the daughter of his high school football coach. prre you surprised but how hard it was? >> most definitely. i got drenched in sweat. having 12-year-olds laugh at me is not fun. >> reporter: but he stuck with su, and now, he says irish dance is the secret to his football success. >> i feel more explosive, oecause i'm always on my toes, now, so i feel like i have calf muscles like the hulk. >> reporter: he showed us some of his moves. >> there you go, there you go. >> reporter: and then offered some encouragement to someone with two left feet. >> oh, that was nice. .hat was amazing. >> reporter: and he showed us how he applies irish dance to football. i'm a big middle linebacker and i'm coming at you, and you do... >> i'll do something like that. i'll get them out of the way with my little irish jig. >> reporter: off the field he's become an ambassador for

irish dance, and in some cases a defender. this past sunday he met 12-year-old carl tubbs who says he was being bullied because he's studying irish dance. tubbs' mother reached out to collins, who jumped at the chance to help. >> i want to let you know i'm proud of you, man. i'm going to be following your career, man. >> reporter: for tubbs, it was exactly what he needed. >> it really inspired me to keep on going with irish dance. >> it makes me feel amazing, you know? it makes me feel like i'm making a difference in someone else's life. >> reporter: irish dance is making a difference in his life, too, in ways he never imagined. chip reid, cbs news, owings mills, maryland. >> mason: if this n.f.l. thing doesn't work out, he could have a broadway career. as for me, i think tai chi is spre my speed. inat's the "cbs evening news." i'm anthony mason in new york. thanks for watching. have a good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

the bay area. good evening, i'm veronica de la cruz. kpix5 news begins with the expensive tunnel raising new concerns about the first leg of high speed rail in the bay area. good evening. i'm veronica de la cruz. >> i'm allen martin. we have learned construction has begun on a critical part of the bullet train. the first segment from san jose to the central valley could begin carrying passengers in 2025. a key part of that is a 13.5- mile tunnel into the pacheco pass east of gilroy and it isn't cheap. kpix5's kiet do live in san jose with concerns about this ballooning coast. size and posed new tunnel. the la >> reporter: yeah. we're live here at the station where someday perhaps over the next decade or two high speed rail will stop here on its way up to san francisco, but now we are learning that this tunnel that the high speed rail authority wanted to build, it wanted to build six small tunnels. they are scrapping that plan and now opting for one big fat

long tunnel. nnel boring machine again and again.) (nats) prep work has already sts gathering samples de even with sky drone 5 flying high above the san luis reservoir at the maximum altitude allowed by law, it still cannot capture the proposed size and scale of this pro -- the size and scale of this proposed new tunnel happening in the region of pacheco pass between gilroy and chowchilla. one massive tunnel 13.5 miles long would skirt the reservoir just to the north. >> tunnels are not cheap. that's just part and parcel of doing this. >> reporter: dan richard said building one tunnel means they wouldn't have to build multiple portals, the entrances and exits, which are expensive the the other big reason? moving that gigantic tunnel boring machine isn't cheap either. >> if you have a series of smaller tunnels, you're setting up