welfare for unrepresented animals. thanks for watching tonight at 5:00. >> al and veronica right back here in 30 minutes. captioning sponsored by cbs >> mason: something's fishy. that's what congressional critics are saying about the no- bid contract awarded the whitefish energy company to rebuild puerto rico's electrical grid. also tonight... >> we have great unity. >> mason: the president denies his party is divided. >> i called it a lovefest. >> mason: the postman always rings twice, but the amazon man will walk right in. ♪ i'm walking. yes, indeed ♪ i'm talking and we're talking about one of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll, fats domino. ♪ oh, you are my thrill on blueberry hill ♪

this is the "cbs evening news." >> mason: and this is our western edition. good evening. i'm anthony mason. five weeks later, the power is still out in most of puerto rico, and now lightbulbs are going off in the heads of members of congress. they're calling for an investigation of the deal that awarded a big contract to a tiny company to get the power back on. the company happens to be headquartered in the hometown of a member of the trump cabinet. julianna goldman is looking into this. >> reporter: it's been more than a month since hurricane maria ravaged puerto rico, leaving its power grid in shambles. today 75% of the island is still without power, and lawmakers in both parties are asking why a small montana company was granted a $300 million no-bid contract to help rebuild transmission and distribution lines. >> my biggest concern is we don't have enough information as to the process that went through that. >> reporter: republican congressman rob bishop chairs

the house committee that oversees puerto rico. the government power company known as prepa signed the contract with whitefish energy, a two-person, two-year-old company whose largest previous federal contract had been for $1.3 million to upgrade lines in arizona. prepa filed for bankruptcy in july amid the island's ongoing debt crisis. it bypassed a network of utilities and a mutual aid system that is usually activated for storm recovery. the $300 million contract is the biggest yet for puerto rico's recovery effort, and for whitefish, which relies on subcontractors for their work. >> this appears to be a pretty small company. are they capable of doing the job that they have? >> reporter: republican senator lisa murkowski chaired the energy committee. she expects a hearing on puerto rico in the next week. and democratic senator maria cantwell is calling for an investigation. >> we're getting ready the light up puerto rico. >> reporter: the company's subcontractor rates are calling up questions.

$462 an hour for a supervisor. $319 an hour for a lineman. and its ties to the administration are under scrutiny. whitefish is backed by hbc investments. its founder and general partner delaney colaio gave $33,000 to delaney colonetta gave $33,000 to the campaign of then-texas governor and now energy secretary rick perry. colonetta and his wife gave $28,200 to president trump. >> hi. i'm andy andy techmanski, i'm andy techmanski, founder and c.e.o. of whitefish energy. >> reporter: techmanski knows interior secretary ryan zinke. whitefish is based in his hometown. the interior department and whitefish says zinke played no dle in the contract. whitefish officials say they were willing to work for $2 million up front while the other company prepa was considering wanted $25 million. rnight puerto rico's governor says that he's going to be reviewing the contracting process. anthony? >> mason: julianna goldman. thanks, julianna.

hurricane maria also disrupted production at puerto rican factories that make critical drugs and medical supplies. dr. jon lapook found hospitals on the u.s. mainland are already seeing shortages. >> this is slated to go to a patient for infusion. >> reporter: these small bags of intravenous fluid deliver life-saving medications like antibiotics and chemotherapy. regine villain's job at nyu health is to manage supply, and she's worried. the bags are in short supply. >> we have been practically hand-to-mouth counting by the thops how much we have in house. it's just really nerve-racking to think about not being able to have those bags available for the patients. >> reporter: her concern is pihoed by hospitals and pharmacists around the country. ae american hospital association told cbs news the shortage is quickly becoming a crisis and threat to public health. there was already an existing xiortage for several years, made worse by facilities being

damaged by the hurricanes. on top of that, villain says the three major manufacturers usually shut down for aaintenance before the end of the year. >> this is a thing that keeps me up at night, because i feel that if those shutdowns go on as planned, we could be experiencing unprecedented issues around i.v. solutions. ea reporter: meaning what? >> meaning that we may be in a situation where we have run out of a lot of those necessary i.v. fluids for the hospital. >> reporter: salt water, sugar solutions. >> that's correct. >> reporter: that's meat and potatoes stuff. nd first thing that we do, we hang an i.v., and that's how we start taking care of you. >> reporter: we've been told that patient care has not been compromised so far, but it's unclear how long that can last given the strain on the system. anthony? >> mason: dr. jon lapook. thank you, jon. as president, donald trump is

also head of the republican party, and he denied today that it is party divided, despite evidence to the contrary, including prominent republicans yesterday calling him an habitual liar and a danger to crmocracy. here's chief congressional correspondent nancy cordes. >> members of congress ought to ereak out. >> reporter: arizona republican jeff flake's call to arms was met with mutiny today as g.o.p. colleagues refused to open fire i mr. trump. >> i'm still on very good terms with the president. >> he's very focused on getting results. >> our job is to put our head down and start legislating. >> reporter: they're holding back partly because the trump white house is key to their agenda on issues like tax reform. ax we now have a president that will sign it. >> the yeas are 50. the nays are 50. >> reporter: just last night jce president pence cast a tie- aseaking vote enabling republicans to block an obama- era rule that would have allowed consumers to band together to sue banks for wrongdoing.

>> the vice president votes in fhe affirmative, and the joint resolution is passed. >> we have great unity. >> reporter: the president atsisted today that party friction has been overblown. nt repeatedly mentioned the oanding ovations he got at yesterday's lunch with senate republicans. >> i think the press makes me knre uncivil than i am. you know, people don't understand. i went to an ivy league college. i was a nice student. i did very well. i'm a very intelligent person. >> reporter: as for flake... >> his poll numbers are terrible. he's done terribly for the great people of arizona, a state that erkes donald trump very much. >> almighty god. >> reporter: but the senate chaplain, barry black, hailed flake's courage and asked for some divine intervention. >> lord, provide us with more patriots who will stand for right regardless of the consequences.

>> reporter: flake's decision to retire was hailed as a victory by presidential allies like steve bannon, but senate republicans argue that is short-sighted. they worry, anthony, that his seat could now get scooped up by a democrat. >> mason: nancy cordes at the capitol. thanks, nancy. with the republican president under attack by both of arizona's republican senators, we talked to republican voters in the state. here's jim axelrod. >> i will not be complicit or silent. >> reporter: arizona senator jeff flake went after donald trump in washington. >> for the sake of some half- baked, spurious nationalism. >> reporter: john mccain's criticism last week was in philadelphia. did you vote for president trump? >> i did. >> reporter: 2,300 miles from ieth cities, there are no clear winners in arizona. >> it's absolutely a lose-lose. >> reporter: what do you mean lose-lose? >> i think the president loses credibility when he does this

stuff. >> reporter: we gathered four republicans at the henry, a coffee shop in phoenix. >> i feel like our senators lost, because president trump has a very loud base, a loud and aggressive and somewhat angry >>se. >> reporter: carrie king and kiistin demong side with their senators. >> the bigger thing i see is he is fighting for unity. he's asking us to unite. po reporter: frank tesnati. >> i think he walked away from a fight he shouldn't have walked fiay from. >> reporter: and manny ciprot would have liked flake to hang tough. >> i was disappointed he threw la the towel. it's somewhat premature. >> reporter: but all four want the name-calling to stop, and all said their patience is ,tarting to wear thin with the weesident, not his policies, his demeanor. >> i personally agree that the president is more divisive than t is uniting. >> we vote for these people, we wve them our proxy to represent us, and when president trump

attacks these people personally, he's attacking all of us. >> reporter: all four of these blpublican voters say they are now a bit more concerned about the 2018 senate race here, as rell. as unpopular as flake is, his departure opens the door to a possibility of a candidate that could have a tougher time holding on to a senate seat that has been in republican hands for two decades. >> mason: jim axelrod in oroenix. thank you, jim. president trump told reporters today he did not specifically order the military mission in niger in which four american soldiers were killed. he said his generals made the decision. we've also learned the pentagon deployed elite commandos to search for one of the soldiers. margaret brennan is following this. s reporter: sources describe lve ambush as a complex attack involving rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. etvestigators are still trying to determine how or when sergeant ladavid johnson, an

army mechanic, got separated from the 11 other u.s. troops. un's also unknown whether he was alive when the wounded troops were evacuated. his body was recovered two days later. on the morning of october 4th, the soldiers were on a joint patrol with 30 nigerian earces near the village of tongo tongo where they had just met with elders and loaded up with supplies. they were at the end of a 24-hour mission when the attack began, an hour into the fight, the patrol called for help, and french forces arrived 30 minutes later. the military soon declared a dust one or duty status whereabouts unknown for sergeant johnson. a request was made the chairman of the joint chiefs, joseph dunford, for more u.s. personnel. u.s. commandos based in the sgion were launched. >> at that point, knowing that we had a missing soldier, we made a decision to make sure that all of the resources including national assets were available for the recovery of that operation. >> reporter: it is still unclear eaether the attack was pre- planned, but investigators nelieve it was carried out by an isis offshoot operating in the area.

ilcording to military officials, the group is run by this man, adnan abu al-sahrawi. he commands just 40 to 60 fighters but has allies throughout the region. al-sahrawi is wanted by u.s. and french authorities, but u.s. intelligence has not established a direct link between him and the isis militants that the u.s. is already fighting on the battleground in iraq and syria. anthony? >> mason: margaret brennan at the pentagon tonight. thanks. president trump today called it a disgrace that democrats helped pay for some of the information in a dossier of allegations against him. jeff pegues has the latest on that. >> reporter: the 35-page dossier details some of the most explosive allegations now under investigation by special counsel robert mueller. t esident trump continued to dismiss the document today. a> it was made up, and i understand they paid a tremendous amount of money. and hillary clinton always denied it.

ore democrats always denied it. >> reporter: the law firm that represented both the democratic national committee and the hillary for america campaign has confirmed that it paid fusion gps in april of 2016 to perform a variety of research services. until now, some top clinton campaign officials have denied knowing who was behind the effort to dig up dirt. former campaign spokesman brian fallon. >> i'm sure a small group of folks were aware of the decision the hire fusion back in the spring of 2016. but it was kept for reasons i understand to a very select group, given the sensitive nature of who they hired. >> reporter: fusion gps hired christopher steele, a former british spy who compiled the dossier containing unsubstantiated information, including president trump's slleged connections to the kremlin. alex conant, now a cbs news consultant and worked for marco rubio's presidential campaign. >> every competent campaign does research on their opponent. you want to know your opponents'

liabilities. i think hiring foreign spies is r rather aggressive tactic, and that's not normal, but it is normal to do opposition research. >> reporter: republicans paid fusion gps to initiate the research during the primary. later as the f.b.i. found some of the information credible, it considered hiring steele, but when his role became public, that deal collapsed. anthony? >> mason: jeff pegues, thanks. coming up next on the "cbs evening news," would you give amazon the key to your home? to ? it's not the magic-wand kind. it's the rfid-collar-and- internet of things-kind we created with chitale dairy. so every cow can let farmers know how she feels and what she needs to be healthier- (phone vibrates) all with a simple text. tah-dah. magic can't make digital transformation happen.

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>> customer: really?! >> singers: safelite repair, safelite replace. >> mason: to prevent packages from being stolen from your ailbox or your doorstep, would you give a delivery service access to your home? starting next month some amazon shoppers will have that option. here's anna werner. >> reporter: amazon's cheerful video presents the new amazon key program as a simple, convenient way to have your packages dropped off inside your

home. here's how it works: for $249 you buy a special smart door lock along with an in-home wireless camera aimed at the door. when the delivery driver arrives, amazon gets a notification. the company then activates the camera and unlocks the door remotely. so the driver can open your door and put your package inside. he then steps outside and asks ocazon to relock the door. you can watch the delivery happen live or view a video sent later. convenient? in theory, sure, but on twitter one user called it a "hilariously is bad idea." another asked, "convenient or too creepy?" and a third said tongue in cheek, "what could possibly go wrong?" cyber security expert john sileo says hacking. ig the biggest risk is the hackers who get a hold of the database of door codes. quite literally, if they can hack the n.s.a., they can hack a database of, you know, entry codes into an entire block's worth of homes.

that part is what scares me, not how amazon will use it. epw the hackers will use it. >> reporter: but with 11 million packages stolen every year, yahoo technology writer and cbs sunday morning contributor david pogue says... >> to me the comparison is not should amazon be allowed to open the front door and drop off a package and possibly then ransack my house. the question is: is that a better option than leaving my expensive order on my front orrch when i'm in the home. to me that's the risk of theft. >> reporter: the service is available the amazon prime members only. the company says if anything were to go wrong, it offers a satisfaction guarantee. anthony? >> mason: what could possibly go wrong? anna werner, thanks. coming up, a "60 minutes" investigation into contaminated flooring leads to a multimillion nollar settlement. dollar settlement. ? kimchi bbq.

amazing honky tonk? i can't believe you got us tickets. i did. i didn't pay for anything. you never do. send me what i owe. i got it. i mean, you did find money to buy those boots. are you serious? is that why you don't like them? those boots could make a unicorn cry. yeah, tears of joy. the bank of america mobile banking app. the fast, secure and simple way to send money. when i feel controlled by frequent, unpredictable abdominal pain or discomfort and diarrhea. i tried lifestyle changes and over-the-counter treatments, but my symptoms keep coming back. it turns out i have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. a condition that's really frustrating. that's why i talked to my doctor about viberzi... ...a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both abdominal pain and diarrhea at the same time. so i can stay ahead of my symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. do not take viberzi if you have no gallbladder,

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>> mason: lumber liquidators has agreed to pay $36 million to settle lawsuits over contaminated wood flooring. a "60 minutes" investigation found that laminated flooring made in china contained unsafe levels of formaldehyde, which can cause cancer. the flooring sold between 2009 and 2015 has been discontinued. there is news about this broadcast. cbs news president david rhodes announced today that jeff glor will be the next anchor of the "cbs evening news." jeff is an experienced journalist, a good friend to all of us here at cbs, and we'll be proud to pass the baton to him next month. the broadcast will be in the best hands, you can be sure of that, and i will finally get a ury off. congrats, jeff. up next, remembering fats domino, a 5'5" giant of rock 'n' roll. 5'5" giant of rock 'n' roll.

growing up, we were german. we danced in a german dance group. i wore lederhosen. when i first got on ancestry i was really surprised that i wasn't finding all of these germans in my tree. i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. the big surprise was we're not german at all. 52% of my dna comes from scotland and ireland. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. get started for free at ancestry.com. afi sure had a lot on my mind. my 30-year marriage... ...my 3-month old business... plus...what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding

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aleve pm for a better am. >> mason: music came alive in the 1950s thanks in great part the antoine domino, jr., better known as "fats." fats domino died yesterday at nome in louisiana. he was 89. he helped create a new style of music called rock 'n' roll. >> once again, fats domino. ♪ i'm in love with you >> reporter: fats domino was a show-stopping piano player with a soothing baritone voice. ♪ i'm walking. yes, indeed ♪ i'm talking the most powerful and most popular of a generation of keyboardists, domino rocked into cblic consciousness in the 1950s with "the fat man."

his dynamic style and warm vocals drew crowds and inspired musicians, some who began as fans would later perform with him. "rolling stone" likened him to benjamin franklin, beloved for the revolutionary changes he brought to r&b, a blend of new orleans parade rhythms and rock on' roll. ♪ i found my thrill s rhaps best known for his rich rendition of "blueberry hill." the song entered pop culture as an anthem for young lovers. ♪ ♪ ain't that a shame ♪ats domino sold 65 million records in a career that spanned five decades. along the way he broke racial barriers and transcended genres, crossing over into country

music. tsglobal star, he never forgot his new orleans roots, almost dying at home in the lower ninth a.rd during hurricane katrina. >> i'm sorry it happened to me and everybody else. ♪ all over the country people want to know ♪ whatever happened to fats domino ♪ >> mason: touched by the outpouring of concern, he reminded fans he was alive and well in the title track of his last album. ♪ and i'm where i want to be >> mason: "i wouldn't say i started rock 'n' roll," fats domino said, "but i don't remember anyone before me playing that stuff." that's the "cbs evening news." i'm anthony mason in new york. thanks for watching. good night.

of trains, running into santa clara county, for the first time. good evening, i'm allen martin. i'm veronica de la cruz. kpix news begins with a huge mail stone for b.a.r.t. trains running into santa clara county for the first time. >> i'm veronica de la cruz. only on 5, it's a major step in the extension of b.a.r.t. to the south bay. the first trains are making test runs. >> reporter: yeah, the trains rumbling through this milpitas neighborhood won't be carrying passengers until next summer, but it's an important first step toward that goal. a goal literally decades in the making. >> it's a huge milestone. >> reporter: for generations of people living in the south bay who felt like they figuratively, and literally missed the train, the significance of this milestone, the first b.a.r.t. trains extending into santa clara county simply cannot be

overstated. >> it felt like we've been an island down here, on our own. disconnected from the city. now walking a mile away, reading a book, and we were in san francisco. >> reporter: as the valley transportation authority puts the pinnishing touches on the milpitas b.a.r.t. stations, then begin testing. running three cars on the tracks to ensure the new system is running correctly. >> everything we do is to test out every potential failure point. >> reporter: 45 years after b.a.r.t. first launched, santa clara county is less than a year away from finally coming onboard. >> i never really thought it was going to happen. >> reporter: owning a comic bookstore near the milpitas station, and believes being part of b.a.r.t. will help reach new customers. >> as a small business, every little bit helps