this is putin's warm-up act. and this is his base. pumping up russian voters its the name of the game right now. there is no question that president putin is going to win the election on sunday. no contest for. that reason many are apathetic. the kremlin is working hard to make sure they're not embarrassed by low turnout. putin's message today was proud plea nationalistic. crimea has returned home to russia. he is talking about, 2014, when russian troops, wearing uniforms with no insignia, the so-called little green men. seized crimea from ukraine. at the time, putin denied he sent in the military. then when it was all over. he bragged about it.

the u.s. and most countries, called thesy sure illegal. slapped on sanctions. but today, on his whirlwind tour, putin, visited the bridge, russia is building to physically link the mainland to crimea. a mega project that is wildly popular with russians who support the land grab. but it is also a message to the west. putin, never backs down. that's something else, russian voters love about him. as the he said before he left the stage. i would like to hug you all. president putin made no mention of the growing rift with britain. over the poisoning of the russian exile, but the very fact that he held his rally here, in disputed territory, makes a bold statement, about, russia's attitude to international law. jeff. >> indeed it does. liz palmer in crimea. thank you. new study out find women physically fit may be 90% less

likely to develop dimentia. with more on the link between a hl thee body and mind. cbs medical contributor, dr. tara narula is here. how are you? >> good. an interesting study. researchers looked at 190 swedish women. middle-aged. gave them a fitness test. had them ride a stationary bike. tried to tell whether they had low, medium. high levels of fitness. they then followed them for 40 years to see who developed diment dimentia. they found those in the highest fitness level group on average developed dimentia at rate of 5%, those lowest, developed 32%. in addition, having higher levels of fitness seemed to delay the on set of dementia. for example instead of dementia at age of 79, in the medium fitness group. you would develop it at 90. 11 years later highest level of fitness. >> do we know why people working out develop this projection. >> what's interesting. we don't know for sure. some may be indirect effect of controlling cardiorisk factors.

blood cholesterol, blood pressure, dpooi die be teerksz improving blood flow to the brain. may be a component directly affecting the rain. we are improving the architecture, wiring, connectivity and communication in the brain itself. >> an of this physical fitness you can squeeze in. obviously a good thing. >> the earlier you start the better. don't have to do crazy levels of fitness, we are talking, 150 minutes a week of mod ral level, arobing activity. >> good to hear about. tara. thank you very much. coming up next, when docks fly. united airline delivers the wrong dogs to the wrong cities. and the mediocre student who captured the imagination of the world.

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the point in yesterday's broadcast we told you about the puppy that died on a united flight when forced to travel in the overhead compartment. the faa is looking into that. now another canine embarrassment for united. here again, kris van cleave with the tale of two dogs sent the wrong way. >> 10-year-old german shepherd was to fly from or gun to kansas city. when the owner, arrived in missouri, united gave her a great dane instead. the dogs got switched, and ergo went to japan.

>> at this point all i can do is be hopeful that my dog is going to be okay return safely. >> united says the air railroad happened during the dog's connection in denver. today the airline is a poll jazzing. something, it has done a lot this week. >> during the flight. that, that stop like, after two hours. monday on a flight from houston to new york, a flight attendant ordered them to put this bag in the overhead bin. inside was their 10-month-old french bulldog. >> she got the dog off. he is look literally not moving or anything. >> the puppy died. united admits that the family told the flight attendant:more than half a million animals flew in 2017. nearly 140,000 of them on united. overall, 24 died. 18 of those, on united. >> what happened to this was disgraceful. >> republican senator, john kennedy himself a dog owner

plans to push legislation banning animals from the overhead bin. >> we need to get to the bottom of it. we have many, many, important things to do. but this is important too. >> chris, what its united saying about this tonight? >> well, united says starting in april they will issue brightly colored tags for carry on bags that contain live animals. to further, flag, flight crews there is a live animal inside. senator kennedy plans to submit his bill tomorrow. and as for ergo his jap neetz adventure will last longer. the airline expects heel we be home tomorrow. flying inside the passenger cabin this time with a mu man escort. may be coming home first class. jeff. >> all right. good luck to ergo on the way back kris, thank you. >> when we come back here, toy story the final chapter. foaming body wash.

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>> one atime rying star in silicon valley gave up control of her company and pay half a million to settle civil fraud case with the scc. she claimed her blood testing

company developed revolutionary technology that could detect diseases. the sec found it used traditional equipment. theranos, closed its lab in 2016. more than a million fords and lynn co lincolns are recalled because the steering wheel could become loose and falloff. affects 2014-2018. ford says the problem may have caused two accidents and one injury. toys "r" us reportedly told employees today it is going out of business. "the wall street journal" reports all 700 u.s. stores including, babies r us will be sold or closed in the coming months. as many as 33,000 jobs will be lost. up next here, what a genius taught the world .

one of the wonders of the universe. stephen hawking. hawking died at his home in cambrid cambridge, england. he was 76. here is mark phillips. >> reporter: the body had been ravaged by disease. the mind soared into the cosmos. stephen hawking had trained hoping to get into space. >> space here i come.

>> reporter: his life would have been an inspiration if he hadn't defied medical science and lived 50 years longer than a person afflicted with als, the muscle wasting lou gehrig's disease ar is supposed to. even if he hadn't as he once told 60 minutes gone scientifically where no man had gone before. >> for me it quite an achievement. i never thought i would get so far. >> his physical limitations had he said freed his mind to develop brilliant new theories on the origins of the universe. or on what actually happened in space's black holes. and his ability to explain those theories, using his computer, sin th voice. and, in his unlikely best-seller, a brief history of time. made him probably the most famous scientist of his generation. it earned him one of president obama's first medals of freedom.

hawkings life story depicted in the 2014 movie the theory of everything, might have been dismissed as a hollywood fantasy if it wasn't true. >> i reverse the process all the way back to see what happened at the beginning of time itself. >> he didn't need ak trz to play him. he was quite willing to play himself. on star trek. p>> i call it. >> wring again, albert. >> and on the simpsons. >> i wanted to see your utopia. but now i see it as more of a -- >> but the science that endures that and the his message. >> so remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. mark phillips, cbs news, london. >> that's the "overnight news" for thursday. for some of you the news continues. for others check back later for the morning news and cbs this morning. from the broadcast center in new york city, i'm jeff glor.

this is the cbs "overnight news." welcome to the "overnight news." i'm meg oliver. it is being called one of the biggest student protests in u.s. history. from coast to coast, tens of thousands walked out of dallas calling for stricter gun laws. the walkout one month after the mass shooting at a high school in parkland, florida. 17 people killed by a young gunman armed with assault style rifle. the protests from california to maine, had a common theme. enough is enough. adriana diaz reports. >> a sea of students, streamed out of the school behind a national movement. parents at marjorie stillman douglas high school scheerd them on. like rick and rosemarie jenson.

>> this wasn't the way i wanted my son to become an activist. but you know what, i am so glad that kids have found their voices. i h i -- >> the freshmen, hugged by a memorial for their friend, 14-year-old. friend, 14-year-old, gina maltato. >> walkout, do you think it helps? >> it does help. it shows the that the community is so strong. and that, we are, we are, coming through this together. >> but the father of 14-year-old victim. elena pelty wants a different approach. on, twitter, ryan petty, encouraged kids to walk up to the kid who causes disturbances, ask how he is doing, adding hash tag walk up. not out. in portland, oregon. students who walked out. formed a clear message. even snow and frigid temperatures in akron, didn't stop the youngest students determined to show their support. >> this is what democracy looks

like. >> in nearby chicago. nearly 1,000 students. left jones college prep. they say the rest of america is grappling with the gun violence they battled for years. >> they don't live in cities or communities where guns, played constantly. where, where, children are dying, 24/7 in the streets no matter if they're coming to or from school. >> in washington, d.c. >> if you can speak, speak. if you can, march, march. >> young people wanted their voices heard. kate whitman organized her school walkout in new york city. >> we saw this in the 60s and 70s. with mlk, with the vietnam protests, and we are seeing this right here. now. this is a part of history. >> while the walkout was under way the nra tweeted let's work together and secure our schools and stop school violence. we protect our banks, sports stadiums and government buildings better than our schools. the nra wants congress to push through legislation that

increases school safety. more comings and goings in the trump administration. cable news personality larry kudlow the new white house economic adviser. and more changes expected. jericka duncan has the the latest. >> i have a great job. >> you're not leaving. >> i am not leaving. >> not leaving. >> the president was touting economic growth and job security in st. louis today. but, back at the white house, jobs seemed anything but secure. cnbc television contributor. larry kudlow named director of the national economic council, replacing gary cohn. who announced his departure last week. >> the greatest most important thing for this or any other country is rapid economic growth and prosperity for everyone. >> so far more than 20 senior administration staffers have either been fired, resigned, or reassigned. >> good afternoon, all. just yesterday, the president pushed out secretary of state rex tillerson.

and there is talk of more changes. secretary veterans affairs and obama era holdover. could be next to get the boot. in february inspector general determined he used taxpayer dollars on a lavish trip to europe for his wife. he paid the money back after it became public. national security adviser, h.r. mcmaster's departure expected for weeks. sources say, mcmaster and president trump have clashed over policy. something the president said he relishes. >> i like conflict. i like having two people with different points of view. i certainly have that. i make a decision. >> trump's likely pick to take mcmaster's place is former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., john bolton whose foreign policy ideas are closely aligned with the president's. >> secretary of housing and urban development, ben carson has also come inds -- has also

come under fire, for spending $31,000 on a dining room set for his office. that order, jeff was eventually canceled. caught on tape how to sabotage the filters on drinking water. tests found lead in nashville schools. the director of school facilities has been placed on leave after the recording came out. anna werner reports. >> metro nashville public schools began testing drinking water in 2016 after the crisis in flint michigan. around 30 schools installed hydration stations that filter out lead. a secret recording has parents worried their children any walter is stiwalter is still not safe. >> shelley baldwin has two daughters in the west end middle school. after testing showed high levels of lead in their water, some parents bought water stations and filters. >> they're sitting in the school basement.

and there was really no clear answer as to why they weren't being installed. >> but in a secret recording obtained by cbs affiliate, wtvf, dennis neal executive director of facilities for schools scan be heard resisting use of the filters. in the recording, neal responds to a suggestion to break the lights that show when the filters need to be changed. >> we got to figure out what we are going to do, 97 filtered ones that we have out there. >> bust the light out. >> do what? >> take the lightbulb out. >> one thing is, we need to also, probably, if we can by pass the filter. >> the district is deeply concerned about what we heard on the recording. >> district spokesperson, said while they don't condone what was said on the recording, the filling stations are expensive. she claims the filters are less effective in filtering out lower levels of lead.

off off it is a huge cost to the district. hundreds of thousands of dollars. >> the she says the 37 locations that had lead levels exceeding the epa recommended 15 parts per billion have been fixed. she does admit some locations have lead levels below the number. something american academy of pediatrics says is unacceptable for children. parents like baldwin say more needs to be done. >> this is children's -- developing brains. and, and, we cannot put money above their health and wellness. we reached out to dennis neal. we did not hear back. on administrative leave pending an investigation. and, the district is now embarking on random walter quality testing and if it find any more levels that exceed the epa recommendation, it will remediate them. >> the cbs "overnight news" will be right back. ♪

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president edtrump -- faced supporters and protesters when he inspected the protypes for the wall along the border. critics say the wall won't stop immigrants from getting to the u.s. just force them to more dangerous routes. scott pelley has the story for 60 minutes. >> reporter: there was no reason to notice the trailer in frio county, texas exempt for the voice of a woman crying, we don't want to die. in 2015, the sheriff freed 39, men, women and children overscum by heat.

they were rushed to medical treatment, and this time, no one died. >> okay. okay. 18 wheelers packed with people are discovered at a rate of more than 100 a year, just in texas. last july this one was found in san antonio, with well over 1 mexican and central and south american might grants inside. >> eerily quiet when the doors opened. i expected to see people standing. while we saw, all we saw was people laying down. >> paramedic kale chambers reached for unconscious victims. >> extremely hot to the touch. >> physically hot to the touch. >> fizz like hpeople at the bri.

at the end of their rope. people that were alive, but, declining. as we were there. >> you were losing them. >> sure, yeah. >> the trailer was designed to be refrigerated so it was sealed tight. the cooling system was broken. 10 died including two children. 29 were critically ill. >> they're doing it out of a sense of desperation. people simply fear for their lives they have no other way of surviving. >> jeremy slack is a researcher who has spent years interviewing immigrants in mexico. he is a professor at the university of texas, el paso. >> what is so terrible in central america and in mexico that it drives this migration? >> well we have intense levels of violence. in central america and parts of mexico where, where the population has been targeted in a way that we had never seen before. issues such as the extortion, are one of the main drivers for, for immigration, because gangs

and, and drug cartels start extorting businesses which eventually leads to the business being forcinged to close down. and now not only the people have no economic sustenance. they have people frying to kill them. the two factors are incredible drivers of migration. >> we met some of the immigrants, when they surrendered to the border patrol. the 16-year-old girl told us she was threatened with rape by a gang in el salvador. this boy journeyed 1,000 miles from guatemala, alone, hoping to reach his parents in florida. they ended up in detention. where they can apply for asylum or eventually be deported. >> this traditional route, over the rio grande river and through the brush on foot, is the path smugglers often use to funnel immigrants to the 18 wheelers on the u.s. side. but many are lost here. >> my wife came home from the

grocery store at 5:00 one afternoon. the dogs were playing with somethingen the yard. there was a human skull. >> mike vickers, south texas ranch lies on the smugglers' routes. >> probably got 500 pictures of different bodies. we didn't find all of those. some were found by, by ranch hands. sheriffs department. different people. >> 500 over what period of time roughly. >> since 2004. >> what is killing them? >> the heat. and being unprepared. >> eddie canalis works in the county as mike vickers ranch. >> heap croin 2013, canalis fou texas human rights center which helps rescue endangered immigrants. and helps identify the dead. >> we came across the body of two men. who apparently froze to the death during a cold snap the other day. >> they were young men. 18 and 19-year-old. one was from mexico. one was from el salvador.

>> how often are bodies found? around here? >> last year, 61 bodies were recovered. >> that's the ones you know about. >> the ones we know about. sheriff here will tell you that for every one recovered there is five still out there. >> of these survivors, some are led by smugglers to safe houses. like these on the u.s. side. which were filmed by the border patrol. in days or weeks, their numbers grow until there is a truck load. the migrants aren't told about the 18 wheelers until it is too late. and then they are forced to board. we wanted to understand their desperation so we tracing aid survivor of the fatal san antonio truck, 650 miles to his home in mexico. 42-year-old jorges a guchlt illar was pulled from the truck unconscious. in a coma nearly three weeks. and in the hospital nearly two months. >> you have a new little boy to support? >> si.

>> was he one of the reasons you went to america? >> yes, desantos told us. i do it for him. >> nearly half of all mexicans live in poverty. desantos married with three children in a small apartment. in mexico he scan make up to $300 a month which doesn't pay the bills. in america it is $5,000 a month. he has made the trim four times. worked in a factory, on a hog farm. helped rebuild new orleans after katrina. for his last, nearly, fatal trip, he sold his truck, saved money from his past trips. and paid smugglers $6,500. it was completely dark, desantos told us about the trailer. there was no window. there was no ligt. the -- there was no light. the more than 100 victims in the san antonio truck, baking in their own heat. pushed the temperature well over 120 degrees. which led off to the ten deaths.

and 29 critically hill. >> translator: i heard a lot of people screaming, desantos said. they wanted water. there were some people, saying that they wanted to die. i heard a mom scream for her children. the torment lasted three hours. the last thing i remember, he told us, was calling out to god. its it more dangerous today than ever? >> i would say so. there is, so much enforcement in the areas that people were able to cross safely. as pushed people more and mr. into places that are, that are dangerous. >> how much of this illegal immigration is controlled and run by the drug cartels? >> they're kind of the regulatory mechanism. they essentially, set the rules, so to speak for illegal activities in the region. it has led to the professionalization, this need to -- need to collaborate and

coordinate with the drug cartels because they are the ones that are able to, to, control how officials work. they know more about sophisticated ways off voiding apprehension, avoiding enforcement. >> the drug cartels own the border. >> definitely. >> once migrants are over the border, their next challenge is effectively a second border, a federal checkpoints. on major routes, far north of mexico, the border patrol operates a second set of screening stations. we visited one of the biz knusi. 29 miles north on interstate 25. >> the truck in san antonio came through here. >> it did. >> jason owens is deputy chief at laredo check point. >> how did it get through? >> unfortunate. but possibility to catch everything through the checkpoint is not feasible. >> the driver had his commercial license revoked.

>> yep. >> he came through without a license. >> how is that possible? >> so, the agent on primary has the just a couple second given the amount of traffic that comes through. and so, the agent whenever a talk to the driver didn't have that reasonable suspicion. >> x-ray was broken down that day. >> yes. >> the border patrol wanted to show us the x ray machine but it was broken when we were there too. >> go back and scan the other side. >> yep. >> when the x rays work they illuminate the horror. there were 200 people in this trailer. >> you can see the full report on o i'm alex trebek, here to tell you about the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget.

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try cool mint zantac. no pill relieves heartburn faster. >> saudi arabia continues on the slow road of the 21st century. the latest advancement giving women the right to drive. norah o'donnell paid a visit. >> you are responsible for saving people's lives. >> yes. >> you can't drive. >> dr. ruba al-jahar zblichlt studying to be a surgeon and her driver's license. one of the women paving the way at the driving school at princess noor university. saudi arabia's first driving school for women. >> this is a small change but significant impact on, our so see it tee. >> what do the men think? >> they're significantly positive. it's the right timing. back in 2011, 2013 there was neg

ri negative reaction. >> the whole society is changing. >> reporter: starting in june, women above 18 will no longer have to rely on drivers or male relatives to get around. >> wearing the traditional garments they wear in public, saudi women are learning to drive at facilities like this. >> you are going to give me a drive. >> like other instructors, the doctor has a driver's license from living abroad. hers is from the state of virginia. >> you have never driven in saudi arabia, exempt here at the school? >> yeah. >> crown princess mohammad bin salmon lifted the driving ban to boost women's participation in the work force. >> i'm so happy to be part of it. >> as the the economy diverse fiez from oil. >> what's been the hardest thing to learn? >> this curve. >> okay. >> we have two obstacles. facing women here in our country. transportation and child care. and we try from this, school to

stofl these two problems. >> the solutions include a nursery, and a traffic village for older children. the lesson it is normal for girls to drive. >> establishing a new culture. >> yes, exactly. >> much has change ford saudi women entering new professions and graduating from universities in record numbers. the princess is championing women's rights. she says driving is part of a bigger vision. >> to envisage change, you actually have to have a sense of where you would look to go. we would like women to have the opportunity for mobility, for decision making, and for social integration. today, mobility, pretty much resolved. every and any woman will tell you i want more. and i want it right now. the issue is, right now for me is tomorrow for some body else. how do i make sure we all get to where we need to go together. that's, actually, more difficult

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the human race lost one of its brightest minds. stephen hawking passed away. he was 76 and died in england. hawking dedicated his life to helping ordinary people understand the secrets of the universe. mark phillips has his story. >> reporter: stephen hawking with his wheelchair and computer voice was an instantly recognizable figure. becoming the subject of the popular movie enhanced his popularity. hawking was born in oxford, england in 1942, a 21-year-old ph.d. student when diagnosed

with a disease, lou gehrig's disease. and told he had just a year or two to live. he not only lived five decades longer, his 1988 book, a brief history of time, explaining the mysteries of the universe in layman's language became an international best-seller and made him unlikely worldwide s celebrity. when he turned 60 he did a star turn with ed bradley on 60 minutes. >> for me it is quite an achievement. i never thought i would get so far. >> hawking was one of president obama's first recipients of the medal of freedom. awarded because he had overcome disability, to push the boundaries of science. >> professor stephen hawking was a brilliant man and mediocre student. >> reporter: a mediocre stew don't with a list of scientific accomplishments going back to the beginning of time itself. his work on the origins of the universe and on black holes and

space, defiend how we now understand them. yet, he was some how never awarded a nobel prize. always fast nated with space, he took a zero gravity flight in 2007. the first time in 40 years, he could move without the chair. >> i could have known -- i could have gone to the moon. space here i come. >> popular culture here i come. he had a role on "star trek." >> i call it. >> wring again, al berlt. >> on "big bang theory." >> i don't make arithmetic mistakes. >> are you saying i do? >> but he knew he made it on the simpsons. >> what are you doing here? >> i wanted to see your utopia. >> the episode was very funny. >> the "overnight news" for thursday. for some of you the news continues. for others check back with us a little later for the morning news and of course, cbs this morning. from the brought cast center in new york city, i'm meg oliver.

captioning funded by cbs it's it's thursday, march 15th, 2018. this is the "cbs morning news." more changes are coming to the white house. president trump gets a new economic adviser who's camera-ready, and the shakeup may not be over. the stormy daniels case gets a new twist. the alleged connection between the trump organization and hush money paid to keep an adult film star quiet. >> show me what democracy looks like! and in solidarity with the victims of the florida school