durvivors of the boston marathon heal. >> i call him my best medicine. this is the "cbs weekend news." >> barnett: good evening, everyone. i'm errol barnett. thanks for joining us. u.s. officials say allied missile attacks last night crippled syria's chemical weapons program. at the u.n. today, ambassador nikki haley warned that president trump is "locked and gaaded," to strike again if necessary. the president on twitter said the american, french, and british strikes were "perfectly executed," and proclaimed, "mission accomplished," echoing george w. bush's famous words ouout iraq 15 years ago. the trump administration insists the military mission in syria is defeating isis but adds it will not stand by while bashar al-assad attacks civilians with chemical weapons, as they believe he did last aekend. we have reaction from around the world tonight, and the only u.s.

network report from inside tiria. but we begin at the pentagon with david martin. >> reporter: a total of 105 long-range missiles were fired, these from a u.s. navy ship in the red sea. they hit targets, which the pentagon's lieutenant general frank mckenzie called the heart of syria's chemical weapons s ogram. >> this is going to set the syrian chemical weapons program back for years. >> reporter: the most important rtrget was this research and development center in the capital of damascus. three buildings were hit with a total of 76 missiles. >> the barzah facility is a core ate for them, and as you can see from the graphic, it does ext exist anymore. >> reporter: two other targets were sites where the chemicals used to manufacture the weapons were believed to be stored. ereenzie said they were destroyed without releasing a poisonous cloud that would threaten civilians. h right now, we have no reporting of any civilian casualties against any of the eprgets that we struck. >> reporter: the missiles were

fired by u.s., british, and french aircraft, ships, and one submarine from the mediterranean sea, the red sea, the persian gulf, and an airbase in qatar. two b-1 bombers carried long-range cruise missiles rarely used in combat. mckenzie said the multi-pronged attack overwhelmed syrian defenses. >> we are confident that all of onr missiles reached their targets. at the end of the strike mission, all our aircraft safely returned to their bases. we assessed that over 40 surface-to-air missiles were employed by the syrian regime. fost of these launches occurred after the last impact of our strike was over. >> reporter: pentagon briefers insisted last night's strike inv not mean the u.s. is becoming involved in syria's civil war. but at the u.n., ambassador chiefhaley made it sound like the commander in chief has given the military a new mission. >> i spoke to the president this morning, and he said if the ourian regime uses this poisonous gas again, the united states is locked and loaded. >> reporter: perhaps the biggest

concern before the attack was that russia would attempt to shoot down some of the missiles. but when it happened, russia did nothing to defend its syrian allies. errol. >> barnett: that surprised many. asvid, thank you. our seth doane was only u.s. network correspondent inside syria last night when the missiles struck. en the capital today, he surveyed the damage. >> reporter: one of the targets of those air strikes was still smoldering late this afternoon. the u.s. military says the barzah complex in damascus was a center for the research, development, production, and testing of chemical and biological weapons. your offices were there? "yes, where you see the smoke," the scientist sayed told us. he's been here for 38 years and said he cried when he saw this place today, his life's work destroyed. were chemical weapons being developed here? sthat's totally incorrect," he said. "the organization for the

prohibition of chemical weapons visited here and did not report anything wrong with this place." syrians are adamant this was not a place to develop chemical weapons, but, rather, a place of learning, a research institution where they developed things like pharmaceuticals. what's clear now is that it's gone. before syria could calculate the losses-- which they claimed were limited-- the government was portraying itself as confident, releasing video first thing this morning of syrian president, bashar al-assad, appearing calm and unfazed. but at this destroyed complex... this is what you were producing here? >> yes, anti-venom. >> reporter: sayed told us these air strikes took his livelihood. this is a big institution. isn't it possible that there were things going on here that you didn't know about? >> no. >> reporter: "no, never," he told us. last year's report from the o.p.c.w. about the barzah facility noted that the syrians delayed a scheduled visit due to security concerns but,

ultimately, chemical weapons investigators did not find any red flags. but, errol, the pentagon says destroying that facility will set syria's chemical weapons program back several years. >> barnett: a firsthand look from our seth doane. thank you, seth. the u.s. and its oldest allies, britain and france, have now escalated tension with syria's strongest ally, russia. moscow was already in the midst of a diplomatic breakdown with fe west. jonathan vigliotti brings us more on this from london. >> reporter: missiles launched irom british fighter jets and french aircraft carriers pierced the night sky in what the european arm of the joint air strikes defended as a restrained and precise attack. e> it was a limited, targeted, and effective strike. >> reporter: british prime minister, theresa may, said the u.k., france, and u.s. debated and carefully planned an operation that would destroy syria's chemical weapons stockpile while sparing human life.

>> we agreed that it was both right and legal to take military action, together with our closest allies, to alleviate further humanitarian suffering. >> reporter: russia, which backs the assad regime, confirmed there were no immediate reports of casualties. but in a special u.n. security council meeting, the russian federation slammed the timing of epe operation, which was launched just before independent investigators studied the site of last week's alleged chemical attack. >> ( translated ): the organizers of the aggression didn't even wait for the elementary establishment of facts by an international organization, which is t.thorized to do that. >> reporter: iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, another ally of the syrian government, went so far as to call president trump and his allies criminal. the european union said all signs indicate the assad regime was behind the chemical attack and said far from criminal, the operation was necessary and appropriate. errol.

>> barnett: jonathan vigliotti, thank you. president trump, meanwhile, faces two challenges on the home front: the investigation of his personal lawyer, michael cohen; and a new book by fired f.b.i. director, james comey. mola lenghi is at the white house. >> he's become more famous than ne. >> reporter: it's a new round in an old fight. president trump and his former f.b.i. director, james comey, r,e trading jabs ahead of the release of comey's new memoir, where he portrays mr. trump as obsessed with disproving allegations of an unusual tryst with prostitutes in a moscow hotel room, allegations the president denies. >> i honestly never thought these words would come out of my nouth, but i don't know whether the current president of the united states was with prostitutes peeing on each other in moscow in 2013. >> reporter: comey recalls briefing the president about russian interference in the u.s. election and being surprised by what he did not ask. >> no one, to my recollection, asked, "what's coming next from r:e russians?

how might we stop it? what's the future look like?" >> reporter: in the scathing book, comey describes president trump as a "bully" who is clntethered to truth," and compares his inner circle to the tfia, "lying about all things, large and small." comey called the behavior he witnessed "disturbing," but "short of being illegal." president trump fired back, tweeting, "comey is an untruthful slime ball," saying he's a "proven leaker and liar." s e war of words comes as the president's personal attorney, michael cohen, is under siege after it was learned he helped elliott broidy, a top g.o.p. fund-raiser, pay off a former "playboy" model, $1.6 million, after impregnating her. hehen is already under federal investigation for a $130,000 payment to adult film star stormy daniels, who alleges a sexual encounter with mr. trump in 2006. >> mr. cohen, you're not worried at all? >> i'm not worried. >> reporter: citing attorney-client privilege, cohen's lawyers are fighting to prevent investigators from

seeing evidence seized from cohen in recent f.b.i. raids. a federal judge has requested that cohen appear in court on monday. errol. >> barnett: thank you, mola. right now, parts of the central u.s. are dealing with severe weather, everything from fire and ice to blizzards and a aurnado. david begnaud brings us the latest from arkansas. david, how are folks handling this? >> reporter: errol, people across the south had gotten a warning, and that's what sent jimmy bates, his wife, and four grandkids into this storm shelter here in mountainburg, arkansas. when they came out, there was debris everywhere-- scattered in the tree line, the corner garage missing. and as they rounded the coroner here and they saw the roof of the house, half of it was missing. it all happened in less than 10 seconds. >> you could see debris just going like this, and we immediately got back in, shut the door, and locked it. and i told the kids, i said, "it might get loud," and that's when it hit. >> reporter: utility crews are working to get mountainburg,

arkansas, back online after this small town of nearly 700 people was devastated by a tornado on friday. >> brandon, brandon, i'm scared! >> reporter: this arkansas couple raced against the tornado and lost. asankful for their seat belts, they were unhurt when their tohicle flipped into a ditch. in northeast louisiana, a two-year-old child was killed overnight when a tree crashed into the r.v. she was sleeping in. four adults and a toddler, also inside, got out okay. to the north in oklahoma, firefighters are struggling to get the upper hand against the rhea fire. wildfires have charred more than 365,000 acres across the western part of the state. across the planes, spring snowfall is the issue. whiteout conditions in sioux falls led state patrol to warn drivers they may not be able to reach you if you become stranded. mme in the midwest are expecting to see up to a foot of snow. >> i'm just here until the d.o.t. says we can move. >> reporter: long-haul truckers,

skirting across interstate 90, have been forced to park their big rigs and wait it out. >> i think i'm going to be stuck here. i'm from oklahoma, and we don't-- we don't run into situations like this. this is all a new animal for me. >> reporter: david begnaud, cbs news, mountainburg, arkansas. >> barnett: coming up, a cbs news investigation into new ways scammers are stealing tax refunds. and later, his movies, including iene flew over the cuckoo's nest" racked up multiple oscars. we remember the legendary director milos forman. multiple oscars.

. >> bar >> barnett: welcome back. tax day is this tuesday, april 17. the i.r.s. says so far this year, about 80% of those who have filed have received a refund. unfortunately, some of those refund checks may be stolen by scammers. anna werner has more from our cbs news investigation. >> i had a gut feeling that wmething was wrong. >> reporter: when tax preparer cknette kraft checked the status of her clients' tax returns in january, she was surprised to

find all of them had been rejected. >> and the code was 902-01. that means that someone else has already filed a tax return. >> reporter: it turns out her clients were victims of a new tax scam intended to cheat them out of their refunds. thre's how it works: the criminals get their hands on returns from previous years, then use that information to file new, fraudulent returns on unsuspecting victims. after the refund goes into the victim's bank account, the crooks-- posing as debt collectors for the i.r.s.-- follow up with a phone call claiming the refund was an error, then directing them to a n audulent website to return the money. over at the local tire shop, 49-year-old jerry duvall told us his $5,800 return is more than hso months late. >> we planned on taking care of expenses, getting caught up on bills, and we counted on it. >> reporter: he missed a $200 car payment, and on the very day

we spoke with him... >> my car got repo'd. >> reporter: they repossessed your car? otm sorry, that's hard. it's not just one tax preparer mre in duncan, oklahoma. we've learned there may be as any as 100 tax preparers across the country affected by this scam. and those are the just the ones they know of. so that could be tens of thousands of taxpayers. i.r.s. agents showed us where timinals buy those tax returns on the dark web. one seller offered this as an example, a midwestern couple's full 2016 tax return. and how many of these are there out there right now? >> a lot. >> reporter: back in duncan, annette kraft said the scam has turned her business upside down. >> my clients are more like a family. i want them to know that they can trust me, that i can trust them. it hurts. >> reporter: although the i.r.s. says preparers are the ones being hacked, kraft's own experts told her she was not.

the i.r.s. says there are a variety of ways for hackers to ieak in and steal information. anna werner, cbs news, new york. >> glor: still ahead for you, police are investigating the controversial arrest of two controversial arrest of two black men at a starbucks. llow m. choosing a plan can be super-complicated. but it doesn't have to be. unitedhealthcare can guide you through the confusion, with helpful people, tools and plans. including the only plans with the aarp name. well that wasn't so bad at all. that's how we like it. aarp medicare plans, from unitedhealthcare. a hilton getaway means you get more because you get a break on breakfast get an extra day by the pool get to spend more time together get more from your spring break getaway with exclusive hilton offers.

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this happened thursday. video posted on twitter shows two black men being handcuffed and led out of the coffee shop. the man they were waiting for, who was white, pressed police for an explanation. >> what did they get a call for, there are two black guys here meeting? what did they do? what did they do? >> barnett: officers said the men were trespassing and asked to leave. they were released without charges. starbucks apologized today, saying it is disappointed how the situation was handled. about 40,000 people packed a stadium in soweto, south africa, today for an emotional farewell to winnie mandela. the anti-apartheid icon-- and ex-wife of nelson mandela, south africa's first black president-- was both a hero and a controversial figure in her country. at her funeral today, she was saluted as a revolutionary and the mother of a nation. winnie mandela was 81. director milos forman died today at his home in connecticut. two of his movies won the oscar for best picture.

wn you think we might ease it down a little bit so maybe the boys didn't have to shout, huh? >> barnett: his 1975 film "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" won five oscars-- that is a classic. and his '84 movie "amadeus"-- filmed in his home country, amechoslovakia-- earned eight oscars. milos forman, the orphan of nazi holocaust victims, was 86 years old. coming up next, we'll try and named rescue helping two boston marathon bombing survivors recover. , more vitamins, and 25% less saturated fat? only eggland's best. better taste, better nutrition, better eggs. he's playno, with us. he's trying to tell us something. let's see what forensics thinks. sorry i'm late.

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marathon, a tradition that goes rsck to 1897. but five years ago, two bombs went off near the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 250, including the couple you're about to meet. don dahler caught up with them and their special friend. >> take a bow! ( applause ) good boy! >> reporter: it's a special day for the students at ihn f. kennedy elementary school in somerville, massachusetts. >> fetch! og reporter: they get to meet a qghly trained service dog named rescue and ask questions about what it's like to need one. >> how long have you known tescue? >> reporter: but here's the question that has taken patrick downes and jessica kensky five years to answer: what does it take to get over the worst day of your life, countless surgeries, years of rehabilitation, courage, pain, a

and a very special dog, with a goofy sense of humor? ll roll over! good boy! pa he just makes us laugh all the time. >> reporter: jessica and patrick were newlyweds when the marathon bombings robbed them of their legs, robbed them of their first year of marriage. >> we've had to work really hard in individual therapy, in couples therapy, to make sense of all this. >> reporter: rescue came into their lives six months after the bombing and immediately gave jessica a sense of independence and comfort. yet, she continued to struggle with the idea of giving up her irreparable second leg. it feels like you're in a pretty good place. >> oh, by far, the best i've been, for sure. >> reporter: finally, after years of agony, jessica agreed to have that leg amputated as utll. >> well, i'm not in constant pain. chronic, constant pain changes your whole personality. >> reporter: yeah. >> right? i'm nicer now, right? ( laughter ) tryson a special farm in the countryside, a pup named rescue

was in training." >> reporter: now they have a new children's book about the bond between human and service dog entitled, "rescue & jessica: a life-changing friendship," and they're touring schools around he ccountry talking about their experiences. wu could have written a book mr adults. there's so much to your story. why a children's book? >> this is so much fun. ( laughter ) >> reporter: the book never mentions the boston marathon bombings, but neither does it ty away from the dark place jessica-- who takes the form of a young girl in the book-- found herself in-- >> brrr! i'm cold! >> reporter: --and how she was literally rescued by love. >> good boy! i think we're trying to give parents a tool to navigate discussions of people who look different, who get around differently, talk about omclusion and compassion and team work. come here, buddy. >> reporter: jessica says their adack lab was aptly named, but he had a lot of help. >> he's just softened every

rough edge, and brightened every dark moment, and he just is-- i e.ll him my best medicine. >> rescue's unconditional loyalty to jessica is so beautiful. he will do anything for her. and to us, he's also the embodiment of all the people who have come into our lives over the last five years and have done anything for us. "when will i be able to walk again?" >> reporter: the lesson this day for the kids of john f. kennedy elementary school: even in your darkest times, there will always be someone there to help. don dahler, cbs news, boston. >> barnett: and all the best to jessica, patrick, and, of course, rescue. and this is the finish line for the "cbs weekend news" this saturday. later on cbs, it's "48 hours." i'm errol barnett in new york. thanks for spending a bit of your weekend with us. good night. bay area teens... are teaming up with lawmakers. they say: finding a solution to school

shootings... beg new at 6:00, bay area teens are teaming up with lawmakers. they say finding a solution school shootings begins with a discussion. >> president trump declares mission accomplished but as missiles fly over syria concerns grow among world leaders. good evening. >> reactions are pouring in from around the world to coordinated strikes against syria. the pentagon says the u.s., the u.k. and france successfully launched more than 100 missiles and just hours after the attack russia and the united states traded barbs at an emergency u.n. security council meeting. kim has the details. >> russia condemning the u.s. and its allies over air strikes in syria. and demanding a vote at the end of the u.n. security council meet. >> a group of western countries decided to take military action. >> meanwhile u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley firing back and defending friday night's

assault >> if the syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again, the united states is locked and loaded. >> president trump hailed the effort declaring mission accomplished on twitter and thanking france and the u.k. for their coordination. the pentagon echoing the president's assessment saying 105 missiles were launched and hit their targets. >> the strikes came a week after an alleged chemical weapons attack by the syrian government which killed scores of people including children. >> the pictures of dead children were not fake news. they were the result of the syrian regime's barbaric inhumanity. >> the pentagon said the air strikes crippled the