captioning sponsored by cbs ♪ >> brennan: on the "cbs evening news" this wednesday, a cbs news exclusive. for the first time, boeing's c.e.o. personally apologizes to the families of crash victims. he tells norah o'donnell when he thinks the grounded 737 max jet will fly again. >> i do personally apologize to the families. we are sorry for the loss of lives. >> reporter: does boeing have a credibility and transparency problem? >> we clearly fell short. >> brennan: breaking his silence: >> if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. >> brennan: the special counsel explains why he cannot clear the president. so what happens next? >> with respect to impeachment, all options are on the table. >> we consider this case closed. >> reporter: weather continues

to batter a large portion of the country. >> rainfall causing devastating flooding. >> brennan: the arkansas river has reached its highest level in recorded history. and we join u.s. fighter pilots at the top of the world, training to beat back the russian attacks. >> it's a deterrence exercise. we know that russia is going to watch. >> brennan: good evening. i'm margaret brennan. this is our western edition. this has been a huge day in washington. special counsel robert mueller spoke publicly for the first time about the russia investigation, and explained why he could not exonerate the president of a crime. we will get to that important story in just a moment. but first, norah o'donnell, the incoming anchor of the cbs evening news, has an exclusive interview with the man in charge of boeing. dennis muilenburg gave his first interview since two overseas crashes killed 346 people and led to the grounding of all 737 max jets. that's boeing's best seller. norah joins us now. and, norah, there are a lot of

nervous fliers already, and it really scared people. >> reporter: it did. good evening to you, margaret. it's been an extraordinary day for news. boeing is the largest aerospace company in the world, and tonight its c.e.o. told us it is at a defining moment. c.e.o. dennis muilenburg admits these two crashes damaged the public trust and confidence in flying, and that's why we began our conversation by asking him, "is it time to apologize to the families?" >> i do personally apologize to the families. we feel terrible about these accidents. and we apologize for what happened. we are sorry for the loss of lives in both accidents. and that will never change. that will always be with us. i can tell you it affects me directly as a leader of this company. it's very difficult. >> reporter: did you ever consider resigning? >> no. it's-- it's important that i continue to lead the company. and the fact that lives depend on the work we do, whether it's people flying on our commercial

airplanes or military men and women around the world who use our defense products, that is a worthy mission. >> reporter: tonight's admission by the c.e.o. of boeing will be watched closely by people like paul njorogoe who lost his entire family in the ethiopian air crash. >> it was up to boeing and the others in charge to save them. we paid for a safe flight. >> reporter: he's pointing the finger at boeing. how does that affect you? >> well, you know, i understand the feelings of all these it's loved ones and families that have been affected. and i can't even claim to begin to comprehend how much it's impacted them. and, you know, unfortunately i can't-- i can't change what happened. i would if i could. but what i can commit to is that our company is going to do everything possible to ensure safety going forward. >> reporter: the common link between both crashes was the performance of a new flight control system called m-cas, which activated after it was fed erroneous information. the first crash, flight 610, that crashed into the java sea

about 12 minutes after takeoff killed 189 people on board. what's your understanding of what brought that flight down? >> well, first of all, i have to respect the fact that the investigation process is still going on, and we know that there was inaccurate sensor data that came into the airplane, that there appears to have been a maintenance issue with that sensor. we know that the m-cas software was activated multiple times during that flight. and in the end, that added to the pilot workload. >> reporter: yeah, it was more than multiple times. it was two dozen times. the pilots were essentially in a tug-of-war with the plane for control of the plane. that flight control system that you mentioned, the m-cas, overrode the pilots more than two dozen times. and the pilots ultimately lost co at plan essentially did a death dive

into the ocean at 450 miles an hour. can you imagine how terrifying that was for the people on board? because it was jerking up and down. >> we examine every dimension of these accidents, not to try to attribute fault or to point fingers, but it's to understand what happened. >> reporter: tonight, boeing admits it was a mistake in the software for the warning light, called the angle of attack disagree alert, that could have notified pilots and maintenance that there was a problem. but that light was supposed to be active on all 737 max jets, and it was not. you knew this in 2017 and did not tell the f.a.a. for 13 months. why? >> the implementation of that software, we did not do it correctly. our engineers discovered that. >> reporter: so you're fixing that now. >> we are fixing it now. and our communication on that was not what it should have been. >> reporter: does boeing have a credibility and tren

problem if they don't admit there were mistakes in the past? >> no, as i said, we clearly fell short and the implementation of this angle of attack disagree alert was a mistake. we did not implement it properly. we're confident in the fundamental safety of the airplane. >> reporter: you'd put your family on a 737 max? >> without any hesitation, absolutely. >> brennan: well, that's a vote of confidence. but is the 737 max going to be up in the air again any time soon? >> reporter: well, muilenburg told us it will be up in the air, he believes by the end of this year. it could be even sooner than that. and that's key because this is their bestselling plane. there has been a worldwide grounding. more than 400 of these 737 max's air as quickly as possible. >>an: and it's such company, boeing. it's so important to the u.s. economy, and that's why we saw even the president of the united states weigh in on this. he suggested it should be renamed. is that going to happen? >> reporter: well,

interestingly, muilenburg said this is not a branding issue. this is a safety issue. so the plane will not be renamed or rebranded. >> brennan: does he regret not grounding it? >> reporter: he said, "look, after the first plane crash they moved as quickly as possible to institute this software enhancement, or fix," and he said the timing of this second crash, just five months after the first one, was very, very difficult. so they are working around the clock to fix it as quickly as possible. and i think significantly, his admission that this has hurt public confidence in flying is key. >> brennan: norah, that was a great interview. but i think you're sitting in the wrong chair.rennanod to have re. and there will be more of norah's interview with boeing c.e.o. dennis muilenburg tomorrow on "cbs this morning." now to the special counsel's extraordinary statement. unable to exonerate president trump and explained that justice department policy prevents

charging a sitting president with a crime. now, mueller implied that it is up to congress to examine this further. paula reid begins our coverage. >> reporter: in his first public statement since being appointed special counsel in may, 2017... >> good morning, everyone. >> reporter: ...robert mueller made it clear he has not exonerated president trump of obstruction of justice. >> if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. >> reporter: instead, mueller cited a justice department policy that prohibits charging a sitting president with a crime. >> charging the president with a crime was, therefore, not an option we could consider. >> reporter: rarely looking up, reading closely from his script, mueller implied the evidence he gathered could be used by tpurs. >> the constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing. >> reporter: president trump has repeatedly declared that mueller

cleared him. >> the mueller report came out. no obstruction. no collusion, no nothing. it's beautiful report. >> reporter: but today, he changed his tune tweeting, "there was insufficient evidence, and, therefore, in our country, a person is innocent." white house press secretary sarah sanders also attempted to downplay mueller's statement. >> if bob mueller had determined that there was a crime, he would have had a moral obligation to report it. >> reporter: most americans say they think mueller should testify before congress, but he said today he hoped his first time speaking about the investigation would be his last. >> the report is my testimony. i would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before congress. >> reporter: mueller also wanted to make sure the public did not forget about what his investigation did find. >> i will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments, that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election.

>> brennan: paula, did mueller ever explain why he investigated the president for obstruction when ultimately he knew he couldn't indict him? >> reporter: well, mueller emphasized that investigating a sitting president is important because you want to gather evidence while people's memories are still fresh and documents are still available. and he said you could use that evidence to pursue coconspirators or pursue a sitting president through a process like impeachment. and when it comes to obstruction of justice, he said investigating obstruction is of paramount importance because he believes when people try to interfere with investigations that strikes at the core of the government's obligation to uncover truth and hold people accountable. >> brennan: paula reid at the white house. thank you. it's now clear congress has the next move, and house democratic leaders are feeling new pr tort the impeachment process. nancy cordes has that part of the story. >> reporter: lawmakers pulled on their catcher's mitts today after mueller tossed the ball their way.

>> it falls to congress to respond to the crimes, lies, and other wrongd o trump. >> reporter: mueller's announcement only added to the democratic drumbeat for impeachment proceedings, especially from presidential candidates who said mueller's words amounted to an impeachment referral. >> he's laying this at the lap of congress. >> reporter: democratic leaders haven't ruled out impeachment. >> nothing is off the table. >> reporter: but in san francisco, house speaker nancy pelosi said it's too soon. >> you don't bring an impeachment unless you have all of the facts, the strongest possible case, so that the president is held accountable. >> reporter: republican leaders insisted the case is over and "it is time to move on." and mueller himself seemed reluctant to go before congress. >> the work speaks for itself. >> reporter: multiple committees are pushing mueller to testify. virginsae should. do you want to hear from him

even if, as he said, he's not willing to go beyond what's already in the report? >> i think for the sake of the american people that bob mueller, in whatever setting is appropriate, ought to answer congress' questions. >> reporter: mueller would prefer to answer those questions behind closed doors, but democrats want open hearings. they think that any time he speaks publicly, margaret, it bolsters their case that the president is still lying about the russia probe. >> brennan: nancy cordes on capitol hill. thank you. well, cbs news legal correspondent jan crawford will speak with attorney general william barr in his first network interview. it will air on friday on "cbs this morning," and we will have a portion for you tomorrow right here on the "cbs evening news." one of the busiest tornado seasons in years is not letting up tonight. there are multiple reports of tornadoes in texas this evening, including one near the city of

canton, about 60 miles east of dallas. there are reports of injuries and damage. more than two dozen twisters were reported yesterday, including a monster ef-4. that is the second strongest classification. it traveled 32 miles through kansas with winds up to 170 miles per hour. at least 15 people were hurt. in arkansas, historic floods turned deadly today. a 64-year-old man drowned in his van near the city of fort smith. manuel bojorquez is there. >> reporter: the arkansas river has reached its highest level in recorded history. that row of trees is typically where the river bank is. look at where the water is now. the game and fish commission is patrolling the waters and brought us along. this street in fort smith is under 5 to 8 feet. homes are still taking on water. >> i'm not sure that we'll ever see what we saw before the flood. i think that it will change the

landscape around here. people may not come back. >> reporter: those who have been spared are nervously watching the levees, which for now are still holding. what are going to be the difficulties going forward? >> well, the bad thing is it just seems to keep on raining. >> reporter: and that has people downstream preparing to leave. >> you just go through this anxiety of what's going to happen when it gets here. but it's also like christmas because you just prepare until the big day gets here. >> reporter: people here are getting the last thing they needed today-- more rain. and officials do not expect the river to start receding until possibly this weekend. and even then, very slowly. margaret. >> brennan: thanks, manny. next up on the "cbs evening news," we're along for the ride as u.s. warplanes send a message to their adversaries. and later, breaking news-- another state just passed a tough new abortion bill.

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warplanes are joining forces this week at the very top of the world. they're conducting aerial military exercises in the arctic circle. that's a remote part of the world where russia has been flexing its muscles. charlie d'agata takes us along for a thrilling ride. >> reporter: f-18s from u.s. marine fighter attack squadron 251 soar into the skies above the arctic circle. alongside jets from finland and denmark, war games against an imaginary enemy right on russia's doorstep. >> for our mission out there. >> reporter: it's for this exercise, lieutenant colonel roy nicka and his team will play that imaginary enemy. and on this particular mission, we have the rare opportunity to ride along. their mission: to penetrate allied air defenses. viewed from the cockpit of one of the most capable jet fighters in the world.

after a steep climb, a refueling stop with a british tanker, a precise maneuver. also in these skies, france, germany, sweden, norway and the netherlands, some 140 aircraft, more than 1,000 personnel. >> it's a deterrence exercise. again, it's-- it's making sure that russia-- we know that russia's going to watch. >> reporter: we spoke with u.s. marine major general russell sanborn in london. >> and so if they are watching, imagine the thought process, i would think, in their head would be, "wow. nobody's going to come at us alone. >> reporter: russia has already responded with increasing aggression. norway accused russia of jamming communication systems during nato exercises in 2018 and launching dummy aerial attacks in 2017. this dogfight ended badly for the aggressors. >> we got killed. >> we did.

we died valiantly. >> reporter: we died valiantly. but our loss was a victory for america's allies. charlie d'agata, cbs news, rovaniemi, finland. >> brennan: coming up, "jeopardy!" host alex trebek calls it a mind-boggling cancer update. corey is living with metastatic breast cancer, which is breast cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. she's also taking ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr+ / her2- metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection,

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>> brennan: there's breaking news tonight from louisiana. lawmakers there just approved new restrictions that ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. that's around six weeks of pregnancy. five other states have passed similar laws this year, and louisiana's governor, democrat john bel edwards, says he will sign it into law. the last of the original gorillas in the mist is believed to have died. poppy was one of the mountain gorillas of rwanda featured in the book "gorillas in the mist" by conservationist diane fossey. poppy would have turned 43 last month.

there was some encouraging news today from alex trebek. the host of "jeopardy!" says his doctors tell him that his stage four pancreatic cancer is in "near remission." in an interview with "people" magazine trebek calls the prognosis "mind-boggling" but says he has several more rounds of chemotherapy to go before he's declared to be in full remission. up next, the first pitch, it's just a little off the plate? you try hard, you eat right... mostly. you make time... when you can. but sometimes life gets in the way, and that stubborn fat just won't go away. coolsculpting takes you further. a non-surgical treatment that targets, freezes, and eliminates treated fat cells, for good. discuss coolsculpting with your doctor.

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guy at home plate but what appeared to be her slider was just a bit outside and it sailed directly at photographer darren georgia's camera. this afternoon, mary and the uninjured photographer were together with their scuffed baseball and newfound fame. >> it hasn't really hit me yet-- get it? >> reporter: what was it like out there? >> i was like, "oh, my god. maybe nobody saw that." >> the president opens the season. >> reporter: presidents and other notables have tossed first pitches, and over the years, the honor has become an almost-daily treat. the rapper 50 cent stood out for futility. serena williams did not exactly have command of her stuff. and even retired hall of famer nolan ryan was wild. so mary ruich is in good company. >> reporter: are you ready to try it again? >> oh, god no. >> reporter: don't point that at us, mary. dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. >> brennan: and that's the "cbs

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now at 7:00, we are live with b.a.r.t. right riders. it was shocking. strike one suspects wild crashes pre-and a worker that got caught in the middle. the fight over pride month , one mayor is that i will make the decision myself. >> i want to be clear that i alone issued this proclamation for lgbt pride mo >> i'm in toronto. what help and -- happened with jordan. he is on the roster. continues at 7:00 starts now. we are talking about the slow commute on b.a.r.t..