captioning funded by cbs and ford. we go further, so you can. >> we went looking for one of the worlds leading geneticists and found him here. >> most of these are frozen george. >> george church's own d.n.a. is in many of the experiments in his lab at harvard medical school. church helped pioneer mapping the human genome and editing d.n.a. today he's working on making humans immune to all viruses, eliminating inherited disease and... one of the things your lab is working on is reversing aging. >> that's right. >> how is that possible? ( ticking ) >> in a surprise move, america

recently reversed four decades of policy by declaring that israeli settlements in the west bank are not in violation of international law. we have just returned from the west bank and saw some of those roughly 250 settlements and outposts. but we also visited a brand-new city built by a palestinian for palestinians, high on a hill. ( ticking ) >> holy moley, look at this. >> this is it. this is the best the best. >> whoa! you've known adam sandler for longer than you remember. 30 years ago he was hired as a writer, and then cast member of "saturday night live." ♪ operaman bye bye we wanted to know why he left "snl," about all those movies, and why he chose this new one, a drama. >> i don't care. it needs to be changed. do it. >> but first-- >> that's called a perfect pass! >> the sand man wanted to play some pick up hoops.

>> right on baby. ( ticking ) >> i'm lesley stahl. >> i'm bill whitaker. >> i'm anderson cooper. >> i'm sharyn alfonsi. >> i'm scott pelley. those stories and more, tonight, on "60 minutes." ( ticking ) before we talk about tax-smart investing, what's new? -well, audrey's expecting... -twins! grandparents! we want to put money aside for them, so...change in plans. alright, let's see what we can adjust.

♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. okay. mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. lemme guess, change in plans? at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. ithere's my career...'s more to me than hiv. lemme guess, change in plans? my cause... and creating my dream home. i'm a work in progress. so much goes into who i am. hiv medicine is one part of it. prescription dovato is for adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment and who aren't resistant to either of the medicines dolutegravir or lamivudine. dovato has 2 medicines in 1 pill to help you reach and then stay undetectable. so your hiv can be controlled with fewer medicines while taking dovato. you can take dovato anytime of day with food or without. don't take dovato if you're allergic to any of its ingredients or if you take dofetilide. if you have hepatitis b, it can change during treatment with dovato and become harder to treat.

ome life-threateningay get worse if you stop taking dovato. so do not stop dovato without talking to your doctor. serious side effects can occur, including allergic reactions, liver problems, and liver failure. life-threatening side effects include lactic acid buildup and severe liver problems. if you have a rash and other symptoms of an allergic reaction, stop taking dovato and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis b or c. don't use dovato if you plan to become pregnant or during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy since one of its ingredients may harm your unborn baby. your doctor should do a pregnancy test before starting dovato. use effective birth control while taking dovato. the most common side effects are headache, diarrhea, nausea, trouble sleeping, and tiredness. so much goes into who i am and hope to be. ask your doctor if starting hiv treatment with dovato is right for you. so why treat your mouth any differently? listerine® completes the job by preventing plaque, early gum disease, and killing up to 99.9% of germs. try listerine®.

need stocking stuffers? try listerine® ready! tabs™. ♪ey mr. jonescking stuffers? find great gifts for everyone on your list this holiday, ♪ everybody... with low prices and free shipping on millions of items at amazon. ♪ >> pelley: our lives have been transformed by the information age. but what's coming next is likely to be more profound-- call it the genetic information age. we have mapped the human genome and in just the last few years

we have learned to read and write d.n.a. like software. and you're about to see a few breakthroughs-in-waiting that would transform human health. for a preview of this revolution in evolution we met george church-- a world leading geneticist-- whose own d.n.a. harbors many eccentricities and a few genes for genius. we found george church in here. >> most of these are frozen george. little bits of george that we have edited all in different tubes. >> pelley: church threw himself into his work-- literally. his d.n.a. is in many of the experiments in his lab at harvard medical school. the fully assembled george church is 6'5" and 65.maing the human genome and editing d.n.a. today, his lab is working to make humans immune to all

viruses, eliminate genetic diseases, and reverse the effects of time. one of the things your lab is working on is reversing aging. >> george church: that's right. >> pelley: how is that possible? >> church: reversing aging is one of these things that is easy to dismiss to say either we don't need it or is impossible or both. >> pelley: oh, we need it. >> church: okay. we need it. that's good. we can agree on that. well, aging reversal is something that's been proven about eight different ways in animals where you can get, you know, faster reaction times or, you know, cognitive or repair of damaged tissues. >> pelley: proven eight different ways. why isn't this available? >> church: it is available to mice. >> pelley: in lucky mice, church's lab added multiple genes that improved heart and kidney function and levels of blood sugar. now he's trying it in spaniels. so is this gene editing to

e reversal? >> church: this is adding genes. so, it's not really editing genes. it's, the gene function is going down, and so we're boosting it back up by putting in extra copies of the genes. >> pelley: what's the time horizon on age reversal in humans? >> church: that's in clinical trials right now in dogs. and so-- that veterinary product might be a couple years away and then that takes another ten years to get through the human clinical trials. >> pelley: human trials of a personal kind made george church an unlikely candidate to alter human evolution. growing up in florida, church was dyslexic, with attention deficit, and frequently knocked out by narcolepsy. what was it that made you imagine that you could be a scientist? >> church: the thing that got me hooked was probably the new york world's fair in 1964. >> welcome to a journey into the future. >> church: i thought this is the way we should all be living.

when i went back to florida, i said, "i've been robbed," you know?" where is it all?" and so i said, "well, if they're not going to provide it, then i'm gonna provide it for myself." >> pelley: with work and repetition, he beat his disabilities and developed a genius for crystallography-- a daunting technique that renders 3d images of molecules through x-rays and math. but in graduate school at duke, at the age of 20, his mania for the basic structures of life didn't leave time for the basic structure of life. you were homeless for a time. >> church: yeah. briefly. >> pelley: six months. >> church: six months. >> pelley: and where were you sleeping when you were homeless? >> church: well, yeah. i wasn't sleeping that much. i was mostly working. i'm narcoleptic. so, i fall asleep sitting up anyway. >> pelley: his devotion to crystallography was his undoing at duke. >> church: i was extremely excited about the research i was doing.

and so, i would put in 100-plus hours a week on research and then pretty much didn't do anything else. >> pelley: not go to class. >> church: i wouldn't go to class. yeah. >> pelley: duke kicked him out with this letter wishing him well in a field other than biology. but it turned out, harvard needed a crystallographer. george church has been here nearly 40 years. he employs around 100 scientists, about half-and-half men and women. who do you hire? >> church: i hire people that are self-selecting, they see our beacon from a distance away. there are a lot of people that are a little, you know, might be considered a little odd. neuro-atypicals some of us are called. >> pelley: "neuro-atypical?" >> church: right. >> pelley: unusual brains? >> church: right, yeah. >> parastoo khoshakhlagh: one thing about george that is very significant is that he sees what you can't even see in yourself. >> pelley: parastoo khoshakhlagh and alex ng are among the"

neuro-atypicals." they're engineering human organ tissue. >> cory smith: i think he tries to promote no fear of failure. the only fear is not to try at all. >> pelley: cory smith's project sped up d.n.a. editing from altering three genes at a time to 13,000 at a time. eriona hysolli went to siberia with church to extract d.n.a. from the bones of wooly mammoths. she's editing the genes into elephant d.n.a. to bring the mammoth back from extinction. >> eriona hysolli: we are laying the foundations, perhaps, of de- extinction, projects to come. >> pelley: de-extinction. >> hysolli: yes. >> pelley: i'm not sure that's a word in the dictionary yet. >> hysolli: well, if it isn't it should be. >> pelley: you know there are people watching this interview who think that is playing god. >> church: well, it's playing engineer. i mean, humans have been playing gihe dn of time. >> pelley: the point is, some

people believe that you're mucking about in things that shouldn't be disturbed. >> church: i completely agree that we need to be very cautious. and the more powerful, or the more rapidly moving the technology, the more cautious we need to be, the bigger the conversation involving lots of different disciplines, religion, ethics, government, art, and so forth. and to see what it's unintended consequences might be. >> pelley: church anticipates consequences with a full time ethicist in the lab, and he spends a good deal of time thinking about genetic equity. believing that genetic technology must be available to all, not just those who can afford it. we saw one of those technologies in the hands of alex ng and parastoo khoshakhlagh. they showed us what they call" mini-brains," tiny dots with millions of cells each. they've proven that cells from a patient can be grown into any organ tissue, in a matter of days, so drugs can be tested on

at pat unique nome. you sat cells from george's skin? how does that work? >> alex ng: we have a way to reprogram, essentially, skin cells, back into a stem cell state. and we have technologies where now we can differentiate them into tissue such as brain tissue. >> pelley: so you went from george's skin cells, turned those into stem cells, and turned those into brain cells. >> ng: exactly. exactly. >> pelley: simple as that. organs grown from a patient's own cells would eliminate the problem of rejection. their goal is to prove the concept by growing full sized organs from church's d.n.a. >> church: it's considered more ethical for students to do experiments on their boss than vice versa, and it's good to do it on me rather than some stranger because i'm as up to speed as you can be on the on

the risks and the benefits. i'm properly consented. and i'm unlikely to change my mind. >> ng: we have a joke in the lab, i mean, at some point, soon probably, we're going to have more of his cells outside of his body than he has himself. >> pelley: church's d.n.a. is also used in experiments designed to make humans immune to all viruses. >> church: we have a strategy by which we can make any cell or any organism resistant to all viruses by changing the genetic code. so if you change that code enough you now get something that is resistant to all viruses including viruses you never characterized before. >> pelley: because the viruses don't recognize it anymore? >> church: they expect a certain code provided by the host that they replicate in. the virus would have to change so many parts of its d.n.a. or r.n.a. so that it can't change them all at once. so, it's not only dead, but it n't mutate to a new place where it could survive in a new host.

>> pelley: yes, he's talking about the cure for the common cold and the end of waiting for organ transplants. its long been known that pig organs could function in humans. pig heart valves are routinely transplanted already. but pig viruses have kept surgeons from transplanting whole organs. church's lab altered pig d.n.a. and knocked out 62 pig viruses. what organs might be transplanted from a pig to a human? >> church: heart, lung, kidney, liver, intestines, various parts of the eye, skin. all these things. >> pelley: what's the time horizon on transplanting pig organs into human beings? >> church: you know, 2-5 years to get into clinical trials. and then again it could take ten years to get through the clinical trials. >> okay, wonderful. >> pelley: church is a role

model for the next generation. >> you got it working, looks like. >> pelley: he has co-founded more than 35 start-ups. >> oh, this is incredibly important. >> pelley: recently, investors put $100-milon intth organ work. another church start-up is a dating app that compares d.n.a. and screens out matches that would result in a child with an inherited disease. >> church: you wouldn't find out who you're not compatible with. you'll just find out who you are compatible with. >> pelley: you're suggesting that if everyone has their genome sequenced and the correct matches are made, that all of these diseases could be eliminated? >> church: right. it's 7,000 diseases. it's about 5% of the population. it's about a trillion dollars a year, worldwide. >> pelley: church sees one of his own genetic differences as an advantage. narcolepsy lulls him several times a day. but he wakes, still in the

conversation, often discoveringt zone. >> you could do a... >> pelley: if somebody had sequenced your genome some years ago, you might not have made the grade in some way. >> church: i mean, that's true. i would hope that society sees the benefit of diversity-- not just ancestral diversity, but in our abilities. there's no perfect person. >> pelley: despite imperfection, church has co-authored 527 scientific papers and holds more than 50 patents. proof that great minds do not think alike. the best science can tell, it was about four billion years ago that self-replicating molecules set off the spark of biology. now, humans hold the tools of evolution, but george churchwe e

original mystery-- how chemistry became life. is the most amazing thing about life, thenthpp at all? >> church: it is amazing in our current state of ignorance. we don't even know if it ever happened ever in the rest of the universe. it's awe-inspiring to know that it either happened billions of times, or it never happened. both of those are mind boggling. it's amazing that you can have such complex structures that make copies of themselves. but it's very hard to do that with machines that we've built. so, we're engineers. but we're rather poor engineers compared to the pseudo engineering that is biological evolution. ( ticking ) >> tic engineering.isltimately leo designer babies? >> go to 60minutesovertime.com. and now? la di da, what do we have here?

it's everywhere. ♪ ♪ all because of four filthy numbers... 1 8 5 0. ♪ ♪ how do you explain this? what am i, a professor in explanation? ♪ ♪ oh, this one's been it's not pure 1850. arrestingly bold, yet smooth. drop the carafe! 1850 coffee. quality that's criminal. we're building the most powerful 5g experience for america. it's going to change everything. that's why the nfl, "the new york times," and the developers at snap chose verizon. we're developing 5g ultra wideband for ultra-fast speeds and massive capacity. and it's how some of the best companies in the world will redefine what's possible. now, if verizon 5g can help all of them do all of this, imagine what it could do for you. ♪ (engine idling)

hi, sounds like we're hosting this weekend. woman: it's not(doorbell ringa so now your mom is off gluten. oh. ( ♪ ) uh, i forgot the... ( ♪ ) i got you. ( ♪ ) skip to the good part with alka-seltzer plus. i got you. now with 25% more concentrated power. nothing works faster for powerful cold relief. oh, what a relief it is! so fast!

>> whitaker: secretary of state mike pompeo recently announced the u.s. no longer considers israeli settlements in the west bank in violation of international law. the surprise decision reversed four decades of american policy. it drew criticism from allies around the world and alarm from palestinians about the prospects for peace. to get a firsthand look at the politics of peace, we went to the west bank, an area about the size of delaware along the jordan river, where palestinians have long hoped to establish a state. in the city of ramallah, we found a businessman who isn't waiting for the palestinian authority and the israelis to hammer out a path forward. he's trying to build one himself.

bashar masri is the dreamer behind a brand-new city on a hill called rawabi. everyone told him it was impossible, but today it's the biggest construction project in modern palestinian history and the first planned city for palestinians in more than 1,000 years. ♪ ♪ when you think of the west bank, chances are a las vegas style concert is not what comes to mind. ♪ ♪ but this is what we found one night in rawabi. ♪ ♪ 20,000 palestinians jammed the largest amphitheater in the middle east, singing and swaying to the songs of mohammad assaf, one of the most popular performers in the arab world. ♪ ♪ this truly was music to the ears of bashar masri, the builder of rawabi-- one of the richest, and on this night, one of the

happiest men in the palestinian territories. we saw you in this sea of people with a great big grin on your face. what was goin' through your mind? >> bashar masri: success. rawabi is a success. a stamp of approval by my people. and it's a wonderful feeling. >> whitaker: a decade ago, masri could only dream of a night like this. with audacity and determination, he made his dream real. today, rawabi-- arabic for" hills"-- sits gleaming atop a craggy ridge in the middle of the west bank. the streets are lined with neat rows of condos. since the grand opening in 2015, about 5,000 people have moved in. there's a school; and a city center that would look at home in the u.s. sunbelt with upscale stores selling high end brands;

outdoor cafes; an indoor amusement center, and extreme sports for the adventurous. it looks like you're selling a little bit of the american dream on the west bank. >> masri: why not? if the american dream is a better life, definitely we deserve a better life. our people deserve a better life. and that's what rawabi should lead to. >> whitaker: masri has lived the american dream. he went to college in the u.s., got into business and became an american citizen. he currently lives the good life in ramallah, the commercial center of the palestinian territories. he turned modest real estate investments into an international business empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars. he invested about a $150 million in rawabi; he got the gulf state of qatar, a longtime backer of palestinian causes, to buy in

for almost a billion dollars. when masri broke ground in 2010, he planted this giant palestinian flag, like he was staking a claim. what's the significance of this land to you and your city? >> masri: to me this land is palestine, and inhabiting this area is emphasizing that we're here and we're here to stay for the long term. >> whitaker: why did you want to build a city? >> masri: i'm a strong believer. we have a nation in the making. and i saw rawabi as a big step in building that nation. >> whitaker: palestinians have been yearning for their own country since the state of israel was founded in 1948. the conflicting claims on this land have triggered a seemingly endless cycle of violence and recrimination. today most israelis and palestinians are separated by israeli-built barriers and checkpoints. israelis say they're for security, palestinians say

they're to box them in. and with the proliferation of more than 250 israeli outposts and settlements throughout the west bank, like this one on the hilltop right across from rawabi, israel's grip on the land bashar masri calls palestine seems tighter today than ever. masri sees rawabi as a way to loosen that grip. >> masri: if we can build a city, a futuristic city, a secular city, a democratic city, then we can build a state. >> whitaker: this seems like a very risky place to place such a big bet. >> masri: if we, the palestinians, do not risk and invest in our own nation building, we should not expect anyone to do so. this is a duty. this is not a-- like, "hey, thank you bashar for investing in palestine." i should. >> whitaker: right now you're losing money. >> masri: our losses now are about $35 million a year, but

going down every year. we estimate in three years we will be a total break even operation. >> whitaker: when construction is completed, masri's master plan envisions a city of 40,000 residents. he's building it with stone cut from the hillside, and construction workers hired from the west bank. about 5,000 people work in rawabi-- a boon to the local economy, where 15% of the population is unemployed. stylish condos start at 65,000 u.s. dollars, competitively priced for cities in the west bank, especially with american style mortgages that masri introduced here. he sees rawabi as a down payment on a palestinian future that's upwardly mobile, cosmopolitan and green-- a magnet for young, educated strivers, like 28-year- old mechanical engineer hadeel

jaradat. jaradat lives in rawabi. she manages city facilities and a crew of 120, mostly men. >> hadeel jaradat: when i came to the company, it was all men. i was the only female. >> whitaker: and now you're the boss. >> jaradat: i'm the boss. so that's fine. i'm fine with it. >> whitaker: and she's helping pave the way for other women. a third of the engineers in rawabi are women. >> jaradat: not every day you build a city out of nothing. and being in this experience adds more to our hope. because rawabi is a home, it's giving us a home we've never dreamed to have in palestine. >> whitaker: rawabi almost never got off the ground. israel says it supports palestinian economic development so it publicly endorsed rawabi, but bureaucratic obstacles and right wiolitio blocked masri every step of the way. he had to fight for a permit to pave this narrow dirt road used for his construction trucks and

equipment. >> masri: it took them four and a half years to allow us to pave it as a two lane road, windy road, that is good for a mansion. maybe a small village. but certainly not for the city we are building.r: then there we water. israel held up rawabi's pipeline for more than a year. former officials in government ministries tell "60 minutes" israeli cabinet members blocked the approval under pressure from a faction of ideological settlers who believe all this land is israel. the most vocal-- the settlers on that nearby hilltop. >> masri: i cannot get the road because of their lobby against the road. i couldn't get the water because of their lobby of not getting the water. why shall i live second class citizen in my own country because of some minority radicals that believe god promised them this land? >> whitaker: in this arid land, israel's refusal to turn on the

tap was like a kiss of death: buyers backed out; masri had to lay off workers. that must have brought you to a very low place. >> masri: it brought the project and me, personally, down to our knees, definitely. everybody told me, "give up. give up."his a great battle. i must fight this battle. i must win this battle." >> whitaker: he appealed to supportive politicians in the u.s., europe and the u.n. they pressured prime minister benjamin netanyahu. in 2015, israel relented and let the water flow. >> masri: it was the first time in my business that i have to deal directly with the israelis-- it's a very hard thing to do. emotionally, it's very hard. >> whitaker: why emotionally? >> masri: because to sit down with your occupier that makes your life miserable, controls your movement, controls your freedom and to ask kindly "would

you please give me my rights?" is a demeaning issue. >> whitaker: but he says it was devastating when he was criticized by palestinians for dealing with the israeli government and doing business with israeli suppliers. some of his own people called him a traitor. your critics say that you are normalizing the occupation. >> masri: i'm creating jobs for my fellow palestinians. i am... populating the land that if i'm not doin' it, the settlers are. we're not sugar-coating the occupation. we're not normalizing with the occupation. we are defying the occupation. >> whitaker: he's been defying the occupation his whole life. like these teenage boys today, masri once threw stones at israeli soldiers, the face of the occupation. he told us he spent many days in israeli jails. in the late 1980's, masri helped

lead the first intifada. he was with yasser arafat in 1993, when the p.l.o. leader came to washington for the groundbreaking signing of the oslo accords, which laid the framework for a two state solution to the conflict. now, at 58, he's doing something the stone throwing bashar masri wouldn't have imagined. >> masri: good to see you. how are you? long time. >> whitaker: he's embracing someone he would have considered the enemy. masri wants to make rawabi a high-tech hub, and he found an improbable friend and partner in eyal waldman, a former israeli combat officer. waldman once patrolled the streets of nablus, masri's hometown. >> i think it's a great success. >> whitaker: he now runs leading computer chip makers. he grew up fighting palestinians and remains wary today. >> eyal waldman: i want to strive for peace, i want to engage with the palestinians,

but if i think you are threatening any of what's important to me i will kill you. and you have to think that way. you're just becoming a realist. right? we're not-- playing games here. >> whitaker: but waldman wants to break the cycle of violence so he decided to join forces with masri. he opened an office in rawabi, where he employs 90 palestinian workers. with a shortage of tech workers in israel and an educated, lower cost workforce on the west bank, waldman says it's good policy and good business. were your israeli employees and your palestinian employees skeptical about working together? >> waldman: i think both sides were skeptical both sides have extreme people. they don't like what we're doing. but i think it's time to do peace. it's enough killing each other for 70 years. >> masri: this is a sign of hope and despite the fact that we have different opinions, we have different religions, we have

different cultures, we can make ends meet. that's a good example of the way forward. >> whitaker: masri sees a state taking root from the seeds he's planting on this hilltop-- rawabi on the precarious edge between israeli occupation and palestinian distrust. history has shown dreams are hard to grow in this bloody soil, but bashar masri refuses to be shackled to the past. >> masri: the way i see it, israel is here to stay. and we are here to stay. we can continue the atrocities for the next 1,000 years or we can take a shortcut and start working together and end this misery. ( ticking ) - [spokeswoman] meet the ninja foodi pressure cooker, the best of pressure cooking and air frying now in one pot, and with tendercrisp technology, you can cook foods that are crispy on the outside

and juicy on the inside. the ninja foodi pressure cooker, the pressure cooker that crisps. will it feel like the wheend of a journey?p working, or the beginning of something even better? when you prepare for retirement with pacific life, you can create a lifelong income... so you have the freedom to keep doing whatever is most meaningful to you. a reliable income that lets you retire, without retiring from life. that's the power of pacific. ask your financial professional about pacific life today. ( ♪ ) my body is truly powerful. i have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. because i can still make my own insulin.

and trulicity activates my body to release it like it's supposed to. trulicity is for people with type 2 diabetes. it's not insulin. i take it once a week. it starts acting in my body from the first dose. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, or severe stomach pain. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain, and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. i have it within me to lower my a1c. ask your doctor about trulicity. i realized i wanted to study the stars, i want to be a physicist. i had a tenth grade level of education.

i find youtube videos on calculus, differential equations, statistics, algebra, trigonometry. i'm now working as a scientist. i can't see a stopping point in me ever doing that.

♪ i'm now working as a scientist. ♪ ♪ if you're living with a condition, kaiser permanente's integrated care team will help you get through life without missing a beat. kaiser permanente. thrive.

( ticking ) >> alfonsi: it's hard to believe it's been 30 years since adam sandler first appeared on "saturday night live." but did you know that sandler was let go just a few years after he joined the cast? we wanted to know why, and how he evolved from a tv comic, to the rarest of things, a humble movie star who's brought in ofce.ons of dollars at the box this month, the 53-year old who's sometimes described as "juvenile," may surprise audiences who think they know the sandman's shtick. he takes on a gritty, dramatic role, in a movie called "uncut gems" and his performance is drawing some of the best reviews of his career. we wondered if all the buzz had turned sandler into a serious, self-important, actor. we got our answer, when fresh off an overnight flight, he

wanted meet us at a basketball court. >> adam sandler: it looks like a bunch of high school kids, or junior high. usually i can keep up with that. actually no. not usually hey, how you doin' this? are you-- are you-- >> three on three. >> sandler: three on three. i fly in, try to find a game somewhere, play, get a little sweat. >> alfonsi: his game says a lot! >> alfonsi: generous with an assist, quick to compliment. >> sandler: nice job, buddy. >> alfonsi: but with sharp elbows and a tongue to match. >> sandler: ball hog. >> alfonsi: you've been in new york, like, 36 hours. how many times have you played basketball? >> sandler: oh, that's very good. so, once with you. and then i played right before this. i'd say five-- five sessions. >> alfonsi: is that what you do pretty much every time you go somewhere? >> sandler: it's kinda when i have nothin' to do. i either-- i battle eating. i say-- "i can go eat or go play hoop." >> alfonsi: right, right. the-- >> sandler: ups and downs of the chubby life. ( laughs ) >> alfonsi: adam sandler is an unconventional movie star.

he favors oversized clothes, un- tied sneakers and a fresh from the hamper look. a proud father of two with his wife of 16 years, jackie. he's a regular guy, living a charmed life-- which is all part of his appeal. his career is heavy with far- fetched comedies like "happy gilmore," and goofball gets the girl comedies like "the wedding singer." >> i could be a man who grows old with you. >> shift. >> alfonsi: his films usually feature his friends. >> shift. >> alfonsi: and he usually plays a fish-out-of-water character-- >> peace! i'm out of here! >> alfonsi: who prevails in the end. it's a formula that sometimes fizzles. >> that's how we roll in our house, baby. >> alfonsi: you know, when people talk about your career, they talk about these ups, and then the downs, ups, and then the downs. >> sandler: man, i don't know what the downs have been. i mean, maybe in some people, when they write about me, they talk about my downs. but i don't have any downs. i love every movie i've made.

i've never in my entire career phoned one thing in. >> alfonsi: the critics who've said-- i'm gonna read you my favorite ones, you know, "this movie is the last nail in adam sandler's coffin." ( laughs ) another said "he is no longer a movie star." and another one called you a man-child. ( laughs ) >> sandler: i hear that. yeah, that makes some sense. >> alfonsi: you're not bulletproof. i mean-- >> sandler: i'm not. >> alfonsi: it's gotta hurt. >> sandler: that stuff doesn't hurt me anymore. i think it hurt me 20 years ago. it got me 20 years ago. i was-- kinda shell shocked like, "what happened? they say i suck?" ( laughs ) i thought i was good at this. i don't care. needs to be changed. do it. >> alfonsi: his newest film may surprise his critics. "uncut gems" is far from a predictable sandler farce. it's an intense, dark drama set in the cutthroat world behind new york's 47th street diamond district. >> i'm not ( bleep ) buying watches. this is howard ratner. >> alfonsi: he plays howard ratner, a er a sports gambler in desperate straits. >> $1,000 a point, okay? >> alfonsi: it's a plum part with serious acting chops required for every scene.

>> i don't know what i'm thinkin'i, i don't know what everybody's doing. >> alfonsi: everybody always talks about you being such a likeable guy. and then you play this loud, sweaty, obnoxious character. did you have any reservation about that? >> sandler: i was scared, yeah. i was like, i don't know, man, i don't like him very much. >> all right, larry! hi pal, how are you? yo, yo! this is kind of the street where we-- we shot a lot of stuff, got prepared. got to-- it's basically, the big part of the movie, this block. >> alfonsi: it is character rich, here-- >> sandler: yes. >> and, action! >> alfonsi: sandler researched the role for months, creating a cadence and wardrobe befitting the part: rimless glasses, gold chains and oversized teeth. >> what's up? >> alfonsi: opposite retired n.b.a. superstar kevin garnett, who plays himself. >> let me clean this for you. let me throw 'iem in the ultra- sonic for you, for free. >> sandler: in the movie, i tell-- kevin garnett's character, "let me wash-- your-- earrings.

let me polish those for ya." and-- and that's-- one of the guys told me that's the first move is get the jewelry off-- off somebody. >> alfonsi: 'cause they can't leave. >> sandler: -- then you're doin' somethin' for 'em. and then you could discuss the flaws of what they have, and say, "i got somethin' a little better for ya," and that kinda thing. >> alfonsi: it's clever. >> sandler: yeah, it's very clever. >> alfonsi: the new york diamond district is a world away from his hometown of manchester, new hampshire, where sandler roamed the little league fields. the only thing bigger than his hair was his confidence. >> sandler: i was always very goofy looking. i didn't realize it at the time. i thought i was kind of a stud. but looking back at it is pretty ridiculous. >> alfonsi: where'd the confidence come from? >> sandler: i don't-- my parents told me i was-- my mother said how great i was all the time. i started to believe her. but my father would be like, "you're great, but you ain't that great." >> alfonsi: oh, my gosh. >> sandler: this was it. thisasp in >> alfonsi: it's like a museum. he grew up in this house the youngest of four children.

the rare comedian who says his childhood was happy. >> sandler: but that was my bed. that was my brother's bed. >> alfonsi: oh, my gosh, look at this. >> sandler: yeah. >> alfonsi: same carpet. >> sandler: same carpet as growing up, for sure, same sheets, same everything. >> alfonsi: so awesome. it's awesome. his late father stan was a big man with a big personality. an electrical contractor who coached his kids' little league teams and who sandler calls his hero. >> judy sandler: hi! >> alfonsi: come on, come on! >> sandler: welcome in, mother. >> alfonsi: mom judy was a nursery school teacher. she is his biggest fan and sometimes, harshest critic. what did you think of "uncut gems?" >> judy sandler: oh, i loved it. it was very different. ( laughs ) very different. >> alfonsi: very different. >> judy sandler: yeah. especially his false teeth. >> sandler: i told you! ( laughter ) she goes straight to the teeth. >> alfonsi: you didn't like that look? >> judy sandler: no. not exactly. ( laughs ) i spent all this money to make his teeth nice and-- >> alfonsi: what did your mom think about all the cussing in the movie? >> sandler: any time i curse, she hates it. i can curse amazing. >> alfonsi: you can really rope 'em together? >> sandler: yes, thank you. yes, i can rope 'em nice.

>> judy sandler: my mother didn't teach me to curse and i didn't teach him. where did you learn it? >> sandler: i don't know where i got it, ma. ( laughter ) but it's been fun. all right, ma, stay out of the shots now. you had your moment. >> alfonsi: his family remains an important influence on his life and his comedy. >> sandler: i used to do my grandmother, an impression of my grandmother. everybody used to like it around the house. >> alfonsi: let me hear it. >> sandler: well, you know, adam. she always used to say, "well, you know. you cannot digest cantaloupe. that's not good for your stomach. that's why you always get bellyaches." she didn't know i was faking bellyaches to stay out of school. she thought it was the cantaloupe. ( laughter ) >> alfonsi: his first job was at the puritan. >> sandler: what's up everybody? >> alfonsi: a local landmark in manchester, new hampshire, famous for its ice cream... not it seems, adam sandler. >> sandler: a cherry seinfeld that's disgusting. >> alfonsi: when it was time for college, he went to new york university, which allowed him to work the city's stand up clubs at night. he worked hardit, hiing

this stage at coc stlive more than 500 times. >> when you go to the bathroom, public bathrooms are never fun. you know, you always go in there with the same deal. take one piece of toilet paper and put it there, another piece over there, and then you pull down your pants and a gust of wind knocks the left piece down. ( laughter ) >> alfonsi: what were you making when you-- >> sandler: oh, money? >> alfonsi: --came in here to play a set? >> sandler: i think it was ten bucks a night, ten bucks. that was good. didn't care. >> alfonsi: stand up is how adam sandler discovered what would become a trademark of his act-- >> the bar mitzvah boy, bar mitzvah boy-- >> alfonsi: using the guitar to sell his jokes. ♪ ♪ >> sandler: you know what i'm sayin'? >> alfonsi: playing the guitar was sandler's solution for intense stage fright. >> sandler: i was so nervous every time. then i'd get up there and i wouldn't remember what i was supposed to say and go blank. and you have the guitar in your hands, and that way i was at

least doin' somethin'. >> alfonsi: it-- it was a security blanket. >> sandler: yeah. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. >> alfonsi: still living in the dorm, he got his first big break. a guest spot on america's most popular sitcom, "the cosby show." it didn't last long. >> tragic! >> sandler: i did four episodes and i remember wanting to be on five, you know? i was always at that place in my life. >> alfonsi: i think you're so low key that you don't really realize that you were so ambitious. >> sandler: i was very driven, man. i don't know what the hell was goin' through my head. >> alfonsi: what did you want? was it, "i gotta get to 'snl.' i gotta be a movie star. i gotta be--" >> sandler: i was the-- i wanted the eddie murphy. i wanted that. >> alfonsi: being like eddie murphy meant becoming a movie star, but first getting to "saturday night live." he made it there when he was just 23-years-old. >> i got a bit of a situation over here! >> alfonsi: introducing us to characters like canteen boy and opera man. >> ♪ amy fisher buttafuoco ♪ el-knock-oh el-shoot-oh ♪

>> alfonsi: and writing snl classics like "the hannukah song." ♪ paul newman's half jewish and ie too ♪ put them together what a fine looking jew ♪ >> alfonsi: holy moley, look at this. >> sandler: this is it. this is the best, the best. my brother said to me when i was applying for colleges-- i-- i said, "what should i study?" he goes, "why don't you be-- an actor? you should be a comean i said, "yeah, yeah, yeah, i'll do that." that was kinda that stupid. >> alfonsi: his time at "snl" was spent alongside, among others, chris rock, david spade and the late chris farley. >> hoagies and grinders. hoagies and grinders. navy beans, navy beans, navy beans, navy beans. >> sandler: that was farley's desk. he had a desk right there. he was always crazy and funny. spade was over here. chris rock was here. and you guys keep it a lot nicer than us. we were filthy. >> alfonsi: their generation love

just a few years in, even powerful "snl" executive producer lorne michaels couldn't save sandler. >> lorne michaels: it was the rare moment in the history of the show where the network and the critics were on the same side. everybody agreed that this group of people weren't funny. >> alfonsi: was he fired or did he quit? >> michaels: i said, "i think i can protect him. but i think-- it's gonna be-- it could be a rough year." >> sandler: that's right. that's right. it was almost like a recommendation, maybe it's a good time to-- to resign, right? somethin' like that. my heart was broken and i was scared. you don't like telling anybody," hey, you know that-- that thing i was doing? they said i was no good at it." >> adam sandler! >> alfonsi: sandler returned to "snl" last spring for the first time. nearly 25 years after he was asked to leave, he got the last laugh. >> sandler: nbc said that i was done. then i made over four billion dollars at the box office.

♪ so i guess you could say i won. ( cheers and applause ) >> alfonsi: but it was his heart-felt tribute that night to pal chris farley, who died in 1997 of a drug overdose, that stole the show. >> sandler: ♪ whether he was the bumble bee girl or living in a ♪ a van down by the river. ( cheers and applause ) i sang it in rehearsal when we were first doin' it in the daytime. and i kept-- gettin' choked up, i think it was just being at "snl" and being at the place that i hung with the man. but yeah, farley was the guy that we all just said, "well he is the funniest, now who is next?" you know? thank you so much! >> alfonsi: sandler is holding his own. netflix says his latest stand up special was a hit and that more than 70 million people watched "murder mystery," his film last summer with jennifer anniston. >> what the- aw, are you kidding me? >> alfonsi: on screen, on stage, or on the court.... >> sandler: i'll cover this kide

than just fun to watch. >> sandler: that's called a perfect pass! >> alfonsi: he's the most versatile smart-ass in the game. >> sandler: right on, baby. ( ticking ) >> cbs sports hq is presented by progressive insurance. i'm james brown with scores from n.f.l. today. baltimore wins its knight straight and clinches a playoff berth. kc wins its fourth straight n.f.c. west title. pittsburgh winsers third in a row. tennessee wins its fourth in a row to stay in the playoff hunt. minnesota sacks detroit five times and holds them to a playoff spotted. for more go to cbssportshq.com. start with "ta-paz." -oh, it's tapas. -tapas. get out of town. it's like eating dinner with your parents. sandra, are you in school? yes, i'm in art school. oh, wow. so have you thought about how you're gonna make money?

at least we're learning some new things. we bundled our home and auto with progressive, saved a bunch. oh, we got a wobbler. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. that's what the extra menu's for. when you bundle with us. aveeno® with prebiotic striple oat complex balances skin's microbiome. so skin looks like this and you feel like this. aveeno® skin relief. get skin healthy™ the ones that make a truebeen difference in people's lives. and mike's won them, which is important right this minute, because if he could beat america's biggest gun lobby, helping pass background check laws and defeat nra backed politicians across this country, beat big coal,

helping shut down hundreds of polluting plants and beat big tobacco, helping pass laws to save the next generation from addiction. all ainsg dsyoca him. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. we ordered 10,000 units. that sounds good. pretty cool, huh? they're speaking to mom in japanese, and mom hears them in english. ♪ can you understand me? yes, i can understand you. okay. i have a lot of questions. how do you guys fly? what does santa do in the summer? is mrs. claus a good cook? do you guys get presents? can you roller skate or ice skate?

is your business still settling for slow internet? well time is money. switch to comcast business now and get a great deal when you get fast, reliable internet. with a 30-day money-back guarantee, installation when it works for you, and 24/7 customer support. so what are you waiting for? get this great deal when you sign up for fast, reliable internet. call 1-800-501-6000 today. comcast business. beyond fast.

mike bloomberg's created on tover 400,000 jobs.ue leader. as president, an opportunity economy that works for us. tax fairness -- where the wealthy pay their fair share. education .. affordable college and high skill vocational training so people can succeed in the new economy. economic security .. lower cost health care and affordable middle-class housing. proven leadership on jobs .. to build an economy where people don't just get by, they get ahead. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. >> alfonsi: now an update on a story we called "inside the secret archive." last year, bill whitaker reported on leaked records of the catholic diocese of buffalo, new york. they showed bishop richard malone concealed thenssts accudf abuse and allowed them to remain in ministry. the whistleblower was bishop

malone's own executive assistant siobhan o'connor. >> siobhan o'connor: the reality of what i saw really left me with no other option because at the end of my life, i'm not going to answer to bishop malone. i'm going to answer to god. >> alfonsi: on wednesday, pope francis accepted bishop malone's resignation. i'm sharyn alfonsi. we'll be back next week with another edition of "60 minutes." ( ticking ) ♪everybody needs somebody to love...♪ ♪ find everything you need to get together this holiday, with low prices and free shipping on millions of items at amazon. colon cancer screening for with low prices and free shipping

people 50 plus at average risk. some things are harder than you thought. and others are easier. like screening for colon cancer with me, cologuard. i'm noninvasive and you use me at home. i'm also effective. i find 92% of colon cancers using dna in your stool. so why wait? cologuard is not for those at high risk for colon cancer. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your healthcare provider if cologuard is right for you. most insured patients pay $0.

( ticking ) captioning funded by cbs and ford. we go further, so you can. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org but we can't be together. - gideon moore. he was the first person to get friended by the god account. - the god account sent me a message. that i would have to give up love. - cara's stepdad. he's in financial trouble. - it is definitely insider trading. - we can't let the god account come between us. - miles, you did. you chose the god account over me, and that's the choice we're both gonna have to live with. ♪ good feeling good ♪ feeling feeling ♪ hey feeling good - look, i know it's early, but you're gonna thank me. these are supposed to be the best breakfast burritos in the city. - yeah, there is no breakfast burrito worth waking up at 7:00 a.m. for. - hmm, we shall see. plus, i was thinking i'd take some back for my tam.

you know, keep morale up as they start coding my...