intact. since then they've lost 6.5 acres. >> it's very easy to be sitting in your living room and say, oh, yeah, build the damn well, build the damn wall. they're not losing anything, we're losing. >> reporter: wednesday, texas governor greg abbott demanded the federal government return land that was supposed to go towards trump's now-defunded federal wall so texas can use that land and build a wall of its own. >> the federal government has a legal responsibility under the federal immigration laws to do it. but because they are not doing it, texas taxpayers are having to step up. so that we as a state can protect our citizens. >> he sees a real opportunity here to be a national republican leader on this issue. >> reporter: patrick svitek covers politics for "the texas tribune" and says abbott may have his eyes on a presidential run in 2024.

>> is this about political aspirations? >> i think today was about him taking his most drastic action yet to show republican primary voters, he is the person who wants to in some ways continue the legacy of donald trump. >> reporter: in four years the trump administration only managed to build 52 miles of new structures on the border with some sections costing as much as $46 million per mile. how do you respond to people who say this is more of a political ploy? >> anyone who thinks this is politics doesn't have a clue what's going on the border. >> it's political theater. i'm not for open borders. the problem is in the united states. until you can reduce the demand for illegal immigration, illegal drugs, this is going to continue. >> reporter: not only are the details of this particular project still unclear, so is the legal aspect of all of this. the biden administration defunded the federal wall program just last week. right now it seems like governor

abbott's plan is in direct contrast to federal immigration laws. we have spoken with legal experts that say in the past, the supreme court has highly sided with the federal government when it comes to immigration enforcement. >> may raya villareal reporting from austin. texas law enforcement officials say mexican cartels are using the recent flood of migrants to smuggle larger shipments of drugs into the u.s. the texas department of public safety says the amount of fentanyl confiscated along the border jumped 800% in one year. janet sham leann has the story from outside el paso. >> reporter: border patrol agent jerry oversees a desolate patch of the border west of el paso, a spot where he says 11,000 migrants tried to enter the u.s. last month. in fact, this is the spot where smugglers dropped sisters ages 3 and 5 over the 14-foot-high barrier in april. it's vast here. >> correct. >> what are you seeing in terms

of the cartel movement? >> they're profiting a lot right now. >> repororter: galvan says traffickers are able to smuggle drugs because so many agents are focused on people coming across. if we didn't have as many migrants coming over, would it be harder for them to move the product? >> definitely, definitely. the fact that they know that the migrants eat up a lot of our time and effort. >> reporter: the dea says the biggest increase is in fentanyl, the synthetic opioid so potent, a teaspoon is enough to kill as many as 3,000 people. this is some of the 59 pound seized by texas troopers in the past six months. if it had reached the streets and not been stopped, what could have been the result? >> the result is masscasualty. we cannot afford to stand by and let fentanyl come across the border. >> reporter: when it does, street-level networks use the

interstates to send it across the america. i-10 to california. i-25 to colorado. where more than 1,300 people died from overdoses last year, the most in state history. 31-year-old sarah witner was one of them. heher father and sister speakin out. >> i was cpo on my daughter, trying to bring her back, knowing it wouldn't work, but i had to try. something i wouldn't wish on anyone because that won't go away. >> reporter: even with multiple agents working together and advanced technology, they're often outnumbered. >> they use these opportunities when our agents are occupied, apprehending these people who are coming over. and that's when they're moving their drugs at the same time. >> reporter: an escalating war with casualties far beyond the border. janet shamlian, el paso. a tiny village in south africa is the epicenter of a

diamond rush. deborah pava has the story. >> reporter: it started with a chance discovery and turned into a mass treasure hunt. once word got out a local herdsman dug up what might be a precious stone, thousands of fortune seekers flocked to t th small rural village. >> heard that people are digging diamonds there, so i said, no, let me come and take a try. only to find that i was going to find one. >> reporter: most people have no idea what an uncut diamond looks like. >> a diamond in the rough. >> reporter: i haven't seen or touched a diamond in my life, said this man, i hope this makes a difference because we're really struggling. authorities have sent experts to the area. a geologist on site was skeptical, telling us it's unlikely these are diamonds. but that hasn't stopped people from dreaming. >> if this were the real diamond, that would help me and my family. because everyone needs to get up in life. >> reporter: teams of geologists

have collected stones for further investigation. the south african economy has taken a severe battering during the pandemic, which is why this modern-day diamond rush has sparked such high hopes for a better life. deborah patter, johannesburg. jasoson, did youou know geio coululd save youou hundreds on car insnsurance andnd a whwhole lot momore?

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nenew zzzquil l ultra helplpu sleep bebetter and l longer when y you need itit most. it's non habibit forming g and powewered by thehe makers ofof . new zzzqzquil ultra.a. when u realally really y need to sl. when his grammy-winning rock wand oasis broke up over a decade ago, noel gallagher launched a solo career. now he's got a double album of greatest hits climbing the charts and he sat down for a chat with anthony mason. >> reporter: in the middle of the pandemic, noel gallagher finished building a new studio. it's been his refuge. >> creatively, it's been the best ever. because i've written lots and lots of songs. songngs that were half finished

it's like, righght, i'll do th today because i don't have anything else to do. ♪ >> reporter: his new albumum "bk the way we came volume 1" is the best of the first decade of noel gallagher's high-flying birds, the band he formed after he split with oasis. what do you see when you lack back over those 10 years? >> i came out of a band with a very strong identity, very famous band, a band that fans really, really loved. and i didn't want my solo career to be a sugar-free version of that, you know, like diet oasis. >> diet oasis. >> which is a a great idea for drinink, somebodyy shoululd w w that down. >> reporter: with the high flying birds, gallagher's music broke free from the oasis sound. has it been liberating somehow? >> in the sense i'm allowed to work at my own pace, and i'm not writing songs for a brand, you know. we were a stadium rock band.

therefore, i was writing stadium rorock songs.s. i was writing for another singer. ♪ >> r reporter: thahat singerr ws brother liam. you said recently that "wonder wall" is actually one of your least favorite oasis songs. >> my least favorite recordings. >> ah-ha. >> the song is great. i mean, the song -- i still haven't finished it. i'd have longed for a pandemic back then, i would have finished it properly. it's got one verse and one chorus and that's about it. it's ironic the biggest album we made is a load of hahalf-finish songs.s. >> repeporter: the 19 naval bum "what's the story, morning glory" s sold o over 2 millilio copies worldwide. ♪ >> you may know about this. me and my brother fell out halfway through the recording of the album. >> yes, i've heard. >> i never quite got to finish themem and just sasaid, this wi hahave to do..

♪ so sally can wait ♪ ♪ she k knows it'ss too latate we're walklking on by y ♪ >> reporter: another track off that a album "don't looook back anger" iss onene of gallagher's favorites. ♪ don't look back in anger i heard you say ♪ >> what it's become is something that i could never, ever, ever have imagined. >> what is it you're especially proud of in the writing of it? >> i don't know, i touched on something -- i don't know what it is. >> reporter: in 2017, a terrorist bombing in gallagher's hometown, manchester, england, killed 22 people. during the memorial, a woman in the crowd began singing the song. ♪ ♪ she knows it's too late ♪ >> that's when it kind of hits you. this song, people have taken it into their lives and it served a purpose that day. it's something i try not to think about because it will drive me mad, of why?

what is it about that song? and i just put it down to, something was in the air that night. i wrote it in paris. fell out of the sky, and thankfully it landed on my lap and not bono's.

when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of god, in due time he will exalt you. hi, i'm joel osteen. i'm excited about being with you every week. i hope you'll tune in. you'll be inspired, you'll be encouraged. i'm looking forward to seeing you

right here. you are fully loaded and completely equipped for the race that's been designed for you. in recent years, most college graduates have been leaving their hometowns and migrating to bigger cities. but this year a lot of college grads are finding reasons to return to their roots. adriana diaz has the story. >> reporter: the quiet of wilson, north carolin, is only interrupted when the outside world rolls through. >> train number 8 enters the station -- >> i wanted to get you up here -- >> reporter: dante pittman's hometown is the last place he thought he'd be after unc chapel hill and working for the state attorney general in raleigh. >> most of the folks i polled said i should stay where i was.

thank goodness for good family who said, i you need to come back home. >> reporter: he did, to work for the city of wilson, thanks to lead for america, a nonprofit that provides college grads with two-year fellowships in their hometowns. >> i felt like every day i had the opportunity to change someone's life for the better in the work that i'm doing. >> forget about that shiny big city. >> first time i went to new york i saw a 10-pound rat. it's not that shiny. >> it teaches you how to run a business -- >> reporter: 25-year-old benya kraus helped create lead for america. her family's been in small-town minnesota for six generations. what is the impact of the brain drain that happens when people go off to college and don't come back? >> there's a material cost to what happens when there's brain drain. schools unable to find teachers. i think that also sends this feeling that there's not much hope that this place isn't one that is appealing for bright people. >> reporter: the two year old program has placed almost 100 fellows, including in

underresourced urban areas like north st. louis, where 23-year-old trayvon latimer grew up. >> i spent a lot of childhood in ferguson, thought a lot about inequality issues. >> reporter: after college in chicago, he thought about new york city, but thanks to lead, he came home. >> the federal stimulus package passed in march. a lot of the money for small businesses came through our department. so i was able to help divvy out almost $5 million. >> reporter: in wilson, pittman got a promotion. he's the city's human relations director. >> i can tell you that being in charge of a department at 25 is not something that i thought i was prepared for, and it's certainly not normal. ter: but it was possible because hecause he came home. adriana diaz, chicago. >> as they say, there is no place like home. and that's the "overnight news" for this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back later for

"cbs this morning" and follow us online at any time at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm chip re. ' it's friday, june 18th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." devastating drought. the west impacted by bone-dry conditions and record high temperatures. the one city that could run out of water by the fall. skipping a shot. millions of americans are missing their second vaccine appointment. the concern as a dangerous covid strain becomes dominant in the u.s. new federal holiday. president biden signs juneteenth into law. how this historic occasion may not have happened without the not have happened without the help of a dedicated activist. captioning funded by cbs