samples of the largest number, of the greatest diversity of almost any place on the planet. >> 17 months ago the virus went global and group of scientist labelled the lab leak theory. >> the letters made strong likelihood of a natural origin i think did some real harm. they forced a lot of people into one way of thinking. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci who supports the infected animal-to-human pathway recently told c bs news an accidental lab leak is worth investigating. >> we said keep an open mind and continue to look. i think it's a bit of distortion to say we deliberately suppressed that. >> reporter: the lab leak theory gained traction in january after this fact sheet was released accusing the chinese communist party of deceit and

disinformation. a former deputy assistant secretary of state helped to draft the fact sheet. >> certainly there's new information over the last year. >> reporter: among the findings, the researchers as the wuhan institute of virology became sick with covid-like systems in the follow of 2019 before the chinese communist party went public with the virus, saying the information was credible. >> the u.s. government information on the fact that the lab workers were ill was completely high confidence. >> c.j.: state investigators also found the wuhan lab had military ties and did high-risk research on coronaviruses. >> they're hiding lab and medical records. >> reporter: cbs news has also learned that one of the u.s. government's top labs lawrence livermore issued a classified report last year that found the lab leak theory was plausible.

>> we red it and were instantly alarmed and impressed, by its quality but a larged by its conclusions. >> reporter: until five months ago david asher headed the coronavirus task at the state department. >> i can say it was important and persuasive. we needed to do our due diligence including the potential that it came out of a lab. >> reporter: when a group of scientists gathered by the world health organization went to the wuhan lack earlier this year their access was limited. >> those findings were completely inadequate, were not scientific, were not forensic. >> reporter: this lack of transparency rains true to condoleezza rice who was in 2003. >> we couldn't get answers from the china ease so if we're not going to keep repeating this problem we need to be more aggressive with the chinese about the need to cooperate. >> c.j.:

>> reporter: with nearly 400 dead including 600,000 americans, solving the puzzle will combat future pandemics. >> the better we understand the origins of this one the better we can anticipate the origins of the next one. >> in response to our question, chinese foreign ministry said criticism from state investigators is unfounding adding beijing repeatedly emphasized the origin of covid-19 is a feeling sluggish or weighed down? it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day.

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former president biden visited the texas/mexico border wednesday to call attention to a recent jump in illegal immigration. the president toured the southern border with the texas governor greg abbott who pledged to finish mr. trump's border wall.

more than 180,000 migrants were stopped in may, more than any other month in any other year. we got a look into texas with the help of a conservative pastor. >> right now it's about 10:30, we're running to the edge of the river. >> reporter: this pastor drives the banks of the rio grand river several times a week looking for migrant families despite his political views. >> i'm a guy that is trying to show the love of christ, but at the same time i respect our laws. >> reporter: moments after we arrive at the river bank a raft with five people pulls up, the first of several families to come a shore, to jump out and less than a minute later the guide turns the raft around ready to pick up another group in mexico. >> is there concern that this could continue to get worse? >> yes, because like i say, what the narrative that is used, it

has repercussions, like i said, it has consequences. >> by the narrative, you mean? empathy coming from the administration? >> yes. >> reporter: among the dozens of parents and children we saw this girl is nine years old and travelled from nicaragua for more than a month to get here. >> she got here by car and also. [ speaking foreign language ]. a very big trailer she also came. >> reporter: pastor silva gives water and food before they walk to a makeshift processing site set up by border control. >> there's well over 200 people here, men, women and children. they'll go from these lines and be processed by border control and then separated and taken to separate facilities depending on their age if they came with their family or if they're

unaccompanied minor. >> the texas governor is looking for donations to help build the border wall. silva supports the border wall but believes the immigration system needs an ore haul. >> they need to come up with a solution. people will come as long as there's an opening. >> wednesday was the deadline for wireless companies to implement technology to stop those relentless robo calls. companies have to tell the fcc if they're with the agency requirements if not could face penalties. we spoke to the new acting fcc cha chairwomen. the illegal robo calls keep coming in. >> this is important message regarding your credit card account -- >> an estimated 4 billion of them ringing in on people's cellphones in the month of may alone.

12 calls per person on average. >> the issue everybody wants to talk about is robo calls. >> the acting fcc chairwoman knows it. >> of course, they're so annoying. we want to stop robo calls and make it easier for consumers to safely answer the phone. >> reporter: today is the fcc deadline for companies to put in authentication technology, crucial to stopping scammers. >> what that means is when a call is being made a carrier can tell that it really is the person is who they say they are on the line. the carriers have to verify when anne calls it's anne not a scammer. >> reporter: and in april the fcc added another rule requiring companies to report whether they're complying under penalty of perjury. >> swear it to it is what you're saying. >> swear to it, i want you on record to say you're dog the

doing these things. >> this is consumer watch dog at public interest group. >> we're seeing $10 million of fraud a year against consumers not to mention $3 billion a year in wasted time from you and me answering these stupid phone calls. i think the fcc finally heard enough from enough aspects from our society that they're done. >> phone companies say they're well on their way. in a statement industry group ctia says nationwide providers have already implemented call authentication proelts and call blocking solutions and the industry is unwavering in its commitment to protect american consumers from illegal and unwanted robo calls. and she said should have come earlier and doesn't hesitate to blame the trump administration. >> last four years we saw a huge rise in the number of robo calls but didn't see a equal rise

and activ st them. s administration there was not enough enforcement and didn't get these proetocols in place fast enough. >> yes. >> in a statement, the previous fcc took unprecedented steps to discourage consumers from unwanted robo calls and looking forward to see what the current fcc does given robo calls and spam text have gone up since january 2021. >> are you promising to fix that now. >> i'm promising we're not going to stop until these calls stop. we'll try to be as creative as possible with the law we have, if that fails we'll go to congress and press for more laws because we got to stop these calls. >> the "cbs overnight news" will be right back.

narrator: covid-19 has changed how we express our faith and gather to worship. now it's time to take the first step that lets us get back to spreading the word without spreading concern. before we can safely come together, we need the facts. as covid-19 vaccines become available, you may have questions. woman: should i get it? man 1: is it safe? man 2: should i wait? narrator: it's smart to question. now get the facts at getvaccineanswers.org so you can make an informed decision when vaccines are available to you.

the stigma surrounding mental health in our communities has contributed to a culture of inaccessibility when it comes to seeking support. and with the spike in anti-asian racism over the past year access to mental health resources is becoming more crucial than ever. we want you to know that what you're feeling is valid, and you deserve the support that you need, which is why project lotus offers free mental health resources, online support communities, and virtual events,

designed by and for asian americans. vi several major automakers are going green and promising to give up on gas-powered engines in the next two decades. many big cities are doing the same with their bus fleets, now a report from london. >> reporter: the uk's double

deckers are the most iconic busses in the world, for more than a century they've moved fa getting a green e.ngbout these new buss they emit no pollution. >> london's mayor is rolling out 20 of the new hydrogen-powered busses in a city that wants to slam the breaks on carbon emissions by 2030. >> they've also got hydrogen on board and a fuel cell which throughout the day converts the hydrogen into electricity. >> reporter: that will keep busses on the road throughout the day as batteries will stay constantly charged. >> while fully-electric busses can take hours to charge, hydrogen busses can be filled up in just five minutes. >> what we need from governments, the british government, is more information in clear technologies. >> reporter: last fall scotland unveiled the world's first

double decker hydrogen bus and now the mayor hoping for more cities to climb on board for a clean future.londons or this thur. r tscontinues, for others check back for cbs this morning or follow us online all the time at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capitalal i'm catherine herridge. capital i'm catherine herridge.

it's thursday, july 1st, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." growing tragedy. more bodies are pulled from the rubble of that florida condo collapse including two children. it comes as president biden heads to the grief-stricken community today. charges filed. the organization that bears former president trump's name is now facing criminal charges. the high-ranking official expected to appear in court today. and released from prison. disgraced comedian bill cosby is back home today after his back home today after his conviction was overturned. captioning funded by cbs