this is the "cbs overnight news." good evening. thanks for joining us. from coast to coast, america seems to be making up for what was lost on this holiday weekend last year, with more signs every day that life is getting back to normal. vaccines have crushed the worst of covid, but amid the revelry, there's breaking news in surfside, florida. explosives demolished what was still standing of the collapsed condo. 24 people are confirmed dead,

with 121 still unaccounted for. you cbs' omar villafranca is there for us. >> reporter: the remaining portion of champlain tower south was deplolished as residents and survivors looked on. demolition teams at the site of the collapsed condo detonated charges grilled into the support columns. the controlled demolition, ahead of tropical storm elsa, toppled the building to the west away from the huge debris mound, where as many as 121 people are still missing from the collapse from more than a week ago. earlier today, i talked to the mayor about when the search could resume. >> what that demolition is doing now is allowing us free access to every part of the pile. >> reporter: now that the building is demolished, rescue teams can get back to searching parts of the site that were previously off-limits due to safety concerns. you're still calling it a rescue? >> nobody should be talking about recovery. as far as i'm concerned, that needs to be shut down.

we're rescuing people, we're pulling people. everybody is doing that. we're all pulling in the same direction. >> reporter: rescue teams are standing which to return to the site once engineers say it's safe. they're also monitoring how the weather may impact the operations. omar villafranca, cbs news, surfside, florida. tropical storm elsa is moving in on cuba. meet our meteorologist is tracking it all. jeff, what can we expect as this storm moves closer to florida? >> it looks like the rain and the wind will move into south florida, especially the keys on monday. and then into central florida on tuesday. the good news with this system, it's fairly disheveled and disorganized right now. winds are around 60 miles an hour. the reason it's having trouble getting its act together is it's interacting with jamaica and cuba. then it moves north and will

make landfall close to the tampa bay area early on wednesday morning, and then move up towards jacksonville. look at thursday, the carolina coast, a weak tropical system. we don't expect this to become a major hurricane. because of, that it's rainfall that is the biggest concern, along the track 4 to 8 inches is possible. >> jeff, we know you'll be keeping a close eye on things there, thank you. across the west, record heat and extreme drought have canceled firework displays in several places. but with covid fading, fun has returned to the fourth of july. cbs' lily luciano is in pasadena where the show will go on. >> reporter: that's right, jericka. tens of thousands are expected here at the rose bowl for southern california's biggest fireworks show. last year it was held virtual only. this year's theme is fittingly celebrating america's perseverance.

♪ for the ramparts we watched ♪ >> reporter: fourth of july traditions are back, and americans are celebrating by filling beaches and watching parades and packing parks. after enduring 16 months of pandemic pain. >> i love it. i can finally get some air and breathe. >> reporter: anheuser-busch's famous clydesdales are marching again in indiana. in kansas city, the navy blue angels and the air force thunder birds are soaring high. and in new york's coney island, there was this feast of sorts. 76 hot dogs downed in record time. still, americans aren't free of covid. >> we definitely are concerned about variants, so we're trying to be more careful. >> reporter: there's good reason. the highly contagious delta variant is now found in all 50 states. >> but there's still a lot of

vulnerable americans. >> reporter: the covid concerns were not enough to cancel summer trips, with air travel setting a new pandemic record this holiday weekend and flyers waiting at long lines for check-in and gates packed full. >> there was a lot of people looking for seats. we sat on the floor. >> reporter: tomorrow will likely be the busiest travel day. but for tonight, millions of americans will enjoy those traditions that had been put on hold. jericka? >> lily luciano, thank you. pope francis is in a rome hospital tonight after undergoing intestinal surgery. chris is there for the latest on the 84-year-old pontiff's condition. chris, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, jericka. pope francis was admitted this afternoon and is staying in the top floor behind me in the same suite of room where is pope john paul ii stayed. the vatican says he's having scheduled surgery for inflammation of the colon that's common among the elderly.

earlier today, the pope seemed in good spirits when he delivered his message from his window overlooking st. peter's square. in fact, he announced he would be going to hungary and slovakia in september. and he's had a busy week. he met with the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken on monday, the iraqi prime minister on friday and holding an all-day prayer service for lebanon on thursday. this is the first time the 84-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized since his election in 2013. he's generally in good health, although he does suffer from sciatica and had part of a lung removed in his youth. the vatican will issue a statement as soon as the surgery is completed. jericka? >> chris, thank you. a philippine air force c-130 crashed today lyle landing. it was carrying 92 soldiers. more than 40 people were killed. several survivors jumped from the wreckal just before it exploded. rescuers in japan are racing

against time following a massive mudslide about 60 miles southwest of tokyo. it happened saturday after days of torrential rain. at least 20 people are missing, two are confirmed dead. officials in ocean city, maryland canceled tonight's fireworks display after they accidently exploded on the beach today. look at that video. several people setting up the fireworks received minor injuries. thankfully, no beachgoers were hurt. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back.

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this is the "cbs overnight news." >> i'm jericka duncan in new york city. thanks for staying with us. the united states has take an big step towards ending what has been called the forever war. the nearly 20-year conflict in afghanistan, with no ceremony orpor fanfare, the pentagon turned over the most important military base in the country to the afghan military. it's part of joe biden's plan to bring all american troops home by september 11. we have two reports this morning starting with david martin.

>> on my orders the united states military has begun strikes against al qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the taliban regime in afghanistan. >> reporter: with that, the world's most powerful military unleashed a reign of precision feeded weapons on the country which had birthed the 9/11 attacks. army rangers parachuted into kourn afghanistan. and marine general named mattis helicoptered in to set up a base called rhino. ready to go after osama bin laden hiding in the mountains. >> we had a very good idea where he was. >> what was your plan? >> we would basically block the escape routes and move up the two valleys. as we pushed up those valleys, he would have to move. at that point, we would kill him. >> are you willing to say now you could have gotten him? >> he would have had a hell of a time getting out if we had gotten those troops in. >> reporter: but the pentagon didn't want to send more troops

into afghanistan and left the job to local fighters, backed up by american air strikes. at the time u.s. forces got there, bin laden was long gone. this is where the trail of osama bin laden goes cold. the last reported sighting of bin laden was here in this small little valley where that group of huts is over there on november 29th, that's more than a month ago, during the bombing of tora bora. navy s.e.a.l.s finally killed bin laden at this compound in pakistan. but that was nearly ten years later. did that make a difference? >> that always made a difference, because he was such a charismatic leader of al qaeda. >> reporter: now retired admiral mike mullen became chairman of the joint chiefs six years into the war, and realized right away the u.s. didn't have enough troops in afghanistan. >> because we went into iraq, the forces we would have put in

afghanistan, basically we were using in iraq. >> reporter: the invasion of iraq started out with shock and awe. but turned into a long, hard slog, leaving afghanistan as the forgotten war. until a new president, barack obama, set out to finish the job in afghanistan, which he called the good war. >> he didn't call it a good war very long once he got in, because there is no such thing. >> reporter: obama sent in a surge of troops and installed a new commander, jenny stanley mcchrystal, who set out to fundamentally change the way the u.s. had been fighting the afghan war. >> we could do good things in afghanistan for the next hundred years and fail, because we're doing a lot of good things and it just doesn't add up to success. >> reporter: we spent a week with him as he walked the streets without body armor. >> let's just have all the security stay here. >> reporter: trying to convins

the afghans the u.s. military was here to help. >> if the people view us as occupiers and the enemy, we can't be successul. >> reporter: but the classic battle to win hearts and minds was undone by a corrupt afghan government, which kept much of the $7 billion a year in aid from reaching the people it was supposed to help. joint chiefs chairman mullen found that out firsthand when he visited afghanistan. >> i would get questions or looks from villagers to say, we thought you were here to help. and we would respond, that's what we're here for. and they would say where do you support the government? because they're ripping us off right and left. >> reporter: when obama announced he was sending more troops, he also put a time limit on their stay. >> after 18 months, our troops will begin to come home. >> 18 months later, where are you? >> umm, we're still slugging it out. we hadn't turned the villages, the provinces, et cetera, significantly.

>> so you never felt like you were winning? >> no. no. we could win in a given area. we could win in a district area or given province, but when you put it all together, i never thought we were. >> reporter: there is one indisputable victory. bin laden was finally killed. his 9/11 henchmen captured, and al qaeda so weakened it never launched another successful attack on america. but 2,400 dead, 20,000 wounded, and nearly $1 trillion in treasure could not remake afghanistan in the american image. >> we didn't achieve the goal of, you know, a free, open, democratic, duley elected, corruption free country where the rule of law -- >> was that ever achievable?

>> in retrospect, i don't think so. >> reporter: afghanistan once again earned its reputation as the graveyard of empires. this is charlie d'agata in kabul. a city that has changed profoundly in the past two decades since the invasion. a generation has grown up enjoying simple freedoms. but those gains are now overshadowed by fears the taliban will sweep back into power once u.s. forces leave here. the return to taliban rule endangers women and girls most. they've been able to go to school and hold jobs, including important positions in the government. but the country has already seen a rise in oppression, beatings, and worse. few know the consequences of the taliban better than this woman. one to have country's only female mayors and its youngest, gafari miraculously survived three assassination attempts.

>> they started shooting my car from this way, this way, and then from in front. they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, and then they run back. more than eight bullets directly to my car. >> reporter: three weeks later, gunman shot dead her father outside his home in kabul. >> and i will miss him. it was so hard. >> reporter: the security situation has deteriorated so quickly, u.s. intelligence report warned that kabul itself could fall within six months after american forces leave here. as we witnessed this past week, the frontline is closing in on the capital by the day. for the past 20 years, you used to have to get into a helicopter to get to the front line with

the tallan. now it's just a drive away, as taliban militants have advanced to a neighboring province with kabul. the taliban now controls more territory than at any time since before the invasion. even the commander of u.s. forces, general scott miller, offers a dire assessment. >> yeah, civil war is certainly a path that can be visualized if this continues on the trajectory it's on right now. that should be a concern to the world. >> reporter: the final pullout friday of all u.s. troops from bagram air base has only added to the anxiety. >> the partnership -- >> reporter: and while washington may be pinning its hopes on a power sharing agreement between the afghan government and the taliban,

peace talks are in the water. the biggest hurder, the taliban's track record. >> taliban are terrorists. simple. >> do you trust the taliban? >> no. >> at all? >> no. >> reporter: and the taliban considers the afghan administration a puppet government of the west. that puts both sides on a deadly spl collision course. >> at the end of the day, taliban, they can kill people. they are killing people every day. day. but if they are waiting for (ringing) - hey kaleb, what's up? how you doing? - hey, i'm good, guess what, i just had my 13th surgery. - really? i just had my 17th surgery. - well, you beat me. - well, i am a little bit older than you. - yeah it's true. how are you doing? - i'm doing good. i'm encouraged by seeing how people are coming together to help each other during times like these. - kind of like how shriners hospitals for children

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branson. >> reporter: beginning the revolution for space tourism, billionaire richard branson stole a little of fellow billionaire jeff bezos' thunder when he announced he would be launching into space, too. >> when we return, i will announce something very exciting, to give more people a chance to become astronauts. because space does belong to us all. >> reporter: branson will join five other people on a round trip from new mexico to somewhere above the earth, beating bezos' space company's nug ral human f flight by ninin dadays. point t to branson.n. > this is thee begininning o revolution in space travel. >> reporter: remember, bezos has made his starry flight a family affair. brother mark will accompany jeff on july 20th. point to bezos, because that's kind of sweet. >> that's one small step for man, o one giaiant leap for mki.

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as we wrap up this independence day weekend, we're fog to take a look at one of the more enduring symbols of our freedom, the statue of liberty. it was a gift from the people of france 136 years ago can. well, now, they have sent another gift. jane polly has that story. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: if the statue of liberty has been lonely, standing in the mouth of new york harbor, as she has these past 134 years, she certainly never showed it. still, close d to visitors due o covid, lady liberty projects the

same majesty as ever. only now, she's got company. on wednesday, a second smaller statue of liberty arrived on our shores. a gift from france. they say it symbolizes the enduring friendship between our two countries. french ambassador philipe. >> it's more important than ever to underline how our democracies need to work together with our common values. including everything, which is symbolized by these statues, freedom, but also equal opportunities for all our citizens. >> reporter: hoisted from her parisian berth last month, the statue boarded a freighter bound for america. retracing the very sound transatlantic route the original statue traveled in 1885.

as the new statue passed liberty island, new york city's fire department greeted it with a water cannon salute. crafted from the original plaster model used by the french sculptor, this bronze replica weighs in at nearly a thousand pounds. ♪ ♪ at nine feet high, it's about 1/16th the size of its much larger counterpart. this independence day weekend, the statue was on display on ellis island, less than a mild from her big sister. >> the little liberty statue won't be in new york city very long. it's destined for the french ambassador's residence in washington, d.c. well, that east the "overnight news" for this monday. for some of you the news continues. for others check back later for "cbs this morning" and follow us

online any time at cbsnews.com. reporting from the broadcast senter in new york city, i'm jericka dunc . it's monday, july 5th, 2021. there is the "cbs morning news." building demolished. the remaining portion of the florida condo complex has been knocked down. how the move is expected to help first responders search through the rubble. tracking elsa. the tropical storm is on its way toward florida. we have the latest on its track and when it could make landfall. and deadly mudslides. a wave of mud sweeping away homes, cars, and lives in japan. the desperate search for the desperate search for survivors happening right now. captioning funded by cbs