>> the race started with a 750 meters whim and a 5k run but the real fun starts tomorrow. athletes will swim a mile and a tonight, donald trump punches back on the campaign trail. >> wi, hoax. >> the former president's first public remarks since his federal indictment on dozens of felonies. >> the ridiculous and baseless indictment of me will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country. >> rallying supporters to action and ramping up his attacks. >> i'm scott macfarlane in greensborough, north carolina, where former president trump is speaking about the newly filed criminal case against him. also tonight, republican culture warriors. presidential candidates pence and desantis take out a new front line in north carolina vowing to change fort liberty's new name back to fort bragg.

in ukraine it's confirmed a new offensive to push out putin's troops is under way. >> i'm debora patta in kyiv where president zelenskyy says his military is optimistic about defensive actions under way. clearing the air. air quality improves for millions of americans, but canada's wildfire fight heats up. survival story. four children found alive in an amazon jungle 40 days after their plane crashed. and later, an uber driver steers his life in a new direction earning a college degree on a free ride. ♪ >> announcer: this is "the weekend evening news" from new york. donald trump made his first public remarks since this week's

bombshell federal dime, -- 37 counts. he described his re-election campaign as a final battle with corrupt forces he maintains are destroying the country. tonight he speaks again in greensborough, greensboro, north carolina. that's where we find scott macfarlane who leads us off tonight. scott. >> reporter: mark, less than 72 hours until donald trump is fingerprinted and has his booking photo taken by u.s. marshals. he's trying to rally some political support here tonight ahead of the biggest criminal case in american history. just after touching down and then taking the stage in georgia, donald trump wasted little time slamming special counsel jack smith's indictment, which charges trump with 37 federal criminal counts including obstruction and conspiracy. >> the ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the biden administration's webbized department of injustice will go

down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country. >> reporter: the charges allege trump knowingly kept and risked exposing records with america's top secrets including nuclear and military capabilities showing some to a writer, and to a political ally and of trying to cover it up attempting to convince his lawyers or to work around his lawyers to circumvent a search warrant. >> i never thought such a thing could happen to america. as far as the joke of an indictment, it's a horrible thing. >> reporter: speaking before a greensboro, north carolina, crowd that trump would address hours later mike pence also criticized the prosecution. >> i'm deeply troubled to see this indictment move forward. >> reporter: some republican voters who came to hear trump speak tonight said they expect the case will give trump a political surge. >> i think he gets stronger with an indictment. >> he's getting stronger. >> reporter: but the legal peril is real when trump faces a judge in miami tuesday afternoon, says florida based criminal attorney

michele suskauer. >> the federal government is not playing here. they've done their investigation. they have their documents. they have their photographs. they have their witnesses, and they are ready to go. >> reporter: with charges carrying a maximum of decades in prison then making trump the most famous criminal defendant in u.s. history. >> this is all going to get very real for him. >> reporter: as he traveled here to greensboro, donald trump was joined by his co-defendant in his new federal criminal case, his aide, walt nauta, mark. >> scott macfarlane in north carolina, thanks. today, former vice president mike pence echoed florida governor ron desantis' pledge as a cultural warrior. both want to restore the name fort bragg if elected president. the north carolina army post renamed fort liberty but braxton bragg was a confederate general. pence's pledge drew cheers from the crowd of the north carolina republican convention in

greensboro just like the desantis comments on friday night. both oppose the renaming as political correctness. we learned today of the death of a mathematics genius who mailed terror across the country for nearly 20 years. ted kazcynski known as the unabomber, was found unresponsive this morning in his north carolina prison cell. he was serving life behind bars for a series of bombings, explosives he both shipped and delivered that killed three people and injured dozens of others. a marathon manhunt ended with his arrest at a montana shack in 1996. ted kazcynski was 81 years old. and tonight, a pivotal moment on the front lines of the war in ukraine. there's confirmation that the country's long expected counteroffensive to push russian troops out of the country is under way. cbs' debora patta is in kyiv. >> reporter: good evening, mark. president zelenskyy said today that counteroffensive and donald trump actions are under way in

his country but would not be drawn on what phase they were in. this comes as ukraine is reeling from the humanitarian crisis triggered by the kahovka dam collapse. from putting out fires from an overnight drone strikes in o odesa, it has been a deadly week in ukraine. rescue workers are risking their lives to save those fleeing the flood-stricken areas where russian bombardment has not let up even as people try to reach dry land. ukraine's chief rabbi moshe reuven azman were helping to bring people to safety when more shelling landed nearby. this ukrainian family escaped in their own boat from a russian occupied town where they say the devastation caused by the dam

collapse is even worse. "there were a lot of dead bodies" said victoria. "i saw them lying face down in the water. it was very hard to look at because i know them." elsewhere in the country, ukraine says its military has stepped up the offensive while the kremlin claimed it had repelled attacks in the east and south of the country. some of the fiercest battles are taking place on the outskirts of bakhmut where kyiv says it is making steady gain, even though the city was only recently seized by russian forces. operations have been shrouded in secrecy, mark, with president zelenskyy giving nothing away saying i'm in touch with my commanders every day. everyone is positive. pass this on to putin. >> debora patta in kyiv, thanks, as always. tonight, the haze that choked the air for millions this

week and masked skylines for northeast cities has mostly cleared. wind patterns have changed for cities like philadelphia. we won't see apocalyptic images like these again at least not in the coming days and michael george is in new york with more. michael. >> reporter: well, mark, good evening. as you can see the skies have cleared again here in new york finally and the air quality is improving. but in canada where this all started, the crisis is far from over. canada is struggling against an unusually fierce wildfire season and officials warn it could get worse. but in the province of nova scotia, a reprieve, residents able to return, thankful their homes are still standing. >> we just don't have answers yet, but we have a home. we're grateful. so many don't, and, yeah, it's just -- it's devastating. >> reporter: the fight is on against more than 400 wildfires, stretching from east to west

across the country spanning 11 million acres and more than half of those fires are not under control. hot and dry conditions are making it easy for wildfires to spread. climatologists like dr. david robinson says climate change is partly to blame. >> we're seeing snow melt off the lands earlier in the spring. that gives them time to dry out. that in turn helps warm things up and you get this vicious cycle going. >> reporter: the smoke drifting south and earlier this week, americans breathing it all in, cities covered in toxic smoke. skies painted an apocalyptic orange and red hues with flights and baseball games canceled. >> we've seen that this smoke knows no borders. it's just jumping on the prevailing wind patterns at any given time. >> reporter: and now hundreds of firefighters from the u.s. and europe are arriving in canada to lend a hand to the firefighting efforts, mark.

>> michael george, thanks. and now a remarkable story of survival from colombia. four young children, missing for weeks in a jungle full of snakes and big cat, well, they've been found weak but alive. cbs' elise preston has their harrowing details. >> reporter: relief and joy as the grandparents of four children lost in colombia's amazon jungle for more than five weeks learned their little ones had been found aletch. [ speaking non-english ] "i am very grateful and to mother earth as well that they were set free," said their grandmother. reunited with their father on a way to a bogota hospital, the siblings ages 13, 9, 4 and 1 are dehydrated, unable to eat and have injuries from walking in the rugged rain forest for 40 days, but doctors say there's progress. the siblings are starting to play. called "operation hope,"

authorities say the three girls and one boy survived the crash that killed their mother and both pilots. during the weeks' long search soldiers say they found a baby bottle, diaper and a child's tiny footprint. promising signs the children were still out there. it's not known exactly how they were able to stay alive, but the indigenous children had some survival schools. colombia's president saying the siblings are an example of survival that will go down in history. elise preston, cbs news. and straight ahead on "the cbs weekend news," a new space race, combug the next generation of lun marylandings. and later, his college graduation. with a free ride from uber and asu.

in this commercial era of space entrepreneurs are over the moon about mobiles and one emerging market sending cargo to an address 250,000 miles away. when intuitive machines went public in february, nasdaq's bell also rang as a reminder that space is now business. >> this is mission control. >> reporter: steve altemus intends to deliver. he's co-founder and ceo of intuitive machines in houston. >> we're delivering scientific payload, engineering demonstration payloads but the not the humans themselves. >> you believe the moon is the next economic frontier. >> it's within our grasp. let's go get it. >> ten miles to go. >> reporter: nothing american made has touched lunar dust since apollo 17, more than a half century ago. >> okay, we have landed.

>> reporter: nasa intends to return astronauts there in a program called artemis and at must envisions a lunar delivery market with customers like nasa, private companies and scientists. >> this is it. this is the assembly room. >> reporter: his company is building a fleet of lunar landings. its goal annual launches to delivery addresses 250,000 miles away. the first called nova-c aims to carry cargo to the south pole later this summer. >> reporter: lunar services is about a $100 billion market so it was enough for us to say, we're all in. >> reporter: if intuitive machines is the fedex or u.p.s. of the space delivery market, think of astrobotic in pittsburgh as the dhl which happens to be one of its partners and customers. >> this is the lander. >> reporter: john thorn tan is astrobotic ceo and gave us a peek at the first lander.

we watched them attach the final major piece, the propulsion system. >> trying to maximize the capacity and performance. >> reporter: its first mission will carry 21 payloads to the lunar surface. >> right now nasa is the primary customer. over time we see commercial coming online in a bigger way. >> reporter: peregrine can carry 100 pounds of cargo. griffin, its second lander, much bigger can carry ten times that delivering this water hunting nasa rover, but, remember, space is unforgiving. thornton tells his customer, delivery is absolutely positively not guaranteed. >> all we can promise our customers is we are putting everything we possibly can into these missions to make them as safe and successful as they can be. >> reporter: nasa plans to spend $2.6 billion over the next decade buying delivery services. in all, 14 different american companies are building lunar landers. >> right now we have routine regular access to the skies.

i think by decade's end we'll have routine regular access to the moon. >> reporter: high risk, high reward for any company creating space in this emerging market. >> sky's the limit. still ahead on "the cbs weekend news," record snowfall is driving western waterfalls and fueling a new gold rush.

yosemite fall, one of the tallest in the world is extra spectacular this spring. last winter a record snowpack is melting and recharging the national park's waterfalls and in a page from its past gold fever has also rushed into the golden state. prospectors hoping to stake a claim and new california gold rush. with our weekend journal steve large from our sacramento station kovr. >> reporter: >> we do a lot of different gold supplies in here. >> reporter: albert fausel is a

third generation of the plasterville hardware store opo opened in 1852. it is in the heart of gold country. >> instead of selling dynamite i'm selling metal detectors. >> reporter: now fausel is getting ready for a new gold rush. >> one of those points like i haven't seen this in my life. >> $750 worth of gold right here. >> reporter: mark is a metal detector expert. >> anybody could find this right now. >> reporter: he found this treasure in a few hours' time. >> it's going to get crazy, though. >> reporter: he believes more gold will be more easily available this year in this historic gold country where james marshall's 1848 find changed california forever. >> it's the biggest event of my life. >> reporter: the predicted gold rush follows the series of intense winter storms eroding rock from waterways. >> as the water comes down really quickly, especially in steep canyon, it hits the banks

and washes fresh dirt right off the banks and liberates new, fresh deposits of gold right into the water. probably most were in moving water at some time. >> reporter: a new golden opportunity in gold country, it started to feel 49er fever. >> this year will be unprecedented. >> time to get gold. >> reporter: steve large, cbs news, placerville, california. and next on "the cbs weekend news," what caused these british guards to end up on the ground during a parade rehearsal.

♪ today president biden and the first lady jill biden welcomed hundreds to the white house for a delayed pride month celebration. mr. biden told the crowd his administration has their back at a time when advocates are warning of a spike of anti-lgbtq

legislation sweeping through statehouses. the event was supposed to be held tuesday but was postponed by poor air quality. today in london the spring heat was too much for at least three british royal guards. they collapsed during rehearsals for next weekend's celebrations marking king charles' birthday. one guard, a member of the band was escorted off the parade ground. two others left on stretchers. the temperature was 88 degrees which likely felt even hotter to the guards wearing wool suits and bear hat uniforms. tonight a new champion at the french open. 22-year-old iga swiatek cemented her number one ranking winning the women's title in three sets and defeated karolina muchova of the czech republic. her third french open championship and fourth grand slam victory. and when we return, a ride share driver sees his college dreams come true. getting a lift from uber.

we end tonight with an uber driver on the road to academic success, best of all, he's getting a free ride. cbs' kris van cleave has the story. >> richard s. spann jr. >> reporter: a moment richard thought was out of reach for a 73-year-old uber driver, the army veteran and great-grandfather is celebrating his own college graduation. >> self-esteem is high and i never thought i could reach it. it's a dream. you see how it never really -- when it comes it's wonderful. >> reporter: spann is among 130 uber drivers graduating from arizona state this year thanks to a partnership between the company and the university providing free tuition for online degrees. since 2018, nearly 700 have completed college. >> there are a lot of people who are with uber and have never

gone to college, no one from their family has gotten a degree so this opens up a door they never had open before. >> how important was this uber program? >> oh, my god, they were -- they were just absolutely essential for me where i am today. >> reporter: it's a big step towards keeping a promise to his mother. he is now aiming to get a ph.d. in criminology. >> i could be called dr. spann as my mom always wanted me to be. >> reporter: he plans to keep driver for uber all while showing his great grandchildren it's never too late to chase your dreams. kris van cleave, cbs news, phoenix. >> and that is the cbs weekend news for this saturday. first thing tomorrow, sunday morning with jane pauley followed by "face the nation." margaret's guests include h.r. mcmaster and new hampshire governor chris sununu. for now,

from cbs news bay area, this is the evening edition. nine people shot in the mission district and the gunman is still on the run. we checked in with locals on whether they are right about the violence nearby. >> i feel like nothing is getting better. nothing is being done. >> i definitely do not feel like it reflects the character of the neighborhood anyway. b.a.r.t. riders will be paying the price. how much more you'll be shelling out to park and ride? and had the south bay is looking to bounce back from its pandemic business drop off. life and the cbs studios and san francisco, i am brian

hackney. nine people wounded in san francisco's mission district last night. this happened near 24th street and treat avenue. police work beginning their investigation. police say they shooting appears to be targeted and their stona be in custody. >> many residents are wondering how much their neighborhood and in the city itself may be changing. >> no one seems very shocked by the shooting at south. that is how common these things have become. but what does have people living here surprised and a little unnerved is that it would happen in a neighborhood like this. it was only about 9:00 last night when this mission district neighborhood was painted with the color police lights. >> it is confirmed there were nine victims that were struck by gunfire and they are all expected to survive. >> reporter: police say, some people attending a street party were targeted, perhaps by a lone