appears to contradict trump's explanation that there was no classified iran document. >> we had a lot of papers, a lot of papers stacked up. in fact, you could hear the russell of the paper, and nobody said i did anything wrong. >> reporter: trump has consistently said he declassified all the records he took from the white house. but in the recording -- >> sigh, as president, i could have declassified it. >> i think the special counsel will be able to use this reporting very effectively before a jury because he can argue that they've captured on tape the defendant narrating his own alleged criminal activity. >> reporter: and cbs news has learned that trump has not been charged for keeping the document he's talking about on that tape. special counsel jack smith's office declined to answer our questions about the iran memo or the audiotape. trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges, norah. >> catherine herridge, thank you very much. quadruple murder suspect bryan kohberger was back in court today one day after prosecutors announced plans to seek the death penalty for the

brutal stabbings of four university of idaho students. cbs's jonathan vigliotti has new details from inside the courtroom. >> reporter: wearing a suit and tie, a stone-faced bryan kohberger walked into court today as his attorneys pushed for more details on the evidence, police training, and the methods used to make its case. >> the purpose of discovery is really to prevent an unfair trial. >> reporter: court documents recently revealed investigative genetic genealogy was used to track down kohberger. investigators compared dna recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene to samples submitted by the public for ancestry tests. >> it is 100% legal. you give a dna sample. so this is totally open to the public, and police officers and investigators are allowed to do it too. >> reporter: the defense also wants to know how the fbi used cell phone records to show that kohberger was near the crime scene in the weeks before the murders. kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in

the deaths of university of idaho students kaylee goncalves, madison mogen, xana kernodle, and ethan chapin. they were brutally stabbed in off campus housing last november. kohberger was then a ph.d. student studying criminology at nearby washington state university. the defense previously called into question dna at the scene from three other unknown men as well as a lack of dna from the victims in kohberger's car and apartment. >> it would not be unusual to have many types of dna, men and women, inn differerent parts ofe house. they're saying, look, this was basically done with blinders on. they only focused on one suspect. and rather, they did not look at other potential suspects. that's something that happens in many cases. >> reporter: and the exact motive at this point is still unclear. kohberger, if found guilty, faces the death penalty, which here in the state of idaho means possibly a firing squad, norah. >> jonathan vigliotti, thank

you. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back.

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ukraine today, killing at least three people and wounding more than a dozen. the attack came as the exiled oligarch who led the short-lived russian military mutiny over the weekend arrived in neighboring belarus. russia says the mercenary wagner group is preparing to hand over its heavy weapons. cbs's ian lee is tracking the latest developments from kyiv. >> reporter: this was the last sighting of wagner boss yevgeny prigozhin, seen driving away from the russian city of rostov after his failed mutiny. today belarusian president alexander lukashenko said the mercenary leader had landed in his country. his flight into exile fulfilled part of his stated deal with russian president vladimir putin. lukashenko shed more light on the chaos that gripped russia on saturday when wagner mercenaries defied putin and marched toward moscow. lukashenko said he told prigozhin that putin would squash him like a bug if wagner troops moved closer to the city. despite being called a traitor,

russian authorities announced they've dropped their criminal charges against prigozhin. but lukashenko hinted that his safety isn't guaranteed, saying he urged president putin not to kill prigozhin. today the kremlin returned to its usual choreographed pageantry, projecting power and control. putin thanked the military for preventing a civil war. prominent in the crowd was defense minister sergei shoigu, the man prigozhin said he was going to moscow to confront for russia's failures in ukraine. and this evening, moscow continued its deadly missile attacks on the country. two struck a busy shopppping center and restaurant inn the easterern ukrainian city of kramatorsk. rescue operations are under way, pulling survivors from the rubble with at least three dead ask dozens more wounded. norah, we're learning from british intelligence that it's highly likely for the first time, ukraine has captured territory nationally seized by the russians back in 2014.

>> that's significant. ian lee, thank you. now to a cbs news exclusive with the first television interview with irs whistle-blower gary shaply since he spoke with lawmakers last month. a lead investigator in the hunter biden case tells cbs's jim axelrod that he felt the president's son received preferential treatment. and in a stunning claim, says that he was blocked from pursuing leads that could have led to the president himself. >> if this was any other person, they likely would have already served their sentence. >> reporter: gary shaply was a lead irs supervisory agent in operation sportsman, the investigation into hunter biden. shaply said he uncovered conduct that warranted more serious charges. >> there were personal expenses that were taken as business expenses, prostitutes, sex club memberships, hotel rooms for purported drug dealers. >> how much did hunter biden owe in taxes? >> so from 2014 to 201, it was

$2.2 million. >> reporter: the back taxes were paid off, and last week the trump-appointed u.s. attorney in delaware, david weiss, reached an agreement with hunter biden. the president's son would admit to a firearm charge and plead guilty for his failure to pay taxes. if a judge signs off, the deal means no jail time. >> testimony we have just released details a lack of u.s. attorney independence. >> reporter: and shaply told lawmakers that u.s. attorney weiss was blocked from bringing stronger charges. but u.s. attorney general merrick garland said last week that weiss was not. >> i'm saying he was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own. >> i documented exactly what happened, and it doesn't seem to match what the attorney general or the u.s. attorney are saying today. >> reporter: shaply provided lawmakers this contemporaneous email he wrote after an october meeting last year. shaply says weiss told him the opposite, that weiss is not the deciding person on whether charges are filed.

>> it was just shocking to me. >> reporter: shaply, who is still working for the irs, told us that even before president biden took office, he was directed to avoid leads involving hunter's father. >> there were certain investigative steps we weren't allowed to take that could have led us to president biden. >> and you wanted to take them? >> we needed to take them. >> and you weren't allowed to take them? >> that's correct. >> reporter: it is important to point out that at that point in shaply's investigation, donald trump was still president, and his attorney general, william barr, had rules in place that may have limited what shaply could pursue. the u.s. attorney's office in delaware had no comment. as for hunter biden, his attorneys did not respond to us, but he said before in a statement that he is taking responsibility for mistakes he made during a period of turmoil in his life. norah. >> jim axelrod, thank you. there's a new report on heavy metals found in b

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there is important news tonight about baby food. five years after consumer reports found toxic metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium in more than 30 baby foods, researchers at the organization say the overall risk has barely changed. several products actually contain the same or even higher levels now than they did five years ago, including beechnut naturals sweet potato and gerber chicken and rice and turkey and

rice dinners. researchers recommend feeding your child less than half a serving of these products per day. in a statement, gerber notes that these metals occur naturally and says the best way to address the issue is to focus on improvement with suppliers and growers, and beechnut says it's fully committed to working with the fda on this. a new warning from the cdc about malar right

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inin my home w with me. ♪♪♪ in tonight's health watch, the cdc is sounding the alarm about new cases of malaria contracted inside the u.s. four cases of the disease spread by mosquitos have been confirmed in florida and another was detected in texas in the last two months. the last malaria outbreak in the u.s. was 20 years ago. those five patients have received treatment and are improving. ryan seacrest will take the wheel as host of "wheel of fortune." it was announced today that seacrest will take over for pat sajak after he wraps up his 41st

season at the popular game show next year. in a statement, seacrest says, i can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great vanna white. finally tonight, the u.s. women's national team is ready to kick off their bid for a three-peat at the world cup next month in new zealand and australia. the world's most dominant soccer team spoke to reporters today in los angeles, where the veterans like megan rapinoe, alex morgan, and lindsay hor ran talked about how far women's sports have come during their careers alone. morgan said her fourth world cup and first as a mom is proof how far women athletes can go if they have the support. >> i'm really grateful for the women before me that fought for mom athletes. just looking at the amount of moms that we have on the team, that's the most that we've ever had. >> the 2023 world cup begins on july 20th, and we will be cheering on these incredible women.

and that's the overnight news for this wednesday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back later for "cbs mornings." and remember you can follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from here in the nation's capital, i'm norah o'donnell. this is "cbs news flash." i'm shanelle kaul in new york. rudy giuliani recently met with a special counsel as part of its january 6th investigation. questions focused on meetings giuliani attended at the white house after election day. a congestion pricing plan for new york city that would charge drivers a fee to enter parts of manhattan has received federal approval. the plan is the first of its kind in the u.s. and is expected to start next spring. money from the tolls would go

towards public transportation. and a new record in the art world. gustav klimt's lady with a fan has sold at an auction for $108.4 million. that is the highest ever for a public sale in europe. for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." we begin tonight with powerful storms pounding the east coast, causing another day of headaches for airlines and thousands of passengers. airports in the northeast were filled with long lines and frustrated travelers, who faced hundreds of delays and cancellations today due to the weather. the domino effect has been felt at airports nationwide this week

with more than 23,000 flight delays and more than 5,000 cancellations since sunday. from the thunderstorms and torrential rains in the northeast to the record-breaking temperatures from texas to florida, nearly 90 million americans are under heat alerts tonight with triple-digit feels-like temperatures expected in parts of at least ten states on wednesday, including the entire state of texas. cbs's errol barnett is at newark airport, which is the hardest hit by these delays and cancellations. good evening, errol. >> reporter: good evening, norah. the people you see behind me are united airlines passengers with canceled flights. they've been waiting for hours in this line behind me, which stretches down the terminal for a confirmed flight. most of them just trying to get home. but the current projections are flight conditions won't improve anytime soon. >> come on. this is like the disney world line from hell here. >> reporter: it is yet another travel meltdown.

>> i feel gross. i feel like i want to cry, but i have nothing left. >> reporter: several days of severe weather causing chaos at airports, especially in the northeast. >> these folks over here have been waiting for at least five hours to get to the point where they are. >> reporter: united airlines hit the hardest with roughly 150,000 passengers impacted since the weekend. thousands have been stranded at newark airport, like christian weaver. she's been stuck since saturday, traveling with her diabetic mother, who is down to her last syringe. >> i know my mother, and i know how weak she can get if she doesn't have her medicine. she needs this. it's not a want. it's a need. >> reporter: partly to blame is a series of thunderstorm systems leading to torrential rains and flash flooding across parts of new jersey and pennsylvania, with wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour. in the south, dangerous heat is raising concerns. omar villafranca is in texas. >> reporter: on the texas gulf coast and here in north texas,

the heat index is in the triple digits, and there is not a cloud in the sky. people are flocking to pools and splash pads to try to beat the heat. >> we're trying to do something to cool the kids down but also get them out of the house. >> reporter: down the road in dallas, where it feels like 109 degrees, the city has seen an increase in heat-related calls as the temperatures rise. >> you all need some cold stuff? >> reporter: in san antonio, pete barrera is making sure some of the city's homeless population has access to cooling rags and water as the heat index hits 106 degrees. >> that could be lifesaving. some of them are so dry that as soon as they grab that water, they're drinking the whole bottle in one chug. >> reporter: back in new jersey, airlines are struggling to rebook passengers because they are flying at near capacity. now, all airlines are impacted, but one of them is blaming the government partly for this chaos. united says the faa reduced takeoff and landing rates here at newark over the weekend. the federal agency hasn't responded to that claim, but it

says its workers know how to navigate around weather. and, boy, norah, they'll need to know how to do that because all of this precedes a very busy fourth of july holiday travel weekend. >> my goodness. i am feeling for those passengers. errol barnett, thank you so much. for more on those record temperatures and where the storms are headed next, let's bring in meteorologist mike bettes from our partners at the weather channel. good evening, mike. >> norah, good evening to you. strong storms in the northeast today responsible for a thousand flight cancellations at northeast airports. those storms, they'll be with us through the evening. overnight tonight, they should begin to die down and push their way off the coastline, and hopefully we'll catch up at the airports here. then our attention returns to the plains. strong storms here that could turn very severe with a lot of hail and large wind gusts out of this as well. 75-mile-an-hour wind gusts that may knock out power. then all those storms, ridge riders as we call them, riding along the periphery of high pressure that's dominating in texas. high pressure generally means sinking air, sunshine, jet

stream to the north. now, as that air sinks, it compresses and it heats. that heat is expanding, norah. many of us experiencing triple-digit heat tomorrow and then lasting right into the july 4th holiday. >> that's hot. mike bettes, thank you. well, now to that new audio recording obtained by cbs news of former president donald trump discussing secret documents at his golf club in bedminster, new jersey. cbs's catherine herridge reports the recording is likely a key piece of evidence in the federal government's classified documents case against trump. >> reporter: today the former president defiant on the campaign trail. >> we did nothing wrong. this is a whole hoax. >> reporter: after cbs news and other media outlets obtained an audio recording where the former president two years ago allegedly shared with a group at his new jersey golf club a sensitive defense department plan of attack on iran. >> it is like highly confidential, secret. this is secret information. look at this.

>> reporter: the recent criminal indictment of the former president for the willful retention of national defense information includes a transcript of the conversation allegedly between trump, a book writer, a publisher, and two staffers. the indictment says none has security clearances. former senior justice department official tom dupree. >> is it reasonable to believe the special counsel has interviewed those individuals? >> i think there's a very, very good chance that he has. they were witnesses to the alleged criminal activity. they can help fill in some of the gaps. what documents did the president show? >> reporter: the audio recording appears to contradict trump's explanation that there was no classified iran document. >> we had a lot of papers, a a t of papers stacked up. in fact, you could hear the rustle of the paper, and nobody said i did anything wrong. >> reporter: trump has consistently said he declassified all the records he took from the white house. but in the recording -- >> see, as president, i could have declassified it. now i can't, you know, but this

is still a secret. >> i think the special counsel will be able to use this reporting very effectively before a jury because he can argue that they've captured on tape the defendant narrating his own alleged criminal activity. >> reporter: and cbs news has learned that trump has not been charged for keeping the document he's talking about on that tape. special counsel jack smith's office declined to answer our questions about the iran memo or the audiotape. trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges, norah. >> catherine herridge, thank you very much. a new report out today blames negligence, misconduct, and job failures for allowing jeffrey epstein to hang himself in his federal jail cell in new york while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. newly released photos from his cell show an excessive amount of linens and a noose made from a shirt or a bedsheet. all this despite his previous suicide attempt. the justice department's inspector general's report concludes there was no sign of foul play in epstein's august 2019 death. the smoke from an outbreak of wildfires in canada made the

air quality in several u.s. cities among the worst in the world today. chicago actually had the worst air quality this afternoon while minneapolis and grand rapids, michigan, were also in the top ten cities. the smoke threat moves to the northeast tomorrow. there's a lot more news ahead on the "cbs overnight news." hey, i just got a text from my sister. you remember rick, her neighbor? sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. wow. so sudden. um, we're not about to have the "we need life insurance" conversation again, are we? no, we're having the "we're getting coverage so we don't have to worry about it" conversation. so you're calling about the $9.95 a month plan -from colonial penn? -i am. we put it off long enough. we are getting that $9.95 plan, today. (jonathan) is it time for you to call about the $9.95 plan?

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>> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." i'm willie james inman in washington. thanks for staying with us and happy wednesday. it is decision week for the supreme court. previously the justices issued opinions on redistricting as it relates to federal elections. online messages and threats, immigration and deportation, native american adoptions, and the liability of big tech

companies. still to come later this week, though, decisions on president biden's student loan forgiveness plan and perhaps the most contentious case, affirmative action in college admissions. rita braver has been looking into this decades-long debate that could soon change the face of higher education. >> what we do with affirmative action? >> stand up, fight back! >> reporter: affirmtive action has helped boost the number of black, lalten x and other minorities who are underrepresented at prestigious schools. but now those racial preferences may be prohibited, in large part due to the efforts of this man. >> the equal rights provision of our 14th amendment basically gets to the point that people should not be treated differently because of their race or ethnicity. >> you also say it's a violation of the civil rights act of 1964. >> it is.

the opportunities must be the same regardless of your race or ethnicity. >> reporter: edward bloom, who is retired from a job in finance and living in tallahassee, florida, is not a lawyer. he is founder and president of students for fair admissions and acknowledges starting the group to challenge affirmative action in colleges. the supreme court is now considering cases he brought, targeting the university of north carolina, the nation's oldest public university, and harvard, the oldest private college. bloom says his group has 22,000 members, but none are identified by name in either court case. >> well, in the world of social media, it is no surprise that 17 and 18-year-old kids do not want their names made public. >> reporter: bloom has previously spearheaded two cases in which the supreme court

struck down voting policies designed to help racial groups, particularly african american and latinx voters who have endured prior discrimination. but he lost a 2016 case in which he backed abigail fisher. >> i don't believe that students should be treated differently based on their race. >> reporter: one successfully challenged racial consideration in admissions at the university of texas. but today's supreme court is far more conservative. >> were you just determined to keep bringing cases until you got the court to agree with you? >> legal advocacy requires a long-term commitment. >> reporter: there are, in fact, nine states that have enacted bans on racial preferences in state colleges with some reporting a drop in african american and latinx admissions at top institutions. affirmative action advocates say a nationwide ban would be

disastrous. >> affirmative action is really trying to treat everyone equally, recognizing that certain groups have been marginalized over the centuries. >> reporter: now a professor at loyola university new orleans college of law, mitch the cruce tow grew up in segregated louisiana. >> most of the restaurants in town did not serve black people. water fountains were segregated, so there was a white-only and a black-only water fountain. >> reporter: he is a descendant of generations of enslaved people and forebears who faced prejudice after emancipation. >> so a lot of the legacy of discrimination in housing, in employment meant that my family was set back century after century. >> reporter: even after the supreme court mandated school desegregation -- >> most of your own schooling was in segregated catholic schools. >> absolutely. elementary and high school, yes. >> reporter: he was a top

student and also, he acknowledges, an affirmative action beneficiary in 1971. >> you knew when you applied to yale that they were interested in you. >> yes. >> not just as a student but because they wanted to bring in more african american students. >> absolutely. >> reporter: but he also points out -- >> race is just one aspect. i wasn't accepted into yale because i'm black. i was accepted into yale because of all the other things that i am as a person, of which i'm also african american. >> you graduated magna cum laude. >> yes. thank you. >> and you were admitted to yale law school. >> yes. thank you. >> and cruce tow argues that the supreme court should uphold its previous rulings if colleges have a genuine interest in including students from different racial groups. >> all students who are at an university have a diverse campus of individuals with different backgrounds add to the educational goal of the

university. >> reporter: for his part, edward bloom, a descendant of holocaust survivors, contends that when colleges have considered ethnic backgrounds of applicants, it has hurt certain groups. >> back in the 1920s, it's well documented by dozens of historians that harvard had policies in place to discriminate against jews. fast forward now to the 1990s and 2000s. we believe that harvard has policies that diminish the likelihood that high-achieving asians are being admitted. >> reporter: in fact, harvard recently announced that nearly 30% of those admitted this year are asian american. more than four times the representation in the total u.s. population. still, some asian americans are taking a stand against affirmative action plans that tend to help other minorities. >> even if tomorrow they decide to give preference to asians, i'll be just as opposed because the idea is that ideally, we

should all be treated equally, and there really should be a level playing field for all of us. >> route individual hoe lay, whose parents were born in india, is the founder of americans for equality political action committee. a straight-a student in irvine, california, hole was just admitted to one of the nation's top schools, stanford, university. and yet -- >> did you apply to any ivy league schools? >> i did. i applied to all of them except for harvard. >> and did you get into any of them? >> nope. >> no? do you have a feeling that maybe racial preferences might have had something to do with that? >> yes. i mean to me, look, i look at the data, right? i'm not going off of a feeling because the college admission process went very good for me. but i think everyone has to acknowledge there is a level of discrimination that occurs. >> i think this case has the potential to really pit asian americans against other minorities, and i don't -- i

don't want that to happen. i think we should all, you know, understand like what other people have gone through and support them. >> chelsea wong, a harvard sophomore, is co-president of the harvard radcliff asian american association. she participated in a pro-affirmative action demonstration before the supreme court heard arguments on the cases last fall. it was also an asian american anti-affirmative action demonstration, underscoring how divisive the issue is among americans of all races. but wong argues that it's a question of basic fairness. >> you know what? i wish we didn't have to have affirmative action. i think we have to have it because all of the different, you know, compounding forms of inequality that affect someone's life before they even apply for college call for something that accounts for those factors. >> reporter: still, edward bloom of students for patient

admissions believes there are other ways to get a diverse student body, even though -- >> this is not news to you that some people think your actions over the years have showed that you're a racist or bigoted in some way. how do you respond to that? >> well, i think that's an easy sort of intellectually lazy way of making an argument. let's have a debate about the policy. >> if these policies go away, will it not just advantage asian american applicants but maybe also white applicants? >> it's unclear who this is going to advantage. it's going to be up to harvard. it's going to be up to unc to change their policies to make them first colorblind. it's an important -- that's the goal. make them colorblind. >> reporter: but with many legal experts predicting that the supreme court will strike down affirmative action, advocates like law professor mitchell cruce tow are worried that decades of progress for underserved minorities will be

set back. >> if the supreme court decides to ban the use of race, i think they'll go down in history as being one of the most conservative, reactionary, white supremacist supreme courts that we've ever seen. >> that was rita braver reporting. reporting. the overnight ne this is a call to women, to appreciate our bodies, to care for all parts, even those hidden, like our armpits. because perfect armpits, do exist! they are stubbly, with marks or shaved, all beautiful and each unique. dove cares for all armpits, it dries instantly and is kind on skin, protecting you all day long. try dove advance care for effective protection that is kind on skin. that's why i choose dove!

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steve hartman found this story "on the road." >> reporter: under st. louis's other arch lies harris stowe state university. >> historically black university. >> reporter: where last month, school president la tanya collins smith awarded a full ride, four-year scholarship to a boy she just met and knew virtually nothing about. >> that kid, that day, there was something that resonated with my spirit. >> reporter: 14-year-old xavier jones had started the day on a mission. his grandfather's car wasn't working, and xavier really wanted to be someplace. so he started walking six miles, two hours, through tough neighborhoods, busy traffic, and blazing sun. at one point, he got so thirsty, he begged someone for a dollar to buy something to drink, thought about turning back, but pressed on, all just so he could

walk another 30 feet and collect his eighth grade diploma. >> if you, like, really want to get something, then you have to work hard for it. >> he wanted to be present. speaks volumes, steve. half the battle is showing up. >> reporter: so on the spot, collins-smith, who just happened to be in the auditorium that day, awarded xavier a scholarship. xavier was thrilled, albeit for the wrong reason. >> he thought that a full ride meant he would get a ride to college, like that he wouldn't have to walk here again. >> reporter: fortunately he's got four years of high school to process what it means. >> with the whole engineering piece that you want to do. >> reporter: until then, he plans to keep up his grades, which were already excellent, and keep stoking that fire in his belly. >> it basically comes from who i am and the kind of person that i want to be. >> reporter: which is the same

kind of person la tanya collins-smith wants in her school. >> you know, oftentimes at colleges, we spend a lot of time on standardized test scores because that's who you are, right? it's not true. >> reporter: sometimes who you are is better measured by how far

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.

virtual reality headsets can take you on adventures to other worlds. up until now, though, that journey has been mostly confined to your head. but scientists are working to bring the rest of your body along for the ride. christian benavides reports. >> reporter: exploring virtual reality may soon include suiting up. this full vr body suit comes complete with soft robotic muscles, meaning you'll be able to feel what you see. >> so something that reingrated this that you can let a bird land on your hand and feel it

because the muscles are contracting on the suit. >> reporter: the so-called metasuit is the creation of students at the swris federal institute of technology. its purpose to create a natural feeling for users in order to interact with vr environments like the metaverse. >> you're in an entirely other environment. you could be on mars, and you feel something, and it feels real. >> reporter: the artificial muscles, call hey sals, are actually patches filled with a special fluid that can expand or contract with a tiny electric current. >> these hazels are quite similar to a human muscle. this is also the reason why we use them because they have a natural feeling. when using hazels muscles on the suit. >> reporter: developers say in addition to vr, the technology to allow film directors to better map an actor's movements or even help someone with parkinson's to keep walking. >> that's way too big. it needs to come back down,

please. >> reporter: with vr technology already being used in some classrooms, this bodysuit could make those lessons even more immersive. christian benavides, cbs news, miami. and that's the overnight news for this wednesday. be sure to check back later for "cbs mornings." reporting from the nation's capital, i'm willie james inman. this is "cbs news flash." i'm shanelle kaul in new york. rudy giuliani recently met with the special counsel as part of its january 6th investigation. questions focused on meetings giuliani attended at the white house after election day. a congestion pricing plan for new york city that would charge drivers a fee to enter parts of manhattan has received federal approval. the plan is the first of its kind in the u.s. and is expected to start next spring. money from the tolls would go towards public transportation.

and a new record in the art world. gustav klimt's "lady with a fan" has sold at an auction for $108.4 million. that is the highest ever for a public sale in europe. for more, download the cbs nws app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm shanelle kau cbs news, new tonight, severe weather and a travel nightmare. thousands of flights canceled or delayed because of summer storms. the new york city area impacted the most. and in the south, millions of americans face dangerous heat. here are tonight's headlines. >> you've been at the airport for four days already. >> ahead of the july 4th weekend, flyers left in limbo as cancellations roll in. >> some of the stranded passengers you see next to me have been waiting more than 36 hours to get a confirmed flight home.

>> why one airline's ceo is blaming the faa. plus, we're tracking the storms and the record-breaking heat. the hearing in the case against the man accused of stabbing four university of idaho students, prosecutors say that they'll be seeking the death penalty. this totally wins my case, you know. >> the key piece of evidence in the federal government's classified documents case against former president donald trump. >> a newly obtained audio recording could impact the former president. >> all sorts of stuff. pages long, look. except it is like, highly confidential, secret. a cbs news exclusive. the irs whistle-blower in the hunter biden investigation speaks out. >> there were certain investigative steps we weren't allowed to take that could have led us to president biden. >> and you wanted to take them? >> we needed to take them. important news for parents. could there be toxic metals in

your baby's food? the products to check for in your pantry. driving towards the edge of the area! >> and team usa prepares for the women's world cup. >> this is the best moment of all of our career. it never gets old. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." we begin tonight with powerful storms pounding the east coast, causing another day of headaches for airlines and thousands of passengers. airports in the northeast were filled with long lines and frustrated travelers, who faced hundreds of delays and cancellations today due to the weather. the domino effect has been felt at airports nationwide this week with more than 23,000 flight delays and more than 5,000 cancellations since sunday. from the thunderstorms and

torrential rains in the northeast to the record-breaking temperatures from texas to florida, nearly 90 million americans are under heat alerts tonight with triple-digit feels-like temperatures expected in parts of at least ten states on wednesday, including the entire state of texas. cbs's errol barnett is at newark airport, which is the hardest hit by these delays and cancellations. good evening, errol. >> reporter: good evening, norah. the people you see behind me are united airlines passengers with canceled flights. they've been waiting for hours in this line behind me, which stretches down the terminal for a confirmed flight. most of them just trying to get home. but the current projections are flight conditions won't improve anytime soon. >> come on. this is like the disney world line from hell here. >> reporter: it is yet another travel meltdown. >> i feel gross. i feel like i want to cry, but i have nothing left. >> reporter: several days of severe weather causing chaos at

airports, especially in the northeast. >> these folks over here have been waiting for at least five hours to get to the point where they are. >> reporter: united airlines hit the hardest with roughly 150,000 passengers impacted since the weekend. thousands have been stranded at newark airport, like christian weaver. she's been stuck since saturday, traveling with her diabetic mother, who is down to her last syringe. >> i know my mother, and i know how weak she can get if she doesn't have her medicine. she needs this. it's not a want. it's a need. >> reporter: partly to blame is a series of thunderstorm systems leading to torrential rains and flash flooding across parts of new jersey and pennsylvania, with wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour. in the south, dangerous heat is raising concerns. omar villafranca is in texas. >> reporter: on the texas gulf coast and here in north texas, the heat index is in the triple digits, and there is not a cloud in the sky.

people are flocking to pools and splash pads to try to beat the heat. >> we're trying to do something to cool the kids down but also get them out of the house. >> reporter: down the road in dallas, where it feels like 109 degrees, the city has seen an increase in heat-related calls as the temperatures rise. >> you all need some cold stuff? >> reporter: in san antonio, pete barrera is making sure some of the city's homeless population has access to cooling rags and water as the heat index hits 106 degrees. >> that could be lifesaving. some of them are so dry that as soon as they grab that water, they're drinking the whole bottle in one chug. >> reporter: back in new jersey, airlines are struggling to rebook passengers because they are flying at near capacity. now, all airlines are impacted, but one of them is blaming the government partly for this chaos. united says the faa reduced takeoff and landing rates here at newark over the weekend. the federal agency hasn't responded to that claim, but it says its workers know how to navigate around weather.

and, boy, norah, they'll need to know how to do that because all of this precedes a very busy fourth of july holiday travel weekend. >> my goodness. i am feeling for those passengers. errol barnett, thank you so much. for more on those record temperatures and where the storms are headed next, let's bring in meteorologist mike bettes from our partners at the weather channel. good evening, mike. >> norah, good evening to you. strong storms in the northeast today responsible for a thousand flight cancellations at northeast airports. those storms, they'll be with us through the evening. overnight tonight, they should begin to die down and push their way off the coastline, and hopefully we'll catch up at the airports here. then our attention returns to the plains. strong storms here that could turn very severe with a lot of hail and large wind gusts out of this as well. 75-mile-an-hour wind gusts that may knock out power. then all those storms, ridge riders as we call them, riding along the periphery of high pressure that's dominating in texas. high pressure generally means sinking air, sunshine, jet stream to the north. now, as that air sinks, it compresses and it heats. that heat is expanding, norah. many of us experiencing

triple-digit heat tomorrow and then lasting right into the july 4th holiday. >> that's hot. mike bettes, thank you. a new report out today blames negligence, misconduct, and job failures for allowing jeffrey epstein to hang himself in his federal jail cell in new york while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. newly released photos from his cell show an excessive amount of linens and a noose made from a shirt or a bedsheet. all this despite his previous suicide attempt. the justice department's inspector general's report concludes there was no sign of foul play in epstein's august 2019 death. the smoke from an outbreak of wildfires in canada made the air quality in several u.s. cities among the worst in the world today. chicago actually had the worst air quality this afternoon while minneapolis and grand rapids, michigan, were also in the top ten cities. the smoke threat moves to the northeast tomorrow. there's a lot more news ahead on the "cbs overnight news."

>> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." well, now to that new audio recording obtained by cbs news of former president donald trump discussing secret documents at his golf club in bedminster, new jersey. cbs's catherine herridge reports the recording is likely a key piece of evidence in the federal government's classified documents case against trump. >> reporter: today the former

president defiant on the campaign trail. >> we did nothing wrong. this is a whole hoax. >> reporter: after cbs news and other media outlets obtained an audio recording where the former president two years ago allegedly shared with a group at his new jersey golf club a sensitive defense department plan of attack on iran. >> it is, like, highly confidential, secret. this is secret information. look at this. >> reporter: the recent criminal indictment of the former president for the willful retention of national defense information includes a transcript of the conversation allegedly between trump, a book writer, a publisher, and two staffers. the indictment says none has security clearances. former senior justice department official tom dupree. >> is it reasonable to believe the special counsel has interviewed those individuals? >> i think there's a very, very good chance that he has. they were witnesses to the alleged criminal activity. they can help fill in some of the gaps. what documents did the president show? >> reporter: the audio recording

appears to contradict trump's explanation that there was no classified iran dodocument. >> w we had a lolot of papers, t of paperers stacked d up. inin fact, you could hear the rustle of the paper, and nobody said i did anything wrong. >> reporter: trump has consistently said he declassified all the records he took from the white house. but in the recording -- >> see, as president, i could have declassified it. now i can't, you know. but this is secret. >> i think the special counsel will be able to use this reporting very effectively before a jury because he can argue that they've captured on tape the defendant narrating his own alleged criminal activity. >> reporter: and cbs news has learned that trump has not been charged for keeping the document he's talking about on that tape. special counsel jack smith's office declined to answer our questions about the iran memo or the audiotape. trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges, norah. >> catherine herridge, thank you very much. quadruple murder suspect bryan kohberger was back in court today one day after prosecutors announced plans to seek the death penalty for the

brutal stabbings of four university of idaho students. cbs's jonathan vigliotti has new details from inside the courtroom. >> reporter: wearing a suit and tie, a stone-faced bryan kohberger walked into court today as his attorneys pushed for more details on the evidence, police training, and the methods used to make its case. >> the purpose of discovery is really to prevent an unfair trial. >> reporter: court documents recently revealed investigative genetic genealogy was used to track down kohberger. investigators compared dna recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene to samples submitted by the public for ancestry tests. >> it is 100% legal. you give a dna sample. so this is totally open to the public, and police officers and investigators are allowed to do it too. >> reporter: the defense also wants to know how the fbi used cell phone records to show that kohberger was near the crime scene in the weeks before the murders. kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of university of

idaho students kaylee goncalves, madison mogen, xana kernodle, and ethan chapin. they were brutally stabbed in off-campus housing last november. kohberger was then a ph.d. student studying criminology at nearby washington state university. the defense previously called into question dna at the scene from three other unknown men as well as a lack of dna from the victims in kohberger's car and apartment. >> it would not be unusual to have many types of dna, men and women, in different parts of the house. ththey're sayingng, look, thisi basically done with blinders on. they only focused on one suspect. and rather, they did not look at other potential suspects. that's something that happens in many cases. >> reporter: and the exact motive at this point is still unclear. kohberger, if found guilty, faces the death penalty, which here in the state of idaho means possibly a firing squad, norah. >> jonathan vigliotti, thank you. the "cbs overnight news"

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turning overseas to the war in ukraine, russian missiles targeted a city in eastern ukraine today, killing at least

three people and wounding more than a dozen. the attack came as the exiled oligarch who led the short-lived russian military mutiny over the weekend arrived in neighboring belarus. russia says the mercenary wagner group is preparing to hand over its heavy weapons. cbs's ian lee is tracking the latest developments from kyiv. >> reporter: this was the last sighting of wagner boss yevgeny prigozhin, seen driving away from the russian city of rostov after his failed mutiny. today belarusian president alexander lukashenko said the mercenary leader had landed in his country. his flight into exile fulfilled part of his stated deal with russian president vladimir putin. lukashenko shed more light on the chaos that gripped russia on saturday when wagner mercenaries defied putin and marched toward moscow. lukashenko said he told prigozhin that putin would squash him like a bug if wagner troops moved closer to the city. despite being called a traitor, russian authorities announced they've dropped their criminal

charges against prigozhin. but lukashenko hinted that his safety isn't guaranteed, saying he urged president putin not to kill prigozhin. today the kremlin returned to its usual choreographed pageantry, projecting power and control. putin thanked the military for preventing a civil war. prominent in the crowd was defense minister sergei shoigu, the man prigozhin said he was going to moscow to confront for russia's failures in ukraine. and this evening, moscow continued its deadly missile attacks on the country. two struck a busy shopping center and restaurant in the eaeastern ukraininian city of kramatorsk. rescue operations are under way, pulling survivors from the rubble with at least three dead and dozens more wounded. norah, we're learning from british intelligence that it's highly likely for the first time, ukraine has captured territory initially seized by the russians back in 2014.

>> that's significant. ian lee, thank you. now to a cbs news exclusive with the first television interview with irs whistle-blower gary shapley since he spoke with lawmakers last month. a lead investigator in the hunter biden case tells cbs's jim axelrod that he felt the president's son received preferential treatment and, in a stunning claim, says that he was blocked from pursuing leads that could have led to the president himself. >> if this was any other person, they likely would have already served their sentence. >> reporter: gary shapley was a lead irs supervisory agent in operation sportsman, the investigation into hunter biden. shapley said he uncovered conduct that warranted more serious charges. >> there were personal expenses that were taken as business expenses, prostitutes, sex club memberships, hotel rooms for purported drug dealers. >> how much did hunter biden owe in taxes? >> so from 2014 to 2019, it was $2.2 million. >> reporter: the back taxes were

paid off, and last week the trump-appointed u.s. attorney in delaware, david weiss, reached an agreement with hunter biden. the president's son would admit to a firearm charge and plead guilty for his failure to pay taxes. if a judge signs off, the deal means no jail time. >> testimony we have just released details a lack of u.s. attorney independence. >> reporter: and shapley told lawmakers that u.s. attorney weiss was blocked from bringing stronger charges. but u.s. attorney general merrick garland said last week that weiss was not. >> i'm saying he was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own. >> i documented exactly what happened, and it doesn't seem to match what the attorney general or the u.s. attorney are saying today. >> reporter: shapley provided lawmakers this contemporaneous email he wrote after an october meeting last year. shapley says weiss told him the opposite, that weiss is not the deciding person on whether charges are filed. >> it was just shocking to me.

>> reporter: shapley, who is still working for the irs, told us that even before president biden took office, he was directed to avoid leads involving hunter's father. >> there were certain investigative steps we weren't allowed to take that could have led us to president biden. >> and you wanted to take them? >> we needed to take them. >> and you weren't allowed to take them? >> that's correct. >> reporter: it is important to point out that at that point in shapley's investigation, donald trump was still president, and his attorney general, william barr, had rules in place that may have limited what shapley could pursue. the u.s. attorney's office in delaware had no comment. as for hunter biden, his attorneys did not respond to us, but he's said before in a statement that he is taking responsibility for mistakes he made during a period of turmoil in his life. norah. >> jim axelrod, thank you. there's a new report on heavy metals found in baby food. what parents need to know next.

there is important news tonight about baby food. five years after "consumer reports" found toxic metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium in more than 30 baby foods, researchers at the organization say the overall risk has barely changed. several products actually contain the same or even higher levels now than they did five years ago, including beech-nut naturals sweet potato and gerber chicken and rice and turkey and

rice dinners. researchers recommend feeding your child less than half a serving of these products per day. in a statement, gerber notes that these metals occur naturally and says the best way to address the issue is to focus on improvement with suppliers and growers. and beech-nut says it's fully committed to working with the fda on this. a new warning from the cdc about malaria right here in the united sta s.

in tonight's "health watch," the cdc is sounding the alarm about new cases of malaria contracted inside the u.s. four cases of the disease spread by mosquitos have been confirmed in florida and another was detected in texas in the last two months. the last malaria outbreak in the u.s. was 20 years ago. those five patients have received treatment and are improving. ryan seacrest will take the wheel as host of "wheel of fortune." it was announced today that seacrest will take over for pat sajak after he wraps up his 41st season at the popular game show

next year. in a statement, seacrest says, i can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great vanna white. finally tonight, the u.s. women's national team is ready to kick off their bid for a three-peat at the world cup next month in new zealand and australia. the world's most dominant soccer team spoke to reporters today in los angeles, where the veterans like megan rapinoe, alex morgan, and lindsey horan talked about how far women's sports have come during their careers alone. morgan said her fourth world cup and first as a mom is proof how far women athletes can go if they have the support. >> i'm really grateful for the women before me that fought for mom athletes. just looking at the amount of moms that we have on the team, that's the most that we've ever had. >> the 2023 world cup begins on july 20th, and we will be cheering on these incredible women. and that's the overnight

news for this wednesday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back later for "cbs mornings." and remember you can follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from here in the nation's capital, i'm norah o'donnell. this is "cbs news flash." i'm shanelle kaul in new york. rudy giuliani recently met with a special counsel as part of its january 6th investigation. questions focused on meetings giuliani attended at the white house after election day. a congestion pricing plan for new york city that would charge drivers a fee to enter parts of manhattan has received federal approval. the plan is the first of its kind in the u.s. and is expected to start next spring. money from the tolls would go

towards public transportation. and a new record in the art world. gustav klimt's "lady with a fan" has sold at an auction for $108.4 million. that is the highest ever for a public sale in europe. for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. it's wednesday, june 28th, 2023. this is the "cbs morning news." travel chaos. passengers stranded at airports as a wave of severe weather ground and delays flights. what you can expect today. breaking overnight, a source confirming to cbs news donald trump's former lawyer, rudy giuliani, was interviewed as part of the january 6th probe. latest details ahead. and ryan seacrest has a new tv gig. the iconic show he's