so far this year there have been 37 incidents and according to a new study released this morning 60% of americans are unaware their devices are powered by lithium batteries while 27% have even admitted to packing them in their checked bags, which is against faa regulations. >> people just don't understand that they're carrying lithium batteries on aircraft. >> reporter: ul standard study director david roth says most people are unaware of the risk do these thengz happen on airplanes more than they happen other places? >> no, they don't. but the key issue here is a fire, a lithium battery fire at 40,000 feet is a much more significant risk than a lithium battery fire, say, in a bus going down the road. >> reporter: flight attendants are trained to deal with battery fires. but the report says more should be done to communicate the dangers to flyers including not traveling with a damaged device. i'm kris van cleave in los angeles. the battle over access to abortion is now being waged at

the ballot box and in state houses across the country. in a number of states access to that procedure has been severely curtailed. one such state is south carolina. and the few legislators who stood up against the new laws did so at their own peril. lee cowan reports. >> reporter: if the walls of sandy senn's office could talk -- >> palmetto state. >> reporter: -- they might not have that much to say anymore. the south carolina state senator is stripping them of their memories. >> well, this is where everything used to be. >> reporter: senator katrina shealy, meanwhile, has her 12-year political career. >> trailblazer award. >> reporter: all crammed into cardboard boxes. and he with found freshman senator penry gustavson. >> i've been mean to go through these things for a while. >> reporter: sorting through e-mails from her soon to be former constituents. >> do you think you'll ever get back into politics? >> i don't know. >> my farewell is conflicted

because i dent want to go. >> reporter: all three lost in their primaries this past june. >> we've helped women and we've helped veterans. and what i'm so worried about is who's going to do that now? >> i don't regret a single vote that i ever took. and i would make the vote again. >> senn. no. >> reporter: that vote in opposition to the state's near total ban on abortion would be of little surprise if it came from democrats. but these three are all members of the gop. >> i'm a republican. i think. i'm not sure right now do they claim me or not. >> if you look at my voting record, there's no doubt i'm a red r. but that one vote makes me a rino baby killer. >> reporter: republican in name only. we heard that a lot. they didn't just buck their party, they reached across the aisle to margie bright matthews, a democrat, and mia mccloud, an independent. >> i'm super proud of my sisters, because they knew what

was at stake. they knew what they stood to lose. and they did it anyway. >> do you believe that abortion is the number one problem facing the state of south carolina today? >> senator, i'm not going to get into those kind of -- >> well, then can you tell me why we're taking it up for the third time in six months? >> reporter: this unusual coalition on three separate occasions successfully filibustered an abortion ban, halting its passage. not that they agreed on everything. they didn't. but as women and mothers they agreed that banning an abortion at six weeks was time too little. >> we do not know when we're pregnant when we get pregnant. >> if we didn't say it on the floor, it wasn't going to be heard. >> this bill is about control. using the bible to say that you can control my body. >> i'd say things just to rattle the men. like you know, wouldn't you want your side piece to be able to get an abortion? and then all of the older men just looked at me, you don't say things like that. >> maybe the men who wrote it

know more about pregnancy than the women in this chamber who can actually get pregnant and give birth. >> at what point did you know it might be the end of your political careers? >> i knew it at the time i said it because my party was like calling me and screaming at me. >> two hours before the vote i was pulled off the floor and had a very strong, intense conversation, this could be a career-ending vote. >> i didn't care. i had to look myself in the mirror. >> reporter: they were the only five women in the senate in a state that they say has often left women behind. >> in 1920 they gave women the right to vote. well, south carolina didn't ratify that till 1969. and then we didn't put it into law till 1973. we are just a little behind. >> reporter: the filibusters were essentially their versions of mansplaining. >> when someone makes a statement, well, if you're raped or if you get pregnant as a

result of incest it's not the child's fault, you just need to learn to love on the baby. >> and that same senator held up a woman's picture and said that she told him that she was grateful to have been raped because it was the only opportunity god gave her to conceive a child. and i almost lost it. as a survivor of sexual assault, there are no words. >> reporter: they didn't have words for the level of anti-abortion pushback either. taunts, personal attacks. odd gifts left in their offices. like these spines that came with the note warning them to grow one. >> i got one hell of a spine already. but now i've got another backup. >> reporter: but it got more intense and even more disturbing. >> we have one gentleman, i'm not sure we can call him that, that stands at the top of the escalator every day, and he preaches to us. he has his bible. >> swings a baby around with a rope, a noose around its neck.

>> and he's been to my church saying trina shealy's a baby killer. >> and she's singing in the choir while he's doing this. >> reporter: senator shealy also says she had her tires slashed and a window in her home shot with a pellet gun. >> my kids and grandkids were seeing that. i'm glad i'm not going to be in politics. because politics are mean. >> reporter: in may of last year the sister senators could no longer hold off a vote on what is now the state's law. a six-week ban on abortion. and yet not all was lost. >> we're fortunate to be able to gather to celebrate courageous leadership, which we need more than ever today. >> reporter: all five senators were recognized last year with a john f. kennedy profile in courage award. >> now, i am proud of losing this senate race just to get this because i stood up for the right thing. i stood up for women. i stood up for children. i stood up for south carolina.

>> is a total ban something that people are for? >> the polling shows that 70-plus percent of women in south carolina do not want a total ban. >> right. >> all of us have stood up and agreed and tried to put forth a referendum, to put it on the ballot. they said we can't. >> reporter: unlike ten other states who will have abortion rights on the ballot in november, south carolina doesn't allow voters that option. what is clear is that post roe v. wade abortion rarely breaks down on clean partisan lines. what the sister senators have shown is that it's in that gray area where compromise while costly may not be as endangered as we all think. >> instead of just attack someone for feeling differently on an issue, it's better to ask why. >> in a world of politics we're constantly being told you can't do that or you shouldn't do that. and you're expected to be this way. we just broke that political social more right in half. >> but you paid the price for it.

>> we paid the price for it. but look what we have right now. we have this national ear for the most wonderful thing, of finding common ground. respect. civility in politics. that is what we gain. that is what we gain. that is what (♪♪) “the darkness of bipolar depression made me feel like life was moving on without me. then i found a chance to let in the lyte.” discover caplyta. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta is proven to deliver significant symptom relief from both bipolar i & ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. caplyta can cause serious side effects. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts right away. anti-depressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. caplyta is not approved for dementia-related psychosis. report fever, confusion, or stiff muscles, which may be life threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements which may be permanent.

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major economic indicators are all pointing up, yet many americans feel gloomy about their future prospects. david pogue is here with a reality check. >> if you ask americans which issues will most affect their votes this november, the number one response is the economy. the number two response is inflation, which isn't inflation part of the economy? well, never mind. the point is we're concerned about money. now, if you're the sunday morning reality checker today, you might be a little bit confused because most of the economic numbers are actually looking pretty good. our unemployment rates are near a 50-year low. interest rates have been dropping, and the fed says it will drop the primary interest rates even more this month. wages, disposable income and personal wealth are all up. now, the pandemic did kick off an inflation spiral. so a lot of prices are still much higher than they were a

couple of years ago. but now inflation has cooled almost all the way back down to where it was before the pandemic. it's 2.9%. so if all these economic indicators are so good, why do so many americans feel as though the economy is bad? i wish someone would explain that to me. >> the really interesting thing is if you ask americans how they're doing they say pretty well. if you ask them how the economy's doing they say terrible. >> justin wolfers is a professor of economics at the university of michigan. >> what they tell pollsters is they dislike the economy. but let's look at what they actually do. you have to be really optimistic about the state of the economy to spend more rather than saving more a rainy day. people are doing that. new business starts are through the roof. stocks are at an all-time record. so over and over when you look at what people do they're making choices as if they believe in the future of this economy. >> now, justin, it sounds like you are not from the united states. >> i'm from australia, mate.

>> okay. so how is this country doing compared with the rest of the world? >> turns out if there's an economic olympics the u.s. is going to win gold. we are recovering faster, getting more jobs and more gdp, and our inflation is falling faster back towards normal than almost any other country. >> what? that's not how it feels. >> gold, gold, gold. >> thank you, justin. >> thanks, david. >> now, this is not to say that the price of groceries isn't a kick in the gut or that everybody's sitting pretty. it is saying that things are mostly back to normal and getting more normal all the time. >> that was our david pogue crunching the numbers for us. stay with us. "cbs news roundup" will be right back.

turning overseas now to some is good news from the royal family. catherine, the princess of wales, just announced that she has completed chemotherapy and is, quote, doing what i can to stay cancer-free. cbs's ramy inocencio reports from london, where the princess also released a highly personal video with her family. >> i cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment. >> reporter: almost eight months since abdominal surgery then a diagnosis of a cancer still publicly undisclosed, catherine, princess of wales, said she is now focused on staying cancer-free. in this stylized intimate video

released by kensington palace, with her husband william, prince of wales -- >> is this filming? >> reporter: -- and their three children. >> the cancer journey is complex. scary and unpredictable for everyone. >> reporter: vulnerability, strength and gratitude were themes running through the more than three-minute recording. kate back in clear focus after only a couple of public appearances this year. first at king charles's birthday parade on the balcony of buckingham palace in june. then in july at center court of wimbledon, handing out the men's tennis trophy. her last official engagement before today's surprise announcement. >> william and i are so grateful for the support we've received. >> reporter: and kate closed with well wishes and support for all those still battling cancer. >> i remain with you. side by side, hand in hand. out of darkness can come light. so let that light shine bright. >> reporter: and we're told the

princess of wales will make a gradual return to public life with a light program of public engagements through the end of this year. >> lovely to see that she's recovering. and that's today's "cbs news roundup." for some of you the news continues. for others tune in later for "cbs mornings" and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from the cbs news broadcast center in new york city, i'm shanelle kaul. ♪

hello and thanks so much for staying up with us. i'm shanelle kaul in new york, and here are some of the top stories on "cbs news roundup." ferocious wildfires are bearing down on multiple california communities, creating a health hazard and forcing thousands to evacuate. only a few hours of preparation now remain with the presidential debate between vice president kamala harris and former president donald trump almost here. and we commemorate the passing of one of the greatest stars of american film. scorching triple-digit heat is now fanning a series of fires burning around california encroaching on buildings and threatening disaster on thousands of people. you can see from this aerial footage a massive brush fire in the hills of orange county just south of los angeles coming so close to those homes in this community. los angeles county's now declared a health alert, and california's governor has ordered a state of emergency.

entire communities are being told to evacuate, and cbs's ben tracy has more from the line fire in san bernardino county. the largest of the 18 major blazes burning across the state. >> reporter: california's wildfires are exploding during these final scorching days of summer. more than 1,700 firefighters are now battling an out-of-control blaze that's burning steep rugged terrain east of los angeles. 36,000 structures are threatened. joseph es kbedo had to leave his home. >> we worked so hard to get this house, and just the thought of just coming back to nothing. >> reporter: the fire is creating its own unpredictable weather system amid triple-digit heat. >> it's really giving us a not run for our money. >> reporter: brent pasquaw is with cal fire. >> what is the biggest challenge facing firefighters now? >> the biggest challenge is the unflown.

we can't predict if it's going to head to the west or the east. >> reporter: another wildfire in northern california has burned at least 30 structures. forcing thousands to evacuate. and firefighters are working to stop a wildfire from jumping roads and containment lines deep within the angeles national forest. and a wildfire near reno, nevada forced as many as 14,000 people and a herd of wild horses to flee the flames. climate change is making summers in the west hotter and dryer, leading to longer and more active fire seasons. that's putting a strain on firefighting efforts. >> what is it like for firefighters to work in this kind of heat? >> it's tough for firefighters. they have to make sure they're getting work rest cycles in regularly so that they don't have a heat emergency, heat exhaustion, heatstroke. >> reporter: there is finally some good news in the forecast. temperatures are expected to drop and a cooling trend should help firefighters gain the upper hand in battling these blazes. ben tracy, cbs news, mentone,

california. the first and possibly only debate between vice president kamala harris and former president donald trump is only hours away, taking place tuesday night in philadelphia. it will be their first ever face-to-face encounter as new polls now show the race remains tight. cbs's skyler henry has more from washington. >> reporter: after days of preparation vice president kamala harris arrived in philadelphia, where she and former president donald trump will face off in tuesday night's debate. >> i think he's going to lie. there is no floor for him in terms of how low he will go. and we should be prepared for that. we should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth. >> reporter: the highly awaited event could change the course of the election, with the candidates now neck and neck in recent polls. michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin all razor tight. these are all within the margin of error, effectively even. >> reporter: a newly released trump campaign memo says in part, "now that her honeymoon is

over the debate will be the first time kamala will answer tough questions. in doing so kamala harris will be revealed to america as a radical left lunatic." this new video the harris campaign released shows former trump administration officials criticizing their former boss. >> anyone who puts themselves over the constitution should never be president of the united states. >> it should come as no surprise that i will not be endorsing donald trump this year. >> reporter: in a conference call trump campaign adviser jason miller said the former president will go after harris on issues including border security, foreign policy and inflation. harris has been practicing on a stage with lights, sparring with former hillary clinton aide philippe reines, who is standing in as trump and even dressing like him. trump is holding policy sessions with a small team of advisers including florida congressman matt gaetz and former democratic presidential candidate tulsi gabbard. skyler henry, cbs news, washington. and our coverage of the presidential debate begins tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on cbs, followed by

live simulcast of the debate at 9:00 and cbs's expert analysis. we hope you'll join us. tributes continue pouring in as the world learns of the passing of james earl jones at the age of 93. one of hollywood's most prolific actors, his stage and film career spanned more than six decades. cbs's danya bacchus has a look back at his life and work. >> i am your father. >> reporter: with those four words james earl jones made pop culture history as the voice of darth vader in the "star wars" series. >> the sun will set on my time here and will rise with you as the new king. >> reporter: new generations became familiar with his deep voice through his role as mufasa in "the lion king." >> there's more to being king than getting your way all the time. >> reporter: jones was born in mississippi in 1931 and says as a child he stuttered so badly he didn't speak for years. >> okay, wait. >> reporter: poetry and later

acting helped break his silence. >> are you the black hope? well, i'm black and i'm hoping. >> reporter: jones starred in "the great white hope" on stage and film, earning critical acclaim. the role landed him a tony, a golden globe and an oscar nomination. >> people will come, ray. >> reporter: jones went on to star in many movie and tv roles, winning several emmys, a grammy for best spoken word, and an honorary academy award in 2011. >> they're right at your door, as innocent as children, longing for the past. >> reporter: acting was in his blood. his father, robert earl jones, was one of the first prominent black actors in film. jones was married to actress cecilia hart for more than 30 years until she died from ovarian cancer in 2016. jones kept acting into his 80s. >> let me guess. you like "star wars." >> reporter: working on the stage, tv, and big screen. always with his commanding presence. >> you were not summoned here to grovel -- >> reporter: and that

distinctive voice. >> there is no death star. >> reporter: danya bacchus, cbs news. people along the louisiana gulf coast are bracing for a potentially powerful hurricane due to make landfall mid-week. tropical storm francine is now strengthening in the gulf of mexico and is expected to come ashore in louisiana as a category 2 hurricane by wednesday. francine is the sixth named storm of this hurricane season and is expected to drop up to a foot of rain in some areas. straight ahead on "cbs news roundup" -- trouble at the polls. many election workers have quit or retired, and some of those left say they're facing harassment and threats. more on this when we come back. [background sounds] [female narrator] if words were enough, i would sate your hunger, i would build for you a well ever filled with water clean, i would work alongside as you till the field watch hope

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the presidential election is just two months away, but election officials say they are far from ready. thousands of poll workers have retired or quit since the last election, and for some of the rookies this year will be their first vote. an even bigger problem comes in the form of harassment and even threats to election officials. stephen stock has the story. >> reporter: in luzerne county, pennsylvania the job of overseeing elections is getting tougher as critics are getting nastier. >> people want someone to be executed. >> reporter: supervisor emily cook's short tenure has been a rocky one. >> i was the subject of a comment that said i should be drawn and quartered. >> reporter: just ask her boss, county manager ramilda krokomo. >> we should be thanking people like emily. don't threaten them. thank them. >> reporter: cook is the fifth director of elections in five years here. >> you're seeing a mass exodus of institutional knowledge. >> reporter: contributing to the county's problems in the 2022 midterms, when 16 precincts ran

out of ballot paper. >> we had a brand new leadership team that had never run an election independently before. >> and mistakes were made. >> and mistakes were made. >> reporter: the d.a. there blamed mistakes on lack of training and experience have. >> mistakes happen in elections all the time, and they don't rock our democracy. >> reporter: with the non-partisan osa institute edward perez researches voting technology and how elections are administered. >> what does rock our democracy is when simple mistakes happen and when you have bad faith actors that are putting them under a magnifying glass and saying this is the end of our democracy. >> reporter: luzerne county and pennsylvania aren't the only places dealing with the high turnover of elections officials. cbs news analyzed data from around the country, and we found that compared to the last presidential election 36%, more than a third of all elections officials, are new. >> it's always a little bit of concern when there are new people. >> reporter: republican cameron quinn supervised elections in

virginia and thinks change and new blood can be a good thing. >> you can have election officials who have been there too long and aren't really up to doing the job. the next person brings in strengths that were not the strengths of that person. >> reporter: whoever's in the job must bring transparency, says texas democrat dana debeauvois who ran elections for 36 years. >> he with definitely want to make sure we have an r as open a door as possible, transparency. let the sunshine in. let voters see what's going on. >> reporter: in wilkes-barre that's exactly what emily cook and the county manager are doing. >> i think what we have to do, especially for this election, is come out and say what we're doing and explain why we're doing it. and it makes everyone know that our elections are secure. >> we created these task calendars that outline who is responsible for doing what and when they're supposed to do it. we include that in a weekly press release so that not only do we know in our office what

needs to be done but the public knows. >> reporter: despite the pressures and threats cook says she's dedicated to the job. >> i absolutely love it. my great grandmother was a poll worker way back when. i come from that mindset of serving my fellow citizens. and this is the way i know how to do it. >> reporter: entrusted with the american process, striving for a fair and accurate election. fair and accurate election. for "eye on america" stephen your gut is like a garden growing both good bacteria and bad. that balance is key to a healthy gut environment. benefiber's plant-based prebiotic fiber gently nourishes the good bacteria, working with your body to help your gut, and you, flourish. effortlessly. every day. grow what feels good. with benefiber. dove men gives you healthier smoother-feeling skin... to celebrate life's intense moments. use dove men bodywash with its 24-hour nourishing micromoisture enjoy healthier smoother-feeling skin all day with dove men body wash. [instructor] hold it! hold it!

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on the campaign trail donald trump insists crime is running rampant, and a lot of voters agree with him. but the numbers tell a different story. david pogue is here to separate perception from reality. >> reporter: here's something else americans worry about. crime. the number of americans who think that the crime rate is going up hasn't been this high in decades. of course, certain crimes sometimes spike in certain places. but overall i have some fantastic news. nationwide, the crime rate has been steadily dropping for 30 years. here's violent crimes like murders, rapes and robberies. and here are the property crimes like burglaries and thefts. now, it's useful to ask where these numbers came from. the fbi keeps a data base of all crimes reported by the police. the problem is we don't always

report crimes to the police. oh, people report a stolen car. but very few people report sexual assault. it's for that reason that back in the '70s the bureau of justice statistics began to survey people eph year to ask about their experiences with crime, whether or not they were actually reported. now, this is also a flawed metric. i mean, you can't very well interview a murder victim. but overall, the news is good here too. nobody's really sure how to explain the drop. maybe it's better policing. maybe it's better security technology. or rising incomes or lower unemployment. we're also an aging society. and it is usually younger folks who do the criming. but whatever the reason, perception and reality are two different things. in a good way. most of us think that crime is doing this. but actually both data sources

say it's doing this. so just this once we should be happy to be wrong. >> that was our david pogue on the crime beat. stay with us. "cbs news roundup" will be right back.

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13 stripes and 50 stars. we can all recognize the united states flag. but what it means to people varies greatly. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. >> reporter: this wednesday marks 23 years since 9/11. in the aftermath patriotism was near an all-time high. >> the principal's saying that they're practicing -- they're learning about patriotism. looks like steven, for example, "i love america," he writes. you know what? there's a lot of people who love america today. >> reporter: but now -- >> patriotism level and the love of the symbol and what it represents has decreased. >> reporter: at gettysburg flagworks near albany, new york owners maria coffey and patrick dory have felt the change. >> it's definitely been on a decline since 9/11.

>> reporter: they say flag sales are strong but not off the charts. >> most election years are banner years just because there's more interest. >> literally banner years. >> literally banner years, yeah. this year's been kind of flat. we're not sure exactly why. >> reporter: galup found that while 70% of americans were extremely proud to be american in 2003 that number is only 41% today. and surveys find that more republicans than democrats are proud to fly the flag. ♪ o, say can you see ♪ not that you could tell from the recent republican and democratic national conventions. ♪ what so proudly we ♪ >> do get some feedback from people, they want to fly the american flag but they're worried what their neighbors will think. they'll think they're an extreme republican. we try to dissuade them of that and say look, the american flag is for all americans to love and cherish, it stands for everybody regardless of political affiliation. >> you're an american in america in a neighborhood full of americans.

why do you need to put up an american flag? >> just to show i'm glad to be an american. this is a 20-star flag. >> 20 stars. >> reporter: peter ansoff knows all about flags. >> they call those a great star flag. >> reporter: he's past president of the north american vexilological association. that the vexillology, the study of flags. >> often i want to display more than one flag. >> reporter: the flag has been a partisan symbol. ronald reagan declared 1986 the year of the flag. and in 2007 barack obama defended his decision not to wear a flag lapel pin. are republicans just more vexilologically indeclined than democrats? >> i don't think so. generally they see themselves as the protector and conservator of respect for the flag and patriotism in general. and both sides feel that they'r the ones doing the patriotic thing. >> reporter: these flag debates, he says, reflect a broader

split. >> the patriotic divide is larger than in previous elections but i think the use of the flag is kind of a symptom, not a cause. >> reporter: today both presidential candidates embrace the flag, but only one of them does it literally. ansoff says that once upon a time americans left flag waving to the professionals. >> they were flown on ships to identify a ship at sea, forts and government buildings. but the idea that an individual citizen would fly a flag on his house or something, that was kind of strange. >> reporter: that changed with the civil war. >> all of a sudden you saw this sort of burst of people carrying flags, waving flags in parades and things like that. >> reporter: the tradition endured. although the meaning evolved. during the civil rights protests it was waived and weaponized. the upside down flag, a symbol of distress, has been flown by activists and at the house of a supreme court justice. and some people even make their

own. there's an african american flag by artist david hammonds and a thin blue line flag meant to show support for the police. peter ansoff says even now most americans seem to want the traditional flag. and they seem to want to claim it as their own. >> the underlying idea is that my vision of what america should be is the right one. >> well, it makes some sense if you think about a country that's born as a protest movement. right? born in revolution. >> in a way, yeah. the subtlety there is the change is directed toward improving and fulfilling the promise of the founding of the country. >> well, everyone thinks their change is going to improve the country, satellite. >> that's right. everyone thinks

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with my estranged father, and that's just something i never ever thought could happen. but when he became a believer, he just had this insatiable appetite to learn the bible, and he began to watch dr. stanley. dr. stanley: god always blesses obedience without an exception. tina: he teaches in a way that it just makes sense, and i feel like that's the way our heavenly father would teach us.

it's tuesday, september 10th, 2024. this is "cbs news mornings." debate day. vice president kamala harris and former president donald trump