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hello and thanks for staying up with us. i'm matt pieper in new york, and here are the top stories on "cbs news roundup." rescuers struggled to deliver supplies to isolated areas across the american southeast. devastated by hurricane helene. intensified israeli strikes in lebanon and now yemen stoke fears of a wider regional conflict. and republican presidential nominee donald trump escalates personal attacks against his democratic rival, kamala harris. president biden will travel later this week to areas devastated by powerful hurricane helene. the death toll is still rising with at least 115 people known to have died in the southeast. a region facing a disaster of historic proportions. the monster storm cut a ruinous path stretching more than 600 miles across several states from florida to indiana. millions are still without power, and recovery efforts are

complicated by gas shortages and spotty cell phone service. this is asheville, north carolina, a city still virtually cut off. we have two reports on this story beginning with skyler henry in hard-hit marshall, north carolina. >> reporter: mountain towns across appalachia are cut off. nearly 300 roads are impassable in western north carolina alone. there has been no power or cell phone service in the city of asheville since last week, leaving panicked relatives unable to reach loved ones. >> that's my neighbor's house. it's gone. that's crazy. i just -- i literally just looked. i cannot believe that. there was a whole house right there. >> reporter: we spoke to one homeowner in marshall, north carolina who didn't leave until flood waters were waist deep. when she returned, the neighborhood was swept away. >> their house is literally completely gone. my neighbor's house, his trailer is up against my house. >> reporter: authorities rushed to airlift supplies and restore communications with devastated

communities. >> people are desperate for help. and we are pushing to get it to them. a massive effort. many people are cut off because roads are impassable. >> reporter: long lines for gas are snarling busy roads in hard-hit south carolina, where at least 25 deaths have been reported. more than any other state. in florida where the storm made landfall on thursday the recovery is just getting started. >> i'm jason allen in cedar key, florida where there's damage from one house to the next to the next, and you will find this extending for hundreds of miles to the north. >> reporter: heather greenwood has lived on cedar key for the last five years and manages the town's bed and breakfast. >> so many of these island people work so hard and they've just lost everything. >> reporter: florida governor ron desantis said the damage from helene appears to be greater than the combined effects of idalia and hurricane debbie in august. >> idalia was a major hurricane but you had homes that didn't

even have major damage with idalia. some of those homes were totally destroyed. i mean, it was really, really catastrophic. >> thanks to skyler henry and jason allen for those reports. moving now overseas to the middle east, where israeli airstrikes have hit central beirut for the first time in nearly a year of conflict. israel also struck at the iran-backed houthi regime in yemen on sunday. as cbs's natalie brand reports from the white house, president biden says he does not want to see a wider war in the region. >> reporter: good evening. president biden says all-out war in the region has to be avoided and that he will be speaking to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. as relations between the two leaders have been strained, the biden administration did not receive advance notice of the israeli strike that killed hezbollah's leader. but national security council's john kirby says that hezbollah's leadership structure being

decimated works to the israelis' advantage and is good for the region. u.s. officials tell cbs news that hezbollah's missile capabilities have also been significantly degraded. defense secretary lloyd austin says the u.s. is determined to prevent iran or its proxies from exploiting the situation and expanding the conflict. secretary austin warned that if iran or its partners target american personnel the u.s. will take every necessary measure to defend itself. natalie brand, cbs news, the white house. now to the campaign trail. vice president kamala harris traveled to nevada sunday night for a rally with supporters in that state. earlier in the day donald trump was in pennsylvania, where his rhetoric is drawing new scrutiny. cbs's caitlin huey burns was at the rally in erie. >> but if we win in pennsylvania we will win the whole thing. >> reporter: in battleground pennsylvania former president donald trump rallied supporters with a familiar focus. immigration. >> this is an invasion and these

people are mean, tough. >> reporter: it comes after vice president kamala harris visited the southern border during a campaign stop friday in arizona. where she criticized trump for opposing a congressional border bill earlier this year. >> he prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. i reject the false choice that suggests we must either choose between securing our border or creating a system of immigration that is safe, orderly and humane. >> reporter: in pennsylvania trump doubled down on personal attacks against harris. >> crooked joe biden became mentally impaired. sad. but lying kamala harris, honestly i believe she was born that way. she's a stupid person. stupid person. >> reporter: the comments eck owed the harsh rhetoric he used in wisconsin and some allies urged him to focus on harris's

policies. >> i just think the better course to take is to prosecute the case that her policies are destroying the country. they're crazy liberal. >> reporter: and this week the spotlight will be on the running mates. j.d. vance and tim walz were off the campaign trail prepping for the first and only vice presidential debate tuesday october 1st right here on cbs. caitlin huey burns, cbs news, erie, pennsylvania. >> and as caitlin just pointed out, the cbs news vice presidential debate between senator j.d. vance and governor tim walz takes place on tuesday. this tuesday. right here in new york. you can watch our live coverage of the debate moderated by norah o'donnell and margaret brennan on cbs. and it streams on cbs news 24/7 and on paramount plus. those two boeing starliner astronauts stuck on the international space station are now one step closer to home. what you're looking at is footage of their rescue craft sent up by spacex as it docked sunday at the space station. american astronauts butch

wilmore and suni williams were only supposed to be there for eight days but due to safety concerns with their boeing starliner craft they're been stuck for nearly four months now. unfortunately because of other scheduled missions they won't be able to finally head home until february. the entertainment world is mourning the loss of superstar actor, songwriter and singer kris kristofferson. starting in the late 1960s the texas native wrote hit songs such as "help me make it through the night" and "me and bobby mcgee." as an actor he starred in at least 48 films including lead roles with barbra streisand and ellen burstyn. a family spokesperson says kristofferson died at home in hawaii at the age of 88. when "cbs news roundup" continues -- we'll have more on the crisis in the middle east with expert analysis on what we might expect to see next. stick around.

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this is "cbs news roundup." i'm matt pieper in new york. a wider war in the middle east is one step closer after israel sent dozens of warplanes to bomb targets in yemen. houthis there launched a missile toward israel's ben gurion airport this weekend, hoping to kill prime minister benjamin netanyahu as he returned from the united nations in new york. the missile was intercepted. meantime, in lebanon the militant group hezbollah is shaken after israeli airstrikes killed seven top commanders including the group's leader. david martin reports. >> reporter: the airstrike that killed hezbollah's long-time leader, hassan nasrallah, was surely the most cataclysmic event in the mideast since hamas attacked israel on october 7th. strikes that began with exploding beepers have now eliminated virtually all of hezbollah's senior commanders. >> the leadership of hezbollah has basically been decapitated. >> reporter: cbs news

contributor andrew boyd is former head of counterterrorism operations at the cia. >> has this broken hezbollah's back or just brought the mideast to the brink of a wider war? >> so i think their back's broken, but hezbollah's built an institution that will endure the decapitation of their leadership. i just don't think they'll be able to become a fighting force that's relevant for quite some time. >> reporter: israel's prime minister netanyahu called nasrallah the main engine of iran's axis of evil. >> nasrallah was extraordinarily close to iran's supreme leader. you know, this is a personal blow to the supreme leader. but even more important, it is a blow to iran. >> reporter: former acting cia director michael morel, now a senior contributor to cbs news, says iran spent decades arming hezbollah to attack israel. >> and iran is watching the

degradation of one of its pillars right before its eyes. >> what can iran do about it? >> first is to attack israel now. but the second, and maybe the most likely, is iran may consider that now is time to develop nuclear weapons. >> reporter: for the moment a u.s. official says iran doesn't know what to do while israel continues to strike hezbollah, exacting what vice president harris called a measure of justice for the 1983 truck bombings of the u.s. embassy and marine barracks in beirut, which killed hundreds of americans. yet still there is no end of scores to be settled in the middle east. >> i don't think we've entered an endgame. i still think we are in, you know, the early days of all of the fallout from october 7th. >> that was david martin reporting. and this is "cbs news roundup."

former president jimmy carter is about to celebrate his 100th birthday tuesday. mark strassmann has a behind-the-scenes look at his remarkable life. >> that is a replica of the resolute desk that was in the oval office. >> reporter: jason carter says this is a television first.

you're looking at his grandfather jimmy carter's private office at the carter center in atlanta. >> what jumps out at you? >> this was not to be a museum. got work done. but you can also see he's got his bible there. he's got his buttons. >> there's a grammy. >> reporter: carter is famously the peanut farmer from tiny plains, georgia who became america's 39th president. he turns 100 on tuesday. >> the question that everyone wants to ask is how is he doing? >> he's very limited in what he can do. he can't talk on the phone. he's following the news. when we asked him was he excited about his 100th birthday, he said, "i'm excited about that but i'm really excited to vote for kamala harris." >> how does he spend his days? >> he gets up most days and he'll spend a little bit of time with family. when he's up and at 'em, he's up and at 'em. >> i jimmy carter do solemnly swear. >> that i will faithfully execute -- >> reporter: most americans alive today were born after carter's one-term presidency

ended in 1981. they may remember him more as humanitarian in chief. he and his wife rose alindh carter globe-trotted for four decades. they built habitat houses. they helped eradicate guinea worm disease. time and again they championed the underdog in forgotten corners of the globe. >> those 40 years where he and my grandmother worked on issues they cared about are the fundamental part of their legacy. >> reporter: rose lintd carter died last year at 96. but you can feel her presence in this room. >> do you have a favorite artifact in this room? >> for me that rocking chair over there, it's this huge double rocker. it's just a beautiful piece. and they both -- they both loved it. >> reporter: remarkably, the carters were married for 77 years. >> that painting was intentional. >> of course. that's his inspiration, right? he looks at my grandmother. and if you go to her office you'll see she has a similar portrait of him. they didn't want to be too far

apart. >> reporter: living to 100 a record for ex-presidents beats all odds. carter beat cancer too. telling this to norah o'donnell back in 2018. >> i called all my family together and told them that i was going to die quite soon. and so i was prepared to go. but things turned out for the better. >> reporter: his family thought the end was near again last year. carter won't into hospice care in february of 2023. that was 19 months ago. once again this year the birthday tributes will pour in. ♪ you're my blue sky ♪ ♪ you're my sunny day ♪ like this recent concert in his honor. ♪ love shack baby ♪ a celebration in song for his centennial. >> how does he want to be remembered? >> as someone who was honest, as someone who did what he thought

was right, who stood up for human rights and who respected people fundamentally. >> reporter: his 100th birthday will be america's turn to stand will be america's turn to stand up for jimmy emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? ♪♪ now with vitamin d for the dark days of winter. ♪♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing non-medicated vicks vapors.

easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick. and try new vaposhower max for steamy vicks vapors. strong enamel is your best defense against acid erosion and cavities. that's why i recommend pronamel active shield because it will strengthen your enamel and create that shield around it. i'm excited for this product. i think patients are really going to like it. try pronamel mouthwash. using these type of cleansers could be damaging and stripping your skin. i use new olay cleansing melts every day. just soak, activate and wash. to clean, tone and refresh. that's a 3x better clean. olay. autumn is in the air. a time for football and hay rides and rock hunting. rock hounds as they're called will be digging through parks and forests, canyons and cliffsides, searching for the perfect specimen. connor knighton joined a rock hunt in oregon.

>> reporter: the story of eastern oregon's awahi canyon lands is a story of eruption and erosion. >> 15.8 million years ago there was a really large lava flow that came in over the wetland. >> reporter: that ancient interaction between lava and water managed to hatch something special. i traveled here to hunt for some eggs. >> i'm already starting to look and go is that one? but not yet, right? >> not yet. it's not just any round rock. >> reporter: geologist sammy castenguay is a member of the conservation group friends. of the awahi. i followed him up a steep canyon slope to search for oregon's official state rock. the thunder egg. >> i mean, they're everywhere. >> right? >> the whole cliff face is just littered with them, particularly in this 50-foot zone. this is going up about 25 feet. just smatetered with these thunder eggs. >> these sphere-shaped bumps on the cliffside are actually each individual formations.

>> here's another thunder egg. here's another thunder egg. >> reporter: with a little bit of chiseling or even with your hands you can pluck one off. >> there we go. there we go. >> reporter: collecting limited quantities is allowed here. >> all right. oh, wait, is this a double? >> wow. yeah. i think that's going to have some of that blue color in there. >> reporter: while the eggs may not look like much on the outside, crack them open, give them a little polish and they reveal a multicolored yolk. >> the beauty of a thunder egg really comes when you cut it in half and open it up, and you see a design inside. and what you have inside is going to be filled with agate or jasper or opal. >> reporter: angela pillar is a collections manager for the rice northwest museum of rocks and minerals in hillsborough, oregon. while thunder eggs do exist elsewhere in the world, they're especially common in oregon. thanks to the type of sticky silica-rich lava that's found here. when that lava came into contact with water --

>> at some point that is going to flash into steam sort of like popcorn. and that opens up this void. and so now you have this sort of star-shaped or triangle-shaped or chevron-shaped void in there. >> reporter: then over the course of millions of years that void was filled with even more mineral-filled water, creating gorgeous designs of all sorts. >> i'm seeing a bird there. that actually -- am i just seeing birds everywhere? that looks like a bird to me also. >> this one looks like a little chick. you can see sort of like a little eyeball here. >> so it's a thunder egg with a bird inside. come on. come on. >> reporter: on these softball-size eggs are more typical, thunder eggs can get much bigger. >> this is huge. this is also a thunder egg? >> yes. we call this one meatball. >> i can see why. >> reporter: the name thunder egg first aappeared in print in the 1930s when a geologist claimed local native americans believed the rocks had been hurled from the haechbds. but -- >> we've checked with tribal authorities around here and there is no such legend of a thunder egg.

but it really made a good article when he wrote it, right? >> reporter: the thunder egg name stuck and now thunder egg hunting is a popular pastime throughout the state. bill envosty provides cutting demonstrations at the museum. >> oh, wow. >> that is very interesting. >> reporter: not every egg is spectacular. as we discovered on our search, plenty are duds. it's more about enjoying the time spent looking for them. >> there we go. >> you really don't know what you've got until you get back to the car, until you get back home and you cut it open. is that part of the fun? >> i think that is part of the fun, right? it's the mystery. >> reporter: a mystery that only reveals itself when you crack e case.

it's monday, it's monday, september 30th, 2024. this is "cbs news mornings." utter devastation.