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tv   CBS Evening News With Norah O Donnell  CBS  January 21, 2025 4:00pm-4:30pm PST

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you are going to take your sexy plant juice spray and your microfiber gloves and clean every single leaf. now that the leaves are cleaned, it's time to get serious about the soil. i'm going to use systemic houseplant granules and refresh the soil with this a bit. and the last step is to activate those systemic granules with a little bit of water. ok. oh, there we go. so now i'm going to go in with some neem oil. i'm also going to give them some superthrive just so that they're getting some extra nourishment. and that's it. you see how easy that was? drew: thank you so much. as always, we make this show for you. so take it with you. [applause] >> 1500 for a pardon. >> norah: tonight, the fallout after president trump pardoned nearly 1600 january 6th defendants.
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>> i think they are in a pretty dark period. >> norah: with nearly 140 law enforcement officers assaulted in the riot, our exclusive interview with the chief of the u.s. capitol police. >> are your officers concerned about their safety? >> norah: from texas to florida, rare snowstorm hitting the south. >> stay at home, try to stay off roadways. >> hanover the phones. >> norah: and tonight's "eye on america," we put students' attachment to their smartphones to the test. >> do you know how to text on there? >> no. >> norah: "cbs evening news" starts now. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> norah: good evening i'm norah o'donnell. hundreds of january 6th rioters are free tonight, and many more will be soon after president donald trump issued a full and unconditional pardon and shortened prison sentences for all of the nearly 1600 defendants. president trump is also dismissing charges for those not yet tried. among those who have already been released, the former leaders of the far-right
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extremist groups the proud boys and the oath keepers. they are two of the highest profile defendants. enrique tarrio was serving 22 years and stewart rhodes was serving 18 years. throughout the campaign, trump pledged to pardon the rioters, calling them patriots and hostages of the justice system. cbs's scott macfarlane leads off our coverage tonight from capitol hill. >> reporter: among those walking out of prison tonight, rachel powell of pennsylvania. >> thank you, president trump, and thank god for sparing his life. >> reporter: found guilty in 2023 of pushing a barricade into police and breaching a window, she is part of the largest criminal investigation in american history, which is now suddenly over. nearly 1600 people, including hundreds accused of beating, gassing, clubbing, and maiming police, are pardoned. president trump defended it tonight. >> these people have already served a long period of time.
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>> reporter: some of trump's republican senate allies acknowledge the news was and unexpected. >> it's a surprise that as a blanket pardon. i'm going through the details. >> reporter: but he didn't offer denunciations. this underscores the wide range of defendants, most convicted of misdemeanors like unlawful parading, to the minnesota man convicted of assaulting four officers, including with a police riot shield. he is one of nearly 160 who cbs news found had criminal pasts ahead of january 6th. and a former new york city police officer serving about ten years for assaulting police outside the capitol. the pardons are a gut punch for police victims and some congressional staff like sharon nichols who barricaded inside an office as the rioters pillaged. >> it seems like it would be troubling to know everybody just got pardoned. >> yeah. i mean, more than troubling. it has made me angry. i have been fighting some disillusionment. i think we are in a pretty dark period. >> reporter: far right group leaders enrique tarrio of the proud boys and stewart rhodes of the oath keepers were among
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those released, with more than ten years remaining on their sentences. >> president trump did the right thing by letting these guys out and pardoning them, because they won't get a fair trial. >> in the past two weeks, vice president j.d. vance, house speaker mike johnson, and trump's attorney general nominee pam bondi have all said those who committed violence should not be included in pardons. trump didn't answer questions about that tonight. pam bondi still faces a key senate vote here next week. norah? >> norah: scott macfarlane, thank you so much. when we're talking about that violence enacted on those police officers, it's important to remember there are about 140 law enforcement officers that were injured on january 6th, and more than half of them were capitol police officers. tonight we spoke with the chief of the u.s. capitol police for his reaction to the pardons in an exclusive interview. >> we know that more than 170 people, these january 6th defendants, are accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon against law-enforcement. a fire extinguisher, a four by four, bear spray.
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what kind of message does that send? >> i think it sends a message that politics is more important than policing. my officers go out there every day and enforce the law impartially. >> if violent criminals are pardoned, does that put law-enforcement officers in danger in the future? >> it could put any of our communities in danger. anybody that is convicted of a violent crime, and then allowed to not serve their sentence or just be let off the hook, i think it has an impact on our communities nationwide. >> how has this pardoning of all of those involved in january 6th affected the morale of capitol police officers? >> i have talked to a few officers, and i know some of my leadership team has told me that there's a lot of officers that are angry, they're upset, and i
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don't blame them. >> why are some of your officers angry and upset? >> because they believe they were doing their job properly that day, and this sends a message to them that somehow it was okay for these folks to do the things that they did. >> this is not just about president trump, right? i mean, there was a commutation issued by former president biden, as well, before he left office. >> that's correct. leonard peltier, who killed two fbi agents, he was a political activist who felt he was fighting for his cause, and yesterday he was set free. >> what message does that send? >> well, i would tell you i'm sure it sends a pretty poor message to the fbi and frankly to every law enforcement officer in this country, to think that, if you are killed in the line of duty, that at some point it becomes okay, because it's not okay for the families of those fbi agents. and those fbi agents are still dead.
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and yet, the man that killed them has been set free. >> chief manger, thank you for being here and thanks to all of your officers. >> norah: we know now that attorneys general from 22 states are now suing to block president trump's move to end what is known as birthright citizenship, guaranteeing that children born in the u.s. are citizens regardless of the parents' status. with more on the new immigration battles, cbs's weijia jiang at the white house. >> reporter: a church service at the national cathedral marks the final event of inauguration. but, unlike most sermons, this one was directed at president trump. >> i ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. >> reporter: reverend mariann edgar budde used her audience with the president to defend the undocumented immigrants trump has vowed to deport, with i.c.e. raids starting as early as this week. >> the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.
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they pay taxes, and are good neighbors. >> reporter: back at the white house, trump was unmoved. >> not too excited. i didn't think it was a good service. >> reporter: the president has already signed seven executive orders on immigration. >> birthright, that's a big one. >> reporter: including one that refuses to recognize children born in the u.s. as american citizens if their parents are unauthorized immigrants. >> we are the only country in the world that does this with birthright. >> reporter: at least 22 states and the district of columbia have sued to block the measure, arguing birthright citizenship is enshrined in the constitution under the 14th amendment. >> the executive order renders many children born on american soil without citizenship, creating for the first time a class of american-born children whose health and well-being are threatened by their own government.
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>> despite president trump's claim that the u.s. is alone, more than 30 countries have unrestricted birthright citizenship. ending it here was when the trump campaign promises, and tonight the white house says it is ready to face those state lawsuits in court. norah? >> norah: weijia jiang, thank you. president trump's nominee to lead the pentagon is facing new charges of abusive and drunken behavior in a sworn affidavit read by senators. cbs's nikole killion has the details. >> reporter: pete hegseth's former sister-in-law danielle hegseth alleges the defense secretary nominee was abusive toward his second wife, samantha. in a sworn affidavit provided to the senate armed services committee, danielle hegseth claims samantha told her she once hid in a closet for fear of her safety. >> would you like a copy of it? >> reporter: democrats who reviewed the statement were outraged. >> what i read in that affidavit reinforces the idea that not only is pete hegseth not
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qualified to be secretary of defense, he is truly a danger. >> reporter: danielle hegseth, who was married to hegseth's brother, also alleges samantha had a plan to get away from hegseth by texting a safe word to her if she needed help. during his confirmation hearing, hegseth denied any allegations of violence toward his former wives. >> did you engage in any acts of physical violence against any of your wives? >> senator, absolutely not. >> reporter: to be confirmed, he can only afford to lose three republican votes. some including susan collins are still deliberating. >> i told you earlier i was undecided. >> reporter: in a statement to cbs news, an attorney for pete hegseth said that his ex-wife samantha never alleged any abuse in court documents or to the fbi, and he called danielle hegseth's claims belated and false. norah? >> norah: nikole killion, thank you very much. turning now to the arctic freeze
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affecting parts of 30 states and for the deep south, it is unprecedented. snow, ice, and even blizzard warnings stretching along the coast from texas through louisiana and into the florida panhandle. cbs's kati weis is in new orleans, which is experience its biggest snowfall on record. kati? >> reporter: good evening, norah. "nola" is now "snowla." 9 inches of snowfall here today, and it's still coming down. it's the most the big easy has ever seen in recorded weather history, and just at this hour we are learning that the city has brought in 14 snowplows to come and clear these roads. those plows coming from indiana, driving down yesterday to take care of that. all this amid the state having its very first blizzard warning ever today. palm trees covered in snow, streets slippery with ice, like this one leading to the superdome, where the super bowl will be played in less than three weeks. this suv lost control and hit a
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curb, and this historic weather event isn't over yet. >> this winter wonderland we are seeing right now is going to end in a hard freeze. >> reporter: on iconic bourbon street, people were still letting the good times roll, but most louisianans are heeding warnings to shelter in place. >> are you going to be doing anything to commence or celebrate this historic day? >> food, maybe make a pot of gumbo, something like that. >> reporter: i'm skyler henry in tallahassee, florida, where crew trucks like this are using sand mixers to treat the roads ahead of the storm. as snow creeps into the florida panhandle, 5 inches of snow in pensacola has set a record. in tallahassee, emergency management crews are concerned about elevated roadways that can quickly freeze over. >> snow is not a common occurrence, so we don't have the magnitude of equipment that you have in the northern states. we don't have the salt, but we
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do have sand, and we will use sand to maintain the road surfaces to the best of our ability. >> reporter: there's no relief at the beach. a dusting of snow has turned a beach day into a snow day. we have reached the freezing rain portion of this wintry weather. now snow has caused issues for travelers, as well. several airports including the one here in tallahassee suspending operations until the weather passes. add onto that concerns about sheets of ice building along the i-10 corridor. norah? >> norah: sounds dangerous. for more on where this weather is headed next, let's ring in cbs' lonnie quinn. good evening, lonnie. >> good evening, norah. this picture, i know this is a little distracting. let's broaden it and you'll get a better perspective on things. that is blowing snow. it looks like what could be a coastal new england town. it is a coastal town, all right. that's pensacola, florida. there is 6 inches of snow on the ground right now in pensacola. you just heard new orleans, 9 inches, but new orleans is not the biggest number in louisiana.
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lafayette with almost a foot, 10.5 inches of snow. new york city, on the other side of the coin, only 1.6. where does the system go? it's going to be pushing off to the east, places like charleston, south carolina, savannah, maybe raleigh, north carolina. 3-6 inches for you, and whatever you pick up, look at this. it's not going anywhere. it stays bitterly cold. all that light blue or purple, either cold weather warnings or extreme cold weather warnings. you are waking up to some tough numbers out there. tomorrow morning it is 3 below in washington, but look at new orleans. 11 degrees to kick off your day. towns that don't see snow, they're seeing snow tonight. norah, it's all yours. >> norah: thank you very much. dozens are dead in a fire in a ski resort in turkey. the details when we return. ♪ ♪ in turkey. the details when we return. nkru, a medical device manufacturer, could affect your rights. exactech distributes shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle implants, including optetrak,
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optetrak logic, truliant, vantage, connexion gxl and equinoxe. if you've had one of these products implanted, your rights may be impacted by the bankruptcy, and you must file a claim by february 7, 2025. you may file the claim on behalf of yourself, or a deceased or disabled relative. also, if you hold a claim or interest in exactech, the deadline to object to the potential sale of exactech's assets is march 18, 2025. for more information visit extclaims.com. (♪♪) premier protein is my secret weapon. 30 grams of protein and one gram of sugar. and it tastes just like a chocolate milkshake. let's go, let's go. (♪♪) premier protein. sweeten the journey.
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(vo) kate made progress with her mental health, but her medication caused unintentional movements in her face, hands, and feet called tardive dyskinesia, or td. so her doctor prescribed austedo xr— a once-daily, extended-release td treatment for adults. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ austedo xr significantly reduced kate's td movements. some people saw a response as early as 2 weeks. with austedo xr, kate can stay on her mental health meds— (kate) aww! hi buddy! (vo) austedo xr can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, or have suicidal thoughts. don't take if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. austedo xr may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, or abnormal movements. seek help for fever, stiff muscles, problems thinking, or sweating.
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common side effects include inflammation of the nose and throat, insomnia and sleepiness. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ ask your doctor for austedo xr. ♪ austedo xr ♪ >> norah: a fire has left at least 76 people dead and more than 50 hurt at a ski resort in turkey. flames broke out in the middle of the night in a 12-story wood-frame hotel. it is the start of a two-week school holiday in turkey and the hotel was packed with families. at least two of the victims jumped to their deaths. the cause is under investigation. "eye on america" is next with a flip phone experiment. how will these eighth-graders manage without their smartphones? ♪ ♪ smartph smartphones? ♪ ♪ ck some acid, heal erosive esophagitis, also known as erosive gerd, and relieve related heartburn. voquezna is the first and only
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♪ ♪ >> norah: new york governor kathy hochul is calling for restrictions on cell phone use in schools across the state. at least eight states have enacted statewide bans or restrictions on phones in
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schools. anyone with a child knows how challenging it is to separate a kid from their phone, but in tonight's "eye on america," cbs's meg oliver found out kids will survive. >> reporter: like most eighth-graders, 14-year-old ben cohen vigder has a cell phone. unlike most, his is a flip phone. >> why did you want to try a flip phone? >> i knew that something had to change, because i was not getting my work done, i was very anxious, i was biting my nails a lot. >> reporter: it all started last february when ben lost his cell phone on the school bus. >> i was without a phone for two days, and i realized how my days were just so much longer and more full. >> reporter: so much better, the lacrosse goalie made the radical choice to buy a flip phone. >> i feel very proud of myself. >> reporter: he used to average up to five hours of screen time a day. now it's about 30 minutes. a cdc report says half of american teenagers spend four or
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more hours on screens. teenagesr with higher daily screen time are more likely to experience anxiety and depression. >> it can be distracting. >> reporter: so we asked four of ben's friends -- carson, ranita, jameson, and maya, all eighth graders in new jersey -- to try flip phones for a week. >> what is your average daily screen time on your phone? >> 10.5 hours. >> what are you doing on your phone for ten hours a day? >> watching "gossip girl" and tiktok. >> reporter: they were curious but skeptical about the experiment. jameson says he isn't doing as well as he wants to in school. >> i think my phone is a big factor in that. >> reporter: although ranita plays three sports, she admits wasting time on her phone. >> it's like an hour has gone by. >> reporter: carson agreed to participate but the avid basketball player was nervous. >> as it got closer, i started having bad thoughts about it. >> reporter: but maya, who loves studying english and just started rowing, is hoping this
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trial helps her at night. >> hand over the phones. it's going to be okay. thanks, jameson. are you ready? here is your new flip phone. do you know how to text on there? >> no. >> it is day two. it was hard because i didn't have my phone. >> reporter: carson didn't make it. he asked for his phone back within 24 hours. >> what have you been doing without your smartphone? >> i just sat there and i stared at the wall. >> how do i add a new contact? >> reporter: the others stuck it out, sending in mostly positive reviews. >> i've been sleeping a lot better. i'm less tired in the day. >> i don't have my apple pay, which really doesn't help. >> i finish homework so easily and faster. >> hello there. >> reporter: seven days later, we reconvened. >> it was not as bad as i thought it was going to be. >> jameson, what was the positive for you? >> well, i talked to my parents a lot more. and, like, i went out a lot more with my friends. >> what did you learn from this?
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>> i think that not your whole life should be on your screen. there should be things off of that. >> i think it helped them even in ways they don't realize. >> reporter: in february it'll be a full year for ben and his flip phone. his friends may not want to join him full-time, but he believes it is never too late to make a change. t doesn't have to be something as drastic as completely getting rid of all your social media. i still have an instagram account that i will use on my computer. but it is more about doing small things that you can bring together to just fix that constant need. >> reporter: a smart lesson learned without a smartphone. for "eye on america," meg oliver, montclair, new jersey. >> norah: great, great story. everyone should try that. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: this portion of the "cbs evening news" is sponsored by ancestry. discover, preserve, represent. .
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discover, preserve, represents. ♪ ♪ we stood on some pretty broad shoulders to get to where we are at today. on ancestry i was able to actually put together our family tree. each person is a glass worker. that's why we do what we do. we can't help it. the glass blowing - that's a part of our dna. it's in my blood, it's in my history. it's my job to make sure that this shop makes it to the next generation. i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms... ...with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after trying a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq works differently. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can rapidly relieve joint pain, stiffness, and swelling as fast as 2 weeks for some. and even at the 3-year mark, many people felt this relief. rinvoq can stop joint damage. and in psa, can leave skin clear or almost clear. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections.
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67th grammy awards on sunday night, february 2nd, at 8:00 eastern/5:00 pacific right here on cbs. and that is tonight's "cbs evening news." i'm norah o'donnell. good night. ♪ ♪ i.c.e. is back doing their job effective today. >> the border is closed. >> you feel it. you have the panic attacks.
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>> today, we're exploring the legal roadblocks and the president's plan. >> an executive order does not have the power to override the constitution. >> i personally feel he's on a good track. >> as california leaders prepare for a fight. >> i have a message for president trump. i'll see you in court. i'm anne makovec. and the question today, should children born here in the u.s. be granted citizenship no matter where their parents are from? it's been a constitutional right for more than a century under the 14th amendment. but now president trump is trying to put an end to it. today, we're digging into his executive orders to ask what it will take to make it official. we'll have that conversation coming up in a few minutes. but first, a look at your local news headlines. one person who opened fire at officers. it

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