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hello and thanks for watching. i'm matt pieper in new york, and that is "cbs news roundup." here are the top stories. crews are battling wildfires in north and south carolina driven by dry conditions and gusty winds as residents are forced to evacuate. european leaders throw their full support behind ukraine in its war against russian aggression. it comes just days after breakdown in relations at the white house. and israel is under pressure after once again stopping all food and other aid into gaza. entire communities have been evacuated in the face of wildfires raging across north and south carolina. crews are now battling more than 170 fires. take a look at this incredible footage. a wall of fast spreading flames threatening homes and lives. the fires are being fuelled by gusty winds and dry conditions. the biggest blaze is burning near myrtle beach, and south carolina has declared a state of

emergency. cbs' dave malkoff has more from atlanta. >> reporter: the images are striking. homeowners in multiple counties watch as wind-fueled wildfires creep closer. >> i have never experienced anything like this. >> right. >> reporter: by land and by air, crews are working around the clock to keep the flames at bay. the carolina forest near myrtle beach is getting the worst of it. >> we have a pool in our yard, and this morning, we came out, and there is ashes on the top of the water. >> reporter: two major wildfires there doubled in size overnight. >> they keep popping up, these little things do. you don't know if they're coming to your house or the next neighbor's house. it just really scares me. >> reporter: emergency leaders are urging everyone to stay alert as windy conditions are set to strengthen. there is now a state-wide burn ban in place for south carolina, but this risk actually crosses state lines to right here.

on friday, the national weather service issued a fire watch that includes atlanta. >> cbs' dave malkoff. new polling from cbs news finds most americans support ukraine in its war with russia at 52%. 4% say they support neither country. on sunday president zelenskyy flew to london where 19 leaders from europe and canada met to discuss further defense of ukraine against russia. it is a rally of support coming on the heels of friday's oval office shouting match that shocked the world. cristian benavides is in west palm beach with new details on where the trump administration stands. >> reporter: with warm embraces and handshake, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy's reception at a european summit in london was a world apart from his meeting friday in the oval office. british prime minister keir starmer pledged about $2 billion to supply 5,000 air defense missiles for kyiv, now in the fourth year of its war with russia. >> the uk is prepared to back

this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others, europe must do the heavy lifting. >> reporter: starmer said he, along with zelenskyy and french president "emilia perez" agreed to work on a peace plan to present to the u.s., which has discussed brokering a deal. >> to succeed, this effort must have strong u.s. backing. >> reporter: sunday's gathering followed the extraordinary public scolding of president zelenskyy by president trump and vice president j.d. vance. >> right now you don't have the playing cards. >> i am the president in a war. >> millions of people. you're gambling with world war three. >> interrupted on live tv just as the ukrainian leader was to sign a multibillion rare earth minerals deal that was scuttled in the dust-up. >> you don't fly a quarter across the world for a signing ceremony for a deal with the president of the united states and turn into it a debate on

american security guarantees. >> reporter: at the london summit, zelenskyy spoke about the ukraine-u.s. relationship, saying he is ready to sign the minerals deal with the u.s. on tuesday, the world will be listening closely as president trump heads to capitol hill to address a joint session of congress. cristian benavides, cbs news, miami. >> and cbs news will have complete coverage of president trump's address to that joint session of congress on tuesday night. it begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on cbs and streaming on cbs news 24/7. there is uncertainty in the middle east after israel on sunday suddenly blocked the entry of all goods and humanitarian assistance into gaza as the ceasefire with hamas falters. israel is warning of further consequences if hamas does not accept a u.s. proposal for extending the ceasefire. cbs' debora patta reports from east jerusalem. >> reporter: ramadan in the

rubble and ruins of gaza, as palestinians sit down to break the first day of the fast. but for a mother of three who is still living in a makeshift tent, this was not how she imagined spending the muslim holy month. "my husband is dead and my home is destroyed," she told us. "there is no joy in our hearts." the meal she is preparing was her husband's favorite. the pain still fresh. the bombs may have stopped falling, but prime minister benjamin netanyahu is piling on the pressure by withdrawing all aid from gaza. hamas says this is nothing short of blackmail. hostage families have been plunged back into the uncertainty of the nearly 15 months of war in gaza, waiting for loved ones to come home. together with thousands of supporters, they took to the

streets to exert pressure of their own and demand a deal. >> we just caught in a loop because the prime minister has other issues he needs to solve. and we're caught into that. and citizens caught into that, and citizens are dying due to that. >> reporter: in gaza, the future is also once again in limbo as palestinians struggle to pick up the pieces of lives shattered by a war nobody wants to go back to. debora patta, cbs news, east jerusalem. the vatican says pope francis has improved enough to come off a ventilator, and he is showing no signs of new infection. the faithful will keeping vigil outside the hospital where the 88-year-old pontiff is being treated for double pneumonia. the removal a sign that the pope's condition is improving. vatican officials released a

statement from the pontiff thanking believers for their support and their prayers. it was a night of hollywood glitz and glamour at the 97th academy awards ceremony in los angeles. the big winner, "anora," the story of an exotic dancer in new york city who marries the son of a russian oligarch. mikey madison governor best actress. zoe saldana won best supporting actress in "emilia perez," and the oscar for best supporting actor went to kieran culkin for his performance in "a real pain." and the best international show was "i'm still here," the story of one family's saga during brazil's military dictatorship. when we return, we'll take a look at the oval office meltdown

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this is "cbs news roundup." i'm matt pieper in new york. european leaders gathered in london to discuss the war in ukraine after the oval office blowup that tlented support for kyiv in its war with russia. the allied praised his efforts while avoiding criticism of president trump. a new poll shows more than half of americans support ukraine in the war. robert costa looks back on how the latest war of words got started. >> i'm not aligned with putin. i'm not aligned with anybody. i'm aligned with the united states of america. and for the good of the world. >> reporter: what played out friday in the oval office was a diplomatic breakdown, with president donald trump pushing back against ukraine's volodymyr zelenskyy, and with vice president j.d. vance doing the same. >> mr. president, mr. president, with respect, i think it's disrespectful for you to come into the oval office and try to

litigate this in front of the american media. >> reporter: many trump supporters say zelenskyy was out of line. many trump critics say zelenskyy was right for standing up to vladimir putin and to trump. >> during the war, everybody has problems. even you. but you have nice ocean and don't feel now. but you feel it in the future. god bless -- >> you don't know that. >> god bless, god bless. >> you don't know that. don't tell us what we're going to feel. we're trying to solve a problem. don't tell us what we're going to feel. >> i'm not telling you. >> president trump doesn't like being told what to do. >> or how to feel. >> or how to feel. and i think anyone who has watched him over the course of his many, many years in the public eye should understand that. >> reporter: matthew continetti is a scholar at the american enterprise institute and author of "the right." >> many people in america see russia as a traditionalist power, as a power that is against forces of social

progressivism that so many american conservatives oppose at home. >> reporter: when u.s. allies look at this oval office meeting, what do they see? >> i think a lot of our allies watch the oval office meeting and began to make their own calculations. president trump is someone who really views things through a zero sum framework. there are winners and there are losers. and so he is always looking to make sure that he is the winner. >> reporter: trump ended friday's showdown by noting this -- >> this is going to be great television. i will say that. >> reporter: but where does it leave the prospects for peace? >> i do think that we'll reach some type of arrangement with the ukrainians. but then of course the question is what will russia do. i kept thinking a lot about the person who was not in the room during that oval office meeting, and that is vladimir putin. and if he does not see any ceasefire in the russian interest, he won't agree to one. >> that was robert costa reporting.

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by the senate last year to a five-year term. according to the law, he can only be removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. the justice department says it will file an appeal. meantime, the firing of top lawyers at the pentagon is also drawing fire. charlie d'agata reports. >> reporter: the firings at the pentagon are now reaching beyond joint chiefs chairman cq brown and chief of naval operations admiral lisa franchetti to the top lawyers in the army, navy, and air force judge advocates general. defense secretary pete hegseth ordered the jag firings. >> we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don't exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything. >> reporter: among other responsibilities, jag's provided advice to u.s. senior military officers on the rules of warfare and are sometimes embedded with forces on the battlefield to ensure they adhere to them. cory shockey head of defense

policy at the american enterprise institute is troubled by the firings. what concerns you most about the relief of the jags? >> they are the people who advise military commanders on what is lawful and what is not. and i worry that their relief by the secretary sends the message that he is encouraging lawlessness by the force or tolerant of lawlessness by the force. >> reporter: hegseth's move comes after the unprecedented terminations of brown and franchetti. >> by cashiering the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the naval operations, it is sending a message that you don't value the talent that's in the force. >> reporter: to replace brown, the president has chosen air force lieutenant general dan racing cain who will come out of retirement to take the job. >> i think generally it sends a poor signal to the force when you recall from retirement someone to put in the leadership. i don't know general cain, but

we shouldn't lack confidence that he is serious about the undertaking. >> reporter: an undertaking that will involve following the orders of a commander in chief and defense secretary who are bringing drama change to the pentagon. has the trump just politicized the military? >> i think they are making a number of choices that have the potential to dangerously politicize the military. >> reporter: another big change at the pentagon, cbs news has learned the president has given military commanders broader authority to launch counterterrorism air strikes. counterterrorism air strikes. charlie d'agata, cbs n 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.

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and locks in moisture to provide soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. nasa is one step closer to putting an astronaut back on the moon with the help of a private space company. mark strassmann has the story. >> stuck the landing. >> reporter: the landing flawless. [ cheering ] the first pictures stunning. firefly's blue ghost lander casting a shadow across the lunar surface. in the distance, the earth, and all of us, 240,000 miles away. >> i'm so proud of that lander and the team that built it. it's incredible. >> reporter: ray allensworth is

space director of firefly aerospace. we first met her and her company's lunar lander three months ago. 6 feet tall, 11 feet wide with four landing legs touching lunar dust. >> they're extended all the way around the lander. >> reporter: launched in january, blue ghost's cameras captured video of its journey from earth to lunar orbit. its mission, deliver ten payloads to the lunar surface for nasa. >> so if we kind of look down, you see over there, you see that spout kind of coming down. >> reporter: i do. >> that's the drill. and it will deploy down and go into the lunar surface. >> reporter: this drill will try to penetrate 9 feet below the surface to measure temperature. another experiment will vacuum up loose lunar rock and dust. >> our payloads are collecting data. so we can figure out what does it feel like to be on the lunar surface, to operate on the lunar surface. all that data will ensure when we actually return humans to the moon.

>> it really does open up a whole new way for us to get more science to the space and to the moon. >> reporter: blue ghost should survive about two weeks, or one lunar day until the sunsets and its batteries drain. >> nervous to think about. >> reporter: but for allensworth, until today, the moon seemed so far away. not anymore. >> you just imagine, that's where it's going to be. but now you know it's there. and that's a totally different feeling. so i -- the next full moon, i just won't sleep. i'll stare at it all night. >> reporter: one moon landing at a time, space companies like firefly now prove they have the right stuff. mark strassmann, cbs news. iowa is set to become the first state in the nation to remove civil rights protections for transgendered people. the law was signed last week. it takes effect july 1 and is already facing pushback. lana zak reports. >> reporter: the unprecedented act sparked outrage. as lawmakers debated hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the rotunda of the iowa state

capitol to protest the law, which eliminates civil rights protections based on gender identity. >> i feel it's mean. i feel it's hateful. >> reporter: representative amy wishendal, the state's first openly transgendered member argues this is just the start. >> vote this bill down today, because this is not the end. those think tanks will ask you again and again and again to remove rights and freedoms from your fellow iowans until none remain. >> reporter: republicans lawmakers fast tracked the bill and governor kim reynolds signed it into law. >> it's common sense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women. >> reporter: it defines sex based on a person's anat my at birth and removes rights from the state's civil rights law which protected groups from discrimination. gender identity was added along sexual orientation in 2007. >> before i signed this bill, the civil rights code blurred the biological line between the sexes. what this bill does accomplish

is to strengthen protections for women and girls. >> reporter: the executive director of the advocacy group one iowa. mowat says the move ends nearly two decades of state law protections for transgender iowans like himself. why is this happening right now? >> i can't understand what the timing would be other than a large widespread national trend towards trans phobia and hostility toward the lgbtq community. it's more acceptable to single us out and harm us. >> reporter: are you worried about real harm? >> absolutely. i know that this will just move the needle further. we going to continue to see really horrible legislation because this is the new norm? >> reporter: lana zak, iowa city, iowa. "cbs news roundup" will be right back.

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it's monday, march 3rd, 2025. this is "cbs news mornings."