>> john: welcome to "cbs evening news plus." i'm john dickerson. the hackers are still hacking. the department of justice charges a dozen people were targeting u.s. government

offices, including the defense intelligence agency. starving in gaza. the u.n.'s world food programme says it has less than two weeks worth of food to supply public kitchens and bakeries. israel has stopped all deliveries of food, fuel, and medicine into gaza as it tries to force hamas into a revised ceasefire plan. debora patta reports from east jerusalem. and is it a lost cause? we traveled to stone mountain in georgia, home to the largest confederate carving in the country. skyler henry tells us about a grassroots effort to set the record straight. those stories and more right after our news headlines. ♪ ♪ open road. one day after imposing tariffs on mexico, canada, and china, president trump gives the big three automakers a one-month reprieve on his stiff new tariffs. the car companies had complained that the tariffs could disrupt their supply chains and wipe out their profits.

pay the bills. the trump administration wants to freeze payment of nearly $2 billion to foreign aid organizations for work already done. but today the supreme court said not so fast. and in a 5-4 decision, the justices upheld a lower court's order to resume the payments. and in alaska, three backcountry skiers are feared dead after being swept up in an avalanche on tuesday. those skiers had been dropped by helicopter in a remote location 40 miles south of anchorage. authorities say the area is too unstable and the skiers are buried too deep to launch a rescue. ♪ ♪ we begin tonight with a standoff between the u.s. and china. no, not the trade war. another front: a cyber battle. today the justice department began a crackdown on a chinese hacking network known as silk

typhoon. a newly unsealed indictment charges 12 chinese nationals with a number of attacks on the u.s., including the defense department. cbs's nicole sganga is in washington with the story. nicole, first situate us here. when did these attacks take place? and is this a prosecution started in the biden justice department and carried over? >> reporter: that's exactly right, john. this is a years-long investigation by the fbi, one that predates the trump administration. according to these court documents, this widespread hacking campaign began in 2016 but john, that's just what u.s. officials know. >> john: tell me about the company at the center of this and what the company was targeting. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. so some of the targets here quite shocking. the u.s. department of commerce. you mentioned it earlier, the u.s. defense intelligence agency, the new york state assembly, twin indictments in new york and washington. also pointing to targets among the private sector, defense contractors, a law firm,

news organizations. indicted altogether, ten chinese hackers and two members of chinese law enforcement. the company behind these breaches, they're called i-soon, they are a massive network as many as 100 hackers. their work again spanning nearly a decade. they are also a major player in what china calls its hacking for hire ecosystem. officials say their annual revenue in 2025 is estimated at about 75 million if things keep going the way they've been going. >> john: what kind of mischief are they trying to make here in the hacking they're doing? >> reporter: yeah, it's sort of a mix of, you know, money and patriotism. obviously chinese appetite for overseas intelligence is an all-time high. so beijing shells out tens of thousands of dollars for data that is stolen that it finds attractive. sometimes this is directed cyber mercenaries taking their marching orders from the chinese

government. the ministry of public security. the ministry of state security. but these are freelance cyber hackers who oftentimes just use a kitchen sink approach. they see what operating systems are vulnerable among u.s. government agencies, other corporations, then they bring their findings to the ccp. they have the first right of refusal there and if not, it goes to the highest bidder. >> john: nicole sganga in washington. thank you, nicole. on capitol hill today, house republicans attacked so-called sanctuary cities as public safety nightmares. mayors from for the country's largest cities defended their immigration policies which limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. the house oversight hearing comes as illegal borderve droedr lowest level in at least 25 years. let's go to congressional correspondent caitlin huey-burns. caitlin, what were these mayors anxious to get across in their testimony today?

>> reporter: john, this was a six-hour long hearing and it was fiery. the democratic mayors of these major cities were essentially trying to push back at the notion that their policies have been either exacerbating illegal immigration or contributing to higher crime. here's what they said, in their words. >> false narrative is that immigrants in general are criminals or immigrants in general cause all sorts of danger and harm. that is actually what is undermining safety in our communities. >> it's important that the trust between the community and law enforcement is strong. that's ultimately how we have built a safer city. >> reporter: now, it was interesting too because many of these mayors didn't like to use the term sanctuary city in their testimony today. it's not a legal term, john. it is broadly defined but democrats say that it helps local law enforcement be able to encourage those who are here

undoumented immigrants, to report crimes or use city services. republicans however say that this is contributing to illegal immigration in this country. >> john: let me stick on that argument, what republicans are saying. what then was the end goal of this hearing for republicans in the majority? >> reporter: this was all about the president's mass deportation plan which during the campaign, the broad parameters had broad support from the american public. a majority supported this. the trump administration has sued the city of chicago arguing that it is impeding with its efforts to deport those who are here illegally, and that was really on display today from the republicans on the panel and why they wanted to have it in the first place. >> john: quick question about eric adams, who was there. of course it has been alleged

that he was -- basically that the justice department under the trump administration has let him off easy in response for him helping them out with their deportation in new york city. how was he received today? >> reporter: well, judging by this hearing, you wouldn't be able to tell that he was a democrat because he was getting some of the toughest questions from democrats on the panel who were pressing him on exactly that. asking him if there was an exchange that he made with the trump administration to drop those charges in exchange for enforcing the president's immigration policies or carrying them out. he said in his words there was no exchange of the sort and denied any of those allegations. >> john: caitlin huey-burns on the hill. thank you so much. president trump is vowing there will be quote hell to pay if hamas doesn't release the remaining hostages. israel is applying pressure by blocking aid convoys of food and medical supplies. to force an extension of the now phase one of the cease-fire

deal. cbs's debora patta is in east jerusalem and reports on the dwindling food supply. >> reporter: for six weeks, aid had been entering gaza, a condition of the january cease-fire deal. last week, this soup kitchen served meat to thousands of palestinians. now it's just lentils and rice. trucks carrying food, fuel, medicine, and other supplies have all been stopped by israel who is using the siege to force hamas to accept an alternative deal that would delay talks for a permanent truce. most palestinians in gaza are almost entirely dependent on the aid, but the initial surge in supplies during the cease-fire meant families have at least had food to break their fast during the first week of ramadan. "if they don't let aid in," ayoub marouf said, "famine or something even worse will return."

already the aid freeze has sent prices soaring in local markets. the u.n. says its supplies will run out in less than two weeks. "we just want to feel joy again," he told us, "and live without suffering. nobody wants to go back to war. there is still so much pain." every day palestinians are finding new bodies and burying their dead. the white house has confirmed the u.s. is in direct negotiations with hamas for the first time since the group was formed. it sent special envoy adam boehler had the authority to tak to anyone to do what is in the best interest of the american people. debora patta, cbs news. est jerusalem. >> john: now here are three things to know. pope francis marked ash wednesday, the beginning of the holy season of lent, in a rome hospital. the vatican says the pope increased his physical therapy

today and was able to do some work. francis, who is 88, has been in the hospital for nearly three weeks suffering from respiratory issues. his prognosis remains guarded. a new survey shows a lot of us are going broke paying for health care. the west health-gallup survey found 12% of americans, that's 31 million, were forced to borrow to pay for health care last year. they accumulated $74 billion in medical debt. americans 18 to 29 were the largest group to report having to borrow money. adults 65 and over were least likely. and a remarkable discovery about some of our oldest ancestors. a study out today found that early humans in what's now africa used animal bones to make cutting tools. they did that 1.5 million years ago. that's a million years earlier thanght. still ahead on "cbs evening news plus." >> for decades, georgia's stone mountain park has been a site filled with controversy.

we met with one group that says it wants to tell the full story of the park with proper context. that story is next on "cbs evening news plus."

>> john: in stone mountain, georgia, the shadow of the state's confederate history casts a wide shadow, literally. it's home to the country's largest confederate monument, with jefferson davis, generals lee and stonewall jackson carved on a mountainside. for tonight's "in depth," cbs's skyler henry reports there's an renewed effort to shine more light on the historical record. >> reporter: we are at the bottom of the mountain here. >> yeah. it's the north side of the mountain, which is nearly vertical. >> reporter: marcus patton says he's fighting an uphill battle. >> the thing that troubles me, because i love this place so much, is that many people refer to stone mountain and what they are talking about is the confederate aspects of it. >> reporter: patton serves on the stone mountain action collation, or smac, they call themselves a movement dedicated to a more inclusive park which sees more than 4 million visitors each year.

smac is part of the latest push to tweak georgia law, an effort to swap out language requiring an appropriate and suitable confederate memorial at stone mountain for a new ordinance that would educate the public about the natural history of the mountain and its environment. >> save the mountain! save the flags! save the heritage! >> reporter: for years, what's at the park, once home to the ku klux klan, and since 1972 the largest confederate carving in the country has been a point of contention. >> should not be in the army of the oppressor. you are a sellout. >> reporter: the southern poverty law center says nationwide there are more than 2,000 confederate memorials throughout the u.s. the stone mountain memorial association, the state authority that manages the park, has made steps to address the park's past and is slated to open an $11 million truth telling center this fall with exhibits designed to address what the association calls warts of georgia and southern history. >> i think stone mountain will be best served as a georgia

civil war, civil rights, georgia history museum. >> reporter: georgia native parker short posted this viral video online and says the full story needs to be told throughout the park. >> this is not a humble monument to the georgians who fought the civil war. this is three generals who commanded an insurrection against the united states carved upon a mountain. >> i think it's a mountain, not a message board. i wish that the carving had never been put there. >> reporter: for patton, regardless of politics or southern pride, he would prefer to lean into the park's natural beauty instead of what he calls man-made blemishes. skyler henry, cbs news. stone mountain, georgia. >> john: up next, we'll tell you why los angeles county is taking one of the state's largest utility companies to court in the wake of those deadly wildfires. cbs cares.

>> john: it's been more than a month since the flames diminished in the most destructive fire in los angeles county history and the residents started the long road to recovery. today the county filed suit against the utility company southern california edison that it believes was the source of the deadly eaton fire. cbs's carter evans has been covering this story from the jump and joins us tonight from los angeles with tonight's interview. carter, let's start with these lawsuits. what exactly are they saying that southern california edison did here? >> reporter: you know, it seems like the county of los angeles and other cities like pasadena are jumping on the bandwagon. you can't turn on the tv right now or social media without seeing an ad for a lawsuit against socal edison. basically what they're claiming is that they allegedly were behind the cause of this fire.

and there's actually even some video evidence allegedly showing flames erupting at the base of some socal edison transmission towers right about the same time some so-called electrical anomalies occurred, and so that's what a lot of this is hinging on right now. this is something socal edison was required to self-report that they noticed these anomalies right after the fire started. >> john: and is there any precedent for this, being able to go after a utility company? >> reporter: there is a lot of precedent for this. pacific gas and electric comes to mind. the town fire that burned the town of paradise, they sued, big class action lawsuit against pg&e. the utility had to pay up, these are really really expensive lawsuits and what's coming out of these lawsuits is many utilities are determining it's probably a good idea to start burying these power lines underground. that's a very, very expensive proposition, but then again so are these lawsuits.

>> john: does socal edison do they say no it wasn't us, or what's their -- do they have a preliminary defense? >> reporter: i don't think they have a preliminary defense. i think what they are doing is investigating this as well. like i said, they had to self-report this. they had to report there were these anomalies and then this video surfaced, and that is even more damning here. that's why you're seeing so many lawsuits popping up against the utility right now especially once this video evidence got out there. >> john: it's been about a month since residents have been heading back. what's that recovery looking like? >> reporter: it really depends on who you ask. the first phase of the recovery went really quickly. the epa removing a lot of toxins from some of these burned homesites. they were able to get that done very quickly. removing things like paint, batteries, things like that that they could find in the debris. so the cleanup phase could begi. that is happening.

it's underway right now. but it's sporadic especially in the palisades right now. you'll see excavators in one lot and they're filling truckloads and truckloads of debris and scraping the soil down about 6 inches so they can get that homesite ready for rebuilding but there is lot of issues surrounding the debris as well. where do you take it? the people who live in the cities and communities where the landfills where they are taking this stuff are pretty frustrated right now. they are essentially saying don't bring the stuff in my backyard. >> john: carter evans for us in los angeles. thank you so much, carter. >> reporter: sure. >> john: next, my reporter's notebook when we come

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♪ ♪ >> john: donald trump has often been able to defy political gravity. will that be true when it comes to the economy? before his address to congress, warning signs were flashing. consumer confidence saw its biggest monthly drop in over four years. consumer spending fell more than any time since 2021. the atlanta fed forecast negative 3% growth. stock market gains since his election had vanished. with 77% of americans saying prices are outpacing their paychecks, trump's signature economic policy, tariffs, will drive prices even higher according to 73% of americans and nearly all economists. traditionally this would have dictated a speech with emergency lists of policy to combat these

trends and showy moments to convey to americans that the president felt their pain. this isn't all show. presidents respond to public concern with policies that help people. cbs polling showed high prices and the economy were the issues america wanted to hear about in the speech but trump's speech focused on longer timelines, his proposals, cutting regulations, and government jobs while boosting manufacturing and energy production will take time to yield results if they do at all. on tariffs, trump acknowledged short-term pain but said everything would work out in the end. this represents either a bold calculation or a misreading. politically, presidents clinton obama, biden, bush suffered by appearing tone-deaf because their long-term fixes didn't speak to people's immediate interns. but trump's address wasn't a traditional speech. it was a celebration, a victory lap for his party and supporters and they embraced it.

cbs polling showed the heavily republican viewership not only approved of the speech but believed he adequately addressed economic issues. but the country is made up of more than trump's political base. what is up for grabs is whether economic realities will conform to president trump's political narrative or whether even his political gravity-defying abilities will crash into the fundamental laws of economic and political physics. and that's tonight's "cbs evening news plus." thank you for joining us. i'm john dickerson. good night. ♪ ♪ right now on cbs news bay area, veterans across the country right here at home taking to the streeted to. we're going to hear from those who say it is a matter of life and

death. >> we have to stay strong and united. >> if we lose these folks, we're done. plus, we'll introduce you to a woman who bikes the streets of san francisco with her kids. hear her thoughts as the city expands their network for cyclists for the first time in 15 years. and meet the south bay pastor who started a cafe that is serving more than just coffee and snacks. >> it helps heal the whole person. i mean, we all want to be loved. >> how she has created a space for people to get the support they need to get off the streets and stay clean and sober. >> and a lot of vibrations on the bridge. you can feel it. >> oh my gosh, yes. group of young girls who would have a chance to explore the golden gate bridge to learn about science and engineering, all thanks to the golden state warriors.