>> mason: harvey takes aim at texas. >> reporter: the city of galveston continues to get pounded by the outer bands of hurricane harvey. >> the national weather service says high winds could make home uninhabitable for days, even months. >> you have your family to think about. you need to make the right decision and get out of dodge. >> mason: the storm surge could reach 12 feet. >> this is going to be a very major disaster. >> reporter: what is your worst-case scenario here. >> harvey. >> mason: also tonight, amazon is about to upend the shopping cart. and steve hartman's "on the road" with the moon, the sun, and a budding star in astronomy.

>> 1% left? oh, my god, it's so dark. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> mason: good evening. i'm anthony mason. harvey is just hours from blasting the gulf coast of texas. it's grown into a life-threatening category 3 hurricane. this image from the international space station gives a sense of its size and power. 22 million are in its path. storm surges up to 12 feet are predicted in some places, up to 40 inches of rain over several days, winds over 120 miles an hour. the national weather service warns some residents may not be able to return to their homes for weeks or months. taed, people fled the central texas coast ahead of the brunt of hurricane harvey. we have a team of correspondents following this. first, david begnaud in corpus christi. david. >> reporter: anthony, i just got off the phone with corpus christi police who told me they

are not responding to calls for emergency service because of the current weather conditions. an extreme wind warning has just been issued. in fact, the coast guard says they've already rescued 12 people offshore. if you live here and you're looking to get out, the free bus rides are over. the city has discontinued that, telling people if you haven't left already, it is too late to get out safely. as high winds and rain churn up waves there, a rush to get out of corpus christi. for some it's too late. streets are already flooding. the national weather service says winds could leave homes uninhabitable for weeks or even months. storm surge could reach 12 feet. that's strong enough to wash away vehicles. >> this is going to be a very major disaster. >> reporter: texas governor greg abbott has asked for a presidential disaster declaration. >> we are going to be dealing with really record-setting flooding. >> reporter: fears of a power outage forced the sickest babies at a children's hospital to be moved out of the hurricane's

path. others are heeding the warnings and evacuating at their own. at this receiving center jessica rod expreegz her three children waited for buses to take thel to a shelter in san antonio. are you scared? >> very, but i try to be strong because i don't want my children to see and, you know, they get scared and then it's-- you know, have them scared. i just have to be a strong mother for them. >> reporter: the eye of hurricane harvey is said to be 10 miles wide. that means if you're in the eye where it's calm, you could be in the eye for an hour until it passes over you. by the way, in the town of rockport not far from here where there's a mandatory evacuation, the city manager has told people who have decided to stay behind to write their social security numbers on their arms in case that's the only way they can be identified. >> reporter: i'm manuel bojorquez in victoria, texas, about 20 miles from the coast, but that won't stop the worst of hurricane harvey. on top of winds up to 105 miles per hour, this city is expected

to receive not inches but feet of rain. the first signs of hurricane harvey were the last bit of convincing melissa nunez and serafin montoya needed to evacuate. at what point did you decide, "we have to go?" >> right now. >> right now. >> reporter: right now. victoria is in the bull's eye of harvey's rain with 20-30 inches expected over the next 72 hours. that's as much reason as the city receives in a year. the flooding is expected to be worse than victoria's 1998 disaster. what is your worst-case scenario here. >> well, you could h-a-r-v-e-"y." hoos about as worst case nawr joe for a community like victoria. i have been working hurricanes and emergencies here for 17 years. it's the most dangerous forecast we've ever seen.

>> reporter: as if a hurricane weren't bad enough, tornadoes are also a threat. tonight, there are warnings and watches from texas to louisiana. anthony. >> mason: manuel bojorquez in victoria. galveston's ship channel is the busiest in the country, and tonight it is closed. a website that tracks marine traffic shows dozens of ships, those red dots that you see, forced to wait out the storm very much in harvey's path. demarco morgan is in galveston. demarco. >> reporter: good evening, anthony. the wend has started to pick up once again, and the high tide is coming in, and the only thing separating the gulf of mexico from the city of galveston is this 17-foot-high seawall. >> shelter in place. shelter in your house. >> reporter: galveston mayor james yarbrough says they are expecting from 15-20 inches of rain and seven feet of storm surge, but the city hasn't issued a mandatory evacuation. it's 2:30 here in the galveston,

and the city continues to get pounded by the outer bands of hurricane harvey. we've already had two tornado warnings issued but the people here are saying they're going to ride it out. their biggest concern-- storm surge. >> the wind is not going to be the dominant feature here. it's the water. >> reporter: about an hour northwest of galveston, houston with over two million residents could get 20 inches of rain over the next several days. >> hopefully, this is a wake-up call but it could become an absolute horror movie. >> reporter: jim blackburn is codirector of the storm prediction center. he says the infrastructure won't be able to take a hit from harvey. >> if we reach those levels, we could see the worst environmental disaster in united states history and would probably shut down and cause a major gap in gasoline. >> reporter: the storm has already impacted oil and gas production with at least 86 offshore oil platforms now shut down. fears of fuel shortages have resulted in spiking gas prices. prices on the gulf coast just

hit a one-year high. anthony, the severe weather center here has another major concern. if the storm hits back out into the gulf and regains strength, that could mean a direct hit for galveston. >> mason: demarco morgan, thanks, demarco. scott padgett is chief meteorologist at our cbs station in dallas-fort worth, ktvt. scott. >> anthony, we are continuing to track hurricane harvey right now, pushing very close to making landfall. as we zoom our way on in, you're able to see that center portion of the eyewall just offshore, drifting its way closer towards corpus christi and to near rockport. those feeder bands have been working all day today. this is the velocity at home as you're look at this with me, the winds away from the rader, this brighter pink color, and then towards, i've sampled some of those winds just above the surface, near 119 miles per hour. the center of circulation weakens about 20 miles southeast of the barrier islands as harvey continues to turn its way closer

to making sure. as you take a look right now, strt of circulation estimated about 50 miles east-southeast of corpus christi, moving to the northwest by 10. by late tonight, in the morning hours, major hurricane still onshore. by sunday a tropical storm moving back around to where it makes landfall by monday afternoon. then, by it tuesday, possibly still a tropical storm, and closer towards houston, going into wednesday of next week. here's my future sky forecast, landfall possibly boy later on tonight between 11 and near two and possibly 35 inches of rain and that dangerous storm surge. anthony. >> mason: scary numbers. scott padgett of ktvt. thanks. heavy rains next week could potentially whment troubled drainage system in new orleans. the city suffered devastating floods earlier this month when 17 of its drainage pumps failed to work after a severe downpour. 14 pumps are still offline tonight. hurricane harvey is the first natural disaster that president trump has faced.

the president plans to visit texas next week, and his team wants to avoid the mistakes of the past. here's major garrett. >> reporter: as floodwater and desperation engulfed new orleans in the aftermath of hurricane katrina, the inept federal response was enclaspalated in this now-infamous remark from president george w. bush to then-fema director michael brown: >> and, brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. the fema director is working 24-- ( applause ) >> reporter: the failures of katrina haunt emergency planners to this day, so much so, white house homeland security adviser tom bossert felt compelled to say this today: >> now is not the time to lose faith in your government institutions. >> reporter: president trump confronts his first emergency management test without a permanent homeland security secretary. john kelly vacated the post to become the president's chief of staff. earlier this month, the president toured fema headquarters for a hurricane preparedness briefing. >> we're very strongly respect

fema. >> all of the mayors and governors saw what happened in katrina, and they're not going to let that happen. >> reporter: david paulison headed fema after katrina and until 2009. he says that storm changed management procedures. >> before, we waited for the local community to become overwhelmed before the state stepped in, and waited for the state to become overwhelmed before the federal government stepped in. >> reporter: the fastest way for the federal government to step in is for the president to sign a major gaft disafter declaration. that would release federal funds for reconstruction, even before damage occurs. the texas governor has asked for this, as have texas' two republican senators. the president, monitoring the storm from camp david, is still reviewing that request. anthony. >> mason: major garrett at the white house. thanks. cbs news will continue to cover hurricane harvey tonight on our streaming network cbsn, our website, cbsnews.com, and tomorrow on "cbs this morning saturday." in another important story, late

today, the trump administration issued formal guidelines for transgender service members. they are a slight step back from the outreet ban the president announced in a tweet last month. effective immediately, the rule against recruiting transgender individuals has been renewed. the military will no longer pay for sex-reassignment surgery, and the status of current transgender service members will be reviewed over the next six months. on monday, amazon forly takes over whole foods in a deal worth nearly $14 billion. the online giant says it will immediately roll back prices on items, including bananas, eggs, salmon, and beef. for more on this, we turn to cbs news financial contributor mellody hobson. mellody, lower prices on monday, sounds like the price war is already under way. >> what i would say is they're coming out swinging. and they're making it very clear that they understand in order to be accessible for more americans, they need lower

preeses. they are known to have prices that are as much as 15% more than their competition, and that's just not going to make it. so i am sure when they thought about buying this company, they had this pricing strategy in mind. >> mason: amazon has changed so much about the retail business, mellody. what does this mean for the grocery business now? >> i think the grocery business is in tough shape. if you are not walmart, which is the largest brick-and-mortar retailer, with 20% mark share in gross reerk or amazon, the biggest online retailer-- which does not have a lot in grocery, but is obviously put something stakes in the groundue are nay much different pos than those who are in the middle, stuck in the middle. >> mason: mellody, is amazon trying to take on walmart here? >> i would say it's amazon trying to catch up with walmart in groceries, specifically, where warm really does dominate. they are coming from behind. but they are formidable. you don't ever count walmart or

amazon out. >> mason: will the consumer ultimately come out ahead in the end here? >> i hope so. certainly on pricing, the early signsignssigns are it's better e consumer. but the one thing you have to wonder about, is as they weed out the bigger chains, less competition is never a great thing so we have to see how it all sorts out. >> mason: mellody hobson, thanks very much. coming up next on the cbs evening news, what's at stake in the mayweather-mcgregor fight. and steve hartman finds a different angle on the great serial eclipse. with an ingredient helps your brain originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. except when it comes to retirement. at fidelity, you get a retirement score in just 60 seconds.

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mcgregor. carter evans has a preview. >> that's a $3 million fighter. it's an $800 million fighter. >> reporter: the verbal sparring began long before the first punch is thrown. >> you can't even read! >> reporter: for last two months, floyd mayweather and conor mcgregor had been on a trash-talking tour. >> conor mcgregor, you can't disrespect black people, period. >> reporter: promoting the unusual match-up between a mixed martial arts champion and a man who many consider to be the best pound-per-pound boxer in history. >> after 21 years, i've been hit with everything, and i'm still right here. >> it's the unknown factor that's part of the interest. >> reporter: al bernstein is announcing the fight for showtime, a division of cbs. >> conor mcgregor is a complete unknown in a boxing ring. and mayweather is 40 years old, off a two-year layoff. >> reporter: that one-two punch is helping create intense

anticipation, and big money. pay-per-view sales will likely be the largest ever, surpassing mayweather's bout with manny pacquiao, which earned more than $400 million. as for the fighters, mayweather, the overwhelming favorite, is eyeing a $200 million to $300 million pay day. mcgregor could win up to $1had been million, win or lose, but he'll have to stick to boxing rules-- no kicking. ticket sales have been slower than expected at a time when the struggling sport of boxing exweedz a knockout. who stands to benefit from this from a business perspective, boxing or m.m.a.? >> it's interesting, there's more pressure i think on mayweather and boxing than there is on mcgregor and mixed martial arts because it's a boxing match and because mayweather is the favorite. >> reporter: a group of 100 ringside doctors say mcgregor is so overmatched that they're concerned that this fight shouldn't happen at all. he never boxed professionally

before and they're worried he could be seriously injured. anthony. >> mason: carter, that's one heck of a payday. coming up, baseball players who slugged it out on the field slugged it out on the field yesterday, were hit with penalties today.

. >> mason: the player in volkswagen's emission scandal was sentenced today. a judge in detroit gave engineer robert lang 40 months in prison and fined him $200,000. the judge says lang knew v.w. was using software to cheat emissions standards and worked to cover it up. also today, a court in south korea sentenced the acting head of samsung to five years in prison for bribery and embezzlement. he has been running samsung since his father went into a coma. his crimes are part of a massive corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of south korea's president last year. major league baseball handed out punishments for yesterday's

brawl-filled game in detroit. two tyingers and two yankees players were suspended. the tigers' michelle carter got seven games, gary sanchez got 40. 12 players, coaches, and managers were fined an undisclosed amount. "on the road" is next. steve hartman watches the eclipsz through the eyes of an expert. only dr. scholl's has massaging gel insoles that provide all-day comfort to keep him feeling more energized. dr. scholl's. born to move. start here. at fidelity, we let you know where you stand, so when it comes to your retirement plan, you'll always be absolutely...clear. it's your retirement. know where you stand. you'll always be absolutely...clear. and life's beautiful moments.ns get between you

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your body was made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz is right for you. xeljanz is a small pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can reduce joint pain and swelling in as little as two weeks, and help stop further joint damage. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. xeljanz can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate, and is also available in a once-daily pill. ask about xeljanz xr. my dad called them up and asked for "the jennifer garner card"

which is such a dad thing to do. after he gave his name the woman from capital one said "mr. garner, are you related to jennifer?" kind of joking with him. and my dad was so proud to tell her, "as a matter of fact, she is my middle daughter". so now dad has the venture card, he's earning his double miles, and he made a friend at the company. can i say it? go ahead! what's in your wallet? nice job dad. >> mason: our week ends as it began-- with an awesome display of nature. steve hartman's caught monday's solar eclipse with an expert "on the road." >> reporter: under that wonderful, waning, midday sun... >> i think it started. >> i think so. >> reporter: a nine-year-old

boy is about to have the greatest experience of his little lifetime, a kid so into astronomy, he takes his planet book to swimming lessons, dressed up as the solar system for halloween, and made his third-grade new year's resolution to get a shrewd idea. >> it's basically a theory of have not one but an infinite number of universes. >> reporter: and you would like it understand it it better. >> yes, which i already have done. >> reporter: this is george. my son. can you explain it to me some day? >> i will. >> and me. >> reporter: and that is his little brother, emmett, who would much rather be discussing anything else. >> it's just getting tiring for the whole space. >> reporter: for emmett and the rest of us hartmans it's like living in an astrophysics lecture hall. >> junk matter is holding them together. >> another i'm out of here. >> reporter: we all laugh about it but it has been a marvel to witness.

you see, george is autistic, and one of the blessings of autism is this ability, shared by many like him, to find overwhelming joy in the most under-overwhelming minutia. >> by a strange coincidence the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun but 400 times closer to the earth. where is the sun now? >> reporter: given all that, we made a road trip this week to central nebraska, found a nice lady who let us use her farm, and waited with the locals. is this everything you ever dreamed? it was the perfect setting. >> not me. >> reporter: perfect at least for most of us. and as the moon made its way to stardom, i saw something truly marvelous. >> dad, it's so cool! >> reporter: so much of parenting is saying no and forcing vegetables. but on rare occasion, the heavens align, and you're in the perfect position to feed a passion. >> 1% left. oh, my god! it's so dark! >> reporter: i know a lot of people looked up and saw something remarkable this week. >> look up there!

>> reporter: but for mothers and fathers like me. >> totality! >> reporter: the more beautiful site was looking over at the reaction of our precious earthlings. >> oh, boy. >> reporter: steve hartman, on the road-- >> now, can we go? >> reporter: in litchfield, nebraska. >> let's go. >> mason: that's when it's great being a dad. i think george is going to explain the multiverse to us all some day. that's the cbs evening news. i'm anthony mason. we'll continue to follow hurricane harvey tonight on our streaming network cbsn, on our website, cbsnews.com, and on "cbs this morning" saturday," where i'll see you first thing tomorrow morning. thanks for watching. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

tonight, taylor's revenge. calling out her enemies. who she's putting on blast. we crack the code to her newest song. with all the katy taylor talk why sunday's vmas could turn into a showdown. then why kevin hart says his new co-stars could cost him big bucks. . plus the property brothers give a tour of their vegas mansion. and melissa mccarthy's stunt woman. >> i try to do as much as i can until someone says, you're not doing that. what's the matter with you?