"cbs evening news" is next take care family we will see you captioning sponsored by cbs >> mason: anatomy of an ambush. how terrorists in niger caught those four u.s. soldiers by surprise. >> no indication that this was going to occur. >> mason: and why help came too late to save them. also tonight, the president is accused of disrespecting one of those soalgers. -- soldiers. >> multiple people in the room believe the president was completely respectful. >> mason: a hotel security guard breaks his silence on the las vegas massacre. >> i was walking down. i heard rapid fire. >> mason: the n.f.l. commissioner on anthem protests. >> we believe that our players should stand. >> mason: and living stronger, the healing powers of these waters. >> i can tell an enormous difference in my energy level,

my outlook, my attitude. >> one, two, three... >> row! this is the "cbs evening news." >> mason: good evening. i'm anthony mason. they are four american heroes now at the center of the controversy over the president's treatment of fallen soldiers and their families. they were ambushed two weeks ago in niger where the u.s. has hundreds of troops as part of the war on terror. the circumstances of their deaths have been something of a mystery, but tonight david martin has new details of how it all went down. >> reporter: the four soldiers were killed conducting a patrol on which a pre-mission briefing slide said "no enemy contact expected." they were members of a team of u.s. advisers and soldiers from niger, about 40 in all, who set out to meet with local village leaders that day. according to the pentagon,

lieutenant general kenneth mackenzie had no reason to suspect trouble. >> the patrol attacked last week had done 29 patrols with no contact over the previous six months or some no indication this was going to occur. >> reporter: but they were ambushed by a band of fighters described in a report as "well-trained, well-equipped, and well-organized," a band which the pentagon mao believes was a local offshoot of isis. the patrol's vehicles were destroyed, and the soldiers were cut down as they tried the take cover. because no enemy contact had been expected, there were no armed aircraft overhead they could call on for their attackers. >> they were supposed to have air contact overhead. >> reporter: but by then it was too late the drop bombs. the patrol had the wait for french helicopters to pick up the mortally wounded soldiers. sergeants bryan black and dustin wright, both green beret, and

sergeant jeremiah johnson, the oldest at 39. black is survived by a wife and two sons, johnson by a wife and two daughters. the body of sergeant la david johnson was not recovered until two days later. he and his wife were expecting their third child. in hindsight it's obvious the patrol went out without enough back-up, but it will take an investigation to determine whether warning signs that an ambush was in the works had been missed. anthony? >> mason: david martin at the pentagon, thanks. the president called the families of all four soldiers, and he is denying accusations he was less than respectful to one of them. the white house said today chief of staff john kelly heard the call and thought what mr. trump said was "appropriate and respectful." here's major garrett. >> i didn't say what that congresswoman said. didn't say it at all. she knows it. >> reporter: myesha johnson, wind of staff sergeant la david johnson, grieved over her husband's casket yesterday as it

arrived home from niger. she also received a call from the president. congresswoman frederica wilson listened in. >> he never said the word "hero." he said to the wife, "well, i guess he knew what he was getting into." how insensitive can you be? >> reporter: sergeant johnson's mother confirmed the congresswoman's account to the "washington post." white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders said she did not have a recording of the conversation but did not specifically deny congresswoman wilson's charges. sanders did question the congresswoman's motives. >> i think it is appalling what the congresswoman has done and the way that she's politicized this issue and the way that she is trying to make this about something that it isn't. >> reporter: the president said nothing about the military deaths until he was asked monday, 12 days after the soldiers were killed. in his answer he implied other presidents did less. >> most of them didn't make

calls. a lot of them didn't make calls. >> reporter: then mr. trump said president obama never called marine general john kelly, now white house chief of staff, to offer condolences for the death of his son in afghanistan, a move many interpreted as politicizing the issue. sanders said kelly has grown weary of this week's controversy. >> i think that general kelly is disgusted by the way that this has been politicized. >> reporter: arnold wright, father of dustin wright, also killed in niger, told us president trump called him and said everything went well, describing the president as curious about what went wrong and cordial in offering condolences. the white house said the president is never satisfied with a mission that ends in the death of u.s. personnel. anthony? >> mason: major garrett at the white house, thanks. the f.b.i. posted wanted signs today on video screens along i-95 in the northeast. the hunt is on for man who allegedly shot three people to death and wounded three others in maryland and delaware.

kris van cleave is following this. >> reporter: police say 37-year-old radee labeed prince came into work at this edgewood, maryland, granite company and shot five of his coworkers a little before 9:00 a.m. the two survivors are in critical condition. kevin doyle was among first to call 911. >> i thought i heard some arguing or yelling back there behind the building. it didn't really catch my eye. then all of a sudden these guys came sprinting away from the building. >> he had worked here for four months. it was scheduled to be a regular work day. >> reporter: the sheriff wouldn't talk about reports that prince told workers to gather for a meeting before he opened fire with handgun. >> there is a individual out there on the loose that committed one of the most heinous acts we have seen in our country. certainly we consider him armed and dangerous. >> reporter: police say prince took off in a black gmc acadia s.u.v. like this one and dove 50 miles the wilmington, delaware, where investigators believe he shot a man twice.

the victim is expected the live, but cops say he was targeted by prince. wilmington police chief robert tracy. >> this is targeted. this individual knew the people he wanted to go shoot. this wasn't a random act of violence where the person went out indiscriminately and was shooting people up. >> reporter: maryland police say prince did have a criminal record, and we learned from court records in february a former employer sought a restraining order against prince after prince was fired from that job for punching a coworker. anthony? >> mason: kris van cleave, thanks. roger goodell faced the equivalent of fourth and long today, a tough decision to make regarding the national anthem protests. anna werner reports the n.f.l. commissioner chose to punt. >> we believe that our players should stand for the national anthem. >> reporter: but commissioner roger goodell says players who have been taking a knee won't be forced to stand during the anthem. the n.f.l.'s position drew this tweet from president trump, who said it showed "total

disrespect." the president this morning tweeted that both you and the league have disrespect for the country. is he wrong about that, and if so, why? >> well, as i just said, we respect our country. we respect our flag. we respect our national anthem. we all feel very strongly about our country and our pride, an we're going to continue to do that. ♪ o say can you see >> reporter: the players say they're kneeling to draw attention to racial and social inequality. goodell said team owners talking with players to gain a better understanding of their concern. philadelphia eagles' safety jencks. >> as players we want to use our platforms. we talked about how the owners could come alongside us an we could collectively, collaboratively work together to actually create some change. >> reporter: n.f.l. owners, faced with lower ratings, are split on the issue. san francisco 49ers' c.e.o. jed york says he will not force his players the stand, but dallas cowboys owner jerry jones

says players who do not stand will not play. sportswriter bill rhoden says as players take a stand, owners have few options. >> their product is the players. and if the players decide to act in unison, which they will if you tell them what to do, what not to do, they don't have a product. >> reporter: still unanswered is will the league intervene if an owner does discipline a player for taking a knee. goodell said, anthony, he can't deal in hypotheticals. >> mason: anna werner, thanks, anna. now to the opioid epidemic killing tens of thousands of americans every year. an attorney is fighting it in court. here's mark strassmann. >> reporter: as black market poison, opioids have become an american cradle-to-grave scourge. >> there is an opioid-addicted baby that's being born in a hospital right now. >> reporter: mike moore calls himself a country lawyer from mississippi. don't believe it. he's a 65-year-old david who has find his next goliath, the big

drug manufacturers. moore says the industry understated how addictive the painkillers could be. >> they said there was a study that showed that less than 1% of people taking opioids would get addicted if under a doctor's care. that turned out to be a big lie. it just wasn't true. >> reporter: who did they mislead? >> they misled the american public. they misled the doctors in this country. many of the doctors were duped. and frankly i think they misled the f.d.a. >> reporter: but one lawyer taking on a multi-billion dollar industry. it may sound like a mismatch, but don't believe that either. >> i don't believe nicotine in our products are addictive. >> reporter: in 1994, moore filed the first civil lawsuit against the industry. >> i believe nicotine is not addictive. >> reporter: for misrepresenting the dangers of smoking. he was mississippi's attorney general. 46 states eventually joined him. they won the largest class action settlement in history, $246 billion.

you are one man out there for a long time, right? >> my mama called me and told me it's time for me to come home. everybody thought i had gone absolutely nuts because nobody frankly had ever beaten them at all. but we had a just cause. >> reporter: now moore is pushing for a similar class action suit against the pharmaceutical industry. >> my hope is other states will join these efforts. >> reporter: he's convinced 11 states to sign on. >> it's a blunt instrument. it kind of pits people upside the head and gets their attention. sometimes that work. >> reporter: is there part of you that just likes being david? >> i love being david. these cases will get the truth out about this industry, and maybe we'll never repeat this in history. >> reporter: win or lose? >> win or lose. >> reporter: mark strassmann, cbs news, jackson, mississippi. >> mason: attorney general jeff sessions appeared before the senate judiciary committee. the grilling got around to russian interference in the u.s. ewill election and whether sessions had misled the panel about his contacts with the russian ambassador. here's nancy cordes. >> it was not a simple question.

>> reporter: attorney general jeff sessions may have recused himself from the russia investigation, but that did not stop democrats today from asking all about it. >> you'll have to ask the special counsel. >> no, i'm asking you. >> reporter: they wanted to know whether special counsel robert mueller has sought to interview sessions himself. >> i don't think so. >> you don't think so? are you sure? >> reporter: sessions classed most bitterly with minnesota's al franken. >> mr. chairman, i don't have to sit in here and listen to his -- >> you're the one who -- >> without having chance to respond in give me a break. >> reporter: franken accused sessions of changing his story about a meeting with were's ambassador during last year's campaign. >> not being able to recall what you discussed with him is very different than saying, "i have not had communications with the russians."

the ambassador from russia is russian. >> reporter: senators wanted to know how he plans to prevent future meddling. >> i don't know that we're doing a specific legislative review at this point. >> do you think it would be prudent? we have been warned. >> i think that is a suggestion. >> reporter: republican ben sasse asked if the u.s. is doing enough to combat russia interference online. >> probably not. we're not. >> reporter: sessions did eventually confirm in that hearing that he had not been asked to sit for an interview in connection with the russia probe, but he said he's committed to cooperating and reiterated he had no improper conversations with any russian about the 2016 campaign. anthony? >> mason: nancy cordes on capitol hill, thanks. still ahead on the "cbs evening news," the las vegas massacre, a

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>> reporter: campos took a hallway and radioed a maintenance engineer to check the bracketed door. moments later stephen paddock opened fire. >> i felt a burning sensation. i went to go lift my pant leg up, and i saw the blood. that's when i called it in on my radio that shots had been fired. and i was going to say that i was hit, but i got off my cell phone to clear the radio traffic so they could coordinate the rest of the call. >> reporter: campos took cover an then saw maintenance worker steven schuck get off the elevator. >> take cover, take cover. >> reporter: we also heard a female guest come out of a door. campos immediately told her to take cover. many believe campos diverted the gunman's attention before paddock killed 58 penal. campos believes a slamming door alerted the shooter to his whereabouts. he did not clarify any of the

details of the changing time line of the shooting, including whether mandalay bay did, in fact, call police that night. anthony, he says this is his one and only interview. >> mason: still a lot of unanswered questions. jamie yuccas, thanks. when we come back, a drive into a blast furnace.if the things you own? or the people that fill it with meaning? for 150 years, generations of families have chosen pacific life for retirement and life insurance solutions. protecting what's most important to you. that's the power of pacific. ask a financial advisor about pacific life. but he's got work to do. with a sore back. so he took aleve this morning. if he'd taken tylenol, he'd be stopping for more pills right now.

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>> mason: the california wildfires are now blamed for 42 deaths, another body was found today in one of the 6,000 destroyed homes. and a fire crew shared video of what they encountered battling the flames in santa rosa. here's adriana diaz. >> reporter: berkeley firefighters thought they were responding to a grass fire, but instead they drove in to an inferno. this was a kmart, and this fireball a gas station. >> i can actually feel that heat. >> reporter: this rare account of the first moments on scene were reported by firefighter

mike shuken. >> i think the first thing we were feeling was disbelief. >> that's over 100 homes. >> reporter: what was it that you were looking at that took your beth away? >> we were expecting to see a row of house, a structure, a school, something we could save. that was if most discouraging part, because that's what we do. we go out and we help people. at that point there was no one to help. >> reporter: there was nothing left. >> nothing that homes that were vanished, homes that were vaporized. >> oh, no. >> reporter: neighborhoods eviscerated on the ground now looked like grids of gray ash from the air. >> oh, my gosh. you can't even tell there were houses here. >> reporter: we saw the scope from the sky in a national guard helicopter. >> this literally looks like a bomb hit this neighborhood. report but there was one bright spot. shuken's team stopped the flames from advancing. >> that was the greatest moment, when we finally found that row of houses where we said, this is it, this is where we can make a difference. we can stop this fire from spreading further.

>> reporter: firefighter shuken says he was struck by the random path of the fire. it obliterated homes like this one while leaving the ones just next door completely untouched. anthony? >> mason: those firefighters did amazing work. adriana diaz, thanks. up next, the battle of their lives. you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia, that can take you out of the game for weeks, even if you're healthy. pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that in severe cases can lead to hospitalization. it may hit quickly, without warning, causing you to miss out on the things you enjoy most. prevnar 13® is not a treatment for pneumococcal pneumonia... it's a vaccine you can get to help protect against it. prevnar 13® is approved for adults to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause

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stroke. do you think it is lengthening your life? >> the exercise? >> reporter: yeah? >> yes, i do. i do. >> reporter: and lengthening her life is the point for amber gallman these days. >> i'm stage four, so i'll never be done with treatment. i'm going to be in treatment for the rest of my life. >> reporter: amber and her friends are members of recovery on water. about 80 women in all ages 40 and older all diagnosed with breast cancer. some, like amber, have had double mastectomies and continue in treatment. others are in remission. >> row. >> reporter: and while rowing may seem a bit taxing for people like them, the benefits are apparent. >> i can tell an enormous difference in my energy level, my outlook, my attitude, keeping my body healthy and active is my top priority now, and i'm a much happier person for it. i think it's a phenomenal idea. >> reporter: dr. sarah friedewald is an oncologist at

northwestern memorial hospital. >> being competitive just helps your endorphins and gets your body ready to fight the next fight. >> one, two, three... >> row! >> reporter: on a recent saturday, amber and her mates competed against healthy rowers for the best time. they didn't exactly set any speed record, but remember, these women are in another race, a competition in which every second is precious. could you have imagined yourself doing this? >> no. no way. >> reporter: it's opened a window on a fawch -- a future that amber gallman hopes to experience. >> it's an amazing opportunity to be out there and the have the strength to do it and to know that we can do this. it's indescribable really. >> reporter: this was her first race, an she says it won't be her last. dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. >> mason: we hope the race goes on. that's the "cbs evening news." i'm anthony mason. thanks for watching. good night.

cbs-3. live, and uninterrupted the new jersey gubernatorial debate, sponsored by cbs two, cbs-3, wcbs news radio 880, 1010 wins, north jersey.com and william paterson university. here is your moderators, cbs two's christine johnson. good evening, to you, we are coming to you live, from the campus of the william paterson university in wayne, new jersey. where the candidates for governor will face off in the final debate before the election. now this debate is sanctioned by elect, new jersey