from new york here's anthony mason, we will see you tonight captioning sponsored by cbs >> he called four people the other day and expressed his condolences in the best way that he could. >> mason: a four-star general and a gold star father gives an emotional defense of the commander in chief. >> i was stunned when i came to work yesterday morning and broken-hearted at what i saw a member of congress doing. >> mason: also tonight, a former president raises an alarm about the direction of the country. >> bigotry seems emboldened. our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories, and outright fabrication. >> mason: and historic change in the deep south. a school that long honored a confederate icon is renamed for america's first black president. >> the kids voted? >> yes, they voted.

this is the "cbs evening news." mason: good evening. i'm anthony mason. it was an extraordinary scene at the white house today, chief of staff john kelly, whose son was killed in afghanistan, defended president trump's handling of a condolence call to the widow of a fallen soldier. the retired general blasted the congresswoman who had criticized the president, florida democrat frederica wilson, as an empty barrel, saying it makes the most noise. kelly said he'd recommended early on that the president not call families of the fallen, but mr. trump told him he wanted to call the families of the four soldiers killed two weeks ago in niger. >> and he said to me, "what do i say?" i said to him, "sir, there's nothing you can do to lighten the burden on these families." but let me tell you what i tell

them. he was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. he knew what he was getting into by joining the-- that 1%. he knew what the possibilities were because we're at war. and when he died, in the four cases we're talking about in niger, and in my son's case in afghanistan-- when he died he was surrounded by best men on this earth-- his friends. that's what the president tried to say to a-- to four families the other day. i was stunned when i came to work yesterday morning and broken hearted at what i saw a member of congress doing. a member of congress who listened in on a phone call from the president of the united states to a young wife. and in his way, tried to express

that opinion that he's a brave man, a fallen hero. he knew what he was getting himself into because he enlisted. there was no reason to enlist. he enlisted. and he was where he wanted to be, exactly where he wanted to be with exactly the people he wanted to be with when his life was taken. that was the message. that was the message that was transmitted. >> mason: the controversy over presidential condolence calls began with a reporter's question about those deaths in niger. here's nancy cordes. >> reporter: the four u.s. soldiers were ambushed during a routine patrol just over two weeks ago by 50 isis-connected fighters. >> our thoughts and prayers are with. >> reporter: but for 12 days, the president himself said nothing about the deaths-- no tweets, no statements-- until he was asked about his silence at a rose garden press conference on monday. >> i'm going to be calling them. i want a little time to pass. i'm going to be calling them. >> reporter: but then he made

this explosive claim about his predecessors: >> the traditional way, if you look at president obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls, a lot of them didn't make calls. >> reporter: the comment drew instant fury from top obama frnlz one said, stop the damn lying." another called him "a deranged animal." but the president wouldn't back down, offering up his own chief of staff as proof. kelly's second, secretary lieutenant robert kelly, was killed in afghanistan in 2010. >> you could ask general kelly, did he get a call from obama? you could ask other people. i don't know what obama's policy was. i write letters, and i also call. >> reporter: on tuesday, president trump did call la david johnson's widow as he was riding to miami airport to retrieve her husband's body. democratic congresswoman frederica wilson happened to be in the car. >> 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: she said his tone made johnson's widow cry. president trump said wilson was making it up. >> didn't say what that congresswoman said. didn't say it at all. she knows it. >> reporter: but the fallen soldier's mother told "the washington post" he did say it, and wilson said five other people were in the car, too. >> i don't have time to go back and forth with the president. i have work to do. he has work to do, too. so he needs to do it, like i'm doing mine. >> reporter: general kelly didn't dispute wilson's account of the call today, but said she shouldn't have listened in on such a sensitive phone call. asked about that in florida, the congresswoman told a reporter, "john kelly's trying to do his job and keep it. he'll say anything." anthony. >> mason: nancy cordes. thank you, nancy. general kelly began his defense of the president with a gripping and emotional explanation of what happens when american service members are killed in

action. >> their buddies wrap them up in whatever passed as a shroud, puts them on a helicopter as a routine, and sends him home. their first stop along the way is when they're packed in ice, typically at the air head, and then they're flown to usually europe, where they're then packed in ice again, and flown to dover air force base, where dover takes care of the remains, embalms them, meticulously dresses them in their uniform with the medals that they've earned, the emblems of their service, and then puts them on another airplane, linked up with the casualty officer escort that takes them home. while that's happening, a casualty officer typically goes to the home very early in the

morning and waits for the first lights to come on. and then he knocks on the door, typically the mom and dad will answer-- wife-- and the casualty officer proceeds to break the heart of a family member. and stays with that family until-- well, for a long, long time, even after the internment. so that's what happens. typically the only phone calls the family receives are the most important phone calls they can imagine, and that is from their buddies. in my case, hours after my son was killed, his friends were calling us from afghanistan telling us what a great guy he was. those are the only phone calls that really matter. and, yeah, the-- the letters count to a degree, but there's not much that really can take the edge off what a family member is going through. so some presidents have elected

to call. all presidents, i believe, have elected to send letters. if you elect to call a family like this, it is about the most difficult thing you could imagine. there's no perfect way to make that phone call. it stuns me that a member of congress would have listened in on that conversation, absolutely stuns me. when i listen to this woman and what she was saying and what she was doing on tv, the only thing i could do to collect my thoughts was to go and walk among the finest men and women on this earth, and you can always find them, because they're in arlington national cemetery. i went over there for an hour and a half, walked among the stones, som some of whom were dg what i told them to do when they were killed. and i appeal to america let's not maybe let this last thing that's held sacred in our society-- a young man, young

woman going out and giving his or her life for our country-- let's try to somehow keep that-- keep that sacred. >> mason: general kelly confirmed that when his son died he did not get a call from president obama. kelly said he does not mean that as a criticism of mr. obama. former president george w. bush made a rare appearance today and was sharply critical of the political tone in the country. here's margaret brennan. >> bigotry seems emboldened. our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories, and outright fabrication. >> reporter: today, the 43rd president made no mention of the 45th, but his focus was clear. >> we've seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty. at times it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. >> reporter: he suggested that an america first mindset is distorting our democracy. >> we've seen nationalism

distorted into nativism, forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to america. >> reporter: there was no specific reference to president trump's mantra. >> that was fake news. >> reporter: but president bush pointedly called on journalists to uphold their integrity for the sake of the republic. >> a democracy needs a media that is transparent, accurate, and fair. >> reporter: a similar call to arms was made by another senior republican earlier this week, senator john mccain. >> for the sake of some half-baked spurious nationalism, cooked up by people who would rather find scape goats than solve problems. >> reporter: today, former president barack obama also spoke out. >> the world counts on america having its act together. >> reporter: appearing at a democratic rally in new jersey, he urged young voters to fight back. >> we are rejecting a politics of division. we are rejecting a politics of fear.

( applause ) that we are embracing a politics that says everybody counts. >> reporter: president bush said he believes the american spirit will ultimately prevail. >> the american spirit does not say, "we shall manage." or "we shall make the best of it." it says, "we shall overcome," and that is exactly what we're going to do. >> reporter: it is a standard rule for presidents not to criticize their successors. but, perhaps, this is another example where the standard rules no longer apply. anthony. >> mason: margaret brennan. thank you, margaret. we're joined now by john dickerson, our chief washington correspondent and anchor of "face the nation." general kelly's unexpected appearance in the briefing room was deeply personal and political and expressed real regret that this debate had crossed into what he considered sacred ground. >> well, what general kelly was talking about and specific today was a broader, more general

fear, that secretary of defense mattis has been worried about for some time. he said one of the things that worries him the most is that political fights are now permanent and there has been a split in america that is forgetting our common humanity. everything is a chance to score a point. and thankfully, secretary mattis has said, the military has not been corroded by that constant combat. but that may have now changed because this recent back-and-forth touches on this most-sacred part of public life-- a commitment by men and women to offer their life for their country. no one wants to cheapen that. but now we're in the third round or so of this fight in which heech side is looking for the devastating blow to score against the other. the only way that these get reset is if someone shows restraint or extends a hand to the other side in the name of that sacred sacrifice that mr. kelly was talking about today. >> mason: the backdrop, meanwhile, was different, but we just saw president bush express similar concerns about some of the same issues. >> well, general kelly at one

point talked about the standards that have fallen away in america, the norms that have guided behavior. and what president bush was doing was essentially making the same case. his speech was a call to action. his argument was america had gone off track. he said the health of the democratic spirit of at stake. overseas this meant, according to president bush, that america needs to keep up its historical role promotin promoting and figr common values overseas, and not to turn inward. at home, the president said, that those values need to be cultivated, too, through institutions and leaders, or else through these win-at-all-cost arguments we will forget our common humanity. >> mason: an emotional day in washington. john dickerson. thank you very much, john. the american soldiers killed in niger were helping that country's military combat islamic militants. the tales of the ambush have been slow to emerge, including the military's immediate response. david martin has what we know so far. >> reporter: after the bodies of three american soldiers had

been brought out, pentagon officials believed sergeant la david johnson was still alive somewhere on the battlefield. for several hours, they tracked a locater beacon which then became intermittent and finally faded out. by the time they found him two days later, he was dead, raising the awful possibility an american soldier had been left behind air, possibility which the pentagon's lieutenant general kenneth mckenzie flatley reject. >> i'll tell you categorically that from the moment of contact, no one was left behind, either u.s., our partner, nigerian forces, or french forces, were on the ground actively searching for the soldiers. >> reporter: according to defense secretary mattis, the first reinforcements to arrive were french aircraft, starting about 30 minutes after the ambush was reported. >> the french response included fighter-- armed fighter aircraft, armed helicopter gunships, medevac he'lloze that lifted our our wounded.

>> the first to arrive was a helicopter operated by a u.s. contractor who had been hired to provide support to the 1,000 american troops operating across a country the size of texas. >> we did have a contract aircraft that lifted out our killed in action. >> reporter: one question for which there is no answer yet is whether warning signs an ambush was in the workses were missed. pentagon officials say an american reconnaissance aircraft was in the air, but it was not watching over the patrol until it was called in after the ambush started. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >> mason: still ahead, important health news. and harvey weinstein now faces a criminal investigation. so let me ask you this... how does diabetes affect your heart? it doesn't, does it? actually, it does. type 2 diabetes can make you twice as likely to die from a cardiovascular event, like a heart attack or stroke. and with heart disease,

your risk is even higher. you didn't know that. no. yeah. but, wait, there's good news for adults who have type 2 diabetes and heart disease. jardiance is the only type 2 diabetes pill with a lifesaving cardiovascular benefit. jardiance is proven to both significantly reduce the chance of dying from a cardiovascular event in adults who have type 2 diabetes and heart disease and lower your a1c. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration. this may cause you to feel dizzy, faint, or lightheaded, or weak upon standing. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, and trouble breathing. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of ketoacidosis or an allergic reaction. symptoms of an allergic reaction include rash, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. other side effects are sudden kidney problems, genital yeast infections, increased bad cholesterol, and urinary tract infections, which may be serious. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take

and if you have any medical conditions. so now that you know all that, what do you think? that it's time to think about jardiance. ask your doctor about jardiance. and get to the heart of what matters. something we all think about as we head into retirement. it's why brighthouse financial is committed to help protect what you've earned and ensure it lasts. introducing shield annuities, a line of products that allow you to take advantage of growth opportunities. while maintaining a level of protection in down markets. so you can head into retirement with confidence. talk with your advisor about shield annuities from brighthouse financial established by metlife. >> mason: if you're able to walk 10 minutes a day, you can reduce the risk of an early death. that's according to a study out today from the american cancer society. dr. jon lapook says every step you take is one in the right

direction. >> reporter: on a chilly morning in new jersey, the duke island park walking group is off to a brisk start. >> beautiful! >> reporter: 75-year-old bonnie berger, and her husband, larry, are right in the mix. they try to walk a little bit every single day. >> sometimes i laugh when people are chugging along, running by us, sweating, dripping, i'm going-- walk! walk! why are you killing yourself? >> reporter: she may have a point. in the study of nearly 140,000 older men and women, almost half of them reported walking as their only form of exercise. those who walked on average only an hour a week, less than half the recommended amount of exercise, had a 21% lower risk of premature death than those who did no exercise. and it wasn't power walking. the average mile in the study group took 20 minutes. dr. alice cohen is an oncologist add can thnewark beth israel mel center. >> we start to see benefit by

doing a little bit, which is an encouragement, because many people, particularly older people, it's hard for them to start a new exercise program that's aggressive. i will counsel my patients that they should do walking 30 minutes at least three times a week. i think with this study now we can show them it does appear to make a difference. >> reporter: bottom line-- the best exercise is the one you actually do. so what's easier on cheaper than simply going out for a stroll? anthony. >> mason: walk! why are you killing yourself? dr. jon lapook, thanks. dr. jon lapook, thanks. up next, the widening investigation of harvey weinstein. ♪go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way" with anoro. ♪go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. anoro is not for asthma .

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>> mason: police in los angeles said today they're investigating harvey weinstein for an alleged sexual assault in 2013 and have interviewed a possible victim they did not identify. the movie mogul has denied allegations of non-consensual sex. also today, staff members from the movie company weinstein cofounded asked to be let out of

their nondisclosure agreements so they can speak openly about alleged abuse. and filmmaker quentin tarantino told "the new york times" he knew about weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct for decades and is now ashamed that he kept working with him. up next, students exercise the rights and duties of citizenship to change their school. and i can do it with what's already within me. because my body can still make its own insulin. and once-weekly trulicity activates my body to release it. trulicity is not insulin. it comes in a once-weekly, truly easy-to-use pen. it works 24/7, and you don't have to see or handle a needle. trulicity is a once-weekly injectable medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it should not be the first medicine to treat diabetes or for people with type 1 diabetes

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i have no idea how we're going to get through this. follow me. unitedhealthcare has the people and tools to help guide you through the confusion. well that wasn't so bad at all. that's how we like it. unitedhealthcare. when i feel controlled by frequent, unpredictable abdominal pain or discomfort and diarrhea. i tried lifestyle changes and over-the-counter treatments, but my symptoms keep coming back. it turns out i have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. a condition that's really frustrating. that's why i talked to my doctor about viberzi... ...a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both abdominal pain and diarrhea at the same time. so i can stay ahead of my symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. do not take viberzi if you have no gallbladder,

have pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with alcohol abuse, long-lasting or severe constipation, or a bowel or gallbladder blockage. pancreatitis may occur and can lead to hospitalization and death. if you are taking viberzi, you should not take medicines that cause constipation. the most common side effects of viberzi include constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain. stay ahead of ibs-d with viberzi. >> mason: we end tonight in jackson, mississippi, with a lesson in civics taught by students who wanted historic change. here's omar villafranca. >> reporter: the davis magnet school is the pride of the jackson public school district. it's one of the best-performing public elementary schools in the state of mississippi. but for some parents, like

ercilla hendrix, there was still one problem: >> the name. >> reporter: jefer-- jefferson davis magnet school. that's because 98% of the students here are african american. ty did his homework on his school's namesake. do you know who jefferson davis is? >> the president of the confederacy. >> reporter: what else do you know about him? >> that he wanted slaves. >> reporter: ty iader sister, far awho also went to davis wrote a letter and started a campaign. it worked. how did you react when you found out they were going to change the name of the school? >> i was really excited about it, to hear that there was going to be a change. it was like a dream come true to me. >> reporter: this month, the school board let parents decide on a new name, and p.t.a. president janelle jefferson let the littlest voices cast of the biggest vote. i>> it was overwhelmingly there was support from the parents and the student vote, you know, for president obama.

>> reporter: starting next year, the jefferson davis magnet school will become the barack obama magnate school. at least 109 public schools across the country still bear the names of rebel leaders like robert e. lee and jefferson davis. almost a quarter of those schools have a majority of african american students. so when people ask you what elementary school you went to, what name are you going to say? >> i'm going to say i went to barack obama elementary school. >> reporter: a name these students and parents say they can all be proud of. omar villafranca, cbs news, jackson, mississippi. >> mason: democracy in action in jackson. that's the cbs evening news. i'm anthony mason in new york. thanks for watching. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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