>> tonight, holiday heat, record high temperatures across the heartland for the kickoff do summer. terrell brown is watching the weather. >> slaughter in syria, charlie d'agata has the latest on a government attack that left dozens of children dead. >> the strains of war, barry pederson faces the challenge when the troops come home. >> these mobilizations change you. maybe for the good, maybe for the worst. >> an inspiration for the graduates, commencement speakers share their insights with the class of 2012. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

>> cordes: good evening, i am nancy cordes, memorial day weekend is bringing us our first real taste of summer all right with record or near record highs in the 90s across much of the country. at the same time, other areas are coping with everything from unseasonably late snow to early tropical storms. terrell brown is in washington tracking the weather tonight. >> these homes have little chance against a massive wildfire in the gila national forest of new mexico. all three were destroyed as the blaze torched 85,000 square miles and continues to grow. >> across the west from colorado to california, brush fires rage out of control, this fire in banner, california, forced trish copeland out o of her home. it spread very, very, very quickly, the heat just was immense outside of our fro front door. >> reporter: high winds fueled the fire danger making conditions worse is this week's heat wave. temperatures in texas to the

central plains, through the ohio valley could set record highs, while the eastern half of the country will be much warmer than normal. >> chris vaccaro of the national weather service. >> this high humidity is early for the season and that is what makes it somewhat dangerous because our bodies haven't acclimated to the incoming summer temperatures. >> this year's indianapolis 500 is on tap to be the hottest ever, dangerous for drivers and fans. >> how can you prepare for the heat, right? >> while heat blankets much of the nation, a winter storm warning is in effect for portions of montana, areas in higher elevations could see up to two pete of snow. >> in the tropics, hurricane bud dumped heavy rains along the mexican coast as it fizzled night overnight, meanwhile in the atlantic, sub tropical storm beryl is taking shape, taking aim at the east coast. >> especially this holiday weekend if people are going to the beaches, there could be

abnormally high seas and dangerous rip currents that can pull swimmers tout sea, so it is important for people. >> that storm will likely bring some much needed rain to the drought stricken southeast for the first time in recorded history two storms name in the atlantic before hurricane season even started, nancy. >> terrell brown in washington tonight, thank you, overseas now the white house says it is horrified by, quote, credible reports of targeted killing by government forces in syria, that left 60 adults and 32 children dead. it and in the town of houla, some locals described it as a massacre, charles d'agata from london has the latest. >> mourners laid rows of bodies in a mass grave today. >> as syrians held funerals for the victims of the worse atrocity since the cease-fire was declared six weeks ago. >> activists we spoke to said syrian forces bombarded the city of houla neared homs yesterday

killing 96 people. graphic video posted on the internet appeared to show the bodies of several children lined upside by side. >> what was their crime, he asked syrian president bashar assad? >> united nations monitors who went to investigate today confirmed that 32 children under the age of ten among the dead. >> this is unacceptable. attack on the children and open, and on the future and aspirations of the people. >> the syrian government blamed the massacre on armed terrorist groups without further explanation to back the claim up. the massacre sparked angry demonstrations on the streets of damascus and elsewhere. >> syria has seen a spike in violence throughout the country in recent days despite a truce declared on april 12th. the presence of 300 united nations monitors has done little

to stem the bloodshed and at times the monitors themselves come under attack. >> at least 9,000 people have been killed in the 15 month uprising. >> un officials have admitted its monitors have trouble keeping track of the killing, let alone being able to do anything to stop it. >> charlie dag g, d'agata, cbs, london. >> egypt's first free presidential election is headed for a runoff, voters will choose between the muslim brotherhood and a veteran of hosni mubarek's ousted regime, as elizabeth palmer reports, some are pessimistic for the potential of change either way. >> for the first time ever this past week, millions of egyptians went to the polls believing this simple act could make a difference. >> by bringing to power a president truly chosen by the people. >> the activist aiman nour is

not one of them. >> elect agnew president will not bring down the system. >> the system is egypt's ruling military government. which critics accuse of serious and ongoing human rights violations. less than a month ago, for example, soldiers shot and beat protesters demonstrating because their presidential candidate had been disqualified. >> 350 of them were eventually dragged off to jail. >> amr sarhan was among them. a barber, he was the main bread winner for this large family and it took him days to discover what had happened to him and where he is now being held. >> he is a broken man, says his brother, at the military police headquarters he was first sprayed with sewage water and then electrocuted with cattle prods and beaten. >> it is this kind of abuse that amr sarhan was fighting to abolish when we caught up with him last year one of the leaders

of the mass movement that forced out ex-president hosni mubarek, but back then, no one wanted to believe the army would take over and rule in exactly the same dictatorial way. >> we have been constantly stabbed in the back by the supreme council of armed forces. we are still being beaten, we are still being killed during peaceful demonstrations, we are still being arrested and we are still being put on military control. >> so amr sarhan opted out and won't join in electorial politics until the military has been brought under civilian control. but the sarhan family opted in. they did vote, they explained, in the hope that even if they can't pry amr out of the hands of his military torturers egypt's new president can and will. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, cairo. >> we turn next to the vatican and the stunning accusation that

is the talk of rome, confidential church documents were allegedly leaked to the press and, by a suspect who could double as a punch line. the butler did it. or did he? if a few days ago the man in the front seat of the popemobile was serving benedict 16th the meals, helping him dress in the morning, today paolo gabrielle is in detention in the vatican accused of illegal possession of secret documents. >> in a scandal quickly dubbed vatileaks, confidential documents alleging cronyism, and corruption in the awarding of contracts for work in the vatican along with personal letters of the pope with problems in the vatican bank began appearing in the italian media in january, as the highest ranking nonclergyman in the papal household the butler is privy to the most intimate corners of the hidden world in the walls of vatican city. if convicted of stealing and leaking the documents, gabrielle

faces up to 30 years in jail. but many vatican watchers are questioning while why a man described as deeply religious who served quietly and faithfully would risk his career and the privileged position his family enjoyed as residents of vatican city. the italian journalist who published many of the leaks said none of his sources had been paid, but declined to name them. vatican watchers might respond to that with, take your pick. the secret exclusive club that is the highest circle of the catholic church has been described as so risen with rivalry and plots was church historian called it a nest of vipers, the butler may have done it, but the more enticing mystery is whether or not he acted alone. alan pizzey, cbs news, rome. >> how time helped one reunited military family to heal.

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>> a marine who was severely wounded in afghanistan has arrived home in time for memorial day. a jet carrying 19-year-old lance corporal shawn adams landed near gainesville georgia last night he lost both legs in an ied explosion in february on the tarmac hundreds of people turned out to welcome him home. >> the wounds of war are not always so visible, but as barry pederson reports, they can be painful. .. home coming is the end of one journey handle th the beginningf another, randy volkman didn't realize how much had changed. >> i looked the same, i the it in the same clothes, so i must be the same guy so how come all of these other things are strange? >> navy commander volkman spent a year in the middle east assisting special operations

forces, he came home to his wife lori, expecting to quickly fit back in. that was not to be. >> there is this honeymoon phase when they come home, and then the shine nines starts to wear off .. there had been deployments before in the 20 years of marriage but never for a year and never with children. >> it was just as hard on the kids who. >> my dad was gone and it was really hard for my mom and everything. >> signs of trouble started when randy was still overseas and his e-mail answers shrunk to one word. that emotional disconnect lingered months after he came home. >> she would point out sometimes that, you know, she will come home and i will give the kids a hug and i won't give her a hug or i will miss an opportunity to express myself emotionally to her. >> i am prepared to respond. >> a lawyer, lori continued her career while also solo

parenting. >> while he was gone, i started writing, i helped start a nonprofit, i had more skills than i thought i originally did. >> but that created another problem. fitting randy back into his busy life, after months of strain, lori moved out for several days. >> i didn't understand when he first came home that the loneliness wouldn't go away right away. i realized that i didn't have anything to lose by wait ago little longer. and that is really the only thing that brought me back. >> these globalizations change you, maybe for the good, maybe for the worse, you don't know right away, necessarily, but nevertheless, you change. >> randy still leaves home as a pilot for ups and missed his daughter's ninth birthday just as he missed her eighth while overseas, but this time, the family celebrated early, so dad could be there. >> i would tell any spouse who is going through this is, time

is your friend. give it time. >> time to help them rediscover what they once were, stronger, because they were together. barry pederson, cbs news, vancouver, washington. .. >> just ahead, the day of the dragon, the space station crew enters the first privately owned supply ship. that story is next. i used to love hearing that phrase... but not since i learned i have... postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture. i want to keep acting but a broken bone could change that. so my doctor and i chose prolia® to reduce my risk of fractures. prolia® is proven to help make bones stronger. proven to help increase bone density. i take prolia®. it's different. it's two shots a year.

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>> cordes: one day after docking with the international space station, the world's first privately owned spaceship is providing the space station crew with vital supplies. the quijano has the details of today's special delivery. >> this is mission control, houston, official hatch opening time for the space x spacecraft. >> and with that, american flight engineer don pettitte became the first astronaut in space ever to enter a privately owned supply ship, the spacex dragon, it is roomier than a soyuz, so flying up in a human rated dragon is not going to be an issue. >> the capsule successfully docked with the international space station friday, and is carrying over 1,000 pounds of supplies to the six astronauts

on the space station. >> a lot is riding on this mission for billionaire elon musk, he started the company that developed the capsule, california based spacex and holds a $1.6 billion contract to launch 12 other missions. >> but musk is thinking far beyond resupply trips. he envision as day when human spaceflights to distant planets are routine. >> i am having -- it makes the things in the future, toward slowly becoming a multiuse space vehicle, much more likely. >> nasa retired space shuttle next year and no american spacecraft that can support astronauts no the space station and back, instead the u.s. is paying russia $60 million per flight aboard russia's soyuz system, so nasa is hoping to bring down those costs by partnering with private companies like space x. >> for nasa the end game is to be able to use u.s. hardware

made by u.s. labor to launch astronauts from u.s. soil. >> the unmanned spacex flight has so far been a success. the company says its dragons could be ferrying astronauts to the space station in three years. elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >> dogs are called man's best friend for a reason, but this small stray may be one of the best. he was thrown a scrap of food by a team of cyclist racing across china to tibet and he started to run, 20 days and over 1,000 miles later, the newly named xiaosa crossed the finish line with his new friend and yes, they plan to keep him. >> just ahead, commencement lessons for the class of 2012. >> just ahead, commencement lessons for the class of 2012. that story is next. whiteand tw.

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profile speakers still echo. >> here is a sample. >> people can only define you if you let them. in the end, it is up to each of us to define ourselves. >> we were not born to fit in, we were born to stand out, what lincoln said is so true, everyone is born an original, sadly too many copies, don't die a copy. successful people, defined by a reckless search for game or fortune, but by an insatiable desire to be better. and an infinite curiosity as to how. >> i never was the kind of woman who liked to get in a car and just go for a ride. do we have a destination? is

there a plan? or are we just riding? what i learned is that it is a great metaphor for life. you ought to be in the driver's seat of your own life, because if you are not, life will drive you. >> if life gives you lemons grab it by the horns and drive, and yes i just mixed three metaphors. remember, i was a c student. there are some screwups heading your way. i wish i could tell you that there was a trick to avoiding the screwups, but the screwups are coming for you. it is a combination of life being unpredictable and you being super dumb. >> the irish tell the story of a man who arrived at the gates of heaven and asked to be let in, peter said of course just show us your scars, the man said i have no scars. st. peter's said what a pity, was there nothing worth fighting

for? >> come on down, oh, sisters, let's go down, down to the river to pray. >> give us a world where half of our homes are run by men and half are institutions are run by women. and i am pretty sure that would be a better world. >> make service a part of your life, don't go about trying to save the world. you will start saving the world by just saving one kid. >> we are at our best, we are most fully alive and human when we give away freely and sacrificially our very selves in love for another. >> there are some people here who are even more pleased than the graduates. that would be their parents. the american dream is not owning your own home. it is giving your, getting your kids out of a home you own.

>> never walk alone in your future paths. take time to build your relationships as carefully as you craft your careers. >> what young generations have done before should give you hope. young folks who march and mobilized and stood up and sat in from seneca falls to selma to stonewall didn't just do it for themselves, they did it for other people. >> class of 2012 dismissed! >> and that is the cbs evening news. later on cbs, 48 hours mystery, i am nancy cordes, cbs news in new york, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org