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tops 20,000. >> morgan: and there is breaking news at that chemical plant in crosby, texas. kris van cleave is there. kris. >> reporter: demarco, we are more than a mile from the plant. you can see the plume of black smoke. we can see the fire from here. we understand it is a very intensely burning blaze. at least two of eight remaining tractor trailers that contain organic peroxide have exploded. this was expected. when the refrigeration units quit during four to six feet of flooding, the chemical plant knew this was going to happen. they said it could happen at any moment, and late this afternoon, it did. yesterday, one of these trailers went up. now at least two of them have exploded. this is an intense, big fire. this chemical plant has a host of potentially very dangerous chemicals. executives told us those chemicals are far away from where this fire is burning, and fire crews

just let this fire burn itself out. it's too dangerous to go in. that smoke is an irritant. that smoke can create some breathing issues. weon thursday at least 18 first responders were taken to the hospital with a variety of issues and yet we were able to get right up next to the plant today, even though it is inside an evacuation zone. and there are many people we saw trying to get back into their homes. this fire has to burn itself out. and remember, there are six more of these tractor trailers that have yet to go. demarco. >> morgan: a dangerous situation out there. kris van cleave reporting. kris, thank you. the storm has displaced more than one million people and we have reports tonight from anna werner and omar villafranca. and we began with anna in beaumont, texas, where 1,000 people were evacuated last night. >> reporter: families lined up on the tarmac at beaumont's regional airport to board c-130 military planes headed 250 miles to dal

never been, like corey morris and his family. >> anyway to help. i want to get some help. >> reporter: these people were staying in three red cross shelters in beaumont. then floodwaters overwhelmed the city's water pumps. >> we have a bus going to dallas. >> reporter: now, hundreds of people have to be moved. chester jourdan with the red cross: >> we've got bottled water. we can't flush the toilets and all that kind of stuff. >> reporter: and that's a safety issue. >> it is very much a safety issue. it's a health issue. >> reporter: and not just in shelters. there's no drinking water in beaumont, period. and some residents are waiting in long lines for bottled water. others still need to be rescued from floodwaters. a major hospital had to evacuate its patients. and buses that were supposed to ferry evacuees from the airport to san antonio got turned around. flooded roads halted their trip. some 24 hours after this operation began, there were still some 500 people sitting on buses here at the airport just

73-year-old betty jo white told us she has nowhere else to go. >> i don't know what we're going to do. somebody's just going to have to have pity on us. >> reporter: but despite hours of waiting, india milton sat with her family in a corner of the airport with a smile on her face. why are you still smiling? >> reporter: her 11-year-old sister, alexandria simpson, has never seen dallas. are you concerned about that? >> no. because i'm going to make new friends. >> reporter: you can make new friends, right? >they even found something to sing about. that family told us they're relying on god and the texas air national guard to get them there. they don't know what they're going to do in dallas, but they say they don't

port arthur. >> reporter: i'm omar villafranca with a wing and a prayer, this air national guard c-130 took off from beaumont, texas, with several dozen evacuees facing a fresh start in a new city after being rescued from rising floodwaters in port arthur. >> we're just grateful to be out of the water that we were in because water was up to here. >> reporter: for hynecia thompson, her daughter, india milton, and her five kids, it was their first flight. she took this video while in the air. from beaumont, they were only able to bring a little more than the clothing on their back. this is the second time the family has escaped mother nature's fury. the first time was hurricane rita. they arrived by bus to their temporary home, a shelter at the dallas convention center, where 1400 other evacuees are now calling home. this is what

>> what's up, y'all! >> reporter: donald williams knew his southeast houston home was going to flood, so he left early. he says all the shelter volunteers are helpful. >> it's actually running more efficiently than i would assume it would have considering there are that many people in there and everybody is kind of, you know, disoriented. >> reporter: dallas mayor mike rawlings says these evacuees are particularly vulnerable. >> most of them have lost their homes or their apartments, and they are coming in families. and it's heartbreaking to see what they've been through. >> reporter: there are six shelters in the d.f.w. area with more than 2100 people and 1,000 more could be on the way in the next few days. the evacuees are expected to spend about two to three weeks in the shelters and then be moved into temporary housing. demarco. >> morgan: all right, omar villafranca reporting there. we want to take you back now to kris van cleave who is reporting

situation in crosby, texas. kris. >> reporter: demarco, the wind has shifted and the sheriffs deputies here have now told us that we need to evacuate, that this area is now become increasingly dangerous because of that potentially toxic smoke spewing from the chemical plant. we know at least two of the eight tractor trailers containing volatile chemicals have gone up. all of them at some point are going to explode, and firefighters just have to let it burn itself out. but now that the wind has shifted, we've got to go. >> morgan: all right, kris van cleave, again, thank you for that. get to safety. as folks in beaumont were evacuating, others here in houston were returning home, their futures equally uncertain. david begnaud has that story. >> i don't know how i could ever repay you. >> you don't have to. you don't have to. we're here to serve you today. that's tman. >> reporter: howard holmes welcomed the generosity of strangers. 90% of his street has been flooded. >> you switch from everyday

to survival mode. >> reporter: he moved here with his wife, theresa, in 2005, after their former house burned down. >> we're going to have another house. we're going to rebuild our life. this is houston. we're houston proud. we're houston strong. >> reporter: the men helping to clean out their home are local recovery volunteers. >> you need help, come out! >> reporter: but on monday, they were rescuers. >> yeah, right here. they need help. >> reporter: truett allen led his navy of civilian samaritans as they rescued nearly 200 people. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: like blawren blinton, who was carried away on her birthday. and along the way, they documented. there was the baby found floating in a fishing bucket. and this message from a woman who wrote to alan, "you saved my brother's life." >> right now we thank you, lord, for sparing us. >> reporter: saving lives and rebuilding homes only took a break today to say a prayer. >> amen. >> reporter:

venghaus. >> i feel like my life has just stopped to some degree and has shifted toward just helping people. we just say yes and go do it. >> reporter: some neighborhoodneighborhoods in hot nearly 10 feet of floodwater, but here at howard's house, they got just 19 inches but it ruined nearly everything. demarco, tonight, howard's neighbors just right around the corner, are sleeping on their front yard in a tent trying to protect what's left from looters. >> morgan: all right, david begnaud reporting there. we'll continue to keep an eye on the breaking news coming out of crosby, texas. but for now let's go back to don dahler in new york for the rest of day's news. don. >> mason: on tuesday, president trump is expected to announce the fate of the program known as daca. as chip reid reports, illegal immigrants who were brought into the country as minors have been getting mixed messages. >> we love the dreamers. >> reporter: nearly 800,000 dreamers, people who came to the u.s. illegally as children, ha

by the daca program, created by president obama. >> it makes no sense to expel talented young people who, for all intents and purposes, are americans. >> reporter: during the presidential campaign, candidate trump called for an end to the program. >> anyone who has entered the united states illegally is subject to deportation. >> reporter: some sources in congress say the president is expected to follow through on that promise. >> we are the immigrants! >> reporter: but if he does, protests like this one today in los angeles are expected to grow, especially since the president had given dreamers reason to believe he had changed his mind. in february, for example, he said this: >> we're going to show great heart. daca is a very, very difficult subject for me. >> reporter: and in an april interview, he said, "the dreamers should rest easy." many republicans say daca is unconstitutional because president obama created it

regulation. >> this is something that congress has to fix. >> reporter: but some of those same republicans, including speaker paul ryan, want the president to leave daca in place while congress comes up with a humane solution to protect dreamers from being deported. ryan spoke to a wisconsin radio station today. >> these are kids who know no other country, who were brought here by their parents and don't know another home. >> reporter: nearly 400 business leaders have signed a letter to president trump urging him to preserve the daca program. that letter states in part, "dreamers are vital to the future of our companies and our economy." don. >> dahler: chip, thank you. coming up next on the cbs evening news, a judge throws out the most serious charges in the penn state fraternity hazing death. c'mon! your turn! mmmm... where do pencils go on vacation? (loud speaker) pencil-vania! pencilvania! (laughing) frosted just right. crunch in every bite.

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in charges of a pledge. charges of involuntary manslaughter and felony assault were thrown out. >> reporter: former frat brothers left the courthouse absorbing the stunning news it's most serious charges had been dismissed. 14 of them still face misdemeanors, including alcohol and hazing charges. >> i just feel relieved. >> former beta theta pi brother had his recklessness dangerous charge dropped all together. >> people have to understand this was a terrible, terrible, tragedy, and that's what it was simply. there was no intent, malice, any criminal activity on my part or, i believe, on any of my friends' part. >> reporter: it was february 10 when timothy piazza was at the frat house for a pledge event. prosecutors argue piazza was ordered to drink massive amounts of alcohol. surveillance video shows piazza repeatedly falling, passing out and tumbling head-first down a flight of stairs. no one called

the headlines are going to be, "most serious charges dropped." >> the headline is wrong if that's the headline. >> reporter: the piazza family lawyer, tom klein, and tim piazza's parents, say the important thing is beta theta pi brothers will stand trial. >> i'm looking forward to see, you know, the trial and whatever else comes out of the investigation, really. >> and them facing hazing charges. >> reporter: and that's important to you. >> absolutely. >> that's important. >> reporter: why? >> because we need to put a stop to it. >> it has no place in greek life, sports, marching bands-- it just has no place. it's torture. it's abuse. >> reporter: the judge ruled the state did not provide sufficient evidence that the defendants knew their actions would almost certainly create tragic consequences. >> there's a young man whose dead and a young man whose life has been changed and we're very, very pleased the case is over in our favor but nobody is high-fiving themselves here.

of the charges dismissed today carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. the ones that remain, a max of two years. the prosecutor says she will refile the assault and manslaughter charges in front of a new judge. don. >> dahler: jim, thank you. when we come back, a nurse protecting a patient's rights winds up in handcuffs. things than ody was mr 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

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>> dahler: we're watching a new hurricane in the atlantic. irma is a category 3 with steady gusts of 150 miles an hour. it's expected to gain strength over the weekend as it rumbles toward the caribbean islands. the video released today is shocking. it shows a nurse in salt lake city being roughed up and arrested a detective as she tries to do her job. elaine quijano has the story. >> you're assaulting me! stop! >> reporter: this video shows alex wubbels, a head nurse in the burn unit at the university of utah hospital,

handcuffed and arrested after she refused to let police draw blood from an unconscious man in the emergency room. >> please, sir, you're hurting me! >> then walk! >> reporter: the victim had been brought in after being in this fiery car crash on july 26 near salt lake city. >> reporter: wubbles told police it was against hospital policy and the law to take blood as evidence from an unconscious patient unless the patient was under arrest or the police had a warrant. >> we're done. you're under arrest. >> reporter: detective jeff payne, who was trained for a special police blood draw unit, approached the nurse and demanded to do it anyway. >> no! somebody help me! >> reporter: in addition to the officer's body-cam, hospital cameras caught this disturbing scene. wubbles has no hired an attorney. >> the only job i have as a nurse is to keep my patients safe. we need to remember

this was not peaceful. this was not even civil. >> reporter: alex wubbels was released and no charges were ever filed. detective jeff payne was just placed on paid administrative leave. don, the salt lake city district attorney has opened a criminal investigation. >> dahler: elaine, thank you. up next, steve hartman gets to the heart of texas. there's only one egg that gives you better taste and better nutrition in so many varieties. classic. cage free. and organic. only eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. you totanobody's hurt, new car. but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it.

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hartman's thoughts about the spirit of america. >> reporter: this week, we saw what trillions of gallons of water can cover. but more importantly, we saw what it can uncover: our potential as a nation. i know it seems like eons ago, but remember what was in the news before this? remember when nothing was more important in america than the fate of a confederate statue. we were literally at each other's throats over race, religion, immigration, and, of course, politics. and then harvey came and pounded us with perspective. when the roof over your head becomes the floor beneath your feet, no one cares about the color or creed of his rescuer. no one passes judgment because a hero's boat is too big or his means are too meager. no one says, "thanks for the rope, but i'd rather wait for someone more like me." >> thank you, i appreciate it. >> reporter: and later when

business end of a dump truck with nothing but the soggy shirts on their backs, i'm guessing no one ever thinks he's better than the person suffering next to him. a lot of people in texas and louisiana lost everything, but they are rich with perspective tonight, and blessed with a new and priceless appreciation of their community. >> if everyone did this, we'd have a lot less to worry about. >> reporter: from the start of the storm, the volunteer rescuers were harvey's silver lining. they risked their lives. some even lost their lives in service to their neighbors. >> continue helping people. we're going to go save some more lives, help some more people. >> reporter: this guy spoke for many. >> spirit of texas. that's what it's all about. >> reporter: but i do take slight issue with that last part. i think most americans are heroes, just waiting for their moment. and if harvey taught us anything, it's to be grateful for every last one of them. which brings me to this rescue in houston. these people were trying to save someone from a sinking car.

>> reporter:y don't know who these folks are, but i do know this: if you took out a christian, took out a democrat, an immigrant, a republican, muslim, or jew, remove any link in this brave chain of americans, the whole group is adrift, and a piece of humanity is lost. in this case, the chain held. when mother nature is at its worst, human nature is at its best. the challenge will be, as the floodwaters recede, will we still be able to love at these same record levels? steve hartman, cbs news, new york. >> morgan: that's the american way. and that's the cbs evening news. i'm demarco morgan in houston. >> dahler: demarco, i have to add you and our team have done great work down dl under difficult circumstances. thank you. i'm don dahler in new york. thanks for joining us this week, and have a good night.

we start with breaking news at 7:00, live at a chemical plant in crosby, just outside of houston. the second fire there, the plant lost power after harvey, this unintended blaze comes after a fire at the plant yesterday. a container of organic peroxide caught fire. floodwaters engulfed this backup generator and knocked out the refrigeration that would have been necessary to keep the compound from degrading and catching fire in the first place. the epa says analysis of the smoke that came out yesterday showed no reason for alarm. no indication that firefighters have gotten to the fire or even plan to get there to battle the blaze. we can also