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>> mason: good evening, i'm anthony mason. this time it's senator al franken, the minnesota democrat is the latest prominent american to be accused of sexual assault. it dates back more than a decade to when franken was a comedian, and there is photographic evidence. here's julianna goldman. >> reporter: this photograph was taken at the end of a two-week u.s.o. tour to visit troops in 2006. radio host leann tweeden says it shows al franken groping her while she was sleeping. >> i guess i always wondered if i had any talent. >> oh, you've got talent. >> reporter: it was before franken was a senator. tweeden says before the trip franken insisted rehearsing a skit he wrote that included a kiss. >> he grabs the become of my head and just sort of comes in and puts his lips right on mine and sticks his tongue in my mouth. >> reporter: in an initial statement, franken said, "i certainly don't remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but i send my

sincerest apologies." he added the photo was clearly intended to be funny but wasn't. later he issued a longer statement saying, "i'm sorry, and i've told and written a lot of jokes that i once thought were tony funny but later came e realize were just republican offensive." >> i have a me, too story. >> reporter: tweeden says she's speaking out after hearing congresswoman jackie speier's account of being sexually assaulted as a congressional aide. the california democrat is leading an effort to combat sexual harassment on capitol hill. >> most of you probably know me, al franken. >> reporter: the allegations against franken joined the wave of accusations against sexual misconduct by men in positions of power in hollywood, come i cm ave -- comedy and politics. franken, who was on "saturday night live" for 15 years, straddles all three. his behavior was swiftly condemned by both democrats and republicans in the senate who called for an ethics investigation. franken says he will cooperate. >> i feel

changed, that there is strength in numbers, and that women are coming forward and that really the culture has changed. >> reporter: leann tweeden told us she accepted franken's apology. we reached out the 16 women who used to work for franken in the senate. six got back to us. they all said they never witnessed or experienced anything inappropriate. anthony? >> mason: julianna goldman at the capitol. thanks, julianna. in a tweet today, alabama senate candidate roy moore accused republican leader mitch mcconnell of a double standard for calling only for an ethics investigation of franken while calling on moore to step down, something moore refuses to do. dean reynolds is in birmingham. >> i present to you the hero of the day, our valiant leader, judge roy moore. >> reporter: judge moore was in exceedingly friendly company this afternoon, hosted by conservatives from across the country who thought the world of him.

america. >> do not allow under any circumstances washington, d.c., los angeles, and new york dictate to you the outcome of this race. >> reporter: in brief remarks, moore made clear he will not quit. >> the "washington post" has brought some scurrilous, false charge, not charge, allegations, which i have emphatically denied time and time again. >> reporter: but what was billed as a press conference by his campaign ended in a frenzy of unanswered questions about recurring allegations that moore had a pension for lecherous behavior with young women. >> are your accusers lying? >> reporter: the judge walked away from the questions but not the controversy. he retains the backing of the alabama republican party, but the national g.o.p. wants little or nothing to do with him, with one nor after another supporting his accusers while mulling ways to block his p

>> i think the evidence is becoming overwhelming that he had a problem. >> reporter: for the second straight day, president trump, who had allegations of impropriety lodged against him in last year's campaign, passed up a chance to join the debate over moore's fate. >> do you believe roy moore's accusers, sir? >> reporter: later press secretary sarah sanders came down somewhere in the middle. >> the president believes that these allegations are very troubling and should be taken seriously, and he thinks that the people of alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be. >> reporter: a new poll out tonight suggests the controversy is really hurting moore. it shows his democratic challenger, doug jones, now with an eight-point lead, 50-42% among likely voters in what has long been a reliably republican state. anthony? >> mason: dean reynolds in birmingham tonight. in washington, the

major tax overhaul plan today, a victory for the president. chief congressional correspondent nancy cordes now on what's in it for you. >> reporter: house republicans cheered as their tax plan passed with votes to spare. >> we are in a generational-defining moment for our country. >> reporter: the tax cuts and jobs act of 2017 shrinks the number of brackets from seven to four, lowering rates and eliminating some deductions. the independent tax policy center estimates that americans who make between $50,000 and $ $0,000 a year would get an average tax cut next year of about $800. >> the taxes are going really well, thank you. >> reporter: president trump took a victory lap on capitol hill. he pushed for the bill's huge corporate rate cut, but democrats warned the g.o.p. will pay a political price for passing a plan that primarily benefits big business and the wealthy. >> r

believe that their trickle-down tax break for the rich will pay for itself. never has happened. >> reporter: a dozen republicans from new york, new jersey, and california voted no today, because the bill eliminates the deduction for state and local taxes. >> i just have too many constituents who are going to see their taxes go up. >> reporter: but most house republicans were ecstatic, and they're now anxiously watching the senate, where a separate g.o.p. plan has gone through several rapid revisions. >> i say, relax. >> reporter: south korea's -- south carolina's tim scott is one of the plan's sponsors. are you convinced that workers will benefit from all these tax breaks that their employers are going to get? >> if we do not reform our business taxes, more jobs that are today in america will be in another country, so the answer is simple: absolutely. >> reporter: senate republicans are ho

their plan out of the finance committee tomorrow and then bring it up for a full senate vote right after thanksgiving. then senate and house republicans would have to reconcile the differences between their plans and vote again, a process that the president is urging them to wrap up before christmas. >> mason: nancy cordes. thank you, nancy. a mistrial was declared today in the federal bribery trial of democratic senator robert menendez of new jersey. the jury in newark was hopelessly deadlocked after six days of deliberations. anna werner reports menendez, a democrat, considers that a victory. >> reporter: supporters cheered as senator robert menendez stepped to the podium to blast government prosecutors. >> the way this case started was wrong. the way it was investigated was wrong. the way it was prosecuted was wrong.

counts of alleged corruption. prosecutors said he did favors for a long-time friend, eye doctor solomon melgen, in exchange for gifts. the senator's lawyer abbe lowell. >> this is what happens when you put a real 25-year friendship on trial. >> reporter: the trial lasted ten weeks. why the deadlock? >> i thought he was not guilty. >> reporter: and jury ed norris says nine others agreed with him. only two favored conviction. >> i don't think the government proved it. >> can you explain more? >> what about it? >> there was no smoking gun we didn't see. >> reporter: the justice department has not said whether it will try menendez a second time. >> to those who left me, who abandoned me in my darkest moment, i forgive you. to those who embraced me in my darkest moment, i love you. to those new jerseyans who gave me the benefit of the doubt, i thank you. >> reporter:

more thing to say as he heads back to washington. he said, "to those who were digging my political grave so you could jump into my seat, i know who you are and i won't forget you." >> mason: anna werner. thanks, anna. the top republican on the senate judiciary committee said today president trump's son-in-law withheld information about his contacts with wikileaks during the 2016 campaign. jeff pegues is following this developing story. jeff? >> reporter: anthony, the senate judiciary committee is asking jared kushner for e-mails he received and sale about wikileaks in september of 2016 as the campaign was in full swing. the letter says that senators chuck grassley and dianne feinstein also want documents about a "russian-backed overture and dinner invite," and they site phone records they want from mr. kushner, as well. kushner is now the second of president trump's inner circle to be involved with wikileaks. earlier this week it was revealed that the president's

exchanged twitter messages with wikileaks. for example, on october 3, 2016, trump, jr., wrote wikileaks, "what's behind this wednesday leak i keep hearing about?" wikileaks responded, "hey, donald, great to see you and your dad talking about our publications." both kushner and donald trump, jr., were at a meeting in trump tower in june 2016 with russian operatives, including russian lawyer natalia veselnitskaya. donald trump, jr., has acknowledged that the meeting was set up under the premise that veselnitskaya had potentially damaging information about democratic nominee hillary clinton. also in that room, ike kaveladze, a soviet-born businessman who has been living in the u.s. kaveladze, cbs news has learned that he spent two hours today inside the special counsel's office, and that is something that we learned today. anthony? >> jeff pegues with breaking details there. thanks, jeff. russian

thumbed his nose at the world when he took crimea from ukraine, and it looks like he plans to hold on to it forever. based on the bridge he's now building. elizabeth palmer went to the construction site in russia. >> reporter: 24 hours a day in three shifts workers are racing to build a colossal bridge 12 miles long and strong enough to resist ferocious winds, earthquake, and ice. there is no doubt that this bridge is an engineering feat, a really impressive technical achievement, but it's also a bold political statement. the bridge will connect southern ukraine. then in march of that year, russian troops seized crimea. after a hasty referendum, president putin announced it was now part of russia. at home he was hailed as

condemned. but even when america and its allies slapped on sanctions, he didn't back off. this $3 billion megaproject shows he's doubling down on the land grab. the bridge due to open next year will be crime yes's umbilical cord to mother russia. traings, cars, and trucks crossing this giant span will carry everything from food to tourists. already it's a source of pride and a local attraction. at a lookout on the shore, this man and his friends have come to marvel and pose for pictures. "absolutely. the bridge undermines that crimea is ours," he tells me, "and we are never giving it back." officially america is saying russia has to do just that, give crimea back to ukraine to get those punishing sanctions lifted, but 12

and steel are saying that's just not going to happen. anthony? >> mason: elizabeth palmer in moscow tonight. thanks. coming up next on the "cbs evening news," the new cars with the most distracting dashboard systems. and later, these folks have the most fun living stronger. [burke] abstract accident. seen it. covered it. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ when you're close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin.

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g.p.s. killed joel feldman's 21-year-old daughter casey. >> it's nuts to have things so that drivers can text, e-mail, access social media or the internet when they're driving. >> ideally you want a simple system. >> reporter: a new study by "consumer reports" backs up that opinion. director of auto testing jake fisher took us out on the test track. >> some of the adjustments for this car are actually in this very, very dense and confusing system here. so if i want to get into some of my safety systems... >> reporter: you're having to spend a lot of time looking at the screen while you're driving. >> exactly right. >> reporter: "consumer reports" found acura, cadillac, the most distracting systems. eight other carmakers, including ford, g.m., and fiat chrysler are rated as having the leaves. new technologies like lane departure washing and

emergency braking make high-tech cars safer, but even those are no substitute for an alert, engaged driver. >> these screens should be locked down except for driving essential tasks while a car is moving. it's not rocket science. you want people to be focused on the road. >> reporter: some vehicles allow only limited manual input into the navigation systems while the car is moving. but while many states outlawed texting while driving, there is no federal regulation of driver access to these ever increasingly complex infotainment systems. >> mason: don dahler. thanks, don. and just ahead, a security flaw in amazon's new home delivery system. dry mouth has been a problem for me.

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father of five, died today. the shooter got away. the fish and wildlife service is reversing an obama-era ban on elephant trophies from two african countries. the agency says it will now allow hunters to bring elephant remains into the u.s. from zimbabwe and zambia. animal protection groups say killing elephants for sport could threaten an already endangered species. a security company has found a flaw in amazon key, the new device that lets delivery people enter a home once they authenticate themselves. "wired" magazine reports thieves can disable the device's camera and get in undetected. amazon is promising a system update to address the problem. a mystery buyer is the new owner of a 500-year-old portrait of jesus by leonardo da vinci. salvador mundi, latin for "savior of the world," sold last night for $450 million, the

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it turned out, a lot of people fell short, of even the average length of retirement. we have to think about not when we expect to live to, but when we could live to. let's plan for income that lasts all our years in retirement. prudential. bring your challenges. >> mason: finally tonight, the secret to living stronger. for one man, it's addition by subtrarks in his case going from 18 wheels to two. here's barry petersen. >> reporter: the red rocks near denver are breathtaking for tourists, but the steep, hard trail can leave a lot of bike riders gasping for breath. >> we're almost there. >> reporter: and that's exactly why 80-year-old lew cox loves it. >> for me,

afterward. >> physically better? >> and mentally. >> reporter: is this like a fountain of youth for you? >> for me. >> reporter: they call their club "the sticky bun riders" because when they formed 15 years ago they would end their rides at a bakery. the bakery closed, the weekly ride goes on. through denver's thin air at altitudes of 5,000 to 6,000 feet. >> almost there. >> reporter: most are in their 60s or 70s, doing this roughly 27-mile bike ride with jerseys that say it all: a social club with a cycling problem. >> i found out the secret of growing old is just not to die. >> reporter: bicycling obviously helps. >> yes. >> reporter: lew's life was once sedentary. his truck driving job involved mostly sitting. 12 years ago, after retirement, he saw his son's bike in the garage and took it for a spin.

bike three times a week and even rides his bike to the gym. it adds up to about 85 miles a week, and over the years, that adds up to enough miles to circle the globe. >> in total i would say 25,000. it doesn't feel like it. >> reporter: how many more times around do you plan to ride the earth? >> well, i want the ride until i just can't. >> look at these fit riders. >> reporter: but for now, there's no stopping lew or the riders living stronger than ever as the oldest and the fittest biker gang in all of colorado. >> marvelous, darling, marvelous! >> reporter: barry petersen, cbs news, denver. no riding until he just can't. i think i would have given up after they closed the sticky bun bakery. that's the "cbs evening news." i'm anthony mason in new york. thanks for watching. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs

he just put his hand on the back of my head. it happened so fast. he mashed his mouth in my face. all i can remember is his lips were really wet and slimy. >> i think senator mcconnell has done it right. this is a matter we refer to the senate ethics committee. >> the fact that he just thought he could get away with it, and that it was okay, and that it was funny. >> they're serious allegations they need to be investigating. ♪ [ music ] good evening, serious