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manuel bojorquez reports. >> reporter: for the first time news crews were allowed into the disaster areathis apartment building is one of 50 structures that were destroyed. wheelchairs are still lined up on an empty lawn. authorities said they were able to get a closer look at the explosion site. locad the seat of the explosion, which is important because as we conduct our investigation, we'll be workingm temeteinward. >> reporter: assistant state fire marshal kelly kistner says there is a crater he would only describe as large. on wednesday a fire at the plant caused this massive explosion. the blast was so strong it could be felt 50 miles away. residents are being allowed back into the neighborhood in phases. those closest to the plant will be the last. ♪ sing with me >> reporter: the first baptist church of west had to hold its sunday service outdoors. the church was damaged in the blast. >> as scary as this has become, we don't have to be afraid. >> reporter: this was the first time many victims saw each other since the disaster. the town is taking another step toward returning to no

manuel bojorquez is there. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. we have uncovered some new developments in the boston marathon bombing, and we will have those in just a moment. but first, there is a major breaking story out of washington tonight: the gun control legislation written after the newtown massacre has been scuttled in its entirety by the united states senate. moments ago, standing with parents from newtown, connecticut, the president railed against the senate. >> so, all in all, this was a pretty shameful day for washington. but this effort is not over. i want to make it clear to the american people, we can still bring about meaningful changes that reduce gun violence so long as the american people don't give up on it. >> pelley: of course, opponents of gun control are elated by the decision, and we will start our coverage with chip reid at the capitol. >> on this vote, the yays are 54, the nays are 46. >> reporter: for supporters of g

>> jeff: manual bojorquez, london before th ran today's marathon they paid tribute.ill mother says she will keep breaking the law until medical marijuana laws change. and the control tower cutbacks that could slow down air travel. those stories when the "cbs evening news" continues. even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. two words. double miles! this guy can act. wanna play dodge rock? oh, you guys! and with double miles you can actually use, you never miss the fun. beard growing contest and go! ♪ i win! what's in your wallet? i win! and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medica

we have two reports tonight beginning with manual bojorquez. >> investigators search the storage facility saturday about 10 miles from where the murders happened. they pulled a white crown victoria from one unit. also multiple guns, ballistic tests are being done on the weapons to see if they are connected to the murders. just a day before the search focused on the kaufman, texas, home of a man who knew the victims. eric williams. williams is a former kaufman county justice of the peace. he was fired last year after being convicted of stealing computer equipment from the county. >> there's three monitors missing. one's on your desk. >> uh-huh. >> right now. where are the others. >> reporter: assistant district attorney and district attorney mike mclelland prosecuted the case against williams. hase was killed in january, mclelland and his wife were found shot to death in their home last month. williams denied any involvement in an interview two weeks ago. >> my heart goes out to all the families that have been affected by this tragedy. and especially to the people that work at the courthou

manuel bojorquez reports. >> reporter: investigators searched williams' house. they pulled a white crown victoria from one unit. they also found multiple guns. ballistic tests are being done on the weapons to see if they are connected to the murders. just a day before the search focused on the home of a man who knew the victims. eric williams. williams is a former kaufman county justice of the peace. he was fired last year after being convicted of stealing computer equipment from the county >> there's three monitors missing. one's on your desk right now where are the others at? >> reporter: assistant district attorney mark hasse and mclelland prosecuted the case. hasse was killed outside the courthouse. mclelland and his wife were found shot to death in their home last month. williams denied any involvement in an interview two weeks ago. >> my heart goes out to all the families that have been affected by this tragedy, and especially to the people that work at the courthouse. >> reporter: his attorneys said williams has cooperated with law enforcement, and he hop

manuel bojorquez is there. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

manuel bojorquez is in west this morning where people are helping each other recover from the disaster. >> reporter: this is the closest news crews have been allowed to the damage. 50 buildings were destroyed including this apartment complex. it happened wednesday. this is a satellite image before the explosion. this is the plant now. investigators got a closer look at the facility over the weekend. >> we do know and we have located the seat of the explosion. >> reporter: the facility stored ammonium night trait, a component that can also be used to make bombs. last year it had over 540,000 pounds of the chemical, more than 1,300 times that would have required a report to the department of homeland s which did not happen. the plant's owner donald adair issued a statement over the weekend saying in part we pledge to do everything we can to understand what happened to ensure nothing like this ever happens again in any community. ♪ how great ♪ >> reporter: first baptist church of west had to hold sunday service outdoors. their church was damaged. the pastor and his family lost their home.

manuel bojorquez at dallas-ft.orth airport. >> on day three of the faa furlough programs, exas per ated travelers. >> i'm angry. angry, angry. >> reporter: a late flight caused this woman to miss her cruise. >> i have cruise insurance, but they don't cover this, because it's faa business. >> reporter: in the halls of congress, the blame game in full force. >> i am extremely angry that the administration would have this kind of harm. >> the senate considered a balance package, but republicans block thad earlier this year. >> reporter: the faa has not released the number of official delays since tuesday. 1,200 of the 2,600 airline delays on monday were related to staffing issues. >> you have gridlock in congress and that's leading to gridlock in the air and the traveling public is going to pay the price. >> peter goels, former head of the national traptransportation. he said there could be bigger problems down the road. >> there will be some sort of event where we have confluence of weather that will back planes up a

and manuel bojorquez is covering the damage. >> reporter: good morning, charlie and norah.estigators are in search and rescue mode, going home to home and business to business, looking for survivors, hoping not to find more bodies. just before 8:00 p.m. on wednesday when a fire at a fertilizer plant in west, texas, turned into a catastrophe. >> everybody safe? >> i can't hear, i can't hear. >> cover your ears. >> get out of here, please get out of here! >> the massive blast brought the town of west, texas, with the force equal to a 2.1 magnitude earthquake. >> there has been explosion on the fire scene there, are firefighters down at this time. >> roar, heard 50 miles away. eric perez caught it on tape. >> nothing else happens in this town ever, so i started filming, and i can't believe i got it on film. >> reporter: it sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky and leveled dozens of homes and businesses in the town. one apartment complex destroyed. first responders and volunteers went house to house overnight, looking for survivors. among them, eugene horak and his wife of 55

manuel bojorquez is in kaufman, texas. manuel, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, charlie and norah. former kaufman county justice of the peace eric williams was arrested saturday and charged with making a terroristic threat. he's being held this morning on a $3 million bond. the arrest of eric williams comes as authorities investigate the murders of kaufman county district attorney mike mclelland, his wife, cynthia, and assistant district attorney mark hasse. hasse was shot in broad daylight in late january. the mclellands were gunned down in their home just two months later. >> it's unnerving to the law enforcement community. it's unnerving to the community at large. >> reporter: investigators have spent the last few weeks combing through cases the two had worked on together, looking for a motive. hasse and mclelland had successfully prosecuted williams for stealing county computer equipment in april of last year. >> there's three monitors missing. one's on your desk. >> mm-hmm. >> right now. where are the others a