i'm errol barnett. british billionaire richard branson first took tourists to the sky in 1984 flying aboard a used jumbo jet. today branson soared into space on board a repainted virgin galactic rocket plane with a crew of five others. he called this the dawn of a new space age aimed at sending tourist there, too. cbs' mark strassmann watched it all in truth or consequences, new mexico. good evening. >> reporter: i tell you, errol, that really was something, a milestone for richard branson personally, but also one for commercial space. the emerging market of space tourism has a genuine success story. >> sir richard branson, astronaut. >> reporter: with his new astronaut wings, richard branson was back on the ground but over the moon. his space triumph part bucket m. his space list, part marketing bonanza. >> what a day, what a day, what a day, what a day! >> reporter: take off to touchdown the roughly hour-long flight seemed picture perfect. virgin galactic live streamed "eve," its twin fuselage mothers

i'm errol barnett.ritish billionaire richard branson first took tourists to the sky back in 1984, flying aboard a used jumbo jet repainted with the logo of his upstart company virgin atlantic airlines. well, today branson soared into space aboard a virgin galactic rocket plane with a crew of five others. he called this the dawn of the new space age, aimed at sending tourists there, too. cbs's mark strassmann watched it all near truth or consequence, new mexico. mark, good evening. >> reporter: i tell you, errol, that really was something. a milestone for richard branson personally, but also one for commercial space. the emerging market of space tourism has a genuine success story. [ cheers and applause ] >> sir richard branson onaut. >> reporter: with his new astronaut wings, richard branson was back on the ground, but over the moon. his space triumph park bucket list, part marketing bonanza. >> what a day, what a day, what a day. >> reporter: take-off to touchdown, the roughly hour long flight seemed p

erroll barnett travels to pennsylvania, one of the many states in dire need of repairs. >> reporter:al pennsylvania is one of 12,000 in the state needing repair. on several other bridges, we discovered rust, cracks, and some closed pending fixes. >> unfortunately people only realize that infrastructure isn't working when it breaks. >> reporter: the american society of civil engineers gave pennsylvania a c-minus on its infrastructure report card. >> a lot of our bridges were which just means that they're reaching the end of their useful life. >> reporter: bridges are in trouble nationwide. 42% are at least 50 years old, 220,000 new repair work including the brooklyn bridge and washington, d.c.'s, roosevelt bridge, and nearly 80,000 need to be replaced. pennsylvania officials do not have the more than $20 billion needed to fix their aging infrastructure. >> the federal government, the feds haven't really increased the level of funding that they allocate to the states. >> reporter: transportation secretary pete buttigieg told cbs news the infrastructure plan will help fill the gaps. >>

first, cbs' errol barnett is going to lead off air coverage from interstate 295 right here in the nation's capitol. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. with the t.s.a. predicting a record pandemic weekend, it is clear that over the next evening and few days things will be frenetic, just like you see behind me. so matter where you're going or how you plan to get there, it's already busy. tonight, travelers are out in droves, on what's expected to be the second busiest independence holiday weekend ever. >> we just wanted to get on the 95. there's a lot of traffic. >> reporter: almost 48 million americans in transit to their destinations, most of them on the road. it's pushing the price of a regular gallon of gas to $3.13, a seven-year high and expected to only increase. >> gas is high. >> reporter: but that isn't dampening the excitement for many. >> it's a lot better being able to get away this year. >> i feel great. we all feel great we're going. >> reporter: the high demand for travel is pushing prices up for hotel rooms and rental cars. still, three and a half million americans are

cbs' errol barnett traveled to pennsylvania, one of many states ired orepairs. >> rorte t aennsylvaniaone n the state needing repair. on several other bridges, we some closed pending fixes. >> unfortunately, people only realize that infrastructure isn't working when it breaks. >> reporter: the american society of civil engineers gave pennsylvania a c-minus on its infrastructure report card. >> a lot of our bridges were built in the '50s and the '60s, which just means that they're reaching the end of their useful life. >> reporter: bridges are in trouble nationwide. 42% are at least 50 years old, 220,000 need repair work. that includes the brooklyn bridge and washington d.c.'s roosevelt bridge. and nearly 80,000 need to be replaced. pennsylvania officials say they do not have the more than $20 billion needed to fix their aging infrastructure. >> the federal government, the feds, haven't really increased the level of funding that they allocate to the states. >> reporter: transportation secretary pete buttigieg told cbs news the administration's infrastructure plan will help fill the gaps

we get more now from cbs' errol barnett. >> everybody out!porter: horrified neighbors watch as a chevy bolt bursts into flames engulfing this virginia home. >> the last thing i thought was that the car would have spontaneously lit on fire. >> reporter: scott virgin in florida had the same issue with his bolt. >> the fire department was unable to put the battery out. they had to dr it by thee roalet ortitery inside the car has led to nine bolt fires and prompted g.m. today to issue its second recall for nearly 69,000 vehicles worldwide, telling owners of 2017-2019 models to park outside and not to charge them unattended overnight. >> you can't take a lithium ion battery on to a plane and just stick it in your luggage and check it, right. so, these things can catch on fire and they're dangerous. we're taking hundreds of them and putting them in a car. >> reporter: it's a significant problem for g.m. as it embarks on a $35 billion effort to build a new, all-electric platform. >> we plug in our vehicles as naturally as we charge our phone. >> rep

reporting from the nation's capital i'm errol barnett have a great weekend. ♪ >>> it's friday, july 23rdthe "cbs morning news." let the games begin. the olympics get under way as covid-19 sidelines more athletes. the latest jump in cases as tokyo remains under a state of emergency. >>> gun trafficking. the justice department is stepping in after major u.s. cities see more violence. how it plans to chase down illegal weapons before they're used on the streets. >> why the government just sent a stern message to people in florida who are showing support florida who are showing support for cubans. captioning funded by cbs >>> good morning. good to be with you, i

errol barnett has that story. >> look, we have a perfect storm here of high demand and persistent supply chain issues. there are increasing numbers of people who want to get away be, threw are decreasing methods of transportation available to get there. and that means higher costs for all of us on theann you drill d these digits, though, you'll find some reason for optimism later, and perhaps some tough choices now. >> i think it's highway robbery. prices are ridiculous right now. >> reporter: from california gas stations to florida hotels, the cost of moving around the country is up. way up. including jumps in prices for airfare and car rentals. >> we just can't afford it. >> reporter: tally lives in ohio with boyfriend mikey o'malley. her family is in washington state. his are in ireland. so the recent increase in airline prices means difficult decisions. >> we really want to go everywhere, do all the things. but because of the prices being so high right i know, we just can't. we can't afford the extra trips. >> reporter: new inflation numbers show that when compared to 2020, gas price

for some the news continues e cbs this morning and follow us online any time nation's capit i'm errol barnettit's thursday, july 22nd, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." >> we have a pandemic for those who haven't gotten the vaccination. it's that basic, that simple. >> the president's plea as covid cases go back up. mr. biden makes a new pitch to the unvaccinated and weighs in about masks in schools. >>> olympic ouster. onayheummeram ustof the kick olill drama. the bipartisan investigation into the january 6th riot hits a wall after all five republicans wall after all five republicans are pulled from the committee.

reporting from the nation's capital, i'm errol barnett.'s >>> it's tuesday, july 20th, 2021, this is the "cbs morning news." >>> children and masks. the nation's top pediatricians offer updated guidance for students as the delta variant fuels new covid cases in all 50 states. >>> ready for blastoff. amazon founder jeff bezos and three others are set to launch into space this morning. how they're preparing for the historic flight. >>> new wildfire challenge. as fire crews take on the nation's largest fire in southern oregon, there's a new threat that could exhaust resources even more. >>> well, good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green.

reporting from the nation's capital, i'm errol barnett. it's >>> it's tuesday, july 20th, 2021, this is the "cbs morning news." >>> children and masks. the nation's top pediatricians offer updated guidance for students as the delta variant fuels new covid cases in all 50 states. >>> ready for blastoff. amazon founder jeff bezos and three others are set to launch into space this morning. how they're preparing for the historic flight. >>> new wildfire challenge. as fire crews take on the nation's largest fire in southern oregon, there's a new threat that could exhaust resources even more. >>> well, good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with new guidance when it comes to students wearing masks for the upcoming school year. the american academy of pediatrics now says that children older than 2 should wear masks in the classroom regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not. it comes as the delta variant drives up covid-19 cases nationwide. even wall street was rocked with renewed fears over the virus. yeste

capital i'm errol barnett have a great weekend. ♪ >>> it's friday, july 23rd, 2021.his is the "cbs morning news." let the games begin. the olympics get under way as covid-19 sidelines more athletes. the latest jump in cases as tokyo remains under a state of emergency. >>> gun trafficking. the justice department is stepping in after major u.s. cities see more violence. how it plans to chase down illegal weapons before they're used on the streets. >> why the government just sent a stern message to people in florida who are showing support florida who are showing support for cubans. captioning funded by cbs >>> good morning. good to be with you, i'm anne-marie green. we begin with the start of the tokyo olympics. the opening ceremonies take place this morning, but the reality of the coronavirus outbreak is castinga dark shadow over the games. today organizers said three more competitors tested positive for the virus. the number of reported cases among people accredited for the olympics is now more than 100 since the beginning of the month. and that includes five america

for "cbs this morning," erroll barnett, philadelphia. >> seeps like such a basic idea to now have all true. basic idea, but beautiful one. >>> on today's "cbs this morning" podcast, journalist liz farmer explains the difficulties small towns face in spending money from the american rescue plan and why some say they don't even want the help. we'll be right back. bay area homeowners, learn how you can eliminate monthly mortgage payments and improve your cashflow. look, this isn't my first rodeo and let me tell you something, i wouldn't be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. it's just a loan designed for older homeowners, and, it's helped over a million americans. a reversertgage loan isn't some kind of trick to take your home. it's a loan, like any other. big difference is how you pay it back. bay area homeowners, learn how your neighbors are accessing hundreds of thousands of dollars with a reverse mortgage loan from the bay area's number one reverse mortgage lender other mortgages are paid each mo

i'm errol barnett.st took tourists to the sky back in 1984, flying aboard a used jumbo jet repainted with the logo of his upstart company virgin atlantic airlines. well, today branson soared into space aboard a virgin galactic rocket plane with a crew of five others. he called this the dawn of the new space age, aimed at sending tourists there, too. cbs's mark strassmann watched it all near truth or consequence, new mexico. mark, good evening. >> reporter: i tell you, errol, that

. >>> i'm errol barnett in washington, thanks for staying with us.e in central china but frantic search continues after some of the worst flooding in recorded history, eight inches fell in just one hour on tuesday and then it kept coming, a year's worth of rain in just three days. terrified passengers were stuck on subway cars during rush hour as flood waters reached to their chest. roads and bridges wiped out. thousands without power. clean drinking water is in short supply. three dozen are known to be dead and others missing, swept away by the torrent. now that report. >> reporter: the deluge took the city and these commuters by surprise, trapping hundreds in subway carriages as flood waters rushed in. the flood was too powerful and got washed away. didn't have enough strength but i used my arnl too hang on, many struggled to get back to higher ground. with no original option rescue workers pulled people to safety before any remaining air ran out. we smashed the upper part of the glass to let some air in otherwise we would have suffocated. on the g

." >> i'm errol barnett in washington. thanks for staying with us.ing criticism that it was unprepared for the massive flooding that inundated large sections of the country. heavy rains touched off flash floods that devastated towns and villages and left nearly 200 people dead. now the government says it sent out text alerts while torrential rain was falling, but claims it's the job of local government to warn residents. meanwhile, thousands are without power or clean drinking water as the country digs out. chris livesay is there. >> reporter: is one of the many bridges. not something you would expect in a country with such infrastructure and warning systems. after days of swelling rivers,w bridges, homes, even swaths of villages vanished. no, not in a beleaguered developing nation, but across europe's economic powerhouses like in the tiny germantown of insul. did you ever imagine something like this happening here in germany? >> well, i think not of this magnitude, not of this size. >> i don't think anyone has imagined or could have imagined somethi

errol barnett has that story. >> look, we have a perfect storm here of high demand and persistent supply people who want to get away be, threw are decreasing methods of transportation available to get there. and that means higher costs for all of us on theann you drill d these digits, though, you'll find some reason for optimism later, and perhaps some tough choices now. >> i think it's highway robbery. prices are ridiculous right

erroll barnett looks back at how this disaster changed aviation and so many lives forever. >>> he wasand i was a new college graduate. >> reporter: frank walter steinmeier and her fiance heidi snow cinader had one last phone call before his trip to paris aboard flight 800. ys," and he told me he l would call when he got to paris. >> about 6,000 feetphed telling the television, everything changed. >> i saw the twa 800 debris burning on the dark atlantic oce ocean. and everything we planned together started to shatter. >> reporter: minutes after takeoff from jfk at almost 14,000 feet, 230 passengers and crew from ten countries experienced a midair explosion. >> the fuel was burning the water, and you couldn't stand the smell or the fumes. they were just burning your eyes. >> reporter: one of the first reporters on the scene, cbs news senior investigative producer pat milton who at the time was with the "associated press." oy hauling bodies into the boat but treating them with such dignity and grace. it was just an incredible, incredible experience to see. >> reporter: there were no surv

erroll barnett. i traveled this weekend. it was a mess. >> reporter: yes, jamie. you were among the hundreds of thousands of people who traveled through airports like this one at dca this holiday weekend. all of this travel is happening right after the delta variant had been doubling every two weeks. it had pumped up in every 50 state and that preceded the holiday scramble. there was a real sense of rev valerie on the fourth of july as an estimated 48 million people left their homes to celebrate. >> it's good to be free again without the mask, at least outside. >> reporter: the growing threat is the delta variant of covid-19. it's 40 to 60% more transmissible with indications it may cause more serious disease. it now makes up more than 1/4 of all cases nationwide. >> all this travel this weekend mixes people up. the delta virus is traveling also so it will be introduced everywhere. >> reporter: dr. william shatner is an infectious disease expert at vanderbilt. >> we may see cases start to go up again along with hospitalizations and then down the road once again de

erroll barnett is following this. what is going on here? >> reporter: yeah. hey there. look, we have a perfect storm here of high demand and persistent supply chain issues. there are increasing numbers of people who want to get away, but there are decreasing method of transportation available to get there. and that means higher costs for all of us on the move. when you drill down into these digits, though, you'll find some reason for optimism later and perhaps some tough choices now. >> i think it's highway robbery. prices are ridiculous now. >> reporter: from california gas stations to florida hotels, the cost of moving around the country is up. way up. including jumps in prices for air fare and car rentals. >> we just can't afford it. >> reporter: tally halte lives in ohio with her boyfriend mikey o'malley. her family is i his are in ireland. so the recent increase in airline prices means difficult decisions. >> really want to go everywhere, do all the things. but because of the prices being so high right now, we just can't. we can't afford the extra trips. >> reporte

errol barnett shows us what's in store for travelers. errol, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jericka you and everyone else hitting roads can expect lots of company. the increased demand in fuel is pushing up prices at this stakes here, an exxon prices moved up a few cents to $3.29, slightly higher than the national average, $3.13 a gallon. all of this a 42 jump from where we were just this time last year. and we should highlight that if you see while out on the roads fuel stations that are out of gas, please do not freak out. there is no fuel shortage. it's just that many fuel drivers that were laid off during the pandemic have not returned to work. so in some places around the country gas stations are having a hard time getting fuel to the pump. but don't worry, it is there. and it's another sign of of traveler optimism looking at how many people are fly, 3.5 million expected to take to the skies over this pandemic weekend. and if you are not near the television, can you guess the top 4th of july destination this weekend? on the

errol barnett is at the racetrack in brooklyn. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. tech and i can tell you that come rain or shine this weekend these races are on. >> coming down into the chicane -- >> it's heart stopping and a racing tournament for the 21 century. >> coming up, they're still three wide. >> electric racing cars earning fans by burning rubber. >> brilliant drive from him. >> do you see any of the team as your biggest threat or is everybody a threat? >> the beauty of formula e is it's so close, every team is a threat. >> reporter: susie wolf is team principal for rokit venturi vaulting her driver to the top of the driver standings. >> this is one of our cars getting unpacked. >> reporter: the tournament is far from over. >> it's brutal. only one winner and everyone wants to win but sport is pure and you know how good you're doing based on your track results. >> the checkered flag falls. >> reporter: leading is mercedes. >> the electric mobility age is upon us. >> reporter: the team principal who worked for a time at the mercedes plant in tuscaloosa, a

on "cbs this morning" our errol barnett spoke with pete buttigieg about getting this done. >> the abeeneasing pressuring on congress to act on the improving nation's transit network. last week, swinging through oregon, arizona and illinois, touting regional benefits of federal investments. >> not one of our airports is in the top-25 airports around the world. altogether it adds up to a country that has fallen out of the top-ten in infrastructure. if we allow that to continue we can is not be the world's leading economy for much longer. >> devil is going to be in the details. >> reporter: republican congressman rodney davis represents southern illinois and voted against the $715 billion house infrastructure bill that passed earlier this month. >> it was nothing but partisan and would punish rural america at the expense of urban america with the policies listed in that bill. >> reporter: davis says the most urgent need in his district is for road and bridge repair. the republican chairman of chicago's regional transit authority agrees. >> i ride into downtown chicago on a railcar that was