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captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, we haven't seen anything like this in more than 55 years. across the middle of the country the sun is beating down on dying crop and shrinking lakes. we got word in the newsroom today from the federal government that more than half of the continental united states 55%, is now experiencing moderate to exceptional drought. that is more of america drying out than at any time since 1956. we're going to look at why this is happening and when it might stop and we start with anna werner in texas with the dramatic pictures of how the country is suffering. >> reporter: times are hard on easy street. that's the name of this marine in in jonestown, texas. the falling water level has forced the owner to temporarily move his marina out to deeper water three times in six years. >> there's only so much you can take as a small business person when this is... this keeps happening over and over and over again. >> reporter: lake travis is not just for recreation, it's part of a network of reservoirs th

>> victoria coates: yeah. >> pelley: there was no box for "car." >> victoria coates: no. >> pelley: soyou lied to them. >> victoria coates: basically. >> pelley: you do what you have to do. >> victoria coates: there was not an option to take my girls away. >> pelley: i wonder if some of these families are hiding from the system, hiding from you because, as one woman put it to us today, she said, "i was afraid that, if they found out we were living in the car, the state would take my children away from me." >> beth davalos: yeah, they're scared. they're very scared. and the reality is, if the state found them in a car, they could... their children could be taken away and put someplace safe for now. but when we find them, we can put them someplace safe. >> pelley: the coates tried to go someplace safe-- they called every shelter in the area, but they were all full. after ten days in the car, the only thing in the bottom of the cooler was an orange. so, victoria started calling again. >> victoria coates: and we called each and every one of them. and then i got to the last one, which was o

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, the theater behind me was packed early this morning with people who had come to experience a big fantasy. but it was soon interrupted by a real-life plot so diabolical few could have imagined it. just a short time ago, authorities began removing the bodies of those killed in the massacre as the investigation continues. people have been coming here all day waiting for word of their loved ones. some of these images were captured by the "denver post". here's what we know: 71 people were shot at the midnight premier of the new batman movie. at least 12 are dead. many of the wounded are in critical condition this evening. 24-year-old james eagan holmes is under arrest. the police say that he booby trapped his apartment before heading to the theater to carry out the attack. we have a team of correspondents covering this rapidly developing story, including the biggest mystery of all, the motive. first we'll turn to barry petersen. >> reporter: for theater goer this is started as a very spec

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. gunfire took down three more people last night in chicago. homicides in america's third-largest city are up 38% this year. almost all of them casualties in the gang war. but the victims are not all gang members. innocent children are being shot. monday mayor rahm emanuel said this: . >> you got two gang bangers, one standing next to a kid. get away from that kid. take your stuff to the alley. don't touch the children of the city of chicago. don't get her near them. >> pelley: the gangs didn't get the message. last night three children were shot-- a 12-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and 13-year-old tishona poke. she was shot in a leg in a city park. crime is down in chicago in all categories except this surge in homicides. what's driving the violence? we asked dean reynolds to help us find out. >> almost all of the violence we're seeing now is from the gangs. >> reporter: sergeant matt little leads one of the teams in chicago's gang enforcement unit. there are about 200 such officer

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. this is worst economic recovery america has ever had. we've been looking for hopeful signs, but today the chairman of the federal reserve threw a cold splash of reality on those hopes. ben bernanke said any improvement in unemployment will "likely be frustratingly slow." well, yes, to say the least. have a look at this. this chart starts in january, 2008, with the steep rise in unemployment. unemployment soared over 8% and it has stayed over 8% for 41 months in a row. it's 8.2% right now. bernanke was telling congress how he saw the near future, and we asked anthony mason to fill us in. >> reporter: in battle creek, michigan, this week, the "now hiring" call posted by a casino brought 1,500 job applicants hoping to win one of the 300 new jobs the gambling center will create. but fed chairman ben bernanke seems unsure which way to bet on the economy right now. bernanke told congress today the financial crisis in europe is slowing the economy here. >> moreover, the possibility that the

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. most everyone who saw james holmes in court on monday wondered about his mental state or whether he was medicated. he looked like he didn't know he was there. he wasn't following the conversation, and when the judge asked hem a question, holmes' lawyer jumped in before he could speak. well, tonight, we have learned that holmes was in fact under the care of a psychiatrist before he allegedly opened fire on the audience in a movie theater in colorado, killing 12 and wounding 43. anna werner has the late-breaking details at the arapahoe county jail where holmes is held in solitary confinement tonight. >> reporter: a motion filed by joms' public defender reveals he was under the care of psychiatrist lynne fenton. dr. fenton is the medical director of student mental health services. holmes was a graduate student at the school. earlier this week, school officials said students were monitored by mental health specialists. >> the faculty and program leadership meet on a regular basis to disc

for all of us at cbs news all around the world, i'm scott pelley. sunday on "60 minutes." good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ç?ç?ç?ç?ç?ç >>> now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. >>> kirstie alley. bristol palin. what you don't know about how they chose "dancing with the stars'" new all-star cast. the big surprises. who was left out? is there already backstage drama? and our exclusive with donny osmond. what brought donny to tears. >>> was robert pattinson about to propose to kristen stewart right before the cheating scandal broke? the new report that he's heartbroken as we take a long look at infamous. >>> and

. >> pelley: barry, thank you. the police are telling us at this hour that holmes had more to his plot than the attack on the theater. his apartment building about four miles from here has been evacuated. john miller is in new york talking to his sources and he has that part of the story. john? >> reporter: well, scott, according to police sources, the same suspect who would not tell police what the motive was for the shooting did tell them if they went to his apartment they might find explosives. he didn't mention it was a trap. after arresting james holmes, police went to his residence but they moved cautiously and that may have saved lives. standing on top of an armored vehicle, a swat team member held a camera at the end of the a pole. he saw a sophisticated booby trap set to kill anyone coming through the front door. >> they appeared to be incendiary devices. there's some chemical elements there linked together with all kinds of wires. >> reporter: investigators now believe holmes used a timer to set off loud

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. in the east, millions are without power tonight. in the west, thousands are fled their homes. rarely do we see the power of wind and fire over so much of the nation at once. the wind came in hurricane force announced friday night across the mid-atlantic by lightning that some described as an artillery barrage. destruction stretches 600 miles across ten states. 22 were killed over the weekend, mostly by uprooted trees that had been turned over in 80 miles an hour winds. more than two million homes and businesses are still without power. marcia mcleod and her great granddaughter mikaila milton found refuge in a red cross center in virginia. in the west, emmanuel and his daughter grace have no home to return to. the wildfire in colorado leveled their neighborhood. firefighters are still working to surround those flames. we have several correspondents on these stories tonight, and first we will go to chip reid in washington, d.c. chip? >> reporter: well, good evening, scott. the ferociou

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it was a strange and jarring picture. we got our first look today at the man accused of the worsz mass shooting in u.s. history-- the movie theater massacre in aurora, colorado. 24-year-old james holmes made his first court appearance, but from the looks of him, it wasn't entirely clear that he knew he was there. sitting next to one of his attorneys, his orange hair made him look like a character from the batman movies. as the judge spoke, holmes didn't seem to make eye contact. in fact, he didn't seem to follow the conversation at all. we have a team of correspondents covering this story. barry petersen was in the courtroom with holmes and, barry how did he seem in person? >> reporter: well, i have to say scott, it was really sort of eerie to be there. he seemed so unvovled. it was almost chilling, because we're talking about the fate of his life. frankly, i had a hard time taking my eyes off of him. you keep staring at that face, looking for some clue as to why this happened. he, o

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. whooping cough sounds like a disease from an earlier age but we learn today that we're in the midst of an epidemic that may be the worst outbreak in the united states in more than 50 years. today the centers for disease control said there have been 18,000 cases so far this year. more than double the number by this time last year. nine children have died. whooping cough also known as pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the lungs. where is the outbreak the worst? and why is it happening now? here's jon lapook. >> reporter: this clinic in everett, washington, has seen more than 250 case of whooping cough this year. 20% more than usual. and it's stepping up its immunization. more than 3,000 case of the illness have been diagnosed in washington state, that's 13 times what they saw by this time last year. dr. thomas clark is at the centres for disease control. >> that's really on track to be a record since the 1940s. and we're seeing similar increases in most states aro

visit airoptix.com for a free 1-month trial. >> pelley: there was >> pelley: >> pelley: there was a lotp to be done in the new york city area today after some powerful storms. have a look at this, a giant rain funnel yesterday over queens. this photo was snapped by former pro-football player jones after his plane took off from the t.rport. hope is fading that anyone has urrvived a ferry accident off the east coast of africa. the crowded ferry was sailing yesterday from dar es salaam to zanzibar when it capsized in rough says. at least 68 people are known dead, including one american, but 100 others are still missing. we have been telling you about security concerns at the london olympics, and tonight there's a new one: a strike threat by border guards at heathrow airport. they plan to walk out next iursday in a dispute over pay and job cuts as thousands of people fly in for the games that start the next day. and now, britain's military has put another 1,200 troops on standby to make up for a shortage of security guards. sylvia's restaurant in harlem is a new york institution. for years,

>> pelley: and another controversial newsmaker-- "dr.," jack kevorkian-- went to prison after giving mike this tape. >> jack kevorkian: we're going to inject in your right arm. >> pelley: it shows kevorkian administering a lethal injection to a gravely ill patient who wanted to die. >> wallace: is he dead now? >> kevorkian: he's dying now. >> wallace: there is something almost ghoulish in your desire to see the deed done. >> kevorkian: it appears that way to you-- i can't criticize you for that. but the main point is the last part of your statement-- that the deed be done. >> pelley: but the most shocking interview mike ever did is surely the one with vietnam veteran paul meadlo on "60 minutes" in 1969. >> paul meadlo: i might have killed about ten, 15 of them. >> pelley: meadlo confessed his role in the my lai massacre, the vietnam atrocity by american troops that appalled the nation. even mike was surprised, as he told our late colleague, ed bradley. >> wallace: how in the world do you shoot babies? why in the world... i asked him? how

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, an audacious assassination has blown apart the inner circle of family and enforces that has kept the syrian dictatorship in power during a 17-month rebellion. this evening there are street battles in the capital and the u.s. defense secretary says syria is spinning out of control. it was a bomb planted inside the daily meeting of president bashar al-assad's security chiefs. three are known dead including defense ministerdaoud raja, the president's brother-in-law and the feared former head of the military intelligence and hassan turk manny, a former defense minister. others were wounded, most importantly the head of the dictatorship's secret police. syria does not often allow journalists into the country but we have reports tonight from two correspondents who have worked there extensively. elizabeth palmer reporting in london. >> reporter: after a year and a half of slowly escalating conflict, today's bombing is the first time the syrian regime has suffered a truly crushing blow. a fu

>> pelley: tonight, there was an early warning of the movie theater massacre. james holmes sent a letter before the killings. reports from john miller and anna werner as the first victim is laid to rest. what grows in a drought? food prices. dean reynolds on how much more you'll be paying. rebels claim they now control half of syria's biggest city. clarissa ward is in syria. elizabeth palmer across the border in lebanon. and nasa's mission to mars. >> this mission is the coolest thing i think we've ever done. >> pelley: bill whitaker on why it's being called "seven minutes of terror." >> pelley: good evening, no one saw the movie it out days before thecoul ng suspect james it out days before thecoul ng suspect james d been sent to correspondent john miller detail cted. reporte u.s. p might sent out.they didn't fint know the pa butf's bomb it ives inside. sources say the a pent-up holmes to of his psors. in it he ta psors. in it he ta people andd crude s. days rooday's shooting butbee procesl former profiler mary ellen says we may see more letters from mary elle

begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. >> pelley: it >> pelley: it's summer, it's hot.unusual to see kids selling lemonade, a chance to put a few bucks in their pocket. but there's something different about a lemonade stand in virginia and this young entrepreneur, so we sent wyatt andrews out to meet him. >> lemonade. >> reporter: the first thing to know about this lemonade stand is that it was johnny's idea. >> lemonade. eight-year-old johnny karlinchak. for johnny this is a fund-raiser for a cause that he wrote on the money jar. >> what does your sign say mere? >> this is mrs. myers building fund. >> this is my living rom. >> mrs. myers is elissa myers, a close family friend and neighbor. three weeks ago after a storm pushed this oaktree into her home, johnny donated his savings of five quarters. >> from his piggy bank an he said i'm just getting started. i'll be back. >> which was all very nice but why do this? johnny says he owes mrs. myers for what she did in a time of tragedy. >> she helped us. now it's time to help her. >> reporter: how did she help you. >> she g

>> pelley: tonight, taking on the gangs. chicago announces new tactics against an epidemic of murder. dean reynolds reports from the street. we'll ask the mayor about his war on gang violence. >> we have a gun issue, we have a gang issue, and we're going right at the heart of it. >> pelley: the president tries to change the subject from jobs to tax cuts, but not cuts for everyone. norah o'donnell is at the white house. seth doane has lance armstrong's answer to the doping charges that could strip him of his titles. and john black stone on how a former gang member in los angeles is rescuing a new generation. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. reporting tonight from chicago. >> pelley: good evening. there's an important story breaking this sum, and it is happening here in america's third-largest city. homicides in chicago are up 38% this year. that's 275 murders so far in 2012. nearly all of them casualties of a gang war. it's even more remarkable when you consider that overall crime

. >> pelley: wow. anna, thank you. meteorologist david bernard for wfor in miami is our cbs news severe weather consultant. david, we just heard anna talk about these back-to-back la ninas. when duds that end? >> the good news, scott, is that the la nina is slowly weakening. in fact, we're transitioning, at least potentially, to a weak el nino as we go into the autumn and winter. now, if that does occur, that does have the potential to at least bring some drought relief to parts of the country. >> pelley: remind us what el nino is. >> when we talk about el nino-- and for that matter la nina-- we're talking about the pacific waters in the equatorial areas. generally all those areas along and just north of the equator in the central and eastern pacific and when we go from louisiana to el nino, that means we're heading from cooler water to warmer waters and those warper waters from el nino can produce a more active storm trek across the country and that's why at times, if it's strong enough, we can get beneficial rain. >>

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, one month after jerry sandusky was convicted on 45 counts including rape and sodomy of young boys, a new report today accuse of late football coach joe paterno and other officials at penn state of knowing what sandusky was doing and covering it up, allowing the horrific crimes to continue another 13 years. this is the final report of an investigation headed by louis freeh, a former federal judge and former director of the fbi. armen keteyian is in philadelphia with details. armen, what do we know. >> reporter: good evening, scott. the report laid out in detail what freeh called the callous and shocking disregard for child victims by the most powerful leaders at penn state, including paterno, a towering figure for five decades. >> it was like going against the president of the united states. >> reporter: the former fbi director pointed to the culture at the heart of the cover-up. he charged that paterno, former president graham, senior vice president gary schultz and athletic director

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. new orleans is famous for many things, but it is infamous for one. the police department is among the most corrupt in america. plagueded by bribery and violence. today in an agreement with the city, the federal government moved in to clean it up. it's an unprecedented top-to-bottom overhaul, and chip reid has the story. >> reporter: attorney general eric holder today announced a plan to completely transform the new orleans police department. one of the worst police forces in the nation. >> this agreement is the most widespread, wide-ranging in the department's history. >> reporter: the plan will change dozens of police policies and procedures on everything from training to recruitment to interrogation. for example, all officers will get 40 hours of training on the use of force and 24 hours on searches and arrests. officers will be barred from stopping or arresting people on the basis of their race, sex or sexual orientation. cameras will be installed in patrol cars. interrogations wi

>> pelley: tonight is there an economic upturn on our doorstep? home prices are up, incomes are rising. but americans are still reluctant to spend. >> we get people that come into the store, they think we can negotiate and parter. >> pelley: reports from dean reynolds, sharyl attkisson and rebecca jarvis. the most critical battle of the syrian civil war, charlie d'agata is with the rebels on the road to aleppo. you could be getting a rebate on health insurance, ben tracey on a little known provision of the health care reform law. and among those summering at the cape is a very dangerous crowd. >> just like out of a movie, but knew was a shark. >> pelley: seth doane on the sharks of 2012. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. good evening. we have just begun the fourth year of what has been a very bumpy recovery from the great recession. today we got some indications that better times may be near. for one thing, home prices were up more than 2% in may, and that's the third monthly increase. and americans saw

if we're going to finish it. >> pelley: spencer west finished on top in june.0,000 feet, the kilimanjaro volcano in tanzania is the world's tallest stand-alone mountain. west is as full of adventure as any man we've ever met-- but take a step back and you see that the climber has no legs. >> my family and i were told by the doctors that i would never sit up by myself, that i would never walk by myself and i probably wouldn't be a funking member of society. >> pelley: they didn't know what the possibilities could be. >> exactly, exactly. >> pelley: a genetic defect at birth made his legs useless. the doctors amputated at the hip. but that didn't break his spirit nor his stride. a few years ago, bored with his office job, west joined a charity called "free the children." he leads kids from north america to africa to build schools and on one trip an african kid had a question. >> the young girl raised her hand and she said to me that she didn't know something like that-- meaning the loss of my legs-- could happen to white people, too. when that girl said that to m

>>. >> in terms of with jerry sandusky. >> pelley: yes. >> no, he did not. and he did not-- i can tell you this, joe did not interfere with any investigations. joe in no way or shape or form ever suspected that jerry sandusky was a child pedestrian ter. it is easy now to say that people should have known. but you have to give him the benefits of only the facts they had at the time. >> pelley: in the statement that your father wrote just a month before he died and was published for the first time yesterday, he says i feel compelled to say in no uncertain terms that this is not a football scandal. was he deluding himself about the depth of the moral failure here? >> what i think you have to understand is that statement that he wrote was a reaction, simply, to some of the things that had been said about the football program. he wanted to make sure that the sacrifices our player players-- players had made to do things the right way was to the being tarnished by the actions of one man, for which those players were not responsible. >> pelley: jay paterno, son of c

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, no one saw the movie theater massacre coming but someone could have. it turns out days before the shooting the suspect james holmes mailed a package to the university of colorado anschutz medical campus where he had been a student. the package had been sent to a psychiatrist who was also holmes' professor but that package wasn't discovered until monday, three days after the shooting. this story is just breaking tonight and our senior correspondent john miller has details. john, what do we know? >> reporter: scott, this was not unexpected. as we reported, u.s. postal inspectors have been searching through the mailboxes near the suspect's home looking for letters or packages james holmes might have sent out. they didn't find any, but now we know that's because the package had already been sent even before the shooting. on monday afternoon, investigators scoured the mail room at the university of colorado and found what they've been searching for-- a piece of mail from the alleged shoot

>> pelley: thanks, sharyl. now we have some rare insight this evening into how the supreme court reached its decision to uphold president obama's health care law. it turns out the ruling almost went the other way. our chief legal correspondent jan crawford has been talking to her sources and she has learned that the decision hinged on one changed vote. jan? >> reporter: scott, it was a shift that no one would have expected. chief justice john roberts, who was appointed by president george w. bush to lead this court in a more conservative direction initially was poised to strike down the key part of the health care law. but then he changed his mind and the outcome of this entire case. after oral arguments in the landmark case, sources tell cbs news roberts agreed with the court's four conservative justices that the heart of the law, the individual mandate that requires all americans to buy health insurance, was unconstitutional. but as roberts set out to write the court's majority opinion-- according to two sour

help protect your eye health. >> pelley: there's a jim?er of nope medical research tonight about a drug that appears to stop the progression of alzehimer's disease in some patients. the results are preliminary and the study small but we wanted to know more so we asked dr. jon lapook. >> reporter: six years ago, joice williams was given the diagnosis of a disease with no cure. her husband sterling says at first sticking with daily routines helped her cope we the symptoms. >> she gets up and makes breakfast every morning, she does the clothes, she irons. >> does the cooking. (laughs) >> reporter: williams is part of a small group of people to try an experimental drug to slow the progress of the disease. it's called i.v.i.g. and contain anti-bodies from people who don't have alzehimer's disease. the anti-bodies appear to attack amyloids, the plaque that damages the brain and is the hallmark of alzheimer's. of the 24 patients in the study, 11 showed less decline than the placebo group. doctors were also trying to determine the best dosage and

. >> pelley: good evening. heat in the summer is not news, but this summer is making history. over the last eight days, 2,400 high-temperature records have been tied or broken. on the eve of the fourth of july, americans are looking for independence from the weather. temperatures today climbed into the 90s and the 100s. they're really feeling it in those states hit hard by that fierce weekend storm in the east. in nearly 1.5 million homes and businesses, there is still have no electricity-- no power, no air. what's behind the record weather? we asked chip reid to find out. >> reporter: it's not just hot out there, it's record-breaking hot. this spring was the hottest since the government began keeping records in 1895. 150 million americans have spent some portion of the past week under a heat warning. in tiny norton, kansas, last week, it hit 118 degrees-- hotter than death valley. >> i don't think we've seen any conditions like this before. >> reporter: climate scientist kevin trenberth is with the federally f

for instance at a local gun range. >> pelley: an, that thank you. today at the first of the funerals, about 150 people respects to gordon cowden. his family remembered him as a quick-witted world traveler with a keen sense of humor and devoted to his children. there are still 17 people in the hospital tonight-- six of them are in critical condition. now the worst drought in more than 50 years. 42 state are in dry conditions and today the agriculture department gave us its first prediction of what it could mean for food prices. by next year, beef could cost as much as 5% more. dairy products 4.5% more. and there could be a 4% increase on poultry and eggs. dean reynolds reports that we've already seen a 50% jump in the price of corn in just the last month. >> reporter: because corn is such an integral part of everyday food-- from livestock feed to sweeteners for sodas and snacks-- the poor yield this is year on farms like bob bleuer's in illinois can mean only one thing for prices. >> they're going to go up and they're going to go up big time. this co

. >> pelley: thanks, chip. many people across ten states are dealing with a heat wave now with no electricity for air conditioning. we sent sharyl attkisson to find them and she's in silver spring, maryland, this evening. sharyl? >> reporter: scott, in this silver spring, maryland, neighborhood a dozen trees lost their battle with the derecho and took the power lines with them. >> reporter: lynn bailes and his wife who are both hearing impaired are about to spend their fourth night toughing it out. >> no air conditioning, no electricity and we can't get out. >> reporter: this is why they can't get out. a giant red elk has fallen on power lines and blocked the only way out for a dozen families on the cul-de-sac. it also uprooted a water main and cut off the water supply. several elderly are among the marooned. >> my next door neighbors, the lady across the street and i tried to say that thinking that it might get us quicker service but it hasn't happened yet. so we're trapped. >> we came over here to garfield...

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. mitt romney was hoping his big, overseas trip to britain, israel, and poland would get plenty of attention, and it is, for all the wrong reasons. the trip was designed to establish his foreign policy credentials, but instead, on his very first stop, he found himself trying to dig out of a diplomatic blunder. in london, he offended the british over their handling of the olympics. chief political correspondent jan crawford is with the republican presidential candidate. jan, fill us in. >> reporter: well, scott, that blunder happened yesterday in an interview with nbc news when romney talked about problems in the run-up to london's olympics. >olympics. >> there were a few things that were disconcertificating, the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials. that, only, is not something which is encouraging. >> reporter: romney's remarks became a full-blown controversy this morning when primedavid cameron,

>> pelley: tonight, 2,000 records broken. new high temperatures are marked this week as the heat wave won't let go. why is this happening now? chip reid reports. heads roll at barclays. liz palmer on how the bank rigged interest rates behind student loans, credit cards, and mortgages. armen keteyian on american doctors allegedly buying illegal cancer drugs from overseas. >> reporter: hi, i'm armen keteyian from cbs news. >> pelley: he created one of the most beloved characters in t.v. history. bill whitaker on the death of andy griffith. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, heat in the summer is not news, but this summer is making history. over the last eight days, 2,400 high-temperature records have been tied or broken. on the eve of the fourth of july, americans are looking for independence from the weather. temperatures today climbed into the 90s and the 100s, they're really feeling in the those states hit hard by that fierce w

. >> pelley: the gangs didn't get the message. last night three children were shot-- a 12-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and 13-year-old tishona poke. she was shot in a leg in a city park. crime is down in chicago in all categories except this surge in homicides. what's driving the violence? we asked dean reynolds to help us find out. >> almost all of the violence we're seeing now is from the gangs. >> reporter: sergeant matt little leads one of the teams in chicago's gang enforcement unit. there are about 200 such officers in the city versus 100,000 gang members. >> when there's a shooting, we'll respond to the shooting. we'll figure out where we believe the most likely area for retaliation is and we'll work that area trying to both prevent retaliation and possibly build a case. >> reporter: we road along with little's team as dusk fell on poor neighborhoods of vacant lots and high anxiety. >> the gangs have lost their hierarchy, so to speak. and without a chan of command there's really nobody keeping things in check. >> report

. >> pelley: dean, thank you. a short while ago we visited city hall and met with chicago's new mayor, rahm emanuel. emanuel took office a little over a year ago. he was white house chief of staff in the first two years of the obama administration. before that he was a chicago area congressman. mayor emanuel brought in a new police suspect and crime is down in this city about 10% with the one exception of murder. >> i got a letter from a viewer the other day who asked us why we were spending so much time at the evening news covering afghanistan when more people were dying in chicago. why is the murder rate up 38%? >> well, first of all, scott, let's give everybody... your viewers a fair view. crime year over year is down 10%. >> pelley: other kinds of crime, other than homicide. >> burglary, armed rob rishgs theft, 10%. so we have a gun violence issue specifically tied to gangs. so we've readjusted the strategy closing liquor stores and communities where are that are a magnet and cancer on the community for gangs

ask your doctor about cialis for daily use >> pelley: sally ride has died. pancreatic cancer. she was the first american woman in space, an inspiration to the 42 others who followed her. here's seth doane. >> reporter: sally ride was a physicist when she answered a nasa ad seeking applicants for space program. in 1983, she became the first american woman in space. >> the thing i'll remember most about that flight is that it was fun and, in fact, i'm sure it's the most fun i'll ever have in my life. >> let me just remind you that when we have lunch here at the white house before your flight that somebody said that sometimes the best man for a job was a woman. you were there because you were the best person for the job. >> reporter: she served on a panel investigating the "challenger" disaster. ride inspired countless young women to pursue careers in science. she founded sally ride science which developed science-themed camps, festivals and classes for children who dreamed about reaching for the stars. >> it's a real experience and the experience of a lifetime

. >> pelley: chip, thank you. we've learned something new today about what was happening inside the theater during friday's massacre in aurora, colorado. today two women who were wounded said the suspect, james holmes, was shouting at his victims. barry pederson has the interview. >> reporter: witnesses say the shooter said nothing as he repeatedly fired into the audience. but from the hospital, survivors alee young who was shot in the neck and stephanie davis who kept her friend from bleeding to death remember it differently. >> i see him up there. and i'm hearing him yell at people and then you just hear the rounds going off just boom, boom, boom, boom. >> reporter: off camera davis told reporters later he would shout, "what are you doing? i said stand up." he would pick people up. i saw him stand over someone. i just see hair and him holding the shirt and, boom. >> it's sad for me to know that there's people out there that just go through life where they just massacre, you know, for lack of a better word, just

>> pelley: tonight, going broke. a city near bankruptcy cuts the pay of firemen and cops to minimum wage. another city's cuts have students jammed into classrooms. elaine quijano and ben tracy on cities in crisis. the supreme court upheld the president's health care law. but now several states are opting out. anna werner reports. what's behind this extreme weather? wyatt andrews says a government study out today names the culprit. and david martin on the unbelievable mountains of paper that stand between wounded veterans and their benefits. >> you're surrounded by paper. >> i am. i am. this is my daily life. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. if you go to the official website for scranton, pennsylvania, you will find this boast: "the future is here." well, city workers hope not because their pay has just been slashed to minimum wage. scranton is just one of many cities struggling to recover from the great recession. american cities have seen their re

and scott, home prices are now at about the same level they were in early 2003. >> pelley: thanks,. the federal reserve board is meeting today and tomorrow to talk about what if anything the feds should do to try to jolt the economy. we asked rebecca jarvis to get a sense what was the prospects are, and we found out last week that the economy grew at 1.5% in the spring. what could the fed do to help? >> reporter: the fed has three primary options, scott. it could keep interest rates at or near zero percent for longer, say as many as three more years. it could buy more treasuries, to stimulate the economy. or it could give banks less interest for the reserves that they keep at the fed. >> pelley: i'm curious, interest rates have been near zero for 3.5 years, hard to imagine, still happy made much of a dent in unemployment. why doesn't that work? >> reporter: the underlying thought here is that doing this will get the banks lending at cheaper rates. but the banks have to want to lend the money to get the money out into the hands of consumers, and consumers and businesses have to want