if v.a. is holding property and longer uses or is underutilized they need to find out how to get rid of that property. in the process of figuring out how to get rid of it, they need to have that conversation with the community to ensure those veterans understand that there is still services. there is the fear that my hospital is going away and my services are going away. they need to understand that that will continue to be in the community. it's going to be right size for that community. there is no need to spend three dollars per square foot to maintain a building that is no longer being used just to keep them off bold. >> if i could dovetail onto that -- the thing that the v.a. has been involved in, that committee wants to keep the medical center. i understand if you have an unutilized building is taking up space. certainly there are regions where it's just not effective. we have to make sure those veterans are included as part of that planning process and they are being listened to. there

-- in the v.a.? >> i think we have all been impressed with what he and debit or he gives an have done in the short time they have been here. i would say that, yes, we appreciate what he's doing and what he's trying to do and hope that we will work with him to make sure that these changes happen. >> we see a difference in spots. there's going to be areas that are slower to change than other areas, but we are seeing pockets of improvement. just solving the problem in west l.a., land management issue, and a very short time, something that's been around for years. it is an indication that he is hands-on. he will get things done. it's people at all levels to do the same thing. >> my time is expired, but can i give yes or no. >> i will give a yes. yes. they are starting to own problems to come which is a big change. >> i agree with my politics -- colleagues. >> i agree there is a difference. i would say that hr 216 is special -- scheduled to be marked up tomorrow. we would expect to see that pass very quic

my v.a.. that is the way we want the veterans to think about it. there's, personalized, customize. this entails organizational reforms to better unify efforts. it focuses on five objectives that i have shown here on the bottom. the first is improving the veteran experience so that every veteran has a seamless integrated, and responsive customer service experience every single time. second improving the employer experience of of the employees can better serve veterans. we have no hope of taking care of veterans of we don't take care of the employees of the v.a.. third, improving the internal support system services. four, establishing a culture of continuous improvement so that local levels can correct problems more immediately and then replicate proven solutions across our entire network. fifth, enhancing strategic partnerships. my v.a. revolutionizes the culture and the department around the needs of veterans measuring success by outcomes as opposed to some kind of internal metrics. we inten

v.a. about the 2016 budget request. live coverage here on c-span. >> transition to make it seamless and the bumps in the road. i just met a veteran who has been out two years and only 10% disability but the point is, he can't get his paperwork from d.o.d. what are we doing? we have asked this question for years. >> it's a great question. i have to say that secretary hagel and i are totally aligned that we want to have a seamless handoff from the department of defense to v.a. that's why we have instituted programs like tap while the person's on ackive duty. >> congresswoman brown good news to report on this front. although it didn't help that particular veteran. we are actively engaged now in the mandatory tap program for all of our separating service members, including national guard and reserve, for which there are now nearly a million who qualify for benefits that -- did not previously. another thing that's starting right now is the mandatory separation health assessment. if you are goin

the v.a. hospital days before the shooting besides apparently deemed a danger not only is that just stunning, but would that have an impact on the jury? >> well i don't think directly. one thing the defense did try to do is put the v.a. on trial. basically put the iraq war on trial, say, he didn't get the help he needed. he was betrayed by the v.a. and that's what led to this crime, not any sort of intentional decision on his part. that taps into feelings i think a lot of people have about the v.a. fairly or not. i think that's at least one vehicle for the jury to find not guilty by reason of insanity but still. personal responsibility is something the jurors feel strongly about and ultimately that's what usually comes to the fore in these cases. >> the tale you should remember is the tale of the scott pa neti case. he's on death row in texas now. panetti tried his case represented himself in a purple cowboy suit subpoenaed jesus christ john f. kennedy and the pope. the jury in that case found

the v.a.'s highest performing offices. just two weeks prior to that on a site visit to the oakland v.a., the regional and division management told me that these 14,000 claims basically never existed. as a matter of fact, they claimed it was a storied made up by disgruntled employees. the investigation confirmed the discovery of 14,000 claims in a filing cabinet, confirmed that some of these claims dated back to the 1990's, confirmed that thousands of these claims had not been processed and confirmed that the staff at the oakland v.a. had not been directed to properly store these claims. oakland v.a.'s management claimed after my visit that they then had discovered 13,184 veteran benefits claims and 2,15 claims which required action or review. but during an onsite review, office of inspector general could not confirm the existence of these claims due to the oakland v.a.'s management poor record keeping practices. how was oakland v.a. able to arrive at such exact numbers without maintaining recor

it answered our questions by e-mail, saying the v.a.'s brand-new electronic system has transformed mail management for compensation claim minimizing any risk of delays due to lost or misplaced mail. have they already been answered? >> yeah, they owed him an answer. >> reporter: the loss of just one claim hurts both the veteran and their surviving family. dorrie stafford lives in the mountains of northern california in a home with no electricity. >> i wasn't even aware there was widow benefits. i really wasn't. >> reporter: even if it was a modest pension. >> a modest pension. say $400 a month it would so help. >> reporter: the v.a. says it has reduced that disability backlog by 60% and by all accounts there has been progress, but, scott the outside experts from the veterans service groups to the inspector general now say they don't trust the v.a.'s numbers anymore because of all the files that have been concealed or are just not counted at all. >> pelley: wyatt andrews working with cbs producer jennifer janis. thank you. it took the amer

statement, the v.a. is doing more non-v.a.-based care in the private sector and in order for there to be continuity of care those docs have to be able to communicate, then, with the v.a. so we're talking about bidirectional so they can communicate. that's a huge challenge. now in d.o.d., as they go to their electronic health record and as we make recommendations to you as to the selection of plans, there's going to be a lot of care provided in the private sector. so this setting of national standards on how the country will communicate is extremely important, and that's what i would see, senator donnelly, as what's the biggie that's about to come? it's about your leadership, about setting those national standards. >> thank you to all of you, and thank you for your extraordinary service across the board. thank you, thank you mr. chairman. >> senator sullivan? >> thank you, mr. chairman, and i want to also thank the members of the commission, the great work that you've been doing for the country now and before. i first want to g

so the v.a.ng veterans to even use the very act that bipartisan congress passed. so we're kind of stuck in a rock and a hard place. swrer jr. i think what's going on here is the v.a.'s protecting its own turf. we saw last week the new v.a. chief, who's an experienced executive from cincinnati, procter & gamble literally trying to take down a congressman who was questioning the job they were doing. this isn't an agency that's in safe hands here. do we need new management again? >> you know, this is -- if we can get just the veterans' choice act enforced, i think we can take away this monopoly of health care. because what it boils down to is every veteran is equal a certain amount of money in my mind for the veterans administration. so every one of them who contributes to there is able to justify asking for more money. the v.a. has the second largest budget next to dod. second largest. so as long as they have the monopoly on the health care they're able to siphon more money out of the taxpayers. me

this my v.a. reform plan is a joke, making v.a.these i care pins and that's somehow evidence of reform is a joke. we need real reform. my group cba is going to be rolling out on thursday a comprehensive v.a. health care reform plan. we're going to hopefully this is a first step in fundamentally transforming the v.a. and how we deliver health care to our veterans so we see no more stories like this. >> dan caldwell thank you for your time and for your service. to your wife as well. >> thank you. and thank you for your reporting on it. >>> she had a mission to educate young people in nigeria. now this american woman is missing. we'll go live to that region to find out what's being done to find her. >>> and reports of elaborate spending of a congressman. the trail of evidence possibly posted all over instagram. we're building the first one ever to run on natural gas. ships this big running this clean will be much better for the environment. we're proud to be a part of that. toenail fungus? don't hide it... tackle it with fda-approved

the v.a. provide for the services at home if that's what you want. it says if those services can't be provided within 30 days, of the time that you need those services then the v.a. shall provide those services at home if you choose. you can see the hospital, you can be admitted to the hospital of your choice, you can be seen by the doctor of your choice. that was actually something to be rejoiceful about, to be excited about that this congress this senate came together and patched what i call -- what i know to be a significant and important piece of legislation. it's important for the reasons that common sense tells you it's important, that veteran who lives a long way -- veteran who lives a long way from a v.a. facility can now get services at home. a v.a. -- a veteran who had who had to wait in line for too long can now get those services at home. and the other aspect of that is the department of veterans' affairs has told us time and time again about the inability to attract and retain the

hopefully, what's learned at the v.a. and in the nonprofit work that paul, jake, and other organizations are doing, is to partner together to bring a whole -- a holistic approach to healing. stay tuned. thank you so much. everybody has stepped up to do their part, everybody. you are an important part of that. we thank you so much for that. god bless you. >> i will be very quick. four years ago at clay's memorial service, i came in from los angeles. paul came from new york. paula came to me and said we are going to do something with this. we are going to make sure this doesn't happen again. to be here for years later is particularly powerful. i want to commend paul and his incredible team. obvously, susan and richard for continuing to push on this. it was an important issue. a lot of people put a lot of effort into it. with this, i hope we can have the same conversation a year from now right here with all of you as the president -- as we find out where this bill went. the work is just beginning now. we have to implement it

the v.a. didn't help him. they didn't care about him. they took him and put him in a file and stuffed him away. >> 13,000 veterans waiting. >> begging. >> wait for help. >> begging. >>> how some were waiting for benefits and how others nerve lived long enough to see them. >> the news is back here on "cbs this morning." >> announcer: this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by fast signs. more than fast, more than signs. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen. ♪ ♪ ♪ all the goodness of milk all the deliciousness of hershey's syrup. what happens when women use dove bar for 7 days? with one small catch. no mirrors. everyday they wash with dove beauty bar but can only feel what's happening. on the seventh day beautiful skin is revealed. dove is different. with one quarter moisturizing cream it help

which in 2004 the inspector general ranked the dallas v.a. as the worst v.a.silty in america, and that is sad. the proof is in the pudding, you have a individual like eddie ray routh that clearly exhibited signs of mental health disorder and able to kind of walk free and be set loose and put my friend chris at risk. >> everyone says that the veterans should be treated better with mental health when they come bakck. >> yes. >> how do you start that? how do you make it better? >>> itt is clearly a situation to look at -- you have to differentiate between the post-traumatic stress and true mental disorders. >> that is part of the trial. >> yes, and the v.a. kind of threw a blanket post-traumatic stress the on eddie ray routh, and this is a person who had true symptoms of schizophrenia, and true mental disorder, and you can't throw pills and medication at that situation, and you have to heldp the veterans to move on, and you not throw medication and pills at this situation. you want to get the guys healthy. >> and you think that he was suffering from the ptsd or t

v.a., what that is causing. >> thank you very much, senator. i really appreciate that. when i was chief of staff in the army, i had new idea -- i had no idea there were two different formularies between dod and v.a.. i thought that everyone who was using drugs as they were supposed to and were taking off-labeled depressants, that when they showed up in their v.a. on day one, they would provide that prescription to the doctor and he would automatically refill it. that is not the case. we have two different drug formularies. dod, just about anything the fda has approved, they do. when the if it -- when someone gets on the right drug at the right dosage and goes over to the v.a., many times they find themselves in a situation where the doctor looks at them and says, i am sorry. i cannot refill that prescription. you will hear a lot of different stories from folks. i continue to have soldiers come to me -- just last week, i met with one that had the exact same thing happened to him. if there i

the v.a.on measure? >> yes. >> this is something that the administration strongly supports and the president will sign. >> every single day 22 veterans die by suicide. that is according to the veterans affairs department. 22 a day. one new bill passed unanimously by the senate yesterday hopes to change that. it has a new interactive website and improves the quality of care and holds accountable the v.a. after outside evaluations and supports peer help for veterans. it is named after a marine veteran who served in iraq and afghanistan, clay hunt who killed himself in march 2011. he tried to get help for ptsd but as is the case for far too many vets, it wasn't enough. his parents and veterans organizations pled with congress to address this issue and after a long hard fight, it finally happened. jake is from team rubicon and a former marine who served in iraq and afghanistan and was clay hunt's friend at sniper school. thank you for joining us. what was your reaction when this bill finally went

plus, the deaths of three vets at a v.a.spital has one democratic senator facing some very tough questions and an investigation. we're going to bring you the details. we'll speak with one of the people who is calling for that investigation. and next up, there was no dress rehearsal, the queen of pop took a major spill at a major awards show. we'll show you what happened. (coughing) coughing disrupts everyone's life. that's why there's delsym. delsym's advanced time release formula helps silence coughs for a full 12 hours. all night... or all day. >>> there's a surprising challenge that's developing for the president's former chief of staff as chicago mayor rahm emanuel finds himself headed for a runoff. despite his white house credentials and an endorsement from his former boss and the fact he's been spending way more cash than his opponents on this race with nearly 90% of the precincts in emanuel is hovering at about 45% of this vote. his closest challenger cook county commissioner jesus garcia trailing by roughly ten point

plus, the deaths of three vets at a v.a. hospital has one democratic senator facing some very tough questions and an investigation. we're going to bring you the details. we'll speak with one of the people who is calling for that investigation. and next up, there was no dress rehearsal, the queen of pop took a major spill at a major awards show. we'll show you what happened. do you want to know how hard it can be to breathe with copd? it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva respimat does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva respimat. discuss all medicines you take even eye drops. if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells you get hives, vision changes or eye pain or problems passing urine

plus, the deaths of three vets at a v.a.ospital has one democratic senator facing some very tough questions and an investigation. we're going to bring you the details. we'll speak with one of the people who is calling for that investigation. and next up, there was no dress rehearsal, the queen of pop took a major spill at a major awards show. we'll show you what happened. oh i'm on the cookie air diet. you just... and that's it. i prefer real food fruit, nuts, and whole grains. great grains cole. more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. let's get real. doers they don't worry if something's possible. they just do it. at sears optical, we're committed to bringing them eyewear that works as hard as they do. right now, buy one pair and get another free. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per

we call it "my v.a." because we want every single veteran to think of the v.a.s the round customized for them. we are busy trying to become the best customer service organization in the world. we are not a government bureaucracy. we want to be a business, the best customer service oriented business in the world. we want to take care of our veterans. >> and want do you need it to do that? >> it involves a number of things. first of all we have got to eliminate some of the complexity. we have nine lines of business that include everything from the g.i. bill to home mortgage insurance, to health care, which most people know was for, to benefits. each one of those has had its own geographic map. it's own geographic map of organization structure in our country. a couple weeks ago we announced we are in eliminating those nine geographic map and we are moving to one geographic map, five regions around the country. we will follow state boundaries. we are adding simplicities so veterans know how to reach us. right now we have 14 different websites into they all require d

in dallas after he gets out, and the v.a. inspector general called the v.a.st facile the ti in in -- facility the worst v.a. in the nation and so there were all of the checkpoints that could have prevented this death. >> and do you believe in the end of the day, it is a kis of ptsd? >> no, it is a case of what ptsd is a buzzword in the media, but it is a a clear case of someone who had a severe mental disorder and post-traumatic stress and somebody with a serious men a tall disorder and exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia are two different things. >> and brandon, i want to bring in a neighbor of eddie ray routh who employed him in odd jobs. thank you for coming on tim. i understand that you tried to help eddie by creating odd jobs for him, and what did you do? >> that is correct. so he was kind of the guy hanging around the neighborhood aimless, and the mo ether was trying to help him out, and i lived on a big piece of property so i hired him odd jobs to do around the house to help him out. >> and what did he do? help you out to take orders or that? >> well,

he lobbied nearly five years ago to the day and this very town to ensure the v.a. had what it needed to achieve their mission. that's why it's so fitting that we honor his memory here today with this bill. ladies and gentlemen, police joining me and welcoming the president of the united states, barack obama. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you so much. good afternoon. on behalf of michelle and myself, welcome to the white house. thank you, jake, for a moving tribute to your friend, your brother in arms. i think it's clear that clay lives on in you and your devotion to his memory and your commitment to our country. jake, on behalf of all of us, especially on behalf of clay's family friends, and fellow veterans, thank you for your extra nurse service. -- your extraordinary service. we are honoring a young man who is not here, but should be. clay was a proud texan. as a boy, i understand he collected turtles, which is ironic for a kid who never sat still. [laughter] he loved the outdoors. he knew every inch of his grandparents ranch where he fished

. >> reporter: v.a. secretary robert mcdonald seeking out homeless veterans on the streets of los angeles. but it's this exchange as aired on cbs last month, that landed him in trouble. >> army navy? >> army. >> army? what unit? >> special forces. >> special forces? what years? i was in special forces. >> reporter: problem is that's not true. mcdonald was never a member of special forces. >> that is wrong and i have no excuse. >> reporter: at a news conference outside the v.a. today mcdonald tried to make it right. >> with your experience your service to the military then and now, how could you possibly say such a thing? >> i made a mistake. and i apologize for it. >> reporter: but he still took fire today from combat veterans like senator john mccain. >> it was wrong of him to claim that as part of his resume but i'm much more concerned about his performance as secretary of veterans affairs. >> reporter: a graduate of westpoint, mcdonald went on to special warfare training at ft. bragg and joined the 82

treated at the v.a. hospital. picked up at this local mental health clinic, sent to the v.a.or further care because they thought he was a danger to himself and others. and somehow he was release dollars from the v.a. hospital with a couple of days over the objections of the family. and just a few days before he did this -- these outrageous murders. so there is a a lot of issues that are are being looked at the v.a. hospital why they would have released him when he was found by other mental health workers to be a danger to himself and others. >> and the v.a. will say well privacy concerns we can't tell you. anyway, we will try to find out. >> you have been there before. >> anyway dr. baden thank you, sir. >> thank you greta. >> straight ahead, take a look at how the leader of the free world, yes, our president, is spending his time. our political panel here to talk about that next. plus record-setting cold and, yes, guess what? more snow, find out what dangerous winter weather is. headed your way coming up. ...that sound good? not being on this phone call sounds good. it's not

>> pelley: tonight, the v.a. >> pelley: tonight, the v.a. secretary answers for falsely saying that he served in special forces. >> that was wrong, and i have no excuse. >> pelley: dozens are injured when a commuter train hits an abandoned truck. cbs news investigates-- is safety compromised when some airline pilots fly longer hours than a federal limit allows? and senior power. meet one gold medal grandma with a message-- >> i'm old. if i can do it, get with it. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: this is our western edition. this morning, a commuter train hit a truck that was abandoned. no one was killed but 21 of the 58 people on the train were taken to the hospital. tonight, four of them, including the engineer are in critical condition. omar villafranca is at the scene. >> reporter: the explosion and flames lit up the sky after the metrolink train struck the truck just before dawn. ould see three of by daylight, you could see three of the five of the 7.5-ton rail cars toppled over lik

the fact the son was hospitalized, pleaded with the v.a. not to release him. did they weigh in your thinking at all or does it come back to the never really understanding or getting a sense of what his actual psychiatric diagnosis was? >> well, i think the mom was pleading because she knew every time he would stay for the v.a. a certain amount of days, he was free of the drugs and alcohol and got out, he was normal for a couple of days. she just didn't want him released because when he was out, he would go back to old behavior. >> the conversation covered a lot of ground. when we continue, we'll have more of their impressions of the trial, the evidence that they heard and the testimony that moved them. what it was actually like in the juror room. we'll be right back. would you be willing to give up sharing your moments? sacrifice streaming all night long? is it okay to drop a connection, when you need it most? if you're not on the largest, most reliable network, what are you giving up? verizon. he's out there. there's a guy out there whose making a name for hi

and in addition to that, they're saying that a v.a.y is including one within 40 miles of where you live, even though it doesn't provide the service of what you need. >> it's way too early to scrap the program, you're right. we're going to watch this. we're pressed for time but i appreciate you bringing this to our attention. >> he's going out of his way to make this program not work. don't take the dollars away. make it work. >> senator thank you very much. administration, again, says that's not what's going on here. in the meantime, leave it to china to screw up a promising tech giant and leave it to this guy to call it before anyone else. kid: hey dad, who was that man? dad: he's our broker. he helps looks after all our money. kid: do you pay him? dad: of course. kid: how much? dad: i don't know exactly. kid: what if you're not happy? does he have to pay you back? dad: nope. kid: why not? dad: it doesn't work that way. kid: why not? vo: are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed? wealth management at charles

he backtracked on the number of v.a. employees fired due to the v.a. wait time scandal. is the v.a. good hand? major pete hegseth c.e.o. of concerned veterans for america revealed something important. a new report on where the v.a. stand and how to fix it with prominent endorsements. pete, first off where do you stand? what does your report conclude? >> our report concluded that right now under secretary mcdonald unfortunately the bureaucracy is still in control, not the veterans. our 100-page report called fixing veterans health care is meant to put the veteran at the center. give the veteran a choice. if they want to go elsewhere they can. if they want to stay at a vament -- v.a. facility they can. the v.a. is forced to compete for veterans as customers and not take them for granted. that triggers accountability which changes the culture. secretary mcdonald is defending the bureaucracy, not holding it accountable. that is why people are frustrated who are hopeful about his tenure. instead they're seeing business as usual. >> the west point and procter & gamble seemed to be the per

two days after being sent to the v.a.yesterday watts a friend of chris kyle. he posted this after the jury reached their decision. justice servesed for chris and the littlefield family. routh, you thought you had ptsd before. wait till the guys in tdc find out you killed a s.e.a.l. >> greg abbot took the twitter. he wrote justice chris kyle's killer convicted of capital murder. #americansniper. what happens next, well the defense is going tew pealo appeal. they're going to say routh couldn't get a fair deal because of the american sniper movie, so big. where is it going to go? >> nowhere. >> we'll keep you posted. >> six minutes past the top of the hour. we have a fox news alert. >> brand new video in to fox news shows the iranian military launching missiles on an elaborate fake u.s. aircraft carrier. >> kevin corke is live at the white house with what those drills could be all about. what do you know? >> good morning. this is not novel. think back to december. we saw the iranian revolutionary guard conducting drills. but

the head of veterans affairs brought in to repair the v.a. now apologizing after saying he served in special forces when he didn't. martha raddatz standing by. >>> and is this the new face on the front lines against isis? the 28-year-old american who left the u.s. to take them on. >> look on that road. you'll see isis flags. >> tonight, we're right there.

as you know, we also are working with the v.a.eals, with the american college of trial lawyers and with the american legion, we're trying to as best we can to help whittle down that backlog of claims for, you know veterans to have disability claims. and we're also working in other areas. we're going to be meeting with a local law school in a couple of weeks, university of pennsylvania, at their public interest center, to sit down and talk about, as what the professor just said, how can we help from that perspective, bringing in law students and others, to help with the serious problems that veterans have? i, like you, are just heartbroken to see veterans sleeping is under highway underpasses and cardboard boxes. it's just heartbreaking. we'll try to do it as best we can to help alleviate those problems. >> yeah. nikki, let me go to you. your story is remarkable. at one point in your life you were homeless. you went and worked your way and became a lawyer. you're now a national spokesman and working with project home. you look at t

the head of the v.a. robert mcdonald tells a homeless veteran that he was special forces. >> special forces? what years? i was in special forces. >> one problem: he wasn't. and it's causing a lot of controversy. what the v.a. secretary is saying now about not telling the truth to that young man this morning. because mornings are better with friends. >> this is rob lowe and you're watching "fox & friends." >> i am shocked somebody in the administration has a problem telling the truth. >> i am shocked rob lowe does those commercials for cable. >> which rob lowe? >> i cannot watch another one of those commercials. >> i never laugh. you find them entertaining? >> they're crazy. you look at them and go that's rob lowe. >> do you find them entertaining? you do? you don't even know what we're talking about. >> we're taking a poll and you are officially rob. >> thank you very much. >> we're glad that you all are with us to hear that debate and others. got a lot going on this morning. heather nauert is back. >> go

v.a., now apologizing after saying he served in special forces when he didn't. martha raddatz standing by. >>> and is this the new face on the front lines against isis? the 28-year-old american who left the u.s. to take them on. >> look on that road. you'll see isis flags. >> tonight, we're right there. >>> good evening. it's great to have you with us tonight. and we have several developing stories as we come on the air. we start with that stunning commuter train collision. that train slamming into a truck, stuck on the tracks outside los angeles. passengers sent flying. and you can see the fire raging moments after impact. 28 injured. four of them critically. the view from above tonight. rail cars thrown from the tracks. and if you look at the far end of the tracks there on the right, you can see what's left of the truck, charred metal, barely a shell remains. tonight, investigators now say that driver made a wrong turn and then got stuck. we have been on the scene all day. our team still

>> i think the v.a. failed in general to take care of my son adequately. i argued with them met with doctors there, particularly one doctor. and numerous times. and basically i thought the results were going to be good, but in the end i guess they weren't. >> and i know that you have talked with your senator tammy baldwin there who is now coming under fire that there was a report that her staff received at some point there was a lapse of time before any response. we talked about the three veterans including your son who died. i know that you have talked with her some. are you confident that there will be any changes that she'll account at all for what happened here? >> yes. i think, you know, her office has been real helpful ever since she met with us and talked with us. and senator johnson's office they've also reached out to me. and we communicate with senator baldwin's office and senator johnson's office at least a couple times a week. and, yeah, i'd have to say they are trying real hard right now to help make some changes here in a system that i think

ed, let me ask you about these v.a. benefits for eddie ray routh. what we understand, he's receiving money from the v.a. while he's on while. what happens if he's convicted? >> reporter: that was something that came up yesterday at the end of court. this was outside of the presence of the jury, but eddie ray routh's mother talked about how he has been receiving disability payments from the v.a. to the amount of about $30,000 since these killings happened in february of 2013. what's going to happen with this money hasn't really been decided yet. and it's an issue because eddie ray routh has three court-appointed attorneys that are working on his behalf. so we still haven't heard or don't know exactly what the judge is going to decide to do with this money. is he going to force it to pay for the attorneys or what's going to happen? the judge hasn't made any rulings on what's going to happen with this issue. >> thank you all very much for all of that. >>> stick around, tonight cnn will take a closer look at the american sniper right here on cnn at 9:00

it will help v.a.more efficiently use the taxpayer funding it receives to support the programs most effective for our veterans. the house approved this bill in january and i'm confident the senate will follow its lead. deborah johnson says she wishes congress would have taken up legislation to improve mental health services years ago. as the president of the arkansas chapter of gold star mothers deborah hears similarities from other families who have suffered a loss because of suicide. she admits that a one-size-fits-all approach will not adequately address mental health struggles but it's hopeful the clay hunt save act will prevent other families from suffering the pain that hers liches with. we owe it to deborah and others like her who have lost loved ones to this battle as well as service members and veterans coping with meant health issues to make this one of the first bills the 114th congress sends to president obama to sign. with that, mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presidi

now to v.a.eaking for the first time since being caught lying about his service. >> thank you for coming. i'm bob mcdonalds. as you know while i was in los angeles and engaging with a homeless man to determine his veteran status i asked the man where he served in the military. he responded that he had served in special forces and in an attempt to connect with that

>> pelley: tonight the v.a. secretary answers for falsely saying that he served in special forces. >> that was wrong and i have no excuse. >> pelley: dozens are injured when a commuter train hits an abandoned truck. cbs news investigates-- is safety compromised when some airline pilots fly longer hours than a federal limit allows? and senior power. meet one gold medal grandmawith a message-- >> i'm old. if i can do it, get with it. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: today, the man brought in to restore credibility to the department of veterans affairs had some explaining of his own to do. secretary bob mcdonald corrected a misstatement that he made last month on this broadcast about his own military record after the statement was questioned by several retired officers. this comes, of course, at a time of controversy around prominent journalists who have been accused of inflating their war records. here's wyatt andrews. >> that was wrong and i have no excuse.

>> i think the v.a. failed in general to take care of my son adequately.th them met with doctors there, particularly one doctor. and numerous times. and basically i thought the results were going to be good, but in the end i guess they weren't. >> and i know that you have talked with your senator tammy baldwin there who is now coming under fire that there was a report that her staff received at some point there was a lapse of time before any response. we talked about the three veterans including your son who died. i know that you have talked with her some. are you confident that there will be any changes that she'll account at all for what happened here? >> yes. i think, you know, her office has been real helpful ever since she met with us and talked with us. and senator johnson's office they've also reached out to me. and we communicate with senator baldwin's office and senator johnson's office at least a couple times a week. and, yeah, i'd have to say they are trying real hard right now to help make some changes here in a system that i think needs major

the v.a.it all part of that election ploy business? >> oh, gosh. and is this a face that can get away with anything? a new study says certain face shapes always get out of trouble. does kilmeade have the look? the answer is ahead. ♪ ♪ >>> we've made strides towards insuring that every veteran has access to the highest quality care. we're slashing the backlog that had too many veterans waiting years to get the benefits they need. >> the president says we're well on our way to fixing the v.a. and getting us quick care, right? behind the scenes, there is already a plan to gut the law he signed with great fanfare. major pete hegseth joins us right now. first off explain what senator mccain and others proposed and the organization had endorsed when this scandal first broke. >> when the scandal broke, in order to address it, one of the things we worked for was more choice for receipt vans. give them an option to go outside the v.a. it manifest itself in a choice card signed into law by the president

the v.a. secretary says he has quote no excuse for this quote misstatement. >>> closing arguments could begin as early as this morning in the "american sniper" murder trial. the defense has the option to call rebuttal witnesses with the possibility of closing arguments happening afterwards. if the weather permits. court was postponed on monday due to weather. >>> time for an early start on money. stocks in a holding pattern awaiting testimony from the most important woman in the world. the federal reserve chairman. >> my wife? >> i almost totally got myself in trouble. >> european and asian shares. u.s. stocks barely moving. janet yellen testifies and could get insight of interest rates could be raised and the durability of the economy and labor market. a big win for google in the mobile payment wars. google has a deal with t-mobile and at&t to get the app installed on the phones. you tap a credit card reader to pay. the service has been around since 2011, but largely failed to catch on. this