Skip to main content

tv   CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley  CBS  June 25, 2015 5:30pm-6:01pm PDT

5:30 pm
we'll have an update at 6:00. before that we have the "cbs evening news with scott pelley." captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> pelley: millions of americans will keep their health insurance as the supreme court today saves the president's signature law.s >> the affordable care act is here to stay. >> pelley: also tonight, a second prison worker is arrested in the jail break that has two murderers on the loose. a massive wildfire galloped out of control when a private drone blocked firefighters.ck and home on the range-- can the american bison make a comeback? >> reporter: this is pretty close, isn't it? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: this is our western edition. the affordable care act was saved from a devastating blow
5:31 pm
today when the conservative chief justice of the united states rescued, for the second time, the largest part of president obama's legacy. the supreme court ruled that lower-income americans nationwide can continue to receive government subsidies to buy health insurance, which was the main reason for the law to begin with. the president said today, "now obamacare is woven into the fabric of america."io >> for all the misinformationhe campaigns, all the doomsday predictions, all the talk of "death panels" and job disruption, for all the repeal attempts, this law is now helping tens of millions of americans.he >> pelley: the vote at the court was 6-3.ic chief justice john roberts wrote the opinion for the majority. justice antonin scalia delivered a scathing dissent.ou our chief legal correspondent jan crawford has more on this. >> reporter: when the word reached the courthouse steps
5:32 pm
supporters were jubilant. >> fight, fight, fight, fight. health care is a human right. >> reporter: but in the courtroom, the mood was tense as chief justice john roberts summarized the ruling affording billions of dollars of subsidies for americans in every state to buy insurance. congress passed the affordable care act to improve health insurance markets, said roberts for the court, "not to destroy them." opponents argued congress wrote the law to make tax credits only available to people who buy health insurance through exchanges established by the state, but only 16 states actually created their own exchanges, so that would leave empty handed more than six million people in 34 states who buy insurance and get subsidies through the federal website, healthcare.gov. roberts acknowledged the law contains more than a few examples of "inartful drafting," but he said the opponents' approach would lead a calamitous result and it was implausible that congress meant the act to
5:33 pm
operate in this manner. his opinion sparked a blistering dissent by justice antonin scalia, who took the unusualin step of summarizing it from the bench, calling the court's reasoning "absurd, interpretive jiggery-pokery and pure applesauce." scalia said the law was clear and accused the court of rewriting it once again to get the result it wanted. it was three years ago the court, again led by roberts, upheld another key provision of obamacare. it scalia say the cases together show "the discouraging truth that the supreme court of the united states favors some laws over others and is prepared to uphold and assist its favorites." said scalia, "we should start calling this law 'scotus care'." now, scalia and roberts were in some ways more heated than in their opinions three years ago when conservatives felt roberts betrayed them for the first time. but, scott, this is the last significant legal threat to obamacare.
5:34 pm
the fight now moves to the political battlefield. >> pelley: scotus, of course short for supreme court of the united states. jan, thank you very much. in a cbs news/"new york times" poll, 70% said the supreme court should allow subsidies for w health insurance, which is what happened. and for the first time, more americans favor the law than oppose it-- 47% to 44%. but as jan said, it's not over. all 13 republican presidential candidates vowed to repeal obamacare, and here's nancy cordes. [applause] >> reporter: as democrats cheered, republican candidates raced to show their fury calling the decision outrageous and "an out-of-control act of judicial tyranny." >> i will fight with every breath in my body... >> reporter: texas senator ted cruz called the court "lawless." >> if those justices want to become legislators, i invite them to resign and run for office. that's the appropriate place to write laws-- on this floor.
5:35 pm
>> reporter: so far, just two of the 13 candidates, florida'sy marco rubio and louisiana's ob bobby jindal, have introduced their own plans to replace obamacare. maryland democrat steny hoyer argued today's decision was a gift for both sides. >> and the only people happier i think than we are, are our republican colleagues because they've been saved from having to come up with an alternative that they do not have. and they've never had. >> reporter: is he right? were a lot of republicans relieved? >> well, i know i was disappointed in the ruling. >> reporter: senator john barasso is a republican from wyoming and an orthopedic surgeon. do republicans have any legislative options left at this point? you've tried to repeal orve replace all or part of obamacare 50-some times now? >> well, there are a number of proposals out there thatbl republicans have introduced that actually give people more freedom, more choice, more control over their own health decisions without washington saying, "you must do this, you have to buy this kind of insurance." >> reporter: democrats say the
5:36 pm
g.o.p. plans address some of the rising costs of health care, but don't do much to help the uninsured. this is an issue that gets people so fired up on both o sides, scott, that within minutes of today's decision,nd candidates had sent out fund- raising e-mails asking for money from their supporters. >> pelley: of course. nancy cordes on capitol hill for us. nancy, thank you.wi the supreme court will rule any day now on another case thatri could change america whether same-sex marriage is constitutional. that ruling could come tomorrow or early next week. there's no sign of those two escaped murderers in new york 20 days after they broke out of a maximum-security prison.nd but a second prison employee has been arrested, and here's anna werner. >> reporter: investigators say corrections officer gene palmer was an unwitting accomplice in the elaborate escape of richard matt and david sweat. palmer was allegedly given frozen ground beef by coworker joyce mitchell that had hacksaw
5:37 pm
blades and screwdriver bits hidden inside. in a sworn statement, palmer said, "mitchell left a packaget. for me to give to inmate matt.ri i then approached richard matt and passed the hamburger meat to him." mitchell is charged with hiding the tools.g district attorney andrew wylie. >> putting hacksaw blades in frozen meat and then bringing it into the facility, they had to be very confident in joyce mitchell, in her involvement with them.pr >> reporter: are you surprised that it's taking this long? >> i am surprised that matt and sweat hasn't made more mistakes that have provided us with solid, confirmed leads to identify their trail. >> reporter: the charges against palmer are for giving the men tools in exchange for art, but not to help them escape. authorities say he tried to destroy some of the artwork he was given after the prison break. in a radio interview in 2000 palmer complained about how much corrections officers are paid.
5:38 pm
>> reporter: palmer's attorney. andrew brockway. >> he will continue to cooperate. he wants to see these two captured. >> reporter: palmer also admitted he let sweat have access to the catwalk behind the inmates' cells to enhance their ability to cook. palmer claimed he did this in exchange for information on the illegal acts inmates were committing within the facility. late this afternoon, palmer's attorney andrew brockway recused himself from the case, saying that it was just too overwhelming for him and his office to handle. and, scott, as to that discussion about inmates cookingt inside the prison, a former employee source told me this afternoon it was not uncommon to see inmates cooking in their cells. >> pelley: anna werner reporting for us. anna, thank you. today, the first funerals werest held for victims of last week's church shooting in charleston, south carolina.
5:39 pm
nine people were gunned down during bible study at emanuel a.m.e. church. tonight, at the church you see there, there is a public viewing for the pastor, state senatorta clementa pinckney. michelle miller is in charleston. ♪ ♪ ♪ce >> reporter: family members wept and embraced as they said their final good-byes to ethel lance the 70-year-old mother of five and grandmother of seven died in the church she served all her life. brandon risher is her grandson. >> you know, most people don't get to represent a symbol in death. she was a victim of hate. and she can be a symbol for love. that's what she was in life. ( applause ) hate is powerful. but love is more powerful. ( applause ) >> reporter: a few hours later across town, 45-year-old sharonda coleman-singleton was also being remembered. singleton died the same night
5:40 pm
she was ordained as a minister. she was a mother of three, a speech therapist, and coach of the girl's track team at goose creek high. khalia gadson says the team affectionately called her coach "sugar love" because "sugar love" is what she often called them. >> are we going to be strong enough to go out and run again without her... without her coaching us? do we have the strength to keep going, to keep pushing? we're more than just a track team, we're a family. >> reporter: and the street in front of emanuel a.m.e. church has been blocked so that hundreds of mourners can pay their respects to the reverend and senator clementa pinckney. scott, the reverend's funeral is tomorrow. >> pelley: michelle miller reporting for us in charleston. michelle, thank you. at least four major wildfires are burning tonight in california.d drought and strong winds are bad
5:41 pm
enough, but carter evans reports that firefighters also faced a man-made obstacle.t >> you must leave now. >> reporter: the orders came with little warning, but they also came as no surprise to residents who saw flames and smoke approaching their homes inle the los angeles suburb of santa clarita. >> i saw fire in my neighbor's backyard. that's when i said, "okay, it's time to go." next thing you know, they're banging on my door, "get out get out." >> reporter: air tankers were making progress containing a 21,000-acre fire in san bernardino late wednesday until mike calkins spotted something just below his forest service plane.e >> just a flash of orange red and just knew something wasn't part of our operation. >> reporter: firefighters say it was a drone with a four-foot wingspan. calkins was in one of two spotter planes flying toward each other at 150 mph only 1,000 feet apart when the unexpected aircraft flew right between them. just how close a call was this? >> the aircraft passed within 500 feet. >> reporter: that's less than a
5:42 pm
second away from a collision, so aviation officer mike eaton immediately grounded all fire fighting planes in the area. how hard is it to make the call to pull your planes off the fire?t' >> it's very difficult. you know, we were building a line up there to hold the fire. we lost about two and a half hours of flight time that wouldig have been another six to eight loads of retardant from these aircraft, probably another 20,000 to 25,000 gallons on the hill suppressing the fire.or >> reporter: air tankers resumed flight operations from here again this morning. they've been dropping retardant on this stubborn wildfire all day long. at the same time, sheriff's investigators are trying to determine who was flying the drone, and, scott, the f.a.a. is also looking into it. >> pelley: carter, thank you. flames shot high outside douglas, arizona, last night when an f-16 fighter plane crashed. no word on the cause. the pilot has not been found. he was an iraqi brigadier general in training. the f-16 is one of several
5:43 pm
planes to be replaced by the super sophisticated and ultra expensive f-35. and david martin got a rare look. >> reporter: with just weeks left before it is scheduled to go on active duty, the f-35, a supersonic jet fighter that can do this, landed aboard the u.s.s. "wasp" for sea trials. marine major brendan walsh has been flying the f-35 for three years, but not until now from a ship.on >> you don't have much time to if something goes wrong so you have to make sure everything is going well with the airplane. >> reporter: how many feet does it take to become airborne? >> we were taking off with as little as 350 feet. >> reporter: the marines planned on buying 300 f-35s, but just getting a first squad of ten ready to go on time would mark a major milestone for this most complex of aircraft, which runs on 24 million lines of software code. >> it would take us 30 minutesme sometimes with shutdown, restarts just to get thebo
5:44 pm
airplane airborne due to just various software glitches. >> reporter: major aric liberman says those glitches have been fixed. >> i mean, nowadays, we're up and ready with the aircraft in ten minutes. >> reporter: but that half million dollar helmet, which displays all the data the pilot needs on his visor, still does not work well at night. when we arrived aboard the "wasp," some 400 miles off the coast of north carolina, only two of the six f-35s were ready to fly. what's the readiness rate been so far out here? >> it's been a little bit less than we'd expect. >> reporter: tools and spare parts were flown in and the aircraft were soon repaired, but over a two-week period, 15 missions had to be canceled because of maintenance problems. 106 missions went off as scheduled. we're down to crunch time. >> we are. >> reporter: lieutenant general>> jon davis, chief of marine corps aviation, has been shuttling back and forth between the pentagon and the "wasp." he is the man who has to make the decision. is the f-35, the most expensive
5:45 pm
weapons system ever built, ready to join the fleet? and if you don't pull it off? >> we'll pull it off, sir. we'll pull it off. >> reporter: right now, it comes down to this: can the f-35 fly a mission, land on a ship and be ready to take off again within two hours?r day after day? david martin, cbs news, aboard the u.s.s. "wasp." >> pelley: taxi drivers took uber umbrage to the extreme today. and the "bear" necessities of summer when the "cbs evening news" continues. ll, when you have copd it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said... doctor: symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function.
5:46 pm
symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections osteoporosis, and some eye problems. you should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. grandfather: symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. watch out, piggies! child giggles doctor: symbicort. breathe better starting within 5 minutes. call or go online to learn more about a free prescription offer. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. song: rachel platten "fight song" ♪ two million, four hundred thirty-four thousand three hundred eleven people in this city. and only one me. ♪ i'll take those odds. ♪ be unstoppable. the all-new 2015 ford edge.
5:47 pm
did you know that meeting your daily protein needs actually helps to support your muscle health? boost® high protein nutritional drink can help you get the protein you need. each serving has 15 grams of protein to help maintain muscle, plus 26 vitamins and minerals including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones. boost® high protein is the #1 selling high protein complete nutritional drink and it has a great taste-guaranteed! help get the nutrition you need everyday with boost® high protein. join the club at brandpower.com. when i started at the shelter, i noticed benny right away. i just had to adopt him. he's older so he needs my help all day. when my back pain flared up we both felt it i took tylenol at first but i had to take 6 pills to get through the day. then my friend said "try aleve". just two pills, all day. and now, i'm back for my best bud! aleve. all day strong
5:48 pm
and try aleve pm now with an easy open cap. >> pelley: taxi drivers brought road rage to france today,ca protesting the american online car service uber. uber is in more than 300 cities in 58 countries. here's charlie d'agata. >> reporter: furious taxi drivers turned burning tires into barricades, shutting down highways and blocking access to airports. cars were overturned demonstrators laced the streets with broken glass. riot police raced in using tear gas to stop the protests. it was among the most violent demonstrations against uber yet. uber has upended europe'sd heavily regulated taxi industry. in recent months,there have been protests in italy, germany and
5:49 pm
spain,where the government has banned the service. britain doesn't want uber, either. the main reason for the backlash is much the same across europe. cab drivers like london black cabbies say uber doesn't have to adhere to the same strict regulations that they do. it's simply not a level playing field. uber's fares tend to be cheaper, and conventional taxi drivers in europe sometimes pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for ance operating license. h steve murray told us it took four years to earn his. >> they're not trying. they don't have to do any trying at all. all they use is the google app a satellite navigation system, and it tells them what the fare is. >> reporter: and they're cutting into your business? >> nicking loads of it. >> reporter: today's protests were also aimed at the french government to do more to ban the ride-sharing service, but uber told us it has no intention of
5:50 pm
stopping and plans to expandst further. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >> pelly: no shots, no school. a step closer in california. that's next. has unlimited access to information, at any time, no matter where they are. weather affects us all. the microsoft cloud gives our team the power to instantly deliver critical information to people whenever they need it. here at accuweather we get up to 10 billion data requests every day, from over 200 countries and in 100 different languages. the microsoft cloud allows us to scale up so we can handle that volume. i remember a woman and she said the accuweather app woke me up in the night with a severe weather alert, and i got my family to safety and you literally
5:51 pm
saved me from a tornado. and to us that feels really good. introducing the first ever gummy multivitamin from centrum. a complete, and tasty new way to support... your energy... immunity... and metabolism like never before. centrum multigummies. see gummies in a whole new light. ♪ to you, they're more than just a pet. so protect them... ...with k9 advantix® ii. it's broad-spectrum protection k ills fleas ticks and mosquitoes too. k9 advantix® ii. for the love of dog™. why pause a spontaneous moment to take a pill? or stop to find a bathroom?
5:52 pm
cialis for daily use, is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision or any symptoms of an allergic reaction stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. >> pelly: california may soon have wanted the strictest vaccine laws in response to that measles outbreak. today the assembly voted to require nearly all public school children to be vaccinated. most who don't, would have to be
5:53 pm
home schooled. it's hot in florida, so what is a bear to do but belly flop into the pool. this is how bruiser, the 600- pound grizzly, cools off at his wildlife sanctuary. he also has a surfboard, which we figure is more practical than an inflatable raft with those claws. from bear to bison, an american icon coming back. that's next. icon coming back. that's next. shopping online... ...is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers carpenters and even piano tuners... were just as simple? thanks to angie's list now it is. start shopping online... ...from a list of top rated providers. visit angieslist.com today. ugh! heartburn! no one burns on my watch! try alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews.
5:54 pm
they work fast and don't taste chalky. mmm...amazing. i have heartburn. alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. you know, in any job any profession image matters. i want some gray...but not too much. only touch of gray uses oxygen to gently blend away some gray but not all for that perfect salt and pepper look. satisfaction guaranteed. just you and the look you want. just for men touch of gray body pain? motrin helps you be an unstoppable, i-can-totally-do-this- all-in-one-trip kind of woman. when pain tries to stop you, there's motrin. motrin works fast to stop pain where it starts. make it happen with new motrin liquid gels. my constipation and belly pain feel like a raging storm. i've tried laxatives but my symptoms keep returning. my constipation feels like a heavy weight that keeps coming back. vo: linzess can help. once-daily linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation
5:55 pm
or chronic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. linzess helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain especially with bloody or black stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include, gas, stomach-area pain and swelling. bottom line, ask your doctor about linzess today.
5:56 pm
get the complete balanced nutrition of ensure. with nine grams of protein... and 26 vitamins and minerals. and now with... ...twice as much vitamin d ...which up to 90% of people don't get enough of. the sunshine vitamin! ensure. take life in. >> pelley: on a stretch of the midwest, they're turning back time. and dean reynolds takes us there. >> reporter: so this used to be just corn and soybeans? >> this was a corn and soybean field that was restored about 15 years ago. >> reporter: jeff walk is science director for the illinois chapter of the nature conservancy, a private
5:57 pm
organization that's trying to bring the prairie back to the land of lincoln. seeding 1,500 acres with natural grasses and plants, from wild lupin to prairie smoke to golden alexanders. restoring the rolling hills to the way they looked 200 years ago or more.th and adding one more rather hairy ingredient to the mix. the american bison.he how long ago were bison here as a natural phenomenon? >> the last wild bison in illinois was killed about 200 years ago. >> reporter: the bison serve an important purpose here, kind of like landscapers. they maintain the prairie by eating the grass like furry lawn mowers that swallow what they cut. how are they doing? >> they're doing great. they've coped very well. they seem to be peaceful content. >> reporter: they were trucked to illinois's nachusa prairie from wind cave national park in
5:58 pm
south dakota, as well as other preserves. about 50 are here now and can move freely around these 1,500 acres. this is pretty close, isn't it? this is unusually close. >> reporter: bison are much easier than cattle for this job. they don't need a barn, don't need to be fed, are hardy as all get out, needing only one medical exam every year. the hope is to have a herd of 125 in the future. >> when you look at a bison it conjures america. >> reporter: it does. >> they're just iconic americana. >> reporter: so give me a home where the buffalo roam, just two hours west of chicago. dean reynolds, cbs news, franklin grove, illinois. >> pelley: and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh
5:59 pm
access.wgbh.org your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. and good evening, i'm allen martin. >> i'm veronica de la cruz. a new development in the deadly balcony collapse. an expert is slamming the city of berkeley charging the city botched the investigation. kpix 5's da lin on the allegations and the response from the city. da. >> reporter: well, the district attorney says six people died out here so she can't just call it a day as she said, those families deserve a thorough criminal investigation. but forensic experts believe some of the most valuable evidence has already been destroyed by the city of berkeley. berkeley says it's done with its own balcony collapse investigation. the alameda county district
6:00 pm
attorney says not so fast. d.a. investigators will look for evidence of criminal negligence that could lead to involuntary manslaughter charges. >> the negligence that we'll be evaluating is -- must be aggravated, culpable and gross or reckless. >> reporter: but forensic engineering experts say that will be hard to prove because the city destroyed the second most important piece of evidence. a forensic engineering professor investigated the collapse of the world trade center. he says berkeley workers should have never cut and removed the balcony right below the collapsed balcony. >> it would be so valuable to open up the lower balcony carefully and by forensic yes, not by city engineers who don't know anything, by forensic engineers and established the cause, was it the sheath that was not installed well, was it the flashing? >> reporter: he says investigators may never no. the lower balcony wa