captioning sponsored by cbs ♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> o'donnell: tonight, te o'donnell: tonight, why the president's choice for the top otelligence job is pulling out. the president and critics of john ratcliffe are giving rfferent reasons. edve years after eric garner died in this confrontation with new york police, the cop at the center of it is suspended. but will he be fired? the decision is now up to one man. the death of robert and ethel kennedy's 22-year-old teanddaughter on cape cod. what we've learned about the latest tragedy for the kennedy family. >> oh, no! >> o'donnell: why shark sightings and bitings are up along the atlantic coast. plus, steve hartman has a salute to a pint-sized patriot. and hey, siri, why is apple

reversing course when it comes to your privacy? privacy? >> this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell. >> o'donnell: good evening, this is our western edition. president trump's choice to be america's top spy didn't even make it to the end of the week. remember, it was in a tweet on sunday that the president announced his intention to nominate texas congressman and trump loyalist john ratcliffe as director of national intelligence. but, questions were quickly raised about his qualifications and whether he could win confirmation. and today, it was retreat and retweet. taking to twitter again, the president announced ratcliffe was withdrawing from consideration. leading us off tonight is paula ulid on how this happened and what might happen next. hapeporter: president trump said congressman ratcliffe withdrew from consideration to avoid further media scrutiny. i i think he was just treated

atry badly, very harshly by the press. >> reporter: that press focused on bipartisan concerns about ontcliffe's qualifications. he only joined the intelligence committee six months ago. his official bio claims he put terrorists in prison as a federal prosecutor in texas, but lis name does not appear in meurt documents for any terrorism-related cases. ratcliffe is a vocal supporter re president trump, but his selection as the next spy chief received a damningly tepid reception on capitol hill. >> i'd rather not address that until i've actually had a chance to meet him and discuss his background and qualifications. >> reporter: mr. president! hee president denied he faced pressure from republicans to withdraw the texas lawmaker from consideration. >> i think he would have had vepport. but, again, we were very early in the process. si reporter: they didn't seem very supportive, mr. president. si o'donnell: all right, paula tins us now from the white house, and paula, what are we learning about when ratcliffe made this decision? ep reporter: norah, cbs news has d arned as of last night, the president had no indication

there was any problem with this llmination until ratcliffe called him this morning saying he wanted to withdraw and that he wasn't expecting a confirmation fight, especially among republicans. av have also learned that representative will hurd's decision not to seek re- cection, creating another republican house vacancy also played into this decision. the president said he is considering three people for this d.n.i. post, and he has not ruled out the number-two official at d.n.i., susan gordan. if she is selected, she would be the first woman to run the agency. >> o'donnell: all right, paula reid, we'll be watching, thank you. there is breaking news tonight in puerto rico. crowds have gathered outside the governor's mansion, where ricardo rossello has just stepped down. he has sworn in pedro pierluisi as the new governor. the lawmakers may challenge this in court. rossello leaves after weeks of protests over mismanagement, and a series of leaked chats in which he insulted opponents. the death of eric garner in 2014

after new york city police struggled to arrest him put a national spotlight on the treatment of black men by white cops. the officer at the center of the confrontation was never charged, but today, all these years later, he was suspended, just moments after an administrative judge recommended he be fired. here's chief justice correspondent jeff pegues. >> reporter: it has been five years since n.y.p.d. officer daniel pantaleo put eric garner in a deadly chokehold. >> i can't breathe! i can't breathe! >> reporter: today's recommendation that he be fired came after an n.y.p.d. discipline trial which ended in june. whether that actually happens is now up to police commissioner james o'neill. today, eric garner's daughter, emerald, pleaded for the commissioner to act. f we've been waiting for five years for someone to say that so did something wrong, and they finally made that decision today. >> reporter: garner's cries of "i can't breathe," 11 times, are g ong the last words he spoke

before his death, and ignited months of protests for accountability that never came. first, a grand jury in staten island decided not to indict pantaleo, and then last month, rte department of justice declined to bring federal civil rights charges, insisting this ideo tape evidence wasn't enough to prove pantaleo committed a crime. new york mayor bill de blasio, who has been heavily criticized for how he's weighed in on the case, praised the recommendation. >> today, for the first time in these long five years, the system of justice is working. >> reporter: since the incident in 2014, pantaleo has been on desk duty, even racking up at ie point, $40,000 in overtime. sday, he was suspended without pay for 30 days. the head of the police union called the whole thing "political insanity." >> new york city police officers klw will be considered reckless yvery time they put their hands on someone!

>> o'donnell: jeff pegues joins us now from police headquarters in lower manhattan. and jeff, when are we going to know the commissioner's decision? >> reporter: well, now the clock is ticking. pantaleo's attorneys have two weeks to respond to the administrative judge's decision today, and then the police commissioner, he reviews the case, he makes his decision, which is final. and he has said that he could make his decision before the end t the month. norah. >> o'donnell: jeff pegues, thank you. we are following developments in the death of robert f. kennedy's granddaughter. an autopsy today found no trauma to the body of saoirse kennedy hill. aye was 22 and died yesterday after being found unconscious at the kennedy compound. david begnaud is in hyannis port where the family has gathered in mourning. t reporter: this afternoon, right near the kennedy compound in hyannis port, the family drove by the crush the cameras in silence, seeming to want their privacy. in the front seat was 91-year- hed ethel kennedy, the grandmother of 22-year-old

hoirse kennedy hill. >> on scene, confirming cardiac arrest. >> reporter: paramedics were called to the kennedy home around 3:00 p.m. yesterday. authorities found the 22-year- old unresponsive. they transported her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. the "new york times," citing two sources close to the family, is deporting tonight that saoirse kennedy hill died of an apparent overdose, but cbs news has not confirmed that. today, authorities told us that a toxicology report is pending to determine the exact cause of death. hill had been staying here at the historic kennedy compound, best known for being the summer white house for her great-uncle, john f. kennedy. saoirse was one of bobby and ethel kennedy's 35 grandchildren. seen here on "entertainment tonight" back in 2006 with her grandmother. she would have been a senior this year at boston college. three years ago, while in high school, she wrote a piece in the school's newspaper about her struggles with mental health, saying, "my depression took root

in the beginning of my middle school years, and will be with me for the rest of my life." tonight, funeral arrangements are pending. norah, we've noticed here around tannis port, neighbors have lowered the american flags in heir front yards to half-staff as a way of expressing their condolences to the kennedy family. >> o'donnell: very sad, indeed. david begnaud, thank you. to the economy now. job creation slowed last month. a labor department said employers added 164,000 jobs in july, down from 224,000 in june. the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%. just over half of the 235 democrats in the house of representatives now favor an impeachment inquiry. now that's a big increase in the past week, but still 100 votes shy of what would be needed to send the president to trial in the senate. chief congressional correspondent nancy cordes has the story behind the numbers. >> reporter: the 118 house democrats who now favor an impeachment inquiry represent

districts in 32 states, the number of members surging by two dozen since former special counsel robert mueller testified last week. >> did you actually totally exonerate the president? >> no. >> reporter: virginia's jennifer wexton, citing the president's "obstruction of justice" and "normalizing of authoritarian tactics." colorado's jason crow citing his "repeated abuses of power." speaker pelosi, does that change ngur view? the speaker has made it clear she wants to wait and let six house committees investigate first. a let's get all the facts, and then we'll make decisions. >> reporter: democratic senate leader chuck schumer is with her. does the political calculus change, though, now that more than half of house democrats are calling for an impeachment inquiry? >> well, look, every member, nguse and senate, is going to do what he or she thinks is appropriate. i think, as i said, leader pelosi-- speaker pelosi is handling this appropriately. >> reporter: opening an

impeachment inquiry might give democrats more legal firepower as they seek access to sensitive white house documents. it's widely seen as a precursor to impeachment itself, a hot eaove that democratic leaders clearly don't want to touch raght now. norah. >> o'donnell: all right, nancy. and there was a picture that faught our eye today of speaker pelosi in africa with one of the president's recent targets, one of the members of the so-called "squad." tell us about it. >> reporter: well, speaker pelosi here showing solidarity with minnesota congresswoman ilhan omar, a former somali , fugee. and you'll recall that the president and some of his tpporters said that she should "go back to where she came from." well, during a congressional trip to ghana this week, hingresswoman omar tweeted these pictures with the caption, "they said to 'send her back,' but theaker pelosi went back with me." h> o'donnell: all right, nancy alrdes, thank you. we are getting a clearer picture tonight about the president's plans for afghanistan.

david martin has learned those plans include fewer u.s. troops t the front lines of america's longest war. >> reporter: while his chief negotiator zalmay khalilzad feadied for another round of peace talks with the taliban, president trump claimed the u.s. is coming closer to winding down america's longest war. >> we've made a lot of progress. s.'re talking, but we've also made a lot of progress. we're reducing it. p reporter: the u.s. military is ready to pull out nearly half its troops from afghanistan, from 14,000 down to 8,500, as part of a cease-fire with the taliban. in a recent interview, secretary of state pompeo was asked if there would be a troop reduction before the 2020 presidential election? ec that's my directive from the teesident of the united states. he's been unambiguous, "end the endless wars." >> reporter: the troops left behind would be targeted mainly against what u.s. officials consider the most serious threat-- not the taliban, not al qaeda, but isis, a terrorist group which once rode roughshod

over iraq and syria, and is now gaining ground in afghanistan. u.s. officials insist any ngthdrawal will be conditions- based, meaning it will depend on what happens on the battlefield. but there is one other condition that could be decisive, and that is the president's desire to get all troops out in time for the 2020 election. norah. >> o'donnell: that would be big news. david martin at the pentagon, thank you. ip star a$ap rocky is on his toy home to the u.s. he was released from custody in sweden today until a judge delivers a verdict in his assault trial on august 14. rocky and two other men were charged with beating a man in lmockholm in june. president trump went to bat for tm with the swedish prime minister, and today tweeted, pget home asap, a$ap." a contractor who was badly burned in wednesday's explosion and fire at an exxonmobil refinery in texas said today he is suing the country, and mireya uillarreal reports, he is telling a harrowing story. >> reporter: when the massive

fire erupted at exxonmobil's baytown refinery, 38-year-old contractor alvaro coronel got caught by the flames. >> i thought i was burning alive ietty much, so i started peeling off my clothes and, you tow, and just running towards the gate. >> reporter: the fire fueled panic as workers tried to escape. >> by that time, it was, like, 200, 300 people just in a frantic, you know, screaming td, you know, trying to get out of there. >> reporter: the flames burned for more than five hours. more than 60 workers were treated for what exxon says were minor injuries. coronel's lawyer held up pictures of his arms and neck with what he said are second- and third-degree burns. doronel is now suing the oil company for negligence. >> that day, it keeps playing through my mind, like, you know, i've been at chemical plants for years, over 10 years. and this was the day, and that day, i thought for sure i was dead. i was like, "man, i'm dead. dhis is it." >> reporter: in a statement,

exxonmobil says that safety is their top priority and they're working with local authorities on this investigation. ayrah, they also say everyone that received a medical evaluation or some sort of first aid has been cleared to go back ll work. >> o'donnell: all right, mireya ucllarreal, thank you. toere is still much more ahead tonight on the "cbs evening news." a big increase in shark sightings closes beaches on the east coast. why apple is stopping developers from listening in on your siri conversations. and, a little boy's love affair with our american flag. american flag. staying active? on it. audrey thinks she's doing all she can to manage her type 2 diabetes and heart disease but is her treatment doing enough to lower her heart risk? [sfx: crash of football players colliding off-camera.] maybe not. jardiance is the number 1 prescribed pill in its class. jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease.

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help protect your pet, home, and yard. ah, it ended to soon. with the advantage fleaction plan. just look at him! he's a wreck without me, ha... owww. fight the misery of infesting fleas. 'd o'donnell: swimmers were forced out of the water in anw england today. the problem: sharks. edgreat white was spotted costerday along the coast of massachusetts. it's an increasingly common sight along the atlantic coast. don dahler is on the new jersey shore. >> reporter: when sharks appear this close to swimmers, cape cod officials take no chances.

>> about eight years ago, we realized that there was a legitimate threat during our season. >> reporter: last year, a 26-year-old man here died of injuries from what was believed to have been an attack by a .reat white. marine biologists say that species has become more active in these waters because of a resurgence of the seal population due to federal protection. >> whoa! >> reporter: shark researcher greg skomal has had his own close encounters. >> they are following the food, >> reporter: that has caused a lull in vacation home rentals, and an increase in swimming pool construction on the cape. >> this thing is huge! >> reporter: encounters with sharks up and down the east coast are happening on a weekly basis. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: a surfer bitten in florida. >> he kind of yelled, was like, ow, i think i got bit. i said, you think you got bit? dude, you fully got bit. >> reporter: a fisherman off north carolina attacked by a black-tipped shark. iologists say it's that species, not great whites,

that's most often responsible for bites, because it mistakes human feet or hands for fish. and, norah, just yesterday, a thresher shark was spotted just south of here on the jersey tore. some scientists suspect that larger breeds, like bull sharks, are beginning to migrate farther north because of warmer waters. >> o'donnell: all right, don dahler, stay safe out there. still ahead, a longhorn on the loose. you've got to see how this ends. this ends. ♪ corey is living with metastatic breast cancer, which is breast cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. she's also taking ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr+ / her2- metastatic breast cancer

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our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure, for strength and energy. >> >> o'donnell: steve hartman wraps up the week for us, with 50 stars, 13 stripes, and one little boy who can't get enough of them. >> reporter: for six-year-old finn daly of west hartford, connecticut, the best view in his house is from the front door, looking up at the flag. finn has down syndrome. he's also autistic, a combination that, according to his parents, kevin and brooke, has blessed him with a deep pppreciation for the flag.

>> i think it's the movement. >> if it's moving, if the wind is blowing, he would sit there for an hour and just watch the flag go back and forth. which is kind of the beauty of finn, too. e> reporter: somehow he has found comfort and contentment in ghsight most of us take for granted. and it's not just his own flag. we we're fortunate, we have a lot of flags in the neighborhood so it creates for very long and erow walks. come on, buddy. >> reporter: and it was on one it those walks with the family that finn discovered his flag de resistance. >> there's your flag. >> reporter: a real beauty, mounted on a tree, hanging right over the sidewalk a quarter mile from his house. onn would make camp on that sidewalk if you let him. he is that enamored. the flag belongs to a man named todd disque. >> the boy would just sit there transfixed with the flag. >> reporter: what did you think when you saw that? >> i said, god bless america. if the kid wants to look at my flag, i'm all for it. >> reporter: which is why, not hyng after he saw finn, he sawed

some boards and made a perch for that little patriot, just left it out by the tree for finn's family to discover. >> what do you think? and i'm crying and my daughter, rose, is saying, "don't cry, "m, it's okay. this is exciting." just a little overwhelming, but in a good way. >> reporter: norman rockwell teuldn't have imagined a more uniquely american moment, a vision of strength and compassion in one glorious frame, all created by a master me kindness with nothing more on his palette than a circular saw and an eye for empathy. >> it's such a small gesture, but things like this really restore your faith in humanity, like, there are still good people out there who want to do kind things for no other reason but just to be kind. >> reporter: for no other reason, which may be the best reason of all. >> what are you doing, finney? >> reporter: steve hartman, "on the road," in west hartford, connecticut. on o'donnell: and we salute finn

and todd. uncle sam has no finer nephews. for all our friends and family

right now at 7:00. >> i don't know what to think because the guy they arrested is the neighbor. >> racist graffiti sprayed on homes. why are police calling this a hate crime? >> we are investigating some conspiracy components to that case that is giving us the confidence that this is not a hate crime. plus how the gilroy garlic festival shooting came to an end and police announced today a different story about the death of the gunmen. >> i don't think it contradicts anything. it is the same series of events that occurred. >> nearly half of all the homeless people living in the streets in america happen to live in the state of california