♪ ♪ ♪ >> dickerson: tonight, the president addresses the nation, as we come on the air, the white house says it has conducted a successful and significant counterterrorism operation against al quaida in afghanistan. who was ayman al-zawahri? one of the men behind the 9/11 terror attacks killed in a drone strike. kentucky braces for more rain with hundreds still missing. authorities scour the wreckage for survivors as we're learning about some of the victims, including these four siblings. and in the west, california experiences its largest fire of the year. firefighters battle on three fronts, the flames, hot weather and high winds. >> i knew the house was gone. tonight the view from space of the path card by the flames.

america and china's taiwan faceoff. tonight, tensions escalate ahead of speaker nancy pelosi's possible trip to the self-governed island. adam yamaguchi is there tonight as war games with uh underway. >> the fact we're seeing an amphibious assault suggests that the taiwanese think the chinese will take islands in the south china sea and -- >> dickerson: another supply chain log jam in the warning from the nation's businessiest port. terror shark encounters. what had swimmers racing to shore. and renning the life and careers of two americans icons and thee. ♪ ♪ ♪ this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's capital. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> dickerson: good evening, and thank you for joining us, i'm john dickerson in for norah. tonight, we are awaiting president biden, who will speak within the hour about what's

being described as a successful counterterrorism strike. a seen nor administration official tells cbs news that the u.s. killed top al quaida leader ayman al-zawahri over the weekend. this would be a significant blow to the terror group, and his death means all the top plotters behind the september 11 terror attacks are either dead or captured. al-zawahri took over as the leader of al quaida following the 2011 raid that killed osama bin laden. we want to bring in cbs's nancy cordes at the white house with the freshest details. good evening, nancy. >> good evening, john. we will be briefed by senior administration officials about this operation shortly. but here's what i can tell you right now. cbs news has confirmed the de facto leader of al quaida, ayman al-zawahri, was targeted and killed in an un-manned c.i.a. drone strike over the weekend in afghanistan. senior officials say the operation was successful and that there were no civilian

casualties. now, here's why this is so significant -- ayman al-zawahri has been the leader of al quaida for more than a decade, ever since observe bin was killed by u.s. n navy seals in pakistan in 2011. al-zawahri helped plan the 9/11 and other attacks on americans. he was # 71 years old, born into a prominent egyptian family, became a prominent practicing doctor. one of the last times he was seen on video was last septembe. even then, it was unclear if the recording was new or old and there were rumors for years he perhaps had died. the u.s. was offering $25 million for information that could lead to his apprehension. but now this operation comes nearly one year since the last u.s. forces and diplomats left afghanistan. you will recall they had to pull out in a very chaotic fashion earlier than expected because of

the taliban advancing on kabul so quickly and the toppling of the afghan government and the afghan military. tonight, when the president addresses the nation, he is likely to argue that this operation is proof that the u.s. still can conduct counterterrorism operations in afghanistan, even now that troops have left. the taliban, as you can imagine, john, not happy about any of this. a taliban spokesman said "the islamic emirate of afghanistan condemns this an calls it a clear violation of the international principles and the doha agreement. officials say the strike took place in a residential neighborhood in kabul, but we are waiting for confirmation of thaty u.s. officials. we want to know about exactly where and how this operation was pulled off, john. >> dickerson: nancy cordes with the latest. thanks, nancy. for more on what this means for

the u.s. and the ongoing war on terrorism, let's bring in cbs news senior national security contributor and the former acting director at the c.i.a. michael morell. mike, how significant is this in course of the history and in terms of terrorism right now? >> john, from an historical perspective, this is very significant. zawahri was one of the individuals behind the 9/11 attacks so this is another significant blow to those individuals who attacked us more than 20 years ago. from a current day perspective, this is the leader of one of the two largest terrorist organizations on the planet, al quaida, the other being isis. so while they don't pose the same threat as a decade or 20 years ago, this does take a leader off the battlefield and will, you know, will to some degree disrupt that organization and force them to come up with new leadership.

>> dickerson: and what does this tell us about the relationship between the taliban and al quaida? >> so this may be the most interesting point here, right -- he was in kabul, he was evidently at a significant kind of housing complex. so, for me, it underscores that the relationship between the taliban and al quaida continues, right, despite some of the arguments that were made a year ago that the taliban was willing to split with al quaida. this shows that that relationship remains tight and it shows that we need to continue to focus on afghanistan going forward from a counterterrorism perspective. >> dickerson: michael morell, thank you. and we will bring you the president's speech as a cbs news special report right here at 7:30 p.m. eastern time. so stick with us. we turn now to kentucky, where the death toll stands at 37, but that number is expected to climb as hundreds of people remain unaccounted for, following one of the worst flooding events in

state history. more rain is in the forecast for a community already devastated by the storms. justin michaels from our partners at the weather channel is on the ground in kentucky. >> i can see her face. >> reporter: dramatic footage shows the moment 98-year-old grandmother may was rescued by neighbors who fought fast moving weared to get her and others to safety. her family from out of state watching helpless. >> i knew they were very much in trouble. i did not know if my brother was alive for a while. >> reporter: today search and rescue operations continued and over the weekend governor an di. >> i had to do a lot of hard things and that was one to have the hardest. >> reporter: the death toll was expected to grow. among the victims, children, including four from one family their parents,

the youngest only 18 months old. search and rescue teams conducted more than 1400 missions by boat and airport authorities said it could take weeks to find all the missing and recover their bodies. >> there are hundreds of unaccounted for people, minimum, and we just don't have a firm grasp on that. >> reporter: fast-moving water swept through eastern kentucky last week destroying roads and bridges and wiping out entire communities leaving many residents with nothing. jeremiah fire chief wallace bowling, jr. says his entire firehouse is destroyed. he spent 15 hours trapped on top of this rig, unable to communicate with anyone. >> i was trying to tell my mom and dad and the kids, you know, if i never spoke to them again, i loved them. >> reporter: the bad news continues in kentucky. more rain forecast this evening. a flood watch from 9:00 tonight

to 9:00 in the morning. because the ground is so saturated, the water has no place to go, down but hopefully not up. >> dickerson: from the floods in kentucky to the wildfires in northern california, the mckinney fire covers more than 80 square miles and is the state's larzear s's jothan votti near the front lines. >> reporter: the west is a tinderbox. the mckinney fire is still burning out of control, mushrooming to more than 55,000 acres and responsible for at least two deaths. >> it traveled from the top of that ridge downhill in the space of maybe 15 minutes. >> it was just the most amazing, terrifying thing i've ever seen. >> reporter: the fire continues to rage near the california-oregon border, but as intense as the flames are on the ground and in the air, the view from space is jaw-dropping. this the fire as night fell on saturday, growing exponentially. one couple died trying to escape

when their car was overcome by flames in their driveway. >> the fire exploded so quickly in this neighborhood it engulfed entire homes in a matter of minutes destroying everything in its path. search andries cue teams are going from property to property looking for anyone missing. >> reporter: it's not just drought gripping the west but also extreme heat. at least 14 deaths are investigated in the pacific northwest possibly related to record temperatures. redman, oregon topped triple digits seven days straight. >> with climate change we expect to see more expwens and frequent heatwaves. >> reporter: thunderstorms are moving into the fire in california. rain is helping by lightning could be disastrous. >> the biggest thing is to think about how dry the conditions are. every strike has the potential to start a fire. >> reporter: tonight dozens are unaccounted for and the

sheriff's office tells me it's their priority to track down every lead. it's a difficult task when this is what's left of the moment they're pulling up to. john. >> dickerson: jonathan vigliotti, thank you, jonathan. now to the rising tensions between the united states and china. house speaker nancy pelosi's expected to taiwan is sparking outrage from beijing, which called it a major provocation. now china is flexing its military muscle ahead of the anticipated trip. cbs's adam yamaguchi is in taiwan. >> reporter: across the narrow taiwan strait, it's a battle of wills. taiwan just wrapped up a week of annual live fire exercises, and china has responded in kind, increasing navy patrols, conducting live fire drills, and releasing a highly produced propaganda vslan of 23 million people as its own, and the anticipated visit of

speaker pelosi, is generating accusations that the u.s. supports taiwan sovereignty. if speaker pelosi visits taiwan, says the chinese foreign affairs spokesman, it would grossly interfere in chinese's affairs. he warned the chinese military would never sit idly by. pelosi is leading a delegation to asia including a stop in singapore. taiwan has never been on her official schedule but taiwanese news media says she is to arrive tuesday evening. the military exercises including a mock amphibious invasion into its assessment of what the war might look like. >> the fact we're seeing an amphibious assault is the taiwanese believe the chinese are going to try to take some of the outlying islands in the south china sea and taiwan strait and this is taiwan's effort to take them back.

>> cians are tak precaution also rning ife pf a teaw to taiw get thwit needs to defend american mily isow moving assets including an aircraft carrier in closing proximity to the island. john. >> dickerson: adam yamaguchi in taiwan. federal judge sentenced a texas man to the longest prison sentence so far related to the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol. 489-year-old guy reffitt was sentenced to more than seven years after bringing a handgun to the capitol as he confronted police during the attack. a member of the far right militia group the texas percenters, we have r reffitt was the first to stand charges stemming from the attack. ahead, could dplais at america's busiest port delay the holiday season.

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>> dickerson: tonight, just as retailers are starting to gear up for the holiday season, there are warnings of a possible nationwide shipping log jam. a shortage of rail workers is causing cargo to pile up once again at the port of los angeles, a key link in the u.s. supply chain. cbs's carter evans is there. >> 'tis the season for ships packed with holiday gifts to start flooding america's ports, but the containers are already piling up, clogging the docks, waiting for trains to transport cargo across the country. >> thre are about 35,000 containers that are designated for rail on our docks right now. on a normal day, looks more like 9,000 units. >> l.a. ector gene seroka is sounding the alarm to prevent another scene like this. how long before we see a backup at sea again? >> we've probably got another four to six weeks. if we do nothing. >> reporter: over the last three years, railroads have lost 20% of their employees.

>> a lot of that is because they cut their own workforce. >> reporter: it began when they tried to streamline operations with a practice called precision scheduled rail railroading which sometimes uses shorter trains according to anest ben nolan. >> when you're hyper efficient you're ill prepared for unexpected things like pandemics. >> reporter: where are the bottlenecks. >> on the last mile. >> reporter: union pacific operations v.p. eric gehringer says his railroader are already hired hundreds of new employees. >> we're handling the volume. resources beyond the railroad that's where we need to see gains. >> reporter: the rails move containers inlandy merchandise the transferred and delivered, be uh with truck driver shortages and a loews of goods arriving -- >> there's nowhere to off-load the goods. >> reporter: it begins with the importer picking up their cargo inland a little faster than they have been doing. because if they don't pick it up

inland, you can't move it out here. >> that's right. >> reporter:eth a fragile system and could all fall apart very quickly. dock workers here have been working without a contract a month and rail workers are at a dead end after twos negotiatio. the white house just assembled a special team to help railroads avoid a strike. john? >> dickerson: carter evans, thank you. up next the investigation after a fiery crash kills seven people on a u.s. interstate. and an n.f.l. quarterback accused of sexual misconduct is hit with a multi-game suspensiont. your shipping managr left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire if you have type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure

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non-gaming tribes have been left in the dust. wealthy tribes with big casinos make billions, while small tribes struggle in poverty. prop 27 is a game changer. 27 taxes and regulates online sports betting to fund permanent solution to homelessness. while helping every tribe in california. so who's attacking prop 27? wealthy casino tribes who want all the money for themselves support small tribes, address homelessness. vote yes on 27.

>> dickerson: the growing list of too close to call shark sightings along the east coast this summer now includes this khaliling encounter over the weekend at florida's neptune beach. people shouted to swimmers to get out of the water after two sharks were spotted close to shore. no one was hurt. when we come back, remembering two trail blazing americans. if you have copd, ask your doctor about breztri. breztri gives me better breathing and helps prevent flare-ups. before breztri, i was stuck in the past. i still had bad days, [coughing] flare-ups, which kept me from doing what i love. my doctor said for my copd, it was time for breztri.

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about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. learn more at getrealaboutdiabetes.com >> dickerson: finally tonight, we remember the life and careers of two american icons, nba hall of famer bill russell and actress my shell nichols. their legacy of change lives on. here's cbs's jim axlerod. >> if you can't be what you can't see, then bill russell and nischelle nichols gave americans something special to look at. russell who won 11 nbachonasostn celtics center in and head coach in the nba. >> i never felt like i would make any contribution. i was just doing the best i could. >> but his presidential medal of freedom awarded in 2011 by barack obama recognized his work off the court as well, as a

civil rights activist who stood up for the rights and dignity of all men. >> captain, i'm picking up the alien signal again. >> as the lieutenant in "star trek," nichols role was a raritiy, a black woman starrings as an equal member of the crew of the u.s.s. enterprise. her kiss with william shatner was the first interracial kisses on television at a time when the civil rights struggle was center stage. >> there was a big concern that there would be a big fuss about that. >> reporter: her barrier breaking was noted by martin luther king as the first nonstereotypical role portrayed by a black woman in television history. nischelle nichols and bill russell did nothing less than change our world. jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. >> dickerson: and that's tonight's "cbs evening news." for norah o'donnell i'm john

dickerson in the nation's >> judge judy: you're a trespasser in the house. >> announcer: the mother of his child was not welcome. >> judge judy: so you left a 6- and a 2-year-old alone in the back of a car. >> yes, ma'am. >> judge judy: alone? >> i came to get the money. >> announcer: or did jealousy get her jacked up? >> i gave it to her. i was like, "okay. you can leave." "why? she here. why i can't be here, too?" >> at that time, he grabs me by the hair, pulling me to the floor. >> judge judy: i know what went down there. >> announcer: "judge judy." you are about to enter the courtroom of judge judith sheindlin. 24-year-old a'kalli carter is suing the father of her son, quinton fitcheard, for assaulting her, and ramming her vehicle. >> byrd: order! all rise. this is case number 464 on the calendar, in the matter of carter vs. fitcheard.

parties have been sworn in. you may be seated. ladies, have a seat, please. >> judge judy: miss carter, you and the defendant have a child together. you are not married. you don't live together. >> yes, ma'am. >> judge judy: there came a time, sometime in september, when, according to your complaint, you were supposed to meet with the defendant to get some money. >> yes, ma'am. >> judge judy: and that was on september 16th. where were you supposed to meet him? >> at his mother's house. >> judge judy: and when had you made that appointment to meet him at his mother's house? >> earlier that day at work. >> judge judy: tell me how that came around. >> we were supposed to be, like, exchanging for getting diapers, wipes, little necessities. >> judge judy: now did that come around as a result of a phone call, a text message, an e-mail? >> phone calls and texts. >> judge judy: i'd like to see the texts that you were coming to his mother's house, because that's not where he says you were supposed to meet. is that right? >> yes, ma'am. >> judge judy: he says you were supposed to meet at...? >> walmart. >> judge judy: which is where she works? >> she works on walteran, and that's right down the road from where she works, on her way. coul o