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Good evening. I'm John Dickerson. I'm Maurice Dubois. President Trump got two thirds of the veterans voted November, but we noticed he never mentioned them in his nearly 100 minute address last night. And now we have learned he is cutting some 80,000 jobs at the V.A.

We'll have more about that in a moment. Today, the commander in chief was prosecuting the trade war he started when he put a 25 percent tax on goods imported from Canada and Mexico and doubled the tax on imports from China to 20 percent. They responded with tariffs of their own. The president spoke by phone today with Canada's prime minister, but neither side budged.

The president also spoke with Detroit's big three automakers. He gave them a one-month exemption from the tariffs, but urged them to build more cars in the United States so they're yet less dependent on foreign imports. Wall Street liked the temporary reprieve. The big three stock indexes posted gains of more than 1%. Weijia Jiang is at the White House for us tonight. Weijia?

We know President Trump pays close attention to Wall Street, but top aides say it does not drive his decision making as dealmaker in chief. Tonight, less than 48 hours after those tariffs went into effect, we are learning what does American companies caught in the middle. In public, presidential tough talk is fueling the trade war. Whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will not.

tariff them. Even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. In private, administration officials are in constant contact with Canadian and Mexican counterparts, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick leading negotiations.

Just hours after Canada retaliated with tariffs on U.S. exports, he was working the phones calling Canadian officials. Sources familiar with Lutnick's call with the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, describe it as aggressive and tough. Lutnick told Ford to stand down. Not only did Ford refuse, he said if anything, his province would go harder. The President Trump

Don't force our hand. You underestimate Canadians, you're making a massive mistake. Yesterday, President Trump had a call with the big three U.S. automakers, Ford, Stellantis and GM, who have been pressuring him for a carve-out for vehicles built in Canada and Mexico. This morning, Lutnick said Trump was considering walking back tariffs on some sectors. By this afternoon, the White House announced a one-month exemption for cars and trucks.

Still, the White House press secretary says Trump is all in on his tariffs plan, despite the risk of rising prices.

Why should Americans be okay with that when so many are already struggling to pay the bills? The American people elected this president to have monumental reform and change, including rebuilding our manufacturing base in this country, standing up to foreign nations who have been ripping off our country for decades. And that requires a little bit of disruption. And Weijia Zhang joins us from the White House. Weijia, a little bit of disruption in the relationship with the Canadians. They're not giving up without a fight.

Well, Prime Minister Trudeau says Canadians are reasonable and polite, but they will not back down from a fight. That means a 25% tariff on more than $150 billion of American product. And Trudeau says they will remain in place until U.S. tariffs are removed and, quote, not a moment sooner. Wait, what about Mexico? What are they saying?

Well, unlike Canada, Mexico did not respond with retaliatory tariffs right away, perhaps to buy a little time for a potential breakthrough. Its president says she'll see how things go until Sunday. And if U.S. tariffs are still in place, then not only will Mexico retaliate, she says they will look for deals with other countries. And finally, I want to go back to what we mentioned at the top of the show. Eighty three thousand jobs cut at Veterans Affairs. What do you know about that?

Well, CBS News has obtained an internal memo from the VA that says it plans to cut 15 percent of its workforce to return to 2019 levels. And we asked the VA and the White House who is going to be impacted. Are we talking about administrators or doctors and nurses? They did not specify, but told us the department is cutting bureaucracy and bloat. All right. Weijia Zhang at the White House. Thank you, Weijia.

The trade war started as the world's largest legislature was convening in China. Nearly 3,000 members. Anna Koren is in Beijing. A show of strength outside the Great Hall of the People.

As soldiers from the People's Liberation Army marched across Tiananmen Square adorned with flags. They're part of the almost 3,000 delegates who arrived in Beijing for the opening of the National People's Congress, China's most important political event of the year.

Thank you. Thank you. But hanging over this highly scripted and choreographed event, the escalating tensions with the United States and China's defiance. Excuse me, sir. Are you worried about the U.S.-China trade war? Do you think that President Xi and President Trump can make amends?

Inside the hall, all eyes anxiously waited for the main event. The National People's Congress is very much focused on the economy, but this year it has been overshadowed by geopolitical events with the US-China trade war taking centre stage.

China's leader was warmly greeted. Only yesterday, Xi's government hit back at the US with retaliatory tariffs against agriculture, while a foreign ministry spokesman issued a warning, quote, if war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end. As President Xi watched on, his deputy delivered his address.

While China faces economic challenges, its leadership says it won't back down. This confident posture defying Beijing's cold spring weather and the geopolitical storm clouds that are forming. And Anna Koren joins us now from Beijing. Anna, with all of those economic headwinds that China is facing, why are they pushing back so hard?

Well, John, China is basically saying that it won't be bullied. And this act of defiance that we are seeing from China is because it's had six years to prepare for this. Remember, the trade war began back in 2018. China has also become a global leader in key industries. It's less reliant on the U.S. So despite its economic challenges, China is saying to the U.S., we are prepared. And Anna, the Chinese just announced a big 7 percent increase in military spending. Is that setting off concerns?

Yeah, absolutely, Maurice. Compare that to other countries and it is significantly higher. You've got Taiwan, the South China Sea, where China is trying to develop its sphere of influence. So the United States and its allies, they are concerned. And remember that there are members of the Trump administration who believe that China poses the greatest threat to the world. Anna Corrin in Beijing for us. Thanks, Anna.

Now, more of the top stories from around the world in tonight's Evening News Roundup. U.S. prosecutors call it hacking for hire, and they've charged 12 people in China with that crime today. Some worked for a private hacking company that allegedly got paid by the Chinese government.

They're accused of targeting U.S. government offices, including the Defense Intelligence Agency. CBS News has learned the Trump administration has stopped sharing intelligence that could help Ukraine target Russian forces. Defensive intelligence is still being shared.

This follows the cutoff of new military aid as the administration pressures Ukraine to end the war with Russia. And the alleged mastermind of a deadly terror attack on the U.S. military was in federal court in Virginia today. Mohammed Sharafullah was arrested in Pakistan. Thirteen American service members were killed in the suicide attack during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Our justice correspondent Scott McFarland was in the courtroom. And Scott, what are you learning about this guy tonight?

- And Morrissey's a long time accused ISIS-K operative with a history of attacks. The FBI says he had been free from prison for just two weeks in 2021 on a different charge before he allegedly helped plot the Abbey Gate bombing, which killed 13 service members. And the prosecutors say he admitted plotting the route used by the attacker when he was questioned after he was caught in a CIA raid a few days ago, John. - And so Scott, what does Mohammad Sharafullah look like in a courtroom?

Well, you really could feel the weight of the moment. I mean, there it is, a suspected ISIS-K terrorist standing in the U.S. court answering for an historic attack. Small man, barely five feet. He was wearing those blue jail outfits that looked like blue medical scrubs. And he spoke in a real meek voice when informed he'd be held in jail until further hearings and faces the prospect of life in prison if convicted, Maurice.

Scott McFarland for us in Washington. Thank you, Scott. Still ahead here on the CBS Evening News, Lonnie Quinn with ice jams in the Northeast and why they are so dangerous. And we'll have these stories as well. I'm Mark Strassman. Going to college without taking on any debt. It gets better. Students actually make money. That's tonight's Eye on America.

I'm Lilia Luciano at the San Ysidro border crossing near San Diego. The president has called border security a national emergency. So what's happening here now? That's next on the CBS Evening News.

President Trump, in his address last night, talked up his crackdown on illegal immigration at the Mexican border. Today, to emphasize the point, he sent his vice president, defense secretary, and director of national intelligence to the border, to the town of Eagle Pass, Texas. The vice president, J.D. Vance, said Mr. Trump hopes to have the border wall completed by 2029. Lilia Luciano reports illegal border crossings are down dramatically.

This is what the border looked like near El Paso two years ago, as hundreds lined up to claim asylum. We were there at the height of it. Shelters were overflowing with asylum seekers. This man we spoke with spent the night sleeping outside in the brutal cold. Now the streets are empty and the shelters quiet.

Last week, CBS News went out with Border Patrol agents as they searched for hours for any site of a border crosser. They came up empty-handed. Illegal crossings are down 94% across the entire border from the same period last year, from nearly 5,000 a day to less than 300.

It's a downward trend that began last year with Mexico's increased border crackdown and the Biden administration's executive order to stop accepting asylum claims from people who crossed illegally. Since taking office, President Trump has dramatically cut back the process for legal entry while promising the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.

There, he's off to a slower start. According to the Department of Homeland Security, at least 55,000 people were deported in the first five weeks of the Trump administration. By comparison, an average of 57,000 were deported every month during the last full year of the Biden administration.

We asked Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin about it. President Trump promised during the campaign that millions would be deported, something like 15 million. When you divide that, it should come down to 300,000 or more people should be being deported. 55,000 is a lot less. I don't think that the first month is going to be the status quo. In the first week of the administration, we saw these massive raids.

We saw Secretary Noem out there. There was this massive show of force. Have the raids been reduced? These ICE raids, as they're often called, are very tactical and they're very targeted. That's why we say it's the worst of the worst. We follow where these individuals are, the low-hanging fruit, so to speak, and I think that they're going to evolve.

Once you get past the people who have a criminal record, what options do undocumented people have if they want to make a case for staying in this country, working in this country, contributing? I think that the best message is that they should self-deport and leave now and then come back the right way. Liliya Luciano joins us now from San Ysidro, California. So, Liliya, how else have they been able to get these numbers down so dramatically low?

Marisa, I'm going to tell you something that I heard today from an immigration attorney dealing with all kinds of cases. Just Trump being in office is deterrence enough. But there have been dozens of policies and actions from the Trump administration, from trying to stop refugee resettlement, to ending the appointments that tens of thousands of people had to make their case for asylum, to ending visa programs, parole, and the imposition of a new law.

Impact is felt throughout the hemisphere. Last week, I heard from a Panamanian government official who told me that now their country is dealing with reverse migration, people heading back down south from those who historically had tried to head up north to the United States.

Lily Luciano on the border for us. Thank you. Winter storm brought blizzard conditions to the upper Midwest. Driving was extremely hazardous. Dozens of crashes were reported in Iowa and Minnesota. In the Northeast, there is a risk of flooding caused by ice jams. Lonnie Quinn, help me out here. What are ice jams?

Well, listen, an ice jam happens when you get a warming trend and the ice on the river starts to naturally break apart. They collide and just get flooding over the banks. But there's another element you really need and you need a lot of rain. That's exactly what we picked up. This line that you see right here, the same line that pushed through the south into the southeast yesterday, made its way to the mid-Atlantic today.

up into northern New England and into portions of upstate New York as well. So what that does, it raises the level of the river, and now when that ice is moving along, it has some problems because they start colliding and you get the big flooding. So they break it up into smaller pieces. That boat you see right there, the Edward Cotter in Buffalo, New York, it's the oldest active fireboat in the world, 125 years it's been operating, today being used to break up the ice. So why do you break it up?

Because smaller pieces of ice will get through narrow passages on the river. What happens is when that river starts to melt the ice, and here come those big chunks floating down the river, they'll collide when they go around a tight curve or possibly they hit a bridge or something like that. That then causes the water behind it to back up, floods the bank, and this is a problem that we're going to have in upstate New York all the way into New England where we've had record snowpack today. When you break those up into smaller pieces, it will navigate that narrow passage better.

Gentlemen? Makes all the sense in the world. Lonnie, here we are in March, early March. Are we looking at more weather to come here? What's going to happen then? Well, let's take Buffalo, for example, because that's what we're talking about right now. Buffalo today, 51 degrees. That's a problem. Well, tomorrow you're 32 degrees, 33 degrees perhaps. Back to normal. Get into next week. Buffalo could make a run at 60 degrees. Okay. Lonnie Quinn, thanks so much. It's a new approach to college education. Prepping students for specific jobs. Eye on America is next.

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- At a time when college is unaffordable for many people, some schools are re-imagining higher education, shifting their curricula from general knowledge to providing free training for specific jobs and giving new meaning to working your way through school. Mark Strassman has tonight's Eye on America from Merced, California. - This is Live Oak Farms in California's San Joaquin Valley. 3000 acres of tomatoes, peppers, almonds, and alfalfa.

Carlos Marquez, a quietly ambitious guy, started here 10 years ago as a day laborer. Today, he's the operations manager while a full-time college student. Is this your classroom?

This is it right here. He's in a pilot program funded by a federal grant and offered free to students by Merced College. In its competency-based curriculum, students such as Marquez master vocational skills. Identify the hydraulic controls.

- Right here. - Perfect. - Agriculture is only one area. Others include education and healthcare. It's real life, hands-on, rather than the traditional college classroom experience. - We know that the traditional model can be antiquated in some ways. So what can we do to upskill them to prepare them for 21st century jobs? - Merson College President Chris Vitelli developed the program for the school. - What to you about the program is innovative?

They come to us, they master a skill, and then they move on to the next one. You can actually go to school and make money. You can. In this program. You can. I mean, this program is designed so our students can have a part-time job. They can have a full-time job. With the soaring cost of college, it's probably no surprise more than 40% of full-time students have a job while they're in school. But at a cost. They're roughly 20% less likely to finish their degree.

As a non-traditional college student, Carlos Marquez can work and study, making $1,300 a week. A big help for the 32-year-old father of two. You get in, get the training, and then you just keep on building from there. There are now more than 1,000 of these programs at colleges across the country.

82% of them expect the number of those programs to grow. It's incumbent on us to find ways to meet their needs, not the opposite way around. Marquez started traditional college when he was 18. He didn't like it and couldn't afford it when his scholarships ran out. Now he can earn an industry-recognized certificate with added fuel to finish. I'm first generation.

Being able to accomplish that, you know, get that, and then, you know, be an example for my daughters, I mean, that's where it's at. On a farm or off, that's growth. For Eye on America, Mark Strassman in Merced, California.

When Marquez finishes the program in May, his employer is committed to giving him a 10% raise. Other Merced partners have agreed to put graduates on a track to become managers. And tonight, or rather tomorrow's Eye on America, two problems solving each other, saving forests and heating homes. And now, how do you keep a yellow dog from becoming a white elephant? John and I will get into that next.

So you decided to get a dog. You go all out, spring for something rare and pricey, and then-- It doesn't quite work out. That's what happened to the Honolulu police. So meet Spot here. The HPD bought the robot dog at the height of the pandemic with $150,000 in federal COVID aid. Spot was used for contactless temperature checks and telemedicine for the homeless.

When the city council howled about the price, the HPD said, don't worry, Spot can be used for years, long after COVID. Well, the pandemic's over, but it turns out Spot has not been out for a walk in three years. 21 in dog years, leaving a spokesperson to do some

cleanup. She says the PD is assessing whether Spot can be, how should we put it, fixed. Software programmers may be able to change how Spot runs so it can, for instance, assist in searches. If they can't teach the old dog new tricks, perhaps they can sell it for whatever Spot will fetch. Clearly he's a good boy. Thanks for watching. I'm Maurice Dubois. I'm John Dickerson. See you on Plus. Have a good night. See you tomorrow.