CBS Evening News, 03/18/25
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Good evening, I'm Maurice Dubois. I'm John Dickerson. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams returned to Earth this evening back from what was supposed to be an eight-day mission aboard the International Space Station. It lasted 35 times longer, a total of 286 days. Wilmore and Williams were launched to the space station aboard a Boeing Starliner capsule last June.

but it developed mechanical problems and was brought home without them. Early this morning, they boarded a SpaceX capsule along with astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov for the trip back to Earth. And Mark Strassman reports they arrived home surfy.

Homecomings happen differently for astronauts. We have visual on four healthy mains. You're watching the SpaceX Crew Dragon's main parachutes open 6,500 feet above Earth. Heat shield first, its descent slowed to 15 miles an hour. The capsule with its crew of four inside splashed gently into the gulf. SpaceX's message? On behalf of SpaceX...

Welcome home. A welcome back, finally, to Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams. Ignition. Wilmore and Williams blasted off back in June. Their space taxi to the ISS, a Boeing Starliner, developed propulsion problems on its first human flight. Their scheduled eight-day mission became a nine-month saga.

So I'm going to lead you down through the PMA. That protracted stay orbiting 260 miles above the rest of us turned political. President Trump claimed they had been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden administration, a claim Williams denied to John Dickerson last month. You know, I don't think I'm abandoned. I don't think we're stuck up here. We've got food. We've got clothes. We have a ride home in case anything really bad does happen to the International Space Station.

-Dragon freedom being lifted out of the water. -Back in the Gulf, it's one more step toward a Houston homecoming at last. -And Mark Strassman joins us in Houston at the Johnson Space Center. Mark, so what's next?

John, a NASA jet is going to bring them here to Houston. They'll land at Ellington Field, which is about 10 miles from where I'm standing. And waiting for them, waiting for them for the last nine months will be their families. Mark, what about the physical recovery? What is that going to look like?

It varies, John. Making that adjustment from months of microgravity to the pull of gravity, that varies person to person. I talked to one astronaut today. He said that it took him a week to feel 80% and six weeks to feel 100%. And he only spent six months in space, not nine months like Wilmore and Williams. Okay. Mark Strassman, thank you so much tonight.

President Trump, who boasted on the campaign that he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours, spent two and a half hours on the phone today trying to do just that. By the time he hung up with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president had agreed to an immediate pause on attacks on energy infrastructure targets, but not to a broader 30-day ceasefire. Still, the White House called it a first step towards peace. Holly Williams is in Ukraine. Holly?

Good evening. After that call between President Trump and Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said tonight that Russia will only agree to a long-term ceasefire if all foreign military aid to Ukraine is stopped. In a forest just north of Kyiv, we met a team of unpaid volunteers training on air defense systems.

Their job is to shoot down deadly Russian drones. With many of this country's men serving on the front line, the majority are women. And they all come from the town of Bucha and the surrounding area.

Bucha was the scene of a massacre by Russian forces at the start of Vladimir Putin's invasion. The Russians executed civilians on the street. Olena Akuma is an artist who told us she survived the occupation of Bucha with her two children. After three years of

years of war, she'd like a ceasefire. But she has conditions. If Vladimir Putin says, yes, I agree to a ceasefire, but only if the US stops supplying Ukraine with weapons.

Would that be okay with you? No, she told us. How can we believe Putin when our head is in his mouth? Since the start of this war, the U.S. has committed over $100 billion to support Ukraine.

This country is trying to become more self-reliant. Ukraine says it now makes 30% of its own weapons. We are making it for survival of the country. Vladislav Belbas owns a Ukrainian weapons company, but told us without a continued supply of American arms, Russia will overrun his country. So, uh,

actually they feel the power to invade other countries. So you're saying if Russia succeeds here in Ukraine, it will give it the confidence to invade other countries and start more wars? Of course. And Holly, as I'm watching all this, I can't help but wonder, is Vladimir Putin serious?

Well, look, from Vladimir Putin's perspective, agreeing to halt strikes on energy infrastructure may help it look like he's doing something and being responsive to President Trump's desire to end the war, but without actually stopping the war. And to that point, soon after the call ended, air raid sirens sounded around Ukraine tonight.

And, Holly, Putin has put a condition on ending the war completely on a complete cessation of foreign military intelligence assistance. Is that just a delaying tactic during negotiations?

Well, John, it might be. But interestingly, after that contentious meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last month, the U.S. actually did briefly suspend deliveries of military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. So now the question is whether Trump would be willing to do that long term as part of a negotiation with Putin. OK, Holly Williams in Lviv tonight. Thank you.

Now more of the top stories from around the world in tonight's Evening News Roundup. Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to rebuke President Trump today after he called for the impeachment of a federal judge who tried to block his migrant crackdown. In a statement, Roberts said impeachment is not an appropriate response.

Chief legal correspondent, Jan Crawford, will have more about this on CBS Evening News Plus. Police in Las Vegas are searching for whoever targeted a Tesla repair shop. At least five vehicles were shot at or set on fire. Growing number of Teslas have been vandalized nationwide.

apparently to protest Elon Musk's involvement in the Trump administration. Tesla stock fell more than 5% today. Forbes says Tesla has now been replaced by SpaceX as Musk's most valuable company. And Israel unleashed a wave of airstrikes in Gaza after hostage release negotiations with Hamas broke down. Officials in Gaza say at least 400 Palestinians were killed. Remy Innocencio is in Tel Aviv.

Families and supporters of hostages held in Gaza made their anger clear today outside Israel's legislature in Jerusalem

and the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. Israel's military believe that bombing Gaza could put more pressure on Hamas to free the hostages. But for the families and friends of Israeli hostages here, they believe that it is a death sentence. What do you think of Netanyahu's strategy? He should have kept going with the deal and make sure that all of the hostages get back home safely.

But the Israeli Defense Forces said its military offensive will only expand. IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani told us it's the most effective way to bring back all the hostages. Are the hostage families wrong? I understand the families and my heart goes out to them. The history shows that the military pressure could bring back hostages. But former IDF General Israel Ziv believes this strategy is fundamentally flawed.

Is this a death sentence for the hostages? We know over a year now that military pressure does not bring back the hostages. And in some cases, the other way. It kills them. It kills hostages. If we keep on just with those raids and attacks, I think we're going to see more hostages dead. Remy Innocencio in Tel Aviv. Now, Remy, what are the underlying politics of the moment in Israel? There's a lot at play here.

Absolutely. You know, many say that Netanyahu is actually keeping the war going to save his own political skin. This is my seventh rotation here since the war started, and that cynicism has been very much constant, and actually today didn't help. Netanyahu was set to testify in his now four-year-long corruption trial, but that hearing was canceled because Israel started bombing Gaza, and many say that's not a coincidence. Okay. Remy Innocencio in Tel Aviv tonight. Thank you.

Still ahead on the CBS Evening News, Rob Marciano on a new fire risk in the West. And as March Madness begins, I talk with the president of the NCAA about the insane money in college sports, including gambling. We'll sit behind the bench at one of these conference tournaments and listen to the bettors yell and scream at these kids about their performance. They do that in the open? Yes. You need to do better.

I'm Janet Chamley and in Austin, Texas, maternal mortality rates have risen across the country since abortion bans. That's tonight's Eye on America.

It is March and the madness has begun with the first two games tonight of the NCAA Division I basketball tournament. In a different court, a federal judge is expected to approve a settlement that'll have Division I schools pay nearly $3 billion in compensation to former athletes.

And that is a drop in the bucket compared to what colleges have agreed to pay future athletes for use of their name, image and likeness or NIL. It's a whole new ballgame for college sports. And I talked about that with NCAA President Charlie Baker in Indianapolis.

What's going on currently is probably the biggest change in the last 40 years for college sports. Used to be that a pro got paid, an amateur didn't, right? So where are we now? Having the school be the primary relationship for a student athlete around their name, image, and likeness is a better way to do it than have these third parties that are kind of shadowy and invisible, which is what we have now. Charlie Baker played basketball for Harvard, and he still has his jump shot. Do you come in here and take a few shots from time to time?

Once in a while. He was governor of Massachusetts and a health care executive before becoming the NCAA's president in 2023. He supports the settlement. What's happened to this game that millions of people love? Has it changed forever? Is this a whole different ballgame?

I do believe the settlement will create a much saner way of doing this than the way it works now. And I hope that what we get out of it is an NIL program that's more transparent, more accountable, and one that actually works on this idea that

But this is still a development exercise for young people. Last year, the NCAA brought in $1.4 billion in revenue. Most of the money is shared with nearly 1,100 member schools for scholarships and team travel to events, including March Madness. But the big money is in sports gambling, separate from the NCAA.

March Madness is expected to draw more than $3 billion in legal bets this year. One of the first things I did when I got here was a survey of 18- to 22-year-olds around sports betting. When they talked to you about sports betting, what specifically were they getting at that bothered them? Crop betting on college sports. Sanford off.

A prop bet is a wager specific to a player's performance or statistics, such as the number of shots made or missed. Go sit behind the bench at one of these conference tournaments and listen to the bettors yell and scream at these kids about their performance. They do that in the open? Yes. You need to do better. I'm losing money on you. Or the stuff that shows up online, which we track in our tournaments, which is way more vicious and brutal than that.

It's really, this is a problem. Can you fix it? Where is this going to go? Part of the way we're fixing it is by nudging state gaming authorities. We now have about half of them where you can't prop that on college sports, and we've got to work the other half. It's a bad situation.

The NCAA has put out a new public service announcement calling out harassment towards student athletes. It will air throughout the men's and women's March Madness tournaments. Gambling piece is fascinating. Whole new game. Yeah. All right, now we're going to pass the ball to Rob Marciano. Dry, windy conditions are creating a fire of risk in parts of the West. And Rob is following all of that for us tonight. Rob?

Hey guys, there's several wind hazards with this. We've got fire, we've got dust, and we've got blizzard conditions. This is a fire not too far from Little Rock. Burned about 2,000 acres. Started yesterday. Firefighters on the ground and then seat tankers, single engine air tankers firefighting from above. They can drop about 800 gallons of water at a time, but they're battling the wind today. Not just there.

But between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, this is I-25. Nearly zero visibility here. Having to shut this down at times because of dust. We had winds gust at the ABQ at 68 miles per hour, and they're not the only ones. Nearly 80 million Americans are under some sort of a wind alert from the Mexican border right through the heartland. That will probably continue through tomorrow.

Does climate change play a role with this? Well, it does with fire. Check this graphic out. Over the last 50 years, these brighter red counties have seen an increase in fire weather days of 60 days per year because of more heat and more drought. In this area, we'll see critical fire danger right through the rest of this week. Guys.

Rob Marciano, thank you. A little bit later in the broadcast, look back at the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. But up next, Eye on America, why a Texas man blames his wife's death on the state's near total ban on abortion.

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Find a shoe for every you at your DSW store or DSW.com. A midwife and her associate have been charged in Texas with violating the state's near total ban on abortion. These are the first criminal charges in the state against abortion providers since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Republican legislators in Texas have introduced a bill to clarify the state law. Some doctors fear actions they might take to save the life of a pregnant woman could subject them to prosecution. A Texas man believes that fear led to his wife's death. Janet Chamleon has tonight's Eye on America. Hope Gomesy still can't believe he had to bury his wife after he took her to a Texas hospital for a miscarriage when she was 11 weeks pregnant. Who do you blame for what happened?

I blame the doctors. I blame the hospital. And I blame the state of Texas. Texas lawmakers in 2021 passed a near-total abortion ban. The Texas Heartbeat Act allows an exception only if a pregnant woman's life is in danger or faces a serious risk. But doctors tell us the law lacks clarity around how danger and serious risk are defined. I feel like the law is very reckless, very dangerous. I love you.

I love you. Portia Gazzemi wasn't given a DNC at the hospital, a medical procedure that's a surgical option when a miscarriage isn't complete, and the patient is bleeding excessively, as Gazzemi was at the time. It's the same procedure used for many abortions, though doctors told us their colleagues hesitate to perform them, fearing the state's criminal penalties. Gazzemi believes that's what happened in his wife's situation. She eventually went into cardiac arrest and died.

I just felt like the doctor turned his back on us. I don't want to go to jail. I don't want to lose my license or get fined. So the best course is for me to protect myself. The Texas law may be impacting the maternal mortality rate, the death of a woman during or after pregnancy. Between 2019 and 2022, that rate increased 56% after the state outlawed abortions, five times the national rate of 11%.

- State Senator Brian Hughes authored the legislation banning most abortions in Texas. We came here to the Texas Capitol to talk to him about the increase in maternal mortality rates. - So most doctors, most hospitals are getting this right, but some are not. - They're concerned about the ramifications

for their own culpability. And so I hear that, and I can show you the definition of abortion in Texas, and it says removal of a miscarriage is not an abortion. Hughes says the legislature is working on clarifying the language, but the law has yet to be amended. As for Gazemi... Put a blue hat on. He's doing the best he can as a single dad of two boys. Why is it important for you to speak out now? We're not supposed to be worried about...

Man, if I have a complication, am I going to lose my life? Would a doctor give me the proper care? Critical care, he worries, is guided by the fear of prosecution rather than saving mothers' lives. I'll be back. I'll bring the kids, too. For Eye on America, I'm Janet Shamlian in Houston.

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Hiring, indeed, is all you need. Survivor 48 is here, and alongside it, we're bringing you a brand new season of On Fire, the only official Survivor podcast. If you're a Survivor superfan, you won't want to miss this deep dive into every episode where we break down how we design the game, the biggest moves, your burning questions. It's the only podcast that gives you inside access to Survivor that nobody else can't.

Listen to On Fire, the official survivor podcast with me, Jeff Probst, every Wednesday after the show, wherever you get your podcasts. The storms in the south and the Midwest over the weekend killed at least 43 people. As the cleanup begins, we remember a far more destructive storm 100 years ago. Bells tolled in Murfreesboro, Illinois today for victims of the deadliest tornado in U.S. history.

On March 18th, 1925, the Tri-State tornado tore across 219 miles of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing 695 people. - 15,000 homes were destroyed, damage 3 billion in today's dollars.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said the air was filled with 10,000 things, including entire houses and living beings, too. - A baby was blown from its mother's arms. A cow picked up by the wind was hurled into the village restaurant.

The tornado came without warning. The forecast that morning called only for rain and strong shifting winds. Today, a century later, the National Weather Service says the average warning time for a tornado is just under 20 minutes. That is the CBS Evening News. I'm John Dickerson. I'm Maurice Dubois. Evening News Plus is coming up on CBS News 24-7. And we're back here tomorrow. Have a good night. We'll see you then.

What's up hoop fans? I'm Ashley Nicole Moss and I'm bringing you Triple Threat, your weekly courtside pass to the most interesting moments and conversations in the NBA.

From clutch performances to the stories shaping the game on and off the court, Triple Threat has you covered with it all. Culture, drama, and social media buzz. We're locked in just like you're locked in. Watch weekly on CBS Sports Network at 1 p.m. Eastern or on the CBS Sports YouTube channel as we break it all down fast and fresh. This is Triple Threat, where basketball meets culture.