CBS Evening News., 03/04/25
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From CBS News headquarters in New York, this is the CBS Evening News.

Good evening. I'm Maurice Dubois. I'm John Dickerson. When President Trump addresses Congress tonight, he'll be standing before the only group of Americans empowered to declare war just hours after he started one, a trade war whose first casualties were investors. New import taxes took effect today, 25 percent on goods from Canada and Mexico and doubling to 20 percent on goods from China.

That was followed quickly by threats of retaliation and another sell-off on Wall Street. Stocks plunged. The Dow lost 1.5%, a total of 3% since the president announced the tariffs yesterday. But this may be a short war. Peace talks are already underway. The Commerce Secretary says he's been on the phone with Canada and Mexico.

Polls suggest it was the economy more than anything that got Mr. Trump elected. Now, Caitlin Huey Burns reports Americans are watching closely to see how he handles it. Caitlin?

Hey, John, that's right. The economy helped put Donald Trump back in the White House, and it's expected to be a key pillar of his speech tonight. We're told he's going to talk about lowering prices for Americans, even if his tariff plan threatens to raise them. We traveled to York, Pennsylvania, to get an assessment, a report from voters and residents about how they think he's handling the economy.

29-year-old C.J. Weigel helps run his family's commercial printing shop, Reem Printing, in York, Pennsylvania. 61% of the county voted for President Trump. How would you describe this area? We used to be a mecca for manufacturing. York was a real true leader. But I think, you know, when you heard the president talk on the trail, it hit home for us here.

We've lost a lot of jobs to foreign competitors. Weigel voted for Trump in November and says that since the election, he's been feeling more optimistic. How do you think he's doing so far on the economy? I mean, there's always room for improvement, of course. And right now, you know, it's a transition period. I think if we're honest with ourselves, regardless of what administration comes in every four to eight years,

There's always a little bit of growth that has to occur, but I'm very happy. It's a feeling shared by William Quinn, who owns the Linden Diner in York. How are you feeling about the economy right now? The economy is obviously not where it needs to be, but hopefully we're in the right direction now.

A few weeks ago, Quinn had to start charging more for egg dishes to accommodate the price surge and the shortage. The price of everything really, everything's fluctuating so much, but there's certain items that you've got to protect. I mean, eggs at a diner, it's pretty much a staple. That's what it is. It's where we make our living off of is eggs in a diner all day long.

also voted for Trump and says the president needs time to help turn the economy around. Every president needs time, and we can just have to hope for the best and think that it will drive our country forward and prices back to normal. When he was campaigning, he would say, on day one, I'm going to bring prices down. Is that something that you took literally? Obviously, what he should be doing is working on it from day one, but it doesn't happen overnight. And, Kaitlin, as you showed us there, supporters are still solidly behind the president. But more broadly, a lot of people around the country are not.

That's right. That optimism that you heard there is not really shared around the country. Our new polling shows that just 24 percent of Americans say that they're feeling good about the economy compared to say it's getting better, compared to 49 percent who said it's getting worse. And the top concern is inflation. That's among both Democrats and Republicans. It's the thing

that they want to hear about from Trump tonight more than any other issue. And it's an issue they say that he's not prioritizing as much as other issues on the radar. Caitlin, we're also hearing about maybe a little bit of difference between the president and his party on tariffs, which is another issue in addition to inflation.

That's right. The president likes to say tariff is his favorite word in the dictionary. I can say that is not the sentiment shared among most Republicans up here on Capitol Hill, particularly those from manufacturing states and big agriculture states concerned about rising prices, concerned

about their industry exports. We've even heard from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who of course is from South Dakota, expressing some concern, but also saying that he wants to give the president latitude when it comes to tariffs and negotiations. Caitlin Huey Burns up on the Hill. Thanks so much.

To help us understand how and when we might feel the impact of new tariffs, we are joined now by CBS News and Money Watch correspondent Kelly O'Grady. So, Kelly, I know it depends on the items, right? But prices could go up pretty quickly. That's right. So let me run you through a few examples. So produce is actually one where you could see prices spike pretty quickly. It's perishables.

grocery stores, they can't stockpile your avocados and it's winter. So we're getting a lot of our fruits and veggies from Mexico. In fact, the Target CEO said you could see strawberries and bananas spike within the next few days. Wow, that's quick. Pretty quick. Let's look at a medium-term impact. Remember, we've got that 10% tariff on Canadian energy. That oil is going to make its way to U.S. refineries, which

means it's going to make its way to the gas pump where you fill up and we can actually see prices increase in the next few weeks to a couple of months i'm hearing from analysts then other items take longer exactly right so sometimes it's about six to nine months so i'm thinking items like electronics uh smartphones tvs types of things where companies can stockpile that but there's always an exception to the rule because maybe you're looking for a new car and you say that one on the lot doesn't have the right specs

It's going to have to come across the border. OK. What about unintended consequences here, things we haven't planned for? So packaging is a big one. Back to that oil. Well, it's a key component in all sorts of things like plastic packaging. And what about the aluminum coming from Canada? What is your favorite? Ah,

soda come in, Maurice. It's an aluminum can. And then you'll also see customers look for alternative items when prices increase. Maybe you're not going to buy that new car. You're going to go buy a used car. More demand causes prices to spike. Or hold on to the older car and get parts, which come from overseas. That's a whole other story. Kelly O'Grady, thanks so much.

President Trump's policies in these early days of his second term are creating uncertainty across the country. Cuts he's making in foreign food aid could have a major impact in America's heartland, where much of the food is grown. Nicole Killian reports from Larned, Kansas.

John Dryden's family has farmed in western Kansas for more than a century. He grows wheat, corn, soybeans and sorghum or milo. We may switch to more corn dryland acres just knowing there's

Usually always a market for corn. So you may grow corn instead of milo? More corn than milo, yes. Since USAID's Food for Peace program has been suspended, there is virtually no market for milo, according to Kim Barnes. This is the milo that you're talking about? This is the milo crop. They make flour out of it. It goes into pet food.

Ethanol, you eat it. He's with the Pawnee County Co-op that purchases grain from farmers including Dryden. Now instead of selling it, he's storing it.

When you're sitting here on 1.7 million bushels of Milo, you kind of like to see it move on to the next step, especially when we have people in the world that are hungry. So while this program is paused, what are you doing? Well, right now I'm turning over every rock I can find. Until he finds buyers, he's worried that co-op and the community may take a loss. The person downtown is not going to sell any furniture.

The grocery stores are going to be affected. People just aren't going to buy. But Dryden is still going to farm. We're thrown punches all the time, basically. Drought, hailstorms, insects. This is just another punch. How many more punches can you take? I don't know.

I'm Skyler Henry in Fitzgerald, Georgia, where cuts in Washington to USAID are threatening this rural economy. What's the cost of one box? One box is about $40. Mark Moore is the CEO of the nonprofit Manna Nutrition, which makes a peanut paste to feed starving kids in war zones and famines. If the system stops, it's to catch back up, it'll cost $10.

Not just time, but lives, thousands, if not tens of thousands of lives. What Moore makes is pretty simple. Take peanuts, blend it with milk, sugar and vitamins. The result might not look like much, but he says it can work miracles.

But not while the federal contract he has counted on for years is in limbo. We're on, then we're off, then we're back on again. He says he received a stop work order on January 29th, then told to resume eight days later.

then had his contracts canceled. And late Sunday, they were reinstated again. And with 130 employees, MANA is one of the top employers in Ben Hill County, three hours outside of Atlanta. My first priority is my people. Jason Holt is the mayor of Fitzgerald. MANA is a two- or three-fold contributor to our economy. They purchase raw products, they employ people, and they serve a great humanitarian purpose. What's your hope?

I hope they continue to grow. For Mayor Holt, keeping the economy healthy here is personal. I have a graduating senior coming up. He has a path in mind. He would like to come home and I want Fitzgerald to be here for him to come home too. And Skyler Henry joins us now from Atlanta, Georgia. Skyler, this isn't just about one product or one company. Give us a sense of some of the ripple effects here.

Yeah, John, this is many farmers in many states. Manna says that it relies or it can get a supply from as many as 27 states, but they really rely on a handful, and that is milk from Michigan and Texas. They get their sugar from Louisiana and Florida, and then they obviously get their peanuts from right here in Georgia. All of those farmers would have to find alternative places to send their products.

Skyler Henry in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you. CBS News will bring you live coverage of the president's address tonight. Margaret Brennan will be joining us at 9 o'clock Eastern, 8 Central, and that's 6 in the West.

Now more of the top stories from around the world in tonight's evening news roundup. The mystery deepens in the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife. Today, authorities said an extensive investigation for gas leaks and carbon monoxide produced no significant findings. Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead last week in their home in New Mexico. The Supreme Court appears likely to throw out a lawsuit filed by Mexico

against the gun makers Smith & Wesson. Mexico claims American guns have fueled drug cartel violence, but during oral arguments today, liberal and conservative justices seem skeptical of Mexico's case in light of U.S. law that largely shields gun makers from such lawsuits. - And the small town of Ada, Oklahoma was hit by a tornado that ripped the roofs off of a number of buildings. High winds caused extensive damage at a paint warehouse in Louisville, Texas.

The storms are on the move now, forcing New Orleans to alter its Mardi Gras schedule, shortening some parades to beat the weather. Lonnie Quinn will have more on the storm system and where it's heading later in the broadcast. And we'll have these stories. I'm David Schechter in California. While Los Angeles burnt, scientists far out at sea were collecting water samples full of toxic ash, and now they want to know how that might impact the health of our fish. That's tonight's Eye on America.

I'm Imtiaz Tayeb in Kyiv, where President Zelensky has assured the U.S. he wants peace with Russia and has even outlined terms to end the war. That's next on the CBS Evening News.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says he regrets his Oval Office argument with President Trump and wants to make things right. What amounted to an act of contrition posted on social media today came hours after President Trump turned up the pressure on Zelenskyy to make peace with Russia by cutting off U.S. military aid. MTS Taib is in Kyiv, and MTS, the aid cut is temporary. How long can Ukrainians go without that aid?

Well, Ukrainian officials have told us six months at the most, and those munitions are so desperately needed. You know, we were with Ukrainian forces when the first U.S.-made howitzers arrived, and they're now looking at the possibility of not having ammunition for them and other arms, a concern we brought to Mikhailo Podoliak, a top advisor to President Zelensky.

Can Ukraine defeat Russia without the support of the US and President Trump? Russia wants to destroy the world that was built by previous American administrations. It wants to destroy the world that is built on the rules that the US insists upon. That is why I believe that we will come back to a pragmatic discussion with Europe, the United States and Ukraine and we'll come to the correct end of this war.

And MTS, tonight we're seeing a glimmer here that things are starting to move in the right direction. Yeah, and we only really have to quote President Zelensky himself, who in those posts on X Tonight also said, and I'm quoting here, it was time to make things right. After President Trump had accused him of not being ready to come to the negotiating table, he also outlined a proposal for how the war with Russia might end.

end, including the release of prisoners, a ban on missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure, and an immediate truce in the sea, adding Ukraine wants to move very fast and work with the U.S. to secure a strong final deal. Okay, MTS, Tyabin, Keeve, once again tonight, thank you. Some dangerous weather is targeting the Deep South. Lonnie Quinn is following that force tonight. Lonnie?

You know, gentlemen, it so often seems like tornadoes always get the weather headlines, but it doesn't have to be a tornado to do some big damage. Everything you see here, this is a warehouse outside of Dallas, all caused by straight-line winds. When 80-mile-per-hour winds can get underneath the roof, it'll tear it right off. That storm line has made its way from Texas

into Louisiana and as of right now as we speak some of the toughest weather of the day in New Orleans. What's going to happen? The tornado threat is still with us as we get into the nighttime hours, but as we move into your day tomorrow as it pushes towards the mid-Atlantic,

Yes, it's not a 0% chance for tornadoes, but it's more so the straight-line winds. Let's say like around noon or later for Washington, D.C., you could have some 40, 50, 60, maybe 70 mile per hour gusts. And I just showed you the images, what straight-line winds can do. And do you realize there are 120 million people anywhere from Colorado all the way to the outer

banks of North Carolina that are under some kind of a wind advisory. There are 333,000 people in Texas without power. With wind like this, that number is going to be going up. Gentlemen? Lonnie, with wind like that, could we see blizzards anywhere?

Oh, look, you know what? Take a peek. Come this way and take a look at what the radar picture is showing you. On the backside of the rain, there is snow out there. And for a place like Des Moines, with 65 mile per hour winds and all that snow falling, probably four to eight inches of snow. Yep, it picks that snow up. It blows it around. Blizzard warnings in effect from 9 p.m. tonight until 3 p.m. tomorrow morning. That is a tough morning commute around Des Moines. Gentlemen. Indeed. Lonnie Quinn, thank you so much, Lonnie. Well, this year, Southern California wildfires damaged the environment in ways you might not have imagined.

The impact will last four years. Eye on America is next.

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when they sign up today at iXLLearning.com/audio. Visit iXLLearning.com/audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. - The Southern California wildfires that began eight weeks ago tonight are over now. They killed 29 people, burned 38,000 acres, and destroyed thousands of homes. But the damage to the ocean is just beginning. David Schechter has tonight's Eye on America.

The Scripps Institute of Oceanography is where you'll find Danish scientist Rasmus Svealthorp. Rasmus Svealthorp sounds like a great seafaring name. Okay, I haven't heard that one before, but yeah. Recently, he was aboard this research ship that only goes out every three months. They were traveling the coast of California collecting plankton samples, the small organisms that many larger fish live on.

But this trip was anything but ordinary. This is something I've never experienced before and I don't know anybody else that has. What they experienced by total coincidence was pulling up to Los Angeles as fire was burning thousands of homes, incinerating plastic, paint, asbestos and car batteries and releasing a cloud of toxic ash that settled out over the ocean for 100 miles.

Crew members put on masks to protect themselves against the smoke as black ash settled on the ship. And while the plankton they collect is supposed to look like this, instead the tiny organisms were swimming in ash. All the organisms that are going to live down on the seabed, they're certainly going to be exposed to this, potentially transporting whatever is in that ash

I fill it up the food chain. Scientists here have been collecting ocean samples for 75 years. These new ash laden samples will be added to this vast archive. - See your 1978? - 1978. Andrew Thompson is a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. What's the scientific opportunity? We know what the fish are like under normal circumstances, but the scientific opportunity here is to look at the condition of the fish when they're exposed to all the ash.

Commercial and recreational fishing in California brings in about a billion dollars a year and supports 193,000 full and part-time jobs. And while it could take years to know how or if these toxins impact the fish, fishermen and restaurant owners say it's important to know the answer. That's local Southern California

I can G may try to drop Michael summer rusty is the chef at the L. A. seafood restaurant Providence the damage that these fires has caused is like woven so deeply into the fabric of our food systems that it's something that you know it should be just an absolute red flag for anyone involved you know and I'd like for what red flag for change like

What can be done to ensure that these kinds of fires don't happen again? Rasmus Wailthorpe says monitoring how ocean life responds will go on for years. We are also going to be looking for chromium, for mercury. Things you don't want in the ocean. Things we don't want in the ocean, yeah. But because of a grim sort of luck, at least scientists have a head start in knowing exactly what toxins they're looking for.

Fry in America, David Schechter, Los Angeles.

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I've never seen anything like it. And a new chapter begins. We're going to Hollywood! Carrie Underwood joins Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Ryan Seacrest on American Idol. Season premiere Sunday, 8, 7 central on ABC and stream on Hulu.

Now a few words about a man of few words. Calvin Coolidge, sworn in to his second term as the 30th president 100 years ago today. There's a famous joke about Silent Cal. A woman tells him she has a bet that she can get him to say more than two words. He replies, "You lose." Turns out Coolidge had a lot to say about the virtues of saying little.

If you don't say anything, he observed, you won't be called on to repeat it. No man has ever listened himself out of a job. And I have noticed, Coolidge said, that nothing I have never said ever did me any harm. Well, tonight we will hear from the 47th president. And we'll see what he has to say. And John, Margaret, Brendan and I will bring you the president's address live beginning at 9 Eastern.

That is the CBS Evening News for tonight. I'm Maurice Dubois. I'm John Dickerson. I'll see you soon on Evening News Plus. Have a good evening. I cannot believe this is real life. My logical brain just shut down. We're going in for first. Do not even. Claws are out. Don't you give up. Is everybody ready to race? Yes! We're on the amazing race! This season, there are more big surprises than ever before. Wow. Woo!

These seasons of surprises will give you a heart attack. The Amazing Race new season begins CBS Wednesday and streaming on Paramount+.