CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell, 12/26/24
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Tonight, why investigators are looking into whether a Russian defense system took down a passenger plane after Russia blamed the deadly crash on a flock of birds. The most likely hypothesis we see is that it was struck by an air defense missile. More extreme weather across the country as several tornadoes touch down in the south, plus another round of heavy precipitation in the west.

the conditions may impact post-holiday travel. It's been pretty stressful. We're just trying to get home. And tonight's Eye on America, a look at multitasking and a single prescription to cure it. Everyone's dreams are always on go and most times we don't stop. And exhale. Even just to breathe for a second. The CBS Evening News starts now.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Jerika Duncan in for Nora O'Donnell. Thank you for joining us. We begin this evening with a dangerous situation unfolding on the ground in Texas tonight. At least three tornadoes have been reported in the Houston area, which is under a tornado watch right now. This comes as potentially severe thunderstorms move across Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Conditions are

that could snarl post-Christmas travel. CBS's Katie Weiss is riding out the storms in Texas tonight, but first let's check in with Rob Marciano, who is tracking this system. Rob, what is the situation at this hour?

Well, Jerica, it's been a rough afternoon and it's only going to get more dangerous as nightfall comes, especially for southeast Texas and Louisiana. Check out the radar. We've got the tornado watches are up, warnings that are ongoing, and that comma shape of the radar signature tells you just how dynamic this system is. And a lot of that rain goes all the way up into Arkansas, but the most potent storms are from Shreveport down to Beaumont, Texas.

After midnight is not when these things start to wind down a little bit. So the next five, six hours are going to be difficult. Once in Mississippi and Alabama tomorrow, it should be a little bit less extreme. In the west, we've got another atmospheric river coming into California and parts of Oregon.

Heavy rain, mountain snow there, big-time waves as well. That will traverse the mountains and get into the plains as well. Meanwhile, tonight's system will get into the northeast come tomorrow night and Saturday and warm up as it does so. Might see a little bit of freezing rain before washing away a lot of the snow that we saw here. And then on Saturday afternoon, another bout of severe weather is expected for some of the areas that are seeing it right now. So that's Saturday, but we've got to get through tonight first. Jerika? Yeah, a lot to keep track of. Thanks, Rob.

CBS's Katie Weiss is on the ground in Houston tracking the tornadoes, the severe storms and the travel misery that it's causing. Katie, what's it looking like? Looks like it was coming down not too long ago. Pretty hard, huh?

Yeah, that's for sure, Jerika. Just within the last hour, the storm here has really intensified. In fact, the lightning was so intense at one point that the lights here at this gas station were flickering. It was pretty epic. We've also been experiencing more wind, heavier rain, but that's not really the only thing that we've been seeing tonight. Also tonight, we're tracking tornadoes.

Oh my God. Here. Come inside, we need to lock the door. Late today, at least one tornado touched down near El Campo, Texas, about 80 miles southwest of Houston. Flooding rains are not just clogging the state's roads, but creating misery at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Severe weather caused a lengthy ground stop in the middle of the busiest travel season on record.

Many who could fly in are now stranded, trying to get out. We have a connecting flight here from DFW to Tokyo for our second anniversary, and it's been delayed 12 times, and the communication has been poor. This day after Christmas storm comes after a Christmas Eve flash flood an hour north in the town of Sherman, Texas, where this SUV got swept into a drainage ditch.

TRAPPING AN ENTIRE FAMILY FROM OKLAHOMA. WILL ROBINSON, A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH, WAS KILLED.

His eight-year-old daughter is missing. Four family members were rescued. In the Pacific Northwest, high winds toppled trees and knocked out power to tens of thousands of residents near Portland. And heavy snow is threatening to close mountain passes. I'm trying to make it back home. Hopefully, you know, today is a smooth day. Back in Texas, travelers like Kawani Ingram are hitting the road early. So we're trying to get ahead of the storm because we saw that it was

to say severe thunderstorms. We need to get on the road now or we're going to have to stay. Now, Buc-ee's is a popular spot for travelers to stock up on all their needs. As you can see behind me, lots of people coming in here tonight. But as we have been talking about

With more severe weather currently hitting the Houston area tonight, the Texas governor has issued an emergency declaration and has activated emergency responders, including swift water rescue teams. Jerika? Yeah, safety of all importance at this time. I want to ask you a quick question before you go, though. We're hearing about another incident involving a stowaway on a Delta flight. What more can you tell us about that?

Yeah. On Christmas Eve, a Delta flight was delayed by more than two hours after an unticketed passenger managed to make their way through a TSA checkpoint and through the gate to board the plane, a plane for a flight for a flight from Seattle to Honolulu without any boarding passes.

But we know that that person was later arrested and investigators are currently trying to determine how this could have happened. All right. A lot of questions there. Thank you, Katie.

Tonight, we're also learning new information about what may have caused a passenger plane to fall from the sky and burst into flames in Kazakhstan. It's a country that neighbors Russia and isn't far from Ukraine. The flight took off from Azerbaijan, headed for a city in southwestern Russia. It did not make it. A U.S. official tells CBS News there are

preliminary indications that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have hit the plane, which was carrying 67 people, 38 of them died. CBS's Chris Livesay reports on the evidence investigators are now looking at. New footage shows holes in an Azerbaijan airline fuselage, suggesting shrapnel and not a flock of birds brought down the passenger jet yesterday.

- But the most likely hypothesis we see is that it was struck by an air defense missile, almost certainly Russian, in the area over Grozny. - Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 left Baku for Grozny, Russia. Due to dense fog, the passenger jet was diverted towards the Caspian Sea before eventually crashing in Kazakhstan some 250 miles east. Along the way, its GPS was reportedly jammed, leading to significant deviations.

Some survivors say they heard an explosion. Cell phone footage shows oxygen masks down and visible damage. It's an area known for clashes in Russia's war on Ukraine, as recently as the same morning as the crash. Ukrainian drones were active at the time, and this is commensurate with everything we've seen in the pilots' communication with air traffic control. And currently, it's the only thing that fully fits the facts that we know.

Haunting clues that recall Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 when Russian-backed forces shot down that passenger jet over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board. The Kremlin is warning not to jump to conclusions. Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have all opened investigations into what caused the crash about two miles shy of the runway.

This survivor looking for answers. When the plane crashed, my wife was sitting next to me, he said. I haven't seen my wife since.

Now, investigators have already recovered both black boxes from the crash site. Experts are on their way from Brazil, where the plane was made, to help examine the data from those black boxes. Those experts are expected to arrive in Kazakhstan tomorrow. Jerika? Chris Livesey in Italy for us tonight. Thank you.

Reporters covering the war in Gaza became part of the story when an Israeli airstrike near a hospital in Gaza City killed five Palestinian journalists overnight. That's according to Hamas officials on the ground. Israel says they were militants posing as reporters. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 141 media workers have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon since the war began.

Well, President-elect Donald Trump promises repeatedly to begin the latest deportation operation in American history on his first day returning to office. And now his incoming border czar is detailing how that will play out, including what may happen to some of the children of undocumented immigrants. We're talking about kids who were born here and are American citizens. CBS's Lilia Luciano reports.

In the New Jersey city of Englewood, Mayor Michael J. Wilds, who's also an immigration attorney, says members of his community are on edge. People are very concerned, even people who already achieved the Golden Grail of Green Carter citizenship.

are worried that there's somebody in their home. Somebody who is undocumented and subject to a mass deportation campaign. Tom Homan, President-elect Trump's so-called border czar, told the Washington Post the administration will build tent structures capable

of holding thousands of migrants at any given time. We need at least 100,000 beds, but I'm not going to put a limit on it. I'm telling the minimum we need 100,000 beds because we've got a big population to look for. The operation would detain families and give undocumented parents the choice of leaving children born in the United States behind or being deported with them. We're dealing here with American citizens.

who can't speak for themselves. Is it constitutional? I don't think so. The administration's going to say we're not going to separate mom and dads. Mom and dad are, it's their privilege if they want to leave with their child. It's a cute way of saying we don't care. There would be workplace raids, which will upset employers, Homan says, and the mass deportation plan will cost roughly 10 times ICE's annual budget. $86 billion.

is a start. We need at least that to do this operation. We've got to buy beds, we've got to do removal flights and ground transportation and medical care.

Homan, who oversaw the policy that separated some 3,000 children from their parents during Trump's first term in office, said that mass deportation campaign of undocumented immigrants will begin on day one of the new Trump administration. So much to that's a complex issue to sort out. Thank you, Lillian. Costly. Absolutely. Well, higher prices and inflation didn't put a dent in spending on holiday presents. Quite the opposite. That's next.

Retail spending was up this holiday, according to MasterCard, but tins the season to give back, sort of. December 26th is one of the busiest days of the year for returning unwanted gifts, but all told, nearly $900 billion in goods are expected to be sent back this holiday season. That means shipping centers are still feeling the crush. CBS's Chris Van Cleve visited one for a look behind the scenes.

Just as LaTanya Rasco is getting the last wave of Christmas gifts ready to ship out of this FedEx office in Anchorage, Alaska, there's another wave coming. We even work Christmas Day here at the front counter. We're taking your returns. You're getting returns starting Christmas Day? Yeah, because we're in Alaska. You've got to realize we started shipping prior Christmas.

Yes, we see it early. Call it the return rush. The National Retail Federation expects about 17% of purchases to be returned this year, and that peaks right after Christmas. Last year, e-commerce items were the most likely to be returned, which means the holiday shipping season lasts a lot longer than you might think inside the FedEx shipping hub in Anchorage, sorting up to 80,000 packages a day and running around the clock.

How long is your holiday rush? Our holiday rush goes from about the beginning of Thanksgiving, right before Thanksgiving, until about three weeks after Christmas. FedEx senior manager Tracy Watkins. The return rush is a period of time where people still have some anxiety that they want packages sent back and they need our help in getting those back to the stores. But

But before you send back those unwanted gifts, do your homework. Return policies vary by retailer. The biggest mistake people make is just forgetting about the returns. They set a box aside and they just never get to it. And that's just money that you're leaving on the table. And that's a gift no one wants. Chris Van Cleave, CBS News, Anchorage, Alaska. Are humans made for multitasking? Eye on America is next.

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Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Go to audible.com slash wonderypod and discover all the year's best waiting for you. Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. Recently, I asked Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies are allowed to raise prices due to inflation. They said yes. And then when I asked if raising prices technically violates those onerous two-year contracts, they said, what the f*** are you talking about, you insane Hollywood a**hole?

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This time of year is filled with joy, gratitude and to do lists that can seem impossibly long. All that multitasking can lead many of us to feeling a bit exhausted in our eye on America tonight. Dr. John LaPook has some advice for those of us looking to be more effective in keeping our attention focused on where it should be.

Even though this may look like a perfect example of multitasking, it turns out... There isn't any real multitasking. Linda Stone coined the phrase for what it really is. Continuous partial attention. We don't ever do anything simultaneously. We are just rapidly task switching. And how are human beings at doing that? We're not great at doing it. She spent her career at Apple and Microsoft, watching how humans interact with tech.

which led her to focus on the myth of multitasking. So what is walking and chewing gum at the same time? I would call that simple multitasking. But for more complicated things, research suggests the human brain is simply not wired to multitask efficiently, and people overestimate their ability to do it.

A study of doctors found multitasking almost doubled mistakes writing prescriptions. As a physician, I have to multitask at times. So I can't always just do one thing. That is how we operate as human beings. If multitasking is what we do and it leads to more mistakes,

Maybe when we're doing something especially important, we should remind ourselves to keep one ball in the air at a time. Stone says our splintered attention causes more damage than we realize. Where does the smartphone come in? The smartphone is amazing. There are so many things we can do, and yet, what happens to the body? We hold it, our neck goes down. Our posture, we lose it. We lose our ability to breathe.

Her approach to the mental and physical stress caused by multitasking? Dancing lessons at a Boston studio with teacher Bjorn Anselm. We just want to make this feel as comfortable as when we're walking around.

And I brought along my two left feet. One, two, three. How does this help me not to multitask? You can feel that you are working with me. It's not just you, your phone, and earbuds. You're both connected to me.

And you're fully present your whole body is engaged in this stone says our brains and bodies need to relax with things like walks outside humming or singing an Antidote to our constantly divided attention. I can do this with my heels on the floor You won't hear any argument from busy working moms Erica Robinson and even Disa Cabral Do you think we live in a world where there is simply too much multitasking?

Yes, it's like we have to. It's like being a parent. We have to think about what we got to do for ourselves and what we got to do for our children, cook, get the clothes ready, make sure they do their homework. I feel like everyone's dreams are always on go. And most times we don't stop to take a breath, even just to breathe for a second. Living in the moment. A single-tasking prescription for navigating a multitasking world. For Eye on America, Dr. John LaPook, Boston.

How about living in the moment at a toy library? We'll check it out next.

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Some toys are much loved by their tiny owners for years. Others get played with a few times before they start collecting dust in the corner. But there's an economical and eco-friendly solution. CBS's Natalie Brand takes us on a field trip to a toy library. It's any child's dream come true. Shelves with endless toys for all ages, interests, and activities.

But it isn't to buy, it's to borrow. This toy keeps talking, doesn't it? Mom Lisa Borvent founded the toy nest in Falls Church, Virginia after a family trip left her desperate. We needed toys to play with for a two-week stretch and we ended up going to a thrift store where we found a few things but we got them back home and they didn't work.

I was so frustrated and I just wish that we could find things to borrow from other people. That led to an epiphany and some research. The concept goes back to the Great Depression. They were funded by the U.S. government under the New Deal to offer the opportunity for play to kids who would otherwise have nothing. Borven's Toy Library operates as a business with memberships.

The moms buying in say it allows them to cut down on waste, save money while adding variety. They change so fast when they're babies. Every two, three months they're into something different. It's also become a place to build community. It's a nice place for us to gather and connect, a nice place to just switch and swap and be sustainable. Borven says there's growing interest in the concept and a need.

I think toy libraries solve many, many problems at once, not just for the planet, but for families and for kids. She hopes her location helps inspire a toy-sharing revolution nationwide. Natalie Brand, CBS News, Falls Church, Virginia.

Love to see that near just about every beach where we take kids. Well, that is tonight's CBS Evening News. Cannot leave this broadcast without saying a special thank you to Debra Rubin. She's part of the DNA of the show, the heart of the research team. Today is her last day, 46 years at CBS. Deb, we thank you for making us all better.

If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.

They say Hollywood is where dreams are made, a seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Radin was found dead in a canyon near L.A. in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Laney Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer.

who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together, they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder.

Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Cotton Club Murder early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to light some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts, but less than two minutes after liftoff.

The Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster. Follow American Scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondery+. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial today.