captio captioning sponsored by cbs >> o'donnell: tonight, international outrage after nine american citizens, including six children, were killed after being ambushed in mexico. a mother and her four children found inside this burnt-out s.u.v., including eight-month- old twins. >> four of my grandchildren are burned. >> o'donnell: children who escaped are fighting for their lives at this hour. also tonight, a top u.s. diplomat changes his story in the impeachment inquiry after he sees the testimony of others. caught on camera, a school resource officer is charged with child abuse after slamming a girl to the ground. and is girls' soccer on par with football when it comes to head injuries? why soccer stars megan rapinoe and abby wambach have pledged their brains to science. a widow's love letter to her husband. how she helped to finish his final chapter.
>> it's something we did together, the last thing we did together. >> o'donnell: and it's election night across the country. we'll run down the key races that may foreshadow what could happen in 2020. >> this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell. >> o'donnell: good evening and thank you so much for joining us. we begin with a brazen attack on an american family leaving three women and six children dead. they were shot and their car burned. tonight a u.s. official tells cbs news one theory is the group was intentionally targeted by a drug cartel. the youngest killed were twins, just eight months old. eight other children survived, five with bullet wounds. they were part of an extended family, a religious community that long ago broke away from the mormon church. they have had run-ins with the local drug cartels before, but nothing like the vicious ambush that went down yesterday
afternoon about an hour south of the arizona border. mark strassmann leads off our coverage tonight in mexico city. >> this is for the record. nita and four of my grandchildren are burnt and shot up. >> reporter: this video posted to facebook shows the aftermath of a massacre. the ambush is of three vehicles carrying american women and children. the extended family was attacked by gunman believed to belong to one of mexico's most brutal cartels. family members say the bodies of 30-year-old maria rhonita miller, her eight-month-old twins, 12-year-old son and ten- year-old daughter were found inside this burned-out s.u.v. it had broken down with a flat tire. gunmen riddled it with so many bullets the car exploded and caught on fire. >> the way that they were killed and burned and massacred, just, god, how? unspeakable.
>> reporter: a family member says ten miles down the road the gunman opened fire on two other vehicles that were following miller's car. dawna langford, her two year old and 11-year-old children were killed. langford's aunt trish cloes. >> it's something that you can't explain how there are evil people in this world that can do something like that. >> reporter: during the gunfire, christina langford johnson hid her baby in the backseat. she left the vehicle with her hands up to plead with the gunman to stop shooting. witnesses say she was gunned down in cold blood. five other children were wounded. three more were uninjured. mexican authorities arrived at the scene and transported some of the wounded to area hospitals. all the victims were members of a breakaway group of mormon fundamentalists. they settled in the mountains of sonora, mexico, decades ago. on twitter president trump urged mexico's president to accept u.s. assistance to eradicate the drug cartel. he wrote, "this is the time the wage war on the drug cartels and
wife them off the face of the earth. today mexico's president andres manuel lopez obrador declined the u.s. offer. >> o'donnell: mark joins us now. this area of mexico is considered so dangerous, but what are they going to do to try to stem what is this record level? >> reporter: as ruthless as thee cartels are, norah the mexican government's new approach is not to confront them, diplomacy, peaceful negotiation. in fact, the mexican president calls it hugs, not bullets. but norah, he has been in office for ten months, and the mexican murder rate is at an all-time high. >> o'donnell: mark, thank you. this area of mexico is so dangerous, but it reached a new level today as mothers and they children were gunned down in broad daylight. tonight doctors and nurses in tucson, arizona, are treating the victims. some are too young to understand, but all have harrowing stories of survival. janet shamlian is there. >> reporter: frightened cries of a baby and young children as
their dad tries to comfort them. these are the survivors of unimaginable horror. all were hit by gunfire, and tonight being treated in a tucson hospital. >> hi, little baby. it's your daddy. >> reporter: three moms and six children died in the ambush, including eight-month-old twins tiana and titus. after his mom and two brothers were shot to death, 13-year-old devin langford was able to hide six other siblings in nearby bushes, covering them with branches. he then walked 14 miles for help. his nine-year-old sister mckenzie, grazed in the arm, also went for help, walking four hours in the dark, finally finding rescuers. airlifts from mention doe arizona where eight-year-old cody, shot in the jaw and leg, 14-year-old kylie shot in the year-old xander, shot in the back, and brixton, just nine months old, shot in the chest. the tiniest miracle, seven-
month-old faith langford. it's believed her mom cristina hid her baby's car seat just before she was gunned down. faith was found 11 hours aftere the massacre. her relatives. >> it was an attack on innocent families. >> reporter: there is nothing but shock and heartbreak. >> i think a lot of us are just speechless. it's horrific. it just seems like a bad dream. >> reporter: cbs news has learned that relatives have gathered in tucson tonight as the children are treated for gunshot wounds and the families plan nine funerals. all of the survivors were children, all of them are now without mothers. norah? >> o'donnell: janet, thank you. house democrats want to hear from acting white house chief of staff mick mulvaney. he's the highest-ranking white house official investigators have called on. today they sent a letter seeking his testimony in the impeachment inquiry, but nobody is counting on him to appear. meanwhile, we learned today what
a key witness-- how a key witness changed his testimony. gordon sondland, a top u.s. diplomat, now says he believes the trump administration demanded a quid pro quo from ukraine. nancy cordes is at the capital, and nancy, did we learn why sondland changed his story? >> reporter: well, in a way, norah, sondland had the change his original testimony because so many of the other witnesses had disputed it. so in this new three-page addendum, she says that reading those other witness statements, "refreshed his recollection about his role in the president's quid pro quo." >> it's never too late to do the right thing. >> reporter: that was the democrat's reaction to an about- face from ambassador gordon sondland, who says he does now recall telling a ukrainian official in early september that resumption of u.s. aid would likely not occur until ukraine provided a public anti- corruption statement, specifically announcing an
investigation into burisma, the energy company that employed the son of mr. trump's campaign rival joe biden. >> there was no quid pro quo. >> reporter: sondland's admission is a blow to the president, who withheld $400 million in aid this summer. maryland democrat jamie raskin. >> all of the witnesses agree that the president engineered a shakedown of the ukrainian government. >> one of my most favorite hobbies is flying. >> reporter: sondland is a republican hotel magnate who was named ambassador to the european union after donating $1 million to president trump's inaugural committee. sondland told lawmakers that the campaign to pressure ukraine, led by the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, kept getting more insidious over the summer. "at some point i made the biden- burisma connection," he says. one member asked sondland, "did he believe the effort to go after mr. biden's son was ever a
proper inquiry?" sondland's response, "it would not be proper." the white house said again today that the president has done nothing wrong. while the senate's republican leader said as little as possible about the house-led probe. >> it looks to me like they're hell-bent to do it, and we will end up in an impeachment trial at some point. >> o'donnell: so nancy, these transcripts show that several of the witnesses thought giuliani's involvement in ukraine policy was wrong. did they do anything to stop it? >> reporter: several of them, norah, say they didn't think they could do anything to stop it. case in point, kurt volker, another diplomat whose testimony was released today. he says that when lawmakers asked him whether even a call from the secretary of state could have dissuaded giuliani, he told them that he didn't think so. in fact, he said the only person perhaps who could have turned giuliani around was the president himself. >> o'donnell: all right, nancy. thank you.
it's election night, and it could be a preview of what's to come in 2020. we're watching races for governor tonight in kentucky and mississippi. in virginia, control of the house and senate are up for grabs. ed o'keefe is there. >> reporter: voters in virginia today had the option to do something they haven't done in a generation, give total control of state government to democrats. republicans control both chambers of the legislature by slim margins and democrats are in striking distance despite scandals that rocked the state's top leaders. the president's unpopular here. >> i'm appalled by everything he does. >> reporter: that's made the contest a bellwether for 2020. another focus for voters, gun control. in the wake of mass shooting in virginia beach earlier this year. >> i don't understand why there can't be a background check on people, you know, owning guns. >> reporter: the possibility of turning virginia blue brought out democratic contenders for president in recent days. >> here in virginia, progressives are going to win. >> reporter: president trump has
campaigned in friendlier territory, holding matthew can hold on to the governor's mansion in kentucky. >> he's a fantastic governor. >> reporter: the race is surprisingly close given that the president won the state by 30 points in 2016. >> tuesday go out and vote for tate. >> reporter: in mississippi, the president rallied for lieutenant governor tate reeves, who is fighting to prevail in the closest gubernatorial contest there in over a decade. the democrat, jim hood, brought in former president barack obama to help turn out the state's black voters. >> a brighter future for mississippi is in your hands. all you have to do is vote. >> reporter: in a sign of how closely republicans are watching statewide races, president trump is headed to louisiana tomorrow to campaign for republican gubernatorial candidate there. louisiana votes for governor later this month. norah. >> o'donnell: all right, ed, thank you. now to florida where a sheriffs deputy who worked at a school for children with special needs is under arrest tonight.
williard miller is facing a felony charge after video shows him grabbing a female student and slamming her to the ground. vladimir duthiers has new details. >> reporter: the images are shocking. in this silent two and a half minute video, a sheriff's deputy can be seen talking to a young girl before suddenly rushing her, grabbing her by the throat, and slamming her on to the ground. school resource officer willard miller then flips the 15-year- old girl on her stomach before forcibly lifting her up and throwing her out of the room. sheriff gregory tony. >> his actions were deplorable. they were uncalled for, and they violated multiple policies just on the optics. >> reporter: it's unclear what prompted the violent response at cross creek school. school security cameras show the young girl walking up behind miller and tapping the back of his knees with her foot, causing his legs to buckle before walking away. sheriff tony would not say what miller and the girl said to each other after the knee tap but said nothing the girl said or
did justified the 38-year-old deputy's actions. >> i find probable cause. >> reporter: miller, seen here in court today, was released on a $5,000 bond. it was at least the fourth time this year a broward deputy has been charged with excessive force. two deputies are awaiting trial on misdemeanor charges after a teen was beaten and pepper sprayed outside a mcdonald's last spring. and last week another deputy was fired after slugging a suspect who was handcuffed to a hospital bed. sheriff tony vowed today to continue cracking down on deputies that violate department standards. deputy miller, who has no record of disciplinary problems, has been suspended from the force and faces one count of felony child abuse. he could get up to five years in prison if convicted, norah. >> o'donnell: vlad, thank you. there's still much more ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news." the frightening research that finds girls who play soccer are at a higher risk for concussions. the rise of teen vaping and the flavors turning kids into
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>> o'donnell: tonight a warning to parents who think soccer is a safe alternative to contact sports. girls who play soccer are at nearly the same risk for traumatic brain injury as boys who play football. it's a trend so alarming some of women's soccer's top pros are donating their brains to science. here's dr. jon lapook. >> reporter: soccer stars megan rapinoe, abby wambach, michelle akers and brandi chastain's promise to donate their brains was sparked by impact injuries. in june we spoke with retired world cup winners brandi chastain and milk >> i smashed into the back of her head, so i broke... orbital fracture and broke my nose and teeth.
>> oh, i did a lot of heading the ball and very proudly so and very determined and very aggressive. >> reporter: this new study looks at head trauma in high school sports. boys' football had the highest rate of concussion, ten for every 10,000 practices or games. girls soccer was second at a rate of eight per 10,000. boys' soccer had a much lower rate. in the 20 sports studied, girls had nearly twice the rate of concussion as boys. >> i have had really bad headaches and i have been sleeping a lot. for the past week i haven't been to school. >> reporter: 12-year-old olivia hans got a concussion when she collided with another player and hit the ground. emily lee is olivia's mother. >> we were worried because it was severe. it was considered a major concussion. >> reporter: for girls, heading the ball or colliding with another player were the main causes of concussion. the team doctor for the women's professional team. >> we're still working toward proper diagnosing and manageable of concussion, but we're also really trying to promote
awareness and prevention. >> o'donnell: dr. lapook joins us. so, why the difference? >> nobody really knows. there are some theories. it could be that there are hormonal differences that are contributing to the increase in concussions. it could be differences in the anatomy of the neck. it's also possible that girls are more likely to report the symptoms of concussion than boys are. so the boys are sort of saying, i'm going to tough it out, and they're basically being underreported. >> o'donnell: that's an interesting theory. jon, thank you. coming up, a woman stranded at sea for days comes up with a sweet solution. sweet solution. janie, come here. check this out. let me see. she looks... kind of like me. yeah. that's because it's your grandma when she was your age. oh wow. that's...that's amazing. oh and she was on the debate team. yeah, that's probably why you're the debate queen. - mmhmm. - i'll take that. look at that smile.
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our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition... for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-seven vitamins and minerals. ensure, for strength and energy. >> o'donnell: we're going to end tonight with the story of a writer whose life was ended in a mass shooting but whose life's work and epic love story still endure. here's chip reid. >> several shots have been fired.
>> reporter: on june 28, 2018, a gunman with a longtime grudge against the "capital gazette" newspaper in annapolis, maryland, walked into its offices and opened fire. five people were killed, including 56-year-old sportswriter john mcnamara, who had been married to andrea chamblee. when we met her recently, she was wearing his press pass. is that something you wear frequently? >> i wear it almost every day. >> reporter: it's a reflection of their mutual, total devotion. >> he was devoted to his family. he was devoted to his writing. and lucky for me he was devoted to me. >> reporter: he was also devoted to an unfinished book, "the capital of basketball," that he had labored over in his spare time for 13 years. it's an exhaustive look at how basketball in d.c. area high school changed the course of the the sport over the past century. chamblee, while a huge
basketball fan, had never read a word of her husband's notes, but after going through his files, she decided that she would finish his book. how does it feel to hold that book in your hands now? >> i feel very conflicted. i feel like this is a secret between john and i, and i don't want to let it go. like it's something we did together, the last thing we did together. but i know the stories are so good, i want people to hear them and read them and know about them. >> reporter: all in a book that she calls a 300-page love letter to her husband of 33 years. chip reid, cbs news, silver springs, maryland. >> o'donnell: that brings to mind a quote from mitch albom's "tuesdays with morrie." "death ends a life, not a relationship." that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. we'll see you back here tomorrow. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh
The jury remains out on whether Judge Elizabeth Scherer is up to handling the case of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz. And for lots of reasons, State Attorney Mike Satz should reconsider his decision to force us to relive what will be a years-long nightmare.
Decisions made before the shooting, including some in utero, should be factored into the decision to give Nikolas Cruz the death penalty, his lawyers argue.
Decisions made before the shooting, including some in utero, should be factored into the decision to give Nikolas Cruz the death penalty, his lawyers argue.
A psychiatrist testified that he never received the letter, saying he stopped seeing Cruz six months before the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead.
Four years before Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people at a Florida high school, therapists at another school wrote a letter to his psychiatrist saying he was fixated on guns and dreamed of killing others and being covered in blood, testimony at his penalty trial showed Thursday.