Captioning sponsored by cbs this is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. Pelley good evening. This is our western edition. This will be a loud, potentially dangerous night in much of the country. Have a look. Thunderstorms, some severe, are possible for 195 Million People from west to east. Its a system that has brought heavy downpours this week in parts of the east, sent temperatures plummeting in the midwest, and worsened the drought in the west. We have a series of reports. First, jamie yuccas of our cbs minneapolis station wcco. Reporter severe thunderstorms tore through parts n maryland, virginia, new jersey, and new york this afternoon. Flash flood warnings have been posted, with some areas expecting as much as three inches of rain. The storms ran along the eastern edge of a bubble of cold air thats dropped over the midwest. Kansas city, st. Louis and chicago usually have highs in the 80s this time of the year. This time of the afternoon, they were in the 60s and 70s, more than 15 degrees below normal. This is typically the hottest week of the year in the minneapolis area, but chris, who runs the city pool, says attendance is down 20 . R only our concession stand will have a line of ten to 15 people for four hours straight htd well have all the lounge chairs taken. Its night and day difference from the last couple of weeks. Reporter fans here at the Major League Baseball allstar game have been swapping out tshirts for sweatshirts, scott. Lows are supposed to dip into the 50s, meaning its probably weather for a tailgate than midsummer classic. Pelley the severe drought is forcing california farmers to idle hundreds of thousands of acres this year, costing the state economy more than 2 billion. But people all over america will pay a price, and heres carter evans. Reporter nearly half of the nations vegetables, fruits and nuts are grown in californias central valley. Todays report estimates 17,000 farm jobs could be lost as more than 620 square miles of farmland will go unplanted this year. Restaurant owner leo is already seeing the results. Give me an idea of how much your food prices are going up. W i would say about 25 . Tomatoes went up tremendously. If you used to buy a case of 25 pounds for about 10, today were looking at 15 to 17. Reporter hes cut staff at his restaurant to keep menu prices from rising. How long can you go before wure forced to raise prices . Were almost there, unfortunately. Reporter the u. S. Department of agriculture expects produce prices to rise dd up to 5 this year, adding 500 to the average american familys grocery bill. Californians also learned today they could face tighter water restrictions, including bans on excess lawn watering, washing e rs without a hose shutoff nozzle, and spraying down sidewalks. Violators would be fined 500. Marty adams is with l. A. s department of water and power. On this coming fall, if we dont see rainfall and dont have winter storms coming in, we may see a heavy hand coming from the state. Reporter in january, governor jerry brown called for californians to voluntarily cut their water usage by 20 , but, scott, a new survey out today shows that, in that time, water consumption actually rose by 1 . Pelley carter, thank you. Eric fisher is chief meteorologist at wbz, our cbs station in boston. Whats next . Reporte the Stormy Weather holding on, especially on the east coast. The well below average air is across the country. The warm humid air is holding on the i95 corridor. When the air masses clash, perfect ingredients for storms. Were seeing those this afternoon and along the gulf coast as well. Heavy rain and risk of severe storms. We have been seeing that this evening. Severe thunderstorm watch from connecticut into North Carolina gusty winds, in herticular, the heavy, heavy rainfall. We have been looking at locally one to three inches, perhaps more, spots of localized flooding and delays in eastern airports. Pere are some people with this ttttern who will be happy to see the rainfall, including the druthern plains. Low pressure tomorrow drifts from the four corners. The squeeze play with High Pressure brings a chance of big clusters of thunderstorms and, scott, two to five inches of rain in texas and oklahoma and in the midst of the drought a good thing. Pelley that would be welcome. Eric fisher, wbz. Thank you, eric. Last night, the head of the Veterans Benefits administration was excoriated by an investigational committee about a backlog of vets waiting for disability checks. The v. A. s credibility was called into question. Heres wyatt andrews. Pretty derogatory comments on this. Reporter distrust and bad blood have been building between touv. A. And the House Veterans Affairs committee and, last night, it boiled over. The committee chairman, republican congressman jeff miller, produced a memo in which a v. A. Official in philadelphia told subordinates to ignore a Committee Investigator visiting the office unannounced. The memo scorns riley arrogance and includes a crude personal insult. E and youre telling me this person is still employed even though she gave a directive to not tell an agent of this committee what was happening at the Regional Office . Reporter alison hickey, the chief of the v. A. s benefits division tried to apologize. Without question, we respect s e oversight of every single one of you on this committee. Reporter hickey was at this hearing to report the v. A. s progress in reducing the backlog cl veteran disability claims, a record 1. 2 million claims. But just before that, claims processor kristen testified some of the claims reporting had been falsified, and said she found 96 boxes of documents mailed in by hiterans which were to be filed, but marked to be shredded. Miller accused the v. A. Of deception. There is not a corner of v. A. Leadership that will not cut or a statistic they will not manipulate to lay claim to a hollow victory. Reporter this time, hickey pushed back saying her Progress Report was accurate. I want every veteran in this ouuntry and all of you to believe us when we say were making good decisions, not because of us but because we care so much about those veterans. Reporter insiders believe the v. A. Is making some progress with the claims backlog, but another Major Investigation is looking at how the v. A. Handles the claims data. Scott, when the v. A. s assistant Inspector General was asked last night if she trusted the v. A. s figures, she said no. Pelley wyatt andrews, in the Washington News room, thank you. The battle over illegal immigration shifted to oracle, arizona, in tucson. The federal government intends to house 40 immigrant children there. Protesters squared off against and for. Two lawmakers in texas introduce add bill aiming at stopping Central Americans from sending their children to the u. S. Border. Nancy cordes is at the capitol tonight. What would the bill do . Call for unaccompanied minors who come from Central America to be treated more like unaccompanied minors from mexico. Once they cross the border and are detained they would see a judge in seven days and if the judge decides they dont have a legal case to be here, for example illegal trafficking, they would be sent home right away. If bill was introduced by john cornyn and henry cuellar, but is more support from the right. Many democrats argue seven days really isnt enough time for the children to make the case when they belong here when they speak the case and often dont have legal representation. I asked harry reid how he feels about the plan this afternoon, he says he doesnt support it, which is troubling sign for the legislation. Pelley an Interesting Development this afternoon one of the immigrations visible activists jose antonio was detained in texas. Hes a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. What can you tell us . Vargas had gone to mcallen for a vigil and press conference, and when he went to the airport to go home, he didnt have a valid u. S. Visa and he was detained by customs and border patrol. Mcallen is so close to the border that all of the roads and airports out of the city have customs checkpoints, and vargas, brought to the u. S. From the philippines when he was 12, says he wasnt aware of that when he went there. Critics are calling it a publicity stunt. We learned a short time ago he has been released by federal authorities. P pelley and waiting for a detention hearing at a later time. Nancy, thank you very much. Israel is reporting its first death today in the weeklong, lopsided battle with palestinians in gaza. 15 israelis have been wounded by unguided rockets fired by islamic militants. Israels air campaign has killed 194 palestinians, mostly civilians, and wounded more than 1,400. The 32mile gaza strip began in 1948 as a homeland for palestinians displaced by the creation of israel. Early today, israel started a ceasefire, but gaza kept shooting. And Holly Williams is there. Reporter as usual, in this decadeslong conflict, both s des blame each other for the failure of the ceasefire. Were not going to fail. Reporter this is a spokesman for hamas, the militant group that controls the gaza strip. He told us there will be no ceasefire until israel ends its air strikes. Why does israel have to stop fighting first . Why is it up to them . Because they began the war by their occupation. Or reporter militants say stopping the air strikes are just the beginning. They will only agree to a ceasefire that ends a blockade imposed by israel seven years eao, which sealed off gaza and deprived palestinians here of necessities like fuel and cement. Israel says the purpose is attacked by militants, but is hurting palestinians because the economy is in tatters. At the taxi station in gaza city today, there were plenty of drivers but no work. Jamal told us he earned a tenth of what he made before the blockade, cant pay for his sons education, and struggles to put food on the table. We want a ceasefire but it has to be a real ceasefire, he told us. We want the blockade removed, the borders opened and we want to be able to earn a living. After israel suffered its first death during this escalation today, Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu vowed to expand the israeli offensive. Wt here in gaza, hamas military wing has been making threats, warning attacks will increase in ferocity and intensity. Pelley holly, thank you. 22 killed in moscow and 200 hurt in a subway derailment. Some passengers were trapped 12 hours. Bue cause is not known, but russia says it wasnt terrorism. There is a way that you can take pictures using only your mind. And they rolled the dice and put lstels on boardwalk, when the cbs evening news continues. Pelley taking pictures has r ber been easier. Just point and shoot, brought to us a new way. No hands. Its all in the minds eye. What we have here is this is the eeg device. This is what actually reads the signals from your brain. Reporter the basic hardware for mind control turns out to be a headset that costs 80, some software, and a pair of google glasses. With this, i should be able to take a picture just by thinking. I feel like im taking an exam. Yeah, it does get a little daunting when you put it on. Reporter ben aldred and chloe kirton work for a London SoftwareCompany Called this place. They were intrigued by the camera in google glass that is activated by touch or voice. They wondered could it be triggered by brain power alone . It reads your brain waves, and are high if youre concentrating and lower if youre relaxing. Reporter in the companys video, a woman looks at some n affiti through google glass. As she concentrates on an idea, a white line moves to the top of the image and she actually triggers the camera with her brain waves. Science has known all about these waves since the h,ectroencephalograph, or eeg, was invented in the 1920s. But its only recently that researchers have harnessed them to control prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs, and even computer games. The side slips under the device and this side slips over. Reporter okay. Now, it was my turn to demonstrate mind over matter. Nt. Ee you. Concentrate. Reporter i think ill try and take a picture of our cameraman. All right. Reporter okay. So i faced him and started thinking, hard, and even arder. Until. click ves the team believes this software can change lives, and theyve made it public so developers around the world can brainstorm with them. Elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. Pelley well be right back. Back. This is mike. His long race day starts with back pain. And a choice. Take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve. For all day relief. Start your engines im dave and i have copd. Im kate and i have copd, but i dont want my breathing problems to get in the way my volunteering. Thats why i asked my doctor about breo. Oncedaily breo ellipta helps increase airflow from the lungs for a full 24 hours. And breo helps reduce symptom flareups that last several days and require oral steroids, antibiotics, or hospital stay. Breo is not for asthma. Breo contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. It is not known if this risk is increased in copd. Breo wont replace rescue inhalers for sudden copd symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. Breo may increase your risk of pneumonia, thrush, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking breo. Ask your doctor about breo for copd. First prescription free at mybreo. Com to help protect your eye health as you age. Would you take it . Well, there is. [ male announcer ] its called ocuvite. A vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch lomb. As you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. Ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. Ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. Now thats a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. Help protect your eye health. Pelley Atlantic City is known for pelley Atlantic City is known for its monopoly on casino gambling in new jersey, and through the street names it lent e the game monopoly, but a. C. Is losing the real life game. The trump plaza casino told doployees its shutting down in september. Michelle miller said trump is one latest player on the boardwalk to fold. First, the atlantic club, then in june, Caesars Entertainment announced its shutting the showboat. And rebel, the two year mega casino, which never turned a profit, is filing for bankruptcy. Now, the trump plaza. Together, those casinos make up more than 6,000 jobs, 20 of the llrkforce. Shlanie gillespie is a cocktail waitress at the showboat for 18 years. Shes already been warned she could be laid off by the end of august. If that happens, what do you do . To well, i have to do something. I have a daughter to raise and, you know, we need health benefits, so im willing to do whatever i have to to make sure my family stays afloat. Reporter don guardian is Atlantic Citys mayor. Over the course of seven months, you lose 3,000plus jobs. 3 job00 jobs, and well only replace them with 600 or 700 jobs in the next year. Reporter thats devastating. That is very hurtful. People in it have really. Uffered. Reporter when legalized in 1976, gambling was supposed to reclaim the allure of new jerseys boardwalk empire. Competition from Online Gaming and outofstate casinos like new yorks empire city hurt Atlantic City bottom line. 35 casinos are within driving distance of new jersey. Atlantic citys revenue has ge illiged from 5. 2 billion in 2006 to 2. 9 billion last year. The mayor says the key to a proback is diversity, providing more Entertainment Options than gambling. Las vegas did that a decade ago. Now, gaming accounts for less than half of the overall tourism dollars. Michelle miller, cbs news, Atlantic City. Reporter inspectors at lax seized unusual cargo or should we say e escargot. Giant african snails, 67 of them, were being sent from nigeria to someone in sandinas, california. The snails are a del cassy in africa but banned here because they can carry parasites. The usda incinerated this batch out of the frying pan and into the fire. in a moment, batman unmasked. Unmasked. man when i cant go, its like bricks piling up. I wish i could find some relief. announcer ask your doctor about linzess a oncedaily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. Linzess is thought to help calm painsensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. It helps you proactively manage your symptoms. Do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. It may harm them. Dont take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. Get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain especially with bloody or black stools the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. If its severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. Other side effects include gas, stomacharea pain and swelling. Bottom line, ask your doctor about linzess today. One of our favorite things to do is going to the dog park together. Sometimes my copd makes it hard to breathe. So my doctor prescribed symbicort. It helps significantly improve my lung function starting within five minutes. Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. With symbicort, today im breathing better. Come on, boy [ female announcer ] symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It should not be taken more than twice a day. Symbicort contains formoterol. Medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. Symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. [ man ] now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. And that makes a difference in my breathing. Today, im hanging out with my best friend. Talk to your doctor about symbicort. I got my first prescription free.