Captioning sponsored by cbs this is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. Pelley good evening. Folks in the upper midwest must have thought they had slept until january this morning. They were the first to get hit by arctic air from the polar vortex. There were hundreds of crashes on snowy highways. Temperatures in eight northern states are running way below normal, and over the next few days, temperatures will take a deep plunge all the way to the deep south, affecting 200 million americans. Jamie yuccas from wcco, our cbs station in minneapolis, has the latest. Rowrt the winter blast blanketed the minneapolis area with one to two inches of snow an hour. Parts of the state could see as much as 14 inches. Its nose snow for november in nearly 20 years. Its not going to work. Reporter at the height of the morning commute, there were reports of more than 180 weatherrelated crashes in minnesota alone, including this 16car pileup in duluth. A few more vehicles came back, hit my car, just kind of a landslide of cars. Everything slid down the hill. A rearend crash. Motorists trying to slow down. Reporter Minnesota State trooper eric roeski didnt expect a day like this for another month. Its very stressful, very dangerous. You have to have eyes in the back of your head. People arent quite prepared for it. Theyre relearning their Winter Driving skills on a very steep learning curve. Reporter the weather system triggered by super typhoon nuri will dump a foot and a half of snow from the dakotas to wisconsin by the time the storm ends tuesday afternoon, but the mass of arctic air will remain for two weeks. Cbs news meteorologist eric fish i. Were seeing dramatic temperature drops across the rockies and plains today. As we look to the mid and end of the week, 20s will be working their way across the south and east, really taking over much of the nation. Reporter last year minneapolis got just an inch of snow the entire month of november. By thursday were going to see temperatures in the Single Digits. Scott, this cold front will extend all the way to the florida panhandle, where it could get as cold as 37. Pelley awfully early. Jamie yuccas of wcco. Thank you, jamie. This freeze will extend to the northwest. By wednesday temperatures will be in the teens and Single Digits in much of Washington State and oregon. Today on the eve of veterans day, the department of Veterans Affairs announced the biggest reorganization in its history. The v. A. Is recovering from a scandal in which tens of thousands of vets waited months for medical care while v. A. Managers hid the delays. We learned details of the new reorganization from the new v. A. Secretary bob mcdonald in an interview for 60 minutes. It would be as if you took a white sheet of paper and you said, rather than cobbling this thing together over more than 40, 50 years, what would you like it to look like . Pelley bob mcdonald told us the reorganization will streamline management and the way veterans get their benefits, everything from College Loans to mortgages to health care to burial plots. Right now they face nine Different Organization structures across the country. So they dont know where to go, and if they do find somebody to go to, that person may be an espert in benefits, but not an expert in health care. Pelley he plans to hire a Corporate Executive this month to oversee changes in the benefits process and to cut down the v. A. s dozen web sites into just one. The goal is for patients to see a doctor no later than 30 days after scheduling an appointment. The v. A. Has also started disciplinary action against more than 40 employees accused of neglect or hiding those long wait lists, and 5,400 more workers face punishment for wrongdoing unrelated to those scheduling delays. Do people need to be fired . Were taking aggressive, expeditious disciplinary action consistent with the law. And thats why we have a lot of people on administrative leave. Weve moved them out because we dont want any harm to our veterans. Pelley secretary mcdonald also told us that v. A. Staffing is critically short and he needs to hire 28,000 medical professionals. He expects the reorganization to take at least two years. Today newly discovered emails suggest that General Motors knew about a deadly defect two months before it notified the federal government. Gm eventually recalled 2. 6 million cars for faulty ignition switches. 32 people have been killed in related accidents. The emails show that gm was ordering replacement switches long before the public knew of the danger, and heres jeff glor. Reporter first email on december 18, 2013, from gm to its supplier delphia said the company would need 500,000 parts to support an urgent field action. That was followed by another email the next day, again calling the situation urgent. Need to start seeing shipments asap. Gm told customers about faulty switch, which can cause cars to shut off, disabling Safety Systems such as air bags, on february 13th, nearly two months later. This is absolutely the most explosive piece of evidence ive seen, and ive been inside these gm cases since day one. Reporter bob hilliard represents the Largest Group of gm victims and uncovered the documents. It shows they were in the truthful with congress and with the senate after they said that theyve learned their lesson. Reporter when the emails ordering the fixes were sent in december, current gm c. E. O. Mary barra was in charge of purchasing at the company. This spring she told congress she wasnt aware of a serious problem until a month and a half later. At the senior level of the company, we learned of this after the recall decision was made on january 31st. I will never believe that she had not even a whisper of this problem. I was giving her the benefit of the doubt until i saw these emails. They were trying to dodge the bullet in regards to the dots being connected and her responsibility for this purchase. Do you swear the testimony youre about to give is the truth. The investigator gm hired to discover why the investigation took so long never included the new emails in his report. Reached by phone today, he told us he was aware the fixes were ordered earlier than previously believed but chose not to include them in his 300plus page analysis. Tonight gm says these emails are further proof our system needed reform and we have done some we have reorganized our process and have investigators move issues more quickly and make decisions with better data. Scott, we also learned today of all these cars, with the bad switches, only 55 have been fixed so far. Pelley jeff, thank you very much. The u. S. Postal service is the latest Government Agency to be hacked by cybercriminals. Unknown hackers stole information about Postal Service employees, including addresses and Social Security numbers. The thieves did not get customer information, however. Hacking is a major controversy between the United States and china, and it came up today in china as president obama joined other leaders at the Asian Pacific economic summit. Major garrett is traveling with the president. Reporter china welcomed the world to beijing with an olympicstyle opening ceremony, designed to demonstrate its economic and culture might. President obamas limousine, flanked by colorful dancers, traveled to the summit along a ruby red road. There should be no doubt that the United States of america remains entirely committed when it comes to asia. Reporter addressing global c. E. O. , mr. Obama warned china to curb cyber crime and the theft of intellectual property. He urged the country to become more open and inclusive. We look to china to approve biotechnology advances that are critical to feeding the growing planet on the same time line as other countries. To move definitively toward a more market determined Exchange Rate and, yes, to stand up for human rights and freedom of the press. Reporter to show some goodwill, the two countries announced a deal worth billions to both sides. But the thorniest issues will remain on the agenda tomorrow when president obama sits down with chinese president xi jingping. Major garrett, cbs news, beijing. Pelley anyone familiar with beijing was quick to notice something was missing today, at least temporarily. The citys legendary smog. We asked seth doane to tell us how the chinese got rid of the pollution. Reporter in order to host a summit focused on trade and economic growth, the capital of the worlds second largest economy was essentially shut down. More than 4,000 factories have been ordered to halt production or cut back. Schools in the capital have been closed, and cars have been taken off the road on alternating days. Chinas government has vowed to cut pollution here this week by as much as 40 . So we have blue skies today. Yep. This is not a coincidence. No, no. This is mandated from the top. Reporter alvin lin with t he u. S. Based Natural ResourcesDefense Council is working with chinas government to reduce its reliance on coal, which accounts for up to 60 of air pollution here. Last month beijing marathoners ran in hazardous smog. More than half of the days this year have been polluted enough to be a health hazard. Lin says he believes in chinas longterm promise to improve the air. I think the goal is that this is the norm, that this is something people here can enjoy every day. Reporter in the long run. Uhhuh. Reporter but in the short term, that took rather significant steps. Thats right. Reporter chinas president xi jingping called these skies apec blue. He acknowledged that while they are temporary, he says through hard work they could be permanent. Pelley seth doane breathing easy in beijing. Seth, thanks very much. Today president obama called on federal regulators to keep internet speeds the same for everyone, what is known as net neutrality. President obama says that internet providers should not charge Companies Like netflix higher fees for Faster Service or penalize others with slower access. The federal Communications Commission will rule on this. No telling when. Today in mexico, there were more protests over the apparent murders of dozens of College Students who vanished in september. Manuel bojorquez is in mexico tonight with the latest. Reporter the protests spread today to acapulco, where demonstrators temporarily blocked roads leading to the citys airport. Over the weekend in mexico city, an angry mob set fire to part of the national palace. The outrage is over the disappearance and presumed murder of 43 students from a rural teaching college. 19yearold jorge is carmelita mendozas son. I cry from rage, she said. I dont cry because i wont find him. I know that i will. But i cry because i feel theres nothing i can do. Federal Officials Say the students were kidnapped by cruptd police in southwestern mexico six weeks ago. Mexicos attorney general says it looks as though the students were killed, their bodies burned by gangsters working with the police. The government is accusing the local mayor of the town of iguala of ordering the kidnapping. After repeated questions about his handling of the case, he said, thats it im tired. , or ya me canse. The remarks sparked act theyre spilled onto social media and into the streets. There have been almost 600,000 tweets with the hashtag ya me canse since friday, making it a protest unlike any seen here before. There were protests today in front of the attorney generals office. Youre holding their pictures. You could be one of them. Thats why youre saying, we cant do this anymore. Ya me canse. Youre tired of it. Officials here said the mayor ordered the kidnapping because he was afraid the students would interrupt a public event for his wife, but, scott, no one here believes thats the full story, and an Ongoing Investigation has revealed suspected ties between the Mayors Office and organized crime. Pelley Manuel Bojorquez reporting for us tonight. Manuel, thank you. There was an horrific terror attack today against students at a high school in northeastern nigeria. A suicide bombinger detonated a backpack during an assembly, killing at least 48 students and wounding about 80 others. Officials suspect boko haram, the same group that kidnapped at least 200 girls earlier this year. Firefighters were surrounded by a wall of flame. We have newly released video of the yarnell tragedy. And a frantic search for 15 hikers who went missing in Southern California when the cbs evening news continues. What if one push up could prevent Heart Disease . One. Wishful thinking, right . But there is one step you can take to help prevent another serious disease pneumococcal pneumonia. One dose of the prevnar 13 ® vaccine can help protect you. From pneumococcal pneumonia, an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and may even put you in the hospital. 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Pelley today we got a look inside one of the deadliest wildfires in u. S. History. It was in june of last year that 19 hot shot firefighters were killed in yarnell, arizona. Video shot by other firefighters has just been released, and carter evans has a look. Reporter the video shows the intensity of the fastmoving flames the Granite Mountain hot shots faced in their final moments. Things are going to get real active when that starts heating up. Reporter as shifting winds pushed the fire and billowing smoke back on the command post, forcing fire managers to evacuate themselves, they were plagued by communication problems. John maclean has written five books about wildland Fire Fighting and is independently investigating this fire. The videos that came out show a very chaotic situation, the difficulties of communication, the fact that nobody really knew where Granite Mountain was. You see people on the ground asking for cell phone numbers because they cant communicate. I have his old number but i dont have his new number. Can you text it to me . I really need it bad right about now. Reporter during the communication chaos, the hot shots were trapped by 2,000degree heat, surrounded by a 100foot wall of fire that was closing in fast. [inaudible]. Reporter their final radio transmissions were recording on another firefighters helmet camera. We are preparing a deployment site. Things are burning around ourselves. Ill give you a call when were under the shelters. Reporter shortly after, air tanker pilots tried to contact the hot shots. Division alpha bravo 33 air to ground. Reporter firefighters on alltrain vehicles raced through the active burn zone to search for their friends. When they found the hot shots, it was immediately clear there were no survivors. Todd on scene. A. P. Confirmed. Reporter in the end, 19 hot shots were killed, and the public release of these new videos came as a complete surprise to their families. 12 of them are now suing the Arizona State department of forestry, and, scott, they claim the overall mismanagement of this fire led to the deaths of their loved ones. Pelley carter evans in our los angeles newsroom. Carter, thank you very much. There is latebreaking news on the death of joan rivers. Well have that for you in just a moment. Nothing else. It works, simple as that. Its a natural source of fiber and five essential vitamins. Its the smart choice for me. Try Sunsweet Amazin prune juice. Also available in light. A dry mouth can be a common side effect. Thats why theres biotene. It comes in oral rinse, spray or gel, so theres moisturizing relief for everyone. Biotene, for people who suffer from a dry mouth. Goodnight. Goodnight. For those kept awake by pain. The night is anything but good. Introducing new aleve pm. 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