nation's success. the youngest now in their 80s. some are a century old. >> kind of humbling because i'm representing the ones that have died and there are so many of them that, you know, missed being acknowledged. i just am one of the survivors. >> of the millions of women who worked in the factories during the war, only a few dozen have survived long enough to see their work recognized with one of the nation's highest honors. the ceremony is set for wednesday. the cbs evening news with norah o'donnell is next. we're back here in 30 minutes with more news at 7:00. thanks so much for joining us! ♪ ♪ >> norah: there it is! there it is! america looks to the sky with tens of millions experiencing a total solar eclipse. >> this is the moment of

totality. >> norah: crowds cheer as the rare astronomical phenomenon passes overhead where on the path of totality with the sites... >> there is a diamond ring, diamond ring. >> norah: sounds... >> it was mind-blowing. >> norah: and science. >> that is amazing. it's unbelievable. there's nothing like it. >> norah: the "cbs evening news" starts now. ♪ ♪ good evening, i am norah o'donnell. and thank you for being with us. we are here tonight at the indianapolis motor speedway for the great american eclipse of 2024. this place was packed with tens of thousands from all 50 states and 33 countries around the world to watch this cosmic spectacle as the moon slipped between the earth and the sun turning day into night and then sunlight into total darkness. you know the word monday actually means day of the moon, and that certainly held true today. the historic path of totality crossed into the u.s. and texas at 2:27 p.m. eastern time and then traveled over parts of 15 states through maine before heading into canada at 3:35 p.m. eastern. it was something to see.

and about 31 million people live in the path of the total solar eclipse and millions more traveled to catch a glimpse of this rare celestial event. look at this. this is what nasa astronauts aboard the international space station saw, the moon's shadow covering earth. i mean i had never seen an eclipse before, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. you could say it was a front row experience to something majestic even spiritual. a collective moment for millions of americans to be inspired. >> there it is! [screaming] oh, my god.

>> norah: awe in the afternoon, we were watching along with 50,000 others as darkness swept over everyone and everything at the indianapolis motor speedway. the tv doesn't do it justice. >> no, it does not. >> norah: this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. a total solar eclipse, the moon having its moment in the sun, blocking all but a fiery halo of light for 3 minutes and 47 seconds. you have seen how many? >> seven, that was my seventh. >> norah: how does it compare? >> each one is different. >> norah: the celestial celebration turned eyes to the skies, some waiting years to

witness this rare moment. thousands of spectators and mazatlan, mexico, where the first to experience the eclipse. the path of totality and the u.s. started near eagle pass, texas, just before 1:30 p.m. local time, casting a shadow roughly 100 miles wide, moving across 15 states in just over an hour. this time-lapse video of dallas shows the dramatic change in light over the skyline. for those outside of that path, a partial eclipse was visible throughout all 48 contiguous states. in some parts of the country, the forecast called for clouds, but then the cosmic clearing. >> oh, my goodness. the clouds parted. the clouds parted. >> i cannot believe we are seeing this right now. it has been cloud cover all day. how lucky are we? >> norah: at 30,000 feet, eclipse viewing soared to new aboard special delta air lines flights from dallas and austin. pilots maneuvered along the path of totality as nearly 200 passengers snacked on sun chips and moon pies. >> it was really cool being in complete daylight and then it started to dim and got complete pitch black and felt like night. >> norah: but russellville, arkansas has to be the icing on the cake with 50 couples professing their love to the moon and back. taking their wedding vows in a mass ceremony.

the thin circle of light around the moon representing a gold wedding ring, but in the sky. >> it's really cool, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. >> norah: talk about love in the air, for those couples and this texas family welcoming their new baby girl during a solar eclipse today. the fort worth family named her sole, spanish for sun, and arrived a week early to join her big sister whose name is luna. that's pretty good. now who better to discuss what we saw today other than bill nye "the science guy." we spoke with bill earlier after he experienced totality in fredericksburg, texas. bill, this is like the super bowl of science, and it's so rare that humanity pauses to watch something together. what do you hope that brings people? >> norah, i hope that people appreciate the pb&j, the passion beauty and joy of science and space exploration. this brought people together.

tradings came to a virtual stop on wall street because people shared this experience, and this experience is understood through the process of science. >> norah: bill, i know there was a concern in texas about the clouds on the weather, but it turned out better than expected for you, right? what did you see? >> it was perfect for totality. we could see the disk of the moon covering the disk of the sun, and i saw a couple of things which i've never seen before, one of which was the solar prominence, this solar flare style event, the coronal mass ejection of the particles shooting off the sun into deep space because the sun is more active right now than it was let's say in 2017 when we had another solar eclipse here in north america. and so the jolt of particles off

the sun was really visible from here, and it was this extraordinary pink. >> norah: it was a marvelous day, and bill nye, thank you for sharing it with us. >> thank you, norah. >> norah: for communities in the path of the eclipse, it has been an economic boom thanks to the millions of people traveling from around the world to witness this phenomenon. cbs's janet shamlian with new reporting tonight on how big a financial impact it will be for the cities in the shadow of the moon. >> reporter: they appeared from across the country. you came here from florida? >> yes. >> reporter: and around the world... >> we came from switzerland.% >> reporter: to see the sun disappear in kerrville, texas. a boom for local businesses. >> the crowd is really big and it's been getting bigger by the hour.

>> it's good for business today? >> it's so good. >> reporter: kara block and her family book their trip more than a year ago with flights, hotels and a rental car taking a bite out of the family budget. did you do this instead of another vacation? >> yeah, we did not do much for spring break. we have been waiting for this. it's like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. >> reporter: nationwide eclipse spending is expected to bring a $6 billion boost to the u.s. economy, even more than the taylor swift tour. no blank spaces in the path of totality today. airbnb rentals were booked up. in fredericksburg, texas, businesses were doing everything under the sun to cash in on the eclipse from special wines to a local blasting of eclipse style paperweights. all waiting for the moment at 1:32 p.m., despite cloud cover, the skies parted leaving those here -- [cheers and applause] walking on sunshine. what did you think? >> amazing, awesome. >> one of the coolest things i've ever seen. >> once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure. >> yeah. >> reporter: what made it memorable here as it was in expected. the forecast for kerrville was

not good. but the skies parted, and we just that moment that we needed, especially rewarding for people who traveledso far. norah. >> norah: janet, it was so exciting to watch the excitement where you were. thank you. now to the 2024 presidential campaign where abortion rights is taking center stage. when donald trump was president, he nominated the justices that would overturn roe versus wade. since then, 21 states have moved to restrict or ban the procedure of many republicans want to go further with a federal ban passed by congress. cbs's weijia jiang reports that trump today tried to clarify his position angering his conservative base. >> reporter: former president donald trump suggested today with that the federal government should stay out of the abortion-rights debate. >> my view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted

it from a legal standpoint. the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. in this case, the law of the state. >> reporter: the reports followed months of meant signals from the president, owning his part and overturning roe v. wade just as he did today. >> since i was probably the person responsible. >> reporter: but refusing to commit to a national abortion ban, even while suggesting in the past he would support one. when you heard his remarks, were you surprised at all? >> i was surprised and disappointed. >> reporter: marjorie dannenfelser, the president of susan b. anthony pro-life america, spoke to trump on the phone this morning and thinks the door to a federal ban remains open. >> i actually do think that he will get there.that compelled hd believe that there was something that compelled him to stand strong and defend fearlessly every single supreme court justice that he put up. he never gave up on any of them. i don't think he will give up on this.

>> reporter: president biden who was in wisconsin today unveiling a new plan to forgive student loan debt for millions agreed with her. >> if the maga republicans put a federal ban on his desk, he would sign it. >> reporter: it released a new ad, featuring a texas woman who said she nearly died twice unable to get to the abortion she needed after a miscarriage. and blaming trump for enabling state-level bans on abortion passed since roe was overturned. voters in florida, maryland, and new york will vote on abortion-related measures in november and several other states including key battlegrounds, arizona and nevada are considering adding measures to their ballots. democrats hope the issue will give them an edge at the polls. norah. >> norah: weijia jiang at the white house, thank you.

there is some breaking news out of las vegas, three people are dead including the gunman after shooting inside a fifth floor law office. cbs news has learned that one of the victims was a prominent trial attorney. cbs's elise preston has the latest developments. >> the suspect is barricaded. right now we have one shot. >> reporter: police say it was after 10:00 a.m. on this busiest six-floor office building when shots rang out and attorney dennis princes who law office. >> i heard some screams and yelling coming from out in the hallway. i texted my husband and told him i loved him. >> reporter: terrified workers hunker down in their offices for hours waiting for police to come help. >> going door by door and making sure everyone and there is okay and evacuating them. >> reporter: a close friend of dennis prince and his wife tells cbs news they were among those killed. the well-known attorney representing his wife ashley in a deposition against her ex-husband. when the exes father, attorney joe houston allegedly shot them before turning the gun on himself.

>> we believe the suspect is deceased, and there is no further threat to the community. >> reporter: tonight to las vegas police are left wondering why the gunman pulled the trigger and how the community will heal. >> it's pretty crazy to think that it can really happen anywhere to anyone. >> reporter: now the couple leaves behind four children including an infant they just had a few months ago. norah. >> norah: elise preston, thank you very much. overseas, the war in gaza is entering a new phase. israel has withdrawn most of its troops from the south to prepare for what they call future operations, most likely an offensive in rafah. holly williams reports this brief pause in the ground operation has revealed the ravages of the past six months. >> reorter: with most israeli forces now gone from the southern gaza strip, a cbs news team was there today as thousands of palestinians moved

around freely for the first time in months. in the city of khan younis, they found destruction on a colossal scale. some went looking for their homes, and instead peeked through the rubble though belongings. "i cannot find my bed or my clothes," said malak mahmoud. "i lost my books." israel's military says it has one division inside the gaza strip, another division that was there moved out over the weekend. the remaining troops have positioned along gaza's border with israel and to the north where the israelis have built a new road cutting across the gaza strip from east to west. thought to be part of israel's planning for after the war. israel's military said the troops who pulled out are recuperating. and today prime minister benjamin netanyahu said they have set a date for an offensive in the southern city of rafah

despite u.s. opposition. though that date is unspecified. it comes just days after president biden told netanyahu in a phone call that the humanitarian situation and gaza was "unacceptable." israel says today over 408 trucks made it into gaza, the most since the beginning of the war. the u.s. says there is a cease-fire deal on the table for hamas. an israeli official told cbs news that negotiations are advancing. but a spokesman for hamas told us that negotiations in cairo over the weekend were "setback." norah. >> norah: holly williams, thank you very much. scary moments for passengers on next. engine cover tore off. we will tell you what happened next. ♪ ♪ tore off. we will tell you what happened next. ♪ ♪ ment insurance plan

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>> norah: march madness will wrap up tonight with purdue facing uconn in the men's national championship game. on the women's side, south carolina topped iowa and caitlin clark on sunday with a record 18.7 million viewers. i was one of them. that is the most-watched basketball game, men or women, college or pro in the last five years. cbs's jan crawford reports on how the women's tournament was one for the ages. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: a tribute worthy of a remarkable year. women's basketball and its champions. south carolina completing a perfect season and in a dream final, dominant, defeating iowa to avenge its only loss in the past two years. and while reveling in victory, hall of fame coach dawn staley praised a player. >> oh, my. >> reporter: she called one of

the greatest of all time. >> i want to personally thank caitlin clark for lifting up our sport. you are one of the goats of our games. we appreciate you. >> reporter: caitlin clark not only broke every scoring record, but hawkeye games smashed viewing and attendance records, and the world shared its amazement and gratitude. >> people won't remember every single win or loss, but they will remember how excited their young daughter or son got about watching women's basketball and i think that is cool. >> reporter: clark leaves for the wnba and leaves behind a legacy, not just for those carrying the torch next year, but the thousands of girls inspired to be next. to hear the roar of the crowd, and become just like their idols on top of the world. jan crawford, cbs news. >> norah: i was in awe of every single woman on that

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>> norah: finally... ♪ ♪ >> norah: finally... tonight's "heart of america," the only thing more awe inspiring than watching the total solar eclipse is watching it through the eyes of schoolkids. >> that is so cool. >> norah: the astronomy class from eminence high school were not just observers of the eclipse. >> i would say before i was in the class i did not know how rare are seeing an eclipse was. >> norah: they were helping nasa. using a special telescope to collect data of the sun's corona. >> i think it's really nice to see everyone collaborating on one project. >> norah: students udents from texas... >> it's the solar eclipse today. >> norah: to vermont... >> it does not happen that often here, and it's really exciting. >> norah: getting a science lesson and a lesson we could all learn, how to come together. >> it's of course giant teamwork of anybody just coming out side and looking at it. >> norah: the information will help scientists understand the

way the sun converts magnetic energy into heat furthering our understanding of the world around us and reminding us to look up and enjoy the world's wonders. >> it something we don't get very often anymore is that one moment of people aren't on their phones or looking away. people are observing something as a true spectacle in our world and our entire solar system. >> norah: we did enjoy the moment. it was just spectacular. and that's tonight's "cbs evening news." norah, thank you, i'm juliet good juliette goodrich. you don't need a telescope to see this. >> it is a raisin bran viewer. >> how locals came together to

witness a rare solar eclipse. >> i have been waiting months for this. i am happy it has come along. new drama over oakland's plans to rename its airport. why the city of san francisco is threatening to sue. certainly not what you want to see after take off, an engine cover flying off of a plane. >> pilots did not know what was happening. it was folks on the plane that sent the message. >> what an expert says could have gone wrong. this is cbs news bay area with juliette goodrich. solar eclipse mania across the bay area and north america. a spectacular and rare sight today that had millions of people across the continent looking to the sky in awe. and those who were in the path of totality saw this. the moon traveling in front of the sun. blocking out daylight for almost 4 1/2 minutes. well, the pay area did