it turns out this is a crime. this time last year look duke energy dumped millions of gallons of toxic coal ash sludge. it is what is left after you burn coal for electricity. and duke energy dumped it in giant lagoons along sensitive water ways. when one of them burst, it emptied tens of millions of gallons into the dan river last year. it coated 70 miles in this toxic goop full of mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals. that river, and a few others don t stop at the state line. they run on both sides of the border between say north
duke nnch dumped cole ash. and they decided to dump it in giant lagoons alongside sensitive waterways. when one of the lagoons burst and emptied tens of millions of gallons of this in to the river last year. it coated 70 miles of that river in this toxic goo full of mercury and arsenic and other toxic heavy metals. now, that river, the river and a few others as well don t stop at the state line. they run both sides of the border between north carolina and south carolina. in south carolina duke energy got sued over those giant toxic ash lagoons. duke was forced to clean them up. when the same folks tried to sue in north carolina, north of the border the state government stepped in and blocked those
that means that if you were a hockey player walking out on the tunnel on to the ice, you would be underwater yourself. reporter: the venue from the calgary stampede, the city s biggest event of the year is still completely submerged with the rodeo scheduled to begin in less than two weeks. as the water moves downstream, 10,000 residents it in the city of medicine hat received mandatory evacuation notices. the river here has already overflowed its banks and isn t expected to crest until sometime tomorrow. andrea lucia, cbs news, new york. jeff: the senate resumes debate tomorrow on comprehensive immigration reform. that goal got closer last week when a group of senate republicans said they would support it if it included what some call a border search. here is nancy cordes. reporter: on capitol hill compromise does not come cheap. supporters of a sweeping immigration reform bill agreed to spend 46 billion on border security, in order to win the support of about a dozen republica
skied or simply stood awestruck by a mountain s majesty, you may be familiar with the intricate hand-painted panoramas of jim niehues. i wanted people to look at the runs and see the different variations of the slopes. reporter: skiers the world over can thank him for never getting lost. his paintings are used as trail maps from here in winter park, colorado, to resorts around the world. jim s trail maps are as integral to skiing as snow. everyone recognizes his style. reporter: for a quarter century, he has been heading up to where the air is thin and the vistas breathtaking. he ll photograph the mountain from the ground and up high before getting down to work. michelangelo got close to heaven painting the ceiling of the sistine chapel. jim niehues does it by painting at the top of the world.
he taught himself to paint as a child after his mother brought him a kit when he was home sick from school. today he is the only american artist doing this kind of work by hand. i hope they not only look how they get down, but maybe they ll look and see a little bit of the beauty that s there and stop and admire what they re skiing in. reporter: his fans worry what will happen should he ever hang up his brush. with jim s maps, each one celebrates the mountains as a piece of art, an organic natural piece of art. i think we lose a little bit of soul when we start only looking at the satellite images. reporter: jim niehues, combining a love of nature and art to help countless skiers chart a course down the mountain. kevin tibbles, nbc news, winter park, colorado. that s our broadcast on a thursday night from our nbc news washington bureau.