devastating effect covid has on pregnant women. out of a spy movie, what we're learning tonight about a navy scandal involving a nuclear engineer, a peanut butter a pear sandwich and a plot to sell america's vehicles to a foreign government. schools targeted, the dangerous new challenge promoted on social media. schools vandalized, now there's a warning that teachers could be victimized next. next. ♪ i nee ♪ i need somebody ♪ >> o'donnell: setting the record straight: decades later, who paul mccartney says broke up the beatles. and this incredible story, a runner who lost his sight at an early age but not his ability to inspire. this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's capital. >> o'donnell: good evening to our viewers in the west, and thank you for joining us well, we're going to begin tonight with the anger and frustration of southwest airlines passengers as a weekend of delays and cancellations stretched all the way into monday. more than 360 flights were canceled today after about 2,000 were called off over the weekend. why it's happening isn't exactly clear. the airline blames the weather and "other constraints," but disruptions began shortly after the pilots union tried to block southwest's new covid vaccine mandate. what is clear is thousands were left stranded respect lines were long, tempers were short in airports in several cities as passengers were forced to wait hours and in some cases days, yes, days, to get on other flights. well, cbs' errol barnett is going to lead us off tonight from reagan international airport outside here in d.c. good evening, errol. >> reporter: norah, good evening. there are folks out there tonight still waiting to get to their weekend destinations and some having to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket to get there. there. while southwest struggles to rebuild its schedule, we spoke to the union representing southwest pilots who say there was no walkout. from l.a. to miami... >> it's not a great end to a good good vacation. >> reporter: dallas to denver... >> we're going to try to gety tt there. when, i don't know. >> reporter: thousands of southwest customers had weekend travel plans ruined by more than 2,000 flight cancellations. tonight the company offering a "tremendous apology" to customers and employees, citing weather and external constraints. did any of your pilots call out sick this weekend? >> we have data on what exactly happened and, so, our pilots sick rates are right in line with what was occurring this summer. >> reporter: captain casey murray is president of the southwest pilots union and insists there was no protest of the company's pending vaccine mandate, but he acknowledged the union is suing southwest over its policy. >> the pilots were picking up extra flying. >> reporter: southwest stood out because other carriers had nowhere near its rate of cancellations. some stranded passengers hit the road to get back home. >> we're home. >> reporter: after how many hours on the road? >> 25 total. >> 25 hours. >> reporter: jilliane mattox attended a wedding in austin with friends before southwest canceled their southwest flight back to d.c., offering wednesda. instead. >> the general consensus among everyone is it's easier to rent a car and just get out of town. >> reporter: 1,500 miles later, the trio made it home safely today. >> so probably won't be looking at southwest anytime soon. >> reporter: and this is not over yet. southwest says it is trying to rebuild its schedule but, norah, it does expect for there to be continued cancellations through tuesday. >> o'donnell: all right, errol barnett, thank you so much. tonight the central u.s. is bracing for severe weather. they've already gotten some in southern illinois. a tornado leveled at least two buildings in the town of rights. more than a dozen tornadoes reported sunday in oklahoma and missouri. the good news is no one was seriously hurt. we get more now on the storm threat from cbs' lonnie quinn. hey there, lonnie. >> hello, norah. tonight it is going to be illinois will be on alert for tornadoes. tomorrow the same area plagued today could very well see a repeat performance. we're talking oklahoma and kansas. look at that line coming through. anywhere along that line there could be a severe storm. now, the twist element will come from above, fast moving air, the jet stream starts to twist the column of the air, transferring to the surface, you have another problem out there. north of that system, look at this, you get up into portions of wyoming and montana, and we're talking snow. maybe one to two feet of snow as you finish up your day tomorrow. then out west, quickly, we do not have any big fires burning, but a red flag warning in effect tomorrow, winds in excess of of. 60 miles per hour. if that's your home, you have to be careful with a flame or spark. that's the story. norah. >> o'donnell: lonnie quinn with the sound effects and weather tonight, thanks, lonnie. well, tonight, we're following breaking news from southern california, at least two people were killed when a small plane crashed outside san diego blocks from a high school. two homes were destroyed. there. >> reporter: amateur video from right after the crash shows flames and smoke billowing from homes. >> an aircraft crashed a half mile in front of us into the houses. >> we believe that the injuries are non-survivable for anyone that was on that plane. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: witnesses say the aftermath was chaotic. >> cars exploding and fires exploding and the u.p.s. tanks and everything explodingment. >> reporter: she says two men from the neighborhood ran out after the explosion to help a man and a woman trapped inside one of the destroyed homes. >> they pulled the lady out and they had to knock the fence down to get the husband out. so hopefully there was only just those two people in the house. >> reporter: san diego's sheriff's deputies set up a perimeter as fire crews worked to douse the flames at two homes that were a complete loss. several others were damaged. a u. p.s.truck also took a direct hit. the driver did not survive. it all happened in a neighborhood just blocks from a high school. no students were hurt. you can see where the plane hit that u.p.s. truck, along with that driver, first responders say one person inside the plane was killed. this field impacts about 10homes, they were damaged. two people inside one of those homes were seriously injured. the ntsb is now taking over the investigation. norah? >> o'donnell: carter, thank you. and there is encouraging news in the fight against the pandemic. new infections, hospitalizations and deaths are trending downward. tonight the u.s. could soon have the world's first pill to treat covid. here's cbs' manuel bojorquez >> reporter: tonight, the drug- maker merck may be close to distributing the first covid-19i emergency use authorization for oral treatment targeted to vaccinated people who developed covid systems. the pill is shown to cut hospital stays and death by half. meanwhile, anthony fauci says kids can safely enjoy halloween this year. >> you're outdoors for the most part. at least when my kids were doing trick or treating. enjoy it. >> reporter: there is continued concern about covid during pregnancy. only a third of pregnant women in the u.s. are fully vaccinated and new studies show expectant mothers with covid 19 symptoms risk complications such as gestational diabetes and their babies are more likely to be admitted to the i.c.u. dr. anh nguyen is an e.r. technician in houston >> tens of thousands of pregnant women have been vaccinated. i personally have not seen bad outcomes from vaccinations but tons of bad outcomes from women with covid. >> reporter: she's 36 weeks pregnant, expecting her second child and just received a booster of the pfizer vaccine >> this is a golden opportunity to give my baby the antibodies. i don't anticipate that my newborn would be eligible to get the vaccine and she's going to get the antibodies circulating in my blood from me getting the booster shot. >> reporter: there is evidence of that. one study found 100% of babies born to women who had received the pfizer or moderna shots also had the antibodies triggered by those vaccines. norah. >> o'donnell: what a gift a mother can give their child. manuel bojorquez, thank you. and now to a case of alleged espionage with a really bizarre twist. a naval engineer and his wife are expected to appear in federal court tomorrow on charges that they tried to pass nuclear secrets to a foreign country. and get this: key evidence was apparently hidden in a peanut butter sandwich. here's cbs' catherine herridge. >> reporter: this case revolves around the technology behind these high-tech u.s. subs, and the court records read like an espionage thriller. defendants jonathan toebbe, a nuclear engineer for the navy and his wife dianna were arrested over the weekend accused of selling nuclear secrets to a foreign government official who was really an f.b.i. f.b.i. agent. >> our submarine program is the biggest defense capability that the u.s. has. >> reporter: eric o'neil worked as an operative. >> this is a trusted insider within the network who had access to the secrets and decided he was going to sell them to a foreign power. that is the most dangerous thing we find in counterintelligence >> reporter: toebbe, who lived on this quiet street in annapolis, maryland, is charged with selling an unnamed country sub secrets in exchange for a ce $100,000 in crypto currency. the f.b.i. was tipped and began an elaborate investigation, with agents telling toebbe to drop off the stolen date in a rural area in west virginia. among the most sensational details that toebbe passed information on a data card hidden inside band aids and even a peanut butter sandwich. >> it's a very novel approach to an old traditional spy method >> reporter: federal prosecutors want the couple to remain in custody pending trial. they have their first court appearance in west virginiaancea tomorrow. underscoring the severity of the espionage charge, prosecutors indicated they could get life in prison or death if convicted, norah. >> o'donnell: wow, catherine herridge, thank you. we have got a warning for parents tonight about an alarming wave of destructive and dangerous school pranks that are being provoked on social media. we have new details tonight from cbs' jamie yuccas. >> reporter: damaged bathrooms, a flooded hallway, just some to have the recent destruction in one tennessee school district >> across our 14 middle schools and high schools, there have been over 100 incidents of vandalism and theft over the last few weeks that have been linked to these challenges. >> reporter: the social media challenges, says anthony johnson, include one on tiktok called devious licks that incited kids to steal or destroy school property and post it online. we're not talking mild vandalism. >> dozens of students face consequences and their families are left paying thousands in fines and restitution. >> reporter: addison goldberg and lily lambert attend one to have the schools. how does this happen?g and lily lambert att >> they want more popularity. > reporter: how does this make you popular by damaging property? >> it makes you noticed and brings you to the attention of your peers, and the higher level of vandalism, the more attention you will get. >> reporter: there is now a calendar of challenges circulating online. in october, students prompted to slap a teacher. several students have already been arrested for apparently following through. >> assaulting any employee is a zero tolerance offense that comes with a mandatory one year expulsion >> reporter: tiktok says the alleged challenge would violate its policies, and aggressively remove such content. but tiktok also says it has not found the challenge on its platform. >> this is incredibly inappropriate and can't go on. >> reporter: lessons learned by some, but not all. jamie yuccas, cbs news. >> o'donnell: tonight, a man who many believe to be innocent remains behind bars in missouri. that's where he's been for more than four decades despite testimony that appears to clear his name. cbs' erin moriarty has covered this extensively and reports on why that man is still locked up. >> reporter: to be honest, kevin, i thought when i saw you next it would be on the outside. >> i was hoping it would be, also. >> reporter: it's been 42 years since kevin strickland was sent to prison for a crime he says he didn't commit. and this past may, jackson county prosecutor jean peters baker publicly agreed with him. >> it is important to recognize when the system has made wrongs, and what we did in this case was wrong. >> reporter: yet, five months later, the 62-year-old is still behind bars. how old were you when you were first incarcerated? >> about to be 19 in about three months, and i'm wondering if i will be here at 63.e at 63 >> reporter: >> reporter: why? >> the delays and the road blocks that are being put up seem to be endless. >> reporter: road blocks by the state's attorney general, eric schmitt, who maintains strickland received a fair trial and is guilty. after a triple homicide in kansas city in 1978, the onlyy survivor, 20-year-old cyntyia douglas, i survivor, 20-year-old cynthia douglas, identified strickland as one of the shooters. douglas later tried to recant her testimony, saying she was mistaken. after strickland's first trial ended with a hung jury, he was later convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to life without parole. still remember hearing that verdict? >> yeah, yeah. i will never forget that. i didn't know i could cry like that at that age. >> reporter: strickland remained in prison even after two of the four actual shooters, vincent bell and kilm adkins, stated vincent bel under oath strickland had nothing to do with the murders. all four, none of them are serving time for that murder but you are sitting in here? >> right. >> reporter: strickland says even if he's released he can't get back the past. his daughter was seven weeks old when he was arrested. you really have lost a lot. you get your life back, but you've lost so much of it. >> yeah, you kind of said it there, "i get my life back." i've never had one. so i get to try to establish a life, but i've actually never had one to get back >> reporter: erin moriarty, cbs news, cameron, missouri. >> o'donnell: a twice delayed hearing that could lead to strickland's freedom is scheduled for next month. and there is still much more news ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news." a little boy lost in the woods for three days is finally home. and this, paul mccartney won't let it be. the beatles rumor he wants to clear up. everything will be fun and nice. but i still have bad days... flare-ups, (cough cough) which can permanently damage my lungs. my lungs need protection against flare-ups. so it's time to get real. because in the real world... our lungs deserve the real protection of breztri. breztri gives you better breathing... symptom improvement, and flare-up protection. it's the first and only copd medicine proven to reduce flare-ups by 52%. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition... or high blood pressure before taking it. don't take breztri more than prescribed. breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling... problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. for real protection, ask your doctor about breztri. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser-drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. tylenol rapid release gels. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? 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>> it's a sense of freedom, a way to find ability in the face of a disability. >> reporter: he hopes to instill confidence in young people. >> try to see the possibilities to destroy the notions of what somebody who's blind is capable of doing. >> reporter: this is berlin's seventh boston marathon but first with daughter talia by his side. if you were to sum up this experience altogether, what would you say? >> can you combine elated and exhausted? >> reporter: and ready for his next adventure. nancy chen, cbs news, boston. >> o'donnell: and congratulations to all the runners today. we'll be right back. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin,... i want that. eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk better than warfarin. and has less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis has both. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking, you may bruise more easily... or take longer for bleeding to stop. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, or unusual bruising. it may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor about eliquis. welcome to allstate. where you can pay a little less and enjoy the ride a little more. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ now, get new lower auto rates with allstate. because better protection costs a whole lot less. you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today. why give your family just any eggs when they can enjoy the best? 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yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. in 2016, i was working at the amazon warehouse when my brother passed away. and a couple of years later, my mother passed away. after taking care of them, i knew that i really wanted to become a nurse. amazon helped me with training and tuition. today, i'm a medical assistant and i'm studying to become a registered nurse. in filipino: you'll always be in my heart. >> o'donnell: tomorrow, skyrocketing fuel costs from gasoline to heating oil, what does it mean for you as we head into the cold winter months? and if you can't watch us live, don't forget you can set your dvr so you can watch us later. that's tonight's edition of the "cbs evening news." i'm norah o'donnell in our nation's capitol. we'll see you right back here tomorrow. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by raiders. edwards. brought down across the 30-yard line. good enough for a first down. jon gruden on the sidelines this a grass fire burns to the back of this home. and there is still a day before most of the wind blows through. >> and the red flag warning does not expire for a while. almost like another 24 hours. we'll talk abothe differences coming up. >> and exactly two decades after a vern random crime, a san jose cold case has been cracked. what we know right now. and a bay area father's plea to other parents after half a counterfeit pill destroyed his family. >> she was gone, and there was the end of her life. >> just an amount the size of the tip of a pencil can kill you. you're playing russian roulette. >> but we begin with breaking news. we have learned that las vegas raiders coach jon gruden is resigning over some offensive e- mails. that's according to the associated press. >> the e-mails were sent before gruden was hired in 2018, and showed him using racist, sexist, and homophobic language. he offered this apology after yesterday's game. >> i stand here in front of everybody apologizing. i know i don't have an ounce of racism. the me. i'm a guy that takes pride in leading people together, and i'll continue to do that for the rest of my life. and again i apologize to d- smith and anybody out there i have offends. >> he was four