europe. we're on the front lines of the war in ukraine tonight. caught on tape: explosive new recordings of kevin mccarthy. what the house g.o.p. leader said about his own colleagues, and how he's trying to save his political future. coming up on the of retirement? we speak to one of the millions of americans forced to go back to work because of inflation. and today's other top headlines: an unprecedented water shortage emergency. the funeral of madeleine albright, featuring three presidents. and more than 120,000 pounds of ground beef recalled. plus, the notorious r.b.g. how you could own some of justice ruther bader ginsburg's belongings. >> this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell reporting from the nation's capital. >> o'donnell: good evening, and thank you for joining us on this wednesday night. tonight, marine veteran trevor reed is on an airplane on his way back to the united states after a nearly three-year ordeal in a russian jail. his family tells us reed will head straight to a defense department hospital. we'll have more on our interview with paula and joey reed in just a moment. want scaup swap was unexpected, especially since tenses between the u.s. and roork are at the lowest point since the cold war. the u.s. freed a pilot charged with drug smuggling. tonight, there are at least two other americans in russian jails, and in a statement celebrating the release of reed, president biden said, "we won't stop until paul whelan and others join trevor in the loving arms of family and friends." we've got a lot of news to get to. let's start with cbs' weijia jiang at the white house. good evening, weijia. >> reporter: good evening, norah. trevor reed's parents credit their personal meeting with president biden last month right here in washington for his release, calling it a "tipping point." the white house says this was a deal months in the making, and that it was the president himself who broke the good news to the reed family. trevor reed's parents described the dramatic moment as something you see in the movies. video released by russian state department media captures their 30-year-old son arriving to turkey from moscow. as he crossed the tarmac to board a flight home to america, reed walks right past konstantin yaroshenko, who the u.s. agreed to return in exchange for reed. the russian pilot was serving a 20-year prison sentence in connecticut, convicted of conspiracy to smuggling cocaine into the u.s. in a statement, president biden said, "the negotiations that allowed us to bring trevor home required difficult decisions that i do not take lightly." >> our overriding priority here was the safe return of trevor reed, knowing, not only had he been held against his will for too long, but that his health condition, which required urgent treatment. >> reporter: reed's family said he was coughing up blood multiple times a day, running a fever, and that his lung hurt. the marine veteran was serving a nine-year prison sentence, accused of assaulting two police officers after a night of heavy drinking in 2019. at least two well-known americans remain in russian custody, w19 star brittney griner, who was arrested in february, and paul whelan, also a marine vet, accused of espionage, who has been detained since 2018, longer than reed. his twin brother, david whellan, said his family is full of emotions. >> disappointment, and, perhaps more than disappointment, i would even say, you know, urging towards anger. >> reporter: whelan said they found out about reed's release on tv and before today they had not heard from the biden administration in three months. do you think the release of trevor reed will impact paul's release in any way for better or worse? >> i think that the u.s. government has a limited number of concessions it's willing to give. the russian government, and it has given up one of them. >> reporter: but the white house once again reiterated its commitment to bringing both whelan and griner home. asked how the trevor reed exchange could have happened during the war in ukraine when u.s.-russian relations are so low, tonight, president biden says it's because heaised the issue with the russians three months ago. norah. >> o'donnell: weijia jiang, thank you. well, earlier, we spoke with joey and paula reed, trevor's parents, and swe asked how their son was doing. >> he's doing better. we spoke to him early this morning, right after he got on the plane. and he sounded a little subdued, kind of like he was maybe in shock, but then we spoke to him i guess about an hour ago, and he sounded much better. they got some fluids and food into him. >> o'donnell: the world woke up to this news. when did you find out your son would be freed? >> we had some indication frgz the state department over the last few days that something, you know, might be coming. and then we got the call in the early-morning hours today that it was happening. >> o'donnell: how was your son treated while he was in this russian prison? >> well, to our knowledge, he was never tortured, but at the same time, just the conditions, especially the last eight months, when he's been in solitary confinement most of that time, and just a horrible dudgeon type of conditions he's been in, and the horrible food. if you saw the video of him getting out of the fsb van today, you could see he's very thin. he was-- he looked to us, he looked frail. the police were having to help him walk, like he had been walking shackled. >> o'donnell: do you believe that your oval office meeting with president biden helped move this along? >> we do. we think that, as we've said all along, you know, the president is a great gie an honest, caring, compassionate man. and we believe that if we could talk to him and, you know, get some more details to him about trevor's situation, that he would be moved by that, and, apparently, he was. and quite frankly, i haven't said this before, but we think president biden saved our son's life today. >> o'donnell: how did he save your son's life? >> hot h gim o horrid prison conditions. my son was probably never going to let up. he had made it his mission, you know, to try and not go along with anything they said, and he was paying the price for it. and we feared that his body would give out before his mind would. .>> o'donnell: i know you spoke with president biden this morning. what did you say to the president? >> thank you so much, and we appreciate it. he said he's looking forward to having the four of us back at the white house. and we told him when we saw him, we'd like to give him some big hugging. and he said that he would give us big hugs back. >> o'donnell: you know you made a point to talk about paul whelan, another marine jailed in russia. >> our hearts go out to the whelan family, because we hoped all along trevor and paul would be brought home together. we kind of had hope for that. and it didn't happen. so our hearts are breaking for them. but we're going to still continue to advocate for them and try to bring them home. >> o'donnell: what are you going to do when you see your son? >> we're just going to get in a big group family hug because we'll all be fighting over who will get him first, and we're not going to let him go. they'll have to break us up. i'm sure we'll all be crying, happy tears. >> o'donnell: our interview with trevor reed's parents. a threat tonight from vladimir putin that any country interfering in ukraine would be met with a lightning fast military response, seeming to suggest use of nuclear weapons. russia today also halted natural gas deliveries to nato allies, poland and bulgaria, for refusing to pay in rubles, a move the europeans called blackmail. cbs' charlie d'agata traveled to the front lines of the war in eastern ukraine. >> reporter: this is the latest frontier against a fierce russian offensive closing in fast. special forces battalion commander ihor lapin told us his men have face a barrage of long-range artillery and mortars along this front line. we were told to of not to reveal our exact location for security reasons, but it's roughly in this territory, west chester of popasna, surrounded on three sides by russian troops. this freshly dug trench is a fallback position for ukrainian forces who have been battling a russian offensive in nearby villages. but it's not just ukrainian soldiers who are here. >> it's nothing that i've experienced before. it's a different type of war. >> reporter: different than the war u.s. marine veteran joshua cooper fought in iraq, because there theatre ones outgunned. what are you expecting in the days and weeks ahead? >> i expect that we will put a hurtin' on the russians and hopefully deter them from advancing. >> reporter: but you're at home in alaska, safe and sound, and you decided "i can't sit here and do this. i've got to go out." >> yeah. putin is picking a fight with a foe that isn't able to combat them without the assistance of nato and of other countries, and people willing to stand up and fight. >> reporter: former royal air force serviceman jordan davis left a five-year-old daughter back home in the u.k. tough call. >> it is a very tough call. i-- i don't know exactly why i chose to leave her. i just knew that there was a calling bigger than something i could rationalize to be here. >> reporter: when we asked when they're hoping america's promised long-rang wwere shown a u.s.-supplied browning machine gun that jams after firing just two shots. they say without more weapons, parts of this region will fall within a week. charlie d'agata, cbs news, in the eastern donbas region, ukraine. >> o'donnell: now here to washington, there's a new round of bombshell leaked recordings of house g.o.p. leader kevin mccarthy that could threaten his quest to become the next speaker of the house. as there are new questions tonight about republican infighting. here's cbs' scott macfarlane. >> reporter: house republican leader kevin mccarthy is patching up holes in his political future after another leak. >> our members have got to start paying attention. >> reporter: an audio recorded days after the january 6 attack and released by the authors of the new book "this will not pass," mccarthy tells colleagues he's worried some house republicans are endangering others. >> reporter: mccarthy avoided reporters today, while some of his colleagues ignored our questions. does mr. mccarthy still have your support? the recordings also reveal mccarthy and republican whip steve scalise criticizing congressman matt gaetz for his attacks on liz cheney, who has been the subject of threats. >> reporter: gaetz called mccarthy and scalesse weak men, not leaders. mr. gaetz, do you think he's going to remain conference leader? the republican leader weathered a political storm last week, when another january 2021 recording surfaced in which he told colleagues he was planning to recommend donald trump resign. the ought audio leaked just hours after mccarthy denied doing so. one of trump's staunchest backers ronny jackson told cbs news today he still backs mccarthy. >> we're not going to let leaked audio tapes to the press pull us apart. we have bigger things to do. we're all on the same page. >> reporter: at a private meeting of house republicans today, kevin mccarthy addressed those leaked phone calls, then called for unity. and from a party that's optimistic it will retake control of the u.s. house next year and make mccarthy speaker, kevin mccarthy received a standing ovation. norah. >> o'donnell: scott macfarlane on the capitol hill, thank you. well, tonight, a two-year investigation into the minneapolis police department finds a pattern of racial discrimination going back more than a decade. the state investigation was launched after the police killing of george floyd. investigators say minneapolis police stop, search, arrest and use force against people of color at starkly higher rates than white people. the department says it will work with the city to address a long list of problems. president biden was joined today by barack and michelle obama, bill and hillary clinton, and dignitaries from both sides of the aisle, paying tribute to america's first female secretary of state, madeleine albright at her funeral here in washington. president biden said freedom had no greater champion than madeleine albright. albright died of cancer last month at the age of 84. we want to turn now to the growing economic pain being felt across the country due tong inflation. consumer prices rose 8.5% in march, and nobody is feeling the pain like those on a fixed income, retirees. we've been getting your messages from all over the country on the struggles many retirees are having, including the 1.5 million who have re-entered the job market in just the last year. here's cbs' mark strassmann. >> i decided i probably should put on some eyebrows. >> reporter: patti byther, just unretired and got ready for her new part-time job. >> i thought i was done. i had worked it all out financially that, you know, i could afford it. >> reporter: what happened? >> the economy. inflation happened. just kind of overwhelmed me. >> reporter: with prices soaring, her retirement lasted 10 months. >> these are my fuel bills. >> reporter: in 13 months it went up $150. >> correct. my safety net is just gone. >> reporter: we shadowed her on her first day at hannaford supermarket. byther, at 66, learned to bag groceries that she now struggles to afford. byther will train to do the store's books. only by working can she stop her own accounts from bleeding out. >> it's still something i'm mentally processing that, you know, okay, i have to get used to this. it's going to be the rest of your life. >> reporter: hannaford usually hires seniors who want to work part time. now, they need to. >> we certainly hear from folks that come in that, you know, they're struggling. >> reporter: would you be surprised if you saw more patties in the weeks ahead? >> when you think of the fixed income, and you think about the price of everything going up, that would not surprise me. >> reporter: after two hours, byther's feet hurt, her back hurt. when do you see yourself retiring for real? >> i don't really see a time when i'll be able to retire again or entirely again, which is sort of annoying and sad. >> reporter: retirement is the last life phase you'll ever start new, not for patti byther. mark strassmann, cbs news, brattleboro, vermont. >> o'donnell: all right, well, still ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news," how an historic trip to the space station is one giant leap for african american women. and a nationwide ground beef recall. what you need to know. when you really need to sleep. you reach for the really good stuff. zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. its non-habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. everyone remembers the moment they heard... “you have cancer.” how their world stopped and when they found a way to face it. for some, this is where their keytruda story begins. keytruda - a breakthrough immunotherapy that may treat certain cancers. one of those cancers is advanced nonsquamous, non-small cell lung cancer where keytruda is approved to be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment if you do not have an abnormal “egfr” or “alk” gene. keytruda helps your immune system fight cancer but can also cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body. this can happen during or after treatment and may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain or tenderness, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion or memory problems, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. these are not all the possible side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including immune system problems, or if you've had an organ transplant, had or plan to have a stem cell transplant, or have had radiation to your chest area or a nervous system condition. today, keytruda is fda-approved to treat 16 types of advanced cancer. and is being studied in hundreds of clinical trials exploring ways to treat even more types of cancer. it's tru. keytruda from merck. see the different types of cancer keytruda is approved to treat at keytruda.com, and ask your doctor if keytruda can be part of your story. . >> o'donnell: tonight, southern california is in the grips of what officials call an unprecedented water shortage emergency. nearly six million people in parts of los angeles, ventura, and san bernardino counties will have their outdoor water usage restricted to just one day a week. that's beginning june 1, or they're going to face a hefty fine. reservoirs are running low amid some of the drive the conditions on record. well, tonight, food safety officials want you to check your freezer for recalled beef. more than 120,000 pounds of ground beef products made in new jersey are being recall ared over concerns that it could contain e. coli bacteria. the recalled products have an establishment number est-46841. that's on the label, and they were made between february 1 and april 8. all right, tonight, history is being made at the international space station. the crew of astronauts who blasted off today aboard a space-x rocket includes jessica watkins the first black woman to embark on a long-duration space mission. the 33-year-old geologist from colorado will spend the next six months in space. after that, she'll be eligible to begin training for the next missions to the moon. all right, coming up next, bidding for history. the late supreme court justice ruther bader ginsburg's art collection and personal items go up for auction. tri. breztri gives you better breathing, symptom improvement, and helps prevent flare-ups. 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. if you have copd, ask your doctor about breztri. . >> o'donnell: few supreme court justicesecome household names and even fewer pop culture icons known by just their initials. the late justice ruther bader ginsburg, aka the notorious r.b.g., was one of a kind and now you can own a piece of her history. here's cbs' jan crawford. >> i like this little vignette because it shows a little bit of everything of hers. >> reporter: "hers" refers to the late justice ruther bader ginsburg, and a little bit of everything is up for auction. so that's her ice bucket. >> yes, absolutely. everything in these two cabinets belonged to the justice. >> reporter: from picassos to the personal, says auction house owner elizabeth hainey wainstein. >> this was a drawing by her grandson, bubbie of liberty. .>> reporter: bubbie, like grandma. >> yes. everyone knows so much about her, her judicial career, but this has been a very personal side. >> reporter: this painting hung in her entryway, her beloved late husband, marty's ponts and pans visible on the kitchen wall. this picasso piece set in the living room. and this print of a caricature from the "new york times" that once hung in ther chambers brought in nearly $70,000. the proceeds will go to the washington national opera. what does this tell us about justice ginsburg and the person that she was? >> that she had a tremendous impact on a wide range of people. and they love her, they love her legacy, and they want to hold on to a part of that. >> reporter: a legacy that endures in the law and the support of the arts. jan crawford, cbs news, alexandria, virginia. >> o'donnell: and we'll be right back. okay, this is a freezer, not a time capsule. sometimes the house itself can tell you how a young homeowner is turning into their parents. -not those two. -yep, they're gone. -forever? -yep. that there is progressive's homequote explorer website, where i compared home insurance rates. we don't need to print the internet. some are beyond help. i will give you $100 if you can tell me what this is. -scotch egg. -it's a meatball. progressive can't help you from becoming your parents, but we can help you compare rates on home insurance with homequote explorer. we've got a lot of work to do. ♪ ♪ with homequote explorer. ♪ ♪ we believe there's an innovator in all of us. ♪ ♪ that's why we build technology that makes it possible for every business... and every person... to come to the table and do more incredible things. oh! you're doing it wrong, man. what's wrong with action figures? nothing. capital one shopping instantly searches for available coupon codes and automatically applies them. whoa! i look good in miniature. capital one shopping. (in s.l.j. voice) what's in your wallet? i have a secret. i'm done settling. capital one shopping. because this is my secret. no really! i put it on once... no more touch-ups! because this stick actually works! secret had ph balancing minerals; and it helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. so no more t-rex waves or covering up stinky pits when you're not cold. pull it in close. just trust me. secret works. when it comes to pain medicine, less is more. aleve gives long-lasting freedom from pain, with fewer pills than tylenol. instead of taking pills every 4-6 hours, aleve works up to 12-hours so you can focus on what matters. aleve. less pills. more relief when hurting feet make you want to stop, it's dr. scholl's time. our custom fit orthotics use foot mapping technology to give you personalized support, for all-day pain relief. find your relief in store or online. if rayna's thinking about retirement, she'll get some help from fidelity to envision what's possible and balance risk and reward. and with a clear plan, rayna can enjoy wherever she's headed next. that's the planning effect, from fidelity. (jackie) i've made progress with my mental health. she's headed next. so when i started having unintentional body movements called tardive dyskinesia... i ignored them. but when the twitching and jerking in my face and hands affected my day to day... i finally had to say, 'it's not ok.' it was time to talk to my doctor about austedo. she said that austedo helps reduce td movements in adults... while i continue with most of my mental health medications. (vo) austedo can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, behaviors, feelings, or have suicidal thoughts. common side effects include inflammation of the nose and throat, insomnia and sleepiness. don't take austedo if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. austedo may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, restlessness, movements mimicking parkinson's disease, fever, stiff muscles, problems thinking, and sweating. (jackie) talk to your doctor about austedo...it's time to treat td. td is not ok. visit askforaustedo.com. . >> o'donnell: before we go, we wanted to show you the play of the game last night at cincinnati's great american ballpark. a multitasking dad catches a fowbl ball with one hand while bottle feeding his baby with the other. his wife was impressed with her husband's quick thinking. well, the reds lost the game, but the family went home with an unforgettable souvenir. it was the baby's first game, too. well, that's tonight's "cbs evening news." i'm norah o'donnell in our >> judge judy: so, she was your girlfriend? >> no, she was my friend. >> we shared a bedroom for the last two years. >> judge judy: if it doesn't make sense, it's usually not true. >> announcer: an old hookup comes back to haunt him... >> when she gets out of the car, she starts, like, storming towards me, you know, like a lo e's li, eyedy car!id i" >> announcer: ...and a new romance already doomed? >> judge judy: you're screwing up a lot of families. you understand what's down the road for you? >> announcer: "judge judy." >> judge judy: stick to one woman! >> announcer: you are about to woman! >> announcer: you are about to enter th captions paid for by cbs television distribution delvon mcdonald and fiancée breanne capeci are suing vanessa ray for bail money due to a false arrest, missed work, harassment, and emotional distress. >> byrd: order! all rise! your honor, this is case number 209 on the calendar in the matter of capeci/mcdonald vs. ray. >> judge judy: thank you. >> byrd: you're welcome. parties have been sworn in. you may be seated. folks, have a seat, please. >> judge judy: what's your last name, sir? >> mcdonald. >> judge judy: mr. mcdonald, your co-plaintiff is your fiancée? is that right? you live together? >> yes, your honor. >> judge judy: and the defendant used to be your girlfriend, and you lived together? >> no, your honor. she was my roommate. >> judge judy: well, she maybe thinks she was more than your roommate. that's what i get from her answer. were you just roommates, or did you date? >> we shared a bedroom for the last two years. we were raising our children together. we lived together. yes. >> judge judy: okay. [ laughter ] when you say, "raising your children together," do you have biological children together? shh! [ raps desk ] do you have biological children together with mcdonald? >> no. i have two children of my own, and mr. mcdonald has his son. >> judge judy: did your son live in the house with ms. ray? >> yes, your honor. >> judge judy: and along with her two children? >> yes, your honor. >> judge judy: did there ever come a time when you and ms. ray lived together in the same bedroom? >> yes, your honor. >> judge judy: okay. perfect.