♪ ♪ good evening. i'm norah o'donnell. and thank you for being with us on the super tuesday. the biggest primary day of the election cycle. tonight could be the kickoff to the 2024 general election, and ultimately, a rematch between president joe biden and former president donald trump. that would be the first time in more than 100 years. millions of voters are heading to the polls in 15 states, and we also have just learned that president biden has won iowa's democratic caucus, and we are just moments away from the first polls closing. in the race for the republican nomination, donald trump holds a commanding lead over rival nikki haley, in what could be hailey's last stand. trump needs a total of 1215 delegates to secure the nomination, and he is expected to move closer to that goal tonight. early cbs news exit polls are out and they show that immigration and the economy are the top issues for republican voters, with many feeling angry about how things are going in this country. we have a lot of context and analysis to bring you, and cbs's caitlin huey-burns will start us off tonight from palm beach, florida, where donald trump's tonight be a good evening, caitlin. >> reporter: good evening good evening, norah. well, this super tuesday may feel less suspenseful than the previous years but it is no less consequential, setting the stage for a general election rematch between the current and former presidents and possibly signaling the end of nikki haley's campaign. as voters across the country cast ballots today, donald trump is aiming for a super tuesday sweep to force his last remaining rival, nikki haley, out of the race. >> there is no path for her to win. whether she likes hearing that or not, there is no path for her to win. >> reporter: despite winning just one contest so far in the district of columbia, haley had vowed to stay in the running at least through today, when republican voters in 15 states have their say. >> i don't know why everybody is so adamant that they have to follow trump's lead to getting out of this race. you know, all of these people deserve to vote. >> reporter: about the math is not in her favor. trump has a sizable delegate lead. 276-43. and he is favored in all of today's contest, where another 865 delegates are up for grabs. a massive delegate hall won't be enough for trump to officially clinch the nomination. that good, soon as next week. but it would solidify his dominance in the republican party, even as he faces 91 charges and four criminal cases. a north carolina exit poll tonight showed 64% of republican president if convicted of a crime. those cases have helped to fuel his support among republicans, though some supporters told us they want him to temper his rhetoric. >> he has great policies, but i don't want to hear the drama. >> reporter: on the democratic side, president biden is also expected to run the table. >> joe biden better win. [laughs] right? i think the country, there's an awful lot at stake. >> reporter: but he is aiming to stake off an opponent of his own. voters in seven states will have the option to vote uncommitted, which some democrats hope registers opposition to the president's handling of the israel-hamas war. >> i voted uncommitted because i want to send, like, a message, that we are tired and we want a cease-fire. >> reporter: and donald trump is expected to speak behind me later tonight, but notably, nikki haley does not have any events scheduled today or beyond. she is expected to watch the results from her home state of south carolina. norah? >> norah: caitlin huey-burns in palm beach, thank you. let's bring in cbs's robert costa for more on tonight's race is. such an interesting night because we get to hear from a voters, right, but we also have his exit paul mcdade about what our priorities were people. what is the trump team looking at tonight? >> norah: >> robert: we are looking at the voters and at exit polling at cbs news come and it shows some warning signs for former president donald trump. in north carolina, for example, 78% of nikki haley supporters say to cbs news, they could not support the republican nominee if it ends up being donald trump. that shows come among traditional republicans, in north carolina and elsewhere, many concerns about trump's conduct. so i trump perhaps try to pivot towards the general election tonight, he still has some work to do insuring up g.o.p. support. >> norah: he will win big tonight but we are looking to see how much of that republican vote or independent vote nikki haley gets. what about the biden team at? >> robert: suburban turned out. can they try to win over some of those haley voters? look for three themes from the biden campaign. a real focus on bike no micro-productive rights. vice president harris out there. biden talking about january 6th, speaking to those nikki haley supporters and he is a defender of democracy. and going to see him trying to talk to working americans. knowing that trump is winning many of them over with his message on the border come on the economy, he wants to make sure union voters in particular are sticking with biden. >> norah: we have for that is a top issue for voters and independents. immigration. biden has a state of union on thursday. and cbs news is going to have complete coverage of super tuesday throughout the night, on cbs news streaming and continuing right here on cbs at 10:00 p.m. eastern. we hope to see you then. this news today, the u.s. and jordan airdropped much-needed aid into the gaza strip, while back here in washington, president biden made an urgent push for a long-awaited cease-fire between hamas and israel. cbs's ed o'keefe has details now from the white house. >> reporter: three american c-130s dropping 36,000 meals or gaza today. not nearly enough to feed more than half a million people on the verge of famine. but on the ground, people ran towards the ada. with just five days until the start of the muslim holy month of ramadan, president biden continues pressuring israel and hamas to agree to a cease-fire and the release of more hostages. israel is seeking from hamas a list of hostages who are still alive. hamas says it first needs a cease-fire to determine the status of hostages. >> we will know in a couple days if it's going to happen. but we need the cease-fire. >> reporter: the president reiterated his hope for a deal by ramadan in order to avoid more violence. >> we get into circumstance where this continues through ramadan, israel and jerusalem, it could be very, very dangerous. >> reporter: isra israeli-palestinian tensions often flare during the holy month. but today, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said during ramadan he will allow palestinians access to jerusalem's al-aqsa mosque's, one of muslims most holy sites, hopefully easing fears of violence. in washington, one of netanyahu's top rivals benny gantz commit know my continued meetings with senior lawmakers and officials. growing bipartisan criticism of israel's handling of the water. speak all of these conversations have been constructive and productive. we hope that mr. gantz goes home, informed by the conversations that we had and the concerns that we expressed. don't normally meet so publicly with the arrival of a sitting world leader, so that top administration officials and democrats and republicans on capitol hill took the meetings with gantz at all signals bipartisan frustration with netanyahu who is overseeing the war appear norah? >> norah: at the really interesting point. ed o'keefe at the white house, thank you very much for your tonight, there is a state of emergency in effect on the side of a deadly fire that set off a series of massive explosions at a vaping supplier north of detroit. a 19-year-old man was killed when the blast sent debris flying as far as 2 miles away. cbs's alysia burgio reports come officials say it is still an active scene. >> reporter: the violent fire spread quickly. canisters filled with butane gas, nitrous oxide, and lighter fluid blew apart and spewed into the air. >> there is metal canisters that are exploding, and they are being projectiles coming all over the place right now. >> reporter: knives were blasted apart and more than 100,000 vape pens with highly combustible lithium batteries inside exploded. >> you had shrapnel going off everywhere you looked, so if you are standing outside, you are wondering, when is the next piece coming my way? >> reporter: the fire started around 9:00 p.m. and burned through the morning at this vaping supply distributor in clinton township just outside of detroit. >> the whole house shook! i thought it was an earthquake. >> reporter: investigators think the fire started for unpermitted marijuana-related items stored improperly inside a back storage area. >> we know that they were not allowed to have these canisters. they were not permitted to have them in this building. they were illegally in that building. >> reporter: the fire was so powerful it sent sharp, jagged shrapnel like this one raining down. debris killed a 19-year-old who was about a quarter-mile from the scene. his name has not yet been released. >> a civilian just walking the streets and getting hit by something like that completely unexpected, couldn't think of anything sadder as an outcome for this particular situation. >> reporter: this is still an active scene. officials are warning that some of the canisters could still explode and are telling people to stay away from the area. authorities say the owners of the vaping supplier are cooperating with the investigation. norah? >> norah: very dangerous. alysia burgio, thank you so much. tonight, a major crackdown on credit card late fees. americans have racked up more than a trillion dollars in credit card debt, including more than $100 billion just since the end of the pandemic. cbs's nikki battiste explains how millions of consumers will finally catch a break. >> reporter: trying to take care of her two young children come alyssa sample says she has racked up $21,000 in credit card debt in the last year and has fallen behind on her payments. >> i've had to live on my credit cards. ad i was struggling to pay them. so the late fees were piling up, and, you know, got to a point where it just became too much. >> reporter: sample pays $30 every time she is late on a payment, which has ballooned to more than $2,000 in fees. today, president joe biden announced late charges would be capped at $8, down from about $32. >> we estimate banks are generating five times more in late fees than it costs to collect late payments. they are patting their profit margins. >> reporter: each year, more than 45 million people are charged late fees, which adds more than $14 billion to bank's profits. now, individual cardholders could save an average of $220 a year. >> these can be like whac-a-mole. one goes down, another one pops up. >> reporter: but credit card companies can still hike interest rates. >> i think those are all things were going to be watching for because the bank industry may lose something like $10 billion over this. >> reporter: as for sample, she is just hoping this will help her pay down some debt and get a fresh start. >> $8, $8 is a happy medium. that's something that you can catch up on, a lower late fee will help you pay your credit cards down faster. or, you know, it's fine, you have a little more motivation to pay for it. >> reporter: the u.s. chamber of commerce says it plans to file a lawsuit to try to stop the biden administration's $8 cap on late fees. nearly half of credit cardholders carry a balance month to month. norah? >> norah: nikki battiste, thank you so much. tonight in california, the race to fill the late dianne feinstein's senate seat is already the most expensive senate election in state history. cbs's jo ling kent reports on why the republican in the race is being helped by his democratic rival. >> reporter: in typically true blue california, the senate primary is coming down to both a democrat and a republican. >> championship teams. i unite people. i took the field for all the fans. and now i am running for all of the people. >> reporter: first-time politician and former l.a. dodgers steve garvey is now in a dead heat with long-time congressmen and trump impeachment manager adam schiff, trailed by democratic congresswoman katie porter and barbara lee. >> reporter: runs care to run unopposed. i am not a post i am scared. >> reporter: advanced to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. has yet to be he has not purchased a singl. instead, he is getting his airtime from schiff butte >> he voted for trump twice and supported republicans for years. >> who mentioned the republican former first baseman and 60% of his tv commercials. why are you giving steve garvey so much airtime in your ads? >> well, he is very much a running back and neck with me in the polls. we are all competing for the same votes. >> reporter: schiff has outspent garvey 42-1, and porter is at and what steak for missing the cut for the follow-up to my general election calling out her fellow democrats, saying adam schiff knows he will lose to me in november, alleging he is boxing out qualified to democratic women candidates and boosting a republican candidate to do it. at the center of this race, inflation and the economy. >> the problem today is that people are still not making enough to get by. the cost of things is just too high. i've got a plan to bring down the cost of housing and other goods so that we can help families make it in california again. >> reporter: here in burbank, we have seen a steady stream of voters come in and cast their ballot, but overall, because we expect to see another biden-trump match up come the general election, we do expect california turnout today to be at historic lows. but there is still time for that to change. millions of registered voters got their ballot by mail. they can still handle his income and so far older voters are turning out more so than the younger ones. norah? >> norah: jo ling kent at a polling place, thank you so much. all right, did you have trouble looking at instagram or facebook today? well, you weren't alone. the details next. ♪ ♪ and grime in half the time. es 99% of grease dawn powerwash has 3 cleaning boosters not found in traditional dish soaps that remove food and grease 5 times faster. and, because it cleans so well you can replace multiple cleaning products for counters, stoves, and even laundry stains. try dawn powerwash dish spray. brand power, helping you buy better. he hits his mark —center stage—and is crushed by a baby grand piano. you're replacing me? customize and save with liberty bibberty. he doesn't even have a mustache. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ dry skin is sensitive skin, too. and it's natural. treat it that way. aveeno® daily moisture with prebiotic oat is proven to moisturize dry skin all day. you'll love our formula for face, too. aveeno® when you have chronic kidney disease... ...there are places you'd like to be. like here. and here. not so much here. farxiga reduces the risk of kidney failure which can lead to dialysis. ♪far-xi-ga♪ farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. when you have chronic kidney disease, it's time to ask your doctor for farxiga. because there are places you want to be. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. ♪far-xi-ga♪ >> norah: a major outage across facebook and instagram today prompted fears of a widespread super tuesday hack, but parent company meta later said it was all because of a technical issue. more than half a million facebook, instagram, and threads users reported outages. the federal cybersecurity officials said there was no evidence of an attack. that is unspecified technical problem was resolved in about two hours. a river in california is being transformed back into its natural state through a historic dam removal project. we have our "climate watch" report. that's next. nda winning taxes. their new ai tax assist is so awesome. it answers my questions if i ever need help. so long, turbotax. wow. i gotta make the switch. you really should. switch to h&r block and do your own taxes with our new ai tax assist. it's better with block. oh, it's cold outside. time to protect your vehicle from winter's wrath. of course, the hot sun can be tough on vehicles too. you need weathertech. laser measured floorliners and cargo liner will shield the carpeting from sand and snow. for your interior, there's seat protector and sunshade. plus, mud flaps and bumpstep for the exterior. while the new impactliner, with shock absorbing rings, safeguards your truck bed from costly damage. order american made products at wt.com surf's up! okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. 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[explosions] the once-shackled klamath is being set free. the dams, which no longer generate much electricity come are being torn down in a $450 million deconstruction project. we are standing on top of a lot of concrete. >> it's a lot of concrete. that's what it took to impound this river. >> reporter: mark bramson is a ceo of the klamath renewal corporation. how big of a project is this to take down these four dams? >> we believe it may be the largest dam removal and salmon restoration project ever undertaken in the world. >> reporter: but last week at the base of another dam, hundreds of thousands of tiny hatchery salmon were killed, likely by high water pressure as they passed through a tunnel open to let the river flow through. once the dams are completely removed, native salmon populations are expected to return, and seeds are now being spread to regrow plants on land around here, decades ago. >> literally planting seeds for our future. i don't think there's a better metaphor that you could come up with. >> reporter: bringing hope back to the banks of this river. ben tracy, cbs news, capital, california. >> norah: from hope to "heart of america," that's next, with a graduating class that is truly aiming for the stars. >> announcer: this portion of the "cbs evening news" is sponsored by progressive insurance. drivers who switched to progressive can save big. get a quote today at progressive.com. i know. keep it together. progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. -wow, you're tall. -ugh. did you know... 80% of women are struggling with hair damage? just like i was. dryness and frizz could be damaged hair that can't retain moisture. new pantene miracle rescue deep conditioner, with first-of-its-kind melting pro-v pearls... locks in moisture to repair 6 months of damage in one wash, without weigh down. guaranteed or your money back! for resilient, healthy-looking hair... if you know, you know it's pantene. hi, i'm greg. i live in bloomington, illinois. i'm not an actor. i'm just a regular person. some people say, "why should i take prevagen? i don't have a problem with my memory." memory loss is, is not something that occurs overnight. i started noticing subtle lapses in memory. i want people to know that prevagen has worked for me. it's helped my memory. it's helped my cognitive qualities. give it a try. i want it to help you just like it has helped me. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. zyrtec allergy relief works fast and lasts a full 24 hours so dave can be the... deliverer of dance. ok, dave! let's be more than our allergies. zeize the day with zyrtec. 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