this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: this is our western edition. this evening, president trump said he may issue a brand new travel ban next week. rather than wait for the courts to make a final ruling on his current ban. mr. trump says speed is essential to national security. his ban on refugees and on several predominantly muslim nations was placed on hold last week by a federal judge. and mr. trump lost a second round yesterday, in a court of appeals. chief legal correspondent jan crawford is following the case. >> we also have a lot of other options, including just filing a brand new order. >> reporter: aboard "air force one" today, president trump vowed he would soon impose tougher screening procedures and possibly, a new executive order, adding to comments he made earlier in the day at the white house. >> we'll be doing something very rapidly, having to do with additional security for our country. you'll be seeing that sometime next week. >> reporter: the federal appeals court ruling kept mr. trump's executive order on hold while courts consider whether it's legal for him to impose a temporary ban on refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly-muslim nations. the obama administration had previously identified those seven countries as of most concern for terrorism. mr. trump said the temporary ban was necessary while national security officials reviewed mr. obama's vetting procedures. sources say one possible option, stepping up that review even without a travel ban in place, and coming up with tougher new vetting measures that would make much of the executive order unnecessary, avoiding legal problems ahead. benjamin wittes of the brookings institution: >> there is a concern that the reckless manner in which president trump did this order, and the litigation that ensued, will cause the courts to put limits on perfectly legitimate authorities. >> reporter: now, there is a chance the entire california- based federal appeals court could review thursday's ruling by the three judges, and mr. trump could also ask the supreme court to intervene. but scott, at this preliminary phase, that's unlikely. >> pelley: jan crawford in the washington newsroom, thanks. well, mr. trump's national security advisor, retired general michael flynn, is under investigation tonight for contacts that he had with russia's ambassador to the united states. that sounds like normal diplomacy, but these conversations came before the inauguration. so, one question is whether flynn violated a 200-year-old law that forbids private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. jeff pegues is following this. >> reporter: in late december, investigators say retired general michael flynn discussed u.s. sanctions against russia in a phone call with ambassador sergey kislyak. a law enforcement source tells cbs news that the f.b.i. and other intelligence agencies gathered the information through ongoing electronic surveillance of russian officials and suspected spies. the timing of the call raised eyebrows. the obama administration had just imposed new sanctions on russia and expelled 35 diplomats because of the kremlin's alleged meddling in the u.s. election. russian president vladimir putin did not retaliate-- something president-elect trump tweeted was "very smart." the trump administration has acknowledged flynn's phone calls with the russian ambassador, but had denied that sanctions were discussed. vice president mike pence appeared on "face the nation" last month. >> it was strictly coincidental that they had a conversation. they did not discuss anything having to do with the united states' decision to expel diplomats or impose a censure against russia. >> reporter: today, a source close to mr. pence stressed that the vice president's statement was based on what general flynn personally told him. at the white house today, the two briefly shook hands before a press conference. flynn has been a paid consultant for "russia today," the cable channel the obama administration labeled "a propaganda arm of the kremlin." he also sat next to putin at a gala in 2015. a white house official tells cbs news, general flynn does not recall, and can not be 100% certain whether sanctions were discussed on that call. scott, aboard air force one today, president trump said he had not seen the stories about his national security advisor, but he said he would look into it. >> pelley: jeff pegues, thanks. president trump speaks of better relations with russia, but former russian chessmaster and human rights advocate, garry kasparov, tells our jim axelrod that mr. trump must be careful not to become a pawn in putin's dangerous game. >> sometimes i feel it's like a day in a bad dream. >> reporter: garry kasparov doesn't like the way the relationship between donald trump and vladimir putin is taking shape. >> he has never criticized vladimir putin. he always, you know, came up with some kind of moral relativism, you know... comparing, you know, putin's actions with, you know, those of the united states. >> reporter: do you respect putin? >> i do respect him. >> reporter: kasparov is referring specifically to this exchange. >> putin is a killer. >> there are a lot of killers, we have a lot of killers. what, you think our country is so innocent? >> you could hardly find a person that trump didn't touch, but vladimir putin was always an exception. >> reporter: a former world chess champion, who became one of putin's most vocal critics in russia, kasparov was arrested and beaten multiple times, finally fleeing four years ago, before fellow dissidents boris nemtsov was murdered, and vladimir kara-murza poisoned, twice. >> the way putin had been presenting the world to russian people, "yes, we do certain things that you may not like. so? everybody does it. and now, see, president of the united states confirmed it." >> reporter: this week, after kasparov criticized the idea of equivalence, iowa congressman steve quinn questioned kasparov's concern. >> i'm so outraged at this, the issue is so painful. and you know, the representative of the united states, a member of the house, i mean basically saying that, if this person is alive, you know, that's a proof that vladimir putin, who killed many other people, you know, he's still not that bad. >> reporter: kasparov says putin's goal is to sow instability here and capitalize on the divide, which is why he finds the president's remark so troubling. >> putin's regime cannot compete with the united states, technologically or economically. the russian economy is in free fall. putin needs conflict. with trump, again, we don't know the motivations, and that's what makes me shiver. >> reporter: kasparov, who lives in new york now, is less concerned with putin, and more with why president trump seems so hesitant to criticize him. >> pelley: jim axelrod. thanks, jim. education secretary betsy devos faced critics at a washington d.c. middle school today. she was met by protestors who blocked the door, forcing her back to her car. the secretary eventually made it inside. devos is a billionaire who has promoted charter schools, putting her at odds with teachers unions, which worry that there will be less money for public schools. other protests are being heard in republican town halls all across the country, and nancy cordes has been listening in. >> do your job! do your job! >> reporter: utah's jason chaffetz is not used to getting booed in his reliably republican district, but last night he knew what was coming. >> bring him out! >> reporter: because his g.o.p. colleagues had faced similar anger back home. ( booing ) >> let's not yell at each other. >> reporter: primarily over the republican rush to appeal obamacare. in grand rapids last night, congressman amash stood his ground. >> we need to find ways to handle this issue, not at the federal level. not through-- ( booing ) >> reporter: others like denver's mike coffman beat a hasty retreat. >> he snuck out and he snuck out early. early. >> reporter: california's tom mcclintok had to be escorted out by police. >> this is what democracy looks like! >> reporter: most of the protestors are frustrated democrats, taking a page from the tea party movement that sprung up to oppose obamacare in 2009. >> you don't trust me? >> no! >> reporter: in florida this weekend, gus bilirakis was confronted by a pediatrician. >> i have kids with leukemia. we can go on and on and on. obamacare has helped that. >> reporter: healthcare is not the only flash point. chaffetz was also grilled about the president's travel ban and his conflicts of interest. >> the president, under the law, is exempt from the conflict of interest laws. ( booing ) >> reporter: the protests may already be having an impact. some republicans have begun talking about repairing obamacare rather than replacing it. and the president who initially said he wanted to repeal it and replace it right away, now says, scott, that the process could take a year or more. >> pelley: nancy cordes on capitol hill. well, there was certainly more harmony at the white house today, where president trump welcomed the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe. abe was reassured by mr. trump's phone call last night with the president of china. mr. trump told xi jinping that america recognizes taiwan as an indivisible part of communist china. mr. trump's earlier outreach to independence-minded taiwan made japan nervous about provoking the chinese. the president's conflict with the courts reminded us of an interview we did before he became president. mr. trump told us that his c.e.o. experience would solve america's problems. he said, "it's called good management." you know, the problem with a lot of these ideas, is that the president of the united states is not the c.e.o. of america. >> that's right. >> pelley: the constitution is going to tell you "no." >> we'll see. >> pelley: the congress is going to tell you "no." >> we'll see. >> pelley: the supreme court is going to tell you "no." >> well, we'll see. >> pelley: and now we're beginning to see. in the immigration case, mr. trump's justice department argued that the president has "un-reviewable authority on immigration." the court replied: mr. trump's next challenge may be with republicans in congress. yesterday, he called senator john mccain a "loser," but mccain, as chairman of arms services, will largely decide how much of mr. trump's military expansion goes through. presidents always struggle against their restraints. the last president with no political experience was dwight eisenhower. of him, harry truman said, "he will say, do this, do that, and nothing will happen. poor ike, it won't be a bit like the army." coming up next on the "cbs evening news:" how did thieves pull millions out of a.t.m.s. and, on the road, not even death could force them apart. part. >> pelley: in brooklyn today, a turkish man who used his computer to loot millions from cash machines was sentenced to eight years. how did he do it? here's josh elliott. >> reporter: 35-year-old ercan findikoglu is the mastermind behind one of the most intricate bank robberies in history. a crime so brazen, he posed with a pile of cash on his chest. secret service agent scott sarafian says millions were taken from a.t.m.s in new york city alone. block after block, a.t.m. after a.t.m., they hit them all. >> they had them mapped out and they knew that broadway had a large number of a.t.m.s in close proximity to each other. >> reporter: from turkey, findikoglu hacked into the computers of international banks, stole account information and then sent a.t.m. numbers to criminal gangs around the world he recruited online. he also removed all withdrawal limits from the accounts. gang members, seen here on surveillance cameras, then went to work, hitting machines from tokyo to london to new york, where ken premo is a secret service agent. they came, and emptied these. >> yeah, multiple transactions, card in, pins in, take out the limit, put your card in, your pin in, take out your limit. >> reporter: back in turkey, findikoglu was watching it all. >> he was watching, so that he could tell who was withdrawing how much, so that he would know how much money he was supposed to get back. >> reporter: the first hit happened in february of 2011, 15,000 transactions in 18 countries. $10 million were stolen. the second hit was december 2012, 5,000 transactions in 20 countries. $5 million were withdrawn. then the big score, february 19th, 2013. in a little over ten hours, crews made some 36,000 transactions in 24 countries, for a take of $40 million in cash. the thieves sent most of the money back to findikoglu, but started showing off their take, cash and expensive watches. their end came at a mob movie staple, a new york diner, where police arrested one gang member carrying almost $1 million. but dave beech, who runs the secret service office in new york, says most of the money has not been recovered. >> gone. just gone. it was cash. it's untraceable. >> reporter: the operation was in fact so sophisticated that by that massive third theft, scott, findikoglu had determined which a.t.m.s carried the most cash of all, and so instructed his crews to hit those first. >> pelley: an evil genius. josh elliott, thanks very much. coming up next: the flu vaccine, is it working? >> pelley: flu season is reaching its peak, with the virus now widespread in 43 states. more than 38,000 cases have been confirmed so far. here's dr. jon lapook. >> reporter: with a quarter of the student body in clarkton, missouri, home sick with the flu, school officials decided to park the buses and close the doors. >> we were dropping like flies, so we had about 70 kids out. >> reporter: that is a first for superintendent delane beckwith. >> i got home friday night, sick all day saturday. >> reporter: missouri is one of 23 states with high activity this season, and we've seen a total of 20 flu related deaths in children. >> i'm sick. >> reporter: on long island near new york city, nassau university medical center's pediatric emergency room is now open 24/7 to deal with an influx of flu. >> this season, we are seeing a lot of the h3 virus. so, this is the one where people get very sick, and it normally affects elderly people, children and pregnant women. >> reporter: dr. ben de la rosa of holy name medical center in new jersey says his emergency room has been busy. >> we're right around the time where you would see a peak. please sit forward for me? >> reporter: audrey bagnano began to have symptoms after a coworker was diagnosed with the flu. >> i felt like i was going to faint, and i couldn't stay awake. >> reporter: she tested negative for flu, but says, now she plans to get the vaccine. here in illinois, there's been an uptick in flu activity over the past week, with 43 people admitted to intensive care units. the c.d.c. says this year's flu vaccine is a good match against this year's flu virus, and 145 million doses have been shipped out. >> pelley: jon lapook. thanks, dr. "on the road" with steve hartman is next. sometimes a nice thick steak is the best thing for the heart. for the heart. one a day 50 plus. ,, >> pelley: hopeless romantic that he is, steve hartman went looking for a valentine's story. he found a gem, on the road to the emergency room. >> reporter: at st. clare's hospital in denville, new jersey, they still can't stop talking about it. >> you don't forget any call like that. >> reporter: a few months ago, these emergency responders got a call for a man with chest pain. and, what a heart they found. >> first thing he said was, don't let me die. >> he said that to me, too. he said all he wanted to do was take his wife out to ruth's chris for dinner. >> reporter: her favorite restaurant. >> it was pretty cute. >> reporter: those were the final words of 91-year-old joe leifken. his last wish before suffering a major heart attack, was to take his wife to dinner one last time. >> it seemed as though he loved her a great deal. >> reporter: his wife, margie, can't tell you how hard it is to lose the love of your life. can't tell you, because her husband's death was short-lived. >> oh, you're making me lunch, honey? >> yes, darling. >> reporter: joe was gone just ten minutes, before medics restarted his heart. and what amazed them was what he woke up shouting. >> he said, "ruth's chris!" >> reporter: he's coming back from the dead, and he's saying the same thing? >> yep, he said exactly the same thing. >> reporter: joe got his dinner with margie. on the house, of course. but they say the greater gift is still giving. >> we're just closer. if that's possible, is this true, hon? >> oh, yeah, she's one in a million, steve. i could still make her swoon. you want to see it? >> reporter: yeah. wait, no, no, i take that back. okay. i meant no, when i said yes. >> are we too much? >> reporter: too much, yeah! this weekend, couples across america will go out, assuming there will be many more valentine's to come. >> you're something else. >> reporter: but not joe and margie. they will go to dinner, appreciating each other now more than ever. >> steve, she's got six men. >> no, don't say that. don't say that. don't say that, you're on the air. >> and they're all waiting for me to check out. >> you shouldn't say that! >> you've got so many guys that love you. >> you're on the air. >> he's going to cut this all out. >> please, i hope so. >> reporter: you got to love-- ♪ i want to feel the way i do >> reporter: --young love. ♪ babe, cause you make me feel so loved ♪ >> reporter: steve hartman, on the road, in denville, new jersey. >> pelley: how does steve find these stories? that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news, all around the world, i'm scott pelley and i'll see you sunday on "60 minutes." good night. captioning sponsored by cbs of road and earth in the santa cruz mountains.. washed out after the storm. kpix 5 news begins at 6:00 with a hole in highway 35. a massive piece of road and earth in the santa cruz mountains washed out after the storm. good evening, the rain is gone. but we are still getting new reports of storm damage. we are going to begin with kpix 5's ken bastida and a massive section of a bay area highway is gone. ken. >> reporter: massive. we are just getting word that caltrans engineers are meeting to discuss this one. they haven't seen this. a piece of the mountain gone taking a section of highway 35 with it. look at this. you can see the yellow line on that pavement and then it goes nowhere. it gives you a sense of just how massive the washout is. that entire section of highway 35 completely gone. earlier, we saw people testing the limits standing on the edge of that hole peering over the side. chp says that's not a good idea. they got calls about the hole around 3 p.m. they immediately rushed to the scene. they have blocked off the area to all vehicles. no one was on the stretch of road when it gave way. this is a stretch of highway 35 that cuts right through the santa cruz mountains above los gatos. and it is pretty close to castle rock state park. and there's a look from the ground. a chp officer snapped this photo. nobody was driving there. you can see how wide the hole is, completely ruining that portion of the highway 35. because of the sheer size of this damage, it is unclear how engineers will even begin to restore the mountainside let alone get the road rebuilt. as you can imagine, highway 35 is closed indefinitely. and we are talking with caltrans right now. our betty yu is on her way to that scene and we'll bring you more information as we get it. thank you. also