accident. it's the new way seniors are being taught to prevent falls. >> it happens to a lot of us. i mean, we are a falling generation, i guess. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod. nothing sends more americans to the hospital each year than heart failure. and tonight, we have some extraordinary news to report about a new drug that could change the way heart failure is treated. right now, the best treatment available is a group of drugs known as ace inhibitors. but today, researchers published the results of a trial of a new drug called lcz696 in the "new england journal of medicine." they said the drug had, "an overwhelming benefit." it is twice as effective as ace inhibitors at preventing death from heart failure. in fact, this new drug developed by novartis was so successful in clinical trials earlier this year, that the trials were halted in order to get the drug to public more quickly. heart failure can happen for a variety of reasons, but the result is that the heart loses its ability to pump blood at a normal rate. it can affect every organ in the body, including the brain, kidneys, and the liver. the new drug, actually a combination of two drugs, works to rebalance the blood's chemistry and bring circulation back to normal. more than 8400 patients diagnosed with heart fawrld participated in the trial. some were given the new drug. some were given ace inhibitors. the patients taking ace inhibitors reduced their rate of mortality by 18%. the patients taking lcz696 reduced their mortality rate by about 20% more than that. dr. milton packer at the university of texas southwestern medical center was a consultant on that study and presented its findings today at a cardiology conference in barcelona. >> there was not only a reduction in the risk of death. there was not only a survival benefit. there was a very meaningful reduction in the risk of hospitalization and an improvement in quality of life, a reduction in the symptoms and physical limitations of heart failure. >> axelrod: yesterday i sat down with cbs news chief medical correspondent dr. jon lapook to get his perspective on just how big an impact this new drug could have. >> reporter: it is rare. you hear terms like "game changer" and "hitting the ball over the center field wall" and things like that. this is one of those results that's very surprising, very important. and when i reached out to various cardiologists, experts around the country, i got the same types of reactions-- wow. this is huge. this is a game changer. this is going to change the way we treat chronic heart failure. it's going to affect people's lives. and i should say, another thing, aside from decrease in mortality, decrease in hospitalizations, it statistically increased the quality of people's lives, and that's really what we're talking about. the thing that's so terrible to watch in people with chronic heart failure is the progressive, inexorable decline. just in the quality of their lives, the ability to take a few stearns the ability to go up steps, the ability tow sleep at night without being upright, propped up by five pillows. this is a big deal. >> axelrod: so for the last generation or so heart failure has been treated with a certain medication. >> reporter: the ace inhibitors are things that counter-act the bad factors that get released as a reaction to heart failure. the bad things are things that constrict blood vessels and decrease blood flow to important parts of the body like the kidneys. so the ace inhibitors counter-act that and they open up blood vessels. they're also diuretics which are things that get rid of too much fluid in the body. >> axelrod: so what exactly, this new drug developed by novartis, what does it do, take what ace inhabitors do, and do it better. >> reporter: it does what ace intheartors do, lowering the factors that do the bad things. it's trying to stop the blood vessels from being restricted but there's another drug that increases the good factors that happen nareaction to heart failure. these are things that open up blood vessels, that increase blood flow to the kidneys, that make it easier for you to get rid of excess fluid. >> axelrod: novartis announced today it will apply for f.d.a. approval b by the end of the ye. ukraine's president said his country is on the brink of all-out war now that russian military troops have crossed the border into eastern part of ukraine. russian president vladimir putin says if his troops are there it's by mistake, but the european union is taking the situation seriously drawing up new sanctions to stop the troops in their traction. >> reporter: ukraine's president petro poroshenko said today his country is very close to the point of all-out war with russia. >> there's a very high risk, not only for the peace and stability for >> but for the whole peace and stability in europe. >> reporter: european leaders are growing increasingly concerned that moscow may be eyeing neighboring countries to invade. british prime minister david cameron: >> we have to address the completely unacceptable situation of having russian troops on ukrainian soil, countries in europe shouldn't need to think long before realizing just how unacceptable that is. we know that from our history. >> reporter: today, several ukrainian soldiers were killed evacuating a city in the east now controlled by rebels. the u.s. and its allies say there are thousands of russian soldiers and hundreds of tanks inside ukraine. russia has repeatedly denied any direct involvement in the conflict. >> the separatists are trained by russia. they are armed by russia. they are funded by russia. >> reporter: next week, president obama will discuss options with nato allies at a summit in the u.k., but first, the president will make a stop in estonia, where aides say he will deliver a strong message of support for the baltic states and pledge u.s. action if moscow dares try to invade the territory of any treaty member. >> my expectation is that we will take additional steps, primarily because we have not seen any meaningful action on the part of russia to actually try to resolve this in comic fashion. >> reporter: getting the europeans on board with even tougher sanctions against moscow continues to be a tough sell for president obama. europe has deep commercial ties to russia and, jim, the e.u. requires all 28 of its members approve any new penalties. >> axelrod: the crise in ukraine is one of several major policy challenges president obama is grappling with. no shortage on capitol hill of critics of president obama's handling of the crisis in ukraine. essentially, his approach has been ask our international partners to do more. now, we have this latest action in europe. is it enough to silence the critics at all? >> jim, the short answer is no. there have been a lot of folks on the hill, in the administration saying that the europeans need to do more to punish russia for its actions in ukraine, and from that vantage point, what happened in brussels this weekend is an encouraging step. but what you hear ifa i lot of republicans and even privately should democrats is that real concern that these economic penalties aren't deterring russia. they may take some time to sink in, but up to this point they just have not had the effect people are hoping for. >> axelrod: let's widen out to the president's handling of syria and iraq, which both continue to intensify as foreign policy challenges. is it the same line of criticism there on capitol hill? >> it's the same intensity of criticism, but the precise charges leveled against the president are are a little different in these cases. when it comes to russia and ukraine, i think even conservative republicans would acknowledge that the president has a strategy, whether it's working is a different question. when it comes to iraq and sir yoo, the deeper question that folks on the hill are throwing at the white house, especially after the president's press conference this week, is whether there's a strategy? the first place. >> axelrod: and as congress gets set to come back in session i'm sure it's something we'll be hearing a lot more of. alex burns, thank you so much. >> thanks. >> axelrod: good news for anyone filling a gas tank this holiday weekend. a new study by gas buddy shows the lowest labor day weekend gas prices in four years. right now, gas costs an average of $3.43 a gallon nationwide. that is down 13 cents from this time last year. as the wise man once said, down the shore, everything's all right. well, you couldn't have said that last labor day, the end of the first summer season after super storm sandy ravaged the coastal communities of new jersey. this summered has been a different story. here's vladimir duthiers. >> reporter: the weather has been terrific this summer on the jersey shore. and good weather has been great for business. john garofalo and his brother, mike, own a restaurant. >> we have more customers coming in, so, you know, business is up. you know, we're selling more dinners every night, so that's always a positive thing. >> reporter: the jersey shore has had 19 weekends of clear weather with temperatures rising above 70 degrees. >> the only time it rains is at night time and then it gets sun net daytime. so it's been a good summer. >> reporter: this is exactly what business owners here needed. it's been two years since super storm sandy barreled through the jersey shore, tearing through homes and business and causing $37 billion of damage. ♪ 'cause we're stronger than before ♪ >> reporter: last summer, the state kicked off an ambitious $25 million ad campaign with governor chris christie declaring the shore was open and ready for business but bad weather cut the summer short and the recovery stalled. >> there it goes. >> reporter: in september air, fire destroyed the board walk in seaside park. >> the fire was a punch in our gut. >> reporter: mike loundy is a member of the seaside heights chamber of commerce. >> from a projection stand, we're right around where we want to be at this point. it's not where we ultimately want to be but we're very happy with the way it's going. >> reporter: most of the business owners we've spoken to along the shore say time is their friend and they hope by next year to be up under 20% to 30% and tourism say $40 billion industry in new jersey, jim, and most of that scms from right here at the jersey shore. >> axelrod: vladimir duthiers on the jersey shore on this last weekend of the summer season. thank you. well, the last surviving crew member of the hinden berg has passed away. >> oh, the humanity. >> axelrod: wer, who was a cabin boy, waited until the ground was close enough and jumped and ran away before the wreckage could collapse on top of him. he lived to be 92 and passed away in his hometown of frankfurt. coming up, senior citizens 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the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. >> axelrod: it's not just our eyesight and hearing that start to fade as we get older. millions of seniors also lose their balance. in fact, falling is the number one cause of intljs among the elderly, but as adriana diaz shows us, researchers in chicago have a high-tech approach to an age-old problem. >> reporter: this stumble was no accident. it was for 81-year-old mary kaye's own good. mayor seone of the hundreds of senior citizens coming to dr. clive pai's lab at the university of illinois, chicago, to learn how to fall with lots of help. the seniors who fall here are less likely to slip in the real world. this is mary when she first came four years ago. this is her now. she's learned to stop herself from falling. >> they will be walking, and not feeling anything different. and then the next time, they are walking, all of a sudden, it's like they intentionally step on the banana peel. >> reporter: seniors reported falling half as often after just two hours of simulated falling. the results lasted a year, according to dr. pai's study published in june. the learning happens subconsciously. though cognitive memory tend to diminish in the elderly, dr. pai found his subjects' muscle memory is sharp. their bodies learn how to correct for a fall after a few controlled stumbles. >> it's almost like they learn dance moves. they know the footwork after they make a mistake. >> reporter: his findings could have a big impact. falling is the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries among the elderly, costing the hiewrks system $30 billion a year. one in three adults 65 and older takes a spill at least once a year. >> it's an awful thing to happen to you. and it happens to a lot of us. i mean, we are a falling generation, i guess. >> you can see this right foot instead of swinging through, she actually stayed in the back. she lifted up, but she put it down because that is what is needed to overcome the backward falling. >> reporter: dr. pai invited me to try, but increased the settings to the highest level. whoa! the first fall was ugly. but the second wasn't as bad. dr. pai hopes that same muscle memory learning can one day be taught to seniors around the world so they can moveed for with confidence. adriana diaz, cbs news, chicago. >> axelrod: first u.s.c. football star josh shaw spraipped his ankles and lied about it. now he faces new trouble. that's just ahead. diabetes, you may know what it's like to deal with high... and low blood sugar. januvia (sitagliptin) is a once-daily pill that, along with diet and exercise, helps lower blood sugar. januvia works when your blood sugar is high and works less when your blood sugar is low, because it works by enhancing your body's own ability to lower blood sugar. plus januvia, by itself, is not likely to 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get the facts and him choosing not to do so, it does hamper the investigation. however, the investigation will continue. >> reporter: police are looking into claims of a domestic dispute last saturday at the apartment where shaw's girlfriend lives. witnesses heard a woman screaming and say a man fitting shaw's description jumped from a third-floor balcony. shaw had told his coaches he sprained both his ankles jumping from a balcony to save his seven-year-old nephew from drowning. but on wednesday, after the story of his valiant rescue went national, shaw admitted he'd made it up. the team suspended him indefinitely. u.s.c. head coach steve sarkisian-- >> when we tame t came to us wie story i had no reason to not believe him. >> reporter:s i had defense lawyer, represented among others rihanna and snoop dogg. shaw spoke last may at u.s.c.'s commencement ceremony. the star athlete with the great future and an amazing story of heroism, which turned out too good to be true. teri okita, cbs news, los angeles. >> axelrod: when penn state and the university of central florida squared off today, it was an away game for both teams, a faraway game. 55,000 people turned out to see the game in dublin, ireland. penn state kicked a field goal as time ran out to win 26-24. we'll be right back. i don't just make things for a living i take pride in them. so when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer have happened. blood, liver and nervous 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followed's my father's advice and cowboyed up. i bought a pair of widers and got my hands dirty. >> reporter: the maine native started none such oysters five years ago. >> we're part of a larger maine food movement but also a national movement where people really want to understand where their food's coming from, and west way to do that is really to know your local farmer. >> reporter: carroll gives tours to teach tourists and locals all about oysters. before one lands on a bed of ice, it takes up to three years to grow. the gibel family wanted to learn more. so are you an oyster-loving family? >> we sure are. >> reporter: i guess you wouldn't be here in the rain otherwise, right? what are you doing now? >> well, i'm chopping up a little bit of shallots to go into an impromptu sauce. >> you're make a sauce on this little boat. >> we like to be a full-service tour here and offer many options. >> reporter: not only do people love the taste. oysters are good for the environment. one adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day. in maine, where the water is cold and clean, oysters are thriving. in 1997, there were four oysters farms with half a million oysters. in 2013, there were 65 farms with 12 million oysters. >> we have a huge population that comes in the summer, and they all want to eat our oysters up here in maine. >> reporter: after last winter's harsh weather, carroll expects to hashest only 50,000 oysters this year but is aiming for 200,000 next year. if she succeed that is correct will be good news for oyster lovers of all ages. >> oh, wow! how is it? chip reid, cbs news, scarborough, maine. >> axelrod: and that's the cbs evening news for tonight. later on cbs "48 hours." for now, i'm jim axelrod in new york. and for all all of us here at cbs news, thanks for joining us. and good night. i never know what kind theof adventure awaits. that the days are longer, and the breeze feels a little sweeter. and, thanks to volvo, i'll pay nothing for repairs or 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