CBS Evening News covered a wide range of national stories, led by scrutiny of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the Pentagon inspector general found his use of the encrypted app Signal earlier this year violated Department of Defense policy and could have put service members at risk. The review concluded Hegseth shared sensitive details of an active bombing mission, including planned strike times, with a group chat that included outside journalists. Hegseth denies sending classified information, and the White House says the president stands by him amid ongoing questions about Caribbean boat strikes and related orders some lawmakers and veterans have called unlawful.
Lawmakers released previously unseen images and video from Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The material, obtained by the House Oversight Committee, shows living spaces and a dentist’s chair reportedly installed for one of Epstein’s associates, and ties to survivors’ accounts. Bipartisan pressure on release of the files helped prompt a new law requiring the administration to make the full records public; a deadline for that release is approaching.
A surge of Arctic air drove record-breaking cold into parts of the Midwest and Northeast. Forecasts warned of plunging temperatures, with Midwestern towns facing below-zero nights and some Northeastern locations nearing lows not seen in nearly a century. Meteorologists highlighted hoarfrost — a crystalline coating that forms during rapid freezes — and urged residents to prepare for dangerous cold, potential travel disruptions and related hazards.
Other national headlines included a pretrial pardon from the president for Congressman Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who had been indicted on bribery charges. In a separate case, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who pleaded guilty to illegally providing ketamine to actor Matthew Perry before the actor’s overdose death, was sentenced to 30 months in prison; family members of Perry addressed the doctor directly during sentencing.
A Georgia inmate who escaped from a hospital was recaptured after being spotted on a home doorbell camera; police tracked him to an abandoned house where officers, with the help of K-9s, took him into custody.
In Minnesota, authorities are addressing fallout from a large pandemic-era fraud investigation involving dozens of people, many of Somali descent, accused of submitting bogus claims for meal programs, housing aid and behavioral health services. Federal agents said they found no evidence funds were diverted to international terror groups; prosecutors allege proceeds were used to buy cars, homes and luxury items. Political reaction to the case has stoked fear in the Somali community of stepped-up enforcement and immigration action.
A debate inside the Defense Department followed comments by a federal lawmaker urging service members not to follow unlawful orders. Secretary Hegseth launched a probe into Sen. Mark Kelly over those remarks, even as critics pointed to Hegseth’s own past statements acknowledging service members’ duty to refuse unlawful orders.
In science and ethics coverage, CBS examined “IVF+,” a commercial embryo-screening service from a genomics company that markets DNA-based screening for disease risks and traits such as height, eye color and intelligence. The company says the service helps reduce disease risk and improve health, while bioethicists and technology reviewers caution that genetic predictions are limited and social and environmental factors play major roles in outcomes.
Business reporting looked at the growing popularity of prediction markets — platforms like Kalshi, Polymarket and PredictIt where users trade or bet on the outcomes of real-world events. Regulators and some states have contested parts of the market as unlawful wagering, and critics warn that integrating betting-like features into financial apps that also hold retirement accounts could expose consumers to risky behavior with long-term savings.
Investigative and human-interest pieces included new imagery from sites tied to sexual abuse allegations and a remembrance of World War II D-Day medic Charles Shay, a 101-year-old Penobscot Native American who died in Normandy. CBS recounted his wartime heroism and the memorial honoring Native Americans who served.
The broadcast balanced immediate national security and legal developments with longer-term ethical and technological debates, while also providing local reports, weather warnings and reflections on service and sacrifice as the nation marked anniversaries and the passing of notable veterans.