find out more on the "cbs evening news", with s >> pelley: no mercy. wildfires force thousands from their homes. some have lost everything. >> we didn't take everything except for a toothbrush and our animals. >> and now there's nothing? >> nothing. >> pelley: also tonight, manhunt for the gunman who murdered a memphis cop during a traffic stop. after the death of cecil the lion, hunters are in the crosshairs of outrage. and a robot who came to america in peace. >> i'm all set and ready to go, and i cannot wait to make friends along the way. >> pelley: meets a violent end. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: fire fighting veterans say they have never seen a fire move this fast. in just five hours over this

past weekend, 20,000 acres burned through brush baked hard by fur years of drought in the west. thousands of people have evacuated. the red soxy fire is the largest of more than two dozen wildfires tonight out west. carter evans went to the front lines in lake port, california. >> the wildfire burning northwest of sacramento exploded over the weekend, scorching 94 square miles, an area larger than the city of seattle. dozens of air tankers and national guard helicopters are giving support to 3,000 firefighters below. on the ground, they're lighting backfires to burn out dry brush ahead of approaching flames that threaten thousands of homes. but huge columns of smoke as high as 35,000 feet are making this firefight especially challenging says battalion chief jeff ohs. >> once the energy reaches that

level, the column collapses. that's a big, big problem because then we don't have one direction the fire is going. it's going in several directions. >> reporter: we saw firsthand how quickly the fire can change when fast-moving flames blocked our exit road and we had to wait it out for two hours with firefighters. at this point we're in a safe zone. there's no vegetation to burn around us. the best place for us to be is inside the car, but you can see the flames just about 100 yards away from us. but residents who evacuated didn't have that luxury. >> when i left, we didn't take anything except for a toothbrush and our animals. >> reporter: so this was your home? today this father and son, who asked we not use their name, returned to the charred remains of their lake county home. nothing was salvageable. where do you go from here? >> well, you got to be strong. i'm young, so i can start over. >> reporter: the extreme drought and record heat are making conditions out here just

brutal. so far this year, scott, california firefighters have had to deal with 1,000 more fires than they do in after average year. >> pelley: carter evans on the fire line for us this evening. carter. thank you. the west has fires, the midwest tornadoes. this one tore through farmland yesterday in iowa, but fortunately it caused little damage. in illinois, a man was killed when high winds knocked over a tent at a festival in wooddale. the northeast could be in for severe weather next. tonight a suspect is in custody in the cold-blooded killing saturday night of a memphis police officer. omar villafranca is there. omar? >> reporter: tremaine wilbourn was just added to tennessee's top-ten most wanted list, and cbs news was able to confirm that just this afternoon he is now in custody. memphis police say the suspect, tremaine wilbourn, a convicted bank robber out on parole, shot 33-year-old officer sean bolton

multiple times. >> an ambulance is already en route. >> reporter: as officer bolton lay on the ground, a neighborhood resident grabbed the officer's police radio to call for help. >> please, please hurry up. he's shot. [sirens blaring] >> reporter: bolton pulled over when he spotted a 2002 mercedes benz illegally parked in a south memphis neighborhood. officials say the officer had unknowingly interrupted a drug deal. detectives say wilbourn was the passenger in the vehicle and got out of the car, briefly struggled with bolton, pulled a weapon, then shot the officer. memphis police director toney armstrong. >> when you look at this individual, you're looking at a coward. he's a coward. you gun down, you murder a police officer for less than two grahams -- grams of marijuana. >> reporter: bolton's death is part of a spike in police

officer murders. according to f.b.i. statistics, 27 officers were murdered in 2013. that number jumped to 51 last year, an increase of almost 89%. bolton is the third memphis officer killed in the last four years. the 33-year-old was a former marine who served in iraq. he joined the police department in 2010. his friend mike says bolton lived to serve others. >> it's terrible, especially with all the things that are going on in the world today, you know, losing someone like that. >> reporter: bolton's family is making funeral arrangements, scott. we just learned that the officer will be buried on thursday. >> pelley: omar villafranca reporting for us tonight. omar, thank you very much. moving to politics now, today the white house said vice president joe biden would make a good president. biden is thinking about making his third run for the top job. while not endorsing him, a spokesman for president obama

said biden has a unique set of skills and experience. john dickerson is our political director and the an consider of "face the nation." john, what's behind all this biden talk we're hearing all of a sudden? >> reporter: well, for months his friends and supporters have told him he should think about running. he's taken no formal steps to doing so. his aides have said he would make the final call by august. adding an emotional component to this is the death of his son, beau biden, in may. on the one hand, that blotted out thinking of anything else, but also according to columnist maureen dowd, beau biden asked his father to run for president. that report over the weekend is what has gotten a lot more people talking about this. the other thing, of course, is that hillary clinton has shown some weakness in the polls, which some people think creates abopening for biden. he's not ruling it out, but those i've talked to who are close to him say he's not naive about how hard it would be to run. >> pelley: what are some of the obstacles he would face?

>> well, money and organization. if he's going to run against hillary clinton, she has a lot of both. he'd have to catch up quickly, and there's not a driving passion for a biden candidacy, which would help in raising money and building organization. hillary clinton is still very popular among democrats. joe biden is not idealogically different. he's not from a new generation. he is of a different gender, but most democrats think that hillary clinton's gender would help her in a general election. so that's the difficulty. the final point would be, scott, that joe biden has done this before. he knows that it would be a long, hard slog if he ran. >> pelley: john dickerson, we'll see you sunday on "face the nation." thanks. for the first time, the federal government will restrict greenhouse gasses from power plants. the president announced today that in 15 years plants must cut emissions 32% and 28% of the electricity in the country must come from sources such as wind and solar. more than 1,000 u.s. power

stations fueled by coal will face major changes, and that industry is suing because this is an executive action and not a law, a future president could change these rules. our homeland security correspondent jeff pegues has obtained a u.s. intelligence bulletin that warns law enforcement of a surge in small, light-weight drones flying near sensitive sites. the number and the locations are surprising. >> reporter: the report warns that the number of drones flying near or over potential targets in the united states is on the rise. according to the intelligence assessment obtained by cbs news, between 2012 and the middle of this year, there have been more than 500 drone incidents at sensitive sites and critical infrastructure with at least two incidents at nuclear reactor, materials and waste facility, 15 at department of defense installation, 28 at locations related to energy and 62 at

unidentified government facilities. the concern is the growing availability of drones in the united states. law enforcement officials are worried even a small, light-weight drone could be used to surveil targets or carry a small payload of weapons. a recent video posted online showed a handgun being fired from a drone. [gunfire] there have already been several examples overseas. isis has been using drones for surveillance to support its attacks in iraq. in 2013, a drone hovered over and then landed just feet from chancellor angela merkel during a speech in germany. and in april of this year, a small drone carrying a low-level radioactive material landed on the roof of the office of the japanese prime minister. law enforcement officials say most drone encounters are not malicious. scott, the intelligence assessment was not tied to any specific threat but shows authorities are trying to balance the nation's growing fascination with drones and its

security. >> pelley: jeff pegues who broke this story today. jeff, thank you very much. today a national baseball tournament has benched its bat boys and girls after a nine-year-old was killed this weekend in wichita, kansas. don dahler is following this. >> reporter: kaiser carlile would have started fourth grade this fall, but for the summer, his focus was the bee jays, a collegiate summer league team in kansas. his father, chad carlile, spoke of him today, saying, "a lot of kids look for a medal, oh, am i going to get a broken bat, a ball, all he wanted to be was part of that team and he got to." carlile was collecting a bat near the on-deck circle when a player accidentally struck the young boy in the helmet while taking a practice swing. he died a day later. adam anderson is the liberal bee jays head coach. >> his attitude in the dugout and his ability to just... no

matter how the game was going, we may be getting beat 10-0, and you look at kaiser and he has a smile on his face, and how can you not smile? how can you not smile back and just forget about the baseball game for a second and just remember how much more important being a friend was to him. >> reporter: players remember him fondly. >> he was our spark plug. without him, no one would run, we'd have no energy. he really meant just everything to us. >> he made bus rides memorable and hilarious with his humor. sometimes we'd be sad, my bad, kaiser. that's right. i know what it means. i'm nine years old. [laughter] >> reporter: the team voted to continue playing the weekend tournament, saying they believe carlile would have wanted them to. they won both games before finding out that he had passed away. scott, players on both teams and fans in the stands wore the initials k.c. in his honor.

>> pelley: a well-loved boy. >> reporter: indeed. >> pelley: don, thank you very much. we're coming up next weekend on the anniversary of the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer in ferguson, missouri. the police department there is now being run by a black chief, a veteran of the glendale, arizona, p.d. he took over in july, and michelle miller talked to him about the challenges. >> a lot of people would ask, why would you want this job. >> i've always been known as a consensus builder, and one that can work within the boundaries of racial discord. >> reporter: as the new interim police chief in ferguson, andre anderson knows this town is still recovering from riots touched off last year when officer darren wilson shot and killed 17-year-old michael brown. >> this is our city. [gunfire] >> reporter: following last year's unrest, the department of justice launched an investigation into ferguson's law enforcement practices. they found police routinely

profiled and discriminated against african americans. between 2012 and 2014, 93% of all arrests were of black people. >> there are police officers here that quite frankly some of them don't understand the dynamics of many people in the minority community. and to some degree i would say that it's in the their fault, because we have to train people to understand the community served. >> reporter: the community they serve is two-thirds black. a year ago there were four black officers out of 52. today that number is not much different, only five black cops out of a force of 50. but anderson says to look beyond the numbers. >> i always place the greatest emphasis on getting people with exceptional character and getting people with great decision-making skills. so obviously race is a factor, but truly we just need good people. >> reporter: but the biggest priority for anderson, telling cops to just get out there and

talk to people. >> if you're not interacting with the public on a regular basis and you're interacting with individuals that are arrested, it kind of formlates an opinion about people in general, so it's going to take some time for us to change the culture. in time we will get there. >> reporter: and anderson says he will have some of those reforms in place within six months, but as interim police chief, there are no guarantees that ferguson city council will appoint him to the permanent post. scott, he says he'd like to stick around for the long haul to see those changes put in place. >> pelley: michelle miller with the interview tonight. thank you, michelle. today the jury that convicted james holmes in the colorado move think voter massacre paved the way to the death penalty. the jurors decided today that there were no mitigating factors in the 2012 murders of 12 people and wounding of 70. so next the jury will decide on life in prison or death after hearing more testimony from

victims. a second american is accused of killing a protected lion in africa. there's a search for survivors after two cranes fell over. and for a canadian robot touring america, it was san francisco or bust, and bust it was. when the "cbs evening news" continues. inside that really matter s the ingredients for heart health. new bayer pro ultra omega-3 has two times the concentration of epa and dha as the leading omega-3 supplement. new bayer pro ultra omega-3. [ male announcer ] over time, you've come to realize... [ starter ] ready! [ starting gun goes off ] [ male announcer ] it's less of a race... yeah! [ male announcer ] and more of a journey. keep going strong. and as you look for a medicare supplement insurance plan... expect the same kind of commitment you demand of yourself. aarp medicare supplement insurance plans

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dentist was named as cecil's killer, luring the lion off protected land where hunting is not allowed. shanahan has hunted in three african countries and killed both an elephant and a lion. he says all legally. but big game hunters themselves have become the targets since cecil's corpse was discovered. walter palmer said he paid about $50,000 for a permit. and zimbabwe officials are now investigating a second american, dr. jan sseski. but shanahan says done properly, hunting offers benefits. the money from the permit helps conservation efforts and can bring much-needed jobs to many african countries. a 2009 report by an international conservation group says hunters kill about 600 lions a year, and there are only about 25,000 african lions left. the international fund for animal welfare. >> any time an american or foreigner goes africa to hunt a species known to be in decline,

it's going to be a question, not just of ethics, but is it sustainable and is it even being done legally? >> these animals are magnificent. i can tell you the conservation hunters like myself respect and appreciate these animals, and we believe that the manner in which we ethically hunt them is one that i'm proud of. >> reporter: neither doctor responded to our request for comment, and, scott, u.s. fish and wildlife, which is investigating these incidents, is also taking a look at whether they should add lions to their endangered species list. >> pelley: anna werner. thank you so much, anna. can a dirt bike would walk on w? see for yourself when we come back. understands the life behind it. those who have served our nation. have earned the very best service in return. ♪

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it's not known yet whether anyone else is trapped. it's a good thing donald charles brought his camera on a walk along the south african coast, otherwise who would have believed that he saw dolphins surfing. 18 of them in all riding the waves, of course, better than any human, and they do it without boards. if seeing the believing, well, have a look at this. australian daredevil robbie madison conquering the waves in tahiti on a dirt bike. he had it tripped out with fins and a waterproof engine. the other surfers seemed surprised as he darted past them and took on the swells, never wiping outs. a robot's tour of america is derailed suddenly and violently. that story is next.

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>> pelley: finally tonight in the city where the american experiment began, a canadian experiment has come to an end. >> hello. i am hitchbot, a hitchhiking robot from ontario. >> pelley: the idea was to see how people would interact with a talking, solar-powered robot as it hitched across america on its own, tracked bay gps. the brainchild of canadian researchers, it had successfully thumbed rides across canada, germany and the neatherlands. then on july 17th, hitchbot set out from boston bound for san francisco. with a bucket list of sights to see. >> i need your help crossing all the items off my list. >> as chronicled on social media it caught a red sox game and visited times square through the kindness of strangers who became friends. but late last week, hitchbot hitched its last ride. >> hitchbot, do you need a seat

belt? >> yes. >> pelley: on saturday the robot was found in philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, resting in pieces. late today video surfaced of the attack, but the robot's creators are not out for revenge. >> this could have happened anywhere. we don't really think it has anything to do with philadelphia. >> pelley: and in a final tweet, hitchbot said, "my love for humans will never fade." a thumbs-up for people from the hitchhiking robot. rage against the machine. that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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the final farewells of bobbi kristina. we are there today as she is buried next to her mom, whitney houston. we have news on the family feud at her funeral. >> whitney will haunt pat houston from the grave. >> bobbi kristina's aunts at war? we're at the cemetery where the family gathered today. >> the pain and heart ache of bobbi kristina brown's burial. >> and the tension at this weekend's service. >> it has just begun. >> plus, who took a photo of bobbi kristina in her casket? >> and then -- losing my mind. >> our exclusive with blake shelton. >> what's in that cup, sir? >> a little vodka. >> without his ring, what he only told us as miranda clings to shania twain. is beyonce pregnant? the new photos sparking rumors.