>> this is another scam. it's a political witch >> this is another scam. it's a political witch hunt. >> nancy: breaking news: donald trump ordered to pay more than $80 million in damages by a federal jury. the former president found liable in a defamation case

brought against him by writer e. jean carroll. >> now i guess we are going to see, is this number enough or potentially do we go through this again? >> nancy: the "cbs evening news" starts now. ♪ ♪ good evening. i'm nancy cordes in for norah. thank you for being with us. we are going to have more on that massive payout donald trump was ordered to make to e. jean carroll in a moment. also tonight, though, big news from the border, where migrant crossings hit a new record in december. hundreds of thousands of them, and countered by border agents. plus, boeing 737 max 9 is returning to the skies. cbsnews is there as the first flight takes off from seattle after the planes were grounded for three weeks following that terrifying midair incident. but we want to begin tonight a jury found he acted "maliciously, out of hatred, ill will, or spite" in his ongoing verbal attacks on the former "elle" magazine columnist. they concluded he should pay $83.3 million in damages.

a previous jury found trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming carroll. cbs's errol barnett was inside the courthouse in lower manhattan. >> reporter: e. jean carroll was all smiles as she left the courthouse following a jury's unanimous verdict ordering former president donald trump to pay her more than $83 million for defamatory statements he made about her in 2019. the dollar amount including $7.3 million for emotional harm, $11 million to help repair her reputation, and $65 million in punitive damages. carroll's attorney had previously told the jury, "the one thing donald trump cares about is money." they deliberated for fewer than three hours. trump wasn't in the courtroom for the verdict but immediately took to social media to call the ruling "absolutely ridiculous," saying he fully disagrees. trump's lead attorney, alina habba. >> we will immediately appeal. we will set aside that

ridiculous jury. >> reporter: trump was in court earlier in the day. there was a dramatic moment when he abruptly got up and left as carroll's lead attorney made her closing arguments. a break of decorum in federal court. trump returned in time for closing arguments from his attorney, ms. habba, who was herself reprimanded by the judge multiple times. when she played a video of trump responding to the prior jury verdict, finding him liable of sexual abuse and defamation... >> the verdict is a disgrace, a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time. >> reporter: the judge told the jury to disregard it since he had repeatedly warned of the defense team to not retry that case. when she protested not being

allowed to discuss tweets not in evidence, judge kaplan said, "you are on the verge of spending some time in the lock up. now sit down." now, underscoring the unusual nature of this trial, judge kaplan ordered the jurors to remain anonymous, even amongst each other, telling them to use aliases instead. nancy, that instruction is typically reserved for federal cases against drug cartels. >> nancy: big concern that these jurors could now face threats themselves. errol barnett in new york city, thanks so much. tonight, a 31-year-old baltimore woman is under arrest for allegedly stabbing two people and hitting several others with her car and what authorities are calling a random attack. we get details now from cbs's nicole sganga. >> reporter: police dispatch called capture eight high chaotic string of attacks. >> i don't know if someone is driving around and hitting people on purpose. >> reporter: four back-to-back hit-and-runs and two stabbings leaving six people injured, including a 15-year-old with life-threatening injuries. >> the person that was struck was struck in the head. he is bleeding. hit her and then drove off.

>> reporter: police charged 31-year-old tanay stallings-brown of attempted murder and other that unfolded thursday. >> i have rarely seen a suspect is determined across this length to inflict harm on innocent people. >> reporter: detectives save the attack spans 90 minutes, targeting victims in five different locations across maryland, including this gas station in lanham and appeared to be random. >> i hope the community takes comfort in knowing she is now in our custody and unable to cause any more pain. >> reporter: the police chief here says it took investigators just six hours to track down the suspect, and as it appears she has an extensive criminal history. meanwhile, detectives still searching for a motive. nancy? >> nancy: nicole sganga in

prince george's county, maryland. thank you. now to some breaking news at the u.s.-mexico border. migrant encounters reached an all-time high in the month of december at more than 302,000. that's roughly the population of the city of pittsburgh. cbs's camilo montoya-galvez is at the border crossing in eagle pass, texas. >> reporter: nancy, this has never happened before in u.s. history. december was the fourth consecutive month in which u.s. agency are among the mexican border processed close to or over a quarter of a millionilie. december included more than 120,000 parents and children traveling as families. the situation here, however, has changed dramatically in january with daily illegal crossings dropping by 50%. nancy, u.s. officials attribute that job to increase mexican enforcement on the other side of the rio grande, as well as the holiday season. >> nancy: camilo montoya-galvez in

eagle pass, texas, thank you so much. turning now to the weather and a flood emergency in the midwest. officials say an ice jam is causing major flooding across northern illinois, with a flash flood warning in effect until tomorrow morning. for a look at snow heading towards the northeast and more rain in the west, let's bring in meteorologist mike bettes, from our partners at the weather channel. good evening, mike. >> nancy, good evening. watching for the next rain and snow to move into the east. rain from the south all the way into the mid-atlantic. temperatures warm enough here, it is all rain, but north of new york primarily is where we will watch for some snow here. could get white heavy as we go into sunday. buffalo, due east, a place like boston, where several inches is on the way. then we watch the warm up. that is going to come for us, especially in the west, where record setting weekend and early next week. and then watch a very active jet stream pattern over the pacific. that will set us up for more atmospheric rivers aimed right at the west coast.

ultimately what that ends up doing is crating a lot of rain and snow, nancy come across the west, likely leading to flood issues. >> nancy: already some record warmth here in d.c. today. mike bettes, thank you so much. tonight, boeing 737 max 9 planes are flying again for the first time in three weeks when they were grounded after that scary incident where a door plug ripped off in mid flight. cbs's senior transportation correspondent kris van cleave has the latest. >> reporter: cleared for takeoff, the first boeing 737 max 9 is back in the air, a nearly full alaska airlines flight 1146 leaving seattle for san diego this afternoon, three weeks after a door panel blew out on another alaska max 9 midflight. virginia will be on board. she is traveling to see her family. >> thoughts go through your mind, but you have to hope that people learn from their mistakes. >> reporter: the faa grounded 171 max 9s while the ntsb investigation focuses on whether the four bolts holding that door

panel in place were properly installed. loose bolts were also found on several other max 9s. >> i mean, one plane out of how many had happened to come up they're fixing it, so i'm okay with it. >> reporter: tonight, alaska and united airlines continue inspections allowing their max 9 fleets to return to service over the next several days and ntsb investigators are back at boeing 737 factory renton, washington. the 737 max is a vital part of boeing's business. they have a backlog of more than 4300 orders from airlines around the world. in fact, the max makes up the vast majority of boeing's outstanding orders. alaska and united say passengers who do not want to fly on a max 9 can change flights with no additional cost, as winning back the public's trust may take time. >> boeing has been called on the carpet more than enough to have a wake-up call because it's not just about public confidence. it's about private confidence. it's about the airlines buying planes from boeing. >> reporter: with the world watching as the max 9 tries to navigate through a crisis of confidence.

kris van cleave, cbs news, renton, washington. >> nancy: there is condemnation tonight, both in the u.s. and around the world after the state of alabama executed a man using nitrogen gas. it was the first time in history that the method was used, and witnesses said the inmate shook violently and appeared to suffer when the gas was turned on. cbs's manuel bojorquez has more. >> reporter: kenneth smith was declared dead at 8:25 p.m. thursday after breathing in nitrogen gas through a face mask, depriving him of oxygen. lauren layton with our cbs news affiliate in huntsville witnessed the execution. >> reporter: the nitrogen gas was administered. his body began to shake for about 2 minutes, followed by heavy breathing for about 5-7 minutes. his final words before the procedure were about leaving with light, love, and peace. >> reporter: smith's spiritual

advisor reverend jeff hood said the nitrogen method amounted to torture. >> we didn't see somebody go unconscious in 30 seconds. what we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life. >> reporter: alabama officials disagree. >> he struggled against his restraints a little bit, but there is some involuntary movement and some breathing, so that was all expected. >> reporter: both the united nations and european union expressed regret over the execution, and though the u.s. supreme court allowed it to proceed, in a dissenting opinion, justice sonya sotomayor said, "this court yet again permits alabama to experiment with a human life." smith was convicted of murdering elizabeth sennett in 1988. >> nothing happened here today is going to bring mom back. we are not going to be jumping around whooping and hollering, but we are glad this day is over. >> reporter: no longer untested, alabama says the nitrogen method could be used on

43 other death row inmates. manuel bojorquez, cbs news. >> nancy: turning overseas now, the united nations highest court stopped short today of ordering a cease-fire in the israel-hamas war, but it did say israel must do more to prevent genocide as it works to dismantle the terror group hamas in the palestinian territory of gaza. tonight, the u.n. itself is under fire. 12 of its relief workers are suspected of taking part in the october 7th attack on israel by hamas, prompting the united states, the agency's biggest donor, to temporarily halt its funding. the justice department has concluded that former new york governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed 13 women who worked in his office, and that he and his staff retaliated against some of the victims after they complained. those findings are part of a settlement reached today with the state of new york over the claims that forced cuomo from

office in 2021. a lawyer for cuomo denied the accusations again today. now to a troubling story about celebrities and technology. you or your kids may have seen or heard about those graphic ai-generated fake images of taylor swift that have been circulating online. cbs's jo ling kent joins us now from l.a. jo ling, what can you tell us about this deceptive technology? >> reporter: nancy, good evening. they are called deepfakes, manipulated images, video, audio recordings that seem eerily legitimate, and they are the latest example of how artificial intelligence is developing far faster than u.s. laws and regulations. in the case of taylor swift, her huge fan base, or swifties, not only outraged but demanding these fake images be removed. one explicit image was reportedly seen 47 million times on x before it was taken down. we have reached out to swift's team and have not heard back

yet, nancy. >> nancy: yeah, and unfortunately, jo ling, taylor swift joins a long list of celebrities and politicians who have been affected, so what do people need to know about how to spot a deepfake? >> reporter: yeah, it's taylor swift, president biden, scarlett johansson, tom hanks, and many regular people battling deepfakes made without their consent. you might remember fake videos of tom cruise went viral on tiktok. and take a look at this doctored image of former president donald trump claiming to be a video of his arrest, but if you look closely, it shows trump with three legs. now experts say you've got to scrutinize what is in a video or photo, look at where it is coming from, and look for anything that might look odd. sometimes, though, it might be impossible to tell, nancy. >> nancy: yeah, and the deepfakes with taylor swift even got the attention of the white house press secretary today, who said that social media companies have an important roll to play in

enforcing their own rules, so jo ling, what are big tech and lawmakers doing to stop this, if anything? >> reporter: yeah, nancy, nine states have laws regulating deepfakes, and last week from a federal bill was reintroduced that would make nonconsensual sharing of digitally altered pornographic image is a federal crime. as for the big tech companies, youtube told us it terminated 90 youtube channels and suspended multiple advertisement accounts and meta tells us it removes media that violates its policy, and removing material fact-checkers say is false. >> nancy: the technology getting more sophisticated all the time. jo ling kent, thank you so much. there are new details tonight on the escape of a 17-year-old murder suspect who is still on the run. that's next. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> >> nancy: an 1 >> nancy: an 18-year-old was arrested today on charges he helped an escaped prisoner by giving him a ride. officials say the teen helped 17-year-old murder suspect shane pryor escape from custody wednesday after pryor was taken to a hospital in philadelphia. sources tell our cbs philadelphia station that pryor was not handcuffed during transport to the hospital, as he should have been. he's still on the run tonight. american skiing champ mikaela shiffrin takes a frightening tumble on the slopes. that's next. ♪ ♪

not just any whiteboard... ...katie porter's whiteboard is one way she's: [news anchor] ...often seen grilling top executives of banks, big pharma, even top administration officials. katie porter. never taken corporate pac money - never will. leading the fight to ban congressional stock trading. and the only democrat who opposed wasteful “earmarks” that fund politicians' pet projects. katie porter. focused on your challenges - from lowering housing costs to fighting climate change. shake up the senate - with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message. >> nancy: american skier >> nancy: american skier mikaela shiffrin, the winningest world cup skier ever, wiped out while landing a jump today and crashed into the safety nets. it happened on the same course

that will be used in the 2026 winter olympics in italy. shiffrin was slow to get up and kept weight off her leg as she was taken to the hospital. the u.s. ski team said an initial check of her left leg found no torn ligaments. shiffrin thanked fans for their support on social media. britain's king charles is spending the night in a london hospital after undergoing a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate. he is said to be doing well. earlier today, the king visited with his daughter-in-law, princess catherine, who is recovering from abdominal surgery at the same hospital. she's expected to be released in several days. "on the road" is next, with an indiana community that got together to say "thank you" to one of their own.

one of their own. >> nancy: finally, tonight, cbs's steve hartman goes "on the road" to a small town filled with big hearts. >> reporter: if there was ever an election in this country for kindest american, the people of galveston, indiana, know who they would nominate. >> because i think he is out there to help everybody. >> that is what he is known for. >> it is the cloth he is cut from. >> just a special guy, very special guy. >> reporter: so who is this great humanitarian who lifts up

the people of galveston? the same man who puts them down. as we first reported last year, 90-year-old gravedigger allen mccloskey has been at this job since 1952 -- and refuses to retire because he says a new gravedigger might not square of the as precisely. might not care as deeply for all those loving souls. >> people that i have went to school with and worked with. >> reporter: what was your hardest one? >> it was my wife. >> reporter: how did you get through that? >> i figured she'd want me to do it. >> reporter: allen and barbara had three kids. but his definition of family extends well beyond blood. which may explain why a good chunk of the town gathered for what allen thought was someone else's birthday party, but was really a celebration of

him. [applause] at the party, he got an official guinness world record for longest career as a gravedigger. 70 years and counting. but more importantly, he was recognized for the thousands of odd jobs he has done for people. it is a side hustle, but with a twist. >> we'd ask allen for a bill, and he wouldn't give us a bill. >> he said oh, i'll just catch up with you later. >> later never came. >> you never hear anything more about about it. >> reporter: it was the running joke at his party. >> anybody here still waiting on him to send you a bill for working? [laughter]

yeah, that's what i thought >> reporter: i did ask allen about this. they say they can't get a bill from you. >> oh... [laughs] >> reporter: but all i got was a hearty laugh. after we first told this story, the gravedigger got buried himself -- in fan mail. one writer called him an inspiration to humanity. guinness also reached out, wanted his shovel for display. but by all accounts, the notoriety hasn't affected him one bit. >> allen has figured out what life is about. i truly believe allen has figured out where enough is at. he's found enough. >> reporter: and strange thing about finding enough, you often end up with more than enough. steve hartman, "on the road," in galveston, indiana. >> nancy: a little nancy, thank you very much, here in the bay area, kaiser staff say they have seen it all outside of their hospital. >> there has been a lot of break ins in the garages over here, cars set on fire, windows broken >> in the latest stain in the

city, one of the biggest employers is telling workers not to go outside for lunchism. lunch. the gear is flying off of the shelves, we are counting down to the 9ers match up that puts them one win away from the super bowl >> it is california versus the world. i think detroit is going to put up a hell of a fight >> today we learned that the team will have much-needed help. unprecedented lawsuit filed over the war in gaza. >> it is a historic case in which palestinians are suing the federal government. >> this is cbs news bay area with juliette goodrich. hello, i'm sara donchey in tonight for juliette. some of the concerns from the city's biggest employers, kaiser is telling workers not to leave the building for