captioning sponsored by cbs ♪ ♪ >> ninan: breaking news tonight: the nation's first coronavirus death. president trump addresses the nation and the threat. >> there's no reason to panic at all. >> ninan: also breaking tonight: south carolina decides. voters in the first-in-the-south primary revive joe biden's campaign. >> a straight path to the nomination of president of the united states of america. >> ninan: cbs news exclusive: john ratcliffe, the president's pick as top u.s. spy chief, pushes back against charges he's not qualified. >> when the president asks you to do something for your country, you look at that. >> ninan: taliban truce: is the stage set to end america's longest war? plus, jeff glor takes a leap ths 29th of february. >> the earth doesn't really care what day you call it. >> ninan: and "the spirituals

project." we visit a choir dedicated to keeping alive the songs of the stolen people. ♪ we who believe in freedom we who believe in freedom ♪ >> this is the "cbs weekend news." >> ninan: good evening. i'm reena ninan. thithis is our western edition. this is breaks news from south carolina. joe biden is the winner of today's democratic presidential primary. more in a moment. first the latest on the coronavirus. today trump addressed the nation today, announcing the first coronavirus death in this country, a man in washington state. the president says there's no reason for panic. he plans to meet with drug companies on monday to discuss vaccines. the outbreak has now spread, with at least 65 cases across nine states. there have been three new cases today, all in washington state. and wall street has been infected.

the dow lost more than 3,500 points this week, a 12% drop. cbs' steve dorsey is at the white house. >> there's no reason to panic. >> reporter: in an abruptly arranged white house news conference, president trump tried to reassure the country his administration is taking unprecedented actions to contain the virus. it comes after he accused democrats of trying to weaponize it against him at a south carolina rally last night. >> this is their new hoax. >> reporter: and today, he doubled down. >> the hoax was used with respect to democrats and what they were saying. it was a hoax, what they were saying. >> reporter: but the president's critics say he's the one putting politics ahead of public health. >> the problem is when you have the highest levels of the trump administration actively using words like "hoax," that sends a very dangerous signal to the american people. we want folks to take this seriously. >> reporter: meanwhile, the white house is announcing new travel restrictions on foreign nationals who have recently visited iran. it's also now telling americans to avoid traveling to areas in italy and south korea, most

affected by the virus. >> it's certainly not a good situation when you lose travel. that's a big part of market. but for a period of time, we're going to have to do whatever is necessary. necessary. safety, health, number o safety, health, number one. and the markets will take care of themselves. >> reporter: the president also stepped up pressure today on the fed to cut interest rates to help protect the economy. reena. >> ninan: steve, thank you very very much. public health fors in public health officials in washington state confirmed the man who died from the coronavirus was suffering respiratory symptoms. danya bacchus is covering the developing story. >> reporter: washington state public health officials gave new details in an afternoon press conference about the circumstances that led to the man's death. >> the person who died was a patient at evergreen hospital who had underlying health conditions. he was a male in his 50s. >> reporter: the death comes after health officials in california, oregon, and washington reported three cases involving people who had not traveled to china or were exposed to carriers.

the implications of this are significant, indicating the virus could be widespread in the general population, particularly since symptoms could not show up for two weeks. >> we're asking for personal responsibility. get informed, don't panic, get prepared. >> reporter: washington state officials have also identified a life care center where multiple patients are showing what could be coronavirus symptoms. they also say that vigilant testing is taking place at the state lab. reena. >> ninan: danya bacchus, thank you. well, the coronavirus outbreak has now spread to at least 59 countries. italy has the highest number of reported cases outside asia. charlie d'agata is in rome. >> reporter: containing the outbreak here means determining not just where it started but when. italian scientists now suspect it may have been lying under the radar in the country for weeks, undetected. priests have been told no handshakes at sunday mass. in that other religion, top soccer league games have been

postponed indefinitely. italian offialone to great lengths to emphasize that the virus has been contained to two regions in the north, and that places like this, here in rome, are safe and open for business. concerns over the coronavirus haven't stopped the chos from minnesota, who just arrived in rome from venice. okay, girls, so what did your dad tell you? there are certain precautions you have to take, so what were you told? >> we were told to use hand sanitizer. let mom and dad wipe down our table, if there's a table. wash your hands. if you don't have to touch something, try not to touch it. >> reporter: the situation is more serious in places like south korea, which has seen the largest single-day surge-- more than 800 new cases. japan has canceled school for more than a month. with more countries declaring new cases by the day, the virus' reach is fast outpacing any

effort to contain it. charlie d'agata, cbs news, rome. >> ninan: as i mentioned, former vice president joe biden is the big winner in today's south carolina democratic presidential primary. nikole killion is it in columbia. >> reporter: good evening to you, reena. and joe biden is one of the few candidates who is here in south carolina tonight. his campaign views this state not as a firewall but as a springboard heading into super tuesday. >> we're going to win south >> reporter: former vice president joe biden counted on a comeback in south carolina. >> obviously, the bigger you win anywhere, the better bump you get. >> reporter: biden banked on breaking bernie sanders' streak after three successful finishes in iowa, new hampshire, and nevada. >> now, we're going to win this election despite a lot of pundits and the establishment saying "bernie can't beat trump." >> reporter: the democratic frontrunner and the rest of the

field split their attention between the palmetto state... >> happy primary day. >> reporter: ...and the 14 states voting super tuesday. >> sounds like arkansas' ready for some big structural change. ( cheers ) >> reporter: saturday's contest marked the first big test with african american voters, who make up approximately 60% of south carolina's democratic base. >> elizabeth warren. i chose her, being a woman as well. >> i was trying to pick between biden and bernie, but i went ahead and went with biden. i just felt like he was, like, the stronger opponent. >> reporter: according to our exit polls, almost half of south carolina democrats say biden is the candidate who best understands the concerns of racial and ethnic minorities. reena. >> ninan: nikole, thank you. president trump today also praised john ratcliffe, his pick, once again, to be the nation's top spy. catherine herridge reports he's a controversial choice to lead

the nation's 17 intelligence agencies. >> reporter: in his first television interview since the announcement, texas congressman republican john ratcliffe pushed back against charges he's not qualified to lead the intelligence agencies. >> i've been handling national security issues as far back as 2005. >> reporter: but critics say you've never held a job in the intelligence community. >> i think what we've seen is that some of our most experienced intelligence officials have gotten it wrong with respect to important issues. >> reporter: i want you to respond to critics who say president trump puts loyalty ahead of experience. >> my experience as a u.s. attorney on national security issues, as a legislator, almost exclusively in these areas-- that was important to him. loyalty, what we've talked about is my loyalty to the constitution. >> reporter: ratcliffe was a passionate defender of the president during the russia probe and more recently the impeachment. he was among the first to flag irregularities of the surveillance of a trump campaign aide. >> i've had a very public role,

and i've demonstrated that i've been right on some of these important issues. >> reporter: ratcliffe was tapped last summer for the job, bt it was withdrawn after allegations he padded his resume. what's changed? >> i reconsidered because the president asked me. and i think when the president asks you to do something for your country, you look at that. just because someone in your business accuses you doesn't make it true. >> reporter: the chairman of the house intelligence committee, adam schiff, called him unqualified. can you get through the confirmation process? >> i think that i'll have the support of all republicans at the end of the day. i'm going to work hard to convince at least some of my democratic colleagues on the other side of the aisle. >> reporter: congressman ratcliffe tells cbs news he expects the confirmation process to move quickly, and if confirmed, ratcliffe said one priority is ensuring the intelligence community becomes enrely apolitical. reena. >> ninan: catherine herridge, thanks, catherine. the united states today signed a historic peace agreement with the taliban that could end america's longest war, which began after september 11 2001. imtiaz tyab has the details.

>> reporter: for a war that started with such fury, the first real step towards ending it was a gentle pen stroke. the agreement, signed by the u.s. and taliban's top negotiators, was also, quite literally, written on the wall, a peace deal nearly 19 years after 9/11. secretary of state mike pompeo was there to witness it. >> we recognize america shouldn't fight in perpetuity in the graveyard of empires if we can help afghans forge peace. we believe that the afghan people are ready to chart their own course forward. >> reporter: the course forward follows more than a year of tough negotiations. the trump administration is promising to pull out 5,000 of the roughly 13,000 u.s. troops currently in afghanistan within 135 days. and in 14 months, a full withdrawal. >> the job we've done has been fan-- a fantastic one, in terms of terrorists and terrorism. and it's time for our people to start coming home.

>> reporter: but only if the taliban keeps up its side of the bargain, which requires it to sever ties with al qaeda and to negotiate power sharing with other afghan political factions. not part of the deal? protecting the rights of women and minorities, who were so brutally repressed the last time the taliban was in power. but after $1 trillion spent and thousands of lives lost, few want to see the fighting continue and hope this really is the beginning of the end. imtiaz tyab, cbs news, london. >> ninan: a spectacular explosion of a spacex rocket. the "starship" super rocket blew up late friday night during a test near brownsville, texas. the rocket, designed to ferry crews to the moon and mars, was destroyed. the blast could be heard and felt for miles around. people in western new york state are digging out after being trapped under more than two feet of snow. and in nearby hamburg, several homes were encased in ice in the wake of freezing temperatures and high winds.

trader joe has died. joe coulombe was 89. he opened his first quirky grocery store in pasadena, california, 53 years ago. now there are more than 500 trader joe's in over 40 states. straight ahead, south carolina is thriving. what's driving the boom? forget the 29th of february. why these academics think the world needs a new calendar. and later, lifting their voices to preserve african american history. back now. farxiga, along with diet and exercise,... ...helps lower a1c in adults with type 2 diabetes. and when taken with metformin xr, it may lower a1c up to 2.1 points. do not take if allergic to farxiga. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction include rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing. stop taking and seek medical help right away. tell your doctor right away if you have... ...red color in urine, or pain while you urinate... ...or a genital area infection since a rare but serious

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>> ninan: south carolina is getting a lot of attention today, not just because of its first-in-the-south primary. the palmetto state is booming. while wages are generally low, the right-to-work state boasts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. here again, nikole killion. >> reporter: the port of charleston is the ninth largest in the country, handling shipments eachrgo shipments each year. >> about half of our cargo comes from asia. europe is about 25%. >> reporter: c.e.o. jim newsome says the port generates more than $63 billion throughout the state, employing one in 10 south carolinians. and nowhere is the ripple effect felt more than here, in the heart of south carolina's manufacturing sector, which has become home to companies like bmw, michelin, boeing, and now volvo. cbs news got exclusive access inside the swedish automaker's

u.s. plant for the first time u.s. plant for the first time since production began in 201 since production began in 2018. >> this is where a car becomes a car. >> reporter: harry white is a plant manager. >> in 1991, this job did not exist. all of the automotive jobs were actually in the midwest. you know, now, south carolina is the new motown. >> reporter: this factory employs about 1,500 workers, like winnie harley, who switched from a career in cosmetology. what was that learning curve like for you? >> the learning part, it was easy. i mean, most of it, it just-- to me, it came natural. >> reporter: she went through a program called manufirst, one of a growing number of technical classes to train new workers. and there are a lot of openings. about 60,000 jobs remain unfilled. >> it is clear that finding workers is a challenge. >> reporter: would you say it's a crisis? >> i wouldn't use the word "crisis." but i would say we've got to be responsible and smart and

strategic in our thinking. >> reporter: to sustain this southern revitalization. nikole killion, cbs news, charleston. >> ninan: up next, turning the page on the calendar, with a new one to last the ages. es. woman: the deadly corona virus

officially hitting the us. man: the markets are plunging for a second straight day. vo: health experts warn the us is underprepared. managing a crisis is what mike bloomberg does. in the aftermath of 9-11, he steadied and rebuilt america's largest city. oversaw emergency response to natural disasters. upgraded hospital preparedness to manage health crises. and he's funding cutting edge research to contain epidemics. tested. ready. mike: i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. so bob, what do you take for back pain? before i take anything, i apply topical pain relievers first. salonpas lidocaine patch blocks pain receptors for effective, non-addictive relief. salonpas lidocaine. patch, roll-on or cream. hisamitsu. i know right? walmart.com has a lot of great stuff.

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>> ninan: on this 29th of february, jeff glor of "cbs this morning saturday" has a story for us, and we must say, it's about time. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: since the beginning, humankind has been obsessed with tracking time. ♪ tick, tock >> reporter: and nearly every civilization has tried to squeeze that time into an accurate calendar. but for thousands of years, we were missing one crucial element: ♪ time keeps on slipping slipping, slipping ♪ >> reporter: the leap year. >> i think that time is very confusing sometimes when you have to think about it. >> reporter: jackie faherty is an astrophysicist at the american museum of natural history's hayden planetarium in new york city. when people think about the day february 29, what should they think about? >> we're placing a human construct around what is an astronomical phenomenon of the

earth moving around the sun. >> reporter: the calendar we use includes leap years because of how long it really takes the earth to orbit the sun, which is not 365 days. it's about 365 and a quarter. the julian calendar in 46 b.c. was the first to add a leap day every four years. but it still wasn't quite right. that led to the gregorian calendar, which set the leap year pattern we've used since the 16th century. but some think it's high time for another big change. you guys have been working on this calendar for how long? >> decades. >> reporter: and so far...? >> nada. >> reporter: enter dick henry and steve hanke, professors at johns hopkins university, and the biggest current backers of a brand-new calendar, one that eliminates leap years and also standardizes the days and weeks to always be the same each year. >> january 1 is always on a monday, forever.

>> reporter: forever. >> forever. >> reporter: in addition to starting every year on a monday, the hanke-henry permanent calendar would also set your birthday and the holidays to the same day of the week every year, except october 31, which, along with all friday the 13ths, would vanish. in place of leap years, every five or six years, an extra week is inserted at the end of december, sort of an extended christmas vacation. there's no such thing as a perfect calendar. you just think this is better than what we have now. >> ours is very close to perfect. >> we have the current calendar, every year, the thing jerks around by a day or two. >> reporter: but aren't quirks and eccentricities part of the human existence? >> we could make things worse, and then you would be happier. >> calendar changes, people, i i think are resistant to because of what it means of the infrastructure of how we live our lives. the earth doesn't really care what day you call it. it's going around the sun doing the thing it always does.

>> reporter: in new york city, jeff glor, cbs news. >> ninan: well, coming up, the mission to preserve and revive an american musical treasure. hills, you crush them... kind of. kale, you eat it for breakfast... sometimes. you go far to eliminate stubborn fat. but sometimes life gets in the way. coolsculpting takes you further. a non-surgical treatment that targets, freezes, and eliminates treated fat cells for good. discuss coolsculpting with your doctor. some common side-effects include temporary numbness,

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here's janet shamlian. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: this denver choir is unique. the historic songs they sing are called spirituals, created by enslaved african americans to express virtue in the face of suffering. >> the foremost preoccupation of the slave was freedom. ♪ get on board >> reporter: 86-year-old alice raspberry has been in the group "the spirituals project" for a decade. >> history is so important. a lot of our history has been lost, but this is one part that has not been lost, and that's very exciting for me. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: some are known to have double meaning. >> they were able to encode these messages within the music, such that they could communicate right under the noses of their slave masters.

>> reporter: this famous song is believed to represent the hope for freedom. >> and go. >> reporter: roger holland directs the multicultural choir. it's important to you that it reaches beyond the african american community? >> absolutely. we-- we are a multi-ethnic country. ♪ we who believe in freedom ♪ we who believe in freedom >> they give several performances a year. janet shamlian, cbs news, denver. >> ninan: incredible power of song. and that's the "cbs weekend news" for this saturday. later on cbs, "48 hours." i'm reena ninan in new york. from all of us at cbs news.

live, from the cbs day area studios, this is 5 news. >> i'm surprised to come here and see everything cleared out. >> now, panicked shoppers buy out costco stores as a fourth corona virus case is declared in the county. leaders and one bay area city are tired of waiting for help with the homeless crisis tonight they're taking matters into their own hands. good evening to you. late this afternoon, santa clara county officials confirmed a fourth case of coronavirus there and they say the patient is an adult woman. she was in household contact with the third case announced

today. the new patient is not hospitalized or sick and is isolated at home. the news comes on on the heels of the first coronavirus death in the u.s. the patient was a washington state man in his late 50s with underlying medical conditions. so far it is unclear how he contract the virus. washington, oregon, california are now reporting cases of unknown origin. but fear appears to be spreading much faster than the virus itself. lines were out the door at cosco before the doors even open this morning. be back this costco, sold out of water and toilet paper within a few hours now that there are community transmission cases comes from the people worry about a pandemic reaching the bay area. i was surprised to come here and see everything