news updates on cbssf.com if you can, and we hope you can, stay cool. we will ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> garrett: tonight, new fallout after some americans are warned their mailed-in votes might not count. the u.s. postal service sounds the alarm about delivery delays. fingers are pointing at the trump appointed postmaster general for cutting costs and service. >> it is a slap in the face to every dedicated postal worker. >> garrett: today protesters gather outside of his house while the president is accused of "abuse of power." >> the problem with the mail and voting number one you will never know when the election is over. >> garrett: also tonight persistent pandemic. the u.s. breaks a single day infection record in august. new fears that students in school may spread the virus. extreme summer weather. wild fires and triple digit heat scorch the west while tornadoes batter the midwest. democrats get set for a zoom

party? when a convention is virtual, what is left for the host city? we will ask the mayor of milwaukee. plus we travel to wales to meet the man helping to protect earth. and later, when swimming lessons become life lessons. >> we can be used to bring so much good. this is the "cbs weekend news". >> garrett: good evening everyone. i am major garrett in washington. voting, schooling, sweltering in a pandemic. parts of america are worried he country are we all three. there was record-breaking heat in the west. parents and school districts across the country are weighing the risks of in person versus online learning. voting that is safe and accurate, election officials are trying to achieve that. on the third one there is a fight in washington over money, the postal service says it needs more to handle millions of additional mail-in ballots, for

his part president trump is nursing fraudulent fears that expand vote by mail is a direct path to rampant fraud. also today the president again refused to say for certain that kamala harris is an american born citizen eligible to run for vice president. she, of course, is. weijia jiang is traveling with the president in new jersey >> reporter: from his gulf resort in new jersey, president trump defended his views on mail in voting. >> the problem with the mail in voting number one you will never know when the election is over. >> reporter: and he repeated his unsupported claim that mail in vote willing lead to fraud even though he himself requested a mail in ballot earlier this week. >> but now they want to send in llllions and millions of ballots and you see what is happening. they are being lost, they are being discarded and finding them in piles. it is going to be a catastrophe. >> reporter: in washington, d.c., protesters posted up outside of the u.s. postmaster general's home, worried their

voices won't be heard on election day. louis dejoy said he overhauled the postal service to fix its dire financial situation, now the internal watchdog is investigating after democrats accused dejoy of working with president trump to sabotage the mail in voting process with moves like eliminating over time. >> i have asked the postmaster general a number of questions. he is not very transparent. he doesn't want to come forward with facts. >> reporter: cbs news has learned the postal service sent setters to all 50 states and dc and warning their deadlines for accepting mail in ballots may result in thousands of ballots not being counted. democratic vice presidential nominee kamala harris posted on twitter, "we cannot let donald trump destroy the united states postal service," adding congress st mr. trump says he would support federal funding for mail-in voting if it is part of a coronavirus relief package that satisfies republican priorities

too. the national association of letter carriers which represents 300,000 retired and active foes andemicvice workers has endorsed threatens the su the biden harris ticket saying in a statement, this pandemic threatens the survival of the postal service and the trump administration is not helping. major. >> garrett: weijia jiang, thank you. now to the pain of the pandemic. a deadly august as american deaths have jumped 20,000 in just two weeks. the total u.s. death toll now nearing 170,000. at the same time, infections are trending downward. but so is testing. michael george has the latest. >> reporter: new cases are reported down as the nation is doing roughly 10% less testing according to johns hopkins 34 states have infections higher than the 5% positivity rate recommended by the cdc.

california just hit a record 600,000 covid cases. the latest c.d.c. projections say the u.s. death toll could reach 200,000 by labor day. >> because of that, canadian officials say they will keep the u.s. canada border shut down to nonessential travel. >> coronavirus is not finished with our country. >> reporter: but the senate is in recess. there is no stimulus help on the way for millions of americans who need it. democrats and republicans haven't been able to hammer out a deal. the crowded sturgis motorcycle rally rolls on in south dakota with thousands packing the streets there. some college students are back at school. that's that's a problem. villanova university north of philadelphia warned students it would send them home if theyigea at chahill is watchit ent housing. >> i mean, there are still parties going on. there's still people not wearing

s still people not wea >> reporter: and just two days after classes began at this elementary school in florida, 14 students are in quarantine. >> we couldn't prepare for this situation. like the superintendent said the other day, there is no playbook on this. >> reporter: schools in new york city, the nation's largest school district, are set to open next month. unions representing teachers and principals have raised the alarm demanding the city delay in person classes. major. >> garrett: michael george, thank you very much. much of the west is as we mentioned sweltering as a summer heat wave brings record-breaking temperatures. it is also fueling dozens of ild fires, danya bacchus is in los angeles. >> reporter >> reporter: blistering heat and bone dry vegetation ignite the west. north of los angeles, the lake fire has burned more than 14,000 acres, forcing some residents to flee. >> we are just like sitting here and waiting, going, hmm, is our house still standing? >> reporter: in colorado firefighters are battling four

major wild fires, the pine gulch blaze is now one of the state's ripped ever, score championing --scorching more than 100 square miles. and in oregon. mbf.ou can see it looks like a >> reporter: the mosier creek fire ripped through joel heart's family property. >> i got to say it that's the scariest thing i have ever been >>rough. >> reporter: the triple-digit temps helping to fuel the fires are being felt in at least a dozen states this weekend. >> nearly 50 million people are experiencing temperatures of 100 plus and some 200 record highs will be set. in california, the strain on the power grid prompted power outs the bayrea forcing some businesses to operate in the dark. >> reporter: while fighting to keep the fires contained, officials are also faced with the lingering threat of covid. >> should we have anyone experience coronavirus type symptoms we are able to handle that and mitigate that in our own camp, keep it out of the unmmunity and without impacting your local resources.

>> reporter: with many indoor options closed and the fires producing poor air quality many people are coming to the beach to escape the heat and maintain social distance. the major. >> garrett: danya bacchus, thank you. severe storms have also ripped across the midwest. this tornado tore through fields near glencoe, last friday. at least 14 tornadoes touched down in that state as well as kansas and illinois. despite the damage, no deaths are reported. big parts of iowa, however, are still in shambles, six, shambles six days after a derecho devastated the state. the storm brought hurricane force winds hitting the city of cedar rapids particularly hard. today more than 130,000 customers still have no power. the state's governor is being criticized for being slow to send help. at least three people have died. the storm also devastated iowa's crops. more than 10 million acres, roughly 43%, have been damaged. a ral disasterration is expected ony.for first eve

national party in this case the democrats chose milwaukee, wisconsin for their convention site, a boon to a city that often feels overshadowed by think to the south. chicago to the south. that city has hosted 25 national political conventions. democrats hoped milwaukee would rev up the party faithful across the midwest but the pandemic of course has changed everything. the usual four day televised pep rally a virtual experience now. joe biden and kamala harris will deliver acceptance speeches, but from delaware. to milwaukee it is a disappointment and an economic setback. mayor tom barrett, a democrat is mayor of milwaukee, mr. mayor, what is left of this convention experience for milwaukee? >> well, what's left a lot of memories and a lot of hard work and a lot of people who poured their heart and soul into making this a reality, but we have been forced to deal with reality, the reality is we are in a pandemic right now and so there had to be dramatic changes.

so of course it is a disappointment for us here locally. there is no question about it, because this is the first time in the history of the city of wisconsin that we would be posting a major political party convetion. here w a lot of excitement but there is also a realization that with all of the challenges we are facing right now, again, it couldn't be distance as usual. >> garrett: what, if anything, will go on in milwaukee? >> well we still have the staging that will go on here and some local speakers and a lot of the logistics are going to be done from here, but as you noted in your introduction, it is not going to be the four day extravaganza we see every time there is a new nomination process, whether democrat or republican, and we were looking forward to that, there is no way we are going to sugarcoat that. that is something we were really excited about and hopefully we will get another kick at the can because it ithing thatity. revenue? >> well, the goal was to have 50,000 visitors here to milwaukee and to have $200

million in spending, and we have got a great sorry troy tell here and i think a lot of the people who came when they chose milwaukee were surprised. people who came here didn't have a positive impression or negative impression, they had no ion whatso whatsoever. and when they got here, and you look outside on a day like today, a gorgeous, gorgeous august day, this is when people why people want to be here, it is a great time to be here in wisconsin. >>arrett: e president says we should all blame china. do you? >> i don't blame china, no. i think what we have right now, and you are going to see this i twnk in the course of the two conventions, you are going to see the democratic feed of we have to take this seriously, and on the republican side you have got obviously a president who wants to just talk about everything else. but joe biden has never made fun of masks, he has never belittled healthcare experts, and he has never called it a hoax, and unfortunately, we are at the point now where 165,000 people in this country have died and we are trying to get through this

again this horrific pandemic and we need real leadership to do that. >> garrett: mayor tom barrett, milwaukee mayor, thank you very much for your time, sir. ha very much. >> garrett: and here is a helpful programming note, cbs news will bring you live coverage of the democratic national convention starting monday night at 10:00. t 10:00.s cardinals took the st. lou field today for the first time in 17 days after a covid 19 quarantine. the cards played the first of 11, yes, 11 double headers today against the chicago white sox, that to make up for lost game time. the cardinals took game one of today's twin bill, 5-1. in charlotte, north carolina, a covid birthday celebration for >>erica's oldest citizen. relatives and friends drove by her home to wish her well. that's right, hester is still in her own home helped out by an 87-year-old daughter, her nurse and others. straight ahead, on the "cbs weekend news", why these doctors

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looking to make a change. >> we recognize that if there's healthcare disparity, that, yes, black lives matter most right now. >> reporter: doctors brian richardson and jeff nix says covid-19 just highlighted the inequality in the nation's healthcare system. >> we see them more for prostate cancer with worse outcomes, a higher mortality than any other ethnic group. the new push for equality the across the country inspired the two doctors to wear black scrubs, to show support for black lives. >> reporter: what has the response been to this statement? >> the first time was hey why are you wearing these scrubs? so it obviously comes up as a conversation piece. >> reporter: dr. jeff hines says the statistics are reflected in the coronavirus cases his population is african-american, 51% of the deaths are among african african-american people. >> reporter: those numbers madeo

food pantries to st pantries to start testing sites in atlanta hotspots, it is personal for dr. nix and his ten-year-old son. >> when he is 20, he says dad what did you do? what did you do when this was asl going on? for me to say well i just continued working and i did my job, i don't think he is going to be okay with that. >> the doctors encourage other healthcare workers to join them in wearing black scrubs on a national day of unity, august 28th, the anniversary of martin luther king, jr.'s i have a dream speech. you can use the hashtag black scrubs for black lives, jessi mitchell cbs news, atlanta. >> garrett: still ahead on the "cbs weekend news", he has got his eye on space for the dangers that just might threaten our planet. ust night threaten our planet. like it's supposed to. once-weekly trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it's not insulin. it starts acting from the first dose.

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country, maybe a continent. >> reporter: jay tate keeps an eye on our skies. he is the director of the spaceguard centre, an observatory on a wind-swept hill in wales. so what do we have here? th this is the magic spot. this is where it all happens. >> reporter: think of tate as part of our solar system's neighborhood watch, tracking known asteroids and comets shown on screen as moving white dots. >> and then you can find out if it is going to come uncomfortably close to the earth or any of the other planets. >> reporter: the observatory is home to several telescopes. his latest will take him from watching our celestial neighborhood to exploring it. >> now, this is the big one, the crown jewel. >> reporter: what does this give you? >> this is allows us to be the detectives, stopping the crime before it starts. and we will be specifically looking at bits of sky that the major search programs at the moment aren't. >> reporter: nasa says it takes the threat seriously, and currently monitors roughly half of the night sky.

they will add to their search, but it's not the big asteroids seen in the blockbuster "armageddon" that worries him. what scares you about what you are doing? >> what scares me are the little ones that don't hit the ground. >> reporter: little ones, like pee meteor that burst open the russian city of chelyabinsk in 1913. >> that one was less than 20 meters across and had the ability to take out a reasonable size city. the little ones are much harder to see and much, much more frequent. >> reporter: and those are the ones that can take out new york, london, los angeles? >> oh, yes, yes. >> reporter: tate says there are ways to deal with these threats, so with so much on the line, it may surprise you that none of his work is government-funded. spaceguard runs on donations and help from volunteers. for him, that's a global problem. you think the country should take this more seriously, then? >> when it comes to the survival of the species, one would have thought it might be quite a good

unls the ref ourotathisuati fate to cosmos. ian lee, cbs news, knighton, wales. >> garrett: next on the "cbs weekend news," brothers-- in this case, twins-- take to the pool to teach a lifesaving skill. >> ♪ ♪ ♪ active defense.li it neutralizes bacteria for a healthier mouth than even the leading multi-benefit toothpaste.

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>> garrett: finally tonight, twin brothers turned a traumatic experience into a lesson for their community, one that will help save lives in the process. janet shamlian has more on this remarkable pair. >> reporter: a pool full of children who can't swo make any parents' heart race, but not with torrence and thurman thomas in the water. who is the better swimmer? >> oh, man. i think i am. >> i am going to say me. >> reporter: the twins can joke now, but as children, thurman almost drowned, moments from becoming a sobering statistic. >> african-american children are 5.5 times more likely to drown. it blew us away. and we then had to make a desion to decide, okay, what can we do with this? >> reporter: near tragedy has become their lives calling. >> that's exactly what i wanted. >> reporter: offering free lessons for children who otherwise might not get them. >> do you know how they say like it just takes a second? that is exactly what it was.

>> reporter: candace perez had a close call with her older son elijah. >> i think you can do it, what do you think? >> reporter: she is desperate for five-year old jeremiah to learn how to swim. >> reporter: but with volunteers working one on one, fear becomes fun. >> he gained a little bit of confidence and once he got a little he just took off running with it. >> it really makes me feel appreciative that we can be used to bring so much good. >> reporter: even in this unusual time, the mission goes on. >> we teach swimming lessons, yes, but we really teach confidence. and we have a child that comes in, if your worst fear is the water and we can conquer your wot feog ?s ne >> reporter: jumping in with lessons that can shape a life and save one. ( cheers and applause ) janet shamlian, cbs news, austin, texas. >> garrett: teaching confidence in these unusual times. that's the "cbs weekend news" that's the "cbs w for this saturday. i am major garrett in washington. >>this is kpix 5 new

>> at 6:00, breaking news from pg&e. you may want to turn up your thermostat if you want the power to stay on. heat wave an outward dining not very well. i will tell you how the temperatures are affecting businesses. also, we have a cooking experiment to test the heat out. >> we knew when we got up, it was going to be 109. we would rather be by the ocean. >> a lot of people said to heck with the heat, that led to beaches bursting at waterway y do not want to go to. how a power adage led to a sewage spill in the east bay. >> pg&e customers could start

losing power anytime now. the second day of searing heat pushes the state power grid to the max. nearly a quarter million lost power yesterday as demand outpaced supply. utility says if more blackouts are necessary this evening, they would be one to two hours long. people are asked to turn up the thermostat to 78 or higher and turning off large appliances. let's find out more. >> reporter: this was day two of a seven-day heat wave. more records fell today. look at the numbers over shoulder. it says 108 for the daytime high in livermore. we made 106 in concord. 103 santa rosa. we will show you wherth