have.>> we will have more on this at 6, get to the bottom of captioning sponsored by cbs >> garrett: tonight, supreme court vacancy. the death of justice ruth bader ginsburg prompts an outpouring of grief and upends an already-bitter presidential campaign. president trump urges quick action to nominate and confirm a replacement. >> we're going to start the process extremely soon. >> garrett: democrats insist let the voters be heard first. >> voters should pick the president, and the president should pick the justice. >> garrett: also tonight, pandemic milestone-- nearly 200,000 american lives lost to the virus. the midwest sees a spike. new fire evacuations in california as a blaze near los angeles explodes overnight. >> had everything ready to rip,

so i'm going. >> garrett: who is counting and how-- my visit to bucks county, pennsylvania, inside a battleground state that's preparing for a surge of mail-in ballots. and 400 years later, a modern "mayflower" sets sail. >> this ship is powered by the most cutting edge art ficialg intelligence ever known. >> this is the "cbs weekend news." >> garrett: good evening, everyone. i'm major garrett in washington. a prime part of the history of our constitution justice ruth bader ginsburg wrote for the supreme court in 1996, is the story of the extension of constitutional rights and protections to people once ignored or excluded. the decision in that case over-ruled virginia military institute's exclusion of women and changed sex discrimination precedent, thereby continuing

ginsburg's lifelong trajectory of could go just that. the second woman to serve on the high court, ginsburg grew from feminist legal heroine to a pop culture icon. ginsburg's death sets up an epic battle, sure to be fodder in the presidential election. and of course the coronavirus pandemic remains with us, the virus claiming nearly 200,000 american lives. paula reid starts us off tonight at the supreme court. >> reporter: good evening, major. justice ginsburg was a fighter. she fought for her place in the legal profession. she advocated for women's rights, and she faced cancer three times. and now her death is kicking off a once-in-a-generation political fight as president trump has made it clear he will defy her dying wish not to be replaced before the presidential election. >> i am proud to nominate for associate justice of the supreme court. >> reporter: ruth bader ginsburg was nominated to the supreme court in june 1993. >> mr. president, i am grateful

beyond measure for the confidence you have placed in me. >> reporter: she was a pioneer in the fight for women's rights. early in her career, she argued six cases before the court, winning five in the fight to end gender discrimination. it's unusual for judges to attain hollywood status, but justice ginsburg became a cultural icon with a documentary and major motion picture made about her life. >> we're not asking you to change the country. >> reporter: just two years ago, she was asked how she would like to be remembered. >> as someone who did the best she could with whatever talent she had to make things a little better for people less fortunate. >> reporter: throughout the day here at the supreme court, we have seen parents bringing their daughters to show their respects to justice ginsburg.

there are also demonstrators. among of hundreds of people currently here at the supreme court. president trump is expected to name justice ginsburg's replacement in the next 10 days. major. >> garrett: paula reid, thank you. senator majority leader mitch mcconnell is vowing to hold a vote on the president's supreme court nominee whoever it is and this sets up an election season firestorm in the united states senate. nancy cordes has more. >> the president has every right to nominate someone. >> reporter: many senate republicans fell in line today with the plan for a swift nomination, despite the looming election. >> this nomination is why donald trump was elected. >> reporter: democrats reacted with fury, recalling how the g.o.p. blocked their nominee, merrick garland, during president obama's last year in office. >> we are going to explore every avenue to stop mitch mcconnell from stealing yet another supreme court seat. >> reporter: this afternoon,

democrats on the senate judiciary committee called on the chair, lindsey graham, to state unequivocally and publicly that you will not consider any nominee to fill justice ginsburg's seat until after the next president is inaugurated. but it was too late. graham had already announced that he would support president trump's move to fill the vacancy, even though he has repeatedly pledged to do the opposite. >> if an opening comes in the last year of president trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait until the next election. and i've got a pretty good chance of being-- >> you're on the record. >> yeah. >> all right. >> hold the tape. >> reporter: susan collins of maine is one of two republicans who want to slow things down. and in a statement this evening, collins said that in fairness to the american people, this decision should be made by the president who is elected on

november 3. major. >> garrett: nancy, we know senate democrats want to stop this, but is there anything they can do to prevent republicans from filling this vacancy? >> reporter: well, if colins is one of just a couple of defections, then, no, there isn't much that democrats can do in the short term. and in fact, democratic leader chuck schumer more or less acknowledged that in a conference qual his democratic colleagues this afternoon, telling them that if republicans move forward with this, then nothing is off the table for next year. and so, basically, what he's saying is that democrats could retaliate by doing away with the filibuster or adding more seats to the supreme court, but not until months from now, and only if, major, they do win control of the senate come november. >> garrett: high stakes indeed. nancy cordes thank you very much. the supreme court vacancy is shaking up the 2020 election. today, vice presidential nominee kamala harris paid her respects

at a makeshift memorial for ginsburg at the supreme court, and tonight president trump returned to the campaign trail in north carolina. nikole killion is there and speaking to voters. >> reporter: in fayetteville, north carolina, supporters streamed in to see president trump, anxious about who he might select to the supreme court following the death of justice ruth bader ginsburg. >> i don't necessarily feel donald trump needs to pick a woman or a man. i feel like he needs to pick the person who is the most qualified. >> conservatives can finally take the supreme court. >> reporter: a recent marquette poll conducted before ginsburg's death found 51% of likely trump voters and 59% of likely voters for joe biden think the next court appointment is very important to them. >> that would be third for me. illegal immigration is my top issue. >> reporter: while president trump has released a list of potential nominees, former vice president joe biden has not, but

he has committed to appointing the first black woman to the high court. >> i think we need to spark the conversation of what that list looks like. >> reporter: glynda carr runs higher heights, an organization to build political power among african american women. are you worried that time is running out? >> you know, untimely death of justice ginsburg, obviously, is going to put pressure for vice president biden to start discussing what the qualifications, the background, what-- where this person might be coming from. >> reporter: the biden campaign tells me the former vice president will nominate someone if he's fortunate to be elected and accused the president of playing politics-- although both campaigns are now fund-raising off the court opening. major. >> garrett: nikole killion, thank you. tomorrow on "face the nation," margaret brennan's guests include senator cory booker of new jersey and roy blunt of missouri, plus former president bill clinton reflects on the life and legacy of justice

ginsburg. now to the pandemic. today the number of americans killed by covid-19 is closing in on 200,000. that's the most of any country. and there's also a bold new prediction from president trump. here is michael george. >> we expect to have enough vaccines for every american by april. >> reporter: president trump claims vaccine distribution is on the horizon, contradicting administration health officials. >> late second quarter, third quarter, 2021. >> reporter: c.d.c. director robert redfield told a senate panel this week americans already have access to the best defense. >> face masks, these face masks are the most important powerful public health tool we have. >> reporter: more than a dozen states have seen a spike in deaths, nearly 50,000 new cases were reported nationwide friday. early voting in virginia brought crowds to this polling place. president trump and vice president pence visited wisconsin this week, a state grappling with a surge in

positive tests. university students, including these badgers, geared up for big ten football games, have formed a new tailgating plan. >> wear masks, stay away, we'll throw you a brat, but let's do it six feet away. >> reporter: the c.d.c. reversed its controversial guidelines, now urging testing for people without symptoms. experts hammered the federal agency for its inconsistent messaging last month, now saying anyone in contact with someone suspected of having covid-19 should get a test. major. >> garrett: michael george, thank you. wildfires continue ripping through the nation's western states and right now california is seeing the worst of it. lilia luciano is there. >> reporter: exploding in size overnight, the bob cat fire ripped through the foothills northeast of los angeles, destroying several structures. >> we now see that it's even worse than we thought. >> reporter: intensifying winds prompted more evacuations as crews from across the country have stepped in.

>in. firefighter larry smith says it's one of the biggest wildfires he's seen. what does that look like? well, think of 91,000 american football fields. >> reporter: this comes as firefighters mourn one of their own who died in the eldorado fire, sparked by a botched pyrotechnic at a gender reveal party. in oregon, where at least nine people have died, the search for the missing continues. the hazardous air is starting to clear, and rain across the pacific northwest has helped tame the flames. this week, more residents have gone back to their communities. >> it's utterly heartbreaking. >> reporter: even after losing their homes. >> they didn't get their stuff but they got each other, and their families are safe. >> reporter: it's not just the fires. people in l.a. were shaken by a 4.5-magnitude earthquake late last night, and it's wind expected to pick up this weekend that has fire crews worried. major. >> garrett: lilia luciano, thank you. the gulf coast is on storm watch

yet again. tropical storm beta is a real threat, a hurricane watch has been posted for coastal texas. there have been so many storms this season, forecasters are now using the greek alphabet to name them. straight ahead on the "cbs weekend news," i will take you to pennsylvania, showing you who will be counting all those mailed-in ballots and, importantly, how. why a new report condemns boeing and the f.a.a. for failures with the 737 max. 400 years later, a new "mayflower" gets set for a modern mission.

>> garrett: the death of justice ginsburg is the latest event likely to intensify voter turnout and heighten interest in the outcome of the election. that's probably putting it mildly. because of the pandemic, some states are making a rapid transition to mail-in balloting, going from lightly used well, to a deluge. one of them is pennsylvania, a battleground state. and as i found during a visit to one important county, there's a

lot of preparation and pressure. doyle's town, the quiet and quaint county seat of bucks county. inside its election warehouse, voting equipment for all 304 precincts stretches wall to wall. but all those machines won't get as much use as usual this year because fewer people will vote in person, and more will participate by mail. >> it's a different world for everybody. >> garrett: bob harvie chairs the county elections. >> we expected there to be more mail-in ballot applications, but we didn't expect these numbers and, obviously, the pandemic ramped everything up. >> garrett: in 2016, the county had about 20,000 requests for absentee ballots. this year it is expecting at least 200,000, possibly 250,000. are you prepared to process that many mail-in ballot, if they all come in. >> the challengerring part is going to be dealing with counting them as quickly as we

can. >> garrett: so bucks county's is increasing its election staff from 10 to 25. itula four scanners to count absentee ballots. now it has 10, and it is refurbishing this office to make room for staff and machinery. >> it will be absentee and mail-in ballot central. >> garrett: tom freitag is elections director. >> there will be high-scanners over here. there will be 10 of them. >> garrett: bucks county's bought their equipment from clear ballot, a company specialing in vote-by-mail technology. >> we've actually increased our customer base by 35% during the pandemic. >> garrett: hillary lincoln is vice president of marketing. >> 75% of our pennsylvania counties have had to scale their absentee equipment. so we've helped them do that. >> garrett: of the 13 states expected to be competitive this fall, pennsylvania is one of four that does not allow the processing of mail-in ballots before election day. processing means opening envelopes, flattening ballots, and preparing them to be scanned

for counting. all that takes time. >> basically, any kind of relief to that that we can open any earlier would really help us, if it is three days, three weeks, any time would help. >> reporter: the pennsylvania legislature is debating whether to allow processing before election day. but without a change to state law, bucks county expects to be counting mail-in ballots after november 3. >> certainly we want to be done before, i would say, you know, within a week. >> garrett: even best-case scenario it's going to be a couple of days. >> yes. >> garrett: maybe three. >> yes. >> garrett: if the outcome is a blowout this delay won't matter at all. but bucks county's went for hillary clinton by less than 1%age point in 2016, a competitive county in a competitive state with, by the way, 20 electoral votes that could decide the election. still ahead on the "cbs weekend news." boeing gets blasted for 737 max failures even as it works to return the jets to the sky.

>> garrett: boeing is facing new allegations about the 737 max jetliner. it was grounded 18 months ago after two deadly crashes. this week, congressional investigators provided the most scathing account so far of what went wrong, calling it a "horrific culmination of errors." here is kris van cleave. >> reporter: as far back as 2012, multiple boeing engineers and test pilots were raising concerns about the oomented mcas anti-stall system on the 737 max. the very system at the center of the two crashes that killed 346. but those concerns were not thoroughly investigated or dismissed. and were never shared with the f.a.a. or boeing customers. that, from a new report from house transportation committee democrats that is scathing in its blame of boeing and the f.a.a. >> i think this report is a road map for the changes that are needed. >> reporter: committee chair peter defazio is finalizing

f.a.a. reform legislation. >> well, i'm astounding that we can have a system where both boeing and f.a.a. find that they were compliance with the process, and yet, 346 innocent people died. that means the process doesn't work. >> reporter: the 245-page report argues boeing employees made a conscious effort to conceal the existence of mcas to avoid potential delays from additional f.a.a. scrutiny and the possibility of additional training requirements. as for the f.a.a., the committee did not mince words. the f.a.a. failed to ensure the safety of the traveling public and failed in its duty to hold boeing accountable. the agency did not ask enough questions or sufficiently scrutinize boeing responses. michael stumo's daughter samya died when ethopian flight 302 crashed last year. >> we don't trust that the plane is going to be safe. we've already seen this movie before where everyone asures the public that it is a safe plane, but they won't show us. >> reporter: the f.a.a. says

it's committed to advancing safety and looks forward to working with the committee to implement improvements identified in this report. boeing says "we have learned many hard lessons as a company from the accidents and from the mistakes we have made." kris van cleave, cbs news, washington. >> garrett: next on the "cbs weekend news," no harness, no fear. a daredevil grabs hold of paris' tallest skiscraper.

>> garrett: it appears tiktok has more time. in a reversal, president trump said today he will approve a deal allowing the popular chinese-based social media app to keep operating under an agreement with u.s.-based oracle. the president had threatened to ban the app tomorrow over national security concerns. in paris, an unidentified spider-man has scaled that city's tallest skyscraper. he used nothing but his bare

hands-- oh, yes and a ton of nerve. the climber made it to the top of the tower where he was promptly arrested. just ahead on the "cbs weekend news," a modern "mayflower" debuts in england for a new trans-atlantic voyage.

>> garrett: finally tonight, 400 years ago this week, the "mayflower" set sail from plymouth, england on a history-making voyage. now a new ship with the same name is getting ready for another pioneering mission. in london, here is ian lee. >> reporter: it's a journey remembering the past with hopes of discovery for the future. >> 400 years ago, having already endured great trial and tribulation! >> reporter: the original "mayflower" set sail in 1620 with pilgrims fleeing religious persecution. four centuries later from the same harbor in plymouth, england, a new "mayflower" will undertake the journey with a different mission.

while both ships harness renewable energy, the original wind in this one solar, the comparisons stop there. >> it's a project of tremendous sophistication and invasion. this ship is powered by the most cutting edge artificial intelligence ever known. >> reporter: a robot trained by i.b.m. will captain the ship along its journey. the vessel will measure the heights of the sea surface and depths of the ocean. >> we'll learn a tremendous amount not just about the ocean and the climate, which is what this boat will do is gather data, but how reliable systems are like this that don't depend on personnel on board. >> reporter: when the ship eventually pulls into plymouth, massachusetts, researchers hope it will be the dawn of another age of discovery. ian lee, cbs news, london. >> garrett: the ship is set to sail next spring. the crossing is expected to take two weeks. the 1620 journey took two months. that's the "cbs weekend news" for this saturday.

i'm major garrett in washington. good night. >> live from the cbs bay area studios, this is kpix 5 news. >> the smoke is back, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. however, it is a spare the air day out there right now. i'm in st. helena where eight families are investing a lot more than just money to get their piece of the american dream. we will have that story coming up. rattled nerves across southern california, is it a sign of bigger things to come? good evening, just when you thought it was safe to go back outside, another spare the air alert is in effect.

that actual air quality around the bay area is not bad right now, but what's up?>> we have a couple of moderate categories out there. now if you just taken the view from our camera on top of the sales force tower looking north, you can see all the boats out there just off the coast, it's a beautiful day to be doing that but it is hazy. and if we put the scale back up there again, you know the drill, green is good, but the red and purple, that's where we were last week. we are not there, but let me show you where we are. we have one moderate reading for the east bay. the smoke that is coming back is coming from the august complex fire up in northern california, and that's why we see it in the north bay a little bit right now. the important take away is moderate air quality is not all that bad. it's bad ou