we will see you in 30 minutes. the cbs weekend news is next. for now, captioning sponsored by cbs >> garrett: tonight supreme court showdown, mourning and power play. >> president trump races to replace justice ruth bader ginsburg. >> i will be putting forth a nominee next week. it will be a woman. >> garrett: democrats accuse republicans of high speed hypocrisy. >> i'm speaking to the republicans who know deep down what is right for the country. >> garrett: outside the supreme court tributes for a justice unique among her colleaguesk well-known and beloved. also tonight a devastating new chapter in america's covid chronicle, deaths by some counts top 200,000. while thousands of bikers rally

in the ozarks ignoring the risks. >> plus a raging california wildfire, a new test for exhausted fire crews. airlines plead for builds in federal aid to avoid thousands in new layoffs. and later our rita braver offers an preeshes of-- appreciation of rbg. >> she came up to my shoulder but i always knew that i was in the presence of a giant. this is the cbs weekend news. >> garrett: good evening, everyone, i'm major garrett in washington. a presidential election that has largely been a referendum on president trump and in particular his handling of the covid crisis has suddenly become something much, much more. a fierce fight over the future of the supreme court following the death friday of justice ruth bader ginsburg. and tonight a reminder as a nation we are confronted with

many losses. bells tolled at the national cathedral here in the capitol for those americans killed by the virus, and by some counts that number now tops 200,000. and again today mourners visited the supreme court where the grounds around that building have bloomed into a memorial honoring justice ginsburg. tonight president trump is pushing fast to name a successor. as furious democrats plot their senate moves. paula reid at the white house starts us off. >> good evening, major. this supreme court vacancy has given the president an opportunity to reframe the 2020 election, switching the focus from his handling of covid to the courts. and it has certainly energized his supporters. they even have a new chant, fill the seat. but democrats and agents of republicans are saying not so fast. >> the bitter partisan battle has begun over the replacement of justice ruth bader ginsburg. >> there is so much at stake.

the right to health care, clean air, clean water, the environment, equal pay for equal work. >> democratic presidential nominee joe biden sunday insisted whoever wins in november should get to appointment new justice. >> if i win this election, president trump's nominee should be withdrawn. >> biden says he would nominate a black woman but will not release a list of potential nominees. >> anyone put on the list like that under these circumstances will be subject to unrelenting political attacks. >> just hours earlier mr. trump's supporters had turned ginsburg's death into a rallying cry. >> fill that seat, fill that seat. >> i hope they hear so the chants, this is a new one, fill that seat. >> the president even weighed in on a few favorites, judge amy coney barrett, currently sitting on the 7th circuit court of appeals is considered a frontrunner. >> she is very highly respected, i can say that.

>> but judge barbara lagoa on the 119 circuit is also a top contender. >> an extraordinary person, i have heard incredible things about her. i don't know her. she is hispanic and highly respected. >> cbs news has learned that over the next few days the president will continue to confer with his top advisors, his vice president, chief of staff, white house counsel even his son in law jared kushner about this nomination. the president is expected to announce his pick sometime this week. major? >> garrett: paula reid at the white house, thank you. whoever the president nominates to replace ginsburg, the decision and subsequent confirmation battle will likely reshape the supreme court for generations, possibly marking president trump's most lasting legacy. chief congressional correspondent nancy cordes on the high stakes. >> we will move forward without delay. >> we have a chance to stop the process. >> senators from both sides took their battle positions today in the huge confrontation to come. republicans vowing to move quickly to confirm president

trump's nominee. >> when you have both parties in the white house and the senate, historically the confirmation goes forward. and that's what is going to happen here. >> democrats promise to fight it, though their power to do so is limited. >> well, we have our options, we have arrows in our quifer that i'm not about to discuss right now. >> more than 100 million dollars have poured into the party's coffers since ginsburg's death was announced friday night. with the affordable care act and roe v. wade hanging in the balance, massachusetts democrat elizabeth warren has this call to arms for progressive voters. >> tonight is the moment to say from the heart, with conviction, to ourselves and to anyone who is listening, when it comes to the fight to protect a woman's right to choose, i will fight. >> republican leader mitch mcconnell has not said whether

he will try to hold a confirmation vote before election day. just 43 days from now. the average nomination process for a supreme court justice lasts about 70 days. today alaska's lisa murkowski became the second republican senator to formally oppose taking up a nomination this close to the election. the president responded by tweeting no thanks to an announcement about a murkowski appearance later this month in a laz-- alaska. his opponent made this plea today. >> i'm speaking to those republicans out there, senate republicans who know deep down what is right for the country and consistent with the constitution. >> biden used to chair the senate judiciary committee so he knows exactly how this works and he knows that the chance to confirm a supreme court nominee who shares your views is something senators live for. and thus republicans are

unlikely to back down. major. >> garrett: nancy cordes, thank you. as a nation we are confronting a new milestone in the covid-19 pandemic. there have been 6.8 million cases here and by some counts we have reached 200,000 deaths. still there is progress. states that suffered the most are recovering, but infections in others are rising. tom hanson is in new york. >> it is a new devastating chapter in covid. >> i feel bad. >> american life has changed drastically since the first death in february triggered an avalanche of infections and then deaths. by may a pre-summer surge of 20,000 cases a day, hospitals overwhelmed and an economic tail spin from wall street to main street. and as summer comes to a close, 40,000 cases a day, hot spots moving from major cities to the u.s. heartland with so much still riding on the line. >> my opinion is if i am going to get it, i am going to get it.

>> now more mask mass gatherings and spikes as tens of thousands bikers pack the lake of ozark ozarks for bike this weekend and long lines to cast early ballots with. >> reexhausted from what we have been going for. >> exhausted yes, but finished no, 11 states and puerto rico still report a positive iterate of 10% or higher. and on "face the nation" former fda commissioner scott gottlieb warned of another wave. >> i think we have one more cycle with this virus heading too fall and winter. there is an unmistakable spike in new infections. and here in new york, one of the epicenter, the infection rate is now around 1% but a report from the mayor's office calls covid-19 the largest mass fatality incident in modern new york city's history. major? >> garrett: scobberring words in-- sobering words, thank you. the u.s. is not alone in tall of this, of course. there is sharp increases in covid infections around the world, cbs news elizabeth palmer

has hor. -- more. >> israel is the first country to respond to a covid second wave. with police setting up roadblocks on the over of the jew you were new year to enforce travel restrictions and normally crowded beaches were deserted. europe is bracing for its second wave too after a summer of dropping infections, the virus is back and so are hospital add mugses-- admissions within the european countries facing surging infection rates want to avoid going back to a full lockdown. so they're experimenting with a whole series of half measures. in spain the infection rate is now 30 times higher than it was in june. access to and from some madrid neighborhoods is control. and emergency covid units stand ready at the military hospital. in the u.k. too socializing is now limited.

>> six outdoor max wum. >> but virus or no virus, some grand european fall traditions have gone ahead like the most famous cycle race of all, the tour de france. and oktoberfest. but instead of vast public biergartens, this year st all inside in brewery food halls what one drinker called controlled parting. the new normal. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> garrett: in southern california tonight exhausted firefighters are battling one of the largest fires ever to hit los angeles countee it is just one of several wildfires scorching the west. lilia luciano has the latest. >> fueled by erratic winds and triple digit temperatures, the bobcat fire is at nearly 100,000 acres tonight with no signs of slowing. the fast moving blaze doubling in size from friday, leading a path of destruction across the

san gabriel mountains. homes have burned and evacuations continue. >> it has been an emotional time. a lot of people lost their homes, a lot of our friends lost their homes. >> nearly 1700 personnel from across the country are battling this blaze including firefighter larry smith of new mexico. >> we have very,ha very steep terrain, the fire tends to be more aggressive if it runs uphill. >> and in oregon where the death toll is now nine with five people still missing, firefighters are getting a handle on the historic fires, that scorched more than a million acres and destroyed more than 3,000 structures. >> this is what is left after the bobcat fire swept through this entire desert community and everywhere i look there is smoke. weary firefighters have been fighting a fire line that stretches 30 miles and what is tougher, they don't expect this fire to be fully contained until the very end of october. >> garrett: lilia luciano, we thank you. this has been another weekend of weather worries for the gulf coast. tropical storm beta is slowly

making its way towards texas and louisiana, it is likely to come ashore monday near houston. straight ahead on the cbs weekend news, airlines seek billions in new federal aid to avoid massive layoffs as a critical deadline nears. plus green new deal? how peas could replace oil in plastic. and our rita braver with an appreciation of rbg.

>> garrett: covid shas clob erred the airline industry. passenger traffic remains low and some companies have kept seats open to promote safety. now a new threat, unless billions plor in federal aid materializes soon, thousands of workers face furloughs and layoffs. kris van cleave reports. >> it's been heart-wrenching, it's been really sad. >> allie malis is just days away from losing her job, one of 8,000 american airline flight

attendants set sto be furloughed october 1st when the government's payroll support program runs out. >> we are people with lives and bills that depend on income coming through the door to pay student loan payments, car payments, home payments. >> the av vacation industry is reeling from demand and straggerring financial losses due to the coronavirus. as many as 76,000 airline employees face potential furlough or layoff next month. and airlines could slash service to smaller communities. on thursday airline c.e.o.s were at the white house. >> we're just here to plead with everyone involved to get to a coindividual relief package. >> on capitol hill there appears to be bipartisan sprort but so far no legislation to make it happen. >> now is not the time to be uncertain, now is time to give the airline sector the importance that it deserves. >> we don't have much time to get this done. the president clearly eager to sign a bill. lots of things like the airline

layoffs occur october 1. >> but critics argue with airlines praise bracing for the potential of a four year recovery, a six month extension may not save jobs in the end. but it would buy time for. the alaska flight attendant showed us her furlough letter after tapping her 401(k) and renting out rooms in her house to get by. >> when that reality hit and you are holding that letter, it's really sad. to be honest. >> malis hasn't given up hope, she is helping lobby law make ares and teaching virtual yoga to make extra money. but that doesn't come with health care and will make paying her bills a stretch. kris van cleave, cbs news, washington. >> garrett: still ahead on the cbs weekend news, spit fires roar over london again honoring an air battle that saved britain in world war ii.

>> garrett: an envelope con tawng the lethal poison ricin has been intersempted in the

white house mail at a government facility away from the executive mansion it was addressed to president trump and appeared to come from canada. the u.s. postal service say there is no known threat to the public. >> new protests today in a country that has been called europe's last dictatorship, in belarus tens of thousands of protestors returned to the streets of the capitol for a 6th straight sunday. they are demanding president alexander lukashenko step down after his disputed election victory. in france tour de france cyclists raced into paris today, the final leg of the grueling three week event. a 21 year old slof indian became the youngest winner of the race in the last century. and vintage aircraft took to the sky over london today three spit fires and a hurricane marked the 80 years since the battle of britain, that battle fought entirely in the air was a turning point in the second world war. next on the cbs weekend news, a truly green sol use to a

world-- slol use with a world filled with plastic pollution pollution.

>> garrett: by one estimate 8 million pieces of plastic end up in the world's oceans every day but as ian lee report there is a real green solution to this environmental disaster. >> nearly 8 tons of plastic enter our oceans every year. clogging our beaches and harming sea life. but a new type of plastic easy on the environment is rolling out in the u.k. once made from pea. >> single use plastic and microplastics don't need to be made from fossil fuels there is something very wrong about making materials from oil that lasts just for a minute or two. >> he said it is the first cop xampla takes planted protein into a material that acts like sing et cetera use, it starts as a liquid that turns into smeets for packaging ideas, detergent,

candy, even stickers all biodegrade in a matter of days. >> at the moment they contain plastic which would not de grade and last for ages in the ocean. our capsules are made of protein and would be eaten by fish eventually. >> much healthier than consuming microplastics and fish aren't the only ones. studies show the average american in just more than 70,000 microplastic particles every year. >> t has taken over a decade to perfect the process and st not just pea, they can use other common plants like potatoes. and it doesn't even have to be food that ends up on the dinner table. >> there are a lot of waste products already in the farming process that have got very low value or even just plowed straight back into the field that can be used to make our kind of material. >> new material helping to wrap up the world's plastic problems. ian lee, cbs news, london. >> garrett: when we return a very special reporter's notebook as rita brave errors ruth bader

ginsburg.

>> garrett: finally tonight anyone who you neu justice ruth bader ginsburg personally can attest to her extraordinary quality, rita braifer certainly-- braver certainly can. >> she came up to my shoulder but i always knew that i was in the presence of a giant. i met justice ginsburg before she was appointed to the supreme court. a friend wanted to bring her to dinner and i was thrilled. she was a leblg end even-- legend even then because of her past work as a lawyer fighting for women's rights. a few years later i was reporting on her appointment to the supreme court. by and large the reviews were positive for ginsburg, former law professor, a mother and grandmother who showed off a photo of her granddaughter and the first lady. >> after the first battle over justice clarence thomas. >> senator, i would have preferred an assassin's bullet.

>> ginsburg's confirmation hearings were free from major controversy. the committee is requiring private meetings with all nominees to go over personal matters. even though chairman joseph biden calls ginsburg squeaky clean. rita braver, cbs news at the supreme court. >> ginsburg became a leader of the supreme court's liberal wing yet her best friend was a leading conservative, justice antonin scalia. as one of her former law clerks said, who made her laugh. i knew she was special but did i expect her to see her become notorious rbg, her face on t-shirts and coffee mugs? no. my first inkling was in the late 90s when she came to a party for my daughter and all the girls swarmed around justice ginsburg like she was madonna. but the truth is, just as ginsburg was more inspirational than any rock star. she had heart and determination. she cared about what happened to

people. and the world began to notice. so we cheered her workouts. we were awed at ho she would go get cancer treatments and return to the office. but most of all, we were moved by pot we are of her convictions and her words. >> i would like to see an equal rights amendment in our constitution. >> she never forgot that discrimination she faced as a young lawyer. in a case involving equal pay for women, justice ginsburg was on the losing side. in her powerful dissent she said the ball is in congress' court. a coup em of years later congress passed a law to fix the problem. just one of the many ways that ruth bader ginsburg's legacy will live on, one of the many reasons she deserves our admiration. >> garrett: that is the cbs weekend news for this sunday. later tonight, the season premier of "60 minutes." and to all of those who celebrated the jew you were new year this week, shana tovah.

i'm major garrett in washington. good now at 6:00, unemployment overhaul. the surprise halt on all new california claims while the state tries to retool its broken system. plus, an alarming spike in san francisco burglaries with tourists out of town, thieves have a new target. they're going to begin fixing the old earthen dam but it's going to be a long time before the public is going to see it from this side again. and new concern about the cost of living in san jose. we look at the massive project that could transform the downtown area. good evening. i'm juliette goodrich. >> i'm brian hackney. we begin with that sudden shutdown at the state

unemployment office. the employment development department is halting all unemployment claims for two weeks while it sifts through a massive backlog and struggles to fix a badly broken system that's become a prime target for fraud. reporter ryan hill breaks it all down. >> reporter: michael nelson is one of the countless californians dealing with their own problems with e.d.d. >> no phone calls back from emails that are sent in to them. they're just not responding back. >> reporter: nelson said he filed for employment in january and received payments from e.d.d. >> i filled out the paperwork they sent me and told them i went back to work and they took it upon themselves to keep sending me money. >> reporter: money that nelson didn't expect or want from e.d.d. more than $7,000 worth. he tried giving it back. so far, no luck. now a government strike team report shows 100 recommendations to fix the e.d.d. failures, including an immediate halt to