♪ ♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> diaz: tonight, the race to vaccinate as alarm over the mutating virus grows louder. health workers on the front lines try to get the most out of every vial. >> i refuse to let any drop go to waste. >> diaz: fema wants the pentagon to deploy 10,000 u.s. troops to 100 vaccination sites to help speed up the shots. also tonight, a majority of workers at one hospital declined the vaccine. we ask why. >> if you didn't do it yourself, you just don't know. >> diaz: plus, presidential push for new covid relief. why republicans are pushing back. chicago teachers move closer to striking over plans to reopen schools on monday. >> as a parent, you're waiting day by day. >> diaz: winter warning:

california digs out as the midwest and northeast get ready. and later, we visit a texas restaurant getting rave reviews for its witty words. for its whitty word. >> this is the "cbs weekend news" from chicago. here's adriana diaz. >> diaz: good evening. tonight, the vaccination rollout is ramping up. fema is enlisting help from the pentagon to get millions more americans evacuated. the c.d.c. reports a total of nearly 30 million doses have been administered. but the longer it takes, the more time the virus has to mutate. today, the number of infected americans topped 26 million, the death toll now nearing 439,000. the good news: new cases have fallen in 41 states, hospitalizations are down, too. but the risk remains high everywhere. cbs' danya bacchus in

los angeles tonight has the latest on the vaccine rollout and the virus fight. danya, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, adriana. here in los angeles county, covid deaths are the highest in the nation. as hospitalizations and cases decline, hope and fear are both on the rise. in the pursuit to protect americans against covid-19, cbs news has learned that fema requested the pentagon deploy 10,000 troops to 100 vaccination sites with a goal to vaccinate nearly half a million americans every day. the c.d.c. reports some five million americans are now fully vaccinated. that's less than 2% of the population. >> i'm offering you a vaccine. >> reporter: in south los angeles, kedren community clinic stayed open hours after closing time, giving the vaccine to anyone who walked in so 600 doses would not go to waste, dr. jerry abraham refusing to turn people away. >> if that means someone in this line gets one who is not in those priority groups, so be it.

i can sleep at night with that decision.if! i won't be able to sleep if i know that i dropped vaccine into the ground or disposed of it. >> virus variantses are quickly spreading across the nation. the u.k. strain, first reported in colorado less than a moho,ow0 states. the south african variant is now confirmed in two states, including maryland, according to the state's governor today. >> i just feel it's even more important now to get vaccinated than ever. if anybody ever had any doubt about it, i think it's vitally important. >> reporter: as the virus continues to mutate, a vaccine game changer may be on the way. johnson & johnson will request emergency authorization for their one-and-done vaccine this week. new travel rules take effect late monday, requiring masks be worn on all public transit nationwide at all times. as of today, california has surpassed 40,000 deaths, more than half of those deaths

occurring in just the last two months. and even with those numbers, ri havbeen lted, including outdoodi >> diaz: danya bacchusanles. thank you. now to the politics of the pandemic. president biden is pushing to get new stimulus relief into the hands of struggling americans, with or without republican help. cbs news correspondent christina ruffini is at the white house tonight. christina, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. president biden's only public appearance today was a trip to church, but behind the scenes this week, aides say he was working the phones, dialing up democrats and republicans to try to get his message through. president biden spent the week doing what he could to convince americans to get on board with his covid relief plan >> the covid relief has to pass. there's no ifs, ands, or buts. >> reporter: the almost $2 trillion package includes $20 billion for a national vaccination program, $15 billion in grants for small businesses, and a third round of direct

payments, $1,400, to most americans. the white house wants republican buy-in for the package, but so far, it's been a tough sell. many g.o.p. lawmakers, including louisiana senator bill cassidy, say they've got sticker shock. >> republicans can be there, but it can't just be spending $1.9 trillion pulled out of the air with no justification. >> reporter: with new figures showing 2020 was the worst year for the american economy since 1946, senator elizabeth warren says democrats will go forward, with or without the g.o.p. >> if the republicans aren't going to do it, then democrats got elected, not just to stand around and debate in washington. they got elected to deliver, and that is exactly what we should do. >> reporter: and with those temporary fences still standing around the capitol, lawmakers are also struggling to agree on how best to handle their own security. yesterday, the f.b.i. offered a $100,000 reward for information on the person seen in this

"washington post" video planting pipe bombs near the capitol the night before it was overrun by an angry mob. brian sicknick, the officer killed in those riots, will lie in honor in the capitol this week, providing an opportunity for divided lawmakers to come together to honor his service and sacrifice. adriana. >> diaz: president biden is encouraging reopening schools for in-person learning now that vaccinations are under way, but the issue has sparked a bitter showdown here in chicago between teachers and city officials who want to reopen schools on monday. cbs' charlie de mar has the latest. >> reporter: with a strike looming, members of the chicago teachers union were in cars today to show why they may not be in class on monday. that means recess is still confined to bridgett white'sas classroom. is it fair to say you're frustrated? >> yes, very frustrated.

>> reporter: brianna is in seventh grade, and tristan in fifth. neither have been back to their school since last march. >> you get this one side saying one thing, you have this other side saying the other thing, and you're in the middle. >> reporter: an angry mayor lori lightfoot lashed out last night and vowed kindergarten through eighth grade kids will be back in the classroom monday, despite a breakdown in talks with teachers. >> the c.t.u. leadership has failed and left us with a big bag of nothing. >> reporter: union leaders say lightfoot blew up negotiations after 70 sessions without an agreement on issues like testing, vaccinations, ventilation, and protecting vulnerable people who live with teachers. >> they're not going to accomplish with bullying and threats what they can't accomplish by looking at us and trying to make rational agreements with us. you know, we're teachers. we understand how bullying works. >> reporter: this week, the

c.d.c. said that in-person classes can return safely. meanwhile, president biden said he plans on having kids back in the classroom some time within the next three months. but what's happening here in chicago is showing just how difficult that might be. the city says they put $70 million into safety improvements, things like air purifiers and plastic dividers, in every classroom, but bridgett white says it's the political divide that gets her. >> as a parent, you're waiting day by day-- is this the day now my children won't have any learning at all? >> reporter: she understands thn safety concerns and will keep her kids in remote learning for now. but she wonders what they're learning about being caught in the middle. charlie de mar, cbs news, chicago. >> diaz: the fight to reopen schools is a topic on tomorrow's "face the nation." margaret brennan will speak to chicago public school c.e.o. dr. janice jackson. she'll also speak with presidential senior adviser cedric richmond and connecticut governor, ned lamont, about vaccine distribution.

to china now and the hunt for covid's origin. today, investigators with the world health organization visited another hospital in wuhan that treated some of the virus' first victims. investigators also visited an exhibition praising china's self-proclaimed victory over the virus. cbs news was in wuhan when the virus first emerged, and we are back again, led by ramy inocencio. >> reporter: restricted from the public during their time in wuhan, vans shuttled the world health organization's team to jinyintan, one of the city's main hospitals for the earliest covid patients. their first field visit was friday, another hospital, to meet clinicians and frontline staff, that after getting released from two weeks of mandatory quarantine. in beijing, china's foreign ministry said, "trust the experts." em yago,, chinese officials muz chinese officials muzzled early warnings about a new sars-like virus.

this is the wuhan institute of virology, a maximum biosecurity lab. critics say the w.h.o.'s team is a p.r. stunt. >> let history be the judge. >> reporter: emerging disease expert peter daszak, before he left quarantine. >> we're here, and we were invited in, and we're working every day with our colleagues, and that's a good thing. >> reporter: but a year after wuhan locked down its 11 million people for 76 days, residents in this recovered city are skeptical about access and transparency. "maybe the w.h.o. has a deal under the table with beijing," says zhang hai. his 76-year-old father died from covid. zhang alleges that was murder. "the government covered up early warnings," says yang min. "i miss my daughter. she died from covid after successful breast cancer surgery at 24." "can they find evidence? it's been a long time," says zhang keke. the lawyer is defending citizen

journalist zhang zhan, detained for criticizing the government's covid response. "i hope the w.h.o. can work independently," he adds. health restrictions are for protection, said the world health organization. they'll only meet with individuals who are part of the study. ramy inocencio, cbs news, wuhan. >> diaz: to other news now. millions of americans this stis seto dump snow andd about e ice from the midwest to the northeast. here in chicago, 6-10 inches could fall. parts of california are still digging out. this is yosemite national park, where at least 18 inches of snow fell. the park hopes to welcome visitors back on monday. and in the sierras, the snow was measured in feet-- five of them. that brought out snowboarders and skiers at lake tahoe, who loved it all. on the jersey shore, a four-alarm fire today along the boardwalk in ocean city prompted a massive emergency response. the flames and thick smoke,

fueled by high winds, destroyed several businesses already hard hit by covid restrictions. a crowd gathered dangerously close and had to be chased away by firefighters. fortunately, no one was injured. straight ahead on the "cbs weekend news," we find out why a majority of healthcare workers at this chicago hospital are hesitant about getting the vaccine. and later, signs of the times: we visit a restaurant serving up tex-mex and smiles.

black americans are not receiving the vaccine at the same rate as white americans. one issue is vaccine hesitancy, even among healthcare workers, who were first in line. we visited the hospital in a mostly black and low-income community on chicago's south side to see why even some medical professionals are refusing the vaccine. chicago's new roseland community hospital is waging a war against covid in a zip code with one of the city's worst death rate. >> i'm ready. >> diaz: though victory is in sight with a vaccine, so far, 73% of staff here have declined

it, like rhonda jones, a registered nurse. >> it came out just a little bit too fast for me. >> diaz: even though the country's top medical professionals are saying it's safe and that it's built on decades of research? >> we only know what's being told. we just don't know. if you didn't make it yourself, if you didn't cook it yourself, if you didn't do it yourself, you just don't know. >> diaz: jones has treated covid patients and lost an uncle to the virus. some people might be surprised to learn that you, someone in the medical field, don't want to take the vaccine right now. >> well, i would say that's just me being a good nurse. because i tell the patients, just because the doctor says this is good for you, you have to do your own research. >> reporter: doctors are more likely to get the vaccine than other staff here, but dr. tunji ladipo says they must all set an example. >> people like myself have to be up front and say, "hey, look, i'm getting the vaccination." that's important. >> diaz: so important, the hospital launched an internal vaccination campaign. >> i got it. >> i got it. >> diaz: nationwide, roughly a

third of workers in health care settings say they'll wait and see before getting a vaccine, mirroring public opinion. black adults are most hesitant, due in part to distrust stemming from historic discrimination. other reasons include concerns over long-term impacts and side effects, often based on misinformation that officials like dr. anthony fauci are trying to dispel. >> the incidence of severe, severe adverse events is negligible. >> diaz: martez isom is not convinced. he cleans covid patient rooms here. are you willing to take the vaccine? >> no, ma'am. it's too new for me to know how it will affect me. i need to see how it affects everyone else first. >> diaz: but dr. ladipo fears there's no time to wait, especially for people of color. >> if we get a vaccination at the rate lower than the general population, we will suffer the most. it will continue to rage in our community. >> diaz: an important plea for vaccinations. still ahead on the "cbs weekend news," a debrief with major

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experienced the real-world consequences of rampant, online disinformation. the capitol riot brought into focus something online watchers had been warning about for months. here is cbs' chief washington correspondent major garrett. >> reporter: democrats this week called for the expulsion of first-term georgia congresswoman marjorie taylor greene for repeating anti-semitic tropes and amplifying dangerous, as well as discredited, qanon conspiracy theories. >> right now, they're trying to expel me from congress. >> reporter: false allegations of mass election fraud, disinformation that greene perpetrated, helped fuel the deadly capitol insurrection. >> president trump did not cause the attack on the capitol on january 6. >> reporter: for his part, former president trump has sidestepped qanon, claiming he knows little about a movement at

the core of his support. >> i've heard these are people that love our country. >> reporter: disinformation online reached new heights in 2020. a recent study showed facebook users interacted with deceptive posts more than a billion times in october, november, and december, about twice the total leading up to the 2016 election. >> even when people were increasing their news consumption overall online, their consumption of information from the deceptive sites was even greater. >> reporter: the qanon world is rooted in a belief mr. trump can save society from a cabal of democratic pedophiles running a global child trafficking ring. >> it was a drug. like, it was absolutely a drug. >> reporter: we met jitarth jideja, a former qanon believer, who said he lost almost two years of his life to the cult. >> you should be really scared. these guys are dangerous. they're more dangerous than white supremacists. >> diaz: that's cbs news chief washington correspondent major garrett. this week's "debrief" podcast on

qanon and disinformation is available on tuesday, and don't miss "the takeout." find both on apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. next on the "cbs weekend news," the texas restaurant famous for their margaritas and messaging. it works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut. free your gut, and your mood will follow. with new rewards from chase freedom unlimited, i now earn even more cash back? oh i got to tell everyone. hey, rita! you now earn 3% on dining, including takeout! bon appetit. hey kim, you now earn 5% on travel purchased through chase! way ahead of you! hey, neal! you can earn 3% at drugstores. buddy, i'm right here. why are you yelling? because that's what i do! you're always earning with 5% cash back on travel purchased through chase, 3% at drugstores, 3% on dining including takeout, and 1.5% on everything else you buy.

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where everything is bigger, even a small restaurant's global following. and as cbs' janet shamlian tells us, it's not because of the menu. >> reporter: the margaritas are famous in austin. el arroyo isn't the newest or fanciest tex-mex in town, but fans say it's just plain good. for decades, the restaurant has had a dual mission: filling stomachs and, with this sign, feeding the souls. what do you think it is about the signs that speaks to people? >> it's like laughing with an old friend. i an, it's things people can connect with easily. >> reporter: ellis winstanley bought the place nine years ago, inheriting the daily duty tied to the restaurant's iconic sign: posting something witty or inspirational, often reflecting current events. how hard is it to come up with new content every single day? >> so there are a team of folks that work on it, and there are a

lot of user-submitted ones now, so it's getting easier as the social media presence gets larger. >> reporter: more than 600,000 followers between instagam, facebook, and twitter. since the pandemic started, about 1,000 new ones each day, a thirst for more margaritas, el arroyo's comic relief, like this, "want to see social distancing? loan someone some money." over the holidays, "i really can't stay, baby. it's covid outside." humor that transcends borders.t. >> we've seen a wh >> we've seen a whole bunch this year where people are saying, "hey, i live in the u.k.," or "i live in germany"-- or whatever-- "and i have been following the signs, and it's made me smile through covid. and when i come to the u.s., i want to come visit." >> reporter: just before closing each night, the day's message is replaced by a new one, agreed to by the team, the phrase of the day turning a decades-old marquee into one of austin's biggest draws. >> i actually have been wanting to visit this place, so en route

to her apartment, we saw it, and i said "oh, my goodness, we need to stop." so here we are. to stop." >> reporter: the daily dose of levity has become an added source of income in lean times for these restaurants, spawning books, mugs, magnets and more. >> a group of people is called a... i think people have >> reporter: but mostly, the sign is a way to connect when we're often far apart. >> it's been a heavy year. i think people have responded very favorably to having some light-heartedness brought into their days. >> reporter: curbside humor-- a calorie-free serving of comfort food for hearts and minds. janet shamlian, cbs news, austin, texas. >> diaz: we'll take inspiration wherever we can get it. that is the "cbs weekend news" for this saturday. later on cbs, "48 hours." and first thing tomorrow, don't forget "sunday morning with jane pauley." i'm adriana diaz in chicago. good night.

now at 6:00. a rollout to stay ahead of the virus is new variants show up in the bay area. the clock is racing in the right direction. social media livestream leads to a horrific crime scene at a military housing complex. clues cleaning up bay area roads, what they found had nothing to do with the weather. we begin with a somber figure on the coronavirus front, the states now surpassed 40,000 covid-19 deaths, 638 of them were confirmed just yesterday along with 18,000 new cases. >> tonight, the numbers are

visibly trending downward. the dark blue line represents the 14 day average for new cases, the postholiday surge clearly visible, just over 40,000 new cases today in late december and mid january. the average now 23,000. another number heading in the right direction, hospitalizations tonight, down by nearly a third from a high of 22,000 january 1st. new coronavirus strain first identified in brazil and the uk have arrived in the bay area. they were detected by stanford medicine researchers. now, there is concern the strains will begin to mutate before enough people are vaccinated to throat slow down e process. >> don't go anywhere without masks. if you, you know, a store or enter a restaurant and see people not wearing masks, it's a good idea to just leave. you yourselves always wear a mask, you know, they say six