thanks so much for watching. we will be back here at 6:00. >> the cbs we ♪ ♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> diaz: tonight, the delta variant runs rampant. infections roar back to their highest numbers in six months. this as hundreds of thousands of bikers ride and rev up in crowded sturgis, south dakota. cbs news is there. >> reporter: more than half a million bikers are expected to roll into sturgis. some are already here. but the fear is some may roll out with covid. >> diaz: also tonight, a perfect storm of heat, drought, and wind fuels wildfires in the west. in the destruction, a race to rescue an escaped and burned bear cub. plus, the latest legal troubles for embattled new york governor andrew cuomo. >> i'm the county sheriff. i'm not going to be intimidated. i'm not going to be coerced. >> diaz: the senate goes into

overdrive on the road to a massive infrastructure bill. olympic glory. the latest on team u.s.a., and allyson felix's golden finish. and later, wonderful wally. a home town honors a trailblazer as she shares her story of soaring into space. >> i'm looking out the window, and i say, "wow! there goes the ground!" this is the "cbs weekend news." from chicago, here's adriana diaz. >> diaz: good evening. we begin tonight with the significant setback in america's covid recovery. new daily infections have reached their highest levels in six months, returning to numbers we haven't seen since the past winter surge. take a look. new daily cases bottomed out in june at 11,000. now they number more than 100,000. several southern states are facing their largest outbreaks of the pandemic. the worst is in florida, which

had more than 134,000 cases last week. the delta variant is fueling infections, especially among the unvaccinated nationwide. and now there's concern that one of the world's biggest motorcycle rallies could spark more problems. cbs' mola lenghi is in sturgis, south dakota. mola, good evening. >> reporter: well, hey, adriana. as you can see, the sturgis rally here is at full throttle. but with that delta variant quickly spreading across the country, health officials are concerned at least some of these bikers may take home more than just a few memories. in a lot of ways, heather kearns is an epidemiologist's worst nightmare. does the covid thing worry you at all? >> no, i haven't worried about it at all. not since day one. >> reporter: not vaccinated? >> not vaccinated and not getting vaccinated. >> reporter: bikers are expected to roll in from all over the country. >> you're free here. that's what it comes down to.

you're free here. >> reporter: here there are barely signs of the pandemic. yes, some sanitation stations and a new open container law encouraging people to be outside, but that's about it. >> you're setting the stage for something like a super spreader event. >> reporter: dr. shankar kurra runs the only hospital in the western half of south dakota. they have 19 covid patients up from three two weeks ago, but his real worry is all those people coming from other places. >> you can guesstimate that half may be vaccinated and half not. the real risk is, these folks when they go back, because even the vaccinated folks can spread it. >> i'm vaccinated, so i don't worry about it when i'm outdoors. but when i'm indoors, it's kind of like, you know, i'd like to have a mask on usually. >> reporter: joe dowd, a retiree from tennessee, has missed only two rallies in 40 years. >> let me tell you, when i rolled in here 1981, 40 years ago, and i turned that corner, i could not believe it. it was impossible to fathom the

amount of people and the amount of motorcycles out here. >> reporter: to these bikers, this rally is about more than just bikes and brews. >> it's a brotherhood. no one cares about your religion, your skin color, none of that. we're all bikers. we're all family, and we just have a great time down here. >> reporter: well, the c.d.c. has linked last year's rally to at least 463 confirmed cases across the country. but you know, we should note,e, that most of the bik that most of the bikers we've spoken to at this year's rally, tell us they've received at least one vaccination shot before coming this year. adriana. >> diaz: all right, mola lenghi, thank you. tonight, the monster dixie fire in northern california is the largest of more than 100 blazing battlegrounds in the west. this is the view from space. the flames filling the skies with smoke, and forcing thousands to flee. cbs' lilia luciano has the latest. >> reporter: extreme drought, intense heat, and powerful winds

are fueling the dixie fire that has ravaged town after town in northern california's sierra mountains. >> the impact of this fire is pretty tremendous, pretty tragic. country, crring almost half at million ac 'siz hon. despite the efforts of thousands of firefighters, california's wildfires have turned hundreds of homes to rubble and ash. >> it's hard to drive away from your house and wonder if you're going to see it again. >> reporter: smoke from the dixie and other nearby fires are choking northern california's skies... >> it hit me like a ton of bricks. >> reporter: ...and blanketing parts of utah. this time lapse shows the smoke rolling through salt lake city, air quality ranging from unhealthy to hazardous is impacting at least eight western states. >> i think it's frustrating. >> it's like this every year. it's like, we can never get a year away from it. >> reporter: and in lake tahoe,

tamarack, the six-month-old black bear, escaped from rescuers. the partially burned cub was last spotted by hikers on thursday clinging to a tree with his bandaged paws. tamarack has been on the run since he dug his way out of a wildlife center that was treating him. wildlife officials hope to rescue tamarack as a second time as he continues to explore the smokey woods. here in southern california, we're not seeing smoke, but the air quality is poor, and the risk of wildfire high with high winds and low humidity. adriana. >> diaz: lilia luciano, thank you so much. europe has also been battling raging wildfires. this apocalyptic scene is in greece. this video was captured overnight as people were evacuated on a ferry to escape the flames. at least one firefighter has died. today, the sheriff of albany county, new york, went before cameras to discuss the criminal complaint against governor andrew cuomo. cbs' michael george joins us now with what the sheriff said about

potential charges. michael, good evening. >> reporter: adriana, good evening. today, the albany county sheriff's office says they've met with one of governor cuomo's accusers, and they could soon be consulting with the district attorney over the possibility of criminal charges. new york governor andrew cuomo spent the day at his executive mansion in albany, where the county sheriff says he's the target of a new criminal complaint that could lead to charges. >> i have a young lady that came in, was alleging that she was victimized, and we're going to do everything in our powers to help her. >> reporter: today, sheriff craig apple says his investigators met with the woman identified as executive assistant number 1. she's among 11 women found by an independent investigation to have been sexually harassed by the governor. her claim: that cuomo groped her under her blouse. >> it would probably be a misdemeanor, possibly a couple. >> reporter: the governor has denied all the allegations. his attorney calls the investigation "biased."

>> let me be clear-- that never happened. >> reporter: cbs news legal analyst rikki klieman says the victim's word is enough to move the case forward. >> it is not likely that he would spend time in jail, but it certainly is possible. >> reporter: the albany sheriff, first elected to the position in 2011, says he'll treat this case like any other.any other. >> >> i'm the county sheriff. i'm not going to be intimidated. i'm not going to be coerced. >> reporter: and governor cuomo is losing allies fast. more than 40 democratic county chairs have signed a letter calling on him to resign, and he's facing an impeachment probe in the state assembly. adriana. >> diaz: michael george, thank you. on monday, cbs news and the "albany times union" will have an exclusive interview with executive assistant number 1. a piece of president biden's agenda passed a big hurdle in the senate today.

cbs' christina ruffini is at the white house with details. cristina. >> reporter: good evening, adriana. negotiations continue behind closed doors tonight, where senators are trying to complete work on that bill, and it could happen as soon as this evening. >> let's go ahead and vote. >> reporter: and vote they did. >> the motion is agreed to. >> reporter: 67-27, to advance the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. >> not one senator got everything they wanted-- but we all got what we needed. this is how compromise works. >> reporter: a compromise, according to senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, the american people need. >> republicans and democrats have radically different visions these days, but both those visions include physical infrastructure that works for all of our citizens. >> reporter: mcconnell and 17 other republican senators voted to move the measure forward. but hold-outs remain. >> this bill should not pass. >> reporter: critical of both the size and scope of the nearly

3,000-page legislation. >> $1 trillion is an astronomical number, and our children are going to have to pay for it. >> reporter: now, the president is away at his home in wilmington this weekend, but cbs news is told he's being updated multiple times a day and calling members often. adriana. >> diaz: christina ruffini, thank you. the u.s. and british embassies in afghanistan are advising their citizens to leave the country immediately. this as violence escalates and the taliban seize another city.. here's cbs' imtiaz tya here's cbs' imtiaz tyab. >> reporter: for the taliban, this is what victory looks like as it takes control of the city of zarang in the southwestern nimroz province. it's the first provincial capital to be captured by the group since it signed a deal with the trump administration last year. the western-backed afghan government is now suffering body

blow after body blow, as the taliban tightens its grip across the country. on friday, taliban fighters assassinated a top adviser to president ashraf ghani. speaking at the funeral, ghani called the taliban "the enemies of afghanistan" and said, "they fill coffins with our young people, and treat them like savages." more than half the country's districts are now in taliban hands. while most are in remote regions, some are extremely strategic, giving the taliban control of lucrative crossings. the taliban closed that crossing as part of a demand for concessions from the pakistani government. this stranded man from kandahar says, "we have no food and no money. we cannot even go to a hotel to sleep for the night. i appeal to the taliban to find some solution for us." an appeal to an armed group which is increasingly in charge. now, the u.s. embassy in kabul has repeated its warning for all americans to leave afghanistan "immediately," because of the rapidly deteriorating security

situation there. but leaving isn't an option for most afghans, as their country continues to convulse with violence as u.s. troops pull out. adriana. >> diaz: such a good point. imtiaz tyab, thank you. the mars rover "perseverance" is breaking new ground.agesa boreoe where the rover tried to drill out its first sample from a dried up martian lake bed looking for signs of past microbial life. but the rover failed to collect any rocks, and nasa is troubleshooting. just ahead on the "cbs weekend news," allyson felix sets a new gold medal record, as these unprecedented olympics near the finish line. first daughter luci johnson speaks out, defending her father's voting rights act. and a one-time astronaut hopeful takes us behind the scenes on her dream journey to space.

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>> diaz: this is the final weekend of competition at the tokyo olympics. today, allyson felix won her record-setting 11th career olympic medal with a gold in the women's 4 x 400 relay. team u.s.a. now has more than 100 medals. china is second with 87, but still holds the most gold. cbs' jamie yuccas is in tokyo. >> reporter: it's a three-peat for the women's water polo team. team u.s.a. beat spain to win the gold. they're the only team to medal in every olympics since water polo was introduced in 2000. we spoke to goalkeeper ashleigh johnson before she left for tokyo about what her presence means for the sport. >> representation is everything. if you can't see yourself at the highest level in your sport, achieving whatever goal you want to achieve, how can you visualize yourself getting there? >> reporter: and now? people can envision an african american olympic gold medal winner in water polo. >> yes, exactly!

>> reporter: fans bac >> reporter: fans back home cheered as the men's basketball team overcame their poor start at these games. kevin durant was golden in the gold medal final with 29 points against france. >> each and every one of us put in that work every single day, from the coaches to the trainers to the players. we all came in with that goal of let's finish this thing off. >> reporter: as the competitions wind down, organizers are turning their attention to the closing ceremony, which will focus on hope and moving forward. javelin thrower athlete kara winger was chosen as a flag bearer for the closing ceremony by team u.s.a. >> yeah, i say put mental health first. >> reporter: american athletes of all kinds have spoken out here about their mental health, and the pressure of the games, since gymnastics biggest star, simone biles, withdrew from several events. bill mallon is an olympic historian. what do you think this olympics is going to be remembered for?

>> for the pandemic, and for being able to hold the games in a pandemic, for good or bad. it's going to be remembered because it's been very diferent-- no spectators. that's so tough for the athletes. >> reporter: jamie yuccas, cbs news, tokyo. >> diaz: still ahead on the "cbs weekend news," on the anniversary of a civil rights triumph, a president's daughter returns to the cause. like barriers, expectations, oh and eight world records. ♪ ♪ so she'll only hold the card that never holds her back. world class medicare coverage from blue cross blue shield. that's the benefit of blue. ♪ ♪ my name is douglas. i'm a writer/director and i'm still working. in the kind of work that i do, you are surrounded by people

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>> diaz: 56 years ago this weekend, president lyndon johnson signed the voting rights act. but with the landmark legislation being deteohnster ap the cause. here's our nikole killion. >> i stood behind my father in august 6, 1965, when he signed the voting rights act into the law. >> reporter: luci baines johnson was 18 years old. now, at 74, she's still standing behind her dad. do you think his legacy is on the line? >> well, i-- let me put it this way-- a lot has been dismantled. today we are in crisis. >> reporter: the youngest daughter of president lyndon johnson has embarked on a crusade for voting rights, one of the signature hallmarks of his administration. >> we have gone backwards in a way that just breaks my heart. the supreme court several years

ago literally gutted the heart of the 1965 voting rights act. ( protest chant ) states throughout this country, i think it's 18 now, are working fast and furiously to do everything they can to diminish the opportunity for vote-- for all of us, but especially for people of color, especially for people who are poor, and especially for people who are old. and i am here to say, "no more." >> reporter: what do you think your father would make of what's happening? >> i think he would be here fighting fiercely. >> reporter: johnson traveled from texas to washington this week, meeting with vice president kamala harris, and urging congress to act. >> they're courageous people on both sides of the aisle who now need to stand up and be counted. they need to be like those legislators were in '65.

they stood up with us. they voted with us. >> reporter: hoping history repeats itself again. nikole killion, cbs news, washington. >> diaz: next on the "cbs weekend news," the behind-the- scenes story of wally funk's surprise trip to space, as told to her friend, cbs' doug dunbar. dunbar. pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels

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honored a trailblazing citizen down main street. last month, wally funk defiedavo space, living out a dream more than six decades in the making. she shared the inside story with her friend and ours, doug dunbar, of the cbs station ktvt in dallas-fort worth. >> "congratulations. i hope you're jumping for joy." >> reporter: the letters and cards being sent to america's newest space hero haven't stopped. >> there are all these letters. they're all written to they're all written to me. no phone number. i can't call back. >> reporter: would you call them back? >> sure, the ones that have, you bet! thank you very much for your card! >> reporter: in selecting funk, amazon founder jeff bezos chose an aviation legend who has taught over 3,000 people to fly, first-ever female inspector for the f.a.a. and the n.t.s.b., and an original member of the "mercury 13," a group of women in the 1960s, who completed the same astronaut testing as the men.

>> there's wally waving. she's leading the crew. >> reporter: so it came as no surprise when wally funk lead the charge on launch day. >> i was told, eight stories of stairwell. so i had gone to my doctor, and he had big stairs. i practiced. >> we are at t-minus 15 minutes. >> reporter: but when launch time was put on a brief hold, wally did what wally does. >> time's passing, and so i hit the button, i said, "what's the hold-up?" we're lifting off, and we're going up, and i'm looking out the window, and i said, "wow! there goes the ground!" >> reporter: the dream of a lifetime soaring skyward at 2,500 miles an hour. and then everything stopped. >> oh, that's great! >> reporter: this is what it looks like... >> wooo! oh, i love it! i love it! >> reporter: ...when your dreams come true, 351,000 feet above the earth. >> and it's the greatest feeling

because you e oh, okay. i'm going to do about three turns, or somersaults-- whatever. you can do it because there's nothing holding you back. >> reporter: 180 seconds later, it was time to come home. three good parachutes, a soft landing in the west texas desert, and the emergence of one grateful girl from grapevine, texas. >> it was my turn to get to the door-- oh! wow! and i just was screaming. >> reporter: wally funk comes home with her place in space history solidified, and only one last item on the bucket list: >> i want to go back up to space. and that's where my brain has been-- in space-- ever since i came back. >> reporter: for cbs news, doug dunbar, grapevine, texas. >> diaz: wally proving it's never too late to dream. that is the "cbs weekend news" for this saturday. thanks for watching. i'm adriana diaz in chicago. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs

captioned by live from the cbs bay area studios, this is kpix news. y the next 24 hours will be critical as fire crews that try to contain the dixie fire. >> smoke from wildfires to the east, creating air-quality issues here in the bay area. and how oakland students getting ready for the first day of school got a boost from a hometown hero. we begin on the fire watch. torched cars, buildings reduced to rubble and thick, unrelenting smoke. the dixie fire burning in butte and plumas counties is leaving these haunting images.

flames that decimated that area of greenville and canyon dam. and in erie seen in neighboring areas like chester. most residents are not taking any chances, packing up and leaving before any flames war through. at the next 24 hours will be a critical time for the dixie fire. >> as devin fehely explains, firefighters say they are getting a little help from mother nature. hoping that colder temperatures will help them regain control of the huge blaze. >> reporter: the numbers tell the story come overnight the dixie fire grew bigger, nearly 450,000 acres in growing. while the firefighters continuous control of the fire got smaller. but the weather at last may be giving firefighters an