all right. we'll see you back here at 6:00. that's it for us at 5:00. >> we'll have more menus then. cbs weekend news is next. captioning sponsored by cbs >> yuccas: tonight, booster shots are here. so are questions about who gets one. states rush rollout campaigns to help a confused public. the extra shots coming, even as vaccination rates fall. montana among the latest hot spots for infections. hospitals there overwhelmed with patients. while a cruise ship hit hard by covid sets sail again. also tonight, wildfire fight. for a change, california looks to the weather for help. plus, infrastructure showdown: with a deadline looming, democrat infighting threatens the president's agenda. hardball diplomacy: a chinese executive once wanted in the u.s. returns home as beijing

releases twoica nappeds seized after her arrest. later, the right moves: teaching kids life lessons using a chessboard. >> kids are just having fun. they don't realize that they're solving problems. >> this is the "cbs weekend news." >> yuccas: good evening. i'm jamie yuccas in los angeles. adriana diaz is off. this weekend, state health officials are rushing to help americans understand who qualifies for booster shots. there's urgency with the contagious delta variant still taking its toll. new infections over the past two weeks are down 16%, but covid deaths are up 26%. today in los angeles, one of the first cruise ships with covid outbreaks is returning to sea for the first time in 18 months. vaccinations required for all of those on board. cbs' michael george leads us off with the latest. michael, good evening.

>> reporter: jamie, good evening. people are already getting their booster shots at clinics like these, but in several states, many are refusing to still get even their first shot, and that's where hospitals are being stretched to their limits. more and more, this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. from his hospital bed at this billings, montana, clinic, covid survivor adam ptaszynski's voice is hoarse, but he hopes you can still hear him. >> i should have gotten the shot, but i was too stubborn and too stupid. >> reporter: i.c.u. beds are running out in big sky country. more than 100 national guard members have been called in to help. kallie kujawa oversees the covid response for boseman health. >> there's a sense of compassion fatigue amongst our staff in knowing that the vaccine has been proven to prevent severe illness, yet, we're continually having to care for people who have severe illness. >> reporter: health experts continue to recommend americans wear masks but there's still resistance. >> no more masks!

>> reporter: in idaho, an antimask crowd forced a school board meeting to be canceled. across the country, there are 18 states where less than half the population has been fully vaccinated. the number of americans getting a shot daily has dropped nearly 36% in the last three weeks. while the c.d.c. approved a ptaszynski booster shot for at-risk groups, director walensky says that's only parent of the solution. >> i want to be clear-- we will not boost our way out of this pandemic. infections among the unvaccinated continue to fuel this pandemic. >> reporter: and here in new york, hospital and nursing home workers will be required to have at least their first dose of the vaccine started monday. jamie. >> yuccas: michael george, thank you. wildfires continue to rage across california, including the fawn fire, the latest to scorch the state. but the weather this weekend may help fire crews. cbs' lilia luciano joins us in

los angeles with more. lilia. >> reporter: good evening, jamie. cooler temperatures and lighter winds are helping slow the spread of those fires, but here in southern california, the worst season for wildfires has just begun. walls of flames are threatening thousands of structures in northern california tonight as the destructive fawn fire forces 2,000 residents to flee. >> had to pack everything up, all the belongings. >> reporter: the blaze is the most urgent in the nation, a 30-year-old bay area woman is accused of igniting it. also facing arson and manlegislature charges, pacific gas and electric. therapists say the utility is responsible for last december's deadly zogg fire which started after a pine tree hit a power line. statewide, nearly 10,000 firefighters are battling 11 major wildfires, fueled by the extreme drought that the west is

experiencing. >> the lake's drying up. we're in a major drought here. >> reporter: winds are dying down, which is helping crews attack from the air. >> those things do an amazing amount of work. they put a lot of retardant on the ground. so it's good to see them. >> reporter: in sequoia national park, crews at the k.n.p. complex fire have saved some of the world's tallest and most ancient trees. residents in central california are being advised to stay indoors due to the smoky skies. but here in southern california, the air quality is finally improving. jamie. >> yuccas: lilia luciano, thank you. still no sign of brian laundrie, despite two weeks of searching. laundrie is the fiance of gabby petito, whose remains were discovered last sunday in wyoming. florida police have focused their search for laundrie in an alligator-infeflted nature preserve, but today scaled back efforts there. he's currently wanted for unauthorized use of a debit card.

meanwhile, gabby petito's neighbors remembered her with a candlelight vigil in the town of blue point, on new york's long island. her funeral is tomorrow. and this program note: tonight, "48 hours" investigates what happened to gabby petito. that's at 10:00 pacific, right here on cbs. the border crossing in del rio, texas, reopened to passenger and pedestrian traffic late today. it was closed after as many as 15,000 migrants, many of them haitian, suddenly crossed from mexico and set up camp around the u.s. side of the border bridge. the area was completely cleared friday. the deportations and i i haveerality images of white border patrol agents grabbing and shouting at the migrants drew sharp rebukes, including from black campaigns. major pieces of president biden's domestic agenda are at risk this weekend, but this time, the threat is not only from republicans opposed to his plans but from within his own democratic party. a showdown could be just hours away. christina ruffini is at the

white house tonight for more. christina. >> reporter: good evening, jamie. that's right, late today, speaker of the house nancy pelosi support a letter to colleagues saying she wants to pass that infrastructure bill, along with a multitrillion-dollar democratic spending plan and a resolution to fund the government all by the end of this week, a tall order given the disagreement with republicans and within her own party. >> we have to get both bills. you can't have one without the other. >> reporter: progressive house democrats say they won't support the president's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill without a separate, much larger spending plan full of democratic priorities. >> i see us in a position where failure is not an option. it is not an option. >> reporter: but it's still unclear which of those priorities will make the cuts. the house budget committee met in a rare saturday session today trying to hammer out the details. >> our nation, our economy, and our constituents cannot afford to wait any longer for these investments. the time is now to build back better. >> this bill is a disaster for

working class families. >> reporter: some moderate democrats oppose the massive price tag, as do republicans, who say it shouldn't be tied to the infrastructure bill. >> that's very distinct and different from this $3.5 trillion bill that the president is talking about that has not been written yet. >> reporter: republicans also oppose a measure that would simultaneously raise the debt limit and fundlet government, saying those are two separate issues and government funding shouldn't be tied to raising uncle sam's credit limit. jamie. >> yuccas: quite the fight. christina ruffini, thank you. a suicide attack targeting the presidential palace in mogadishu, somalia, claimed at least eight lives today. the bomb exploded while the car was stopped at a security checkpoint outside the gates of the compound. the islamist militant group al shabaab claimed responsibility. a chinese tech executive detained in canada for nearly three years returned home today. meng wanzhou is the daughter of huawei's founder.

her arrival follows beijing's release of two jailed canadianians. the swap poses a damaging diplomatic dispute between beijing and the west. cbs' ramy inocencio has more. >> reporter: a plane carrying the men known as the two michaels touched down in calgary before dawn on saturday. michael spavor, a business consultant, and michael kovrig, a former diplomat, had been jailed more than 1,000 days, ad of espionage by china. their ordeal described as terrible by canadian prime minister justin trudeau. >> they have shown strength, perseverance, resilience, and grace, and we are all inspired by that. >> reporter: canada says the men were seized after immigration officials detained meng wanzhou, a senior executive with the chinese telecom giant huawei, at can vancouver airport in 2018 at the request of u.s.

officials. she was wanted on charges of violating u.s. sanctions on iran. for three years, meng battled extradition while under house arrest at her luxury mansion in vancouver. then friday, in a surprise move, a te deal was struck for her release. >> my life has been turned upside down. it was a disruptive time for me as a mother, a wife, and a company executive. >> reporter: today, she returned to china a hero. meng had pled not guilty but as part of her deal, she did confirm she misrepresented huawei's business dealings with iran to h.s.b.c., violating u.s. sanctions. china claims meng's case and the case of the two canadians are not linked, but critics describe china's actions as hostage diplomacy. while it's over for meng and the two michaels it's not over for huawei, the company, just yet. its headquarters is based just right across the border from here in hong kong over in zenging.

u.s. prosecutors are now saying they are going to do another trial against the company. they're prepping for that on related fraud charges. the company itself tells cbs news that they are prepping for every kind of defense and will fight against every allegation. ramy inocencio, cbs news, hong kong. >> yuccas: what a story. thank you. what's being called a once-in-a-lifetime global concert kicked off today, all of it streaming on social media. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> yuccas: the black eyed peas got things started in paris. you see them there. 60 artists will perform in cities around the world, including billie eilish and ed sheeran. the 24-hour event aims to raise awareness about climate change, vaccine inequality, and famine. straight ahead on the "cbs weekend news," how some women in texas are getting around the state's restrictive new abortion law. also, timber tower: why wood is replacing steel and concrete on some high-rise construction sites. and later, make your move: how the game of chess is teaching

kids to solve real-life problems.

>> yuccas: this week, the governor of texas signed a bill putting more restrictions on abortion, the first legal actions also took place. a san antonio doctor admits he violatedly the law was sued twice. cbs' janet shamlian has more on the law's impact on women. >> now, we're about to make it law. >> reporter: the nation's most restrictive abortion law, is forcing women to flee texas. >> are you currently pregnant? >> reporter: in search of clinics like this one in colorado, that can barely meet demand. >> i am booked for the rest of this week. >> reporter: cbs news had rare access to the facility in den denver, where nearly half the patients are texans. >> it's a six-week surgical with p.o. sedation. >> reporter: when is the last time that you've seen an influx

like this in this clinic, to this degree? >> we haven't. we haven't seen numbers like this ever. >> reporter: dr. rebecca cohen is the medical director. >> an abortion can be painful. people can hurt. but this is different. we are seeing patients who are traumatized when they arrive. >> reporter: women like this 34-year-old mother of three who asked us to conceal her identity. she learned she was pregnant one day before the law went into effect. effect. when you realized you could not get the procedure in texas, what did you think? >> i cried. i cried all the way from when they told me, through the councilor session. i was honestly-- i didn't know what i was going to do. >> reporter: the texas law bans almost 90% of abortions beginning at six weeks, before many women know they're pregnant. women have to cross state lines to get one, and they are. colorado has no state-mandated wyatting period for the procedure.

the woman we spoke with made this 1600-mile roundup in one day. so you just finished the procedure here. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: but you're not finished. >> so after a procedure, you're supposed to take it easy. i'm not going to get that option because i'm going to have to walk through the airport and everything else to get back home. >> reporter: she says she has an irregular heartbeat, which could make the pregnancy risky. >> how far along are you. >> reporter: this shreveport, louisianna, clinic is just 20 miles from the texas border. even with a 24-hour state-mandated waiting period, appointments are hard to come by. kathleen pittman runs the hope clinic. >> they're literally begging to get in and be seen as quickly as possible. women should not be going through this. i mean, it's unconscionable. >> reporter: recently, there was up to a five-week wait to get an appointment at this clinic. previously, women could get in, in just a couple of days. and while other southern states are looking to follow texas' lead on abortion, the great

challenge to "roe v wade" comes december 1 when the supreme court hears a mississippi case. janet shamlian, cbs news, sclefer port. >> yuccas: still ahead, wooden wonders. how an ancient building material is modernizing construction methods.

>> yuccas: the construction and operation of buildings makes up much of the world's carbon emissions. to curb this growing problem, architectch tects and engineers are using a natural, old material in a new way. cbs' roxana saberi has more in tonight's "eye on earth." >> reporter: at this construction site in london, you may notice something missing. >> we have a lot less concrete and steel here. >> reporter: that's because es archict aw ugh rels alostirely on at's called mass tiber- pl of wd glued together and stacked perpendicular to

hold greater weight at higher heights. when he finished this other 10-story complex four years ago, it was the world's tallest building made of mass timber. >> the timber holds everything up. the brick is just to look nice. >> reporter: but now it's getting dwarfed by other projects, from norway to canada and the u.s. why is timber? >> it's about climate change. for us, it's about reducing the amount of carbon that we build with. we need to find viable alternatives to concrete and steel. >> reporter: for the past century and a half, steel, iron, and cement have shamed our buildings, but together, they emit about 15% of the world's carbon. trees, though, absorb greenhouse gasses as they grow, then store them, even like this. >> it's glued together in small pieces. >> reporter: michael ramade is an architect and engineer from new york, researching natural

materials at cambridge university in england. >> and this is incredibly strong and stiff. >> reporter: but some environmentalis warn thsti tou l deforestation. that's why ramade said timber should come from trees grown only for this purpose. >> we can grow them sustainably. >> buildings used to be made of wood, but the u.s. department of agriculture says tests show that today thick layers of mass timber can resist flames for two hours. >> these are six-inch solid pieces of timber. timber. >> reporter: so they're less combustible? >> a lot less. >> reporter: for waugh, and other fans, mass timber is easy to use and durable. >> it is the future. >> reporter: you're pretty confident about that. >> absolutely. we have no choice. climate change is here. this is the most serious issue of our age. >> reporter: this vision may

be lofty, but wooden buildings are already reaching for the sky. roxana saberi, cbs news, london. >> yuccas: such a cool concept. next on the "cbs weekend news," new fears about an erupting volcano as a critical escape route is shut down.

>> yuccas: check out this drone video from the spanish island of la palma. it shows the destruction caused by a volcano that began erupting one week ago. today, ash and spreading lava shut down the local airport. hundreds of homes have been destroyed. some 6,000 people have been evacuated. who doesn't like new arrivals? this is a cute alert here. zoologists in brazil today released the first video of a rare western lowland gorilla born in captivity there. conservationists say the birth is important as the species is critically endangered because of habitat loss in africa.

when we return, call it the compton knam bit. how kids are learning real-life moves.

>> yuccas: we end tonight here in los angeles with a man who's making a difference teaching kids life lessons one chess move at a time. >> it's the most unique piece in the game. >> yuccas: for 12-year-old andre, chess is more than just a game gee, i use a lot of stuff i've learned on the chessboard in real life, like think before you move. think before i act out. >> yuccas: he's just one of thousands of students from some of l.a.'s toughest neighborhoods learning to play. >> i learned to play chess at age 13. it was a pivotal moment in my life. >> yuccas: damen fletcher grew up in compton. after going away to college, he came home to find his childhood friends struggling. >> some of them had fallen into te gang life and drugs. and i just wondered why did i have such a kinch outco,

it was chess. >> yuccas: he started "train of thought" to help kids of all ages find their inner king or queen. >> reporter: every game of chess is 75 to 100 moves. and every single move that your opponent makes presents a new problem for you to solve. kids are just having fun. they don't realize that they're solving problems. the answer is always there. >> yuccas: how do you teach a five-year-old how to play chess? >> we actually have a really cool story that we use to help kids that age set up the chessboard for the first time. it goes the king and the queen got married by the bishops. they rode on horses to their castle and had eight children. >> my main thing in class is being a scholar. so being a scholar to me is being prepared, productive, and never giving up. >> that's the best way to play. >> yuccas:as game cawaito seet moves andre has next. that's the "cbs weekend news" this saturday. don't forget "sunday morning with janauy,ng tomorrow, followed by "face the

nation." i'm jamie yuccas in los angeles. have a great night. emotional moments at a bay area airport. the journey for an afghan american family who spent weeks living under taliban rule. >> coming him on monday we will paint the mac and get as specific as we can. >> i'm on the peninsula and we will introduce you to some people who decided to get in line today. >> i want to take whatever i can to make myself stay. andrew is back in the area today talking about and i did

that is spreading from city to city. we will explain. good evening, i am brian hackney. >> i am juliette goodrich. we began with an emotional reunion after a long and difficult journey had. spending weeks stranded in afghanistan under taliban rule. >> reporter: the family arrived just hours ago and right now they're getting ready to have some cake inside this home. it belongs to the founder of the roots of peace. it is a humanitarian nonprofit that right now has several employees in afghanistan that they are trying to safely bring to the u.s. he is a roots of peace worker in a green card holder. they have been living in sacramento but they went back

to afghanistan to see his family.