that is it for us at 5:00. we will e you captioning sponsored by cbs ov toll tops 700,000. ( beeping ) the virus now the deadliest pandemic in u.s. history, despite the availability of vaccines. californians react to the governor's order for student shots. >> i don't trust the vaccine and i'm not going to give it to my child. >> yuccas: also tonight, women march and rally nationwide to defend reproductive rights. >> >> reporter: i'm nikole killion in washington, where demonstrators here and around the country are sounding the alarm to defend "roe v. wade." >> yuccas: plus, president biden speaks out as divided democrats stall his agenda. >> everybody's frustrated. it's part of being in government, being frustrated. >> yuccas: royal wedding in russia. for the first time since

bolshevik revolution, the romanovs are back. in rome, the battle is on to save the city from insect invaders. and later, hostile homecoming: new england readies for tom brady's return. >> i love all that he did for us as patriots fans, but i am not rooting for him on sunday. >> this is the "cbs weekend news." >> yuccas: good evening. i'm jamie yuccas in los angeles. adriana diaz is off. for much of this year, americans have had ample supply and access to coronavirus vaccines. despite that, the u.s. has one of the world's highest covid death tolls. it now tops 700,000. those deaths are fueled by a summer surge of infections among the unvaccinated. today, president biden issued a statement saying, "on this day and every day, we remember all those we have lost to this pandemic, and we pray for their loved ones left behind who are missing a piece of their soul.

but there is progress. both cases and deaths are down over the last two weeks. cbs' lilia luciano joins us in newport beach, california, with the latest on the virus and new vaccine mandates. lilia, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, jamie. you know, those last 100,000 deaths have happened since the vaccine has been available for anyone above 12, and now california is making an even bigger push to get more shots in arms. pushback and praise after governor gavin newsom announced california will require all public and private school children, k-12, to get vaccinated once there's f.d.a. approval. >> i'm way more scared of my kids getting covid and what those side effects are than of the vaccine. >> i don't trust the vaccine, and i'm not going to give it to my child. >> reporter: but it's not just schools. american airlines, jetblue, and alaska are now joining united airlines in mandating vaccines for workers. 55% of americans are now fully

vaccinated, but the summer surge among the unvaccinated has fueled record deaths with the south hardest hit by the delta variant. mississippi, louisiana, alabama, and florida all saw spikes in infections and deaths. today, alaska is the nation's hot spot with the highest number of new cases and deaths per capita. >> the hospital is full, and the caregivers are exhausted and overwhelmed. >> reporter: california, where 70% of those eligible are vaccinated, has now joined a growing list of states now enforcing vaccinate mandates for healthcare workers. but there are fears these requirements could worsen staff shortages, with workers quitting or getting fired. >> i just felt the loyalty was gone, it was lost. after everything i did as a nurse throughout the whole year, during the pandemic, i just felt betrayed. >> reporter: the overwhelming majority of people hospitalized with covid are unvaccinated, and while booster shots are

available for the most vulnerable people, there are concerns that another surge might happen now that the cooler weather is going to bring more people indoors. jamie. >> yuccas: let's hope not. lilia, thank you. thousands of protesters marched at rallies across the country today, decrying texas' tough new restrictions on most abortions. the biggest march was in washington, d.c., where demonstrators headed straight to the steps of the supreme court as justices get set to hear a pivotal case on abortion rights. nikole killion was among the marchers today. nikole. >> reporter: the supreme court will start a new term next week and will take up a case later this year that could test the bounds of "roe v. wade," something demonstrators here want to defend. thousands descended on the nation's capital for a rally on abortion justice. in the crowd, nine-year-old alexis brennan. why did you want to come? >> because i feel it's important that women have rights. >> reporter: at the supreme

court, riot police stood between protesters for and against abortion rights. >> the restrictions that are being forced on women and are being discussed right now are unconscionable. >> if we're really marching for women's rights, we shouldn't exclude the preborn from that. >> reporter: the face-off followed a day of demonstrations. >> abortion, any time, any reason. >> reporter: ...that began near the white house. >> abortion is healthcare. >> reporter: nancy traver said she had one in her 20s and supports a woman's right to choose. but how hard was a decision was that for you? >> i never considered raising a child myself, because i just couldn't. >> reporter: around 600 events were held around the country, from d.c. to texas, to protest that state's new heartbeat law, which bans most abortions at approximately six weeks. and to take a stand ahead of a critical case before the high court this fall involving a

similar ban in mississippi. >> we're actually reaching a time and place where this is going to become a reality that abortion will be illegal. >> reporter: the court will hear that mississippi case in december, and it will be watched very closely by both sides, given the implications it could have on "roe v. wade." jamie. >> yuccas: nikole killion, thank you. president biden left the white house today heading home to delaware with democrats still divided on spending priorities and a bipartisan infrastructure deal in doubt. cbs' christina ruffini is at the white house tonight with the very latest. christina. >> reporter: good evening, jamie. the white house said the president is still engaged with lawmakers over the weekend, but those divisions among democrats are putting his domestic agenda and that bipartisan infrastructure bill at risk. >> the senate will proceed. >> reporter: the senate galved in on a saturday. >> i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered. >> reporter: ...to unanimously pass a 30-day stopgap funding

measure for the department of transportation after the house failed to hold a vote this week on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. >> everybody is frustrated. it's part of being in government, being frustrated. >> reporter: president biden made an in-person appeal at the capitol yesterday to opposing wings of his own party, preaching patience to democrats at odd over two major pieces of legislation. >> there is no reason why both these bills couldn't pass independently, except that there are not the votes to do it that way. >> reporter: progressives say they won't support the infrastructure bill without a separate $3.5 trillion social spending package. moderates say that's too much. in a statement today, arizona senator kyrsten sinema called the delayed vote on the infrastructure bill inexcusable, and an ineffective stunt to gain leverage. but after meeting with the president, some progressives say they are willing to negotiate. >> let's put down our values and let'gure where we cane ground.

>> reporf th e, nanelosi, said in a letter to colleagues today they will need more time to work out a deal on how to pass those two bills but said she hopes it will happen soon. however, jamie, she did not elaborate on that timing. >> yuccas: two of the country's oldest military academies celebrated an historic moment today. for the first time, the corps of cadets of both the virginia military institute and the citadel of south carolina are commanded by women. first captain kacey meredith, and the citadel cadet's colonel catherine christmas, were recognized before the two teams battled it out on the field. the citadel won 35-24. and at arlington national cemetery in the nation's caital, an all-woman changing of the guard has taken place at the tomb of the unknown soldier. that is also an historic first. these photos shared by the third u.s. infantry regimen, known as the old guard.

soldiers have been guarding the tomb 24 hours a day every day since 1937. some good old girl power. love it. overseas, russia's first royal wedding since the country's last tsar was executed over a century ago is invoking memories and bad. it happened this week in st. petersburg. cbs' imtiaz tyab has the story. >> reporter: regal, opulent, yes, awe sten taceous, but that, perhaps, was the point for russia's first role wedding in 127 years. although the crowns never quite you touched the head of the self-style duke george mikhailovich romanov, who was raised in france, and his italian fiance, rebecca virginia bettarini, the ceremony at st. issac's cathedral in the city of st. petersburg, where they changed fab jay rings, was poign poignianiant for the couple. they chose to wed in the former imperial capital because it was the first place in russia where the family had returned following the soviet union's

ap1991. st. petersburg is also where the romanov family's darkest chapter began to unravel. their centuries-long rule over rusia came to a bloody end there after the bolshevik revolutions in 1917. tsar nicholas ii, his wife and five children were later brutally executed, urbering in the communist era. but this lavish wedding, attended by roughly 1,500 people, was a resolutely happy affair, with a guest list so glittering it included queens, princes, and billionaires, but not vladimir putin. a spokesman for the russian president said this marriage does not belong on our agenda in any way. but the romanovs' legacy continues to divide russians, including over whether unions like this should still be celebrated. imtiaz tyab, cbs news, london. >> yuccas: so lavish. stht ahe on the "cbs weekend news," big sky country

battles a covid surge, with hospitals overwhelmed. and rome's iconic pine trees threatened by a deadly invader from america.

>> yuccas: parts of the mountain west have reported some of the country's worst covid outbreaks in ront weeks. in montana, the surge has hit both rural and urban areas, leaving hospital systems strained. cbs' meg oliver reports from billings. >> reporter: so what's the problem? why are you seeing another surge? >> what we're seeing right now is 80% of the covid patients we have are unvaccinated. >> reporter: in billings, montana, emergency room doctor jaimee belsky can barely keep up

with the surge of new covid patients. have you run out of beds? >> so we are-- we're getting short on beds. we're running out of beds, to be frank with you. >> reporter: here at bill clinton, the largest hospital in the state, the i.c.u. is running at 150% capacity, with younger and sicker patients admitted daily. the national guard is on hand to help screen new patients. >> people need to get vaccinated because right now we're hurting. all of the departments are hurting. >> i struggled with it, being on a ventilator. >> reporter: 59-year-old frank miller was hospitalized with covid more than two weeks ago. the unvaccinated engineer spent more than a week on a ventilator. how scared were you? >> oh, i was scared out of my mind. >> reporter: you were scared out of your mind? what did you think was going to happen? >> because you don't know, you don't know what's happening afterwards. i thought i'd come right out of it and i'd be okay. and all of a sudden i couldn't move my hands. i couldn't feed myself.

>> reporter: in the past week, montana averaged about 108 covid patients in hospital i.c.u.s, breaking the record seen during the winter of 2020. have you reached your-- your breaking point yet? >> you have good days. you have bad days. i have days i have to call my college buldies and say, "hey, man, it's been a bad day. we lost a tough patient last night." and they're great about coming up and saying, "hey, what can we do?" >> reporter: with the state only about 50% fully vaccinated, dr. belsky is imploring people, like frank, to get the shot. why did you choose not to get the vaccine? >> i don't know. i just thought that i'm too busy. don't have any time for it. it's not going to be a problem for me. but, boy, it certainly was. >> reporter: the patient frank we spoke to regrets not getting the vaccine and plans to do so. he still has a long road ahead, including rehab, to learn how to walk again and to feed himself. meg oliver, cbs news, billings,

montana. >> yuccas: meg, thank you. still ahead on the "cbs weekend news," the race to save rome's skyline from an american invader before it's too late.

>> yuccas: rome is known as the eternal city, but nothing really lasts forever. the city's famous skyline of pine trees is a case in point. their existence is being threatened by a sap-sucking foreign invader. cbs' chris livesay is there. >> reporter: now, you might think of rome as a city of marble and stone, but with more than half of its surface covered in green spaces, well, it's very much a city of trees-- that is, if a voracious parasite isn't stopped.

from the roman forum to the coliseum, and virtually anywhere else in the eternal city, umbrella pines are much a part of the landscape as the monuments they frame. but a killer bug from north america threatens to annihilate this natural and cultural heritage. they sound like little vampires. >> yes, they're vampires. that's the correct-- that's correct. they suck the protein, and they push out the sugars. >> reporter: they're called pine tortoise scales, and they're sucking the iconic pines dry of their precious limb, a sticky mold then covers the needles. they fall off, and then after three years, the treeidize. massimo proietti rocchi, a local activist, is spearheading a counterattack. here in europe, the parsitis have no natural predators, so he's recruited a foreign army-- these cute little lady bugs. >> in the war against the vampires. >> reporter: each little bug

costs 1 euro. >> but you just need 20 bugs for one tree to remove the problem. >> reporter: how long does it take for the lady bugs to do their magic? >> the lady bugs, it takes around one year. >> reporter: multiply that by an estimated one million infected trees across italy... these trees are all infected. >> these trees are all infected, yes. >> reporter: and it's a battle that can only be won with chemical warfare, says this agronomist, out here injecting insecticide needed once every two years. >> the trees in one months, maximum two months, we can see restored. the new needles start to green up. >> reporter: just three months ago, these pines were on their death bed. now-- wow, so she's trees look much better. >> yes, absolutely. >> reporter: a small, yetat may be eternal, but with trees that are not.

now, some public money has been set aside for the pines, but due to covid and budget cuts, the agronomist tells me it's only enough to save about 7% of them. chris livesay, cbs news, "rome. >> yuccas: let's hope they figure it out. chris, thank you. next on the "cbs evening news," a snappy ending for a news crew's low-flying drone.

>> yuccas: a massive fire burned out of control today on a resort island off the coast of honduras. you can see there the flames spread quickly, consuming more than 200 homes and businesses. residents scrambled to evacuate as military helicopters droo doe

that fire. today, we received a new close-up of mercury, the planet nearest the sun looks stunning in this image taken during a probe. look at that. the fly-by is a joint project between the european space agency and japan. pretty cool. a drone used by a tv news crew in australia has gotten snatched-- literally. look at that. it was flying low over a wildlife park when a crocodile lept out of the water and sank its teeth right into it. the moment, fortunately for us, caught on camera. the news business can be dangerous, you know. when we return, tom brady had a one-word message for football fans today as he returns to new england. that is next.

>> yuccas: finally, a familiar face takes the field when the new england patriots host the tampa bay bu oe-wmessage today,m

brady described it as a homecoming. for the rest of us, it might be the biggest sports showdown of the year. here's cbs' michael george. >> reporter: in the final hours before the big match-up, patriots fans are soul-searching. >> tom brady is my guy, but it's going to be weird to see him with another team in this stadium. >> reporter: does rooting for the home team mean rooting against tom brady, the quarterback who led that team to six super bowl victories. >> brady is going for the big ball. he's open! >> i love all he did for us as patriots fans, but i am not rooting for him on sunday. >> reporter: when brady returns to face new england on sunday, it will be his first time back since leaving for tampa bay, where he won his seventh super bowl ring with the bucs. >> i think we knew this was going to happen tonight, didn't we? >> reporter: braiding himself is feeling the moment, but only to a point. >> i still have a lot of great friends there, but they know i want to kick their butt this week, so they'll know exactly

how i'm feeling once i'm out there. >> reporter: with all this mel on drama, 60ces soared drawg fans frs ickts were outrageous.cluding to >> unbelievable. >> it's worth it. >> completely worth it. >> reporter: billy burrows has had patriots season tickets for 21 years. >> it's going to be exciting, very exciting, you know, just to see him come on the field. >> reporter: for him, it's the team over tom. >> you know, the patriots are my team, and you've got to go with your feeling and stay with your team. >> reporter: and while this is brady's first comeback to foxborough, it's probably not his last, the 44-year-old recently saying he expects to keep on playing until he's 50. michael george, cbs news. >> yuccas: going to be a fun one to watch. that's the cbs weekend news for this saturday. later on cbs, "48 hours." and don't forget "sunday morning with jane pauley," first thing tomorrow.

i'm jamie yuccas in los aes an . it is hazy out there. we have seen an extension of spare the air. we will talk about hot temperatures coming up. so far but not yet. the giants do t r themselves. all eyes on dodger stadium tonight. women and girls won't be silent. >> marches promoting reproductive rights. several streets shutdown and why these events are just the beginning of a weekend of action. >> could evening. we begin with alive look outside. hazier conditions coming in.

>> are meteorologist on the changes on another spare the air event. >> the thing about the setup is that it stays pretty hazy out there. we continue to look at spare the air which will stay in effect tomorrow. is probably going to stay this way through monday. there is some good news, when you look at the air quality sensors, moderate to worst, there is a lot of moderate. that is actually reading good air quality on the ground. the spare the air continues. the driving factor is that we are pulling in smoke, it is hot out there. temperatures back up into the low to mid 90s. we are going to keep doing this for a little while. there is a dramatic turnaround and the weather is a get into the rest of the forecast. another reminder that east