in a new way. it is their way of highlighting all the best designs from the last 40 years of the competition. >> it looks a beautifully done. big turnout, nice weather, thank you very much. that will do it for us at 5:00. ♪ tonight, early surge. americans turn out in big numbers with the midterms fast approaching. more than 7 million ballots cast so far by mail or in person as election day has transformed into midterm month. i'm christina ruffini at the white house as races across the country heat up, president biden stays home. in china today, mysterious exit. the country's former leader appears reluctant but is led out of the communist party congress, drawing worldwide attention. also tonight, lights out. >> i'm holly williams in kyiv, ukraine, where a new wave of russian strikes is targeting the country's power grid.

deadly crash. a security camera captures the moment a plane hits a home in new hampshire. power struggle in los angeles. >> i'm mark strassmann. l.a. is outraged. two city councilmembers recorded in a racist conversation refuse to resign. later, dino delivery. why these airline workers gave this unique passenger the vip treatment. good evening. it's not even november, but turnout for the crucial 2020 midterms is already strong. election day is still 17 days away, but several states have seen a surge of voters casting early ballots. this is clark county, nevada, where in-person voting began today. there is a lot at stake, including control of congress

and the future of president biden's agenda. cbs' christina ruffini is at the white house with more. >> reporter: across the country, more than 7 million americans have already cast their ballots as the candidates and the white house make their closing arguments. >> the polls have been all over the place. i think that we're going to see one more shift back to our side in the closing days. >> reporter: president biden trying to sound optimistic as the latest polls show democrats are losing some of their summer momentum ahead of november. >> we can't take anything for granted in nevada. >> reporter: nevada and arizona, democrats fighting to keep seats in two toss-up senate races. >> we are going to win back the senate seat for the people of arizona. >> reporter: the georgia senate race is also a tie. rafael car knock launched a new attack ad against his opponent. >> herschel walker wants to ban abortion. >> reporter: highlighting accusations that the anti-abortion rights republican once paid for a partner's abortion. >> she supported her claims with

a $575 receipt from the abortion clinic -- >> reporter: across the country, another concern. win, lose, or draw, will americans accept the outcome? >> election board, it's a hard job, it's a thankless job. >> reporter: seven states have seen unusual threat levels against election workers. >> with so many critical races for democrats, why isn't the president on the trail more? >> reporter: he has gone to a couple of states. he's been on oregon, california, colorado, pennsylvania. the white house just announced he'll be going to florida in early november. but he's staying away from some of those tight races in places where democrats think his low approval rating might hurt the candidates as they try to appeal to independent voters. >> christina ruffini, thank you. today in beijing, an unceremonious departure for former chinese leader hue jen

tao. the end of the session, usually a highly choreographed party congress, who when escorted away at first appeared reluctant to leave the stage. chinese officials later said hu was ill. demonstrations across europe calling for an end to iran's autocratic regime. the big nest berlin. tens of thousands protested in the german capital, filling it with the colors of iran's flag and chanting "women, life, freedom." crowds also marched in the u.s. this is los angeles. weeks of protests have followed the death of iranian marcia amini, arrested for violating the country's strict dress code. we turn to the russian invasion of ukraine. tonight more than 1 million there are without power after an intense new wave of russian air strikes targeting power plants and infrastructure. this as the cold weather sets in. ukraine is fighting back, expanding the battlefield to

space, using elon musk's starlink internet satellite system. but as holly williams reports, that help could be in jeopardy. >> reporter: elon musk has long been a controversial figure. but in ukraine in march, the world's richest man won the hearts of many by activating his starlink satellite internet service in the country. >> three, two, one -- >> reporter: president volodymyr zelenskyy even thanked musk personally. >> so if you have time after the war, you're very welcome, i invite you. >> reporter: around 20,000 base ground units have been sent to ukraine, many paid for by the u.s. government. musk says the operations already cost his company, spacex, $80 million. >> we've been so grateful to spacex and to elon musk. without starlink, none of our offensives would be so successful.

>> reporter: lieutenant taras baravet is a spokesman for ukraine's military. he told us starlink is crucial for commanding troops on the battlefield. >> it sounds like it's been a game changer for ukraine, just as important as rocket systems? >> yeah, absolutely. >> reporter: but then, earlier this month, musk tweeted a proposal for bringing peace to ukraine, suggesting the u.n. could supervise a referendum in parts of ukraine recently annexed illegally by russia. it infuriated many ukrainians. >> this is a matter of our freedom. this is not something we're going to discuss with anyone, including elon musk. >> reporter: a senior ukrainian diplomat even told elon musk to get lost, insulting language. musk seemed intent on doing just that, recently saying that spacex could not fund starlink in ukraine indefinitely. his company reportedly requested

last month that the pentagon take over paying for it. but musk has now done a u-turn, tweeting that spacex will continue to pay and ukraine's publicly praised him as one of its top private donors. but starlink's expensive, and there are still questions over who will foot the bill going forward. >> holly williams, thank you so much. there was a deadly shooting today inside a dallas hospital. there are few details, but police say they responded to an active shooter situation. the hospital says two employees were killed. the suspect was shot by police and taken into custody. today in raleigh, north carolina, a sea of blue turned out to support the family of slain officer gabriel torres. the 29-year-old torres was on his way to work when he was shot and killed last week. he was one of five people killed in the raw hee shooting. in texas, one of the first troopers to respond to the mass shooting at robb elementary

school in uvalde has been fired. it happened late friday. juan maldonado was one of seven state officers whose conduct was under investigation because of their actions or inactions during the shooting attack, where 19 students and two teachers were killed. for almost two weeks, los angeles city council has gotten nearly nothing done. the city is roiled by charges of racism in high places, and two city councilmembers who refuse to resign. cbs' mark strassmann has more on the power struggle. >> reporter: a melee in l.a. raucous protesters quashing city council meetings, demanding resignations. this firestorm is over backroom bigotry. casual racism recorded on a leaked year-old audio tape of three latino city councilmembers. in spanish one called a white

councilman's adopted black son a little monkey. resigning under pressure, city council president nury martinez, apologizing but refusing to step down. councilman gil cedillo and kevin de leon. >> i have to regain the trust of my colleagues. it won't be easy. >> reporter: beyond hard, critics say impossible. >> he clearly doesn't get, i think, what he did. >> reporter: councilman mike bonnen, the father of that adopted little boy. >> the predecessor to the actual spoken word is the resignation. >> reporter: within this diverse sprawl of 4 million people -- >> this has been a torpedo to the hall of los angeles civic life. >> reporter: zev spent 40 years in city leadership, managing its competing interests. >> it's how you manage it. you don't manage it by getting in a back room and vilifying people and saying they have

horns. >> reporter: it's a mess of broken trust, racial and ethnic fracturing, and a paralyzed city council. the tape was secret, but its fallout is obvious to everyone. mark strassmann, cbs news, los angeles. there is a powerful new storm brewing in the west this weekend. high winds and the first snow for some are in the forecast. meteorologist molly mccallum of weather channel is tracking it all. >> after a brief hot spell, now bringing in not only fall weather but the santa ana winds. they will be downright dangerous in places like southern california where we could see wind gusts upwards of 70 miles per hour. las vegas looking at winds 60-plus miles per hour. in purple, wind advisory or high wind warning. this is bad news for fires in southern california, but we have some relief as we look to the north and parts of idaho and montana with our next snow system moving in.

for many, the first snowfall of the season, bringing in relief not only from the wildfires but a lot of the wildfire smoke as well. this is the first of what will be many systems coming our way this week. adriana, some much-needed relief is on the way. >> all right, molly, thanks so much. straight ahead on the "cbs weekend news," banning books and defunding libraries. we go to the front lines in the war over words. get ready to pay more, from travel to turkey, this holiday season. price hikes gobble up savings.

next month, the future of the public library in jamestown, michigan, is on the ballot. it could close if residents

don't vote to fund it. but there is a war over words h found on itsves. we get more now from cbs' elaine quijano. >> reporter: in a small michigan town, neighbors are locked in a war over words. >> we all know in our hearts that these books and lifestyle choices are destructive and wrong. we can vote no first time around, we can vote no for the second time around. >> reporter: that vote was to fund the public library for the next ten years. voters have approved the tax twice since 2002. but this time a group called the jamestown conservatives led a successful drive to vote no, essentially defunding the library. the group was angry library refishes wouldn't remove five books with lgbtq themes from the shelves. >> use of the word, reverse ransom. >> reverse ransom, that's how you see it? >> reverse ransom. in exchange for pulling the books out of the library, we

will then help you get your tax approved so you can keep the doors open. >> reporter: larry walton is president of the library board. they oppose moving or removing the books, calling it censorship. >> i feel like we've kind of stepped back in time, talking about book banning. i never thought i would hear again those words, book banning, and in my own community. so that's disappointing. that's heartbreaking, to be associated with this situation. >> reporter: across the country, efforts to remove certain books from libraries in schools are gaining momentum. a recent study found more than 1,600 books were banned in more than 5,000 schools in 32 states. more than 40% of the books focus on lgbtq subjects, and more than 60% have primary characters of color or address issues of race. jonathan friedman of the free speech advocacy group pen america sees a troubling trend. >> we've seen our citizens calling and filing criminal

complaints about books available i libraries. i've seen that in numerous states where police go to a library to investigate a book. >> community standards in jamestown are not the same as in new york, l.a., or even in grand rapids. >> reporter: jamestown resident dean smith supports pulling the books from the shelves and says it's not about bigotry. what do you think some of the misunderstanding is that folks don't seem to know about? >> that we ar monolithic group that's anti-gay. that has nothing to do with it. i don't want any sexually or violently graphic material on display for kids to see when they come in the library. >> reporter: passions ran high at the september meeting. the books weren't even on the agenda, but they were on everyone's mind, including board treasurer deb fridsma. >> i appreciate passion, i do. but it is a slippery slope are you you cherish your freedom. what you're doing right now is taking other people's freedoms

away. >> reporter: the final chapter here will be written in november when voters will again be asked to decide on funding and the fate of the library. elaine quijano, cbs news, jamestown township, michigan. still ahead on the "cbs weekend news," from ghosts to goblins to your thanksgiving turkey, prices are on the rise this holiday season.

with halloween sneaking up on us, we have some scary news to report. the holidays will hurt americans' wallets. cbs' michael george has the inflation impact on our favorite tradition. >> reporter: for the last two years, new yorker kelly ryder and her family did a scaled-back

halloween because of the pandemic. but not this year. are you going big on halloween this year? >> really going big. we're doing a lot of different neighborhood festivals, the kids are all going to get dressed up, we're doing trick-or-treating, the whole nine yards. >> reporter: there's just one problem. due to inflation, prices are higher this year. from costumes to decorations. incandy is up about 13%. >> everything is more expensive. >> reporter: but still worth doing? >> of course, of course. >> reporter: it's not just halloween. americans are bracing for a big hit to their pocketbooks this holiday season. an epidemic of bird flu killed millions of turkey. add in inflation and thanksgiving dinner will be pricier too. this week frozen turkeys cost an average of $1.99 a pound, 73% more than 2021. but prices can vary, especially since holiday promotions are only just beginning. travel site hopper predicts airfares for the holidays will be the highest in five years.

many travelers are already feeling the impact. >> i think we're at a point in our lives where the price does have an effect on it, but we still travel. >> reporter: if you do plan on flying during the holidays, book early and try to fly on low-demand days like thanksgiving day or the weekend before christmas. michael george, cbs news, new york. next on the "cbs weekend news," his mississippi murder ignited a movement. love for emmett till in the state where hate took his life.

today, investigators are looking into the cause of a small plane crash in copy, new hampshire. a surveillance video captured the sound of the approaching aircraft, then the flash as it

hit a multi-family home lat night. the two on board were killed, no one inside the home were hurt. police in atherton, california, are uncovering a mystery. they are digging out a convertible mercedes-benz found buried in the yard of a multimillion-dollar mansion. the car was reported stole anyone 1992. inside, bags of unused cement. so far, no human remains have been found. the home's former owner has a history of convictions, including murder. a towering tribute to emmett till has been unveiled in mississippi. the nine-foot bronze statue revealed friday now stands in the state where two white men kidnapped, tortured, and killed him in 1955 over accusations he'd flirted with a white woman. till, just 14, was visiting mississippi from chicago. his attackers were acquitted. till's murder helped catalyze the civil rised movement. when we return, a jurassic tale about an airline crew and a very special pyeongchang passenger.

we end tonight with airline workers who took a request to handle with care to heart. so a little boy would make it home with his best friend. cbs' kris van cleave has the story. >> reporter: flo jones has been checking bags at burbank, california's airport for two two decades but she'd never seen anything like this. a dinosaur the size of a small child. >> and he's scary looking, but he was really adorable. >> reporter: 8-year-old rowan francois got this guy on vacation with no thought of how to get him home. >> it's almost as big as me. i thought it was going to break the whole time. >> you were worried about it making it home? >> yeah. >> reporter: but southwest airlines baggage handler brian cisneros and his co-workers were determined that wouldn't happen. >> when i saw it, we locked eyes. >> reporter: what he saw, a vip rex in need of very special treatment. >> wasn't in a box, so our

concern was taking care of it. we gave it a specific cart by itself, took it to the gates. when we loaded the dinosaur in the bin, we put it in the center bin, which is by himself. >> reporter: when it finally got home to spokane -- >> i would like to show you one thing. >> reporter: a reunion made possible by going the extra mile. kris van cleave, cbs news. >> now that's special cargo. that is the "cbs weekend news" for this saturday. don't forget sunday morning with jane pauley first thing tomorrow followed by "face the nation." among margaret brennan's guests, house speaker nancy pelosi. i'm adriana in chicago. good night.

tools and even trucks stolen repeatedly from bay area contractors and stolen tools means no work. contractors are fighting back. i'm john ramos in oakland where it's the end of the line for an iconic bakery. what's causing the taste of denmark to close for good. plus, a 30-year-old mystery discovered on the peninsula. the investigation into why a high end car was buried in a backyard. >> live from the cbs studios in san francisco, i'm brian hackney. >> i'm andrea nakano. we begin with an iconic bakery closing after this weekend. >> it's the end of the line for

a taste of denmark. kpix5's john ramos spoke with heartbroken customers. >> reporter: for 94 years a unique bakery has existed here on telegraph in oakland. it survived a recession, a depression and a global pandemic is what makes it impossible to continue now? from the fruit danish to the butter cookies to the german chocolate cakes, a taste of denmark has drawn loyal customers of all ages from all over the bay area. >> you want the vanilla? >> yeah. >> wayne young first started coming here when hi was five years old. >> i came from hercules just to come to this place. >> why? >> why? because of people like him. all the people back here. because of what this place stands for. >> reporter: but his saturday morning pastry run went from sweet to bitter when he saw the sign posted