0 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.