before we go, last look at conditions near i-80, donner summit. 80 is closed, and there are chain restrictions on 50 and on 89. more to come. >> yeah, we'll be here. >> so ll cbs we ♪ ♪ tonight on the "cbs weekend news," winter extremes. a blizzard blasts california and nevada. snow piling up fast. winds gusting up to 190 miles per hour. interstate 80 closed indefinitely, littered with stranded travelers. the worst, still to come. >> reporter: i'm carter evans. the snow is still falling in

downtown truckee on top of the foot and a half they got yesterday, and we could see another foot and a half today. in texas, the largest wildfire in state history expands, scorching everything in its path. [ siren ] >> also tonight, the united states begins dropping food into gaza, desperate for humanitarian aid. >> reporter: i'm imtiaz tyab in tel aviv. global outrage is only growing after palestinians were killed scrambling for food this week, prompting rare american intervention. russia launches new deadly drone strikes as ukraine struggles to fight back. donald trump rallies supporters today. >> we've been on a rocket to the republican nomination. >> as he faces a critical moment of financial truth. and later, fur and fiction. therapy dogs unleashing confidence in young readers, especially kids maybe struggling with reading. doing it to a dog, it feels good. ♪ ♪

this is the "cbs weekend news" from new york with adriana diaz. sechlt sechlt sechlt sechlt sechlt sechlt sechlt sechlt sechlt captioning funded by cbs good evening. adrianna is off. i'm meg oliver. tens of millions of people are impacted across at least eight states. california and nevada are seeing the it. this powerful blizzard shutting down vital roads including 100 miles of interstate 80, the snow piling up fast. plows are working to get stranded trucks moving again. the worst of the big storm happening right now. the fierce winds also fuelling wildfire threats further west across the plains. cbs's carter evans is in the town of truckee, california, and leads us off tonight. carter. >> reporter: well, good evening, meg. this blizzard is pummelling the mountains of california and nevada with heavy snow and winds up to 190 miles per hour in the mountain peaks. behind me, crews are working on fixing downed power lines rights

in the middle of it and there's more to come. california's most powerful blizzard this year is hammering lake tahoe and other sierra nevada communities. busy highways and roads shut down due to dangerous white-out conditions. >> couldn't even see the road. there's like no road to see. >> reporter: in california interstate 80 closed, leaves cars and semis stucks. emergency crews spent hours getting people to safety and authorities are still retrieving the vehicles. a union pacific plow train is busy cleaning out tons of snow, joining the heavy duty plows working around the clock. the national weather service says more than half a million people are under a blizzard warning. many are hunkering down, stocking up on batteries and lanterns. >> i'm about to go home and not leave for the next couple of

days. >> reporter: several ski resorts including sugar bowl are also off limits, shut down because of avalanche danger. residents nearby are now bracing for the next round. >> i do expect with the high winds that the power will go out this weekend. >> reporter: it turns out the wind is having a big impact on snow levels. the lead scientist at the berkeley snow lab tells me those high-level gusty winds are breaking up snowflakes before they hit the ground, so by the time they get down here they're packing together much more tightly. as a result, meg, the snow might not be as deep in some areas as originally predicted. >> carter evans with those incredible pictures. thank you. to texas now. strong winds and dry air this weekend are speeding the spread of what's already the largest wildfire in state history. more than 1,700 square miles of land have been scorched and 500 structures destroyed. fire so intense local ranchers say livestock have been unable

to escape the flames. two people have been killed. today the united states began dropping palettes of food aid into the gaza strip. the operation by american c-130 cargo planes expands america's direct role in addressing a growing humanitarian crisis and underscores a widening gap between washington and israel over its military campaign against hamas. cbs's imtiaz tyab in tel aviv has the latest. >> reporter: good evening. in all, 38,000 meals were air dropped from the c-130 aircrafts which were coordinated with the help of u.s. ally jordan. the rare intervention by the president comes after at least 115 palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded when israeli forces opened fire as thousands had gathered for one of the first food aid deliveries in gaza city in months. palestinian leaders are calling it israel's flower massacre after those who had swarmed the

trucks in the desperate hope of getting a sack of flour were killed. now, the israeli military continues to insist the deaths were caused by a stampede, but united nations observers sent to gaza city's al shifa hospital found the majority of dead and wounded from the convoy had suffered from bullet and shrapnel wounds. the chaos and carnage only underscores how desperate the decision across gaza is. since the start of the war the israeli military has blocked most food, water and medicine into the besieged palestinian territory, triggering a near famine according to the u.n. international aid agencies are sharply criticizing president biden's decision to air drop food into gaza, saying it will do little to help those who are starving. u.s. officials have acknowledged to cbs news the drops of aid are insufficient but are being done as a statement that the world is not just standing by watching the famine unfold. tonight we're learning israel has agreed to a cease-fire and hostage release framework that

would see a six-week pause in fighting and the release of women, elderly and sick hostages, meg. hamas has yet to respond. >> all right. imtiaz tyab, thank you. today a ship attacked by iran-backed houthi rebels last month sank in the red sea. the british-flagged vessel is the first vessel to be destroyed in their campaign to disrupt shipping in the region. the ship was already leaking oil and was carrying a cargo of fertilizer, prompting fears of an environmental catastrophe. another cargo ship came under attack today. its crew was forced to abandon ship. to ukraine now. today at least seven people were killed when debris from a russian drone hit an apartment block in the city of odesa. a three-month-old baby was among the dead. cbs's charlie d'agata is in kyiv as ukrainian forces struggle to fight back. >> reporter: when we visited a ukrainian howitzer brigade on the eastern front lines over the

summer they were burning through u.s.-supplied artillery rounds in an intense counter offensive. but now ammunition stocks are dangerously low along with other crucial supplies needed to keep the war effort moving. at an undisclosed, wooded location not far from the battlefield, a small team of mechanics have been working around the clock to fix damaged humvees. it is like a triage for battle-worn military vehicles. they put more than 100 back into the fight in the month of february alone. made in america, repaired right here in ukraine not far from the front lines. vehicles that can't be saved are stripped for spare parts. they can't afford to waste a single thing. cannibalizing radiators, drive shafts, suspension springs, it is an mro unit, maintenance, repair and overhaul, modelled on

the u.s. military system they were trained under. add to that, recovery. so you are sometimes rescuing these vehicles while under fire? >> yeah. why not? >> reporter: that's dangerous. >> yeah, i know. >> reporter: the major is the unit commander. he is clearly proud of his men. >> reporter: how difficult is it to get new parts for these vehicles? lately it gets more and more difficult, he said. we critically need more parts. the most critical tool in the garage is the little handwritten inventory book. stocks, already down 60% in recent weeks. new engines like this complements of the u.s. government are becoming a rare commodity, but the mechanics know that their work here helps save lives, providing protection in the fight. the commander put it more bluntly. the more vehicles out of commission, the more soldiers will die. threats on the ground and from the air, meg. ukrainian president volodymyr

zelenskyy said after the attacks in odesa we need more air defenses from our partners to stop what he called russian terror. this is the only way to save lives. >> charlie d'agata on the front lines for us. thank you. tonight president biden is at camp david where the white house says he's preparing for thursday's state-of-the union address before congress. also today, republican rivals donald trump and nikki haley were on the campaign trail trying to get out the vote ahead of a pivotal week. cbs's natalie brand joins us with more. natalie, good evening. >> reporter: meg, good evening to you. just tonight we have learned from republican officials that trump has won the michigan and missouri gop caucuses, meaning he has won all primary contests so far heading into a critical election week. in duelling rallies in north carolina less than 100 miles apart, nikki haley made a last-ditch appeal to voters in the final sprint to super tuesday. >> how many more times do we

have to lose before we realize maybe donald trump is the problem? >> reporter: former president donald trump fixated on border security and crime and railed against the multitude of court cases against him. >> they're not 91 counts, they're not legit. they're biden counts. >> reporter: the charges have galvanized his supporters. >> any kind of heat like that should promote him, as you can see all of the people here. we don't care about it. >> reporter: but as election season ramps up, trump faces a legal and financial reckoning. just this week a new york judge ruled he has to pay his more than $450 million civil fraud penalty while he appeals with the deadline later this month. that's on top of a separate $83 million judgment in his defamation case with author e. jean carroll, and that doesn't include the significant legal fees trump faces from his four criminal cases. with tens of millions of dollars in campaign cash going to legal bills last year. >> there's at least a third of republicans who want someone

besides trump. >> reporter: it is the reason brittany martinez says she hopes haley remains in the race past tuesday when more than 15 states hold election. >> i akeep at it because your voice for people like me who don't feel supported by the current maga party. >> reporter: the biden campaign this week is stepping up its outreach to female voters. the first lady just launched a women for biden/harris organizing group. she is on the campaign trail in key battleground states in the west today, arizona and nevada. headed to wisconsin tomorrow. meg. >> natalie brand, thank you. cbs news will have extensive coverage of the republican and democratic primaries including a special on tuesday at 10:00 p.m. eastern on cbs news streaming and paramount plus. tonight police in arizona are asking for the public's health finding two people involved in a possible abduction. it happened on february 23rd. a security camera at a gas station near i-10 west of phoenix capturing the scene.

you see a car pulling up and a woman gets out, but when she starts running toward a convenience store, the driver drags her back and pushes her inside. the man then jumps into the car and speeds off. within 30 seconds they are gone. police have one witness so far but no substantial leads. today a collision and derailment involving three norfolk southern freight trains spilled diesel feel into a river near bethlehem, pennsylvania. the trains were pulling box cars and tanker cars, at least one of which was partially submerged in the lehigh river. no injuries are reported and local officials said the diesel spill has been contained. today we learned of the death of the always-eye catching iris app fell. she was known for designing clothes for bright patterns. she loved big-rimmed glasses and red lipstick. among her clients, nine different presidents from truman to clinton as well as greta garbo and estee lauder. the self-described geriatric

star let died at home in palm beach, florida. i iris apfel was 102 years old. straight ahead on "cbs weekend news," california's white gold rush. how this could soon help our world running on lithium batteries and how the king of the court is about to make history again. and later, proof that there's nothing like a dog-eared book to curl up with and read. o. known for loving the outdoors. known for getting everyone together. no one wants to be known for cancer, but a treatment can be. keytruda is known to treat cancer. fda-approved for 16 types of cancer, including certain early-stage cancers. one of those cancers is triple-negative breast cancer. keytruda may be used with chemotherapy medicines as treatment before surgery and then continued alone after surgery when you have early-stage breast cancer and are at high risk of it coming back.

keytruda can cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body during or after treatment. this may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion, memory problems, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. there may be other side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including immune system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, received chest radiation, or have a nervous system problem. keytruda is an immunotherapy and is also being studied in hundreds of clinical trials, exploring ways to treat even more types of cancer. it's tru. keytruda from merck. see all the types of cancer keytruda is known for at keytruda.com, and ask your doctor if keytruda could be right for you.

when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis takes you off course. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc tried to slow me down... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc caused damage rinvoq came through by visibly repairing my colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief... lasting steroid-free remission... ...and the chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check, check, and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections,

including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least 1 heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. put uc in check and keep it there with rinvoq. ask your gastroenterologist about rinvoq and learn how abbvie can help you save. ♪ ♪ tonight a sprawling but struggling region of california is suddenly poised to become very, very rich. that's because it sits on an estimated 3,400 kilotons of a critical mineral. here is john blackstone. >> reporter: in california's imperial valley, unemployment is high, wages are low and agriculture is the dominant industry. but the move to electric vehicles may turn imperial

valley into lithium valley. >> something big for the valley, you know what i mean? because we never really have nothing of our own, so -- >> reporter: johnny haywood is in a class at imperial valley college training for jobs expected to be created by vast lithium reserves in the area. >> so it is a very significant, sort of what we call a world class lithium resource. >> reporter: geologist pat dobson who led a recent federal study, says for years geothermal power plants here treated lithium as an unwanted byproduct. >> for decades we have been pulling lithium out of the ground and then putting it back. >> reporter: the plants produce electricity by tapping super heated fluid called brined a mile beneath the earth's surface. the brine produces steam and is injected back into the earth. lithium is one of the minerals in the brine. >> what didn't happen before, there was not a great demand for lithium. >> reporter: now with electric vehicles there is demand. >> this is where the magic happens. >> reporter: david deeks says his company, energy resources

minerals, found a way to get lithium out of the brine. >> each of these columns will absorb lithium into it. >> reporter: this demonstration unit is in a shipping container but the company is planning a facility the size of 1,000 shipping containers. optimistically the first commercially available lithium from your plant is at least two years away? >> i would say that, yes. if we close on financing and start construction immediately thereafter, we will be in production and delivering to customers by 2026. >> we hope and expect that there will be other industries joining the lithium industry such as battery manufacturing. >> reporter: efron silva, a dean at imperial valley college, leads the lithium training program. >> and i don't want any industry to say we have to bring outside people because there's not a ready workforce in imperial county. >> reporter: some in the class are farm workers. >> work in the fields in the daytime. >> in the daytime, and at night i come to school. >> reporter: he is in the night class, but by day he is already working at energy source

minerals' demonstration facility. >> it should create a lot of employment, you know, a lot of these kids that are in the plant operating class, it will give them a fighting chance to stay here in the valley. >> reporter: in a place that has had plenty of hard times, this time may be different. john blackstone, cbs news, imperial, california. still ahead on "cbs weekend news," caitlin clark on the verge of breaking the all-time college scoring record. we will tell you what the cost of a ticket to history is. kin i, take care of it with gold bond's age renew formulations of 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. for all your skins, gold bond. kerendia presents... the abcs of ckd a is for awareness, because knowing that your chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes could progress to dialysis is important. b is for belief that there may be more you can do. just remember that k is for kidneys

and kerendia. for adults living with ckd in type 2 diabetes, kerendia is proven to reduce the risk of kidney failure, which can lead to dialysis. kerendia is a once-daily tablet that treats ckd differently than type 2 diabetes medications to help slow the progression of kidney damage and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks. do not take kerendia if you have problems with your adrenal glands or take certain medications called cyp3a4 inhibitors. kerendia can cause hyperkalemia, which is high potassium levels in your blood. ask your doctor before taking products containing potassium. kerendia can also cause low blood pressure and low sodium levels. so now that you know your abcs, don't wait. kidney damage from ckd in t2d is not reversible. so ask your doctor about slowing your kidney damage with kerendia. nothing brings us together like eggland's best eggs. always so fresh and delicious. plus, superior nutrition. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best.

only unitedhealthcare medicare advantage plans come with the ucard — one simple member card that opens doors for what matters. what if we need to see a doctor away from home? we got you — with medicare advantage's largest national provider network. only from unitedhealthcare. from the #1 rated brand in cordless outdoor power, the ego zero-turn riding mower with e-steer technology. drives like a car, turns on a dime. and it cuts up to 2.5 acres on a single charge. exclusively lowes, ace, and ego authorized dealers. when dry eye symptoms keep... coming... back... inflammation might be to blame. over-the-counter eye drops can provide temporary relief. xiidra can provide lasting relief. it targets inflammation that can cause dry eye disease. xiidra? no-o-o! xiidra treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. don't use if allergic to xiidra. common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied, and unusual taste sensation. why wait? ask your doctor about a 90-day prescription and pay as little as $0. xiidra. (grunt)

♪ ♪ tonight, lebron james is likely to become the first nba player to reach 40,000 points in a career. he's just nine points away from the mark as his los angeles lakers host the denver nuggets. james is averaging over 25 points a game at the age of 39. iowa's caitlin clark is also on the verge of something else, of becoming college basketball's all-time leading scorer when the hawkeyes play ohio state tomorrow. clark needs just 18 points to surpass the late pete maravich's mark of 3,667. tickets for the game are red hot, averaging $571 a seat. the average price paid for a woman's college basketball ticket is $49. next on the "cbs weekend news," a dogged approach to teaching young people to read. i'm so glad i can still come here.

you see, i was diagnosed with obstructive hcm. and there were some days i was so short of breath. i thought i'd have to settle for never stepping foot on this trail again. i became great at making excuses. but i have people who count on me so i talked to my cardiologist. i said there must be more we can do for my symptoms. he told me about a medication called camzyos. he said camzyos works by targeting what's causing my obstructive hcm. so he prescribed it and i'm really glad he did. camzyos is used to treat adults with symptomatic obstructive hcm. camzyos may improve your symptoms and your ability to be active. camzyos may cause serious side effects, including heart failure that can lead to death. a risk that's increased if you develop a serious infection or irregular heartbeat or when taking certain other medicines. so do not stop, start or change medicines or the dose without telling your healthcare provider. you must have echocardiograms before and during treatment. seek help if you experience new or worsening symptoms of heart failure. because of this risk, camzyos is only available through a restricted program. before taking camzyos,

tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions, including current or planned pregnancy. today with camzyos, i don't lose my breath as often. my symptoms have improved, helping me go from expecting less to experiencing more. my name is mike. and this is my camzyos moment. call your cardiologist today and see if a camzyos moment may be in your future too. ♪♪ missing out on the things you love because of asthma?

get back to better breathing with fasenra, an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken once every 8 weeks. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems or other eosinophilic conditions. allergic reactions may occur. don't stop your asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. step back out there with fasenra. ask your doctor if it's right for you. ♪ ♪ it is read across america day, and to market our weekend journal features an unusual but effective approach to teaching children to read. cbs's itay hod with the story. >> reporter: a library is traditionally a quiet place, so bringing a dog inside would definitely be barking up the wrong tree. however, here at the mill valley branch just north of san

francisco seeing 2-year-old golden retrievers kona and sophie doesn't seem to give anyone pause. >> oh, no. >> reporter: two veteran therapy dogs, kona and sophie are here to lend an ear. >> he took overall the little castles. >> reporter: as part of a program called share a book where fur meets fiction and kids can follow the scent of adventure by reading to pooches. >> it is a great day on the farm, biscuit. >> reporter: 11-year-old sunny chambliss is a die-hard reader but every now and then she gets a little shy. >> it is like you can read without a care in your mind. >> it is pretty amazing. >> reporter: the idea, says lisa block of the local humane society, is to provide a non-judgment zone to help kids ease some of those reading jitters. >> dogs really relax us. they even lower our blood pressure. so for anybody really, but especially kids who are maybe struggling with reading, doing

it to a dog just feels good. >> you found a little llama, biscuit. >> reporter: in fact, researchers at uc davis found that kids who read to dogs for 15 to 20 minutes a week saw 30% improvement in reading fluency. tony sousa is an educator and a library assistant. she says not only does reading to dogs improve skills, it creates a positive association with libraries in general. >> children, once they've read to the dogs once, want to come back again and again. >> woof, woof. >> reporter: getting kids to fall in love with books by unleashing their confidence. itay hod, cbs news, mill valley, california. >> what a great program. that's the news for this saturday. first thing tomorrow, "cbs sunday morning" followed by "face the nation." among margaret brennan's guests, homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. i'm meg oliver in new york. i'm meg oliver in new york. good night.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ ♪ from cbs news bay area this is the evening edition. >> this is once in a lifetime for us to be in this blizzard. it's kind of crazy. >> that's one way of putting it. now at 6:00, nowhere to go after snow buries the entire northern sierra. a live look at how some people are making the best of it. snow spread all the way down the bay area mountain, and john ramos went up to see it. and on the way, he had an

interesting encounter with gravity. plus, another school district says it has no choice but to shut down schools. details on the deficits and the timeline for potential closures. and later, the plan for a temporary ceasefire in gaza as the u.s. military begins air dropping supplies to palestinians starved out on the ground. live from the cbs studios in san francisco, we'll have the latest on the weather in a moment, but first san francisco is set to louz a number of public schools as the district plans a major restructuring. student enrollment has been dropping by the thousands. while the district says that it is struggling to staff classrooms amid a teacher shortage and lots of facilities are in poor condition. they label the resource alignment initiative as the way to tackle the problem. district says it'll work with families, teachers, and communities in the process is and the consolidation will create what they call better learning environments in the long run. >> to