among 11 people now charged with seditious conspiracy. what the fbi says it uncovered, cracking encrypted apps. the oath keepers leader allegedly telling followers, we aren't getting through this without a civil war. federal authorities say they had quick reaction force teams prepared to transport weapons to d.c. we are also tracking a major winter storm tonight. the midwest, then the south, and then up the east coast, right into the northeast. on alert for snow and ice. dangerous driving ahead. and several inches of snow in some places. ginger zee times this out. tonight, britain's prince andrew stripped of his military titles just hours after a u.s. federal judge said the sex assault lawsuit against him can move forward. what buckingham palace is now saying tonight. the voting rights showdown on capitol hill. democratic senator kyrsten sinema and her words, just an hour before the president arrived on the hill to meet with democrats. did she, along with senator joe manchin, halt the president's efforts to protect voting rights? and now late word of a meeting tonight. and breaking news coming in now on sirhan sirhan, the man who killed robert f. kennedy. what california's governor has just now decided. and the father who stood up. his two little boys amazed. you'll see it right here. definitely america strong. good evening and it's great to have you with us here on this thursday night. and we begin tonight with the supreme court blocking president biden's vaccine mandate for large companies. the vote 6-3, the conservative justices against it. they did allow for the rules to move forward for 17 million health care workers at federally-funded hospitals and facilities in this country. the supreme court decision coming late today. the conservative majority saying osha does not have the authority to enforce a vaccine or testing rule for large companies. this effects some 80 million employees across the country. their own companies and bosses will now make that decision. many companies, of course, already have. as i mentioned, they did allow for a separate mandate to move forward for millions of health care workers at those federally-funded sites. tonight, president biden's response, saying in part that justices blocked what he called common sense life-saving requirements. tonight, the president is now calling on the states and employers to do the right thing. our senior white house correspondent mary bruce leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, in a blow to the white house, the supreme court blocking the biden administration from enforcing a vaccine and testing mandate for large businesses. the policy, which would have impacted more than 80 million employees, required they get vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. the conservative justices argued the agency overseeing the mandate, the occupational safety and health administration, also known as osha, does not have the authority to regulate public health. >> osha has not traditionally mandated other vaccines for other hazards that could be -- pose a grave risk, some might say? the flu kills people every year. other grave diseases do, too. >> reporter: today, the court ruling 6-3, with liberal justices breyer, sotomayor, and kagan dissenting, writing, "in the face of a still-raging pandemic, this court tells the agency charged with protecting worker safety that it may not do so in all the workplaces needed." many republicans tonight are celebrating the court's decision to halt the mandate, but the president says he is "disappointed that the supreme court has chosen to block common sense life-saving requirements for employees at large businesses that were grounded squarely in both science and the law." but in a victory for the white house, the court is allowing a vaccine mandate for workers at federally-funded health care facilities to continue, a move which impacts more than 17 million workers. the president tonight hailing that decision, saying it will save lives and that it is now on states and employers to do the right thing. pointing to united airlines, which prior to putting in place their own vaccine mandate was seeing an average of one employee dying every week from covid. the ceo stating, "we've now gone eight straight weeks with zero covid-related deaths among our vaccinated employees." >> they say that after their own mandate at united airlines. let's bring in mary bruce tonight. and mary, you said it there. the president now trying to place this on the states and individual employers, saying the supreme court decision, quote, does not stop me from using my voice as president to advocate for employers, he said, to do the right thing to protect americans' health and the economy. >> reporter: david, the white house is keeping up this fight. and they do believe that despite the court's ruling, that this mandate for large businesses encouraged millions of americans to be vaccinated and drove large companies like united to take action on their own. and tonight, the president is urging other large businesses to step up, as well. david? >> mary bruce leading us off at the white house. mary, as you know, the other major development tonight in this pandemic, president biden taking new steps to surge resources where they're needed most, deploying six more military medical teams to six hard-hit states. 1,000 personnel part of this effort. tonight, our kayna whitworth in one of those states. she's at dayton's children's hospital in ohio. what doctors are seeing there right now, as kayna goes down the list of states tonight, where military medical personnel are now on the way. >> reporter: tonight, president biden deploying six more military medical teams to six hospitals in hard-hit states -- new york, new jersey, michigan, rhode island, new mexico, and ohio. at least 1,000 hospitals across the country are facing critical staff shortages. dayton children's in ohio says it is short staffed and admitting more kids than ever since the omicron surge. >> because it is so much more infectious, we are seeing huge volumes of kids who are sick. >> reporter: doctors here say two-thirds of the kids admitted for covid have underlying conditions, many experiencing respiratory distress. >> you can even see it in the faces of kids who can't even talk yet, you know, their eyes get really big and they, you know, just -- we watch them struggle to breathe. and then on top of that, we watch their parents struggle. >> reporter: jackie kerby has been in the hospital with her 8-month-old daughter enaeshya, who is fighting covid with a high fever and trouble breathing. jackie's vaccinated, but her baby is too young. >> sleeping, she barely can stay awake. she won't eat. that's not her. so, yeah, this just turned her little life around. >> reporter: born premature, baby enaeshya is underweight and vulnerable. i bet you're scared. >> yes, i am very scared. i am terribly scared. >> reporter: when you look at her right now, what are you thinking? >> i want her to get better. i want to be able to take my baby home. >> reporter: doctors tell us nearly all of their sick patients have been unvaccinated and many of the parents who didn't get their eligible kids vaccinated are now questioning that decision. >> many families feel now that they should have vaccinated their children. and many of them have said, who have recovered, the children say, "i would like to get vaccinated before i go home." >> reporter: jackie vaccinated her older children and is now urging other parents to protect their kids. >> make sure they wear the masks. you can get it. your kids can get it, and it can be a really, really bad outcome. >> reporter: and david, president biden making a long list of promises today. first, to provide a billion at-home rapid tests. and the white house plans on launching a website next week where you can go and order those tests. he is also promising every american a free, high quality mask. but david, the clock is ticking on those promises. david? >> yes, he said more information in the coming days for that. we'll track it for sure. kayna whitworth tonight, thank you. now to that extraordinary move from the justice department today. the most serious charges yet in the attack on the capitol. 11 members of the oath keepers militia group charged with seditious conspiracy, including the group's leader, stewart rhodes, arrested in texas. the fbi breaking through encrypted apps. they say he allegedly messaged the group after the election, quote, we weren't getting through this without a civil war. here's our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas now. >> reporter: tonight, in an extraordinarily rare move, the justice department charging some of the capitol rioters with conspiracy to commit sedition, saying some of these men and women seen marching up the steps of the capitol in tactical gear were allegedly part of a plot to, quote, oppose bid by force the lawful transfer of presidential power. those charged with trying to overthrow the government are alleged members of oath keepers, an anti-government right wing militia which heavily recruits current and former military and law enforcement officials. >> they're in tactical gear, they have body armor. you know, they're preparing for violence. i think what we saw was really an attempted coup, to a certain extent. >> reporter: the fbi's case built on cracking encrypted apps the group allegedly used to secretly communicate with one another. according to the indictment, two days after the election, oath keepers founder stewart rhodes allegedly messaged followers. "we aren't getting through this without a civil war." and days later, writing -- "we must now do what the people of serbia did when milosevic stole their election -- refuse to accept it and march en masse on the nation's capitol." the fbi says on january 6th, members of the group allegedly moved in search of speaker pelosi, while others allegedly staged an armed quick strike force in virginia, not far from the capitol. >> the details are stunning. pierre with us live from the capitol tonight. and pierre, you're hearing from rhodes' attorney this evening? >> reporter: david, tonight, rhodes' attorney is pushing back hard, saying the government's case is built on nothing but lies. david? >> all right, pierre thomas following all of this since the sixth. pierre, thank you. next this evening, to the powerful winter storm sweeping across the country. the midwest to the southeast. the real concern there, ice. and then right up the east coast into the northeast. several states tonight already on alert for snow and ice. dangerous driving for days, as this moves right across the country. chief meteorologist ginger zee back with us tonight, timing it all out. hey, ginger. >> reporter: hey, david. we know that winter has been delayed, but in des moines, iowa, they are eight inches below average in snow. they're going to make it up all in one shot with this storm. now, it's not just iowa, it slides south through missouri, into the deep south where, remember, they don't have a lot of equipment to clear this. so northeast georgia just got a winter storm watch saturday night through sunday morning. 2 to 5 inches of snow just to the northeast of atlanta. a quarter inch of ice. that could take power lines down. driving very difficult. and sunday, it moves up the coast. by monday morning, the heaviest snow has fallen inland and it's rain from new york up through coastal connecticut into boston. and before any of that happens, the coldest air in three years. it will feel like 18 below. those wind chills are dangerous. look at hartford there, up into maine. david? >> ginger, thank you, and thank you for sharing part of your birthday with us. we appreciate it. happy birthday. >> reporter: thank you. to the other news tonight, and a stunning rebuke for britain's prince andrew, stripped of his military titles, just hours after a federal judge here in the u.s. decided a sexual assault lawsuit against him here will go forward. well, tonight, what buckingham palace is now saying about the prince defending himself. abc's maggie rulli from london now. >> reporter: tonight, prince andrew now stripped of his military titles and royal patronages just hours after a u.s. judge said a civil sex abuse lawsuit against him can move forward. buckingham palace saying in a statement, "with the queen's approval and agreement, the duke of york's military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the queen," adding he "is defending this case as a private citizen." >> but to talk about a royal member of the royal family as a private citizen defending himself was clearly saying, "this man is no longer an active member of the royal family." >> reporter: a source telling abc news the queen's second son will also no longer use his royal highness in any official capacity. the prince stepped down from his royal duties in 2019, yet the monarchy has faced mounting pressure to do more, particularly one day after a judge in new york allowed virginia roberts giuffre to proceed with her lawsuit alleging the prince sexually abused her when she was 17, claims prince andrew has denied many times. >> there's so much damage being caused by this -- this case and these allegations that the royal family is now being dragged into it. the best thing to do is cut ties. >> reporter: and david, a royal source tells abc news this decision was widely discussed among the royal family. seemingly all of them now trying to get some distance from andrew. david? >> we know it's making big news there in london. maggie, thank you. back here at home tonight, to the voting rights showdown in washington. we have learned at this hour that senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema are meeting with president biden at the white house tonight. but earlier today, just an hour before the president traveled to the capitol to meet with democrats, what senator sinema declared in a speech. did she and manchin effectively halt the president's effort on voting rights? rachel scott on the hill again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, a tough blow for president biden from a member of his own party. less than an hour before the president was due to arrive on capitol hill to make a direct plea to democrats to change the senate rules to get voting rights legislation passed, senator kyrsten sinema declared she's not on board. >> while i continue to support these bills, i will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country. >> reporter: her announcement undercutting the president's visit. and when he emerged from his meeting with senate democrats, the president sounding somewhat defeated. >> i hope we can get this done. the honest to god answer is i don't know whether we can get this done. but one thing for certain -- one thing for certain, like every other major civil rights bill that came along, if we miss the first time, we can come back and try it a second time. >> let's get right back up to rachel scott tonight. and rachel, we did learn the president has invited senators sinema and manchin to the white house tonight. i'm curious what more you're learning. >> reporter: well, david, senator kyrsten sinema is not budging on this and neither is senator joe manchin. he released a statement saying changing the senate rules would be the easy way out. the white house says the president will continue to push on this and he will make another hard sell to both of those senators at the white house tonight. david? >> all right, rachel scott tonight. rachel, thank you, as always. there's also news tonight in the investigation in the house into the capitol attack. the republican leader of the house, kevin mccarthy, now rejecting that committee's request to cooperate with the investigation. here's our chief washington correspondent jonathan karl tonight. >> reporter: on capitol hill today, republican leader kevin mccarthy defended his refusal to cooperate with the january 6th investigation. >> it is pure politics of what they're playing. >> reporter: the committee wants to ask mccarthy about his phone call with former president trump while the capitol was under attack. a year ago, he said he was willing to talk about it. >> would you be willing to testify about your conversation with donald trump on january 6th if you were asked by an outside commission? >> sure. next question. >> reporter: but today, mccarthy insisted he has nothing to say. >> my conversation was very short, advising the president of what was happening here. >> reporter: in fact, mccarthy's conversation with trump was much more than that. as i describe in my book "betrayal", mccarthy became angry after trump told him the rioters cared more about the election than he did. "who do you think you are talking to?" mccarthy told trump. "i just got evacuated from the capitol! there were shots fired right off the house floor. you need to make this stop." "they are more upset than you because they believe it more than you, kevin," trump responded. after the riot, mccarthy blamed trump. >> he should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. these facts require immediate action by president trump -- accept his share of responsibility. >> reporter: but two weeks later, mccarthy went to visit trump in mar-a-lago. and today, he seemed to take it all back. >> what changed from what you said on the floor criticizing him, saying that he was -- >> my criticism went to everyone on that day. why was the capitol so ill-prepared that day? >> reporter: the top republican on the committee was blunt. >> i wish that he were a brave and honorable man. he's clearly trying to cover up what happened. >> reporter: today, committee chairman bennie thompson said he is disappointed that mccarthy will not cooperate voluntarily and the committee is discussing issuing a subpoena, but david, a subpoena for kevin mccarthy is unlikely, for one, it is unclear how it would be enforced. >> all right, jon karl live back up on the hill again tonight for us. thank you, jon. when we come back here, the breaking headline tonight coming in on the man who killed robert f. kennedy. what california's governor has just now decided. and your health tonight. the new findings on the flu shot in children. 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>> i'm about to. what do you think? >> tall! >> we have followed captain herrera for years. leading his team on patrol in afghanistan, he was shot by a sniper in 2012. paralyzed from the chest down. afterward, the grueling recovery. the rehab. and that moment at bob woodruff's standup for heroes when captain herrera was about to walk across the stage with rewalk, exoskeleton technology. >> i'd forgotten what walking was like until i put this device on and started walking again. >> and tonight you're going to surprise this audience. >> yeah. >> and he did it. tonight, still relying on that technology to this time stand up before his sons. >> want to try going outside? >> yeah! >> and tonight here -- >> hi, david. >> we check in with captain herrera again. >> when i stood and heard hudson said to me how tall i was and that i could take a step and he was coaching me along, it really made me understand his perception of me and how he saw me and how he didn't see my paralysis or the fact that i use a wheelchair as a limitation. >> and tonight, his hope. >> i hope that you question any perceived limitations you may be encountering and make 2022 an epic year. >> well, we salute captain herrera right along with his boys. good night. >> tonight, the abc 7 news i seem is on the pandemic. dan follows a two finds more than a million dollars worth of personal protective equipment getting ruined in the rain. he is asking who is responsible for this. >> it has been for about the past three or four weeks that we have seen this because no one can find a rapid test anywhere. >> stephanie sierra looking into the ramifications of people overwhelming emergency rooms looking for covid tests. >> a continuing theme of scammers taking advantage of certain situations. >> a real test but a fake result. you can find them online but melanie woodrow finds this fraud could have international implications. >> building a better bay area, moving forward and finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. >> san mateo county workers are scrabbling to clean up a mess uncovered by the abc 7 news i team. several million dollars worth of precious ppe purchased with your tax dollars left outside in the rain. good evening, thank you for joining us. i am ama daetz. >> dan begins with coverage you will only see in -- with us. >> we all know how important masks and hospital gowns and other protective gear is as the pandemic surges. this seems hard to believe. top county officials did not know that thousands of boxes of ppe removed outside and forgotten for months until i told them. >> i got a tip on a recent rainy day and went straight to the san mateo county event center, gate nine and could not fight believe what i found. thousands upon thousands of boxes containing all sorts of brand-new personal protective equipment. soaking in the rain. stacks of boxes collapsing.