Good evening, everyone the effort to offer Covid Vaccinations to virtually all americans, including the youngest among us, is close tonight pfizer confirming late today it has started down the road of seeking Emergency Use Authorization for its vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years who are currently ineligible child cases stood last week at over 800,000. Thats less than the previous week but still extremely high pfizer for now calling for two lowerdose shots for the youngest group. If approved, the first injections could begin within weeks but the news comes with a nagging dose of reality, reluctance of among many parents to have their kids vaccinated tom costello now with late details reporter with 3. 5 million new Pediatric Covid cases, january alone, the potential that shots could be going into very young arms within a month is welcome news for millions of parents. Every day im worried about them contracting covid. I would say that were very cautious. Reporter in maryland, the cross family has three kids, two under the age of 5. As a working parent, i want them vaccinated so that we are not dealing with this Child Care Gap of constantly having to have our kids out of school and day care. Reporter Pfizer Today Requesting Emergency Fda Authorization for a twoshot vaccine dose at onetenth the adult dose for kids 6 months to 5 years, as it continues researching whether a third dose provides even more protection children typically receive 16 vaccinations from birth to 18 years, but many parents are hesitant to add another. A new Covid Vaccine study finds just 31 of parents say theyd vaccinate kids under 5 right away 29 will wait to see how other kids react 26 will not vaccinate their youngest kids. 12 will only do so if the school requires it dr. Paul offit is on the fdas outside Vaccine Committee that evaluates safety. We all want to see the data, and we would not approve this vaccine unless we can imagine giving it on to our own children or our own grandchildren. I think the American Public can be reassured by that. Reporter today the American Academy of pediatrics saying its important all children benefit from the protection the vaccine offers the fact is, even if they dont get hospitalized or worse, they have to miss school, their families have to miss school. Its a major work burden and ends up isolating the whole family and its an educational loss for a lot of kiddos. Tom, it sounds like in this case the fda asked pfizer to submit the request for authorization. I suppose that suggests this is very urgent reporter thats right. It wants to consider a twodose regimen to get the ball rolling on Building Immunity before that third dose is approved. So far there have been no serious side effects reported in kids 5 to 11 who have been vaccinated, but fewer than 20 in that age group are vaccinated lester tom costello, thank you. Lets turn to a violent day on School Campuses across the country. In bridgewater, virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley a deadly shooting on a College Campus in that Small Town Authorities Sa Two Campus Police officers were shot and killed at bridgewater college. The College President said the officers were Close Friends and known on campus as the dynamic duo. Police have arrested a suspect. Also breaking, another Deadly School shooting in one in richfield, minnesota, near minneapolis. Authorities sa two students were shot on the sidewalk outside the school one is in critical condition, one died. Police are searching for the suspects and tonight, federal authorities are investigating bomb threats made at more than a dozen historically black colleges and universities heres ron allen reporter tonight, many of the nations historically black colleges and universities on heightened alert from delaware to florida to louisiana. Hours with campuses locked down, orders to shelter in place because of more than a dozen bomb threats. Its sad that its only hbcus are being targeted. Reporter at howard university, bomb threats two days in a row, the third threat since january 5th. You take these threats seriously . Absolutely. Reporter like many, dr. Dubroy thinks that its the start of black History Month is likely no coincidence. A month that celebrates the innovation of our community and the valor of black people has now been tainted because we have such a significant threat against our hbcu community. Reporter at the white house, aides say the president is getting regular updates. It is scary, it is horrifying it is terrible that these students, these faculty, these institutions are feeling under threat reporter the fbi saying theyre working with our Law Enforcement partners to address any potential threats. Now students like Ashley Fields are back in class with a lot of questions. Weve not received any word about whether the two have been connected or, you know, where the threat has come from. Not the Ideal Environment for students trying to learn. Reporter on howards campus, a much bigger police presence, including the d. C. Metro police, not usually stationed here so far authorities have not reported finding any explosive devices on any campus. Lester ron allen, thank you for that update. Tonight, a massive new storm is prompting winter alerts eve a 2,000mill stretch from new mexico to new england. Dylan dreyer is here. What are we expecting . We are expecting a lot of snow and a lot of ice right through the middle of the country where those warnings and watches are in effect. For now its mostly rain, but the moisture is streaming in from the Gulf Of Mexico and we have a cold front thats going to drag down the cold air, so where it is raining, areas like st. Louis, they will change over to ice and eventually snow from little rock to louisville up through pittsburgh, we could see a quarter of an inch to a half an inch of ice it makes things treacherous on the roads and likely to cause significant Power Outages when it hangs to trees and power lines. Were also looking across northern indiana. Some areas picking up about 12 to 18 inches of snow. Really cold on the backside of this, so Power Outages and cold temperatures once again will be a huge concern. Thats quite an impact zone. Dylan, thank you. A raging fire at a Fertilizer Plant in winstonsalem, North Carolina it forced thousands of people to evacuate because of a danger of an Explosion Firefighters tried to control it but were forced to retreat with 600 tons of Ammonium Nitrate at the site. Authorities said the danger would continue through tomorrow no sign tonight russia intends to pull back its military buildup threatening ukraine. President Vladimir Putin insisting its the u. S. Thats trying to start war over ukraine. But hes not ruling out a Diplomat Solution Richard Engel is in ukraine. Reporter in a widely socially distanced joint statement with the Prime Minister of hungary, russian president Vladimir Putin broke weeks of silence on ukraine and for the first time responded to written diplomatic proposals from the u. S. And nato russias concerns were basically ignored, putin said he laid out his security demands, unchanged even after weeks of negotiations with the u. S nonexpansion of nato, no Offensive Weapons by russias border, he said. Putin never mentioned the 130,000 Russian Troops mobilized on ukraines borders, including tanks, warships, missiles and even fresh blood supplies instead, the russian president talked about Crimea Russia seized and annexed it from ukraine in 2014. Putin says if ukraine joins nato, ukraine would try to recapture crimea, triggering a fullblown war between nato and russia. So, putins arguing that what hes doing now is in the interest of world peace President Putin did leave open the door for diplomacy. He said he hopes to have further discussions in the coming weeks but its clear that putin is sticking to his core demand that ukraine never be allowed to join nato the implied threat, all those troops that were never mentioned lester Richard Engel, thank you. As the olympics get under way in beijing, fbi director Christopher Wray is speaking exclusively to nbc news about the scope of chinas Spying On American Soil its become so widespread that his agents open an average of two investigations a day. Wray spoke about it with Pete Williams an east bay Tour Operator is facing charges tonight of spying for china the fbi is tailing him around. Reporter the fbi says this is chinese spying at work edward pung leaving an envelope of cash in a California Hotel room and retrieving an sd card loaded with classified information, a classic spy dead drop. Hes now in federal prison. The creation of those Counterintelligence Task forces reporter Christopher Wray said when he became fbi director, the shee amount of chinese spying to steal American Technology was a huge surprise. This one blew me away, and im not the kind of guy that uses words like blown away easily we are opening a new chinarelated Counterintelligence Investigation about every 12 hours we probably have over 2,000 of those Investigations Reporter other countries spy on each other. What does china do thats different there is no country that presents a more Severe Threat to our innovation, our economic than china does im referring not to the chinese people, not to people of chinese descent or heritage what were talking about here is the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist party. Reporter the Chinese Government repeatedly insisted it doesnt steal American Business secrets but the fbi says chinese spies target a range of american innovations on Covid Vaccines, computer chips, Nuclear Power plants, jet engines and smartphones, for example, sometimes by planting company insiders, sometimes through its worldleading cybertheft the scale of their Hacking Program and the amount of personal and corporate data their hackers have stolen is greater than every other country combined reporter wray says the Chinese Government exports elements of its oppressive police state, sending teams to the u. S. To threaten and intimidate critics. China may be the first country to combine that kind of authoritarian ambition with cuttingedge technical capability. Its like the Surveillance Nightmare Of East Germany combined with the tech of silicon valley. Reporter what about the criticism from Asian America Groups who say the justice departments China Initiative has overreached with some chinese espionage cases collapsing we dont investigate anyone based on race or ethnicity or constitutionally protected activity in fact, in many cases Chinese Americans are some of the people most victimized by the Chinese Governments tactics that were describing. Reporter wray also accuses china of going after secrets in other countries, but he says the u. S. Is its number one target lester fascinating interview, pete. Thank you. In just 60 seconds, banning books in School Libraries, under pressure by parents and politicians. Our exclusive investigation. Back now with our Nbc News Exclusive and the growing effort to ban books from some School Libraries certain titles disappearing from the shelves in texas in Record Numbers heres antonia hilton. Reporter iris chang remembers the first time she saw herself in a book. It was the Joy Luck Club by amy tan so, it was really compelling to see this accurate portrayal of what my culture looks like and what i as a person represent reporter iris, who identifies as queer, always loved learning about the world from her hometown of katy, texas, until this fall when her district started banning books. I think students of color and queer students are taking this especially hard an nbc news investigation found that the Katy Independent School district is one of a dozen texas districts that has removed books due to race, gender and Sexual Identit after a statewide surge of parent complaints why are we sexualizing our precious children . Reporter record requests to nearly 100 texas districts foun that during the first four months of the school year, parents made 75 formal complaints compared to one filed during the same period last year. Its about a whole array of books and its about lgbtq students in particular or students of color in particular. Reporter retired Librarian Carolyn Foot says shes never seen anything like this one katy parent even asked the district to remove a biography of michelle obama, arguing the book promotes Reverse Racism the district denied the request. Governor greg abbott called for criminal charges against staff who provide kids with pornographic books do librarians feel safe in their jobs right now . In some cases librarians are being asked to do things that really are against their code of ethics, and that makes them fearful to speak up. One of the banned Books Carolyn loves is George Johnsons memoir about their black queer childhood, which includes a brief passage about sexual abuse george experienced as a child. In january katy schools deemed i inappropriate for any level. They can remove our books, but they cant remove our Stories Reporter what do you make of the fact that people have used the words pornographic and vulgar they dont want their students reading about queer people my book is not being put out there to excite students about sex. This is what boys like to do reporter at a november school board meeting, a katy parent read from georges book i dont want to spend my money on this filth and its in our libraries. Reporter mary ellen has three kids in katy schools and helped organize moms on this issue. What were talking about is vulgarity that is inappropriate for any child. I dont care what your ideology is, and your child is precious and needs to be guarded. Reporter more than half of the books that katy has removed as a result of all of this have main characters who are lgbtq. Are people supposed to believe thats just a coincidence . No. I dont think so i think they should read the books themselves. Reporter katy schools declined nbcs request for an interview. Iris, a member of her schools debate team, is no stranger to speaking her mind. I honestly believe they want a keep their children in this protected bubble in which the only opinions they hear are the ones that they themselves represent reporter she feels too many adults arent listening. Antonia hilton, nbc news, katie, texas. Inside the olympic bubble as team usa prepares for the Opening Ceremony in beijing. The nfl has been hit with an explosive lawsuit. Former head coach brian flores is suing the league along with the dolphins, giants, and broncos for Racial Discrimination flores, who was fired by the dolphins last month, alleges discriminatory Hiring Practices against black coaches and personnel. The teams have denied the allegations, and the nfl said, quote, we will defend against these claims which are without merit. Also tonight, the beijing games just days away, but once again, covid threatens to sideline some team usa stars. Stephanie gosk Goes Inside The Beijing Bubble Reporter with just three days to go before Opening Ceremony, a tough blow to team usa. Bobsledder elana meyers taylor, a medal favorite, announced she tested positive for covid and is in an Isolation Hotel here in beijing on instagram she wrote, getting to the olympics is never easy, and this time as a new mom it has been the most challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. Earlier this year she spoke about her hopes for these games. Getting to these games and competing and getting out on that line is really going to be the culmination of all the work weve all put into it. Reporter she will have to test negative twice before being allowed to compete at least nine members of team usa, including three athletes, have tested positive for covid in china out of the nearly 400 members of the delegation who are here to try and keep the virus under control, china has walled in and closed off these olympics for those who watched the 2008 olympics, this is going to look very familiar. You have the bird nest. You have the water cube its now the ice cube. And that is the olympic park i just cant get in It Organizers have created what they called a closed loop, a bubble they cant come in here, and we cant go out there. My nbc colleague Janice Mackie frayer lives in beijing hey hi, janice reporter this was as close as we could get to each other. She hasnt travelled out of china in over two years. If i were to try to, you know, cross this 30 feet thats between us to be on your side of things, that would mean three weeks quarantine stephanie, are there going to be any fans in the stands reporter theyre not going to sell tickets, lester, but they are going distribute some. They hope to have 30 capacity at the events and theyre asking spectators not to cheer, but to clap instead. They have Covid Concerns lester stephanie, thank you. Up next, the official end of perhaps the most storied nfl career tom brady has made it official. The man many consider the greatest nfl player of all time announcing his retirement today heres Miguel Almaguer brady going deep. Reporter it wasnt a Record Breaking or super bowl clinching touchdown, but a tweet that officially signalled the end to an unrivalled Football Career widely considered the greatest to ever play, tom brady writing, i have loved my nfl career, and now its time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention. Absolutely amazing. Reporter though no player is celebrated more, its family, not football, that brady always called Hi Greatest Achievement the best part about winning is having the people that have helped you get there and support you there with you to enjoy it some of the best memories ive had in my life were being with my kids right after the super bowl and celebrating with them. Reporter immortalized by teammates, competitors and even president s, brady walks off the field with seven super bowl rings, five super bowl mvps, three league mvps, and more passing yards and touchdown throws than any quarterback. The rush. Brady. Reporter stats still dont tell the story of how a 44yearold redefined the meaning of glory years. During his 22 years, brady appeared in the super bowl nearly 50 of the time, and he leaves among the best. Ive literally given everything i had this year, last year, the year before that, the year before that. Reporter from sixthround draft pick to face of the franchise, tonight tom brady is out of the game and into the history books. Miguel almaguer, nbc news. Hes been a lot of fun to watch we wish him well thats nightly news for this tuesday thank you for watching, everyone im lester holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night the mountains and seeing that long open landscape. You know, one of the things we value while we are traveling, is it allows us to relate to each other differently, and bring us closer. As a family, you bring these little humans into the world. And you only have so much time with them, you just got to use it well. Next, is it time to drop the mask . Theres a big push to relax our covid rules, especially when it comes to kids. February of 2022 is a completely different ball game. Well talk to a doctor about this big change. Also, its the year of the tiger. Lunar new Year Celebrations are back in a big way. Well show you the sights and sounds across the bay area. Well also be joined by one of the leaders from the Chinese American Community about why this year is so important. Plus, it was goodbye. Jimmy g. s Emotional Message to the 49er faithful