members before oxygen runs out the u.s. joining the effort and what was detected in the water today the historic spacex launch. the first manned mission on a recycled capsule and rocket plus, what sent the astronauts aboard scrambling today the price you pay for home improvements soaring. what you need to know before you start that project. our kristen welker opening up about her journey with motherhood the struggle she shares with so many other women. and the director of the immigrant story making oscar history >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt good evening, everyone it's a conversation starter of the pandemic age which vaccine did you get? a question that's become hardly trivial after the government put a pause on johnson & johnson covid shots last week because of rare occurrences of blood clots among a handful of women who received the shots since then there have been more cases and fatalities, though still quite rare and now tonight after further review the cdc and fda have lifted the pause and will allow the j&j shots the late developments for us. >> reporter: the pause at vaccination sites has been lifted. but tonight the johnson & johnson vaccine comes with a warning about the increased risk of very rare but severe blood clots. that's the decision from the cdc's advisory committee, who also says even though more cases and deaths have been discovered the benefits far exceed the risk >> this is welcome news for many as many have wanted the johnson & johnson vaccine to fill an important need in vaccination efforts here and around the world. >> reporter: with the u.s. having alreadn doses of tonight the cdc confirms instead of the original six cases their panel all of those who suffered serious blood clotting are women, most between the ages of 18 to 49, with two over 50. within two weeks of taking the vaccine, they experienced symptoms like severe headaches, abdominal or leg pain, and seizures >> i don't know if i'm going to get it. >> reporter: but with some americans already hesitant to get vaccinated, doctors say many are turning away from j&j. >> i think that as long as we have enough of the two other vaccines it is hard for me to see how i can use johnson & johnson as a first choice in my population >> reporter: touted for its easy storage and one and done use, the j&j shots were to be critical in hard to reach populations, stressing cases of blood clotting are extremely rare of the 15 cases three women died seven are still hospitalized and five are recovering at home 18-year-old emma burkey is out of a coma and off a ventilator >> emma was in very bad shape, but she's been improving slowly and steadily >> reporter: tonight, with the risks rare, j&j has support from the nation's top doctors. the question now, does the public have the same confidence? >> so miguel, what happens now? when would shots actually resume? >> reporter: well, lester, the cdc and fda just gave the all-clear to lift that pause a short time ago. now that that's happened, it's up to vaccination centers across the country to roll out the vaccine to those who want it lester >> all right miguel almaguer, thank you. the number of americans who have received at least one dose of a covid vaccine is now over 137 million. covid, however, still a serious threat, leaving over 38,000 currently hospitalized as more attention now turns to vaccinating children, our stephanie gosk tells us about something called parent hesitancy. >> reporter: it is likely a matter of time before children are eligible for the covid vaccine. will their parents be ready to vaccinate them would you consider yourself an anti-vaxxer? >> no. absolutely not like i said, my children have been vaccinated >> reporter: against other diseases but ashley poindexter tarmy says her girls won't be getting the covid vaccine. not yet. >> i don't feel safe enough if this had been on the market for 10 to 15 years and i had more data then i would feel more comfortable. >> reporter: a recent study shows more than 25% of parents do not intend to vaccinate their kids >> it's not an emergency in the pediatric population >> reporter: among them registered nurse jessica brendis, who is herself vaccinated against covid. >> i have got a 1-year-old and a 2 1/2-year-old and i am very pro vaccine but i am not pro the covid-19 vaccine for my own children. >> reporter: because children are much less at risk from covid >> as of right now, muty may n their vaccinations transmit so return to normalcy, especially for children, would require that we vaccinate children as well >> reporter: an argument that doesn't resonate with ashley, who got the johnson & johnson vaccine. what was your reaction to the news that johnson & johnson was put on hold? >> i felt like i was right back at the beginning of the pandemic sorry. >> reporter: it scared you. >> yeah. a lot. >> reporter: she has concerns about the pace of vaccine development. >> they should find comfort in the fact that vaccine development is proceeding cautiously and systematically and the evaluation of these vaccines in children is very systematic >> reporter: ashley is following the vaccine trials in children closely. >> i'm an adult. i can make my own choices about how i feel i can put myself in harm's way. with your children you're more protective >> reporter: for now she says she will need more convincing. stephanie gosk, nbc news for a second day india has set a global record for infections, with 333,000 new cases. hospitals are pleading with the government for more oxygen supplies, and multiple cases have now been reported at the mount everest base camp. one of them a norwegian climber who had to be evacuated. and just breaking tonight from north carolina, three pasquotank county sheriff's deputies have resigned after this week's deadly shooting of a black man. seven others have been placed on leave according to our raleigh station wral andrew brown jr. was shot as deputies tried to serve search and arrest warrants on wednesday. it sparked three days of protests with demonstrators demanding the release of body cam video. the investigation is ongoing. in just 60 seconds, sticker shock on home improvements money-saving tips from the experts in the price you pay. the u.s. military is part of an urgent search under way tonight for a missing indonesian submarine with more than 50 sailors on board keir simmons now with late details >> reporter: a desperate search by air and sea. but tonight there may be just hours left to save the missing submarine and the 53 sailors on board their oxygen set to run out any time now "it can last until saturday," says the navy's chief of staff. but saturday morning has dawned in indonesia, and there's no news. one sailor, married just two months. his worried wife posting on tiktok with the words "hurry home." the u.s. sending air assets to help the search >> we want to help them find the submarine, and we want to do whatever we can, whatever they need us to do or would like us to do to help them find it. >> reporter: indonesia's navy says the 44-year-old submarine may have lost power when it went missing wednesday, 60 miles north of bali. >> it dived to start a torpedo firing exercise >> reporter: an oil slick all that is left on the surface beneath the water sonar seeing an unidentified object with a high magnetic force. but tonight this search and rescue operation on the brink of becoming search and recover. as 53 families still cling to hope. the search continues tonight, morning in indonesia. the reality, finding them alive now would take a miracle lester >> all right keir simmons monitoring that for us tonight. thank you. well, there was never any real danger, but after today's launch of the spacex dragon endeavor with four astronauts on board, some anxious moments when mission control noticed something. here's tom costello. mission. and lift-off 5:49 a.m. when spacex once again lit up the florida sky. a perfect flight tracked all the way up the east coast but at 1:24 p.m. mission control warned the crew of dragon that their ship would come uncomfortably close to a piece of space junk one of tens of thousands of pieces nasa constantly tracks the crew ordered back into their spacesuits because of the unlikely chance of a collision. >> we do need you to immediately proceed with suit donning and securing yourselves in seats. >> okay. we're getting ourselves in suits and we copy. >> reporter: a few minutes later the space junk, possibly a piece of an old satellite, passed by 28 miles away. today's spacex mission the first to reuse both a rocket and the spaceship. pilot megan mcarthur sitting in the same seat her husband astronaut bob behnken sat in a year ago. >> i'm like a baby bird here relearning how to move around in microgravity >> reporter: and nasa has now selected spacex to build the ship that will carry astronauts back to the surface of the moon including the first >> it's been now it's too long.century we need to get back there. >> reporter: so this dragon mission arrives at the space station early saturday morning. one complication, they don't have enough beds for all 11 people who will be on the station. so at least two astronauts will have to get into a sleeping bag and tie themselves to a wall until four astronauts that arrived in november come back to earth sometime next week lester >> trying to picture all that all right. tom costello tonight, thank you. let's turn to the price you pay. if you have taken on a home improvement project during the pandemic, then you know that it may be more expensive than you expected here's stephanie ruhle. >> reporter: now might be the time to do some work around the house. but before grabbing that power tool know your budget. karen reed lost her finance job during the pandemic and moved from florida to maine to be with her husband. retired, she wanted to add on to their home garage and reached out to a contractor to help get the job done. >> he could do it faster for sure. but you know, paying just that extra amount to have him come up here, we could apply that to materials. >> reporter: reed opted to take on the project herself but still was hit with sticker shock when it came to buying her own materials. >> i mean, when you're talking about a piece of plywood that used to cost $9 now costs $52 for an 8-by-4 piece of plywood, that really eats into the budget a lot >> reporter: the cost of raw materials has skyrocketed. the price of lumber has gone up more than 320% last year spikes have also been seen in copper and pvc piping >> raw materials are getting more expensive because there's a high demand for them. and during the pandemic factories and so forth have been shut down and as a consequence the supply is not there to meet the current demands. >> reporter: upgrading your home? experts recommend build a cushion in your budget for increased supply costs. if you're working with a contractor, get multiple quotes and referrals. prices go back down. to be a fixer-upper this seems to be the question in all things lately, but when do we expect things to get back to normal >> reporter: lester, experts tell us prices may readjust in the next six to twelve months but it's not just the pandemic that's throwing things off. events like the suez canal blockage and those bad storms down in texas are contributing to delays in both production and transportation lester >> all right, stephanie ruhle, thanks in our climate challenge series tonight, the west remains at risk of severe wildfires it's a danger not only to our environment but also to our health here's steve patterson with that. >> reporter: every day firefighters charge head first into danger but often their greatest fear has little to do with the flames right in front of them. toxic fumes fueling an invisible threat >> there's a cancer sniper >> reporter: as california wildfires burn larger and increasingly race into neighborhoods, those on the front lines worry exposure puts them at an even greater health risk >> the fires these days are so toxic as opposed to 50 years ago because of all the plastics and petroleum products in them >> reporter: 43-year-old matt alba lived through searing headaches after battling the historic camp fire in 2018. >> it didn't feel right. >> reporter: then earlier this year he was diagnosed with brain cancer doctors can't conclusively say it was linked to his job, but -- >> can i prove it? no but i have my suspicions >> reporter: we were granted rare access inside stanford's allergy and asthma lab, where researchers are trying to determine what kind of chemicals or metals are absorbed in the human body, testing firefighters for exposure and their gear for leftover toxins >> their life expectancy has decreased, and we know it's from the smoke exposure >> reporter: and the worry is not just for firefighters studies show that particles from wildfire smoke are up to ten times more harmful to respiratory health than from other forms of pollution how worried should the general public be? >> even with a brief exposure we could be damaging ourselves >> reporter: experts say one solution, more fire so-called prescribed burns or smaller intentional fires are designed to reduce the fuel that otherwise builds up over time and then explodes into an uncontrolled disaster >> we're seeing the outcome of bad fire on this landscape and we need to turn that around immediately >> reporter: just last week california's governor signed an emergency $536 million fire prevention plan that focuses on just that, more prescribed burning. a step many on the front lines say is long overdue >> we have to figure this out because the fires aren't going away >> reporter: a battle we must fight now to avoid losing later steve patterson, nbc news, san francisco. after a break our kristen welker shares her own deeply personal story all nine members of the current supreme court met together today for the first time, posing for the latest class photo all have been vaccinated the newest justice, amy coney barrett, is seen with the others for the first time we turn now to a from our own kristen welker like so many couples kristen and her husband, john, struggled with infertility. tonight kristen shares the couple's journey >> reporter: one of my dreams has always been to be a mom. i wanted very much to be a journalist, but i always said to myself the one thing i don't want to do is to sacrifice having a family i was 40 years old when i married john in march of 2017. and we immediately started to try to have a baby it didn't work immediately. so we thought let's just go to a doctor as a precaution >> at that time there wasn't anything unusual. >> reporter: dr. abbasi ran some tests and determined that in fact she thought my best course of action to have a baby would be to do ivf, which i did. i went in to start the process of being able to carry a baby, and the doctor determined that the lining of my uterus was too thin to carry a child. i tried for months, and it was really just some of the most difficult months that i can remember because i was going in to the doctor in between live shots at work and just feeling like you're a failure, frankly after two years of trying to carry my own baby and after having consulted with four different doctors, they all agreed that i wasn't going to be able to carry a child. john and i considered surrogacy and adoption surrogacy felt like the right first step for us being matched with a surrogate is one of the most extraordinary experiences i have ever had >> for her this was about giving something to us that she felt a deep connection toecng our first child as i moderated the presidential debate with this little secret i was holding, i can't wait to tell my daughter that, that i credit her with the fact that i remained calm that night. >> a little girl >> reporter: i wasn't expecting to feel such a strong connection to her already just from seeing her in the monitor. all of the tears and the sadness and the setbacks were worth it because she's worth it >> well, kristen, we couldn't be happier for you. congratulations to the two of you >> thank you, lester >> you know, a lot of people watching this right now who are in the middle of this journey or may be facing this journey, what advice do you share? >> well, lester, first check with your doctor see if there is a problem. if you are struggling with infertility, check with your employer to see if they offer any financial assistance don't feel alone 1 in 8 couples struggles with infertility. and never, ever give up >> you continue to make us proud. >> thank you, lester >> thank you and one lucky little girl >> thank you and up next, the story of the american dream, up for multiple oscars and inspiring america. the housing market, the differences in oakland, san francisco, and san jose. also a former south bay teacher charged with assault for coughing on a child. we have the details next. at this weekend's oscars a story about a family searching for the american dream is going for gold here's kathy park. >> reporter: an immigrant story of grit and grace is earning "minari" six academy award nominations including best picture steven yeun making oscars history as the first asian-american nominee for best actor. "minari" follows a korean-american family in the '80s putting down roots in rural arkansas it's a deeply personal project for lee isaac chung, who directed and wrote the film loosely based on his own life there are so many things that a lot of immigrant families can relate to in this film how important was that for you to include but also to get right? >> this is something that i want my daughter to watch, you know, years from now i wanted to present things very truthfully and honestly so that she could remember my family's story >> reporter: chung says "minari" hits all the right notes thanks to actors like yuh-jung youn, a star in south korea, making her american feature film debut >> i thought she's our secret weapon. she's phenomenal >> how did isaac convince you to be a part of this film? >> he didn't convince me through his friend he gave me the script, and i said yes before i read the last page >> pretty boy. pretty - >> i'm not pretty. i'm good-looking >> a lot of korean-american friends have been coming up and saying i didn't realize that you went through this too. >> reporter: the film's focus on humanity shining a light on the land of opportunity and the pursuit of the american dream kathy park, nbc news >> and that is "nightly news" for this friday. thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night right now at 6:00, johnson & johnson shots could return to bay area vaccination sites at any time. what the fda's late afternoon also hitting the lots of pf lots of moderna. so there's no limitation on availability for anyone to get vaccinated. >> the milestone reached in the south bay, and the key focus now for santa clara county top doctors. >> an ambitious plan unveiled by governor newsom, but it's getting pushback. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thanks so much for joining us. >> it's back in the rotation, a huge step forward for that johnson & johnson vaccine. late today federal regulators lifted that temporary halt. the j&j vaccine was paused, you might recall, for the last 11 days after 15 women who received that vaccine developed rare blood clots. three of those women died. however, the cdc and fda say the j&j vaccine is safe enough because an investigation found the risk of developing these blood clots is extremely low. >> we at the cdc and fda took the time needed to fully investigate this issue. we paused use of the vaccine out of an abundance