training for war hell week death. a navy s.e.a.l. trainee dies after completing the grueling first test of endurance for the elite combat unit. another candidate hospitalized. the growing calls to end covid restrictions like masks indoors and in schools, as case numbers plummet. celebrations from the queen of england marking 70 years on the throne today the major change to the royal family she just made. and from a distance, how the families who gave so much to get their kids to the olympics are cheering them on from half a world away. good evening, everyone, from our winter olympics home in rockefeller center in new york, day three getting under way in beijing where team usa is looking to had ato the two medals it has already earned in the early going of these games. the american women reaching the podium in moguls and snowboard slopestyle with a big night ahead in the figure skating team event, can the americans keep pace with a dominant russian team that includes a 15-year-old who may be one of the best ever. while in the mountains, weather is rewriting the schedule after strong winds grounded the high-flying men's downhill stephanie gosk has all the headlines now from beijing. >> reporter: big air, speed and a couple of surprise silver medals on the slopes. jaelin kauf came in second in moguls. >> i'm so happy. i can't believe i'm on the podium. >> and julia marino was not expected to medal at all, but then she landed this. >> a double front 10 julia marino probably put down the best run i've ever seen her do. >> when you stomp that last trick, you have this energy that just wants to explode out of you it's the craziest feeling. >> reporter: what's even crazier is new zealand getting its first gold ever in the winter olympics. zoi sadowski-synnott won slopestyle. >> a huge, huge -- >> oh, my! wow! >> reporter: even her fellow competitors couldn't help but jump for joy. it was a more predictable but no less breath taking moment of excellence in the figure skating team competition 15-year-old russian kamila valieva makes the near impossible look effortless. >> a talent like this comes along once in a lifetime. >> reporter: her short program helped put the russian team in first place. the u.s. slipping to second with two rough performances karen chen stumbled and then vincent zhou pulled out of a quad in midair. >> i don't think anybody wants to be the one to let their team down, and so there's definitely pressure that's there. >> you felt it a little bit today >> i felt pressure i've practiced here so that helps with the nerves when go time comes. >> reporter: one group of athletes would like for that go time to come the men's downhill was postponed because of high winds strong gusts can be dangerous when skiers launch into the air at 90 miles an hour and there have been few opportunities to practice on the course because of covid that race was rescheduled for today. back insid stephanie, downhill isn't the only big al pine event today. >> reporter: no, the women's giant slalom is today, mi kalkaela shi shiffrin's first race. keep an eye on that weather. the wind is forecasted to keep blowing. let's turn to the dire warning from the white house that russia could invade ukraine at any moment. a new report from u.s. intelligence agencies suggesting an invasion could be catastrophic. the biggest military conflict in europe since world war ii kelly o'donnell reports now from the white house. >> reporter: tonight, more american troops complete a journey to europe soldiers from fort bragg, north carolina, begin their mission to reinforce poland's defenses today president biden's national security advisor with a grim warning >> an invasion of ukraine could happen at any time. >> reporter: returning to the white house today, i asked the president about putin's intentions. >> do you think there's any particular thing that vladimir putin is looking for, sir,hi things he cannot get. >> reporter: western allies have denied putin's demands that include barring ukraine from future nato membership. >> we believe that the russians have put in place the capabilities to mount a significant military operation into ukraine, and we have been working hard to prepare a response. >> reporter: new commercial satellite photos appear to show the russian military buildup near ukraine's border, while a new u.s. intelligence assessment finds russia currently has 70% of the military force and equipment in position for a full-scale invasion. troop losses for ukraine could be as high as 25,000 killed or wounded, while russia could lose as many as 10,000 troops. in washington, senators from both parties are drafting new sanctions, hoping to stop putin from more aggressive action >> we need pressing, biting sanctions now, not after an invasion. >> kelly is joining me now. kelly, president biden i know is reaching out to allies and spoke to the french president today. what do we know? >> reporter: well, that conversation between president biden and emmanuel macron today is key because macron will travel to see putin in person tomorrow. and ukraine's president this week. president biden will welcome germany's new chancellor here tomorrow, so the diplomatic push continues with top european leaders lester. >> we should point out that u.s. intelligence asset warning of military deaths but a staggering number of well as many as 50,000 ukrainians could die in a conflict. erin mclaughlin is in the capital of kyiv. >> reporter: on the brink of war, residents inbattle that u.s. intel full-scale invasion by russia the potential toll immense. 25,000 to 50,000 ukrainian civilians could die and another 1 to 5 million may be forced to flee their country, many to nearby poland. elina says she's not going any wrchlt she's training on the weekend with her two teenage boys. >> are you scared for your family? >> we're all going to die some day the thing that you can do is you can live your life in dignity. >> reporter: these ordinary citizens are learning to handle weapons, administer first aid and evacuate the wounded. they're learning potentially life-saving skills many here say they hope it doesn't come to this but they're prepared to defend their homeland according to one poll, half set they were ready to resist a possible russian invasion ukraine's former defense minister says he believes that much resistance could be a critical deterrent, saying 150,000 russian troops is not enough to hold a large part of the country >> that's where the russian problem is, is how they potentially going to keep any territories they acquire. >> reporter: but that's little comfort to those who say they believe an invasion is inevitable >> it's a question only about time, when it will be but it will be. >> reporter: while the u.s. says an attack could come any day february 20th. that's when russia is expected to end berus. will those forces stay or will they go? no aany time lester. >> erin mclaughlin in ukraine, thank you. we're learning more this evening about the young navy s.e.a.l. candidate who died during what's sometimes called hell week it's a brutal physical and mental test for sailors determined to join the elite ranks courtney kube has details. >> reporter: the navy today identified kyle mullen as the 24-year-old sailor who died friday. another fellow sailor left hospitalized. they were not actively training, but hours earlier had completed one of the most brutal tests of physical endurance. the so-called hell week for those wishing to become navy s.e.a.l.s, they must tread water for hours, run and swim for miles and endure physical conditioning. >> during that entire week, you get an average of about four hours of sleep it is hell there's no better way to say it. >> reporter: friday evening mullen and the other sailor were resting in the barracks when they both suffered medical distress, according to a military official. the other sailor is in stable condition tonight. in a statement, the navy extends its deepest sympathies to seaman mullen's family for their loss only about one in five trainees make it through the punishing course, producing 200 to 250 s.e.a.l.s every year. >> getting a person ready for s.e.a.l. training is about 80%. as you line up on day one and you look to your left and you look to your right, those guys probably won't be there. >> reporter: the training so arduous because their missions are so dangerous u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s killed osama bin laden in 2011 and ar se assigned some of the military's most dangerous operations the cause of death is unknown and an investigation is under way. let's turn to the dramatic turn-around in covid cases look at this cases across the country have dropped steeply after their sharp rise at the beginning of the year. in fact new cases are down nearly 60% in the past two weeks with hospitalizations down more than 20%. deaths, which are often weeks behind hospitalizations, are still very high and growing. with case numbers trending in the right direction, though, there is a growing push for some to begin ending covid restrictions, like masks indoors and in schools. here's meagan fitzgerald >> reporter: tonight, finally a downward trend. but as covid infections drop, growing calls from doctors, teachers and parents to drop masks for kids, citing concerns of long-term effects. >> masks in schools really decrease the quality of their educational environment and their social and emotional learning we do not have good high-quality evidence that children masking reduces the transmission of covid. >> reporter: but doctors are divided. >> i would say for certain right now it is not safe yet. we still have a very high number of people who are hospitalized. >> reporter: as the debate continues for medical experts, many families left feeling frustrated. >> at what point do we say no more? so we are saying no more. >> reporter: in new york, a long island school district is the latest to send a letter to the governor, asking to transition out of pandemic protocol. but there are some parents who are still cautious. >> i would like it to stay maybe a month while the numbers come down. >> reporter: in los angeles, where covid measures are some of the strictest in the country, the drama is heating up the state has a mandatory mask mandate, but few complied at last week's nfc championship game. even governor gavin newsom criticized over this photo. >> i was trying to be gracious and took the mask off for a brief second. >> reporter: masks will again be required at next week's super bowl, but the l.a. county supervisor is skeptical fans will comply let's do away with the blanket covid-19 masking policies they don't make a difference when they're not consistently followed and enforced meanwhile in illinois, a victory for more than 700 parents who filed a lawsuit against 143 school districts. on friday, a judge temporarily lifting mask, vaccination and testing mandates statewide. it's a ruling that has other parents concerned. >> it's very upsetting to now think that we would have to somehow go against what public health is saying. >> reporter: a nation divided on masks, but all agree we're more than ready for this pandemic to end. >> and now more democratic governors are saying they're looking to lift mask mandates soon. >> reporter: lester, that's right here in illinois, for example, the governor has been clear with top health officials that he wants this mask mandate lifted as soon as possible lester. >> meagan fitzgerald in chicago, thank you. when we come back, queen elizabeth's historic milestone tooday and the reaction her announcement about who will be called queen next. we depend on each other a lot. she's the rock of the family. she's the person who holds everything together. it's a battle, you know. i'm going to be there. keytruda and chemotherapy meant treating my cancer with two different types of medicine. in a clinical trial, keytruda and chemotherapy was proven to help people live longer than chemotherapy alone. keytruda is used to treat more patients with advanced lung cancer than any other immunotherapy. keytruda may be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment if you have advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer and you do not have an abnormal “egfr” or “alk” gene. keytruda helps your immune system fight cancer, but can also cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body. this can happen during or after treatment and 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 or tenderness, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. these are not all the possible side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including immune system problems, or if you've had an organ transplant, had or plan to have a stem cell transplant or have had radiation to your chest area it feels good to be here for them. living longer is possible. it's tru. keytruda from merck. ask your doctor about keytruda. i want my daughter riley to know about her ancestors and how important it is to know who you are and to know where you came from. we're discovering together... it's been an amazing gift. ♪♪ ♪♪ we're discovering together... ♪♪ [ mid-tempo music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ why don't you do cool spins? 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[ chuckles ] that's 'cause you're like 4. 4 1/2. switch to progressive, and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says. we're back with a royal milestone.toy queen eli is celebrating 70 years on the throne. we're now hearing from her son, prince charles, reacting to a big announcement the queen just made about the royal family's future molly hunter reports from london. >> reporter: tonight, queen elizabeth marks an extraordinary historic 70 years on the throne releasing a photograph today at her estate and turning her attention to the next gene generation when charles becomes king, she writes, it is my sincere wish that camilla be known as queen consort as she continues her own loyal service. prince charles, next in line to the throne, grateful for the royal blessing saying we are deeply conscious of the honor represented by my mother's wish. 70 years ago a 25-year-old then princess elizabeth was on tour in kenya when her father, king george vi died she returned home as a queen. >> throughout all of my life i will strive to be worthy of your trust. >> reporter: her coronation the first to be televised. an ambassador like no other, visiting 110 countries, meeting 14 prime ministers and 13 u.s. presidents. >> that is very kind. >> reporter: biden giving queen elizabeth the ruth bader ginsburg leader in women award. the white house tweeting throughout the last 70 years she has strengthened the ties of friendship, shared ideals and faith in democracy that forever unite our countries. now amid all the celebrations, the queen's jubilee kicks off at a pretty complicated time for the royal family prince andrew is locked in a u.s. civil lawsuit. virginia guiffre has accused him of sexual abuse, which he denies according to the lawyers they have set a date to depose prince andrew and take a statement under oath they are planning to do that march 10th here in london this is really a story they're hoping doesn't distract from the queen's historic year. lester. >> molly hunter, thanks. still ahead, an incredible olympic comeback story the skier who defied death to get back in the games. and save in more ways than one. for small prices, you can build big dreams. spend less. get way more. shop everything home at wayfair today. with voltaren arthritis pain gel. my husband's got his moves back. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel for powerful arthritis pain relief. voltaren, the joy of movement. and it's easy to get a quote at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? limu? sorry, one sec. doug blows a whistle. 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'cause the new frontier? it ain't rocket science. ♪ ♪ it's right here. ♪ ♪ >> the olympics, it can give one pressure and i know what it feels like. but it also gives me a hope and it drives me to be