on this ground hog day, some good news for many parents who are one step closer to covid vaccinations for children under 5 years of age a suspect is in custody after two campus officers are gunned down at a virginia college. the governor speaking out. suspended even after apologizing whoopi goldberg is side lined for saying the holocaust is not about race, and reaction is pouring in right now over 80 million americans are in the path of a major winter storm, but just days agea 500-mile lightening

bolt sent forecasters into a frenzy and we'll introduce you to three college friends changing the make-up supply world for black women. pfizer is confirming it's asking the fda for emergency authorization for two doses of its covid vaccine for kids ages 6 months to 5 years. but the push to vaccinate young children doesn't come out hurdles from hesitant parents. our tom costello has the details. dplr with 3.5 million new cases alone the shot is welcome news for parents. in maryland the 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 in day care >> reporter: pfizer requesting emergency authorization for a two shot vaccine at one tepgt of the adult dose for kids 6 months to 5 years 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 they 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 is on the outside vaccine committee that evaluates safety >> we all want to see the data i think the american public can be reassured by that >> reporter: the american academy of pediatrics weighed in saying it's important all children can benefit from the

protection the vaccine offers. >> the fact is even if they don't get hospitalized or worse they have to miss school, their families have to miss school, it's a major work burden, ends up isolating the whole family and an educational loss for a lot of kiddos. >> reporter: we're told the fda actually asking pfizer to submit it wants to get the ball rolling on the three dose immunity so far there's been no side effects reported in kids 5 to 11, but fewer than 20% of those kids are vaccinated. virginia's governor glenn youngkin says he's heartbroken over the shooting deaths of two officers at bridge water college. the two were responding to a caught about a suspicious man on campus police say that man then shot the officers he called the incident senseless. >> our anguish is felt so deeply

because the entire bridge water community is a family, too, and that will be our greatest strength in the days and weeks ahead. >> cops later arrested the man off-campus police say it's unclear who shot him. russian president vladimir putin seems to have made it clear he's not backing down from his demands. in his first public comments on the ukraine crisis since december putin repeated his main points he wants no eastward expansion of nato including into ukraine and no offensive weapons near russia's borders these demands have already been dismissed as nonstarters by nato and the u.s. tomorrow secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin will brief the senate on ukraine. a bipartisan group of senators are currently working on a sanctions bill targeting russia. former miami dolphins coach has filed a lawsuit against the nfl and other teams alleging

discrimination the nfl has the rudy roll which every team what was interview a minority candidate for top coaching positions the attorney for the former dolphins coach alleges it's not doing them in good faith flores who is black was recently fired by the dolphins after the season concluded he quickly became a top coaching prospect for the league but alleges he was setup for a phony interview with the new york giants according to the suit bill belichik texted him three days before the interview telling him another coach had already taken the job. >> a statement said the team hired the individual they felt was most qualified the nfl also issuing a statement saying in part diversity is core to everything we do and adding that it will defend against the claims flores says he hopes he can ensure positive change by standing u growing daytime tv controversy

th school board's ban of mouse, a book about the horrors of the holocaust when goldberg made these controversial comments >> if you're going to do this then let's be truthful about it because the holocaust isn't about race it's not about race. it's not about race. >> what is it about? >> it's about man's inhumanity to man >> now, goldberg issued an apology later on twitter and yesterday morning tried to clarify her remarks on the show. >> the words matter and mine are no exception i regret my comments, as i said and i stand corrected. i also stand with the jewish people as they know and y'all know because i've always done that >> but the damage had already been done. with backlash growing on twitter a comedian said it was all and

only about race. actress debra -- said. the daily beast reports her co-anchors aree decision it is ground-hog day but oe celebration. milltown suggests people instead listen to what mel's cousins have to say like punxsutawney phil in pennsylvania if he sees his shadow this morning it means six more weeks of winter. a bolt of lightening that stretched across three states has set the record for the longest flash. the bolt was captured via

satellite image. it beat the previously held record of 440 miles in 2018. normally lightening doesn't stretch farther than 10 miles according to experts over 80 million americans are in the path of a major winter storm the snow and ice already causing chaos on the roads in denver multiple major accidents bringing traffic to a standstill there, and unfortunately this is just the beginning our janessa webb is tracking it all for us good morning, janessa. >> hi, good morning. yes, this robust storm system that continues to expand yesterday we saw kind of the cut off around the ohio valley look at this now seeing advisories and watches going into effect across the northeast. this will be a three-day event, and we have very dicy conditions this morning it'st starting with the rainfall well to thet starts to transition into snowfall, but there is that dividing line of freezing rain ice accumulation, it's going to

be big with this one, so we're going to watch that pretty closely. rainfall is the first thing we're watching at least 3 to 4 inches for nashville to the upper tennessee valley some torrential rain making its way even into the cincinnati area then on top of that with the cold temperatures starting to seep in, it's the ice we'll watch, at least a quarter of an inch in some spots this stretches from dallas to new york city, and we'll watch this very dangerous setup through friday afternoon now, on top of that well to the north we'll watch significant and possibly record breaking snowfall for the detroite uppere great lakes, subzero rain

chance timing will be super important with this storm system we'll take a look at forecast coming up. >> okay, janessa, we'll see you in a bit up next states are proposing bans on teaching lgbtq issues, and we'll tell you where and are you familiar with r ployee stock ownership plans ounext story might have you rethinking your job. next taking align can help. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health. and join the align healthy gut team up and learn what millions of align users already know. how great a healthy gut can feel. sign up at alignprobiotics.com also try align dualbiotics gummies to help support digestive health. got lingering odors? grab febreze small spaces. press firmly to activate... and small spaces continuously eliminates and prevents odors... ...to freshen up any small room... ...for up to 45 days.

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republican governor ron desantis as the stop woke act its purpose is to, quote, fight back against woken doctrination, but critics say the bill could be chilling to educators especially when it comes to important historical topics like slavery. the legislation says that students as well as employees in workplace training cannot be made to feel like they, quote, bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex. >> for a child today to feel guilt for the evil of others is un-american and does not belong in the teaching of history >> this bill will pushed for children to be silenced. >> reporter: it's all part of the culture battles in america's schools and reaction to efforts that try to promote inclusion. this debate after the statehouse education committee aprived hb 5037 which says in part a school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation

it's labeled the don't say gay bill by opponents. >> the underlying problem is that students aren't feeling safe at school they aren't feeling comfortable at school. >> and, you know, we need to have those honest conversations about lgbtq history, about black history and about the root causes of discrimination and prejudice. >> reporter: the education committee's republican chair, defending his vote you're allowing parents to sue a school district over their student fopotentially feeling uncomfort about the idea of sexual orientation being discussed. that's the bill what you voted yes on says. >> right >> reporter: you're saying you're looking to outlaw the conversation from school administrators and teachers. well, yeah, but we're talking about sexual orientation but you're looking to outlaw sexual orientation and gender identity >> we're not outlawing sexual orientation. >> reporter: you're not outlawing -- >> i would love to argue about that bill but i have somewhere

to be. >> reporter: on the other side of the country arizona's house education committee approved a bill that would prohibit, quote, sexually explicit materials, which according to the text includes hom homo sexuality. >> it makes us scared for what the future may hold. andcoming up a record year from a to z. google's parent company alphabet report soaring revenues and a massive stock split. and how companies are keeping workerfrs om jumping ship through ownership yeah. see you around. i knew that was the last time i'd see tom. the truth is, i was spending too much online jake from state farm. don't give up what you love. state farm has options like bundling home and auto, so you get a rate that fits your budget. tom! i'm gonna buy more stuff! for surprisingly great rates that fit any budget... like a good neighbor, state farm is there.

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in today's news by the numbers, alphabet is coming off a historic year when google's parent company broke $200 billion in annual revenue for the first time with a $258 billion haul they also announced a 20 for 1 stock split set in july. shares up 10% in early trading the u.s. national debt has

topped $30 trillion for the first time ever fueled by pandemic spending. according to the treasury data that's up $7 trillion from right before covid hit in january 2020 and the great resignation continues. a record 47.4 million people quit their jobs last year including over 4 million in december alone >> with a record number of workers leaving their jobs for greener pastures companies are looking for new ways to keep their employees onboard. some businesses are investing in workers by giving them a piece of the pie >> reporter: michael acan works for johnny's pizza house in shreveport, louisiana. he started as a high school jr. in 2008 but after a few years michael received a statement on top of his normal paycheck confirming he owned a piece of the company. >> and i saw oh, such and such amount of stock and this is your cash value amount of your account. it was oh, wow, i'm a part of something bigger than me, and i can watch something grow >> reporter: so how did it happen johnny's offers an esop or

employee stock ownership plan. workers get a slice of the company after three years on the job. they can cash out when they leave johnny's or save until retirement michael has now been there for 13 years he trains employees and helps open new restaurants how much of this ownership program played a role in you being there for so many years? >> i would say it played a definitely role and more of your heart goes into your work because you see that statement >> reporter: there are 6,500 employee owned companies in the u.s. with names you recognize. w.l. gore make fabric. and florida based public grocery stores with 240,000 employees. >> employees on businesses tend to have lower turn over and more loyal employees. >> reporter: he specializes in employee ownership

a recent report finds these companies fared much better. they retained workers at a rate of 4-1 and employees had twice the amount of money in their retirement accounts, $132,000 on average. >> most esop companies also share cash profits every year with employees typically in excess of 10% on top of wages. >> reporter: if you want to work for an esop expect to be more involved in corporate matters and also share more business related information with coworkers, and it takes commitment maximum wealth comes at retirement some employees especially at esops if they're younger they don't want to wait until retirement to get that big wealth nest egg. >> reporter: his nest egg has been growing since 2008. the company's ceo tells nbc news multiple employees have retired cashing out more than a million dollars. >> people might say but you work at a pizza restaurant. how is this possible >> it's definitely possible as long as you're taking care of

the food that comes through the door and making sure your customers are taken care of and coming back, i mean it's going to work. up next janessa is tracking that massive winter storm. >> and we're celebrating black history month with three friends reshaping the beauty industry. we're managing type 2 diabetes... ...and heart risk. we're working up a sweat before coffee. and saying, “no thanks...” ...to a boston cream. jardiance is a once-daily pill that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. so, it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. and jardiance lowers a1c. jardiance can cause serious side effects including... ...dehydration, genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. a rare, but life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away... ...if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection, ...ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction, ...and don't take it if you're on dialysis.

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in los angeles three college friends went from sorority sisters to business partners nbc's priscilla thompson has more on how they're transforming the beauty industry. >> i'm angel >> i am entra. >> i'm felicia >> we are amp beauty l.a >> from college classmates to sorority sorority sisters to now business partners. >> 75% of their products that are marketed to us are toxic, so

this group that spends the most in this category is exposed to the most toxic ingredients in beauty and that's wrong. >> reporter: they came together to try to change that. cureating an online shop for clean beauty products made by and for black women. >> carry over 50 brands, skin care, hair care, bath and body, nails. we have make-up now. >> how are you all finding these brands i've got to tell you growing up going to the beauty supply store i don't see a lot of the brands necessarily that i saw there at the blue magic, the pink lotion. that's not on beauty l.a >> we really wanted to focus two fold on the founders of color, inclusive founders, black women founders specifically and also dedicating space to products that are clean, that are effective, that are nontoxic because that's not the norm of what we experience when we shop for beauty >> reporter: and people responded. orders came in, pop up shops were packed and tiktok even put

them up in hollywood >> knowing that people are finding you and they see value and they're spending money, that's a win >> reporter: but when they first took that pitch on the road, it wasn't an easy sell. >> do you feel there are unique challenges you all-faced as black women business owners? >> yes, 1,000% >> we went up to silicon valley and had our first in person pitch dressed to the nines, like so excited to be in this room, and there was not one face that looked like us >> reporter: in the first half of last year a record $147 billion was invested in u.s. startups only 0.3% of that money went to black female founders. >> we're not getting loans we're not getting investments, so it was really a challenge for us initially we got our first yes one month after we launched. the woman who gave us that yes, at backstage capital told us you only need that one yes and her yes for us was a six figure investment. >> and our thanks to priscilla

thompson for that report i love seeing all the color in every aspect of that definition when it comes to that industry, too. >> and some of the statistics we were laying out we had no idea about either >> literally eye opening just the way make-up opens our eyeso

we're going to be in two weeks. >> right now at 4:30, california's mask mandate expires in less than two weeks, but should it stay that way? we're talking to our covid experts about what may happen next. >> keep both hands on your steering wheel. meteorologist kari hall tracking strong winds whipping through parts of the bay area. how your neighborhood could be impacted. this is "today in the bay." good wednesday morning. thanks for starting this halfway workweek with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. don't forget, not