news is next. that's a beautiful shot. news updates always on cbssf.com. captioning sponsored by cbs >> ninan: the mueller mystery. did president trump push for the firing of robert mueller from the russia investigation. mr. trump calls the bombshell news... >> fake news, folks, fake news. >> ninan: will he and mueller come face to face. also tonight, steve wynn resigns from his post at the can the republic, after being hit with sexual assault allegations. another horrific taliban attack in afghanistan. nearly 100 are killed by a suicide bomber posing as an ambulance driver. flooding fears in paris as the seine river keeps rising. and the teacher who brought music to her school and earned a grammy educator award. >> they come to school for

music. >> reporter: they come to school for you. this is the "cbs evening news" evening. i'm reena ninan. president trump made big news this week, saying he's looking forward to being interviewed by robert mueller. the special counsel leading the russia investigation. the president cautioned that would be subject to his lawyer's advice. then thursday night came a bombshell report in "the new york times" that mr. trump last unihad pushed to have mueller fired. mr. trump is now pushing back against that report, as washington waits to see if the president and the special prosecutor will come face to face. here's errol barnett. >> reporter: upon returning last night from the world economic forum in davos, president trump huddled with his communications team before addressing the media. >> i think it was a very, very successful trip. >> reporter: mr. trump avoided the topic of the special

counsel, and the white house has not denied reports that last june the president wanted to fire robert mueller. cbs news has confirmed the president was angry about mueller's investigation, raising concerns over what he saw as potential conflicts of interest. but top white house advisers told mr. trump the conflicts were not grounds to fire mueller and that doing so would be politically catastrophic, so the president changed his mind. >> typical "new york times" fake stories. >> reporter: while in davos, the president denied he wanted mueller fired and continued to attack the press. >> and it wasn't until i became a politician that i realized how nasty, how mean, how vicious, and how fake the press can be. >> reporter: the white house is working with mueller's probe, according to this memo from the president's personal attorney john dowd. it details what dowd describes as unprecedented cooperation and transparency, noting more than 20 white house personnel voluntarily offered interviews

and more than 20,000 pages of documents were provided, dowd says, relating, in part, to fired national security agency michael flynn, and dismissed fbi director james comey. now, president trump is also aiming to improve his image in the wake of offensive remarks, purportedly made about africans and others. the president said he deeply respects africans, in a all right sent to the african union, ahead of its annual summit this weekend. the president also said that secretary of state rex tillerson will make an extended visit to the continent in march. reena. >> ninan: errol barnett at the white house. sexual assault allegations against casino titan steve wynn shook the vegas strip friday, and there was fallout today in washington. carter evans has the latest. >> reporter: reaction to the sex saltaccusations against casino mogul steve wynn has been swift. wynn resort stock closed down more than 10% friday, and tharch, the billionaire stepped

down from his post as the finance chair for the republican national committee. >> it's a tremendous embarrassment for the republican national committee. >> reporter: larry sabato, director of the university of virginia center for politics, points out that wynn said he took the prominent r.n.c. job at the request of president trump. >> if he's asked to weigh in privately, he ought to encourage the republican national committee to return every pen they wynn has given. >> reporter: on friday, "the wall street journal" detailed a pattern of lewd behavior that goes back decades, with steve wynn allegedly pressuring female employees to perform sex acts, including a manicurist, who felt she had no choice but to have sex with wynn after he made repeated demands. her lawsuit was allegedly settled for $7.5 million. >> he signed your paycheck. >> reporter: charlotte arrowsmith was a cocktail waitress at the golden nugget and mirage when wynn owned those casinos. they settled the sexual

harassment lawsuit against wynn. >> i would truly like to see him held accountable for something. >> reporter: in a statement, wynn says, "the idea that i ever assaulted any woman is preposterous. we find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person with left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multi-year lawsuits." wynn resorts have a hot line where employees can file complaints anonymously, and the company said since its inception not one complaint has been made to that hot line against wynn. intentally, reena, today is steve wynn's 76th birthday. >> ninan: thank you, carter. for the third straight week in a row, federal health officials say that the flu is widespread in every state except for hawaii. 37 children have died from the flu since the season started in october. tony dokoupil has more on the outbreak. >> reporter: the most intense flu season in years has required some of the most difficult decisions in medicine.

>> they would have operated her, with a cesarean, they would have lost her or the child or both. >> reporter: diana barron gonzales says her best friend, maria paniagua, caught the flu while seven months pregnant. doctors revived paniagua, a mother of four, in san jose, california, california, but couldn't save her baby girl. this flu season is already the most widespread on record, according to data from the centers for disease control and prevention. and it may be yet to peak, says dr. daniel jernigan, director of the c.d.c.'s influenza division. >> and while parts of the country may be seeing the flu activity actually going down, it still remains high for a lot of u.s. >> reporter: this season, baby boomers have been hit nearly as hard as the elderly, and even harder than the very young. >> vaccination coverage is not as high in that group. >> reporter: experts say if you have to call out sick, consider calling in to a doctor. >> i had probably 102.6 fever, so even leaving the house, in my

opinion, was just not an option. >> reporter: dana castine used livehealth online, one of several apps allowing virtual doctor visits. it goot her on the path to wellness without knocking anyone else out. >> after i went back to work, coworkers, i explained, this is a great tool we have. >> reporter: if someone in your house has the flu, doctors suggest isolating toothbrushes, changing bed sheets often and wiping down computers and monitors. >> ninan: i don't think about the remote often. that's a good one. in kabul, afghanistan, a suicide bomber posing as an ambulance driver killed nearly 100 people and wounded dozens more. jonathan vigliotti has the latest. >> reporter: the explosion could be felt throughout the capital and was so strong trocked businesses blocks away. right after the explosion, our office collapsed and all windows shattered, said this man, who was injured in the blast.

video showed streets blocked by burnt-out vehicles and people carrying victims to safety, while others grieved. the area where the attack took place was packed with people, and officials said the majority of those killed were civilians, some just children. the suicide bomber used an ambulance as his trojan horse, telling police he was taking a patient to a nearby hospital. the interior minister said he then detonated his explosivees after security stopped him at the descrans to a guarded street that leads to several embassies. the taliban was quick to claim responsibility for the attack, and officials believe the suicide bomber didn't act alone. four people have been taken into custody for questioning. today's bombing marks the second successful taliban attack in a week on high-security targets in the city. last weekend, militants killed 22 people at an international hotel. multiple american citizens were

killed and injured. this uptick in violence across the country comes at a time when the government has been in political turmoil. president ghani has struggled to rally support and is currently distracted by a political sho down with a local governor who has refused to leave his post. reena. >> ninan: jonathan vigliotti in london. supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg will not be in the audience tuesday night as president trump delivers his state of the union address. ginsburg will be in rhode island, speaking to law students. she turns 85 in march and is celebrating her 25th year on the bench. comic artist mort walker died today in his studio in connecticut. walker is best known for creating the ultra-lazy u.s. army private beetle bailey. he's been in the funnies since 1950. it's the longest running strip to be produced by its original creator in the history of comics. walker served in the army during world war ii. he was 94 years old.

coming up next, the seine is still rising. we'll have the latest on the paris floods. and later, a hawft savior's emotional reunion with the jewish family he helped to save.

>> ninan: now some stories we're following in our cbs weekend newsfeed. a louisiana man was convicted of manslaughter friday night in the fatal shooting of n.f.l. running back joe mcknight. prosecutors say it was a road rage confrontation. 56-year-old ronald gasser and mcknight, in separate cars, raced through the streets of suburban new orleans. before mcknight was shot. gasser faces up to 40 years in prison. a month of heavy rain in france has the seine river in paris still rising. it's expected to top out by sunday night. officials say flooding should not be as bad as it was two years ago. for now, a number of tunnels, roads, and train stations are closed, as is the bottom floor

of the louvre museum. and the santa monica mountains near los angeles are now home to these adorable mountain lion cubs. park officials are not sure when they were born but the mother is somewhat of a local celebrity. she's known as p-42. she was first discovered and tagged in the summer of 2015, when she separated from her momma. up next, we visit the native nation that would be divided by president trump's border wall.

>> ninan: even if president trump gets the $25 billion he wants to build a southern border wall, the project will face many obstacles, including opposition from native nations. the wall would run right through the stretch of arizona desert that belongs to one of america's largest tribes. and it would divide thousands from their nation on the mexican side of the border. mireya villarreal reports. ♪ ♪

>> reporter: in nogales, arizona, the border wall is framed with metal pylons, but it ends about 10 miles west of the city. this is the fence. >> this is the fence. >> reporter: this is a bunch of sticks. >> this is a bunch of sticks -- old sticks that have been here for decades, and it continues on. >> reporter: a large portion of the border patrol's territory in southern arizona includes the tohono o'odham reservation. as the wall has continued to grow closer on both sides of the nation, criminal smugglers have funneled on to sacred land. >> this is tohono o'odham indian reservation. >> reporter: okay. >> this is the size of connecticut. >> reporter: and i've read stuff on the amount of illegal smuggling that goes through here, whether it's, like, drugs or humans. i mean, this is a pretty intense area. >> well, it's very sparsely populated so the criminal element always tries to exploit those folks here. >> reporter: the tohono o'odham nation covers two million acres in the desert in arizona. part of their sovereign land and

people are in mexico. many members believe they were born to protect this land and have vowed to fight the federal government on building president trump's big, beautiful wall. >> at one time, we were able to, you know, drive through and walk through when there was no border patrol agents. but that was years ago. >> reporter: so you have to go through agents to get to is and from your own land. >> right. >> reporter: in the interest of homeland security, tohono o'odham leaders say they are willing to work with the federal government. they've suggested a virtual fence. but many tribe members are skeptical of the federal government and worry they could lose their heritage if the president gets his way. >> we just want to follow our traditional ways. we have a unique culture, and we still practice those. i said i follow my way, and offer this land.

>> glor: so, mireya, what's the next step for this tribe? >> reporter: you know at this point it's kind of a wait and see. if there is funding from the federal government for the border wall, the nation said they will take legal action. they will also start planning protests, similar to what we saw with the dakota pipeline. again, that's a big if. right now they are trying to work very closely with the department of homeland security. as we mentioned, they are talking about a virtual fence. they are hoping there is a compromise, but still very many people on the tribe very skeptical of that relationship. >> glor: it's a fascinating report. i look forward to watching it. thank you very much, mireya. "cbsn originals'" report "the wall: a nation divided" premieres monday night at 8:00 p.m. on cbsnews.com. still ahead, a hawft savior is reunited with descendants of a jewish family he helped to hide from the nazis.

>> he often thinks of that period more than 70 years ago, but today, tony d'urso took a physical journey back. it was up here in these mountains, where your dad, your family, helped hide jewish families? >> yes, it was. >> reporter: how difficult was it to find hiding spots? >> very difficult. >> reporter: at the end of world war ii, as nazis occupied italy, tens of thousands of jews went into hiding. about a dozen were aided by the d'ursos. you were hiding jewish families in something similar to this? >> similar or worse. >> reporter: d'urso, tony d'urso, the little boy on the left was just five years old and

didn't understand the risks his father, guiseppe, was taking. >> he didn't do it out of ideology. he was illiterate. he must have gone a year, year and a half to school. he did it because he thought basically a human being in distress needs help. >> reporter: tony d'urso later emigrated to america and went on to be elected to the new york state legislature. he always wanted his dad to be recognized for what he did but didn't have any proof until about six months ago, when a jewish friend tracked down some diaries that mentioned what the d'ursos had done. at a naples synagogue friday, he met with descendants of those he helped save. ester sinigallia's grandfather wrote one of the diaries. "for years i didn't have the strength to read it," she explained. "through the diary, i rilived the terror of being singled out for being jewish, moving from one place to the next."

her cousin said thank you. the dozens or so people the d'ursos saved had kids and grands, a story of survival amidst so much loz. >> when a lot of people were doing very bad things, and some people that could not, you know, protect themselves, they needed help. and my family and some other people were there to help. >> reporter: they were poor and up in these mountains couldn't provide much. but what they could offer-- their courage and compassion-- saved lives. seth doane, cbs news, italy. >> glor: and when we return, she filled her school with music and earned a grammy educator award.

>> ninan: music's biggest stars gather tomorrow night for the agreement awards, but we end tonight with a grammy winner that you've likely never heard of, a public school teacher in new york city. she's the winner of this year's

grammy music educator award. michelle miller has her story. >> one, two, ready? >> reporter: in sync with the sunrise... if not yet with one another. >> almost! >> reporter: these fifth graders at ps-48 in the bronx, arrive an hour early for band practice. melissa salguero guides the first-time musicians through every note. >> you fix the it at the end. you notice? we have so much need for them to be in the classroom, so band is a before-school activity. have you ever seen an instrument with a carrot before? >> no! >> teachin teaching this age, especially, it has to be something dramatic. it has to be something that's going to grab their attention. >> reporter: making a musical carrot or a keyboard of bananas, can do that. >> i have never had a teacher like this. like, she's different in so many different ways. it's, like, amazing. >> what we're trying to say is

she makes our day. she makes us feel great. >> reporter: and if you've ever doubtedly the power of a great teacher-- you're getting emotional. >> yes, i am. >> reporter: watch louis talk about what a big deal miss salguero really is. >> every day you can tell-- meet a person that is so important in your life. and that will teach you a bunch of things about life and stuff. >> reporter: located in one of new york city's poorest neighborhoods, most families here earn less than $25,000 a year, and 22% of the school students are homeless. still... >> i feel like i was born to teach at this school. you get a recorder! and you get a recorder! >> reporter: how do you build a music program from the ground up? >> and i started it was just me and a guitar singing, "don't stop believing." >> now you're confident. there you go! >> reporter: that love of performing and affection for this music educator award winner

is why these students are up before dawn every day. >> they come to school for music, they do. >> reporter: they come to school for you. >> no one's ever put it that way. i would love for them to think back of their time here and not remember, "oh, i have to wake up early for band practice." i want them to remember, "i worked so hard." if they can remember that, i'll be happy. i'll be so happy. >> ninan: the power that a teacher has in the lives of so many students. well, melissa salguero's grammy win also brings so much needed funding to her school's music program. and we want to remind you to be sure to tune into the grammy awards, sunday 7:30 eastern, 4:30 pacific, right here on cbs. well, that's the cbs weekend news for this saturday. later on cbs, "48 hours." i'm reena ninan in new york. thank you for joining

in the "walk for life." the live from the cbs bay area studios, this is the news at 5:00. the abortion debate happening in washington, dc this week that makes this year's march very important. good evening, backers of the proposed development in oakland said the development amounts to a big misunderstanding. the building would be built on a site near highway four. >> reporter: a one of a kind muslim community center in the bay area, a mosque as the

center piece, and a k through 12 islamic school and 200 units the housing, the group said this drawing shows how this would look. >> we are here to coexist and not take over or change anybody's mind >> reporter: the community said they are aware of the strong opposition from neighbors. >> most of it comes from not knowing, i do not want to say ignorance, it's lack of knowledge and understanding >> reporter: this is the site, the planning department got so many complaints, they issued a notice saying that they cannot turn down a prong based on religion. many people told me they