it's friday, february 19th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." misery and outrage. first no electricity, now no clean water for millions in texas as senator ted cruz tries to explain his getaway to cancun. pregnant and vaccinated. pfizer begins a crucial study on soon-to-be moms who get a covid vaccine. confirmed, "perseverance" on the surface of mars. >> touchdown confirmed. an epic mission is underway on mars. where the latest nasa rover is searching for signs of life. captioning funded by cbs captioning funded by cbs

good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we're going to begin this morning with the aftermath of brutal winter weather affecting tens of millions of people from texas all the way to massachusetts. the storm system dropped several inches of snow in new york city yesterday, already adding to one of the busiest snow seasons in the city's history. more snow is forecast for this morning. over in hard-hit texas, now, it is slowly warming up. but temperatures will remain well below average through the weekend. electricity has mostly returned, but authorities say more than 13 million people don't have access to clean water after the storm knocked water systems off line. and texas senator ted cruz is now facing blow back after leaving the freezing state for warm cancun with his family. naomi ruchim has the latest. >> reporter: from the streets of philadelphia to new york city and throughout much of the northeast -- >> i'm kind of done with it. we'll see. hopefully it's the last one of

the year. >> reporter: millions are dealing with yet another february blast of snow and frigid cold. large parts of the nation have been pounded this week by dangerous and sometimes deadly winter storms. drivers struggled with stranded cars across parts of the south. >> let's get this -- >> reporter: power is gradually coming back for texans left in the cold and dark this week after the mammoth winter storm. >> we know the enormous challenges that you've been dealing with because of lack of access to power for the past couple of days. >> reporter: texas state representative shawn theirry and her 8-year-old daughter are in a hotel after their pipes burst. >> this is everyone's nightmare. urour abode isre yo tod and now i'm uprooted. >> reporter: more than 13 million, almost half of the state's population, have water issues. in many homes the tap is running dry. texas senator ted cruz drew criticism for taking his family to cancun, mexico, for a vacation as his state struggled.

he said his daughters had asked to go on a trip since school was canceled for the week. >> we were trying to be good parents and said, okay, we'll do it. and so we booked the flight. i have to admit -- i started having second thoughts almost the moment i sat down on the plane. >> reporter: as the trip began to make headlines thursday, cruz returned to texas early on his own. naomi ruchim, cbs news, new york. now on the race to get america vaccinated. pfizer has launched the first covid vaccine trial for pregnant women seeking reassurance that the shots are safe for soon-to-be mothers. it's enrolled about 4,000 healthy, pregnant women from thh already received their first doses. meantime, president biden is set to visit a facility in michigan today where pfizer is producing its vaccine. his trip was canceled yesterday due to the winter storm. debra alfarone is in washington. debra, what will mr. biden be doing at this pfizer facility

today? >> reporter: anne-marie, this trip is actually part of a midwest tour for president biden to really pitch his covid relief plan. so he was in wisconsin earlier this week. today he's in michigan. these are two really important midwest states for him to gain political favor. pfizer will host president biden today at its vaccine manufacturing facility in portage, michigan. >> he'll be very impressed as i have been with the quality of the workers, the job that they're doing. >> reporter: winter weather has caused a slowdown of vaccine shipments and deliveries in recent days, forcing cancelations or delays of vaccine appointments in at least 32 states. california's disneyland, a mega vaccination site, is now closed until more doses arrive. add to that new economic pain. this week, unemployment claims rose higher than expected. san francisco business owner johnny methany had to permanently close his restaurant.

>> we have 19 employees that unfortunately we had to lay off, and it's just devastating for them. and it crushes me, hurts me. >> reporter: treasury secretary janet yellen believes mr. $1bi relief bill is a big part of the solution. >> we're digging out of a deep hole. last year was the worst year for economic growth since world war ii. >> reporter: the house hopes to vote on the president's stimulus plan a week from today before sending it to the senate. democrats want to approve it before some benefits from the first round of pandemic aid expire on march 14th. and while the president has promised vaccine shots for all americans to be distributed by the middle of the summer, normalcy is still a way off according to dr. anthony fauci. >> by the end of the year, by christmas. >> reporter: he says until then, americans should continue to wear masks and social distance. and also get the vaccine, according to dr. fauci, of

course. more than 40 million people in the united states have gotten at least one of the doses, and that's almost 13% of the total population of the u.s., anne-marie. >> okay. getting there slowly but surely. debra alfarone in washington, thanks a lot. former republican presidential nominee bob dole has been diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer. in a short statement, the 97-year-old said that he was recently diagnosed and will begin treatment on monday. the kansas native served in the house of representatives from 1961 to 1969. he then served in the senate until 1996 when he ran for president. dole lost to incumbent president bill clinton. nasa's "perseverance" rover pulled off a historic landing on mars. >> confirmed, "perseverance" safely on the surface of mars. [ cheers ] >> the rover sent back the first pictures after touching down.

it is on a search for life on mars. it's exploring a crater that's never been tried before. that's because it's so hazardous, full of rocks and steep cliffs. >> so what this mission is about is finding extinct life. it's a place where there used to be a lake. it's a crater. if there's ancient life, we think that's the highest likelihood of finding it. >> nasa says that this mission will help the agency prepare for human exploration of the red planet in the 2030s. coming up on "cbs this coming up, a man is released from prison after spending more than 15 years behind bars for a double murder he did not commit. and a humble superstar. dolly parton declines a tribute in her home state. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ ♪ proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis...

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across texas and the gulf coast. the deep freeze has forced as many as 11 refineries off line. the fuel price app gas buddy says those refineries are not built to withstand ultra-low temperatures. it says reduced gas supplies could drive prices up about 10 to 20 cents per gallon for a while. a wrongly convicted man walked out of a michigan prison, and the u.s. plans to give a boost to a global vaccine program. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." "usa today" reports president biden will announce a $4 billion u.s. commitment to help poor nations with coronavirus vaccinations during today's virtual meeting of g7 nations. it will be mr. biden's first appearance on the world stage. he will reportedly outline a pledge to the global vaccine alliance to help impoverished countries inoculate their populations. an administration official says that the white house plans to release $2 billion immediately and use the rest as leverage to get other wealthy nations to contribute.

"reuters" says planned parenthood filed a lawsuit after south carolina's governor signed a bill banning most abortions in that state. governor henry mcmaster signed the bill yesterday. the new law bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. if there is one, abortions can only be performed if the pregnancy was caused by rape, incest, or danger to the mother's life. planned parenthood says that the ban is unconstitutional after the u.s. supreme court legalized abortion in 1973. and the "detroit free press" reports that a judge ordered the release of a man who served more than 15 years in prison for the firebombing deaths of two children. 34-year-old kenneth nixon walked out of a michigan prison yesterday after a judge dismissed the charges. an investigations found that nixon did not receive a fair trial. he was 18 when he was sentenced to two life terms for a detroit house bombing that killed a 10-year-old boy and his 1-year-old sister. >> anything is better than what

i just left from. listen, i literally walked out of a six by eight cage to this. there's literally bars on the doors in there. guys yelling. the joy and the happiness of the guys that enjoyed my moment with me on my way out the door meant a lot. >> nixon has insisted he was innocent for years. still ahead, new airbag concerns. ford announces another round of recalls over potentially faulty airbags. y airbags. i have been suffering with migraine for years and years. and nothing has really worked for me. until now. with nurtec odt, i have felt such relief. i am able to go about my day as if nothing happened. nurtec is the only quick- dissolve treatment for migraine attacks that can get many people back to normal activities and last up to 48 hours with just one dose. don't take if allergic to nurtec.

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all-star game in atlanta next month. it comes despite a number of top players including lebron james expressing concerns about holding the event during a pandemic. the nba said a host of safety protocols will be in place. it includes a mini bubble with players and coaches staying at a single hotel and enhanced covid testing. on the cbs "money watch" now, ford has announced a recall, and tiktok will soon get competition from google. diane king hall is in new york with those stories and more. good morning, diane. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. stock futures are indicating an extension of yesterday's losses after a downbeat day following disappointing jobs data. the dow ultimately skidded 119 points, posting its first decline in four days. the nasdaq slumped 100 points, t ford is recalling more than 154,000 vehicles in north america. the company says it lost track of 45 older takata airbags that may have been installed on some ranger pickup trucks.

it includes the 2004 through 2006 model years. the automaker also found just over 1,100 cars may have received the now-obsolete airbags in repairs. ford said it's not aware of any crashes or injuries. takata airbags have caused 27 deaths worldwide after suddenly exploding and spraying shards of metal at drivers. key players attached to the gamestop trading frenzy were grilled by lawmakers yesterday. robinhood's vlad tenev said the panel worked to meet capital requirements set by regulators. it faced backlash for taking action that helped big institutional clients and hurt smaller investors. gamestop shares surged to $483 last month after dropping back to its current price around $45. and move over, tiktok. google is set to roll out youtube shorts to the market, to the u.s. market in the coming weeks.

a youtube official says the service lets users share snappy videos directly from their smartphones in just a couple of clicks. the service well a successful -- had a successful launch in india last september. the video-sharing site described it as a, quote, new way to express yourself in 15 seconds or less. anne-marie? >> do i need another way to express myself on video? i don't know. >> there are so many platforms. it's like instagram, tiktok, twitter, and then you know, now we've got clubhouse and it's like so many platforms. like as soon as you start mastering one, now you got to learn a new one or a new way. it's a lot. >> right? >> snapchat, of course. >> a part-time job. >> yes. exactly. >> a part-time job for me. clearly other people have figured out how to make it a full-time job. they're very successful at it. i'm sure there will be a new superstar on the new platform in no time. diane king hall in new york, have a great weekend, diane. >> you, too. all right.

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this little ferret is the plicated from the genes of another ferret whose remains were frozen when it died more than 30 years ago. the technique could be used on other endangered species such as the passenger pigeon. tennessee lawmakers want to honor legendary country singer dolly parton with a statue, but she says no, thanks. parton is asking state legislators to withdraw a bill to put a statue of her on the capitol grounds in nashville. the representative who introduced the bill that's he wanted to honor parton for her contributions to tennessee. parton says with all that is going on in the world, putting her on a pedestal would not be appropriate at this time. "jeopardy!" is getting a new interim host next week. the game show's executive producer mike richards will take over starting monday. he'll serve as host until march 5th. richards is the boss on both "jeopardy!" and "wheel of

fortune." he's replacing ken jennings. jennings took over in january after the death of longtime host alex trebek. the stepdaughter of vice president kamala harris, ella emhoff, is officially a runway model. she made her debut in a video for fashion house proenza schouler during new york fashion week. the 21-year-old daughter of second gentleman doug emhoff was praised for what she wore at president biden's inauguration. she signed with img models afterwards. she said she was nervous before her modeling debut. >> i definitely lost a little sleep the night before. half because i was worried i wasn't going to wake up in time. it was -- >> an early call time. >> it was definitely an early call time. but also i mean, yeah. i'm walking for the first time. i'm in a professional environment for the first time. >> emhoff says she's wanted to be a designer since she was a young girl. coming up on "cbs this

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damaged hair at a cellular level. our top stories this morning -- a winter storm system is bringing more snow to the northeast and mid-atlantic today. new york city has already passed its typical snow totals of the year.

meantime, electricity is being restored in hard-hit texas. still, millions more do not acs. and texas republican senator ted cruz says his family vacation to mexico was obviously a mistake. cruz faced severe backlash after he left texas while residents had no electricity and freezing temperatures. he returned early. cruz now says in hindsight i wouldn't have done it. millions of people are working from home because of the pandemic. the good news is they don't have to commute anymore. but that can actually be a bad thing in some cases. nichelle medina tells us why. >> reporter: danielle perrotta's morning commute starts like many. she leaves her house and stops for a cup of coffee or tea. >> woohoo. >> reporter: the educator and tutor then heads to her job, but not at a school. she actually goes right back home for another day of working remotely. >> i'm doing it on line at home using zoom. so still doing a lot of the

things i was doing before, but now through a computer screen. i feel like being in the house all the time, there were days that would go by where i hadn't left the house in five days. >> reporter: once a week, she does what's known as a fake commute and she's not alone. >> research shows the idea of segmentations, of keeping work and home life separate, tends to have beneficial effects for work-life balance. >> reporter: kristen shockley is associate professor of psychology and says the fake commute can help people clear their head, and it doesn't have to be a drive. it sounds like fake commuting can really help your mental health, but your physical health, as well. >> yeah. that's one really nice thing. if you're able to walk around the block, you're going to get the benefits that come from both being outside and getting activity in. >> reporter: she will often include a walk in her fake commute. >> it makes me feel like i'm going somewhere even though i'm just coming home. >> reporter: that makes it easier to get through the workday. nichelle medina, san diego.

coming up on "cbs this morning", more on the winter weather emergency in the south. we'll speak with acting fema administrator bob fenton about their biggest concerns. plus, tony dokoupil examines the legacy of housing discrimination against black americans and how white americans are confronting it. and we'll speak with singer andra day and director lee daniels about their new movie "the united states versus billie holiday." that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great weekend. ♪