it's tuesday, february 23rd, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." 500,000 covid deaths. the u.s. passes a devastating milestone. the week-long tribute to remember those you've lost. what went wrong. the ntsb gives an early assessment after an engine explodes during a united airlines flight. life on mars. nasa's perseverance rover sends back new pictures and audio from the red planet. good morning. really good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with a somber reminder of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

the u.s. surged past 500,000 deaths yesterday. nearly one year since the pandemic broke out. we've reported more covid deaths than any other nation. [ bells ] >> church bells at the national cathedral tolled 500 times yesterday to honor those who lost their lives to covid. debra alfarone is in washington. debra, the white house also held a really emotional ceremony last night. >> reporter: they absolutely did, anne-marie. emotional is the word. it is really staggering to think we have lost 500,000 people a virus we didn't even know existed a year ago. and it's no exaggeration to say that a loss of life, of this magnitude, affects everyone. ♪ "amazing grace" played outside of the white house as 500 candles burned to represent a grim milestone.

500,000 americans have died from the coronavirus. >> to remember so we can heal. to find purpose in the work ahead. >> reporter: president biden said the nation can't become numb to the sorrow. >> as we acknowledge the scale of this mass death in america, remember each person and the life they lived. >> there's people behind the i an behat number. and it's really sad. >> reporter: wendy jensen's mother carol died last march when the number of dead from covid-19 was less than 2,000. >> i love you. is the last thing he said. >> reporter: rebecca wylie's husband michael died just before christmas. more than 200,000 have since passed away from covid. >> it's indescribable the pain. i don't know if you still get the -- it feels like you're literally being punched in the

stomach. >> reporter: with more than 44 million people having received at least one vaccine dose, president biden promised better days ahead. >> this nation will smile again. this nation is know sunny days again. this nation will know joy again. >> reporter: the president ordered u.s. flags to fly at half-staff this week for those lost. it is just so sad to hear those words. there is hope, though, because of the pace of hospitalizations and infections it's decreasing. and also the pace of the vaccinations, they're going up. so we just have to keep that in mind, anne-marie. >> yeah, and hang in there as tough as it might be. debra alfarone in washington, debra, thank you so much. >> reporter: you're welcome. so today, will be the final and second day of confirmation hearings for merrick garland, the nominee for attorney general. the senate judiciary committee questioned him for more than six hours yesterday.

and he said his top priority will be investigating the deadly capitol riot. at one point, he got emotional during his testimony. here's kris van cleave. >> reporter: nearly five years after being nominated to the u.s. supreme court, merrick garland finally got his senate confirmation hearing for attorney general. if confirmed, garland will over hundreds charged in the capitol attack. >> this was the most heinous attack on the democratic processes i've ever seen. >> reporter: he'd take over a department beset with low morale and under fire from democrats and the trump administration and republicans for its investigation of the trump administration. >> you do not view your role as attorney general as being joe biden's role? >> i am not the president's lawyer. i am the united states lawyer. >> reporter: after a summer of social unrest, followinghe kiof grgfld a white police officer, garland said civil rights enforcement will be a priority. >> there's no question there's

disparate treatment in our justice system. >> reporter: when speaking of his immigrant grandparents, who fled the persecution of jews abroad, garland choked up. >> i feel an obligation to the country to pay back. this is the highest best use of my own set of skills to pay back. >> reporter: president obama tapped him for the supreme court in 2016 but republicans blocked the nomination. garland is known as a moderate, a well-respected federal judge who in the '90s led the prosecution of timothy mcveigh after the bombing. it appears in real trouble after four moderate senators said they will vote no. and 11 republicans in the senate are urging president biden to withdraw his nominee to the secretary of health and human services. kris van cleave, cbs news, washington. this morning, there are shocking new images of the united airlines plane

that experienced engine failure shortly after takeoff. these photos show a gaping hole in the plane under the right wing suggesting that some of the e to t bderis struck thedsne the engine is consistent with metal fatigue. the plane was forced to make an emergency landing on saturday. no one was hurt. and there are new details into the death of elijah mcclain, a young black man who died after a confrontation with police in colorado. >> i have a right to stop you because you're being suspicious. >> i am an introvert. these are the boundaries of which i am speaking. >> well, i'm stopping you. >> a new independent report says aurora police did not have the right to stop, frisk or violently restrain the 23-year-old back in august of 2019. officers put him in a neck hold and according to the report, ems administered a ketamine dosage

based on a grossly inaccurate estimate of mcclain's size. he suffered cardiac arrest and later died in the hospital. the report recommends that the city reassess its use of force policies and change up the internal review process. and the wife of mexican drug kingpin joaquin "el chapo" guzman is expected to appear in court in washington today. emma coronel aispuro, a dual citizen was taken into custody on monday. she had been under investigation for two years. the 31-year-old is helping her husband run his multibillion dollar cartel and plotting his escape from a mexican prison in 2015. her husband was sentenced to life behind bars in the u.s. in 2019.> jus telanding on 'sveran has sent back audio from the red planet.

you can hear the martian breeze. it's believed to be the first ambient sound directly recorded on mars and played back for humans. we're also getting a look at the landing of perseverance. you can see it getting closer and closer to the surface. the rover is currently looking for signs of life on mars. so, coming up, the president of the seattle mariners resigns after an inappropriate statement. and a-list, the president and boss team up for an intimate discussion. this is the "cbs morning news." this is the "cbs morning news." proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... ...with humira. humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage

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capacity, though, and no more than 50 people at a time and require masks. the president of the seattle mariners has resigned and the supreme court dealt a setback for donald trump. those are some of the headlines on the morning newsstand. "the new york times" said the supreme court denied president trump's final bid to block the release of a tax return. the high court blocked another attempt from president trump to stop u.s. investigators from looking over mr. trump's tax returns. the tax returns are not supposed to be public. prosecutors will have access to eight years plaintiff trump's personal and correspondent returns as well as other financial records. the former president blasted the decision and investigation calling it a fishing expeditions. the seattle times said the presiden baseball ceo kevin mather resigned less than 24 hours after a controversial

video surfaced. the video posted on twitter on sunday shows him making insensitive remarks to players while speaking to a virtual areis club earlier this month. t the teas orzation sttegy. he apologized shortly after the video surfaced. and our sacramento station kovr said a world war ii veteran received his purple heart more than 76 years after he was injured. 99-year-old former paratrooper marvin cornett was awarded the medal yesterday in auburn, california. he was hit with mortar fire in italy in 1944 while serving with the 82nd airborne division. his daughter said his family was surprised when they found out their father had not received his purple heart. they contact a veteran-owned company which dug into cornett's record to find the missing medal. >> he's never wanted to talk about those experiences. for him to finally open up and accept the recognition of what he went through that is phenomenal. >> cornett also received a formal presentation of his

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thnnou tfter wiing s grammy awards in ei it's unclearth on the "cbs moneywatch," tax filers in texas get a little extra time and dairy queen cancelled a popular ice cream event. diane king hall has more in new york. good morning, diane. >> good morning, anne-marie. stock futures are indicating a slightly higher opening after the selloff of tech shares yesterday. the dow ultimately rose 27 points while the nasdaq skidded 321 points, posting its worst day in a month. the s&p 500 slipped 30 falling for a fifth straight day. texas residents and businesses will have an extra two months to file their federal income taxes. the deadline was pushed out to june 15th instead of the traditional april 15th deadline. the extension will be automatic for anyone living in the state. the irs is allowed the postponement due to last week's deadly storm that left

millions in the state without power and water. johnson & johnson says if it's given the green light it will be able to provide 20 million doses of its covid-19 c. thugmaker al sayit will have the capacity to provide 100 million vaccine doses to the u.s. by the end of june. johnson & johnson disclosed figures ahead of a congressional hearing today. u.s. regulators are still reviewing the safety and effectiveness of its shot. and the decision to allow its emergency use is expected later this week. and some sad news for ice cream lovers. for a second year in a row, dairy queen is cancelling its free cone day due to the pandemic. the chain traditionally gives out free small vanilla soft serve cones a day in spring. the event is very popular. lots of people usually line up for it. dairy queen says it's looking foard to bringing back free ye nean all amye. >> not this year, but next year, we'll scream extra loud.

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weeks of freezing temperatures are preventing some of the niagara falls from falling. parts of the falls are frozen solid. on sunday visitors to the new york side were treated to spectacular views when a rainbow appeared overhead. the falls have frozen like this before. former president barack obama and singer bruce springsteen are teaming up for a podcast series, the eight-episode spotify series can called renegades born in the u.s. the two friends sat down for conversations over the course of several days in springsteen's converted farmhouse in new jersey. they talked about various topics including racismfatherhood, marriage and the future of america. the first of two episodes were released yesterday. and the scripps national spelling bee is coming back mostly in a virtual format.

last year's competition was cancelled due to the pandemic. it was the first time the bee had been called off since world war ii. this is video from the 2019 spelling bee. about 200 young spellers will compete over several weeks beginning in june. a dozen finalists square off in person at walt disney world in florida. and it's a different world for a koala in australia after he received the world's first prosthetic foot designed for a marsupial. the koala named triumph was born without a right foot. he was rescued in 2017 by a veterinarian nurse. the nurse said the koala struggled to get around until a local dentist created a prosthetic foot for him. >> once i put the little boot on him, he was running around. i actually cried. it's the best thing that ever >> will spend the rest of

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our top stories this morning. our top stories this morning. president biden hosted an emotional ceremony at the white house last night honoring the more than 500,000 americans who died due to covid. during a brief remarks he urged americans to not become numb to sorrow. the president ordered flags to fly at half-staff this week for those lost. judge merrick garland will face his second and final day of confirmation hearings. he's president biden's nominee for attorney general. the senate judiciary committee questioned him for more than six hours yesterday. garland said investigating the capitol riot will be his first priority. penguins in antarctica have been under threat for years as

climate change slowly melts away their homes but an architect in iran believes he's come up with a solution. tina kraus reports. >> reporter: penguins are a lot like people. they need food and a good environment to thrive. emperor penguins in antarctica are at risk of extinction as temperatures rise and food sort vanishes. have you always loved penguins or how did you get involved in this? >> yes, i love penguins. >> reporter: iranian architect sajjad navidi hatched a design to protect them in igloos a place to breed. >> the coming together in large groups called huddles. >> reporter: that huddle inspired navidi's two-part concept. an igloo aboveground to give the birds enough space for a waddle to keep eggs warm. an an inverted igloo underwater, so penguins can search for food

while a swinging pen gentleman human uses waves to stop ice ndent y wn . uwater stans eded sly ve tard >> reporter: it's just a concept for now, but navidi says he's had interest from investors to build a prototype of the flooding igloo, although some say it's not the right solution. >> the fossil fuels that is drastically changing the climate. unless we address that we're not going to be able to save penguins through floating structures in the water. >> reporter: still, navidi is passionate about his penguin protection project and hopes to bring it to life. tina kraus, cbs news. >> scientists say emperor penguins could be extinct at the end of the century if climate change is not addressed. so, coming up on "cbs this morning," repairing a family

torn apart by politics. then tracy has an exclusive interview with a virginia woman grappling with her father's role in the capitol riot. plus unifying america. we'll meet a california pastor to confront racism. and to celebrate black history month, we'll show you how the netflix series "bridgerton" is helping to bring black actors of color in the forefront in period pieces. that's it for the "cbs morning news." for this tuesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day.