captioning sponsored by cbs >> jiang: tonight, show of force. russia deploys bombers to bleus amid western fears of an invasion of ukraine. russian troops on the border ready for battle. today, more u.s. and nato troops arb rife in the region. cbs news is there. >> reporter: i'm charlie d'agata in estonia where u.s. fighter jets are strengthening nato air patrols right along the border with russia. >> jiang: also tonight, former president trump blasted mike pene following his forceful rebuke. >> president trump is wrong. i had no right to overturn the

election. >> jiang: plus, u.s.' covid death toll surges past 900,000. in canada today, new protests against vaccines and restrictions. in beijing, the winter olympics begin. snowboard great shaun white with a big announcement. platinum jubilee: today queen elizabeth celebrate 70 years on the throne. and we visit a place instrumental in spreading the joy of music. >> they want the music to live on. >> this is the "cbs weekend news." >> jiang: good evening. i'm weijia jiang in new york. tonight, the showdown over ukraine between russia and the west shows no sign of easing. instead, it is intensifying, moscow sent two long-range bombers over its ally, belarus. also today, the first of 3,000 american troops landed near the poland-ukraine border as the u.s. tries to deter a russian

invasion. cbs' charlie d'agata is in estonia tonight with more on the brewing conflict. >> reporter: they're the latest u.s. combat forces to arrive in europe, 18th airplane corps out of fort bragg touched down in germ me, beefing up nato firepower, amid mounting concerns russia is preparing to launch a full-scale invasion of ukraine. u.s. officials aren't yet certain whether president vladimir putin will pull the trigger, but they're building up defenses in frontline nato states in response to what they call an elevated risk. nato officials told us american f-15s were scrambled out of estonia to intercept four russian fighters over the baltic sea. we visited that u.s. quadron earlier this week. >> to do an expedited launch. >> reporter: lieutenant colonel taylor gifford commands those f-15s.

>> we'll identify traffic that are not operating within international rules ask regulations that might infringe on nato airspace. >> reporter: bolstering the border against an increasingly boisterous neighbor. that's the american squadrone ron's first intercept since they arrived last week. their deployment, along with moving more u.s. forces to eastern europe, is part of an overall mission to reassure nato allies and deter russian aggression. weijia. >> jiang: charlie d'agata in estonia, thank you. tonight, a crack in the republican party is widening. the roan continues to side with former president trump, but former vice president mike pence is finally calling out his false election claims,s and late last night, trump fired back. we get more now from cbs' christina ruffini who is at the white house. christina, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, weijia. well, mr. trump just issued

another statement that hit our in boxes a little while ago asking why if mike pence didn't have the authority to send the votes forward are the dems and ryanoze-- that's republicans in names only-- fighting so hard to make it impossible for a v.p. to do so in the future? followed of course by a ling for donations. >> president trump is wrong. >> reporter: four words high-ranking republicans seldom say out loud, let alone at a conservative conference in florida. but addressing the events of january 6, former vice president mike pence offered a strong rebuke to those, including trump, who claimed he could have refused to certify the election. >> there is no idea more un-american than the notion that any one person could choose the american president. >> reporter: the former president responded with a written statement saying, "i was right, and everyone knows it." >> and we all got screwed together. but you know what? we're going to fix it." >> reporter: many republican knows see support for trump as

best way to win back control of the house in november's midterms. a winter meet of the r.n.c. voted on friday to censure representative liz cheney and adam kinzinger for serving on the house committee, saying they are participating in ia democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse. cheney tweeted this video in response writing, "this is not legitimate political discourse." >> jiang: christina ruffini is back with us now. christina, the january 6 committee has already issued subpoenas to so many former trump administration officials. could the former vice president be next? >> reporter: he could be. and he's certainly the top of the list of people they want to speak to. look, he has firsthand know of what went on not onlied in the capitol that kay but what was going on in the executive branch behind me, the behind-the-scenes discussion. he has not been called yet, but as this evening, the committee tells cbs news they have spoken

to 475 witnesses and received over 60,000 pages of documents so they might want to go through that and get things in order before making a call to the vice president. >> jiang: another covid milestone for the united states. the virus has now claimed more than 900,000 lives. at the same time, new infections are waning, down 40% over the last week. cbs' lilia luciano is in pasadena with the latest. lilia, good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening, weijia. that 900,000 number is double the death toll we had a year ago at the beginning of the vaccine rollout. the good news, now omicron infections are slowing. the problem is the deaths continue spiking. covid is killing nearly 2400 americans every day, the highest in a year, the deathths rising n 35 states. but omicron is in retreat. new infections are plummeting by 50% nationwide, and hospitalizationsns are down n 1.

though healthcare workers are still struggling. >> nurses are overwhelmed, overworked. >> reporter: also struggling, long-haul covid patients who are feeling fatigue, chest pain, and brain fog, some for months. >> taking a shower was exhausting. >> reporter: dr. siddharth singh of cedars-sinai runs a clinic specializing in long covid. is there a group at higher risk? >> most of the long haulers we are seeing are actually patients who had mild covid. >> reporter: would you say the vaccines and boosters are also preventing long covid? >> vaccination may provide some benefits, you know, or may provide some detection from developing long-haul symptoms. >> reporter: still, nearly one in four americans hasn't received a single shot. and today, there were new protests against vaccine mandates and restrictions in canada. trucks and tractors rolled into several cities across want country again this weekend. fears of clashes are rising,s with police calling their actions an occupation. >> the people are fed up.

>> reporter: with new infections coming down, there's been renewed confidence. out here i'm seeing people enjoying retail and restaurants. as for the rest of the economy, it seems the recent spikes in omicron cases didn't slow hiring. according to the january jobs report, almost 470,000 new jobs were created. weijia. >> jiang: lilia luciano with some good news tonight. thank you. we learned today that a boy trapped in a well in morocco for four days did not survive. at first, the crowd around the scene chanted, "got is greater, "believe the the boy named rayan was alive. for today millions around the world joined those holdings vigils. our hearts are with the little boy's family. to day three of the winter olympics. team u.s.a. is on a winning start on the ice. they shut out the russians 5-0 in preliminary play. in the medal count, norway has

an early lead with two gold. team u.s.a. so far shut out. cbs' jamie yuccas is there. >> reporter: the very face of snowboarding, shaun white, made official what many suspected. he will hang up his board after beijing. >> i think this will be my last-- well, it will be my last competition, which is pretty special, too. >> reporter: the 35-year-old holds almost every snowboarding record, including three olympic golds. but he faces a crowd of young and gifted challengers in the sport he helped establish. competition begins next week. the games officially opened friday with a display of public pride with team u.s.a. led by speed skater brittany bowe and curling legend john shuster. john, i have to ask, what was last night like? >> as an athlete being, i guess, chosen, to carry your flag of your country to lead your delegation into an opener is mons is kind of the ultimate. >> reporter: capturing the moment, curler becca hamilton.

her brother, matt, is one of john's teammates. >> kind of felt very fitting that john was up there and the four of his teammates behind linked arm and arm just had his back. >> reporter: bob sledder elana meyers taylor, originally elected to walk, was sidelined by a positive covid test. she watched in an isolation hotel but hopes are high that she will compete. >> you know, i have my ups and downs, just like everybody. staying positive as much as i can, but extremely grateful that my family is okay. >> reporter: for many it's proved an olympic effort just to get here and into the beijing bubble safely. >> i think i had to do five tests before i could even get on the plane. it was also a real tense moment. you never knew what the outcome was going to be but now that we're here, it's amazing. >> reporter: if you make it into the closed loop-- aka, the bubble-- plan on secure buses to and from venues and hotels, plexiglass between work spaces and dining tables while robots clean the floors and serve

meals. there's absolutely no contact with anyone from outside the loop. >> we feel super safe here just with all-- everything involving covid and at least i'm sewer grateful that these games can still happen. >> reporter: now that the opening ceremonies have concluded, the real fireworks will come when it comes to athletics. >> jiang: queen elizabeth ii celebrate her platinum jubilee tomorrow. >> i think i might just put a knife in it. >> i think that's a really good idea. >> jiang: today, the 95-year-old marked the historic moment with a sweet treat. her 70-year-old reign is a first for any british monarch. in a statement tonight, the queen said that prince charles' wife, camilla, should take the title queen cons ort when he becomes king. straight ahead on the "cbs weekend news," the cost of day care in america. our look into the shocking price tag.

>> jiang: now to the skyrocketing cost of child care. according to a new study by lending tree, the average annual cost is up 41% since the start of the pandemic, impacting more than just young parents. cbs' mark strassmann shows us who else is paying the price. >> do you show everyone how you wash your hands? >> reporter: for cassandra d'alesandro, little gavin's ainfection softens the squeeze of a broken system-- the cost of daycare in america. at one point taking almost half this architect's after-tax income. >> i felt like i should scream, cry, and vomit all at the same time. you know, you have this repetitive question-- is it worth it? >> reporter: except for washington, d.c., massachusetts has america's most expensive child care. for a four-year-old, that cost averages $15,000 a year. an infant, almost $21,000.

by government standards, only 5% of massachusetts families can afford infant care. >> it doesn't work for anybody. nobody wins. >> reporter: yeah. >> everyone suffers. >> reporter: yeah. >> literally everybody. >> reporter: lauren cook runs the ellis early learning center, a boston institution since 1885. this nationally accredited none profit looks after 270 kids. tu i guess as high as $30,000. but without donations, the center would close. >> we lose money virtually on every child we serve. >> reporter: these parents really should be paying even more than they are. >> which is impossible. i mean, we would break families. >> reporter: for years, advocates have pleaded for government to invest in early learning, including free child care for three- and four-year-olds. >> we dont look at parent and ask them how they're going to afford the cost of their education for their eight-year-old? why do we ask them why they should bear the full responsibility for the cost of

their two-year-old. >> reporter: at ellis, two-third of the kids have subsidized tuition base. without that help, lindsey graham's healthcare for three-year-old aryelle would cost more than her rent. >> when you're putting that much money into daycare, what am i going to have saved up? how am i going to afford a house one day? >> reporter: and yet, aleathia graham knows she's lucky to have it. ellis has a waiting list more than double its enrollment. mark strassmann, cbs news, boston. >> jiang: and still ahead on the "cbsbs weekend news," how te future of recycling in space is being explored in a colorado garage.

final frontier for adventure, and possibly high-tech recycling. in tonight's "weekend journal" barry petersen takes a look at

some of the groundwork being done to capitalize on the thousands of old orbiting sattelites. >> reporter: here's how it work now: you build things like satellite on earth and spends millions launching them into orbit. but that's about to change. recycling is headed for the stars. dr. angel abbud-madrid is director of the center for space resources at the colorado school of mines. >> now you can use that to create probably parts of sattelites, entire strucucturesn spacace. yoyou can usee it as aa propell. >> repororter: totoday, whenn sattttelites runun out of f fuey become m more space debris, debs that can hit other space objects. in the movie "gravity," it wiped out an entire space station. but behind this garage door in boulder, colorado, joe pawelski is using aluminum to melt into

the cylinders, a process that needs no oxygen >> when you look over there, you can see it start to melt. >> reporter: their research is funded in part by nasa, because they will get the aluminum to melt inn space b by sending ther equipment into space. some companies are already scrambling to use that alumiminm as a fufuel l forr sattelites, t fab calls it gas stations in space. otothers, likeke astroscacale, e testing ways to collect dead sattelelites. recycled debebris couldld mean building what's needed for space in space. even makaking the strtructures o colonizeze the moon and build spaceships to mars. >> if you're going to have humans on the moon, you have oxygen. you saw the rocks get, get it from there. water, they can use for drinking, they can split into hydrogen and oxygen. if you need to build anything use the dust and the rocks that are there. >> reporter: back in that colorado garage, gary calnan has the kind of boldness that has

powered mankind on every journey that ever mattered. i don't want to be disapparentlying here but i have to remind you we're sitting in a garage in colorado. and this is your operation. >> yeah. >> reporter: it's hard for me to knowledge that you're going to go from here to some day building a rocketship to the moon that takes us into the galaxy. >> sure. >> reporter: but you believe that. >> absolutely. >> reporter: barry petersen, cbs news, boulder, colorado. >> jiang: a lot of dreams are built in garages. next on the "cbs weekend news," an extraordinary save by a crossing guard in maryland, all captured on video.

>> jiang: a police officer in northeast maryland is being hail as a hero for her quick actions. corporal annette goodyear was guarding this crosswalk when a driver failed to stop, hitting her as she jumped in to pull a middle school student to safety. it happened on friday and the video was captured by a school bus camera.

goodyear suffered some cuts and bruises. now the town is planning to honor her for her bravery and swift action. >> there's a dog in the car. >> dog in the car? >> there's a dog in the car! >> jiang: now to a remarkable rescue in colorado. douglas county deputy michael gregorek's body camera was rolling when he ran towards a burning s.u.v., where a frightened hound dog named hank was trapped inside. hank's distraught owner tried to pull him out but paid. gregorek pulled out his baton and smashed the window, carrying hank to safety. when we return, an historic jazz club giving instruments a second chance and spreading the joy of mumusic.

>> jiang: finally tonight, new orleans may be the birth place of jazz, but london is giving the essential american art form new life. cbs' ian lee takes us to a famed

british jazz club handing instruments a second act. >> reporter: it's the end of the road for ron eve's family hairloom. ron's dad played this trumpet during world war ii, but it's been collecting dust for decades. why did you want to donate it here versus selling it on ebay. >> to help a child learn an instrument is great. >> reporter: he brought the instrument to ronnie scotts, one of the world's most iconic jazz clubs. what legends have gratessed this stage. >> anyone from miles davis, dizzy gillespie, the great ella fitzgerald. >> reporter: people donate they beat-up and sometimes new instruments at the club's charity drive. who are the people bringing in the instrument? >> anyone from an old or young

person who bought an instrument during the lockdown and decided they weren't going to be this big star to people who bought instruments years ago and, you know, haven't had the chance to practice for one reason or the other. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: the instrument amnesty is in its third year and distributes the donations to schools and charities. >> opens so many doors to you when you have access to music education, and especially if you're living in an underprivileged area. >> reporter: it looks every nook and cranny there's an instrument. volunteers restore them to make sure they're pitch perfect. >> i looked at that and thought there's no way you can do anything with it, but it can be fixed, apparently. >> reporter: for these people it's kind of like the music died. >> but they want the music to live on, that was the most important part. >> reporter: ian lee, cbs news, london. >> jiang: that is the "cbs weekend news" for this saturday. don't forget "sunday morning with jane pauley" first thing tomorrow, followed by "face the

nation" with margaret brennan. i'm weijia jiang reporting in new york. good night. bay area basketball star killed in yet another freeway shooting and tonight the man's friend is speaking out and looking back at his legacy. what we know about an arrest and also a possible motive. an update on the 49ers fan left in a coma after an assault at sofi stadium where his family is saying tonight. plus firefighters fight a winter fire in the mountains of los gatos. the first weekend without vaccine mandates for many

businesses in one bay area county. but was the health order lifted too soon? worker breaking gasp prices could just be getting started. how expensive gas can get this spring. good evening thank you for joining us. we are following a developing story tonight. friends and family are reeling after targeted freeway shooting killed a former cal basketball star. we have details on an arrest in this case and looks back on the basketball legends legacy. >> reporter: chp investigators believe the motor was road rage. family and friends say gene ransom was on his way to pick up his girlfriend at the west oakland bart station but never made it. >> i was in total disbelief. i did not believe it. >> reporter: chp bliss say it was the target shooting. northbound 880 at downtown oakland. investigators say the suspect, 25-year-old juan garcia drove to the list left and