that was high school teacher christa mcauliffe in 1985 after being chosen for the "challenger" mission there was so much excitement. i was a schoolgirl then. we were all so excited. >> believe it or not, that launch 35 years ago today. we all know it ended in tragedy, and you actually spent some time recently talking to mcauliffe's former students. >> to think about what it was like on that day. they were all fixated on the screens and then that horrible moment happened. they will share that moment and also some of their memories of that day and how christa mcauliffe sort of shaped them as educators. they're a great bunch of people. i think you'll like meeting them. >> looking forward to that. >> let's get a headlines check here at 7:30. facebook says it is pulling back from politics. ceo mark zuckerberg announced yesterday that the company will permanently stop recommending civic and political groups to its users. that policy had been put in place temporarily before the november election. zuckerberg said the goal is to turn down the temperature and discourage divisive conversations. h

among the seven killed was christa mcauliffe ah high school teacher from the northeast, who was said to be the first civilian in space. the disaster brought nasa's space program to a halt for almost three years. coming up the first horse death of the season at golden gate fields. why animal activists say the recent storm is to blame and will the rain last into the weekend. chief meteorologist bill martin has your five day forecast up next inge. for a firg deportation is now home with his family in pinole. immigration officials detained buchanan cola after he finished his prison sentence in october. he was facing deportation to laos, which was the country his family fled from 30 years ago, his attorney tells us ice was required to release him because louse doesn't issue a travel or rather didn't issue a travel document for his deportation and because he's not can. considered dangerous while in prison. he fought fires as part of the prison inmate firefighter program he served 22 years in prison for a gang related shooting. when he was 16, the attorney for the napa man accused of having

seven crew members killed including christa mcauliffe who would have been the first teacher in space.ire agency is set to commemorate space missions that ended in tragedy with a day after remembrance. nasa will also remember the space shuttle -- >>> released the latest weekly jobless claims showing the coronavirus continues to strain the economy. 847,000 people applied for unemployment benefits last week and an increase of 53,000 from the week before. that is less than the 875,000 economists forecast. nearly 4.8 million people are still receiving state unemployment benefits down from just over 5.2 million the week before. we'll see ho wall street reacts when the markets open in 45 minutes. >>> a majority of californians say they will get the covid vaccine. >> that newly released survey was conduct talor fou of chicago. 71% of california residents say they will get the vaccine when it becomes available for them. while 13% say they would probably not be vaccinated. and 16% said they will definitely not. the survey began in mid november. that is before any vaccine was approved by the fda

christa mcauliffe, who was going to be the first civilian and teacher in space, the shuttle broke apartconds into flight, killing everyone on board. the shuttle fleet was then grounded for nearly three years. an investigation found nasa was aware that freezing temperatures at the launch site could cause problems for the booster rockets, but decided to continue to launch anyways. tributes are coming in this noontime for actress cloris leachman, the army a nascar award winning actress died yesterday. she of course, was best known for her role in the mary tyler moore show, and that led to a spin off show phyllis. she was nominated for 22 emmys and is tied with julia louis dreyfus for being the most nominated actre at her home in san diego count still to come this noontime super bowl sunday a little bit more than a week away, and while many people are taking extra precautions this year because it covid-19 and we're going to take a look at just how many people still plan to hold those super bow colgate optic white renewal removes ten years of yellow stains. that's like all the way back to 20

well, we actually talked to three women who knew exactly where they were because they were in christa mcauliffe'swhat happened that day and how their lives were shaped. i literally had to look at the calendar and go, is that true? it was 1986. >> how wonderful they're carrying on their teacher's legacy. i look forward to that, hoda. thank you. >>> let's get you caught up on the news here at 8:00 and the latest on the coronavirus, as the u.s. sees its deadliest month yet. president biden is pledging to help more americans get vaccinated. nbc national correspondent miguel almaguer joins us with the latest on those efforts. miguel, good morning. >> good morning. new infections and hospitalizations are dropping. even here in los angeles, the pandemic epicenter. but that uk variant is being detected in more states now, just as restrictions are being eased. the president says the u.s. is ramping up vaccine supply to meet demand. mr. biden is promising 10 million doses a week to every state for the next 22 days. that's about a 16% increase. the administration also says it's securing 200 million more dos