News Wrap: CDC authorizes COVID-19 vaccinations for children under age 5

Geoff Bennett:

Good evening. We start tonight with the day's headlines and the news many parents have been waiting for, the authorization for COVID-19 vaccinations for children as young as six months. The CDC gave its final sign off today for children under five clearing the way for vaccinations to begin next week. Infants toddlers and preschoolers were the only remaining group without approval to take the shots. Yesterday the FDA authorized the vaccinations as safe.

In Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has paid a rare visit to troops on the front lines in the southern port city of Mykolaiv. He surveyed damage and toured to hospital. Ukrainian forces there are trying to hold off Russian advances westward toward Odessa, but much of the ground combat remains concentrated in the east. Ukrainian officials warn that Russia is sending a large number of reserves to Severodonetsk in order to gain full control. Neighboring regions remain under relentless assault. Next week the European Union will meet to consider whether Ukraine should be admitted.

At least 18 people have died and massive floods in India and Bangladesh. Rains left millions of homes underwater and cut off critical roadways and evacuation routes. Water levels and all major rivers across Bangladesh are rising and the flood situation is likely to deteriorate in the worst hit regions. That's according to authorities. Northern Bangladesh has just started to recover from a devastating flash flood last month.

And a passing of note, a beloved member of our PBS family has died. Mark Shields, a syndicated columnist and commentator was a fixture on the NewsHour for more than three decades, providing insights into our nation's politics each and every Friday night. In a style all his own, charismatic and witty, unsparing, but civil.

Mark's knowledge was encyclopedic. His debates will sometimes heated were always fair minded. His clever and irreverent sense of humor smoothed over disagreements about the nation's thorny politics. Mark Shields was 85 years old. He'll be dearly missed. We'll have more on Mark's legacy on Monday's NewsHour.

And still to come on "PBS News Weekend," the reptile extinction crisis and the warning signs for the rest of our ecosystem. And our weekend spotlight musician Bonnie Raitt talks about her new album and enduring career.