you are a golfer. >> i have golf clubs. i don't need those. >> he does not need million dollar ones. will captioning sponsored by cbs >> o'donnell: tonight, the major headlines we are following as president biden is on the world stage, vowing nato will respond if russia uses chemical weapons. plus, our cbs news exclusive about the wife of a supreme court justice trying to help trump overturn the election. the west unites against russia. tonight, the billion more dollars in aid and america's promise to take in 100,000 ukrainian refugees. russian warship attacked. the ukrainian counteroffensive creating a huge explosion in a key port as the war enters its second month. but the sad news that more than half of ukraine's children have been forced from their homes. north korean missile launch-- kim jong-un tests an

intercontinental ballistic weapon. >> this missile would have trveled 12,000 kilometers, which is more than enough to get from pyongyang to d.c. >> o'donnell: a cbs news-"washington post" investigation: text messages reveal for the first time a link between the wife of a supreme court justice and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. outrage in new york city. wh the mayor lifted vaccine mandates for performers and professional athletes but not first responders. plus, top airlines call on president biden to drop the mask requirement. cheaper gas? the states suspending the fuel tax as one governor proposes an $800 gas card regardless of income level. and the hoop star reaching for new heights with the support of his mom, who is also notre dame's head coach. of >> this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell reporting from the nation's capital. >> o'donnell: good evening, and thank you for joining us on this thursday night.

it was a day of intense diplomacy for president biden and world leaders with the president just wrapping up historic mee meetings in brusse. hours from now, he will head to poland, a country taking in the majority of 3.6 million refugees fleeing war-torn ukraine. president biden announced an additional $1 billion in humanitarian aid that will support people displaced within ukraine and help countries like poland handle the influx of people crossing the borders. the president hinted in a press conference today that he will also visit refugees. ukraine's volodymyr zelenskyy addressed world leaders from kyiv and plead forward more military aid, including planes, tanks, rockets, air defense systems and other weapons. he total alliance they were capable of preventing more deaths and that ukraine was defending "our common values." we've got a lot of news to get to tonight, and cbs' nancy cordes is going to start us off from brussels. good evening, nancy. >> reporter: good evening, norah. president biden set a new red line here in brussels today,

threatening to take unspecified action if vladimir putin, as many fear, unleashes chemical or biological weapons in ukraine. >> we would respond. we would respond if he uses it. the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use. >> reporter: president biden issued that warning between meetings with his fellow nato allies and his fellow g7 leaders and the leaders of european union nations, a diplomatic whirlwind designed to show unity in the face of what could become prolonged russian brutality. >> if you're putin and you think that the-- that europe is going to crack in a month or six weeks or two months, why not-- they can take anything for another month. >> reporter: but speaking remotely, ukrainian president volodyyr zelenskyy told the leader he's needs more than unity. he needs jets and 1% of nato's tanks. "you have least 20,000 tanks,"

he said. adding, "the worst thing during the war is not having clear answers to requests for help." >> we all listened very carefully to president zelenskyy. >> reporter: nato's secretary-general wouldn't commit to the tanks, but he said nato will give ukraine more equipment to help protect its citizens from a biological, chemical, or nuclear attack. >> this could include detection, protection, and medical sup supplies, as well as training for decontamination and crisis management. >> reporter: as the leaders met, the u.s. announced it will take in 100,000 ukrainian refugees. but that's just a small fraction of the nearly 4 million ukrainians who have fled the deadly conflict so far. the white house also unveiled new sanctions on what it called key enablers of the invasion, including dozens of russian defense companies and more than

300 members of russia's lower parliament, the duma. >> sanctions never deter. >> reporter: the president admitted the crippling international sanctions imposed so far may be wrecking russia's economy, but they haven't forced put toin change course, yet. >> we will sustain what we're doing, not just next month, the following month, but for the remearnd of this entire year. that's what will stop him. >> reporter: president biden heads closer to the invasion zone tomorrow with a visit to warsaw, poland, just over 100 miles from the ukrainian border. there he will meet with refugees and with poland's president and, norah, he suggested that he might be going somewhere else that he can't talk about right now for security reasons. >> o'donnell: intriguing. nancy cordes in brussels, thank you. a moth odeath anddestction,aiily holdi i ground, even launching a successful

counteroffensive in recent days. but it comes at a heavy cost. cbs' debora patta met some of the war's youngest victims at a children's hospital in kyiv. we want to warn you that some of the im images are disturbing. out at sea after ukrainians say they destroyed a russian warship. its arrival was showcased on russian tv as it ferried supplies and armored vehicles to russian ground forces who are running low on food and fuel. and just a few days earlier a ukrainian soldier fired an antitank missile into a russian patrol boat. but this fierce defense could not stop the decimation of nearby mariupol. most have fled, but the around 100,000 residents left are burying their dead just outside their homes. this woman digs a grave for her stepfather who was blown up in a car she was also supposed to be traveling in.

"it could have been me," she sobbed. for those still trapped inside, a desperate run for it, this car driving at break-neck speed as it comes under constant gunfire. and here, at this children's hospital in kyiv, we met 13-year-old volva, brought here after the car he was escaping in with his parents was shot at by russian forces. i see you have a big scar. wow. you were shot in your face? "a bullet hit he here," he tells us. "my back has a big wound. two bullet were removed. one is still inside." he used his backpack to protect himself, but his father did not make it out alive. what was the thing you loved doing most with your dad? "he taught me how to drive," he said. this exhausted hospital employee, anastasia magerramova, had has been sleeping here since

the war began. >> every day, children are suffering, people are suffering because of russian missile attacks, because of rocket attacks. >> reporter: what is the worst thing that you've seen? the most innocent of victims of this war haunt her day and night. ukrainian children have borne the brunt of this invasion. unicef says more than half have been forced from their homes since the war began just over a month ago. norah. >> o'donnell: debora patta, thank you. we want to turn now to an exclusive cbs news and "washington post" investigation. tonight, our chief election and campaign correspondent robert costa and bob woodward have uncovered text messages between the wife of supreme court justice clarence thomas and president trump's top aide, in which she repeatedly pushed to overturn the 2020 presidential

election. here's cbs' robert costa. >> reporter: the stunning text messages detail an extraordinary relationship between ginni thomas and then-white house chief of staff mark meadows. just after then-president trump started his fight to overturn the 2020 election results. >> this is a major fraud on our nation. we want the law to be used in a proper manner. so we'll be going to the u.s. supreme court. >> reporter: the texts are among more than 2,000 messages meadows provided to the january 6 committee. the first message from thomas came the day before joe biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. "do not concede," she wrote. "it takes time for the army who is gathering for his back." thomas urged meadows to help the president stand firm. "the majority knows biden and the left is attempting the greatest heist of our history." the messages don't directly reference justice thomas or the supreme court, but show how

ginni thomas sought to guide the president's strategy to overturn the election urging meadows to make trump's controversial attorney, sidney powell, the lead in the face. on november 24, meadows wrote thomas, "this is a fight of good versus evil." thomas replied, "thank you, needed that. this,s plus a conversation with my best friend just now." it is unclear who ginni thomas was referring to. supreme court justice clarence thomas often refers to his wife this way: >> i love being here with my bride, virginia, who is a gift from god, and my totally best friend in the whole world. >> reporter: ginni thomas recently acknowledged she had attended president trump's rally at the ellipse prior to the attack but says she left before mr. trumpcracied the crowd. ginni thomas has publicly denied any conflict of interest between her activism and her husband's work. in the one case heard by the court tied to the january 6 insurrection,s they voted to release trump white house

records to the committee. there was only one dissent-- justice clarence thomas. mark meadows had no comment, though his attorney did confirm th content of the text messages, ginni thomas, she did not respond to multiple requests for comment today. and justice thomas, who has been hospitalized in recent days with an infection, he also did not respond to a request for comment made through the supreme court. >> o'donnell: bob, just extraordinary reporting what you found out. i understand, also, that ginni thomas had some comments about the vice president of the united states. >> reporter: indeed. working with bob woodward, we found she said this is the end of america. it feels like vice president pence was betraying her. she said he disgusted her. and we also see the committee now really paying attention to the relationship between a spouse of a justice and a member of the executive branch. >> o'donnell: but it's still not clear what justice thomas knew. >> reporter: and that raises the question: will ginni thomas be issued a subpoena by the january 6 committee? we'll be watching that in the coming days. >> o'donnell: all right,

robert costa, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >> o'donnell: let's turn now to north korea where leader kim jong-un told state media he's preparing for a long confrontation with the u.s. after launching north korea's largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile today. the missile drew international condemnation, and experts believe north korea is capable of hitting the east coast of the united states. cbs' david martin has more from the pentagon. >> reporter: for the first time sthiness launch more than four years ago, north korea has tested a long-range missile capable of reaching the united states and raised concerns kim jong-un could soon have an i.c.b.m., armed with multiple nuclear warheads. the commanof aica r defenses told congress the day may be coming when he can no longer shoot down incoming north korean missiles. >> i'm comfortable where we today. going forward, i do believe they could exceed my capacity and capabilities. >> reporter: south korea responded with missile tests of

its own. and president biden interrupted his nato summit to kyiv with japan's prime minister about the launch. it was fired a trajectory that took a 3700 miles into space and 670 miles into the sea of japan. higher and farther than any other north korean missile has flown. jeffrey lewis of the middlebury institute explains what would happen if it were fired on a normal trajectory. >> this missile would have traveled 12,000 kilometers, which is more than enough to get from pyongyang to d.c. >> reporter: the u.s. has invested billions of dollars in a missile defense system that can defend against north korean missiles, but not against missiles that can carry multiple warheads. >> what that gives north korea is the ability to overwhelm u.s. missile defenses. >> reporter: president biden stressed the need for diplomacy, but the hard facts are decades of negotiations and sanctions have not convinced north korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

norah. >> o'donnell: david martin with that scary story tonight. thank you. well, let's turn now to the covid pandemic. the mayor of new york city today gave a special vaccine exemption to professional athletes and entertainers, and many new yorkers are not happy about it. we get more now from cbs' mola lenghi. >> reporter: unvaccinated pro athletes, like brooklyn nets superstar "ey kyrie irving cn play at home in new york. mayor eric adams announced the rule change just weeks before the start of the n.b.a. play-offs and baseball's opening day. >> we're talking about a small number of people that's having a major impact on our economy. >> reporter: some critics call it the kyrie carve-out, frustrating city workers who are still required to be vaccinated. the city's police union released a statement saying, "if the mandate isn't necessary for famous people, then it's not necessary for the cops who are protecting our city." meanwhile, the heads of the largest u.s. airlines are asking president biden to drop the mash

requirements on planes, set to expire april 18, citing now-outdated regulations implemented in response to covid-19. >> if the mandates are lifted, i wouldn't be wearing a mask on a flight at all. i feel pretty safe on a flight without wearing a mask. >> reporter: well, kyrie irving could make his return here to the bark lay center by this weekend. meanwhile, the uneven application of the vaccine mandate could invite even more lawsuits against new york city, where just last month, more than 1,400 city employees were fired for being unvaccinated, norah. >> o'donnell: i can see why people are upset. mola lenghi, thank you. well, the senate today wrapped up four days of confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson, hearing from legal experts called by both parties. jackson also held more face-to-face meetings with senators. the full senate is expected to vote on her confirmation some time before easter. republican leader mitch mcconnell said today he's going to vote against judge

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regardless of income level, get a $400 debit card to help pay for gas. it's up to $800 for two cars. the plan also includes free public transit for three months and a pause in the state's diesel tax. all right, tonight, there's a lucky twist in the story of a teenager who got caught in a texas tornado. remember this video? i mean, this red pickup truck getting tossed and landing on its wheels during monday's tornado. that truck was being driven by 16-year-old riley leon, who was heading home from a job interview when his world suddenly went upside down. >> better things were going to come in the future. never let small things bring you down. >> o'donnell: i mean, isn't this incredible? his truck got banged up, but leon got the job at whataburger, and guess what? he starts next week. if i lived there, i would be lining up to order from him. all right, up next, march madness is all in the family for this mother-and-son duo.

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>> o'donnell: march madness is back in action tonight, and thet 16. well, one of those teams is purdue, who's led by sophomore sensation jaden ivey. the n.b.a. prospect was born into the game. cbs' dana jacobson explains. >> reporter: jaden ivey is a standout guard at purdue. his mom, niele, is head coach at the university of notre dame. >> since i can remember i always had a ball in my hand. >> reporter: niele was playing in the wnba when jaden was born. their lives ever since intertwined by basketball. niele serving as both coach and mom. >> i'm screaming, you know, just encouraging words because i know he can hear me. i'm just so proud because i know how hard he worked to get to this point. >> reporter: jaden, by his mom's side, when she was introduced as head coach at notre dame, her alma mater. >> i'm her biggest fan and, you know, her biggest supporter. i knew that was a special moment for her.

i wish i, you know, could have spent more time with her at home. th she d to ., i knew the work i think it'dou knebote>>epor lie niele ivey still wonders if she did enough. >> he sacrificed a lot. sometimes i get emotional about tbecause i know it was hard for him. it was hard for him. i mis, like, there's a reason why it was hard. >> reporter: he knows. >> he knows. >> reporter: they compete for not just the love of the game but also each other. dana jacobson, cbs news. >> o'donnell: hard to top that story. what a family. we'll be right back. and my stomach isn't nauseous. it's time for migraine prevention delivered differently, through an iv infusion. it's time for vyepti - a preventive treatment for migraine in adults.

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