tonight new fallout from the sex abuse scandal rocking usa gymnastics and michigan state. the university's president resigns, and congress is demanding answers. who knew what when and why weren't so many young girls protected from a predator doctor? breaking news on immigration. president trump now proposing a path to citizenship for nearly 2 million dreamers. what he wants in return from democrats. in this raging flu emergency a 12-year-old boy dies. his family says they thought he had a cold. tonight how to tell the difference between a bad cold and a potentially deadly flu. what oprah is now saying about a potential run for president. and flyer beware. those cheaper seats could end up costing you more. what you should know before you buy your next ticket.

this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. good evening from los angeles and welcome to our viewers in the west. tonight the prison door slamming shut on dr. larry nassar for up to 175 years is not closing the door on serious questions about the institutions accused of inaction over his years of sexual abuse of young gymnasts. the fallout swift. last evening just hours after nassar's sentencing, the president of michigan state university, where nassar worked, resigned. tonight against growing calls for an independent investigation, we've obtained revealing insight into how the university and usa gymnastics governing body are defending themselves. more from nbc's senior national correspondent kate snow. >> they were selfish. >> reporter: for lindsey lemke who was co-captain of the michigan state gymnastics team and says larry nassar abused her hundreds of times, his sentencing was just the beginning. >> we aren't going to start healing until the people who

need to be held accountable are held accountable and get what they deserve for not speaking up when they should have. >> reporter: usa gymnastics says it now supports an independent investigation to figure out what went wrong. michigan state university says, we are committed to continue supporting those in our community affected by these terrible crimes. >> you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again. >> reporter: but just as larry nassar was being sentenced yesterday, nbc news has learned in another michigan courtroom, lawyers for both institutions were saying something quite different. usa gymnastics argues in a court filing it had no legal duty to protect the young women from nassar's criminal conduct. and michigan state university argues complaints made prior to 2014 don't count because the young women didn't complain to the appropriate person. >> this is bigger than larry nassar. >> reporter: two-time olympian, aly raisman says the institutions have an incentive to keep things quiet. >> for so long they

put medals, reputation and money over the safety of athletes. >> reporter: investigators will look closely at the timeline. a gymnastics coach learned about nassar's abuse in june 2015 and called usa gymnastics. usag waited 42 days before telling the fbi, but they never called msu where nassar also worked. usag says nassar was relieved of his duties but he continued to see hundreds of patients at msu until he was arrested. in her statement last night president lou anna simon said there is no cover-up. but on campus many welcomed her resignation. >> the university needs to really make some strides going in a different direction. >> reporter: simon will still get perks like tickets to home games. if she returns to the faculty a year leave then her full three quarter of a million dollar salary. the ncaa is already investigating michigan state. today members of the house and the senate are calling for congressional investigations. next week the house plans to vote on a bill that would require any group like usa

gymnastics to report sex abuse allegations to law enforcement right away. >> kate snow tonight, thank you, kate. president trump spent this day with the world's economic and political elite at the world economic forum in davos, switzerland. chief white house correspondent hallie jackson is traveling with the president and tonight reports there may be a breakthrough in the immigration negotiations here at home. >> reporter: instead of deals in davos, it's a deal back home at the center of attention with new immigration details tonight ahead of a deadline to protect those so-called d.r.e.a.m.ers, undocumented immigrants brought to the u.s. when they were young. nbc news has learned from senior white house officials the president would back a plan that gives a path to citizenship to 1.8 million of those d.r.e.a.m.ers, not just those protected under the current program, daca. that's a shift and what the white house also frames as a concession.

the president also wants roughly $25 billion for a border wall, another $5 billion for more border security, an end to the visa lottery system, and a limit on family-based migration so immigrants could only sponsor spouses and children for citizenship not parents or siblings. president trump talking with cnbc today. >> i will consider that a great achievement to solve the daca problem. it's been out there for a long time. these are good people. these are people that should be able to stay in this country. >> reporter: it's that possibility of a path to citizenship in particular that may anger the president's conservative base, but it might help broker a deal in congress with the white house hoping for a vote the week of february 6th. chief of staff john kelly managing negotiations back in washington with the president overseas in this swiss ski town more posh than populist. >> today's been a very exciting day, very great day. and great for our country. >> reporter: the president who ran railing against the global elite is now surrounding himself with them. at his davos debut, rubbing elbows and throwing some. alongside israel's prime

minister, president trump threatening to strip palestinians of tens of million of dollars in u.s. aid. >> that money's not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace. >> reporter: and in a speech tomorrow here in switzerland, a senior white house official tells me the president will hammer home a message he's been delivering in davos, that the u.s. is open for business. lester? >> hallie jackson tonight, thank you. in colorado this evening an urgent manhunt is under way for two men wanted in the shooting death of a 32-year-old sheriff's deputy. a third suspect is under arrest. authorities tonight are warning the public outside of denver that the suspects still on the loose may be armed and dangerous. nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: the reports of shots fired quickly followed by officer down. adams county sheriff's deputy heath gumm killed in the line of duty while chasing three suspects. the man who police say fired the fatal shot taken into custody, but two others escaped.

a massive manhunt is now under way. >> this is an active investigation and crime scene. we're still searching for potentially armed and dangerous suspects. >> reporter: with the swarm of officers shutting down schools and locking down neighborhoods near denver, the dragnet is yielding few leads as police mourn a brother in blue. an early morning procession through the streets of thornton, colorado. law enforcement alongside the public standing in the frigid cold paying tribute to the 31-year-old husband and family man gunned down on duty. >> they're like a family. they come and support each other and everything. and i think if we acted like a family, maybe this wouldn't happen. >> reporter: tonight heartbreak and a manhunt. a desperate search for two dangerous men as a fallen deputy is honored by the community he served and protected. miguel almaguer, nbc news.

the nation's deadly flu epidemic appears to have claimed the life of yet another child, this time in florida. some schools there are shutting tomorrow to try to stop the spread. this latest tragedy is raising a question a lot of parents are asking. does your child have a cold or potentially the deadly flu? and how can you tell the difference? nbc news medical correspondent dr. john torres has the answers you need in this flu emergency. >> reporter: in the growing number of young people dying this flu season, there's now another. florida seventh grader dylan winnick. >> we used to walk home from school every day. to think that my little brother, i'm never going to see him again? it's unexplainable. >> reporter: his heartbroken family stunned by how quickly he died at home. >> his temperature was 98 degrees. then just within a couple of hours they found him. and he had already passed. that's why we don't -- we can't understand how that happened. >> reporter: his parents thought

his sniffles and exhaustion meant he had a cold, but now they believe it was the flu. so how can you tell the difference between a bad cold and the flu? stuffy nose and cough? could be either. severe body aches that come on quickly and nausea, a sign of the flu. as are vomiting and diarrhea, though mostly in children. a high fever above 101 degrees usually means the flu but not always. >> she's had the flu? okay. >> reporter: this brutal flu season has a lot of people on edge. >> we do have an ambulance on the way. >> reporter: near dallas at medstar mobile health, ambulance calls for flu symptoms are ten times higher than usual. >> what kind of symptoms were you having? >> nausea, body aches, hot body but chills. >> reporter: one more warning for parents. if your child seems to get better but then suddenly gets worse, take them to the hospital right away. dr. john torres, nbc news, dallas. >> some important information there. now back to the question we've been asking, will she or

won't she? after a frenzy of speculation in recent weeks, we're finally hearing again from oprah winfrey herself on whether she may run for president. nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker with more now on what oprah had to say. >> reporter: oprah winfrey all but closing the door on a potential presidential bid. the famed star telling "instyle" magazine, it's not something that interests me. i don't have the dna for it. and acknowledging she's getting a lot of pressure to take on president trump. speaking to "instyle" three weeks earlier at the golden globes. >> the new day is on the horizon! >> reporter: calls for an oprah candidacy have only grown louder. #oprah2020 trending for days. the president himself weighing in. >> oprah would be a lot of fun. >> reporter: a recent poll shows the president trailing oprah 51-42%. a tv titan who many democrats believe could be a strong challenger to take on the former reality tv president, but publicly oprah has been clear. she's not interested.

telling stephen colbert last year. >> any chance you'll run for office. >> never! >> really? >> never. no. >> reporter: still, in the world of politics, there's always time to change your mind. >> so you will not run for president or vice president in 2008? >> i will not. >> will you ever run for president again? yes or no? >> no. >> reporter: and it was oprah who asked donald trump back in 1998 whether he would ever throw his hat into the ring. >> probably not. >> reporter: so will oprah keep the door closed? i met with someone the other day who said that they would help me with the campaign, she told "instyle." that's not for me. at least not for now. kristen welker, nbc news, washington. let's turn to this country's devastating opioid epidemic and our exclusive interview with the new head of the food and drug administration. while there's no shortage of blame to go around, including drug companies and doctors, some now say the fda could have and should have done more to stop it from becoming a national crisis.

here's nbc's cynthia mcfadden with our "one nation overdosed" report. >> reporter: the impact of the opioid epidemic is stunning. with 300,000 american deaths since the year 2000. tonight listen to what critics are saying about the fda's role. >> absolutely criminal. >> i think this may be the best example in history of a regulatory agency failure leading to a public health catastrophe. >> reporter: dr. scott gottlieb inherited the problem, appointed by president trump as the new head of the fda. >> i think that this is one of the biggest public health crises facing this country. >> reporter: ever? >> ever. >> reporter: could the fda have stopped this? >> i don't know that we could have stopped it. i think a lot of people didn't do what they needed to do in the past or we wouldn't be in the situation we're in right now. >> reporter: watchdogs point to a timeline of missed opportunities to rein in the crisis starting with the approval of oxycontin in 1995. by 2013, with opioids ravaging

the country, the fda approved another powerful opioid called zohydro, over the objections of a panel of experts who voted 11-2 against it. the epidemic has hit west virginia particularly hard. >> one little community of 340 people had 9 million pills coming into it. >> reporter: senator joe manchin spent a year lobbying the fda to put limits on prescription opioids like vicodin. >> i go up and testify before the advisory committee. boom, should have been a slam dunk, right? >> reporter: but it wasn't. between the fda and the dea, it took nearly two years for the change to go into effect. once it did, a billion fewer pills were prescribed. dr. gottlieb says more aggressive action is now needed. >> i think prescribing patterns absolutely have to change. so you really should see most patients getting a two or three or four-day prescription not a 30-day prescription. >> reporter: he's pushing for more doctor training and nonopioid alternatives to treat pain.

>> but it will take us a year, maybe two, to get to the optimal place here. >> reporter: when i hear you say a year or more, that's a lot more people becoming addicted and a lot more people dying. >> there's a lot of things we're doing in the interim. i don't want to look back five years from now and say i wish i had done more. >> reporter: since dr. gottlieb took over, one drug has been taken off the market after concern about the drug's risk of abuse. >> cynthia mcfadden in new york, thank you. tonight residents in paris are bracing for what some are fearing may be the flood of the century. the city is on alert for potential record flooding after days of heavy rain. some parts of the city are already under water in places where the river seine burst its banks. out of precaution, the famed louvre museum has partially closed down. a lot more to tell you about here this evening. still ahead, cheap airline tickets. why those lower cost basic economy seats may not be such a bargain after all. also, the famous face you won't be seeing at this year's oscars. hope you can stay with us.

we're back now with news for anybody who flies. united airlines says it plans to add more cheaper basic economy fares to compete with the lowest cost carriers. but nbc news has obtained a new congressional report warning many travelers are confused by basic economy, and they often end up paying far more than they expected. nbc's tom costello, who covers aviation for us, tells us more. >> reporter: ask any airline, they'll tell you the cheapest tickets sell best and basic economy is cheap. with the biggest airlines trying hard to compete against low-cost carriers. >> i have a spot on the flight, and it cost significantly less. >> i am saving money, i'm saving money, yes, no doubt. >> reporter: basic economy usually means boarding last, no assigned seat, sometimes paying for an overhead bag and no guaranteed family seating. now, nbc news has obtained this congressional report which suggests basic economy fares

tend to confuse airline travelers who often end up digging deeper into their pockets once they get to the ticket counter. >> they're entitled to make a good profit. i just want the traveling public to know exactly what they're getting. >> reporter: example, chicago to denver round trip february 2nd, $192 in economy, 152 in basic economy. that carry-on bag and a preassigned seat will cost $40 more. >> it's really almost like consumer beware now when you're buying your airline ticket because you think you're getting a deal, but in the end it's not such a big deal. >> reporter: in a statement the nation's airlines tell nbc news basic economy is a completely optional service that enables airlines to meet their customers' needs at a price point that works for their budget. the advice for anybody booking spring break tickets, buy economy tickets so the family can sit together, and read the fine print so you know what that airfare includes. tom costello, nbc news, washington. still to come here tonight, those who serve.

a soldier's best friend saved on the battlefield and now with a real home. the rare and beautiful scenes on the mississippi river. american bald eagles as we've never seen them.

you can count one famous name out of this year's academy awards. last year's best actor winner, casey affleck, has reportedly backed out of the ceremony. traditionally the reigning best actor presents the award for best actress. but amid the me too movement affleck has come under new scrutiny. he was sued for sexual harassment by two women in 2010. both settled out of court. affleck has denied the allegations. the symbolic doomsday clock was moved forward today by 30 seconds to just two minutes before midnight. the group of atomic scientists who announce every year how close they think we might be to the apocalypse cited nuclear tensions with north korea, rising tensions between russia and the west and the threat from climate change. something a bit more

calming. a rare sight on the mississippi river. american bald eagles, our national symbol, floating down river in illinois. the video was captured by nature enthusiasts. the video has been viewed more than 2 million times. it's not hard to see why. when we come back, the long awaited reunion between a soldier and his best friend from the battlefield. "those who serve" is next. next

concerns of a tiny organism burrowing into the steel that supports the new bay bridge. plus - the divisive poster found on a local campus today, and the swift counter-response by finally tonight from our series "those who serve," a story of companionship and loyalty on the battlefield. the soldier's creed is to leave no man behind. but for the serviceman you're about to meet, that means man's best friend, too. as a u.s. military combat medic,

joe, who asked us not to reveal his last name, saved many lives serving in the middle east. but last year he found himself saving the life of a 1-month-old puppy named annabelle. >> when i first met annabelle, she was at a house right by me. and her and her sister were -- they were rescued after their mom stepped on an ied and she was killed. >> reporter: joe brought the frail pup back to the base, feeding her from his own rations, sleeping next to her. >> she brought a whole new dynamic to our team. we had someone to love and someone to take care of, which was nice. >> reporter: when it was time for joe to go home, he called his wife. >> and i was like, hey, jillian, do you think that we can adopt a dog? >> it was definitely just a natural thing to say, yes, bring her home. if you can, bring her home. >> reporter: five months after joe's homecoming to raleigh, north carolina, his family got the news.

annabelle was on her way, thanks to spca international, which reunites soldiers and dogs. >> she's been through a lot. i hope that she thinks it's worth it. >> reporter: after a road trip that took them through 16 checkpoints, part of a journey that spanned five countries, annabelle finally made it. >> i think i see her, dude. annabelle. >> reporter: joe's son, 3-year-old weston, meeting his new buddy for the first time. this four-legged orphan of war now safe with her new family, thanks to the serviceman who came to her rescue. a touching homecoming for a man and dog who both served this country. we appreciate you spending part of your evening with us. that is "nightly news" for this thursday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night

bridge. we investigate a new problem just discovered, involving the right now at 6:00, an uncertain future for the bay bridge. we investigated a new problem just discovered involving the support beams for the bridge a quarter million people cross every day. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thanks for joining us. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> i'm janelle wang. jessica also has the night off. something is corroding the base of the bay bridge tower faster than expected. caltrans says there is no concern of the bridge failing. it's way too early for that.

but our investigative reporter found the eastern span may not last as long as it's supposed to. jaxon van derbeken has more. >> reporter: now there are lingering questions about the bay bridge's survivability. according to a new report, key wells on the giant steel pilings holding up the iconic tower are under assault, corroding in some places 50% faster than caltrans had anticipated. just why is still a mystery. at the current rate, the steel pile that holds up the tower too corrode too soon. its lifespan could be cut by 50 years. >> it's enough that if you had projected that out 150 years, you would not have what we