his praise for the justice department, pushing for a lighter sentence the terrifying moment on the ice. the nhl star collapsing during the game his condition and what his manager and teammates are saying tonight. the scandal rocking a prestigious american college the father facing a judge. authorities saying he moved into his daughter's dorm and preyed on he classmates. america's top dog tonight taking over our studio >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt good evening, everyone in baltimore tonight two police officers have been gunned down after an effort to arrest an attempted murder suspect turned into a deadly broad daylight gunfight. the officers working as part of a fugitive task force were met by gunfire. the suspect himself a former corrections officer. our tom costello has late details. >> reporter: in a city racked by gu violence a shootout between members of a u.s. marshals fugitive task force and a former corrections officer wanted for

attempted murder >> we got two officers hit, two officers who are hit. suspect is down. >> reporter: two detectives wounded one in the stomach, one in the leg. >> at least one of their lives was likely saved by application of a tourniquet. applied by their fellow officers. tourniquets save lives. >> reporter: both officers expected to survive. the suspect pronounced dead on the scene. police say the detectives were serving a warrant on the former corrections officer for attempted murder in pennsylvania when gunfire broke out just after noon. for years baltimore has been among the nation's most dangerous cities, gripped by gun violence and drug activity. >> this is a dangerous job. we wake up every day, and we go do it for the people of the city we live in. >> reporter: 348 people were murdered in baltimore last year the fifth straight year with more than 300 murders. >> i'd like to thank the brave officers who worked today's joint task force their work is dangerous and can turn

deadly instantly. >> reporter: this is the first officer-involved shooting in baltimore this year. the justice department recently beefed up a federal task force that includes the fbi, dea and atf to work with baltimore police in a coordinated crackdown. lester >> thank you very much, tom. the democratic candidates are headed for a new showdown after a close race in new hampshire. meanwhile, michael bloomberg is responding to his controversial comments on leaked audio. here's kristen welker. >> reporter: fresh off his win in new hampshire -- >> this victory here is the beginning of the end for donald trump. >> reporter: today senator bernie sanders' confidence is growing. do you feel like the front-runner >> we won the popular vote in iowa and we won the popular vote in new hampshire and here is the prediction, we'll do very well in nevada we're going to do very well in south carolina >> reporter: but tonight, the self-described democratic socialist is facing steep competition from former south bend, indiana, mayor pet buttigieg who surged to second place

touting his centrist agenda >> we are here to stay. >> reporter: buttigieg insists he can do well in more diverse nevada and south carolina but our poll last month showed he had 0% support among african-american democrats. what specifically are you going to do to try to bring in some of these voters who s far have not gotten on board with your campaign >> we're being very intentional about outreach now we're having a whole new conversation and getting a whole new look >> reporter: democrats are facing a drawn-out fight with senator amy klobuchar back in the mix after a surprisingly strong third place showing. >> and i will beat donald trump. >> reporter: elizabeth warren and joe biden with disappointing fourth and fifth place finishes president trump watching it all closely pressed by nbc's peter alexander. >> who's the democratic front-runner, sir? >> that's a good question i would say bernie looks like he's doing very well. >> reporter: meanwhile, after the caucus chaos, the chair of the iowa democratic party announcing he's stepping down.

kristen welker, nbc news, manchester, new hampshire. this is gabe gutierrez in tennessee where tonight michael bloomberg is making his move. >> i am running to defeat donald trump. >> reporter: the 77-year-old billionaire and former new york city mayor has already spent an astounding $300 million on ads that catapult his campaig in the dozen plus states that will vote on march 3rd super tuesday. what do you say to democrats who argue you're trying to buy the election >> i'm not trying to buy the election we've been at this ten weeks and the best ways to communicate is ten weeks is through something like mass media. >> reporter: but he's facing growing scrutiny over leaked audio from a 201 speech >> put the cops where the crime is, minority neighborhoods. >> reporter: where he defended new yor city's controversial police policy of stop

and frisk later ruled unconstitutional. >> and the way you get the guns out of the kids' hands is to throw them against the wall and frisk them. >> reporter: he's recently apologized for stop and frisk but was asked about the audio today. >> it was five years ago and, you know, it's just not the way that i think. >> reporter: when you heard that audio of him defending stop and frisk, what went through your head? >> i think it was just blunt racial profiling. >> reporter: bishop kevin adams leads a congregation in chattanooga. >> but for him to apologize i think is huge >> reporter: bloomberg's super tuesday blit continues tomorrow with five campaign stops in north carolina and texas. lester >> gabe, thank you. to the firestorm over roger stone the president lashing out saying he did not interfere when he criticized the sentencing recommendation that was later overruled by the justice department peter alexander questioned the president in the oval office. >> reporter: president trump tonight seething, insisting he did not interfere in the criminal prosecution of his long-time ally roger stone. isn't your tweet political interference >> no, not at all.

>> reporter: the president complained on twitter career prosecutors recommended sentence of seven to nine years for stone was very unfair. >> you have murderers and drug addicts, they don't get nine years nine years for doing something that nobody even can define what he did. >> reporter: a jury found stone guilty on seven counts including lying to congress in the russia investigation prosecutors say to protect president trump. the president refusing to say whether he's considering a pardon for stone but praising attorney general william barr for overruling those prosecutors and pushing for a more lenient sentence. >> i want to thank the justice department for seeing this horrible thing. i didn't speak to him, by the way, just so you understand they saw the horribleness of a nine-year sentence for doing nothing. >> reporter: the president also lashing out after that unprecedented protest. all four prosecutors abruptly resigning from the stone case. >> they ought to go back to school and learn because with the way they treated people, nobody should be treated like that. >> reporter: top democrats tonight

demanding an investigation attacking the president who promised to drain the swamp. >> what is more swampy what is more fetid what is more stinking? >> reporter: republican lindsey graham brushing off those calls. >> i got real concerns about overzealou prosecution more than anything else. >> reporter: in the weeks since his acquittal, several republicans saying they hope the president learned a lesson his takeaway tonight was not about himself. what lesson did you learn from impeachment? >> that the democrats are crooked. they got a lot of crooked things going that they're vicious that they shouldn't have brought impeachment. >> reporter: tonight house democrats say attorney general barr agreed to testify on the hill next month to discuss what they call the president's improper influence over the justice department lester >> peter alexander, at the white house, thank you. there is breaking news tonight on the coronavirus. word from china of a huge increase in the number of confirmed cases and deaths nbc's molly hunter has the latest. >> reporter: with the

death toll soaring, china intensifying efforts to control the outbreak in the last 24 hours, 14,000 new cases in hubei province, ground zero for the coronavirus. tonight officials announcing wartime control which includes mass confinement, ration foods and house to house temperature checks >> a virus can have more powerfu consequences than any terrorist action. >> reporter: the total death toll in china topping 1,300 with 50,000 confirmed cases. the w.h.o. on the ground, the goal figure out how to stop super spreaders, people who survive the virus or show no symptoms but are contagious in japan, 175 confirmed cases on board the "diamond princess" including 32 americans. cruise ships are hot beds for contamination and with the virus' long incubation period, those not showin symptoms can still spread it and that's the fear tonight lester a nhl star is recovering after a terrifying moment on the ice. the veteran player

suddenly collapsing in the middle of a game nbc's miguel almaguer with new information on what happened and his condition. >> this is obviously a very, very serious situation. >> reporter: it happened on the bench in the st. louis/anaheim game. terrifying scene as defenseman jay bouwmeester slumpe over, tumbling out of his seat his teammates calling for help >> there's a great deal of concern. >> reporter: suffering a cardiac episode, medical teams immediately began cpr. the stunned crowd and players sitting in silence as paramedics worked to revive the 17-year veteran. >> here's a replay for as close as we see you see there looks like boumeister just drops right behind the bench. >> jay became unresponsive and the medical personnel used a defibrillator to revive him jay regained consciousness immediately. >> reporter: with bouwmeester's father in the stand when he collapsed, the game was suspended.

today the 36-year-old who is still hospitalized is in good spirits >> happened so fast. felt like it was an eternity for us. we face-timed. made everybody feel a lot better knowing he was in good hands >> shoots one -- scores >> reporter: a top draft pick and olympic gold medalist, bouwmeester wa legendary for rarely missing a game, but tonight after this scare, his future on the ice is uncertain miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> we certainly wish him well. we'll be back in 60 seconds with the father in court accused of sex trafficking his daughter's college roommates and the aggressive new tactics by hospitals suing patients to get paid e, his fut the ice is uncertain. miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> we certainly wish him well. we'll be back in 60 seconds with the father in court accused of sex trafficking his daughter's college roommates and the aggressive new tactics by hospitals suing patients to get paid. ustomer e. we also keep them ready for the next big opportunity. like 5g. (woman) where machines could talk to each other and expertise could go anywhere. (woman) when it comes to digital transformation, verizon keeps business ready.

♪ colon cancer screening for people 45 plus at average risk. some things are harder than you thought. and others are easier. like screening for colon cancer with me, cologuard. i'm noninvasive and you use me at home. i'm also effective. i find 92% of colon cancers using dna in your stool. so why wait? cologuard is not for those at high risk for colon cancer. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your healthcare provider if cologuard is right for you. most insured patients pay $0. now to a case that shocked a prestigious american college a father in court today accused of being a campus predator. authorities saying he moved into his daughter's dorm and preyed on her roommates. here is stephanie gosk. >> reporter: he's being called a master manipulator and a prolific con man now lawrence ray is a

accused sex trafficker today pleading not guilty in federal court to multiple charges authority says i started here on the leafy campus of sarah lawrence college outside new york city. according to prosecutors, ray moved into his daughter's coed college dorm in 2010 with her roommates when she was a sophomore. >> at the core of ray's criminal conduct was his ability to psychologically control his young victims. >> reporter: according to the indictment, ray slowly gained emotional control over the roommates through what he called therapy sessions convincing the students they suffered fro psychological problems presenting himself as a father figure. prosecutors allege the emotional control slowly turned into physical abuse, prostitution and eventually extortion of about $1 million. >> the conduct alnlege here is outrageous makes you angry. if you're not angry, you don't have a soul. >> reporter: the allegations first surfaced last year in "new york magazine". >> there was nothing particularly remarkable about his victims. in that i'm sure the were vulnerable

teenagers but could have been anybody's children. >> reporter: for years ray rubbed elbows with powerful new yorkers befriending nypd commissioner bernard kerik before becoming an fbi informant in his corruption case. kerik spent three years in prison. if found guilty, lawrence ray is looking at life behind bars sarah lawrence college calls the charges against ray disturbing, adding it conducted its ow internal investigation after "the new york magazine" article came out and couldn't verify the claims. lester >> all right stephanie, thank you a new report from the cdc shows 1 in 7 american families is struggling to pay medical bills. it comes as a growin number of hospitals are suing patients to collect their debts. stephanie ruhle has more in "your money, your life." >> reporter: what do you care about >> my children and their happiness. >> reporter: tricia has four sons. >> reporter: how many are sick >> three. >> reporter: all three with cystic fibrosis, a life threatening lung disease sending them in and out of

hospitals for 20 years. how many nights do you think you've slept in a chair in a hospital room >> every night they're in if they were in for two weeks, i was there with them. >> reporter: even with insurance, hers is among the 1 in 7 families struggling with medical debt. >> it's probably close to, i don't know, maybe 10,000 right now. >> reporter: what's more, her family was sued by their hospital twice after years of falling behind on bills. they paid off $6,000 from one lawsuit tricia says by borrowing money from family and friends now she's working two jobs to pay off the other. >> over the last five years, a growing trend in the united states by some hospitals has been to aggressively sue patients in court to garnish their paycheck. >> reporter: dr. marty makary author of "the price we pay" published research finding 36% of hospitals have filed these lawsuits. >> suing patients represents the worst of predatory billing, threatening the great

public trust in american hospitals. >> reporter: tricia's family was among the thousands sued by not for profit atlantic health system of new jersey in a statement to nbc news, the hospital system said it has robust charity care programs that paid for more than 40,000 patient encounters and blamed insurance companies for saddling patients with higher deductibles and co-pays while covering fewer services the ceo of the hospital we're talking about makes $2.3 million a year what would you say to him if he was in my seat >> is it really worth it we're all human, and we should be treated as such. >> stephanie is with us now is there any sign these companies are beginning to rethink the policy >> lester, atlantic health system told us that after doing an internal review, they have now decided to put a hold on suing patients and some other hospitals are doing the same but there are still medical bills that are huge for so many people in this country. >> stephanie, thanks very much.

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just yesterday we told you about basketball superstar dwyane wade opening up about his transgender daughter and it comes as ohio joins more than a half dozen states considering laws to ban transgender medical treatment for minors tonight, we revisit a family who have become leading advocates for families raising transgender children here is kate snow.

>> reporter: jacob is 9 now. he loves his hedgehog trinket, playing hockey and hanging out with his sisters he's a typical fourth grader in every way but one. what does being transgender mean to you? >> it's not how you act or what you wear or anything like that. it's just how you really are inside. you just feel like you just got put in the wrong body. >> you look really handsome are you ready for today? are you ready for school >> yeah. >> reporter: we first met jacob and hi family when he was 5, not long after he transitioned were you always the brother? >> not always. >> reporter: what were you before >> a sister. >> reporter: how come it changed >> because i wanted to be a boy. >> reporter: jacob was just 2 when he started insisting he was a boy. >> it was almost as if he was 1,000 miles away from us and retreating, and it wasn't until we were able to say to him

that we believed him and that he could live as the boy he always knew he was. that's when we got our child back. >> reporter: his mom mimi has written a book called "what we will become" hoping to help the world better understand people like jacob struggling with gender identity. >> for a long time, i would check in with him every so often and i'd say "buddy, is this what you really want do you still want to be jacob?" and he would say "yeah, mom." and eventually, he was like stop asking me. this is who i am. >> reporter: and now they've entered a new phase, jacob has decided to take a hormone blocker to stop puberty, a completely reversible step endorsed by the medical community. does jacob understand it >> yeah. >> he's becoming educated on what future choices he'll need to make and that's one of the reasons why he's taking a puberty blocker so that we know he's had years to think this through.

>> reporter: since we last spent time with the family, they've all become advocates >> my name is jacob and i'm 9-year-old transgender american. >> reporter: jacob recently asked senator elizabeth warren a question at a town hall. >> what will you do in your first week as president to make sure that kids like me feel safe at school >> reporter: what do you want people to know >> i want people to know it doesn't make you any different from anyone else. it's still hard telling people you get -- you're kind of scared sometimes. >> reporter: do you think people need to understand a little more >> yeah, i don't think most of the people aren't bad people, they just don't really understand. >> reporter: what do you hope people take from your story? >> the message that your child will be okay as long as you support them there is no harm in saying to your child i see you and i believe you and you are who you say you are. >> reporter: kate snow, nbc news. >> a family shining some light tonight. up next for us this year's top dog in our studio >> announcer: "nbc nightly news" is brought to you by pacific life

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a star is born. siba the poodle winning top honors at westminster and visiting us today. here's joe fryer >> reporter: with her rock star hair sproutding frsprout sprouting from a bed

of bangs, the standard poodle was named best in show she spent today prancing across new york basking in her newfound fame. the 3-year-old champ struck a pose atop the empire state building before grabbing a bite at the iconic sardy's restaurant past year's winner enjoyed steak on a silver platter siba opted for her favorite chicken. >> the best in show goes to the standard poodle. >> reporter: the first standard poodle to win best in show in 29 years edging out 6 other finalists, including a golden retriever named daniel today her whirlwind tour included a visi to 30 rock has it sunk in >> not at all. today's been such a whirlwind. >> reporter: making a pit stop in hair and makeup and i thought that i had big hair and taking a swing through our studio sitting on the big desk to test out a monologue. live from new york before visiting lester who gladly dispensed a treat. >> i used to have hair like that in the '70s. >> reporter: a big day in the big apple for this year's top dog. joe fryer, nbc news, new york. >> all that attention and still so chill nice to have you here,

siba that's "nightly news." i'm lester holt. thank you for watching everyone and good night. good dog [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ many times i tried to tell you ♪ ♪ many times i cried alone ♪ always i'm surprised how well you ♪ ♪ cut my feelings to the bone

♪ have we become a habit ♪ do we distort the facts ♪ now there's no looking forward ♪ ♪ now there's no turning back ♪ when you say ♪ we belong to the light ♪ we belong to the thunder ♪ we belong to the sound of the words ♪ ♪ we've both fallen under ♪ whatever we deny or embrace ♪ for worse or for better ♪ we belong, we belong ♪ we belong together ♪ close your eyes and try to sleep now ♪ ♪ close your eyes and try to dream ♪ ♪ i hear your voice inside me ♪ i see your face everywhere ♪ still you say ♪ we belong to the light ♪ we belong to the thunder

♪ we belong to the sound of the words ♪ ♪ we've both fallen under ♪ whatever we deny or embrace ♪ for worse or for better ♪ we belong, we belong ♪ we belong together ♪ together [cheers and applause] >> kelly: give it up for my band, y'all! [screams] [cheers and applause] welcome to "the kelly clarkson show," y'all! [cheers and applause] so valentine's day is just around the corner, and are all of love february continues with celebrating the one thing we all need a little bit more of. l-o-v-ee. let's find out who requested that pat benatar