 Good afternoon and welcome to the BU News Service's Wednesday newscast. I'm Valerie Wences. Tiger Woods is awake, responsive and recovering. According to a tweet, the golf legend shared this morning, following emergency surgery after a car crash last night. CNN's Camilla Bernal has the story. Yeah, this is where Tiger Woods was brought for that emergency surgery. His doctors saying that they specifically worked on the lower part of his right leg. This was a long, likely difficult surgery, but Tiger Woods is a man known for his comebacks and so many people hoping he can do it again. Golf legend Tiger Woods, awake, responsive and recovering after surgery on his right leg, which required a rod, screws and pins to stabilize it. But many say the five-time master tournament champion is lucky to even be alive. I've seen many accidents throughout my career. I know Deputy Gonzalez is seen as well. That he's alive and well is good. It's nothing short of a miracle considering the damage. Woods was traveling down a steep winding road near Los Angeles when his SUV crossed the median and flipped over, landing in the bush on the other side of the road. The sheriff said there were no skid marks and no evidence of impairment. In any case, they were going at a relatively greater speed than normal. However, because it is downhill, it slopes and it curves, that area has a high frequency of accidents. It's not uncommon. Authorities say Woods was conscious and still in his seatbelt, even trying to pull himself out of the car. They helped pry the seat to the metal from around his legs. They also used an axe to break out the windshield. Woods was in town hosting a golf tournament and filming a show teaching celebrities to golf for golf digest and golf TV. Now we are being told that over the last couple of days, Tiger Woods was in his element, hosting that tournament and shooting some of these videos with celebrities as he taught them how to play golf. Of course, some of those celebrities already speaking out on social media and wishing him well, hoping for a speedy recovery. Reporting in Torrance, California, I'm Camila Bernal. Back to you. Investigators are trying to confirm what caused the crash. The FDA is confirming today that Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine is effective against the COVID virus. A final decision is expected in days. Here in Massachusetts, we have some good news today as COVID numbers continue to decline. The estimated number of active cases statewide has dropped below 35,000. This is the first time we've seen those numbers since mid-November. The State Education Commission wants all elementary school students back to class five days a week by April. This April deadline comes as infection rates decline. The news caught many parents and teachers by surprise, especially as teachers' unions have been pushing for educators to be vaccinated before returning to the classroom. This is simply a bait-and-switch move by the governor who's attempting to take the spotlight off his massive failure with the vaccine rollout. As Dr. Fauci pointed out, I think the president pointed out, vaccinations are not required. Parents could still keep their kids learning at home and districts could ask for a waiver to delay opening. A new mass vaccination site will open today inside an old circuit city in Dartmouth. The site off of State Road is administering 500 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine per day. They hope to ramp up to 2,000 doses a day over the coming weeks. The site will open seven days a week. All appointment slots are booked through March 10th as of this morning. Eligible residents are hoping new slots will open up when the state releases its newest batches tomorrow. Coming up on our newscast, a rock star has his day in court. And how the pandemic is affecting the mental health of college students. Those stories and more when we return. I don't remember how it started. Look to that. Our back and forth, it always came back. You probably don't remember what you told me. That was perfect. But I heard every word. I first saw a turtle. My heart was full. Not anything but lonely. We have this like deep connection. This heart connection. He just wants to be close to you and part of your life. Every day with a turtle is a perfect day. When I'm holding her, it makes me feel calmer. I think everything he does shows how much he loves us. When we adopt a shelter pet, we discover there are a little bit of a lot of things. But they're all pure love. Welcome back to the BU News Service Wednesday newscast. Rock star Bruce Springsteen is scheduled to appear in court today to be rained on drinking and driving charges. A police officer arrested Springsteen three months ago at a New Jersey beach near his home. The officer said he spotted Springsteen doing a shot of tequila, then mounting his motorcycle at the National Park Service site of Sandy Hook. Springsteen's attorney had no comment about the arrest. In news out of Rochester, New York, hundreds took to the street protesting a decision involving police behavior. Protests erupted there Tuesday night after a grand jury ruled no criminal charges will be filed against the Rochester officers after the death of Daniel Prude. Crowds gathered around the site where Prude died last March. The second day of the Senate hearing on the deadly Capitol riot is underway today. Former and current law enforcement responded to questions about the Capitol building breach at the first day of the hearing yesterday. DC's acting police chief admitted that communication failures in the days leading up to January 6 put lives at risk. Chief Sun was pleading for the deployment of the National Guard. And in response to that, there was not an immediate yes. I was just stunned that, you know, I have officers that were out there literally fighting for their lives. And, you know, we're kind of going through, you know, it seemed like an exercise to really check the boxes. 250 people have been charged in connection with the attack that left five dead. 62 inmates are dead after rival gangs tried to gain control of three prisons in Ecuador. The riots broke out following a search for weapons carried out by police on Monday. 800 police officers have helped to regain control of the facilities. The country's prisons are designed for only about 70% of their current population and riots have occurred there frequently in recent years. Hong Kong's government announced plans to require district counselors to pledge allegiance to Hong Kong and China. If officials fail to uphold the oath, they will be banned from office for five years. The move is part of a series of electoral reforms announced Tuesday that will likely further exclude opposition voices and secure Beijing's authority over the city. Talking on the phone for 10 minutes a few times a week could make you feel less lonely. That's the finding of a study done with 250 Meals on Wheels clients in central Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants who spoke with a sympathetic listener on average experienced decreased feelings of isolation by 20% and anxiety or depression by over 30%. The study's authors said this serves as a reminder to reach out to loved ones who might be feeling low. Levels of anxiety and depression in young people are continuing to rise. BU News Services' Laura Stickles has more on the status of college students' mental health during the pandemic. 83% of students say that mental health is impacting their academic performance. Those are the findings of a Boston University researcher who co-led a nationwide survey during the fall semester through the Healthy Minds Network. For a long time, we've known that mental health is a really important predictor of academic performance, including GPA, as well as retention and persistence in higher education. And I think with the pandemic, we're really seeing that magnified. The study also found that two-thirds of students are feeling lonely or isolated. According to BU freshman Jasmine Garcia, it can be hard for the adults in her life to relate. The other day, I was complaining to my mom, like, you don't know how it is on Tuesdays and Thursdays with these hour and 15 minute long classes just sitting on my computer. And she was like, you're right. I don't know what that's like. LIBSON says that BU faculty can help by being flexible with deadlines. In smaller classes, professors should check in with their students. And in larger lectures, mental health information should be included in the syllabus. You know, walking down ComAb, there's these signs that say, like, make it till May. And I think another way to interpret that phrase around, you know, how can we make it till May? Not only as physically healthy as we can, but as emotionally well as we possibly can. NEBU students seeking free, confidential mental health services should visit the Student Health Services Behavioral Medicine Office. Reporting for BU News Service, I'm Laura Stuggles. One bright spot in the data is that the stigma around mental health is decreasing. 94% of students said they wouldn't judge someone for seeking help. Coming up on BU News Service, we'll have highlights of a game between two of the biggest college hockey rivals in Boston. And what about the Celtics? All the sports news and the weather forecast, let me return. I hear someone go, didn't it come from you guys? Strangers cough at me. Move away from me. Someone spit towards my direction. All the stereotypes that we've worked so hard to break are just going to be reversed. And it won't let that happen. We all have their player part. I donate my plasma. I've been making math. We deserve respect as much as everybody else. I'm a firefighter, not a virus. I'm a mass maker, not a virus. I'm a nurse. I'm a delivery woman, chef, a neighbor, artist, bus driver. I'm a doctor. Fight the virus. Fight the virus. Hey, chat. Why do I wear a mask? Because when I'm not behind the screen, my mask is my cheat code. And when we stop the spread, we level up. What's the next level? Hanging with friends again. You're right. Mask have always been a part of our community. I miss you guys too. Being face to face is truly the next level. Here's the cheat code. Stop the spread of Corona. Mask up America. Today will be the warmest day in February. The sun is shining and it looks like we have more warm weather coming. Bart Tachi has the full weather report. Bart, what's going on? Thank you, Valerie. Yesterday felt warm. I wouldn't know because I literally didn't leave the house once. We are headed for a beautiful stretch of sunshine this week in Boston though. So I'll get out. I promise. Temperatures are in the forties. Today we're looking for a high score of 50 degrees. It's sunny now, moving to partly sunny in the afternoon. This comes after a colder than average February, mostly due to that jet stream that brought polar temperatures through the middle of the country and finally the east coast. And that stream is headed back to Canada. This weekend expect some clouds and light showers on Saturday with temperatures in the low forties, but another 50 degree day on Sunday and more sunshine next week. So if you're like me, get outside, take a walk, enjoy the sun, wear sunscreen. Valerie, back to you. For reactions from the golf world on Tiger Woods rollover crash, plus the latest in both Boston University sports and the Celtics, here's BU TV's sports anchor Justin Schmidhorst. Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown have been selected to the All-Star Game as Eastern Conference Reserves. Tatum is to be in his second All-Star Game while Brown will be making his debut. But Brown couldn't fully appreciate his selection, considering the Celtics lost again last night, falling 110 to 107 to the Dallas Mavericks. They'll film very much like an All-Star because there's a little 500 and I've got to do a better job when I'm spying on my teammates and getting guys going and learning and growing. They're missing the world. It's not all about just screwing the ball, I realize that. The game was tied at 107 with just seconds to go, but Dallas star Luka Dončić made a last second three to deal with the Celtics their sixth loss in the last 10 games. The Celtics are on the road playing the Atlanta Hawks at 7 p.m. tonight. Tiger Woods is awake, responsive and recovering following Monday's car accident and Tuesday's emergency surgery that repaired his lower right leg and ankle. Woods' close friend and fellow pro golfer Justin Thomas had a visceral reaction to learning about the crash. I'm sick to my stomach. You know, it hurts to see one of your, I mean, now my closest friends, you know, getting in an accident and man, I just hope he's all right. Woods was hoping to compete in the annual Masters tournament this April as part of his career renaissance, but will be unable to due to breaking his leg. Boston University women's hockey team split this weekend's back-to-back games against Boston College. They won the first game at Boston College, but the second game didn't go so well. It was senior day for the Boston University women's hockey team as they took on the sixth ranked Boston College Eagles. Unfortunately for the five seniors who were playing their final game at BU, the game didn't go as well as they might have hoped. Despite being scoreless after the first two periods, the scoring opened up in the third, with a Boston College goal seven minutes and 29 seconds into the period. Just 18 seconds later, Boston College extended their lead to two-to-nothing with 12 minutes and 21 seconds left in the game. This score held until the game's conclusion. The Terriers split the weekend series with the Eagles. Women's hockey head coach Brian Der Rocher was more focused on the team's upcoming playoff game against Providence this Sunday than about this game. Any time you play well against a good team and the win we had last Saturday as well against Vermont, you've had a string of three real solid games and I think the kids know what it takes because they've done it and now it's a matter of, again, executing under a little bit of pressure. There's no question when you're one and done single elimination type playoffs, you have to perform. You have to do the little things, whether it's the goal tending or blocking a shot or scoring a goal. They do have a positive feeling about that and hopefully they'll carry that into Wednesday or the weekend's playoff game. Despite the unfortunate loss, coach Der Rocher said that the team has played well in their past three games and he hopes that momentum carries on into the playoffs. Women's hockey team senior Jesse Comfort was named conference player of the week for the second consecutive week and the men's basketball team is to host the senior night against Holy Cross Wednesday. Let's take it back to you, Valerie. For some fun news, President Biden has granted walk-in access to his two dogs, champ and major. Biden posted a photo of himself with his first dogs saying not many people have oval office walk-in privileges. Happy to report these two are on the list. And we're happy to. And that's it for this edition of the BU News Service Wednesday newscast. I'm Valerie Wences. Thanks for joining us and have a great day.