right now on america this morning. crackdown on the southern border. what president biden is now considering to address the migrant crisis. plus the new lawsuit against the catholic charity that's been helping migrants for decades now accused of human smuggling. >> new concern about the fate of a ballerina from los angeles, now detained in russia. what her boyfriend is revealing and overnight, what president biden said about russian president putin as tensions escalate. we'll hear from one expert who

says the kremlin is now waging a hybrid war against the u.s. >> new fallout after that landmark court ruling recognizing frozen embryos as children, a major hospital now ending certain fertility treatments, doctors discuss what could come next. >> where is wendy williams? after years of concern about the beloved talk show host and her health struggles, her family now speaking out, grocery prices on the rise, new insight into just how much more we're paying at checkout these days. history on the moon, the lunar landing set for today and what it will take to pull it off. >> and no more guilt. fewer people working out why attendance is down at the gym from abc news in new york. >> this is america this morning. >> good thursday morning, everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. >> good morning, i'm alison kosik in for rhiannon. and we begin with a possible new crackdown on the southern border . >> migrant crossings are down in

recent weeks, which is typical during the winter months. but there's concern about a spring surge. and now there's word that president biden could be ready to place new restrictions on asylum seekers. >> state and local officials from texas to colorado to new york, have been pleading with the white house for help addressing this issue. abc's lionel moise reports on what could be changing. >> this morning, president biden is considering what's being described as major new action on the border. as more voters in this election year list the migrant crisis among their top concerns, a white house official confirms the potential executive action from the president would place new restrictions on asylum seekers. >> one possibility would be to bar migrants from seeking asylum if they cross between u.s. ports of entry. now he is considering i am told, a wide range of options. this is just a possibility. no final decisions have been made. >> asylum seekers could be required to prove they need to remain in the u.s. for reasons such as a medical emergency or

fear of torture in their home country. the new action, if taken by the president, could put him at odds with his own party. some democrats compare such a crackdown to trump era policies, but critics say the influx of migrants, which includes a growing number of people from china and other countries, poses a national security risk. meanwhile in texas, where resources are stretched thin, new legal action the state's attorney general is now suing the catholic nonprofit annunciation house, which shelters migrants in el paso, accusing the organization of human smuggling. annunciation house says it's helped hundreds of thousands of refugees over the last four decades, saying if the work that annunciation house conducts is illegal, so too is the work of our local hospitals, schools and food banks. >> it is a national issue and it should be dealt with as a national issue and not just simply your your border communities.

>> as for president biden and any possible new action, the white house says there won't be any true reform until there's action from congress and house republicans recently killed a bipartisan border security deal. andrew allison, lionel, thank you. >> the other big story this morning, new details about the american ballerina detained in russia. u.s. officials say they've been denied access to ksenia carolina. and now her boyfriend is speaking out about why she returned to russia. abc's perry russom is here now with the very latest. perry. good morning. >> good morning. andrew. two days after news broke that a russian american from california was detained in russia, her loved ones are holding out hope that she'll be home soon. this morning, the boyfriend of ksenia carolina is pleading for her safe return. >> it all feels like a like a dream. like a nightmare. carolina is a ballerina from los angeles who's a dual russian american citizen. >> she faces up to 20 years in prison after russian authorities accused her of treason, all because she donated money about

$50 to ukraine's war effort. carolina's boyfriend says he bought her her plane ticket to russia for her birthday so she could visit her family. he says they last spoke on january 27th. >> i got a letter, uh, yesterday . i got a letter from her yesterday, but i still haven't spoken to her since the 27th of january. it's a sober letter, like it's a romantic letter as she's doing that, the only thing she cares about is me. like, this is who she's caring about. she's apologizing. she's apologizing to me me in this situation. in doesn't care about herself. she cares about everyone else. >> the state department says russia has not allowed a u.s. consulate official to see carolina. >> russia does not recognize dual citizenship. uh, considers them to be russian citizens first and foremost. and so oftentimes we have a difficult time getting consular assistance, but we will pursue it in all matters where a u.s. citizen is detained. >> meanwhile, president biden is

stepping up his verbal attacks on russian president vladimir putin after the death of putin. critic alexei navalny and the arrest of a former fbi informant with alleged ties to russian intelligence at a fundraiser last night, biden called putin a, quote, crazy sob to truly understand hand the meaning of the different events we are seeing coming from russia. >> you have to understand and vladimir putin's objective is vladimir putin seeks to restore the territorial boundaries and the geopolitical influence of the soviet union, former homeland security official john cohen says the kremlin is waging a hybrid war against the u.s. well beyond the traditional battlefield cyber attacks. information operations and the use of paramilitary groups. um, in africa and in the middle east. he's developing relationships with countries like iran and syria. it comes russia makes more progress,

winning back territory in ukraine. >> the ukrainians have reported severe shortages of ammunition, with u.s. funding for the war held up in congress and the white house is set to announce new financial penalties against russia tomorrow. andrew. >> all right, perry, thank you so much. a veteran u.s. sailor is in custody charged with espionage. chief petty officer stephen piccini, who is assigned to a destroyer in japan, is accused of sharing classified information with a foreign national at least seven times. officials did not say which country was involved. and breaking overnight, a deadly attack on a major road to jerusalem, israeli police say three gunmen opened fire on cars that were stuck in a traffic jam. at least one person was killed. the gunman, described by police as terrorists, were also killed. >> new fallout this morning from a landmark court ruling that for the first time, recognize frozen embryos as children. the ruling is now forcing some couples trying to get pregnant to find new options. this morning, one of alabama s largest hospitals

has stopped ivf fertility treatments after an unprecedented decision by the state's highest court. the ruling made alabama the first state to consider frozen embryos, as people. and now the university of alabama at birmingham health system says we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or faced punitive damages for following the standard of care for ivf treatments during ivf. multiple embryos are typically frozen to improve the chance of a successful pregnancy. but now, after the alabama ruling, it could be a crime to destroy them and advocates warn this could prompt other states to pass similar laws. >> what does this mean for us as a country? are people not going to be able to get the care medical care they need if they're suffering from infertility and, you know, need to build their family? the issue now being discussed on the campaign trail, presidential candidate nikki haley indicating she supports the alabama court's

ruling. >> embryos to me are babies. >> when you talk about an embryo, you are talking about, to me, that's a life. >> haley did not elaborate on what this could mean for families relying on ivf to conceive. like gabby goidel and her husband did. >> i didn't think that anybody would want to stop us from having children. >> observers say as many as seven states already have or are considering laws that could define embryos as people opening statements begin today in the trial of hannah gutierrez reed, the weapons manager for alec baldwin's movie rust. >> reed is charged with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. back in 2021, baldwin was handling a gun with a live bullet when it went off, killing cinematographer halyna hutchins. jurors were asked if they'd be able to put aside sympathy for reed because she's young and inexperienced, bald wins trial date has not yet been set. >> they're calling this a once in a lifetime lake in death valley, california, one of the driest places on earth. recent

heavy rain created this rare sight, six miles long and one foot deep. meanwhile south of los angeles, a plastic sheet now covers part of a cliff badly eroded in recent storms, leaving mansions hanging over the edge. that area received five inches of rain since sunday. >> okay, with that, let's take a look at your thursday forecast east. fog is being blamed this pileup along u.s. 84. in mississippi. more than 20 people were injured. clear skies, though, are expected there today. meanwhile, part of the storm that soaked california is now racing through the midwest toward the east coast. it's expected to bring heavy rain and snow to the northeast just in time for tomorrow morning's commute. it will be all rain for the i-95 corridor, checking today's high temperatures. 50s in the pacific northwest, nearly 90 in southern texas >> coming up, fewer people

working out why attendance at the gym is down, but first, new insight into just how expensive groceries are these days and the growing legal battle over those popular stanley cups and concerns about lead

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this is why starlight exists. to bring happiness to hospitalized children when they need it most. because happiness matters. wendy's family speaks out on gma . >> we're back with desperation in gaza as palestinians scramble for food. a swarm of people rushed a convoy of trucks carrying much needed aid. some people walked away with sacks of flour while others scooped up leftovers on the ground. at one point, gunfire was heard and shipments into gaza have slowed. in recent weeks. >> back in this country, new insight into just how expensive food has become. we haven't seen grocery bills like this in three decades. this morning, rising food prices are taking a bigger bite out of household budgets.

the wall street journal reports americans have not spent this much on food in 30 years. when george h.w. bush was in office, but there are reasons to be optimistic about our economy and terminate or two was in theaters . stay here. >> i'll be back in 1991, consumers spent 11.4% of their income on food and today the latest data shows that figure at 11.3. >> egg prices were back up again. meat products also saw some big jumps. also carbonated beverages, sodas, soda prices jumped a lot. things that we all enjoy were prices are jumping. still jumping. >> overall inflation has cooled in the past two years, but grocery costs are stubbornly high. experts blame several factors, including higher labor costs and record low cattle numbers, driving up the cost of beef and steak. >> in some cases, it's strong demand. in other cases, a limited supply, other cases, weather events, uh, you know, it's, uh, a mixed range of factors that are driving the

price increases, grocery prices rose 1.2% last month compared to the same time last year, but the cost of eating out in restaurants surging much higher by more than 5. >> the good news analysts expect some relief in the coming months. >> while prices are rising for food, they're rising at a much slower rate than they were a year ago or two years ago, and i would expect that to continue. >> california is a state with the highest food prices. households there spend an average of $298 per week on groceries. >> the maker of those popular stanley quencher cups is facing more lawsuits over concerns about lead. at least three lawsuits have been filed this month after pacific market international said the cups are made with a sealing material that contains lead. the company insists the substance never comes in contact with liquid, and health experts have said they doubt there is any health risk coming up. >> president biden's dog in the doghouse again. >> plus, where is wendy williams? the family of the beloved talk show host speaks

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can you picture it? dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. who knows what you can do when you du more with less asthma. ask your doctor about dupixent. the most prescribed biologic for asthma. most prescribed biologic for asthma. >> we're back with a horse stuck in the mud in los angeles. rescue crews had to use an excavator to pull the 1,200 pound animal out of a sinkhole. officials say the horse, named lucky, is okay. president biden's german shepherd commander was apparently more aggressive than we originally thought. secret service documents show the dog bit agents at least 24 times before being banished from the white house. agents even had to change

their tactics when commander was around them. >> we turn now to questions about a beloved former talk show host and her health struggles. we're about to learn a lot more about what happened to wendy williams this morning. wendy williams family is speaking out ahead of an upcoming lifetime documentary entitled where is wendy williams? >> if it happens to me, it could happen to you. >> williams has been out of the spotlight since her talk show ended in 2022, when health struggles prevented her from returning her niece spoke to abc news about why her aunt chose to tell her story. now, in this new documentary, and i said to her, your aunt wendy, why are do you want to do this? >> the health piece, all of that has to be addressed is now the right time. and she said, now is the perfect time because i want to take ownership of my story. >> according to people magazine, the documentary captures williams in the throes of

alcohol addiction and struggles with graves disease, as her niece is addressing criticism that the documentary could be exploiting williams. >> i will say this first and foremost, my aunt is the executive producer of this documentary. >> shortly after her show ended, a legal guardian was appointed to oversee c williams finances and health. her bank argued in court that williams was at risk of financial exploitation due to cognitive issues. she entered a treatment facility last year. >> did you drink this whole thing today? >> her son claims in the documentary that doctors connected williams cognitive issues to alcohol use. her family says only her guardian, whose identity remains private, can determine when williams will be released from the treatment facility later on. good morning america and exclusive preview of the documentary, which premieres saturday. >> coming up, the landing on the moon, expected today. also ahead. >> why it's a big day for tiger >> why it's a big day for tiger woods son

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speaks out on gma. fly me to the moon. >> let me time to check the pulse. >> we begin with the historic lunar landing just hours away. >> a houston based company partnered with nasa to send a robotic explorer to the moon. nicknamed odie, the spacecraft was launched back on february 15th, and it's on track to land on the moon tonight. the company's ceo added something special to odie in appreciation of his team. >> i wanted to celebrate them and respect them each as an individual, and so i had everyone's name etched on the bottom feet of the landing gear so that their names will be indelibly imprinted on the surface of the moon. when we touch down softly. >> a great idea nasa is

partnering with private companies to send experiments to the moon, but as you can imagine , it's not easy to other lunar landings have failed in less than a year, and speaking of space, new video overnight shows what appears to be a meteor streak across the sky over maryland. it was last seen last night from virginia to new york next, tiger woods son charlie taking a big step toward his first pga tour event, the 15 year old is playing a tournament in florida today. >> if he finishes high enough, he'll play another qualifying round on monday. and if that goes well enough, charlie will play in next weekend's pga event. his father qualified for his first event at age 16. next, have you noticed fewer people at the gym? well attendance is down. >> one reason the popularity of weight loss drugs trainers say ozempic and similar drugs are causing some people to become nauseous during workouts and others taking the drug are skipping the gym altogether once they start shedding some pounds. >> now, you may be inspired to

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people across the country. many online reporting an sos notification on their phones. >> and president biden waking up in san francisco. the campaign events on the itinerary today, a day after he called vladimir putin a crazy sob. >> pumping the brakes on waymo, state regulators now pressing pause on the company's expansion plans. a reimagined wharf is on the horizon for capitola, but it could mean the demolition of two decades old business sources. >> good morning. we heard his voice. you heard his voice. you know he's back. woo! thank you. >> i didn't get fired, i didn't quit, i didn't die. >> so everyone can send messages. thank you very much. i'm alive and well.