right now on "america this morning," a massive cross-country storm slamming two dozen states from the gulf coast to new england. heavy snow, ice, rain, even possible tornadoes. we'll time it out. troops on the move. u.s. officials say thousands of additional russian troops have arrived near ukraine's border, contradicting what russia said. this morning, why figuring out vladimir putin's next move may not be so mysterious after all. chaos in the skies. the new move to punish unruly airline passengers and the new pushback from some lawmakers. new details about the moments before comedian bob saget's death. what happened inside his hotel

room as a judge explains why he's keeping records about the investigation sealed for now. plus on the lookout. the urgent search for this massive bear wreaking havoc. and later, the new idea for breakfast, combining everything we love about coffee and donuts. >> announcer: from abc news in new york, this is "america this morning." good thursday morning, everyone. we begin with the major weather threat unfolding right now. >> a cross-country storm is packing a triple threat of heavy snow, ice, and strong winds. the size of the system is clear on the radar. 100 million americans in 24 states are under a weather advisory or warning from the rockies all the way to new england. >> heavy snow fell overnight in denver where up to 6 inches was expected. larger snowfall totals are expected as the storm hits chicago and detroit today. 6 inches could fall in some areas around lake michigan. in the south, there's a risk of

severe thunderstorms, even a possible tornado from the gulf coast to kentucky. we'll take a closer look at your forecast in just a few minutes. and the other big story this morning, russia has been sending more troops to the ukraine border in recent days, not less. that's according to u.s. officials, suggesting that russia was lying when it said it was withdrawing troops from the region. abc's ike ejiochi is here now with more. ike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, andrew. the white house is now saying around 7,000 more troops have been added to ukraine's border. those are russian troops, that is. still, they maintain hope for diplomacy. this morning, the russian military releasing these videos claiming its forces are withdrawing from ukraine's border. but new satellite images from private security firm maxar shows russia's continued military buildup from ukraine. the uk's top military intelligence officer says additional armored vehicles,

helicopters, and a field hospital are moving toward ukraine's borders. those sources also say combat medical units have been moved into forward positions. military experts claim social media, better internet service, and satellites make russia's attempt at the element of surprise more difficult to pull off. >> we haven't seen a pullback. we'd like to see one. if we see one, we'd welcome it. we're prepared for diplomacy. we're prepared for agrelgs. we're prepared either way. >> invading ukraine will prove to be a self-inflicted wound. the united states and our allies and partners will respond decisi decisively. >> reporter: but the high-level diplomatic push continues. vice president harris leaving for germany this morning to participate in a security conference with the european allies. mean while, russia announcing an investigation into unproven claims of alleged mass graves of civilians in the russian-controlled regions of eastern ukraine. u.s. officials suspect the claim are part of a false flag operation intended to justify a russian attack. and in ukraine, a tale of two

realities. the country celebrating an impromptu holiday of national unity while those same residents prepare for possible war. ukraine's capital taking steps to protect its residents in case of a russian invasion, including thousands of bomb shelters. now, later today, the u.n. security council will meet to debate the minsk agreement between russia and ukraine, an agreement that could end the conflict. >> ike, thank you. president biden is struggling to improve his poll numbers. only 34% of americans approach of the way he's handling the russia/ukraine conflict, and only 33% of the way he's handling the economy. president biden has warned that gas prices will rise even higher if russia invades ukraine. some democrats want to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax to give drivers some relief, but many republicans call the idea a cheap stunt. >> it's a gimmick. it's political window dressing. that's all it is, and the notion that somehow that's going to fix

it, fixing the energy costs, as many said here, these are self-inflicted wounds. >> gas prices are up 39% in the last year due to higher oil costs and demand. the naacp is demanding two new jersey police officers be removed from the force for the way they responded to a fight between two teenagers at a mall. we first showed you this video yesterday. one teen was black, the other was white. when police responded, they appeared to push the white teenager onto a couch while they pinned the black teenager to the ground with their knees on his back, handcuffing him. an internal investigation is now under way. new jersey's governor says he's disturbed by the video. in louisville, kentucky, a man accused of trying to assassinate a candidate for mayor has been freed on bail. an organization linked to black lives matter paid the $100,000 bond for quintus brown. the group says brown has mental health issues and she want to keep him safe as he awaits trial. brown allegedly opened fire at craig greenberg's campaign

office. the bullets were close enough to graze greenberg's sweater. now to the chaos in the skies. you've likely heard about the huge increase in the number of unruly passengers on planes. now there's a new crackdown. this incident involving an unruly passenger in florida started before her plane even took off. >> go to the terminal. >> [ bleep ] you. >> okay. >> body camera video shows an officer chasing the woman through orlando's airport as she rode a motorized suitcase. >> a bike pursuing a suitcase in a minute. it's crazy. >> reporter: police say she was angry over being denied boarding because she was drunk. >> did you just spit on me? she's done. she's done. she just spit at me. you are under arrest. put your hands behind your back now. >> reporter: it comes as airports and airlines report a surge in disruptive passenger behavior. >> we have four passengers now trying to contain this gentleman, american 1775. >> reporter: just last weekend, passengers on this american airlines flight held down a man

who allegedly tried to open the door mid-flight. a flight attendant reportedly subduing him with a coffee pot. the faa is now sending 80 unruly passenger cases from the last year to the fbi to be reviewed for criminal prosecution. the country's biggest flight attendants union has joined delta airlines, calling for a federal no-fly list that would ban people convicted of disrupting flights from traveling on any airline. but this morning, a group of republican senators pushing back, sending a letter to the justice department opposing the no-fly list idea, writing, the majority of recent infractions on airplanes has been in relation to the mask mandate. the senators adding, creating a federal no-fly list for unruly passengers who are skeptical of this mandate would seemingly equate them to terrorists. >> last year saw a major spike in unruly passengers with nearly 6,000 cases. about 75% were mask related. speaking of masks, the cdc is preparing new guidance for indoor mask wearing.

the agency could ease recommendations as soon as next week. experts say with cases dropping quickly, the new mask guidance should reflect the current state of the pandemic. >> what i'm expecting to see is that the new guidance is actually going to match severity of the disease, namely hospital capacity. they've got to match what states are doing, and states are already starting to lift those mask restrictions. >> meanwhile, texas is now suing to lift the federal mask mandate on planes and other public transportation. in canada, authorities are now telling truckers who are protesting covid restrictions to leave their positions in ottawa. police are now ticketing trucks and warning drivers they could be prosecuted if they don't leave. a former executive at sta staples has received the longest prison term so far in the college admissions scandal. john wilson has been sentenced to 15 months. he paid more than $1 million to get his children into harvard, stanford, and usc using a scheme that created fake athletic profiles for them. time now for a look at your thursday weather.

>> good morning. thursday looks to be a stormy day across the eastern half of the nation. snow in the plains and midwest. heavy rain if not flooding rain from pittsburgh northward. we're really concerned with an area here from kentucky southward that could bring severe thunderstorms. look at it here. nashville, tennessee, during the day. atlanta, georgia, at night. tornadoes will be possible. damaging straight-line winds and flooding downpours. by the time this storm is done, a half a foot of snow could fall in chicago. i'm accuweather meteorologist kevin coskren. coming up, does america have a gambling problem? the new data just in. but first, new details about the death of comedian bob saget. what may have happened in his hotel room. plus new trouble for

♪ [coughs] ♪ [inhales] [exhales] ♪ [camera click] [inhales] halls breathe it in

we're back with the latest on the death of bob saget and a new decision by a judge concerning the investigation. this morning, tmz reports it's likely that comedian bob saget hit his head on the headboard of his bead before his death at this hotel in orlando, striking the unpadded part of the headboard. >> room 962. i's going to be for a male patient. >> a medical examiner's report revealed saget died from blunt head trauma, likely from an unwitnessed fall backwards. but the public may not learn any more about the full house star's death. a judge has now granted saget's family a temporary injunction, blocking the public release of any photos, videos, or other records related to the investigation. such records are prohibited by state law from being released unless a court agrees that the public interest outweighs private concerns. >> when a state does an autopsy,

it's taxpayer dollars. there's a presumption that almost anything that is done by the state, paid for by the taxpayers, is open and available to the public to see. >> but the judge saying wednesday that saget's family would suffer severe mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress if those graphic records were made public. what we do know is the 65-year-old suffered fractures to the front and back of ■his skull as well as bleeding in his brain and a toxicology analysis found no illicit drugs or toxins. >> certainly not about the height at which you fall as traumatic brain injuries that can be associated with a dangerous problem can happen from standing height, and it's not about the force. it can't actually just simply be a coincidence that you strike your head at the wrong time. >> the local sheriff's office says while they're sensitive to the family's privacy concerns, those concerns must be balanced with the sheriff's commitment to transparency. another scandal for the royal family. this time it's prince charles'

foundation. london police have now launched an investigation into allegations that the charity offered a saudi billionaire citizenship and a knighthood in exchange for a donation. a longtime aide to charles was allegedly involved, but the palace says prince charles had no knowledge of it. back here in the u.s., more americans than ever are wagering big bets to gamble. the gaming industry is reporting its best year ever, taking in $53 billion last year. that's more than 20% higher than its previous record set in 2019. one major factor, more states allowing sports and online betting. coming up, the nfl hires a famous face to fight a racial discrimination lawsuit. but first, a teenager and her mother fight back after someone created a fake social media account in her name, leading to a real nightmare.

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nightmare that started with a school bomb threat. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, a 13-year-old is speaking out after a fake instagram account led to her being wrongly arrested. >> it was scary. i was scared. >> this is video of nia's arrest at her florida school last year, accused of making threats of violence against the school on instagram. but after further investigation, it was determined a fellow student made those threats, impersonating the teenager on instagram and setting up a fake account. that student was later arrested and charged. but in the meantime, whim spent nearly two weeks in juvenile detention, time that she says scarred her. >> i feel distanced. i don't really want to talk to anybody. >> she wanted to become a police officer, and now she's telling me she doesn't want to do it anymore because she feels like she was treated so badly. >> reporter: whims' family is now suing the school. instagram's parent company, meta, and the pembroke pines

police department alleging they engaged in malicious prosecution, violated whims' civil rights and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. >> they should have taken the time to investigate thoroughly before introducing trauma to any child at all. >> reporter: the school responded, say ing, our priorit is always the safety and security of our students and we immediately involved law enforcement regarding that threat and took all appropriate precautions. the lawsuit also claims instagram was negligent in allowing the creation of a fake account. >> that platfor was used to frame mia and caused her to be locked up. >> reporter: meta and the police department have not commented, but police have said they notified prosecutors right away when the fake account was discovered. nia whims does not attend that school anymore. instead, she goes to school oline. but her mom says she intends to enroll her at a different public school because her daughter does miss being with other kids. andrew, mona. >> andrea, thank you. a major development in the

racial discrimination lawsuit against the nfl. the league has reportedly hired former u.s. attorney general loretta lynch to lead its defense against former miami dolphins coach brian flores, who claims the league has racist hiring practices. lynch was the first black woman to serve as attorney general. at the olympics overnight, the u.s. women's hockey team lost to canada. the final score was 3-2. that means team usa takes home the silver medal. more disappointment, mikaela shiffrin will leave beijing without an individual medal after a disappointing performance at the alpine combined event. coming up, big news for donut lovers. also ahead, the search for one very, very big bear. the all new ww personalpoints program... on ww i lost 26 pounds. 58 pounds. 124 pounds. it's proven to make losing weight easier because it's designed just for you. you take a quiz... tell us what you love, enter your goals and ww builds your individualized plan.

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time to check "the pulse," and we begin with a really big bear now wanted by authorities. >> wildlife officials are searching for the 500-pound bear in california. his nickname appropriately hank the tank. he's known for breaking into homes in south lake tahoe looking for what else but food. >> oh, my. he has a long rap sheet. he's been caught damaging 38 homes and responsible for more than 150 calls to police. but he's never attacked anyone so he's just a gentle giant allegedly. next to a super celebration for the los angeles rams. >> if you remember they won the super bowl, but fans of other teams, of course, were quick to criticize the rather thin crowds at yesterday's victory parade. now, one critic on twitter on tr said there are more aaron donald abs at this parade than rams fans. >> matthew stafford was enjoying himself drinking from a bottle of something that got the attention of tom brady who tweeted at stafford saying, mix

in a water, matt. trust me. >> there were plenty of fans there. they've been celebrating all week. next a fashion designer in missouri has a great eye for what looks good on kids. >> he's still a kid but 8-year-old camden mcgraw is strictly business now working on his third clothing line after winning a national design competition. he specializes in swimsuits and used his little brother as a model. >> it was kind of hard to do but what was going through my mind was that i want to make something comfortable for all kids. >> reporter: camden's mom says he's always had a great sense of style. most of his designs, yeah, already sold out. and next a little extra jolt with your breakfast. >> hostess will soon be selling caffeinated doughnuts. you heard that right. the company says each boost jumbo doughnut contains almost as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. the doughnuts will come in two flavors, chocolate mocha and caramel macchiato. >> they are the hostess with the

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ggie:heexcalifornia's fight agat covid-19. the indoor mask mandate is gone new plan after living with restrictions for two years. kumasi: a new ballpark clearing a potential hurdle. it is thursday, february 17. reggie: first, we start with the weather. drew: it is mild out there. we have when you conditions in the hills. 26 is the current wind gust in the hills. 31 is the current wind gust at -- it is mixing up the atmosphere, keeping temperatures elevated. it is 52 in san jose, 51 in

oakland.