right now on "america this morning," the path to war. vladimir putin ordering russian troops to enter eastern ukraine. how will the u.s. respond today? our experts weigh in. plus the emergency meeting at the u.n. overnight as ukraine's president addresses his people in the early morning hours, saying, we are strong. u.s. diplomats in ukraine relocated to poland. our reporters across the region on what comes next. mor the pump. gas prices new record approaing $ a gallon in areas. how long it could be before prices come back down. a one -two punch of winter weather and severe storms from coast to coast. nearly 100 cars and trucks crashing in this highway pailup. what to expect today. risky ride.

the surge in crime on public transit from subways to buses. what cities are now doing about it. looking for love and getting a scam. the new alert. how criminals are using dating apps to get away with people's life savings. and terrible typo. what happens when the hometown newspaper spells the hometown wrong? >> announcer: from abc news in new york, this is "america this morning." good tuesday morning, everyone. we begin with breaking news. russia appears to be on the brink of war with ukraine. >> russian president vladimir putin is now recognizing the independence of two breakaway regions of ukraine. he's ordering troops to move into those regions, a move widely seen as a pretext for invading. overnight, amid the escalating tensions, u.s. diplomats in ukraine were relocated to poland. >> the u.n. security council held an emergency meeting last night, and now we've learned the biden administration will impose what are being described as

significant sanctions on russia. >> abc's faith abubey begins our coverage from washington. faith, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, andrew and mona. it appears more likely that russian troops will invade ukraine, and some analysts say they already have. the white house is expected to announce significant sanctions against russia today as the long-feared russian invasion of ukraine appears imminent. >> based on the steps they've already taken today, which are clear and direct violations of the only agreement that exists between the various parties to the ukraine conflict, the minsk agreement, we're going to be imposing significant sanctions on russia. >> reporter: underscoring the urgency of the crisis, the u.n. security council held a rare emergency meeting last night, where the u.s. ambassador called russia's actions a direct threat to all nations, not just ukraine. >> president putin is testing our international system. he is testing our resolve and seeing just how far he can push us all.

he wants to demonstrate that through force, he can make a farce of the u.n. >> reporter: the white house is now urging ukraine's president zelenskyy to leave the capital for his own safety. zelenskyy posting a video to social media in the early morning hours, telling his countrymen and women they're strong and ready and saying, quote, we are not afraid of anyone or anything. we don't owe anyone anything, and we won't give anything to anyone. in a rambling speech monday, russian president vladimir putin questioned ukraine's right to exist, claiming its leaders are puppets of the west, and he claimed the soviet union was robbed of land after it collapsed in the early 1990s. that's when 92% of ukraine's population voted for independence from russia. putin also recognized these two border regions in ukraine as independent states. moscow-backed separatists controlled the highlighted areas, about half of the land. but now putin is ordering his military into all areas of those

two regions to, quote, maintain pain, leaving many to insist that russia has already invaded ukraine. >> the white house does not consider it an invasion. the white house says if they move past the line of where the rebels have controlled that part of the donbas, that will be the invasion. so we know where that line is. we'll wait and see what happens. >> reporter: meanwhile, the biden administration has issued minor sanctions again doing business with the separatist areas of ukraine. the white house releasing this picture of president biden signing the executive order monday. and last night, the state department moved its personnel in ukraine to poland because of security concerns. andrew. >> faith, thank you. some observers say because russian troops have been stationed in those two areas of eastern ukraine for years, this latest move by putin is not an invasion, at least not yet. but the former u.s. ambassador to nato disagrees with that assessment. >> and if he crosses the border again with russian troops, we should be very clear. we should be crystal clear.

this is an invasion. we shouldn't get fixated only on ukraine. ukraine is the problem today, and it will be for weeks to come. but president putin made clear in his speech that he's got ambitions beyond that. his ambitions beyond that are essentially to rewind the clock 30 years. >> as of last night, the white house said russia continues to prepare for an invasion in the coming hours or days. but several members of congress are already demanding the white house take swift action against russia. senator lindsey graham is calling for sanctions that, quote, crush the russian oil and gas industry. congresswoman liz cheney describes putin's latest move as an invasion. she's calling for crippling sanctions. and president biden's close ally, senator chris coons says the time for taking action to impose significant costs on the kremlin starts now. the conflict with russia and sending oil and gas prices even higher. gas prices nationwide are now averaging $3.53 a gallon. that's 20 cents higher than just a month ago. but drivers in california, due to higher taxes, are now seeing

prices approach $5 a gallon. the average in the san francisco area is now $4.81. these prices may not come down for quite a while. >> it's going to take us maybe a year or two to get back to normal and for all of these issues to fade to the backdrop. >> with the russia conflict and demand for gas so high, he says average prices could approach $6 in california later this year. stay with abc news for the latest from ukraine. our team is spread out across the region for live reporting on "good morning america" and abc news live and whenever news breaks. we turn now to cities across the country facing a surge in crime on public transportation, from subways tbus, the co ride, forcing mayors and police chiefs to plot a new safety strategy. this morning, cities across america are working to confront a surge in violent crime on mass trans transit. in new york city, the mayor's new subway safety plan is being

described as the most ambitious effort in decades to tackle crime and homelessness. officers are now stopping people from sleeping on subway seats and will now issue a summons to anyone not paying their way. >> i think it's about damn time that they do it because you're taking your life into your hands coming down here. >> reporter: crime on new york's transit system is up 65% this year. this past weekend alone, sick people were stabbed or slashed on the subway. one passenger was even confronted with a hatchet. the mayor also announcing more mental health resources with an increase in supportive housing. >> the system is not made to be housing. it's made to be transportation. >> reporter: other cities also promising action. philadelphia is spending millions on social service workers now being sent out with officers to connect with riders who may need help. in portland, oregon, a different approach. police are now being told not to check if riders have paid their train fares. the move is aimed at avoiding conflict. a memo from the city's transit

agency, quote, prohibits police officers from asking for proof of payment. back in new york, the mayor calls his plan a long time coming after years of neglect. >> no more smoking. no more doing drugs. no more sleeping. no more doing barbecues on the subway system. no more just doing whatever you want. no, those days are over. >> there's still a long way to go. one survey found nearly 30% of bus riders in new york don't pay the fare. jury deliberations resumed this morning in georgia at the federal hate crime trial against three men convicted of killing ahmaud arbery. during closing arguments monday, prosecutors said pent-up racial anger led to arbery's murder in a residential neighborhood. but the defense claimed racist statements made by the defendants in the past do not mean arbery was killed solely because he was black. promising results for a new cancer drug. researchers found astrazeneca's new breast cancer drug can significantly slow the growth of tumors and improve survival in

women with low protein levels. the improvement was described as clinically meaningful compared to chemo. a grass fire in oklahoma city quickly spread into the parking lot of a chick-fil-a restaurant. ten cars caught fire. the restaurant was evacuated. three people were treated for possible smoke inhalation. time now for a look at your tuesday weather. snow-covered interstate 84 in eastern oregon was closed overnight. nearly 100 vehicles crashed in this pileup. some injuries are reported. the same system created whiteout conditions in fargo, north dakota. six people were injured in this major crash, and now that snow and ice is headed toward the great lakes while flash flooding is possible all the way from the mid south to new england. checking today's high temperatures, above normal temperatures ahead of that storm front but cold behind it. only 9 degrees in denver today. coming up, the new scam

targeting people on dating apps. but first, the dramatic scene as a baby is trapped in a fire. good samaritans rush to the rescue. and the murder mystery after a college student is found dead on the side of the road. what police are now revealing about the suspect.

give her to me! give her to me! >>able officer arizona, brought a child to safety after a good samaritan climbed through a second story window to rescue the infant. another child was also rescued from that fire. new details about the rural upstate n york. investigators say witnesseshots come from a gray car friday the night elizabeth howell died. the 21-year-old was killed near

the state university of new york at potsdam. friends in her hometown say the young musician had a promising life ahead of her. >> i've known her since she was born. we were very close, and she was the sweetest, most artistic, wonderful girl. >> 31-year-old michael snow is charged with her murder, but police have not released a motive. the school says snow has no ties to campus. we turn now to a new scam targeting people on dating apps. it involves cryptocurrency and people are losing their life savings. here's abc's rhiannon ally. >> reporter: a new warnin about scammers tugging at your heartstrings, then draining your bank account. >> i don't have any hope of getting my money back. >> reporter: one victim says she was looking for love, so she didn't see the red flags. here's how the scam works according to the better business bureau. once you connect on the dating app, the scammer tries to lure you to a texting app like

whatsapp. that's when convincing victims they've got the inside track on how to make big bucks. all you need to do is invest. once you make a deposit, your money is gone. >> about 300,000, over 300,000. >> reporter: as the popularity of cryptocurrency soars, so do reports of scammers stealing money. the ftc is reporting just last year losses totaled a staggering $139 million with victims on average losing nearly $10,000. >> the big rage when i was a kid was the nigerian prince scam. somebody would send $10,000 to the deposed king of nigeria. it's that same line of scam. >> reporter: a search of the bbb's scam tracker shows one victim lost $270,000 after a scammer they met on a dating app told them to invest in crypto. so what can you do to prevent being ripped off?

never send money to someone you haven't met in person, even if your heart says yes. >> consult a financial adviser. consu consult family members. you should talk to people before engaging in these types of actions. >> reporter: if someone is asking you for digital currency or crypto and you've never met them in person or known them only a short time, this is a huge red flag, and you should walk away. mona, andrew. >> rhiannon, thank you. coming up, a big deal for britney spears. >> that's right. but first the stunning confrontation at a mcdonal did you know there are surfaces in your home that look clean but a closer look shows there are often layers of invisible dirt left behind. try mr. clean magic eraser for a deep down hygienic clean. magic eraser removes the messes you can see as well as more of the dirt and grime you don't. all you do is wet, squeeze and start erasing dirt and grime all around the house and try magic eraser sheets for a deep clean in hard to reach places that you can toss when your done. mr. clean magic eraser. for a deep down hygienic clean all around the house.

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about rybelsus® today. . back now with vehicles crashing through the ice on a previously frozen lake in new hampshire. the ice thinned out during warmer than expected temperatures. all vehicles were pulled out, and no one was hurt. the college basketball coach who started a brawl after a game is now being suspended for the rest of the regular season. michigan coach juwan howard slapped an assistant coach for wisconsin during a dispute over time-outs. coach greg gard has also been fined. attacks at the drive-through lanes at mcdonald's. in one case they say a 4-year-old child had a gun. this morning disputes at two mcdonald's locations turning violent. >> i've never seen anything like this in my 28 years. >> reporter: in utah, police called to this mcdonald's near salt lake city after they say a man brandished a gun at workers in the drive-through for giving

him the wrong order. police removing the man from his vehicle, but they say he told his 4-year-old child in the back seat to shoot at the police through the window. the officer was able to deflect the weapon, but it discharged, sending a bullet into the restaurant's awning. >> a 4-year-old was told, we believe by the father, to pull the trigger and shoot a police officer. >> reporter: the suspect now facing a slew of charges, including felony child abuse. meanwhile, this scene at a mcdonald's drive-through in the san francisco bay area. >> you should have never -- you stupid [ bleep ]. >> reporter: a mother who requested she be called by the name amaro says one of the drive-through lanes was closed, so she was trying to merge when the woman behind her lashed out. >> you [ bleep ], ugly [ bleep ]. >> at first the woman curses her out and gets back in her car, amaro using the incident as a teachable moment for her two sons in the back seat. >> see, that's how you should not behave, okay? >> reporter: but then things take a turn for the worse.

the woman starts throwing on thes at amaro's car. her kids can be heard crying in the back. >> don't. it's okay. >> reporter: and then this. police say what the video doesn't show is amaro getting out of her car and the suspect hitting her, dragging her 150 feet across the pavement and punching her repeatedly. >> i know i shouldn't have gotten out of the car. i'm shaken about it just thinking that my babies went through that. >> reporter: amaro is not seriously injured, and police are now trying to identify the suspect. as for that other case in utah, a 3-year-old was also in the back seat but was not hurt. coming up, a special day if two is your favorite number. you can also save some money too. also ahead, the largest cruise ship in the world ready to set sail.

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♪ ♪ oops i did it again ♪ time to check "the pulse," and we begin with britney spears about to share her life story. >> she's reportedly signed a book deal with simon & schuster for $15 million. a judge in november ended spears' 13-year conservatorship. >> sources say spears upcoming book is not in response to her sister jamie lynn's memoir. next, thank you is twos day. it's february 22nd, 2022. >> that means the date is 2-22-22. that wasn't too many twos, was it? many couples are choosing to get married today. las vegas will be busy, and many restaurants are offering special deals, including two items for $2.22. burger king, way back burgers, tim horton, those are some of those celebrating the day. and next, the world's largest cruise ship is about to welcome its first passengers.

>> royal caribbean's wonder of the seas docked in florida ahead of its maiden voyage next week. it's nearly 1,200 feet long with 18 decks, and it can hold more than 9,000 passengers and crew. >> the ship has the tallest slide at sea and a zipline that's ten decks high. next, the spelling error making waves in southwest florida. >> the hometown newspaper in fort myers spelled the name of the city wrong on the front page, using an extra "e." the online version corrected the spelling. >> at least they finally got it right. finally some new guinness world records. >> a man in australia just set a record by stacking six of the chocolate candies. the same guy holds a dozen other records. i do distinctly remember us trying to stack some m&ms on this show. unuk sesful. we had to check out number 5022. he unofficially set a record for

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solutions, this is abc 7 news. reggie: the threat of a invasion. what is now being encouraged from world leaders. kumasi: at&t shutting down 3g. the fact it could have that the effect it could have on commuters. >> after 43 days, any precipitation looks good. reggie: rain here and snow in the sierra. kumasi: good morning. it is tuesday, february 22. reggie: you know i that means, right? it is 2-22-22. what are we doing. jobina: we need some tickets. reggie: