morning," on the precipice of war. the new satellite images as the standoff with russia over ukraine escalates. russian lawmakers giving vladimir putin their blessing to use military force. >> as russia contemplates its next move, we have our next move prepared as well. >> president biden announcing new economic penalties against russian banks and billionaires and now moving more u.s. troops closer to the conflict zone. this morning, the threat here at home for cyberattacks and can anything be done to stop gas prices from skyrocketing? also developing right now, the deadly helicopter crash near a u.s. navy missile facility just hours after two blackhawks crashed near a ski resort. the so-called don't say gay

bill moves forward in florida. lawmakers, parents, and teachers igin onen p raed.the debate bracing for gridlock. the national guard called in to prepare for trucker protests like the one we saw in canada, now headed for d.c. the former head coach filing that bombshell discrimination lawsuit against the nfl reveals what he says the miami dolphins asked him to do after he was fired. and later, the 16-year-old chess prodigy who just dethroned the world champion. >> announcer: from abc news in new york, this is "america this morning." good wednesday morning, everyone. we begin with new indications that russia may be planning a major invasion of ukraine. >> president biden says we've already seen the beginning of an invasion after vladimir putin ordered russian troops in two breakaway regions, and now it appears russian-supported rebels are stepping up their attacks on ukrainian positions in hopes of

getting ukraine to fire back and escalate. black smoke was seen rising from this ukrainian power plant. here at home, there's growing concern about oil and gas prices. oil is now approaching $100 a barrel because of concern that russian supplies will be affected. abc's faith abubey is here now with the very latest from washington. faith, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning to you, mona. it appears russian forces are gathering more equipment and troops at the border as the ukraine crisis escalates. new images from private satellite company max ar show an additional buildup of russian military supplies near the ukraine border, including a new field hospital, an ominous sign that russia could be planning a major operation. president biden tuesday announcing a fresh round of sanctions against moscow after vladimir putin recognized two russian-backed separatist regions in eastern ukraine as independent. >> who in the lord's name does putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called

countries on territory that belonged to his neighbors? >> reporter: president biden imposing new stricter sanctions against russian banks, business elites, and their families, and blocking the russian government from trading its debt on american and european markets. the white house says unless russia retreats, more severe economic penalties will follow. >> we took diplomacy off the table. the sanctions have been levied and it's hard to see where there's an off-ramp here. putin is not going to accept a humiliating stand-down at this point. >> reporter: the territories declared independent by putin comprise a larger region called donbas, where rebels currently hold about 30% of the land within ukraine's border. experts say if t rebsianar t to conflict could ensue. >> it really is going to make a difference here on the semantics of what they consider donbas because that will determine whether mr. putin makes that military move into what is now fully in control of the ukrainian military. >> reporter: right now the u.s. is deploying 800 troops to

nato's eastern flank in the baltics along with fighter jets and helicopters. the white house insists the troops will not be fighting with russian soldiers. a crucial factor in this ongoing crisis has been europe's heavy reliance on russia for natural gas, leading some to question whether that reliance can be shifted to the middle east. the energy minister of qatar is raising doubts. he says if putin cuts off supplies to europe, no country would have the capacity to fill the void. just yesterday in response to russian aggression in ukraine, germany halted certification of a major gas pipeline from russia. the nord stream 2. a russian official responded, warning europe to prepare for fuel prices to skyrocket. and in another sign of rising tensions, secretary of state antony blinken has canceled plans to meet with his russian counterpart. andrew. >> faith, thank you. the fbi is warning that russia could launch crippling cyberattacks here in the u.s. businesses and state and local officials are being told to

brace for possible cyber warfare that's designed to disrupt and destabilize. >> i do think we need to let them know that we have cyber offensive capabilities. i think we need to utilize them not to try and get on a war footing but to try and deter them from doing that again in the future. when i was a prosecutor, the only thing bad guys understood was strength. if we don't project strength, we're not going to -- we're not going to get putin to think twice. >> right now officials say there are no specific threats linked to the ukraine crisis, but they're urging companies and local governments to be vigilant. stay with abc news for the latest from ukraine. our team is reporting from across the region with live reports ahead on "good morning america" and abc news live and whenever news breaks. four civilians are dead after a helicopter crashed at a u.s. navy missile facility in hawaii. the chopper went down on the island of kauai. it was providing support for a training operation. one witness said the helicopter crashed nose-down into the ground. meanwhile in utah, two blackhawk

helicopters went down near a popular ski resort right outside of salt lake city. the choppers crashed during a training exercise. the cause is under investigation, but officials say it's a blessing that no one was hurt. now to the closing arguments at the trial of the threeorrrg death of george floyd. we're getting new insight into what happened on that street in minneapolis back in 2020. jury deliberations are set to begin today in the case against three former minneapolis police officers involved in george floyd's death. tou thao, alexander king, and thomas lane are charged with depriving employed of his civil rights by failing to administer aid when officer derek chauvin neck for more than nine minutes. >> they're going to look at each individual officer's actions, what they did, what they didn't do during the time they were involved with mr. floyd. >> reporter: during closing said the officers chose to do - nothing as floyd died. and they accused officer tao,

showen's partner, of doing nothing to stop the crime in front of him, staying instead he had chosen to argue and mock people who tried to intervene. to you's lawyer called floyd's death a tragic event but said a tragedy is not a crime. >> this particular instance, i don't think speaks to that because we have innocent bystanders with no training at all that were aware that something was amiss. >> reporter: prosecutors also showed video of kyung casually picking gravel from the tire of a police suv as chauvin mocked floyd's pleas for help. although lane voiced concern for floyd, prosecutors say lane did nothing to give him medical aid. defense attorneys placed the blame on chauvin, the senior officer, arguing he took command of the scene. the former officers with him that day now face life in prison if convicted, but legal experts say the verdicts could vary. >> each person has a level of responsibility, and these charges determine where each person lies on that level of responsibility.

so you can absolutely see varying verdicts. >> all three men have pleaded not guilty. chauvin, meanwhile, is serving a 22-year sentence for murder. hundreds of national guard troops will be deployed around washington, d.c. as security officials brace for trucker protests in the coming days. at least three truck convoys inspired by recent protests against covid restrictions in canada are set to arrive in the d.c. area as early as this week. some protest organizers are promising to cause gridlock in the d.c. suburbs. the pentagon has now approved 700 national guard members to help control traffic and carry out other duties. we're told they will not be armed. a dramatic end to a hostage standoff at an apple store in europe. the suspect held a man hostage at gunpoint for hours before they both ran from the store in amsterdam. police in an unmarked car later rammed into the suspect. he was scanned by a robot for explosives and then taken into custody. no word yet on a motive. queen elizabeth is reportedly determined to carry on with her duties as she

battles covid-19. she was forced to cancel her virtual appointments yesterday, but a phone call with the prime minister remains on her schedule today. reports say several staff members close to the 95-year-old queen have also tested positive for covid. turning to the weather, conditions could be slick across the upper midwest this morning after blizzard conditions yesterday caused nearly 300 crashes in minnesota alone. but only one serious injury was reported. meanwhile, at the milwaukee airport, a plow flipped over in the icy conditions. so with that, let's take a closer look at your wednesday forecast. >> good morning, another cross-country storm will make its way from the red river valley all the way to southern new england as we head through the next few days, folks. and we're looking at an ice storm becoming more and more likely around dallas, texas, to oklahoma city, to southern missouri on wednesday into wednesday night. thursday into friday, there will be some minor icing from the ohio valley all the way to southern new england.

slippery roads and power outages. meantime on the cold side of the storm, a few inches in chicago. 6 to 12 inches north and west of boston. i'm accuweather meteorologist kevin coskren. coming up, the end of the road for a popular tv talk show. but first, a frightening mishap on this drawbridge caught on camera. who's to blame? and the so-called don't say gay bill nears a vote in florida. the one part of the

back now with a car trapped on this drawbridge in south florida. the driver could not move forward, and the bridge opened behind him, raising the car over 40 feet. the car starts to slide forward and drops onto the road.

the driver then got back inside. the bridge operator has been fired. she claims she didn't see the car. the fire on a cargo ship carrying thousands of cars in the atlantic ocean is finally burning out. it caught fire one week ago. 1,100 porsches are among the vehicles lost. the cargo is worth $330 million. crews are expected to board the ship today after tugboats sprayed water on the ship yesterday. we turn now to florida and a proposal to limit the teaching of lgbtq subject matter in school. abc's derek dennis reports on the so-called don't say gay bill moving closer to becoming law. >> reporter: a bill dubbed the don't say gay bill by critics is moving forward in the florida state legislature. it's now set for a final vote by house lawmakers. >> if you're going to pass these bills, and we understand they may pass, you're not going to pass them without hearing from us. >> reporter: democrats and lgbtq advocates call the bill dangerous and bigoted. it originally said school districts may not encourage

classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels. that wording has since been changed to school districts may not encourage classroom curriculum on the matter. republican state representative joe harding is a sponsor of the bill and says it empowers parents, not schools, to decide what's best for children. >> we believe the best environment for a student is an environment where the parent is empowered and involved. >> it just says that we don't talk about these sorts of things till the kids are out of third grade. that's all it says. >> reporter: harding has withdrawn a more controversial amendment to the bill that would have required teachers or the principal to disclose to parents within six weeks if their child said anything about identifying as lgbtq. that amendment was scrapped after community outrage. harding insisting nothing in the amendment was about outing a student. >> we're going to be fighting some of these extreme proposals with everything that we have. >> reporter: the wording of the bill also gives parents the

right to sue school districts over lgbtq curriculums. we'll follow the debate and the vote when it happens. mona, andrew. >> derek, thank you. the wendy williams show is ending as the popular host struggles with her health. she previously described suffering from graves disease and a thyroid condition, and she reportedly is facing financial troubles, recently accusing wells fargo bank of denying her access to her accounts. sherri shepherd, who filled in for williams, will take over the show's time slot. coming up, a moose on the loose in a very unusual place. also ahead, elton john's midair ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin? it's because they rub against you creating friction. and your clothes rub against you all day. for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle. just pour into the rinse dispenser and downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, fluffier, and gentler on your skin.

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including pictures! your texts are open! back now with a moose on the loose in suburban boston. the 600-pound animal was seen roaming around the city of marlboro. officials eventually hit the 6-year-old female with tranquilizer darts and she was taken to a wildlife management area. the former miami dolphins coach would filed a lawsuit against the nfl is now revealing how he was fired. brian flores is suing the nfl and three teams including the dolphins for racial discrimination. he says after being fired, the dolphins tried to get him to sign a non-disparagement agreement, or nda. flores told bryant gumbel why he refused. >> just signing that separation agreement would have really silenced me. >> how much money did you wind up leaving on the table by

choosing to not sign that agreement? >> a lot. >> a good amount? >> a lot of money. >> what's a good amount? >> there's millions of dollars -- >> flores' attorneys posted screenshots of the agreement, but the dolphins deny asking flores to sign an nda. he's since been hired by the steelers. we turn now to elton john forced to make an emergency landing on his way to new york. here's abc's will ganss. >> reporter: a terrifying midair scare for sir elton john. the rocket man's private jet suffering a hydraulic failure at 10,000 feet. flightaware showing where the plane turned around over the ocean about an hour into his flight from the uk to new york. the plane telling air traffic control to prep for an emergency landing in 80-mile-per-hour winds on monday. firefighters from six stations racing to the scene at farnborough airport an hour south of london. the uk has been battered by storms this week. several planes forced to abort landings, like this one in manchester. a status yellow wind warning for

much of the country on monday. and elton john's private jet emblazoned with the letter "e" making two failed attempts to touch down. a witness saying the jet was bing buffeted and couldn't land. it was horrible to see. finally the jet able to land on its third attempt. the superstar reportedly shaken but still standing, catching a later flight to new york in order to make it in time for a sold-out show at madison square garden on tuesday night. for elton and his global farewell tour, the show must go on, and it did. ♪ we reached out to sir elton john's team for comment and haven't heard back. i also spoke with several audience members at his concert on tuesday. they say he did not mention the flight but did say how thrilled he was to be at madison square garden, one of his favorite venues in the word. >> our thanks to will. coming up, a mystery from

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a recent analysis revealed it was made with iron from a meteorite, and now researchers say the material came from syria. they determined the dagger was likely given to king tut by his grandfather. next, the oscars are slimming down this year to speed up the show. >> producers say eight awards including awards for editing, sound, hair, and makeup will be presented before the tv broadcast begins. winners' speeches will be pre-taped to save time. next, some newborns who belong to a very special club. >> they were all born yesterday, which was 2/22/22. a couple in texas appropriately welcomed twins too yesterday on tuesday. hendricks and hayes were born just minutes apart. >> then there's judah grace in north carolina. she was born at 2:22 a.m. 2/22/22 in delivery room number 2. >> to many twos. >> now i'm thinking they planned some of that. finally a new breakfast temptation. >> krispy kreme is teaming up

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settling in. drew is tracking temperatures in the 20's. kumasi: solidarity with ukraine. plans to declare a nationwide emergency and sanctions. reggie: another hank the tank sighting in tahoe. the new video of the bear that has already broken into dozens of homes. kumasi: good morning. wednesday, february 23. >> i have not seen hank. i have seen bears, but not hank. reggie: 500 pounds. hard to miss. drew: temperatures in the 20's'2 and 30's. waking up to freeze warnings and frost advisories. napa at 29 degrees right now.