morning," the breaking news just in from ukraine. word of a new ceasefire to evacuate women and children after days of relentless bombing. the heart wrenching images of families killed on the street while trying to flee. now word that russia is turning to fighters from the middle east to join the fight. plus, the u.s. sending fighter jets to ukraine. sticker shock at the pump. nearly $7 for a gallon of gas on the west coast. oil prices surging again today. new reporting on what the white house might do next. se

heartland. young children among the victims of a massive tornado. in florida, a wildlife emergency. in the rockies a 50-car pile up in the snow. what to expect today. the news baseball fans don't want to hear. the latest from the major league labor talks. the surprise news at the box office courtesy of "the batman." the technology that could revolutionize the way we charge our smartphones. good morning, america. we begin with breaking news. russia declaring a temporary ceasefire to allow civilian toss evacuate four cities in ukraine. >> russia has violated previous ceasefires. there's no immediate indication that today's will be any different. the u.n. confirmed more than 350 civilians have been killed so far. it says that number is likely

considerably higher. >> the u.s. has reportedly delivered $17,000 anti-tank weapons to ukraine. we begin with the situation on the ground right now and some new recruits possibly joining the fight for russia. possible new evidence that russia is preparing to take its war deeper into ukraine's inner cities. "the wall street journal" reports russia is recruiting so soldiers from syria. it comes as the state department con fir confirms the u.s. is documenting credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians. one of those attacks sunday outside kyiv. at the top of your screen civilians are seen trying to evacuate, then russian forces fire aing a mortar shell.

the mayor says at least eight were killed. [speaking foreign language] ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy is vowing to find and punish everyone involved saying it's murder. this is an image of an undetonated 11-pound bomb. he said while this bomb didn't explode, many did killing innocent men, women and children. in southern ukraine black sea more than 750,000 people are reportedly without heat after a strike damaged a natural gas forces have now ence the city. now president zelenskyy is warning of an imminent attack on the nearby port city of odesa. this man was trying to evacuate

the area with his family. the handwritten sign on his car window reads kids in russian. meanwhile, officials now confirm this nuclear facility in ukraine, the biggest in europe, is under the command of russian forces. they have switched off some mobile sources and internet. more americans want to join the fight. the ukrainian embassy said it received about 3,000 applications from americans who want to fight the russians in ukraine. it's the humanitarian crisis getting worse by the day. more than 1.5 million ukrainians have fled the country so far. poland is facing the biggest influx and abc's marcus moore reports there are serious concerns about the crowds on the way. >> reporter: officials are concerned about this crisis evolving. it seems a majority of the people who left ukraine have

contacts or they have family members abroad so they have a place to go. the concern is that the next wave could include people who don't have contacts. that could worsen the crisis. >> the u.n. expects the number of ukrainian refugees to surpass 4 million in the coming months. in russia more than 4,600 people were reportedly arrested sunday for protesting the war. they could face eight yearsbars. anyone publishing news that opposes the russian government view of the war, could face 17 years in prison. there are reports this morning that the u.s. could ban russian oil. em nguyen has more. >> reporter: oil prices have been surging overnight and drivers are paying the price. >> oh, my god.

>> reporter: gas prices shocking drivers at the pump. >> it's $100 and it's not even a full tank. >> reporter: the national average now topping $4 for the first time since 2008. it's only 11 cents away from an all-time record. in california $4 a gallon would be a relief. the average there is $5.28. prices at this shell station in los angeles hitting nearly $7. the war in ukraine fueling the surge. prices could soon soar even higher as the u.s. appears to move closer to banning russian oil imports. >> we are now talking to your european partners and allies to look at the prospect of banning the import of russian oil, while making sure there's an appropriate supply on world markets. >> reporter: bloomberg reports the white house is considering banning russian oil without

europe allies joining in. the white house telling abc overnight no decision has been made. house speak nancy pelosi in a letter sunday saying let me be clear, the united states need not choose between our democratic values and economic interests. since russia invaded ukraine gas prices are up nearly 50 cents. mona? >> thank you. mcdonald's and pepsi are under increasing pressure to cut business ties with russia. new york state officials are telling the corporations to halt services in russia. netfl netflix, tiktok and american express stopped services in russia. investigators saying a vehicle ignored

drove a vehicle into the base. vice president kamala harris was on the base last night. the weather making news this morning. reported tornados caused damage across parts of northern arkansas. damage was reported outside little rock. more storms possible this morning. in iowa the clean-up just started after seven people were killed in a tornado outbreak near des moines. winds approached 140 miles an hour, damaging or destroying more than 50 homes in the town of winterset. some people lost everything. >> the red barn is gone. we're standing on the foundation of our flower cottage. >> we were hunkered down in the basement. it was the scariest thing i ever experienced. >> damage could top $1 billion.

three wildfires are raging in the florida panhandle. officials say one fire was started by someone burning trash. more hathan 10,000 acres have n burned. with that let's take a look at your monday forecast. lingering snow could make for a messy commute in denver. it caused two big pile ups involving 70 vehicles on interstate sunday. snow moves into the midwest. that front could trigger big oh south. checking today's high temperatures, possibly record breaking warmth around new york city. 82 in miami. coming up, more bad news for baseball fans. first, the man accused of

running a sex cult at his daughter's college goes on trial. a developing story from the florida keys, a boat

back now with a building in jacksonville, florida, that is no more. bergman plaza 2 was imploded in just ten seconds. it was abandoned for more than 14 years after construction was stopped back in 2007. and a boat packed with more than 300 haitian migrants has run aground off key largo, florida. some people swam to a luxury resort while others were rescued. the boat was overloaded and in poor condition. the migrants are now in the custody of u.s. border patrol. we turn now to a long awaited trial getting under way in new york today. a man is accused of running a

cult on a college campus and sex trafficking his daughter's classmates. here's abc's rhiannon ally. >> reporter: this morning jury selection is set to begin in the trial against a father accused of horrific crimes against his daughter's classmates. >> the conduct alleged here is outrageous. >> reporter: prosecutors say in 2010, lawrence ray, who was just out of prison, moved into his daughter's dorm room at sarah lawrence college in yonkers, new york, and began a decade-long nightmare for a group of students that included extortion, forced labor, and sex trafficking. authorities say raygroup's tru therapy sessions, where he convinced them he could solve their problems but was actually taking confessions to eventually use against them. >> it was here that he laid the groundwork for psychological conditioning that would eventually lead these young adults to become unwitting victims. >> reporter: ray's arrest came nearly three years after an

article in new york magazine detailing how ray allegedly proceeded to coach students through sex and how the sessions became regular and how he would sometimes participate. prosecutors say that was just the beginning. they claim he once tied a victim to a chair and nearly suffocated her with a plastic bag before making her pay him half a million dollars. ray has pleaded not guilty and according to "the new york times," even claims the students were trying to poison him because of his ties to a former new york police commissioner. ray's request for a new lawyer was recently denied. an accuser's attorney arguing it would only delay the trial, saying, mr. ray has had a grip on jane doe's life, and she wants relief from that grip. some of ray's alleged victims are expected to testify at his trial. one of his daughter's friends has been charged as a co-conspirator and will be tried separately. mona, andrew.

>> rhiannon, thank you. major league baseball labor talks appear to be stalled again. it's increasingly likely that more regular season games will be outright canceled. owners are calling the latest proposal from the players union worse than last week's offer, so both sides still far apart. coming up, the debate over sending fighter jets to ukraine. also ahead, is wnba star brittney griner being held in russia as a pawn for vladimir putin? putin? one expert i started screening for colon cancer because of my late husband jay. i wish he could have seen our daughter ellie get married, on the best day of her life. but colon cancer took him from us, like it's taken so many others. that's why i've made it my mission to talk about getting screened and ask people to share their reasons why. i screen for my growing family. being with them means everything to me. i screen for my girls. they're always surprising me. i screen for my son. i'm his biggest fan. if you're 45 or older and at average risk,

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back now with wedding bells in a war zone. two ukrainian soldiers exchanging vows at a checkpoint. >> you see it there. the bride wore camouflage, and the groom wore a helmet. the mayor said, life goes on. >> people around the world are trying to help out, including people booking airbnbs across ukraine. they obviously don't plan to stay there. they just want to get millions of dollars into the hands of ukrainians. more than 60,000 nights have already been booked. there's a new push to arm ukraine with everything from fighter jets to anti-tank weapons. >> but does the u.s. risk a direct conflit with russia? earlier i spoke with former cia official darrell blocker. so, darrell, we're just learning the u.s. military has delivered 17,000 anti-tank weapons to ukraine in six days. what's your take on the speed at which the u.s. is arming the ukrainians and is there a risk here of getting so involved in this conflict that putin views the u.s. as the aggressor? >> well, i'm not really surprised by the speed in which

the material has moved because it's already been pre-positioned into the european theater. i am surprised by the ingenuity in how they're getting them from those pre-locations to the ukrainian fighters on the ground. honestly i don't think these arms are going to be any more of a trigger than what vladimir putin has already done invading a sovereign nation. >> you touched on some of the logistics there. the u.s. is working with poland, for example, to send fighter jets to ukraine. what are the logistical challenges involved here besides getting the polish government onboard? >> honestly, i think the big logistical issue is going to be where do they land those planes? so once the russians are aware that these planes are inbound, of course they're going to start attacking all the airfields and all the places where these actual planes could take off. >> ukrainians are pleading for a no-fly zone, but at least one u.s. senator has said that would lead to world war iii. what is a no-fly zone, and what

role would american jets play if there was one. >> i'm not even sure as an old air force officer that we have the capability to effectively fly a no-fly zone or create a no-fly zone over the ukraine. so i think it would be an empty promise first of all, and it would absolutely escalate everything because now you're planes and people onhe groundn danger of -- of putin's wrath, and there would be a wrath. >> our thanks there to darrell blocker. there's growing concern that wnba star brittney griner could be used as a pawn by vladimir putin. griner was arrested at a russian airport for allegedly carrying vape cartridges with cannabis oil. she plays in russia during the off-season. experts say she is likely to stay in custody as long as the russians find her useful. >> vladimir putin will try to use her to get something from the west. i don't think he will succeed because we don't generally bargain with the lives of american citizens.

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intensifying strikes across ukraine. the preparation for another wave of attacks, plus the max exodus of civilians arriving in other countries. kumasi: a pain point for many drivers this morning. gas prices hitting a record high. the jump just overnight. reggie: drew is tracking a bright and mild monday. a retreat from winter. i am ready for that. i was acting like it was four degrees out here. [laughter] drew: friday was a mess for a lot of people. reggie: we are all on one screen, all what one desk. kumasi: i'm happy. reggie: who knows how long this will last. hi, drew. drew: we will have a little bit of a retreat this week. sunshine, mild temperatures, no cold weather from late last week.

otherwise, dealing