. right now on "america this morning," breaking news. oil diplomacy. word overnight that two americans detained in venezuela have now been freed just as the biden administration explores importing oil from venezuela to offset the crisis stemming from russia's war in ukraine. overnight, gas prices rising once again. some experts predict they could rise another 50 cents per gallon. we take a closer look at what can be done here at home to boost supply. no deal. an offer from poland to exchange fighter jets with ukraine meets resistance from washington. why the u.s. calls the offer untenable. plus civilians in ukraine race to escape russian bombing. could a cease-fire today offer new hope? weather alert. the wintry mix of snow, sleet,

and freezing rain impacting millions of americans for the morning commute. lawmakers in florida pass the so-called don't say gay bill. why critics are accused of lying about what's in the bill. they respond this morning. back with the pack. aaron rodgers is staying put in green bay, but is he really getting $50 million a year? and later, the change you'll soon notice when it comes to toilet paper. >> announcer: from abc news in new york, this is "america this morning." good wednesday morning, everyone. we begin with breaking news. two americans detained in venezuela are now being freed just as the biden administration opens up talks with venezuela about oil supplies. >> it all comes just hours after president biden announced a ban on russian oil, and overnight oil and gas prices rose even higher. >> meanwhile, civilians trapped in ukraine wait to see if russia will honor a limited cease-fire today. u.s. intelligence officials warn

vladimir putin will likely double down and escalate the violence. >> the government of poland is now offering to exchange fighter jets with ukraine, but the u.s. is rejecting terms of the deal. we'll get to those details in a moment. first, abc's em nguyen with the latest on those two americans freed by venezuela. em, good morning. >> good morning, andrew. venezuela has faced u.s. sanctions for years. now the country is releasing american prisoners in a sign of oil diplomacy. this morning, a good will gesture from the oil-rich country of venezuela, freeing two american detainees, oil executive gustavo cardenas, who has been jailed for five years, and jorge fernandez, who was arrested on charges the white house called spurious. it comes after biden administration officials met over the weekend with president nicolas maduro to discuss the potential for easing u.s. oil sanctions against venezuela. the trump administration broke off diplomatic relations with

the country back in 2019. >> defending freedom is going to cost. >> reporter: on tuesday, president biden announced a ban on russian energy u. warning americans to brace for even higher gas prices. >> that means russian oil will no longer be acceptable at u.s. ports, and the american people will deal another powerful blow to putin's war machine. >> reporter: it's unclear what impact the ban will have on russia, the world's third larger oil producer. the u.s. imports only about 3% of its oil from russia, far less than europe. but overnight oil prices rose once again and gas prices in the u.s. already up 56 cents in the last week rose another 13 krece in the last 24 hours. republicans argue president biden's temporary freeze on new drilling leases has hurt america's ability to produce its own oil and gas. but the white house says more than 9,000 approved oil and gas leases are currently sitting unused. >> i would suggest you ask the oil companies why they're not using those if there's a desire to drill more. >> reporter: a "washington post"

analysis also found president biden has outpaced former president trump in issuing drilling permits on public lands. and the biden administration previously set a record with the largest offshore lease in the gulf of mexico. ukraine's president zelenskyy called biden's ban on russian oil a powerful signal to the world. andrew. >> em, thank you. mcdonald's is among the latest companies to suspend operations in russia because of the war in ukraine. it's temporarily closing 850 restaurants. starbucks will shut down 130 locations in russia. an coca-cola will temporarily halt business in the country. meanwhile, a food crisis could be looming in parts of the world. wheat prices are up 50% since the war in ukraine started. in some middle eastern countries, nearly all the wheat to make bread comes from ukraine. and the cost of nickel is up 90%. russia is the biggest producer of the element, which is used to make stainless steel and batteries for electric cars. the other big story this morning, there is a new offer to provide ukraine with fighter

jets, but that idea won't be taking off anytime soon. the biden administration is now rejecting poland's plan to arm ukrainian forces with more air power. on tuesday, the polish government, in a major surprise to u.s. officials, announced it is ready to transfer more than two dozen mig-2s to u.s. forces in germany with the understanding the fighter jets would be handed over to ukraine, and the u.s. would then replenish poland's arsenal with american-made jets. but the pentagon says the idea is not tenable, citing concerns that it could further inflame tensions between russia and nato and drag the u.s. into the war. >> untenable is kind of funny. it doesn't make any military logistic reasoning behind it. but if you look at it from a psychological perspective, particularly psychological operations as the military applies them, it could be the ukraine and poland trying to figure out a way to hedge more towards a nato alliance or to get the united states to be more

involved. but it certainly doesn't make sense to send the planes west just to send them back east over the same country that they just came from. >> reporter: russia has announced another possible cease-fire today in parts of ukraine to evacuate civilians. russian forces have violated previous cease-fire announcements. but there was a small glimmer of hope tuesday. a brief lull in the fighting allowed thousands of people to flee the city of irpin. >> well, that is what a russian cease-fire sounds like. we're on the outskirts of the town of irpin. we've been hearing the sound of bombardments over the last hour as civilians try to get out. >> reporter: in the nearby city of sumy, new drone video shows several russian vehicles destroyed. this ukrainian soldier inspecting the damage on the ground. we have been waiting for them and finished them, he says. at a hearing on capitol hill today, u.s. intelligence officials warned of, quote, an

ugly next few weeks and said russian president vladimir putin is angry and frustrated at the lack of progress in ukraine and will likely double down. >> we assess putin feels aggrieved the west does not give him proper deference and perceives this is a war he cannot afford to lose. >> he was confident he had modernized his military and they were capable of a quick, decisive victory. he's been proven wrong on every count. >> reporter: the cia director also warning the people of kyiv could run out of food and supplies within ten days as russian forces advance toward the capital. asked about putin's mental state, the cia director did not directly answer, but he did say that putin's views on ukraine have hardened over the years. vladimir putin is not getting the broad support for the war that he's used to getting at home. a new poll finds 58% of russians support the war. that's much lower than public approval for putin's previous military actions in crimea and chechnya. some powerful images are spreading on social media amid the humanitarian crisis in ukraine. people in poland are leaving these rows of emtry strollers

for mothers to take at the train station when they arrive. the stroller movement was started by polish moms to show solidarity with ukrainian moms. back in kyiv, a girl inside a bunker is warming hearts around the world with her rendition of "let it go." ♪ >> more than 2 million ukrainians have fled the country so far. about half are children. in other news this morning, a police officer has died after being shot by a suspect in joplin, missouri. a crowd gathered last night to honor the fallen officer and support two others who were wounded. police say they were trying to arrest the suspects in a disturbance case when he opened fire. the suspect was killed. the first suspect from the u.s. capitol riot to face a criminal trial has now been convicted. a jury took only three hours to

find guy reffitt guilty on all five counts. charges against the texas man included threatening his son who turned his father in to the authorities and testified against him. he faces up to 20 years in prison on the most serious counts when he's sentenced in june. time now for a look at your wednesday weather. >> good morning. winter returns to the northeast on wednesday. a low pressure system moving in is going to give us some rain, snow mixing in at times. not really a whole lot of snow to accumulate, but many of us could see a coating to an inch of wet snow. one to three inches possible in higher elevations, especially on grassy surfaces. kind of a wintry day in the northeast. meantime in the center of the nation, a storm comes through on wednesday and thursday, putting up to a foot of snow between omaha and kansas city. i'm accuweather meteorologist kevin coskren. coming up, remembering the

man behind one of america's favorite bakeries. but first, new details about how a california mother charged with staging her own kidnapping was arrested and why she's now been released from jail. plus, florida lawmakers pass the so-called don't say gay bill. a closer look at what the actual bill says.

back now with a burning wreckage of a small plane after crashing on a highway outside denver. two people onboard escaped with minor injuries. the cause of the crash is under investigation. the california mother accused of faking her own kidnapping is now free on bail. sherri papini ran out of the scram county jail and into the arms of family and friends. a judge agreed with her attorney's claims that she is not a flight risk although he imposed restrictions on her movements. papini disappeared for three

weeks back in 2016, sparking a nationwide search. she claims she had been kidnapped, but she was actually with her ex-boyfriend and allegedly branded herself to try to prove she was abducted. prosecutors claim papini tried to flee when fbi agents recently surprised her outside of her children's piano lesson. we turn now to florida's so-called don't say gay bill. that's a term critics have used to speak out against the measure. but now lawmakers are fighting back as the bill heads to the governor's desk to become law. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, florida's controversial parental rights and education bill is one step away from becoming law. >> we say gay! >> reporter: despite protests from lgbtq+ advocates who have dubbed it the don't say gay bill. >> what this bill does is creates a lot of fear. >> reporter: but representative joe harding, who introduced the bill, says its critics are lying about the bill's purpose. >> what they are doing is leading a fearmongering effort.

the bill, all it does is state what -- it talks about what's appropriate in the classroom to teach, and then it talks about the fact that the parent has the right to be engaged in the education of their children. >> reporter: under the legislation, lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade three or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards. the bill does not define what is age-appropriate. it will also allow parents to sue school districts if they believe the policy is being violated. the bill passed through the florida legislature tuesday, and governor desantis says he supports it but has not yet said if he'll sign it. lgbtq+ advocates say they worry about students' mental health. >> i think this bill is vague on purpose because it is trying to silence or push families, students, and lgbtq individuals

back into the closet. >> reporter: supporters say the bill would not keep people from talking about the issues in classrooms but it will bend curriculum and lessons on it. >> nowhere in the bill do we eliminate discussions. i value our teachers, their relationships with our students tremendously. >> reporter: the biden administration has denounced the bill as anti-lgbtq+. if signed, the bill will take effect july 1st. similar bills have been introduced in several other states as well. mona, andrew. >> andrea, thank you. coming up, the historic decision made by the smithsonian. also ahead, aaron rodgers' big deal with the packers. big deal with the packers. will it finally end all the ♪ ghirardelli intense dark. ♪ bold... ♪ rich... ♪ intensely delicious dark chocolate. ♪

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an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. back now with a priceless collection of art being returned to its native home. the smithsonian is planning to return most of the famed benin bronzes to nigeria. many were stolen during the 19th century by the british from what is now nigeria. the man behind entenmann's cakes has died at the age of 92. charles entenmann and his brothers turned their family's new york bakery into a supermarket staple with more than 100 varieties of baked goods. in 1978 the family sold the company for $230 million. that's more than a billion dollars in today's money. new hope for baseball fans. negotiations to end the major league lockout extended past midnight, but if a deal isn't

reached today, more games could be canceled. meanwhile, the league has launched a $1 million fund to support ballpark workers during all this. and in football aaron rodgers is once again in the spotlight, and he's once again raising some questions. he's back with the pack. >> time for rodgers, end zone throw, touchdown, packers. >> the reigning league mvp aaron rodgers is returning to green bay but the drama isn't over yet. reports surfaced tuesday that rodgers and the packers agreed to a four-year, $200 million contract at $50 million a year that would make him the highest paid nfl player of all time. rodgers is now shooting down those reports tweeting, yes, i will be playing with the packers next year, however, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate as are the supposed terms of the contract, i, quote, signed. the deal, whatever it's worth caps a very eventful year in the spotlight for rodgers. he played guest host on "jeopardy!" >> in the 1960s these midwesterners earned five nfl

championship trophies. green bay packers. [ laughter ] >> reporter: and was briefly engaged to actress shailene woodley but he grabbed the most headlines when he was missed a game due to covid and was accused of misleading th public about his vaccination status. >> and at the time my plan was to say that i had been immunized. it wasn't some sort of ruse or lie. >> reporter: on the field there was tension after the packers drafted his heir apparent jordan love. rodgers who is 38 and still playing at an elite level wanted to play elsewhere or retire then another stunning loss in the playoffs. >> you want to know what would be news to me? you know what would catch my eye? what if aaron rodgers won the lombardi trophy again? that would be news. >> many believe the broncos would make a play for rogers. instead they got russell wilson from the seahawks. well, coming up, the

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of your hand. >> the joro is poisonous, but experts say they won't bite humans unless they're cornered. so i'm not going near them any time soon. >> no thank you. next a unique job in the big sky country. the federal government is looking to hire conflict managers for grizzly bears. >> okay, so the right applicant could earn more than $100,000 a year. no physical contact is required and said you'll help manage the grizzly population and patrol the wilderness to reduce friction with humans and prevent the grizzlies from targeting livestock so kind of like hr. and finally some star power on the court last night in san francisco. >> will ferrell was turning back the years. he dressed as jackie moon from the hoops movie "semi-pro" joining the golden state warriors all in character and all in warm-ups. he hit a couple shots then tried to defend warriors star klay thompson and banked in a long three-pointer. you know, the warriors may have a good luck charm because they

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>> now at 5:00, a deadly shooting investigation at a convenience store. what the police and -- unveiled overnight. >> encouraging action to help the people of ukraine. ace out they candlelight vigil as one speaker recalls the moments of the invasion. >> gas is not easy. price hikes overnight again. plus, the governor's proposal to offset the rising cost. >> plus this. will ferrell warming up with the warriors. the actors appearance on the court. >> that's good. >> i need to wake up and look. >> good morning. it is wednesday. before we get to that, we are checking in with a look at the forecast. >> we are to for two. >> that happens. >> today is cooler. tomorrow, friday, you will feel much colder air moving in. right now, temperatures are in the 40's if not low 50's at this