right now on "america this morning," russia accused of bombing a maternity ward and children's hospital in ukraine during what was supposed to be a cease-fire. disturbing new images of pregnant women and children frantic and shell-shocked. the global outrage. happening today, the highest level talks so far between russia and ukraine as the refugee crisis becomes more desperate. one official warning, we won't be able to cope with another million people. here at home the new report on inflation. everything getting more expensive from gas to groceries. the new push for another round of government stimulus checks and should the gas tax be suspended? sentencing day for jussie smollett convicted of staging a hate crime for publicity. what we're expecting today as

ibute to tiger. the emotional moment the golf legend's daughter introduced him at the hall of fame and what she revealed about tiger the dad. and later, not your father's vw. a famous bus gets a modern makeover. good thursday morning, everyone. we begin with breaking news from the war in ukraine. the u.s. house of representatives voting overnight approving $13 billion in aid for ukraine. >> it comes after that horrifying scene. russian forces accused of bombing a maternity and children's hospital. three people were reportedly killed including a 6-year-old child. >> an adviser to ukraine's president says they've evacuated 40,000 women and children from the country just in the last 24 hours, but the u.n. warns the refugee crisis will likely get

more desperate. >> vice president kamala harris just arrived in poland one day after the pentagon rejected poland's offer to exchange fighter jets for ukraine's military. >> but our coverage begins this morning with important talks today between russia and ukraine, and we want to warn you that some of the images you're about to see can be disturbing. today the foreign ministers of russia and ukraine are meeting face-to-face in southern turkey, the first high level contact between the two countries since russia invaded two weeks ago. pregnant women and children have become the latest victims of this war. local authorities say russian warplanes bombed a children's and maternity hospital in the port city of mariupol. the front of the building ripped apart, every window blown out. this image shows a man standing inside the massive crater left behind. witnesses say the ground shook more than a mile away when the hospital was hit. the building had reportedly been

mostly empty, but ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy says there were people and children under the wreckage. he called the attack an atrocity. at least one pregnant woman was carried away on a stretcher. another pregnant woman escaping down a mangled stairway, her face badly injured. russian forces have bombarded mariupol since the start of the invasion. the mayor says more than 1,200 civilians have been killed, a number abc news is unable to verify. these disturbing images from the city showing ukrainian civilians and soldiers being buried in mass graves. >> if you don't want to see these images anymore, you must not look away. you must stop putin's war. >> reporter: former pro boxer wladimir klitschko, the brother of the mayor of kyiv, went on social media to make this plea. >> the most unbearable casualty are the children.

children are dying by the dozens now in their homes. look at these images. they are the real result of putin's special operations, so to speak. >> reporter: and now a warning about chemical and biological weapons. the white house press secretary tweeting, quote, we should all be on the lookout for russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in ukraine or to create a false flag operation using them. the pentagon is dismissing russia's claim that it destroyed bioweapons labs in ukraine affiliated with the u.s. >> the russian accusations are absurd. they're laughable, and, you know, in the words of my irish catholic grandfather, a bunch of malarkey. >> in the meantime, neighboring poland, a nato member, is boosting its defense with the help of u.s. patriot missile defense systems. growing concern this morning about chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. russian forces have cut electricity to the plant. the head of the international

atomic energy agency says there's no immediate risk of a radiation leak, but he warns the situation is, quote, fragile. the u.n. says about 5% of ukraine's population has now fled the country. that's 2.1 million people. the mayor of one polish city across the border warns they won't be able to cope with another million people. the u.n. says the next wave of refugees will be more desperate carrying fewer personal belongings. meanwhile, a california software company says one of its employees was killed trying to flee ukraine and was seen in a graphic photo on the front page of "the new york times" along with her two children killed in a mortar attack. and a medical team from the chicago area is headed to ukraine. the nine doctors and nurses are armed with $500,000 worth of medical supplies. >> yeah, so it's a mixed team, primarily doctors and nurses, psychiatrists who are experienced with dealing with types of war injuries. that's an unfortunate level of experience that we have that we are going over to share with our

ukrainian colleagues. >> the teams say they want ukrainians to know they're standing in solidarity with them. we turn now to rising gas prices and growing calls for the government to suspend the gas tax. it comes as a new report comes out today that reveals just how bad overall inflation is getting on everything from gas to groceries. abc's em nguyen is here with the very latest. em, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, mona. there's new hope that gas prices could start leveling off because the cost of oil is dropping at a record pace. in what could be the first sign of relief for the energy industry, the cost of oil saw its biggest one-day rc decline in nearly two years wednesday. the price drop came after the united arab emirates called on its opec partners to ramp up production as the u.s. and other countries make plans to ban russian oil. the ban would add to the harsh sanctions already placed on russia's economy now walled off from much of the world.

moscow now accuses the u.s. of unleashing an economic war. >> you get a real sense that there's a little bit of panic setting in here, a real fear of what this is going to mean. i was looking on social media earlier, and there were big lines of cars outside mcdonald's as russians get to grips with the idea that they're going to lose a lot of the things that they've gotten used to over the last 30 years. >> reporter: here at home, an increasing number of lawmakers want no more gas prices while prices at the pump hit record highs. several governors are asking congress to suspend the federal gas tax, which is just over 18%, and lawmakers in michigan and pennsylvania have announced proposals to suspend or reduce their state gas taxes. pennsylvania has the country's highest at 57 cents a gallon. meanwhile, americans will learn today just how much the cost of everything is increasing. a report from the labor department is expected to show february's inflation rate was as high as 7.8%, up from 7.1% a month earlier.

some are now calling for another round of government stimulus checks to help americans pay their bills. but many experts insist pumping more money into the economy will only make inflation worse. some forecasts predict the inflation rate by the end of the month could hit 9%. mona. >> em, thank you. actor jussie smollett will be sentenced today for staging a hate crime. smollett claimed he was the target of a racist and homophobic attack in chicago. penalties range from a fine and probation all the way up to three years in prison. cameras will be allowed at today's hearing. smollett is expected to speak. united airlines is now allowing some workers still unvaccinated against covid to return to work. about 2,200 employees claiming religious or medical exemptions to the company's vaccination policy were mostly placed on leave. they'll resume their jobs later this month. a private jet carrying former president trump had to make an emergency landing after an engine failure over the gulf of mexico. trump had just left a donor

retreat in new orleans when the pilot turned back. a private jet carrying thret after touching down during heavy snow showers, and officials say it's unclear if the wet weather was a factor. and time now for a look at your thursday weather. so the pittsburgh area gets a break from those big snowflakes today. about two inches fell across southwest pennsylvania, and more is on the way this weekend. today heavy snow moves from the rockies into the plains and stretches towards the midwest. tomorrow it slides farther east and by saturday most of the east will be getting heavy snow or rain along with heavy wind and checking today's high temperatures, 20s in the plains, around 50 in the northeast and mild across the southwest. coming up, a new option to make dating apps safer.

but first the u.s. college student murdered while studying in europe. was she the victim of a stalker? and later, dallas cowboys owner jerry jones facing a new lawsuit from a woman claiming he's her father.

back now with time-lapse video showing the dramatic flooding in eastern australia. some of the worst on record. the country has declared a national emergency. at least 22 people have died. thousands of homes are destroyed or damaged. we turn now to the grisly murder of a college student studying abroad. questions are being raised about whether she had a stalker, and now a new report that she met the suspect online. here's abc's and t a massachet

udngay sheas stalker. >> she was my baby sister. you don't really know how to cope with it. >> reporter: mika oort was taking classes in the netherlands about an hour and a half outside amsterdam. >> she was the sweetest, strongest woman i knew, and she really just put everyone else before her. >> reporter: police say a 27-year-old man stabbed her sunday morning and started a fire in her apartment. charred windows can be seen from outside. police arrested the suspect, a neighbor in germany. the dutch newspaper the current reporting the suspect had met oort on a dating app and allegedly killed her out of jealousy. oort's sister believes he was stalking her. >> could have stalked her on her bike because in the nerthlands, you bike everywhere. >> reporter: the 21-year-old from massachusetts was studying at the nhl university of applied sciences. her father was dutch and still

has relatives in the netherlands. and now her family is there preparing to bring her body home. >> she had so much more to give, and she had a lot of love for everyone. right now we're just trying to process this -- this whole situation and really say our good-byes and make the necessary arrangements that we'll have to do. >> reporter: dutch police are waiting to interview the suspect, who is still in german custody. two other men were also injured in that stabbing. andrew, mona. >> andrea, thank you. the director of the hit movie "black panther" says he's moving on after he was wrongly accused of trying to rob a bank. police video shows ryan coogler being handcuffed at a bank of america in atlanta. he had given the teller a withdrawal slip for $12,000 along with a note asking the teller to be discreet. a bank worker called the police after kugler was detained, the

teller spoke to officers. >> he kept pointing, said look at the note. so i'm like, okay? i said, do you have your id. he did give me his i.d., and it was a california i.d. but my stomach started turning. it just seemed odd. >> the bank has apologized. coming up, the new battle between the u.s. and russia in space. also ahead, tiger woods gets emotional as he's inducted into the hall of fame with the help of his daughter. welcome to allstate. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ here, you don't have to love cars to save when you bundle your home and auto. but if that's what you're into. that's cool. bundle and save up to 25% with allstate. click or call for a quote today. some people have minor joint pain,

plus have high blood pressure. they may not be able to take just anything for pain. that's why doctors recommend tylenol®. it won't raise blood pressure the way that advil®, aleve®, or motrin® sometimes can. for trusted relief, trust tylenol®. ready to shine from the inside out? say "yes" to nature's bounty. the number one brand for hair, skin and nails. with our signature blend of health and beauty nutrients to bring out more of your inner beauty. nature's bounty. live bountifully. nature's bounty.

living with metastatic breast cancer means being relentless. because every day matters. and having more of them is possible with verzenio. the only one of its kind proven to help you live significantly longer when taken with fulvestrant, regardless of menopause status. verzenio + fulvestrant is for hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. at the first sign, call your doctor start an anti-diarrheal and drink fluids. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. life-threatening lung inflammation can occur. tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. serious liver problems can happen. symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain and bleeding or bruising. blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain, and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you're nursing, pregnant or plan to be. every day matters. and i want more of them. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio.

as the war in ukraine rages russia is apparently trying to drag the international space station into the fight over u.s. sanctions. in just three weeks american astronaut mark vande hei is scheduled to hitch a ride but the head of the russian space agency has been posting videos threatening to leave vande hei in space. retired nasa astronaut scott kelly calls that threat outrageous. >> i think it's just a crazy threat. you know, it's not really based in reality. we do have the ability to control the orbit of the space station independent from the russian space agency. so i don't see that happening. >> the russian space chief also suggested they might break off the russian part of the space station. dallas cowboys owner jerry jones is facing a lawsuit from a woman who claims that she's been forced not to reveal that jones is her father. court papers allegedly show

alexandra davis was a baby when jones paid her mother to stay quiet. davis now 25 says she wants recognition as jones' daughter. now to tiger woods and the special honor that came as no surprise. this morning, tiger woods is officially a hall of famer. the 15-time major champion was enshrined in the world golf hall of fame last night. >> tiger woods. >> reporter: his 14-year-old daughter sam introducing him speaking of his father's past struggles including the car crash last year that nearly killed him. >> we didn't know if he would come home with two legs or not. this is why you deserve this. because you're a fighter. you've defied the odds every time being the first black and asian golfer to win a major, being able to win your fifth masters after multiple back surgeries and being able to walk just a few months after your crash. >> reporter: woods then taking the stage getting emotional. >> i just lost a bet that i wouldn't cry.

>> reporter: he described the battles he's faced with discrimination. >> i was denied access into the clubhouses. that's fine. i put my shoes on in the parking lot and i asked two questions only, that was it. where was the first tee, and what was the course record? >> reporter: other sports superstars were on hand to honor him, but tiger saying his friends and family played the biggest role in his success. >> i have unbelievable parents, mentors, friends who allowed me and supported me in the toughest times, darkest of times and celebrated the highest of times. all of you allowed me to get here. i just want to say thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. >> sam woods gave some insight into tiger, the dad. she said he always makes it to concerts and soccer games. >> love it. well, coming up, a cow chase in los angeles. and ahead, what scientists have learned about sharks and their napping habits. dad, we got this.

we got this. we got this. we got this. we got this. yay! we got this. we got this! life is for living. we got this! let's partner for all of it. edward jones ♪ ♪ let's partner for all of it. irresistibly smooth chocolate. to put the world on pause. lindor. made to melt you. by the lindt master chocolatier. for people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. a triple-lift serum with pure collagen. 92% saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. neutrogena® for people with skin. people with moderate to severe psoriasis, or psoriatic arthritis,

are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the way they exaggerate the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not an injection or a cream it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you.

♪ time to check "the pulse," and we begin with new research on sharks that like to nap. >> scientists studied a species known as the carpet shark and it's native to new zealand. they say it changes its metabolism and posture which indicates it sleeps even when its eyes are open. >> the research contradicts the reputation of some sharks like great whites, which never seem to sleep because they need to move to breathe. next people looking for love on tinder can now run a criminal background check on their date. >> yeah, so you can now screen matches for violent or harmful behavior. the background checks are done by a nonprofit firm within the tinder app and only turn up information relative to safety. no personal data like addresses or phone numbers or anything like that.

next, a new visit to the "star wars" galaxy. disney just released a trailer for "obi-wan kenobi." >> ewan mcgregor is back as the jedi master. >> the fight is done. we lost. stay hidden. >> it premieres on disney plus in may. next a new version of the classic vw bus. >> check out the i.d. buzz, an electric version of the classic equipped with 21st century gadgets and has three rows of seats and arrives in 2024. here's a different kind of vehicle. guinness says this is the world's longest car. just over 100 feet and it has 26 wheels, a pool, a putting green and a helipad. and finally a story that's really moo-ving. >> it led police on a chase of a century.

century. it visited a strip mall before avoiding triggers, but can't keep migraine attacks away? qulipta™ can help prevent migraine attacks... it can't prevent stress. qulipta™ can help prevent migraine attacks... it can't prevent changes in weather. you can't prevent what's going on outside, that's why qulipta™ helps what's going on inside. qulipta™ is a pill. gets right to work to prevent migraine attacks and keeps them away over time. qulipta™ blocks cgrp a protein believed to be a cause of migraine attacks. qulipta is a preventive treatment for episodic migraine. most common side effects are nausea, constipation, and tiredness. qulipta™ can help prevent migraine attacks. it works within your body's chemistry... it can't prevent lack of chemistry on a first date. learn how abbvie can help you save on qulipta. you founded your kayak company because you love the ocean- not spreadsheets. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates ript indeed you do.

visit indeed.com/hire ordinary tissues burn when theo blows. so puffs plus lotion rescued his nose. indeed you do. with up to 50% more lotion, puffs bring soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. find your beat your moment of calm find your potential then own it support your immune system with a potent blend of nutrients and emerge your best every day with emergen-c ♪ baby got back by sir mix-a-lot ♪ unlimited cashback match... only from discover. [growling] [sfx: toaster ding] meet the 4-year-old who refused to wear pants this morning. why, andi? i'm a dinosaur. won't wear pants, will eat eggo waffles. get your wins where you can

when you l'eggo with eggo. a jelly bean that's good for you? nature's bounty introduces new jelly bean vitamins. good-for-you nutrients in a tastier for you form. more sweet dreams. more flavorful immune support.

new nature's bounty jelly beans. live bountifully. ♪ ♪ ♪ got this gorgeous italian leather bag from marshalls. it was such a deal! ♪

just tap and there you have it. your all new personalized weight loss program from ww. it's easy. you take a short quiz, tell us your goals, how you're feeling and what you love to eat and we create a science backed plan that's designed just for you. at ww, we help you build healthy habits, so you can eat better, think better and feel better. getting started has never been easier. join now, pay later. get your first 3 months free at ww.com. hurry, offer ends march 14th. >> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. reggie:

strike. the demands and major staffing issue for schools in the north bay. kumasi: russia's invasion of ukraine appears to be shifting to a more destructive phase. also -- >> i will look at that delivery and do a quick math equation. reggie: rising gas prices voicev it just forcing gig workers -- forcing gig workers to pick and choose which jobs they take. good morning on this thursday, march 10. kumasi: first we want to check in with drew. drew: a wind advisory still in effect until 10:00 a.m. this morning for good reason. gusting to 25, 31 at diablo and hood mountain gusting over 25 miles per hour. a cold front moving through is kicking up wind in the hills and will bring a cooler afternoon. when we have the