. right now on "america this morning," the urgent manhunt after the new york city subway attack. more than 30 shots fired underground during the busy morning rush hour. chaos as smoke canisters are set off. people wounded and bloody on the platform. what we're learning about the 62-year-old man identified as a person of interest. police say he rented this u-haul towed away overnight. what police say he posted on social media that is now the subject of intense scrutiny. developing right now, from the war in ukraine, word of a major new shipmet of u.s. weapons and military aid after president biden for the first time uses the word "genocide." and now concern about security

along the russian border with finland. new video overnight. reported tornadoes hitting from iowa the storm zone gets even larger today. meanwhile, the wildfire emergency in the southwest. homes burning. and in the north, preparations for a record-breaking blizzard. plus, the california mother who now admits faking her own kidnapping. caught on camera, a dolphin goes on the attack at this show in florida. and big league history. the woman entering the game and the history books in major league baseball. >> announcer: from abc news in new york, this is "america this morning." good wednesday morning, everyone. we begin with the attack on the new york city subway and the urgent search for a person of interest in the investigation. >> we're learning more about the 62-year-old man who police say rented a u-haul van found near the brooklyn sub sway station where ten people were shot

yesterday. a total of 29 people were injured. the man's history on social media now under intense scrutiny. >> a man shot during the rampage describes what it was like underground as the gunman set off smoke canisters. >> the question now is, who was that shooter and why did he do it? overnight, police towed away the u-haul van believed to be connected to the person of interest in the investigation. 62-year-old frank james. police say james rented the van and the keys were found at the shooting scene along with a credit card used to rent the u-haul in philadelphia. >> if, in fact, the three things -- the gun, the credit card, and the u-haul -- are all linked to one person, you may well have this mass shooter. >> the rampage unfolded during morning rush hour tuesday. witnesses say a subway passenger wearing a neon green construction helmet and vest put on a gas mask, set off two smoke bombs, and opened fire.

>> i saw a lot of people coming out of the train station. one of them was injured. i believe it was a lady getting shot right on her leg. she was screaming, you know. she was in a lot of pain. >> police say the attacker fired 33 shots with a semiautomatic handgun, wounding 10 people before the gun jammed, which they say likely saved people's lives. >> we are truly fortunate that this was not significantly worse than it is. > video showed passengers in the smoke-filled subway car pounding on a connecting door, trying to escape. as the train car pulled into the subway station, terrified passengers ran onto the platform, and the gunman escaped. but police say a backpack was left behind filled with loaded magazines, commercial-grade fireworks, and a hatchet. they also say they recovered a glock handgun. at a hospital last night, new york governor kathy hochul visited some of the victims including one of the first

people shot. >> a black smoke bomb going off and then people bum rushing to the back. this pregnant woman was in front of me. i was trying to help her. i didn't know there were shots at first. she said, i'm pregnant with a baby. i hugged her and then the bum rush continued. i got pushed, and that's when i got shot in the back of my knee. >> reporter: meanwhile, investigators searching for james are not calling him a suspect in the shooting, only a person of interest. he had an active social media presence, posting numerous videos to his youtube page. >> i'm driving, i am driving, i a driving becaus i started my trip early. >> reporter: in one video, james talks about post-traumatic stress disorder, and he was also critical of the new york mayor's homeless policy. >> he mentions homelessness. he mentions new york, and he does mention mayor adams. as a result of that, in an abundance of caution, we're going to tighten the yoeshl mayor's security detail. >> for more on the scope of this

investigation, i spoke with robert royce, the former chief of detectives at the nypd. thanks for being on with us. i want to get your overall thoughts on the investigation so far. police searching for a person of interest after finding the key to that u-haul van. what stands out to you? >> what i think really is incredible here, he tried to fit in looking like a regular working person going to work. hard hit, construction clothes, very strange with that bag of different items in it. clearly it was designed to terrorize new york city, the subways itself. >> i know it's early, but do you see any potential clues from this investigation so far as to a potential motive? >> i don't right now. you look at these rantings. you look at this very anti-social speech that he's giving on the internet, and you wonder what's going on in this guy's head. i'd like to know more about this gun, this 9 millimeter. where was it purchased? also the magazines, where did they get those? you know, where was he able to acquire all this firepower, and

the fireworks too. why was that there? there's a lot of unanswered questions here. >> the cameras were not working inside the subway station during the attack. how much will that complicate the investigation? >> well, it's frustrating. you count on those after a while. these things happen. it's unfortunate. you can't count on mechanical things always. you have to go out and put work in. that happened. we've come a long way. we have to get past the fact these cameras weren't working. i will tell you, i closed a lot of my cases out before i retired on video evidence. so you can't always rely on that. you have other means to investigate and go forward and do that. >> our thanks there to chief boyce. a 9-year-old girl has been shot at this shopping mall east of los angeles, and she's in stable condition. police were searching for the gunman overnight and called that shooting an isolated incident. there's no word on what led to the gunfire. and turning now to the war in ukraine, a massive new

shipment of american weapons could soon be headed to the war zone amid new concern about russian military equipment on the move. abc's ike ejiochi is here with the latest. good morning, ike. >> reporter: good morning, faith. as the biden administration announces more weapons for ukraine, some attention is now turning to another one of russia's neighbors. this morning, a pentagon spokesperson says officials have no information regarding unconfirmed reports that russia is possibly moving military equipment closer to finland. unverified video on social media appears to show large dark green vehicles driving in an area of russia that borders finland. a street sign is seen in the video directing vehicles to helsinki, finland's capital. the kremlin recently warned finland and sweden against joining nato. as soon as today, president biden is expected to announce another $750 million in military

aid for ukraine. biden used the term "genocide" for the first time yesterday to describe russia's actions in ukraine. >> i called it genocide because it's become clearer and clearer that putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be ukrainian. >> reporter: the pentagon believes russia is now focusing on controlling eastern ukraine. a new satellite image of mariupol shows heavy damage to this sprawling plant, which is one of the largest iron and steel factories in all of europe. >> it's obvious that the russians want mariupol because of its strategic location. >> reporter: meanwhile, ukrainian security forces say they've captured fugitive ukrainian lawmaker viktor medvedchuk. vladimir putin is the godfather of his daughter. the pro-kremlin politian was vel back into russia. >> he's putin's closest ally in ukraine and could be used in a prisoner swap, but his close family ties to putin make him valuable leverage in negotiations. could his life be worth concess?

>> reporter: putin tuesday said peace talks have hit a dead end. he's vowed to continue the invasion, even claiming the military operation is going according to plan. now, the lead negotiator for ukraine is striking a different tone when it comes to peace talks, saying negotiations have been difficult but are ongoing. faith. >> ike, thank you. a judge says two men at the center of a secret service scandal can be freed with conditions until their trial. prosecutors say the men pretended to be federal officers and tricked secret service agents, four of whom are now suspended for allegedly accepting gifts from the men. no motive has been released. the judge ruled the two suspects do not pose a serious flight risk. the white house says a new anti-abortion law in oklahoma is the latest unconstitutional attack on women's rights. the measure bans the procedure except for medical emergencies. performing an abortion could lead to ten years in prison. violent weather is sweeping across the middle of the country.

this apparent tornado hit northern iowa. some buildings including homes were damaged but no reports of any serious injuries. and in central texas, at least two twisters have been reported with power outages in texas and louisiana. meanwhile, an april blizzard in north dakota has officials urging everyone to stay home. two feet of snow could fall. with that, let's take a look now at your wednesday forecast. >> good morning. the threat for severe weather continues into this morning along and west of the mississippi river, especially across iowa and the lower mississippi valley. tornadoes will be possible. speaking of which, into wednesday afternoon and wednesday night, tornadoes will also be possible across the lower great lakes, including chicago in the afternoon all the way down to the gulf coast. the greatest threat for tornadoes will be wednesday afternoon across the mid-mississippi valley. meantime, a blizzard is occurring in the northern plains. it's spring. i'm accuweather meteorologist kevin coskren.

coming up, how americans are cutting back on spending because of inflation. also ahead, the search in the rubble after a deadly porch collapse. and the california mother of two who now admits faking her kidnapping. potent want more restful sleep? nature's bounty gives you more with sleep3. the first ever triple action sleep supplement with 3 unique nighttime benefits to help you get a great night's sleep and wake feeling refreshed. live bountifully. nature's bounty.

one person is dead and two housgo.edft get t under the deb. city records show the home failed a previous inspection. families are making tough choices as inflation hits a 40-year high. a new poll finds 84% of americans are scaling back their spending eating out in restaurants among the first activities being cut and 40% say inflation is forcing them to spend less on healthy food.

president biden blames russia's war in ukraine for the historic inflation. republicans blame biden's policies. we now turn to the case of sherri papini, the mother accused of staging her own kidnapping while spending time with her ex-boyfriend. abc's derricke dennis reports papini now appears to be coming clean. >> reporter: this morning, sherri papini, the northern california woman charged with faking her kidnapping, has accepted a plea deal. a lawyer for the mother of two saying papini now admits making up the story that prompted a frantic search back in 2016 which made national headlines. >> search teams scouring these rural roads and trails trying to piece together what happened to sherri papini. >> papini resurfaced three weeko ananes. e me abducted at gunpoint by two hispanic women but federal prosecutors claim she had actually been staying with her former boyfriend in southern

california and had injured herself to back up her false statements. >> what angered me most about this is the outcome is that there is a tremendous amount of resources wasted. there's money lost. there's a community that was defrauded. >> reporter: now one day before her scheduled arraignment, the 39-year-old says she feels ashamed of her actions saying in a statement through her attorney, i am so very sorry for the pain i've caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who work so hard to try to help me. papini is expected to plead guilty to one count of lying to federal agents and one count of mail fraud for money she received from a state victims fund. the charges carry a maximum combined 25 years in prison. legal experts say accepting responsibility should help papini get a reduced sentence. derricke dennis, abc news.

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ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com. take a look at this video. wow. a man in minnesota survived this fiery crash. mitchell moore was driving a box truck when a suspected drunk driver hit him. the truck burst into flames after hitting the wall on that overpass. moore was able to walk away from that crash. the parents of pittsburgh steelers quarterback dwayne haskins are speaking out for the first time since their son's death. they call their pain unimaginable after haskins was killed while crossing a florida highway on foot. a vigil was held last night at ohio state where haskins played. a funeral will be held next week. police have not said why hkiwa e an w tn nowhittackhat was caugh on camera during a show in florida. abc's r in f of

an audience during the flipper show. >> i'm not exactly sure what happened underwater, but there was definitely some type of a struggle, and you could see both trainers trying to swim out of the water. and then the lead trainer kind of kept getting hit by the dolphin. the audience could definitely tell there was something wrong. >> reporter: shannon carpenter recorded this video of the moment the dolphin, named sundance, turned on its trainer. >> the kids didn't know what was going on. they were having a good time. but the rest of the adults were kind of looking around, thinking is this part of the act, or is something wrong? >> reporter: the video shows the trainer escape to safety on the dock, visibly shaken, before medics took her to the hospital. >> it didn't take long to realize this was not supposed to happen. >> reporter: the miami seaquarium offered this explanation, saying a trainer accidentally scratched the dolphin, sundance, with her hand. this was undoubtedly painful to sundance, who reacted by breaking away from the routine and swimming towards and striking the trainer. they say they're now evaluating

procedures and say adjustments to protocol for trainers and dolphins alike will minimize the chance of future accidents. the miami seaquarium was already facing scrutiny from federal investigators for its treatment of animals. the usda releasing a 17-page report last year citing alleged animal welfare violations at the park, including a crumbling tank where lolita, the orca, has lived for 52 years. the miami seaquarium says both the trainer and the dolphin sundance are recovering well. andrew, faith. >> thank you, rhiannon. coming up here on the show, the fast food chain where a robot can actually make your coffee soon. also ahead, the woman who just made history in the major leagues. maybe it's another refill at your favorite diner... or waiting for the 7:12 bus... or sunday afternoon in the produce aisle. these moments may not seem remarkable.

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♪ it's time to check "the pulse," and we begin with the woman who just made history in major league baseball last night. congratulations are in order for alyssa nakken, who took over as first base coach for the giants. it marked the first time in league history that a woman coached during a regular season game. >> nakken took over as first base coach after umpires ejected a different coach. after the game, she said she was prepared for this all along. congratulations to her. breaking barriers there. >> so much progress, and yet we still have a lot to do. next to lululemon. it's offering to buy back your sweaty workout clothes. >> the company is expanding its resale program beginning next week. you can actually go in and trade in your gently used lululemon leggings, your yoga pants and other items at any lululemon

store in exchange for a gift card. >> the company is offering $5 for used tank tops, t-shirts and shorts. all approved clothing will be washed and resold on the company's website. lululemon, trust me on this. you don't want my sweaty clothes. next, some fashion on a higher scale. a certain item might be the clear winner of the red carpet season. >> that is a pun. it is intended. handbags made of glass. several stars have been seen carrying them around. the see-through accessory is being called fashionable and functional. looks heavy to me. they are expected to be sold online very soon, and the price tag, $2,700. finally, a robot may brew your next cup of coffee. >> panera is now testing an automated brewing system that uses artificial intelligence to get the brew just right, including the perfect temperature. it's made by the same company behind the robots that make french fries at white castle and tortilla chips at chipotle. pretty cool. pretty cool. coming up, we remember

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gunman who opened fire on this new york subway. the increased patrol here at home. kumasi: some of the best bay area chefs serving a dinner for a cause. reggie: baseball history made at oracle park. the female coach breaking areas. my favorite part was the opposing team with a handshake -- classy. drew: we will find less wind today. rain returns later on tonight. temperatures chilly in the 30's and 40's. 39 in half moon bay, 33 in san jose. for much of the day, you do not need the raingear, showers first moving in later on tonight.