right now on "america this morning," more mask confusion. >> nothing makes sense anymore. >> the patchwork of new rules after a judge struck down the mask mandate on planes and other public transportation but will the biden administration appeal that ruling? what we're learning this morning. more help on the way. a massive new u.s. military aid package now under consideration for ukraine. how much it could be worth just as russia ramps up the biggest assault of the war yet. what ukrainian president zelenskyy is now saying about putin's forces. here at home a new strike force on the southern border. the action dozens of governors are now taking to secure the border ahead of a new wave of migrants. a reality check for netflix. losing subscribers for the first time in a decade. the possible new plan to add

commercials. plus, the debate over tipping. are we doing too much of it these days? and a special fist bump for one young fan at the nba playoffs. good wednesday morning, everyone. we begin with growing confusion about mask requirements on planes and public transportation. >> there could be a new legal battle brewing. the justice department says it it may appeal a judge's ruling that struck down the ruling but it is taking a wait and see approach. >> in the meantime, more airports and transit systems are announcing their own rules. here to break it all down for us is abc's ike ejiochi with the very latest. ike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, andrew. there's still a chance this ruling could be appealed by the department of justice, but the agency is waiting to see what the cdc determines moving forward. this morning, the federal mask mandate on planes and public

transportation is gone. >> masks now optional. >> reporter: a federal judge in florida overturning the cdc's travel mask mandate, welcome news for some flight attendants. >> i have flown and worked throughout the pandemic. there has been more incidents of unruly passengers. >> reporter: according to the faa, from january 2021 to april 12th of this year, the agency recorded over 7,000 unruly passenger reports with at least 5,000 of those incidents mask related, but not everyone is championing the decision. white house covid response coordinator dr. ashish jha tweeting about the mandate reversal calling it deeply disappointing saying the cdc should have been given more time on a decision and suggesting people continue to mask up on planes. president biden also weighing in. >> president, should people continue to wear masks on planes? >> that's up to them. >> reporter: the department of justice says it'll appeal the decision if the cdc concludes that a mandatory order is necessary for the public's

health. the department also questioning the precedent behind the the cdc on public health matters? right now the infection rates are climbing across 33 states and while amtrak and ride share serviciras rules, several major cities like new york, philadelphia and san francisco still require them on some public transit resulting in passengers forced to wear masks at airports but not on the actual planes. >> it was like contradicting. don't do this, don't do that and thenyou have to listen to both. >> reporter: now, united airlines says it will allow customers who were previously banned on its flights due to mask violations back on their planes, however, it'll be on a case-by-case basis. andrew. >> all right, ike, thank you. moderna is reporting promising results from an updated booster shot it hopes to roll out this fall. the company says the redesigned shot offers better protection against omicron and several other covid variants.

it has not been vetted by independent experts just yet. turning now to the war in ukraine, new video posted by a local official shows the damage to this hospital in southeastern ukraine just as russia launches a major new offensive. in the meantime, we are learning that more help from the u.s. is on the way. sources confirm the white house plans to announce another major weapons delivery to ukraine as soon as this week. the new aid package could be similar to the $800 million package president biden announced just last week, which included howitzer missiles, switchblade drones and armored humvees. the pentagon tuesday would not say what type of weapons could be included this time. >> you have to do this smartly, and that means doing it in chunks and phases based on what their needs are in the moment. i would be irresponsible for us not to do it that way. >> reporter: a u.s. defense official says the u.s. and other countries have now given ukraine 70,000 anti-tank weapons and 30,000 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. the official believes the

russians will be targeting roads in western ukraine being used to ship those weapons farther into the country. it all comes as russia declares a new phase in the war, stepping up attacks in the country's eastern industrial heartland. ukrainian authorities say russia is now dropping heavy bombs on this sprawling steel plant in the port city of mariupol where thousands of ukrainian troops have refused to surrender. this farmer's land is not far from the eastern front lines. he showed abc's james longman the missile he towed away after it landed in his field. he tends to his crops in his fortified tractor wearing a flak jacket and helmet. >> your tractor is your tank. >> reporter: "yes, we're risking our lives," he says, "but we have to do it." in his daily address ukrainian president zelenskyy called russia's military the most barbaric in the world for targeting civilians. the white house is pushing back against a new report that claims president biden may delay

lifting title 42. that's a rule that allows border officials to turn back migrants because of the pandemic. the rule is set to expire next month. meanwhile, 26 republican governors are creating a so-called border task force. they're worried about a wave of new migrants and say the task force will focus on drugs and human trafficking. >> to share information, to bring law enforcement out, assets in our fusion centers to stop this flow of dangerous drugs like fentanyl which is the number one cause of death here in southern arizona among young people. that's just not how it's supposed to be. >> figures show the number of drug arrests at the southern border is down 33% compared to this time last year. nearly 800 homes in northern arizona have been evacuated as a wildfire rages out of control. it's already burned nine square miles near flagstaff destroying two dozen buildings. the flames fueled by heavy winds have climbed 100 feet in the air. now to the legal battle over

a controversial member of congress. her opponents are trying to disqualify congresswoman marjorie taylor greene from running for re-election. but this is more than just about getting on the ballot. a lawsuit in georgia could now force marjorie taylor greene to testify about the attack on the u.s. capitol making her the first member of congress to be questioned under oath about the january 6th riot. a group of voters filed a lawsuit trying to disqualify greene from running for re-election in georgia citing her alleged role in the riot. a judge is now allowing 9 challenge to move forward. greene is set to testify on friday. >> this whole thing is a lie. it's a scam. >> reporter: greene was 1 of 147 republicans in congress who objected to the results of the 2020 presidential election. the lawsuit quotes greene as calling the rioters patriots and cites her condemning court cases against the january 6th suspects but the congresswoman said democrats are just trying to keep her off the ballot. she insists she had nothing to do with the attack on the capitol. >> all i did was what i'm

legally and allowed to do by the constitution as a member of congress and that was i objected to joe biden's electoral college votes from a few states. i was a victim of the riot. i was evacuated along with all the members of congress in the house chamber because we were working. we were doing the electoral college count, which is our job. that's nothing illegal. >> voters in north carolina filed a similar lawsuit to remove republican madison cawthorn from the ballot. that challenge was unsuccessful. the search for the person who murdered a new york mother is now focusing on the victim's cell phone. orsolya gaal was stabbed dozens of times in her queens home. her body found in a duffel bag at a local park. detectives say they found the numbers of three men in her phone. they want to speak with one of them. they say he is familiar with gaal's home. detectives say there was no sign of a break-in. a $3,500 reward is being offered in the case. all right.

let's turn now to your wednesday weather forecast. grab that winter coat because frost and freeze warnings are posted from ohio and pennsylvania all the way to south carolina. windchills are in the 20s and 30s from boston and chicago to the carolinas. we're watching two big storms as well. one moving across the plains into the midwest. the second storm hitting the pacific coast with rain and heavy snow for the mountains and checking today's high temperatures, the northeast warms up to around 60 and very warm across texas today. very warm in phoenix as well. 90 there. and coming up, more good news for people with student loans. but first why a man who spent 32 years in prison for a murder he did not commit is finally about to walk free. and later the growing debate after the pandemic. are we overtipping workers in the service industry.

back now with police in syracuse, new york, putting an 8-year-old in the back of a patrol car. the boy was accused of stealing a bag of chips from a store. police say he was not handcuffed or arrested, and they say the boy was taken home, where officers met with his father. no charges were filed. the police department is now reviewing all body camera video from the incident. now to california and a man who spent more than three decades behind bars for a murder he did not commit. he is finally getting justice. here's abc's morgan norwood. >> reporter: after spending 32 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, 61-year-old joachim syria set to walk free from a california facility. syria overcome with emotion, hugging his legal team as the

judge overturned his conviction. he was exonerated by san francisco district attorney chesa boudin. >> i was waiting for him to actually walk out. he was very excited. he was pretty overwhelmed. he was really happy. >> reporter: paige worked on his case under the district attorney's innocence commission which reviews potential wrongful convictions. >> think about the ripple effects of each wrongful conviction. they're stolen from wives, children, mothers, sisters. >> reporter: syria was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of his friend, who was shot in the head after an argument in a san francisco alley. for months, the commission searched for new witnesses and evidence and found a cascade of errors in how the case was handled, including police coercion of a key witness, who was a teenager at the time. >> i think the thing that really sealed it for all of us is when the eyewitness came forward and named the actual killer who

matched the original descriptions. and his detailed descriptions o% what he saw and heard and how that fit with everything else and, you know, everything pointing to joaquin being innocent and this other person being responsible. >> reporter: now free, syria thanking the district attorney and the commission. he says he's looking forward to a fresh start. >> he said he wants to take a walk with his son and just be able to walk and talk, which is something they've never been able to do. >> reporter: morgan norwood, abc news, los angeles. >> syria could be released in the next few days. his name will be added to a list of more than 270 wrongful convictions in california since 1989. millions of americans with student loan debt are getting a break. the education department is now giving onetime waivers and credits to borrowers whose payments were mismanaged. the move wipes out the debt of about 40,000 people and gives three years of credits to more than 3 million people. coming up, why commercials

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life is for living. we got this! let's partner for all of it. edward jones back now with road rage in new jersey. a driver is charged with attempted murder accused of running down a woman, backing up and running over her again. witnesses say vincent gene hit the woman's car then chased her when she tried to take pictures of his license plate. she remains in the hospital. he is being held without bail. >> terrifying video there. prosecutors in colorado have dropped charges against barry morphew just days before his trial for the murder of his wife. but as he left court with his daughters, the door remained open for new charges to be filed later. the d.a. says they need more time to find suzanne morphew's body which they believed is covered deep in the snow near the family's former home. she vanished on mother's day in 2020. >> there's been not a single ounce of physical evidence that has been found connecting mr. morphew to this alleged crime.

barry morphew loves suzanne morphew. he loves her, and he misses her and wants to know where suzanne morphew is. >> prosecutors say morphew killed his wife for having an affair. moving on now, a reality check for netflix this morning. the streaming service is reporting a loss in subscribers and now it may even add commercials to make up for it. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: overnight netflix's stock plunging as much as 25% after the streaming powerhouse announced it lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. >> just when you think it couldn't get any worse, it just does. >> reporter: netflix blaming more competition, illegal password sharing and russia's invasion of ukraine. the company ended the first quarter with 200,000 fewer subscribers than the end of last year. >> we're seeing a lot of the subscription fervor that was

going on during the pandemic, we're seeing that start to slow down. >> reporter: after increasing cost the basic plan is now $10 but according to a new study more than 60% of people think they shouldn't have to pay any more than $7.50 per month for a streaming service. >> there is the potential for a considerable scandal. >> reporter: so in order to lower its price, netflix is looking at cheaper ad supported subscription plans. >> advertising is inevitable. you'll have to do it not just to acquire new subscribers. >> reporter: netflix is hoping to cash in on nonpaying subscribers. the company currently has 222 million paying subscribers but estimates passwords are being shared with more than 100 million households, a potential new revenue source. >> they really haven't gone after these people that they see are clearly in another state. >> reporter: netflix isn't the only streaming service hurting. roku, spotify and disney also

traded lower tuesday. >> whatever netflix decides to do, probably a lot of other services are going to emulate that in some way. >> netflix says after suspending its service in russia due to the war in ukraine, it lost 700,000 subscribers, and they expect to lose another 2 million around the world this quarter. andrew, dion. >> andrea, thank you. all right, a fun moment from the nba playoffs last night. suns player devin booker fell out of bounds and fist bumped a baby. one very lucky fan. that's going to be a fan for life now, but, unfortunately, the suns lost to the pelicans. i still got faith though that the suns will come out on top. they are the number one seed and they had the best record in the nba. >> you know i don't care about that. the baby is thre all th coming up, big news about popeyes chicken. and why scientists at mit are studying oreo cookies.

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♪ >>ck "the pulse." we begin with a debate over tipping. are we doing too much of it? >> apparently some people are complaining that tipping has gotten out of control. since the pandemic, more businesses are using tablets, prompting customers to give a tip but only providing options like 20% or 25%. >> customers are also being asked to leave tips in places they never did before like at casual restaurants where you pick up the order. average tips during the height of the pandemic were up 23%, but they're down to under 20%. next to the business of baseball. >> players' jerseys are about to get some big league sponsorship. the san diego padres will become the first major league team to include advertising on their jerseys. next year they'll feature the motorola logo.

next, scientists at mit say they have cracked the cookie code. >> they found an answer to the age-old question, can you split an oreo with equal amounts of cream on both cookies? after several tests with a device they develops, the scientists found the cream usually sticks to one side even if you split the oreo perfectly. they found it's because of how the cookie is manufactured. >> if you look at the way that the cookies are organized in the box, the cream is always on the waver facing one direction. and so from that, we can glean that it's the manufacturing. like the original manufacturing puts a dollop of cream on one cookie. then it attaches the other cookie. that time delay is enough that you have the cream attaches much better to the cookie -- >> they went through 20 boxes of oreos for the study. finally, great news for fans of popeye's chicken. >> the company is expanding. it plans to open 200 new locations across the u.s. and canada this year. many fast food chains suffered

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