tonight, several developing stories as tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. flash flood emergency in virginia. more than 90 million americans could be impacted by winter weather. breaking news, talks between the u.s. and russia to end the war in ukraine. thousands of irs workers could be laid off in the middle of tax season. stormy night ahead, severe storms, possibly tornadoes in

the south, life-threatening floods in kentucky and tennessee and mud slides in the west. talks between the u.s. and russian officials to end the war in ukraine set to begin. irs in the cross hairs, up to 15,000 could be out of work just as the agency gears up for tax season. confusion in multiple agencies dealing with mass cutbacks under elon musk and the department of government efficiency. scientists and doctors feeling they won't be able to respond to a health crisis. hamas releases three more hostages, including an american. hundreds of palestinian prisoners also released. the larger question, will the fragile ceasefire deal hold? pope francis said to be showing some improvement but spending a second night in the hospital with bronchitis. the vatican cancelling several appearances. the suspect accused of murdering a top insurance executive making a statement to the

public. thanking them for donations to his legal defense. running for safety after a deadly crash. fire deep under a mountain, investigation under way. egg prices skyrocketing nationwide because of the bird flu, restaurants and supermarkets taking action. what some are using for substitutes. america strong, at 96 years old, he still delivers the goods. >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york, this is "world news tonight." >> good evening, thanks so much for joining us this saturday, i'm rachel scott in for whit johnson. a major storm is bringing winter weather, more than 90 million bracing for snow, ice, heavy rain and tornadoes. dangerous flooding across parts of virginia, the governor deploying the national guard, weis county declaring a state of

emergency. flash flood warnings in effect, the national weather service issuing warnings of flooding. mud slides causing evacuations and the closure of a major interstate. and mississippi are bracing for another round of tornadoes after a twister battered wayne county leaving a trail of destruction. high wind alerts are in effect for 86 million in 22 states. sunday to monday. we have team coverage, and start in jackson, mississippi. >> reporter: tonight, the snow, rain and tornado threat across the country, 90 million people now bracing for extreme weather. >> we have flash flood warnings widespread. >> reporter: virginia's governor deploying the national guard tonight as the state is also impacted. some roads there becoming impassable. wise county declaring a state of emergency due to ongoing flash flooding, parts of buchanan county there under way.

this building almost completely submerged. in the south, tennessee and kentucky are at high risk for excessive rainfall. a rare warning by national weather service. kentucky's governor saying there have been landslides in the state. this house in knox county, kentucky, surrounded by rushing flood waters. tennessee also under flash flood warnings, heavy rain causing the stream to surge over its banks, spilling onto roads. also a threat of tornadoes in mississippi, the region just recovering after a damaging ef-1 tornado tore through wayne county this week. the daytona 500 is starting the race an hour early tomorrow, anticipating impacts from severe weather. in the northeast, authorities are preparing for what they expect to be significant snowfall. snow causing treacherous road conditions in fulton county, pennsylvania, causing accidents on the road. back in the west, parts of california digging out of the muddy mess. some of the areas hit by the devastating eaton and palisades fire. >> we get fire and also this

biblical 40 days and nights flood, and it's inundated any kind of system. >> reporter: rachel, there is an enhanced risk for tornados hanging over this area into the late night hours. it could be a sleepless night. we're expecting severe thunderstorms and damaging winds gusting up to 70 miles an hour. rachel. >> faith, thank you. let's get right to meteorologist somara theodore for the timing this out. >> reporter: we're expecting this south storm to stick around. and arkansas and eastern tennessee will be seeing heavy rain from the system. right now we have significant rainfall that could lead to life-threatening flash flooding in parts of kentucky. northern tier of the storm, snow falling for parts of upstate new york, transitioning from wintry weather to rain in new

york city. timing it all out, it looks like this storm system will linger in new hampshire and vermont through sunday afternoon. by sunday night, still tapering off for places like boston. high wind alerts are also in place lining the east coast. rachel. >> somara, thank you. breaking news, top u.s. officials head to saudi arabia for talks to end the war in ukraine. sources telling abc news that secretary of state marco rubio and others expected to meet with top russian officials. it's unclear if ukraine will join them. abc's jay o'brien. >> reporter: nearly three years after russia's brutal invasion of ukraine, sources telling abc news top trump administration officials are traveling to saudi arabia to jump start peace talks between moscow and kyiv. the trip expected this week. sources telling abc news that secretary of state marco rubio, waltz and wittkov are

expected to meet with russian officials. ukrainian negotiators not expected to participate at this point. president volodymyr zelenskyy saying today. >> maybe bring something to the table but not our table. i didn't see any invitations. >> reporter: days ago, president trump speaking by phone with zelenskyy after a 90-minute phone call with vladimir putin. >> we had a great call, lasted a long time. think president putin wants peace, president zelenskyy wants peace. i want peace. >> reporter: trump, who long promised to end the war was asked if he viewed ukraine as an equal in these talks. >> do you view ukraine as an equal member of this peace process? >> interesting question. i think they have to make peace, their people are being killed. >> reporter: the trump administration reiterating all options are on the table, including the ukraine goal of

joining nato. president zelenskyy posting he's had good conversations with u.s. officials and real peace is possible. rachel. >> talks with both sides, jay o'brien, thank you. the latest moves to shrink the size of the federal government, tens of thousands of federal employees suddenly fired from their jobs. word tonight that the irs laid off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season. abc senior white house correspondent, selina wang. >> reporter: 15,000 irs workers facing potential termination in the middle of tax season. sources telling abc news that cuts could come as early as next week. the potential impact is unclear. sources say the employees do not work directly on processing tax filings, but so much of the work is connected to that central mission. it's the latest move in the ongoing and unprecedented purge of the federal work force. president trump empowering elon

musk to dramatically slash the government budget. >> we want to downsize and make it better. >> reporter: targeting thousands from more than a dozen agencies. more than a thousand from veterans affairs, including first sergeant phil iz who feels betrayed, fired just two years from retirement. >> taking care of troops, making sure we're paid, fed and slept. why is this happening to us? no. >> reporter: thousands fired from centers for disease control, half of the doctors and scientists who are sent across the country and world to respond to outbreaks. >> this is a decapitation of the nation's most important health agencies that have led the world in science, technology and innovation. this is going to cost more in the end than it saves. >> reporter: mass firings spearheaded by elon musk's department of government

efficiency. hanna hickman, another recently fired worker has this message for musk. >> we're under attack from billionaires but i'm not a billionaire, the next steps are scary. >> reporter: elon musk is also sparking concerns within the intelligence community, doge posting details on the website about the head count and budget for an intelligence agency that maintains u.s. satellites. this could be a major security breach. >> some concerns there. selina wang, great to have you with us in new york. tomorrow morning, house minority leader hakeem jeffries speaks with jonathan karl. the middle east, hamas releasing three more hostages as part of the ceasefire deal. this american having an emotional reunion after 497 days in captivity. more than 350 palestinians also freed from israel, reports that some

are in poor health. the secretary of state is expected to meet with the israeli prime minister tomorrow. abc's marcus moore in tel aviv tonight. >> reporter: relief and happiness in israel as the families and nation watched three hostages emerge from captivity in gaza. among them this american, a 36 now father of three was taken october 7th. these moving images show the reunion with his wife who gave birthday to their third daughter while he was held hostage. there were many heartfelt reunions broadcast for the world to see. families gathered around a screen at hostage square in tel aviv. emotions quickly shifting to concern for the remaining 70 hostages, including vicky's 20-year-old son, nimrod. >> i was very glad for them, but worried for my son. this is our nation, bring him back home. >> reporter: families are

imploring benjamin netanyahu to move to phase two to bring all hostages home. while in gaza and the west bank, more reunions. over 300 palestinian prisoners were released for the hostages. secretary of state marco rubio has arrived in tel aviv, and he's expected to meet with the prime minister tomorrow morning as pressure mounts on israel and hamas to move to phase two in the ceasefire agreement. rachel. >> marcus, thank you. the latest on pope francis, the 88-year-old is hospitalized with bronchitis but showing signs of improvement. abc's chief international correspondent james longman is in rome. what is the latest? >> reporter: the pope is spending a second night in the hospital, treated for bronchitis. he is getting better. but his doctors say the fever is gone, tests improving. spent the day resting, reading and in prayer. but they've prescribed absolute

rest. so he will not lead prayer from vatican city tomorrow. but he will send a message to the faithful. he's said to be pleased with the messages of support and he's thanked those who pray for his recovery. >> so many are wishing him well. james thank you. measles outbreak in rural west texas, doubling in size to 48, mostly children and teens. many are unvaccinated or the status is unknown. it's the state's worst outbreak in 30 years. abc's morgan. >> reporter: a disease once declared eliminated in the u.s. is spreading rapidly through rural west texas. 48 cases, mostly children and teens. 13 hospitalized. all infected unvaccinated or status unknown. this mom taking no chances when her son came down with mysterious rashes. >> just wanted to make sure if it is measles, we get it treated. >> reporter: measles is a highly

contagious virus that can lead to serious health complications if untreated. health experts say the vaccine is safe and effective, and a two-shot series is required for most kindergarteners entering public schools. but in gaines county, some of the cases appear to be linked to private religious schools. texas allows vaccine exemptions, including for religious beliefs. this county having one of the highest opt out rates in the state. with vaccine hesitancy on the rise, we could see more of these outbreaks. rachel. >> morgan, thank you. drivers scrambling for safety after a fiery exploration inside an interstate tunnel. massive pileup, drivers and passengers forced to flee the flames and black smoke. what we are learning tonight.

jaclyn lee. >> explosion. >> reporter: tonight the ntsb is investigating a deadly pileup on a major highway in wyoming. stunning images showing thick black smoke billowing out of green river tunnel on i-80 after a multivehicle crash shut down the highway in both directions. >> uniqueness is it was in the tunnel and fire started there, prevented our response into the tunnel. >> reporter: the accident occurring friday morning around 11:30. multiple fires on site making it so hot that tires were exploding. first responders racing to the scene, announcing two people were killed in the crash, multiple injured. >> feel bad for the people burning alive in there, man. i couldn't even try to help them. >> reporter: geologists and engineers are inspecting the infrastructure and the cause of the crash is under investigation. rachel. >> jaclyn, thank you. egg prices hitting a record

high as the u.s. struggles with an outbreak of the bird flu. some grocery stores having a problem keeps the eggs on their shelves. and the cdc is reporting another human case of the virus. abc's alexis. >> reporter: tonight, as the cdc confirms another human case of the bird flu, the ongoing outbreak wreaking havoc on the egg supply, sending prices to record levels across the u.s. according to the bureau of labor statistics, the price of eggs is up 53% over the past year. $4.95 a dozen. shortages coast-to-coast, from long lines for fresh eggs in california to empty shelves in new york. >> $10 a carton, what? >> reporter: lawmakers in nevada suspending a cage-free law to meet demand. stores including costco, walmart, trader joe's, whole foods and kroger now limiting how many cartons of eggs customers can buy. all this at a time that breakfast is booming.

while some use substitutes, others use real eggs, including mcdonald's, taco bell, wendy's, panera's and waffle house. added a 50 cent surcharge for eggs. others are scrambling to come up with alternatives, like tapioca starch or increasing nonegg item portion sizes. some flocking to substitutes like just egg. january sales jumped five times from a year ago. the company telling abc news it's ramping up production of its vegan-based eggs to meet growing demand. officials say don't expect relief soon. with easter weeks away, demand is expected to rise and the department of agriculture predicts prices will go up another 20% this year. >> prices and demand soaring. alexis, thank you. so much more ahead on "world news tonight" this saturday.

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finally tonight, meet the finally tonight, meet the man still spreading kindness at 96. bill has a special way to start each day, rolling out his bike, filling his basket with goodies and heading out on his route. that's bill at 96 years old on wheels. stopping to pass out treats to all the pets in his community in mesa, arizona. three cats and 30 dogs. >> nothing is more important to him than seeing bill. >> reporter: every day, rain or shine the last 23 years. >> the dogs all know and love him. just love him. >> several dogs and cats, started giving them treats. doing so ever since. >> reporter: knows most of the pets by name. >> your next customer is waiting for you. >> reporter: always on time.

>> all kinds of weather, chilly, rainy, bill is out delivering the treats. >> reporter: if they're not there, he leaves something anyway. >> inspiration, 96 and active, on the bike. >> and has no plans of slowing down. thanks so much for watching. i'm rachel scott. good night.

announcer: the bay area is full of rich history, age-old traditions, and festive celebrations. in fact, one of the biggest events in the bay area is the san francisco chinese new year parade, which is the largest lunar new year celebration outside of asia. more than one million people attend festivities around the parade. from food, firecrackers, lion dancers, to art, there are many ways to celebrate lunar new year and the year of the snake. ♪