carving out a path for safety for ukrainian civilians as russia continues its brutal assault. plus a desperate plea for help the ukrainian president pushes for a no-fly zone over the country as congress passes military aid. gas prices skyrocket past $4 a gallon. and caught in the diplomatic crossfire. the growing concerns for wnba superstar who's now detained in

moscow. plus, wee speak with brave americans who are joining the front lines on the side of you crain to fight against russia. "early today" starts right now. >> thanks for journeying us. good morning i'm steven romo. >> appreciate you being with us. i'm frances rivera. ukrainian announced another attempt at attempts over the weekend broke down quickly residents in a village north of kyiv were caught in shelling by russian forces eight people were killed in attacks there, according to that town's mayor. and the u.n. announced over 1.5 million people have fled the country. the fattest growing humanitarian effort on the continent since world war ii molly hunter joins us. tell us what's going on with the

cease-fire. >> reporter: as you were speaking, we have gotten a response from the ukrainian side the russian defense announced a cease-fire from 11:00 a.m. local time here in cochrane. they laid out routes that went to belarus and russia. they didn't say ukrainians have ag agreed, but moments ago the vice minister is speaking you saw russian confederation talk about humanism. our people won't go to belarus or russia. there's the southeastern city we've been so focused on to the west of the country. now, cease-fires, frances, are often brokered both parties have to agree to all the details. we will certainly stay on top of this if the russia side agrees

to the cochranukrainian proposa. >> i want to ask you before letting you go the russian forces have been slowly making their way to the capital kyiv roy do we know about their progress especially after they've been stalled the past few days. >> reporter: yeah. you're talking about the huge convoy we've seen on satellite imagery. it's still about 15 miles out. not a lot of progress. they're closing in on northeast suburbs and really hitting the south and southeast very hard, but we're still watching that convey just not a lot of forward progress frances? >> thank you so much for the update. this morning we're learning more about the growing humanitarian crisis unfolding in ukraine. the u.n. called it the fastest growing crisis joining us on the ground in poland, jay gray it's very active there jay, what are you seeing right

now? >> reporter: i want to give you an idea. this train station is a spot where many who were escaping ukraine made their first stop. it's so busy you can see right now the crowd is spilling into the street. families who have just arrived here, unsure where to go neck and struggling just to get inside this train station. residents scrambling to escape the shelling outside of kyiv homes and businesses battered and burning. ukraine soldiers frantically trying to guide people to trains and buses make their escape. a senior u.s. military official said about 95% of the combat power russia had along the border is in the country but facing strong resistance, often from volunteers, businessmen, tradesmen lining up to fight. >> our guys that are actually

standing there and fighting are russian military forces. they know what they're doing. >> reporter: intelligence officials expect the fighting will intense fife in the next se several days, that threat pushing even more people across the border. >> we know hundreds of thousands are on the move inside ukraine including just across the border here it is very likely we will see a large influx continue in the next few days. >> reporter: joining more than 1.5 million who have already made the journey to safety, now packed into bus stations, train terminals, houses, and shelters, uncertain of what may come next. and i want to give you a look inside just to show you the mass of humanity that has piled into this train station getting a ticket, almost impossible right now and most who are watching things unfold here believe that the

worst of this humanitarian crisis is still to come. there are people waiting to get in and go where they might be able to just to escape this mess after escaping the destruction, the violence in their country. guys >> a heartbreaking situation jay gray reporting from the border there in poland thank you. congress is responding to ukrainian president zelenskyy's call for action. last night details were explained including long legislation that would further isolate russia from the global economy. brie jackson has the latest. this all comes from that desperate plea from ukraine's leader. >> that's right. president zelenskyy had a private meeting with the house and senators asking for a no-fly zone, more aid, and a ban on

oil. speaker pelosi said in a letter congress was working on a bill that would bar the import of russian energy and products and take steps toward the world trade organization. >> we're now in very active discussions with our european partners about banning the import of russian oil to our countries. >> i think there's very strong bipartisan support to cut off russian oil and gas sale stos the united states. >> we should not allow putin to have any power at any moment by cutting us off at now point or in the future. we should cut them off now and replace it with american oil. >> reporter: it would also focus on mitigating rising gas prices by releasing more oil from america's strategic reserves the national average has climbed to over $4 a gallon, the highest in 14 years. in addition to a ban on russian oil, congress is also working on a $10 billion aid package in

ukraine to go toward humanitarian efforts toward the flood of refugees. it would also help ukraine defend its skies poland would provide jets that ukrainian pilots were trained to fly. the u.s. pledged to replace them so poland would not be left vulnerable back to you guys. an american wnba superstar is detained in russia this morning. arrested at a moscow airport after authorities said they found vape cartridges in her luggage. but it could have much worse implications here's kathy park. >> growing concern over wnba star brittney griner, arrested by customs officials on drug charges. this weekend they arrested a individual shown to be griner. the customs service saying they

found vape cartridges carrying hash oil, an offense which could carry a ten-year prison sentence. >> how worried should we be worried? >> unfortunately, kathy, we should be really worried once they figure out who she is it's undeniable she's now being held as part of the pawn in this geopolitical standoff and the war in ukraine. >> >> secretary of state antone in blinken when asked about griner said -- >> whenever any american is detained, we stand ready to provide any possible assistance. that includes russia. >> reporter: the 31-year-old center who played for the phoeniamericaky has played in russia in her off-season the tweet was our main concern is her safety, physical, and

mental health. her wife posted a message, this moment comes at one of the weakest moments in my life we continue to work on getting my wife home safely. >> reporter: wnba says aside from griner, all other players are out of russia and ukraine. back to you. >> a scary situation back to you. let's turn to weather. nbc meteorologist bill karins joins us hi, bill good morning. >> very devastating for iowa, and now we're watching reports in arkansas of possible tornadoes through last night and into this morning. that storm is crossing the mississippi river and that threat is going to continue through the day today. i do not expect to have a tornado outbreak like we had on saturday but it will produce wind damage and isolated tornadoes that tonight watch is currently up until 7:00 a.m. through

memphis and into greenville, mississippi. later on this afternoon this line of storms will stay pretty strong and roll through the tennessee valley, the ohio valley, the appalachians we have 48 million people at risk anywhere in yellow is under a big risk isolated tornados especially in tennessee, alabama, and portions of mississippi, especially maybe even north of atlanta, too, in north georgia. and then flooding, we have an aerial flood warning around areas in indianapolis and goes all the way to southern missouri, ohio, and a little section of vermont and new york. today, a lot of extremes from philadelphia southward.

84 in raleigh as we go through the afternoon. and there's all the thunderstorms in the south therest of this week, guys, is a lot quieter than it is this morning, thankfully. people are going to need time to clean up from the storms. >> all right, bill, thank you. commemorating 57 years since the bloody sunday march in selma, alabama. the convoy hits the beltway. it's a busy monday 're back in just one minute. hror of touch-activated scent technology. that lasts, even hours later! that's because febreze touch stores scent in your fabrics so you get bursts of freshness with every touch. your whole world will come alive. welcome home to fresh with febreze touch. la, la, la, la, la 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.

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during the civil rights movement on sunday she visited selma, alabama to commemorate bloody sunday that's when blacks were attacked by police crossing the bridge demonstrating for voting rights. she met with civil rights leaders, gave a powerful speech, and joined in on a symbolic march across the edmund pettus bridge. and a new mexico man returns home he spent more than 500 days in the hospital battling covid-19 according to an affiliate he was hospitalized back in 2020 and was sedated and put on a ventilator he lost use of his hands, arms, and legs since then he's catching up on everything he missed including meeting his grandson who is now 1 years old. i hope a lot of face-to-face

hugs and time spent together. >> quite a journey. still to come, the brooding cape crusaders soar again. gas prices soaring in the u.s., t stbuju how bad will it get? cnbc's steve sedgwick breaks it all down for us. ♪ahhh!♪ wooo! vaporize sore throat pain with truth is... i've never really known how to care for my hardwood floors. then i found swiffer wetjet wood. these soft microfiber-like pads absorb dirt and grime deep inside. and it prevents streaks and haze better than my old mop. wetjet wood. also try sweeper wood cloths. ♪ together forever and never to part ♪ ♪ together forever we two ♪ ♪ and don't you know i would move heaven and earth ♪ ♪ to be together forever with you ♪ is now a good time for a flare-up?

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soar across the country. the national average surpassed $4 for the first time in 14 years. joining us from lithuania is cnbc's steve sedgwick. good morning, steve. how much higher could these prices go? >> i'm in lithuania. the reason why it could go higher, antony blinken is about to speak mr. blinken, of course, on a whirlwind tour of europe to try to ensure support across nato and the u.s. action regarding russia and its invasion of ukraine. the problem is blinken has been talking about potentially having an import ban of gas from russia that's brought prices up $130 a barrel for the u.s., wti. that's the highest level we've seen since 2008.

in california already we're seeing in some places gasoline over $5 at the pumps as well as you say, the national ank is over 4 bucks that's up 45% in the past 12 months can allies really find any oil to replace that russian oil and gas potentially? maybe, maybe not there are hopes an iran nuclear deal will put more on the table for the international market but what about opec? at the moment the key opec members who have the spare oil, and it will come as no surprise, saudi arabia is loathe at the moment because opec has found its relevance again because it's turn into opec plus. who is the key member? that's, of course, the russians as well. they're trying to keep coordination with russia and saudi in the middle east because they think that coordination has led to steadier and higher prices the problem is, of course, that's detrimental to the saudi

customers and the very,er very important relationship with the united states and its allies as well where else can the oil cofrom? we're talk abouter shale having redumps and getting back on domestic will in the united states at the moment, i'm afraid to say it looks like those prices will remain high at the pump. >> it's going to get rough for some of us on the roads in the time to come steve, thank you. snow flurriies in your future bill karins is up next. and we spoke with some americans who are risking it all to go fight in ukraine um fiber,s to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins.

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which means freshness everyone will love. febreze. netflix is hitting the pause button on streaming in russia. the company ramped up its own sanctions in russia announcing it's suspended its service throughout russia. this comes after they stopped upcoming russia projects and supermodel gigi hadid announced on instagram she'll donate her earnings on upcoming fashion shows to ukrainians. president biden repeatedly said american troops would not be involved in the war in ukraine, but that has not

stopped some from volunteering to fight >> reporter: as war-torn ukraine is shelled and bombed, the country's call for fighters grows louder coming in, americans like new jersey carpenter andrew bennett. >> was there a moment you decided you're going to go and try to fight in ukraine, help ukraine? >> yeah, the moment i found out you couldn't. >> have you thought about what would happen if you get injured? >> i guess i'll figure it out when i get there. >> with no backup or safety net from the government, the risks are enormous nevertheless, he's ready to be part of the international region of territorial defense which includes 16,000 volunteers from across the globe they arrive to defend freedom, defend life. we were there as bennett began his paperwork, the form advising people to be fully self-equipped

with uniform, personal protection, and an explicit reminder it's on a voluntary basis. the form also asks applicants to specify your job, military combat experience. volunteers could be chosen to go at any time and at their own expense. bennett hopes his willingness to learn will be enough. >> why now >> i'm not married, i have no kids, so i'm getting up there in age, i'm still able-bodied. >> for many americans like bennett, they have no ties to the east european country, yet they feel compelled to make a difference even though the u.s. state department urges americans to avoid ukraine the extreme danger not lost on a u.s. combat veteran, dennis diaz. >> if i were to die over there in ukraine, then guess what? my children will know that i paid the highest price to be able to stand up and fight for

what's right. >> reporter: an unshakeable determination inspired by ukrainians' desperate fight for freedom. emily ikeda, new york. we thank you for s

devastating toll of the war in ukraine. coming up ahead, the growing number of refugees and the talks that are expected today. also, the impact on gas prices that are now shattering records here in the u.s. plus -- >> we absolutely need to be and are moving into the next phase of our response. >> we are moving you forward out of the pandemic. one of the state's top doctors explains what an endemic is and what you need to know as far as covid and the cases as they continue to drop.

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