imports. oil prices are ady at hi more ne, downld thebs app on yh l it's monday, march 7th, 2022. this is the "cbs morning news." breaking overnight, cease-fire announced. new efforts are under way to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people u russia continues to stage attacks across the country. refugee crisis. as men stay behind to fight, women are facing their own battles navigating rubble, cold temperatures, and chaotic crowds on their way to safety. circling the beltway. the so-called people's convoy reaches the nation's capital to protest vaccine mandates in the u.s. well, good morning, and good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with breaking developments in the war between

russia and ukraine. overnight russia announced a cease-fire to open humanitarian corridors. the pause in fighting would allow people to safely leave four cities, kyiv, mariupol, kharkiv, and sumy. this comes after two failed attempts to evacuate hundreds of thousands from mariupol over the weekend. as the shelling continues, a senior u.s. defense official sa5% of russia nt some of those soldiers are facing strong resistance as they try to close in on a capital of kyiv. secretary of state antony blinken said that the u.s. stands by nato countries who want to send fighter jets to ukraine as part of their military help. laura podesta is here in new york with the latest on all of this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. what is likely first to happen is a transfer of aircraft. the u.s. would send fighter jets to poland so poland could supply ukrainians with older soviet-era plans. the backfill is not a done deal,

and some of what washington is considering is this would mean an considerable increase in u.s. involvement in this war. four people including two children died from this attack in the ukrainian city of irpin, 15 miles from kyiv. russian forces shelled the city as they moved closer to the capital. >> we know why we defend our country. >> reporter: in kyiv, hundreds of men are volunteering to fight. >> we know what we are doing. that's why we will win. >> reporter: president volodymyr zelenskyy urged his people to not give up. and called on other nations to supply ukraine with fighter jets, something the u.s. and poland are working on. >> we're talking with our polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if, in fact, they choose to provide these fighter jets to the ukrainians. >> reporter: there's a third round of talks between russia

and ukrainian delegations today. a local cease-fire brokered at left week's meeting to allow citizens to flee mariupol was quickly broken. >> we see the consequence of war -- >> reporter: congressman raul ruiz was part of a congressional delegation that visited the polish/ukrainian border this weekend. >> i saw women crying because of the horrors of having to leave behind their spouse or elder son who are fighting in this war. it is truly a humanitarian crisis that we must address. >> reporter: lawmakers are hopeful that a $10 billion aid package for ukraine can be passed as soon as this week. on capitol hill, there's growing momentum to ban russian oil and natural gas imports to further cripple russia's economy. and there's also legislation under consideration to appeal normal trade relations with russia and belarus and begin the process of denying russia access to the world trade organization. >> all right. laura podesta in new york. thank you so much, laura. the fighting has caused 1.5

million people to flee the ukraine, the u.n. calling it the fastest growing refugee crisis in europe since world war ii. christina ruffini is in poland with more. >> reporter: as ukrainian men stay behind to defend their country, ukrainian women are fighting their own battles. navigating dangerous, rubble, and chaos. >> translator: it was scary, we got scared. before that we did not think we would leave. >> reporter: panicked crowds and freezing temperatures, hauling children, luggage, even the family dog. >> reporter: thousands of refugees have fled into surrounding countries, more than 100,000 to slovakia, almost 170,000 to hungary, and more than 800,000 to poland. >> i want to stop war and get back my normal life. i want to live in peace. >> reporter: 29-year-old christina came to this crossing with a mission, to pick up and

deliver this car to the front. paid for with donations and filled with supplies. >> we have night vision. it's really hard to get now. >> reporter: since military age men can't leave ukraine, women are acting as couriers. >> the country fighting against enemy united like helping each other. >> the only thing that helps is to work and believe. >> reporter: believe that this will end, that they can win, and that their country and its people will be made whole. when we drove off, christina's phone wasn't working. we had to point out the border. she made it safely to her destination. ahead on "cbs mornings" we'll check in with tony dokoupil who's reporting from poland at a busy border crossing. he spoke with dozens of families escaping the war this ukraine. back home, at least seven

people were killed when several tornadoes touched down in iowa. two children under the age of 5 were among those killed in the state's deadliest storm in nearly 14 years. multiple people were hurt. the twisters ripped through areas of south des moines saturday. dozens were homes were destroyed. at one point about 10,000 people lost power. >> it's hard to think about when something like this happens because you just don't know like where to start. that's the big question, where do you start, what do you do with all this stuff now. >> the tornadoes tore through 100 miles of land with speeds up to 138 miles per hour. fast-moving wildfires are burning across the florida panhandle this morning forcing the evacuation of more than 1,100 homes. the largest is the bertha swamp road fire which started on friday. it's destroyed around 9,000 acres and is 20% contained. near panama city, the atkins avenue fire has burned more than 800 acres and is 40% contained.

it's destroyed at least two homes and damaged another dozen. officials say the fire was caused by someone burning debris in a back yard. thousands of acres of dead trees left behind by hurricane michael in 2018 have fueled the fires. >> you almost feel targeted when the fire just comes up and takes your house and next-door neighbor and that's it. i know we're not -- it's just -- just hard to get away from those feelings. >> yesterday another fire forced the evacuation of veterans at a nursing home. the forest service says there are 168 wildfires burning more than 15,000 acres across florida. and truck drivers and others calling themselves the people's convoy say they will be back circling the beltway around the nation's capital today. hundreds of drivers circled the highway for more than four hours yesterday protesting covid pandemic restrictions. supporters waving american flags cheered them on from overpasses. few traffic disruptions were reported, though.

coming up, members of a family separated by more than 5,000 miles. >> i said, "i'll get you out. i'll get you out." >> a minnesota woman says her elderly parents are stranded in ukraine. how she's trying to get them out of the war-torn country. and box office blockbuster. "the batman" sets a record on its opening weekend. this is the "cbs morning news." this is the "cbs morning news." do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.

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on the "morning newsstand." cbs minnesota station wcco reports a st. paul woman is desperate to rescue her elderly parents from ukraine. lena bly grew up in ukraine but moved to minnesota more than 15 years ago when she got married. she says her mother was in a hospital in kharkiv for surgery when the bombing started. bly says the hospital was evacuated while her mom was still recovering and was unable to walk. >> my biggest concern that they're there by themselves, two people in 80s, and they don't have anyone to come and get them. >> bly says that she's been talking to her parents every day, but they are running out of food, and the heat has stopped working. she says her friends are collecting money to help. the "associated press" says vice president kamala harris marked the 57th anniversary of bloody sunday in selma, alabama. she joined civil rights activist and walked across the edmund pettus bridge to commemorate the day when white u.s. troops beat

black voting rights marchers. it comes as efforts to pause voting rights legislation has stalled. >> we will keep fighting. we will keep organizing. we will keep shouting. we will keep making good trouble, and we will march on until victory is won. >> harris called the site hallowed ground. and "the new york times" says "the batman" opened with blockbuster ticket sales. >> who are you under there? what are you hiding? >> don't throw your life away. >> don't worry, honey. i got nine of them. >> the warner bros. movie starring robert pattinson as the caped crusader was the top movie at the weekend box office earning more than $128 million. it's the best opening of 2022 and the second best during the pandemic beside "spider-man: no way home." supporting ukrainians

through airbnb, the trend to book stays in ukraine. i'm ben affleck and i want to thank you for joining me and supporting paralyzed veterans of america. i joined the navy to serve my country as a navy seal. i wanted to protect the people i love and the country i love. being a seal gave me so many things, but i gave something too. while parachuting with my platoon, my parachute didn't open. i broke my neck. it left me paralyzed. i realized that everything i had planned for was now gone. paralyzed veterans of america was by my side from that moment on. since 1946, paralyzed veterans of america has kept a promise to our wounded veterans. we will never leave a fallen comrade behind. our vets need you. join me with your support. please call or go online now to pva hero.org. your gift of only $19 a month -

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pvahero.org today. our veterans need you. here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ a planned implosion brought down what many considered to be an eyesore in downtown jacksonville, florida. the 23-story partially completed condo tower was reduced to a pile of rubble yesterday. it stood for 15 years. work has actually stalled. it stalled in 2007 after an adjoining parking garage collapsed killing a construction worker and injuring 23 others. on the cbs "money watch" now, gas prices climb, and a new

way to help people innen i can't through airbnb bookings. diane king hall is in new york with those stories and more. good morning, diane. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. stock futures are pointing to a sharply lower open this morning. now oil prices in the u.s. surged overnight in the aftermath of the ongoing russian invasion of ukraine and amid the possibility of a ban on russian oil imports. u.s. crude oil jumped above $125 a barrel. the highest since 2008. it's still near that level. on friday the dow lost 179 points. the nasdaq tumbled 224, and the s&p 500 was down 34. the conflict in ukraine has sent gas prices above $4 a gallon, an increase of 40 cents in just the past week. the highest average ever the highest average ever recorded as $4.11 back in 2008. analysts say the record could be broken by the end of the week.

the list of companies cutting ties with russia is growing longer. yesterday netflix announced it's suspending services in russia citing the situation on the ground in ukraine. tiktok won't let users in russia live stream or upload videos after russian president vladimir putin signed a law targeting what it considers, quote, fake news. and visa, mastercard, and american express all suspended their operations in russia, as well. and people are booking airbnbs in ukraine with no plans of staying there. the initiative which gained popularity on social media is a way to get money to ukrainians impacted by the war. on friday, the ceo of airbnb said more than 61,000 nights were booked in just 48 hours raising almost $2 million for hosts in ukraine. the company is also offering free short-term housing for up to 100,000 refugees. anne-marie? >> i absolutely love this groundswell of support from all over the world for ukrainians suffering so badly.

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they are off and running in the 50th iditarod trail sled dog race in alaska. 49 teams of dogs and mushers took off from the village of willow yesterday. this year's race is back to its traditional distance of 1,000 miles after being shortened last year due to the pandemic. it's expected to take nine days for the winner to reach the finish line in nome. it was an emotional good-bye at duke university. legendary coach mike krzyzewski coached his final home game after 42 seasons. more than 90 former players lined the court saturday before the game against arch rival north carolina. they paid tribute to coach k., the winningest coach in division-one men's basketball history. the 75-year-old has led duke to five national championships. >> if you're crying because of

joy, pretty lucky person. and so that's where my tears were of joy. >> duke lost the game to north carolina, but it was not coach k.'s final game with the team. they still have the acc and the ncaa tournaments ahead of them. and the largest crowd in major league soccer history scored a big assist by helping sing the national anthem. ♪ were so gallantly streaming and the rockets' red glare ♪ [ cheers ] >> the crowd of more than 74,000 people finished the song after technical problems caused the national anthem to cut out before the start of saturday's game in charlotte. it was the first-ever mls game played in charlotte and one of the fans will remember it for a long time. coming up on "cbs mornings," bestselling author michael lewis shares an essay reflecting on his book "liar's poker." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." " i'm anne-marie green.

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our top stories this morning our top stories this morning -- russia has announced a cease-fire in ukraine to open humanitarian corridors in several areas to allow people to leave safely. it comes after two failed attempts to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from mariupol over the weekend. meanwhile, secretary of state antony blinken said that the u.s. is working with poland on a plan to send fighter jets to

ukraine. and lawmakers are moving forward with further sanctions against russia. house speaker nancy pelosi says congress is exploring legislation to ban russian oil and natural gas imports to further cripple its economy. she also says that a $10 billion aid package for ukraine is expected to be approved this week. across the country people are showing their support for ukraine. in some cases, the backlash against russia is hitting american businesses hard. michael george explains. >> reporter: backlash to the russian invasion of ukraine is leading to some misguided hostility in the u.s. >> i will never support -- >> reporter: the owner of san diego's pushkin russian restaurant says they've been getting distressing messages. >> someone said that they would come by and blow up the restaurant and, you know, this is going to be payback for what russians are doing in ukraine. >> reporter: owner ike gazaryan isn't even russian. he's armenian, and many of his staff are ukrainian.

new york's russian samovar restaurant says they've lost 60% of their customers. the co-owner is half ukrainian. >> we have nothing to do with the war. we want the war to end. >> reporter: many russian-themed businesses including new york's iconic tea room say they stand with ukraine and denounce the invasion hoping customers don't blame them for the actions of vladimir putin. at the same time, people in the u.s. are finding ways to support ukraine. ♪ from ukrainian's national anthem performed at the metropolitan opera to rallies showing solidarity, to a line down the block at a ukrainian restaurant in new york. one texas company is working hard to keep up with the demand for ukrainian flags. at boston's brigham and women's hospital, oncology surgeon and ukrainian doctors made a

training video to teach them how to treat the wounded. >> i wish i could do more. >> reporter: michael george, cbs news, new york. coming up on "cbs mornings," we will speak with the ceo of pfizer, dr. albert bourla, about the timeline for approving vaccines for younger children and his book "moon shot." bestselling on author michael lewis shares an essay reflecting on his debut book "liar's poker" and its impact on wall street more than 35 years later. we'll catch up with singer sadie jean on becoming a tiktok sensation with her song "what are you doing now." that's the "cbs morning news" for this monday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. ♪