for more news, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connecttv. i'm elise preston, cbs news, new york. it's monday, april 18th, 2022. this is the "cbs morning news." >> the situation in mariupol is both dire militarily and h heartbreaking. >> last stand. the ukraine port city of mariupol is close to falling. the ultimatum soldiers rejected after weeks of heavy attacks from russia. booster shot uncertainty. with the ba.2 subvariant spreading, who should get a fourth jab against the virus. a top white house official weighs in. celebrating easter. how americans returned to the pre-pandemic ways of spending the holiday weekend. good morning. i'm diane king hall in for anne-marie green.

breaking overnight -- a deadly missile strike on the western ukrainian city of lviv. the regional governor there says six people were killed and eight were wounded. he said three missiles hit military infrastructure facilities while one struck a car tire replacement facility. it comes as ukraine is vowing to fight to the end in mariupol. if the russians take control there, it would be the first major ukrainian city to fall. an estimated 2,500 ukrainian troops are holed up in a massive steel plant in mariupol. over the weekend they defied a russian order to surrender or die. local police say many civilians including children are also sheltering in the plant. bradley blackburn is in new york with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: diane, good morning. ukraine's foreign minister tells cbs that mariupol effectively no longer exists. it has been so badly bombarded over the last eight weeks. it's just one of several cities in ukraine that are in the cross hairs under russian attack.

russia did not let up its offensive on easter sunday, killing five people in the eastern town of kharkiv according to ukrainian officials. ukrainian medics took shelter while trying to help the injured. missiles hit homes, hospitals, and a kindergarten. the city's mayor is telling residents to evacuate, insisting there are no longer any safe places left. russia is refocusing its assault on the east and south after failing to take kyiv. ukraine's foreign minister says the last forces defending mariupol are encircled by the russians. >> the situation in mariupol is both dire militarily and heartbreaking. >> reporter: ukrainian fighters rejected an ultimatum this weekend to lay down their weapons or be eliminated. it's estimated that 2,500 troops are holed up in this massive steel plant. >> they continue their struggle,

but it seems from the way russian army behaves in mariupol, they decided to raze the city to the ground at any cost. >> reporter: the cost is staggering with dead bodies littering the streets. local officials estimate 21,000 people have died here. before that mariupol had 450,000 residents, roughly the same size as miami or oakland, california. as the attacks continue, 100,000 civilians are still trapped there. >> wow. what a difficult situation. bradley blackburn in new york. thank you. pope francis made an easter plea for peace in ukraine. after celebrating easter sunday mass, the 85-year-old pope delivered his traditional speech to the faithful in st. peter's square. he said ukraine was, quote, sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war it was dragged into. he also cited the quote

troubling risk of nuclear war. gun violence marred the holiday weekend here in the u.s. three mass shootings took place in two states. the latest happened in pittsburgh early yesterday morning. more than 200 people were crammed into an airbnb when shots rang out leaving two minors dead. as tom hanson reports, no arrest have been made in the case in. >> reporter: the smashed windows, a hint of the violence that erupted here. turning a house party into a bloody crime scene. at least two male victims died in the shooting. the neighborhood traumatized. mitchell wilston lives nearby. >> i'm going to go wash blood off of my wife's car which is a really depressing way to spend easter. >> reporter: more than a dozen guests were injured, some from gunshots, others from the rush to escape. police say more than 200 people were packed into the airbnb, many of them minors. >> here we are easter, and we have multiple families, two

won't see a loved one, others that are going to be how can we have a holiday when your child was involved in something traumatic like this? >> reporter: hours before the pittsburgh shootings in broad daylight gunfire shattered an afternoon of shopping at a mall in columbia, south carolina. nine people suffered gunshot wounds. >> we believe that the individuals who were armed knew each other. there was some type of conflict that occurred that resulted in gunfire. >> reporter: south carolina authorities are also investigating a shooting at a club shoot. no fatalities were reported. tom hanson, cbs news, new york. meanwhile, north korea says it's successfully tested a new type of tactical weapon to boost its nuclear capabilities. state media said leader kim

jong-un watched yesterday's missile launch. it released a photo of him smiling and applauding with military officers. south korea says it detected two missiles. the tests came a day before the u.s. and south korea began computer simulated military drills. the white house covid response coordinator says americans over 60 should get a second vaccine booster shot. the advice from dr. ashish jha comes after the fda authorized a second booster shot for everyone 50 and older last month. he cited new research from israel. >> the data from israel shows infections, it actually reduced mortality by a pretty substantial amount. >> the israeli study did not provide data on the effectiveness of a second booster for people younger than 60. dr. jha says anyone in that age group should talk to a doctor before getting another booster shot. >> reporter: after a two-year

covid hiatus the easter egg roll returns to the white house. president biden and the first lady will host thousands of children on the south lawn for the event. a lilia luciano reports, there was a sense of normalcy for millions of americans who celebrated easter on sunday. ♪ >> reporter: worshippers sang shoulder to shoulder at new york city's holy trinity lutheran church. >> being together for easter gives me a lot of hope. >> reporter: as millions of christians celebrated easter sunday at in-person services, many for the first time since 2019 before the pandemic. >> it was really nice. it was nice to be with eerybody, amongst the people, and receive the message and just be together as a community. >> reporter: for others it's a return to old family traditions. >> got to collect 70 eggs. >> reporter: easter bunny egg drops, animal blessings, and parades including new york city's bonnet festival showcasing elaborate outfits. ♪

>> reporter: in chicago, hope is rising from the ashes. >> the building fell down, but we're still standing. >> reporter: the faithful celebrating easter at a funeral hometown after a massive fire on good friday nearly destroyed the historic antioch missionary baptist church. in southwest texas, prayers on the pile of rubble where a church once stood. days earlier a tornado flattened it. in los angeles, crowds gathered at churches, at brunch, and later packed the airports as many start returning home during the spring break travel rush. lilia luciano, cbs news, west hollywood. coming up, runners get ready. the boston marathon returns at its traditional date after pandemic delays. and later, a cereal investigation. dozens complain of illness after eating lucky charms cereal. this is the "cbs morning news."

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>> three, two, one, zero, ignition -- >> a spacex rocket carrying a u.s. spy satellite blasted off from vandenberg space force base in california. other than yesterday's launch, the mission is classified. the rocket's reusable first stage landed back at the base. the launch is one of three the air force awarded to spacex in 2019 for a price of nearly $300 million. a stuck container ship was freed, and runners in boston are getting ready today. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." the "associated press" says perfect spring weather is on tap as the boston marathon returns to its traditional april date for the first time in three years. the 2020 race was canceled due to the pandemic. last year it was delayed until october when covid cases surged.

more than 28,000 runners have signed up. >> i am just prepping, i'm prepping, i want to make sure i have my hydration. i have all of my race gear packed the night before. so as soon as i wake up in the morning, i'm going to have everything all laid out and ready to go. >> one of my biggest dreams is to run the boston marathon because it's the famous marathon in the world, and i'm excited and happy to be here. >> runners have to be vaccinated unless they received an exemption. testing is optional. and the "baltimore sun" says the "ever forward" container ship was freed from the muddy bottom of the chesapeake bay after being stuck for more than a month. the 1,100-foot-long ship ran aground as it was traveling from baltimore to norfolk, virginia. two barges and five tug boats refloated the ship yesterday after about 500 containers were removed. another ship owned by the same company got stuck in the suez canal last year disrupting global shipping traffic for days. still to come, casting a

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it's beyond words. classic recipe by lindt. here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ here in new york city, broadway theater-goers will be required to wear their masks at least through the end of may. the broadway league voted to extend the mask mandate until may 31st and says it will update audiences throughout the month. come may 1st, theater owners will be able to decide whether or not audience members have to show proof of vaccination. on the "money watch," it is tax filing day, and "harry potter's" "dumbledore" takes the to the top spot at the box office.

elise preston is in new york with that and more. good morning, elise. >> reporter: good morning, diane. stock futures are pointing to a lower opening this morning as things ramp up with ibm, procter and gamble and netflix and tesla. the u.s. stock markets were closed friday for the holiday. today is tax filing day. if you haven't filed your taxes or asked for an extension, time is running out. the irs is also warning there is a backlog. filers who did get their paperwork in on time will will have to wait for their refunds. the agency says this year anyone who filed a paper return may have to wait anywhere from six to nine months to receive a refund. tat's up from the usual six-week wait. the fda is investigating lucky charms cereal after dozen ill after eating it. the fda says it has received more than 100 complaints from consumers just this year alone. general mills, the company that makes lucky charms, said its

internal investigation did not find a link between the cereal and illness. and the third installment of the "harry potter" spinoff series "fantastic beasts" hit u.s. theaters this weekend. >> to defeat him, you have to trust me. >> we need you -- >> one out. ah! >> you do know i'm a witch, right? >> "the secrets of dumbledore" took in $43 million in north america. it's the lowest opening weekend ever for the franchise. but the movie starring jude law still managed to grab the top spot at the weekend box office. diane? >> elise preston in new york. thank you. up next, a leg up on the competition. the world's tallest pitcher takes the mound at a baseball game in georgia. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates

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and we'll keep doing that as long as they need us. but we need your help to ramp up our effort. unicef is there for the children of ukraine, providing clean water, emergency supplies and a safe place to rest and play. learn more at unicefusa.org/ukraine and help show families in ukraine they are not alone. here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ jaylen brown kicks it out. smart fakes. inside -- up by one! >> jayson tatum came to the rescue for the boston celtics in a dramatic nba playoff. victory over the brooklyn nets yesterday. he spun his way to the hoop for

the game-winning lay-up as time expired. final score, 115-114. the nets had rallied from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to nearly steal home court advantage. game two is wednesday night. another emotional victory to tell you about -- this one happened on the fairway. jordan spieth won the rbc heritage yesterday in the sudden death playoff over patrick becoming a father. his wife ran up to him, baby in tow, to congratulate him. spieth who missed the cut at the masters won a pga tournament last year on easter sunday. a record-breaking pitcher made his debut. >> please welcome the world's tallest pitcher, dakota stilts -- >> he's about ten-feet tall wearing stilts. he served as relief pitcher for the savannah bananas, a

collegiate summer baseball team in georgia. the team is known for pulling off funny stunts including dancing on the field and playing in kilts. and country star garth brooks says he's ready to go indoors, at least as far as concerts go. he announced that his current stadium tour will be his last. he said the pandemic and dealing with weather conditions influenced the decision to opt to play only indoor venues even if they're much smaller. >> just seems like for the band and crew i'm just going to say it's too much. they're not complaining whatsoever.theyk for me, watching them do all this, i would rather have a roof over my head. >> brooks is currently on tour around the united states until july. his tour will come to an end with five dates in dublin, ireland, in ser. coming up on "cbs mornings," singer/songwriter janelle monae stops by the times square to talk about her book "the memory librarian." i'm diane king hall. this is the "cbs morning news." "

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our top stories this morning -- ukraine says six people were killed and eight wounded in a missile strike on the western city of lviv. it comes as ukraine is vowing to fight to the end in mariupol. an estimated 2,500 ukrainian troops holed up at a steel plant are defying an russian order to surrender or die. two teenagers were shot and killed, and at least eight more wounded by gunfire when shots rang out at a house party in pittsburgh. police say more than 200 people were crammed into the airbnb early yesterday morning. many of them minors. some jumped out of windows trying to escape and were hurt. no arrests have been reported.

the cdc says more than four million people have caught the flu this season. but the outbreak is not over yet. danya bacchus reports on the spring spike. >> reporter: in eastern kentucky, health officials are asking residents to wash their hands frequently and get vaccinated. not because of covid-19 but because of an unusual spring spike in the flu. >> the flu season would run from like starting typically in october in a normal year and be really tapering down by february, march. >> reporter: rather than tapering, one county just saw 46 new cases in one week. well into april, the centers for disease control is tracking an increase in influenza activity across the country. >> we're all so preoccupied with covid that perhaps we've taken our eye off florida. -- off flu. >> reporter: dr. schaffner specializes in diseases and says the spike is unusual but be

-- but not surprising. >> the reason for the slight increase in flu is we've taken off our masks, we're getting out and about, we're going to indoor activities. >> reporter: another factor in the spread of the flu is that this year's vaccine offered little protection against infection. the cdc found in a study last month the shot was just 16% effective at preventing mild or moderate cases. >> this year's flu shot didn't perform all that well, and that's because it was off target from the actual virus just enough so that its effectiveness was much reduced. >> reporter: doctors say the end is in sight and that as summer approaches flu will go back into hibernation. danya bacchus, cbs news, los angeles. coming up on "cbs mornings," ahead of earth day we're launching our earth 365 series this morning. ben tracy shows how nuclear power could be ready for a comeback.

plus, singer/songwriter janelle monae stops by the times square studio to tell us about her book "the memory librarian." and in our special series "kindness 101," steve hartman introduces us to a boy who has become a role model for compassion. that's the "cbs morning news" for this monday. thank you for watching. i'm diane king hall. have a great day. ♪