andrea fujii has those details. >> reporter: this morning, a long-awaited homecoming for mark vande hei, returning from a record 355 days in space. >> it's sometimes challenging being up here, but i have been just having a blast. >> reporter: he along with two russian cosmonauts left the space station on tuesday to land in kazakhstan this morning. they return to a very different landscape. than when vande hei left earth nearly one year ago. tensions between the u.s. and russia have escalated to new heights as the war in ukraine rages. but tuesday during the traditional change of command ceremony, the russian commander on the space station took a moment to reflect on those tensions. >> people have problem on earth. on orbit, we are one crew. >> reporter: and then this shared hug between the russian and the american. [ applause ] as the commander handed over the symbolic space station key to the new commander. weeks ago, when the u.s. began sanctioning russia, tensions did reach space. the head of the russian space agency threatened to abandon vande hei, posting a video showing the cosmon

andrea fujii has the details. >> reporter: the family of a massachusetts student murdered while studying abroad was killed by a stalker. >> she was my baby sister. but you really don't know how to cope with it. >> reporter: mieke was taking classes in the netherlands, about an hour and half outside amsterdam. >> she was the sweetest, strongest woman i knew. and she really put everyone else before her. >> reporter: police say a 27-year-old man stabbed her and started a fire in her apartment. charred windows could be seen from outside. police arrested the suspect in neighboring germany. the suspect had met her on a dating app and allegedly killed her out of jealousy. oort's sister believes he was stalking her. >> put a tracker on her bike. because in the net ybi every>>e was studying at the nhl university of applied sciences. her father is dutch and still has relatives in the netherlands. now her family is there preparing to bring her body home. >> she had so much to give and a lot of love for everyone. right now we're just trying to process this whole situation and really say our good-bye

here's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, the parental rights and education bill is one step away from becoming law. >> we say gay! >> reporter: despite protests by lgbtq advocates who've dubbed it as the "don't say gay" bill. >> what this bill does, is this bill creates a lot of fear. >> reporter: but representative joe harding, who introduced the bill, says the critics are lying about the bill's purpose. >> what they are doing is leading a fear-mongering effort. the bill talks about what's appropriate in the classroom to teach, and it talks about the fact that the parent has the right to be engaged in the education of their children. >> reporter: under the legislation, lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity cannot occur in grades kindergarten through grade three. or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate. the bill does not define what is age appropriate. it will also allow parents to sue school districts if they believe the policy is being violated. the bill passed through the florida legislature tuesday, and governor desantis says he s

here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning ukraine's foreign minister addressing the plightle of color trying to flee the country, whose exits have been delayed because of their race, tweeting, africans seeking evacuation are our friends and need to have equal opportunities to return to their home countries safely. this man living in ukraine originally from the congo says white men were allowed to board trains while men of color were turned away. >> it was clear. it was clear because we are black. that's why they were acting that way. >> reporter: he eventually made it to poland but says racial discrimination kept him from getting here sooner. so far, more than 700,000 refugees have arrived in neighboring countries. american james burke and his ukrainian wife and baby fled their home in kyiv and have been stuck in lviv, trying to catch a train out. >> a plane flew over very quickly. then you heard them trying to shoot it down. we just rolled over and laid on our baby. >> reporter: at train stations, mothers fearful themselves, try to console their children whose fathers have

here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, actor jussie smollett is in an illinois jail cell sentenced to 150 days behind bars after being found guilty of lying to authorities. but in a bizarre outburst after receiving his sentence, smollett continued to claim his innocence suggesting he could be killed in jail. >> i'm not suicidal. >> okay. >> i am not suicidal. i am innocent, and i am not suicidal. >> reporter: the 39-year-old was a rising star on the tv show "empire" when in 2019 he claimed two men attacked him as walking back to his chicago home. he said they yelled racial and homophobic slurs and put a noose around his neck. but authorities questioned his story when smollett refused to fully cooperate. the prosecution arguing it was all a hoax, and smollett hired these two brothers, extras on "empire," to carry out the attack all while smollett denied the accusations. >> i would not be my mother's son if i was capable of one drop of what i have been accused of. >> reporter: after his sentencing thursday, smollett's family continuing to support him while lashing out at th

here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, stunning allegations that the california mom whoimed she was abducted six years ago, made it all up. sherri papini, now in custody and faces charges of lying to police. the complaints alleging this was a false narrative that papini fabricated. she was staying with a former boyfriend and harmed herself to support statements. there was a search for papini in northern california, after she went for a run in 2016 and never came home. her husband, desperate to find his wife and mother to their two young children. >> i'm getting angry and frustrated. and i'm scared for my wife. >> reporter: a few weeks later, papini was found by a truck driver, who saw her on a freeway, with chains and bindings around her body. >> i think she is heavy battered and is confirmed kidnapping. >> reporter: papini claimed two hispanic woman abducted her, beat her and threatened to sell her to a man while keeping her in a closet. she managed to escape. her husband, recounting the trauma he believed she went through. >> she literally lived through hell. the thing

abc's andrea fujii has those details. >> bring her back to us. >> reporter: this morning, a candlelight vigil for a missing nevada teenager now the subject of a nationwide search. 18-year-old naomi irion was last seen at a walmart parking lot march 12th around 5:00 a.m., waiting for a shuttle ride to her job nearby. >> this is life or death for a beautiful and fun and amazing sister. >> reporter: authorities releasing this surveillance video of a man with a mask and hoodie walking through the parking lot before approaching irion in her car. irion's brother says more video not yet publicly released shows the man do or say something to her. irion then moved into the passenger seat while the man took the wheel and drove off with her. investigators say they hope someone recognizes the suspect's unique walk. police in neighboring counties and the fbi now joining the search. >> please save my daughter and bring her home. please, anything. any little tiny bit of information, please call. >> reporter: irion's car was found a few days later abandoned at a nearby industrial park. but there's been

escaping to protect their children or the countless others staying behind to fight, here's abc's andrea fujii reporter: this morning through the dark and bitter cold, crowds by the thousands are trying to leave ukraine while the realization of what they have left behind sets in. >> my husband, my home, my dog, my cats, my life. >> reporter: the u.n. now saying more than 1 million people have escaped to neighboring countries. but many others are choosing to stay and fight, and not just men. at this art gallery in lviv, young women are ripping fabric and braiding it into camouflage nets. >> we are creating nets to hide our military forces from snipers and different russian forces. >> reporter: these young professionals staying in harm's way to save their country. >> i don't want to live in the country under russia. >> reporter: these men becoming welders to make steel traps for russian this man told his 3-yea daughter that she and her mom were going on vacation. they're now safe in poland. he recalled to abc's matt gutman their last conversation. >> you cried? >> everything will be okay. >> rep

here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, prince william in jamaica, speaking about the horrorsvery, but the royal not apologizing. >> i want to express my profound sorrow. slavery was abhorrent, and it should never have happened. >> reporter: this after the jamaican prime minister announced wednesday that the country wants to cut ties with the royal family. >> jamaica is as you would see a country that is very proud of our history. very proud of what we've achieved and we're moving on. >> reporter: protesters demanding the british government pay reparations for slavery and apologize. i his speech, william also praising the country's strength. >> while the pain runs deep, jamaica continues to forge its future with determination, courage, and fortitude. >> reporter: britain ruled jamaica for more than 300 years, forcing hundreds of thousands of african slaves to work the land. jamaica gained its independence in 1962 but remains a constitutional monarchy with the queen as head of state. the british former colony would become the second to sever ties in recent months. barbados last

here's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, the parental rights and education bill is one step awayy! >> reporter: despite protests by lgbtq advocates who've dubbed it as the "don't say gay" bill. >> what this bill does, is this bill creates a lot of fear. >> reporter: but representative joe harding, who introduced the

abc's andrea fujii explains why and what can be done about it. >> reporter: this morning, the u.s. and the world bracing for food shortages as the war in ukraine rages on. president biden speaking to nato leaders in brussels thursday said because of sanctions on russia, food shortages are coming. >> the price of the sanctions is not just imposed upon russia. it's imposed an awful lot of countries as well, including european countries and our country as well. >> reporter: the u.s., canada and europe are major wheat producers, but ukraine and russia produced about 1/3 of the world supply. and less food means higher prices on top of already high inflation rates. groceries are already 8% more expensive than they were last year. and those expenses are not just hurti iing consumers, but food banks like this one in boston. >> we used to be able to buy chickens for 80 cents a pound, somewhere in there. now it's $1.50 a pound. that limits our ability to buy more food and distribute more food to the agencies. >> reporter: in tennessee, the governor is pitching a plan to provide relief to sho

here's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, a dna discovery helping solve a 42-year-old cold case she was real and she meant the world to me. >> reporter: on wednesday, eye ren wilkowitz saw the face of her sister's killer for the first time, herbert rice who died in 1991 of natural causes. >> i didn't want to see it. >> eve wilkowitz of island was walking home from the train station after work in 1980 and all police knew back then was that someone followed her and sexually assaulted and strangled her. her body found days later dumped on someone's lawn. >> due to the technology at the time, no donor profile, no anderson profile was able to be r decades no suspects until 2020 when the fbi began to run genealogical comparisons on public databases and when they ran the dna left on wilkowitz's body they found a match to herbert rice's son who according to the local newspaper "newsday" willingly gave a dna sample and they exhumed his father's body and saw it matched on the rape kit. wilkowitz's sister thanking rice's family for helping solve this decades long mystery. >> i also want to

here's abc's andrea fujii. >> undocking confirmed. >> reporter: this morning,omg f astrout maralng beingt i have just been having a blast. >> reporter: he along with two russian cosmonauts left the international space station boarding russia's soyuz space ship to land in kazakhstan this morning. they returned to a very different landscape than when vande hei left earth a year ago. tensions between the u.s. and russia have escalated to new heights as the war in ukraine rages. but tuesday during the traditional change of command ceremony, the russian commander on the space station took a moment to reflect on those tensions. >> people have problem on earth, on orbit we are like -- we are not like -- we are one crew. >> reporter: and then this shared hug between the russian and the american as the commander handed over the symbolic space station key to the new commander thomas marshburn. weeks ago when the u.s. began sanctioning russia, tensions did reach space. the head of the russian space agency threatened to abandon vande hei, posting a video showing the cosmonauts waving good-bye to him

abc's andrea fujii has more. >> reporter: this morning, the search intensifying for an 18-year-old nevada woman who may have been kidnapped in her own car. >> some monster takes them, and you don't know what's happened. you don't know where they are. >> reporter: naomi ar onwas last seen saturday around 5:00 a.m. in a walmart parking lot near reno waiting for a shuttle bus to take her to work at a nearby company. when she didn't show up and didn't return home, her family called police. >> they confirmed she had missed her shifts both saturday and sunday, which was really unusual. my daughter was extremely reliable. >> reporter: the local sheriff's office says this person may be involved in her disappearance. they say surveillance video, which has not been released, shows a person walking from a nearby homeless camp, lurking around vehicles before getting into the driver's seat of arion's car and then driving away with arion with her in the passenger seat. >> to me it looked like a clear abduction. >> reporter: police found her car tuesday abandoned at a nearby industrial park. detectives

abc's andrea fujii reports how technology is finally providing some answers. >> reporter: this morning a name for a little girl who was nameless for 62 years. >> 100% certain that little miss nobody was sharon lee ga eye go. >> reporter: authorities in arizona announcing the discovery. 4-year-old sharon lee ga yea go was allegedly abducted outside her new mexico home back in 1960. investigators unable to find her kidnapper. sharon's nephew says he never got to meet his aunt. >> it's something that our family grew up with this story in alamogordo, we were known as that family that had the little girl kidnapped. >> reporter: ten days after her disappearance, a body was found partially buried in the arizona desert. but with a lack of technology, the remains could not be identified, and so the girl was called little miss nobody. >> of course this is 1960. medical science has advanced quite a bit since then. but originally she was thought to be a 7-year-old girl. >> reporter: with few leads, the case went cold. but earlier this year, with the help from the national center for missing and ex

here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, florida's controversial parental rights and educationill is one step away from becoming law. >> we say gay! >> reporter: despite protests from lgbtq+ advocates who have dubbed it the don't say gay bill. >> what this bill does is creates a lot of fear. >> reporter: but representative joe harding, who introduced the bill, says its critics are lying about the bill's purpose. >> what they are doing is leading a fearmongering effort. the bill, all it does is state what -- it talks about what's appropriate in the classroom to teach, and then it talks about the fact that the parent has the right to be engaged in the education of their children. >> reporter: under the legislation, lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade three or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards. the bill does not define what is age-appropriate. it will also allow parents to sue school districts if they believe the policy is being violated. t

here is andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning proof of the heavy toll gas prices are taking on americansnds of drivers in chicago waited in line for hours thursday to get a free fill-up. >> i've been out here since 5:00 this morning. >> reporter: a local businessman donated $200,000 in gas to stations across the city, and he says he'll do it again next month. >> he is a blessing. i thank everybody that put their effort to help, you know. >> reporter: it comes as americans brace for even higher prices at the pump. oil prices climbed 8% thursday due to growing supply concerns stemming from the war in ukraine. the international energy agency warns by april, global markets could see the biggest supply crisis in decades. in california, gas prices now average $5.78 a gallon. to offer relief, some state lawmakers are now proposing a $400 rebate for every taxpayer. high gas prices also affecting how kids get to school, with some districts now relying on a limited number of hybrid and electric buses. >> having those options really allows us to continue on. >> reporter: and days after uber and lyf