answer your questions. world news tonight is next. tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. survivors pulled from that shelter bombed by the russians in ukraine. the new images coming in tonight. video showing the smoldering debris. potentially hundreds of civilians feared trapped in the basement of that bombed theater in mariupol. ewe crepe's resistance fighting back against russian forces. video provided by the ukrainian national guard showing a russian tank coming under fire. and a russian soldier running from the tank. tonight, an american citizen is among those killed amid heavy shelling. what we've learned tonight. and an emotional scene at a hospital in kyiv today. president zelenskyy meeting wunded patients, injured women and children. tonight, u.s. secretary of state

antony blinken saying he personally agreed with president biden who called putin a war criminal. our ian pannell in kyiv with the babies born to surrogate mothers, families waflting all over the world, including the u.s. ian standing by from the capital again tonight. also tonight, the urgent warning from secretary blinken about russia potentially unleashing a chemical attack. what he said today. and our martha raddatz in ukraine tonight. she has new reporting here. how concerned are american authorities about this? also tonight, putin's state of mind and how safe is ukraine's president zelenskyy? what martha has learned. president biden, meanwhile, at the white house, tomorrow this crucial call with china's president xi. how concerned is the administration that china may help russia with military equipment or otherwise? mary bruce live at the white house. here at home tonight, the pandemic. and u.s. authorities urging not alarm but caution amild these rising covid cases across europe

and china, led by the omicron sub variant. predicting it could become the dominant strain here. what they're now saying about masks in this country, and thousand transmissible this omicron sub variant is. we have just learned tonight what led to that deadly head-on collision, killing nine people in texas. the driver of the pickup truck that crossed into that lane was a 13-year-old. also tonight, the deadly pileup on an interstate. up to 50 cars. several people killed. vehicles on fire. authorities pointing to fog tonight. we are tracking severe storms from texas all the way to the east tomorrow. ginger zee is standing by to time this out. and st. patrick's day cheer has returned. and what happened after our report here last night, that grandmother with her message in knew eye on krukrainian. we love our viewers. good evening and it's great

to have you with us here on a very busy thursday night. and we begin tonight with the war in ukraine and the desperate rescue effort now understood fo unfolding. searching for survivors, men, women and children, who could be trapped in a basement under the rubble after that theater was bombed in mariupol. bombed, as we told you here last night, even with the word "children" written on the ground on both sides of the building. it was hit anyway. the remains of the theater still smoldering. ukrainian authorities say it is impossible to know for sure, but they say up to 1,000 people had been using that theater as a shelter. unclear how many were inside it when it was hit. and in the capital of kyiv, the images tonight. firefighters battling flames, evacuating dozens of residents from about apartment building struck by parts of a broken missile falling from the sky. and tonight, ukraine's national guard releasing video showing a russian tank coming under fire in mariupol. a soldier was seen running from the tank. tonight, ukraine saying counterattacks are succeeding against russian troops.

ukraine's president zelenskyy visiting wounded civilians at a hospital in the capital. and tonight, the u.s. now confirming an american it is sev citizen was skill killed. and with vladimir putin isolated in russia, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken saying he personally agrees with president biden, who called putin a war criminal. and what secretary blinken warned about russia potentially unleashing a chemical attack now. martha raddatz with new reporting tonight on that, on putin's state of mind, and on concerns over president zelenskyy's safety. but we begin tonight with abc's ian pannell leading us off from kyiv again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the desperate hunt for survivors of that horrific attack on a theatre believed to be sheltering as many as 1000 people in mariupol. the wreckage of the building left smoldering, as seen in this verified video on social media,

as a frantic rescue effort got under way today. ukrainian authorities say so far only 130 people have been confirmed rescued from the site. hundreds are still missing. some may have escaped. others are believed to be alive in the basement, trapped under the rubble. president zelenskyy's office saying for now they have no clear figures for how many people are still inside. in one of the few remaining hospitals there, the injured are rushed into e.r., under relentless russian attacks. doctors frantically trying to save peoples lives even as they and the hospitals they work in repeatedly come under fire. videos posted to social media show other sites also sheltering civilians being hit, like this swimming pool complex. some have escaped the besieged city, but as many as 250,000 may still be trapped there as the fighting rages. aerial footage released by the azov battalion, a far-right

paramilitary group now part of the ukrainian national guard shows a russian tank with a "z" turning onto a mariupol street. the tank comes under fire several times before a soldier escapes, trying to take cover. minutes later, other soldiers appear to be killed. hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians have been killed in this war. today, a family of five was killed in chernihiv in what ukrainian authorities say was a russian strike. the emergency services sharing a graphic video showing rescue workers recovering the bodies of three children, a 12-year-old girl and 3-year-old twins and their parents. the governor of the northern city describing colossal losses and destruction. tonight, the state department confirming that an american citizen was killed in a russian artillery strike there. ukrainian officials identified him as 68-year-old james whitney hill. and in kyiv, every day this week has started like this. the residents woken to

early-morning explosions. with firefighters rushing to extinguish the flames from the residential block reportedly hit when a russian rocket was intercepted. and every day, shell-shocked survivors are having to be rescued of what remains of their homes. president zelenskyy visited some of the wounded today. the vlasenko family were hit by shelling as they tried to escape in their car from a town near kyiv. 16-year-old katya covering her 8-year-old brother igor with her own body and being badly wounded. her mother tetiana also suffered shrapnel wounds. they both need months of medical care. today, u.s. secretary blinken said he personally agreed with president biden that the russians are committing war crimes, and said the u.s. would be investigating. and had this warning -- >> we have a strong sense of what russia could do next. we believe that moscow may be setting to use a chemical weapon and then falsely blame ukraine

to justify escalating its attacks on the ukrainian people. >> reporter: today, ukraine's lead negotiator in talks with russia said a compromise on a future peace agreement with russia could be reached within a couple of days or couple of weeks. with a possible summit between zelenskyy and putin. but three weeks since it began, this punishing war grinds on, and touches even the very youngest and most vulnerable. in a dank, airless basement, without windows,. >> hello, hello! >> reporter: 20 babs born to surrogate mothers are hiding from the war, cared for by eight dedicated nurses. you already have a very hard job. how much more difficult and dangerous is it because of the war? she said, "the hardest part is the small, enclosed space. but the babies still need to be fed, taken care of and loved." parents from america, europe,

and elsewhere, are awaiting their children, but russia's invasion has kept them away. only a handful have braved the war to come to kyiv and get their new children. well, just incredible scenes down in this basement. you can see the women caring for the babies, 24 hours a day, b barely getting any sleep. and if you want to know what russia's invasion of ukraine has done, nothing represents it more than these babies, hiding underground from bombs. >> bless those women taking care of the babies in the capital of kyiv. ian pannell back with us again tonight. and ian, i know u.s. authorities say that the russians have been stalled in multiple locations across ukraine, in fact, the pentagon saying tonight that the russians are still about nine miles out from where you are in kyiv where they've been for days, you've been reporting that. what are you seeing on the ground? and we're also learning tonight about more of this military equipment being sent by the u.s., the drones that can be quite effective? >> reporter: yeah, that's right. interestingly, the uk ministry

of defense saying today that they think the russian invasion stalled on all fronts. and we have heard these intense battles being fought around kyiv. but as you say, the russian advance has effectively been stuck. about nine miles away. so, that's why the kremlin seems to be switching to the longer range strikes, which of course the ukrainians need help with. so, this u.s. military aid package includes the 100 switchblade or kamikaze drones, which can target russian vehicles, and they don't drop a payload. they fly directly into their targets and destroy them. david? >> ian pannell leading us off tonight. ian, thank you. you heard ian report there on u.s. secretary of state anthoony blinken about russia's possibility of using a chemical attack. so, let's bring in our chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz. she's live in lviv, ukraine. and martha, i know you have new reporting tonight on a couple of fronts. first, we know the russian troops are being held back. so, russia is now turning to

long range missiles in many cases to try to reach these ukrainian cities. and i'm curious, what are your sources telling you about possible chemical attacks, as well? >> reporter: well, david, the russians are relying on the longer range systems, moving them to the border and firing into ukraine by russia, because they are afraid they will be taken by the ukrainians if they move them inside ukraine. and the concern about chemical weapons is enormous. they feel putin will use them and we've learned it would likely be in the south of ukraine and then, of course, blame ukraine, david. >> and martha, i was just fascinated by the note you sent in, your sources weighing in on putin's isolation, his state of mind and late today, you sent word there's growing concern over the safety of ukraine's president zelenskyy? >> reporter: exactly, david. putin remains isolated, they say, prone to anger and worried about his military capabilities and he is making a direct appeal to china for help. and they believe zelenskyy is

still in great danger. he's very well protected right now, he is moving around a lot, but that danger is truly remains. david? >> martha raddatz on the ground in ukraine for us. thank you. meantime, president biden at the white house, tomorrow, this crucial call with china's president xi, amid reports that russia has asked china for help. so, let's bring in our senior white house correspondent mary bruce tonight. mary, how concerned is the administration that china could help russia with military equipment or otherwise? >> reporter: well, david, the white house would not be e vating this to a conversation if they weren't seriously concerned. the administration today warning that china is considering assisting russia with military equipment. the white house says it speaks volumes that china still has not denounced what russia is doing in ukraine. they say they're spreading russian misinformation. now, for its part, china says it is not a party to this war. i'm told that president biden will be direct and candid in this conversation tomorrow. that he will make it clear there will be consequences if china aligns with russia.

but david, the white house still won't say what those consequences would be. david? >> this is a really high stakes call. mary bruce, thank you. our coverage of the war in ukraine for tonight. there is a lot of other news to get to, and we move on now to the pandemic. u.s. authorities tonight are urging caution, not alarm, but caution amid these rising covid cases across europe and china, driven by the omicron sub variant. they're now predicting it could become the dominant strain here in the utz, believing it is at least 30% more transmissible than omicron was. they say it wasn't too early to take off thes maings, but to keep them nearby, and they're not ruling out needing them again. steve osunsami at the cdc tonight in atlanta. >> reporter: at the same time most of this country is now dropping covid restrictions because of declining cases, health officials tonight are closely watching a new subvariant of omicron that's spreading overseas. >> the cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: that coronavirus subvariant is called ba.2, and across europe and china it's spreading quickly.

dr. anthony fauci believes america could see a new wave of these cases this spring. >> we expect that over the coming weeks it likely will be more and more dominant over the ba.1. >> reporter: he says the vaccines work against it and it doesn't appear to cause more severe disease than the current dominant strain. but scientists believe it's at least 30% more transmissible. ba.2 is already nearly a quarter of all covid cases in the u.s. and at nearly a thirdle of this country's wastewater sampling sites, which have become an early warning system for covid cases, samples that are positive for the coronavirus are up 1,000% in the last two weeks. the director of the cdc says don't throw away that mask just yet. >> they should put that mask in a drawer, because if we have more cases that occur in the wintertime, if we have more cases that occur because of a new variant, we want to make sure that people have had the opportunity to take those masks off, so that we can reimplement

them and protect people, should we need them again. >> reporter: public health officials are pointing out that immunity from the vaccines and prior infections is getting less every day. pfizer, for example, is asking the government to approve a fourth shot for americans 65 and older. >> i don't think there's any doubt that sooner or later, particularly among the elderly, that they will need a booster of a fourth shot. >> reporter: health officials here worry we could only be a couple weeks away from what they're seeing in europe right now, and they point out that a new vairnt variant of the coronavirus could pop up at any time. david? >> just a reminder for us all that we have to track it continually. steve, thank you. we learned late today what led to that deadly head-on collision killing nine people in texas, including college athletes and their coach. investigators now say the driver of the pickup truck that crossed into their lane was just 13 years old. trevor ault from texas now. >> reporter: tonight, investigators unveiling the shocking cause of that west

texas crash that killed nine people. the ntsb announcing a 13-year-old was behind the wheel ache center line. >> it appears, at this point in the investigation, that the left front tire, which was a spare tire, had failed, which resulted in the vehicle pulling hard to the left and crossing into the opposing lane. >> reporter: the truck slammed head-on into the passenger van of the university of the southwest men's and women's golf team. both vehicles catching fire, trapping several inside. >> it is going to be a head-on collision, both vehicles fully engulfed at this time. >> reporter: the 13-year-old and the 38-year-old passenger in thicp th killed. along with six usw students and their coach. a memorial now marking their home course as the campus mourns. >> we are a family of mustangs. we've run as one, we run together. when one of us is hurting, all of us are hurting.

>> reporter: and david, two other students were taken to the hospital in critical condition on tuesday night. the university now says they are slowly recovering. david? >> all right, trevor ault again tonight. trevor, thank you. we are tracking severe storms into the night and tomorrow from texas all the way east. heavy rain, damaging winds, hail possible, tornadoes, as well. let's get right to chief meteorologist ginger zee, tracking it all. look at that sky behind you, ginger. >> reporter: yes, we have this dense fog rolling over the hudson. by tomorrow, we'll be creeping on record highs. and this swell ahead of the next storm that's already produced more than 17 inches of snow in aspen springs, colorado. more than 62-mile-per-hour gusts just north of amarillo. blizzard warnings that include haze, kansas. move this to the east and tomorrow you have the severe thunderstorm watch. damaging wind is the main threat from oklahoma city to just north of wichita falls. new orleans, you're in there, too. tomorrow, it's all about the area from evansville to paducah, birmingham, alabama and the panhandle of florida.

david? >> ginger, thank you. when we come back here, the deadly 50-car pileup on both sides of the interstate. and tonight what authorities are pointing to. strategies to positionfied our client's portfolios for their long-term goals. (other money manager) but you still sell investments that generate high commissions for you, right? (fisher investments) no, we don't sell commission products. we're a fiduciary, obligated to act in our client's best interest. (other money manager) so when do you make more money, only when your clients make more money? (fisher investments) yep. we do better when our clients do better. at fisher investments, we're clearly different. on a day without migraine my whole body feels free. because my eyes don't shy from the light. my head doesn't pound. and my stomach isn't nauseous. it's time for migraine prevention delivered differently, through an iv infusion. it's time for vyepti - a preventive treatment for migraine in adults. vyepti is designed to start working fast, and to last

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did afterward. america strong. tonight, in door county, wisconsin, the door county candle company hard at work. because of what so many of you did. it was last night here, we introduced you to co-owner christiana. she is a third generation ukrainian-american. her grandparents on both sides were from ukraine. and she still has family there. >> we all knew that we couldn't just keep feeling helpless and we had to do something. >> so, they started making candles, blue and yellow, in the colors of ukraine's flag. donating the profits to relief efforts. the entire family helping. dad george pouring the wax. >> this is my dad, he's here today helping out. >> in the back, mom natalie. >> hi, david -- >> and grandma luba, too. >> this is my baba. she's helping us label bags for the store. >> hi, david. slava ukraini. >> glory to ukraine, she said.

after our report last night, their website crashed for hours with so many orders. they told us 4,000 new online orders, 800 voicemail orders, 1,000 email orders. they're asking viewers to be patient, but they are grateful tonight. >> hi, david. thank you so much for featuring us last night and thank you, everyone, for the tremendous and outpouring of love and support for this fund-raiser. it is touching our hearts. >> her husband, nick, pouring the yellow wax. dad george adding the wicks. mom and friend marcy cleaning and labeling the candles. and tonight, grandma with one more message for all of you. >> my baba would like to say something, as well. >> i want to thank you from the bottom of my heart to every and each one of you for supporting ukraine. thank you. >> you are welcome. and we never underestimate the generosity of all of you watching at home. i'll see you tomorrow. good night. ♪ood night.

announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc7 news. >> because of of of everyone and the way that we have full together as a community over these last two plus years, we have made a significant difference. >> gratitude two years into the pandemic. larry: st. patrick's day parties are back, and people are celebrating, and in the bay area. good afternoon. >> two years ago today, the bay area began sheltering in place. larry: it was set for three weeks, but now the u.s. is approaching 80 million covid cases in two years and 970,000 deaths. >> experts fear cases will rise due to the new variant, the subvariant that has been tripling in prevalence every two

weeks. more on that in a moment. larry: since the bay area shut down in 2020, st. patrick's day, but the celebration was not back on. now it is 2022, and the first official celebration is here. after two years of restrictions, a more festive vibe today. green light to go to town and serve green beer. our reporter has more. >> askew drink to socialize on st. patrick's day -- must you drink to socialize on st. patrick's day? a resounding yes here. >> people out tonight. people would let their hair down. everybody is irish on st. patrick's day. >> i am from england. part of my family is irish. >>