we will be here every afternoon on air and livestream answering your questions. tonight, breaking news on several fronts tonight. the reports of bloody battles inside that steel plant in ukraine. what about the civilians still inside? also, the breaking headline involving one of the covid vaccines here in the u.s. and bracing for severe storms right now. first tonight, video from a group of ukrainian fighters showing what could be their last stand against russian forces at that steel factory in mariupol. video posted by pro-russian separatists showing brutal bombings from the air. up to 200 civilians including children trapped in the tunnels and bunkers. also tonight, the pentagon now responding to reports that u.s. intelligence may have helped ukrainians kill top russian commanders. what the u.s. is now saying tonight. ian pannell in ukraine. the pandemic tonight and

that breaking headline from the fda involving the johnson & johnson vaccine tonight. what they're now saying about taking it. there is also news coming in tonight on paxlovid. some reporting symptoms coming back after taking it. what authorities are saying about that, as well, tonight. also here at home, the stock market and the dow plunging just 24 hours after the fed raised interest rates. rebecca jarvis standing by on what this means and how long this instability could last. the fences going up around the supreme court. demonstrators on both sides across this country. and tonight, what democrats are now going to do to try to make roe versus wade federal law. will moderate republicans support the effort, after collins once said she was confident justices kavanaugh and gorsuch would not overturn roe versus wade. rachel scott tonight with the reality check on the votes. the new tornado watches up at this hour. storms from texas to kentucky.

at least ten reported tornadoes in just 24 hours. and then the east bracing. the storm system then reaching the northeast by week's end. and rob marciano will time this out. another deadly attack near tel aviv tonight. at least three people killed, several wounded. ere erielle reshef on this again tonight. the flight to new york's jfk forced to turn around after what they learned about one of the pilots. also news on pope francis tonight. and the new white house press secretary, history made. and america strong. what so many of you did for ukraine. the milestone tonight for an american company. good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a thursday night. the breaking news on the johnson & johnson vaccine. why the fda is now steering americans away from that vaccine

because of concern over potential blood clots. but first here tonight, the war in ukraine and news this evening of bloody battles playing out right now at that steel plant in mariupol. hundreds of civilians inside, including children. the ukrainians say russian troops have breached the perimeter. this video tonight now emerging, undated from the azov battalion, a far-right group now part of ukraine's forces, showing dark smoke billowing from that massive plant. and the pentagon tonight now responding to reports that u.s. intelligence has helped the ukrainians kill multiple top russian commanders. what the u.s. is now saying about that. abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell leading us off tonight from inside ukraine. >> reporter: tonight, a band of ukrainian fighters defiantly still holding out against the russian army in what are described as "heavy, bloody battles" inside the avozstal steel plant in mariupol.

this new, undated video is from the far-right azov battalion fighting on the ukrainian side. other undated video posted by pro-russian separatists show brutal bombings from the air. one official karling it "bleak hell," where up to 200 civilians, including children, are trapped. evacuation hopes shattered again today by nonstop russian shelling, but another rescue mission planned tomorrow. russia also striking key infrastructure across the cou country, trying to cripple ukraine's supply lines. today, the pentagon responding to a "new york times" report that the u.s. is providing intelligence, including russian troop movements and the location of mobile headquarters to ukraine, which has led to the deaths of a dozen russian generals. u.s. officials saying the shared intelligence is meant to help ukraine in its fight, and is not given with the intent to kill top russian commanders. >> we do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the ukrainian military. >> reporter: but u.s intelligence and weapons have

be crucial in helping ukraine's battlefield successes. russians have now been driven 25 miles away from the country's second-largest city, kharkiv, one of the first places to be heavily shelled. and ukrainian artillery is now hitting occupied towns located right by the russian border itself. we went to dergachi, one of at least five towns recently liberated from the russians. the trail of destruction has seen 80% of its population flee. olexander's home was destroyed by a russian rocket. he says the russians ruled here with fear, destroying mostof the town during the fight to liberate it. he now lives with his elderly mother, who doesn't want to leave her home, despite the shelling. "when she hears the shelling, she jumps out of bed and prays," he says. "everyone's scared." he struggles to talk about the pain and the fear of being under russian occupation. the effort to punish putin and

his backers for this war is intensifying. a $300 million yacht owned by a russian oligarch was seized by the u.s. in fiji today. and there are urgent calls to confiscate a $700 million megayacht being built in italy before it sets sail in the next few days. u.s. officials reportedly believe the yacht is linked to putin himself. >> and so let's bring in ian pannell tonight from eastern ukraine. and ian, news of yet another attempt in the coming 24 hours to try to rescue those civilians still trapped in the midst of all this fighting at that steel plant in mariupol. but many of these efforts have failed already in the past. >> reporter: yeah, i mean, so true. it has been incredibly difficult and dangerous mission to try to get those people out. they're trapped in many bunkers built underneath the steel plant. and in truth, no one really knows quite how many civilians are still in there. but as you say, another convoy is now on its way towards mariupol, it is expected to get there early tomorrow morning and to try and get some of those last people out, as that battle rages and the russians close in. david? >> ian pannell in eastern

ukraine tonight. ian, thank you. there are also several developing stories back here at home tonight, to the pandemic and breaking news from the fda tonight. they are now urging americans to avoid the johnn joson vaccine, if you have access to pfizer or moderna instead, because of concerns over potential blood clots. we also have news here tonight on that anti-viral, paxlovid, that so many americans are now taking with the omicron subvariant now sweeping the country. reports that some have said their symptoms have come back after taking that anti-viral. here's whit johnson. >> reporter: tonight, the fda moving to limit the use of the johnson & johnson vaccine, saying the one-shot should only be given to americans who either don't have access to the moderna or pfizer vaccines or won't take them. the fda pointing to the real but rare risk of blood clots after the j&j shot. it comes as covid hospitalizations and deaths are expected to climb for the first time in months. in the last two weeks, e.r. visits up 44%.

>> for the most part, people are well-protected from the vaccines, but those that are unvaccinated make up a large portion of those who are in hospitals, as well as the elderly and immunocompromised patients that can't amount an effective immune response. >> reporter: and tonight, health officials also reporting more people are turning to the drug paxlovid. its use up ten-fold in recent weeks. but now a team of scientists is investigating some reports of a relapse in covid symptoms in patients who took the antiviral drug. paxlovid, which can cut the risk of hospitalization by nearly 9d 0%, is for people with mild to moderate covid symptoms, at high risk of severe disease. john donoghue says he, his wife, and mother-in-law all saw their covid symptoms dramatically reduced after taking the pills. >> after about another five days, we started having symptoms again. all three of us. we had another five days or so of feeling ill, where we tested positive. >> reporter: donaghue says the second time around, the symptoms were milder.

the cdc says the reports of relapse are a reminder that "anyone who develops symptoms of illness during or after isolation should remain isolated, masked, and seek out testing and clinical care." for patients who get recurrent covid symptoms, the fda says there is no need to take more paxlovid. tonight, many health experts remain confident in the drug's benefits. >> the main thing is paxlovid is to prevent progression to severe disease and hospitalization, and it does. >> all right, that's the news on paxlovid. in the meantime, let's get back to whit johnson. i wasn't to go right back to the news from the fda today limiting the use of the johnson & johnson vaccine, saying to get pfizer or moderna if you can, instead, pointing to this risk of rare blood clots. but i've got to think about all the people out there who are asking themselves, i got this many, many months ago, should i be concerned? >> reporter: exactly, david. millions of americans got the j&j vaccine and while there is a

low risk of blood clots, that's only been seen in the short-term. the days and weeks after the shot. health officials have been recommending the other vaccines for months now because they don't carry the same level of risk, but this is the furthest they've gone in actually limiting access to j&j. david? >> all right, whit johnson on the breaking news tonight. whit, thank you. to the economy tonight, and the stock market. the dow plunging today, just 24 hours after the federal reserve raised interest rates to slow down the economy and inflation in this country. the market falling steeply today. the dow closing down more than 1,000 points, losing more than 3%. but yesterday, the markets right after the fed raised those rates, jumped. the stock market shooting up. economists had said that the markets jumped because they had factored in the fed interest rate hike, that they knew it was coming. well, what happened today? let's bring in our chief business and economics correspondent rebecca jarvis. how did folks in wall street explague the plunge then today? >> reporter: well, david, as one wall street veteran put it to me, this u-turn is reality

setting in. reality is, inflation is at historic highs, the jobs market is strong, and in order to stabilize prices, the fed has to continue hiking interest rates, which can ultimately slow down the economy. and the stock market has responded. so far this year, the s&p 500, which is what's in most 401(k)s, is down about 13.5 %, meaning if you put $1,000 into the start of the market this year, today, you'd have about $865. keep in mind, there should be more volatility ahead, but you also have to remember history. since 1980, the stock market has returned on average 9% a year, which is why you have to be in it for the long-term. david? >> historical norms but it's tough to stomach when you're watching it go up and down. thank you, rebecca. we move on tonight, to the deeply personal debate over abortion rights across this country. fences going up at the supreme court. workers tightening security around the court with a 12-foot

tall fence standing around the perimeter now. tonight, the white house and senate democrats working to make roe versus wade federal law now. they know they don't have the votes, but they want every senator on record. and what about moderate republicans lisa murkowski and susan collins? senator collins, who once said she was convinced justices kavanaugh and gorsuch would not overturn roe versus wade. here's rachel scott again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, metal fencing now up, protecting the highest court in the land. but still a flood of demonstrators took to the steps, senate democrats are now vowing to hold a vote on legislation that would make a woman's right to obtain an abortion a federal law, codifying the roe decision. >> republicans will not be able to hide from the horror they've unleashed on america. >> reporter: only two republican senators support abortion rights. one of them is senator susan collins. she voted for justices neil gorsuch and brett kavanaugh, convinced they would not overturn roe. >> so a good judge will consider

as precedent of the united states supreme court worthy as treatment of precedent like any other. >> one of the important things to keep in mind about roe v. wade is that it has been reaffirmed many times over the past 45 years. >> reporter: at the time, collins said she was given assurances. >> he noted that roe had been reaffirmed 19 years later by planned parenthod versus casey and that it was precedent on precedent. he said it should be extremely rare that it be overturned. and it should be an example -- >> you have obviously full confidence. >> i do. >> reporter: but that draft opinion indicates both gorsuch and kavanaugh will vote overturn roe after all. collins now says that's "complete ly inconsistent" with what they privately told her. collins supports codifying roe versus wade wade as federal law. but today she declared she won't

support the democrats' bill because it goes too far. >> my goal is to codify what is essentially existing law. that means roe v. wade and it means keeping the conscience protections, which appear to be wiped out by the democrats' version. >> reporter: but the other pro-choice republican lisa murkowski says is now willing to take another look at what democrats are offering. >> rachel scott with us from the supreme court tonight. and rachel, senate democrats are determined to have a vote now on this bill next week, of course, as you've reported here, they want to get all senators on record. you've also reported they don't have the votes and so, let's ask about senators collins and murkowski. we learned from your reporting tonight that they have supported the idea of making roe versus wade federal law, so, i guess the question would be, would democrats consider joining them? >> reporter: well, david, even though some democrats support that, they do not want to take that path right now. they have not completely ruled

it out, though. psenate majority leader chuck schumer says the senate will continue to vote on legislation to codify roe versus wade, but even with the support of two republicans, collins and murkowski, they still do not have the votes they need in order to get that passed, david. >> rachel, thank you. now to the severe weather threat for millions of americans tonight. the tornado watch from texas to louisiana. nearly a dozen tornadoes already in the last 24 hours. take a look. this massive tornado near lockett, texas. seminole county, oklahoma, as well, taking a direct hit. transformer, exploding, drivers rushing to safety there. the northeast will feel this. senior morlg rob marciano timing this out for us again tonight. hey, rob. >> reporter: hi, david. all of what you said plus flooding. so many hazards and impacts with this across a really big swath of the country. start with the severe weather boxes. they are expanding into kentucky from bowling green and nashville, back through tupelo. a tornado watch back through

austin. the bulls eye tomorrow brings it to georgia and alabama, but really the threat a up into richmond, virginia, and this thing is going to spin and slow down and sit off the mid-atlantic, so, going to bring a lot of rain pretty much all day long from d.c. to baltimore, philly, probably all the way up into new york city. this while more storm systems set up in the plains for more severe weather threats nearly every day into next week. david? >> rob marciano with us. thank you, rob, we'll watch it with you. overseas tonight, and to new and deadly attacks in israel. a suspected terror attack outside of tel aviv now, killing at least three people, wounding several others. abc's erielle reshef, who just rode with israeli forces fighting this new wave of attacks, on the story again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, terror outside tel aviv, after israeli authorities say at least two suspected, armed with multiple weapons including an axe,

attacked a group of men, killing at least three, injuring several others. the assault falling on israel's independence day, sparking an intense manhunt around the town of elad with checkpoints set up along main roads. helicopters also searching for a vehicle that fled the scene. israel already on high alert, after a spate of attacks since march that have claimed the lives of at least 18. it comes just weeks after a palestinian assailant opened fire inside a crowded tel aviv bar, killing three israelis.di he norerwe bank. >> reporter: in recent weeks, abc news exclusively riding along with an idf infantry unit as they geared up for one of those operations. tensions also rising as palestinians and israeli police clashed at the al aqsa mosque, a religious flashpoint that helped ignite an 11-day war with hamas last year. so far no claim of responsibility, but hamas have praised that attack. israel extending its closure of the west bank and gaza through

sunday. david? >> erielle, thank you. and when we come back here, news tonight about a flight to new york's jfk forced to turn around after what they learned about one of the pilots. my sister's managing a lot, including her type 2 diabetes. but she's found new ways to stay on top of it all. once-weekly trulicity is proven to help lower a1c and it can help you lose up to 10 pounds. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it,

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you're welcome! now, as the "dad cab", it's my cue to help protect them. embrace this phase. help protect them in the next. ask their doctor about hpv vaccination today. tonight, we have learned a virgin atlantic flight from london to new york city was forced to turn around because the co-pilot apparently was not qualified to fly. the passenger jet was over ireland when the captain learned the first officer had not completed the airlines training program. the company tonight calling it an administrative error, insisting safety was not compromised. when we come back here tonight, history made at the white house. she'll soon be a household name. and news tonight here about pope francis, the image today that made immediate news. with p, are rethinking the choices they make. like the shot they take. the memories they create. or the spin they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently.

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avoid live vaccines. by helping control your asthma, tezspire™ can help you be you. no matter who you are, ask your asthma specialist about tezspire™ today. to the index of other news tonight and history made at the white house, after nearly a year and a half on the job, jen psaki will be stepping down next friday. karine jean-pierre will be the next press secretary, becoming the first black person and first openly lgbtq person to serve as white house press secretary. and overseas tonight, pope francis appearing for the first time in public in a wheelchair. the pope suffering chronic pain in his right knee, making it difficult to walk. the 85-year-old smiling and shaking hands during an audience with a group of nuns at the vatican. that pain forcing him to cancel several events in recent days. when we come back here tonight, the american company and what they did to help the people of ukraine. and then what you did. it's extraordinary.

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what an american company is doing for ukraine and how you helped. america strong. tonight here, what so many of you did. it is america strong. in door county, wisconsin, the door county candle company. we first introduced you to them when the war in ukraine began. making blue and yellow candles. the co-owner, a third-generation you crane yan american. >> we knew we couldn't help feeling helpless. >> mom natalie, dad george, grandma luba, too. >> she's here helping us label

some candles. >> hi, david, slava ukraine. >> 60,000 candles and counting. raising more than a half million dollars now, $525,000. and we learned that some viewers even called the candle company to join them in wisconsin. >> hi, david. i'm storm. report and headed to wisconsin from california. >> came in from half a continent away. thank you for just keeping on and keeping on. thank you. >> hi, david. >> and tonight, christiana with a message of gratitude. >> i want to say thank you to everyone who has supported ukraine and got a candle, because one candle at a time, we have been able to make a donation over half a million dollars and i find that to be so incredible. >> it is. americans traveling from other states for this. good

>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. >> there is a lot more covid around in the community than there was a month ago. the virus gets better and better at getting through to us. >> covid cases are on the rise once again and it appears to be hitting the bay area especially hard. what experts are saying today. kristen: and the effort to bring tourists to the bait area. larry: thanks for joining us. the world health organization is estimating the pandemic killed 15 million people in 2020 and 2021. those are deaths attributed to covid-19 or the impact on health care systems. it's more than double the official death toll of more than 6 million people. kristen: a new study says the omicron variant is as deadly as past variance. and they found the risks of hospitalization and mortality

were nearly identical. larry: the bay area is getting hit harder than other areas of the state right now. dustin dorsey looks at why this is happening and when the cases may drop back down. reporter: we are used to hearing troubling information, but amid what doctors are calling the latest wave, some good news. despite a in cases, hospitalizations are only slightly up ticking if not remaining stable throughout the bay area. >> cases go up but hospitalizations are staying low. that was true for the vaccinated with omicron being one and delta. but now it is everyone because there is so much natural immunity. reporter: nine of the top 10 counties are bay area counties according to state data. over the past two years, working from home and other protections have kept cases lower than most.