sheltering inside with ukrainian fighters, refusing to surrender. james longman just miles from the new russian front. the cancer mystery here at home tonight. health officials investigating brain tube morps in more than 100 former students and staff. can they be linked to a high school? tonight, the u.s. navy investigating three separate deaths in less than a week. all sailors assigned to the "uss george washington." the storm, more than a foot of snow in parts of the northeast. 100,000 customers without omg w boston. rob marciano is here. overseas tonight, the unfolding disaster, the deadly flooding in south africa. more than 440 people killed. rescuers searching for more victims. the live power lines, the families without homes. maggie rulli and our team in south africa. the urgent need tonight. in new york city, the new turn tonight in the chilling murder of a mother of two. detectives now looking for a man whose number was found in her cell phone. and tonight, the invictus games. tonight, the athletes, the injured warriors, who bob woodruff met in the hague. including the ukrainian athletes and the remarkable moment. what they revealed. prince harry and meghan there, too, and what they said about their visit with the queen, and about the ukrainians competing in front of the world. good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a tuesday night. the news coming in from ukraine and mariupol. more than 1,000 ukrainians and fighters refusing to surrender tonight inside that steel plant. and we have new reporting here. but we do begin tonight with the pandemic, after a federal judge overturned the cdc's travel mask mandate. all of the major airlines tonight dropping their mask rules and still some cities, thoughen, keeping them in place, once you get off the planes. at airports across the country, we saw the crowds today, the masked and those without at atlanta's hartsfield jackson airport. at boston's logan airport, they were taking down the mask signs. uber and lyft saying masks will be optional for drivers and passengers. but as i mentioned, many big cities including new york, philadelphia, san francisco, and l.a., leaving the mask requirement in place, at least for now, on public transportation and at airports. which essentially means you're supposed to put the mask back on once you land in those cities to walk through the airport. all of this amid the rise in new cases, 33 states tonight with cases rising by 10% or more in just the last week. driven by the omicron subvariant. tonight, what president biden said today when he was asked, should americans still be wearing masks on planes? and just in tonight, the biden administration just moments ago saying it will only appeal this ruling that ended the mask mandate if the cdc believes it's still needed. so, now we await word from the cdc. are they concerned enough about these new cases to push for an appeal? abc's gio benitez covers aviation and he has the scenes tonight from flights across this country. >> reporter: just 24 hours after that federal mask mandate was dropped on planes and public transportation, the signs coming down, and more masks coming off. >> i would say like 25% of people were not wearing a mask and it was not a big deal at all. >> reporter: does that concern you at all? that the plane may have people without a mask? >> a little. we're going to wear ours. >> i'm not really that concerned. >> reporter: and after nearly two years of having to referee disputes over masks on board -- some flight attendants are happy to give passengers the option. ♪ throw away your mask in the blue bag ♪ >> reporter: tonight, the cdc is still recommending masks during travel. but the president saying airline passengers should make their own decisions. >> mr. president, should people continue to wear masks on planes? >> that's up to them. >> reporter: still, americans now face a confusing patchwork of rules. you can fly without a mask in and out of new york's laguardia and kennedy airports, but you'll need to put it on while walking through the airport. >> it's contradicting, it's like a lot of stuff going on. don't do this, don't do that. and then we have to listen to both. >> reporter: and while amtrak and ride share services like uber and lyft have all dropped their mask rules, several major cities like new york, l.a., and san francisco still require them on some public transit. this as infection rates climb across 33 states. cdc data out today shows that new omicron subvariant ba.212.1 -- which could be about 25% more contagious than ba.2 -- makes up nearly a fifth of all new cases in the u.s., and more than half of the cases in new york and new jersey. >> removing the mask on flights and public transportation creates a worry that that will only add fuel to the fire and increase the risk of cases and transmission in the community and ultimately hospitalizations and deaths. >> reporter: and after those mid-flight announcements that masks were no longer needed -- >> masks now optional for employees, customers, following -- >> reporter: some passengers, like brooke tansley, say they were upset and caught offguard. she was flying across the country with her kids who are too young to get the vaccine when her pilot shared the news. >> i don't begrudge him his excitement. i just wish that he would have taken a minute to consider people in different circumstances and the decision he was making on behalf of everyone on that plane. >> a lot of different views on . gio joins us from newark airport tonight. i mentioned at the top there is late word this evening, the biden administration will appeal this if the cdc believes it's still needed. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, david. and it is a big if. that decision, that announcement, coming down just moments ago from the department of justice. we do not know what the cdc will decide or when, but we do know that the cdc is concerned about that rise in cases, and that's why they asked for that two-week extension to begin with, david. >> gio benitez leading us off tonight. and of course the other major headline as we're on the air tonight, the war in ukraine. russia now declaring that its new offensive is now under way. russia's effort to seize the eastern part of ukraine. there are new images tonight of russia's intensifying attacks in the east. the deadly attack on the front line town. ukraine's second-largest city, kharkiv tonight, again under fierce and deadly fire. and all eyes tonight on the key city of mariupol. ukrainian fighters with more than 1,000 civilians inside this massive steel plant here refusing to surrender. president zelenskyy saying, we will fight, and president biden holding a video call with u.s. allies. and there is news on this tonight, as well, that president biden and the allies are preparing for a major new wave of help for ukraine. abc's james longman tonight not far from where russia says its new offensive is now under way, from ukraine again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, russia's new drive to take the eastern donbas region of ukraine now underway. the kremlin declaring the start of this next phase of its war, with missile and artillery strikes across a 300-mile-wide front. russian forces also trying to storm the last major holdout in the strategic city of mariupol. but dug-in ukrainian defenders today defying another russian demand to surrender. their last line of defense -- the azovstal steel factory, just over four square miles in size. ukrainian fighters and at least 1,000 civilians are believed to have hunkered down there. in video posted by the far-right azov battalion fighting with the ukrainians, a young boy reportedly sheltering in the plant says that when the shells fall, "the whole place shakes." the video could not be independently verified by abc news. russia denies civilians remain there. if the factory falls, mariupol likely falls, and moscow would seize a critical port and the lynchpin to a strategic land bridge to russian-occupied crimea. we went to within a few miles of this new eastern front to the villages already in the firing line. so this is a village not far from the frontline. and take a look. this is right where a missile landed from russia right next to people's homes. i mean, what is the military objective of hitting a place like this? the soil kicked up from the explosion still covering their wrecked car. are you scared living here? are you scared? you're right here. and the bombs are landing next to your house. "sure, i'm afraid," she says, "but what should we do? this is our land, this is our home." and tonight, abc news witnessing evidence of possible incendiary weapon use. this field littered with the remnants of what they say was an incendiary attack. everywhere we're walking, we can see this white chalky substances on the floor. you can see it on the ground here. this woman in the village comes to speak to us. was there fire? she says it was burning all over the road. her neighbor brings out a bag of what he thinks are incendiary munitions that landed in his garden -- explosives made to cause devastating fires. using them on civilian areas is against international law. munitions experts tell abc news the hexagonal cartridges may hold magnesium, carried by soviet-area incendiary rockets. everyday life here now a frontline in war, like for vitaly, a farmer who plows his fields just 15 miles from the russian front. he shows us the missile that landed in his field. and the video from where his tractor pulled it out of the ground. "we are fighting on the second front line," he says, "the front line of supplying our country with food." he's even fortified his tractor. the driver in a flak jacket and helmet, as he tends to his crops. your tractor is your tank? "yes, we are risking our lives," he says, "but we have to do it." >> and james longman with us tonight from eastern ukraine. and james, you were just a few miles from the russian front today with that important reporting. curious what your observations were, in addition to the news coming in from the white house tonight, that they are now planning a big military aid package for ukraine? >> reporter: yeah, that's right, the administration is preparing to announce a further military aid package. it looks like it could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. and we were driving through wide open spaces today, david, huge rural areas that ukraine will have to defend. that will be much harder than the urban kyiv region. david? >> our thanks to james longman and the team inside ukraine again tonight. james, thank you. back here at home tonight, and to storm that slammed parts of the northeast and what's coming now right behind it. frigid wind chills from washington, d.c. to new york to boston overnight. in some places, this nor'easter dropped more than a foot of snow, knocking out power to more than 130,000 customers. cars sliding off an icy i-81 in central pennsylvania. heavy snow and sleet falling for hours, piling up on theed radios. along the coast, flooding rains including the major deacon expressway in the bronx. the big chill coming. so, let's get right back to rob marciano, timing this all out tonight. hey, rob. >> reporter: hi, david. remarkable snowstorm for this time of year. now that unseasonably cold air is pouring in behind this thing. look at all the frost and freeze warnings we have up for parts of pennsylvania, back through ohio and down through south carolina. if you got addggressive with yo spring plants, maybe paying the price tomorrow. we will bounce back relatively quickly into the 70s by thursday and friday in indianapolis through d.c., but this sets the stage for several storms that are lined up across the pike. oklahoma will see a threat for severe weather. and then a larger system on the west coast will set the stage for more severe weather in the late plains. >> instability of the spring he. rob, thank you. we tn esyhtnd t tcer ers and students coming down with brain tumors over the course of 30 years. about half of them cancerous. and all of them with some connection to the same local high school in wood bridge township. here's abc's erielle reshef tonight. >> reporter: tonight, concern growing around a new jersey high school after more than 100 former students and staff reported being diagnosed with brain tumors over the course of 30 years. >> i don't know that we know enough yet to be definitive in terms of causation, et cetera. but i know for sure that the tragedy that many lives are going through have some nexus to the -- to the colonia high school. so that's something that we take very seriously. >> reporter: al lupiano, his wife, and sister graduated from colonia high school between 1989 and 1995. all three diagnosed with brain tumors. his sister dying from a more aggressive form this past february. >> i said, what is the likelihood that a husband and wife can both have a n acousti ne neuroma? and what is the likelihood that a sister of me and my wife can have a brain tumor at the same time? >> reporter: so al posted on facebook to see if anyone in the area had experienced something similar, and he says the response was staggering. more than 105 people so far saying that they had been diagnosed with brain tumors -- all alumni and staff of colonia high school. about half, cancerous. the township contracting an environmental engineering firm to test for radiation, and officials are investigating to figure out if these cases are linked. >> it's certainly concerning because the rate of primary brain tumors is certainly higher than what we would expect over that period of time, and certainly from a town or a high school of that size. overall, we know that brain tumors don't grow overnight. they don't tend to show up within days to weeks, so i think there is time. >> reporter: and david, authorities say that people in the town are not in immediate danger. most of those cases occurring among people who were at the school between 1975 and 2000. the new jersey health department is investigating, but in the meantime, that school remains open. david? >> still so many unsettling questions about this. erielle, thank you. tonight, the u.s. navy is now investigating three separate deaths of sailors in less than a week, all assigned to the "uss george washington." the aircraft carrier docked in newport news, virginia. the first two sailors were discovered off base. a third sailor found aboard the ship. no cause of death revealed in any of the incidents. counselors are now on the ship to help crew members cope with the trauma. we turn now to the disaster unfolding overseas tonight in south africa. catastrophic flooding, nearly 450 people dead. some 40,000 people without homes now. it comes after weeks of heavy rain and mudslides taking out roads and bridges, wiping out entire villages. we've reported on this last night here, 10,000 troops andless cue teams now searching for the missing. and abc's maggie rulli has made it there to south africa. >> reporter: the rain, relentless for more than two weeks. and today, in the sunshine, the true scope of south africa's devastation coming into view. >> that's the road that collapsed. it used to go across here, and now it's collapsed. >> reporter: here, in this informal settlement near the city of durban, local leader alicia kissoon shows us the road ripped apart by flood waters. >> the river was higher than you can imagine, it was forceful, it seemed alive. >> reporter: this region hasn't seen rain like this in more than 60 years. 448 people are dead, with dozens still missing. recovery workers with dogs searching for bodies. 40,000 south africans now displaced. more than 4,000 homes destroyed. >> those houses were formerly there. and right now, what you see down here is the furniture. it's the cars. it's the entire house. all the houses that have just literally just slid down the bank, and it's now in a pile of just a heap of memories, i guess. >> reporter: south africa's president cyril ramaphosa says natural disasters like these are a sign of what's to come. >> these floods are a tragic reminder of the increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions as a result of climate change. >> reporter: impoverished communities like this one, particularly vulnerable. >> just because they're hidden doesn't mean that they don't exist. >> reporter: and david, here on the coast, flood waters mixed with massive ocean waves churning up all of this debris. you can see, it lasts for miles along the beach here. david, this entire region is just in desperate need of help and the south african president right now is saying, we are a nation united in our grief. david? >> really important that you're there. thank you, maggie, for the report tonight. when we come back here, in new york city, the new turn tonight in a chilling murder of a mother of two found in a buffle bag. mewhere between a cue and a struggle, it's...the side hug. tween milestones like this may start at age 9. hpv vaccination - a type of cancer prevention against certain hpv-related cancers, can start then too. for most, hpv clears on its own. but for others, it can cause certain cancers later in life. 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. since suzie's got goals, she'll want a plan to reach them. so she'll get some help from fidelity, and she'll feel so good about her plan, she can focus on living it. that's the planning effect, from fidelity. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year, ♪ claritin provides non-drowsy. symptom relief from over 200 indoor and outdoor allergens, day after day. feel the clarity - and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. what if you were a global bank who wanted to supercharge your audit system? so you tap ibm to un-silo your data. and start crunching a year's worth of transactions against thousands of compliance controls with the help of ai. now you're making smarter decisions faster. operating costs are lower. and everyone from your auditors to your bankers feels like a million bucks. let's create smarter ways of putting your data to work. ibm. let's create tonight, new details about the chilling murder of a mother of two here in new york city. authorities believe orsolya gaal was stabbed up to 60 times. her body found nine blocks away in a duffel bag. detectives now want to speak to a man whose number was found in her cell phone. tonight, they say he's not a suspect or a person of interest. investigators believe the victim knew her attacker and fought back. when we come back here tonight, the major new headline about netflix tonight amid this crackdown on sharing passwords. e for type 2 diabetes. his underhand sky serve? on fire. his grilling game? on point. and his a1c? ron is on it. with the once-daily pill, jardiance. jardiance not only lowers a1c... it goes beyond to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease. and jardiance may help you lose some weight. jardiance may cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and genital yeast or urinary tract infections. a rare life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction, and don't take it if you're on dialysis. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. a once-daily pill that goes beyond lowering a1c? on it with jardiance. ask your doctor about jardiance. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ we believe there's an innovator in all of us. ♪ ♪ that's why we build technology that makes it possible for every business... and every person... to come to the table and do more incredible things. ♪ with my hectic life, you'd think retirement would be the last thing on my mind. hey mom, can i go play video games? sure! ...after homework. thankfully, voya provides comprehensive solutions, and shows me how to get the most out of my workplace benefits. what's the wi-fi password again? here... you... go. cool, thanks. no problem. voya helps me feel like i got it all under control. because i do. oh, she is good. voya. well planned. well invested. well protected. homegrown tomatoes...nice. i want to feel in control of my health, so i do what i can. what about screening for colon cancer? when caught in early stages it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive and i detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers, even in early stages. early stages? yep, it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. consider it done. did i tell you i bought our car from carvana? ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. yeah, ma. it was so easy! i found the perfect car, under budget too! and i get seven days to love it or my money back... i love it! i thought online meant no one to help me, but susan from carvana had all the answers. she didn't try to upsell me. not once, because they're not salespeople! checked in on me?.s o ju mom... na. checked in on me?.s o ju to the index tonight and netflix this evening saying its lost customers, faced with competitors. subscribers in the first 00 - quarter. netflix says 222 million paying subscribers, an additional 100 million households using the shared passwords. when we come back tonight, bob woodruff and the invictus games. and his moment with the ukrainian athletes, it's ukrainian athletes, it's something. myasthenia gravis want a new treatment option? because we want to be able to get up and get ready for work. because the animals need to be cared for, and we like taking care of them. because we want to go out to dinner with our friends. because, in family photos, we want to be able to smile. a new fda-approved treatment for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis could help them do more of the daily activities they care about. to learn more, go to now4gmg.com and talk to your neurologist. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? once-weekly ozempic® can help. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. ozempic® helped me get back in my type 2 diabetes zone. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. this mother's day, show mom that you worship the ground she walks on. or in this case, stands on. the new anti-fatigue comfortmat from weathertech is a gift she'll appreciate all year round. it makes standing comfortable in the home or office and comes in a variety of colors and finishes. and for mom's vehicle, there's cupfone, floorliner, cargoliner, and seat protector. show mom that she deserves the best with an american made gift from weathertech. mom's gonna love this! happy mother's day from weathertech. (customer) [reading] save yourself?! money with farmers? (burke) that's not wrong. when you switch your home and auto mom's gonna love this! policies to farmers, you could save yourself an average of seven hundred and thirty dollars. (customer) that's something. (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers. ♪we are farmers.bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum♪ finally, wounded warriors from all over the world at the invictus games. so is bob woodruff, with the ukrainians now competing. >> reporter: tonight, in the hague, the invictus games are under way. hundreds of wounded veterans, servicemen and women competing. now, taking on an added meaning this year. in a time of war. about to march in. we met two members of team ukraine. >> it's my leg. it's my new leg. >> reporter: new leg. both injured in battle years ago, now proud to be here representing their country. you're fighting out here for those who are serving now, the other ukrainians, they're on the front lines. "yes," they both tell me. and just last week, they say one of their trainers was killed on the battlefield. on your team, the archery trainer, he was actually killed? >> yes. >> reporter: in the last few days? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: dmitro, ukraine's archery trainer. they carried a photo of him into the games. four members of the team have been killed in this war. and tonight, this photo of their teammate is now being shared across the world. she was taken captive by the russians in mariupol. prince harry, who founded the games, is here. duchess meghan left just yesterday. prince harry talking to the bbc about that quick visit to the queen on their way to the invictus games. >> she had plenty of messages for team uk. it was great to see her. i'm sure she'd love to be here if she could. >> reporter: tonight, prince harry saying the world stands with ukraine. >> to have them here is extraordinary. i don't think this games could have been the games that it is without team ukraine.r: and pla tell me, they are competing to honor those fighting back home. what does it mean to you to play in this game here? they say this is a sport event, but it's more than that this time. they want the world to know what's happening in their country. >> our thanks to bob and, of course, we honor all of those wounded warriors now competing. , moving forward, finding , solutions this is abc. >> i'm assuming with federal transportation it >> would be everyone. > later on in a week, everyone will take the mask off. >> mask confusion unmask -- mass transit. some require mask, some don't. the inconsistencies. >> some very close calls in a chase in oakland. and then arrest made in a home depot fire that can be made from miles away. ama: the fire was set intentionally according to the district attorney. an arrest was announced. larry: abc news reporters outside this eric lauer -- santa clara county where that was just arraigned. >> suspect is -- he is facing several charges including aggravated person. santa clara da says he is facing those charges due to the fire that he is accusedf committing that caused millions in damage. that fire also could have been deadly. the suspect now faces seven counts of grand theft and three counts of petty theft on top of that arson charge. the district attorney's office says that he stole from a bass pro shop that saturday april 9 and then made his way to the home depot. districts attorney said that he also tried to steal from that home depot store. >> he lit the fire from the home depot and then tried to leave the store with the cart containing stolen tools. he was stopped by a home depot employee and fled in another persons car. >> is the home depot is burning to the ground, he said he went to a macy's in the east bay to continue his theft spree. amazingly, no lives were lost for injured. the store itself ia