comments. republicans forced to defend him. meta reportedly under justice department scrutiny over alleged profits from the sale of illicit drugs. new mexico police close in on a suspect in the killing of a state trooper. first, the battle for the white house. president biden slamming former president trump after trump said there would be a, quote, bloodbath if he didn't win. trump's campaign says he was talking about the auto industry. the current president arguing democracy and freedom are under attack. trump doubling down, defending his controversial rhetoric about immigrants. our team standing by. the dramatic capture in new mexico. a suspect wanted in the killing of a state trooper who had stopped to help him on the side of the road. that suspect also a person of interest in the death of a paramedic in south carolina. the stunning details of what led to his capture and who tipped off police. the quiet protest in russia, with vladimir putin certain to win a fifth term. how ordinary citizens are showing their opposition. facebook parent company meta reportedly under scrutiny by the justice department. over whether the social media giant may have profited from the sale of illicit drugs. the reaction just coming in from meta. the spring break crackdown. another florida city now facing a surge as the party moves north. our team from ft. lauderdale tonight. the urgent search for riley strain, the college student last seen in nashville more than a week ago. the emotional appeal from his family. the shakeup in the housing market. the new rules that could be a game changer. what it all means for buyers, sellers, and the industry. the change in the weather. winter returns for half of the country. and who punched their ticket to the big dance. the underdogs looking to be this year's cinderella. all eyes on caitlin clark and south carolina's quest for a perfect season. >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york, this is "world news tonight." >> mary: good evening, everyone. thanks so much for joining us on this sunday. i'm mary bruce in for linsey davis. we begin with the race for the white house and former president trump's campaign now on the defensive, after his fiery rhetoric at a rally in dayton, ohio, on saturday night. trump warning while discussing the economy that there would be a, quote, bloodbath if he's not re-elected in november. this after the former president kicked off the event by paying tribute to those who attacked the u.s. capitol on january 6th. president biden's campaign swiftly denouncing those comments as threats of political violence. but even republicans like mike pence who says he will not endorse trump are defending his bloodbath comment, saying he was referring to imports hurting the automobile industry. maryalice parks leading us off tonight from washington. >> reporter: tonight, republicans forced to defend former president donald trump's controversial comment while discussing economic tariffs, that there would be a bloodbath if he lost the 2024 election. >> we're going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not gonna be able to sell those guys, if i get elected. now, if i don't get elected, it's gonna be a bloodbath for the whole, that's going to be the least of it. >> reporter: trump's campaign pushing back saying he was only talking economics. writing, joe biden's insane ev mandate will slaughter the american auto industry. even mike pence, who says he will not endorse his former boss, coming to trump's defense. >> the president was clearly talking about the impact of imports devastating the american automotive industry. >> was that clear to you? because it was a little muddled. >> i think it was. >> reporter: but trump's remark did not come in a vacuum. he started the ohio event saturday telling the audience to stand and pay tribute to those who attacked the capitol on january 6th trying to stop the certification of biden's election win. many of whom have been convicted of serious crimes ranging from assaulting officers to seditious conspiracy. >> they were unbelievable patriots. >> reporter: biden's campaign firing back. >> what i heard was a continuation of the same rhetoric, the same endorsement of political violence we have seen from donald trump for years. >> reporter: trump also ramping up his dehumanizing rhetoric toward certain migrants with the border battle a major election issue. >> if you call them people, i don't know if you call them people, in some cases, they're not people in my opinion. but i'm not allowed to say that because the radical left says it's a terrible thing to say. >> reporter: trump doubling down on his comments today. >> if you don't use certain rhetoric, if you don't use certain words and maybe you're not very nice words, nothing will happen. >> reporter: the biden campaign says it raised $53 million with the democratic national committee in february. that they now have more than $150 million in cash on hand. that's a considerable fund-raising advantage compared to trump and the republican national committee. they haven't released their february numbers but had about $40 million cash on hand in january. mary. >> mary: the general election just getting started. maryalice, thank you. now to the intense manhunt for a suspect in the fatal shooting of a new mexico state trooper now over. jaremy smith is in custody after being shot and wounded in a shootout with police. he's also a person of interest in the death of a south carolina paramedic. the chilling new details coming in tonight about smith's capture. here's abc's melissa adan. >> reporter: tonight, the urgent manhunt for a murder suspect ending in a dramatic shootout. authorities capturing the man wanted in two cross country killings of a police officer and paramedic because of the careful eye of a gas station clerk who asked us not to show her face. >> he bought his pack of cigarettes. when i carded him, i seen his id. it was from south carolina. the spelling of his name, i knew who he was. >> reporter: police tell us after jaremy smith was spotted at the gas station a mile away from here, he was caught running toward these homes. that's when officers began shooting at him and then took him into custody. >> shots were fired, some struck smith, we don't know the amount right now or how many. >> reporter: police say smith is a person of interest in the death of 52-year-old phonesia machado-fore, a south carolina paramedic reported missing thursday and police say smith stole machado-fore's white bmw and drove 1500 miles across the country to quay county, new mexico. where he got a flat tire on i-40 early friday. 35-year-old new mexico state police officer justin hare, a five-year veteran of the force was dispatched to help. smith shooting hare twice, stealing his patrol car with hare still inside police say, and later abandoning it and the injured officer on the side of the road. >> he offered help to a person he thought was in need. that person killed him in cold blood. >> reporter: a family spokesperson tells abc news hare leaves behind two young daughters and his girlfriend who is pregnant with their third child. >> those little girls. no little girl should grow up without a father. >> reporter: mary, authorities say no one else was injured in the shooting. meantime, new mexico state police say smith has an extensive criminal history. he's facing multiple charges including first degree murder and armed robbery. mary. >> mary: melissa, thank you. overseas to the final day of voting in russia's three-day presidential election. thousands protesting vladimir putin's rule and forming long lines to vote against him. let's get to lama hasan in london tonight. lama, putin is already celebrating. what he's saying about his late opposition leader alexei navalny? >> reporter: vladimir putin winning a fifth presidential term, appears to be a mere formality. moments ago appearing on tv thanking his supporters. state-run exit polls indicating he's winning by a landslide with over 87% of the vote. the elections come a month after putin's main political rival, alexei navalny, died in an arctic penal colony. navalny's widow and allies calling for a protest with her taking part in one at the russian embassy in berlin, casting a vote for her husband. at that event moments ago, that tv event, putin claiming he agreed to the idea of releasing navalny just days before he died on the condition that navalny leave russia. as for those protests, thousands more demonstrators causing long lines at polling stations inside russia as well as around the world. many spoiling their ballots by voting for other candidates, monitoring groups say more than 70 people have been detained. though none of this affecting the outcome. president putin has already scheduled a victory parade tomorrow in moscow, mary. >> mary: putin's victory almost all but certain. lama, thank you. turning to israel, preparing to launch a controversial offensive in rafah, despite mounting international pressure to abandon the plan. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says it's the only way to defeat hamas. more from matt gutman in jerusalem tonight. >> reporter: tonight, israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu refusing to yield to international pressure, vowing to move forward with an assault on the southern border gaza city of rafah despite growing criticism from the u.s. and other allies. >> we're going to do it while we enable the civilian population in rafah to leave, as we've done up to now. but we have to finish the job. >> reporter: the idf tells abc news the military operational plan includes “humanitarian islands” to provide food, shelter, and medical care to the 1.5 million displaced palestinians in rafah. but today white house officials telling abc's martha raddatz, they haven't reviewed any such plans. >> we have not seen those plans and as we have said before, we would not support such an operation unless or until they can accommodate the 1.5 million refugees there. >> reporter: aid is starting to come in by land, sea, and air. it's not nearly enough. 1 in 3 children in gaza is we were recently at a border crossing near rafah. these are some of the dozens of trucks flowing from israel into gaza every day. and israel is now saying the critical shortage in humanitarian aid on the gazan side is not because these trucks are not being allowed through. it's because the u.n. is unable to pick up the goods on the other side. they're actually just rotting right there on the other side of the border. the u.n. telling us tonight active firing zones have made deliveries more than high risk. cease-fire and hostage negotiations are set to resume as early as tomorrow in qatar, but we have learned of a new key israeli demand that no adult males be allowed to return to northern gaza, which has been mostly cleared of hamas. mary. >> mary: we know you'll be following this closely. matt, thank you. next tonight, tech giant meta is reportedly under investigation for alleged sales of illicit drugs on their platforms which include facebook and instagram. the "wall street journal" reporting federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas as part of a criminal grand jury probe. so how is the company responding tonight? here's abc's em nguyen. >> reporter: tonight, federal authorities investigating tech giant, meta, over concerns it's benefitting from the sale of illicit drugs, first reported by the "wall street journal." prosecutors in virginia reportedly issued subpoenas as part of a criminal grand jury probe into the parent company of facebook and instagram. abc news confirming a subpoena was also sent to the "alliance to counter online crime" seeking their research and other records on violative drug content on meta's platforms and/or the illicit sale of drugs via meta's platforms. meta defending its efforts against bad actors online, saying in a statement to abc news, “the sale of illicit drugs is against our policies, and we work to find and remove this content from our services”" the department of justice has declined to comment. facebook in the news again just weeks after senators on capitol hill demanded social media executives do more to protect children online. >> there's both great things that people can do and there are harms that we need to work. >> reporter: remarkably, meta ceo mark zuckerberg turning to parents in the room who said their children took their own lives because of abuse on social media, offering a rare public apology. >> i'm sorry for everything you have all been through. >> reporter: mary, meta also telling abc news tonight that government policies on online prescriptions were relaxed during the beginning of the pandemic and may have contributed to the problem. it's worth noting these federal probes don't always end in formal charges. mary. >> mary: thank you. we turn to spring breakers flocking to a new location after that crackdown in miami beach. andrew dimbert is in ft. lauderdale tonight. andrew, what's happening there tonight? >> reporter: there's been a bit of a party pilgrimage to ft. lauderdale beach because the word is out. miami beach officials say they're done with spring break and enacting arguably the toughest restrictions now. now the large crowds have flocked north to nearby ft. lauderdale beach. vacationers say it's that midnight curfew on south beach that brought them up to broward. already, there have been arrests and crimes here, according to authorities, including even battery on an officer. and there's a noticeably different tone, too. you can tell it's spring break with bars and restaurants on the waterfront packed and despite those incidents, officers i have spoken to say they have things under control and they are on patrol, but unlike miami beach here in ft. lauderdale beach, there is no curfew. mary. >> mary: spring break chaos continues. andrew, thank you. now to the desperate search for the missing university of missouri student, riley strain. his family making an emotional plea to the public for help. the 22-year-old has not been seen since he was asked to leave a nashville bar on march 8th. here's abc's alex presha. >> reporter: tonight, the urgent search for 22-year-old riley strain, now missing for more than a week. as police reveal they've discovered his bank card near where he was last seen. >> it's not getting any easier. time seems like it's really to the critical point we want to ask anybody if they know anything please share. >> reporter: the university of missouri student was last seen march 8th in nashville while on a fraternity trip. surveillance showing him walking alone, stumbling and falling in the streets. earlier riley had stopped by this bar belonging to country music star luke bryan. the bar says riley was served one drink and two waters before our security team made the decision based on our conduct standards to escort him from the venue. >> it's been a week. we haven't heard his voice. we haven't gotten a text from him. we're ready. we're ready. >> reporter: nashville police searching along the cumberland river and talking to people in nearby homeless encampments. >> we're utilizing absolutely every resource we can think of at this point. >> reporter: tonight, nashville police tell abc news the search continues and they're using boats with sonar in their river search. they also say they found no evidence of foul play but they're open to all possibilities. mary. >> mary: still so many questions. alex, thank you. we turn to the housing market and that monumental settlement from a realtors group scrapping the standard 6% commission, but what does it all mean for buyers and sellers and how much would it impact home prices. the new details from alexis christoforous. >> reporter: tonight, a historic settlement is changing the way we buy and sell a home. the biggest overhaul in decades. in the coming weeks a federal judge will rule if sellers will no longer be required to pay both their broker and a buyer's broker. a move that kwd could reduce the cost of buying a home. at the standard 6% commission, a homeowner selling a $400,000 property will spend about $24,000 on brokers fees. a cost that's passed on to the buyer. depending on the new rules, the homeowner could see the price fall to about $12,000. the changes opening the door for alternative brokers like california based areva which charges buyers a flat fee of under $10,000. >> i don't care if it's a $300,000 house or a $9 million house. it doesn't matter to us. we're doing the same amount of work. >> reporter: tony opted it use a flat-fee broker last year. when buying his second home in northern california. a decision he says saved him tens of thousands of dollars. >> i think a flat fee buyer's agent structure is probably going to be the future. >> reporter: thanks to online tools some buyers may not use an agent at all, which could result in fewer brokers. and experts i spoke with are skeptical the deal will result in a big decrease in home prices. they say that's set by supply and demand, but a meaningful drop in mortgage rates could have a larger impact on home prices. mary. >> mary: buyers and sellers watching this closely. alexis, thank you. now to the luck of the irish and millions celebrating st. patrick's day. in ireland, thousands of people lining the streets of dublin to take in the sights and sounds. president biden also honoring the day and his own heritage by welcoming the irish prime minister to the white house. also the fountain on the white house lawn turning green to mark the occasion. and there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this sunday. millions in the east get ready to bundle up for the return of winter. so how long will it last? 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