kristen: thank you so much for joining us for "getting answers." we will be tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. an arrest warrant issued for russian president vladimir putin for alleged war crimes. the international criminal court accusing vladimir putin of abducting children from ukraine and sending them to russia. the kremlin firing back, calling the warrant outrageous and unacceptable saying it does not recognize the court and its decisions with legally void. ukraine applauding the move, saying the wheels of justice are turning. the warrant issued ahead of next week's meeting between putin and china's president xi. josh leivo in ukraine and martha raddatz reporting from issue. here at home, the fbi announcing they prevented a chilling st. patrick's day plomt a suspect arrested, accused of

threatening to kill police officers in yonkers, new york, during tomorrow's parade. the stock market sliding just 24 hours after a group of banks unveiled a $30 billion rescue plan for first republic bank. the new report claiming first republic executives sold $12 million in stock months before the crash. the severe storm system, and where it's headed tonight. at least two tornadoes, including a confirmed ef-1 damaging homes and businesses in texas. winds up to 110 miles per hour. an arctic blast now on the way. below zero wind chills tomorrow morning. our weather team tracking it all. new concerns tonight about tiktok. sources telling abc news the justice department is launching an investigation into the owners of the popular social media app over allegations of spying. a new report on the possible

origins of covid-19. an international team of scientists reportedly finding genetic links tying it to another animal in wuhan, china. here in new york, the good samaritan helping police take down an armed man carrying two guns. and on this st. patrick's day, the lucky charmers bringing joy across the country. i'm it johnson in for david. we begin tonight with the international criminal court issuing an arrest warrant for russian president vladimir crimes committed during the war in ukraine. the icc in the hague accusing vladimir putin of about ducking or forcibly deporting children from ukraine and sending them to

live in russia. putin holding a security council meeting in moscow today. the kremlin firing back at the court, calling the warrant outrageous and unacceptable, saying it does not recognize the icc and its decisions are legally void. a research report out of yale identifying 6,000 ukrainian children taken to russian facilities since the start of the war, including orphans. the icc without its own police force making it very unlikely putin will be arrested any time soon. but the warrant further isolates him and russia from the rest of the world. the warrant issued just days before china's president xi m meets with putin in moscow, first visit since the invasion of ukraine more than one year ago. james longman leading us off from ukraine. >> reporter: tonight, humiliation for vladimir putin. the international criminal court issuing an arrest warrant for the russian president, seeking to put him behind bars. judges at the hague alleging putin has committed a war crime

for the unlawful transfer of children, from occupied areas of ukraine to the russian federation. >> it is forbidden by international law for occupied powers to transfer civilians from the territory they live in to other territories. children enjoy special protection under the geneva convention. >> reporter: the u.s. state department says thousands of children and perhaps over a million adults have allegedly been forcibly deported from ukraine to russia. but the foreign ministry in russia brushed off the warrant calling the court's decisions legally null and void. the arrest warrant perhaps just the beginning of the international community's efforts to bring putin to justice. last month accused russian s - forces of committing crimes against humanity in places like bucha, citing the offenses of murder, torture, and rape. as i'm standing here talking to you, i'm looking at one, two, three, four, five bodies in this tiny room in this basement where ukrainians say people have been tortured.

and i can see their hands behind their backs. it is a truly apocalyptic scene. it is horrific in here. this is what ukraine says is happening across the country. yet today, presenting himself as a commander not criminal, putin announcing he'll host china's president xi on monday for a state visit. the kremlin saying the two leaders plan to sign joint declarations deepening, quote, strategic cooperation. putin hoping that translates into assistance on the battlefield that his depleted forces desperately need. but xi has positioned himself as a peacemaker in recent weeks, and he can't do that if, as some fear, he does the kremlin's bidding. also today, after months of asking, ukraine now being promised fighter jets. poland and slovakia in the last 36 hours have become the first two nato allies to promise immediate delivery of soviet-era mig fighter jets. >> james longman joining us now from ukraine. james, several world leaders supporting that arrest warrant fr vladimir putin, and the white house responding tonight.

>> reporter: yeah, that's right, whit. the national security council issued a statement a short while ago to abc news saying there is no doubt that russia is committing war crimes and atrocities in ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable. wit? >> james, our thanks to you. let's get to abc's chief global affairs correspondent, martha raddatz. martha, how rare is this kind of arrest warrant for a world leader and what impact could it have on putin and russia going forward? >> well, whit, putin is by far the most powerful person ever issued an arrest warrant by the international court. he joins the ranks of people like muammar khadafy official leaders and some affiliated with al qaeda. even though an arrest is not going to happen any time soon if ever, and even though russia does not recognize the court, this is a cloak of shame that

will stay with him forever. on a practical note it could limit his travel overseas and limit him further. does come in the middle of war with russia, and right after the u.s. released that video showing the reckless behavior of russian pilots and right before he is to meet with china's president, which could limit what china will do to assist russia in the war in terms of providing weapons. whit? >> martha raddatz and again james longman, our thanks to both of you on this developing story today. meantime, back here in the u.s., authorities are vealing a chilling plot targeting st. patrick's day. authorities arresting a suspect in yonkers, new york, accusing him of threatening to kill police officers during tomorrow's parade. the suspect posting alarming messages on social media. authorities also say he has a history of threatening police. here's abc's senior investigative reporter, aaron kater katersky. >> reporter: tonight, on this st. patrick's day, the fbi arresting this axe-wielding man for threatening to attack police officers marching in saturday's

st. patrick's day parade in yonkers. >> the message is clear. it will be taken seriously and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. do. >> reporter: in online posts, federal prosecutors say ridon kola mentioned jihad, referenced isis, and expressed support for sayfullo saipov, who carried out the 2017 bike path terror attack in new york city that killed eight people. saipov was recently sentenced to life in prison. earlier this month, court records quoted a message kola allegedly sent to yonkers police saying, i will crucify yonkers cops and their bosses all along mclean avenue. it will be a horror scene. mclean avenue is where saturday's parade steps off. a few days later, kola posted this picture of himself with an axe and a caption in albanian that says, "come on, judas. i'm waiting for you." kola has been orders detained by a judge. we spoke to the mayor who told us this is not going stop the community from celebrating irish

americans. the parade is on tomorrow as scheduled. whit? >> encouraged to hear that news. aaron katersky, thank you. next, concern over the and treet one week after u.s. the collapse of silicon its former parent company now filing for bankruptcy. the dow falling 384 points jusr unveiled a $30 billion plan to rescue first republic bank. a new report claiming first republic executives sold $12 million in stock months before the crash. here's abc's erielle reshef. >> reporter: tonight, wall street closing out the week with a rocky ride, stocks plunging nearly 400 points even after that $30 billion rescue of the troubled first republic bank by the country's biggest banks. >> there's still a lot of angst in the marketplace. i think there are some investors worried that we may see a bank failure or two this weekend. >> reporter: president biden today pushing congress to

impose tougher penalties on executives at failed banks, including giving regulators the power to claw back gains from their stock sales. >> i'm going ask congress and the banking regulator tos strengthen the rules for banks to make it less likely this kind of bank failure will happen again. >> reporter: it comes after a report from "the wall street journal" that executives at first republic sold $12 million in stock in the months leading up to its crash. but that bank is still operating, and those executives are still in charge. first republic telling us they have no comment on those stock sales. >> i feel confident the regulators are looking at this, and again, i would be surprised if they weren't looking at it. >> reporter: today the parent company of silicon valley filing for bankruptcy as the department of justice and the s.e.c. investigate its leadership. ceo greg becker sold nearly $3.6 million dollars in stock just days before the bank collapsed. sources tell abc news the fbi is looking into whether there is evidence of insider trading.

and, whit, the white house is also asking congress to em power the fdic to impose fines on those executives from failed banks and to bar them from holding jobs in the industry. whit? >> erielle reshef, thank you. next tonight, the severe weather threat in the south after that cross country storm unleashed a tornado and large hail in the dallas area. at least two confirmed tornadoes hitting texas, including an ef-1 touching down in irving with winds up to 110 miles per hour. whiteout conditions blinding drivers in southwest minnesota. trucks jackknifing on the highways. that system moving out, and now a major cold blast coming right behind it. let's goet to abc's with more on what to expect. >> reporter: we're continuing to track that cold front, and along its leading edge, more storms popping up in the panhandle as well as the i-95 corridor

overnight. that cold air is going to come in with a vengeance as we head through the weekend. wind chills will be below zero saturday morning and we're starting the see freeze watches and alerts being sounded off for much of the southeast. the cold air continues into sunday morning with wind chills feels like the single digits in many areas. you know, whit, this comes on the heels of a rather warm end to the week for a lot of east coast, so it's important they keep that winter gear on deck. >> thank you, and this is your first report here on "world news tonight." we're thrilled to have you. welcome to the team. we turn now to the increasing scrutiny over tiktok. sources tell abc news the yupt justice department is launching an investigation into the owners of the apporlledly spying on journalists. it follows an apparent warning from the biden administration to ban tiktok if its chinese parent company doesn't sell its stake. here's abc's chief justice correspondent, pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, the china-based company that owns tiktok under investigation by

the fbi for allegedly spying on american citizens. sources telling abc news the justice department looking into whether bytedance, tiktok's parent company, was tracking and mining information about reporters who cover the tech industry. this as the nation's top intelligence official warns that tiktok makes americans vulnerable to spying. >> one-third of americans get their news from tiktok every single day. one-sixth of american youth say they're constantly on tiktok. that's a loaded gun. >> reporter: the fear? that tiktok has been vacuuming volumes of personal, detailed information about all of those users, information that could be exploited by china to manipulate what americans think. and sources tell abc news the biden administration is threatening to ban tiktok completely unless the chinese owners give up their stake. but some lawmakers say just ban it now. >> for me, personally, i think they need to be gone. you know, china is our number one adversary.

we need to protect ourself. >> tiktok officials have said in recent days that they are addressing the privacy concerns that americans have been raising, and that forcing the china-based parent company to diverse would not address the security concerns raise by u.s. officials. whit? >> pierre thomas, thank you. overseas tonight, massive protests for a second day on the streets of france. thousands angry over president emmanuel macron's decision to force through a pension reform bill, raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. protesters clashing with police in paris. some throwing rocks and fireworks. officers in riot gear using tear gas to clear the crowd. more than 300 frustraters across france detained so far. next tonight, a new report on the possible origins of covid-19. an international team of scientists reportedly finding genetic links tieing to pandemic to another animal in wuhan, china. it raises even more questions now about other covid theories,

including a possible lab leak. here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: tonight, new evidence that covid-19 may have originated from natural animal to human transmission after new analysis suggests a link from the virus to raccoon dogs that at china's wuhan market. >> this is another brick in a huge wall of evidence pointing to this market as the epicenter a and to wildlife as the source of this pandemic. >> reporter: the findings first reported by "the atlantic" after researcher michael worobey and a group of scientists from around the world analyzed new data uploaded just days ago into a global database by researchers at china's cdc. that data including swab samples taken in and around wuhan back in january of 2020. >> we found some pretty interesting things, including raccoon dog and other mammal dna in samples that have sars-cov-2.

>> reporter: the preliminary findings and data not yet published or peer reviewed. tonight, the w.h.o. and experts say the findings are strong evidence but do not prove conclusively raccoon dogs transmitted the virus to humans or had covid-19 themselves. >> this data does not provide a definitive answer to the question of how the pandemic began. >> reporter: the news coming amid fierce debate over where the virus came from. the department of energy now joining the fbi saying with low confidence they suspect the pandemic most likely started with a lab leak in china. whit, this is raising questions again about transparency. when it comes to the origin of covid. chinese researchers reportedly uploaded that data and then for some reason took it down after that international team was able to analyze it. the w.h.o. is now calling for china to release any and all information relating to covid-19

and its origin. whit? >> stephanie ramos, our thanks to you tonight. when we come back, the dramatic takedown on the streets of new york city. a good samaritan helps police stop a suspect in his tracks. and news of another american kidnapped in mexico. and can help you breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. want more from your vitamins? get more with nature's bounty. including steroids, without talking to your doctor. from the first-ever triple action sleep supplement... to daily digestive support... to more wellness solutions every day. get more with nature's bounty. somewhere out there is that one-in-a-million.

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finally tonight, the st. patrick's day celebrations and lucky charms across the country. >> reporter: tonight, communities across america coming together to celebrate st. patrick's day. in savannah, georgia, the georgia state patrol honor guard marching past city hall. in new york city's parade, the fdny's emerald society's pipes and drums performing for the crowd. in boston, massachusetts, at mass general for children and brigham and women's hospital, the nicu dressing up their young patients in hopes of charming their families and bringing some smiles. 5-week-old aadvik. 13-day-old penelope. nurse sarah. >> we love to help our families enjoy their stay in the nicu, which can be a hard time. >> reporter: nurse alison, too. >> they bring joy to us to be part of these special moments. >> reporter: and in california, look at these lucky charmers. rescue dogs bruce, dale, and joey dressed in green. each one jumping up to say hi.

for years, their owners dressing them up, hoping to draw attention to rescues. here they are with their brother ziggy enjoying some dog-friendly ale and setting a leprechaun track. pot of gold and all. tonight here -- >> hello! wishing everybody a very happy st. patrick's day. >> reporter: anna with a sleepy bruce, dale, and joey. >> we love to encourage people to rescue, adopt, foster, donate, to volunteer. >> reporter: while back in boston, a message from the nicu floor. >> happy st. patrick's day! >> and happy st. patrick's day to all of you. i'm whit johnson in new york. have a great night.

>> building a better bay area. moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. >> this afternoon. another disturbing incident at a bay area school. if hours ago, a child we are told only 12 years old was stabbed by another student at a san francisco middle school. that afternoon. thanks for joining us. kristen: the stabbing happened just before 1:00 this afternoon at francisco middle school. we i live now with the latest -- we are live in now with the latest. reporter: all of this, according to multiple sources, and students i spoke with today, was over an altercation over a videogame. we saw, while classes are up for the day, there was a brief lockdown after the 12-year-old boy was stabbed in the back in the library. we saw a number of parents pick up their children early but many finished out the remainder of lunch and afternoon classes. along with students, i spoke

with a parent who was fed up and plans to transfer her daughter to another school, after claims of other safety concerns. >> he took out a kitchen knife and just stab someone in the back -- stabbed someone in the back. >> i was scared. . i was concerned for my friend. >> the kids are out of control. they are not getting the resources they need. they are not getting the support they need. it is bad right now. and nobody is paying attention to what actions happen at the school. reporter: i also spoke with the san francisco unified school district spokesperson who said all proper protocols were taken after the stabbing. she said there is no active threat to the school at this time. then i asked her what other measures were in place to keep kids here safe. >> francisco middle school and all middle schools have many wellness awards available for students. we know coming out of the pandemic, this has been a difficult time for students and schools are working to rebuild communities. reporter: back out here live, in