"techknow." >> dive deep into these stories and go behind the scenes at aljazeera.com/techno. good afternoon to you. welcome to al jazeera america. coming to you live from new york city. and here are the stories we are following right now. secretary of state john kerry meet with the ukraine option today. and new allegations against the new jersey governor in the bridgegate scandal. elections in thailand spur violent clashes in bangkok.

john kerry met with the leaders from the ukraine today and saying that the u.s. supports the fight for democracy. chl . the battle is putting the u.s. and russia on opposing sides. we are joined live now, and tens of thousands of protestor are waiting to see what happens in the meeting today. but what exactly are they hoping to hear? >> morgan, they are asking for a concrete promises, actions from the united states and europe from preventing from a state of emergency happening here and they have heard what they wanted from the u.s. secretary of state john kerry and he's supporting

the ukrainianukrainians. >> they are fighting for the right to help to realize their aspirations and they have decided that means their futures do not have to lie with one country alone and certainly not coeerzed. >> and it is the russian foreign minister criticizing the support for the ukraine and saying it is rewarding violence in the streets and so the ukraine in a divide between the east and the west and the opposition wanting to turn to european and asking for the european and american support and we have heard that they have wanted certainly some bank sanctions against the leadership here and waiting to see whether they are going to get anything from the europeans and the americans in the meeting this morning. >> the talks were stalled this

leek when their president took a sick leave and where is he now with all of this? >> he remains on indefinite sick leave and things are in limbo here. we don't know what that means for the future. the people are uneasy here and what is government the planning here and there could be a state of emergency called and now in the third month and thousands of people in the streets here and around the country, those opposition supporters are saying they are not going any where until they see changes in the government and they would like to see a change in the leadership. >> jennifer, beyond the change in the leadership, as the protests are heating up, one saying he was beaten and tortured and how is the government responding to all of this, daughtering the va didly of those claims?

>> they are doubting the validity of those claims and have issued an arrest warrant against him. he's a prominent activist and leading the demonstrations and then disappeared ten days ago and found bloodied and beaten and said he was tortured by men he couldn't identify and saying they had russian accents. the opposition supporters are saying they are harassed here and around the country and the security forces, the ministry is saying they have to investigate the claims to make sure they are true and not, it wasn't made up designed to inflame the situation here and there is a standoff at the hospital there and ready to interrogate and arrest him and with his supporters protecting him. we have heard from german

authorities that they are willing to take him to germany for treatment and calling it aridiculous for the government to arrest him. >> thank you, jennifer. >> and a gun battle between supporters and opponents of thailand's government wounded three people in bangkok. it is coming on the eve of the very controversial general election. >> this is exactly the sort of build up of the election that everybody feared. these people are moving down to road here are anti-government protestor and coming from one of the stages and joining others protesting. also in the area is a pro-government group and as the protestor are moving down here, there is a lot of gun fire coming and explosions. there's very little security in

this area. there are some soldiers unarmed and some police, but very little security at the moment. you can see the protestor are moving down this road. this is an area of bangkok that the security forces warned they would be seeing violence on the election day. >> in new jersey, the bridgegate scandal is heating up, and this time governor christie is feeling it and allegations that he knew about what was happening with the lane closures to fort lee. >> new jersey governor chris christie ignored the questions after leaving a birthday party in new york city friday night. just hours earlier an attorney releasing a letter claiming that

the governor new about the access lane closures that caused a nightmare in fort lee for days in the letter, evidence exists tying mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed contrary to what the governor stated publicly and describing the decision as quote the christie administration's order. the lane closings were hatched by the governor's staffers as political pay back against fort lee mayor. a democratic who refused to endorse christie for re-elect n re-election. christie repeated denied knowing anything about it. >> i had no knowledge or involvement in this issue in its planning or execution. and i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here. >> new jersey assemblyman

johnson says he never believed the governor. >> i was suspect of the inner circle of the governor not knowing about this. >> he since resigned from the post. he's the one that exchanged the emails last summer with the deputy chief of staff bridget ann kelly. time for traffic problems she emailed him and he replied got it. christie fired kelly and vowing to take appropriate action if the staff memberers knew about the closings and the letter from the attorney quote confirms what the governor said all along no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever the motivations for closing them to begin with. severe draught in california turns off the water for 25

million residents. on friday is state water project is not delivering the reservoir water to the public water agencies in the spring. this affects irrigation water and drinking water and now they have to get their water from some place else. >> the police are watching for increase in sex trafficking ahead of the super bowl. the fear could be unfounded. the global alliance is saying there is no link to the big events. the trafficking is happening out of the sight and out of way places. we have more on the story from mexico. >> each morning 19-year-old looks into the mirror next to her bed. >> i'm strong. >> finding the courage to face herself each day is not easy, karen, not using the last name s a survivor of sex trafficking. karen was raped as many as 25

times a day by different men. sold into prostitution by her boyfriend. >> he took me to mexico city and girls are standing on the sidewalks and i had to start prostituting myself. >> after six months of being raped and beaten she escaped and now living in a safe house in mexico. >> little by little i'm trying to forget the nightmares and i'm trying to forget. >> so are the seven other girls that all live here and all under age, some abused since the age of two. after being rescued by the authorities, the girls are placed in the care of alma tucker. a u.s. resident that volunteers to the safe houses. >> they are here and providing

the basic needs. we have schools in the facility. but also some of the volunteers are dance classes and self-defense and learning english. >> sex traffic something a crime under reported and often times happens out in the open. in the red light district here, this is where supply meets demand here on the streets women and girls are bought and sold into prostitution every day. exact numbers are hard to come by, it is estimated tens of thousands of trafficking victims in the country. yet alma's house is one of two such places in all of mexico. >> people don't want to hear about it. it is hard to hear that a girl is sexual abuse 25 times a day and everything is taken away from them. their childhood, their peace,

their dreams. when they are here we focus on the person and see how to bring up those dreams again. >> since being rescued karen is remembering her dreams, and what it feel like to laugh and believe in something again, her future. jennifer london al jazeera mexico. >> a special report on al jazeera america, private prisons in brazil and cashing in on criminals. >> plus, saving sharks in sydney. animal rights activists are trying to protect the fish.

is all about... that's why i'm risking my life... >> killing the messenger on al jazeera america

the stream is uniquely interactive television. in fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> i think you've offended everyone with that kathy. >> hold on, there's some room to offend people, i'm here. >> we have a right to know what's in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it from us. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> watch the stream. >> and join the conversation online @ajamstream. >> four teenagers are dead after hit by the value -- volcanic ash. thousands of locals were

evacuated. >> brazil turning to private firms to help run the prisons now. the country has some of the most violent and overcrowded prisons and al jazeera got a look inside one of them. a warning some of the images are disturbing. we have a report from brazil. >> a disturbing look into the prison in brazil. this video is smuggled out and proof of the violence the prisoners are able to inflict upon each other. the images are too gruesome to put on the air, prisoners are mutilated and three of them beheaded. the fallout put unprecedented on the government to quickly build new and modern and less crowded prisoners. we were allowed a limited look inside of a prift public

partnership, a prison operated as a joint venture between the government and the private sector. this is a five star accommodation. the only prisoner we are are allowed to speak to runs the storeroom that districts fresh clean uniforms and personal hygiene kits. they have doctors, they have a lot of things that help the prisoners re-enter society, no comparis comparison. this is one of a kind. >> the food looks adequate. we were not allowed to view the cells. we were told only four prisoners per cell and one per bed and that is a novelty. >> we only receive prisoners that are sin -- sentenced.

each prisoner has to have a spot here. >> they accept prisoners that are willing to study and work for three quarters of the minimum wage. the walls and the gates are the state's responsibility. while the private company running the project is in charge of the education and security and living conditions and it is state of the art by brazilian standards. this bench in a metal detecter and detecting the metal introduced into the body. all of this is expensive and some question why the private sector is allowed to make a profit with the public funds. >> why is the government allowing this. because the government's state is tied to the private sector and financing the campaigns and

brazil treats the prisoners as merchandise and prisons as an industry. o whatever the motive, even the critics are con seeding that the prisons are setting a standard, protecting assuming as well as punishing the prisoners in the care. australians are protesting a government program to capture and kill sharks. we have a report from sydney. >> this is only happening off of a few of the beaches off australian beaches and reactions to it are fer. if people go into the shark easter toir they have to be aware of the consequences. >> if you go in the water you are taking a risk. it is a minimal risk.

so i think as people learn that, they are less scared of the sharks and more likely to save them. >> more expected people at the protest coming up, but not everybody is on the same page, there is support for the kelp. the number of people using the beaches and surfers is well down. those intoing into the sea are staying closer to shore. there is a fear about the sharks out there. the beaches here have shark nets offshore and set to kill other wild life as well. up in iansland they have the nets to catch the sharks. >> people know about the reality of the nets. this issue is happening now. we are getting in on the ground and preventing it from establishing and hopefully

educate the people and get their energy. >> it is seeming successful and there are now more big sharks in australia's seas. at the same time, more people are using the ocean for recreation, and it is a few tragedies will occur. >> much more when we come back including a super bowl wager from the two competing cities. here is a live look at super bowl boulevard from times square in new york city. >> we are live at the site of super bowl xlviii and will the broncos quarterback peyton manning turn the stadium into a personal playground? we have the story ahead.

back in the corner and crawled

good morning to you.

welcome back to al jazeera america. coming to you live from new york city. john kerry met with the leaders of the ukraine and their door is still open. >> plus chaos an in bangkok as the protests turn into a gun fight. this is the day before their elections. >> more allegations in the bridgegate scandal in new jersey. the governor is accused of shutting done the lanes on bridge. >> super bowl is just a day away and mark morgan is live with the latest on the big game. mark, are you staying warm out there? >> i am staying warm, morgan. you know we are lucky. last week was cold this week not so much. let's talk about peyton manning

for a second. this guy is asked about the legacy this week. seven years ago the colts beat the bears and winning the first super bowl. he's come back from an income of surgeries, record setting season and a lot of people think he may think about retiring following this game. i asked anita marks about whether manning would retire win or lose tomorrow night. >> i can't believe people are even considering that peyton manning would retire. a lot of people don't realize, he's a historian with the game and loves the stats. the way that the game has changed, mark, and the way that you are able to play, wide receivers, it is a passing happy nfl, the numbers he could put up are remarkable. he's on the coat tails of brett

favre and could be breaking the records. he can set the records would likely never be broken in the history of the game. he's some what of an ego maniac. i eksz pekt him to retier. i think he's going down as the greatest quarterback ever to play the game and his stats will dictate that. >> all right. again, morgan, 5400 yards passing and 55 touchdowns this season and interesting what the decision is tomorrow night. >> we are looking forward to it. >> for the temperatures tomorrow here is our meteorologist. >> not as cold as december 13th. this is metlife stadium on december 13th. there are piles and piles of snow. the alberta clipper crossing

across the plains and dumping the snow. we have had a change in the pattern so leave the gloves and hats at home. it is a very, very comfortable super bowl sunday. we are talking temperatures in the 50s through the day, as we can see temperatures are plummetting around the night time. we are around 44 degrees at kickoff. nice and comfortable out there. we are seeing a boost in the temperatures and before a strom tracking up the east coast on monday. maybe mother nature is a fan of football. just a few clouds floating in the skies, that is acting to keep the warm in the day. we have the storm making its away cross the plains and snow is coming down in chicago. if you are out there along i-80 a be careful. flights are cancelling out of chicago today. the temperatures are going to

plummette. the cold is coming down from canada. back to you, morgan. >> i feel bad for chicago but great for the super bowl. >> yes. >> museums in seattle and denver are showing the team pride leading up to the super bowl. they are betting on the teams and also putting up works of art for the wager. >> the denver museum of art in the heart of downtown is a jewel of the rockies and the people of this city are proud of the collection of western american art. allen? >> paul, visitors to seattle's art museum is greeted outside by the 48 foot tall structure, hammering man and treated to travelling and permit exhibit n exhibitions including a collection that has its own museum building.

>> we are talking about the world class collections of art and some are sports fans. tell me about this piece. >> it is a bronco buster. it is an icon of the west. it is a star of the collection. >> that is going to look nice displayed in seattle, next to the sound of waves with the bird of prey, the seahawk, of course. that is what they are putting up in the wager. have you ever wondered with the art museum directors sound like trash talking. >> bigger than life. >> it is sad that the people of seattle are not going to get to enjoy that in seattle. >> that is sad, but they can always come to denver, which is a great city and have a great football team. >> a man riding a bronco,

detailed, sculpted, that we are going to be excited to display here. when the broncos win, they don't keep the screen, it is on loan for three months. >> the loser paying the shipping costs and for the heavy bronze piece will be quite a bit. good luck in the art bowl, paul. >> thank you. allen. on sunday we'll see which piece of art goes where and the dreams swept away. al jazeera denver. >> thanks for watching al jazeera america. the stream is coming up next and remember for news updates throughout the day head to al jazeera.com or follow us on twitter. we are taking a look at the super bowl boulevard. the streets are packed ahead of

tomorrow's big game. stay tuned to al jazeera. >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you're in "the stream." ever send an annoying email, forget to return a library book - you have committed a crime. are these rules going too far? >> digital producer is with us, bringing in all of your live feedback during the show.