just as the polls opened. setting an example she hopes millions of thais would follow on sunday. >> a l as thais it is our duty to exercise our right to vote. we must support the election process. in or parts of the capital there are problems. even though the leaders vowed not to prevent voters from coming in, his follows have stationed themselves right outside this polling position. now, the organizers opened the poms on time, but they close them at

9:00 a.m., because they are worried about voter safety. >> more than 400 polling centers were closed. some were blocked, some never got their paper ballot, and some have no workers. >> my right is to stand here and make sure there are reform first, before voting. beverage but 93% of the polling centers were able to open, and around 90 across the country were accepting voters. but because of the disruptions -- >> the exact number of the voters will not be made known, and that's unporchs that, but it is also clear is that the protestors are in the minority. >> the the district of the capitol, the two sides squared off. officials there shut down voting. later protestors called back, in a group of people denied their vote, marched to the building.

but people can show that the support the election. >> they broke through the front gate and demanded they be allowed to vote. but they will have to wait until they are scheduled for those thais that could not vote on sunday. there's little chance that the election will soften the divisions between the thai people, nor will there be progress in mending the political divide that is paralyzed the government. al jazeera, bangkok. >> although the prime minister is likely to win, ruts aren't expected until later this month. meanwhile, the first official day of campaigning for the presidential elections was overshadowed by violence. abdula was shocked and kills on saturday. so far several have been detained by police. they range from a former

foreign minister too karzai's very only older brother. the candidates kick off two months of campaigning until the april 5th election. secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. and europe stand with the people in ukraine in their fight for democracy. protestors remain on the streets despite last week's resignation. al jazeera is now life in kiev and has been following the story from the very beginning. jennifer, kerry voiced his support for opposition leaders on saturday, but has it really got ton the point where he is considering intervention? >> you county me, you can probably hear the demonstrations going on behand me on a sunday night. and other leaders in munich, they did welcome moves that the european union are making as well. they say that they are going to be in strasburg

next week, a commission form to look into human rights abuses here. >>'s no move of that right now, but the united states has u.s. secretary spented visas some of the folks -- some of the government officials are connected with corruption here? connected with the violence here? you mentioned the pressure on the government, but the protests really began with ukraine's president dropped the e.u. and then made a deal with russia, but where is russia now? how are they reacting? >> russia has been exerting pressure, morgan, as much as it can. it has -- it gave the ukraine a $15 billion deal. signed at the beginning of this year, that has been u.s. secretary spented and then ukraine needs that money to get it's budget going, it

also is exerted pressure on it's borders. it has customs control, 70% of ukraine's industrial exports go through russia, head to russia, they are stalled on the border right now, so that put as lot of financial pressure on the government to -- on the government and shows how much leverage moscow still really has here. president putin says he isn't going to release that money until he knows what the new government looks like leer. and the old prime minister has resigned. the president will be back at work tomorrow after taking a six leave, but right now, the future is uncertain, and ukraine does need that money. it was expected an $11 billion deficit this year. >> so the president back to work and protestors saying they are not going to leave until they see change, thank you for joining us live. more than 100 people have been killed in government raids there aleppo. military helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the rebel held syrian

town, where human rights groups say most of those killed were civilians. that includes at least ten children. government troops have fought their way into rebel held towns more than 130,000 people have died since the war began three years ago. secretary of state john kerry is held a very rare meeting with iran's foreign minister on the sidelines of a security conference in munich. kerry says both sides need to compromise in order to resolve fears over iran's nuclear program. the foreign minister says the time to negotiate is now. >> it would be foolish for either side to break away from. i think the opportunity is there, i think this is a historic opportunity, i think we need to seize it, i think if we don't, if we work on the basis of illusions we will regret nit the years to come. >> mean tile, another player between israel and the u.s. while in germany kerry warned that they face a crowing boycott threat, if peace talks fail. israeli prime minister

brushed off then waying calling the effort moral immoral and unjust. the controversy surrounding chris christie continues. he is back in the lot seat, because this morning state assemblyman appeared on cbs's face the nation. he is leading the investigation into the lane closures that happened on the george washington bridge, and eh says the government may have actually known that it was planned. >> i have skepticism about the governor's statement. i haven't said that the governor has responsible for this, i haven't said that the governor knew when this was happening that's something mr. wile steen said, what i said is the government made a statement about when he knew, and i said that i have my doubts aability that time line. he could have known at any time, but i have my doubts about what he said. >> well, in ask email to supporters just yesterday, christie fired back who accused him of lying about his role, in the email he said "david wile steen will do and

say anything to save david wile steen, bottom line he will do and say anything to save himself." that is what he said in a letter firing back. he is on the other side of the aisle, and he won his re-election. he got 64% of the vote, but reporters say he hasn't done enough to stop crime and create jobs. supporters praise his efforts to rebuild following hurricane karina. tourism has bounced back with visitors numbers approaching a nine year high just last year. for the first time in history, drought is, toking california stop delivering water to millions of its customers and farms. and now, state officials are taking new drastic measures to deal with it. for the first time in its 54 year history, the state water project has decided to turn off the

taps to all the local districts that it supplies with water. that means zero water supplies to those districts. leaving millions offish ban residents in california and farmers to find another way to get their water. now, many of those districts have reservoirs, farmers are looking for marry own ways of dealing with the water situation, and here in los angeles, the metropolitan waitedder district has enough in reserve to deal with it in the short term. they aren't looking at mandatory water restrictions yet, but this is very very serious, because nobody knows when this drought will end. now, the governor has asked all citizens of california, to cut their water usage by 20%, what does that mean? wilt, hard to say, but there are many ways you can conserve water, and he has put up various ways you can cut back. you save many gallons by brushing your teeth and turning off the faucet at

the same time. using full loads of laundry, watering before 8:00 a.m. that saves many gallons of water, and instead of hosing down your drive way when it is dirty, get a broom. these are simple things that everybody can do. the question is whether anybody is listening. if there's no mandatory water restriction, will people really sense the urgency of this? on a nice day in california, it's hard to imagine, dire predictions coming up, but the truth is this is the worst drought we have seen in decades, if not all recorded history in california, and the worst could be yet to come. >> that was al jazeera's judy miller. presidential elections in one of the most world most dangerous countries. in el value have tor, calming for a better social programs while his right wing rival wants to use the army to fight gang violence. el salvador has one of the hirest murder rates in the entire world, and a former grail la commander during the

civil war isn't likely to get the 50% that he needs to wayne. that means that the vote willing go to a second round in march. meanwhile, a volcano has released three very big explosions. the volcano located just southeast of the capital fews lava, but not so much that residents in a nearby town couldn't stay put. the volcano has been active since 1999. spill ahead, millions tuning into the biggest sporting event of the year. i am john tarot in east rutherford, you can't tailgate at the stadium, so the town is throwing a party for everyone to come.

>> the struggling midddle class >> we just can't get ahead... >> working longer hours, for less pay. >> people are struggling everywhere. >> school loans... morgages... inflation... taking it's toll... >> we live paycheck to paycheck... >> now in a continuing series, join ali velshi as we follow families, just like yours, as they try to get by... >> we're all struggling financially... >> america's middle class: rebuilding the dream only on al jazeera america! with kick off just hours away excitement is building. the game is being held at met life stadium. and that's where we find our very own mark morgan.

good morning, mark, as you said the excitement is building about seven hours now you can feel the vibe. obviously a very celebrated player. he has had a lot of attention, and especially this week, and rightfully so. because he has had an amazing year. just last night, manning picked up his fifth as far as the mvp voting when, he picks up 59 of the votes. tom brady grabbed the other single vote that was left, manning's other mvp awards came in the 03-04, 08-09, seasons.

so the deal has been well documented. he is looking for his second super bowl ring. he won his first back 20007. wilson looking for his fist ring he is more of a scrambling run around scrambling. his 24 regular season wins are the most regular season wins for any in the first two years in the league. since 1950, so he has been nothing but successful. may main objective was to get prepared, so just on serving and noticing the time it takes in terms of pregame, half time, especially last year, you just never know what may happen. so you have to be prepared for that.

and i think the biggsest thing is just noticing that the circumstances are a little bit different. but at the same time, still 53 and a third, doesn't change, and we are looking forward to that moment when the ball is kicked off, and play one play at a time, and be in the moment, and enjoy the moment. >> and there will probably be more of an emphasis on manning making big plays. because seattle has the number one defense, so he has been able to rely on that, and not have to score a lot, so it will be interesting to see if this does become a shoot out, or lit be a very close tight game that comes down to the last fewn't manies and i think it will likely be the ladder. >> all right, mark morgan joining us now from met life stadium, thank you so much for being with us. well, unfortunately for some fans officials aren't allowing one very old football tradition, and that's tailgating. but luckily the city of east rutherford new jersey came to their

rescue, joining us live with more on that, what is on the menu. >> that's right. >> they are going to have a cooking contest, which i will be taking part in. we were expecting big big amounts of snow. you know they had 8 million trucks on stand by. it was going to be a big problem, but in fact the weather is beautiful. blue skies and it is almost balmy, seriously. although i think the forecast may be cold, but not below freezing. let's talk about this super bowl party going on here.

boy, did jersey snowball it. >> this is outstanding weather for a great super bowl. >> now, what are you hoping to achieve by throwing this tailgating party so that everybody request come here and carry out this tradition? >> the communities have come together, especially this meadowlands community, and putting together a meadowlands tailgate party, so that it's citizenry and the people that live here can share in the freud of hosting the meadowlands and hosting the super bowl in our backyard. >> it's a lot of work, do you think that east rutherford is on the map? if they haven't heard of it before they would have heard of it now? >> no doubt about it, and that's what we hope to accomplish. i flow that you think the sea hawks are a great

team, but -- >> i am a payton manning fan. he has had a tremendous story, so i am rooting for pray topp. >> thank you very much, have a very happy tailgate party. >> thank you for inviting us. >> one little footnote, you know today is february the second. punxsutawney phil has predicted that winter will last another six weeks. not to be outdone, stanton island chuck who is also a ground hock has also predicted the winter will last, beyond that, statton island chuck doesn't think the sea hawks will win, because apparently they are predators of ground hogs. >> statton island chuck, thank you very much so much. >> and as john mentioned weather won't be a problem for the players or for the fans. our very own yo are right about that, temperatures

11 degrees above normal today across portions of the northeast, where today we will reach a high of 51 degrees. can't get better than that, i will tell you one thing we have a storm on the way, so during the game, i'm not anticipating any problems but after the game, into the early morning hours we have a winter storm that will move its way up the east coast, and create treacherous travel conditions. let's enjoy the warm, you can tell the winds are pushing in from the south and east. about six-inches of snow fell, as we continue to look at the map, you can see the steady stream pushing in. the pattern has changed quite a bit, alberta clipper, a traveling out of the north central planes into the midwest, into the northeast, ushering in all that cold air. well, as i said, we have a change in the pattern. and that explains the

exception 23458 warmth we are experiencing today. if you are further to the west, you can see here we have a mix of rain, and a bit of freezing rain, so you need to be careful if you are traveling along i-80. also pungs talkny phil said we will have six more weeks, well, he is right. winter does not end until march 20th, but the look of things, well, we will continue to have to deal with that snow. we are talking two with to four-inches and we have a dangerous storm unfolding. and south central portions of oklahoma. ice, freezing rain, and also some sleet out there along, i 35, so it really need to take it'ssy, especially around oklahoma today. >> over in the memphis zoo, they are picking the winger of today's super bowl.

in very cute panda bear lee lee is putting her money on a tennessee favorite, that would be payton manning and his denver broncos pen there she goes. the team hung up the flags and then the bear pulled down the denver broncos banner. back in the 90's and kick off is tonight at 6:30 p.m. eastern. and the super bowl today but the olympics next week, how this year's games will compare financially to the 2010 games in vancouver, you are watching al jazeera america.

welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm morgan radford, and here are today's headlinings. voting has ended in thailand, but not everybody was able to cast their ballot. some polling stations in the sought of the country were blocked by antigovernment protestor whose have denounced those elections. prime minister called to the election in december to ease political unrest. and a political tug of war where secretary of state john query says the u.s. will support protestors in their fight for democracy. meanwhile, russia is urging the government to make them stop. and the nfl's biggest game of the year kicks off in just a few short hours. the denver broncos will battle it out with the seattle sea hawks in new jersey. the winter olympics will kick off in russia in just five days. and security remain as

major concern, as well as the high cost of those games. in congress travis, the winter olympics four years ago were modest, but very very successful. rob reynolds reports from vancouver. >> the flames no longer leap from vancouver's olympic call ron, but the city has tangible reminders of the winter games four years ago. in the form of several sports stadium, a new rail line to the city's airport, housing and community centers. van cover olympics says his team scrutinized every penny that was spent. >> it was blood, sweat, and tears, it was day and night, looking at absolutely everything, you know, we simply went into every single account, to find a way to get our project over the finish line. we simply lad to deliver the game.

he promised to spend $12 billion. since then, the cost has ballooned. to an estimated $51 billion. according to investigations. and even a senior member of the olympic committee, much of the enormous cost of the sochi games is due to corruption. >> various schemes involved where they inflate the price of some of the projects and then pocket the difference and they end up running over what they are anticipating to be. it's been far and away that it has ever been. >> these olympic medals on display at the vancouver convention center, are a remind're if national pride in hosting the games. says the games have become nationalistic spectacles spiraling out

of control. we are seeing wit sochi, we saw it with beijing, and now the world cup is becoming like this in some ways too, and the games are just the platform upon which you build an image. >> as that trend continues, the relatively modest games held here on canada's pacific shore may prove to be the last of their kind. al jazeera. >> a roman catholic is filing for bankruptcy as it settled hundreds of sex abuse claims. claiming that from the 1930's all the way to the 1970's clergy members abused more than 300 children. a diocese spokesman says the bankrupt will help resolve the claims which now add up to over $510 million. thank you so much for watching al jazeera america, live from new

york city. remember for news updates all throughout the day, you can head over to aljazeera.com, stay tuned see you again at noon eastern. >> this week, let the p.r. games begin. the global media are descending on sochi. what stories are they going to tell there? al jazeera journalists in egypt. five are already behind bars. now the authorities have issued arrest warrants for many more. the next time you're at a news event, look up. you might see a drone looking at you. and office etiquette.