>> just hours after leaders call for calm in ukraine a truce a broken by gun fire and death. three al jazeera journalists detained for months are set to go on trial. leaders and journalists around the world call for their immediate release. >> after decades of being

separated by a heavy armed border, emotional reunions for north and south korea. >> how cyber thieves stole a doctor's patient files and the rann son demanded for their return. >> good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. a truce in ukraine has had no impact on the spiralling violence gripping the country. you are looking at live pictures in kiev, where there are reports of more deaths as a result of clashes between protesters and riot press today. demonstrators are throwing gas bombs while police are using water canons, gun fire has been heard there, it's not clear who is doing the shooting. today's violence comes after a truce was called. the two sides had great to

resume peace talks today. the deal had no effect on the escalating conflict that killed more than two dozen people. today's violence forced an evacuation of the people. jennifer joins us on the phone. tell us what you see and here? >> it's been a confused morning in kiev. each side accusing the other of starting this. what is clear is there are people dead in the square, from sniper fire. the snipers are targetting people's heads and necks. shooting to kill protesters. half-a-dozen dead bodies on one end and half-a-dozen on other end. a tense situation. the police retreated. the protesters pushed behind them. they have taken more area of the

square. they have taken back what they have, concerned about snipers. they are launching an appeal, making appeals from the stage in the square telling police to put down their arms, and they'll grant amnesty to police that come over to the protesters side. there's concern about what is going on in the streets of kiev. the subways are shut down, trains from the west. the west is the strong hold of the opposition. schools are closed in kiev until the 21st at least. businesses - basically the center of the city is basically shut down, there's a lot of roadblocks and citizens have gone to the edge of kiev to stop militia and police from coming in. sense and a moveable vasion in kiev. >> it looks like a war zone, is

the violence proof that opposition leaders are losing their gripe on the protesters? >> i think it's a big concern. the militia accused the protesters of opening fire. the militia opened fire. there's no question there are hard liners, some prove okay terse. perhaps a troubling thing is they have taken 60 policemen hostage, holding them in city ham, including the equivalent of a colonel. that will infeweriate the police forces. one thing that the opposition leaders are consistent about is to remain calm, peaceful and objective. the taking of dozens of police officers, and keeping them in

city hall will be a provocation. there's concern over what can be done to calm things down. things can change by minute. jennifer glasse reporting from kiev. the u.s. is taking action against president viktor yanukovych's administration. the state department banned 20 senior members of the ukrainian government from entering the u.s. washington believes those officials are responsible for ordering human rights abuses in ukraine. he called on the ukraine government to show restraint when dealing with the protesters, saying he's keeping an eye on the situation. let's across to randall pinkston, washington correspondent. >> what message does this send to the ukrainian government. >> it's intended to be aumed at viktor yanukovych, and -- aimed

at viktor yanukovych, and his top aid, not to take actions resulting in military force being used against the protesters. there's less leverage that the administration has over radical protesters, ones who are in some instances triggering, provoking the violence. with respect to the ukrainian government, these visas will keep those deemed responsible for the crackdown that's sparked yesterday's massive clashes with the protesters, they will not be allowed into the u.s. the obama administration is very interested in joining with the european union, looking into imposing sanctions against the ukrainian government. an issue that led to the impasse is viktor yanukovych rejected a proposal to receive economic aid from the west, from the european union, and moved towards russia,

that sparked the protest in the first place. if the west can get together and impose sanctions on viktor yanukovych, perhaps he'll be more willing to listen to reason and pull back his military forces. >> the president returned to washington from his trip to mexico. he gave this warning to the ukraine. let's risen. >> we expect the ukrainian government to show restraint, to note resort to violence in dealing with peaceful protesters, we said we expect peaceful protesters to remain peaceful. we'll monitor the situation, recognising with the european partners and the international community, that there will be consequences. >> you discuss options that the president is looking at along with the e.u. and sanctions. you have spoken with a former u.s. ambassador to ukraine. what is his take on the situation there?

>> he is saying that the u.s. can do more in addition to the visa situation, which is allowing the u.s. to restrict entry into our country by some of those officials responsible for the violence. >> this former ambassador was the first u.s. ambassador to ukraine after splitting from the former soviet union in "91. he says the u.s. should call for an international donors conference willing to give ukraine economical assistance. >> it shows the regime that there's an alternative and puts the united states in the forefront in terms of leadership in terms of getting the international community on board. >> and, you know, something we need to point out is as we speak. foreign ministers from the european union are reportedly

meeting with viktor yanukovych, seeking some negotiated way out of this impasse. the u.s. is also very skeptical about the announcement of a truce between the opposition leaders and the government. obviously a lot of the protesters, radical protesters are not abiding by and there's a troubling development outside of kiev. at least eight provinces are showing significant act unfortunately by anti-government protesters to take over government buildings. a lot of concern this morning. >> thank you, washington response to ukraine. stay with al jazeera america for continuing coverage of the protests on ukraine. we'll visit a ukrainian church in new york, to see how people are reacting to the escalating violence in their homeland. >> a venezuelan opposition

leader is behind bars. leopoldo lopez, accused of inciting violent protests was that hiding. he turned himself over to authorities in front of thousands of cheering supporters. the opposition is calling today a day of mourning for six who have been killed in weeks of protests. they are encouraging more protests and asking people to boycott work. >> the department of homeland security issued a terror alert, involving potential use of shoe bombs on sites entering the u.s. from abroad. it's a threat that was almost carried out following 9/11. >> just two weeks after one warning in the skies, there's now another. the alert issued by the department of homeland security concerns a threat from bombs concealed in shoes. no airline, airport or date was specified, homeland security is urging carriers to pay attention to flights entering the u.s. that meanings beefing up

security overseas. >> travellers in the united states who are used to taking their shoes off. at airports overseas that is not required. this will require more screening of shoes. >> days before the opening of the plaels in sochi -- olympic games in sochi, a warning of explosives hidden in toothpaste tubes on flights to russia. new intelligence is not connected to the olympics, but some say it's a sign of determination by groups like al qaeda to strike at the u.s. >> tells me that al qaeda is fascinated with taking down planes. we had a toothpaste square, now back to shoes. >> the latest concern 12 years after richard reid, shoe bomber failed to bring down an airliner. not long after the 9/11 attacks. that's the damage that could

have been caused if reid's 2001 attempt was successful. reid is serving a life sentence. >> in the next half hour, we'll be joined by a crisis and emergency management expert to discuss how credibility the threat is. a storm system is threatening large parts of the country. be bring in meteorologist eboni deon. >> we are watching the middle of the country from strong to even storms and the participation for winter weather. it's been warming up, we are watching the wintering side of the system as it gathers across the valley. across the upper midwest, we see snow developing and taking shape. some of that snow will be heavy, upwards of a foot around minneapolis and surrounding arse. the snow flaring up, coming in

on the western side. it will be here across southern areas. blizzard warnings have been issued here. severe storms - no widespread activity, but storms prompting warnings. as far as the wintry whether. blizzard warnings. anywhere across the area, it will be a windy day with winds gusting 30, upwards of 45 miles per hour. if you are going to be out today, grip the wheels, for some of this it will be plane rain. add rain on top and we see flooding. it's a major concern. some areas have snow depth upwards of a foot, 2 feet of snow. we factor in warm temperatures, more rain and it will be a mess. here is the storm system as we go through the day.

we'll be under the warm sector, around indiana, jackson, mississippi, indianapolis. severe threats, strong gusty winds and the threat of rain fall will be the main issue for the storms in the afternoon. >> thank you meteorologist eboni deon. >> a trial will begin for three al jazeera journalists de-tasmanianed -- detained for three months, mohamed fadel fahmy, peter greste, mohammed badr have been accused of having ties to a terrorist organization and spreading false news, accusations that al jazeera denied. journalist around the world called for their release and australia's prime minister added his voice. >> it's my practice not to comment on court cases that are going on involving australians. but i want to make this point a free press is in everyone's interest, in the interests of all country.

a free press will help every county, including egypt, to be better in the months and years ahead. a free press is not compatible with harassing journalist going about their ordinary business. >> al jazeera maintains the journalists were doing their jobs and should be released immediately. we go live to doha. what can we expect to see in the trial today? >> yes, there's little details reaching us from cairo and where the court case is held away from the clair of the media. what we know is everything depends on whether the prosecution team is ready to start the trial. if they are ready then, they'll have to start the process of using whatever evidence they have against our colleagues.

they are not the only ones. six other journalists are tried in absentia, and accused of charges of helping a terrorist organization and belonging to an organization and public kating lies about egypt. charms that al jazeera say are fabricated. >> as you know there has been a campaign to free these men. including world leaders, every major news organization weighed in asking for release. how are they received in egypt? >> well, the international pressure has been momentous and coming from all corners of the globe. we are not sure it had an impact on the ground. what we know is the trial has

gone - has - the trial has begun despite the calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the journalist. what we know now is there's one view in egypt. and that is of the government. >> live for us in doha. >> years of separation come to an end for families in north and south korea. >> a young woman shares a personal storey. >> what a trade deal for asian countries could mean? and why there's opposition to it in congress. >> there were internet blackmailers saying wed have to pay in bitcoin immediately. >> cyber thieves steel it a doctor's files. why the fbi is having trouble

tracking down the blackmailers. >> a lowly beats goliath's. a bump. eagles turn the orange blue.

>> family separated by a border and a war are reunited. welcome back to al jazeera, i'm stephanie sy, the emotional reunions between north and south koreans in a minute. first a look at what temperatures we'll see across the nation. meteorologist eboni deon is back. >> we are going to keep that mild air around, it will feel nice. we are paying a price for the warmer air. we'll deal with a rainy, soggy and stormy day. across the deep south and into the midwest it will shift to the east as we head to the afternoon. mild temperatures that we have enjoyed will come to a scraching halt. we'll go to the upper 30s, down to the teen, and single digits in time for the weekend. not bad, 32 in minneapolis.

cann drafted with tulsa, nice temperatures. 64, 67 in new orleans, and 20s and 30s across the feast. the warm air making its way up the north-east coast. >> thank you. california's governor unveiled a $700 million plan to help communities coping with drought, to be spent on water conservation and cleaning up supplies. it doesn't include long-term solutions to fix the supply. 67% is dealing with drought. some places could run out of water in less than 60 days, president obama directed $160 million in federal aid to the region. >> emotional reunions are underway in north korea.

>> hundreds of elderly people from north and south korea are seeing loved ones, some have been separated for decades. many embraced each other. the reunion was made possible by mutual agreement between the north and south. they met in a mountain resort. harry fawcett recovered one woman along the way. >> kim soo-yeon told herself the day would never come. 64 years since last seeing the family, 10 years on a waiting list. the older sister, who gave her piggy backs and pushed her on swings has died. this is a chance to meet her nephew, with her grandson she'll pass on gifts and hear how her

sister died and died in north korea. >> if it's just my nephew, i want to give him a hug. i hope we can achieve reunification. >> 10 days before it was dust last time north korea pulled out. just over a week ago it was confirmed. >> this is the first reunion of family members since 2010. >> the conditions of migrant workers in qatar are coming under scrutiny. nearly 1,000 workers decide since 2012. qatar is speeding up construction as it prepares to host the soccer world cup. international human rights groups say there's evidence of abuses against the workers. the groups say the workers are not paid, working harsh and

dangerous conditions and have poor accommodations. 85% of people in qatar are foreigners. al jazeera was founded and is owned by qatari interests. >> it's been a great day for sochi. >> entertaining olympics so far. there are four days of winter olympic competition left. america leading with 23 medals, and team usa is in good position to take more medals. two golds in freestyle ski and we have four strong competitors, including matty bohan, x games winner. unar kim, it will be hard to dethrone her, leading the women's, with a score of 74.92. she's trying to become the back-to-back gold medal women's skater since katerina wit.

gracie gold is in fourth, 5.49 fnd italy's caro leana kostner. ashley wagner and polina edmonds are 6th and seven before going in to the long program. >> russia won 22 medals. second best in sochi, russia lost in hockey. the russians are eliminated from the men's hockey. they go medallist. after the loss, head coach incited the media to "eat me alive", hopefully they did not take him up on that offer. these are happier times for women's hockey, team usa and team canada.

they had the upper hand, beating the u.s. 3-2, but beat the u.s. the last two times they met in the gold medal game. canada has not lost an olympic game of any kind since the u.s. beat them in 1998. game time for the gold medal match between team usa and team canada is 12 noon. >> syracuse went in ranking one and none. shoe ins to beat a 6 and 19 boston college squad on syracuse home court. oranges 25 and 0 start, third-best start. most conference experts expected syracuse to have a 95%. cg flares, the golden eagles with fight. hanlon tied the game up. orange ha h a chance to bin, go -- had a chance to win.

no gift of a win. extra basketball. patrick heckman puts the golden leaving up. syracuse had a couple of chaps possess, but they could not get it done. 62-59 win. the orange pick up their first loss of the season. >> when you get in enough of these games, there's one you don't make a play. we miss a couple of easy shots, free throws. they made their free throws, and that's what happens if you get in the games. >> that's sport for now. >> deadly clashes break a truce between ukraine and anti-government protesters in kiev. how world leaders and ukrainian americans are reacting to the escalating violence. >> i'm in miami with one careless click, a cyber thief

can hijack your come purt files, and a ransom in bitcoins to get files back. >> the mentor program giving students a chance to succeed in medical research before they graduate from college.

>> a live picture from kiev in the ukraine, where a truce between government forces and opposition protesters are eroding. the associated press is reporting as many as 18 have been killed in today's clashes. demonstrators are reportedly throwing petrol bombs. gun fire heard, it's not clear who is doing the shooting. phil ittner is it in brussels where a meeting the e.u. ministers is taking place. what are you hearing the e.u.

may do? >> as opposed to what the u.s. intends to do. what is being discussed is a much broader program of sanctions. they are trying to restrict trade into the ukraine, most nodabliy to put down protesters, riot gear or tear gas. they are not looking at individuals as the u.s. have done. >> what are the ramifications of e.u. sanction, fill? >> well, they will put a dividing line between russia and the e.u. there has been a serious discussion about that. the ramifications of sanctions on ukraine could aggravate the economy, which is in dire strait. that would further show trouble for your average ukrainian. nevertheless the european union says they must respond in some

kind. have the russians or the ukrainians said anything about the e.u. sanctions? >> well, today the russian foreign ministry put out a notice saying any potential e.u. sanctions would be inappropriate and aggregate matters. the foreign minister put out an article putting the blame on brussels saying that basically forced ukraine to make a decision between the west and russia, something they promised not to do. when the eastern partnership agreement was discussed and shot down bit the viktor yanukovych government. russia says it's the fault of the west, and that is why we are seeing clerks on the streets. >> al jazeera's phil ittner reporting from brussels. >> ukrainians in the u.s. are keeping a close eye on events. many are feeling helpless and

are sending care packages. a woman collected supplies from her ukrainian neighbours. >> they have family over there - fathers or something, grandmothers. >> you want to do something. >> and you want to do something. >> daria hopes the packages get to the people. she is happy to do anything to help. >> erica pitzi is at st george's ukrainian church and is talking to worried parishioners. good morning. >> good morning. yes, we are inside the first mass of the morning. there's a few people here. you'll here me speaking softly because they were so gracious to let us on to the balcony in a beautiful church that has been here for more than 100 years and

the epicentre of spiritual support. there were tensions in the ukraine. violence breaking out. the pastor told me more and more ukrainians had been coming to pray for their home country. there were a dozen people here. but the early mass would be two more. it's heartbreaking for people. many with family and friends. many say many times a day, whether it be through phone calls, text or social media, it's disconcerting. the hope is the latest developments and a truce will end the bloodshed. they'll be coming to pray. >> erica pitzi reporting from a ukrainian church in new york. stay with al jazeera for the latest on the protest in

ukraine. we'll discuss what weird leaders have to end the conflict. >> the press of drafting a constitution in libya is to break a stalemate. the arab springs spread to libya, toppling the tick tatorship of muammar gaddafi. a new threat involving shoe bombs on international flights. the security alert doesn't identify date, airport or airline, federal officials are asking them to pay attention to flights entering the u.s. passengers are not usually required to take off shoes before boarding planes. authorities say the new intelligence is not connected to the recent olympic warne about explosives in toothpaste.

kenneth is a director of crisis management in a homeland security firm. how is the public supposed to take a threat like that that is specific and incredibly nonspecific? >> well, the public should be aware that the department of homeland security, working with the security agencies are listening for passengers threats. and with an abundance of caution, when a threat comms out, they take action. one of the things they learnt to do is to make public when they hear a threat. once they are uncovered the threats dissolve. here is what passengers boarding planes can expected. stepped up security on flights entering the united states. screeners will use swaths detecting explosive powder on shoes, bags and hands. more passengers will be pulled aside.

how effective are the measures ot preventing a terrorist attack? >> they are effective at keeping the terrorists offguard. they are - depending what they are looking for, and how the techniques are used, they are very effective. we haven't had an attack on an aircraft since 2009, when the christmas day underwear bomber got on an aircraft. there are layers of security. one of the things you don't want to be distracted from is looking for explosives hidden in other areas of clothing. prosthesis and other places. >> we in the u.s. are used to taking off shoes. overseas that is not a protocol. how much control does the t.s.a. have. can the u.s. government encourage flights to make sure the passengers shoes are checked. >> security agencies have a good

level of cooperation officially and unofficially. when the t.s.a. comes up with a good reason and says for this time we'll ask every flight come into the u.s. be screened. they may not do it at the cleaning points. they may be rescreened at the jet way. >> a notorious attempted terror attack happened after 9/11, richard reid, the shoe bomber. let's remind the audience about that case, a british citizens unsuccessfully attempted to ignite his shoe. he's serving a life sentence. this is a threat we have seen before. >> what is different about the new threat? >> one of the things i learnt is how to make their explosives effective. mr reid's attempt to set off the explosive didn't work. the fuse was wet and he was not

able to light it. some saw it as a failed attempt. he got on the plane, and we took our shoes off. they have changed a way of life. what they are looking to do. >> red lan strategies, crisis and emergency management. thank you. >> the u.s., mexico and canada is looking to expand trading to asia. it was a topic at the meeting in mexico. president obama wants the 20-year-old north american trade agreement known as nafta to be thinked to trade with asia. >> we agreed to work to complete negotiations on the transpacific partnerships, including strong protection for the workers and environment so we can compete in the fast-growing market. >> the partner vice-president would be one of the top trade deals, it could harm them in the elections. they are trying to block

fast-track approval. >> christopher wilson is an associate. he joins us from washington d.c. to talk about the traps pacific partnership. thanks for joining us. the tpp include a dozen pacific rim countries. what do we know about how the agreement is shaping up. >> we know only a little about how the agreement is shaping um. negotiations are held in private. it's standard. because you have so many moving parts and people don't want to give away their negotiating positions. we know this is a big agreement, including the countries in north america, canada and the united states. linked in nafta. with countries across the pacific, including japan.

it would lower traditional trade barriers. it would look at other things like intellectual property, e-commerce. some things that didn't exist, like amazon and ecommerce when nafta was created. the president said in the state of union he wants to fast-track the deal. c? >> it is a procedure that presidents have been using since the 1970s to negotiate trade agreements. basically the issue is the constitution of the united states gives the right to regulate international congress to congress. they have several hundred members. it's difficult for them to negotiate an agreement with a foreign country. they delegate that authority to the president for a short period of time so that they commit to basically taking a vote, an up or down vote on anything the president sends their way.

there's a fair amount of distrust of the president from the right and on the left concern about trade agreements, there's been hesitation about giving that authority to the president now. >> it's not an election year. let's look at polling. it shows that 87% of republicans are oposed to tracking the deal. is it republicans who supported free trade and g ox p leaders came out to support the president. what is going on much. >> it's interesting. the public is doing the opposite of what we are doing. congress has support in the republican side and dem grats side. the polling so far, there's limited polling. we should take it with a grape of the assault, showing more resistance on the republican

side. my belief or inclination is to say that people are hearing this is a proposal from president obama to fast-track an agreement he is working on. there's a lot of distrust among republicans that they can trust the president to do anything. there's an automatic resistance to giving him extra authority. >> christopher wilson with the woodrow wilson international center. thank you for joining us. >> facebook is buying mobile messaging service what's app for $19 billion. we look at what is driving the acquisition >> the planet is connected on facebook. more than 1.2 billion use the site each month on the web and mobile devices. it's this market that facebook is tapping with the latest purchase what's app.

that allows users to send text messages and phones for fro, making it popular. 450 million people currently use what's app, and it's growing rapidly, by roughly one million new users each day. >> facebook agreed to pay $16 billion for it, a quarter of which in cash, and the rest in stock. what's it founders refuse a further 3 billion of restrictive stock bringing the deal to $19 billion, gask previous acquisitions, including photo sharing instagram, and the face recognition platform. facebook says it will keep what's app as a separate service, the purchase allows it to gather data centre its customers, which can turn into

revenue generating services. >> gerald tan with that explanation. it's less known in the u.s. the company does not sell toying and has little revenue, charging users $1 a year. the first year is free. checking other news. investors are uneasy about news. the federal reserve is looking at charging interest rates. the possibility of higher rates surprised investors who hadn't had to worry about increases. the dow jones is at 1640. the s&p 500. the nasdaq opened at 42-37. the nikkei shedding 2%. european stocks lower at this hour. government reports are scheduled for release. consumers feeling a pimping in

the consumer price index. wall street headlines - thai consumers spending. analysts forecast a brighter outlook for wall street. >> for the national retail federation expects the second half of the year to be better for retailers. they expect that by the summer time the job market recovery would have picked up momentum. that will trickle down to lower income earners. >> bad income weather kept onsoupers out of wall street. >> mornahan's salary and bonus will be $14 million. it is rewarding him to leading the bank to the biggest profit.

they gave their c.e.o.s pay raises. >> we explain how a small business was black mailed in miami. >> 48 hours, that's how long this doctor was given to pay a ransom to retrieve come purt files. he owns a thriving plastic surgery practice. like a terrorist hi subcontracting his business, the email warned he'd lose data, including 30,000 patient files, he was a victim of malicious computer software. the hackers didn't want cash, they want bitcoin. he had vaguely heard of t. >> we knew there was internet blackmailers saying we had to

pay them in bitcoin or we'd lose our files. >> they become victims with a careless click of the mouse. they open an email, and download a file. that is when the cryptolocker screen pops up warning victims their files have been encrypted. they see a clock, the time they have to pay before the program locks them out forever. 10% of victims report complaints. one of his employers sent an email begging for time. it took a week. after paying $500 in bitcoin he received the key and regained control over the files. >> it was like a birthday. so happy. we were overjoyed. >> the fbi has been tracking cryptolocker since september and

received more than 400 complaints. no arrests have been made. one of the problems that software like this is hard to respond to. the people behind malicious software are a step ahead. what law enforcement can do it react. >> when it comes to opening emails they are vigilant. it's back to surgery as usual. the cyber leaf is arrested. they hope that he or she will pay for the crime. >> experts say anti-virus software will help defend against ransom ware. the best defence is avoid opening attachments against unknown sources and back up your files. >> undergraduate at an early age - how a college student's work could change the way cancer is diagnosed. >> guidelines for doctors and

mums to be, designed to make giving birth safer. >> i'm tracking a storm dumping rain across the missouri valley. i show you what regions will be at risk of flooding.

welcome back to al jazeera america. just ahead a 20-year-old college tuned whose scientific discovery could change the way cancers are diagnosed. meteorologist eboni deon is here. we are zoning in. this is an area where we'll deal with strong storms and blizzard conditions. we have the snow and rain taking shape across kansas.

a few thunder storms prompted warnings, and a little further west you have the air mass. it will progress eastwards. moisture moving in. once we get the precipitation across the deep south. spotty showers. you can see the tailend of that boundary, eventually into the lookout shelter mississippi. it's plain rain and some areas of the cascades. >> it's a growing trend, students are encouraged to get involved in rarn early. allen schauffler introduces us to a junior at the university of

washington, working on an innovative device. >> on a winter day you'll find junior indoors. >> i made a de vis with curved channels... >> he's working on a better way to diagnose pancreatic cancer. a cancer biopsy involves putting on a slide. this technology could give pathologieses a spinning three dimensional view, something that could tell them more about what is happening. chris is 20, in his third year of college. he's serving an educational apprenticeship. dr eric sible.

with the help of granth, pairs students with teachers. >> chris gets part time way and works with post doctoral researcher dr ronny dos. he is learning too. >> awesome. >> i men, usually i have my way of doing things. it doesn't translate well. when you have the right mix, it works out. this col abb rigs is a growing trend giving undergraduates hands-on time and other research opportunities, valuable experience for the nest level. here undergraduate research participation has doubled in the last five years. the nonprofit cancel on undergraduate research saw membership triple. >> the students hit the ground running. chris is running hard. his image and analysis is

ground-breaking. the technology he developed worth patenting. >> no one has developed what chris has. >> as a student he gives credit to his mep tors and time in the lab. >> to watch the device come out and transport tissue, and learn that no one else has done this before is exciting. >> the kind of exciting developments more undergraduates are getting a chance to shooerns. >> last year it was ranked as a top 1020. new guide ins on c sections, women and doctors are being asked to be more patient. it's important to let nature take its course. instead of rushing into surgery. caesarian sections climbed 16%. the death rate is three times

higher for women with a c section compared to those that give perth naturally. >> del walters is here with what is making news at this hour. >> here is what we are following. the fragile truce in ukraine is broken. anti-government protesters squaring off. 18 have been killed this today's fighting. >> three al jazeera journalists awaiting trial in egypt. aaccuse of having ties to a terror organization and spreading false news. al jazeera calls for their immediate release. >> homeland security warning of a shoe bomb threat on flights coming into the north-west. >> a 10-year-old girl murdered, picked up blocks were her home and a school official facing charges of murder. >> pussy riot punished for protesting, publicly beaten near the olympics in sochi. >> i'm monitoring the rick of

severe weather - where storms will shape up and spread. >> al jazeera conditions, del walters and libby casey are back with you in 2.5 minutes. hope you have a great morning.

>> just hours after leaders call for calm in ukraine, the truce is broken by gunfire and death in kiev. >> i express my appreciation soo the citizens. >> a community in mourning after the shocking murder of a 10-year-old girl. a school coach is charged with kidnapping and killing her. >> three aljazeera journalists

detained in egypt for months are set to go on trial this morning. leaders and journalists around the world continue to call for their immediate release. >> it's not just frustrating, it's scary. it's unknown. you don't know what's going to happen. >> crawfish farmers in louisiana have winter put a dent in their harvest of a popular delicacy. >> good morning, and welcome to aljazeera america. >> a truce in ukraine has had no impact on the spiraling violence gripping the country. >> you're looking at live pictures now of kiev. there are reports that at least 18 people have been killed today in clashes between protestors and riot police. >> we're hearing that demonstrators are throwing gas bombs and police using water cannons. today's violence comes less than

24 hours after leaders called a truce. jennifer glass joins us on the phone from kiev. tell us what you're seeing and hearing there. >> good morning. right now, an unjose calm has settled on independence square after a terrible morning of gunfire leafing a number of people dead across the square. each side is accusing the other of starting it, but what is clear that there has been firing from both sides. the snipers that killed civilians in the square were clearly aim to go kill. those that were shot in the head or neck and died instantly where they stood, but right now, everything is calm and quiet here in the city, very, very tense. the metra remains closed. there's very limited traffic moving. very eerily quiet center of the city. schools are closed down until the 21st at least while the

government tries to get a grip on all of this. trains coming from the west have been stopped or delayed, but trains from the south and the east, those are the pro yanukovych areas, the pro presidential areas are still coming into the city and civilians here in kiev have gone to the out erik roads to try to stop buses coming in with extra police and government reinforcements. still very much a standoff after a very terrible morning of violence here. >> is today's violence proof or a sign that opposition leaders are lose i go their grip on the protestors? >> it's certainly a concern. we know some were firing at police and that is a real problem. opposition leaders have repeatedly called on their followers to remain calm, not provoke police, not provoke security forces, and of course, there was a fire on both sides leeing a number of people dead, it's the kind of violence nobody

seems to want to see here. >> jennifer glass reporting from kiev, thanks, jennifer. >> the u.s. is taking action, the state democratic banning senior members from coming into the u.s. president obama condemning the violence calling on ukraine to show restraint in dealing with those protestors. randall pinkston is in washington, d.c. we are learning about behind the scenes diplomatic efforts taking place. >> the visa ban from the u.s. is symbolic, aimed at about 20 top officials of the administration of president viktor yanukovych. foreign ministers from germany, poland and france have met with

yanukovych in an effort to seek a diplomatic solution. >> the president back from his trip to mexico, on wednesday, though, giving this warning to ukraine. >> we expect the ukrainian government to show restraint, to not resort to violence in peaceful protestors. we expect peaceful protestors to remain peaceful and we'll be monitoring very carefully the situation, recognizing that along with our european partners in the international community, there will be consequences if people step over the line. >> with that said, talking about consequences, what are the president's options? >> the principle option is economic. the european union will be having an emergency meeting today to discuss economic sanctions. president obama is expected to join that effort. the problem for the u.s. with

respect to the leverage that it has is that the u.s. is not a big trading partner with ukraine, about 2%. the european union is a large economic factor. meanwhile, would have the counter with the russians who are telling yanukovych to stand tough and are pouring money into the government. this situation is expected to continue for a while, no quick solution. >> thank you very much this morning. >> the violence in kiev is felt at the olympics in russia. members of the ukrainian team asked to wear black arm bands to honor those killed, but olympic officials will not allow it, because political protests are banned at the games. the i.o.c. president did offer his condolences to the victims's families and praised ukrainian athletes for continuing to compete in sochi. >> stay with aljazeera america for our continuing coverage of the protests in ukraine from on

the ground in kiev and around the world. we'll look at the steps world leaders are take to go bring an end to this violence and find out how ukraineens in this country are reacting. >> one of venezuela's main opposition leaders is behind bars. lopez was accused of inciting violence in protests, turned himself in on tuesday in front of thousands of cheering supporters. the opposition is calling for a day of mourning after protestors were killed following weeks of protests. they are asking people to boycott work. >> the department of home land security is warning about a new threat involving shoe bombs on international flights. while the security alert doesn't identify any specific date, airport or airline, federal officials are telling carrier to say pay attention to flights entering the u.s. that could beef up security at overseas airports where passengers are not usually required to take off their shoes

before boarding planes. this new intelligence is not connected to the recent olympic warning about explosives in tubes of toothpaste. >> there was the big talk of trade at that meeting ducked the 3amigos meeting. they talked about the pipeline which would send oil from canada to the gulf coast. >> i stated previously there is as process that has been gone through and i know it's been extensive and at times i'm sure feels a little too laborious, but these are how we make these decisions about something that could potentially have some impact on america's national economy and our national interests. >> the leaders also talked about immigration, border security and drug trafficking. coming up in our next hour, we'll talk to the former mexican

ambassador as to the u.s. about that meeting. >> the wall street journal is reporting courts could ban the n.s.a. from destroying collected data because it may be evidence in the lawsuit stemming from the spy program. no decision has been made to keep extra data, but if they do, it would be held only for the purpose of litigation. >> personnel records at the university of maryland have been hacked. the school says more than 300,000 students, faculty and staff may have been compromised. the breach includes anyone with a campus i.d. card at two

campuses. it includes names, dates of birth, and i.d.'s back to 1998. >> lots of you waking up to severe weather across the u.s. today. that could usher in colder temperatures once again. we have your national forecast. >> we are watch ago potent storm system starting to take shape. it's going to lift up toward the northeast, move into the upper midwest across the great lakes and eventually push off to the east. within this warm sector, we're going to be dealing with rain and stronger thunderstorms. on the backside of the system, that's where the colder air will continue to be pulled down and we are going to see the snowy side of the storm system, as well. we have rain to even snow for places such as kansas city, around chicago could be dealing with that, as well. these are lines are equal

pressure. when they become closely packed together, that means it's going to be very windy. it's going to be a windy day from the upper midwest to the gulf coast. we are expecting one to two inches of rainfall around illinois into indiana, ohio and southward. areas where we're dealing with up to two feet of snow pack, additional rainfall is going to add to our flooding risk as we go through the day. flooding will be an issue around chicago, so keep that in mind especially in low-lying areas. we have really enjoyed milder air that's been in place but now have the rain. more snow melt will equal flooding. we have strong storms moving through kansas. in kansas city, this is an area we've dealt with the rain and thunderstorms early on, could see a few more showers as it moves out. we could see blizzard conditions south of minneapolis. >> the man charged with the mass

murder at a colorado movie theater must submit to another sanity examination. ha colorado judge wants the psychological exam to focus on holmes state of mind at the time of the killings. he has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. >> a missouri man is charged with the murder and kidnapping of a 10-year-old girl. craig michael wood abducted the child in broad daylight. we have more on the manhunt that ended in tragedy. >> i want to expression my appreciation to the citizens who are aware and alerted law enforcement. >> the amber alert went out tuesday afternoon. the 10-year-old was walking two blocks away from her springfield missouri home when witnesses say

a man approached her in his vehicle. >> he opened his door and said come here for a minute. she walked up to his truck and as soon as she got in hand's reach, he grabbed her, threw her over him into the passenger seat and took off. >> neighbors gave chase, some on foot, others in cars and were able to get the license plate to police who went out enforce. three hours later, they located their suspect, craig michael wood outside his home and arrested him for kidnapping her. >> he chose not to talk to us. >> the house quickly became a crime scene. armed with search warrants, investigators tore the home apart. overnight, they reached out to her parents to in form them they discovered her body. authorities say she was found in wood's basement shot at the base of her skull. her body was wrapped in plastic bags. >> i do want to announce today that we have charged craig michael wood, 45 of springfield

with the tragic murder of haley owens. >> investigators revealed wood is a middle school football coach and teachers aid who supervises in-school suspensions. police say the suspected killer did not know the little girl. prosecutors credited haley for trying to get away, and were grateful to the public and those in law enforcement who quickly tracked wood down. >> to the springfield police department and federal bureau of investigation, the swift action allowed for the quick and speedy capture and charging of this offender. my office is committed to seeking justice for haley. >> wood is held on first degree murder charges. prosecutors will first talk to haley's family before deciding to pursue the death penalty. >> new york state will ban the use of solitaire confinement for

prisoners under 18 years old, making new york the largest prison system in the u.s. to do so. the decision comes after the new york civil liberties union sued the state in federal court for its confinement policies. new york's agreement with the civil rights group will keep prisoners under 18, pregnant women and those who develop mental disabilities out of extreme isolation. >> days after being defind by police in sochi, the band pussy riot was protesting at the olympic games, but this times they were roughed up by russian cossacks. >> this is the fourth day they have been in sochi and fourth day they have had one tangle or another with

authorities here. >> they were ready for a punk protest and performance. [ screaming ] what pussy riot were doing here was illegal. all protest is banned unless it's been specifically applied for and taking place in especially sand protest zone well away from the park. they know this and know they're running the risk of prosecution but seem in tent on using the winter olympics here as a stage for their particular brand of protest theater, no matter the punishment. >> the women gained international attention back in 2012 for performing an antti putin song in the main cathedral. they were released from jail

after serving half of their sentences. >> here is some of today's headlines making news around the world. the seattle times said the legalization of marijuana has created a frenzy of pot capitalists. so many people want to grow pot they've competed the number of licenses and square footage that colorado expected. >> they say demand increased to more than 35 million square feet of marijuana farms. >> i said colorado, i meant washington, two states now legalizing recreational sale. a lot of these entrepreneurs are bound to be frustrated. they are ready to start growing. >> new figures are out that show that the number of working women in britain has reached an all time high. we're talking about 67% of the population, the working force there now made up of females. >> yet, they are actually making less money than men, the wage gap has increased also a key

part of the story. >> some things are the same way on both sides of the pond. >> the fate of the bible and nobel prize being given to martin luther king, jr. hangs in the balance. the atlanta constitution. >> world leaders are banding together calling for an end to the violence in ukraine. the consequences the country could face if it's unable to find a peaceful solution. >> members of our team, the aljazeera team fighting for their freedom in an egyptian courtroom today. >> $19 billion is our big number of the day and it's a big check

one social networking company is writing to buy a popular messages app.

>> today's big number shows just how deep facebook's pockets are, $19 billion, that's what mark zuckerberg is shelling out for an app. >> the deal includes stocks and shares for the popular messaging service. it allows texts and photos to be sent on smart phones, part of facebook's attempt to boost its popularity among younger users. >> welcome back to aljazeera america. ukraines president meeting with several foreign ministers to stop the violence. >> first, let's get a look at temperatures today. >> the warmth is still with us at least for yet another day for most areas from the midwest towards the eastern coastline. we're at 66 right now in memphis, starting our day just

below the freezing point minneapolis, widespread 30's, 40's and 50's in solution. stepping out, it's going to feel spring like. changes are on the way. the storm system is going to move through chicago and drop our temperatures by the weekend. today, close to 50 degrees. we're going to rise well above average and dropping back into the mid 30's heading into friday. it looks like 20's are on the way. across the deep south, 60 to 70 degrees around the houston area. in the northeast, we have 20's and 30's, definitely more indicative of afternoon highs. later today, we can expect highs close to 50 in spots. back to you. >> the u.s. imposing visa bans on 20 seen year ukrainian officials. it is believed they are responsible for the on going violence in kiev. the e.u. ministers are holding

an emergency session on ukraine. phil, what exactly will the sanctions do? >> well, del, we are hearing that they are looking at a number of different sanction programs. they will coordinate with the u.s., they say, but are looking at a number of different possibilities. in addition to targeting specific members of the ukrainian government, they may also be looking at restricting trade on certain items that can be used to put down the protestors in the streets, so we're looking at restriction on things such as tear gas, riot gear, that sort of thing. they're also talking about placing strong restrictions on the borders, the western borders with the e.u. and trying to control the trade that goes into the country. the 28 foreign ministers have started to arrive here to have these discussions notably absent, of course, the three ministers from germany, france and poland are in kiev or will have just left kiev, having met with opposition leaders or

misyanukovych. they will be bringing to brussels the information gained at these meetings. >> what are the ukraineens saying about these possible sanctions? >> we have heard from the russian foreign ministry saying any program administered from brussels would be inappropriate and only add to the element of confrontation within the ukraine. that comes just days after russia's foreign minister put out an article in one of the leading dales in russia saying the blame lice squarely with brussels. >> phil, thank you very much. >> joining us to talk more about the situation in ukraine is judy dempsey, a long time journalist and senior associate at carney europe. joining us today from berlin, germany, thank you for talking with us. let's dig into this. a ceasefire was called last

night, but we are hearing reports of gunfire. how are government forces treating any agreements and how much influence do opposition leaders really have over the protestors? >> it has absolute control over hundred of thousands paragraph testers not just kiev, demonstrations taking place around the rest of the country. you can imagine how actually difficult it is to keep the opposition together and indody loot some of the radicalism that has grown over the last three months. as for yanukovych, frankly, the big problem is that there's no trust now between yanukovych and his party, and the people, there's such an enormous gap. it's very, very difficult to see how this trust is going to be rebuilt given the violence and

force used by his security forces against the protestors. >> president obama weighed in yesterday. let's look at what he had to say. >> we expect the ukrainian government to show restraint to not resort to violence in dealing with peaceful protestors. we've said that we also expect peaceful protestors to remain peaceful, and we'll be monitoring very carefully the situation, recognizing that along with our european partners in the international community, there will be consequences if people step over the line. >> how strong are these consequences, what will it mean? >> it's a bit late to talking about consequences, the violence has been going on for full two months. even if sanctions are agreed on, they have to have a pure goal on what to gain from the sanctions

and he couldly, you have to weigh out whether yanukovych is going to take a much, much harder line backed by president vladimir putin of russia. the stakes are just so high and this has not yet played out. the violence hasn't ended and the whole atmosphere is just so desperate that it could indeed even get worse. >> you mentioned the russians. president yanukovych has already accepted $15 billion in aid from the russians, at least in word, so how does that weigh into his decisions? >> what has been achieved by the $15 billion, what has been achieved by it, the opposition

feels that they have to go further and that could mean some kind of transitional government, that might mean yanukovych retreating to the background, it may mean early elections. everything is so fluid now, it's very, very difficult to make predictions. but at the moment, both sides really are digging in despite efforts by the polish and e.u. ministers. >> thank you for joining us. >> stay with aljazeera america for our continuing coverage of the protests in ukraine. we'll hear from ukraine americans to get their reaction. >> on wall street, investors seem to be uneasy after news that the federal reserve is start to go think about raising interest rates sooner than expected, dow futures down. the fed news surprising investors who haven't had to

worry about interest rates for five years now. overseas markets reacting negatively to the news. >> two government reports are scheduled for release today. we'll see if consumers are starting to feel the pinch from inflation when the consumer price index is reds. we'll get a snapshot of the weekly jobless markets when the weekly jobless claims are coming out. >> wal-mart is reporting sales slipped in the holiday quarter. the company is forecasting its profit will be well below analyst forecast. that might be a telling sign for the overall economy. >> u.s. sales at wal-mart of $280 billion, 10 times more than macy's. that gives you an idea of how

big the retailer is. you know, it gives you, gives analysts and people a read on the mood among lower middle class shoppers. >> it's been a tough few months for may be retailers. analysts say bad winter weather has kept a lot of people at home. >> the story we will be covering throughout the morning, our colleagues are held in egypt expected to be in court today. we'll have the latest on their detainment including calls from around the world that they be released. >> a popular seafood treat being affected. >> a look back at an historic day for america on the slopes

and in the bobsled.

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>> the winter weather is creating problems across the country. we'll hear from farmers whose crops depend on the warm weather. >> violence in ukraine right now is raging. you're looking at the capitol of kiev where there are reports of 18 people dead following clashes between protestors and police. wednesday's truce between president yanukovych and the opposition leaders didn't last long. we are on the ground in kiev with more on the ongoing

clashes. >> the square is a battle zone. an attack was mounted from where the police took control of a large area of the square. they set fire to a bus, now both sides claiming that live rounds have been used, but it's evidence that either the police with drew from that area or they were forced back. now we have a situation where there are many casualties. this is a brief lull in the fighting. we've lost count of the casualties. it appears most have gunshot wounds. the police are saying they've been fired upon and that's one of the reasons they with drew. this is the area where the barricades were mounted, where you saw all the flames. now all the protestors evidently

have a plan to set up new barricades in this direction and right away across the square. really, when the talk of a truce came, it wasn't treated seriously here in the square. it was tenuous at best. it does appear the protestors were planning actively to regain the ground they had and lost on tuesday. it's anybody's guess where this crisis goes, but defense on the ground is directing the direction of any political pressure. >> right in the thick of things reporting from kiev. >> the u.s. is keeping a close eight on events unfolding in kiev. >> the violence has many people in this community concerned, so

much so in fact they are turning to prayer to cope. in fact, we are in the middle of a service, a mass here at the catholic church right this minute. you can hear it going on in the background which is why i'm speaking a little softly here, because they've been so gracious to allow us on the balcony of this gorgeous church. this church has been the spiritual epicenter of this community for the last 100 years is holding multiple services to help support people. we have seen about a dozen or so. this is a workday, but you've seen the fire in the square in kiev, heartbreaking here for people who have family and friends still living in ukraine. as the violence increases, more and more parishioners are showing up for services. >> the community is very disturbed and wants to support their brothers and sisters in ukraine. many of them have relatives in

varsities in ukraine. they are even sending packages and aid as best they can to try to help. >> some parishioners tell me they are still skeptical that a possible truce. in the meantime, they'll keep coming to this church to pray. >> erika, thank you, joining us in new york city. >> now stay with aljazeera america as we continue our coverage of the violence in ukraine. >> a trial is set to begin this morning for our colleagues, three aljazeera journalists detained in egypt for three months, charged with having ties to a terrorist organization and spreading false news allegations. the journalists were just doing their jobs and should be released immediately. what can we expect to see in

this trial today? >> >> well, a trial, although it was largely procedural, they are reading out the charges against the three journalists. others were not in court and tried in absentia. the charges were red out facing the journalists, which they denied and afterwards, the lawyers for the defendants applied for bail, for them to be released on bail. justice in egypt is such that when an application is made for bail, the judges go back and decide whether they should grant it or not and then issue a written statement, so that is what we are waiting for right now, and it's that statement that's going to spell out

whether they will be released on bail and the next date for the trial to continue. >> thank you very much. we go now to the u.s. director of reporters without borders in washington, d.c. this morning. this is not a show trial. >> this is not a show trial. it's a very, very concerning attack to freedom of information in egypt and really one point i would like to highlight is really to make you understand that all government in place since the fall of mubarak have repressed the media and have tried to control the information. it's really interesting to understand that when president morsi was in power, we really observed that all efforts were made to bring the media under the muslim brotherhood control yes and since the removal of mohamed morsi last summer, there is really a start of a

harassment campaign to media seen to be supporting the muslim breerhood and aljazeera america is one target. >> i want to showed audience a map, reporters without borders have been looking at press freedom throughout the world and say egypt presents a very difficult situation for the press. aljazeera aren't the only being detained. why with all the pressure from around the world does this continue to happen. >> you are right, there's waves of harass, persecutions are increasing, all these arresting campaigns are having a chilling effect on journalists. it's harder and harder to work freely and independently as a journalist right now in egypt. we will continue to put pressure on the egyptian authority to remind them that it's their duty

to guarantee freedom of information and freedom of opinion in their country. >> we should point out to the audience that when we talk about journalists arrested, in many cases, they are just doing their job, in fact in most cases and that involves getting both sides or all sides of a story and that in itself is threatening to many states, why? >> that is correct. when i say that persecution are increasing, all the time, the persecution are based on really serious charges. it's ridiculous to believe that one journalist who was working is now in jail just for doing his job. i'm thinking of peter grace who two years ago won a peabody award for a documentary in somalia. we're talking about really serious journalists doing really balanced reporting now in jail

for doing their job, so this is outrageous. >> there has been support from the white house to the senate, senator john mccain speaking out early and often. could this force the egyptian government to rethink their appeals recording journalists? >> international pressure is essential right now and i really hope that the international pressure mostly coming from strong allies of the egyptian authorities will help for the immediate and unconditional release for all journalists who are in jail right now in egyptian for doing their job. >> in all of these cases, journalists will not stop doing their jobs just because of these arrests. >> it makes no sense to try to arrest journalists or to try to control the information. we are living now in the 21s 21st century where information is circulating freely on the

internet where everybody can become a journalist if they use their iphone or phone, so it's really looks like ridiculous to try to control the media in such a way to arrest prominent journalist to say try to send a message, to try to silence all critical or just balanced view on what is happening, so really, i hope that the international pressure will just take a role in stopping the egyptian authorities in this game. >> the u.s. director of reporters without borders joins us from washington. thank you very much this morning. >> a reminder that we will continue to break down the trial of our colleagues with the executive director of human rights watch in our next hour. >> people are libya are voting today to elect a special assembly that will turn into the draft of a new prosecution. the pros is designed to speed up the transition to democracy and

break a political stalemate. nearly three years ago, the arab spring spread to libya. that toppled the 42 dictator ship of muammar gaddafi. >> emotional reunions are underway in north korea. [ crying ] >> hundreds of elderly people from north and south korea are seeing their loved ones, some separated for decades since the cessation of the korean war in 1953. many relatives embraced and shed tears. the reunion was made possible by a mutual agreement between the south and north korean governments. about 500 south careens and 260 north careens met in a mountain resort in the north. >> another christian missionary detained in north korea, 75-year-old john short arrested on sunday. his family believed he was held because he was handing out christian pamphlets. he is an australian and his

detention prompted a warning from australia's prime minister, urging citizen to say obey the allows of countries they visit. he is facing 15 years of hard labor. >> just a few months, all eyes will be on brazil as it hosts world cup soccer. the sport's governing situation is allowing a report. >> music emanates through the streets. behind the sounds, the city has been stressed out in recent days, bracing for a decision on their world cup fate. people will keep the city in the world cup despite previously threatening to yank it as a host city unless it could finish the stadium in time. >> a potential public relations disaster for brazil was avoided,

but the mood of the people after the decision was decidedly mixed. >> we are happy. many people have been preparing for the world cup, so this is good news. >> it's good for the investments that have been done by the business sector, but in general, i'm not very happy with the decision, because i don't have we have the capacity or priority. we are putting so much money into the world cup instead of investing in education and security. >> it is a city world renowned for sustainable development and has one of the highest standards of living in the country. it was the readiness of the football facility that is the problem. >> this stadium has had all sorts of difficulties. there's been problems with the builders and the cars contractors. last year, a local judge actually halted work here for almost a month while they investigated worker safety issues and up until very recently, the club that's going to own and manage the stadium didn't know where they would

come up with the money to finish the construction. now fifa has given the stadium and the city a second chance, but as you can see, there's still a lot of work to be done. >> the stadium is now targeted to be completed in may, but that's just a few weeks before iran and nigeria meet in the opening world cup match in the city. aljazeera, brass still. >> to get the job done on time, construction officials hired an extra 600 workers to get to work on the stadium. >> the olympics team, right now 23 medals. we look at how they manage to get it done. >> 23 medals, nothing to sneeze at at all. team u.s.a. won three medals in sochi wednesday, one in skiing, the other two in bobsledding, all historic achievements. >> giant slalom, ted ligety realized his dream of winning the gold for a second time. >> this is an event i really

wanted to win the most. this is an event that, you know, i've worked the hardest over the last couple of years. now the favorite, one of the favorites coming in. >> ligety made history, becoming the first american man to win two olympic medals in alpine skiing, something an american woman did back in 1952. ligety got his first gold eight years ago in his olympic debut at the age of 21. elsewhere, another historic u.s. win. lauren williams is a former sprinter who has already taken summer olympic gold and silver medals, now in the winter olympics glided to victory with her teammate to win the silver medal in the bobsled. she becomes the fifth american athlete to medal in the winter and summer games. the second american team took the bronze. it's the first time the u.s. has won two medals in women's bobsledding. in hockey, team u.s.a. vaned to

the semifinals against canada. meanwhile, there is despair in the host nation, as russia's men's hockey team is out of medal contention, finland beat the russians by a final of 3-1. >> the marquee event today takes place at noon eastern time. it's the women's hockey gold medal game, pitting canada against the u.s. canada has already beaten the u.s. once in these olympics and haven't lost since the americans beat them in 1998. the bronze medal game is going on now. that is sports at this hour. >> at lake placid, they said do you believe in miracles. >> i can't wait to watch that game. >> fish farmers in one state face big concerns over their catch. we'll look at how the recent stretch of wintery weather could mean tough times for crawfish loves. >> california tackling its

growing drought face that go state. the solution could cost hundred of millions of dollars. >> facebook shelling out $19 billion to buy the mobile messaging app what's app.

>> good morning, to aljazeera america. crawfish farmers in louisiana are feeling a pinch in their wallets this season, because of brutal weather. >> i'm not happy about that. first let's find where it's going to rain and snow today. >> the midwest will see a little bit of both and we dealt with that around chicago that morning, we had heavy rain that blew through the area, now lighter rain showers. wisconsin, we've had the rain change over to snow.

cans city, we will do the same. we'll see that switch over through the afternoon. we have the warm, moist air already in place and then on the backside, there's cold air around. it's wrapping behind a storm system really developing across the middle of the country. that's going to bring the snow in later today. the northeast, we can still enjoy the mild air. we'll see increasing clouds but for the most part we'll keep it dry. here across the south, we have the clouds, we'll continue to get that southerly flow helping prime the atmosphere for storms later today. >> california's governor unveiling a $700 million plan to help communities coping with the severe drought there to improve water conservation and cleaning the drinking water. it doesn't provide long term solutions to fix california's supply for delivery system. 67% of the state now dealing with extreme drought conditions. president obama directed $160 million in federal aid for the california region. >> this is usually a busy time

of year in the south for hauling in fresh seafood, but harvesting has come to a complete stop in some places like church point, louisiana. we have the story of a big crawfish crisis. >> for david, crawfish season is critical. >> our money is put out here eight months before we realize a dime. >> the end of winter is typically the time when a crawfish crazy builds across the south as fans await the arrival of the tasty fish. >> things looked pretty darn good and then mother nature through a kink to us. >> this year's deep freeze has also hit the deep south and crawfish can't flourish in frigid waters. he figured he's loft $60,000 a week since early january. >> we are running out of days for these crawfish to grow,

because they do get to a point when it warms up that they quit growing. this is the worst i've seen in 40 years. >> agriculture experts say it's not for a lack of food, the crawfish are not eating and moving, basically gone dormant. david said last year at this time he could barely lift the traps out of the water, full with crawfish. this year, he's got four at least with this one. >> at one of the largest crawfish retailers in the nation, tony's seafood owner bill was puzzled. >> it's an every day point of life. >> he was used to having a hearty harvest. >> last year, we probably at the beginning of february we were selling 200 sacks a day. this year, we're lucky to get 20 to 30 sacks every two or three days. >> they had a call a timeout on act of the weather waiting for a

warm up. >> normally we open seven days a week, every day until the end of the season. this year, we're having to pick a day, try to build up a few south carolinas of craw fish and open and close for another few days and just sporadically. >> those who demonstrative crawfish may have to have patience. for others, the situation is more serious. >> it's not only frustrate, it's scary. it's unknown, you don't know what's going to happen and we will not make up the two months we lost. there's no making it up. >> so while some wait out the weather, the crawfish crop is crippled. >> we need to warm up. >> only nature can cure it. >> the crawfish supply typically peaks in april to mid may. >> it may not be a big surprise for people who suffer from them, but new research shows and increase in stress leads to an increase in headaches. german researchers confirmed the findings in a two year study of

5,000 people. they say results should give people a good incentive to learn to relax and manage their stress. >> as we wrap our second hour here, here's a look at stories we will be following in our next hour. that fragile truce is broken in ukraine, police and protestors squaring off in kiev. at least 18 have been killed in today's fighting. government authorities are warning airlines and passengers to be on alert, saying the threat of a shoe bomb on a u.s. bound flight is very real. >> the trial of our colleagues, three aljazeera journalists accused of terrorism beginning today in escript, calling attention to parts of the world where freedom of press does not exist. >> a lot of buzz about that $19 billion deal facebook is making for what's app, we'll show you what's at stake. >> history for our olympic team dating back decades.

>> where storms will develop and what to expect. >> aljazeera america will be right back. stay with us.

>> a fragile truce is broken in ukraine after deadly fighting erupts 18, 18 killed as international leaders apply pressure to end the blood she had. >> a terror alert by the federal government. >> facebook making a bid for a

popular company. >> it feels great to know i'm carrying on the tradition and legacy. >> a california family hand making history for decades, providing skates for some of the most famous american olympians. >> good morning. >> deadly violence in ukraine after a truce was called for both sides. >> the opposition tried to take a government building. they are trying to drive riot police out of independence square. >> there are reports of gunfire. it's not clear who's doing the shooting. >> we want to show you live pictures coming out of kiev,

independence square where the smoke rising once again at this hour, things looking calmer than what we have been seeing over the past 24 hours. >> the situation took a turn for the worst after president yanukovych and opposition leaders agreed to a truce last night. reports say more than 18 people have been killed in today's clashes. just a short time ago, the e.u. released a statement saying they support sanctions against those responsible for the violence. >> as always, our jennifer glass is right in the thick of things in kiev, joins us by phone. jennifer, tell us what you're hearing and seeing at this time. >> i'm overlooking independence square. it's amazing, it really is a symbol of how this conflict has waxed and waned, it's very, very calm, people working to clear things in the square, a big contrast to the mayhem we saw this morning. i'm in the ukraine hotel now. down stairs in the lobby, the lobby is transformed into a

makeshift hospital with medics and doctors operating on people in the lobby. there are a dozen dead bodies down stairs, a testament to the violence this morning, shooting from both sides. right now, brought testers have retaken the bulk of independence square, cleaning up the areas that had been burned down in the terrible clashes tuesday night here that left 25 dead on both sides. as you walk through the square, you get a sense of how organized this has been from the beginning. people are sweeping up, cleaning up, reinforcing barricades, getting ready for a new onslaught or just making sure they can reinforce and hold the positions they have. >> jennifer, i was going to say a lot of people went to bed last night, thinking there had been a truce. they awake this morning to see these images. does anybody have control over the opposition forces that we are talking to?

>> when i went to bed very early this morning, i thought the same thing, it was all quiet. about 6:00 this morning on independence square, folks here eyewitnesses that i spoke to believe that they were firing on both sides. it's unclear who started it. police say the protestors started it, but there was definitely aggression on both sides and that's the big concern. there's no question there are some very radical protestors who had weapons and were shooting at police, which is why there were snipers, police snipers out, as well. i think that is the real worry, can the opposition control these people. they have repeatedly asked protestors to stay calm, to not provoke the security authorities. this morning, we saw the terrible, terrible results of that. police have been driven back a block and a half. there are injured and dead on both sides. we understand certainly a lot of shooting going on this morning. this is not just -- the police didn't try to assault the square at all.

i think that's a real concern. even now, there are more than a thousand, maybe 2,000 people converging on the square and more coming in, bringing food and things to clean up. the protestors here have no intention of leaving. >> yesterday, we talked to a man from maryland who said that he had been beaten during the protests and severely wounded. are we now seeing more of an international presence including americans in independence square? >> we've definitely seen a lot of people from the former soviet states, there are some americans around in international tents around mid december and late december, an international tent, they would take people on tours of the square and show everybody where everything was. there's been international support here over the last weeks and months, and i think that the more violent it gets, the more difficult it gets, the more people dig in and find

solidarity. poland miners have tried to send things in that are stuck in a warehouse, but we have seen a lot of international support for the protestors. >> jennifer glass has been on the ground almost since day one. thank you very much. >> the u.s. is taking action against ukraine, the state department banning 20 senior members of the ukrainian government from interesting the u.s. washington believes those officials are responsible for ordering human rights abuses in ukraine. president obama is calling on ukraines government to show restraint in dealing with opposition protestors. >> we are in washington, d.c. we are learning about some of the behind the scenes diplomatic efforts. what kind of a message does this visa ban send? >> obviously mostly symbolic, it only affects 20 officials of the administration of viktor yanukovych. it tells him that the u.s. is

ready, willing and able to intervene to try to reach a diplomatic solution, but to del's point earlier about who's controlling the protestors, the u.s. department of state last night raised questions about who's controlling government forces, saying they have been unable to reach senior ukrainian officials in intelligence and military, that no one is answering the phone. a lot of questions about exactly who can stop the violence if you can't figure out who who's in charge. >> the tension is on the words president obama had to say about ukraine. let's listen. >> we hold the ukrainian government primarily responsible for making sure that it is dealing with peaceful protestors in an appropriate way, that the ukrainian people are able to assemble and speak freely about their interest without fear of repression.

>> what are president obama's options? >> principlely economic. 28 ministers of the european union are meeting to talk about what kind of sanctions to impose. the larger question is how do you end the violence with both sides digging in with questions about who really controls the anti-government forces and some of those forces being hardliners in tent on insisting that yanukovych resign immediately. at this point, that does not appear even close to happening. >> randall, thanks so much. >> the violence in kiev is also felt at the olympics in russia. members of the ukrainian team asked to wear black arm band to honor those killed. olympic officials said no. the i.o.c.'s president offered condolences that the victims and their families. a ukrainian alpine skier and her

father leaving sochi in protest over the deaths taking place in their home land. >> stay with aljazeera america for continuing coverage of the deadly protests. in the next our, we'll find out how people are reacting in the u.s. to violence in their home land. >> leopold lopez was in hiding for several days in caracas and turned himself in tuesday in front of thousands of cheering supporters. the opposition is calling for a day of mourning after six people were killed following weeks of protest and urge more demonstrations and asking people to boycott work. >> iran and six world powers have agreed to an agenda for negotiations on tehran's nuclear program and also greed to meet again next month. two sides are still far from reaching a final resolution. on wednesday, the ayatollah said

iran will not shut down nuclear plants and that's a key demand of international leaders. an interim deal allowed some economic relief from sanctions in exchange for iran's curbing nuclear activity. >> the department of home land security issued a new terror alert involving the potential use of shoe bombs on flights entering the u.s. from abroad. it was also a threat that was almost carried out following 911. >> just two weeks a1 warning in the skies, there is now another. the alert issued by the department of homeland security concerns a new potential threat from bombs concealed in shoes. while no airline, airport or date has been specified, home land security urges carrier to say pay particular attention to flights entering the u.s. and that means beefing up security overseas. >> travelers in the united states are used to taking their shoes off. at many airports overseas, that is not required and this will

require more screening of shoes. >> just days before the opening of the olympic games in sochi, another warning have a plot involving explosives hidden in tooth paste tubes on flights to russia was revealed. the new intelligence is not connected to the olympics, but some say it's the latest sign of determination by groups like al-qaeda to strike at the u.s. >> certainly tells you that al-qaeda is still fascinated with taking down planes. we recently had a tooth paste scare, now back to shoes. >> the latest concerns come 12 years after shoe bomber richard reid tried to bring down an airliner. that's the kind of damage that could have been caused if his 2001 attempt had been successful. he is serve ago life sentence, having changed the course of how americans travel across the

country. >> homeland security it is it's not making changes to what do you as a passenger requirement. travelers may notice additional searches, including swabs to detect explosives. >> a man accused of plan to go detonate pipe bombs reached a plea deal. he agreed to spend 16 years behind bars. he was planning to use homemade explosives on u.s. soldiers returning home from war. he targeted the new york city please democratic and a recruiting station in times square. in a statement read in court wednesday, he said he wanted to use the pipe bombs to "undermine support for the wars in iraq and afghanistan." >> california's governor unveiling a $700 million plan to help communities cope, drought. that money will be spent on improving water conservation and cleaning the drinking water supplies. it doesn't provide long term solutions to fix supply or

delivery. 67% of the state now dealing with extreme drought. president obama has directed $160 million in federal aid for that region. >> severe weather is rolling across the rest of the country, for more, let's bring in our meteorologist. >> we are going to see the severe weather threat heading into the afternoon and early evening hours. we did already have a few storms that rolled through northern kansas, sparking thunderstorm warnings. these have wind. we're watching out for this area in red, including central indiana and ohio southward down toward the gulf coast. that is the area we're concerned for the winds and possibility of a few isolated tornadoes. then we get on the backside of our developing storm system and still do have the cold air in place. colder air will be moving in. you add that to the moisture and it will be all snow. here's what the storm system will look like later today, an area of low pressure that will deepen or strengthen will head out to the northeast. we're going to get that wind

flow pulling down from the north and west on the backside across minnesota down into iowa, even northern areas of missouri. not only are temperatures going to drop, we're going to be dealing with snow showers or rain changing to show. some of that will be upwards to a foot or more. you factor in the heavy snow or wind and that will equal blizzard conditions across areas just to the south of minneapolis. we're talking about the rainy side of the system where we're going to be dealing with rain on top of snow melt and that will really add to the flooding woes across parts of illinois, including chicago. our winds not too bad, but we could see widespread wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour. conditions will deteriorate as we go through the day. >> talk about your rag to say riches story, the founder was on food stamps, life for the employees of the social networking company what's app is about to change. >> and change in a big way, facebook paying $19 billion for

the company. we explain what's driving the acquisition. >> the planet is increasingly connected on facebook, more than 1.2 billion people actively use the site each month on the web and mobile devices. it's this particular market that facebook is tapping with its latest purchase, what's app. what's app allows user to say send text messages on phones for free, making it extremely popular. 450 million people currently use what's app and it's growing rapidly by roughly 1 million new users each day. facebook agreed to pay $16 billion for it, a quarter in cash and the rest in stock. what's app founders will receive a further $3 billion worth of restrictive stocks bringing the overall deal to $19 billion. this dwarves some of its previous acquisitions, including

photo sharing app infra gram and the face recognition platform face.com. although facebook says it will keep what's app as a separate service, the purchase allows it to continue gathering valuable data from its customers, which can eventually turn into revenue-generating services. >> what's app doesn't sell advertising and has very little revenue, charging users just $1 a year for the service and the first year is free. >> 50 people are going to be very, very rich to say the very least. >> they'll figure out how to monetize the service. >> freedom of the press on trial in egypt, three of our colleagues accused of having ties to a terrorist organization. a closer look at the punishment they face. >> president obama back from his day long summit with the leaders of mexico and canada, banking on opening trade with asia.

[ sobbing ] >> the emotional reunion of korean families, some meeting for the first time since being separated six decades ago.

>> good morning, i'm del walters. >> i'm libby casey. freedom of the press on trial in egypt. >> first, let's find out with the temperatures you might see across the nation today. >> we're starting off with the warm side of things, temperatures feel very nice, spring like across the deep south. we're at 66 in memphis, 66 in shreve sport, in the northeast, you still do need a jacket here. 32 in albany, in philadelphia 32. across the midwest, this will be a day of transition.

we have a storm system rotating through. once we get behind that, temperatures are going to drop and we could see temperature fall through the day. right now, we have 30's, 50's and 60's for some areas. >> three aljazeera journalists have appeared in court in egypt this morning after being detained for two months. the three have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them. >> all three are accused are joining or aiding and a bet ago terrorist organization. the judge adjourning the hearing to consider the case in private. he is expected to deliver a ruling later today on how he plans on proceeding. we report from doha, the headquarters of aljazeera on the latest developments in this trial. >> well, the trial is over, it was largely procedural. they are really the spelling out of the charges against the three journalists, as well as others who were not in court and tried

in absentia. the prosecution read out the charges facing the journalists, to which they denied and afterwards, the lawyers for the defendants applied for bail, for them to be released on bail. the justice system in egypt is such that when an application is made for bail, the judges go back and decide whether they should grant it or not, and then issue a written statement, so that is what we are waiting for right now. it's that statement that's going to spell out whether they will be released on bail and the next date for the trial to continue. >> reporting from doha. aljazeera continues to reject the charges and demand the immediate release of our staff members. >> kenneth ross is executive director of home rights watch

and joins us from new york this morning. good morning, thank you for being with us. give us a sense of how likely it is for the journalists to really receive a fair trial. >> we're very worried that recent trials of this sort frankly have not been fair. the suspects have had a very difficult time presenting evidence, calling witnesses. you get a sense there is a predetermined vendetta here. it's not just against journalists. it's important to put this particular case in the context of a broader radical closing of space for dissent in egypt. we've seen this with the prosecution of thousands of muslim brotherhood leaders and members. we've seen the persecution not only of journalists, but also of political activists, including the secular ones that started the revolution. you saw arrests of people who had the audacity to urge a no vote in the constitutional referendum as if it was only

supposed to go yes and there was no alternative. this is part of a pattern and it's deeply concerning. if you look at these particular charges, aiding and abetting terrorism, it's worth dissecting that. the terrorists here be supposedly the muslim brother hood. the government is repeating over and over to the official media and government aligned media that their terrorists, they're terrorists. one of aljazeera offenses was frankly being an independent voice, not buying into the government line, calling it how it was and describing how the military and security forces themselves were responsible for shooting in distrim nay as peaceful demonstrators. >> i want to get them a sense of letting them go or finding them not guilty, how much would that undermine the message the authorities are trying to send? >> part of this is obviously a signal to journalists, don't you dare report on the muslim brotherhood, don't give them a vice. that's what the aiding and abetting here is being a journalist, so the government

clearly wants to send that message not just to aljazeera but to others. on the other hand, part of why aljazeera english was targeted is the government is worried about its international reputation, and i've got to say, this prosecution is doing more to undermine egypt's international reputation than anything aljazeer aljazeera engd have reported. you would think the government right now would accept bail and as quickly as possible dismiss charges. we have to see how this goes. >> there's been a lot of public support for the journalists, including from the white house. here's jay carney spokesman speaking. >> these figures, regardless of affiliation should be protected and permitted to do their jobs freely in egypt. >> that's jay carney. what does international pressure do for this case? >> i think national pressure is very important. obviously, the military's foremost concern is domestic.

you know, while it likes to pretend that it's the all powerful military, in fact, it's incredible insecure. if it was more, it would allow debate and allow the muslim brotherhood returned. the fact that it has to resort to this shows its cling to power precarious. international pressure, egypt is very concerned about its reputation. it needs the tourists to come back, foreign investment, international assistance. none are going to be forthcoming in significant amount if egypt is seen as this repressive place. that's why it's trying to target media that does have an international reach, such as aljazeera. >> thank you so much for speaking with us. >> business news, negative news for the retail sector, wal-mart saying u.s. sales declined in the last quarter.

the world's largest retailer is forecasting profits below estimates, raising concerns about overall consum consumer s. >> u.s. sales are 280 billion, 10 times more than macy's, so that gives you an idea of how big the retailer is. it gives analysts and people a read on the mood among lower middle class shoppers. >> it has been a tough month for many retailers, wall mort saying that bad winter weather kept shoppers away from the malls. >> bank of america is giving chief executive brian moynihan a raise. his salary and bonus for 2013 will be $14 million, a 17% increase. the bank is rewarding moynihan for leading it to its biggest profit i have not five years. j.p. morgan chase an also gave

bonuses. >> the federal research is willing to race interest rates, dow futures down 25 points on the news. investors haven't had to worry about increases for five years and here's where we stand this morning. the dow jones is at 16,040. the s&p is at 1828. the nasdaq composite snapping its eight session winning streak opening at 4237. overseas markets reacting negatively to the federal reserve, tokes nikkei shedding more than 2%. >> there are two government reports scheduled for release today. we'll see if consumers are start to go feel the pinch from inflation, that will be the consumer price index when it comes out. we'll get a snapshot of the job market when the weekly jobless claims are released. >> rising housing costs are making it harder for americans to own their own home. reality track says the month

bill for a median price three bedroom home jumped 21% in the last year. investors and cash buyers are driving prices higher. >> ukrainians in america are watching developments in ukraine very closely. >> pussy riot punished for protesting, what they went on to do after this severe beating outside the olympics. [ sobbing ] >> families reunited decades after the korean war. the emotional meetings as some greet families they've never actually seen before. >> one of the best rivalries in sports, u.s.a. versus canada, with a gold medal on the line.

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. these are our top stories at this hour. iran and six world powers agreeing to a framework for negotiations on tehran's nuclear program. the two sides are far from a resolution, the ayatollah saying plants will not be shut down, a demand of the international leaders. >> the department of homeland security is warning about a new threat on international flights of shoe bombs. federal officials are telling carriers to pay attention to flights coming into the u.s. >> we are seeing more deadly crashes in ukraine. reports say 18 people have been killed in today's violence despite a truce between government forces and opposition protestors. demonstrators are throwing petrol bombs, police using water cannons. an emergency meeting of the e.u.

is taking place in brussels. do you have a heads up on the report? >> i have the document here, this has come out within the last hour, basically a statement of their in tent. they say they will explore all possible options in response to the escalation of violence, the european council president saying he condemns the unjustified use of excessive force by the ukrainian authorities and will hold responsible the people behind it. interestingly enough, in this statement, they indicate that they still intend to sign the association agreement with ukraine. that's the document that in november, president viktor yanukovych turned away, sparking these protests that now we find escalating into these massive clashes around the country.

more about how they intend to talk, but there is also interesting information coming out of brussels right now that the official meeting with the foreign ministers of the 28 members of thure even union is being delayed, because the three foreign ministers from france, germany and poland are still in high level talks with the government, including presidentian in kiev and until they get the results of not only that, early meeting they had with the opposition, the foreign ministers would like to hold off until their official meeting until they get the information from those three foreign ministers in kiev. >> strong words from russia today, the foreign minister saying the threat of sanctions against ukraine amount to say blackmail. >> this is the hard line that russia has been holding all along. we heard from him in recent days saying it really is brussels' fault for forcing ukraine to make a decision between the west and russia in that economic

association agreement posed that i mentioned earlier from that statement. we heard from the foreign ministry itself saying that they felt any sanctioned program would be inappropriate and only add to the environment of confrontation within ukraine. strong words from russia, but equally strong words from the e.u. foreign ministers who say those responsible for the increase in violence should be held accountable. >> phil ittner, thank you very much. >> ukrainians in the automatic are keeping a close eye on the events unfolding in kiev. erika pity is at st. george's catholic church in new york city in the heart of what is known at little ukraine. >> this situation has many people in this community

concerned. more and more are showing up for services. this church has been the spiritual epicenter for years and are helping support people especially those with family and friends still living in the ukraine. one parishioner we talked with said her heart hurts when she watches the news, knowing her loved ones could be in harm's way. >> why? why, you know? i don't know, i hope and i truly believe it couldn't happen one day then we come back here and say we did it, they did it.

>> it is so emotional for so many people especially those with a direct connection in the ukraine. in fact, she actually has family in kiev as we speak, and so many people that we have talked to, whether they're ukrainian nationals here in the u.s., parishioners here at the church all say they are with the protestors and they are truly hoping and operating that the bloodshed ends and that their people win this fight. >> reporting from the new york city neighborhood of little ukraine. thank you. >> stay with aljazeera america throughout the day for continuing coverage of the deadly protests in ukraine. >> just days after detained by police in sochi, pussy riot was back protesting at the olympic games, this time roughed up by russian cusacks. >> this is the fourth day pussy

riot has been in sochi and fourth day they've had some sort of tangle with authorities. this time it was with pepper spray and a whip. >> what they were doing here is technically illegal, because for the duration of the olympic games, all protest is banned, unless it's been specifically applied for and is taking place in a specially sanctioned protest zone well away from the olympic parks. they know they're running the risk of prosecution but seem in tent on using the winter olympics here as a stage for

their particular brand of protest theater no matter the punishment. >> the women gained international attention in 2012 for performing an antti putin song in moscow's manuka lead to cell. cher charged and released last year after searching more than half of their sentence. >> the u.s. mexico and canada are looking to expand trade partnership to asia. trade was a main topic at wednesday's one day meeting in mexico between the leaders of the three nations. president obama wants the 20-year-old nafta to be linked to asian trade. >> we can compete in the fast growing marketses of the asian pacific. >> the partnership will be one of the world's large evident trade deals. >> top democrats are concerned this deal could harm them in the

mid term elections and trying to block fast track approval for the agreement. >> the former mexican ambassador to the u.s., current chairman at global solutions joins us from washington, d.c. this morning. you have been behind these summits in the past. what is the main reason? >> and its an opportunity tort three leaders to get together to have a few hours of conversations, take stock of what their teams have been achieving. it's an opportunity especially given the 20th anniversary of nafta, the very important emblem attic energy reform in mexico, which could change the energy planned scape of america and world and the negotiations of a very, very ambitious couple of free trade agreements with asia pacific and america pacific nations and with the european

union that could change the face of global trade. >> let's look at and a half mistake by the numbers 20 years later. the u.s. had a g.d.p. of more than $5.6 trillion. mexico more than $4 billion in g.d.p. all three countries now have g.d.p.s in the trillions. can these huge gains be attributed to nafta? >> i think it would be bold to attribute them solely so nafta, but it has played a very fundamental role. i think the trade has proven both can be lifted on both sides of the water that a rising tide will lift boats in america. look at the numbers again of what mexican-united states trade on a dilly basis, $1.2 billion, north american trade is around a trillion dollars. canada and mexico, the first and second buyers are u.s. exports,

and more importantly, what i think is the best and most important achievement of and a half mistake is the creation of a logistics platform that has integrated supply and production trains. nowhere else in the world have you seen this developing. >> there was a time in fact we had a story on it about a week ago where a man stood on the mex can he be u.s. border and in order for our crew to interview him, he had to go all the way around the border in a car. it took an hour when in fact they were standing face-to-face. there was a time when the borders weren't so fortified. what's changed on immigration reform? >> obviously one of the reasons why border security has become an important driver in the north american debate is because of 9/11. it behooves canada and mexico to work to see that our common borders are secure. how do you link common security and prosperity.

in many ways, the par dime is or borders becoming a membrane, filtering the bad stuff out but allowing the good stuff through. how do you modernize a border infrastructure which is basically a 19th century border infrastructure to work hand in hand with a 21s 21st century trade flow allowing for that very agile trade movement across our borders. >> when you deal with the issue of immigration, we need to be frank with each other. this debate is not taking place on the u.s. canadian border, it deals with the u.s. mexican border, so how difficult is it to enter into negotiations as an equal with so much attention paid to one border and not the other. >> that is a valid point. when you think of border security one have to approach it holistically. >> as of 9/11, both canada, mexico and the united states have been slowly developing common domain awareness in the

region, but immigration on the u.s. mexico border is a very pressing issue. immigration reform in the united states and how that goes forward or doesn't will have a very important bearing on the economic competitiveness of north america in the coming years. even though it's not directly linked to the summit, because this is mainly a domestic u.s. political issue, immigration reform and how that plays out will have a profound impact on the shape and future competitiveness of mexico, the united states and canada. >> what do you say to those members of the senate specifically that seem to be pushing for tougher border controls on that border, that if things were a little more equal, perhaps the negotiations would go better? >> well, i think that people have to take into consideration that there's been a dramatic sea change on the mexico u.s. border in terms of immigration flows. we've reached a net zero, more

going back than coming in, changing dramatically the dynamics on the border. i understand again, post 9/11, the concerns that exist over security, but if you're going to ratchet up security, then lets put money and resources into investing in customs, infrastructure, enhancing the number of u.k.s ports of entry, of customs official. if you strengthen the border, but don't allow it to facilitate trade, you'll be in trouble quickly. you have to achieve that balance for security facilitating trade. >> i want to get back to and a half mistake. it's called antiquated, so how can the three parties enhance trade relations while modernizing this two decade old agreement? >> that's what the summit has finally started to look into. i think there's a perfect vehicle to do that, which the presidents refer to, the presidents and prime minister talked about yesterday, which is

you modernize nafta via the transpacific partnership currently negotiated by countries in the may. twenty years ago, the global economy was very different, you have mexico, canada and the united states adhere to these standards being negotiated. in many ways, it's moving from a 1.0 free trade agreement, and a half mistake to 3.0 agreement, the t.p.p. >> thank you very much for being with us this morning. >> it's hard to believe the winter olympics are almost over, del. the americans have been racking up the medals and there's still a chance for a few more. >> john henry smith has all the details. >> time flies when you're having fun and the olympics so far have been a lot of fun. there's four days of competition

left. america leads with 23 medals, women's hockey is taking center stage now. the swedes and swiss are skating as we speak for the right to wear the bronze med approximately, sweden leading 2-0. that's just the appetizer to the main course, which will serve up bitter rivals canada and the u.s.a. in the gold medal game after the bronze medal game is completed. canada has had the upper hand of late, not only beating the u.s. 3-2 last week, but they've beaten the u.s. last times both teams met in the gold medal game. canada hasn't lost an olympic game since the u.s. beat them back in 1998. game time between team u.s.a. and canada is set for 12 noon eastern time. >> pity poor russia. they've won 22 medals in these olympics. that's pretty good, second best in sochi and none that have matters to the host country, because russia lost in its favorite sport, hockey. with it's 3-1 loss, the russians

are eliminated from the hockey competition and will go medalists for a third straight olympics in men's hockey. head coach invited the assembled media to "eat me alive" right now. hope they didn't take him up on that offer. >> two gold are at stake in freestyle skiing. america has four competitors in that event including madie bowman. it's going to be tough for the champion in women's competition after the short program with a score of 74.92, trying to become the first back-to-back gold medalist since catarina witt.

>> to the nfl, the fallout has begun in the wake of the wells report on the dolphins bullying scandal, the team fired offensive line coach and head trainer kevin o'neill, both alleged in the report to have either participated in or encourage would the harassing behavior of variou various dolps linesman. >> emotionally reunion decades after the korean war, families reuniting today. some haven't seen each other in over 60 years.

>> snow is expected in minnesota and wisconsin where we could top a foot in spots. in the south, the moisture feed will continue to lift northward, triggering the threat of severe weather across the ohio valley and lower mississippi valley. >> tears of joy are being shed in north korea, family members some of whom haven't seen in open in over 60 years are being reunited. we check in with the families as they headed to today's emotional reunion. >> the last few shuffling steps before he ends a wait that's lasted most of his lifetime, off to meet his sister. she was 13 when he last saw her.

now he says she'll be an old lady. >> the first thing i will do is thank her for having survived. i'm 87. the only reason i'm still alive is that i was waiting for this chance. >> a third of those heading north are in marry 90's. the frailty of failing bodies evident, so, too the determination to make the most what will be the first and almost certainly last chance for a brief eunion. the family members are going through last checks. these buses are going through the south korean border gate to pick them up on the other side and take them on to north korea to their loved ones. a few hours later and decades of stored up love, loss and grief find release. embracing family, strangers, they are one and the same.

these reunions the first since 2010 almost didn't happen with a threat to pull out before ditch that go last week. the only question, whether this heralds the start of trust building or eventually written off as another false storm. there will be three days have structured meetings and team members brought fall the south. a total of six days and it will be over. the final goodbyes are at least as emotionally charged as the first encounters. >> the u.s. team that won the first gold medal at the winter olympics is wearing special ice skates handmaid by a california family that's been doing it for decades. >> in the heart of silicon

valley, an old fashioned preindustrial craft endures, skating boots assembled by hand. world and olympic champions have taken their prizes with these special skates produced by the hair lynn boot company. these have been in use since the earliest days to produce 1,000 to 1500 every year to compete against manufacturers with big production lines. they are the fourth generation maker. >> feels pretty good knowing that i had a small part in their journey to success. >> this week's ice dancing gold medalists won in their boots. >> her boots are softer. she likes a soft, flexible boot. we make hers so that she can bend at the ankles and niece and get her edges really well. >> the boot makers consider

everything that might give skaters a leg up. >> you'll notice on his boot a higher heel. we put a higher heel on ice donors. it puts them more on the ball of their feet, puts them in that nice beautiful dance posture. >> these boxes hold the molds or what they call the last for some of the most well known skaters in the world, brian buy tan yo, nancy kerrigan. christy yamaguchi has tiny feet, just a size four. >> measurements and patterns of olympic clients through the decades are here. >> what's fun about this is i so much of my grandparents are here. their patterns, their writings, my grandmother's writings. >> from skates of depression era ice performers to skates of modern superstars, the family knows there aren't that many

businesses like theirs left. >> feels great to know that i'm carrying on the tradition and legacy that have been left for me by my dad and grandpa and my great grandpa, all of those that came before me. >> the secret to their survival, their edge is the collected wisdom and feedback from all their olympic customers. >> aljazeera, california. >> in an update this morning on our colleagues detained in egypt, the three appeared in a cairo courtroom and pleaded not guilty to all charges against hem them. aljazeera is continue to go call for the immediate release of our staff. the judge has adjourned their trial until march 5th. >> that's it for this hour of aljazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm libby casey.

>> more deadly clashes today in ukraine, reports saying as many as 18 people killed in violence in kiev. this despite the truce again

government forces and opposition forces wednesday. demonstrators throwing petrol bombs, police using war cannons. stay with aljazeera america for continuing coverage of those protests in ukraine. >> our three aljazeera journalists appearing in a cairo courtroom today, all pleading not guilty to the charges against them, accused are aiding and abet ago terrorist organization. the judge now adjourning that trial until march 5. we continue to demand their immediate release. the department of homeland security is issuing a warning, new threat involving shoe bombs on international flights. the security alert doesn't identify specific date airport or airline. authorities say this is not connected to the recent olympic warnings about explosives in toothpaste. >> iran and word powers agreeing to a framework on cessation of iran's nuclear program, iran's

eye toll i can't saying they will not shut down nuclear plants, a key demand of international leaders. those are your headlines at this hour. "consider this" is next. beating in public in sochi. also the focus on sexuality of female athletes, the double standard and its consequences. >> a truce late wednesday in ukraine hasn't stopped the chaos. we'll go to kiev. also pussy riot's shocking beating in public in sochi. also the focus on sexuality of female athletes, the double standard and its consequences. and a satirical new book shines a light on north korea's horrible atrocities. i'm thoiment. antonio