welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. russia saying it willing second a mediator to ukraine after the truce is broken and the violent clashes resumed. new jersey governor face-to-face with his constituents talking about his bridge gate scandal. al jazeera journalists now

being held for 54 days. the bloodshed in kiev has resumed. this following the collapse of that shaky truce. nearly two dozen people reportedly killed there just today. jennifer are we seeing calm at this hour? >> reporter: well, for now it is calm, but very tense here as darkness falls in kiev. the protesters have taken much of independence square back. they have moved their barricades very far what were once police lines. now protesters are reinforcing those areas, and built two new barricades. it has been rather calm for the last few hours after a terrible, terrible morning of violence that left more than a dozen people dead incluzing a dozen bodies here at this makeshift

field hospital, as well as right now a morgue. people killed by gunfire, sniper fire. >> ukraine's interior ministry saying that 67 police officers are being detained by protesters. have you heard anything about that? >> reporter: that's right. that happened in the mayhem this morning. the police retreated very quickly when gunfire was being exchanged between protesters and the police. and in all of the mayhem, protesters managed to capture police officers including senior officers at the colonel level. they are being held at city held. that is not going to help calm tensions here. here earlier today we heard people on the stage behind me, saying to the police, if you lay

down your weapons and come to our side, we will give you amnesty and forgive you. so the fact that they are holding these officers essentially hostage, does not bode well here. >> and jennifer this maryland had this to say. >> i got clunked on the head. broke my arm in two places. finally i got -- fell on the groukd, and the rule is, you can't hit a guy on the ground, you are not supposed to. it's against the rule of something or the other, maybe even the united nations. and they just kept hitting me and hitting me. >> he left maryland to travel to ukraine to join in the protest are you hearing stories of a lot of americans and other foreign nationals showing up? >> i haven't seen a lot of

americans here, but we have seen a lot of flags flying here. i have been covering this story for the last couple of months, and we have seen a lot of nationalities, a lot of poles, there was a tent for solidarity that helped start their revolution there in poland, so i think there has been a lot of international support for the protesters in independence square, if nothing else for their determination here, and i think we -- also the police brutality i think is something that we have to touch on. we have seen a lot of cases of that as well. there are a lot of protesters being beaten here. >> jennifer glasse in kiev. thank you very much. and stay safe. the european union holding an emergency session on ukraine. they are talking about sanctions against ukrainian officials believed to be responsible for

promoting the violence inside kiev. in keefe those talks have just wrapped up. phil ittner has been covering it all from burst -- brussels, and strong words from russia today. >> reporter: that's right, del. basically the threat of sanctions is tantamount to blackmail. here in brussels the members of the european union, 28 of them all together are gathered talking about how they can respond to the escalation of violence on the ground. they say they are open to all alternatives and those responsibility should be held accountable, and for their part, katherine ashton, say they that they are very clear as to who is responsible. >> the responsibility for this

violence lies squarely for those in power, and we urge them to stop it as quickly as possible. and i thought it important to bring all the leaders together to look at what action we're going to take. >> there are a number of sanction possibilities that are being discussed. the europeans are also looking at banning certain trade of items going into ukraine, most notably those items used to suppress any protesters, so riot gear, tear gas, and the like. but the most important thing is to second a very clear message that they will not stand by and watch. >> and phil, russian president vladimir putin also taking action against ukraine. sending a mediator to ukraine to try to broker an agreement

there. ukraine is a nation that is almost equally divided between those that favor of eu and those that favor russia. >> that's the crux of the matter here. there are these very large blocks on either side of the border that have vested interests in trying to get better relations with them or trying to establish closer ties. the ukrainians some lean west, some lean east, but the european union mediators on the ground from france, germany, and pole lank, have indeed, as you mentioned finished that meeting with president victor yanukovych, and have now moved back to talk with the opposition. >> phil, thank you very much. the violence in the ukraine is up setting leaders in the

u.s. as well. banning visas for 20 senior members of the ukrainian government. randall pinkston joining us live. >> yes, it may be symbolic at this point, but it's a ancation by the obama administration that is it ready to join forces with the european union to try to broker a peace agreement. there are thousands of americans who have ties to ukraine, and all are concerned about the violent confrontation. >> reporter: in addition to his duties as a priest, these days father devotes much of his time to watching the escalating violence in his troubled homeland. >> reporter: they are not afraid to die? >> yes. >> reporter: his worst moment so far came when police clashed with protesters.

more than 25 were killed, more than 200 injured. >> it was very painful, because i was born ukraine, and my relatives live over there. ukraine people deserve the peaceful resolution of this -- what is going on now in ukraine. but instead, there is unfortunately, there's bloodshed. >> reporter: beyond talk a veteran diplomat says there are some concrete steps the united states can take. >> i think we can work more closely with the eu in terms of putting a package together that could help ukraine become economically stable. >> reporter: the first

ambassador for the ukraine believes the u.s. should call for an international donor's conference. >> this would signal a strong support for the ukrainian people, and show there is an alternative to what is going on, and put the united states in the forefront in terms of leadership in getting the international community on board. >> reporter: the u.s. and protesters also want to loosen ukraines ties to russia, but the russian president is expected to oppose any move to weaken his nation's influence over the country it once controlled. this is a front-burner issue for the obama administration, indicated by the fact that vice president biden has had conversations with victoktor yanukovych earlier this week. del? >> a lot of tough talk coming

out of washington, but with regards to the white house that are their options? >> principle at this point it is using the bully diplomatic pulpit as well as joining with the economic union. the obama administration saying it is ready to join with the european union, and we have russia stepping in, whether or not it is going to be joining the west to try to quiet things down is a question mark. they have their own interest, of course. we'll see how that plays out. >> randall thank you very much. step forward to scale backen iran's nuclear program. all sides saying that things are going well. they are setting a framework from the continuation to the agreement that was reached in geneva. >> there is a lot to do. we have made a good start. >> the west is concerned about a

bomb, a nuclear bomb, while iran insists it has a right to pursue ukraine um enrichment to pursue energy. chris christie held a townhall meeting this morning. john terrett is live where this event is underway at this hour. john is christie expected to be talking about the bridge scandal, and has he done so already? >> reporter: dell it is almost inconceivable that the issue won't come back. this is being weld at a vfw site. there is seating capacity for 500 people. towards the end there will be a question and answer question. so the idea that the issue of bridge gate isn't going to be addressed in the next two hours,

i think is pretty extraordinary. i think it's bound to come up, and this is the first time govern governor christie has met face-to-face with his constituents since the scandal hit. >> but do people really want to hear about the scandal? >> reporter: that's a good point. there are people here who are very concerned about it, but we went down the line and spoke to people and almost to a man and woman, everybody seems to support governor christie, most of them anyway. but right now they are concerned about bridge gate, but very, very concerned about the state of their homes and businesses. they are very angry, and fed up with the fact that they say the government for, and fema, none

of those people are helping them get back into their homes. now we spoke to one woman who is particularly angry at governor christie for everything i just described. she had a banner that said christie resign. >> he used our funds to get reelected. he paid off all of those people. he gave money to all other towns that didn't need any sandy funds. has been ripping us off, and all he is doing is smiling in people's faces pretending to be a governor who cares. he doesn't care. >> accusing him of spending funds in in order to get reelected is a pretty severe allegation, but one he will have to answer to if she gets a

chance to ask him. all of the national media are here because despite everything that hangs over him, chris christie is still the front runner for the g.o.p. ticket in 2016 up against quite possibly hillary clinton. and that's why we're paying attention to this, because it's important to learn how things play out in new jersey particularly the way he has handled money here, and you can extent that to the national stage, and that's why a lot of media are here. >> john terrett thank you very much. our colleagues now appearing in a courtroom in cairo, mohammed fahmy, peter greste, and baher mohamed, all pleading not guilty to charges they face. they are accused of aiding and

abetting a terrorist organization. al jazeera continues to deny all charges against them and demands their release. i talked to the u.s. director of reporters without borders. >> all of this harassment campaign are really having a chilling effect on journalists. it's harder and harder to work freely and independently as a journalist right now in egypt. and we will continue to put pressure on the egyptian authority to remind them that they -- it is their duty to guarantee freedom of information and freedom of opinion in their country. coming up on al jazeera america, an old airborne illness now spreading in parts of mexico, california could be next. ♪

al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news. a day of mourning in way la.

thousands taking to the streets to protests the policies of the venz way land president. he is being criticized for soaring crime, unemployment, and the world's highest inflation rate. the u.s. has spent billions of dollars building a fence that stretches some 2,000 miles along its border with mexico, and while that may prevent some people from coming in, it does nothing to prevent the transmission of airborne diseases that pass over. >> reporter: i don't want to live like this. i would rather die. >> reporter: it started as a cough that lasted for months, then she began losing wait. >> translator: i was really thin and so sick i couldn't sleep at

night. >> reporter: she didn't have a stubborn cold or nasty case of the flu, she contracted a potentially deadly form of tee -- tuberculosis. health officials are not only seeing an alarming up tick in the number of tb cases, but this doctor, director of this tb clinic in tijuana, says the border has become a breeding ground for drug-resistant strains of the disease in part because so many people are living in urban poverty. >> when you have a lot of tb, you start getting drug resistant cases. >> reporter: it's also difficult to diagnose tb. on average one person can infect

another 20 people. >> you can be in in a bus, a theater, a market, and if somebody coughs there, you can be infected. >> reporter: health officials say many people infected with tb enter the u.s. from mexico. one of the biggest challenges facing health officials on both sides of the border. how do you contain a contagious airborne disease? a wall? a fence? it's meaningless. california has the highest rate of tb in the us. representing 22% of the cases reported in 2012. >> the concern is you're going to have drug-resist important strains that we're no longer able to control. >> reporter: she says cross-border collaboration is critical to stem the spread. >> what we're trying to do is

work together so that the strains we have here, and the strains that they have on the other side, that we treat all of the patients so they don't get more and more drug resist important. >> reporter: which is why the work that this doctor does in his clinic is so critical, trying to stop the spread of a disease that is beating the border. ♪ on wall street stocks are higher in early trading. a better than expected report on american manufacturing. the bad weather giving wal-mart sales a chill. the world's largest retailer forecasting full-year profits will be below analysts estimates, the cut in food

stamps also hurt its bottom line. banc of america is giving its chief executive a raise, a 17% increase. he lead the bank to its biggest profit in five years. a research group warning that rising housing costs are making it harder for americans to own their own homes. the monthly note for a median priced three-bedroom home, jumping 21% last year. coming up on al jazeera america, a run on a swiss dish at the olympics in sochi, forcing customers to ask, where is the cheese?

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. that ceasefire in ukraine has collapsed. at least 20 people were killed

in kiev today. the white house calling on the ukrainian president to withdraw his security forces. chris christie holding a townhall meeting this morning. christie is promoting plans for a second round of superstorm sandy relief funds. the trial of three al jazeera journalists has adjourned until the 5th of march. all three pleading not guilty to charges. they have been in prison now for 54 days. al jazeera, and human rights groups continue to demand their immediate release. and this story just in to al jazeera america. a saudi detainee has pleaded guilty to charges that he helped plan an attack on a french oil tankers in 2002. in pleading guilty he will event yielly be released and then handed over to the saudi

government. 100 tons of radio active water leaking from a storage plant at the fuk sh shee -- fukushima nuclear plant in japan. this spill is the latest in a long line of problems plant has faced since the damage by the tsunami back in 2011. i'm meteorologist dave warren, seeing severe weather here all pretty much in the same state. this is iowa, a severe thunderstorm warning -- this storm moving northeast at about 65 miles an hour. there is hail, quarter sized hail, a blizzard warning in effect, because you had blowing

drifting, very heavy snow reducing visibility. this is just west of xhik but will slowly begin to move to the northeast. we have the heavy snow right through kansas and nebraska. here are these strong storms that continue to push off to the northeast. all warnings pretty much in the same areaia. there is high wind warnings, flooding, and severe storming that will be impacting this area south of chicago and the southeast. look at these temperatures. storm really impacting the temperatures and the weather right over this area. this is the radar loop and the computer forecast that shows this snow plus the rain. not much happening where we're seeing this warm air, but that will change. this is where we're expecting

severe weather tonight and throughout the day tomorrow as this whole storm begins to push east. western tennessee and kentucky seems to be the area of focus for this line which will develop strong to severe storms, a line will push east. and once it clears nothing happening behind it, except the cold air, thatme comes behind this. and then this storm line will move east, moving through the east and mid-atlantic by friday morning. there is an indication of the cold air coming in behind this. might warm up briefly but then the cold air returns this weekend. >> the house of switzerland

chelet a great attraction in sochi, but now it is out of cheese, as the truck delivering the cheese went missing on the border. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. conflicts between police and protesters in ukraine were peaceful early on, and now turned violent. people, protests, and power. that's the inside story. ♪ hello, i'm ray suarez. the world has b