remember you can always get the latest news online on our website, aljazeera.com. thank for your time. do keep it here. ♪ on "america tonight," a short ceasefire, ukraine erupts again with more bloodshed after the so-called truce. why the fight is spreading and what is at steak? also tonight a star athlete and popular celebrity, accused of drugging and raping women in five states. would normer new orleans saints player have lead a double life? and on the front lines with

the taliban. the view from inside with one of the very few journalists ever to travel and speak directly with taliban fighters. >> the taliban solders that i'm together with have lost two men. it looks like they [ inaudible ]. ♪ good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. it is clear at this hour that the firey clashes and burning anger that drew the world's attention to a burning city square in kiev have now spilled well beyond the capitol city. a truce was announced but within

an hour it was clear that whatever hope there had been for an end to the standoff evaporated. the president declares his intent to start negotiations to end bloodshed, even more blood is spilled. within hours, renewed and violent clashes are sparked. less than 12 hours after the truce announcement, protesters wrestle to secure the square from police officers. during a showdown in the square, at least eight people die. over the next few hours, sharp international response with the government targeted for blame. a ukrainian skier and her coach leave the sochi games in protest. more than a dozen ukrainian athletes will no longer compete.

within hours video purporting to show police marksmen showing live rounds goes viral. diplomats meeting in brussels begin to draft sanctions against officials in ukraine. russia seconds an envoy to kiev, responding to the president's request and the european moves to impose sanctions. the white house announces that president obama is now looking at a range of options on how to respond. ukrainian president hasn't just lost support of much of the world, he has also lost control of a large part of his own country. this is especially true in the western part of the country. the world's attention has reasonably been focused on kiev, but in the west, his battle may

already have been lost. in a city near the polish border, protesters have taken control, attacking and occupying government buildings and installations, a movement that has spread across towns in this border region. the opposition has ceased control of six place stations raided the headquarters of the state prosecutor, destroying criminal records, and seized a major military area. police officer giving up insisting they won't carry out orders against protesters. western ukraine has long been a center of anti-government sentiment, and experts say yanukovych is in no position to try to take it back. a former economic adviser to ukraine says the military is unlikely to be much help. >> the military have not been brought in , because it is

considered too dangerous to bring it in, because it could split. the opposition has a massive popular majority in kiev at the same time as the president yanukovych and his government sits in kiev. that's why we're seeing most of the fighting in kiev, whereas in other parts of the country it is clear who is in charge. >> western ukraine's ties to europe go back centuries. nationalists in the eastern part of the country, russia has more influence. >> the opposition in the west has 90, 95% of the vote. and yanukovych and his communist allies have about 90% of the vote in the eastern most parts, and in terms of population, these two parts of the country are approximately equally large. >> beyond the chaos in kiev,

those ancient divisions have become a political reality. now we turn to a filmmaker who has been chronicling all of the violence. i understand that you were out there in just the last few minutes? this >> i was, yeah. i was just out there as they were -- a crowd of people had gathered because a bus with interior ministry troops was leaving, and people did not want them to leave. they were trooped that were captured from this morning's battle. >> they were trooped that were captured? >> yeah, the demonstrators pushed back the troops from the perimeter of the square, and in that skirmish, apparently they captured some of the police -- or these interior

ministry troops. they are generally younger guys they put on the front line. and they brought them to one of the buildings that the demonstra demonstrators are occupying. and held them there throughout the course of the day. >> i understand you have been going around, and you have been in some of the areas, one of them a makeshift morgue. >> it was kind of a field hospital. it was in lobby of hotel ukraine, which is right on the square. and one of the main squirmishes was right on the street parallel to the hotel where people were shot -- you know, there was live gunfire going on this morning. so there were several people that were shot, and they were being operated on and treated in that makeshift hospital in the hotel lobby. >> i though you have covered both the activities of these last few months and also that you were there during the orange

revolution, i guess six, seven years ago now. what have you seen? do you see a similarity? do you see some change in the approach of the protesters? >> yeah, there's definitely -- it started out with a lot of similarities in the way things looked on the square. there were tents on the square. the original kind of tactics used for demonstrations were very similar, but it has changed psychologically, where back then people felt like the leader was this mess aunic figure, and he was going to come to power and make everything good. now they don't really have that faith in politicians since the orange revolution caused so much disillusionment. they really are more self reliant and they don't necessarily have that much faith in the opposition politicians.

you know, they consider them their allies, but they are not giving them this kind of benefit of the doubt at all. >> do you see the strength of the protesters growing not only in kiev, but elsewhere in the country, in the west that we just refeared to? do you sense of growing digging in by the protesters? >> oh, absolutely, yeah. one thing the government has failed to realize is the more try to use force to crush the movement, the more it motivated and radicalizes people. people seem to have no fear. i have met people who have recently arrived in the past 24 hours on the square. a lot of those are from western ukraine that are coming to support. they cleaned out -- there was a fire wall going on -- and they cleaned out all of the debris and used it to refortify the

perimeter even stronger than it was before, and that's because everyone is helping. you have old ladies breaking bricks on the grown and putting them into sacks so the guys can carrying them to the barricade. i saw a friend of mine carrying a tire to the barricade, a younger fellow who was helping out in the hospital. so it's just really kind of self organizing. it's pretty incredible to watch, actually. but they are definitely digging in. it doesn't seem like losing is an option, unless they die. i mean, that's -- that's what it seems like. >> we hope will is not more death. thank you very much for joining us on skype from kiev. >> thank you for having me. now we move across the world to another set of protests which have turned deadly as well to venezuela where the death toll is rising.

>> translator: she grabbed my hand and at that moment there was a shot to her head and she got dizzy. i don't know it was a gunshot. >> a 22-year-old beauty queen was shot in the head on wednesday. she became the fifth person to die in demonstrations there. born out of the discontent over the severe socioeconomic problems. tense clashes have erupted, the demonstrators will are calling for the president's resignation. since the opposition leader's arrest on tuesday, the original murder and terrorism charges against him have been dropped, but he has been charged with arson and conspiracy which could get him up to ten years in jail. the president called him a fascist. and issued a strong warning to protesters. >> translator: and to his

accomplices, he is responsible, and one of them is in jail. what is more, one by one, they will take the same. i have no doubt of this. another conflict now from the freedom to protest to the freedom of the press. our al jazeera journalists still detained in court after 54 days. the three pled not guilty to charges of joining, bading, and abetting a terrorist organization. the three are among 20 other journalists facing similar charges. al jazeera continues to reject the charges and is demanding the immediate release of its staff.

♪ when we return to "america tonight," a former football star and popular player stands accused of living a double life and committing disturbing crimes against women. also ahead, on the front lines with the taliban, a rare view from inside, as a team of fighters moves against bases in in afghanistan. ♪

and now on a troubling story that involves multiple allegations of drugs rape, and a super bowl champion, former nfl star and tv analyst, darren

sharper is being accused of drugging, and then raping several women in several cities, including los angeles. today he told a judge there he is not guilty. but as "america tonight" reports report, the list continues to grow. >> reporter: despite his spunning moves on the field, former new orleans santh's star is now shocking his fans for what he is accuseded of doing off the field. he is the subject of sex crime investigations in five states. he is accused of knocking women out with strong medication and raping them. in los angeles, he is facing seven combined counts of rape and drug charges connected with incidents late last year and early this year. in florida a woman came forward last month to report a sex crime

incident in 2012, and detectives there investigated a similar case in 2011. in new orleans court records found sharpers dna on a swab taken from woman who said she had drinks with sharper and then blacked out. records also show he is accused of processioning prescription drugs like the generic form of ambien and morphine. >> he allegedly began to mix some drinks, some shots, and give these shots to the girls. >> reporter: tempe arizona police are investigating similar allegations. one woman reported feeling dizzy like the room was spinning after sharper mixed and served shots at her apartment.

later she claimed she witnessed sharper naked crouched over her friend having sex with her. >> they didn't know what was going on. >> reporter: detectives say they found traces of ambien in a glass used to mix the shots, and one woman said he gave her the popular drug molly in the past. his attorneys said publicly that sharper would be fully exonerated. sharper's attorney told the tribune in january that sharper did nothing wrong. >> it just shocks me. i really hope it's not true. i really do. because like i said -- if this is true, this is just not the darren sharper that i saw in new orleans. >> reporter: the criminal investigation is startling news for fans like cindy wiley.

for several years she mingled with the player at the football camp for her, a louisiana breast cancer awareness benefit headlined by sharper and other nfl stars. >> it was 102% women to learn about football and have a good time and support the american cancer society. >> reporter: sharper played a big role in the event, teaching women all about the game. >> the fans they research their football and watch football and they learn a lot about it. >> reporter: he is also visited with many women at the event cocktail hour. >> reporter: you felt like his interaction was appropriate? >> we was never ever ever inappropriate at all. there were a lot of very attractive women there. i never saw any of that. and we spent a lot of time in

the general vicinity that he was. so we saw him interact with a lot of people. i just feel really shocked about the whole thing. >> reporter: "america tonight" reached out to sharper through his attorneys who declined to give a statement on the record. for now his case presses ahead in a los angeles court. sharper is due back in court on april 15th, and while he has not been tried or convicted, there are questions about possible patterns of behavior. we're joined by dr. erin nelson, professor at the arizona college of medicine in phoenix. appreciate you being with us, dr. nelson. obviously we don't want to make any conclusions about guilt or innocence, but this is rape in a way that we don't think of it, perhaps, the kind of allegations that we're talking about is something different than someone in the dark of the night, for example, pursuing a victim.

>> well, sure, yes. there is a spectrum when it comes to sexual assault or interpersonal violence of different types of februariers. the stranger rapist that is hiding in the dark, as opposed to someone who may be an equatance of the victims, but the one thing they all have in common, every sexual assault offender, the thread that holds them together is a reckless disregard for the feelings and the personhood of the victim. >> we talk a lot about rape being an act of violence, not necessarily about sex itself. so -- >> that's right. >> -- so when you talk about the use of drugs, this is about control? >> you are absolutely right. one of the most common misconceptions is that rape or sexual assault has a sexual connotation in the classic way.

it is not sexual. it is not about some sort of mutual attraction or interpersonal sexual arousal. what it is about is overpowering a victim. and usually to feed a profound sense of inadequacy in the offender. >> so there are different categories of people who commit sexual assault in this way. you talk about narcissists? >> well, yes. if we think about a continuum of behavior, we have a smaller percentage of folks who are sadistic in that they are aroused by the violence in and of itself. at the other end of the spectrum would be those people who violate the sanctity of another person sort of based on their own selfish inability to recognize that, you know, another person has -- is not

interested in them. >> so in this particular case, and again, we're not making any conclusions here about guilt or innocence, but in these allegations, we have heard that there were other people involved, other people present, nearby when these aledged assaults were taking place. how would that fit into a notion of control or act of violence? how does that fit in? >> well, when we talk about sexual assault, it is always a form of violence, but when you think about that need for power, or someone feeding this -- this sort of pervasive inadequacy, it would be understandable how somebody's sense of omnipotence would be further fuelled by being able to have control over not just one person but multiple victims, and others who were present when a crime is taking place, they have psychological

consequences oftentimes as well. >> very interesting case to watch. and we appreciate your incite on helping us what might be going on. very much for being with us. >> thanks for having me. when we return, a rare view from inside the fight. >> the taliban fighters they are running towards the base now. they are trying to raid the base. i need to stick with them. even though it is really dangerous. >> an extraordinary up close view from a journalist who risked all for this story. ♪

♪ now a snapshot of stories making headlines on "america tonight." two men accused in the 2011 beating of a san francisco giant outside of dodger's stadium pleaded guilty to charges in the case. one suspect pled to account of assault, the other to a kousht of mayhem. the victim suffered permanent brain damage as the result of the attack. the execution of michael taylor will go on as planned with a new anonymous supplier of pen toe barbital. a detainee at guantanamo bay pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism related charges. the helped to plan the deadly

attack of an oil tanker off of the coast of yemen in 2002. he is expected to testify against a higher profile prisoner as a result of the plea. the united states and its allies have spent billions of dollars to help set up a new afghan army. and the successor or failure of afghans manning their own bases will determine the fate of the country, as well as the wisdom of the u.s. strategy. in a rare exclusive look of the afghan war through the eyes of the taliban. >> reporter: i'm sitting at the back of a motor bike driven by a tall ban soldier. earlier this evening we heard the sound of the drones. to be honest, i feel quite

nervous. they take me to a safe house, where a number of taliban fighters are checking their weapons. for the several days that i'm with the taliban, they only tell me to stop filming once. but i'm acutely aware that i wouldn't have been allowed to film them unless they wanted the world to see what they showed me. >> the fact that they used the media to establish their point of view and get their case across, they should. we certainly do. >> they have always been actually fairly sophisticated in

use of communications, and i think allowing cameras in and doing interviews like this is just another example. >> reporter: their commander is a 23-year-old man, a veteran, he claims of numerous battles against both the government and nato troops. at the moment we're just sitting and waiting here in the secret hideout. i'm not allowed to disclose where we are. the atmosphere is a little bit

tense. people, they are preparing themselves. i'll be going with them, when they head out. i think it's 3:00 in the morning, and i think we're going to leave in maybe one hour, one and a half hour, but i'm not really sure. they are changing the plans all of the time, so . . . then they get the signal. we are on our way to the place where they are going to fight a battle early in the morning. the plan is, they told me, is to capture an afghan national army base. the only thing i know is that they say they are going to fight until they capture the base.

they are not going to withdraw. >> joining us now from copenhagen is the journalist you saw in that report. explain to us how you were able to get access to the taliban. why were they willing to work with you? >> i got the access because i used some middlemen, some contacts who had tribal connections through the taliban in this district. the thing is with the tribal connections that they sometimes surpass loyalty. you can go to an area where afghan national army soldiers they don't attack taliban solders because they are of the same tribe and they have a ceasefire. >> so you are a freelance journalist, i understand, but did having a relationship with al jazeera have any impact on the taliban's decision?

>> i got in touch with them, and got the access before i toll them about which tv station it was, so they actually gave me the green light before i told them i was with al jazeera. but afterwards they were interested in knowing which channel they were going to be broadcasted in. and i told them that it was al jazeera. so you could say it's 50/50. >> i have to ask you, because on a previous trip to afghanistan you were kidnappeded and held hostage. why did you decide to go forward this time? did you feel you could trust them? >> i -- i felt i could trust them. but i was extremely nervous anyway, actually, because -- because the thing is that i actually felt much more comfortable last time i went to afghanistan. and when i tried to get access to the taliban and doing -- do

almost the same story i did this time. but it was my own research that i did afterwards that showed it was a setup. it was a local taliban group that kidnapped me, but the leadership of the taliban had no knowledge about it. they said they didn't have a clue about what had happened. so i was very nervous this time, but it's -- it's almost six years ago, and it was also kind of a personal failure for me when it happened, so it was quite eager to overcome it, and i think it's an extremely important story to tell. so i thought that, you know, we have had a war for 12 years, and we have had very mu documentaries from inside the ranks of the taliban, so it's extremely important for the americans, for the western

audience to know why these people keep on fighting against nato and the afghan government, and what kind of people they are. >> we're going to ask you to stand by here, because as you know, this is extraordinary access that you have had to the taliban, and we want our viewers to see more. the afghan army routinely faces strikes by taliban fighters, so as was witnessed in this fight near the town of kabul. >> reporter: chart district in afghanistan. dawn is just moments away as a group of taliban fighters prepare to launch an attack on an afghan army base. they haven't told me exactly when they are going to attack. they just said it is going to happen around sunrise.

and then suddenly, the fighting begins. earnings conference call ex [ explosion ] >> reporter: the taliban's heavy machine gun is ready. these taliban have little or no former military training. and the ana fight back.

[ explosion ] [ gunfire ] >> reporter: things aren't going to plan. their machine gun still isn't working. they leaf the gunner to fix it, while they go to support their attack from another side. [ shouting ] >> reporter: to allow the rest of the taliban to enter the base, three suicide bombers have been sent to blow up the main gate. [ shouting [ >> reporter: but they have to first avoid fire coming from inside.

the taliban fighters, they are running towards the base now. they are trying to raid the base. i need to stick with them, even though it is really dangerous. i don't know the area, so i'm just running after them. there is a helicopter. the helicopter might be armed, so the taliban run for cover. [ inaudible ]

>> reporter: there are 200 meters of open ground between the wall and the base. [ explosion ] [ gunfire ] >> the taliban can come in fire, harass, and retreat. the afghan army has to actually be there and try to create an environment over time that is going to allow the country to function. they are not going to go out and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the taliban. it would make no sense. >> reporter: the more tars are landing in areas where we are close to some of the other guys behind us. the battle has been going on for about an hour and a half now, and the afghan army soldiers under attack inside have received no support from other bases.

the taliban had hoped this would be a victory, but it is becoming clear that they are facing far greater resistance than they had expected. the taliban soldiers that i'm with, have lost two men. it looks like there are not as confident as they were before attacking the base. and for these fighters it looks like the situation might be about to get worse. >> journalist rejoins us now to talk more about his extraordinary reports there in afghanistan. you expressed the difficulty that this taliban team had with being able to fire their own

machine gun. you said they didn't have formal training. they really had a lot of difficulty there. did it give you some inclination to understand how strong of fighting force the taliban is today? >> obviously, you know, you can't generalize about the taliban. it's very different how they are from area to area. i visited the taliban another time. i didn't manage to finish it -- it was a documentary i tried to do in cue nar, and they are really experienced fighters up there. and they seemed like somebody who had trained a lot. and have seen talibans who are peasants like these guys, just taking up arms, so yes, they are not professional trained a lot of them. and most of the -- how can i say -- that advantage that they get in the battlefield is mostly because of their morale, because

actually they are not a fatal -- some of them -- they are not so afraid of dying, because for them it's a win-win situation. either they get killed and go to paradise, or they win the battle. so it's the morale i would say which is the difference more than the professional skills. >> i want to ask why you think they let you video almost everything they did. >> i was actually quite surprised. i expected that they would actually tell me what to film, and not to film, and control a lot of the things i was doing, but they actually -- they seemed very honest about them wanting to let me understand what they were about, you know, in these clips that you have just shown, it is just about the battles, but i also have done a lot of other footage from every day life in the areas. and actually, like it said in

this the movie, i was never told to shut off the camera but once, and it was in the battlefield because ament commander got disappointed with two people getting killed and he was stressed, i suppose. so they were actually quite open surprisingly. >> thank you very much for joining us from your home base in copenhagen. ♪ we'll stay with our in-depth look at the taliban today after the break. how strong of fighting force do u.s. officials think it is now? and what does that mean for the future of afghanistan? and looking ahead on america tonight, the pot pack. >> i say welcome to the clip and thank you for joining us. >> amsterdam's mayor, what his country has learned after decades of marijuana sales. >> this is close to five grams. this is roughly five grams.

>> and how many joints can you make with that? >> about three joints out of a gram. >> that's friday on "america tonight."

♪ we follow up now with more on our "faultlines"est collusive look on today's taliban.

mark, and matt joins us as well, a former un official who oversaw negotiations with the taliban. both of you have seen these clips of the taliban today as it were. matt can i begin with you, and ask what your perception was? there is a certain sense that this is looking like a rag tag group of fighters. what is today's taliban strength? >> it does appear that way in that particular attack. as many attacks look something like that. but there are some 200, 300, even more attacks happening every week in afghanistan. and of particular importance is the number of people they are killing in their attacks is higher now than it has ever been since 2001.

they are killing some 650 on average, some 650 people a month, and many of those are afghan police and soldiers. so i think even though they may not look like a very effective fighting force, in actual fact they are killing a great many afghan solders and police, and it is a real problem for the pro government forces. >> and mark you have worked with the f afghan army and helped to set them up. is this a threat that is disturbing to them. >> i think from the video you see something really wonderful and that's the ana of 2014 is not the afghan national army back in 2003, 4, 5, or 6. they deliberately assessed what was going on. they are under attack. they don't worry about -- in

other words they are not worried about being overrun here. they are taking deliberate action. will was a comment about well, they haven't been supported in almost an hour here. they didn't need to be. they were holding their position just fine. so this is an afghan national army that is much more capable than it was a decade ago. >> looking at both of these players here, the ana and the taliban, or resurgrant taliban or whatever you would define it today, what does this tell us about the future? we're going into a period where there will be elections in afghanistan and the longer team agreement with the us. >> the fact is that the taliban while making some tactical

gains, they are killing civilians as well. weak rule of law, weak governmental institutions, because without that all of the security in the world won't matter in the long run. >> do you see an opportunity for optimism moving through the next few months? >> i would point out it is a cause of concern that the taliban are killing 3 or 400 policemen a month. that is posing a real problem for afghan national security forces, but i think that looking forward, i think what it underscores is that the taliban aren't going away, you know? and if you consider the international withdraw, the cuts in aid, the general disengagement from afghanistan, then what we need to be look towards is reconciliation.

a an overwhelming majority of afghans have said all along, the only way this will end is if there is some kind of agreement between the government and the taliban. and that's what the international community should now be looking to support. that is going to require a mediator to coordinate efforts o move that forward. >> we have talked with our correspondent jennifer glasse quite a bit, and she talks about this incredible sense of insecurity right now, a sense that no one knows what is going to happen in these next few months. >> our war may be over, but the war in afghanistan is far from over, and what is going to have to happen is not just an increased effort by the afghan national security forces, but an increased effort by the international community focusing on these non-military issues,

rule of law, governance, et cetera. my concern is without a bilateral security agreement, there will be no possibility of the types of nato forces required to continue training the f afghans. >> gentlemen thank you both for being with us, mark jacobson, and matt waltman. >> thank you. next month "faultlines" will air more of its exclusive report. it will air march 21st and march 28th on al jazeera america. ahead tonight in our final thoughts of the hour, a big break through, the life-saving prototype, and the undergraduate who helped to design it. .

♪ finally tonight, college is not just about the books anymore. to make a difference, professors are teaching students how to apply classroom principles in the lab. alan takes us to a college in seattle where the concept could be a big break through. >> reporter: on a winter day when the promise of spring brightens the campus, you'll find this junior in doors in the lab, solving problems. >> so i made a device that has curved channels that are circular cross sections that is

able to transport a tissue core. >> reporter: translation he is working on a letter way to diagnose pancreatic cancer. this technology could give pa pathologists a much more complete three dimensional view. remember chris is just 20, in his third year of college. he is serving a kind of educational apprenticeship, this doctor runs the lab, and with the help of federal grants pairs students with teachers for one on one mentoring. chris gets part-time pay and works with researcher who says he is learning too. >> awesome. yeah, it's awesome. i mean, usually -- i have my way

of doing things, so it doesn't always translate well, but when you have the right mix, it works out perfectly. >> reporter: this is an ongoing trend. valuable experience for the next level of education, and later career competition. here research participation has nearly doubled in the last five years. the non-profit council on undergraduate research has seen membership triple in the last decade. in chris's case he is already running hard. his teachers say his work is ground breaking, the technology he developed worth patenting. >> nobody has demonstrated exactly what chris has demonstrated in our lab as far as we know, and that's one of the reasons why we filed this patent. >> reporter: he gives tremendous credit to his mentors and his time in the lab.

>> to watch this device come out and be able to transport tissue through them, and then learn that no one else has ever done this before, it's exciting. >> reporter: the kind of exciting development more ung graduates are now getting a chance to experience. snp and that's it for us, we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow. ♪ bloc good evening, everyone. here are tonight's top stories. the bloodiest day the ukraine has seen in days.

at least 70 people were killed in kiev today. vice president joe biden spoke with ukraine's president again today, and condemned the violence. the european union agreed to impose sanctions against ukrainian officials. the trial of our three al jazeera journalists has been post posted to march 5th. al jazeera says all charges against them are false and demanages the immediate release of its staff. a line of severe thunderstorms moving through the midwest. several tornados have already touched down in illinois. no damage has been reported to far. it's tax day for marijuana business owners in colorado. many are paying in cash with the help of private security. some banks are reluctant to work with pot retailers. the state predicts more than

$100 million in tax revenue this year. those are the headlines. i'm john siegenthaler. see you back here at 11:00 eastern. "consider this" with antonio mora is coming up next. i'll see you at 11:00. ♪ ukraine growing more violent and deadly by the hour. we'll go to kiev for different perspective on his the chaos. the violence also continues in venezuela. opposition leader on the future of the protests. plus only on al jazerra, taliban terror. a reporter allowed to cover the extremists from the inside. and the risky, expensive, and all too often deadly world of american fraternities. held he, i am antonio mora and welcome to "consider this." here is more on what's ahead. ♪