>> we'll know about it. in a little over a >> still camping out despite a deal. ukraine's protesters plan to stay in independence square until the president resigns. protests across venezuela after days of blaming the u.s. for the violence. the country's president calls for talks with obama. a powerful politician facing criminal charges over money laundering and expensive trips.

>> hello and welcome to al jazeera america. after three months of protests that brought ukraine's capital to a halt, the opposition struck a deal with the government. president viktor yanukovych has agreed to early elections. a new constitution and unique government. as nick schifrin reports, tens of thousands of protesters are there camped out in the main square and want him to leaveml. >> the opposition leaders worked hard here inside the ukraine and the international community to convince everyone that this deal is the solution to the problems. you talk to people inside independence square, the cradle where the uprising began, it's hard to find anyone who would agree. >> for 50,000 people the handshake was a reason not to

celebrate, but to mourn. for three months they filled the square, witnessed two resolutions, hoping for a third. tonight their hopes were dashed. the opposition leaders appealed for support. the agreement was a first step towards a new government. >> when we start the process nobody believed it, lopping, long, long time, will bring us the change in the company, to break the col os us which controls everything. >> the crowd was unmoved. small shrines for the hundreds of protesters. volunteers delivered. the crowd cheered. a man who just yesterday was shot by a sniper. instead of celebrations, the square hosted funerals. they captured the square and vowed to go nowhere even when asked by hero, boxer vitaly klitschko. >> the crowd are trying to drown

him out. >> then this man, the leader of the square's protests, turned to insight them. "my close friend was shot, his wife and child are left behind and the political leaders are shaking hands with the murder erts" up the hill the call for arms is being answered. molotov cocktails are on hand. 30-year-old volva spook has one thing in mind. >> when encouraged, everyone simply died. >> his day drive is a cafe owner. he is getting married in may. >> i don't want my children to

grow up under this president. >> wouldn't it be better to make sure your family had a husband and father and he stopped fighting. >> i think i have no choice >> you have to fight. >> i have to fight. >> one choice. >> they feel the price they paid to control the square is too high for them to leave. they say those sacrifices cannot be quickly forgotten or forgiven. that's al jazeera's nick schifrin reporting from the ukrainian capital of kiev. >> protesters blame russia for pressuring viktor yanukovych to put distance between ukraine and the european union. instead, he chose a lucrative deal with the russian president vladimir putin. president obama called vladimir putin to discuss ways to end the

ukrainian crisis. al jazeera's white house correspondent mike viqueira has more. >> after several exchanges in public between russia and the united states, some bitter, some adversarial, it was a long call that president obama placed to vladimir putin, of course, his counterpart in russia, lasting the better part of an hour, according to the read out from officials by the administration. they spoke about several things, syria, iran, and the bulk of the conversation had to do with the situation in ukraine. it's involved in a tentative agreement and both sides described it as very, very fragile. the official described the talks as constructive. this comes after a back and forth, a coarse assessment of the e.u.'s role. it continued on through barack obama's statement recently while

visiting mexico for the north america summit. where he spoke in derogatory terms about vladimir putin, and his views on basic human rights. obviously russia had a lot of influence in ukraine on the southern border. the spokesman at the white house jay carney described russia's role in the ukraine, and the part that russia and the united states could play together like this? >> it is in russia's interest for the violence to end in the ukraine, as it is in the interests of the united states, and our european friends and the ukrainian people, and we welcome the cessation of violence, and we welcome the agreements that have been reached. >> meanwhile secretary of defense chuck hagel spoke with his ukrainian counterpart, commended him for the restraint that the department showed and the ukrainian defence minister said they would never take up arms against the ukrainian people. >> venezuela is in the middle of

an anti-government movement. two weeks of demonstrations left at least eight dead and dozens injured. secretary of state john kerry is demanding dialogue saying: >> venezuela's president nicolas maduro blames outside influence and calls on president obama to begin the peace talks. andy gallagher has the latest. >> venezuela's troubles began here. 1,000km west of caracas. what began as a student protest to cut crime spread to the rest of the country. in the capital opposition leader leopoldo lopez emerged as the leader. violent demonstrations led to the deaths of at least eight people. on tuesday leopoldo lopez was

detained and charged with arson and conspiracy. >> translation: my imprisonment will wake the people so venezuela will take notice. it's what the majority of people want. my imprisonment will not be in vain. >> for the most part of the demonstrations have taken place in middle class neighbourhoods, where people call for a change of government. they blame nicolas maduro for rampant crime and food shortages. he does receive support from the poor. the 52-year-old former bus driver says attempts to overthrow a democratically-elected government will not be tolerated. >> translation: the government is with the people in the fight against fascist groups attacking our people and society. nevertheless the demonstrations are the most serious challenge to maduro's 10 months in

hospital and he deployed troops. for now, there's no end in sight, with more demonstrations planned in the coming days. under normal circumstances this main street will be bumper to bumper with cars and commuters making their way to work. today it's been eerily quiet. saturday there'll be another rally. called by enrique. it will be the biggest yet. >> the venezuelan opposition is calling for freedom of the press. on thursday journalists from cnn had press credentials revoked. john terrett explains some reasons behind the political unrest. >> the violence in venezuela began on 12th february when three were killed when a demonstration in caracas occurred. it spread nationwide. protesters - mostly student and opposition members - are seeking

policing reforms and an end to prices of goods. they want a guaranteed freedom of speech. venezuela has the largest oil reserve in the world, bigger than saudi arabia. aging infrastructure of these oil wells, plus policies meaning the country cells the oil domestically to people at rock-bottom price and the debt to china means that venezuela's opportunity to make money off the oil is reality limited. now the face of the demonstrators is leopoldo lopez, and he has been detained at a military hospital. he was charged with murder, but they rode it back to conspiracy. the protests are the largest that mooudurea faced in office, the former bus driver is a protogay of this man, a man that ran venezuela for 14 years.

maduro says officers are an infection and pointed the finger at home to the united states, an i accusing washington d.c. of plotting to destabilize the government. three documents were given 48 hours to leave the country. the president shouted yankee go home from the stage of a rally, which upset president obama, who said that he thought venezuela ought to focus on addressing legitimate grievances of the venezuelan people. it's not the first time that protests by supporters and government threatened to destabilize the country. many of president nicolas maduro's claims of u.s. intervention and assassination attempts were hurled around in 2002 when hugo chavez was briefly ousted in a coup before he came back.

>> well as we go into the weekend things are getting better for a lot of people. we saw tornados, and we saw 15 in illinois. for this time of year in february, they'd see zero. most of the activity would be toward the south. it was the opposite. in georgia that is where we saw the activity and some in maryland. we are seeing rain melting the snow. foggy conditions, airport delays, as the system went through things improved. the weekend was nice. we'll go to 53 degrees on saturday. only a slight chance of raun on sunday. what will happen through the weekend - temperatures will be dropping. a lot of snow across the northern plains. we saw anywhere between 12-18 inches, that snow is now going up to ontario, but we'll see very cold air coming into place

for minneapolis, single digits to minus digits. for georgia, things will get better for you. saturday a texture of 66. your news is after this. that's is a look at your weather.

>> more bad news for californian farmers. they are dealing with drought and water reserves are running dry. the system that sends water to inland farms, the central valley project. it's the largest water delivery system. federal authorities say it won't send irrigation water to farms. and california's governor declared a drought emergency last month. >> an update reported by al jazeera's investigative unit four months ago. a powerful politician accused of

corruption. ron calderon indicted on 24 counts of fraud and bribery. >> mail and wire fraud, bribery and money laundering, some of the charges filed against one of california jned powerful state senators, ron calderon. his brother thomas has been charged with conspiracy and money laundering. >> the indictment described a scream in which ron calderon solicited and accepted $100,000 in cash bribes, as well as plane trips, gourmet dinners and trips to golf results. >> ron calderon faces 21 charges, and the indictment outlines details. he's accused of taking $100,000 in cash bribes, gourmet dinners.

>> ron calderon took the bribes in return for official acts - such as supporting legislation to those favourable. to those that paid him bribes and opposing legislation harmful to him. >> al jazeera reported on the corruption investigation in october, obtaining a sealed affidavit revealing claims that the senator was for salt -- for sale. agents posed as owners of the an independent film studio, approached the senator and paid him off. at the time fbi's james weddeck explained the approach. >> they had bank accounts, a business licence, and so it's a very extensive lengthy operation. >> last year al jazeera america tried to speak with ron calderon. he declined to comment.

correspondent josh byrne stephen caught up with him has he arrived at a 5-star report. >> excuse my. josh from al jazeera. we hope to ask you questions about your ongoing legal problems? >> i'm here for a conference, i'm not going to discuss that. >> the federal bureau of investigation alleges that you accepted tens of thousands in bribes in exchange for supporting allegations. >> like i said, i'm not going answer anything. >> ron calderon has plenty to answer for now. if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. the charges carry a maximum sentence of nearly 400 years. he's expected to turn himself in to federal authorities on monday. >> democratic leader of california state senate is calling for ron calderon to resign or take a leave of absence. a meeting between president obama and dalai lama went

forward, despite protests from the chinese government. officials accused the u.s. of meddling in its affairs and demanded the meeting be cancelled, claiming it would damage washington's relationship with budget. in retaliation, beijing call for a top u.s. official to condemn the meeting. >> u.s. is downplaying tension with china. the u.s. army chief of staff met with his chinese counterpart and held talks on setting up dialogue between the u.s. and chinese armies and relations between the two militaries are friendly. this is on reports of china building up its military. >> the city of detroit released a blueprint for how it plans to deal with its $18 million debt. the plan is not sitting well with everyone. detroit has a plan to dig itself out of bankruptcy. facing $18 billion in long-term

debt. emergency manager filed a re-organisation plan calling for cuts, banks and bond holders. the emergency manager has proposed that pension checks for general city retirees be cut 34%, and police and fire retirees see a cut. the plan is subject to approval by a bankruptcy judge, and will undergo appeals. but donald smith who worked 30 years says any cut to his pension will hurt. he receives an $800 pension check. under his proposal that would drop to around $500. >> this makes such a drastic effect on me i can't imagine how i will make it from day to day. that's the truth. >> it's not just the 34% hit.

there's an incremental hit in the amount they have to pay in excess of whatever the city gives them to subsidise their health care. >> many creditors are also feeling the squeeze. or is proposing to pay them $0.20 on the dollar of the money they propose. ora's proposal has hit strong opposition but eased fears. city-owned art is spared thanks in part to money offered by the state and private donations. along with the cuts are some investments. ora imposes investing $1.5 billion in city service, meaning funding to improve police, fire, lighting and blight removal. city retirees like smith are expected to put up a fight. >> i'm angry. i'm angry to think that people don't mean anything any more. >> the deal is far from done.

negotiations between the city and its creditors will continue. it ora's plan will look different by the time it reaches the judge for final approval. >> the plan contains 440 pages and was filed electronically in u.s. bankruptcy court. good news for some same-sex couples in the midwest. a federal judge says couples can say i do earlier, but only in one city. mann's best frequent may understand more than you think, a study taking us inside the brains of america's favourite furry friends. ♪

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>> wedding bells will be ripping for same-sex couples in chicago. a federal judge ruled on friday that gay couples shouldn't have to wait until june to get married. that's when the law allowing same-sex marriage goes in effect

state wide. the couples lined up within an hour of the rulings. in arizona election allowing business i knowers to refuse service to gay customers is one step away interest becoming law. the state legislature passed the measure saying owners could deny service based on religious belief. they have a few days to decide whether they'll sign it. it's been called legalized discrimination. >> a group of methodist churches wants to allow clergy to perform same-sex marriages, it's in opposition to their teachings. the congregation hopes to spur a national movement to change the rules. in december a methodist minister was defrocked for performing a wedding ceremony for his gay son. >> the u.s. mens and women's hock yi teams failed to win gold

medals. john henry smith talks with wall street journal's sports reporter about what happened. the u.s. women in particular - they played a good game all the way through. the men - they played well in a lot of regards, but they didn't seem to be there 100%. the canadians are good. the americans really want to win. i think the canadians feel like they have to. you know, they are so sacred there. have we seen the last of n.h.l.ers in the olympics. i ask, commissioner has been noncommittal and two n.h.l. players, matt and john from the reigners and islanders suffered significant injuries. >> n.h.l. officials are noncommittal publicly. behind the scenes - i don't want to say they diplomat like the olympics, but there's not a lot of upside to the n.h.l., and then there's the injuries.

there's a lack of revenue. if it was a yes, i don't think the players would be back. the players are influential. it's a union operation. i mean the n.h.l. is not going rip the rug out of players that like it. if they were to be ripped out. what will it mean to the popularity of the olympic movement. >> it would be a bigger blow. it would be a world cup where players might make money. the n.h.l. would run it, have control over it. that's what they like. we asked players about that. the n.h.l. could be optimistic that the world cup could place the olympics. the players want to do it. some are livid about the injury to john trevaris said the ioc

should pay seasoned ticket holders for his injury. does he have a point? >> the players want to play. it's not like the ioc is soliciting the guys or yanking them against his will. his issue needs to be against his own people. the players want to do this. >> why can't the russians win a medal in hockey since the soviet union dissolve. it's not the powerhouse they used to be. then there's the question of n.h.l. power. russia wants to do it with firepower, and the gap between the leagues may have grown, and the standard of play is the n.h.l. standard. >> who do you like for the gold medal games - sweden or canada? >> it's a journal. i was involved in the decision. after seeing the canadians handle the u.s., i think it's

even. i wouldn't be surprised if it's canada. >> john henry smith talking to "wall street journal"'s sport reporter from sochi. >> west virginia's water supply is safe according to the centres for disease control, after a january 9th chemical spill left 300,000 residents without access to clean water. there's no detectible toxins, and it's safe to drink, bathe and cook with. >> researchers from the hungarian academy of sciences discovered evidence that a dog's brain reacts to emotions like humans. using neuroimaging scientists could see how a canine brain processes voices and social interaction. it's the first time a study compared a human brain to an animal that is not a primate. thank you for watching al jazeera america.

i'm morgan radford, live from new york city. "the stream" is up next. it's a pleasure to have you. see you again at 4am eastern. hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you are in "the stream." syrian americans are countering apathy with action, they are your neighbors, coworkers, one is even a mayor to come of you. and they are picking up the pieces where politics fail. ♪ our digital producer wajahat ali is here bringing in