>> good afternoon, and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. here are the stories that we're following right now. freed from prison, former ukrainian prime minister yulia tymoshenko released from prison. this after the protests against yanukovych. pope francis picks a dozen new cardinals from different countries.

>> in ukraine the deal between u.s. government and opposition forces appears to be in tatters. former prime minister yulia tymoshenko is headed to join protesters at independent square. president viktor yanukovych has now fled the capitol. he called this all a coup and said he won't step down. and this protesters across ukraine tear down statut statuef vladimir linen. jennifer, what is happening behind you at independent square? >> reporter: i'm hearing sirens behind me right now.

this might be her arrival. you can see the lights in the square behind me. people anxiously awaiting. it looks like a false alarm. that's the way it's been for the last few minutes. they said they'll wait as long as it takes for yulia tymoshenko. she has been the poverty child of these protests and there are giant pictures of her all over independent square. they say this is a victory. her unconditional relace has been one of her demands. after she got out of prison this even she talked about what her freedom means. >> this is the first time i can see the sky. this is the first time i can see people and the dictatorship has fallen. that happened not because of politicians and diplomats but because of the people. >> this will mean real change for the opposition. there have been changes all day. the parliament installing a new

interior minister firing th oth. yulia tymoshenko is a rallying figure for the people. there is a crowd waiting. i spoke with one of the billion narrows who has been supporting the opposition, and he said that her release means true victory for the people here. it means that their cause has been just, and their cause has been right. very momentous evening here. people have been waiting for it. she is viktor yanukovych's rival. she ousted him in the orange revolution in this square, and he jailed her. she has been considered by her supporters a political prisoner. her seven-year sentence now over. she is on her way here to independent square where we're expecting a rousing welcome, morgan. >> you said her unconditional release was one of her demands.

was her release, in fact, unconditional? >> reporter: the parliament all of a sudden, the opposition all of a sudden had a majority in the parliament viktor yanukovych enjoyed the majority of parliament, but that has all switched and today the parliament ordered her release and it happened. yes they changed the law to allow it to happen. we thought we would have to wait for a court order but it happened very quickly and she is free. and it's got to be unsettling for president yanukovych who appeared on television saying they will not step down and that it's not an opposition movement that meese people are banned. and he's calling what is going on here a coup. it will be interesting to see how the politics play out over the next days and weeks. president yanukovych is not here

in kiev. his palace is empty. his guards have left his house. it's also empty on the outskirts of kiev. they call it the day of open doors in kiev. people have been going through tours of his palacial house. we'll wait and see what will happen for leadership. >> before i let you go, what is the timing of all this mean? just as this delicate deal gets struck we see the release of this symbolic figure who you say was the poverty child of this movement. why now? why have she chose ton release her today? >> reporter: well, you know, that deal was unpopular from the moment the opposition signed it. they didn't like that it kept president yanukovych in power until december. and once they got power in parliament they're doing what they can to get what they want. and this has been one of their demands since the very beginning.

it really is an opposition controlled parliament right now. we saw them push through a number of new things. the speaker of parliament, that's the momentum today. the opposition is in charge. not only in parliament but here on the grounds and security forces are guarding the streets. the riot police have gone back to their barracks. certainly on the grouped in kiev today the opposition are in charge. >> don't go anywhere, we'll come back to you later in the program. jennifer glass reporting live from independent square live in ukraine. joining me live from kiev, spokes person for euro maidaon. the president remains defiant, and do you think he will step down, and does it really matter? >> first of all the parliament

has impeached the president making him no longer president. voting with 300 votes for that. in that sense we no longer have a president, and we have a parliament with a presidential election scheduled for may. >> interesting, so let's move on real quickly. let's talk about tymoshenko. what exactly does her release mean? and in what ways is she symbolic for this entire protest movement? >> tymoshenko's release typically means one of the top political figures has come to the protesters. the fact that she is released, and she is oppose approximating viktor yanukovych, it means the break down of the issue. she was not the most important issue, although they are comeback is a very strong political signal. one of the first announcements she made is that she will run for president at the election.

>> i want to bring it back to right here in washington. president obama and president putin had a constructive conversation last night saying moscow saying i they wanted to play an active role. >> reporter: i don't think that the russian involvement has been good from the beginning. the crisis began when ukraine withdrew from the european path and connected with russia. every time our president has consulted with russia, and effected deeply negatively. >> deeply negatively? >> yes. >> are you in agreement to hold early elections?

>> now the election is defined already. the president is impeached and no longer is president. we have a parliament power and taking the president out of pow so that agreement is no longer valid. >> all right, thanks so much. spokesman for euro maidan activist. as you heard, ukrainian prime minister yulia tymoshenko has been released. she had been in prison for more than three years. we have more. >> the trained engineer and economist yulia tymoshenko made her fortune on the back of ukraine independence, forming an energy company after the soviet broke up she's known as the gas princess and like many tycoons made her move into politics.

she quickly rose through the ranks becoming deputy prime minister in 1999. but it was in 2004 when viktor yanukovych was elected president and allegedly rigged elections that tymoshenko truly came into her own. she called on ukrainians to take to the streets in protest. wearing the color of the opposition party hundreds of thousands turned out. after re-elections the orange alliance took power and tymoshenko became prime minister. but by the sue presidential 201l election tymoshenko was ready to go out on her own. she was beaten by archrival viktor yanukovych, and the following year was arrested. amid outrage in the west she was sentenced to seven years behind bars for charges of abusing

power in gas deals. she staged a temporary hunger strike saying she had been beaten by guards and needed medication attention for back pain. it's the decriminalization of the account under which she was imprisoned which set her free. >> meanwhile the return government is now weighing in on the situation in ukraine, and it's throwing it's support behind the embattled president. russia's foreign minister said, quote: >> in november he passed up a deal with the e.u. that would have increased trade and opened up the country's borders. instead he chose a lucrative

deal with russian president vladimir putin. we take a look at russia's role. >> reporter: from the beginning russia has been at the heart of the protest in ukraine. in november anti-government demonstrate whose wanted closer ties to western europe took to the streets after president yanukovych rejected an offer of financial aid from the european union in favor of a package from russia. vladimir putin said yanukovych's decision made good sense. >> did not offer the ukrainians the freedom to move across europe and find jobs. it did not offer any security for the industry, any security oralogy. what is even more important the e.u. was offering a measly $800 million or euros whereas russia came up with a much better proposal of $15 billion-plus. >> reporter: author of a book about u.s.-russia relations.

she said that the offer of financial aid is part of a bigger strategy, to make ukraine part of a collection of nations that were once part of the soviet union with russia in charge. >> it's the biggest country, and without ukraine this project is not going to succeed. and the precaution is to make sure that the there ar are no me inroads to the soviet state. >> the russians see this as a classic geopolitical struggle with the united states. our president and secretary kerry have all said we don't view it like that. which is true, neither do the europeans but in fact, we're in a situation where you have the u.s. and it's allies on one side. russia on the other. >> reporter: a more oppressing concern for russia is whether

the movement for democracy in ukraine could inspire russian activists to take to the streets. russia has seen protest movements in the past, and the government has always prevailed but since then moscow worries about ukraine setting a precedence. >> if the ukrainian people succeeded in getting rid of a corrupt democratic leader and having a leader more responsive to the people and more democratically that has direct repercussions for iran, too. if they are do it in ukraine, why not russia. >> they've taken a step that could have con queens for the entire region. >> you're looking live at lou pictures at kiev, ukrainian where developments could move closer to deescalation of violence and early election. we'll bring you the latest from

the ukraine as it happens. you're watching al jazeera america.

>> mexican authorities say they captured the dea's most wanted drug lord. with joaquin guzman was arresten as result of a joint u.s.-mexico joint operation. his arrest is only the latest of a series involving several members. he faces many drug trafficking charges in the u.s. opposing administrations taking place in caracas has been peaceful so far. thousands of supporters of nick has madera are seen here.

>> househouse thousands of peope have--thousands of people have gathered in caracas. they've come here in concentration in a message of peace. while these demonstrators are here. will is another march happening in another part of the city which is a pro government rally. what these people have called it, they want the government to listen to their complaints, take them seriously and to hopefully enter into a dialogue where they can start addressing these problems that affect all venezuelans no matter what side of the political line they stand. >> the vatican today pope francis elevated his stress first class of you bishops i in the college of cardinal including several from central

and south american countries. al jazeera reports from vatican city. >> reporter: the new cardinals were the personal choice of pope francis with half coming from outside of europe and none from the united states. many were from developing nations but francis made it clear he wants to shift the balance of power away from the vatican. but the presence of former pope benedict xvi was a surprise. it's been one of the most important weeks for pope francis and the catholic church as a whole. citpope francis has been leadina debate on whether the church's deabouview of abortion, contrace contraceptives, divorce and

homosexuality need to change. polls show most think it is old. >> i'm strongly christian but i do believe this pope can open doors where in the past it was always kept shut. >> reporter: this week's meeting came before another conference later in the year on family issues. but they say the pope's attempts to modern eyes the church is an uphill battle. >> collects tcatholic who divord remarry and gay couples who adopt children is becoming the norm in the western world. the church can't just ignore them. >> reporter: the 19 new cardinals will be among those

who make life-changing decisions for millions around the world. >> that was al jazeera reporting from vatican city. the meeting between president obama and dalai lama went forward even though chinese government demanded that the meeting be canceled and claimed that it damaged washington's relationship with beijing, but the president refused, and a top u.n. official condemned the meeting. one success story of every veteran finding a place to call home.

>> we have to move out of here right now >> i think we have a problem... >> we have to get out of here... >> they're telling that they they don't wanna show what's really going on... >> mr. drumfield, i'd like to speak to you for a minute... >> this is where columbia's war continues... >> ...still occupied... >> police have arrived... you see the blast scars from a bomb that went off... >> i'm morgan radford, live from new york city, here are today's

headlines. yulia tymoshenko is on her way to join protesters at independent square. she was released earlier today and president viktor yanukovych fled the capitol and now refuses to step down. house thousand us of anti-and pro government protesters i demonstrate in caracas today. over in vatican city pope francis promoted 19 bishops to the college of cardinals. and former pope benedict came to greet each of the new cardinals. >> meteorologist: i hope you're all having a wonderful afternoon. if if you're traveling today, you need to be careful because tonight i think we'll see areas of black ice. no cloud cover out there. high pressure is built in behind

our frontal boundary from the west to the northeast. you can see its stalling over central florida and i think we'll see stronger thunderstorms later on in the afternoon on into the evening as well. again, be careful if you're traveling along this segment of i-95. we're looking at a little bit of snow, but that is going to diminish as this light patch of snow continues to push off sure. over all a quiet day, and a sunny day for most of the northeast. and temperatures are going to be in the 50s. the grouped temperatures still right around the freezing mark, and we're going to see a lot of that melted ice make--melted snow make its way on roadways a that's where we'll see black ice along portions of the northeast. the temperatures are rising. it's such a beautiful day out there along i-95. 50 in new york. boston at 46 degrees.

the cooldown is on the way so get out and enjoy the weekend. sunday night the temperatures will drop, and you'll feel the cold air and feel the cold air as we push on into friday as we see a little bit more snow. snow even the pets out there are sick and tired of the snow. he has a defeated look when you walk around in the snow, it's just chilly out there. and that cold air will be returning as i said as we push on into next week. snow into the cascades. we have a light activity right across i-50. be careful if you're traveling with a mix of snow and ice in the lower elevations. in the mountains we could see up to a foot of snow. back to you. >> thank you so much. medal of honor. the white house will recognize 24 army veterans mostly hispanic and jewish who served during world war ii. the korean war and vietnam. they've been passed over in the past due to prejudice, so instead they got the nation's second highest award. but now they're getting the

medal of honor, the country's very highest although only three of them are still living. almost 60,000 veterans are hopeless in americ--are homelesn america. and one city has worked hard to bring that number down to zero. >> reporter: james roberson is on a mission to keep veterans off phoenix streets. >> we'll have meals on wheels coming back bringing you food again. >> he's known as the navigator, guiding the homeless to permanent housing. >> he has food, money, benefits, and then we go from that point on. >> reporter: roberson is a crucial part of an aggressive person to house all veteran who is have spent more than a year on the streets. the city counted 220 when the project launched a few years ago. now that number is at zero. >> the housing first model allows us to meet the veterans

where they are. if they're using or have mental health issues or medical issues hthey still get housed. >> reporter: federal vouchers cover the rent. private and non-profit groups provide the furniture. veterans like roberson help with the logistics making sure that veterans get all the help that they need. >> they've been taught to battle. they've been taught to survive in uncomfortable situations. when you try to change their mindset and behavior and provide housing or get them off the streets, that's a barrier itself. >> reporter: roberson knows from experience. he battled drug and alcohol addiction after eight years in the navy. he helped ships navigate then. >> what i do now is heavy navigate through the system. >> reporter: veterans like billy a former technician in the army and an addict after he became homeless after his wife died. >> i was starving to death and

all i wanted to do was get another drink. i would shake in the merge if i didn't get another drink. i didn't think there was any hope for me at all, and i accepted it. >> reporter: a visit from roberson changed that. >> i knew he was going to die. i knocked on his door every day to make sure he's okay. >> reporter: he now has been sober for nine months and he managed to stay off the streets. >> saved my life. otherwise, i would be out on the street still dying. >> reporter: now he says he has a reason to live. >> well, have a good day. >> my man. >> reporter: al jazeera, phoenix. >> as you know we're waiting to hear from freed former prime minister yulia tymoshenko. why don't we put that up in the control room? [♪ singing ]

>> there you have it live from independent square. thanks so much for watching al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. "fault line" is up next. paramilitary, and they're at war. we have come to meet a group of activists. they formed almost two decades ago, after a series of farc