>> the fate of ukraine hangs in the balance. former prime minister julia tymoschenko is free from gaol while the man who put her behind bars is nowhere to be found. >> rival rally, thousands take to the streets of venezuela. >> captured - one of the world's most wanted drug loords arrested after 13 years on the run. >> zimbabwe throws a birthday

bash for robert mugabe. >> good morning to you, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford, live from new york city. >> after a day of political upheaval opposition leaders in ukraine are scrambling to feel a power vacuum. viktor yanukovych fled the capital. it's unclear who is running the country. viktor yanukovych said he is not stepping down and accused parliament of a coup. he's referring to a vote that happened hours earlier, removing him from office, setting elections. former prime minister julia tymoschenko has been released from prison, where she served three of a 7-year sentence for abuse of power. >> viktor yanukovych's decision

to distance ukraine from the e.u. is what sparked the protest in the first place. >> jennifer glasse is the first international broadcaster to be live outside the parliament building today. >> good morning. the parliament this morning charting a new future of ukraine. making a lot of changes. the foreign minister is gone. the minister of science gone. they are looking at the court law, and we have had a lot of changes in the last 24 hours, not the least the return of julia tymoschenko here after 2.5 years in prison. for her last night in independence square it was an emotional homecoming. >> she hadn't been seen publicly for 2.5 years, freed from gaol a few hours earlier. >> i wanted to support you. you are heroes, the best that

ukraine has. >> from detention she sent messages to independence square, dreaming of being here in person. >> i couldn't be with you because i was in a came. if i were with you, we could have found a peaceful way. >> moments before a funeral for a protestor killed over the last week. >> we need to punish the people that organised this, who made cruel things. if we do in the punish them, we are worth nothing. >> supporters say the appearance means victory for all of them. >> we try to create ukrainian state, new state. no corruption. democracy. >> president viktor yanukovych fled the capital, but insists he in ukraine. he appeared on television, calling his rivals bandits. >> i'm not going to leave the country. i'm not going to resign. i'm a legitimately elected

president. the people here disagree. >> the people have the president they want. when he fights with the people, you are doomed. he's a criminal, and should be punished. >> julia tymoschenko honoured those killed defending the square. "heroes never died", she said. they echoed her. she prom used to help guide the people. there is an open road ahead to build the ukraine they want. her political future and ukraines is still to be decided. >> viktor yanukovych is one of three candidates being considered as a new prime minister, a position held before she was gaoled by president viktor yanukovych. a lot of changes in the parliament. you can hear them on loud speakers. you can see the people gathered by the parliament, watching and listening to see what is happening to their future. it's a big day in ukraine.

>> what exactly was viktor yanukovych's next step now he's been removed from office. >> that is the real question. he was defiant in the video message. he's called the people inside the building abandoned and a coup. he has gone to the east, we believe. there were reports he tried to leave the country. it's a where's waldo situation. he insists he is on the territory of ukraine, but the parliament voted to dismiss them, abandioning his office and his physical office and home has been abandoned. they voted to return his pal racial home, hundreds of acres. you probably saw the pictures of a huge hour, the pal racial way he's been living. the members of parliament voted to return the land to the

public. >> the beeping is the sound of ukraine's future, the parliament voting. during the beeping, parliamentarians have 10 seconds to vote. >> to the east of the country, supportive of viktor yanukovych may have other thought. is the country divided? >> the country has lopping been divided. the east turning to russia. the divide is clear. that's how it started. we had a worrying development yesterday when the region, the members of parliament, the party of regions. they met yesterday. these are the local leaders that state governor, they say what

the parliament is doing is illegal. they'll have to take the powers back. they'll have to pay any tapes to kiev. a worrying development. that's what people want to prevent. that they don't want the country to split up, and the people have to keep it together. that will be the challenge. >> before you go. let's talk about the julia tymoschenko. her release rallied the opposition. you and i were there. we saw it. it was almost breath taking. it was breath-taking for her to take the stage in the wheelchair. has she clearly emerged as a leader of the opposition? >> i don't know that she has. some people - the opposition is divided. it's the same problem. she's a figure head, a symbol, a

sign of victory. it was a rallying call, whether she should be the next prime minister or president. she's in contention to be prime minister. she is - you saw she was in a wheelchair. she's not in fabulous health. some believe she should move on to be a prime minister. that is something that needs to be worked out. elections will be hold on may the 25th. her role undetermined. >> kiev, ukraine. thank you for being was jennifer glasse. >> the white house is welcoming the release of julia tymoschenko, saying:

>> president viktor yanukovych enraged the masses when he chose an alliance with russia over the european union. russia was offering 15 million in financial bailout. russia has pulled back and plans to weight for a stable government. speaking to reporters in australia on sunday the head of the international monetary fund says they are ready to step up. >> if the ukrainian authorities ask for support, whether it's policy advice, financial support, together with economic reform discussions, obviously we stand ready to do that. >> la guard suppressed that the imf would not help ukraine until there was at least an interim

government. >> the editor in chief of the moscow center of carnegie endowment for international peace and political analysts joins us from moscow. ms lip min. the opposition was called thugs who threatened the sovereignty of ukraine. does russia see what is happening as a coup, like viktor yanukovych does? >> well, russia has not said as much. of course, the statement from the foreign minister sounded harsh. it remains to be seek how russia will use the leverage over ukraine, what happened in ukraine, in the dramatic months weeks and days is a defeat to putin, who was anxious to keep ukraine in his orbit. new, it hasn't happened his way. just how will he take the defeat is not clear. russia's leverage includes a

responsibility of raising or lowering the price of gas. it gave a discount as a carrot to keep ukraine wherein the russian orbit. that was november. what's to that. this is but one factor. also, we have heard, are hearing about the divide and, indeed, what is happening in eastern ukraine is not support for viktor yanukovych. this is probably the one thing that holds the ukrainian nation together. a loathe are for president viktor yanukovych. these are nationalists from the west, common to call the people gangs, they do not seek succession of congress of lawmakers... >> i want to ask a question on that. you mentioned lef rig. let's turn to the u.s. the white house welcomed the release of julia tymoschenko. what role does the u.s. have, if

any, to play in rebuilding the future of ukraine. >> well, the united states expressed hopes for democratic development and it would be fine, it would be great for ukraine. i think the change on this path path are gigantic. julia tymoschenko could bring the nation together at this point. will her policies by democratic remain to be seen. she has her own history of corruption. she's a powerful person. whether she'd want to amass more power is far from clear. whether her policy will be that of inclusion and tolerance or the opposite of that. i don't believe the united states will have a leverage. >> you mentioned leverage, but i

want to go back to something. viktor yanukovych was greeted at the rally. can she fill the power vacuum that will bridge the divide in ukraine? >> well, that's been a challenge for ukraine for over 20 years. none of its leaders has been able to unite this disunited nation. it is, indeed, divided to scribe it as east and west is an over-simplification. the capital is neither east nor west, it's a center with big liberal constituency. can she do that, can she bring the nation together. well, at least it's a - formidable challenge in the - in i think -- >> a challenge. given that challenge, how real is the concern in moscow, that the ukraine could split apart

with the pro-e.u. west and south-east creating sovereign nations. what would it mean for russia if the split happened? >> i don't think we should be talking about a radical split. i think what the congress of lawmakers in of the east showed is that they pledged for unity, for a single ukraine that should not split up. i think there'll be a lot of political bargaining involved. i think there'll be a russian backing behind the bargaining behind the eastern regions, i do not think a bargaining will be constructive or interfere with ukrainian development. i think we should keep that in mind. there is, however, a region in the ukraine. this is in the peninsula in the black sea. where pro russian sentiments are strong. there have been reports where

russian areas, some regions is where we should look at if we talk about separate sentiments. >> that's what we'll do. thank you for joining us live from moscow this morning. >> we are getting reports of a bomb blast in bangkok. 16 people are injured much let's go to veronica pedrosa for an update. the casualty toll has risen. we are hearing from the emergency medical services that 24 people have been injured and sent to hospital. some are injured, through are said to be children.

the bomb exploded. this is a cross between a motorbike and a card. in this case it was a very violent threat because it had loaded on it an explosive device. this is a crowded area. it's shocking. it will raise the levels of nervousness. particularly as it happened less than 24 hours after the bomb and gun attack on anti-government protesters in another part of the country. an area where an 8-year-old was killed. we are seeing a worrying trend and bomb attack happening every day and more people being injured in areas that are supposed to be secure. now, at the scene where the bomb exploded we are seeing pictures of soldiers and police. >> this is al jazeera's veronica

pedrosa joining us from bangkok. thank you for the update. in venezuela dualling protests. opponent and supporters of the government marching in the streets. it was not always peaceful. as the rallies wound down. at least 10 people died since the unrest began. the president is accusing the opposition of trying to stage a coup. three american documents were expelled from the company. he's asking president obama to talk. the government sent troops to the western state. students rallied against high crime and the pore economy. as a turmoil grose, that man became many faces of the opposition. >> on saturday, angry vens jans demanded his release.

the rally was not unanswered. >> al jazeera's rachel levin has more. >> for hours venezuela endured the heat to attend a rally called by former candidate on saturday. it's been 10 days since the political turmoil gripped the country. many are worried that the situation is getting worse. we are divided. it's like we are two different countries. we think differently, if the president doesn't believe what we are saying and calls us liars, he's ignoring us. >> the opposition leader is still in gaol waiting for his trial to begin. he's charmed with ipp citing violence -- inciting violence. >> singing the national anthem, thousands answer the call of the opposition leader to come out

and stand united on saturday in caracas, and show unit and defiance against the government. >> he urged the crowd to stay peaceful, but had harsh words for his political rival. >> translation: if you want to step into the ring, we can put the gloves on. you must know that we are fighting against millions of venezuela. >> across town a rival march was held for nicolas maduro. >> he blamed the violence on the opposition. >> translation: this here, they throw it, it works like a grenade. this is terrorism. they throw it at the national guard to kill people. >> hours after the dualling rally ended calls for peace were

ignored. police and anti-government protesters engaged in violence confrontation. students threw rocks at the police and they responding by gassing the demonstrators. the frustration of many was palpable. >> we are at a future of this country and they treat us like dogs. there's no police to fight against criminals. they are fighting against the students. >> president nicolas maduro called for a day of peace wednesday, involving all sectors of society. >> so venezuela is a country of about 29 million people on the northern tip of south america. one-tenth the geographical size of the use. nicolas maduro was elected president in april. he beat his opponent by 2% of the vote. theft, kidnappings, murder

plague venezuela. the homicide rate is 39 people per is 100,000, watchdog groups suggest it's closer to 70. the murder rate in the u.s. is less than 5 per 100 thus, and iraq, it's about 22, a country ravaged by law. >> venezuela's inflation rate reached 54%. the highest sips chavez came to power, and one of the highest rates in the world. the response was to seize the largest chain of electronic stores to cut prices. persecution is to blame for shortages of basic goods like jobs. a large number of jobs are within the government causing financial burden. >> targeted by the taliban, afghan soldiers lose their lives after coming under attack at an army post. a fall out after a leak in north carolina.

they turn to the governor at his time.

>> good morning welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford here in new york city. first a look at the temperatures across the country. >> temperatures are dumb palestinianing, and we'll deal with more snow across parts of midwest. that's a deal. we had a disturbance role through across illinois. it is moving across nebraska and an arctic area of pressure. windchills posted across north dakota, and a winter weather advisory in place across western nebraska. we'll have a mild night into the

weekend across the north-east. showers move in, and overnight we'll see a change over. the good thing is we are not expecting to see a lot. it will turn world. >> the taliban dealt a major blow to african security force, killing at least 19 soldiers in a pretty brazen attack. taliban supporters reportedly in the if hundred stormed a check poiment. seven afghan soldiers are missing. a search and resist cue is under way. >> more than a dozen taliban fighters launched an assault on the border with pakistan. it is one of the biggest taliban attacks that have been in afghanistan in the last couple of years. at least 19 afghan soldiers killed, many wounded.

we under six or sex -- six or seven have been taken hostage. it prompted afghan president hamid karzai to cancel a trip to sri lanka, and he pointed the finger of blame again at pak stap, accusing the pakistanis of not doing enough to tackle the taliban. he said he wants islama ban to take on the fight against terrorism. last week the pakistanis lost 23 soldiers killed by taliban fighters, possibly inside afghan territories. the pakistanis suffering casualties, the afghans believing they are not taking the fight seriously enough. >> the attack comes at the same time the break away faction of the taliban is engaging in peaks

talks. a scrat meeting in dube -- secret meeting in dubai has been confirmed. the taliban's official leader publicly refused peace talks and the taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a police station in kabul. >> meanwhile, the afghanistan taliban pulled the plug on a prisoner swap. he was a prisoner in 2009. the taliban agreed to negotiate his release in exchange for five other senior members. the talk are off due to the complex political situation in afghanistan. >> coming up in custody, a powerful drug lord has been caught. one person is dead, dozens rushed to hospital after a carbon dioxide leak. >> i'm ben morgan, for a second time in less than a week,

college basketball team lose, and a controversial call at the end of the game was the dfference.

>> good morning to you, welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford, and these are the top stories. opposition leaders in ukraine are scrambling to fill a power vacuum. that's after ukrainian president viktor yanukovych fled the capital. it's unclear who is running the country. >> dualling protests in venezuela, where thousands gather to demand that the president leave office. supporters staging a counterrally in caracas. >> the taliban killed 19 soldiers in a brazen attack. seven afghan soldiers are missing. >> he was the most wanted man in

mexico, and the most wanted drug lord in the entire world. joaquin guzman is under arrest. he was taken into custody yesterday during a joint u.s.-mexico operation. adam raney explains the significance of his call tur -- capture. >> joaquin guzman led a criminal organization, the sinaloa cartel. he was cap toured in a pacific -- captured in a pacific town. >> translation: at 6:40am in the morning, elements from the navy detained joaquin guzman and a collaborator. he's been one of the world's most wanted me since escaping from a prison in the back of a laundry truck. his empire expanded and he made

forbes magazine's rich list. he controls some of the lucrative drug smuggling routes, trafficking heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. he is in charge of one of the most sophisticated organizations. >> they created a power vacuum. if the sucks session does not go well. the lieutenants may fight amongst themselves, it may fracture or cartels may sense weakness and move in on the territory. that's where the real violence comes in. >> mexican officials said the operation was a collaboration between the mexican navy and drug enforcement. >> the operation had definitive

moments that led to his arrest. between the 13th and 17th of february, several homes were discovered and we discovered it was connected to several homes, not only connected by several tunnels, but using the drainage system. the arrest was heralded by the president as a major breakthrough. it's unlikely to put a dent in the cartel's daily operations. >> he faces drug trafficking charges here in the u.s. >> nine are dead after a car bomb ex-moded in a field hospital, 70 miles from aleppo. a hospital was damaged, no group claimed responsibility. >> a show of unity. the united nations security council voted to demand the humanitarian aid groups would be

allowed into all syria. >> the draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously. >> the resolution demanded action to convoys delivering supplies to besieged cities ux imented the u.n. secretary was there and expressed frustration over diplomatic wrangling. >> translation: this resolution should not have been necessary. humanitarian assistance is not something that should be negotiated, but allowed by virtue of international law. >> for children in the u.s., education is taken for granted. in turkey refugees schooling comes at a price. >> the girls are finishing their homework. they study for a couple of hours before they start her job. one is 15, one is 11.

they make shoe accessories from home until midnight, to help the family make ends meet. the day is long, but it's words it. >> i don't get tired. i need my education. i want to be educated so when we go back to syria, we can rebuild syria. >> i work hard to succeed and get my grades. i want to be a teacher. >> at school the two sisters are doing well, compared to other refugees, they are lucky to have a place to study. about 1,250 students study in the school. around 200 of them work to support their families. >> this is a part-time waiter. >> translation: i work on the weekends. all our family members have university degrees. >> there are no official

statistics for a number of children who are studying or working in turkey. estimates suggest that half of the 750,000 registered refugees in turkey are children. many of them are out of school. >> this man runs the school. it offers syrian children an education for $200 a year. she says the costs are high and they are running out of money. >> this generation has the right to an education. this is saving a generation and the future of syria. unfortunately, there are many children who can't afford the transportation costs. countries should solve the education problem. >> many students are happy to combine study and work.

syrian children and school teachers say they need help to go on. before it's too late. >> officials in iraq a started happening out voter id cards. it has a computer chip to stop election fraud. they have not been handed out in anbar province, where the groups of sunni fighters revolted against the government. thousands of families have been forced to flee. >> robert mugabe is celebrating his birthday, turning 90 on thursday. a party is being held 45 miles east of harari, estimated to cost $1 million. robert mugabe ruled since 1980, and was reelected to another

5-year term. al jazeera's correspondent explains why not everyone is wishing him a happy birthday. >> the people here are celebrating his birth day. a lot of people across the country are struggling. robert mugabe is 90 years old. that's extraordinary in a country like zimbabwe. most people live to 45 or 50 years old, according to the u.n. figures. it's a remarkable thing. at the same time most of the people who are struggling because things here are very tough. >> coneelious remembers using the defunct billion dollar notes, and living with hyper inflation. the u.s. dollar is legal tender, the south african ranked, the pullar, and the british pound.

using multiple currencies has made goods available. some say they can't avoid them. unemployment. >> zimbabwe has had no currency of its own since 2009. the central bank allowed the use of the australian dollar, chini chinize yuan, indian rupee. >> importing goods will be easier, but some economists warn it will not solve the economic problem. president robert mugabe turned 90 years old. he is the oldest leader and there doesn't appear to be a plan for suggest session. factionalism is a problem. also a concern for some in the

international community. >> it's in a coma toes state. you realise the issues. they are a major threat to the growth and development of this economy. it goes hand in hand. nowhere in the world will you see economies recovering without a significant chance of change to the gdp. >> zimbabwe's liquidity crisis saw businesses closed. the industrial sector is laying off workers. the unemployment rate is 80%. corruption instead to companies is at a high. government officials blame sanctions for the country's problems. some worry the zimbabwean economy is in an irrepairable state. >> closing ceremonies at the sochi winter olympics later. and ben morgan -- mark morgan

is here with an update. >> it's been an eventful two weeks for the americans. a light event schedule in sochi, highlighted by the four-man bobsled competition, holding its final two runs and the men's ice hockey final. the usa men's hockey team finished with a whimper, losing 5-0. the americans seemed to have a handover with the 1-0 lose. zack says the loss was a little embarrassing and unacceptable. he added to leave on this note is ugly. let's take a look at the metal count much russia leads the way with 32 medals, claiming the most golds with 12. the u.s. - 27 total. nine of which are gold. norway in third, canada and the nets tied with 24 apiece.

the n.f.l.'s annual combine is held in indiana. soon to be rocky spoke to the media. he was peppered with non-football-related questions. sam said during his interviews with n.f.l. personnel, their questions veered for towards the game on the field. sam was asked about the possibility of being drafted by the miami dolphins whose locker room was not the best in the world. >> i would be excited and i'm not afraid to go into that environment. i know how to handle myself and communicate with my team-mates and coaches. i've been in locker rooms where all kinds of slurs have been said. i don't think anyone means it. i think a little uneducated. as time goes on everyone will adapt. >> maybe due in part to sam

coming out and the richie incognito, the n.f.l. may be ready to crack oun on abusive language. they'll consider a rule making use of the n word or other slurs punish icial by a 15 yard penalty for the first offense and an ejction for the second. >> let's head to campus. after syracuse survived in overtime the rematch was high had been anticipated. the way the game end the not what anyone expected. second half. this one tight all the way. duke going all the way. they decide to keep if for an easy lay in. under a minute to go. taylor innis gets it inside. syracuse within one. here is the play of the game. 15 seconds to go. he is called for the offensive foul. the bucket waved off and the coach can't believe it, going

nuts, charging on to the court, receives two technical fouls, tossed from the game and it ended any chance that syracuse had. >> it's a block. that's the new rule. it's been explained 100 title. cg got the motion, i saw the replay. the guy was moving. it's a block. i wanted to see if i had it in my to go out there. i did. i got out there good. i thought i was quick. i stayed down. i did not get injured. all those things are good. it was a play, that was the game, the game decider right there. >> syracuse fell from the unbeaten ranks this week, prior to the loss to duke, and the

shockers rolling, blowing out drake. they led at the brake. the shockers shooting 52% from the field. 83-54. wicha tore state the first team starting 29 and 0 since illinois. >> the shockers two wins away interest a perfect regular season. something to keep an eye on as we head to march madness. >> can't be beaten. coach k's boys reign supreme. >> let's just see. >> one person decide and more than two dozen others were sickened from carbon monoxide poisoning. it's believed heating at a restaurant malfunctioned. one woman and the restaurant manager were unconscious. the manager died at the hospital. all in all 27 people were taken to the hospital.

some of them were first responders overcome by the high level of carbon monoxide. down in north carolina, work to plug a leak is un known. some are questioning the tie, and the government responsible for the leak. robert ray has the story. >> when toxic coal ash poured into the water, environmental groups turned their eyes to pat mccory, they waited four days for a response. it came in a tweet saying that mccory would: he is a former duke company executive. and a group took issue with that. >> john frank is a political reporter for the rally news and observer and says mccorrey's

ties to duke energy raised eyebrows. >> the questions are beyond that. mccarrey filled his administration with former duke energy executives. a cause for concern after 34,000 tonnes of coal ash spilled into the river, leading to warnings about swimming in the river and eating the fish. we wanted to get a closer look. >> the coal ash is not at the bottom of all places of the river, you can find it on many banks. and 70 mills doup stream from eden. if we deep it a foot or two feet and pull up the muck and get through the leaves and sticks and empty the water, you can see the black sediment in here. that is some of the coal ash

making its way into the dan river. >> we had soars harm. we have been saying that we had 14 disasters waiting to happen. >> frank made the claims. in three lawsuits the southern environmental law center filed against duke energy seeking the clean up and 14 north carolina sites. environmental groups say the state used a provision of the clean water act to block the lawsuits, files its own suit. a consent order reached did not require clean-up. hollowman and others accused the administration of giving duke energy a pass on pollution. a spokesman for mccorrey told us: >> mccory called for a committee to look at what to do with coal

ash in north carolina. his administration and duke energy pleej a clean up of the -- pledge a clean up of the spill. i saw a duck swimming in it. a bald eagle flying over. the bald eagle relies on fish, and the fish in the river relies on the macroinvertebrates that are suffocating and dying or bathed in a toxic blast. a criminal investigation is under way. state and environmental officials have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury next month. >> the coal fire power planned in edwhen, which is where the leak was coming from was built in the 1940. >> you may not know his name. the man set to join the hall of

fame.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. an artist who has been making people laugh for 50 years. first a look at snow and rain and where it will fall cross the country. >> we'll see the windry weather returning to the mid east. we are watching a little light snow coming in. i want to take you to the south where the front that triggers a storm across parts of the south-east - that is looking northwar northwards, tapping into the gulf of mexico. no severe thunder storms in place at this time. we are not expect to see

widespread weather. some storms could reach the limits. watch out for the heavy rain fall. and maybe the participation for small hail. >> we are learning this morning that maria von trap died at the age of 99. she was the last of the von trapp singers that escaped. >> many are asking what is up after what's app went down on saturday. the company tweeted service was restored and apologised for the 3-hour outage. it was bought out by facebook for $19 billion and mark zuckerberg predicts what's app's 450 users will grow to a billion in a few years. >> a cartoonist began his career

in the 1940s. his work is splitted to join the -- slated to join the it straitors hall of fame. we have the story of a career making people laugh. >> i had one talent that got me out of trouble in many places, in lithuania, savannah and new york, which was my ability to draw funny cartoons. that ability to take humorous ideas and turn them into clever illustrations led to a long and illustrious career in comics. >> the 60 year body of work is crafted from mad magazine with a twinkle in his eye. he admits it's his best stuff. >> it startedous as a sort of naughty little trouble maker. who was going to make son of

everything, everything was fair game. >> that's the way it was in the beginning and still is. most recently featuring president obama. spoofed as a spy boss on the cover of a "mad" issue. it was targeted to kids, evolving into political satire poking fun. aljavy is a contributor. on this day he's working on his trademark feature. >> the other day, when i was making changes for a fifth or sixth time. all i could think of was it's the day from hell. >> that zeal produced amazing results. the fold-ins appeared in almost every issue of mad since 1964. that's a lot of cartoons, cartoons that piled up inside javy's time cap tulle of a

studio. here i go into the javy inner sanctum. ffi's time cap tulle o studio. here i go into the jaffi inner sanctum. where i have collected a lot of junction i can't get anyone to take. >> junk hardly, coveted you bet. a taker approached him. columbian librarian and comic book fan carol green. >> "mad" was connected with my childhood and cultural heritage. to meet al-jaffi is like meeting god. >> now much of his work from his archives - some published and some that hasn't seen the light of day is being acquired by columbia university. >> i got almost everything in my career came out of new york city. and i think i should give

something back to new york city. >> fitting that mr jaffi, a new york institution will leaf his legacy and the city where it began. >> in 2005 columbia's university library had four graphic novels. today it has 4,000. at the end of our first hour here is what we are following: it's relatively calm in ukraine, even though the whereabouts of yank are are unknown. ukraine's parliament named its speaker at interim president. attack in afghanistan. the taliban targets an army outpost killing 19 soldiers. a drug warlord has been captured ending a 13-year manhunt. joaquin guzman was captured on saturday. >> an arctic blast heading south. i'll have the details coming up. >> i'm back with you in 2.5 minutes. don't go anywhere, you can

follow us online at aljazeera.com, or on twitter.

>> the president is out. the parliament speaker is in. a live look at kiev, where the struggle for power continues. >> innocent people against americans and their interests. our party approaches dialogues and good relateses with all, including the united states. >> al jazeera goes one on one with a muslim cleric labelled a terrorist by the united states.

>> the silent killer strikes again. how carbon monoxide claims one life at a shopping mall. >> is it safe. people get high and want to eat. >> selling baked goods at a marijuana dispensary should be like shooting fish in a bar 'em. why girl scouts in the mile-high city are not taking advantage. >> you're looking at live pictures at 2:00 pm in the capital of ukraine, where pois leaders appear to have filled the country's power vacuum. they are handing over power it the parliamentary speaker, but the situation is far from under control. >> ukrainian president viktor yanukovych fled the capital. in a televised interview he said he's not stepping down, accusing

parliament of carrying out a coup. that's in reference to a vote that removed him from office and set elections for may 25th. after serving part of a 7-year prison sentence. the prime minister has been released. many saw julia tymoschenko conviction as politically motivated. protest juniors have not left the barricades. for now, there is someone in charge. jennifer glasse is live in kiev. jennifer with viktor yanukovych out. whiar so many protesters unwilling to leave. >> you know julia tymoschenko, the opposition leader who returned last night urged them to stay on the square until there's an honestly elected president. they want to make sure nothing goes back here. they are worried that viktor yanukovych may play is trick. there's a lot of concern about what he's up to.

they don't know where he is, what he's doing. they think he may have gone to the east. ukraine is subdivided. parliament is divisive in making changes one by one. they remove the former government, all of viktor yanukovych's ministers, one by one. not all at once, to make clear that is what they want, that those are their intentions. the biggest cheer in parliament is when ukraine was made the official language of the country. it gives you the tone this kiev, a feeling of change underfoot. a decisive movement in parliament, voting to give power to the parliamentary speaker, an opposition deputy of julia tymoschenko party. moving quickly to make sure that there's no mistake that one is in charge. the people in thissing about, the members of parliament. >> does viktor yanukovych have a legal recourse to regain

presidential power. is the parliamentary speaker in charge until the elections happened on the 25th. >> viktor yanukovych would dispute that. he has called this a coup. as you mentioned he thinks all of this is a legal - but the people think it's a done deal. they are moving forward, accusing him of abandoning his office. there's concern about where he is. they think he may have left the country. there's no reports at all. some believe he has done the country is a favour if he has. people want to see viktor yanukovych brought to justice. they say he's broken deals, he does what he wants and his words were categorical. he remains the legally elected president of ukraine, whether he'll do anything to regain that is really what the people here

are concerned about. interestingly many ukrainians i spoke to are concerned that the olympics end, and they are worried with the olympics over, that russia may turn its attention to the ukraine and support viktor yanukovych in trying to bring him back to power, and that's the real concern. >> jennifer glasse reporting live from the ukrainian capital. thank you so much for being with us this morning. >> for some americans, the crisis in ukraine may feel remote. those with family have been closely watching the developing crisis. diane eastabrook has more in chicago. >> the elegant home in chicago seems a world away from the crisis in ukraine. >> there has been a lot of gun fire, difficult to tale where it's coming from. >> for daraa and sasha. the crisis is a fixture in their lives, as they watch reports of violence spilling on to the streets of kiev.

>> i feel like it's bad because the government is letting police kill their own people. >> sonya and her husband adopted the children three years ago. 13-year-old sasha had no family. daraa left behind a grandmother living outside of kiev. weekly phone calls to her bring carria comfort. >> they also bring anxiety. >> i don't want anything to happen to my grandmother. >> sonya says he walks a delicate line between keeping the kids informed and protecting them from harsh reality. >> at first they couldn't understand what is going on. we tried to explain the best we could to a kid because it's hard to explain situations like that. so they are asking many

questions. >> ayman at a ukrainian church offers daraa comfort and community. the children pray with others who share their culture and language. >> they exchange stories with other kids like 17-year-old anastasia. she left the ukraine 13 years ago but worries about relatives, including a cows join injured. >> it's difficult to go through, knowing your family can be hurt, but that they are fighting for something we should have, which is freedom. >> despite the attachment neither sasha nor daria want to return there. they hope the peace they enjoy here will come to their

homelands. >> her next guess is alexander, a political science specialist and specialist on ukraine and russia. good morning, professor. given all that is going on, how would you describe the state of politics in the ukraine. do you think a democratic ukraine is possible in the immediate future? >> i think ukraine has become democratic and at this point in time the uprising succeeded the revolution is successful and viktor yanukovych and his regime have essentially gone into the past. they are part of history. the fact of the matter is that the country has moved on, and he no longer matters. his regime crumbled. >> supporters say he's not out of the picture. really. the opposition is divided. so is the former prime minister the one to bridge the divide. >> well, his supporters are

rapidly disappearing. his party is in disarray. they held a meeting of party members a day or two ago. it was barely attended and the two main organizers fled. he, himself, is apparently at the airport in a plane trying to leave and the customs people are not permitting him to leave. at the same time there's a deal of unity within the opposition at this poiment. in terms of getting rid of him, the last vestiges of the regime. when they have to start adopting specific policies. that is something for the future, not just for the immediate future. >> you mentioned the vestiges of what were left behind. we have images of a uber lavish lifestyle. does that fuel the critics who say he was a corrupt leader.

is that proof of corruption. >> peelle peep -- people now about the enormous mansions. now you can go there and see - friendships, he has gold-plated toilets. >> that's lavish. >> some of the doors in his estate are - cost about $50,000. that's significant. this is a country where the average living - standard of living is below poverty level. this is impressive. when he left the state of his north of kiev, he took with him all his riches or they were hooded on to trucks. one doesn't know where they are at this point in time. at the same time they started destroying documents. a bunch of documents were not destroyed, therm dumped into

the -- they were dumped into the river and they were retrieved. there was an account of bribes paid to members of the government. you knew who received the broib and what the extent was. >> critics are happy. in addition to that they formed a commission, wits is identified the top 25 individuals within the regime, who would be held responsible. they are accumulating -- >> the mass killings. they are accumulating the information, and the intent is to try all of them or capture them in absentia for mass killing. they are assembling other bits and pieces of information regarding the shooters, the snippers.

the government is proceeding very quickly, very, very quickly and asserting itself. important, friendships, is that there is now a temporary provisional head of the security services. there's a temporary head of the ministry of internal affairs and these were the two institutions possibly. they are introducing personal changes, and last but not least the army, the ministry of internal affairs, the security services and anti-terrorists declared their support of the revolution and the people. >> thank you so much. thank you for being with us. >> an attack by the taliban left 19 afghani soldiers dead and seven missing, at the same time as a break away faction. group is engaging in peace talks. hamid karzai confirmed the

secret meeting in dubai, and he says his peace counsel met, ending the violence. on saturday the taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a police station near kabul. >> the afghanistan taliban has pulled the plug on a swap that would have freed army sergeant bow bow bordov. he was taken prison in 2009. the taliban agreed to negotiate his release in exchange for five senior members. the talks are off due to the complex political situation. >> violence in syria where nine are dead after a car bomb ex-pleaded near a field hospital. >> the field hospital was damaged in the attack. this just as the united nations votes unanimously to demand that humanitarian aid group be

allowed into all of syria. >> kath turner has more from the u.n. >> a rare sight inside the united nations security council chamber. support for a draft resolution on getting humanitarian aid inside syria. the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously. >> the un secretary-general was there, showing a hint of frustration. this resolution should not have been necessary. humanitarian assistance is not something to be negotiated. it is something to be allowed by virtue of international law. >> for weeks there were deep divisions. moscow claimed one side accusations against the syrian regime without najing the role of provision forces.

>> that paragraph was taken out of the final resolution. >> the russian federation supported the draft resolution sips, when agreeing upon the document were borne in mind. as a result the document took on a balance the nature. >> the lifting of sieges and the end to shelling attacks. the question for the syrian government, how and when will the aid be delivered. as hard as it was to achieve the resolution. it was the easy part. the hard and desperately necessary part is implementation. the world needs to stand united on behalf of implementation so there are no more broken promises or delays. no cub lippings with crew and shameless attacks. there's no doubt the unity is a

builtic break through. the true impact cannot be measured until the aid reaches those trapped in their own country. >> the draft doesn't threaten sanctions but warns of steps if the syrian opposition does not comply. >> the parents and four children were ordered out of the house. both parents and two children dies. the cause of the fire is under investigation. >> one person died and more than two dozen others were sickened at a new york mall. >> it happened on long island where investigators believe the heating system malfunctioned. when police arrived the 55-year-old restaurant manager and a woman was unconscious.

that woman died at the hospital. some of the first responders were overcome from the high levels of carbon monoxide. >> ice water is being september into ohio. the river is overflowing. it's an overshoot of lake eyrie that was practically frozen over. rushing water is covering the streets. rescuers had to use boats to help people escape. it's a wave of bitter coal. our metrologist is here with a look at that. >> little bit more of a mess is what they'll be dealing with. we are expecting colder air to move in, starting today. we have cold air in the upper mid west. that includes snow flakes. winter weather advisories coming in, two, possibly six inches of snow locally.

then the flood warnings. this is the area we are dealing with where we had the mild temperatures, temperatures in the low and mid 40s. we are starting to see the numbers changing. it takes time for run-off to continue to flow. we are watching that. here is the set up as we go into the week ahead. high pressure is building, driving down the arctic air mass. not only are we turning colder, we go blow average. by monday, 5 o'clock, after reaching the temperature peak, notice the blue shading going down. we start to see more of that spreading southward as we go into tuesday. wednesday looks like our coldest day. just to give you the sneak preview, look at the blue. the mid-atlantic region.

we'll turn colder. still an enjoyable day. cloud increasing. shower, snow. >> thank you so much. >> one day they were on a path to higher education. the next the hopes and dreams were shattered. >> it makes me sad. my classmates will get university degrees, and i won't. >> a clash over rely igon causing an energy crisis in south-east asia. >> an internet crack council having citizens rising up. it shut down a major interstate for four hours.

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>> for a while it looked like free car washes on the ohio interstate. it was a watermain break pouring down from an overpass. a broken pipe drenching the highway below. the interstate 90 shut for several hours and crews work the

to fix the pipe. >> good morning, welcome back to al jazeera america. next - religion versus education in south-east asia. meteorologist eboni deon has a quick check on the forecast. we have seen a drop in numbers. 2 degrees in minneapolis. 25 in denver. south wards around houston, 61 degrees. as we go through the week ahead temperatures tumbling. we'll keep it warm as we round out the weekend. low around new york city, a drop into the 30s. snow, into the upper midwest, that's where it will be the coldst. >> thank you so much. >> a gas explosion at a chicago home left two women injured. it occurred in this two-storey house, the force blowing out the west wall. emergency personal responded and the fire was contained within an

hour. two women in their 20s were transported. one had burns to 70% of her body. >> i heard a boom noise, and the debris hit the window. i heard a woman screaming, "my baby, my baby." >> a third person refused treatment. investigators are focussing on gas leans. the 100-year-old building will have to be torn down. >> demonstrators are protesting government sen sewer of the internet. riot police used tear gas, water canons and rusher pellets to push back the crowds and some hurled fireworks at the police. a controversial bill signed into law allowed authorities to block web pages without a prior court authorisation. >> there's an education crisis

in south-east ash -- ash yes where whereby asia where -- aish yes where students are forced to leave. >> it's not wh he went to university for. teaching allows this third-year psychology student to spend his days. he has not been able to go back to class since violence between the mislimb rohingya in 2012. >> it makes me sad. my fellow classmates will get universities, but i will not. >> he is a rohingya, a minority group suffering discrimination. many families have been here for generation, they have been considered illegal immigrants.

>> at this school buddist teachers who made up a third of educators stopped coming to class sense violence flared up. >> 1.5 years on, communities were segregated. >> the local government says it's for their own protection. >> we told them if they want to go to university in another town you can arrange for that. those living in camps, we can hold exams there. >> rohingya students accused officials of doing too little. >> the government is not doing anything to protect us. how can we go back to university. we will be killed or slashed. that's what we are afraid of. buddhist people. >> he and some is 100 others petitioned to attend classes. >> it's a different reality for

buddhist students who have been allowed to go back to university. >> i'm afraid, not so much now, because there's more security noo. like her friends. she describes the rohingya, an indication of how deep the prejudice runs. >> for as long as the mistrust remains, the two communities will be divided. the consequences of that affecting one generation after another. >> it may seem like a world away, but the chaos in the ukraine hitting close to home. looking live now inside a ukrainian church in new york city, where ex-pats are praying for their homeland and loved once. >> he's a man that may be marked for dead. al jazeera goes one on one with a terrorist, labelled by the

united states.

>> in good morning to you, welce back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. >> returning to the top story - political uplevel in ukraine. the parliamentary speaker has been granted presidential powers after viktor yanukovych fled the capital. the parliament voted to remove him from power. his absence literally opened the prison door of his political foe. julia tymoschenko. she served part of a sentence. andrew simmonds has more. >> out of gaol, in a wheelchair and before a crowd overwhelmed by the speed of moment us change

in ukraine. julia tymoschenko addressed them passionately in a speech charged with emotion. this, a former prime minister gaoled by a man whose presidency could be finally over. >> when i arrived in kiev, i didn't recognise it. burnt cards, barricades, flowers. it's a different ukraine, the ukraine of three people, for those that live today or in the future. you gave the gift of ukraine, that's why those that died from maydan are heroes. >> julia tymoschenko was in gaoled. dozens were dying in the square, killed by forces that are now out of action. >> translation: after today's events i'm full of emotions. a lot of young people died. we are all the same blood. >> i hope for a better future, life and government. this is why i support the

resolution. >> working on the orders of viktor yanukovych, who appears to be an the run, after claiming parliament had mounted a coup. >> all that is taking place is vandalism, crime and a stage of revolt. >> he was talking about a parliament that is the only institution of power working in ukraine. the opposition has the majority. the viktor yanukovych party members have been defeghting or resigning. >> parliament voted to get rid of the president. as all this was going on protesters and sightseers had taken over the presidential compound outside the capital. a place where yaj spent millions on personal facilities. people were streaming in long after protesters opened the

gates. they viewed an array of luxury. viktor yanukovych had personal labels on his brandy bottles. no expense spared anywhere for a man whose political career started in the soviet era. or nate gardens, it's hard by a case of revolutionary ferfe our, more like a walk in the park where everyone is convinced that the president will not come back. the security vacuum is filled by activists. there's no police or soldiers to be scene. this woman made a remarkable comeback, after vonls, the like of which has not been seen. >> ukraine was under an iron fist less than a week ago. after the bloodshed it's a different place. whether it can move forward and

see its president go quietly is uncertain. >> many americans with family in the ukraine are watching closely as the country's political crisis unfolds. erica ferrari met a few at the st. gorges catholic church in new york city where she joins us live. >> a lot of family congregants have family at home. how are they reacting. >> it's an emotional situation they are watching the drama unfold. 5,000 miles away. now i'm in the east village at st george's church in manhattan, where the mass is taking place. people are praying for their friends and families in kiev. they've been glued to their television sets watching the political crisis unfold.

for the most fart congregants are in support of the demonstrations happening, and they are looking for ways to help. >> they are sending funds through the credit unions, which is the safest way to make sure help reaches the people there. and the clergy - the orthodox as well as the catholic bishops are working together to make sure no violence takes place. >> now in addition to the five masses taking place many of congrants tell me they plan on going to the ukrainian embassy as well as a march over to the russian embassy. >> erica ferrari live from the church here in new york city. thank you so much. >> in venezuela dualling

protests. opponents and supporters marching in the street. it was not always peaceful. as the rallies wound down there were clashes. 10 died since the unrest. venezuela's president viktor yanukovych is accusing the opposition of staging a coup. >> he's asking president barack obama to talk about his country's crisis. the government sent troops to the western state. scunts rallied against high crime and a poor economy, as the turmoil grows, this man has become one of the many faces of the opposition. >> he is diego lopez, and turned himself into authorities last week. >> known to his supporters as leopoldo he left behind a final message before turning himself

in. >> translation: if you are watching the video it's because the venezuela government issued an order for my arrest. perhaps i'm already detained for the security of the state, unfairly, for dreaming of a better venezuelan. >> the tweet with the vid why featured him has been tweeted over 100,000 times. he passed a note urging demonstrations to continue against nicolas maduro's 10-month old government. the tearful goodbye as diego lopez handed himself over has become a powerful social media message. at 42 years old, a descendant of the first president. he is a blues blood. educated in the west, including harvard, his background is different from chavez or nicolas maduro. diego lopez was the mayor of a

prosperous municipality. by 2008 he was one of many opposition politicians that hugo chavez's government barred from office. chavez is gone, but nicolas maduro's government is wary of a young car its mattic politician. >> the gaoled protestor told supporters to keep on fighting. >> in thailand gunmen attacked demonstrators at an anti-government rally. two died, including a young confirm. the attackers drove up in a pick up truck, throwing explosives. rallies between support exercise opponents grew violent since protests began in october. >> a 13-year manhunt has end the. joaquin guzman was arrested on thursday during a joint

u.s.-mexico operation. he had been on the run sips his prin escape in 2001. he ai luded cap -- eluded capture several times. >> translation: the operation had definitive moments over the last month. between the 13th and 17th of february several homes were discovered, and if some they were connected by several tunnels to several homes. not only connected by several tunnels, but he used the city's drainage system. >> since joaquin guzman's escape from prison in 2001, his drug emmire has expanded over the world. he trafficked heroin, cocaine, meds and marijuana. the drug tunnels - police have released video used and captured

by the drug lords to evate police, showing the stairway leading from a safe house to a tunnel system. one used last week to escape. >> a yemeni man denies claims he's a terrorists. his assets were frozen. he sat with a cleric and a warning this story contains graphic images. >> looking into the eyes of a man the u.s. considers a global terrorist. but he doesn't sound like he could be a leader of al qaeda. >> translation: we never condone violence against innocent people or americans. our party approaches dial ag and good rilss with all. -- dialogue and good relations with all. we believe the original message of islam was delivered through the word, not the sword. >> the u.s. treasury department

froze his assets after he was accused of funding al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. the belief for the charge is because he is a staunch opponent to drone attacks. three days after a drone atact parliament voted against drones. the decision was not binding. >> a tacks were against anonymous individuals. attackers call them suspects. it's degrading to the yemeni state and people and a violation of the international humanitarian law. >> reduction of drone could be a point of consensus. it identifies political parties. the message is one - drones have

undermined sovereignty, failed to destroy al qaeda, bud succeeded in -- but succeeded in creating hatred. >> they don't kill al-qaeda, just innocent civilians and people that have done nothing wrong to them. >> our government can not genuinely stop thx. >> the government is almost apologetic. >> you should remember the u.s. launched a global war on terrorism and announce if you are not with us, you are against us. yemen is against many other countries in its ability to limit attacks. few find sol ace in this explanation. >> the bombing unfortunate uss "cole" and an attack has been

linked to al qaeda in yemen. they are said to be behind a warping of a shoe bomber targetting a us-bound plane. >> zimbabwe's president robert mugabe is celebrating his 90th birthday. he turned 90 op friday and a party is being held at a stayed youm 45 miles east of harari. it's estimated to cost $100 million. robert mugabe ruled since 1980 and was re-elected in a vote opponents say was rigged. >> it explains why not everywhere is wishing him a happy birthday. >> people sang happy birthday. the people are excited about celebrating his birthday. the economy is not doing well. another thing is robert mugabe is 90 years old.

it's extraordinary. most people live to be about 45-50 years old, according to u.n. cityingures. a lot of people -- figures. a lot of people think it's remarkable. they are struggling to make things meet. >> korn eelious remembers using zimbabwe's defunct billion dollar notes and living with hyper inflation. >> the pauler from bots warn e, the british pound. using multiple currencies made goods available. some say they kapt afford them. >> there's unemployment. therefore one goes shopping by charity. zimbabwe has had no currency since 2009. the central bank allowed the use

of the australian dollar, chinese juan, indian rupee, using currencies. importing good would be easier. some warn it would not solve the economic problems. president robert mugabe turned 90. he was africa's oldest leader. there doesn't appear to be a plan for suggest session. >> robert mugabe's black economic em-power. policies is a concern for some. >> it's in a como toes state. >> the issue is a maimer threat -- is a major threat. nowhere will you see economy recover without a significant chance to the gdp.

>> zimbabwe's liquidity crisis saw businesses closed. banks are not lepding money. the unemployment rate is 80%. corruption in state-run companies is at a high. some worry zimbabwe's economy is in an irrepairable state. >> robert mugabe will be 94 when his presidential term expires. >> it may be the wildest party in the world, and it hasn't begun yet. pash >> there you have it thousands take to the streets of rio ahead of the carnovale. >> the end of the sochi winter olympics, was it words it for russia and vladimir putin. >> i'm mark morgan, coming up

michael sams speaks publicly for the first time since coming out. we'll have a report.

institute party. thousands of people are advancing the samba along the beach this weekend. the party is a precarnival right and bands entertain the crowd with songs. as seller samba anthem. carnivale begins on february the 28th, and will continue until march the 4th, a day before the london season begins. >> welcome back. next - how the chaos in the ukraine impacted the olympics in sochi. first eboni deon is here with a look at the forecast. >> we are watching the rain and

snow and some of the storms that have been popping up along the gulf coast have become strong to severe. portions of i-10 will by impacted for the early morning riot. any travel plans here, you have to watch out for the rain and we've been dealing with the stronger storms to the south and east of baton rouge. we have a severe warning here, for this as it moves off to the east. it's moving slowly, allowing for rainfall. watch out on the roadways. into the north-east. expecting to see rain and snow overnight. >> it may be the offseason, but some n.f.l. hopefuls are making headlines. mark morgan is here with sport. >> it's a time over the last three or four days for prospects to impress the gn, openers and

coaches and impress with what they can do on the field. they are held as they speak. yesterday, soon to be rookie michael sam spoke to the media. sam was peppered with mostly non-football related questions and how others will react. sam said during his interviews with n.f.l. personal their questions veered towards the came on the field. >> when michael sam met the media on saturday at the n.f.l. combine, it was the biggest crowd of assembled media. johnny menzel had a big crowd. everyone wanted to hear from eva samkova. not only about his transition, but also about his public statement that he is, indeed, gay and could be the first openly gay player in the n.f.l. it was obvious he wanted to

concentrate solely on football. >> i wish you guys would say michael sams, how is football and training. it is what it is. i wish you guys will see me as michael sams, the football player, not the gay football player. i'm not on an active roster, that's the only thought. so that's my 100% focus on this. i'm not focussing on anything else but to earn my spot on a team. >> he'll be a huge asset to any team. not just on the feel, logger room, community wise, he's an amazing person. >> early projections have some anywhere from a third to fifth-round draft pick. the fcc is college football's best football conference. that's why his ate believes he should be hire. the last seven players were

first round n.f.l. draft picks. sam will get his chance to stand out when he goes in front of f of n.f.l. coaches and scouts. he'll be timed in various onfield activities as n.f.l. teams find out how good an athlete he is. >> thank you so much. mainly due in part to sam coming out and the ritchie incognito, the n.f.l. may be ready to crack down on abusive language during games. the n.f.l. committee will consider the rule making a use of the n word or other slurs punishable by a 15 yard penalty and an ejection for the second. >> the closing ceremonies will be hold tonight at the sochi games, highlighted by the 4-man bobsled competition. russia grabbed the goal, the

u.s. team took the bronze. the usa hockey team lost 5-0. the americans with a hang over with. loss in the semi times. he added to leave on this note is ugly. >> all right, a quick look at the medal count - russia leading the way to medals, blocking it in. the united states leaving the u.s. with 28 in second place. >> that wraps it up for sports much one other point by the way at the end of one period. the cap aidians lead swedeb by a sore of 1-0. >> thank you so much. over in russia the winter games comes to an end and it seems as if they've been a success. a tough act it pull off for vladimir putin, given a variety of distractions before and during the claims.

rory challands is live in sochi. vladimir putin had a lot riding on the gams. in the end, was this a victory for him? >> well, i think it's never underestimated sitting on the end of the games, at the top of the table. they aced it. what is good for the athletes is good for national mood, and that is good for vladimir putin. yes, domestically it's a success for vladimir putin. internationally it's a different question with a different set of answers. there were, as you say, many concerns, one of which was the security. some have gone away, some are there. security wise we have the paralympics to come. so far there has been no security problems. then, of course, there are things likes ukraine, which has

cast a shadow over the games and di erted tapes from them -- divert attention from them. there's an assessment to make about whether they've been good or bad for voout jun? >> many -- vladimir putin. many feared the games would be marred by protesters. >> you only have to look at the convictions handed out in moscow. the square protest happened before vladimir putin regained the presidency in 2012. there may be a row over the coming months or years on the legislation, which is considered

to be homophobic, banning gay propaganda towards minors in russia. oath that for vladimir putin, if he wants an -- i think that for vladimir putin if he wants an indicator about what happens, if he is less authoritarian when it comes to protests against his government, he only has to loaning as far as ukraine. >> rory, thank you for being with us this morning. >> a controversy for the girl scouts involving marijuana. a california girl scout sold 17 botches much cookies outside a medical marijuana dispensary. word of her lug rattive take spread, leading ut notices to be put that there won't be targetting of legal recreational pot dispensaries. >> do you thick i'd want my --

think i'd want my daughter to set up a booth. the girls showed initiative and we said that we are not allowed to do something like that here in colorado. >> there you have it. the girl scouts of colorado are calling for a ban on the selling of cookies outside bars, strip clubs, casinos and the liquor stores. >> here is what we are following. the whereabouts of viktor yanukovych are unknown. the speaker has been named as the interim president. there's the attack in afghanistan. the taliban tart an army outpost killing 19 soldiers. a drug warlord has been captured. mexican authorities nab joaquin guzman on saturday. >> in sports we'll look at a frantic finish in basketball as number one goes down again. >> after enjoying above average

warmth, details ahead. >> i'm morgan radford, the al jazeera morning news continues. i'm back with you in 2.5 minutes. don't go anywhere.

>> it's a different ukraine, the ukraine of free people. >> the day after ukraine protesters celebrate a government take over. plus, in venezuela rallies raump up this weekend as the -- ramp up this weekend as the divide of the nation deepens. >> questions over hidden agenda.

and the politician questions, chris christie won't be at the garden stay tonight. >> good morning to you. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live in new york city. opposition leaders in ukraine appear to have filled the country's power vacuum. they are handing obvious presidential power to the speaker, but the political situation is still very fluid. ukrainian president viktor yanukovych fled the capital and now it's unclear who is running the country. in a taped interview airing yesterday viktor yanukovych said he's not stepping down and accused parliament of organising a coup. referring to a vote that happened earlier, formally removing him from office, setting elections for may 25th. the former prime minister viktor

yanukovych has been released from prison, where he served three of a seven year innocence for abuse of power. she'll run for office in may. >> viktor yanukovych's decision to cans ukraine sparked a protest. >> jennifer do you an any judged why protesters refuse to leave. >> good morning. from outside of parliament here. protesters say they will not leave until demands have been met. the affects are the cords riot police have left the area. parliament has been moving

quickly. they are in control. for julia tymoschenko, it was an emotional homecoming. >> she hadn't been seen public for 2.5 years. >> i wanted to support you. you are heroes. you are the best that ukraine has. >> from detention she tent messages to independence square, saying she dreamed of being here in person. >> i couldn't be with you because i was in a cage. i am sure if i were with you we could have found a peaceful way. >> moments before her arrival on the same stage, a funeral for a protestor killed in the last week. >> we need to punish the people that organised this. >> this appearance means victory for all of them. we try to create the state. no corruption.

democracy. >> president viktor yanukovych fled the capital, but insists he is in ukraine. he appeared on television calling his rivals bandits. >> i'm sure going to leave the country. i'm not going to resign. i'm a legitimately elected president. >> when you fight with your people you are doomed. for me he's not criminal and should be punished. >> thames honoured those killed defending the square. heroes never died, she said. they echoed her. she promized to help guide the people. there's an open road ahead. her political future and ukraine's is to be decided. >> so the contest for who wouldnd up in power has begun. parliament was in charge. the acting speak are is - the

speaker has tone over presidential powers. all of viktor yanukovych's ministers have been dismissed. they are looking to build a coalition government. >> what is next for viktor yanukovych. now that the parliament speaker has the presidential powers, what is the next move? >> many people believe viktor yanukovych's finished here as any kind of political leader and an ominous message from his party, the party of regions, his website saying that president viktor yanukovych is responsible for the blood shed, and they blame him for all that happened here, and so that's not a good sign for the president whose whereabouts is considered unknown. >> jennifer glasse reporting live from the ukrainian capital. thank you for being with us this morning. >> the white house is welcoming the release of former prime minister julia tymoschenko,

calling for the formation of a government saying: >> money is at the heart of this. viktor yanukovych enraged it masses when he chose an alliance with russia, offering $15 billion. now that viktor yanukovych has gone, russia pulled back and plans to wait for a stable government before sending in aide. speaking to reporters in australia, the head of the international monetary fund, christine la guard said the agency is ready to step you. >> if the ukrainian authorities were to ask for imf support, whether it's policy advice, whether it's financial support together with economic reform,

obviously we stand ready to do that. la guarde stressed that the imf would not happen until there was an interim government. we talk to a political science specialist. he said viktor yanukovych's time is now. >> at this point in time the uprising has succeeded the revolution is successful and viktor yanukovych and his regime has gone into the past. they are a part of the history. the fact of the motor is that the country moved on, and he no locker matters. his supporters are rapidly disappearing. his party has dispel. they held a meeting of the party, it was barely attended. the two main organizers fled the

county. he was in a plane trying to leave. customs were not allowing him to leave. at this point, in terms of getting rid of him, and the last vestiges of the regime, they start occurring after the presidential elections. they have to start adopting policies. that's for the future, not just the immediate future. >> thousands gathered in venezuela, to demand the president leave office. supporters held a counterrally. >> he is accusing his opponent of staging a coup, with the help of the u.s. we have more. >> for hours venezuelas endured the heat to taped a rally.

it's been 10 days sips political turmoil gripped the country. many, like this woman, were worried that the situation would be worse. >> it's almost like we are two separate country. if the president doesn't believe what we are saying, and calls us liars, he's ignoring you. >> opposition leader. waiting for his trial to begin. the movement does not seem to lose momentum. >> sipping the national anthem. thousands answered the call of opposition leader to come out and stand united on saturday here in caracas and show unity and defiance. he urged the crowd to stay

peaceful. >> if you want to step into the ripping, we can put the cloves on. you must know we will be fighting against numerous venezuela. across towns, a rival march was held with thousands of supporters. holding up a grenade. he blamed the violence on the opposition. >> this here - they throw it and it worked like a grenade. they fill it with nails and use it to kill people. hours after the duelling rallies ended, calls for peace were ignored. police and anti-government protesters engaged in violence confrontation. students threw rocks at police. they responded by gassing the demonstrators. the frustration of many was palpable. >> we are the future of this

country, and they treat us like dos. there's no police to fight against criminals. they are fighting against the students instead. >> president nicolas maduro called for a national day of peace next wednesday, involving all sectors of society. >> so far 10 people have died since the unrest began. >> in thailand two are dead, including a 10-year-old girl after a blast ripped through the battle. >> just a day earlier gunmen attacked demonstrators at a rally east of b ajs nga will. the attackers drove up in a pig up truck, throwing explosives. rallies between the supporters and the government grew violence sips the protests began in november. fresh violence in syria, where three were dead after a car bomb

explodes. it happened in the village, border ag turkey. 70 piles were aleppo. the field hospital was damn the. no group claimed responsibility. >> that attack follows a rare show of the unity from the united nations. the security council voted to demand that humanitarian aid groups will be allowed in syria. >> the draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. the draft resolution has been adapted unanimously. >> the resolution demands access to convoys. the secretary-general was there, expressing frustration. >> this resolution should not have been necessary. >> humanitarian assistance is not something to be negotiated. it is something to be allowed by virtue of international law. >> the taliban dealt a maimer plough to african security

force, killing 19 soldiers in a brazen attack. seven afghan soldiers are missing. a search and rescue mission is under way. bernard smith has more from kabul. >> more than 100 taliban fighters launched a predawn assault on an afghan army post. it's one of the biggest single taliban attacks there has been in afghanistan in the last couple of years. at least 19 afghan soldiers killed. many more wounded, and we understand at least six or seven have been taken hostage and are kept by the taliban. the afghan security services now trying to free those soldiers. it's prompted afghan president hamid karzai to cancel a trip to sri lanka, and in a statement condemning the attack he's

pointed the finger of blame again at pakistan, accusing the pakistanies of not doing enough to tackle the taliban, wanting islamabad to take on the fight. it has to be said last week the pakistanis lost 23 soldiers who were killed by taliban fighters inside afghan territory. the pakistanis suffering casualties. the kav gan believing the -- afghan leaving the pak stapius -- pakistanis not taking the fight seriously. >> president hamid karzai confirmed a secret meeting in dubai, saying his high peace council met with a delegation committed to ending the voumsment >> peace talks has been refused. on saturday the taliban claimed responsibility at a police station in kabul.

the african taliban pulled the plug on a swap that would have freed burgdoll. the taliban grad to negotiate his release in exchange for five senior members held at guantanamo bay. the talks are off due to the complex political situation in afghanistan. >> official in iraq started handing out voter cards. the election will be the first in the country since u.s. troops withdrew in 2011. officials have not handed out the cards in anbar province, which is where the sunni fighters led the violence. thousands of families have now

fled. >> dropping temperatures and a return of snow. we bring in our esteemed meteorologist. >> we'll see the temperatures falling thanks to the high pressure falling. it will drive down the arctic air mass. temperatures will take a tumble. not only will we deal with the colder air, we'll see the return of snow, especially across the western areas of nebraska, which is where we are getting a stead yea stream of moisture from -- steady stream of moisture from the north-west. pushing to the east advisors remain up here. >> now, we have had very mild temperatures in place, temperatures getting well into the mid 40s across the area of ohio, and into indiana, and now we are dealing with flooding. flooding is in place, we'll have the flash flood warning in

effect where we have endured flooding. here is a look at the temperature trend. temperatures drop on monday to the 40s. enjoy the end of your weekend. we have more colder care moving in that will press further south as we get into the day op tuesday, as we turn colder, windry weather. across the south-east we don't expect to see any of that. it's all rain and thunderstorm activity. the same front that brings the weather, it's lifting as a warm front, tapping into the gulf of mexico. flood warnings in place around the new orleans area for jefferson parish. and we have had a few severe thunderstorm warnings, but more storms into the afternoon along the gulf coast. >> he was one of the world's most wanted men. how authorities captured billionaire drug king pin. after more than a decade on the

run over in mexico. >> one person is dead. dozens rushed to a new york hospital after a carbon monoxide leak. fall out over a plant leak in north carolina. the focus turns to the governor and his ties to the

>> good morning, welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. how the faster mine on the run for 13 years after prison break was nabbed by authorities. first a look at temperatures across the country with meteorologist are eboni deon. >> temperatures are back again. you'll have to brace if you head to kansas city, colder than what it has been as of late. wear sitting on 2 degrees in minneapolis. notice as we go through the day, not of of a warn up. around the twin cities, high of

14. kansas in the 30s for this afternoon. a little further south, not bad in tulsa sat 52 degrees. here is where we stand. 56 in dallas, 51 in jackson mississippi. low 70s, in dallas. dropping to the 40s. >> a 13 year manhunt for mexico's most wanted drug lordnded. authorities -- lord has ended. >> authorities captured joaquin guzman, the leader of the sinaloa. he'd been on the run since a prison escape in 2001. the attorney-general said he alluded cap turl several times this -- cap turl several -- capture several times this month

alone. >>. >> translation: several moments which he used were discovered. some were connected by tunnels to seven homes. not only connected by tunnels, but used the city's drainage system. he's been one of the world's most wanted men since escaping. his drug empire expanded across the globe and he made forbe's billionaire list. he controlled some of the most lucrative drug-smuggling routes. >> one person died and more than two dozen others sickened from carbon monoxide poisoning at a mall. investigators believe the heating system malfunctioned. when flis arrived the 55-year-old restaurant manager was unconscious. that manager died at the hospital. all in all 27 people were taken to hospital, some of them first

responders, overcome by the high levels of carbon mon oxide. >> down in north carolina, work to plug a coal ash leak has caused problems. >> al jazeera's robert ray has the story. >> when toxic coal ash poured into the water from duke energy's dan river site environmental group turned their eyes to north carolina's governor pat mccory. they waited four days, coming in a tweet saying: >> mccorrey is a former duke energy executive. a company he spent 28 years with. one group took issue with that during his campaign. >> john frank is a political reporter for the rally news and

observer, saying mccory's ties to duke energy race raised eyebrows. >> mccorrey filled his office with ex executives. >> 30,000 tonnes of coal ash poured into the river. we wanted a closer look and found signs of ash sticking to stone. the coal ash is not at the bottom of all places you can find it on many banks, 70 miles downstream from eden. if we dip it down a foot tore two feet and pull up the muck and get through the leaves and sticks and empty the water, you can see the back sediment. it is some. coal ash that made its way into the dan river.

>> we had serious harm to a major river of this state. we vice-president saying that we have 14 disasters waiting to happen. >> frank made the claims. in three lawsuits the southern environmental law center fired against duke energy seeking the clean-up of its ash pits, and 14 north carolina sites. environmental groups say the state used a provision of the clean water act to block the lawsuits by filing its own suit, a consent order reached in the cases did not require clean-up. duke energy was accused of getting a pass on pollution. a spocksman toiled us -- spokesman told us: >> mccorrey called for a committee on what to do with

coal ash on north carolina. his administration and duke energy pledged is a clean-up of the still, environmentalists like geppy ed -- jenny edwards are frustrated. >> i saw a duck swimming in coal ash, and a bald eagle flying over the river. it is relying on fish in the river, if the fish in the river are relying on macroinvertebrates that are dying or bathed in a toxic bath. >> state and environmental officials and leaders of duke energy have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury next month. >> the coal-fired plant in eden where the lake was coming from was built in the 1940s. strategists from both sides of the aisles join us from our

weekly politic segment. including why chris christie boycotted a dinner tonight. >> and i'm mark morgan, i'll fill you in on the latest from sochi.

sna good morning to you. welcome back. you are watching al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. in thailand two people are dead, including a child after a blast ripped through the capital. dozens have been injured targetting the site of an anti-government protest. dualling protests in venezuela, where thousands gathered to demand that president nicolas maduro leave office. supporters staged a count rally in caracas. >> opposition leaders in ukraine appear to have filled the power vacuum. they are handing over

presidential powers to the parliament speaker. the political situation in the country is fluid. ukraine's president, viktor yanukovych fled the capital after months of anti-government protests reached a fever pitch. >> minister with family in the ukrainar watching as the country's political crisis unfold. we met a few at st. george's catholic church. a lot of congregants have families in their homeland. how are they reacting to what is going on? >> good morning. well, it's obviously a very emotional situation for them to watch history unfold nearly 5,000 miles away. right now at st george's church in the east village parishioners are in mass, praying for friends and family in kiev, and for the demonstrators killed in the

protests. people tell me they are glued to the television sets, watching it unfold. parishioners are in support of the demonstrators and are doing what they can to help. >> they are sending funds through the credit unions, which is the safest way to make sure help reaches the people there. and the clerchy, the orthotox and the catholic bishops are working together to make sure no further violence takes place. >> we are connected to the homeland. it is heartbreaking for us. we are going it thing here, it's heart-breaking. we hope and pray this can be resolved. we feel it's a lull. we hope and pray for the best. >> in addition to the five

masses happening, it will any people a chance to pray and reflect. many plan to attend a march, as well as a march to the russian embassy. >> as tensions between russia and the west play out. they raise bigger questions about nate j and the role it might play. tonight on the feature "the week ahead," we'll look at the atlantic-russian alliance future. the future of n.a.t.o.: >> governor said from around the country descended on washington for the annual association meeting. one governor who will not be there is chris christie, choosing to return to the home

state. joinings us for the weekend politics, we have democratics strategist and former advisor to george pataki. >> let's start with you. what do you make of him skipping the white house dinner. >> i don't think it matters. i don't think it's the issue. the press and the media. they talk about that. that's not going to be - him skipping that is the least of his worries, he has a whole lot of worries, that is not one of them. he needs to worry about what is gown on in new jersey. he has to worry about corruption at the top level of his government, where his own aids are closing down bridges in new jersey, giving out political

favours and payback. his brother, and most of all about where he's at on the issues if he intends to run to for president. he's playing a moderate. >> he has to run to the right in a presidential primary. we know that's a war inside the party. >> sounds like he might be going to jersey for that reason. is it a big deal? >> no, he says he's going back to where his job matters, new jersey. tlt a lot of sandy relief efforts. he has the bridge situation, but more importantly is that he got back to his roots when he had a town hall meeting and he had over 100. that's where he worked best. that's where they seem to like him best. my advice would be to do more of the day in/day out. i think that is where you connect to the people.

if he does a good time in jersey everything else will work out well. 2016 is a long way away. going to a dinner at the white house is the at least he needs to do. >> one person who is not so slow profile is scott walker, talking to the reporters about chris christie's scandal and said he was open to campaigning but gin walker's trouble, is that a good idea. >> i think we throw troubles around. campaign or staffing aides did dumb thinks. the election stuff going back to 2015 in fundraising is a non-story. you >> really? >> yes. >> we talked about the story for some time. when he first ran for governor. i think that there are scandals and real scandals. these things don't deal with

corruption, and so they were wrong in terms of what happened in new jersey. the stuff from wisconsin has been vetted over and over again. as a governor, i - a staff member - the governor cannot know every single thing that is going on. i think so much of this is outside his purview. what is important is that the governor or the chief administrator at the right time, when they find out takes decisive action. that's what governor did and scott walker. talking about taking decisive action, a person that will be seen with christy is mitt romney. they'll hold a fundraiser in boston. what do you of this? >> i think it's perfect. >> that was afintive. >> it's perfect. do you know why, because rm played is moderate in massachusetts. and chris christie plays a

moderate in new jersey. in order to win the republican primaries you have to run to the right. you have to be conservative. there is no way, okay, that chris christie can win the presidential nomination for the republican party unless he goes to war with some of the conservatives in that petere. which is a nomination in quep. president obamaed on thursday to a -- president obama said on thursday to a group of democratic governors, that: my question is: if there's a race in the midterm election, which state will it be? why? >> there's no question that the benchmark will be kentucky. alison grimes is pulling ahead in that race. mitch mcconnell is running for his lich.

he's panicked -- life, he's panicked. throwing everything he can. alison is looking good. mitch mcconnell should have no problems is getting challenged. and there's a war inside the republican party which alison grimes is helped by. the republicans problem is the same as 2012. they are eaten from within, they were eaten by their own. >> do you agree with this. the war inside the republican party. are you guys eaten from within. >> we have a war within the republican party. make no mistake. commid terms, it's about one thing, the president, the failed leadership in obamacare, and that is what this campaign is about. that's why we'll win the senate. what happened with harry reid,

who should never have won re-election is the reason that we did not nominate the right candidate. when you look at the country, the alas ka seat, you'll not see the president of the united states campaigning in anyway of those states because they know that he's not done a good job and obamacare will be a noose around him. >> i want to follow up on something. you mentioned north carolina, in terms of the midterms, can democrats take this out. political ran an argument saying the last democratic presidential candidate to campaign was lyndon johnson. they are not fielding a candidate. can it be done. >> let me tell you, i have one word for you, two words. ty macauliff. remember, he won -- terry macauliff won in virginia in a

non-presidential year, was the first time in 36 years that a democrat won in a non-presidential year, and he did it with the president obama formula, turning out women and liberals. he won. >> do you think he's the one to watch? >> to say democrats are not competitive in the south is false. >> david, i didn't say that, morgan... >> morgan didn't say that either, she read a quotation from an article. >> the president has won consistently. he won the state of florida. i think that every candidate in every election. >> that has been a battle ground for democrats. we have to acknowledge that that is a solid block. they went back to red. >> you can't find a more

conservative state. i think that the candidates are different in each state and election. obamacare and its effect will be the number one issue. that does not play well. >> do you agree? >> it's fine when you talk about obamacare. thoughtful republicans like tom, intelligent republicans are for the repeal of obamacare. the house voted 40 times to repeal obamacare, they will not talk about specific provisions of obamacare. if, tlmp, repeal, say it. say you don't want 18 to 26-year-olds covered. say you want children and individuals with pre-existing provisions kicked awe.

>> say you don't want medicaid expanded. see how that polls. >> they are all for repeal. >> but nor more individual provisions. republicans are afraid of being challenged by republicans in if he say a pi thing about one provision in the danny care. >> that is a debate that will take us into the midterms, david, >> we agree. we agree on that. >> gentlemen. thank you. thank you both so much. >> now mark morgan is here with a look at the closing ceremony in sochi. >> kind of a busy day. closing ceremonies to be held

tonight. light events schedule. the gold medal hockey game is underway. an update about two periods much canada leads sweden by a score of 2-0. sidney crosbie with the goals for canada. >> the 4-men bobsled. russia took the gold, adding to the gold they have won in the 2-man competition earlier in the games. >> the united states, steve hulkman piloted the american team to the bronze medal. winning a third career medal, tying for the most. the united states with seven sliding medals in the games - including bobsledding, luge and skeleton, more than any other country. i'll fell you about the medal count: russia locked up, 32. netherlands second, canada and

the netherlands in fourth and fifth. >> the n.f.l.'s annual combine in indiana. michael sams speak to the media for the first time. sam was peppered with nonfootball related questions concerning his sexuality and how other will relate. sam said n.f.l.'s questions veered more to on the field. he was abbinged about miami dolphins. in the the most tolerant place. >> if mohl fips drafted me i would be excited to be part of it. i'm not afraid of going into that environment. i know how to handle myself, communicate with my team-mates and the coaches. >> i have been in locker roomsment i don't think anyone needs it. i don't think unned u kated. as time goes on, everyone will

adapt. due in part to sam coming out in the bullying scandal. the n.f.l. may be are the to crack down on the language. the n.f.l.'s competition committee will consider the rule making the n word or others punishable by a 15 minute penalty and a further offense an ejection. >> we pick this game up in the second half. dewing going the other way. sulea mon keeps it. easy lay up. blue delves up 4. minutes to go, tyler innis drives inside. 15 seconds to go, cj fair calling for the offensive foul.

bucket waved off. the coach can't believe it, going nuts. he receives two technical fouls and tossed from the game. ending any chance syracuse had. duke wins it. >> the new rule sh it's a block. that's the new rule. it's been explained 100 times. cj got the motion, i saw the replay. the guy was moving. that's it, simple as that, it's a new rule. it's a block. i just wanted to see if i still had it in me to go out there. i did. i got out there pretty good. i thought i was kick. i stayed down. and i didn't get injured. all those things are good. that was the game. that was the game decider. >> one of the clem basketball

improves to 29 and 0. they are the first team to start 29 and 0. that's a wrap for sports this morning. >> you know my duke blue devils can't go wrong. they are winning. >> coming up, the end of solitary confinement for prisoners under 18. that's the man for one of the largest prison systems in the u.s. a prison reform advocate in today's weekend conversation. . >> i'm tracking a cool down and snow. i'll let you know where winter will make a comeback.

you >> good morning to you, welcome back to al jazeera america. ahead. the debate over solitary

confinement in prison. first a look at the national forecast with meteorologist eboni deon. >> we are checking out where we are dealing with rain and snow. we start in western u.s. where we see an area of low pressure moving in. we are watching the next system moving in. low areas at least into the val yes of western areas. we could see up to a few areas of snow. watching out for that, more snow in the we were areas. 2-6 inches. as we go through the cloud, rain showers. some could mix with snow. here across the gold coast we are dealing with a lot of moist air. showers and storms, strong to

severe. near baton rouge. we have a flash flood warning. watch out for a lot of heavier rain fall. >> two big changes in new york state's prisons could have big implications for the rest of the country. they'll ban the use of solitary confinement as punishment for prisoners under 58 years old. it will make it the largest prison system in new york. it comes after the state is sued for confinement policies. juvenile ipp nates and those with developmental disabilities will be kept out of isolated cop fine. . classes in state prince have been announce. it was said: >> before we discuss the specific reforms, here are

statistics on solitary confinement. there are 3,700 state prisoners held in extreme igslation, spending 23 hours in cells, with an hour outside. >> new york state prisoners are sentenced to 5 months in solitary confinement. >> glen martin, founder and president of just leadership. thank you for being with us. let's jump right into it for the viewers. why is solitary confinement so bad. >> i thought the new head of the colorado system said it best when he spent 20 hours in solitary confinement. after 20 hours he said he suffered mental anguish and couldn't understand what it would be like for days and months. the individual in this case spent 780 days in solitary

confinement for filing false legality documents. >> i think we have a quote from the article and he said it's not about me,: >> why did he say it, why is it counterproductive to have the people locked up for 23 hours a day. >> a lot of people think you lock them up athrow away the ke. 30,000 come back to the community. how do we want them to come back? we want to ensure they don't commit new crimes >> let's talk about how they end up in solitary. sentencing guidelines specify a length of punishment. how subjective is something like that. we understand the common

infraction was failure to obey an order. you spent time in prison. how subjective it that? failure to obey an order, what could that many? >> an order could be you walk on a walkway and you look at a correctional office, and you look at him, it could be reckless eyeballing. >> i've been caught doing that on the street. >> i have worked with inmates to change conditions. when the correction officers decided they didn't like the roll e played, in the box 2 years. >> who bears the brunt. >> people doing time, programming, doing the right thing. >> prison there are many rules and the majority of not those that end in violent situations, they are like the gentleman who

is front of the union case, who essentially file false paperwork. >> another thing we talk with is the likelihood of imprison for men, and colour, is high. >> the odds are one in 17. one in three for black men, and one in six for latino men. will any of the policy changes affect that. >> we criticise people with mental health issues. we closed down clinics, promised to help and doesn't. the prison system is a sub stit ute. many in the prison have mental health systems, and are september to the box because they can't cope with them. one or two black men are arrested. 730,000 people i spoke about -

though go back to specific communities, and a lot of them are communities of colour. >> glen martin joining us live in the studio. the founder and president of just leadership usa. it's always a pleasure. >> that's it for this edition of al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford, live from new york city. more news in 2 minutes, stay was. you can follow us on twitter. you can go online at aljazeera.com. stay tuned. we'll be back in two minutes.

is >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. here are the stories we are

following. opposition leaders in ukraine appear to have filled the power vacuum. president viktor yanukovych has fled the capital. in a taped interview he said he is not stepping down. the vote in parliament that he said removed him from parliament he said amounted to a coup. >> dozens have been injured in the attack, targetting the site of an anti-government protest. rival demonstrations in venezuela, where thousands gather. supporters meanwhile held a counterrally in caracas. mexican authorities captured the most wanted drug lord. >>ed later oft cartel had been on the run since his prison escape. robert mugabe is celebrating his 90th birthday.

a party is held 45 miles east of harari. it's estimated to cost $1 million. robert mugabe was relected no another five year term. i'm morgan radford. those are the head lines. up next al jazeera.