aljazeera.com/techknow. and visit us on facebook, google plus and more. >> concludes >> this is al jazeera america. i'm not jonathan betz live in new york. >> an uncertain future for ukraine as a new acting president and russia recalls it's ambassador. >> a chance to ease tensions in venezuela - the opposition meeting with the president. >> america wants a drug lord brought to u.s. to face dozens of charges. >> and this is the man that the u.s. believes is a terrorist.

why he believes saving lives is to blame. tonight - far from kiev russian supporters in eastern ukraine kicking and beating protesters. evidence unrest in that country could be far from over. that tops the news. the a lot has unfolded in ukraine. the parliament chose a replacement for ousted president viktor yanukovych. it's unclear where he is. parliament's speaker will take over that country. julia tymoschenko freed from prison yesterday says she does not want to run for prime minister. and the national security advisor warns russia it would be a grave mistake to move soldiers into the ukraine. >> it's not in the interests of

ru russia or the united states or ukraine to see the country split. there's not an inherent contradiction between a ukraine with longstanding cultural ties to russia, and a modern ukraine that wants to integrate with europe. >> jennifer glasse is in kiev with more on the changes in central europe. >> this is ukraine's new seat of power, the parliament. it wasted no time signalling the viktor yanukovych era is over. it gave the speaker presidential powers and minister by minister voted out the former government. as they left people thanked them for helping with change. >> there's a sense of freedom on the streets. as ukrainians come to terms with the new reality, they are realising how much it cost. this woman is near the spot where the protesters were killed. near where she stood were police

and demonstrators trying to stop violence. a shrine for each shot where they fell. much of the country's future is uncertain. >> but some needed to be reminded this is a day of warning, not revel in change. >> it's beautiful if we can be strong. >> people poured into independence square, the site where it began three months ago. >> 50% sad, 50% happy. because we have little victory but it conditions. >> new battles in the south. pro-russian demonstrators try to prevent it being raised. the country's east and west, a resurgent concern, hoping the

bridge can be bridged. >> in the streets of the capital kiev, thousands of protesters remained camped out. let's go to nick schifrin, live in kiev. what have you seen today. >> it is a jubilant move on the streets today. these people that are behind me, three months after they came and battled forces. they don't know what will happen in the future. this is their moment. they've been fighting on the streets, in the front lines, and now they are running the show. >> you want to leave kiev in a hurry, have you to go through 24-year-old dimia and dennis. >> have you done security before. >> no. >> have you done security before. >> no, this is the first time.

>> for the last three months they fought the government and feel they won. to the victors go the spoils - the local airport. the goal is to crackdown on protesters. they crack down on the most wanted. they don't want to be the law, but the conscience that keeps order. >> are you trying to enact punishment. >> no, we are citizens. we want order, we want the law. >> when the real police arrive, the volunteers shoe them away. >> these guys, three days ago, three days ago they are ready to shoot us was we stay here. it's hypocrisy. you probably heard of rosie the riveter. meet katerina the caterer. every member of the opposition is helping. they feel the fight is not over. >> if i'm doing the best,

probably everybody else is doing their best. if everybody is doing their best, we have to win. >> in the heart of kiev, the police have evaporated. the rag tag bans known as the hundreds, even in the seat of power. this is the future of the country. it is being decided inside. outside vitaly klitschko, one of the main opposition leaders giving a speech, and here his security are the citizens' brigades. >> a professional service they are not. the head protection designed for production workers. behind the simplicity there's a command structure. >> they want to re boot the system. >> and the politicians seem to realise that. >> people come through us. they move the government away and if new government bad, they move us.

>> down the block the citizens' brigade controls the cabinet office, as if a building as important as the pentagon was guarded by boy scouts. >> do you feel that you have replaced the police. >> definitely not, but we hope the police will be replaced. >> stan's day job is in it. what can't wait is ukraine's third revolution. >> what is done changed us all. for years to come, you know, anything that is not right we'll make sure, you know, we work to make that right. >> for that the public thanks them. they feel the volunteers about protect them and their futures. >> a final good by kiss outside the cabinet. a thank you kiss. at this point so many of these people are dedicated to the citizens brigades. perhaps it goes without saying, but none of them are getting paid. a lot of them do have jobs. they'll go back to them, but

they'll be back guarding the buildings tomorrow afternoon or evening and will stay there as long as it takes. >> how much control do the civilians have over the city. is there concern there could be violence or looting? >> well, there's no sign at all of any kind of looting or violence. >> they don't have arms, they can't enforce the peace, other than the numbers. you get a sense throughout the city that most of the city is for what is going on. the level of support that the new government will get, the level of support that the changes have, and that all the people who are outside these buildings is very high. you can see there at the end two little kids and people kissing the volunteers outside the building. you get a sense that it is going to be peaceful until anybody from the old government comes back. there's no sign of that at all.

now there is trust, if they can keep it from happening again, and the politicians from screwing up. >> nick schifrin live for us in ukraine. >> earlier we spoke with another. protesters are advocating for a leader change, not just new leadership. but will it happen if russia gets involved. >> it's a wise development for russia. the president of russia, vladimir putin, is obsessed with the idea of building the urine union. with a newly formed government, it's very unlikely that ukraine will participate in the project of restoring the soviet union in another format. >> we heard the talk that russian troops could get involved. is that a legitimate fear? >> yes, because this scenario

has been used in the past. russia has been very active in giving out russian passports to ethnic russian, and according to ukrainian law, it's prohibited, but a lot of ethnic russians hold russian and ukrainian citizenship. russia can claim it wants to intervene to protect its citizens. >> in the united states many ukrainian americans have been supporting the opposition. we have details from chicago. >> in the cities with the biggest ukrainian american populations, new york and chicago, and outside the white house, demonstrators gather with a mix of raw emotions. >> i'm happy and scared. i hope the new government is the right people that it puts in. >> ukraine's consular general was deported by the nation's president. when he addressed the crowd outside his office, he was

drowned out by shouts of resign and get out. >> he gave up, but the protesters did not. while they chanted outside, the consular general agreed to an interview with al jazeera. he says he's a civil serve able to, not a member of the former administration, and supports the revolutionary movement, and the demonstrators in the u.s. who have concerns of their own. >> for me it's understandable that a lot of them are angry with zel ots who actually made that happen. >> as mournful as they are about the protesters deaths, as angry as they are at the ukrainian president. the biggest concern is the future of ukraine. the u.s. and the e.u. help out now because this is a critical moment, particularly - we are not talking about the financial help to keep ukraine out of

default, because what is happens is the oligarchs have stolen everything. >> the plan for the future should be similar to the marshal plan that the allies used to be build germany. they don't all agree on the punishment for the deaths or how to move forward. those we spoke with agreed that russia should be left out and the hard work in ukraine is just beginning. >> the events unfolding in the ukraine are expected to play a role in n.a.t.o.'s future. the defence ministers are scheduled to meet. stay tuned for an indepth discussion in the week ahead session, later this hour. >> now to south america - tomorrow the head of the opposition in venezuela is said to meet with president nicolas maduro. there has been ongoing protests for two weeks. thousands gathered to support the crowd, most elderly. they waved flags, signs and

pictures of former president chavez. 2,000 grandparents joined the rally to hear nicolas maduro speak. the president is calling for a nags at day of peace on wednesday. both are calling for more protests. we have more on the growing divide in venezuelan. >> they are frustrated, angry, fed up with what they feel is a government that doesn't listen to them. three weeks ago students in venezuela ignited a protest movement that is spreading across the country. some want the government to change, others want to change the government. >> we dreamed that venezuela would advance, instead of regress. we don't build anything here. security is turnable. we have food shortages. we feel that the dream of a different country might happen. >> with 15 years of president chavez, and now nicolas maduro.

most of the students have never known another system of government. >> cries for change are mostly resonating with the upper class. >> in the neighbourhood where the president enjoys support, people have grievances - high inflation and soaring crime. that's because many here have benefited greatly from the programs chavez funded. free medical care, schools and government housing. >> students like 18-year-old and her friends get a free university education thanks to chavez. they have not gone to a protest and don't plant to do so. >> translation: they don't know what they want. they are protesting because they have to buy flour and milk. the truth is they don't want nicolas maduro.

it's the same old story. >> on sunday the opposition leader warned the students that the movement has little chance of succeeding if it doesn't spread to other sectors of society. >> i asked those who are protesting not to lock yourselves up with your own people. what good does that do. who will you convince by locking yourself in on your own streets when everyone there is convinced. >> how many hear his call may determine the future of the movement. >> federal prosecutors announced that they'll seek the extradition of joaquin guzman, the notorious drug lord. he was arrested in mexico yesterday. he faces federal charges in seven u.s. districts and has been named public enemy number one in chicago, where he's wanted on drug-smuggling

charges. >> adam raney has more from mexico city. >> more details are emerging about how joaquin guzman was caught by dozens of mexican marines surrounding the condominium building where he was staying in a coastal resort. he was arrested before 7am on saturday. he tried to reach for some of the arms he had amassed in the condominium. he was fable to do so. the marr -- he was unable to do so. he was flown out, paraded before the cameras. there's several indictments in the u.s., in chicago, new york. the department of justice is keen to try him on charges relating to the smuggling, killing and trafficking of drugs. we have word from the ambassador from mexico, in the united

states saying that he believes joaquin guzman should be tried in mexico. there's no word from the attorney-general what the next step will be. we have investigators in both countries, eager and hungry to make joaquin guzman pay for the crimes he has committed. one of the largest and powerful criminal organizationing sina a sinaloa. >> we hear from a cleric that the u.s. calls a terrorist. . >> how this man went from a tough neighbourhood in d.c. to being a top tafrt. -- taster.

>> a yemeni cleric is speaking out after being accused of the terrorism by the united states. he de nice the accusations but says he's being targeted. we have more from the capital.

>> looking into the eyes of a man the u.s. considers a global terrorist. he insists he is not. >> we never condone violence against innocent people or americans, and their interests. our party approaches dialogue and good approaches with all the united states. we believe that the original message of the -- islam was delivered through the word not the sored. >> his assets were frozen. he believes the real reason his stauj campaigning against drone attac attacks. the latest when drones fired on a wedding party, killing 12. parliament voted against u.s.

drones three days later. the decision was not binding. >> translation: attacks are conducted against anonymous individuals. the attackers do not know the names or faces. it's degrading to the state or people. it's a violation of the law. >> the reduction of drones could be the number one bone of consensus. >> the message is one - drones have failed to destroy al qaeda, but succeeded in creating hatred against the united states. >> they don't kill al qaeda, they kill incident civilians and people that haven't done anything wrong for them. the government is not trying to stop this. the government is to blame. >> in response to this the government is almost apologetic. >> you should remember the u.s. launched a global war on

terrorism and announced if you are not with us, you are against us. yemen is better than other countries in terms of its ability to limit u.s. attacks on its soil. >> few people fined sollize in its explanation. he may one day be the target of a drone attack. >> comcast cut a deal with netflix that could speed up streaming. netflix will be able to deliver movies and tv shows to comcast's customers. they have struck deals with cable vision and cox. it could put pressure on other providers. netflix has more than 44 million customers around the world. >> the cold on the ski slopes is matched only by the warmth of the wipe. among an elite group of wine

experts he's of the second african american to become a sommelier. >> snow is perfect. scenery phenomenal. an awesome day for hitting the slopes in aspen. >> when he's not on the slopes on his day off. >> this is a nice bot. >> carlton is hard at work as the world's newest and youngest master sommelier. >> i love the northern... >> a master som is the highest level a guru can aspire to. only 211 people ever achieved the title. >> he works as a master som at a restaurant. a 5-diamond establishment in as pep. >> compared to where he grew up... >> it's ridden with crime and drugs.

many have been killed and shut down. >> i was robbed at gun point. >> his grandmother was his life raft. >> my mum passed away when i was two. my grandmother - my dad was addicted to drugs, lived that life some time and he was never around. >> his grandma caught him to cook. his skills caught the organizers of a cullen oury program. he excelled and became interested in the art of wine. >> when you wake up you don't think, "did i pay my rent, i need fuel in my car", you recite subregions. >> knowledge flows out. it's like remembering your child's name, you never forget it. it means that much to you. >> his compassion for wine is contagious. >> you have to be selfless and

take yourself out of the situation. >> nest on the horizon, opening his own restaurant or winery. >> the oldest known holocaust survivor died a week before documenting her life competes for an academy award. she died in london at the age of 110. she was an accomplished pianist. in 1943 she was september to a czech concentration camp. she and others performed concerts to entertain the nazis. she was freed by the soviet army in 1945. >> john seigenthaler sits with art spiegleman at the jewish museum on "talk to al jazeera", and talk about the artists perspective. >> you have been asked what lesson the holocaust teaches us, and you said to answer a

question like that diminishes the hollow cast. >> it's not about - it's not like suffering. that's not the take away. and certainly it's not the idea that never again, because we have been doing it since. it's genocidal reductions of the other into the nonhuman and thereby worthy of external nation, it's an ongoing process in many wars that happened sips, and are still potentially present. so i don't think there's any use value to the hollow caused. it's a good idea to avoid such things. >> you can see more: >> still to come many are asking of the events in the ukraine if it will strain relations between

russia and the west, plus what is the future of n.a.t.o. in all of this. indepth coverage of the week ahead next. >> i'm john henry smith. team usa wins another medal. we'll break down the final day of competition at the winter olympics.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour. ukraine's parliament voted to transfer presidential powers to the parliament's chairman. a top opposition figure. the whereabouts of viktor yanukovych remain unknown. parliament's actions are called illegal. he will continue to fulfil his presidential duties. the president of venezuela will meet with one of the main opposition leaders. nicolas maduro addressed a group of pro-government reporters. it is a stark contrast to the anti-government protests in the few weeks that have grown violent and deadly. >> prosecutors announce they'll seek to extra diet joaquin guzman. the drug lord captured in mexico

after a 13-year manhunt. he's wanted on a variety of charges including drug smuggling in seven districts. >> now to thailand where two are dead following a cgrenade attac. gunmen shot two people rallying east of the capital. we have the latest. police say the explosion was caused by a 40mm grenade fired from an m79 grenade launcher. this is one of the busiest areas of bangkok, oxford street in london. >> i heard a loud explosion, seeing women and children. i saw two children. >> as night fell and police began a forensic investigation, protests continued metres away. they told us they know supporters of the government did it. >> i think they tried to

frighten us not to come to the protest site. protesters want to replace the prime minister's administration with an unelected government to carry out reforms before elections. >> it turns out that those killed and injured came from the same family, selling t-shirts at the stall you can see behind me. no one has got around to clearing away the debris. it's as it was when the bomb went off. this is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent attacks on the protest, which the prime minister's condemned as terrorist acts made for political gain. authorities ordered security to be tightened as the divisions seemed to be getting worse. >> well it is sunday night and time for the regular segment, the week ahead. tonight, the future of n.a.t.o.

defence ministers will meet in brussels later this week. it was scheduled months ago. events highlighted growing definitions between russia and the west. we look at how n.a.t.o. has changed. >> a nation divided geographically. the west leans towards europe. the west russia. >> germany, after world war ii, and part of the reason n.a.t.o. was reeated. the purpose as summed up as to keep the americans in, the russians out and the germans down. >> the soviet union collapsed 20 years ago, but a former u.s. ambassador to n.a.t.o. says the atlantic alliance is essential for americans and europeans. >> n.a.t.o. provides nuclear defense as a continent, the

territorial defense. it's been the most successful alliance in modern history. >> with the end of the cold war, the war pack vanished. 10 now countries joint between 1997 and 2004. >> boy does that decision look like a good one now. you can imagine with the aggressiveness of vladimir putin, you can imagine what he'll do to extend the event to the ball ticks, to romania, bulgaria and poland. >> assistance the fall of the berlin wall n.a.t.o. has moved troops to afghanistan and helping victims. hurricane katrina. >> it is believed that the expansion of n.a.t.o. has hemmed

russia in. that the fight over the status of ukraine is a fight to retain russia's influence. >> it was said that the role of the removal of muammar gaddafi soured russia's view on n.a.t.o. >> there russia felt took advantage of a resolution to topple a regime. moving the goalpost. >> vladimir putin declared the winter olympics in sochi a symbol of russia's resurgence. >> it's russian pride, is what is tapped into and exploiting for political purposes. >> the embrace of russian pride

may signal another making n.a.t.o.'s future look more like its past. >> for decades n.a.t.o. did not deploy forces. not until the 1991 gulf war. it's influence grew with a successful intervention in the balkans. since the cold war, many former east bloc countries joined n.a.t.o., expansion has been controversial. when ukraine tried to join moscow intervened and vladimir putin threated to aim nuclear missiles at the former soviet republic. >> n.a.t.o. will talk about will and show engage in syria and other areas. >> kimberley marchant, a professor, joins me now. and carl voeker from california. we appreciate you both coming in.

>> professor, you are here with me. we are delighted you are. do you think this will divide russia and the west. the one thing to keep in mind that separates ukraine from the examples is that there's a significant chunk of the population that identifies with russia. they see russia as the source of the homeland in terms of ancient times. it's not the case that the ukrainian population is eager to join n.a.t.o. and we have to go in to prevent n.a.t.o.... do you worry we could see a tug of war over-ukraine. >> i don't think what we have seen is the end. russia will try to ex-cert influence. there are ukrainians that don't want to lose the connection to russia, and plenty of ukrainians who feel the opposite and want

to see ukraine as part of the europe. it will continue to be a struggle within ukraine, among the citizens. >> earlier russia's president has been clear it's not happy with n.a.t.o. >> in 2012 nate scro is a cold war relic created in times of the bipolar system. the situation today is different. it's not clear what an organization like n.a.t.o. is for. is n.a.t.o. a cold war relic? >> no, it has grown and changed so much in the last decade, with the operations that it's been involved in, in the balkans, in afghanistan. recently in libya, and the one advantage that n.a.t.o. has that makes it not a cold war organization, but an effective organization, other kinds of intervention is command and control structure allowing countries to have experience working with each other and be effective as an alliance, as a

group, especially going in. >> is nato as effective as it could be without russia's support. >> yes, n.a.t.o. is effective when it wants to be. it's a collection of 28 countries with extraordinary military capabilityies, and when they have the political will to use them, and the alliance is effective. we saw it in the ball cans and in afghanistan. we would love to have more russian cooperation with n.a.t.o. unfortunately putin is speaking about himself when he talks about the cold war relic. he's applying a model of an authoritarian state, one that doesn't believe in democracy at home, one that wants to exercise a sphere of influence over neighbours, and that is an old school kind of thing. what n.a.t.o. does is provide a framework for countries to realise their own aspirations, and countries that feel secure, so you don't have to worry about

their future. that's the wave of the future. it's been successful to date. it's the way that the whole atlantic area will go over time. there's a lot of tensions because of this old thinking russian authoritarian state that we have now. >> part of the success is the expansion. since inception n.a.t.o. doubled membership. the 12 founding members include the united states, canada. during the cold war several other countries joined the alliance, including spain, turkey and west germany, sips the cold war, former soviet allies joined the alliance bringing membership to 28 countries. >> is it a good idea for n.a.t.o. to expand towards the former soviet countries. >> no, not yet. it doesn't mean in the

far-ranging future it wouldn't happen. there's three reasons we shouldn't think about it. we don't know what will happen with the political situation. the various groups do not agree with each other. some are radical ultra nationalists. we don't want to be involved in that. that decreases security. ukraine is flit between those who are prowish and pro russian. the best thing is to have it act as a brim. finally, if we were to have ukraine join n.a.t.o., it's not just putin who would be unhappy, but the russian population. they would see it as an aggressive act. we need russia, despite the problems, it has the u.n. security detail, we have to work on that. >> we have to work on russia, it's a country that can't be

ignored. the u.n. security council veto is the most important thing. we have seen the effects of trying to contrain what the u.s. and western alliance do in syria. i want to get your thoughts on the expansion topic. is it a good idea for n.a.t.o. to expand into the n.a.t.o. countries. the new countries don't really bring anything to the table. >> let's take a few framing issues that are important. they are not soviet countries. where forcibly we are brought into russia. but there are distinct people's, they are ukrainians, mald obviousans, and others. they have a right to term their own future. as other countries in europe have done. the second thing is n.a.t.o. is not looking for members. it's not that nato is seeking to force countries to join, it's

the opposite. countries want to ensure the democracy and market economy. they seek membership in n.a.t.o. whether it's spain, turkey and so on. that will be the case in the future. the operative issue is concerning ukraine or georgia. it's clear from what we see in the streets it's not clear what ukraine wants. we have countries like monen egg roe and macedonia that want to be a part of it. if they meet n.a.t.o. standards, and contribute to the collective security of all of n.a.t.o., it provides a benefit to the people, and we see that also with central europe, where there is security and predict ability, stability, market economy. that brings investment, greater

prosperity and adds to the whole value of the space in europe as far as that enlargement of nato. >> i want to bring the professor, because she's nodding her head. i wonder about the point she makes. asking to become a part of it. russia has a fear that n.a.t.o. is knocking on its doorstep. it was at love with russia, and feels like russia has a paranoia about n.a.t.o. >> you're absolutely right that russia has a paranoia about n.a.t.o. but to keep in mind is there's russian n.a.t.o. cooperation. there's a council that meets, trying to find ways to bridge the unhappiness between the two sides. they want the difference between ukraine and georgia. ukraine and georgia were inside the soviet union. they were not just in the warsaw

pack, but parts of ukraine were longstanding parts of the russian empire. it's not the case that it was an independent state, and the soviet union took over. it was a victim of world war ii, and that's where it ended up. >> the cold war and n.a.t.o. ended up around the world. they have helped humanitarian observations, and provided security at the olympics in athens. do you people like, professor, that the purpose shifted too much. >> i don't think it shifted too much. you are right when you say n.a.t.o. is trying to figure out what its rules should be, and at the september summit that will take place in the u.k., one of the things they ask about is whether it makes sense to think about n.a.t.o. preplanning and acting together as an alliance where everyone has a role in

intervention, or whether it makes sense to have a lead country like france, take the lead when it has a particular interest in a country, and cobble together a coalition from like-minded countries. n.a.t.o. is trying to figure out what its role is. it has shown that because of that interoper ability, joint training and practice sessions, and also its command and control center, that it's capable of doing things that nobody else in the world is capable of doing. >> as we look forward and see the different countries in crisis, what would you like to see from n.a.t.o. in. >> well, i'd like to see n.a.t.o. focus op getting back to basics. i think there's a degree to which the management was carried out which tik a long time. costing a lot of money. it created fatigue among n.a.t.o. countries and the

united states. it created a spenense that they can't be afforded. it made it difficult for n.a.t.o. to sustain what it was doing. n.a.t.o. was founded for the purpose of collective defense, and we determined the meaning to be it could be from anywhere. we see risks from places like afghanistan and libya. n.a.t.o. and elsewhere. >> it will preserve the necessary and military capabilities enabling it to do crisis management where there is a need and where there is political will among the allies. >> ambassador - former ambassador, thank you both for coming in. we appreciate it. before we wrap up, here are a few other events in the week ahead. there's arguments in a place

challenging the epa's authority to regulate greenhouse gases. >> on thursday the organization for the prohibition issues a report on efforts to destroy syria's weapons. >> still ahead - historic night in the nb axe as the league welcomes its first hopefully gay player on the court.

>> the winter olympics in sochi have come to a close. in an elaborate fireworks display that lit up the sky over fish stadium as the olympic flame went dark. it featured soft colours, contrasting the mighty spectacle. the opening ceremony technical glitch was recreated.

the torch passes to south korea. >> another olympics bites the dust. >> back to thes closing ceremony. great to see the russians poking fun at themselves. >> three final medals. the one event that had the positive outcome for team usa. the russians winning gold in a 4-man bobsled. a second bronze of the games, and the third medal of his olympic career, the boast of any u.s. bobsledder. >> canada played sweden for the medal. sidney crosby scored his first, and canada's defense was ironclad. the canadians allowed three goals in six olympic contests, beating the swedes 3-0. they are the first back to back gold medal hockey winners since the soviet union since 1988.

>> here is a look at the medal count: russia more than doubled its counselled from 2010. i asked a yahoo sports reporter if the medal jump was unexpected. >> it was, but down to investment. if you put the money in, some the nche, if you invest in the smaller sports it makes a monumental difference. if you have guys, like extreme sports, training full-time, it enables them to master their craft and become expert and get a leap on the opposition. that's what we saw with russia. they chittommitted themselves te

winter sports, which hasn't been seen. it paid off. they drafted in a few guys. victor, the short-speed skater with south korea, and now a russian hero. he competed in four events. and vic wild from washington, but went to russia. he married a russian and compeeds to them. two gold medals to him. it makes a difference. >> the united states led the countries with 37 medals in 2010. they fell to 28 this year. why the drop off? >> yes, vancouver felt like a home olympics, that was very close to u.s. territory. it's the sense of familiarity. it'sive. the u.s. team struggles when it goes to far-flung destinations, i think with the u.s. it was difficult. there were certain teams that

underperformed. speed skating legend predicted between eight and 10 medals. they ended up with none. short-track speed skaters underperformed, 1%. if you have one sport that you are strong at that you underperform, it damages the medal count. >> what sport can the usa hold their heads high? >> it's the cool sports. the x games generation, the snowboard and freestyle, the sport that a lot of people say the u.s. invented, and certainly made more popular with things like the x game and up the mountain it was a steady stream of gold, silver and bronze. shaun white was the glairing emission. he was expected to gold, but he didn't. there are new superstars. caitlin farring tonne. >> it looks like they are coming

home with adopted puppies. these people that he new nothing about become medallists and characters. >> shifting goors to the n.b.a., jane collins is the first openly gay athlete. he'll suit up for the brooklyn nets. this picture has been tweeted out. the disooen says he should dress or the game against the lakers. collins made news before the season, when he announced he was gay. he hasn't plate inment n.b.a. since 2013. he spoke to the media within the last hour. >> i'm thankful for this opportunity, that's why i work so hard and train the way that i do. >> i'm focused on trying to learn the coverages of the fame plan assignment. i don't have time to think about

history. >> or perspective on the signing. i spoke with howard beck. for the bleach report. >> i asked him why collins would get a 10-day contract instead of a longer one. >> this is a common way. this is not unusual. any team that is signing a free agent, unless they are a high-level free agent. most guys signed are signing 10-day contracts. >> what does your crystal ball tell you about whether the jason collins' and michael are healed. what will it ask them to unmask. >> the hope of jason collins and michael sands - this is a barrier broken down not just on behalf of themselves, but

athletes everybody, that are looking for the opportunity to make the move themselves and do it comfortably. >> a trail bhazer. >> i do wonder what this means, it takes the air out of the sales. >> he's focused on becoming a football player and it shows what he can do. >> thank you so much. >> that's the show for the hour. >> i'll be back 11:00 pm eastern. we leave you with a look at sochi, the end of the olympics. hope you have a great night and weekend. thank you for spending time with us tonight.

>> >> this is al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz with tonight's headlines. in tonight the ambassador has been called back to moscow. it named opposition chairman

interim president. the new leader is making closer relations with europe a top priority. the venezuela president plans a meeting with the pead area tomorrow. with the hope that it will ease the protests that have turned deadly. >> nicolas maduro visited supporters at a pro-government rally. they were angry at rising crime. >> u.s. federal prosecutors announced perhaps to seek extradition for the head of the sinal sinal sinaloa cartel yesterday. >> jason collins is making history, signing a 10-day contract with the brooklyn nets, making him the first openly gay player on a sports league. they may get game time tonight. >> a carbon monoxide leak at a

mall is under investigation. dozens were overtaken by the fumes. >> those are the headlines. al jazeera presents "tough to be a minor" up next. and updates on aljazeera.com. >> craig notman is leaving his home and his job in british mining to join the gold rush in the mongolian wilderness. he'll be working in some of the most dangerous mines on earth. >> it really is awful, it's really bad. that's really bad. >> he'll experience a traditional nomadic lifestyle under threat. >> as a coal miner, we don't get to milk many yaks. >> and m