hello and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. the debate over gay marriage taking center stage in michigan. riot police apologize in ukraine, as the country works out its political problems. black gold, texas tea, an oil boom bringing in money for one town, but causing growing pains for others. ♪

a closely watched same-sex trial in michigan now underway. a lesbian couple suing for the right to adopt each other's children. they argue not being allowed to do so is discrimination. but allowing those adoptions to go forward, the attorney general says, is against the law. bisi onile-ere tell us about the couple and what they want. >> reporter: del this couple filed this lawsuit after learning they couldn'ting jointly adopt the children they are raising. today the state is going toer argue that children are better suited being raised by heterosexual parents, however, the women are fighting back and saying same-sex couples are just

as capable of raising children. protesters are present, so far the protests have been peaceful. i had the opportunity to speak with the leaders of these two groups. let's take a listen. >> we're standing for our lord and savior jesus christ. we believe it is clear in the bible. and we're just standing up for the lord. >> my point is simply that i -- i love my wife with all of her being, and i want to have a familial all of the same things that everybody else has. it's not a right i feel should be taken away from me as a person of this country and a person that lives in this state, the constitution was made for everybody, and excusing us out of that is just wrong. >> reporter: both sides very

passionate about where they stand. the trial will last a little over a week, and there are legal analysts i have had the opportunity to speak to, and they strongly believe this is a case that will make it to the supreme court. right now i can tell you that the attorney general in michigan has made it very clear he believes marriage is between man and a woman, and if the judge rules for the women, he plans appeal. arizona governor is facing pressure within our own department. thomas drayton telling us that a lot of lawmakers want brewer to

reconsider. >> reporter: in arizona some are gearing up for a fight, a fight that they say targets gays and lesbians across the state. >> it opens the door for discrimination in in a huge brood spectrum the way the law is written. >> reporter: and now the bill that could give business owners the right to refuse service to gays and lesbians based on religious believe is one vote away from becoming law. the bill has sparked protests across the state. and in washington senator john mccain took to tweeter, calling for jan brewer's veto.

>> the insidiousness of the bill is that it gives people the power to excuse from commerce. and if i can exclude you from commerce, i can exclude you from society itself. >> reporter: for bakers like the kleins in oregon, it's about their strong faith and right to exercise it. he refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. >> i believe in what the bible says and that's how i feel about it. >> reporter: the state investigated and ultimately the bakery shut down after the backlash. back in arizona large companies are urging the governor to veto the bill, and that includes the nfl. the super bowl is scheduled to be played next year near phoenix. the bill's detractors say it discriminates and it is bad for

business. >> we had four companies call us to tell us we would be dropped from their list as a potential investment location unless the governor vetoes the bill. >> reporter: time is running out for the governor. she needs to make a decision before friday. >> i have plenty of time. >> reporter: plenty of time, these voices say to sway her decision. eric holder say his counterparts should ignore those bans. he says they are not obligated to discriminate the bans. he says they should study the bans before making a decision. he had this to say not long ago. >> any decision at any level not to defend individual laws must be exceedingly rare. they must be reserved only for truly exceptional circumstances,

and they must never stem merely from policy or political disagreements. hinging instead only on firm constitutional grounds. but in general, i believe we must be suspicious of legal classifications based solely on sexual orientation riot police in ukraine went on stage and begged for forgiveness. a dozen officers kneeling on stage saying they were sorry for the action of their colleagues, those colleagues accused of firing at civilian protesters. the officers say they weren't involved in the shootings, but ask forgiveness on behalf of those who were. ukraine remains at this hour without a government. jennifer glasse is in kiev and jennifer tell us more about these images that we're seeing.

>> reporter: del there needs to be a lot of healing here in ukraine. you can see this shrine of flowers. there are dozens of these outside of independence square. snipers gunned down people on their way to work last week. there is a lot of anger here about that, about the people who did it, and the people who ordered it, and against the president as well. so we have seen people trying to heal the wounds, and we saw policeman late last week who came and changed sides to the opposition, but a lot of deep wounds here. independence square has become very much a pilgrimage site. people would like to see those responsible brought to justice, not just the leaders, but the

men who pulled the trigger, and i think that will be very difficult for ukrainians. lawyers are trying to get the names of those people. a sense of who ordered the shootings and who did the shootings, and bring them to justice del. >> and a delay in the formation of the government, what do we know about that? >> reporter: they will wait until thursday at least to form a government. and the people here are not worried about that. the representatives of the protest movement here asked them to make sure the process is transparent, and that it is not a [ inaudible ] protest. the leaders came forward and asked the parliament also not to appoint billionaires as members of the government. they really want to see representatives of the people.

i spoke to a member of parliament last night, and he said there should be party politicians and members of society, and people who sacrificed here, who can represent the tens of thousands of people who have come here to protest over the last three months. >> and what do we know about one of the relationships outside of the ukraine, between the european union and russia. >> reporter: the european union foreign affairs chief was here for the last two days, meeting with members of the new government, members of the opposition, members of the new government. no deals were made. ukraine needs $35 billion estimated over the two next years. and russia very unhappy with this government saying it was basically formed by bandits, and

from the russian foreign minister, he accuses europe of playing a dangerous game. >> translator: it is dangerous and counterproductive to try to force upon ukraine a choice of the principle you are either with us or against us. we are interested in ukraine being a common european family in all meanings of the word. >> reporter: russia has long been involved here, offering $15 billion in aid. and viktor yanukovych at this hour still a wanted man, still on the lamb. any word you are hearing on him facing charges at the international court of the hague. >> reporter: yeah, the parliament voted today to be a party to the rome agreement so that allows the former president to be tried at the hague if he

is found elsewhere, and that i think shows the determination of the ukrainian people that they want to see him brought to justice, if not here, then at least at the hague. they feel he should be held responsible for the violence that killed more than a hundred people here. he is a man on the run. he was last spotted in the south yesterday morning. so the trail has run cold for now, and his chief of staff saying that he was injured -- we don't know whether -- he says he resigned, we don't know whether he was with yanukovych at the time, but the former president very much the most wanted man in ukraine tonight, del. >> jennifer glasse in kiev. thank you very much. the country remains mrpolitical and culturally divided as well.

now the opposition is moving and setting up camp in one town. >> reporter: these protesters serve up their revolution with a plate of cookies. thousands of government activists have taken over the headquarters. a small army prepare sandwiches. the aid station distributes water by the gallons. >> so you created a little city here. >> yes. >> reporter: this man is the unofficial photographer for history that's still unfolding. like everyone now in this building, the 27-year-old identifies more with europe than russia. for him this is a generational battle. >> it is generalational, a i don't think time ago in soviet union think they we are nobody. we can't do something. and today you see a lot of young people.

and they do it. and they win. >> the local media embraced the occupation. call it exotic kich soviet style. this is where we found a 38-year-old who grew up here and went to school in new york. he is fighting a governor he considers corrupt. >> he wants to take it all. all of the money. all of the luxury things, not thinking about his people, about his country. >> reporter: this city has always been a fault line for ukraine, and this street right now is a fault line inside. we just came from the administration building which is occupied by thousands of activists and on this side of the street the police are protecting people who still support the government. this woman was born here. she thinks the protesters are

treasonous. >> translator: they are all brainwashed. they claim to stand for freedom, but we don't want their freedom. >> reporter: a few hundred feet behind her a camp lays outside of this statute of stalin. this is a former city official. his entire life he looked east with pride. now he can't bare to look across the street at people who have taken over a building where he once worked. >> [ inaudible ] fascist party and fascist person. >> reporter: if ukraine is going to unite, it must overcome the visions of those two look east, and those who look west. that bridge will clearly need to be built here. in washington, president

obama set to announce the creation of pentagon-lead institutes that we hopes will lead to the next internet, apple, or the world. one in chicago the other outside of detroit. the two institutes fulfill his campaign promise of 2013 to create three manufacturing hubs worth over $200 million. you can follow the president on tw twitter at our twitter handle. the toxic still in north carolina is still haunting the city. >> reporter: when this woman learned the drinking water was contaminated, she acted quickly to keep her customers coming back, she knew she could no l g longer rely on tap water. >> they are all cooking with bottled water.

we bought commercial pumps so our coffee makers can run on bottled water. >> reporter: but she is spending about $5,000 extra a month. she says she is paying the price of mismanagement. on the 9th of january a tank at the freedom industries facility sprung a leak, and 38,000 liters of a chemical pored into the water supply of 300,000 residents. the charleston mayor is furious the owners of the company have filed for bankruptcy protection. now it is impossible to sue for damages. >> the damage to our brand is something that will be carried on for years, probably for the rest of my life. >> reporter: in the past two years charleston has spent more

than $50 million revitalizing its downtown economy. now it is feared that news of the chemical leak and tainted water will drive away any hope of future investment and tour. dollars. its fate has long been tied to the coal industry. it needs jobs. she says state politicians turn a blind eye to safety regulations to attract jobs. >> all we have is big professional interests in this state. i feel like to some extent they -- they must have the idea that they have bought a certain amount of reprieve, and i'm not nigh -- naive enough to know that that is the case.

>> reporter: [ inaudible ] it has been four years since michelle obama revealed her let's move program the first lady says she wants to phase out the advertising of sugary drinks and junk food on campuses. coming up a community in texas was going broke, but now it isment booming because of frac-ing, but not everyone is happy about the change. >> caring for the caregivers, on al jazeera america

another up and down day on wall street. right now it is up. consumers moods dampening a bit in this february, worried about the near term outlook of jobs and business conditions. home prices continue to score. the survey of 20 major cities finding prices up 13.5%. but rising prices and interest rates are making homeowner ship less affordable. jpmorgan chase is cutting 6,000 jobs. the company once announced it was cutting 13 to 15,000 jobs in the same department. the other 2,000 jobs being slashed will be in bank

branches. there is a oil boom in texas because of frac-ing. heidi zhou castro has more. >> reporter: a town of contrasts, where the population now of 40,000 has outgrown this sign. a millionaire lives inside this converted double-wide. >> you don't flaunt. >> reporter: bo -- operates an oil and gas company with wells cranked out 4.5 million in profits each day. he is among a class of emerging oil tycoons here benefitting from a boom that has always brought growing pains. before 2010 this was a community of hunters and ranchers. now roads need reinforcement, 12

hotels are going up, and the city is bursting at the seems. adrian is mayor. >> we were short housing when the oil bomb started. >> reporter: so up popped these man camps, converted storage units with oil workers bunk up. you also find oil money in most pockets. >> we were one of the poorest counties in the state of texas. it's exciting to see everybody paying down their car notes and house notes. it's exciting. >> reporter: the oil underthis groungd has infused the economy with $61 billion in was one year, 2012, but as everyone in south texas knows, after each boom comes a bust, and people here are bracing for when. >> it is going to take another three years. in five years it might be a

ghost town. >> even now the wealth is not reaching every corner, and in fact while some get richer, others get poorer. it wasn't the help of a relative ana flores would have lost her home. >> people have gotten thrown out of their house just because they want more money. >> reporter: the day and night hours exclude florez a single mother of three. is this oil bloom more a blessing or a curse? >> a blessing 100% blessing. >> reporter: most here hope the oil economy continues to burn brightly for as long as it can. heidi zhou castro, al jazeera, texas. coming up on al jazeera

america, last weekend it felt like summer, but that was last weekend. dave warren can back with the national forecast next.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines at that hour. in michigan two detroit area nurses are challenging that state's ban on same-sex marriage. that trial beginning this morning. they want to adopt each other's children. the state says that is against the law. president obama set to announce a major manufacturing initiative that he hopes will lead to new jobs. he hopes it will need to the next google or apple. uncertainty in in ukraine. parliament delayed forming a new government until thursday. ousted president viktor yanukovych in the meantime remains on the run.

♪ i'm meteorologist dave warren. first off a site from norway. this is the northern lights, beautiful shot here as we put it into motion. you can see them caused by the flairs. the particles hit the upper atmosphere and make the display. light snow came across west virginia, fairly heavy now, across virginia and washington, d.c. you can see it moves off of the coast, we are clear, but then another storm along this track, a little farther south and intensifies a little too far east, but a little more though is pt -- expected early thursday. real cold air across the nor

northern plains and that will slide east. here is a close-up view for this snow. washington, d.c. pushing off of the coast in the next few hours. right now temperatures are dropping into the 30s in washington, 30 in philadelphia. a little warmer to the south, but 20s and teens a little farther west. a slight snow across up state new york and moving across new england, fairly quiet as the temperatures are only in the mid-30s tomorrow and thursday. look at the cold air coming down to north dakota 11 below right now in fargo. that's the actual air temperature, wind chills are much colder. welcome site as we look at the radar and clouds.

the computer forecast shows wind and rain across the southwest. dave warren thank you very much. and thank each and every one of you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. ♪ taking down the ceo of one of both sides of the border, for more than a decade, the order was get shorty, now they have. joaquin guzman is in jail. taking down the ceo of one of the world's most powerful cartels is the inside story. ♪ hello, i'm