>> arizona governor jan brewer details a bill. opponents say she gaved to big money pressure. conduct unbecoming the army removes hundreds of soldiers from their jobs, after a sweeping investigation of misconduct and abuse of trust. >> a day of actions as journalists around the world call for the release of our

colleagues held in egypt. >> is the swiss government going to prosecute you if you comply with our laws. >> bankers in the hot seat con capitol hill. credit squeeze, answering gens about billions hidden away from the irs. >> hi there. good morning, thanks for waking up with al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton. we begin with a controversial bill in arizona that set off a national debate over gay rights. the bill jeetoed by the state's -- vetoed by the state's government. it followed days of pressure. the bill professed to allow business owners the ability to refuse service to people against their religious beliefs.

the governor was under pressure, refusing 40,000 calls and phone calls to veto the bill. >> yes, that pressure certainly had been mounting over the course of the last several days. political pressure, social and economic as you mentioned. if passed it would have amounted to discriminatory practiceses. the veto has been called a victory. >> days of protest turn to cheers. at arizona governor jan brewer vetoed a religious freedom bill that could have allowed businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbian. >> i believe that senate bill 1062 has the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve. >> it would divide arizona in ways we can't moj or want.

religious ability is an american core and value. so is nondiscrimination. >> we regret taking and we are here to take it right. >> opponents distorted the issue, they say, and the sentiment was echoed by the house in the senate. >> it's not about discrimination, it's about the free exercise of religion, sincerely held religious beliefs. >> opponents of the bill claimed victory for an open attack on gays. >> this showed the nation that not all arizonians are like extremists, and that there are good people, and we want to lead the country forward, not backwards. >> a statement was issued,

praising her decision. >> major corporations weighed in too. apple, american airlines, delta and the n.f.l. all urged governor jan brewer to veto the measure. >> it was a combination. business community and activist. >> it sent a message to the governor. >> and speaking of the business community, supporters of the bill have been saying that there is a lot of support by local businesses. one of our producers here made several calls, 50 businesses, dry cleaners, hair salons, and could not find a local business behind it. >> thank you. we should point out the veto of the bill in arizona does not end the debate open over religious freedom nationwide. it got further, being a signature away from the governor

to become war. similar balls failed to pass in kansas, idaho, south dakota, tennessee and colorado. many states are gearing up for a battle - 13 to be exact, from the north-east to the mid west and the deep south. out west there's a push to put the issue on the ballot in california and oregon to allow voters to decide this year. georgia could be the next battle ground state. atlanta's mayor is against the bill, and so is delta airlines. they sponsor gay event and could harm people and result in job losses. >> a federal judge in texas struck down the ban saying it violates the constitution. the ruling doesn't mean same-sex

couples can marry in the state. the motion was stayed pending an appeal. >> governor rick perry was quick to criticise the ruling saying: >> we'll have more on the arizona veto in moment. >> the u.s. army disqualified hundreds of soldiers from what it calls positions of trusts. it comes after a probe into sexual assaults. >> last summer the army said it was suspending 65 sexual assault counsellors, and others for sexual assault, child abuse and drunk driving. >> now almost a year on, the army said investigators went further. combing through the records. it now says it disqualified 588 in total.

a 10-fold increase. the army ensures that those in positions of trust have the right tools, skills and background needed to carry out their duties. we'llworking to ensure that it is the select people. >> hanks -- kimberley hanks says she was assaulted by lieutenant colonel james wilkerson in italy. >> i opened my eyes and he was in bed with me >> lieutenant colonel james wilkerson was convicted, stripped of his rank. lieutenant colonel james wilkerson's boss, ltcol franklin dismissed it and set lieutenant colonel james wilkerson free. >> the figures on sexual assault make for grim reading, there are 19,000 sexual assaults, in way

3,000 or reported and 16,000 actionable. a panel explored the relationship between assaults in the military, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide. many are afraid to ask for help for fear of being publicly shamed and retaliated against. >> i ask each of up to stay with the survivors of sexual assault and take steps to fix the broken system of justice and response. >> the truth was at that point i had to google when it happened to me. i immediately experienced the flaws and repercussions. >> advocates want reforms ending the rights of those. >> the military system is based on a discretion over a single commander over the rule of law. >> until you remove the bias, you will never have justice.

>> of 588 disqualified personnel the pentagon are seeking to be rid of 79 of them. >> it's unclear if those what failed the review were reasigned or kicked out of the army. >> the thailand opposition says they are willing to hold a debate, after weeks of refusing any form of talks. he's asking for two chairs, a microphone so the people can see him talk politics. protesters in venezuela say peace talks are not an option at this point, as long as nicolas maduro is in office. >> hundreds took part in anti-government demonstrations on wednesday. they continue to blame nicolas maduro for soaring crime and a tanking economy. just a few blocks away pro-government supporters march in support of the president.

while the competing rallies emphasise the stalemate, both are voicing similar concerns. >> we can't find food, medicine. the hospitals are shutting down. i have two young boys. i can't take them to the movies. we are robbed at the movies. >> we rejected all the landa lis. and we tell imperialism that it can't come back. this is a lant of peace and love. we want bread to produce food. >> the unrest in venezuela is garnering concern from the vatican. into paep pope francis hopes the -- >> pope francis hopes the violence will end soon. and acts to foster reconciliation through mutual forgiveness and dialogue. >> ukraine's parliament is

meeting in kiev as it attempts to form a caretaker government. lawmakers are hoping to select a cabinet and name a prime minister. members of an armed pro-russian militia took over two government buildings in the ukrainian region of crimea. >> jennifer glasse reports for us. russian newsagencies report that russia has agreed to ensure the safety of former president viktor yanukovych. will that be a popular move where you are, in crimea. >> it will here in crimea. this is a pro-russian area. we have talked to a lot of folks here, who say "we are russian and speak russian", and they say they belong to russia. at the building behind me there's a standoff.

armed groups went into the building and took it over. this area - crimea only became part of ukraine in 1954. the fleet became part of ukraine in 1978. before that it was russian. they feel they are part of russia. it will be a challenge for kiev. and how to arrest it. there has been tendencies. >> what is happening inside the seized government buildings in southern ukraine. >> we know there are armed men inside. the crimea prime minister went in there, the regional prime minister went in there to talk to them. the men inside said, "we are not authorised to negotiate", we don't know who they are. they came in, they are armed, took over the building. they are ipp flaming tensions.

tensions are growing, they took down the ukrainian flag and raised the russian flag. very much a feeling of the russians. they say we are russia, we think or leader is vladimir putin, we don't like viktor yanukovych. one thing that made them angry is the parliament in kiev. most people speak russians, we sought the parliament temp aring it, making the resolution more inclusive. i don't think it will help. people are angry and feel left out. they think what happened is a coup. >> you'll have more throughout the morning. thank you. at least nine are dead after a suicide car bombing. the bomber drove into a tea shop where agents were meeting. al-shabab climated responsibility.

last week they carried out an attack outside the presidential palace, killing officials and a card. 22,000 troops are helping to fight al-shabab. they ruled most of somalia until 2011. >> today is a global day of action for three al jazeera journalists detained in egypt. mohamed fadel fahmy, peter greste, and mohammed badr are accused of aiding a terrorist organization and spreading false new us. the campaign for their release gaineded momentum online and around the world. >> caged. these pictures are from a journalist's first appearance in front of a judge. the ruling military-backed government accused them of supporting a terrorist organization, after they

interviewed members of the outlawed muslim brotherhood. al jazeera maintain the journalists were doing their jobs. c.n.n., reuters, and the bbc all support that. >> before the court appearance, this video was leaked, broadcasting the moment the journalists were arrested in their cairo hotel room. a voice, thought to belong to a community office asking mohamed fadel fahmy, the acting bureau chief, about his accreditation to which he applied: >> mohamed fadel fahmy is questioned further, who the last person was they interviewed, who opens the equipment, and he is asked how he gets paid.

to which he answers "we don't interview people in the room. al jazeera opens the equipment. i get a monthly salary like everyone else." the committee to protect journalists rates egypt as one of the worst company. the white house urged the egyptian government to free the journalists. >> we have expressed concerns to the government of egypt. we have urged the government to drop the charges and release the journalists and academics who have been detained. >> it has never been more important that the calls for press freedom on this day of action are heard, in a country so deeply divided. >> tony harris reporting. this morning on al jazeera, we share part of the peter greste's letters sent from prison. this morning, much-needed release. rain has started falling,

perhaps too much, too fast. now flooding is a concern. >> we can mimic the original skip, resulting in healing. >> a medical breakthrough that could change the way doctors treat burns. how 3d printing is used to make new skip. >> and a ban on bitcoin called for after an exchange d disappears, possibility leaving investors out millions of dollars.

>> rain is in the forecast for california. they have been under a drought emergency, after 2013 marked the driest years. in san francisco, an inch of rain on wednesday, enough to quench the city's first. the southern part of the state has flood warnings. it could be the wettest the city has seen in two years. >> good morning, welcome back, i'm thomas drayton. in a moment, a fascinating

story - using 3d printing to create new skin for burn victims, but first the rain >> we are not talking about one storm, it's two. the storm are happening close together. too much rain leading to flooding. welcome here, seeing as rain coming down. the first storm moving through, and a break. overnight tonight big storm, intense off the coast. rain and snow moving into the state. severe extreme drought. welcome precip, but too much could lead to flash flooding. there's a number of warning and watches. 2-3 feet of snow. we need to get it up.

typically it melts and goes into the reservoirs. heavy rain in the valleys. flash flooding. leading to a quick area of flooding. localized. this is wenter storm watches and warnings for the snow. talking about the cold air in the northern plains. these are windchill warnings and advisories. temperatures dropped. 4 below, 10 below. this cold air sliding to the east where the lags are not frozen. we are seeing lake effect snow. >> talking about the temperatures in a bit. 3d printers had bad press, remember the 3d plastic gun. we report on a prototype that can produce human skin for the

benefit of victims. >> we use different solutions. this is the printer cartridge. lien lang is working on a ph.d. machines fascinate her. this has been taking up her time. it's a 3km printer that should produce human skin from a pirnt's sells. when the proo type is ready, it will go foo ink jet -- into ink jet printer nozzles and produce skin for a graft for patients and severe burns. >> this is not something you come across. to see the impact and intre case, how the time scale is important in terms of saving someone's life. there's a lot to take into account. >> burns are horrific.

skin is transplanted, healing is slow, scarring is common. doctors say the ipp vention could be the biggest breakthrough for them since antibiotics. we can mimic the skip or improve healing. almost no scar. >> it may be possible to produce organs for transplants. >> we are trained as engineers, and researchers, and all in this project, we are trained from different angles, from cell biology, building microsystems. so it is important that different disciplines work together.

the investors hope to produce a result that is cheap and incredible. it could make it one of the biggest productive steps forward for 3d printing technology. >> by the way, 3d printing has been around since the 1980s. turning to business news. federal reserve chair janet yellen returns to capitol hill. appearing before a senate panel to complete testimony. the winter storms delayed her appearance. investors will be watching to see if she mentioned how the weather is impacting the economy. >> wall street will weigh economic data on durable goods. right now the futures are down 71 points. the do you opens, shy of 1845, a new record. >> overseas asian markets ended

the day mostly higher. the nikkei fell a third of a per cent. fighters jets along the western borders have been put on combat alert. >> the government autosafety watchdog is investigating whether goernts took general motors took too long to report a malfunction in their cars. 13 people were killed, the deaths more than double the original toll. the president of g m apologising for not doing enough to investigate the issue. the recall expanded to 1.6 million cars. >> recalls on this one in particularly, because death are are involved is serious business. the fact that they have acknowledged that, and that these were not done the right way when this was an issue, when the vehicles were built and

tested. it's a big step forward. as a company it says we, gm, are standing behind what we have done. >> as a major issue, gm can be fined $35 million. >> tesla unveiled plans to build a factory, raising $1.6 million by selling debt. it is considering building a factory, one of four states, which included nevada. the plant will employ 6, 500 people. construction will start this year. change is coming. it will look like that, but is very different from what you are used to seeing. >> we have swiss-based private bankers that appear to have violated the war.

>> lawmakers want to know how some of the wealthy americans can hide billions from the tax man. >> i'm john henry smith, a son knocks off his dad's old team. >> we'll share messages from our imprisoned colleagues. before we go to break, we want to share a letter peter wrote from prison. >> we have been doing what every journalist would, recording and trying to make sense of the events with fairness and balance. when the egyptian government declared the muslim brotherhood to be a terrorist organisation, it knocked the wind out of them. talking to them became on act of treason, however

>> a live look at the statue of liberty in new york. the new york harbour, a clear but chilly quay. >> the top stories - the army disqualified 588 soldiers from positions of trust. after a major probe into sexual all the. investigate juniors sifted through records of 20,000 military members. it's unclear if the soldiers were kicked out of the military or assigned to new positions. >> members of an armed pro-rush amilitia has taken over some buildings in crimea. they are flying an american flag. it comes as ukraine's parliament meets in kiev. >> a controversial bill that set off a debate over gay rights. it would have allowed business

openers to refuse service to same-sex couples. it follows criticisms for major businesses. >> a protest organizers joins us from phoenix. i know this is a victory for you. 24 hours ago. they were concerned which way jan brewer would be going. tell us about your actions to stop it moving forward. >> we have been out here things thursday. then we started with a small group of protesters. the movement has grown. by monday we have 2,000 people out here protesting. the overall resounding message is that arizona did not want the alsolation. >> we have images of you

protesting. born this way. what has the rehabilitation been like. >> the reaction has been overwhelmingly negative to the legislation. there has been numerous people in support of the bill. it's close to impossible to find everyone. the business community made a resounding statement that this was not just unneeded but would be harmful for the communicatee. >> what would you say to those that operate their own business. >> to those people, the thing is that >> arizona, l.g.b.t. people are not a protected class. they have the ability to turn us away. they can do so. it's an interesting question to raise.

if you go into business your bottom line should be profit. >> what does this mean moving forward for gays and lesbians. we went from immigration to gay rights. >> i hope it shows the gay community in arizona is strong, and we are willing to make a stand. moving forward, that we can move together as a community. in the past few days it's not just been the gay community, it's been the latino, women's movement and organizations and groups, people who have come together and said "we need to look out for each other, and this is bad for arizona. >> this is a divisive issue, where do we stand as a country? >> i see us moving forward.

this legislation was written in reaction to what i am sure the states saw as a pending marriage. they were trying to pre-empt progress. it was interesting that they felt so defensive that they had to strike out. if us and arizona are heading that way, it's a clear statement that that's the way the country is headed. >> your efforts paid off. >> thank you, joining us from phoenix. >> the group alliance defending proce freedom which helped write the bill said this: >> coming up later - first lady michelle obama will announce changes to nutrition labels.

the label makeover marks the first in some 20 years. erica pitzi joins us to explain. is this cosmetic or is there science behind this? >> there's science behind this. consider this - more than 40% of working adults read the consideration labels. system make it easier to understand. the original labels are based on eating habits and data from the 70s and '80s. the food and drug administration says it's time for an update. >> first off information about calories and fat making way for the calorie count, which will be bigger and bolder print. serving sizes will have a prime minister incident print. they'll reflect portions people eat as shown by studies, so they'll be bigger. shown on oos cream, half cup,

will increase to one cup. really, who eats half a cup. a new separate line about added sugars - they must be shown in one number. looking at the labels side by side, you see the percentages of fats, carb, sodium. they are shifting to the left of the label. applying to 700,000 products from serial to? a. no drinks. it is estimated the changeover will cost $2 billion. they are being given two years to put the changes into effect. the end goal is inform americans as much as possible when it comes to managing their own health.

>>a allows us to be better informed. after a senate report accused the bank of hiding millions in the u.s. government. >> a report from a senate investigative committee years in the making, look at the size of it. jals bond villains have nothing on swift bankers. >> it's the stuff of spy novels. but it's all too real, as much as $12 million hidden away in swiss bank accounts. >> top officials of credit swisse, the second-largest bank accused of helping 19,000 u.s. customers evade taxes.

>> in testimony credit swite c.e.o. dugan was contrite. >> despite the industry-led measures, we had private bankers who appeared to have violated u.s. law. >> a small rogue group was blamed. their methods was cloak and dagger. the report tells of a meeting where bank statements were slipped into the pages of ""sports illustrated," a remote controlled elevator with no buttons, opening to a ware room with white wall. after each transaction account statements were shredded. it was done without filing tax warrants. >> senators want client unanimous. bank officials say they are squeezed betweenst and swisse law.

>> do you think you'll be convicted in a wees court. will the government prosecute you will you be pros cued, is that your fear. >> so you have double jeopardy. where would you like to spend time? >> it's a tough decision. >> soirnts were frustrated demanding this credit swisse act aboveboard. >> how many people have you held accountable, fired? >> we determined it cut the business down, over the first two years we reduced the size of the business by 80, 85%. most of the people involved with the business were fired as part of the shutting down the business. the bulk of them left the

business. >> this as the department of justice investigates not just credit swiss , but and other. credit swiss to pay is a fine. >> bitcoin is taking heat on capitol hill. financial regulators have been asked to ban the karch by joe manchin. one currency trader said joe manchin may be going too far. >> in the early days there were bank running, fdic insurance, federal reserve and now you trust to put your money into a bank. this the early days it is expect there'll be hiccups. >> joining us to discuss this is david nelson. senator joe manchin brings up a

sudden point, follow the closure, $300 million-plus dollars missing. it's more than a major hiccup. >> it's important to distinguish between a bitcoin exchange and the currency itself. we may find out several months from now that it was nothing more than a ponzi scheme. it could be that. red flags showed up for several months. people that had invested said that it was easy to get money in, almost impossible to get it out. the company, their founder, mark kapellis believe they were hacked or robbed. it may have vanished. >> they ceased operations. >> the senator september a later saying:

>> if criminals are taking advantage of bitcoin, will regulators step in. >> probably. a lot of backers are calling for it. it's important for the viewers to understand when you invest in bitcoin, you have no backing. as we have seen, these people have been wiped out. they will not get their money back. i think regulation is likely to take hole. this is a devastating blow for the investors. it's a devastating blow for the currency. i doubt that will be the end of the courage si or the last currency that we'll see. jpmorgan chase amongst others. they filed a pat ent payment system with a lot of hallmarks

of bitcoin. >> you think that will be the alternative? >> the greenbank is looking good. i want to get perspective on bitcoin as we look at one bitcoin worth $572. 12.45 million in circulation. the value 7.12 million. what is the likelihood. >> unknown at that point. i think we go back to the origins, 2009. what is interesting about the date, it comes on the heels of the final crisis when there were a lot of dranks printing money. bit copy was limit to 21 million. i think it will remain as an alternative currency. >> what is so appealing.

>> given what is happening, i'm not sure that i want to invest in is. criminals like it, the fact that the transactions, there's no paper trail. when regulation steps in. it may grrg and a lot of atransaction may go away. >> regulation is coming. thanks for joining us. >> john henry smith joining us with sport and more on the legal problems for an n.b.a. player. >> good morning to you. raymond felton is scheduled to be in the line-up in miami, despite an arrest on felon weapons charges. he was back at practice a day after posting $25,000 bail. the lawyer for felton's wife turned in a handgun to police belonging to felton. his coach had this to say:.

>> i am acoach where i want guys to be professional and do things right on and off the court. i don't know a lot about what happened and what raymond and the situation he's going in. at the end of the day he's a part of the new york nick family. >> the n.f.l.'s competition committee - one of the items open for discussion is a rule penalizing players for using the "n" words and other slurs. some think it's a good idea. >> it's a great indication. but they should ban other swear words. but i don't know how they'll employ it, it will be tough. it's your word against his.

that can be tricky. >> a couple of fantastic finishes for the colleges. we head to the triangle. down in north carolina. unc trailed nc state. james macadu tied the game. the dj hitting one of two. they split a fair. markous page for the game winner. winning 85-84. >> to the midwest. michigan trailing by one. 2.9 seconds left. across court to glen robbins. the sup puts it up. beating burr due. michigan with a win. >> major league baseball team pay finds a star.

they wait until the play is arbitration eligible. sometimes the players are so good, mike trout agreeing to a one year, $1 million contract. that is a prearbitration record for a major league deal, it eclipses records set in 2003 by albert pulhols. at the time he signed for one year $100,000. >> not a bad dream. >> only in our dreams. still ahead - farmers in california battling more than the drought. some are dealing with a pest killing our citrus. now they are fighting for survival of the industry. >> i didn't think it was a massive hole. >> a big deal, the manager of the corvette museum where the

sink hole swallowed eight cars. before the break, more of the peter greste's letter from the prison in egypt. mousse [ ♪ music ] what then for a journalist. how do you accurately and fairly report on egypt's struggle without talking to everyone involved. i worried about that with mohamed fadel fahmy, and we decided the choice as obvious, as obvious as the price we are paying for making it.

>> welcome back. a live look at a chilly new york city. it's 20 degrees this morning. a beautiful look.

>> become back to al jazeera america. let's bring in meteorologist dave warren. sick of people complaining. >> it happened a month ago. we have more cold air now. textures below zero. when you factor in the windchill, that's what it feels like, 30 below. chicago with a windchill of negative 4. it's dry, except for the lake effect snow showers. it could be heavy in some areas as the cold air moves over the lakes that were not frozen. in between is where you get the gusty wind. pennsylvania, new york and new england. it's calm, but it will pick up later. temperatures about 20, 11 in

albany, climbing to barely above freezing. the air is colder, so the temperatures dropping. tomorrow morning is the coldest, getting waller. text doors climbing to seven in chicago. not above zero. it's dry across much of the country. where the rein is needed, we get it. the rain could be heavy, heading to flash flooding. >> it's not just the weather but a parasite devastating the citrus industry. farm exercise growers get help in the crisis. >> citrus farming runs through bob knight's blood, a way of life passed down through his

father, grandfather and great grandfather. he had been growing citrus in this area since the late 1900s. many have stiffed droughts, cold snaps and exchanges in the market. it went survive this. >> it's the asian citrus psyllid, a carrier of a bacteria that is fatal. we'll lose all the trees. >> the californian department of food and agriculture called it the most devastating disease in the world, one that science has been unable to combat. it made its way into georgia, mississippi, hawaii and california. the associated disease hit six states, threatening the $1.8 billion citrus industry.

to survive they are having to get creative and adapt. making the switch. when you are a fourth generation citrus farmer. who will boy your veg ables. the nation's second largest school district pledged to by all the vegetables bob knight and 30 other farmers can grow. >> we are focussed on half the plate being fresh fruits and vegetables and sourcing them from close to los angeles. >> over the last few years the district has been making changes. processed foods are out, fruit and vegetables are in. a number of students like the healthier foods. >> i'm happy that they are serving vegetables. i like vegetables in fruit.

>> we go back to the planting of the product and have a connection with bob and other farmers. >> it takes a huge amount of stress and risk out of making the transition from being a fruit grower. now this means that bob can save the family labour, and it will serve a new generation. >> astronomers made an incredible discovery about the universe. n.a.s.a. found 720 new plants using the kepler telescope. four of them could potentially support life. the newly discovered planets are orbited by other stars.

>> earlier we told you about a sink hole in kentucky. it is now as big a draw as the cars. the core vets fell into the deep hole. extracting the cars will begin in a couple of weeks and will go to general motors to be restored. >> we put up security footage of the sink hole erupting. it had over 7 million views. if it was a sink hole that opened in the parking lot for the yard, it wouldn't have gotten the media tapes it has. with the internet and social media, it has gotten shard and had a lot of interest. >> as you can't imagine, it's facing massive problems. >> del walters joins us with a

look at what is ahead. >> at the end of the first hour here is what we follow: arizona's governor vetoing the religious freedom bill - many saying it was anti-guy. others are gearing up for a fight. >> former president viktor yanukovych seeking asylum in russia. they say he is welcome. >> a day of action - calling for the release of our journalists. >> a reaction to the decision by arizona's governor to vetoment antigay bill. >> a group of health care consumer groups, calling on the gda, why they fear the drug hitting the market. >> temperatures are getting colder.

i'll there the numbers in the forecast. >> that will do it for me, i'm thomas drayton. al jazeera continues. we'll be back in 2.5 mpt. -- in 2.5 minutes.

>> stopped with a streak of a pen, arizona governor vetoing a controversial religious freedom bill. >> oneang for his safety, former ukrainian president yanukovych asks russia for safe passage as lawmakers in kiev will form a new government today. >> journalists around the world call for a release of our colleagues held in prisons in egypt. >> the prescription pain killer

causing a stir in the medical community, why health officials want the f.d.a. to invoke it's impending release. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. a controversial bill in arizona that set off a national debate over gay rights has been vetoed by that state's governor. the decision follows outrage from major corporations and republican lawmakers. it would have let businesses refuse service to same-sex couples based on their religious belief. stephanie joins us live. critics calling this unconstitutional and openly discriminatory. >> good morning to you, del, under mounting political social and economic pressure, arizona governor january brewer had no choice but to veto this controversial legislation. that came down around 5:45 p.m.

it was cause for big celebrations not only among opponents but those in the gay and lesbian community view this as a victory. >> days of protests turned to cheers. [ cheering ] >> as arizona governor january brewer vetoed a controversial bill that could have allowed businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians. >> i sincerely believe the senate bill has the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve. i could divide arizona in ways we can not even imagine and no one would ever want. religious liberty is a core american and arizona value. so is non-discrimination. >> conservative support for the bill began unraveling as big and small business complained it would hurt them or this with the

investment. >> it was a vote we regret taking and we're here to make that right and ask the governor to veto the bill. >> conservatives said their opponents distorted the issue, echoed by the legislatures in the house and senate. >> it's not about discrimination, it's about the free exercise of religion of sincerely held religious beliefs. >> opponents of the bill claimed victory for what they call an open attack on gays. >> this shows this nation that not all in arizona are like those extremists and that there are good people here and we want to help lead this country forward, not backwards. >> arizona send nor john mccain who called for the governor to veto the bill praised her decision. major corporations weighed in, too, apple, american airlines, delta and the nfl scheduled to play in phoenix next year all urged a veto.

>> it was a combination of the business communities and activists being out here day after day after day that sent a message loud and clear to the governor. >> opponents of the bill say that they've seen support from some pretty unlikely places. they've seen a ground swell of support from the religious community, rabbis and christian leaders have gotten behind them, even the mayor of the predominantly mormon community of mesa, arizona has come out against s.b.1062. stephanie, thank you very much. >> one of the groups that helped write the bill issuing this statement coming out against the veto, saying the move only acts to suppress of the freedom of the people of arizona, saying: andrew sherwood is a sit representative and a democratic in arizona. he is also in phoenix this

morning. before we start, we want to point out we've reached out to a number of republicans in favor of this bill to join us this morning but got no response. representative sherwood, following the veto of the bill, arizona governor january brewer says "religious liberty is a core american and arizona value" but she added, so is no discrimination. does she want to have it both ways? >> i don't think that anybody needs to have it both ways here. it already is both ways. we have religious freedom here. we're protecting our arizona residents making sure everybody feels comfortable and there is no discrimination here in arizona. >> when you say that, a lot of people wonder whether this boiled down to an issue of money or to an issue of morals. we have an awful lot of businesses and organizations that have said we don't want to have anything to do with arizona if this bill is signed into law, including the nfl, threatening the possibility of arizona losing the superbowl. did it have to do with what was

right and wrong morally or what was better economically for the state? >> i think it had -- yeah, great question. i think it had to do mostly with common sense here. the support simply was not here. we fought the bill in the senate, in the house and a lot of times on controversial bills, men and women in the community come forward and say this is a priority to me. we didn't hear that this time, the absence was conspicuous. we did hear from the opposition everywhere. it came from the business community, from our friends and family. once the bill came out of the legislature, the legislators took it back to the districts and said what do you think about it, we need support now. we saw people make comments and arguments why this is bad for arizona. we are open for business, bill. >> where do you stand on the bill? >> i opposed the bill. i was part of the coalition that owe pose i had it in the house of representatives on the floor.

we want to attract more men and women. this is a state that's having the arizona comeback, we're coming out of a recession. we want people to know that we are long past s.b.1070. we want people to come to arizona, feel welcome come here and be our neighbors. >> when you talk about a bill as this one and people on both sides hear the phrase optics, that means we didn't want to look bad as far as the rest of the world is concerned, but what about the moral issue on this. >> i'm not what part of the moral issue is being challenged when we talk about optics. >> both sides. >> this bill was watched closely. we go into session every january and people start watching all of our controversial bills, there's always a few. this bill got on people's radar quickly and it was important. i'm getting emails, phone calls, letters from people. again, the absence is conspicuous for the support. what we're hearing from is

overwhelming opposition for people saying this bill scares me. this bill offends me. this is about people who say i want people outside of the state of arizona to know that those of us here in arizona, we are common sense men and women, open for business. the people who owe posed this bill, by the way, del, this is a strikingly similar coalition to those who expanded medicaid a year ago, republicans, democrats, members in the business community. a lot of different people owe posed this. >> a group of hispanic lawyers already saying that they are canceling their convention in arizona. are you concerned that even with the actions that have been taken, that other businesses and organizations will follow suit? >> you know what, that's a great point. extremism is never something that i like to work on here at the legislature. i like to work on job creation, economic development, education. these extreme bills and make no mistake, this is part of the

extremism we have here in the capitol, these are damage to go arizona. you know, i got one letter from a person who said i was planning on coming to arizona, i'm not going to come here now, because of how i feel. i feel unwelcome. i would hate to think people wouldn't rethink their consideration for the state. we want them to come here. we want the tourism. we want people to have business conventions here. we want them to feel welcome. >> thank you for being with us this morning, representative andrew sherwood from arizona. >> a federal judge in texas striking down that state's ban on same-sex marriage, saying it deprives same-sex couples of equal protection, but the ruling doesn't mean gay marriages can be held quite yet, the judge staying that motion pending any appeals. the governor said it is not the role of the federal government to overturn the will of our citizens. this is another attempt to achieve via the courts what couldn't be achieved in the

ballot box. >> atlanta's mayor is against a bill as is delta airlines headquartered in atlanta. similar bills have been introduced in kansas, tennessee and oklahoma. >> a bitter divide this morning in ukraine. parliament there has approved the formation of a national coalition government, with the country showing signs of breaking apart. in the south, there are clashes in the streets and government buildings have been stormed as russia has now said it will protect the ousted president yanukovych who fled seeking ref final in russia. we have more daylights on the coalition government taking shape. here's nick shiffrin. good morning. >> good morning, dell. the building behind me in the parliament they are deciding the future of the country and the challenges could not be greater. this is a country that you just

said politically deeply divided, also economically. ukraine will run out of money in a couple months and needs that unity government in place to get a loans and avoid defaulting on it's bills. there is a huge effort to get things done quickly. they've been in parliament all morning. we were in there. they are acting pretty quickly. they've passed four bills first hour, dealing with the amnesty law to release people who were in prisons during the last three months of protest. they dealt with local elections, with the responsibility of the cabinet and in a little while, they will elect the prime minister. they are expected to elect the prime minister. that will be 39-year-old millionaire, and he very much has u.s. support. >> we are seeing signs that ukraine is breaking apart as was feared. what are you hearing about pro russian protests taking place in crimea? >> i think it's important to

note the people here are very much pro western and will look to the west. the people in crimea have always been pro russian, ever since ukraine got independence after the soviet union broke up, it never wanted to be part of that independent ukraine. what we're seeing is an example of that. the people have taken over the local government building. people who have raised the russian flag there, those are the people who have always wanted this country or rather that region to look east. it's not necessarily representative of the whole country right now. the acting president looks at crimea, is very concerned. he said this was a crime against this government. he warned russia not to make any kind of provocation and gave the military the ability to move into that local government building to get protestors out of it. >> joining us live from kiev, thank you very much. >> we will go live to jennifer

glass on those pro russian gunman who stormed the buildings in crimea. she is on the scene. >> thigh land's main opposition is willing a hold a debate on live television. that announcement coming after weeks of refusing any form of talks. he's asking only for two chairs, a microphone and a live broadcast "so that people can see him talk politics with thailand's prime minister." >> a day of solidarity with our colleagues held in egypt, detained nearly two months ago on december 29th, they are accused of spreading false news and belonging to a terrorist group. aljazeera continues to deny all of the charges and demand their immediate release. public events are taking place in 30 cities across the world today to highlight the challenges that journalists place and put pressure on egyptian authorities to release them. our aljazeera network cameraman was detained for nearly seven months in egypt. he was freed earlier this month

and says he was abused and tortured on a daily basis. >> cells were two by two and a half meters with a toilet inside. we were four persons in the same cell. it was too small, so we had to sleep in turns. we were prevented from offering group prayers or attending friday sermons. food was very bad and we could see insects crawling in the plate or inside the bread. medical care was totally absent. only pain killers were given to any kind of complaint. >> now the global day of action reached the south screen capitol of seoul as well to promote awareness. >> i've written a letter to the egyptian ambassador signed by representatives of all sorts of media organizations, international broadcasters and news agencies based in seoul and domestic newspapers and broadcasters standing behind aljazeera's campaign to promote

press freedom around the world and specifically to get freedom for the four aljazeera staff members detained in egypt. we maintain they were simply doing their job, trying to report accurately and fairly and speak to as many sides of the political spectrum inside egypt as possible. the idea that the egyptian authorities are trying to put forward that they were in some way linked to a terrorist organization, that they were spreading false news doesn't stand. these are very experienced people with track records around the world and deliver extremely authoritative enterprising, even-handed jury roomism and that's what they were trying to do in egypt. they simply paid the price for doing that and have been detained for far too long. we call for the trial to be ended, charges dropped and these people let free. >> this is the scene in doha, the staff right now standing in

solidarity with our colleagues still detained in egypt. once again, those colleagues being held because they were just doing their job, getting both sides of the story in egypt and in many cases around the world, that is not welcome. we stand in solidarity with our colleagues and all of us here at aljazeera demand their immediate release. >> then later throughout the morning, we were going to have some words on the conditions he and the other colleagues face as they sit, waiting to be released from those jails in egypt. >> the gop is eyeing big reforms for the nation's tax code. michigan congressman dave camp revealing his plan, slashing tax rates from 40% to 25%. the nation's top earners making more than $450,000 a year would get an extra 10%. it doesn't touch capital gains or dividends which critics say spare the super rich. if passed, it would be the first overhaul of the tax code since

ronald reagan was in office. harry reid defending himself after claiming all conservative ads against obamacare is false. he said reed needs to apologize to the american people, wednesday saying a tea party backed group hires actors to tell fake obamacare stories in those ads. reid has said he was only referring to the vast majority of those stories in the ads. >> if you thought the cold weather in the past few days was bad, it's only going to get worse. for more, let's go to dave. >> the wind chills are well below zero. along with that cold air, we have storms to talk about. welcome rain here across the southwest. this is one of two storms that will be moving into the west, so a little bit too much rain, lead to go flooding here. you can see that first one moving out, the second approaching friday into saturday with some rain and snow in the month tons there.

needed snow and rain, but too much rain could lead into flash flooding especially in the valleys. rain and snow, that's up to feet of snow in the mountains, you can start to see that rain moving through today. there's that flash flood watch in effect across southern california. now to talk about the cold air, wind chill warnings and wind chill advisories, temperatures dropping well below zero when you factor in that gusty wind, making it feel 30 below zero to 40 below zero. factoring in the winds, 31 blow in minneapolis, pushing south and moving east along the mid atlanta and northeast will see that bitter cold air here over the next 48 hours. not much in the way of rain and snow, lake effect across the lakes and that wind pushing that snow to western new york there and the western tip of pennsylvania. between these two areas of low pressure and high pressure, you get that gusty wind. the areas today seeing that is

pennsylvania, new york and east. >> nutrition labels on food packaging looking at a makeover, how it could be used to fight obesity in america. >> the alarm about a new pain killer, why the public doesn't need another way of fighting pain. >> $6,900,000,000,000 is our big number of the day. it's the bank account for an exclusive club that is saying hello to some wealthy, very wealthy new members. bee

♪ what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex.

further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before. >> it is called the nine zero's club. $6,900,000,000,000 is the combined net worth of all of the world's billionaires, that club adding 414 members in 2013, bringing their worldwide total to 1,867. mainland china climbs the ladder, producing 41 new billionaires last year alone now have 358, but still trail the u.s., which welcomes 72 new

billionaires to their rank. there are now 81 billionaires living in the u.s. p.m. welcome back, the labels on the food you eat with its calorie count and content may be getting a new look. first, take a look at the temperatures across the nation today. good morning, dave. >> nothing new here. the temperatures are dropping across the northern plains and through the mid atlantic to the northeast. high pressure is building in. it's dry. the storm that moved out intense filing. gusting wind will pick up this afternoon and this evening creating bitter cold wind chills. already seeing that, minneapolis is 12, four below zero in for go, factoring in the wind, 30 below zero to 40 below zero. talking temperatures in the northeast, right now, there are about 20. that wind will pick up this afternoon, cold wind chills and overnight tonight, the wind dies down. the temperatures which are barely above freezing dropping into the teens by tomorrow

morning, so the coldest morning is tomorrow. >> thank you very much janet yellen returning to capitol hill will appear before a senate panel to talk about monetary policies. winter storms delayed her appearance scheduled earlier this month. one investor saying she faces major challenges. >> she has to look into back to indicate us, has to read tea leaves. because asset prices are manipulated by them, it's difficult to assess what the economy is like, so they are looking around like all of us. that makes it difficult to invest and create policy on their side. >> dow futures are down ahead of yellen's testimony. investors will weigh economic data on durable goods and weekly jobless claims. the dow opening at 16198, the s&p thigh of a new record at 1845. the nasdaq standing at 4292.

overseas the asian markets higher, the nikkei did fall a third of a%. european stocks are lower after reports of russian fighter jets along the borders now put on combat alert in ukraine. >> first lady mitchell obama announcing sweeping changes to food packages labels, the first time that's been done in two decades. there is science behind this. >> absolutely. more than 40% of working adults read nutrition labels. do you? >> yes, i do now. >> these changes are meant to make them easier to understand and help millions of people who read them. these labels are based on eating habits and data from the 1970's and 1980s. the f.d.a. said it is time for an update. the new label, first off, information about calories from fat is going away to make room

for the more important overall calorie count which will be in bigger and bolder print. serving sizes will have a more prominent print. they will reflect portions people typically eat as shown by studies. serving size shown an cartons of ice cream are half cup. who eats a half cup of ice cream? no one. that's going to increase to one cup. again, you want to reflect the actual portion that is people eat. a new separate line about added sugars will highlight sugars that are manufactured and added to food whether coming from corn syrup, honey, took close, they must be shown in one number. side by side, you can see the percentages of fat, carbs, sodium, shifting to the left of the label to make it easier to read. changes will apply to 700,000 products. nationwide, we're talking about cereals to energy drinks. companies have two years to put them into effect.

>> this makes so much sense, because so many of us have been looking at portion sizes. nobody eats two cookies. >> nobody. >> it's going to cost money. >> it is estimated $2 billion to do this changeover. >> all this coming when we have a major obesity epidemic. >> one third of adults are obese. that is a serious number. the end goal is to inform the public. >> you asked me if i read the labels. i didn't always. i still do. thanks a lot. >> arizona's governor vetoing that controversial bill over gay rights. the pressure put on her to reject the measure. >> ecrane's ousted pressure making a plea to russia, asking moscow to lend a helping hand. >> there are new rules put in place for this year's boston

marathon, the steps being taken to make sure people are safer in the wake of last year's bombing. >> can a soccer ball change the world? >> literally, hundreds of millions of children every single day have nothing more than a rock to play with. >> find out how one man's vision became a reality that has impacted 21 million children worldwide. >> as people hold vigils around the world today for our aljazeera colleagues held in egypt, here now is just part of our report of a letter from a jail cell. the three of us have been accused of collaborating with a terrorist organization, hosting brotherhood meeting in our hotel rooms, using unlicensed equipment to broadcast false information to further their aims and discredit the egyptian state. the state has presented no evidence to support the

allegations.

>> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state... >> what's clear is that people don't just need protection, they need assistance.

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. in our next half hour, crimea is the new battleground in that ongoing conflict in ukraine. some of asking for a new pain killer to be pulled from the shelves before it hits the market. >> arizona governor voluntary toeing sb1062. it would have let businesses deny service to same sex customers for religious reasons. that follows days of widespread criticism even within her own party, including three state lawmakers who once voted for the bill. >> after weighing all of the

arguments, i have vetoed senate bill 1062 moments ago. to supporters of the legislation, i want you to know that long held norms about marriage and family are being challenged as never before. our society is undergoing many dramatic changes. however, i sincerely believe senate bill 1062 will create more problems. i can divide arizona in many ways we cannot imagine and no one would ever want. religious liberty is a core american and arizona value. so is non-discrimination. going forward, let's turn the ugliness of the debate over senate bill 1062 into a renewed search for greater respect and understanding among all arizonans and americans.

>> governor brewer saying her office received more than 40,000 calls and emails most against the bill. major corporations weighing in, apple and the nfl scheduled to play the superbowl near phoenix in 2015 all urge she veto the bill. the executive director from the arizona party joins us. we reached out to a number of republicans who backed this bill. none responded to our request to come on. good morning, this morning. i want to begin with some republicans, including arizona senator john mccain urging the governor to veto the bill. was this a matter of in-fighting or the realization that arizona stood to lose millions of dollars if she signed it into law? >> thanks, del. i think it's a little of both. what you see in the republican party nationally and specifically in arizona is a civil war brewing between the tea party and more pragmatic pro business wing.

currently in arizona, the tea party faction is really dominant within the legislature. that's what you saw with senate bill 1062. also, i think the tremendous outpouring of support including from big businesses are important to arizona, like apple and american airlines and the nfl superbowl host committee as you mentioned, were tremendously important for the senators that came out and changed their position and also for the governor to ultimately veto this bill. >> does it seem odd to you that this is being now seen as a wedge issue across the country, but it isn't driving a wedge between democrats and their voters, it seems to be driving a wedge between republicans and republicans. >> absolutely. i think it further demonstrates that civil war i was talking about. there's a big disconnect between the tea party and most average americans. most average americans want their lawmakers to focus on jobs and education and opportunity, not focus on these difficultiesive issues. i think that there's a brand of

republicanism out there that wants to focus on devicive social issues like these. actually, it's to they are own debt priment. american airlines, southwest airlines, delta airlines, j.p. morgan chase, apple and in tell, all of them telling the governor to veto the bill. was this a business decision, a decision about money or a decision about morality? >> we were just relieved that the veto happened for whatever enreason. from our perspective this was as much about morality andar values at americans as much as business. it's a bad deal for arizona or any states considering such legislation. >> a lot of people point back to arizona being the state that didn't want to recognize the martin luther king day national holiday and at that time, the state also lost a lot of money.

is this deja vu all over again? >> unfortunately what we've seen is the republicans in the ladies and gentlemen later are of a rather extreme are a invite and keep pushing bills like this. as a native of arizona, it's not reflective of our state. we are very moderate and unfortunately we keep seeing very extreme bills, senate bill 1070 a few years ago. >> you say that, and arizona said that after the martin luther king holiday debacle, and yet the population elections these people that sit in the state legislature that make these decisions that bring arizona into the cross hairs of the national debate. is arizona inclusive or do leaders like yourself want arizona to look inclusive? >> sure. i think when you look at when the voters of the state have been able to outon initiatives, they voted for very progressive

initiatives, such as public financing of campaigns, merit based judicial selection. the electors are very moderate and progressive. i think what you're talking about when you talk about the elections within individual districts, a lot of these are decided in primaries. in the republican primary, they're electing the most conservative extreme republican. that's why we see a lot of the politics we see today. >> thank you very much for being with us this morning. that is d.j. quinlan, the executive directors of arizona democratic party. he joined us this morning from washington, d.c. >> protestors in venezuela say peace talks there are not an option as long as the president is in office. hundreds taking part in more anti-government demonstrations on wednesday continue to blame him for soaring prime rates and a tanking economy. just a few blocks away, legions of pro government supporters marching in support of the president. >> ukraine's parliament

approving plans for a new interim government as two government buildings are taken in crimea with clashes between pro russian and pro union demonstrators. there are news reports, russian news reports that claim former ukrainian president yanukovych has been spotted at a moscow hotel and now staying in the kremlin. how will that be received where you are? >> the hotel itself denied that he'd been seen, but we do have a statement from president yanukovych this morning, the first we've heard from him since saturday. he said he was forced to ask russian authorities for protection from "extremist forces." he still says that he is the legitimate president of ukraine and called on ukrainians in the east and south to stand in support of him. he says clearly folks here in crimea in the south and people in the east don't recognize

what's going on in kiev. this is going to complicate things for the government trying to form a new government in kiev with yanukovych still saying he's president. >> what is happening inside those two seized government buildings in southern ukraine? >> >> you can see behind me, the police won't let us further up the street. there's a crowd of 1,000 people chanting "russia, russia." they are calling for a referendum for more autonomy. they want to go to the people and get more power. this is basically a russian peninsula, 90% russian, everybody speaks russian. the russian plea sea fleet is here. the people say they belong to russia, weren't consulted about what's going on in the capitol and want to take their own power and be in charge of their own destiny here. they say that's what they're doing now. we don't know who those pro russian men in the parliament are, the crimean prime minister

went to negotiate and they said we are not authorized to negotiate. we don't know who they're working for, who they are, mysterious men coming into the parliament overnight, del. >> as that he gathered in that square, protest leaders unveiled picks in kiev to head the country. a senior ukrainian analyst for global in sight and business intelligence group joins us from london. when protest leaders announced their picks yesterday in the square in kiev, they were booed by some. is this an indication that ukraine is as divided today as it was back in november? >> i think the line up of the government is not going to please all the population. what we heard yesterday, the boos indicate that not everyone is going to be happy. this is the issue with a unity

government. they have to accommodate not only the protestors that stood in central square kiev, but also those in southern ukraine and eastern ukrainian regions, where many people question whether these changes, where really in their interest, also in their economic interests. >> how how do you accommodate those interests when just this morning our men seizing the regional headquarters in crimea and then they raised the russian flag. doesn't sound like they want accommodation. sounds like they want conflict. >> there are different ways to interpret this. obviously emotions are running high and because there has been use of violence on both sides in the past three months, many people in the south believe that perhaps that's the way forward. this is why the unity government is so important, bringing into

the new cabinet the representatives of all the people, including the russian speaking population, and ethnic russians. once the channels of communication are open and there are representatives who would move this into the political dialogue, then it will be much more conduce i have to creating a real unity ghost in kiev. >> i am concerned about developments, i urge russia not to take action that could create tension or create misunderstanding and yet now we hear reports that the ousted president victor yanukovych is inside a hotel in the kremlin. doesn't sound like russia's paying much attention to nato or the warnings of u.s. secretary of state john kerry. >> again, the former president,

viktor yanukovych, he fleeing to russia is not necessarily surprising, being a pro russian president. he would probably try to seek refuge in russia. from russia's perspective, it's quite difficult to deny that refugee status to the president. with rewards to nato and russia exchanging this rhetoric, i think both sides are quite concerned about the escalation have events especially in crimea. it is a tension point and both nato and russia and also u.s. are -- >> but this is the matter of the law in this case and the case of president viktor yanukovych, a wanted man in ukraine, a fugitive on the run. russia in this case is harboring

a fugitive. >> the russian government would argue that the current government in ukraine wasn't necessarily legitimately elected, so they're not really under pressure to release the president or extradite him if those reports are confirmed, actually that he is in russia, a hotel in kremlin to start with. so we are looking into it, also a face saving issue for russia. they can't simply hand out the former president that they have been backing financially and politically for sometime. >> thank you very much for being with us this morning. >> a new security plan in place for this year's boston marathon. when bombs went off last year, organizers say no hand backs or backpacks or even big bottles.

runners can leave their belongings near the finish line. >> soccer balls are something special. good morning, john. >> good morning, del. two great things about the game of soccer, or football, if you prefer, one, it's truly a sport that inspires people around the world. two, all you really need to play the game is a ball. even that's been a problem for kids living in some of the world's harsher environments. that is, until now. >> i was watching a news story, heartbreaking news story about the polite of children in war decency and refugee camps. it was explaining that the simplest and most effective therapy to bring them back to humanity was just a play, simple, unstructured play. >> that was all the inspiration tim needed. he knew there were programs sending soccer balls to

developing and third world communities, but he also knew that those soccer balls didn't last very long in the harsh playing fields often found in those communities. he imagined a solution. >> to make a ball for these children that would never go flat so they could play and get that per pi. >> he is a a a lyricist by trade. 11 months and two tries later, the one world football project created a nearly indestructible ball made from unique cross ling

cell foam that doesn't need to be inflated. >> when done you had something that could work? >> the very first thing they said was a total failure. when i took it out of the box, i threw it on the ground and it bounced. i said you know what, that bounces better than a rock, wimp is what literally hundreds of millions of children every single day have nothing more than a rock to play with. >> we have bamboo and we make it like a ball so we can play with it. it's really hard to play with it. it really hurts your feet because we have no shoes. >> it's just a ball so kids can play, but it's an incredibly powerful tool that magnifies so many times over. >> w we have a very 30 supply of balls. most of them usually pop or we lose them. the majority of the time when it does pop, we don't have enough ball to really just run normal practice with. the reason this ball is very

useful to us is it's indestructible. you can use it forever. >> there is no such thing as a truly indestructible anything, however if you use it for what it was designed for, to be kicked and played with by children and people in harsh circumstances, it will never wear out in our lifetime. >> the one world football project reached its goal of creating a ball as strong as a child's spirit. >> this is what we call social nutrition. it is a fundamental nutrient in the quality of life. it's as important as food, medicine and shelter. >> the one world football project has distributed 766,001 world footballs to 165 countries worldwide, helping to build communities and offering children the chance to play. >> one world football sells these revolutionary soccer balls for around $40.

for every ball purchased the organization donates one of these balls to communities in need around the world. demand has been so high, it's opened its first european distribution center. >> it's always very simple ideas, but a very, very smart thing to do. >> indeed. >> a new pain killer set to debut, but we'll tell you why some are appealing to the f.d.a. to withdraw the approval. >> in our next hour, people around the world holding vigils today for our aljazeera colleagues still detained in egypt. the role public support will play in the effort to set them free. we want to show you a look at where people are talking about our staff on twitter around the world. you, too, can join in the conversation and we invite you to do so with a #freeajstaff.

>> injure looking liver at laidy liberty this morning. it is so cold in new york, some think she might need a blanket before the end of the in the morning. welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. we'll tell you about concerns over a new pain killer set to hit the market. first, let's find out where it might snow and rain especially across the country today. >> right where we need it, in fact too much rain could plead to flash flooding. here in california, the area under the extreme drought is getting the rain and snow. won't end the drought, but certainly helping the situation there. this is one of two storms, first one coming in today and a little break this afternoon and overnight tonight and tomorrow, the next storm comes in. that will be the big one. the commuter showing a break this afternoon and this evening. by tonight and early tomorrow,

the storm is off the coast, very heavy rain especially in southern california. this is feet of snow in the mountains, so helping the situation there, a little too much rain could lead to flash flooding. >> thank you very much. >> health care, consumer and addiction groups sounding the alarm over a new high dose pain killer saying the new prescription drug shouldn't be released next month, urging the drugs approval to be revoked. they say it will worsen the drug addiction epidemic. the f.d.a. say the benefits outweigh the risks. the president of the physicians for responsible opiods joins us. >> there is an addiction to pain killers and heroin. the last thing we need is a

capsule very easy to crush, chew, snort or inject. many are concerned that this drug is going to make an already serious problem even worse. >> what you say it is already serious, ruffle 4,000 people overdosed on opoids in 1999, more than 16,000 in 2010, a 43% increase of all drug poisoning deaths in 2010. given these statistics, why should the f.d.a. move forward and what pressure are they under to do so? >> they absolutely should not continue approving new pain killers. those figures you just reported on the c.d.c. is telling us that this epidemic, this sharp increase in overdose deaths has been caused by too much describing are pain killers. the last thing we need are new pain killers. every time a new pain killer hits the market, the company needs to recoup its investment.

to do that, they encourage more prescribing which will worsen this epidemic. >> a single ingredient opoids, one pill contains 10 times more hydrocodone than vicodin pill. i know people that have taken a vicodin and it has scared them it's so potent. >> 50 milligrams means one capsule could be lethal to a child who's never taken an opiod before, two could kill an adult. this is an especially dangerous product and no reason the f.d.a. should have approved it. an advisory committee voted 11-2 against approving this drug, yet the f.d.a. approved it anyway. >> vicodin being stolen from medicine cabinets, the children stealing them and selling them on the streets. if this was a street drug would web having this debate right now? >> actually hydrocodone is very

similar to heroin, almost the same drug. if this was an illegal product, no, we wouldn't. but because there are enormous profits made, they continue to be released. >> how much money are we talking about? >> this is a billion dollar industry, multiple billions are earned through the legal narcotics trade. >> i grew up when all they wanted was aspirin. if this one gets through, what's next? >> i don't know, but in order to turn this epidemic around, one of the things we need to do is see that doctors and dentists begin to describe pain killers more cautiously. it's very difficult to do that when you've got companies putting out new pills and encouraging doctors to keep prescribing. >> do you believe there's anything the public can do with this? what do you want them to do? >> for the public, it's important to recognize that these are highly addictive

medications. they're similar to heroin. they are useful for treating suffering at the end of life from cancer pain and can be very useful if taken on a short term basis for severe acute pain, but for common chronic conditions, people should not be taking these medications long term. >> he is the president of the physicians for responsible opiod prescribing. >> arizona's governor vetoing that bill after pressure from business leaders and fellow republicans, the legislation would have let business owners refers service to same-sex couples based on their religious beliefs. >> russia welcomes ousted president viktor yanukovych following his plea for illume. people around the world calling for the release of our aljazeera colleagues from an egyptian prison. >> officials in china trying to clear the air. why some of the most important people are refusing to heed

warnings about dangerous pollution. >> this people making the best of a very bad situation after many towns are frozen over because of the risk of flooding. >> we're looking at more bitter cold temperatures moving in. look at those numbers and see where there's rain and snow. i'll have a look at that in the national forecast coming up. >> the aljazeera morning news continues. i'm back in two minutes as people hold vigils around the world today for our colleagues held in egypt. here's an excert of peter's letter from his prison cell. authorities vital rights, denying visits from lawyers, keeping cells locked for 24 hours a day. that is benign compared to the conditions my colleagues are held in, both men spent 20 hours a day in their mosquito laden

cells with no books to help with the soul destroying tedium.

>> arizona's governor vetoes a controversial bill some say was anti gay. proponents of the law say she simply kaiserred in to big money and pressure. >> freedom of the press, a day of action as journalists around the world call for the release of our colleagues still held in prison in egypt. >> ukrainian president viktor yanukovych, the former president, asking for and getting protection from russia

as that country forms a new government. >> is the swiss government going to prosecute you? >> bankers on the hot seat on capitol hill answering questions about billions of american dollars hidden away from the i.r.s. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. a controversial bill in arizona that set off a nationwide debate vetoed by the state governor. the decision followed days of pressure from all sides on this issue. the religious freedom bill gave business owners the right to refuse service to people based on their own personal religious beliefs. others said it was an anti gay bill. stephanie joins us live from phoenix this morning. critics calling this bill

unconstitutional and discriminatory. >> they most certainly are, del. good morning to you. under mounting political social and economic pressure, arizona governor january brewer had no choice but to veto the bill. opponents celebrating those in the gay and lesbian community celebrating, most certainly calling the veto a victory. >> days of protests turned to cheers as arizona governor jan brewer vetoed a bill that could have allowed businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians. >> i sincerely belief senate bill send 62 has the potential to create more problems than it could solve. i could divide arizona in ways we could not even imagine and no one would ever want. religious liberty is a core

american and arizona value. so is non-discrimination. >> conservative support for the bill began unraveling as big and small business claimed it would hurt them or thwart investment. >> supporters of the bill say her decision was a disappointment. the center for arizona policy, the group that helped write the bill issued a statement, calling it a "sad day" and said opponents distorted the issue. that sentiment was also echoed by legislators in the house and senate. >> it's not about discrimination, it's about the free exercise of religion of sincerely held religious beliefs. >> opponents of the bill claim victory for what they called an open attack on gays. >> this shows this nation that not all people in arizona are like those extremists and that there are good people here and that we want to lead, we want to lead this country forward, not

backwards. >> arizona senator john mccain who called for the governor to veto the bill appraised her decision on twitter. major corporations weighed in, apple, american airlines, delta and the nfl scheduled to play in arizona next year, all urged governor brewer to veto the measure. >> it was a combination of the business communities and activists out here day after day after day that finally sent a message loud and clear to the governor. >> we haven't been hearing too much from the supporters of the original bill as of yet, however, one of the sponsors of the bill, the alliance defending freedom did say "freedom loses when fear overwhelms facts and a good bill is vetoed, today's bill makes it easier. they vow to fight for anyone.

>> the veto of that bill does not end the debate of bills nationwide. although arizona's bill did get further, it was one signature away from becoming law. other bills either stalled or were thrown out for failed to pass in other states. 13 states now gearing up for a battle over the very same issue from the northeast to the midwest and the deep south, in the west, there is now a push in california and oregon. they want the issue on the ballot. they say that the voters are the ones that should decide this very contentious issue. georgia could be the next battleground, say the senators could vote monday on a similar bill to the one in arizona. delta airlines is against it, howard in atlanta. delta's website noted that they sponsor gay pride events around the country and the bill could

harm people and result in the loss of jobs. a federal judge in texas striking down that state's ban on same-sex marriage saying it violates constitutional rights, it did not mean same sex calms can marry in the state, the judge staying the mowing pending appeal. governor rick perry was quick to criticize saying it is not the role of the federal government to overturn the will of our citizens. he goes on to say this is yet another attempt to achieve vias courts what couldn't be achieved in the ballot box. >> ukraine approving a new coalition government. the prime minister is the former economy minister. he says the new government will have to make unpopular decisions in order to tackle the economic crisis there and that ukraine should push for closer ties with the european union. nick shiffrin is live with details on this coalition government taking shape.

good morning. >> good morning. the challenges for the government are immense, uniting a country that is politically divided and on the verge of economic collapse. ukraine needs $15 billion by the summer to pay its bills. the prime minister is 39 ears old, not only the former economy minister, but former foreign minister. he has been in government long time and very much has u.s. backing. he will look toward the west not only for economic help that he needs and that the country needs, but also to increase the political ties with both the e.u. and united states. while we're seeing all of these scenes in parliament this morning, there was an extraordinary scene last night that's very important to look at in order to understand what's really happening here in kiev. last night, all of the politicians, all of the technocrats were on stage in

independence square, kind of a beauty pageant. calm it the kiev caucus. they were brought on to the stage. some 50,000 people were booing, cheering. everyone approved last night by the crowd are now leading the government. while they were in parliament right now passing laws, the power very much is in the street and all of the people behind me and everyone in parliament knows that if this new government passes laws that are unpopular, this crowd will kick them outthis is a rough road ahead. what are some of the unpopular decisions the new prime minister is going to ever to make quickly? >> economically, they need 15-$30 billion by the summer, a giant loan from the international monetary fund. with i.n.s. money comes and you saysterry, demanding higher taxes. the government will have to push forward even a doubling of the

gasoline tax here. that will be very unpopular, extremely difficult for this government. politically, physically, obviously very difficult in the south of the country, deep tensions there. not only there, in the east, as well. a lot of people look toward russia. a lot of people in ukraine still want to be connected to russia. a lot of people hostile to the government, anyone looking west. they will have to reach to the east and south and convince them that they can have a unity government, a government that does not leave aside or push aside any of those people looking east, even though this government and the people behind me still hope the ukraine looks west. >> thank you very much. from nick shiffrin in kiev, we now turn to jennifer glasse in southern ukraine, a pro russian militia taking over two government buildings flying the russian flag. how do you manage to basically

unite a country that appears from all outside looks and observers to be divided right now? >> well, del, it's not going to be easy. they're chanting russia, russia behind me. that is the backdrop, there's russian flags. there are a thousand people there. inside the building are armed men. they say that the crimean parliament this morning was talking about a referendum for further autonomy here. they say that kiev doesn't represent them at all. one of the things they're unhappy about was making ukrainian the official language, saying that marginalized them and made them -- they weren't consulted, not happy. they are part of russia and want to move more toward russia. like nick said, there has been a lot of aggression here toward television channels. i spoke to a young man angry as russian television, saying they

are doing propaganda and he'd rather live in a free ukraine than live under the thumb of vladimir putin. it's going to be difficult to bring these people into the fold especially with everything happening quickly. they have been watching a lot of russian television here, saying kiev is a coup. several den armed men going into that parliament building and taking it overnight, the crimean prime minister tried to negotiate and they said they are not authorized to negotiate. we don't know who they are or what they want, but definitely a pro soviet sentiment. >> former president viktor yanukovych has gone spotted inside a moscow hotel and may be in the kremlin. what is the reaction there and do we know if these reports are true.

>> a lot of people here say they don't like viktor yanukovych, that he had no right to order his people -- order snipers to shoot civilians. when the report came out last night that he was in a moscow hotel, the hotel denied that he'd been seen there, but we do have a new statement from president yanukovych this morning saying that he was forced to ask russian authorities for his protection from the "extremist groups" here. the east and south of ukraine do not recognize what's going on in kiev. he called on them to support him. we assume since he asked the russians for protection he must be on russian territory, and the trail here ran cold. he was last seen in crimea sunday and that's where we lost track of him. we believe that he is in russia right now. we're not sure where or who is protecting him. he issued a statement. that's the first we've heard of him since saturday when he left kiev, fled kiev in the early morning hours. >> this is a question only you

can answer. you were on the ground almost from day one of the protests in kiev when they were upset over that deal struck with russia versus the e.u. do these protests where you are right now feel different than the protests that we saw take hold in kiev? >> very much. they don't feel that they're part of europe here. they don't want to be part of europe. they're walking right by me now with the russian flag. they are very eastern looking. they do feel that they are part of russia, that they work toward russia, share russian customs. they are only 100 miles from russia here. the russian black sea fleet is here. you see these guys headed to demonstrations with the russian flag. they were happy to russia bailed them out. only russia could do a $15 billion loan. the economy is in shambles and needs help.

the people here were happy that that help was coming from russia. they would like to see more support from russia and wait to see what will happen. they built barricades at the edge of town, worried that supporters from kiev might try to come into crimea. we see new barricades on the main roads coming in, so people very nervous and they're looking to see what moscow might do to support them. >> jennifer, thank you very much this morning. >> also, tensions rising again between north and south korea, seoul officials saying four test missiles were tired today. they are saying it was in response to military drills with the u.s. and south korea. the missile firing coming days after both countries held korean war reunions. many considered it a small break through in those tense relations between those two countries. >> take a look at this. it is raining, finally, in

california. the state has been under a drought emergency, 2013 the dryest year on record for much of the region, san francisco seeing an inch of rain wednesday. southern parts of the state are under flash flood and evacuation warnings. los angeles could see more rain today than it has seen in two years. for more on your national forecast, we turn to the man with the answers, dave warren. >> good news, but a little too much rain with two storms coming in could be problems in some areas with the flooding issue, that occurring in the southern portion of california. flash flood watch is in effect there. this is the first storm, there's the second storm, so one right after the other, will continue to bring rain and snow into the area that needs it. that's still under a severe drought. the first area coming in right now with that rain and snow, that will clear out. here's the break. by this evening, not much happening, but the second larger storm moves in.

by tomorrow morning, feet of snow in the mountains, inches of rain especially in southern california. that could be the flash flooding. the flash flood watch is in effect for that reason. this could be the mudslides, as well. certainly taking the moisture just a little too much at once, leading to this flash flood situation here. flash flood watch, winter storm warnings in effect. it typically melts april 1 and goes into the reservoirs. the drought certainly not over despite the rain happening now. bitter cold air moving into the northern plains with wind chill's below zero. the moving to the east, high pressure building in, so it's dry, but winds will pick up later across new york, pennsylvania and new england. dry but cold, wind chills into the single digits and below zero. the air actual temperatures take a big dip when you figure in the wind. >> a scare for some passengers

onboard a plane, the cabin suddenly filled with smoke, forcing everyone to evacuate. >> we had some swiss-based private bankers who appear to ever violated u.s. law. >> bankers on the hot seat. lawmakers want to know how wealthy americans hid billions from the i.r.s. >> a global push for freedom of the press, international calls for the release of our three aljazeera colleagues jim prison in europe. peter has written this letter from prison. here's part of it. >> as a journalist, this is my battle, i can no longer pretend it will go away by keeping quiet and crossing my 15ers. i have no particular fight with the egyptian government, just as i had no interest in supporting the muslim brotherhood or any group here. i am committed to a fundamental

freedom of the press that no one in my profession can creditably work without.

>> a day of solidarity with colleagues held in egypt. they are held by egyptian authorities nearly two months ago, charged, accused with spreading false news and belonging to a terrorist group. aljazeera all along denied the charges. we demand their release. public events are taking place in 30 cities around the world today to highlight the challenges all of us journalists place and to put pressure for their release. a cameraman detained in egypt for seven months was freed earlier this month, saying he was abused and tortured almost daily by security staff. >> cells were two by two and half meters only with a toilet inside. we were four person in the same cell. it was too small, so we had to sleep in turns. we were prevented from offering group prayers or attending

friday sermons. food was very bad with insects crawling in the plate or inside the bread. medical care was totally absent. only pain killers were given to any kind of complaint. >> this global day of action even reaching indonesia. we report from the capitol, jakarta. >> a banner flying here shows solidarity for the colleagues in egypt. people have come to the main square to show support. journalists and students, people from all walks of life. indonesia has its own fear of journalists and hampering freedom of speech, so people here are very much concerned with the cause of the aljazeera journalists detained. >> we really urge today on behalf of my 2,000 members in in indonesia, the egypt government to release all our colleagues from aljazeera to be released

soon, without condition. >> despite the flying banner here, journalists will hand over a letter t demanding their relee immediately. >> all day long on aljazeera america, we will be sharing parts of peter's letters from egypt's prison. the committee to protect journalists saying 45 journalists have been assaulted, 44 detained in egypt since july of last year alone. >> the associate director for research at the atlantic council's center is in washington, d.c. this morning. thank you for being with us. your reaction to the fact that here we are in 2014 and we are still talking about journalists being held in a place where everybody thought it was a progressive society. >> well, absolutely. i mean, it's an extremely disappointing situation, particularly after we've seen

egyptians come out in 2014, voting for a constitution where the freedom of expression is an absolute guaranteed right. it's extremely disappointing to see how the state security services, how the prosecution is treating free and fair press. >> it is important for our audience to understand that when we talk about freedom of the press, and a lot of these institutions, including egypt, authorities are upset because journalists choose to cover both sides of the story and not follow the line coming out of one side or the other side. >> let's be clear. i mean, there are journalists who are towing the state narrative, supporting everything that the military-backed interim government is choosing to do. there are journalists on the other side fully supporting the

muslim brotherhood. >> let's be clear, when those journalists tow the party line, they don't get locked up. >> if you're towing the state line, no, you don't get locked up. if you're in any way, whether being neutral or supporting the brotherhood, you are part of that war on terror, and a threat to national security, and so it's really upsetting to see. >> now, there has been a huge show of public support for the release of our aljazeera colleagues held now in some cases seven months. millions of posts on social media around the world and even this statement from the white house. >> these figures, regardless of affiliation should be protected and permitted to do their jobs freely in egypt. >> is this enough, will egypt finally get it that the united states stands united with rewards to the release of our colleagues?

well, i think international pressure, not just on the part of the united states, but also the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in addition to european allies, i do think that egypt does care about its international image. at this point, i think that the more that people come out and call for basic human rights, i think the more they're likely to listen. >> when we say egypt is a problem spot, i want to show you right now, reporters without borders looked at working conditions for press around the world, saying egypt represents a difficult situation for members of the media. take a look at how they rate egypt on this map. why is egypt such a problem spot for reporters? >> well, again, egypt is a country right now where political polarization is

incredibly high. the state's war on terror, a euphemism for the war on the crackdown on the muslim brotherhood, this has certainly -- it's gotten to a point where stability and a return to normalcy is more important than personal freedoms. so, any journalist whose reporting anything contrary to what the state is trying to sell the public is a threat to stability. >> one of the things that our colleagues around the world seem to be wanting to point out vehemently is even though you may lock us up, even though you may hold us, this will not stop us from doing our job. do you think they get that in egypt? >> i do think that they understand that you have journalists who are committed to their profession.

you have human rights defenders committed to their profession. you have objective analysts. nonetheless, at this point, the policy remains and it's up to egyptians as well as the international community to do their best to try and change that policy. >> the associate director for research at the atlantic council center in washington, d.c. if you would like to join in the dialogue, please use the #freeajstaff. >> changes to help you make healthy decisions, what the labels on your food will soon look like, different from what you're used to seeing. >> the frigid weather, pictures speak loudly, enough said, you get it.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the top stories we're following. ukraine's parliament approving the formation of a new coalition government, nominated the former economic minister to serve at interim prime minister. reports out of russian claim former president yanukovych has been spotted at a moscow hotel and could be staying inside the continual lynn. >> the army disqualified 588 soldiers after a major probe into sexual assaults. still unclear, if the soldiers were kicked out of the military altogether or simply reassigned. >> the arizona governor vote

toed a bill, sparking criticism from major corporations and lawmakers including three state representatives who once voted for the bill. to the momentum for favoring a veto grew rapidly over the last 24 hours. for more, we are joined by stephanie in phoenix. bring us up to date. >> under mounting political, social and economic pressure, in the end, arizona governor jan brewer pretty much had no choice but to veto this consist controversial bill. oppositions has been growing very, very swiftly. members of the gay and lesbian community have been protesting. you have corporations coming out

against this bill, major companies, apple, at&t, the nfl. the superbowl is scheduled to be here next year in arizona. it's going to bring millions of dollars to the area, and the nfl saying that they were not happy about s.b.1062. even members of brewer's own party expressing displeasure. senator john mccain urging a veto. she did not outright voice support for gay rights, saying "religious liberty is a core american and arizona value and so is non-discrimination." >> so far, have we heard anything from those that support this bill? >> we did, in fact. there was a statement released by the alliance defending freedom, one of the sponsors of the bill, saying freedom loses when fear overwhelms fact and a good bill is vetoed. today's veto enables the foes of faith to more easily suppress

the freedom of the people of arizona. they say they'll continue to fight for anyone who experiences religious discrimination. >> the executive director of the american civil liberties union in arizona joins us from phoenix. tell us how your group worked to fight this bill. >> i think we've been fighting this bill for the past probably month or so, since it was actually introduced. i think we were really hoping to target an outreach to the business community. i think that was an amazing response. they came out forcefully, vocally to express concerns about the bill. i think that gave it an important momentum to really send a strong message that discrimination has no place in arizona or anywhere else in the country for that matter. >> they have said that in arizona time and time again. we go all the way back to the more tin luther king national

holiday bringing about similar boy cots in arizona. we saw in 2010 when the tough anti immigration law was passed. was it a matter of money or was it a matter of morals? >> that's a great question. you know, i think the governor and her close advisers and i think people realize that they learned some lessons after s.b.1070. the business community unfortunately at that point did not come out aggressively before that bill was passed and it ended up on her desk and she signed it and it came with tremendous economic consequences for the state. the state suffered, we lost a lot of convention business. i think the, you know, the governor made a very practical decision and made a decision based on what she thinks was in the best interest of the state of arizona, so i think the reality is that we didn't want

to go through that again, what we learned through s.b.1070. i think this was an important response on -- the veto, we're extremely grateful for the state of arizona and economy and businesses are grateful she vetoed that. otherwise, it would have repeated the same things that we did in 2010 which came with terrific economic consequence for the state. >> if i'm for or against this bill, do i have any idea how the governor stands, how she feels about this bill? >> well, you know, i think it's important and significant in her veto statement that she said, you know, she made a very practical decision, said no one has given me a concrete example of how people's religious freedoms are infringed upon. they were talking about what happened in new mexico. they have very different state laws so i think she made that decision a practical decision. she said she was concerned that lawmakers were bringing her this bill. this was really the first piece

of launch legislation that they asked her to sign rather than addressing the serious public policy issues that the state is struggling with. we've got our child protective services, are in shambles, children, there have been uninvestigated child abuse allegations, investigations, there are serious issues of funding in terms of education and so she said in her veto statement that she wants them to be focused on the serious issues that she wants to address in her last year in office. >> one last thing. weren't these religious freedoms already protected under the constitution and there are some who say this bill was not needed at all? >> exactly. i think that was a very, very important point for her, as well. the fact that this, look in arizona, we have very, very strong protections that prevent the government from infringing on your religious freedom rights. this bill, there have been bills in place for many, many years, since 1999, the actual freedom restoration act preventing

government from interfering with your right to practice your religion. what this bill would have done and it would have been unprecedented was to extend that right to businesses and allow businesses to justify discrimination based on their religious beliefs. it was unprecedented and not necessary, given the fact that we have the state constitution, the federal constitution that strongly protect people's right to practice their religion. the reality is it was not necessary and it was really sending the wrong message to the country that arizona is intolerant and really that's not who we are. we're really grateful that the governor saw past that. >> the executive director of the american civil liberties union in arizona joined us very early this morning from phoenix. >> there were anxious moments wednesday night inside the cabin of a plane. >> leave owl your belongings and get off this aircraft. >> the emergency evacuation of a

delta flight, arriving from los angeles when smoke if i am would the cabin. pilots managed to get the plane to the gate and crew members told passengers get out quickly. the emergency chutes were open. no one used them. none of the 75 passengers and four crew members onboard was injured. crews are still looking at the plane inspecting it but say the smoke could have come from an air conditioning pack. >> nutrition labels are about a get a face lift, sweeping changes on labels on your food packages is the first majorover in 20 years. we explain now. it sounds cosmetic, but there's science behind it. >> that's exactly right, 43% of working adults read nutrition labels. these are meant to make them easier to understand, helping millions make better choices. these original labels are based on eating habits and data from the 1970's and 1980's. the food and drug administration said it's time for an update.

information about calories from fat going away to make more room for the more important overall calorie count, wim which as youn see is much bigger, bold and much bigger than the old label. they will reflect portions people really eat, for example serving size shown on cartons of ice cream are a half cup. that would increase to one cup, because who is only eating a half cup of ice cream? to a more can't traverse yell change, added sugars. looking at labels side by side, you can see the percentages of fat, carb, sodium flipped, on the left hand of the label to make it easier to read. health advocates say this is long overdue especially the serve size changes.

>> two-ounce bagel or two-ounce muffin. when i say the last time anyone saw one of those? companies pretend that a four-ounce muffin is two servings, so all the numbers of divided in half, half as much sugar, half as much fat, half as many calories. >> these changes will apply to 700,000 products nationwide from cereal to energy drinks. the food commissioner estimates the changeover to cost $2 billion. the f.d.a. is giving companies two years to put the changes into effect. this announcement comes at a time when more than one third of adults are obese. this morning, mrs. obama referred to the update as a big deal, saying it will make a big difference for families across the country. >> big difference and big numbers. thank you very much. >> executives facing tough questions on capitol hill after their bank is accused of helping customers evade billions of

dollars in taxes, helping thousands of americans hide assets from the u.s. government. >> a new report from a senate investigative committee years in the making, if you leaf through some pages, you find james bondville lens have nothing on certain swiss bangers. >> it's the stuff of countless spy novels, but some senators say $12 billion hid be away in bank accounts, none of it taxed. >> how do you defend those records to folks at home? >> top officials of the swiss bank, the second large evident in switzerland accused of helping 19,000 u.s. customers evade taxes through hidden accounts and overseas shell companies. in testimony, the bank c.e.o. was contrite. >> the management team regrets very deeply that despite the industry-leading compliance measures we put in place, we had some private bankers who appear

to have violated u.s. law. >> he blamed a small rogue group operating within the bank. whoever is to blame, their methods were cloak and dagger. the report tell of a meeting where bank statements were slipped into the pages of a copy of sports illustrated and handed to the client. a bank branch where clients never left airport grounds. a remote control elevator opening to a bare room with white walls. after each transaction, account statements were immediately shredded, all done without filing any u.s. tax forms. >> the jig's up. >> senators want client names. they're squeezed between u.s. and swiss law. >> do you think you're going to be convicted in a swiss court? is the swiss government going to prosecute you if you comply with our laws and turn over those names? are you going to be prosecuted? is that your fear?

>> yes. >> so you have double jeopardy. where would you like to spend time? it's a tough decision. i know. >> senators were left frustrated, urging the justice department to do more to find and prosecute tax cheats and demand they operate above board. >> how many culpable officers and key executives have been held accountable, i mean fired? >> we basically determined to shut this business down. over the course of the last year, over the course of the first two years after that, we basically reduced the size of the business by 80-85%. >> how many employees were fired? >> which means that most of those people involved in the business actually were fired as a part of shutting down the business, so the vast bulk of them left the business as we shut it down. >> the department of justice investigates this bank and 13 other swiss banks. >> the bank agreeing to pay $196 million in fines for vitals u.s. security laws. >> in business news, j.c. penney

back in favor, stock surging before the market opened today, swinging to a small profit over the last months after two years of massive losses. >> best buy also back in the black. the electronics retailer returned to profit thanks to cost cutting. the results surprising wall street, which had lowered its expectations because of those disappointing holiday sales around the world. >> a different story at sears, reporting a loss of $358 million for its holiday quarter as sales fell sharply. seize has been trying to return to profits after it cut costs, as well. janet yellen will appear before a senate panel to complete her testimony. one investors saying the fed is facing some very tough decisions. >> we don't have the healing in the underlying economy as much as it should because the home prices are higher and stock prices are higher, the wealthy can spend more. we see how companies like

wal-mart's target, amazon all have trouble. that cannot be weather specific. she will have her hands full. >> investors also say they will be looking closely for how the harsh weather impacted the overall economy. >> economic reports that just came out, orders for durable goods fell by 1% in january, lower than expected. demand for big ticket items such as cars taking off, weekly jobless claims dipping by 1,000. futures down 25 points. the dow starting the day at 16,148. asian markets higher, the nikkei falling a third of a%.

european stocks falling. >> we have sports and more on the legal problems of an nba player. good morning. >> good morning. once again an athlete doesn't understand how tough new york gun laws are. the guard raymond felton will be in the lineup despite his arrest on felony weapons possession charges earlier in the week. he was arrested after the lawyer for his estranged wife turned issue his handgun to police. he is not accused of taking the weapon out of the family home which could help him avoid significant jail time. he will be back in court june 2. he talked to the media after wednesday's practice. >> thank you to my teammates, to the fans, to may family, my friends, everybody for their support in this situation. this is not a distraction to this team. you know, focusing on finishing out this season, you know, finishing out these games with my teammates, and going down to miami, focus on this next game

at task versus the defending champs. >> a report on the bullying victim in the dolphins locker room scandal made it known he doesn't want to play for them next season. there is the question who will he play for? occupy the indianapolis colts. andrew luck stays in touch with martin and would 100% welcome him to the team. he has a lot of friends on the coats. besides luck, offensive coordinator, tight end coal befreeman. >> oakland owner said if another stadium doesn't materialize soon, 2014 could be the raisedders last season in town. the raiders' lease expired in 2013, but davis signed a one year extension to give the city and developers extra time.

in two different stints, the raiders have played at the coliseum for 36 seasons. >> on campus, when texas longhorn fans cheer their team next season, they could be doing so with a beer in hand for the first time. the university of tax is considering selling alcohol inside athletic events. the texas alcoholic beverages commission said u.t. has the necessary permits in place, it's now up to the athletic department to decide when and where it will happen first. >> there will be a different type of change for this year's boston marathon in the wake of the bombing that tore apart last year's event. the athletic authority announced that runners won't be allowed to run in bulky close or costumes that cover the face, no containers capable of carrying more than one liter of liquid will be allowed near the start or finish lines. >> if a major league baseball

team finds a young star, they typically wait until they absolutely have to play that player big bucks, that time when they become arbitration eligible. sometimes the player is so good, the teams feel they can't wait, sump is the case with mike trout, agreeing to a one year, $1 million contract with the los angeles angels, a prearbitration eligibility record for a major league deal. that eclipses the previous record in 2003 by albert pujols. at the time, he signed for one year and $900,000. >> that's your look at morning sports. >> oakland on the move. unthinkable, never heard of it before. >> frozen rivers posing a real threat. take a look, the ice giving way. >> it's very powerful, like a frozen volcano. >> cities getting ready for the floods that could follow the thaw. >> before we go to break, most

of aljazeera's peter's letter from prison: >> of course we will continue to fight this from inside prison and through the judicial system here, but our freedom and more importantly the freedom of the press will not come without loud sustained pressure. we know it is already happening and all of us are both moved and strengthened by the extraordinary support we have already had, but it needs to continue. >> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state... >> what's clear is that people don't just need protection, they need assistance. on al jazeera america

>> you're looking live right now as a rather chilly lady liberty in new york harbor. if she could talk, she would probably say brr, but she's a statue and statue's don't talk.

>> just ahead, a risk posed by the upcoming spring thaw, but what seems like the weather outside may never warm up and because of that, it's going to be cold again. >> that cold air's coming back, cold wind chill. right now, we have low pressure and high pressure in between is where you get the gusty wind. yesterday over the northern plains breezy, but the wind will kick up this afternoon. pennsylvania, new york and new england. the temperatures have dropped below zero, this is the actually air temperature, factoring in the wind, 30 to close to 40 below zero in many areas. >> that thick ice, frozen icepacks on rivers create a new threat. when it warms, the ice mets meaning trouble up and down the rivers, as we explain. >> this is the most snow we've ever had in years since i was a kid. >> whether it's getting colder or warming up, people all over

the united states can't seem to catch a break from the bad weather. some are making the best of their frigid situation, and for others, the only break they're getting is coming in the form of breaking ice. >> this ice when it breaks loose is a powerful force. it tears trees, docks, causes damage to the locks and dams. it's very powerful. >> in pennsylvania and new jersey, along the delaware river, the temps are making frozen rivers melt and crack, causing build up of ice pieces in waterways. the build can be dangerous and lead to flooding. residents in illinois say it also pushes unpredictable pieces of ice into a path of destruction, and some chunks are more than a foot thick. >> the problem once those start to float, it gets on land and can sheer off homes real quick. >> along the allegheny river near pittsburgh, randy has seen

the ice jam phenomenon happen plenty of times over the years. >> what will happen as ice moves down river, every time it jams, water's going to come up. when the ice comes up, if it comes out of the banks and pushes up on the banks, anything that's in its way, it's going to push it out of the way. >> it's like a frozen volcano. you can imagine lava going down a volcano, this is the same principle, a massive force pushed by water down steam. >> flooding has been a problem in lafayette, indiana where this truck struggles. an ice dam caused the creek to overflow, flooding homes. ice jams happen in various parts of the country every year. there are documented incidents in 43 states, but they occur motor frequently in man to know in a and new york, minnesota and pennsylvania and can be deadly. the government reports at least seven people have died over the years during floods related to

ice jams. >> people in more than 30 cities around the world expressing solidarity with our journalists detained in egypt. they have been in prison for nearly two months just for doing their jobs. aljazeera's reporters have been living under harsh conditions and solitaire confinement and denied medical treatment. egypt accusing them of false reporting and having ties to a terror group, aljazeera denies all of these charges. we continue to demand their immediate release. that trial has been adjourned until next week. we leave you now with these images of salad art with our journalists coming in from around the world.

foreign funding. the rank and fired why the u.s. army is getting rid of dozens of soldiers. countlessva venzuelans. imagine taking the dog for a walk and coming home with $10 million in treasurer. hello, i am antonio morrow. welcome to "consider this" here is more on what's