upset. >> the show may be over but the conversation continues. you can also find us on at which time @ajconsiderthis. we'll see you next time. >> good evening everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. ukraine showdown. the crisis escalating dramatically with reports of russian troops on the ground and president obama sending a blunt warning to the kremlin. >> the united states will stand with the international community in firming that there will be cost for military intervention in ukraine. >> from crimea, kiev, moscow and washington our correspondents are on the ground with the very latest. eye of the storm. the huge weather system slamming

the west coast with dangerous landslides and heavy flooding, part of a massive system sweeping across the country. plus after the oscar, the homeless teen story leads to an academy award. one year later she joins us to talk about her life now. we have a lot to get to tonight. the situation in ukraine's crimea region is very fluid this hour. it's also extremely dangerous. here's what we know. u.s. officials say they are seeing signs of troops moving in from russia. washington is talking with its allies in europe about the consequences. u.s. citizens should postpone all nonessential travel to ukraine. tonight we have extraordinary

video that speaks to the growing crisis in crimea. this cell phone video shows what appears to be russian military helicopters flying over crimea towards the city of serm ferm, one of the areas seized by the government. al jazeera is committed to covering this story. our in-depth coverage starts at the center of the crisis. jennifer glasse has the story from sirm ferm closed to air traffic. earlier in the day, armed men came into that airport, and sevastopol, military airport. these men were in military

uniforms, no insignia on them but heavily armed with military grade weapons and seemed very well organized and trained. as we saw, as night fell, the airport being closed in simferopol. the television station hasn't been shut down. we have military vehicles between simferopol and sevastopol. whoever these mystery men in military uniform are, they have been very up hean what's happeninunhappy what'shappening. being called fa fascists.

private armies we have seen checkpoints being set up on the roads around the capitol here. they say they need to protect their homes. they say they need to protect their families. but right now a very, very uncertain situation here in crimea, this peninsula very, very eastward looking. the majority of its citizens here are russians and they look towards russia for guidance. they look towards russia for protection. and some of them would like to see closer ties with russia. they are not talking secession yet they want more autonomy but they definitely want to keep close ties with russia. >> jennifer glasse from simferopol. phil ittner from moscow. >> a lot has happened since friday on diplomatic rounds.

concerned about the escalation of violence inside ukraine. they have said they have concerns about the ruling party, the government in kiev that stands now saying that they are extremists and nationalists. that is something that was echoed during a press conference in the southern city where ousted ukrainian president viktor yanukovych had this to say: >> i repeat it again, i am a legitimately elected president of ukraine. >> russia has also put out a press release from the foreign ministry saying they have mobilized some of their units in crimea but that is perfectly legitimate under the agreement

signed between russia and ukraine. russia is able to mobilize its force to secure the peninsula and keep that important naval base safe. >> phil ittner reporting from moscow. all this as the new government moving forward. nick schifrin in kiev, what's the response there? >> well, john, there has been a lot of rhetoric and a lot of parliamentary resolutions but no action. this government is about 40 hours old and it has huge problems, huge concerns across the country, political unity, the country's only about three months away from economic default and yet they have had to focus almost entirely on the security crisis in the crimea. this morning we saw the interior minister take to facebook and call what's going on in crimea a

russian invasion, they spent all the day talking about it. they asked for international community help and asked for russia not to do anything that would take the two countries to any kind of military action. and that was reiterated a few hours ago by the country's acting president. >> translator: i personally democracied president putin with a demand to immediately end the action within the boundaries of previously established agreements. >> again the police actually allowed some of these into the parliament buildings. it is not clear whether the government is able or willing to actually back up some of this rhetoric with any kind of military action, john. >> what is the ukrainian government asking from the international community including the u.s? >> well, it's like a little perspective here. the recent training mission that

vladimir putin launched russian forces on had about 140 or 150,000 troops, training mission. the entire ukrainian military is the exact same size. that is the kind of threat that they feel they are facing so that's why they are turning to the international community. not only the security council in the u.n. but also the u.s. the vice president spoke with the new prime minister here and that's why we are seeing a lot of public pressure not only by president obama the u.s. ambassador to the u.n, everybody in the administration trying to put pressure on the russians because the new ukrainian government needs their help. >> an investigation into switzerland about money laundering, what do you know about that? >> john, every time a head of state is deposed by the people he has over the last decade moved money around right as he's

leaving or right as he's being deposed so to a certain extent it is not a surprise that people are looking into president yanukovych's finances. this is interesting. over the weekend reporters got into his former compound outside of kiev. they found a bunch of documents dumped in a local pond. they fished those out and dried them out in a sauna and one by one they have found tens of billions of dollars of money laundering by the former president and his family. they have launched money investigation claims, where yanukovych apparently had his money, they are looking into that money trying to figure out where he took tens of billions, perhaps even 60, 70 billion out of the country as he was leaving just as this country faces economic default. if it doesn't get about 15 or 20 billion in the next three months john it won't be able to afford

its bills. >> nick schifrin, thank you. now to washington, d.c, president obama's strong words about the ukrainian crisis today. he spoke about the situation and his message was directed right at russia. mike viqueria is there to tell us more about what the president had to say. mike. >> john, the rhetoric had been escalating over the past two days. we heard again from secretary of state john kerry and he has spoken for a second consecutive day with sergey lavrov, warning about a russian incursion and sovereignty of ukraine. then we heard from jay carney, a warning of grave consequences if russia were to go into ukraine. then suddenly about 5:00 eastern time, president obama appeared in the briefing room and here's what he had to say. >> we are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements

taken by the russian federation inside of ukraine. russia has a historic relationship with ukraine clul cultural and economic including cultural and economic ties. anything incursion would be deeply destabilizing which is not in the best interest of ukraine or europe. >> there would be a cost if russia been into ukraine. what would be the cost? military intervention on the part of nato or the united states, completely out of the question. what is the other? sanctions? earlier i spoke with an official and they said they are considering, the sochi winter olympics just concluding there,

likely not going to go if this situation continues. russians have already made overtures in the last several months about deepening trade ties with the united states. the united states government now threatening to take that off the table as well and the senior administration also points to the fact that the ruble is already falling in the wake of these circumstances john. >> what is the white house doing to help ukraine right now? >> they have been talking about an economic assistance package, letting the imf take the lead. loan guarantees as well. but when you look at the spectrum of possible u.s. reaction right now it is somewhat limited. if you go through the united nations security council, it's really far fetched at this point for a number of reasons not the least of which is that russia is

part of the permanent five and has veto power in the security council. the options are very limited. ukraine economically viable. there is a gas line, the natural gas line that goes across ukrainian territory across russia as well supplying much of europe. it is a very sensitive situation, in a geopolitical sense and economic sense as well, john. >> mike viqueria, in washington, d.c, thanks mike. especially with the white house reporting the movement of russian forces, joining us is thomas nichols, the professor of u.s. security, specializing in russian security. great to have you on the program, thomas, thank you. >> thanks john, nice to be with you. >> can you tell me, what do you think of these -- there have been lots of questions about who the forces are that they don't have any parkings on their uniforms. do you think their russian --

they're russians? >> i definitely think they're russians and i think they're not just russians from the ukraine, from the the crimea but russians that have come from the russian federation which is what has everybody so disturbed. there are russians, there are ethic russians who live in the crimea but i think these are russian military and security people from the russian federation itself. >> so what do you think the plan is? >> to some extent i think there isn't a plan. i think the crème li kremlin wat completely by surprise when yanukovych was ousted. it was a significant humiliation to have putin's personal ally pretty much run out of town and this was their attempt to salvage or retrieve some sort of face out of this and to try to show some support of the ethnic russians who are so dominant in

the crimea. >> spoke from russia -- >> but not from moscow. >> right, but there are some people who are concerned about whether russia just wants to take crimea back. >> well, it's not russia's to take back in the sense that it was ever -- at least going back to the time of the soviet union, the russians have a lease there on a base that was in no danger, their lease runs to 2042. i don't think they're looking for some kind of a restoration of yanukovych. i think they're probably as disappointed in him as his ukrainian supporters are, which is why yanukovych had to address the ukrainian people from rostof

rather than moscow. i suspect what they are trying to do is calve out crimea as some sort of bargaining chip or outpost. and that russia is still the most important player in this region. i don't think russia can really conceive of this part of eurasia being this part of slavic courts. it is hard for vladimir putin to think of central eurasia with without that kind of partnership. >> very quickly you say it's not going to happen? >> well, i think that they -- i think that his forces can help support ethnic russians who want to take control of that autonomous republic, absolutely. how long they can do that, how long they can stay there and get that i can't say, they can't

stay there forever. it is part of ukraine. unless russia has the plans to incorporate ukraine, i don't think -- i think putin is angry, i think he's humiliated and i think the ethnic russians who supported yanukovych feel the same way. >> interesting, thoams thomas n, thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> we'll have a live report from one of the hardest hit areas in california. plus cold comfort. freezing temperatures are taking a tolling on heating bills and why costs are going up, up, up.

>> now to the west coast. california's drought is giving way to relentless downpour. our akiko fujita is standing by in glendora, california with the very latest in extreme weather. akiko. >> well, 1200 homes have been evacuated in this area and tonight they are bracing for

round 2. another round of rain strong winds and thunderstorms. flooding has shut down roads around here and you can bet crews will be working to keep mud and debris from the homes. water gushing out into the homes and filling backyards. communities affected by that 2,000 acre fire, burning last month, and with all the vegetation gone, it has made the areas vulnerable to landslides. with more rain in the forecast residents worry that hillsides could finally give in. >> well, kind of scary, you know. you don't want what you have seen on television to happen to you or your home. so we're just trying to take their word for it. get out of dodge. >> and the concern isn't just in the san gabriel valley. out on the roads all this water

has made the roads a traffic nightmare. we've seen cars spun out, roads completely flooded. one man had to be rescued from the l.a. river along with his two dogs after he was trapped by the rising waters. to give you a sense howc how muh water this area has gotten, some areas have gotten more in the last three days than they have in the last year. this is a drop in the bucket when you consider the dry conditions california has been dealing with for months. back to you. >> all right, akiko fujita, reporting from california tonight. thanks very much. our meteorologist kevin corriveau is here, he has been tracking the storm, what can you tell us cifn? >> well john, that is the center of circulation, we are going to be watching this very carefully. let's go a little bit further in. we have seen some very, very

strong gusts, actually some very heavy lightning as well. the warnings are out. we're talking about mostly flood warnings. now extending back to the nevada border. not just los angeles, we are talking about flooding, parts of las vegas are floo flooding as . there is the storm coming on coast tomorrow. 4:00 p.m, very heavy rain showers as well. the snow is going to begin in the central plains. let's go a little bit more. the next problem we are going to be seeing is right here. this is going to be some icing and not just some icing, we're talking possibly up to an inch thick across that area. and then as we go towards monday we are looking at a snow event also across parts of northeast, boston, new york, philadelphia, washington as well, major problem all throughout the weekend, john. >> all right kevin, thank you very much.

energy costs soaring for many americans across the country. richelle carey is here with the very tough news. >> i know, it keeps getting worse john, this brutal winter has heat up all across the country. and the cost keeps rising, no matter what kind of heat you use. >> propane, natural gas, are higher, temperatures plunging demand for heating oil has soared, reaching new highs in some areas. >> last couple of years, consumers have been lulled into a safety net. this winter has hit with a bang. so consumers really weren't prepared for it. >> the residential price for propane is up 30% from a year ago. 5.5 million homes use propane. natural gas has jumped more than 20%. according to the census bureau about afl of u.s. households use

natural gas as their home heating method. the bottom line, the average heating bill for an american family last year was $150. this year it is closer to $450. these increases are common in winter bit this has been an exceptionally cold season affecting so much of the country. the prices are under even more pressure. >> it really can't go on for much longer. our consumers are going to be strapped. >> those are big numbers. consumers may not see any economic relief for any time soon. there is a lot of snow forecast as kevin talked about. >> what impact has that on the country? >> the bills go from 150 to 450 in the month. that means they're trimming in other places, no new tv, no new

clothes, and that's how it happens when you have to pay hor fomore for utilities. >> traffic calls at the george washington bridge, they find police and emergency responders grappling with tbrid lock. they were told the lanes were closed due to a traffic study that never existed. >> what happened to the bridge? >> give them a call. >> 10-4. good how long you been here? >> they have a new pattern, they're testing a new pattern of traffic from george washington down to one lane now. >> 10-4. >> new jersey governor chris christie has apologized for the changes paid by an aide.

he said he was not involved in that closing. once the world's largest bitcoin exchange has filed for bankruptcy. 850 million bitcoins have disappeared, apparently because of some flaw in the software. the missing currency is worth more than ahalf a billion dollars. live report from kiev. plus accusation of a rape guide leads to a sexual assault and anger at school officials. ♪

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. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. we have a lot to cover in this half hour.

the cost of intervention. president obama warns vladimir putin to keep his hands off of ukraine. sex on campus, dartmouth student says she was raped after comments were made about her online. >> a young artist lifted from homelessness, the subject of an oscar-winning documentary. richelle is here with the headlines. >> ukraine is accusing russian a with an armed invasion. president obama spoke out about those movements and sent a stern warning to russia. >> we are now deeply concerned about reports of movements taken by the russian federation inside ukraine and indeed the united states will stand with the

international community in insisting there will be costs for military intervention in ukraine. viktor yanukovych spoke from russia sayings he is the real president of ukraine. yanukovych promised to fight for the country's future. obviously, lots of turmoil, aching it very difficult for the government in kiev. >> our nick schifrin is in kiev. mike viqueria is in washington, d.c. nick you have been in kiev for eight days. other than what you have been reporting, what has been striking you with this story? >> that the power is not with the new government, the power is with the people right behind me john. we spent the last few days in i independence square speaking with the thousands of people who are still there and it's extraordinary the amount of attention they are paying on the

new parliamentarians, on the new government, the new cabinet ministers they all say if the government doesn't do what we want it to do then their fate will be the same as the old government's fate. covering any kind of revolution whether in iraq or syria or egypt it is a very different feej from those places. -- feeling from those maces. there is not the kind cied of radical -- kind of radicalism. now woe have the kind of political movement where the people believe they have the powers. the ukrainian parliament say they believe they have to get the power from the maidan, the square behind me, otherwise they don't believe they'll be there for very long. >> mike, do you get a sense how

the white house has been watching the situation in the ukraine? >> they have been watching it very closely. the russian aid in the kremlin dismissing the u.n. efforts to bring power sharing. this is infamous at this point but it points out what the united states is facing as the ukraine melts into this revolution crisis over the course of the last 48 hours. over the last 48 hours we have seen the public rhetoric from public officials from the president on down increase, very dramatic, brief statement by the president about 5:00 in the briefing room at the white house. the president of the united states does not go out on a friday afternoon at 5:00 on his way literally to a dnc national fund raiser and make this kind

of statement unless the situation is dire, unless he has got to put down a marker but still it is unclear what tools are in the tool box for the united states at this point in order to coerce vladimir putin and russia to back off whatever they are up to in crimea at this point. >> nick, how important do you think is u.s. support to the people there in kiev? >> it's extremely important. because as mike says, it's not clear how many tools the u.s. has in its tool box. the ukrainian government has fewer tools in its tool box. we've had absolutely no action from the government, granted they are 40 years old so of course it is difficult for them to act in any kind of way mill tailor. but it is not clear -- militarily. they have no capacity to respond what is going on in the crimea. they need help.

that's why the parliament passed the resolution asking for the help. that's why the new president yatsenyuk was, speaking, and so much to focus on so much to worry about. it's not sure if it has military crisis four to 600 miles away from the capitol. >> do you think the united states was caught off guard too? >> to a certain degree. when i see the rhetoric of how it's ramped up over the last couple of days. the series of phone calls that secretary kerry has had with lavrov, it is not sure how much value those assurances had, when he was told by secretary lavrov

that russia would respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of ukraine. the united states have public relations tools, they point out that russia just paid $50 billion to stage the winter olympics on the black sea i might add, where putin wants to hold the conference of economic powers, that appears to be off. the rubel, and burnished representation -- reputation has been squandered. when you consider the larger geopolitical reality, what russia is concerned with evidently, its military base and its access to the black sea, its naval base.

>> gentlemen thank you for being on the program, thanks very much. here in the u.s., the ukrainian situation is affecting many in the u.s. john terret is reporting. >> good evening, from little ukraine, sizable community living in the united states, many people are enjoying their friday night out but thoughts of what's going on in ukraine particularly in the crimea right now are never far from their minds. and earlier today outside the united nations awrs in man hat d headquarters in manhattan, there was a protest to try to get help to the home land. ukrainian americans protests outside the united nations in new york. they are angry about russia's war like maneuvers in their backyard. >> i have family in ukraine right now. and it's very dangerous situation right now in ukraine.

it's pre-war situation, invasion of russian military forces to ukrainian territory. >> we'd like to bring attention that's really important and this really urgent issue and in ukraine, russia is behaving very, very aggressively. it is frightening, scary. >> message keep the demonstrations coming. >> they are doing the tremendous job, they are raising the protest and word is around the world. we have more than 20 million people around. and they will protest in the squares around the world, asking the governments to raise tear voice and to protect ukraine. >> there weren't a lot of protesters out here outside of the u.n, it was a freezing day in new york and this protest was put together at the last minute but passions were still running

very high. >> americans, stand up in deans of what is right. >> across the street from this demonstration the security council was meeting in closed session discussing what's happening in the ukraine. outside passions were running high. >> don't want any more blood to be shed. >> majority of people here didn't even know where this country was prior to november or december of last year. they have to understand it's not soviet union anymore. >> as can you see from that film, it's been a bitterly cold day here, and that demonstration was organized and that was previous demonstration was attended by over a,00 a,000 protesters. >> a freshman'man's name was onn

internet message board advice how to assault her. the student was raped, ordered to be removed from the site but officials failed to act soon enough. underreporting sexual assault cases. michelle cara, she is a v of the pan helenic council, outspoken about assault on her campus. >> thank you for having me to talk about this issue. >> so tell me what was your reaction to this? >> my reaction was pretty much what anyone else would react to this situation. it's absolutely terrible and what's really even as terrible this is not the first time this has happened o at dartmouth, on this website. >> were you aware of this

before? >> yes i was aware of this. we hear about many of the unreported cases. >> explain this forum and could you explain what was ot the site? >> yes. -- on the site? >> yes. essentially this forum is only a place where students can log into it and you can post anything anonymously. it is a feed of anonymous comments. people can upload or download them. it is a place where people either put jokes or threats. you never know if it is real or if it's fake. last spring there were some students who participated in a protest and there were death threats issued to them. >> and the university knew about this? >> yes, the university did know about this and they didn't take much action removing it from the website or protecting it from the wifi. this is something the university has done something remotely about this. >> what's it done? >> they were able to locate the

student who put up the -- what was called -- >> post? >> the post for how to rape this woman. and he was removed from the campus. but yet they haven't ever done that for anyone else. they haven't done that for the death threats that were issued this past year. >> is the forum still up? >> the forum is still up. it still exists. it's accessible by all students. and what frustrates me the most about this situation is this poor woman had to be so vocal about her situation, a very private matter in order for the college to do something. and it's still not enough. >> so other than what you've said has there been any other reaction from the college? >> well, as a member of the pan helenic council, more than half of the pan hellenic council,

against the school's lack of doing anything regarding sexual assault. and one of our demands was that the school institute a policy that is no tolerance, that is a no tolerance policy for people who are quighted of rape. and the most -- convicted of rape. and the most the school has done regarding that is say they would consider it. for me this is absolutely horrible and for anyone else to hear this, it is like, this is the first amendment. >> i'm sure it's something you have known about and dealt with through your young life, anonymous posts, mean horrible, vicious, and in some cases, illegal anonymous posts. how do you stop that kind of thing? i mean a how-to guide for rape? >> you know, i -- in response to that i would say that a lot of people think oh, this problem

exists around the world, it exists in real life, it exists at a lot of other colleges. college is a time for us to challenge what happens in the real world, to challenge the status quo and to perhaps foster a future reality that could be a better place. and if we can't create that reality in college, how can we ever set the standard for life after higher education? >> i think you said it very well. michelle carre, it's great to have you on the program. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> now, the controversy involving richie incognito. michael eaves has that stoish. >> story. >> over the last two days richie incognito has provided some new twists and turns. tmz recently posted this video from outside incognito's home,

the aftermath of incognito using a bat to bash the front of his own ferrari last wednesday. you could see a piece of the bat protruding from the front of that car and lying on the ground. friday incognito was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. after tmz spoke to incognito which turned into a rambling and somewhat bizarre interview. >> that was me venting, when things went down it was just unfortunate. and you know we understand it. if me and my dad and my brother and my mom my dad, jonathan martin, the miami dolphins, steven ross you, we're all brothers and sisters. i think we all understand that. it's just time to move on. the ferrari is a story unto itself. the ferrari is one entity.

but i will tell you this. the ferrari is going to be for sale through my mission which is helping the brotherhood and whatever brotherhood it is. >> in addition to the controversy from the dolphins hazing scandal, incognito is also taking the impending divorce of his parents very hard. the future -- his future is in doubt. there is no further word from the league whether he will be further punished for that dolphins scandal. i'm michael eaves. >> her story, a teen goes from homeless to artist and the subject of an oscar winning film. she joins us live tonight.

>> good evening. we are still watching these extremely cold temperatures. take a look at the warnings issued for the northern states.

i'm talking about the light blue you see across the border. those are wind chill warnings, extremely cold situations, these are what we expect to see, fargo, minus 27, bismarck, north dakota minus 27 as well. when you do factor in the wind to get the wind chill, we're talking about minus 40 degrees, very dangerous situation when you wake up saturday morning. we've been talking about the storm off the coast of southern california causing problems there. what's going to happen over the next couple of days is that system is going to make its way out of that region, nebraska, iowa, we are expecting to see icing, that's expected to be dangerous. up to an inch of ice there as well as on sunday we expect to

see a severe weather break. that's a look at your weather, news is coming up after this.

>> the academy awards are just would days away but who are the people awarding the golden statute? >> last but not least, i thank you, the academy. >> i'd like to thank the academy. >> i'd like to thank the academy, as ubiquitous, as, a few hollywood luminaries got to talking at a dinner party. from that the academy of motion picture arts and sciences was born. founded by 36 of the most influential men and women in the film industry. fast forward and today's academy looks much different with 6,000

voting members, film artists, executive and rches i everyone n between. >> you don't have to be a multimillion dollar film star to have a vote. you could be a relatively humble worker like a sound mixer and also have a vote. >> or former academy president syd gannis. >> becoming an academy member is not a mystery, it's just the standards are pretty high. >> winning an oscar can mean millions of dollars for the studios and eternal bragging rights for the artist. >> it's the oscar, that symbol of the best that we all aspire to. it's so damn exciting i can't even explain it to you. i remember the first night, the first time i went to an oscar ceremony. i remember it.

because i couldn't believe my eyes. >> argo. >> each year the academ academis become more opulent. >> 270 people attended tickets cost only $5. but there were little constituency when the awards were handed out. that's paws the awards were handed out three months earlier. >> creating the drama and fanfare we know today. phil hurtzberg is a voting member. >> again for me, it's nice but if you meet someone they go, oh you vote for the academy waters? it's like, yeah. >> make know no mistake, voting

members aspire to not only be a voting member but also a winner. >> it might be a dysfunctional family, everyone works together for the common goal and common cause of making a very special feature film that at the end of the day, a, makes money and gets the academy award. >> a statute worth its weight in gold. for the few who make up the academy. al jazeera hollywood. >> last year's winner for best documentary short. it focused on an extraordinary woman, her name is innocente

izokar. thank you for joining us. >> hi everybody. >> how can you tell me how you went from homeless undocumented entrant to the subject of an academy award winning film? >> i was homeless for about nine years here in san diego. >> nine years? >> yes nine years it was a very long time. with my family i have three younger brothers so it was really hard. but i joined an after school program at 15 years old and i started doing art there and at 15 two film makers contacted the program about doing a documentary about someone who was homeless. the statistics back in 2009 were one in 45 students -- one in 45 children are homeless, and i was really, really tough and i was one of those people that was homeless. so they decided to make a documentary about me being homeless and about my journey of

becoming an artist. >> now? >> i'm 20 years old now and last year we won the documentary for -- we won the oscar for best documentary short so that was really great and it was really fun. >> you are no longer homeless and you speak to groups? >> i am no longer homeless. >> and you show your art? >> i have a show may 12th through the 17th, with the -- >> i would like to see m your a. >> please do. >> i urntion you don't -- i understand you don't like to sell your art? >> i do sell some of it. some of it has sentimental value, i did a portrait of one of my adopted rabbits, they are sentimental to me so i keep them. >> nine years as a homeless person now you have got this

terrific life. what's the problem with this country that we can't figure out ways to do what you did, in your life? >> i think the documentary really shows different -- what homelessness means to me and what homelessness means to a lot of people. homelessness doesn't mean pushing a cart down a street, but families sharing a room sometimes, or sharing a shelter. i think it's really sad, we are doing great things for homeless people, we've had a lot of progress but definitely we have to do more to help. >> i haven't seen the documentary yet but you have an incredible story and incredible future ahead. let me just ask you one quick question. what do you plan to do in the

future other than continue with your art? >> this whole last year and even the beginning of this year and towards the middle of this year i'm still doing talks so i talk at high schools at organizations here in the u.s., i talk at shelters here in the u.s., a lot of different communities so that's my main goal this year, the beginning of this year to do talks and spread the word. the documentary shows the importance of immigration arts education and homelessness. so it's really powerful and a lot of people can relate so i'm sput putting the word out. >> good luck to you ant i'm sure you'll be watching the oscars on sunday i bet. >> i will. thank you. >> headlines are coming up right after this. >> stories that have impact... that make a difference... that open your world... >> this is what we do...

>> america tonight next only on al jazeera america

>> welcome to al jazeera america i'm ricialg here are tonight's -- i'm richelle carey, here are top stories. gunmen in ukraine seized two

airports. center of resistance to the country's new government. president obama says he's deeply concerned about the situation. earlier this afternoon he warned there would be cost for any russian military intervention in the ukraine. united states is consulting with its allies. first public appearance sings being ousted from power. viktor yanukovych claimed he was still the president of ukraine. in california 1,000 residents have been evacuated, even though there have been reports of to damage so far, the same area devastated by fire last month. away was once the largest bitcoin exchange, the kerry apologized today. 800 million bitcoins is worth

half a billion dollars. those are the headlines, "america tonight".with joie chen is up next. you can always get the latest headlines at aljazeera.com. >> maint investigates. >> "america tonight" investigates. beaten up by sheriff's deputies. >> and i have about four or five officers come around me and then i heard this. >> denied medical care. >> she would sit and cry and say please please take me to the hospital. i need them to stitch it up. it needs to be closed. a botched execution. >> when you strap somebody to a board, deprive them of oxygen for 25