>> breaking news in the crisis in ukraine. putin is asking to use the russian military in crimea. the troops are arriving to the region since friday and it is trying to protect the pro russian people already there. for the new government in kiev they are calling it an illegal invasion. phil, is this a provocation of war? >> well, we have a lot of fast moving events going on here. as far as a

provocation maybe the ukrainians in the west are seeing it that but certainly the russians are seeing it that way. we have heard official text is made available to us, putin is appealing to the upper houses of the russian parliament, the federal council, he said that due to situation in ukraine and threatening the lives, the personnel of the armed forces of the russian federation should be used in ukraine and then he quotes articles within the russian constitution. we do know that the federation council is about to vote on this here in moscow. there needs to be a clear majority. putin has sent one of his deputy foreign ministers to represent him in the council

and if they do vote on this in a positive, they will need to present a statement and then send this back to the president within two days. a lot of legal ease going on and maneuvering within the political sphere in moscow and what it is coming down to the russians say that the instability in crimea and threatening their dual citizens and ethnic russians not the mention of course that sea port is driving this and they want to make sure that the peninsula remains in control. they are using a lot of legislative language here and things are movering quickly in moscow on this saturday and we'll see how the vote goes any moment really, morgan. >> phil, before you go, you

sent us an email and showing that the russian foreign ministry sent out a statement and saying they are within the laws and are they right having the troops there? >> they have agreements with ukraine and it is gray and into the legislative language and the legal ease we have discussed. some people will interpret is laws differently and what we are seeing is clearly putin trying to find a frame work within the written word and the agreements already signed to find a reason to send troops into crimea. morgan? >> phil, we want to show the viewers a live view of moscow with the parliament is meeting and discussing this right now. we are certainly going to keep your posted. thank you, phil.

>> now, now to libby casey from washington, president obama is waking up to a whole new situation and are we hearing reactions from the white house? >> we have not yet. this is just the episode that president obama was hoping to avoid. we are seeing the escalation in president putin's agreement and wanting to use force. getting the authorization is different than sending in the troops. this could be a tactical move by president putin and the white house was hoping this wouldn't happen. president obama put out a warning there would be costs if russia intervenes militarily. >> we are standing with them and there will be costs if russia intervenes.

>> he's sending a warning essentially and the costs can be economical costs. as pointed out, there is a russian presence in crimea. the question is would they actually send in troops and have the troops there activated in a real display of military force and it is an important region for russia. the black sea fleet is there. president obama is certainly watching this closely as well. we are waiting for the white house to respond later on this morning, morgan. >> you said authorization on putin's part doesn't mean action, so when we talk president obama talking about the costs, give us a sense of the time line, when western europe or president obama would collect on the costs. >> it is dangerous to put out the time lines because they

have to follow through. if president obama put a line in the sand, something they have done on other issues, like syria and then crossing that, say president putin crosses that, that would be unnecessary escalation. there are moments ahead, the opportunities for the white house to pull out of summits, to withhold funding and we are watching to see if the white house gives a sense of a time line today. >> besides pulling out the summits, what are the options that president obama has at this point? >> that is what the white house is grappling with as well as the state department. the economic picture is a forceful weapon they can do without using the military force. the american public has no interest in putting boots on the ground there.

we are watching the white house and talking about sanctions, economic issues, that will be the first volly they can send and then watch from there. the u.s. is saying they are not going alone, working with the members of the eu and the and we are watching the white house trying to work not just as a lone country but with partners at this moment. you can bet there are efforts to get other countries to speak out as well. >> thank you, libby, always a pleasure to have you. >> now the jennifer glasse in crimea where the russian troops would be used. you heard the importance of crimea to the russian military and are you seeing movement there today? >> we have. we have seen troops comes to

the parliament here. but they have no insignia and they are the same taking over the airport here and the air space is closed until at least this evening and the same forces moving into the airport an hour down the road we have reports 80 miles east of here, a very, very small ukrainian marine base, 45, 50 marines are based there, and russian license plates vehicles rolled in there and and more military vehicles are on the road. no russian markings on them yet. we are hearing reports that bases in the west and another wall street base in the east are also surrounded by the forces. so definitely a sense that

things are moving forward here. >> jennifer, you mentioned the regaining of control, in the continued tug of war, is this is a significant turning point for the viktor yanukovich supporters? >> yes, he's not the super issue. we do see pro russian supporters making moves, not just heard, we hear the chants russia and russia and they are encouraged on what they are seeing with the people coming in and they are supported but also the russian military exercises in russia's west on ukraine's border and saying that shows that russia is behind them and they say the majority of the people, 60% of the people here soerassociated with russia and they are looking to kiev and are nervous and they believe that

that new government are bandits and fascists and no power here and so we have seen the crimea prime minister take over the police and take over the arm and saying he's one of the dangers is that e. kiev is not recognizing him any more and that means a break down with the communications and making things morcompcate >> jennifer, they are looking to kiev nervously and looking like an antigovernment protesters in kiev had the upper hand. viktor yanovich onhe r. is ts shing ey c't take the progress for granted and it is not necessily win. >> yeah, that is absolutely ue, moan. the new government in kiev has a lot of challenges. the east is looking to russia

for industrial reasons and for culture reasons. too cria foculte reasons and the black sea fleet, russia has a military interest here. the black fleet an hour from here and 15,000 forces there on their bases and russia wants to protect its interesting, interest in the military and the ethnic russians here. it is a very, very complicated time for a brand new government in kiev and balancing all of this. things are moving quickly. a brand new prime minister and parliament and new elections and referendums on crimea coming up. >> in fact, jennifer, things are moving so quickly, we are turning to phil with

updates, phil, what are you hearing there on the ground? >> here in moscow , we are hearing, they are saying what they are trying to do, trying to aid in crea is a repe of the battle in kiev. they urge on-lookers to remember the hundreds of dead in kiev. that is what they are tried to avoid in crimea. that is in essence the motivation here if they don't intervene in crimea there is a fear there will be further con flight between the various factions. that just within the last few moments here coming from the russian foreign ministry. >> phil, how are they avoiding the battle of kiev and now calling for force?

>> that is absolutely right, it has to be looked at from the various perspectives whether coming from kiev or moscow, everybody is saying what they are trying to avoid the conflict but they are apparently trying to keep order and peace

>> 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.

this this this. hello again. this hour on al jazeera america ukraine situation is intensifying. there is no sign that that pressure is working. ukraine's prime minister says his country will ner giver give cry me a dcimea. they ha a group of pakistani taliban opposing peace talks with government claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in the pakistani capitol. 11 people have been killed on a

district court in islamabad. forces loyal to bash arrest al as sad are trying to get control of the city's industrial district. if they do, it would be a win for them. this report: >> reporter: the old city aleppo has been long bitter and bloody. it's raged for around three years now. over most of that time, there has been little change in the balance of power. syrian government forces entrenched in the west, rebels controlling the old city in the east. >> now appears to be changing. in the last week, government forces have been making advances on the out skirts of the city. they have taken the city in the northeast and now the area between the countryside and the industrial city, a distance of

less than a kilometer. aleppo is an economic hub and the industrial zone, its beating heart. rebels say they are not giving up. our fighters are there. we are trying to stop the army from moving into the industrial city. we are still resisting. >>reporter: infighting between rebel groups has done little to help the opposition's cause. it's between the staknown as is both are linked to al-qaeda but when they were addressed of asass nigsassinatinion last wee had to join mediated talks or be forced out. by friday, isl fighters were leaving.

the real game changer in aleppo's war is the syrian army's indisriminate use of barrel bombs loaded with fuel, missiles and hundreds of kilograms of explosives. they have been dropped over many weeks of rebel-held areas in and outside the old city of aleppo. damage from the crude bombs is clear, the killing indisriminate and massive. it's the fear now that holds the power. areas empty of people are easier to take over. the advantage is becoming clear in the government advances on this, a thin rebel line. the united nations says fighting has begun in the palestinian refugee camp in damascus. there had been a truce. both sides are blaming the other for breaking the cease fire.

one person has been killed. the violence has forced the u.n. to stop delivering aid. unicef and other humanitarian organizations in lebanon say thousands of refugee children are suffering from malnutrition. they say lebanon is not equipped to deal with the problem. from the bakar valley, on how they have been scram bing >> reporter: a healthy newborn can way 3 and a half kilograms. that's how much swoops weighs. she is on a supplementary feeding program. her mother was unable to breast feed her for months while mourning the death of her brother in syria. >> that's why she has deteriorated. >> i want her to heal and be like the rest of her siblings. all my children walked at her age. it's because of the tough times we have been through >> reporter: a recent health

assessment of refugees in lebanon describes malnutrition as a silent and emerging threat. the assessment reveals 2,000 real at risk of dying out of 10,000 cases of severe and moderate malnutrition. she is diagnosed with moderate malnutrition and is being treated. his father said he has been sick ever since they arrived in lebanon a month ago. >> he was okay in syria, but when we came here, the cold and the rain made him sick because we didn't have a wooden frame to hold our tent >> reporter: most of the children suffering from malnutrition are living in make-shift camps where safe drinking water is scarce and hygiene can be poor. malnutrition can be caused by an inadequate or an imbalanced diet but illness is linked to the refugees squad i had living conditions. squalid living

conditions. poor sanitation and improper practices like this one make the children vulnerable to serious hygiene-related illnesses. >> several families in this part of the camp are suffering from scabies. others say their children have chronic diarrhea from drinking unsafe water. humanitarian agencies are trying to screen as many syrian children as possible before it's too late. >> it did not reach yet a serious situation. we are in lebanon and lebanon is not equipped and ready to respond to acute malnutrition. >> that's why we are currently putting -- and it's active already -- plan for activating healthcare centers. >> it will take millions of dollars to improve the environment these children are living in and contain malnutrition. >> becomes more difficult as new syrian refugees arrive in lebanon every day.

libya's parliamentary sessions will be moved to a tripoli hotel after the parliament building was attacked on sunday. two members of the general national congress were shot while the security guard was killed. armed former rebels have been surrounding the area. many libyans are angry that they have extended their term in. >> oscar pretorius has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his girlfriend. >> a defense team will try and prove he shot fine camp by mistake. prosecutors say it was premeditated and will seek a life sentence if prestorious is con corrected. >> the hong kong business tycoon and british british football car son-in-law young has been found guilty of five money laundering charges. the owner of birmingham city was found guilty of launchedering

$93 million in hong kong >> reporter: he first came to prominence in 2009 when he bought the birmingham football club. in 2011, the club was relegated from the please, sir league and that same year, carson was arrested and charged with money lau laundering. those charges relate to bank accounts held here in hong kong with more than $93 million passed through. delivering his verdict, a judge said he was not a witness of truth and exaggerated his income in hair dressing, the stockmarket and his gambling habits. supporters from the birmingham ball club who attended the trial said they were happy with the result but wanted to know what would happen to his for tour and where that would leave the company and the club that now owns it. carson has been taken by his arrest. >> they don't want anything more to do with him. he was remanded in custody for sentence okay friday and has

four weeks to appeal. osama bin laden's son-in-law goes on trial in new york, accused of conspiring to kill americans in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks. he is the highest ranking al-qaeda member to be prosacuted nat u.s. court. >> he was more than osama bin laden's son-in-law. he was al-qaeda's top spokesman threatening americans that more attacks were coming. but that was then. more than 12 years later, abrugaib, to face the u.s. justice system. the lawyer says the authorities are prosecuting the wrong man. >> he is charged with this am orphous conspiracy to murder americans somewhere somehow and material support for an

organization as a conspiracy to murder americans somewhere somehow. >> after spending at least 10 years under apparent house arrest inside iran, he was arrested in jordan in 2013 and jailed in new york. he has been charged with conspiracy to kill u.s. nationals conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists and providing support to terrorists the obama administration to prosecute him in a civilian court angered some conservatives. they say he should be tried in guantanamo. legal analysts say that doesn't stand up? >> this was not the case where we had a high-profile al-qaeda suspect capitaltured overseas. it's significant because of the normalcy of it, because of how routine it has beenm become. >> one of the key prosecution witnesses is the would-be shoo bomber. he will testify video link from

the u.k. about the training he received at an al-qaeda camp where abugaib used to speak. >> defense witnesses say the self-described master mind, ali shake p sheik mohammed. >> before and after the attacks. >> a lot the top leaders have been killed or arrested. but at the same time, contrary to what we hear from the u.s. government, it is not by any means a decimated institution. al-qaeda's brand is very strong, very powerful. it has a selling power that appeals to a lot of militants around the world. >> if he is convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in a u.s. maximum security prison. rosalind jordan, al jazeera, washington. nor korea has deported an australian missionary detained

for spreading christianity. the government says john short has apologized for what it calls anti-state religious acts and requested forgiveness. he was convicted of handing out passages from the bible at a booedist teruddhist term. >> it has been an amazing time of encouragement, care from friends, people that i haven't heard from for years. >> in rio day general a de de janero, hundreds are in the city for carnivale. a huge [ music ] -filed parade.

it's an overload of sounds where beats tug at the soul. the only thick competing for attention are the colors. welcome to the carnival prayed. locals say it's the biggest party on earth. the parade's spectacle, one of the world's greatest single events. the floats, the larger than life monstrosities, some of which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. and the costumes, most of which take months to make. >> it's the people that fuel the party that goes all night long. all of our family are carnival lovers. we are here having fun. >> i like everything about carnival. it is good. it's pure happiness. >> so even say the parade, itself, has taken them to new better places in life.

>> i am super happy. this is the second time i have participated in the carnival parade and the parade cured my depression. >> after watching the spectacle for a while it's hard to know the people make the carnival or the carnival experience itself makes the people. taking them at least for one night into an other world fantasy. >> they haven't even entered the stadium yet. the parade in front of the 75,000 people. already, the passion is incredible. they have completely lost themselves in the song and dance. this is rio's night where nothing else in the city, the country, or even the world matters all that much here problems don't exist, at least not for a night, this night when the people of rio tell the world, this is how we throw our carnival party. gabe recall alesando,

al jazeera. and a reminder before we go that you can keep up-to-date with all of the latest news and features on our website. there, you can see all of the latest developments on our top story, ukraine. russian flags flying high over the capitol of crimenia. >> major pile-ups. where the system is headed today and what could be next. double amputee oscar pistorious. going on trial for the murder of the death of his girlfriend.

pitif . good morning and welcomed to al jazeera america. i am del walters. the crisis in ukraine quickly williaming a stand-off. in response, ukraine mobilizing its military, asking for volunteers and calling up reserves. certain alovrov saying it is a matter of defending russian citizens. john kerry heading to kiev to meet with members of the interim government there over the weekend telling russia to rethink its intervention. today, pro-russian demonstrators occupying the lower floors of a government building in the far north regiono of crimea in eastern ukraine. live team coverage for you. lisa stark is in washington. we begin with phil itner in kiev.

phil, bring us up to date on the latest from ukraine >> reporter: here in the ukrainian capitol of kiev, obviously people are keeping a close eye of what's happening on the crimean peninsula but they are looking at threats possibly to the entire crimenian nation. with dig nat taries coming here and hard words coming from moscow, this is a crisis on the international stage. russia has the peninsula surrounding. while a stand-off continues with some ukrainian forces holding firm behind this gate, intelligence officials worry about a greater threat surrounding the entire country. we have learned today that ukrainian intelligence is aware of the locations of russian tanks. just on the other side of the border. less than 150 miles from the capitol. meaning those forces could arrive in kiev in a matter of hours. president putin's goal may not be to enter the capitol, but

it's an option he has been given with the blessing of the russian parliament. meanwhile, a new voice entered the fast-moving event as the russian prime miles per hour sister tool to facebook calling out ukraine's leaders saying they seized power illegally and the ousted president is still the listen it mat head of state. as for the international community which has expressed its outrage over russia's engagement in ukraine, it's showing its support to the new government. william hague arrived and did not mince words. >> if this situation cannot be resolved or if russia cannot be persuaded to respect the sovereignty of ukraine, there will have to be other consequences and other costs. >> consequences are apparently, the last thing on vladimir putin's mind. he has gotten away with it when they invadedga with the pretext of protecting russian citizens

there. as many ukrainians are aware, those republics are still under russian control. obviously, the lessons learned from the georgian war on the minds of the people in kiev. in addition, there is hope from the government that with these high-ranking officials coming and showing their support for this very fledgling government that they might get some legitimacy and hope to stave off any further threats from moscow >> reporter: phil, thank you very much. as you heard phil say, ukraine is quickly becoming an international game of ches, quickly becoming one of the most complex international presidents facing the presidency of barack obama. >> the administration saying this is not a east/west conflict but it is working to isolate

russia and warning russia about a broad array of diplomatic and economic sanctions. the tense stand-off between russian and ukrainian armies has reached beyond the crymy me crimean peninsula as the outcry intensefies over president putin's decision to send troops into the area. >> the united states is united. russia is isolated. >> what congress has to do, what the senate should do quickly is a resolution condemning what putin has done. >> it's the kind of tough talk that president putin has heard before such as when he invaded neighboring georgia in 2008. but just how much the u.s. can flex its muscle is what has some in washington questioning president obama's next move beyond his 90 minute phone call with putin over the weekend. >> number 1, stop going on television and trying to threaten thugs and dictators. it is not your strongsuit. every time the president goes on

national television and threatens putin or anyone like putin, everybody's eyes roll including mine. >> on sunday, president obama worked the phones, quickly shoring up world support to isolate russia. the u.s. and several of its ga partners, including britain, france, italy and canada have said they will not attend planned meetings for the g8 economic in sochi and some of the countries are threatening economic sanctions against russia. >> every single one of them are prepared to go to the hilt in order to isolate russia with respect to this invasion. >> the u.s. is offering russia a way out. one option, a so-called off ramp, a proposal allowing international observers to take the place of russian troops in crimea to protect the rights of the russia speaking population there. >> that's the reason president putin has cited for sending troops into crimea.

>> president putin will head to kiev to show support for the professional government. >> what will be on his agenda in kiev? >> he will be meeting with the new professional leaders of ukraine, also with the parliament there. he will talk about getting economic help to that country and he will reiterate the u.s. position about the territorial integrity of ukraine. again, affirming that russia is on the outs, is isolated as it continues with its course of action. del? >> lease a stark for us in washington, d.c. this morning. lisa, thank you very much. stay with al jazeera america for the very latest on this crisis in ukraine. we will have continuing coverage all day long, and americ"americ tonight" will have a 1-hour special on ukraine. it will feature real-life stories of people who live in crimea since we have seen that spoor shift tonight tonight at 9:00 o'clock p.m. eastern time.

a blast of snow and ice hitting the mid atlantic. how much will pile up. where it is headed next. honoring those killed during a attack in china. how leaders pay tribute to those who died. there was an uninvited guest at hollywood's big night. mother nature played a big role at the academy schwarz. we will tell you about the big winners. facili forces moving into the airport an hour down the road we have reports 80 miles east of here, a very, very small ukrainian marine base, 45, 50 marines are based there, and russian

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america the situation in ukraine now pushing world financial markets lower. russia's stockmarket dropping about 10%. it's currency is at the lowest point ever against the dollars. u.s. stocks opening lower as well. an anchor with reuters insider

joins us from london this morning. are we seeing the effects on the markets of all of the global uncertainty out there? >> yeah. i think we are. on the one hand, del, it is the uncertainty because there are so many unknowns right now. no one knows how it is going to pan out or how prolonged any upheaval is going to be. on the other hand, the markets are reacting to some very specific developments, a rising threat of war between the ukraine and russia after putin said he had the right to invade and the repercussions from that. tough words from john kerry, the u.s. secretary, talking of sanctions, so, yes, there is a lot of uncertainty an the markets reacting to that but they are reacting to real developments. there is this feeling that they may have under estimated the risks of an effectinglation in the ukraine. the events on the weekend are a wake-up call if you like. >> we have a map showing all of the gas pipelines that branch

out throughout ukraine from russia and about 80% of russian gas, exports to europe, pass through ukraine. how worried are investors that this could be a major disruption to the gas supplies? >> yeah, it's a great question. there is a very real worry that gas supplies could be affected. i think, del, the best indication of that is the huge gas problem. >> that's the gas monopoly that supplies europe through the ukraine. the hit they have taken today in their share price, for the time being, gas transit to europe remains unaffected. but if you look at the spot gas price, it's clear there are concerns about future supplies. spot gas is up substantially, of course. now that we are past the winter, the worry has lessened a little bit but if we were to see a disruption, most analysts say we could see a hit within weeks. another interest can point worth a mention here is the focus we

are seeing on the issue of the u.s. as an exporter of energy. i think the longer this spat over here goes on, the more we are going to hear about that u.s. issue here. of course, i just might add that europe has been trying to get off of its dependency on russian gas for quite awhile now, so this issue is height ended. >> if the conflict stays contained in crimea, does everything go away as far as investors are concerned? >> no. no. not at all. this is a geo-political issue. the crimea is an integral part of the ukraine. the prime minister said he is not going to give up the crimea without a fight. >> means the tension is unlikely to lessen any time soon. so, while the heart of the spat, this argument, this tension, if you like, might be confined to the crimean region, the repercussions elsewhere -- we have talked about a few of those just now -- are massive.

so, the market is unlikely to turn a blind eye. bear in mind this is the 5th bigtest exporter in the world. we have talked about the gas supply t whether it is confined there or not, the geo-political repercussions are enormous and they will continue. >> as we go forward, we are talking about the impact it will have on the european union. what about the economic impact on russia. if diplomacy doesn't work, will money cause individual mirror putin to back off in ukraine? >> that remains to be seen. i have spoken to a few analysts who said that is highly unlikely. the russian economy has taken a pretty big hit anyway at the moment. it's been a very, very tough year. the rubal has taken a massive hit, down again despite a rate hike and a financial prop of

about $10,000,000,000 from the central bank. stockmarket off about 10%, gasprom off 13, 14%. markets already hit very, very hard anyway. so, no, is it going to force putin's hand? what we know of putin, it's unlooivenlth we talk about sanctions but it's the market that have been acting as those sarns if you like, the markenct marke markets, the markets that have been punishing russia. again, people have spoken today and yesterday think that putin will hold out. >> axle threlfall. thank you very much. it, by the way, is affecting our markets as well. you can see, right now, the dow down 122 points. this is uncertainty in ukraine rattling markets as you heard, around the world. in south africa, it is day 1 of the oscar pistorius trial,

the olympian known as the blade runner pleading not guilty. he is accused of killing his girlfriend on valentine's day last year. he said it was an accident, claiming he thought she was an intruder. prosecutors say he murdered her after a late-night argument. the media might make or break the case here because the information that is not in the public domain yet might come to at a time public domain and other witnesses might hear or see there is evidence or statement that has been made and might alter their versions that they put to the investigators. >> the case so closely watched, al new 24 hour channel is launched focusing on the coverage of this trial. >> the death toll of a attack in china lighting candles for those killed. it happened in the city's main train station, another 143

people were wounded, police fatally shot 4 of the attackers. they are looking for ours. the political body holding a moment of silence for the victims of the attack e authorities tightening security on the streets of beijing. chinese government calling it an act of terrorism by a separatist group another winter storm, ice and wind causing power outages up and down the east coast and in the midwest. parts of the east coast could be seeing more than a foot of snow when all is said and done. chris palon has our story from philadelphia >> reporter: another blast has the mid atlantic in its grip t people. >> big rush, everybody is here, got in three palettes of ice melt yesterday morning and it was gone before 11:00 o'clock a.m. it's non-stop, everybody wanting it. i just can't find any at this time.

>> it's unusual for d.c. i love the snow. even i am getting a little tired. >> this latest system is causing havoc from the roches and ozarks all the way to massachusetts. in colorado, one person died in a 100 car pile-up. fog and slick roads are being blamed. the system is racing from coast to coast. it brought heavy rain to california, ice from little rock to nashville and snow through the mid atlantic in new england. 130 million people in its path sending records across the land. >> for up -- i think approaching five feet of snow. close to that. i have shoveled all of this, every five feet of t i am tired, and it's in march. thrilled people took an icy dip. rom oman annual and jimmie fallon proving cold is a state

of mind. the snow has stopped in philadelphia. the problems continue. to,000 flights coacross the country have been cancelled. del, we will send it back to you. >> chris, thank you very much. three words on people's minds, make it stop. >>. >> i wish i had that power but unfortunately the snow goes on. we still have a few weeks before spring arrives. once it does, i am sure everyone will have a party. but for now, we have to deal with this wintry mess that has made its way through the central plains and now into the mid atlantic. rape through baltimore. now, all snow. some areas have already received six and a half inches. that was around new market. definitely, it definitely, it's still going to be a slow travel day because all of the bigger cities have been impacted in some way or another. now, around new york city, we are in pretty decent shape because the heaviest of the snow has fallen just to our south. we are dealing with an area of

low pressure along that front. it will exit the cost as we get into this evening. we will see high pressure building in behind it. we will still have that cold air in plates. the arctic air is making its way toward the gulf coast. the snow, the precipitation side will be wrapping up by later tonight. we will have the front dragging right across florida and right along the gulf coast. we are still expecting a few shattered rain showers. around atlantic, catching a break, could hear a clap of thunder into south carolina and georgia. but rain not too widespread as we go into the afternoon and evening. here across the southern plains, we are on the quiet side for now, but it is definitely cold. temperatures have dropped 30 to 40 degrees within the last 24 hours, but we will continue to see moisture increasing from the gulf of mexico. you factor in the coldair and the moisture and we will deal with freezing rain possibly as far south as san antonio. definitely feeling that change in our airs mass here into the pacific northwest, it's milder. we have the rain across the

southwest. things have quieted down since yesterday there, but into the northwest, we are dealing with a mixed bag of precipitation. >> thank you very much. well, years in the making, all of it coming down to just one night. >> twelve years a slave. >> that's it. >> "twelve years a slave" taking the top prize of the oscar. we will tell you about the rest of the big winners and how mother nature played a big role in last night's

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access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. >> al jazeera america presents extrodanary documentaries. colin comes from a long line of ferrymen. >> you're a riverman from start to finish... >> now he leaves home to see what life is like on the waters of bangladesh. >> it's absolutely filthy... >> he learns how difficult working ther can be. >> how do you say..."get out the way"? >> shoro >> can this brittish man find common ground with his local host? >> "must really take it out of mr. loteef"... >> toughest place to be a ferryman on al jazeera america scomplfrnl the stars coming together for one of the biggest nights in hollywood. rain soaked the red carpet so bad they had to put up a tent to

keep the stars dry. who went home with gold? >> reporter: 12 years a slave. the historical drama won the top prize sunday night, the first time a film from a black director has won best picture? >> i dedicate this award to all of the people who have endured slavery and the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today. >> the film also made a winner of the breakout star who won best supporting actress. >> it doesn't escape me for one moment that so much join in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else. >> kate blanchet for bl"blue jasmine"? >> as random and subjective as this award is, it means a great deal. >> matthew mccon acog ahey paidtrip trib beauty? >> he is up there, probably in his underwear and a cold can of

miller light. >> his "buyers club" core. >> this is for the 36 million people who have lost the battle to aids. >> gravity. >> gravity gravity. >> missed out on best picture but was the top award winner, 7 ausc-arizona including best director. >> the night's other big winner, oscar's ellen de generes, her star-studded selfy became the most shared photo ever on twitter. retweeted more than 2 million times in two hours. >> the most retweets. >> mark barger. and now joined by our culture and media critic bill wyman big prize going to "twelve years a slave" a lot of awards for "gravity." so did we see a split decision? >> we did. a little bit of the past and a

little bit of the future. i think hollywood felt there was some unfinished business in its treatment of race relations that gave us gone with the wind, "driving ms. daisy" like "song of the south" now expressed. i think they wanted to say when this stuff was going on front of the camera, this is really what was going on in the back of these big beautiful houses. that was a very powerful movie, "twelve years a slave" mat matt mccounahey. not your tick cal winner. >> acceptance speech. i have this image of his father and a miller beer. >> he destroyed his career by being in rom antic comedies. he has come back with the help of "true detective." i thought all four winners gave

great speeches. they gave heart-felt substantive model for what the speeches should be. >> it spoke about diversity, the first manner american director. matthew mc acog ahey, and playing a trans ve transvestite >> alfonso core own is a mexican director, part of a gang of people down there and the cinematogrher cinematogrher: >> surprises and snubs, so much talk about americ"american husto much talk about "wolfe of wall street" going in to the night. what happened? >> i think that "american hustle" got squeezed. when you have three big movies, it's unclear what's going to happen.

you could have seen "twelve years" and "gravity" split the vote. i think the winner are movie-loving people. the academy has been giving awards to lower and lower grossing movies. "we twelve-years request" is the lowest grossing of all time. this is an industry that is dedicated to giving awards to high-quality movies despite their box office grosses. >> it wouldn't be hollywood without most of the technical work being done in london. some people on this side of the pond, so to speak, not too happy about that. >> right. the american effects industry has been decimated. they gave us great movies last 2 years but in the digital age, all of this is outsourced. you have a lot of countries that are subsidizing heavily all of these industries and hollywood can't compete. given the state of finances in california, you are not going to get any subsiddeeds for the film

industry or in america and the movie industry doesn't want any change because they are getting the same product for less. so these guys have a really great case, but it's hard to see how they are going to find any real action in the coming years. >> bill, i have 30 second left. i would be remiss if i didn't ask you your most memorable moment from last night. >> i thought ellen degeneres did a good job but wasn't that great. darlene love singing her acce acceptance speech and won the best documentary oscar. >> bill wyman, our art and media critic on last night's big night in california. no do you waubt he has not been yet. >> will do it for this edition of al jazeera america news. we want to show you live pictures right now of washington, d.c. where, yes, it is snowing. the forecast down there calling for anywhere between five to 10 inches of snow in some of the outer burbs of washington, d.c. no doubt, people are not in

school. >> welcome to the news hour. we have the top international stories. loyalty on the line in crimea. ukraine under lee against to pro-russian forces. >> with more on the ukraine crisis, more western leaders are calling for the call for russia to back off crimea. we'll be live at that meeting in brussels where sanctions are being discussed. [ gunfire ] >> also ahead an