>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. tensions he is can rate between the united states and russia. russia depends its military option and russia needs to stand down. israel's prime minister said he's prepared to make historic peace with palestinians.

>> rhetoric between the united states and russia as the crisis in ukraine grows. president have ha vladimir putin research refers to its actions as a humanitarian. >> they are violating international law. president putin has different set of lawyers making different set of interpretations but i don't think that's fooling anybody. >> late today the organization for security and cooperation in europe said a military observer mission from the united states in 14 countries will visit ukraine to monitor the situation in crimea. this comes as efforts intensify. we go to mike viqueira for the latest.

>> reporter: the day of claim and counter claims by some of the principle players in this face-off. this is the white house coming up with a coherent strategy with it'sality lies. there is no excuse, says president obama, for what is happening. >> there iit is not based on con for russian-speaking nationals but russia exerting force on a neighboring country. >> reporter: for a second day president obama interrupted a scheduled event to address the crisis in ukraine. >> we're call forgive deescalation. >> reporter: amid international outcry president obama held out hope that vladimir putin was

having second thoughts. >> reporter: but seconds after he spoke. >> there can only be one assessment. this is an anti-constitutional coup. >> reporter: speaking in public for the first time, calling the ousting of viktor yanukovych as unlawful. >> go to a shop you can buy any kind of uniform there. >> reporter: putin denied that russian troops were in crimea in the first place. visiting ukraine a show of solidarity, many were honoring

those who had been killed. >> russia is working hard to create a pretext to be able to invade further. >> reporter: the implication putin has designs not only on crimea but the east and south. areas that share strong cultural and historic ties to russia. and again spoke out in the move against crimea. >> we have throughout this moment in this transformation we will stand with those on the ground. >> reporter: exercising the need to get ukraine back on its feet economically. >> and then, mike, there was

russia's missiles test earlier today. >> reporter: it came a couple of hours after president obama said there was evidence that vladimir putin was pausing and in recollection and hoping to back off and then right on cue there was a missile test. trying to de-escalate, and each side let's the other side know before they're going to test such missiles. >> the united states is offering, as you heard, more than money, jonathan betz with more. >> reporter: a little bit more than money.

ukraine is in a very delicate situation facing bankruptcy. offerings experts to help get the ukraine bank in order, and even morning workers are being sent to the country to get ready for an up coming election. but what ukraine needs is crash. it is turning to the international monetary fund for $15 billion. to get it the country will have to make painful moves that the country has resisted in the past. that means pensions could be slashed, services stopped. ukraine has been relying on cheap national gas from russia. the imf said that is not sustainable and causing people to use more. and subsidies have to stop.

ukraine's new prime minister have called these harsh demands but said they're willing to do it. they don't have another option. russia is no longer an option. they'll have to make these changes if the west is going to open up it's pocketbook. >> speaking witspeaking with fit ambassador to ukraine in 1992. i'm going to try to cut to the chase on some of these here. i'm going to bottom line some of these issues. are these russian actions really about an invasion, a takeover of ukraine, or is this more about russia doing jest about anything it can from keeping ukraine moving closer to the west? >> i would say it's more the latter. you said it very nicely. you have to look at the options that the russian have in the case of ukraine. they want to destabilize ukraine to prevent it from moving west,

and staying neutral, not moving back under russia's orbit. the first option is to take troops into crimea. they felt that would help destabilize the government. also send a signal to the international community that ukraine is an unstable government, and trying to expand it's role in ukraine. but look at the second option they have, one that people have been talking about is to move into eastern ukraine. now moving into east ukraine becomes more difficult because you realize the ukrainian government because the government said they will fight if there is an invasion. and this gets into the mode of invading the heartland of the ukraine. and then if russia invades all of ukraine.

as a nation of 46 million people, they would put up a huge resistence. they would go in and destable ayes the ukraine government. and it gets worse for them. >> if you destabilize this interim government you have a ripple effect on what the government has elected to do down the road here. what you suggest is you make a bad economic situation in ukraine worse by destabilizing the government in a way, do i have that right. >> you have that absolutely right. the other part of that is that the russians would like to go back to the februar february 21st agreement between the opposition and yanukovych which called for a government of immunity and elections. although the election was have

been in december. i think what the russians would like for action in crimea not only to destabilize but reinforce the base that people like yanukovych would have. so when an election does take place that base would come out in favor of the candidate that the russians back. >> in the move of western leaders, secretary william hague and secretary kerry traveling to kiev to show support for the interim government. >> our actions namely of the united states and our western allies, the united states has taken a number of concrete steps as you outlined in the course of the report. namely the united states has broken a trade talks that were ongoing that was supposed to start. we've limited number of military to military context, and we're looking at taking other option

sometime during the course of the week. our european ey allies are also looking, they may not be as forceful or on the same page as we are, but i do you think they'll come up as a group and parallel those of the united states. the key thing is not so much the individuals decisions that are made, but when you put all the measures that are going to be put in place together they will have an impact on russia. >> well, ambassador, that was terrific. the first u.s. ambassador to ukraine back in 1992. what a pleasure. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> today on the crimea peninsula russian troops fired warning shots, and it was all caught on tape. [ gunfire ]

russian forces fired shots at a group of soldiers. ukrainian authorities estimate there are as many as 16,000 troops in crimea right now. and earlier i spoke with ukraine's ambassador to the united nations, i asked why he thinks the russian troops are on the move in crimea. >> the exact goal is not known, but the result of all this movement just to encourage the separatist groupings there, and to bring more support, and then to help to create the government in crimea as it happened this is very dangerous. >> one country appears to hold the key to any solution. that country is germany. david shuster joins us with that

part of the story. >> reporter: officials in the obama administration are convinced that germany chancellor angela merkel can ask vladimir putin to back down. go. >> reporter: vladimir putin was living, quote, in another world. merkel, though, has said very little publicly, and that appears to be by design. because behind-the-scenes white house sources say merkel is at the center of quiet diplomacy. russia and germany have strong economic ties. germany is the biggest import of russian gas and oil, some of it comes through ukrainian pipelines and russia accounts for 36% of all german gas consumption. through the year merkel and putin have maintained a strong

business-like relationship. putin speaks fluent german after being stationed in german as kgb. putin and merkel have spoken several times most recently when putin agreed with merkel's proposal to open dialogue between russia and ukraine's interim government. a negotiated solution would both protect and help german's economy as much as any other in europe. since the collapse of the soviet union no country has benefited more from business ties to eastern europe and friendly relations with russia. several former soviet union countries like poland now serve as manufacturers. merkel's economic interest with putin could under cut the obama administration's efforts to sanction him. while they push for sanctions

germany for now opposes them. they are now down playing their current disagreements with germany of how to handle russia considering that germany is crucial to any solution. giving angela merkel plenty of room to maneuver with putin to try to reach a deal. >> david shuster with us thanks. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu wrapped up a meeting, saying he's ready for a historic peace deal. libby casey with more now from washington. >> reporter: prime minister netanyahu talked about his concerns about iran's path to developing a nuclear weapon. iran is trying to open up with more with what iran is doing and slow down its development process. but prime minister netanyahu said a lot is needed. he wants to see destruction of the heavy water reactor and see

centerfuges to be dismantled. he wants iran to be open about its intentions. it's not just about iran getting a nuclear weapon but iran should not have the capacity to make a nuclear weapon, and israel should not be the only one to be worried. >> iran's missiles already can reach israel. those missiles they're building, they are not intended for us. do you remember that beer commercial, this bud is for you. when you see russian building icbms, just remember, america, that's scud is for you. >> they're concerned with iran being able to develop a nuclear weapon but believe the diplomatic process needs to take its course. he set the end of april as the deadline to get a basic

framework hammered out. prime minister netanyahu said one of the most basic fundamentals that he needs to see is palestinian recognition for the jewish state of israel. >> ladies and gentlemen, peace is israel's highest aspiration. i'm prepared to make a historic peace with our palestinian names. a peace that would end a senator of conflict and bloodshed. >> despite that positive tone a lot of division between both the palestinian and israeli perspective. among the things that secretary kerry is trying to work on, agreement over borders, agreement over the status of jerusalem and recognition of a palestinian state. the president of palestine will be visiting the white house, visiting with president obama in just two weeks' time, so expect more focus to continue on these talks. >> libby casey reporting for us.

a warning on antibiotics, hospitals and doctors may be using them too often creating superbug infections. and president obama unveiled his new budget proposal but the plan could be more about politics than spending.

>> nearly 4 trillion-dollar that's how much president obama plans to spend in his latest budget proposal. he's not going to spend that much. real money's ali velshi is looking at the numbers. what are the highlights of the president's budget? >> reporter: i'm not going to burn a lot of calories looking at the numbers, and i'll tell you why. it's important. it's the president's budget proposal. it stand very little chance of getting through, but it is a very traditional democratic budget. the president wants more money for road construction for job training, for preschool education. this is for a budget that in theory would take affect i effen

october, and he wants to take away a tax break that is currently enjoyed by hedge fund managers. so it's a very traditionalcally democratic budget. >> we heard a lot of talk that the budget is dead on arrival. how frustrating is this process of passing a budget? >> you know, first of all, budgets have been largely dead on arrival for five years. this is becoming the norm. but back before the last five years under normal circumstances the president submits a proposal in february. congress then develops it's own versions, and they compromise and a budget is passed by april 15th. now we have more or less extended one budget now for five years. it's been five years since the president signed a brand new budget bill into law. so the problem here, of course,

is a budget is supposed to reflect the priorities of the government of the day. and we're dealing with a budget that was set right before you know, during a recession. it's just not sensible. but this is how washington works. >> absolutely. ali, what are you looking for at the big program. >> the fact that businesses had to take out a lot more loans in january and february because of the cold weather so we're star starting to get data of how the cold weather has affected people's money. >> can't wait, "real money with ali velshi." the warning from the center of disease control about antibiotics. american hospitals and doctors have been overprescribing antibiotics to the point that it could be breeding superbugs. bisi onile-ere is live with us north of detroit. bisi, you talked to a number of medical professionals there today. how are they reacting to this

news? >> reporter: tony, doctors here at beaumont located just outside of detroit, applaud the report because they say it brings light to a very, very big problem. this is a study that basically confirms that a lot of healthcare providers have known for a very long time, and that's that people are overprescribed antibiotics. the problem with this is when people are overprescribed antibiotic they can obtain a resistence to these drugs, and they stop working. over 2 million people got sick from antibiotic-resistant infections. as well thousands of people died from this. did i have an opportunity of earlier today to talk to a doctor here at beaumont hospital who specializes in infectious disease. he stressed the importance of this study, and he also talked about how it can save lives. take a listen. >> limiting antibiotic use to appropriate situations, making

sure it's the appropriate type of antibiotic and making sure that your choices are based on knowing what resistence are in your area, and understand how bacteria work and infections work, will make a huge difference. >> the cdc is recommending that hospitals all across the country adopt a program to basically basically combat how antibiotics are used here at the hospital setting. they're calling for improvements in leadership and education as well as accountability. the doctor here that i spoke with at beaumont, he said they adopted a similar protocol nine years ago. he said it's working for them and their patients. >> bisi, if president obama is proposing money to fight the threat of these superbugs, what can you tell bus that? >> reporter: yes, yes, he's saying it's a nightmare-ish

bacteria of the president releasing his statement after the cdc report. he wants to put more funding in programs like the one here so people have a better idea of how to detect and prevent these infections. bisi onile-ere in royal oak in a city north of detroit. thank you. a group of black students at harvard are speaking about their experience on campus, and the photo campaign is going viral. maria is here with that story. >> reporter: black students say their voices often go unheard, so they started a campaign called "i, too, am harvard." holding up signs with comments that they hear or messages they want others to know. this one says, surprise, my

acceptance to harvard was not based just on my face. and this one says, your dressed like you might shoot me right now, such a thug. you're the whitest black person i know. or, i'm not pulling the race card. you're just being racist. now all of this has been inspired by a play that was based on a series of interviews of black students at harvard college. i spoke to one of those students who said that she has been inspired by students at other colleges that speak out about their experiences. >> we didn't start the movement, and we're not going to be the last people to speak out on being black at these predominantly white institutions. but i think it's very, very, very important that other people should know how black people feel on these campuses just because when there are problems, and when black people are feeling isolated the administration can do something to fix it, and people can be

more aware of how black people feel at these campuses. >> they applaud people who are working adding it's an important conversation for harvard and all colleges, and she said she has been contacted by students at other colleges who want to start similar campaigns. >> yes, i wonder if there are similar issues with latinos, hispanic and asians at some of these high-ranking commuters in the country. thank you. >> why diplomats hold press correspondences about ukraine, citizens and soldiers there find themselves face to face in tense situations. and democrats trying to bring more blue to one of the country's reddest states.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. a military observer mission will visit ukraine in the coming days to monitor the situation in crimea, according to the organization for security and cooperation in europe. as russia and the west look at the situation in ukraine, tensions flare. russian troops and ukrainian soldiers who try to retake a base. [ absences. [ . arguing ]

>> similar scenes have been playing out in other parts of ukraine. nick schifrin in the regional capitol of crimea. what are you seeing on the ground? >> we're seeing a russian occupation that is growing and getting a little more aggressive and more threatening, and a pro return population whose hatred is very much increasing. we almost immediately ran into a large group of russian soldiers, some 300 or 400 on the side of the road because one of their trucks had broken down. they absolutely refused to even engage or answer any of our question. but it does seem indicative of the fact that russian troops are fanning out across this peninsula a little bit. ukrainian and officials say 16,000 additional russian

soldiers are here. what we saw at a base is a real siege, by russian soldiers in the background and pro russian demonstrators and ukrainian soldiers inside. what the pro russian demonstrators are trying to do is convince the ukrainian soldiers by climbing over the wall to give up their weapons. the two sides converse and made a deal. that's when we started to leave the base. that's when the pro russian demonstrators stopped us. they stopped our car. they threatened to tip it over at one point. they slashed one of our tires. they said all the western media were spreading lies being anti-russian. that's when they asked to see all of our video, every frame of the base. eventually they let us leave only when they escorted us an hour away just to make sure we didn't film any more. it goes to show you that one story at one base how the russians are aggressive, pushing

on the ukrainian soldiers, who are now out numbered and outgun, and the activists are pushing with them. >> extraordinary that that's happening there, but when you talk to pro russian supporters and other crimeaens what are their chief concern? we heard them talk about a humanitarian crisis, and fears at the peninsula. when you talk to people there, what are their concerns? >> that is their belief. they are fed propaganda by the tv media here that is almost all russian tv which says, which reports as fact what is happening in kiev, thousands and thousands of demonstrators coming on to the street will happen in crimea. that's the language that you hear not only from the russian

government in moscow, but you also hear on the streets here. we are here, meaning the russian soldiers who are standing next to them, they're here to protect us from the people in kiev. now, the reality of course tony is that the vast majority of people in kiev are unarmed, and the vast majority or the majority of crimeaens are pro russian already. so the notion that these people need to be defended by what are largely peaceful protesters in kiev strikes some as not quite right. but nonetheless their power is growing not only among pro russian activists but the russian troops themselves who have a strangle hold control over all of those bases, and they're pushing into more bases. and the ukrainian soldiers are resisting a little bit but they really don't have a lot of time, patience or weapons to the point of being able to resist the russians. >> nick schifrin for us. thank you. suicide rates among soldiers

who served in iraq and afghanistan have soared even among those who never left the united states. that's according to a new $65 million study, the largest ever conducted on suicide in the military. john terrett looks at that study. >> reporter: the wars are winding down, and the data from them are starting to come in, good evening. researchers from the national institute of mental health working on something called army stars a multi agency project have been scouting the records of a million soldiers, and they found that suicides in the military are not simply the result of the fast-faced tempo that the army has been under not only here at home but abroad. for more than ten years now. instead there seems to be an overall strain, if you want to put it like that, within army life. but contributes to suicides. in other words, such deaths are not just a factor of combat duty hell, although clearly that is

for those who have to go through it. among the key findings suicide rates for those who served in iraq and afghanistan doubled from 2004 to 2009 to more than 30 per $100,000. but here is the kicker, the trend of those who never deployed nearly tripled to 130 per 100,000. now the research also went on further than this, and found that one in four soldiers in the army appear to suffer from at least one psychiatric disorder, and one in ten suffer from multiple psychiatric disorders. now the survey says a third of the soldiers who attempted suicide or associated with mental disorders developed before they actually joined up, enlisted. some people say these results

are an indication that really the army should have done a much better job screening recruits. but the lead scientist of the army star study said no, don't think of it like that. instead look to the future. >> what they highlight is the likely value of improving the process for identifying people with mental health problems once they are in the army for providing appropriate care for those people. because there will always be people who enter the army with a history, and in any case there will always be people once in the army who develop problems. and the question is how to help those people most effectively. >> how to help those people most effectively. he said the study surprised him and his colleagues at the institute, but at least a light has been shined on a problem that most people don't want to talk about openly on civvy

street let alone in the milita military. >> missiles launched by the north korea creates a direct threat. they fired seven missiles because they're opposed wit to e drills by south korea and united states. scotland's pro independent first minister is in london making his case for scottish independence. voters in scotland go to the polls to decide if their country should be independent. those for an independent scotland say it will benefit the entire united kingdom. in venezuela protest continues as the nation prepares to honor it's late leader hugo chavez. tomorrow marks one year since chavez's death from cancer.

president nicolás maduro is making lavish plans for the celebration. and an army general on trial, that and other stories in the u.s. >> reporter: an army general faces possible life in prison for sexual assault charges. brigadier jeffrey sinclair was commander of the 82nd airborne unit and served tours in iraq and a. he used his rank to force a an subordinate into an affair. he is the highest ranking officer ever to face

court-martial due to sexual assault. in saratoga, florida, is 101 resident has become so disappointed at the lack of political leadership that he's decided to run for congress. >> reporter: joe newman said's an optimist because he has to be. the first vote he cast was for president franklin roosevelt. now he hopes the next vote he casts will be for himself. the saratoga, florida, man is run forgive congress. >> they tell me, okay, you have a big mouth. most of the people you use it on think that you say something reasonable. >> reporter: at 101 years old, he'll tell you, sure he wakes up achy. he no longer plays golf because it aggravates him too much, but

he recently bought a new car, and he can still dance with his 93-year-old girlfriend anita as he did at his birthday party last month. >> what do you say to people who worry you don't have the physical stamina? >> well, you don't like to say this, but who knows about tomorrow. who knows? >> the registered democrat is in lock step with most of his party's positions on the major issues. he said its time for immigration reform. the nsa spying program is an invasion of privacy, and the government needs to do more to boost the middle class. but he says his candidacy is borne out of a rebuke to the so-called "do nothing congress," and a depression-era belief that the government should throw a lifeline to those struggling. >> what is frightening is that people are thinking that government is lost. our government is our tool. that we must use to create a

better society. >> reporter: he says he can already claim victory. >> winning or losing the election is important, but the fact that if we can get people to consider their purpose here, then that to me, if i've done that, that's a victory. >> newman admits he has more questions than answers when it comes to improving life for americans, but he does have a lot of opinions. in the coming months he looks forward to sharing those. including on twitter. which he is learning to use. al jazeera, florida. >> and in california a couple who found $10 million worth of gold coins in their backyard may not be so lucky after all. the san francisco chronicle said the coins may have been stolen from the u.s. mint back in 1900. that means they would be the property of the government. but a mint spokesman said they don't have any information

linking the coins to any thefts, tony, the couple has hired an auctioneer to represent them. >> wait a minute. that's a fine story. 101 years old? >> yes, i glow 93-year-old >> god bless.ow. >> my heroes. today marks the first primary election of the year. the polls are open in texas ahead of this year's midterm election. and the pressure is on to get voters to the polls. 101. sorry, highy joe castro is in dallas for us. really, all eyes are on senator wednesdayy davis who seems to be holding the hopes of the democratic party in this red state. >> reporter: that's right, we're at the dallas county democratic headquarters where just under two hours polls in this county will close, and people here they're looking at it as every

last phone call, every last inch pushed counts. even though today's primary, they're looking further ahead to norm when they'll go head on with opponent texas attorney general greg abbott. and texas democrats say this election season is still early, and there is still momentum to carry forward. >> this is the dallas democratic party. >> the phones are ringing off the hook. and the pizza is flying out of the box. the headquarters of the dallas county party is in full-on election mode. >> pretty buzzed up right now. >> reporter: early voting numbers are promising. here in dallas and in other urban counties across texas turn out among democrats is on track to surpass that of the 2012 presidential primary. election watchers chalk it up to

excitement for wendy davis. the senator who filibustered for abortion rates an rights and isn line for governor. texas is one of the reddest states in the country. >> as living in texas i see it purple. i see people become more politically involved in the last year. >> reporter: the last time texans voted for governor was in 2010 when 38% of registered voters cast a ballot. that made it the lowest voter turnout in the nation. and historically as many as half vote in primaries as texas republicans. which is why walking the streets of heavily democratic neighborhoods is the focus of campaign consultant jeff dalton.

>> there has probably been a lot of depression in the democratic party. why bother, we're not going to win. >> reporter: as she trails greg abbott by 11 points in the poll, dalton and his team of volunteers are optimistic the november matchup could be an upset. the republicans see that as wishful thinking. >> the democrats were serious about having wendy davis in a statewide office. they would have put her in a race she could win. >> reporter: democrats, though, say if davis doesn't win she'll at least build momentum to make texas competitive. they're encouraged by 2020 more hispanics and more young people will become more eligible voters. >> have you tried to sway your father? >> yes, i mean, i try to appeal to him. >> has it gone anywhere? >> sometimes it does. sometimes it doesn't.

>> reporter: but the fact that the debate is happening at both his kitchen table and across the state is something texas democrats see as progress. >> now, tony, most insiders will say texas turning blue this year would be a shocker. however, in the next ten years because of the shifting demographics that becomes a real possibility. by the year 2025 hispanics will make up the biggest portion of voters in texas. if you look at the last presidential results texas hispanics gave obama overromneyy by 40 points. >> people in california are given hundreds of millions of dollars for help against its serious drought. and debuts for medical marijuana with this guy.

>> california governor jerry brown has signed a 700 million-dollar drought relief package. that will help unemployed farmers and cities running out of water. we wanted to look at how that money will help. melissa chan is with us in san francisco. how much drought relief do you get with $687 million. >> $687 million is a lot of money. but it's not as simple as placing that money into the bank accounts of a lot of these cities that need the help as we learned when we visited hillsburg, california. they had ambitious goals. it would fund clean drinking water and conservation projects support unemployed farmers by paying for food and housing.

and as state lawmakers pass the relief plan, as if on could you they saw rain. in hillsburg, a rural community in northern california currently facing a water shortage. despite what happened in sacramento the benefits of the law might not trickle down to quick results on the ground go my concern is this, the governor said we have a drought emergency, and we need agencies down the line like our regional water control board, we need them to see the same urgency, and we're not seeing it at this point. >> reporter: at this point of the year the river would be rushing over my head, but now it's dry. that's the problem, the river is it's primary source of water. >> we still need to make sure that the water flows are significant enough to have the city recharge our well system and the farmers drawing on the river for protection.

>> reporter: but that won't happen. even if they see steady rain over the next month, it won't be enough to bring the river's level back up. that's why they hope to grab a small part to create a pipe project. it will send recycled water out to the area a and can be installed in six to eight weeks if they receive immediate funding. the word here is that the application process could take too long and may come too late. >> the reality is it may take too long for people who need the water. in our area we know there are farm whose have written off this year's crop. >> reporter: hillsburg welcomes state help but in this instance they see a medium-term solution for short-term problems. and with how much red tape they will have to wade through for those facing imminent need it's not the need they had hoped for.

>> reporter: it's not just packing the legislation but enforcing it. >> melissa chan in san francisco. ads are on television telling you where you can get medical marijuana, really? roxanne diroxana has been lookie ads, and it's amaze how fast things have changed. >> these ads are on major cable networks. they started to air in new jersey. these are areas where medical marijuana are legal. it links patients with doctors who prescribe medical marijuana. >> yo, you want sushi? i got sushi. i got the best sushi. >> this area is dry. you know that, i know that ain't nobody selling but me. i got tuna, salmon, i got the

finest sashimi this area has seen in years. i need you, you need me. let's make this work. i got everything. even california rolls, baby. >> reporter: you wouldn't buy your sushi from this guy. why would you buy your marijuana from him? >> critics say the ad will convince more people to use marijuana. it's all part of of an unfortunate example of a business-like cable provider willing to make money from folks that really are advertising addiction. >> comcast told me that they're struggling with something new. a spokeswoman said isn't it jarring when you see a new commercial like when you first saw viagra on air. that's where we'r why we're aire

it's legal. marijuana is allowed for recreation use in colorado and washington. the ad will only air between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. the hours that kids are supposed to be sleeping, but they're usually not if they're naughty kids. and the commercials are not supposed to run on the kids networks, disney and nickelode nickelodeon. >> but this "t" sounds like it's a pretty expensive buy. what is the cost connected with all of this? >> reporter: i asked the medical marijuana doctors, they wouldn't tell me the exact price they pay but that it's expensive. >> new new orleans the cold day isn't stopping a big party in the big easy. live pictures. terrific, terrific, all right, live pictures. the french corridor. it's the last day of mardi gras,

and celebrating the day before ash wednesday. we understand that new orleans police called in state troopers to help manage the crowds, but that looks like perfectly good fun. enjoy it everybody. an update on the day's top stories and then it's "real money with ali velshi." >> coming up on "real money." the problem with president obama's budget. i'm not talking about what is in it, i'm pointing a finger at the process. plus protecting your digital privacy in a world where you don't know who you can trust. all that and more on "real money." there's more to financial news than the ups and downs of the dow. for instance, can fracking change what you pay for water each month? have you thought about how climate change can affect your grocery bill? can rare minerals in china affect your cell phone bill? or how a hospital in texas could

drive up your healthcare premium? i'll make the connections from the news to your money real.

>> this is al jazeera america live new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. white house officials say president obama spoke with germany's chancellor angela

merkel about the situation in ukraine. germany is considered a county attorney part of the effort to solve the crisis. and the president rebuked russia for occupying the crimea peninsula. the secretary of state condemned the russian medicine ration's act of aggression. israeli benjamin netanyahu spoke and said that palestinians must be prepared to recognize israeli as a jewish state. he also said iran must be stripped of its nuclear capability. today president obama unveiled his budget proposal, and would expand early childhood education. >> our budget is about choices. it's about our values. as a country we have to make a decision if we're going to protect tax breaks and expand

opportunity for every american. >> well, republicans are already attacking the plan calling it an election year campaign pitch. lawmakers have until october 1st to approve a budget. "real money with ali velshi" is >> president obama's budget a big waste of time. it's not about politics. it's about economics. i'll tell you how they should be doing in in washington. also the wealth and power behind the scenes in ukraine. plus take back your digital privacy. the technology to foil spies and hackers. i'm ali velshi. this is "real money."