>> this is al jazeera america live in new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. tensions mounting in ukraine. and a solution. an u.n. envoy run out of ukraine by pro-russian men. and a son-in-law accusing to use murderous words of power to rally people against america.

>> diplomatic efforts to end the crisis in ukraine are heating up as tensions mount on the crimea peninsula. an united nations' envoy go givn unwelcome as a reminder of the situation there. and there has not been much cross at all. >> yeah, tony, not much progress at all. it's quite clear. secretary of state john kerry held a press conference two hours ihours after the meeting.

it was clear not a lot of movement was made. there was positions stated by the united states and the west. said, of course, that they do want to do more. but not a lot of results. let's take a quick listen to what secretary of state kerry had to say. >> we agreed to continue intense discussions in the coming days with russia, with ukrainians in order to see how we can help normalize the situation and stabilize it. all parties agreed today that it is important to try to resolve

these issues through dialogue. >> it sounds good, tony, but you know, where is the result? where is the development? of course everybody agrees that it's better to de-escalate the conflict, but you need to have movement, and clearly that was not today. >> phil, in all of this talking, brussels starting tomorrow, and the european foreign ministers have threaten sanctions against russia, but that's going to be a difficult sales job as well, isn't it. >> keeping in mind first and foremost the european union is not an unified body. they're trying to decide about sanctions. they're trying to decide about reaction to what russia has done. they will talk about it, but all of those economies have

relationships with russia, and many of them are very important. not at least of which are natural gas for germany. that's a massive amount of energy, and if they clamp down they'll be just be shoots themselves in the foot. there might be flights coming out, and while there is general consensus of things that can be done there is a lot of money tied up in things, and you can't just cut it off. >> today, an united nations envoy trying to assess the situation was first held and

then forced to leave with threats thrown in. nick schifrin there, he joins us live now from simeferol. walk us through what happened. >> reporter: quite a few threats were thrown at u.n. robert surrey. the pro-russian demonstrators are becoming more emboldens. it started at 3 hours ago when robert serry left the ukraine naval headquarters. he was stopped by proactivists who were armed saying he needed to leave crimea immediately. he declined and walked to a cafe. that's when he was barricaded back into the cafe. he talked with them and then agreed to leave the country or leave crimea at that point. that's when pro-russian demonstrators showed up outside

of the cafe. 30 or 40 people chanting putin, putin. russian, russian, trying to stop us from filming and they created a corridor through what wa whery was forced and frog marched into the airport, forced out of the country. his flight to istanbul is in the air right now. he'll return to kiev and perhaps to cry maya, but absolutely these pro-russian demonstrators, these pro-russian militias running the u.n. envoy out. >> we have municipal buildings being stormed, people are being threatened, there is a sense that the rule of law here is breaking down. and gang mentality is taking

over. let's look at pictures. >> reporter: it's not so much being run down as it is being run by pro-russian gangs and mobs. robert serry found out today when he was detained by armed militia members. when you cross this sta city and different areas, the security is pro-russian citizens. they are dressed in civilian clothes. and they are absolutely telling the media where to go. they're protecting certain people. they're pushing certain people out. this is every single place. when western diplomats arrive they are returning the show. you ask police who are there at the airport and there at the cafe, what are you doing? they just walk away. they don't have any answers.

they don't have the willingness to confront the pro-russian militias. >> nick, thank you. also in crimea the ukrainian soldiers are forced to choose sides, their country or their heritage. >> the russians have full control here. ships of the black fleet sea block all traffic military and civilians, draining all life from this otherwise thriving port. this is an easy target for the russians, but if their intention is to take all ukrainian military installations in crimea, then their mission is not over yet. they have taken position in front of this base. they say they have not received

any ultimatum yet. they said there is no intention to surrender their base because they have pledged loyalty to ukraine, and they said this will be resolved. s soldiers are digging in for the long haul. relying on the support of relstive to keep them going while politicians try to reach a compromise finance. compromise. >> this story has two side. on the one hand my son must serve the ukraine he has promised to serve. >> reporter: it's polarizing of positions in crimea. service men are under pressure to take sides in a place where there are strong roots in both russia and ukraine. they try to explain they are caught in the middle.

but she's not moving. >> this is ukrainian territory. many people don't understand that we're from the east, west, south. people are stressed out. it's hard. >> reporter: as the crisis deepens in crimea perhaps one of the biggest challenges for the ukrainian military is to stay disciplined in the face of growing divisions in the country that they swore to serve. >> former secretary of state hillary clinton compared russian president vladimir putin's actions to those of acost hitler. the long beach press telegram said during a fundraiser in california quoting now, if this sounds familiar, it's what hitler did back in the 30s. she went on to say, quote, all the germans that were the ethnic germans, the germans by ancestry who were in places like she can

slovakia and other places, hitler kept saying they were not being treated right, they need to go back and protect their people. that's what has got people nervous. >> the syrian opposition and government are using tactics that punish civilians. world powers that provide weapons of support are responsible for war crimes committed there. investigators have not been allowed into the country but there are fears the world is turning it's back on the situation. >> reporter: ongoing battles in syria more than a thousand kilometers away from ukraine.

but the crisis in crimea may have an influence on the war that is in its third year. the international community has been trying to bring peace in syria, getting both sides back around the table and persuading them and in particular the syrian government to negotiate properly requires pressure from the u.s. and russia working together. the peace talks and the deal to remove chemical weapons by secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart morning foreign minister lavrov. >> reporter: negotiations are at theirs worst at any time begins the cold war. the syrian government is well

behind schedule in getting deadly chemical agents out of the country. some believe the assad government may welcome the fact that the world's attention has moved. >> why? because their plate is full with the ukrainian government. and now all their new jersey is in the ukraine. >> reporter: this could be a down side for assad, too. herhe relies on russia. and it could really hurt his war machine. >> israel said it has seized a shipment of rockets heading from iran. it was intercepted.

officials say the rockets have a range of up to 100 miles. israel has aused iran of supplying rockets to its enemies. open statement under way in the trial of a former a formal e spokesman. he's charged with conspiring to kill americans after the september 11th attacks. john terrett is at the caught house. what did you hear from the opening statements? >> reporter: tony, good afternoon. the trial of the most senior alleged al-qaeda leader ever to face trial on u.s. soil got under way this morning. charges on september 11th when bin-laden successfully achieved what he wanted to in new york and washington, he needed help, he needed to spread his murderous decree and recruit for al-qaeda, and he pointed to this man, pointing to the

defendant a trusted person. they held up a picture of the world trade center site barely ten blocks from here, and they said while these buildings burned, while our bur buildings burned, is what he said. they encouraged americans and muslims in particular to fight the friends of satan, meaning americans. he's alleged to have appeared in videos in which he talked about muslim not using commercial aircraft for nea fear they'll be brought down in a murderous mu n of planes used as bombs.

then his attorney challenged the prosecution when he came to the steps of the courthouse, he had these words to play. >> our client pleaded not guilty. not a member of any conspiracy. engaged in no illegal pivot. now it's up to the government to prove it. i've been at places at 3:00, hanging out with people, and god for bid if i was on video, i would be in trouble the next day. >> reporter: slated to rest for the rest of this month into early april. >> the c.i.a. is under investigation for allegedly spying on the senate intelligence committee. c.i.a. officers accessed computer networks the committee was using to carry out its investigation of agency inter gas station program.

the c.i.a. and committee have battled over the controversial program. president obama made a new push today for congress to raise the minimum wage. >> obama: nobody who works full time should have to live in poverty. that's a violation of the basic sense of who we are. that's why it's time to give america a raise. >> the president was at a connecticut college invited by the governors of connecticut, massachusetts, rhode island and vermont. all of those states had minimum wage above $7.25. president obama wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10, but many in cross oppose the idea. 2013 was a good year for the wealthy.

there are 176,000 people worth more than $30 million. there are nearly 1700 billionaires. coming up o, the pope 69 catholc church might hint it may tolerate civil unions. and mcdonald's forced to raise wages.

>> pope francis is hinting that the catholic church could tolerate same sex civil unions. roxana has more on this story. >> reporter: this isn't the first time are a pope has shown they're even thinking about this. he made comments in his interview that were published today online in an italian newspaper. he repeated that marriage is between man and woman, but he also said we have to look at the various cases and evaluate them

in their diversity. he said civil unions gives some couples security. and hearing this from the pope is huge. thousands gathered at the vatican to mark ash wednesday. one father told me that the pope's comments are significant but not surprising. back when he was a cardinal he said the church in argentina should support civil unions for gay couples, but that was behind closed doors. a newspaper said that the vatican will likely deny the pope's statements. he made comments about the sexual abuse by priests. he said:

>> and the u.n. would disagree with what the pope had a to say on this score. ox yana, thank you. >> on wall street stocks dipping after tuesday ease big rally, the dow closing down just a bit over 35 points today. investors still watching the most recent developments in ukraine. kevin joins us from chicago. the editor of commodity confidential. are we still at a place where we can blame the bad weather with what is happening in the economy, or is there a danger that the economy is stalling a bit? >> i think they can certainly equate today's numbers from the february weather and the bad weather mid month. it really laid in the jobs

market in construction areas. bottom line these numbers continue, and we'll have to get more data going in spring. i think today's soft numbers and friday's numbers will expect a soft number interest from that as well. >> so mcdonald's warning in an sec filing that it may have to raise wages because of growing interest in equality. >> they are really walking the fine line between public opinion and the fine line. they want to avoid a job action or social media rant that could create a lot of publicity that they do not want, and they're getting out in front of this ahead of time saying they're most likely going to raise that rate even though there is a small portion of employees protesting this, it's gaining

momentum. in the end the cost of their public brand could be more. >> we have news from target, it is resigning--it's called a resignation but maybe they're forcing their chief tech officer over that breach, is the company doing enough to reassure it's customers that the problem is being contained? >> it's a little bit late. the damage is extensive, and with profits down 46% in q 4 of last year they haded to something. somebody's head had to roll, and so she was asked or resigned and took responsibility for it. but it's a little late. >> kevin kerr editor of commodity confidential. thank you. more turbulence for travelers. united airlines will be carefully restricting bag sizes.

the airlines says it is just trying to speed up the boarding process. a new law in georgia is trying to avoid sending young people, kids, to detention centers by preventing arrests. onmajonathan martin for us. >> reporter: on any day 2,000 individuals are he's prisoned in georgia prison. many are locked up again often after committing more serious crimes. >> the problem is putting them in that environment was not correcting the problem. it was enhancing the problem. >> reporter: they hemmed to write georgia's juvenile laws. they say they're better off being rehabilitated in their home where rather than being influenced by older hardened

offenders. >> what we found out a lot of these children coming into the system were not really bad children. they were doing dumb things. so we wanted to find a better way of treating them under the local level. >> reporter: georgia is following states like texas and louisiana by diverting juveniles to community-based programs. >> runaway or possession of alcohol, rather than having those children detained, is there there are interventions that will happen between the youth and specific state agencies to get to the underlying cause. >> reporter: a new commission is in charge of making sure that the programs are consistent and effective scenario across the s. the state also believes they will save a lot of money in this

change. the community based programs the governor said will cut the costs to $3,000 a year. the laws will prevents judges from accepting children to detention centers unless they have four prior convictions, and one has to be a felony. the current set up doesn't give kids many chances. even though they'll stay in their communities they'll still be monitored. >> they'll have to report to the probation officers and the court on periodi periodic basis. >> reporter: they'll expand programs across the state, the plans to invest millions more from fewer juveniles locked up. they expect to see a return on their investment. more young people learning from their mistakes who are less likely to reoffend. al jazeera, slant. >> a new study on alzheimer's

showing that the disease is deadier than believed. we'll break down the research next.

>> as tensions rise in ukraine, al jazeera america is there. >> russian ships only a few hundred feet off the coast... >> with reporters on the ground >> if they give the order to start shooting, they will... >> asking the tough questions... >> why send the troops in now? >> getting you the facts... >> is it possible that crimea is just lost? >> i'm afraid that may be the facts on the ground... >> keeping you informed... >> we have a standoff here... ukanian troops... russian troops... >> special coverage continues right hear on your gobal news leader al jazeera america so many money stories sound complicated. but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break down the confusing financial speak and make it real.

>> alzheimer's disease may be deadlier than we thought. it's the sixth leading cause of death. researchers at rush medical center said the numbers are far higher. they tested 2500 people 65 and older. 600 of them developed alzheimer's, and 70% of them died within four years of being diagnosed. alzheimer's contributes to more than 500,000 deaths every year. that is five to six times higher than the cdc says. joining me now from cleveland to shed light on the

new research is neurologist with the cleveland clinic, that great hospital in cleveland. thanks for seeing me. thank you for your time. is this report showing that more people are getting alzheimer's, or that doctors have been under diagnosing the disease or perhaps a bit of both? >> i think its it's more in the area of the report that it's contribute to go death. we've all known for many years that patients who often die from alzheimer's, their death is attributed to pneumonia or some other in-stage process. in fact, but we know that alzheimer's was really what drove them to that process such as pneumonia. so we've known for many years that the death certificates have really been under reporting alzheimer's disease as cause of death. >> why alzheimer's? why does it forget and forgotten

in determining. >> it's a long-term process, and the physician involved in the care at the end before death is often very much focused on the active medical issue at that point, which is probably pneumonia, and forget to mention the fact that, in fact, the patient also had alzheimer's disease. >> do you think there needs to be more funding, and if that's the case do you believe that alzheimer's disease does not get the funding that it should simply because it is viewed enough as a real cause of death? >> well, i do think that this emphasizes how important alzheimer's is as a public health issue. if we take the numbers that the study provided we're talking about the third leading cause of death in this country. you know, it's a hard question. we can always use more funding to help us understand alzheimer's. we're really pushing to understand better treatments, particularly ones that are

treated before the disease starts. >> let me just request you, is there an additional important take away from this research in your mind? >> just that it emphasizes how much alzheimer's contributes to our cause of death, and i think again emphasizing how important alzheimer's disease is as a public health problem. >> dr. james, neurologist with the cleveland clinic. secretary of the defense chuck hagel defended the proposal budget presented on the hill bringing military spending down by $400 billion. by 2015. but hagel said the cuts will not effect the military's ability to protect the united states. >> meeting our national security needs under constrained budgets. we focus on the balance. the balance that will be required to bend this country going forward. after more than a decade of long large stability operations we

exchange the capacity to modern indication capabilities as we shift to focus on future requirements. these are shaped by enduring and emerging threats. >> well, ground forces will see the most cuts but the new budget protects investments into new technologies, vehicles. one of those projects is the joint striker fighter. but the program is way over budget so the military's plans are being scaled back. >> reporter: the joint strike fighter better known as the f 35 is supposed to be all things to all branches of the u.s. military. able to evade military radar, capable of super sonic speed and being able to land and take off like a helicopter when required. but since the pentagon unveiled the f-35, turning plans into a fully capability jet has been problematic. >> almost every hardware program

the pentagon buys costs twice as much than thought, and it's delivered twice as long than they said it would be delivered and it delivers half the promise than you thought you were going to get in the beginning. >> the helmets make them dizzy and could cause them to crash. when it reaches supe super sonic speed, the stealth coating melts revealing itself to the enemy. and the bulk head cracks, only some of the problems costing 70% more than originally projected. and while pilots are conducting test flights not a single jet is ready to go into combat. one day the pentagon said it will buy more than 2400 f-35s to serve the entire military. but in next year's budget it

will only purchase 34 of them for testing and basic mission. why so few? congressionally mandated budget cuts. the defense secretary recently pointed out that every program has to be trimmed to save money. >> the reality of reduced resources and a challenging and changing strategic environment requires us to prioritize and make difficult choices. some of those choices we must make now. >> despite the many problems and the cost, the military has no problems to scrap the f-35. it says that fighter jets are open sow least. in a time of budget constraint the question is whether the pentagon can make good on the promise of a jet that can tackle all threats in all conditions. rosalind jordan, al jazeera, washington. >> a congressional hearing with

a former irs representative claimed the fifth. she resigned in september after the investigation found the irs unfairly audited. darrell issa adjourned, cutting off eliza cummings. >> for the past year the central republican accusations. >> we'll close the meeting 5-1. >> before i-- >> thank you. >> the irs scandal has been a source of contention between

both parties since it came to light more than ten months ago. supporters of the late venezuelan president hugo chavez are marking the first year of its death today. paul beman joins us from caracas where nicholas maduro was paying tribute to the former president. >> not just nicolás maduro, but other leaders have come in and you can see the fortress of former military headquarters now the mausoleum that houses hugo chavez. and we're hearing continued remarks. this is a day of lavish

commemorations. there was a parade down through the parade grounds. we've had fireworks displayed during broad daylight and the military fly-over, just a robust sense of machismo support for the leader who died a year ago today. the feeling here is palpable. a lot of excitement and enthusiasm remembering the leader. i spoke to a woman who is a caretaker of the impromptu chapel that popped up on the grounds. let's hear what she had to say. >> we miss chavez's charisma, his humanity, his smile. the songs we're listening to now, we're always remembering him, and his speeches on the stage. singing, jumping, playing with kids, elders. we miss that. i miss him.

>> reporter: you can see the emotion. a lot of people feel very strong about hugo chavez and the legacy that divides. promising a continued tough crackdown calling the protesters saboteurs as they celebrate the memory of the past leader. >> on that point of the protest, has nicolás maduro said anything about the continued demonstrations today? >> well, he certainly has. he promised to continue to continue to prosecute them, called them fascists saboteurs of a violent campaign, plotting a coup against his regime. he indicated there was forces against his campaign.

he say that venezuela can take care of its own problems and holding a tough line against protesters. >> paul beman in the caracas. in cairo three men have been arrested in december and held for 67 days now. here is our report. >> reporter: three al jazeera journalists have appeared in court in egypt. they are charged with terrorism-related offenses. they reject the charge and continue to demand the immediate release. after 67 days in jail they were led into a caged dock. the judge ordered their handcuffs to be removed after an appeal from mohammed fahmy's

lawyer. shortly after the hearing began peter greste's brother spoke about the outcome. >> it's extremely stressful. we just got to stay strong for him. so you know, it's definitely something that i wouldn't want to wish on anyone. >> reporter: in court the prosecution produced cameras, telephones and hard drive. according to witnesses for the prosecution it provides evidence of links to a terrorist organization. after the case was adjourned al jazeera english continued to insist that it's staff should be released immediate. >> i charges against our staff are totally baseless. they are without substance and we refute them. they were simply doing their job, covering all sides of the story in egypt. to continue to keep them behind bars after such a long time in

detention is outrageous. we're continuing to call for their immediate release. >> they will continue to be back on march 24th when the next step of the trial will continue. >> three countries accuse for refusing to sign a security deal. the qatari government said it's disappointed but is committed to keeping close ties to its neighbors. in south africa witness testimony continued in the murder trial against oscar pistorious. he iser investigators say he fired a gun inside of a restaurant and then asked the owner of the gun to take blame for it. he main stains that he shot his

girlfriend believing she was an intruder. >> the defensa move seen as thet will not back down after recent territorial disputes with nearby countries. china has pumped up it's defense budget but this year's hike was the largest increase in three years and the second largest defense budget in the world behind the united states. group of university students of bangladesh are getting kids out of the slums and into the classroom. they teach basic matthew and reading to the young people whose parents would normally force them to work. their goal is to make sure that no child is left out. >> this is alamin. he lives in one of the poorest slums in the area. his father and mother are day labors, but alamin and his students have bigger plans.

>> when i grow up i want to work with cameras like you and take pictures and make movies because i'm going to school i'm going to grow up to be smart, and i know i can do this. >> reporter: alamin and his friends are pupils at a makeshift school run by a few university students. it's called a free school. it doesn't look like much but it's a pretty big deal for the children here. there aren't any other schools for them to go to. >> reporter: these students have a lot of desire to improve themselves. they want to lift themselves out of the situation that they have found themselves in. >> the area is notorious as a marketplace for illegal drugs and many kids who live here work in the drug trade. they have to keep the children away from the lure of drug money. >> reporter: this woman is setting up fruit that others have thrown away. that's how these children eat.

one of the ways that these kids keep coming to school is to give them food. despite the loss of potential income most parents are happy their kids are getting an education. >> i won't send my child to work. his childhood is his childhood. it will go away soon. he can work when he's an adult. as long as i have the strength to keep working i'll make sure that mason studies in school. >> it's baby steps so far for a free school, but they have big dreams, and so do these kids. al jazeera, takka. >> a new detail on a deadly house explosion in new jersey. we have that story and other headlines making news across america today. >> reporter: tony, new jersey investigators still don't know what triggered a gas leak and explosion that left one woman dead and seven others injured. 20 homes are uninhabitable, and one townhouse was destroyed. utility workers are trying to fix the leak when the explosion

happened. a mother is undergoing psychiatric evaluation after driving her minivan into the ocean. she and her three children were pulled out of the vehicle as it was being tossed by waves. the children ages 3, 9, and 10 have been turned over to state care. in new york the man who was paralyzed by an suv as it fled from a group of bikers said he does not blame the driver for his injuries. >> i don't blame him because at the end of the day i'm not him to know what was going through his mind. >> reporter: he said he suffered nine broken ribs, a severed spine and a torn aorta. it's doctors say it's unlikely that he'll walk again, but he vows he will. it was all caught on camera, including the pursuit of the suv driver who was dragged from his car and beaten. and in new jersey the teen who sued her parents for financial support got her day in court. she said that her parents threw her out of the house and was

suing for school tuition. the judge sided with her parents but will decide if they'll pay college tuition with money they have already set aside. the riverside county police department shows photos of a woman entering and leaving a grocery store. they say she is a person of interest. >> they better not be using bitcoin. that's all i got to say about it. >> that would an story. >> appreciate it. coming up on al jazeera america, despite tension in ukraine, the county's team played u.s. in a soccesoccer match. and talk about an international friendly. details coming up.

ray suarez hosts inside story next only on al jazeera america al ja.

russia, as long al ja. as none of us are inside of ukraine trying to meddle and >> this winter's severe weather has really been difficult, hard on business, right. especially small business. as mary snow reports it's been so bad some owners are now asking for help. >> fed up, this retailer resorted to the done with winter sale. it's debra's latest effort to offset losses of a a string of snow storms and cold weather kept shoppers out of her clothing store in new york city. for small business owners like her the polar vortex is public enemy number one. >> how much money would you say you lost because of the weather? >> oh, i'm going to say i lost a good 100,000 this winter because of the weather. that's a lot for us. that's a lot for a small store. >> in chicago? >> would you like sample cups request. >> a drop in sales was enough

for kendall to take out a loan to keep up bills at his two yogurt shops. >> it has fallen below zero makinfor20 days in december. that meant that de kendall shawd to close his shop 20 days. to cut down costs he's shaving operating hours and selling hot chocolate to boot th boost the m line and the impact is new jersey. >> we have daycare bills, car payments rent, mortgages, it's a trickle down effect. it effects not only your store but your home line as well. >> reporter: shaw is far from alone. this credit that links lenders to small businesses reports an increase in loan applications with roughly 80% of demand tied to the weather.

that amounts to 13,000 businesses. what's more ceo said january and february are usually slow months for lending. >> the biggest concern is that there is an improvement in the next two to three weeks time. that's when we'll start seeing issuance of loans. >> reporter: but businesses that were poised for growth late last year and experiencing bad weather in a good economy. >> the good lining, they're more optimistic because they also know that a growing economy being stalled by bad weather is a temporary phenomenon. >> reporter: and they're counting on spring in a big way. >> the coats are going to come off. the layers are going to come off, and for us also this is going to go away. >> reporter: or at least that's the hope. mary snow, al jazeera. >> so an asteroid, the size of a

football field just did a fly by of earth. the giant rock came within 217,000 miles of earth around 4:00 p.m. eastern, that's when we started the program. that explains things. the space agency discovered it as part of its asteroid tracking efforts, and asteroids safely pass by the earth 20 times every year. despite all the upheaval in ukraine today saw a momentarily reprieve with the ukraine phasing thfacingu.s. national tn international friendly. >> reporter: this was a much needed reprieve. due to the current political situation the u.s. team requested that this game against ukraine be moved out of the country into cyprus due to

safety concerns. when the u.s. team took its pitch, it still did not have it's full roster. the ukraine, who did not qualify for the world cup, this match may have carried a greater importance to the players and fans, and it was just extra motivation by the ukrainians. ukraine blanked the u.s. team 2-0, much to the excitement of the fans who attended and the fans at home and the fans celebrated by singing the ukrainian national anthem during the final moment of that game. congratulations to ukraine. the u.s. has one more exhibition game before starting world cup play. that's against mexico april 2nd. look what awaits them as they go into brazil. ghana, portugal and germany and u.s. it's known as the group of death based on the strength of the teams, including germany who are among the early favorites to win

the world cup. but it's also the distance that the teams will have to travel. they'll play in sao paulo, but all their venues are in the northern part of the country where they will travel 9,000 miles, more than any other team in the country. the matches are going to be strong enough, but they're going to be on planes going back and forth. >> why don't they move? is that a silly question? >> they're based where they are. >> michael, appreciate it. it feels like a silly question now. a look at today's top stories when we return. this is al jazeera america. of state kerry, though they're thousands of miles apart, they have the same goal in mind.

>> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for american journalism

>> this is al jazeera america with a look at today's top stories. can officials have conclude their meeting in paris.

russian's foreign minister sergei lavrov said that meet about ukraine in days to come. the report said world powers who have helped provide weapons and support to either side in syria are responsible for war crimes commit there had. israel said it has seized a shipment of rockets heading from iran to palestinian militants in the gaza strip. the israeli military said it found the weapons in a ship it intercepted. the officials said the rockets have a range of up to 100 miles. israel has accused iran of supplying weapons to its enemi enemies. opening statements under way in the criminal of a formal quite spokesman. he was captured in turkey last year and then brought to the

united states. he is charged for killing americans after the september 11th attacks. those are the headlines. if you would like the latest on any of our stories we encourage you to head over to our website at www.aljazeera.com. it's www.aljazeera.com. inside story is next on al jazeera america. >> if you want to put the economic squeeze on another country during an international dispute, what are the tools of the trade? or lack of trade? ukraine, russia, the u.s. and the european union on this inside story. >> hello, i'm ray sz.