>> hi level talks held on the crisis in ukraine. world leaders meeting in brussels and rome at this hour. plus, crimea's parliament votes to break away from ukraine and become part of russia. >> ukrainian soldiers allowed a dozen soldiers into the base. >> journalists struggling to cover the real story in ukraine - why our own reporting team found itself in a sticky situation.

doctors say they have cured a second baby born with h.i.v. the treatment providing hope that tens of thousands of infants could be cured world wi. and a little boy stealing the hearts of soccer fans around the world. the unexpected reaction when he ran on to a field after a game. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. there are no developments in the crisis in ukraine. crimea's parliament voted to become a part of russia. the issue will be voted on by the people of crimea in a referendum to be held 10 days from now. it cams as e.u. leaders meet in moscow. russia says it will counter actions, by freezing assets.

>> secretary of state john kerry will hold a second round of talks with russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov and the two will meet in rome. in ukraine a confront saying involving a senior united nations official. armed men threatened the u.n. envoy at gun point. he was forced to leave a day after arriving. phil ittner is in kiev. good morning. there's talk that the e.u. will not come to a consensus on sanctions. what are you hearing? >> stephanie, yes, that is always the concern when it comes to the iconsider, it's a 27 -- to the e.u. it's a 27-body, with dispirit nations all with their own relationships with russia. the new ukrainian prime minister arrived in brussels, he wanted to make it clear that this is not a fight between two nations.

>> we urge the russian president and government immediately to pull back its forces and stick to international agreements signed between the ukraine and russia, this is not the ukraine and russian conflict. this is the conflict in europe. we need urntly, i would like to underline again, urgently to tackle this problem. >> now, it's also from a number of the european nations unlike - unusually that we are hearing this kind of language. there are a number of leaders that said, "this time is different." this is so serious we have to come together on a page. david cameron, the prime minister of the u.k. had this to say today. >> we need to send a clear message to the russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequence, and were further action to take, that would be more unacceptable

and require more consequences. >> now, aside from the diplomatic efforts in brussels, we are also expecting a second round of talks between the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov, and secretary of state john kerry, the talks held in rome. that will be another round of talks following yesterday's failed talks in brussels. >> the hope in paris was to start a dialogue aimed at ending the crisis in ukraine. in the end the divide between east and west moved no closer. a photo tweeted by the russian foreign ministry says it all - the two sides at the same table, talking about the same topic, looking in opposite directions. the u.k., the u.s. and ukrainians met for talks. when the russians arrived kiev's man was not allowed at the table. russia will not recognise his legitimacy. secretary of state john kerry was not surprised and didn't

bring the ukrainian foreign minister from kiev, hoping to get him in a room with sergei lavrov. >> i had zero expectation that today that kind of a meeting would take place. i did not expect it, we did not ask the foreign minister to come here for that purpose. >> thursday, all eyes will be on boroughs else. the e.u. meets to talk sanctions. despite fears of divisions, strong reaction to russia's moves indicate this time moscow may have gone too far. there's talk about not just punishing russia, but helping ukraine. >> the package combined could bring an overall support of 11 billion euros over the next couple of years. from european union budgets and international financial institutions, it is a package designed to assist a committed inclusive reforms of a ukrainian

government. >> 11 billion euros, 15 billion, the same amount russia offered ukraine to keep it solidifying ties from the e.u. and europe before the crisis began. >> now, giving money to ukraine is well and good. they are also looking for very strong diplomatic support. on the ground here, stephanie, in the region, we have heard from the crimean parliament. they voted a symbolic vote to join with the russian federation. there'll be, however, an official referendum for all citizens, whether or not they want to join the russians, interestingly, that will force them to choose between their ethnicity and their future, there is strong language coming from europe that they may place upon the russians visa restrictions limiting travel.

if crimea joins, it will be increasingly isolated. they may photo for their own isolation. >> phil ittner reporting to us from kiev. phil, thank you. as we mentioned a senior united nations envoy was threatened at gunpoint in crimea. robert was confronted by 10 to 15 gunmen when he left a meeting in sevastopol. he was told to go immediately to the airport. when he refused they surrounded his car. he was able to take sanction in a cafe. they surrounded him. he was allowed to flee to the airport. >> the white house and others are discussing ways to deal with the crimea situation. >> after working the phones for days, joints chief of staff chairman martin dempsey relayed

a message from military leaders in eastern europe. >> they are concerned and seek our assurance for their security. >> the pentagon announced it will send six f-16 fighters to keep an eye on air space over six former soviet union states. david cameron was also on the road. this, as the white house came under attack interest republicans. in an exchange are secretary of defense chuck hagel, john mccain accused the administration of being doouped by russia's vladimir putin. >> it was not predicted by the intelligence. it's well-known, it's a failure because via misreading - total misreading of the intentions of vladimir putin. >> soirpt, i -- soirpt, i said. >> let me finish my statement.

>> early last week we were aware of the threats. we don't accept anything that president fooutin said as -- putin said as fact. >> mr obama was accused of weakness and that russia's move into crimias was a result. >> the president eroded american credibility. this is a moment when president obama would have to lead. >> there was a sign that republicans will have to stand behind the president in relation to ukrainian aid. >> the majority working on bailout packages, and a bill dealing with sanctions that could strengthen the president's hand. >> will europe, which is more dependent on russia's trade than the united states agree to sanctions. >> does that present a problem in getting the e.u. and european nations to go along with what secretary of state john kerry and the president want. >> they have been clear about

willingness and openness though take steps to hold officials, whether in ukraine or russia accountable. that is what the discussion is about. >> let's get more reaction from washington. al jazeera's lisa stark is there. top republicans, as you heard, like john mccain have been hammering the president. they say he badly misjudged vladimir putin's intentions. what is the white house response. >> the g.o.p. , as you said, is calling out on the white house saying that president obama projected a weakness when it comes to foreign policy. this is the latest examplement the white house hasn't responded but are taking umbrage at it. president obama talked about how some people said that putin has the upper hand and he is in a better position than the united states. the president made the point "we

don't thing so, he's upsetting all the countries around the ukraine", and the white house tried to call for bipartisanship especially when it came to the aid package saying "we need to work and help ukraine", some of that, at least, is resonating on capitol hill. >> in an unusual move, the state department took a page from david letterman. it's an effort to refute some of the things that vladimir putin said about the situation in ukraine. how is it going over? >> as you said. this is a page from david letterman, not what we see from the state department. it's a carefully worded top-10 list. they try to debunk putin point by point and here is one of the main issues they talk about. >> i said this before, but i want to repeat this. the only legal president is viktor yanukovych. >> so this is number four on the

top 10 lift from the state department, pointing out that putin said viktor yanukovych has no future and the ukrainian parliament voted by over 80% to elect the professional government. they are going down step by step. some critics told bloomberg that they think this is odd for the state department to do. in a sense they are playing russia's game by engaging in a propaganda war. the war of words will continue. >> lisa stark for us in washington. thank you. >> coming up in 20 minutes, a look at how tough the situation is in crimea, including for journalists. nick schifrin, encountering gunman making his team fear for his safety. >> niger handed one of muammar gaddafi's seconds back to libya. he was allowed to enter niger on humanitarian grounds.

saadi is awaiting trial in a gaol in tripoli. before the revolution saadi was known for being the captain of the libyan soccer team. hugo chavez died of cancer a year ago. on wednesday venezuela kicked off a 10-day commemoration of his life. >> the anniversary comes as the current president nicolas maduro facing growing opposition. >> it was a day of reflection. one year after the death of hugo chavez. he governed for 14 years to implement a boly vardian revolution. regional allies from nigeria, nicaragua, bolivia, as did the armed forces and people ta loved him. >> it was from here, caracas,

that he launched a failed coup attempt in 1992, and here his remains were laid to rest at the military barracks. >> chavez was the best man we had in venezuela. he woke us up, let us know that we are important and that we have rights. >> he was a good man, hugo chavez. he's buried up there on the mountain. we are his children. >> nicolas maduro won elections last year. even his staunchest supporters know that he has no chavez. he has had a tough year, and is now battling a growing potential. >> he accuses the united states and venezuela's own neighbours of supporting the opposition movement. >> the foreign minister of panama was warned many times about the conspiracy about panama's matters. i have decided to break

political and diplomatic relations and freeze commercial and economic relations in defense of peace and our country's sovereignty. >> hugo chavez lives, at least that is what this newspaper head line says, and a year after his death, it seems these people do not want to let him go. it's a different story in other parts of venezuela. [ chants ] >> among the daily protests, 18 have been left dead at least. venezuela is a country divided. >> we don't know if he's venezuelan, columbian or if he really won elections by the vote. people are getting - you know, people are getting tired about the government. >> back here in the 23 january neighbourhood chavez enjoys an almost saint-like status. they say his memory and revolution live on. meanwhile the turmoil in venezuela continues, with no end

in site. >> 18 people have died in venezuela during months of anti-government protests. american doctors are reporting that a baby born with the virus that causes aids may have been cured by early treatment. erica pitzi joins us. this is especially big medical news, because this is the second such case. >> this time last year doctors in mississippi cured a baby infected with hiv by giving the newborn high doses of aids medications. that child is three years old and h.i.v. free and it's that case that inspired others to treat another infected infant the same way. the therapy may have cured this baby girl too. >> a month after news brock that a miss sippy baby was cured, a

californian baby was born infected by the virus. doctors treated the infant four affairs after she was born. >> we were aware of the mississippi baby, and had participated in a study before where they gave babies one, two or three medications. they were born in high risk situations and three medications are better than one. that's how we decided to star therapy with medications. >> researchers believe the high doses of widely suicide medications is the reasons they show no sign of the virus. >> as for the mississippi baby three years old, the child is still h iv fro. at the time doctors thought there was a mistake. >> my first thought was to panic, i thought "oh, my goodness, i have been treated a child not infected."

doctors believe they are on to something. the californian baby is healthy, she's still taking h.i.v. drugs as a precaution. >> we are not considering stopping medications until two years of age or new information is available. at that time we'll see what happens. >> researchers say that will probably not impact how h.i.v. infected adults are treated. at a time where h.i.v. was prevented in lab monkeys. if it was working in union, people could have a shot four times a year, but it's still a decade away. >> major developments though, erica pitzi. sweeping changes coming to the sats, what is being done to the college entrance exam dreaded by generations of

children. the high price of the minimum wage - how it could cost the customer in the long run. and an ancient form of farming becoming a model in kenya. why a growing number of people are using it to feed their families.

>> a live look at the sun rising over lookout shelter manhattan in new york city -- over lookout shelter lower manhattan in new york city. first a look at the temperatures meteorologist nicole mitchell is here. first a look at the tempes meteorologist nicole mitchell is here. >> we saw a lovely shot of new york city. we have interior temperatures in the single digits. towards the coast a few

temperatures in the teens. add in winds gusting in the 20s, and this is what it feels like. negative for boston and new york. it's a brisk warning. there's relief on the horizon. we'll get to that. today we'll see not only the teens into the east coast but the midwest. as we finance into the rest of the day, at least getting close to average for the mid-west coast, below average to the east coast, and if you want the warm area phoenix is sounding good after snow storm after snow storm. look at what happens into the day tomorrow. today we have high pressure over the great lakes on the east side of that, funnelling air in from the north. by tomorrow it moves off, funnelling air in from the south and a temperature change, going for the east coast into the 40s. that sounds mild after the winter we had. putting us closer to normal, but we'll take normal since it's

been so cool. we are watching a system in the south. more on that and the potential for ice. >> the sat college admission exam is getting a makeover. more than a million and a half students take the test. david shuster reports on the changes and what they'll mean for college-bound kids. >> it's the college admissions test that obsessed and distracted students for decades. on wednesday, the group that oversees the sat announced an overhaul. the president of the college board said the sat would illuminate the obligatory estimates and caught obscure vocabulary works the the questions scattered across the topics will focus on linear equations. the college board is responding to financially challenged students and their families

frustrated by unique and costly test preparations. >> it is time for the college board to say in a clear voice the culture and practice of test preparation that now surrounds administrations exams drives the perception of inequality and justice in our country. >> to make the test result easy to evaluate scores is reverting back to the 16-00 scale, and 800 on what will be called evidence-based reading and writing. the optional essay gets a separate score. it may not stop the criticism to the sat, losing pats -- pace to the ac t. in recent years a growing number of colleges allowed colleges to skip the test and submit cads,

transcripts and a research paper. the transformation says the college board president is understandable. teachers need time to teach and time to practice. >> maybe so, it will not do much for students taking the sats. the changes will not kick in until 2016. >> the college board says it will offer free online test preparation tutorials which it hopes will help children that can't afford sat prep classes. >> ukraine is facing an economic crisis and a political one. it says it needs 35 billion in aid over the next two years. speaking on "real money" with ali velshi, the new economy minister says he is slashing costs. >> we are developing the austerity measures and the government is the first body to start. we actually cut all the unnecessary waste and expenses.

we cut the number of the cars, and the number of personal the garment is using and austerity measures. wall street is monitoring the crisis in the ukraine closely. dow futures are up. the dow jones is at 16360: the s and p kicks off shy of another record. the nasdaq is at 43.57. the asian market led the day in the green. european stocks higher ahead of monetary policy decisions from the european central bank. >> the autosafety watchdog wants general motors to turn over information as to why it took so long to recall cars over an ignition problem. they knew 10 years ago. gm must answer questions under

oath. the ignition problem that can turn off the car while driving is blamed on 13 deaths. it affects 1 million cars and six models made between tweet and 2007. ups is making a push into alternative energy, buying is propane powered deliver trucks. they can travel 2,000 miles on one tank. they'll be used in louisville and oklahoma. the vehiclesing are expected to hit the road by the middle of this year. a battle to report the facts. >> can i ask you where you are from? tell me where you are from >> why many journalists are struggling to cover the story in crimea, in some cases fearing for their own safety. farmers in kenya turning to an ancient method in grows vegetables, there's no digging or dirt.

>> there's no big empire to absorb the expense. >> small business opensers -- owners faced with covering the cost of raising the minimum wage. >> ukrainian soccer has given their country men something to celebrate.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy, and these are the top stories at this hour. doctors say a baby born h.i.v. positive may have been cured of the virus that causes aids. researchers believe it's thanks to an early treatment started four hours after birth. similar success was reported with another baby a year ago. venezuelans mark the first anniversary of hugo chavez's

death. his successor nicolas maduro is facing a country in turmoil. high crime and inflation are amid calls for his refusal. >> russia says it will freeze assets belonging to u.s. and european countries if sanctioned. that is as crimea voted to become part of russia, it will go to the voters in crimea as a referendum. >> a special envoy to ukraine was not welcome. he encountered pro-russian forces that drove him out of the region, that's not the only way the forcers are trying to control the situation there. >> for nearly an hour inside the cafe they barricaded u.n. envoy robert serry. [ chants ] >> demonstrators who support the

invase came to support robert serry's detention, they tried to stop us filming. they stopped all aspect. he walked into the airport for a flight to istanbul. the same activist blocked the door and ran robert serry out of the country. they feel empowered by the arrival of 16,000 russian troops. they are expanding their preps, but not answering questions. >> excuse me. >> with the producer, we ask half-a-dozen soldiers and got the same silence. >> can i ask you a question. can i ask a question? can i ask where you are from. can you tell me where you are from? >> he tells me to step away from the car, and then they drove off, to head to this base. a local journalist filmed on her cell phone. the soldiers ordered ukrainians

to surrender their weapons, they blocked the front gate. anything to deter a much larger russian force. they sent them packing. >> that night a pro-russian mob showed up outside the gate, demanding the russian soldiers be let in. >> russian forces, with the support of the nationalistic radical supporters are stepping up their aggression. scared and under siege, they hunkered down, sitting in the dark. illuminated. they told us we couldn't film. we tried to, using an iphone. it's been tense outside. but ukrainian soldiers allowed half-a-dozen russian soldiers in. the soldiers told us it was time to go. when things got really bad. >> we decided to leave. then what happened? >> the road was blocked with two

cars and we stepped out of the car and asked the people to turn the cars away. the demand was that we show them what was on the camera. >> the mob that tried to climb over the gates turned tapes to us. >> they threatened to flip the car over, they started counting down from 10, that's when we great to she them the video. do you think the threats were serious. had we not complied with the demands. we had tyres slashed. i believe they would have torn the car party. ugly, because like outside the cafe the police were able or unwilling to impose authority. >> why didn't you do anything while he was taken away. are you going to answer. is it not your job any nor defend. >> if they do this to a senior

diplomat. they can do it to anyone. >> european union leaders agreed on a $15 billion aid package, discussing the details with the ukrainian prime minister. the u.s. is offering a billion as well. mr ian kearns is the cofounder and director of the european leadership network and joins us from london to talk about this deal. mr kearns, thank you for being with us. ukraine's economy is in dire shape. how much of this infusion of money would help the situation in ukraine? >> well, it would help the ukraine in the short term, it couldn't solve in the long term economic challenges, which require lots of domestic reforms to the economy. and very strong anticorruption program. part of ukraine's problem is the level of corruption over the last two decades.

>> let's talk about that. part of the deal, and we don't have specific details, but we assume there'll be strings attached to do with the reforms. what is ukraine asked to do in exchange for the loan. >> it will need to introduce reg u laty practices that are new. a strong anti-corruption element. and a willingness of the cranian government to begin effectively helping inefficient industries to close down and move to a growing private sector which can develop new sectors of the economy. it's socially painful to do. in the short term it's pain. in the long term it can bring benefits. poland is a country next door going through a similar process and is growing strongly, in the short term it's difficult.

>> what makes this different to the original agreement. that viktor yanukovych decided not to sign in favour of a deal with russia. >> this is a short-term arrange. i am sure none of your viewers will be interested to read 400 pages of it. it contains a huge number of reg uselations, effectively about introducing e.u. laws and a deep and comprehensive trade agreement. they need to meet european environmental standards, legal standards, business practice standards. it's a deep process of reform. this package of reforms offered to kiev now is much more about stopping the country going bankrupt, giving it a little run way to get a longer term reform program in place. >> how important is it that

russia be a part of any such agreement, in some way. >> well, the eastern half of ukraine is deeply integrated with the russian economy, and it's very misguided and has been misguided by the european union and moscow to position all of this as a gee j political struggle. ukraine needs to train effectively with russia and the european union. the only way to do that is if the european union and moscow talk to each other about creating a common economic space. >> it was not long ago that russia made its own 15 billion loan offer to ukraine, which president viktor yanukovych accepted. how do you think russia will react if ukraine accept the e.u. money instead? >> i think ukraine will accept the e.u. money and moscow will not be pleased. we should be clear about what

vladimir putin offered. he offered 15 billion in aid and didn't place a condition on that, which many said made it attractive to former president viktor yanukovych. but the problem was vladimir putin was not handing over $15 billion, but small amounts of that and withholding the rest to make sure that viktor yanukovych did what he wanted him to do, and was planning on releasing it in small tranches over a period of time. that is pretty much off the table was moscow believes there's no government in kiev willing to do its bidding. >> ian kearns director of the european leadership network clarifying a lot for us there. thanks for joining us. >> the united nations says family farming is the key to fighting world hunger. in budda pest u.n. leaders called on government to support small-scale formers. farmers are using creative techniques to battle wide-spread food shortages in the country.

>> on peter's farm, the spinach he planted is maturing well. he'll harvest in a week. in his temperature controlled structure he plants vegetables, strawberries and food for the animals. he does it in pipes and nutrients, called hydroponics, popular in central kenya. >> you don't have to buy the vegetables, we know what we have used for growing. we don't use chemicals. we are growing nutritious vegetables. you are able to get them irrespective. >> this lady runs her family farm and uses it for the animals, it's cost effective and freed up the land. they use a tenth of what they did of water before. >> it's contained in a small

area you can manage the crops well. unlike an open area. there are not many external groups. >> we are in the highlands, one of the kenya's food-producing regions, and it has some of the poorest people. the problem here is that the population is growing fast. there's not enough land to sustain it. >> roughly 1.3 million in kenya don't have enough food to eat. those in arid and semi-arid areas have to rely on food aid. >> by food security you are not implying nutrition security. there are many areas that are relatively food secure. there are high levels of stunting, high levels of malnut ration. in other areas, a focus on agricultural practice, but also how family farms are run.

within kenya's high participation areas farms are broken up into smaller and smaller sizes. can it be brought together and run as a family business. >> they are training other farmers to adopt the technology. they believe it's a solution to land and water problems. >> about 842 million people suffer from chronic hunger worldwide. south african boys' daring escap aids warning the hearts of the soccer world. watching brazil dismantle his team. the young supporter decided to run on to the field. he was not tackled to the ground and said the brazil soccer superstars took a liking to him, lifting him above their heads and took selfies with them. they had just beaten south africa 5-0. soccer is providing a

diversion in ukraine. john henry smith is here with that story. >> good morning. >> another example of the power of sports to do good. because of the unrest in ukraine, that country's friendly soccer match against the u.s. nearly didn't happen. when it did, it happened 1500 miles away from its original site in front of an empty stadium. date line cypress with half of the team out for this one of the others would play to prove they belonged. the ukrainians inspired in the wake of their country's troubles played with more fire. they scored in the 12th minute. ukraine's on the move again. tim howard stops the first shot. team-mates cannot clear. marco scores on the second chance. winning 2-0, despite the disappointment of the outcome. the u.n. coach found positives. >> taking the game helped us a

lot to see where individual players are, collectively, you know, or where we stand out with the group of players. obviously we had to form a couple of new things with the group, starting from the back line this never played together. you could see that, that they never played together that much, and so it was for us - it was very good again, thankful to the ukraine and cypress that we made it possible, and it will take a lot of points for us, but not the points for the game. >> one thing a college basketball team doesn't want to be in march is rusty. that's what duke was, wake forest, the opponent. the coach had a dizzy spell giving everyone a scare. the school says he's fine. his team was anything but. over the final five minutes, it was a span seeing duke lose a

7-point lead by wake forest. cavanagh scored a 20 high point. the dukies self-constructed turning the ball over, leading to tick tack toe fast break, resulting in two more points. >> wake forest upsetting duke. lost in the 61 point game by lebron james, a few nights ago was the 38.19 rebound enjoyed because he lost by bobcat al-jefferson. he was at it again. the indiana pacers. jackson riching them down. when you throw it up 31 feet and get an assist from the glass - you know it's your night. earlier this week the phrase tigers back was an kags of what ails the number one golfer in

the world and what caused him though drop out of a tournament. this week tiger's back means he surveyed the landscape. he says he'll be healthy enough to make the 12:39 tea time and says help is probably going to be an issue from now on. >> it hasn't changed. it's physically am i able to do it. there are times when i have learnt this through the entries that i have had. a bad back supplemented, it's no joke, certain movements you can't do. and that's one of the things i'm starting to learn about this type of injury. it's very different. >> and that is your look at supports. >> thank you jith. >> some minimum workers in seattle is earning $15.

the council is meeting to make that the rule for everyone. some business owners say they will not be the only one to feel the pitch. the $15 minimum wage debate is heavy on street theatre. and campaign rhetoric. business owners feel it's short on quiet reason discussion. >> when i hear things like it's a done deal, i'm shocked. did seattle think about this. owner john is conflicted and frustrated. he has 20 employees, most making less than $15. and they make seattle's minimum wage. he helps with health insurance, something he does because he wants to. he's for the broader concept. in this business.

60% minimum wage hikes don't work. >> whatever the perception of wealthy business owners, i'm not that guy. i don't have a big empire absorbing the defense. >> how do i absorb it. we raise prices. i'm not ready to go to the staff and say, "sorry, your full-time job is now a part-time job." >> it's not just of the for-profit world feeling the pressu pressure. nonprofit organization feel it. >> child care centres in low-income community will have to close, they can't raise rates to the people they are trying to support. >> taxpayers and private fundraising would have to make up the difference. the local survey of many non-profits somehow but government and private sector support a $15 wage could mean service cuts at food banks,

mental health programs and more. >> it could affect the economy and quality of life in the city. >> back at the restaurant john platt favours a slow approach, possibly raises phased in over several years to give businesses like his time to adapt. he would like more talk, less yelling and an acknowledgment that higher price are are around the corner. the businesses are making the money, let's make them pay. >> i feel like we are all in it together. if we try to pay more, awesome. let's all understand we are all going to have to pay more. everything we buy will cost more. . the federal minimum wage has not increased since reaching $7.25 in 2009. the good and the bad of a bitter cold winter. scientists saying the great lakes will benefit from being

frozen over. it's not the case for businesses that rely on the waters. >> this time of the year normally we are handling upwards of a million pounds of fish a week. fresh water sea food companies frozen out. the harsh winter leaving many struggling to stay afloat.

>> 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 >> welcome back to al jazeera america. ahead the freezing cold winter, a benefit and a curse for the great lakes, first a forecast with nicole mitchell. >> we have a couple of cold areas. a lot of rain in the west areas. flood concerns, avalanche concerns in this direction. the monitor comes out today encompassing tuesday and the

last weeks. it will be interesting into the north-west and california with the big rain to see how much that eroded the drought. it will not turp it around but hep a little with all of that. heading into the midwest, some of the moisture making its way to north dakota. the other issue is brewing in the south. the front is lifting to the north. we'll see more of the moisture spread north ward and there'll be enough cold air much let's put it into motion that places as far north as rowan okay. icing tomorrow. that is the big concern. here is how it goes. see the icy spot in the early morning hours that we are watching for that, otherwise through the rest of the mid-atlantic looking at that as areas of rain and as all of that is going on, you know, that is part of what brings in funnels to the north. some of the warm air. others will be glad to see the

system. there'll be an onshore flow to the north, enhancing the moisture that we see to the south and into the day tomorrow. >> more on the warm temperatures coming up in a little bit. >> a cold snowy winter is taking an economic told on the lakes. as ashar quraishi reports it's taking a poll. >> for 50 years this company has purchasing and processing fish caught on the great lakes in the south. >> this time of year we handle upwards of 150,000 pounds a week. >> this winter is not normal. no fish is coming in and for mike, the costs are mounding. >> i'm guessing it will have a couple of million impact on the company. >> the combination of unusual snow fall and sub zero temperatures courtesy of the polar vortex is taking a toll n

fisheries through the midwest, threatening a billion a year industry. ice cover reached 83% with lake michigan iced over 90%. >> the ice season started early. there was the arctic vortex in december and early january, and the ice kept building. >> this time of year commercial fishermen cut through ice and cast drag nets catching fish by the hundreds. there are feet of snow on top of the ice, keeping fishermen off the waters. >> hello, schaeffer fisheries, how can i help you. no, we have to fish. >> steve is the sales manager. he has never seen it this bad, in 35 years. >> customers are wondering what is going on, will we sustain or have fish, you know. you have every question in the world. are you going out of business, what is going on?

>> instead of running three shifts a day the company cut back to a skeleton crew who spends their day doing repairs and cleaning. >> you don't make up for the losses, you just go on. >> at this aquarium fish ecologists are studying the effects that the weather has on fish populations. smaller fish may starve. larger fish that depend on the small fish may not have the food source they have. the fish populations are resill yet. they have been dealing with this a long title. >> a glimmer of optimism for those like mike schaeffer hoping warmer weather is on the horizon. >> all the snow and ice could have positive results as we head into summer the u.s. army corp of engineers says it will melt and recover from record-low

water levels. it will mark a second consecutive year of improving levels. lake superior expected to rise 13 inches over last year. >> dal walters is here with a look at what is ahead. >> at the end of the first hour here is what we are following: fast-moving developments in ukraine. world leaders meeting in brussels and rome. people in crimea will cast a ballot in 10 days. >> a newborn was given high doses of medication four days after birth and diagnosed as h.i.v. free. >> college board says it will change sat questions to be more in line with questions ever today. >> and how the conflict in ukraine is affecting the civil war in syria and other areas around the world. >> why a wrong reply convicted man is struggling to get the

money he is owed for 9.5 years in prison. >> al jazeera america continues, dell and i will be back with you in 2.5 minutes.

>> good morning, welcome to aljazeera. a lot of new developments today on the on going crisis in ukraine. the crimea parliament voted to become a part of russia. >> that issue will be voted on by the people of crimea in a referendum in 10 days. >> the news comes at e.u. leaders meet to decide this sanctions against moscow are viable. russia says it would counter sanctions by freezing owl assets

belonging to u.s. and european companies. >> secretary of state john kerry set to hold a second round of talks with russia's foreign minister. the two will meet in rome today. >> back in ukraine, a confrontation involving a senior united nations official. armed men threatened the u.n. envoy in crimea. he was forced to leave the region a day after arriving. >> we have a team covering the cries, beginning with phil ittner in kiev. there's now talk that the e.u. won't come to a consensus. >> that's always the problem when it comes to the e.u. that is a 27 body organization with individual nation states that have their own relationships with russia. that has been a long standing problem, however, it is being said now that this is such a serious cries that it might draw

them into some sort of consensus. we maybe looking at incisiveness instead of divisiveness. this is not simply a fight between two nations. >> we urge the russian president and russian government immediately to paul back its forces and to stick to international agreements signed between ukraine and russia, because this is not the ukraine and russian conflict. this is a conflict in europe and we need your gently, i would like to underline again urgently to tackle this problem. >> now, there have been a number of statements from a variety of different european leaders saying that they understand that, and that russia may have overstepped its bounds. they saw what happened in 2008 when russia invaded georgia and

there was very little international reaction. nobody could get a consensus. ukraine is different. it is on the border with europe, right on the doorstep and it is a huge economic block, as well. not nearly as large as russia, but still incredibly important. this is what the u.k. prime minister said today. >> we need to send a clear message to the russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and will have further consequences and should further actions be taken that would be more unacceptable and require even more consequences. >> aside from those punitive actions that are being discussed in brussels, possible sanctions, there's effort on the continent to try and find a diplomatic solution. in rome, secretary of state john kerry will be sitting down for a second day of talks with russian foreign minister.

yesterday, no movement, it is hold however that there might be some moves in rome today, but these various sides are pretty much intractable and situation here remains dire while all these talks are going on. >> it looks like ukraine is breaking apart. what about that vote by the crimean parliament today. how will that affect the cries moving forward? >> del, that's a big deal, as well. we have heard from the crimean parliament they have voted today a symbolic vote, powerful message that they intend to reunite with the russian federation. there will be a nationwide referendum around the peninsula in 10 days. the people themselves will vote

on whether or not to return to russia. interesting to note that while brussels is talk about punitive action, sanctions, they are also talks about visa restrictions on travel. the crimeans have to decide do they want to join the mother country as it were and join back with russia, russia that is increasingly becoming isolated and there by become isolated themselves. >> phil ittner for us in kiev, thank you very much this morning. >> a special united nations envoy to ukraine found himself not welcome in crimea. he encounter pro russian forces that forcefully drove him out of the region. as nick shiffrin showed us, that is not the only way the forces are trying to control the situation there. >> for nearly an hour inside this cafe, they barricaded the u.n. envoy. demonstrators who support the

russian invasion came to support his detention and try and stop our filming. whether at the cafe or airport, they control all access. he was driven against his will to the international terminal and walked into the airport for a flight to istanbul. the same activists blocked the airport door and ran him out of the country. they feel empowered by the arrival of 16,000 russian troops. they're expanding their presence but not answering questions. >> excuse me. >> with my producer, we asked half a dozen soldiers and got the same silence. >> can i ask you a question? excuse me, can i ask someone a question? can i ask you where you're from? can you tell me where you're from? >> he tells me to step away from the car and then though drove off to head to this base. a local journalist filmed on her cell phone, the russian soldiers demanded crimean soldiers to

give up their weapons. they blocked their front gates, anything they could to less a much larger and better-armed russian force. they successfully sent the russian troop packing, but that night, a pro russian mob showed up outside their gates and demand the russian forces be let in. russian forces with the support of their pro russian supporters, he says are stepping up their aggression. scared and under siege, they hunkered down in the dark. they told us we couldn't film, so we tried to using an i-phone. >> it's been tense outside but just a few minutes ago, ukrainian soldiers allowed about half a dozen russian soldiers into the base in order to -- >> the soldiers told us it was time to go. >> we decided to leave. >> the road was blocked with two

cars and we stepped out of the car and tried to ask these people to move the cars away. the demand was that we show them what's on the camera. >> the mob that tried to climb over the bases gate now turned their attention to us and he had that negotiate. >> they threatened to flip the car over. they started counting down from 10 and we agreed to show them the video. >> do you think that their threats were serious. >> had we not complied with their demands, we've had our tires slashed. i do believe that they would have torn the car apart and it could have gotten very ugly. >> ugly, because like outside the cafe, the police were either unable or unwilling to impose any authority. >> why didn't you do anything while he was being taken away? are you going to answer? is it not your job anymore? >> no comment. >> if they can do this to a

senior diplomat, they can do it to anyone. >> the u.n. says the envoy is heading back today to join the mission of the deputy secretary general. >> u.n. leaders calling on the white house to take a tougher stance in ukraine, chuck hagel appearing before the senate answering to an intelligence failure. senator john mccain accusing the penalty of weakness abroad. >> it was not predicted by our intelligence. that's been well known, which is another massive failure because of our misreading, total ms. reading of the intentions of vladimir putin. >> senator, i said that we were -- >> let me finish my statement please, and that is that mr. putin was not going to

see -- >> early last week, we were well aware of the threats. we don't accept anything that president putin said as fact. >> hagel says he has met with nato and ukrainian defense officials to discuss any threats from russia. >> let's go now to lisa stark in washington. lisa, as you heard top republicans like senator mccain and mitch mcconnell have been hammering the president saying he has badly misjudged putin's intentions. what are the white house response? >> some very sharp language. the house foreign affairs committee will hold its hearing on ukraine so expect more verbal sparring. earlier this week, president obama did address criticism that putin has the upper hand strategically and the white house that let that happened. the president feels that putin has made a bad move

strategically because going into crimea he has worried all of the neighboring states there and they will be driven further away from russia. also, the president calling for bipartisanship when it comes to actions against the russians and in fact the house today will take up an aid package for ukraine, something the president desperately wants. >> can you tell us what the u.s. military is doing now in eastern europe? >> well, the military is beefing up its presence in poland and balkan states to reassure those country worried about the russian move, the u.s. is taking it's fighter jets based in britain, moving them to a base in lithuania and it will be increasing patrols over estonia, lithuania and latvia and boosting the number of troops in poland taking part in a joint exercise with the polish

military. >> we're seeing pressure from the white house, moves by the defense democratic and the state department took a page from david letterman issuing a top 10 list of putin's fictions to refute things he has said. have we seen anything like this before? >> the state department of course with its formal diplomatic statements usually very careful and their wording is careful but they have taken an interesting twist on their usual releases by putting out this list. they talk about things like putin's claim that the government in ukraine is an illegitimate government, that's number four on the list. they say putin has said yanukovych, the former leader can't come back to power and point out that 80% of the parliament voted for the new government. by the way, number one on the list is the fact that russian's claims that it's a citizen's defense core has moved in not the russian military, the state

department saying that is clearly not the case. so having a little bit of fun, maybe, but some critics are saying the state department shouldn't have done it this way. >> lisa, thank you. >> ukraine's former prime minister urges the u.s. and allies to impose sanctions against russia, spending two and a half years in prison on charges of abusing her authority was freed late last month after the ukrainian parliament ordered the charges against her be dropped. in an interview in kiev, calling on western leaders to act. >> >> i think it's not just ukraine who will lose crimea, i think the whole world will feel the consequence of this loss. all the world should feel this. it's evident that diplomacy now

doesn't work and the more time we lose, the more risks we have. >> saying if those planned referendum in crimea takes place, ukraine will lose the territory, adding the international community's biggest task is making sure the vote does not take place. stay with aljazeera america on air and on line all day for the latest on the ukrainian cries. in our next half hour, we'll talk about the cries affecting international efforts to reduce nuclear and chemical weapons in other parts of the world. >> one of muammar gaddafi's sons has been sent back to libya. he is awaiting trial in a jail in tripoli. before the revolution, saudi was best known for being the captain of libya's national soccer team. libya wants to try him for alleged armed intimidation when he was head of the libyan football federation. >> the obama administration

extending another deadline under the affordable care act. americans will be able to hold on to insure plans to don't meet the federal health law for a few more years. consumers will have a choice of staying with their plan until 2016, insure customers won't face a new round of cancellations this fall. it is the second time in four months the obama administration has adjusted those rules concerning the health plans. >> promising news in h.i.v. prevention, doctors say an american baby born with the aids virus may have had her infection put into remission and possibly cured. doctors believe it's thanks to very early and aggressive treatment just four hours after the baby's birth. similar success was reported with another infected baby a year ago. adults infected may soon get a different dose of prevention. new research with a long acting job showed the virus can be pro vented in monkeys.

researchers believe an injection once a month or every three months is a promising alternative. it would simplify the medication regiments, daily doses. researchers don't expect this kind of break through for more than a decade, but a lot of developments on the aids front. >> a long struggle trying to come up with a cure for h.i.v. but we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. >> a wrongly convicted man spending a decade behind bars. >> it's like the little man's getting screwed. >> detroit's bankruptcy is keeping him from getting the apology and money he's owed. >> the catholic church could be changing course when it comes to same sex couples. the reason pope francis says the vatican might recognize the unions. >> 161 is our number of the day. >> how prestige is finally being

returned to it. >> taking a live look here at the new york city --

>> it is back to the future for today's big number, 1600. >> that is the new old scoring for the s.a.t. exam. the college board announcing on wednesday they are overhauling the current format, including ditching the 2400 scale added in 2005. the top scores will revert back to 800 for math and reading, the essay optional and scored separately. >> one of the reasons for the changes that more students are taking the a.c.t. 1.8 million people taking it while only 1.7 million took the s.a.t.'s. >> we'll take a deeper look into the overhaul with an explanation of the changes and how they could affect students. >> first, wix spells weather, shorthand. here is nicole mitchell. >> wix?

how did you do on your s.a.t.'s? [ laughter ] >> we are seeing cold temperatures, maybe there was brain freeze impact on the spelling. more single digits, coastline, some teens, but add in the wind and we have a lot of feels like in the singles and some negatives. some improvement, the feel was minus two last hour, the wind invaded a little bit, feeling slightly warmer. also some teens into the midwest and if you want the mild air, miami this morning is at a balmy 73 degrees. over the next couple days we have a warm up so into the northeast as we get through friday. today it's more in the 30's. average temperatures this time of year is in the mid-40's, it's been such a cold winter, this is going to feel nice. >> hundreds of lawsuits against the city of detroit of in limbo

as it struggles with the largest municipal bankruptcy in u.s. history. a man who spent nearly a decade in prison for a trial he didn't commit, we talked to the man who is waiting on justice. >> it was 2004 when dwayne province was convicted of killing a enabled drug dealer. the 26-year-old father of three small children was sentenced 32 years to life behind bars, but he was innocent. >> for the first couple of years, you know, i was real angry, you know, confused, you know, didn't know what direction to turn in. >> after nearly 10 years in prison, province found a way out with the help of the university's michigan's in sense project he was exonerated and freed and a new battle began. >> when i walked out of the county jail, it seemed like all the nine and a half years was

like a big nightmare, a big dream and i woke up now. >> province, who's 40 years old now sued detroit in civil court. next, a settlement panel proposed he get a $5 million payment. the city had to either agree to pay or go to trial, risking exposure of police misconduct and possibly a larger damage award, but then detroit filed for bankruptcy, and province's lawsuit along with hundred of others were put on hold indefinitely. >> me, personally, it's like the little man is getting screwed in the end. >> province was dealt yet another blow when detroit emergency manager kevin orr released a plan to dig the city out of billions of dollars in debt. as an unsecured creditor, province could receive just 20 cents on the dollar. he says under those terms, a payout from the city wouldn't be

enough. >> i don't believe. >> he believes the city owes him. >> i think that will be a form of apology to me and my family, because, you know, when i got out of prison, there wasn't no apology that we sorry for what had happened. >> he has since married the woman he was dating when he was first arrested. he planned on using the settlement money to put himself and his older children through college. while his case has been put on hold, he says he's still forging ahead with his plans. >> detroit's emergency manager encourages plaintiffs to be patient saying all the cases will be heard eventually. >> wall street is tracking the ukraine developments, dow futures up at this hour, 16360, the s&p just shy of another

record at 1873. the nasdaq at 4357. overseas, asian markets ended in the green, nikkei rising 1.5%. european stocks higher, bank of england leaving interest rates unchanged. >> the government in one of the nation's largest coal companies reaching a settlement over pollution. alpha natural resources will pay a fine to settle after dumping waste in water sources. >> emmotors is to turn over documents why it took so long to report ignition problems, it knew of the trouble decades ago but didn't recall those cars until last month. they have to answer a longist of

questions by april 3 under oat. the problem killed 13 people and led to a massive recall affecting 1.6 million cars in models between 2003 and 2007, a lot of people watching this story very closely. >> it is the ripple effect from the ukraine crisis. >> the trouble there affecting other conflicts around the world and what it could mean for the hopes of ending syria's civil war. >> our teachers need time to teach and our students need time to practice. >> the changes to the s.a.t. and the reasons behind the change. >> homes with incredible water views, because they float. >> they say an athlete's body is his or her temple. what measures some pros these days are taking to keep in tip top shape.

al jazeera america. we open up your world. >> here on america tonight, an opportunity for all of america to be heard. >> our shows explore the issues that shape our lives. >> new questions are raised about the american intervention. >> from unexpected viewpoints to live changing innovations, dollars and cents to powerful storytelling. >> we are at a tipping point in america's history! >> al jazeera america. there's more to it.

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. >> ahead in this half hour, how the ukraine crisis may be affecting syria in its reduction of chemical weapons there. >> explaining the changes made now to the s.a.t. and why that could mean changes for all of the college students lining up to take the exam and yes, i got a 500 on the s.a.t., i spelled my name correctly. >> i can't believe you even remember what you the on the s.a.t. also ahead in our next hour, this is a pretty big study, finding alzheimer's disease is the third leading cause of death. >> there's a new wrinkle in the ukraine crisis, the united states trying to convince russia to get out, voting to become a part of russia. that was a anonymous vote. >> lawmakers say it's up to the people to decide.

a referendum will be held 10 days from now. this comes as e.u. leaders are meeting in brussels to consider sanctions on moscow. russia says it would counter sanctions freezing assets belonging to u.s. and european companies. >> this video shows classes today in eastern ukraine. demonstrators loyal to ukraine fighting with those who support russia. a group of pro russian demonstrators temporarily taking control of the government building, forcing them out. >> the ukrainian conflict is quickly changing russia's relationship with the u.s. and the european union. there are fears it could make things worse. in other hot spots around the world, including syria. how the two crises are connected. >> the on going battles are more than a thousand kilometers away, but the crisis in crimea may have a real impact on a war which is about to enter its

third year. the international community has given this man the job of trying to find peace in syria, but talks convened by veteran peacemaker in geneva achieved nothing. getting both sides around the table and persuading them and the syrian government to negotiate properly requires pressure from the u.s. and russia working together. that doesn't look likely now. just like the peace talks, the deals to remove syria's chemical weapons was done by u secretary of state john kerry and his russian counter part. >> so much has happened since that handshake took place six months ago, u.s. russian relations are at their worse point since the end of the cold war and that deem is not going according to plan, syria behind schedule in getting those deadly agents out of the country.

>> some believe the assad government may welcome the fact the world's attention has moved. >> i think president assad is dancing in damascus now, knowing that the united states has its hands full with the crimea crisis and he believes a lot of national pressure will be taken out of his back, because all of nato, europe, the united states energy is now into ukraine. >> there could be a down side for president assad, too. he relies on russian support, particularly weapons and parts for his aircraft and tanks. if the west presses the sanctions against russian banks and even arms manufacturers, that could really hurt his war machine. james bays, aljazeera, the united nations. >> till walsh is a research association with mit state's program. mr. walsh, thanks for being with us. doesn't russia have a huge stake in the successful removal of

syria's chemical weapons when you consider that it was really russia's idea. >> i think you're right. we need to separate out two things here, one the future of syria in a conflict. there's a agreement between russia and u.s. on the future of syria. i think the separate question of chemical weapons is one both sides can deal with. you know, the u.s. and russia have poor relations right now as was indicated but still have common interests at different points in the world and one common interest is to see that syria does not use chemical weapons tha. russia and the u.s. does not want that to happen. both sides will continue to work the chemical weapons problem. >> there's another big issue that the world is hoping for cooperation on, and that is iran. russia is key, people say, to a final deal on iran's nuclear program which the obama administration really wants to

achieve this year. could that deal be in jeopardy if tensions between the u.s. and russia escalate further? >> i think that's a great question and that's probably the most important and time-sensitive issue, the chemical weapons thing is going to take a while to play out. iran is on the clock. we're supposed to have a comprehensive agreement by july 20, so this is happening right in the middle of a very sensitive time. this is a situation where both russia and the u.s. have a common interest and goal. they want to prevent iran from acquire weapons in the future and find a comprehensive agreement if they can. humans are humans. so hopefully, the u.s. and russia will be able to compartmentalize this and carry on as usual. in the past when we've had dips in our relationship. they have been able to set things aside and continue to work on it, but people are people and sometimes these emotions spill over. i hope that doesn't happen, but that's something to watch in the next few months is before this

does impact the negotiations. >> the u.s. may need russia's continued support on supply routes to afghanistan that run through russia. the north korean nuclear issue, not to mention all the economic links we've been reporting here. can the u.s. afford to have this relationship go sour? >> i'm really happy that you are asking these questions this morning, because i think so much of the narrative right now about russia is that we need to punish russia, russia's bad. this is clearly a violation of sovereignty and we should not accept it, but i think the rush to punish, we really need to think this out, what the consequences are, because the u.s. and russia have to cooperate on different issues across the world. russia has a veto at the u.n. security council and they could use that to make trouble for us. i don't think we should simply stand by and allow this to proceed. >> this is a different world than it was during the cold war, clearly and you hear lawmakers in washington make that analogy,

but there are big picture issues, as well, like russia's continued participation in nuclear arms control agreements. do you believe those are threatened by this current impasse? >> the nuclear arms control agreements, not so much, only because russia has sort of slowed down on that agenda. the u.s. would like to continue what was called new start and have both sides negotiate new reductions in their strategic weapons, the ones that travel great distances, but the russians have been slow on that. they were slow before this recent ukraine issue, so i don't think it really will matter very much on that particular issue, but in general, the u.s. andrus. they have to work together to manage the world's problems with other groups like the european union and when those relations are bad, that's a bad thing, makes things more difficult and hard tore accomplish our goals. >> jim walsh, research associate with m.i.t. security studies program.

mr. walsh, thanks so much. >> opening arguments underway in the trial of osama bin laden's s son-in-law who served at an al-qaeda spokesman. he is charged with conspiring to kill americans following the september 11 attacks. >> some c.i.a. workers are the target of an internal investigation for allegedly spying on members of the senate. a new york times report says c.i.a. officers hacked into computer networks for members of the senate intelligence committee. when the senate was investigating the agencies detention and interrogation program, the c.i.a. and senate committee battled over the program. dianne feinstein confirms the inspector general is heading up the investigation. >> the s.a.t. college admission exam is getting a huge makeover, more than a million and a half students take that test every year. david shuster reporting on the new changes and what they will mean for your college bound

kids. >> it is the college admissions test that has distracted u.s. students for decades. the group that oversees the s.a.t. announced an overhaul noting problems with the exam. the president of the college board said the s.a.t. would eliminate the essays and long standing penalty for guessing wrong and cut obscure vocabulary words. the math questions currently scattered across many topics will focus narrowly on linear equations, and proportional thinking. the college board is responding to financially challenged students frustrated by the unique antcostly test preparations. >> it is time for the college board to say in a clear voice the culture and practice of test preparation that now surrounds admissions exams drives the perception of inequality and injustice in our country. >> to make the test results

easier to evaluate, scores will revert back to the old 1600 scale with a top score of 800 on math and 800 on what will now be called evidence based reading and writing. the optional essay will get a separate score. the changes may not stop the criticism of the s.a.t. which has lost ground to the act. >> i'm sweating right now. >> high school grades are a better predictor of college success than standardized test scores. a growing number of colleges have allowed the tests to be script bond provide grades transcripts and a research paper. that will not do much for the students taking the salt this year or next, because the changes will not kick in until 2016. david shooter, aljazeera. >> floyd hammic is professor of sociologist at new york university. good morning. i want to look at the numbers.

43% of all students who take this test are ready for college. that means 57%, more than half, aren't ready, according to the s.a.t.'s. why? >> that has to do with what's going on in k12 education and the education the kids have before they take the tests, before they go to college. there's a significant concern that the amount of rigor and the emphasis on academic skills, secondary schools place in grading and so fort has declined, has been influenced by the obsessiveness over tests. >> when you say obsessiveness over tests, kids around obsessive over tests, they hate them, so who's obsessive over tests? >> the people who think that education somehow should be able to level the playing field among all kids in the competition for good positions in the adult

society. you know, we expect schools to be able to make up the difference between the kinds of family backgrounds and assets that kids are raised with and their families. we think of schools as being centers of opportunity for a leveling of the competition, a leveling of the playing field. tests have been increasingly defined as the means by which we can identify when the gaps between groups are narrowed, and so there's a tremendous effort to try to test kids and to create a curriculum that allows kids from a huge variety of backgrounds to perform essentially similarly. >> i hear teachers screaming at the television set now saying for the last decade we have been told to teach to the test, and as a result, the test scores, you might as well pitch them all out anyway. >> the logic of teaching to the

test is that if we create good tests that test things that really matter to us, then teaching to the test is exactly what we should be doing, because if we're bog to test it, then by gosh, we have to teach it. so teaching to the test isn't necessarily a bad thing if we've got good ideas about what it is that we want kids to learn. the thing that's happened is the curriculum has increasingly been in k-12 increasingly identified is what does a kid need to know and be able to do at a grade level and that's explicit. >> why did we accept it all the way up until about now but then last year, take a look at the numbers, the s.a.t. taken by 1.8 million students, only 1.7 million students took the s.a.t.'s, why the shift to the a.c.t.? what's the difference between the two tests? >> basically that the origin of

the difference is the a.c.t. was to measure student's abilities to master the high school curriculum in place. a group of midwestern states basically had a common curriculum that they were sharing and that test was based on abilities to master what was acquired in that curriculum. the s.a.t. was created as a no one curriculum based test that was supposed to be measuring one's intellectual ability to master the things that college required. given the vast differences in curriculum in high school across the country said we can't have it dependent on curriculum because kids in that area will be better than kids that in area. >> does it mean the kids are smarter or less smart, the ones taking the test now?

>> i don't -- it -- what the tests are for is to predict one's ability to do well in college. >> does that mean our kids or smarter or less now? >> i would say no, it doesn't have anything to do with smartness. doesn't have anything to do with native ability. it doesn't have anything to do with how likely someone is to be a successful person. in fact, the relationship between test scores and adult success is very weak. >> ok. professor, thank you very much. floyd hammic is a professor of educational sociology at new york university. thanks. >> thank you. >> in west virginia, the statehouse passed new rules aimed at safeguarding against chemical spills after a toxic leak contaminated the drinking water of 300,000 people in january. the state house and senate now need to work out oh compromise bill. critics say the legislation doesn't go far enough.

>> pope francis makes comments about the church's stance on homo suit, suggesting the vatican could change course and tolerate some non-martel civil unions. he described it as a practical way to guarantee property rights and health care. the leader of the catholics said the church's opposition to gay marriage will remain in place. he made the comments to an italian newspaper on the first day of lend. >> a storm is developing in the south, meteorologist nicole mitchell is here with this morning's national forecast. >> rain in the florida panhandle throughout the day georgia southward into florida. as the system moves northward, this is more overnight tonight, because it takes a while for the moisture to head this direction

and in those overnight temperatures getting us cool enough, we could be looking at areas of ice. parts of virginia and north carolina especially looking for that ashville could be one of the city's under that. here's how all of this progresses, so to the overnight periods, you can start to see some of those pink worrying about that friday morning commute. during the day, enough warmth associated with all of this that we'll see most convert back to rain as this moves through the mid atlantic, looks like it should steer clear of the northeast, but you can see another front that could eventually bring snow in this direction. one thing to watch for with all of this going on is the position of the low by the time we get into the day tomorrow, bringing that onshore flow, so a little bit of flow along the coastline. if you're right next to that. otherwise, most of the rest of the region not seeing the impact of that. we have another system out west. i'll have more on that coming up in a few minutes. >> the winter that never ends. thank you very much.

>> athletes are searching for new ways to stay healthy, some resorting to painful treatments. >> we have the chilling details. >> chilling, indeed. with 82 games and countless practices, the nba season takes a toll on the body. teams are looking for newer ways to get the most out of their athletes. the latest trend is a cold reality. >> really cold. my elbows hurt. [ laughter ] >> miles plumlee is familiar with the saying no pain no gain but for him and his teammates that has new meaning, because the team is using a cry yo chamber used to help reduce inflammation in the body. >> there's a couple verses of it. we use nitrogen gas. we have a tank here, the gas comes in, the player's actually in here, the nitro gas

circulates around him. we usually get them somewhere around 92 degrees fahrenheit or minus 180 for if you're into celsius. >> it's way colder than anything like that. >> walking out in the middle of january in your underwear and standing in the snow nor two minutes, close to that. >> according to head check trainer, the major benefit of the chamber is oxygenated blood. this happens because the body reacts to extreme cold going into survival hoed. >> there we go. >> blood rushes into the body's core to protect inner organs. >> you have to be really strong. >> after 2:30, the oxygenated blood starts flowing through the body again. >> i was really scared. at first our trainer checked your heart and blood pressure and everything, so i'm like what is that? he keeps saying we just want to make sure if everything's ok. for the first time, i was kind

of scared, but it's good for your body especially if you have back-to-back games, your body can heal faster, recover faster and that gives you the strength for a nice game. >> the oxygenated blood region rates injured blood sells and the players say they can teal the difference. >> we see productivity from it, it helps with recovery, with speeding up metabolism to get the recovery you need and the performance you want afterwards. we do it enough where it's making an impact. >> feel rejuvenated, fresh, legs, whole body, you feel like you have more energy and you're legs aren't so fired. >> it's emphasizing injury prevention and the reaction has been positive for the team and for a handful of other teams who use it. ross shimabuku, aljazeera. >> minus 292 degrees, wow.

as of today, six nba teams own their own chambers but several cities feature facilities open to the public and several nba teams use some of those facilities. >> i have never seen stephanie sy and nicole mitchell watch a sports story so closely. >> it was a fascinating and pictureesque piece. >> it was the science, i'm sure and nothing to do with -- well never mind. >> it was science, thank you. >> floating neighborhoods are solving a housing problem. >> these communities as i will come without some challenges. >> where do you park the car? >> we'll tell you about the planning to require warehouses. >> it was the temperatures in that fourth story, that's what got me. you're getting rain in the west. we'll talk about that coming up.

only on al jazeera america.

only on al jazeera america

>> entire communities built on the water, the solution these houses provide to a growing problem in cities. good morning and welcome back. >> that story in just a moment. first let's find out if it's going to rain or snow where you are, nicole mitchell is here with that. >> temperatures are mild enough that more of this is turning to rain this time. we have not only the area we're watching in the south but another round through the north that's brought snow and freezing precipitation to the dakotas and widespread moisture to the west coast. the drought monitor comes out. it will be interesting to see how much of the drought conditions up and down the coastline are reroded given the rain in california last week. because of the moisture, flood and avalanche concerns today. >> across the world architects and city planners are exploring ways mankind and water can

coexist. the netherlands known for extensive waterways is leading the way in aqua architecture. we take you inside a floating village in amsterdam. >> this is the heaviest object in the house, it's made of stone. >> from the basement bathroom of her east amsterdam home, she explains that her house was built around her bathtub. >> there's the water right there. >> you can see the water and sometimes i see people swimming or with a canoe here. >> all it takes is one peek out of the bathroom window to understand why the weighty fixture makes her house tilt to one side. her house floats on water. >> sometimes it can really shake, and because it's attached, it will shake not like this, but sometimes it will do this because it can't move farther. sometimes it can be frightening.

>> this is the kitchen. we spend time here. >> do you ever get dizzy? >> no, no, sometimes, not really, not at all. i like the water. this is the dining room, and in here, we gather with the family in the evening much of the time and in the summer we open the windows and barbecue and also the ducks are always around and we just feed them. >> the home is one of 75 similar structures built along a series of artificial islands just outside the center of the netherlands capital city. it's a kind of floating village that might be a model for low-lying communities everywhere, increasingly threatened by volatile weather, storm surges and rising sea levels. >> the netherlands is one of the most densely populated places in the world. about 60% of the population lives below sea level. space has always been scarce, so more than 10 years ago, a group

of architects and engineers began brainstorming a way to utilize the water that surrounds them. that's when they came up with this. >> the architect designed what is now an entire community of floating houses. it took seven years of research, engineering and designing. they are anchored in shallow water to a pair of poles driven deep into the ground. >> these rings can go up and down, so it can move 60 centimeters in this case. >> the design has been an inspiration to other countries, including the united states, but making a neighborhood like this one work requires creative thinking. >> you have to think about where you park the cars, you don't have streets, for example. where do you make enough storage. it's also an urban question, so you have to make good urban plan. >> she is excited about growing her family in this neighborhood

and anxious to see which other water site communities might eventually hop onboard. aljazeera, hammer dam. >> at sea levels rise, so will the need for flood and natural disaster-proof homes. the u.n. says bangkok, tokyo, london and sydney could be totally or partially underwater by the end of the century. >> world leaders are meeting in brussels in rome trying to solve the crisis in ukraine. the parliament of crimea voting to become part of russia and intin days the public will vote. >> doctors were able to cure a baby of h.i.v. this will be the second case of a newborn cured. >> the s.a.t.'s changed to represent more of what students actually study. >> also ahead, amnesty international looking to protect the sexual and reproductive rights of women around the grown. we talk with the organization about a new report and what needs to be done to address this

issue. >> a welcome warm up hitting the east coast just in final for the weekend. i'll have that national forecast al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more 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.

>> in a symbolic vote in crimea, it could tip the balance between staying in ukraine or joining russia. the region has been part of ukraine since 1954. that vote was unanimous. the issue will now be voted on by the people in a referendum 10 days from now. clashes breaking out in eastern ukraine as pro russian demonstrators took control of a

government building. leaders are meeting in brussels to decide if sanctions against russia are viable, by freezing all assets belonging to u.s. and european countries. phil ittner is in kiev but we begin with breaking developments coming out of the white house. we turn to lisa stark in washington. the obama administration is responding with new visa restrictions on russians and crimeans. tell us about this. >> the white house had been talking about a whole range of options and here again it will be imposing new restrictions and sanctions because of the crisis. the state department is now working up visa restrictions, affecting people who as the white house says have been responsible for threatening the sovereignty of ukraine. also the white house announcing this morning that the president is signing an executive order

that would put sanctions on individuals in fact who threatened to undermine the government of ukraine. the white house was not specific about those sanctions, but they've talked in the past for example about freezing assets. even as they take these tough new measures, the white house is saying it is pursuing diplomatic means and hopes to end this crisis diplomatically. >> fireworks on capitol hill, john mccain grilling chuck hagel wednesday. what was his complaint about the administration's response to ukraine? >> senator mccain and a number of republicans have been very critical of the administration, the president saying it's his weakness in foreign policy that sort of gave vladimir putin the green light to make this move without feeling there would be major consequences. mccain was talking about specifically about whether there were any intelligence failures. here's that exchange. >> it was not predicted by our

intelligence and it's already been well known, which is another massive failure because of our total misreading of the intentions of vladimir putin. >> senator, i said that we were -- >> let me finish my statement police, mr. putin was not going to see him go. >> early last week, we were well aware of the threats. we don't accept anything that president putin said as fact. >> we may hear some more sharp exchanges like that today, another hearing on capitol hill this time on the house side, the foreign relations committee, a top state department official expected to testify there. del. >> the u.s. military now making moves in the region, what are they doing and where? >> well, they are beefing up their presence in poland and the balkan states as a response to what's going on in ukraine, these countries very worried.

the u.s. is taking military jets, six f-15 fighters and increasing patrols over he is e, lithuania and latvia and move troops into poland where it is holding joint exercises in poland and beef up troops there at the request of the polish government. >> lisa stark, thank you very much. phil ittner has been following all of the diplomatic definitelyments concerning the crisis from kiev. how significant is that vote in the crimea region today, how significant was that? >> the crimea peninsula voting unanimously to rejoin the russian federation, but it's not a binding vote.

there will be a referendum in 10 days' time when the entire pop litigation of the peninsula will go to the ballot box and decide whether or not they want to return to russia. it's an interesting time obviously for them to be doing that, because the russian federation is facing these isolation measures that are being possibly imposed by washington and brussels. what is interesting and disturbing to those here in kiev is the fact that we have seen some friction in other parts of eastern and particularly northeastern ukraine. we saw government buildings stormed by those who are close to russia. there is real fear here in kiev, del, that this conflict and the crisis, the divisions between ukrainian's favoring the west and east are getting more exacerbated and spreading approximately del. >> phil, there seemed to be divisions on the diplomatic front, as well, talk that the e.u. won't and can't come to a

consensus on sanctions. what are you hearing about that? >> this has been a problem with the e.u. since its inception. it's a large body, 27 member states and they all have individual foreign policies and relationships with russia, some stronger than others. they will need to come together and draw some sort of consensus, but there is a growing atmosphere, we are hearing from the e.u. that russia's move in the ukraine is so dire and dramatic that there is a growing consensus. this is what the united kingdom's prime minister david cameron said today: >> we need to send a very clear message to the russian government that what has happened is unsellable and should of consequences and were further actions to be taken, that would be even more unacceptable and require even more consequences.

>> del, it will be very interesting to see whether or not the e.u. follows the same line as what we're hearing coming out of the white house today, will they target individuals or industries. the industry perspective might be very difficult for the europeans, because they have tight trade with the russians. they get natural gas, timber and other industries. will it be individuals or industries. we'll have to see what comes out of brussels. >> phil, thank you very much. coming up, we're going to take a closer look at how journalists are caught up in the middle of this crisis. the encounter that raised safety concerns for nick shiffrin and his team, that is in about 20 minutes. >> hillary clinton is also clarifying controversial comments she made, saying russian president vladimir putin's action are similar to those of adolf hitler before world war ii. she said she was not comparing

the two men but wanted to put things in historical perspective. putin claims he needs to go in to crimea to protect russian minorities. >> that is reminiscent of claims made back in the 1930's when germany, under the nazis kept talking about how they had to protect german minorities in poland, in czechoslovakia. i'm not making a comparison. >> she added that the russian intervention of crimea was a violation of international law. >> muammar gaddafi's son is in jail in libya after the 2011 uprising that killed his father. before the revolution, he was known as the captain of libya's national soccer team. he will be tried on alleged corruption and armed

intimidation charges. he is the third son of the late libyan dictator. >> opening statements are happening in the trial of osama bin laden's son-in-law. he is charged with conspiring to kill americans following the september 11 attacks. he is pleading not guilty. >> an afghan president's brother has dropped out of the race to replace him. he will back the president's former foreign minister instead. elections are set to take place next month in afghanistan. u.s. forces are reducing their presence there this year and threatening to leave unless the new afghan government signs and agreement allowing some troops to stay beyond this year. >> the white house, the obama administration extending another deadline under the affordable care act. americans will now be able to hold on to their insurance plans for a few more years even if those plans don't meet tougher new standards. consumers can stay with those

plans until 2016. the change means insurance customers won't face a new round of cancellations this fall. it is the second time in four months the obama administration has adjusted those health plans. >> doctors are reporting that a california baby born with the virus that causes aids may have been cured by an early treatment. this is big news medically, especially because this is the second time this has happened. >> last year we learned doctors in mississippi essentially cured a baby infected with h.i.v. by giving the newborn high doses of aids medications. that child is three years old now and h.i.v.-free. it's that very case that inspired researchers in california to treat another infected infant the same way and now we're learning the therapy may have cured this baby girl, too. >> one month after news broke that a mississippi baby infected with h.i.v. was reportedly cured by early treatment, a california

baby was born infected with the virus. at miller children's hospital, doctors started treating the infected infant four hours after they first born. >> we were aware of the mississippi baby and we had participated in a study before overall where they gave babies one, two, or three medications if they were born in high-risk situations and three medications are better than one, so that's how we decided to start therapy with the medications. >> nine months later, researchers believe the high dozes of widely used aids medications is the reason the baby now shows no signs of the virus. the c.d.c. characterizes the baby at functionally cured. as for the mississippi baby now three years old, the child is still h.i.v.-free. at the time, doctors thought there was some mistake. >> my thirst thought was to panic. i thought i've been treating a child who's not actually infected. >> doctors believe they may be

on to something, though they will not go so far as to call it a cure just yet. while the california baby appears to be very healthy, she is still taking h.i.v. drugs as a precaution. >> we are not considering stopping medications until at least two years of age or when new information is available. at that time, we'll see what happens. >> researchers said there could be five more similar cases in canada and three in south africa. >> this is coming a the a time we're seeing more and more medical break threws on the h.i.v. war. >> researchers reported a long acting ingestion that protect the against h.i.v. in monkeys. if that works in humans, people could get a shot four times a year in ted of having to take daily pills and that could prevent them from contracting the virus completely. >> it has been a long battle. thank you very much. >> a court martial is underway for an army general facing sex

crime charges, pleading guilty to three lesser charges, maintaining he is innocent. the glees are he forced a junior officer to perform oral sex. he said he threatened to kill her family if he told anyone about the three year affair. if convicted, facing life in prison. >> president obama is denouncing the senate's failure to appoint a key justice democratic nominee. republicans and some democrats blocking the nomination. the naacp lawyer as the next assistant attorney general for the civil rights division. attacked for representing a convicted police killer a few years ago while he was working penalty naacp legal defense fund. >> the president is on the road, pushing to give the lowest paid workers a raise during a speech at central connecticut state university, the president calling on congress to increase the minimum wage by $2.85 an

hour, making the $10.10 an hour. >> nobody who works full time should ever have to raise a family in poverty. [ cheers and applause ] >> that violates a basic sense of who we are. that's why it's time to give america a raise. >> republicans argue that raising the minimum age -- wage, rather, will cost jobs. >> thousands of conservatives meeting today for the annual conservative political action conference or cpac. featuring prominent members of the republican party including possible contenders for 2016. libby casey is there. how divided is the conservative m movement trying to come together for this year's confront? >> this is an opportunity to come together to show unity and strength and pick favorites for

2016. a panel will happen, can social conservatives and libber tarns get along. in ukraine, some among the conservative movement say live and let live and their fairly isolationists in foreign policy. others believe there should be more of a hawkish approach, aggressive muscular role. cpac will hear from people who will advocate from that. am bass door john bolton will criticize the obama administration for not being more aggressive. you'll hear from oliver north. you can expect him to criticize the obama administration for cutting defense spending. there are many party members here, republicans who are also conservatives who say it's time

for the u.s. to focus on the national debt and not be spending more money overseas, so there are fundamental issues. another is the question of how actively conservatives should go after the question of gay marriage. that's something you're going to hear about while the conservative movement as a whole is against it, younger generation say it is not our big focus. >> last year, chris christie considered by many to be the front runner on the republican side in 2016, wasn't even have id to cpac. how is he faring this year? >> he will be speaking this morning. this is a big deal because he was given the brush off last year by cpac coming off of obama's 2012 victory, he had been pals with him because of what happened in hurricane sandy. chris christie worked with the president and was seen literally hugging him, so he was given the cold shoulder last year.

he's back this year. chris christie's off his own reelection battle, so has gotten his win. in the purple state of new jersey now, he can try to prove himself. the bridge gate scandal a big concern. he will perhaps be able to parley that into something else here. >> the south could get a soak egg today. we turn to nicole mitchell for more. >> already getting it in a couple place and it will continue through the day and tomorrow. we're watching this system that's gotten a little more organization with it, but definitely areas of heavy rain as we start off this morning. we can see this around the panhandle of florida, through central florida through the day, could see thunderstorms with this, watch for lightning, florida is the most lightning prone state in terms of strikes. as all this continues to develop and move up the coastline, with

cooler air overnight, we're watching tomorrow morning's commute, parts of virginia and north carolina, ashville, you might watch for a little ice on the road as that moisture moves in early tomorrow morning. here's how the rest of that progresses, pulls up the coastline a little bit today after that rain through florida, by the time we got into tomorrow afternoon, mid atlantic, we get a core of ice during the early morning hours but the rest of that is rain as we get a little warmer temperatures as the day progresses. with all that have, plenty of onshore flow on the north side of that will create a little wind close to the weather system, a lot of the rest of the east coast won't be impacted by that. ahead of that, we've got a nice warm flow that's going to warm us up for the weekend in a lot of places. i'll have more an that later. >> the role that natural resources in venezuela plays in its rocky relationship with the united states. >> the push to keep millions of

girls around the world safe from sexual assault. >> the pope sending signals of a shift in the church's stance on same sex relationships, the comments he is making rewarding civil unions.

>> venezuelans marking the first anniversary of the death of hugo chavez, kicking off a 10 day commemoration of the former president. the anniversary coming as the country's current president faces growing opposition as anti-government protestors say the oil-rich country is suffering a trickle down effect. how america's thirst for oil has played a part in the power struggle. >> venezuela is the fourth large effort supplier of crude oil to the united states, and has among the largest proven reserves in the world. because venezuela doesn't have enough domestic refineries, an unlikely partnership emerged from the united states and this

south american nation. >> years ago, even under chavez when he's talking about our president beingle devil or some of these rhetorical positions, the bottom line is the united states is the closest largest market for venezuelan oil. >> despite a recent energy boom, it imports 40% of its oil needs. of those imports, 8% comes from venezuela, accounting for nearly 1 million-barrels a day. refiners process venezuelan crude in places like texas and illinois, adding american jobs before sending the refined products or gasoline back to venezuela. >> some officials in venezuela say they could pump more of the oil business back into their own economy investing in refineries, and building out their infrastructure. >> the government has neglected

infrainstruct r. and left our national oil company in a difficult situation, because they seem to have abandoned the investment we need to keep growing. >> protestors here often point to the stagnating economy, rampant inflation and lack of infrastructure as chief reasons for taking to the streets. for years, the government tried to placate concerns by heavily subsidizing the price of gas. >> this is one of the few places in the world where this bottle of water costs more than a gallon of gasoline. the government keeps it that way to prop up the economy especially in poor neighborhoods. to put that in context, this pack of gum actually costs more than filling up this entire s.u.v. >> supporters argue that it's instead eased the financial burdens of the nation's poor but as protestors square off with authorities across the nation, all eyes are focused on whether

a disruption of government could disrupt venezuelan all important oil economy. >> 18 people have died in venezuela during months of anti-government protests. >> positive news on the jobs front. a just released sway shows announced layoffs declined 7% last month to 42,000. planned job cuts were the lowest for any february since 2000. many market watchers say the weak job growth is expected, but the labor department releases its report tomorrow. >> the end of a slow retail season, a lot of people get laid off. the stores haven't got reason to keep people on. people who had jobs over the holidays lost them again. i look for 120,000, possibly less in the report. >> we'll have full coverage of the jobs report when it is released tomorrow, right here live on aljazeera america. >> wall street is watching the developments in ukraine, futures

up 26 points at this hour. the dow average right now standing at 16360, the s&p 1873 and the nasdaq 4357. overseas, asian markets end in the green, nikkei leading advances. the bank of england leaving interest rates unchanged. >> staples closing 225 locations by the end of next year. it generates nearly half of its sales on line. posting lower than expected profits in the last three months of 2013 says h earnings for the third quarter won't meet estimates. >> costco profits sinking 13%, blaming deep discounting during the holidays and a drop in sales of non-food items. costco's bottom line hurt by

falling overseas currencies in markets there. >> tensions in crimea reaching the boiling point. >> ukrainian soldiers allowed half a dozen russian soldiers into the base in order to -- >> that confrontation with pro russian residents making life difficulty for one u.n. official and our aljazeera crew. >> protecting sexual and reproductive rights for 100 million people, the push to make this a human rights issue. >> making noise over the silent killer. a new study said alzheimer's may be a bigger problem than some health leaders once thought. >> tiger woods is hurting. >> a bad back is something that is no joke. >> we'll have more on tyler's efforts to play through the pain this week in south florida.

>> you are looking at l.a.x.

people are getting up, getting out trying to catch early morning flights. ahead in our next hour, we're going to talk about a campaign that aims to protect the rights and well being of young girls around the world. >> there's a new study out on alzheimer's that find it's a bigger health problem than researchers once thought. the winter causing problems for those who depend on the now frozen great lakes. >> to ukraine where within the hour, the white house imposed visa restrictions on russian and ukrainian officials, the ban affecting those mostly involved in destabilizing ukraine, including crimea. e.u. officials are meeting at this hour to decide on sanctions against russia. on wednesday, a special u.n. envoy to ukraine finding himself not welcome encountering pro russian forces that drove him out of the reasonablen. that's not the only way those forces are trying to control the

situation. >> for nearly an hour inside this cafe, they barricaded u.n. envoy robert sarey. demonstrators who support the russian invasion came to support his detention and try to stop our filming. whether at the cafe or airport, they control all access. he was driven from the international terminal and walked through the airport for a flight to istanbul. the same activists blocked the airport door and ran him out of the country. they feel empowered by the arrival of 16,000 russian troops. they're expanding their presence but not answers questions. we asked half a dozen soldiers and got the same eye lens. >> can i ask you a question? excuse me, can i ask someone a question? can i ask you where you're from no can you just tell me where you're from? >> he tells me to step away from the car and then they drove off

to ahead to this base. a local journalist filmed on her cell phone, the russian soldiers demanded ukrainian soldiers surrender their weapons. they are under orders not to shoot at russians, so blocked their front gates, anything they could to resist a much larger and better armed russian force. they successfully sent the russian troops packing but that night a pro russian mob showed up outside their gates and demanded the russian soldiers be let in. russian forces with the support of their nationalistic radical pro russian supporters are stepping up their aggression. scared and under siege, they sat in the dark, illuminated by a t.v. they told us we couldn't film. we used an i-phone. >> it's been tense, but ukrainian soldiers allowed half a dozen russian soldiers into the base in order to --

>> the soldiers told us it was time to go and that's when things got really bad. >> we decided to leave. then what happened? >> the rod was blocked with two cars, and we stepped out of the car and tried to ask these people to move the cars away. the demand was that we show them what's in the camera. >> the mob that tried to climb over the gates now turned attention to us. he had a negotiate. >> they threatened to flip the car over, started counting down from 10 and that's when we finally agreed to show them the video. >> you think the threats were serious? >> had we not com applied with their demands, we've had our tires slashed. i do believe that they would have torn the car apart and it could have gotten very ugly. >> ugly because like outside the cafe, the police are either unable or unwilling to impose

any authority. >> why didn't you do anything while he was taken away? are you going to answer? is it not your job anymore to defend -- >> if he can do this to a senior diplomat, they can do it to anyone. nick shiffrin, aljazeera, ukraine. >> the u.n. saying robert sarey is heading back to ukraine today. >> for breaking news and updates on the crisis, check out with this live blog at aljazeera.com. >> amnesty international saying more than 100 million people across the globe are experiencing inhumane and illegal treatment over their sexual and reproductive rights. randall pinkston has the details from a new report called my body, my rights. >> she was 10 years old when her parents forced her to marry. two years later, she had her first child. the following year, her husband

died. >> i was ashamed. i was scared. it's very bad. >> she eventually escaped to england and never remarried. a new amnesty international report finds her story all too common and that forced marriages continue to threaten the health of young girls. >> it has a disproportionate impact on their, you know, on their ability to make informed choices about their life, their sexuality, you know, the decisions which ultimately are free from coerce, violence, and are not forced. >> young girls who don't have that choice sometimes pay with their lives. 70,000 girls under 18 die each year as a result of pregnancy. another threat, female genital mutilation. worldwide, 140 million girls have been subjected to the practice.

>> it is quite pervasive and systematic and widespread and amnesty international believes it is a gross violation, fundamental violation of human rights. it almost amounts to torture. >> according to unicef, it's most pervasive in africa with 90% of women in four countries are affected by female genital mutilation. amnesty international wants governments around the world to take action. >> the very first thing is to push and say that sexual and reproductive rights are human rights. secondly, there needs to be increased interventions around prevention and especially young people so that they can make informed choices about their sexuality, about their bodies, about their health. >> change is taking place. after the gang rape and death of a 22-year-old woman in india

sparked international outrage, there was a campaign to raise awareness. >> you've been misled by the notion that women are people, too, because let's face it, ladies, rape, it's your fault. it all begins with what you wear. >> sponsors of the video hope humor and satire will help viewers understand the serious problem of sexual and reproductive abuse. randall pinkston, aljazeera. >> the director of the gender sexual and identity program at amnesty international, you saw her in the report and she joins us from london this morning. 150 million girls under the age of 18 sexually assaulted, are the numbers rising and if so in this day and age, why? >> there are multiple causes for why such a huge number. firstly, it's just the tip of

the iceberg in terms of the statistics. we have to actually look at the root causes of why it happens. amnesty international through its campaign my body my rights is looking and focusing on sexual and reproductive rights. one of the reasons why it happens is that governments across the globe and we have found it through our research, have failed to protect sexual and reproductive rights of individuals either through law or practice. secondly, if you have seen the increase in for example reports around sexual abuse, violence, rape, et cetera, it's also the cause that maybe there's a more increase because of work done throughout the world through human rights workers. victims and survivors are now coming out and feel ok to talk in open about their experiences,

but i would go back again to say that states have failed to protect these individuals through so many different ways, including looking at how non-state actors, for example in the family situations in community through religion, there needs to be state intervention even in those spaces. >> 215 million women around the world still can't get contraceptives. why is that so difficult? >> we have a take a step back to people have a fundamental right to decide if and when they want to have children, you know, and the right to protect themselves from infection and ill health. we know that from our research again, that government not only has obligation to protect this right, but to have to actively put in place preventative plans,

for example, looking at sexual education, providing access to contraception and education on sexual and reproductive health. there is evidence which shows for example a report which estimates that across the globe, 40% women of child bearing age live in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws and in our countries, there is, you know, sort of no access to contraception itself. we are looking attitudes of medical providers who deter women going from accessing contraceptions. it has a wide range of causes in terms of lack of preventative strategies and enough emphasis put by states to empower individuals so that we have

enough information and access to health around contraception and use of contraception itself. >> isn't some of this cultural? 142 million girls will be married, under the age of 18 by 2020. are we seeing these practices deeply engrained in cultural tradition and will that make it tough for change? >> yes. one of the things amnesty has no business in terms of directly looking at tradition and culture, but of course amnesty international will not shy away from culture and tradition actually in fringes on individuals exercising their human rights. we have found in our research that there are instances where forced marriages, early marriages, again, are very persuasive and states have obligations to ensure that they don't happen. again, i would go back to the area around the government has

obligational gain to empower and put in more emphasis on programs around ensuring that people know you know what are their rights. they have all the information to make informed choices about if and when to get married, if and when to found a family or if and when to have children or not and especially in case of children, we know that research has shown over the globe that if you have already comprehensive sexual education program, you also find a responsible generation coming up, so there is enough evidence to prove that these strategies work, but because states have failed in all these areas, you see still in many parts of the world where girls especially young girls have to go through this trauma. >> the director of the gender sexual and identity program at amnesty international, joining

us from london. thank you very much. >> pope francis is making sweeping comments about church doctrine speaking to an italian newspaper on the first day of lent, saying a ban on contraception and opposition to gay marriage will remain, but the pope suggesting the vatican could change course and tolerate some forms of civil unions. he described it as a practical way to guarantee property rights and health care. >> a new study finding alzheimer's is leading to more deaths than once thought, researchers saying the disease could rival heart attacks and cancer when it comes to the number of deaths. 5 million americans right now are living with alzheimer's. according to the c.d.c., it is the sixth leading cause of death with close to 84,000 deaths in 2010. the study says that number could be six times higher to more than half a million deaths, because the disease is often unreported on death certificates. ryan james is an assistant

professor at rush university medical center and joins us from chicago this morning in a segment we are calling healthy and wise. good morning, doctor. >> good morning, thank you for having me. >> why are doctors and medical examiners missing alzheimer's when it comes to findings of death. >> well often when people fill out death certificates, they focus on the immediate cause of death so what led to the loss of life that day or week and often the underlying cause of death, which they have a spot to write in, alzheimer's disease, which slowly kills people over sometimes 10 years or more, often that is left off of the death certificate. >> in fact, you found that the average time from diagnosis to death was about four years. was that a factor in how many cases misreported? >> that could be a factor. i think and as i said, it could be up to 10 years for people, some 15 years. the person filling out the death certificate may not be privy to the information that this person

has alzheimer's disease or may think that there are more immediate causes of death that deserve to be on the death certificate over alzheimer's. i think a lot of people do not realize that alzheimer's disease is fatessal. we have no cure. we have no effective treatment, and unfortunately, it does spread from the part of your brain that controls your memory and thinking to the part of your brain that controls basic functions like swallowing and breathing. >> i was stubbed by the numbers involving alzheimer's. alzheimer's costs the nation $203 billion. that number you are reporting could rise to $1.2 trillion. >> that's correct. >> by 2050, a 500% increase. >> that's right, yeah. >> with those numbers, something has to be done. >> something has to be done. just knowing that the numbers are rising, the number, there's 5 million americans living with alzheimer's. this could double or triple by

2050. as you said, the costs could bank result our health care system. now our study is just giving a third piece of information, that, you know, many more people are dying from this disease than we were recognizing before. you're right, we have to do something about this soon. >> dr. james, some say we need to pay as much attention to death certificates as we do to checking the health of a newborn baby. will that change things? >> potentially. i'm not sure the moral of the story is death certificates need to be better. the bigger moral of the story is hey, a lot of people are passing away, this is a fatal disease that is leading to people's death that we have no cure for, no effective treatment for, and all other major killers in the united states, the degrees from those diseases are going down while deaths from alzheimer's continue to rise. >> as we watch you explaining

the disease to your class, what do you hope the future leaders in this field, what impact do you hope that your study will have on them and the rest of the health community? >> we just hope our study raises awareness, you know, for the public, for people making funding decisions, for research and treatment. alzheimer's disease is a very underfunded disease compared to other diseases. of course, the first national alzheimer's plan was put into place in this past year, and the government just added $100 million to research, which is fantastic. it's a great first step, but we still have so much further to go. >> brian james, assistant professor at rush university medical center and lead author of that new study on alzheimer's disease. >> from alzheimer's to bad backs, let's just say think about a tiger moving slowly with a putter in hand. >> or with a thorn in his paw. that's the way tiger woods is

moving these days. earlier this week, the phrase "takinger's back" was an indication of what caused the world's number one golfer to drop out of a tournament. this morning, tiger's back means he has returned at that wednesday he surveyed the landscape at the course that's changed since he won here last year. he said he will be healthy enough to make tee time thursday. he says health is probably going to be an issue for him from now on. >> the will to win hasn't changed. it's physically in my ego to do it. there are times when i've learned this through the injuries that i've had, a bad back is something that is no joke. there are certain moments, certain movements you just can't do, and that's one of the things i've started to learn about this time of injury. it's very different. >> because of the unrest in ukraine, that country's friendly soccer match against the u.s.

nearly didn't happen, and when it finally did, happened 1500 miles away from its original site in front of a nearly empty stadium. in cypress with half of u.s.a.'s first choice roster out of for this one, others played to prove they belonged, but the ukrainians played with more fire on this day. scoring in the 12 minute to put ukraine on top. on the move again, once again tim howard stops the first shot, but his teammates can't they're in that scoring on the second chance, ukraine wins 2-0. >> one thing a college basketball team doesn't want to be in march is rusty, but that's what number four duke was wednesday night as it played its first game enover a week, wake forest the opponent. coach mike kryzewski had a did i see spell in this one, told everyone he was fine.

duke loses a 7 point lead on the strength of a game clinching game by wake forest. duke turned the ball over on offense. parker goal tended williams. wake forest upsets duke eight oh 2-72. >> goalie stopped 39 shots to help montreal beat anaheim 4-3 but probably getting ribbing for one of the shots he did not stop. he left the net to intercept the dump-in pass, but it bounced off the wall and went straight to the empty net. afterwards, he called the incident a lapse of judgment. >> happens to us all. >> mistakes happen. >> thank you very much. >> fisherman on the great lakes facing smaller hauls. wipe the cold winter is putting

ice on their business. >> heavy rain in the south. this will spread to the maid atlantic by tomorrow. i'll have in a national forecast.

>> we are going to take you live to brussels right now. that is the prime minister of ukraine talking to reporters about the parliament in ukraine breaking away, voting to break away and the vote that will take place 10 days from now.

listen. >> >> he has been describing to reporters all of the dramatic developments taking place in ukraine. the parliament in crimea voting to break away to rejoin the russian federation, which was at one time the old soviet union, as many of the people there speak russian. also today, there is news out of washington as the white house has now said that it will basically impose a visa ban on

some ukrainian and russian officials, as we listen now to what the prime minister is saying to the translation. >> very difficult to persuade foreign investors which have the russian soldiers and reduction tanks on its territory. to be part of the plan. that's why we would like to urge russia to follow international commitment which was signed. russian military aggression and ukraine has not just negative reaction but political and economic aspects. it's time to stop.

the construction of the berlin wall is not the architecture of global security which is used for an acceptable in the world now. i would just like to address president putin and say tear down this wall, the wall of intimidation, the wall of military aggression, and let's build up new type of relations between ukraine and russia. we are ready for cooperation, but we are not ready to surrender and to be the subordinate of russia. >> mr. prime minister, from the guardian. the white house announced action, a number of visa restrictions and bans on what they call leading russian officials and people involved, that might be involved in

violating ukraine's territorial integrity. do you expect this meeting today to follow suit, follow the american lead that the european union would take similar actions and can you say specifically and concretely what you expect european leaders today to decide in terms of action? thank you. >> what we expect, we expect that the e.u., the u.s. and probably russia will do their best in order to stabilize the situation. all options are on the table. we need to find those appropriate options and tools that can really tackle this crisis. what's more effective, this is the question to the europe and to the united states. it seems that russia is reluctant to hold real talks and negotiations.

we aren't. we consider an option of this so-called group that the first step in order to pave the way to the stability. >> this is possible to do before elections, presidential elections. ukraine government as it exists now is first question and don't you afraid that ukraine didn't give symmetric answer to russian aggressives? this conflict would be frozen.

>> prime menster here. i was wondering first of all that you feel here that ukraine is have to go object the road of european immigration, first question and second, you are going now to nato to discuss with mr. rasmussen which has stated last night that nato is going to decide a stronger partnership with ukraine. what -- how do you command this statement? thank you very much, sir. >> who is next? >> prime minister, you must be disappointed at the lack of concrete action coming from european countries who all have

different economic relations. would you like to see the british government close off the financial institutions in the city of london to russian wealth and money? surely you want them and are putting to them far more concrete actions to take against russia rather than just a mere statement of principle to stand by your side. >> we don't want to have this conflict neither frozen nor hot one. ukraine is to be one united country. just let me remind you that in 1994, ukraine abandoned its nuclear weapon and under the budapest memorandum, the signatures guaranteed at the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of ukraine. we did our job. we