welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. the russian people weigh in on the crisis in ukraine with demonstrations both for and against moscow's intervention. >> the freedom of the individual must come before the power of the state. >> republican presidential hopefuls playing to their bay at cpac. and pork producers around the country deal with a virus that is killing off young pigs. ♪

in ukraine, the crisis over crimea continues to worsen, russia, unwilling to negotiate with the ukrainian government. a spokesman for russian president vladimir putin a short while ago saying the idea makes them smile. the number of troops in ukraine now on the rise. intelligence sources telling al jazeera they estimate that to be 30,000 alone. phil how should we read this latest statement from vladimir putin. >> that whole it makes us smile just exemplifies the difference of opinion between the west and the east, and the intrackablety apparently of those positions. you have heard the west saying

and john kerry in particular that there needs to be direct face-to-face talks between the new government here in kiev and representatives from moscow, but the russians are having none of it. so this kind of outright dismissal of this government here is very clearly something that is going to be a sticking point between the west and the east, but it is also interesting to hear that kind of language, that dismissiveness. we're also hearing from other diplomatic areas, where we're hearing lavrov and kerry had a phone conversation, and secretary lavrov warned the united states not to make any rash decisions about sanctions that could harm future relations between the two countries. that falls in line with other things we have heard from russia

today. the representatives from brussels in the eu saying if you think you can scare us with these sanctions, think again. so the russians are still holding very strong, del. >> we are hearing about a major escalation of troops from 16,000 to 30,000 soldiers now. >> yeah, the ukrainian sources here are saying that they believe that the numbers in crimea have jumped dramatically. they are estimating -- and we have to stress these are estimations because counting those numbers is very difficult, but the ukrainians believe the russians are pumping many more troops on to the ground. there is also one thing that has to be mentioned when we are talking about russian troops. it's very similar to what we saw

during the invasion in georgia. the russians consolidated their power on the ground in georgia as talks were going on. and it looks like that is what they are doing here as well. the idea is to keep people talking delay the talks, distract people, keep the situation away, so the territory will be de facto russia. >> thank you, phil ittner. the east has relied on russia for trade. al jazeera jackie roleland takes a look. >> reporter: the revolution has brought bad news for this industrial plant in the eastern town. a russian customer has delayed

signing a big contract for machine tools until it becomes clear which way ukraine is heading. under the new boss the factory is diversified into wind turbines, but still relies on russia for more than 60% of its business. >> europe market is completely different. our business not well prepared to europe market. our production not competitive in europe market. >> reporter: in the regional capitol a new governor has just been appointed. the economy is one of his most urgent priorities. >> translator: many people in the region are having big problems because of travel in the banking sector. many banks are on the brink of collapse. many cash machines are empty. and we need to tackle corruption. >> reporter: like many towns in

eastern ukraine it still honors its soviet past. this whole region is heavily dependant on russia for trade and jobs, so maintaining good relations is crucial, regardless of people's political opinions or how they see their national -- denidentity, but some suppod the revolution and paid the heaviest of price. this man was skilled by sniper fire in independence square on february 20th. >> translator: now i'm not thinking about anything. i would like to see comfort. i would like to see peace. >> reporter: the national poet of ukraine looks down on the main square here. at the foot of the statute flowers laid in honor of ivan. in this pro-russian city, there are those who cherish the sym l

symbols of ukrainian independence. that critical vote for cessation in crimea now just nine days away. i talked to amy knight, and asked her this question, one month from now will crimea be part of russia? >> clearly the crimeans where the majority is pro-russian, if their referendum is acknowledged, i suppose it could, but what -- russia is in a little bit of a conone -- ka none dram, because they already have a naval base in crimea. the economy in crimea is not great. the government is corrupt. i don't really see what russia has to gain by actually annexing

crimea. and also it would create problems because there are other republics that are part of the russian federation like chechna what if they start demanding to join as well? >> turkey is also keeping a close eye on the events. anita mccnauth reports. >> reporter: this is a muslim soldier in the russian army, who's ties to crimea lead him to switch sides and fight for turkey. fighting with the russian empire for centuries and finally subjected to mass deportation by

soviet leader joseph stalin in the 1940s, and nearly half died of starvation and disease. >> translator: they had 15 minutes of notice, just time to grab a piece of bread and the koran and flee. >> translator: we will not suffer oppression again like the 1940s. [ inaudible ] is standing firm. we are receiving calls and emails every day from them. we are a very different group here in turkey. we are educated democracy and we will not behaf like the russians. >> reporter: the crimean tatars have the backing of turkey's government. the foreign minister jetted to kiev last saturday and stressed the importance of crimea to turkey, and called for stability. but everyone is worried about an escalation of force. when word spread that a

ukrainian navy ship was passing through istanbul, the crimean turks association came to make sure it had not changed its flag. this connects the mediterranean with the black sea. europe is that way, and ukraine, crimea, and russia are that way. and people's memories around here span centuries. these people warn russia to be careful. >> translator: there are muslim soldiers in the russia army. and during the invasion in afghanistan some put down their guns and refused to fight other muslims. >> reporter: without the turkish support, the crimean tatars believed they would have been wiped out.

for the latest of what is co coming out of ukraine, you can follow us on twitter. red meat speeches as they were called weren't the only things on cpac's speeches. >> reporter: some are calling for unity and a direction that republicans can all get together around, including them is former arkansas governor, mike huckabee, he spoke this morning about how he thinks the party needs to bridge divides. >> i know that this -- we need to focus on how we will lead america.

not just how we will bleed each other in the context of our conservative world. >> also speaking today texas governor rick perry. there is a lot of animosity at cpac over washington and the federal government, so rick perry and other governors and former governors are finding a lot of favorable reaction from the crowd when they talk about what is happening back in their home state. we're also hearing from senator rand paul, republican of kentucky, a much-watched speech. and that is libby casey just outside of washington, d.c. coming up on al jazeera america, a deadly virus killing 1 million baby pigs and now there are new concerns about how some farmers are getting rid of the carcasses. ♪

♪ farmer in at least 25 states are dealing with a serious virus infecting pig lets. 4 million baby pigs have died since the virus was discovered one year ago. robert ray has the story. >> reporter: on country roads in north carolina a yellow sign readi reading ped stands in front of

many farms, noting that the virus has hit the population. >> the nursing pigs, new barn pigs, most die. >> reporter: nearly 3,000 have died since june. but on a snowy march mourning there is no sign of the virus on this farm. michael jones and his family own this operation. they raise over 200 free-range hogs and sell to local stores and restaurants. >> my pigs have a morrow -- more robust immune systems. most park produced in the united states is in confinement facilities and those pigs are very vulnerable to ped.

>> reporter: the virus cannot spread from annals to humans, and the older sows somehow develop a natural resistance. and has thousands of pig lets continue to die from ped virus, environmental groups are warning the department of agriculture and states like here in north carolina of the potential health risks that could occur with the disposal of infected hog carcasses. >> we have a large number that are being left in dead boxes for a long time. if they are left for long periods of time, they are exposed to the elements, they can leak out their bodily fluids, blood. so the question i would have is what is the response of agricultural officials to this -- to the outbreak. >> reporter: the water keeper

alliance and north carolina river coopers sent these photos and a letter to the governor asking him to declare a state of emergency, because they believe that infected pig carcasses are not disposed of properly. al jazeera america reached out to the governor and his office responded . . . to date there is no vaccine, and despite the herd losses, farmers are not required to report the virus to state or federal firms. but farmer and environmental concerns along with pork prices are starting to rise. ♪

an upside surprise for employment. 175,000 jobs were add last month, that's more than economists anticipated. the unemployment rate was up slightly but some attribute that to an increase in those looking for work once again. those out of work for 27 weeks or more jumped to 3.8 million. wall street not having a strong reaction either way right now. the dow has been up and down all day. investors seeing those reports as confirming the economy continues to grow at a steady albeit slow pace. the report show that despite the bad weather construction jobs increased. labor secretary tom perez, telling ali velshi about creating more jobs, he says wages have to rise.

>> one of the best ways to pick up the pace of growth is to address the issue of consumption. consumption is oftentimes upwards of two thirds or so of gdp, and what that means is you have got to put money in people's pockets. >> you can see more of the interview on "real money" right here on al jazeera america. in many states undocumented high school graduates are forced to payout of state tuition just to go to college. but in tennessee there is a student who is fighting to change things. jonathan martin has her story. >> reporter: this 19-year-old hoped to at tend tennessee state university and major in business, but because she is an undocumented immigrant, jasmine learned she doesn't qualify for in-state tuition that makes

college uneye affordable. when she was seven jasmine and her mother left mexico and goved to minnesota and later tennessee. where children must pay out of state fees. attending tsu would cost more than $20,000 a year. >> you are preparing students to go to college, but then at the end of the day you are not allowing them to go to college? not everybody has the same access to college education? >> reporter: a bill before the tennessee legislature could change things by allowing undocumented immigrants who came to the state as children to qualify for in-state tuition if they have lived in the state for at least five years and meet academic requirements. >> when people have college degrees they usually make more

money in their lifetime, and that means more taxes and more money for our community. and undocumented students deserve an opportunity to pursue their dreams. >> we got a lot of feedback from all of these venntives. >> jasmine and others are meeting with lawmakers, sharing their stories and asking them to vote in favor of the bill. 19 states already offer in-state tuition for undocumented students. >> to me it's just crazy, why would you give a reward to someone for an illegal activity. and we're giving them a reward for an activity that we are not even giving to people from kentucky who may be just over the border. >> reporter: next week jasmine will find out if the bill passes

its first hurdle. until then she plans to continue walking the halls of the capitol to put a human face on what she considered an urgent issue. the president and first lady visiting a florida high school this afternoon. they will be talking to students to encourage students to continue their education. the white house says the first family will also spend the weekend in key largo. coming up on al jazeera america, heavy hitters of the grand old party are talking at cpac, but there is one contributor that is trying to bring a different kind of star power to the g.o.p.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines at that hour. several developments in the crisis in ukraine today. russian's foreign minister is warning the u.s. hasty steps could harm future relations between the two countries. and ukrainian intelligence

sources now estimate that russia has 30,000 soldiers on the ground in crimea. the economy added a stronger than expected 175,000 jobs, but that's still below the monthly average in 2013. and republican leaders sounding off on the white house. one of the largest sponsors of cpac coming from hollywood this year. while the film industry has long been associated with democrats, it now appears to be playing both sides of the film. jennifer glasse has the report. >> reporter: hollywood the land of movies, make believe, movers and shakers, and liberal causes, but the story most people think they know about hollywood's political bedfellows is being rewritten. from the floor of cpac the signs

are clear that they have formed a friendship. one of the sponsors, mpaa, hollywood's most powerful lobbying group. >> everybody thinks of hollywood has being closely aligned with liberal causes, and it's more complicated that this. >> reporter: a report was released that shows the mpaa is giving more and more money to conservatives. >> hollywood has seen many of its interests not being promoted in the way it would like. >> reporter: the mpaa declined our request for an interview. it still gives millions to democratic causes, but in the 2012 election cycle they contributed $2.4 million to

organizations that include conservative dark money groups. >> i think senator chris dodd came in and assessed the situation and realized if the mpaa wanted to be a major player it had to shore up its credentials with conservatives. >> reporter: the former leader was known as a washington lobbyist who was the public face of hollywood for nearly four decades. but often forgotten hollywood heavyweights who are anything but liberal, ronald reagan, and many more. actor and former republican senator says courting conservatives indicates a possible power shift in washington. >> it suggests a belief that republicans are more likely to

win. >> reporter: still an entertainment lecturer says hollywood isn't shedding its liberal skin just yet. >> hollywood is still liberal, but the conservatives in hollywood are now speaking out. that's the difference. >> reporter: speaking out and spending millions of dollars to make sure hollywood's interests are heard loud and clear by washington. jennifer london, al jazeera, hollywood. ♪ i'm meteorologist dave warren. still some problems across the southeast with this storm just off of the coast here. it is bringing a lot of warm air in. still slightly below freezing here in virginia and north carolina, so that mixing area, still evident on the radar, but not nearly as wide as it was before. the temperatures at richmond,

37, 38 in raleigh. you could still get that ice accumulation and slick spots on the roadways. north carolina and around this area up towards virginia. here it is across the peninsula there in virginia, north carolina, just off of the coast of new jersey, clearing out by tomorrow, but this will be followed by colder air, starting to see a little snow up around the great lakes this weekend. lows tomorrow in the northern plains down below zero. it really doesn't make it too far south here. maybe as far south as philadelphia, but some mild air returning across the southeast and southern plains, but right in the middle is the area that is suching south. del? >> dave warren thank you very

much. and thank each and every one of you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "the truth is" is next. and check us out 24 hours a day at aljazeera.com.