equipped to do it. >> i would disagree. >> i know what i can do. >> i look forward to seeing more of your work. thank >> this is al jazeera america. live from new york, i'm tony harris. russia backs up plan of crimea to secede from ukraine. surprising jobs report better than expected for the economy. and the it's a decision that could flood the skies with commercial drones.

>> the crisis in ukraine appears to be growing by the day. as russia solidifies its support for crimea to secede from ukraine. no shots were fired and no soldiers have reportedly left the base. and then ukrainian intelligence sources tell al jazeera as many as 30,000 russian troops may be in crimea, many arriving through a ferry terminal seized, and more on the way. nick schifrin in simperfol, >> at 10:00 in the morning at

least a dozen trucks full of troops sped by going from russia into the heart of crimea. we spoke to soldiers who were on the grouped guarding the ukrainian base. theyed a mitte admitted to me ty were russian, and as you say the troop numbers have now doubled into crimea. and this is kind of the russian normandy or beach head, the first place that russians came into crimea, the first place where residents lowered the city hall flag that was ukrainians to raise the russian flag, and it's a place that very much supports this invasion and very much supports the referendum in ten days that will call for crimea to become part of russia.

>> i don't know if there are any tatars there, they wouldn't be happy with what is happening there. are there any there who opposes the presence there. >> reporter: there is a tatar community and a small activist community. i spoke with them today, and they're running scared. they gave me video in which they were giving a rally or speaking at a rally, and they were pelted with eggs. they were yelled at by a huge crowd. the police, luckily, was able to protect these activists, but they say that they're marked. when i asked them what will happen for them if this referendum passes and crimea becomes part of russia, they say, i have to leave. i'm simply not safe here in this city where the vast majority of people have long believed that they were russian, and will certainly overwhelmingly vote to join russia if given the

opportunity. >> nick, i appreciate it. nick schifrin is on the phone with us from simperfol in crim crimea. >> my frienthe point is the frea little bit embarrassed at the moment because there are quite a few places in paris as trials begin for two big helicopter assault ships built by the french for the russians.

asked whether france would halt the contract of these ships if economic sanctions were imposed on russia for what it is doing in cry maya, french presiden crt françois hollande said they will honor their contracts. five or six years ago russians going into georgia, it was very violent, very short and suffered hat the hands more

technically advanced georgians, and that irked russia, so russian defense spending has increased to $68.2 billion, and that figure establishes russia firmly as the world's third largest military spender. who are the other two? well, you don't have to be a brain surgeon to figure this out. china spends $112.2 billion, and the u.s. spend $600 billion. i knew we spent a lot, but i didn't know it was that much. it's unclear say western analysts how many men russia can call upon. in practice, russia's ability to attract and train conscripts and professional troops, they have

845,000 military personnel they can call on right now and another 2 million who are in the reserves. according to kiev, they have 129,950 military personnel to call on, that's a considerably smaller number. and ukraine is a very poor country. it struggles to make military reforms over the years, and aircraft availability, service availability very low in the ukrainian military, and it's navy is struggling to repair the one diesel submarine that it has. you heard a story about an ukrainian naval vessel docking because they could not staff the dock. analysts say it is unlikely that there will be a full-blown russian invasion, that doesn't seem to be the way it's going, but if it were to happen it would be a massively unfair fight. >> to be sure. john terrett for us.

thank you. we're hearing reports out of crimea, the ukrainian military base in simperfol overtaken, and jennifer, what is the latest on this story? >> reporter: well, tony, we understand that it is all over. what exactly happened really not clear. this is something that we've seen over the last few nights since the russians got here on sunday. two truck loads of military men in military fatigues went into this base apparently broke down the gate, went in, and asked for the ukrainians to surrender. they negotiated for aify hours and then the men left. by the time we sent folks to have a look outside of the gate there were russian cossacks.

we've seen them come in to the city. they're in rag tag troops, and they're the troops that are more in danger. they'rthey are a little less disciplined than the forces were. these are psychological tactics, keeping pressure on ukrainian forces, barricaded inside their bases. a couple on ships out in this harbor here, the ships they've been stuck on their ships for a number of days. for the most part ukrainians have disarmed, locked up their weapons so as not to create a situation where someone can fire, they're not in an aggressive stance because as john said they are outmanned and outnumbered by the russians. psychological pressure

especially at night when you know you're surrounded by a better armed force. >> let's take a couple of minutes and connect some dots here. you have been on the story, a small question here, and then a big question. how long have you been covering the story? >> reporter: i got to kiev mid december. >> mid december. we know the demonstrations started in november, and you've been there essentially from the moment that the maidan began to form, and everything has happened sense. take us to 30,000 feet on this. what is russia doing? what is the end game here for russia? and in describing that, maybe you can get to what is next. >> reporter: you know, it certainly looks like russia wants crimea. it wants to keep its influence here. a lot of this is about in november when it first started

ukraine turned towards europe. and russia was worried about that, so they discouraged then viktor yanukovych to sign that agreement, and to make an agreement with russia. president putin would like to see a customs union that includes you vain ukraine. this new government in kiev is not to hick liking, so he's exercising his military power here, there are 30,000 troops here now. they dreary have the peninsula lockdown. here this is a very pro russian town, so many people are for them. but it is a very divided peninsula. even on the russian border there are those who defend. so it is a very dangerous game many people feel that vladimir putin is playing, and that he is flexing his military might and

showing his power. they have a feet based--they have a fleet based here. they were concerned that the new government in kiev might not recognize them. it'russia wants to show that its influence and powers exerted here. and last night declaring unilaterally that it is part of russia, and with that referendum coming up in nine' days time everyone will be watching what is happening. the stand off is very tense here and there is a lot of concern here that some sort of flash points could be manufactured to have trouble one of the crimeaen tatars i spoke to today. they said if there is bloodshed then the kremlin will justify it's presence here. >> we want to start to stitch a

number of the elements of this story together, and you've been there, jennifer glass in ukraine, thank you. >> boy, surprising report on the economy turns out that winter weather didn't freeze the job market quite as much as many expected. real money's ali velshi is here. ali more jobs were created than economists predicted, but there is disagreement here about how to view these numbers. maybe you can tell us why. >> reporter: and there always is, and today was a good example. first let me remind our viewers of what happened. 175,000 jobs were created in february. that's up from a revised 129,000 in january. and a revised 84,000 in december. they always revise them. 25,000 jobs for the earlier two months. but the $175,000 we got in february was still below the 12-month average that we've seen

of 198,000. it's in the neighborhood, so it's not terrible. we create more jobs so you would think the unemployment rate that best would stay steady would go down. this is why i'm like a broken record on this, don't look like the unemployment rate first. it rose. it went from 6.6% to 6.7%. the reason for that 264,000 people joined the labor force, which we typically take as a sign that those people are optimistic about finding a job. but, they joined the labor force. they identified as starting to look for a job, didn't find one, and as a result of unemployment rate went up a bit. i'm a fan of shrouding the unemployment rate in a warm duvet of context so you can understand that. but we yell that out at the top of our lungs, and without context it means something. is something else. >> please.

>> there is labor force participation. that's the number of people looking for work as a percentage of everybody who can work. which is called the non-institutionalized population meaning that you're ambulatory, you can walk, you're not in prison or in a home where you're detained. of all those who can work, we're still at a low. 37% are not. we're never going to get that number all that high, the highest number is 67%, and that's a more important number. >> what does they say about this number. >> it's the 48th month of jobs growth. but he acknowledged that job growth is not fast enough to account for people who enter the workforce. more people enter the workforce every month than leave the

workforce naturally. he said we're not where we have to be. here's what he told me. >> we need to pick up the pace. undenybly. that's why the president has in his budget investment in infrastructure, investment in skill, helping to double the number of apprenticeships in america so people who are skilled workers can punch that ticket to the middle class, raising the minimum wage. all of these things will help to pick up the pace in growth in our economy. >> reporter: that's the labor secretary tom perez. >> ali. i appreciate it. we'll see you at the top of the hour, "real money with ali velshi." the faa said it will appeal a ruling tha of commercial drone user. it could open up a new industry of cameras and other equipment on board of small flying machines. jacob is here to help us sort through all this.

>> starting in 2007 if you were to slap a camera on to a commercially available drone, the kind you would buy from a toy store and offer your services as a drone cameraman, you would be likely b with a fi. this is the first time that a court case has come up against that ruling. the lawyers have won, and that seemingly opened the door to a whole new industry of commercial drone operators. >> i'm a drone photographer here. i wonder who is regulating this potentially lucrative industry here. >> at the moment the motion of dismissal means that nobody is. you are in the same wor world of tort law that governors frisbees and golf balls. but the faa will appeal this ruling because they don't want the air filled with this class

of air machines. >> jake ward for us in san francisco. an appearance at c pac is considered a first step towards running for the white house. we'll show you who is getting a big response there today. plus need a little help unplugging? you are not alone. we'll show you a place where people are learning to turn off their gadgets and live in the real world.

>> potential candidates are firing up the base this week taking their red meat message from chris christie to rand paul: libby casey is live just outside of washington, d.c. where the conference is happening, libby? >> reporter: hi tony, well, i got to tell you the guy who got the biggest applause was senator rand paul. over the past two days many speakers have been watched closely, would their message resonate? would the audience like them?

rand paul came in, and many liked his message of liberty, freedom, and he had a nuance to his foreign policy approach. >> reporter: a champion of democracy overseas have long been part of republican views. >> i know peace is not the result of a military that is dismantled. it is found in a military that at its readiness that no one on earth dares poke it. >> reporter: as the obama administration wrestles of how to respond to the crisis in ukraine republicans are blasting the president. critics include oliver north the retired marine turn conservative commentator. >> we don't need a head of state who guts our defenses and draws phoney red lines with a pink

crayon. >> that criticism is irrelevant to c pac attendees. >> i consider myself a non-interventionist. i don't think we should get involved. look at iraq, everything, everything we're involved in all over the world. i think the best advice for our administration is to stay out of it. >> reporter: jonathan brown said one republican represents his views. >> rand paul is the only one up there who is making any sense. if you look at things realistically. if you look at the world as it is not the way we want it to be a non-interventionist standpoint is the only one that makes sense, also fiscally for us. we can't afford to police the world. >> reporter: senator rand paul isn't as. centrist as his father ran paul.

>> the sons of liberty risked everything to guarantee your right to a trial by jury. they would today call out to the president. they would say we will not be detained, spied upon, nor have our rights abridged. we will not submit, and we will not trade our liberty for security, not now, not ever. >> whether it's because of his foreign policy stance or not, rand paul is winning the crowd at c pac. it is set to wrap up saturday, and paul has already moved ahead. >> reporter: and the straw poll voting stays open until tomorrow evening. we'll see if anybody else comes out from the background. tomorrow in the docket. speaker former alaskaen governor sarah palin. >> talk about red meat for the

base. libby casey for us. appreciate it, good to see you, thank you. one of the key sponsors of c pac, a motion picture association of american as jennifer london reports the group is using its sponsorship to court new friends in washington. >> reporter: hollywood, the land of movies, make we leave, 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 the conservative political action conference the signs are clear that washington conservatives and hollywood have forged a friendship. one of c pac's sponsors the motion picture industry of america, mpaa hollywood's most powerful lobbying group. >> everybody thinks of hollywood as closely associated with liberal causes and politicians, but it's much more complicated than that.

>> reporter: melanie sloane is the executive director of the non-profiteth which released it's report. >> hollywood has seen many of its interests not being promoted in the way it would like. >> reporter: the mpaa head by former senator chris dodd declined our request for an interview. it still gives millions to democratic causes but in th the 2012 election cycle the mpaa contributed $2.4 million to conservative dark money groups, those that don't have to reveal their donors. >> reporter: senator chris dodd came in and assessed if mpaa wants to be a major player, they will have oh to shore up it's

credentials. >> reporter: it was once head up by valene, the public face of hollywood for decades. but hollywood is more than anything but liberal. you get the picture. actor and former republican senator fred thompson said courting conservatives indicates a power shift in washington. >> the belief that republicans are more likely to win. >> reporter: they say that hollywood is not shedding it's liberal skin yet. >> hollywood is still liberal, it's not shifting to the conservative movement, but the conservatives in hollywood are now speaking out. >> reporter: speaking out and spending millions of dollars to insure hollywood's interests

like anti-piracy legislation and intellectual protection. >> returning from the dead. take a look at the cover of a magazine that hit newsstands today that features a controversial story about the mysterious creator of bitcoin. coming up on al jazeera america. 13% of crimea is made up of tatars. some are strongly anti-russian and fleeing the region as a result. we'll take a look and have a conversation with a member of that community, that is next.

>> twenty five years ago, pan am flight 103 exploded in the skys above lockerbie.

only one man was convicted of the attack >> the major difficulty for the prosecution, that there was no evidence... >> now a three year al jazeera investigation, reveals a very different story about who was responsible >> they refuse to look into this... >> so many people at such a high level had a stake in al megrahi's guilt. lockerbie: what really happened? on al jazeera america >> western powers are trying to de-escalate tensions in the

crimeaen region. moscow said soldiers have been sent to protect ethnic russians who feel threatened since ukraine's government was overthrown. an armed pro-russian group stormed the crimeaen base. to shots fired but reportedly took over the base. we have the latest from simferopol. >> reporter: lenin still stands inot far from simferopol. some here are afraid that history will repeat itself. stalin expelled the tatars en masse. >> not so long ago when tatars were deported from crimea, the same thing happened, soldiers came with arms, and in 15 minutes people were thrown out of their homes. >> reporter: tatars who came back here in the 1980's and

1990's don't plan to let it happen again. they formed self defense groups patrolling their neighborhood. so far it's quiet. >> reporter: with an understandable mistrust of moscow, this community worries about how they will be treated in russia. >> reporter: this group was hoping for international support but is certain that it won't come in time. >> if putin makes any decision, he makes it in the morning, and in the evening its implemented. no bureaucracy, no delays, nothing. as for u.n. structures, it takes months. by then it will be all over. >> reporter: and things are moving fast. the city council of simferopol voted thursday to become part of russia perhaps to help determine a referendum of crimea's future. that was brought forward by the crimeaen parliament.

>> we decided the sooner we are done with this vote the quieter we will be when people will feel safer. >> reporter: all this is happening as russian ships blockade ukrainian navy and russian forces around the ukrainian limits, calling for them to surrender. not an ideal environment for a referendum. michael works to bring investors to simferopol. he said the crimeaen people aren't in control. >> after all, this is the game between russia and the united states. they are the major players of this game. if they come to a good agreement, then definitely everybody will be happy. >> reporter: here in this nay valley city and across crimea, there is no agreement in site. in growing concern the military standoff continues the harder the agreement becomes. >> the diplomatic posturing over

the control of crimea is causing some ethnic tatars to leave. most of them are strongly anti-russian. parents are taking their children and fleeing the region, afraid the stand off will escalate. this family answered an invitation from the western ukrainian city where they hope to be part of an independent ukraine. ethnic tatars across the region are watching events unfold, and hoping that history does not repeat itself. credit us, a crimeaen analyst with the jamestown foundation. thank you for your time. i first want you in your crimeaen analyst hat here. some analysts are starting--some analysts are starting to say out loud that the crimeaen peninsula is lost to ukraine. that the russians have it, the majority of the population is happy about that, therefore

russia isn't going to give it up. what is your view? >> well, i don't even want to think about it. but i think chairperson of crimea, they said they were going to do this on may 25th, and then march 30th, and then march 16th. it does not matter. they have already transforming everything into russian. they are talking about th the--today i spoke with the tatar leadership, and their only internet channel is closed. there are only four television channels, now they are russian television channels. the-- >> well, and you seem to be making the point or agreeing

with the point made by other analysts that for all intents and purposes the crimeaen peninsula belongs to russia. >> no, i totally disagree with that. if ukrainians territory needs to be protected, and actually i want to say something here. in the budapest agreement of 1994, russia, united states, united kingdom, they agree if there is an use of force against the territory of ukraine, they are securing the ukrainian integrity in return for ukrainian nuclear weapons. >> sure. >> blockade. >> but wait a minute. we're talking about the budapest agreement, the u.n. proceed calls that according to the president of the united states has been violated here.

you're arguing a point that seems to be a moot point at this moment because the russians are there, and they don't seem keen to leave. >> that's what i'm saying, russian is one of those groups who agreed, and now they're up ainupthey areoccupying the area. now everybody is going to laugh about it because america at the time agreed to protect the ukrainian territory, now the russians are there and the u.s. is not doing anything. >> the tatars have been at odds fighting the russians for centuries. do you as a member of that community look at what is happening in crimea now, and have a sense of deja vu? do you say to yourself, here we go again? >> well, yes, exactly. in 1783, they came to crimea and

said this about crimea tatars. and then later it happened where they were sent over asia. now it's happening again. yes, at night they can come again and take ought all the tatars. they're known for their non-violence. >> i don't want to lose my time with you, so where does help come from? what about turkey? >> well, this is what i was saying, turkey--crimeaens tatars say, where is help. crimeaen tatars are asking for

u.n. peacekeeping. but on the other hand, i working wit, i wasworking with them, ane snubbed off, and i wrote about that. and then people went there, and they were blocked off. i don't know how and wh who cano something. >> i'm out of time. i know you're emotional about this. this is your community, you want to make one quick point? >> yes, also, of course i'm afraid of russian soldiers and what can they do, but i just want to remind the audience here that the internal forces are more dangerous because these pro-russian groups have been training. i know, because i interviewed

those russian forces as well. they were training against some kind of an occupation. they acknowledged that when fascists are coming to kill us all. all these young generation are ready to do something. they're wearing masks and fatigue, and no one knows who they are. they are more dangerous than the russian soldiers. >> thank you. she is a crimeaen analyst with the jamestown foundation within the tatar community. thank you. in brazil, residents of rio de janeiro are fleeing the aftermath. garages sitting on the streets for the seventh day. the garbage collectors wanted more money and the city offered to give them a certain amount of money, but the workers said it was not enough. they promised to have it cleared up by sunday. to the netherlands where a

congolese rebel leader was convicted for his participation in killing of people in the 2003 attack. he was acquitted on charges of rape, sexual slavery, and child soldiers. he is only the second person ever to be convicted since the court was formed in 2002. the woman accusing an army general of sexual assault took the stand today. we have more on that. >> reporter: fort bragg, north carolina, an army captain teched that brigadier general jeffrey sinclair threatened to kill her and her family if she ever said anything about their three-year affair. yesterday the general pled guilty to lesser charges of adultery and impeding an investigation. no. daytona beach, florida,

the woman who drove their minivan into the ocean with three kids inside has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. the sheriff office said the 32-year-old told her three children to close their ic eyesd go to sleep. bystanders rescued the children ages 3, 6, and 9. kansas ruled that school districts suffered after revenues were cut due to lower tax revenues. in massachusetts governor duvall patrick signed a ball prohibiting up-skirt photos of women. on wednesday the state's highest court ruled that a man who took cell phone photos up the skirts of females was not violating the existing law because those women were not nude or partially nude. so the state house and senate

responded by passing new legislation. and in detroit, michigan, fans of the late author and screenwriter leonard are getting a chance to snap up his books and other items. >> when a great writer passes away he leaves behind his life's work but also his stuff. elmore dutch leonard's stuff is right here in michigan. his books and short stories inspired films like "get shorty" "jackie brown," and "out of sight" which made him internationally famous. some books are here to buy, but people were more interested in his person items.

many people came to the house to see where he lived and worked, and maybe perhaps to buy a momento. the house is not available any more. someone bought it for $1.6 million. leonard, sometimes known as the dickens of detroit, passed away in august. >> reporter: that sale is going on tomorrow. >> "jackie brown" pam greer, i didn't read the book, but the movie, and it's about his snappy dialogues. have a great weekend. >> you, too. >> are you back on the show? >> in five minutes. >> see you soon. today is the national day of unplugging. it seems like an awkward thing to say. to get off the grid and live in the real world, for some people that's easier said than done. online rehab. and the man who is wearing the absolute cutting edge in technology and prosthetic limbs.

your global news leader

>> prosthetics and artificial limbs that were once unattainable. meet a man who is wearing one of the most cutting edge bionic hands. >> it's a familiar early morning scene played out in households everywhere. but besides getting his kids dressed and dropping them off at school, jason must also get himself ready. that means making some important decision abouts what he's going to be wearing today. >> you the ability to use a real hand to help. it's kind of like a tool.

>> reporter: in labs like this one at advance arm dynamics outside of dallas, texas, technicians work along side occupational therapists to design prosthetics. now thanks to the advances technology does bring patients closer to experiencing the full range of hand mobility that most of us take for granted. one of the most sophisticated prosthetics on the planet, the ability to rotate the thumb. there is even an app for that. inside the hand is attached to six motors that allow each finger to articulate separately. 24 grips are possible with the grip force of 7 pounds. the arm is powered with a battery with eight- to ten-hour charge. that's extended up to 25% in

ultra revolution. now the tiniest of task is possible for the first time. >> i'm going to cry. i haven't done it before. >> whoa, whoa, whoa, techno contributor phil torres is with us from los angeles. phil, that last shot there, the idea that this man could crack an egg, would that have been con seemible just a few years ago? >> conceivable, yes, but easily done, certainly not. the key is this kind of rotation where the thumb that would rotate that way. what that allows is increased level of dexterity, and he's accomplishing so much. we were able to witness him cracking an egg for the first

time. >> were you able to try out the technology? >> reporter: i did, it was awkward. it's like picking up an instrument for the first time that you're supposed to use all day long. they have a good set of trainsers and someone like jason using it naturally all day. >> and jason seems to be a really cool guy first of all. how much of this is technology, and how much it personal strength. his personal strength and courage? >> i mean, there are few people as determined as jason. however, when you combine that with the determination, brilliance and skills of the engineers you get an amazing product. they make it happen. >> i want to talk about this sunday's show. what will you show us? >> one of the things that people are talking about buzzing about

connecting it to your nerves. will his brain be connected to those nerves, that may be coming up in the next few years. >> i'm told there is a very cool story on charlotte's web. >> reporter: think of giving medical marijuana to children. people are going to have a strong reaction to that, and dr. dilworth breaks down the science and how it could help children with seizures. it's a special type of marijuana with low thc. >> now that's a thought. phil torres, "techknow," check it out at 7:30 eastern time on al jazeera america. so technology is really a constant in our lives from smart phones to computers, television. the one you're watching us on right now. but for some people that technology can become a destructive addiction. a day to unplug from it all, alan, tell us more about this

from your technology-heavy office there. >> reporter: i bet your desk looks a lot like this. we have the laptop, the video reader, the control for the television, the bank of monitors on the wall and the every present hand-held device that does all things. how about the national unplug day to get away from all of this. the fifth annual, i did this, this week for 24 hours to get a taste of what it feels like to be out of touch for a whole day. >> we just do all kinds of things. >> we mei had been unplugged fo4 hours. no facebooking, no tweeting, no google maps, no television. i was feeling disconnected.

>> i'm worried about what is out there, what is happening with work and what is happening with your friends, etc. family. that's fairly normal. we have become very hyper connected. >> reporter: the first internet addiction treatment centers. the live-in treatment with a baiting list that is long. for andrew and others unplugging is a chance to get lives back. there is counseling, intense physical workouts, daily chores connecting with nature, and an obsessive video gamer, andrew flunked out of one semester after spending several weeks alone online. >> you don't have to think about the world. and once you're out of that virtual world it's just

depression. >> there is nothing wrong with entertainment unless we're entertaining ourselves to death. >> reporter: the american psychiatric association said the concept of internet addiction still needs more study. but in places like china and south korea, it's a major health threat. >> it's similar to an eating disorder. just because you say you have a problem with food, it doesn't mean you can never eat again. >> reporter: andrew is connecting again with musk. he's hoping that it will help reorder his life. as everyone relearns that the real world does matter they have simple advice for me and maybe you unplugging for a mere 24 hours. that advice, do it. >> for one day be present.

then i invite you to bring more of those days in to be present. it really will change your life. >> now, andrew and the other patients there will probably follow up with outpatient treatment after that. they're trying to develop life plans that will allow them to live in a world where this is a constant. this is not going away. for the rest of us maybe we can give it a try. push the button. turn it off, see what happens, tony? >> good luck with that. allen schauffler for us in seattle. people all over the world are pledging, and i think it can be done, to take part of national unplug day. maria is following that story for us on social media for us. >> reporter: yes, despite it may be tough, it's suspected that many will take part in the day of unplugging. it was started ove, and over the

years it has extended. hundreds of people have posted images of themselves explaining why they will unplug. take a look at this, orlando jones from los angeles, i unplug to play. or i unplug to knit. and people are really doing this for different reasons. many of them just to connect with themselves and to connect with the people that are all around them. now, how possible is it to really unplug for a full day? it's not that easy. listen to this. >> we do use a car, and we say the record player, and we use the landline for emergencies. but for us the screen is the thing that takes you out really sitting next to someone and you're really not really there. we do a lot of writing and reading but for me it's the screen. >> reporter: and although the official day lasts 24 hours, the idea is to create awareness of

how these devices affect our daily life, and maybe we'll do this on a more regular basis. >> it's the screens, right? >> it's the screens. i'm going to try it. i'm going to try it overnight. >> let me know how it works. headlines are up next. >> reporter: the economic noose around ukraine starts to tighten. meanwhile the u.s. job market warmed up in february, but the ranks of the long-term unemployed will continue to grow. and i'll introduce you to a pittsburgh who is fighting hard to stay in the middle class, plus the pros and cons of charter schools. all that and more on "real money." >> are you going to resign if you're indicted? >> first, real money with ali velshi brings the big-money issues home where they effect you the most. >> household debt has been slashed. >> then, what real people are talking about in real-time with the stream. >> all of our communities lightin' up twitter tonight.

>> and stay with us for live, breaking and in-depth news. real reporting, this is what we do. al jazeera america.

>> this is al jazeera america. in new york i'm tony harris. russians have reportedly overtaken the ukrainian military

base in simferopol. they broke down the gates and entered the base where 100 ukrainian soldiers are stationed. reports of 20 attackers who threw stun grenades. no shots have been fired. ukrainian intelligence tells al jazeera they estimate 30,000 russian troops may be in crimea, but russia denies the troop increase. they reportedly are using a ferry to bring in soldiers. good jobs report that america created 175,000 jobs despite the fact harsh winter weather slowed down auto and home sales. the unemployment rate rose by .10 of a point to 6.7%. texas governor rick perry began day two of the conservative conference with a speech calling for, quote,

rebellion on the battlefield of ideas. and the faa said it is appealing a ruling that rejected a $10,000 fine against the pilot for a commercial drone use. those are the headlines. "real money with ali velshi" is next. >> the crisis in ukraine just took a new turn, and the people on the ground are the one who is stand to suffer. i'll tell you how. also meet a pittsburgh couple down but not out in a job market that can be cruel to baby boomers. and charter schools with the most powerful educatio players n education today. this is "real money."