media. the beijing airport listed the missing flight in red. we'll continue to follow this breaking story through the night. i'm richelle carey. "america tonight" with joie chen is next. you can get the latest online as well at aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight": the blade runner's toughest challenge. stunning testimony in the trial of olympian oscar pistorius. make way. oscar how do you feel the trial is going? a case that raises new questions about the shocking level of domestic violence in south africa. also, tonight, new worries in crimea. the crisis in ukraine threatens to explode in a new round of clashes. canned he can't pass

cheeseburger. the cats, cars and more than a few failed log entries on a fast ride to success. >> disney started with a mouse. i started with a cat. >> will you be as big as disney? >> i would love to be. >> and good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. it is an international murder case, very strong echoes of the most controversial trials in this country ever. an olympic athlete, accused of killing his long time love in a rage. in the trial of south africa olympian oscar pistorius. saw dramatickic courtroom scenes

and shocking graphic testimony. pistorius is accused of killing reeva steenkamp as she cowered in a bathroom. as "america tonight"'s lori jane gliha reports, brought forward serious questions about women's rights in that country. >> make way, make way. >> reporter: giant mobs pushing and shouting paid it difficult for olympic star oscar pistorius to make his way in and out of the court for his first week of trial. clad in a business suit and tie, the double olympian is best known for what he can do on his carbon fiber blades. becoming the first amputee runner at a paralympic game just weeks before. but his athletics abilities mean little.

in a south african court, when he killed his girlfriend reeva steenkamp, through a locked bathroom door he thought he was aiming at an intruder. >> how do you plead? >> not guilty, my lady. >> the prosecutors read graphic descriptions of his girlfriend's death. it wasn't just in court that he showed his emotions. a neighbor testified he saw the distraught athlete immediately after the shooting. >> oscar is crying tall time. he prayed to god to please let her live. she must not die. >> a security guard also testified. saying he didn't believe the athlete when pistorius told him everything was fine shortly after the shooting. >> not everything have been in order as mr. pistorius was telling me.

>> other makes told the court they believe they heard the tragic end to steenkamp's life. >> just after her scream to my lady, i heard four shots. you could hear it was blood curdling screams. >> pistorius's defense attorney suggested the sounds of shots actually might have been the cricket bat that pistorius used to break down the door after the shooting. he also questioned whether the screams neighbors heard could have belonged to pistorius. himself. but an ex-girlfriend said she's heard his screams and they wouldn't be confused with those of a woman. she also remembered when pflghts was carrying a gun and remembered when he was startled out of bed from a noise.

>> he asked me if i heard it. i said it was from a storm, there might have been a storm that night. and he got up with his gun and walked out of the room. >> outside the courtroom. women dressed in green marched with support of the african national congress women's league and saying against violence towards women, a cause for which steenkamp was an advocate. >> conviction rates to be very high. and accused of abusing a woman will think twice. >> a recent south african study shows south african women are most commonly killed by an intimate partner with at least three deaths in this manner each day. pistorius stands by his claim it was all an accident. steenkamp's mother says she is ready to forgive the man who took his daughter's life.

>> it's important for me to forgive him. it's going to turn itself into my being and i don't want this. >> and joie, the reason why steenkamp's mother was in the courtroom, she wanted to look oscar pistorius if the eye. she doesn't care whether he which or loses this case, it is not going to bring her daughter back. >> i'm struck by the emotions around this. this is really, the case of the century in south africa. >> oh, yeah. you think of all the people, the huge crowds that were out there. you listen to the reporters' accounts of how uncomfortable and muggy it is in the contractor in covering this case. and people who have come from all over the world, they're following this on live tv, which is completely reminiscent, the star athlete, the incredibly gorgeous partner, the wife or the gir girlfriend d

it will be an extremely emotional verdict whenever it does come down. >> yes, this is going to be very interesting when it does come down. >> lori jane gliha. thank you. at the black sea resort reminders of how difficult it can be to separate sport from politics. in a familiar scene, russian president vladimir putin was on hand to welcome the athletes. but even in the celebration, this were reminders of conflict. the crisis in ukraine so close by. >> translator: we sincerely from the depths of our hearts wish you success and we will watch each of your stars with all of our attention and await your victories. we are proud of you. russia forward, good luck. >> in a symbolic protest all but one ukrainian athlete boycotted the games. and a list of foreign competitors has dwindled, against the backdrop of the

ukraine. >> right now, it is a main task for all, not just for ukrainian people, for ukrainian politicians and citizens also, for all europeans. this is a big problem because the question of security not just only ukraine. it is security for whole european region. >> only 300 miles from the black sea resort town the standoff in crimea presents a different and difficult challenge. forces loyal to russia appeared dug into their positions and ukraine's new leaders are keeping up a firm line, too. >> i want to be very clear. crimea was, is, and will be, an integral part of ukraine. no concessions. full stop. >> in moscow, russia's parliament is ready to welcome crimea into its federation, but president obama says that a split from ukraine will be illegal. good in 2013, we are well from the days where borders can be

drawn over the heads of democratic liters. >> as the west ponders what could be the outcome, the situation on the ground remains intense. >> we support crimea with two hands, to let them join russia, both sevastopol and crimea. >> while about 60% of crimea's population is ethnic russian not everyone on the peninsula is demanding independence. >> translator: we came because we want peace in ukraine. we want ukraine to stay united. white is the color of peace and we don't want anyone to think we are involved in some kind of provocation here. >> a russian truck broke through the base, the installation is still under siege although no shots have been fired. when we return, you might not recognize him. >> we're place you go to, to get your five minutes of happiness. >> but the faces he brings to

the web puts a cheese in cheeseburger and a laugh online for billions of cats and other critters, too. >> that is stupid. >> that's funny. >> meet ben huh and find out what he has in mind for your digital future next. >> there's no such thing as illegal immigration. >> al jazeera america presents... a breakthrough television event borderland a first hand view at the crisis on the border. >> how can i not be affected by it? >> strangers, with different points of view take a closer look at the ongoing conflict alex, a liberal artist from new york and randy, a conservative vet from illinois... >> are you telling me that it's ok to just let them all run into the united states? >> you don't have a right to make judgements about it... >> they re-trace the steps of myra, a woman desparately trying

to reunite with her family. >> to discover, and one of their children perish in the process, i don't know how to deal with that. >> will they come together in the face of tradgedy? >> why her? it's insane. >> experience illegal immigration up close, and personal. >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves... >> on... borderland only on al jazeera america >> this is the real deal man...

>> 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 >> if you are anybody in the tech industry, cans are you are in austin, texas, for south by >> if you are anybody in the tech industry, cans are you are in austin, texas, for south by southwest, where a major part of the lineup is also the chance to connect with big thinkers and sessions with titles like biohacker meet-up. and monkeys with lasers. and at the intersection of tech and talent, you'll find a real rock star of the digital age. a guy who started out with a cat and a cheese burger but wants to change the way we see news content. >> there's nothing wrong with wrecking your car.

that's what insurance is for. >> to understand ben huh, you got to take a leap. >> whoa! >> you got to jump. >> i don't want to let life pass me by and regret it later. >> as something that makes no sense whatsoever. >> would you! your brain's screaming at you, don't do this, you're going to die. >> or at the very least? >> it's about not traveling the same road twice. >> you got to be willing to go with him for the ride and hang on. >> it's a fun part of the curve. >> it's bound to be a fast one. because even compared to other high-stakes tech entrepreneurs -- >> hi, i made it. >> -- the 36-year-old south korean born geek superstar is in it all the time.

>> hi, how you doing, fine, good to see you again. >> what makes him do the things he does? >> good i made it. >> you could call him a little bit crazy which is good. you know, to be a successful entrepreneur you have to be a little bit crazy in a good way. >> you want some coffee? >> i think he is just a person that's always striving to be do -- be better, do something better. always curious. >> ben, with his brain emily, is the brain trust behind this, arguably the dumbest images on the internet. from the ji ginormously popular website, large images on the internet. these are the cheeseburgers, wildcats.

lest you think the cheese burgers discriminate against certain species -- >> that's stupid. >> that's funny. >> there's the failed blog where stupid humans have time too. cheeseburger owns 50 humor websites. half a billion page views per month. the kind of digital real estate advertisers line up to throw money at. >> business is very simple. you want to make one dollar of profit because if you lose a dollar, if you are unprofitable every single day, there is an ex -- an expiration date. if you are profitable every day, you will never go out of business. what is hard is making your luck over and over and over again. >> what does emily have to do with your success? >> part of the weirdness of being a ceo of an internet company, you do whatever you want. i mean it's very much -- it's a privileged life and she

keeps me in check. every successful person has a person behind the scenes making sure that happens. yeah. she's that person. >> huhuh won't say what he's woh but in 2011, he asked a venture capitalist for $30 million and admits he's more than that. >> disney started out with a mouse, i started with a cat. glil you be as big as disney? >> i would love to be. >> huh's first business, a software analytics company. at the tender age of 22, huh faced his first epic fail. >> i lost half a million dollars of people's opinion. it was more than that. when i was younger and closed out that company it was superhard. i felt like i was worthless.

>> huh went back to his apartment and thought about suicide. >> suicide and depression is one of those things that is really rarely talked about. it is something the more you talk about it, the more acceptable it is to talk about. and the fewer people will take their own lives. it was depressing because 9/11 happened right afterwards. imagine the shock of going through the depression of just closing down your company, and painfully wondering if you are worth anything in the world, and then the world crumbles. >> the realization that failure could always be a companion to success and it didn't have to define him. >> a lot of people equate their life with success and failure. who you are is not the job you do. >> huh's business gyroscope was put to the test again last summer when he laid off one-third of his cheeseburger staff.

was this another epic fail? >> we are a startup. usually startups are funded by investment. meaning that there's a runway that runs out. you got to take off. meaning you got to become profitable or you got to find another extension, or reduce the amount of burn. we felt that it was better for us to cut, right? >> this was a family that you built. >> absolutely. >> so that hurt? >> yes, it was absolutely painful. >> today the northwestern university journalist grad is facing more than just cute kitty faces. with his new endeavor, circa, he and his partners want to danger face of mobile news. >> rather than making web cibt that is in that area and shoehorning it into a mobile

experience, our writers, staff, actually producing news specifically for mobile phones and mobile context. >> circa, delivers its news in your mobile device in bite sized bullets at a you can customize in a swipe. >> we believe we have the ability and the ideas to change something that's been around for hundreds of years. >> this is ballard, which is kind of a hip nice area of town. >> and yet for all his high speed, high-tech know-how, this entrepreneur goes to full retro, when it comes to music. why vinyl? >> it's slower. >> wait. you're a guy that just had me out riding at 155 miles an hour. >> yeah, it's kind of the same thing, the 155 miles an hour on records. it's like not enjoying the speed.

so you have put on a record. you have 20 minutes per side and if you do anything in that 20 minutes, you're going to miss it. i want to experience things in the real way. >> mr. ben huh. >> he may not be a musician himself but he has his own rock star status complete with groupies. >> hi, how you doing? >> and to think it all began with a picture of a cat. apropos, perhaps for a man so far at least has landed on his feet. >> i mean if you think about it, anybody can start a business, anybody like, i mean, there's no barrier to entry. and if you think of the business we're in, we're in the entertainment business, we are competing with anybody who is -- >> do you have a cat? >> i do not have a cat. i'm allergic to cats. you don't even need to have a

cat to understand this. what you do need is to understand what your customers want. that's business. >> the cheeseburger people know that your photo is really the best. don't be offended if it doesn't make the cut. fans send in as many as 15,000 pictures every day. and that is a lot of stupid cat tricks to choose from. another story about the crazy things some of our species will do for a good time. one we'll feature next week on "america tonight." from minnesota correspondent adam may asks, why in the world would anyone do this? >> what is it about ice fishing in minnesota? why are people so into it here? >> it's something to do in the winter. trust me. we would be fishing year round in open water if we could. but it freezes. and people love fishing in minnesota, so we keep doing it. >> okay, makes sense. braving subzero to catch the big one or anyone. "america tonight"'s adam may meets some extreme ice

fishermen. even tries to reel in one on his own. we'll see how he does monday on "america tonight." ahead on our final thoughts this hour, miracle in marijuana, can the drug in liquid form help children with epilepsy? "techknow" explores that question, next. >> i'm ali velshi, the news has become this thing where you talk to experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about

their stories. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment. we are ment to be your first choice for the news. ♪

what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system,

only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before. you need me and i need you. >> you need me and i need you. let's make this work. you buy some s-aashimi. >> you wouldn't buy your sushi from this guy, why would you buy your marijuana from him? marijuanadoctors.com. >> first tv ads, medicinal marijuana, put out by marijuanadoctors.com. one minute air spots on some cable channels. new jersey legalized medical marijuana four years ago. 20 states in all have legalized marijuana for medical reasons. among the treatments a cannabis

based oil that parents say is something of a miracle for children with epilepsy. "techknow" correspondent crystal dilworth reports. on something called charlotte's web. >> more than 400,000 children in the u.s. suffers from epileptic seizures. heather jackson's son zaki is one of them. >> zaki had these, he has a rare form of epilepsy known as doose syndrome. by the time he was 5 years old he had had 500,000 seizures. don't usually start crying this early, actually. it's an emotional day because he's 16 months seizure free today, so i'm happy. it's a happy emotion. >> today zaki is talking,

walking, and being home schooled. his mom, heather jackson, is convinced it's due to an extract found in this controversial plant. joel's family runs one of the largest marijuana grows in the state of colorado. it's a family owned operation. the five family brothers went into business in 2008 under the medical marijuana laws passed in the rocky mountains state. >> people call it the hippie disappointment. you could smoke it all day, and you wouldn't become high. >> they were convinced their hippies disappointment could really help people. >> once we started it, the first day, seizure free, no seizures. a week went by still no seizures, and then we were on to something. >> renaming their plant ncv,

charlotte's web. word spread quickly until epileptic community. demonstrates the preparation of charlotte's web oil. first the plant is soaked in food grade alcohol to draw out the cannabinoids. >> how long do you soak it for? >> the solubility is quite high. so we can soak it for as short as maybe a couple of hours to maybe overnight displp and you end up with something like this. >> then you leave it overnight. that liquid is again heated and diluted with olive oil to preserve the cbd and allow for patient dosing. >> i think for some people, giving any type of marijuana extract to a child might seem kind of extreme. so what would you say to those naysayers or those skeptics? >> i would say holding your child, praying for them to take their next breath is pretty extreme. >> as you can see crystal explore the first clinical trials designed to test this

controversial treatment sunday fight at 7:30 on "techknow." we'll have more of "america tonight" next week, have a good night. >> it's christmas eve, and us soldiers are preparing for their last months in afghanistan. about forty thousand are still here - by the end of the year, there'll be just eight thousand. we traveled to afghanistan in the midst of this transition. but on the base we found a story that isn't being told. the people doing the day-to-day work here are mostly civilian contract workers - men from