ray swarez. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories that we're following for you. >> we will intensifying our efforts to locate the missing aircraft. >> reporter: search and rescue teams from nine countries continue to look for a missing malaysian airliner missing from friday night. and the trial continues in new york of osama bin laden's son-in-law. and president obama will welcome

the prime minister of ukraine this week. and a new test that will determine if a person will develop alzheimer's disease. for a third day a multi national effort is unway to find that malaysian airlines flight that disappeared without a trace. here's what we know about the search concerning the beijing-bound play. no confirmed wreckage has been found and they have not ruled out the possibility that the plane may have been hijacked. authorities are talking with owners of travel agencies in thailand. they want to know more about the stolen passports that were used by passengers on board that flight. we have more from koal kuala lu. >> reporter: with no definitive physical evidence there is still

no answers what happened to malaysian airlines flight 370 from malaysia to beijing. >> it's an unprecedented aircraft mystery, as you can put it. it mystifies, and we are increasing our efforts to do what we have to do. malaysia airlines are helping us. many are helping us. all the experts around the world are helping us. but as far as we are concerned we have to find the aircraft. >> reporter: malaysian officials are not discounting any possibility for the plane's disappearance including terrorism or something catastrophic that ripped apart the plane 10,000 meters above the water. >> reporter: the government said it's investigation continues into the two men who traveled on the plane with stolen passports. they're reviewing video footage

and documents. the u.s. fbi in malaysia are consulting with authorities on the investigation. chinese state television reported one name on the passenger list did not match the passport number. and the person who has that passport number is still in china. as the territory for the search widens and intensifies, so does the despair of the families of the 239 people on board witting for any shred of information. >> those people who used the passport os that were stolen may be part of a stolen passport ring. >> the two passengers who boarded the malaysian flights using stolen passports bought their tickets here and this is the agency that issued the tickets. now the police questioned the manager of this agency.

she showed the head of police the tickets that were issued as well as the passport that was used to issue the tickets. it was the original stolen passport, the picture on that passport was of the italian who wasn't on board that flight. he reported his passport missing in july. the end of july last year. now there is an underground business in thailand for stolen passports, lost passports. some westerners even sell their passports. it's big business. while authorities are not ruling out the issue of terrorism there is also the issue of illegal traders, criminals, and possible asylum seekers. not too long ago people were arrested using illegal passports trying to reach europe vill via

thailand. there is not much information being disclosed by authorities here. they are saying they'll follow up on the leads that they have at the moment. >> meanwhile a statement on their website, malaysia website said that their primary focus is to care for the families of the missing. >> reporter: behind closed doors the anger of the relatives still waiting for answers about their loved ones and feeling that they have not been told the truth. officials face a range of complaints. why has it taken you all this time to hold this meeting, this woman shouts. have you any idea of the pain we're going through, another woman asks from the back. officials tell them to be patient, and not to take any radical action. there was no evidence of a hijack, they told them. nor was there any evidence that the vietnamese had recovered

parts of the aircraft from the sea. for the hundreds of relatives at this hotel the agonizing weight continues. malaysia airlines arranging flights for them to kuala lumpur. >> reporter: we want the government to tell us what is going on. whether we go or not, we need to know. >> reporter: several organizations are trying to determine what happened to the missing jetliner. they have called upon the malaysians to do more to solve the mystery. >> we have a responsibility to demand and urge the malaysian side to increase search efforts starting the investigation as soon as possible. and provide relevant information to china correctly and in a timely manner.

>> reporter: three days without confirmation of the aircraft fate the frustration of the situation is evident. they believe questions are going unanswered. but the most important question what happened to the flight, and still no one can answer that. >> russia is tightening its crime on crimea an. jennifer glass is live. give us the situation there right now. >> reporter: del, russian forces do have a firm grip on bases, on the navy, across the crimeaen peninsula. we saw on sunday russian forces taking over another border guard post. they have the navy blockaded here in the harbor as well as they have forces positioned outside of bases all over the peninsula. so in many cases the ukrain ukrs

have not given up the bases. they refuse to take down their flag, give up arms and surrender. but outside are russian forces. effectively they can't do anything with the bases. they can't come out. they can't defend. the ships are strand in the harbor here. the russian government saying that they're here to protect the people of the russian ethnic people of crimea, and right now the russian military occupation is pretty complete across crimea. >> that is the russian position but there were more turn warnings from western leaders to russian president vladimir putin, including from german chancchancellor merkel. >> that's right. the ambassador to kiev spoke in the ukrainian capitol today. jeffy paotz made clear that

russia should not annex crimea. >> crimea should ancrimea is ana part of ukraine. that said, i'm encouraged by the ukrainian prime minister indicating the ukrainian government is willing to enhance autonomy for the people of crimea. >> they are encouraged by the conversation that angela merkel had with putin over the weekend. she said the referendum scheduled for next sunday is illegal and will not be recognized by the international community. she told vladimir putin that if russia continued in this way, the european union would consider sanctions, travel sanctions and freezing of assets. not talking about trade

sanctions but more leverage on russia. but the question is will they care? >> jennifer glass, thank you very much. we're expecting key testimony in a few minutes in the new york trial of osama bin laden's son-in-law. the trial is now in its second week and federal prosecutors say it is ewho acted as an al-qaeda spokesman after the september 11th attacks. john, the star witnesses have yet to appear but we have heard from another key prosecution witness, and what is he saying? >> reporter: he had aspirations of joining the fbi. he didn't join the fbi. he went to afghanistan and told his wife that he was going to pakistan, borrow money, he went to osama bin laden and took part of a al-qaeda training camp

and came back to the united states. when we came back he turned evidence to help convict those who raised money to send him there. the point of the prosecution in calling him was to show that he was aware of the american who is on trial here i. >> and what is the prosecution hoping to achieve? >> well, well, an interesting character in as much that he is a convicted terrorist. do you remember richard reed who used explosives in his shoes? he's now serving life in a maximum security prison here in the united states.

buthe prosecution wants to show that the words used by the sulalaman abu ghaith were not hollow. >> new information has been released outlining the security plans for next month's boston marathon. there will be 130 soldiers along the route.

backpacks will be restricted and people are requested to bring their personal items in clear bags. judges considering new evidence that a top pentagon lawyer may have interfered whether or not to accept a plea deal, and if found guilty he will spend life in prison. supporters of two teams were victims of florida's stand your ground law. al sharpton and the parents of those slain teens are leading a rally to overturn the controversial measure. what do the protesters hope to accomplish today? >> reporter: well good afternoon, del. the protesters and marchers here

in tallahassee have a specific message for state lawmakers. they want to repeal stand your ground law that was inacted in 2005. speakers want residents to understand how the law works which could effect anyone regardless of race. the law gives citizens the legal right to stand their ground if they reasonbly believe making that decision would prevent death or boldly harm. stand your ground has been in the public forefront since the 2012 death of trayvon martin, the 17-year-old who was killed, and then the acquittal of his killer, george zimmerman. trayvon's parents are here, to stand against stand your ground. >> where do lawmakers stand on that issue? >> reporter: there seems to be a split in florida.

right now the florida governor rick scott supports the bill. earlier state representative allen williams sponsored a bill to repeal that law, and it never made it past committee. as we know more than 20 other states have similar laws. so as far as lawmakers are concerned, very differing opinions on that. but these protesters want everybody to understand how the law works, and they're pushing for it to be repealed. >> in tallahassee, florida, julia, thank you very much. in south africa an emotional report for oscar pistorious after hearing the autopsy of his girlfriend who was shot and killed. the track starred known as the blade runner. he said he shot his girlfriend by mistake thinking she was an intruder. the prosecution accusing him of murder. it is being called an urgent

public health crisis. that warning from attorney general erik holder about the dramatic increase in heroin deaths. plus a top mexican drug lord captured and killed--again. this time authorities are sure they got him.

>> as tensions rise in ukraine al jazeera america is there >> this could quickly spiral into a very precarious situation >> breaking down the facts... >> the u.s, annouced that it was sending six f-15 fighter jets >> with reporters on the ground >> russia is putting it's full weight behind these men >> bringing you expert analysis >> russia has committed an act of aggression >> keeping you informed... >> president obama raised yje stakes today... >> no visible sign of progress... >> special coverage continues... right here on al jazeera america your global news leader

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. attorney general erik holder is calling the nation's increase in heroin desk an urgent public health crisis. in a video holder ties the rise of heroin use to increased abuse of prescription drugs. >> increased heroin use commonly begins with prescription opiate abuse. and heroin is a sad but not unpredictable symptom of the significant increase in prescription drug abuse that we've seen over the past decade. >> encouraging first responders around the country to carry the drug narcane that reverses the

effects of opiate overdoses. mexico thought they had killed moreno gonzalez, now they're certain they got him. >> reporter: the killing of moreno gonzalez comes after the arrest of joaquin el chapa guzman. now the government is trying to show that they clearly have control of this ongoing drug war that has been carrying on for several years. it's also a year to try to show the previous government of being inefficient. the previous government said they killed moreno in 2010. they never produced a body but said people involved in the fire fight and witnesses could assure

it. now we see that was not the case. moreno was a mystical figure for many mexicans. he is the one who indoctrinated the templar knights cartel. and they said it was not guzman who was running that organization. they say the man on top was the man believed dead but they are the one who is now killed him. >> hundreds of detainees of detention center in washington state are on a hunger strike. 130 of them are calling for better conditions in at a coma since friday. they want better food, better treatment and better pay for the jobs they per former. the prison holds inmates who are in the process of being deported. >> wall street getting off to a

weak start. disappointing economic data coming out of china and japan raising concerns about the health of the global economy. crisis letter said its recalling dodge and jeep utility vehicles. they said there is a problem with the braking fluid causing braking issues. the crisis in ukraine is effecting your wallet. the latest survey finding that gas prices jumped $0.10 over the past two weeks. the uncertainty has led to a rise in the cost of ethanol which is used to make gasoline. and chicana is merging with fify taking the top spot away from dole. they will very a net worth of $4.6 million in annual sales. what could be a major step forward in the fight against alzheimer's next up. a blood test that offers a healthy person an early

prediction of the disease. those headlines when al jazeera america returns. ♪ 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.

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>> welcome book al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines that the hour. search and rescue teams from nine countries continue to look for that missing malaysian airliner. the flight from kuala lumpur had 239 people including three americans. authorities say they still have no indication where the plane is and reports of debris found off of southern vietnam do not belong to this aircraft. ukraineed a prime minister will travel to the white house to meet with president obama concerning the stand off in crimea. the meet something a show of support for the new government as russia pushes for crimea to secede from ukraine. sulaiman abu ghaith tail is in its second week. prosecutors say he acted as the

al-qaeda spokesman in recruiting and train terrorists that trained in afghanistan. >> meteorologist: we need a break from all of this rain and know from the northwest. we have flooding and oregon and montana. look at the video coming in from this area. we see cars submerged and a lot of flooding problems with flood warnings in effect. you see zoos were hit hard by this, and there is a lot of rain, two to three inches of rain setting many records in washington, oregon, plus montana. this rain is coming to an end. we start to see the shape in the clouds. you see that boeing when you start to see low pressure intensifying. as the storms move across the rockies they redevelopment and intensify on the eastern side of the rockies. this will have a big impact on the country in the next few days.

this will pull in moisture but the back edge of this will pull to the east. now the problem will be east of the rockies. getting snow falling over the many of the higher location there is. that will come to an end in 4 hours. you can see this area of snow slowly moving across the rockies and developing into an area of low pressure here. pulling up a lot of warm air from the south where it is cold enough. you get a lot of moisture coming down. that's heavy snow with winter storm watches being issued now up through new england wednesday morning throughout the day thursday. temperatures here will be very warm. 50s close to 60 degrees. north of the storm we're getting this cold air in place. here's the battleground that warm air will move up the mi mid-atlantic. south of that, 50 to 60 degrees. 67 in washington, d.c. on wednesday. there is new york at 48. that front has not made it up to new york by wednesday afternoon and evening.

and on the backside of this the cold air returns. now here's where the temperatures will stay cold enough. we'll see all of this as snow wednesday and thursday. a winter storm watch in evacuate here because we're talking about many inches of snow that will devil wednesday continuing through thursday. this winter storm watch extending to the northeast, but it is not south into pennsylvania where that temperature will stay warm enough it could just be all rain. >> thank you very much. a new blood test could be key to early detection of alzheimer's. the test while only experimental is proven to be highly effective. >> reporter: researchers worked with 500 people over 70 years old, and they had such success with this testing method that they believed they have found a way to predict who will develop alzheimer'sers. this could be game changing for the medical world and life changing for the millions of people and their families struggling with this disease. when sylvia started to forget where she was on a daily basis

her husband realized something was seriously wrong. >> you watch a loved one slowly deteriorating in her mental faculties in her physical abilities. in time it takes over almost all aspects of a person's existence. >> alzheimer's has no cure, treatment plan or early warning sign until now. a new study out of georgetown medical center describes a blood test that is able to correctly identify those with future memory problems 90% of the time. researchers say they identified ten blood fats that signal when brain sells are start to go degenerate. researchers were able to accurately predict who came down with dementia just a couple of years later. that could be a game changer if they could find a treatment that slows down or stops the disease. >> you talk to anyone who is involved in developing drugs for alzheimer's. they say you have to treat

somebody before the dementia even begins. this gives hope to identify those who will develop dementia. >> reporter: this break through may not help sylvia and 5 million other americans living in alzheimer's right now but it could help the growing number of people diagnosed in the future as well as the millions of the family members who also suffer through the sickness. >> through good or bad, we marry, we love each other and this turn of events doesn't mean that i'm going to stop loving her or stop caring about her. >> reporter: researchers say that it will take a couple of years to develop this blood test for the general public. this comes after numbers were last week that shows alzheimer's could be the third leading cause of death in america behind heart disease and cancer. >> thank you very much. finally brazilians saying goo buy to carnivale in style. thousands flooding the streets of ri rio de janeiro. we mean thousands. this closes out the weeks of

celebration there is. 200 drummers participating in this parade alone. it guarantees that everyone can take advantage of the last week of partying in 2014. thank you for joining al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "the stream" is next. >> hi i'm leem lmp an lisa fletcher and you're in the stream. is there a trend towards poverty in the nation's armed forces? >> our digital producer, wajahat ali is here. he