♪ >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. the mystery intensifies. radar showing evidence the missing malaysia plane hundreds of miles from the last place it was spotted. ukraine's fugitive president said the government is instigating a civil war and has evidence. and the c.i.a. is accused of spying on computers. >> what is it like to be the last president?

>> seriously p what is it like to ever talk to a president. >> reporter: and the president shows up on a comedy show to pitch his healthcare plan. >> new information in the mystery surrounding malaysia airlines flight 370. there is no sight of the plane and the 239 people on board, and we learned that the aircraft could be hundreds of miles from its last known location. air traffic controllers say the beijing-bound flight was last seen in the gulf of thailand but it has radar evidence that the plane changed course and made it to the strait of malaka 300 miles away. this has authorities expanding the search area for the missing aircraft. jonathan besjonathan betz joinst part of the story.

>> reporter: we have huge new twist in the search of this missing plane. do you remember that jet took off from the kuala lumpur airport headed to beijing early saturday morning. it's last known location was in the gulf of thailand where the search has largely focused until now. they're concerned they've been looking in the wrong area. the radar may have picked up the plane here in the straight of malaka, it's obviously way off course. how it made it from here to here is unknown, now they're covering the huge swath of sea and there is a possibility that the plane could have crashed in thailand ior in the jungle of malaysia. now ther they have arranged 240

nautical miles, which is a tiny drop of the ocean, and they're searching one at a time. now they have an orion plane that can find a basketball in the water, and can cover 1500 square hundred miles an hour, which sounds like a lot of ground but it's a tiny footprint in the realm of ocean. it will take this one plane more than three days to search the entire gulf of thailand if it's flying nonstop 24 hours a day, that's a huge search. now do remember that the black box does have a tracking for it, an,but it is a tiny pinpoint ina huge ocean. searchers have a lot of ground to cover because now they're looking west of malaysia. >> you know, jonathan there is

this line of reporting that the planes transponder was turned off. >> reporter: there is confusion. we know it was spotted here. we think it was spotted here. how did it get from here to here and cross over land and nobody know it went that way? well, a clear explanation is that the transponder was turned off, that sends out data of its location and altitude. that'that's a possibility that s intentionally or accidently turned off, and that explains how the plane can cross over the huge area and over land. >> that is a huge request, and boy, what a mystery this is. thank you. distraught family members of chinese passengers met with

representatives in beijing today. the relatives expressed frustration with the airline for not giving them more information. tempers flared as families in hotels wait. investigators are down playing whether terrorism is involved. >> we believe that it is not likely to be a member of any terrorist group. >> a malaysian group said 19-year-old and 29-year-old are not suspected to be linked to any terrorist organization. apparently trying to immigrate to germany, but as lisa stark reports the intelligence officials are wary. >> reporter: we now have information about the two passengers who boarded this aircraft with stolen passports.

they were using stolen passports, a lot of concern about who were these men. they had one-way tickets buying them at the same time from the same travel agency in thailand. their passport pictures were released as authorities try to figure out who they were. inter pole said that the two men are iranian citizens, a 19-year-old and 29-year-old. they were apparently on their way to europe with these stolen passports to sneak into the continent and try to ask for asylum. it is not believed that they have any connection to terrorism. but does that mean that foul play can be ruled out? the c.i.a. director was asked that question. >> i think there is a lot of speculation right now. some claim responsibility that has not been confirmed or corroborated at all. we're looking at it very carefully c.i.a. working with fbi and our malaysian counterparts to do everything

they can to put the pieces together. this is clearly a mystery that is very disturbing. >> reporter: in fact, nothing can be ruled out until they fine the wreckage and the black box to try to figure out why this plane, this jumbo jet suddenly dropped out of the sky. the search for that wreckage continues. >> a lot of questions still to be answered. joining at 8:30 eastern time for a special of what happened to flight 370. the crisis in ukraine gets more complicated by the day. crimea's parliament voted to declare an independent state and for a referendum to join russia. u.s. secretary of state john kerry spoke with russian foreign minister lavrov. do we know anything more about this phone conversation between kerry and lavrov. >> reporter: we know some of the

details of the telephone conversation between the two top diplomats, but it does not appear to be a productive discussion both digging in their heels. now on the russian side of things they have said that the americans position is unacceptable to them, that in addition to that the pledge of money to the government here in kiev is actually contrary to u.s. law. the russians feel that this was a military coup d'etat, and that would contradict u.s. law: on the u.s. side of things secretary of state john kerry said that the u.s. request that russians withdraw their troops and disband the irregular unites on the ground there, and also that they start talks, tony, with the ukrainian government. now following that phone conversation the spokesperson for the state department said that there is more than one way

that the americans are looking at responding to russian actions during this crisis. >> look at a range of issues, certainly whether there is military escalation on the ground, whether russia is engaging or not engaging, steps that are happening that are u unhelpful includin, excluding te referendum. >> reporter: now it has to be kept in mind, actually these two gentlemen secretary of state john kerry and foreign minister lavrov have a very good working relationship. they like one another. it exemplifies the two positions of the countries that they just can't find any middle ground. >> can i get us to the complicating issues and statements coming out--confus out--confusing, actually.

first, the parliament saying it wants to be an independent state. the referendum is about being more about a part of russia, essentially asking russia to annex crimea. that's a world of difference between those two positions. so work through that for me, if you would, please. >> reporter: well, let me try to work it through. you're right, it is confusing. it takes some effort. as a matter of fact, a lot of this is legal lease, and there is a dispute that russia has a legal right and power to do. they voted of declaration of independence. but there is that referendum coming up on the 16th. if we decipher the legalese. if they say if and when crimea

becomes part of the russian federation, this is the describing independence. immediately, tony, kiev said you can't do that. you don't have the authorization. you're a local parliament. if you want to talk about breaking away from the union, from the state of ukraine, this has to be a national referendum. again, some very strong differences in these positions of where they stand legally. >> this is--okay, phil ittner for us. good to see you. as we mentioned the ref republican is scheduled for five days from now. the u.s. and the european european said it is legal and t will recognize it. we go to jennifer glass where they're getting ready for sunday's referendum. >> reporter: so much at stake. questions of sovereignty, of independence, what this means for the future of the crimean

peninsula. the united states and russia at odds whether this will be legal at all as crimeans get ready for an historic vote. >> reporter: the campaign is supported by russian organizations like people's unity. their posters say no to n.a.t.o. and explain why russia is the only choice in why crimea should breakaway from ukraine. >> alwe all know how to answer that question, where we want to go and why. we don't want to stay with ukraine. we don't want to stay with the government. we wouldn't offer us survive. what they offer us is not life. it's worse. >> reporter: handing out newspapers to convince voters to choose secession. >> the tv said russians are occupiers, but they are really protectors because of the russians weren't here the enemies of kiev would be here

suppressing us. >> reporter: the majority of residents here are ethnic russians expecting to vote to rejoin russia. elected officials say even though they haven't had a lot of time to prepare they'll be ready for sunday's referendum, and the crcrycrimea will declare independence, and then it will request to be part of russia. it promised minority tatars expanded rights in russian crimea. >> i don't think it is a sincere attempt to comply to the tatars. the community now is pretty much in shatters and is in a frustrating situation. it doesn't really seem like this proposal will be seriously considered. >> he's familiar with the break up of nations. this is the lavatia palace once

home to russian czars. it was here in 1945 that franklin del far roosevelt, winston churchill and stalin carved up europe after world war ii. they expect this to be more straightforward if the people choose a future that returns them to their russian roots. and tony, even if that vote goes as many suspect, that the crimeans vote return to russia there are questions of the crimea tatars. they say they will not recognize the vote at all. and the question of what happens to the thousands of ukrainian sailors who are trapped on boats in their face-off against russia military. >> japan paused to mark three years since an earthquake and tsunami devastated a part of the country. [♪ music ] >> the monks gathered in a ghost

town where the cripped fukushima power plant to remember those who died in the disaster. the earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown of the plant sending millions of gallons of radioactive water into the water. jacob ward joins us in th the sn clémenteo, california, shores. >> reporter: the danger in japan was massive. obviously, tony, we've seen fallout all over the globe. everyone is talking about what does fukushima mean to them. here in california the pacific is the center of all recreational opportunities. fukushima had 500,000 people around that site. here in california the

decommissioned nuclear power plant behind me, which was shut down in 2013, still has its uranium fuel on site. yet, 8 million people live within 50 miles of this spot. it's pretty parallel to fukushima in several ways. it has the tsunami walls, it has the same richter scale earthquake tolerance. we saw a few days ago just off the coast, a 6.3 earthquake hit where i live. there is a clear sense it's not so much the danger coming from fukushima as it is the radiation that you might see from a facility like this that could be a danger to the united states. >> jake ward for us. thank you. coming up on al jazeera america, it was funny. president obama shows up as a guest on an online comedy show to pitch healthcare.

>> for the first time since the

so-called bridge gate scandal broke we're seeing one of the key players appearing in court about turning information over. kelly is new jersey government chris christie's former deputy of staff of attorneys. lawmakers say they have not produced sufficient evidence to back up that claim. no word when the judge will make a decision. president obama, did you see this? made a new push for the affordable care act on a comedy show. david shuster with more on that. >> reporter: the program is called "in between two ferns." it has a huge following among younger americans. >> when i heard that people actually watch this show i was surprised. >> hi, welcome to another edition of between two ferns.

i'm your host. >> it's a show that makes guests feel uncomfortable. >> zach, he's not our ambassador. >> the questions were amusingly undignified. >> were you planning on building your presidential library. in hawai'i or your home country of kenya. both places-- >> that's a ridiculous question. >> but many of the exchanges were hilarious. >> what is it like to be the last black president? >> seriously? what it like for this to be the last time you ever talk to a president? >> that must stink that you can't run three times. >> actually, i think it's a good idea. if i ran a third time it would be sort of like doing a third angleover movie. it didn't work out very well, did it. >> three minutes in the president turned the questions to boom care. the reason why he did this interview in the first place. >> have you heard of the

affordable care act? >> oh, yeah, i heard about that. that's the thing that didn't work. why did you-- >> healthcare.gov works great now. and millions of americans are gotten health insurance plans and what we want is for people to know that you can get affordable healthcare, and most young americans right now they're not covered. >> under the law all americans have until the end of march to get coverage or face a possible tax penalty. and the ratio of younger americans signing up has been lower than what analysts say the system needs to keep costs down. >> this is what they mean by drones? >> the point is a lot of young people they think they're invisible. >> to try to reach them the president has made a string of pop culture appearances. he has slow jammed with jimmy fallan ♪ a great sounds and connected with younger people through google hangouts and facebook town halls. >> we buckle down and say this

is important. >> still subjecting yourself is a bit different. >> which country were you rooting for in the winter olympics? >> seriously? >> spokesman jay carney said there was a white house debate in advance about protecting the dignity of the presidency. >> we obviously assess opportunities that we have, and you know, look at whether or not they're going to be successful and why. i think we made the right call here. >> indeed, the risk appears to have paid off. the video got rave reviews and heavy promotions even from traditional broadcast medias. >> i'm going to press this. >> don't touch that, please. [ buzzer ] >> and said the obama appearance was humorous. >> you've been shooting these shows here in the diplomatic room? who gave you permission to do that? >> bush.

>> as of a few minutes ago the six-minute video has been watched more than 5 million times and the site was the number one referral page to healthcare.gov , the place where the president wants younger americans to land. the white house has released new information about their numbers for the affordable care act and who has signed up. they've gotten up to, as of the end of february, 4.2 million americans have now signed up under the exchanges. that's less than the 7 million they were hoping to have before march. they need a certain ratio in the piece as younger americans to older americans in order to make sure that the premiums do not skyrocket. so the younger americans they need an average of about 38%, 39% needs to be the ratio to did keep those numbers down. according to the report that the white house has put out they have 25% of americans between 18 and 34 who were reported. as you add in the number of americans who are younger than

18, that brings it up 31% to 32%. that's far below the ratio they really need to make sure that premiums are not going to skyrocket when insurance companies look at the actuary tables next november. the hope is that the younger americans, who are by the way the group that are signing up the quickest, they need that to continue and the ratios to continue. >> that will be tough. down people, they're call young invincibles for a reason. they just think they're made of steal, and the ideal of signing up. >> that's why the president did this video. there were a couple of republicans who sai, but those e same republicans who call the president a socialist dictator. many thought the president was funny and he was able to promote something that he desperately needs people to hear. >> he shhhed the president of

the united states. michael obama could get away with that and the babies, i suppose. but thank you, sir. >> on wall street the second straight day of losses for stocks, the dow losing 67 points. investors cashing in some profits from the recent run up. it's been good over the last week or so. small business optimism was down in february two and a half points from the previous month, and the culprit may be fights over minimum wage, and wait for it, healthcare. we have more from washington. we have "the washington post" writer, good to see you. next time let's get you here in new york sitting on the set with us here. put this drop in perspective here. how significant is this 2.5 drop in business confidence? >> it's pretty significant, actually. this index is at a level that is

typically associated with recessions or very weak growth. so it's definitely concerning. most importantly it's part of the drum beat of disappointing data that we've gotten so far in 2014. we've seen wall street hit new record high, you haven't seen those numbers played out in economic data. this was supposed to be the year that the economy took off, broke away finally hit that escape velocity, but so far we have not seen that happen. >> well, analysts are blaming all kinds of things, uncertainty about minimum wage, new proposals, and healthcare, and i mean, how big of an impact is all of this having on small business confidence? >> well, they have identified uncertainty as one of the key issues and challenges facing small business. but the fact of the matter we're in a more certain time right now than we have been in the past three years. we're not at a fiscal cliff. we're not going to bust through

the debt ceiling. >> do me a fair and move your hair. it's hitting the microphone and we can't hear you. tell me about the uncertainty. >> it's not an issue because we're at a more certain point than we have been in the last three years. we're not on the edge of a fiscal cliff. we're not ready to bust through the debt ceiling. right now the fiscal head winds have gone away. and we're in a time when business owners should have more certainty about the future. the problem that folks are afraid to face is that we actually might be an economy that has a lower growth potential than it had before. instead of waiting for the robust times that we saw pre-recession we might be looking at an economy that is capable of 2% to 2.5% growth. >> this is the new normal? >> this might be the new normal. mr. was a report that said the

natural rate of unemployment may be 6%. we're 6.6%, and we may not be far from what the economy is capable of doing. >> don't say that to the millions of people who are out of work. thank you for your time. the tale of divided neighborhoods in venezuela. neighbors rocked by violence while the mega rich hide behind fences.

al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital.

>> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news. >> venezuela's national guard has launched two days of assaults on an upscale neighborhood in san chri cristo. there has been a protest that has gripped the nation. a protester was killed.

the government has stepped up efforts to dismantle road barricades used by protesters to stop traffic. we're joining paul in san cristobal. what is the situation there today? >> well, tony, it is very tense here today. we're in an apartment building on aca a balcony seven stories e the street. we pulled into our hotel compound, and five minutes after that national guard troops mass down the street. there is a large barricade there. they smash through it, and riot police and proceeded to push protesters seven blocks. it happens over and over, and this even they're start to go rewhether these barricades. it's a tale that builds over and over again. it feeds in to the black and white reporting and the understanding we've seen here in

venezuela. it's not just a simple tale of two cities, it's much more than that here in san cristobal and in caracas. when the sun goes down the streets of caracas go up in flames. this is an upper class neighborhood rocked by violence virtually every night. but in the morning the barricades come down, life goes on, and the mayor, a member of the main opposition party, hears from his concerned constituents. >> we need to keep the streets on fire. >> we can't use the young people as human shields. >> we need to break this as soon as possible before the cycle breaks us. >> reporter: just up the road is another world. the eerily quiet neighborhood, in this mecca for the mega rich security fences keep the outside

world out off the fairway. [♪ music ] >> reporter: head west and you're in a poor pro-government bario. here protesters are browned out by rocket celebrations honoring the leader who died just over a year ago now buried on top of the hill. caracas is a sprawling landscape of divided lits an loyalties and overlapping alliances. professor comacho gave me a bird's-eye view of the city and a history lesson. he responsibilities to one of the biggest slums in latin america the stronghold dominates eastern caracas and defies political stereotypes. >> here they did not do enough. >> it now tilts opposition, and that rift runs through family.

a chavista loyalty to the government. his wife votes opposition. these days tempers flare easily. >> you can't act with these people. >> what did they do to that building? >> they shot at it? >> she threw molotov cocktails at it. >> young people are afraid to go down to the protests. >> i don't think it's not worth marching or protest going to i'm going to get killed. >> and right around the corner we see why he's worried. residents of this tower showed another opposition party member, damage done by pro government thugs storming the building. >> we condemn the use of force against citizens, and we reject the idea that this is a struggle of brother versus brother. >> for now it's a stalemate. the opposition vowing to stay in

the streets until the government resigns. the government vowing to crush the protests, and neither outcome seems likely. >> reporter: tony, what we heard from people on the streets here is that they felt like they had been backed into a corner, these barricades, these protests are really an act of desperation to get their voices heard. they're among those saying we're going to be out here until this government resigns. again, an outcome that does not seem very likely right now. >> paul, paul beban for us. the situation in venezuela affects areas across the country. paul showed us how the crisis is hitting different areas in the capitol. but the same is true in san cristobal. violent crashes continue more than a month since they began in early february. and in the eastern cities, food shortages are forcing residents to stand in line for hours at state had been subsidized

supermarkets and costs have skyrocketed. 28 out of 100 stores do in the have basic goods like chicken, meat, milk, butter, flour, personal hygiene products. a pound of butter should cost $9.50, but a restaurant owner has told us that butter has become so scarce that she has to buy an import brand of $30. local markets can raise prices four or five times because of the shortage. marie dominguez joins us now, a resident in venezuela. well, it is good to talk to you. here is my first question, and it is a straight-forward one. how frustrating is it for you now to live in venezuela at the moment? >> oh, it's very frustrating for me at the moment. not just for me, for most of

people, to be honest. >> well, maria alejandra, you are an english teacher. do you make enough money to take care of yourself, i'm not talking about being able to live high on the hog and being rich, but take care of yourself. i understand that you're still living at home. >> yes, i am. i am single, i have a boyfriend, but i'm still living with my family, my mom and my sister. for me it's not possible to buy a house, and even to even rent one because prices are very, very expensive. >> are you standing in lines to get the basics? describe what it is like to try to stock up your refrigerator or to stock up your cabinets and cupboards in your home. >> yes, the situation is very hard. to find the things that we are

needing, for food, the things we need, hmm, mainly like food because, hmm, it's something important for every human being, and yes, for us it's very difficult. sometimes we have to stop to do our thing, to work or to go to classes because we need to make this line to buy food. >> marie alejandra, i'm looking at pictures, you can't see them, but i'm looking at pictures in front of lines in front of stores for people queuing up to get basics. do you understand why this is happening in your country right now? why is this happening? >> for many reasons. mainly because the private

companies have been closed because they don't have the supplies necessary. they need to produce here in the country. so once we have here in venezuela where it's appropriated fo, and they're not working 100% as they should, this is why we have shortages, so they can produce food or commodities to every supe supert around the country. >> gotcha, one question for you.

how concerned are you about the unrest in the country now in san cristobal, in caracas, how concerned are you that the protest could get out of hand and become even more violent than they have to this point? >> all i can say about that is that we are fed up with this. this problem about food is not just this problem. we're making protest because of food, insecurity. now we have troubles to find, to get medicine at hospital supplies to doctors, for examp example. protests for this. for many reasons people are in

making this protest. >> maria alejandra dominguez, thank you for taking the time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> pleasure, pleasure. libya's parliament has replaced it's prime minister after rebels in the east loaded oil on to a tanker flying a north korean flag. he lost a no-confidence vote shortly after the tanker broke through a naval blockade, and local militias had been loading the tanker for days. the defense minister is taking over as the prime minister. activistactivists in uganda chag the new anti-gay law. they want the constitutional court to take a look at the harsh new penalty it's for homosexuality law now imposes. in the meantime the judges are asked to enforce an interim order to prevent police

enforcing the law. and 10 million children in syria, jordan, lebanon, iraq and egypt will receive a dose of polio vaccine. aid agencies say 80,000 children are gotten sick since the conflict began. we have reports from the valley where lebanon has just started its immunization drive. >> getting these two drops of polio vaccine into children under the age of five is an enormous undertaking. they're going tent to tent to carry out this mission. this family with three children under the age of five. they are all receiving their second round of polio vaccine. she said she takes the outbreak of polio seriously. >> i do not wish this to happen

to my children. this is why we left syria, to protect our children from deceasediseases and polio. >> reporter: the number of vaccine rounds they have received is documented. humanitarian agencies have to repeat this process at every shelter in communities scattered across lebanon. all children under five will be vaccinated regardless of their vaccination history. >> reporter: this is part of the region's largest immunization plan. it was launched after 25 polio cases were verified in syria by the government and international health organizations. fears by syria's neighbors mounted following the outbreak. syrian refugees continue to flee to lebanon every day and polio does not respect borders. the "world health organization"

said its difficult to determine how polio got to syria but has an idea of where it originated from. >> the most similar virus from the one we isolated from the children in syria was not found in a person but found circulating in egypt in what we would call in environmental samples. it was not from a person. it was in the sewages that we noted it. that virus is very similar to or a genetic descendant from the virus in pakistan. >> reporter: polio spread in the environment through an infected feces. it can spread rapidly in a community that suffers from poor hygiene and sanitation like many of the areas where syrians live in lebanon. it's so contagious that a single case can become a health emergency. >> in washington the chair of the senate intelligence committee accused the c.i.a. of

improperly searching its network. john brennon said nothing could be further from the truth. >> reporter: explosive allegations coming from the chair woman of the senate intelligence committee. shshe says the central intelligence agency is spying on, of all people, the senate intelligence committee. since 2009 the committee has been undertaking investigations and there has been controversy over what documents the committee would have access to. finally the two sides, the c.i.a. and senate decided to put the documents in an undisclosed area for congress. but there is an allegation that the c.i.a. searched the committee database but blocked

the committee from accessing certain documents. she said the c.i.a. first blamed it on outside contractors and then changed their story. >> then the c.i.a. stated the removal of the documents was ordered by the white house. when the committee approached the white house the white house denied giving the c.i.a. any such orders. after a seriou a series of meeti learned on two occasion that c.i.a. personnel electronically removed committee access to c.i.a. documents after providing them to the committee. >> now obviously this is problematic on a number of levels. fundamentally the c.i.a. is not supposed to spy domestically within the united states. the senate intelligence committee is charged with doing with what they're doing, oversight of the c.i.a. and other members of the intelligence organizations around the country.

as it happens william brethren none, the head of the c.i.a. appeared as a previously scheduled forum where the moderator immediately asked him to respond to senator dianne feinstein's charges. >> as far as the allegations of, nothing could be further from the truth. a lot of people are claiming there has been this tremendous spying and monitoring and hacking will be proved wrong. >> now we're told today that there is an inspector general report within the c.i.a. that is due. also there has been a referral to the department of justice. they're investigating, we're told, from senator feinstein. meanwhile the white house is staying hands off saying the white house council has been involved in mediating this dispute over the years, but pointing out that it is president obama who ended the controversial rendition and

interrogation program before taking office. >> attorneys are looking to strike a deal with a dru brigadr general. >> attorneys have opened the deals for brigadier general sinclair. he's accused of sexuall sexual g an officer under his command. reverend thomas ogel tree will not face a church trial for officiating his son's same-sex marriage. cameras caught a dramatic rescue of a stranded rock climber. it was on live television.

a 23-year-old hiker fell 40 feet bouncing off one ledge before landing on another. a black hawk helicopter flew in to rescue him. he was taken to the hospital with critical injuries, including broken bones. >> a black hawk helicopter part of the rescue. >> on a ledge that firefighters said it barely held the three men together on that ledge, a small, small ledge. >> maria, we appreciate it. coming up on al jazeera america, she's called the burger king baby. a woman abandoned the child inside the fast-food restaurant. now the search for her birth mother has gone viral.

on al jazeera america >> okay, dozens of mushers, teams, right, have crossed the

finish line in nome, alaska. we're introduced to the mushers who endured more than just snow and ice. >> reporter: after more than a week of incredibly hard going over tough terrain, this is how it ended they battled for the lead right up to the last mome moment. hseavey didn't even know that he had won. >> i thought i was third. i would have been happy with third but i'm happier with

first. >> the windows put them in real danger. >> we had so much nasty weather there were times that i parked to look on the dog, and the sled blew over. it was literally one step at a time heading into the wind. i thought we were going to russia. >> aliy zirkle could not have been any tougher, but it didn't work, she was second. a close second, but second nonetheless. >> what happened out there. >> a whole bunch for eight days. >> brave words from a courageous competitor, but the look on her face as she walks away from her father says it all. this is matter break. but at least she finished. warm temperatures and no snow left some of the roughest trails

ever. there were falls, injuries and broken sleds, and top competitors withdrew early in the race. disspite that speed records were set. simply enduring this race must be accomplishment enough. >> so the tough finishers are crossing the line. for those who do finish its time to rest, for humans and dogs alike. but not for long there is next year to prepare for as the iditarod tradition goes on. >> a woman who was abandoned as a newborn in a fast-food restaurant has turned to fast food media. and that search has now gone viral. >> reporter: katherine was dubbed the burger king baby. she was found 27 years ago wrapped up in a maroon sweatshirt inside of a burger

king in pennsylvania. katherine went on facebook to post this hand-written note. it says, looking for my birth mother. she abandoned me in the burger king bathroom only hours old in the allentown, pennsylvania. please help me find her by sharing my post. maybe she'll see this. it has been shared 29,000 times. katherine grew up with adoptive parents just a few miles from where she was abandoned. she's now married with three beautiful little children, and she was on her way to her son's school when i spoke to her earlier today. katherine told me that she realizes her biological mother may be reluctant to come forward, but she wants her to know she's grateful she wasn't left out in the cold to die. >> i'm very thankful that she took care of me, and left me in a warm dry place, and i'm--i

absolutely love that she did a wolf thing by taking care of me, and i just want to give her a hug and say thank you. i've people who are adopted who say you've give me the courage to step up and find my mom. i've gotten it from the other side, mothers who gave their children up for adoption said, i really gave them the courage to connect with their children that they had given up for adoption. that for me has made it all worth it just for that aspect. >> and katherine told me despite all this attention she has no leads yet. >> keep us posted, will you please? >> will do. >> all right, a look at the day's top stories when we return. this is al jazeera america.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. day four and still no chase of the missing malaysian airliner. it's radar shows that it may

have turned and flew hundreds of miles off course. in response search efforts have been widened significantly. ousted ukrainian president viktor yanukovych insists he's still the country's commander in chief. about a problem a decade ago.

vavino calling the president the antichrist and threatened to shoot him. he faces sentencing. for more information on our headlines stories go to www.aljazeera.com. . >> the man who used to run ukraine tells the country's army don't follow the orders from the new guys in charge. developments in ukraine continue thick and fast. it's the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. ousted ukrainian president viktor yanukovych continues to