>> 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 shows evidence that the plane is miles away from last spotted. the russian president accusing the ukraine's interim government as causin.

>> and what is it like to be the last black president. >> seriously? what it like to be asking your last question to a president? >> the president pitching his healthcare on a comedy show. we have new information in the deepening mystery around missing malaysian flight 370. we have learned that the aircraft could have flown hundreds of miles off course. air traffic controllers say the beijing-bound flight was last seen in the gulf of thailand, but the malaysian military said it has radar evidence that the plane changed course and made it to the strait of malaka 150 miles away. authorities have now significantly extended the search area for the missing aircraft. jonathan betz with more on that potter of the story. >> reporter: still a huge

mystery across the world. the jet's last known location was in the gulf of thailand. now the military said it's radar picked up the plane here off a tiny island in the strait of malaka an hour after it was last spotted in the gulf of thailand. how it here is unclear. crews have extended the search to the west side of malaysia. they have not ruled out the possibility that the plane has been crashed in the jungle of thailand or malaysia. many countries are helping in the search. searchers are looking for the black boxes but they have to be within two miles to hear them.

extremely close, and they have a lot of more ground to cover. >> the transponder on the flight might have been switched off inadvertently or on purpose. >> the last time we heard, the transponder was here. how does it get from here to here without nobody knowing or hearing it. especially if it went over land. with radar someone should have picked it up. the theory is that the transponder was turned off, switched off, the plane lost power and it was cut off. the plane could have flown anywhere. keep in mind it was a fully loaded jet, seven hours of fuel. it could have kept on filing for thousands of miles. >> jonathan betz, appreciate it. the two men suspected of using stolen passports have been identified as iranians, but the investigators are down playing whether terrorism was involved. >> we believe that he is not likely to be a member of any

terrorist group. >> malaysian police say they don't know that the 19-year-old and 29-year-old are linked to any terrorist groups. apparently trying to immigrate to germany, but as lisa stark reports from washington, d.c. u.s. intelligence officials are still wary. >> we now do have new information about the two passengers who boarded this aircraft using stolen passports. a lot of concern about who were these men? they bought one-way tickets, both buying them at the same time from the same travel agency in thailand. their pictures were released, passport pictures were released as authorities try to figure out who they were. interpol say the two men are iranian citizens, a 19-year-old and 29-year-old who were on their way with stolen passports

to sneak into the continent to ask for asylum. it is not believed that they have connection to terrorism. but does it marine that foul play can be ruled out? >> i think there is speculation. we are looking at it very carefully. we at c.i.a. are working with fbi and tsa and others in the malaysian counter parts to do what we can. clearly this is still a mysteriry, it is very disturbing. >> nothing can be ruled out until they find the wreckage and the black box to find out why this plane, this jumbo jet suddenly dropped out of the sky. the search for the wreckage continues. >> distraught family members of chinese families members on board met with representative of malaysia airlines in beijing. relatives expressed their frustrate with the airline for not giving them more

information. family members had been waiting for a beijing hotel for any news. for more join us at 8:30 eastern time for a special on what happened to flight 370. c.i.a. director john brennon also spoke about the controversy around his agency. he fought back against claims brought by the chair of the senator intelligence committee. mike viqueira is at the white house with the very latest on this story, mike? >> reporter: well, tony, despite senates in the senate intelligence committee reports still classified as 6,000 pages and more the fight essentially is between that committee and c.i.a. over what documents the committee had access to, and what parts of the reports should remain classified as it goes to the president to be released to

the public. >> senator from california. >> good morning. >> reporter: take together senate floor dianne feinstein, the democratic chairman of the senate intelligence committee going public with an explosive allegation. the c.i.a. was spying on her panel's investigation of the c.i.a. itself. >> after a series of meetings i learned on two occasion c.i.a. personnel electronically removed committee access to c.i.a. documents after providing them to the committee. >> reporter: the subject of her five-year inquiry the controversial bush error rendition and interrogation program the c.i.a. turned over an internal review of that program only to remove and search through those same documents on committee compute computers, material they were not authorized to get. >> what was unique and interesting about the internal documents was not their classification levels, but rather their analysis and acknowledgment of significant

c.i.a. wrongdoing. >> reporter: in 2002 the program which included waterboarding, began in secret. four years later it was di di valudivulgebubbly. it was in 2010 feinstein said that documents were removed from committee files. and two months ago according to feinstein the c.i.a. director informed her of the document search. appearing at a previously scheduled forum john brennon entered a strong denial. >> nothing could be further from the truth. we wouldn't do that. that's just beyond the scope of reason. >> reporter: brennan cautioned that the full story has not yet been told. >> when the facts come out on this, the people who are claiming there is this tremendous spying, monitoring and hacking will be proved wrong. >> reporter: at stake and in dispute some experts say its

basic right of congress to investigate the executive branch. >> when the executive branch does something to interview with oversight by withholding information then that really is the executive branch stepping on the congress' constitutional sphere of authority. that's a problem. >> reporter: and there are competing versions as you just heard over who had access to what. and some of the competing versions come within the c.i.a. itself, the independent inspector general has referred this case to the department of justice asking them to investigate actions on the part of c.i.a. officers. meanwhile the c.i.a. council wants an investigation into the actions of senate staffers. the white house trying to stay away saying the white house council has been involved in trying to referee this dispute. >> mike viqueira, thank you. appreciate it. the crisis in ukraine grows

more complicated by the day. if resident approve the referendum on sunday to join russia. the u.s. and europeans say the vote is illegal. but russia says it is legal. jennifer glass with more. >> reporter: you've got former cold war foes again at opposite ends of the spectrum. moscow saying this is totally legal under international law. the united states and european union saying it is not legal. and across crimea people are preparing for this historic vo vote. >> reporter: posters saying no to n.a.t.o. and explains why it's clear that russia is the only choice in sunday's

referendum in over whether crimea should breakaway from ukraine. >> all know how we will answer that question, where they want to go and why. we don't want to stay and band with ukraine. we don't want to stay with this current government. we wouldn't survive. what they offer us is not life or existence. it's much worse. >> reporter: nina hands out newspapers to convince voters to choose a session. >> the tv say that russians are occupiers but they're really protectors because of the russians weren't here the enemies from kiev would be here suppressing us. >> reporter: the majority of residents here are ethnic russians, expected to rejoin russia. they say even though they have not had a time to prepare they'll be ready for sunday's referendum. the crimean parliament said if

crimeans choose to be part of russia, first what will happen is that crimea will declare independence. then it will request to be part of russia. it promised minority tatars expanded rights in russian crimea. >> i don't think that it is sincere to the tatars. the community now is pretty much in shatters, it was in a frustrated situation. it really doesn't seem like this proposal will be seriously considered. >> reporter: he's familiar with the break up of nations. this is the lavatian palace once home to russian czars. it was here in february of 1945 that roosevelt, churchill and stalin carved up europe after world war ii. the transfer of crimea is expected to be more straigh straightforward if people here

choose a future that joins them with their russian roots. ethnic russians make up the majority here. if you ask them they'll say the outcome is a forgone conclusion. even if crimea votes to head towards russia there are things that have to be decide here, not the least of which of what happens to the military here blockade and their ships and bases across the crimean peninsula. what happens to them if on sunday the people decide this part of ukraine should be part of russia. >> that links to this question. the crimean parliament said they're going to declare independence after the referendum. the outcome doesn't seem to be in doubt here. but it also says it wants to be part of russia. isn't that a contradiction? >> i think, tony, the crimean parliament is trying to head off any legal challenges. in making that declaration today it cited kosovo which declared itself independent. moscow was highly opposed to

that when that happened. it wanted to see it stay as part of serbia. what they say is that if the referendum goes their way they'll declare independence, which gives them sovereignty, and then under those sovereign rules, those independent rules then they can become part of russia. i think it's trying to keep a lot of legal challenges, because the united states and european union are saying, and kiev are saying that the vote is not legal any way. >> jennifer glass for us. thank you. the head bishop of the united methodist church in new york decided to abolish church trials for those who perform same-sex marriages. ministers would be able to conduct ceremonies. and it puts the bishop front and center in a battle that many fear that could split the methodist church. john terrett met with the

bishop. >> reporter: it was a beautiful day. now the united method u.s. church is a huge global church, it's a national church. there are methodists all the way around the world, all the way around this country. and they have a priest who preside over the wedding of his son, who happens to be gay. outrage in the church. under the rules of the church under the book of discipline this man has to face a trial in view to punish him for breaking the church rules. the bishop of the church said i'm not going to do that, and i'm not going to pursue other cases that come up in the future. the idea is to create a dialogue in the methodist church that until now has not been evident. >> the bishop is not used to being in the national spotlight, but he said he's prepared for anything in a god sends his way now that he has publicly pledged to end church trials for priests

who perform same-sex marriage. >> you go to trial. you get punishment. you garner retribution. i think as a christian believer, as an united methodist looking through a lens of grace, finding mediation seems to be the better way to go. >> reporter: the pledge came as the church settled with the reverend dr. thomas ogletree, a man who faced trial after officiating the wedding of his gay son in 2012. instead, the bishop agreed to drop all charges as long as dr. ogletree participates in a dialogue of the church. >> i would like to start conversation that is spiritual as well that would give us a type of layering that would help us to move forward in a way that is helpful 1234 but some talk

about the looming national schism of the church, a split between modernists and church supporters that believe the church's teachings on same sex orders. the response, we're really disappointed because there was no penalty or consequence for act of disobedience. but bishop martin said schism is not a journey that his church needs to take over gay marriage. >> if we find ways to disagree but to still be a community, then i think we would be following christ and the notion of being what martin king called a beloved community. >> reporter: though the resolution sparked a negative reaction among conservative methodists the bishop is hoping the move will create dialogue on same-sex marriage, not division. >> and the bishop told me that he'sen quite shocked and surprised that the story has

gone national. he has had requests from newspapers and radio. he is open to opening the dialogue, a dialogue up to this pint they have not had. >> thank you. president obama is taking his healthcare pitch to a new show. >> getting coverage all for the cost of paying your cell phone bill. >> is this what they mean by drones? >> more about the president's tongue-in-cheek with zach. that's next. and we go live to venezuela where there is a serious of assaults on protesters in one of the country's richer areas.

>> well, this was interesting. it was funny. president obama turning to an internet comedy show to make a push for the affordable care act. did i say affordable? i think i did. david shuster with the trending online videos.

this is terrific. >> tony, the program is called "between two ferns" and it has a huge following between younger americans. the key healthcare demographic the white house is now focused on. >> when i heard people actually watch this show, i was actually pretty surprised. >> shh, hi, welcome to another edition of between two ferns. >> it's a show that makes guests feel awkward or uncomfortable. >> you sent ambassador rodman to north korea on your behalf? >> zach, he's not an ambassador. >> the answers were usually undignified. >> where do you plan on building your presidential library, hawai'i or kenya. >> that's a ridiculous question. >> what doe it's like to be thet black president? >> what is it like to be the

last question of a president. >> what would it be like running oh third time. >> it would be like making a third hangover movie. it didn't go over too well. >> the president turned the interview to boom care. >> have you heard about the affordable care act? >> yeah, i heard about that. why cue get the guy who created the zoon to make your website. >> it worker works great now. millions of americans have gotten insurance plans and we want people to know that you can get affordable healthcare, and most young americans, right now they're not covered. >> reporter: under the law all americans have until the end of march to get coverage or face a tax penalty. the ratio of younger americans signing up has been lower than what analysts say the system needs to keep costs down. >> the point is a lot of young people, they think they're invincible. >> reporter: so to try to reach them the president has made a

string of pop culture appearances. he has slow jammed with jimmy fallan. [♪ music ] and connected with younger people through google hangouts and facebook town halls. >> we buckle down and we say this stuff is important. >> still subjecting yourself to zach galifianakis is a bit different. >> which country were you rooting for in the winter olympics? >> seriously? >> white house 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 looking at whether or not they're going to be successful and wise. 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 media. >> i'm going to press that. >> don't touch that, please.

[ buzzer ] >> and several republicans will servsaidthe president's appearas humorous and probably be effective. >> who gave you permission to use that? >> that video has been watched 5 million times today slightly more than the 4.2 million americans who have signed up for obamacare. the government released new data that shows that americans 58 to 24 account for 20% blow the 38% insurance companies want to see to keep premiums down. the president has his work cut out for him which is why he did that parody interview. >> if he's sitting down with zach galifianakis, it's time for him to sit down with al jazeera. >> the invitation has been

issued, and we issue it again, with respect. >> well done, david. big changes coming to the way you buy your mortgage thanks to new proposals from lawmakers. "real money with ali velshi," ali, what are we going to see here? >> there is new legislation that has been agreed to today. it has not gone before the whole senate, but it's designed to reform the mortgage market. freddie mac and fannie mae gather tee 60% of new home loans in america. it's the operating system in your computer. you don't need to know much about it, but it's got to be there to work. fanny and freddy are the operating system for the mortgage market. they're getting ready to phase out that part and bring in the corporation. fanny and freddy were bailed out to the tune of $288 billio $288t

has been repaid. >> how will it effect home buyers. >> it basically means that banks are on the hook for the first 10% of losses. you get a loan, and it's backed by fanny and freddy, if you default fanny and freddy are on the hook to pay your mortgage. now the banks that are loaning you money are on the hook for 10%. it probably mean a 5% down payment for most home buyers. people are still buying houses with less than 5% down. first time home buyers will get a break as it stands in the legislation. i have to say that i am not sure that i love than we got into trouble because people were borrowing more than they could. but banks will have some skin in the game. >> what else are you working on? >> reporter: believe it or not we're going to talk to two guys from texas who have a vodka

business, which is on the rocks because of the situation in ukraine. their distillery is in ukraine. at the risk of sounding like a dumb guy, which you've known me for a long time, and i am. but i didn't know that most vodka consumed today was made from grain and not potatoes. >> i don't drink much any more, but i think--i didn't know that either, i'm with you. >> as long as you take something away from this show today, that's the take away today. >> are you in the control room? >> i thought i would try something new. >> shake it up. i like it. who is that behind. >> you this is our director chris and live producer bruce. they keep it all happening. >> keep a good cycle on that dome. >> hey, buddy. >> see you don't at 7:00. the search for the missing malaysian airlines jet is expanding. officials reveal that the plane may have been hundreds of miles off course. the latest radar evidence and what it could mean.

that's next. plus researchers are still worried about the effects of the fukushima nuclear disaster. back in a moment.

>> back to our top story. there is new confusion about what may have happened to malaysian airlines flight 370. today they say they have radar evidence that the plane may have changed course and headed to the strait of malaka. ships and planes from several nations, nine to ten of them, are about to resume their search for the missing aircraft. joining us now is captain ross aimer, a retired united airlines pilot. before we get started, that is nifty behind you. explain how you were able to do that. you didn't build that in your

home, i know. explain that backdrop and what it is. >> i found out there was a missing aircraft, a triple 777 and we found it. >> you found up a mock up of what looks like the cockpit. is that what it is? of the 777. >> that's the 777-200 cockpit. >> let's dive a little bit--that was terrible, too. you talked about possible scenarios with pilot friends and folks in the business, what have we got here. i've got a couple of scenarios, you tell me what is likely and what doesn't make sense. are we talking about a catastrophic system failure, pilots becoming incapacitated or someone taking over the aircraft. >> the first and third one makes a little bit of sense. you know, a couple of days ago i came across a radar tracing of this airplane, but i thought it was made up.

it actually showed the aircraft just coasting out of the malaysian peninsula into the gulf of thailand, and then started to make a little turn to the left and a right, and then it disappeared into the gulf. to be honest with you i thought it was--anybody could make up something like that not paying attention. but since we haven't found any trace over the gulf of thailand, that may be a scenario that might work. >> wait a minute. are you telling me that you--you tracked it, you found something online that actually tracked this flight? >> yes, there are--you can pick up radar tracings of any flight. we in the aviation community could check these things out. again, i didn't pay too much attention to it.

>> that's interesting. so you said that the first and third scenarios make a bit of sense. go into a little more detail about that. the first scenario was a catastrophic system failure. >> the pilots are trained to immediately take over from the computer and auto pilot and fly the airplane when something happens. if i was flying at 35,000 feet, and something bad happened to the airplane, my first instinct would be to start turning to the closest suitable airport, which case would have been perhaps back to kuala lumpur. that makes more sense than if there was a hijacking or whatever. you know, i'm not even going to go there. >> right, right, good. >> but if something happened to this airplane that was not good,

the scariest thing that could happen to any pilot, the worst-case scenario would be an inflight fire at high altitude. inflight fire in a jetliner at high altitude because of the humidity level is so low could promulgate so fast. or perhaps an inflight explosion. those are the two cases that are truly bad. if the aircraft survived my first instinct would be to turn around to the nearest airport. >> ross, appreciate it. captain ross, a retired pilot from irvine, california. >> thank you. >> thank you, tony. >> it's been three years since an earthquake and tsunami devastated japan. folks gathered at the ghost plan

to remember those who died in the disaster. the earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown at the plant sending millions of glas gallonf radioactive water into the ocean. jacob ward is off a little boogie board. he is on an actual yacht from the shore. has any effects from fukushima been detected here in the united states to this point? >> well, tony, that is obviously the $1 billion question here. researchers have been focusing on two areas. one is the condition of the water itself. did any radiation make its way across the ocean in the form of the water? the scientists say in april we're going to see the first plume hit the shores. but the amounts of radiation are incredibly tiny and not harmful to human health. the secondary thing we're looking at is the seafood.

in specific the pacific blue fin tuna goes back and forth to japan a couple of times in its lifetime, so scientists have been trying to dissect blue fin tuna and see how much radiation comes from that. if you were to eat a whole blue tuna, you would get as much radiation as a transcontinental flight. so it's not really a fear here. as you look at all the nuclear submarines that sit at the ocean, there are eight that have sunk, their reactors are open and exposed to the ocean there are a lot of other things to worry about in the ocean other than if you ca fukushima, but oe scientists are here to tell us about it. >> what lessons have the u.s. nuclear industry taken from fukushima?

>> reporter: well, that's right, tony, bobbing behind me is the sanofrey plant. it also keeps it's spent nuclear fuel on site in cooling tanks similar to what fukushima has done as well. the lesson here is you cannot be prepared for mother nature. that's the fear when you look at a nuclear plant. >> jack ward for us, appreciate it. thank you. venezuela's national guard has launched two days of assaults on an upscale neighborhood in san cristobal. anti-government protests have gripped the country overnight. a student protest leader was killed in fighting between troops and protesters. barricades are used by protesters to stop traffic, and paul beban is on the streets in

san cristobal. what is the situation like there today? >> reporter: well good evening, tony, the situation here is very tense. this is one of those streets where the governor of this province said its time to clean out these barricades. we've seen repeated assaults on this street. this is a wide, very normal upscale residential street. we have apartments and hotels, and it's barricaded on both ends. you can see behind me there are dozens of people who have been working on that barricade for hours. six hours ago this street was, where we are standing now was clouds of tear gas and open street fighting, and a riot line of national guards men moving against these protesters. these barricades are necessary for their voices to be heard by

the outside world. they say they are not reporting the crisis here in san cristobal. the shortages are not being reported, the police oppression is not being reported, at the same time these people are calling the protes protesters as fascists and saboteurers. >> that's interesting from the people there because clearly it's a huge international story and international media is on hand. you're there for al jazeera and other networks from the united states are there as well. i'm wondering if what they're referring to if they tell you that the story is not getting out, i wonder if they're saying the story is not being told inside their own country because of the restrictions on in-country media. >> that is absolutely correct, tony. they say that this story is being concealed from the people of venezuela. there is a big part of opposition who say this kind of protest and violence is counter

productive. there is a distraction saying these guys are the problem and distract from the inflation, the crime and other things that the protesters say they're protesting against. so tony, again it's a tricky situation. >> paul beban in san cristobal, venezuela. libya's parliament has replaced it's prime minister after the country had loaded oil on a tanker flying a north korean flag. local militias had been loading the tanker for days. much of the country's oil wealth is centered in the east where the groups want much more autonomy. activists in uganda has filed a petition challenging the country's new anti-gay law. they want the constitutional court to look at the harsh new penalties for homosexuality that

the law imposes. in the meantime judges are asked to impose an interim order to stop police were enforcing the law. they don't expect an answer in a couple of years because of the backlog of children. children i will be give polo vaccination. 80,000 children have become sick since the outbreak began. >> reporter: getting these two drops of polio vaccine into the mouth of every syrian child refugee under the age of five is an enormous undertaking. mobile teams are going tent to tent with the vaccine to carry out this mission. this family from aleppo has three children under the age of five.

they are all receiving their second round of polio vaccine. she said she takes measures to the polio outbreak seriously. >> i don't wish this to happen to my children. that's why we left syria, to protect our children from diseases and polio. this is why we came here. >> each tent that has been vaccinated has been parked, and each vaccine is documented. they have to repeat this process in every shelter as hundreds scatter across lebanon. all children under five will be vaccinated regardless of their immunization history. this mass vaccination campaign is part of the region's largest immunization plan. it was launched after 25 polio cases were verified by syria and the world health organization.

>> reporter: so far no cases were reported in lebanon. the "world health organization" said its difficult to tell how polio got to syria but has an idea of where it probably originated from. >> the most similar virus to the one that we've isolated from these children in syria was not found in a person but found circulating in egypt and in what we will call in cairo an environmental sample. it was not from a person but from the sewage. that virus is also very similar to or genetically did h descendm you the virus in pakistan. >> 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. al jazeera, lebanon. >> attorneys are looking to strike a deal in the court-martial of a brigadier general accused of sexual assault. maria has the details on that and other stories from across america today. >> reporter: tony, in fort bragg, north carolina, attorneys have reopeneddably deal negotiations for brigadier general jeffrey sinclair. the judge in the case heard arguments that army commanders had urged commanders from accepting the earlier deal. he is accused of sexual yo assat of an officer in his command. we saw bridget kelly appears in court, she said violating the subpoenas would violate her right of self-incrimination. the committee is investigating

whether the governor's office averted the george washington bridge as a political revenge. a man called president obama the antichrist and threatened to shoot him at the white house. he's been sentenced prison and fine. the drama of a stranded rock climber. a 23-year-old hiker fell nearly 40 feet bouncing off one ledge before landing on another. a black hawk helicopter flew in to as rescue him. hhas critical injuries including broken bones. >> that's the thing you see in movies. thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >> for years pennsylvania judges put kids behind bars. we're going to b to be.

plan

>> so far, so good. >> we wish you the best on the film. thank you for being here. i haven't seen t but the trailer looks really good. >> it won't disappoint. >> okay. a woman abandoned as a newborn inside of a fast food restaurant has been on a search. maria? >> reporter: katherine was dubbed the burr der king baby. she was found 27 years ago wrapped up in a sweatshirt in a burger king in pennsylvania. she had gone on facebook and put this handwritten note there.

looking for my birth mother, she gave bothe birth to me, and abad me in a burger king bathroom hours old in allentown, pennsylvania. please help share my post, maybe she'll see this. she grew up with adoptive parents. she is now married. she has three little children. she was on her way to take her sons to school as i talked to her today. she realized that her biological mother might be reluctant to come forward, but she said she's grateful that she didn't leave her out in the cold to die. >> i'm grateful that she took care of me, left me in a warm dry place. she did a wonderful thing by taking care of me, and i just want to give her a hug and say thank you. i've had people who were adopted say you've really given me the courage to step up and find my mom. i've also 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 who they had given up for adoption. so that to me has made it all worth it just for that aspect. >> and katherine told me despite all this attention she has no leads yet. she hopes her mom or someone she may have spoken to will come forward. and if her mother sees this but doesn't come forward, at least she will know that her daughter turned out okay, tony. >> that is terrific. you actually reached her in the family minivan. >> she was in the minivan, that's right, talking to me. >> the mom of three. >> she's the mom of three. she had a little toddler. >> and it's busy if you're a mom of three, i'm telling you. appreciate it. thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >> twitter says it can predict the mood of the world based on tweets. it looked at tweets from last year and found people were feeling sad on sundays in july

and saturdays in december. tweets about feeling happy spikes on wednesday in january, tuesdays in december. and hungover tweets went up on tuesday in january and thursdays in november. that's taking it to big extremes. coincidentally, or maybe not, major holidays fell on those days new year's day and thanksgiving weekend. the reason the government shutdown being blamed on the drop of park visits, new figures showing 9 million fewer people visited, that's a 3% drop from a last year. over all 273 million people visited the 401 parks, monuments and historic places across the country. pressure is building on general motors over its slow response on a recall. the house committee is looking at why gm and safety regulators took so long to report a

dangerous ignition president bush. that problem has been linked to 13 deaths. it knew about the problem a decade ago but did not issue the recall until last month. when we return we'll give you an update on the day's top stories, and then it is "real money with ali velshi." >> coming up on real money, your ability to buy a new home or sell the one you got is on the line as congress considers changing the whole mortgage system. and the gm recall fiasco and the way a company is supposed to take reaction when your safety is at risk. all that on "real money."

>> this is al jazeera america. live from new york city. i'm toney harris with a look at today's top stories. the search for malaysian flight

370, there is radar evidence that the plane what i have turnemay have turnedand flown ht course. ousted ukrainian president viktor yanukovych insists he's still command center chief as crimean parliament adopts referendum to breakaway from ukraine. a new york methodist church bishop has abolished church trials for ministers who perform same-sex marriages. ministers under his jurisdiction are now free to hold ceremonies forbidden under church laws and there are fears that his decision will cause rift in the church. a man pled guilty to making

threats against president obama. he posted message calling the president the antichrist and threatening to shoot him. he faces up to five years in prison and a fine. those are the headlines. i'm tony harris. "real money with ali velshi" is next. >> buying a home may never be the same once congress overhauls the mortgage system. i'll explain what the changes mean for you and your chances of getting a loan. also gm's show response to a deadly car. we'll show you how recalls if done right can protect you and your family. and two entrepreneurs are worried that the budding crisis in ukraine could put their vodka business on the rocks. this is "real money," and i'll ali velshi.