until next time, raj and i will >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. a powerful explosion sends two new york city residential buildings crumbling to the ground. two people are dead and 17 injured. a meeting between ukraine's prime minister and president obama at the white house just hours away. we'll take you live to washington. and international tension mountaining in the search of the malaysia flight.

>> good afternoon, i'm del walters. a gas explosion bringing two residential buildings in new york city crumbling to the ground today. two people are dead and 18 are injured. morgan radford in th bringing uo date with what authorities are saying. >> reporter: that's right, del. 18 people have now been confirmed injured, two women have been confirmed dead. that's after two buildings collapsed after 9:30 a.m. this morning. just moments ago mayor de blasio said an unspecified number of people are still missing, but they're waiting to search the rubble until the fire department can put out the fire. >> this is a tragedy of the worst kind because there was no indication in time to save people.

we know we've lost two people already. we know preliminarily 18 are injured, different levels of injury. we also know that there will be a search through the rubble of the building as soon as the fire is put out looking for those who are missing. there are a number of missing individuals. >> reporter: del, con edison said they received a call of a noxious gas. residents report smelling something funny before the explosion happened, and once it happened the explosion was so strong that it suspect people were ejected from the building. there was one man who was working as a construction worker across the street. he felt the building shake. he ran over and helped four people out. in fact, let's take a listen to the story he said when he was rescuing one of those little girls. >> those little girls, she was only ten years old.

she was saying, help. she was full of blood. we grabbed a blanket. >> reporter: she was full of blood? was she outside of the building? >> she was outside of the building. when it blew up she probably blew out of the building. >> reporter: you saw her on the sidewalk? >> yes, with the blanket and everything. >> reporter: del, we're hearing lots of stories like that as alex mentioned he was rescuing four people out of the building. they were so shaken they could not explain what had just happened. people are still looking for answers. they want to know exactly what caused it. again, this is a community with a lot of spanish speakers and latinoen americaen residents, and they're very shaken. one of these building was a piano repair shop. the other building was a church that had been around for roughly 70 years. above that there were residents with 33 apartment buildings five

stories highs. >> morgan radford for us, thank you very much. ukraine's prime minister is set to meet with president obama this afternoon. they have a declaration of independence, and people say they are ready to enforce it. meanwhile n.a.t.o. will be spending aircraft to monitor russian troop activity. phil ittner is in kiev, and ukraine has a lot riding on that visit to washington 123. >> reporter: yes, they certainly do on many fronts. first is the economic concerns that ukraine has. you have to keep in mind that financially things are great grim in this country. they've had years of corruption where the ruling government viktor yanukovych, who was ousted, stealing up to

$70 billion, him and his group of cronies. so they will be looking for financial help. also they will be looking for some military assistance in non-lethal terms. they're not looking at defensive weaponry, del. they're looking at intelligence gathering apparatus, surveillance equipment, intelligence and counter intelligence. what the ukrainians are deeply concerned about is controlling their border so agitators don't come in from their nearby neighbor russia to stir things up. they don't want trouble from thage staters that are--from the agitators that are already there. del. >> no matter what comes out of today's meetings in washington n.a.t.o. and washington are already involved, so what is at stake? >> reporter: well, that's right, del, the world is involved. we're looking at n.a.t.o. the e.u. the united states. on the other side of the

equation, the russians. everyone is fixated on what is happening here. we had a chance to speak with an ukrainian member of parliament who said that the world needs to understand that this is not just about this patch of land between east and west. let's have a listen to what she had to say. >> today security of the whole world is under threat. the reason is western states who guarantors after they gave nuclear weapons do not follow obligation in protecting ukraine, why should other states such as iran give away their nuclear status. >> reporter: we're also hearing from the russians, the head of the douma, that's their parliament, even if they put sanctions on russia, they'll respond in kind, and there are other options other than just dealing with the e.u. russia has other friends, he

said. >> phil ittner for us live in kiev. thank you very much. in washington those high-level talks between the ukraine and u.s. government are just hours away. secretary of state john kerry will meet again with russia's foreign minister in week's end. just days before that referendum in could i me--crimea on sunday. >> reporter: right, they've suspended russian participation saying that referendum scheduled in crimea is not legal, it will not be recognized. it appears at this point that it will be going forward regardless of what the g-7 says, and that's the problem. as they send $1 billion in aid that is held up temporarily in congress to help ukraine get on its feet, try to coordinate the u.s. government with european

allies, and it turns out the russian economy is very integrated in europe, there is dependence on russia's oil and gas that travels the pipeline through ukraine. this is the backdrop, prime minister of ukraine will be here and they'll talk about how to get ukraine back on its feet. they'll be talking about what kind of pressure the united states can continue to bring to bear. now secretary kerry, you mentioned that he's going to be meeting yet again his russian counterpart, even though there is no evident movement in the russian position. earlier today as it happens kerry was on capitol hill. he was testifying, and he talked about his meeting up coming in two days with lavrov. >> president obama has asked me to leave tomorrow evening and fly to london to meet with

russia's foreign minister lavrov on friday, and i will do that. we've had previous conversation, as you know, we spoke earlier this week. the president has talked several times with president putin. i will make clear again as i have throughout this crisis that while we respect obviously that russia has deep historical, cultural, and other kinds of interests with respect to ukraine and particularly crimea, nothing justifies a military inteintervention that the worlds witnessed. >> secretary kerry, president obama, not so subtle warnings and reminders that it may not stop in crimea, a great deal of concern that this russian action could spread to eastern ukraine

dominated by russian speakers. >> mike viqueira for us at the white house. thank you very much. malaysia flight 370 still missing and authorities say they still don't know what happened. they're searching the area about the size of indiana. al jazeera has more from kuala lumpur, malaysia. >> reporter: day five, search teams are searching larger parts of the states of malaka still unable to pinpoint where the missing plane may be. malaysia authorities indicate that radar may have tracked the plane away from its last path 45 minutes after its last contact. >> to analyze both the civilian and military dat data in the eat and in the west, on land and in water. and that's what we're doing today.

>> reporter: the new development comes following days of confusing and sometimes conflicting information. the airline had initially reported that the last contact was made with a plane two hours into its flight. but later amended it into an hour. a day ago reports causing military officials say the plane had been detected in the west far from where vietnam had been concentrating it's efforts. this prompted a swift reaction from the vietnamese, who scaled back their operations for the day. >> up until now we only had one meeting with the malaysian military attache. however, the information they have provided is insufficient. >> reporter: malaysian authorities have descended their handling of the search. at this mosque near the airport flight crews held a special session to offer prayers of hope. the hope that all those on board will be found soon. their friends with all 12 crew members on board and the mood is

somber. >> i feel greatly sad, feeling right now what i'm hope something that for the best. we have not seen anything yet, and our hopes are still high. >> reporter: across the city places like this have sprung up dedicated to the 239 people on board. message of hope and prayers that they'll be found soon. but after the search mission conditions, that hope is growing dimmer by the day. al jazeera, kuala lumpur. >> new fears in washington state about design flaws of storage tanks. those storage tanks hold nuclear waste. and this is what the economy of libya is based on, gas. now the flow could trickle and effect the world supplies of oil.

>> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state... >> what's clear is that people don't just need protection, they need assistance. >> for decades some of the

world's most toxic nuclear waste has been stored in the middle of washington state. but now it's leaking. we are in rich land, washington, who first spotted these leaks? >> reporter: well, the particular leak we're talking about today was discovered by the people who regularly monitor the double-shelled waste tanks. we're in rich land where there is a committee meeting and those leaking tanks are one of the discussions in the library behind me. clean up has been going on for a quarter of a century now. it's a complicated, dangerous job and there are still a lot of challenges ahead and questions with what to do with this stuff and where to put it. >> reporter: in the wide open spaces of the nuclear reservation why the first plutonium processer was built for world war ii atom bombs and missiles, attention focused on one buried waste tanks.

it has leaked before and they now have found radioactive waste in a new spot. they know that tank called ay 102 and it's contents very well. >> ay 102 if we took the worst of that stuff and put it right there, we wouldn't--by the end of the interview we would be dead. that's the instrument that detected the leak in the tank. >> reporter: he worked 27 years for private contractors monito monitoring the waste tanks. he quit after a dispute about what the public was told about the situation. he's not surprised that more material has leaked or six more double-walled tanks could be at risk for similar problems. >> we're in big trouble out there. we're running out of time. >> reporter: this site is arguebly the biggest most polluted area on the continent with 53 million gallons of high level radioactive waste and

plumes of contaminated ground water. older single-walled soldiers tanks have leaked for years. the biggest concern the health of the columbia river whose waters were used to cool nine nuclear reactors. signs representing clean up sites proof of progress in a region still proud of its role at the dawn of the nuclear age. but that leaking tank and plans for dealing with it have the state and federal government at odds. >> to receive a plan that indicates that preparation and pumping would not begin for two years at the earliest is a concern for us. >> reporter: federal regulators say there is no current threat to public safety, that monitoring has been increased, and they weren't surprised to find more leakage either. >> the chances of failure is eminent. we're talking about a stress relief or potential for stress

relief corrosion or weld with a small crack. >> reporter: the whistle blower mike geffrey sees more problems. >> the tank is breaking down. >> reporter: one of the clean up bottlenecks out of handfor hanfe they can take this waste, solidify it and store it on track. but that's not scheduled to go online until 2019, and not scheduled to be finished unti until 2047 and design and building problems with that plant put even those timelines in question. >> alaallen schauffler for us. thank you very much. on wall street stocks struggle to snap a two-day session. right now the dow is down 36 points concerns about the global economy putting pressure on the

market. big bonuses, though, back on wall street. the new york stay comptroller said swelling 13% for 2013 and employees are taking home an average cash bonus of $164,000. that by the way is the largest payout since the financial crisis and third largest on record. tessla hitting a roadblock, wa warning to stop direct sells to customers. forcing a dealer. new jersey is the third sit to o make that move. and the value of the company at $7.5 billion. libya's economy is failing. the problem is the oil rich company and country is producing and exporting oil. it has to do with the standoff between two groups.

>> reporter: libya's lifeblood is pooing at a trickle. oil wells don't just drive the cars on libya roadways and ships at tripoli's ports, it moves everything from craftsman to libya's fragile government as well nearly entirely funded by oil revenues that are now in the red. armed groups have blockaded the nation's oil port demanding autonomy for eastern libya, hi higher salaries. >> if the military were to go in and secure those compounds and there was fighting, it could be a disaster. >> yes, it could be a disaster. that's what we showed as a government. we should try to avoid. >> reporter: the blockades have sent oil production plunging from 1.4 million barrels a day to 230,000 barrels a day now. >> reporter: because muammar qaddafi controlled the oil so long no one knows what daily impact it could have on libyans,

and they never will until oil sites like this one are at full capacity. >> we're talking about 5 million to 6 million, and annual income from oil and gas listed at $40 billion u.s. a year. so you can do a lot to have a good life for the people. >> reporter: libya's government leaders warned in august they would not be patient for long. >> the government finds itself in a dilemma, whether it's spilled blood, that's very dangerous, or just negotiate with those who are doing this. and so far negotiations seems to be the norm. and the fear is if you start shooting, you may not be able to stop it. >> reporter: so six months into the oil blockade there is still no resolution. >> are you frustrated? >> you can say that. yes. >> reporter: with a near stand still of oil production the

government has voted to raise the salaries of oil workers who joined the blockade, but it can't afford to pay the raise. >> coming up on al jazeera america, many russians have close ties to crimea. we'll talk to them to see how they feel about the crisis in ukraine.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'll del walters. a gas explosion in new york city toppling two buildings in upper manhattan. two have been reported dead and 18 injured. secretary of state john kerry will travel to london to meet with foreign minister lavrov on friday: n.a.t.o. said it's sending

surveillance aircraft. g 7 power saying they won't recognize sunday's referendum on crimea if it decides to join russia. meanwhile russia's roots in crimea are long and deep. some say they favor russia over ukraine. they are relationships effecting the country politically and socially. we have reports from moscow. >> reporter: for millions of russians from the old generation this is how they remember the crimea. summer holidays from the soviet vacation land, annual break on the shores of the black sea, a chance to escape the daily grind of life in the soviet union. they spent many summers down in the crimea, and for them it will always be part of the

motherland. >> it was a nice place for a vacation, warm, light, the sea, so romantic. >> reporter: and another reason why those memories are so strong, their young son chronically ill for most of his life the balmy climate restored him to health. >> my son learned how to swim there. he became so much healthier. he stopped getting sick all the time. >> reporter: it was back in 1954 that the crimea was lost to russia. president nikita kruschev loved the ukraine, and with the ussr never stronger handing over the peninsula to reward his favorite republic of little importance. it took 15 minutes of discussion. ukrainian and russian flags flying together. the gift was delivered in a spirit of friendship and trust

as the people of the crimea, 70% ethnic russians, celebrated. and who would have believed that in less than 40 years the old soviet union would have been swept away, and the flag that once flew over land from eastern europe to the shores of the pacific have now become a $10 tourist souvenir. the history and heritage of the former soviet union is now found on cheap t-shirts but there is a constituency who misses life back in the ussr. >> i think we can understand the feelings of those people who are very nostalgic over the soviet time, elderly people, and this is the backbone of the current support of crimea. it's not youngsters, but old people with their idea of lost feeling of nation which is part and parcel.

[♪ singing ] >> reporter: people like alexander and his wife remember the summer songs from long ago. the weekend referendum can only bring one thing to them return of their much-loved past of mother russia. peter schauffler, al jazeera. >> meteorologist: a lot happening here in the midwest and this storm which is developing is pushing to the east. we have a lot of weather happening here in just a small area. warm temperatures with severe weather across the mid atlanta and northeast. it goes up to new york where it turns into snow. that's where the cold air is and that's where it will stay in place. we're talking about a lot of snow there, and a quick drop in

temperatures and bitter cold wind chills. you'll wake up to that tomorrow. the storms continue to move through western pennsylvania. this is where we'll see severe weather along the line developing and moving to the east. severe storm likely with gusting damaging wind. it will be followed by cold wind chills. temperatures tomorrow more 40 degrees colder with wind chills at 20 below. the storm will move right over philadelphia and new york. there is the cold air coming in. where the moisture is held in place, you can see that goes from rain to a mix of snow quickly. that could lead to a freeze on many surfaces. it quickly drops and the moisture stays in place. not where it's dry but where there is the storm. new england and botch could see the temperatures drop and it could become slippery on the roadways tomorrow.

it's just a big drop of temperatures that we're talking about at the end of the week. >> it is a shock to the senses, dave warren. thank you very much. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "fault line" is next. >> every day across america, military-style raids are taking place. local police dressed like soldiers break down doors in the hunt for drugs. >> this is not what we think of as police in a democratic society. this is way out of proportion.