>> arthur and pauline frommer of the frommer guides, i am ali velshi, and you have been >> >> this is al jazeera america, i'm jonathan betz live in new york. growing forwards. the aggressive move russia is making into ukraine. >> humanitarian crisis. the daily problems families in syria face three years after the bloody civil war began. plus, chaos in the streets. a cry for change your, and a new threat they face. also the search to solve a mystery, the revelation from the

u.s. navy about flight 370, and the person of interest authorities are now targetting. >> we begin with a countdown to a controversial vote in crimea. in three hours crimea decides whether to remain part of the ukraine. the un-security council presented a resolution that would have labelled the referendum illegal. russia vetoed it. china abstained. russia stood isolated. >> more clashes between russian supporters and opponents. russia says it's been asked to step in. tensions are high.

nick schifrin is in simferepol, the capital, tonight. >> good evening. a few hours away from a vote that will decide the future, and across the peninsula, this is what you see, had is the campaign poster suggesting russian life will be better than anything. that is the message everyone is receiving. the momentum is against ukraine. >> when crimea votes it will use ballots delivered to a building whose ukrainian identity was painted over. when crimea votes, it will be surrounded by posters campaigning for russia. the local commission may stand in front of ukrainian yellow, but bleeds russian blue, white and red. >> people are so inspired. they are returning to the mother

land. for 23 years they were under occupation. now they are returning to their true home. >> this man has been running elections for two decades and shows me the tools in a legitimate elections toolbox. the voting booths with curtains. the locked ballot box. the safe holding the ballots sealed until sunday by the sits of election commissioners. these are all the names and this is the seal. but here inside the polling station, for those who haven't braced a yes vote for russia, the writing is on the wall. these are campaign posters that argue a life under russian rule is better than anything ukraine can offer. >> the turn out will be huge, and the results returning to the mother land. we know the result. >> critical local election monitors describe a series of irregularities in sunday's vote. the referendum was called and

the date changed twice. >> not a single election, especially one as important as this one can be prepared and executed in 10 days. the voter role is out of date. trnchts we guess that a bunch of people can collaborate with the commission, moving from one polling station to another, ensuring the result. >> for weeks pro-russian activists intim dited and har hassed. they ran after journalists, tried to stop filming and detain them. nearly all criticism of russia has been silenced. then there are the ballot's two questions, crimeans can vote to join russia or separate from ukraine. no option to allow the surface

us quo to condition. trnchts cimians have the choice to unite with russia straight away. >> the pro-russian government announced a press conference of monitors. >> on the streets the movement is towards russia. many believe the ruts are preordained. >> russia's soldiers in kiev, and on its borders. unrest in the ukraine has that new government worried. clashes growing, russia says it's considering requests to intervene there as well. . >> we heard inflammatory remarks from russia saying they had a

request to intervene. clashes with pro-russian demonstrators, they went into the intelligence building. they took down the ukrainian flag and put up the russian flag. they are the acts we saw here a few weeks ago before this became a pro-russian area, before the referendum tomorrow. i think people are very, very worried that russia has their eyes on eastern ukraine. the russian foreign ministry saying it has the right to protect ethnic russians, it has mass troops on the border of eastern ukraine, and it says, worryingly, that this kind of unrest in places like donetsk shows that kiev is not in control. bella cos words from moscow, and aggressive action by russian military on the eve of the referendum. >> president obama is weighing his options for ukraine. his national security team is watching the situation closely and updating him regularly.

the united states has denounced the vote and other western leaders wowed not to recognise the results. >> united nations made a last-minute move to stop crimea's election. the resolution failed, but there was a bigger message. john terrett explains. >> the ambassadors of the security council meeting in a rare saturday morping session -- morning session, their intention to seek a vote showing that the referendum was illegal. they must have knoften it was a mission impossible -- known it was a mission impossible from the start. the idea had a cache of signalling to moscow how unhappy the arrest of the world is with what it's doing it ukraine. >> the result is 13 in favour, one against, one abstenion. >> western ambassadors wanted to show how isolated russia is on the world stage by drafting a resolution showing there's no

legal basis for the poll. 13 council members voted in favour, and china abstained, leaving russia to kill it as a permanent security council member. the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. samantha power says this was the wrong time to use the veto. >> russia used the vetos as an i come police to diversion, the veto given nearly 70 years ago to countries that led an epic ght fight against -- epic fight against aggression. >> russia's line is that it's prote protecting people in crimea. >> translation: the violence had to be noted. in kiev and other areas, violence that threatened to spread to other regions of ukraine. >> ukraine's ambassador to the u.n. says russia's actions are not those of a russian nation,

but back to the soviet era. >> we are upset with what is proposed by russian delegation. nothing serious, just words. at the same time, their paratroopers and other forces entered the mainland of ukraine. it may be too late. everything depends on what vladimir putin will do next the the world will be watching. everything comes through the security council. you can expect the u.n. to be busy on this issue next week. >> it will be a busy week for the united nations without questions. there's a lot to discuss. let's bring in the director of the eurasia demack rattive initiative, strengthening ties between post soviet countries and the west.

i want to get personal with you, because you have family in eastern ukraine. have you been in touch with them? what are their thoughts about the developments? >> i'm in hourly contact with them, my brother, my mother have been concerned. the situation seems to be spiralling out of the control. there are squirmishes in my home town and several deaths in the last two days of this conflict. >> they are from donetsk, we a seen in the news. >> exactly, from donetsk. i'm trying my best to keep them calm. the situation does not warrant calmness. >> what are they afraid will happen? >> they are afraid short of an invasion by russia, and russia, as we speak, is massing large reinforcements outside of borders of ukraine, that the squirmishes will lead to a complete disorder in the city. a complete massive unrest that

could result in all sorts of kallamity. >> when you talk about kallamity, it's demonstrators storming buildings, fights in the town square. they are afraid it may spread beyond the town square. you have to consider the sort of people instigating the squirmishes. we hear report of thugs bus the in from russia, and other elements within the society in donetsk, who are behind the unrest. >> that being said, the thought from russia is so many beam in eastern ukraine are scared for the safety, concerned, and want russia to come in and ensure law and order. does your family think russia

should come in. >> i think most of the problems with the russian speaking minority can be resolved internally, the language issue up is thorny but resolved successfully before. nothing in eastern ukraine justified russia's involvement. it's instigated by russia, and russia is fabricating facts on the ground to use as a pretext for invasion. >> do you think it's a real responsibility, and does your family think it's a possibility that your family may move into eastern ukraine. >> i think it is - there are credible reports that an invasion may be imminent shortly after the referendum tomorrow in crimea. >> so the expectation is that once russia gets crimea through the referendum, that they'll try to move further into eastern ukraine. >> at the very least, you cannot

rule it out. >> scary for your family. do you get the impression that it will be a free and fair election. we had nick's report which seems to imply the opposite. >> considering the massive disinformation in the run-up to the referendum, it's bias and prejudiced, it cannot be a free and fair process. having said that, the majority of the progress have been pro-russian, and most are russian speakers. there's a large degree of sympathy for russia. i do believe in a free and fair election, the crimea may vote for annexation. >> your group votes on the bonds between post soviet countries and the west. how do you describe the relationship between the west and ukraine's government. >> first of all, acting prime

minister arseniy yatsenyuk was in washington last week >> do you feel the west is doing all it can, or ukraine's new government feels alone? >> i think it's been doing a bit. the promise of significant financial aid is something that is very important. you know, the i.m.f. promised upwards of $50 billion. the u.s. is chipping in a billion dollars, considering that, you know, the new government found its coffers after the former president was done with, you know, with them. i think it is very important for the government to continue to pay pensions and salaries. >> not to mention the sanctions against russia. >> it remains to be seep, if the west and e.u. act if concert. >> peter with the ure asia democracy initiative. thank you for coming in. >> we want to return to the

missing malaysian airliner. criminal investigations underway in the disappearance of flight 370. malaysia's prime minister says it appears someone deliberately cut communication, diverted the plane and flew on for seven hours. investigators do not know who, why or where the plane went. >> it is a chilling picture, the jumbo jet, 239 on board, flying for hours, possibly until the plane ran out of fuel. with a criminal investigation under way investigators are scroout nicing the -- securityinizing the backgrounds of everywhere on course. >> zaharie ahmed shah has more than 30 years of commercial flying experience, and reports that the home of fariq abdul hamid has been searched as well. investigators know someone in the cockpit turned off two key

communication systems - first the data on engines and aircraft performance, and then the transponder, letting know of altitude and position. there was a vinyl routine voice -- final routine voice communication, but then the jet turned off course. blips seen on malaysian military radar were the missing jumbo jet, and someone was at the controls. >> up until the point at which it left military radar coverage, this movement are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane. >> even with its communication systems disabled, the aircraft was still sending out electronic symbols picked up by satellite. that's how investigators know it was still in the air and

determined two possible flight paths, one heading over india and pakistan up to khazakhstan. the other to the south, over the indian ocean. sources say what is the more likely path if those in the cockpit wanted to avoid detection. officially this is still a wide open investigation. >> despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, i wish to be very clear - we are still investigating all possibilities >> the latest news is another blow to the families of those on board. understandably straight to know what happened to their loved ones. malaysia airlines has no answers. >> because this situation has now started to look at a criminal investigation under international law, we are not permitted to respond to questions at this time. >> the dozens of planes and boats that had been searching the south china sea under the

intended route of the jetliner are being pulled out, moved west to the vast indian ocean, to find a sign, any sign. missing jetliner. as the search inters the ninth day, fatigue is a factor. i arrived a commander with the u.s. navy's 7th fleet how concerned he was they may never find the plane. >> i'm very concerned. first and foremost for our sailors. we have about 700 u.s. navy sailors. we have to watch carefully the fatigue level. we sent out grief counsellors and chaplains to make sure that they are doing okay. and physically too. you kapt operate equipment 24 -- can't operate equipment 24 hours a day or push people to work 24 hours a day. we are concerned about the fatigue level and that's where

we are now. >> still no sign of the plane. >> it's been three years since the fighting began in syria. on the grim anversy we look at the -- anniversary we look at the events that escalated it into war. plus the children left without family. more on the growing refugee crisis. president nicolas maduro issues a warning for protesters in

venezuela.

>> in washington remembrance for those killed in syria's war. the names. last 100,000 people killed this that conflict were read outside the white house. today marks three years since the uprising began. >> the war in syria is bloody and complex. three years of fighting

devastated cities and families. and to better understand how it began and how it evolved, we turn to courtney healy. >> the conflict began in daara, with children demonstrating, chanting sloggance. president bashar al-assad's forces rounded up 15 boys, some as young as 10 years old. they were beaten, bloodied and burnt, and had their fingernails pulled out. >> the families protested. by may tanks were rolled into their homes. by the end of 2011 the arab league suspended syria for violence on its people. in 2012 rebel fighters calling themselves the free syrian army launched counterattack. at the end offed may 110

villagers were killed using hatchets, knifs and guns. the fighting continued into 2013. in the early summer hezbollah fighters joined forces to capture the strategic town. i autumn the u.n. concluded assad's regime used chemical weapons. assad struck a deal breakered by russia. our contributor in syria, whose identity we keep hidden for her safety says many syrians feel abandoned by the west. >> also hunger. don't forget the hunger that has brought so many syrians in rebel held areas into submission.

>> two rounds of peace talks in geneva failed. the u.n. estimates more than 9 million people in syria need help. 2.5 million have fled the country. >> thanks to courtney keeley. >> syrian forces made a huge strategic victory. they captured a town north of damascus, the last rebel-held city, and an important supply route for weapons for the opposition. >> these are government soldiers taking positions on hills surrounding the city. this commander said his fighters laid siege and rebel fighters have two options - surrender or die. but the rebels dismissed that, saying there is intense fighting at the western entrance of the city. this video shows rebels

destroying a tank. armed groups are calling for urgent reinforcements warning that the city could fall at any time. >> the fighters are desperate to retrieve the body of a colleague, killed trying to repel government troops. we hear one of them saying bullets are coming from everywhere. there has been heavy fighting for a month. the army backed by hezbollah fighters is on the offense i. if it gets full control, it will be the second biggest military achievement. the first was the recapture of the city last june. this is the rebels last stronghold in the mountains, if they lose it, they lose a vital weapon supply route, and it paves the way for government troops to retake rebel positions

around damascus. >> earlier today the united nations tweeted the latest numbers on syrian refugees. two years ago - think about this - there were about 23,000 refugees. today, two years later, it stands at 2.5 million people. syrian women and girls had to deal with their own danger. i spoke with heidi layman from the international rescue committee, and says women in refugee camps are under a daily threat of sexual and domestic violence. >> the war and the trauma that the women and girls faced is compounded by the issues of violence that they face every day. i was in jordan last month. i was taking to a group of -- talking to a group of women and they talked about domestic violence they faced, including being burnt by secrets, and beaten by chains and asking where were they supposed to go.

it's one of the reasons why the international rescue committee is focussing on the visibility of women and girls on the third anniversary. >> where do the women turn, is it the egg groups, law and order in the camps being handled by the governments there, who do they turn to? >> ultimately it's the international communicate yits collectedive possibility to make sure the women and girls are safe once they reach the refuge, whether it's turkey, jordan, and it's essential that the humanitarian communities are putting up specific programs that are meeting the needs of women and girls. >> are you getting the impression that the host countries are dismissive on integrating the refugees, that they are trying to isolate them in the camps. to keep it in perspective there's over 900,000 syrian

refugees. >> in just one country. >> just one country. we have to look at how do we support the countries that are hosting or giving refuge to those meeting social problems that have been there from the beginning, but are more pronounced as the protracted nature continues. >> millions more inside syria's borders have been cut off from international aid. >> fighting for the future. still ahead on al jazeera america. the anger tens of thousands face as venezuela remembers a former leader. >> a young woman disappears from her home. the family say they find her brain washed. we are in wells texas with a look at what many call a new and dangerous cult.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour. deliberately diverted.

malaysia's prime minister says flight 370 was flown off course on purpose. investigators are scrooutinnizing the backgrounds of everyone on board. police reportedly searched the ohms of the pilot and copilots. honda is recalling hundreds of thousands of minihave been over concerns they could catch surveyor. 2005 to 2010 honda odysseys have a problem with fuel pumps. replacement parts is not available until summer, but a temporary fix will be in place. >> the ukrainian government and the united states says the crimean referendum is not legitimate. moscow will face sanctions if it brings crimea on board. >> tomorrow's referendum is rattling crimea's economy. people are rushing to banks to withdraw as much cash as they can. jacky rowland has that side of

the story. >> the timing could hardly be better. the pro-russian authorities bring gas to the neighbourhood days before the referendum on the future of crimea. they are also nationalizing the crimean branch of the ukrainian oil company. >> this company will be under the control of the crimean authorities. the people who run it will come from crimea, not from ukraine, not from russia, and all the income from the company will go into the crimean budget. >> the question of money is very much on people's minds as they make what might be their last trip to the markets as citizens of ukraine. the out come of this rrched um might seem a foregone conclusion. there's a lot of uncertainty about what it will mean for ordinary people. what will happen to their families, will they have enough

money to find the things they need for their families. people are anxious to get their hands on their stadiums. the atm is limiting car withdrawals to stop the banks from going bust. the director says he can work with any national authority, all he needs is stability. >> as soon as we know the currency we'll be using, we'll have a clearer idea of what actions to take. >> putting your money into bricks and more tar or concrete and steel has been a safe investment. the future of crimea is affecting the construction industry. >> translation: it's not the best time for the construction business. there's only certainly projects and certain companies get the

projects. >> night falls and they continue to queue patiently outside the bank. for the most part people are keeping their opinions about the referendum to themselves. only cash gets everyone's vote. >> venezuela president nicolas maduro is making good op his threat to use force on protesters in caracas. hours after issuing an ultimatum for demonstrators to leave, more fighting broke out. nicolas maduro spoke about a rally in the capital to support the military. >> on the last day of a week-long series of event commemorating the one-year anniversary of the death of hugo chavez, this march by venezuela assist revolutionary militia is meant to send a message to

opponents of the government. this is a non too subtle way of reminding opponents that chavez has the national guard and militia. they are not soldiers, but after a month of protests between anti-the government groups and security forces the president wants to show he has the means to confront the challenge to the chavez revolution. this gathering was called to show support for the national guard, at a time when it is under fire by human rights advocates at home and abroad. guards men have been accused of using force and torturing protesters. the government will investigate char charges and not tolerate abuses. there were only words of encouragement. this at a time when some at the

opposition are speculating and in a few cases hoping if the unrest spreads, forces will force the president to step down. >> ron says it thwarted a plot to attack its nuclear enrichment data. not much else was revealed. computer viruses have attacked nuclear facilities, including one that disrupted centrifuge. iran says it's a campaign by the west to undermine the nuclear program. >> government blames sympathizers for attacks op soldiers, since the ousting of muslim brotherhood mohamed morsi ousting. 300 military officers have been kill. >> today is the 76th day of

detention for our al jazeera colleagues. they are charged with spreading false news and belonging to a terrorist group. a cairo group has postponed their trial. al jazeera rejects the charges and continues to call for their release. >> the small town of wells texas has no marathon 800 people, and is a place where everywhere seems to know everyone else. there's a group foo understand. some call it a colt and worry it's taking over the town. >> it was new year's eve 2011. chris meyer was worried about an rv broken down in front of his house. i asked where they were heading and they said here. >> it group as the first of the

church of 12. founded by three waco college students. they travelled the country, recruited members through street preaching. they settled in the town of wells and had been systematically bying house after house. it got to the point where the towns people spray-painted their doors to keem this group out. the church numbers 100 members, and owns the gas station and grocery store, which many residents buoy got. >> jim maddox pastors a small church. saying the group's communal style living earns it the reputation of being a cult. >> they were telling everyone they were going to hell >> according to the recorded sermons, the church believes salvation requires cutting ties with one's own family.

patty and andy grove say their 27-year-old daughter joined the group in july, and no longer speaks to them. they say when they tracked her down in wells, she appeared to be brainwashed. >> she goes, mum, you make me smile. and i'm not supposed to smile. i'm supposed to be down. i think that ripped my heart out. >> pastor maddox says the groves are one of many families from around the country who came looking for loved ones who joined the group. >> most all of these people are intelligent, come from good strong family backgrounds. >> what would make someone like that break? >> keep them - weaken their body, weaken their mind. >> the fbi says the church of wells is on the agency's radar. local police investigated the death of a 3-day old infant forn

a church member in 2012. according to a statement from the child's father, they did not seek medical treatment because they believed the baby would be resurrected. a grand jury decided not to charge. >> that's not faith or godly. >> what was it? >> i would almost call it murder. >> we tracked down sean morris, the leader. >> we want you to explain perhaps some false assumptions about you guys. >> no, i don't want to. >> a church members said allegations against leaders are false. >> they make these people look like they are monsters, but they are not. they are regular people. they come across as very polite, but the most judgmental and at times hostile people i've ever met. >> for now the church of wells

is staying put, and distraught families are searching for answers. >> tomorrow we'll have more on the groves family's effort to convince their 26-year-old daughter to leave the church of wells. >> president obama's wars governing overtime pay. he wants to ensure that workers that go the extra mile, should share in that success. >> it will affect the average worker. america at work airs tomorrow night at 8:30 eastern. >> the stand-up comedy is remembering david bremer, dying after battling cancer. he developed an observal style made famous by jerry seinfeld. he was an award-winning document

airian. he was 78 years old. >> still to come on al jazeera america. from snow to thunder storms, there's a lot to talk about with weather. >> did you ever feel that the winter time wouldn't stop, even though spring was so close? >> i'll show you where you were going to get eight inches of snow - coming up in your forecast. >> paleontologists identified a new species of dinosaur. we'll tell you how they came upon it in figured it out 70 million years later.

>> ross is here with sports. we have an idea of who is qualifying for march mad possess. put on your dancing shoes. a bunch of teams are looking to punch a ticket into the big dance. arizona, and in the process logging down a number one seed. all they had to do was bet u.c.l.a. los angeles, and this game tide at 68 with a minute to go. check. they have 71-68. jordan adams knocks down the money ball, pulls off the upset. they are going dancing were the first to the head coach steve alford. in the big 12, iowa look to continue their cinderella run, knocking off kansas, and took care of business against baler, capturing a title since 2000. creighton - the new kids on the block had a rude welcome from

providence. they are putting on a show at maddison square garden. providence win, the first biggie since 1994. a couple of the old biggies teams are hooping it up for the american title. stepping up on defense. terry rojeur and ross smith getting into the act as the defending national champions. joining on to dominate yukon. now, you have to love march madness, casual fans to the hard core junkies will spend a lot of time spending countless hours cheering for the underdogs in the hope of seeing stunning upsets that makes the event special. the big dance big business for the service industry. >> it's finally here. tournament time in college basketball. for bars and restaurants that means the post-holiday drought is over. the crowds will be filling seats

to enjoy the excitement of the big dance. >> 75% of our business is sports related. we double or triple the sale based on one time, what the games are, or what we are anticipating before or after the game. the madness of march is no better personified than in sports bars. tip-offs as early as 7am. the establishments must plan accordingly. >> business wise it's good. constantly busy. need extra stops. obviously orders are big, kitchen is busy, the bar is busy. snowballs as the month goes on. 57 games will have to be played to determine the champions much season a welcome opportunity. as one bar owner told us, there's no days off in march. >> march is - after january and february, everyone has cabin fever, it's an excuse. everyone is small, all families, people from everywhere.

it was a chance to get out and let it go. >> for the teams that make it into the big dance, there's a big pay day. i got to speak with daniel to ask about the payoff. >> it's about the exposure that the university gets and the applications they'll receive in ensuing years, particularly for the universities and colleges that do not have a lot of ex-personals ex-pageures. >> all 68 teams in the tournament will be announced on selection sunday, 6:00 pm eastern. get ready to fill out the brcts. warren buffet is offering a billion for a perfect black ement. >> that has be interested in the bracket. >> you may be the winner. >> thank you. >> the american west is suffering under a drought of the aims. it is not the first time.

ron reynolds looks at the past to see if it reveals answers for the future. >> today all that's left of mesa grand are the eroded remains of buildings and temples vouched by the you're map sprawl of phoenix, arizona. for 1400 years this was the center of the hohokam civilisation, a sophisticated people says archeologists jerry howard. the hohokam were unique. they built these enormous irrigation systems. the canals were brilliantly engineered to carry water. they were enormous in size. canals, 14 metres wide and five metres deep, irrigated in an area of 500,000 tech tears, supporting a population of 80,000 people. then, about 600 years ago, hohokam's civilisation

collapsed. the reason - water, or lack of it. at the university of arizona, the largest collection of tree ring data tells the story. scientists studying wood can tell how weather patterns shifted with disastrous results for people. >> it was one of the most serious droughts in the last 2,000 years, affecting the people quite badly. >> there's a drought going on now. do we have any idea whether we are at the beginning, at the end or towards the middle >> no, not until is over. >> how long could it last? well, the one in the 1500s lasted almost a century. global climate change caused by modern human activities will make future draughts worse, says geoscientist. >> the drought in calf , in australia, in the middle east.

the drought in malaysia now. these are all the face of change. this is what we'll see more and more of as the earth warms up and in many parts dries out. that brings us back to mesa grand. the people that lived here for more than 1,000 years, were no different to people today. they probably thought their way of life could go on forever. then nature proved them wrong. >> it gives us a cautionary tale. >> they outstripped the available water. we are doing the same thing, follow the same path. in the future it will hit us again - where do we get the water next? >> a question for which the past provides no easy answer. >> yes, no easy answer for all the people in the south-west suffering with the incredible drought. >> it's so dry and warm. that's a place you'd want to go

if you were waiting for a cold blast like here in the north-east. more cold air moving in. let's touch on where we are getting cold wet weather. it's a rainy sunday ahead with a lot of mountain snow. we have wint advice in place for the washington cascades. you can see where we'll get the rain, western washington and oregon and north idaho and parts of canada. it is the storm moving through the south-east. it's brought severe thunder storms in parts of south-east texas, reports coming down from kansas all the way through. wind gusts tracking. they are dying out. we'll continue with the rain, but in the afternoon the threat picks up. it's a risk of thunder storms stretching across louisiana, mississippi, alabama and the

florida panhandle. note that it's mainly rain for the south-east, but you head north. there's the collision. cold air coming down from the north, meeting up with the storm moving through the east. the temperatures in the below zero area, like minus four, it's definitely cold in canada. this is exactly where the winds are pulling the air from, from the north-east. it will meet up crass west vij and vij. washington d.c. gets another monday morning commute with the snow and ice. we'll see the snow stretch from kentucky into west vij. it will be a developing situation through the day, and note that new york, you may avoid the snow, but you are not going to avoid the cold weather. >> winter is not over yet. okay. thanks.

we'll soon see evidence that trex may have had a miniature cousin. dino sore fossils are going on display. the newly discovered t rex relative is smaller, but older. >> paleontologist ron tykoski spends much of his days chipping rock away from millions of year-old fossils for the perot museum of nature and science. every once in a while he finds a big surprise. >> we thought this was from a known species of tyrannasaurus. what are the odds you find something new? not good. >> they were looking for fossils on the north shore of alaska in 2006. they found out what they were looking for and other remains off to the side. as an afterthought, ron tykoski looked at them about a year ago.

it looked like a t rex, but what they are calling a nanuqsauraus hoglundi is half of the length, 25 feet wrong, 1,000 pounds and roameded 2 million years earlier. >> any time you can find something new, it helps to fill in the blanks, at how things changed, how it evolved, what it was like in the distant past. any additional bit of information makes that picture all that more clear to us. >> the paleontologist found a partial brain casing, a lower jaw and tooth sock et cetera and snout. ron tykoski's nanuqsauraus hoglundi was the top pret tore in a region about the size of minnesota. >> it was doing what ty ranna sour uses did everywhere else - it ate everybody. >> inspired ron tykoski is

taking more chunks out of the rocks. he said they did everything they could do disprove their species, and others will try. >> we can sit and think maybe it's a new ty ranna saur awes, but we had to find the ways we were wrong. after you try to do ta a bunch of times, if you can't prove your idea wrong, maybe it's right. >> casts will go on delay next month at the perot museum of nature and science, in dallas. >> it's not too late, by the way. the mega millions jackpot is winding over. no winning tickets sold for the draw. the jackpot climbs to more than $400 million. the next drawing is on tuesday. there's time yet. that's the show. thank you for joining us. i'm jonathan betz. else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what.

>> you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york with the top stories. crimea's vote on joining russia gets under way in two hours. the ukrainian government and the united states say they will not

recognise the results though, calling on moscow to pull forces back, fearing that russia has its sites set on more than crimea. today marks the third year since the start of the syrian uprising, coming as bashar al-assad's forces claim a strategic city. more than 3 million people fled the country. >> week two of a criminal investigation is under way. it appears the plane was flown off course for seven horse. investigators are -- seven hours. investigators are scrutinising everyone on board and have searched the home of the pilot and copilot. >> honda is recalling thousands of mini vans over concerns they could catch pir. honda odysseys have a problem with fuel pumps. replacement parts will not be available, but honda is offering

a temporary fix. >> david brenner has died. he developed the observational style of comedy that jerry seinfeld made famous. he made of the first of tonight show appearances in 1971. he was 78 years old. those are the headlines. "consider this" starts >> why are exorcisms