this this which then would last, would then provide russia with a pre-texas for them to come in and save their ethnic russian come patri-i don't think so. we have heard language from not only sergei lavrov saying if these prove indications continue, if our people out in

the east of the country are ethnic russians or russian speakers, they keep getting attacked by nationalists. >> that's the perspective mossco is putting out. we will have nol choice but to intervene here in kiev. they say that would be unacceptable and might lead to war. >> phil, speaking to that, what is the interim government doing to prepare for today's vote if, in fact, that's what happened? >> they say they will be taking russia in particular to international courts because they see the referendum as illegal. but again they are on high alert. ukraine's military is being mobilized drawing up a new national guard. they asked for 60,000. within a matter of days t 72 hours really, they've gotten

over 40,000 applicants that are also putting in heavy rotation an ad where they ask ukrainians to send in texts that will then give money to the ukrainian military. they are basically asking for war bonds. morgan? >> strong words. all right. phil itner reporting from kiev. we turn to al jazeera jackie roland who has been monitoring from the crimean capitol, sevastopol. >> despite the cold, despite the rain, they were waiting in line before the voting station opened. there has been an enthusiastic turn out where many people believe they will be better off with russia. >> it is like a holiday for us. i was born in the soviet union as part of russia, and we want to go back there. >> i would vote for ukraine but because of of the self-proclaimed government and all of the mess, i will vote for

russia p. >> the referendum was organized in a hurry and without an up-to-date e leg toral register. some people didn't get their voting cards. >> people have to choose between two alternatives. union with russia or greater autonomy from ukraine. keeping things the way they are is not an option. >> the prime minister cast his ballot early. he is in favor of union with russia but insists there is no pressure to vote in a certain way. >> there is no pressure on the people. you can see for yourself. people are free to vote. personally, i don't feel or see any pressure. >> the security forces who are staunchly pro-russian and never far away, a reminder of who controls crimea right now. the first result will be announced shortly after the polls close. among the people we spoke to, there was little doubt about the outcome. jackie roland, al jazeera,

crimea. we go to jennifer glasse who is live for us in sevastopol. with the polls closing in just a few hours, how are people at the feeling? do they think they know which way the vote will play? all right, sjennifer, it doesn' sound like we are able to hear you. we will come back to jennifer a little later in the program . earlier, i spoke with mimik outspoken critic of the russian president and he told me what he thought the vote in crimea means for russia. >> i think it is clear. mr. putin wants it to separate crimea from ukraine because as putin always thought and thinks now that crimea is not the real

independent, not sustainable territory and that is the uptick of what he is undertaking now is part of his plan just to reestablish some kind of soviet union, absolutely. and i think we are going a very dangerous way and perhaps the russian opposition it is absolutely unacceptable development which is contrary toe russians' national interests. >> the european union is and the u.s. have been deciding whether to impose sanctions if the crimea vote succeeds. eu members met to hash out details of who would be targeted. but according to an eu official, russian president vladimir putin and sergei lavrov will not be on the list. let's go to dana louis, our correspondent in london. tell us a little bit more about who is, then, on that list

>> reporter: the secretary of state john kerry said let's find solutionsing but if you go forward, you will face political and economic sanctions. >> moons holding the vote and voting in favor of it, ratifying it and in the duma later this week in russia. here we go in answer to your question. in the next 24 to 48 hours, we will see accounts frozen of key people close to president putin and that includes his right-hand man, iggor secheen who heads up the world's largetest electric company and they are part of this list of 130 people, prominent russians to be hit by asset freezes and travel bans probably on monday. probably some of the others include rich oligarchs, the duma and army generals. will it work? the former prime minister, when he talked to us -- and remember,

he came from that inner circle. >> right. >> he knows these people well. he thinks it will. he thinks if the right people are targeted, people who have lined pockets in this kleptochracy, 20% will stand fast. 80% who have billions at stake will demand he step back from ukraine likely. he is positive about it. >> okay, dana, if putin isn't on that list, how is any of this going to affect him enough to really make a decision? >> it affects russia economically. billions lost in the falling market. businesses will have trouble getting credit and those with credit, like credit suisse, some of the russian money is being moved back to russia. some is going to asia, like singapore and hong cog. this week, 105 billion in u.s. treasury bond holdings were moved away from the fed. it was likely the shanelle

government moving holdings offshore so they still have access to them. russia's economy is going to be bruised and battered. >> putin is not on that list personally? is a. >> we understand he is not on that list, not yet. >> dana, thanks so much. we go back to jennifer glasse who is in sevastopol. jennifer, earlier, i was asking you with the polls closing in just a few short hours how are people feeling there? do they think they know which way this vote will swing? >> morgan, they do. here in sevastopol, the mood is jubila jubilant. music is every day music on the promena promenade. they are singing and dancing in the streets, flying the russian flag. there is no doubt the people here believe that the vote will head toward moscow today and they say they don't care what the international community does or thinks. when they found out i was

american, they were saying yankee, go home. we don't want you here you know, don't interfere in our affairs. the crimea should be part of russia. the mood is very clear. they are very pro-russian. >> wow. so, if crimea then votes to join russia, what comes next? >> william, we understand that they will then declare independence. >> that's what the russian -- the parliament decided about a week ago. they will first declare independence and then they will petition the russian duma to become a part of the russian republic and the so far written states will be part of the russian republic. i wanted to go back to the vote for a second. while peek are he can static here in the port town, the home of the black sea and has been pro-russian, i spoke to ukraineians who were glum about the vote. they said they wouldn't vote at all. they feel like they don't have a voice here, that they weren't asked and they say on the ballot

that the two choices are no choice at all. one is to head toward russia and one is to go to the 1992 constitution which would make crimean de facto independence anyway, give it its president back, own foreign policy, that there was not an option on the vote for things to remain the way they are, to remain a part of ukraine. when i said some people are scared, they said anyone who doesn't want to stay here should go to ukraine. some people unhappy. the next few days will be interesting here to see how it all pans out with sanctions possibly coming into effect for the russians and international ramifications. it will be interesting to see how this transition happens here in crimea. >> jennifer, briefly i want to go back to something you mentioned quickly. are you saying the people who are against joining russia are likely to stay home and not vote at all today? >> everyone that i -- people that i spoke to, crimeas said they were going to boycott the

vote. ukraineians i spoke to said they were not going to vote because they felt it endorsed it. they felt there was no vote -- no vote for them. it was either independence or heading toward russia and no status quo vote. >> jennifer glasse in sevastopol, thank you for being with us this afternoon. in other news around the world, voting is also underway until serbia where some 6 and a half million people are headed to the polls to elect a new parliament. the ruling party is widely expected to maintain power, and that's thanks to its popular anti-corruption campaign and its efforts to join the european union. >> nicholas maddura warned protesters on saturday he will use the army to clear out demonstrationsura warned protesters on saturday he will use the army to clear out demonstratio demonstrations. just hours afficing that ult matum, clashes broke out against anti-government demonstrators and police. the u.s. pushed aside

allegations that it is medaling until internal fairs. protests against lack of goods and services and lack of employment are fueling vening veni scenarios scenarios's divide. >> the search for the jet air line in malaysia is a criminal investigation. the focus is shifting to what was inside the pilot's home. >> a flood destroying a colorado town, those stories and more when sashthsz returns. al jazee.

good morning and welcome back to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford live in new york city. the number of countries involved in that search for the missing malaysia flight 370 has increased from 14 to 25. the investigation shifting towards anyone who was on board. the search expanded to 2500

miles is a criminal investigation. malaysia's prime minister said the plane was deliberately diverted. >> the investigation and search for this missing aircraft enters a new and delicate phase on the investigation. malaysian officials are pushing for background checks that are missing from some of the nations that had pass engers on this aircraft. they need to interview anyone who had access to this 777 before it took off. now, on the search front, it's going to be a diplomatic challenge because on the northern corridor, officials have to get information and details on satellite imagery as well as radar that can possibly be a national security sensitivity in some of those nations. on that southern corb to do, it will take a lot of coordination because that's such a vast, vast area. this new information that came out on saturday isn't necessarily making this an easier or quicker process. in fact, it's going to make it much more difficult and longer. >> scott mentioned the difficulty of this process.

as the search enters the 9th day, crews are getting weary. we asked william marks with the u.s. navy 7th fleet how concerned he was that they may never find this plane. >> i am very concerned. first and foremost for our sailors out there. we have about 700 u.s. navy sailors and we have to watch very carefully the fatigue level. we sent out grief counselors and chaplains to make sure that mentally, they are doing okay and physically, too. you can't operate equipment 24 hours a day. and you can't push people to work 24 hours a day. so we are very concerned about the fatigue level. we are watching it closely. and that's where we are right now. >> the loved ones of those on board flight 370 are emotionally torn waiting on word of the whereabouts of the plane. while they wait, it may have been deliberately devoted rather than just crashed has given them

some hope that their loved ones are still alive. still, they are worried about conditions they may be facing. >> it does raise your hopes becau because you think the potential was there that my brother is still alive. but then, i think i find that very scary as well because if someone has deliberately taken this plane, then they have taken it for a reason, and i think we know that oftentimes, that's not good. >> similarly, the families of many passengers have expressed concerns about getting very little information from malaise y'all airlines since the flight disappeared dealing with devastation one photograph at a time. >> students need to tell their story. >> up next, the class project helping students cope with the flood that destroyed their hometown.

♪ good morning. welcome back to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford. here are today's headlines.

>> the polls in crimea will close in 2 hours. they are voting on whether or not crimea should join russia. a short time ago, russian putin told angela merkel that he is not backing down. ukraine's interim government in kiev along with the u.s. and the eu have called the vote illegal. crimea is home to many people with close ethnic ties to russia. >> shorts are investigating the backgrounds of pilots and passengers of that missing malaysian jetliner. enter narm national teams are searchi searching, claiming that the plane left for at least 7 hours. it could have reached the southern indian ocean. >> serbia is sundayway in serbia where people are headed to poles to elect a new ruling parliament. it's been six months since

floods devastated sessions of colorado. now, a book of student photographs is helping the town recover. carolyn mckinley has their story. >> these are the sounds of recovery. and for the students at alliance high school, six months after a devastating flood wiped out their ton, recovery sounds like this. work it. yeah. there you go. >> the 2013/2014 school year had just started when the creeks and rivers swelled. 7 ario joe christianson took home video as the waters rose near his home. >> people that used to have riverfront property don't anymore. it's just dry, and people who used to have dry property have a river running through the middle of their house. we were trapped in what i consider one of the most beautiful areas of the world. >> this was a class project.

>> we left our homes and everything. you didn't even know where your camera was? >> stephanie busby felt the project would be art therapy for traumatized students. >> the students needed to tell their story. >> the pictures are as different as the students who took them from american flags to sun-soaked ruins to folks having coffee in the only plates that could open for business. >> it was a amazing. everyone would cry when they saw you and say, i can't believe you guys are open. i am so happy that there is somethi something, somewhere to go. >> our town, our story may not be on the "new york times" best seller list, but it's selling out at $29 apiece. the money will help rebuild trails where kids used to walk to school, destroyed by walls of water. today, students are hand delivering ought graphed copy to a woman who lost her farm. >> hi, barbara. okay. 73-year-old bash wilson has operated apple valley farmstead since the '60s?

>> it's huge. it's huge. but well overcom. bring on the lifeboats. i am uncinchable molly brown. >> this amazing opportunity to take pictures and paint the flood to get what the day of sadness, stress, happiness, loneliness, to get that all out and help express it. >> there is plenty of work ahead in liance but this is what renewal looks like, a sun flower silhouetted by stormy skies, one of many visions of promise by 20 teenagers helping to strengthen a weary town. carol mckinley, al jazeera, denver. >> it suffered $50 million in damage from that flood. the latest on the national forecast. >> severe storms are brewing across the southeast. alabama, there are a couple of tornado warnings that are out currently. we are looking at the strong line of storms, a squall line,

when you see a line as well defined as this, you can see damaging winds will be the primary threat but in the south, it could be huge tornados. as i said, there are a few tornado warnings across the gulf coast in alabama. we will continue to watch this line progress toward the east. there is a tornado watch out toward the panhandle of florida. we do expect to see heavy, heavy rain saturate most of the i-10 corridor and move its way -- make its way, that is to the i-95 corridor tonight. >> extends all the way into the florida panhandle and, also, south and western portions of georgia that goes through this afternoon. meanwhile, further toward the north, looking at temperatures plummeting, colder air sinking in out of canada. st. louis at 35 degrees. nashville at 52. between nashville and between st. louis, that is where our frontal boundary is. such a stark contrast in temperatures. towards the north, see the precipitation following. it's all rain in the areas with the temperatures in 40s and 50s across portions of oklahoma,

back towards arkansas. but once you make your way into st. louis missouri, all ice out there. you need to be careful on the roads. >> ice is going to make its way towards the east. across the midwest and toward the i-95 corridor -- the reason we have weinter storm warnings and the washington, d.c. area, i'm sorry. winter is still here. looking at anywhere from three to six inches of snow. also, towards southern portions of delaware. if your grandma has more instagram followers than you do, don't feel so bad because grandma has more than 73,000. >> grandma, what's your most important lesson you learned in life? >> to be good to other people and love 'em. >> there you have it. her great grandson sat up an instagram to document her last days since she is losing the battle with cancer. the 80-year-old has rnt' lost her zeal for life. her dancing got the attention of one of her favorite artists,

pherrell. ♪ >> he started following her after this video showed her quite appropriately dancing to his song, "happy." i think that instagramming should win. al jazeera america, i am morgan radford. people in power is coming up. >> the far north of europe - a place of extraordinary beauty - home to an astonishing array of