>> >> this is al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz with the top stories. what now. the big question after an overwhelming vote in crimea to join russia. >> a u.s. army general facing life in prison for sexual assault, makes a deal with prosecutors. >> the vags into malaysia -- investigation into malaysia airlines flight 370 focuses on the pilot. exchanging labour lawyers, is it long overdue or a sure-fire way to send the economy into a tail spin, that's the topic on "the

week ahead". >> our top story, celebrations on the ukrainian peninsula. voters approved a referendum to rejoin russia. russian supporters demonstrated in the streets for hours across crimea. the election commission reports an 80% vetter turn out. here are the -- voter turn out. here are the results. they are overwhelming. when asked about becoming a subject of the russian federation, more than the 95% votediers. 4% voted for more autoony. the united nations, the e.u., and the white house condemned

the vote. we have a team on the ground. jennifer glasse talks to people for and against the election in sevastopol. but first the south of the nation where nick schifrin joins us live. what is the next step for crimea now? >> everyone here is not looking west, but east. you get a lot of criticism for international and domestic monitors critical of the referendum. they have a long list of irreg u latteries, and they say it was conducted do hastily. they have a voter role that was not accurate. they have militia allies, guns on the street and it boils down two questions - join russia now or later. for the majority, none of that mattered. tonight was the first chance they had to decide their own

destiny. >> for the majority of crime jans, march 16th will be known as independence day. the day they voted to separate from a ukraine they never wanted to be a part of. the day they voted to join a russia they still call the mother land. >> i'm happy to be in russia. it's my choice, my voice today. i'm lucky to be in russia. >> they celebrated a lop-sided vote europe has hosted. for 12 hours, one after another after another ticked the same box. as this mother put it, it's never to early to vote for russia. >> this man feels loyal to his soviet army comrades and delivers orders to young

soldiers, but to different battles. >> the former general votes in his old dress uniform. like many, he is nostalgic for his old identity. during app interview he showed off his long-expired soviet passport. i asked if he'd trade it in for a russian version? >> absolutely, i'm going home, they'll welcome me with open arms. >> they have turned their backs on the west and their representatives. in the polling saying in a southern town, instead of police or election officials, pro-russian militia is running security. they blocked our access to a room we were authorised to film. the id allows us to come in. why are you telling us we can't. he tried to talk us out of filming, and tried to make us

stop. excuse me. do you have a problem? he runs away. despite my efforts. >> his militia is in plain view, creating a gauntlet for a prospective voter. inside the polling booths are empty. half the population is muslim tatar. >> nothing will stop the voters. >> we are hope, it's our region, we are happy. >> they don't care that the west calls the vote a fraud. they care for moscow to welcome them home. >> the local government will waste no time at all tomorrow

morning. they are expected to pass a resolution declaring their allegiance and declaring to be part of the russian federation. a delegation from here is expected to visit moscow, and the dispoouty prime minister is talking about replacing the ukrainian currency with the russian ruble. people do not care what the west are saying, they are excited to look east towards moscow. >> it is storming there, but a lot of people celebrating. nick schifrin live in the crimean capital. >> in southern crimea russian flags are flying high as thousands rejoiced to a return to their homeland. jennifer glasse has more from sevastopol. in this village, going to church is political. this couple have to navigate flow a checkpoint. they decidedly didn't vote. how can we have free choice under the barrel of the gun. >> there's no option to have

crimea remain in ukraine, like now. >> the church sits next to a ukrainian base, surrounded by troops who arrived two weeks ago. inside we are praying for a peaceful resolution. these are ethnic ukrainians, making up 15% of the population. these say they will stay despite the render um. this man says crimea is caught in a geopolitical mess. >> russia, usa, n.a.t.o. and the warsaw packed countries - we are just a little pawn. >> in sevastopol, 60 miles away, the scene is different. before the polls closed the atmosphere is jubilant. >> the people say it's a day of great celebration, one they vice-president waiting for for years, and are sure life will be better under russia.

>> crimea is and always was linked to russia. it's a crowd pleaser. here the russian flag is the accessory of choice. today is the first time he has voted for anything or anyone. he was never a leader or issue until now. >> i voted for russia because it's my only choice, russia. >> my daughter, my son, my husband, we voted for russia. we are ukrainians. my husband was in the russian military. my children went to russian schools. we love the city and can't live without it. >> there's deepness, trust of the west. when they learn i'm american, i'm lectured how president obama, and officials orchestrated the fall of the government in kiev.

most people in sevastopol don't care what the rest of the world thinks. referendum or their future, they welcome the opportunity of their own choice and say they are going home to mother russia. >> ukraine's prime minister is vowing to bring to justice anyone that encourages separating crimea. the government held an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis. paul brennan has more on that. >> while crimea was voting, ukrainian government ministers huddled and conferred. what should the practical response be to events. the answer came from the prime minister. find the money, and fast. >> sunday's session at the cabinet office in central kiev was an emergency meeting and the prime minister emphasised why. there needs to be a tenfold increase in spending. the integrity of ukraine depends

upon it. >> for those calling for russian intervention, the verdict was scathing. >> let there be no doubt, the ukrainian state will find leaders of the separatism, shielded by the russian troops are attempting to destroy ukrainian independence. we'll find them all, bring them to justice and try them in ukrainian and international courts. the earth will burn beneath their feet. >> military preparations are under way. at the eastern city a convoy of vehicles and tanks has been moving into positions south of the town. should russian forces cross the border 50 miles from here ukraine will respond. russian forces which landed on a narrow strip of land outside the crimean border on saturday dug in behind a gas supply station

and showed no sign of pulling back. local residents watch and worry. >> they say they are protecting us from terrist acts, butt don't say what. >> for a second day they staged violence demonstrations. occupying the office, replacing the ukrainian flag with a russian one. the government believes the unrest is being stoked by prove okay terse, giving moscow sufficient reason. the crimean referendum has ended, the crisis in ukraine is ong. >> -- is ongoing. >> a lot is changing in ukraine, leading up to this historic day. it was more than three weeks ago when the president viktor yanukovych fled the country after protesters stormed parliament. a few days later russia seized bases in crimea and.

ukraine demanded russia pull back. crimea, 10 days ago, said they wanted to join russia and would vote. today they voted and voted to join the russian federationment >> the united states is promising consequences for russia. >> president obama told vladimir putin, that the u.s. will never recognise crimea as part of russia. obama spoke with vladimir putin by phone, the white house releasing a statement saying "sunday's referendum violates the ukrainian constitution and took place under duress", vladimir putin, who spent the day in sochi for the paralympic closing ceremony fired back. >> president obama was not the

only world leader condemning the referendum. the vote was described as illegal and illegitimate. the e.u. refused to recognise the outcome and issued a statement calling for diplomacy. >> only working together can we find a solution. the e.u. called on russia to pull back soldiers. sanctions are on the work in washington, along with a diplomatic push. secretary of state john kerry and the white house are prepared to work with the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. talks on friday between john kerry and lavrov ended in failure, and the kremlin appears to want to put crimea's reunion with russia on the fast truck. the speaker says moscow's response to the referendum will be fast. >> turning to other news. the u.s. army general accused of assaulting a female army captain

is no longer facing sexual assault charges. brigadier general jeffrey sinclair will plead gauilty to lesser charges. he will no longer face life in prison. >> it appears he will escape prison time. 27-year army veteran brigadier general jeffrey sinclair saw the most serious charges. sexual assault against him dropped. instead, he'll be pleading to lesser charges, including improper relations with three subordinate army officers and adultery, which is a crime in the military. the serious charges were sexual assault lodged against him by a female captain, when both were on tour of duty in afghanistan. recently it was found that the captain provided conflicting testimony over the course of her pre-trial testimony and was found to be political taint

among the upper echelons of army brass. sexual impropriety and encounters in the military, the top brass called it a crisis. it's up 60% over the course of the last three years. there was a debate in the senate, frankly. senator gillibrand had a controversial proposal to remove the complaints or adjudication away from the chain of command. that didn't happen, a different piece of legislation from senator clair mcas kill from misz missouri won the day. there was talk about how that may impact the case. it was found to be politically tainting for the trial and the case against general sinclair. >> well, still ahead on al jazeera america - with suspicions mounding over the missing malaysia airlines flight, investigators are

focussing on the pilot and why one of them had a flight simulator in his home. president obama wants to extend overtime pay. could policy help ignite the economy or cause americans to lose their jobs. tonight, we go ipp departments on how -- indepth on how it could affect the average worker. ♪

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>> authorities have expanded the search for the missing malaysian airlines jet, focussing on the pilot and a flight simulator one built inside his home. that search area for the missing airliner expanded and covers an enormous area. the plane appears to be deliberately steered off course. florence louie has the latest. >> inside the gated community is the home of malaysia airlines captain mohammad javad zarif. now examining the flight simulator the pilot kept in his house. mohammad javad zarif's friends were quick to defend him.

this is a tribute posted on youtube. most of the comments on the page say they don't believe he could have been involved in the plane's disappearance. >> i know him as a person that cares for people, and responsible innize job. and if -- in his job. if anything was to happen, he'd make sure everyone else, crew and passengers, their welfare is taken care of. that's the captain mohammad javad zarif that i know. >> in a nearby suburb was the copilot's home. they say the captain and copilot did not ask to fly together. >> mohammed was a passenger. he's an aircraft engineer on his way to beijing for work. his father says he has not been questioned by investigators, and pleaded for an end to speculation about what would be behind the disappearance. >> give time to the government. it's all angles of the case and bring all passengers on the plane back safe and sound.

>> investigators are waiting for other countries to furnish them with background checks. >> malaysian police confirmed they are looking at not just the crew and passengers, but engineers who may have had contact with the aircraft before it took off. >> this means the list of potential suspects has grown, and there's no indication of who might have commandeered the plane and why. >> sailors on the uss, "kidd" are scanning the ocean for signs of the missing malaysian airliner. anything found is reported and inspected. two sea hawk helicopters aboard the destroyer are looking. nothing credible has been found. >> the loved ones of those on board flight 370 are emotionally torn, waiting for word on the whereabouts of the plane, while they wait, news may have been deliberately averted has given them some hope their loved ones

are still alive. >> it does raise your hopes, because you think the potential is there that my brother is still alive. but then i think i have to find that scary as well. because of someone deliberately took the plane, they have taken it for a reason. and i think we know oftentimes that's not good. >> the families of a lot of passengers complained about a lack of information from the airline. earlier i spoke to peter goelz, a former director of the national transport safety board and arrived how common it was for pilots to have an aviation simulator in their homes. >> aviation is one of the most addictive professions, and pilots love to fly. i don't consider that at all to be, you know, an alarming point. >> let's talk about the cockpit.

we know some things. we know the transponder was turned off, we don't know by whom. we know other forms of communication were turned off. as we look at this investigation, do pilots have the ability to turn off things like the voice data recorder or the flight data recorder. ? >> yes, they do. those can be turned off relatively easy by pulling a circuit breaker on a panel adjacent to behind where they are sitting. those, too, could have been turned off. i think it's a reality that we have to consider going forward, that this investigation is going to go on for months, perhaps ears, and that if -- years, and that if we are looking for a silver bullet, including data and voice reporteders, that -- recorders, that may not be realistic. >> and also changes for the voice recorders so they can hold

more information. >> rockets were fired off north-east coast of north korea, flying 43 miles into open waters over the sea of japan. 25 short-range missiles were fired. south korea called it a reckless action. north korea called it justifiable self-defence. >> latino showing solidarity for venezuela. hundreds held candlelight vigils to protest human rights abuses. in mexico city, 100 demonstrators chanted freedom. in argentina 300 gathered outside a university building holding candles forming the letters sos. >> and human rights activists in egypt say the military crackdown on islamist held to prison

overcrowding. the crackdown happened when mohamed morsi was ousted. and members of the muslim brotherhood launched protest. 16,000 people have been gaoled in sweeps and protests. 3,000 are top and mid level members of the brotherhood, many waiting months before they are charged. 2,000 supporters have been killed by security forces. and today is the 78th day our al jazeera colleagues have been detained in egypt. mohamed fadel fahmy, mohammed badr, and peter greste are accused of belonging to a terrorist group and spreading false identification. al jazeera rejects the charges. their trial has been postponed until marge 24th. >> in -- march 24th. >> serbia's progressive party won a landslide victory. aleksandar vucic is expected to be the next prime minister. he campaigned on pushing for

ties with the e.u., and lower crime. e.u. membership would be best for the country. >> translation: i expect reforms, job creation and the fight against corruption to be the main issue. >> i think the e.u. membership is best for serbia. i would be sad if my or your kids could say albania is the west. >> earlier serbia began talks with the e.u. >> a strong earthquake off the coast of south america. the 6.7 quake was meant to be 6.0. it struck off the chost of chile, there's no tsunami threats. chilean authorities ordered coast at evacuations as a precaution. >> president obama is trying to

tackle the issues of stagnated wages and it's setting up a battle between employers and employees. we bring you both sides of the debate in the week ahead.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour. ukraine's parliament condemned the decision it rejoin russia. 95% of voters favour the referendum. ukraine's prime minister compared the election to a circus. vladimir putin told him the u.s. would never recognise the vote. >> a u.s. army general accused of assaulting a female army captain no longer faces sexual assault charges. brigadier general jeffrey sinclair is expected to plat guilty to lesser -- plead guilty

to lesser charges. he will not be registered as a sex offender or go to gaol. >> malaysia airlines plane appears to have been deliberately moved off course. investigators are looking at the passengers and the crews. >> tim -- time for "the week ahead." president obama wants to overhaul overtime pay. we start with court nigh healy. >> on thursday president obama sinds an executive order, his goal to expand overtime for working americans. >> if you work hard, barely maki making ends meet, you should be paid overtime. >> the order requires the labor department to examine changes that would expand the number of employees eligible for overtime pay. the president says that strength thing overtime pay will tim awe

late the economy, giving workers bigger pay checks and more spending power. proponents say it will benefit millions of workers, computer technicians, fast-food employees. >> 59% of workers are paid at hourly rates. among knows paid by the hour, 3.6 million or 5% earned the minimum wage of $7.65 or less. the fair labor standards act demands that they earn more. if they earn more than $4 # 55 a -- $455 they don't have to be paid overtime. that's 24,000 a year. below the poverty level. >> some economists believe wages have been kept behind the economy. >> business groups say it's too

expensive and will cost jobs. >> the national federation of independent business will released state. the plan to release overtime play demonstrates another policy, coming on the heels of a proposal to increase minimum wage, tipped wage, rising health care costs and unwieldy regulations. if you don't have a job. supporters think it's a fair way surtet to >> the fair labour standard ards act of 1938 changed work in america. introducing a maximum 34 hour work week.

and ended child labour. it guaranteed that time and a half for certain jobs. now, the last time the rules for overtime was changed was back in 2004. then george w. bush used executive powers to raise the cap for overtime. this week's move to raise the cap is part of the president's push for greater income equality, including health care and raising the minimum wage for more than $10 an hour. joining me to discuss this is robert otinger, and an editor at think providence. >> i imagine you see this a lot. this is an issue that anger a lot of americans. they feel like they are being ripped off by their bosses. >> absolutely, we see it all the time. that's what we do. people call with complints about

employers not paying them. >> is there much recourse for them. we saw how you have to make $450 or less. it's about 24,000 a year. >> that's right. it's an uphill battle. the laws are so old. it was enacted in 1938. politically it has not been adjusted. so many people, 90% of americans fall into the white colour exemption. 90% of americans are not white collar workers. they can be fluid, it sounds like, the people who qualify for white collar jobs. >> right. an exemption is if you are an executive. but people who are overseeing crews, a clean-up crew, can be qualified as an executive, meaning they don't have to be paid time and a half. >> if you look back at a number

of people that qualified over the years. back in 1975, 65% of workers were guaranteed overtime pay. 65% of workers. by 2004, that had shrunk to 18% of the population. inflation had a lot of blame for that, and words like professional, administrative and executive could exclude workers from overtime. today only 12% of americans are guaranteed overtime. when you look at the numbers, do you think something is wrong? >> there's definitely something wrong. middle class americans are being ripped off. they are working hard and not getting paid. i'm out there in the courts. it is hard. it's a long slog, it's a battle and the laws are stacked against the american worker. >> when you think about the changes president obama has proposed, when you look at the big picture, it could radically

change your the workweek. >> absolutely. one much the things it does, beside giving workers more money in their pockets is change the way we think of the work day. back when the fair labour standards act was passed, it was to try to make the 40 hour work week standard. we think about ourselves putting in eight hours a day, five days a week, nine to five, most of us put in more than that. the reality is americans are not doing that, we have a culture that is overworked. >> i know people with good jobs making money, lawyers, accountants, doctors who work more than 40 hours a week. ism there was a survey of professionals, 94% putting in 50 hours, half 65. we have a culture of overwork. overtime rules would not apply to everyone, it plays to, say, your secretary. if she goes home at 5 o'clock, it may change your the way you

think about the day you put in. >> does it play into the theme of americans working too hard. do you think this might give the president leverage in trying to make the rules, changes happen? >> i think it will. and there's income disparity as a result of the laws. people in the middle class are working at trying to break out and earn money, they can't. people that earn moneys can keep the profits for itself. that's why you see the income disparity. what are the changes going to look like. the president said he wants to change your the overtime rules, but no one those in which direction we might go. what do you see happening here. >> there has been a push for the people trying to push him towards the order to make the threshold $50,000. is sounds more like what a professional white-collar worker makes. >> it's a big jump. >> it's about twice as much. we have lost all of that to inflation since 1975.

there'll be a long comment period and we probably don't see anything until the fall. they have a lot of money in fire power. it's anyone's guess as to what we see happen. there's a push against this, including the u.s. chamber of the commerce. changing the rules for overtime will make employees more expensive, forcing employers to look for ways to cover the costs. this is a big concern among many in corporate maerk that, yes, you -- america, that, yes, you can change your the rules and pay people more money, but we can't afford it. >> they can afford if. if employees work hard, they should be paid for their time. >> there's a hum concern about -- huge concern about the small businesses. so many employ people who work

40 hours a week and they have razor thin pockets. this is a bad idea say a lot of people. >> i think you have to realise that employers don't have to respond to this in the same way. you don't have to pay overtime. you can cap hours at 40 hours a week, and higher more people. that would be great for the economy, because we could use more jobs, and in theory you have workers paid at the same rate. >> the concern is they may pay people more and change the work or schedules. it could lead to lay-offs, they are spending more on their employees, is that a legitimate fear. >> we want to be careful not to do things that hurt smul businesses. a lot of companies that will be affected are large corporations, that have recovered from the recession, and that's where we'll see changes in pay.

we can talk about small businesses, but a lot will go back to companies that are large, that are driving the record profits and not paying workers for a fair day's work. >> i wonder if there's a middle ground. where we can exempt small businesses. is that something that can be reasonable. >> i don't think you can distinguish between employers how big they are. the fact is that most overtime cases are not filed against small businesses. we see large-scale waste violations by huge corporations. they are what you read about. they are the companies targeted by the law firms to protect employee rate. my experience is smaller companies treat employees better, and have a closer work environment and know the people better and don't want to the rip them off. larger enterprises are impersonal, and have large-scale schemes to rip off of the workers.

>> you see more from your workers. the 40 hour work week is a good model for productivity. henry ford knew you'd get the maximum out of your employees. and small business know that. >> it's interesting to look at the polls, there's some support. bloomberg at a poll found 69% of americans actually support raising the minimum wage, and a third are opposed to it, which makes sense that a lot of americans would like the idea of raising the minimum wage, shifting away from overtime. there's a catch to that. the concern is yes, you can raise minimum wage, but if it leaves to job losses, a lot of americans are against it. what does it tell you. >> when we see from the polls, americans understand that the promise that you go work, put in a full day's works. a lot of people work full-time and live in poverty, and americans across the board think

it's not fair, and raising the minimum wage is a way to change your the equation. on job loss the research is undecided. the congressional budget loss warns that there could be some or there could be none there are many ways that a higher minimum wage could be affected. >> do you think racing the minimum wage would change your the life of a worker. >> it will make a difference. for the company, it won't affect their bottom line. so much of the wealth is staying in the hands of the few, but if we share with the middle class and workers, more money is spent, and that is better for the economy. i think it's a good thing. i don't think it will hurt the economy. >> even though so many are concerned. you mentioned they had a report saying this could lead to the

elimination of half a million jobs. >> one thing we see in the real world experiments, where cities or states raise theirs on their own, when compared to their neighbours, if you look at the real world, there's a lot of evidence pointing to the fact that it puts more money into the economy, boosting demand. they sell more, hire more people. i think that it really can have a big exact on people's bottom lines. >> when you look at president obama's efforts to shrink income and economy. are there ideas that may be more appetising to businesses and republicans. >> in changing the laws. >> especially with the minimum wage. they face a tough battle getting that through congress. >> i think it will be impossible. i think that it's smart for him to do what he's doing now, because he's getting around the

political process. he doesn't need congressional approval. telling the secretary of labour to fix it to protect people, that's something they can do. i think it's a great move to use the power they have to help the people out there that need it. >> let me get your final thoughts, as we look at changing overtime. if this goes through, which it could possibly happen, how much do you think this will change your americans lives? >> it will have a huge impact. it could impact as many as a million workers who will have a shorter work day or more money to spend on the things they need. >> thank you both for coming in. fascinating subject, affecting so many people. thank you both. >> before we move op, here are some highlights in the week ahead: on tuesday the medal of honour to spanish sh jewish and

italian veterans who have been passed over because of their ethnicity. >> and the first tweet. >> on saturday the major league baseball opens with a game in sydney, australia. >> still ahead - school shootings and gun violence are a fear for parents. tackling gun safety head on with bold adds that have advocates crying foul. >> also the start of spring is four days away. the weather doesn't seem to want to coordinate. tales of the latest blast and what it means for st. paddy's day celebrations next. >> and the little team from georgia headed to the big dance. stay with us.

>> the issue of guns is a difficult topic, especially for parents. are there guns in your home? if so, how are they stored? it's part of a campaign known as just ask. a magazine is challenging the city to ask the tough questions. we sit with a group of parents and ask the question. >> after the shooting in connecticut, i couldn't go another day after sandy hook without doing something proactive. she joined with the antigun group ceasefire. it implores seattle parents, do you have a gun in the home, and

if so, how is it stored? the adds are designed for effect, show young people gripping hand gun, and led to a fire storm of online discussion. some argue that the campaign is another attack on gun owners. several agencies in washington state are running the at with text only. we sit with four parents for their reactions to just ask. there's a couple of adds. this is the first. this is the first one. >> this couple own a rifle and beeby gun and never asked the question until this moment. >> you need to be supervigilant about your home environment.

>> running the risk of coming across the gun in the household. >> seeing a gun in a kids' hand. i mean, there's not much more that's as scary as that image. i think that's a legitimate question to ask, and i should be, as a parent, and a responsible adult, able to answer that question. >> the publisher says this campaign is not about whether you open a gun or how many guns you have, it's been gun safety, and keeping them out of the hands of children. >> i'll take any backlash or criticism if there's a possibility that this could save one child's life. a year-long just ask campaign will empower discussions on gun safety for years to come. >> boston's mayor boycotted the

city's st. patrick day's parade. he tried but failed to organise a deal, the conservative allied war veterans counsel to allow a gay group to march. massachusetts was the first state to legal ace same-sex marriages. bill de blasio is boycotting the parade. it's the first time in 20 years that a new york mayor will not be in the parade. >> new york's parade is one of several. hopefully the weather will cooperate. >> some areas it will. in some spots it will be a little showery, especially around the mid-atlantic. as we look at the parade forecast. it will happen around 11:00am. cloudy skies and there's a risk of a few light snow showers early in the morning. by the time we get to the parade, cold gusty winds.

temperatures in the mid to upper 20s. savannah, 10:15, and we have rain showers. savannah is a spot where the rain will increase through the afternoon and evening. if we look closely, we are monitoring storms. now into florida making its way to gainesville. the stronger storms are over the gulf. we'll watch out for flash flooding. most of the storms pushing to central and south florida. so, radar and crowds - moisture coming up from the storm, hitting the cold air to the north-east. here is snow that is developing from kentucky, to west virginia to virginia, maryland, delaware. storm warnings in place - visibilities will go down low because the blowing gusty wind

from 20-30 miles per hour, those are the gusts. in addition to the snow. we are seeing about 3-7 inches forecast for this specific area you see in hot pink. some areas will be higher, especially if you go into elevation. the snow totals, but the temperatures staying nice and toasty - jonathan in the west. >> toasty in the west, but not the north-east. >> ross is here with sports. it's time to talk march madness. >> talk about a sunday fund. the 68 n.c.a.a. tournament was unveiled on selection sunday. here is a look at the top four seeds in each region. >> bill joy donovan and the florida gaiters. as for the undefeated team - wichita state at 34 and 0. the number one seed in the midwest. the first time the shockers were

given the number one seed and virginia in the east region. everybody loves an underdog in the big dance. if you look for a cinderella story, keep an eye on mercer university. the bears come out of hypernation and are dancing for the first time in a long time. i know what you are thinking "where the heck is mercer university?" jessica taff goes back to school. >> 85 miles south of barack obama, is cherry blows oms, and in the distance the university of mercy. where the basketball team is a big attraction. it's the first time since 1985 that mercer will send a team to college basketball's n.c.a.a. tournament, the ultimate destination. >> over the last three years with the group of seniors, each year they achieved greater things and people have gotten on

the bandwagon with mercer bear, creating excitement. >> it's like we made history, but, again, we didn't make history, because they did it. it's like trying to start a new tradition. >> make im is a city about starting traditions. this is where southern rock was born and music from the ormond brothers to little richard and oatize redding. make im is the place they made their mark. >> my father recalls for less than $2 you could walk through the doors, here ormond brothers, leonard skinner and tucker on one night. on the stage still here today. tom petty played with his original band. just the list goes on and on? mercer university is an entering call part of the livers of the natives. >> the graduation last year. >> something that stands out more than little richard shoes are the cherry blows oms,

blooming and bringing thousands of visitors to see until make im is dubbed the cherry blows im capital of the world. >> i didn't know there were cherry blows oms. that might have been in my submission to know beforehand. just the recruiting and we met the coaches and the players we'd come in with. it clicked and we had a good opportunity to play. >> the cherry blossom is a fantastic thing. if you are mere in the next few days, it will go nuts. pears are pretty, but the cherry blows oms, we have as many as you want and people come from all over to see them. we'd just like them to stay and come to the gym and watch a few games. >> mercer have a tough first-round match up on friday against the dukies. >> wow. >> start filling out the brackets. warren buffet offering $1

billion for the perfect. jonathan has been studying. >> i have been, the billion dollars got my interest. the first time i care about march madness. >> do you have predictions? >> i like arizona, wichita, and just those teams, florida. >> any particular reason why? >> no. >> just you like them. >> i like them. defending champs, i think they'll go back to back. >> that's the show for tonight. i'll be back with more news at 11:00 pm eastern. first a look at the top stories after a short

>> you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york with the top stories. in an election condemned by the ukrainian parliament, crimea voted to rejoin the russian

federation. ukraine's prime minister compared it to a circus. and president obama spoke to vladimir putin a few hours ago and told him the referendum would never be recognise the by the u.s. or international community. voting is taking place in serbia. 6.5 million are electing a knew parliament. the ruling party is expected to keep ints power thanks to popular anticorruption campaign and efforts to join the european union. >> a u.s. army general accused of assaulting a female army captain is no longer facing scmault charges. brigadier general jeffrey sinclair will plead to lesser charges, will not have to be registered as a sex offender and not do gaol time. >> malaysia airlines plane appears to have been deliberately steered off course. authorities are looking at the background of the passengers and the crew. 239 were on board the plane.

>> lebanon says syria conducted air strikes in the south-east of lebanon, where the government is going after armed rebels. they've been battling in yabroud, the last town. >> next "lockerbie - what happens next." you're watching: lockerbie: what really happened >> three years ago al jazeera began investigating the conviction of abdelbaset al megrahi, the only man found guilty of the bombing of pan am flight 103 over lockerbie in scotland. in the run up to last december's twenty-fifth anniversary of the bombing, we repeated two films that cast grave doubts on megrahi's conviction. now, we can reveal the results