>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're covering for you. president obama announced sanctions after crimea voted to leave ukraine. plus celebrating 40 years of the grand 'ol opry.

>> just moments ago president obama addressing the u.s. response to the crisis in ukraine. the president stressing the referendum in crimea yesterday was in violation of international law. mike viqueira is at the white house, and the president authorizing new sanctions against russia, bring us up-to-date. >> reporter: there are a number of actions that have taken place over the last couple of days. are these going to be symbolic? will they have teeth hyped them or is it something that will compel vladimir putin and those around him to reverse course in crimea. so far there is no sign that that's is going to be the case. united nations in the security council the united states pushing forward this resolution to condemn what has happened in crimea. russia having that veto power vetoed and spoke of the international unit that demonstrated with the exception of russia. today signing a second executive

order authorizing yet more sanctions against individuals within russia and today's order authorizing sanctions against individuals within ukraine and within crimea including people who purport to be the new leaders of cry maya, apart from ukrainian government. obviously the president saying again this is not something that they're going to be recognizing, the united states and it's international partners. the armed sector, those individuals involved in the armed sector are targeted by the sanctions, and they did name names, seven individuals in total including those who provide material support for what vladimir putin and the russian government are doing in crimea. the president time and time again voting vice president bide someone heading to the pol baltc states, poland, those nations known to be very sensitive and even nervous having a lot of

anxiety about the events in ukraine as well. the president will be heading another previously scheduled trip to an e.u. summit in brussels, and did he talk about the fact that the e.u. imposed sanctions of its own over the course of the last currently of days on 11 individuals within russia. the conversations continue. the president spoke again with vladimir putin within two weeks, all of it to no effect including the conversations between secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart lavrov. after his conversation, he talked about a need for international conference for constitutional reform within ukraine, a glimmer of hope there is still a chance of diplomacy and that is something that the president is holding out hope still. >> you couldn't help get the feeling that the president was going pond yesterday's referendum and thinking more

about what will happen next. we've been here with russia and georgia, now crimea. you get the feeling that the president and e.u. are now laying down the guidelines saying this cannot continue. >> reporter: there is no question about it. the president is showing resolve. obviously this is destabilizing to europe. therefore, it's destabilizing to the united states. there is an incredible amount at stake here beyond just this territorial land grab by russia. you heard the president, the secretary of state tell time and time again that this is not how things are done, particularly among leading nations within the 21st century. again the president leaving the door open for a diplomatic solution calling for russian forces to return to their bases calling for a dialogue between the russian leaders and the interim government now in the ukraine. a government that the russian government does not recognize and refuses to talk to.

the message being sent, and so that the west still are strugg struggling to come some short of cosee heavy and unified front. these sanctions are a first step. >> thank you very much. and u.s. and e.u. saying sunday's referendum was illegal. announcing sanctions against several russian officials and e.u. officials are meeting to discuss their own sanctions against russia. phil ittner is in kiev. will sanctions hurt? do they have teeth? >> yes, del, they have teeth. we have been struck by the high level of individuals that these sanctions target. you have to keep in mind thatted thatted that is a president who likes to have a very tight inner circle. these individuals are the very top of that list. what jumps out at me first and foremost is dmitri ragosen the

deputy prime minister of russia. there is no direct comparison because russia has a parliamentary system and we have a presidential one, so it's not exactly the same, but in you i have len to hitting sanctions on 9 speaker of the house. this is no joke. these are individuals who have an awful lot of power. have an awful lot of influence on vladimir putin. the state department and white house clearly have formulated this list with clear intentions of hitting russian and hitting with sanctions that are close to home. this is something that is going to hit some very powerful people both in the public sector and private sector of russia. it is a clear indication that the e.u. and white house have been liasing on this because

there was concern from the e.u. hitting at sanctions of industries. germany is concerned about that because they have very strong ties when it comes to industry. but what will be interesting to see is how the russians reciprocate. they cannot hit individuals like the west has because of course if i'm a banker, if i'm a public figure in the united states, i don't have bank accounts in moscow. so russia will have to look at striking out the sanctions on industry no matter how germany or the e.u. would like it. we're still waiting on the press conference to sigh what folks in brussels are going to do. but we did hear from the e.u. and foreign policy katherine cash toncatherineashton,. >> we'll look at the results of the so-called referendum.

i don't have to remind any of you that it's illegal under the constitution of ukraine and under international law. i call upon russia yet again to meet with ukrainian leaders and to start dialogue with them, and to try to move to deescalation as quickly as possible. we see no evidence of that. >> so, you know, they still want to talk things out. but this--these developments today, these sanctions, as i said, del, are they going to hurt? well, they are going to hurt and this is a pretty serious develop. >> what are they saying in ukraine. we're outside of the vote of crimea to secede, so what is being said in parliament today. >> reporter: the ukrainian parliament all along said they would not recognize it. they said this is illegal and crimean parliament does not have

the authority to make an unilateral decision on secession. coming back to sanctions it will be interesting to see ukrainians will be happy to see the number of ukrainian officials that are on that sanctions list not which the former leader viktor yanukovych, but also crimea's self proclaimed prime minister, he's on that list as well. many ukrainians will be welcoming that, at least those who are out here in the west, in kiev. but we have heard some very strong language, not just about sanctions. not just about what to do with the referendum, but what to do when they look forward. we heard from ukraine's acting president who spoke about a number of issues, including possibly calling up a reservist and military actions. let's take a listen to what he had to say. >> looking at the eye aggression in crimea in which th will nevee

recognized i have called a decree that calls for mobilization. >> reporter: we now have a lot of talk of mobilization of forces and you heard of reservists being called up. but a lot of standing army are being september out to the east of this country not only to secure that territory but also now to create a brand new border. >> phil ittner, thank you very much. jennifer glass in sevastopol, declaring crimea an independent state so, where do we go from here? >> that's right, del. first thing this morning. both of the legislatures here in crimea, the one in simferopol, the crimea capitol, and sevastopol, both legislation

went in this morning and said they were succeeding from ukraine and asked russia to take them into their fold. president putin, is expected to speak tomorrow in moscow to an ex-ford session of both legislature there. the hope is here that he's going to bring crimea into the fold very quickly. we don't have a sense of timing or how this is all going to work, and how administratively it's going to work. and least of all how the military is going to be divided up. you have russian troops blockading, we heard one of the men on the u.s. sanctions list speaker of the parliament, he was saying that any ukrainian forces here that don't pledge their allegiance to crimea have to leave but they have to leave all their material hyped. that will not go over well with kiev or the international community and a potential flash point here. >> thank you very much.

and jennifer has been on the ground since the crisis began in november. meanwhile developments concerning that missing malaysian airlines flight holding on to hope as investigations into the missing plane is now in its tenth day. it now appears the co-pilot made the plane's last transmission to air trying control. how significant are these findings? >> reporter: we need more information, but we do know it was the co-pilot, 27-year-old, who made that last transitio tr. it was a routine transmission where he said all right, good night. investigators will be analyzing whether there was there's in his voice. they'll release new information that indicated the two communication systems that went off on the plane, the tran transponder simila system and te system that sends out

information how the plane is doing mechanically. they may have gone over after that last transition. that's different from what they were saying before. so the information is changing daily. the homes of the pilot and co-pilot, their homes have been searched, their families questioned. they are looking at the simulator, a lot of focus on the cockpit crew. we should tell you 26 nations now are involved in the search for this missing jetliner and french investigators have arrived at the request of the malaysians. they were the ones who helped to find air france 447 that went down in the atlanta, obviously a deep-water find there. they have been called to assist in this investigation as well. del, still no idea where this plane could be.

but bits of information coming out all the time as they search for the plane and figure out what may have happened. >> you're a veteran aviation reporter. there are growing frustrations that the information coming out of malaysia, as you indicated, are in drips. >> there has been a lot of concern about how the information has been released. i think most peopl are better at releasing. but what information are they sharing with intelligence agencies around the world. there has been a lot of concern here in the u.s. that the u.s. has helped more help on an intelligence front and the malaysians have been reluctant and refused to take that help. there is a lot of concern in that request. the people here in the u.s. want to know all the details on the ground so they can offer more help. >> al jazeeral jazeera easily's.

remember for more on all the information coming out of the ukraine and all today's headlines, you can go more twitter. brigadier sinclair has been accused of having an affair. this case against sinclair has seen a lot of twists and turns in recent weeks, now this. >> reporter: yes, some would say this turn has taken an embarrassing one for the military brigadier general jeffrey sinclair is happy today. he won't spend life in prison. he won't an registered sex offender. that could have been the case if

convicted of sexual assault. that charge went away as did the charge that he threatened to kill his former mistress and her family if she revealed their three-year affair. today, though, did he plead guilty to additional charges. he bled guilty to disobeying a commander's order, misusing a government credit card, and mistreating his former mistress. it's described as inflicting emotional distress upon her. he already pled guilty to additional charges, possessing polk in pornography in a combat. his accuser is a captain and military officer. she testified after the three-year affair her relationship with sinclair deteriorated and on two occasions he forced her to

perform oral sex and then threatened her. but her testimony came into question when during a pretrial hearing there were some inconsistencies. so much so at that time the chief prosecutor in the case actually stepped down after he said that his request to drop the most serious charges against sinclair were ignored. last week the judge in this case halted the court-martial. he thought that political consideration may have clouded the military when it rejected a plea offer from the defense at the onset. here we are today with the most serious charges dropped against sinclair in a very high profile case. this case was watched very closely by lawmakers. there have been concerns that the military has not done good enough job combating sexual statute which is on the rise. the sending hearing begins this afternoon.

the defense plans on calling 20 witnesses. >> natasha life for us. thank you very much. >> u.s. navy seals seizing a hijacked oil tanker at the mediterranean sea. morning glory had sailed into a port under a north korean flag. no one was hurt as a result of that mission. coming up on al jazeera america, the air in paris has not been safe now for five days because of smog. drivers are facing new rules to try to make it easier to breathe.

>> wall street on the rally after last week's sell off. investigators selling off the secession of crimea and focusing stronger on manufacturing. it seems like the economy is shaking off it's winter doll drops. the federal reserve saying the factory bouncing back. this follows a sharp declient february manufacturering rolling out more automobiles. alibaba is coming to america and will list its public

offering in the u.s. and could raise up to $15 billion. that would value the company at $100 billion making it the largest ipo since facebook. paris facing new driving conditions aimed to reduce it's pollution. we're in paris gauging reaction. >> reporter: pollution has been rising over the past week or so. so much so that the free public transport was introduced on friday just to get people outside of their cars using an alternative method. from monday, though, from early this morning cars with odd numbered plates were the only ones being allowed in. those that flouted the ban faced a fine of $30. >> i think it's a very good idea to fight against pollution. now i'm a sales woman and

fortunately we're part of the group being allowed in. >> in a few years since these measures should be have been put in place. it seems obvious that there will be more of these in the coming years. >> reporter: there are exceptions. cars with three people are allowed into the city. the reports concerned about how these measures will impact on the french economy. and calls to address the problems with pollution in the future. >> coming up on al jazeera america the grand 'ol opry house, a country music landmark 40 years after it opened it's doors people still go there looking for the next big star.

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story next only on al jazeera america >> welcome back. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. the president announced tougher sanctions against seven russian

officials. if crimea secedes from ukraine and goes to russia. russian president vladimir putin said to address parliament about the vote on tuesday. the focus in the search of the missing malaysia plane is now on the co-pilot, the last to make communication before communication being turn odd. if you are in nashville, you'll see people like buddy hoping to make it big. now he's a successful songwriter but the opry stage is still a

dream. >> reporter: what does the opry mean to you? >> it's the pinnacle for any country singer. it's the one gig where you can say you made it if you played the opry. >> reporter: the grand 'ol opry is the nation's longest running live radio show and from the beginning presents an unique mix of icons along side up and comers. the opry grew so fast it had to change venues several times. in 1974 it settled in this location in nashville. over the weekend the grand 'ol opry audience got a rare treat seeing video of the first show on that same opry stage. bill anderson was there sharing the stage with then president richard nixon. >> we were very much in appreciation and in a of the fact that the president was here and made such a big night of it. >> reporter: when the opry moved here it brought a piece of magic

from the past, original wood from the stage, performers saying taking their place on that spot is an unforgettable experience. >> when we walk up and stand on that circle of wood. it was there in the 40s, it's there now. it's very special. >> reporter: time has not dimmed the opry impact or need to keep growing. >> it is so different when you walk on this stage. >> in order for it to grow it's got to stay relevant. it also has to hold the past forward. >> reporter: buddy owens continues performing hoping soon they'll get the call to play the iconic opry stage. jonathan martin, al jazeera, nashville.

>> meteorologist: i'm meteorologist dave warren snow winding down across washington, d.c. this is the radar picture showing that heavy snow clearing out, breaking up a little bit. not quite done but still a little light snow coming down with mixed air in virginia and north carolina. more rain to the south with the second wave of low pressure moving along in the same area. you can see that area of rain is coming down with temperatures right around 33 degrees but farther north we could see sleet, ice or light snow over the next few hours. more rain of course the across t with severe weather in parts of florida. this line of storms has a history of producing gusting, damaging winds. and this area of rain pushing off to the east, high pressures in the middle, and another storm coming on the west coast will impact the area late this week.

differently it will bring up warmer air. high pressure will keep this rain to the south. this will be tuesday and wednesday. maybe a little ice here but not the extent of the snow that we saw this morning. it will keep a cool air in place so the temperatures will be down from the mid-atlantic state all the way up to new england. look at what is happening in the midwest. warmer air is trying to move in as the storm across the west coast moves east and brings up warmer temperatures in the south. this is tuesday at 6:00. warm irwill come up from new england by thursday and friday. thursday happens to be the first day of spring. it will feel like it with temperatures climbing into the 50s and 60s. it should stay dry with a little bit of rain by the end of the week. >> dave warren, thank you very much. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters for al jazeera america. head to www.aljazeera.com

where news continues 4 hours a day 7 days a week. and it is st. patrick's day, we encourage everyone to have fun, but to celebrate safely. it is the inside story. ♪ . >> hello, i'm ray swarez, the man who used to be jorge mario is cardinal arch bishop has shown he is a master of flipping the script. it started from the moment the votes that made him the head of the worldwide catholic church were counted an enormous crowd gathering in st. peters square, the cheering throns