>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters with the following stories for you. >> the international law must be upheld. >> as crimea moves away from ukraine the u.s. announcing tough new sanctions against top russian officials. and more on the missing malaysian plane. and hand painted bill words

returning to the nation's largest cities. >> the next chapter of ukraine's political crisis has begun. now that crimea has decided to breakaway from ukraine and join russia. is a vladimir putin quickly moving quick to approve. we have pro hencesive coverage from our al jazeera reporter stationed around the world. phil ittner is in kiev, jennifer glass is in crimea, and we begin with mike viqueira at the white house. the tough new sanctions announced just moments ago. bring us up-to-date. >> reporter: the other shoe dropped, the president announced he was authorizing sanctions against certain russian individuals who were instrumental with vladimir putin and cohorts have done.

in crimea's vote to join russia. u.s. announcinthey didn't name . they said these sanctions were going to be impose first degree russia stayed on the course that it was on. they're obviously on that course and today the hammer comes down on four russians and three ukrainians, including those individuals who purport to be leaders, russian leaders. in very short notice after signing the executive order, here's more of what he had to say. >> there is still a path to resolve this situation diplomatically in a way that addresses interests of both russia and ukraine. that clues russia pulling its forces in crimea back to its bases. engaging in dialogue with the

ukrainian government. >> reporter: so the president stressing international unity citing the fact that the e.u. over the weekend imposed sanctions of itself on 11 individuals who were responsible for violating the territorial integrity of ukraine and instrumental in bringing crimean referendum to a vote that obviously the administration, the president saying they'll never recognize crimea being part of russia. >> we've been here before with regards to russia. it was georgia last time and now it's crimea, do you feel like they're laying down the guidelines saying this cannot continue. >> reporter: that's a great point. and the president still not giving up, providing an off-ramp, you heard him talk about it before, about russia getting back to its bases, opening up a dialogue, there is no signs that russia is going to do this. this is after a third call

yesterday between president obama and vladimir putin. >> phil ittner, you have more information concerning those sanctions. who was targeted by the e.u. today? >> reporter: yes, well, del, there are a number of people targeted with these sanction programs and they're very high ranking. this is pretty much vladimir putin's inner circle. these are a lot of men who have direct contact with vladimir putin. and he's a president, a man who likes to keep his sources and confidants close to his heart. this will definitely have an affect on russian leadership both public and private. but you know, del, one of the things that the e.u. has always been criticized for when it comes to dealing with russia is that they're very reluctant to do anything because they have such close trade ties with moscow, but this seems to be different.

europe waking up to the fact that if they don't stand up to vladimir putin they'll forever be in moscow's pocket. british foreign minister william hague spoke to this, and tried to wean itself off of its dependence on russia. >> we have started today discussing the longer term, the need to reduce dependence on russian energy over many years to come and many of these sorts of things that will be the biggest costs in the long term. if we make no diplomatic progress over the coming weeks so i'm, pleased we made this decision, there is agreement in these things, and we stand ready to build on these measures if it becomes necessary to do so. >> of course there is still grave concern in europe about how these sanctions may be reciprocated by moscow. we have heard from the kremlin that they will return in kind

with their own sanction program, and we've been in touch, actually, with the foreign ministry in moscow, and they say that they will be taking action, and that europe is not their only trading partner. they do have options, and they're taking a straight line to moscow. we'll see what they have to say about all of this. >> what did the ukrainian parliament saying right now about that referendum? >> reporter: all along the kiev parliament and kiev government saying they will not recognize this referendum. they feel that the crimean parliament overstepped its authority. they don't have the power to unilaterally call a referendum. they are saying this is a false vote. we've heard from the ukrainian president speaking about that

very matter. >> looking at the aggression in crimea which the russian federation is covering up with the as far as called a referendum which will never be called by ukraine and the civilized world i have signed a decree that calls for mobilization. >> now in that emergency meeting today or that meeting of the parliament today they also said that they're calling up reservists to head on out to the east of this country, not least of which they think that russia is trying to destable itstabilit now they have to set up a borderline of international frontier. >> thank you. we turn to jennifer glass, what does this referendum mean for ukrainian troops that are still wearing ukrainian military uniforms. >> reporter: that's right, they're still flying the

ukrainian flag over the lack sea fleets. and on ukraineen bases that have not been taken over by russian forces. we have heard by head of parliament say today that those soldiers, those ukrainian soldiers either have to join the crimean forces or they have to leave crimea. one of the men on the u.s. sanctions list announced just in the last hour or so we don't know if that's going to effect anything here, quite frankly. those sanctions have not--the people here in crimea said we don't care what the west does. we're making our own decisions. the legislature wasted no time in declaring independence in asking to become a part of russia. we still don't know what is going to happen to that military stand off. you've got sailors in ships in the bay behind me and around the

peninsula here. blockaded on their ships by russian ukrainian sailors. they're waiting for some sort of leadership from kiev, but it is a very uncertain situation. >> jennifer, i'm curious, have we heard anything from russian lawmakers concerning this referendum? >> reporter: you know, we're waiting to hear from they're going to say tomorrow. president vladimir putin is going to address both legislatures in russia tomorrow and certainly the people of crimea are hoping to recognize the referendum and recognize crimea's request to become part of russia. for right now we're waiting to see what president putin will do. the sanctions are new, but the past couple of weeks any different russia won't pay any attention and do what it wants to do. >> now to that missing malaysian flight, flight 370, it now appears the co-pilot made the plane's last transmission to air

traffic control. the search for this plane has entered it's tenth day. >> reporter: as investigators in malaysia search the homes of the plane's company to captain and f the co-pilot, it refeels who spoke the last words from the cockpit. it was the man in the right seat. >> initial investigation indicates it was the co-pilot who basically spoke the last time. >> reporter: that was 27-year-old who calmly said all right, good night when told to contact controllers in vietnam. that contact never happened. they revised the timeline saying the two communication systems that were switched off on the jet may have both been disabled in the minutes after that final radio transmission. the police have interviewed the

family, and are now examining the flight's simulator the pilot built in his home. >> we have dismane dismantled id we've reassembled it, and we're getting experts to look at it now. >> friends of the captain have been quick to defend him saying he could not have been involved in the flight's disappearance. >> he would have made sure that the crew and passengers, their welfare before thinking of themselves. >> reporter: they could be anywhere from western australia to deep into the indian ocean. >> u.s. china, france, among others to provide satellite detail. >> reporter: the p-was added to the search asthma haitian

investigators who say the flight's disappearance is a deliberate act has refused intelligence assistance in the focus o on the pilots. >> my understand ising is that malaysia is not cooperating at all. >> reporter: the flight's black boxes if ever recovered, would yield few clues. if this is a six-or seven hour event we've lost all of the good stuff. >> reporter: joining the search of the plane three investigators from san francisco who helped find their country's own missing jet a number of years ago at the bottom of the atlantic ocean. lisa stark, al jazeera, washington. >> meanwhile the loved ones on board flight 370 say they have a lot of questions.

they believe they are still alive and are not giving up hope. >> we believe he's alive. in our hearts we believe he's alive. god is in control. with all the twists and turns that have happened through the week it's been--it's given us hope. >> he has created a facebook page encouraging people not to give up. president obama welcoming palestinian president mahmood abbas to the white house. the goal is to get the palestinian leader to agree to framework talks with israel. bringing nostalgia art back to life. and much more when al jazeera america returns.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines at this hour. palestinian president mahmood abbas will meet with president

obama at the white house. the two discussing the framework fofor a peace deal. but palestinians believe they will face pressure from the u.s. to make a deal that will not allow for an independent state. >> reporter: this is a funeral for an 18-year-old shot in the back of the head by the israeli army. they say for throwing stones. one week later his mother is still in disbelief. >> i think they could have arrested him, put him on trial, anything, but not kill him. >> reporter: it's this continuing killing and conflict between israelis and palestinians, the u.s. believed could be resolved starting with the draft agreement president obama will deliver to president mahmood abbas when they meet in washington. it's thought there is some consensus for a palestinian

state on the west bank in the gaza strip territory garnered by israel in 1967. palestinians would be compensated with equal land elsewhere. but there are questions whether israel is bargain nothing good faith. complicating negotiations is the fact that israel has continued building illegal settlements here in the west bank. roughly 10,000 new settlement units since talks began in july of 2013. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu wants his country recognized as a jewish state, palestinians say they did recognize the existence of israel in the as low accor oslo. palestinians want east jerusalem as a capitol. >> with jerusalem as part of our own sovereign state. >> reporter: international law mandates return of refugees

displaced in 1948. this is a sticking point. israel is insisting on keeping a presence in the west bank. the differences seem insurmountable and now hopeless for palestinians. >> therthey have been negotiatig for 20 years. since he was born. he was killed, and tens of thousands have been arrested during those years of talk. >> reporter: there is little time left for peace making. a draft framework with a nine months deadline with differences created over decades may just have a month to resolve. al jazeera, west bank. >> navy seals taking control of an oil tanker in the

mediterranean sea. morning glory had sailed into a port under a north korean flag, but north korea denied the ship was the its. they took control of that tanker. no one was hurt in that mission. >> wall street looking to break it's five-day losing streak at this hour with the dow taking off right at the opening bell. analysts say investors seem relieved on the decision of crimea rejoining russia, and now that it is behind us, and any sanctions punishing moscow likely won't make much of an financial impact. recalling 364 advance and cadillacs and sedans because of other problems, gm said it will set aside $300 million to pay

for the costs. in a positive economic sign for growth the federal reserve said factory production soared. it comes after an equal decline in january suggesting bad weather and not a slowing economy was behind that drop o off. new poll shows one-third of americans without health insurance won't sign up despite being required to do so under the affordable care act. the reason given that the coverage is too expensive, and 70% of uninsured people don't know about subsidies that might reduce their costs. an electriguitar played by george harrison before the beatles invaded the u.s. is on the auction block. it's expected to fetch $600,000. harrison played that guitar on

appearances on british tv before the band came to america in 1964. it will be auctioned off in may. hand painted designs that faded in the background decades ago. now it makes a comeback on buildings in america's biggest cities.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. president obama ordering sanctions against russian prominent people. the focus of that investigation into malaysian airlines flight 370 is now back on the co-pilot. it's been revealed that he was the last one to talk to control

room before the signaling system was turned off. >> meteorologist: i'm meteorologist dave warren coming in from the capitol. eight inches of snow in some areas. the snow is winding down giving a little break but another storm will follow, but maybe not the amount of snow we saw today. maybe more rain an maybe ice is in the forecast. one area of snow moves out. here is a break. still below freezing in this area. it's a slippery roadway and could get a coating of snow and possibly a mix where you get that rain falling in the cold air freezing before or when it hits the ground. the area of low pressure which will move along the same track maybe a little farther south so not as much snow, but still more rain and ice to the south. over the next day or two. thrichmond virginia, just above freezing with that cold rain coming down in raleigh. 46 degrees in atlanta. there is a line of severe

storms. has a history of producing damaging winds as it moves to the southeast, moving through florida. this will watch closely and a watch is likely keeping an eye on storm pro diction centers moving through the southeast. a little snow in the northern plains, another storm across the pacific northwest. in between we have high pressure as the storm tracks to the south. the high keeps the south so we're talking about rain and a little bit of ice tuesday morning and early wednesday. here's the break, but it's cold. high pressure will keep that cold air in place. here's the north-northeast wind. watch what happens wednesday and thursday. the storm coming into the northwest now. we'll move across the midwest, and this will be the first day of spring. on thursday we have temperatures climbing in the 50s and 60s. so a nice warm up expected here

along the east coast as that storm tracks east with maybe a little bit of rain. >> thank you very much. it wasn't that long ago that hand-painted signs dotted sky lines across the country. but high costs and high tech billboards replaced them. but now one by one they're making a comeback. art and advertising reuniting in new york. >> reporter: for decades hand painted ads like these appeared on billboards in new york selling everything from vitamins to manicure sets. but with technology sign painting soon became extinct leaving behind ghostly images of billboards in its heyday. but now it's enjoying a revival. >> the biggest hurdle was convincing people that hand paint can be a viable source for advertising. and i think that's more than proven now. people are coming to the wall.

they're looking at what's going on. they're wondering what is happening here. wow, this still gets done. >> reporter: not only is he keeping sign painting alive, he's grooming a new set of painters, a group of artists anxious to learn the ropes. >> came to the bar, and they were painting a huge wall across the street, i just remember that's all i want to do. >> reporter: the learning is slow, the process painstaking. they may be signs but it's a technique of an unlikely source. michelangelo. >> he's using a pounce machine tracing over all the contour lines of the image. while he's doing that the penal he's use something burning holes in the painter. the painter will grab this when he gets to the wall. he'll take a bag filled with

dust, and he'll rub it over the surface, and it leaves that impression of whatever part of the art work shows. >> and they're ready to paint. well, not quite. it takes thousands of pounds of rigging to get here. it also makes for a hectic week. they call themselves wall dogs often laboring seven days in a row or more battling fatigue and the elements. >> we've been working a 15-degree weather. with this is something that you have to deal with. the wall is not going to paint itself. >> clients are willing to pay a premium for one of these ads because this kind of performance art creates an invaluable buzz that you don't get with traditional outdoor campaigns. >> there is something different about seeing someone on scaffolding at a high haven'ta f

painting that turns heads. it was worth it in our minds. >> reporter: a concept advertising 100 years old and enjoying a resurgence. this time less likely to fade away. >> so that's how they do that. by the way, the hand painted signs are commonplace in new york city but some states still ban them. california, hawai'i, maine all having laws against outdoor advertising. a six-year-old from colorado taking a giant step to pursue his dream of going to space. connor jackson started an online petition drive to save nasa. he gathered so many signatures that the kennedy space center took notice and invited him for a witness. they e changed gifts, a gift of

$9 to help save nasa. >> the dow is up 187 points. hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you in "the stream." chocolate made in a 3-d printer, food innovations are everywhere. are they going to catch on? find out. ♪ i'm casey cap listen, and i'm keith caplin, and we're here