>> live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. tough new sanctions from the united states after crimea votes to join russia. flight 370 now spanning two hemisphere has investigators digging for information on the crew. an army general convicted of sexual assault.

>> the u.s. and european union moved to impose sanctions on some russian officials after residents voted to leave ukraine and join russia. the u.s. and e. usaid the vote is illegal and won't recognize the outcome. president obama said the announced sanctions could be just the beginning. >> international community will continue to stand together to oppose any violations--impose any violations. and it will only deepen russian isolation and take a toll on the russian economy. >> mike viqueira, president obama went further than the original sanctions issuing an executive order today. >> reporter: listen to what the president just said in that

sound bite that he said. further intervention in ukraine, he didn't say crimea. there is concern about those military exercises within russia just over ukraine's border, what russia's designs on eastern ukraine. that's part of what the president had to say. but after the vote. after the referendum the president made good on his threat of consequences for those involved, those he holds responsible, everything that has unfolded over the course of the last thee weeks. seven russians, includingannan, the former president of ukraine, the president named them in sanctions. what is he sanctioning? the personal wealth of cronies. here's what the president had to. >> there is still a path to

solve this diplomatically, this includes russia pulling back its forces back to ukraine bases and engaging in dialogue with the ukrainian government. >> reporter: now some of the russians ar named are involved n the russian arms, and the president in a pre-scheduled trip turning out to be very fruitous going to brussels at an e.u. summit next week. ukraine likely to dominate what is happening there. among the officials named, one official in particular was not named as a target for sanction, and that is the russian leader himself vladimir putin. officials say it would be extraordinary to target head of

state although spokesman jay carney would not rule that out for the future. >> john terrett takes a closer look at the people they're trying to target. >> reporter: you know what they're trying to do. they're trying to ratchet this up slowly and they're hoping some conclusion can be reached. lear is a look at businessmen and politicians who have been sanctioned. first of all a putin aide described as a kremlin idealologist who acted as a representative in the ukraine. you a former governor in ukraine who famously has been quoted to saying she's not afraid of

sanctions. now she will find out. and the big prize today i. finally this one you know, viktor yanukovych, the former ukrainian president himself who of course fled to russia and then called on vladimir putin to send troops into the ukraine. he did so. and more sanctions are expected to be applied on tuesday, including to the head of the giant russian company--literally the biggest company in the world, or one of them. and the head of the oil company

rosnev. and russian secretary. >> just before the u.s. announced sanctions the european union imposed travel bans. and the bloc froze their assets. what does this mean? jennifer glass in crimea, tell us for a moment more about president putin's post referendum moves. >> reporter: we just heard that president putin signed a decree recognizing crimea as an independent and sovereign state. we've had celebrations in seva sevastrepol. they were hoping that president putin would do this quickly. i don't think it's as quickly as

it has. they moved very quickly to declare independence to separate themselves from ukraine, and to ask to become part of rush. tomorrow president putin addresses the russian parliament. we don't know what he's going say, but he's going talk about crimea. the people here are hoping that--that rush will accept crimea's request to be part of the russian federation. that's what everyone voted for on sunday. it happened very quickly, less than 24 hours after the polls closed. they've declared independence. the russian flag is already flying here and this city declared itself part of russia last week. >> jennifer, how are people in crimea reacting to the news of sanctions and travel bans?

>> those sanctions were widespread. here's what they had to say. >> these measures on asset freeze and travel bans on individuals, particularly these are individuals not just in crimea, but in russia as well, including in the armed forces and in the parliament, people who are associated with the decisions that russia has made about crimea. >> reporter: and tony, as you heard john terrett say some of those targeted including the crimean prime minister and hid of parliament. but i if history and the way they've approached things in the last couple of weeks they won't care what the west is saying. they've gone ahead with declarations and full steam ahead towards moving toward

becoming part of russia. >> what has been the reaction to greater ukraine to sunday's referendum? >> okay the government in kiev is very unhappy with what is happening here. the russian troops occupying the peninsula here. they say because of that, because the crimean government had aer righ a right to declarea referendum anyway, it's illegal. they're upset photographer the loss of the territory and now they are concerned with what will happen in eastern ukraine. there has been violence, and russia has been very aggressive in saying it reserves the right to protect ethnic russians in those areas as well. russia has moved troops in exercises towards that butter, and ukraine as well has mobilized troops into eastern ukraine, and it's almost called

for mobilization. it has called up 40,000 people to try to fight against them, they know that the russian military has them outmanned. they can't compare and compete with them but they're trying to do the best they can to prevent russia were coming in from the east. >> jennifer, thank you. there is new information today in the disapyrans of malaysian airlines 370. the plane and it's passengers and crew vanished two days ago. the last time we heard from someone inside the cockpit may have been moments before someone switched off the communication system. >> as investigators in malaysia search the home of the captain and the residents of th residene co-pilot, they learned that the

last communication came from the man in the right seat. >> he spoke the last time. >> this was 27-year-old who calmly said all right, good night, but he was told to contact controllers in vietnam. that contact never happened. investigators today revised their 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. police have interfered the family of the captain, and are now examining the flight simulator the pilot built in his home. >> it's a flight simulator. we have dismantled it and assembled it in our office and we're having experts looking at it now. >> friends of the captain are quick to defend him and say he could not be involved in the

flight's disappearance. >> if anything happened in the plane he would make sure that everyone else's welfare is taken care of before he would care for himself. >> reporter: the plane could be anywhere between central asia and the western australia deep in the indian ocean. >> the u.s. china, france, among others to provide satellite detail. >> reporter: the malaysian investigators say the flight is a deliberate act has refused u.s. intelligence help. >> reporter: another frustration could a lie in the flight of black boxes which ever recovered may yield few clues.

>> it only records information for two hours and then overwrites itself. if this is a six-- or seven-hour event it's rewritten over itself. >> jonathan betz joins us now with more on the timeline of events leading to the plane's disappearance and where the aircraft may have head. >> reporter: it's a huge search. the facts keep on changing. we are now piecing together a better timeline of what we do know about this plane. flight 370 took off from kuala almoslumbor.

everything seems fine at this point. but then the big moment. his two minutes after this. the transponders for some reason at 121 in the morning shut off. the plane now becomes very difficult to track but at the time no one notices. this is the last we hear from the plane. nearly an hour later we think the plane turned left. it picks up at 2:15 in the morning. from there it truly disappears. it's not until six hours after this that at 8:00 in the morning a satellite over the indian ocean picks up a signal from that plane. it's a huge revelation. it shows that the jet was flying for a lot longer. the satellite cannot tell where the plane is. possibly north into asia.

it's unclear which is why the search has become so large and so difficult. >> jonathan, appreciate it. thank you, sir. president obama met with palestinian president mahmood abbas today. trying to push the middle east peace process forward. >> i have commend president abbas. he's somebody who has consistently renounced violence, consistently sought a diplomatic and peaceful solution that allows for two states side by side in peace and security, a state that allows for the dignity and sovereignty of the palestinian people and allows for israelis to feel security and at peace with their neighbors. >> both sides are still divided on a number of key issues including dozens of israeli settlement notice west bank. randall pinkston is in

washington for us. >> tony, i will tell you what did not come out of the meeting. a major break through on a peace deal. a framework for peace on the palestinians lead to go what the president just referred to as a two state solution. secretary of state john kerry established a nine-month deadline today president obama acknowledged that it is an elusive goal still the president hopes that both sides will make progress. >> there is an opportunity, and i think everyone understands the outline of what a peace deal would look like involving a territorial compromise on both sides based on 67 lines agreed upon swaps that would insure that israel was secure but also insure that the palestinians have a sovereign state in which

they can achieve the aspirations that they've helped with so long. >> today's meeting follows by two weeks, the meeting that the president had with president benjamin netanyahu. >> randall, we know that one of the contentious issues here is recognition of israel as the jewish state. it's something that israelis are asking for palestinians to do. explain to us why this is such a controversial and contentious issue? >> first of all abbas said today and they have said publicly for several years now that the palestinians do recognize israel as a state. recognizing it as a jewish state would also require palestinians the right to return, palestinians who were evacuated

from palestine in 1948. that is something that they're asking for. >> china ecommerce giant ready to sell stock in the united states, and some say it could be as big as facebook.

>> entering into a plea deal in north carolina avoiding series charges oseriouscharges of a se. tell us more of what happened. >> for the first time in two years he has been able to leave court without having a to register as a sex offend hanging

over his head. for the military it was what some categorized as an embarrassing unraveling of this high profile case. army brigadier general jeffrey sinclair's military career may be over, but in a plea deal he will not send the rest of his life in prison. that's the penalty he was facing if convicted of sexual assault. in a turn of events described as an embarrassment to the military the sexual assault charge was dropped. so, too, the charge that he threatened to kill his accuser and her family if she diovol edged their threediovol--diovo-e year affair.

the accuser is a 34-year-old captain, and a military intelligence officer. she testified that her relationship deteriorated with sin clear and he forced her to perform oral sex on two occasions. the chief prosecutor stepped down after his request to drop the most serious charges were ignored. after determining that political consideration may have prompted the military to reject a plea offer from the defense early on. congress has expressed concerns but the military has not combated sexual assault, which is on the rise. >> i think every institutions believes that this is wrong. but it does not mean that every

case goes to course. this one was not credible. it shouldn't have been brought. i'm glad it's going to be over. >> the defense hopes that the punishment will be reduction in rank and forced retirement. now, this moves into the sentence hearing phase. it is a fight. fight to the prosecution to illustrate the trauma that the accuser continues to endure and a fight for the defense to reduce the character of the general who was once a rising star in the military. >> in a tash shark natasha, thank you. >> on wall street stocks soaring. now rising to 181 points and

snaps a 5-day losing streak. sales bigger than amazon.com and ebay. china's e commerce alibaba could raise almost as money as facebook did. joining me now is jared leafy, good to see you again. >> good to see. >> you tell me more about alibaba and how big is it, really. >> it's a fascinating company and it accounts for 80% of china's e commerce. it's more than amazon or e bay, it has hold negotiation media, gaming, these guys are really all over the board. what's even more fascinating is the fact that the company is very strategic in its

acquisitions. it has one major competitor, and the reason why people are looking at it and why it's getting over $140 billion valuation is the fact that this could change global commerce. tony, if you look at their site they have an american site set up. could you set up a factory. say you wanted to set up iphone cases, you could set up a factories, $0.03 a pop, ship them to the u.s. and sell them. it could be a big driver of future profits. >> alibaba is either here or moving to the united states, and what will the impact be on american consumers, you think? >> you know, it's difficult to call. i think at this point it's definitely more of a play on commerce than china. again, very complicated, lot los

there. >> what do you think if the average investor hears what you're saying, are you saying hold off for more information? should the average investor wait to jump in on this ipl. >> right now it's political. we don't know where--right now it's preliminary, we don't even know where they're going to list their sales. a lot of times stocks will rally. wait a couple of days. make sure you know what you're investing in. >> let me ask you about the big play. alibaba raising this money. is it raising all this money to buy something? to fund something? to merge with someone? >> the company has a strategy to basically, yes, acquire, build their business globally, and

that's the bulk that is going to be for acquisitions and for marketing. >> thank you. jared leavy joining us from dallas. attorney general from 28 states are asking five major retail tours ban the sale of tobacco products. the officials are calling on walgreen's, rite aid. cvs. they announced they would pull tobacco products from their shelves. u.s. navy seals take control of a tanker. and a new round of recalls for general motors just weeks after another recall sparked a federal investigation. we're back in a moment.

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>> u.s. navy seals boarded and took control of a libyan oil tanker just off the coast in the mediterranean sea. rebels tried to profit by expo exporting libyan oil. the central government tried to stop them but failed. the u.s. was called in to help. roslind is i has more for us. >> reporter: basically the military was called in once the ship left port in eastern libya, and the request came from both the libyan government. now one of the factors that made it easier for the military to decide to act with president obama's blessing, of course, is the fact that this ship that has failed into the libyan sea port under a north korean flag was

basically a stateless vessel. the u.s. government did not want to proceed and interfere with this vessel until it had a clear request from the libyan authorities. that's what happened. a large group of navy seals, we're told, took part of this operation. no one was hurt, and then not only were they on board taking the libyan rebels under control, but sailors made certain that the ship made it's way back to libya. we assume those on board who were taken into custody are going to face some sort of prosecution under libyan law. >> how rare is this for u.s. navy seals to capture a ship from another country? >> well, it's not unusual. of course, remember the case of the alabama four years ago that happened off the coast of

somalia. but this is not something that the u.s. navy goes around doing every single day. that said, after the hostage situation involving the alabama which is a private container vessel sailing four years ago, the u.s. and other countries formerred a joint task force to try to combat piracy, mainly piracy carried out by somali citizens. however, it's not something of the sort that is needed in the mediterranean, but it does lead uupup to the riff in libya regarding oil sharing, and they need to find a way to resolve that matter, or else this could happen again. >> we'll dig deeper on that in a couple of minutes.

libyan well exports account for 95% of the country's total revenue, but it's three major ports are controlled by this man, a rebel leader, who was given the job of protecting the supports during the revolution. he turned on the government eight months ago. that blockade during the revolution cost the libyan government $5 billion in the first three months alone. they want more oil profits to be shared with those in eastern libya. they've been demanding autonomy from the government and they want a federal government that levels rebel power. how deep in your estimation is the political crisis in libya at the moment? >> it's quite deep because it has been going on for a long

time. but what i wanted to say is that we should not overestimate the preventiveness fopreventivenessn province and the south. >> why not? i would jump in to say that you could make an argument that the person who controls the ports, the oil, also controls the country, couldn't you? >> to a certain extent, but he doesn't. hhe is not representative by all means. there are other groups calling for federal rhythm, and there

has. further announcement that they're against all of this. they are a guy who is taking control of all th the ports, ofl oil. >> when anybody in the west calls libya to cake care of--to take care of business, who answers the phone? >> the prime minister. >> you're talking about ali seizeidan. >> he is the one who answered the phone, and he is the one who requested the additional support. >> all right, what are you hearing now about what is happening on the ground between militias in the east and west. are you hearing reports of fighting because there is

concern, as you know, that the fighting could lead to something akin to a sill war in the country. >> there are fighters between militia and th they could see w. but i'm sure if the government moved enough troops to the east, that the strengthen and the support would be like snow under the sun. they are already signs where they're asking to talk and negotiate. >> can i ask you one bigior question here.

can i ask you to describe libya after the ouster and the killing of muammar qaddafi. why in so many people's view and opinion is it such a mess today? >> well, the first reason was probably the belief that libyans could do it all by themselves. they didn't ask for international support. there was an easiness thinking that it could be done. it could be resolved by the libyans despite the fact that the war against qaddafi was by groups. they paid the militia to be part of the government. and the militia is entrenched. they each have their own interest, now it is harder for the central government to establish itself and to re-establish law and order. it will be done, and it needs the support of the community. and this reaction is a clear and

effective sign that they will take part of th with respect toe government. that's exactly what we need. >> thank you. he's a fellow at the atlantic council. >> the afghanistan--the deal al. trainers and special forces troops to remain after the u.s. leaves the country at the end of the year. it has been a sore point between washington and kabul over the last few months. and turkey's ongoing political unrest has broken his silence. the prime minister response to a recent corruption scandal is ten times worse than the military

coups that jousted the government. the fire between his supporters and erdogan. erdogan has been under pressure since the scandal broke. daniel rubenstein will support the opposition and negotiate an end to the conflict. meanwhile things are getting worse on the ground in syria. the lebanese military has been deployed to the border as rebels flee yabroud, the last opposition stronghold to fall. >> reporter: a missiles is fire, many say the fight is over. but for the government the r retapture of the city is just another sign that rebels are losing the war. here syria's defense minister

with top military commanders what was for months the rebels biggest stronghold. but there is no time for celebration. he has shown a map of rebel positions and he gives orders to launch an attack. with the west secured and rebels losing ground in the center this is where the next big battle may take place. the rest of the suburbs of damascus. these are major rebel strongholds, but this time groups may not get enough weapons and fight tours hold down as rebel fighters band and attack a military base a town northeast of the capitol of damascus. this commander asking his men to shell the area and pave the way for an unit to storm the building.

tanks join the fight, but the government is amassing thousands of soldiers in the area with unmatched firepower. if the average takes the suburbs the rebels will be lest with few choices. open new front lines and risk more casualties. the decisive battle may decide their future. >> today federal prosecutors announced they arrested a 20-year-old california man who was trying to help al-qaeda link fighters in syria. the justice department said he was taken off an amtrak bus. bound for canada. testimony in the trial of osama bin laden's son-in-law from the self-proclaimed mastermind from the september 11th attacks. and other headlines from across america today. >> in new york attorneys for

osama bin laden's son-in-law said he had no royal in the attack. he had no military role in al-qaeda. he was a spokesman because he was an eloquent, spell-binding speaker. the charges are that he conspired to kill americans. >> sandy lee was 26 years old. she was standing outside of a club when a driver smashed a barricade and smashed into the crowd. he was charged with murder and aggravated assault. oklahoma state at or about general said the state is working to get replac replacem drugs. if they find an alter in ative

drug they'll continue the execution as scheduled. the judge wants to let the boston bomber only see the photographs in trial. and in detroit problems are mounting for general motors. recalling 1.5 million vehicles and 1.18 million suvs because of a detective side airbag. and then $300 million to pay for

the costs. >> get the cars fixed and on the road safely. >> reporter: yes. >> thank you. following years of speculation astro physicists, oh, the background changes dramatically, say they have proof that the universe expanded a fraction after the big bang. science and technology correspondent jacob ward shows us what it could mean. >> reporter: 24 ithis is a veryg deal. here is the analogy. imagine someone dropped a rock in the ocean a long, long time ago. the scientists basically built a piece of equipment that managed to defect the ripples that emanated from that rock. they had to build this equipment in the south pole to get away from the background noise of the earth and listen for over three years and study the data for another three years to confirm that these ripples actually

exist. the theory is called inflation. and it's a big deal. here is one of the founding force of that theory. hearing the news that it was right. hearing it on his door step last week. >> what? >> i have a surprise for you. >> what? just a second. >> as clear as day are .2. >> so tony, you can see that he found out that his life's work is correct. what i love is that his wife gets it before she does. she's a professors will at stamford. but what is such a big deal if it is independent by confirmed, which it probably will be, this is a huge deal. it's proving the bang into the

bing banthebig bang. theories have hung on these other theories, and this shores one thing up. if they can confirm that the ripples do exist that proves the existence of a multi verse. for anybody who is any physics geek whose mind is not blown by all of this, this is probably nobel prize. >> i don't even want to get into what the religious community says about all this. how significant really is this discovery? hoffing forwarmoving forward, h, jay. >> we're confirming not just the ripples that emanated from the rock and ocean, but the existence of the rock and the ocean and everything else. this is proving that it all exists in the way that

physicists thought. >> this is just mind blowing. thank you. >> thank you. >> just as the nation awaits spring another nature delivered yet another snowstorm. the nation's capitol shut down as snow blew in. you see a lot of snow behind mike viqueira in the newscast. severe weather is a threat. meteorologist--okay, there we go. it is a beautiful shot, but dog gone, it's march at this point. meteorologist dave warren is here with more on the storm and what is coming in the next couple of days. >> meteorologist: wait until you see the spring forecast. just a few days ahead. it will feel like spring. it doesn't look like spring now. this is from this morning. all of this snow is begin to go clear out and taper off. 13.5 inches in parts of west

virginia. arlington and washington, 8 inches. seven inches or less further north you go. here is the mix that is coming down. it could freeze before it hits because the temperatures in this area still easy. so a little further south and low pressure approaching. it's this line of strong storms that is a problem now. here is an isolated cell of storms moving through florida. they have the potential to start to spin. there is flood warnings in affect across the state of florida as this moves through. now we'll talk about what happens over the next few days. the storm off the coast, high pressure to the north and it keeps the cold air in place. this is tuesday at 10:00. another storm approaching the west will bring up the warm air. this is what the forecast looks

like because of that storm. the first day of spring, washington, d.c. 58. >> whoa. >> 60's. >> whoa, whoa, 60s, are you kidding? you'll be running around here with next to nothing on--thank you. that is an image to put in your mind. coming up on al jazeera america. st. patrick's day controversy in washington, d.c. you and it's time for march madness. we'll look at the economic impact with michael yves. that's next.

on al jazeera america >> thousands of people watch the st. patrick's parade in new york city today. this year's parade was held amid a backdrop of controversial over gay rights.

mayor bill declas de blasio wase first to sit out because the parade refused to let participants to carry pro-gay signs. >> lgbt activists said they would protest against the parade in midtown manhattan. it says boycott. let me show you the rest of the banner, boycott homophobia. it says lgbt advocates boycott of st. patrick's day parade. these are some of the agencies participating in the parade calling them raidest, sexist,

and anti-gay. boston's mayor did not go to the parade because he said the gays and lesbians could not march openly, but they did have this. this is a diversity float, and many of the participants were gay but they didn't have any signage, but they did have these rainbow colored barn banners on there. and then this says dump guinness. this was before the big announcement that they were dropping sponsorship. what happened some of the comments that happened online? take a look at this. if i may offer suggestions stick to making the best beer on the planet. a lot of comments. >> a lot of comments. it was pretty controversial here in new york as well. maria, appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you.

>> march madness is here. basketball fans are busy filling out their brackets. michael yves is here with practice tips and a look at the economic impact. >> it's a huge event. not just people who are alumni of the schools, but just casual fans. ruone of the reasons that march madness is so popular, from the millions of fans who wager on the event whether it be on las vegas or the office pool in which 50 million u.s. people participated. fans said they will watch or look at the scores while at work which could cost employers $1.2 billion. and $3 billion will be bet in these pools, and las vegas casinos will earn $100 million,

making it the second biggest sports game behind only the super bowl. since so many of you will be filling out these brackets, illegal or not, here are some things to consider. only one has all four number one seeds made it to the final four. that was back in 2008. in four of the last five tournaments there have been ten upsets in the round of 62 and the best place to work for that upset not counting the first four games. number 12 seeds have on won one game in the last 23 of the last 25 years. and there will be an upset. you have to pick the right ups upset. >> and what is this thing with

warren buffet. he's offering $1 billion for a perfect bracket. >> they're offering $1 billion. the odds of getting a perfect bracket somewhere i in the neighborhood of 1 in 9 quintillion, basically, enough chance. >> who is the number one seed? >> you have four number one seeds. wichita state, florida, virgin virginia. >> and wichita state is in a tough bracket. >> i'm going with wichita state because i want them to do well. >> arizona, i'm going with them. >> thank you. we'll a look at the top stories coming up next. >> as american troops prepare to leave afghanistan get a first hand look at what life is really like under the taliban. >> we're going to be taken to a place, where they're going to make plans for an attack. >> the only thing i know is, that they say they're not going

to withdraw. >> then, immediately after, an america tonight special edition for more inside and analysis. >> why did you decide to go... >> it's extremly important for the western audience to know why these people keep on fighting... ...it's so seldom you get that access to the other side. >> faultlines: on the front lines with the taliban then an america tonight: special edition, only on al jazeera america

>> 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 >> this is al jazeera america line from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. the u.s. and european union imposed sanctions this after

crimea voted to become part of russia. president vladimir putin just signed the decree accepting crimea. and tuesday will address the russian parliament. the morning glory was hijacked by armed libyaens. both libya and cypress requested u.s. military intervention. the focus on the missing malaysian flight 370 is now back on the co-pilot. it was the co-pilot who contacted air control before

signals were turned off. gm recalling more than 1.5 million cars, and 1.5 million suvs for defective airbags. those are your headlines. al jazeera america. . >> send in troops to occupy a disputed piece of land, and don't be too surprised bay lopsided result. the crimea referendum. what happens now. it's the inside story.