there's a culture of silence going on, and when you have that, it's so difficult. >> thanks to all of our guests for joining us and we're out of time. until next time, we'll see you online. >> good evening, everyone, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. under freak. ukraine blames russia for the death of a soldier in crimea. authorized troops to shoot back, and the kremlin declares crimea as part of russia. what it means, and what could happen next. in our special report, russia's crimea. flight 370, no new clues. sticker shock.

grocery shoppers paying more. the worst is yet to come, and power play. behind the scenes of an energy break through at the lab, using lasers to create nuclear fusion. >> we begin with the dramatic developments in ukraine. russia has annexed crimea. and tonight, we take an undepth look at the changes for that region and what it means for the world. russia's sudden move came hours after crimeaans voted to break away from ukraine. it was signed between putin and crimea's leaders. moscow is turning a political dispute into a military conflict after a ukrainian soldier was killed in an attack at

sevastopol. more sanctions are coming, and we go to nick schifrin. >> this is a dramatic development and a possible turning point in this conflict. these are the first shots fired as russian troops arrived on the peninsula and took it over. we saw today the annexsation by president putin. it was four or five p.m., and russian troops, we believe operating from buildings surrounding a base ten miles from here at the capital, in an exchange of fire. the ukrainians say that one of its soldiers was killed and one wounded by a sniper. they were firing at russian positions at buildings overlooking the base.

we saw broken windows, and markings on the wall that suggested there was that kind of fire, and a local group here said that one of its men was killed. it's a he said, he said, but it's a dramatic turning point, shots fired, and therefore, the ukrainian government said that it's soldiers could fire back at russian soldiers. we haven't seen that yet. and a lot of people hope that isn't seen in the future either >> so what are the changes happening? >> well, i think the changes of course are profound as we have been talking about. but also almost mundane. a lot of signs are changing. ukrainian signs coming down, and russian flags painted on. banks are now starting to talk about the russian ruble, rather than the crimeaian currency. and time will change in the next couple of weeks, so slowly but surely, we'll see the

russianfication of crimea, and that's something that the majority of crimeaians are embracing. a lot of people say that today is like a july 4th for them. an independence day. and somebody that i spoke with today said they're coming home to russia and they're glad, in their words, that president putin is their president now. >> reporter: so nick, do you get the impression that this doesn't come as a surprise to many of the people of crimea? >> i think that the majority of crimeaians were weaponing it. russia gave away crimea to ukraine six year 56 years ago, d they're fixing it now. the majority would say this is not a surprise after so many decades under ukraine, but also, they would say they're fearing the future.

they fear a russia that will either alienate them, sideline them, or even like their grandfathers, deport them. like the soviets did to the tatars after world war ii. a lot of people expected this day and were waiting, and perhaps asking for putin. >> nick schifrin in crimea. and thank you very much. russia's intervention in ukraine has eastern europe on edge right now. vice president biden landed in poland this morning to try to assure the u.s. allies that we will oppose russian aggression. >> joe biden's visit, the u.s. vice president delivered a clear message to nato. >> the united states stands

shoulder to shoulder with missions around the world. but the bedrock of our alliance remains collective self definition, as described in article 5 of the nato treaty. >> reporter: with russia increasingly assertive in eastern europe, it goes down well here. the immediate reaction in the first days of the ukrainian crisis, sending in additional american planes. those planes, 12 f-16 fighter jets, arrived here last weak week, a clear sign that poland now looks west for protection. there was a time when poland was under soviet control, it's not hard to find. this is a controversial moment for polish people. buried here are 21,000 of the soviet troops who died liberating poland from the nazis at the end of the second world

war, but not relieving poland until 1993, and there are very few holish people who would ever want to see the russians return. recent surveys suggest that 72% of poles think that the current situation in ukraine poses a threat to polish security. it's being discussed on street corners and in cafes and campuses. these students are too young, but they remember their history. >> . >> how western security is structured has a big influence. >> most poles say that a russian invasion is incredibly unlikely, but the past offers many warnings. aljazeera, warsaw, poland. >> coming up, putin's hour, the diplomatic efforts in ukraine

and what happens next if sanctions do not work. >> . >> a message today to syrian diplomats in washington, you have two weeks to get out of the country. the newly pointed syrian envoy closed the embassy today. and he said that they have to leave by march 31st. they have not maintained a consistent presence in the embassy for about a year. in the last three years, president bashar al-assad has refused to heed the calls to step aside. he has directed a war against his own people and created a human tare can catastrophe to hold onto his power. a fiery couldn't crash in seat the this morning, a television news for seattle station, komo, crashed and burst into flames near the space needle. two people or board, a pilot and

a photo journalist were killed. and one person in a car is in critical condition. the mayor said that the city will reexamine its policy on helicopter landing pads. an update on the path of missing malaysia flight 370. thailand said this it's radar may have detected the plane alter its course after the communications were lost. >> reporter: with 11 days and still no answers, family members of the missing passengers are understandably desperate and angry. in china, they confronted the airline officials. >> they mentioned food and drinks and compensation, i don't need this. i want to know the whereabouts of my relatives. >> some of the relatives are threatening a hunger strike. investigators remain focused on the actions of the pilot. the airline today was asked about the report that the cockpit computer was reprogrammed to take the plane

off-course. doing that would take expertise. >> anything is possible. >> malaysian officials have often given conflicting information on what may have happened on flight 370, including what time two communications systems went dark. they can't rule out now that both systems clicked off at about the same time, but that does not point to a major mechanical failure. >> it does not change that up to the point where the primary coverage, the aircraft went into a consistent but deliberate action by someone on the plane. >> the search for the missing jet covers a massive area, 2.24 million nautical miles. the u.s. has two planes up and looking. >> there's essentially a southern zone and a southern zone to search in the indian

ocean. currently, we have now assigned a p3 maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft to control the northern zone, flying out of kuala lumpur. >> and the navy is heading to australia to help out. hoping to narrow down the search area, malaysia has asked for any radar data. the thais may have detected the plane and it's turn off-course. it had not shared the information because it was not specifically asked for it. once again, questions on whether malaysia has mishandled in what has turned into a an unprecedented hunt for a jetliner. >> flight 370 is not the first plane to disappear without a trace. our john bet has looked at

others want >> reporter: flight 370 is not the first to baffle investigators. until now, it has been the longest for a missing airliner. it disappeared in 2007, they thought that it disappeared on land. and a fisherman found it ten days later. and finding the black box took three weeks. foo. >> a boeing 727 disappeared in africa in 2013. raising alarms, right after 9/11. >> in 2009, they found the debris five days after the crash, but it took two years to find most of that plane. then there was steve fossett's disappearance. the billionaire disappeared in 2007 flying his small plane.

crews gave up after a month. and a year later, a hiker found the wreckage in the mountains. it was just 12 miles from an airport and in an area rescuers had flown over repeatedly in e. >> northwest flight 2501. it disappeared from new york to seattle in 1950. 58 people were onboard. pieces were found floating in lake michigan but crews never found the wreckage, and to this day, amateurs still look for it. >> now to this tore. it's the country's highest military distinction, the medal of honor, today it has been given to 24 men, they served decades ago, but their courage has not ignored until now. >> morris has always flown the american flag outside of his florida home. a way of telling passersby of his patriotism. his hat tells all that he earned it. >> the cross, bronze star,

purple heart. >> reporter: 44 years ago, he won the second most important medal. he went back to retrieve the body of a fellow soldier and he was shot three times. the reason he didn't win the highest award, president obama said it was racism. >> i want to apologize to you. you should have received the medal of honor 44 years ago, and i'm presenting you with the congressional medal of honor, and i dropped down on my knees, i was overwhelmed. >> reporter: over the last 20 years, the u.s. military has been looking back to right previous wrongs. medals denied because of race or religion. but the researchers behind the studies are quick to point out, it was actually the u.s. military that was the first to attack racial integration in the united states. >> if you look at the united states, you find less racial

discrimination than probably any other set of institutions >> reporter: but there's still a big disparity in the ranks of the military. only 7% of the admirals are minorities, but they make up 37% of the lowest ranks. he never thought it was about racism. and he wasn't bothered that he didn't get the medal of honor. it hasn't weighed on him, but the war has, every day for the past four decades. >> i don't see a troop walking toward me, or a little combat action, and they just come and go. it's for days a little bit. but it will never go away. never. >> staff sergeant morris' extraordinary her witch -- heroism. >> as he puts his uniform back on, it will not be enough to

remember racism of the past. but to look to the future and how we should all in wars fought now. he has never forgotten the horrors of war, and neither will they, regardless of the medals they wear. [ applause ] aljazeera, washington. >> coming up, the rising cost of food. prices are up slightly, but this is just the beginning. and americans could soon have less to spend. a growing number are barely saving for retirement. >> reporter:? >> nuclear fusion will take you on a tour of a lab that's developing a clean, new way to create energy.

>> the ceo of general motors said she's trying to steer the company out of trouble. mary bharara hired an attorney to help them in the safety issues. she said that general motors did not move fast enough to recall cars for the ignition switch problems, and those resulted in deaths. a warning today to the government about the rising cost

of food. the historic drought is driving up prices to the highest level in years. melissa chen explains. >> the worst is yet to come. that's what pete says. he runs a wholesale produce market. >> we can expect just about everything, but the prices are going to be high because the volume planted is not going to be that great. but because of the lack of water, i expect prices to at least double. >> the impact of california's drought will really hit this summer, when growers haul in major fruit harvests. for now, enough produce coming from mexico, south america and asia has kept prices fairly steady. the most noticeable hike has been for beef. prices hiked more than ten years. ranchers faced the biggest cattle shortage since the 1950s, after the years of drought in texas, now compounded

by california's drought. california has forced al faf if a farmers to limit their crops. the costs of live stock have led to higher dairy prices. already notoriously volatile and and these days limiting. some have seen drops in the price of grain, the opposite of what's happening in california. creating a patchily prospect in the next months. the federal government says that the dost of food is going to go up 3.5% in the next year. and coffee has gone up, you might see a pretty big mark up on your daily coffee. >> melissa chan, thanks. a new study warns of a looming retirement crisis. more than one-third of today's workers have less than $100,000

saved for retirement. and when it comes to workers without retirement accounts, that number jumps to 77%. fewer than half of workers have even tried to calculate how much they need to save for retirement. >> . >> 2014 already a big year in science, and just this week, researchers revealed evidence of the big bang. last month, scientists at the california laboratory reported significant progress in recreating nuclear fusion, and that could change how they generate power. jake ward standing by to talk about this and give us the chance to check out this facility. he joins us live from san francisco. you took a tour, and tell us what you saw, jay. >> well, john, the national nuclear facility was designed to simulate nuclear explosions and refine our nuclear weapons, but

it has the potential of revolutionizing the way we use power. world's biggest laser. about an hour east of san francisco, there's a government lab that can simulate the center of a nuclear explosion and the sun. it's a 3 and a half billion dollars project, the largest laser in the world. and in february, it achieved an extraordinary energy break through. getting more energy out of a piece of fuel than it put in. after a background check and a search of our vehicles, we received a tour. it gives birth to tiny perfect laser beams, and it amplifies them in huge machines until they're incredible powerful and then it fires them at a target. >> the lasers are made in these three locations before sending them out to the laser base, located on each side of this room. we then launch it and send it up

to our large laser after firing beam line. before we send it on its way to the target. >> reporter: the funding for this facility is mostly military, to simulate the kinds of conditions in science that you see in explosions, but the potential is huge, and other countries, crime scene, france, uk and korea have building facilities like this that have a military purpose, but have incredible promise for energy production in the future. much of the research in this facility is about simulating nuclear explosions without having to detonate weapons, but it could also revolutionize the way that we make electricity. >> we took the entire energy of this ladesser and concentrate today down to that cylindrical case to harness the power of the sun. >> it simulates a small amount

of hydrogen. more energy came out than went in. and that's the breakthrough, it's a very very big deal. but the thing to understand, it took far more energy than that. 1.8 mega jewels to set up the experiment. 1% of that energy was wasted so the resulting energy was pretty small by comparison. the resulting goal is to give off ten times more than the process required. that would be enough to power a small city. and that's the fusion reaction that the scientists are dreaming about. >> when we get more than the laser put in, that's called ignition. >> the irony here is unin this casable. wars tend to be a fight over the fuel to power our civilizations and now our most fear only weapons could teach us how to create enough power that we

never have to fight again. >> all of the implications are extraordinary, but it's a matter of when, and we look to be a couple of decades out before it comes to fruition. >> what's the practical implication of all of this work. >> if they manage to pull it off and do all of this research, you're looking at one of the cheapest and most plentiful sources of energy than the world has seen. hideien is very easy to come by, and in the end, it only takes $5 of electricity to fire at the hydrogen and create this limitless supply of energy, but you're looking at a $5 billion facility. that's what it costs to maintain it. but if they get to the place they can replicate it on a daily basis, they can power whole cities. right now, it takes 24 hours to fire up the laser even twice, and you need ten shots per

second. >> it's a long way off. >> probably at least a decade. the old joke about fusion, it has always been 30 years away. this break that we saw in february is really a big deal, and we could be seeing significant progress toward real fusion in the future. >> thank you, jake. coming up, a special report. russia's crimea, valid vad made it official today despite threats from the u.s. and other countries. and many are celebrating the reunification with russia, and the vice president, holding meetings with allies in ukraine's backyard, hoping to send a signal to russia.

>> celebrations in moscow, as change comes to crimea.

where ukraine flags once flew, today they're russian, and tensions on two sides after a ukrainian soldier in crimea is killed. now the world waits for the next move, from one president and another. for a breakaway republic caught in the middle. the people, the money, and an uncertain future. tonight, our special report, russia's crimea. >> i'm john seigenthaler in new york, and tonight we focus on a part of the world that could be the center of the next cold water. crimea was an autonomous region, located at the southern end of ukraine, and just two diagnosis, in an election, the disputes, crime of crimea voted to break from ukraine completely. today n. defines of the west, russia we would them back, and in moscow, vladimir putin is being treated like a conquering

hero. today he delivered a fiery message to parliament. and we get more from peter shah. >> reporter: in the great haul of the kremlin, a standing ovation for their president. a day remembered in history as members of parliament marked the very moment that crimea returned to the mother land. it's undoubtedly the highlight of vladimir putin's presidency. he restored crimea to the russian federation with bewildering speed, in a matter of weeks. >> what happened, it's still happening in kiev, and other ukrainian cities. naturally, we can not dismiss such a request. we cannot leave crimea and it's residents in peril. it would be a betrayal. >> reporter: from the west of the country, they were reluct apt to talk, their fears that the crisis could deepen.

>> i would have liked crimea to have stayed with us. what's to stop them from making out of russia? >> but president putin gave assurance to the people of ukraine. >> interpreter: don't believe that other regions will follow, we don't need ukraine. >> reporter: but as president putin added his signature to the historic document, saying that there will be a price to pay. at the diplomatic off ramp, they return crimea to the warm embrace of mother russia, it's non-negotiable. with the stroke of a pen, president putin has put russia on course with one of the most serious confrontations with the west since 1979.

thousands gathered in red square. 90% of the people are said to have backed president putin, and his approval rating continues to rise. putin is not just popular among these people, he's extraordinarily popular. peter shah, aljazeera, moscow. >> during his speech, vladimir putin stated that not a single shot had been fired in the military intervention in crimea. and hours later, russian troops were being blamed for an attack in crimea. nick schifrin is in. >> their three weeks, they have occupied bases and moved into government institutions, and some fear that the first shots fired today won't be the last. outside of base 2174, a possible

dangerous turning point, for the first time that russian troops invaded, they opened fired and killed a ukrainian soldier, and they took their position, right behind these guys. the base is now run by pro russia militias. and the militias tried to make sure that we didn't film. first, by trying to grab the camera, and then kicking a member of our team. throughout our time here, they didn't want us to show what happened. the ukrainian military said that occupying soldiers killed and wounded ukrainian soldiers. this is the ukrainian facility base, the white building behind me, and behind that, the tall building of what appeared to be snipers, and over here.

the second unfinished apartment building. we saw more evidence of russian troops inside there, who fired into the ukrainian military base, who marks on the building that suggested that ukrainian soldiers fired back. tax a first. today, they were told they could fire back at russians, and before that, they were told not to shoot, no matter what. but today everything changed, thanks to the man most crimeaians consider their president. downtown simferopol, the first place in the soviet union, and crimea under russian sovereignty, the youngest cheered. when putin officially welcomed crimea into russia, and when

putin finished, this crowd said that it was their july 4th. they sang the russian national anthem. ♪ rona and vitallia had always pledged allegiance. we considered this independence day. it's the most important day of our lives. an talia worked here for 12 years. we weren't protected in ukraine, russia is our home. already, she considers it home. outside parliament, they changed the name to declare themselves the independent republic of crimea. at a local government building, the ukrainian symbols are painted over, and the russian

tri-colors are painted on. and the russian flag is flying. today is their independence day. and the ukrainian base is overrun, controlled by russians. right now, there's a truce between the russians and the ukrainian troops, and it only lasts until friday. they will be given two options. one to pledge to the independent state of crimea or to return to the ukraine. that's not what the government wants to do, but frankly, john, they don't have much of a choice because putin is holding all of the cards. >> some powerful images. nick schifrin, thank you very much. and a senior fellow, i'm trying to figure out, give us an idea of what the military spot might be as a result of this.

>> first of all, crimea itself, you have prisoners held hostage right now from the navy and airforce, and they have to get out and that's number one. they're outgunned and outnumbered. and it's a suicide mission if they decide to fight back, but you look along the russian border, 80,000 troops are there, and tank pieces and more aircraft than the ukraine military owns. so any conventional warfare that starts there would be over very quickly if that happens. >> the message that russians send to ukraine and the united states and europe is don't mess with us, leave us alone, it's done. >> reporter: that's right, if it goes any way than how we want it to go, it's easy for us to walk in, that eastern flank of the ukraine, and take over more parts of ukraine itself. this is good old-fashioned 20th century cold war policy,

but they have that. it's mostly focused in the east. back in the old days, those would be to protect russia, and they couldn't make it to any warfare taking place on that. >> putin said today that he's not interested in ukraine, he's happy with crimea. so do you think that u.s. allies in europe are satisfied with that? or are they concerned? >> they're probably concerned, but now they're going to watch very closely. moving nato forces into poland for exercises. we're going to have to take a look, and we have to make sure that the 80,000 troops on the border stay where they are. we'll be able to tell if they cross it. if i was a general officer, i say that bestay in place, and stay in our positions and continue to leverage there, so to speak, should things not go our way. >> what would it take for the u.s. to get militarily involved in this? >> you know, it's a great question.

nato would have to be involved. and the rest of europe would have to be threatened. perhaps belarus goes into poland. and we're talking about a tripping wire for a third world war. i don't see the united states getting involved for now. we keep in our pocket things in the future things that russia might want, but we don't want a conventional fight in ukraine, it would be devastating. >> what do you think of the threat in russia, expanding their power and expanding their military forces beyond where they are right now. >> the threat is there, and the question is what their capability will allow them to do. what they have is readiness, all of the troops along the border. they're going to watch the border with belarus as well. but if they don't feel that the government would be towards russia, i don't see them. they're forcing the ukraine government to meet with some

kind of force that could look to probably stop it. >> mike lions, good to see you, thank you very much. when ukraine broke away from the soviet union, it was holding an enormous arsenal. and it got rid of it only after russia promised to respect ukraine's borders and many say that that has been broken. >> reporter: back in 1991, when the soviet union collapsed, ukraine found itself holding the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world. more than 2,000 warheads aimed at the u.s. as part of the deal to turn that over to russia for decommission, ukraine got something in return. security. a promise that russia and u.s. allies would reform from using it. that's called the budapest pem dumb on security issues. signed in 1994 by u.s. and

russia, it was until recently a largely forgotten footnote at the end of the cold war. not anymore. on tuesday, after a ukrainian officer was killed in crimea by allegedly a russian, they cited the memorandum, calling on the u.s. and france to help with the conflict. a recent statement to aljazeera. >> is there any point with my the world should act with military force. >> i continue give advice to the countries that signed the memorandum with ukraine which led to ukraine giving up it's arms voluntarily. i'm not giving advice, just honoring them to honor their guarantees. >> reporter: the word is guaranteed, a word that doesn't appear in the memorandum, but

what does appear, affirmations and commitments, and in diplomatic terms, that makes all the difference. the agreement is barely two pages long and short on specifics. saying that all sides will consult if questions come up. >> there's a reason it's the budapest memorandum and not the budapest treaty. it has the challenge of showing, that we meant what we said and we take it very seriously and we're not going to release the pressure on russia, and we won't be baited into military gestures that won't work. >> nevertheless, ukraine's prime minister is being warned of effects. >> if you don't secure those guarantees that were signed in the bud best memorandum, then please explain how you will convince iran or north korea how you will expose their states if the necessary guarantees aren't upheld by the world.

>> the notion that they could get even higher. >> with stakes that high, there's a huge diplomatic push underway. joe biden is in europe, reassuring that the u.s. will stand up to its u.s. allies in ukraine. and vice president biden had a message for russia as well. >> he was in warsaw, in poland and he's going to be in estonia, assuring them that they can count on the u.s. and nato. they are especially nervous because like ukraine, they were under the or bit of russia's predecessor state, the soviet union, and now that they have plucked crimea from ukraine, they are worried that they will continue the engagements.

the u.s. and nato to stop anything militarily in crimea. and now the problem is whether he will try to take back some of his other soviet block states. vice president biden is telling them that they are covered by article five. poland and the baltic states, and that means that any attack on a nato nation means it's an attack on all. >> president obama obama and i review article five as a solid commitment, not only for our time, but for all time. we take it deadly serious. and our commitment is absolutely unwavering and unshakeable. that's why the united states has just deployed 12 f-16 fighter jets to the loss air base in poland. >> now, the u.s. has repeatedly said that we will not be using military force in crime cry.

but if putin should move against a nato nation, another question. john. >> so the use of force is unlikely. and what's america's focus right now? >> reporter: it's still diplomatically. secretary of state john kerry held a message in washington. >> there's a well established law about countries seceding from part of their own country, existing country, which is supposed to happen according to their constitution. and their legal process, and if that's not available to them, then through certain rights exercised in the international community. but not at the butt of a gun with a bunch of troops coming into a country to augment troops already there, and then have the president of that country suggest there were nor russian forces in crimea. >> so more verbal deannunciation

of russia, but right now, president putin doesn't seem to care. >> tj crowley served as secretary of state under president obama, and pj, welcome. so the secretary of state and the vice president laid it out. and yet, russia went ahead and did all of those things that secretary of state john kerry just mentioned and the united states approved sanctions. what's next? >> well, i think three things. first is to try to help ukraine militarily, if possible, and to shore up its defenses, discourage russia from going into the eastern part of the country, and in particular, to continue to shore up ukraine economically. obviously in the last few dies, some pledges of support from the eu and therefore from the united states, and also to shore up ukraine politically. they have a very important election coming up in 60 days,

and that government will step right into the existing crisis. secondly, it's to do exactly what vip biden is already doing, reinforcing nato commitments, because just as over the past decade or two, nato has looked at a more global mission in central and eastern europe. they join the old nato, they join the nato that is the fear of threat of russia. >> the united states says don't take crimea, and they took crimea and now the united states says don't take eastern ukraine, and what other hammer does the u.s. have? >> you mentioned the cold war earlier, and what's different about today versus the cold war is that the russian economy is exposed. it is integrated in the global economy. and now you're in a contest between putin and western

leaders over the matter of costs. europe in particular, which does a great deal of business with russia, has the ability to hurt russia, but obviously has to manage those costs in terms of the impact. >> and russia has the ability to hurt europe and the united states as well, right? >> europe in particular. the united states has some contacts with russia, not as extensive as europe. >> i'm talking about natural gas. >> and also, what the united states has over the long run is now an energy card. and they should probably begin to deploy that card so over time, the russian leverage with regard to that is reduced. >> how deep does the united states want to get into this? on an economic battle, sanctions, how deep is the u.s. willing to go? >> i think this is the conundrum

in terms of a global economy or a global architecture, and dealing with powers like china, like russia, where you have opportunities to cooperate, such as iran, and you have deep divisions as we now see with russian behavior in and around ukraine. i think it will be important for the credibility of the united states to try to impose, along with europe, significant costs on putin. >> they're not going to work, crimea is now a done deal. >> that's what i'm saying, what's the point? >> well, the point is to try to make clear that the farther putin goes down this road, the costs will potentially continue. >> do you think that the united states doesn't believe -- i'm just curious what you think -- do you think that the united states doesn't believe vladimir putin when he says we don't want eastern ukraine, we just the crimea. >> i'm not sure that vladimir

putin necessarily knows the answer to this. and this is where ukraine has to have a sophisticated strategy, and not bait russia into a deeper dive, as was the case with georgia in 2008. we have a case where 300 years of history trumped 60 years of history. crimea is more important to put put than it is to the west. that said, the farther putin goes, now you're challenging the 21st century international order, and that's going to get extraordinary. >> thank you for being on the program, and for sharing our insight. we'll be talking in the coming days. one soviet leader considered popular in the west says he's okay with crimea becoming part of russia. mikhail gorbachev, he called for the vote to join russia a happy event and he said thats its it

proves that crimeaians wanted to return to russia. coming up in our special report. russia's crimea, orders to shoot, new orders to its troops, and plus, the man known as russia's bin laden, is reportedly dead.

>> a strong denial but the risk remains. a second deal with iran, that will produce a furious reaction in the united states. even before the ukraine crisis erupted, president putin was reported to be discussing a deal with iran where russia would buy iranian oil in exchange for goods.

no one has a quick reaction here iherein vienna, where exchange r modest relief. >> several weeks ago, there were reports that one of russia's most wanted member was asked to take part in the unrest in ukraine. a report that the chechen fighter is dead. he was working for osama bin laden, they issued an obituary in july. chechen leader had urged his followers to attack. if i. >> coming up all new on the newscast, at 11:00 eastern, an inside look at the world's most dangerous drug cartel. it's deep connection to the

united states, and plus, the wilderness of the african serengeti. some of the best photographs taken by amateur photographers. 11:00 eastern, and 8:00 pacific time. while crimea's certain is uncertain, out of russia, the rally in russia's red square had pictures of vladimir putin, all in support of crimea joining russia. the headlines are coming up.

>> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. here are tonight's top stories. russian president, vladimir putin, signed a document of unification today, said to restore crimea to russian

federation after a 60-year separation. and he sent a message to the ukraine people saying that russia has no plans to divide their country. a ukraine an soldier was killed today on an ukrainian base, and they were given orders to fire back on russian troops. part of a visit to russia's neighbors, biden is in the region to show support for allies. and he told baltic leaders that the u.s. defending the nato treaty is ironclad. there have been no new clues for the missing flight 370. families of the passengers are threatening a hunger strike. president obama honored 24 veterans. only three of the men are still alive. they served in wars decades ago, but were overlooked because of their ethnicity or religion.

i'm john seigenthaler, and see you back here at and you can get the latest news on aljazeera.com. on america tonight, florida's invisible children and the system that failed them. this is cold and calculating an evil. >> an investigation into shocking cases of abuse, neglect and the state's failure to protect. >> everything we know and think we know about air 370, there is every theory about what happened is flawed. >> at home, on the