they need assistance. >> >> two possible objects related to the search have been identified. >> search and rescue teams are in an area off australia to see if debris spotted on satellite could be the missing malaysia airlines plane. ukraine proposes a plan to withdraw troops from crimea if russia does the same. >> 2 bedroom apartments are going for over 3,000. >> why the price of housing in

north dakota is sky rocketing. and a $20,000 car, why it's going to $200,000 in cuba. why owning a car in havana may be a dream deferred. >> good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. breaking news overnight from australia in the search for malaysia airlines flight mh370. australian prime minister tony abbott says satellite imagery shows what could be two pieces of airplane debris in the southern indian ocean. military search planes have been scouring an area 1500 miles south of perth, a 4-hour flight from australia sworn coach. the area being searched is a shipping lane where containers have been known to fall off vessels. thomas drayton has the latest on the search for the missing plane. >> 13 days after malaysia

airlines flight mh370 disappeared on its way to beijing, a break in the investigation. >> the australian maritime safety authority has received information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search. following specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified. >> it's these two objects, one of which measuring 80 feet, that have been located in the southern corridor of the expanded search zone. more than 1500 miles west of the australian coach, and the indian ocean. now ships and aircraft are on the way. >> this is a lead. it is probably the best lead we have right now. but we need to get there, find them, see them, assess them to know whether it's really meaningful for not. >> it's the first sign of hope for the loved ones of the 239 missing on board.

after almost two weeks of frustration and anguish by family members of the missing passengers. and that anger directed at malaysian authorities, criticised for providing conflicting information. >> on thursday malaysia's transport minister reacted to the news out of australia with cautious. >> i'm meeting the australian delegation as i have been doing from day one. we have been following every single lead, and at this time i hope that it is a positive development. >> meanwhile, a new report in "the wall street journal." says malaysian officials delayed acting on critical data from a british satellite company about the plane's location because of concerns about sharing the information. according to the report four days went by before malaysian officials acknowledged the data showing the plane could have

gone to a northern or southern corridor nowhere near the search zone conducted by a number of multinational forces on either side of that search zone. the federal bureau of investigation has been asked to retrieve gat data from the home of the captain. >> we are having ongoing conversations about how we can make available resources and expertise that we have that might be able to be used. >> the deleted data may mean nothing but they'll look for clues, including why the boeing 777 would fear so far off its path. >> al jazeera's lisa stark who has been covering aviation

for years joins us. >> we have the satellite image, where does the search go from here. >> the australians have four planes in the air, unfrom the u.s. and one from new zealand. they are trying to find the ebry. they are being hampered by the weather conditions. at this moment they have not been able to locate whatever was found on the satellite images. they are bringing a merchant marine ship, a commercial ship coming to the area, and a naval vessel. it will take a few days for that vessel. at the moment it's by air. they are trying to see where these pieces of whatever they are located. >> it was about eight hours ago that the australian prime minister came out with the images, and ships and planes were send to the area. do we know when the images were

taken. the time stamp shows march 16th. the time stamp, as you indicated, does say march the 16th. that is last sunday. as you know, they have been asking for satellite images. it was conceivable they could be a number of days old and they could get around to looking and going through the images. it may be tougher to find the items because they had moved sips sunday. they have to look and figure out the drift patterns and they are dropping buoys trying to figure out where the pieces have gone. >> have the u.s. and australia tape the lead in the search at -- taken the lead in the search at this point? >> well, in the southern corridor where they are intensively looking, australia has taken the lead in that area, with the u.s. close behind. the malaysians are in charge of the investigation, but they have

asked the countries in those areas to sort of take over the searching for any sign of the plane. that's what the australians are doing. >> all right. lisa stark for us in washington. thank you. >> surveillance planes have not spotted the object but the p8 poseiden is in the area. the $35 million is in the area. it despatches the older orion aircraft flown by the australian, new zealand and u.s. navies. joining us were skype were ben oregon is captain art scanso, in a former p3 commander and flight structure. there are p3s, and the advanced p8 poseiden trying to spot the objects that the satellite picked up. can you tell me how the planes are equipped to conduct the

search? >> good morning. yes. they carry a variety of electronics equipment. typically used for the search and detection of submarines , but they have buoys that they cap drop in the water with hydrophone, providing acoustic information from the ocean back to the aircraft. so that's part of what they have in their arsenal. they have very, very sensitive surface radar equipment on the aircraft, the p3 and the p8. they will be able to radar map this very large portion of water out there to the south-west of australia. >> and we are hearing about poor visibility in this location. can the p3 and the p8 overcome difficulty conditions when it comes to visibility in the air?

>> they can in the airspace in which they are flying. and these aircraft can fly and observe very close to the surface. the protocols will allow them to go down to 200 feet over the water. so unless - unless there is a significant storm taking place, the weather - as long as there's visibility below where the cloud cover is, they'll be able to visually cover that area, but they could - they can even provide an effective radar map of that area without having to visually see the o. >> it's hard to tell from the graphic, but this is still a very large search area. how long do it take to survey this area, based on the satellite info that has been released by the australians? >> that is a command and control issue, i think.

i'm hearing that there are a number of nations involved, numerous aircraft are out there at this point. they obviously have a plan, a search plan for that area. i can imagine it taking a matter of 12 hours, possibly 24 hours to determine whether or not they are getting significant radar returns from the surface of the o. of course, it will also depend a great deal on the sea state. i'm understanding that there are white caps on the water, and that will make it different - that will make it more difficult for them to viceually identify the piece of debris or pieces of debris that they are looking for. we know that it takes about four hours to get from perth, where i know the poseiden was based to this search area. how long can this plane fly without having to go back and refuel? >> these aircraft are

long-range - both the poseiden, and the orion have long of this stage, they have two or three hours on station before they have to return to fuel. because there are many aircrafts, they'll likely have three or four aircraft on station until the issue is resolved. >> i want it recap what we know. all we know is the image taken by an australian satellite, possibly last sunday, has discovered two objects - one of which is about 78 feet long. that's all we know right now. none of these objects have been spotted by ship or plane. given that information, do you believe that the p3 and the p8 that are out there, and the ships, will find something. >> i feel ascertain that they'll find - unless these objects that have been identified previously

submerge, as long as they are on the surface, i believe that there's a great likelihood that they will be object find them and identify what the material is. >> is there a chance that the plane's own black box may be giving off signals which could aid in the search? >> i have heard speculation to that effect. and i suppose it's somewhat possible if the tail of the aircraft is actually what they have identified, it could be that that's where the black bombs are in the tail of the aircraft, and it's conceivable that there is a signal being emitted from one of these objects. >> captain art sample son, former navy p3 commander and flight instructor joining us from ben oregon. >> let's bring in erica pitzi, for details on the search and

whether and water conditions in the area. >> [ inaudible ] ... 117,000 square mile area, the size of the entire state of nevada. now, the u.s. seven fleet is in the vicinity. that's america's largest fleet with 70 ships and 300 aircraft. we are hearing commercial satellites are being redirected. locating the objects will be a tough task. clouds and rain is creating disability, and hampering search efforts. the indian ocean is the third largest body of the water after the pacific and atlantic. it's known for the choppy water conditions because of the current and countercurrent going in different directions off the coast. searching the area will be difficult. >> the depth can be anywhere from 3,000 to 23,000 feet.

there's a plateau in the certainly area, but nobody knows precisely yet where this debris or debris field is. nobody knows how deep assist, and then you have to - when they find the debris field, if it is, indeed, from the airplane, then you have to mathematically compute the origin, because it's been 12 days, so the debris field should have moved a distance from where the impact would have been. >> now, you heard mr hamilton mention a possible depth maximum of 23,000 feet. that's like stacking more than 18 empire state buildings on top of each other. putting it into perspective. erica pitzi, thank you. stay with al jazeera for the latest on the search. in the next half hour a live report from australia, where the prime minister broke the news of the newly discovered objects. >> ukraine soldiers are facing increased russian aggression in

crimea. it has provoked talks much troop withdrawal. kiev asked u.n. to declare crimea a neutral zone. pro-russian forces seized a ukrainian nav ail base at sevastopol. a commander was freed this morning. ukraine will have to handle military conflict without the assistance of the united states. >> we will not get into a military excursion in ukraine. what we are going to do is mobilize all the diplomatic resources to make sure we have a strong international coalition that sends a clear message. which is that ukraine should decide its own destiny. phil ittner is in kiev. the statement comes in the aftermath. what does this mean, and what

effect if any will it have in the region. >> well, it means that there is - very serious concerned about the presence of military troops on the crimean peninsula. there is a plan to evacuate. whether or not the russians do likewise, it's unlikely. it's a sign that there's deep concern. a statement by the ukrainian chairman urged the stolediers do not shoot our russian brothers", that statement says, unless your lives are at risk. a mistake could lead to serious consequences. >> ban ki-moon is meeting with vladimir putin lavrov. what is he hoping to achieve with the meeting. >> first and foremost they hope

to achieve an open dial ol. the government in moscow does not recognise the government here, so ban ki-moon, who will travel to kiev is going to open up the dialogue. we have undersecretary of state wendy sherman in town. a lot is going on on the opinions , and the diplomatic front. >> and the economic front. the e.u. agreed to sign an agreement with ukraine, and what impact will that have going forward. >> that is very interesting. that is the document that started all of this. that agreement, that agreement between boroughs else and kiev is what is so disturbed. it those sha the european union is drawing ukraine into the western fear of influence. the aspects of that agreement is signing is the political side of

it. that would include visa free travel. that's at the time that a visa regime is issued for russian citizens. we are seeing that with the agreement later down the road there'll be economic sit signatures and agreements. it's interesting to note that's the agreement that started all of this. >> phil ittner for us from kiev. thank you. >> stay with al jazeera for continuing coverage of the ukraine crisis. in 20 minutes how the shift is seen in every day life - that's not the right video - the u.s. company that could be the most effected by sanctions against russia. that will be coming up later in the show. >> seven taliban suicide bombers backed by gunmen attacked a police station in eastern afghanistan. 10 police and one civilian have been killed in jalalabad. 14 others and a police officer

were wounded. presidential elections are scheduled in afghanistan next month. >> janet yellen holds her first news conference. what she says sent stock tumbling. the state where a job surge is creating a housing shortage. plus, why cubans can't get a new car after restrictions were lifted.

>> an australian satellite spotted items that may be if from flight mh370. that disappeared more than 10 days ago. officials in australia have been in contact with malaysian counterpart. nicole johnston reports from kuala lumpur. has there been a reaction from malaysian authorities? >> what is significant is today we had two press conference, one from the australians, and one from the malaysians. they have been on message, going into a great deal of detail,

discussing how the search operation is being carried out in the southern corridor. we heard from the malaysians, including the acting transport minister. this is what he had to say. >> for the families around the world, the one piece of information that we want most, that they want most is the information we just don't have. the location of flight mh370. our primary focus is to find the aircraft. with every passing day our efforts have intensified. >> >> now, some of the detail given about the search operation there'll be four planes involved - two from australia, one from new zealand, and one from the united states. they'll take off from perth, heading down to the search area which is more than 2,000km off the south-west coast of

australia, deep into the indian ocean. they are operating in a tag team. they head out there, they'll look around for about two hours and head back to perth. one aircraft has been down searching, it had to turn back because the visibility was bad. both press conferences from both sides emphasised that while this is a credible development, they have been measured and cautious. there is no confirmation at all that these two objects that have been spotted by satellite have anything at all to do with the missing plane as yet. >> we know that one of the planes involved in the search is a u.s. navy plane. they have not found anything yet. how are malaysian officials coping with the pressure? well, today they have had a bit of a breather. most of the attention has been

on australia, and indonesia, which is coordinating the southern search effort. i would imagine the malaysians are taking a bit of a breath. the heat is really been on them. the pressure over the last few days, and that exploded in many ways on wednesday, when we saw two chinese women come here into the media center, very upset and emotional. they were trying to protest the type of information they have been receiving from the authorities. they were bundled off into a room and dragged out by security guards in the middle of a media scrum. the malaysian authorities got a lot of criticism. they came out and said they regretted the action and there would be an investigation. now the attention is largely on the south, so the malpatience have had some of the focus taken off them. during the press conference, they emphasised that the search is also continuing in that northern corridor, that that area has not been abandoned, and so the search is going on in an

area that stretches from northern thailand to khazakhstan. and that search is led by china and kazakhstan. >> nicole johnston for us in kuala lumpur. we'll have more on the flight in a few minutes. first a look at the temperatures we'll see across the country. nich nicole mitchell meteorologist is here. >> spring officially starts in a few hours from now. here is where we are looking. 50 in atlanta, 56. as we get through the rest of the day. the mid section, 56 in denver. we'll have not a lot of moisture, but colder air moving in. southward feeling like spring and north ward looking like winter. billings dropping to 28 degrees,

and more spreads over the course of the weekend. >> more on the bring outlet later. >> more than 100 disabilitied kids live in nursing homes. the state is being sued saying their civil rites are being violated and the kids are left in the hallways. >> nursing homes are not an appropriate place for a child. a child should be with their family. >> parents say they have no option because the state slashed in-home services. >> in the next hour america tonight correspondent sheila mcvicar has the story of a struggle to get his son out of a nursing home. >> satellite images lead search crews to possible debris. we are live in australia where the announcement was made. >> texas smuggling bust. how police uncover a house crammed with more that 100

people suspected to be in america illegally. >> we have 20-25 full-time opportunities, and as of today we no longer have guaranteed apartments. >> the job boom in north dakota, that is pushing housing prices up. >> i'm john henry smith, the field of 64 is set. everyone is not necessarily happy. a coach speaks out about his team's first-round match-up.

>> welcome back. i'm stephanie sy. breaking news this morning. australia's prime minister tony abbott says satellite images show pieces of debris that may have come from the flight mh370. they have been focussing on an area in the southern yoeindian

ocean 1500 miles off the cost of western australia. >> the first plane reached the search area three hours ago. are we hearing anything new from authorities, andrew thomas? >> in the last 10 minutes we had a message from the australian maritime safety authority, saying the first surveillance plane that made it to that area that searched the area could not locate the objects. so far these objects have only been seen on a photograph taken by a satellite. what is happening at the moment is a series of planes, four planes in rotation are flying from perth in south-western australia, flying four hours out to sea, and then searching the area where these objects were spotted by a satellite, some hours or days ago. that's where they have the images from. they are searching the area. as yet they have not found anything. the first plane had to turn

back, it's running low on fuel, the weather is not good. visibility is poor, and they have not found anything. another plane will be on its way. >> let's remind our viewers why they are looking at the search area. several hours ago we heard from australian officials talked about objects found in satellite images. tell us what they said. >> well, what they have seen are two objects that are floating in the sea. crucially one of those is a big object. there are at least two other objects as well. the photograph that the australian marr time safety authority released show some very grainy pictures. they have circled the objects in question. they held a big press conference as well going into some of the detail about what they had seen. let's hear a bit of that now. >> the objects are relatively n

indistinct on the imagery, i'm not an expert in assessing them. those that are indicate their credible sightings. the indication to me is of objects that are a reasonable size. the largest image i have seen is assessed as being 24 metres, and there's another one that is smaller than that. and a number of other images in the general area. >> so you can hear there, these are significant objects. the question, of course, is whether the objects have anything to do with the disappearance of flight mh370. australia prime minister who announced the news in the australian parliament - the fact that it was him in person standing up and revealing the credible engines, the credible new and potentially important development straight away gave it credibility, meant that everybody was taking it very,

very seriously. until human being, whether in a plane looking down or in a boat nearby, until they can see the objects and identify them, we don't know whether they have anything to do with flight mh370 at all. as i say, four spotter planes, three from the australian military, one from new zealand are on rotation going and looking at the area. there's an australian naval vessel on the way. if the objects are relevant to the missing plane, it will be able to bring the objects on board, but it is days away. a commercial ship is closer and should be on the scene now. in the next few hours, if the objects can be seen, we'll have a clearer picture of what the objects are and whether they have anything to do with the missing flights. >> the latest information - so far australians have not spotted anything yet in the water. >> ukraine is considering pulling out its troops from crimea. this as president obama ruled out the use of men military

action. as barnaby phillips reports, the situation continues to be fluid. >> all the momentum is with russia. militia men forced their way into the headquarters of the ukrainian navy. the sayers offered no resistance, and the base is overrun without a shot being fired. it's out with the old, in with the new. russia is in charge. forces on the ground increasingly bold in making that point. >> a ukrainian army base near simferepol, and the soldiers inside wonder how long the russians are prepared to wait outside before forcing their way in. the ukrainian soldiers told us they feel abandoned by their government. they would not talk on camera. i spoke to a retired officer who has been trying to mediate. >> the soldiers have been let down. no one from the high command or

defence ministry came here to support or encourage them. the authorities in crimea say they will not allow a delegation in kiev to talk to the soldiers. >> the pro-russian prime minister says the delegation is not welcome and it will not be allowed entry into crimea. >> it's not only ukrainian soldiers who are worried. in simferepol, we found a bank manager trying to reassure crowds who want to withdraw their savings. "don't worry, everything is under control." but he admits that the bank is struggling to adapt to what he calls the new legal reality. at parliament they were putting up new letters, in russian, stating that crimea belongs to russia, not ukraine. with every passing day moscow consolidates its hold.

>> as the u.s. and e.u. consider additional sanctions on russian officials, the head of the company ros nof is speaking out. he said: >> those sanctions could have a ripple effect on u.s. companies doing business in moscow, and no u.s. energy couple has more on stake than exxonmobile. in 2011 exxonmobile signed a deal with ros kov to drill an area. russia is the largest oil producer, exporting $160 billion in oil and gas in 2012. carl lary is president of a group providing analysis on the oil industry. it's a long-standing ally of

putin, ros nest. what do you think the u.s. and e.u. is doing about heeding his warnings? >> the big thing we are talking about is money, beyond that there's the knoil and gas. you know, we den want to see an american company, especially one this large take a hit by sanctioning, but we don't want a cries action interrupted by any kind of sanctions, we don't want to see spikes in oil and all that combined on what not to happen. >> let's take a look at numbers from exxon, it led the world in profit. when it comes to american companies that stand to lose the most. do they have reason to show concern. >> they do. it's high level. there's someone from exxon

talking and someone from the u.s. government. when we come down, there's a lot of money, oil and gas. those are two things now in recovering the economies, not just in the u.s., but across the world that we don't want to shake up too much right now. >> the company has been known to show its weight around. it was phrased as "it means that exxonmobile runs its own foreign policies, raising the question as to how it relates to the foreign policy of the united states", according to "the washington monthly", is that a fair degree of exxon. >> when we are talking about one of the largest companies in america, especially with the amount of money they invest in. there's a lot to be said, and it carries weight and people will listen, especially in the u.s.

government. exxon's a major employer, especially in the u.s., and they handle a commodity that is sensitive in the u.s. i think there's a lee way that can be pushed one way or the other. when it comes down to it, human rights and democracy will win out. the government will do what it fools it should do. >> that's the debate. exxon weathered sanctions in iran, iraq. how might that compare to the sanctions. here is the dribbingy think, xon is a major investor in russia and iran. iraq and iran needed exxon there. they needed the foreign investment. there's not a big need for foreign investment from russia. there's plenty of other countries that move in, but,

again, it's a sensitive situation right now. we need to be in, we have money invested and we don't want to lose it. it's not so much about what we gain, but what we lose russia can stand on their own a bit bitter than other countries. >> carl with more on the fallout from the crisis in ukraine. >> houston police broke up what appears to be a human smuggling operation. 100 people were crammed into a house with the window nailed shut and doors locked from outside. many were dressed in their underwear to stop them escaping. five men suspected of running the smuggling ring were arrested. >> asian stock markets lose value thursday with investors reacting to comments by the new federal reserve leader janet yellen suggesting u.s. interest rates could rise sooner than the markets accepted.

>> a broad smile greeted reporters as janet yellen headed into her first news conference as federal reserve chair. >> i'll be glad to take your questions. >> straight away the press wanted janet yellen to clarify to swap 6.5% unemployment as the threshold for forward guidance on interest rates for a less precise basket of jobs and inflation data. >> in assessing the real state of slack in the labour market and inflationary or deflationary pressures that could result with that, it is appropriate to look at many more things. >> things were tougher when the topic turned to stimulus, the fed announcing it would pare back bond buying. when janet yellen was pressed, the market zeroed in on one part. >> something of around about

six months. >> she qualified the conditions would dictate conditions. markets were rattled, earning the fed their a less than perfect review from investors. >> i would give her a b, maybe higher. she's pragmatic. >> yellen may not have turned in an a-plus performance, but main street may take a different view. putting a human vase on the data. acknowledging that although the economy is struggling. many are struggling to get on their feet. >> the thought of higher interest rates is weighing tonne wall street. stock features are pointing to the open. >> asian markets ending the day with heavy losses. >> mortgage payments are a top priority for borrowers. consumers began to pay off home loans at a faster rate than

credit card debt. it refuses a trend, but mortgage dellin questionsy rates are twice as hay as before the bubble burst. more consumers are ditching cable burns. research firms found pay tv subscriptions fell. rising cost of cable forced many to cut the cord. then are signing up for online streaming such as netflix and amazon. >> today is the first official day of stripping. let's have a look back at a memorable winter. morning, we are six hours away from the eq urks ino, and meaning equal -- equinox meaning equal nice. this time of year it should be about 12 hours, regardless of where on the earth you are, and

we game in daylight. if you look at the world, places like europe and south america are above average. look at the united states. look at the eastern half and the great lakes it's well below average. capitals like london were basketing. we had this at our capital - snow storm after snow storm. it's been a rough winter. this is the three-month outlook, but it could be cold air, not what you want to see. at least this time of year it's milder as we get into spring, even though not to average. one place that is looking warm, staying on that trend would be the south-west. not only warm, but dry. that will exacerbate the drought conditions seen in this portion of the country. that is a concern, it's the same outlook for droughts over the next few months and dry

conditions from texas west wards, where we have conditions. so it will just worsen that. >> now, as we look at for today, how can we devote so much attention to spring. a quiet outlook. that is good news, because the central portion of the united states - that means a lot of sunshine to warm us up. we'll take it. >> north dakota is booming thanks to its oil industry, but the job surge has a down slide. it's tough to find a home. the story from diane eastabrook. in part one of the series, the new frontier. >> eric kirby makes the best of a cramped situation in this 1200 square food mobile home. the living room functions as an office. >> there's no room for tools and other household items, so they are stashed in a shed. >> the gun safe, the freezer is out here. it's packed. >> while small, the mobile home was the most affordable option

for the civil engineer, his wife and son who moved to north dakota oil country from oregon. $1800 is a good deal in this down. >> thanks to the oil rush, williston north dakota is not only a boom town, but the most expensive housing rental market. thousands of job seekers flock to work. since the 2010 sensis the population doubled from 15,000 residents to roughly 30,000. work is plentiful. housing is not. developers are rushing to fill the void. >> this is a typical single room. >> danny hogan is one of them. his firm is building 3,000 modular home. >> we have corporate contracts. depending on the people and agreement, we aim for 139 a

night. >> north dakota knows it has a major housing problem. it spend about $50 million over the past knew years building affordable housing over the sit. mostly in the oil batch patch. >> so far the state subsidised units for essential workers. but communities like willis tonne said it hardly put a dent in the problem. mercy medical center had a grant to build these apartments. >> c.e.o. michael grimm rented out all 66 units and is worried about how to accommodate new survivors. >> we have 20-30 opportunities sting, but no longer do we have guaranteed apartments. >> as more housing is built in the next few years, developers think it will be less expensive.

eric kirby is not waiting for that to happen. >> he's building is 275,000 home his family will move into summer. >> that is, to you, a lot of money. >> it's a heck of a lot of money. my house in oregon was half of that. >> that's the price you pay for the american dream in oil country. >> a lot of military veterans are headed to north dakota looking for the high paying jobs. that story tomorrow in part two of our series, a new frontier. the n.c.a.a. tournament field of 64. john henry smith is here with sport. >> we have clarity on the field of 64 after the wednesday play-in day is beaten. iowa's coach had more than the play-in before travelling to lead the hawkeyes into the opener against tennessee. spending the morning with his son who had surgery to remove a

thai roid tumor. >> iowa down. >> the game tied up. tennessee with a last-second chance. jordan mcrae off the mark. iowa scoring one point to tennessee's 14. the val tears advance. here is mick avry. >> needless to say it's been very difficult, you know. i got up at 5am. we had patrick at the hospital at six. he's getting preppeded for surgery on his neck, you know, to remove a tumor, and you are talking about participation of malignancy and things of that nature and you're saying, "well, it puts wins and losses in perspective." i got on a plane. at that point my jobs was to

focus on the game and be in in every way that i good be for my guys. >> thursday's other play-in was calpolie against texas. the must tangs won the conference tournament to win the pid. cowpalie beat texas. meaning for the first time it seemed with 19 losses he got to win in the tournament. facing wichita state on friday. >> defending louisville opens up. it comes into the big dance as a fourth seed. that doesn't bother cardinal's coach. having to face good friend jasper's coach. >> what bothers me is playing manhattan.

making poor decisions. manhattan, i happened to work with the young man for six years, the coach in kentucky. i don't think it's right for either one of us. i think the pairing black commonsense. i can't protest too much. they are doing the best jog he can do, maybe a bunch of soccer ids, i don't know. >> on tuesday, the nicks and legendary coach phil jackson exchanged vows and got married. wednesday was the honeymoon. maddison square gardens gave the president a rousing standing ovation. jackson looked on, the nicks played inspired basketball. they beat the eased-leading pacers. for a season-high win. the nicks out of the play-off

field. despite the second-highest payroll. >> to baseball, a frightening example of how dangerous it is to be a pitcher. in a spring training match up against kansas. the pitcher could not get out of the way of a line-up. he was hit in the face and transported to a local hospital. he had fractures above the left eye and nose and was hospitalized and will undergo tests today. game officials called the game off. you can understand why. >> that is sports for this hour. >> john henry smith, thank you. >> cuba lifts restrictions on buying new cars. why many say they are being priced out of the market. >> and we have some areas of rain that have been moving through this morning, but they are clearing quickly. i'll have the rest of your forecast.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. let's get a look at where the snow and the rain may fall. meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. >> a lot of the country is quiet. the one area we have a little more action is the north-east. a lot of rain moving through overnight. lingering behind that lower cloud, few areas of fog, and a little lake enhancement. watch for that as we head occupant. a lot of the rest of the country quiet. it doesn't mean without problems. wind gusts picking up in the central u.s. so some of the fire risk concerns today. >> thank you. for the first time in more than 50 years the cuban government is allowing the sale of new and used cars. as adam raney reports, it's a luxury many can't afford. >> cubans will do anything to keep their beloved cars on the road. since the revolution car ownership has been restricted.

so cubans have had to be resourceful to keep old cars chugging along. this year restrictions on car ownership are lifted. many hoped to get a new set of wheels. prices here have shocked cuban. a peugot 508 is listed at $262,000 - roughly 10 times what is costs in most countries. >> every day people visit dealerships to see the unbelievable prices for themselves. the two men were afraid to speak on camera, saying it would take a lifetime for cubans, earning an average of $20 a month, to buy a car at such prices. many are angry at the government. >> translation: it's enormously disrespectful, as it is our salaries are not enough to cover normal need, we have done the numbers, it's so expensive. >> for a foreigner driving a car like this it's no big deal. for cubans, it's an unattainable

dream. >> the move to lift restrictions is the latest in economic forms sparking growth and getting cubans off the payroll. but with prices so high, many will stay in the car lots and cubans will get around as they have for decade - with a lot of patience. >> the cuban government says the profits from selling new cars will fuel funds for public transport. >> del walters joins us with a lock at what we are following for the next hour. >> search crews heading to an area off the coast of australia, after satellite shows two objects that could be from the missing malaysia airlines flight. >> kiev asking for crimea to be a demilitarized zone. they'll put out their troops if russia will. >> attacks in eastern afghanistan. >> the federal government going to battle with florida over care

of disabled children. we talk to a father struggling to get his child out of a nursing home. >> i'm meteorologist nicole mitchell - we have finally made it to spring. i have the forecast. >> al jazeera america conditions, and del and i will be back with you in 2 minutes.

>> two possible objects related to the search have been identified. >> search and rescue teams heading off the coast of australia trying to determine if debris could be that of missing malaysia airlines flight 370. >> ukraine will about draw troops from crimea if russia does the same. >> a child should be with their family.

>> parents are forced to put their children in nursing homes just because they are disabled. now they say those children are being neglected. >> i'm thankful to have the opportunity. it is limitless here. >> the company stepping up to give america's veterans a new future. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. from australia, the search for malaysian airlines 370 has breaking news. military search planes have been scouring an area south of perth, australia. it's a four hour flight from the coast. >> the area searched is a shipping lane where containers

have been known to fall off of cargo vessels. aljazeera's lisa stark is in washington, d.c. we now have the satellite images. where does the search go from here? >> there are four jets looking in that area, one from the u.s. they are trying to locate what was seen on these satellite photos. so far, visibility not good in the area and they have not found these pieces of whatever they are. the australians are calling these satellite photos very credible. that's why they've launched such an effort to find the pieces, but everyone is cautious to say until they get their eyes on it, there is no confirmation it's come from the missing plane. >> a potential break in the investigation. >> the australian maritime safety authority received

information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search. following specialist analysis of this imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified. >> it sees two objects, one of which measures almost 80 feet located in the southern corridor of the search zone, more than 1500 miles west of the australian coast in the indian ocean. ships and aircrafts are on all the way. >> it is a lead, possibly the best we have right now, but we need to get there, find them, see them, assist them to know whether it's really meaningful or not. >> it's the first sign of answers for the loved ones of the 239 missing honored. after almost two weeks of frustration and anguish by family members of the missing passengers.

that anger is directioned mostly at malaysian although that's, criticized for providing conflicting information. the transport minister reacted to the news out of australia with caution. >> at least there is a credible lead and that credible lead requires us overnight to corroborate it. that gives us hope. >> malaysian officials delayed acting on critical data about the plane's possible location because of concerns about sharing the information. according to the report, four days went by before malaysian officials publicly acknowledged that satellite data showing the plain could have gone to a northern or southern corridor, nowhere near the search zone scoured by many countries for three days. president obama pledged full support in the investigation, including the f.b.i., now asked

to retrieve deleted data from the flight simulator taken from the home of the plane's captain. >> we are in ongoing conversations with helping and we will make available whatever resources that we have, whatever expertise we have that we might be able to be used. >> that deleted data may mean nothing, but may provide clues why this plane was steered, taken so far off course. tony, that part of the investigation continues. del, i'm sorry, that part of the investigation continues as does obviously the search in the waters both the northern and southern corridor. they are still looking at it from all angles as they try to determine where the plane went. >> how tough is it to get all these countries trying to find a plane to talk to each other and exchange crucial information? >> clearly this has been a

logistical nightmare. they are working closely with the u.s. and new zealand, but it's been testify to get these 26 countries to work well together. some countries that offered help still around helpinging a major way yet, because there's diplomatic hurdles to overcome, so it is a big problem. >> let's bring in erika for more on the weather and water conditions in the area. >> first let's keep in mind the indian ocean is the third largest body of water in the world. this search area which is 117,000 square miles rough live the size of the entire state of nevada, so locating the objects will be a tough tasks. clouds and rain are visiting visibility, which is hampering search efforts. this area is known for particularly choppy water conditions partly because of the current and counter current, you

can see right there that go in different directions off the australian coast. it's considered the most interesting current system in the world. we talked to an aviation consultant who explained why searching this area is going to be especially difficult. >> the depth can be anywhere from 3,000 to 23,000 feet. apparently, there's a plateau in the general area, but nobody knows precisely where this debris or debris field is, a understand so nobody nose exactly how deep it is, and then even when they find the debris field, if indeed it is from the airplane, then they have to mathematically cute the other begin, because it's been several days. it could be quite a distance from the impact. >> a possible depth of 23,000 feet is like stacking

more than 18 empire state buildings on top of each other. >> thank you. >> now that u.s. navy plane is one of many searching for the aircraft. the new aircraft can scan an area up to 10,000 squares miles. it was built by bowing and built to sink submarines and ships. the older aircraft also dispatched, flown by australia, new zealand and the u.s. >> we are joined by mr. curtis. how encouraged are you by this latest lead? >> very encouraged. it represents not just a single satellite photo, but also the coordination of the defensive capabilities of australia and the united states in the search. this is important, because yesterday or early this morning when the australian gave a very detailed briefing about the resources being drown into this,

it was clear that some of the resores are being drawn were things that malaysian authorities had not been a part of, specifically the australian agency for analyzing the satellite data is one that works closely with the u.s. intelligence community, and it's clear that prior to this, there have been no clear sharing of that data with the malaysian authorities, but clearly the australians have been working with the u.s. another point about the aircraft, those aircraft being used are antti submarine aircraft, also part of a very long term, on going relationship between australia, the u.s. and new zealand to do surveillance in that part of the indian ocean. >> even if the satellite shows wreckage and nothing's been found, it's about four hours into the search by these planes, how difficult is it going to be

for the surveillance planes and search ships to spot anything given the depth and width of this search area? >> it will be difficult because of the lack of visibility, all these aircraft are able to operate 24 hours a day. what's necessary to identify these pieces of suspected wreckage is a very clear shot from the cameras onboard the aircraft. the australian stated the first aircraft didn't find anything and there was some limitations due to weather. ultimately, even the aircraft aren't going to be good enough for identification. they'll have to have people on the surface, ships in the area to pick up the wreckage and inspect it. >> the images released by the oceanses yesterday, which we're looking at now show these possible objects. this is date stamped march 16,

last sunday. given the fact that this is a vast ocean with wind conditions, how do we know these images were taken days ago? >> the drift in the wind conditions, assuming that they haven't gotten any measuring devices in the area until today, there could have been a lot of changes in those conditions, making it difficult to estimate where the debris may be. another thing about that particular photo you mentioned, it was date stamped from a few days ago, also from a civilian force, organization called digital globe. it isn't clear to me that that's the only image. i believe there are other imagery that have been set fort since then. >> for example, military satellites? are you talking about the potential for australian or u.s. military satellite imagery not released to the public? >> absolutely. the standard is that they will

not reveal sources methods. they will very likely not release the satellite imagery from the military satellites, because it would frankly reveal the capabilities of those satellites. the capabilities, i think will show a much clearer picture than the one released by the australians. >> aljazeeras transportation contributor, mr. curtis, thank you. >> as we have been discussing, communications an important issue, australian officials keeping their malaysian counter parts up to date on the latest developments. nicole is in kuala lampur. how is that search going? we just had a press conference from the acting transport minister here. what was remarkable was how on message it was with the australians, very much repeating what the australian said in terms of how the search is going. there are four planes that will

be conducting the search in that vast southern section of the indian ocean. there's a merchant ship on its way, as well as a naval vessel. the latest information that we have about how the search is going is that the one aircraft that was in the air, looking for those two objects had a turn back to perth because of poor visibility. this is a little of what the acting transport minister had to say. >> for the families around the world, the one piece of information that we want most, that they want most is the information we just don't have, the location of mh317. our primary focus has always been to find the aircraft and with every passing day, our efforts have intensified. >> some of the other information that the malaysian authorities

gave during their press conference was that the search is still continuing in the northern corridor, that they haven't abandoned that area. that is an area that stretches from northern thailand all all the way to kazakhstan. they are waiting to hear from from russia and the ukraine who had passengers onboard to find whether they had any link to terrorism and that they're still investigating a flight simulator that the pilot had at home. >> nicole reporting live, thank you very much. >> stay with aljazeera for the very late effort on the search for that missing malaysian airlines flight. >> ukrainian soldiers find themselves face-to-face with russian soldiers in crimea with talk of troop withdrawal from the region, asking u.n. to

declare it a demilitarized zone, requiring russia to withdraw troops, ukraine would do the same. pro russian forces seized a ukrainian base in sevastopol. a commander was freed this morning. they will have to handle the assistance without the united states. >> let's go live now to phil ittner from the capitol, kiev. president obama made a statement saying that the u.s. will not commit military resources in ukraine. >> nobody really expects the united states or the west to engage militarily here. there's a lot of saber rattling going on. we have seen movement of nato forces into neighboring poland

and places like that, but as far as the peninsula itself is concerned and that proposal to make it a demilitarized zone, it's probably unlikely to gain traction, because of course the russians have the upper hand there. they have the military superiority. ukraine have plans to evacuate their troops, 25,000 people coming of the peninsula, potentially first would be the families and then there would be this plan to remove ukrainian forces, but that will have to be based on a lot of contingencies out there in the actual area where there's a lot of concern because you have those two military forces facing off, there is a potential for a flash point. we had a statement from the ukrainian chairman of the armed forces saying don't shoot your russian brothers unless lives are at risk, the potential for a mistake leading to well, a war

is very high and they are very conscious of it. >> u.n. secretary ban ki-moon is meeting with russian foreign ministeforeignminister lavrov t. >> the kremlin doesn't recognize this government here and if there's going to be a settlement or progress, they're going to have to start talking. there's a lot going on in the diplomatic front here. we have under secretary of state we understandy sherman in town today and a delegation from the congressional intelligence committee also here. there's a lot going on on a lot of different fronts. >> the e.u. agreed wednesday to sign an association agreement with ukraine. what does that mean and what impact will that have? >> that's a particularly interesting development, because that document, that association

agreement is actually what started this entire crisis, the e.u. trying to draw ukraine into the western sphere of influence and had the kremlin deeply concerned. the association agreement, the aspects of the agreement signed by the e.u. is the political side of things. they ever looking at greater economic ties, but have an awful lot of work to be done. want finances here are in shambles. >> phil, thank you. stay with aljazeera for continuing coverage of the ukraine crisis. in 20 minutes, how pro ukrainians in crimea feel pushed out of their homes. >> the federal government going to bat for children in desperate need. >> they are suing the state of florida for leaving disabled kids to linger in nursing homes. we'll hear one father's emotional story of trying to get his son home. >> what companies need to realize is that veterans don't want a hand out, they want a hand up. >> putting veterans to work,

wal-mart vowing to hire 100,000 vets. we'll check in to see how many have gotten jobs so far.

>> fighting for kids unable fight for themselves. let's look at temperatures across the nation today. nicole mitchell is here. good morning. >> good morning. some places are having a nice warm up and everybody's excited about that. as we start this morning, not do bad, houston 58, minneapolis 25, not unfortunately fo unseasonabf year. we'll watch mild air in the midsection of the country, denver 68. with the warm temperatures and wind, watch for fire danger in the central plains. >> walk into a nursing home in children, you may find 13 there. more than 100 kids with disabilities live there because of complex medical needs. the u.s. justice department is suing the state saying civil

rights are being violated. we take you inside one of these nursing homes and a father's struggle to bring his son home. >> this is hidden camera video from inside a florida nursing home. children in wheelchairs parked in a hallway at a place called kids corner. >> it's more like a facility of storage, of storing the kids. >> marcel lowe martinez's son has lived there for more than a year. he was an outgoing high school senior, his goal to become a firefighter when a freak incident changed his life. >> we're on our way to meet andrew martinez, nearly 21, where he was just after his birthday had a cardiac arrest and oxygen deprivation to his

brain. >> could you care for him at home? could he be at home with you? >> that's what i would love. >> martinez was never told he could have in-home care for his son. since he left the hospital, andrew has only lived in nursing homes. the state of florida has pushed parents like martinez to send their children to nursing homes like this one. according to a u.s. justice department investigation. other families had seen the same thing, children neglected for hours, parked in the hallway, ignored. this lawyer is now suing florida on behalf of the children and their families to force the state to pay for in-home care. a lawsuit is joined by the department of justice civil rights division. >> nursing homes are not an appropriate place for any child. a child should be with their family. >> isn't it more expensive to keep the kids in nursing homes? >> the state acknowledged that

it is 20% more expensive to have a child at a nursing home than to have a child in their own home, so it costs the state almost $250,000 to $300,000 a year. the nursing homes, it's financial incentive to have these children at nursing homes. it's an annuity. >> pending litigation prevented an interview from kids corner. we received this statement: martinez doesn't know what hill happen to his son when he turns 21 and no longer can stay even at kids corner. >> state of florida, you don't care. you don't. and this is one father that can

tell you that. like i say, you don't care about my son or the rest of these kids, and i see it, live it every day. >> aljazeera. >> for more investigative reports like the one you just saw, tune in to "america tonight." >> taking a look at business news, investors on wall street and elsewhere getting iters on these words from the fed chief yellen, talking about an interest rate hike. >> this is the kind of term it's hard to define, but probably means something on the order of around six months. >> the thought of higher interest rates coming sooner sent wall street lower yesterday and still is weighing on investors. her comments dragging down u.s.

and asian markets. >> more homes were sold, but the housing market still in early stages of a recovery. mortgage payments are a top priority for borrowers. consumers began paying off their home loans faster rate than their credit debt. mortgage delinquency rates remain quite as high before the housing bubble burst in 2007. >> the world keeping its fingers crossed in the search for the missing plane. >> debris off the coast of australia, spotted by satellite. >> the search effort is hampered by weather. >> if you fought for your country and served and sacrificed, you shouldn't have to fight for a job when you get

home. >> help or american veterans returning from war, the program at wal-mart putting thousands back on the job. >> let's just say it is a different kind of robo cop. the african nation placing these at intersections so catch the bad guys. >> you've got to have heart to race in nascar. we'll have the story of how one driver's heart nearly ended his race.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. a woman shares her personal story of being forced out of crimea for her coverage of the russian troops moving in. >> how big business is giving veterans a chance at a new life. >> a preview of michelle obama's

big trip to china. >> australia's prime minister tony abbot showing pieces of debris from the missing airlines plate, now focusing on an area 1500 miles off the coast of perth, australia with satellite imagery. >> declaring crimea a demilitarized zone would require russia and ukraine to withdraw troops. the move came after a naval base was seized by pro russian forces. the commander was captured during the seizure and released today. >> this early morning attack on a police station in afghanistan, taliban bombers and gunman involved, 10 police officers and one civilian killed. presidential elections scheduled to take place next month. >> a possible break at least a lead in the search for flight

370. as we mentioned, search teams are now combing through the southern indian ocean looking for objects seen in satellite images. we report from australia. >> is this debris from malaysian airlines flight mh370? this photo taken from a satellite is said to show objects floating in a southern indian ocean, one said to be 24 meters long. the objects are relatively indistinct on the imagery. i don't profess to be an expert in assess be the imagery, but those who are indicate they are credible sitings. the occasion to me is of objects that are of reasonable size and probably awash with water moving up and down the surface. >> can you give us an idea of the size? like the size of a basketball or seat cushion for much larger? >> much larger than that, the

largest image i've seen is assessed at 24 meters, another smaller than that and a number of other images in the general area. >> it was australia's prime minister who first announced a potentially important development. >> i would like to inform the house that new and credible information has come to light in relation to the search for malaysia airlines flight mh370 in the southern indian ocean. the australian maritime safety authority received information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search. i can inform the house that there is an attempt to locate the objects. >> four planes, three from australia, one from new zealand are taking turns to search the

relatively narrow area around the area. a commercial ship that was in the area has been diverted to look. an australiaen naval vessel is en route. poor visibility in the area makes it still a difficult task. >> along with the military aircraft, five merchant ships are searching for wreckage. so far there has been no sign of the plane. >> things tense in ukraine, many in crimea welcoming russia's annexation, but for some, their world has been turned jump side down, crimea's beginning is the end of life as they knew it. >> investigate have a journalist lives for her family and her work. thanks to her video, the worlds saw the mile long line of russian troops and tanks that first arrived in crimea.

thanks to her, the world saw when russian troops first drove through the crimean city and when they set up check points. >> we were seeing more armored personnel vehicles, military vehicles and equipment pouring into crimea by the road. >> for exposing the russian invasion, she received the scorn of pro russian activists. i met her in her hometown. >> is it safe to object against the russian presence? >> people are protesting against anything ukrainian for the past year. >> i spoke to her today, this time she was on the run. >> the soldier guarding the military base was stroking his s.k. and told me i wouldn't recommend you filming her, the

sight of my gun can see as far as your camera and he said my filming could result in my death. >> on that day, she decided it was do dangerous to stay. >> we will have to find new jobs in a new city and leave everything behind, everything we created. this is very sad. >> do you hope to come back? >> it's very differ, very painful to leave, because my child, my husband remain behind. my child needs to finish her school year in order to not be traumatized and my husband needs to try to save our property so we are not left with nothing. i'm sorry. i couldn't hold it in.

>> to save her family, she felt she had to leave them, because her work had made them a target. >> when i leave, my child will be in relative safety since there is no war now, the main danger for my family is me and what i do. >> she vows to continue bearing witness to a crimea being russian but for now, the invasion and annexation has left her silenced. >> a senior ukrainian analyst at a business and intelligence group joins us from london. there is a sense that vladimir putin has won and now he has what he wants, but economically, can crimea stand alone without the rest of ukraine and can russia afford to prop it up until it gets there? >> in the official phase where crimea will be incorporated into russian federation, there will

be difficulties, economically, particularly when the region has already started transi guessing to russian ruble. there's also the issue of water and electricity supply that comes solely from ukraine and some concerns that these could be disrupted should ukrainian-russian relations deteriorate more. i think crimea should be able to weather this economic difficulties with the help of russian capitol -- >> let me ask the question this way. what happens if crimea -- if ukraine decides to cut off crimea's tap when it comes to water and gas? >> it will really put the region in a very difficult situation. also for russia, it will be quite difficult to help them out, because they don't really

have the infrastructure to replace the energy supply. it will create logistic nightmare for russia and crimea. >> can russia then afford to prop up crimea? >> well, they have already started providing financial aid. they have already 1.4 u.s. billion dollars aid and there's also in flow of machinery and goods and so fort. i think in this sense they can do it. when it comes to energy and water supply, that's a bit tricky, but then again, if you look at the ukraine-russia situation, then ukraine really depends on russian energy supply, so it is quite interesting triangle where ukraine has to make sure that receivers energy supply from

russia and make sure crimea gets uninterrupted energy supply from ukraine. >> the latest news today, it wants the u.s. to declare crimea a demilitarized zone. >> i think at the moment, it is moscow really dictating the rules of engagement. i don't see this happening anytime soon. the idea comes slightly too late, russia has its own agenda when it comes to crimea and there's a world of difference to what the u.s., u.n. ukraine would like to see russia doing, so i don't see any scope for this at the moment. >> i want to you listen to vice president biden reiterating support for the allies in the region and then ask you about what could be a tale of two diplomatic pieces of rhetoric.

>> i want to make it clear, we stand with our bat particular amlies in support of ukrainian people and against russian aggression. as long as russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing political and economic isolation. there are those who say that this action shows the old rules still apply, but russia cannot escape the fact that the world is changing and rejecting outright their behavior. >> and then right after the vice president talked, the president came out and said that there would be no military intervention in ukraine, so is that not a tale of two forms of rhetoric there not making much sense? >> i don't think anyone realistically expected that u.s. -- any countries or the

european block, nato get involved in ukrainian affair. we have to be clear about this. ukraine potentially with a new government was expecting slightly stricter, stronger sanctions against rauch is that before the crimean referendum, but this didn't happen, either. in some ways, russia had a free hand to proceed with its crimean designs. what bide that is basically saying is that yes, they are opposed, but they are not seeing the military option as a valid option, because it will only aggravate the situation. in the short term perhaps russia could get away with it, but in the medium term, i think the isolation would start biting, particularly when it comes to the economy of the country. it's something that russia cannot really afford. >> joining us from london this

morning, thank you very much. >> italian navy and coast guard have rescued migrants traveling by boat. many migrants were on small overcrowded and unsafe boats from north africa, plan to go enter the country illegally. officials expect more to keep coming as sailing conditions improve with spring weather. >> houston police have broken up a human smuggling operation, finding 100 people crammed into a house with the windows nailed shut and doors locked from the outside. many in the group were dressed only in their underwear to discourage escape. police suspect they were held against their will by human traffickers. five men were arrested. >> with all of the grim news, there is one tiny sliver of something good, spring arriving in just a few hours. >> meteorologist nicole mitchell has a silver lining to talk about today. good morning, nicole. >> i think i saw a couple people dancing earlier in the day.

>> that was me. >> del was one of them. the equinox means equal nights, as the earth moves around the sun, this is where both hemisphere ares getting that equal daylight and 9/11. heading toward summer, our days will get longer and southern hemisphere nights getting longer there. it's been a rough go of it. as we looked across the world, a lot of continents well above average for february. this is just a february outlook. the united states around the great lakes, we had that cold air. while other countries basked in sunshine and mild weather, we had scenes like this, snowstorm after snowstorm in washington, d.c. i think we're ready to say goodbye to winter and hopefully milder temperatures, depending where you are. through may it looks like that northern tier of the country

will run blow average. we're still in the spring, so temperatures warmer than winter, you probably feel you deserve something warmer at this time of year. we're expected to day well above average in the southwest, also the trend over winter. that's one part of the country we could use cooler temperatures because we're also expected to stay dry. warm and dry exacerbate drought conditions. otherwise gulf coast also possible dryer area. i mentioned drought conditions from texas through the west coast, we could see that increasing with the projected weather pattern. speaking of the weather pattern for today, it is a very, very quiet one, not a lot of moisture out here. lots of sunshine to benefit from, so there are going to be mild temperatures today in places like the midwest and even the east coast warming for at least a couple of days. we will take it while we have it, those milder temperatures. back to you guys. >> despite falling unemployment numbers, american veterans still

face challenges when it comes to finding work. last year dozens of companies promised to hire more veterans. we show how one retailer is following through with the pledge. >> the wal-mart in lakewood washington, the store greets customers with photos of soldiers, trimmed in red, white and blue. they call it the wall of honor. chance are good shoppers will run into reserve army officer steven smith, one of wal-mart's newest store managers. >> i'm thankful just to have the opportunity, it is limitless here. >> he was hired under the government said joining forces pledge signed by wal-mart and 48 private sector companies. wal-mart says if you are honorably defender and need job, you have one here. >> we said that if you fought for your country and served and

sacrificed, you to fight for a job back home. >> smith has fought that battle. after serving 24 years in the army and then joining the reserves, smith says when he returned home from afghanistan last year, no one would hire him. >> i had some promises. i had some hey, give me a call on mondays and we'll take care of you, and just i don't know, it was a tough time. >> as part of this program, calendar matter offers positions from the corporate level to hourly workers in the store. for many soldiers, this may be a jumping off pointed but the purpose is to get soldiers back into the workforce. >> wal-mart has brought in 34,000 vets in both part time and full time positions since memorial day. the goal is to hire 500,000 over five years. safe way, xerox, waste management, at&t and humana are

on target to fulfill hiring goals for veterans. >> it is admirable companies have stepped forward. companies need to realize that veterans don't want a hand out, they want a hand up. >> peter smith's office helps veterans transition home and he says above all, they are reliable and disciplined, assets for any position. >> i know what i can do. i know that i can do great things if given the opportunity. >> officer smith is using his role at manager to hire more servicemen and women. it's the opportunity, he says, he's been waiting for. >> experts say younger veterans are having a tougher time finding work, smith said because they have little experience outside working in the military. >> they deserve the opportunity because they did fight. >> sometimes what we face in real life serves as a reminder that sports is just a game or in this case, a race.

>> nascar's brian vickers completes in one of the most dangerous sports around and yet the only thing that's ever taken him off the track was a danger lurking within his own body. we report. >> in racing, the heart of a driver is tested every time he or she climbs into the car. there is no half speed, it's full throttle or bust. vickers has experienced that behind the wheel and life. >> what did it feel like to finally get back to driving? >> to be back again is really exciting. i have gone through so much over the last few years, not knowing what was next. the first blood clot in 2010, largely ignoring the signs and symptoms. >> shortness of breath and chest pains led him to the emergency room, had deep vain thrombosis and needed heart surgery. >> what did you learn from the

diagnosis and how did it change you? >> my perspective on everything changed, off the track, on the track. when you do something long enough, you tend to take it for granted, and all of a sudden one day when you wake up and it's pulled out from under your feet, you realize how much you love something. >> after missing 25 races, vickers returned to post three top five finishes in 2011, three more in 2012 and last year ended a 75 race drought in july with a win in new hampshire. then in october, another clot was discovered in his right calf. >> you have to go see a doctor, when you think something is wrong, go see a doctor, no matter how young you are, how in-shape you are, you think you may be invincible, but get it checked out. it can become really bat really quick. i was lucky, i postponed by visit to the doctor longer than i should have and it could have gotten a lot worse.

>> he has learned to read the signs,aging awareness continues him to do the things he loves the most. >> someone did actually say to me, you may want to leave a few things for when you retire. why not? life's short, and it could get shorter quick, so you might as well enjoy it and do the things you love. >> our jess is a taft reporting. nascar is supporting vickers in his efforts to raise awareness of deep vain thrombosis. this week's nationwide race is called the treat my clot 300. he will be behind the wheel for that one. got to love those nascar names. >> that's got to be the name of the year. >> going high tech to keep drivers in check. >> not exactly nascar, but this african nation is using robo cops to catch law breakers. >> we have warmer temperatures. that could be a favorite story

this morning and also areas of clearing rain. >> a rare kitten turns up at a rare place. this big cat usually found in south american or the caribbean makes its way to the u.s. >> looking at the chrysler building in new york city, it's 41 degrees in the big apple right now, the first day of spring. >> yay! >> al jazeera america presents extraordinary documentaries. >> i've seen nothing like this before in my entire life. >> the amazon rainforest is going up in smoke. >> hundreds of kilometers square are disappearing in a day here. >> indigenous communities at risk. >> if their forest continues to disappear, then eventually these people will disappear. >> this british firefighter joins a group of brave men. >> the most surprising thing for me is the size of the fires that come through. absolutely brutal. >> toughest place to be a firefighter. sunday at 9 eastern, on al jazeera america.

>> the ukraine crisis as tensions esalate >> russia for all inents and purposes showing no signs of backing down. >> crimea's vote rejected by the west... >> here in crimea, a lot of them say the west should just butt out... >> new santions looming >> mr. ambassador will those sanctions work? >> things could easily get out of control >> will crimea break away? what's russia's next move? and how will th u.s. respond? >> we're making it clear that there are consequences for their actions... >> for continuing coverage stay with al jazeera america your global news leader.

>> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. >> a robot taking over traffic control. >> first potential rain and snow across the u.s. today. nick mitch is back. >> good morning. it's quiet in terms of precipitation. we head to the northeast where a lot of this has cleared out. lingering behind, clouds and

fog, watch for that. lake enhancement areas of snow could make it a little tricky this morning. the rest of the country pretty quiet. look for the plains very dry, increasing the fire danger. back to you. >> we have been laughing about this story all morning, the democratic republic of congo, commuting there is a nightmare. aljazeera reports on the government turning to technology for help. >> it's normal for drivers to spent hours in traffic every day here in the capitol of democratic republican of congo. traffic police are meant to keep things moving and now giant traffic robots are here to help. there are two on trial so far. this one directs the pedestrian crossing. pedestrians like it. >> it is better than before.

now you can cross with confidence. the robot is doing its job correctly. >> the robot is all the way towards modernization. we don't have to keep doing things by hand. we can change so that industry comes here. >> there are few traffic lights, so the robots of welcome. >> this is in the middle of a large cross road with red lights on its chest and green lights on its arms. every couple of minutes, it drops its arms, rotates and points the other way, allowing traffic to flow in this road and in turn in the road across it. usually the traffic is unruly, but it seems drivers do obey the robots. >> unlike it's how many counterparts, it can't collect gripes. traffic officers are poorly paid, drivers accuse them of extorting money. the robot's designer says in

built camera will report offense to say a central commuter. i asked why use robots instead of traffic lights. >> there are several kinds of traffic lights in the world, but i can tell you that the only robot in human form in the shape of a policeman regulating traffic is made in congo. we are proud of that. >> she hopes authorities will pay for the robots to be installed in cities across africa and beyond. she wants to promote congo's female engineers and create much-needed jobs. most people in congo are poor, following decades of conflict and widespread corruption. where a lot of infrastructure doesn't work, people are happy with something that does. >> the robo cops are made of aluminum and stainless steel,

powered by solar panels. >> a rare kitten is causing excitement in south texas. she was discovered by a remote camera in a wildlife preserve. there are fewer than 50 in the united states. biologists believe this get one is a sign of hope. >> you are talking about a species that's in danger of going extinction. we've found the ocelot population could be on the rise. >> the preserve plans to have a naming contest for the ocelot on their facebook page. >> we'll call it dangerous. >> search crews heading off the coast of australia after satellite images showed two objects that could be from a missing malaysian ire lines fight. >> 10 police officers and one

civilian killed when taliban suicide bombers attacked a police station in eastern afghanistan. >> we've finally made it to spring, but what sort of weather might the season hold? >> the aljazeera morning continues, del is back with you in just two minutes.

>> two possible objects related to the search have been identified. >> search crews scrambled to get to the south indian ocean after australian satellite images show what may be debris from flight 370 from malaysia. >> attack on the police station in afghanistan, the rifle assault carried out by taliban bombers and gun men. >> ukrainian troops facing a

decision, stand your ground or flee russian forces there. >> two bedroom amounts going for over 3,000. >> the oil rich state of north carolina, so many people looking for jobs and no place to put them. good morning, welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters in new york. australia this morning stepping up its search for malaysian airlines flight 370, the countries prime minister saying satellite images show what could be airplane debris in the ocean south of perth, australia. the location a four hour flight follow australia's southwestern coasted. aljazeera's lisa stark is in washington d.c. we are getting reports of a ship that has now reached the area where that possible debris has been spotted. what can you tell us about that? >> this is a norwegian cargo ship on a journey from cape

town, south africa to perth, asked to divert to the area where the search is underway. we understand the ship has now reached that area. this is important, because if the planes can spot any debris, those onboard can head that way, get a closer look and haul that debris on to the ship. right now, the search is hampered by poor visibility, but four planes are up looking for the debris. we are cautioned that this is a verdel lead but may turn out this is nothing to do with the missing jetliner. >> 13 days after malaysia air flight 370 disappeared on its way to beijing, a potential break in the investigation. >> the australian maritime safety authority has received information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search. following specialist analysis of this imagery, two possible

objects related to the search have been identified. >> it sees two objects, one of which measures almost 80 feet that have been located in the southern corridor of the search zone. more than 1500 miles west of the australian coast in the indian ocean. now ships and aircraft are on all the way. >> this is a lead. it is probably the best lead we have right now, but we need to get there, find them, see them, assess them to know whether it's really meaningful or not. >> it's the first sign of answers for the loved ones of the 239 missing onboard, after almost two weeks of frustration and anguish by family members of the missing passengers. that anger directed mostly at malaysian authorities, often criticized for providing conflicting information. thursday, malaysia's transport minister reacted to the news out of australia with caution.

>> that credible lead requires us to corroborate. that gives us hope. >> the wall street journal says malaysian officials delayed acting on critical data prom a british slate company because of concerns about sharing the information. according to the report, four days went by mr. malaysian officials acknowledged that satellite data showing the plane could have gone to a a northern or southern corridor, nowhere near the initial search zone that had been scoured by planes and ships from a host of countries for three days on either side of malaysia. president obama pledged full support, including the f.b.i., now asked to retrieve deleted data from the flight simulator taken from the home of the flight's captain. >> we are in ongoing

conversations with helping and will provide whatever expertise we have that might be able to be used. >> those data files were apparently deleted from this flight simulator more than a monthly ago and may have nothing to do with this. the f.b.i. investigators in malaysia very interested to know what was on those files. even as we continue as a number of nations continue to search both these corridors and this look in the southern part of the indian ocean near australia to see what the satellite may have picked up, even as that goes on, the investigation also continues into the pilots, and anyone else on that plane, so moving forward on a number of different areas. >> lisa stark in washington, d.c. this morning, thank you very much. >> australian officials saying they are keeping their malaysian counter parts up to date on the latest definiteliments. nicole johnston is in kuala

lampur. how is the search going? >> we've had two press conferences today from australia and malaysia and both very much on message in terms of talking about the search and the investigation. both had practically the same thing to say, which really goes to show that they're trying to keep the search as coordinated as possible to show that it really is an international effort. one of the planes that was in the area for a couple of hours searching, looking for those two objects has had to turn back, turned around and on its way back to perth because of poor visibility. both malaysia and australia said visibility would be a major issue trying to locate these two objects. >> today, i can only tell you on a daily basis today what i'm comfortable with saying is that

at least there is a credible lead, requiring us overnight to be very cob rated. as long as there's hope, we will continue. >> the malaysians have been keen to emphasize that even though this search is concentrating on the southern extremities of the southern corridor deep into the indian notion, they haven't forgotten the northern search being conducted or led by china. it stretches across a huge territory from the northern part of thailand to kassin kazakhsta. it is carried out across a huge vast area of sea and land, some 8,000 -- close to 8 million, sorry, square kilometers. >> nicole, thank you very much. for the latest now on the search, we go by phone to

florida, miami, florida. an air safety consultant and board member on the ntsb, john, what do you make of this debris that has been found? is this a solid lead? >> well be it is something that needs to be explored, we can go take a look at, because it has a strong possibility of being from an airplane. we can't search this at the expense of any other option, so we have to look at them all. the facts will drive is toward a conclusion. if it's an airplane piece and we can calculate the drift in that area, we have a good feeling where the airplane may be resting on the bottom of the sea. unfortunately, we're still within -- >> no, go ahead -- >> fortunately, we're still within the 30 days that the pinger will work on the recording device, so that if they do get it, they may get

lucky and get a sound signal with the last of the recorder. >> john, one of the things that has so many people optimistic based on this piece of evidence is that the australian prime minister goes to the floor to talk about what was discovered, and one of our experts said what we are seeing, images that we're looking at now are from a civilian satellite. hhe theorizes military would be more did he say script. >> we hear how good they are, but you have to have them in the right angle to pick up a good picture. if there was one, i would expect a better picture. >> tell us about the planes, what kind of search can they conduct from the air?

>> they are the most sophisticated airplanes the u.s. has, searching for submarines. coming out of the cold war, we were concerned about the nuclear submarines off our coast and went to great lengths to make sure we knew where they were as they did with our submarines that were off their coast, so the underwater search technology by the military is quite refined, so it's encouraging that they have these high tech assets that can search the sea and also drop sonar waves to listen. the recorders emit a sound that travels several miles in the war, maybe two or three miles in the water, that you can pick it up and locate the general area where the recorders are. >> you have been on the ground, so what happens next, if you

were the person leading this search, what would you be doing and what can we expect to see happen next? >> well, when that ship reaches it, and let's say we get lucky and they can identify as a piece of an airplane, then a lot of assets would then start changing direction and head to that area, including military ships that can listen for the sound. then back in the room someplace will be the people that with him do the math and look at the weather and try to deduce where this piece has drifted from so that they can get to that site and do some listening and searching. this is really exciting, i pray for the families that this will be a piece of the airplane and it can lead to a much swifter conclusion. >> as do we all. john is a former ntsb board member and has been there before. a reminder to stay with us for the very latest on the missing

plate with updates on the discovery especially of this late breaking news, the satellite images that are coming in. >> ukraine under celled pressure as russia's military dominance in that region gross, kiev now asking the u.n. to designate crimea as a demillarrized zone, requiring russia to withdraw its troops and ukraine would do the same. that development coming a pro russian forces seized a naval base in sevastopol. soldiers faced russian aggression in the aftermath of crimea's secession. if ukraine decides to act militarily, it will do so without assistance from the united states. >> we are not going to be getting into a military excursion in ukraine. we will mobilize diplomatic resources for a strong international coalition that sends a clear message, which is

ukraine should decide their own destiny. >> we go to phil ittner. >> russia has the military upper hand in crimea. we just attended a press conference with the ukrainian defense ministry where they said they are still working out how to extract their military personnel from the peninsula. there is, they say, a plan to get 25,000 people off the peninsula, including military families, but as far as getting their actual soldiers, sailors and marines off the peninsula, they're still working that out, is in particular, how to get all that hardware off the peninsula. do they just leave their weaponry and it falls into the russian's hands or any other hands?

they haven't got that worked out, so obviously kiev here in a very fight spot when it comes to their military presence on the peninsula. >> ban ki-moon meeting with russian foreign minister lavrov today. what is he hoping to achieve that secretary of state john kerry couldn't? >> well, first and foremost, open a line of communication between kiev and moscow. the kremlin does not recognize this government here, saying they came to in a coup d'etat. ban ki-moon will be trying to convince the government to start talking in kiev. he will be traveling here tomorrow to do this side of the equation, but that's what the international community first and foremotor wants to see. also on the diplomatic front today, we have under secretary of state wendy sherman in town and the a delegation from the intelligence committee, so a lot

of activity on that diplomatic front. >> phil, thank you very much. >> elsewhere in a coordinated attack, seven taliban suicide bombers backed by gunman targeting a police station in afghanistan. ten police and one civilian were killed in the run up to presidential election scheduled to take place there next month. >> a second opposition leader arrested in venezuela, the government trying to crack down on anti-government protests. at least 29 people have been killed, hundreds injured in weeks of unrest. as we report, opposition parties say the government is violating basic human rights. >> antonio rincon moved back to his native venezuela from spain, never believing he would be attacked during an anti-government demonstration at which he was not part. he said thugs forced him to run

and shot him in the back, landing him in the hospital. >> these people were armed and had their faces covered. we realized that the weapons are the same used by the security forces. >> the incident is one of many alleged cases of abuse by pro government groups and security forces presented to the nation's chief prosecutor. >> civil groups are being armed and with the support of the government, there are 40 cases of torture verified by us, by our organization, but there are a lot of claims that we have received different people rewarding abuses, police abuse, torture. >> seen at the funeral of a national guardsman puts all the blame on violent protestors who he calls right wing fascists.

aljazeera asked the president about charges of abuses by his supporters and security forces during a weekly radio program. >> if there is even one case of torture, let them denounce it to me. as the head of state, i will immediately investigate and punish those guilty with all the weight of the law. this is not a government of torture. >> such assurances have not convinced the opposition to take part in a recently formed truth commission in congress, controlled by the ruling party. >> the process are continuing here, the protests are peaceful and nor now, the national guard is letting them take place. >> while it may be relatively calm here, clashes, arrests and killings continue in several parts of the country, certain to intensify the battle over who is most to blame for the on going violence.

>> a student protest is planned in caracas calling for the release of those jailed opposition leaders. >> there are violent pro tests taking place in egypt on the third anniversary of that countries first constitutional referendum. thousands are students are holding anti-government demonstrations wednesday. at least one is dead after clashes between police and demonstrators, a wave of protest sweeping across egypt since president mohamed morsi was ousted last year. >> first lady in china that morning, the diplomatic made by other first ladies and why this visit is expected to look a lot different. >> wal-mart's efforts to employ veterans coming back from war, the plan to employ 100,000 of them. so far, so good. >> people in cuba able to buy cars, the government freeing up restrictions in place for 50 years. why most won't be race to go get back behind the wheel.

>> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters.

up next, we'll talk about first lady michelle obama's trip to china, but first let's check temperatures across the nation with nicole mitchell. >> we are now just a little over four hours away from the official start of spring, that's the time of year where as the earth treks around the sun, we hit the equal point, summer or winter for us, now equal daylight and sunlight and starts to get longer days before long. we can use the milder weather. this is february, all the data compiled. red, above average temperatures, south america da, australia and then -- us in north america. heading into spring, these at the temperatures into may,

projections look cooler than average as we hit that northern tier of the country. the south and southwest, warmer than average. in terms of precipitation, a lot of the country on par it looks like. while sure we'll see some places outside of that, the south coast and southwest staying dry. southwest, combinations of warmer and drier than average, areas in brown are exspecksed drought condition increase. watch today the central portion of the united states warming up, dropping humidities, higher winds, watch for fire danger. >> first lady michelle obama will spend the day with china's first lady. this is her third trip abroad without her husband, traveling with her two daughters. she is said to be steering clear of politics on this visit, focusing on education and

community. good morning mr. shell. >> good morning. >> i want to take you back to 1995. this was first lady hillary clinton. >> it is time for us to say here in beijing and for the world to hear it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights. >> safe to say this will be different, the first lady focusing on education. how important is that? >> i think the u.s. and china have a very close relationship, tremendous interest in china in secondary schools and higher education, so that is an important topic. >> how much has china changed since first lady hillary clinton felt the need to give that speech? is there a need for the first lady to engage officials on whom

rights as in 1995? >> there's been an enormous change in china's stature in the world, much wealthier, more powerful and it just doesn't work anymore for the "great powers" to. >> what do you mean by that -- >> to pressure like it could 20 years ago. i think what hillary clinton was doing was applying a well traveled route of pressuring china on human rights questions. what mitch she will obama is trying to do is pave all the way to create a fennel atmosphere so when her husband greets the president in the hague in about a week, they'll be ail to maybe get down to the hard issues. >> when you say it doesn't work, is that an indication that the united states is losing stature in the world with super powers like china or just that it's time for a different type of diplomacy? >> china's much more nhlistic,

powerful and does not accept the kinds of pressuring that once was very common place before a presidential trip. this creates to very different atmosphere in which the u.s. has a act pour cautiously. this is a feel good, you could call it a panda hugging trip, but an essential first step as a prelude to the two presidents getting together to talk about the tougher issues. >> you think the issues will be discussed between the two leaders not the two first ladies. >> that is the best way, because china is alert to overt pressure on the public stage. i expect they'll talk seriously, realistically but probably behind closed doors. >> early reports seem to indicate that michelle obama and her two daughters will be treated at rock stars. why? >> china is a very complicated

attracted-repulsion mechanism, great affection and attraction, but also tremendous resistance and feeling suffering by comparison. it's a very difficult balancing act. >> the first lady's own journey you say is going to be embraced. why? >> she's the first lady of the still most powerful nation in the world. she is coming in a way which i think is proper, to not talk politics, put controversial issues aside for this phase of the discussion. her husband will get to the difficult phase. i think it's a very good, interesting, smart sort of 1-2 punch strategy. >> her specific journey as being the child of a working class father, graduating from ivy league schools, getting a law degree and going on to become the first lady of the united states. >> she is the incarnation of the

american dream and china now speaks of the chinese dream. it's certainly not the american dream, wimp is very much based on the ability of individuals to rise up and make something of themselves. in china, the dream centers much more about the rejuvenation of the country, the restoration of china as a nation to a position of stature in the world. >> orville shell, thank you for being with us this morning. >> still ahead, the search to find the missing malaysian airlines flight, the latest on satellite images that has everybody talking that could show the plane in the south indian ocean. our coverage continues on that this morning. >> there are no problems for the people in crimea, the crisis causing a run on the banks as people are now concerned that their money is no longer safe. >> we still on a regular base

have full time opportunities, and as of today, we no longer have guaranteed apartments. >> we're going to tell you about the job boom in north dakota pushing prices hire. >> one well known head coach criticizes his first round matchup in the ncaa tournament.

>> kiev asking the u.n. to designate crimea a demilitarized zone, requiring troops to be withdrawn from the region. after a ukrainian naval base was seized by pro russian forces. a captain captured during that

siege has been released. >> an attack on an afghanistan police station. presidential elections are scheduled to take place next month. >> that possible break through in the search for a malaysian airlines flight, planes searching 1500 miles southwest of perth, australia after satellite images showed what appeared to be pieces of a plane. now there is a cargo ship that has arrived in that area where australia satellites spotted that possible debris. it was heading from cape town to perth when it changed route to assist in the search. we report from sydney on australia's efforts to find that missing plane. >> is this debris from malaysia airlines flight 370, this photo taken from a satellite is said to show a number of objects floating in a southern indian ocean, one said to be 24 meters

long. >> the objects are indistinct on the imagery. i don't profess to be an expert in assessing the imagery, but those who are indicate they are credible sitings. the indication to me is of objects that are reasonable size and are probably awash with water, bobbing up and down out of the surface. >> is the size like a basketball or a seat cushion or much larger? >> much larger than that. the largest image that i've seen is assessed at 24 meters. there's another smaller than that, and a number of other images in the general area of the biggest one. >> it was australia's prime minister announcing what he called a potentially important definiteliment. >> i would like to in form the house that new and credible information has come to light in

relation to the search for malaysia airlines flight mh370 in the southern indian ocean. the australian maritime safety authority received information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search. i can inform the house that australian air force has been diverted to attempt to locate the objects. >> four search planes, three from australia, one from new zealand are taking turns to search the narrow area around the spotted objects. a commercial ship has been diverted to look. an australian naval vessel is en route. with moving water and poor visibility in the area, getting human eyes to identify the objects one way or another is still a difficult task. >> that is andrew thomas in sydney. along with military planes, five

merchant ships are joining the search for possible wreckage. so far, no sign of that plane by air or by sea. >> president obama ruling out the use of american military force in ukraine, kiev considering pulling troops out of crimea. we take a closer look at the ukrainian troops still there who feels their government has abandoned them. >> all the momentum is with russia now, militia forced their way into the headquarters of the ukrainian navy in sevastopol. the sailors inside offered no resistance. it's out with the old and in with the new. russia is in charge, its forces on the ground increasingly bold in making that point. a ukrainian army base near sevastopol, the soldiers inside wonder how long the russians are prepared to wait outside before forcing their way in.

ukrainian soldiers feel abandoned by their government. they wouldn't talk on camera. i spoke to a retired officer trying to mediate. >> the soldiers here have been let down. no one from the high command for defense ministry has come to support them or encourage them. >> the authorities here in crimea will not allow a delegation from the government in kiev to come and talk to the ukrainian soldiers. crimea's pro russian prime minister sergey lavrov will not allow them into crimea. >> we found a bank manager trying to reassure crowds who want to withdraw savings. don't worry, he says, everything's under control, but admits at a the bank is struggling to adapt to what he

calls the new legal reality. at parliament, they were putting up new letters in russian, saying crimea belongs to russia, not ukraine. with every passing day, moscow consolidates its hold. >> washington on wednesday, nato secretary general accusing moscow of acting to rip up the international rule book, calling the move by russia a wake-up call. >> this is a wake up call for nato and all those committed to a europe hole, free and at peace. >> robert hunter is it is former u.s. ambassador to nato in london this morning. mr. humiditier, the atlantic alliance was designed to keep the americans in, the germans down and soviets out, but ukraine is not a nato member, so

what is nato's role in this crisis? >> to demonstrate to those countries, which are allies and particularly estonia, latvia and lithuania, formerly part of the soviet union that nettie will stand firmly with them. they have air policing flights over those three countries. there have been nato patrol aircraft along the polish, ukrainian border, the continuation of a nato exercise in poland and a u.s. exercise with a couple of nato allies in the black sea. the objective is to make very clear to mr. putin that what he has done now will not very likely provoke a western military response, but if he does cross certain implicit red lines, nobody said red line, but implicit red lines, this is going to be a new ballgame and russia will be even more

isolated than it is now, and for a very long time. >> mr. ambassador, i want you to listen to this statement from vice president joe biden yesterday concerning the crisis in ukraine. >> president obama wanted me to come personally to make it clear what you already know, that under article five of the nato treaty, we will respond. we will respond to any aggression against a nato ally. >> now article five says that if there is military action by russia on a nato member, nato has to respond. what type of response is the vice president guaranteeing? >> well of course article five doesn't mention russia. it also is a political commitment, but it's not a requirement, and it does say in there, in fact, we demanded that in 1949, that countries will take action depending how they see about it, but while it would

be very difficult to escalate directly within the area, russia has clearly the advantage in terms of conventional forces, russia will pay a very heavy price, it will be isolated in terms of commerce with the west. it will be isolated in terms of all international organizations. individual russians won't be allowed to travel, and the russian people who want very much to be in the outside world, this isn't stalinist soviet union, for their prosperity and future, they have to be able to act in the west. if mr. putin goes beyond where he is now, that will be closed off. everybody in russia will feel great for a few months, but after that, mr. putin would be himself in deep trouble, so the vice president is exactly right. this is a major, major problem if putin doesn't stop right where he is right now. >> but there has been a lot of rhetoric saying that if vladimir

putin does this or doesn't do that, are we seeing the new warfare of the 21st century, and i bring up iraq and afghanistan, i bring up vietnam, the british, russians in united states and afghanistan seems to indicate that if anything, military might leads to quagmires and very badly balanced budgets. is nato a toothless tiger when it comes to military action and now pursues only the economic? >> no, i don't think so. in regard to what is now happened in crimea, there was a certain ambiguity, because it used to belong to russia. most of the people there are russian, but going into ukraine proper, the rest of ukraine, even though it's not a tate owe ally or in particular if anything's done to any of the nato allies, then there will be a response. nobody can ever at that point rule out a military response, and mr. putin has to take that

with a great deal of care, because he would in the final analysis and russia in the final analysis will be the big loser. >> thank you for being with us this morning. robert hunter, former u.s. ambassador to nato in london this morning. we welcome you back as often as you wish to come because you provide great clarity. >> it has been four years since the signing of the affordable care act. that has been caught up in controversy suffering major technical snacks and non-stop efforts by republicans to get rid of it. we take a look back, four years of praise and pit falls, that is right here on aljazeera america, airing at 8:30. >> north dakota's job surge that a down side. it's you have to find a home. we explain why in part one of

our series, the new frontier. >> eric makes the best of a very cramped situation in this mobile home, the living room alleges functions as an office. >> the shed we built out of tone. >> there's no room for tools or household items, so they're in a shed. >> got the gun safe out here and freezer out here. it's packed. >> it was the most affordable option for him, his wife and son who recently moved to north dakota oil country from oregon. >> $1,400 a month is a good deal for her. two bedroom apartments are going for 3,000. >> it's not only a boom town, also the motor expensive housing rental market in the nation. as thousands flock to work in the oil fields, since the 2010 census, the population doubled

from 15,000 residents to roughly 30,000, but work is plentiful, housing isn't, so developers are rushing to fill the void. >> this is one of our typical studio rooms. >> danny hogan's firm is building 3,000 modular homes for oil service workers, but rent here won't be cheap. >> we have corporate contracts coming in. depending on the amount of people coming in and the agreement, we aim for 193 a night. >> it spent $50 million over the past few years building affordable housing all over the state, but mostly here in the oil patch. >> so far, the state subsidized 1200 apartment units with lower rents for essential workers like teachers, police officers and nurses. communities like williston say that's hardly dented the problem. the medical center got a grant to build this amount complex for

staff who couldn't find housing. >> all of our apartments of not -- >> the c.e.o. rented out all units. now he worries about accommodating new hires. >> we still on a regular base have between 25-30 full time opportunities, and as of today, we lo longer of guaranteed amounts. >> as more housing is built in the next few years, developers think it will get less expensive. eric kirby isn't waiting for that. >> we'll have a garage and laundry room. >> he's building a home his family will move into this summer. >> that's still to you a lot of money? >> that's a heck of a lot of money. my house back in oregon was half of that. >> in oil country, that's the price you pay for the american dream. aljazeera, williston, north dakota. >> military veterans heading to north dakota, looking at those high paying jobs. we'll have their story tomorrow in part two of the new frontier.

>> the field of 64 now set, john henry smith joins us in sports. >> the action gets started 12:15 eastern time. they finalized the field with the final two play-in games. more than basketball on the mind wednesday, before traveling to lead his hawk eyes into their ncaa opener, he spent the morning in a hospital to be with his son, patrick, having surgery to remove a thyroid tumor. we pick it up with time winding down, iowa down by two, hit that one to tie the game. on the other end, tennessee with a last second chance to win. the shot off the mark, so off to o.t. we go. it was all tennessee in the extra frame as iowa scored just one point to tennessees 14. the volunteers advance beating the hawk ice 78-65. wednesday night's other play-in game featured cal poly against

the southern team, making the program's first ever ncaa appearance, the mustangs surprisingly won their conference tournament to warrant a bid. the senior supreme court 19 points as cal poly beat texas southern. for the first time in 69 years, a team with 19 losses gets a win in the ncaa tournament, facing undefeated wichita state friday. >> defending ncaa champion louisville opens up play tonight against manhattan, coming in as a four seed, but that doesn't bother cardinals coach rick patino as much as facing his good friend jasper coach. >> what does bother me is playing manhattan. sometimes i think committees make poor decisions in who they put you against, because manhattan, i happen to work with the young man for six years, coached him at kentucky. he was my ball boy in the knicks

and i don't think that's right for either one of us. i think the pairing sometimes lack common sense. i can't protest too much, because they're doing the best job that they can do. maybe they just are a bunch of soccer i.d.'s, i don't know. >> wednesday was the honeymoon, during the knicks game with the visiting indiana pacers, madison square garden town gave the new team president arousing standing ovation. behind 34 points, they beat the pacers 92-86 for their season high seventh win in a row. the knicks are still out of the playoff field, despite the league's second highest payroll. >> to baseball, another frightening example wednesday night of just how dangerous it is to be a pitcher.

in the spring training matchup, aroldis chapman could not get out of the way of a line drive. the ball hit him in the face. chapman was transported to a local hospital where tests revealed he had fractures above his left eye and nose. he was hospitalized overnight and will undergo more tests today. game officials called the game after the incident and you can understand why. major league baseball's improved protective caps but pitcher's around required to wear them and such a cap would have done nothing to stop a ball from the face. no easy answers here. >> good to see phil jackson on the court. >> i tell you what, they loved him in new york. he's a star already. >> the nicks are pretty happy. thank you very much. >> taking a look at business news, investors on edge after these words from fed chair janet yellen on when the federal reserve is likely to raise interest rates. >> this is the kind of term it's hard to define, but, you know,

probably means something on the order of around six months. >> the thought of higher interest rates coming sooner rather than later, still seems to be weighing on wall street, dow futures down 36 points, european markets in the red at this hour, yellen's markets dragging asian markets down, as well. >> jobless applications for benefits edged higher last week, people filing first time unemployment claims rising 5,000. wal-mart wants to grow its outdoor sales. it will offer black friday specials on out door living products. the retailer is looking to boost revenues as customers pull back on spending. the move could hurt home depot and lowes. >> the cuban government allowing the sale of new and used cars.

sometimes what looks good on paper is bad in practice. turns out it's a luxury many there can't afford. >> cubans will do anything to keep their cars on the road. car ownership has been restricted, so they've had to be resourceful to keep old cars chucking along. this year, restrictions on car ownership has been lifted. many hoped to get a new set of wheels. it's 10 times what it costs in most countries. every day, people visit dealerships to see the unbelievable prices. these two men were afraid to speak on camera but said it would take a lifetime for cubans to buy a car at such prices. many are angry with the government. >> it is enormously

disrespectful. our salaries aren't enough to cover our personal needs. >> driving a small car like this for a foreigner is no big deal, but for most cubes is unattainable. >> with prices so high, most cars will be unsold on car lots. despite the new freedoms, cubans will likely get around as they have been with decades, with a lot of patience. aljazeera, havana. >> the cuban government defending the high profits, saying the profit will help pay for other forms of public transportation. >> wal-mart making good on a promise to employ 100,000 vets, already making progress. we're going to look at the numbers, how many they've managed to hire.

>> this is the real deal man...

>> a live look at the chrysler building in new york city where spring has sprung but the winter coats out enforce. it is cold but not as cold as it has been. >> helping thousands of veterans get back into the workforce. first, the forecast on this first day of spring across the country. here's nicole mitchell. >> we have four hours to go for the new season. as we head off into the northeast, the main band went through overnight, still enough disturbance for a couple light showers and snow showers, but clearing skies overall, and that is great news, allowing testimonies to rise. it is a layer day from cooler into warmer during the afternoon. midsection of the country, lots of sunshine, temperatures are going up. denver's at 66.

also increasing the fire danger, so be careful of that. i want to point out, temperatures drop tomorrow in billings, that's the next front coming through, mostly the northern tier ever country impacted more into the weekend. back to you. >> despite the falling unemployment numbers, america's vets are still having a tough time finding jobs. last year, dozens of countries lined up promises to change that by hiring more vets. we show you one retailer making good on their pledge. >> here at the calendar matter in washington, the store greets customers with photos of soldiers trimmed in red, white and blue. they call it the wall of honor. on any given day, chances are good. >> shoppers will run into reserve army officer steven smith, one of wal-mart's newest store managers. >> i'm thankful just to have the opportunity. it is limitless here. >> smith was hired under the government's joining forces

pledge, signed by wal-mart in 48 other private sector companies. wal-mart says if you are honorably touchdown and in need of a job, you have one here. >> we said simply and elegantly that if you fought for your country, and served and sacrificed, that you shouldn't have to fight for a job when you get home. >> smith has fought that battle, too. after serving 24 years in the army and then joining the researches, smith says that he returned home from afghanistan last year and no one would hire him. >> i had promises, i had some hey give me a call on mondays and we'll take care of you, and just it was a tough time. >> as part of this program, wal-mart offers positions from the corporate level to hourly store workers. for many, this may be a jumping off point, but the purpose they say is to get soldiers back into the workforce. >> since memorial day, wal-mart

brought in 34,000 vets in part time and full time positions. the goal is to hire 100,000 overfive years. some of the other 48 companies including safe way, xerox, waste management, at&t are on goal for hiring veterans. >> it's admirable companies have stepped forward. companies need to realize that veterans don't want a hand out, they want a hand up. >> peter's office said vets are reliable and disciplined, assets for any position. >> i know what i can do. i know that i can do great things if given the opportunity. >> he is now using his role as manager to hire more servicemen and women. it's the opportunity, he says he's been waiting for. tanya mosley, aljazeera,

washington. >> vets are having a tough time finding work because many have little work outside the military. that will do it for this edition of aljazeera america. as always, we thank you for watching.

>> welcome to the news hour. a new lead in the malaysian missing plane, satellite pictures show possible debris in the indian ocean. >> we'll never stop fighting for the liberation of crimea. ukraine asks the international community not to recognize the russian annexation. >> taliban suicide bombers kill at least 11