a wheaties box. >> dave zyron, thank you for being with the show may be over but the conversation continues. on our facebook or google plus pages. >> good morning, and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. live in new york city. here are the stories we're following for you right now. the united nations chief in kiev meeting with ukrainian leaders to monitor the ongoing crisis. plus china says new satellite pictures may have detected debris from the missing malaysia airliner. and now a new problem that no one saw coming.

>> a day for diplomacy. u.n. general secretary ban ki-moon is in kiev. this is pro russian protesters storming the air base in ukraine and rallies to the east. meanwhile, they're told to clear out or else. phil ittner joins us now from kiev. phil, while the monitoring team makes its way there, you had a chance to speak with u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon. what did he have to say? >> reporter: well, morgan, you're right, we did have exclusive access to ban ki-moon as he took a tour of the memorials on maidan square and independent square where many of the clashes too took place to oust president viktor

yanukovych. it was a poignant moment with the flowers, the candles, and pictures of those who died. he stopped at a memorial for the ukrainian activist who was shot dead by a sniper. he gave a little prayer. as he walked out, he stopped and did have a brief word with him. he said that he felt that the people who had come out on that square were very courageous for what they had done, and that he wanted to show that he had compassion for those people. but he is also here, morgan, to send a very clear message to the new government in kiev that they need to start working on a line of communication with moscow. moscow does not recognize the government here. so in many ways it's up to the kremlin to initiate that line of communication. as long as there is a gap

between the two capitols. as long as they it continue not to talk, and as long as their armies are positioned on the crimean peninsula the longer this will continue. the more chance that there is for some sort of incident to happen, some sort of exchange of fire or something that could very easily lead to this entire situation blowing up beyond anybody's control. and the united nations is deeply concerned about that, morgan. >> wow, phil, as we're speaking we're hearing cheering in the background which appears to be independent square. key tell what's is going on? >> reporter: well, they come out on independent square just every day. the people are still here. now the president that they wanted to get rid of, viktor yanukovych, he's gone. but there is still this major threat from the russians, and there is still, of course, an up coming election. the people hearsay this revolution, they call it a

revolution, is not finished. they want to send a very clear message to whoever wants to influence the political landscape here that the voice of the people still exist. that they are still willing and able to come out and make their voice heard. whether it's a message from the government here in kiev, which is growing increasingly under fire because of just the pressure they're under, or whether it's a message to moscow, that this is a sovereign nation, or where ever, in fact, it's a message to the international community that they will not be forgotten. the people here in kiev are adamant that their protest, their revolution is not complete. certainly not until they have have that election, but certainly also not until they have a sovereign independent nation. that's why they still come out here and that's why we hear these cheers. >> phil, are they confident that this interim government can, in

fact, finish that revolution considering how recently this government was dissolved? >> well, you know, that's absolutely something that they're deeply concerned about, and they're voicing their concerns about it. this is a government that is fighting to get on its feet amidst a major international crisis. and an occupation of crimea. they are under incredible amounts of pressure. politically, geopolitically. on the territory of ukraine, and also financially they're in dire straits when it comes to their money. you have to remember that the previous regime stole billions of dollars, and spirited away to international coffers and bank accounts beyond their control. this country is in crisis. there is no way to get around it. they're trying to get on their feet at a time when everything is up in the air. yes, they have a lot to accomplish, and in a very difficult time they need to do it.

morgan? >> phil ittner joining us live from independent square, thank you for being with us this morning. president obama is expected to rally european ally next week around the crisis in ukraine. the president leaves sunday for european summit during an emergency session obama and the leaders of the g-7 will consider whether to kick russia out of the eight leading industrial nations. the president will cap off his visit with a speech in brussels on trans-atlantic negotiations. >> 53 nations will be represented, many by their heads of state. then for president obama it's on to brussels, belgium, he'll be at the e.u. summit there. the crisis in ukraine is going to dominate. the president has a meeting with the g-7 to talk about that issue. they'll also be having bilaterals with the chinese leader and others. susan rice, the national security adviser appeared before

reporters before the white house pressroom she was asked about troops that are masked on the ukraine border. president obama spoke of their positioning in an ominous way. susan rice said the united states is still watching that development very carefully. >> it's not clear what that signals, the russians have stated that they are intended military exercises. obviously given their past practice, and the gap between what they have said and what they have done. we're watching it with skepticism. >> one head of state who is not coming, vladimir putin. sergeai lavrov will have another meeting with secretary of state john kerry. then he'l the president will goo the vatican and rome and meet with the pope, and then moving

on so saudi arabia. as well as the situation in syria, the saudis were very upset when president obama backed off a bombing campaign in retaliation of the chemical attacks last summer in favor of going to congress to ask for congressional permission to begin that campaign, and that hasn't happened. nevertheless the saudis are very upset that president obama handled that. a long and crucial trip for the president coming up to the course of next week. >> now that russia's vladimir putin has signed the paper annexing crimea, what happens next. >> reporter: across the straits goods come, for now the only land root roots to crimea pass through ukraine.

that's why president vladimir putin wants to build a bridge here to physically tie crimea to russia. it could take years to complete and could cost billions of dollars. the ports that russian goods come in is called kursh. a graveyard of factories, and mixed opinions of things getting better. samara heard on the news that all countries are now united against russia, so she fears an economic down turn. salaries will employ up. she's happy, her daughter is a graduate and it's shameful what she earns. we were invited to see a new investment, a plant that brings gas from kazakhstan, but the manager receives a call from russian officials and suddenly we're not welcomed, and we're told to leave. just asking about what economic changes might be coming is apparently too sensitive.

water. the worry for crimea is that some 18% of theirs comes from mainland ukraine. one of the few local sources, and it's looking rather low. crimea doesn't only get most of its water from mainland ukraine. the vast majority of its electricity also comes from there. that means despite the russian takeover, crimea is still vulnerable to pressure in the government in kiev. >> remember that ukraine also owes russia lots of money for its gas, and depends on that gas. we must not politicize issues that affect every familiar here and ukraine. but i do see a problem of potential water shortages of for crimea during the summer. >> reporter: tourism is crimea's

traditional strength but the beaches look sad these days. in the summer russians with money now prefer to fly to the mediterranean and beyond. as for ukrainian tourists don't expect many to come this year. russia may find that taking crimea was the easy part. making it viable the real challenge. >> as the search for malaysia airlines flight 370 enter its third week a new clue has emerged. a chinese satellite spotted an object in the southeast indian ocean. we have the latest on that search, randall, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, morgan. we don't know if this is a promising development or just another piece of debris out there in the ocean. here's what we do know. a chinese satellite spotted debris 70 miles from the location where another satellite spotted two other pieces of debris earlier. as we look at the latest picture

from the china satellite it measures 72 feet long and 43 feet wide. it is within the area that was searched on saturday some 1500 miles off the western coast of australia. malaysia's acting transport minister said ships and planes will be sent to the area where the object was spotted. >> the search for 370 has taken many twists. from satellite images to eyewitness accounts we have followed every lead and investigated every possibility. i know the rollercoaster has been incredibly hard for everyone, especially for the families. we hope and pray that this search will be resolved and bring closure to those whose relatives were on board. >> now as we enter the third week since 370 disappeared, again, nothing found in the area of southern indian ocean. it is being coordinated by the

government of australia. today they had six aircraft along two jets and they crisscross in the area where the plane is believed to have gone down. and of course weather continues to be a major concern. >> weather conditions were less than ideal as we were saying the last two days in the search. we had small showers and sea fog down on the surface reducing visibility as well. >> now in the midst of the desperate search for the plane, a rather odd event in kuala lumpur where anxious family members have been waiting for news. malaysia special envoy explaining why family members have been moved because of an

automobile race. >> well, we explained it's because of the formula one. they are okay. they are really taken care of. i think they are fully understood. >> of course, i think we can easily say that those family members appea care very little t an automobile race right now. >> randall joining us live from washington, d.c. speaking of twitter according to a turkish newspaper a company has begun to shut down accounts all across the country. the communication authority requested suspension of accounts after the government banned the social media site on thursday. the ban is just the latest effort by the government to squash turkish citizens' comments on corruption. there is worry of a total social media blackout. michigan's first gay marriage happened today after a

federal judge overturned michigan's gay marriage ban on friday, making it the 18th state to legalize gay marriage. couples lined up for marriage licenses all across the state. but the state asked for the ruling to freeze until an appeals could take place. russia and ukrainian forces are taking place. russian armed vehicles are outside of those gates, and the reports of gunfire and soldiers from both sides shouting at each other, ukrainian troops are a lined up unarmed with their backs turned to the russians. we're monitoring the situation and we'll continue to bring you more after the break.

>> we're now joined by philty their who is live for us from independent square in ukraine. fill us in and give us more details about the situation in

crimea. can you give us an idea of what is happening at this army base and explain to us what you know so far. >> what we're hearing near sevastopol, there are apparently russian troops approaching this base, they're shouting commands at ukrainians to basically evacuate that facility. there are reports of at least some shots being fired. whether or not warning shots or any kind of exchanges of fire. those reports are pretty chaotic. but we're hearing that there is this clash going on. morgan, this is exactly what the united nations, the international community, the defense ministry here in kiev, the government here in kiev, this is the kind of incident that gives them grave cause for

concern. if this turns into an incident where lives are lost this could brew over into something quite significant. now nobody is saying that's what is happening, what i'm saying, morgan, this is the kind of incident that has people gravely concerned about the situation in crimea because you have these two armies now basically facing off one another in contested territory. and if something happens, and this is the concern, if something happens then it could spiral out of anybody's control. we're seein seeing this incidenh russian tanks, armored vehicles, russian troops, addressing their ukrainian counterparts. the ukrainians refusing to leave for all reports we're getting, and of course now having been given an order by the defense ministry that if they feel their lives are in danger they are authorized to return fire. but as it stands right now, and

as it has stood for several days the ukrainian troops out there are showing very serious resolve and are resisting any provocation. in a phone call we are aware of between secretary of defense chuck hagel and the ukrainian defense minister just last night the u.s. were praising ukrainian forces for their show of restraint, and it does appear as though right now at least they are again showing restraint in the face of what appears to be russian attempt to take the ukrainian-held territory. we're monitoring the situation carefully. being careful with what we report, morgan. as much as there is a risk to actual soldiers there is a risk of misinformation, and this is spiraling out of control that way as well. so this entire situation, morgan, is a very precarious one. we are monitoring it as closely as we can. we will bring you more information when we get it.

>> phil, i just want to remind our viewers we want to show them a picture. can we show them a picture of the control, that's the air base that's being contested right now. phil, have people in independent square behind you reacted yet to this situation? >> i don't think the information has gotten out on independent square quite yet. there has been a series of assistants that have happened over the last few days. every time they do there is a real sense of anxiety in the capitol. many are aware that the young men and women in uniform are in precarious standing, and they're deeply concerned about it. every time there is an incident like this, it gets people more stressed and anxious about their young men in uniform out there. there will be a clear response

to this in kiev, but everyone knows that crimea is on an ice edge and they're watching as closely as they possibly can. nobody wants to see anybody get hurt but equally you've got a very tense situation with those armed forces. >> now phil, just briefly, any word on whether what is happening right now at that air base will impact the international monitors trying to get inside of crimea? >> probably not, morgan, and briefly, yes, you're right, the organization for security and cooperation in europe is sending monitors out to the east of this country, but we have heard from the russians they are not going to allow them on crimea itself. they say it's our territory now. we don't need international monitors. so de facto russia says they've taken the peninsula. morgan? >> phil, just stand by with us. we want to you stay with us as this news continues to unfold. we want to go to nick, who is

where they filed this report just a few moments ago. >> i'm standing outside of the base now. there are forces, and we just heard a gunshot. it's not clear if it's from inside the base or outside, and people are taking cover to a certain extent, not everybody. but there appears to be a takeover of the air force that have been held on to by ukrainian forces. but they're trying to get the ukrainians out of the area they're holding on to. >> phil, what is your response to what you just heard nick say? >> reporter: well again, this is the kind--this is the incident that gets people very tense.

to hear there has been an exchange of fire, to hear there is this direct conversation, everybody knows that it takes one bad incident, and one incident where lives are lost, an exchange of fire for this thing to spiral quite badly. whenever there is something like this people get very anxious about it. not only here in kiev but internationally. this is a regional issue, and if it spirals out of something that nobody can control we could see wide-ranging ramifications. >> phil, we know you've been following this from the very beginning. we thank you again for keeping you updated as this news continues to unfold. stay right here. just after the break we have more for you on what's happening in crimea, ukraine.

>> michigan performed it's first same-sex marriage today. they'll extend court hours to give licenses to couples.

the marriage ban was struck down yesterday. russian troops storming ukrainian air base where shots were heard, and/or gin, and orie unclear. u.n. monitors are headed to the region. in th the malaysian flight 370 t went missing new clue emerge. debris spotted by satellite in the indian ocean, so far crews have not been able to locate it. >> meteorologist: well good morning to you all the first official weekend of spring and take a look at the radar. for the most part mother nature is behaving. we have an area of low pressure tracking through the great lakes into the northeast. that's where we're looking at snow and a little bit of freezing rain in the adirondack mountains. it's spreading into the

mountains of new hampshire and vermont and we expect the full system to clear out and a plentiful amount of sunshine. the winds will push out of the south. so in cities like new york. be comfortable only at 48 degrees. 37 in albany. we could have slippery roads up there. further south temperatures will be in the 60s, even in the 70s along the coast line. a beautiful day all the way towards los angeles. today slightly cooler than normal. the bulk of the cold air, that is truly concentrated across the north central planes. temperatures in the 20's and upper 30's today. very chilly for this time of the year. what it really feels like when you factor in the wind chill out there, with these types of temperatures we really have to be careful especially if you're outdoors because it's very hard to retain the heat. it gives us plenty of time.

we'll talk about how the winter weather impacts the month of march, and approximately half of deaths this time of year, you see a decrease inment amount of blood flow and that allows for respiratory diseases to make way. back to you, morgan. >> thanks so much. and again we would like to remind you of the latest news coming out of crimea where russian troops stormed an ukrainian air base, which is you see right here. shots were heard although the origins of those shots are still unclear. we will continue to bring you more details at the top of the hour, and remember in the meantime you can continue to

follow us on twitter, or www.aljazeera.com. for news throughout the day head on over to our website. ways day it's the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. it probably wouldn't rock your world to hear the kids who go to school in richer school districts have better equipped and better staffed schools . course offerings, teacher training, new