but the conversation continues on our website, aljazeera.com/considerthis or on or facebook and google plus places or on twitter at @ajconsiderthis. we'll see you next time. >> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. and these are the stories we're following for you. ousted ukrainian president, victor yanokovych, suggest that other apart of ukraine breakaway. trying to mend fences with the ally. and the weather, the recovery efforts in washington state and the mudslide.

right now, crimea is part of russia, whether or not it should be is still being debated. today, ousted ukrainian president, victor yanokovych, calling for more regions to fall suit. jennifer glasse has been following the story from the beginning, and she joins us now from sevastopol in crimea. and what did we hear from victor yanokovych and how worried are leaders in ukraine? >> well, del, in russia, it's news agency, in it, victor yanokovych called on the region to have their own ref wend um because the government in kiev was illegally leaked, he believes the people of ukraine should have the right to decide. and of course it was a referendum here on march 16th to pave the way for crimea to be part of russia, and it has to be a worry for kiev, russian troops

massed on the ukrainian border, thousands of troops there. and the arch rival, who just declared herself a presidential candidate, blasted the former president for what he had to say. >> this person who used to be the president of ukraine has now in fact become a tool in the sight against ukraine. against ukrainian people. he has actually become the aim at destroying the independence of ukraine. >> and of course concerns about what russia intentions are, in the eastern part of ukraine, very much looking to russia. 70% of ukrainians exports go to russia, and it's a very industrial part of the world. we have seen demonstrations and a lot of concerns in kiev right now in what might happen in the coming days. >> jennifer, yesterday from the

u.n., we heard concerns from minororities, and representatives, and each pointing fingers at each other and how does that play out where you are? >> here, you have a minority, crimeaians have 12% of the population, and they boycotted the referendum and were hoping for international community help, looking to the u.n. vote, condemning the actions and condemning it as illegal. and they don't have much of a voice, and any ethnic ukrainians who oppose this are keeping quiet. many are keeping their heads down, many have left for ukraine proper, and many are seeing how this is all going to pan out. inside of russia, inside of crimea, right now, it's basically a default situation. even if you don't apply for a russian passport, you're considered a russian citizen now, and many are waiting to see

what will come in the next weeks and months. you have to remember, del, this was a lightning fast turn of events. two weeks ago, this was ukraine and now it's russia, and everything is happening very very quickly. >> jennifer, in sevastopol, crimea. and on sunday, in crimea, they move their clocks two hours forward to meet russia's time. condemning russia's an exsation of crimea, calling it illegal, and the president talking about that priority today. >> what would be right now to deescalate the situation with a would be for russia to move back those troops and begin negotiations with the ukrainian community. >> the president visits saudi arabia today. and he went to rihad an hour ago. and he won't be there long.

he'll be with king abdela. and with less on saudi oil, it's bound to be a conversation. >> the last year has seen often sharp disagreements over the arab uprising, especially in egypt where president obama backed the muslim brotherhood. saudis are destabilizing the threat over syria, when mr. obama backed away from a campaign over chemical attacks, deferring still to congress. >> you can imagine what the saudis think. that a real leader would have explained it to them. and made them an offer they couldn't refuse. >> iran, refusing to sit down for talks on its nuclear program.

american secretary of state deputy, bill burns, succeeds there have been risks. >> i wish that i had answers for these prescriptions for these challenges and i continue. >> reporter: for decades, the saudis and the united states have been locked in a mutual embrace, never clearer than when king abdela visited president bush's ranch in 2005. in 2015, america is set to pass saudi arabia as the top oil producer. that could mean less dependness on them. america bought 72 f-15, the largest purchase by any single country. and terror has become a mutual concern. >> no country or collection of countries can do for the gulf states what the united states has done and continues to do.

>> as the relationship became strained, experts said that it was time for the president to come see the king. >> i do think that at least symbolically what will come out of this is reaffirmation by both sides of a little bit that both sides need. >> the president will spend the night in saudi arabia, and he's scheduled to fly back to the u.s. tomorrow. digging through the debris in the aftermath of that deadly mudslide on saturday. victims are being identified. a grandmother, a navy veteran, a high school custodian and a librarian, and that death toll is expected to rise as the day goes on. sabrina, the death toll could rise a lot today. and explain. >> reporter: that's exactly what we're hearing, del. the death toll right now does stand at 17. that's the official word from the medical examiner here, but again, we're hearing that the

death toll could rise significantly. and we should know in just a few short hours at the press conference. 95 medium remain unaccounted for. this is a rescue operation, and not a recovery operation, and so because it's a rescue operation, they're holding off on using big equipment like large bulldozers, and instead, the rescuers are using hands and shovels, anything light to get to any survivors, but at this point, officials acknowledge, finding survivors is a very slim possibility. we're hearing from some of the survivors from saturday's slide, including robin youngblood, who described what she heard and described moments before the slide. >> first, we heard a roar. i thought maybe there was a 747 going down, it was so loud. we looked out the window, and there was a gigantic wall of mud

racing across the valley. i think it must have been going 150 miles per hour. and all i could say is oh, my god, and then it hit us. >> that survivor, robin young-blood, was reunited with her searcher and rescuer yesterday. and it was a very emotional reunion as the two of them got together and hucked. meantime, the operation continues today. and we're facing some difficult conditions here. >> sabrina, on the issue of those conditions, i can't help but see the rain powering behind you, and that cannot be good for the rescue efforts. >> certainly not, del. the rain is really coming down now. we had a slight break earlier this morning, but it is now falling steady. and certainly, that's making a complicated rescue operation that much more challenging. del, back to you. >> thank you very much for being with us this morning from

arlington, washington. and the rain is moving ahead. the search for flight 370, the location may be closer to the coast of perth, australia. randall is in washington, and as we're in week three, there's growing optimism that they're looking in the right place. >> well, del, at first, we heard announcement, and keep in mind that they were saying days ago that the satellite had spotted items in the southern indian ocean that there may be credible leads that may have led to flight 370. and now they have changed the area moving to the northeast. they did that because of a review and refine. existing radar and satellite data. the maritime authority said the search effort shows that five planes from the search base from

the new zone spotted four various colors, and they will attempt to retrieve those to protest if they are connected to flight 370. the searchers are optimistic that the attempt to move the search area is correct. day 21 in the search for malaysian airlines flight 370 resumed on friday. but they have shifted to a new location, 1200 miles off of the coast of australia. >> the new search area is approximately 219,000 square kilometers, area, and 1800 kilometers west of perth. the intelligence organization, ago, is broadcasting satellites to broadcast image images of the new area. >> data from when the plane turned back to mall asia, and before radar contact was lost, the ship moved the search

700 miles to the northeast of this location. >> the information provided by the investigative team is the most critical lead that we have for the search for aircraft wreckage. our best estimate of the area in which the aircraft is likely to have crashed into the ocean. >> australian investigators revealed that the jet was traveling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage, and increasing the possibility that it could have reached as far south where the teams have been looking for a week. >> this is the normal operations where refined analysis take you to a different place, and i don't count the original work as a waste of time. >> possible debris shifts by ocean currents, and gives the ships looking for the plane a greater advantage from the search zone. that will increase significantly the amount of time they can spend out there by about two

hours, and that will be a very positive thing. we have learned this morning, that the americans are sending down p8 pose i'd on jet aircraft to bolster the number of assets we have here to search for 370. >> this is coming from a base in okinawa, japan, and meanwhile, ththe look into the simulator is revealing few clues that the pilot deliberately changed course. as the search continues, so does the heartache and the anxiety of the family of the crew and the passengers. many won't except that they are lost. dozens walked out of a meeting in beijing where they are holding meetings on the plane. and they have offered to fly the relatives to the crash site. but first the crash site must be found. >> now to afghanistan where the taliban has attacked the office

of a non-profit in kabul. fighting between attackers and police has been ongoing there. and there are reports of five civilians being injured today. afghanistan holds its elections next week. coming up on aljazeera america, why the brazilian military is invading it's slums in the growing fear. and michigan's jobs, but the high employment rate. so where is the disconnect?

>> bras i would has deployed its army to rio de janeiro. and there are less than three months to go until the world cup. we have the story from rio. >> brazilian soldiers are on patrol in one of rio de

janeiro's shanty towns. after a surge of gang violence and attacks on police outposts, larger numbers of troops remember expected to be brought into the operation in the coming days. the government says that the show of force is necessary to keep the violence in the slums from spiraling out of control. [ speaking spanish ] >> interpreter: we have to show them that we are stronger than we are. >> reporter: the government also wants to preclude embarrassment from widespread violence from the world cup, starting in june. the people who live here seem more scorned than intimidated. >> they said that i have guns in my house, and i have i live here with my daughter, i don't have drugs here. i'm a hard worker, but i'm so angry. i try to defend myself.

and they tell me to shut up. >> reporter: many of the residents won't speak out publicly for fear of reprisals from the police or the gangs, but there's widespread resentment that the government is spending billions of dollars on the tournament while the slums lack basic services. >> a lot of the people here don't have enough food to eat and the government keeps investing in things that don't help us. >> reporter: disturbing midges and a disturbing undercurrent of violence as brazil prepares to take a turn on the world stage. rob reynolds, rio de janeiro. >> a rally is underway on wall street after two straight days of losses, the dow up 120 points. investors embracing encouraging economic did thea on consumer spending. the commerce department said

that consumer spending did rise in three months, all due to higher utility bills. the savings rate edged up only a bit to .3%. wal-mart is suing visa over those fees that consumers pay on credit card transactions. in the eight years, these have cost consumers and are merchants $350 billion. after wal-mart and retailers opted out of that class action settlement with visa and mastercard. and visa drained to comment on the suit. the investigation into the battery fires on tesla cars after the car maker agreed to install titanium shields under to prevent from damaging the batteries. >> in ohio, the automaker is

adding 300 jobs to its lima plant in the next years. so it can make new engines for the f-150 pickup truck. ali velshi is going to be investigating one of the key issues of our time, immigration. how it affects america's economy. coming up at 4 p.m. pacific time. after hitting a slump in the 2009 recession, michigan's job market is regaining speed. the state recently launched a program aimed at closing the so-called talent gap. more from detroit. >> as nothing america's biggest car and truck producer, for decades manufacturing drove the workforce, but in 2009, the u.s. economy took a downturn. companies closed and unemployment skyrocketed. years later, the lake state has

a new problem. jobs, 70,000, these are positions that don't require a college degree, but there are not enough people qualified to fill them. >> we're talking to employers, and employers are telling us we have victims who have experiences in megatronnics or welding. >> michael has the michigan economic development corporation, which just launch aid program called career jump start. which is focused on training and educating people for careers in the technical and skilled trades industries. all participants are still in high school. >> it's amazing to be able to take something like a robot and be able to have it make something. >> 17-year-old emil kraft is one of dozens of students enrolled in the state's program at lansing community college. >> if you look at this, what could be wrong with this system. >> today they're getting a

lesson in megatronnics. >> i know there's a demand for these types of career option, being able to program robots. and it drew me in. >> it's that connection that michigan is hoping to achieve. career jump start was modeled after the german education system, which at times taylors learning to market demand. and organizers here believe that what works for the germans will also work here in michigan. right now, michigan's unemployment rate is 7.7%. governor rick snyder said that closing the talent gap is the single most important issue which could bring unemployment down by 1.5%. salaries for these skilled trades jobs can range from 5 to $100,000 a year. for kraft, who was a senior, the opportunities seem endless. >> that's what it has done, it

has given me the opportunity to say, well, this is really something that i want to do with the rest of my life. and so far, it's something that i found i'm very interested in. >> training workers of tomorrow today. with the hope of filling michigan's skill shortage and rebuilding the economy. aljazeera, detroit. >> when we return, on aljazeera america, coffee, it is a matter of national pride for argentineans. but how did is the local brew? we'll take a sip right after the break.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. and these are the stories we're following at this hour. the president is in saudi, arabia, the final stop of his six day overseas trip. touching down in rihad an hour ago, going to iran and be ukraine. the president of ukraine called

for all of the referendums to separate from ukraine. he wants to follow the lead of crimea and the u.s. and eu all condemning the annexsation of crimea as illegal. the death toll in washington is expected to rise significantly today. more heavy rain is on the ground further complicating the search efforts there. if. >> in argentina, coffee is serious business, they like the coffee so much they want it to be part of their cultural heritage. daniel looked at the controversy, or we should say that he took a sip. >> reporter: morning, afternoon or evening, the residents of buenos aires drink coffee. with cream or double. in a cup or a mug. the art of coffee drinking is an

intrinsic part of daily life. with spanish and italian immigrants. >> interpreter: more than a custom, it's an excuse for us to meet and chat for a while. 20 minutes, half an hour, it's a good excuse. ism the argentine ministry of culture has called on unesco to call coffee drinking pash of their heritage, along with continuingo dance and music. the city has designated more than 50 of what it calls notable cafes local landmarks, each with its own history and clientele. there are fewer finer places in the world in which to drink coffee, to chat, to read, to write or stare blankly into place, but the truth is, at the rick of offending a few locals here, the coffee could sometimes

be a little better. there's now a new wave of cafes aiming to improve the coffee drunk by the locals, with better beans and brewing methods, which seem to be to their taste. >> interpreter: the reaction has been one of surprise. they have been drinking something out of habit. and suddenly they try something delicious and ask themselves, why was i drinking that? >> reporter: the coffee drinking culture in buenos aires is changing. the independent cafes facing challenges from outside. something for the locals to discuss over a cup of coffee, obviously. aljazeera, buenos aires. >> as we mentioned earlier, sadly, it's raining in washington state, and that's not good news >> reporter: not good news for the recovery, and the warning of flooding as the river dammed up by the slide tries to work its way through, and any rain could

create a surge of flash flooding. there's rain coming down now, and here's that flash flood warning still in effect as the next wave of rain is coming in. we have severe weather. this line of strong storms moves through the southeast. and now pushing off the gulf coast, with the potential of more severe weather coming in today and texas and arkansas, it's there because of an area of low pressure that will be moving east. that will be impacting the mid-atlantic and the northeast over the next 24 hours as it moves north, a lot of this moisture with it, along with the warm air, but as the high pressure builds into the north of it, that will keep the cold air in some places. we're talking about more snow, not a lot of it, but more snow and rain as it moves up. this is what it does today, not intensifying much, but the severe weather is what we're watching for this afternoon and not evening. tomorrow, the rain intensifies,

and as it comes up to the cold air held in place by high pressure, snow developing. >> thank you for watching aljazeera america. i'm del walters in new york, and "inside story" is next. colleges sport flashy coaches earn seven figure salaries. now they want a union and a paycheck, it's the inside story. hello, i'm ray swarez.