piece and tonight prime minister sergei lavrov indicated that russia wants to support ukraine in its independence and ability to make the transition. the ukrainian government demonstrated remarkable restraint in the face of enormous pressure and has shown the world courage and resilience that every country ought to applaud and as it continues down the path the united states of america and its partners will remain by its side. we would be delighted to take questions. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]

..means of intimidation and perhaps they have a military option in mind. you noted that they raised the force and asked the russian side to pull forces back from the border. did they agree to do so? if not, what reason did they give? secondly, both sides talked in recent weeks about the possibility of federalisation in ukraine as a means of protecting the russian-speaking population. the russian side seems to have a far-reaching concept of federation, one giving veto authorities over national and foreign policy. did you make headway in narrowing the gap on this core issue and what are the next steps, thank you? >> think you very much. as i said earlier, both sides made suggestions on how we can de-escalate the security as well as the political situation in and around ukraine.

yes, we talked very seriously and at length about the impact of the massing of truth and the importance of including the drawdown and redemoiment of some of those troops with respect to the process moving forward. we both made suggests as to how that might be able to be achieved, and i will return to washington to cult with barack obama about his choices with respect to that. in the end, let's be clear, it is ukrainians who have to ultimately agree to or make decisions with respect to the road ahead. we are trying to find a way to diffuse this, de-escalate it, and find a climate in which good engines can take place regarding

other issues. that brings me to the other issue you raised, michael, about the question of federalisation. i said in my opening comments, and i repeat again - it's not up to us to make any decision or any agreement regarding federalization. we talked about it. but it's up to ukrainians. and ukrainians will decide their future for themselves by themselves with respect to what kind of definitions work for them, and it will have to be, you know, an input, obviously, of what the russian view is. i think it's important to take that into account, because russia obviously has long ties and serious interests, but in the end ukrainians will have to make the decision. so tonight we did not explore that, because it would have been inappropriate to do so without

ukrainian input directly with respect to that. >> we are looking for a process, not a substantive resolution of each of the issues, because ukrainians have to do that. what we are looking for is how to de-escalate, how to get on a track to be able to give the ukrainians the opportunity that they deserve to be able to do that. >> reporter: [inaudible] . hi, just to clarify on your answer on the discussion of troops, is there any scenario under which the united states would accept the - having any of those troops remain. secondly, on the middle east, prime minister binyamin netanyahu told the meeting today that the prisoner issue could take several days to resolve, and he'll make no decision about prisoners that does not benefit

israel. what is your reading on where israel is on the issue, and how large a hurdle has that placed in your effort to get a framework agreement by the end of april? >> well, with respect to the troop deployment issue, i think i have really answered it. we have ideas, we have some proposals that both sides made, and it's really important for the appropriate consultations to take place, before there's discussion about is that. in the end, obviously the it troops are in russia, they are on russian soil. the question is not one of right or legality, it is one of strategic appropriateness, and whether it's - you know, smart at this moment in time to have

that number of troops massed on a border when you are trying to send a message that you want to de-escalate. those are the coyses that have to be made. ukrainians have to be front and center in whatever the lasting long-term possibilities are. and i'm not going to venture there tonight, because it's really up to them what is appropriate or not. secondly, with respect to the middle east peace process and the prisoners, i'm not going to comment at this important moment. it would be inappropriate to get into any kind of judgments about what may or may not occur or happen, because it's really a question between the palestinians and the israelis, and what prime minister binyamin netanyahu is prepared to do. so he has - he's working diligently, i know i talked to him 15 minutes ago, and he's

working at it. our team is on the ground. we have our chief netter and full team there, working every moment. i have been in touch with them constantly through the day, and we'll see where we are tomorrow when some judgments have to be made. thank you all. appreciate it. thanks. >> and you have been listening to a live press conference by secretary of state john kerry where it is just after midnight in paris, after he spent four hours meeting with russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov. it's a rare meeting between the two side since relations dissolved between the united states and russia, after russia seized crimea, he made interesting points, and went out of his way to prays and support the ukrainian government and insists that any decision will be made by the people of ukraine. not by the united states and not by other world leaders. about the troop build-up along

the boarder, it's not a matter of league ate, the fact that it has tens of thousands of soldiers on russian soil. he questioned whether it is appropriate as they tried to diffuse the tension and situation obvious crimea and over ukraine. i believe standing by is former u.s. ambassador to n.a.t.o., kurt volker. you listened to secretary of state john kerry's comments, did you get the impression that any progress was made? >> i got the impression that no progress was made. in fact, we seem to be speaking different language. russia is speaking a language of force and making demands over its neighbour. united states is speaking diplomacy and deescalation which, if russia was interested in might be helpful. at this point russia is making demand that can't be met and is

willing to use force to achieve. >> if they are speaking two languages, why are they speaking especially since vladimir putin picked up the phone to president obama on friday. >> there are a couple of objectivese objectiv objectives. one is to stretch out the time line, de-escalating the move towards higher levels of sanctions and push back. after a period of calm, it can play out diplomatic gain while amassing forces in the ukraine and looks for the leaders, whether it's referreda in, or in that region. whether it's working to forment unrest in ukraine. >> do you think russia has its eyes on moll dova, on eastern ukraine. a lot of people say it's bold.

do you think it's truly a threat? >> i think we have to take the threat seriously. vladimir putin has taken the military instrument out of the box. he's taken a step of annexing. once deescalated it's hard to go back. if russia feels it's aggrieved, that these are territories belonging to russia, that there are russian speaking population, now is the time to strike. so i think we have to be very, very worried about the scrrns. >> if you read between the lines, it's clear the comments came to no resolution over what to do with soldiers on the site, along the border let's listen to what he had to say.

>> any real progress in ukraine must include a pull-back of the large russian force that is currently massing along the ukraine border. tonight i raised with the foreign minister our strong concern about the forces. we believe that the forces are creating a climate of fear and intimidation in ukraine. >> so some tough words there, but not getting the impression that it's going very far. what happens if russia adds more soldiers on the border. >> first off, let me point out that in the press catholic church, there was no indication that foreign minister sergei lavrov acknowledged the point that john kerry was making that it's provocative and intimidating for the forces to be there and they should be pulled back. it appears from a comment about leggality that sergei lavrov defended the placement of troops as perfectly legal and nothing

the united states has anything to comment on. it's a troubling sign. >> a troubling sign meaning you worry they could further build up and see the possibly movement into eastern ukraine. >> by defending the placement of those troops within russia's rites, tas precursor as to what they may do. >> how does this play out in your mind. there's several ideas brought up. each side came up with ideas to solve this. the russian side looks like the idea they are proposing is a federalization program where russian speaking regions in ukraine get more independence, power and authority. do you think that's an idea that could get traction here? >> i think that we have to recognise that this is an effort by russia to assert its control and its authority over the territory and the population of a neighbouring country. it's totally unacceptable to ukrainians and ought to be

unacceptable to the international community. moreover, russia knows it's unacceptable so is putting it out as a straw man to justify actions. what i see happening is additional referreda where breakaway regions of countries assert that they wish to join russia, were there may be demonstrations or lack of public security that russia can use as justification for inserting troops, and using military forces in order to control the situation on the ground, and acquire the further territories. >> why is vladimir putin picking the fight. are these regions all that valuable to russia? >> vladimir putin said self times, beginning eight or nine years ago that the greatest tragedy of the 20th century was the collapse of the soviet union. >> as a former kgb officer, he sees the world that way, and

sees an opportunity to right what he believes are injustices inflicted on the russian federation. no one will stop him, so now is the type to strike. interesting developments, some frustrating for the united states and the west. thank you for your timetable. >> more news after the short break on al jazeera.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. sunday morning church services in washington state focussed op victims and families of those lost in the mud slide. 600 rescue and recovery workers are digging though mud and debris. tania moseley joins us live. we are hearing that the governor is scheduled to make an announcement soon. what are you hearing there? >> hi. as you know, it's hard to really grasp how enormous the mud slide is from the ground. governor inslee and the head of

the washington national guard took an aerial view in a helicopter a few hours ago. they are speaking about what they saw, and the need for federal aid to assist those in this area affected by the mud slide. today the safers who are out there at the mud slide location got a break in the weather. it's been raining nonstop for four straight days. the river is up a food, overflowing to highway 530 since the mud slide hit more than 600 workers made up of national guard and volunteers are on the scene. they are taking a two day break. they can only take a break until the dogs' scenting ability are not able to be used. they need a break to recoup from that. all of tree limbs, mud and water

are mementos, pictures and other possessio possessions intact. they are volunteers at the scene. they are picking up the items. they'll pick them up and place them in a special area for loved ones to connect. >> a lot of people lost their homes, friends and family. to be reunited with some physical belongings is an important thing. we know how - what memories, wonderful things that photos can bring to a person. to reunite family members is an important piece of the effort. >> there are five survivors of this mud slide. we received a few hours ago an update on their conditions. two of them are in satisfactory condition, three in serious

condition. many wondered about 23 week old duke. he's improving, his mother is in satisfactory condition. in three hours we'll receive the daily update from authorities on how the search has gone in the day. we should receive act on a number of those victims and details op whether they've been able to identify the unidentified boddius. >> we'll check in with you later. >> as you mentioned, four straight days of rain for rescuers. hope fully they'll get a break. >> they'll get a little one. rain showers are scattered around. showers are still skirting in from the south south-west, and still coming across parts of the north, and a little across arlington and derrington where oso is in between. >> the problem is that we have the blockage in the river, and it started to make a channel

around it. however, because of the water pooling up behind the landslide and the mud in place, it's causing flooding upstream, and that has been rising over night. we have been seeing it lift up three-quarters of a foot. that is levelling off. we'll keep a flood warning in place for that north fork of the river, until the blockage has been cleared. just to give you an idea how much rain has been coming down, we talked about how it is the all-time wettest march on record for seattle. other areas around western washington, friendships, hoquiliam is coming in as the third wettest march. it's soggy, but the break comes in tomorrow. >> four objects have been found in the hunt for malaysia airlines flight mh370, it's been three weeks sips the plane

disappeared. 100,000 square miles north of previous areas were scoured for signs of debris. objects retrieved from the indian ocean turned out to be fishing equipment unconnected to the plane. the australian team dropped gps buoys so ships can vet. >> we can't confirm the origin of the objects. however, the details of these in association with a gps buoy have been passed on to our rescue coordination centre. from our perspective this was the most visibility of anyone objects in the water, giving us the most promising leads. until something is found fam lip members are clinging to hope. others are angry as weeks passed by without signs of loved ones. several relatives arrived in malaysia demanding answers. >> people attached name cards of

missing passengers and balloons releasing them into the sky. some said it was an effort to bring relief to the grieving families. >> it may be three weeks, but like everyone else, we are not give up hope that we can find the missing mh370, the missing flight. we will find them, i hope we will not give up. >> we are unhappy and distressed. it must be worse for them. this is just to give them encouragement and, you know, try to support them. >> the search resumes on monday. nas in a few hours in australia. a new ship fitted with a black-box detector will leave australia to join the search. >> millions of households across the u.s. depends on foot stamps. some are taking steps to ensure the program is not abused. georgia has 2 million dependent on food stamps, and now a

measure thorough those requiring drug tests for anyone who are believed to use illegal drugs. florida, missouri, utah has measures in place and spent hundreds of thousands trying to implement them. more than 4,000 took the drug test from 2011 to 2012, 108 failed it. it cost the state about $45,000. in utah, 466 people were tested in mandatory screenings. only 12 failed the test. costing the government $25,000. according to the national conference, 10 states passed such legislation. arizona, florida, kansas, mississippi, north carolina, tennessee, and utah - as you sisee on the screen. 22 states introduced proposals, but they have come under

criticism. joining me now for more on all of this is jamal boouy, who has written about the issue. thank you for being with us. >> controversy with the programs, the bills. why do you think they are gaping traction? >> i think they are gaping traction because -- gaining traction because they are pushed by lawmakers, many republicans who believe there's a tremendous amount of waste, fraud and abuse. food stamps, welfare and the whole program. there's a lot of waste. this is a way to get rid of it. >> is there a lot of waste and is it not fair to require people who are accepting taxpayer help to have act icty? >> there is the thing, there's not too much waste. audits found very little waste in foodstorms and welfare. when it comes to drug testsers

there's a membership school personnel of people they -- minuscule percentage of people who used drugs and take food stamps or welfare. as far as problems go, it's not really a problem. if it were. it doesn't make sense to kick out vulnerable people from public assistance. it would be better to use the system to get them to the treatment they need. >> it's a difference between people testing positively, and those that avoid it: utah it netted 12 positive tests, but the state saved several thousands of dollars. >> we have to broaden and see whether it has saved a lot of money. how many of at least people because of overdoses and whatnot are an additional burden.

how many are unable to provide for their children because they decided to avoid the public assistance program. saving a few dollars to avoid giving benefits to a small group of people who are drug users, i'm not sure is good for the society. >> we mentioned the accountability recollects that people should be held to accountability if they are going accept taxpayer help. >> the way to get that accountability is to say if we take taxpayer help, we'll require you to go into treatment facilities, what it isn't is denying help. we know from a fact that denying help to people doesn't make it go away. >> even though the laws are popular across the country, there's a question of whether they are legal, do you expect that to become an issue. >> with regard to the georgia proposal, no.

officials have to have reasonable suspicion. as laws come on the zaneda across the country, unless they are calibrated in a way as not to be a blanket requirement. they'll come under constitutional. otherwise states have ways to impose requirements for the acceptance of public benefits. >> jamal, thank you for your time today. >> and still ahead - lines are targeted in mexico - why so many are being stolen. that's ahead. also - future politicians getting lessons in integrity. details on the new class in miami.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories, more than 600 people joined a recovery session in washington as a sunday church service honoured the victims of a deadly mud slide.

more than 100 volunteers are finding mementos, they'll be decontaminated and returned to groving families. >> four objects were found in relation to the malaysia airlines. they turned out to be unconnected to the plane. 10 aircraft will join the search form. >> john kerry and russian foreign minister sergei lavrov met in paris. both agreed on the porns of a diplomatic solution, but a concrete agreement has not been reached. the u.s. considers russia's actions illegal. >> new progress in ukraine must include a pull-back of the large russian force that is currently massing along the borders, and tonight i raised with the foreign minister our strong concern about the forces. we believe the forces are creating a climate of fear and

intimidation in ukraine >> now with crimea under russia's control, yesterday it changed its time to match russia's time, soldiers not loyal to russia have been asked to leave. jennifer glasse has more from crimea. >> they didn't think it would end like this, packing hastily and leaving crimea. the deputy commander is keeping spirits high. there's a few words of comfort. the russian flags fly high. ukrainians have to leave. that man has lived her a decade. >> ukrainians serve in one place for a long time. they settle here, they bought property and now they have to leave everything, even their property behind. >> the soldiers fought hard to stay. after the russians took over the

base, the ukrainians faced unarmed. the russians fired in the care, after negotiations a few ukrainians were allowed to return to their jobs. the stand off lasting two weeks. they overran the base, kidnapped the commander, holding them for five days, he refused. he was released and told to return to ukraine. >> many were reluctant to leave crimea. basically the ukraine's equivalent of florida. and until recently it offered the best opportunities in the navy. not any more. >> the cranian navy ships fly the russian nag. they were forced to choose between the russians and ukrainians. announcing it was the only way to stay here. changing sides is dishonourable. they will join their commander

and serve ukraine. >> we will rebuild. we'll stand to the end to fight for what is ours. >> mikhail says it's a difficult time. i'm not abbingry for anyone. they are military men, we are military men and we have to obey our own orders. >> like so many others, mikhail and his young family face on uncertain future, whose military has to find new jobs and homes. >> also involving ukraine, are nadine live in paris. more on the meeting between john kerry, and sergei lavrov. we heard the comments. they are not too encouraging. is there any indication that the two sides are closer to a solution.

>> not really. the secretary of state in the last half an hour or so has been highlighting that there were areas where he agreed with his russian counterpart sergei lavrov over ukraine, notably on the need for free and fair elections, monitored by the international community. and he also said that they needed to protect the rites of minorities in ukraine. that is a nod to the russian speakers in the east and the south of the country. he makes it clear though that he told sergei lavrov that he wanted those troops that russia, he says, have massed on the eastern border to be pulled back to create the right kind of climate for further dialogue. he said that the two sides have discussed how that could be done, but there seems to be no actual concrete policy. the fact that there's military

tension in the region really means that there's mixed messages coming out of washington. on the one side john kerry says "yes, we'll talk to the russians", on the other side chuck hagel, the u.s. defence secretary sent back the u.s.'s main military commander early to talk with n.a.t.o. allies and reassure them that the u.s. will do what it can to protect their interests. >> how does n.a.t.o. factor in this. especially since their leaders are meeting in brussels in a couple of days? >> well, the people in n.a.t.o. who will be worried by what is happening in ukraine and the region are the eastern yooup een states. such as poland. now, the united states has increased the number of planes that it's involving in joint air patrols with poland, and they are sending a message to the

baltic states as well, increasing military cooperation there as well. they really want to know that whatever happens ie if russia does move to try and take other parts of ukraine, something - sergei lavrov has no interest in doing, if that were to happen, they want to know that america would send a stronger signal than it has done up to now in terms of saying well no, you can't do this, this is not going to be acceptable and we do have ways to make you back down. at the moment it's not clear what the u.s. is prepared to do, beyond calling for more dialogue with moss coe. >> we talk about dialogue between moscow and washington, kiev and washington, what about the idea that russia and you crane may sit and talk? well,

that's a good point. that's what washington has been calling for for a long time now. but the direct answer from moscow has calls been - that's not going to happen because we consider the interim government in kiev to be illegitimate. not only that, it's a dangerous government because it includes members of the far right, people that some in russia call fascists. in the last hour or so, john kerry has been mighting that both sides, the u.s. and moscow want to see free and fair elections, they want to see a move towards democracy. the u.s. is fully behind. they have been stressing fully behind the pro-western forces in kiev, while moscow is very concerned that there should be a federal system giving greater power to the regions, and where there are russian speakers in ukraine, it's hard to know what will happen next. >> a lot of unknowns.

>> nadine, thank you. live from france. >> moving to turkey, the polls closed in local elections. results show the recalling akp, justice and development party, leading nationally. in most of turkey's cities, leading with half the vote. the main opposition party has 28%. the numberses, by the way are unofficial as more votes are counted. elections are local. prime minister recep tayyip erdogan says the vote will confirm his legitimacy. this has he faces allegations of corruption. i asked him about weather today's elections can illustrate a level of support for the prime minister. >> the prime minister's core supporters which tend to be religious conservatives don't care about freedom or the pervasiveness of corruption, they care about bread and put ir issues, and for them the prime

minister delivered on the economy, on social welfare, >> help us understand the discontent in turkey, we see the images on television, the protest, the rallies. do you get the impression that is widespread? >> turkey is a polarized society. there are divisions between those who like the prime minister and those that despise the prime minister. with the results the polarization will continue, and perhaps intensify. i think that if those - these strong results do hold out, prime minister is likely to become more autoaccuratic, try to concentrate more power in his can't, internet media and internet restrictions, including facebook. so i think the current tendency, autoaccuratic tendencies may intensify following the results in his faf.

>> final results have yet to be announced by the sprum election council. >> egyptians head to the ballot box. the announcement coming days after army chief abdul fatah al-sisi resigned, announcing he'd like to run for president. he led the overthrow of deposed president in july. if no one gets more than 50% in the first round of voting a second round will be held in mid june. >> gunshots heard there. one university student, eastern cairo is dead. several hurt after clashes broke out between protest jors and officers. they are demanding the re-instatement of suspended student punished for marching in support. the arrest of mohamed morsi. they were angry over a student's father in prison on charges of an affiliation with the muslim

brotherhood. she was accused of helping mohamed morsi to leak documents. >> it's been 92 days, mohamed fadel fahmy, peter greste, and mohammed badr are accuse of spreading false news and belonging to a terrorist group. al jazeera denies the charges and demand the release of staff. the trial begins tomorrow. >> after being held in captivity for six months two spanish journalists are clear. it was an emotional reunion for the journalist and the photographer. they were kidnapped by a rogue al qaeda group on september 16th as they tried to leave syria. late yesterday they contacted officials with the spanish newspaper they worked for to let them know they were in turkey. it's unknown if they escaped or were released by the kidnappers. they would not comment on whether a ransom was negotiated.

>> nine correspondents and 10 syrian journalists remain missing. >> the death toll from self weeks of protest has risen to 39. >> two more people died in separate incidents yesterday, president nicolas maduro's government faced a wave of protests. people are angry about soaring crime, hyper-ipp nation and shortings of essential goods. >> protesters in chile tabbing on police officers in san tie argo. some of the police tanks caught fire. yesterday marked the day of the day two young brothers were killed by police in a 1985 protest against the dictatorship of general augusto pinochet. >> from refreshing drink to adding a tang to cuisine, the lime is a popular fruit.

the price of limes has risen so sharply in recent weeks that growers are referring to the fruit as green goal. the problem stems from mexico, the largest producer of lime. >> in mexico it's hard to thing of life without limes, it's a staple of daily living, used to flavour wood, ward off illness and adorn drunks. it's the fruit of a nation. >> i put lime on everything. the only thing i don't is milk, because i can't. otherwise i would. a salad is not at guys without lime. tequila without lime is not good. it's part of the our lives, tradition and culture. >> they are now expensive. prices soared. production is down. consumers are unhappy. in many places the prices tripled in recent weeks, reaching historic highs.

>> customers ask, "how much for limes?" you tell them, they call you crazy and leave. the groves have been hit by disease and bad weather. last year's lime growing didn't help. it didn't hep. something called yellow dragon plague means the groves are producing less fruit. there's talk of farmers hoarding their drops. some like this cartoonist are making the best of a bad situation. his depictions of a nation craving limes is seep by millions. it's a way of getting through the crees sis. >> -- crisis. >>. >> translation: we laugh about things that worry us, it's not important, but it has an impact on the economy and families. there are other things that people can't afford but we laugh at all of it, it's how we cope. >> with mexico producing most of the limes, the impact of the shortage is global.

it's hoped prices will fall, but for the time being high-priced limes are leaving a bitter taste. >> a shortage of limes. >> miami florida saw its share of political scandals. outraged by the culture of corruption, a college afterward future leaders courses in honest government. we have more. >> close to 300 men and women gathered early on a weekend morning for a half day session to learn about candidates academy. a program to identify future political leaders and prepare them for the job of public service. >> unfortunately politician has become a bad word. we need to make it a good word. we need to make it about the servants, and both parties need to work together to encourage better people to run for office. >> a group of professors will select a handful of candidates

and mentor them during a 6-month nonpartisan fellowship. >> we have two messages. don't forget who you serve if you run for office. >> we'll talk about the nuts and bolts. the aspiring politicians pay close attention to the pitfalls. >> you forgot to make the deposit. sixth day you have a violation. >> i'll read the campaign book literature five or six times. >> politician work for the people, not people for the politicians. >> this county had three sitting mayors indicted for federal corruption schemes. the academy seeks to train a new crop of public servants. >> this woman is an advertising consult apt and warned the

smoke-filled back rooms of the past is replaced by glasshouses of transparency. if you do good things, we want to know. keonie mcgee attended the seminar. he is a candidate in the fall. >> when you forget you are an average person and you work there by permission of the voters, you can get lost. >> they want people to realise that politics is more been solving issues, and that power can and does corrupt. >> and still ahead or al jazeera america. in sports baseball the season is starting with a new rule for players running for home plate. >> and rebecca with more weather.

>> snow and sleet coming down from washington d.c. to mill ford. i'll show you where the blizzard warning goes into effect tonight -

>> okay, so opening day with major league baseball is upon us and there's a new rule. >> it's about players' safety, and rite fully so. concussion and head trauma took center stage in sport. major league baseball is stepping up to the plate and being proactive. the players have to adapt to the new rule. michael eaves has the details. >> it's been call the most sacred part of the game - home plate. it's where every hitter and base runner want to end up. it's a spot every catcher protects in earnest. this year major league baseball

added a rule so the players that protect the plate can be protected. >> any time we can protect the young kids, you know, we are better because of it. i think you look at the different sports, football and hockey, they are taking measures to protect the guy, not just now, but in the long term. >> with support from phil bochi. rule 17.13 was introduced to stop collisions at the plate. and the rule states: . >> the main thing it does is it eliminates the malicious collision, you know, if the catcher is in the set up on the plate. it doesn't allow the runner to run through him. >> the one thick -- thing with

the catchers, they want to understand the rule. nothing had changed. it's consistent with every base. you can't walk the plate with the ball in possession. >> umpires and players will take time to adapt, even if the change is not drastic. >> it's not easy to change one year to the other. we are used to blocking play and getting hit. it will take aggressive innocence away from what a catcher and a base runner can do. it's changing the dynamics of a play. it's not first, second or third base, it's home run. >> it is perfect. sometimes there'll be contact, which is fine. it's part of the game. the ones where the catcher doesn't have the ball and the runner goes out of the way and the catcher is giving the plate, that's one they tried to look at. home plate is a part of the game. the collision issue took center stage when a young star absorbed

a crushing blow. the catcher suffered a broken leg. the manager maintains that the rule is not about posy. >> i don't want this put on bustibus buster. he doesn't want to be the guy. i felt like this when gary bennett was hit, to see him laying there, i thought he was paralyzed. >> concussions are a by-product of home plate collision, and with a lawsuit that the n.f.l. endured, it seems major league baseball is looking to get ahead of its problem. >> we have everything we know, you see a lot more guys, probably cautious. they were concerned. once you strap on the gear, you know what you put yourself foo. >> if you watch me walk you'll say that. it looks like he took a home plate collision. eye, knee, hip. part of it is catching, i know

it goes with the territory. when they talk about concussion issues, and mike, and how he turned from a 30-year-old man to a 60 or 70-year-old man because of getting hit in the head, it's time to make adjustments. >> those are michael eaves reporting. you'll see the rule on opening night in baseball when the l.a. dodgers take on the padraes. the big is opening day tomorrow. boys of summer are back. feels like winter. >> doesn't feel like summer. what is going on. >> it's the last day of march, is what it is. have to go out like a lion. that's what's happening. we are getting snow and sleet around baltimore. i have good news. baltimore, you'll be clearing out in time for the first day and for the game to get out there. as the game starts for you. it will be on the warmer side. dress warmly because the slow

and sleet pushed out. go out to the atlantic. the blizzard warning, it's going in, that's for the dakotas and minnesota, that means we'll have strong winds from the north, 30 to 50 miles per hour in addition to intense snowfall. the primary area we expect is from parts of north dakota. this will not affect chicago tomorrow. the bulk of this snow is specifically in the band, and that's where it will fall. low visibility. the forecast will keep most of the action there. we'll try out slowly through the course of early afternoon. we'll see things drying out. rain will be on the increase, north central california, a new system brushing by. it will be heavy, it will be drizzly in the middle. >> what we expect in the

north-east is for the flood warnings to taper off. we piled up the rain fall. we came up to well over 2.5 inches of rainfall. there's a lot of water on the roadways. boy, it was tough to get around. it's moving out and the snow is tapering off. we'll get back to spring-like weather and we won't fool around. >> april showers a little early. that's it for us on this hour. thanks for joining us. i'm jonathan betz. i'll be back with more new, an hour of news. a look at the top stories after the short break on al jazeera america.

>> you are watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz with the top stories. secretary of state john kerry and sergei lavrov met for four hours in paris and agreed

on the importance of a diplomatic solution. john kerry said u.s. deems their actions illegal and forces along the border unacceptable. >> any new progress in ukraine must include a pull-back of the large russian force that is massing along ukraine's borders. tonight i raised with the foreign minister our strong concern about the forces. we kiev the forces are creating a climate of fear and intimidation in ukraine. >> john kerry says ukrainians have to decide on the road ahead but said the u.s. will create a climate for negotiations. >> in washington state more than 600 people joined a recovery effort. sunday church services honoured victims of the deadly mud slide. volunteers are focussed on finding items from the debris. drier weather will help crews. >> four objects have been found

in a search for malaysia airlines flight mh370. the objects retrieved yesterday from the southern indian ocean surgeoned o-- turned out not to be connected from the plane. those are the headlines. "real money" starts now on al jazeera america. >> russia's problem is yours too, same for china, turkey and brazil. i'm looking at the tangled web that is our economy. and you want jobs - i've got them, i'm tell you about an industry booming in america. plus a century old event changing the work place forever, with landmark laws that keep you in work today. i'm ali velshi, this is "real money".