>> on the next talk to al jazeera >> oscar winner sean penn shares his views on privacy rights, press freedom and his controversial relationship with hugo chavez >> talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america good afternoon. i'm morgan radford live in new york, and here are the top stories. does lithuania need nato? i guarantee you nato will be there. >> u.s. troops arrive in lithuania as nato beefs up its presence in the balkan states. president obama prepares for trade talks with leaders in malaysi malaysia. >> there you have it, festivities continue in vatican

city where millions prepare for the canonization of not one but two popes. more american troops are arriving in eastern europe today, and they'll add to the nato operation responding to tensions in ukraine. the u.s. is sends hundreds of soldiers to the balantic states. >> we are here to demonstrate nato's commitment to lithuania with our persistent presence of trained soldiers. let me make this clear. should lithuania need nato, i guarantee you nato will be there. >> the leaders are preparing to hold emergency talks on monday, and the white house and members of the g-7 all promising

penalties for russia saying we have committed to act urgently toance fie targeted sanctions due to the cost of russia's actions. they cut short a trip to italy today citing escalating tensions with russia. >> russian military aircraft today crossed and violated ukrainian air space for seven times. it's clear that russian aggression has its aim to undermine the global security and global stability. to redraw the lines and to revise the consequences of the second world war. >> meanwhile, in an effort to calm things down, moscow promises to help win the release of european monitors who are being held captive by pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine. al jazeera's barnaby phillips has more from danask right near

the russian border. >> on both sides funerals are political events. this time it was pro-russian separatists laying a hero to rest. in the town of slow yafk is now a martyr for the cause. >> long live dabansk. >> it's also in slow yank. >> they're not observers. they're spying. >> the barricades are still up. let's go over here and see the

other side of life in the east. for most people things are normal. they might be anxious and that's the say in dansk and across eastern ukraine. closer to kiev they were marking a grim anniversary. 28 years since the chernobyl nuclear accident. it was events on the eastern border that seemed to preoccupy the politicians who came to this event. >> translator: if russia continues its aggression and ignores decisions made during negotiations including the ones from geneva, ukraine has to stay strong and resist the occupant's forces. >> reporter: he -- she hopes to be the next president, although the legitimacy of the election could depend on a successful resolution of the crisis with russia.

>> stay with al jazeera america for the latest on the developments on the crisis in ukraine and the rest of today's headlines. plus, follow us on twitte twitter @ajam. the faithful are descending on vatican city this week for the canonization of john paul ii and john paul xxiii. almost more than 1 million visitors in rome, and many made their way to the vatican. al jazeera is live among the crowds in rome. nick, is the vatican ready for all of these people? >> reporter: well, morgan, there are certainly a lot of crowds braving the rain this afternoon. behind me there's no one here anymore. there are thousands of pilgrims in st. peter's square, but now it's empty. it's being filled with all of the chairs and all of the preparations for tomorrow's historic event. it is historic. we have never seen what we're going to see in the 2,000-year history of the catholic church. two popes sainted at the same

time. we get a real sense of positive momentum, real sense of energy as we talk to all of the pilgrims who have come here. they're here to see john paul xxiii and celebrate him and especially they're here to celebrate john paul ii. there's a sense they're here to celebrate one of the most popular popes in the 20th century. he only died nine years ago. nine years in the church's history is like a blink of the eye, but the church said he satisfied all the requirements of becoming a saint, and that includes having the life and writings of his heroic virtue and being a role model and having two confirmed miracles. laura beth mora doesn't only believe he's a saint, she helped to make her one. in her house she created a shrine for the man she says saved her life. in 2001 her doctors said she had an aneurysm and would live for only a month.

she clutched a favorite magazine, with john paul on the cover, and then six years after he died, on the same day john paul took the first steps to sainthood, she says he appeared to her in a vision. >> translator: it filled me with peace and gave me the self-confidence i could recover from my sickness. >> reporter: after that moment she says she recovered instantly. her doctors called it a miracle. the catholic church agreed. do you feel like he saved your life? >> translator: of course. god saved my life with john paul ii's intervention. >> reporter: over 27 years john paul's intervention transformed the catholic church. he inspired a new, younger generation. his leadership helped inspire the movement that led to the fall of the berlin wall and the soviet union. he was a pope of firsts. in jerusalem he prayed at the western wall and was the first pope to visit a modern

synagogue. at the age of 81 he was the first pope to walk into a mosque. many, including the people in each of these childhood photographs, see things differently. >> this is david. david was sexually abused by father john white. this is joe we will. this is barbara dora, and becky was sexually abused about this time by a priest in her hufrn in virginia. >> reporter: the church admits in the u.s. alone more than 10,000 people say catholic officials abused them. >> this is tim lenin, and this is rita and this was me -- this was the year before father moore started to sexually abuse me. >> barbara blaine runs an abuse survivors network. she was only 12 when she says her priest first touched her. >> in my mind i was screaming no, stop, don't do that. don't touch me. no. but no words came out. i was like frozen in the sense

it was like i couldn't -- i was -- i couldn't even move. and i can remember him saying, stop shaking. i'm not going to hurt you. >> reporter: she accuses john paul of knowing in the church abuse was pervasive. she says a man who conceals sin is no saint. >> unfortunately, pope john paul 3 -- second had information and authority to remove sexual predators and protect children, and he refused to do that. >> reporter: john paul's defenders deny that, and on sunday blaine's voice will be vastly outnumbered. john paul will be sainted to one of the largest crowds that will ever fill st. peter's square. and those pilgrims will fill the square tomorrow. you can see and probably hear all of the work that's being done to prepare the square for tomorrow morning. it will be two historic firsts.

not only the first time two popes are canonized on the same day but the first time that two living popes celebrate mass together. pope benedict until he ab indicated last year will be here with pope francis to celebrate john paul xxiii and john paul ii. >> you mentioned the strong memories of john paul ii on both sides of the aisle. john xxiii isn't quite as well-known. is he getting overshadowed by all this? >> reporter: i think he's getting a little overshadowed, but i think both popes are absolutely some of the more powerful and more to the point influential popes of the 20th century. there's a real sense in the media and perhaps here on the streets that, wait a minute. john paul was more of the conservative. john the xxiii was more of the progressive and liberal who pushed the church forward. i think a lot of people who talked to pope francis about why he's united the kanaanization of these two people is to send a

message of unity. the message is no longer one was progressive and one was conservative. the message is john txxiii enacted a lot of changes scombron paul ii continued the and let's get beyond the traditional notion of the two popes and the two sides of this church. the church is big enough for everyone. let's unite and move forward, morgan, into the 21st century. >> thanks so much. al jazeera is live for us in the rain from vatican city. nick, stay dry. thanks so much. at 8:00 eastern time we take a deeper look at the canonization of john xxiii and john paul 2 ariel castro . >> officials arrested two more members. now the entire 15-man crew involved is in custody. the death toll climbed to 187 but divers had to stop the

search today since bad weather made it difficult to comb through the wreckage. the president toasted to the long-standing relations between the two countries. >> so i would like to propose a toast to the strength of our relationship, the power of our friendship, the peace and prosperity of our peoples, and the good health of their majesties, the king and queen. >> mike viqueira is traveling with the president and has more. >> reporter: the president woke up in seoul, south korea for the second day in the country addressing u.s. forces gathered being departing south korea and arriving later in the afternoon in malaysia, becoming the first american president since lyndon johnson some 50 years ago to

visit that country. looming over the visit, of course, the tragedy of malaysian air 370, the country still reeling, but there are other issues on the agenda. trade among them. the president is pushing his trans pacific partnership opening up markets across east and southeast asia. also china is looming over the visit as it has over the first two legs and japan and south korea principally because malaysia is among the countries involved in a territorial dispute in the south china sea with no fewer than six other nations in that region. also on the agenda although the president isn't likely to bring it up in an obvious way, the human rights situation in malaysia. the opposition leader has been jailed on what many believe are trumped-up charges and they say there's an epidemic of police brutality in the country. sue sfwlan rice is expected to meet with opposition leaders.

so the president continuing his journey around east and southeast asia in kuala lumpur on saturday and sunday. it's the second day of the national rifle association's meeting. they gather in indiana with an estimated 70,000 people attending, but while all this is happening, there's a new milt tie-million dollar cam contain under way to cut back on the gun lobby. we have those details. >> this is a couple of students running out of the school. >> reporter: it's an old too familiar story. the gunman opens fires in a crowded public place. innocent people are killed. there are calls for stricter gun laws. gun owners and lobbyists push back. now a new group is trying to break the cycle. every town has a $50,000 donation from michael bloomberg, who is a vocal opponent of illegal guns. >> we're the only civilized country in this world with this

problem. >> reporter: every town strategies to bypass the politicians and focus on membership. they hope to win going state by state and the u.s. congress will fall into line, and it's deliberately targeting women and mothers. >> for a long time the gun lobby did a good job of making a vocal authority afraid the guns will be taken away. as a mother we're afraid our children will be taken away. ultimately that emotion is what i think will win the day. >> reporter: the murder of 20 young school children in connecticut in 2012 shocked the world. in all 20-year-old adam lanza shot dead 27 people including his mother. after the sandy hook shootings, several polls showed around 90% of americans supported expanded background checks on all guy buys, but the u.s. senate rejected legislation that did that. many people believe one organization was to blame. >> protectors of the second amendment. >> reporter: the national rifle association claims to have more

than 5 million members. it definitely has money. in 2012 they spent $3 million on lobbying the federal government. the president has declared it will fight any and all gun reform. richard feldman is a former political director of the nra and former gun lobbyists. >> the people of this country want to be in control of the country and not let the government dictate what the people shall and shall not do. >> reporter: both the nra and every town are counting on their members to turn out as single issue voters in future elections, but just ten days old, every town must may up plenty of ground in order to make an impact. al jazeera, new york. coming up next on al jazeera america, flash floods that killed almost 200 people in afghanistan leaving thousands looking for help.

>> as america strives for energy independence... >> we can't do it on just solar panels or some wind turbines... >> we look to alternatives >> you are sitting on top of a time bomb >> and the familiar... >> it's amazing what oil can do for ya...black gold >> and what are the human costs of the new energy boom? >> lots of men, and lots of money, your going to find prostitution >> people are just dropping like flies... >> we're paid with our lives... >> dirty power an america tonight special series only on al jazeera america five nato troops have been

killed in a helicopter crash in southern afghanistan. the british chopper went down in kandahar province. nato officials say they think it was a technical failure, but they're still investigating. there's no word yet on the nationalities of those on board. more than 180 people have been killed in flash floods in afghanistan. 5,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, but several villages are completesly destroyed leaving them nothing to go back to. that's why the afghan military is running rescue missions in the worst affected areas but say medicine and drinking water is running out. meanwhile farmers in colorado are fighting to save their crops. normal moisture levels haven't hit the southern part of the state in over a decade, and now farmers find an invasion of tumbleweeds. we have the details. >> reporter: this is not the desert southwest. at one time it was some of colorado's most productive land, but today about the only things left alive are cactus and

tumbleweeds. >> these weeds are some of the most abrasive things you can cut. >> reporter: russell bennett is responsible for keeping roads open in southeast colorado's crowley county. after over a decade of drought, his enemy is the tumbleweed. >> everybody sold their cows off and no cows ate the small weeds and we got rain at the right time and weeds shot up and there you have it. the perfect storm of tumbleweeds. >> reporter: he fights this skourj with the custom-built machine he calls puff the magic dragon. it annihilates tumbleweeds and spits them out in a fine dust. despite months of work, they still clog the roads. they start out soft and green like this russian thistle. after a while it dries out and grows into this monitor. each mother plant has 250,000 seedpods, and that's a lot of

tumbleweeds. this past of colorado includes oklahoma, new mexico and texas are experiencing the worst drought since the 1930s. normal rainfall is 14 inches a year. last year there were only 3. the dust bowl has returned. >> you cannot find any three and a half year period this dry in the history of this area with data going back to the 1880s. >> reporter: this is a quiet ranch? >> it is now, yeah. >> reporter: doug's family has ranched here for generations. >> this is always full of hay, this little pen here, and i had cattle on both sides. i fed cattle on both sides. >> reporter: what happened to them? >> we had to sell them. >> reporter: why? >> because of the drought. >> reporter: county commissioner gary gibson says ranchers are going under. >> i can't keep my cattle, so how do i keep my livelihood? if i can't keep my live lihood,

how do i pay taxes? the ripple effect for the economy in the area can be devastating. >> reporter: the drought was the hot topic in a parked room in the water forum, but nolan is hopeful the el nino warming some forecasters expect will finally bring rain. >> there's always optimism. you always think it will be better next year. >> reporter: back on county road k, russell bennett is in a never-ending battle with the tumbleweed. he knows without rain it's just a matter of time before the wind kicks them up and sends them his way. carol mckinley, al jazeera near ordway, colorado. a new exhibit of street artists opens up, but we tell you why the famous artist is calling it disgusting. i'm in new york. 50 years later the world fair has opened its ground in the hopes of preserving this icon. >> on the next talk to al jazeera

>> oscar winner sean penn shares his views on privacy rights, press freedom and his controversial relationship with hugo chavez >> talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america

good afternoon. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live in new york, and here are today's stories. u.s. troops arrive in eastern europe trying to guard against escalating tensions in ukraine. secretary of state john kerry spoke with russia's foreign minister today trying to agree on steps to diffuse the situation. meanwhile, festivities at the vatican where more than a million people are expected at tomorrow's canonization of two popes. john paul ii and john paul xxiii will being saints. president obama is in malaysia in the third stop of his east asian tour. trade and economy are expecting to be the top talking points. 20 years and counting. in 1994 south africa held its first free elections, and that was when all races voted. those were the votes that put nelson mandela into the presidency, and now south africa holding general elections in just two weeks. the world's fair has been hosted in places all around the

world including in queens, new york. 50 years later queens residents are still fighting to have that memory preserved. kalen ford reports. >> some places make you happy just to be in them. >> reporter: for the last 50 years it's a place that loomed large in richard post's life. >> the world's fair represents, to me, my childhood, an optimistic world that seemed to end in 1964. it was kind of about astronauts and science and chemicals and fireworks and everything a 10-year-old boy would want. >> even as the fairground's luster faded, richard's passion didn't. now he's leading the charge to have the worldcom to queens again. >> this started whole movement to do something with it. >> reporter: come they did by the thousands. people waited hours to get a glimpse inside the new york state pavilion this week.

first in line was elaine go goldstein who came to the fair. >> it's beautiful. i've been here several times. a lot of times, actually. my mother would pack up a box of sandwiches and send us off to the fair. it showed me there's a big world out there, different than i lived in. >> reporter: a big world once housed under a 50,000 square foot stained roof and now a modern ruin. it represented a vision of the future where there would be peace through understanding, a message that resonated during the turbulent 1960s at the height of the civil rights movement and less than a year after the assassination of president kennedy. long before the internet it was a way to showcase future technology and got trite like the personal computer. of course, some of products that debuted here didn't quite take off like the jet packs we were all supposed to be using to get

to work by now. how those jet packs would work in the underwater colonies we would live in wasn't clear. for many children like jim brown who came to the fair 16 times, these were an inspiration. >> it inspired me to do a lot of things i do today. building exhibits, doing graphics, all the things you see at a world's fair is what i went off and did throughout most of my life. >> reporter: the national trust declared the pavilion a national treasure this week. jim and other volunteers raised more than $4,000 to repaint it, but restoring it won't be cheap. >> about $41 million in capital money to revamp it and light it up and make it safe in this structure and around the pavilion. >> reporter: money well spent for those who spent their lives remembering when the world came to queens. >> today our work is basically to have people squint their eyes and imagine the way it was or the way possibly it will be. >> reporter: but the pavilion of

tomorrow has a long way to go before it's once again a symbol of a bright future. katelyn forde, al jazeera new york. a london exhibit called stealing bansky is showing his art. he calls it disgusting, but the show says it's interested in the long-term survival of graffiti. they plan to auction off seven pieces. that money goes to charities. the fountain of youth may be at the gym. at least that's what weshgd say about elizabeth smith who is one of the oldest members of this long island sports club. she's 100 years old and works out at least twice a week has done so for more than a decade. she says exercising improved her balance, agility and makes her feel younger. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. "101 east" is up next.

for news updates all throughout the day, head over to aljazeera.com. the ghosts of men and women fill the wards of government hospitals across india. they stare silently - suspended in limbo between the living and the dead. these patients are the infected - victims of a contagion so lethal it kills almost one and a half million