>> we are going to take a short break that news conference is going on in washington, d.c. right now. that is angela merkel and the president of the united states. we're going to take a break and be right back.

take a new look at news. hello and welcome back to al jazeera america. we are watching washington at

this hour, because all this morning german chancellor angela merkel has been meeting with president obama. there are two topics that are expected to emerge when the two leaders hold a news crisis in the next few minutes. one being the crisis in ukraine. much of it's a exports come from russia. and the eavesdropping on angela merkel's phone. libby casey joins us by phone right now. and libby, you have been tracking the developments that have been taking place. this is not going to be as smooth sailing as many hoped. >> reporter: good morning, del, as i talked to the german reporters, and we're talking about political scientists and scroll lars as well.

they say that angela merkel is a very polite leader. don't expect her to throw our fireworks live. but they said she will be speaking intense words behind closed doors to president obama over concerns not just about what happened prior, but also the obama administration's reluctance, unwillingness to turn over her nsa files to the german government. it does not look like we'll be seeing any development in an intelligence sharing or no spy arrangement that is something some hoped could happen but it does not look possible. the u.s. does not see a lot of value in the intelligence that germany could offer. so we may see some warmth between the leaders, but you can bet behind closed doors there are much stronger wordings. >> and with the situation in

ukraine, there was once that the two leaders stood side by side when it came to russia, and this time that is not a certainty. >> they realize that it would be in president putin's best interest to see daylight between what angela merkel and president obama want. however, they have different goals. germany is have codependant on russia when it comes to oil and gas, they do $100 billion in trade. and president obama pushing for much stronger sanctions and sanctions that have not yet hit the oil and gas industry. but even though they have different ultimate means to the end, they want president putin to listen. >> the hots on capitol hill

saying they want more action in ukraine, some suggesting even that there be boots on the ground, and yet it is the european leaders that are the ones that would have to suffer the consequences of those boots on the ground and suffer through the economic sanctions that the white and the eu have imposed? >> reporter: absolutely and chancellor america -- merkel has spoken to president obama more than any other world leader, and they are still trying to have those conversations, but she has to play to the audience back in germany, of course, and they have some grave concerns about how far actions or sanctions will go. >> i want to remind our audience we're awaiting a news conference that will take place at the rose garden, but you also did research about what angela merkel is angry about the nsa

surveillance that yes, the nsa was listening to the german chancellor's cell phone conversations. >> reporter: that's right. and this was something she was furious about. and this is her first trip to the white house since those revelations emerged. germans are still outraged by it, very concerned about it. and chancellor merkel was born and raised in east germany where they used means of information gathering, and that is a bitter and still a strong memory that many germans have. so they have some real concern about this eavesdropping that the nsa was doing. so that will be something she will be asked about as you see the two leaders come to the rose

garden and speak to the media, this will come up, and her tone publicly may be a little bit more diplomatic that in private. >> and some people say the sanctions that the united states is waging against russia is the new way of waging war. you are a veteran washington watcher, have you ever seen a time when the lines between east and west were so blurred because there are so many competing economic interests scattered across the globe that it's difficult to impose sanctions on one country without hurting an ally? >> reporter: and so many of the trade agreements have opened up the borders to create that cross-border ability to get goods and services, and the thought of that of course is that it's harder to do sanctions. and the economies are -- are very connected at a time when many nations are still doing their own economic recovery

process, it's not a time when many feel the ability to say we can only live by our principles and not also by our economic concerns. it's something that everyone is watching. now president obama and his team are saying the sanctions are working in russia, that there are already not just repercussions against leaders, but also because of the threat of sanctions, and that's discouraging companies from doing business there, and cooling the economy in russia. but if they want major shifts it will take the u.s. and the european union to be involved as well. >> libby casey stand by. we're going to get our audience caught up on some other issues. the unemployment rate now is at its lowest in 5.5 years. 280,000 jobs were created in april, and the unemployment rate

fell to 6.3%. that's the lowest it has been since september 2008, but the labor participation rate is just 63%, that means that two-thirds of americans are working and one-third aren't. also in ukraine, two helicopters shot down by pro-russian separatists using surface to aramis ills, and those are hardly the weapons that would be used by the so-called citizen army. it happened in the eastern city of slaviansk today. now two people are dead and the tensions are rising. jonah hull has the latest. >> reporter: video posted on the internet purports to show what the residents of slaviansk and the pro-russian separatists who made the eastern city their base

woke to at dawn. the ukrainian army launched what it called a large-scale anti-terrorist objective. to form a blockade around the city. some separatists said they were ready to fight. >> translator: i will fight with whatever i have. if not a rifle, then i will fight with my hands, and strangle them so they won't mess with my land. >> reporter: the two helicopters were shot down allegedly using surface to aramis ills something kiev points to as evidence of russian involvement on the ground. this man is said to be a survivor from one of the helicopters, a ukrainian soldier apparently being cared for by separatist supporters. >> translator: there was another helicopter shot down. we tried to approach it, but then we decided to save at least

one pilot. he was abandoned by his own people. >> reporter: in the city center, the mood was extremely tense. video posted on the internet shows the self proclaimed mayor of slaviansk offering a message of support. >> translator: our town has been attacked. our town has been stormed. are losses. i'm asking children, women, and pensioners not to leave their homes. and men who have weapons to help do what they can. well, i think we'll be able to defend our town. >> reporter: defenses were reinforced at times it seemed with the help of civilians. >> translator: in case they break through our roadblocks, we're trying to build a different line of barricades on several parallel streets around the center, and rebuff the attackers here. >> reporter: this is video released by ukraine's ministry of defense, purportedly of preparations for friday's dawn assault. it is unclear how much ground

the army has taken around slaviansk or how effective its attempt pd blockade of the city is, and unclear also what it plans to do next. meanwhile, secretary of state john kerry is in south sudan today just announcing that both the president and rebel heard there are now willing to meet. kerry says without an immediate solution that country could be facing genocide, that follows similar warnings from the united states. anna ka vel has more. >> reporter: this conflict began back in mid-december. it was a power struggle really that overspilled into con digit -- conflict when the president and the form president split. now people are being killed along ethnic lines. the whole situation is escalating rather dramatically.

and that's what brought john kerry here today. he said he has been very frank in his discussions with the president and he told the media the president had agreed to discussions with the leader of the rebels. the president said he was willing to meet with the heard of the rebels. we department know if the rebel leader would agree to this discussion, but john kerry was hoping to talk to him later on today. there is a united nations peace-keeping force which has here for years. they are looking at increasing that by several thousand soldiers, but just second quarter told us there needs to be a new un mandate before the solders could come into this country. he hoped that could happen in the next few weeks.

also another day of bloodshed in syria to tell you about. 18 people were killed when two car bombs exploded. 11 of the victims were children. the latest in a series of attacks in the area this week. we are watching washington at that hour. we are expecting a news conference between angela merkel, the german chancellor visiting washington for the first time since the nsa leak came about. we're going to take a short break. we'll be right back. american tv news today. >> entire media culture is driven by something that's very very fast... >> there has been a lack of fact based, in depth, serious

journalism, and we fill that void... >> there is a huge opportunity for al jazeera america to change the way people look at news. >> we just don't parachute in on a story...quickly talk to a couple of experts and leave... >> one producer may spend 3 or 4 months, digging into a single story... >> at al jazeera, there are resources to alow us as journalists to go in depth and produce the kind of films... the people that you don't see anywhere else on television. >> we intend to reach out to the people who aren't being heard. >>we wanna see the people who are actually effected by the news of the day... >> it's digging deeper it's asking that second, that third question, finding that person no one spoken to yet... >> you can't tell the stories of the people if you don't get their voices out there, and al jazeera america is doing just that.

again we are waiting a news conference between president obama and angela merkel concerning two topics, the crisis in ukraine, and the nsa eve dropping scandal. libby casey is in washington at that news conference. libby everybody kind of expects both of these leaders to be speaking from the same script today. >> that's right. because they would like to show some unity in the face of ukraine even though they have very different objecttives. the u.s. would like to see stronger sanctions placed on russia, but germany is very economically tied to russia.

they did $100 billion in trade last year alone, so they ultimately have different methods of try tolling get what they both want. chancellor merkel has been talking to president putin often, so the white house sees her as a bridge with president putin. just how they go about achieving the ends is really in question. >> is it believed that both parties will be on the same page when it comes to military options concerning ukraine? there are those on capitol hill saying there must be a military solution, but europe doesn't seem to have the stomach for that.

>> reporter: the focus at this point is on sanctions. it's not popular with the american public or the german public, so the focus right now is how can they best use sanctions and get on the same page? >> and this talk of boots on the ground, how is that playing in washington? is there a sense that the white house isn't doing enough when it comes to sanctions or is there more of a sense this is just political rhetoric on capitol hill? >> it is always more comfortable to be on the one on the outside agitating for change. but this isn't the first time this has happened for the administration. if you think about the crisis in syria, and the calls for intervention by some, and the calls for hey, wait, let's talk this through and not go anywhere near military solution there.

so you are not likely to hear that as a purpose of today's meeting. >> and is there a sense among the people you talk to on capitol hill that the crisis in ukraine is on american crisis? after all it is far, far away, and we are not directly effected economically by it. >> actually yes. many people on capitol hill do say they have a vested interest as americans, but also because of the close history of world war ii, the success that americans and others saw in rebuilding some of these countries. so it is seen to be a very important area of the world. you'll hear chancellor merkel addressing some of these issues, and acknowledging the reality that russia holds its own

economic cards and that is significant in terms of the economic issue. >> i was curious to read so many newspaper headlines that indicate there is a difference of opinion on both sides of the pond when it comes to the issue of the nsa. from the united states standpoint it appears that that was yesterday's news, but it is a very hot topic in germany. >> americans have focused on the revelations that edward snowden's document leaks have revealed, the germans are so much more focused on this particular slice of this. the fact that the nsa was eve dropping on angela merkel and other german leaders. so there is a huge focus, you can expect the german press to be asking a lot about this. and angela merkel is aware that

her audience back home will be watching. this is a big issue for germany. it was seen as the major breach of the relationship between u.s. and germany, between president obama frankly and chancellor merkel. >> and we should set the stage for our audience that we'll be watching this news conference. there will be two news conferences take place. one being the american reporters asking the american president more questions about ukraine. but also the german press asking a lot of questions of angela merkel and president obama about the nsa spying scandal as this will be their first opportunity to ask about that issue. >> that's right. this is the first time that chancellor merkel has come to

the white house and you can expect that you will hear questions about this. you will hear the white house talking about how they are reevaluating things. there are other issues as well. trade is a huge issue, a very big deal for the german press. so you may here questions about that. but the germans are also very questioning about ukraine and what the next steps are, both from the perspective of politics but also what it could mean to industry, and german businesses. >> reporter: libby casey stand by, we are going to take a break. i might also point out that it is nice to see the sun is shining in washington as yesterday it looked like a man named noah might need to build an arc. we're going to take a break. president obama and angela merkel will be speaking from the

white house shortly. we'll be right back.

you are looking at our live continuous coverage of the anticipated press conference between angela merkel and president obama at the white house. the two meeting this morning for about four hours discussing a wide variety of issues, including the nsa listening in on her cell phone conversations, and the ongoing crisis in ukraine, and russia calling for an emergency meeting of the un security council that set to take place in about five minutes in new york. the number of missing in nigeria is rising. the government now saying 276 girls are missing. kidnapped from their school last month, and that is much higher

than first reported. officials still don't know where the girls are. >> reporter: there has been a lot of misinformation and confusion since this attack took place on the school on april 15th. initialally, let's remember the military said 129 girls had been on abducted but within hours they were contradicted by family and some of the schoolteachers who said it was 230 girls missing, and now this latest development, the police saying that in fact more than 300 girls were kidnapped and 276 are still missing why the confusion? the police say on their part there were some students who came to that school that it is for exams. and it is starred to say how many attended the school full-time and how many showed up

just for exams. we have one civil rights organization claiming that the girls have been taken across the nigeria border into countries like cameroon and chad by their abductors. the same organization say ps that the girls -- some have been forced into marriage, and some have been sold for as little as 12 usd. but that has not been independently a verified by any official sources. we do know having spoken to some sources in the military that there is an operation underway to try to find them, and there's a search going on in a forrest which is not far from where the incident took place. but no official lines about exactly where they are. and that's why they are really still missing. hundreds of people have been injured also in a subway accident in south korea. a train was stopped at a station in seoul when a second train

then slammed into it from behind. 200 people were hurt, but none of their injuries is said to be life threat engineer. more than a million users use that subway system in seoul each and every day. we are awaiting a news conference between german chancellor angela merkel and president obama. we're going to take a break, and we will be right back.

>> everest is 29,000 feet high. the peak is more than 10,000 higher than the base camp, and hello i'm del walters in new york. we are watching washington at this hour. we are awaiting a news conference between president obama and german chancellor angela merkel who arrived in town today. the two have been meeting for about four hours. among the topics said to be on the table, the nsa and also the german response to the crisis in ukraine. our libby casey is there right now. libby set the stage for us. are expectations for this meeting between these two leaders high? >> well, del, i wouldn't say they are high, but it is a pivotal moment and an essential time when these two