coming up on our t.v. sins and words snowden revealed the expansion of the n.s.a. surveillance many and tried to discredit him among them capitol hill lawmakers attacking both snowden and the reporter that helped them what this could mean for journalists and their sources ahead. and since news broke about the death of actor philip seymour hoffman the dangers of heroin is back in the news in afghanistan the heroin business is booming now lawmakers in washington are trying to figure out how to stop the flow of heroin into the u.s. more on this front on the war on drugs coming up. and we're only two days away now from the start of the winter the sochi winter olympics athletes are gearing up from

around the world to compete and represent their country it's a preview of the preparations from sochi later in the show. airs wednesday february fifth eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our team america. hacking the hackers for the first time a western government has launched an attack on hacktivists at least the first that we know of according to documents leaked by former n.s.a. contractor edward snowden and obtained by n.b.c. the british intelligence agency called the government communications headquarters launched the attack on members of the hacker group anonymous the type of attack method used in this case is a denial of service attack or d.d. o. s. as it's known it's the same method hackers use themselves here's our works the

hacker uses a network of zombie computers to take down websites by overwhelming traffic to the targeted site anonymous has used this technique against government agencies and corporations the activists have targeted sites like pay pal and amazon to retaliate against their participation and blocking funds to wiki leaks now it looks like the spy agency of the british government wants to give anonymous details of their own medicine the documents show that the government group infiltrated chat rooms where anonymous members get together aiming to scare off about eighty percent of the hackers but some people think the government to get too far here and that british spies may have crossed the line on citizens freedom of speech that's because the hacker group often targets sites for political reasons that actors say they are engaging in civil disobedience not terrorism meanwhile

edward snowden the man that brought all these revelations to light is the target of debate on capitol hill and one of his biggest critics representative mike rogers the chairman of the house intelligence committee he came down snowden for stealing the secret documents but it's not just snowden he's out there he's also speaking out against journalists that work with him. so if i'm a newspaper reporter for fill in the blake and i sell stolen material is that legal because i'm a newspaper reporter right if you're a newspaper reporter and you're hocking stolen jewelry it's still a crime and if i'm mocking stolen classified material that are not legally in the possession of for personal gain and profit is that not a crime i think that's a harder question because it involves a news gathering function could have first amendment implications it's something that probably you better answer by the department of justice. after that hearing

rogers zeroed in on air particular reporter it's all politico that investigative journalist glenn greenwald was a thief for selling government information at the time greenwald published the leaks he worked for the guardian now here freelances for various news organizations and continues to publish information leaked by his source he maintains that he never sold the documents and has been tweeting up a storm since the accusations he tweeted maybe there is something that has become pretty sick about d.c. political culture if the idea of prosecuting journalists is now this mainstream. more debate journalists and their sources i spoke earlier to journalist and wiki leaks spokesman kristinn hrafnsson i first asked him what he thought of the accusation that journalists who publish snowden leaks are committing a crime. believe absolutely ludicrous and nothing new though lou this has been going on escalating for the last three years since weeklies and of course with all

explosive revelations it is going to shoot the messenger and in effect to criminalize journalism. it's absolutely outrageous if this were to come from james clapper who lost for being lied to congress which is of felony and nobody's talking about bringing him to justice which he should i mean he committed perjury was his can be mean up to five years in prison and you had mentioned that this is a way to go after journalists this language that we're hearing from people like clapper and journalists glenn greenwald shares the same sentiment as you want to bring up this tweet related to this he says quote the main value in bandying about theories of prosecuting journalists is the hope that it will bolster the climate of fear for journalism now chris and we saw the same attacks against julian

a songe for publishing leaked documents on his website wiki leaks i covered the bradley manning trial extensively there and this was one of the big issues that came into play what similarities do you see kristen between the two cases. well as you remember i mean there was an attempt to to bring weeklies into the. case against manning. in effect and there was an attempt to basically. create a case who were weaklings could be tried for a bridging the espionage act of nine hundred seventeen as it was as it sounds and let's not forget that the the investigation into wiki leaks and into julian the science is still ongoing it has been going on for now three and a half years. secret grand jury is still not rationed in the us under the geneva of

course this is an intimidation attempt against a journalist and against proper journalism and we have seen this escalating expects dreamily serious tendencies there and this is something that all journalists have to take into account and to finally stand together and push back against these attempts because this is extremely serious. now mike rogers the representative we heard from earlier really been at the forefront of launching these accusations and he actually went as far as to say that. actually you know what let's listen to this exchange between. at this hearing yesterday a question that was directed to the chairman of the defense intelligence agency mike flynn do you believe that. there's any indication

that the n.s.a. contractor who is now in moscow might be under the influence of russian intelligence services chairman i don't have any information to that effect excuse me. so rogers they're really trying to get some added ins that snowden is in fact working for the russians what do you think about this kristen about this claim that snowden is working for the russians now despite i mean we heard there at least we didn't hear any evidence yesterday in this hearing. of course we didn't have any any evidence because that is no evidence which was due to show just this but this is a feeling that has been going on for quite some time until as you know since last summer that somehow this all has been a big conspiracy it goes as far as conspiracy theory that three and a half years ago weekly leaks greenwald and snowden planned the entire events of

last year and all of this is supposed to be plotted cooked up with. the f.s.b. and russia and putin's friends syria's people are putting forth these these these drage is fairies conspiracy theories without any any evidence with any proof whatsoever and i have to say you know to it too to listen to mike rogers. is this is a person who in an open session in parliament claimed that a person's privacy that was not a violated if the person didn't know that his privacy privacy had been violated this is the kind of politician we are dealing with here so it's hard to take this from a guy seriously to be honest i'm going to ask you because i know well what roger that what he would say and those that hold similar beliefs as him as i you know

what if you work with classified information and you have taken this elliptical bit of credit at this is violated it could pose a threat to national security where the fame the fame thing there and the manning case when it comes to regular leaks i want to ask you your response to this argument which we can hear time and time again. well i've said this repeatedly we have to go to the basic principles here and the basic principle is that whistleblowers have to rely on their rights and even their duty to set aside lesser laws when a higher ideals are at stake and that in the instance of edward snowden in the instance of manning we are talking about the us congress constitution we're talking about international laws on on the on war we're talking about war crimes so you have. a right and almost a duty to set aside lesser law when when these high ideals are at stake this

gives whistleblowers the right to to bring whatever contract they are under they are exposing wrongdoing but what we talked about earlier was of course a different scenario where those who are criticizing the whistleblower outright whistleblowers are trying to maintain that the journalists working with whistleblowers. have committed a crime and this is something so serious that i don't think that the you have heard anything like this in the other states since the mccarthy era in of the fifty's so this is a serious serious situation we're dealing with you and i just want to ask you. roger as a man that is really a line tangled activation has and has really been at the forefront of that what would you say to head. well. i would have to take some courses you know and freaks and reasoning us as a duty or

a guy who says that somebody some some versions of privacy has been violated if he doesn't know it has been violated it is just that i don't understand you have to you know do you really think that you would in your entire unit six and your message will be easily. used that you would have. approved of these position standing in such a powerful position as he has in the house i have a feeling we're going to hear a lot more from him and a lot more debate on this issue appreciate you coming on the show and weighing in that was wiki leaks spokesperson kristinn hrafnsson said when it comes to cyber security it looks like the u.s. may be vulnerable this at a report just released by a senator tom coburn they report details the federal government's track record on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure the mistakes made by key u.s. agencies are alarming most of them seem to be careless and sloppy here are some

common cyber failure as are revealed agencies have failed to set adequate passwords by using obvious words that you can easily gas like the word password itself failure to change those passwords update software install firewalls these weaknesses according to their report put everything from the electric grid to the financial markets at risk well this is unsettling for the very offices that are supposed to be in charge of security we are after all talking about the department of homeland security and other agencies like the nuclear regulatory commission and the i.r.s. coburn hopes this report will shed light on some of these vulnerabilities so agencies can make the appropriate changes. now to pakistan where the number of u.s. drone strikes have dwindled over the past two months according to officials the

drop is due to our request from the pakistani government to curb the strikes as they are in peace talks with the taliban and it looks like the u.s. is listening you can see the number of strikes has gone down drone strike deaths were reported during the last four months of two thousand and thirteen but in january this year no deaths were reported and in afghanistan president hamid karzai has also been working on peace agreements with the taliban that's happening apparently without the input of the u.s. are to correspond marine aparna has more on the secret talks one of america's longest and most expensive foreign investments is turning into one of its greatest obstacle the u.s. intervention in afghanistan. has essentially created a new taliban movement far more powerful you know no comparison really with the taliban that existed before going to have occurred before the u.s. intervention in afghanistan

a matter of fact as the taliban and afghan president reportedly remain in secret talks about reaching a peace deal washington's future in the country after twenty fourteen remains in limbo president hamid karzai still refuses to sign a long term bilateral agreement with washington and last week that the afghan leader cited poet percy shelley when describing the painfully streamed relations with america i believe the best way to summarize this is to put it in the words of shelley the great british port i met murder on the way the whole twelve years was one of constant pleading with america please treat our civilians respectfully and treat their lives as the lives of people. the u.s. has reportedly spent more than ninety billion dollars on reconstruction and relief in afghanistan adjusted for inflation that's more than any european country received after the second world war however journalist gareth porter says in this case no amount of money can buy love what the united states has accomplished in its

escalation of or in afghanistan or is or the exacerbate the tremendous increase in anti american sentiment and a large part of that of course was the use of night raids of on people's homes knocking down doors in the middle of the night and antagonizing hundreds of thousands. who was travel a friends neighbors were affected by this tactic and it's tremendously and tell you know is the afghan population that is going to be a problem that will affect u.s. national security for many decades to come in the year to come victory for the u.s. may turn out to mean leaving afghanistan in the same circumstance it was when it was invaded. marina porton r.t. new york. but out of the death of acclaimed actor philip seymour hoffman has

highlighted the problem heroin abuse prescription drug abuse as on the rise and heroin is seen as an easier and cheaper alternative in the u.s. most of the heroin on the black market makes its way from mexico so it's a rising problem on the border but heroin trafficking is also on the rise in afghanistan it was the topic of discussion today on capitol hill and a hearing on counter-narcotics operations in afghanistan here as aaron logan from the office of the undersecretary of defense describing the threat of afghan heroin in the united states. with the governor of vermont issuing his state of the state speech focused entirely on vermont exploding heroin and opiate problem we have to realize because when there is a possibility that afghan produce heroin will become more available across the united states. and the u.s. has spent billions of dollars and battling drugs in afghanistan but have there been

any real results i was joined earlier by anthony cordesman the aurally aber chair and strategy at the center for strategic and international studies and i asked him if he could elaborate on how drugs are fueling unrest in afghanistan if you made on roads that afghanistan it's clear that this is a primary cause so if you have is as i said if that's the forces that are the allied forces pull back you have seen and taken taliban that today against the afghan forces what you did see in the u.n. survey is that there's been a fifty percent increase in production in opium this year and you've expanded the area under cultivation by nearly a third of the extent that there is always tension between the drug lords and powerbrokers that kind of violence sort of goes on

a steady level but when you look at the actual farming in the production of opium getting it out of the farm out of provinces like helmund that's not really a major cause of violence and rage. ok but you know you mentioned of fifty percent increase in the production of opium we've spent billions of dollars on fighting this and putting an end to this how is it possible that so many resources have been directed at something at you know receding arriva being produced. well you're talking about expenditures overturn the years and then extremely erratic program when the special inspector general for afghan reconstruction feels as not been affected one that the u.n. data indicates is really very very little real impact what you see over time is not that these programs much impact but for example last year

people that originally predicted a much higher increase in production would have production what happened was the rains weren't very good and to the extent there isn't a limitation on opium output it had nothing to do with counter drug programs what you did do at one point was push the growth of opium out of the north out of the east where there was a much stronger troop presence and then to the south where you had more talk about in control but for example last year you saw areas that had been previously drug free at least according to the estimates producing again and as you say more and more troops pulled out of afghanistan. and to be blunt has a very corrupt police force been the only real barrier you're almost certain to say

a lot of those areas which were supposedly giving up drug production take up drug production again that was anthony cordesman the arly a chair in strategy at the center for strategic and international studies. now to texas where a woman was x. acute it just moments ago fifty nine year old suzanne basso lost the last minute appeal to avoid execution by lethal injection she was convicted of a brutal murder in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight accused of being the ringleader of a group of six people that kidnapped and beat a disabled man to death for money but her lawyer has raised questions over her conviction her defense argues that a key witness was not presented and that she has suffered from mental illness she denied a final statement she is the fourteenth woman to be executed in the u.s. since nineteen seventy six executions of women is rare they account for just over

two percent of death sentences according to the death penalty information center there are eight other women on texas' death row. oh we are just two days away now from the opening of the ceremonies in the winter games in sochi the head of the international olympic committee has a message for world leaders who are using the games to score political points here's his take we are grateful to those who respect the fact that sports green only contribute to development and peace if it's not used as a speech for political dissent or for driving to school points internal or external political countries drugs or political leaders we see her visit courage to address your disagreements in a peaceful direct political dialogue. on the backs of the athletes. for

the games russia has build new venues around sochi to host the events are. as more. the olympic hopefuls in bumps lady and skeleton will be chasing the dream here at the sun sliding center. the movie cool runnings say lose retelling of the true story of jamaica's bobsled team could perhaps resonate here in sunny salt but i've always wondered how do they get the shape of the track to be the way it is and also how do they get it so smooth while i found the answer today and it takes manpower to actually call out of the shape of the track and once that's done this big baby here comes into action and what it does is it works sort of like

a vacuum machine so it's something up all the ups the thighs off of the track and then smooth stood over the causes of for us in russia to have three upward slopes which help to slow speed and keep athletes safe but competitors can still clock up to one hundred and thirty five kilometers an hour and getting to try to level takes a few calming tools and educated confidence i wasn't making my way all the way to an olympic track without testing my carving skills so i dig in. and this is how we get the tracks native. well it could kill it really isn't as easy as it looks so you really need men like a here who know what they're doing has been trained to do what they're doing right now to actually cover all of the ice now twenty seven of them including jamia hell

will be at during the olympics basically taking care of this entire tribe making sure the bop sleigh and the sledge and competitions go exactly the way it is because a truck is too big to get through the narrow lanes it's done the old fashioned way with this new shovel and a broom. for russians speeding down snow we use is a fun out of growing up and that's why this being new has been called sunday the russian word sledge mom would say at the sign peace license and time. oil no how care in this country is expensive and the debate rages on over how to pay for it tonight's resident looked at drug maker bayer is new cancer fighting drug that could cost a pretty penny. there

pharmaceuticals has a new cancer drug called nexavar which is effective in cases of late stage kidney and liver cancers in the u.s. if you need to take nexavar for a year it will cost you about ninety six thousand dollars so not only would you be suffering from a terrible disease you'd also need to jobs at america's per capita income just to cover the cost of the drugs you need to save your life that's bad enough in india a year's worth of next of our will cost you about sixty nine thousand dollars which means you need about forty five jobs as india's per capita income that's obviously unattainable bayer's c.e.o. marring decker's said recently had a in the us you can get the drug for like

a hundred dollars but most insurance co-pays and as for how expensive it is in india he had this to say we did not develop this medicine for indians we developed it for western patients who can afford it i got that he was very clear that the drug was developed to make a profit from people with money who have cancer not people with no money who have cancer that is american corporate greed speaking in plain english now since many people in india could benefit from the drug company there is making a knock off of it at a ninety seven percent discount and of course bayer being a corporation with the mentality of having profits be the most important thing is all that's left if you can't make drugs like ours. there's a profit from it the whole american pharmaceutical industry is actually up in arms about it saying things like if india keeps behaving like this we're going to cut them off from all of our drugs so maddening i mean i get that it costs

a ridiculous amount of money to make these drugs and that companies need to recruit the development costs but we're talking about making things that save lives from cancer here not making shiny new i phones it shouldn't cost that much to make the drugs in the first place and it certainly shouldn't cost that much to take them money should be taken out of the equation in general when it comes to saving lives but nope here in the us it always comes down to money only in america what a c.e.o. say with a straight face that his cancer medication was only for rich people the real cancer in the story is the corporate greed that's eating away at our morality so night let's talk about that by following me on twitter at the resident.

before we go don't forget to tune in at nine pm for at larry king now tonight's guests are tia and tamera mary of the twins you may remember from the ninety's sitcom sister sister they talk about their new reality t.v. series and much more is a peek. do you ever wish you want to swim. here you don't know anything else to put right what i want of when do i know when we do we ever wish we weren't told we're a new and. my name the only one i know never wished i was i wasn't i'm so happy i'm a twin i love being a twenty you have a built in best friend i think one of the main reasons why you have it will demand any trees or twins for you to get out it isn't necessarily mean you're an enemy. yet i mean we went through a lot of our milestones a lot of our trials and tribulations together and so if you love that built in

support system but again at the same time you do fight for your individuality and the older like two minutes but people say would you have guessed that. i ever could have either larry that's going to do for now i'm not liz wall have a great night. and a society. i'm sick corporation trying to. do i'm trying to get. all the money and i was sick for a politician right in the last. just too much.