coming up on r t the sochi olympic games wore on with another day of action team usa spores a few more medals while a major russian figure skater has to bow out because of injury the latest just ahead and the golden state is struck with severe drought the recent dry spell in california could have huge implications for food prices across the globe more on the state's search for water coming up. and big news for bitcoin despite the recent obstacles the dismal currency is gaining more and more traction especially in germany a special report from berlin later in the show. it's

thursday february thirteenth on your i david washington d.c. and you're watching our team america. the winter olympics are underway in sochi russia this euro zone lympics marks the largest winter games in the history of competition both twenty eight hundred athletes from eighty eight countries and let's take a quick look at the medal count up until this point you have norway leading with a total of thirty thirteen medals and second place is the netherlands with well battles by the united states for the same number russia has a total of eleven medals followed by germany canada austria and sweden and for more on the games let's go to our correspondent paul scott who's in sochi. well despite the fact that some of america's biggest stars have so far failed to deliver here at sochi twenty fourteen including a skier bode miller speed skater shani davis and snowboarder shaun white the medals for team usa have started to come thick and fast particularly in the mountains of

krasnaya polyana in the first ever skiing slopestyle competition the usa secured a one two three in the men's competition they were gold silver and bronze on the podium located in farmington and kelly clark won gold and bronze respectively in the women's snowboarding half pipe meanwhile one of the main attractions for the salty twenty fourteen winter olympics is of course going to be the men's ice hockey competition in team usa played their first match in the arena which you can probably make out behind me here in the coastal cluster they were absolutely dominant in a seven one victory over slovakia their next match is against russia the hosts of course an intriguing much up for so many underlying reasons russia started their campaign in the bolshoi and you can see it there with a five two victory over slovenia however they were made to work for that when i was fortunate enough to be that they stormed into a two nil lead russia but slovenia showed real resilience it was three two going into the final period the final third however in the end the red machine's

a class in quality shone through as russia secured a five two victory so russia in the usa them when their opening match is here. twenty fourteen all eyes on the next march when they go head to head against each other however one of the biggest stories to emerge from the winter olympics so far is that if you have game he's the single he was looking to become the single most decorated figure skater in winter olympics history he was partaking in the men's figure skating individual event however he had to withdraw through injury now his career on the ice has taken its toll on his physical health he's undergone surgery no less than twelve times in recent years he even has a prosthetic disc in his back he fell in the warm up. to the long term injury forcing him to pull out not only of the competition but he's also announced his retirement from the sport is a bitter blow for him and also for russia that was our reporting and at this year's winter olympics athletes from around the world are competing in ninety eight

different events but instead of the emphasis. that's taking front and center the focus on sochi has seemed to lie i'll swear artie's on a saucer churkin a has the story. while the mainstream media pundits me keep acting like they're the hottest of all he speaks french look at people in reality the corporate news networks are struggling with ratings they lose credibility right because that's what media trades and that's their currency whether they're credible or not they're not credible people watching us have decided that if what they see is not what actually is they'll tune out leaving news networks to hastily search for new tricks to increase their dwindling audience according to public policy polling the self-proclaimed fair and balanced fox news network is trusted by thirty five percent of americans and as the news network nearly the same number of americans say they trust the least it's not entirely illogical to say that fox is the most trusted network by that very fanatical very small demographic within the

country but it's also a very loyal one so you have this this almost a seesaw effect where you know there's nothing really in the middle there are just extremes this is dubbed most trusted name in news c.n.n. recently hit a twenty year low in primetime ratings in the us they don't really represent anything other than breaking news when there's breaking news people flock to it but when there isn't where is the audience take that plus the business concern layoffs programming changes and attempts to gain power back have been unsuccessful former c.n.n. anchor larry king went as far as suggesting the channel just aired the cartoon sponsored bob square pants. on c.n.n. it is a mess in my opinion. no thanks to jeff zucker who could have just destroyed n.b.c. previously said they put him in charge of c.n.n. and the legislation and c.n.n. you know the u.s. version but the whole operation they're airing documentaries they have

a series i guess in the more damage say they were. day is good but he's certainly not news and b c is most recently under the gun for it's such a twenty fourteen olympics coverage critics say exclusive rights to broadcasting the games are to blame it's really the lack of depth in coverage then b c but they don't have to do a good job because there's nothing else really competing with them and so they could do a terrible job and still score ratings hits meanwhile other mainstream networks have been competing in the game of who can ruin the image of saatchi the most some of them pretty distressed and turning attention to any negative aspect that arises to toilets i buy that i and away from the actual sports the american newscasters will all say we just were just interested in the in the game it's all about the game we're not interested in anything else but then they introduce everything else into it to color that coverage and to in

a sense motivate the public to be hostile well networks like fox news and imus and d.c. cater exclusively to a specific mindset the real problem here is that people don't really want primary source on objective unfiltered or objective unfiltered news they want to have their own opinions validated by someone who seems to reflect their own world view the viewers themselves are often blamed for the quality of news programming ending up the fast food junk being that the average attention span as measured by the annenberg school in the universe of pennsylvania and the pew research center for the american t.v. viewer is about eight seconds the average attention span for a goldfish focusing on some stimulus outside his bowl is ten seconds one possible explanation for why some are still tuned in as that's coming that has a spouse just as you're going out. there and the nation's contributing editor stephen cohen joined our tease the big picture earlier to talk about that very subject take a listen to what he had to say about how this kind of coverage could disrupt u.s.

russian relations the coverage even in. the steam leading american newspapers seems to be virtually wishing for something bad to happen to spoil what they call putin's game and they have so demonized president vladimir putin of russia for so many years that when they talk about putin and then the terrorists they virtually equate the terrorist ira to articles in the washington post last week or a couple weeks ago i was sure who i was supposed to be rooting for putin or the terrorist and is that kind of. malice that has been embedded in this coverage of the sort of a game which is extremely unusual and of course it's very bad for america russian relations that was the nation's contributing editor stephen cohen. well if you live in the u.s. and take a look outside your window you're most likely seeing some snow from the deep south

to the northeast millions saw a winter blast of snow rain and sleet overnight but if you're watching the mainstream media of course you probably already know that. we start with an extreme weather alert a massive winter storm now flaming the northeast. breaking news the catastrophic storm that batter the south and now hitting the northeast as a full blown nor'easter developing into a full fledged or easter all the nor'easter is actually barreling up the eastern seaboard and millions of people up and down the east go straight to their home today. and while most news channels are covering the weather there are some other stories that deserve coverage like the fact that west virginia is now dealing with yet another spill involving coal slurry that has blackened six miles of a creek in the state's canal county but it seems west virginia is not the only state dealing with catastrophic spills and water contamination turns out there are several regions of the country that are working to clean up everything from oil to

coal coal ash artie's mega lopez takes a look at the damage that's wreaking havoc on communities across the u.s. . twenty fourteen has started off with one chemical leak after another dominating headlines all of them have had some type of environmental impact some of them have threatened public health check out this map cleanup crews are responding to spills from west virginia to hawaii one of the most pressing situations is the spill of one hundred thousand gallons of coal florrie into fields creek in west virginia the pictures are on believable six miles of the creek as well as half of a mile of the river are running black chemicals like arsenic lead and nickel are in the water and cleanup is slow the water is so murky that it doesn't look like water at all it looks like mud this spill happened almost exactly one month after freedom industries spilled thousands of gallons of coal cleaning chemicals into the elk

river poisoning the water for charleston three hundred thousand residents and just one life was getting back to normal in charleston announce that it will not reimburse west virginia for spill costs because it says the spill was not big enough or severe enough to warrant grant assistance under emergency declarations as for reimbursement from freedom industries not happening any time soon since the company filed for chapter eleven bankruptcy i'm sure you've heard of this next bill duke energy spewed eighty two thousand tons of coal ash mixed with twenty seven mil . in gallons of contaminated water into the dan river after a pipe broke it took six days to stop the leak and now we residents are being told not to eat the fish near the spill site something that you might not know north carolina's new governor pat mccrory worked for duke energy for nearly three decades before he took public office today federal authorities are launching

a criminal investigation into the north carolina department of environment and resources an investigative report by the associated press found that state regulators are shielded the company from lawsuits filed by environmental groups warning of this very kind of disaster instead of demanding for the energy company to clean up its act the state settled with the company for less than one hundred thousand dollars meanwhile in one known in minnesota a canadian pacific train lead twelve thousand gallons of crude oil while traveling over seventy miles on february third it was caused by either a valve or a count problem with one of the tankers cleanup is still underway and on february tenth the navy reported that it accidentally late two thousand gallons of oil e. waste into the hood canals it was moving oily water off of a submarine at the bangor naval base in washington by the next day the spill traveled ten miles north but that is not the navy's only leak in honolulu hawaii

last month the navy confirmed that up to twenty thousand gallons of j p eight jet fuel leaks from a tank at the red hill underground fuel storage facility they discovered a leak when a fuel operator noticed the fuel levels were low in one of the tanks the tank has been isolated and cleanup is under way finally to last the county kentucky a tanker truck spilled eight thousand gallons of gasoline after it lost control on icy roads two weeks later cleanup is still underway and some of that fuel into a nearby stream that feeds a local cave system making cleanup. re difficult and raising concerns of groundwater contamination now winter weather has made cleanup efforts at many of these spill sites very difficult so for now anyway cleanup crews must first deal with mother nature's disasters before getting to those man made ones that are taking place across the country in washington meghan lopez r.t. . and still ahead here on r.g.p.

california is faced with one of its worst droughts in decades and might even a sack to global food prices a look at the state's dry spell after the break. or some. other finish line that.

we welcome an era nathan abby martin to be sure because sunday our team network. is going to give you the numbers might give you one stock tip never i'll give you the information you make the decision don't worry about how breaking this war of the mind of ideas and consciousness frustrated with the system and streamline your politics would be described as angry i think i'm a strong. under single. says

. i've got a quote for you. that's pretty tough. stay where it's about story and. get this guy like you would smear that guy stead of working for the people all titians in the mainstream media or working for each other bribe writers digital. copy editors. a good writer. dramas the truth be ignored. stories others disputes the notes. say since changing the world. to picture to tastes based on data from roots to cliff.

the fact that. everybody go to do the job did you know the price is the only industry specifically mentioned in the constitution and. that's because a free and open press is critical to our democracy trek albus. role. in fact the single biggest threat facing our nation today is because we're taking the work of our government and our traffic the way we've been a hydrogen right hand full of transnational corporations that will profit by destroying what our polity father once built just by job market that on this show we reveal the big picture of what's actually going on in the world we go beyond identifying the problem. rational debate and real discussion critical issues facing america if i ever feel ready to join the movement then welcome to the big picture.

the drought in california is one of the worst weather related disasters a state has faced in decades and it could soon have an impact nationwide even president obama is this it in the golden state this week to highlight the significance of the dry spell parties are mungle endo shows us how the lack of water in the west could hit your pocketbook. it's nothing it's a dried there's nothing can grow in there it's a grim forecast for farmer and he demanded go any his field usually produce we have as bread this year's historic california drought may do much of his harvest but the drought here is probably going to cost our ranch in just the hard red winter wheat alone three to four hundred thousand dollars. because we grow about three thousand acres of wheat and will probably not harvest any of it california is considered the bread basket of the world and produces half of all the fruit vegetables and nuts

consumed in the u.s. as growers deal with diminishing water supplies the cost of produce will also likely spike nationwide. farmers and truckers stand to lose billions of dollars in revenue weakening the shaky economic recovery in america's most populated state usually this field is filled with green grass but this year because of the drought as you can see the ground is bone dry that force the reds are here to go out and buy extra hay and fruit just a fetus cattle all additional costs that will eventually be passed on to the consumer everybody's going to feel it and not only in food prices but in water prices to the situation is so dire in california central valley now i weigh signs remind drivers to conserve water instead of warning them about traffic delays we're looking at a disaster much like other portions of california experience earthquake or flood or

wildfire a drought and our area is every bit as devastating economically california as agriculture industry brought in forty five billion dollars to the state in two thousand and thirteen i don't fields could cost california up to five billion dollars according to the california farm water coalition the state is also warning that seventeen small water systems could run out of water within weeks california isn't alone in its water troubles us. one of agriculture has a clear drought disaster areas in parts of eleven states water managers throughout the region are being forced to tap other depleting water sources were relying on groundwater to make up as much surface water shortages as we can that means our groundwater aquifers are going to be decrease important thing that most residents of other parts of the united states states don't realize is how vital the same mocking valley is to meeting the food beads of the nation and the world.

it's going to be tough here. this dried out portion of the current river is symbolic of the drought crisis california is currently facing state and federal officials have promised to step in and help but without mother nature's cooperation several communities here in the golden state could see their speak at run dry in current county california among i mean though our t. . and a federal appeals court tuesday declined to halt the military's practice of force feeding guantanamo bay detainees on a hunger strike but at the same time the court said the door would be left open to legal efforts seeking to end the practice this was all determined by a three judge panel of the u.s. court of appeals in washington d.c. the judges refused to ban force feeding altogether they said for an immediate injunction it is not enough for us to say that force feeding may cause physical pain and they'd bodily integrity or even implicate petitioner's fundamental individual rights the judges also said that they could not bar the doctors from

following military orders in guantanamo merely because they might be acting in violation of their medical ethics however the appellate court held that the detainees should be allowed a meaningful opportunity to challenge the guantanamo for speeding and in doing so the court rejected two previous rulings that said the judiciary didn't have jurisdiction in the case john eisenberg a lawyer for get most prisoners called the ruling a huge win and a statement to r.t. eisenberg said the ruling establishes that the federal courts are authorized to oversee conditions of confinement at guantanamo bay and to prohibit abusive conditions and human rights violations there the decision allows us to continue our challenge to the detainees for speeding as unconstitutionally abusive which we intend to do u.s. authorities are no longer regularly disclosing the number of detainees on hunger strike but human rights organization reprieve estimates that thirty four men detained in guantanamo are on hunger strike half of whom are being force fed. and

they are city is drawing up new rules to regulate the virtual currency bitcoin and combat money laundering this is all after a large scale attack by a cyber criminals brought down several online exchanges but despite the obstacles the digital currency is continuing to gain ground artie's lucy cavanagh has the story. they've come to speak to me in the land to promote their vision of an alternative financial system and investors businessmen and curious citizens all gathered here in berlin for our conference on what they call it point of revolution it's the first digital currency that's not owned or operated by any sort of bank it's guaranteed payments without a middleman you can buy it with the real currency and online exchanges and that extract of option for those who think that today's financial system is in fact mean of an overhaul as people see how that point is used online and they see the

advantages these didn't transfer funds the security not having to see your personal data to make these transactions i think a lot of people see these advantages they tell their friends they tell their coworkers they want and they tell the merchants that they do business with and they expand the sphere of decline and that's a view that seems to be growing more popular nowhere is that more evident than right here in berlin in fact this neighborhood boast the highest concentration of businesses assumption the currency in the world is growing list of bitcoin establishment includes a record shop up for in-store a boutique and this bar. and here getting your hands on some bitcoins while the digitally speaking is easier than ever instead of buying them from an online exchange you can use this big coin a.t.m. to trade your euro's into bitcoins and use that to buy your happy hour drink therefore of course bitcoin isn't without risk and the past few weeks haven't been

too kind to the cryptocurrency apple remove the last native bitcoin wallet application from its app store and the currency saw its third mega crash in the past few months when the largest bitcoin exchange stopped customer withdrawals because of a glitch in the software of course that led the currency to lose value by a stunning twenty percent just for a day but it's a sign that bitcoin may have a long way to go before it's a safe bet reporting in berlin for r.t. and lucy catherine of. well you probably heard the expression out to lunch or on vacation when it comes to someone who is missing in action some would say that expression also seems to be fitting for congress which is seemingly becoming less effective and passing legislation the president takes a look at what congress is actually doing with its time.

congress and that a new record though for doing anything remotely good of it for taking privately funded trips as in trips paid by others who can then hold influence over the people writing the laws that affect our lives according to a new report by legit storm a capitol hill nonprofit last year congress and their staff broke the record for taking the most privately funded trips since restrictions were put in place in two thousand and seven under what is hilarious lee called the honest leadership and open government act. lawmakers and staff members made nearly nineteen hundred trips costing more than six million dollars in twenty thirteen israel it was the most popular foreign destination with more than two million dollars in private trips

financed twenty three members of congress and their staff went to ethiopia perfect days which cost more than three hundred thousand dollars california's john garamendi took trips that private funders paid for that totaled about seventy thousand dollars in one beer and minnesota's keith ellison took seven trips the most out of any of them and before you get all they have to travel to washington and back to the place they're representing. his trips were mostly to appear on a.b.c. news shows or at progressive institute event eleven trip. the whole reason congress tightened its travel rules in two thousand and seven was to limit the influence of lobbyists after the whole jack abrams scandal but this just proves nothing will stop the greed and perks train because you see members of congress can still go on trips that others pay for so long as they aren't registered lobbyists

but if they're affiliated with lobbyist organizations that's totally ok if that's the case with the american israel education foundation which helped pay for the more than two million dollars in trips to israel this year they're not a registered lobbyist themselves but they are of the elite it with the american israel public affairs committee america's pro israel lobby that's literally their tagline so see how that works congress makes a big speeches about how they won't be bought anymore and maybe with words like honest leadership but meanwhile they write the rules with enough loopholes in them to make a million not so gross it's enough to make me want to take a trip out of this country to tonight let's talk about that by following me on twitter at the rest.

while if you're a corvette fan you may want to look away right now because the following images are very disturbing a massive twenty foot sinkhole opened up a neat the national corvette museum in bowling green kentucky yesterday and it swallowed eight of the cars on display now most importantly no one in the museum no one was in a museum at the time when it collapsed which means no one got hurt the cars on the other hand weren't so lucky. calls that went under were among some of the most coveted by admirers of the popular sports car they included everything from one thousand nine hundred sixty two black corvette to a two thousand and nine white one point five million for that museum is set to celebrate its twentieth anniversary this september but needless to say instead of celebrating some corvette fans out there will be mourning. and that does it for now for more on the stories we covered go to youtube dot com slash r t america and check out our website r t dot com slash usa you can also follow me on twitter at

amir david thanks for watching. you know the united states has as many think tanks as the next ten countries combined yes one thousand eight hundred twenty eight takes to tell three hundred million people how to think. we welcome there are made in. two of the coast guard team network. it's going to give you a different perspective give you one star never i'll give you the information you make the decision. to go bring you the work it's a revolution of the mind it's a revolution of ideas and consciousness. extremely probably would be described as angry i think in a strong.