on their website to appeal to russian americans before the election finally the smoking gun right and the network confirmed they made an offer to trump just like they did to a bunch of other popular people we welcomed international celebrities joining our social network we invited donald trump to create a v.k. account like many other celebrities but the media all but pushed those facts of the side choosing instead to focus on the young the exact himself one outlet said they became manager represented a new point of direct contact between an influential russian and advisors to trump not really sure if influential is the way to classify this guy however. the media are also pointing out that the v. k. executive has taken photos of trump and a separate event after one with president putin well apparently that didn't impress the trump team they didn't reply to the network's request. we never received a reply from donald trump's representatives it is absolutely ludicrous and it is

part of the nature of how our media has covered this entire story for this entire year and planned to continue to do for months and months and months as long as it keeps their ratings elevated because it's russia that's why this is so exciting to the media and a way for them to store up a story that is absolutely basis and yet another one of hundreds of hundreds of stories that have been and will continue to be nothing but sensationalism and russia phobia you know something i stories continue here when i see international and just. know russian flood will flow you have the twenty year winter olympics but there will be russian athletes. the russian national anthem will play out during official

ceremonies but founds will probably acappella rendition you can take the athletes out of the country but can you take the country out of the athletes. who put themselves on the line. to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president. wanted. to go on the bus this is what before three of the more people. interested in the war.

back to joining us here on r.t. twenty two thousand americans are dying every year by overdosing on prescription painkillers and now the country's national safety council has launched a campaign over what it's calling the worst drug crisis in u.s. history. every one of those little girls represents a person lost. and i want to tell you about my son to the age of eighteen someone who prescribed a medication. none of us the consequence of which i asked my son age twenty four the story of the case. because a doctor. that the doctor knew what he was doing i never actually thought about my

diction. now it's really treating see things more it's like this can happen to anyone this can happen to you. don't let it. in sixty four out of one hundred cases misuse began with people using opioids that would not prescribe to them that's a link to the fact almost two thirds of americans don't know that sharing opioid medicine is illegal and national safety council program manager tested ben and believes the problem is now out of control it was recently declared a public health emergency and many organizations like the national safety council are taking action to find solutions and save lives it's a multi. massive problem which is why the national safety council developed our stop every day killers campaign opioid pain medications were involved in about a third of struggle overdose deaths last year and overprescribing is definitely

a factor and so we're taking measures like implementing opioid describing guidelines educating our doctors and nurses but most importantly starting a campaign like this to educate the public about their breasts we have less than five percent of the world's population but we consume more than eighty percent of the world's supply of opioids and so it's a huge problem here in the united states everybody has a role to play including our government to begin to implement solutions that are going to save lives and help us and this crisis. force has warned it will shoot down any drones including american ones if they violate the country's airspace it comes just two weeks after the u.s. reportedly conducted its latest s. strike on the country's border with afghanistan we will not allow anyone to violate our airspace i have ordered the pakistan air force to shoot down drones including those of the u.s. if they enter our airspace violating the country's sovereignty and territorial

integrity pakistani officials u.s. drone attacks are doing serious harm since two thousand and four almost a thousand civilians are believed to have been killed by the strikes including a number of children we spoke to talat masood a retired three star general in the pakistani army he notes islam about i don't you to washington is changing. in the last the united states has been playing a good cough game but. one says something positive the other gives strong traits in the past the drones have been attacking targets. but haps the approval of the government of pakistan but in the possibly a couple of years the government of pakistan has not provided any such approval of the united states should actually and its options because it has been using pakistan as an ally and if. it would be detrimental to the peace

in the region. meanwhile force chief is also questioning whether the decades long military engagement by the us in the region is even helpful so while i'm on also slammed washington's track record on promoting democracy abroad. no outside power can engineer democracy inside a country nor is democracy the solution to every problem examples in iraq and libya are in front of us after the fall of gadhafi and saddam what happened in this country's did they get democracy it is a syria currently and of course yemen afghanistan iraq all of these countries they have lost the stability and they are in serious problems in fact at the moment there are some scribes in the new york press in the washington press who are predicting that if pakistan doesn't go the line of the united states of america if

syria like situation may be created over here because pakistan cannot allow its very cream to be used by others to engineer in the name of democracy and me farcical moves which will destabilize the country. and finally this hour here on arts he there are times when you can't help but be inspired the following is the story of a russian man whose experience of paralyzing injuries after a paragliding crash didn't see him give up but rather lead to a life of helping others find their way through similar chores. he used to fly along the cost. i have bought a motor for that. but unfortunately because it was filled with preparing for the flight our facts and down. broke my neck coming very high level three for

thirteen years ago that accident changed to romance life to rafa the from a military pilot turned businessman was left paralyzed with a whole new world of difficulty yes i realize that usual wiltshire is not suitable for me. only my my head is walking around so i'm not walking in and get a life. together with my friends body we may care will chair which is suitable for me which is fairly balanced in a wheelchair if your goal down stairs. just down the heel. seat after my to can only keep the horizontal position. from rome and the success of his business comes second to giving opportunities to people with disabilities and he is not the only one to share that view and his native

kaliningrad company can group raw builds specialist equipment for people with disabilities to be used in sports parks. once i receive the comment on my instagram accounts from alexander horribly of where he wrote to build facilities for healthy people why don't you think about creating something similar for this able people so together with alexander and using his experience as he was a coach for the russians let it go live back to we worked out a whole series of sporting facilities especially the decayed disabled people the company now distributes to over thirty countries swell and russia as targeting small city sewer access to a healthy lifestyle is not always easy. wisest at the moment sport is becoming more and more available to does able to people and it's a good thing it's a sport for us because it hadn't happened to anyone it's important that people and the society will support disabled people and accept them and make life around them more comfortable. than a question arty kaliningrad and we are back very soon. credit

is one of the basic instruments to drive an economy but it can also lead to tragedy i did there i took out a loan the whole just i can't. and that that the text i came and in this. many lives have been broken. the banks got you into trouble. big bank. goldman the bank i didn't think. people see know the future bad things happen you know you become ill you do to your relationship breaks down you become a casualty is nice along. the way those actually come to a bit of you know would like to ditch. the skin.

so there's no those all important as a person but he is important in those far as is leaving. cause a risk in the regime falling apart so indeed the americas are so much less to have him leave folderol from time to time they keep saying at the so in the end i think most countries are accepting that he will stay.

there's a boom bust broadcasting around the world from washington d.c. i'm bart she'll be filling and then the on in the coming up the wildfires spreading across california could keep it awfully and in u.s. history our chief correspondent we reported more for us from los angeles and the jobs report is out and it is good two hundred twenty eight thousand jobs were created in november and the unemployment rate remains unchanged at four point one

percent coming up will take a deep dive beyond those numbers with danielle de martino booth now let's get to the stories topping today's political and business headlines. in just a few months eighteen thousand will face up with the justice department in court over its attempt to buy time warner and the trial will begin on march nineteenth but a decision isn't expected to be handed down until after april.