the allegations first surfaced last october in a report from josh bern tee bernstein from als investigativet. here is a portion of that report. >> los angeles. a city where fame and infamy go hand in hand. >> tax credits work. >> here, everything seems larger than life. including its politicians. that's state senator ronald calderon. he is one of california's most influential lawmakers and he's the target of an ongoing federal investigation. according to a sealed affidavit obtained exclusively by al jazeera's investigative unit, the senator is for sale, willing to exchange information for money. as part of an elaborate undercover sting, the senator was approached and paid off. >> they had to establish bank accounts. they needed a business license. so it's a very extensive lengthy operation. >> senator calderon allegedly wanted his family added to the payroll. he allegedly told the agent, anything you can do for my kids are diamonds for me. at the pebble beach resort, the senator attended an event. lined with the state's most influential lobbyists. calderon is still rubbing elbows and raisin

>> senator, i'm josh bernstein. from al jazeera america. tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for supporting legislation? >> that's a -- like i said i'm not going to answer anything right now. >> ron calderon has plenty to answer for now. if convicted on all 24 counts he could spend the rest of his life in prison. the charges carry a maximum sentence of nearly 400 years. he's expected to turn himself in to federal authorities on monday. jennifer london, al jazeera, los angeles. >> it is up to arizona's governor whether or not to sign a bill that would allow business owners to refuse to provide service to gay customers. republican jan brewer had a couple of days to decide whether to approve it. critics say it could lead to discrimination. a similar bill in the kansas state house earlier this week. lawmakers in several other states are debating the issue. up next: moment of truth in ukraine. a deal is signed, in ukraine, now that the deal is in front of them demonstrators will not go home. and the presid

here is the exclusive report filed by al jazeera investigative reporter josh bernstein. >> los angeles. a city where fame and infamy go hand in hand. >> tax credits work. >> reporter: here, everything seems larger than life. including its politicians. that's state senator ronald calderon, he is one of california's most influential lawmakers and he's the target of an ongoing federal investigation. according to a sealed affidavit obtained exclusively by al jazeera's investigative unit the senator is for sale. a politician willing to influence legislation in exchange for money. as part of an elaborate undercover sting, fbi agents posed as owners of an independent film studio. they approached the senator and allegedly paid him off. >> they had to establish bank accounts. they needed a business license. and so it's a very extensive, lengthy operation. >> reporter: senator calderon allegedly wanted his family added to the payroll. according to the affidavit he told undercover agents, any help you could do for my kids, that's diamonds for me. so the agents hired his daughter. they paid her al

correspondent josh bernstein caught up with him as calderon was arriving at a five-star resort. >> excuseme, mr. calderon. we were hoping to ask you questions about your ongoing legal problem go i'm here for a conference, i'm not going to talk discuss that. >> the fbi alleged that you've accepted 1 hup thousand dollars in bribes in exchange for legislation. >> if convicted on all 24 counts he could spent the rest of his life in prison. the charges carry a maximum sentence of 400 years. he's expected to turn himself in to federal authorities on monday. jennifer london, al jazeera, los angeles. >> the democratic leader of california state senate calling for calderon to resign or at least to take a leave of absence. >>> westboununited auto workerss appealing the vote at volkswagen chattanooga, tennessee, plant. the union is claiming outside interference including anti-union comments by senator corker. >>> producing 800 million plant in central mexico on friday more than 200,000 cars will be assembled there every year. 200,000 vehicles more than japan, and there will be more cars made in mexi

. >> reporter: correspondent josh bernstein caught up with him as calderon was arriving at a fiv five-asar resort. >> we were hoping we could ask you about your ongoing legal problems. >> i'm here for a conference. i'm not going to discuss that. >> the fbi allege that you have accepted 10s of thousands of dollars in bribes in return for supporting edge. >> like i said, i'm not going to answer anything. >> reporter: ron calderon has plenty to answer for now. he could spend the rest of his life in prison. the charges carry a maximum sentence of 400 years. he's expected to turn himself in to federal authorities on monday. >> the democratic leader of california state senate is calling for ron calderon to redesign or at the very least to take a leave of absence. the united auto workers union is appealing last week's vote at volkswagen tennessee plant. the union is now claiming outside interference in the vote by comments from tennessee senator bob corker and is asking for a new election. >>> a car producing powerhouse. honda started production at its plant in central mexico on friday. more th

josh bernstein caught up with him. >> excuse me senator. how are you, josh from al jazeera. >> how are you, good. >> we are wondering if we can ask you about your ongoing legal problems? >> i'm here for a conference, i'm not going to ask yo discuss. >> the fbi alleges you accepted thousands in bribes. >> i'm not going to antibiotic anything. >> ron calderon has plenty to answer for. if convicted he could spend the rest of his life in prison. charges carry a maximum sentence of 400 years. he's expected to turn himself into federal authorities on monday. >> the democratic leader of california's state senate is calling for ron calderon to resign or take a leave of absence. >> a federal judge in chicago ruled that gay couples shouldn't have to wait until june to get married, went the law allowing same-sex marriage goes in effect state wide. couples lined up for licences within an hour of the ruling. in arizona, legislation allowing business owners to refuse service is just one step away from becoming law. the state legislature passed the measure