. >> abc's alex marquardt in ukraine with the very latest on this crisis. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning, john. tension is building here on the crimean peninsula in southern ukraine where pr pro-russian gunmen are taking charge. this morning, the so-called defense units descended on the two airports of this region including the one in the capital simferopol, which is still working as normal. yesterday, armed groups stormed and occupied the parliament building and ran up the russian flag. you have to understand this part of ukraine is mostly ethnically and culturally russian. many would like to see it as a part of russia. ukraine's interior minister said today on his facebook page that he sees these actions as "a military invasion and occupation by russia." for the first time since this crisis in ukraine began, president vladimir putin of russia has commented on it saying russia is looking into providing assistance to crimea and later today in russia we will finally get a glimpse of ousted ukrainian president viktor yanukovych at a press confer

alex marquardt, abc news. karkiev, in eastern ukraine. >>> there is political unrest in venezuela. a country where inflation is sky-high and shelves are often bare. a retired venezuelan general has become the rallying cry. for those who oppose the president. the general sported a flak jacket and a rifle as he addressed dozens of neighbors from the balcony of his home. >>> it looks like the u.s. army is about to get much smarter. defense secretary chuck hagel is reportedly planning to shrink the army to pre-world war ii levels. despite the cuts, "the new york times" says the proposal coming out today promises that the military will remain the most capable in the world. it would no longer be able to maintain prolonged foreign occupations. >>> boat traffic stacked up this morning after a 65-mile stretch of the mississippi river was closed over the weekend. it happened after an oil barge hit a tow boat. they don't know how much oil was spilled. >>> some sports history from the nba. last night, jason collins became the first openly gay player to play in any of the four major u.s. sports

abc's alex marquardt tonight. >> reporter: the scenes are apocalyptic. indonesian villagers fleeing in terror as the volcano erupted, spewing rocks and searing hot, toxic clouds of ash for miles. at least 16 people are dead, deaths that might have been avoided. the 8,500-foot mt. sinabung had been erupting for four months. with lava pouring down and ash blanketing the ground, tens of thousands had been evacuated from the area. but on friday, 14,000 were allowed back. the situation deemed safe enough. the next day, it blew. sinabung is one of around 130 active volcanoes in indonesia, part of the pacific's so-called "ring of fire." rescuers are now digging through the ash searching for more victims. alex marquardt, abc news, london. >> stunning images tonight. >>> there is still much more ahead on "world news" this sunday evening. the man to fell to earth, literally. tonight, you get to see what it really looked like from his view. the new heartpounding go pro video of his jump coming up here. >>> and later, second thoughts. what author j.k. rowling is rev

>> alex marquardt with us again tonight. alex, thank you. >>> and to another country in chaos this even, venezuela. up to a million people in the streets this weekend, as many families there can now not afford food and medicine. tonight, family members here in the u.s. demonstrating, too. pictures from miami and los angeles tonight. hoping the world will pay attention. and this evening, we team up with our partners at fusion, right there amid the unrest. mariana atencio with the families now unable to put dinner on the table. >> reporter: it's been 12 straight days of violent clashes here in venezuela. on one side, student and the middle class. on the other, police and pro-government groups, followers of the party of anti-american president hugo chavez, who died last year of cancer. why are venezuelans so fed up? in a word, the economy. most citizens simply want to be able to go to the store and buy basic goods. but some basic necessities in venezuela are so rare that it's started to resemble cuba. just gotten word there's f

alex marquardt, abc news. >>> there is political unrest in venezuela. a country where inflation is sky-high and shelves are often bare. a former general addressed dozens of neighbors from his home in eastern caracas. >>> it looks like the u.s. army is about to get much smarter. chuck hagel is reportedly plans to shrink the army to preworld war ii levels. they promise that the military will remain the most capable in the world. it would no longer be able to maintain prolonged foreign occupatio occupations. >>> a stretch of the mississippi was closed over the weekend. a barge hit a tow both. they don't know how much oil was spilled. >>> some sports history from the nba. last night, jason collins became the first openly gay player to play in any of the major sports. >> he signed a ten-day contract yesterday and was on the floor facing the lakers. >> i'm usually urks like, the background, one of the background players. it's weird, obviously, this, but at the same time, it is what it is. and, it's part of life. >> collins said he was too busy learning plays

abc's alex marquardt. >> reporter: what we saw here today was a revolution for the second time in a decade ukraine has ousted its president sending shockwaves from washington to moscow and dealing a massive blow to putin's russia as jubilation on the streets in kiev as protesters took control of kiev and president was impeached after months of protest against him. almost 100 killed. kiev's square has been the bloody battle ground for the protesters who want an end to corruption and rights abuses to become closer to and more like europe and the u.s. yanukovych who has kept ukraine closely tied to russia has fled the capital. he refused to resign today. comparing the impeachment to the nazis coming to power. this afternoon crowds streamed out curious ukrainians streamed into the sprawling compound. >> i can't believe such place can exist in ukraine. >> reporter: on its golf course and they found this club with his initials engraved. >> imagine all the ranges of corruption that happened in ukraine. it's crazy. >> reporter: nearby, a zoo with ostriches and peacocks. a garage with dozens of ant

abc's alex marquardt in the region. what should we make of these talks on hold? >> reporter: the bottom line is we are as far away as ever for my sort of peaceful solution. the opposition says there no point of having another round of talks unless getting rid of bashar al assad. the ree seem says the focus should be on what is ending terrorism on the other side. thousands of syrian refugees pouring across the border and fleeing some of the worst fighting of the war. the question is whether diplomatic efforts are dead. no date has been set for more talks and the chances are looking increasingly slim. david. >> alex, thank you. >>> back here at home and to an ecemotional and brave moment from an actress. she revealed she's gay but went much further describing the pressures of hollywood right down to what was said about her sweat pants. aditi roy. >> i am here today because i am gay. >> reporter: that bold state from hollywood actress so moving, her audience rising to their feet. >> and because maybe i can make a difference. >> reporter: with tears in her eyes, the

here's abc's alex marquardt. >> reporter: a bloody battlefield.ms americans enjoy. >> basic rules of all what you have and all what you were fighting for 200 years ago. we are fighting for this today. >> reporter: a truce was announced, a glimmer of hope. but all hopes were dashed by the sounds of this. gun battles raging in the center of a city just a three-hour flight from london. from our hotel window, we can see the deadly work of snipers on both sides boldly picking off their opponents. one by one by one. bullets then flew into our hotel window. i was just sitting on that side of the room working on my laptop when suddenly there was a loud bang. glass shattered everywhere. i hit the floor and when i turned around, i saw bullet holes in the wall. the death toll climbing. the lobby of our hotel transformed from this into this. a bloody field hospital. check-in desks, carpets can, now used by medics, fighting to save lives. are you surprised at the level of violence? >> yes. i'm terrified of that. i don't know, can i save ukraine. it is somethin

alex marquardt, abc news. >>> national security adviser susan rice says the u.s. remain. focused on finding those responsible for the attack in benghazi, libya that killed ambassador christopher stevens and three other americans. without providing specifics rice said the u.s. has made progress in the search for the perpetrators. rice came under heavy criticism for her initial comments about the attack. >>> the taliban in afghanistan says it has called off talks over a prisoner exchange which would have freed u.s. soldier bowe bergdahl. sergeant bergdahl was captured in 2009. he was last seen on videotape in december. taliban blamed the complex political situation in afghanistan for halting talks. >>> for the most part former president george w. bush has avoided the spotlight since leaving the white house but he's now going public with his new pet project, helping veterans. in a rare and exclusive interview, an emotional mr. bush sat down with abc's martha raddatz to express his concern that too many u.s. vets are unimpld employed. >> reporter: for you, mr. president, it h

abc's alex marquardt is there and joins us on the phone. good morning to you, alex. >> reporter: good morning, josh. it is very tense here. that standoff under way right now in the parliament building. dozens of armed men have stormed it and raised the russian flag. this comes as russia put fighter jets on the border on combat alert part of a massive russian military drill that has been criticized by the united states. meanwhile, the whereabouts of ousted president viktor yanukovych have not been confirmed in moscow. he had asked for russia to help in ensuring his personal safety which they have provided. so it is a highly combustible situation here in ukraine. josh? >> again, with updates through out the morning. alex, thank you. >>> we have breaking news from the korean peninsula. we told you at the top of the show. word that north korea has fired four short-range missiles off its coastline near its border with south korea. the missile launch is an apparent protest of the joint military drills being conducted by the u.s. and south korean f

those armed men according to alex marquardt, our colleague in that region, no insignias on their uniform kind of command structure. radio, well armed, well organized. there were rumors flying about they might have been sent from russia. but it seems more likely that they are local cadres coming to the rescue of a region they think is in danger. >> definitely trying to send a message. meantime, we are going to hear ed from foblt ub from the former ukraine president this morning as he's under threat from a new investigation from swiss prosecutors. >> reporter: well, this is a man whose gigantic corruption has been exposed for all the world to see. the pictures of his home were frankfully disgraceful. but he is still the constitutional head of that country he says and he is determined to win russia's backing for a try at power. the situation here is a tinder box. george? >> thanks very much. >>> let's get today's other top stories from josh. >>> new concerns now about a story we brought you yesterday. a radiation leak at the nuclear waste facility in new mexico. investigators now admit that