our relevance, our influence is on the decline in the world because as jonathan karl brought out look at what is happening in egypt. egypt has completely dismissed us because we went in and supported the muslim brotherhood obama administration did. in russia signing a security agreement with them. libya is a mess. we destabilized that area. red line of syria meant nothing and iran continues to march on having nuclear capability. china is expanding its naval influence as a regional members of the juriment. the president doesn't get it when the president doesn't talk about zero subgame. obviously he never ask had the experience i had. i saw east berlin and sought other side it is a zero subgame for a person like vladimir putin who wants to restore the old soviet union. >> when he landed in holland he was interviewed by a dutch newspaper and translated by "the washington examiner" in dutch in which he says in the united states after two wars we are moving towards a leaner military. any problem with him saying that to the dutch? >> yeah. i think it's a huge problem. any good strategic mil

now, receiving it. >> better late than never. >> reporter: jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >>> and tonight, a note about something that is busting family budgets in this country. the rising price of groceries. we learned the price of food ticked up last month. it's expected to rise as much as 3.5% this year. that's the biggest spike in three years. and it's caused by drought out west. >>> and now, new details in the death of fashion designer l'wren scott. her long-time boyfriend, mick jagger, broke his silence. and we are learning new details that could hold clues to the confounding tragedy. here's abc's maura schiavocampo. >> reporter: from the famously private mick jagger, a very public outpouring of grief. this afternoon, posting a tribute on his website, to lost love l'wren scott. i'm still strugging to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way. monday, 49-year-old scott, jagger's partner of a decade and successful fashion designer was found hanged in her apartment of an apparent suicide. leaving friends and family struggling to figur

jonathan karl asked the question we're all asking. influence diminishing, when the president is mutt on the world stage in europe to talk about what we need to do. he scolds europe for not having big enough militaries. now is not the time, it is what it is. we've been through two dix wars, we need a leaner military, what weaker sentiment, it ass weakness and equivocation as putin readies for whatever the next step he's going to take. >> the president came out in the same q & a, it was a tense exchange. >> it was. he said, look, the reason that russia is doing what it's doing in advancing is because it's operating from a position of weakness, not from a position of strength, the answer for -- on our part is not to come out guns blazing. and by the way, there's no appetite for that among the american people, it's to do what we're doing. >> it's not about guns blazing, no one's advocating for military action, when you say, we would never take military action under any scenario, you take a card off the table that putin recognizes and unde

here is abc's jonathan karl. >> my guest today is barack obama obama -- president barak obama. >> theardoned a turkey in 2013. what do you have planned for 2014 pz. >> probably pardon another turkey. >> so what about dennis rodman? and are you sending anyone else. what about ton why harding. >> zach, he is not our ambassador. >> obama appeared on the show for one reason, to push people to enroll in obama care. >> let's get this out of the way. what did you come here to plug? >> i think it is fair to say, i didn't be here with you today if i didn't have something to plug. have you heard about the affordable care act? >> oh, yeah, the thing that doesn't work. why would you get the guy that created the zune to develop your website. >> it works great now. millions of americans have got plans. most young americans right now are not covered. i'm going to press this. >> don't touch that, please. >> will this get young people to sign up? more than 6 million people have watched the video. and 19,000 went to health care.gov. >> you've been shooting these shows here in the diplomatic room? who g

abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl has been talking to his sources and starts us off right now. >> reporter: behind a smiling vladimir putin today in sochi, at the opening ceremonies of the paralympic games, reports from ukraine, his grip tightening on his prize crimea. russia ignoring pleas to halt its invasion. warned america to back off. saying hasty, poor thought-out steps, including sanctions, would quote boomerang against the united states itself. president obama's latest hour-long call to putin achieved little. putin may have obama in a bind, not just on this crisis in ukraine but on the biggest foreign policy challenges facing the president, including the bloody civil war in syria and the rush to stop a rising nuclear iran. in those cases, putin is a central player, capable of helping or hurting america. obama is seeking sanctions for those responsible for russia's military incursion into ukraine, but the white house refuses to say whether putin himself will be targeted. >> -- rogue operators in russia that are doing this. so, it sounds like you're describing

abc's chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl, tells us. >> reporter: the arrival had all the trappings you would expect of a presidential visit to the vatican. but this is a different kind of pope. >> wonderful to meet you. >> reporter: and the 2 spoke for 52 minutes, one of the longest between a pope and an american president. visibly energized by the encounter, the president gave the pope a chest containing seeds from the white house garden. >> some seeds for the garden. these, i think, are carrots. >> reporter: the pope gave the president a copy of his papal mission statement decrying poverty. president obama said he would read it in the oval office when he is frustrated. >> i am sure it will give me strength and will calm me down. >> i hope. >> reporter: while the two men don't see eye-to-eye on social issues, like abortion and gay marriage, they have clearly formed a bond in other areas, especially in seeing fighting poverty as a moral responsibility. >> i was grateful to have the opportunity to speak with him about the responsibilities that we all share to care for the

jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >>> and staying in washington, now. today, the gloves were off there, amid allegations of spy games. senators accusing the cia of spying on their work. tonight, the justice department is investigating. and abc's jeff zeleny takes us inside the heated battle. >> reporter: the cia, portrayed in the movie "zero dark thirty," trying to squeeze secrets from terror suspects. >> you give me the information i need. >> reporter: but today, the spy agency is accused of spying on the u.s. senate. infiltrating computers used by the senate intelligence committee. >> i have grave concerns that the cia's search may well have violated the separation of powers principles. >> reporter: the fireworks stem from a senate investigation into the cia's secret interrogation techniques used after 9/11. senate staffers were invited into an undisclosed cia office to review thousands of documents. it was there, senator feinstein says, the cia secretly searched her staff's computers, removing documents. she says nearly 1,000 pages went missing. cia

abc's chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl. >> reporter: president obama held an emergency meeting with world leaders today to turn the heat up on russia, the russian military ominously added to their forces on ukraine's border. there's now 30,000 russian forces there. 10,000 added just over the past week. and nato's u.s. commander warns, they could invade at any time. seizing not just eastern ukraine, but another part of the old empire, too, moldova. >> the force at the europe/ukrainian border now, to the east, is very, very sizable. and very, very ready. >> reporter: today, president obama, here to discuss preventing nuclear terrorism, pledged to stand with ukraine. >> europe and america are united in our support of the ukrainian government and the ukrainian people. >> reporter: and tonight, russia has been suspended from the elite group of eight top world powers. now, it's the group of seven, no russia anymore. vladimir putin says his troops on the ukrainian border are there for military exercises and nothing more. but u.s. officials i have spoken to just don't believe t

. >>> and i want to bring in abc chief white house correspondent jonathan karl, so jon, tell us where we stand at this moment, does the white house believe that russia has invaded ukraine and does that require a military response? >> well, look, the white house is not saying that, the president referred to reports of an invasion, but make no mistake, diane, you wouldn't have seen the president of the united states come out on national television and make a statement like that if he had any reason to doubt that the russian military is behind what we are seeing in ukraine. but there's no discussion of u.s. military involvement. >> but the president talked about response and costs. so, what will happen next? >> they're deeply concerned about this, the president said very clearly there will be costs. you heard that in terry's story. but, look, they haven't specified this. one thing to look for, the russians are hosting a major summit of eight of the top world economies in june, in sochi, russia, the united states could boycott that and so could european nations. that would be big deal to

for more on all this, abc's jonathan karl. >> reporter: white house officials say what concerns themly what is going on on the ground in ukraine, putin seems to be operating from his own set of facts. in conversations with president obama and with german chancellor angela merkel, putin talked about russians in ukraine being under attack, having their churches burned down, homes raided. they say there is no evidence that is happening. as one official told me, he has his facts, we have ours. with that, u.s. officials are drafting what could be comprehensive sanctions on russia. these would be the first sanctions on the russian government since the end of the cold war. jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >>> the tensions in ukraine are giving investors the jitters. markets here and around the world plunged on monday. though they did recover from the steepest losses as the days go on. the price of crude oil fear that russian oil through the ukraine might be interrupted and that could lead to higher gas prices at the pump. >>> prospects for middle east peace talks appear slim, altho

here's abc's jonathan karl. >> my guest today is barack obama -- president barack obama. >> reporter:he strangest interview ever? >> you pardoned a turkey in 2013. what do you have planned for 2014? >> we'll probably pardon another turkey. we do that every thanksgiving. >> reporter: and then what about this? >> did you send ambassador dennis rodman on your behalf? are you sending hulk hogan? >> zach, he is not our ambassador. >> reporter: zach galakanakis, is known for "hang over"movies. obama appeared on the show for one reason, to push people to enroll in obamacare. >> let's get this out of the way. what did you come here to plug? >> >> i think it is fair to say, i didn't be here with you today if i didn't have something to plug. have you heard about the affordable care act? >> oh, yeah, the thing that doesn't work? why would you get the guy that created the zune to develop your website? >> healthcare.gov works great nows and millions of americans have already gotten health insurance plans. most young americans right now are not covered. i'm going to press this. >> don't touch that,

abc's jonathan karl reports. >> reporter: as president obama held an emergency meeting with world leadershe heat up on russia, the russian military ominously added to their forces on ukraine's border. pentagon sources tell abc news, there are now 30,000 russian forces there, 10,000 added just over the past week. nato's u.s. commander warned they could invade at any time, seizing not just eastern ukraine but another part of the old soviet empire, moldova. >> the force at ukrainian border to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready. >> reporter: president obama here to discuss preventing nuclear terrorism pledged to stand with ukraine. >> we are united in our support of the ukrainian government and the ukrainian people. >> reporter: russia has been suspended from elite top of eight world powers. now it's a group of seven. vladimir putin says they're there for military exercises and nothing more. officials i've spoken to just don't believe that. one official said, we have every reason to be skeptical for what the russians are saying. jonathan karl. >>> coast guard officials are t

. >>> i want to bring in our chief correspondent, jonathan karl. working this breaking story on a saturday night. we heard the president from 24 hours ago warning putin. now we learn of this phone call. do we know anything about what was said? >> reporter: white house officials told me the president called on putin to withdraw russian forces back to their bases. according to to the white house the language used in this call was tough. the president called russian's action a clear violation and breach of international law. in terms of what he could do about it, the president raised the possibility the u.s. would cancel participation with russia. in upcoming meetings including that bick summit in sochi in june. >>> you mentioned military options were off the table. does that remain the case tonight. >> absolutely. there is no discussion with u.s. military involvement whatsoever. >> john, thank you. >>> now to our other big head line, the fierce weather coast to coast. heavy snow and ice battering the middle of the cut and moving east at this hour. ou

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: in a solemn reminder of the costs of european wars, president obama laid a wreath in honor of americans who died to liberate belgium during world war i. >> this hallowed ground reminds us that we must never, ever take our progress for granted. >> reporter: later, the president accused russia of threatening the order that has kept the peace in europe for 70 years. >> russia's leadership is challenging truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident. that in the 21st century, the borders of europe cannot be re-drawn with force. that international law matters. >> reporter: while he said the ukraine crisis cannot be solved militarily, the president also drew a line, saying nato countries, including those nervously on russia's border, will be defended at any cost. >> in that promise, we will never waver. nato nations never stand alone. >> reporter: today, a leading russian politician responded to president obama's suggestion yesterday that russia is just a regional power, saying, quote, "russia was, is, and always will be a global power. meanwhile, th

he was in amsterdam yesterday for a nuclear summit, but when abc's jonathan karl asked him if moscow isn't now america's biggest geopolitical foe, the president was dismissive sending a message to moscow. >> russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out of strength, but out of weakness. russia's actions are a problem. they don't pose the number one national security threat to the united states. i continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in manhattan. >> the president also admitted that there was little the west can do to force russia out of crimea. he heads to rome tomorrow for a meeting with the pope. >>> the white house extending the deadline for some people applying for health insurance. anyone who has started an application before the march 31st deadline will be able to finish it. no word on how long the grace period will be. the administration predicts a crush of applicants in the last hours could cause a computer traffic jam. >>> all right, listen to this. margarita

ambassador, today the moment that surprised even the chinese and abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl on it all. >> reporter: it's not quite the ping-pong diplomacy that preceded nixon's visit. but first lady michelle obama kicked off her trip with a little table tennis at a high school in beijing. with the president back home, the first lady along with her daughters and her mom are on a five-day tour, building goodwill and seeing the sites. checking out the forbidden city. in a surprise, china's president greeted the obamas. this, after their guide for the day was china's glamorous first lady, herself a longtime chinese pop star. she proclaimed an instant bond with mrs. obama, although it's the first time we have ever met, she said, it feels like we are old friends. unlike laura bush and hillary clinton who both pressed human rights on their trips to china, the white house says that mr.s obama will shy away from issues that might be controversial with her chinese hosts. >> jon, thank you. >>> we turn now to your money tonight. your tax return. with tax day approaching, a startling wa

and i want to bring in abc's chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl. jon, what are your sources inside the white house saying tonight about what they think president putin will do next? >> reporter: well, tonight, the president is meeting with his national security team. and what concerns them, diane, is when it comes to what exactly is going on in ukraine, putin seems to be operating from an entirely different set of facts. in conversations with the president and with german chancellor angela merkel, putin talked about russians in ukraine being under attack. saying their churches were being burned, their homes were being raided. but u.s. officials say there's simply no evidence that any of that is going on. as one top official told me just a short while ago, he has his facts, we have ours. so, with that, u.s. officials are now working on drafting comprehensive sanctions against russia. diane, if these are imposed, these would be the first sanctions on russia, on what was the soviet union, since the breakup of the soviet union and end of the cold war.

are now receiving it. >> it's better late than never. >> reporter: jonathan karl, abc news, the white. >> definitely, definitely better late than never. those men finally have their due. it was prompted by a law passed by congress in 2002. they had to review all the potential discrimination cases that were controversial and the pentagon came up with 19 men that didn't receive their medals. >> 17 latinos, one african-american and one jewish soldier. >> finally they got their due. >>> coming up, ladies, if you're not getting results in your workout, you might want to act like a dude. >> we'll tell you what guys do at the gym that may help women tone up. >>> ahead in our next half hour, under pressure. feels like your body's overdrive when it comes into stressful moments. what's really going on? we'll check the vital for the guy with one of the highest pressure gigs on the planet. you're watching "world news now" now. ♪ walk like a man talk like a man ♪ >> reporter: walking like a man might not be the eastest idea for a woman but working out like a man can actually be pretty beneficial.

abc's chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl, now. >> reporter: as russia tightened its grip on crimea today, issuing russian passports to those who live there, president obama warned, vladimir putin may be preparing to go further. >> the world is watching with grave concern, as russia has positioned its military in a way that could lead to further incursions into southern and eastern ukraine. >> reporter: the president announced more sanctions. this time, going right at vladimir putin's inner circle. hitting his chief of staff and long-time confidant, sergei ivanov. as well as russian billionaires close to putin. and a bank so tight to him, it's seen as putin's piggy bank. and there could be more to come. >> this is not our preferred outcome. these sanctions would not only have a significant impact on the russian economy, but could also be disruptive to the global economy. >> reporter: within minutes of the president's announcement, russia slapped its own sanctions on nine american officials, including two top obama aides, and republican senator john mccain and house speaker

jonathan karl asked the president if governor romney had been correct when he said, principal adversarys. of russia. here is president obama. >> a few months ago, you were asked what is the biggest geo political threat facing america, you said russia, not al qaeda, you said russia, the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the cold war has been over for 20 years,. neil: of. >> reporter: and the president's senator today. >> that russia is number one geo political foe. truth that america has a lot of challenges, russia is a regional power, that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors not out of strength, but out of weakness. lou: president there in my view squandered an opportunity opportunity, while standing center stage, among the world's leaders. it was an opportunity for the president to -- policies and his perspective to the world view. to explain his strategy and important of the relationship between russia and the west, to acknowledge. that his rival in 2012 for presidency, had been correct in his judgment. and putin. imagine if our president h

jonathan karl has more. >> arrival had all the transportation would you expect of presidential visitcan. but thinks a different kind of pope. and 2 spoke for 52 minutes one of the longest private meetings between a pope and american president. visibly energize by the encounter the president gave the pope seeds from the white house garden. pope gave the president a copy of his mission statement about poverty and the president said he is in the oval when from us straitd. >> is. >> while the 2 men don't see eye to eye on social issues like abortion and gay marriage they formed a bond in other areas especially fighting poverty as morale responsibility. >> i was grateful to have the opportunity to speak with him about the responsibility that we all share to care for the least of these, the poor, the l political alliance with the pope. >> his job is a little more elevated we are down on the ground to dealing with the often fame and he's dealing with higher powers. >>reporter: traveling with the president at the vatican, abc news. >> coming up next. mack world conference in san francisco. o

jonathan karl on this fast moving action there tonight.ssia tighten the grip on crimea issuing russian passports to live there the president warned putin may preparing to go further. >> world watching with grave concern as russia has position its military in a way that could lead to further encouragement into southern eastern ukraine. >> president announced more sanction right at putin inner circle hitting the chief of staff and long time confidant. and russian nair billionaire close to putin and bank tied to him seen as putin piggy bank and could be more to come. >> this is not preferred outcome. the sanction would say not only have a significant impact on the russian economy but could also be disruptive to the global economy. >> within pints of the president announcement russia slapped its own sanctions on 9 american officials including 2 top obama aide and republican senator mccain and house speaker barren. >> russian sanction include a ban on traveling to russia for those officials and senator mccain tweeted his response saying i ghes

when abc's jonathan karl asked if moscow isn't the geopolitical biggest foe, the president was dismisses regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors. not out of strength but out of weakness. russia's actions are a problem. they don't pose the number one national security threat to the united states. >> the president then said he was much more concerned about a nuclear weapon going off in manhattan. he also admitted that there was little the west can do to force russia out of crimea. >>> the political tension is not getting in the way of the space mission with u.s. and russians. they will be delayed one day due to mechanical problems. the crew noticed there would be a problem with the rocket cooling off enough to dock and then will be in orbit for six months. >>> blizzard warnings are up for cape cod as a snowstorm hits the east. bit time the nor easter is done with the jersey shore this morning, there could be as much as 5 inches of snow on the ground. there have been so many snow day this is year atlanta city schools will be calling kids to school this saturday. >

jonathan karl, abc news, washington. >> thank you.e're back with the roundtable's instant analysis of ted cruz and those republican risks into 2016. >>> then how the pope became a rock star as francis marks his first anniversary. tall the building is, or how ornate the halls are. it doesn't matter if there are granite statues, or big mahogany desks. when working with an investment firm, what's really important is whether the people behind the desks actually stand behind what they say. introducing the schwab accountability guarantee. if you're not happy with one of our participating investment advisory services, we'll refund your program fee from the previous quarter. it's no guarantee against loss and other fees and expenses may still apply. chuck vo: standing by your word, that's what matters the most. >>> the way the left tells it, the republican party is in a big massive civil war. it's tea party versus establishment, libertarians, versus social conservatives. infighting, conflict, back fighting, discord. look, i'm irish. that's my

jonathan karl is with president obama as he watches closely. >> reporter: good morning.'m here at anders air force base. soon heading out to europe with president obama. it's sure to be dominated by the crisis in ukraine. they are meeting with the europeans and the group of seven industrialized nations to talk about what further steps they can take to put pressure on russia. there's real concerns about what putin will do next. privately, white house officials will acknowledge there's virtually no hope of getting russia to withdraw from crimea. this is about getting putin from going any further. and the big picture here, there has been a fundamental change in u.s./russian relations. now at the worst point since the cold war and unlikely to improve any time soon, martha. >> thanks, jon. now wondering what's putin's next move and how will the west respond? this high-stakes faceoff between russian and american presidents has a familiar ring. for decades and decades, it was the stuff of nightmares. >> while we conduct missile drills. >> both imagined -- >> the planes are full

. >> reporter: jonathan karl, abc news, traveling with the president at the vatican. >> long-term unemployed will have to wait longer for benefits. senate voted yesterday to begin debating a bipartisan proposapr. it will help 2 million american cans out of work for half a year. but john boehner says the bill is unwokable. the program expired last year. starting in 2017 minimum wage workers there will make $10.10 an hour. the governor said signing the bill was one of his proudest days in office. >> the popular weight loss drug alli is recalled over concerns of possible tampering. there were reports of missing pills in the bottle. in some cases the seal was not authentic. the british maker is trying to determine what the pills are. >> a new sobering report on autism. the figure has jumped to 1 in 68 children. that a nearly 30% in just two years. experts say much of the increase can be attributed to better diagnosis, especially with kids with milder problems. doctors are pushing for intervention which they say is critical. >> diagnosis might happen at 2, 4 1/2, 5 or but people live with autism

before the president steps to the microphone i want to bring in senior white house correspondent jonathan karl set of sanctions, spoke to the possibility of additional sanctions being levied. what then do we expect the president to discuss today? >> josh, i am told this is the second round of sanctions and this could be more significant. what he's doing here is sanctioning what white house officials have called putin's cronies, some of the billionaire bu businessmen, the so-called oligarchs in russian will see their assets profrozen. as the president is coming out now, european leaders are meeting, imposing their second round of sanctions. again, this is all design to try to put pressure on putin, make him pay a price for taking away crimea. the big question, of course, josh, is whether or not this will actually get putin to withdraw. virtually nobody believes there's no chance that this will force putin to back town. the hope is that it will make him think twice before going any further into ukraine. >> yet, jonathan, it does seem that the administration is looking for different paths so dipl

. >> jonathan karl at the white house. thank you, jon. >>> now to that deadly helicopter crash hitting very close to home in our abc family. the news helicopter from our station komo-tv went down during a busy rush hour and burst into flames killing a veteran cameraman and the pilot. and abc's neal karlinsky has the story in seattle. good morning, neal. >> reporter: george, good morning. we're here at komo-tv in seattle because they are a part of the abc family. people here who spent the day yesterday covering the story while very publicly grieving. this morning, the ntsb is investigating what caused komo-tv's helicopter and its experienced crew to suddenly crash just after takeoff. >> we have report of a helicopter into the space needle down on the ground now. cars involved on fire. >> reporter: it was around 7:40 a.m. right alongside the space needle where the chopper hurtled towards traffic. >> i heard the crash, boom. and it took like two seconds for the flames to burst out. >> reporter: three cars were engulfed. a riv

abc's jonathan karl traveling with the president and joins us this morning. good morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, robin. these were three members of the secret service's assault team. they were allegedly so drunk that one of them passed out in the hallway of the president's hotel. this happened two days before the president got here. the secret service says that the president's security was never compromised. ever since that scandal involving prostitutes and secret service agents in columbia, they have zero tolerance policy for alcohol. that's why these three agents were sent home. >> they don't want this trouble again with the agency. jon, you were with the president as well yesterday and you asked him a question that's generating a lot of attention this morning. let's take a look. >> in the light of recent developments, do you think mitt romney had a point when he said that russia is america's biggest geopolitical foe and if not russia, who? >> russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors. not out of strength but ou

well, this morning, president obama is meeting pope francis and abc's jonathan karl is there in vatican city with the president. good morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, robin. this is president obama's second visit to the vatican. but his first meeting with pope francis. they met nearly an hour one-on-one in the vatican library before the president brought in the rest of the u.s. delegation including secretary of state john kerry, jay carney and susan rice, the national security adviser. the white house has said the president hoped to use this meeting to get to know pope francis, somebody who he has clearly been fascinated by as most of us in the united states are and he has expressed gratitude to the pope for his commitment to social justice and equality. pope francis never set foot in the united states before but i would not be surprised to see coming out of this a formal invitation from the president for pope francis to visit the united states. >> we certainly do hope he takes that invitation and comes here to the u.s. jon, president obama's policies, many of them are not in li

jonathan karl in the white house briefing room while we wait for the presdent.'s being called the most comprehensive called the sanctions placed on russia since sanc the cold war. what do we expect the president to tell us to tell us about them today? >> in fact, josh, these are the these are first sanctions placed on placed on individual individuals in the russian tvernment since the cold war. we'll hear from the president, a real line in the sand saying we're go that the russia cannot go further in recognize this vote cannotok place in crimea over the weekend. furthe aying theyt they would an exrussia. would a that's an acceptable move. the president will make it clear that's an unacceptab the united states does not move.nize this referendum. basically taking a piece of recognize this ukraine away and declaring it piece orussia. e away andacceptable to the eclaring ites. they're calling it illegal. >>> also, important the united states is working in conjunction they're calling closely with europea imposing dent. own sanctions. here is the president. >>> good m

. >>> more on this from abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl.e heard from alex the two presidents talking past each other on that phone call. any movement behind the scenes? >> reporter: none at all, george. you know, this is an hour-long phone call. their second in the week and they have resolved absolutely nothing. you heard from the president saying russia must withdraw its forces back to its barracks, must begin talks immediately with ukraine. with putin saying that russia has absolutely no choice but to be there to protect ethnic russians from an unconstitutional coup. only thing they agreed on, not insignificant, they will continue to talk. >> okay, meantime, there is a high-profile political conference in washington this week. you've got the conservatives all stepping in including chris christie coming back in public for a feisty speech. >> reporter: yeah, this is something of a woodstock for conservatives. the biggest gathering we'll see this year of conservatives and potential republican presidential candidates and i'll tell you day one

jonathan karl is at the white house with the very latest on these tense standoffs.ood morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, robin. russia is openly mocking the sanctions imposed by president obama. and this morning, vladimir putin is charging ahead towards a full-blown russian takeover of crim crimea. this morning, an heroic welcome for president vladimir putin. in defiance of the united states and the u.n., this morning russian president vladimir putin approved a plan to make crimea part of russia. the move comes just after president obama hit russia with a first round of sanctions and threatened more to come. >> we're making it clear that there are consequences for their actions. if russia continues to interfere in ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions. >> reporter: the sanctions freeze the assets of 11 individuals and bans them from doing business with americans. the sanctioned officials include two of president putin's top advisers and russia's deputy prime minister, who responded by mocking president obama on twitter. "i think the decree of the

jonathan karl, abc news, brussels. >>> consumer alert.early 1 million cars, trucks and vans. the air bags may be defective in the 990,000 model nissans, including the sentra sedans, suv models are also included. computer software indicates when someone is sitting in the passenger front seat may be faulty. nissan will repair that problem for free starting next month. >>> and new speculations this morning after merger talks between dish network and directv. shares of both companies rose yesterday after bloomberg announced an executive of dish contacted directv. talks were in response to comcast's acquiring time warner cable. the merger of dish and directv could have a paid tv powerhouse which would have 35 million subscribers. >> just leaked on-line, tattoos on the head, face, neck and handle be prohibited. and also, banned is anything sexist, extremist, racist or indecent. troops who have extensively visible tattoos can stay in the army under the new policy but won't be able to get any new ones. >> apparently, if you want a promotion, havi

. >> jonathan karl is right about this.he president will sign the repeal of obamacare. it will have to happen, if it is going to happen, with the next president. >> i think what senator cruz is saying and i think what we see with unite here is the times are kind of changing and even democrats are beginning to turn. you're right to say his signature legislation, he turn his back on it -- >> just an ego thing. >> all right. heather nauert is poised to tell us something we need to know. >> thanks, brian. 36 minutes after the hour. news out of boston. tougher security measures are set to be announced today for this year's boston marathon. police say they will add more cameras and more uniformed officers on the streets and runners will be banned from carrying large bags. small fanny packs will be allowed but only to carry cell phones, credit cards, forward medication. this change in policy is aimed at preventing another terror attack like last year's bombing that left three people dead and 260 others hurt. >> this morning we're