randall pinkston explains why. >> tom perkins spent most of his adult life building a fortune. he's not quite a billionaire, but he is close. he's unabashedly enjoying his wealth and becoming a self-declared defender of the richest americans. he says they are being vilified. >> frustrations have been building for a long time about what i see as demonisation of the rich. >> that frustration prompted perkins to write a letter to "the wall street journal." he made is a controversial comparison, likening occupy wall street demonstrators who criticise the wealthiest 1% of the population to the jews in germany. >> they made the point in germany 1% of the population is jewish and the mad fiendish dictator used incredible political skills to focus at hatred on the 1% and use it as a stepping stop to power. i saw a parallel between our 1% and that 1%. >> he quickly apologised. >> it was terrible words chosen. >> now another controversial comment. perkins says the right to vote should be tide to how much you pay in taxes. if you pay $1 million in taxes, you should get a million votes. >>

randall pinkston joins us with that story. randall. >> the reporters without boarders gave the u.s. a low rating for press freedom, 14 points lower than last year. from the birth of the nation, american jowrnts have relied on the first amendment. and sometimes, sources willing to reveal state secrets. but an international watchdog group says america's journalists are sphaig facing new pressure from the federal government to reveal their sources. >> if you go after your sources you endanger gaif investigative journalism. lime edward snowden. or court martialed, army private bradley manning now known ad as chelsea. >> i can't think of any time in history where the justice department or the fbi in this case have maybe since the 1960s tracked the press. >> two pulitzer winning journalists discussed this issue, jim risen was jailed for refusing his source on government security. >> if we cannot provide confidentiality, and if that confidentiality can be threatened in court, then they will not be willing to go -- to reveal what's going wrong in the government. >> that issue between the pr

randall pinkston is here. randall. >> john, it's a radical idea, tying the vote to the amount of taxes you pay. multimillionaire tom perkins. >>> tom perkins has spent most of his adult life building a fortune. not quite a billionaire but close. now in his 80s he's unabashedly wealthy. these americans are being vilified. >> frustrations have been building up for a long time about what i see is the demonization of the rich. >> he made a controversial comparison, like thing occupy wall street demonstrators, to the wealthiest 10% of the nation, to the crystalnacht. of the nazi era. >> a mad fiendish dictator used incredible political skills to focus hatred on that 1% and used it as a stepping-stone to power. and i saw a parallel between our 1% here in america, and that 1%. >> he quickly apologized. >> it was a terrible word to have chosen. >> but now, another controversial comment. perkins said the right to vote should be tied to how much you pay in taxes. >> if you pay a million dollars in taxes you should get a

randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington. >> following the persecution of protesters in kiev very arelosely from this country. natalia, thank you for coming, it's good to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> are the police really anxious to get involved in this? are some of these police actually supporting the protesters? >> very few of the police are supporting protesters. and unfortunately, what started opposition of people, of the middle class against the decision of the president, to -- not to sign the cessation with the european union now turned under protest of the people against riot police, because happened exactly after the riot police used competence power and -- excess power. we understand if the riot police were trying to calm down the protesters, that's one thing. now when we see a lot of tortured people, about 100 activists that are missing, dead bodies found around kiev and outside kiev with cut off heads, with heads wrapped in plastic, et cetera, what kind of calming of protesters are we talking about? it's clear now that riot police are feeling absolutely that they

randall pinkston reports. >>> travel disruptions, closed stores schools and government offices. more than inconvenient, the rough weather is costing consumers and businesses although economists can't yet say how much. charles prosser of the federal reserve says winter weather has continued to be disruptive and that is making it difficult to assess underlying economic trends. he suspects it will be another couple of months before we have a better read on the economy. but some trends are already apparent. in the areas hit worse, construction and the jobs that come with it are frozen. airlines forced to cancel thousands of flights have lost ticket revenues. automobile dealers say their sluggish returns were caused by the weather. in the midwest where fridge it temperatures are boosting the use of propane, the federal energy administration estimates the cost of fuel is 39% higher than a year ago. propane prices are also edging higher in the northeast by 14%. across the nation natural gas users are also feeling the pinch with prices 4% higher than last year. retailers are also blamin

randall pinkston, al jazeera's has that story. >> with each storm elected officials think they have a plan, only to discover that sometimes they are not match for mother nature. >> it was no match. >> one mayor explaining why he kept schools open. >> we were convinced kids could get to school. so many families have to go to work. they don't have a choice, they need a safe option. >> before the first bell some parents and teachers blasted the mayor's move. >> the mayor believes it's dangerous enough for people to stay off the street, yet he has children under the age of 18, mind you, many of them, to go to school. >> retired army lieutenant general russel honore agrees saying bill de blasio made the wrong call. >> the idea of opening a school so people can drop kids off so they can go to work and you kapt get through the streets. that's wrong. that's a popularity contest. >> new york's mayor bill de blasio is the latest official to catch grief from the public for the way the authorities are coping with the storms. >> the governor of the georgia and major of atlanta were blamed for a tr

randall pinkston joining us live. >> yes, it may be symbolic at this point, but it's a ancation by the obama administration that is it ready to join forces with the european union to try to broker a peace agreement. there are thousands of americans who have ties to ukraine, and all are concerned about the violent confrontation. >> reporter: in addition to his duties as a priest, these days father devotes much of his time to watching the escalating violence in his troubled homeland. >> reporter: they are not afraid to die? >> yes. >> reporter: his worst moment so far came when police clashed with protesters. more than 25 were killed, more than 200 injured. >> it was very painful, because i was born ukraine, and my relatives live over there. ukraine people deserve the peaceful resolution of this -- what is going on now in ukraine. but instead, there is unfortunately, there's bloodshed. >> reporter: beyond talk a veteran diplomat says there are some concrete steps the united states can take. >> i think we can work more closely with the eu in terms of putting a package together that could

. >> as randall pinkston reports the financial impact lingers long after the ice and snow melts. >> winter weather is taking a toll on the nation. with travel disruptions, closed stores and schools, government offices. more than inconvenient, the weather is costing consumers and businesses. economists can't say how much. charles of the federal reserve says: >> but some trends are already apparent. in the areas hit worst, out door construction and the jobs that come with it are frozen. airlines forced to cancel thousands of flights are counting the cost of lost ticket revenues. automobile dealers say sluggishan sales were caused by the weather. analysts predict substantial increases in the cost of energy for heating. >> in the midwest, where temperatures boost the use of cocaine. the federal administration association estimates that the cost of fuel is 39% higher. propane is 'emminging higher in the north-east. across the nation, natural gas users are also feeling the pinch with prices 4% higher than last year. >> retailers are blaming the weather for sluggish sales because heavy snow fall

randall pinkston tells us why. >> tom perkins has spent a lifetime building a fortune.e's enjoying his wealth at the age of 62. >> frustrations have been building for a long time about what i see is the demonisation of the rich. >> that frustration prompted perkins to write a letter to "the wall street journal," making a commarn likening occupy wall street who criticised 1% of the population to nazis. >> i made the point in germany 1% of the population was jewish. the mad fiendish dictator used incredible political skills to focus hatred on the 1% and used it as a stepping stone to power. i saw a parallel between our 1% in america. and that 1%. he apologised. terrible words were chosen. another controversial comment. the right to vote should be died to how much you paid in taxes. >> if you paid a million dollars in taxes, you can get a million votes. perkins said he was trying to be outrageous. he has staunch defenders. >> i have sympathy with that perspective. the problem now is you have people voting to take money away from other people. you are talking about legalize

press freedoms are protected randall pinkston joins us with that story. >> tonefully, for many american journalists it is a controversial finding and not the first time that reporters without borders organization has given the u.s. a low rating for press freedom, this time is u.s. 11 points lower than last year. >> from the birth of the nation, american journalists have relied on the first amendment, and sometimes sources willing to reveal state secrets. but an international watchdog group says america's journalists are facing in pressure from the federal government to reveal their sources. >> a fugitive who linked thousands of documents. orr court marshaled army private bradley manning now known as chelsea committed for the biggest leak of classified documents in u.s. history. >> i can't think of any other time in history where the justice department, and the fbi in this case have actually maybe since the 1960's, tracked the press. >> two journalists recently discussed the disturbing trend. if we cannot provide confidentiality and if that confidentiality can be threatens in court, they

our randall pinkston joins us now with more on that. >> john, you know every winter event has it's ownhallenges with it's owndy. tyes and so for elected officials even experienced ones sometimes there's a stumble. >> with each storm, officialed think they have a plan, only to discover that sometimes they are no match for mother nature. it was a grave situation. >> he fried to explain his decision to keep stores open. >> we were convinced that kids could get to school. members have to go to work, they do not have a choice, and they need a safe option for their kids. >> almost before the first beg, some parents and teachers blasted the move. >> the mayor believes that it's dangerous enough for people to stay off the street, yet, he has children under the age of 18, mind you, many of them, to go to school. >> retied army lieutenantluth agrees saying mayor dehas owe made the wrong call. openingdea of opening the school so people can drop their kids off and you can't get the streets that is wrong. that's a popularity contest. >> new york's mayor is the latest elected official to catch grief

randall pinkston, al jazeera. >>> nearly two weeks of protest in venezuela have left six people dead,ozens more injured. venezuela's president blames outside influences. his government has rejected the credentials of four cn cn rl cnn journalists. cnn journalists. rachel levin has the story. >> venezuela since president hugo chavez has been quite hostile to the united states. and the united states has been equally hostile to hugo chavez. this whole protest movement if you will has been funded and also encouraged by the united states. so he's been addressing that in this press conference that he's had tonight. this comes a day ahead of a massive rally that's supposed to be held here in caracas and around the country and anti-government rally if you will and the government will also have its own ra rally on saturday. >> how much momentum does this movement have right now? >> that's going to be the key question tomorrow. the opposition leader that called this demonstration, his name is enrique capriles, a former candidate that lost the elections by less than 2%. he's the one that called

. >> that's what you need a full study, randall pinkston for us. thank you. >>> 3d printers are changing how things are made. break your wrench, just print one. but now taking a look at a 3d printer that could one day make human skin. >> what we do is we use different solutions that are capitol to our cells. this is the printer cartridge. >> reporter: leanne is working on a ph.d in mechanical engineering. machines fascinate her. lately this one has been taking up all of other time. it's a 3d printer that should be able to produce human skin from a patient's own cells. when this prototype is ready the cells will go into what are essentially ink jet printer nozzles, and will produce enough skin to graft for patients with severe burns. >> this is not something that you come across that much, so to see the impact and the intricacy of how skin can be regenerated, the time scale is very important in terms of saving someone's life. there is a lot to take into account, yes. >> burns are horrific injuries. at present skin is transplanted from another part o

after the brutal winter season, the financial impact will linger, randall pinkston has that story. >> winter weather is taking a toll on the nation, with travel disruption, closed stores, schools and government offices. more than inconvenient, it is costing consumers and businesses - economists can't say how much. it has been said: >> but some trends are already apparent. in the areas hit worst, outdoor construction, and the jobs that come with it are frozen. airlines forced to cancel thousands of flights are counting the cost of lost ticket revenues. automobile dealers say slushish sales are caused by the weather. energy heating will be more. the federal energy information administration estimates the cost of fuel is 39% higher than a year ago. propane prices are edging higher in the north-east by 14%. across the saying natural gas users are also feeling the pinch, with prices 4% higher than last year. >> retailers are blaming the weather for sluggish sales. heavy snowfall and treacherous roads are not conducive to shopping. a former chief economist of the u.s. department of labour r

. >> randall pinkston is here. >> tony, part of the problem is attitude. researchers at boston's institute found that many african-americans don't see how their behavior such as smoking connects to cancer. >> overhere we have the ct scan. >> reporter: 60-year-old barry nelson smoked cigarettes for 60 years. after he quit he was diagnosed with lung cancer. >> i sold my home. i moved into a smaller dwelling. i prepared for the end of my life. >> i was shocked and surprised to learn that african-american men had a higher rate of lung cancer but the community was not aware of it. >> reporter: dr. christopher lathan is researching the reasons for the insidious impact on african-americans. >> they say, if i go to the doctor, they'll tell me something is wrong. maybe if i concentrate on something else it will go away. >> reporter: the rifle rate for african-american men, just under 11% and there are several reasons for the gap. >> there are some issues with trusting medical establishment. >> and african-americans often ignore symptoms so they're diagnosed later o

randall pinkston is here with more on today's arrest. >> reporter: for two years the officials in italynd u.s. conducted an undercover operation trying to identify links between america's criminal under world and it's counterparts in italy. this morning authorities brought the hammer down. >> reporter: it was shortly after mid night in new york. first word of the bust came from a tweet from the new york office of the fbi which read, major mafia roundup in new york and italy. iin the transatlantic round up, and at the same time the italian authorities nabbed associates of a crime organization in southern italy. >> american and italian law enforcement terms that the androggatta aimed to move deadly narcotics across international boundaries intent to building criminality and corruption to stretch from south america, italy, and back to new york. >> five of the seven u.s. suspects live in brooklyn, new york, including a bakery owner, the linchpin of the plot. the member of androggotta, italy's version of the mafia. they sold more than a kilogram of heroin and plotted to ship 500 kill lows of

randall pinkston is in washington, d.c. we are learning about behind the scenes diplomatic efforts taking place. >> the visa ban from the u.s. is symbolic, aimed at about 20 top officials of the administration of president viktor yanukovych. foreign ministers from germany, poland and france have met with yanukovych in an effort to seek a diplomatic solution. >> the president back from his trip to mexico, on wednesday, though, giving this warning to ukraine. >> we expect the ukrainian government to show restraint, to not resort to violence in peaceful protestors. we expect peaceful protestors to remain peaceful and we'll be monitoring very carefully the situation, recognizing that along with our european partners in the international community, there will be consequences if people step over the line. >> with that said, talking about consequences, what are the president's options? >> the principle option is economic. the european union will be having an emergency meeting today to discuss economic sanctions. president obama is

rapid call pinkston is here with more on today's developments. randall. >> tony, the first word of the bust came in a tweet from the new york office of the fbi which read mafia round up in new york, and italy. it was shortly after midnight in new york. and federal agents launched their crack down, rounding up suspects in an alleged plot to establish a new international drug shipment pipeline. and the closely coordinated transatlantic arrested seven suspected members of american mafia organizations while at the same time, italian authorities nabbed 17 alleged associates of the crime organization in crabria. using techniques like court authorized wiretaps. law enforcement determined that aimed to move deadly narks across international boundaries attempting to build a bridge of criminality, and corruption so stretch from south america to italy and back to new york. >> now, five of the seven u.s. suspects lived in brooklyn new york. including a bakery owner. according to officials. he is a member of the gambino crime family, and he is also the son-in-law of