>> reporter: yeah he touched down here in sochi just over an hour ago.st on the schedule is going to lay a wreath at the war memorial here in sochi and he will be doing that with sergei fedorov his russian counterpart and barack obama chose to stay away from the victory day celebrations over the weekend, this is a chance for the americans to come and pay respects i guess to russia's war and dead. following that sergei fedorov and kerry will disappear in a two-hour meeting involving a bit of lunch and after that meeting is finished we get the big one kerry and putin sitting down together and has been confirmed by the kremlin and taking place in putin's sochi residence which is now in the trees on the slopes behind me to the shores of the black sea, a lot for these two men to talk about. >> indeed and a lot of friction between two countries in the last two months what is kerry exposed to discuss with putin? >> well there are three big issues that he has come with documents and issues to be discussed. two of them russia and the united states definitely don'

the russian resort city of sochi.first visit there since the start of the you rain crisis crisis. now to something dull and boring that's the description of the budget being announced by australia's government. trying to cut a big deficit despite a weak aussie dollar. all that is threaten to go recognize australia's reputation for having an enviable he don my cain has more from sydney. >> reporter: in these times of economic uncertainty the australian government is looking to get its house in order to do that it wants to boost dome any spends to go stimulate an economy that's been focused on exports. >> this government has to bala justing revenues. and restoring the budget to surplus. >> reporter: one of the features of the budget is a new childcare package that the government believes will encourage parents to go back to work. including a trial program to subsidize nanis for couples liar shauna and cory who jug the shift work and caring for children is welcomed news. >> finding childcare is impossible. we have to rel

russian cooperation. >> rory challands reporting live from sochi, thanks for that. >>> the u.s.arabia's king has expressed regret for not being able to attends a summit of gulf leaders hosted by the u.s. the son will be attending instead. the king of ba bahrain has did he complained also. the white house dismiss the suggestions that the king's absence from the sum sit a diplomatic snub. >> there has been no concern raised by our saudi partners. either before the change in travel plans or after. related to the agenda at camp david. so i know that there a have been some speculation that this change in travel plans was an attempt to send a message to the united states. if so, that message was not received. because all the feedback that we have received from the saudis has been positive. >> reporter: this is pretty unusual the white house never announces the that people will be attending a summit or meeting with the president unless they are fairly confident they'll actually show up. the white house is saying that the king of saudi arabia agreed to that's why they announce first deg

let's go first to rory though in sochi. do we know anything about how the talks are going?ause we are expecting to hear from the two leaders, aren't we? >> reporter: yeah we have been told that we're expecting a press conference any time in this next hour. the talks have been fairly long. vladimir putin and john kerry have been in the meeting room together for at least a couple of hours so far, and before that there were four hours of meetings with the russian foreign minister. if you listened to the russian commentary over the last couple of days. they have been quite positive that this meeting might produce, well, something in the -- they are hoping for anyway along the lines of a softening of u.s. approach a u.s. stance on russia. however, that is not really echoed by what has come out of the united states and the state department which seems to think that this is not going to come out with anything particularly substantive, but is a chance really just to keep the lines of communication with russia open a chance to come over here and talk with the boss the man who takes

. >> reporter: john kerry's first engagement was at the sochi's war memorial. president obama like most leaders shunned the victory celebration last weekend. so this was the u.s. government's opportunity to honor russia's role in defeating the nazis. then at least eight hours of diplomacy began. first a meeting with foreign minister air game lavrov. then to the russian president's sochi residence to talk with vladimir putin iran, syria yemen and ukraine a long list of talking points. and it's a sign of how fraught u.s.-russia relations are that just talking was the trip's pain goal. >> this was an important visit at an important time. and we didn't come here with an expectation that we were going to define a specific path forward with respect to one crisis or another or have a major breakthrough. we came here purposefully to have a very full and open dialogue with russia's leaders. >> reporter: it seems ukraine's illusive peace demanded the lion's share of discussion. the u.s. made it clear once more that normal diplomatic relations depend on finding it. >> if

and then to the president's sochi residence to speak with vladimir putin. there was a long list of talking points, and it is a sign of how flawed the russian-u.s. relations are. there was just talking. >> we didn't come here with an expectation that we were going to define a specific path forward with respect to one crisis to another or have a major break through. we came here purposely to have a full open dialogue with russia's leaders. >> it seems that they required the lyon the lion share of the discussion. >> if and when minsk is fully implemented it is clear that the u.s. and e.u. sanctions can begin to be rolled back. >> putin left without speaking to the press. his foreign minister was tasked with articulating russia's position. >> one of the key issues in our discussion was the crisis in ukraine. there are certain contradictions and our assessment of the way it's developing. but we share the view through a comprehensive use of the agreement. despite talking about their agreements, washington and moscow have so much more that divides them. so make wh

syria and yemen let's cross now to sochi and our correspondent. of course, so we have had some indication, haven't we, from the russian ministry, of the direction in which those talks went. >> yes, i have spoken to the delegation from the u.s. embassy, that's come down here, i spoke to them about half an hour ago to see how things are getting along still talking they said, we have had 2 1/2 hours of conversations between vladimir putin and john kerry, before that we had four hours of conversations. so a lot for these people to talk about some fairly hefty issues. three main ones though, we know they have been discussing in some detail. we know they have been talking about iran, because that's the one area, really at the moment, of geopolitics. where they are actually cooperating with each other they are both in the p. 5 plus 1 group. they both have a role in bringing a nuclear deal on to the table. the united states wants to get a lock down by the end of june, but it is also not very happy with russia's decision to fast track sales of a missile de

sochi is probably best known for hosting the winter olympics.orrow, it will be the scene of diplomatic jousting. secretary john kerry is flying there to meet president putin. the encounter comes after more than a year of fighting in ukraine, a conflict which simmers on. tom burridge reports now from donetsk. tom: the war on europe's eastern edge is one year old. ukraine's soldiers continue to accuse russia of fueling the conflict, in a region where people are bitterly divided. >> the war will finish when russian troops go away from our country. as for me, i think that -- i don't have enemies in donetsk. i have a lot of friends. but now i can't visit these friends. the friends shoot to me. now, i have to shoot them. tom: months of bombing have driven countless families from their homes. but for those who cannot leave, the horror of living next to a frontline drags on. ivan is 76. the war has robbed him of his pension, killed his wife and his sister-in-law. he now lives on his own, and food is scarce. ivan: there were bombs, bombs bombs. tom: so m

why did john kerry travel all the way to sochi. >> what is the u.s. is looking for cooperation on those issues. syria the iran nuclear talks and to share the u.s.' view that the russians are still destabilizing eastern ukraine again that's the u.s. view one which the russians strongly dispute but this is a very transaction gnat mealing this is not a meeting where you will see major announcements coming out of it. and making certain that countries that have influence where it dud not, are basically on the same page when it comes to trying to reach what the u.s. says is preferable in nearly all cases and that is a political solution, the u.s. believes that a political solution is needed to resolve the tensions in ukraine, that is it is necessary to have political negotiations to end the civil war in syria, and certainly the on going negotiations in the iran nuclear talks almost go without saying. it is a matter of trying to deal with national security, through diplomacy and not through the military, that said the situation in yemen is also an area where

the winter olympics were held in sochi last year. lebanon's daily star offers a review against government's inability to elect a president. it says that parliament must take action and the lebanese don't need another date for an election that will not take place. after a year of mirage they deserve a solution. >>> and ireland could be the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. they criticize opposition under the headline heterosexism is a prejudice days. it defines it as a system of bias and the point of view is not rationally offensive. it is a prejudice. >> vienna is giving a green light to tolerance. it is adorning crossings with traffic lights. the campaign is intended to put a stop to visionary and coin ides with the euro vision -- coincides with the euro vision song contest and will play host to an aids charity event on the 16th. that's it for al jazeera international hour. i'm antonio mora "america tonight" is next. see you again in an ^ see you again in an hour. >>> on "america tonight" - a fate worse than living in a w

how uncomfortable will the room be in sochi?t'll be awkward, but this is important not only to the russians but also to the u.s. secretary of state. they want to talk about ukraine but they want to talk about syria, iran as well, places where they really need the russians to be on board to make a difference. tom: ok they are going to state their sites. you expect any kind of agreement , understanding, shared believed to come out of this meeting, or is it a photo on with some tough language? ryan: you know, i do not think we will get all of the detail out of the meeting. i think there will not be in agreement on the ukraine. the u.s. remains even now concerned that we are not at the end of the story in ukraine. that the russian-backed rebels could be planning a new offensive, they carry out a new offensive. the hope is they can make some progress with iran and maybe syria. you know, the russians being assad's biggest allies. that is really important because your member the s-300 sales that the russian president announced after th

in sochi, where putin last sought to project russia as a world power in the 2014 winter olympics.n's help striking a nuclear deal with iran. and ending the civil war in syria where he is one of the president's closest allies. >> this is part of our ongoing effort to have these lines of communication, to talk about all of these issues. >> the u.s. relations remain at an all-time low over russia's role in ukraine. and putin's latest display of military prowess even more concerning given this recent warning. >> many of their actions are consistent with preparations for another offensive. >> and there is a sense putin may be ready to end russia's isolation. the foreign ministry said in a statement it hoped kerry's visit will try and normalize relations with the united states. he will try to assess whether putin is serious about peace in ukraine or content on continuing muscle flexing in ukraine and throughout europe. cnn, new york. >> joining me now to discuss john kerry meeting with lavrov in sochi, william, thank you so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> on the one hand, the u.

secretary of state is in sochi russia. it is kerry's first visit there, since the start of the crisis in ukraine. those iran and syria were also on the agenda. we will hear from rory shortly on the meeting between the president and secretary kerry and also the meeting between secretary kerry and the russian foreign minister. there was a scene the podiums are set, and we are waiting for the two gentlemen to come on out and address the press on the conversations held so far today. a new front for u.s. oil exploration, the obama administration has given conditional approval for shell to begin drilling in the arctic ocean. many think it is a dangerous idea. >> the approval from the federal bureau to allow shell oil to drill in alaska met with a cheer from the american petroleum institute. the safe and responsible development of oil and natural gas in the arctic is critical to our economy, and national security. failure to develop these resources would put america's global energy leadership after risk at a time when russia and

secretary of state john kerry and russian leader vladimir putin are set to meet face-to-face in sochifirst visit to russia by a top u.s. official in a long time. there is a lot on the agenda yemen and syrian and the nuclear talks and the relationship with u.s. and russia. our correspondent matthew chance joins us live from moscow this morning. good morning, matthew. >> reporter: good morning, john. that's right. turbulent relationship with moscow and washington over the course of the past 12 months or so over the ukraine crisis and sanctions and over nato expansion as well. which russia is extremely angry about. it plunged relations with the two countries to post-cold war lows. they have cooperated still over the course over iran and nuclear question. over syria as well in trying to find a resolution to the conflict. they want to cooperate over yemen as well. they have to start this process of rebuilding that relationship so they can continue to work in the international arena and diplomacy. that is why john kerry is coming to russia today. he will lay a wreath at the war memorial in

we begin in sochi russia. where the president dispatched secretary kerry. kerry met with the russians. they produced little progress in easing tensions in ukraine and syria. kerry talked about his low expectations during a press conference with the russian foreign minister lavrov. >> we didn't come here with an expectation that we would going to define a specific path forward with respect to a crisis or have a breakthrough. we came here to have a full, and open dialogue with russia's leaders. the kind of dialogue that is essential in making progress on the many challenges that we face today. lou: joining us, dean of fletcher school, admiral james. let me start with this attempt rat a reset on the part of secretary of state kerry the obama administration. this is the president sending his man with hat in hand to vladimir putin who this president has said for months and months and months, economic sanctions will bring him to his knees. what do you make of it? >> well, i don't think we should be think it too about a reset we should be worried about a replay of

she said she wanted a rest after the sochi games. she captured the world championship title after competing at the olympics. a sadda won the silver in the 2010 vancouver games but failed to reach the podium in sochi and finished sixth. she says her focus is on competing at the next olympics. several top ranked skaters have taken temporary breaks and then returned to compete. south korea's kim was among such athletes. she took silver in 2014 after a one year absence. >>> okay. here in tokyo it's cloudy partly fair with a current temperature reading of 23 celsius or 72 degrees far rent height. here's our weather update starting with how people in the u.s. plains are dealing with the aftermath of tornadoes. >>> yes, james, rough weather affected many parts of the united states over the weekend. at least 34 tornadoes were reported in areas from texas up into minnesota. hail and strong winds were reported as well. i want to take you to oklahoma to show you the damage done by a twister. residents began cleaning up after a series of tornado

right now we are monitoring the news conference in sochi russia. do expect to hear from kerry and his russian counter part shortly. a reopening day for the city's baseball team. the orioles played at camden yards with fans in attendance for the first time since the funeral of freddie gray. they played before an empty stadium. but last night, it was different, it was back to baltimore. more than 20,000 fans showed up and the orioles won 5-2. star quarterback tom brady planned to appeal his suspension after the nfl announced he would have to sit out four games. his teem, the new england patriots is also being penalized. more now. >> in january officials noticed there was something odd about the balls used during the new england patriots victory over the indianapolis colts in their semifinal game on the road to the super bowl. the balls were found to be underinflated. which may have made them easier for patriots quarterback tom brady to handle and throw accurately. sports fans suspected skull dugry, and last week a month long investigation concluded t

where he is meeting with president vladimir putin, he sat down moments ago with the foreign leader in sochiit's kerry's first visit to rush since the start of the ukraine crisis. iran and syria are also on the agenda. let's go live to rory challands. could there be a break through in this meeting? or at least the beginning of a thaw in u.s. russia relations? >> reporter: well never say never, stephanie. there are people in russia who have been musing in the last couple of days for john kerry to come all the way over to russia maybe he is bringing a softer stance towards russia. but they are treating this more as an opportunity to keep the channels of communication open. a chance to talk to the boss the guy who makes all of russia's foreign policy decisions, really. because there are lots and lots of issues that divide these two countries. only one, really that unified them at the moment. >> what specifically is on the agenda? and are you expecting some sort of a news conference at the end of this meeting? >> reporter: yes, we are expecting a news con fresz about 7:00 in the evening local ti

and russia since the ukraine crisis broke out last year has been underway in sochi. the u.s.ecretary of state john kerry, met president vladimir putin and what russian officials called a positive step. >> kerry also met his russian counterpart, sergei lever rob. events in ukraine dominated the agenda, of course, but they also covered iran's nuclear program and the conflict in syria. the two also took time to remember the soviet sacrifice that led to victory over the nazis severed the -- 70 years ago. russian leaders had been kept away from this victory day commemoration's in protest of moscow in ukraine. >> after tuesday's talks, they held a joint press conference. we will go to our correspondent at the talks first. this one john kerry, who praised his host for the goat -- cooperation with the run of the nuclear program and efforts to bring peace to syria. >> there is an urgent need, we agree, for that same kind of cooperation that brought about the removal of weapons from syria, chemical weapons, that has characterized our cooperation on iran, the same kind of effort is now

crossing over to rory challands joining us live from sochi, and we're just keeping an eye on what isng there because we expect them to come out and speak, rory a little later this hour. do we expect though any sort of shift in u.s. russian relations? >> reporter: well, if you listen to what the russians are saying they are interpreting this visit as a potential for maybe a softer u.s. stance to russia that if john kerry has come all this way across the oceans to to -- sochi that maybe he is bringing a different sort of more tolerant attitude to russia. in that, i think, is potentially wishful thinking. because the americans are treating this visit as a more -- a way of just keeping channels of communications open and talking to the boss the man who makes all of the foreign policy decisions in russia. because there are still massive amounts of difference between these two countries, particularly when it comes to things like syria, which they will be talking about, and when it comes to things like ukraine which they will be talking. the united states delegation has come hoping there mi

in putin's personal residence, sochi being the location of last year's winter olympics another twist of the knife, i think. the timing i would submit is poor. today happens to be the day that the colleagues of the slain first deputy prime minister boris themsov released the report on russia's military invasion of ukraine which found 220 russian soldiers died in two battles in ukraine, one of which took place in january, february of this year. literally as russia was drafting or helping to draft the so-called ming peace agreement. to the russian opposition i think to those in ukraine, they see this as quite poor optics. >> there are major differences, we're standing by for a news conference secretary kerry will be holding a joint news conference with the russian foreign minister i assume ukraine will be high on the agenda. syria, iran when it comes to iran and the nuclear program, both of these countries seem to be relatively correct me if i'm wrong, on the same page right? >> superficially so. i think there's something else going on here. it was interesting, samantha power the u.s. a

francine: sit down in sochi. john kerry is in russia for his first meeting with putin. guy: a muted outlook sends shares sharply lower. good morning. welcome to "the pulse" live in london. i'm guy johnson. francine: i'm francine lacqua. greek officials have persuaded german light creditors they are serious about delivering the. guy: even though both sides have had their "redlines," there was common ground. let's get to tom. >> red lines by necessity are inflexible. but there is common ground. francine: let's go straight to tom in brussels. there's still a very tight timeline. do we have a more positive tone? tom: yes. we are looking at the timeline of six weeks. but there has been this rapprochement after the acrimonious meeting they had in riga three weeks ago. the euro group coming out with a statement saying they are seeing positive intent from the greeks. no details on the policies. though there was a little bit of detail from the european commissioner of economic and financial affairs, who said there had been son movement on vap, some movement on the management of

kerry traveled to sochi, russia for that meeting that comes amid strained relations over the conflictent bashar al assad, as for iran as well. >>> there are fears of more strong aftershocks after another major earthquake rocked nepal today. magnitude of 7.3 triggering more building collapses and landslides. officials say so far 37 people confirmed dead all this weeks after a powerful 7.8 quake killed more than 8,000 people. >>> right now, president obama is participating in a major summit on poverty at georgetown university in washington. the three-day event is bringing together faith leaders and policy makers. let's listen in. >> inequality in our society, where it may be possible not only to refocus attention on the issue of poverty, but also maybe to bridge some of the gaps that have existed and the ideological divides that have prevented us from making progress. and there are a lot of folks here who i have worked with they disagree with me on some issues but they have great sincerity when it comes to wanting a deal with helping the least of these. and so this is a wonderful occasi

not obvious his secretary of state meeting with russian leaders and leaves the meeting in so much -- sochi with nothing, then turkey en this on to beijing where his folks made it clear, he is going to make it clear to the chinese that the waters of the south china seas will be freely freel. as well the airspace, it is not your reacted to this late concern about freedom of passage? >> this is the fundamental problem with the obama administration's foreign policy. and the -- the essential weakness at the heart of the policy when you try to be tough, nobody believes you it opens way for provocation that we're seeing whether 42 china russia or iran, it creates a huge potential for the type of thing that obama has been trying to avoided which a conflict with any of these major powers. i think that the chickens are coming home to roost for a very weak foreign policy. lou: it is a strange pattern that is now observable in this administration's conduct of policy on one hand with china as it threatening them, it is trying to negotiate and has negotiated a part of a deal to acquire advance u.s. nucl

>> well i would expect little to nothing to occur in sochi.s is basically a test for the united states of how putin plays this. the united states wants to cooperate with russia on things where they can cooperate, be that yemen as you just mentioned or iran nuclear talks or the syrian civil war. but i don't think they expect anything immediate. they kind of want to see how he plays this in the domestic press, how he plays this to his advantage or not. so i think, you know this is really a feeling out after a lot of months of areally bad relations, a lot of problems and i think we have to set the expectations really low. >> let's talk about syria specifically. really the russians are very strongly behind the dictatorship there. so is iran. is there anything that can change that position because it is in russia's i guess, interest, so that the dictatorship in syria stays. >> well, i don't think anything has changed fundamentally in that dynamic as you said. russia still supports assad. the united states would like to see him go. there have been c

he will meet with the russian president tomorrow in sochi.is or was the site of fletcher's winter olympics. talks will focus on ukraine, iran, and syria. economicimposed sanchez on russia, accusing rebels -- what the ventures. european finance ministers say they have read progress but after today's meeting in brussels, they say there are still differences. want them toers come up with a new plan before they hand over new cash. city says the justice department will not prosecute but the city still faces a probe into the foreign market. could result that in a play. joe biden says fights over infrastructure are worse than they were when he came into washington three decades ago. event hosted by bloomberg government. he said when it came to highways and bridges -- the idea there is a debate in washington as to whether or not we need to invest in infrastructure is mind blowing. i have been here a long time. i understand the need for a debate in how we pay for what we need to do it i do not get the debate as to whether or not we need to significant

or the first time since the talks, john kerry will meet with vladimir putin tomorrow in sochi. where the olympic tour held last year. the state department says the talks will focus on ukraine, iran, and syrian ties between russia and the west have been damaged by the fighting in ukraine. the west imposed economic sanctions on russia accusing russia of supplying arms and troops. arepean finance ministers downplaying expectations about their meeting ungreased today. they are in brussels and waiting for a final proposal from greece about proposed economic reforms put in the finance ministers have said they will not release any more bailout money until they are satisfied with the greek plan. >> there is no final outcome so there is no result at the table today. this is so we can just stick -- take stock of what programs can be made and hopefully that is positive but we will hear from the institutions first. olivia: greece faces another hurdle tomorrow by paying $840 million back to the imf. in the u.k., premised or david cameron begins his second term facing a big issue -- the grea

he will see the russian president tomorrow in sochi, the site of last year's winter olympics.l focus on ukraine, iran, and syria. ties between russia and the west have been damaged by the fighting in ukraine and the west has imposed economic sanctions on russia and accused vladimir putin of supplying pro-russian separatists with weapons and trips. news from citigroup on the libor scandal -- the justice department has the client to prosecute allegations of alleged rigging of the interest rate. citibank says it's in talks with other groups and this one could involve a guilty plea. network's orderly profits beat analyst estimates and a imposed a pricing increase in january and february. its so-called skinny bundle that sells for $20 a month. china is the biggest market for smart phones in the world but the market is getting smaller. new information shows shipments of full-featured mobile phones dropped by 4% in the first quarter, the first time that has happened in six years. experts say the reason for the decline is simple -- there are no more first-time buyers in china. those a

high-level talks in sochi. johnjohn kerry meets with vladimir putin. and why verizon is shelling out $4.4 billion to buy aol. >> aol that's the company that brought the internet to millions of americans for the very first time, it's changing it's stripes again. ali velshi brings it to us. >> reporter: you remember, you and i both worked for this company at one time. and after a certain age nobody understands anymore. verizon communications sees a lot of value in it, it's buying aol out right for $4 billion. the nation's biggest phone company is paying cash 17% above aol's stock value on monday. it has transformed itself into a big player in technology, used to buy and sell online advertising. part of it is aol's so-called platform. it allows them to use ad face electronically and not using humans, and they help to deliver high quality web video. this is important tony, because verizon is set to launch it's own video service based on mobile devices this summer. and a lot of media advisers with 5.6 million households in the u.s. that's part of what veriz

crossing over to rory challands from sochi we'll talk about that report, but first tell us what chance there is for a shift in u.s.-russia relations now that kerry is there. >> never say never and certainly the russians, a few politicians have been musing over the last day or two that hey, if john kerry is coming all the way over here to russia, maybe he's bringing with him softer u.s. stance against moscow, but the americans don't really seep it that way. they see it at keeping lines of communication open, the chance to bring the secretary of state over to moscow enter russia to hear from the boss, really, the big man, vladimir putin keep those channels of communication open not expecting any massive seismic change in relations because there is no many differences that remain between the two. we have one proffer of cooperation going on at the moment and that's iran, where the u.s. and russia have been working together with each other to get iran around the negotiating table. the u.s. wants to nail down that nuclear deal with iran before the end of june. then there are two other big is

it's about wayne sochi who passed away surrounded by his loving wife and friends and children. one day after his 57th wedding anniversary. he was born in charlesburg along the delta near sacramento california in his early year. he was forced attend segregated schools until high school where he attended clarksberg high. during world war ii he and his family were uprooted and forced into concentration camp near the oregon california border along with 120,000 japanese-american during that time. he was released in 1946 and reunited with his family who was living in san francisco. upon his return, he went to san francisco city college while serving in the u.s. marine corp. reserve. in 1948 he enrolled in the school of architecture while working as a farm labor in the summer to pay his tuition. his true was designing churches and in his career, he designed 69 churches including the allen temple baptist church and many other prominent african-american churches in san francisco oakland, and he also designed his church, the christ united presbyterian church located in japan town. he des

i want to show you video of kerry arriving in the black sea of sochi today. it's his first visit to russia since the ukraine battle began. he will try to convince president putin to push prorussian separatists in ukraine to comply with a cease fire. >>> just about 90 minutes ago president obama made the official announcement that his library, museum, and presidential center will be in chicago. >> all the strands of my life came together and i became a man when i moved to chicago. that is where i was able to apply that early idealism. to try to work in communities, in public service. that is where i met my wife. that is where my children were born. >> the obama presidential library will be located on the campus in chicago. >>> a picasso oil painting has set a new art auction record. sold for just under $180 million. christie's auction house had estimated it would sell for $40,000 less but several telephone bidders drove up the price. the ultimate buyer elected to remain anonymous. it was not pam or i. >> no. although picasso shares my birthday. >> oh yeah? >>

you have the impression that secretary kerry went to sochi to keep the lines of communication open.hen i spoke to u.s. officials yesterday, their expectations were modest, but they wanted to keep the channel open. laura: both countries in the press conference reaffirmed the fact they want to have a cease-fire agreement held to. do you think the russians are in a position to a certain more -- to assert more influence with pro-russian separatists? >> they are providing not only command and control, but supplies, weapons, and funding. if the russians used that influence, there is no doubt there could be a genuine cease-fire. laura: they were careful to note that western sanctions against russia could be lifted if they cease-fire was lifted. is that a lever of any description? >> the russian economy is suffering. the sanctions have not affected a real chains and russian policy, but if the u.s. and eu hold to the sanctions, and they could have that effect. secretary kerry was making the point that the sanctions could come off but for now, they are staying on. laura: this may result in th

secretary of state john kerry has arrived in russia to meet president putin in the resort city of sochist visit there since the start of the ukraine crisis and we will go to rory who is live in sochi and first of all what is on the schedule there? >> well it's serious meetings, the first one with the counterpart of john kerry here from russia, the foreign minister and they will be sitting down and talking about various things and after that kerry will be meeting the president's residents over my shoulder down nestled in the trees between me and the waters of the black sea. the three men will be talking about we understand at least from the americans first of all iran. now this is the one bright spot really at the moment of russian/u.s. cooperation. the u.s. really wants to get that nuclear deal with iran tied in before the end of june and it needs russian help to do that. of course the u.s. has been concerned that russia is in the process of selling missile defense systems to iran and another area they will be talking about is syria. this of course is one of the main sticking points in

only last month, sepp blatter met with the russian president in sochi on the sidelines of some games,n event there, and mr. blatter said to mr. putin, that the russian steering committee, the world cup steering committee deserved five stars in its performance so far. so a lot of mutual back slapping has there been in the past and now from mr. putin with respect to his support for mr. blatter. but, you know, there's a lot at stake here. $50 billion it is rumored is going to be spent on hosting these games here in three year's time. already the stadiums are being built, 11 stadiums in russia the source generating vast amounts of income and employment for this country, but it seems certainly at this stage that this unfolding scandal is something that could rel potentially reflect on russia's reputation on the international sporting stage, and the international stage in general yet again. >> charles stratford reporting from moscow. >>> key sponsors are now putting pressure on fifa to clean up its about, one major company is threatening to pull its money out of the up coming world cup. we'

kerry is meeting the russian president and russian foreign minister today in sochi.meanwhile, the french president made an historic trip to cuba. francois hollande became the first western leader to visit the island since the saw in relation -- since the thaw in relations between cuba and the u.s. he called for an end to the embargo that has been in place for decades. in a surprise on the schedule, the french president spent an hour face-to-face with fidel castro. oliver farry has the details. oliver: francois hollande inspects with cuban counterpart raul castro where he became the first western leader in more than 30 years to visit the country. he was a company by seven ministers and a plethora of french business leaders keen on getting in on cuba's economy as it opens up to the world. it was part of an and shuttle -- unscheduled visit to fidel castro away from the glare of the media. it was a busy day for hollande. he laid a wreath at the grave of was a marquee -- jose marti and called for an end to the u.s. embargo. president hollande: the measures that have hinde

in recent days there have been two high level state department visits to sochi and moscow now. are these positive signs indicators of a thawing of relations? if not, what should we be looking forward to in the future as a positive sign? and finally russia will hold the chair of the security council in september. is this a concern possible areas of mischief that could be introduced into the agenda at that time? >> the areas of cooperation. the u.s. team was very concerned about the safety and stability of the russia nuclear enterprise. >> >> so yeah there was great concern. and this is tied also to your next point about how do we read these most recent contacts. during the cold war as the years went on as you know we had developed a pretty probust series of ways to communicate and coordinate with the soviet union their leadership and also their armed forces. it was never perfect but at least there were channels everything from incidents at sea to aircraft and air space to -- yeah. different kinds. signaling, the hot line. and there was sort of a sickening realization on the part

they spoke in sochi about syria, iran's nuclear program and at length, the crisis in ukraine. this is the highest level u.s. visit to russia since the crisis began in late 2013. russia admitted today the cease-fire in ukraine is still being violated. but it denies sending in troops or arming rebels. >>> tonight a war of words erupted over the punishment handed down over new england patriots star quarterback tom brady suspended for the first four games of next season after the patriots were found to have used underinflated football for an advantage in the playoffs. the investigation also found it is more probable than not that brady was at least generally aware of what was happening. nbc's peter alexander with the latest now. >> you got to be kidding me. >> reporter: on boston sports radio today outraged patriots fans sounded off. >> everyone looks for an advantage in the nfl. that's what drives me crazy about this. >> the nfl is nothing short of a den of thieves. >> reporter: robert kraft, long viewed as roger goodell's closest allies, argued the punishment far exceeded expect

let's bring in rory who is in sochi for us, so russian foreign minister, said the meeting helped to understand each other better, in practical terms where does that leave us. >> well, as all of the participants here, sergei lavrov and john kerry were saying it is basically good to talk. i don't think kerry said this was an important visit at an important time, he didn't come here expecting any break through, he came here basically just for the purposes of dialog. and of course they had quite a lot of ground to cover therm talking about ukraine and iran, they were talking about syria but then they also had time to throw in a bit of libya and yemen as well, so many many areas thorny issues that they have to discuss. now, when it comes to ukraine, one of the things that sit out from what john kerry was saying there is he made a pledge that everybody who has any control over anybody in the conflict should use it to fully implement minsk. this word we have heard again and again going back to when the first meeting happened the end of summer, of last year. it is still what everyone has any kind of g

it's about wayne sochi who passed away surrounded by his loving wife and friends and children.

i think that going into it we saw that the crimea was -- was an opportunity on the back end of the sochi olympics. you have forces available. and i think eastern ukraine, frankly, was another opportunity. the difference was the geography of crimea was fairly well set, and that was -- that's where that opportunity probably had a little more solidity, it was a little more solid than in eastern ukraine. we saw the eastern ukraine movement, going back to what we said before, it's all about maintaining the regime. and those were opportunities to create instable. that's why you didn't see the tractions in many areas, frankly. there wasn't a clearly identified geographically limited goal that was the aim of what we saw in eastern ukraine as opposed to what we saw with crimea. >> and on the second part of your question, on the -- can you compete with somebody who is so that? sorry for that. it's not a question whether you can. i think you must. if you don't react, it's a signal of weakness. it's not a question of whether you can compete in that environment. we believe you have to compete in that

sanctions are crushing the russian economy, secretary of state traveled to sochi, russia, hat in handmission? to beg for a reset in u.s. and russia relationship. and to kindly ask president putin to curb his engagement in ukraine, and plead with putin is -- with president