talking about the referendum vote in crimea which either allows parts of ukraine to stay in ukraine or join russia. what most likely will happen? >> most likely the referendum will be in favor of ukraine joining russia, that -- that doesn't mean it's legal. of course the united states, the ukraine and the united states, they all declared the results are illegal. the reason for it is because the preparation for this referendum is nontransparent. [indiscernible] for example, there was recently the observers from western countries tried to enter crimea in order to observe the situation and they were not allowed. they were shot at. >> we know that there appears to

lawmakers scheduled a referendum for march sick teen to decide if the region should be part of ukraine or russiafor it's operations in ukraine. to ukraine, we are following all of the latest developments. let's begin with jennifer, jennifer, is it fair to say, that we saw a major acceleration of antagonism from crimea today. >> absolutely, tony. you know, this announcement from the parliament that first of all, that it wants to separate from the ukraine, wants to be a part of russia, and moving the referendum from march 30ing to march 16th came as a big surprise, and certainly accelerates things here very much. russian troops have taken positions across the peninsula, they are blockading ukrainian troops and the ukrainian -- and artillery bay here behind me. a lot of tension here, and concern about where this is all going, and of course a very divided part of the ukraine here. there are also many ethnic ukraines here, who are very unhappy about what is going on, so this just raches things up, make as lot of people very worried tony. >> this decision, ten days from now, and make it about returnin

russia is in danger of violating ukraine's constitution. this comes as russia backed a march 16-th vote that will allow about two million people in the country to choose between ukraine or russia. after a security council meeting yesterday french ambassador to the u-n said the situation is worsening by the day. >> the situation is just getting worse. this is reinforcing its presence. we have this referendum that is organized by russia. >> yesterday german chancellor angela merkel also told russian president vladimir putin by phone that the referendum is illegal. john kerry is planning to travel to the ukrainian capital on today. >> happening now-- senate democrats are pulling an all-nighter. they're on the senate floor, plowing through a dusk-to- dawn talkathon during which more than two dozen speakers have agreed with each other about the need for action on climate change. senate majority leader harry reid, who's leading the dusk-to-dawn talkathon, says climate change is "a question of our own survival." >> we're looking at really nice conditions once again. here is a look at satellite and radar. we have clear skies to start off, the temperatures are pretty nice. san f

russia over the crisis in ukraine. >> in crimea soldiers forced to choose loyalty to ukraine or russia. [ ♪ music ]. >>> hello, welcomeo al jazeera america, live from doha. . >>> also on the program - china ramps up defense spending as the united states cuts back. >>> three of al jazeera's journalists detained in an egyptian prison make their second court appearance in a few hours. >>> and still looking over venezuela a near after his death - hugo chavez remains part of every day life. [ ♪ music ] >>> hello. world powers usually preoccupied with syria are rapidly flying diplomats around the globe to get to grips with ukraine. the united states and europe have been slated against russia. john kerry and sergei lavrov are due to meet in paris. they are meant to talk about syria, but no doubt ukraine will fig fighture. ukrainian soldiers, meanwhile, have been, in some says forced to choose sides. jennifer glasse reports from sevastopol. >> if there's somewhere where the russians have full control, it's here at sevastopol. ships of the black sea fleet halt all traffic, draining all life from this otherwise thriving port. i

russia over the crisis in ukraine. >> in crimea soldiers forced to choose loyalty to ukraine or russia. [ ♪ music ]. >>> hello, welcomeo al jazeera america, live from doha. . >>> also on the program - china ramps up defense spending as the united states cuts back. >>> three of al jazeera's

ukraine, but it has always been russia here. and olga joins in. we are russians, but they call occupants. what occupants? whether people want to belong to ukraine or russia, they have to make a living, and on this stretch of coastline, people rely on tourism. and now they're worried ta all of this uncertainty is going to destroy their livelihoods. >> it's a very unique atmosphere. >> i was shown around one of yalta's finest hotels. pre-aristocracy, but right now, sadly empty. as everyone calls their holidays, the hotel lays off it's staff. >> we have 300 people in our team. and we fired 60% of them. they have kids, they have families, you know, and so most of them are local. and especially here on the south coast, 90% of the families, they somehow depend on the hospitality industry. so yes, we're a little bit afraid. >> up the hill, the czar's summer palace. site of a famous meeting between these three men that you might recognize. in 1945, they came here to redraw the map of europe. and now it seems that russia might be doing redrawing of its own, and this time, there's no agreement with the western palace. aljazeera, yalta in crimea. >> three pe

. >> they have been clear about their willingness and openness to hold officials, whether in ukraine or russia accountable. that is what the discussion is about. >> the white house has pledged 1 billion in aid including a low guarantee for energy. more on this situation in ukraine throughout the morning. >> israel says it seized a shipment of rockets headed for the gaza strip. its navy dropped a ship in the red see in international waters in the southern-most port. the ship was reportedly carrying dozens of syrian-made weapons. israel's prime minister says the entire operation was organised by iran. >> it was one year ago that venezuela president hugo chavez died of dancer. on wednesday they kicked off a 10-day commemoration of his life. all coming has his successor nicolas maduro faces a country in turmoil. food shortages and high crime sparked protests. pope francis made sweeping comments about church doctrine. the leader of the world's roman catholics said that a ban on contraception in opposition to gay marriage will remain in place. the pope suggested that the vatican could change course

parliament has voted in favor of holding a referendum on whether crimea should remain part of ukraine or join russia instead. the autonomous region is planning to vote on the 16th of march. one person is in front of the crimean parliament, where dozens of pro-russian protesters have gathered. it is a slight technical problem. .orry about that we will come back to that letter in the bulletin. let's go to the controversial phone recording that is emerged on the internet, and it is not good news for the ukrainian authorities bitte snipers accused of killing thousands of protesters have long been thought to be pro-yanukovich. but the conversations between the foreign minister and the eu foreign policy chief is spreading out. a week ago, ane exchange between estonia's diplomat and the foreign policy chief. ashton asked for his thoughts. he echoed a rumor going on in kiev relate to him by a doctor who treated sniper victims. >> it was disturbing. the evidence shows that they were the same snipers killing people from both sides. it is really disturbing that they don't want to investigate what exactly happe

doesn't have a lot to do with ukraine or russia, the economy doesn't. it was down. so it should create opportunities. you need to differentiate between the ri opportunity. >> what kind of investm changes should investors make? emerging markets, we just talked about that. investors have stock in big u.s. multi nationals that have a lot of trade with europe, which would be impacted by this ukrainian situation. so what kind of investment move should investors make in their port tofolio portfolios? >> they should not change based on the ukraine situation, right? if you sell now, two tough decisions, when do i have to reenter the market. for long-term investors, staying invested is the best avenue to go. obviously, you need act of management, people that understand what is happening on the grounds and make those decisions, but when it comes to the long-term investment, if you try to retire one day, the situation in ukraine should not change the overall portfolio. >> talk to me about commodities, gold up today, oil higher, net gas on a roller costar. what is next? >> yeah

crimean authorities, the people that run it will come from crimea, not ukraine or russia. the income will go into the crimean budget. >> the question of money is on people's minds as they make what might be the last trip to the market as citizens of ukraine. >> the outcome may seem a foregone conclusion, but there's a lot of uncertainty about what it will mean for ordinary peep. what will happen to their salaries, will their pensions be paid on time, will they have money to buy what they need for their family. people are anxious to get their hands on their savings. atms are running dry. the director of this bank says he can work with any national authority. all he needs is it stability. >> as soon as we know which currency we'll use, we'll have a clearer idea of which actions to take. >> putting your money into bricks and more tar or concrete and steel has been a safe investment. uncertainty is affecting the construction industry. it's not the best time. there has been a lot of corruption and certain companies get contracts. many years ago we had 100 employees, now i have

russia join in respecting international law. >> so john kerry there referring to a referendum which takes place on sunday. illegal in the eyes of many ones about whether crimea remains part of ukraine or joined russia. he talks about syria's consequences. we are talking about sanctions and nothing else. >> we absolutely are talking about sanctions and the next stage, we have some sangs in place. that are pretty soft sanctions. they are stopping further negotiation on relaxing visa procedures. that sort of thing, is stage one of the european sanctions. europe is the place to look on this, because the u.s. can be much tougher than the europeans be uh the europeans have problems with sanctions. on russia, and that's because they do a great deal of business with russia. you just have to look at germany, you have to look at the city of london, and the other problem is that many countries rely on russia for their energy supplies. and if they went to level three as it's called of the european sanctions then that yes, it will hurt russia, but it will seriously hurt european nations as well, david. >> we will be back with you later, for now, thank you indeed. russia's foreign minister and the

whether with ukraine or russia. >> you crane's navy is blockaded. they are divided as to a union with russia or to stay with ukraine. >> the next referendum is on march the 16th. the politicians decision to move towards russia may be an attempt to predetermine the outcome. with 10 days to get 2 million into the polls, deciding whether they want to be part of russia or ukraine, a challenge is convincing the world whatever is decided is a legitimate vote. >> more ahead, including a special report. what you don't know about vladimir putin, why he may be worth billions, his work with the kgb and a rise to power. that's ahead during this news cast. 11:30 eastern time. >> it's a who's who of republican stars, taking center stage at the political action conference or sea pack in washington d.c. chris christie is getting the most attention. libby casey has that story. >> this year is different for governor chris christie. he was welcome with warm applause, after last year's snub when he was not invited. he stood by president obama's sides for photo ops. >> c

morning the embattled region of crimea they will vote in a week when this should be part of ukraine or russia. this comes as negotiations are starting to look like a stalemate. peace talks with both sides stalling in paris. all parties agree it is important to resolve the issues through dialogue. >> we agreed to continue intense discussions in the coming days with russia, with the ukrainians in order to see how we can help normalize the situation, stabilize it and over come the crisis. >> this comes as the pentagon is boosting the nato presence sending fighter jets to the region to support all u.s.al guide defenses. the house takes up a vote today on a ukrainian aid package. >>> brand new fox news polls are out this morning and president obama's numbers are not looking good. when asked about the administration handling foreign policy especially the craigs in ukraine only 33 percent approve. last december it was 39 percent. they are discussing why the foreign policy ratings have hit a new low. >>> i think when we protect our interest, when we defend our allies, when we act consistently people

ukraine, including returning russian troops to basis. the council of tcrimean city sat was part of russia. this comes hours after a referendum was scheduled to decide whether it should be part of ukraine or russia. meanwhile, the u.s. house of representatives approved $1,000,000,000 in loan guarantees to ukraine today after president obama ordered sanctions on russia that included travel bans and u.s. asset freezes. governor chris christie was one of dozens of republican leaders to address the annual conservative gathering outside of washington today. thousands of republicans are in town for the three-day conservative political action conference c-pac to strip commanders of their rank. congress approved several changes to military law last year including stripping commanders of the ability to overturn jury convictions. those are the headlines. i am tony harris. real money with ali velshi is next. >>> a cold war style showdown with america threatening sanctions against america. beware from payback against vladimir putin. >>> the cosley cuts making a trillion dollar crisis even worse for middle class americans, plus the multi billion dollar commodity that literally falls right out of the s

russia is in danger of violating ukraine's constitution. this comes as russia backed a march 16-th vote that will allow about two million people in the country to choose between ukraine or russia. after a security council meeting yesterday french ambassador to the u-n said the situation is worsening by the day. german chancellor angela merkel also told russian president vladimir putin by phone that the referendum is illegal. john kerry is planning to travel to the ukrainian capital today. the top stories on kron 4 dot com right now: 643 taken a look at some of our top stories on kron4 dot com. residents in one concord neighborhood are fed up and fighting back against crime. a simple sign on a telephone pole issues a warning to criminals in the area that residents are watching and they won't be afraid any more. plus. two central florida teenagers are accused in a throat-slashing attack on the mother of one of the teens. police day the attack happened early sunday when the girl lured her mother into the garage, where the boy was waiting with a kitchen knife. after slashing the mother's throat, the boy went into the master bedroom and confronted the father. the parents opp

from jeremy didn't help with the sentiment beyond the technical note the concerns about the ukraine or russia prices kept a firm grip on the market yet. investors remain concerned that jimmy's economy in particular could be hit hard by a policy office and the argos and retaliation between russia and the west. one winner this friday was the euro its prized temporarily climbed above one donut thirty nine after the european central bank left interest rates unchanged on thursday. maybe this is now think that for an extended period of time interest rates in the eurozone will remain it's not very high and still a bit higher than in other places of the blood. conrad was a forest at the frankfurt stock exchange and we can stay there in frankfurt for a quick spin through friday's numbers. germany's dax it was down by a little over two percent finishing at nine thousand three hundred and fifty points. here starts tuesday. don't i will mourn one half percent finishing at three thousand ninety five cross the atlantic the new york at this hour. the dow pretty much trading flat at sixteen thousand four hun

in crimea indigenous customers are considering their own referendum on whether to be part of ukraine or russia thus according to the leader of the muslim minority off to her off the challenge that could further de stabilize the region. representatives of the three hundred thousand strong community will meet on saturday to discuss the future. uncertain of what it holds some have been reading crimea for western ukraine. we visited one such tale this man works his and ninety special and intimate tone controls. given the condition of independence square in kiev and would rather not share his mane. in his apartment he's taken in a refugee family of fines members of the crimean culture ethnic minority in the right to remain anonymous to you. they still have family in crimea. the mother is eight months pregnant. he was cautioned me to talk about it. when salt is everywhere and april st at eleven thirty. it has exceeded once in a pot. my coffee to the fabled the oppressed again. the fall within. mr bell. i can't and two suitcases of closing that's all they can take with them. a few images of their hom

two days before a referendum in crimea, where people will decide if they should remain in ukraine or join russia. correspondent bridget kendall reports. >> an intensive six hours of thes in the sunshine of u.s. ambassador's london garden. narrowing of the gap over ukraine's future. the region could either break away from ukraine or even opt to join russia. in the west, they say that would be illegal and a violation of ukraine's sovereignty. u.s. secretary of state john made one last try to warn his russian counterpart that if crimea is annexed by russia, there will be grave consequences. >> we believe a decision to move , ratified russia officially within the duma, would be a backdoor annexation of crimea. it would be against international law. >> mr. laurent says the agreement remained. lavrov said the agreement remained, and if crimea wished to join, russia would not stand in its way. expect crimea to become independent or part of the russian federation? referendum, we have already said we will respect the choice of the makean people, and will clear our position once the outcome of the referen

ukraine or russia? to me this poses such a problem for the united states. what if the people there vote to become part of russia? >> exactly. if we believe that the people's voice should be heard, people of crimea should decide what they want, you know, it's a 60% russian majority. there's a large group of people who are historically tied to russia. crimea was part of russia until 1954. it was gifted in a kind of internal transfer because it was all part of the soviet union. the soviet leader transferred crimea from russia to ukraine but all within the one country, soviet union. it stayed part of russia until 1991. so ukraine has not had crimea that long. you're exactly right. what's likely to happen the referendum will go in direction of russia. ukrainian parliament will not accept that referendum. then you have two different legal realities but the political and military reality is that russia will have taken over crimea. >> sounds like the situation is worse than now. how will the united states justify the sanctions that we have, the rhetoric that's comin

would you cut down your exposure to ukraine or russia? would you have more exposure as a whole? >> we think that it is still reasonably expensive and we have it has moved a long way. it looks like they are defensive on the assets, that is for sure. i think places like south africa are still very vulnerable and you may find that people who have to take money off the table in the ukraine and russia have to go to south africa, as well. these are the places. >> what is your take on india? >> yes. i think that india is a binary political story and it is increasingly likely that it comes true. a will see a little bit of run in the elections and some more modesty after the election. india. issues do not entirely related to monetary policy and i think that the issues are political leadership issues and what happens to the labor market and the fiscal side. we are concerned and we think the growth inflation makes is worse. structurally, it is a good question and i do not think the election answers these questions. >> this is something that investors should be wary of? >> there is a tactic

or whom to unite. whether it should be the people in russia. >> ukraine's navy is blockaded. crimea is divided between a future within ukraine or reunification in russia. >> lawmakers in crimea are said to vote on the referendum. >> iran is rejecting allegations it was behind a shipment of rockets. on wednesday, israel's military found the weapons on a ship it stopped in the red sea. it was said to be organised bay iran, but tehran says they are lying. the discovery was made around the same time that a a.i.p.a.c. had a meeting in washington. a senate bill to strip military commanders of their authority to prosecute rape and other serious crimes failed to move forward on thursday. the sponsor said changes are needed. the pentagon opposed the bill saying commanders should have more responsibility for the men and women they lead. >> republican hopefuls are undergoing an early test. the annual conservative political action conference started outside russian d.c. it featured speakers. as al jazeera's libby casey reports, chris christie is attracting the most attention. >> this year

ukraine, leaning to the west. you have a split population, but the majority of people seem to support russia, whether or not they support armed troops on the ground is another question. the allegiance is towards russia, not the north-west. >> thank you nick schifrin from crimea. from ukraine's south to the capital. hundreds of men of all ages are going to recruiting centres to volunteer for the armed services. jacky rowland has more. >> ukrainians are preparing themselves for war. in kiev, where there has been bloodshed people express their allegiance to ukraine, and their defines of russia. it's fighting rhetoric, and for now it still is only talk. parliament has been meeting in emergency session. afterwards the prime minister said russia had brought them to the brink of disaster. >> this is not the threat. this is actually the declaration of war to my country. and we urge president vladimir putin to pull back his military and to stick to the international obligations and bilateral and mild to lateral agreements that were signed between ukraine and russia. >> the army has opened recruiting stations across the country.

i didn't hear anything that's adjusted that russia is prepared to stand down in ukraine. or anything that would suggest that this train wreck in the making can be averted. >> is there any way that russia could face sanctions echo >> there is. this vote in crimea is basically the people of crimea deciding whether or not they want to remain in ukraine or join russia. just because they want to join russia doesn't mean that russia has to have them. so russia will have to make that decision. if they choose not to annex crimea, that might be something that would go some ways in appeasing the united states and the european union in coming up with a double medic solution. the foreign minister says that russia has no plans to invade eastern ukraine. that's another big concern. at the fact that he said that is not part of the plan is somewhat comforting for the west. >> kerry has said the results of sunday's referendum in crimea are a conclusion. what can we expect the next day ? >> we have a full schedule of punishment for russia. the eu gathers on monday. they will lay out the punis

he is not feeling the pain of the people of ukraine or russia.ys he wants to protect as many as possible so he has nothing to lose at this point. he feels he can march ahead with a tepid reaction because of many different economic factors. neil: colonel, there are wiser cooler heads to say vladimir, you are killing us on the global stage. we just had zero live dixieland reestablishing our brand and here you are coming back 1956 and budapest. we don't need this spirit that shows a fundamental understanding -- misunderstanding if anybody is delusional it is obama fet he can make something happen that negotiations will solve the world's problems. i don't like putin but he is as brilliant as he is ruthless of like his president he enters the u.s. with his people will tolerate. when russia was flat on its back he rebuilt it into the ragged semblance of a great power. he has bested obama in every single count -- encounter they have had no people get away with crimea and get more you create. you could accuse him of all sorts of things but he is a russia

that posed aggressio at the referendum very clearly and distinctly whether it should be with ukraine or russia. i can say the leadership of ukraine, the deputies of parliament formulate the questions in the referendum and were guided by the interests, giant interests of the people. any other options of the legacy. no matter how attractive it could be. but historic democratic and political and economic characteristics of this region would be temporary and unstable and would bring to further participation around crimea and would negatively damage the life of the people. crimeans pose the question rigidly without compromise, without any tones. the referendum was open and honest. people in crimea clearly and convincingly suppressed their will. they want to be with russia. [ applause ]. russia has taken a variety of difficult steps. a different position, a different point of view. i want to undermine that the position of majority, absolute majority of the people is clearly. most polls prove 95% of russian population think that russia should protect the the interest of russians and other groups of p

russia is in danger of violating ukraine's constitution. that this comes as russia back the march 16th vote that will allow about 2 million people in the country to choose between ukraine oria. after a security council meeting yesterday french ambassador to the u.n. said the situation is worsening by the day. german chancellor as a lot mark kellogg also told russian president of vladimir putin by phone that the referendum is illegal. --german chancellor angela merkel john kerry is planning to travel to the ukrainian capital today. fugitive nsa leaker edwards and automating republic appearance monday. he spoke to thousands of people via satellite at the south by southwest interactive festival and austin, texas. snug and urged participants to help fix the government surveillance program. this is the first time snowden has addressed people in the united states since he fled the country last june with thousands of secret documents. he is now living in temporary asylum in moscow and faces felony charges in the u.s.. >>: more visitors flocked to the golden gate national recreation area than to any other spot in the national park service. billy release attendance figures show th

the move comes hours before voters in crimea decide whether they will stay a part of ukraine or join russia. russia vetoed a security council resolution condemning the referendum. thousands of protesters rallied in ukraine and moscow a head of tomorrow's vote. d.c. police need your help in finding a person of interest involved in a sexual assault. take a look at this video. the assault happened at about 2:30 a.m. on december 17. anyone with information is encouraged to contact d.c. police. an alert for drivers -- learn where a speed camera that was taken down his back online. there is no jackpot winner but someone in virginia is $3 million richer. president obama's funny >> apparently not everyone is happy about a proposal by the city of alexandria to relocate one of its fire engines. the city is considering relocating engine 204 from old town. for budget reasons. people fear moving the engine would leave residence for verbal. -- residents vulnerable. >> they're going to have trouble at the station. they can do things when they get the fire ladders -- they can't put the water on the fire. >

that russia has increased its military presence near ukraine's border, even as president vladimir putin promised to oppose a further division of ukraine. are these military movements just for show, or is russia preparing to annex parts of ukraine? >> i personally find it very unlikely that russia will make an immediate move into eastern ukraine. i think vladimir putin will take a strategic pause and see what the reaction is around the world. that is why it is so important that nato, the united states, and other allies around the world -- you saw japan unknown sanctions. it is so important that the

cool unfortunately from bloomberg. >>> a critical vote in crimea will decide if crimea part of ukraine or russiat is it even legal? and desperate measures in california calling in water witches to help farmers worried about the drought. >> in two days crimea will vote whether or not to become part of russia. the referendum has been the talk and is a vote that the united states and e.u. say is illegal. the outcome of this vote seems to be a done deal. what is the feeling on the ground. >> reporter: it depends on what side you're on. if you're pro russia this feels like the independence day they've been waiting for for 60 years. if you're pro western this is a day as dark as it's been since world war ii. the pro russian camp they point to the mistake by kruschev, the leader of the soviet union in the 50s. it was given to ukraine, not very important back then. and these people say finally after so many years that mistake is being righted. if you're on the other side, however, let's take the minorities, the tatars who are muslim, or i spent the day with this small jewish community, and they're fearf

do you say to the people of crimea have the right to choose whether they want to be part of ukraine or russiart the protesters in kiev but not the people in crimea who have a referendum on sunday? >> ultimately russia has to question themselves about that as well because they have populations within their border who may decide to associate with different countries as well. this is never how we've established international borders, just allowing for countries to march in, occupy a region, and then whole illegal referendums. the idea that russia is going to hold a referendum with guns holding guns to the head, it's absolutely prepost rouse. there could be a conversation for the people of crimea but it has to be an international consensus or we'd be living in a world of pandemonium. >> it seems that vladimir putin is trying to wait things out and hoping that this becomes accepted as the new normal. does it seem like he's winning that, at least for now? >> ult patly he's not winning. a couple of weeks ago he had the entire country under his thumb. today he's essentially lost the rest of ukraine.

russia is worried by one or two things, that ukraine will become a member of nato. will mean having nato on russia's border in the south, something russia doesn't want. i think if some kind of agreement could be reached whereby, there would be some kind of guarantee that ukraine, at least for the future, would not become a nato member and also that the russian language would be accepted as a second official language, like french in canada or swedish in finland, i think that kind of proposal could possibly lead to a breakthrough. i don't know. i'm thinking that might be true. >> vladimir pozner, great to have your perspective. >> a short break here. ahead. "house of cards," "walking dead," is it too much of a good thing? is the new golden age of tv taking over your life. >> yes, yes, it is. sailing past ancient glaciers in alaska -- makes you realize how old time is and how short life is. she can take all the time she wants. princess cruises. come back new. [ female announcer ] plan your seven-day cruise from just $549. call your travel agent or 1-800-princess. [ cha

their willingness and openness to taking steps to hold officials whether they are officials in ukraine or russia, cdable. and that is what the discussion is about at this point. >> and john house republicans are moving at lightning speed, making good to stand behind the president to get economic aid to the ukraine. thursday they are putting a bill on the floor, $1 billion in loan guarantees to help bolster ukraine's economy. john. >> retired lawyer john lauren joins us, admiral welcome. >> thank you, john, good to be here. >> how do the critics in congress impact what's going on in ukraine. >> certainly this is a multi, multi-facetted problem in the ukraine. we can have all the skill we want, military posturing, diplomatic moves, military moves, making a statement that this type of behavior on the part of the russian president just can't be accepted and it causes extreme problems to bring the world forward to the remainder of this century. >> on the one side you have united states talking about sanctions, on the other side, concern in europe about sacks sanctions. does that leave nato split? >>

ukraine tonight accused in russia of an ultimatum. either surrender the crimean peninsula or face attack. and these conflicting reports are just part of a day of fast-moving developments in the southern region of ukraine, the peninsula of crimea. senior american officials say russia has moved as many as 6,000 troops to crimea. ukrainian ambassador to the u.n. says that number is 16,000. it's pretty incredible in this day and age when we are talking about the nsa surveillance of people's phone calls around the world and social media and spying that we don't even know how many troops are there. at this hour tonight, the president says the u.s. is looking at ways to isolate russia, with economic and diplomatic penalties, calling russia's actions a violation of international law. according to american officials, russia has complete operational control of the crimean peninsula, including border posts, ferry terminals, and all facilities. the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. says russian jets have entered ukrainian air space and russia has blocked mobile telephone services in some areas

ukraine, but it's always been russia here, and on the ground goo joins in. we are russians, but they call us occupants, what occupants? >> whether people want to belong to ukraine or russia, they also have to make a living. on this stretch of coastline, people rely on tourism, the holiday industry. now, they're worried that all this uncertainty is going to destroy their livelihood. >> this hotel has unique atmosphere. >> i was shown around one of the finest hotels, right now, sadly empty, as everyone cancels their holidays, the hotel lays off its staff. >> we had 300 people in our team and we fire 60% of them. they have kids, they have families, you know, and most of them are local, and especially here on the south coast, 90% of the families somehow depends on the hospitallalty industry. yes, we're a little bit afraid. >> up the hill, the czar's summer palace, site of a famous meeting between these three men. in 1945, roosevelt, stalin and churchill came to redraw the map of europe. now it seems russia might be doing some redrawing of its own and this time, there is no agreement with the western powers. aljazeera, crimea. >> the u.n.'s mediator on syria will brief

ukraine or russia? >> reporter: it's really hard to say in this case. certainly, these ultimatums and the later denials that we're hearing may be part of a psychological war, because certainly, on the ground, and i've been around, we were in the far east the in kirsch, near the russian border. now we're in sevastopol, and it doesn't seem very tense, because, for instance, when we were in kirsch today, we ran into a contingent of 100 of these men in green, shall we call them, these armed men in combat uniforms outside a ferry port, where ferries go to russian destinations nearby. there we were able to speak not on camera to the commander of the forces, and he said, i'm from the russian black sea fleet. i'm the commander here. i'm normally based in sevastopol. he insisted they were there to protect the locals, to prevent a breakup of the ukraine along the lines of yugoslavia. and we saw local people coming and offering them food. apparently, they're providing them with shelter and showers. here in sevastopol, very pro-russian area. it's relatively, in fac

think the sanctions announced so far will have that much of a broad economic impact either on ukraine or russia, but it's more of a political and diplomatic message. >> the russian economy is struggling, too. ambassador, you said you think it's not enough, that these sanctions are not enough, we need to increase military aid to ukraine and nato allies that have borders with russia. >> we need to do both. because of the russian military build up, increasing further within the last two days on eastern southern and northern ukraine on the border in russia, the west should be sending defensive arms, anti tank weapons, anti air weapons to ukraine. the whole purpose is not to defeat russia, which ukraine can't do, but the purpose is to raise the cost of russian aggression. when the russians invaded georgia in 2008, the georgians didn't have much preparation but were able to shoot down five of the russian combat aircraft. the ukrainians could take even more. >> michael, you've brin about how a cool instead of a cold war is developing and about what you called the obama doctrine that in crisis, you onl

at issue there, whether crimea will stay a part of ukraine or break away and rejoin russia.tes and other western nations calling this referendum illegitimate and they're threatening possible new sanctions on russia tomg. but moscow is holding fast. it all adds up to an east versus west confrontation straight from dates of the cold war. what will happen next in the referendum passes as expected in our next guest has a vast wealth of knowledge in the region, former diplomatic correspondent,correspondent, former moscow bureau chief. russia is claiming the vote is not only legal, but free and fair. isn't it hard to vote freely when you're surrounded by 22,000 russian troops with gun guns? and isn't crimea already under de facto annexnnexation? >> no question. for the past couple week, the are your sh russian military has been in control. you can see what is going on. what is interesting right now this referendum today will say almost certainly let's go back and be part of russia. that is a big deal for russia. this means that putin has gotten his way on this particular issue. bu

ukraine. russia's parliament approves the request by the president's lack of essential to the region. but moscow on a collision course with washington the eye restart old roommate or developments unfolding in ukraine. russia's parliament has approved the request by president bottom lip and to send troops to the region. he hasn't yet decided whether she would use of force. he's waiting to see how the situation in the crimean peninsula develops think raised by mr says that's a clear provocation. he was forced out of his country but on future have already taken of defense the control of the peninsula will go live to moscow and cranny after this report. these heavily armed military units hand surrounded my knee is main airports. in deciding who gets an end to dismount the soldiers where you can see the ice and refused to say to his canadian borders the ukrainian government has no doubt. it says russia has sent in thousands of troops the new government and calls it an invasion the club. she seriously this russian presence on the territory of premium is nothing but a provocation the squirrel russia's attempts to draw ukraine into military conflict have failed. it's easy

on one other note, we'll be listening to closely to see if hagel is asked about ukraine or russia, andg you any developments as they happen. >>> a new national poll is showing support for same-sex marriage has hit an all-time high. specifically, a majority of americans polled say gays and lesbians have, in fact, a constitutional right to marry. now, the "washington post"/abc poll shows 59% of americans support same-sex marriage. 34% are opposed. it's really a dramatic turnaround from just a decade ago. the same poll in 2004 found only 38% supported legalizing same-sex marriage. 59% were opposed. well, the latest poll also shows that in the 33 states where same-sex marriage is banned, 53% support legalizing it. 40% in those states opposed it. one of those 33 states that's banned same-sex marriage is kentucky, and we're actually watching the division in opinions play out at the highest levels of the state government. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams joins us with the very latest on the legal wrangling. you have the governor and attorney general, both democrats, talking about

any violation of ukraine's sovereignty and integrity would be destabilising, which is not in the interests of ukraine, russia orurope. >> the senior administration official point out a bump in world reputation, enhanced reputation that russia got from the sochi winter olympics is going away. >> california hit by a one-two punch. first a drought and now the state is dealing with rain. it triggered land slides east of los angeles, prompting mandatory evacuation orders, causing road closures, traffic jams and power outages. extreme weather is expected to condition through saturday. >> we are seeing rainy conditions across the south-east. we'll see residual effects as we go towards sunday. flooding is a major concern of the it will be lighter, but the major concern is towards mexico, where we are looking at flooding as well. los angeles, you'll see a high of 64 on a saturday. thunder storms are a possibility. we saw thunder storms on friday. rain tapering off as we go towards the rest of the week. temperatures coming up. here across much of the south, temperatures are up. we talked about san antonio, 82 is the expe

do they see their future in ukraine or in russia? >> well, right now, i'm actually with the ukrainian soldiers on the border. this is a mood. i mean, where i am is a russian area but they say there are russian speaking ukrainians, that this language issue have been blown out of proportion. it's not really a problem. whoever wants to speak russian can. at the same time, there's a small and vocal minority that is pushing for closer association, if not an attachment towards russia. >> ok. thank you very much for keeping us up to date there from eastern ukraine. now, as the search continues for malaysian airlines flight 370, chinese authorities say they have picked up satellite images of what could possibly be debris from the missing boeing 747. the objects were reported to be floating in what is the southern search area. a remote area of the southern indian ocean about 120 kilometers from an earlier sighting of debris announced by australia. chinese ships have been dispatched to the area to join the international search effort. >> this

ukraine. russia has an historic relationship with ukraine, including cultural and economic ties and a facility in crimea. any violation of ukraine's sovereignty would be destabilising, which is not in the interests of ukraine, russia or europe. it would represent a profound interference in matters that must be determined by the ukrainian people. it would be a clear vilition of russia's commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty and borders of ukraine, and international laws. >> more from rosalind jordan, who is following developments in washington. >> white house officials are trying to figure out what repercussions could come if russia interveredz mill tare -- interfered militarily in ukraine. an option would be for the u.s. not to attend the g8 summit in sochi russia, that's because it is a key event for leaders of the countries to discuss economic and political tie, and the u.s. know even though there are ongoing tensions between it and russia, the u.s. is in a good position to perhaps withhold economic benefits from russia. there are other ideas in terms of trade limitations or commerce deals put on hold, but certainly at this point there's no discussion about any sort of military response because eve