then we have this singular ukrainian national.he was injured given he put up some type of arrest when they try to take him. not clear what caused him to do this. he wasn't drunk. he may have been on some other kind of substance. but it does seem to be perhaps not linked to islamic extremism in the area, maybe more his own decision to misbehave on the aircraft. >> i'm sure we'll know more in the coming hours. a potential terror attack may be the greatest threat in sochi right now. but russian officials facing other major challenges as well now that the olympic games are officially under way. among other things there was a glitch in the opening ceremony. five figures that looked like snowflakes were supposed to turn into the olympic rings but one of them didn't. that certainly didn't help ease concerns that russia isn't ready to host one of the world's biggest sporting events. our senior international correspondent ivan watson is in sochi with more on the opening ceremonies of the winter games. tell us how it unfolded, ivan. >> well

to throw up with these guys underwent special ideological training in the spirit of radical ukrainian nationalism they were also taught urban conflict and police confrontation tactics hand to hand combat knife fighting and even shooting through. the. morning to the information i have they were funded. through a few individuals with money or ridge unaided in the us and in europe. my name is yvonne oregon i support for the guys in special force units like get a quote barzan tiger for all the guys who are defending peace in our capital. what we buy for them is mostly vitamins warm clothes for the mother stuff every day. this is what they asked for twenty meter extension cords they use them for heaters and of course they'll need split of boxes. get water. drinking water as usual where we've got this good since all packed full of condensed know how thin calorie rich money is being transferred to a bank card and people from all over ukraine to chip in a little because now we're also getting donations from russia novosibirsk moscow just burn katherine bird give the strongest support also receive money d

. >> protesters sing the ukrainian national anthem on the main square in western ukraine.demonstrations have been taking place every day since november. demonstrations for a better future. people hop and yell, "anyone who does not yell is" a nasty word for a russian. the ousted the governor tom a a close ally of viktor yanukovych. -- they ousted the governor, a close ally of resident viktor yanukovych. they forced him to sign the letter, and later he tried to take it back, saying he had only signed under duress. it was no use, the protesters would not let him back into the building. they had set up barricades. >> at first, the governor ignored us. eventually, he realized we would not just go away. then the governor signed his resignation, and from that time on, he was no longer governor. >> they let our camera team inside the building. the atmosphere is calm and then that outside. the opposition team takes a few minutes to talk to us. >> we want direct power for the people. when people have lost their rights, one always remains -- the right to rise up. >> i'm staying here

i really think that he should go through a ukrainian court when the ukrainian nation knows exactly whatbeen doing in the last years i want him to go through trial in ukraine i can't, it's clear that his career is over and we will not see him as a political figure anymore. >> i think people around the world are rooting for the ukrainian nation to succeeds in this process being i know that you will be involved in it at my member of parliament and thank you very much for joining us today. >> thanks antonio. >> coming up, clashes rage on in venezuela but there is a small sign of hopeful we'll tell what you that is next. and our social media producer hermela is tracking the top stories on the web. >> a glimmer of hope in the fight against obesity. the details ahead. and what do you think? join the conversation on twitter at ajconsiderthis and on our facebook and google plus pages. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. on al jazeera america >>> after weeks of violent protests a

international public opinion and sto pretendig that the maida represents the interests of the ukrainian nation>>> presidenrandall pinkston taa look at russia's role in ukraine political crisis. >> reporter: from the beginning russia has been at the heart of the protest in ukraine. in the end those who wanted close ties to europe took to the streets after president yanukovych rejected aid from the european union in favor of a package from russia. >> it did not offer the ukrainians the freedom to move across europe and find jobs. it did not offer any security for the industry, any security for a.g. and what is more important the e.u. was offering at measly $800 million or euros where russia came up with a much better proposal of $15 billion-plus. >> author of a book about u.s.-russia relations. she said putin's offer of aid is part of a bigger strategy to create a territory with russia in charge. >> putin's other major pre-occupation is to make sure that the european union, u.s. n.a.t.o. all of these structures do nat make any more inroads into the post soviet space. >> reporter: while the cold

protesters seeing the ukrainian national anthem. on the main square of disease in western ukraine you two demonstrations have been taking place every day since november demonstrations for a better future. people talk when you know anyone who doesn't hop was a mosquito. a nasty word for a russian. they hosted the governor of the beach a close ally of president victory and a cool beach they placed the letter of resignation in front of him and forced him to sign it leader he tried to take it back saying he only signed under duress. but it was no use the protesters would make it back into the building the set up barricades. just when it was a little pushing and personnel are enormous eventually he realized that we would just go away. and the governor signed his resignation. in that time on he was no longer governor salo goodness or so. sausage all. the letter a camera team inside the building the atmosphere is calm within and outside the opposition leader takes a few minutes to talk to us you missed the criminal community free one direc

he gave a very emotional interview to cnn yesterday, describing the despair that the ukrainian nationalrnational olympic committee denied requests for the ukrainian athletes to wear black arm bands in honor of the dead at the various events. instead, what they allowed the ukrainian team to do is to hold a moment of mourning yesterday in the olympic village, where there they were allowed to wear ukrainian arm bands. the head of the ukrainian olympic committee, he also said that ukraine really needs victory right now, that the ukrainian team can be a symbol of unity at a time when the country itself is so bitterly divided. however, some of the athletes have said that's not good enough. and in fact, a father-daughter pair, it's a coach and one of the slalom skiing athletes by the name of bogdana they say that is not enough and have pulled out of today's alpine skiing event. they posted a message on facebook, basically denouncing the president of ukraine, accusing him of killing unarmed protesters in the ukrainian capital. that's clearly putting even more pressure on the ukrainian team righ

a radical views he's actually known for being ukrainian national and he's actually participated in the chechen war he went to the caucasus was fought on the side of the terrorists and prided himself on the fact that he personally had several tanks and armored vehicles and despite that he still managed to run for the ukrainian parliament a couple of years ago again he's one of the leaders of alter nationalist movement and then there's also a leg who is essentially one of the three leaders of the of the my done of the independence square movement and he is openly not just but also just a mythic making numerous statements to in that regard that have actually gotten him into quite a lot of hot water with the jewish population of ukraine so this is what we're looking at in ukraine right now this is the type of people that the west has been until now is openly supporting and if you look at the fact that just recently just on tuesday in fact we have heard messages about the fact that a. synagogue in fact has been as it has been it's have to be one of the all of this is leaving all of this rea

ukrainian oligarchs have been silent. with each passing day they are losing money. this week ukraine's national bank reported a 13% drop in international currency reserves. less money to prop up the flaling economy and help ukrainian industries stay afloat. many facilities are demonstrate on ukrainian subsidies. if the economy plunges, and government funds are squoozed. that -- squeezed, that may be in jeopardy. they hope the oligarchs can help. the key is for the oligarchs to believe their businesses in a new government will be safe. at the moment opposition groups say there can be no promises to the wealthy while young demonstrators are dying in the streets. >> and we are following the story throughout the evening, more live updates coming in this broadcast. now to our other top story. the new warning for air travellers coming from homeland security, with the possible focus on a shoe bomb threat. lisa stark has that story from washington. >> there are reports about a security alert from the department of homeland security to airlines, concerning flights coming into the u.s. from overseas. the

northwest you have a very ukrainian national.ast you have a ukraine that wants to be closer to russia. this is split down the middle, not easy to figure out how they're going to get through this. people in south eastern crew yan including the historic a ton mouse region, part of ukraine, historic to russians, there's no rebellion going on there. so, you know, the question will be -- the question has always been during ukraine's 20 years of existence whether at this time can hold together. that's very much the issue now. >> ambassador hill, thanks for your insight. i appreciate it. >>> let's talk about venezuela where at least five more have been killed in antigovernment clashes there. the opposition leader has been thrown into jail. venezuela president is vow toogo crack down on protestors. protestors are fighting back. demand is rise o rising. they're calling for end of rise in crime and end of shortage of goods. >>> there's a terror warning rattling nerves and security. the united states is urging airlines to be on guard for sh

ambitions of both .oscow and the west the former is easy to understand, the latter, to set the ukrainian national spirit with all this talk of compromise. what they hope to see emerge out of this turmoil is a new ukraine burnished by the flames of national revolution, able to stand up in opposition to the democratize or's and their local lackeys. i think there has been a strong underestimation of the influence of this right nationalist movement, not in terms of numbers, but in terms of street cred, division they can offer people,n inspire young in the west, and throughout the country. maybe we do not even need a parliamentary system. let's just do something that is more decisive and dramatic and can maybe move the country forward. in a way, it has been stagnating for 20 years. >> when you talk about the right, who do you mean? for an american audience that knows little about the ukraine. >> there is a parliamentary party now which could be called the right wing party, and that is the svoboda party. they are the ones who convened -- extraordinarily extraordinary sanctioning of parliament. how you

it is not civil war but it clearly is a heightened possibility of economic default for the ukrainian nation and long-term, that does not look airy good. >> a couple of things. there are a few hurdles to be cleared before we can look at the long-term functionality of the government. i think it is nothing short of remarkable that the entire state apparatus ditched yanukovych. on friday, i think we worried about civil war, that the government would rally behind the president, the opposition would be in the streets -- that is not what happened. you had the police, the army, the interior ministry, the bureaucracy essentially flee, including a party of regions, yanukovych's own party, who was calling him a criminal and crook. >> it was the strategy of putin to restore as much of the rand view of russia as he could. can he be stopped without the west being able to come forward from germany and other players without money guarantees because of the debt and maintenance of the government? >> it is a critical question in part of it is going to come down to dollars, two rubles, to whether the imf and e

were injured but they do say that turkish security forces did have to use force to subdue this ukrainian national, the suspected hijacker. the istanbul governor said no guns were used against the suspected hijacker but security forces had to use force and that the ukrainian did sustain some light injuries. the prean has been evacuated. everybody has successfully left the plane after it was on a tarmac in istanbul for some time. all of the drama played out. the scrambling of turkish warplanes and the passengers ordering the crew to divert the plane here to sochi after the opening ceremonies began behind me in russia's stadium that took place while the live opening ceremonies were under way but the turks were able to bring that plane down on the previously scheduled itinerary and i guess we can say that this drama, this suspected hijacking has successfully been foiled without anybody but the suspected hijacker being hurt. we're still trying to find out what the motives would have been. jake? >> ivan, thanks so much. i want to turn to the white house deputy in national security adviser for combattin

>> reporter: well, according to turkish media our affiliate cnn turk he's a ukrainian national, that could mean a lot of things because in the former soviet union a lot of people give citizenship from other parts of the area. but hearing the man was a ukrainian international that did not necessarily immediately scream at me north caucasus or extremist from southern russia because there isn't a particularly big link between eastern ukraine and this part of the world where i'm standing here. it doesn't rule it out here at all if it turns out in the end this was, in fact, some sort of plot or some kind of real threat. wolf, remember in the air people can get erratic. strange things can happen. stupid things can get said, so the key thing, though, is the hijacked signal. the pilot's put out, that suggests they were adequately worried or scared and the fact now that it's in a safe zone presumably in the hands of turkish security forces, wolf. >> this flight pegasus airlines i take it, is that a turkish airline? >> reporter: as far as i know it is, yes. they do a lot of low hist cost fligh

they do not allow more violence and more grief for the ukrainian nation. alike to offer apologies to all those who will suffer. power do everything in my until the take steps remaining days of my life. we will stay with the ukrainian will. -- people. the ukrainian people are nothing. they do not treat them as will. -- as people. the truth will prevail. in key. -- thank you. >> thank you all. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> jay carney earlier today was circumstances of the ukrainian president leaving that country. here's what he had to say. he has accused the united states of meddling in the ukraine's affairs. the u.s. is saying do not meddle. does the white house have a response? >> we have make clear that he lost legitimacy and advocated his responsibilities. he fled the capital of the country in an orderly fashion. he packed his belongings and left. also important to note that the ukrainian parliament acting responsibly to fill that vacuum elected a new government after mr

they're singing the ukrainian national anthem here. since we've heard of the truce we've seen no change. fireworks fired at the police by the protesters. molotov cock tails as well. no sense of tension dissipating. although there seems to be this -- in the corridors of power, discussion at trying to find some sort of deal, anderson. >> and nick, the strategic positions the ukrainian military, senior u.s. defense official told cnn the ukrainian forces have moved into defensive postures and bases and weapons depots in recent hours. that would certainly seem to point to concerns about protests taking things to a whole new level. >> reporter: possibly. it may be the u.s. perhaps trying to say they weren't moving into gretsch positions, weren't about to join the fight here. ukraine officials saying army won't get involved here. there was a troubling moment today where the head of the army was suddenly given a new job. that's not what you do as president of ukraine or any country if you want to look like you're fully in control of your milit

misleading the international public opinion and pretending that they represent the interest of the ukrainian nation got on poland, germany and france to enforce the terms of yesterday's deal. earlier i discussed today's developments with natalie an independent journalist in ukraine. >> it's still not a celebration and i don't feel there is a general feeling of celebration it's still mourning, the people gathered in the square not because of y'all i can't yulia o because of the con fant funerals and more than ceremony and people to pray examine pay tribute and they will got onto do that. so far there are 82 people killed and -- according to the official sources the doctors tell about the more than that, and all of the people are still missing and the first talk in ukrainian -- among the ukrainians is those who are responsible should be put to justice. >> obviously president yanukovych enjoys a lot of support within his country. how concerned are you that we are on the brink of something bigger? the word revolution has been thrown out there a lot. do you think that this is what ukraine is facing? >>

biggest city in ukraine, a flight originally scheduled to go to istanbul and after takeoff, a ukrainian nationals, 2f, got up, alerted the crew that there was a bomb on board or on his person, and that the flight must go to sochi, where we are right now. this was as the opening ceremony was taking place, as so much security has been put in place all around the world to make sure that these games are safe. the pilots, according to the accounts by turkish officials, were quite cool in this situation. they didn't resist. they said no problem, we will divert the plane to sochi. they didn't do that. they continued on their route to istanbul. they turn off the in-flight monitors so that the passengers, including the hijacker, wouldn't exactly know where the flight was. it's dark at this hour so it would be very hard for them to independently identify by terrain where they were. as soon as they entered into turkish air space, the pilots tripped a hijacking alert, a situation crisis alert, and then when the plane landed it was surrounded by special forces and the man was taken into custody. unclear ther

in talking to ukrainian nationals and americans living here in new york city who have gathered together particularly at this coffee shop in an area that is heavily filled with ukrainian people here, they say that they are just trying to gather together to support each other, because really, when they are watching the news around the clock, they say while the images are truly heartbreaking, they also find them inspirational. >> to see ukrainians fighting for what america stands for, freedom and democracy, that's great, but they're fighting with blood she had happening, so that's the horrific part of it. i guess sometimes you have to fight hard to get freedom. >> people are protecting themselves by building fires with tires. that's their weapon. they don't have military grade weapons and it's all their perseverance that's doing that. i hope no one gets hurt. i hope this ends today. >> people protesting because they are fighting for their freedom and for democracy. they want a better life you know. they want like good job and better living, you know. >> that is a 28-year-old ukrainian nati

that's not civil war but that clearly is a heightened possibility of economic default for the ukrainian nation the long term that doesn't look very good. >> rose: charles kupchan. >> it's a long time before we get the functionality. one is the current status quo going to hold. i think it's nothing short of remarkable that the entire state apparatus ditched yanukovych. on friday i think many of us worried about civil war, that the government would rally behind the president, the opposition would be in the streets. that's not what happened. you had the police, the army, the interior ministry, the bureaucracy essentially flew including the party of region, yanukovych's own party now calling him a criminal and a crook. >> rose: clearly that wasn't a strategic of putin as he accumulated power during the term of his presidency to restore the grandeur of russia as he possibly could. but the question is can he be stopped and without the west being able to come forward from germany and from other places with significant amount of money and guarantees because of the dealt and the maintenance of the gove

russian army's involvement in the crimea and he underlined that crimea must stay as part of the ukrainian nation as a part of ukrainian country and that the territorial integrity of ukraine must be kept that's basically wrapping it up but definitely there's been a very intense press conference last night for more than an hour indeed. from kiev and say thank you very much indeed and of course we'll continue. keeping a very close eye on the situation in kiev as well as russia here regarding the latest crisis in ukraine i mean while coming out. with aaron a. transit route to vnukovo report your best way to the heart of mosco. minnesota vikings football player jared allen like many pro athlete stereotypes is actually doing something for society with us and i fell fame and fortune he is providing homes for turning wounded u.s. veterans. good job mr allan generally for some reason wealthy people don't do much to help other people besides giving money to charity to get some sort of tax break kickback the thing they don't realize that helping other people out is actually in the best interest of rich guy

the ukrainian national anthem opens with the words, ukraine's glory has not yet died, nor her freedom. upon us, fellow compatriots, fate shall smile once more. indeed, fate shall smile once more upon ukraine. long live ukraine. long live her young people who ld in their hearts the that atic future of nation. mr. speaker, i urge the passage of h.r. 447. i say to my colleagues here, this is a most important crossroads in history. truly this country can be the borderland nation that links west and east and south and north in that important part of the world. the world needs ukraine. she is already the third largest grain exporter to the world's people. her talent, her artistry, her vision has been quashed for so many, many, many decade and generations. now is her moment and we stand with her people, aspiring to that better day for all. i yield back my remaining time to the ranking member and i thank again chairman smith for bringing up this really importants remainslusion tonight. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. >> i just want to

>> reporter: well, we've been hearing the ukrainian national anthem repeatedly here.here. we've had a lot of orthodox priests on stage trying to keep protesters' spirits high. but certainly people are regularly taking the stage to keep crowds during these cold moments where often they're facing sometimes molotov cocktails thrown in the direction of the protesters by police lines trying to keep them buoyed. it's very dangerous, actually inside that protest area. the floor has been torn up, much of the stone to be used as missiles and weapons, very uneven ground, people crammed in and increasingly concerned and unwilling to show their faces because of the extraordinary rhetoric the government is using against them at this point. not a pleasant atmosphere, sewers overflowing as well. that's about the pressure of trying to get them to leave. police moving in on all sides. we have to see if these talks go anywhere. we've been here before, even as late as last night, but on the ground nothing's changed. >> nick paton walsh for us in kiev, thanks very much. we'll stay on top

main on board, ukrainian national, we're not sure what mood he was in at that time.id to the pilot and crew, there's a bomb on board. divert the plane to sochi. now, they didn't do that. they continued to land in istanbul where the plane was whisked into a safe area. security forces came in checked the plane for devices. the passengers got off. he was subsequently arrested by turkish special forces, apparently lightly injured in the arrest, perhaps they wanted to incapacitate him quickly. positive device found on board at all. the man has no apparent links to extremism or any other suspects that you might think would be involved. some suggestion, he wasn't drunk as turkish officials suggested perhaps there might have been a substance involved. this does look like the erratic behavior of one individual. but it did come slap in the middle of the opening ceremony. i should point out after that toothpaste tube bomb threat we've been hearing for the past two to three days, people are particularly alarmed because also istanbul is one of the two places you can fly directly

if the ukrainian nation wants to solve their problems, and they have a lot of them.he only country that has their wealth and power to help them are the russians. anyone who steps on russia will have to be careful. while we wish to ukrainians good, our founding fathers told us that there is no democracy like we have here. there is no people in the world like we have here. the people in ukraine have to start thinking. if they are doing what they are doing here in america, i would ask my government to clean the streets. once you break the rule of law, what's left? guest: i think you expressed some admirable sentiments. but also there are some misconceptions. we have intervened in some places around the world. we're not talking about going into the ukraine. we are talking about using diplomacy to come up with a diplomatic solution. what mr. putin is proposing for the ukraine is not good for the people. he is not helping them. he is trying to draw them into an economic and political union, which is a dead-end. the ukrainian people are resisting that. that is understandabl

. >> reporter: by the memorial, soft light, ukrainians sang their national anthem.osaries hung on barricades protesters built to stop police bullets. >> i have so much pain in my heart for everything that is going on here. >> reporter: peace is holding, but the protesters aren't convinced the revolution is over. by staying here at any price, these protesters managed to change the political balance of power in europe and central asia. but they're not ready to disperse yet. they want to keep the pressure on and oversee this country's transition of power. the challenges ahead may already be emerging. to the east, by the russian border, there were marches in support of yanukovych and moscow. and tonight, russia has withdrawn its ambassador to ukraine, calling him back to moscow for consultation. >> richard engel, thanks. >>> the u.s. said today this country stands on the side of the ukrainian people and said it would be a big mistake for russia to intervene militarily in the crisis. nbc's kristen welker is at the white house with more. kristen? >> reporter: lester, nati

. >> by memorial's soft light ukrainians sang their national anthem rose sarris hung on barricades. >> i have so much pain in my heart for everything that's going on here. >> reporter: peace is holding, but the protesters aren't convinced the revolution is over. by staying here at any price, these protesters managed to change the political balance of power in europe and central asia, but they're not ready to disperse yet. they want to keep the pressure on and oversee this country's transition of power. the challenges ahead may already be emerging. to the east by the russian border there were marches in support of yanukovych. >> nbc's richard engel reporting. with the disappearance of yanukovych, protesters were taking over his house and golf course. >>> today defense secretary chuck hagel is expected to report deep cuts. they include shrinking the u.s. i can't recally to the smallest size since before world war ii. secretary hagel plans to shrink the limit of attack jets. the plans will be laid out in hagel's first defense budget which according to the watt street journal includes lim

these brave and holy religious leaders are deeply concerned for the faithful and for the whole ukrainian nationnd alarmed by the potential for even worse violence, perhaps even civil conflict. one patriarch said recently, and i quote him, i ask them to stop the violence and to come to the negotiating table. all of are responsible for god for your earthly doings, he said. at the vatican pope francis said i am close to the ukraine prayer and particular to those who have lost their lives in recent days and to their families. i hope that a constructive dialogue between the institutions of civil society can take place, that any resort to violence is avoided and that the spirit of peace and a search for common ground is in the hearts of all. cardinal timly goldman of new york expressed strong support for anti-protestors in ukraine. he said on his blog, that government thugs, bledgeoning the hundreds of thousands of ukrainians and described the ukrainian greek catholic church is a, quote, church that has been starved, imprisoned, tortured, martyred by hitler, stalin and company. that said, madam speak

. >> with a lot of demonstrations around chicago of ukrainian nationals with a couple of clear messagesthis problem on its own and the help they want from united states is sentient. fighting sanctions putting pressure on the government. john. jon: reporting live from chicago, thank you. jenna: the president promised to end the nsa controversial collection of phone records but that may not happen anytime soon. why then expand the program instead. we will catch you up-to-date on that. and the details in the brutal beating of this man outside dodger stadium. a big turn in the case because he today as victim speaks out about his painful ordeal. and a shakeout in the miami dolphins bullying scandal. is ju♪ osteo bi-flex® elps strengthen your joints.° like calcium supplements can help your bones, osteo bi-flex can help your joints.° osteo bi-flex... also in joint & muscle and joint & bone. ♪ ♪ jenna: new fallout today in the nfl bullying scandal. many dolphins firing more people after a scathing report on how the team handled the case. in the newsroom with more. reporter: the quickest way to