mike viqueira at the white house.ike, i want you to touch for a second on the pomp and circumstance we saw this morning. >> okay. >> these are big deals when the u.s. officially welcomes another head of state. >> it's interesting in this day and age when the president can teleconference and pick up the phone and talk to any world leader at anytime, why is this still necessary? why is this three-day visit -- of course we talked about the trip yesterday, and the ritual surrounding this day, the luncheon, president hollande will luncheon with secretary of state john kerry and joe biden, and then the state dinner tonight. and the obamas have tented off a portion of the south lawn, that's a relatively rare occurrence. normally happen here or across the way in the state dining room. so there's a lot that goes into this session. and also president hollande will go to silicon valley. and the past french president to come for a state visit spoke to a joint session of congress in the house chamber. president hollande choosing n

mike viqueira in washington. since 2005 the percentage ever start ups founded by immigrants in silicon valley has dropped from 52% to 44%. we're losing out on the benefits that foreign students can bring our economy by sending them home too soon. a fellow at stanford law school and the author of the immigrant exodus, an entrepreneur who argues we're bleeding competitiveness as a result of u.s. immigration policy. he joins us from stanford, california. you heard the statistics that i cited. you know them off the back of your hand, and you heard what mike viqueira had to say for the whole thing. had a is your take? >> look at the announcement about facebook buying what's app for $19 billion. guess where the development was done? in russia, not the u.s. you have two kids developing it abroad. what has changed over the last three or four years really is that software can be developed anywhere right now. what used to be necessary to--when it was necessary to have teams together, everyone wanted to come over here, now

mike viqueira is standing by. mike, a lot of people wanting and waiting to see what the president is going to do. >> well, right, and del, it's important to put this in context. what the president is doing is part of a campaign, a public campaign since the state of the union to put pressure on congress to enact those items on his agenda which he thinks are going to help working people and narrow the divide between rich and poor. at the top of the list is raising the minimum wage. obviously it varies from state to state. that is the mum. some states are higher, but the president has gotten behind a bill that is in the united states senate and going nowhere, to raise that minimum wage to $10.10. so what can the president do in lieu of congressional action? you heard him. he's talking about his pen. he talked about his phone. he talked about a year of action. he talked about going around congress even if it's in marginal way. that's what we're seeing here today. the president announced this step actually at the state

mike viqueira is at the white house. what is the current situation? >> you point out that time line. it is self imposed by secretary of state john kerry. he had set that six month time line. he wants a framework in place. you talk about a framework, obviously these issues are meddlesome, nothing less than peace in the middle east has flummoxed this add as and others before it. he's going to be talking about some of these issues. obviously when netanyahu's been here in the past, almost frosty relations between barack obama and the primester. president obama talked about using the 1967 borders as a two state solution. netanyahu gave him a very stern lecture right there in the oval office. this time things have cooled down. also on the table are going to be iran's sanctions, that is obviously a sticking point, although it has calmed down at this point. the white house also announced talking about the middle east talks, secretary kerry being back and forth to the region 11 times since becoming secretary, now following this visit, the palestinian leader wi

. >> mike viqueira for us. thank you. >>> the jury deliberating the corruption trial of former new orleans mayor ray nagin. he's charged with taking bribes for lucrative contracts to rebuild the city. the jury is gone for the day, talk us through today's closing arguments. >> yes, tony, it looks like it's the beginning of the end of the ray nagin trial, but the end will take longer. they're going to be coming back tomorrow morning at 9:00. but prosecutors spent the day basically revisiting their case, showing the jury the evidence they had shown along the way. the paper trail showing documents, bank statements, phone records receipts, to connect the dots for the jury saying we showed you this, we connect this evidence to the witnesses in this case. therefore this guy is guilty. they call him a corruption mayor who, quote, bought his office. defense attorneys spent the day attacking the credibility of the star witnesses these in part are six people who all pled guilty or been convicted in charges related to the

mike viqueira has more on the black tie affair at the white house. state visits are about symbolism. they arrived on the south lawn. there were comments from president obama and francis hollande. lauding each other, talking about the lopping friendship that the -- long friendship that the two countries enjoyed. then there was a bilateral meeting in the oval office, followed by a press conference in which the two leaders took questions from the press for little better than an hour. both presidents, very tough on syria, president barack obama saying the situation was crumb bling, there had been deadlines missed by the regime to remove chemical weapons, reminding everyone by the threat of force, which was an interesting point. the french had been upset in summer, when president obama pulled back from military strikes. he appeared in the rose garden, saying he was going to congress to see if they would approve the strikes. french war planes were all but ready to be airborne, in the skies over syria. president obama spoke very harshly, forthrightly i woul

mike viqueira has been working through these papers today. there is something a bit interesting relating to a conversation between then president clinton and then and current prime minister of pakistan oma omar shariff. >> it was december 18, 1998 to be exact. just to take you back to what was happening on that day. the house of representatives was in the process of impeaching bill clinton. the speaker of the house quit, and operation desert fox just under way. you remember the clinton operation launching tomorrow hawks after hussein there. you mentioned pakistani prime minister sharif, and tony blair of the u.k. he told tony blair osama bin laden may be ordering attacks in the next couple of days. and then according to prime minister sharif, president clinton said i need your help. osama bin laden is planning a strike against the united states very soon, to target the united states, perhaps in 48 hours. this comes just a few months, in may of 1998 that tarnac farms incident. when the c.i.a. offered a plan to take out osama bin laden, they pu

mike viqueira is in washington, mike, what are some of the key issues they will address? >> there is a whole host of issues. this is an annual event. the leaders of canada, united states and mexico, jokingly referred to as the three amigos. the nafta is still controversial after all these years later, and now the president comes with other free trade pacts on the table including one with canada and mexico among them. the president is ham strung by domestic politician. the fighting with republicans on capitol hill. there are three initiatives that these allies are going to want to talk to the president about. trade number one, harry reid said he will not grant the president so-called fast track authority, streamline process to get any trade pacts he agrees to quickly without undue delay. there is the keystone pipeline, very controversial here in the united states pitting environmentalists begins big labor and others. two core constituency of the president. and something that prime minister harper will discuss with president obama. roughly half the tea people hern the count

mike viqueira a little closer to what the president calls home right now in washington. you nailed it, the president touting that this is a bipartisanship legislation. >> that's right, del. the critics of this farm bill say it supports people and commodities that don't need supporting, and it makes cuts to the food stamp program, although certainly not as draconian as was favored by the republicans. this is the latest in a string of victories for republicans and democrats coming together in washington, if you include the spending bills and budget bills. although things aren't looking so great for things like immigration and the debt ceiling. del, the president giving a mini state of the union there, hitting some of the high points. raising the minimum wage, put more money into education, and putting a positive spin on the jobs numbers, which by all accounts if you talk to the experts was a mixed bag today. certainly a far cry from the highs -- the double digits highs it was at the outset of the obama administration. one thing i thought was interesting in that regard. the

mike viqueira at the white house. it could be the beginning of a major shift for the auto industry in the south. workers of a tennessee volkswagen plant are voting on whether to join an union. the uaw hope to unionize employees. right now none of the plants owned by foreign automakers have unions. jonathan, a lot of people are watching this vote. >> reporter: yes, certainly, tony. there has been a lot of political back and forth, a lot of campaigning from outside groups, so much so that the volkswagen plant humanity us is not allowing any outsiders or visiters to come on because they really want their workers to have a clean and clear vote without outside influences. there are a lot of people watching this vote. a lot of politicians, a lot of business leaders because if the uaw gets a victory, if they're able to unionize this plant in chattanooga, many feel it would signal a change for unions and foreign automakers here in the south. >> we're confident now at this point that we'll win the vote. >> reporter: shawn wrig

let's go to mike viqueira. he joins us from the white house. mike, listen, there are, you know, this is playing out in constituencies across america as if the ink is still wet in nafta. >> i have to tell you i'm amazed having witnessed and covered the nafta debate in the signing ceremony in the east room of this building behind me 20 years ago the debate echos word for word from 20 years ago, and it does not bode well for an agreement this congress, this election year. harry reid and the senate said he doesn't want to do it. he doesn't want to grant it. look, the core constituency said any trade pact he wants to put on the table will create downward trends on wages and it may face a more difficult time than nafta did 20 years ago. i got to believe you're right and almost a guarantee when you consider the fact that labor and core democratic constituencies are dead set against it. they say everything that they were told in order to sell nafta has turned out not to be true. the opposite has taken effect, and they don't want to hear about the labor

mic vicmike viqueira is at the e house. >> there is a lot going on here, a lot of sub plots, undercurrents, both policy and political wise. the national governors association, this is an annual thing, they come to washington for weekend meetings culminating in this morning meeting at the white house in the state dining room. there's plenty to talk about in terms of policy. minimum wage, the president wants to push the federal minimum wage to $10.10 from the $7.25 now. a lot of states have beaten him to the punch, but the president wants to raise it. the republican governors are resisting that initial active from the white house from washington, as well, and it's unlikely to go anywhere in congress for the foreseeable future. republican governors feel they have a story to tell. ohio and other states say deregulation, this is a familiar stance, but they say it is working in their states as those economies in those states in particular seem to be improving and the unemployment rate going down. you mentioned marijuana, two very prominent governors, democratic governors of colorado and washingt

mike viqueira joins us more on that. >> john, this is medium-sized businesses. it comes on the heels of last summer when the administration delayed the employer man state, the requirement that everyone who owns a business supply health insurance to their employees with the exception of those with 50 or fewer employers. and now medium-sized businesses get a reprieve for another year. now those are 50 to 99s employees will have the mandate delayed for another year. republicans are jumping all over this, saying this is more evidence of the president and the administration to make up the law as they go along. a majority still oppose obamacare as it is called. the administration says just 2% of all businesses, these medium-sized businesses, and also it will be phased in for larger businesses, those with more than 100 employees, phased in over the course of 2015 and 2016. john boehner has been very harsh in his condemnation this evening, we have a fuel screen . . . john one thing that is unusual about this, it's 11 months before the mandate was going to kickn for the

interesting comments. >> mike viqueira in washington, thank you. let's take a closer look at kiev where the protests are strongest. michelle is here with that story. >> over the past few weeks we have seen the protests proceed to dozens of cities, and our guests referenced that. as we know, most of the violence is taking place in downtown kiev. it's concentrated here in independence square, and in ukrainian it's maydan. white house officials used that name. protesters barricaded themselves there for months. police took back part of the square. the demonstrators are making a ring of fire to separate themselves from riot police. this is what it looks like now, all of the flames, the violence obviously has taken a toll. by the way there's a lot of pictures of that column in independence square, it's the none oument to berey nia, built in 2002 -- monument of berey nia, built in 2002, sim pollizing an in -- symbolizing an independent ukrainian nation >> many factors are at play in the crisis in ukraine. we look at one part, the super rich, known as the

law. >> mike viqueira on capitol hill for us. thank you. >>> there are many so-called tax havens around the world, and they're flush with cash. >> reporter: yes, it's an opportunity not just for individuals as the senate was focusing on, but portions. 82 of the publicly traded subsidiary where is they can hide money from the government. and that's companies avoided paying an estimated $90 billion in federal taxes. here are some of the countries and territories that help. thanks to beautiful beaches at balmy weather the british virgin islands are a top tourist destination. until last year it's banking secrecy, it was a popular tax haven. for decades switzerland known for its skiing was one of the best at hiding the identities of its banking clients. but last fall switzerland reached a general disclosure statement with united states promising to identify americans parking money there. another popular tax haven cyprus has decided to come clean after a bailout from the european union. however as tax haven countries change their quest

. >> mike viqueira in washington, thank you very much. >> the pentagon looks to shrink the military to preworld war to levels, chuck hagel expected to announce those cuts, including eliminating an entire class of air force attack jets. some members of congress would try to block the proposal. at the peak following the september 11 attacks, it had 570,000 troop totals fighting two wars. president obama pledging to end both wars, reducing troop levels to 490,000, but after today's pentagon proposal, those numbers could drop to between 440,000 and 50,000, the smallest military since 1940. >> the supreme court looking to clear the air today, the court just finished hearing arguments to determine exactly how much power the federal guest will have when it comes to regulating greenhouse gases. we are in washington, d.c. with the latest. >> we just heard the oral arguments unfold. it's a nuanced case but at the heart is a question of whether the e.p.a. overstepped its bounds when figuring out which plants could emet greenhouse gases, what the limits would be. the e.p.a. has regulatory authorit

and the canadian prime minister at the summit and discuss several mayor economic issues and mike viqueiraas more. >> reporter: there are big issues and big questions president obama will face from his counterparts from mexico and canada, at the all day north american summit on wednesday. they call it the three amigo's summit. but president obama will have some explaining to do. domestic american politics have him hamstrung. the keystone pipeline in limbo. the administration won't say when the president will decide on the president. mr. obama must choose between environmentalists, and a close ally. >> this is an enormous benefit to the united states. >> reporter: canadian prime minister steven harper. >> this north american leader summit is happening at an interesting time where progress on a lot of the other things we want to do with canada is building and awaiting the keystone decision. >> reporter: on trade the president is being undercut by those usually who are supportive. organized labor is also wary. >> what happens is these companies outsource production to low-wage locations, for

mike viqueira has the story. >> reporter: there are big issues and big questions president obama willace from his counterparts at the all-day north american summit on wednesday. they call it the three amigo summit, but when president obama meets his fellow leaders he'll have explaining to do. domestic american politics has him hamstrung, unable to follow through on big ticket items. the keystone pipeline in limbo. the project would bring oil to mushing's gulf coast. the administration won't say when the president will decide. ultimately mr. obama must choose between environmentalists and a close ally. >> this is an enormous benefit to the united states. >> reporter: canadian prime minister stephen harper. >> this summit is interesting at an interesting time where progress on a lot of the other things we want to do with canada is building, and awaiting the keystone decision. >> reporter: on trade the president is being undercut by those usually most supportive. the wants another big trade pact. but democratic leaders have openly declared they their opposition refusing to give any deal

. >> mike viqueira at the white house. >> the violence at kiev is felt in russia. members of the ukrainian team to wear black armbands to honour those mixed the russians would not allow that to happen but they praised them for competing in sochi. >> pussy riot was back protesting at the olympic games. this time they were roughed up by russian cossacks. >> this is the fourth day that the two pussy riot members have been in sochi, and the fourth day they've had a tangle with the authorities, on tuesday they spent hours in political tension and wednesday this happened. they made their way to the port in sochi, with supporters, ready for a punk protest performance. on hand to stop them were several police officers and a cossack with pepper spray and a whip. what pussy riot were doing is technically illegal. all protests is banned unless it's plied for and is -- applied for is is taking place in a sanctioned protest zone, away from the olympic park. it pussy riot know this and are aware they are running the risk of prosecution. they seem intent on using the winter olymp

al jazeera's white house correspondent mike viqueira has more. >> after several exchanges in public between russia and the united states, some bitter, some adversarial, it was a long call that president obama placed to vladimir putin, of course, his counterpart in russia, lasting the better part of an hour, according to the read out from officials by the administration. they spoke about several things, syria, iran, and the bulk of the conversation had to do with the situation in ukraine. it's involved in a tentative agreement and both sides described it as very, very fragile. the official described the talks as constructive. this comes after a back and forth, a coarse assessment of the e.u.'s role. it continued on through barack obama's statement recently while visiting mexico for the north america summit. where he spoke in derogatory terms about vladimir putin, and his views on basic human rights. obviously russia had a lot of influence in ukraine on the southern border. the spokesman at the white house jay carney described russia's role in the ukraine, and the part that russia and the uni

mike viqueira is live at the white house with more and mike do we know what the tibet tan leader discussedthe president? >> dell, this is the third time that the president has had the dalai lama here at the white house. always harsh criticisms from china. there is a certain ritual, should we say to this, del, the president invites the dalai lama, they let the press know just about 12 hours ahead of time. they try to keep the build up to a minimum. he doesn't meet him in the west wing, this happens in the residence which is the more familiar part of the white house behind me in the map room. the president putting out a statement a readout afterwards, the president supports the dalai lama's ach -- approach, they call it the middle way. here is a little bit more of the readout from jay carney just minutes ago. >> the president as he has in the past on several occasions, dating back to 1991, met today as we said in the readout with his holiness, the dalai lama in his capacity as a internationally recognized spiritual and cultural leader. they agreed on the importance of a u.s. and china relati

mike viqueira is in washington for us. mike, how is the white house responding?reporter: you know, at the white house, cal toll hill, all of washington and the pentagon in there as well. there has been a lot of frustration and it's been going on for quite sometimes with hamid karzai. today i was speaking with john mccain up on the hill earlier throwing around terms like paranoid as was lindsay graham in describing karzai. and here is the essential issue, the united states wanted karzai to sign this bilateral security agreement that outlines the posture of american forces said to be about 10,000 after this year. when the american combat role is over. karzai has refused to sign. says he wants to wait until the spring until a new president comes in. american officials are very upset about it. and now we learn via the new york times, and the karzai spokesman today did not deny this, that there have been secret talks with the taliban cutting out american forces and envisioning a future without americans there on the ground, obviously a lot of people are upset. obvious

back to you. >> mike viqueira, thank you. >>> it is friday morning in sochi, russia.mes will begin in the next few hours. a live look at some of the olympic venues there. the opening ceremonies will be held friday night. and with the start of the olympic games comes the question whether athletes will use the opportunity to protest russia's anti-game laws, michael is here with more on that, mike. >> if you are looking for a huge stage to make a political statement you mate not get a bigger juan than the olympics if you think about it throughout the course of modern world history sports has played some type of role when it comes to the fight for knew happen rights either here in the u.s. aura broad. the olympic says have not been excluded in that trend in fact most game rights advocates believe the same should be the case this year for sochi. more than three decades since hosting their last olympic games, russia against find itself at the he wants of another international controversiesers during the 1980 summer olympics the issue resolved around its invasion of safe beg

mike viqueira at the white house. we'll take a quick break.nd the chairman of the council of economic advisers under president obama, prior to that he was a member of the panel of economic advisers to the congressional budget office, professor of economic at the booth school of business at the university of chicago, and he joins us now. thank you for being with us. we're not quite sure what these markets were reacting, whether it was news that the house is going to pass the debt ceiling increase, which they did, or whether it was a reaction to janet yellen's testimony. let's focus on janet yellen and the fed for a moment now that we can put the debt ceiling aside. let's talk for my audience and the things that make them feel prosperous, what are the messages that janet yellen sent out with respect to let's start with jobs, for instance. you know, is there something that people can take away with what she's going to do as fed chief that will help the economy in terms of jobs? >> i think she was pretty clear. i should say at the outset i'm an ol

our white house correspondent mike viqueira watching all of the comings and goings from washington. >> a lot of these documents you think would be released a long time ago, 12 years since the president leaves office, some of these could be withheld because they deal with confidential advice from aides that had to do with deliberations over cabinet appointments, things of that nature. that time line expired about 13 months ago, and the white house had to sign off on a lot of this and they have now. all told over the next couple of weeks, they're going to get 28,000 documentses, del, 5,000 released today. they're said to include such issues as health care, of course hillary rodham clinton at first lady instrumental in developing the clintons health care proposal early in the first term. it could cover issues like the investigation into white water. there's a blast from the past. of course, that scandal, so complicated and byzantine that the republicans could not pin anything on the white house. this is going to have overshadowing for a hillary clinton candidacy for president. that's pro

. >> mike viqueira, thank you. the swiss are not alone when it comes to hiding money.er is david shuster. >> app watchdog reports that last year 82 of the top u.s. companies had subsidiaries in countries where they could hide their money. they avoided paying $90 billion in federal taxes. here are some countries and tert delays help. >> thanks to beautiful beaches, the british virgin islands was a top destination and a tax haven. the caribbean nation attracted $92 billion. >> that is more than invested in the emerging economies of brazil and india. switzerland, known for its skiing was one of the best at hiding the identities of the client. last fall they reached a general disclosure agreement, promised to identify americans and vowed to crack down on swiss banks in the future. another popular tax haven agreed to come clean after receiving a bailout from the european union. other countries are trying to build a void. singapore is considered an easy place. >> in europe, luxembourg was offered a great level of se cesse. the cayman islands was virtually a tax free zone. th

. >> mike viqueira at the white house for us. thank you. >>> ukraine's interim president is expressing fears of separatism within his country after protests that led to the ouster of former president viktor yanukovych. protests popped up against those trying to form a new government. and a formation of that new government has been delayed until thursday. nick schifrin is i for us. this area has historically been pro-russia, but i wonder if it's a more divided city today. >> it is absolutely a divided city, and i'm on the dividing line. right behind she the administration building usually run by the local government a few hundred feet that way. it's a pro government camp, and this building is inhabited by the opposition. this is a pro-russian town, they look at kiev and don't agree with the protest there is. they believe that viktor yanukovych was deposed illegally, and they do not recognize the government being formed there. right now you have a divided town that looks west. they believe they are much closer to russia mealsl emot

mike viqueira, i know people on the west coast, probably feel like as we talk so much about the snow in the east coast, but they're having a tough time out there. >> reporter: that's a great point. i was just studying up on this in preparation for the president's trip. do you know this is the worst drought on record in california, and those records go back to the mid 1,900th century, it is a dire situation, and it's going into it's third year now. president obama will be there in a couple of hours from now. he'll be having a round table with farmers and ranchers, and he comes bearing some assistance to the farmers there in california san joaquin valley. where so much of this nation's produce and what is on family's tables around the world is produced. $15 million in conservation assistance, conserving water in california, and oklahoma and texas as well. he'll get help to farmers as quickly as possible. it is not just about the drought in california, the president willing working climate change initiatives into this as well. in his budget that will be released in three weeks time $1 b

now over to mike viqueira. >>> a trillion dollars over ten years $956 billion to be exact, there is nothingre for everyone to love and a lot of stuff for people to hate. it will alleviate concerns of theal cultural community. and i think we'll here the president talk about farm production being up. and he'll be speaking in about ten minutes, del. >> we are going to take a short break as we await the president's speech on that farm bill. stay with us. >>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. the farm bill now about to become law. >>> the new jobs numbers are out. unemployment dips, but there are concerns about a shrinking economy. >> i'm obviously not going to comment on private diplomats mattic conversations. >> after a very candid conversation about negotiations in ukraine a top state department official now hol

mike viqueira explains. >> president obama took to the east room to volo on a prom -- follow on a promise made in the state of union address, to ras the minimum -- raise the mipium age to $10.25, but comes with kav yets. doesn't come in effect until january 2015, and only new contracts. the white house is not saying how many workers will be affected, perhaps a few hundred thousand. it's part of a campaign to get congress off the mark and supporting a bill that was going nowhere in the house or the senate to raise the minimum wage up to $10.10 nationwide. here is a little more of what the president had to say. >> let's get it done. raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10, not just for minimum, but for about 28 million americans. it would lift millions of americans out of poverty immediately. >> we heard the president say he has a pen and a phone. it will be a year of action. he'll go around congress. all part of the program. if he's getting significant things done to help people across the board like raise the minimum wage or extend the long-term unemployment, it doesn't appear that the i

the country's interim government has issued an arrest warrant for viqueira you yanukovych. no one knows exactly where he is. >>> representative john dingle of michigan announced his retirement. the 87-year-old democrat was first elected in 1955, filling the house seat vacated by his father. dingle was an avid supporter of rebuilding detroit's auto industry. >>> and actor harold ramus has died, smple career writing and directing groundhog day, caddy shack and animal house. began his career writing jokes for playboy magazine. those are the hea headline. s. viktor yanukovi >> for a decade the order was get shorty. now they have. he's in jail. taking down the ceo of one of the world's most power drug cartels is the "inside story."

. >> appreciate it, mike viqueira at the white house for us. thank you. some great news for ukraine out of sochi. for the first time in 20 years ukraine has won olympic goldwyning the women's biathlon. seagei said girls devote their waynwin to ukraine. >>> for the first time today the center for disease control used the term safe to describe the water in west virginia after that massive comment spill. they say there are no detectable toxins in the water so it is safe to drink, bath in and clean with, including pregnant women. in the middle east the people at the center of this bill ar. freedom works say th it's do grt to continue. the contaminated water for 300,000 people for days. >>> unveiling the blueprint to restructure the city after bankruptcy. it was filed today by the emergency manager kevin orr. detroit is trying to cut it's $18 billion debt. it suggested cutting 34% from pensions and adjusting how they're handled going forward. it's proposing a $1.5 billion investment over ten years in city services. bondholders would get $0.20 on the dollar. th

. >> mike viqueira at the white house for us. thank you.zona's legislature has passed a bill that would allow business owners to pre refuse service toy people on religious grounds. governor jan brewer has four days to sign it into law. it allows business owners to discriminate against gay people. a similar bill died in kansas this week and several other states are debating the issue. so far arizona's plan is the only one that has passed. paul, good to see you. >> good evening. >> if signed into law would this legally sanction discrimination in arizona. >> it would from the standpoint of those who feel they're being discriminated against. from those who believe their religious beliefs are being infringed i guess it wouldn't. but at the end of the day what you have here is a bill that will allow businesses not to provide services to people simply because they are lesbian, gay or bisexual. >> what is surprising me there isn't a law on arizona state books already banning discrimination against the lgbt community. >> that shouldn't surprise you

mike viqueira is outside with more on the visit to the united states. >> state visits are about friendships and symbolism. there was a great deal of that tuesday at the white house. there were comments from both presidents. they were lauding each other. talking about the long friendship that both countries had in the course of the last 250 years. there was a bilateral meeting in the oval office, followed by a press conference, in which they spoke for little better than an hour. both presidents, tough on syria, president obama saying the situation was crumb bling, there were deadlines missed by the regime, to remove chemical weapons, reminding everywhere of the military force. it was an interesting point. the french had been upset when president obama pulled back from the strikes. he appeared in the rose garden. he said he was going to go to congress to approve the stricke. president obama spoke harshly, forthrightly, i should say, about russia and their role, asking them to do more to stop blocking humanitarian assistance and evacuation of syrian refugees. >> they are concerned about the we

mike viqueira is in washington for us, mike, what else did president obama say about this ongoing crisis. >> the way the administration has struggled over the past three and four months as this crisis in ukraine has escalated to come with some sort of agreement with the european union and to broker some sort of power sharing agreement within ukraine between the presidency, viktor yanukovych, of course, and the opposition that has occupied that square in central kiev. you remember it was just last week when the frustration spilled over in that course comment from assistant secretary of state dismissing the e.u. now the administration today in the wake of this violence, this appalling violence is kicking it up a notch. president obama arrived outside of mexico city to a summit with the americas. with prime minister harper and his counterpart in mexico president pena nento. >> i want to be very clear that as we work through these next several days in ukraine that we're going to be watching very carefully, and we expect the ukrainian government to show restraint to not resort to violence in

let's go to mike viqueira at the white house. >> it's been a source of disagreement and tensions between the united states and hamid karzai, the president of afghanistan. back in december the united states government, the obama administration said you have to sign the agreement, a bsa, setting forth the parameters by which an international force would be left in afghanistan, after the u.s. combat was over. hamid karzai refused to sign it. the administration said "you have to sign it by the end of the year", he didn't. in january america said "you have to sign it within weeks", hamid karzai said wait until after the elections, then you can do it. >> the white house said it was not good enough and want it signed now. after president obama spoke with hamid karzai for the first time in months by telephone, the administration says they will wait those months, until after the elections in afghanistan. jay carney is the white house spokesman and how he described it. >> planning for a 2014 smaller troop presence, and in the president's view it is necessary to plan for the force against the clock

mike viqueira is live on capitol hill for us with more on today's testimony. how much money are we talking about here? >> it's interesting. if you look at the senate investigative committee. you might think that certain suisse bankers have nothing on james bond, but according to the u.s. panel they conspired to hide billions of dollars from american tax collectors. it's the stuff of countless spy novels but senators say it it's all too real. $12 billion hidden away in suisse bank accounts, none of it taxed. top creditors of credit suisse accused of helping u.s. customers evade taxes in hidden accounts and overseas shell companies. brady doingen was contrite. >> credit suisse management team regrets deeply despite the industry leading measures we put in place we had suisse bank private bankers who appear to have violated u.s. law. >> doingen blamed a small group, and whoever is to blame, their methods were cloak and dagger. bank statements were slipped into a copy of "sports illustrated" and handed to a client. and in in an airport where clients never had to le

mike viqueira at the white house for us. >>> you know, there is another angle to that nafta agreementhat we were telling you about that does not get a lot of coverage. ali velshi will tell us what it means for immigration. that is next. >> the issue of immigration reform, "real money with ali velshi," ali will take on that issue on his program. we get him for a couple of minutes. great to see you. what is at stake for the united states when we talk about nafta and immigration. >> canada, united states and mexico. so am of the immigration that you think about involve mexico. more than half of the undocumented come from or through mexico. many come through central america and mexico. a lot of them work in the agriculture culture and the industry says if we don't figure out a way to get these people working right then the cost of your food is going up. then the high tech industry. last year alone there were more than 819,000 international students in the u.s. companies and up hiring some of these highly skilled students on work visas. some say that companies abuse these visas. but the bo

mike viqueira for us at the white house. mike, the president didn't say what those intervention measures could be. >> no one takinbe. >> what is left on the table? that's going to be the speculation. obviously it will be economic sanctions on what materials, when would those sanctions go into effect. if it's the united nations security council well, one of the permanent five would veto unless one of them is russia. it caps two days of escalating rhetoric and the secretary of state. today talking about lines that shouldn't be crossed. two consecutive days of conversations with counterparts. and today the president spoke and said it would be a grave mistake if russia from to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty of ukraine, which is evidently is happening. >> obama: we are now deeply concerned of reports of military movements taken by russian federation inside ukraine. russia has an historic relationship with ukraine, but any violation of ukraine's sovereignty and enter toral integrity would be deeply destabilizing

al jazeera's mike viqueira is at the white house for us. there was a bit of drama in the senate over this vote. what happened? >> reporter: i'll say. tony, it was reminiscent of that tarp vote in 2008 when the stock market suddenly dropped 700 points. for a while what was supposed to be a 15-minute vote it turned into an hour and it appeared that the debt ceiling hike it would not pass the senate, and we're about to head into another crisis, frankly. but at the last minute what happened was this. only three republicans had joined 55 democrats to pass the bill. they needed 60. one of those 60-vote thresholds in the senate. among the republicans who voted, michigan mcconnell the republican leader. the last time we went through this exercise when republicans took a beating in the polls because of the last debt ceiling crisis, mitch mcconnell said we're not going through that again. but guess what, he faces an election, and he vetoed for it. the clocks ticked on, south doc, john baraso, wyoming, john mccain, arizona, emerged, and it was hand in

mike viqueira has been following the response out of washington. mike, an embarrassment for the u.s. >> no question the united states and administration has struggled to deal with the crisis in ukraine. it continues to escalate. the violence in the streets in the city squares there between the opposition and the government. but today a glimpse behind the curtain of american diplomacy turned out to be an embarrassment. the assistant secretary of state victoria neulander. she may be familiar to viewers. she was a spokesperson for hillary clinton when she was secretary of state. she was evidently eavesdropped on and recorded a conversation she had with the ambassador to ukraine. they were trying to cook up a plan to ease the crisis in kiev. some sort of power sharing arrangement between the opposition and the government there. it was posted, this conversation this audio posted on the account of a kremlin aide. that has white house and state department officials very upset as well. >> he has now gotten both to agree that he could come in monday or tues

twenty years after and a half mistake became law, mike viqueira looks at the talk. >> when president obama meets his fellow leaders in mexico, he'll ever explaining to do. domestic american politics has him hamstrung, unable to follow through on big ticket items. the key stone pipeline in limbo. the $5.5 billion project would bring oil to america's gulf coast. the administration won't say when the president will decide. ultimately, president obama must choose between environmentalists and a close ally. >> this is an enormous benefit to the united states. >> the canadian prime minister steven harper is pushing hard for approval. >> this north american leader summit is happening at an interesting time where progress on a lot of the other things we want to do with canada is building and awaiting the key stone decision. >> on trade, the president's being undercut by those usually most supportive. he wants another big trade pact this time with 12 pacific rim nations, but democratic leaders have openly declared opposition, refusing to give any deal a stream lined path to congressional appr

mike viqueira, aljazeera, washington. >> we are in kiev, ukraine. russia's accusing the u.s.ling in the ukraine affairs and the u.s. says it is not taking sides. how is it perceived there? >> well, you get the distinct impression that all top officials here in ukraine are bin very, very careful about what they say next, perhaps drawing lessons from the newland leak. neither representatives, the president or opposition are prepared to comment on what they say is a leaked diplomatic conversation. there are concerns about protestors here gathered time and time again, that the leak shows that the united states has preferences within the opposition camp and that could be potentially dangerous for their sense of coerce now. the united states indicated that they preferred to have the likes of yatsenino go. for the time being, concerns here that these comments could be divisive more than helpful, certainly. >> thank you so much. joining us from kiev. >> all eyes are on russia as the olympics are officially underway in sochi, the most expensive olympic games in history beginning shoot

mike viqueira is in washington d.c.is described as one of the largest fraud investigations ever to hit the army. >> when you consider that it was considered one of the army's most successful recruiting programs in the entire history of the united states military and some individuals alleged to have defrauded the government as much at $275,000 in one case, it certainly might fit that bill. during the height of the wars in iraq and afghanistan in 2005, the army instituted a program. they would pay a finder's fee for individuals who got people to join the army, to sign up for the army. you remember those stop loss programs, long tours in afghanistan and iraq were really depleting the ranks. this helped a great deal. recruiting suddenly skyrocketed in 2005, but soon after that, there started to be allegations about two years later of fraud in this. recruiters, formal army recruiters were not permitted participate. it was their job to bring people in and sign people to the army, but what was happening, these are the allegati

as aljazeera's mike viqueira reports, relationships are increasingly becoming strained in light of new revelations. >> arriving at the white house, commander general joseph dunford, here with a sit down with the president and top officials. on the table, the troops in afghanistan and the refusal of its leader to come to terms. the latest revelation reported secret talks between karzai and the taliban trying to cut his own deal by cutting out american forces. he has refused to sign an agreement allowing a residual force to train and assess afghans post 2014. the nato combat role will come to an end. republican accept tories pressed for an agreement. >> you see what happens when security falls apart. iraq is exhibit a, but afghanistan would be worse. >> they were critical of president obama, accusing him of floating a plan to abandon afghanistan all in three years. >> president karzai is paranoid and irrational, but like most people with mar know i can't, there is as basis for that. when he reads that the united states is planning on having everybody out by 2017, then he makes accommodat